#my supervisor even had a heart to heart with me last night and i just couldn't open up but i really wanted to

[anonymousicecream]

Back to You (Minji x M Reader)

(All characters mentioned are of age :)

"No." A sharp voice produced its sound, making you groan. "Ms Kim..." You start, before THE Ms. Kim Minji, the devil who is your superior, interrupted you. "No means no Mr Lee. We're done." Minji said, making the other employees pack their things up before leaving the room. You also unplugged the projector and packed your belongings before walking to the door. You had a sudden change of heart and decided to close the door, locking it, leaving you and Ms Kim inside the office. Hearing the doors locking, Ms Kim turned her head up and looked at you locking the door. You put your bags on one of the chairs before walking up to her.

"What do you need Mr Lee?" Minji asked coldly. "I'm quitting." You said while sitting down in front of her, making her turn her head away from the computer and stare at you. "I don't have time for games Mr Lee. I have another meeting in 20 minutes." She said, returning her poker face and refocusing her efforts on her laptop, but deep inside her, she was confused, and concerned.

"I've had enough of this Ms Kim. Assigning me into ridiculous hours, making me do projects that YOU won't even have the respect to listen, even if you will reject them. Seriously? I'm disappointed Minji, I seriously am. When I joined your company, Hyein convinced me that you're the bubbly and caring CEO, and that's what I expected. I'm sorry for making myself believe that that's who you are." You said, before standing up. You grabbed your bag and left Ms Kim's office, returning to your cubicle.

You packed your belongings in your cubicle into a box, before making your final parting words with your fellow co-workers. At the end of the day, you then returned home with your belongings, feeling satisfied that you got out of that place being run by YOUR ex-girlfriend.

(Later that night)

"YOU DID WHAT?" Your sister, Hyein, asked you, in a deep tone. "I resigned." "Yeah I know you did that. Just, why?" "I just can't. Having Minji as my supervisor, and her treating me like shit, I can't do it." You said, making Hyein sigh in understanding. "Alright, I'll give her a piece of my mind tomorrow." "Don't Hyein. We all know what happened the last time you did it." You said, warning her. "Hey that was YOUR fault. You should've not spent your days throwing things against the window."

(Timeskip)

"Noona, noona." A boy called a girl who's older than him. "Yes, what do you need?" The girl asked. "Yeppeo-noona!" The boy said, making the girl smile.

The words echo in the mind of Kim Minji ever since you resigned from the company. Minji tried to ignore those words and how much she has changed in those 4 months, but everyone around her definitely know that something has changed her, but no one's brave enough to ask her anything about it.

Minji sighed, before slamming her laptop and walking to one of her tables, grabbing a bottle of vodka, pouring them onto a shot glass. She then drank it, before sitting down on her sofa, doing the same thing repeatedly.

(Timeskip)

12. That's how much shots Minji took in the past 40 minutes, trying to remove the words off her brain. It didn't take long before a tear got off her eyes, causing A LOT of tears to come crying down as she broke down, coming to realization on her past actions, especially towards you.

"Why.... I'm sorry!!!! Please, come back. I miss you Lee Y/n..." Minji cried her heart out.

(In another place, at the same time)

"Why.... I'm sorry!!!! Please, come back. I miss you, Lee Y/n..." You heard the voice of your former lover, your first time, and your former boss, Kim Minji, crying her heart out. You opened your "Find my iPhone" app, trying to find her location. "Oh for fuck sake." You groaned, walking into your sister's room to grab her ID card before leaving your apartment, heading for Minji's office.

It took you 15 minutes and some dangerous driving to get to her office. Luckily, you met no one that knew you and you didn't spent a long time getting to her office, at the top floor. Once you got out of the elevator, you immediately rushed into her office, where you found her crying.

"Minji-ssi." You called her, while walking towards her. Minji turned around and spotted you. "Omo, jagi!" Minji shouted, standing up. However, as she stood up, she stumbled upon a table, making her fall. You managed to catch her before she fall, grabbing her by her shoulders and throwing the two of you onto the couch.

"Minji-ah, careful, you're drunk." You told her, making her put an angry face. "No I'm not!" "Alright fine whatever you say." You said, helping her onto the couch. You grabbed your phone and dialed your sister. "WHAT'S UP MOTHAFUCKAAAAA!!!!!" You heard Hyein scream, making you pull away from your phone. "Hyein why the fuck are you drunk?" "It's fucking friday." She replied, making you groan. "Give Da-In the phone." You instructed. "Hello, oppa?" "Ah Da-In-ssi, can you take Hyein and the car to Kim Corp immediately?" "Ah of course Oppa." Da-In said, turning off the call afterwards.

(Timeskip)

You're now in your car, driving home safely, with the drunk and passed-out Minji sitting next to you, while Da-In cares for Hyein at the back seat.

"Da-In ssi, if you want you can stay at Hyein's room tonight." You told her, making her nod. "Ah oppa, it's okay. I don't want to make a mess." "No, if you're not there, I have to take care of two hungover girls." You said, making the two of you laugh.

(Timeskip)

The next morning, you woke up early. You made hangover soup for the four people in your house including you, even if there are only two people who's going to have one. Your attention was distracted when Hyein and Da-In left their room and went into the dining table. "Omo, gomawo oppa for this wonderful meal!" Hyein said, diving in immediately. Da-In and you followed her soon after, enjoying the meal.

*THUD

You and Da-In were brought back to reality when you heard a thud coming from your room. Hyein on the other hand, looked in confusion, staring at your room. Suddenly, you gulped as the door opened, revealing Minji in the clothes you dressed her up last night.

"YAH WHAT THE FUCK!" You heard Hyein shout, standing up and rushing towards Minji. Minji's eyes opened widely and returned to your room, closing and locking the door. Hyein banged the door repeatedly. "YAH YOU MOTHERFUCKER OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!!!!!" Hyein banged the door again. Realizing what might actually happen, you rushed up and grabbed Hyein away from the door. "Da-In, take her for a walk!" You instructed, and Da-In immediately did so, guiding Hyein away from the apartment. You waited for a few moments, seeing Hyein's car drove away, leaving you and Minji in your apartment.

*Knock Knock

"Minji-ah, it's me. You can open the door. Hyein's not here anymore." You said, and it didn't take long for Minji to unlock and open the door. "Hungover soup?" You offered, and she nods. You guide her to the dining table, watching and observing as she finishes the soup.

"How uh, how did I end up here?" Minji asked quietly, still trying to process the events that preceed. "Last night, I received a call from you, which was when you were VERY drunk I presume. I decided to pick you up, and my sister as well, and here we are today." You replied while drinking your coffee.

(Timeskip)

"Ah!" You looked up after hearing a squeal. You saw Minji holding her finger and you rushed up, grabbing her fingers gently. You saw her bleeding, and grabbed a napkin, pressing them against the cut. "Hold this." You said, before grabbing your first aid kit. You then put a band-aid around her finger and put her down on the couch, sitting next to her.

"What were you doing?" You ask her. "Well, I appreciate the soup you made, so I thought I'd do the same thing to you." She said, making you smile, and your heart beat even faster. "You uh, you don't need to." You said. You turned around to stare at Minji, and the sight in front of you almost made your jaw drop. You saw Minji blushing, her jacket off, only on her tanktop and shorts.

"I'm sorry." You said. "For what?" Minji asked. "This." You said, as you leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "Mmmhhhh" Minji groaned, before replying to the kiss even more aggressively. You moved to lean her down on the couch, moving your hands onto her midriff, rubbing them through her top. Minji then wrapped her arms around your neck, allowing you to kiss her even deeper. Eventually, the two of you pulled away from lack of air, laying your foreheads against each other.

"Look y/n, I..." "No Minji. We can do this later. For now, I have other agendas in mind." You said smirkingly, making her smile and nod, approving your plan. You wrapped her legs around your hips, before standing up and lifting her up. "AAAAHH!" You carried her to your bedroom, setting her down on the bed before you took your clothes and trainers off, leaving you in your boxers.

"Mmmmm I can't believe I missed out on all this." Minji said smirkingly, seating up to meet you while palming your cock through your boxers, earning a groan from you. "You bastard. You left me, broke my heart and thought you could have your way with me? No chance." You said, pushing her hands off your cock and onto the bed, grabbing her hands and handcuffing them onto the bedposts.

You moved to kissing her on the lips briefly, before moving down her body, kissing her neck, collarbone and midriff, before you removed her shorts and panties, exposing her wet pussy. "Well well, look what we have here...." You said, before lowering your mouth onto her pussy. You start sucking and licking her pussy aggressively, leaving no time for her to breath and enjoy.

"Mmmmh fuckkk you feel so good." She moaned, wrapping her legs around your neck, suffocating you, prompting you to suck her even faster and harder. It didn't take long before she starts leaking, and that's when you stopped sucking on her pussy.

"ARGH WHY THE FUCK DID YOU STOP? WHEN I'M THIS CLOSE!" Minji shouted at you, making you smile. You then tore her top open, before also unhooking her bra, exposing her tits. You leaned in to suck them for a few moments before getting up and removing your boxers. You reached to the bedside drawer and grabbed a box of condoms, wearing them before you align yourself with her pussy. You didn't wait long before pushing into her tight and warm pussy, earning a groan from the two of you.

You waited for a few moments before you start thrusting in and out of her. Your slow and deep thrusts turn into fast and shallow thrusts, allowing you to repeatedly fill her insides after each thrust. "F-fuckkk that's it. You feel so goood." Minji moaned, restraining her hands against the handcuffs, trying to get out of them.

You increased your thrusts, making her moan even louder, before she eventually starts leaking, while her pussy also got tighter. You moved your hands onto her tits while you suck on her neck, leaving hickeys, helping her increase stimulation even further before you hit her g-spot.

"FUCK!!!!" Minji moaned LOUDLY as she came -- HARD -- on your cock. Squirt after squirt of her orgasm came crashing down onto your cock as you fucked her through the orgasm, helping her orgasm become more intense, and even prolonging it. It took you a few more thrusts before you felt her orgasm had stopped, and this time, you actually slowed down before stopping.

"That's what you missed out on." You told her, before pulling out of her, making her whine. "Ah fuck." Minji groaned. You hopped over to uncuff her, and she got up to a sitting position, removing your condom and throwing it away before she put it in her mouth. She wasted no time, licking them aggressively before hollowing her mouth even more, letting you feel her tight mouth, which got you close to another orgasm. You then pulled out of her mouth and stopped her from sucking your cock, earning a whine from her.

"I wanna finish inside you." You said, making her smirk, before she nods. You flipped her onto her stomach, lifting her ass up and spanking it a few times before you enter her tight pussy again. "Mmhhhh" You groaned before hearing Minji say "Make love to me". You start thrusting in and out of her slowly, allowing her to feel your full length and hardness, enjoying it immensely as you two are intertwined in probably the most passionate sex of your lives.

You then turned her around before laying yourself on the bed, Minji still deep inside you, before instructing her to ride you. Minji didn't start off slow, but got aggressive immediately. "Fuck you can't wait can't you?" "No. Not when you'll fill me up." Minji said, increasing her pace even more. Not long after, you started sucking on her tits, while your hands are on her hips, helping her lower herself even more onto your cock before she eventually manages to bottom out.

Suddenly, her pussy tightens and starts leaking again, causing your cock to throb at the sudden tightness. "Don't tell me when you're cumming. I want a surprise." She said, making you smirk. You helped her to bottom out again, but this time, she starts grinding on your cock, with your cock deep inside her, making you closer to your orgasm. "Kiss me" Minji instructed and you found your way onto her lips, kissing them passionately. It took just a few more thrusts before you felt everything changed.

"Mmmmhhhh fuckkk!!" The two of you moaned against each other's mouths as you came, filling her womb up, causing her to have another orgasm, this time cumming on your cock, allowing your cum to mix with hers. "F-fuckk" You groaned, feeling more of your cum filling her up, before it eventually stopped as the two of you came down from your orgasms. You lift her off your cock before going to the bathroom to grab a tissue to clean your cock up. You didn't forget to grab some tissue to help clean her pussy up, before taking the blankets and wrapping them over your head, as you spooned her from behind, leaving gentle kisses on her back and neck as the two of you fell asleep.

(Timeskip)

You were woken up when you felt movements over your hands, and noticed that Minji has shifted, now facing you. "Afternoon princess." "Afternoon my prince." She said, leaning in for a kiss. "So, I'm sorry, I really am. I guess that after we broke up, I tried to really ignore how much it hurt me, and I also did the same when you left the company. But, It just came to realization last night when everything in the company is going wrong, and I realized that you're my main motivation, my main focus and drive, as well as my best advisor, someone who knows me and the company better than anyone." Minji said. "So uh, is this a way of trying to get me back to work?" You said, causing Minji to smack you on the ear. "Ow" You said, before Minji continued. "No. It's a way of giving you a promotion, as my boyfriend and my advisor." She said. "What if I already have someone in that role?" You ask teasingly, making her smack you on the forehead, this time harder. "I'll kill them." She said softly, and that's when you know she's being serious, because she always deliver her threats softly.

"Alright. I'll take your job, not because of your proposition, but because I still love you, and will forever love you." You said, ending your answer with a kiss on her lips, which she replied softly. "So that's it? You two are back together?" The two of you pulled away and cover yourselves under the blanket, hugging each other when you heard Hyein's voice, leaning against the doorway.

"You know exactly if this didn't happen, she would be six feet under right now." You told Hyein, before she walked over. "I know, and before you make her yours forever, let me do this." Hyein then smacked Minji on her face with a pillow, before saying "That's for making me take care of this drunk asshole for 3 months and getting him out of 10 one night stands just for you" and then leaving the two of you with more privacy.

"10? YOU TRIED TO FUCK 10 BITCHES WHEN WE WERE ON A BREAK?" "Ah shit, here we go again."

[opheliac]

it really doesn't feel like there's any safe spaces for me to actually take apart and work through what happened to me as a child and a teenager, and it hurts me so much because i want to get over it but i cannot do it alone.

[berriweb]

╰┈➤ ❝ FOR ME? ❞

: ̗̀➛ ft. johnathan ohnn (the spot) x gn! reader

: ̗̀➛ warnings. attempted robbery (don’t steal atms kids), cursing

: ̗̀➛ note. i can’t resist writing for the silly little guy

Ring ring ring.

“Hey, Y/N, when you get a chance do you think you could look over some of the papers? If you’re not busy or anything.”

“Of course!”

Buzz. Buzz.

1 unread message. 1 new voicemail.

“You think you could be a dear and help out with my reports? I’m a little behind and you know how the boss can be…”

“It’s fine, I can help you.”

Ring ring ring.

2 new voicemails.

“Y/N, if you don’t mind-”

“Just leave it on my desk.”

“You’re the best!”

Between the insistent notifications going off on your phone and your coworkers/supervisors approaching you what seemed like every 5 minutes, it was nearly impossible to keep your head on long enough to get everything done.

After the aftermath of the whole disaster with Alchemax, your job seemed to become increasingly more difficult to manage on your own. Less people to help meant more work for you and less time to yourself, on top of the fact that you couldn’t bring yourself to say no to any employee that wanted to take advantage of your willingness to take on any assignment the other didn’t feel like finishing. Surely most of your team had caught onto that by now.

You were worked to the bone nearly every day, which was surprising enough considering you weren’t even on a high enough level to be working on any of the big projects, not to say your skills as a scientist were mediocre, but compared to other geniuses you weren’t much of a competition. Your job however, stressful as it was, was the only thing keeping you from ending up homeless on the street, so despite the exhaustion and anxiety-inducing environment, you pushed on. No need to add any more stress to the plate by trying to find someplace else to work.

And to top it all off, there was Johnny.

Letting out a breathe you didn’t even realize you were holding, you practically collapsed into your chair and wheeled yourself to your desk to drop all of the piles of unnecessarily complicated documents you’d need to get done. The moment you allowed yourself to get your shit together before you were back to working like a dog was likely the only chance you’d get to relax, so you took the opportunity to check your phone that had been consistently alerting you for the last 15 minutes.

7 missed calls from J 😘

5 unread messages from J 😘

2 voicemails from J 😘

Your face fell as you scrolled through your notifications bar, a mixture of guit and worry creeping up your neck.

Ever since the accident, you felt an extra need to be there for the man when he showed up late one night at your door, or rather halfway through it (damn those uncontrollable holes) crying that he had nowhere else to go. At least you assumed he would’ve been crying if he had a face to do so, but the tone of his voice was more than enough of an indicator. Prior to the incident, you two had a solid relationship going for years after meeting in the workplace, and to say that you were worried for him after hearing the news of what had happened while sitting at home waiting for him to return that night was an understatement.

He was gone for weeks, and just when you were starting to assume the worst he popped back up in your life in a completely new form. Your heart broke for him when he explained how everyone else had cast him out and how he’d been afraid to return to you out of fear that you’d do the same, and while you admit that seeing him like this took some getting used to, you weren’t going to abandon him too.

Ever since he’s mostly been hiding out in your apartment relying on you for all of his needs, as the few attempts to go out in public in a decent enough disguise didn’t go well, to say the least. You had noticed how he’d become far more reliant on you and clingy as a result, meaning multiple texts and calls a day whenever you were out of the house and he was left alone to his own devices. You tried to be as responsive as you could to avoid making him feel more alone (and because you knew he’d started to harbor some guilt for “leeching” off of you and being part of the reason you had to work more often and pay rent on your own), but sometimes your work duties got the better of you.

You opened the messages first.

J😘: Are you going to be working late again today? I want to plan something for you.

J😘: What do you think of the name, “The Spot”? That sounds menacing enough, right? I’m coming up with something big right now.

J😘: “Holeman” just doesn’t sound as cool, you know? I’ll work on it.

J😘: Sorry I know I’m texting a lot, are you busy?

J😘: I’m going out, might not be home when you make it.

That uneasy feeling settling in the pit of your stomach only intensified, and while the messages themselves weren’t exactly that worrying, something was telling you he was up to no good. And where was he going?

Your thumbs hovered over the screen for what felt like forever before you went to tap on the unopened voicemails.

“Hey babe, I know this is kind of out of the blue but I know how hard you’ve been working at Alchemax for us and I want to do something to repay you for it- just a way to say thank you I guess? I know what you said about not feeling guilty and everything but I really want to do this for you, you know I can’t keep living off of you and staying cooped up in that apartment forever- n-not that I’m ungrateful or anything! You do a lot for us, you did a lot for me and I’ll never be able to repay you for showing me that kindness when nobody else would.”

“I really needed that and I really need you. You’re sort of the only one I really have left, can’t risk losing that by leeching off of you forever, y’know? A-anyway, I saw that figure you’ve been eyeing from those ads, the really expensive one from that series you like? There’s that one gas station around the corner I used to go to that has an ATM, please don’t be mad, technically it’s bank money anyway and the government has plenty so I’m not really stealing from the gas station! I’m testing out my powers today. I’m getting the money for your figure today to surprise you with it! Wait- shit, it’s not a surprise if I’m telling you- oh god I’m rambling again, is there a way to delete this voicemail?! Hold on, wait-” Click.

Staring at your screen, you were unable to process the different emotions running your brain. You clicked the second voicemail.

“P.S., I love you Y/N~. I’ll talk to you later.”

You were left trying to decide whether to find the nearest bathroom before your coworkers caught you crying at the heartfelt message, frown at the idea of him still feeling as though he owes you when he, in fact doesn’t, or panicking when you realize that your boyfriend was about to attempt to rob a gas station for your sake. You chose the latter.

Jumping out of your seat, you went into a frenzy grabbing as many of your important belongings as you could and shoving them into a bag before you made a beeline for the doors and rushed out of your office, ignoring the concerned call outs from your coworkers asking where you were going and wondering whether or not you were going to finish your work for the day.

Alchemax became the least of your concerns, sending your manager a quick text letting her know you were leaving early on the account of an emergency as you raced down the speed walking faster than you probably ever had in his life.

‘Had he already left? What was he thinking?!’

Now it was your turn to spam him with call after call, silently begging the universe to make him pick up but to no avail.

Suddenly your apartment seemed 10 times farther than it normally did during your walks home from work despite your rush, managing to bump into multiple people as you pushed your way through the crowds, which was met by curses shouted at you, complaints, and a few threats that you could only hope would be tamed by the quick apologies you shouted in return.

You were probably mid journey home when your run came to a screeching halt as the tv stationed outside of a pawn shop caught your news. Spider-Man’s latest fight was being broadcasting through the few clips reporters were able to catch during the escapade, showing the many damages left behind and from the chaotic battle, but it wasn’t the iconic vigilante that caught your attention, it was the headline.

“Spider-Man’s latest battle against a new foe, ‘The Spot’, causes city-wide destruction! Who is this new villain on the streets and what’s his motive?”

Your mind seemed to pull you back to just minutes earlier when you were sitting in the lab, reading his messages.

“What do you think of the name, ‘The Spot’? That sounds menacing enough, right?”

Not only was Johnathan an idiot for trying to rob a gas station, he was stupid enough to get caught by Spider-Man!

If not for your unconditional love your your boyfriend and knowledge that he was once a brilliant scientist, you would’ve questioned how you ended up with such a clumsy fool.

This was further confirmed when you returned to racing to your apartment, only for your attention to be grabbed as a familiar black hole opened up above the street and citizens gasped as they caught sight of Spider-Man falling through the hole, followed up by the current criminal, and your boyfriend. His lack of facial features would argue against it, but you could swear that you made eye contact as his head turned to you and the gaping black hole where his face should be met your eyes before both men disappeared into the parallel hole that opened on the ground and it closed behind them. If looks could kill, Johnathan would be far more than six feet under.

For what felt like an eternity you stood there, the shock being enough to paralyze you and leave you glued to the sidewalk. When you snapped back into it, your palm came up to your face and you groaned in frustration, but wasted no time groveling over the situation. There was no point in trying to get home now, instead trying to figure out his location by what was being shown on the news. That was pretty hard to do, however, when he couldn’t control where the fight kept popping up in the city.

It wasn’t until a few minutes and about 50 missed calls later when the dial tone finally ceased and he picked up the phone, long after the news station seemingly lost track of the fight. You almost forgot to speak before the realization set it and you deeply inhaled.

“…before you get mad-”

“JOHNATHAN OHMMS I SWEAR TO GOD if you had ANY idea how much I want to strangle you right now-!”

“I know I know, I’m sorry, look-!”

“A gas station? ARE YOU INSANE?! You know better than this! How could you be so reckless! What were you thinking?!”

“-I wasn’t planning on getting caught-”

“And fighting Spider-Man?! You could’ve gone to jail, you could’ve gotten hurt, or worse! What was I going to do then?!”

“I get it! I’m sorry, I swear! It was a bad idea I screwed up, I’ve never robbed anyone before-”

“I’d hope not!”

Taking a second, you lowered your voice and ducked into an empty looking alley so no one could hear your fussing, pinching the bridge of your nose and forcing yourself to calm down. Clearly he already knew he screwed up and the guilt in his voice made your heartache, you weren’t going to keep chastising him for something he regretted when he’d already suffered the consequences. Wait-

“Hold on, Johnny, where are you? And why do you sound so far from your phone?”

You heard a nervous chuckle from the other end of the line, where the portal that had his hand with his phone floated at least a good 10 feet from his face.

“Okay, funny story right? You’re going to laugh, I haven’t been arrested yet-” oh god. “But Spider-Man may have left me in a bit of a tight spot.”

You swore listening to Johnathan explain how he’d been webbed up in a multitude of his own holes thanks to the webbed hero and describing the building in hopes you’d help it out made you swear you’d grow grey hairs in that very moment, but you couldn’t focus on the absurdity when your main concern was getting your boyfriend back.

“-and now I’m sort of stuck and can touch my head with my right foot.”

“Johnny.”

“…yes, Y/N?”

“You’re very lucky I love you.”

He made a noise equivalent to a sigh that was mixed with relief and guilt.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry, just don’t do it again. We’ll talk later, I’m on my way.”

“This why I love you~”

[stvharrngton]

Hi! So context for the request… I started new job at the end of last year and generally I love it but the past two months have been incredibly stressful and then last week we were understaffed, had an internal review and I was left to do the job of three people and not a single supervisor has thanked me for holding down the fort that day AND making lunch AND cleaning it up. And I’m feeling very under appreciated, like to the point where I feel like im no good at my job or even liked. So to the ask, how would steve handle a significant other who is feeling this way and is shutting down about it? I’d be really grateful if you could right something around this bc I just need my comfort character to hold me rn ….

hi my love! i’m so sorry to hear that about your job that sucks so much :( i really hope you enjoy this and it makes you feel a lil better 💝

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 1.2k

warnings: none really, burnt out!reader, soft comfort boyfie steeb

taglist: @dukesmebby @saturnband @sweetbabygirlsworld

The sound of the front door of your apartment slamming back against its hinges disturbed Steve from his busy task at the stove. The wooden spoon almost clattering back into the pan with a clang, his eyebrows pinched together as he peered over his shoulder at you.

Steve was concerned. You were never one for slamming doors or loud noises so when he turned round to face you, your slumped shoulders and the defeated look on your face said it all.

Ringing his hands on a dish towel he made his way over to you, comforting palms placed on your forearms as Steve bent at his knees to get a better look at you.

“Everything okay, baby?” He asked, voice all soft and quiet, barely above a whisper.

You could only respond with a half-hearted shrug, sad eyes not able to meet Steve’s warm, inviting one’s. You wanted nothing more than for this day to end, another shitty day at work to top it all off.

Steve’s hands moved to your face then, fingers tucking a stray strand behind your ear, his thumb stroking across your cheek. He chewed on his bottom lip as he watched your eyes grow teary.

“Hey,” Steve cooed, “hey, what’s wrong, huh? You can tell me. Is it work?”

Steve had a feeling, a sinking suspicion you’d had yet another bad day at your job, another day of doing more than they pay you for, another day of not being thanked. He wished you would just leave, find somewhere you’d be appreciated more but Steve knew it wasn’t that simple.

There was no convincing you, he knew that, so Steve would let you rant. He would let you get all your anger out, he’d give you his shoulder to cry on, rub your back and stroke your hair until your sobs turned into sniffles.

Sometimes you didn’t want to talk, your mind too foggy and your eyes too heavy. A night spent in Steve’s arms on your couch, limbs tangled whilst his lips pressed soft kisses against your hairline, the movie on the TV simply serving as background noise outside your bubble.

Tonight was one of those nights.

“You wanna talk about it, sweetheart?” Steve had since pulled you into his chest, the dinner he was prepping long forgotten about. His arms wrapped tightly around your shoulders in a bone crushing hug.

You shook your head against the material of your boyfriend’s polo, the fabric scratching against your already hot cheek. The tears you’d be holding in were now threatening to spill over your lashes, dampening Steve’s t-shirt.

“Okay,” he whispered, his head now resting against your own as you both stood wrapped around one another in your kitchen, “can you tell me what you need? Can you do that for me, baby?”

He knew he had to tread lightly here, gently trying to coax a response from you in this state but his need for you to understand that he was there for you no matter what was immense. In whichever way you needed, it didn’t matter to Steve. All that mattered in these moments was how he could make you feel a tiny bit better.

So you nodded timidly, squeezing your eyes shut to stop the tears from spilling over. A quiet sniffle heard from your nose muffled by Steve’s chest.

“Okay,” you squeaked out, “can we shower? And then just get into bed?” Chin resting against his firm chest now, you blinked up at your boyfriend with big, wet doe eyes. A look that Steve could never say no to.

Steve let his lips rest against your temple before bringing them to your forehead. A final squeeze to your shoulders as he spoke,

“A shower and cuddles in bed coming right up,” Steve uttered with a light tone and a soft smile tugging at his lips, “anything for my girl.”

The mirror began to steam up as the water warmed, Steve not letting you move an inch as he undressed you and showered you in sweet kisses all over your skin. He couldn’t help let the gentle smirk that graced his features when you asked him to step inside with you.

Hot water cascaded down your bodies as the tension of the day left your shoulders, the heavy burden slowly being lifted. Steve’s hands wandered your body as your head rested against his chest, eyes closed, just letting the water and your boyfriend soothe you.

You washed each other’s hair, the artificial scent of strawberries filling your noses, a chuckle bouncing off the glass as Steve grinned at the content noises escaping your lips as he massaged your scalp.

“That feel good, baby?” he asked with a swift peck to your cheek, a toothy grin on his face as a soft smile threatened to tug at your lips.

Hair and bodies washed, Steve held you in the shower a little longer. His hand rubbing up and down your naked back soothingly, a kiss pressed to your hairline before he switched the water off, mumbling something about how he doesn’t want you both to turn into prunes.

You were wrapped up in a fluffy towel before you could complain about the chill, favourite pyjamas in hand as Steve fluffed the towel around your shoulders.

“Let’s get you into bed, pretty girl, come on.” Steve urged before swooping you up in his strong arms, laying you down on the soft sheets. You immediately curled into his side the moment he pulled the comforter over you.

You let him wrap your arms around you tightly, his head resting against yours as he drew soft shapes lightly on your arm. You heard Steve sigh quietly as his eyes scanned the ceiling whilst he thought through what he was going to say.

“You know you can talk when you’re ready, honey,” Steve began, his fingers continued softly against your arm, “but you know you can just leave that shitty job, right?”

An exhale pushed its way past your nostrils, not in discontent but it was just difficult. You loved your job, you did but it was just tough going lately. You were burnt out and feeling under-appreciated and yeah, it was taking its toll on you.

Steve knew this, of course he did, but he just wanted to look after you, to make sure you were happy.

“How ‘bout you come work at Family Video with me and Robin?” He asked, a grin toying at his lips, “Come on, it’d be a breeze and we’d get to spend all day, every day together. Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

A playful smile crept its way onto your features, one that Steve couldn’t see in the dark of his room but one he could feel. Steve let his fingers wander to your ribs, pads threatening to dig into your soft skin.

“Plus, Keith would love having a smokin’ hot girl like you around the place.”

You smacked his shoulder as you scoffed, “Steve, you are not pimping me out to your creepy boss so you can get an easy ride.”

Steve laughed loudly, a sound that rumbled in his stomach up to his chest, “‘M joking, baby. I wouldn’t do that to you. But you know I’m here for you, right? Whatever my girl needs, whenever she needs it.”

You sighed into his chest, a small content noise that filled out the room. Steve pulled you in impossibly closer, as if to offer more reassurance.

“Forever and always?” You asked, voice quiet.

“Forever and always.” Steve replied with a kiss to your forehead before you fell asleep in his arms.

[dropitlikeapeong]

Waiting for You: Chapter 2-

But why?

Genre: more angst (kinda.. it could've been worse)

CW: Swearing(and lots of it). Seeuns a jerk (a little bit!). mentions of food. Y/n's probably getting fired. mentions of jealousy. suggestive mentions (makeouts, hickeys and love bites) NONE are happening in this chapter, they're only mentioned.

This chapter is not as angsty and sad as it could've been, and thats okay because I still got the next few chapters to torture you with :D

This one's a bit longer than the last one so woohoo. I apologize for any spelling mistakes (my eyesight is a joke) if im forgetting to add something in the cws, please let me know and i hope ya'll enjoy.

Likes, reblogs and comments are very appreciated.

"Let's break up."

"we're done, y/n."

"I don't want us, anymore"

"we're done."

"Goodbye Y/n."

Not a single explanation given, he just simply let you know that it was over, and left. Instead of an evening that usually ends with watching yours and his favourite shows on netflix with some snacks, cuddling and a little makeout in between, your evening ended with you crying yourself to sleep wondering what went wrong. Sadly the world won't stop spinning solely for your heartbreak, and you are very much still needed at work today.

Having slept through the alarms your now ex-boyfriend always set for you, you are forced get up by the several incoming calls and texts from your supervisor and your coworkers. After your phone finally stops vibrating, you sit up in your bed to scroll through the many texts from your friends, Jiwoo and Hana;

Jiwoo: WHERE TF ARE YOU?!- sent 06:18

Jiwoo: you were the last one to leave work last night, you have the office keys now we can't get in- sent 06:20

Jiwoo: also we agreed yesterday you're in charge of the picking up the boys' food, im driving them to the photoshoot- sent 06:21

Jiwoo: and no i will not switch shifts with you again- sent 06:21

Jiwoo: BITCH ISTG- sent 06:52

Jiwoo: we got a spare key. thanks for nothing asshole.- sent 07:05

Well... Jiwoo's mad. You'll have to make it up to her later, and from the looks of it, Hana as well.

Hana: If you value your job, get your ass over here quickly. I can only stall Manager Park for so long- sent 07:52

Hana: and no i'm not gonna tell them you're calling in sick- sent 07:52

Hana: Youre on the meal shift, you not allowed to call in sick today- sent 07:53

Hana: IF YOU DONT PICK UP THE FCUKING CALL ISTG- sent 07:58

Hana: lol, tried to save ya, Manager Park is pissed.-sent 08:14

Hana: And youre on meal shift tomorrow as well since jiwoo had to get the boys' coffee today. YOURE WELCOME.- sent 08:15

hana: AND youre the one who promised the maknaes brownies today, not us, so have fun explaining to them why they arent getting any today- sent 08:18

Hana: im mad at you in case you cant tell.-sent 08:18

Aside from the spam of your upset friends, your main motivator to get into the shower was a singular text from Manager Park letting you know that if you didn't show up at work today, to not bother showing up tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that.

So you rush through your shower routine, grab your bags and your keys and a fruit on your way out of your home, to at least try and salvage this day, and not piss off your friends or your other colleagues even more.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

While driving to work, your thoughts end up drifting back to last nights events. When Seeun broke your heart and left you crying on your living room floor.

Later today one of the staff that were aware of your relationship would be coming around to pick up anything and everthing of his that he might have left in your apartment, during your one year relationship.

'It's for the best' he says. Best for who? Him? Did the CEO find out about you then tell him to end things? that would make sense, however with how clingy he was toward you at work and in front of everyone, it was quite difficult to keep your relationship secret, even from the CEO himself.

After he caught Seeun trying to sneak into one of the supply closets with you, you were both called into his office for a very important discussion about "fraternization in the workplace". He'd given you both a stern yet kind warning that if anyone outside of the company found out found about this, it'd mean a lot of trouble, especially for you, so you needed to be careful.

'Guess there's no need to worry about that anymore.' you thought to yourself.

You make a stop at the sandwich bar across the company to pick up the boys' lunch as well as the brownies you promised, even though you told them you'd bake them yourself, you were unfortunately too preoccupied with dealing with heartbreak their friend caused. Hopefully they'll understand right? Of course they wouldn't they didn't even know you two were a thing. Wait, maybe that's his issue;

What if he saw you with someone else? Maybe thats why!

Could he have seen you with another guy and overthought the situation? You obviously have some male coworkers that you chat with sometimes, but your conversations are always respectful. Even if someone does flirt with you, you always kindly let them know you're not interested.

Him worrying about you leaving for another guy seems highly unlikely, but not impossible. He does tend to have a bit of a jealous streak, epsecially when comes to you being around his bandmates.

With the job of prepping their equipment and clothing for performances, Bringing them their food and drinks and driving them to their many different events since their debut, it's no surprise that you'd eventually grow close to the ten boys. it is how you and Seeun started dating after all, but considering that could get you into an insane amount of trouble, your relationship with him remained a secret, even from the rest of the group.

That secretiveness unfortunately made some of other members comfortable enough to have some flirty conversations with you.

Its kinda suprising how neither of them even suspected you two, with how Seeun would constantly be caught staring daggers at Hunter for constantly offering to take you out on a date after dance practice. Considering Hunter's personality, you know he's probably joking, but it still didn't stop your boyfriend from angrily muttering about how he needed to back off, because you're his and his only.

I mean, at least you were.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Finally you arrive at the company just in time to deliver lunch to the boys. Once you reach their practice room they're all lying on the floor sprawled out, in different corners of the studio. Jiwoo continues packing up their sound equipment not even sparing you a glance, still very much upset from this morning. You'll have to buy her lunch later to make up for it.

They're all too exhausted from rehearsals to pay any attention to you, so you figure you can sneak in, leave them their food and sneak back out unnoticed, but today is just not your day.

"Y/NNIE!!", is all you hear before a strong pair of arms wrap around you and lift you off the ground, squeezing you tightly.

So much for sneaking out unnoticed.

"Hunter, I can't breathe." He gives you one last squeeze before setting you on your feet again, smiling down at you.

"Where were you this morning? We missed you!" Yujun asked while rummaging through the bag of food you brought.

Now everyone's eyes are on you as you try to explain your absence from this morning but your wonderful ex pipes up before you can even speak.

"Who's 'we'?" he scoffed, while the other members laughed, your smile dropped as you tensed at his response.

Right. He always had to tease you a little to make sure his favoritism of you wasn't too obvious, although according to Hyunwoo, it only makes it more obvious that he likes you, hence everyone just laughing off his comment. Even you would just laugh off his antics knowing he'd give you all his hugs and kisses later, as an apology in case he was a little too mean.

But after last night's conversation, today's joke isn't really that easy to laugh off.

"So Y/n, where were you-Are you crying?" Yechan asks and now everyone is moving in closer to see what was wrong with you. When did you start crying? You quickly wipe at your face but Seeun grabs your wrist, his other hand moving up to as if to caress your cheek, him looking down at you with concern with concern in his eyes, that concern disappears immediately, as he laughs in your face.

"Wait are you really crying?" he sneered. What is this?

This is not his usual teasing, he's really just trying to hurt you.

But why? Why is he being like this?

"Aw, Y/nnie you know I'm just joking, no need to be a baby about it-" he goes to ruffle your hair but you instinctively slap his hand away from you.

He looked a bit shocked at your actions but that expression quickly changed into a mocking smirk.

"Woah, calm down, why are you being so moody today?"

"Y/n just had a bad morning guys, we all have those don't we?" jiwoo spoke up. You weren't really expecting her to defend you after her texts from this morning, but you were grateful nonetheless.

"Yay! You brought the brownies!" the exchange between you two is quickly forgotten as the rest of group rushes off to where Yujun is holding the box of brownies.

"Hey, these are store-bought you said you'd bake them-"

"Who cares, I want one!"

"Hey! hEY- DON'T EAT ALL OF THEM! We're supposed to share!!"

While they all bickered over the bags of food, you backed away silently trying to make your way to the door, but bumped into someone, you turn around to see Seeun glaring at you.

"Watch where you're going idiot." He muttered walking over to where the rest of members were already sitting down and eating, leaving a dull ache in your chest.

What was his problem? Why was he acting as if you're the one who hurt him?

You were tempted to ask but Jiwoo grabbed your arm and dragged you towards the door.

"We need to go see Manager Park right now, but we'll be back in a few minutes. Enjoy your lunch guys!"

Once the door is shut, you are then dragged off to yours and Jiwoo's shared office.

"I thought we had to go to Manager Park-"

"Yes. You do. In an hour or so;"

She then shoves you into your chair and stares at you expectantly.

"I know you're probably so mad at me right now- and you have every right to be-"

"-Apology accepted. You'll pay for my lunch later. Now onto more pressing matters, what's up with you and Seeun? You guys were so tense just now! Did you guys fight or something?"

You roll your eyes and sigh at her nosiness. You had planned on keeping the relationship a secret from her and Hana as well, but they put two and two together when you had gone into his dressing room to 'help him with his stage outfit', and came back with hickeys littered on your neck and collar, and bite marks on your shoulders and chest(you probably shouldn't have worn a sleeveless top that day).

Although there was a lot of concern about how things could easily go very wrong with this, they were still very happy for you and being the good friends they were, they promised not to tell a single soul.

"We broke up." Her mouth fell open, with her eyes widened in shock.

"Uh.. O-Okay?? Why??" She asked incredulously.

You shrugged, wishing you knew that answer as well.

"Jeez so that's why he's been so sour this morning, you broke his heart!" she says slapping your arm lightly and you narrowed your eyes her.

"First of all; He broke up with me-"

"-The fuck? Why?"

"Beats me." you leaned back into your chair closing your eyes.

"Well shit, then what the heck was he mad at us for?" you sat back up at that.

"He got mad at you guys?" she nodded and sat on you desk.

"He was so snappy with everyone this morning, no one knew what his deal was."

Before you could ask her for more information, the door opened and Hana rushed in, slightly out of breath.

"Manager Park is looking for you- and wants to see you in the practice room. Right now."

"Me? I thought he wanted to see me in hour-"

"-Change of plans. He wants to see you now and i suggest you move fast, cause he seemed pissed."

Shit.

"We all come late from time to time- hell even he was late too last week- he can't still be mad about that right?" Jiwoo asked trying to reassure you even though she seemed just as worried as you. Hana shrugged and looked at you.

"You coming?"

You exhaled deeply and stood up, following her to the the practice room.

Time to face the music.

<previous chapter :: next chapter>

[insomniamamma]

Closing Time: Marcus Pike x F!reader

A/N: This is my first installment in my Year of Kisses themed creation challenge! I was invited to join the fun by @oonajaeadira and @yearofcreation2023! I have never really participated in anything like this so be gentle. This fic plays fast and loose with Marcus Pike canon. I wanted to write for our Perfect Boyfriend without watching seven something seasons of the mentalist. If Marcus is OOC that is entirely on me. Also Sherri is entirely based on a supervisor I had once. I loved that lady to pieces.

Warnings: Angst. Break ups. Language. Alcohol. Some drunken flirting and kisses. Reader has a truly shitty ex.

          This is the last place he wants to be. C'mon, Marc it'll be fun, said Danny. You need to get out of this fucking office, said Sherri. You're just gonna sit home and mope otherwise.          I'm not going to mope.          You're gonna sit home and watch old movies and pine. For that stupid Lisbon woman, or whoever's managed to break your heart lately. Sherri gives him the look.          Fine. She means well. Sherri and Danny and Big Bill, they all mean well. They know him well, too well maybe. Marcus's New Years plans involved getting take out and catching up on the Christmas movies he'd neglected. White Christmas. Die Hard. Gremlins. The classics. Fine. I'll go. For a little while.

         And now? The jukebox is playing "Hallelujah," John Cale's version. It's just past midnight and the ball dropped on the tv over the bar and people kissed each other and called their friends and Marcus's phone sits like a brick in his pocket, a fossil from when Lisbon would call, from when Dierdre and Sarey would sometimes call. Can't think of a single person he wants to call. He stands arm in arm with his friends who dragged him here, rocking back and forth with them, "hallelujah, hallelujah, Halle-loo-oo-oo-oooh-jah--"          And that's when he sees you, hunched at the bar, the only other person in this dive who isn't paired off, who isn't singing along with a bunch of drunks, your face pinched and closed off in the bleary bar mirror, peeking out around plastered on stickers and flyers for long defunct bands. He can tell that you've been crying.

         You drink and watch your phone light up with messages. Hey you okay? Did you make it home? U ok? What happened? You don't give a fuck. They can wait until tomorrow to find out if you lived or died or caught an Uber back home. Fuck. Home's not even home anymore technically. Staying the night at my Mom's. He'd texted. We'll figure out the logistics tomorrow. He'd texted. Logistics. Three years and it boils down to fucking logistics. Three years in and he dumps you at 11:50 on New Years Eve. So that's how you find yourself alone in this little pub with a bunch of drunks singing along with the jukebox, but at least it's quieter here. You catch your own reflection in the mirror, face peering over half empty liquor bottles with plastic spouts stuck in them, eyes puffy from crying. You laugh. A low and bitter sound. Who dumps somebody on New Years Eve?          "...couldn't've waited twelve more hours," you say, muttering into your half-finished drink, into the black hole at the center of the galaxy, "Couldn't've sucked it up for one more fucking night!" The last bit comes out loud, and you feel eyes on you, hunker down into yourself, into your glass, like a snail pulling into its shell, and then the noise of the bar resumes.          He'd rested his hands on his shoulders and peered into your face like he did when he meant kiss you or say something sweet. I'm not in love with you anymore, he'd said, the same tone of voice used for things like hey can you take the garbage out, or hey, we need more dish soap the next time you go to the store. Okay, so maybe bitch-slapping him in the middle of the dance floor in front of all your friends wasn't the best move, but it felt good and right. And now he keeps texting you about his stuff. His clothes and his x-box and you and the girls did a round of tequila shots before and you can't quite figure out how this all happened.          Why now? Why tonight? Things were good, weren't they? Or at least not bad, and you watch the ice melt in your drink and feel tricked, bamboozled, and oddly relieved. If he's willing to pull this shit you're better off without him, you think, but deep down you just wish it was all a mistake, that you'd just have someone warm to come home to, even if things weren't great. That maybe the both of you will wake up tomorrow and be like did we really break up last night? That's crazy. But he's texting you about his x-box and his ps 5 and how he really needs it even though you went halfsies on it. Text me one more time and you get nothing. You hit send and turned off your phone. Thank fuck his name's not on the lease. Let him stew. Let them stew. Fuck 'em.          You feel someone settle at the bar beside you.          "Hey, are you okay?"          "What do you think?" It comes out harsh and you regret it instantly. This stranger  in this dive on New Years Eve has nothing at all to do with what's happened. You turn to look and you see a tired man with his lips quirked up in a smile that doesn't quite hit his eyes.          "Sorry," you say, and shake your head, "I'm not--fuck--this has been a hell of a night. I hope you're not looking for a hookup because I got dumped at ten-till and the last thing--" He laughs, a soft low sound.          "A hookup's the last thing I want," he says and holds out his hand, "Come and sit with us. So you're not all by yourself." You eye him skeptically.          "Is this some sort of pity thing?" He laughs a little, a soft exhale, "If it is, we can be pitiful together. He glances over at a table of drunks, "I'm only here because they dragged me. I was going to order a pizza and watch Christmas movies-"          "It's past Christmas."          "I spent Christmas working," he says, "If that's not pitiful I don't know what is." You feel yourself warming to him.          "I bet you don't even have a tree up."          "I do!" He smiles, and this time it does touch his eyes, frames them in lovely crinkles, and maybe it's better to hang out with a handsome stranger in a bar than sit and drink and brood about how tomorrow you're gonna have to clear your boyfriend's shit out of your place. Ex. Ex boyfriend you have to keep reminding yourself. "It's not a real one, and it's only four feet tall. But it's there!" He offers his hand again.          "C'mon," He says, "You don't have to be all alone." Fuck it, you think, down the watery dregs of your whiskey sour and place your hand in his, allow him to draw you from your place at the bar. He is striking, leather jacket across broad shoulders, tight jeans that grip him just right, and eyes so deep and warm a girl could fall right in and drown.          "I'm Marcus," he says, and gives your hand a squeeze, but doesn't let go. You tell him your name and he leads you away from the brightness of the bar, back to where the jukebox plays a distorted love song "the curl of your bodies, like two perfect circles entwined see you feel hopeless, and homeless, and lost in the haze of the wine--" back to his table of friends, smiling and laughing, sticky shot glasses and half-filled pints between their hands. Sherri. Danny. Big Bill. Sherri has large blonde hair and gummy blue eyeliner and a cigarette roughed voice.          "You seem nice enough, what're you doing with this sad sack of shit?" She jerks her head and Marcus looks like he wants to evaporate and you laugh.          "I got dumped--let's see--" you power up your phone just long enough to check the time, lock screen lit with a tangle of missed texts --"47 minutes ago? Guess two sad sacks of shit are gonna find each other, huh?"

         The night passes in a warm blur, you and your newfound friends drinking together and laughing, Sherri's got stories that leave the table wheezing laughter and all through it Marcus is a warm presence at your side, your hands keep finding each other's, his gentle grasp an anchor in this storm of a night. You feel like you've speed-run the stages of grief over your ex. Sherri eyes you over shot glasses that have popped up like mushrooms over the course of the evening.          "Listen here," she says, pointing a pink lacquered dagger of a nail in your direction, "Keep the PS5. He paid his half in cash right? Unless you wrote him out a receipt he can't prove shit. His name's not on the lease. Leave whatever you see fit in a cardboard box by the front door and block his number. Wash your hands of him. You don't owe him shit."          "Yeah, fuck him," says Danny, and Big Bill comes back from the bar holding too many drinks and Marcus rests a warm palm on your shoulder.          "Hey," he says, those big dark eyes full of concern, "You don't think he's gonna try anything do you? You're safe, right?" And your first impulse is to laugh, the only thing your boyfriend, ex-boyfriend is a danger to is game controllers and the fifteen year olds who roast him over discord, but Marcus looks so sincere.          "Yeah. He's--I'm not worried."          "Can I give you my number? Just in case something happens--" Danny launches in to the worst mob-movie New York accent you've ever heard in your life.          "You give Markie here your number, see? One woid and your ex'll be sleepin with the fishes. We'll fit him out for the old cee ment loafers, we'll--"          "Jesus, Dan, you sound like the bastard child of Tony Soprano and Rizzo the Rat--" And everyone loses their collective shit.          "If I'm Rizzo the Rat, then you're Miss Piggy--"          "No way am I Miss Piggy! I'm nowhere near that wound up--"          "Bill here is Sweetums."          "If I'm Sweetums, Marc's that grouchy Eagle."          "No way," you say, "He's Kermit. Tell me I'm wrong."          "Hi-ho this is Kermit the frog here with a muppet news flash," and that's it. You are crying into your drink with laughter, and once you can breathe and put words together you tell him--          "You are the last person in the world I would've thought could do Kermit the frog--" And he smiles, a bashful one that pinks his cheeks and turns his face away.          "Marcus has many talents," says Sherri, "Don't let him fool you."

"I can see that you are lonesome just like me And it being late, you'd like some company Well, I turn around to look at you, and you look back at me The guy you're with, he's up and split—the chair next to you is free And I hope that you don't fall in love with me--"

         The lights are up and Tom Waits plays through the bar. People settle their tabs and head out into the bright night. It's snowing, large flakes that catch and hold the light, street-lights haloed in whirling yellow.          "Do you need a ride?" He asks, snow catching in his hair, his hand warm around yours.          "I can walk," you say.          "I'll walk with you,"          "How'll you get home?"          "Taxi. Uber. I'll manage," he smiles, soft and sad, "Let me get you home safe, okay?"          "Okay." Marcus offers his arm like some old time movie character and you loop your arm through his. Snow falls, slow and soft and heavy, and the bars let out all around, spilling people into the streets, closing time everywhere, and people sound happy, buoyed on the promise of a better year, at least for a few days until the shine wears off and it's back to business as usual. Sooner than you want you're at your front step.          "This is me," you say, and wish it wasn't, wish for more time in the swirling snow with him, and his hand traces down your arm, his fingers find yours and lace through.          "Are you okay?" he asks.          "No. But I will be." You surge forward and hug him, wrap your arms around his broad back and snow-dotted jacket, and he grips you in kind, cradles the back of your head in his hand, tucks your face into the warm join of his neck and shoulder, "Thanks for looking out for me." He squeezes you tighter.          "It's my pleasure," he says drawing back to look at you, his hands on your shoulders, "And if your ex--"          "He won't," you say, "He couldn't even wait till midnight. Couldn't even give me a kiss. I mean, not that I'd want him to now--" Marcus reaches for you, brushes the pad of his thumb over your cheek, the question hanging in his eyes. You nod and he presses his lips to yours, waits for you to kiss back, and then his tongue slides soft between your parted lips, tender, undemanding, your face cradled in his warm, calloused hands.          "Come upstairs with me," you say, and you feel him draw back, bright line of hurt in your chest.          "I want to," he says, "I want to take you to bed if you'd have me--"          "Then why--"          "I don't want to push you," he says, "I move fast. I scare people off sometimes. I like you a lot. I don't want to hurt you, okay?"          "Okay." That line of hurt resolves itself into a dull ache, "I should get some sleep. Gotta dump Asshole's stuff on the curb bright and early." He leans in kisses your cheek.          "See you next year."          "See you."

         At some point in the deepest ditch of night you turn your phone back on. Peer bleary-eyed at the notifications, unanswered texts. You send a group text to the girls, home safe don't worry about me. You give your ex a time to come get his shit and then block his number. You drift in the dark, and your phone vibrates against your chest.

         M: If you don't feel too terrible, I know a place that does breakfast all day. Best blueberry pancakes in town.          M: I'd like to see you again.

[heartbreakgrill]

kol mikaelson; best friend’s brother pt. 4- illicit affairs.

“and you know damn well; for you i would ruin myself a million little times.”

a/n: ok i lied there’s 1 more part after this. this one’s way more fun than the last part cuz that’s gonna be angst so enjoy. i’m really happy with this so i hope u love it hehe

also: i feel like tumblr has been cutting off parts of my posts?? like my long ones like this so i’m sorry if there’s abrupt starts to certain parts.

the party went above any expectations we had. rebekah danced the night away, tiara and sash sparkling on her figure every time the lights hit them. she made me wear the extra crown, though i didn't object much at her suggestion. i stayed by her side for hours, leaving once or twice to use the bathroom. at around midnight, she opened presents, and we sang her happy birthday. the singing was joyous, full of laughter and cheer. every person had fun. there wasn't violence, or endangerment. though it was noisy, crowded, and sweaty, it was almost peaceful- lethargic.

even Finn had a good time. he stayed to the sides a bit, watching like a wildflower. just when i worried his roots would sink into the soil there, he pushed off of it and walked into the crowd. at around 2am, I saw him dancing with a girl. He looked happy.

Klaus, of course, bothered Caroline for hours until she eventually started dancing with him. it was silly, the way they matched- but the way he looked at her made my heart clench.

elijah was the unspoken supervisor. he didn't dance, didn't drink. he just watched. But he looked content. he was a strange guy.

as for Kol, well...

i saw him on and off. he was dancing with this group of guys he had befriended. I was shocked he managed to find comraderity, but i couldn't help but feel responsible for it. it's amazing the influence positivity and kindness can have on someone.

at around 3am, the party began to wrap up. people had been leaving in small clumps since 1, but now, streams of attendees were piling out of the door. i found caroline, elena, and bonnie to say goodbye. i hugged each of them and thanked them for coming.

bonnie and elena followed the crowd out the door, but caroline hesitated. she set a gentle hand on my elbow, "i talked to kol for, like, the first time ever in my life."

my ears perked up, and i tilted my chin towards her, "oh, yeah?"

caroline nodded. she bit her lip, "talk to rebekah, k?"

my brows furrowed, "what's that supposed to mean?"

she squeezed my elbow and said, "asap, k? he's been undressing you with his eyes all night. plus he reeks of...affection- ugh."

i couldn't help but blush deep red. i rubbed my lips together, "please leave before i vomit." she laughed before walking out the door.

i turned to face the foyer, a cheeky smile on my face. rebekah was at the cake table with matt donovan. they had danced together much more than they both probably cared to admit. she was nursing yet another red solo cup. he had the tiniest blush dusting his cheekbones. it was sweet.

elijah was already beginning to clean up. finn was helping him, a black trash bag in his left hand. klaus had probably retired to his bedroom by now.

and, there, at the top of the staircase, was kol. he leaned his weight against the railing. i couldn't see his face very well in the dim lighting, but i knew he was watching me. when i looked at me, i noticed a smile light up his expression. my heart thumped in my chest, coursing red blood through my veins that was thick with anticipation. i crossed my arms over my stomach, as if i could hide how he made me feel. he could read everything- my pheromones, apparently, the way my heart rate went off the rails around him.

kol pushed off the staircase. he tilted his head, a quiet beg for me to come up there- a dare, almost. my eyes flickered to rebekah, who was bent at the waist, hand on matt's bicep as she laughed. i looked back to kol and nodded shortly.

i had put my heels back on once everyone started leaving, and they clicked against the tile floor as i walked to rebekah. she looked up as i approached her. a loud grin overcame her red lips. she tossed an arm around my shoulders, scrunching me into her side. i slid mine to her waist.

she squealed, "oh, i love you so much, y/n."

"i love you, too, beks," i pressed my head into her shoulder.

she turned, embracing me in a hug. i squeezed back, though her hold was impossibly strong. "no, i'm serious. i love you so much."

i giggled, making a face at matt over her shoulder. he cracked a smile. "i'm serious, too. love you."

rebekah sniffled, "i'm serious. you're the most amazing person in the entire world. you're so thoughtful and kind. i don't deserve your friendship."

did i feel a little guilty? fuck me if i didn't.

i opened my mouth, hesitated. i could tell her here and now. but that would ruin the moment. i knew she wouldn't be entirely pissed at me- but it would throw her world off it's axis a little bit.

so i swallowed it. "yes, you do. you deserve the world, rebekah."

she hugged me tighter, if at all possible, before letting go. "i love you. always and forever."

my chest tightened- shaky gasp slipped through my nose. i clenched my jaw, brows raised from my shock. i clenched her hand in mine, "always and forever."

i swallowed thickly, "i'm gonna go get ready for bed, yeah? is it okay if i stay over?"

rebekah nodded enthusiastically, "we can go get brunch tomorrow!"

with a nod, i turned on my heel and pushed off the floor and up the steps. when i reached the top, i turned left instead of right. towards kol's room.

i didn't knock on the door. i walked in, my breath anxious. kol was sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows leaned against his knee. he looked up when the door clicked shut, a frown on his face. his eyes lit up, though, light brown flecks shining to see me.

i crossed my arms, "hey."

"darling," kol stood. his arms were slack at his side, but i watched his fingers flinch, like they were resisting the urge to reach out and touch me.

i stepped closer, but i kept my hands to myself. "i take it you heard."

kol sighed, "i did."

a deep breath sucked up into my lungs. i brushed loose strands of hair behind my ear. "i'm sorry."

kol waved me off, lazily, "don't worry about it. we were crazy to think-"

"i know," i cut him off. "we can try to be friends, yeah?"

"don't," kol shook his head, "you know i can't do that."

my shaky hands rubbed at my neck, "i know. but i can't just now know you, kol."

"i can't have doses of you, y/n."

i felt sick, hot, sweaty. "i get it. yeah, i understand. promise me one thing?"

kol finally met my eyes. there was a thin line of red encasing his brown, a desperate blow lying within his pupils. "yes?"

"try to be nicer. to yourself. for me?" i reached out a hand, let my fingers wrap around his bicep. they squeezed gently, warm above his touch.

kol tensed up, but nodded. "anything for you, darling."

i shuddered, breathed deeply, and turned to leave. i reached for the doorknob, feeling a ghostly emptiness hollow out my stomach. just as i went to open the door, kol's hands spun me around. he pushed me against the door, gripping my waist.

my back arched against the door, breath quickening with my heart beat. i leaned into him, tilting my head back far so i could see him. my hands caught his shoulders.

kol hesitated, eyeing my lips, down to gm dress, back up to my own flustered gaze. he breathed heavily, gritting his teeth. he resisted the urge i could see lingering on the tip of his tongue.

i dropped my head against the door. "kol, please-"

he listened.

within a split second, he pushed his lips against mine, a fierce kiss, much more desperate than the one we'd had last night. my chest bubbled up with affection, a giddy scream lying just beneath my throat. i smiled against his lips.

my brain was racing, my heart thumping, and i could barely breathe.

but he was kissing me.

—

i didn't sleep. rebekah passed out on the bed beside me as soon as she lay down. i was curled up in an old t-shirt, facing the other direction. i held my breath when she came into the room, as she lay down beside me. i eventually passed out, but it was an anxious sleep, one where i woke up sweating. rebekah was already up.

she was doing her makeup, of course, her freshly washed hair wrapped up in a towel. i wiped a hand across my mouth, finding drool wetting my lip. gross.

rebekah grinned into the mirror when she noticed me sitting up. i leaned against the headboard as she turned around in her seat, "morning, sunshine. you ready for some brunch?"

i groaned. my head hurt. "yes. i need some grease to soak up this hangover."

"you're welcome for that," she pointed her lipgloss at me. "now, go; shower and get ready. brunch time!"

"fine," i slid off the platform bed, feet hitting the cold floor with a slap. i shivered. "but, i am not doing makeup."

rebekah shrugged, facing her mirror again. "i'm just gonna order from the grill and go and grab it. you don't have to come."

i sighed, rolling my eyes, "thank god. i don't want to go anywhere until school tomorrow."

rebekah shook her head, "i'm a bad influence."

i mhmed her, and shut the bathroom door.

as i showered, i felt the urge to vomit. after kol kissed me- well, after we made out against his bedroom door, we didn't say anything. just 'goodnight.' wow a great anecdote.

we had agreed, before the kiss, that we needed to end whatever was brewing between us. but that kiss made things different. it was more solidifying than the kiss we shared on friday. like a lock in a key- but where did that key go? was he holding it? or had he thrown it out the window?

i kinda wished we could burn it.

after my shower, i changed into sweatpants and another big tee. i wrapped my hair up in a towel and slid into some comfy socks. rebekah was gone- she left a note telling me she had gone to get the food. i guess i took a very long shower.

i padded down the steps, head banging in beat with my steps. once i reached the landing, the front door opened. rebekah held up two big bags of food, and a tray of drinks.

"i'm back!"

she was entirely too loud.

i took my drink from the tray and grabbed one of the bags from her. i followed her into the kitchen, where she sat at the island. elijah was reading a newspaper, nursing a cup of coffee. klaus sat at the island, a cup of blood.

and kol was across from him. because rebekah had sat next to klaus, i had to sit next to kol. i eyed the seat and felt kol's eyes latch onto me. mine flickered to his, and a heat beat through my body.

i looked away and sat next to him.

rebekah passed out breakfast sandwiches, a platter of french fries in the middle of the island. i, unashamedly, stuffed my face.

rebekah, forever the talkative one, started up, "so, y/n, are you going to be seeing that guy anytime soon?"

i shifted in my seat, chewing quickly. "um," i swallowed, "probably not."

elijah peeked over his newspaper, sipping his coffee slyly. there was a knowing look in his eyes.

i glanced to kol, who went stiff beside me. did he know the guy was him? hopefully, or i'd have an angry, jealous kol on my hands.

rebekah groaned, "ugh! you're boring. call him up, have stupid, wreckless sex, and dump him!"

i flushed bright red at her comment. klaus snorted into his glass and elijah twisted up a brow. that's fucking embarrassing.

nearly choking on my sandwich, i attempted to clear my throat. "you know, some conversations are not meant to be had in front of three of your brothers, rebekah."

"why?" she scoffed. "they'd agree. right, kol?"

kol took a deep breath; sitting up in his seat, he tapped a hand against the counter. "i don't think i'm qualified to be apart of this."

rebekah waved him off, "sure you are. you're the king of meaningless sex. you've never been committed to a single woman- ever."

i licked my lips, dry from the ironically morbid conversation. elijah snickered into his coffee cup, "little sister-" he fought back the grin, "y/n is uncomfortable with this conversation."

klaus laughed loudly. "hm," he snickered, "i believe y/n is not alone in that feeling."

rebekah flicked her wrist lazily, "you're all annoying. you talk about whatever you want, whenever you want. and suddenly when i do it-"

"rebekah," i interrupted, voice tired, "i think i want to go home now."

she narrowed her eyes, searching my face. "you okay?"

i shook my head lightly, "i'm just feeling sick. from last night. sorry."

she bounced off the stool, onto her feet. "oh, no that's okay. don't apologize. are you okay? do you want some blood?"

i cringed, "ah, no. that's okay. im sure i can handle a hangover without magical healing properties."

klaus snickered again. he had a dry sense of humor, i noticed.

rebekah nudged kol as she rounded the island counter, "can i take your car?"

he peered at her, "are you kidding me? fuck off, beks."

rebekah elbowed him in the side, "come on!"

"no! you've crashed three cars in your life and you were daggered three years after they were even invented!" kol argued.

i slid off the bar stool. she looked to klaus and elijah, who both shook their heads. "no," klaus shortly spoke. "not taking mine."

kol glanced at me, an idea on his lips. "i can take her home."

rebekah rolled her eyes, "whatever. come, y/n, let's get your bag."

she walked out of the kitchen. i hesitated as kol looked up to me. he nodded once, tight lipped smile on his mouth. i smiled half-heartedly.

elijah met my eyes as i walked out of the kitchen and he tilted his chin expectantly. fuck off, elijah, why do you always have to be right?

—

"who's the guy?"

i was watching the woods of mystic fall roll past by vision. it was a rainy day, surprisingly, and the cloudy sky painted the air a tinted gray. i usually liked rainy weather, but even this was gloomy to me.

my head turned to kol. he was staring out the windshield, focused on the road. but his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. i furrowed my brows, "what?"

"the guy rebekah was talking about. who is he?" kol took a deep breath.

i could see him restraining his anger, trying to be mindful of his emotions. i felt a little proud of him. though i laughed at the question and kol glanced at me. "why're you laughing?"

i turned my knees towards him, showing him my focus. "because you're the guy."

kol scrunched his nose, absolutely confused. "what?"

"i had to make up excuses this week to see you, so i pretended like i was going on dates with this guy. you're the guy," i laughed again.

kol's shoulders visibly relaxed. his grip on the wheel loosened, "fuck me."

i shook my head. "it's okay. common mistake."

kol thought for a moment, head tilting from the weight of his thoughts. "well, how detailed was this cover story? why was she making a big deal about you hooking up with this guy- me, i guess, ha."

my cheeks turned a little red. "pretty detailed, i think. she asked why i was going to stop seeing him and i told her...that- he's toxic."

kol glared at me. "thanks."

"well," i defended, "you kinda are. as cringey as it is to say this, you are a bad boy."

"and her anecdote was for you to sleep with me? to be dangerous for once?" he chortled.

i nodded, "she thinks i'm too cookie cutter."

he replied with a shrug, "i don't disagree with her."

"thanks for your unwanted opinion."

kol rose a hand in defense, "well, you are. plus, i'd get laid, darling."

i reached forward and shoved his shoulder. he leaned away from my touch, but i managed to get him. we laughed at the exchange.

"you know that's not going to be happening."

kol went quiet. "i know."

last night sunk back into our skin, into the tense air between us. stopping it was difficult- as we had proven with that kiss. but we needed to be strong, responsible adults.

the rest of the ride was silent. an uncomfortable, desperate silent. i could hear kol's breath- it was ragged at one point, like he was growing anger. then, it became deep, slow, from his diaphragm. he was focusing on control.

when we reached my house, he opened the car for me, and led me to my front door. i went to open it, but hesitated, and turned to him.

"kol?" i spoke.

he looked up from his shoes, "hm?"

i frowned deeply, face sunken with hopeless greed. i dropped my book bag, and opened my arms. he fell into my embrace, wrapping his fingers around my back. the clutched at my hoodie, selfish but needy. i twisted mine at the nape of his neck, in his hair. it was more than just a friendly hug.

he pulled back slightly, nudging his nose uo my neck, and to my cheek. i pressed a lazy kiss on his cheek as it dragged past my face, and one more to his lips. he pressed against me, kissing back.

what the fuck is wrong with us?

—

i didn’t see kol again until wednesday.

when i went up to my room, after our third illicit embrace, i lay in bed, staring at his contact in my phone. my thumb hovered over the button, over the possibility of hearing his voice again. i built the nerve to dial his number, until a buzz snapped me out of my fatal daze. rebekah texted me, another thank you for my part in the effort. she ended the message with ‘a+f <3.’

when my eyes scanned over her words, i tossed my phone to the other end of my bed. i tugged my blanket over my head, coddling myself in it’s warm embrace.

i showered later, then fell asleep, and awoke to a new week: a monday. i would leave kol and our uncontrollable lips in the past.

moving forward, i went to school with a pit in my stomach.

letting go was never easy. especially when you’d never know what could’ve been.

monday bled into wednesday. after cheer practice, rebekah wanted to hang out, but i had a shift at the grill. i went straight there from school, changed into my uniform from my workout clothes, and clocked in. matt was behind the bar, wiping down its wooden counter. i passed him as i made my way to the stack of clean aprons under the bar.

he waved his free hand, “hey, y/n.”

i smiled, tight-lipped. “hey.”

“that party was awesome.”

my smile cracked a bit at his jockey demeanor. “thanks. i’m glad you came. rebekah was grateful.”

matt nodded. he paused wiping the counter and turned to me, opening our conversation, “good. i had a lot of fun hanging out with her.”

i tied my apron around my waist. “she likes you.”

matt sheepishly shrugged, “i’ve noticed.”

i rolled my eyes at the cheeky expression on his face. “just text her. it’s not that deep.”

i turned on my heel and got to work getting my things prepared for a dinner rush. luckily, mondays were easy, so it was only me and one other waitress- georgia. i worked until 8pm.

when my shift ended, i tugged my backpack over my shoulder and my cheer bag over the other. i had to take out two large bags of trash, too, as well as juggle my small food order. matt noticed me struggling as i walked past the bar and opened his lips to offer to help.

however, a dark voice interrupted his words. “need any help, darling?”

my stomach fluttered, but a nervous juxtaposition tickled my skin. i turned to kol, red-faced from my shift and from his presence.

“what’re you doing here?” i hushed my voice as he neared me, hands in his pockets.

kol took my book bag and the trash from me. “lead the way, love.”

i rolled my eyes. but started towards the back door. kol followed me down the steps, to the dumpsters, in silence. the bang of the dumpster lid falling shut seemed to break our quiet, because he sighed, stuck his hands back in his pockets, and,

“i wanted to see you,” kol shrugged.

i shifted my weight, flickering my eyes around the darkly lit space. were there any wandering eyes? “you shouldn’t have come.”

kol stepped towards me, and i narrowed my eyes in warning, “don’t say that, darling.”

“kol,” i breathed through my teeth, “this is a terrible idea. i don’t know how many times i have to tell you.”

my eyes kept wandering around us, heart beat thumping with fear and anticipation. kol, who was trying to match my gaze, huffed in annoyance.

“c’mere, darling,” he spoke through his deeply let breath.

kol grabbed my bicep, pulled us beside each other, then wove an arm around my waist. “deep breath,” he ghosted into my ear, tickling my hair and the skin on my neck.

within a flash, we were on my front porch. it was the first time i’d ever sped like that. my breath caught in my throat and i choked, coughing a few times to clear the airway. kol kept hold of my waist, and his fingers rubbed my hip comfortingly.

“you okay?” he whispered gently.

i nodded once. “thanks for the ride,” i stepped to the side.his arm dropped. “you should go.”

kol set my back pack down. i clutched at the strap to my duffel, as if it could ground me. he reached out a hand, but i stepped back, further from him. “y/n, please-“

“no!” i spilled out, louder than i’d ever been. “i’m not doing this anymore. i feel sick to my stomach every time i’m around rebekah. we need to let this go. that’s final.”

kol’s bottom lip quivered, and he sucked in between his teeth. his hand dropped, “are you sure that that’s what you want?”

i hesitated, shrugged, glancing to my feet. “you know what i want. this is a need.”

kol nodded once, gulped. “ok. i-i’ll go then.”

he walked away from me, then stopped. his back faced mine, a wall of glass built between us by our frames. i heard him suck in a breath. my stomach clenched. my heart beat thumped rapidly in my throat, just beneath my clenched jaw. i know what we both expected to happen- both of us wanted to break. wanted to turn around and do what we’d been doing- play cat and mouse. play with fire. play each other. dangle a bone we know couldn’t be eaten. the forbidden, illicit apple of us.

i closed my eyes, lashes fluttering against my cheek, took a deep breath, and made myself remember: rebekah. i leaned down, picked up my book bag, and walked inside my house. as it shut, i pressed my cheek against it. it was cool on my skin.

i heard him walk away.

i showered. unpacked my cheer bag. packed a fresh set of practice clothes. i brushed my hair and put it in braids for bed. i fed grim. i journaled for two minutes, but realized everything i had to say was just grossly depressing. i organized my makeup drawer.

i sat at my vanity, an expired lipstick in hand. i stared at its contents, boring a hole through the product. my ears pricked when i heard a branch snap outside my window. heart rate jumping. skin tingling. i knew what- who- it was.

i drug my feet to the window, let it fall open with the small push of my hand. kol stood on the small balcony attached to my bedroom. my brows furrowed up, eyes glazed with powerless desire.

kol looked to me, hands slack at his sides. his lips were parted slightly. his eyes were similar to a lost dog, downturned and pleading. i went to shake my head, hands crossed over my stomach.

but i caved.

i let my hands fall. let him push forward through the space between us. let him grab my face, pull my lips against his. let him kick my baloney door shut as i gripped at his shoulders; let the back of my legs hit the side of my bed. let him push me down into my mattress.

i let him undress me. i let him kiss me. i let him have him.

i let this build.

—

it had been three weeks.

three weeks of;

late night meetings on my balcony. a small cold from the air. midnight car rides to a scenic overlook. parked cars and heater on. a t-shirt in my laundry basket. a new shirt for bed. a pair of boxers on my floor. a shuffle as rebekah entered my room. a rush of adrenaline as i kicked then under my bed. my lipstick on his collar. a tide stick now in his car.

his hands in my hair. learning to braid.

my hands in his hair. my back bent over my bed.

learning that he likes cinnamon in his hot chocolate and he’s never been to a football game. learning he likes to be the one to drive places and there’s a little dinner off of the state route fifteen minutes out of town. learning skipping class goes unnoticed by everybody when i still turn my homework. that kol can play the guitar but only like ten different chords. learning his favorite song is somebody else by the 1975 and he doesn’t really like taylor swift, but he listens to her for me.

our week looked like;

monday blues being cured by him walking me home from work. he’d put his headphones in our ears and carry my bags after taking the trash out for me. the 1975 and taylor swift would play. the night would get cold and he’d give me his jacket. he’d walk me to my door. he’d leave. only to return two hours later, floorboards creaking and fingers slinking across skin.

tuesdays were met with rebekah’s house, a small routine we’d fallen into once me getting tuesdays off work had become a trend. she’d vamp us home from school and we’d study together in the living room. we’d watch a movie and eat too much junk food. and we’d escape to her room when her brothers would crowd the house. i’d go to the bathroom and sneak to kol’s room.

wednesdays were a pattern of mondays.

thursday’s looked like tuesdays.

and fridays were my favorite.

this one was our third football game of the season. kol hadn’t been to one yet. he was waiting for rebekah to- inevitably- skip a game for some supernatural conflict. today was our lucky day.

he texted me at 6:30pm, half an hour before kick off, and convinced me to sneak out of the locker room. he was waiting on the side of the building, sporting a mystic falls timber wolves away jersey matt had leant him. i asked him how he managed to do that, and he just dropped a wink.

“he’s been seeing me around. i guess i earned his trust.”

kol peered around, made sure no one was watching, and grabbed me by my hips. he pressed me up against the cool brick of the school building, pushing his nose against mine as i looked up at him.

“i like this outfit,” he breathed against my mouth.

i shivered under his touch, fingers grasping at his forearms. “don’t get dirty at school. that’s weird.”

kol rolled his eyes. “i’m a thousand years old. school doesn’t faze me. plus, there’s weirder places.”

“oh, yeah?” i giggled. “where?”

kol looked up, as if searching his brain. he met my eyes, widened his in humorous exaggeration, “the slums of london, summer, 1645. sewage wasn’t invented. women wore five hundred layers of clothing. it was hot. that’s way grosser than this.”

i cringed my nose at the description, “wow, that’s so romantic. i totally wanna kiss you now.”

kol squeezed my hips, “oh, darling, what am i gonna do with you?”

my hands slid up his arms, wrapping around his neck. “i can think of a few things.”

kol pressed in closer, humming. “i think i can, too.”

his lips slowly slotted between mine. i melted into his touch.

the game went by quickly. i swapped my cheer skirt for leggings, my top for a hoodie too large. kol’s hoodie.

he met me at the back door of the school. he took my bag from my shoulder, led me to his car, and opened the door for me.

“where are we going tonight?” i asked as he climbed into his seat.

kol started the car, arm coming to rest over the back of the front seat. “depends. where would you like to go, darling?”

i slid across the bench, curling up beneath his arm. kol squeezed my shoulder. i took a deep breath, breathing in his scent. “anywhere with you.”

i felt his heart beat thump faster.

“sounds wonderful.”

he drove for an hour. i played music, a playlist we’d developed between the two of us. the 1975, taylor swift, various other artists dabbled in between. it was a soundtrack that made my skin tingle. it made me think of under-the-cover-secrets and cedar-wood- kol’s cologne.

i fell asleep shortly into the car ride, rested against his side. once the car stopped, kol woke me up with a gentle shake of my shoulder. i opened my eyes, blinking in the dim light of the overheard car bulbs. kol’s hand slid to my hip as he turned the car off.

i looked out the front window. we were on a cliff, an overlook, peering over the mountains of virginia. we’d been here twice before.

i felt kol’s fingers dip up beneath my sweatshirt, warm on the curve of my hip. i squirmed and looked up at him. “i’m too tired to do anything tonight. sorry.”

kol’s hand retracted. he pulled back from my body, brows furrowed. “why are you apologizing?”

i sat up, crossing my arms over my stomach. “cause you wasted all that gas to drive out here.”

kol shook his head quickly. he reached out his hands, taking my face in his hold. “do you think that’s all i want?”

i shrugged, “i thought that- i don’t know. isn’t that what this is?”

kol’s thumb brushed across my cheeks, “this is everything to me, darling. i wouldn’t care if we never had sex.”

he leaned his head forward, caught my lips in a sweet, gentle kiss. he brushed his nose against mine, his eyelids shut. i watched his lashes brush the tops of his cheeks. “you look lovely tonight,” he whispered against my cheek.

i kissed him again. he tugged back softly. i curled under his arm, and he squeezed me against his side.

we watched the stars from the front seat of his car.

i fell asleep.

we didn’t have sex.

—

a week later and it all came crashing down.

rebekah had invited me over for a slumber party after the football game. we spent a few hours in the home theatre, watching another stupid rom-com, laughing at the nonsensical script.

i had more energy this week than last because we’d been mercy rolled by the other team. for all our supernatural abilities, our football team kinda sucked. but rebekah wanted to retire to her bedroom.

i didn’t know if kol was home. i’d heard klaus and elijah moving about. finn was probably sulking about being alive in his room.

kol and i texted a lot. i usually knew where he was. but a small part of me hoped he wasn’t there. i wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to go and see him.

and i knew he wouldn’t be able to resist me.

i flopped onto her bed as rebekah excused herself to go shower. cheerleading, even for a vampire, was tiring.

i glanced at the bedroom door. my heart skipped a beat. but i swallowed my urges, resisting them. i shuffled through my bag and pulled out a book.

the shower squeaked on.

i looked at the door again.

rebekah turned up her music.

the door.

i bore a hole into my novel, the words rushing in my eyes, and dissipating behind them. they weren’t connecting to my racing brain.

i heard the handle rattle and the door pushed inwards. my heart jumped up my throat as kol’s head peaked into the room. i sat up quickly, mouth opening to chew him out.

he quickly sped over to me, clasping his hand over my mouth. i widened my eyes at his closeness, his breath fanning over my face. my head tilted, threatening to discipline him for his bold touches. kol grinned at me, winked, and- next thing i knew- we were in his bedroom.

i let out a held breath as i settled onto my feet. kol had his hands wrapped around ny hips. his bed lay behind me, sheets messy from sleep.

“kol! what the fuck?” i shoved him away, head spinning.

kol laughed at the fact that he put me on-edge. “relax, darling. she’s not going to hear anything.”

everything came crashing down within the span of mere seconds. the door behind kol flew opened, creaking ominously. my eyes shot over his shoulder, meeting a pair of blue ones, widened in shock, then narrowed in anger.

wrapped in a white towel, hair damp from her shower, rebekah crossed her arms over chest. her perfect, pouty lips braced open, an eery sigh slipping through. kol met my eyes, jaw slack, and shoulders hunched up in fear. he slowly turned to face his sister.

“what the fuck am i not going to hear?”

[the-resurrection-3d]

THEY SAID I DID SOMETHING BAD: a musical about the life and times of the unabomer, by taylor swift.

(Spotify Link) (Inspiration, provided by @significationary)

[Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on this guy, although I have notated which changes I made and cited my sources down at the bottom. I also tried to include at least one song from every Taylor Swift album. Feel free to suggest other songs I could have used!]

ACT I: OUR COMING OF AGE HAS COME AND GONE

I Did Something Bad  — Having attempted suicide while in police custody, Ted Kaczynski prepares for trial, refusing to let his lawyers use the insanity defense. In the end, after a failed attempt at representing himself, Ted pleads guilty to 13  federal charges in exchange for life in prison.

They say I did something bad,  Then why’s it feel so good? Most fun I ever had! And I’d do it over and over and over again If I could…

seven / this is me trying (mashup) - As a small child, Ted is hospitalized and isolated following an allergic reaction; reports allege this had a strong effect on his personality. Nevertheless, Ted's younger brother, David, describes him as kind and protective. Ted skips two grades in his early schooling, but is othered for being smaller than the other children and too “different” due to his intelligence. At 16, Ted goes to Harvard on a scholarship to study math.

Please picture me In the trees I hit my peak at seven feet In the swing Over the creek I was too scared to jump in… And I just wanted you to know that this is me trying… 

Tell Me Why - While at Harvard, Ted is subjected to repeated verbal abuse by his professor, Henry A. Murray, who was part of a CIA program code-named Project MK-Ultra. The program sought to understand how to implement mind-control techniques, including using drugs such as LSD, although there is no evidence that Ted was ever drugged while at Harvard. 

Here's to you and your temper Yes, I remember what you said last night And I know that you see what you're doing to me Tell me why

Guilty as Sin? - In 1966, Ted experiences an intense sexual desire to become a woman, even deciding to undergo gender transition. 

I keep these longings locked, In lowercase inside a vault…

 I Hate It Here - Upon arriving at his therapy appointment to begin transitioning, however, Ted changes his mind, and never mentions to the psychiatrist why he originally wanted to meet. Afterward, he considers killing the psychiatrist and several other people.

I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind People need a key to get to The only one is mine I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child No mid-sized city hopes and small town fears I'm there most of the year Cause I hate it here...

this is me trying (reprise) - After graduating, Ted gets a teaching job at Berkeley, but has a hard time delivering lectures and avoids his students. He suddenly resigns from his position in 1969. 

They told me all of my cages were mental, So I got wasted like all my potential…

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart  - Ted moves back to Chicago to work at the same factory as his brother and begins a relationship with a woman at work. Due to Ted’s sexual harassment of her following a sour breakup, David, his supervisor, has to fire him.* Ted moves to Montana into a cabin him and his brother had built.

I can read your mind… “She’s having the time of his life…” There in her glittering prime The lights refract sequined stars off her silhouette every night I can show you lies...

ACT II: AND IN THE DEATH OF HER REPUTATION, SHE FELT TRULY ALIVE 

the lakes / I Hate It Here (Reprise) / Clean - In his cabin, Ted lives in near-total isolation, hunting and growing his own food, and spending much of his time reading. It is here Ted develops his anti-government, anti-technology philosophy. 

I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones These hunters with cell phones… Ten months older, I won't give in Now that I'm clean, I'm never gonna risk it So take me to the lakes, I hate it here…

I Know Places - Ted, trying to convince his brother to join him, reminiscences on them building this cabin together.]

Baby, I know places we won't be found, and They'll be chasing their tails trying to track us down 'Cause I, I know places we can hide…

closure - As Ted becomes increasingly unhinged, the letters between him and his brother grow increasingly fraught, and the waits between them increasingly long. David invites Ted back to civilization but Ted refuses, thinking David is simply ashamed of having a “failed” brother. 

Don't treat me like some situation that needs to be handled I'm fine with my spite And my tears And my beers and my candles…

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? - Between 1978 and 1996, Ted sends 16 bombs to various universities, airlines,  computer stores, and industry figures. He kills three people and injures many more. 

I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean "Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth" Who's afraid of little old me? Well, you should be

ACT III:  FROM HOUSE TO CARDIAC ARREST 

Cold as You / Dear John (mashup)-  David reads the Unabomber’s manifesto in the newspaper and recognizes the writing style and ideas as those of his brother. After reflecting on his strained relationship with Ted, David turns him in to the FBI and uses the reward money to set up the Unabom Survivors Fund.

And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors Who don't understand And I'll look back and regret how I ignored when they said "Run as fast as you can" And now that I'm sittin' here thinkin' it through I've never been anywhere cold as you 

Who’s Afraid (Reprise) / Look What You Made Me Do - On April 3, 1996, federal investigators arrested Kaczynski at his cabin in Montana. 

Oo, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me...

Cassandra - In his cell, Ted reflects on the growing popularity of the ideas expressed in his manifesto.**

So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

exile / The Last Time - David and Ted have their last conversation. During the trial, Ted never makes eye contact nor speaks to his family. In prison, he never answers their letters.

This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye All this time I never learned to read your mind (never learned to read my mind) I couldn't turn things around (you never turned things around) 'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) So many signs, so many signs…

hoax - Alone in his cell, Ted reflects on his brother’s betrayal. 

You knew the password, so I let you in the door You knew you won, so what's the point of keeping score? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart But what you did was just as dark

Dear Reader / ME! - In June of 2023, Ted is found unresponsive and is pronounced dead later that day. The death is officially ruled a suicide. Inside his cell, guards find a letter — a suicide note? A letter to a fan? No one can say for certain.

You should find another guiding light Guiding light But I shine so bright  I promise that you’ll never find another like me!

---------

* In reality, Ted moves to his cabin in Montana in the early 1970s, and doesn’t return to Chicago until 1978. I switched these events around for the sake of imaginary time constraints and to produce a more streamlined narrative. 

** If you’ve ever heard the meme “The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race,” this is where it comes from.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

[rocketrouquine]

Random thoughts on my second viewing of episode 2 :

The « you wear fine things well » replay : Taika hasn’t the same expression, when I tell you this is a different take, I’ll bet my script supervisor ass on it. If they did that, it’s for underlining the fact that they weren’t seeing the same thing in the relationship…

Stede, my sweet angel… maybe don’t tell everyone you meet (even your lovely towel collegues Maggie, Jane and Tiff) about your heart trouble with fucking Blackbeard.

The way he’s saying « they draw him to look like a ghoul » is so sooooo gay. Like disgusted sassy sista level.

Fuck you that’s how I am may or may not become a motto of mine.

Actually this whole scene, Lucius is in a fucking telenovela. The stop in the doorframe, talking across your shoulder without turning and the little disappointed head nod at the end. « oh, yeah. Now you care ? » (it just missed an hairflip) He came to ham and I’m here for it.

Sea witch again. I mean we actually saw him talking with birds last season so why the surprise.

Ed behind Frenchie in every room like a fucking dead child jumpscare in leather.

He’s actually terrifying all calm and smiling. You can sense that he can turn at every second. Like a MF snake (you know the ones, fuck yuuuuu)

Sir when you approach me like that, all analytical and stuff, I don’t think there’s anything I won’t let you do to me (imagine Ed turning this on Stede in the bedroom pffffiouuu)

*Wheeze « A panto ? » (give this man an Oscar)

I really have trouble with « he’s our dick ».. you are aware that this is the man who had absolutely no problem stranding your love on an island ? Who pushed for it, even ? That in the memory you evoke, he’s the only one not sitting with you all, all alone in the background sulking ? I guess if you consider him like the nasty old dog who bites everyone and barks all the time, I can see it…

You have hope, it’s cute . Archie is actually really interesting because she represents the classic pirate (like Ed’s crew before being Stedefied), being put amongst the crew of what she thinks is probably the rockstar of captains but they do things all weird and emotional (between bloodbaths). You can see that she’s tempted but also don’t hesitate to throw the first punch in the battle to the death because that’s how stuff goes.

Take the fucking leg (« …bitch » very much implied)

The little ships were all over the place. They kinda treat Olu like a himbo this season which if my memories serve me right was the opposite of what he was last season. (He’s still emotionally intelligent but the logical sense seems to have gone. In this scene anyway)

Every time a new character says China, I cannot take out of my mind that they are mocking Trump. (Roach’s one in particular was spot on)

Awwww Olu’s all bashful and shit, I’m sure he’s moving his shoe on the ground, like a little shy child.

Stede, All happy about the soup : So wild it’s insane ! Lucius, eyes rolling to the back of his head : Jesus Christ, Stede, keep your pants on. * gets up and go drag on his cigaret like an old nihilist prostitute. * Ahahaha! Lucius is so done with Stede, I can’t ! He reminds me of me with my mom when I was a teenager. (I was horrible)

shitty pathetic incompetent captain  Holy shit, this burn must have dried up the ocean and that’s why they have to drag the boat on land.

The Oookay of Black Pete must be studied.

I had a dream about you last night  and with that phrase, all Blackhands shippers burst into flames. To then die a horrible death for the next minutes and being turned to dust at … best I could. (Also, If I had told you about « good for you » « it was good for me » I don’t think this is how you would have envision it)

But seriously the acting in this scene was INSANE. (I mean more than good, I mean stellar)his laugh is haunting me.

Wait… wait.. is he doing the romcom trope of being horrible to him so that he would leave, to protect him ? but instead he tortures him until he has no choice but to kill him ? Ed, darling, you basic trope girl.

Yeah I guess we could call it closure. Hum.

Yeah, I am ! And I’m alone ! Don’t be like me. Stede has evolved SO MUCH. I’m actually very much hopeful about the discussion he’s going to have with Ed. It won’t be miscommunication bullshit.

The puppet game… Something tells me Lucius won’t like to listen to Pinocchio anymore. Don’t even ask him to make any voice. Stede! The hand went where you think!

Well, Hello back little black scarf which goes with everything ! Especially with the ultimate descent into the pitts of madness and despair.

Stede is choosing « alive » on Blackbeard old poster : thank you, magic of belief, for saving Ed’s life !

There’s a drawing, I repeat, he doodled Ed’s face amongst little bouts of emo poetry… oh stede.

Beheading, arsoning, just a little bit of a dick love of his life.

HE’S NOT BROKEN. SHUT UP !

calm down, you two, with the head against head : you kissed once. In the words of spicy rat boy « Jesus Christ keep your pants on »

Romance novel cover one legged indestructible little fucker Izzy under the rain.

IZZY’S HEAD ON FANG’S SHOULDER AS THEY ARE KILLING ED, WHAT !

After the pyramid scheme, Olu being the get away text.

Okay, on to the next. It will be a fucking novel.

[modern-day-bard]

Worth The Feeling

Content Warning: 18+

This story includes explicit smut, intimidation, and an age gap relationship (MC is 26, Javi is in his 40s). Minors, do not interact.

Chapter 9

There have been several days where I didn't want to go to work. Sometimes the actors you have to interact with behave like toddlers, sometimes you have cramps or you just wish you could have another few hours of sleep, especially after a night shoot. And, as I'm learning now, sometimes you simply don't want to see the man you're giving up every single day. I've tortured myself, wondering if it would be better to not see him at all, but even that sounds painful. I've been sure to make myself scarce anytime there is a scene with Emma, but thankfully most of the remaining scenes between the two of them will be shot in Italy.

As much as I'm dreading the plane ride, Italy now seems like a small blessing. Whenever we are shooting anywhere but a lot and a soundstage, there seems to be a lot more movement for all of the production assistants. We will usually have to run errands in other parts of town, or move things from location to location. Ergo, we won't necessarily be there when the talent are doing their thing. I'm crossing my fingers that Italy is no exception. And luckily, I only have two more days until we leave.

The photos came out a day after Javi and I last spoke, proving Jonah's theory. Luckily for me, they didn't identify who I was. They called me Javi's "Mystery Dinner Guest," but luckily it seemed as though there were no pictures of the front of my face. I was still walking on eggshells, wondering if they did have my information, and were just sitting on it until a more opportune time. However, since Javi and I have called it off, there wasn't a whole lot more they could add to the story. Unless they found out where I worked. But it's been a week, and I haven't heard anything. No one said anything on set, other than Lana of course, but she knew about the photos before they leaked of course. As I originally speculated, everyone was too busy to bother reading gossip magazines or check that side of Twitter. Or maybe they would just never assume I would be on the cover of a tabloid to begin with.

Javi and I have stolen a few glances here and there, but unlike before, we don't linger. Any gaze that has been caught by the other is immediately dismissed. He hasn't asked me to come to his trailer again, though every time Dwayne radio's me, my heart still skips a beat. I'm sure eventually I won't be expecting him to say that Gutierrez needs an escort, or food delivered, or wants to say fuck it to the whole career issue and just see each other anyway. But at least for now, I can't help but hope whenever my walkie jumps to life.

Dwayne had just called me, giving me another glimmer of hope, only to let me know that I was needed in wardrobe. Not surprising, or at least it shouldn't be. I had gently encouraged Barb, or bribed more like, to tell said supervisor that she needed a ton of PA help before we left to shoot on location. Not exactly a lie, but it probably wouldn't have happened without me supplying her morning coffee for the past week. I scurried to wardrobe as quickly as I could. Most days I've been able to get here before the talent arrived. Or at least, one of the talent. That gave me a solid four hours before I ran the chance of bumping into him.

"Good morning!" I sing, bursting into the wardrobe trailer.

"Hm." Barb mumbles, extending her hand out for her coffee cup without looking up from her clipboard. She takes a long swig before she can humor me with a glance.

"Thank you for calling me in. How can I help?"

"All the racks over there need labels and the corresponding photo with the actor attached to it. Then we need to prep them in boxes to ship to Italy." Barb already sounds exhausted.

"Sounds like a lot of work," I say excitedly. "It might take me all day."

"That smile of yours is creeping me out. Knock it off."

I wave her away, "Shut up and drink your coffee."

Barb obeys with a quiet, "Harumph."

I get to work, starting with Emma's outfits. Unfortunately, she doesn't have all that many since she is only shooting a few scenes in Italy. Next is the older cowboy guy, who I now learn is called Jack Wyatt. I've definitely heard that name before, even though I'm not much of an old western fan. He has several more, so it takes me about an hour to finish up his. I then decide that I should pack up Emma and Jack's stuff before I get to Javi's wardrobe. It's definitely more efficient that way. And in no way has to do with me avoiding pictures of him, and the possibility of his magnificent scent being left behind on the clothes.

A couple hours later, most of the stuff is packed, and I have to get started on Javi's. Barb has been in and out, attending to other wardrobe needs across the lot. I figure while she's gone would be a good time to rip off the bandaid. All and all, it's not as hard as I thought. I'm trying to level with myself. I probably only feel so strongly because it's been a long time since John, and he was my most serious relationship. It doesn't have to mean that I had some real connection with Javi. I get through at least half of his costumes, repeating that notion to myself over and over, until I feel like I could believe it.

But then I get to the photo of him that must have been taken right before he blocked the intimate scene with me. There's a photo with him in his robe and one in just his boxers, which is technically the costume for that scene. And I look at it a little too long. He's smiling, and even throwing a peace sign to the camera. Most actors in these situations act like they're taking a mugshot. His expression is so sweet, and knowing how he can also turn those eyes so dark and passionate makes my limbs feel weak.

"He's a pretty one, ain't he?"

I leap at least a foot in the air, spinning to see Barb re-entering the trailer.

"Shit, Barb. How do you move so quietly?"

Barb winks at me, clearly more awake since the last time I saw her.

"He asks about you, you know." She places her bag on one of the chairs before walking over to look at the photo with me.

"Um, really? That's odd. What does he ask?" I start to package up the corresponding pair of shoes into a shipping box, trying not to sound too interested.

Barb shrugs out of the corner of my eye. "He wanted to know where you were from."

My heart sinks. That had to be before our date, and before the whole photo fiasco.

"Ahh." I just nod and continue my work, taking way too long to label the return address.

"Yesterday he was asking how long I had worked with you. He also wanted to know what plane the crew was on, and if you and I were flying together."

Yesterday?

Don't get too hopeful, Ava. He was making conversation.

"Well he seems like a pretty decent dude. Do you want me to put these– OW!" My question is cut off by Barb whacking my arm with her nearby clipboard.

"What was that for?" I half-laugh, but I'm honestly a little worried she'll do it again. Apparently what Barb lacks in speed she makes up for in strength.

"How stupid do you think I am, child?"

"You're a genius, everyone knows that." I put my palms up in defense, just in case.

"A genius with Twitter." She stares at me, waiting for something to sink in. It doesn't.

"I'm guessing you don't have Twitter, or Instagram, otherwise you may have caught on by now."

My eyes grow wide. She's seen the pictures. Barb, of all people, pushing at least eighty years old. If she's seen them, surely anyone on set might have seen them already too.

"Not only did you not tell me, but you've been hiding here for a week. It's been useful, don't get me wrong. But you could've told me." Her voice isn't as aggressive as it was before.

"It was just dinner," I say weakly.

"Nothing about the way he was looking at you in that picture makes me believe it was just dinner." She raises a brow over her pink-rimmed glasses.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well, I wasn't certain until that reaction if I'm being honest. But I noticed the two of you having lunch one day, and I figured I'd seen the back of your head enough times over the years."

I suck in a shaky breath before I reply.

"I can't lose my job, Barb," A lump starts to form in my throat.

Barb looks confused, placing her clipboard down and putting her hand on my upper arm.

"Lose your job? Honey, not that many people saw the photos. I searched him up yesterday after his questions. I could feel there was something funny, it was the way he said it. Anyway, I only saw one picture and it had about four thousand likes. And it was posted about a week ago. I figured no face, no real story."

I take a deep breath as she talks.

"Ava, you know Lloyd wouldn't give a shit. Dwayne might, I don't know him as well, but he sees how hard you work and he's too busy to really do anything about it. We're only on this project for another couple of months, and it's not like directors don't date stars all the time and vice versa. Plus, they didn't even get one of you two kissing. It's not that bad, honestly."

"He told you we kissed?" I almost shout.

"No," her comforting smile turns sly, "You just did."

"Barbara Stoll, you manipulative witch."

"Don't you full-name me, you liar." She whacks me again, lighter this time. "Just be careful and don't let someone else make choices for you."

"Well, it's over anyway. We didn't want to risk either of our careers." I try to turn back to work, feeling a little relieved, but still wanting out of this conversation.

"And that may be smart. But you want my advice? Go have fun. Be young. Take a risk. You spend all of your time here or on your studies. You need to live a little, kid." She pats me on the back, "Anyway, I'm taking a smoke break. Stop ogling the man and pack up his shit."

Barb leaves just as silently as she entered, and I try to process what she said.

I thank my lucky stars that my dramatic ass had decided to delete all of my socials when I dropped everything and moved to California. I didn't want John or Chloe to see what I was up to, and part of me felt a sense of relief not needing to think about what to post. Eventually, I was too busy with work and school to think about it anyway. I remind myself that this was a blessing, but it wasn't a solution to the problem. A couple of innocent dinner photos didn't have a significant impact, that much I figured. I had tried to reason that with Javi initially. But at the end of the day, anything other than an innocent dinner picture could jeopardize my career, especially in Javi's eyes. And he at least was convinced we needed to, how did he put it? Come up with an arrangement? Either way, I didn't want to harm his career either, and whatever Javi might have felt about me, it certainly didn't outweigh his supposed concern for my future.

It simply wasn't worth it to him.

I slap a return address sticker on the box with Javi's costume, adorable photo included, and take out my phone.

- - -

"Tequila!" Mia screams next to me, nearly shattering my eardrum.

"Mia, ow!" I gesture to my ear.

"What? I need to give this guy some encouragement," she waves a wobbly arm toward the small stage in the corner of the bar. "That takes guts."

"Who chooses Tequila as their karaoke song?" Lana asks quietly, though there is no way that guy could hear us from over here. The karaoke bar is loud, with speakers in practically every spare space. And even if there weren't, that man is clearly too drunk to give a damn. He is swaying in a way that has nothing to do with the music.

"A funny one." Mia wiggles her eyebrows at her girlfriend, who rolls her eyes in return.

Taking Barb's advice, I asked Lana and Mia to get a drink with me after work. It was time for me to live a little. Plus, with our flight coming up so soon, and my feelings being as complicated as they were, I figured a drink wouldn't hurt.

That is, until I remembered how Mia and Lana do a casual night of drinks. We had three pitchers at our table. "One for each!" Mia had squealed.

Regardless, I was actually having a good time. Maybe not as good as Mia, but I was at least a few glasses in and starting to feel the effects. I had told Lana and Mia what Barb had said as soon as we got here, before making them promise not to let me talk about it, or him, again for the rest of the night. Lana was surprised, saying that even in her active Star Wars fanbase, she hadn't seen the pictures online. When we first got to the bar, she did some digging on Twitter and did eventually find them, but she said other than a few pissed off superfans in the replies, nothing had really taken off. I guess people weren't sure if there was even something to fume over, because you couldn't tell if there was actually anything going on between Javi and Little Black Dress. That makes two of us.

"Maybe we should invite him over!" Mia clasps her hands together.

"Who?" I was a little lost in my thoughts, especially now that they've been blurred with sangria.

"Tequila guy! You like funny guys, don't you Ava?" Mia nods her head rapidly, answering her own question before I can.

I turn to look at the stage again, where the man was finally putting the mic back on the stand. He was a little older than us, and not exactly unattractive, he just wasn't...

"Hey!" Mia called over to him.

"Oh god, Mia..." I put my face in my hands. Lana patted a reassuring hand on my shoulder, but when I peaked up, she was smiling encouragingly at the man from the stage. He was already stumbling over to our table.

"Evening, ladies," The man had a surprisingly thick southern accent. I'm almost surprised he didn't tip an imaginary cowboy hat.

"Evening, handsome." Mia mimics his accent and I pray that he has a sense of humor about it. He smiles brightly, and I wonder if Mia is drunk enough to sell that accent as hers, and if he is drunk enough to believe it. "Mighty fine karaoke work if I do say so myself."

Lana giggles into her palm. Mia is definitely laying the accent on a little too thick.

"Thank you, madam. I would offer to buy you girls a drink but..." he trails off, staring at our table that is littered in cups and pitchers.

"Well, let us offer you one." Lana picks up one of the cups and fills it with some of her sangria, "Cheers." We all clink glasses, and I chug mine to avoid talking to him.

"What's your name?" Lana asks.

"Jacob," he has to half-shout over the group of women who are now covering Shania Twain on stage. "Nice to meet you...?" he trails off again.

"Oh I'm Lana," she shakes his hand before indicating around the table, "that's my girlfriend Mia, and this is our single friend Ava." She winks at me, and I want to spill some of her pitcher in her lap. I shoot her a look that indicates something of the sort.

"Hi," I smile politely at Jacob. This isn't the first time Mia and Lana have tried to set me up. Lana occasionally even does it on set with lighting crew or new PAs, but I usually just ignore it. She had sort of given up that endeavor for the past year, but maybe now with Javi she thinks I'm ready for it. At this point in the night, the only thing I'm ready for is my bed.

"I'm their single, and very tired friend. I'm sorry but I'm just about to call it a night." I hope my tone is apologetic enough. Lana and Mia groan in unison.

"It's only..." Mia checks her phone, "Holy shit it's almost one in the morning."

"Damn, do you three always go out this late?"

Please just let it die, Jacob. "No, I mean I would love to but they both work in film. It's rare that they aren't too tired or working super late."

"Mia don't you have to get to work by four or five a.m. every day?" I reprimand her. Even if I didn't know her schedule, I know that I see my barista as early as five o'clock most days. Her cafe can't be much different.

"Yeah but I would still stay out late!" She takes another sip of her drink.

"So you work in film, huh?" Jacob leans down a little.

"I, uh, yes. I'm a production assistant. And we're actually leaving tomorrow night, so again I should really get going." I shoot Lana another look, and she takes the hint this time.

"One last picture before we go! Get in, Jacob." Lana whips out her phone. I'll take any segway I can to get this show on the road. Lana angles her phone, getting all of us in, including Jacob. Mia presses a kiss to Lana's cheek, and right before Lana snaps the picture, Jacob leans down further and presses a kiss to my cheek as well. It only happened for a second, but I practically fall off my stool trying to pull away from it as quickly as possible.

"Okay, I'm definitely going now." I feel irritation starting to brew in my chest. I barely talked to the guy and he thought that would be a cool thing to try?

"Lana, text me when you get to the airport tomorrow." I say, grabbing my purse.

"Will do. Don't worry about it, okay? I'll be there with you." Lana reaches out and squeezes my hand. I give her and Mia a quick hug before darting towards the door, not wanting to think about the plane ride until I absolutely have to.

"It was nice to meet you Anna!" Jacob calls out over the music.

"It's Ava," I mutter as the door swings shut behind me.

Next Chapter

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Series Masterlist

[lemoncrushh]

a sad little life update...

hi friends. I know Tumblr isn't always the best place to post about personal shit, but I feel the need to let some things out, and if you wondered why I've been MIA...

a few weeks ago, I got fired from my job. it was a sucky job, I didn't really like it, but it was close to where I live and it had health insurance. I'd only been there since January. the ironic thing is it was a mental health treatment center. but the owner didn't give a shit about the mental health of his own employees. he just wanted to make money. I ended up sending a long email about how I felt working there and what I was unhappy with (I won't go into those details here). a week later the HR lady told me they were letting me go. not the boss. not my supervisor. nobody else talked to me.

in the meantime (actually the day before), I had reconnected through Facebook with an old high school boyfriend. we exchanged numbers and chatted every day. he had been going through his own shit, but had a new outlook on life, positivity and all that. so he told me he wanted to help me. he lives three hours from me, and he even offered to let me live with him and get a job there. so anyway, he invited me to come visit for a weekend, and I was so excited. although we both agreed not to have any expectations (just see how it goes), we flirted all the time. for the first time in a really long time, I was feeling happy.

when I got to his place, I didn't notice the change at first. but that night he pretty much rejected me. we kissed, but he said we shouldn't "do anything reckless." I was like what?? I let it go because I knew he was tired (he works nights and had been killing it all week). the next day, although he wasn't really standoffish, I kept getting the feeling he was entering the friend zone. that night, he rejected me again (gave me some lame friend excuse), and I cried my eyes out. the next morning he asked if we were okay, but I told him I didn't know. honestly, I couldn't even look at him knowing he didn't want me. so I left. I cried almost the whole way home.

he'd told me to text him when I got home, so I did. but he didn't reply. I kept texting him, but I got nothing. when I finally heard from him, he said he was "giving me space". I told him I didn't want space, I wanted to talk. I couldn't tell if he was angry at me for leaving, or at himself for rejecting me, but I think it's the latter. we had even had a discussion at his place about how I hate when guys ghost me. but that's exactly what he's doing. he told me he was "attracted to my heart and my mind", something about my potential. That was over a week ago. Last Wednesday is the last time I heard from him. I'd asked him what I could do to make things better. he said to let him finish his day and catch up on what I wrote. he has not texted me since, even though I've sent a few more messages.

I feel so pathetic. if it was just some random guy, I probably would have just shaken it off and moved on. but because we had history, and because he'd seemed so adamant (and excited) about helping me, I just feel so lost and confused. my heart hurts so bad. some days are worse than others. today was the worst because I went back and read some of our old conversations. how could he say those things and then take it all back?

when he knew me before, I barely weighed 100 pounds. I have gained another 80 since then. I told him I was fat. he argued I wasn't. but I think once he saw me in person he was disappointed. he was probably trying to let me down easy, hoping we could still be friends. but it ended up biting him in the ass because I got upset and called him on it. he's choosing to ignore me rather than admit the truth because then he'd be the asshole. that is the only explanation that makes any kind of sense to me.

anyway, sorry for the rambling. in the meantime, I'm still living at my ex's house, still trying to find a job. I'm still waiting for my bankruptcy to be filed (just a couple things left to do, but it's taking forever), and I have no money.

because of all this shit, I have had no motivation to do any writing, or even reading. I'm so sorry. I just can't even bring myself to think about it.

rejection seems to be following me everywhere. in my teens, I was always rejected by guys I liked because I was a virgin and they didn't wanna be my first. when I finally found someone, he rejected me a week later to go back to his ex. my own ex husband didn't wanna marry me at first. now that I'm older, men don't want me because of my age or my body. I get rejected for jobs because I don't have a four year degree or the experience they want or I'm too old. I've never been anyone's favorite. never been anyone's first choice.

I had really hoped this old boyfriend connection was kismet. that we had come full circle and were supposed to help each other (even though I never believed in that sort of thing before). I'm so heartbroken :(. it hurts.

[comorbidfascination]

Say My Name

slashers masterlist here

You finally meet the man of your dreams.

Originally, you were supposed to take tours through Cabrini-Green, but after a few fiery arguments with your supervisor, it was decided that the neighborhood would be observed from a distance. You would have avoided disturbing the place anyway, despite it being a hot-spot for one of your favorite urban legends. The Candyman was the highlight of your Haunted History tours through Chicago but the residents didn't need tourists ogling their homes any more than usual.

You figured the fixation you shared with so many Chicagoans was why your dreams often centered around the Candyman. He appeared to you almost every night, sweeping through the halls of your mind in his overcoat, wrapping you up in his warmth. He would croon poetry and songs from his youth, stroking your hair as he soothed the worries of the day. "I love you" was commonly on your tongue when you woke. This night was no different. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you were carried away.

The ballroom was grand in proportion and finery. You didn't need to look down to know that you were dressed for the occasion, as were the hazy spectres dancing all around. Their faces blurred when you glanced at them directly, so you watched for the one in focus. He was always crystal clear in your mind. The slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, it all lingered like a sweet aftertaste. He hated to make you wait, and the crowd parted for him as he stepped onto the ballroom floor in a tailored suit.

"Daniel!" You beamed and ran into his open arms.

"How I have missed you, my love." He kissed your brow and leaned back to get a better look at you, "May I have this dance?"

The music swelled from a low hum to a lively waltz. He led you through the steps, though your feet knew the rhythm regardless of real world experience. His cheek rested on yours and you breathed him in as your bodies moved in sync. There was nothing better than this, you were sure of it. Being so close to Daniel always lit up every nerve and made your heart race like you were seeing him for the first time all over again.

That first meeting was just after the tense argument with your supervisor about your touring route. You had gone home exhausted and crawled into bed thinking of the Candyman. He appeared to you with a smile and many questions that you did your best to answer. When you woke the next morning, you figured your subconscious had been working through the stress, but he never stopped coming to see you. The meetings became more and more fantastical as Daniel endeavored to please you, but your awe was for him, not the scenery he conjured up. The world of dreams could be barren so long as he kept you company.

As the song met its crescendo, he dipped you low and softly kissed your lips. You sighed happily into his mouth and let him bring you back to your feet. "I miss you every day, you know. I wish these nights could last forever."

Daniel smiled and brushed a lock of hair behind your ear, "Darling, all you have to do is call out for me. I will always find you."

You caressed his face and brought him in for another kiss. He had you melting into him within seconds, whispering his name like a prayer. You longed for him even when he was right beside you.

A shrill beep crashed through the scene. You startled and clutched at Daniel's coat. Another beep and you groaned, "That's my cue. Until tonight, sweetheart."

"Until tonight. Do not forget my promise, though dearest. All you have to do is call my name."

You closed your eyes and opened them to see your bedroom.

After a long day of work, you were more than ready to see Daniel again. As you went through your nightly routine, you took a moment to stare at your reflection. You knew the legend of the Candyman, of course. Say his name five times in a mirror and he would show up with a bloody hook instead of the warm hand you were familiar with. Taking a deep breath, you chanted his name and waited for your beloved to appear.

When minutes passed and nothing happened, you sighed and continued getting ready for bed. You felt tears sting your eyes and scoffed at yourself for taking the word of a dream. Wiping them away, you opened the bathroom door to step into your bedroom, but it was not as you left it. A bouquet of roses sat on your pillow, petals trailing over to the window. You rushed over and threw it open. There was no one in the street below, and you frowned. A warm chuckle made you gasp and you turned to see him standing in the doorway you'd just come through.

You ran to him, ignoring the hook and the soft buzzing under his fur coat. He was here, and solid, and real. "Daniel!"

He murmured your name back and kissed the top of your head. "Let me have a good look at you, my love." He stepped an arm's length away, keeping his hand steady on your shoulder. "Gorgeous, as always."

You giggled and pulled him close again. "I love you."

Daniel tilted your chin up to meet your eyes, "And I love you, darling. More than you could ever know."

You cupped his face, taking the time to trail your fingertips over the contours. He was worth savoring. But he grew impatient before you could finish, leaning in for a lingering kiss that sent sparks through your body. You gasped and held him tighter, needing him as close as possible. Taking the hint, he gathered you into his lap and let the kiss become even more fervent. His hook rested on your leg, and you grasped it gently - you wanted all of him, not just the parts he found becoming. He could only hide the more dangerous parts of himself in dreams.

"My love, my angel, please let me touch you. Allow me to show you the meaning of worship."

With a shiver you couldn't suppress, you nodded and quickly stripped off your pajamas. Even if all he did was touch, it would be better than any fantasy you could come up with. He waited just long enough for you to move forward into his reach; Daniel had more patience than most, but you were so tantalizingly close that his control slipped. He laid you down on the bed and traced the outline of your body with the cool metal of his hook. It was clean - being presentable for you was the bare minimum. You shivered again and gazed up at him with only adoration. He pulled away to trail more kisses and love bites down your body. You were so soft and pliant for him, deserving more than any attention he could give.

When his lips found your center, you cried out for him in a strangled moan. He let you buck your hips into his face as he dragged his tongue over your supple skin. Your hands grasped at his head, then found a better grip on his coat. Daniel hummed in appreciation and slowly spread his fingers over your thigh to keep you splayed open for him. Dreams could only provide so much detail - he was overcome by how sweet you tasted, how clearly he could hear you moan his name. Not his title, the one plastered over his legacy and chanted in mirrors, but his true name. You saw the best version of Daniel for all this time and still wanted him after reality showed the truth. He was not your Prince Charming in this world, but you ran to him like nothing had changed.

When the excruciating bliss of release overtook your body, you shuddered under his hand. You cried out even as words failed you and clung to his coat with pale knuckles. As your breathing slowed and your eyes could see again, you smiled at your lover where he rested his head on your stomach. "Come here, Daniel."

You could beckon him from across the country and he would be there in the blink of an eye. He laid beside you, lips mere centimeters from yours, and let you make the next move. With a gentle kiss, you trailed your fingers down his body to unbutton his pants. You stroked his cock as you pulled it free, keeping his coat undisturbed as you knew it made him feel safe; he had never appeared to you without it. You shifted down and glanced at Daniel for permission. A whispered yes was followed by a sigh when your warm mouth descended on him. Just the thought of such an act was overwhelming, but feeling you this way was worth waiting to pleasure you more.

Just before he could spill into your throat, he groaned, "Please, my love. Not yet."

You should have known he would insist on cumming inside you. More than ready for him, you swallowed the precum on your tongue and moved back up to face him. Neither of you could resist a kiss as you hooked a leg over his. "Just hold me like this, sweetheart. Let's go slow."

Daniel held the back of your neck to resume kissing you as your soft hand guided his cock to your entrance. You shared a moan as he pushed inside, taking a moment to savor the feeling before he continued. He was not small by any means, and you had to pause a few more times, but then you were full and it was perfect. Your breath mingled with his in the space between kisses. He murmured poetry to you, the shape of each word brushing your lips. He had always been so eloquent, your Daniel. But there was nothing to say when he found his end - your velvet heat clung to him as he came. It was your turn to offer sweet nothings as you let him ride it out.

"Angel, I need you to let go for me. I need to feel you cum." His voice was hoarse and you would've done anything he asked. You hiked your leg higher on his side and rolled your hips until that white hot pleasure returned in full force. The sounds you made were a symphony to Daniel and he held you close to hear every note. There was nothing he could conjure that would be able to outshine this moment. He couldn't believe he'd ever worried about whether you would accept his corporeal form. This intimacy was proof that you loved Daniel just as you always assured him you did.

He insisted on cleaning everything up and taking care of you, and when it was all done, you reached out for him, "Come back to bed, sweetheart." There would be no more mirrors or legends separating you now. He would never leave you, not after you showed him how easy it was to love him.

[ask-healthy-light]

From 8 o'clock in the morning on Friday to 8 o'clock in the evening on Monday, I was away from home for the longest time yet, as this weekend was GalaCon at a new venue in Waiblingen, Germany, a long distance away from home; but almost exactly 2 months to the day since I left the hospital, I headed to my second ever Pony Convention, which was simultaneously the biggest Pony Con I had visited yet!

Though I managed to keep my mind focused and my heart calm, and I did not let the rapidly shrinking frame of time I had to board get me down, it is rather surprising how many little things can add up so quickly, and leave me with only a few minutes to run to the other side of the train station; but I made it onto the train, and found a seat, until shortly before I arrived at the transfer station.

Quick thinking saved me a load of heartache, for although the escalators to the platform were bust, one flight was blocked, and, for some reason, there were no stairs to make it there, I made it down to another part of the platform, and ran into the train with moments to spare; and after reassuring friends and family, I met my friend at the very next station, and from here, we travelled together.

There were a number of connections we had to make, about which I kept informed at all times, though when we arrived in Venlo after finding that our desired train was delayed, we leapt aboard another, which had also been delayed, and made it to Mönchengladbach on time for the right train to Cologne; and since we had time to spare, we chatted, and ate, and stood, and waited until the train arrived.

It took some time to board, but finally, after a close call with supervisors telling screaming kids to alight, we sat down in our cabin, where I could rest my mind, and we waited for the long journey to Stuttgart; and on our journey, Bas and I spoke of books we had read, and beings beyond knowledge in tales of Lovecraftian origin, a genre in which I have actually written short tales, a few times.

Riding over hills decorated with castles and through tunnels past rivers and steep orchards, we had made it to Stuttgart at long last, where it took me some time to figure out German public transport in this part of the country; but I managed to create an account, and purchased day tickets for both of us, before we set out to the centre of the city, as Bas had requested we stop by the Lego Store.

After a terribly long walk to the S-Bahn, a very short trip to the city centre, and but a couple of minutes of walking further, we made it to the Lego Store, where I could see Bas' eyes light up with joy as he carefully dashed around the displays and shelves; but I spent some time to let folks know where we were, and where we were headed after this, as neither of us had yet arrived at our hotels.

Fortunately, Bas had found what he sought, our trip to and in the S-Bahn was but brief, and we were on our way towards Fellbach and Waiblingen, where both of our respective hotels were; and after two short bus trips to and from Bas' hotel, we headed to Waiblingen one stop further, and to my hotel a stone's throw across the road from the station, where we found ourselves in good, familiar company.

Since we had chosen to head to the Biergarten Schwaneninsel to meet up with other, we headed to the bus stop, where the greatest moment of the day took place, as we met my friends, Joel and Ember, by surprise, and we just ran to each other for such deep embraces; but they went towards the venue for pizza, whereas Bas and I went to Swan Island, where we ate, and drank, and met many familiar faces.

It took us some time to leave, as we frequently stopped for or were stopped by friends over a short distance, but the night was growing old, and we had to return to our hotels; and back at the S-bahn station, I wished Bas a good night, told him to stay safe, and returned to my room, where I finally met Michael, Railway Dash, my roommate for the weekend, and gushed about the great journey thither.

And to think, the event had not even started yet…

(Thanks for reading this bonus! I'll be writing more about GalaCon over the next few days, so keep an eye out if you're interested!)

Part 1/8

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

[0nlythrowharrybeaux]

Wonderful World - Part 3

THINGS ARE HAPPENING! There's a little bit of angst, nothing heart wrenching, but it's moving along!

Series Masterlist

Warning: Mentions of infidelity and infidelity

WC: 12.1k

Diana was constantly checking on Celeste throughout the next few days, especially when she told Diana that she would be meeting with Principal Whittaker that morning. Wednesdays were a busy day for Y/N, so she was a bit distracted during teaching at times, just anxious to know what was coming next. She wouldn’t see her until she got back home since on her busy days, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Grace helped with picking her up from school. She hadn’t seen Harry at the cafe on Tuesday and Diana felt increasingly great about them not running into each other at the cafe before their evening classes, she was embarrassed after dumping all the information about Wesley to Harry. She should’ve known that he was more professional than what she had given him credit for. But more than that, the way that he looked into her eyes that night…she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling it gave her. It stirred something deep inside of her that she hadn’t felt in a long time, a curiosity that she knew would only guide her down a road of yearning that she knew was not possible. He was Celeste’s therapist and he had a girlfriend, from what she knew. There were bigger things going on in her life and yet, she would constantly circle back to wanting to see just another glimpse of him. It was a mental war that she seemed to play with herself since meeting him and it felt like she was losing her mind as she swore she conjured him walking past the lecture hall she had just walked out of with her thoughts. Or at least it looked like him, the man was swiftly walking past the front of her building with a girl hurrying along by his side.

“-I just feel like my supervisor is not really giving me what I need.” Diana heard the girl saying as she descended down the stairs, ready to head off but then she heard his voice.

“Well, again I am just an adjunct. And like I mentioned to you after class last week and in the email you sent Friday, you should really get some advice from your faculty advisor about this. The paths of psychiatry and counseling are vastly different, Sam. I’m not really the person to ask advice from when it comes to your supervision. I didn’t even train here for the clinical aspect of therapy.” He explained as he came to a stop and the girl stepped a bit closer to him and he seemed tense. Diana’s car was that way, she would walk past them and she could see how tightly he was clinging to the strap of his bag. He was uncomfortable and she decided to just chance an interruption that would stop this girl from whatever she was trying to do.

“But Dr. Styles,-”

“Hey hon, sorry I’m late! My class ran a bit long, had a lot of questions from my students.” Diana spoke up as she came closer and his eyes widened for a moment as he saw her coming and then his lips turned into a smile as she approached.

“Hey, it’s alright.” He said as he turned his attention to Diana as she stopped before them. The young woman turned to her and quite literally looked her over head to toe, sure it was subtle, but she caught it before looking at him. His smile of relief was so cute and smug, “So, are you ready to go, baby?” He asked with a smirk and she smiled at him and nodded, not minding the way that she just melted inside.

“Yeah, let’s go.” She said and he cocked his head, asking her to come closer, “Excuse us.” Diana said as she stepped around the girl who had been following Harry.

“Yes, excuse us, Sam. See you in class next week and please, make sure you talk to Dr. Abioye about your fieldwork supervisor, OK?” Harry said as he extended his hand out towards Diana and she didn’t even hesitate before she took it. That same shock of electricity they had experienced before seemed to shoot through them both as their eyes met as his large and warm hand encased hers and he just offered her a smile before they started walking off. They didn’t say anything for a bit as they both tried to just process the fact that they were holding hands right now. Harry liked the feeling of her skin against his and he wondered how she actually liked to hold hands with a partner. Diana was wondering the exact same thing about him and more… about how his big hands would feel around her hips or waist, or rubbing over her back and thighs…

“Well that was fateful…” Harry said as they continued walking off, breaking the silence and her train of thought before it meandered down smuttier terrain. Diana smiled up at him as he spoke up again, “Is she still there?” He asked and she reached into her pocket with her free hand and opened up the front-facing camera to peek behind them.

“No, she’s walking the other way. We’re good.” Diana said and he looked over to her before releasing her hand with some hesitation.

“Thanks for stepping in, I got flustered when she started to follow me.”

“Yikes, persistent…is that the one you were concerned about?” Diana asked and Harry chuckled.

“Yeah, that’d be her…” he mumbled, “So your class just ended too?”

“A bit ago, but I got caught up chatting with a colleague who was also teaching tonight.” She explained.

“Oh OK, well lucky me.” Harry smiled and she chuckled, “How’s Celeste?” He asked turning to her.

“Good I hope. That’s kind of why I’m a little nervous to get back home and hear what she has to say, she talked to the principal today. I’m just anxious to know what happened and what comes next, you know?”

“I can imagine. I must admit that she’s been on my mind a lot the last few days as well.” He explained as they continued walking towards the parking structure. “Like I keep thinking that she’s just a kid and no kid should have to go through shit like that.” 

“Yeah, I agree. But we live in a complex world…and it's just unfair sometimes.” she sighed.

“You are completely right about that.” Harry agreed. It often bothered him that bad things could happen to good people and that nothing could be done about it, that’s one of the reasons he wanted to go into the mental health profession. Because he wanted to help people be happy again if possible, “But despite the crappy things in it, it can still be pretty wonderful.” He expressed optimistically and smiled at her and she smiled as well.

“I agree, it is pretty wonderful.” She chimed in her agreement, “Did you park in the structure?” She asked him.

“Yeah, I did.”

“OK, for sure.” She smiled as they kept walking, “Other than being followed by your student, how was class tonight?”

“It was really good. We had a good discussion about addressing distressing situations via telehealth. I’ve got a pretty good group of students. They’re all very insightful.” He smiled, “How was your class?” 

“It was alright, I haven’t really been too focused today, so I fear I was rather monotonous. This class was just another section of my Spanish language course.” She explained.

“Wow, you really are anxious about what happened with Celeste.” He said and she nodded.

“I have no idea what I can even say to her. Like I know it’s not my fault that she’s going through this, but I also can’t really help her, even if I want to. Like I’ve done what I can for now and I have to leave it up to someone else and it’s just worrisome.” She explained, “I wish I could do more or just protect her better, you know?”

“I can imagine, but you’re really doing the best thing and all that you can for her. She knows that you love her and support her, she knows now that she can trust you with this stuff too. Plus, she’s got good friends who look out for her as well, so I think that she’ll get through it. She doesn’t seem to be giving up in the slightest and that’s really important.” Harry assured her and that gave Diana some peace. She knew that Celeste was a fighter, both she and Wesley were fighters. They were both determined and focused and it only made sense that Celeste had inherited those things from them.

“Thank you, Harry. That means a lot.” She smiled up at him and he nodded in response. They continued walking in silence for a bit and then she cleared her throat before speaking again, “Hey, so I’ve been wondering…like this isn’t normal is it?” She asked and he looked to her with some confusion.

“What isn’t?”

“Like us talking and hanging out while you’re Celeste’s therapist? Like I wouldn’t go as far as saying that we’re friends yet, but I feel like it would be really easy to befriend you if this continues happening.” She explained and he hummed in understanding.

“I mean, yeah, we try not to overlap those things. And well, I agree that it’d be really easy to befriend you. Like it’s just really easy to be around you.” He explained and she nodded.

“Yeah, I feel the same.” She agreed, “And I mean, it’s not like we plan to keep running into each other outside of what we have scheduled…but it keeps happening and well, I know I can’t ask you about Celeste, so I ask you about other things-”

“Right…and it just makes me want to ask more questions about you.” He cut in and she giggled.

“Right!” She exclaimed as if he had just read her mind and he smiled at her.

“Yeah, it’s not ideal but what can we do if we run into each other randomly and we get on perfectly?” He questioned rhetorically as they walked into the parking structure.

“I mean, I can pretend like I didn’t see you or something.” She mumbled as they walked up to the elevator and she pressed the call button.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’d like that.” He said immediately, “At all.” He added for emphasis as he looked to her and before she could respond the elevator pinged to announce it’s arrival and the heavy steel doors slid open and she stepped in, thinking he would follow her in, but as she turned he was just holding the door open, still looking at her.

“What’s wrong?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Nothing, I shouldn’t have…said what I said.” He explained and she frowned.

“Oh, I mean, I didn’t read into it in any way. No one likes being ignored. It’s just not a nice feeling.” She reasoned.

“Yeah, but we’re not even friends. Like you said. So it shouldn’t bother me like that.” He said and her brows raised a bit in understanding.

“Oh.” She responded so quietly that he barely heard it. He felt the doors try to push themselves closed before running into his hand and they gave up on trying to shut him out and stayed open.

“Fuck, and it’s not like I’m into you.” He fibbed, but he felt like he had to say that and she wasn’t sure why that made her feel a bit sad, but it did. “I mean, I have a girlfriend. But I just like you, like I’m curious about you because I feel like we would get along really well. Or we do and-”

“Yeah, I get it.” She offered a tight-lipped smile and he sighed and nodded. He didn’t want to keep stumbling over himself like this, it was embarrassing that he couldn’t be composed around her.

“Thank you for saving me tonight, truly. But maybe we should just stick to a friendly wave next time we run into each other.” He said, not even looking into her eyes anymore. Hearing him say that was hurting her feelings more than she would like, but this only proved that he was absolutely right about what he was suggesting.

“OK.” She agreed quietly and he could just see that she was a bit hurt through the expression on her face and her unwillingness to meet his eyes when he finally looked back to her face. Hearing her agree to this put a lump in Harry’s throat, but it was the right thing to do because her own feelings of upset at this conversation just proved that there would potentially be a problem ahead if they continued making light of their attraction and curiosity towards each other, “Well, have a good night.” She said as she pressed the button to the floor she had parked on and then looked back into his eyes and he tensed up his jaw as a new tension grew between them as they just looked at each other, “Are you coming in?” Diana asked and he shook his head.

“Got lucky and found a spot down here.” He informed.

“OK, then let go of the door, please.” She requested and he blinked a few times before nodding.

“Right.” He said removing his arm, but he still didn’t leave, he felt like walking away would make her upset and more than that, it would make his heart hurt. Harry stayed put and watched the doors close on them before he cursed lowly and headed towards his car.

As soon as the elevator started moving up Diana took a long and deep breath to ward away the discomfort she felt in her chest. She shouldn’t have been feeling this way at all…she shouldn’t be missing the feeling of their hands clasped together. Nor the size or warmth of his hand around hers. It made her heart start to beat faster and faster. She knew now that she definitely had a crush on him. He had a girlfriend though. And he was Celeste’s therapist. She needed to snap out of it! If it were nothing at all, she wouldn’t be upset about this, but she was and that spoke volumes about how she felt about him. He was just being friendly with her and she had somehow twisted it into this crush…he was just so lovely that it had been hard not to like him and well now, she needed to just steer clear for the greater good.

*********

Rebecca rolled her shoulders back before pushing herself up from her bed. She was worn out and she wanted a cup of tea or something to help wind her down while Eddie finished getting dressed. She felt strange, because she thought she would be feeling more guilty for sleeping with someone else. She hadn’t planned for this to happen at all…it was Valentine’s Day when Eddie first kissed her in the parking lot outside of their office and he apologized about it but she had assured him it was alright, it just shouldn’t happen again since they worked together and things could get weird and Eddie agreed. She had not once brought Harry up now that she thought about it. Sure, she was attracted to Eddie and he was attracted to her, but she didn’t think too much of it at all until that kiss. And now today, they had been working late and Harry was teaching so she asked Eddie if he wanted to stay for dinner and one thing led to another and well…it was done now. And it had been pretty good.

“Hey, are you OK?” Eddie asked as he came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and she sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about how I didn’t even think about Harry once.” She confessed, “Like…that’s kind of fucked up, no?” She asked as she turned in his grip.

“It depends.” Eddie said and she rolled her lips together pensively, “Do you love him?” He asked and Rebecca sighed.

“Yeah, I do love him and I care about him but I don’t know if I love him the way I should for having been with him as long as I have.” She explained, “I’m such a mess…shit.” She sighed and Eddie frowned.

“You’re not. Look we obviously like each other…I’m not saying to end it with him, but just…think about what we could do together. He doesn’t give a fuck about anything that you’re trying to accomplish and-”

“You don’t even know him!” Rebecca jumped to Harry’s defense and Eddie sighed.

“You said that to me, Becs. I’m just telling it like you told me.” He said and she sighed before shaking her head.

“It’s almost 10:30 and we didn’t even eat…” she mumbled.

  “Should I go pick something up?” He asked softly, his hand caressed her cheek tenderly.

“Yeah, please. I just want some fries.” She said and he nodded.

“OK, I’ll be back in a few.” Eddie assured and was soon leaving Rebecca’s apartment. When she went back to her bedroom she checked her phone and saw that Harry had texted her just minutes prior to say he had just gotten home after class and had wished her a good night. She texted him back and then got to stripping the bedsheets to get them in the washer before setting new ones on. About 15 minutes later Eddie was letting himself back in before locking up the front door and when he made it into her room he climbed back on the bed with her and they got to eating.

Rebecca had been so nice and welcoming from the moment Eddie had arrived at the firm. She was beautiful and smart and he immediately liked her. They became friends swiftly, he had only gotten hired in December, but the hours they spent together were long and it just facilitated a friendship between them. He was 28 and she was 30, so there was a small age difference between them, but that really didn’t matter to him. They cared about the same things and they were both into each other, or at least he assumed she was into him too. She would flirt back with him all the time and in their time together she had only mentioned her boyfriend once, that’s how he found out about him. And all she had done was complain about him, Eddie didn’t need to meet Harry to know that he and Rebecca were completely incompatible. When he kissed her that first time she hadn’t been upset at him, she just suggested they don’t do it again and well, tonight things just got out of hand, but it just felt so right and she didn’t feel bad about it, she had said so herself. He didn’t feel bad about it either, in fact she had kissed him first tonight.

“Hey, on Friday night just…lay low, OK? Henry’s girlfriend is bringing a friend and maybe you can hang out with her a bit.” Rebecca said and despite the slight irritation he felt with that he knew she was right.

“Yeah, that’s cool.” He agreed as he ate his own food.

“And we shouldn’t have sex again until I can figure out what the hell I’m going to do, OK? It’s not fair to Harry.” She explained and Eddie grinned.

“Too good, huh? Can’t cloud your judgement?” He joked to lighten the mood and she rolled her eyes.

“He’s…really good too by the way.” She said with a grin and Eddie chuckled, “I just don’t know what’s wrong…” she trailed off with a small frown.

“It means a lot more than you think it does if your heart’s not in it anymore, Becs.” He said and she sighed.

“Let’s talk about something else, OK?” She mumbled before stuffing some fries in her mouth.

*********

Harry had every intention of dropping by Rebecca’s after class but his mind was completely clouded over with everything that had to do with Diana. That deliciously warm cherry scent that wafted off of her. Her smile. Her deep gaze. Her soothing and soft voice. She talked pretty and her lips were pretty and he’d be a liar if he denied ever wondering about how her kiss would feel. See, he couldn’t very well show up and spend time with his girlfriend while he had another person on his mind. He couldn’t stop imagining the feeling of his hand holding hers. He wanted to feel their fingers interlocked securely and he wanted to hug her into his body so badly. He felt that there were many layers to her that he was desirous to explore, but physically, he just wanted to be close to her. It almost felt like fate kept pushing them together and that thrilled him and kept him sharp.

Harry loved Rebecca, but he felt like sometimes she didn’t give him what he needed in terms of their relationship. She was so focused on her professional aspirations, she did try, but it seemed like she was always busy or doing something work related. They had agreed to let each other be, but sometimes he wished that they could be a bit more normal, he regretted whatever arrangement they had made with each other because he felt like life was passing him by. Maybe that’s why he was so attracted to Diana, because she seemed to have it all? Well, everything that he knew he wanted at some point. He had just turned 33, and he knew that with his career choice he was bound to start life a little later than others, but he at least hoped that he would have a fiancé by now. Which he supposes he could have, but when he saw how things were with Rebecca he couldn’t foresee himself asking her to marry him any time soon or her even accepting a proposal from him. Maybe Henry had been right all along and his and Rebecca’s relationship was just a convenient arrangement for them both? He couldn’t say there wasn’t love and care between them, but if he wasn’t in love with her she certainly wasn’t in love with him.

**********

“So it went well then?” Diana asked Celeste who nodded with a smile.

“Yeah, principal Whittaker was able to see the footage from the hallway cameras and of course, Geri witnessed it so she confirmed the narrative as well. I think it helped that in the video you could see that they were waiting for me by my locker.” Celeste said and Diana frowned.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK, she got detention for three weeks and has a mandatory meeting with the school counselor.”

“That’s it?” Diana questioned with shock.

“Well it’s her first offense. Obviously they’re gonna talk to her parents about it, but hopefully this keeps her in check for a bit. I just wish I knew what I did to make her hate me so much.” Celeste frowned and Diana shook her head.

“Some people are just mean, mi amor.” She said as Celeste curled into her side, “I don’t know why, but there are just bad people. If you ever feel unsafe or like not enough has been done to help please let me know, OK?”

“I will, mom.” She assured, “Dr. Styles has helped a lot too, I feel like I’m not as scared as I was before. Now he’s helping me more with the anger I feel when they pick on me.” She explained and Diana nodded.

“That’s good. It’s important to learn how to express your anger in healthy ways. I’m just happy that he’s helping you out.” She smiled and Celeste nodded.

“Oh, Grace said that you better not bail on her on Friday.” Celeste spoke up and Diana sighed.

“I won’t…” Diana mumbled and Celeste giggled.

“You thought of it though, didn’t you?” She challenged her mom and Diana rolled her eyes.

“Whatever…but I also don’t want to leave her alone with a bunch of strangers so I won’t.”

“She showed me her boyfriend, he’s cute.” Celeste said, “Maybe she can find you a cute doctor friend of his.” She joked and Diana scoffed.

“Little girl…” she said as she pulled back from their hug to see Celeste giggling.

“What? I’ve never seen you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or anyone!”

“So?” Diana asked and Celeste shrugged, “I have gone on dates.” Diana shared and Celeste gasped.

“And you’ve never told me?!” She questioned scooting away from her mom’s embrace to be able to look her in the eyes as they talked about this.

“I would if I wanted to continue dating someone. There’s been plenty of first dates, but I don’t want to have you meeting tons of people for no reason.”

“Tons? OK, mom...” Celeste smirked and Diana rolled her eyes.

“You know what I mean.” She said before laughing a bit.

“You don’t get lonely?” Celeste asked more seriously.

“Not really…I have you and my friends and well my job is also very time-consuming so I don’t have tons of free time where I would prefer going out over a good nap.” She confessed and Celeste chuckled.

“Lazy.” She shook her head.

“You’ll understand when you’re older. Wait until your senior years comes around and you get hit with the senioritis.” Diana warned.

“Can’t wait.” Celeste mumbled, “So…when was the last time you got asked out?” Celeste went back to the topic at hand. 

“Why are you suddenly so curious about this?”

“Just because! We’ve never really talked about it in depth.” She explained and Diana nodded. That was true, it seemed that now was a good age to be more open about her love life with Celeste. She assumed she would soon start getting asked out and things like that.

“Yeah, that’s true…well you’re older now so if you have questions about anything-”

“Oh mom, no…” Celeste scoffed with a scowl.

“Well, that’s part of this topic too, so I’m just saying.” She reminded before continuing to answer Celeste’s initial question, “And to answer your question it was tonight, the last time I’ve been asked on a date.” Celeste’s face lit up and Diana chuckled.

“Who was it? What’s his name? What’d you say?” She asked eagerly.

“He’s a colleague, one of the History professors. His name is Gabriel Klein.” Diana shared, opting to not dwell on the encounter she had with Harry right after her chat with Gabriel.

“Is he cute?” Celeste pressed and Diana went all pink in the face as she nodded.

“Yeah, he’s…very cute.” She assured and Celeste grinned.

“So are you gonna go out with him?” She asked and Diana sighed.

“I don’t know, I told him I’d think about it.”

“Oh my god, why?”

“I got nervous!” Diana giggled, “We’ve talked a few times since I started lecturing int that building and he’s nice, but I just got really nervous and told him I’d let him know.”

“Maybe you don’t have as much game as I thought.” Celeste teased and Diana laughed.

“I really don’t.” She assured with a giggle, “Now, how are your fingers feeling? Do we need to continue taping them up?”

“They don’t hurt as much, still hurt sometimes. The nurse makes sure I have an icepack all the time, which is good.”

“Good. We’ll check again on Friday.” Diana assured with a smile. After a bit more chatting Diana left Celeste alone and headed off to get ready for bed. Once cozied up she was scrolling through her phone for a bit trying not to think about Harry. She couldn’t help it though.  She dropped her phone and raised both of her hands before her face, palm to palm and sighed as she interlocked her fingers together, she wasn’t going to lie. She missed that feeling, she hadn’t held hands with anyone in a really long time. She rolled her eyes and then reached over to switch the bedside lamp off. 

**********

It was Friday and Celeste would be spending the night at Geri’s place. Diana was feeling a bit nervous about this escape room thing, she had never done that before and to be honest she wasn’t sure what to expect. She wasn’t fond of the feeling of being trapped, so at least she knew she’d be eager to find ways to get out. She was getting changed into something a bit more causal after work. She kept on her knit sweater but took her trousers off and slipped into some jeans and sneakers instead. She then washed her face, took out her contacts and redid her make-up a little lighter and slipped her glasses on. She did not forget to spritz on her usual perfume and then hurried down to the kitchen to have a snack before they left. She had been rather busy and skipped lunch, the plan was to go to a bar after, so she wanted to ensure she ate something before she had anything to drink. She only waited about 10 minutes before Grace was calling her that she was out front with Henry. So she switched on the living room light and then hurried outside. Grace and Henry were chatting on the sidewalk.

“Hey!” Diana smiled as she came up to them.

“Hey, Di.” Grace greeted her with a hug and she squeezed a bit before letting go, “This is Henry. Henry, this is Diana, my best friend.” Grace introduced them and they both stepped forward and hugged each other briefly.

“It’s great to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Henry said with a bright smile as he pulled back.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you too!” Diana assured. 

After exchanging a few pleasantries they got back into the car and were heading off towards the escape room. Grace explained that she nor Diana had ever done anything like this, so Henry was explaining what everything was like and what they had to do. This eased a lot of the anxiety that Diana had as it wasn’t as daunting as she had made up in her mind. He assured them that the theme was a bank heist one, so nothing scary or horror based, which had been Grace’s concern, but also Diana’s, they were wimps for scary things.

“I promise you guys will have fun. Maybe Diana can keep joining us if she really likes it? It’s always fun when we get to do the bigger rooms.” Henry explained with excitement. After about 15 minutes they were pulling into the parking lot and entering the building. As soon as they came in another guy who was hanging out in the waiting area sprang up from the bench there.

“Hi, are you Henry?” The young man asked and Henry nodded.

“OK, cool. I’m Eddie, Rebecca’s friend.” He said extending his hand out as they introduced each other, “I was reading I had to come 15 minutes before the time and I was worried you all changed plans.” He joked and Henry chuckled along explaining that as seasoned escapees they didn’t show up early anymore because they were familiar with the rules.

“Sorry, we should’ve told you.” He said and Eddie assure him it was alright, “This is Grace, my date tonight.” Henry introduced her, “And her friend, Diana.” He said and Diana extended her hand.

“Ah, nice to meet you. I guess we’re the spares.” He said with a grin and she giggled.

“I guess so.”  They started getting checked in and signing the waivers everyone had to do and she was sitting next to Eddie who was very extraverted and charismatic, he was funny and easy to talk to. They were talking about how they were both latin Americans and she was talking about her family’s business ventures in Mexico when the chime for the door rang and made them both look up. Diana felt her stomach drop when she saw Harry trailing in behind his girlfriend, hand in hand. 

“Sorry we’re cutting it so close!” He apologized as he went straight to Henry who was on the other side of the room chatting with the receptionist. His girlfriend immediately turned to look over at the bench and she smiled when she saw Eddie.

“Hi.” She said as he immediately stood and they hugged. Diana saw as he hugged a little low on her waist, but that wasn’t any of her concern as she stood.

“Hey, this is Diana. Henry’s girlfriend’s friend.” He said releasing Rebecca who then extended a hand to her with a friendly smile. 

“Hi, I’m Rebecca.” Rebecca introduced herself with a warm smile that Diana reciprocated. She felt weird shaking her hand all while knowing that she had a crush on her boyfriend. It made her stomach twist in a weird way. They could overhear Henry introducing Grace to Harry on the other side of the room, “We should join them.” Rebecca suggested to her and Eddie and they were soon coming up behind her and Harry did a double take when he saw her. He felt his mouth completely dry up and his heart start to pound hard in his chest.

“Harry, this is my  best friend, Diana.” Grace said with a big smile.

“Yeah-”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Diana interrupted whatever he was about to say and extended her hand to him while he just looked at her with a blank expression.

“Harry.” Rebecca said and he blinked a few times before he extended his hand out to hers and took it, shaking it a few times, dreading the moment when they’d let go.

“Sorry. Nice to meet you, Diana.” He said, his eyes not leaving hers until she nodded and looked away, “And this is Eddie, I presume.” Harry said as he glanced to the guy beside Diana and he smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s me. It’s great to meet you.” Eddie smiled politely.

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted let’s get to it!” Henry said. Soon they were putting their belongings in a locker and were being guided into the room where the employee started giving them a few more instructions.

“So what’s your job again?” Eddie mumbled quietly to Diana and she smiled and turned to him.

“I’m a professor.” She said and he smirked.

“Nice. I’m a lawyer, so we’re both smart. I assume the couples will pair off and find clues so we can stick together and solve things too.” He said to her and she nodded.

“Yeah, sounds good.” She responded. This guy was very sweet and friendly, it was very easy to feel comfortable around him which was exactly what she needed now that it started sinking in that she was trapped in a room for an hour with Harry and his girlfriend. Soon the door shut and the time started and they all started to look around for clues.

“C’mon, let’s go look over here.” Eddie said and she followed him off to one end of the room as they started looking through a little shelf of ledgers when she noticed that the spines of a few of them were different colors than the rest, so she picked those up and brought them to the prop desk figuring that they were important and she started paging through them to see if there were any clues inside, “Nice find.” Eddie said as he came over.

“Yeah, help me look through them.” She said and he nodded. They started chitchatting as they looked for anything of significance in them.

Harry glanced back to see where Diana was and he couldn’t help the way his chest tightened with jealousy as she giggled and chatted lowly with this other guy, Eddie. First he was sending suspicious sounding texts to his girlfriend and now he was flirting with his…well, they weren’t anything. They couldn’t even be friends so he had no reason to be upset.

“Hey, H.” He heard and turned his gaze to Rebecca, “You’re still upset about the text you saw before, aren’t you?” She asked quietly as they searched around for clues.

“No.”

“Then why do you keep staring at Eddie?” She asked lowly as she felt around the picture frames along the wall for a clue.

“I’m not.” He mumbled lowly.

“You are, you’re making that jealous face. And literally for what? He’s got a girlfriend.” Rebecca said to try and appease Harry. 

“Yet he’s flirting with Grace’s friend.” He mumbled and Rebecca sighed as she checked a painting and felt it move a bit.

“This opens up, guys! Find something that might open this up!” Rebecca announced as Harry looked to the wall and inspected what looked like a teller’s stand for any buttons or switches and he felt something under the counter and glanced under it to see that it indeed was a button and he pressed it and they heard the latch open, which allowed Rebecca to open the painting like a little door and look inside and she pulled out a metal cashier box.

“There’s a lock, four digit combo!” Harry announced and Henry and Grace started looking around and soon Diana was rushing over to them, he knew it was her because that scent of cherries engulfed her in the best way.

“The ledgers over there had these numbers circled, ready?” She asked him and he glanced up to her and nodded, “2-2-6-5.” She said and Harry lined up the numbers and tugged on the lock.

“Good job.” He grinned up at her as it unlatched and she offered him a tight-lipped smile before she moved out of the way as Henry rushed over there and huddled in with Rebecca as they found another set of clues in the form of bank forms. And they continued on searching for the next 10 minutes until they were able to “disable” the fake security cameras and open the door to the second room, which was the bank vault.

Harry was not as into it as he usually was and that didn’t go unnoticed by Rebecca or Henry, as he called Harry out for being off his game today. But truly, he just couldn’t help it because he kept seeing how Eddie was charming the living daylights out of Diana and it was putting him in a bad mood and his brain was getting foggy. It looked like she was having fun though and she was actually finding a lot of useful clues to help them solve this game.

Diana was having a lot of fun with this, other than the moments where she could feel someone staring right at her (she was sure it was Harry), it was exhilarating and everyone was rushing about trying to get this resolved so that they could win the game. Eddie was keeping her distracted enough from feeling weird about being here with Harry and Rebecca. He looked so good in his causal clothes, so relaxed and domestic…she heard a snippet of conversation between Grace and Harry inquiring about how they could open the lockbox that contained some more clues and she glanced to Eddie.

“What’s the number of the lockbox?” Diana asked aloud.

“50!” Harry and Grace shouted back.

“I’ll be right back.” Diana said and hurried back to the first room they had been in. She went over to the shelved cabinet with the ledgers. There were two rows of them and she counted the first shelve and saw there were 25, so that meant there were only 50 of them. She reached for the very last one and when she opened it it had been hollowed out and she saw a little keychain labeled #50 and a small silver key attached to it, “I found it!” She shouted in excitement and Henry and Rebecca peaked into the first room as she rushed over to the vault room, “Here.” She said handing the key over to Grace.

“S’your first time, you do the honors.” Harry said to her and she smiled excitedly and opened the lockbox to reveal the final code for the door. They all cheered when Henry finished inputting it and the keypad turned green, indicating that they had done it.

“Good eye.” Eddie said to Diana who grinned.

“Thank you.” She hummed with delight and he chuckled. The game host came in to the room and congratulated them for finishing up.

“Actually, you guys have set the record for this room! You finished in 32 minutes and 40 seconds!” He said excitedly and they all cheered again, “You’re a smart bunch.” He said and they all laughed, well it was a room full of doctors and lawyer, and a university professor, and a corporate accountant, but he didn’t need to know that. They all had their picture taken and were soon collecting their belongings as they rendezvoused in the lobby area.

“Nice job, Diana! Please make yourself available on the last Friday of every month for the rest of your life, OK?” Henry said and she chuckled, “Right, H?” Henry said as he looked past her and when she turned she saw Harry behind her. Rebecca, Grace, and Eddie were in the bathroom, so it was just them three waiting in the lobby.

“Yeah, if you’re into it we’d love to have you. You’re a natural.” He smiled lightly at her. His smile didn’t go up to his eyes like it usually would, he was upset that she seemed to be flirting with Eddie as much as he had been flirting with her and she had hardly even spared him a glance the entire time they’d been at this place. He knew how crazy it was that this bothered him after he had told her that they shouldn’t engage with each other any more, but if anything solidified that his interest in her was far more than platonic this was it.

“Yeah, maybe.” She smiled.

“No offense, but Rebecca better not bring that Eddie guy around anymore, he was reaching and reading into some stuff way too much. Stressed me out.” Henry ranted lowly and Harry grinned.

“Yeah, not happening again.” Harry said and Diana just bit her lip awkwardly.

“I mean regardless, we set the record.” Y/N chimed in.

“We probably could’ve been faster if we hadn’t wasted all that time looking through that file cabinet.” Henry said.

“Told him it was just a prop.” Harry mumbled.

“We’re very competitive about these things, by the way.” Henry added with a smile.

“Really? I couldn’t tell.” Diana chuckled sarcastically.

“Look, all I’m saying is that us three carried the team tonight and I’d like to perfect our escape room team.” Henry said, “So next time, just us 5, OK? Tell your girl.” Henry said to Harry seriously. 

Soon enough they were all heading out once they agreed what bar to meet at. Grace wanted to talk to Henry about something so she asked Diana if she’d be kind enough to go with Eddie to give them a little time and she agreed and well Eddie didn’t mind at all. Eddie of course, was noticing how his little interactions with Diana were clearly making Rebecca jealous, but she had asked him to be cool and spend time with her. Diana was nice, but she looked like one of those really nice and relaxed girls, which truly weren’t his type, but he would milk this all night if possible because Rebecca needed to somehow realize that she needed to breakup with Harry.

*******

“You girls get a table and we’ll get the drinks.” Harry said.

“I can go with and grab my own.” She said to Eddie who started walking off.

“It’s OK, I’ve got you. What’s your drink?” He asked.

“Tequila, reposado though. Up.” She said over the chatter.

“Any specific brand?”

“Casamigos! I’ll get you next round, OK?” She assured and he nodded before heading off to the bar. She soon found Grace and Rebecca as they settled into a booth at the corner of the bar. There were two billiard tables near the back wall of the bar and then a stage there for karaoke or live music. There was also an upstairs section with more billiard tables and darts according to a banner above the stairs, beckoning patrons to ask for the the cues and darts at the bar.

“This place is pretty cool. Have you ever been here before?” Grace asked Rebecca as Diana scooted into the booth. 

“Yep, the last Friday of every month, like clockwork. Prepare yourself, babe.” She said unenthusiastically to Grace who chuckled, “Oh, I’m serious.” She said with a chuckle and Grace looked to Diana with widened eyes.

“So you guys literally do this once a month?” Diana asked and Rebecca nodded.

“Yeah, it’s more for Henry and Harry…they’re best friends but they’re both rather busy people so they don’t get to hang out so much anymore. Especially since Harry opened up his psychiatry practice, he’s there like all the time.” She explained, “It’s not that I don’t like to come, but we always end up here and this is not very my style, you know?” She said and Diana nodded in understanding, “Harry likes this place because he says it’s very “pubby”, guess it reminds him a bit of England.” Rebecca said and Diana smiled.

“Aww, that’s really sweet though! I’m sure he really appreciates that you guys are willing to come here if it just reminds him of home a bit. It must suck to be so far. So finding a little reminder of it must be really special for him.” She hummed happily and Rebecca just looked at her for a second before she nodded.

“Yeah, that’s…very true.” Rebecca said with a smile. She had never really thought of that. She kind of dreaded coming here and he knew that, she hadn’t shied away from telling him that the third time they had come here. But here was this girl, Diana, a perfect stranger, who saw the value and meaning that this place had for him and she hadn’t even considered that once in the time that they had been together. She just knew that it was rowdy and crowded and that was enough to have her hate it here and she wouldn’t pretend to enjoy it, even for his sake. She couldn’t keep lying to herself or continue to convince herself that this relationship was going to work - the only thing she and Harry seemed to have in common was that they were both workaholics.

“Here you are, my lovely.” Henry spoke up as he slid Grace’s margarita before her carefully and she smiled up at him and thanked him before grabbing his drink and letting him scoot in beside her. Rebecca was seated right in the “u” of the booth so Diana slid out when she saw Harry approaching.

“Go ahead.” She assured him and he nodded before sliding in and then placing down the glasses in his hands. Diana then realized that he’d be sandwiched between Rebecca and her and she felt odd about sitting beside him, but didn’t want to make much of a fuss about it so she slid in. Henry started talking about how Diana would be a fun addition to their escape room tradition as she seemed to have a real knack for problem solving. Obviously, Grace loved the idea of having her be more integrated into this new group. They were all chatting about how fun it had been when Eddie came up and slid into the seat beside her, prompting Diana to slide in a bit closer to Harry. She felt their thighs touch and turned to him quickly.

“I’m so sorry.” She said and pressed her own legs closer together to avoid touching his. He wanted to tell her it was OK, he hated that she seemed so on edge around him now. But all Diana needed to do was create distance between them because being around him made her not think as clearly and that wasn’t good for anyone.

“What’d you get?” Henry asked Diana after she took a sip of her drink. She was about to respond when Grace chimed in.

“A reposado, up.” Grace spoke with a grin directed at Diana.

  “Exactly what she said.” Diana confirmed with a smile.

“Oh, that’s your order too!” Henry said to Harry who then glanced to Diana and they looked at each other’s glasses and saw that they indeed had the same exact drink.

“Yep.” He smiled at her, “Well, cheers.” Harry said to Diana, bowing his glass towards her and she nodded.

“Cheers.” She responded clinking it with his before they both took another sip. Eddie seemed to be the odd man out, so Grace, being the nice girl she is, started asking him some questions.

“So are you dating anyone or anything like that?” She inquired, kind of curious because he and Diana seemed to be getting along really well and maybe they could hang out one-on-one.

“Oh no, I’ve been so busy at the firm that I haven’t really had free time that wasn’t used to catch up on sleep.” He chuckled and Harry glanced to Rebecca who quickly looked away as she was caught in her lie from earlier. Grace then started asking about when he moved here and where he used to live. He was scooting a bit closer to Diana now as he talked across the table to answer Grace’s questions. This prompted him to start pushing up against Diana, who was slowly, but surely inching closer and closer to Harry. Harry who was nodding along but couldn’t be more tuned out of the conversation as the overhead fans seems to be wafting Diana’s cherry perfume straight into his face. His hands were on his knees and he was gripping them tight as he tried to just relieve some of the tension he felt in his body. When suddenly Eddie made a move to lean a bit closer and it pushed Diana’s thigh into Harry’s once more and she looked up at him.

“I’m sorry.” She said softly as everyone else laughed at something Eddie had said and before she could try and make herself a bit smaller to avoid being pressed up against Harry his hand came over her mid thigh from under the table, silently asking her not to move it away.

“It’s alright, we’re crammed in here.” He said to her lowly as her heart started to pound hard in her chest and her stomach started to turnover with nerves and excitement at just how big his hand felt over her thigh. He then pulled it away and settled it back over his own leg where he was now squeezing for dear life because he wanted to touch her again. But at least Diana’s thigh was pressed up against his now and that would have to be enough for now. Diana’s drink didn’t even last her for 15 minutes after her and Harry had been pressed together. Maybe it was non-existent to anyone else at the table, but to her, the tension she felt with him was unbearable. After he grabbed her thigh she was now left wondering if he felt it too, but whatever it was, she needed to loosen up a bit to handle it.

“Are you up for another round?” Diana asked Eddie who looked up from his phone as his drink was nearly done.

“I’m actually good, might be heading home soon.” He said to her and she nodded, “Anyone else?” She asked, Henry and Grace shook their heads, and when Rebecca looked up from her phone she also shook her head as well and then she looked to Harry.

“Yeah, but I’ll go with you. I opened a tab.” He fibbed, no one knew that he hadn’t, but he just wanted a moment with her. Eddie moved to let Diana and Harry out, “If anyone changes their mind, text me.” Harry said and when he turned around he saw that Diana had already headed off towards the bar. She found an opening at the counter and slid in, she needed space from Harry to just think clearly for a second, but she soon felt someone come up close behind her and she knew it was him. “Didn’t even wait for me.” He mumbled to her and she glanced back at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you had lagged.” She said and then turned her attention back to the bar, waiting for one of the bartenders to free up for an order.

“Hey, why are you being all weird with me?” He asked and she swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking.

“You said we would only do friendly waves.” She said and he licked over his lips before asking his next question.

“Did that upset you? Are you mad at me?” He pressed and she slightly turned to him.

“No Harry, I’m just trying to respect what you asked of me.” She assured him.

“Well it might get a little more complicated now that our best friends are dating.” He said and she shook her head.

“It doesn’t have to be, Harry. Clearly our interactions before made you feel uncomfortable or uncertain to some degree so I’m literally just doing what you asked and it’s very doable for me.” She assured.

“Well Henry really liked you too, I’m sure he’s gonna be telling Grace to invite you out more often so…” He explained with a smile.

“Well, then I’ll just tell Grace that you’re Celeste’s therapist and that I also don’t love the idea of being the 5th wheel all the time. She’ll understand.” Diana assured and Harry just rolled his lips together and nodded. Diana needed to just be objective and maybe that came off as callous, but he was the one who asked for this and just because he had changed his mind because they had all had a good time together it didn’t mean that it was a good idea. She couldn’t let her resolve fade. She wouldn’t.

“Well, might as well enjoy this while it lasts.” He sighed and she glanced back at him again.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said! Ask me anything, go.” He said with a smile and she giggled softly.

“For what?”

“For fun. If we’re gonna be all dry and formal from here on out I at least want to have one really great conversation with you before.” He reasoned and she sighed.

“Well you can’t put me on the spot like that! If everything changes after today then I need to ask something really good.” She said and he chuckled, “I need time!” She exclaimed, all frazzled now, and he chuckled as a bar tender freed up and approached the counter and Harry stepped up closer behind her, his hands were on each side of her, boxing her in between his body and the counter.

“Hey man, two Casamigos reposados, up. Please.” Harry said loudly over the chatter at the bar.

“You got it! I’ve got just one more order before yours.” The man said and Harry nodded with a smile. Diana tried to turn to him to protest him getting her drink.

“Don’t even try to say anything about it, Diana.” Harry spoke first and she sighed. Suddenly someone pushed into him hard from behind and he instinctively gripped the counter with one hand while his other arm wrapped around her waist to steady himself and avoid the fall as his body bumped into hers harshly, “Jesus.” He mumbled in aggravation, glancing back to hear a mumbled apology over some laughter and he sighed before leaning down closer to her ear, “M’sorry. You alright?” He asked and she nodded.

“Good. And you?” Diana questioned as she shifted a bit and craned her neck to look up at him as best as she could and he nodded, his eyes not leaving hers. She watched as his gaze slowly started to travel down the bridge of her nose and before she could witness his eyes look over her lips she spoke up, “What about you? Do you have a question for me? Any question.” She asked with a smile and he grinned.

“Hmmm…” he hummed pensively, he still hadn’t let her go, but it was because more people were crowding in behind them and he didn’t want her to get all squished against the counter. Sure, he was liking holding her, but it wasn’t just for his enjoyment. He smirked as he thought of a question, “Do you find me attractive?” He asked near her ear since it was quite loud around them and she glanced up to him and rolled her eyes with a smirk and pink cheeks as he grinned, “What?” He asked through a laugh.

“Skip. Next question.” Diana said looking away from his eyes bashfully for a second before looking back, he made her so nervous. A kind of nervous that she hadn’t felt in ages and she was just re-learning how to cope with it.

“Fine.” He mumbled and she giggled. He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and bit on his bottom lip as he pretended that his next question was really difficult to come up with. He really just wanted to know one thing, “Do you date?” He asked and she giggled.

“That’s none of your business.” Diana responded with a smirk and he scoffed.

“You said any question.” He chuckled.

“And I answered you! Whether you like the answer or not isn’t really my problem, is it?” She challenged him with a smirk.

“You said 2 resposados, up, right?” The bartender suddenly made an appearance.

“Yeah, mate. Thanks!” Harry called back with a smile and the man turned back to the liquor shelves and Harry returned his attention back to Diana with a small scowl on his face, “You don’t play fair.” He said and she shrugged, completely unbothered by this. “What if I wanted to like introduce you to someone? Like if I had a friend and I thought they’d be good for you.” He inquired and she giggled.

“Why? Do you have someone in mind?” she asked and he grinned.

“So you’re single.” He asked with amusement.

“I never said that.” She said and he shrugged.

“You didn’t have to.” He assured smugly and she looked back into his eyes.

“Is this friend you have in mind, Eddie?” She asked.

“Why, do you like him?” He asked back and she shook her head.

“He’s not really-”

“He’s quite annoying, isn’t he?” Harry interrupted with a scrunched up face and she giggled.

“He’s not that bad. He is far too extraverted for me though, it’s a bit intense.” She explained and he chuckled. 

“Yeah…” Harry agreed with a small laugh, “Have you thought of your question for me?” He asked closer to her ear and she shook her head.

“Not yet.” She said and he hummed.

“Well I give you ’til the end of the night.” He decided.

“OK, I’ll work on narrowing them down.” She assured with a giggle.

“Narrowing them down?” Harry asked and she nodded.

“I’m an inquisitive person.” She shrugged and he smiled.

“Alright, how about this, I technically asked you two questions, even if your answers were shit…” he added in the playful jab and she laughed, “So you can ask me two.”

“Alright.” She agreed and he smiled as he let go of her. She already missed his arm around her.

“Good.” Harry said as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet as he saw the bartender approaching.

“Here you are.” The bartender said as he placed their drinks before them, “Do you have a tab open?” He asked.

“No, here you are.” Harry said handing over his card and Diana turned to him with narrowed eyes.

“You little liar.” She said and he chuckled.

“Oh please, I’m sure you always drink for free.” He said with a smile and she scoffed.

“Oh, I wish!” She responded and he chuckled, “I feel like I have to pay because I don’t want to give anyone any ideas.” She said and Harry hummed.

“Yeah, that’s shitty.”

“Being a woman is shitty sometimes.” She shrugged.

“Yeah, no arguments there.” Harry stated and then he smiled at her.

“What?” She asked and he shrugged.

“Nothing, you’re more open than I expected.” He said and she hummed.

“I mean, I am quite shy and guarded, but only if I’m not comfortable.”

“Oh, ok.” He said and she nodded.

“Here you go, just sign please.” The bartender said and Harry’s arm came around Diana and Diana brought her left hand up to hold the paper down in place for him to sign.

“Thank you.” He hummed as he signed and then handed it back thanking the man before they carefully squeezed through the rest of the people crowded around the bar. When they got back to the booth Rebecca and Eddie were gone.

“Eddie left and Rebecca went to walk him out.” Grace said, “I thought he would at least ask for your number, Di. You guys were hitting it off, no.” She said with confusion.

“He was too much for her.” Harry said and Henry and Grace turned to him and he shrugged, “S’what she said. I already asked. Way ahead of you guys.” Harry informed before knocking back some of his drink and then Grace and Henry looked back to her.

“Yeah, he was a bit much for me.” She agreed.

“Well, it was nice to see you put yourself out there.” Grace said instead and Diana smiled before also taking a sip of her drink.

“Should we have a game of pool? 2 on 2, that one’s empty.” Harry said and Henry nodded.

“Oh my god, I suck.” Grace said and Henry chuckled and pulled her close as he kissed her temple.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll teach you.” He said and she smiled at him. The interaction just made Diana smile because she truly hadn’t seen Grace so sweet on someone in ages. Harry couldn’t help it as he watched Diana take in this loving exchange between Henry and Grace, she looked endeared and so happy for Grace. There wasn’t a trace of jealousy, nor longing in her eyes. She just seemed happy for her friend.

“OK. Well I’m gonna go to the bathroom first. Go get the table!” She called and hurried off as Henry stood and Harry and Diana followed, grabbing Grace’s drink as well.

“Can you hold this? I’ll go get the cues and for obvious reasons, Grace is on my team.” Henry said, handing Harry his drink, once again leaving Harry and Diana alone. She walked past him to the high table behind the billiard table that had freed up and then she hoisted herself up onto the chair as Harry hung out a few feet away, reserving the billiard table.

“What’re you doing up there? You don’t want to play?”

“You said 2 on 2, I’m sure Rebecca will be back in a minute.” She said.

“She doesn’t like to play, she’s not good at it and she gets too competitive and then gets upset.” He chuckled and Diana nodded.

“Well, if she won’t mind.” She said hopping off of the chair and Harry shook his head in assurance that she wouldn’t.

“Do you suck at it too?” He asked with a chuckle.

“No, I’m alright. My brother and dad played a lot.” She explained as she rounded the table and started rolling the balls towards Harry who was arranging them in the rack.

“OK, well I’m quite competitive too so you better not make me lose.” He teased and she giggled.

“I assure you with Grace on his team Henry will lose. She’s not lying when she says she sucks at this.” Diana informed him and Harry laughed, “I’ve thought of a question.” She said and he perked up.

“Alright, lets have it.” He said as he looked up to her across the table.

“When’s your birthday?” She asked and he smiled.

“February 1st, it just passed recently.” He said and she nodded.

“Aquarius…cool, a fellow air sign.” She said as she rolled another ball over to him and he chuckled.

“Do you believe in all that stuff?” He asked and she glanced up at him and shrugged.

“Kinda, I mean it’s fun. It’s also cool because it resonates with most people.”

“Yeah, that’s true…I decided to read my horoscope every day for one month and everything that it said would happen actually happened.” He said and her eyes widened.

“Oh, no way!”

“Yeah, I was so impressed that I very nearly started to create a group therapy theory based on astrological signs.” He said and she laughed.

“Really?!” She asked and he nodded, “That’s fucking cool.” She said and he chuckled.

“When I realized that if I went through with it science as a whole would mock me, I decided not to pursue it.” He explained, “I was stoned, by the way when I had that idea.” He tagged in and she laughed.

“Well I suppose it’s easy to reach for the sky when you feel like you’re closer to it.” She mused and he chuckled.

“That’s a good one.” He said and she shrugged with a smile, “Next question.”

“I haven’t decided on that one.” She said and he sighed and she rolled her eyes.

**********

Grace had unfortunately started her period as she suspected. The cramps she felt coming on were uncomfortable and she wanted to be OK for the rest of the evening, specially when Diana was getting along so well with everyone. After the bathroom she rushed out of the bar to go over to Henry’s car, he always had some Tylenol in there and she needed some now. As she rounded the corner of the bar to get to the parking lot in the back she stopped in her tracks when she saw Eddie and Rebecca leaned against his car kissing rabidly. Her stomach dropped and she just turned around quickly and rushed back inside feeling quite discombobulated and really, really sorry for Harry.

Cheaters were the reason why she refused to date or wanted to get married, after her father cheated on her mother after 17 years of marriage she just couldn’t believe that anyone was capable of being faithful. It wrecked her hope in love and she really took it to heart. As she looked around she saw Harry just chatting animatedly with Henry and Diana, oblivious to the wrong he was being done. She just had to tell Henry, it might be best for the news to come to Harry from him, his best friend. As she walked up to them Henry frowned.

“Are you OK? You look pale.” He said coming over and feeling her forehead and she looked into his eyes as he looked at hers in concern.

“Yeah, I started my period and I don’t feel too good.”

“Should we go?” He asked and she nodded.

“Guys, I’m sorry I just suddenly felt really sick.” Grace explained to Diana and Harry, but not even chancing a look at Harry because she might shout out to him what she’d just seen if she got a look into his eyes,

“Hey, it’s alright. Next time.” Harry said and then pulled his phone out to text Rebecca, with Diana around he had completely forgotten that she had been off somewhere. They had said that she had walked Eddie out and as that piece of information came to the forefront of his mind he immediately had the same gut feeling that he had when he saw him text her, he wasn’t hurt by it at all. It was more of an irritation at her lack of communication, if she didn’t want to be with him then she should say so. Harry hadn’t decided if he wanted to end things with her, sure he had a crush on Diana, but that was never going to happen and he wasn’t going to end his relationship over it. But if she no longer had an interest to be with him, then she should be honest about it.

Everyone started to collect their things before they got going. Henry and Grace went on ahead and Diana hung back a bit, waiting for Harry as he handed off the pool cues to another group who had been wanting to play. Soon enough he came towards her and she smiled at him as they started walking towards the entrance.

“Did you come up with your last question?” Harry asked, sparing Diana a glance.

“I think so…” she pondered, “D-do you really just want to stick with a polite wave from here on out?” She asked him and he shook his head.

“Course not, but it can’t be like this either.” He explained, “I feel like…” he paused and swallowed thickly, choosing his words carefully, “I feel like if we entertain a friendship now it might not…be enough at some point.” He said just as they made it outside and she looked up at him as her mouth suddenly went dry and her heart was beating a million times a minute. She was just about to ask him what he meant by that.

“Hey, are we leaving?” Rebecca suddenly appeared by the entrance, causing the four of them to look to her.

“Yeah, Grace isn’t feeling well.” Henry informed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got caught up because my mom called me, some legal questions she had for one of her church members.” She fibbed and Grace felt even more sick as she heard this. She needed to tell Henry sooner rather than later.

“Right, well there’ll be a next time I’m sure.” Henry smiled and with that they all started saying their goodbyes and heading off in their own directions, Diana was trailing after Henry and Grace, they had parked behind the bar, while Rebecca and Harry had parked across the street and just before she rounded the corner she glanced back and her heart flipped in her chest when she saw Harry was already looking at her. She smiled at him and he returned the gesture before she hurried around the corner to catch up with Grace and Henry.

The ride home was really quiet, Henry’s music was the only sound accompanying them now. Diana took the time to message Celeste and see how her night with Geri was going and she looked through some instagram posts before looking out the window until they were coming to a slow stop in front of her house.

“Thank you guys, I had a lot of fun and it was great to meet you Henry. Everyone was really cool.” Diana smiled warmly as he turned back a bit.

“Thank you for coming, and we were definitely serious about having you join us for the escape rooms. We could use you!” Henry chuckled.

“Alright, I’ll think about it.” Diana grinned and Henry smiled, “Bye Gracie, feel better.” Diana hummed sweetly before hugging her around the chair and Grace rubbed over her arms as she smiled.

“Thank you, Di. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

“Thank you for inviting me. Alrighty you two, drive safe! Have a good night!” She called before getting out of the car. Henry stayed in park until he saw that Diana was safely inside and then he turned towards Grace who was still acting very strange.

“Did I do something, Grace?” Henry asked her with concern and she turned to him and shook her head.

“No, it’s not you I just…I have to tell you something.” She said and Henry started to feel his body tense up and his stomach twist up with anxiety.

“Ummm, OK. What is it?” He asked quietly and she sighed.

“I-I saw Rebecca and Eddie making out outside of the bar.”

“What?” Henry asked turning to her quickly and she nodded.

“I was going out to the car because I know you keep pain meds in here and when I came around I saw them leaning against his car fucking sucking face!” She exhaled and Henry turned back to face forward in his seat completely speechless, “I had no idea what to do so I went back inside and when I saw Harry living life all oblivious and shit I just felt so sick to my stomach.” She explained and Henry sighed feeling complete shock before speaking quietly with a frown.

“Holy shit…how am I gonna tell him.” 

-------

This is who I cast as Eddie Zamora, Rebecca's sneaky link

And this Professor Gabriel Klein, the guy who asked Diana on a date

Tell me what you guys think of this part or if you want to be added to my tag list!

@matildasatellite @sad-avocado @gurugirl @sunflovverharry @cherrysulewski @jessitpwk @sunshinemoonsposts @angelbabyyy99 @daphnesutton @here4thefanfics @justlemmeadoreyou @reveriehs

Thanks for reading 🫶

[missvelvetsstuff]

Low Expectations

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Reader has low self esteem when she meets Bucky. Can he convince her that she's the one he wants.

Chapter 7

Warnings: swearing, fluff. This chapter is mostly filler

Bucky crashed pretty quickly that night but was up before the sun and couldn't go back to sleep. He tried to keep himself occupied until he knew Y/N would probably be awake and sent her a text...

'Hey doll. I'm sorry I was gone so long but want to see you as soon as you have the time. I miss you.'

He set his phone down and tried to find something to keep himself occupied.

Y/N woke up after another rough night. She hadn't been able to sleep wondering how Bucky was and when she would hear from him so gave up and ate an edible which did the trick. She slept almost too deeply and didn't really remember any dreams. She climbed out of bed, groggy, and directly into the bathroom. After she finished her shower and wrapped up in her big plush towel she went to look through her closet for something to wear to work. Once she fixed her hair and got dressed she sat down to have coffee and relax for a few minutes before she had to leave. Her phone buzzed just as she was sitting down and the butterflies started. She took a breath and looked at her texts, her heart sped up.

It was Bucky. She opened the message and smiled then typed out a quick reply...

'I'm glad you're home safe. I'm working all week but free in the evenings as long as I'm not up too late. I missed you too.'

Bucky jumped when his phone buzzed, it had only been a few minutes and he smiled when he saw it was from Y/N. He replied right away.

'Can I bring dinner over tonight?'

'Sure around 6:30'

Bucky grinned

'See you tonight doll.'

And started to put his phone down when it buzzed again. A text from Sam with a link to tmz...

'Have you seen this?'

He opened the link and frowned. Pictures that were definitely him, since there were glimpses of his arm, and Y/N even though her face wasn't pictured as clearly as his. One in her corset, looking out his bedroom window. He shook his head in disgust, her face wasn't clear but that seemed like a violation of their privacy. He read the article about the Winter Soldiers mystery lady, scoffing at the speculation until he saw a picture from the presser with Sam in DC. That senators aide had been really aggressive with him, offering anything she could do to help him. The article mentioned the discrepancies in the aides height vs Y/N, accusing him of being a player. He shook his head, thank goodness Y/N would know better if she saw the picture. Wouldn't she? After everything that had happened and her past, he worried that she might think there was something with him and that aide. He started to panic about it but was able to talk himself down. Everything was fine. He would be seeing her tonight and it would all be fine. He was sure of it. Mostly.

Y/N spent the day at work arguing with her supervisor because she was written up for a phone call that took a good portion of the day last Friday to resolve. The write up stated she spent too much time with one caller. "Look Dennis, you want me to make sure the callers issue is resolved right? Well sometimes that takes time and multiple phone calls. I don't appreciate being dinged for doing a thorough job."

"You're a great rep, Y/N one of my best and you know I don't agree with this but it's one of the downsides of working in a call center. You need to find a way to get around this stuff. I'm sorry, the write up stands."

Y/N shook her head "I'm not signing it."

and walked back to her desk grumbling about corporate bullshit.

Sheila patted her on the back when she passed her "Be a mindless cog or suffer the consequences. Gotta love call centers."

Y/N laughed "No, I really don't. Is it 5:00 yet?"

Sheila smirked "Why? You got a hot date?" What happened with the guy, the one you are so mysterious about? You know from the tmz pics."

Y/N shook her head "TMZ? I never said anything about tmz pics. How would I possibly end up there? I'm no one."

"Oh come on. I helped you pick out that corset a couple of weeks ago, I know it's you. You're killing me here. I might be sitting next to a real life celebrity adjacent person and you won't even give me a bone. I thought we were friends."

Y/N shook her head "If you saw the pics then you must have read the article and who it was talking about so you don't need anything from me. However, I might be seeing someone infamous after work tonight and he might be a tall, gorgeous soldier with a questionable past. And that's all I know. I have to get back on the phone before Dennis fires me."

Sheila laughed "Dennis loves you, he'd never fire you." And answered a call.

Y/N smiled at her friend as she took a call too.

The rest of the afternoon dragged by and Y/N swore the clock was going backwards. It sure felt like time was going in reverse. Finally she looked up and it was 4:55 so she cleared off her desk and gathered her things up. When the clock hit 5 she logged off her computer, grabbed her stuff and left, waving goodbye to Sheila.

When Y/N made it home she straightened up and took a quick shower then put on a maxi dress that was pretty and very comfortable. She saw that it was a few minutes after 6 and made herself a wine cooler. She turned some music on and sat down to wait.

Bucky spent the day trying to figure out what to say to Y/N. He was afraid to ask her to be his girl again and absolutely didn't plan on having sex with her tonite. He wanted to be able to take his time and didn't want to worry about alarms or jobs the next morning. After chatting with Sam he decided to invite Y/N to get out of town for a couple of days, that way there shouldn't be any interruptions. Someplace where they could sleep separately if that's what she wanted.

Bucky stopped on his way there to get flowers, with a vase, and dinner. When he arrived at her building he walked around the block to try and calm himself. At 6:25 he went upstairs and knocked on her door.

Y/N had started daydreaming and jumped a little at the knocking at her door. She stood up and wiped the wrinkles from her dress and opened the door.

Bucky stood there with flowers, Chinese food and a big grin on his face.

"Hey doll"

"Hi Bucky" Y/N looked at him with a shy grin and welcomed him inside. He handed her the flowers and she laughed when she realized they came with a vase.

After he set the food on the table he pulled her into him for a hug, just enjoying the feel and scent of having her close to him. "I really did miss you" he murmured into her hair.

They heard a sound from the hall and pulled apart when Terri came out of her room in pajamas with a green face mask. "Don't mind me, I'm taking mine to go" she grabbed a plate of food and went back to her room.

Bucky laughed "She really is something else." And they sat at the table where Y/N had put out plates and napkins.

She nodded "You ain't seen nothin but yeah she's a good friend."

They sat to eat and it was quiet except for some blues on the stereo. They were both nervous, still plagued by thoughts of past rejections and heartbreak.

Once she had eaten enough to take the edge off of her hunger and finished her wine cooler, Y/N spoke up "How did your emergency with Sam go? Or is it one of those 'I could tell you but I'd have to kill you' situations?"

Bucky laughed "Don't worry doll I could never hurt you. Just some alien tech in the hands of some militia group. Seems like we'll never stop finding more."

She nodded "Now that people know that kind of stuff is out there you will always find more.

I didn't see all of the details but from what I did see you got some appreciation from the government among others. One woman seemed particularly interested in showing her appreciation." She teased

Bucky flinched "Yeah, I didn't even think about it until Sam sent me a link from tmz. She was one of the senators aides and didn't seem to understand the word no."

She smiled sadly at him "She's very pretty"

Bucky shrugged "If you say so. I only have eyes for one woman right now."

She felt her face heat up. "Anyone I know? Maybe I should let you go see her instead of wasting your time here."

He shook his head "Time with you isn't wasted. Honestly, I can't think of anything I'd rather do with my time. In fact I was wondering how you would feel about going away with me for a couple of days. I have a veterans charity thing Thursday nite so wanted to know if you would like to go with me, we could head out right after. Tony Stark had a house in the Hamptons and Pepper told me I could use it for a few days. It has a number of bedrooms so we don't have to share a bed unless you want to and it's right on the beach with space between neighbors so we'd have plenty of privacy." He looked at her hopefully.

She smiled at him. "I think I can take a couple of days off. Do I need a fancy dress or anything?"

Bucky got distracted thinking of her in a formal gown, something soft and silky without too many ruffles or frills.

"Bucky? You ok in there?" She asked softly

Bucky blushed and shook his head "What? Oh sorry, distracted myself for a minute. It's semi formal so kinda fancy. I'm wearing a suit. Sam will be there and Torres."

She looked confused "Torres?"

"Oh right you didn't actually meet him. Torres is the one who was pounding on my door last time I saw you. He's a good kid if annoying"

Y/N laughed "I'm pretty sure you find almost everyone annoying"

Bucky looked at her in feigned offense "That's not true! You aren't annoying at all. You make me crazy but in a good way." He paused to take her hand in his and kiss it. "If you need a dress I can give you Peppers number, I'm sure she knows all the best shops."

Y/N gulped "You mean Pepper Potts-Stark? I'm sure she has designers begging her to wear their clothes. I could never afford anything like what she wears but I'm sure I can find something acceptable by Thursday."

Bucky grinned hopefully "I can buy you a dress if you like. Wait. Does that mean yes? You'll go with me?"

She smirked "How could I ever say no to someone as adorable as you."

Bucky grumbled "I'm definitely not adorable but I'll let that slide since you said yes."

They sat and talked until almost midnight when she yawned "I'm sorry Buck but I need to get some sleep if I'm going to make it through work tomorrow. Don't want to be slacking before I ask for 2 days off."

Bucky helped her clean up the mess from dinner and kissed her goodnight. He had to force himself to leave after the goodnight kiss turned into another make out session and he started slowly rutting into her. He groaned as he pulled away. "You really are something, doll. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday after work Y/N and Terri went shopping for a dress. After trying on what felt like a hundred dresses they found one that Y/N liked and could afford. A purple off the shoulder vintage style tea length dress with lace accents. And shoes to match. Then a necklace and earrings with amethysts. She decided to wear the corset and stockings from their last big date. She had also scheduled a hair and nail appointment for Thursday afternoon.

When they got home she called Bucky "I found a dress. I hope you like it"

"You could wear a potato sack and I will still think you are gorgeous. It's late are you just getting home? Have you had anything to eat?"

Y/N laughed "Yes dad, we ate while we were out."

"Hey" he objected "I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself. Can't have you getting sick before I get to show you off."

"Don't worry, I won't get sick"

Bucky sighed "Good because I hate these things but knowing you'll be on my arm makes it worthwhile"

"Doesn't helping veterans make a difference?"

"Yeah I just wish I could do it without having to go out and be nice to a bunch of rich jerks and politicians. Steve started it and now Sam is the honorary head of the charity but he insists that I go. It's usually one of the only nights I go out but after I meet whoever Sam decides I need to meet I always hang out with the old soldiers. This time they'll all be jealous because I'll have the prettiest girl by my side.

It's late doll, go get some rest and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Ok, G'nite James."

@lokisasgardianvampirequeen

"Nite Y/N"

Chapter 8

@jennyamanda8

@geeky-politics-46

@vicmc624

@jesuisbenny

@matchat3a

@silverfire475

@army24--7

[minny5ca2018]

My Rant

System simply fails people. It does ...

My email to NB MLA for Kings County area of New Brunswick Canada.

^^^

I cannot find the name of a supervisor nor do I remember the name of the woman from the program who called me tonight.

I never met her. I only met D#### ---- from ##$$$$$.

I applied for the program for a worker to help with light housekeeping because as K#### knows, I have been financially limited for years.

I have ongoing issues health wise and I am physically limited, yes, in that I cannot stand or walk for long periods.

I have the federal Disability Tax Credit because of this.

I only met D#### and not the Supervisor nor the person for this program from the ##### area.

Therefore she had no basis to judge me.

Physically, mentally or otherwise.

She was basing her information on what the women from the Agency was reporting to them.

When they came here, they realized the house needed deep cleaning and they started to help to a degree.

But that came to an end last Friday when one of the women, more or less on an outspoken moment decided to speak to me in a way that in my opinion was uncalled for and mean.

What she accused me of was not true. I stupidly tried to argue and asked her to leave those areas for me to handle personally.

She refused and leading the way, walked out and taking the younger woman with her. She said it was unsafe and they were walking out and to clean my house myself.

I later called the Agency and apologized for my behavior but didn't appreciate how the woman talked to me, etc. I also said they were doing a good job.

Woman on the phone said, "No worries, " and hung up.

Tonight I got the Dear John phone call from the new social worker handling the issue. She spoke her name fast I had no clue. Same with her Supervisor. No idea the person's name. I believe he called me one night when D##### was sick and stood me up on our agreed appointment.

She said that based on the women's assessment of me , I didn't need help personally with anything physical or mental and therefore I wasn't eligible for their program because it was only light housekeeping they had to offer and I needed someone to deep clean.

She said the same was true of other Agencys and because of my not needing physical or mental help, I wasn't eligible for support to pay a private worker either from the Province either.

She said that they were dropping me and they were closing my file.

I said it won't be me judging you ... but do what you have to do based on your rules. I forgive you.

I also said when a person is so far I into the financial hole like I am, there's no getting out and that the system is purposely designed for people to fail.

I am not eligible for any NB Repair Program because I owe taxes for my house.

I am on the list for housing and have been for years. Nothing.

I would list this in a heart beat, but nothing.

I keep getting the house up for sale for tax bills ... I am unemployed and on sick benefits that will run out in January.

My house needs major repairs and cannot afford to fix it. Likely not safe to live in, but here it is.

A rock and a hard place. System is designed for people to fail.

But those women, one of them that Friday said some very cruel things to me that I feel was unfair and not true.

And they pay me back by reporting to the worker that I am not physically or mentally disabled and therefore not eligible for their services or even for the Program from the Department.

Well, for starters they are not Dr's. No medical degree and one of the women fought with me. Hardly the best judge of anyone, in my opinion.

Forgive my rant, but a lot of your "rules" leave people adrift.

Thank you for your time.

^^^

Just my thoughts and opinion.

My blog. My opinion.