#noah sebastian x oc

[concreteburialplot]

Cool About It // 01

01 - Breaking & Entering

pairing: noah sebastian x fem!oc

masterlist: here | crossposted: ao3 | word count: 6.3k

summary; Noah runs into an old friend while visiting his hometown for the holidays. Noah convinces Amelia to meet him on the playground they grew up on to catch up. Reminiscing leads them to a midnight adventure that reminds them all too much of the past.

warnings; alcohol consumption, breaking & entering? stealing? kinda?, hallmark-y, nostalgic, talks of family trauma, cops (acab!), vaguely sad & distraught Noah, uses 'Sebastian' as his last name, 18+ MDNI

disclaimer; welcome to my new short series! reminder that this is hallmark-y bc i began writing it in December lol i decided to challenge myself w this fic in multiple ways, one of the biggest ones was writing it in 3rd person vs my comfy world of 1st or 2nd person. I’ve never written in 3rd person so, if it’s not my best, i apologize, i’m sure it will improve lol

a/n: this is au and follows no actual timelines/events, and uses oc's for family members.

don't like it don't read it. don’t be mean for no reason & let others enjoy things thnx :)

It had been quite a busy morning, and Amelia was slowly making her way through the longest line she’d had in a while. She finished heating up a cinnamon roll and snapped a lid on what felt like the 75th peppermint mocha she’d made that day.

“Thanks.” Mumbled the distracted patron and stepped off to the side to grab extra napkins.

“Next.” She said while shuffling dollar bills into the clangy register, then looked up motioning to the last customer. Her hazel eyes landed on a man covered in tattoos pre-occupied on his phone. “Next!” Her call was louder than before and this time edged with impatient annoyance.

A familiar pair of dark brown eyes snapped up at her, his gaze more startled than angry.

Amelia’s brows furrowed together and as if on cue, the register dinged closed in time with her realization.

She’d recognize those eyes anywhere.

“Noah?”

The soft velvet of her voice yanked each edge of Noah’s mouth into a wide toothy smile. “Scout?” He asked in the same caught-off-guard tone. His voice was much deeper than she remembered, and he seemed taller, if that was even possible.

She chuckled at the fact that he used his old nickname for her and felt a tinge of warmth bloom on her cheeks. The ends of her pink lips curled up into an adorably genuine smile. “What are you doing here?” She pressed her palms flat against the cold counter leaning forward and letting soft chocolate curls spill over her shoulder.

“Oh, uh, I’m here with Nicholas.” He thumbed over his shoulder towards the town. “He’s here visiting his family, I just tagged along.”

Tagged along.

She should’ve known, of course Noah would be down here with Nick’s family for Christmas. Where else would he be?

“Oh,” She smiled tenderly at his words and nodded. “Of course.”

Every now and then she’d run into Nicholas whenever he came back to town or ran into his parents while out and about, but it was never anything of significance. Whenever it was Nicholas, she wanted more than anything to inquire about Noah or the band but always kept the interactions short, sweet and reserved. The last thing she wanted was to come off as wanting to “catch up” after they gained a larger audience for clout.

He grinned back at her and there was a quiet moment shared between them, as if they both didn’t know what to say. The feeling in the air swung from having nothing to say to having so many words that it was overwhelming to speak.

The gentle moment was broken by the bell dinging above the door as a new customer walked in.

Her first impulse was to make his usual but stopped herself. “Oh um, whatcha want?” She asked, realizing that his tastes had probably changed since he was 16.

“Just a vanilla cold brew is fine, thank you.” He said with a tight-lipped smile, feeling awkward that she was serving him.

She went ahead and filled his cup with the dark amber liquid. “Do you want a snickerdoodle cookie? They’re freshly baked.”

He nods enthusiastically, “Yes please, they’re my favorite.”

She remembered.

Of course, she did.

How could one forget staying up til 2 am at Nick’s house baking cookies and having Top Chef-level trials trying to achieve the perfect spice mixture for what Noah called, “The Most Snick-of-Doodles that could ever Doodle.”

“You got it.” She smiled placing some pastries into a brown paper bag before handing it to him. “I threw in a cinnamon roll for Nicholas, I made sure to give him the one with the most icing.”

“Oh, he’ll love that.” He chuckled gently taking the bag along with his drink. “We should um, catch up soon?”

“Sure.” She pressed her lips together to keep her grin from growing too wide.

Cold fallen leaves crunched beneath Amelia’s feet as she navigated through a park that she hadn’t stepped foot on in a good ten years. A cool chill made her tug her thick knit cardigan tight around her thin frame.

“Noah?” She delicately whisper-yelled into the darkness, the meet-up destination barely lit by the full ivory moon. She should’ve known that Noah wouldn’t be content with catching up at a restaurant or at her house or anywhere normal.

“Scout!” He replied from the swings a bit to her left. A chuckle left his lips, and he quickly clicked the flashlight on his phone, waving it in the air like a search light.

A deep shade of embarrassment coated her pale cheeks, “There’s no streetlights over here!” She walked over and lightly smacked his arm. “It’s dangerous you know.” The weight of her body creaked the metal frame when she fell into the blue swing seat.

“Or you’re just getting old and need glasses.” He teased with a slight slur riding the end of his words.

“Ha-ha, very funny.” She responded with a playful glare.

She looked over at him thinking how funny it was seeing him so large and full grown in such a tiny, low swing. It looked extremely disproportionate and goofy, like a Great Dane in a shopping cart.

He handed her a bottle of cheap red wine, half drank already.

“Oh, got started without me huh?” She sassed before stealing the bottle from his fingers. “Couldn’t have done beer?” She tips the glass bottle until bitter, dry alcohol infiltrates every tastebud, reminding her why she’d switched to martinis or seltzers in her later years.

He waved her off with a tsk, “Too much hassle. Wine was easier. And you took fuckin’ forever!”

“Right.” She rolled her eyes playfully, it wasn’t like she was all that upset over the wine over beer, just that he drank so much of it already. She pressed the mouth of the bottle to her lips once more taking another hefty swig and handed it back to him. “Where’s Nick?”

“Ah,” He swiped the bottle back and took a long gulp. “You know, family stuff.” He wiped the back of hand across his mouth. “I can only handle – so much of it.” His hands motion off his words. “They mean well I just… can’t do too much of it at once.”

Growing up with parents that were as dismissive and absent, then gone all at once like his, knowing how to “family” was odd and foreign to him. As Noah got older, he began to realize that basic family etiquette was a trait he fundamentally lacked, as if he played hooky on some Family 101 course in his formative years. It wasn’t something he inherently prioritized and, at least when he was younger, it would irritate him when friends or colleagues put family above things that he deemed more important, like band related obligations. He never had to deal with family of his own, put it on his schedule or allot energy for it. He simply didn’t understand it.

Sure, he came off as rude at times, leaving friend’s family events early or mentally checking out mid-day. It wasn’t his fault that it was exhausting and overstimulating for him. To him it seemed natural, as if everyone felt that way, something akin to the universal experience of trying to escape school or work. It never crossed his mind that people might actually enjoy their families, nor could he comprehend the necessity for it.

It depended on who, what and when but for the most part it was exhausting to him. Some groups were better than others, like Nick’s family. Over the years they’d housed him for weeks at a time, months even sometimes. As far as Noah was concerned, the Ruffilo’s were his family. He always came and went as he pleased, always an open-door policy to the Ruffilo refuge. But that didn’t exclude Nick’s family from his unintended ignorance and tendency to run. He just could only take so much at once. Lucky for him, they never seemed to mind his behavior much. They never batted an eye; they understood him for who he was and why. Their house was one of the only places he felt comfortable, one of the only places he ever called home.

“I know.” She nodded, wrapping her hands around the thick swing chains. “I remember.”

“Right.” He replies solemnly, taking another sip before swapping it back.

Vivid memories filled Amelia’s brain of 14-year-old Noah tapping on her window like a freshly escaped felon looking for asylum. The heavy, panicked breathing and glassy eyes never matched the mischievous grin plastered across his face. Holidays were the worst; she recalls keeping her window unlocked during the winter months, so he’d always have an alternative escape. The Ruffilo’s were a festive bunch that took any excuse to celebrate. Naturally, Nicholas also only possessed so much adolescent tolerance to endure so many familial festivities so, he too would sneak away with Noah at times but, for the most part it was just him and Amelia celebrating holidays together on her bedroom floor.  

The air was still between them while she took a couple sips of sanguine liquid trying to catch up to him.

“So, you’re a big ol’ rockstar now huh?” The girl smiled, nudging him with her elbow trying to lighten the mood. Even though the words are positive and light, they tasted so sad on her tongue.

He laughed, something she hadn’t heard in what felt like a lifetime. She nearly forgot what it sounded like, but it hadn’t changed really, just a little deeper now. His now tattooed hands grasped both metal swing chains and leaned back a little, using the tension to suspend his body while he observed the stars above them. “Not big. Just opening for some real bands now. Finally able to headline our own little tour soon. Fuckin’ took long enough.” He dismissed the compliment immediately, snuffing it into the ground like a shriveled-up cigarette butt.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his response. He might’ve not seen it as notable accomplishments, but she knew better than to place the validity of success in the hands of someone riddled with imposter syndrome.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think it’s pretty fucking cool.” She leaned against the chain closest to the long-haired boy.

His lips pulled to a smile while his eyes stayed focused on the sky. “Thanks.”

She followed his gaze and chuckled, “Sky’s pretty interesting huh?” She teased.

“It is when you barely get to see stars. I never really get to see them in LA. Sometimes I forget they’re even up there.” He replied sadly before sitting back up.

Amelia took another sip of the almost empty bottle, starting to feel the warmth of alcohol spread through her body. Something about the stars and Noah made a memory cross her mind that made her burst out into a cackle. “Do you remember when you put SO much work into your astronomy project for the science fair and fucking Nicholas won with his fucking-”

“Moldy bread!” They said loudly in unison before erupting into booming laughter.

“God I was so pissed.” Noah shook his head, “And then I had to eat his fucking moldy bread.”

“Oh yeah because you lost the bet! I forgot all about that!” Laughter filled her ribcage in a way it hadn’t in years, and it felt really fucking good.

“I was so fucking sure I’d win! I should’ve known, Nick has always been the golden boy. Teacher’s-pet swindling ass.” He kicked the sand just as he would’ve at 8 years old. It’s funny how people’s mannerisms don’t really change all that much as they age. Being there with him on their old playground felt like being in a time machine. “Worst food poisoning I ever had.”

“Didn’t you borrow the telescope you used from Nick too?” She questioned, wondering if she just made that part up in her head.

“Yeah, yeah I think I did actually.” His brows furrowed as he dug through his memories. “You know what? It’s probably still in their garage!”

“Really? Maybe you can find it tomorrow.” She poured the rest of the wine into her mouth, savoring the cheap bitterness of it pooling on her tongue.

“But the stars are so pretty tonight!” He whined in classic Noah fashion.

“Yeah so? What are you gonna do? Break into their garage?” She chuckled jokingly.

He straightened up and looked over at her with wide eyes like a lightbulb just lit above his head - a look she remembered all too well.

“No.” She warned, just like she would’ve back then at whatever scheme Noah concocted in his devious little brain.

He gave her a familiar mischievous toothy grin before pushing harshly off the swing.

“No, no, no.” She sighed as he already left his seat swinging and made his way towards the street.

“Noah!” She called after him. When he showed no sign of stopping, she let out a long sigh, questioning how she ended up having to stop a 6’4 man from breaking into houses in the middle of the night. She pushed off the swing, leaving it clanging and swaying behind her.

“Noah I’m not br-“ Her yell dulled down to a hush when she caught up to him. “I’m not breaking into the Ruffilo house at midnight!” Her words were stern but to Noah they just sounded like a child’s warning against curse words.

“We’re not breaking in ‘melia.” He didn’t match her whisper, his voice was loud and proud for anyone in the night to hear. “I remember the garage code.” He announced with drunken pride.

She scoffed, “And what if someone hears the garage, Noah? Then what?”

He shrugged, “Nick is staying there, we’ll just say we were trying to see him or something. You know I have free reign there anyway.”

“This is a really shitty plan, Noah.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a displeased frown.

“It’s a great plan.” He stated confidently, walking in long strides that she could barely keep up with. “You know all my plans are great.”

“Hmm.” She hummed skeptically. “Statistically, I don’t think that’s true.”

Walking down the street with Noah to Nick’s family home in the dead of the night felt so… familiar, as if she was walking in the same exact footsteps as 15-year-old Amelia had, like her memories were tangible in her hands again. She tightened her fists slightly to remind herself that the past was not solid in her hands again. She wasn’t 15 again on some spontaneous, teenage adventure – but the alcohol-fueled adrenaline prickling at her fingertips begged to differ.

Even past midnight, the small neighborhood’s Christmas lights shined bright. Normally, she’d find them obnoxious, but tonight they seemed much sweeter, only adding to the nostalgia.

“Oh no? All of my plans worked out one way or another.” He defended as if it was factual with a straightened back and pointed finger. “All but one.”

Her brows knitted tightly together at his words, because in her memory, there was a good chunk of her life spent stuck in detention because of his schemes.

“And which one would that be?” She sassed back, watching as his speed picked up even more after her question.

“Not important.” He waved the brunette off, “C’mon, we’re here.”

Unexpectedly, his hand slips around her wrist, and it wraps tingly electricity up her arm then across her entire body. All at once the butterflies that used to be so perpetually embedded in her stomach returned in a rampant flurry. Her gaze slowly snapped up to meet his face. His smile hadn’t changed in the near 10 years apart and neither did the bright glint in his espresso eyes. Time seemed to slow around them for that split second where the electricity sizzled beneath both their fingertips and their eyes found each other’s just as easily as they used to. In that brief moment she could’ve sworn she was looking into the eyes of rail thin, tattooless teenage Noah.

“I know they got a Ring doorbell, so we gotta hide between the cars.” He whispered and ducked them both down as he weaved her through the vehicles in the driveway.

“I can’t fucking believe you talked me into this Noah!” She whisper-yelled at him, wanting nothing more than to properly reprimand him.

“Sh!”

They finally found themselves in front of the garage keypad conveniently out of view of the doorbell camera. Noah blinked blankly at plastic number pad without moving. His inked fingers tapped on his own crossed arm while his tongue stayed lodged between his lips in thought.

“Well? Go ahead! Get it over with.” She insisted, motioning urgently to the garage wanting it to be over as fast as possible. She tucked her hands across her body and into her sides giving her some semblance of comfort. The last thing she wanted was for their childish midnight antics to wake up the entire house.

“Hey! Give me time.” He rushed back, lifting a finger in her direction to shush her.

“Time? I thought you said you remembered it!”

“I do! …I think… if they haven’t changed it.” His tone much less confident than before.

“Noah!”

“Hush!” He pressed a finger to his lips at her and took a hesitant step towards the keypad. With a couple semi-sure clicks, the garage door slid open slowly. Amelia exhaled in relief at how the metal clangs of the garage were much quieter than she remembered. Still though, they creaked too loud for her liking, feeling embarrassment and anxiety flood her body.

“Yes!” Noah squeezed his fists up in victory. “See, told you I remembered.”

“Lucky guess.” She rolled her eyes with a smile.

Her eyes widened as the garage door unveiled a gorgeous white car. It was by no means a luxury car, not a Lexus or anything of the sort, but a high enough model to make you look twice. “Damn Mama Ruffilo, ridin’ in style now.”

Noah grinned as he scoots around the car. His smile was reserved, like she had discovered some award he was keeping hidden out of modesty. “Yeah, that’s the one we got her for Mother’s Day.”

“We?” She questioned, her head cocking to the side a bit.

“Yeah, Nick and me. We each paid half.”

“Oh wow, that’s really nice of you.” She replied softly. It didn’t take a genius to calculate just how much it would cost two broke DIY touring bandmates to pay for a new car, even in halves. The vehicle was shiny and spotless, evidently well taken care of – the type of care you’d put into a possession you never thought you’d own, the type of care that came from deep gratitude.

“It’s the least I could do for ya know… everything she’s done for me.”

Amelia nodded knowing exactly what he meant. It was no secret that he was more than a family friend to them, but it was nice to see that he recognized it too. While Noah might not have attended every family event or stayed for long, he showed his love and appreciation in his own small ways. Gifts were one of his favorite ways of doing so. Yeah, Noah might’ve only stayed at a Thanksgiving for an hour or two for food, but he was there long enough to make mental notes for next year, to bring extra cranberry sauce because Nick’s abuela loves it or extra croutons since Nick’s mom tends to snack on them while she cooks. He paid attention and he loved deeply, even if it didn’t seem that way on the surface.

He rustled around some miscellaneous garage junk in the corner, making more noise than Amelia felt comfortable with. She stood up on her tip toes to watch carefully him over the pristine car with her heart beating in her chest begging to rush him again.

“Ah! I knew it’d be here!” He said a little too loud out of excitement and promptly covered his mouth. His wide brown eyes met hers in a silent ‘oops, shit, sorry!’ plea.

In desperate need to escape the anxiety inducing mission, Amelia ran to the end of the driveway the second she saw the telescope in Noah’s hand. It took him longer than it should’ve just to snatch the item, but she didn’t question it or investigate much when he sped right past her after the garage began squeaking closed.

They made it out in record time, holding in their laughter until they reached the end of the street. It only took one look at each other to send them into a cackling fit. Amelia’s delicate hands found his thin arm and used him for stability, while the laughter shook her entire frame.

When they make it back to the park, he set down the telescope and unravels something she somehow didn’t notice he was carrying before.

“Did you steal that from their garage?!”

He grinned and proudly pulled another bottle of wine, white this time, from the blanket he also borrowed. “Yeah? And I’ll just replace them when I bring the telescope back tomorrow.” He carefully sat the wine down at her feet and spread out the buffalo-print blanket over the grass.

“You are so bad!” She chuckled, smacking him playfully with the excess of her long cardigan sleeve.

“Isn’t that what girls want? A bad boy?” He smirked jokingly, getting down on his knees to angle the telescope just right so that they didn’t need to stand up to use it.

She pressed her lips together as she watched him. Sure, that’s what some girls want, but not her. Even when he was landing them in detention every other day and keeping them out way past curfew – even when everyone else considered him a “bad boy” – she knew he wasn’t, not really.

Even now, whenever he got on stage, covered in ink, growling like a demon – she knew he wasn’t, and has never been, “bad”. Not the way she knew him. Amelia had a talent for seeing through people and she always saw right through Noah, from the first time she ever saw him in the back of her 3rd grade class. And all through adolescence, she saw him clearly through all his stormy confliction and thick brick walls.

Noah never saw it of course; how could he believe that someone as sugary sweet as Amelia could possibly ever see him as anything more than comical the social mask he wore with friends. In fact, he would even go as far to believe his mask was thickest and most opaque around her. Whether or not that was factual, didn’t lessen her ability to see him, really see him.

Being told you’re so wrong for so long, makes you believe that no one could ever see you as right. No matter how many friends Noah had at his parties, or fans in his crowds or girls in his bed, he never felt as though anyone saw him as enough. He got so exhausted from constantly trying to outdo himself that sometimes he forgot what exactly he was trying to accomplish.

Amelia never once believed the “bad influence, bad boy” propaganda their parents or teachers ever accused him of. To her, he was just Noah; the weird emo kid in the back of her classes, the neighbor down the street, the other older “brother” of the youngest girl scout in her troop. Amelia knew Noah at his core.

“Ah, bad boys are overrated.” She waved off his words casually.

He turned and gave her an unconvinced look, “Yeah, sure.” he glared playfully before sitting back on his legs. “Well, it’s ready if you wanna look.”

Amelia crawled across the blanket to meet him and peered through the telescope. Billions of tiny stars flooded the glass lens with twinkles and glimmers you’d never be able to see normally. Fluffy white clouds interrupted the view every so often, but it didn’t take away from the breathtaking scene.

“Whoa.” She mouthed quietly, just taking in the sight. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Sure is.” Noah agreed quietly, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them while he watched her.

They took some turns looking out of the telescope and passing the wine bottle back and forth before finally resting side by side on the picnic fabric. The air around them both was full of dwindling laughter over Noah telling silly stories about him and Nicholas and their roommates in LA. At surface level, he seemed to be doing well, despite claiming to hate LA, he appeared to be thriving there. Perhaps it was just the roommates that he enjoyed living with. Noah was never one to enjoy solitude, at least not for long periods of time. When he lived in their hometown, he was rarely wherever he was staying at the time. Getting comfortable anywhere was never his goal or motive. For the most part, it seemed like he enjoyed the constant change, the running. However, the way he talked about their home in California, all the stories he shared that brought the grandest smile to his face or the loudest boom from his chest all took place at their home. Amelia wondered what it must feel like for him to be back in their dreary little town, and if he rattled off all those stories was because he was homesick.

As the space between them flooded with a silence that was equally comfortable and uncomfortable, a question bubbled up that had been eating at Amelia from the moment she laid eyes on the tired darkness hanging beneath Noah’s eyes. His grin for most of the night was wide and toothy but she knew him better than that.

“So,” She turned her head towards him. “How are you, really?”

His eyes stayed transfixed on the stars above and he let a dense quiet settle over them before speaking.

“It must get so exhausting.” He stated, ignoring her question all together.

Her brows furrowed at his words, “What does?”

“Being so bright all the time.” He stated flatly, with a low dejected tone lacing his words.

“The stars?” She questioned with her brows still knitted.

“Sure. The Moon, the cosmos, all of it.” He brought his hands to interlace over his tummy. “Sure, the moon gets a break during the day and gets to disappear for a bit every month. And the stars get to die eventually.

“Right…?”

“But a star’s entire existence is to be bright - they only exist to be bright and then die. The moon works every night to serve as a giant nightlight and to shift some waves around. It must be so exhausting, all of it – being so bright all the time just to burn out into nothing.”

Noah had always been good at avoiding both his feelings and Amelia’s prying questions. It seemed age and time hadn’t changed that specific skill set. Maybe it’s true what they say, people never really change. It worried her that he might’ve not changed at all in that way.

“I mean,” She shifted her head to face the stars again trying to find the answers in the same place he was getting the questions. “You’re not wrong… but, think about the good that they do. The moon does so much on its own for us, you know the tides, the earth’s axis and all that. But we wouldn’t even be here staring at the sky without it all. They’re pretty and,” She shrugs. “And maybe, sometimes, that’s enough.”

“Right.” He responded curtly, pausing a long while before speaking again. “If the moon had consciousness… do you think it would care that most people know it for being pretty and not for being good at its job?” He pondered, not once looking over at the girl, perhaps afraid that his façade would crumble, and he’d spill the truth if he met her eyes.

Amelia’s brows furrowed together once more as she processed his words, doing mental gymnastics to decipher the underlying meaning. Another skill set Noah possessed was being dramatically cryptic, especially when it came to his internal turmoil. Whenever he had some battle waging within him, he suddenly transformed into a makeshift philosopher.

Looking the way he does, it’s fair to assume that his band had garnered recent attention due to his looks – most men would revel in the fleeting female attention, but not Noah. At least not enough to keep him from being contemplative on the lawn of their old park.

Girls or not, Noah had always been particular about his craft. He was lucky he found Nicholas first since he really let Noah take reigns of the entire operation. Like a true perfectionist, Noah carefully curated every song, every show, every rehearsal – even back when they were just playing in Nick’s garage with shitty amps.

Amelia analyzed his words, thinking over her response carefully. “I think the moon would be grateful for the attention either way.” She commented gently. “As long as she’s doing the job she’s meant to do, her beauty getting noticed is just a bonus. As long as she’s doing what she’s destined to do, I think she’d be content doing whatever she needs to, regardless of the affection towards her.”

“Yeah, I guess she would.”

Looking up at the sky, Amelia noticed just how round the moon was that night and how perfectly it was centered in the sky. It looked like the inside of a circus tent, like the star littered sky was just a patterned fabric pierced right in the middle by a giant moon-shaped hole. It felt like it too – as if they were the only ones in some carnival tent far away from anything bad. Below such a vast cosmos, they were just tiny specs of dust in the universe, and she was grateful for the temporary solitude. After years of not even being around Noah, he still made her feel the same. He had a knack for dissolving any real-life problems when they were alone together. When she was with him, she was in a world of their own making. She wondered if she did the same for him, and for his sake, she really hoped she did.

But alas, the bubble they created together that night was not one that could exist forever, and the big top tent must come down after a grand show.

Amelia and Noah ran out of words, at least ones meant to be said that night. They laid side by side with her right hand and his left not even a centimeter apart.

Noah was unaware of whether it was fear, nerves or sadness that fueled the drumming beneath his brittle ribs, but that same force also tugged an invisible string to lift his pinky.

Amelia’s eyes rounded and every muscle in her body tensed up the millisecond she felt him move up and hover over her own pinky.

But before he got the chance to lock over her finger, there was a frightening rustling behind some playground equipment followed by a bright light aimed right at them, blinding the pair.

“Hey! You kids aren’t allowed in here!” Boomed a deep, authoritative voice.

Amelia propped herself up on an elbow and immediately used her arm as a shield to keep the blinding light from burning her retinas any further.

Noah closed his eyes and let out a deep breath through his nose. It was one of the many familiar sounds from the town Noah hoped to never hear again.

“Sebastian? What an unpleasant surprise.” The voice taunted with a vicious edge.

“Officer Hawke.” The eyeroll was thick in Noah’s voice. “So great to see you.”

The big burly man shifted the flashlight beam to Noah directly. “Not shocking that the first time I see you back in town you’re up to no good.” He moved the light back to Amelia’s face. “Also, not shocking that you’ve reunited with your old partner in crime. Corrupting Miss. Alastor again, are we?”

“Officer, we just fell asleep earlier, we didn’t mean to be here so late.” Amelia lied for Noah like she always had. Her and Nick had been the goodie-two-shoes that were always bailing or covering for the long-haired boy. Well, Amelia was truly good, Nick was just skilled at masking his deviant tendencies, using his sweet golden-boy allure to fool everyone. As much as she hated breaking the rules, she secretly loved when Noah enabled it. Her teenage years wouldn’t have been nearly as fun or memorable without the two mischievous boys. Even just lying in the park with Noah after dark made her feel the most alive she’d had in years. It was exhilarating, no matter how much she reprimanded the boy for his reckless rebellion.

“Mhm. Sounds about right, you covering for Mr. Sebastian here, for god knows why.” He speculated, unconvinced. “It’s like I stepped back in time. It seems you both haven’t changed much.”

While the cop had been berating the two, Noah had already began packing up the picnic trying to end the interaction as quickly as possible.

“Sorry officer, it won’t happen again.” She lied.

“Sure.” He retorted. “Get you and your boyfriend out of here. Don’t let me catch you in here again.”

With that he turned and headed back to his vehicle. It was surprising that he just left the pair– not surprising that he just sat and watched them from the comfort of his cop car across the street.

Amelia helped Noah pack everything up before they made their escape from the park. Shortly after they were down the street, the cop car finally drove off. She walked in the direction of her house, thinking that Noah would part ways to maybe head towards Nick’s house to return the stolen items or to Vince’s where he was staying for the time being, but he stayed walking alongside her. He was quiet, which for Noah was strange, especially with her.

“You know, you don’t have to walk me home? I know you’re staying in the opposite direction.” She said, stuffing her cold hands in her pockets.

“I want to. It’s dangerous for you to walk alone.” He replied flatly, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk concrete.

Her house wasn’t particularly far from the other two’s, nothing in the tiny town was necessarily far from each other. With a town as small as theirs, a night walk home wouldn’t usually be considered dangerous.

“Well, thanks.” She replied cautiously.

She let her mind wander to the interaction they had at the park with Officer Hawke. Noah’s mood had been fairly consistent all night up until then. She mentally scolded herself for not realizing that running into the overly familiar cop would affect his demeanor. Maybe she just assumed that after so many years into adulthood he’d be over it, but evidently, it was foolish and incredibly mindless for her to believe so.

The rest of the walk was silent, just filled with the sounds of nature in the winter. The crisp cool air zipping with the wind, crashing into every solid object available while owls coo-ed into the darkness.

Finally, they arrived at the chain-link gate of Amelia’s small home. She rested her arm atop the pointy wires of the fence. Any other night she’d probably invite him in, but it was so late and all of the night’s events had already been enough to overfill her tummy with static-y nerves.

“Well, I-“ They fumble over each other’s words. Warmth blooms across Amelia’s cheeks at the joint misstep.

“You go.” She urged.

“No, you go.” He pushed back with a sheepish grin.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and dropped her attention down to her feet. “I was just gonna say that this was… nice.” Her teeth dug into her bottom lip. “It was really nice to see you again Noah.” Her tone soft and genuine, as her eyes meet his again.

He was unprepared for how her eyes looked with the moonlight shining directly into them. He couldn’t remember the last time he looked into them so clearly. He forgot how different they were from each other, well, they weren’t really – but they were when one spent looking at them as intently as Noah had since he was 8 years old. Her eyes were both a hazel but one much more brown while the other had a pretty emerald hue.

“Yeah, it was really nice.” His words sounded true, but his voice was still strained by the sadness from the walk there. “I’m really happy I went into the shop this morning.”

Her lips worked overtime to keep from pulling into a giant grin and suddenly she was grateful for the darkness hiding the red staining her cheeks. “Yeah, me too.”

Noah sucked in a breath to speak but pauses, before returning again, “Um - Nick’s family is throwing their annual Christmas party this weekend, I’m sure he and the Ruffilo clan would love to see you.” He stated with his words moving slightly faster than normal almost like he was nervous to even ask, which is silly isn’t it? Being anxious to invite an old friend to a holiday party you both attended every year growing up? It shouldn’t be that nerve wreaking, right? He scratched the back of his neck. “If you want that is.”

Her eyes nearly light up enough to cut through the darkness. “Yeah,” She beamed a sweet smile up at him.  “I think I’d really like that.”

taglist; @lma1986 @alastriaa @missduffsblog @xxkittenkissesxx @ladyveronikawrites @baddestomens @measuredingold @jilliemiw86

[comment to be added to taglist<3]

A/N; thank you so much for reading - again this is my first time writing in 3rd person so i hope it was decent! i hope you enjoyed even though it is definitely not christmas time lmao - lmk what you think! 💗

[collapsedglasshouses]

WOULD YOU SAY I'M WORTHY || ONE

PAIRING: Noah Sebastian x OFC ; slight Nick Folio x OFC

DIVIDER ART WORK BY @saradika-graphics

SUMMARY: When Eden meets Noah, her life is anything but perfect. Her heart is far more broken than Noah can even guess at this point. Will he be able to mend the wounds he hadn’t caused?

WARNINGS: angst, fluff, eventually smut, mentions of grief/loss, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of mental health issues, mentions of illnesses

A/N: FIRST OF ALL, COVID DOESN'T EXIST IN THIS STORY! Second, hello! :) This is a new series. We will see where this goes. Thank you for everyone joining in before it was even a real idea haha. If you liked the first part, consider reblogging it! Thank you!

TAGLIST: @measuredingold @cncohshit @lma1986 @missduffsblog @cookiesupplier @thescarlettvvitch @bngurngheart @dream-machine-love @arkiliastuff @vinyardmauro @lacktoesandtoddlerants @princessmarshmallowx

If you wanna be added to the story's taglist or to my taglist in general, leave a comment or message me privately!

The rain was pouring down with no regrets. It had been like this for a few days. And still, the bar business was booming. It was a cold Friday evening in October and Eden was done. She had been on her feet since around six in the morning and she just wanted to cuddle herself into her blanket on her small couch at home.

It wasn’t like she despised her job at the bar, but she just couldn’t feel her feet anymore. She had been pouring beer into glasses for five hours straight and there was seemingly no end. Every time she thought she had a second to herself, the next person ordered something.

On the light side, she also really hadn’t had the time to think about anything outside of work, which was the exact reason why she went for the job. She had been living in Los Angeles for about three months now. Three months of none-stop working. Three months of keeping her mind of reality.

She was doing better than she had originally thought.

As she was giving a woman her change, she noticed how the door opened. She always noticed when the door opened and she surely always noticed him. A young man in his early twenties entered the bar and shook his head for a second to get rid of the excess water in his hair. Eden felt like she could breathe for a second.

When the man lifted his gaze again, he quickly was met with Eden’s exhausted but welcoming smile.

“Eden!” The man beamed. “Thank God, you are here. I thought, you weren’t working today.”

“I’m always working, Nick.” She answered the man, as he approached the bar and set down on one of the chairs. He leaned a bit towards her with a smug smile on his face. “The same as usual.” – “Everything for you, Nick.”

She poured another beer into the glass before turning back to him and setting the drink in front of him. She didn’t even have to tell him what it cost, the money already laying on the counter, “Keep the change.”

Eden smiled to herself. Her day just got better.

“How has your week been?” Nick asked her, before sipping on his beer. Eden sighed.

“Pretty good.” She said, as she always did. “Yours?”

“A lot of stuff with the band.” He answered.

Right, the band. She knew he was the drummer of this metal band. Sometimes she forgot Nick was somewhat popular.

Eden nodded, before being called to the other side of the counter to yet pour another beer. When she went back to Nick afterwards, he was quick to gift her a sweet smile.

“What are you doing tomorrow?" Nick asked her interested.

“The same as always. Cuddling on my couch and watching some movies.” She answered him and he looked shocked. “But it’s your birthday!” – “That is the reason why I’m doing nothing out of the usual.”

Nick shook his head. “It’s also Halloween, Sunshine.” Eden smiled a little at the nickname Nick had given her other the last couple of weeks. She knew it couldn't be further from the truth, but she enjoyed the image Nick seemed to have of her in his head.

“Don’t make it even worse than it already is.” Eden breathed out, not even sure if Nick heard it over the noise that filled the room.

Eden hated her birthday. It was a hard reminder of the time just slipping through her fingers. To her, it was even worse that she was also born on a national holiday. And if that wasn’t enough, she also had her name tied to said holiday. While her name was representing some kind of delight or place of pleasure, her parents had chosen that name for her, because they thought it sounded mysterious and spooky. Fitting for Halloween.

“Oh, come on.” Nick exclaimed, snapping her out of her thoughts. She blinked at him for a second, waiting for him to continue his sentence. “Enjoy yourself for once.”

Eden rolled her eyes. As much as Nick was a delight to her, she also hated his happy spirit in moments like this.

“Okay, hear me out.” Nick said, when he saw her facial expression. “A good friend of mine is celebrating his birthday tomorrow. You should come. This way, nobody will focus on you, you can enjoy my company outside of work for once and you’re out of your little hobbit-house for once.”

Eden tapped her fingers against the counter and started to think. It had been about the fifth time that Nick tried to get her to do something with him. Since now, she had always turned him down. Not, that she didn’t want to see him, she just was scared. She liked being alone. She liked being to herself. She didn’t even speak to anyone outside of work, except her sister and her parents, but even that contact was strongly limited by her. Nick was the only one she would call somewhat a friend.

Eden ran a hand through her hair and then over her face. She was going to regret this. She just knew it.

“Okay… Just once.” She gave in and Nick clapped his hands together in excitement.

“Fucking finally!” He exclaimed. “I was really starting to think, you hated me.”

“I do not, and you know that.” She reassured him before taking another order. When she was ready with the customer, Nick’s beer was empty. She allowed herself to look at the clock that was hanging over the entrance of the bar. Her shift would end in half an hour.

“So, where should I go tomorrow?" She asked Nick, who was still smiling to himself.

“Give me your phone number and I’ll text you the address.” He answered her and reached his hand out, waiting for her phone.

For a second, she simply looked at his hand. He was getting bold.

She sighed in defense and pulled her phone from her pants to hand it to him.

Right when he handed it back, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her boss Michael looked at her. “You can go. Anna will be here in a second.”

Eden nodded, before looking at Nick again, who stood to his feet, also ready to head out.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She exclaimed, before Nick nodded at her with a smile and left.

“The guy is cute.” Michael said to her, and she smiled a little. “Yeah, he is also a total pain in the ass.”

Michael only shrug his shoulders, before wishing her a good night and soon Eden was in her car.

It didn’t take her long to reach her apartment. She had been lucky, getting a flat close to her work. When she reached her front door and opened it, she sighed at the familiar sight of her home. Things hadn’t been easy the last couple of months. After moving to the other side of the country, she was just happy to have some peace again. She liked not living in that old house anymore, back at her hometown. Everything reminded her of her pain back there.

Not even twenty minutes later, she fell onto her couch, a bowl of instant noodles in her hand and some sitcom playing in the background, when her phone vibrated. Three messages from an unknown number.

She opened them.

?: Hey, here is Nick.

?: The party starts at 8, you have to come in a custome

?: [adress attached]

That's when it hit her.

She agreed to go to a party with a man, she barely knew, even though he was the closest she had to a friend in LA.

She was definitely going to regret it.

[thatchickwiththecamera]

WDYWFM? - Pt. 1 (UPDATED!)

Synopsis: The European leg of the Concrete Forever tour marks one year since Tyler Garrett joined the Bad Omens media team. A lot can change over the course of a year. New experiences, new friendships, and new discoveries emerge.

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x OC

NOTE: Part Two is coming soon! Had to update and edit part one!

Cross-posted on AO3 (thatchickwiththecamera)

MASTERLIST

Based on an idea I got from seeing this video.

Tag List: @sundamariis, @fastjelly-fish, @lilylovesdew, @narcissisticbehavior81

Tonight was night five of the European leg of the 2024 Concrete Forever tour and the end of January had marked one year since I had first joined the Bad Omens media crew. With the band's increase in popularity Bryan, the band's photographer and media director, decided it was time to expand the team going into Shiprocked so he could focus more carefully on planning and curating the media content produced and published for the band. 

So Bryan reached out to a friend in the music industry and asked if they knew of any photographers/videographers with a solid portfolio who were looking for a more permanent media production gig. That friend connected him to me and as they say, the rest is history. 

“Tyler! Did you finish up the edits for tonight's social post?” Bryan’s voice carried from the front of the crew bus to the back lounge where I sat backing up files to my external harddrive. 

“Yeah! They’re already in the dropbox!” I responded before ejecting my drive from my macbook and throwing them both back onto my bunk. 

I clipped my crew credentials with “CONCRETE FOREVER TOUR” and “TYLER GARRETT - MEDIA CREW” printed across the top and bottom through the belt loop of my jeans and slipped on my crew sweatshirt before walking toward the front of the bus. Bryan and Alana were standing over the main table and counter area double checking the batteries and the assortment of cameras we would be mounting in various parts of the stage for tonight's show along with our individual gear that would be on our person and laid out backstage for us to use throughout the show. 

The air once we stepped into the venue was buzzing with energy. I don’t know what it was about this leg of the tour, but it was like a switch was flipped. Ever since the first date in January opening for Bring Me The Horizon back in Cardiff there was this high that enveloped the entire group and it looked like no one would be coming down anytime soon. 

This energy was especially present in the band's lead singer, Noah. The usually stoic and serious persona he portrayed on stage was now replaced with one that roamed around the various levels of the stage doing jumping jacks, pushups, dances, and little vocal trills. 

After the first two shows, his antics even caused Poppy, our opener for this part of the tour, to completely abandon portraying her A.I. character like was originally planned for their performances of V.A.N.  Instead, she joined in Noah’s antics and even introduced the world to this little handshake that they had originally created during rehearsals leading up to the tour. 

Life in between gigs had been lively as well since the start of the new year. After each show when everything was packed up and the load outs were completed, the band and crew for both Bad Omens and BMTH would venture to one of the local pubs and celebrate with a few beers and carbonated beverages before loading up on the buses and venturing off to the next city. 

Until joining the Bad Omens crew, I would usually keep to myself in between shows while touring - choosing to prioritize edits, catalog files, and update my individual socials when not trying to finish a book on my Kindle or finish a show on a random streaming service. 

The first few months of touring after Shiprocked changed all of that and a few of the crew and band made it their mission to pull me out of the confines of my comfort zone and my regular routine. Over the course of the past year, Bryan has pushed me to learn and develop my photo and video skills far past where I ever thought they would go. Matt started teaching me front of the house controls, he now hounds me with daily racoon memes, and I in turn buy him random Dr. Pepper merch. Steven taught me all about the finer side of wristwatches, NBA basketball, and the intricacies of running merch. Alana quickly became one of my best friends and has balanced her assistant tour manager duties well alongside keeping me sane as the only other female member of the media team and crew. 

Folio decided that I absolutely had to learn how to fish when one of our venues had a lake nearby, even making me kiss the smallmouth bass that I caught before he threw it back in citing that it was tradition with your first fish. He also dared me to smoke my first joint, which caused me to hack up a lung because I somehow inhaled wrong. Nicholas helped me design a few tattoo ideas before inking my forearm and starting what will eventually become a full sleeve up my right arm. Jolly taught me a bunch of guitar riffs and how to cuss in Swedish (which I do entirely too often now), and Noah surprised me with the hidden talent of being a pool shark and we ended up becoming quick friends to the point where he is now my partner in crime hustling people out of their money when the crew goes out to bars. I also learned that while he hates it when people try to scare and prank him, he loves to scare and prank others. 

Which is why, as expected, throughout three out of the first four shows of the European leg, Noah made it his mission to try and scare me at least once per show mainly during the song transitions when I would try to quickly get from one side of the stage to the next during the blackouts. In Berlin, it was during the transition after “Nowhere to Go” when I was coming down from the second level of the stage after retrieving the camera that was filming Folio play. Luckily I had handed the camera and its tripod down to Alana behind the platform before descending the steps in time for Noah to jump out at the bottom already wearing his ski mask for V.A.N. 

I jumped, skipping a step on the way down, and felt a set of arms grab me and hold me back up before I could fall too far forward. I remember yelling ‘fucking hell’ in swedish and looking up to see Noah with a shit eating grin peaking through the mask and hearing Jolly laugh at my use of the words. I grabbed his mask and yanked on it so it was crooked on his face before I ran behind the platform to the other side of the stage where I had left my camera gear. I heard him let out a laugh and a few cuss words of his own as he struggled to fix the mask and climb the steps up to his spot on the platform before Poppy started singing. 

Night one in Cologne, I was mainly in the photo pit for the majority of the show, while Bryan and Alana were the ones roaming the stage. I kept a gear bag tucked behind one of the few big boxes we had on either side of the stage. In it, I had my spare batteries, my water bottle, and the 360 camera on an extension pole. The plan for this show was to focus on crowd shots and footage along with regular low-angle stage shots. While I got amazing shots of the guys performing and some hilarious shots of a fan crowd surfing in an inflatable shark suit. Noah lost any possible opportunity offered for pranking during the show. 

On night two in Cologne, he made up for the missed opportunity. During the transition between “Artifical Suicide” and “Like A Villan,” I quickly ran to the media team roadcase set up behind the guitar stage case and tech area to get a quick drink of water and change out a lens. As I was kneeling down in front of the case and had just finished switching the lenses, I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders. Luckily all the equipment was out of my hands because the sudden motion made me jump and fall back on my heels, causing me to bump into something, well someone, behind me. I let out a string of curse words, this time in English, and tilted my head back to see Noah, now without his mask, trying to hold back a laugh as he smiled down at me. I let out an annoyed sign and rolled my eyes. He gave my shoulder a squeeze before disappearing back out onto the stage right as the song began. 

In Munich, he chose the “Miracle” break as his time to strike. Only this time he stepped up his game. While I was switching out gear and changing my settings from photo to video, I set everything on a storage case under the second level platform and stood up to stretch a bit since this break was the more lengthy of the two. After I finished trying rid my shoulders of the tension that had built up from holding a camera in front of my face for a hour, I felt an arm wrap across the front of my collarbones and pulled me back into them while the person's other hand took one of the band's athletic water bottles and sprayed it down the rear collar of my crew hoodie. I squirmed and let out a loud gasp as the shock of the icey cold water briefly hit the back of my neck before I managed to wriggle away. I turned and as expected was greeted by a sweaty Noah smiling down at me trying to hold back laughter. 

“You little shit!” I shouted before quickly grabbing the water bottle from his hand and pointed it at him spraying him with the same icy cold water. 

He started swatting at the spray, laughing as his long thin fingers did nothing to block the liquid. He reached out and grabbed my wrist and I quickly tried to switch the bottle to my other hand but he was too quick, capturing that wrist as well before I could aim the bottle at his face again. I laughed and tried to pull away but he pulled me toward him and pinned my wrists against his chest trying to render the “weapon” he introduced inoperable. 

The laughter between us suddenly died off. The height difference between my 5’1” and his 6’3'' became very clear and his chin practically touched his chest as he gazed down at me. We stood there for what felt like an eternity, brown eyes connected with blue. He loosened his grip on my wrists slightly but neither of us made any attempt to move.  

The arena suddenly felt very warm and I don’t think I could blame it on the array pyrotechnics used during the show. I don’t know what to call this sudden shift in the air between us, but all I know is it caused something to flutter in my stomach and that scared the hell out of me. So I did the first thing I could think of, I diffused an intense moment with humor. I squeezed the water bottle that was still in my hand and the last remnants of water from the bottle hit Noah’s chin and neck. The shock of the cold liquid caused him to step back and release my wrists. I immediately missed the contact, but I needed to get away from this situation. 

“Shit that really is cold!” He laughed, turning to grab one of the black towels we had on hand backstage and started to dry off the water. 

When he turned to offer me the towel I had already retrieved my camera and fled to the other side of the stage wondering what the fuck had just happened. 

During the day off between Munich and Zurich, I kept myself busy editing, organizing, and uploading photo content to the media team drive and to my own socials. I had gained a considerable amount of followers since joining the Bad Omens team and while I enjoyed seeing the reaction and appreciation the guys' fans had when I posted new content, I was also starting to see some of the reasons why the guys like to take social media breaks as often as they do. 

Editing was one of my favorite parts of being a photographer and with us starting this European leg off with four back-to-back shows, I hadn’t had time to pause and really work my magic. So that is what I designated as my mission for this day off. I also may have used it as an excuse to avoid leaving the crew bus and chance any more contact with Noah. I was still trying to figure out if that flutter in my stomach was real or if it was just part of the adrenaline from a high energy concert and my body being attacked with ice cold water. 

Tonight, we were in Zurich and I was running around the stage at various times throughout the set while Bryan was down in the photo pit trying out some new ideas he had photos wise and finally having his turn with the 360 camera during a show.

During “What do you want from me?” I was standing in the wings to stage left filming Noah when he suddenly walked over to me in the middle of the second verse, grabbed my left wrist from where it held the side of my camera and pulled me out onto the stage. I keep filming as he releases my wrist and quickly slips his hand in mine while he continues to walk backward onto the stage. Once we were in the middle of the stage he started to spin in a circle with our connected hands extended in the middle. We spun around a few times before he started to jump while we were spinning causing his hair to bounce up and down on his head which I shakily captured on camera. The randomness of it all led to fits of laughter and caused Noah to mess up the last two lines of the verse. 

As the verse came to an end I expected him to let go and yell, “JUMP JUMP” like he usually does during the brief blackout. Instead, as the light goes out, I am yanked forward and feel a hand and the cool metal of a microphone against the side of my face, and a set of lips briefly collide with mine. I barely had time to process what happened before it ended, the lips were gone, the lights came back up, and Noah jumped onto the riser at the front of the stage to sing the rest of the song. I still held my camera up and panned to follow him trying to hide any reaction my face might show behind a veil of concentration. 

For the remainder of the show, I tried to avoid making any and all eye contact with Noah, who in turn tried his damndest to get me to look at him and gauge my reaction to what he did. He did it in a way that wasn’t too noticeable to the crowd by acting like he's playing up to the camera. My brain tried to process what had happened and what the hell it possibly meant over the course of the remaining ten songs in the set. 

Noah kissed me. 

On stage. 

In the middle of a show. 

Did one of the guys see? 

Oh Shit! Did anyone in the audience see?

The usual jump scare from the previous shows never came and my self-sabotaging brain was trying to solve the question of what everything meant. Kissing me to see my reaction instead of scaring me like usual? Was this real or was it just another prank?

__

Author's Note: I have never really written fanfiction before, especially for a band. So feedback is welcome! Part Two is coming soon!

Let me know in the comments if you’d like to be tagged.

[crimson-calligraphyx]

What do four best friends do when they can't agree on where to go on their next "Girl's Trip"? Well, they have a competition—whoever wins gets to choose where to go. The catch? It involves candy underwear and subtlety. Disclaimer: this is completely fictional. I do not own Bad Omens or anyone affiliated with them. This is a RPF; don't like? Don't read. Hope you enjoy! 😊 Sexual content: oral sex & fingering; female receiving. slight knife play. Word count: 5,204 Costumes: Anastasia Riley Adeline I think y'all can picture Gemma's costume Candy thong Tag list: @kingdomof-omens @cheyfi @daylightlvrs @blade-in-red @ladyveronikawrites @jay02bo *if you'd like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

Heavy bass vibrated through not only the walls of our home, but the entirety of my body, shaking me to the core. The air in the foyer was thick with the smoke billowing from the fog machine, creeping low against the wooden floors and swirling as I walked through it.

Continuing through our home, I couldn’t help the nagging thought in my head of whether we really should have a strobe light going or not. It was starting to make me dizzy; the last thing we needed was someone dropping in the middle of the living room from a seizure, but the girls insisted it was necessary for the night and told me to stop being such a worry wart.

It was Halloween night, and the girls and I were getting ready for the impromptu party we threw together. We invited practically the whole block, shoving flyers into their mailboxes the night before, not expecting half of them to show. Still, we went all out and bought two kegs and brought out the entirety of our liquor cabinet, along with probably a dozen pizzas just in case.

It was LA after all, and word does spread like wildfire here, so maybe there was a chance of a huge turnout.

I made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom to check on how the others were doing with their costumes, stopping short when I got a look at Gemma’s outfit. Nicholas outdid himself—the ‘ink’ on Gemma’s arms was that of Noah’s, though rushed from the amount of time we had to get ready. Still, he did his job, and you could tell they were supposed to be the crimson waves and the grayscale portrait Noah had. And of course, the snake with the forbidden fruit on the neck.

Gemma stood with a proud smile on her face, waving her hands up and down her body to brandish her outfit. I snorted, taking in the cropped black tank top, short black skirt, and fishnet combo. She had a white shoelace around the waistband of the skirt to mimic the drawstring on his stage pants, and even had the chain necklace and bracelet he wore on his left wrist.

“Single glove or hand wraps?” she asks, holding up one in each hand. “The glove is more infamous in my opinion, but it might get sweaty,” I shrugged. “Up to you.” She tilts her head back in forth, pondering before settling with the hand wraps. She tossed the glove onto the bed, hitting Adeline with it, who was lying on her stomach.

“If you’re gonna hit me in the ass with a glove, make sure your hand is in it,” Adeline teases, looking back at us over her shoulder. "Duly noted," Gemma laughs and makes her way over to the bed, promptly slapping Adeline over her bustle-clad ass. "What even are you?" Adeline rolls over and stands up, picking up her fedora and placing it on her head. She points to the holster strapped to her thigh that holds a knife, presumably fake. "I'm a monster hunter. You know, like if the Winchester's had a sister." Gemma nods her head slowly, "Riiight, gotcha."

I shake my head at them with a smirk playing on my lips, turning my attention to the mirror. I adjusted the frilled collar around my neck, hoping it wouldn't suffocate me too much during the night, followed by the thigh-high stockings, having the bells on my skirt jingle as I moved. "You think I should do some sort of clown makeup or just leave it with the smokey eye?" I asked, turning to Nick. "Nah," he shakes his head and takes a sip of his beer. "I think it's fine the way it is."

I shrugged, accepting his answer, and tightened the pigtails on my head one last time just as Riley made her way into the room. I gasped when I saw the orange tattered dress and burlap hood, adorned with Sam's stitched face. I was astonished at how good she looked. She wraps her arms around herself, trying to make herself small as a pink tinge formed on her cheeks. I knew she felt uncomfortable, completely stepping out of her comfort zone, but her costume really was amazing.

"Is it that bad?" she asks, digging the toe of her platformed boot into the carpet with uncertainty. "Girl, no! You look amazing!" I reassure her, motioning for her to spin around so I could get a full view. She obliges, hesitantly spinning and extending her arms out by her sides, the skirt of her dress swishing around her. She halts facing me, "Thanks, Stace," she giggles, the start of a confident smile spreading on her face.

"Alright bitches, now that we're all here," Gemma announces, gaining everyone's attention. She holds up her hand, clasped around a bundle of what appeared to be candy necklaces. "I have a little game for us to play tonight. Know how we've been fighting over where to go for our next Girl's Trip?" She asks, tossing each of us a string of candies with a sly smirk. I held the candy up in front of me, quickly realizing these weren't necklaces, but thongs. "Gem, what the fuck are you getting at?" I asked accusingly. She chortled as the rest of us girls exchanged wary glances, only imagining what she had in mind. "We're going to wear these tonight and see who can get rid of the candies the fastest. Winner gets to choose our destination," she winks, stepping into the G-string and sliding it underneath her skirt, completely disregarding Nicholas sitting behind her. "A-and how do you expect us to do that?" Riley asks timidly, the blush rearing her face again.

Gemma chuckles and makes her way over to Riley, taking the ties of the burlap hood between her thumb and index finger, and twiddling it. "C'mon Riles, use that brain of yours. You're gonna get each and every one of those boys at this party to take a nibble," she chomps the air playfully and tugs on the string to release the knot with a laugh. "Hey!" Riley gasps, throwing her hands on her head to stop the burlap sack from falling to the floor. "Not funny," she grumbles, situating the hood back in its original place. "I don't know, Gemma. That's a little... risque." "That's the whole point, Riles! Maybe you'll get lucky with Jol—" "Shh!" Riley frantically covers Gemma's mouth and glances briefly at Nick, her face now beet red and eyes wide as saucers.

I exchanged a knowing look with Adeline, both of us snickering quietly. It was no secret that Riley had a thing for Jolly, always growing quiet and tucking herself behind one of us whenever he was in the room. And when he spoke to her? Forget it. It's like her brain short-circuits and she forgets how to speak, only able to laugh and play with the hem of her shirt. It was cute though, and I knew that a part of this game Gemma had planned was to break Riley out of her shell a bit.

With a shrug, I slipped out of my non edible underwear and tossed it into my hamper, replacing it with the candy thong. It was a little snug, and felt weird as the chalky beads rolled over my skin, but I was determined to get this off as quickly as possible. I was desperate to go to Hawaii.

Adeline steps into my bathroom to exchange her underwear, and Riley looks between the three of us when she returns, visibly shaking. She takes a deep breath and makes her way into my bathroom, doing the same as Adeline.

"Y'all are crazy," Nicholas comments with a chuckle and stands up, slipping his Michael Myers mask over his head. "Please, like you don't want to take a nibble," Gemma winks, bending slightly and wriggling her hips in his direction. I could just imagine the eye roll that was hidden by his mask as he silently sauntered through us, heading downstairs. "At least he's in character," I snorted, and we shared a laugh then trailed after him, ready for our night of fun as we descended the stairs.

Hitting the bottom step, I could just barely hear the doorbell over the music blasting through our home, the bass still vibrating through me. I made my way to the door, throwing it open to be met with a pair of dark eyes, covered slightly by shaggy bangs and shimmering from the strobe light behind me. I take in Noah's blood-stained white T-shirt and jeans as he holds a Ghostface mask in his right hand.

A smirk slowly spreads on his face as I stared for much longer than I should have, soaking in how fucking easy it was for him to look so good, and I could feel my face start to warm. Heat simmers low in my belly from the way he locks eyes with me and smolders at me—he knew exactly what he was doing. Noah and I have been playing this cat-and-mouse game for months, both of us too stubborn to admit our feelings to one another regardless of how obvious it was.

I cleared my throat, "Billy Loomis, huh?" "How could you tell?" he chuckles. I rolled my eyes, "It's not like Scream isn't my favorite slasher or anything." He feigns surprise, his eyebrows rising. "Is that so?" he teases, that smirk finding his lips again. I remained silent while I watched his eyes trail up and down my body, taking in my Jester costume.

He slowly brings his eyes back to mine, lingering on my chest briefly. "So, you gonna let me in or am I supposed to party on the porch by myself all night?" "Right," I chuckled, opening the door wider, allowing him room to enter. "Welcome to the night circus, where you can be a freak on purpose," I shoot him a wink, waving my arm in a grand fashion. "Why thank you, Anastasia," he crosses through the threshold, the way he put emphasis on my name causing a shiver to roll down my spine. No one uses my full name.

His eyes never left mine as he brushed past me, the bells on my dress jingling as he ran a finger across the bottom of it. My heart pounds from the seduction in his eyes, his proximity, the anticipation of his fingers grazing my skin. I watched him disappear into the kitchen while the strobes gave the illusion that his body was lagging behind, leaving nothing but the fog swirling in his wake.

Huffing out a breath, I go to shut the door blindly, having a boot wedge between it and the frame. I looked up at the owner of said boot, belonging to Jolly, who stood there sporting a kind smile with fake blood dribbling down from the corner of his mouth. "Shit, sorry Jolly. I didn't see you there," I apologized with a grimace and stepped back to allow him inside. He laughs, and I catch a glimpse of the fake fangs settled on his teeth. "That's alright, I could see you were a bit preoccupied," he winks before making his way inside, trailing after Noah.

I felt my cheeks burn hot from embarrassment, and suddenly the collar around my neck was beginning to suffocate me. Shutting the door, I took a deep breath to recollect myself and calm my erratic heart. This was going to be an interesting night.

-

The night carried on, with dozens upon dozens of strangers funneling into our home. Half the pizza was gone, the kegs have been tapped, and I was feeling pretty good after a few drinks. I managed to get a couple bites taken from the candy G-string by said strangers, as did the others, but we appeared to still be neck-and-neck in our little competition.

Folio was running rampant around the house in his werewolf costume, sloshing beer in his wake, while Adeline and Noah were nowhere in sight. Riley had tucked herself in the corner of the living room, trying her best to make small talk with Jolly, who seemed very interested in what she had to say. And of course, Nicholas was taking advantage of his Michael Myers costume, sneaking up on people and scaring the shit out of them.

"Stacy!" I heard Gemma call my name as I snagged a slice of pizza. I turned towards her while taking a bite, perking an eyebrow up in questioning. "Come do a keg stand with me!" I rolled my eyes, swallowing the bite I took. "Let me finish my slice of pizza first, Gem. I haven't eaten all night!" She wasn't even paying attention to what I had to say, giggling as she skipped on over to the keg.

I followed after her, shaking my head with a chuckle as she threw herself onto Matt's back, who barely had time to register what was happening. He caught her just in time, nearly falling forward as he hooked her knees on his elbows, scolding her. "Matty," she laughs, "can you help me with the keg stand?" "If it gets you off my back, sure," he huffs. "I may be dressed as Goku, but I'm not a Super Saiyan, so you gotta find another person to help hold your drunk ass up." "Deal!" she lands a sloppy kiss on his cheek before sliding off his back, immediately waving me towards her.

I sighed and tossed my pizza onto the closest counter, knowing she would just keep pestering me until I obliged. Gemma takes hold of the handles and bends at the waist, beginning to hoist herself up by kicking her legs out. Matt and I exchanged looks and rolled our eyes at her impatience, both of us grasping a leg to steady her as she flipped upside down, her skirt falling and exposing the candy underwear.

"You ready?" Matt asks her, not even noticing that her ass was now exposed, and brings the spout to her mouth. She responds by giggling, taking the spout between her teeth. "Three, two, one... Go!" he counts down, opening the spigot and funneling beer to her.

It was messy at first as she continued to giggle, foam billowing from her lips, dripping into her hair and on top of the keg. After a moment, she stifles her hysterics and gets a better grasp on the spout, finally drinking it down as the room starts to count how long she could stay up.

"Gemma, what the fuck are you wearing?" Matt laughs just after the room counts to eight. I brought my attention to him; he finally noticed the edible underwear, unapologetically staring at her ass with a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Gemma starts to laugh, the spout falling from her mouth, which continues to pour beer all over the floor. Her arms buckle as she laughs harder, and she topples backward, landing straight on her back. She groans out in pain, only to erupt into another fit of giggles.

I snorted with amusement and shook my head at the sight before me, reaching for the spigot to close it. "Are you alright?" I asked her and promptly offered a hand to help her up. She accepts my hand and pulls herself up, stumbling to her feet. "Oh yeah, that was hilarious," she chuckles, turning her attention to Matt. "For your information, Matty, it's called candy underwear." "Right, but why are you wearing it?" She motions her head at me, "We're having a competition—me, Stacy, Adeline, and Riley—and for the life of us, we can't agree on where to go for vacation. So, like the genius that I am, I decided whoever can get all the candy bitten off by the end of the night, wins."

He barks out a laugh, shaking his head. "That is the stupidest shit you've ever come up with, Gem." He grabs a solo cup and starts to fill it with beer from the keg, "Where is it that you guys want to go that you can't agree on something?" I mimic his actions, filling my own cup. "I wanna go to Hawaii," I shrugged, followed by taking a sip of my beer. "Riley wants to go to the Bahamas, I think Addy wants to go to Niagara Falls." "What about you, Gem?" Matt asks, pointing his cup in her direction. "Las Vegas!" she shouts.

He nods slowly and takes a long sip of his drink, mulling over our answers. With the hand that was holding the solo cup, he points a finger at me and gives me a quick head nod. "Bend over, I'm taking a bite." "Excuse me?" I folded my arms over my chest, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Hawaii is the best option in my opinion," he shrugs, putting his cup down and closing the gap between us.

He sidles up behind me, lifting the skirt of my dress on his own as he crouches. I shiver from the feeling of his warm breath on my backside as he brings the candy into his mouth, his lips brushing against my skin. I could feel him pull on the string as he fought with it to break the candy, having it snap back into place when he successfully took what felt like a big chunk off. I glanced at Gemma with wide eyes, not expecting this from Matt, and she did not seem amused by any means.

"You better fucking win this shit, Stace," he mumbles and stands up, chewing on the candy. "That's the whole idea, Matt," I winked at him, tugging my dress back into place before returning to my pizza waiting for me on the counter. Gemma scoffs, "What about me? That doesn't seem very fair." "You said it yourself, Gem. It's a competition," Matt retorts. "One of you has to win, and none of you will if I take a bite off each of your asses." Her mouth drops open, appalled by his words, and she quickly exits the room with an exasperated exhale.

"Drama queen," he snickers as he washes down the sweets with a pull of his beer. "The other guys know about this?" "Nick does, not sure if the others caught wind or not. A few strangers were brave enough to take a nibble or two," I chuckled. "Well then, carry on. The night is still young." He bumps his cup with mine in cheers before trailing after Gemma.

With a shrug, I did just so and topped off my cup before heading into the living room. The air in the room was sticky from all the heat radiating off people's bodies, everyone practically shoulder to shoulder as they danced and drank whatever they had in their hands. I take a large pull of my drink, starting my journey through the sea of people until I lock eyes with those same alluring eyes from earlier in the night.

Noah stands there, leaning against the wall opposite of me with his arms folded over his chest. A smirk begins to spread across his face when he sees that he has my undivided attention, and my heart leaps into my throat from how long he holds my gaze. He only breaks eye contact when Nick sidles up beside him, lifting his mask to speak to Noah.

I take another sip of my drink, hoping to swallow my heart back where it belongs but to no avail. Whatever Nick had said to Noah only made his smirk grow, his eyes flickering back to me as he pushed off the wall and began to cut through the crowd towards me.

What the fuck did Nick say to him?

I straighten my posture as he stands in front of me, trying to give the impression that I wasn't beginning to crumble underneath his devious presence. He leans towards me, bringing his mouth so close to my ear that I can feel his breath ghost by it, a chill running down my spine. "Come with me," he says lowly, his tone immediately spreading warmth to my core.

He brushes past me, this time his fingers grazing against my thigh, and my breath gets caught in my throat. Taking another gulp of my beer, I followed him out of the living room and down the hallway that passed by the kitchen. He halts when we're away from the crowd, leaning up against the wall again with the same smirk on his face from moments before. He doesn't say anything, just stares at me.

Now annoyed by his silence, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why did you bring me here, Noah?" "Like you don't know," he chuckles. I squint my eyes at him, "What are you getting at?" He hums with amusement, pushing himself off the wall, and stalks towards me again, this time brandishing a knife. My eyes grow wide and I back against the wall, my heart pounding as panic starts to wash over me.

He snorts, lowering his hand. "Relax, it's fake. I'm just trying to stay in character. You know, Billy Loomis and all." I huffed, "That wasn't funny." "Mmm, was pretty funny to me. Shoulda seen your face." "Fuck you, Noah," I let out a breathy laugh. "So, you gonna tell me what's going on or can I go back to the party?" He takes another step towards me, tipping my head up with the blade of the plastic knife under my chin. I remained calm this time, knowing it was fake, and stared up at him as I waited for an answer. "A little birdy told me there's a competition between you girls. Is that true?"

So, that's what Nick told him.

"That is true," I confirmed. "And does it involve candy underwear, or was that a lie?" My throat goes dry; I swallow as my heart begins to pound again. "Y-yes," I stammered. "Interesting," he muses, tracing the blade leisurely down my throat. "I love candy necklaces; it's the same candy, right?" I nodded shallowly. "I may have to partake in this competition then if you'll allow it." I take a deep breath in as he continues to skim the knife across my breasts, dragging it down the front of my dress. I lost my voice while my reply swirled round and round in my head, dizzying me as I saw his eyes darken with mischief while he scrutinized my every move.

The knife reaches the middle of my thigh, and he changes direction, slipping it under my dress. He inches it back up my thigh, bringing the heat in my stomach to a simmer as it neared my center. I squeeze my legs together when he slides it between them, and he chuckles. "I'll take that as a no," he says, retracting the knife. "No, you may," I breathed. "Maybe without the knife, though." "Fair enough." He agrees, tucking it into his back pocket.

He lowers himself to his knees, leering up at me with hunger in his eyes as he fists the bottom of my dress. "May I?" I gave a quick nod and held my breath as his head disappeared under the skirt. He wastes no time at all; I can feel the tug against the strings as he takes a section of the beads into his mouth, his warm breath caressing my mound. I chomp down on my lip to hold back the mewl that wanted to escape me from the sensation.

The thong snaps back into place when he successfully takes a bite, causing me to jump slightly. I heard him chuckle, but he didn't pull back. Instead, he takes another mouthful, this time sucking them into his mouth rather than taking them in between his teeth. His lips brush against me ever-so-slightly, my body reacting to the closeness by clenching around nothing.

Fuck. This was turning me on way too fucking much.

"Noah," I warned. "I-I think you've had enough." He releases the candy, and they snap back against me, once again causing me to buck my hips forward. The sweets were now sticky from his saliva, the underwear even more uncomfortable now as the beads stick against my skin. His face emerges from my skirt, and he looks up at me through the dark bangs covering his eyes, licking his lips slowly. "Sorry, I just really like candy necklaces. Let me take one last bite."

He doesn't even wait for me to respond, heading back to where he just was. "No-waaah," I began to scold him for his behavior, only to be interrupted by the moan he elicited from me. He had slipped his tongue through the strings, padding it against my clit while he pulled on another mouthful of candies. "That bite tasted really good." He chuckles deviously, the vibration buzzing through me and sending another tingle through my middle.

He moves back, looking up at me with that same sly smirk he's been brandishing all night. "I really wanna eat it all. And I don't just mean the candy." Heat rises up my neck and across my face from his words, and my clit throbs just from the thought of him devouring every last bead before devouring me. I clenched my thighs together, trying to get some friction where I wanted it the most as I eagerly waited for him to touch me again.

"I know you want to win this competition, Anastasia," he mutters sardonically. "Why don't you let me help?" I swallowed harshly, giving him a quick nod. "Come with me," he coos, taking my hand as he stands, and brings me into the closest room.

It felt wrong as he shut the door to Riley's bedroom and locked it, and even worse when he shoved me playfully onto her bed. The feeling of guilt quickly diminishes, melting into desire as he slowly clambers onto the bed, settling between my legs. He bunches my dress up, exposing the edible underwear once again, lowering himself until his mouth was only a mere centimeter away from it.

He takes one single bead between his teeth, breaking it off and chewing it, all while staring up at me with fire burning in his eyes. He does it again, and again, his mouth dangerously close to my clit, until I couldn't handle him teasing me any longer. "Noah," I whined, wriggling my hips in front of him eagerly. "Please." "Ah, ah," he scolds, "you gotta wait until all of this candy is gone." He laughs when I let out an aggravated huff, taking another mouthful of the candy and sucking on it.

"Tastes so good," he moans out. "The candy is sweet, but your arousal makes it even sweeter," he muses, letting the moist candies fall from his mouth, slapping against my clit. I whimpered and bucked my hips forward, having him take the same candies back in his mouth and finally break them off. I breathed deep with anticipation, my chest heaving as I watched him lazily chew the sweets, his eyes boring into mine with animosity. "Hm," his eyes fall back to the thong, a satisfied grin grazing his lips. "Would you look at that, all the candies are gone. All there is left to eat is..." His eyes flicker back to mine, the smile only growing on his face. "You."

I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth, biting down with a bruising force while he brought his mouth down to me. He pushes the strings aside, never breaking eye contact as he runs his tongue along my soaked folds agonizingly slow, the look alone shaking me to the core. He takes his time, savoring me as he casually licks his way up to my clit, lolling the tip of his tongue around the sensitive bud.

"Fuck," I whispered, and my head falls back against the mattress. My eyes fluttered shut when he applied a bit more pressure to my clit, still moving in slow circles. I moaned lightly when he entered a finger inside of me, and then another seconds later. He unhurriedly curls them upwards, just barely pressing against that sweet spot as he carries on.

"Look at me," he mumbles against me. I don't move—I can't, not with the way he's paralyzing me, spreading bliss through my entire body with just his two fingers and tongue. "Anastasia," he says sternly, retracting his fingers. "I wanna watch those pretty eyes of yours roll to the back of your head when I make you come." I whimpered from the unwanted emptiness, once again clenching around nothing as I craved to be filled again. Knowing he wouldn't continue until I obliged due to his stubbornness, I had no choice but to pick my head up and look at him.

"Good girl," he chuckles lowly, his eyes glimmering with fervor. He rewards me by sliding his long fingers inside of me, thrusting them with urgency. It took every fiber of my being to not throw my head back down and cry out, knowing he would stop if I were to do that. He lowers his mouth down to me, working his tongue around my awaiting clit strategically, quickly building up my climax.

My legs start to tremble, my hips involuntarily lifting off the mattress to press my cunt harder against his tongue. "That's it," he moans against me, the bass in his voice vibrating through me. "Let go, Anastasia." His eyes darken as he continues to leer up at me, grazing his teeth against my clit before encasing it with his lips, sucking on it. His fingers continued to curl against my walls feverishly, beckoning me to come undone, his eyes commanding me to fall apart under his control.

The pressure continued to climb with each stroke against my G-spot, and I knew by the curl of his lips that he could tell I was close. The more my body trembled beneath him, the more he concentrated on his actions, watching the way my body reacted to him.

The spool finally springs loose inside of me, my hands fisting the sheets as I cried out from the ecstasy coursing through me. My eyes wrench shut, my body quakes uncontrollably, and he continues to carry me through my high, his actions relentless. He laps up every last drop of my orgasm with a breathy laugh, his hands pressed against my thighs to hold my legs open, not finished with me just yet.

He only stops when I go limp, collapsing against the sheets, and my chest heaves as I try to catch the breath that he knocked out of me. As I lay here, nearly comatose, I felt him pull on the strings of the candy thong one last time, only I didn't feel them snap back into place. “That oughta do it," he says confidently. I lift my head to look at him; the plastic knife is in his hand again, and the strings of the edible underwear are dangling off the blade.

I threw my head back and laughed—looks like I’m going to Hawaii.

[mysticdoodlez]

interlude: MADE BREATH and SKIN

Watcher Noah Sebastian x oc (Taylor)

Word Count: 2.7k+

A/n: so up to around chapter six, I was up in the air over whether Taylor would a) start a relationship, and b) go with Nick or Noah. The interlude was bare bones until Taylor made up their mind, but I always had in my drafts a version where they went with Noah. Some talks on the discord happened and I just went "fuck it we ball" and I expanded the draft to a full-blown one-shot. Also: I KNOW ANTLERS AREN'T SENSITIVE LIKE THAT, BUT HE'S A DEER GOD. THE RULES DON'T APPLY TO HIM.

In other news, I tried to write without limitations like last time, cuz non-binary folk who are okay with their body parts and being called "good AGAB" exist out there too, people! So, if mentions of female body parts or female terminology shuts you down, then this won't be for you.

Cw: language, supernatural themes, sexy stuff: oral (oc receiving), slight monster fucking (monster, demi-deity, whatev), pet play if you squint, unwrapped p in v (be safe, kiddos), telepathic dirty-talk

“I don't need to be babysat. Like they're gonna try to break into my house and kidnap me,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Well, too bad. Like I have anything better to do than babysit you,” Noah said, shedding his leather jacket he had over his hoodie. I could hear the playful undertone in his voice, thankfully. And to be honest, I was kind of glad he was here.

“Need help?” I commented as he pulled his hoodie up.

“Nope,” he said, lifting it up above his head. I mainly watched just to see how he could manage to get it over the antlers that were sprouting from the sides of his head, but I would be lying if I said I didn't sneak a peek at the part of his stomach as his shirt rode up. “Jeez, do you have to keep this place like a sauna in here?”

“It's not even seventy degrees in here,” I said, trying to avoid staring too long after he managed to get the hoodie off, but I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was actually that… big under all that clothing. He was now down to just a cut-off tank, leaving all the binding sigils that ran up and down his arms and across his collarbones and shoulders on display. Honestly, combined with the muscles, it made me want to punch him.

But still, after a while, my eyes were drawn back up to the antlers. While not as wide and impressive as the last time I saw them, they still seemed to make him seem taller and bigger than he already was.

“My eyes are down here.”

His words snapped me out of my reverie before he flipped down onto the couch beside me. “What're we watching?” he asked. When I looked down into his eyes, with his face drawn up into a smirk, I was almost taken aback when I noticed the smattering of freckles under them. The Lost Boy Who Would Become King.

“Does it hurt?” I blurted out.

“Does what hurt?” Noah asked.

“The antlers… when they grow out. Do they hurt?” I clarified, curiosity getting the better of me.

He blinked. “N-no?” he replied awkwardly, like no one had bothered to ask that question of him before. “Mostly they’re just sensitive until they reach their full point. Kinda itchy, too.” His thigh bumped against mine.

“Has anyone touched them?” I asked.

“No, usually people are too busy screaming ‘Ah, don’t kill me’ if I get—“ I cut him off with a backhand to the chest. “What? It's true!”

“I meant like Nick and the others,” I huffed, leaning back.

“Nah, they're not stupid enough to–” Noah said, but then stopped dead when I pressed my thumb against one of the points.

“Shit, I’m sorry, did I hurt—“ I stammered, pulling my hand away until I noticed his eyes. They seemed to pin me to where I was sitting.

“No, you’re fine, it's just…” Noah swallowed thickly, “I didn’t expect it to feel like… that.”

“Like wha…?” I trailed off as I realized what he meant. Oh.

My hand, which was still hovering near his head, fell back down to his antlers. Curiosity getting the better of me, I traced a light line from where they met his skull up to one of the first points. He shuddered under my touch, a small moan slipping out.

“Stop that,” he gritted out.

“Stop what?” I asked. I meant for it to be an honest question, but I didn't think he took it to be like that. Especially when his hand shot up and snatched my wrist away from his head.

“Stop teasing,” he said with a low rumble, dipping his head down to where he was eye level with me. My heart stopped when I saw how dark his eyes were.

I felt his other hand snake around my waist, pulling me closer to him. As ironic as the comparison was, I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. “Is that why you asked about them? So you could see me like this?” he asked. I was practically on his lap at this point, my knees straddling his thighs. He dipped his head lower to nuzzle his lips against my jaw.

The movement snapped me out of my paralysis, and I finally found my voice. “Aww, is Bambi sensitive?” I cooed, reaching my free hand up to run a finger up his antlers again. He shuddered against me, breath panting and ragged, and I froze up again when I felt his dick begin to harden underneath my core.

“I said watch it,“ he growled, grabbing that hand as well. “Do you like being a tease? Touching me like that?” He pushed me onto my back, pinning my wrists to the armrest above my head. He easily was able to hold both of them with one hand, those long fingers wrapping around them as he freed a hand to roughly grab my jaw. “Touch me again, and I’ll build you up to just leave you here wet and needy.”

My eyes widened a little bit as I took in what he said. “No—“ He cut me off with a small squeeze. The little puffs of breath he let out ghosted over my ear, making me shudder in his hands. When he finally let go of my jaw, it was to only run it over the hollow of my throat and stop. He leaned down, his lips leaving light but wet kisses along my neck.

A soft whimper escaped my throat, and my legs squirmed under his. He chuckled, my only warning before he bit down on the sensitive flesh between my neck and shoulder. A sharp gasp left me, which turned into a moan when his teeth retracted to let his tongue sweep over the mark.

“I want everyone to know what’s mine, little rabbit,” he whispered. “I want them to know that you belong to the Watcher of the Woods.”

The possessive tone he used slightly pissed me off, but as he alternated between biting and soothing at my tender skin, I could barely care. That's when I realized, despite my fogged-up brain, my mouth was close to the base of his antlers. So between keening, I let out a breathy moan that I knew would hit them.

His reaction was instantaneous. He let out a loud moan against my wet skin, hips involuntarily shunting forward against mine. The straining in his jeans pressed against my covered core, earning a sharp inhale from me. I didn't know how dizzier I could get.

Noah pulled away to look me in the eyes. “Seriously, Taylor, if you want–”

“Noah, I want you, monster or not,” I panted.

For once, Noah was stunned into silence. He hovered over me, jaw slightly dropped as he took in my words. He then brought his lips down to lock with mine in a messy, heated kiss.

There was no gentleness in this kiss, and I didn't expect any. This was a man starved. He finally let go of my wrists and trailed his hands down my chest, my waist, to my hips, then trailed them back up, under my shirt this time.

His thumbs ran small, feather-light circles around my nipples. “No bra?” he asked, smirking against my lips.

“Never wear one,” I admitted.

“Good. Off,” he commanded. “I wanna look at you.” He pulled away to give me space.

Somehow I knew what he was talking about through the sex-addled white noise, and I lifted my shirt up and over my head. I flushed under his gaze that slowly raked over my body.

“I could absolutely devour you,” he admitted, leaning back down, lower this time. He ran his tongue up my sternum, up the small slope of one breast, and closed his mouth around my nipple. I keened and squirmed as he flicked the tip of his tongue over the hard peak, feeling helpless as he teased the other between his thumb and fingers.

Eventually, after both tits were given enough attention, he pulled off with a soft pop, biting into what flesh there was. He left little nips as he trailed down my tummy until he finally reached the waistband of my jeans.

“N-Noah…” I whimpered, trying to get his attention.

“Yeah…?” His eyes flicked up to mine as I gazed down my body at him.

“Please… not here,” I pleaded.

He blinked, his dark brown eyes darkening further. “You don't want me to fuck you on the couch?” he asked.

“P-please n-no.”

Suddenly, with supernatural strength, he hitched my waist over his shoulder, pulling up and taking me with him. I let out a small yelp of surprise, but soon he was taking me back to my bedroom. My world was just an upside- down view of the back of his top and ass. If I could just manage to get my arm up, I could just–

Before I could smack anything, he roughly tossed me onto the bed. He crawled up between my legs, undoing the button and zipper of my jeans. I wriggled my hips as he pulled my jeans and underwear down in one fast motion. With a groan, and without tearing his gaze from between my legs, he carelessly tossed the garments somewhere on the floor. “Fucking hell, you've been wet this whole time, haven't you?” he asked, leaning down.

“Noah–”

“Are you okay with this?” Noah asked. I stared at him in surprise, and he rolled his eyes. “I might be a monster, but I'm not that kind of a monster.”

“Fuck, of course Noah. Just fucking–” My tirade was cut off as he dove down like it was his last meal. My hips lifted off the bed in surprise, and he lifted my legs over his shoulders, wrapping his hands around my thighs and pulling them down against him.

I couldn't think of anything past the feeling of his tongue flicking over and around my clit, spearing into my pussy and then flattening as he licked long stripes up and down my slit. All I could do was grab the top of his head, tangling my fingers in his long tresses as I tried to keep myself grounded.

“Oh, God, No… ah–” was all I could manage to get out as I shook like someone possessed. His fingers dug into my thighs, the pain of his nails pressing in only adding to the pleasure. It felt like the more I reacted to him like this, the harder he worked to make me feel good.

I looked down at him to see that he was already intently staring at me. Somehow his dark eyes seemed to be bright when they met mine. I felt him smirk against my lower lips and then I heard,

YOU TASTE SO FUCKING GOOD.

Speaking into my head, hearing that praise, sent a bolt of pleasure through me that had me arching, releasing onto his tongue as I swore up to the ceiling. He lapped it up, not relaxing his movements one bit, and the overstimulation carried me into my second orgasm, my scream tearing through my throat.

THERE IT IS. THAT’S IT, GIVE IT TO ME.

He slowed down, kitten-licking me through my aftershocks, and then finally pulled away, settling me back down onto my bed. “You good?” He asked, like he didn't just completely shatter me.

Through ragged breaths that hurt my throat and my swimming vision, I nodded. Dear God, that was–

“He's not here, and by the end of tonight, I'll have you screaming my name like you worship me.” His growl sent ripples throughout my body. Noah crawled up on top of me, caging my face between his hands, and kissed me roughly. I could smell and taste myself on his lips.

“Noah, please I need you,” I managed to say between fervent kisses.

“Say my name,” he demanded.

“Noah.”

“Louder.”

“Noah–”

“Pray for me.”

“Please, Noah.”

When I opened my eyes, it was him shoving his jeans off, but what made me gasp was the sight of his antlers, now the crown of bone that I remembered. With his hair wild and tangled from my fingers, and the tattoos spread all across his now naked body, he truly looked like the forest god he was.

He perched over me, leaning down to kiss me hard enough to stoke the fire in my belly again, and trailed two fingers up and down my still-slick folds. He slowly pushed them into my hole, alternating between curling, scissoring, and pulling them out before repeating the cycle. I was a moaning, whimpering mess that could barely talk when I realized that he was lining himself up.

“N-Noah, f-fuck… please,” I near sobbed.

“Shhh, I've got you,” he said quietly, gently brushing some damp hairs off my forehead. He then slowly, tortuously, pushed in, making me cry out in pain and pleasure.

“Ohh god, Noah, a-ah!” I said. “'s n-not gonna f-fit.”

“Yes it will,” he rasped. I was so glad that he too was having a rough time handling me like I was handling him. “I know you can do it.” He then pulled my legs up and hitched them around his waist, nearly folding me in half. With a few more shallow thrusts, he finally bottomed out, hitting a spot in me that turned my moans to something primal.

“There we go, good job. I told you you could do it,” he muttered, kissing the bridge of my nose. The feeling of me clenching on his cock had him groan, a sound that seemed like it came from somewhere deep inside him. “You ready?”

“Y-yes, Noah.”

His pace was steady at first, torturously slow. I rolled my hips to meet his, and his hands flew down to them to encourage the movement. “Go on… Take what you need,” he said, voice hitching at the end. I reached up to wrap my arms around his wide back, feeling the muscles flexing underneath my hands. His forehead dropped to mine and our lips brushed together in unison.

FUCK, IT’S LIKE YOU WERE MADE FOR ME,

he said, a hand reaching up to cup my cheek, tilting my face so our lips could finally press against each others,

MY LITTLE RABBIT.

Noah, I’m gonna - I’m gonna… I was desperately close, and his pace just kept getting hastier. I knew I was about to topple over the edge, and Noah was going to push me over with no remorse.

LET GO,

he said,

I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

When I opened my eyes, I saw his big doe eyes focused on me. I couldn’t hold it anymore, and I screamed his name as my head rolled back against my pillow. I swore I nearly blacked out, or at least the edges of my vision turned black, as my vision blurred. I felt my sweat-slick skin press against his as my back arched completely off the bed.

Noah chased his own release a little bit later, thrusting into me while growling something that might’ve been words in the other tongue, or just gibberish. Soon after, his hips stilled, and his body sagged onto me, the weight and warmth being welcome.

We lied there, chests heaving as we tried to catch our breath, and I found myself gently scratching at his scalp. My fingers gently brushed against the base of his antlers, and I stilled.

“You’re fine, I can’t feel anything when they’re fully grown,” Noah muttered against the skin of my neck.

“You know that, but not when they’re forming?” I asked.

“Like I said earlier, it never came up.” He chuckled airily.

We stayed like that for a while, his body like an anxiety blanket, until my body decided I needed to get up. Noah thought otherwise, as he wrapped his arms around my midsection and pulled me back against him every time I tried to leave the bed.

“Lemme up, I have to go to the bathroom and take a shower.”

“Only if I get to join you,” he said with a sly grin.

“Those things aren’t gonna fit in the shower,” I said with a momentary glance up at the antlers.

“Oh, I’ll make them fit.”

“…Gross.”

[arkiliastuff]

Prologue - In a Concrete Jungle

Noah Sebastian x OFC (Aurey)

(pictures edited by me. Originals url linked on the pictures.)

A/N : I thought about this one for a while and, even though I have a lot of other fanfics that are waiting to be finished/written, I wanted to share this one in particular with you :D It's been on my mind for months, the lore maturing in my head. It's going to be a LOT different from what I usually write but I'm trying things and despite the dark mood in this story I hope you'll enjoy it as well ! :D

Warnings/Tags : Strangers/Enemies to Lovers trope, violence, blood, post-apocalyptical universe, cyber-futuristic vibe, "no god, no religion" vibe (I don't mean any form of disrespect in any religion), mention of trauma, death, loss, drugs, mental and physical abuse, trust and abandonment issues. (Just in case MDNI please).

Disclaimer : I haven’t read the comic book “Concrete Jungle” written by Noah Sebastian and illustrated by many cover artists such as Nicola Izzo, Jeremy Wilson and many more, so I don’t know much about the lore and the universe. I just got inspired by the song and the few panels of the comic book that I saw about it. The rest is a pure work of my imagination and it’s not related to anything official. Nothing is canonically official. This is totally fanfiction. And so this is how I pictured the world in the song “Concrete Jungle”.

~The little bean taglist : @valiantroeagleangel @talialovesmiw -> ask me if you want to be tagged :D

━─━─━━─━「₪」━━─━─━─━━─━─━━─━「₪」━━─━─━

She walked there, in this desolate landscape, with a strong determination. Two girls who seemed to look like her friends were following her, looking behind them briefly. Probably afraid of someone or something that will come after them. After all, they went out without authorization. They went out in this no man’s land, caused by gangs and mafias. Many civilians had perished. The survivors were hiding underground, in the subway. The reason why they went outside was because one of them, a girl with glasses and blue eyes, forgot her necklace at the church where she always went to pray. So after complaining to her friends about her precious loss, the strong-willed brunette who was among them decided to go and get the necklace back. The two other friends eventually followed her even though they were feeling nervous about disobeying.

“If we hurry, we will be back in no time” She said, trying to reassure her anxious friends.

And so, just like the bold brown-haired girl said, they arrived at the place. The church had been bombed. The two girls felt sad about the destruction, but the leader didn't seem to be moved by it. Instead, she was more focused on her mission, looking for the necklace, while making sure nobody would come to arrest them. She was in hypervigilance, almost looking paranoid. She looked everywhere under the seats and chairs that were still there until she saw something shiny. She reached for it and then wiped the dust on it. It was a crux with a silver chain. 

“I found it, Faith.” She stated, calling for her friend.

The latter one walked towards her, analyzing what she found before realizing what it was.

“It's my necklace ! Thank you so much, Audy !” Faith replied happily, using the usual friendly nickname for her friend.

The latter one just nodded in silence, her focus back on her group and looking for their second friend.

“Where is Daisy ?”

The two of them looked around the ruined church before they saw the red-haired girl who was near some candles next to a shrine of prayer. She lit up a candle and prayed in silence for their sake. Faith joined Daisy, lighting up a candle as well while Audy was watching them, starting to get annoyed.

“Come on guys, we cannot stay here too long.”

“Just a few more minutes.” Daisy replied.

A few seconds later a breeze came through, extinguishing the timid flames on the two candles. From this moment, Faith and Daisy stood up and stopped praying, turning on their heels at the same time towards Audy.

“We’re done.” The first one said.

“The Lord has heard our prayers.” The second added.

“What ? Already ? But you just lit the candles a few minutes ago” Audy replied, confusion in her eyes.

“It is the way it is. It’s probably a good omen” Faith said.

“Wait.. Let me just light the candles again.” The brunette said sheepishly.

As she was going slowly to the shrine, about to light the candles with another one, both of her friends widened their eyes in shock, attempting to stop her.

“DON’T !” Daisy yelled.

“DON’T DO IT, AUDREY ! You’re disrespecting His words !”

The long browned-haired one stopped her movement in the air, the spark just above the candle’s wick reaching it slowly but surely. Then, she looked at Faith and Daisy, an angry and dead gaze in her dark eyes.

“Even if I lit up those candles again, do you think it would change a fucking thing for what happened to our city ? To our families ? To our friends ?” She replied, clenching her teeth together as she spat her words like venom, anger getting the best of her, before she continued.

“No, it wouldn’t. Don’t take that fucking breeze as a sign from your Lord, ‘cause you two know better that, if He wanted to help us, He would have done it already. We are responsible for our own downfall. For our own misery. And no Gods will ever help us. Only the demons that you’re afraid of will answer us because they're close to what we are.”

After that, she saw the shock on her friends' faces, trying to reach out to her and yelling at her that she was irreverent by saying those words. It was the shock before the sound of something falling as fast as lightning just dropped on the ruined church. And then everything exploded. Bricks of the building were thrown away at Daisy and Faith’s head, knocking them out immediately. Audrey got hit as well, feeling her blood flowing from her face before blurring her vision. The last thing she saw was her two friends on the ground, blood running from their heads. Then, it went completely white.

━─━「₪」━─━

Aurey woke up, sweating all over her body as she was panting, trying to gain some air. She put a hand on her forehead, trying to wipe the sweat away and checking it. There wasn’t any blood. She sighed in relief but not too long. She knew it couldn’t be just a dream.

“This wasn’t just a nightmare” She whispered to herself, knowing too well this situation.

She stood up, got her gear on her and packed her stuff together before leaving the spot where she slept. She knew she shouldn’t have slept there. 

It was a small cave of collapsed buildings parted together which were composed of cables, metal pieces of broken engines everywhere. 

It could crumble any minute. But she took the risk anyway, as she felt this one was more safe. She didn’t know how long she slept but she was aware it was late. Once she got out, she covered her nose as she smelled an heavy and toxic smoke. It was the smell of somewhat burned vehicles and trash cans not that far away. It was, probably, another threat from a gang who were arguing again in the city.

She put her customized respirator on, breathing again. Then, she started to climb up the ruins, reaching for a higher spot to get a better view. She climbed a few minutes after finding a window, which gave a great opening view from below. She took her binoculars out of her pocket and started to look around. 

Through it, Aurey saw a usual wildfire in the city, on her right. She could barely hear the sound of gunshots. A lot was happening and she hoped her teammates could handle it while she went patrolling on her own. Suddenly she saw something blinking, in the corner of her left lens. She turned a bit more to her left and saw a black car entering the Nameless City. She had never seen a car like this before. This was the first time that she had witnessed new people arriving. Who could they be ? And why were they coming into this hell hole ? She made a mental note to herself to keep an eye on this vehicle and the people who were in it.

Meanwhile, Noah was lost in his thoughts as they were passing through the barbed wire gate of the city. He was just getting bored of the trip, having no idea why they got a call to come here. His partners and best friends in the car told him it was a well-paid mission, but he wasn’t really convinced by it. They had to do some cleanup as they were told. And given the sight of the city it seemed this town needed it. What was left of the police authorities were just broken cars, with no more tire or windows. They probably run away from all the chaos, just to survive somewhere else. Just being out of this mess. Noah kept staring through the window, his chin in the palm of his tattooed hand, just looking at all the clutter those crumbled buildings had made.

“A real concrete jungle…” He muttered.

Then he heard a howl. He was taken by surprise, not expecting to hear such a sound in this kind of city. He listened again, opening his window just to hear it more clearly. Another howling. It wasn’t human. It sounded more like an animal.

“ What was that ? Did you guys heard that ?” He said, his eyes widened as he couldn’t believe his ears.

"Heard what ?" Folio asked, not really paying too much attention to their surroundings.

"A howl. It sounded like a coyote. Or was it a wolf ?" Noah continued, his ears attentive to any other sound.

But the howling animal had stop. He still had no idea what his friends and him were getting into but he promised himself to investigate this strange city.

[treacheryinblue]

Fields of Elysium

Chapter 1/?

× Elysium (noun) : a place or condition of ideal happiness. type of: fictitious place, imaginary place, mythical place.

Word Count: 4.1k

An introduction of sorts.

A Noah Sebastian x OC Series

× Summary: Noah and his new found (sort of) friend, Persephone, battle the trivial ins and outs of being teenagers in a world that doesn't accept you. They survive together all the way into adulthood - with bouts of loneliness included - where the world is still a fickle bitch.

× Warnings!: language, violence, slowburn, friends to lovers to enemies back to friends, rinse and repeat (not even in that order), eventual smut, sexual themes, etc. Each chapter will have its own set of separate warnings.

× Author Notes: ( 1 ) Any time within the story before 2016, Persephone is still a minor, therefor sexual mentions will be kept brief and to a minimum. Nothing crude will be mentioned in a descriptive manner until she is 18+ in the story. ( 2 ) Piggybacking off of that, Noah is only two years older than her. ( 3 ) Since most personal facts about the guys are not widely known, I will be adding my own background info to them, as well as switching up/deleting real life facts we may already be aware of.

× Chapter Warnings!: language, brief sexual themes

SUMMER OF 2014

SUNDAY JUNE 22nd

PERSEPHONE

Summers in Virginia could be brutal, but this one in particular felt especially heinous. The sun was a vile orb that beat down on her skin, leaving it hot to the touch and also faintly shining with perspiration. Typically she loved the sun and the way it would make her feel, but today? Well, not so much. Despite this, she tried her best to ignore her own minuscule issues and instead focus on the words being spoken to not only her, but also the friends she surrounded herself with. They all sat around one of the outside tables at Ruffilo’s, a casual diner-like restaurant they enjoyed frequenting in the afternoons. The food was decent, and it was also one of the only establishments that wouldn't kick out teenagers who lingered too long. 

“Seph? Earth to, Seph! Come in, Seph!”

“Huh?” She was quick to snap out of her little daze, her head turning towards the voice echoing her name. Maisie Linwood, her best friend since first grade, stared back at her with an arched brow and an annoyed expression. One thing to know about Maisie, she could out bitch anyone with just a cut of her eyes. Persephone figured that's probably who she picked up the same habit from years ago. 

“Sorry, it's just really hot out here.” A hand was then shoved into her now empty glass to retrieve a piece of ice, that of which she began to drag along the back of her neck. 

Ahhh, yes, that was nice. 

“Okay, well, I need you to, like, be here with us. We're trying to figure out the details of Mason’s birthday.” 

Mason being Maisie’s twin brother, and this was quite obvious when you were to look at them. Same eyes, same nose, same little beauty mark right off to the side of their cheek. Same godforsaken ‘better than thou’ attitude. And yes, they were fully aware of how horrible being named Maise and Mason was. 

“Oh, right, I won't be able to go. I told you that. My parents are making me go with them to the lake that weekend.” 

The ice continued to drag along her overheated skin, now shifting to the front of her neck and down her chest. Could she at least get a breeze or something? Fuck.

“Or…you can tell them you don't want to and then we can have the party at your place.” Maisie challenged with a smug smirk, as if daring anyone to tell her otherwise. “Your house does have the best pool.” 

There it was. Maisie’s way of getting the things she wanted by catering to people’s egos. She wanted to say that it never worked on her, but then she would be lying. 

“What the fuck are you staring at, freak? Are you seriously checkin’ out my girl?” 

Thankfully, the topic was abruptly changed by Mason’s sudden outburst of anger. By the way, she was dating Mason. Kind of. It wasn't technically official…but whatever. Honestly, she didn't care one way or the other. 

“I…uh…no! I was just-”

Seph squinted from the bright glare of the sun off the side of the restaurant when she turned to see what all the fuss was about. She could make out the tall figure of the guy who had been serving them, a dumbfounded look currently overtaking his narrow features. It seemed as if she wasn't the only one surprised by Mason’s show of aggression. 

“Wait, what's happening?” She sat forward a bit, a hand lifting to shield over her eyes to get a better look at the commotion. Mason was now standing a couple of feet from the guy, obviously ready to go if the moment called for it. Seph could only heavily sigh, eyes rolling at his embarrassing and rather annoying reaction to…whatever had happened. That was something she still hadn't caught. 

“Scrawny little freak here was just staring at you, Seph. Watching you with that fucking ice!”

Ah, so that's what the problem was? Seriously? 

“I was just coming out to get the glass for a refill…” he tried to defend, but there was no knocking any sense into Mason when he got started. Just another trait him and Maisie shared, and one that she truly disliked. 

“Leave him alone, Mason. Can you just let him do his job?” 

Her intrusion of the conversation had given the guy a spare moment to scurry away, jaw clenched and head shaking as he did. She felt bad for him because she knew how aggravating it could be to be on the receiving end of Mason’s teenage rage, even more so when it came to his possessive nature over something that wasn't his. 

“You're really going to defend him, Seph?” 

Mason was now looking at her, hands thrown out to his sides in a stance of disbelief. She merely shrugged, giving him a ‘who cares?’ look before settling back in her seat. It didn't seem as if he was as capable of dropping the topic as she was, so he continued to stand there…just staring in anger. She could almost see the fumes radiating off his head like he was a furious little cartoon character. 

Hilarious. 

With a heavy sigh, Seph snatched her glass from the table and stood up, free hand simultaneously adjusting the hem of her shorts. “I'm going to get my refill and no, I don't need your help.” She spat at Mason, earning a scoff from Maisie and another girl within their friend group. It didn't bother her in the slightest. 

Inside Ruffilo’s was at least twenty degrees cooler, and it felt so nice that she actually sighed in relief. The lack of sun now beating down on her had given her the opportunity to clear the haze from her mind and really take note of the situation. She realized that she recognized the guy as she approached the counter…but from where? With his back to her, Seph began to silently rack her brain. He was talking in hushed tones to another guy that appeared to be about the same age, but shorter and with darker hair. Something was telling her that it was his family who owned the restaurant, though she wasn’t entirely sure as to how she knew that. 

The shorter guy looked at her from over the other guy’s shoulder, quickly nodding in her direction to signal her presence to him. As he turned, she adjusted her attention and their eyes locked with ease. 

“Hey…” she softly spoke, a slight smile pulling at her lips. “I'm sorry about Mason…he can be a real dick sometimes.” 

“Yeah…I kind of gathered that.”

Seph slowly nodded, unsure of what to say now. She tore her gaze from his, allowing it to fall down to the glass she still held. Did she even want a refill? Or had this been some ploy against herself to give the guy an apology? 

The clearing of his throat garnered her attention again, and she looked up just in time to see him motioning towards the glass. “Did you want a refill?” 

Once more nodding, she pulled the straw from the glass before extending it out to him. Her arms crossed over her chest now, the end of the straw being held to her lips for her to absentmindedly chew on as she waited. Seph could feel eyes on her, the weight of them rather obvious. Glancing up, she noticed the other guy eying her, as if trying to size her up. 

Where did she know them from? 

Then, like a light switch being turned on, it finally clicked. 

“Noah,” she pointed the end of her straw to the taller guy, nodding. “We used to go to school together, right?” 

It was all finally starting to come back to her. She knew she had recognized him from somewhere, though putting her finger on it took longer than she would've thought. Seph had left their public high school after freshmen year, her parents instead deciding to enroll her into a new private school that had been built. ‘It’s where all your friends will be going' they tried to explain to her, like she really needed convincing when she knew she didn't have a choice in the matter to begin with. 

“Uh, yeah, I think I was a year ahead of you.”

Noah nodded as he passed her now full glass of water back her way, fresh ice included. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was quickly cut off by the other guy. 

“Two years…we were two years ahead of her.” 

“Dude…” Noah sighed, giving his friend a look that she wasn't quite sure how to explain. 

Persephone softly chuckled, brows raised while looking back and forth between the two guys. As much as she wanted to stand there within the air conditioning, watching the two of them bicker, she knew she couldn't linger for much longer. It was only a matter of time before one of her friends came looking for her and the last thing she wanted was for another scene to break out. 

“Okay, well, I'm going to go and leave you guys to it.” She took a sip from her water, though her smile lingered. “Sorry again about…”

Noah shook his head, waving it off in a nonchalant manner. “Dicks will forever be dicks.” 

“I'll see you around, yeah?” After taking a couple of steps backwards, Seph then turned on her heel to make a beeline for the side door she had previously entered from. 

“I'm Nick, by the way!” 

Another laugh easily flowed from her, a hand lifting to wave back. “Bye, Nick!”

NOAH

“Persephone Hill, Noah? Really?” 

“What?”

“Dude, she's like fucking royalty of Richmond. Her dad is some big real estate guy, owns half the buildings on this street alone.” 

“And?” Noah looked to his best friend after having passed a receipt to another patron of the restaurant and wishing them a good day. “Just because her dad is some big shot, that means I can't talk to her?” 

“No, but it does mean you can't fucking ogle her goodies out in public.” 

He grimaced at Nick’s choice of words but tried his best to laugh it off, head shaking. “I wasn't…doing that!” Noah tossed the balled up unwanted receipt at Nick with enough force that it hit him square in the forehead, but bounced off to roll along the floor. “Who the hell says it like that anyway?”

Okay, maybe he had been doing that. Who could blame him, though? He took in a sharp breath as he tried to think of anything but the way the melted ice had dripped down her neck, getting lost behind her tank top as it slid into her cleavage. Fuck. Noah did a discreet tug of his jeans when the memory caused a stirring within, instead opting to focus on the hot plates of food that were being slid his way for distribution to tables. 

“I'm just saying, okay? My dad had done business with him a couple of years back and said he's a major asshole. Never say I didn't warn you.” 

THURSDAY JUNE 26th

PERSEPHONE 

“You look like you could use a sugar rush.”

A set of long fingers set down a stereotypical milkshake glass in front of her, the contents of it a deep pink color. Her brows furrowed in slight confusion for a split second, before she finally looked up to see Noah standing there. He appeared to be just as tired as she felt, though she decided to not call him out for it. Instead, she offered a slight smile of appreciation. 

“How could you tell?” She joked while ripping the paper from the straw before shoving it into the milkshake. “And how did you know strawberry was my favorite?” 

“Well, you see…” he rubbed at the back of his neck after glancing at where Nick stood behind the counter. “Nick used all the chocolate syrup earlier for some little kids, so I couldn't do chocolate. Vanilla seemed too basic, which left strawberry as the only option. I guess you could say…I just got lucky?” 

Seph gave him a single thumbs up, her mouth now occupied with the sugary treat she was happily sipping. “This might just be the pick-me-up I needed to get through this work, so thanks.” 

“Yeah, I thought it was kind of late for you to be here.” 

“Shit, sorry. Are you guys about to close? I can totally pack things up if so.” She licked over her lips to rid them of any milkshake remnants before she began to reach for her things. Noah held his hands out, motioning for her to stop, chuckling to himself as he did. 

“You're good, you're good. I promise. Still got about an hour.”

That was when Nick came sauntering over, a basket of fries in his hand that he was digging through. He leaned against the side of the booth, bright eyes glancing back and forth between herself and Noah. 

“It typically dies down around eight on weekdays, so there isn't shit to do for a bit.” Nick then nodded towards the math equations she had written out on her notebook, still chomping away at his fries. “Calculus? Wouldn't a library be better for homework?” 

Noah sighed, an elbow angling out just a bit to nudge at his friend. Again the two shared a silent look, almost like they were having a conversation within their minds that she wasn't privy to. 

“You would think, but the private rooms are always booked and most people don't know that you're supposed to be quiet in libraries. Shocking, right?” 

“I bet your house has a grand ol' study area.”

What was Nick getting at? She couldn't really tell if he was genuinely asking or if he was somehow mocking her in his own sly way. Considering Noah's silence, Seph was going to assume it was the latter. 

“Uh…” her hands rubbed along the top of her thighs, eyes glancing along her math work that was all beginning to jumble together. “It's too quiet there…makes it just as hard to focus.”

Also, the change of scenery was nice. She was tired of seeing the same walls everyday in her house, and trying to study at any of her friends’ homes would've been just as impossible.  They would've become too distracted with gossip and mindless chatter. 

“Hey, Nick,” she began as the end of her pencil lightly tapped against her notebook. “Can I get an order of fries too? Thanks.” If he wanted to throw a bit of mockery her way, then she would gladly do the same with her own style of attitude. The bittersweet kind where she was smiling, but her words held a slight hint of venom. Nick paused, his chewing beginning to slow as they merely stared at one another. Without another word, he nodded, and then went off to get her order prepared. 

“He's sensitive, you know,” Noah joked, pointing in the direction his friend had wandered off. 

“Oh, I'm sure he can manage to get what he gives.” 

Persephone adjusted the pencil in her hand, now beginning to continue her work. She didn't know why she was even attempting to because there was no way she’d be able to focus. Her attention span had run out at least an hour ago, and not even a strawberry milkshake could bring it back. As she pretended to work, Noah was doing the same. He began to clean the tables in her surrounding area, his lanky tattooed arms drawing her attention in ways she never thought possible. Seph remained silent, though she found herself watching him. Why? She had no idea. Noah was far from her type, or at least what she assumed her type was, but it wasn't like she was interested to begin with. Maybe he would make a decent friendly acquaintance — someone she could say ‘hi’ to on the street in passing. 

“Did those hurt?” Seph motioned with her pencil to his arm, his tattoos being the topic of her curiosity. 

Noah glanced to the limb, his shoulders shrugging nonchalantly. “Nah, not too bad. Nothing I wouldn't be able to handle again.” 

She slowly nodded, the end of her pencil now tucked between her teeth. She continued to allow her gaze to travel along the designs before taking in a deep breath and lowering her attention back down to her dreaded calculus. Ugh, this was almost like she was torturing herself. 

“Do you have any?”

“Hm?” Seph glanced up through her lashes at him. 

“Tattoos. Do you have any?” 

This inquiry caused her to snort out a laugh, now fully looking across at Noah in disbelief. He must not know anything about her family, and she was actually thankful for this. It was so annoying to have to talk to people who thought they already knew everything about you, when really, they knew nothing. 

“No,” she finally replied, shaking her head. “My parents are very old school. They said that my body is a temple and if I desecrate it in any way then I'm not allowed my trust fund or inheritance.” 

“Well…shit. That's brutal.” 

Persephone shrugged, the notebook before her now being closed since she figured she wasn't going to be getting any more work done. Not that she was complaining. “Yeah, it's a little fucked. I mean, my mom won't even let me have more than two holes in my ears.” 

“Sounds like some high standards to live up to.”

Noah's words caught her a little off guard. Her lips pursed as she carefully slipped her belongings into her bag, situating everything just right so they'd sit correctly. She didn't say anything in regards to the statement, mostly because she wasn't sure how to respond, but also because Nick had dropped the basket of fries in front of her. Persephone flashed him a wide grin, her fingers picking up one of the crispy fries to bite the end off. 

“You're a peach, truly.” 

FRIDAY JULY 4th

NOAH

This was not how he saw the night going. It had been change up after change up, until his plans had been ruined and he was forced to work another shift at Ruffilo’s. He didn't complain, though, at least not to anyone but himself. The last thing he wanted was to seem ungrateful for what Nick’s family had done for him, and what they continued to do everyday. He knew you'd never find another family as giving as Nick’s, so he did all he could to help them out, even if it meant canceling his plans. Nick offered to work with him, but Noah refused. It wasn't going to be busy since they didn't serve alcohol, so with it being Independence Day, the majority of Richmond would be out at the fireworks and then partying with a beer. Just as their forefathers would've wanted. 

And just as he had predicted, it was dead by seven that night. Fireworks started around eight, waiting just long enough for the sky to get mostly dark. Noah could see the flashes of light from over the buildings, which he stood and stared at for much longer than anticipated. There was a pressure building within his chest, though. He could feel his hands becoming clammy and the rapid beating of his heart picking up more and more. He had to force himself to look away from the fireworks and start doing something else — anything to occupy his mind. Ever since the accident, bright lights and loud noises had been a trigger for him. He was working through it with his therapist weekly, but the progression was slow. Much slower than he would've liked. 

Phone in hand, Noah stood in the kitchen of the restaurant, now mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. It helped calm his mind to see senseless things that people posted on their socials, and the things he was interested in, did well as a distraction. There was one distraction in particular he hadn't seen coming, though. Only a day or so previous, Persephone had insisted they follow each other. She had thousands of followers, while he only had a couple hundred, so he figured it was no big deal. Maybe she liked having a huge audience studying and judging her social life. But because of their mutual following, he was now graced with her presence on his Instagram timeline. 

Noah swallowed as he came across the picture. She appeared happy, wearing a wide smile that took up most of her face, clad in the typical red, white, and blue colors for this particular holiday. In her hands, she held sparklers, both of which were situated up towards the sky with the pose she took in front of a pool. Others were seen behind her, one of which he recognized as Mason, the asshole from before. This was when Noah closed out of the app, his phone then being tucked away in his back pocket. 

The next couple of hours went by rather slowly. He had maybe three patrons come in, but none that lingered for longer than necessary. Still, he took his time cleaning up and closing, even opting to tell the cook he could leave and he’d finish up. Nick had called him a couple of times, the voices of their friends obvious in the background, and he of course promised to drop by once he was off. Despite this, he didn't rush. After his near panic attack earlier, Noah just wanted to go home and lay in bed. 

Unfortunately, he would have to wait a bit longer before being able to. 

It was nearly eleven when he heard knocking on the front door of the restaurant. All the lights were off except those over the kitchen, so he had no idea why someone would think they were open. Did that stop him from poking his head out to see who it was? No. And this is why people die in horror movies. He was a walking cliché. 

There was another knock, this one slightly louder than the last. Heavily sighing, Noah took a couple of slow steps towards the kitchen opening that led out into the main area, his upper body leaning over just enough for him to see straight forward. Standing outside was a rather familiar shape, the white dress being the first thing that caught his eye. He remembered it from his Instagram scroll hours prior. 

Seph? 

Noah rushed towards the front and wasted no time in unlocking the door for her, which he then held open. In walked the young blonde, her arms hugging herself. She no longer wore the smile from the picture earlier, but instead her cheeks were stained with glittery tears due to the festive makeup she had applied. 

“Shit, Noah, I'm sorry. I- I didn't know where else to go or who I could talk to and I just- I saw your car and-”

Shaking his head, he placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to soothe and calm her ramblings. She tried a deep breath, but the hiccups from her tears prevented her from fully doing so. 

“Hey, no, it's okay. What's wrong? What happened?” 

The fact that Persephone had come to him was shocking, to say the least. Were they friends? He wasn't sure if he would label them as such, but maybe it was different for her. They did have long conversations every time she came to the diner, which just so happened to be picking up in frequency ever since the ice incident. 

“Mason and I…we got into a fight…” she sniffed, further fighting back her tears just so she could properly breathe. 

What was it about this asshole type that girls seemed to flock to? He would never understand it. 

“He, um…he was just really mean, yeah? He blew up at me…caused this huge scene in front of everyone. It was so fucking embarrassing.” 

Noah could tell she was holding something back, but he wasn't going to pry. If Seph didn't want to tell him the full story, then she didn't have to. Either way, he would be there for her as much as she would allow. 

Nodding, his thumbs rubbed slowly along the bare skin of her shoulders that he still grasped. He eventually led her to a booth and brought her a glass of water, giving her as much time as she needed to gather herself. Although he wanted to know what actually happened, he knew this wasn't the time for it. 

“Are you okay?” Noah finally asked after a few minutes. Her tears had ceased, but he noticed how she was still absentmindedly scratching at the side of her thigh. He knew an anxiety tick when he saw one. After all, he had plenty of his own. 

Without answering, Seph finally looked at him. “Would you be able to take me home? Please?”

[rottingfern]

3x3 sugar daddy noah PLEASE

Couldn’t stop at 3! Happy Jesus birthday to you

This is by no means her first sugar date, certainly not the first time she’s agreed to meet up with one of those arrogant guys who acts like he hasn’t the time for her. Except, those guys were so clearly pretending, so clearly covering insecurities their money couldn’t fix. This guy sits in his arrogance with a comfort that tells her it doesn’t come from his wealth.

He flashes a disarming smile at the young bartender, waving him over as he lounges back on his stool. She wants to throw up.

Nothing about this is right. She backpedals to the door, losing her footing as she steps on something soft to a loud, high pitched Ow!

Just her fucking luck, she thinks as she apologizes profusely to the woman she’d all but run over. Nothing about this is right. She needs to get the fuck out.

But when she turns to flee out the door, she’s frozen by her gaze caught in his, sending a chill through her like her spine’s been dipped in dry ice.

And then, his lips spread into the warmest, most hopeful smile she’s ever seen, ever. And then, with a friendly tilt of his head, he beckons her over.

And she follows, body before mind.

[untoastedravioli]

Bad, Bad Decisions- Noah Sebastian x OC (Jolly's friend)

{Hi! There aren't a lot of Bad Omens fics so I decided to write one!}

{This is a series btw!}

Summary: Stella Chris, Jolly's friend becomes Bad Omens' tour manager and Jolly and Noah's roommate. Will Noah and Stella be able to heal from their respective pasts to create a future together, or will being coworkers prevent this?

CHAPTER 1: To New Beginnings

Unlike the majority of folks in Stella’s line of work, finishing high school and going to college were secure plans that she had growing up. The finances may not have always been stable, and she still had debt to pay off, but the idea of continuing schooling was one she thrived for. Many in her family and friends growing up assumed that Stella would go on to be a lawyer, with her wise but sharp tongue or maybe an electrician due to her intellect.

 To the disappointment of those she still kept close, Stella never went on to work in a field of science or in the area of law. Instead, she went to school for business, tech theater and cosmetology in pursuit of becoming a tour manager. 

Having grown up and studied in Sweden, Stella found her opportunity to work with the boys by chance while she was in the U.S. visiting Jolly. Similar to him, Stella was only in the U.S. per travel visa but she found that gaining citizenship would benefit her career more than the back and forth of a visa. Stella moved to the states with Jolly and with his help, found herself helping the group with various projects. 

Stella moved in with Jolly and subsequently Noah once she came to the states, but her and Noah never really interacted that much until her work on the music video for Limits began. That woman on the roller skates? That was Stella. The blue-gloved hands that applied makeup to Noah’s face and punched him was also Stella.

Between moving and taking this big leap in her career, her life was a bit to process and diving too deep into new friendships wasn’t something she had the mental capacity for. Noah didn’t take offense to this of course, it wasn’t like they ignored each other in their own house. Stella was just very independent in her role as their tour manager and saved the small talk.

 In all honesty, her fear of intimacy, be that platonic or romantic, was preventing her from fully opening herself to everyone but Jolly. To make it less obvious, she absorbed herself in her work as much as she could. 

______________________________________________________________

Stella knew she’d get along with these people the moment she began working with them. It started the day that Stella had worked on their music video Limits as an actress and makeup artist. Roller skating in front of people she barely knew and pretending to punch a guy she hardly knew was quite an introduction, one she didn’t forget. They were all welcome to what ideas she had in the creative processes and is even the one who suggested punching Noah in the face. 

That day was quite nerve wracking for Stella because she had never worked in front of them before, yet alone roller skated, but when Jolly mentioned the video concept to her, she was all over the idea, as were the boys once they found out that Stella knew how to skate. Her language barrier was even larger than Jolly’s, and even though she could make due with her knowledge, her and Jolly spoke mostly in Swedish and he helped her piece together things she wanted to say now and then. How could a crew member of an American band speak so little English? Doesn’t that make her incompetent? To Jolly, Noah and the others this didn’t make a difference because Stella found her ways of bridging the gaps anyway, but it made her insecure and she felt at times it was easier to say nothing than to speak with her newfound friends, than to be judged for her prominent accent and few and far between grammatical errors. 

Stella arrived on set for the music video for Limits thirty minutes early to ensure all of her makeup was organized and to run through her choreography once, with the rest arriving shortly after. There was a table with a ring light where she spread out what supplies she needed, these ranged from the foundation she’d apply on everyone to avoid them looking flat on camera, to the blood she would use later. Printed, laminated, and hung on the edge of her makeup table was a schedule that she created, listing the times, roughly, that each part of the video would be worked on. She decided that everyone’s makeup would be done first and Noah’s “punch” scene would be done second to last, with the skating all shot last. Stella took a seat at her table and began to mix foundation on a palette when her attention was brought to a person approaching her. Looking up, her eyes met Noah’s and she smiled gently. “This is okay, right? I’m not imposing a time limit, I just figured we could work in this order?” 

Lifting the laminated paper with his tattooed hand, Noah chuckled and nodded his head. “Oh, awesome, of course. Thank you.” Stella nodded and hummed in response. “No problem.” Checking the time, she stood up and adjusted her light to a brightness that suited her needs. “Alright, who wants to go first?” she asked, looking from Noah to each of the others. Noah sits and shrugs, offering a soft grin. “I guess I can, since I’m here.” 

Jolly and the Nicks continued to set up their equipment and Stella got to work. Noah sat quietly and patiently while she mixed foundation to match his skin tone, holding her palette to his face to gauge the likeliness of the color. Some strands of his hair fell in his face, so she tucked them behind his ears. “Thank you..for trusting in my abilities,” Stella said shyly, a nervous smile on her face. She took a brush and lightly applied foundation to his skin in light, buildable layers to avoid looking too heavy. “What, of course.” Noah’s eyes followed hers until he had to refocus his gaze on a further location to avoid the pain from looking at someone so closely for too long. “Jolly trusts you, so I trust you. Plus I’ve seen your work, you’re really versatile, I like that.” Stella backed up to grab setting powder and returned with a fluffy brush and a smile. “Thank you.” 

Not wanting to annoy anyone, Stella didn’t continue to talk much as she worked, but was still assertive as to not come across as rude. 

By the time Jolly sat in Stella’s chair, she was more than grateful to be back around the person she knew most. As much as it may not make sense, she felt more comfortable speaking Swedish than speaking in English and having to hear herself talk. 

At the end of the day, Nick had ordered sandwiches for everyone and to say Stella was hungry was an understatement. After all of her takes on the skates, she was starving. Everyone grabbed their respective sandwiches and sat in a circle on the floor of the room used to film Stella’s scenes. Nick and Jolly took the giant traffic cones that were used and created a circle around them all, with Jolly sitting next to Stella, Noah opposite Stella, and the Nicks filling in the gaps. 

Folio unwraps his sandwich and places a napkin on his thigh. “Dude, Stella. You’re really good on the skates, it’s beautiful. Have you always skated?” He took a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich. Bashfully, Stella shakes her head. “No, that’s not true. But yes, it’s been a hobby since I was a kid. Except in Sweden I ice skated more.” The concrete floor hurt her ankles while sitting crisscrossed so she adjusted to sit with her legs straight out and ankles crossed over the other. “Do you miss Sweden? I mean-I’m sure you do, but do you prefer the weather here or there?” Nick, the other Nick proposed the question. Given that this was the first time officially working for them, they seemed interested to know things about the woman. Stella thought for a moment before sighing and shaking her hand in a “so-so” gesture. “It’s alright. I’d prefer if it got colder sometimes, but that’s why there’s mountains.” Nick nodded and set his sandwich down for a moment. “True.” 

As they all talked and got to know each other, Stella ate her sandwich in layers. She took each layer apart and ate it separately, something Noah silently took note of and did as well, playfully smirking when she raised an eyebrow at him. Stella had her set of odd behaviors, which were really just symptoms of her neurodiversity, and taking sandwiches apart was one of them. The feeling of her food possibly touching her chin or sides of her mouth grossed her out, plus this was much more fun. Raising her lettuce to Noah as a toast, he does the same back with his bread and they both laugh. She was comforted by his antics. Silently acknowledging Stella and her mannerisms by copying them out of curiosity was amusing to her. 

______________________________________________________________

Months later when the band lost their tour manager, they all decided that Stella was a perfect fit. It was what she went to school for and apprenticed for, she was more than qualified, but most importantly her organization and attention to detail stood out to each of them, especially Noah. 

Since then, Stella has been Bad Omens’ tour manager. Being Noah and Jolly’s roommate and technical boss made her much more comfortable around the boys, especially Noah, as they spent more time together and got to become familiar in an intimate setting like their home, not just a professional work environment. 

What will blossom between Stella and Noah? Will working together ruin any chance of there being a romantic spark? Can they both let go of their own pasts to create a new future together?

[thefallennightmare]

Mercy-one

*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Fallen Angel!OC

Warnings: swearing, angst, fluff, smut, mythological talk, violence.

Summary: "Blinded by a fear of feeling, these are the kings we chose. Lost and looking for the meaning, I've been searching high and low" It came crashing down on him. This is the story of the highest banished angel from where she came only to find home in the arms of a mortal man. This mortal realizing he'd face Lucifer himself to keep her.

Lethia: Archangelus Oneironaut also known as Archangel of Dream Walking. Across worlds and dimensions, she walks within. Uncovering dangerous secrets, leaving her cast out, isolated- that is until she begins to learn what it means to feel.

Authors Notes: Here we go! Now this is an AU but I will keep things true to life with Bad Omens and Noah as possible! Also, this is NOT a reader insert fic. I decided to create a character for this.

Tags[OPEN]: @thescarlettvvitch

LETHIA

The wind whipped widely through my hair, smacking me in the face, as my limbs thrashed around with such force I cringed in pain. I could see the clouds out of the corner of my eyes as I fell through them, with no sense of comfort protecting me. I choked on a sob when I noticed parts of my long, golden, hair was being singed from the rate of the fall. I held my hands in front of my face to watch in horror as the once short nails grew in length and darkness. 

“Wh-what?” 

How did it get like this? All because I chose to follow someone else instead of the almighty King? How was that fair? I’d been loyal since creation, one of his most loyal servants, but the second I thought of something different than the divine plan, He cast me away. 

“Leth, follow me to the ends of the darkness. For we can create our own Kingdom and rule.” 

My eyes screwed shut at the familiar voice as my throat burned with the thought of him. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was close by, surely he had to be. I was thrown from the Kingdom first, Lucifer not far behind. 

The air around me began to thicken, grasping around my throat with such force, that I clawed there with my newly fresh nails. Blood dripped from the wounds but none of that mattered to me; I simply stared up towards the sky where my former home disappeared through the clouds. I could try and climb my way back, as far as my wings would allow. But I knew, like Icarus, if I climbed too high to the sun, I’d fall into the unknown jungle below. 

Icarus was a fool. 

My ears rang loudly from the sudden change in altitude and I looked towards the left, almost crying out when I took in the most recent alter to my appearance. Bright wings that mirrored the colors of the clouds surrounding me were no longer pure. No, they were dark with the tellings of my betrayal. 

“My King, forgive me!” I cried out seconds before my body fell to the hard soil below; darkness overtaking my vision.

NOAH

Slamming the car door shut with a long sigh,  I walked from the street, up to my house. I took in the variety of cars, realizing that one of the guys must have invited a few people over tonight. Usually, I never minded when we had small get-togethers, but tonight I did mind. It wasn’t anything anyone in particular did, my mind was just filled with the same dream I’d had the last seven nights in a row. 

Black feathers. Even darker hair. Cream-colored skin. And vibrant red eyes. 

At first, I chalked it up to being a random dream but as the nights progressed, the dream continued with the same figure. 

One night they were sitting on the edge of my bed. The following night, they were perched on top of the roof of my house, watching the street below. Last night, the figure was in bed with me as my lips trailed over the curvaceous lumps of her breasts. 

I ran a hand over my face as I neared the front door, taking a deep and steady breath. I thought about asking my therapist about these dreams but now that they were getting more intimate, I decided against it.

“It's just a dream, Noah,” I told myself while my hand reached for the door. 

A groan halted my movements and I turned swiftly on my heels back towards the driveway. But all I heard was silence; besides the loud music coming from inside the house. 

Shrugging, I took one final step towards the threshold until a groan sounded again, only this time louder. It sounded as if a large bird fell from the tree hanging overhead, feathers fluttering in the air.  I dropped my bag on the front porch before taking the steps back down two at a time towards where I heard the groans of pain; in between Jesse’s and Orie’s cars parked in the driveway. 

“Fuck,” I cursed seeing the crumbled body. 

Head snapped to the side, dark tendrils of hair covering her face, and an arm draped over her midsection. I winced as I saw the contortment of it, knowing that it had to be broken. 

Where the hell did she come from? 

There was a sudden surge that spread from my heart to every vein inside of me; flowing through in shocking waves. I couldn’t place it but seeing this figure in front of me, there was something so familiar about it; her. A painful groan fell from her lips and I breathed in relief, almost forgetting to check if she was alive. I’d been so entranced in her familiarity. 

Gently scooping the body up into my arms, the dark hairs fell away from her face and I sucked in a breath when I noticed there were fresh cut marks along her cheek, and blood dripping from her ears. I rushed her inside, gaining stares from my roommates, who immediately stopped the music. 

“What the fuck?” Orie’s voice was raised. 

I shook my head while setting her on the couch in our living room. “I don’t know, man.”

Our house was packed with random faces; some I recognized, others I didn’t. I knew there was a party tonight but suddenly, I wanted everyone that didn’t live here out. 

Folio, who noticed my expression, waved a finger in the air. “Alright, I think it’s time to end this party. Thanks for coming, everyone!” 

Pretty quickly, everyone who didn’t live there or weren’t part of Bad Omens left the house. 

“Where did you find her?” Nick asked.

I hesitated. “That’s the thing. I found her lying broken in the driveway.”

“The driveway?” Jolly gasped. “How long had she been out there?” 

I shrugged while brushing away the stray hairs from her face, hearing a soft but painful breath falling from her dry, cracked lips. My eyes grazed down the line of her neck down to the swell of her breasts that were barely covered by the tattered black shirt; it looked as if it was burned off. I tossed a blanket over her to help cover her modesty. 

Something glinted in my vision and I looked back at her neck to see a golden chain hanging loosely between the valley of her breasts. My heart dropped to my stomach as the reality slammed into me. 

I’ve seen this chain before; in my dreams. My lips tasted that chain in my dreams. 

My hands shook at my side as a shaky breath escaped from my throat and Jolly called my name. 

“Hm, what?” I turned to look at him. 

He ran a hand through his hair. “Should we call the police? She looks like she’s been attacked.” 

“No,” I said a little too suddenly. “She just needs a place to rest. We don’t know what happened. I’ll ask when she wakes up.” 

I slowly sunk into the chair across from the couch, resting my elbows on my knees, watching the rise and fall of her chest to make sure she was still breathing. 

Jesse stared down at her from behind the couch and let out a low whistle. “It’s a miracle that she’s even breathing right now. We should probably wrap her arm. It could be broken.” 

Just then, Michael returned with our first aid kit and handed it to me. I took it with a small smile and started rummaging through it to look for the hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls. The least I could do while she slept was clean the wounds on her face. 

The softness of her face twisted as the sting of peroxide sunk deep within her wounds and when a whimper fell from her lips, my cock twitched in my jeans. Images of her lying spread wide in my bed for me flashed in my mind and I did my best to push them to the back of my brain. 

“How did she end up in the driveway? Looking like this?” Orie asked as he finished wrapping up her arm. 

“I don’t know,” I sighed while sitting back in my chair, eyes still trained on her. “With how I found her, it looks like she fell from somewhere.”

Jolly shook his head as he sat on the armrest of the couch, also watching the stranger. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

All seven of us stood around the body laying on the couch, wondering and watching to see if she would wake. 

“Maybe she’s an angel,” Jesse snorted, trying to ease the sudden tension. 

“Angels don’t exist,” my eyes snapped up towards him. 

Jesse held his hands up. “It’s a joke, Noah. But you have to admit it’s a little weird.” 

I ran a hand over my jaw and nodded. “I know. I couldn’t leave her out there, though. Once she wakes up, I’ll take her wherever she wants.”

“Luce,” the woman croaked out, head turning towards the side. 

Her voice rang out in song, echoing throughout the house, and my heart rose in my throat hearing how eternal it sounded. I barely knew anything about her but I couldn’t ignore the way my soul felt connected to her. Maybe it was because of seeing this form in my dreams or fate that I found her in my driveway, almost as if I was destined to help her. 

“What did she say?” Nick questioned. 

 Folio shrugged while leaning over her. “Luce? Maybe that’s her name?” 

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and with one swift movement, the woman had her legs wrapped around Folio’s midsection and him pinned to the ground. Her good forearm was pressed deep into his neck while he lay frozen underneath her.  All of us were on our feet but none made a move to stop her, not knowing if it would ultimately help or make things worse. 

“Who are you?” 

The venom in her voice was cold as ice. 

“Ni-Nick,” Folio choked out. 

The woman tilted her head towards him. “Where am I?” 

Taking a tentative step towards her, I placed a soft hand on her shoulder. “I found you outside.” 

It was as if my touch meant nothing to her, eyes still burning deep into Folio. It wasn’t until I spoke again that she finally noticed I was touching her. 

“You’re hurt. I brought you inside to help you.” 

Before I could register what happened, I felt myself being pinned up against the front door, fiery red eyes staring deep into my soul. With all the doubt that plagued my mind the last hour as I watched her sleep on the couch, I tried to tell myself that I didn’t know who she was. It was all a coincidence that parts of her reminded me of the figure I dreamed of.

But the moment I saw those bright red eyes, I knew that all the doubt was wrong. This was the same woman I dreamed of the last seven nights. 

LETHIA

With my nails digging into the fresh skin of the man in front of me, I assessed every inch of his face. The brown eyes widened in slight horror when my nails dug deeper and I took in the way his lips parted, breaths coming out broken. His long hair was held back by a clip but strands still fell into his face and I cocked my head to the side when I realized something drastic. 

Well, a few things. 

First, I couldn’t feel my hand around this man's throat. I squeezed harder, my face twitching in anger, when I still couldn’t feel his skin underneath my grasp. I expected to feel the erratic thrum of his pulse or his Adam's apple dip low as he swallowed. 

Instead, I felt nothing. 

No. It couldn’t be. 

I’ve heard tales of this happening to the Fallens but I never believed it to be true.  An old folks tale the other Archangels discussed over a cup of wine. 

My eyes blinked as I slowly removed my hand from the man’s throat, fingers shaking with the realization. The dark nails mocked me for my failure, scolding me for taking the darkness over the light. 

The second thing I realized? I’ve seen this face before. Moments before I fell, it flashed in my mind like a photograph, every fucking detail. The long brown hair, bright brown eyes to match, the freckles that littered over his nose and cheeks, the tattoo that wrapped around his throat where my fingers were moments before; a snake, apples, and hands. 

How metaphorical. 

“What’s going on with me?” I muttered bringing my hand to my chest, noticing it was wrapped in some kind of material. 

“You hurt your arm, we wrapped it for you,” a different voice spoke. 

My head snapped to the left, seeing another man slowly approach me. His voice sounded different than the others and I narrowed my eyes at him. 

“You’re not from around here,” I noted. 

A snort sounded from behind me causing me to whirl my body towards it, seeing yet another strange man staring at me. 

“Not from around here? Who talks like that?” 

Someone smacked him in the chest. “Michael, don’t be an asshole.” 

“I’m just saying, Nick. She wakes up in our home and attacks two of our friends. Are we supposed to allow that? We don’t even know her fucking name.” 

My tongue clicked against my teeth. “Lethia.” 

Various sets of eyes stared at me until the man who had an attitude spoke.; Michael. 

“I’m sorry, what?”

“My name-,” I spoke slowly. “-Is Lethia.”

Michael snorted. “Well, Lethia, where the hell did you come from?” 

Giving him a wave of my hand, I decided it wasn’t worth answering that question only because none of these men deserve to know.

“Who’s Luce?” 

I snapped my eyes towards the man I had pinned against the door, heart stuttering in my chest. “Excuse me?” 

He rubbed at the fresh red marks on his neck. “You said it in your sleep.” 

Lucifer. 

I licked my lips, widely shaking my head. “I need to leave.” 

A soft voice called to me. “We can take you back home.”

This man had a buzzed head and a beard. “Although, you should get those injuries checked out.” 

“I’ll heal,” I answered honestly.

Lethia, come to me.

I gazed around the room to see if that voice belonged to any of the seven of them although I knew it didn’t. I knew exactly who uttered those words. 

“I have to go.” 

The man from my vision stood tall against the door, not allowing me to leave. My jaw ticked with anger and I motioned behind him. 

“Move.” 

His brow raised. “That’s a funny way of saying thank you for saving your life.” 

“Thank you?” I chuckled darkly. “You simply did nothing for me except keep me prisoner in this home.” 

“Prisoner?” It was his turn to chuckle. “I fucking found you in my driveway, broken and bruised. The least you can do is tell us what the hell happened!”

They’ll never understand. Mere mortals never did. 

I might not understand where I was but I knew mortals when I saw one. Their smell was different than angels; some were stronger than others. Except for the man blocking my way out. It was different, his aura, and I didn’t want to admit it but it drew me into him. There had to be a reason why I saw him mere seconds before I fell from the Kingdom. 

The two of us were unmoving, not wanting to break first, and one of the men must have felt the tension because one gently stepped between us; the one that sounded different from the rest.

“Noah, let her go.” 

Something fluttered in my stomach and I nearly shook with the unknown feeling. Never in my life had I felt something like this, even during my time with Lucifer. But with this mortal, Noah, it was entirely something new and it scared me to the depths of hell. 

Noah scrunched his face with anger but eventually stepped to the side, allowing me to leave. 

“Thank you,” I mocked with a slight curl to my lip; more like a snarl. 

After two steps toward the door, I froze when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eyes. Titling my head towards the glass, my reflection stared back at me and I gasped at what I saw. 

Short black hair, black ink covering almost every inch of skin across my shoulders and arms, my shirt barely hanging one by a thread, and what shocked me the most were my eyes; crimson red, not the vibrant violet. 

“No, it can’t be,” I brought my shaking hand to my mouth. 

Suddenly,  an ear-piercing ringing dug deep in my ears and I brought my hands to them, screwing my eyes shut. My head throbbed in pain as if someone was scratching their claws there. With one eye open, I noticed Michael held some kind of device in his hand. 

“Wh-what is that dreaded noise?” I stuttered. 

“A phone? Fuck, how hard did you hit your head?” 

A what? 

When the ringing stopped, I stood taller and for the first time, took in my surroundings. Everything in this home looked different than how we lived in the Kingdom. While we had advantaged technology, we simply didn’t have things of this nature. 

“None of this makes sense,” I whispered to myself before my eyes landed on a small device on a table. 

October 12, 2021. 

I nearly stumbled on my feet when everything began to click into place. Someone during my fall, I landed in a time that hadn’t existed yet. 

Noah could tell something was off because he turned towards me, a frown pulling at his lips. “Are you alright?” 

Without saying another word, I left in such haste, I hadn’t realized what I left behind in my wake. 

NOAH

My eyes stared at the space in front of me, the door wide open as it let in the cool night air. Those red eyes haunted me in Lethai’s wake and my skin crawled when an old dream crept back into my consciousness. 

I lay in my bed, bare for her to see, Lethia’s tongue traced down my chest and then stomach to brush across my navel. I gripped her dark hair, wrapping it around my fingers to guide her head farther down. My cock throbbed with such an ache, I was sure it wouldn’t last. Beads of precum slipped from the slit and Lethia’s tongue danced around it, tasting me. 

“Fuck,” I cursed as my eyes fluttered shut in ecstasy. 

“Look at me, Noah.” 

My eyes snapped open at Lethia’s firm tone and felt my heart stop dead in my chest; her eyes were glowing red. 

“Noah!” 

Breaking free from my trance, I gazed over to Orie. “Did you say something?” 

“We did all we could, man. There’s no use dwelling on it.” 

He patted my shoulder before they all dispersed into their sections of the house. But not me, I remained frozen in my spot, still staring at the vast darkness past the threshold. There was something just outside the realm of that darkness that caught my eye, it fluttered in the wind until it fell to the concrete just outside the door. 

With furrowed brows, I bent low to pick it up, analyzing it with curious eyes. It was a black feather, at least twelve inches in length, and the softness of it was something I’d never felt before. 

“Who are you, Lethia?” I murmured to myself, holding the feather close to my chest.

[concreteburialplot]

New series:

Cool About It

Meet: Amelia Alastor

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x OFC

A/N; I began writing this in December because it was meant to be a light, fluffy, hallmark-y one shot but the more I wrote the more it begged to be a sadder longer, more involved fic. I kept going back and forth between just scrapping it but ultimately I chose to continue. To not derail the original framework of the plot, I’ve decided to keep the holiday setting so… just roll with it & enjoy christmas in the spring ig 😅

Summary: When Noah comes home for the holidays with Nicholas, he runs into an old friend. While catching up, they fall back into the shoes of the children they used to be. Amelia quickly realizes that even after nearly 10 years apart, she still knows Noah like the back of her hand. Their reunion raises questions about Noah’s abrupt and secretive disappearance at 16.

Themes/warnings; childhood friends to lovers, ‘I know you better than anyone else’, hallmark-y? kinda?, [AU] family/childhood trauma, eventual smut, and as always, incredibly sad lol, 18+ MDNI

Disclaimer: this is an au that follows no actual timelines/events, and uses oc's for family members.

Comment if you’d like to be tagged❄️☕️

chapters with smut with have a *

CHAPTERS:

-> 01 - Breaking & Entering

[collapsedglasshouses]

WOULD YOU SAY I'M WORTHY MASTERPOST

Noah Sebastian x fem!OC

SUMMARY: When Eden meets Noah, her life is anything but perfect. Her heart is far more broken than Noah can even guess at this point. Will he be able to mend the wounds he hadn’t caused?

WARNINGS: angst, fluff, eventually smut, mentions of grief/loss, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of mental health issues, mentions of illnesses

CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE [coming soon]

dividers by @saradika-graphics

[thatchickwiththecamera]

WDYWFM? - (UPDATED)

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x OFC

Synopsis: The European leg of the Concrete Forever tour marks one year since Tyler Garrett joined the Bad Omens media team. A lot can change over the course of a year. New experiences, new friendships, and new discoveries emerge.

Note: If anyone is feeling creative and gets any kind of header photo ideas from reading this, let me know and we'll add it to the story posts with proper credit!

Part One

Part Two (Coming Soon)

Cross-posted on AO3 (thatchickwiththecamera)

REQUESTS (OPEN)

I write for ALL Bad Omens band & crew. Be as detailed as you’d like in your requests.

Note: I have never written smut before, but I am working on it! You can still send those in. It just might be a bit before it’s posted!

Below I will link the prompts I have completed. Enjoy!

Noah Sebastian

Cat Parents - Noah x Female Reader

Little White Lies - Noah x Crew!Reader

Nicholas Ruffilo

SEND ME REQUESTS!

Jolly Karlsson

SEND ME REQUESTS!

Nick Folio

SEND ME REQUESTS!

Matt Dierkes

The Shirt - Matt x OFC (S)

[crimson-calligraphyx]

Tag List: @cheyfi @kingdomof-omens @daylightlvrs @blade-in-red @ladyveronikawrites @jay02bo @itsmrsfuentes @cncohshit @catj422 @lma1986

Time moved at a snail's pace when I finally crawled into bed after throwing up until there was simply nothing left to come out.

My mind was just a never-ending vortex of the disaster I created, and the vertigo was so intense that it made me physically sick. I had heaved and heaved, leaving me with an intense stomachache and a raw throat.

It felt like an eternity had passed when in reality it was probably only an hour or two of staring at the ceiling. I could feel everything so intensely; the air felt too heavy, the room felt too dark, the silence was deafening, my head throbbed, my stomach burned, and I couldn't fucking sleep because of it. That, and the fact that I was quite literally killing my husband, the image of how sick and heartbroken he was, branded into my mind.

I wished that I could take this all back, and have things go back to the way they were. I wished that I could erase not only the pain that I felt but the pain that I was inflicting on him, too. It was affecting him more than it was affecting me, that much was obvious.

With a huff, I rolled over and took hold of Noah's pillow, tucking myself into a ball as I clutched it to me. I imagined that it was him as I breathed in the remanence of his cologne, holding it so tight as if I could will this back into existence.

There was a pressure behind my eyes, and my cheeks were suddenly warm and damp as the past images continued to flash before me. All the good, all the bad. I was crying again, though no sounds came out of me. I was so sick of crying, I just wanted to sleep—I needed to distract myself somehow.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand, shutting my eyes for a moment as the light from the screen shot daggers through my head. I peeked one eye open and unlocked my phone, dialing the only person I felt I could still call at 2 in the morning.

"You bitch—" "I'm killing Noah," I whimpered into my phone. I didn't even let Vic finish her usual greeting whenever I called her in the middle of the night. I hear rustling on the other end, and I know she's rolling her eyes as she sits up in bed. "You know that's my job, Liv," she humors, but I don't laugh. "What did he do this time?" I sniffle, screwing my eyes shut as fresh tears spring in my eyes. "Vic, I'm not joking. He's sick." "What do you mean sick?"

I don't say anything as my lips tremble. I can't. I knew the second the name of that disease made it out of my mouth, I'd be inconsolable.

"No," she breathes. "Olivia, no, it can't be that. I know how much you love him." I sucked in a choppy breath, shaking my head. "He showed me the flowers, Vic," I whispered. "He's sick—suffering—a-and it's all my fault. And he left because of it." I hear her curse under her breath. "Where is he now?" "Nick's," I croaked, "and all I fucking see when I close my eyes is him hacking, struggling to breathe as he closed the door." "Just give him time, Liv. He'll come back, I swear to you," she tries, her voice quivering. I knew the tone in her voice—she was not only trying to convince me, but herself, too.

-

JANUARY 29

I woke up this morning to a pounding headache, the constant buzzing of my phone under my face from how I had fallen asleep like a fucking chainsaw inside my skull. I knew I was being flooded by a multitude of 'Happy Birthday' texts; I was officially 29, on the 29th.

I scrolled through my messages and threw my phone down on the mattress with a huff, telling myself I'd get back to thanking them eventually. None of them were from the one person I wanted to hear from the most, but that was to be expected—it's been nearly a month since I've talked to Noah, why would my birthday make it any different?

I did what I've been doing every morning since he left. Wake up, lie in bed until it was nearly time for me to get to the bakery, force myself up, and swallow some Advil and Tums to rid the hangover-induced headache and nausea. Throw on whatever clean clothes that I had, put my hair in a bun, and go my merry way. I'd have coffee and breakfast at work.

When I walked into work shortly after noon, I was met by pink and white streamers twisted and strung from the ceiling, and an archway of balloons of the same color scheme. Holly and Juliana made their way around the counter as they sang 'Happy Birthday', a small cake in hand adorned with a sparkler rather than a candle.

I laughed, shaking my head at them, and accepted the cake. "You didn't have to do all this." "But we wanted to, Liv," Juliana states, giving me a reassuring squeeze on my shoulder. "We've noticed that you seemed a little distant lately and just wanted to show you that we care. Besides, it's your birthday! Everyone deserves cake on their birthday."

My heart sank a tad at how obvious it was that I wasn't doing well, my eyes dropping to the sparkler burning lower and lower as the seconds ticked by. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it," I feigned a smile, blowing out the flame as I made a wish that I was doubtful would come true—do wishes even count on sparklers? I brought my gaze back up to the girls, motioning the cake towards the back. "Let's dig in. I'm starving."

We each cut ourselves a slice of cake, all the while being asked if I had any plans with Noah for my birthday. I hid my cringe with a huge mouthful of cake, nodding my head 'yes', even though I didn't. Before they could question me any further, I told them I had some extra work to do, and took my breakfast to my office.

I shut the door, hastily tossing the paper plate on my desk before collapsing into my chair with a huff. I never mentioned anything to the girls—as far as they knew, everything was peachy keen in my marriage. I just wasn't ready to explain the situation to them, not fully understanding what the fuck was going on myself.

All I knew was that he was sick because of me, and I felt nothing but guilt because of that. I never meant for this to happen, I never wanted this to happen, and I wasn't sure if we were going to try to make this work again. Hell, I wasn't even sure if he was ever going to speak to me again. The uncertainty of that made my heart race and my stomach churn.

And churn.

And churn.

The next thing that I knew, I was puking in the wastebasket that I had under my desk. My eyes immediately watered; tears slid down my face as I spit, trying to clear the acrid taste that sat on my tongue.

With a sniffle, I sat up and wiped under my nose when I was sure that I was done vomiting. This was the third time I've gotten sick in the past week, and I had no idea what the reasoning behind it was. The flu? Stress? Drinking too much? Probably the latter.

Either way, it was exhausting, and I just wanted to go home and back to bed. I couldn't, though; I had a job to do.

I ran my now sweaty hands down my thighs and clambered out of my chair, throwing the cake out and tying the trash bag before leaving my office. I threw it in the barrel, washed my hands, and finally made my way back out to the floor, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw my best friend standing there. Smug expression, arms folded over her chest and all.

I immediately ran around the counter, pulling her into a tight hug now that her arms were welcoming me in. "What the Hell are you doing here?" I practically yelled as we bounced side to side on our feet, giggling. "Bitch, it's your birthday," she says, placing her hands on my shoulders to look at me. "Noah's being a ding-dong, so I'm taking my girl out to celebrate." I laughed lightly, shaking my head. "It's me that's being the ding-dong, Vic. Not him." She rolls her eyes exasperatedly, her head following suit with a scoff. "Okay, so you're both ding-dongs, whatever. Let's go," she cocks her head towards the front door, beckoning me to follow her.

I furrow my brows and put my arms out, palms up while taking a gander around the bakery. "I can't just leave work, Vic. I got shit to do; baking, start of inventory, paperwork—" She holds her hands up in surrender, "Okay, Suzi Q, I get it. I'll just...hang out at your place, I guess. Keys?" She then holds her hand out, folding her fingers to her palm. "You are unbelievable," I chuckle, shaking my head at her. I unclip my set of keys from my belt loop, sliding just the house key off the ring, and press it into her hand. "Don't lose it, and don't lock me out of my own home. Help yourself to whatever, the spare bedroom is available if you want to nap—" She waves me off, "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you in a bit." "I hate you." She winks with a smirk plastered on her face, "Love you, too."

After she had left, I went to the back to take care of what needed to be done, eager to get out as soon as possible to see what it was that Vic had planned.

When I got home, I was met by a bouquet of roses on the kitchen island, peppered with baby's breath. The vase they sat in was beautiful; it stood at least a foot and a half tall, crystal clear with golden vines wrapping around its body, and up and over the lip. I smiled softly with a shake of my head, astonished.

"You didn't have to buy me these, Vic!" I called out, not knowing where she was. I heard her footsteps against the linoleum shortly thereafter, turning to see her rubbing her eyes. She must've taken that nap, after all. "I didn't," she denies through a loud yawn. "Ruffles stopped by to deliver them." I scrunch my face in skepticism, jerking my head back slightly. "Nick bought me flowers for my birthday?" She shrugs, another yawn escaping her. "I think there's a card."

Sure enough, there was a white envelope placed delicately between the flowers. I carefully plucked it from where it sat, reading my name written in messy cursive on the front—I recognized the handwriting immediately. I took a sharp inhale, nearly dropping it while my heart hammers in my chest and my hands shake with nerves.

I opened the envelope and saw there was not only a card, but a flash drive tucked in it. I pulled the items out and began to read the card.

Happy Birthday, Love

I know things between us aren't the way they used to be, but I still want you to enjoy your birthday. I know that flowers don't make up for what I put you through, but I at least hope they put a smile on your face. I know they're your favorite.

I'm sorry that I haven't been home or called you, it's been difficult for me to comprehend all of this. Just know that not a day has gone by where I haven't thought of you.

I don't know where my head is at. I don't know what's to come of us, but one thing I do know is how much I love you. Don't forget that. Please.

-Your dweeb, Noah

P.S. Listen to the song on the flash drive whenever you're able to, or ready to. It's not finished, but I think you should hear it.

"I can't believe he remembered," I whispered, shaking my head. "He doesn't even like celebrating birthdays." I clutched the flash drive in my hand, curling my fist to my chest as I continued to read his note over and over again until the words blurred, my eyes filling with tears. I feel the card slip from my fingers, knowing Vic took it so she could read it, too.

"Damn," she breathes after a minute. "Of course he'd remember your birthday. He really loves you, Olivia—" "I fucked up," I whimpered, shaking my head incredulously as the tears fell from my eyes. "I've been so goddamn selfish." She plants her hands on my shoulders, having me look at her. "None of that, Liv. Your feelings are valid." "But I'm killing him, Vic!" I hollered, shouldering her hands off of me and taking a step back. "Then fix it." I scoffed, clapping my hands against the sides of my thighs in exasperation. "I-I can't just make myself fall back in love with him. That's not how that works—" "Then you have to let him try," she says sternly, folding her arms over her chest. "Because you know damn well that boy has been, but you're too stubborn to accept it. Too stubborn to accept that you both have had your lives change from moving across the country, and that you need to adapt to it. His career is just as hard on him, as it is on you."

I drop my gaze from her, bringing my attention back to the flash drive in my hand as I soaked in her words. "No more overthinking, no more planting fake scenarios in your head, and no more drinking.” I feel my heart skip a beat, shame making its way in. "I haven't been drinking," I mumbled a lie, spinning the plastic in my hands. "Cut the shit." She tips my head towards her by my chin, her hazel eyes fierce as they locked with mine. "You think I didn't notice the bottles by the recycling? I know damn well those aren't Noah's."

My eyes burn with fresh tears, my throat aches from trying not to cry. This was so fucking humiliating; being called out for all of your faults by your best friend, on your birthday, of all days. She was right, thought. I had to start accepting things for what they really are, I had to stop feeling sorry for myself, I had to stop drinking.

"I'm sorry Olivia," I feel Vic's thumbs swipe across my cheeks as she sighs. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I love you, and I can't watch my best friend fall apart again. It had to be said." "You're right," I nodded in her hands, not realizing I had been sobbing. "I gotta fix this."

Noah

I settled into the couch in the living room, wrapped in a large fleece blanket with a steaming cup of chamomile tea. I leisurely sipped at the tea, hoping it would calm my nerves a bit to take some pressure off my chest.

My chest was exceptionally tight today, the flowers spreading in my lungs accompanied by the apprehension I felt from sending Nicholas to my house with a bouquet of roses for Olivia.

It's been almost a month since I've seen her, and I wanted so badly to go home so that I could, but I was too afraid of what would unfold if I had. I was too winded to reason with her—it was hard enough trying to record the snippet of a song for her, nevermind the possibility of an argument after climbing the front steps, as small as they were. Breathing had become that difficult.

I heard the front door open, Nick making his way back in after the small task I gave him. "How you feeling?" he asks, shouldering off the light jacket he wore, hanging it up. I shrugged, "About the same." We're quiet for a beat as he joins me on the couch. "How is she?" "She wasn't home, but Vic was there. That was awkward to say the least," he snorts, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and leaning into the couch some. I let out the start of a chuckle, a round of coughs crashing over it.

I sat up quickly and put my tea on the table, already knowing what was to come as sharp pains shot through my ribs, my muscles strained from the amount of coughing I've been doing. I was genuinely surprised that I hadn't broken a rib yet like last time.

Even though I already knew what was coming, I never got used to the way my lungs burned as the flowers made their way out. The tiny thorns that accompanied the petals was the worst part, clawing into my throat as I coughed and coughed. I grabbed a tissue off the table, cupping my mouth to catch what I expelled.

Exhausted, I collapsed back against the cushions, my lungs rattling as I heaved, and tears welled in my eyes from the pain. I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to handle this—at this point, I was ready to ingest Roundup. Maybe that would kill the flowers growing inside me.

Nick takes the tissue from my hand, replacing it with the tea that I nearly forgotten. I gave him a weak smile in thanks as he stands. "You hungry? I can make you some soup or something." I shake my head 'no', and he rolls his eyes. "Too bad. You haven't been eating. You need to eat, dude." "Fine," I grumbled.

My phone chimes in my pocket, and with a huff I dug it out. I nearly drop it, reading the message across the screen.

Olivia: Thank you for the roses, they're beautiful.

It was such a short, simple message, but my heart swelled reading it. I smiled wide; it was like a huge weight being lifted off my chest finally hearing from her. I felt like I could breathe a little easier.

Me: of course, love. i hope youre having a good birthday

Olivia: I am. This helped

"What's got you so happy?" Nick asks, and I hear the humor laced in his voice. I couldn't help the stupid grin on my face, reading our three texts over and over again. He hands me the chicken noodle soup that he heated for me, his eyebrow perked in curiosity. "She texted me." "I knew she would," he grins, clapping his hand on my shoulder and giving me a little shake. "Looks like there's another text." I looked down at my phone, and sure enough there was another message from Liv.

Olivia: Please come home soon. I miss you.

|Chapter 16|

[aplaceinthedark]

AU interlude: MADE BREATH and SKIN

Noah Sebastian (The Watcher of the Woods) x onbc (Taylor)

Word Count: 2.7k+

Cw: language, supernatural themes, sexy stuff: oral (oc receiving), fingering, slight monster fucking (monster, demi-deity, whatev Fuckface McGee thinks he is), pet play if you squint, unwrapped p in v (be safe, kiddos), telepathic dirty-talk, overstimulation

“I don't need to be babysat. Like they're gonna try to break into my house and kidnap me,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.  

“Well, too bad. Like I have anything better to do than babysit you,” Noah said, shedding his leather jacket he had over his hoodie. I could hear the playful undertone in his voice, thankfully. And to be honest, I was kind of glad he was here. 

“Need help?” I commented as he pulled his hoodie up. 

“Nope,” he said, lifting it up above his head. I mainly watched just to see how he could manage to get it over the antlers that were sprouting from the sides of his head, but I would be lying if I said I didn't sneak a peek at the part of his stomach as his shirt rode up. “Jeez, do you have to keep this place like a sauna in here?”

“It's not even seventy degrees in here,” I said, trying to avoid staring too long after he managed to get the hoodie off, but I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was actually that… big under all that clothing. He was now down to just a cut-off tank, leaving all the binding sigils that ran up and down his arms and across his collarbones and shoulders on display. Honestly, combined with the muscles, it made me want to punch him. 

But still, after a while, my eyes were drawn back up to the antlers. While not as wide and impressive as the last time I saw them, they still seemed to make him seem taller and bigger than he already was. 

“My eyes are down here.”

His words snapped me out of my reverie before he flipped down onto the couch beside me. “What're we watching?” he asked. When I looked down into his eyes, with his face drawn up into a smirk, I was almost taken aback when I noticed the smattering of freckles under them. The Lost Boy Who Would Become King.

“Does it hurt?” I blurted out.

“Does what hurt?” Noah asked. 

“The antlers… when they grow out. Do they hurt?” I clarified, curiosity getting the better of me. 

He blinked. “N-no?” he replied awkwardly, like no one had bothered to ask that question of him before. “Mostly they’re just sensitive until they reach their full point. Kinda itchy, too.” His thigh bumped against mine. 

“Has anyone touched them?” I asked. 

“No, usually people are too busy screaming ‘Ah, don’t kill me’ if I get—“ I cut him off with a backhand to the chest. “What? It's true!”

“I meant like Nick and the others,” I huffed, leaning back. 

“Nah, they're not stupid enough to–” Noah said, but then stopped dead when I pressed my thumb against one of the points.

“Shit, I’m sorry, did I hurt—“ I stammered, pulling my hand away until I noticed his eyes. They seemed to pin me to where I was sitting. 

“No, you’re fine, it's just…” Noah swallowed thickly, “I didn’t expect it to feel like… that.”

“Like wha…?” I trailed off as I realized what he meant. Oh.

My hand, which was still hovering near his head, fell back down to his antlers. Curiosity getting the better of me, I traced a light line from where they met his skull up to one of the first points. He shuddered under my touch, a small moan slipping out.

“Stop that,” he gritted out.

“Stop what?” I asked. I meant for it to be an honest question, but I didn't think he took it to be like that. Especially when his hand shot up and snatched my wrist away from his head. 

“Stop teasing,” he said with a low rumble, dipping his head down to where he was eye level with me. My heart stopped when I saw how dark his eyes were. 

I felt his other hand snake around my waist, pulling me closer to him. As ironic as the comparison was, I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. “Is that why you asked about them? So you could see me like this?” he asked. I was practically on his lap at this point, my knees straddling his thighs. He dipped his head lower to nuzzle his lips against my jaw.

The movement snapped me out of my paralysis, and I finally found my voice. “Aww, is Bambi sensitive?” I cooed, reaching my free hand up to run a finger up his antlers again. He shuddered against me, breath panting and ragged, and I froze up again when I felt his dick begin to harden underneath my core.

“I said watch it,“ he growled, grabbing that hand as well. “Do you like being a tease? Touching me like that?” He pushed me onto my back, pinning my wrists to the armrest above my head. He easily was able to hold both of them with one hand, those long fingers wrapping around them as he freed a hand to roughly grab my jaw. “Touch me again, and I’ll build you up to just leave you here wet and needy.”

My eyes widened a little bit as I took in what he said. “No—“ He cut me off with a small squeeze. The little puffs of breath he let out ghosted over my ear, making me shudder in his hands. When he finally let go of my jaw, it was to only run it over the hollow of my throat and stop. He leaned down, his lips leaving light but wet kisses along my neck.

A soft whimper escaped my throat, and my legs squirmed under his. He chuckled, my only warning before he bit down on the sensitive flesh between my neck and shoulder. A sharp gasp left me, which turned into a moan when his teeth retracted to let his tongue sweep over the mark. 

“I want everyone to know what’s mine, little rabbit,” he whispered. “I want them to know that you belong to the Watcher of the Woods.”

The possessive tone he used slightly pissed me off, but as he alternated between biting and soothing at my tender skin, I could barely care. That's when I realized that despite my fogged-up brain, my mouth was close to the base of his antlers. So, between keening, I let out a breathy moan that I knew would hit them.

His reaction was instantaneous. He let out a loud moan against my wet skin, hips involuntarily shunting forward against mine. The straining in his jeans pressed against my covered core, earning a sharp inhale from me.  I didn't know how dizzier I could get. 

Noah pulled away to look me in the eyes. “Seriously, Taylor, if you want–”

“Noah, I want you, monster or not,” I panted. 

For once, Noah was stunned into silence. He hovered over me, jaw slightly dropped as he took in my words. He then brought his lips down to lock with mine in a messy, heated kiss.

There was no gentleness in this kiss, and I didn't expect any. This was a man starved. He finally let go of my wrists and trailed his hands down my chest, my waist, to my hips, then trailed them back up, under my shirt this time. 

His thumbs ran small, feather-light circles around my nipples. “No bra?” he asked, smirking against my lips.

“Never wear one,” I admitted.

“Good,” he commanded. “I wanna look at you.” He pulled away to give me space.

Somehow, I knew what he was talking about through the sex-addled white noise, and I lifted my shirt up and over my head. I flushed under his gaze that slowly raked over my body.

“I could absolutely devour you,” he admitted, leaning back down, lower this time. He ran his tongue up my sternum, up the small slope of one breast, and closed his mouth around my nipple. I keened and squirmed as he flicked the tip of his tongue over the hard peak, feeling helpless as he teased the other between his thumb and fingers.

Eventually, after both tits were given enough attention, he pulled off with a soft pop, biting into what flesh there was. He left little nips as he trailed down my tummy until he finally reached the waistband of my jeans. 

“N-Noah…” I whimpered, trying to get his attention.

“Yeah…?” His eyes flicked up to mine as I gazed down my body at him.

“Please… not here,” I pleaded.

He blinked, his dark brown eyes darkening further. “You don't want me to fuck you on the couch?” he asked.

“P-please n-no.”

Suddenly, with supernatural strength, he hitched my waist over his shoulder, pulling up and taking me with him. I let out a small yelp of surprise, but soon he was taking me back to my bedroom. My world was just an upside- down view of the back of his top and ass. If I could just manage to get my arm up, I could just–

Before I could smack anything, he roughly tossed me onto the bed. He crawled up between my legs, undoing the button and zipper of my jeans. I wriggled my hips as he pulled my jeans and underwear down in one fast motion. With a groan, and without tearing his gaze from between my legs, he carelessly tossed the garments somewhere on the floor. “Fucking hell, you've been dripping this whole time, haven't you?” he asked, leaning down.

“Noah–”

“Are you okay with this?” Noah asked. I stared at him in surprise, and he rolled his eyes. “I might be a monster, but I'm not that kind of a monster.”

“Fuck, of course Noah. Just fucking–” My tirade was cut off as he dove down like it was his last meal. My hips lifted off the bed in surprise, and he lifted my legs over his shoulders, wrapping his hands around my thighs and pulling them down against him.  

I couldn't think of anything past the feeling of his tongue flicking over and around my clit, spearing into me and then flattening as he licked long stripes up and down my arousal. All I could do was grab the top of his head, tangling my fingers in his long tresses as I tried to keep myself grounded.

“Oh, God, No… ah–” was all I could manage to get out as I shook like someone possessed. His fingers dug into my thighs, the pain of his nails pressing in only adding to the pleasure. It felt like the more I reacted to him like this, the harder he worked to make me feel good. 

I looked down at him to see that he was already intently staring at me. Somehow, his dark eyes seemed to be bright when they met mine. I felt him smirk against my lower lips, and then I heard, 

YOU TASTE SO FUCKING GOOD. 

Speaking into my head, hearing that praise, sent a bolt of pleasure through me that had me arching, releasing onto his tongue as I swore up to the ceiling. He lapped it up, not relaxing his movements one bit, and the overstimulation carried me into my second orgasm, my scream tearing through my throat. 

THERE IT IS. THAT’S IT, GIVE IT TO ME.

He slowed down, kitten-licking me through my aftershocks, and then finally pulled away, settling me back down onto my bed. “You good?” He asked, like he didn't just completely shatter me. 

Through ragged breaths that hurt my throat and my swimming vision, I nodded. Dear God, that was–

“He's not here, and by the end of tonight, I'll have you screaming my name like you worship me.” His growl sent ripples throughout my body. Noah crawled up on top of me, caging my face between his hands, and kissed me roughly. I could smell and taste myself on his lips. 

“Noah, please, I need you,” I managed to say between fervent kisses. 

“Say my name then,” he demanded. 

“Noah.”

“Louder.”

“Noah–”

“Plead louder for me.”

“Please, oh god, Noah.”

When I opened my eyes again, it was to see him shove his jeans off, but what made me gasp was the sight of his antlers, now the crown of bone that I remembered. With his hair wild and tangled from my fingers, and the tattoos spread all across his now naked body, he truly looked like the forest god he was. 

He perched over me, leaning down to kiss me hard enough to stoke the fire in my belly again, and trailed fingers up and down my still-slick center. He slowly pushed two of them into my hole, alternating between curling, scissoring, and pulling them out before repeating the cycle. I was a moaning, whimpering mess that could barely talk when I realized that he was lining himself up. 

“N-Noah, f-fuck… please,” I near sobbed. 

“Shhh, I've got you,” he said quietly, gently brushing some damp hairs off my forehead. He then slowly, tortuously, pushed in, making me cry out in pain and pleasure. 

“Ohh god, Noah, a-ah!” I said. “'s n-not gonna f-fit.”

“Yes it will,” he rasped. I was so glad that he, too, was having a rough time handling me like I was handling him. “I know you can do it.” He then pulled my legs up and hitched them around his waist, nearly folding me in half. With a few more shallow thrusts, he finally bottomed out, hitting a spot in me that turned my moans to something primal.

“There we go, good job. I told you you could do it,” he muttered, kissing the bridge of my nose. The feeling of me clenching on his cock had him groan, a sound that seemed like it came from somewhere deep inside him. “You ready?”

“Y-yes, Noah.”

His pace was steady at first, torturously slow. I rolled my hips to meet his, and his hands flew down to them to encourage the movement. “Go on… Take what you need,” he said, voice hitching at the end. I reached up to wrap my arms around his wide back, feeling the muscles flexing underneath my hands. His forehead dropped to mine, and our lips brushed together in unison.

FUCK, IT’S LIKE YOU WERE MADE FOR ME,

he said, a hand reaching up to cup my cheek, tilting my face so our lips could finally press against each others,

MY LITTLE RABBIT.

Noah, I’m gonna - I’m gonna…  I was desperately close, and his pace just kept getting hastier. I knew I was about to topple over the edge, and Noah was going to push me over with no remorse.

LET GO,

he said,

I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

When I opened my eyes, I saw his big doe eyes focused on me. I couldn’t hold it anymore, and I screamed his name as my head rolled back against my pillow. I swore I nearly blacked out, or at least the edges of my vision turned black, as my vision blurred. I felt my sweat-slick skin press against his as my back arched completely off the bed.

Noah chased his own release a little bit later, thrusting into me while growling something that might’ve been words in the other tongue or just gibberish. Soon after, his hips stilled, and his body sagged onto me, the weight and warmth being welcome.

We lied there, chests heaving as we tried to catch our breath, and I found myself gently scratching at his scalp. My fingers gently brushed against the base of his antlers, and I stilled.

“You’re fine, I can’t feel anything when they’re fully grown,” Noah muttered against the skin of my neck.

“You know that, but not when they’re forming?” I asked.

“Like I said earlier, it never came up.” He chuckled airily. 

We stayed like that for a while, his body like an anxiety blanket, until my body decided I needed to get up. Noah thought otherwise as he wrapped his arms around my midsection and pulled me back against him every time I tried to leave the bed.

“Lemme up, I have to go to the bathroom and take a shower.”

“Only if I get to join you,” he said with a sly grin.

“Those things aren’t gonna fit in the shower,” I said with a momentary glance up at the antlers.

“Oh, I’ll make them fit.”

“…Gross.”

[r0-boat]

Master List part 2 (WIP)

( if see any posts not on this list please DM me the link I will add it)

Key

⭐: original(mostly written by me)

🌹: smut

🔪: yandere

🍷: some kink cw

🧨:darker Cw's and Tw's

Submas +Volo

Ingo

Virgin Warden🌹⭐

Alpha primal ingo🌹🍷🧨

Yan!ingo giveing s/o aphrodisiac ⭐🌹🍷🔪

Jealous W!Ingo pussy slapping🌹⭐

Subby alpha ingo⭐🍷🌹

Ingo sneaks into your room while you're sleeping⭐🔪🧨🌹🍷

Priest!ingo stealing his brother's wife🌹⭐🍷🔪🧨

Sub!ingo with his bunny⭐🌹

Stuck with Yandere!Warden Ingo ⭐️🌹🔪

Ingo with Neko!reader Hcs⭐️

Warden!Ingo breeding (Trans ftm reader)🌹⭐️🍷

Ingo a breeding kink🌹⭐🍷

Emmet

Emmet fucking his rival🌹⭐🍷

His rival fucking him🌹⭐🍷

Feral Alpha! Emmet🌹⭐🍷

Twins

Twins with introvert/physically affectionate reader⭐

Pinning for you⭐

Poly relationship+Elesa 🌹🍷⭐

s/o on their period⭐

Twins with small reader🌹🍷⭐

Emmet slapping your pussy 🌹⭐

Au idea: villain submas🌹⭐🍷

Villain au: twins reaction to a new hero instead of reader⭐

Twins cock drunk⭐🌹🍷

No nut November twins ramble⭐🌹

Volo

Volo sneaks into your room while you're sleeping 🌹⭐🔪🧨

Tarzan!Volo⭐🧨🍷

SM/USUM

Nanu

Alpha!Nanu hcs🌹🍷⭐

Alpha!Nanu-Pushing him to his limit🌹🍷⭐

Stalker!Nanu🔪🌹⭐🧨

Incubus!Nanu🌹⭐🔪🧨

HGSS

Morty Headcannons sfw & nsfw⭐🌹🍷

B&W

Colress experimenting on reader(old post)⭐🌹🍷

Colress Uno reverse getting experimented on( old post)⭐🌹🍷

X&Y

Alpha!Siebold⭐🌹🍷

SWSH

Kabu

Pussydrunk! kabu🌹⭐🍷

Multiple

Galar men having audio accounts⭐🌹🍷

Pokemen reaction to pillow princess S/o⭐🌹🍷

Paldea men having gwa accounts🌹🍷⭐

HasselxreaderxBrassius poly mini🍷🌹⭐

BDSP&P/Hisui

Mer!Meli develops a crush on his savior⭐

Mer!meli his Crush comes back (part 2)⭐

Cyllene

Cyllene breaks your back⭐🌹🍷

ORAS

Maxie

Maxie General romantic head cannons⭐

Vampire!Maxie Hcs

ScVi

Brassius

Yan!brass hcs ⭐🔪🌹

Hassel

Pegging hassel⭐🌹

Rika

Daddy Kink!Rika fucs u wth strap⭐🌹🍷

Rika&afab reader period headcannons⭐

Jacq

Nsfw hcs⭐🌹🍷

Larry

Larry using your body as stress relief⭐🍷🌹

Yan!Larry hcs⭐🔪🌹🍷

Larry hcs🌟🌹🍷

SDV

Shane

Shane hcs PART 2⭐🌹

Harvey

Harvey hcs⭐

Harvey patches you up ⭐️

Alex

Alex hcs⭐

Sebastian

Alpha! Seb⭐🌹🍷

Ocs

Silas The dragon 🐉

Marriage headcannons⭐🔪🌹

Never Escape, not with a baby in you🔪🧨🌹⭐

Rough fuck, use you like a fuck toy🔪⭐🍷🌹

Reading a book, thinking about you⭐🍷🌹🔪

Fell Dragon!Silas corruption🔪🧨🌹🍷

Cole the werewolf

Halloween22 Slasher!Cole⭐🧨🌹🔪

Daddy kink Cole⭐🌹🍷

Missing you⭐🌹🍷

Wolf Drider Salem 🕷

Halloween 22' Reaper!Salem headcannons⭐🍷🔪

Consensual non-con roleplay⭐🌹🧨

Zero the wasp hybrid🐝

Alpha zero thirst🌹🍷⭐

Human!Zero x Wasp!reader🌹⭐🍷🔪

Zero steals you away from the Beemas⭐🧨🔪🌹

Zero's picnic date⭐

Noah The Leopard MerShark 🦈

Date sfw hcs⭐

Virgin to Pussy drunk 🌹⭐

Halloween 22' nekomata!Noah🌹🔪🧨

Prof. Sterling 👓

Nsfw/sfw hcs🌹🍷⭐

My dream

Dom Sterling⭐🌹🍷

Fucking in the classroom⭐🌹🍷

The boys

Cat boys (All)⭐

Halloween final threesome🐝 👓⭐🔪🧨🌹🍷

Boys and their scent (All)⭐

Bug boys take care of you when you're sick🐝🕷️⭐

Ro's Au hoard

Beehive Submas #BeeGearStation

Tarzan!ingo, #Tarzaningo

Bull farm Au #Bullfarmau

Anon submissions

More Omega!Melli 🌹

Bully Melli hours🌹

Voodoo Doll submas part 1 prt2🌹

Villain submas reaction to other hero ⭐

Random shit

Birds of paradise harpies bfs⭐

The Ring of Lovers (fan scp)⭐🔪🍷

Dol fav LI call Out Post lol⭐🌹🧨