#oc x jerome

[clericxhood777]

Part Ten

[jocelynscrazyideas]

Spark | Quinn Hughes x Reader/OC

Summary: after a terrible breakup between Quinn and Kaliea, she finds a bf, Tatum. After hate comments towards the relationship between Tatum and K, she ends up looking for her old sweet love.

Warnings: none ;)

a/n: Ik some people don’t like y/n, and some don’t like oc’s but boohoo, I love the name Kaliea (kuh-lee-a) so that’s who you are reading as 😜

📚💬:

KALIEA=YOU

Tatum= new bf

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

kaliea.may7🔵

Liked by _quinnhughes and 3,282 more

kaliea.may7 wtv city ur in, you’re still the boy that I’ll pick 😉

photo creds: tat’s sister (kelly)

comments..

jhugh🔵 um, cute ig…

↪️reply to jhugh kaliea.may7🔵 yk it🥳

bboeser🔵 someone looks a lil diff..

❤️ liked by creater

↪️reply to bboeser kaliea.may7🔵 Ik right. Tatum looks so burnt from the sun 🙄

~

tatumishim.com

liked by kaliea.may7 and 708 more

tatumishim.com ur still the girl that I’ll pick in line over, like thirty hot guys 😉

Comments…

kaliea.may7🔵 love ya

❤️liked by creater

~flashback~

For three years, Quinn and Kaliea (you) were in a very strong relationship. You felt safe and comfortable with whatever you did with Quinn. His compressed hugs that cut off your air supply, made you feel loved. Loved differently than anyone else.

After a soft launch onto the internet, shortly after, Quinn’s fan girls started to hate on Kaliea. The relationship lasted longer than expected but they got hate comments every post they shared. It didn’t hurt until…

~

_quinnhughes🔵

liked by kaliea.may7, jhugh, lhughes_06 and 56,235 more

_quinnhughes Happy three years 🪐💗

Comments…

kaliea.may7🔵 lucky me 🪐💗

❤️liked by creater

↪️reply to kaliea.may7 _quinnhughes🔵 take me to rome next time.

hater.1 that should be me. Quinn can lwk do better than that…

hater.2 umm… babe?

↪️reply to hater.2 hater.3 literally. Bc since when? I’m sm prettier than whoever she is.

hater.4 she’s so ugly.

↪️reply to hater.4 kalieaxqh43 umm okay but your acc is private so you really can’t be talking. Start posting and we can start comparing.

~

Yeah, the comments started to really burn. “Quinn. I can’t. Not anymore. We either stop being public or…”

“Woah. Woah? That’s not fair. You’re letting them win! K! You can’t!” Quinn whines out. He fights the thought of losing you.

“Three years. Kaliea. Three fucking years. I love you, you love me. Why does it matter what they think?” Quinn fusses.

“It hurts Quinn! They aren’t hating on you, are they? My fans support us! Your comments just hurt. Like this one. ‘She’s so ugly. He can do sm better even if it’s not me.’ Like seriously?” I cry out after reading off of several comments and tweets.

“That’s why you aren’t supposed to look at the comments!?” He toughened up. He looked down into my eyes.

My head starts to pound, I can hear my heartbeat in my ear, my foot starts to cramp from standing on it. Quinn and I sit in our kitchen. We fight over the situation.

~ end of flashback~

“So. Kaliea, you’re a worldwide treasure of a model AND actress. So how do you do it? Do you have a steady home back in LA? I mean you’re always on the go I suppose you just stay in airbnbs.” A reporter asked me. I’m walking into a hotel by myself. My bodyguard- Thomas shoved the reporter away and I walk ontop of the stairs taht lead into the hotel.

“Yes. I have a home. A beautiful one. Located in Vancouver. I mean currently in Vancouver, but we’ll see what happens. Especially because I am really always on the go. And Tatum and I just came back from holiday in Rome.” I wink and turn on my heel to walk into the glass doors that shut the paparazzi and my personal world.

“We might find a place in Rome!” I mouth back at the reporter. I wink and head up to my room.

~

kaliea.may7🔵

liked my _quinnhughes, taylorswift and 70,642 more

kaliea.may7 fav place ever! rome treated me well. Till next time 🫶

tatumishim.com hottie 😍

↪️reply to tatumishim.com qhughesloveskkmay Quinn would never 💀 👎

❤️liked by creater

q43xkk7 I hope she never brings Tatum to rome.

↪️reply to q43xkk7 kalxhughshipper wait. Why?

↪️reply to kalxhughshipper q43xkk7 so basically Rome is K’s fav place on earth and she brought Q there and that’s when they first launched their relationship. Just saying, If she brought Tat there. It means that she really is locked in on their relationship. (She thinks it’s gonna last longggg)

↪️ reply to q43xkk7 huggyandkkmay7_43 yeah AND imagine if you brought your current bf to YOUR place. Like the place you brought the ACTUAL love of ur life to, and imagine he had also been to that same beach that current bf is laughing and teasing you at

↪️ reply to q43xkk7 newsofkkmay777 💀 check the new spotting of kali. She said that her and tat just got back from a holiday in rome. 😪 how you holding up? I’m not well that’s for sure.

❤️Liked by q43xkk7

hughseyxkkmay4life they (q and k) literally give off ALL of Taylor Swifts RED album.

❤️ liked by taylorswift🔵

kkmayismommy43.7 tatum is literally a nobody. idk what happened between Quinn and her, but we miss them. I swear if they broke up bc of the hate she was getting… ITS ON SIGHT‼️

↪️ reply to kkmayismommy43.7 officialsupportkalieamay7🔵 yeah I agree, BUT isn’t this the same thing as hating on Kk when she was with Quinn but with Tatum instead? Kk became a model, and an actress, as she came from a “nobody.” It’s the fact ur saying the same sh!t people used to say abt kk when she was with Quinn, abt tatum. Grow up. It’s not your relationship. So stay out of it 🤗

↪️reply to officialsupportofkalieamay7 km7xqh43 DAYUM 🍛🧆🍽️ YOU NEED FOURTHS? YOU ATE UPP!! YOU STILL HUNGRY?! ITS THE FACT THIS CAME FROM THE OFFICIAL SUPPRORT ACC😭

~flashback~

“Quinn.” You sigh. You know what needs to be done.

“No. Kk. No. Kali, please. What if I find a random girl and she’s only here to cover our relationship.” Quinn suggested.

“No. Q. It’s not worth it. And if I’m with you, I rather be public. Let’s take a break for now. Okay?” Tears fall out of your eyes.

“Kaliea.” Quinn cries. Tears fall out if his eyes aswell.

“We can make it work!” Quinn begs. “No. Your right. Hockey, I need to-I need to focus.” Quinn comes to a realization and let me go. He gave me one last hug and kiss.

Your eyes start to burn. You feel the wierd numbness in your legs when you cry so hard that you can’t move anymore.

“I should go.” You walk to what used to be your room that you shared with Quinn for more than two years.

You packed everything. Your car was filled. You didn’t know where to drive. You couldn’t drive to New Jersey. I mean wierd, driving to your ex’s brother’s house after a breakup is weird. But Luke is your bestfriend, and of course so is Jack. Quinn was the ultimate bestfriend. Or what felt like it.

~end of flashback~

tatumishim.com

65,302 likes

tatumishim.com yeah. I’m in Rome with kali. What? Like it’s hard? @kaliea.may7 🦁🩷

⚠️comments are limited ⚠️

~

Keepingupwith.kmaygrace🔵

Liked by _quinnhughes and 76,296,682 more

Keepingupwith.kmaygrace KMG spotted in Rome on a date 👀 guessing it’s Tat?! Opinion: Kaliea May Grace is such an iconic name.

⚠️Comments aren’t available⚠️

retry?🛜

Twitter:

Keepingupwith.kmaygrace

INSIDER NEWS ⚠️ it’s been confirmed that Tatum Hayden, Kaliea’s new boyfriend is flying back to Las Angels, “only for a week.” Says Hayden.

“Currently, KK is working on a a very important job. I can’t intrude with a passion. She (Kaliea May-Grace Ryland) is an excellent actress and a beautiful model. She is also picking up new jobs on the way back come from Rome.” Tatum Hayden gives us an inside scoop itinerary of our girl.

↪️re-tweet loverofhughseyandkk omg. Tat calls Kaliea “kk, kal, Kali, k, kg, and Kali G.” I miss Quinn🥲

❤️ liked by keepingupwith.kmaygrace

~falshback~

“Kaliea. Just stay. Stay for a night and we’ll figure it out. I can’t just let you go into the unknown. You’ll get lost if you just start driving on random roads that lead to random states.” Quinn leans into my car. He stands on the other side of my car door. The window rolled down,letting me be able to feel his body warmth one last time.

“Don’t.” I mumble. I roll my window up, shutting him out. I can hear him yelling at me through the window. I reverse out of the driveway. My home becomes distant. Leaving this safe neighborhood for the last time, is also leaving Quinn.

~end of flashback~

“I can’t anymore Kaliea. It’s always about Quinn.” Tatum fusses.

“I know how you feel. I was there once. I was a nobody when I was with Quinn. Just let the people talk, they don’t know you.” I reassured him. Obviously I felt that I neeed to leave. I know Tatum feels that way too.

“Kaliea. I just can’t.”

Against, Tatum is in LA.

“Are we gonna seriously do this over phone?” I laugh. I hold back my tears.

“yes. I’m done. WE are done. Kaliea I’m breaking up with you.” He hangs up. Instantly my eyes let my tears go. I feel this weird numb and stabbing pain in my stomach.

~

kaliea.may7 🔵

liked by jhugh and 403,728 more

kaliea.may7 whatever gets the job done 💔

Comments..

hughesxryland is she crying fr? Or is it a scene in her new movie?

↪️reply to hughesxryland kaliea.may7 don’t worry bubba! real tears, fake situation🥰 acting helps me cry whenever i need to.

~

After Tatum broke up with Kaliea, the word had spread.

“So is life easier? How does it feel to be single again?” Reporter Johnson had asked.

“Who said I was single? It’s been a month since the breakup. I was a mess, o had someone to lean on. And I fell in love. Again.” I laughed, and I look into the crowd.

“kaliea! Kaliea!” The fans all shout in order for me to notice them.

I lock eyes with Quinn as I scan the crowd. I wink and the interview was over. I walk up to Quinn.

“It’s time.”

And we walked back to Quinn’s car together. Allowing the paparazzi and fans to see us, especially because Quinn was very handsy.

“Kaliea Ryland and Quinn Hughes back together!” Headings over all news outlets. All socials have influencers talking about their theories on your relationship with Quinn.

“I just know they love eachother.”

“They have a spark that no one else can connect.”

“If they breakup again, o don’t believe in love.”

[simplegenius042]

LATE Understand My Ship in 5 minutes, Understand my (Friend)ship in Five Minutes & Kindly Join the Wedding

Tagged by @adelaidedrubman @socially-awkward-skeleton @g0dspeeed @cassietrn @cloudofbutterflies92 @la-grosse-patate @nightbloodbix @onehornedbeast and @inafieldofdaisies

Tagging @strafethesesinners @direwombat @strangefable @softtidesworld @afarcryfrommymain @henbased @carlosoliveiraa @corvosattano @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @skoll-sun-eater @minilev @derelictheretic @aceghosts @shellibisshe @shallow-gravy @wrathfulrook @florbelles @purplehairsecretlair @turbo-virgins @yokobai and @red-nightskies

Got a Ship from A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore, a friendship from The UnTitledverse and a wedding from Far Cry The Silver Chronicles. After this, I should be all caught up in what I've missed, and then I can make my new Pinned Intro Post. Anyway, you can find the stuff and templates below the cut:

Templates can be found below:

[tarotoftheendless]

Forever Waiting Chapters Master List

Note from Tarot:

The is a WIP. It will be more mature, more explicit and more angsty than the film but I am planning to keep everything fairly within the continuity of the film. Our beloved Willie will be portrayed as accurately to being in character as possible. This is 18+, minors DNI/DNR.

Brief Starting Summary:

Willie has come back into town because Emma has returned to their hometown of Taft, PA. He is faced with connecting with another old friend first, Jules, Joey's twin sister.

Jules has been in love with Willie for as long as she can remember. But Willie's love for Emma has always stopped Jules from telling him her true feelings.

Will Jules finally admit to her feelings and completely derail Willie's plans to tell Emma everything? Or will Willie finally start to see what was right in front of him the whole time? How long will Jules be stubborn and how long will Willie be dense, clueless and confused?

Read to find out.

Warnings/Tags:

Angst. N S F W. Self - Harm. Original Character Self - Unaliving (later on in the fic). Swearing. Pining. Unrequited Love. Slow Burn. Slow Build. Mental Health Issues. Emotional Health Issues. Dated Mental Health Terms (to fit in the with time period we are in). Ableism. Possible Political Climate at the Time (Gay Rights, BIPOC Rights).

Chapter One: Don't You (Forget About Me)

Chapter Two: No One Hurts Me Like I Hurt Myself

Chapter Three: Bitter Sweet Symphony

Chapter Four: The Promise

Chapter Five: TBD

I will list more chapters as they get done.

Helpful Blog Posts:

Waiting for Forever FanFic Spotify Playlist

Jules Visualization

Waiting For Forever, Research, Review, Character Analysis... + FanFic Talk

Beta Reader Call/Some FanFic Details to Keep in Mind

@dragon-kazansky's One-Shot Unrelated N S F W Willie Fanfic Reblog

@thoughtsfromlayla and @dragon-kazansky are wonderful folks that have helped me so much with this fanfic, give them love.

Tagged Accounts:

@notyourwildestdream

[ficklefics]

It would be fun for you to write a long lists of what you love vs what you hate when it comes to Jerome Valeska fanfictions and why you feel that way 🤪

is this ask from last summer? yes. am i only answering it now? also yes. hopefully the asker still follows me.

please remember that these are all just my opinions and it’s totally fine to disagree. a lot of it comes down to the characterisation of Jerome, which I feel a lot of writers oversimplify

let’s start with what I don’t like (cause that’s easier):

one of my biggest frustrations are fics where it’s like “reader is a high school student/nurse at arkham/police officer who is actually super insane except shows no sign of that at all ever”. can they be done well? sure. but I rarely see it. one fic that I read years ago had the reader as one of the cheerleaders on the bus in s2ep2 and she hands Jerome a lighter because… why? never really clear. in general, the ordinary person who is actually the perfect type of insane for Jerome to be interested in as opposed to just killing is rarely done right for me

I hate when Jerome in a fic is poorly characterised. by that, I mean just behaving sporadically in a “the writer doesn’t know what they’re doing way” as opposed to “he’s insane”. it’s a difficult line to walk

now, don’t get me wrong. i like a lil smut. well written smut. but it’s difficult to write Jerome smut well. a very core element of his character, established very early, is the fact that his mother’s sexual activity defos traumatised him and was key in pushing him over the edge. a Jerome who’s just banging left right and centre isn’t a Jerome that’s in character for me

now onto the likes (a lot of which are just the inverses of the dislikes):

the best thing a writer can do (for me) is have a clear idea of who Jerome is in their mind and in their fic. like I said above, there are lots of different ways to portray Jerome, and it’s not my place to tell people what’s right or wrong. I’d much rather read a consistent Jerome that isn’t how I imagine him than a wibbly wobbly noncommittal Jerome

in a similar vein, fics where Jerome is actually a bad person who does bad things. commit crime! relish in people’s suffering! but do them in interesting ways.

I love a fic where we get of vulnerable Jerome. not every fic needs this, but depending on the context i really enjoy getting to see writers interpretations of what that looks like, especially given that we don’t get any of it in the show really

again, these are all just my own thoughts. there’s a lot of nuance and a lot of fics out there. stuff I used to love I hate now, and stuff I once hated… I usually still hate tbh. read the fics you love and write the fics that make you happy

[wiildthiing]

So I’m here now. Have some ocxcanon :3

[ohmy-zabrak]

Belated Wip Wednesday

[littlebatsimagines]

The Orphan and The Clown Part 2 (Jerome Valeska x OC)

Masterlist

The 18 year old ginger sat at the table in the rec room, his foot continuously tapping as he waited. “Calm down ginger, geez.” Barbra said as she walked by and sat across from him. “She’s been gone 20 minutes, what they took her for only takes 10.” he said as he turned away from Barbra, his foot tapping only stopping for a moment as he spun back to face the door. “Hmm. Didn't think you'd care for anyone.” One of theguards snickered as he walked by, kicking Jerome's foot. The tapping paused only for amoment as he tripped the guard who glared at Jerome as he stood back up. “Watch it boy or she wont be coming back." the guard growled as he confined walking. “So, what's so special about her?” Barbra asked making him quickly turn to her. “What’s it matter to you, huh? Jealous?” Jerome asked with a chuckle and wicked grin spreading across his features. “No just curious.” Barbra said unimpressed. “Well you know what they say..” he started as he fully turned to Barbra and started to inch across the table. “Curiosity killed the cat!” he said as he slammed his hand on the table causing her to jump slightly and him to laugh as he slowly sat back down. “Buuuut if you must know…” he started as he became strangely serious. “She’s been there through it all, the ups, the downs…the crazy coincidences. She's stayed through it all, she helped me hide things,” he started excitedly as he jumped up into a crouch on his chair. “She’s never shied away from me or what I've done…she’s never been afraid of me. She also has the best smile." he said as his wicked smile came back as he remembered her helping him hide thee body of his whore mother that lovely night.

“Hmm, so you need her?” Barbra asked pulling Jerome from his thoughts. “Noooo…not really, but I want her…she’s my partner in crime.” Jerome said his eyes meeting Barbra’s but his eyes held a strange spark. “Her demons don't stop mine, they dance together…not like any of you would get that." he giggled as the doors opened making him whip around and grin as the little doll he was waiting for walked through them.

The small pale girl pushed her glasses up but her bangs kept her green eyes hidden when she kept her head down. Jerome's smile grew as she took her seat next to him, his hand joining hers under the table in a silent greeting making a wide smile spread across her doll-like face. The smile that formed on his face turned sinister as his gaze shifted to Barbra. “She could've gotten away with it ya know. Gordon didn’t suspect her but she came clean… she enjoyed it as much as I did." he said as he stared down Barbra while gently rubbing the back of Chance's hand while she lightly played wit his fingers under the table. Barbra noticed a few things as she watched the two. Chance was quiet, she always stayed near Jerome's side, she always did what he asked, and he always watched her and never let anyone harm her. They were the king and queen of Arkham and god help anyone who disrespected the queen.

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

Chapter 47: I Have Become Everything to Everyone in Order to Save At Least Some of Them

Summary:

The end is coming. Armageddon looms. And Kit prepares for war. Her and John travel into Fall's End, and kick off his plan to take back the Valley for the cult.

warnings:

- Kit's general mental instability - Boomer gets kicked - general violence with guns and hand to hand combat - discussion of religion - eye-gouging - arson

[anvbis]

Annoying Valeska.

Selfship content let’s go, first up we have these two.. funny individuals. figured Jerome likes to pester Jay just to get a reaction out of them. cause.. he is a clown after all, right?

[clericxhood777]

Part Seven

[duckyhowls]

Wired - Jerome Valeska

Would you read this when it gets published?

[drfirsnogayny]

Do you have any headcanons about Eddie? Or is he considered just an unused fanchild? (I swear I'm imagining Jerome and Carla interacting with him and it looks cute AAAAAAA)

Actually, I haven't thought about it, but there are some things

📛 His full name is Edgardo Luis Byron.

✨ He has two best friends. (I just found information that Eddie's friends, Jason and Emma, may be twins). Most of the rest of his classmates seem boring to him.

👊 Sometimes bullies tease him because of his unique appearance.

🍨 His parents are often called to school because of his behavior. The parents say, "We'll talk to him about it," and then they leave school and say to their son, "Come on, let's buy us all ice cream." Carla is usually more negative about the leadership at Eddie's school, and Jerome is more inclined to initiate trips for ice cream or other pleasant things.

🏫 At the age of twelve, he can get into a Biolitary school, but it is not yet known whether he will like it there or not. Carla didn't like it there.

💘 Sophia, a classmate, has a crush on Eddie.

🪦 In an essay on "How I Spent the Summer," Eddie once wrote about how he and his parents searched for treasure in graves, and then ran away from the watchman.

🐗 Eddie has four uncles. But he only likes Julio and Bernardo (Carla's older and younger brothers). Sebastian (Carla's other older brother) seems boring to him, and he is afraid of Jordan (Jerome's older brother). (If anything, Sebastian is the one I mentioned in another post as a character who doesn't like Jerome).

👍 Among the BRev characters, he would be loved: Madison, Ron, Cindy, Penelope, Buggs, Polly, Jenny, Byron, Emmy.

👎 Among the BRev characters, he would not be liked: Lily, Billy, Oswald, Felix, Theodore, Monty, Austin.

👐 The Guy, Nugget, Alice and Davey would be neutral to him.

🪲 Eddie is fond of studying bugs.

🐊 His favorite animals are crocodiles and alligators.

🪀 He also loves yo-yos.

💣 He loves to make something with his parents. Usually these are explosives.

🤬 He invented the word "sgarm" to use it instead of obscenities, including in front of his parents.

🚭 Hates cigarette smoke. Once he threw the found cigarettes from the balcony for this reason, but will receive punishment from Carla. He doesn't touch cigarettes anymore.

😈 He would like to have a monster as a pet.

🛹 He loves skateboarding.

🦜 When he was still a baby, his parents dressed him up as a parrot for a Halloween party.

📝 He enjoys hearing about the events that took place in the original Kindergarten. He is amused by the fact that adults tell completely different versions of what is happening.

Don't ask how the boar emoji is related to uncles.

[tarotoftheendless]

Forever Waiting: Waiting for Forever 0.5

Here it is guys, the first chapter of my little fanfiction about our beloved Will Donner/Willie Pajamas.

It is more mature than the film, so I will try to add the proper tags and warnings as we go forward.

I would like to thank @thoughtsfromlayla for being a beta reader and editor for me. Thank you for letting me show you this film so that you have the context needed for understanding my crazy plans and ideas for this fanfiction.

And I want to thank @dragon-kazansky for beta reading and just being my biggest encourager and cheerleader when actually getting started on writing this crazy wild fanfic. She has also made and provided the Chapter Cards. Thank you so much, and I love you!

I am excited for y'all to meet my OC Jules, she is cool and complicated and totally in love with our princess Willie.

Without further ado, here is Chapter One of Forever Waiting. Enjoy!

MASTER LIST/NEXT

************************************************************************

Forever Waiting

Summary:

Jules Smith is the twin sister of Joey. She has been in love with Will Donner, Willie, ever since they were children. But with Willie's constant fixation being Emma Twist, Jules has been content to suffer in silence. And then Willie has come back to their home town in Pennsylvania, but for Emma, not for her. How will they handle seeing each other after so many years and barely speaking in that time?

Warnings/Tags:

Over all angst for this chapter, some swearing if that bothers you. One-way pining. Clueless man is dense as fuck.

Chapter One: Don’t You (Forget About Me)

Friday, October 3rd, 2008 

Taft, Pennsylvania

10:23am

Jules’ POV

Sitting in the back room of my brother’s business, even as messy as it was with boxes of over-stock scattered everywhere, I was wasting time on my Blackberry playing Solitaire with one earbud in. The sound of the electronic bell of the front door of the store barely registered with me. Not much was happening in the shop this early in the morning so I was taking my break early. I was going to be leaving soon anyway because of an event I had this evening to get ready for. 

Then I hear my brother yell for his wife, my sister-in-law, to come here, even the sounds of Peter Steele’s sultry voice in “Love You To Death” can’t keep me from being mildly interested in what was going on. Closing out of my game app, I pause my music, taking out the one earbud I had in and then wrap the cord around my phone before stuffing the device in my side pocket of my cargo pants.

Then I hear my brother say, “It’s Willie!” And my heart both drops and began to beat faster. Dolores repeats the name. He is back. That can only mean that so was she; Emma.

Getting up from my reclined position in the chair I had chosen to take my break in, I stand, stretching. Then finally I made my way through the doorway, going down the small hallway that led to the sales floor.

As my twin and his wife greets Willie, I settle behind the counter, leaning against it, just watching. He hugs Dolores, or Dee as I called her, and then got up on a chair to better hug my abnormally tall brother. Biting my lip, likely chipping the matte black finish of my lipstick, my heart beat faster when I notice how good Willie look.

“You gotta introduce me to this one,” Willie says as he moves around to sit in my nephew’s kiddy chair, my sister-in-law urging Gabe to say ‘hi’ to Willie. Part of me finds this very endearing but the other part of me is mad at him for not being here for his birth. Yet my brother still named Willie Gabe’s godfather.

The last time I saw him was when he came up briefly from Oregon to be the best man at Joey’s wedding, and I was Dee’s Maid of Honor. I had barely spoken to him then. I hadn’t seen him all throughout highschool because he had stopped visiting in the summer after middle school. It had hurt every time. Though he had stayed with my family because Joey was his best friend before the accident, Willie was never here for us, his best friends. He was always here for Emma.

That’s when it dawns on me.

Joey had gone to the local grocery mart downtown about five days ago on a big shopping spree to stock up on stuff for the house. With him providing for himself, his wife and his kid on top of me living in their basement, we go through food pretty fast. The thing I realized though was that if Willie is back, that means Emma is back, and the only place my brother gets his Emma gossip now is from the loose-lipped older lady cashiers at the mart. That is also where Emma’s mother, Miranda, shops. Miranda is almost as bad as Willie is when it comes to Emma; ‘Emma this’ and ‘Emma that’.

Watching Willie sit in one of the kiddy chairs, playing with Gabe, made my heart just ache. He was always beautiful to me. He has definitely come into his own style, really leaning into the vagabond hipster look with the black bowler hat, blue and white plaid pajamas, cherry red hightops and black up-buttoned vest over a well worn graphic T and pajama top with the sleeves rolled up. And his smile? To die for.

Finally his gaze lifts from playing with Gabe, his eyes meeting mine. I must have looked shocked because his expression changes to one of delight to confusion and another emotion I couldn’t quite place. He blinks his eyes multiple times as he looks at me. Seeing this well known tic of his had all our childhood memories flooding back.

“Jules?” He almost whispers the question as both Joey and Dee turn to look back at me. I almost wish I had stayed in the back to finish out my break.

“Hi, Willie,” I answer back almost as quietly, giving him a small smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.

Putting down the rubber duck he had been playing with to entertain my nephew, Willie gets out of the child’s chair and bounds over to me. Not exactly wanting him to jump up onto the front counter, I move from behind it onto the sales floor.

Willie pulls me into one of his signature all encompassing embraces and I barely have time to register what is happening. For a moment my arms hang at my sides, unsure what to do. My eyes meet my brother and he gives me that look that is basically telling me ‘Don’t be weird’, so I return Willie’s hug. He holds me for a few more seconds and then pulls away.

“Look at you, when did you grow up to be so pretty?” Willie muses as his fingers found my exposed waist, making my heart flutter but I pull away from his grasp before he realizes the effect he has on me.

“You saw me three years ago, at their wedding, did I not look good in pastel pink or something?” I counter as I drop my gaze, my hand reaching up to tuck my hair behind one of my ears.

“No, you just look different, that’s all. The purple is new,” Willie indictates with his pointer finger towards my hair, which is in a longer shag cut and a plum purple color.

“Well, maybe I was sick of being recognized as his sister,” I motion my head towards my brother, who puts his hands up in surrender.

“With how short you are, sis, I don’t think people mistake us for twins as much as you think,” Joey chimes in as he walks up to Willie and I, leaving his wife to play with my nephew.

Dee turns her head towards us to look over her shoulder at her husband, smiling teasingly as she plays with the bead maze to entertain Gabe. “If Jules had been taller, I would have married her instead. She has nicer… assets…” Dee finishes with a wink at her husband, who rolls his eyes at his wife in response.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the line of conversation, I start to inch away ever so slightly from my brother and Willie. “Well, it was either someone helping you reach things in the top cupboard or curves that could kill, it’s not my fault you chose my flat-assed brother.”

Willie just giggles at the exchange and my heart almost stops at the sound of it. He is such a dork and yet that is the very thing that made me fall for him when we were kids before his parents passed.

Joey feigns an offended look on his face, putting his hands on his hips in a mock scolding stance. “Hey, young ears are present. Secondly, I take offense to that, I think I look just fine,” He twists his body so he can get a look at his khaki-covered behind. Dee stands from playing with Gabe, my nephew completely oblivious to the ribbing that is taking place, and moves over next to Joey. 

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, dearest," She says as she links arms with him. They give each other a challenging look that to me says that this conversation should not be happening in my brother’s business, let alone in front of his 2 year old.

Willie and I share a look, he appears amused as he has always loved - well - love. I blush, quickly diverting my gaze back to my brother and sister-in-law. And as if my prayers were answered, a couple of customers, an older man and woman, opened the glass door, stepping inside.

“Oh, thank god, I thought I would have had to remind you two that you have an audience… but hey customers! You got this, right, Joey? Yeah? Good. I’m gonna dip. I need a smoke.” I say as I turn on my heels, not even as much as glancing at Willie. Though I feel him watching me walk away towards the cash register counter. 

As I make it back to the backroom to grab my purse, a very worn black and white tie-dyed hippie purse, I hear Willie ask, “Is she okay? Something felt… off? I’m not sure.”

Hearing him ask that makes me pause and listen for a moment as I grab my phone from my pocket again, unraveling my headphones.

“I’ve got them, and Dolores can be with Gabe. I think you should talk to her, Will.” I hear my brother say to Willie. I just can see in my mind's eye that Joey likely put his hand on Willie’s shoulder, and Willie having that very confused yet concerned look on his face. 

My anxiety spikes, my craving for nicotine getting steadily worse. Joey knows how I feel about Willie, Dee does not. I made Joey promise to never tell anyone. I think that he is trying to help, but with Emma in the middle of it all, I know that my brother knows that I don’t want to make things more confusing for Willie.

Leaving the backroom with my purse on my shoulder, I turn left to go to the back door. Opening it, the heat of early October is still clinging on as I step onto the back landing and walk down a couple steps to sit down. Fishing out my lighter and pack of cigarettes, I light one, take a drag, and immediately feel a calm wash over me. I put my phone in my lap, stuffing one earbud in my left ear, the melodic strains of ‘These Things’ begins to play.

I don’t even turn my head when the door creaks back open and out of the corner of my eye I see the flash of red, well worn Converse. Silently, Willie sits next to me, his shoulders and thighs pressed against mine, the closeness familiar as though it was still the summers between our middle school years.

“When did you start smoking?” He asks quietly, his eyes studying my face as I kept my eyes forward. 

The back of the shop had a street and park on the other side of it and there were just kids playing and parents talking while they kept watch over them. In the grassier part of the park had both couples and individuals laying on blankets, either reading or having picnics. People watching is what I usually do when I have a lot on my mind.

Taking a drag then blowing out the smoke away from his face, I sigh. “Why? Are you judging me?” Turning my head to meet his gaze, I keep a serious face. He has that deer in headlights look for a moment. I smile at him and nudge him gently. “Fucking hell, Willie, lighten up. You’re fine.”

He smiles at me, but it isn’t as bright at that first smile he gave me when he hugged me. Sighing again, I answer his question, “Oh you know, got in with a bad crowd, picked up bad habits just to deal with those two.” I gesture my head back to the closed door behind us to emphasize that I am in fact talking about Joey and Dolores.

Flicking my cigarette so the ashes fell on the ground, I leaned into Willie to whisper close to his ear. “And on full moons, I run naked in the woods and bite the heads off of live chickens.”

That gets a laugh out of him and he nudges me back. “There she is, my dark humored best friend,” he says as he reaches a hand over to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. It takes everything in me to will the heat away from rising to my cheeks.

“I am kinda surprised you are working for Joey though, appliances don’t really seem like your thing,” he comments as he does an up and down look at me. I had always been edgier than Joey and even Willie, favoring darker colors and more macabre topics and music. 

My current outfit has Willie overanalyzing me and I shift uncomfortably next to him. I am suddenly conscious of my dark camo cargo pants with my tight altered cropped band T of Rob Zombie, the print of it cracked and fading. Willie’s eyes stay on the exposed skin of my midriff for longer than I would want him to, especially since he has friend-zoned me. Luckily his eyes moved down to my shoes. I have on my crimson red Doc Martens.

“Did you ever start that band? You look like a rockstar,” he says, the sincerity coming through his voice, but also he sounded regretful. The last summer he had stayed with my family, I had expressed that I wanted to start a band with some school friends.

“Yeah, actually we did. I have a gig tonight downtown,” I say, taking another drag of my cigarette.

“Really? That’s amazing. What’s your band’s name?” Willie asks, excitement in his voice as he catches my eyes. I had forgotten how blue his eyes were and I couldn’t look away.

Smiling at him with a knowing smile I say, “Suicidal Wyrms, but with Wyrms spelled with a ‘Y’ instead.”

Willie chuckles. “Wait, you named your band after a conversation we had over a decade ago?”

Nudging him again, I laugh and say, “It was a good name, though obviously we had to make it more metal. I even got a tattoo of the logo on my thigh.”

Leaning away from me on the steps, Willie eyes me up and down again. “You got a tattoo? Can I see it?” His hand finds my thigh, poking me in a teasing manner.

I lean away from him a little more, pushing him as I laugh at him. “No, I’d have to pull down my pants and we’re in public, Willie. Jesus fuck.”

Dropping my cigarette on the cement step by my feet, I put it out with the ball of my shoe.

“Fair enough, Jules,” Willie chuckles again. He takes off his bowler hat and puts it on my head. I scoff playfully, making him laugh again. “I missed you, Jules, really.”

Sighing, I lean forward resting my elbows on my knees, my head resting on my hand. Turning my head, I met his gaze. “You could have written to me, you know.”

His expression softens to one of regret. “I know… I guess I just assumed Joey would have updated you on my comings and goings.”

Groaning, I stretch my legs out on the steps, breaking eye contact with him. I place his hat over my face for a few moments before taking it off again and placing it in his lap. He is peering down at me with worry etching in his brows. I can feel my phone start slip from my lap, so I put a hand over it to hold it in place.

“I thought we were closer than that, Willie. I taught you to juggle. I let you steal this hat that last summer. You shared everything with me. When you lumped me in with my brother and just the ‘family’ when it came to getting updates on your life, I guess I was just a bit…” I trail off realizing I maybe shared more of my feelings than I wanted to, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“A bit hurt?” Willie offers. As he tears his eyes from me and focuses forward as he sat on the steps next to me, I could see shame on his face. He feels bad.

Sitting back up, I reach out to pinch him on his thigh right above his knee. His eyes followed my movements, but he didn’t react. I knew he couldn’t feel a thing right there as the nerve endings were severed from a childhood accident.

“Yeah, a bit hurt. You’re my best friend, Willie. I have hated the fact that we grew apart. I really could have used your friendship in highschool.” I say as I lean up against him, resting my head on his shoulder. He put an arm around me, his fingers cool against the skin on my ribs.

“I know, and I’m sorry. Just before highschool I got the impression that you didn’t want to hear about my life anymore.” Willie sadly muses.

“One frustrated disagreement did not mean I never wanted to hear from you again, Willie. I was just frustrated, that was it.” I admit to him, hoping to start to clear the air between us.

His answer to that was to kiss the side of my forehead, squeeze me one more time, before releasing me. He grabs his bowler hat, putting it back on.

“I wish we had been able to say these things a long time ago then, Jules. I really missed you too. I have done so much, gone to so many cool places. It would have been nice to talk to you about it, specifically,” he says, catching my gaze again.

“How is Emma? You being back here must mean she is back,” I ask him and there is an emotion that washes over his face that I can’t quite read before he shakes it off and smiles at my line of questioning.

“Joey called me four days ago. Her dad’s sick,” Willie explains.

“Joey didn’t tell me…” I say, my words kind of veering off at the end. “And what is your plan? Are you finally going to tell her?”

Willie drops his gaze to look at his shoes, his fingers clutching the fabric of his pajama pants. He’s nervous, I can tell.

“I plan to… either today or tomorrow,” he confides in me. 

“Well, if you don’t tonight, you should come see my band play. It’s at a bar next to your brother’s work. I’ll make sure you get the VIP treatment, no cover charge and free drinks.” I hope I am more enticing than Emma. “And besides, you said you wanted to see my tattoo, my get up tonight will be showing it off for all to see.” I nudge him, teasing him a bit.

He smirks and looks at me with humor in his eyes again. “Yeah, sure, maybe I could do that.”

Leaning over, I kiss him on the cheek. When I pull back I smile and say, “Good.” Reaching up, I lift his hat and ruffle his already kinda messy brunette hair. He laughs at me, grabs the hat back before flattening down his hair again and putting his hat back on.

I stick my tongue out at him and help fix his bangs so that they are hanging over his forehead just right in his hat. “There, gorgeous again,” I say as I smile at him playfully.

He blushes, but tries to recover quickly. “What are you listening to?” He points to the earbud that isn’t in my ear.

I hold it out to him so he can take the earbud. “Just a bit of Siouxsie,” I say as he puts the earbud in his ear to listen with me. ‘Spellbound’ is playing and he smiles.

“Moon child,” he muses, his little nickname for me.

“Sweet summer child,” I answer back, my nickname for him, though he was born in December.

My brother has once called Willie the sun to my moon as Willie was always someone who could cheer me up when I was down, and I had been able to anchor Willie when he got dragged out on the tide. After my brother’s wedding, even though I hadn’t reconnected fully with Willie back then, I had gotten a sun tattoo over my heart. I am thankful I am wearing a T-shirt that has it covered right now as I am not ready for him to know that I had gotten that tattoo, let alone that he is the reason for it.

Before he have to leave because of his parents' deaths, Willie and his older brother Jim had been my family’s neighbors. We used to see each other everyday and Emma was always his topic of choice. We all went to school together, and Emma lived a couple neighborhoods over, a playground and park separating us from her. 

Though I saw him everyday, he was always so excited for his playdates with Emma. I don’t think he really remembers that Joey and I were there whenever she was around. I might have been Willie’s moon, but Emma was his North Star. 

There were times where I thought just maybe he noticed me staring at him, but he never did. If he did he never mentioned it. I think he just saw me as Joey’s twin sister, one of his oldest bestest friends. 

Willie had always had his head in the clouds, easily distracted, daydreaming, talking to himself if he wasn’t gushing about Emma. Joey and I, and then Dolores when Joey had started dating her in middle school, had always been understanding of what Willie was going through. He had always been different, even before the accident, but after the accident, he changed. That’s when the talking to himself got worse and his attachment to Emma got all encompassing. 

Jim never understood it, and it really pissed me off. In my eyes, Jim was always trying to clip his brother’s wings, and that made me hate him.

As the song changed on my phone, I take the earbud out of Willie’s ear. He turns his head to look at me questioningly.

“I gotta go get ready for the gig, Willie,” I explain as I wrap my headphones around my phone again and grab my purse from the top step behind me. Putting my phone away and slinging my purse over my shoulder, I stand up, walking down the last couple steps.

He just simply nods and looks at me with those baby blues that just melted my heart.

“The door is unlocked, go visit with Joey, Dee and Gabe. They have missed you too. I can’t monopolize all your time after all,” I say with a reassuring smile. He smiles back at me in such a way that makes me just wish I could tell him how I feel, completely derailing his reason for coming back to Taft. He stands and stretches then makes his way back onto the top landing.

As he reaches for the handle of the backdoor I call out to him, “Please consider coming to the gig, Willie. It starts at 10.”

He grins again, nodding, then opens the door to go back inside my brother's appliance shop.

Sighing, I begin to walk the couple blocks home. Making sure I keep my feelings for Willie a secret might be harder than I thought. Or will I be able to count on him being dense and his focus staying on Emma? My mind raced as I made my way back home. 

I thought back to why he may have felt like he couldn’t confide in me anymore.

***********************************************************************

Saturday, August 28th, 1999

Taft, Pennsylvania 

2:43pm 

Jules’ POV

It was the last day of summer. Well, for me it was. Willie was going back to Cape Cod tomorrow so he could get ready for the beginning of his school year. The first year in high school for all of us; me and my twin Joey, Dee who just started dating my brother a year ago, Willie and then Emma. 

It was hot and muggy, so Joey suggested we go to the swimming creek on the other side of the park, past Taft Woods. We all thought that was a great idea, even Emma, who Willie had insisted on hanging out with us. Never wanting to deny Willie his happiness when it came to Emma, saying no didn’t feel like an option to me.

After we got dressed in our swimsuits, we raced each other on our bikes, pedaling our way across town.

I was pretty proud of my restored Schwinn bike that I was riding. I had spray-painted it glossy black with gold accents, giving it a very gothic appearance. Even my wicker basket I had painted black and nailed old baby doll heads and parts to it, all made to look dirty with red paint to make them look bloody. Willie had told me he thought it was cool, but Emma had turned her nose up at it.

The boys were just biking in their trunks, whereas Dee, Emma and I were in shorts and our bikinis. Both Dee and Emma wore pink tops and had blue denim shorts on. I, however, had started to favor black more than girly colors, so my shorts were gray and my top was black. Willie wore blue and my brother wore red.

What we wore stood out so intensely in my mind, though I don’t know why. My hair was still mousy brown and so long it touched the top of my butt. I usually wore it in ponytails.

As we got to the creek on the other side of the woods, our excitement heightened. It may have had something to do with us being as hot as we were in the heat and biking as hard as we did to get here.

The dock came into sight and we abandoned our bikes on the top of the ridge, running down the grassy knoll as fast as we all could in flip flops. Us girls stripped out of our shorts, and the boys bounded forward ahead of us, only having to kick off their sandals. 

Joey cannonballed off the dock and Willie? Well, he was more of a show off. Willie caught Emma’s eye, winked at her before he got a running start and did a backflip off the dock. Emma laughed, racing after Willie, then jumping off the dock into the water.

Joey was doing laps in the water, something about building endurance, but I have no idea what for. Willie had motioned for Dee and I to hurry up and get in the water.

“Come on, the water is great!” Willie called out to us. Emma then splashed Willie, earning her a splash back in return.

Dee and I exchanged a look, smiling like silly teenaged fools.

Then we were all in the water; playing, laughing, enjoying ourselves. 

Dee and Joey were the first to get out. They found a nice patch of grass to lay down on. I tried not to think too much about whatever they could be doing. My brother was getting too ‘coupley’ with his girlfriend, and that was all I wanted to know about it.

Willie on the other hand was way more innocent. We were all fourteen. Though I know Willie had gone through puberty; his voice dropping and facial hair coming in all patchy (luckily he shaved it on the regular), he was always so sweet and respectful to us girls. Willie always blushed when my brother made dirty jokes and comments. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

As the day went on though, I felt more like a third wheel for whatever was going on with Willie and Emma. Granted, I didn't think Emma was aware that Willie was flirting with her, but I knew him. He always came to me, because I was a girl and I knew what girls liked, right? 

As I watched Emma just let Willie show off for her; juggling, rock-skipping, flipping off the dock, and holding his breath under water in record times for someone our age; I realized that she and I couldn’t be more different. She didn’t see him. Not really. She was dazzled by what he can do, but I could tell she has no idea what was at the heart of him. 

At one point, I just climbed onto the dock to sunbathe with my feet dangling over the edge. Feeling the water come up over my ankles felt nice. I put my arm over my eyes. Willie was showing Emma how many skips he could get with rocks. He had gotten to ten so far. She was kind of obnoxiously impressed, but I was just proud of him. Yet another thing I had taught him. All for her.

In the distance I could hear Dee giggling at something my brother either said or did, and I just groaned, rolling my eyes under my arm.

“Joey! Please, for fuck’s sake, don’t make me an aunty yet! We’re only fourteen!” I shouted at my twin.

“Fuck off, Jules!” was the only response I got out of him. Willie and Emma just giggled and I think Emma breathed an ‘Eww’ under her breath.

A few minutes passed and I heard Emma say something panicked. “I can’t believe it, I lost track of time! My dance lesson is at 6pm!”

“It’s 4:38 right now, do you want us to bike back with you?” asked Joey as he looked at the waterproof watch that he had on.

“No, no, I don’t want to take you guys away from your fun. I can manage,” Emma dismissed Joey’s suggestion.

“I can bike with you, if you want Emma,” Willie offered genuinely, the hope of just being able to spend time with her in his voice.

“No, really,” Emma started as she pulled on her shorts, slipping her flip flops back on. “I have to race home and shower, not really fun for anyone. Just stay, enjoy the water more. I gotta go.” She made her way back up the hill towards her bike.

Sitting up on the dock, I twisted around to watch Emma get her bike ready to ride away, Willie in tow. He was between saying goodbye and still offering to go with her. She kept brushing him off to the point where he just stood on the hill, an almost defeated expression on his face.

“Dee and I are gonna go back anyway,” Joey said as he and his girlfriend stood up. Dee grabbed her things and puts them back on. “Willie, stay with Jules, okay?”

Willie just nodded at Joey as they made their way back up to their bikes and followed after Emma.

There was a silence that washed over the space. The breeze made a pleasant rustling sound through the trees. Birds chirped and the water flowed. It was peaceful. Willie and I were alone, finally. Maybe I could tell him how I felt and he’d forget all about Emma.

He walked back down to the dock. Sighing, he sank onto his butt behind me, leaning his back against mine.

“I didn’t know she had dance class today… of all days,” he said quietly. It was his last night staying with Joey and I, I knew he had high hopes for tonight.

Pressing the back of my head against his, I sigh in return. “I know, Willie. But hey, I’m still here. And Joey will be back at the house. I think dad is planning to have a campfire in the back tonight for s’mores.”

I could almost feel Willie smile at that as he leaned against me. “I wish Emma could join us.”

Internally I had to tell myself to bite my tongue. She made him happy and Willie being happy is all I wanted. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help that I didn’t like her. She did not see him. She did not know him. I could always feel how much she looked down her nose at him. ‘Just sweet baby, Willie’ I overheard her say once to a preppy friend of hers at school after she had gotten a letter from him. She infantilized him. I hated it. Maybe I was only just about to start high school, but I knew seeing Willie as less than in the way that she did was just wrong.

Instead of responding to him, lest I say something I didn't mean to say out loud, I just hummed at him. “Emma was telling me that she is going to be taking acting classes at the local theater. She wants to be a movie star. She’ll be the prettiest movie star ever,” Willie gushed with admiration in his voice.

Without meaning to, I groaned. “Willie, can we please talk about fucking anything else, please?” I said, my agitation apparent.

He slowly pushed away from my back, twisting to eye the back of my head. I turn to meet his gaze. 

His expression goes through many emotions; first I see hurt and surprise flash in his eyes, but he shook that off, settling on a questioning smile. “What? Do you not like the theater or something?” He asked, teasing me as if that’s what he believed I might possibly be irritated with.

Groaning again, I get up on the dock, looking down at him. He really is deflecting, thinking it had to be something other than Emma that I could find annoying. He tilted his head up, putting up a hand to shield the sun from his eyes, confusion clear on his face past the squinting.

“Theater? Willie, I love you, but you are fucking dense sometimes,” I said, lifting my arms in exasperation.

Willie scrambled to his feet to meet me at eye level. “I don’t understand. Jules? What did I say?”

“Emma this. Emma that. I know you are in love with her and all that, but can you ever just shut the fuck up about her? Like for once?” I raised my voice at him, making him flinch and take a step back from me.

Lowering his eyes from mine, his bare shoulders sag. “I’m sorry,” he said so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him.

My eyes softened, but only just a bit because he then said, “I was going to tell her how I felt today…”

My anger came back in full force. Scoffing, I pushed past him, leaving him stunned on the dock as I snatched up my shorts and shoes, roughly putting them on.

I stomped up to my bike and I yelled back at Willie without looking at him, “Come on, Joey wanted you to stay with me! I’m going home!”

Just barely did I give him enough time to get his shoes and bike before I was racing through the woods. He had a hard time keeping up with me. I think we were both crying on that bike ride home. It was his last night here for the summer, and all he could think about was Emma. It was always Emma.

MASTER LIST/NEXT

[simpingwriter]

More shit that definitely happened and will happen:

Tim: What do we think of Jerome?

*pause*

Bruce: *sighs after seeing Faith's glare*

...Nice pal, i guess.

Dick: I think he's gay as hell.

Jason: *chokes on Capri-sun*

_______________________

Tim: Don’t you guys read the papers?

Damian: Only the funnies.

Bruce:

Bruce: You mean the obituaries.

Damian: Oh, potato, pohtato…

_______________________

Faith: You ever see something that changes your life and you're just like "huh..."

Jerome: I saw you, beating down a man two times your height for me.

Faith: Honestly that's so cute and sweet but it kinda makes this awkward because I was gonna show you a picture from last year of Jason in a turkey costume.

Jerome: ...no fucking way, show me :0

[howl-fantasies]

It’s Maggie’s 23rd birthday and Oswald plans a surprise party for her. Even her actual siblings (Oliver and Thea) show up, as well as Bruce, Alfred and Selena, (to a mostly villain centred event, but they don’t need to know that). As Maggie is about to make a wish and blow out the candles, Jerome crashes the party and tries to kidnap Maggie… what happens?

Ahahaha!

Remember the scene where Oswald is in a restaurant and basically everyone is armed? Well, it would be something similar.

Warning: violence, blood, profanities, it's Gotham. English isn't my first language.

Gifts and pictures aren't mine. Credits go to their owner.

Word Count: 2.061

Tags: @keffirinne @flaysthings

Everybody was having a good time as Maggie feels so much joy she was ready to see fireworks bursting out of it. How did Oswald managed to negotiate peace and regroup so many villains, citizen (Alfred and Bruce), cops (Jim and Harvey) and her family under the same roof? *Spoiler: Y/N and Victor were in charge of convincing the villains. Remember Victor's friendly visits during the establishment of Pax Penguina? Same vibes*

Now she was in the middle of the crowd singing "Happy Birthday", she voluntarily ignore the guns held by the Zsaszs discretely threatening others villains, and focused on the gigantic birthday cake being carefully put on the table in front of her.

She felt Oswald warm hand on her right shoulder as the audience was now clapping and encouraged her to blow the 23 candles on it. "Happy Birthday my dear!" Cheered Cobblepot with a huge smile and proud tears in his eyes. "Make a wish!"

The young woman leaned just a bit and took a deep breath, closing her eyes while thinking about what she could ask for. It only took her a second before she opened them again, ready to exhale as strongly as she could to extinguish all little flames in one blow.

It never happened, though. A deafening explosion shook the whole building, surprising every person present in the room. Only a second later, the double doors were literally ripped off their hinges, crashing a few feet away.

"Well, well, well", a sinister voice raised from the chaos. "Celebrating a birthday and nobody sent me an invitation?"

Magnolia swore she heard Y/N swear from somewhere behind her. But she was too shocked to turn around and scold her for her foul mouth. Even Oswald let it slide, choosing to screech at the man entering the room.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Jerome?! How dare you barge into MY hideout and ruining everything I've worked so much for?!" Now the little man was yelling.

The redhead didn't seem to mind, though. He even leaned against the damaged doorframe nonchalantly and even had the gal to yawn like he was bored. When Oswald stopped, he finally straightened and point a lazy finger at Maggie.

"I'm here to deliver my own special little gift for the doll." He started. "Forgive me but I let it home, you'll have to follow me here for me to give it to you." He added with a maniacal and sinister grin. She shuddered. Yup, she preferred Victor's.

"I have a better suggestion, Jerome." Y/N's sultry voice broke Maggie raising panic and caught the man's attention. His terrifying rictus was now directed on the hitwoman.

"Oh? Do tell, love." He said, barely dodging a bullet. Victor.

Y/N walked until she was standing just next to Magnolia, cheering her up with her presence. Discreetly pushing her with her right arm in Jim's and Harvey direction. She obliged. Jim took the hint too and was now on her right, a "GCPD!" Probably bubbling into his throat. But he waited to see what Y/N had to say.

"Since you're not only a clown but the whole fucking circus," she drawled, swiftly grabbing her guns, immediately imitated by Victor and the Zsaszettes. "You're going to entertain us. Here. You want to groove? I'mma show you how to move." Her steel-cold voice had the merit to reduce his stupid grin. Just a bit. Just for a second. Just before his infamous laugh resonated inside of the room.

"...Aha.ha.ah. Sorry to disappoint, sweetheart. But it'll have to wait. Maggie and I have an appointment", suddenly, all doors flew open, letting dozen of creepy clown-masked goons go inside.

Oh god. Now she was panicking. Her eyes immediately landed on Bruce, who was already looking at her in alarm. Just next to him, Selina was adjusting her position, ready to fight like a feral cat and clawing some faces and eyes. Magnolia heard Alfred also swearing under his breath. It was going to be a bloodbath, she knew it.

Victor's light voice brought her back to present.

"Okie-dokie, time to boogie!"

His intervention seemed to awaken the whole room. In less than a second, every guest reach under an arm, a leg, in the band of their trouser, under a table and... even inside the platform supporting her birthday cake.

"GCPD!" Shouted Jim. Then it started. The shooting, the whistle of bullets all around them, the noise of broken tableware. Magnolia ducked and immediately search for somewhere to take cover, spotting Bruce a few meters from her.

"Bruce! Come here!" She urged, grabbing his thin arm and pulling him with her behind a heavy table. "Where is Selina?!" She shouted. The young billionaire breathing was erratic. "I don't know, she jumped on someone and I lost her in the crowd! Alfred is looking for her and told me to hide!" He cried.

At this very moment, the Magnolia regretted not having a freaking gun on her. She felt hopeless as she heard the bloodbath. Oswald's voice was the easier to identify. He was furious.

A pair of shiny shoes caught her attention and she felt her heart stops. "Bang", she heard a mocking voice say, a gun pointed at her face but not firing. Victor sadistic grin was the next thing she registered. The fucker had the gal to play goofball now?!

"It's not funny Victor!" Magnolia yelled in anger. "Aren't you supposed to help your wife?!"

His grin never fade and he didn't turn as a clown goon rushed in his back, ready to shoot him and making her scream. *Bang* A clean shot in Jerome's goon head and the man fell heavily on the floor. Dead. Victor didn't even look.

Only grabbing a gun from one of his leg's holsters and holding it for her to grab. "Y/N has my six", his eyes lifted up quickly and his other hand quickly raised, pulling the trigger and shooting somewhere in the crowd, just before lowering his gaze again with a twisted grin.

"And I've got hers. Gothamite relationship goal here, Mags." He said, throwing her the smaller gun. "Barrel pointing at the target", he mocked. Only a middle finger would answer that properly.

He just laughed, like the maniac he was, before it brutally stopped and he looked pissed, moving like a man on a mission out of her sight. Now in possession of a weapon, Magnolia felt a bit better. She turned to look at Bruce, still a bit pale after seeing Victor Zsasz this close. "Bruce! We have to get you out of here", she called.

The teen moved his head mimicking a no. "We can't leave without Selina and Alfred! And what about you?!"

The young woman sighed. He had a point. She slowly straightened and peaked above the table. Absolute chaos.

She spotted Oswald with a machine gun screaming at some goons as he pierced their skin, Ed dodging bullets behind his own table, losing his bowler hat in the process. Jim beating the shit out of another goon and Harvey tackling another on the ground. Victor and Y/N making a remake of Mister and Mrs Smith, back against back and firing quickly.

Then, finally, Alfred, who shot another goon while Selina jumped on his acolyte and clawed his eyes with fury. "I can see them!" Maggie shouted to Bruce, only to feel her forearm suddenly grabbed by the teen's hand. He was shaking like a leaf. Oh dear.

"Gotcha~" She heard in her back, making her jump out of her skin and abruptly turn to face the voice. Oh no. Just in front of her, Jerome was threatening them with his own machine gun, his unnatural wide smile ready to split his jaw in half. Oh no, no, no.

She saw his brown eyes sliding on Bruce. "You're welcome to follow us, Brucie. In fact, I want you to." He laughed. No way. Maggie jumped on her feet, she didn't even take the time to think and put herself in front of Wayne, lifting her arm holding Victor's gun and also threatening Jerome with it. "Leave him alone, Jerome!"

Now the redhead was laughing hysterically. "My, oh my! Are you threatening me with a gun doll? Ahahahaha! Sorry to tell you this, but usually, it's the guy holding a machine gun who has the right to make demands. Put your toy away, love, we don't have all day."

His eyes took a quick look around before he whispered for just them to hear like they were plotting or sharing a secret, "Plus, I don't want your parents to catch us, they are terrifying". The nerve!

She must have waited too long to move. Jerome grabbed her arm roughly making her yelp in pain and Bruce scream in fear. But Valeska didn't care and started to pull her behind him, shooting here and there to clear his path and pointing the barrel of his machine gun on Bruce to deter him to flee. "You come with us Brucie."

His lack of focus on her was her cue. So what if he had a machine gun and she only had a 'little gun'? A bullet was still a bullet, as Y/N always said. The florist shoved her gun directly on his thigh and didn't wait for him to fully understand what was happening to pull the trigger.

Jerome's shout was music on her ears. She didn't savor it, though and pull the trigger again, aiming at his upper arm, the one holding his machine gun. Another yell. "Run Bruce!" Shouted Maggie as she was starting to run in Y/N and Victor direction. Screw their escape, they needed brute force after what she did.

"You fucking bitch!" She heard on her back, making her stop and turn around with wide eyes as Valeska was aiming at her with one arm, ready to pierce her skin.

"MAGGIE! DON'T FUCKING STOP RUNNING IDIOT!" She heard Y/N yell a few meters away, just as Veleska pulled the trigger. Everyone screamed and her too as she felt the white hot pain explode in her calf, making her lose her balance and crash on the floor.

Another crashing sound caught her attention: Jim jumped on Jerome, disarming him and allowing the cop to beat him to a pulp. "Maggie! Oh my god are you ok?" Bruce hide her the rest of the beating. The young woman felt a bit dizzy and shaken but slowly nodded before she winced when she felt the pain and the blood rush out of the bullet wound.

A gloved hand pushed Wayne on the side and she was now facing Y/N. She was angry, she could tell by the hard frown on her face. Her piercing eyes were assessing the damages on her calf. "You stupid, foolish child," she muttered, lifting her eyes to scrutinize her face. "If someone is ready to shoot you, run. Find a safe spot and then fucking shoot them back. Never stand frozen, idiot. Unless you have a fucking death wish." She said coldly.

Magnolia nodded stupidly, ready to apologize, just when another gloved hand finds itself on Y/N's shoulder and another one gave her a thumb up. "Wooh! Your shoots were terrific. Good job here little one."

Maggie had to give it to Jerome: yes, her 'parents' were terrifying. She facepalmed as Y/N was shoving her elbow deep in her husband belly to tell him to shut the fuck up.

Both were roughly shoved to the side by Oswald. "Get out of the way you brutes!" Both hitman and woman grunted in discomfort as they ungracefully landed on their butt. Despite the situation, Maggie giggled earning Y/N's middle finder.

"Oh my god dear, are you ok? Don't move, we're going to call an ambulance don't worry!" Cobblepot babbled, holding her shoulders for dear life. "It shouldn't have happened", he now muttered as she could feel his guilt.

"Jerome is unpredictable, Oz, nobody could have seen it coming", The young woman said with a gentle smile. She couldn't help herself and giggled again. "For sure I'll not forget my 23rd birthday."

"She's losing it, Jim," she heard Harvey mutters in Oswald's back. This time she truly laughed.

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A/N - I hope you liked it! Have a beautiful day/night dear, read you soon. Take care!