#oc: aleah | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

maccreadysbaby · 5 months ago

Text

House of Wolves

batfamily + oc insert

tw: vague emeto?

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

Every now and then Bentley and Asten’s trauma just shows up like 🧍🏼‍♀️

part four

❝ ALEAH POWERS ❞

THURSDAY — APRIL 13 — 7:02AM

BENTLEY WENT TO SLEEP ALONE AT ALMOST THREE IN THE MORNING, AND HE WOKE UP AT SEVEN WITH VERA PRESSED AGAINST HIS BACK, HER ARMS WOUND TIGHTLY AROUND HIS MIDDLE.

With a yawn, he lazily flipped over, turning onto his right side, toward her. The California sun was shining through the large window of the bedroom; One massive glass panel that was now to his back, giving him a view of the sea and bathing the whole room in warm, dim light from the sunrise.

The bedroom was huge, with a modern, king sized bed in the middle and still room for two and a half more on each side. The door and a seventy-five inch tv was on the wall across from it, and there were a couple chairs situated around the window. There was a door to a bathroom to the left, expansive and lavish like the rest of the place, with a giant shower, solid marble floors, and a huge calw-foot tub inside.

Vera’s eyes flicked open when he moved, her brown irises glowing gold in the morning light that splayed across her face.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” He muttered tiredly, adjusting his head on his pillow so it was right across from hers.

Vera shrugged, smiling faintly. “What’s the fun in sleeping alone on vacation?”

Bentley snorted, and he shrugged, too. “I don’t have much fun when I’m asleep anyways.”

“Bentley,” Vera whined. “I’m just trying to flirt with you.”

He sighed heavily, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, tucking his head between her chin and collar bone. He let his eyes close again. “It’s too early for flirting.”

“If you say so,” She replied. He felt her hand come up and trail through his hair. “But I disagree.”

Bentley hummed lightly, and pretty quickly, he drifted back off into unconsciousness.

And he woke up, maybe two hours later, feeling…

Like garbage.

He forced his bleary eyes open. It felt like he’d merely blinked, but Vera was now laying far away from him on the other end of the bed, sound asleep, facing away. The room was brighter, the sun having moved far up in the sky. He glanced over her head at the digital clock on the bedside table. Nine in the morning.

Somehow, he had taken a drastic turn from two hours ago. He felt like every bit of energy was being slowly sapped out of him, replaced by exhaustion and tiredness that all but glued him in place on the mattress, forcing him in and out of an uncomfortable sleep for another whole hour.

He only managed to wake up again fully when his phone dinged on the mattress next to him.

He reached behind him and fumbled in the gray blankets until he found it, lifting it above his head. Asten’s name was on the screen, and he tapped on it, bringing their text thread up.

It was one short message from him that read: i feel like shit.

Bentley exhaled lightly, texting back: me too.

Had Rockie managed to get them all sick? At least it was after Vera’s performance, he guessed. But it would kinda suck if the rest of their week in California was spent with everyone in bed.

Rockie said he didn’t feel well last night, Bentley texted again. Maybe he got us all sick.

Asten’s reply came quick: he’s always the one who gets us sick 💀

He wasn’t wrong. The last four or five times some sickness or another decided to rear its ugly head and streak through all the inhabitants of the Manor, Rockie had always, always been the one to bring it home. Bentley guessed it was bad luck, or a bad immune system, maybe. Or both.

Suddenly, a loud BANG! drew Bentley out of his phone screen. It sounded like something had fallen or hit the floor hard in the room next-door to his.

Rockie’s room.

He turned over and looked at Vera, who hadn’t moved an inch. With his suddenly exhausted body groaning in protest, he pulled himself out of the bed and made for the door, opening it and stepping out in the long, lavish hallway. It was lined with beach pictures and thin tables housing sculptures and other things that probably costed more than his liver.

Something down the hall moved at the exact same time as him, and he almost assumed there was a mirror at the end until he noticed that the something had black hair and green eyes.

Asten. He’d heard it too, and was also on his way out of his bedroom to check it out. His room was on the opposite side of Rockie’s.

The two of them made their way toward his door without saying anything.

The closer Bentley seemed to get to it, the more terrible he felt. The more the exhaustion seemed to weigh down on his ankles and make his feet drag, his head threaten to spin. When he got to the door, it was nearly heavy enough to knock him straight over.

Asten felt it, too. Bentley could tell by the way he seemed to grow smaller the closer he got to Rockie’s bedroom door, the way he had to blink a few times, to drag his hand along the white wall to steady himself. What was happening?

“Jesus. I feel like shit,” He said, echoing his text message, leaning against the wall next to Rockie’s door. “You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit,” Bentley replied blankly, reaching up and rapping his knuckles against the tall white door to Rockie’s room. “Rockie? You okay?”

It was tempting for Bentley to lean on the wall like Asten was, or, at this point, even to just sit down and go back to sleep in the hallway. But he didn’t, because Rockie never answered.

All of the worst things flashed through his mind. Rockie may have been sick, which meant he may have fainted, and if he fainted he could’ve cracked his head open. Or he could be sick and puking his guts out. Or he could be sick and running a raging fever that was making him delirious and hallucinating. Or melting out his brain.

After fully convincing himself that Rockie was actively dying, Bentley turned the handle and pushed his bedroom door open.

He wasn’t dying. In fact, he wasn’t even out of bed. The room was painted gold from the giant window that sat across from the door, and in the light Bentley saw that he was just… in bed. Asleep.

When the door was opened, a wave of weakness and exhaustion washed over Bentley so strong that he had to reach out for the doorframe to keep from falling over. He saw Asten sway in his peripheral, reacting to the same thing.

And then a thought struck Bentley like lightning. It got worse every time they got closer, every time a layer between them and Rockie was removed.

He listened closely, trying to hear Asten’s heartbeat, his blood.

He could hear nothing.

Rockie was laying in his bed, the sheets and covers tangled around him like he’d been tossing and turning. His gray t-shirt and sweatpants were soaked through with sweat, and his face was pale, screwed up into an expression like fear, pain.

His room was identical to Bentley’s, except there were two smaller windows in this one, on either side of his bed instead of off to the right. Outside of it was the coastline, curving until the sea vanished from view, replaced by a few more beach-houses and, in the distance, LA.

Bentley moved forward despite the vertigo that threatened to knock him flat over when he did. He made it to the edge of Rockie’s bed and, at that point, black was dancing in his vision, the entire room spinning and teetering around him. He was hardly coherent anymore, and he reached out blindly, his hand slapping at Rockie’s mattress a few times before he finally grabbed him by the arm with a shrill: “Rockie!”

Rockie jerked awake with an audible gasp, and as soon as he was conscious, all of the weakness and faintness disappeared instantly, and Bentley was… fine.

He wasn’t exhausted, he wasn’t blind, he wasn’t weak, and he wasn’t dizzy. He glanced over at Asten, who was looking down at himself, obviously just as confused as Bentley was about feeling suddenly better.

He listened for Asten’s heartbeat, and he heard it, thud, thud, thud. He listened for the pool, and the sea, and he heard them, felt them.

Had Rockie’s ability to siphon their powers suddenly become something he could do unwillingly, even without touching them?

Rockie was shaking. His hands were wound tightly in his blankets, his knuckles white, and he looked pale and terrified. Not like he would start crying, but like he might vomit. He looked around the room frantically, his breaths shallow and ragged.

“It was just a dream,” Was all Bentley managed, glancing over at Asten again, who glanced back at him. A silent conversation passed between them. What the hell had just happened?

Rockie didn’t even respond to their presence. He just looked around, his eyes never landing on them, like he didn’t even know they were there.

“Hey,” Bentley reached out again, clasping his shoulder, and-

With a whirl of color and a deafening sound, sort of like wind, the bedroom changed. The whole thing was dark and dilapidated, and the wall that had the windows were ruined, crumbling the ceiling and exposing the interior to the outside world. Dust and debris floated in the air, and everything seemed to be gray.

Rockie was still sitting on the bed, but it was old and moldy, his hands tangled in gross, stained sheets. Asten was still in the doorway, looking horrified as he took in the scene.

Outside, through the destroyed wall, was nothing more than a barren, gray, smoking wasteland. Every building in their field of vision that he’d seen out the window a mere moment ago were nothing more than smoking heaps of rubble. There was a massive crater he could barely see through the haze, and the sky was dark from dust and debris. A bomb?

Bentley jumped back with a start, releasing Rockie’s shoulder, and Rockie jumped back, too, eyes darting over to him and Asten like he’d only now seen them.

And then everything went back to normal.

The world had probably only been gray for maybe three seconds, but Bentley had the image engraved in his mind. Death. Destruction. A bomb.

All three of them were breathing heavily from the adrenaline. All of them stared. None of them spoke.

Rockie suddenly stumbled out of his bed and darted across the room, hardly making it even to the bathroom sink before he vomited violently into it.

Bentley blinked. What the hell had just happened? What had they seen? What was going on?

Asten took a few steps into the room, like he was debating on following Rockie, but he settled on the rug just inside, arms crossed, wheels turning.

Once Rockie had taken a few moments to breathe and had rinsed out the sink, he splashed water on his face and swished some In his mouth. “I… I saw… a bomb. Fall. It was right outside, and it annihilated everything. It… it felt so… so real.”

Bentley exhaled heavily, glancing over at Asten, who didn’t speak. Bentley didn’t either. An unspoken agreement that they shouldn’t tell Rockie that they’d seen it, too — not yet, at least. Not while he was like this.

Bentley looked up at him when Rockie came back in the room, sort of just floating on the other side next to the bathroom door. He brought his arms up and around himself like Bentley used to do all the time, gazing out the window, in the exact direction the crater had been. Now, there were other classy, whole and not bombed houses out that way — just a few, because Bruce liked privacy — and in the distance, the heart of LA, buildings towering up and cutting off their view to the rest of the city.

Everything was fine.

Asten suddenly breathed in. “You… your powers were… going crazy or something. You were siphoning without even touching us. We were in our own rooms and we could feel it -- Did you know you could do that?”

Rockie glanced at him, looking confused, then shook his head. “I… can’t do that.”

“But you did,” Asten replied, gently, his eyes flicking over to Bentley. “Is it possible it happened because of how scared you were?”

“I guess, but... they... they tortured me at Redwood for years trying to get me to do that. I never could,” He shook his head, staring off into space. “They did way worse to me than a dream, I... I don’t know why it would start happening now.”

Asten sighed heavily. He lifted his hand, and it burst into flames, hot and bright. “Well, it felt like shit, but it didn’t affect us in the end,” He stated, lowering his hand and letting the flames flicker away. “Whatever it is, it's okay.”

“Maybe we can help you control it,” Bentley added, glancing up at Rockie, who nodded uneasily.

“Okay…” He muttered, though he didn’t seem entirely there, like his mind was somewhere else. His eyes flicked to the digital clock on his nightstand. 10:12am. “I guess I should... be awake anyways. Uh, thanks."

Bentley said nothing, but took that as their queue to leave. He let his eyes follow Rockie as he sat back down on the bed and looked out the window, and then he turned, following Asten back out into the hallway. He reached back and gently closed the door behind them.

Asten and Bentley's eyes locked, brown on green, both with a million questions swirling around in them.

Had they just gone into Rockie's nightmare? The only time Bentley had ever been in a nightmare with someone, it was because of the Secret Keeper, but she was gone. She was just Charlie now, Charlie with no powers and no alter ego. Charlie who had cared enough to save their lives. Other telepaths -- Vera, Noah -- they could read minds, they could speak into minds, but they couldn't manipulate someones reality like she could. They couldn't make anyone see or hear anything; it was strictly communication.

Bentley opened his mouth to speak.

"Asten?"

Asten turned on his heel at the voice, and Bentley looked around him. Summer's head was peeking out from Asten's bedroom door, her blonde hair in a knot on top of her head that was halfway falling down from sleeping. Her eyes found Asten, then Bentley, and she scratched the back of her neck and got a sheepish look on her face. "Uh... hey, B..."

Bentley blinked. "Hey..."

Suddenly, some sort of snort came from behind him. Bentley turned, and Vera, too, was peering out of his bedroom. She was laughing at them.

"We're so going on a double date tonight," Was her only giggle-y remark before she dipped back into Bentley's bedroom.

Bentley glanced at Asten, who's face had flushed pink, and then to Summer, who snickered and went about putting herself back in Asten's room.

They forgot to ask Rockie about the noise they'd heard.

THURSDAY — APRIL 13 — 6:16PM

That night at six p.m, Bentley found himself shoved into a bustling neon diner booth with Vera against his right side, a wall to his left, Asten and Summer sitting right across from them, and completely unable to focus on any of it.

Asten seemed to be having the same dilemma, if the constant staring off into space was enough of a hint. The whole thing probably would’ve been more exciting if Summer and Vera had gone on the double date alone.

Bentley could not stop thinking about what had happened in Rockie’s room. It had been spinning in his head all day long like a rotisserie chicken — the last time anything like that had happened to them, it was the Secret Keeper. He knew she was gone, but deep down, there was some part of that little fourteen year old Bentley that wondered: what if? What if Rockie’s powers hadn’t siphoned hers out all the way? What if the Secret Keeper was somehow embedded in Charlie in more ways than just the mind control device Bentley had removed? What if there was a way she could be back? Or that some evil scientist had made another one under Dr. Keene’s beck and call? As far as Bentley knew, the location of his original lab had never been found. No one knew where it was, not him, not Titus, and if Charlie did, she never told anyone. That’s where the synchronizers were. And if they could just make a second Secret Keeper using a different girl… or even kidnapping Charlie again…

“Alright,” Summer said, resting her hands on the table. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a curly ponytail, and she was wearing a white beach dress with yellow and orange flowers on it. “What’s wrong with you two? I’ve been on a date with Vera since we got here.”

“Hope you’re not complaining,” Vera snickered. Her hair was braided in two separate dutch braids down her back, and she was wearing a pink, cropped tank top and these wide bottom ruffle jeans that Bentley thought made her look like a mermaid.

“Of course not,” Summer winked across the table at her. “But really. What’s up? Did something happen with Rockie this morning?”

Bentley glanced over at Asten, who looked at him at the same time.

Vera doubtless already knew, since it had been on Bentley’s mind for the last eight hours. She just gazed at him from his side, not pressuring him but curious what he would say, watching him closely.

Summer looked between them, and Bentley blinked. What harm would it do to tell her? If Vera already knew?

Bentley sighed lightly, tapping his fingertips on the empty table.They’d ordered their drinks and food but nothing had come yet.

“Rockie had a nightmare,” He answered honestly. “It was so bad he seemed to be siphoning without touching us. Asten and I could feel it from our rooms.”

Summer glanced over at Asten for confirmation, which came when he added: “Yeah. It felt like shit, but it didn’t actually affect our powers. Like it just… stifled them. Like the EM fields at Redwood.”

Bentley felt Vera’s hand come to rest on his knee under the table. He sat back, bringing his hands down into his lap, one of them sliding into hers. Summer said something to Asten.

“She’s not gonna come back,” Vera’s voice came in his head. “Whatever happened this morning, it wasn’t her. I can feel nearby telepaths, remember? If one was screwing with you, I would’ve felt it.”

Bentley blinked. She doesn’t have to be nearby.

“It’s not her, B,” Vera’s eyes traveled across the booth to Asten, who was now looking down at the tabletop. “He’s thinking the same thing. I wish I could’ve done something to help all the trauma she caused.”

Bentley would’ve shrugged, but then Asten and Summer would know they were talking, so he didn’t. Most of it happened before we even met.

“So… you’re both freaked out this bad because of Rockie’s powers manifesting differently when he’s afraid?” Summer asked, glancing back and forth skeptically between the two boys. “That doesn’t exactly add up to me.”

Bentley sighed, and again, his eyes met Asten’s. This time, he was the one who spoke, glancing over at Summer with a:

“For a second we… were in the nightmare with him,” He admitted quietly. “It was exactly the house we’re staying in but… a wasteland. A bomb site. And it felt so…”

“Real,” Bentley finished, and Summer glanced over at him, breathing in and out.

“Maybe… one of Rockie’s parents was telepathic,” She suggested. “He could be developing that power now.”

Vera shook her head. “No. If he was, I would've felt it. Plus, normal telepaths like me can’t make people see things, let alone entire dreams while they’re still unconscious.”

Bentley huffed lightly. “Then what was it?”

The four of them glanced between each other, and none of them said anything.

Summer breathed in and out. “You said it felt real. How vivid was it? Could it have been because you were being siphoned? Like, hallucinating from the weakness?”

Asten raised his brow. “Hallucinating the same thing at the same time?”

Summer huffed. “Well. I don’t know.”

“There are some metahumans who can see the future, like Duke,” Vera suggested, glancing at Asten and Summer, then Bentley. “Maybe one of Rockie’s parents was one of those. I met a girl once who had that power and it started manifesting as nightmares,” She shrugged. “She could inflict it on other people, too. But she had to be touching them.”

Summer hummed. “Wouldn’t that be a type of telepath?”

“I guess. I’m not sure,” Vera shrugged, glancing over at Bentley and Asten.

“I mean, it sounds plausible enough,” Bentley shrugged, glancing at her, catching her brown eyes. “Rockie never knew his parents, so he doesn’t know which ones had what kind of powers, or if either of them even had any.”

“So,” Asten sighed, bringing his hands up on the table with a thud. “Let’s just say that Rockie can see the future and showed it to us by accident. That means a bomb is going to fall in California before we leave.”

Bentley blinked silently to himself, and the girls made eye contact, both of them inhaling lightly in tandem. If Rockie was seeing the future, then they were basically all as good as dead.

“I’d rather deal with the mystery of it all than assume world war three is starting this week,” Asten continued. “Merely for my own sanity.”

“Could he see you? When you were in the dream?” Vera asked.

Bentley shook his head. “No. He only saw us when everything went back to normal. But me and Asten could see each other, and him, during it.”

Vera hummed. “So… he was somewhere else. Almost in another level of subconsciousness than you.”

Asten lifted his brows at her. “Elaborate?”

“Like…” Vera glanced around at the restaurant, humming to herself. “It’s a bad example, but… the Secret Keeper. When she had a hold of one of you, you were trapped in your mind, an elevated level of subconsciousness that feels real. The other one of you was in physical reality. It sounds like you guys got stuck somewhere in between where Rockie was, that elevated level of subconsciousness, and that physical reality. Like he was projecting some of that onto you via his fear.”

Bentley said nothing, but looked down at the table.

“Oh-kay…” Asten started. “That’s all well and good, but we still don’t know why. If it was something telepathic, or if he was seeing the future, or if Bentley and I had some weird mass hallucination that just so happened to line directly up with Rockie’s nightmare. And not knowing is a bit unsettling considering one of those options ends in nuclear war.”

Vera shook her head. “Mass hallucinations aren’t real.”

“They are if she’s around.”

There it was. Bentley hadn’t really meant to say it, but he did anyway — Vera would’ve heard it whether or not it came out of his mouth. A still silence hung over the table, and Asten averted his eyes.

“So that’s what you two are so freaked about,” Summer finally seemed to realize. “She’s been dealt with. She isn’t coming back, you know that.”

“They can just make another one,” Bentley added softly, and Summer caught his eyes, visibly confused. “She was created in the same lab where Asten and I got our powers. They never found the place. They just choose what powers someone gets there — they can just make another one of her.”

“And last time she got ahold of us I ended up dead,” Asten huffed. “We would’ve all been dead if it wasn’t for Charlie. And if they were to make a new one, I think they’d work out the kink that allowed her original mind or whatever to overcome the mind control.”

“We’d all die. For real this time,” Bentley finalized.

The table fell strangely quiet, and for a few moments, none of them spoke. Vera squeezed Bentley’s hand under the table reassuringly.

“Nuclear war or a second Secret Keeper,” Asten sighed, sitting back in the booth and raking a hand through his hair. “Death or death.”

Suddenly, a waitress appeared at their table in a pink dress with a big tray, and she emptied it onto the table — four milkshakes, four waters, and two massive baskets of different nachos that they decided they’d all share.

Vera said thank you, and the waitress vanished.

Suddenly, Bentley wasn’t very hungry.

Vera’s phone started ringing with a high pitched chirp, and all four of them jumped.

“Sorry,” She muttered, fishing it out of her bag and rising from the booth. “I’ll be right back.”

Vera disappeared out the front door of the diner, and the three of them in the booth sat in silence.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Summer said, glancing between both of them. “Things no one can explain happen all over the world all the time, especially when it comes to metahumans. It might not mean anything at all.”

Bentley sighed, and nodded.

Of course something like this would happen now, though. When they were all at their peak. It was the same thing that happened three years ago, and the three years before that, like Bentley’s life had a three year trauma timer on it that went off again every time things started to get really good.

He really, really, really, really hoped it was nothing. But given his luck, how likely was that?

Vera came back into the diner a few minutes later looking… pale.

Bentley was the first to notice, asking: “V, what’s wrong?” Before she’d even reached their table.

She said nothing, sliding back into the booth next to him. And then: “Nothing, I…”

Everyone seemed to be staring at her, and Asten looked just as horrified as Bentley felt. Was that one dream with Rockie going to mark the next downfall of their lives? Was that the beginning of the three year mark like kids getting sick at Redwood was? Like Bentley’s first dream of the Secret Keeper when he was ten years old?

Vera wasn’t even looking at them when she said: “Aleah Powers’ manager was at the band expo looking for a replacement opener. We… just got invited to open for her on her world tour that starts at the end of the month.”

The entire table fell silent.

And then Summer started screaming.

“Oh my God!” She screeched, flying out of the booth with a look of pure disbelief. “Oh my God, V! She’s one of the most famous singers in the world! And you’re going to be with her! Vera!”

Vera’s face suddenly split into a grin of pure disbelief, from one ear to the other, the brightest Bentley had seen in a long time.

All the talk about Rockie was promptly forgotten.

(When maybe it shouldn’t have been.)

—

tag list that KINDA works

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun

@xiaonothere

@skylathescholarly @flyrobinflyy @bookwarm0-0

@custommadeazula

5 notes · View notes

marriiemeii · 2 years ago

Text

Circles Chapter 2

jeonghan x oc x seungcheol

status: ongoing genre: drama fluff, angst, professor au, romance, comedy warnings: death of a loved one

synopsis: Faye has always been more focused on her career than her social life. When she meets two new customers at her cafe, her once solitary life begins to change.

chapter list

previous chapter || next chapter

Faye went home after bidding goodbye to Seungcheol and Jeonghan but before that, the two had been insisting on walking her home or calling her a taxi to make sure she arrives home safe, which she exasperatedly mentioned to them that she had walked home alone plenty of times before she knew them.

Seungcheol responded to her comment by saying that was in the past. Now that they do know her, they were worried about their new friend and wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be in danger. She gave in to their request by allowing them to call her a taxi, because two strangers, in her eyes, walking her home just didn’t sound too good. Even if they were really handsome, Faye had at least some self-restraint.

When she arrived home, the moment she was through the front door and closed it she let out a massive sigh of relief. Ever since she sat with them she’s been feeling a bit uneasy. However, now that she’s in the comfort of her safe space, she feels like her social battery is being recharged already.

Faye walked through the hall in front of her front door that led to the center of the living room with the kitchen and guest bathroom to the left and her bedroom and laundry room to the left. Faye turned to the right and headed straight to the kitchen. She grabbed a food prep container from the fridge and took off the cover before putting it in the microwave. While waiting for her food to finish warming up, she grabbed her laptop on the counter and video-called her best friend, Rian.

Rian’s face showed on the screen with her daughter, Aleah, on her lap as she sat at the dining table of her house. When she noticed she was connected, she waved at the screen excitedly before telling her daughter to look at the screen. Aleah looks up at the computer screen before wiggling around in excitement.

“Auntie Faye! Auntie Faye!” Aleah starts trying to get up and get closer to the screen. I laugh as Rian struggles to hold on to her daughter so she doesn’t fall down.

“Hi Leah~ how are you? Your mom said you were sick?” I asked the excited 4 year-old. She starts pouting as she starts telling that she was ok but she got her mom sick after. I listened to her enjoying her exaggerated storytelling. As she finished telling me all about her getting sick, her mom suggested that she should go to her dad and ask if he needs helps with cooking. Aleah agrees before waddling off in pursuit of her dad. Rian watches her as she goes to make sure she’s ok before turning back to the screen.

“Soo, how are you?” Rian inquires, leaning on the dining table excited just like her daughter to hear from me. I chuckle and shake my head as I see where Aleah gets a lot of her personality from.

“Even though I know you gave birth to Aleah, it’s crazy how much personality she takes after you,” I noted. When the microwave beeps, I get up to grab my food and I hear Rian calling after me to get back here and to explain myself. She’s always so excited whenever we have our little update sessions. I tell her to calm down and that I’m just grabbing my food.

“Work is pretty normal y’know?” I try to dismiss the topic. Immediately after I hear noises of disagreement coming from her so I look at the computer screen and see she’s frowning at the camera, showing her discontent and skepticism with my answer.

“You talked with my mom didn’t you,” I stated. She starts nodding her head rapidly and a wide grin appears on her face. I sigh to myself before sitting at the counter again and prepare myself for all her questions.

“She said there were two handsome male customers~” She beams at me. I could hear a faint voice calling after Rian asking who’s handsome. I smile a bit knowing that it was just her husband teasing her. Rian splutters and starts explaining it was my mom’s words not her.

“Anyways, so did they come back to the cafe? Are you finally going to date?” Her questions come at me rapidly one after another about me and my love life. I bring my hands in front of me as I start shaking my head at her.

“No, no, no, no. I barely know them and it’s kind of weird that they talked to me in the first place,” I asserted. She lets out an exasperated sigh and her head drops on to her arms.

“But Faaaye~ you could at least make friends with them,” She pouts.

“If it makes you feel better I told them I would talk with them tomorrow after work.”

She perks up in her seat. “You should have said so in the first place!”

“You ShOulD HavE SaID sO in ThE FiRSt plAcE,” I mocked her. Her mouth drops open in shock.

“HEY! Don’t mock me!” She protested. I laugh at her expression.

“I’m kidding~” I joke with her as she crosses her arm with a pout on her face. She grumbled a little bit but the microphone wasn’t able to pick up what she was saying. She stops frowning before looking a bit more serious.

“Y’know, I’m proud of you right?” She trailed off. My eyebrows furrow a little, kind of confused with where she was going with this.

“You opened the cafe that the both of you wanted for so long already. You’ve accomplished a lot on your own… Not only am I proud, but she would be too, y’know?” She started. “You can slow down now and start thinking about yourself and your life. AND I don’t mean your career because you have that down already.”

I look down at my food and start pushing it around rather than eating it, thinking about what she was saying. It was true that I didn’t really think about my life except my career. Drowning myself into work so I wouldn’t have to think about the past or more specifically, Flora. Doing the things we planned together so that it seemed like it was ok that I was here and she wasn’t.

“I know that you feel like you have to do the things that you guys wanted to do together but you should also live for yourself, and I haven’t seen you do that since before the accident,” Rian hesitated. “So, you telling me that you’ll talk to them tomorrow, it really does make me happy.”

I stop playing with my food and look up at the screen to see her facial expression. She was leaning her head on one arm with a soft smile on her face. It was times like these that I realized how much she has changed from when I first met her in high school. She was no longer the wild party girl that sat next to me in my class and instead this loving and caring mother to all. I softly sigh and smile a bit at her.

“Aww~ there’s my pretty best friend,” She teases. I scrunch my face at her and stick my tongue out at her. She giggles a bit at my reaction. “But seriously, I think you should make friends with them at the VERY least, if you don’t wanna date them. Broaden your friendships and social circles.”

I nod my head at her before agreeing that I would try when I talk and hangout with them tomorrow. Rian then teases me by saying, “If all else fails, I could try setting you up with Mingyu again. We all know how much Rhea loves you~”

We burst out into laughter thinking about Mingyu’s daughter, Rhea, and how she would call me Mama when she first started talking. I was always helping out with taking care of Aleah and Rhea when they were growing up and their parents were always busy. She must’ve learned the word from Aleah. When Mingyu found out about her calling me Mama, he bursted out in apologies and told me that he’ll get her to stop.

“I’m so sorry, Faye! I don’t know how long she’s been calling you that but I promise I’ll get her to stop.” Mingyu apologized with his head lowered like a puppy. He really is a giant puppy with those puppy eyes he’s directing at me.

I shake my head as I chuckle at him, patting his shoulder. “It’s fine, I’m in her life a lot so it’s no wonder why she thinks I might be her mom. When she’s old enough to understand, we’ll explain that even if she views me as a mom, we’re not together.”

He nods kind of sadly. I feel a bit bad because I know Rian had wanted to try setting us up together, but I just wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to Mingyu to try dating him when I wouldn’t be able to put the time and effort into the relationship, because I was focused on starting my cafe.

“I hope this doesn’t make things awkward for us?” He hesitates. I smiled at him, happy that he was hoping the same as me. He was a really great friend that I hoped I wouldn’t lose.

“Of course not! And of course, I’ll still help with taking care of Rhea, she’s such a sweetheart.”

“How are they doing by the way?” I asked her, knowing that Mingyu and her husband talked everyday.

“They’re doing great, Rhea got student of the month actually. I met her kindergarten teacher because that’s where Aleah will be attending next year. And she’s so nice and surprisingly really young. All the students love her,” Rian rambles on about all the things she heard about Mingyu and Rhea. “Actually Mingyu wanted to have a get together soon, when me and Aleah aren’t contagious anymore. He wanted me to tell you to come and he made me do it because he knows I’ll be forcing you to come and socialize with us.”

Of course they all knew me so well that I’d find a reason to wiggle out of the event. Since it seemed that I wouldn’t be getting out of it I agreed to going. It’d be nice to see how much Rhea has grown and see how Mingyu’s been doing. I asked Rian to send me all the details for the event.

“Rian, dinners ready,” I heard a voice call out from the kitchen. I see a tall figure approaching from behind Rian and she looks back and waves him over.

“Wonwoo! Say hi to Faye!” She calls out to him. The figure gets closer and I see Wonwoo with a black apron on with two plates in his hand. He bends down and I see his face appear on the screen.

“Hey Faye, hope you’re doing well. You better come to the get together,” He says, with his slightly monotone and low voice. Rian starts laughing at the way he greeted me.

“I already told Rian I would,” I huffed at the two. They both start smiling at my reaction to their teasing.

“Good, I’m excited to hear about if you’ll finally start dating. Bring them with you so I can pick which one you’ll date,” He states. My mouth drops in shock that he wasn’t even asking and rather stated that I’m bringing them AND he gets to choose who I date.

“HEY, why do you get to choose who she dates? She’s MY best friend,” Rian complains at Wonwoo, hitting his back slightly. Wonwoo puts down one plate in front of her and then uses his free arm to push her head out of the frame and sits on her.

“So, bring your boyfriends and me AND Mingyu will choose who’s the better choice,” Wonwoo talks over Rian as she starts complaining and tries pushing the taller and heavier man off of her. “AND if none of them are good enough for you, you’re going on a date with Mingyu again.”

“I AGREE but I should be the one to say it, not you!” I hear Rian shout from behind him. Wonwoo continues to ignore her, just sitting on her, until the both of them hear a tiny voice.

“Daddy, why you sit on Mommy?” Aleah’s voice carries through the mic. Wonwoo reaches down and grabs her, setting her on his lap.

“See Leah, now we’re all on Mommy’s lap. Isn’t it so fun?” Wonwoo asks her. Aleah giggles and nods her head, exclaiming that she’s having fun.

“Alright, fun times over. It’s time to eat dinner now,” Rian states. It was fun watching the family of three interact. I watched as Aleah complained and whined that she wasn’t hungry and wanted to keep playing. Wonwoo finally got off of Rian with Aleah in his arms as he went off to set her on her booster seat.

“It was nice catching up with you,” Rian started. “Next time we catch up hopefully it’ll be in person and none of us are sick this time.”

I agreed with her and we said our goodbyes. Once the call ended, it was silent in the apartment, except for the faint noise of the A/C running. I got up from the counter to go put my dishes away in the sink and wash them. I thought back to our conversation on the computer. Would Flora be proud of all that I’ve done since she’s been gone? I haven’t done much except focusing on getting the cafe of our dreams to become true. Would she have been upset that I didn’t put much effort into gaining friends or a relationship?

As I finished washing and cleaning up, I headed over to my room and into my closet to grab a box on the top shelf. The box was full of high school and college memories. Pictures and small trinkets filled the box to the brim. I dug into the box to find a specific picture from college. When I finally found it I held it up to the light.

It was a picture of me, Flora, Wonwoo, Rian when she was pregnant, Mingyu and Rhea when she was still a baby less than a year old. You could see that Rian had a tiny baby bump since she was still in her second trimester. Rian was in the center with me on her left side and Flora on her right side. Rhea was in my arms and the guys were behind us. We all had big smiles on our faces. It was one of the happiest times in our lives.

We were all so excited when Rian was pregnant even though it was an accident. Wonwoo and Rian were so worried about being parents while still in college but with the help of Mingyu, Flora, and I, we managed to calm their worries and help them get through with it. Especially since Mingyu was already a single parent in college. He managed to help them the most.

The longer I stared at the photo the more I thought of how Flora would be if she were here now. Would she already be a parent? Would she still have been in a relationship with Joshua? I was slowly spiraling into all the “what ifs.” I shook my head and tried not to think of all the possibilities because it would do nothing except make me feel guilty for being here instead of her. I huff to myself and think that my therapist would be proud that I was able to stop my overthinking. I start putting everything in the box except for the photo and dig around for a spare photo frame to put the photo in it.

I get up out of the closet and set the photo on my nightstand, hoping that this will be the start of my actual healing. I hope I’m ready to open myself up to new people again and maybe Flora will be watching over me proudly.

****

The next day at work seemed to drag on as I started to feel anxious about hanging out with basically strangers. I tried keeping my focus on my work whether it was making sure that inventory was correct, deliveries were being scheduled on time, or even helping out the baristas and bakers, but somehow the two handsome men wouldn’t leave my mind. So many possible scenarios came to mind but I would never really know what to prepare for. So the moment it was time for me to leave work, I was a shaking mess.

Even one of the employees, Mira, had noticed and asked if I was alright. To which, I responded that I was alright, just a little off today. She wished me the best of luck as I was heading out. I stepped out of the back and headed to the front of the cafe. I noticed that Seungcheol and Jeonghan weren’t inside the cafe, so I headed to the outside tables.

I looked around for the two but only saw one of them, Seungcheol. He was sitting at one of the outside tables and was looking down at his phone. I walked over to him and as he heard my footsteps, he looked up.

He was wearing a black leather bomber jacket with a black shirt underneath and black pants. It actually made me wonder if he would be alright in the sun because he was wearing an awful lot of black. He stood up and went over to the seat I was heading to before grabbing it and pulling it back for me to sit on it. I sat down and he scooted my chair in towards the table, before going back to his seat.

“So, Jeonghan isn’t going to be coming today. He said he forgot that he has something to do,” Seungcheol explains, once he settled down. I nod my head at him. “Did you still want to just hangout? We could reschedule if you want to?”

I thought about it, maybe we could reschedule but then all that worrying and anxiety would be for nothing and that would suck. So instead of agreeing to reschedule, I shook my head, which seemed to surprise him slightly. “I’m fine with just hanging out with you.”

After I said that, his eyes lowered a bit and he ended up scratching the back of his neck a little embarrassed. I wondered why he seemed a little bashful after saying that until I realized that what I said could be taken in a different way. I honestly would like to bash my head in with a brick after realizing.

“If you’re ok with it just being us then I am too,” He smiles at me slightly, showing a little bit of his dimples. I had the urge to just poke them but I brushed away my intrusive thoughts. “Do you have anything in mind or anything you wanna do?”

I hummed to myself as I thought about what we could do, but nothing was really coming to mind. I shrugged my shoulders at him. He frowns slightly and tries thinking of something that they could do together.

“How about we go to the outlet and just walk around?” He suggests. I nod my head and agree with him that we could do that.

“Would we just catch the next bus to get there?” I wondered. The next bus would be here in about 20 minutes, so it wouldn’t be that long of a wait.

He shakes his head before taking something out of his pocket. He brings out car keys and shakes it in front a bit. “We can just take my car.”

I stare at his keys and feel my heart skip a beat a bit. I do my best to keep my breath even once it starts feeling like it’s getting harder to breathe. It’s just a short 10 minute drive. It’ll be fine, I’LL be fine. It’s been years already and I’ve been on buses plenty of times. Nothing has ever happened all these years.

I nod my head and try my best to smile at him, hoping that he falls for the fake smile. He looks at me and doesn’t seem to notice it much or he just didn’t want to say anything. Either way he started getting ready to get up and I did the same. He walked in front first to lead me to where he had parked which was closer to the university.

Since it was a weekday, there were plenty of students wandering around, unluckily for me. I could tell that some of the students were looking at us as we walked together quietly. It was a little unnerving having this attention and Seungcheol ended up noticing.

“Just ignore them. It’s what Jeonghan and I do all the time,” Seungcheol whispered softly. I almost didn’t catch what he said, had I not been standing next to him. I looked up at him and saw he was still looking forward until he felt my eyes on him. He turned his head to look at me before giving a small reassuring smile. I return his smile and face forward again, feeling slightly better with the reassurance.

We eventually reached his car which was parked by one of the restaurants right by the university. He unlocked the car with the button on his keys before walking over to the passenger side and opening the door for me.

“You don’t have to do that, y’know?” I tell him, as I enter the car and look up at him. He watches to make sure I’m in the car completely.

“Yeah, but I was taught to help others,” He shrugs it off. It was interesting to see someone who has very polite manners, holding the door open, pushing the chair in, and other small things I noticed that he does.

He closes the door before jogging over to the driver’s side of the car and getting in. We both put our seat belts on and he checks to make sure I’m good before turning on the car and starting to head over to the outlets.

The car ride was silent except for the sounds of the radio playing music quietly. I didn’t want to try speaking in fear that he’d notice that I was slightly shaking. I was doing my best to control my breathing so he wouldn’t hear me. Luckily, the car ride was short and sweet as we arrived just a few minutes later at the outlets. We both got out and started to walk around seeing all the different shops.

“If you see any shops that you want to go in, just let me know, alright?” He mentions to me as we walk together. I nod my head and tell him the same, not wanting this day to just revolve around what I want.

We found a couple of shops that we mutually wanted to go into, such as electronic stores and snack stores. We bonded a bit over time as we walked together.

I learned that Seungcheol and Jeonghan have been friends ever since they were kids and their families were close with each other. Their families aren't really close anymore but the guys were best friends and knew everything about each other. They basically thought of each other as brothers at this point.

It was surprisingly a very laid back hangout, and the slight awkwardness went away by the end of the day. Eventually, he was already driving me back home as our hangout came to an end. The ride was still nerve wracking for me but it seemed easier to hid it from him.

He walked over to open my door when we reached my home. As I walked to my door, I looked back and saw that he was standing there waiting for me to go inside. He brings one hand up and makes a shooing motion, telling me to go inside. I smile and wave before unlocking the door and going inside. It wasn't too bad of a day. Maybe next time, Jeonghan can join us.

****

a/n: sorry this took so long T_T i was actually stuck at how to write this chapter. hopefully this chapter is ok.

chapter list

previous chapter || next chapter

#seungcheol #seungcheol fanfic #svt imagines #svt fluff #kpop fanfic #seungcheol fluff #seungcheol imagines #seungcheol scenarios #seungcheol x oc #jeonghan x oc #jeonghan #yoon jeonghan #jeonghan fanfic

16 notes · View notes