#once again I’m just tagging the last few peeps in my notifications

[a-concert-just-for-me]

ten characters, ten fandoms, ten tags

Tagged by @pengdaw2nd (thanks!)

1. Ralsei (Deltarune)

2. Donatello (TMNT)

3. Hunter (The Owl House)

4. Alphonse (Fullmetal Alchemist)

5. Klaus (The Umbrella Academy)

6. Steven (Steven Universe)

7. Frisk (Undertale)

8. Po (Kung Fu Panda)

9. Aang (ATLA)

10. Max (Camp Camp)

Tagging: @wynterwulf7 @doodle-mochi @a-dream-journalist @rockets-and-alchemy @owlheartt @geodegremlin @monotonescreaming @diosmio-lacreatura @good-old-fashioned-lover-gal @potholefullofsoup

[bucksfucks]

messing with a gemini | chris evans

gif credit.

SUMMARY || chris is a gemini, so you should expect nothing less than snide remarks, witty charm, and mind-blowing sex.

PAIRING || chris evans x reader

WORD COUNT || 1,902 words

WARNINGS || banter, teasing, cocky!chris, definite praise kink, light choking kink, chris goes down on the reader, fingering, oral, drinking, unprotected sex, both smutty, soft, and teasing — 18+ ONLY//MINORS DNI

NOTES || mmmmgmmgmgmgmgmg yeah

     The sound of the door shutting can only mean one thing.

    “Look what the cat dragged in,” you greet him, not turning around to face him.

    “Sweetheart if you don’t learn to shut that pretty little mouth of yours, I’ll do it for you.”

    Another snide remark, another sly smirk, and another roll of your eyes as Chris slides past you with a cup of tea in his hands.

    “You couldn’t make me if you tried.” You spat back, narrowing your eyes at him as you watched him quirk an eyebrow; intrigued at your comment.

    “Is that a challenge? Because you know I never back down from you.” He replies cooly, folding his arms over his chest before taking a sip of his hot drink.

    “Ah yes, how could I forget,” you feign enthusiasm, “you’re a Gemini.” You deadpan and now it’s his turn to roll his eyes.

    He kicks his foot off the wall behind him, “you didn’t answer my question, sweetheart.” He winks, brushing past your shoulder as you scoff.

    He’s gonna out of your sight before you have the chance to say anything else, letting out an exasperated sigh as you will yourself to calm down.

    “Hey!” Someone shouts through the trailer door, “can you run down to makeup for backup?” You don’t get to answer.

    “Thanks!”

    Before whoever it was slammed the door shut and you let out another frustrated groan.

    You knew what you signed up for, you weren’t head of makeup. You weren’t even assistant head. No, you were one of the nobodies.

    Someone they hire to run from one end of set to the other only to get yelled at for not having enough brushes or the right shade of a palette.

    It was almost poetic.

    “Hey, I’m here, what did you guys need?” You ask as you put on a fake smile and enter the makeup trailer.

    The trailer where Chris is sat getting his hair done.

    Your blood boiled, wasn’t he supposed to be a charmer? A sweetheart? Maybe he was just really getting into character?

    “Can you sweep the floor and make sure there’s no more hair?”

    You had to physically fight the urge to drop your face, “sure!”

    You grabbed the broom, feeling embarrassed as you quietly sunk into the background as you felt Chris’ eyes on you.

    A few medial, mind numbing tasks later and it was closing in on 2am. Your notification-less phone screen lit up the empty trailer you were left to clean up.

    Not that you really minded.

    You find solace in the only time of the day where things seem to slow down. You also didn’t hate being alone where you could listen to music and clean hairbrushes.

    “So this is what you do after we cut.” The sound of Chris’ laugh startles you as you let out a soft yelp.

    He has a soft smile on his face, almost unrecognizable without his beard.

    “I thought I was alone,” you reply meekly, turning the volume lower on your phone as Chris shook his head.

    “Oh, I know,” he laughs, “I don’t think anyone would be belting out Queen like that if they didn’t think they were alone.”

    Once again, you feel embarrassed in front of him, shaking your head.

    “Whatever,” you try to brush it off. “Did you need something?” You ask as he shakes his head.

    “I was just checkin’ in on you.” He replies and you’re a little taken aback.

    “Oh, well thanks, but I’m okay. Just finishing up cleaning.” You said with a tight lipped smile and a nod of your head.

    Chris stands there for a second, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looks over his shoulder before clearing his throat.

    “Well uh, some of the cast and crew are havin’ some drinks and pizza later, if you wanted to tag along.”

    The invite makes your stomach drop into your lower belly as you open your mouth.

    You have to take a moment to formulate the words.

    “It’s getting pretty late, I think I’m just gonna head back to my hotel room. Parties aren’t really my thing.” You joke, lightening the mood as Chris cracks a smile.

    “Sure thing, sweetheart. The invites always there,” he says before turning on his heels and leaving you to yourself.

    Chris Evans was an enigma that you didn’t think you’d ever crack.

~

    The soft knock at your door caused your neck to snap in its direction, uncrossing your legs as you slid off the too big hotel bed and looked through the peep hole.

    It was hard to make out the figure, but it looked like...no, it couldn’t be.

    “Chris?” His name slipped through your lips as you opened the door.

    He beamed a smile as he held up a case of beer and box of pizza.

    “Turns out, parties aren’t my thing either.”

    You couldn’t help but chuckle as you moved aside to let him in.

    “And you decided that coming to my room at,” you had to check the time, “3:16 in the morning was the logical thing to do?”

    He set everything down on the coffee table before hopping onto your bed, “yup.”

    You had to roll your eyes as you laughed, closing and locking the door as you stepped in front of him.

    “C’mon kid,” oh, why did that do something to you?

    “You work hard every day of the week, you deserve one night to not care about anything.” His words were gentle as he stood up to grab a beer.

    “Want one?” He asked, holding a beer up as you replayed his words.

    “Sure,” he was right, you do deserve a break.

    You both took a seat on the small, uncomfortable couch in the room as you took a sip. Well, it was beer.

    “So,” you broke the silence, “the Chris Evans doesn’t like parties?” You quirked an amused eyebrow as he laughed.

    “Maybe I wanted to escape to see you, is that so bad?” He said, licking his bottom lip; not breaking eye contact.

    You shook your head, “such a fucking Gemini,” you mumble as Chris smirks.

    “What did I say about that smart mouth of yours?” He eggs you on, leaning forward and giving your knee a squeeze.

    “I don’t remember.” You bite back, feeling your heart kicking in your chest as you feel his breath fanning over your face.

    “Maybe I should teach you a lesson or two then, hmm?” He purrs, running his free hand up your neck and resting it there.

    “I dare you,” you mumble, transfixed on the feeling of his warm hands on you.

    The dominos fall and Chris’ lips are meshed with yours, the faint taste of beer on them as you wrap your fingers in the collar of his shirt.

    “You know I never back down from a challenge,” he murmurs against your lips before taking you by the hand and leading you to the bed.

    He pushes you onto it, the sheets around you as the weight of Chris’ body pushed you further into it.

    “Ah ah,” he tsks when you let out a soft moan, “I thought I told you to keep quiet for me.”

    You swallow thickly, throat dry and lips parted as you gasp when you can feel the weight of him between your hips.

    “Can you do that for me, sweetheart? Can you be a good girl?” He purrs, absolutely knowing what it does to you as you writhe under him. 

    “Good,” he hums. “Now let’s see how good you are when I’m between your legs makin’ then shake.”

    His wink doesn’t go unnoticed by you as your clothes are shed, his coming off until he’s left in nothing but his boxers.

    There’s little left to the imagination, the outline of his cock clear as he wraps his hands around your ankles and tugs you down to the end of the bed.

    You yelp, sliding off the pillows as he sinks to his knees, hungry eyes just waiting to taste you.

    “Look at you,” he cooes, “drippin’ at the thought of me between your thighs?” He mocks, cocking his head to side as he keeps your legs open.

    Chaste kisses are pressed to your inner thighs, gently as you try to stop the plea’s that are begging to slip past your mouth.

    “You’re bein’ so patient for me too, good girl.” He praises, he breath over your core is hot as you grab for his hair.

    The feeling of his tongue makes you moan and squeeze your legs around his head.

    “Mmm,” he hums, “that good already?”

    If he wasn’t buried between your legs you might’ve, just might’ve had the courage to roll your eyes.

    His fingers tease your entrance as his mouth works over your clit.

    There’s no holding back now.

    You don’t care how loud you’re being, giving into the sensation as he works you to the edge, your legs shaking.

    “You wanna come, don’t you, pretty girl?” Yes, God, yes.

    “Well that’s too bad,” he taunts making you let out a whine.

    “Not until I’m buried deep ‘side of you,” he grunts, quickly stripping off the rest of his clothes until he’s crawling back over you with a condom in his hand.

    You’re still dizzy, slightly angry from your denied orgasm, but wanting nothing more than to feel him stretching you out.

    “You think you’re ready for my cock,” he smirks teasingly as you feel him at your entrance.

    You whine, bringing his lips to your but he stops you at the last second.

    “Uh uh baby, I wanna hear you beg for it.” He taunts, nose brushing yours.

    “Fuck,” you whimper, “please, just fuck me.” You beg, eyes meeting his.

    That’s all he needs before he’s slowly sinking into you, watching your face contort in immeasurable pleasure.

    “Feel so fuckin’ good,” he grunts, “so tight and warm.”

    Your fingers dig into his speckled back, finding your ground as you dig into the soft skin as he thrusts into you.

    Suddenly, the only think you can think about is how good this feels.

    “My pretty girl,” he whispers, bending your one leg at the knee to get a deeper angle.

    “Takin’ my cock so goddamn well,” he grunts, “gonna make me come.”

    His words send a shiver down your spine as your walls flutter around him. He drops on one of his elbows, getting impossibly close to you.

    “You’re gonna come too, aren’t you, sweetheart?” He teases, lips on yours swallowing every moan before you feel a hand around your throat.

    “Look at me when you come, baby,” he purrs, applying just the slightest amount of pressure to the column of your throat.

    “Wanna see you come for me,” he smirks, his thrusts getting harsher before you feel yourself giving into your orgasm.

    Your body shakes as your mouth falls open, his name a breathy moan before you feel his hips stuttering.

    He sounds exhausted after he spills inside of you, tumbling on top of you as you’re left in sweaty silence as you’re left with nothing to do but run your fingers through his dampened hair.

    “Gemini or not, you’re what made me weak in the knees, sweetheart.” Chris whispers, eyes on yours as you feel a flutter in your heart.

    “There’s somethin’ about you that I won’t ever grow tired of, that I’m sure about.”

[cozy-neko]

The Cherry On Top • 02 • 03 | Charity stream disaster • 04

Kenma checked his stream overlay one last time to make sure everything was set up correctly. The streamer was only ten minutes away from his scheduled 24-hour charity stream that Akaashi had set up for him in partnership with the energy drink company, Black Sheep. For every donation Kenma receives during his live stream, all proceeds will be 100% donated to help animal shelters in need of supplies.

For once, Kenma was actually excited about a partnership. As a lover of cats and raising three rescues himself, it wasn’t particularly a hard decision for Kenma to make when Black Sheep had approached him and brought up the idea of a partnership and a charity stream campaign in conjunction with the animal shelter Black Sheep was associated with.

That was why when his sponsorship with Black Sheep had been threatened by a rumor, Kenma ultimately made a public announcement to deny the rumor and personally reached out to the PR/Influencer team at Black Sheep to talk it out with them.

Now, three minutes prior to going live, Kenma’s phone buzzed multiple times. He glanced at the lit up screen and rolled his eyes. It was Kuroo who was blowing up his phone, and Kenma had a fairly decent idea of what the texts were about.

Last week, Kuroo and Kenma had met up with Akaashi and Bokuto for their monthly dinner meet up when Akaashi had mentioned Kenma’s upcoming charity stream.

“A 24-hour stream is too easy for Kenma; the gremlin routinely stays up at least 36-hours once a week anyways.” Kuroo let out a barking laugh as he flipped the meat that was grilling in front of the four friends.

“That’s besides the point, Kuroo.” Kenma rolled his eyes and leaned back in the vinyl booth. “I’m doing a charity stream. All donations I get during the stream goes towards the animal shelter that Black Sheep partners with.” Kenma made sure to slowly emphasize the word “charity” when he explained his upcoming project.

“You know, I’ve never seen Kenma so excited about a project,” Bokuto quipped as he eagerly tucked into his meal.

“It’s for a good cause and Kozume was quick to say yes,” Akaashi added as he flashed a small smile towards the flushed streamer. Kenma still wasn’t used to hearing people praise him, no matter how often he was always featured in esports commentary and articles.

“I have three cat rescues myself, so it was a no brainer,” he mumbled, averting eye contact. He opted to push around the burnt pieces of meat with his chopsticks around his plate instead.

“Aw, you’re embarrassed that you got caught being openly excited for your next project!” Kuroo smirked and nudged his friend. It was all friendly-banter, and Kenma knew that Kuroo meant well and was extremely happy for him, but he flushed harder as Bokuto and Akaashi chimed in to cheer on their friend.

“I’m just being a nice person. Maybe you should try it some day,” Kenma shot back.

“What do you mean?” Kuroo scoffed. “I’m always a nice person.”

Akaashi and Kenma rolled their eyes at Kuroo while Bokuto let out a good-natured laugh at Kuroo’s response.

“Hey, wait! You know what you should do to make your 24-hour stream more spicy?” There was a mischievous glint in Bokuto’s eyes as he waited for his friends to respond. 

“Bokuto-san, whatever you’re thinking probably isn’t a go--” 

“Drunk 24-hour stream!” 

“Oh, nice!” Kuroo snapped his fingers and grinned his infamous Cheshire Cat smirk. Akaashi sighed and Kenma grimaced. 

"I’m not going to take ideas from two drunks. And we barely sat down to eat, how are you two this drunk already?” Kenma wrinkled his nose.

Kenma unlocked his phone and quickly scanned through his group chat. Yup. There it was: a barrage of texts from Kuroo asking Kenma if he had his booze ready followed by a spam of suggestive eye emojis by Bokuto. Kenma was quick to notice that Akaashi had purposely chosen to ignore the group texts and offered no help in diverting the suggestions.

Kenma snorted quietly at Bokuto's message as he locked his phone. He looked up at the monitor to his right and read some comments that were starting to flood in his stream chat. He gave his camera a small smile and leaned back in his chair, answering some questions that caught his attention and saying "hi" to others.

Kenma usually liked to start his stream off rather chill by interacting with his viewers. After playing his music playlist and adjusting the volume, he finally announced his agenda for the day after a few minutes.

"Today I'm partnering with Black Sheep for a charity stream. It's going to be a 24-hour stream and we're gonna spend most of the time playing some League. All donations I get will go towards helping an animal shelter which you guys know I'm all for." Kenma paused as his donation notification sounded and his text-to-speech setting began to read the donation to him and his viewers.

"meowriachi donated $25: 24-hour stream? too ezpz kodzuken"

Kenma laughed and ran a hand through his messy half-up styled hair.

"I was telling my friends about today's stream and Kuroo said the same thing. Maybe in our next collaboration we'll do a longer stream if you guys want that. We'll also be able to have more fun and do more things, too."

Kenma was smart and sneaky. He always was. Kuroo did always say he was the brains of the team back in high school when they played volleyball together. Kenma was good at analyzing situations, and because of this strength, Kenma knew when to use certain words and situations to create benefits for him and his career. This was no exception. The streamer knew Black Sheep would be moderating his stream, so now the company had slight pressure to partner with him again if there was an in demand from his fans. And this was Kodzuken we were talking about. There was no doubt Kenma knew there would already be a second sponsorship in the works.

Kenma smirked. Easy peasy stream indeed.

Kenma loved his job. He truly did. It wasn't every day someone could wake up every day and actually look forward to going to work, and for that, Kenma was thankful. He was thankful that he had the skillsets to do well in competitive gaming and that he had a knack of being able to pick up mechanics of new games so easily. He was thankful that he had a fanbase that enjoyed his commentary and sarcastic humor, and a fanbase that supported and helped him build his brand from ground up.

Kenma knew he owed one-third of his success to his fans and another one-third to his own hard work and passion. But Kenma also knew he owed the last one-third of his success to his friends.

Not once did Kenma regret making Akaashi his manager; Akaashi had gotten him way more sponsorships than Kenma himself could've if he was still balancing streaming, content creation, and managing his own projects.

Kenma was thankful for Kuroo for always challenging him to step outside his comfort zone. Even when Kenma was irritated and didn't want to hear Kuroo's words of advice and encouragement, Kenma was still grateful for it all.

And Bokuto. Kenma guesses he can be thankful for Bokuto for always hyping him up when he needed it the most. Especially when he was extremely hung over from a night out of (forced) drinking and had barely ten minutes to wake up and set up his stream on time.

Yes, Kenma was truly thankful for his friends. But right now, Kenma wanted to kill them. He wanted to kill Kuroo and Bokuto for coming over to his house uninvited even after he warned them not to and for raiding his stream in real life.

Right now, Kenma was seething. One, he was in the middle of a very important sponsorship deal. Two, he was in the middle of a ranked game in League of Legends and he didn't want to lose his winning streak. And three, his two goofball friends had showed up to his house with alcohol and announced out loud to his viewers that Kenma would now be participating in a drunk 24-hour stream.

Kenma doesn't remember the last time he got this mad. What's worse was that Kenma's fans were all for it. His stream chat was getting spammed with poggers emotes, and it was difficult for Kenma to admit that he had been getting more and more donations ever since Kuroo and Bokuto had shown up and the alcohol was brought out. And because of that, Kenma had begrudgingly surrendered and cracked open a White Claw.

Except he didn't stop only at one; not if Kuroo and Bokuto could help it. And at only about 5'8" with a smaller build, Kenma unfortunately fell victim to being a lightweight. And with Kuroo and Bokuto, kings of being instigators, were there to egg him on along with his stream chat, Kenma downed can after can.

Just a little something to take the edge off a work week, right?

end notes:

→ kenma’s twitch stream took me 30 minutes to piece together 😪

→ if you see the same comments on kenma’s twitch chat twice... no you didn’t 😀🔪

→ also peep the stream title change 👀

→ kenma’s the type to use scuffed candids of his friends as their contact photos, but it didn’t work out too well. he actually respects akaashi enough to use a decent photo, and bokuto never takes a bad photo. ever. i guess kuroo’s the only one he can easily clown.

TAG LIST:

if you’re interested in being notified when a new chapter gets published, please interact with the series overview post to be added to my tag list for this series!

also, please make sure your tag notification settings are turned on, or else I won’t be able to tag you!!

@howcanibreathewithnozaire @stupid-mimi @hiraeth-z @elianetsantana@onwnonly @random-stufff-1 @akabiscuit @arttzume @ianieworld @sunnout @meemsx @duhsies @umiilikesmilk @lcmecobain @tsukkiyuuji @basilton485 @0grenntea0 @kiss-my-cheek @hugscore @thatfunnysprout @soynomnom @ittsvias @multi-fandom-fanfic @ms1015 @restinpeace-minusone @lailaaparkerr @icantsleepcauseoffandoms @minhocatboy @its-the-aerieljeane @tiltedmint @thoughtfullydelightfulgiver @vivalasvegasbaby @miyayane @china-yana @normalisthenewnorm @mer-majesty @kac-chowsballs @kodzuken-blog @dksfl920 @zaras-warudo @infantwomanjen @tabipleats @lowqualityline @blondealpaca @kenmas1mp @rae-k-018 @gushinim @sunarinsbb @dksfl920 @realityisabitch-blr @solarpanellol @nerdynstoned @keikluvv @kozutenshi @bakasbitch18 @manypreferences @divarooni812 @ushijimasbby @beepbeepval @kenmakai @graykageyama @liz-multifandom-hotel @hoodym @poopedinpants @haibaeron @tri-cerotops @k3nmaswa1fu @haijkk @imaginarysthings @byebeyeyeyye @something-that-idk @yesseiut @hkyuinique @miya-babyy @nekomastudent

[donkey-hyuck]

♫ playlist ♫

word count- 2,378

chapter warnings- mentions of guns/violence | dialogue heavy

series masterlist!

⤷⤷ prologue ➤ chapter one ➤ chapter two ➤ ✵chapter three✵ ➤ chapter four ➤ |you’re here| ➤

𝘿𝙄𝙎𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙄𝙈𝙀𝙍: everything that is written is purely fiction and does not depict reality :)

«────── « ⋅ʚ🔥ɞ⋅ » ──────»

prior to his leave— at around ten o’clock— renjun paid his respects to your company ceo, eunha, and of course, you.

subtly, he took you away from a conversation between another one of your interns as he guided you to a secluded area in the lobby. you scowled your eyes at him before sharply asking what he wanted.

“i’d slow down there, princess. i’m the biggest ceo in china, i can ruin your career like that,” he ended with a snap of his fingers, “ but don’t worry, my love. i wouldn’t do that to you. i just came back to say that i’m taking my leave for tonight. i hope to see you around,” he winked and walked off. however, before he actually left the venue, he was quick to snap a picture of you before actually leaving to his car and sending the picture to his team— his other team.

by the time renjun reached his mansion, he sent doyoung the pictures he took and a general description of your physical appearance. the boys were on their way researching right on time.

—

the weekend came by and you were on your way to ‘style studio’ for an appointment with a regular client. she seemed to like you tons and you couldn’t really blame her, you were the whole package.

when you first entered the small clinic, you saw renjun waiting in the waiting room of the lobby. he was reading some magazine— which featured some of his apparels— before looking up to see who entered the building.

prior to your entrance, renjun figured out where you worked within the body and soul inst. and immediately drove his way there after making a few agreements between some of your coworkers just for a chance to see you again. he figured it was all a coincidence and would never be able to see you again, but he remembered who he was. and huang renjun was capable of a lot of things, which made it possible for him to locate where and when you worked, exactly.

clueless as to who was in the waiting room, you greeted the receptionist— hayoon—  a good morning before he told you that someone was looking for you, specifically ceo huang renjun. unfortunately, you were wearing some accessories made by huang&co. which made you regret choosing to wear them in the first place. his company made cute and trendy items, of course you purchased some accessories— though you were to admit that they were a bit on the pricier side.

renjun seemed to notice that you were looking over your shoulder and peering at him so he set aside the magazine that he had in his hands and walked over to you. gently smiling at hayoon and guiding you towards the hallway.

“mr. huang, what a pleasure seeing you here. on a saturday. at eight o’clock in the morning,” you said through gritted teeth. the man only grinned and asked if you were busy. he also complimented your choice of accessories.

“of course i am, i have a job. and don’t flatter yourself, they were gifts,” you snapped back and got your keys to open your office to get ready for the appointment you had today. but before you were able to open the door, his hand covered the doorknob, preventing you from opening it and turning to him. you looked at him with your brows furrowed and eyes blazing.

“are you busy later? let’s have dinner, my treat,” he smugly said. you blinked at him like he was a crazy person and noticed your client walk through the entrance doors. you didn’t end up responding to him and just pushed past the door to start your day. he just had to show up then.

you just closed the door in his face but then there were screams that were heard out in the hallway. frantically, you peeped open the door just a smidge and detected the amount of fans barging into the clinic. huang fucking renjun.

the older client walked into the room earlier than the fans that had barged in. there weren't a lot of people but it was a good amount that made everyone that was in the building freak. even the client herself was shocked to see ceo huang renjun in the building way too early in the morning. to that, you just laughed it off and got ready to start her treatment.

she was actually the only client you were taking that day and the rest is history. you had no other plans for the day but you definitely did not want to make plans with the ceo himself; he was immature, and inappropriate.

it was only about eleven in the morning when you packed up your things to go back home. surprisingly enough, renjun was still present in the clinic. right when you locked the door to your office, renjun appeared from out of the men’s bathroom and looked at his surroundings, instantly recognizing you walking toward the exit.

out of your peripheral vision, you knew he was still there so you silently groaned but still walked out to your car.

but to your dismay, renjun knocked on your car window startling you. and it only took a minute for you to come back to your senses. you sighed to yourself and rolled down your tinted windows.

“mr. huang, what can i do for you now?” you fakely smiled as he discreetly looked around through his sunglasses. he then leaned against the car door and let his sunglasses fall down the bridge of his nose.

“you never answered my request, my love. it’s a yes or no question. but just know that i won’t take no for an answer.”

“so then i don’t really have a choice anyways,” you sighed out.

“nope. text me your address, i slipped a little something in your bag,” he winked again and walked towards his car. before you drove off back home, you searched in your bag to see a note. handwritten from renjun.

‘xxx-xxx — i hope to see you tonight xoxo, renjun. p.s. don’t call me mr. huang! it’s too formal.’

who knew ceo huang would be that much of a flirt.

—

oh, but ceo huang was not a flirt. he just had a natural aura that brought those close to him. renjun was actually the exact opposite of a flirt. whatever girls came by, he just swept them off their feet without even trying. but you; you were a different story. something, some urge or push of his feelings desired you, and he needed you pronto.

and to be completely honest, you were on the same boat, but on a more low-key level. catching the eyes of those who cared, including famous actor— lee donghyuck. the two of you had a little fling, a little something, but it didn’t last very long— only four months— before he just ghosted you. but that’s a different story for another day.

you contemplated for a while about actually messaging renjun. however you just mustered up all the courage you had and dialed his number.

when his phone screen lit up with an unidentified number, he picked up, completely forgetting he gave you his number.

“mr. huang…” you went silent on the other line but he immediately knew whose voice it belonged to.

“my love! are you actually considering having dinner with me?” he gasped, truly aghast that you had called. you were silent for a moment before sighing once more.

“yeah…. i guess i am since you’re too stubborn,” the phrase made him laugh in amusement.

“but i have a few rules,” he hummed, telling you to continue, “i will be calling you mr. huang and if we get into trouble we are just gonna say that this is all business. and i’ll be paying half of the bill.”

his grin was ear to ear and he was jovial to have you join him for dinner.

“okay then, angel. send me your address and i’ll pick you up at eight. dress nicely, please.” the man was stoked to hear you agree and was excited to get to know you.

—

you thought it would’ve been humorous if you were to wear a dress made by huang renjun himself but the more you looked in the large mirror in your bedroom, the more you thought that it would fit the occasion. this dinner was your first time actually wearing the dress, tags on and everything. but it truly was a beautiful dress. the dress was a navy blue satin a-line with an open back, it screamed elegance and simplicity. similar to the ‘face it skincare’ opening party which you honestly don’t really want to think about.

you were actually gifted that dress by none other than lee donghyuck. he invited you to a dinner party with a few costars but never ended up texting you back. but you’re here now, and you’re going on a ‘date’ with one of the most powerful ceo’s in the world.

as you were admiring how the dress looked on you, a text notification dings on your phone. at first you thought it was renjun but it was actually hyunwoo.

‘you free tonight? haseul and i are going out to get blue hill in 20 mins, you down?’

blue hill was a diner in town that was popular for its decorations and attractions plus the food service. blue hill was your home, it always would be. unfortunately, you had to decline the offer with your friends and they immediately called you.

“woah, y/n! why are you so dolled up tonight?” shrieked haseul.

you rolled your eyes and rubbed your face, “mr. huang asked me for dinner tonight. i would love to be there with you guys but that man is so damn stubborn.” the pair have each other a look before looking at your pixelated face and giving you knowing smirks. it made you want to rip out their faces.

“guys, it’s really not like that! he came to the clinic earlier and would not leave me alone! i’m just doing this so that he would leave me alone!” you whined and got another text notification from renjun, “look, i gotta go. i’ll call you guys later.” your friends just laughed and waved you goodbye before ending the phone all. you looked at your reflection one more time and straightened out the nonexistent wrinkles in your dress. it was now or never.

you walked to your front door to see renjun unintentionally wearing a matching navy blue tie with your dress. your heart dropped in that moment. there was no way in hell that you were going to match, and it wasn’t even planned out.

when renjun looked at you he felt as if time stopped again. you were the most beautiful person he ever laid eyes on and he felt like he was home. even after barely knowing who you were, you made him feel safe. and to be quite honest, you felt the same way towards the ceo. just didn’t show it as much.

“wow, you look like an angel,” he unintentionally muttered out. you sucked in a breath, showcasing your collarbone before smiling out and thanking him.

he lent out his arm, to which you hesitantly caved in, and led you out of your apartment complex and into his car. though he was a flirt with you— and he really wanted to— huang renjun refrained himself from holding your hand or your thigh while he was driving to the restaurant.

he ended up taking you to ‘la toque’ which was a lavish european restaurant near downtown. you did not know how you were going to pay half of the bill. silently, you groaned to yourself and followed behind the man.

what you didn’t know, was that you were a part of a mission. of course, he wanted to take you out, from the bottom of his heart, but it so happened to be that there was trouble coming your way.

renjun eyed the place before locking gazes with dong sicheng— the resilient caporegime, lee jeno— the gunman, nakamoto yuta— the vigilante detective, and kim jungwoo— the computer tech. he sent a nod to the boys and guided you to the booth he reserved with a gentle hand on the small of your back, which sent chills down your spine.

unexpectedly, the dinner went smoothly until loaded men shouted through the room of the dining hall. it was all a blur. one moment you hear guns shooting, the next you hear shouting. without knowing, tears trickled down your face and made renjun regret having you come in the first place.

carefully, he cupped your cheek and hid you behind the bar, wiping your tears away and assuring you that everything was fine, but were just left speechless and looked at him with loss in your eyes. this made renjun’s heart hurt but he had to do his job. to keep him alive, to keep you safe.

—

their parents forbid them to never see each other again. but of course, the pair never listened and disobeyed their parents even more.

while violating their parents, the boy and the girl constantly saw each other over the years. they practically grew up together. and in those years, grew not only them, but the feelings they held for each other.

however the boy… well, the boy was being sent off to fight in the war. when he was of age, he told his lover what his family was planning for him. they were both left devastated.

so the two ran away. just like them in the past, they ran away. somewhere far, where people won’t break them apart. somewhere far from their parents and far from the war. because all they wanted was to be happy.

but one night, on one of their adventures; the boy left. he left so as to not let his lover get killed. he left the only other person that loved him for who he was.

they were the same people— rascals— but he did it for her. to keep her safe.

“don’t worry, my love. everything will be fine.”

chapter four ➤ chapter five ➤ chapter six

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @ichigofelix​ @moonbeamsung​ @heavenlyhuangs​ @kisshim​ @lixseu​

[isa-ghost]

A Formal Report To Staff

I’ve emailed the support team three times, each with strong feedback. Each containing MORE PROBLEMS than the last email. I begged them to take me off the beta. In fits of frustration, I’ve demanded to be taken off it too. I was told I’d have to deal with it. I was given responses that were little or no help at all. And I’m not the only one having these issues. These issues have been so severe and frustrating, I have been the least active on the site I have ever been. I have heavily contemplated leaving Tumblr altogether, and have been extremely displeased (to say the least) that these issues have prevented me from enjoying my blog, interacting with my friends/mutuals, and more. 

This beta was forced onto users without warning, without user’s consent, with no insight as to what would change, how it would change, why it would change, what was new, or any other changes/additions the beta would give. This lack of communication is unprofessional, inexcusable, and irresponsible. And the fact that they don’t give you an option to turn it off or opt out is, quite frankly, bullshit. Implementing a "beta” that feels half-assed and has this many issues in the first place without any kind of communication is irresponsible.

Their only semi-decent answer to this problem has been XKit. Which is not compatible/available with all browsers!! And really, it should be a big sign they SHOULDN’T CHANGE/ADD SOMETHING if their answer to it is “oh, just use XKit to undo it/turn it off.” JUST DON’T DO IT! You shouldn’t be relying on an extension/add-on to make your users happy! And if the users who don’t want these changes/additions are somehow the minority in all this, I certainly don’t see a single peep of any kind anywhere from the users that want/are supportive of these things! I’ve seen nothing but problems with this beta being reported, and frustration/hatred of it being expressed. And 0 action taken by the staff to fix any of it. If it’s still being worked on, it never should have been released to users in the first place. They should not be forced to put up with the bugs that this beta still has. The staff should not be randomly selecting users (not every user has had the beta forced upon them) to be beta testers. This is also irresponsible of them.

The staff’s communication to users about updates is AWFUL. The way they implement new things or change existing things without any mention of it or warning of when these things officially implement is AWFUL. 99% of the time they add or change something, nobody wants it or asked for it, and/or it’s a tiny change that didn’t need any attention whatsoever to begin with! They seriously need to start remembering the saying, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!“ The staff should be holding polls or ASKING users their opinions on something before they do it, not just throwing it in and forcing them to deal with it! And if they don’t want to wait for feedback on an idea before they do it, then they should ALWAYS make an option to turn off/opt out of whatever it is!

Tumblr’s most BASIC FUNCTIONS: posting, reblogging, editing posts, a user’s personal settings, HAVE BROKEN. They will not open or load, and if they do, the user has to wait several seconds before it FINALLY opens. When it doesn’t open, this happens:

This can/will appear 2-5+ TIMES (aka, the user will have to try and click “Aa Text/etc,” the reblog button, or the edit button 2-5+ TIMES, and on top of that, the window takes several seconds to load each time before you even know if it’s going to actually open or not!!) before Tumblr lets you open the posting window, the reblog window, or the editing window. It might even be happening with other functions on Tumblr that I just haven’t personally experienced yet.

Tumblr’s most BASIC FUNCTIONS should NEVER be malfunctioning, no matter what. A half-implemented beta/update, some random issue, NOTHING. NOTHING should make these functions unable to be used or any sort of hassle to use! This shouldn’t be happening, and shouldn’t be allowed to happen! It honestly makes the staff look incompetent when these simple things aren’t developed to a point where they don’t break. At the very least, they should not break as often as they do. And speaking of basic functions breaking, don’t even get me started on how often tags break and malfunction. That’s been an issue forever, and a highly reported and complained about one at that. And yet here the staff are, once again changing the whole appearance of Tumblr instead of working on more pressing issues; thus once again making its userbase feel unheard or ignored.

And as if those basic functions breaking aren’t enough, there’s YET ANOTHER ONE that (at least for me) keeps breaking! THE DASHBOARD ITSELF.

Anywhere between 2 seconds and a few minutes, if I scroll any longer than that, this happens to my dash, and nothing will load. And if I try to scroll back up for it to load, the things that HAD loaded are no longer loaded OR the dash just straight up disappears and all I see is the dash’s blue background. At that point I can’t even refresh my dashboard to fix it or click anything whatsoever. I have to close Tumblr and reopen it in a new tab. And most of the time, I can’t even do that, because this BREAKS MY ENTIRE BROWSER. 

MY ENTIRE BROWSER WILL STOP RESPONDING 1-3+ TIMES BEFORE I CAN DO ANYTHING AT ALL. Sometimes it will crash COMPLETELY. Not only that, but when Tumblr lags my entire browser and makes it stop responding, then EVERY OTHER APPLICATION ON MY LAPTOP will lag out or stop responding as well! My laptop is admittedly old, but even in its old age, it DIDN’T DO THIS BEFORE THE BETA WAS FORCED UPON ME. The beta is literally screwing with my WHOLE laptop because its issues start with the site, extend to my browser, then spread to anything else I have running at the time! While some of that is most likely my laptop’s age showing, again, it never did this before the beta started to mess with everything.

Being on Tumblr just... isn’t worth this much frustration. This needs to change. It needs to be taken off user’s accounts until it’s completed or (preferably to me) not implemented at all.

On top of all of these issues, I personally have been suffering another huge problem with this beta. My add-on Tumblr Savior will not work. I use Tumblr Savior to blacklist URLs of blogs I don’t want to interact with (and have blocked, but Tumblr’s blocking system is awful and doesn’t keep blocked blog’s posts off your dash or anything. Blocking a blog should COMPLETELY wipe the existence of a blog you block out of your sight EVERYWHERE. But that’s a whole other issue I won’t even get into... Again, a highly reported and complained about issue that the staff haven’t done anything about). I also use it to blacklist tags I don’t want to see, or a tag that people I follow use for their followers to blacklist a specific type of content. I use it to blacklist words and phrases so posts containing them don’t appear. I use them to blacklist triggers and things that make me uncomfortable. I know many users who also use this add-on to properly blacklist URLs, tags, words, phrases, and more to keep it off their dashboards. Many use this to blacklist triggers and sensitive material that Tumblr’s filtering systems do not properly take care of. This add-on not functioning with this beta could be harmfully affecting users. I personally cannot enjoy being on Tumblr without Tumblr Savior functioning to properly filter all that I need filtered.

This is every URL, tag, word, phrase, or otherwise that I have to blacklist to comfortably be active on Tumblr. NONE of those things are being properly blacklisted by Tumblr’s filtering system (especially blacklisting URLs to properly block a blog since Tumblr doesn’t) and are appearing on my dash and bothering me. Not only that, but Tumblr Savior ALSO does the following for me:

Since Tumblr Savior isn’t functioning, my radar, sponsored, suggested blogs, etc are all crowding my dash and also bothering me. Those checks mean they should be hidden. They are not hidden. I’ve had to unfollow some tags that I was following because they’d keep suggesting random annoying posts to me. 

I even restored defaults and reloaded all of my saved blacklists and settings. It didn’t work. I’m assuming its obviously not up to the staff to make Tumblr Savior work because it’s not theirs. But on the other hand, it was working fine until they forced the beta on me. The beta is what’s making it not work. The beta, between all the issues I’ve mentioned before, and making me unable to use Tumblr Savior to enjoy being on the site comfortably, is making it basically impossible for me to be on the site at all. I’ve mentioned all of this information in the three emails I sent and none of it was effectively acknowledged, let alone fixed.

And lastly:

I just... I really REALLY hate this. I hate it on mobile (but I tolerate it), and I REEEALLY hate it on desktop (I REALLY want it gone!!). Desktop and mobile don’t need to be similar!! Desktop is desktop and mobile is mobile, stop changing them to be the same constantly!! AT LEAST give users an option to turn this stupid number’s visibility off! I get tons of notifications from all my blogs, I get a TON (99+) on my main blog alone! I don’t want this here!! I don’t need to be notified I have notifications, I know! I don’t need to be pressured and pestered to look at them every frickin time I get one!! This is one of those changes that didn’t need to be added!

Instead of breaking everything on the site, and focusing on the appearance of Tumblr, here are just SOME of the suggestions/requests that TONS of users have mentioned in the past, all of which (to my knowledge) have been ignored or unseen by staff:

The ability to change what blog is your main blog.

FIXING THE TAGS, so posts ACTUALLY appear in them and none of the other issues happen.

When all posts containing a certain tag are deleted, the tag stops appearing in your tag history.

Fix the problem where posts with links in them don't show up in tags.

PROPER BLOCKING. If I block a blog, I don’t want to see it ANYWHERE. I don’t want to see it in tags I look at, I don’t want to see it reblogged onto my dash by people I follow. I want it completely GONE so I don’t have to blacklist URLs.

Sending asks from a side blog

THE F*CKING BOT PROBLEMS!!!

Add the different text fonts and colors available on mobile also available on desktop

When a blog is reported, DONT JUST GIVE THE OPTION TO BLOCK. They're being reported FOR A REASON.

When a blog is hidden from Google search results, you can no longer search for tags/posts on that blog's search bar. FIX THAT.

There's been a glitch lately where if you click a notification about a post to see said post, it says the post no longer exists/has been deleted when it hasn't.

Make it so when you block a blog on your main blog, it blocks that blog on all your sideblogs too.

When the OP is deleted, delete all reblogs of the post.

After I finished this post, TAG CRAWLER STOPPED WORKING. FIX THAT! Unbelievable.

There's plenty more ACTUALLY helpful things that could be changed or added, but these are the ones I see talked about the most. Anyone who reblogs this, please don't add more because it's not the point of this post, thanks.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’m emailing it to the support and hoping the staff actually read and do something about it. To any users reading this, reblogging to signal boost is much appreciated. Any additions backing up what I’ve said here are appreciated as well; especially if the staff take the time to look through the notes to see I really am not the only one who strongly dislikes this beta and is having far more issues with it than it’s worth.

[knjnvrland]

Prank Wars - ch. 3

> pairing | jungkook x reader

> word count | 3.2k

> genre | college!au, fluff, smut, angst

> warnings | swearing, alcohol consumption, sexual innuendos

> synopsis | College can be a stressful time in anyone’s life as it is, why don’t we throw a little prank war in the mix to make it harder?

> fic masterlist

> A/N | English is not my first language, I’m sorry for the eventual spelling mistake, please let me know if you find any!

Chapter 3 - Adding Wood

“Dude please, you have to help me” Taehyung was at Jungkook’s place way too early in the morning, already bothering the younger one.

“Just let it go” Jungkook rolled his eyes, grabbing himself some cereal and pouring it into the bowl on the table. Cereal first, milk later, whoever thinks otherwise is a psychopath.

“I can’t! Someone uploaded a picture of it to the school's twitter gossip page and now I can’t go anywhere without being called a fucking tampon!” The incident at the party happened over a week ago and people were still talking about it. For the first few days it was actually kind of funny and Taehyung played along, but after trying to get a girl’s number and getting a no from her because of it, he finally decided he needed to get his revenge. “Beside that, you were the actual target, don’t you want to do something about it?”

“Not really.” Jungkook answered with his mouth full. “It’s not like she actually got me, and I’m not into the idea of fueling the weird vendetta she has against me.”

“But if she tried once she probably will again!” Taehyung finally took a sit and stopped his pacing, trying to convince his friend using a different approach. “I know my sister, she won’t stop at that.” That was a lie, he knew you were not really one to hold grudges, and whatever it was that Jungkook did to you had him surprised just as much as anyone else at how you reacted, but he was saving that picture of you for so long now, just waiting for a justifiable chance to use it, and this was the perfect opportunity. 

Jungkook finished his cereal and started to grab his stuff to head to class, with Taehyung always behind him, blabbering about the stupid plan. It wasn’t even that big of a plan, really, just publishing an old photo of you on that same twitter page, the old 'an eye for an eye' thing. He was only bothering Jungkook so much because Jungkook actually knew who ran the account, and had kept it a secret from everyone else. “Fine! Okay, whatever, just send me the stupid pic and I’ll make sure it’s up by tonight.” He gave up. In the year he knew Tae, it was obvious the bleached hair boy was not keen on giving up, specially on a dumb idea.

“Thanks! But wait until we’re all together tonight, I can’t wait to see her face.” Taehyung hugged Jungkook from behind, receiving a shove from the other boy’s elbow, and followed him outside.

You were all at Jin’s apartment that night, it was game night and your older brother was trying to establish some sort of new tradition. Hoseok was just finishing his over complicated explanation on the rules for War when you got the notification. It’s not like you used social media that much, but the appeal of the twitter account grew on you ever since the accident and checking the new comments under your brother’s picture became part of your morning routine and made your days begin at least 5% happier because of it. Even if he wasn’t the real target, that shit was amazing and a few of your classmates even stopped you to comment on it, the embarrassment of it all washed away quickly.

And that’s why you were left absolute speechless being betrayed like that by same website that made your week great. You must’ve been about fifteen when that picture was taken. You were going through some sort of late horse phase and had been taking horseback riding classes all summer, and on the last day of it there was a competition where you placed second. In the picture you were at the podium, still wearing your helmet with hair wet from sweat sticking in odd directions. You had a pink shirt that read 'I love horses’ on it and matching pink boots. Your smile was wide and your braces were on full display while you held your silver medal. The picture was cropped, of course, seeing as Tae wasn’t on it and you remember clearly that he took those classes with you and was standing right beside you when your mom took the photo. You looked like such a child, no boobs, no hips, ridiculous choice of clothes. You took your time growing up, being the baby of the family, and now looking back you could totally understand why your only friends were your brothers. You loathed that picture ever since, and was sure that you had destroyed all evidence it ever existed, but apparently someone saved a copy. Your train of thoughts was interrupted by a laughing Jimin sitting across from you.

“Oh my god y/n” he had tears in his eyes already, and the commotion made Alice scoot closer to peep at his phone and see what was so funny anyway.

At that everyone took out their phones to check what the fuss was about, and a big laughter erupted all around you. Your eyes laid on Jungkook, the only one laughing that did not have his phone out as well. “Why are you laughing?” You tried to ignore the multiple questions your other friends were throwing at you.

“I bet he’s the one that posted it” Yoongi stated and everyone could see the minute you started to shoot daggers through your eyes.

“How did you even get that?” Namjoon had his phone out and was sharing the screen with Hoseok, but only the dancer was paying attention, taking a screenshot of the page. “A few years back she purged that photo from existence”.

“Or so she thought” Taehyung had this side smile on his face and it took everything in you to not slap it off.

“It's not that bad honey” Alice, who was sitting beside you, squeezed your shoulder “It’s a childhood pic, we only know it’s you because we’re close, no one else will recognize you” You were still speechless taking your friend’s phone from her hand and pointing at the description with the photo. ‘Local drink thrower used to be a horse girl, let’s hope she doesn’t use a horseshoe next time’ and then, as if it wasn’t obvious already, they had tagged your account.

“They left out the best of it” Jungkook blurted out, and everyone’s attention went back to him.

“So it was you” Your voice was barely audible.

“It was Taehyung, actually, I just helped” he shrugged “and it could be worse, I sent it telling them you were a teenager when it was taken, not a kid”. Tae bursted out laughing again, followed by Jimin.

“At least it’s a glow up, y/n” your pink haired friend stated “you're hot now, it gives people hope”. 

“Hey, that’s my sister” Jin warned.

“And she. is. hot.” Jimin insisted, earning himself a slap in the back of the head from the eldest of the group, but winking at you anyway.

You could appreciate what he was trying to do, as well as Alice, who still had her hand on your shoulder. You had heard stories of similar things they posted about each other last year, so no one was really bothered with Jungkook’s and Taehyung’s actions, but it still made you uneasy. You were still new in college and already so many things were being spread about you. The fact that everyone knew your friend group didn’t help, and you hoped you could survive the rest of the school year, at least. 

Everyone’s attention went back to the game they never began, but Jungkook’s eyes were set on you. He felt a bit sorry, of course, but you seemed to take it okay as you grabbed a card to read your goal on the game, not bothering to say anything to him. Seeing you at the party he expected a bit of a bigger outburst, and when you barely reacted he worried he crossed a line with the stupid prank, but then, just as you finished your turn and everyone’s focus was now on Namjoon, you looked straight at him and mouthed “I'm gonna kill you”. He didn’t quite know what he got himself into, but he knew he was in for a ride.

A month had gone by and Halloween was approaching fast. Between classes getting harder, school work starting to pile up, and a few overnights already at the library, you had spent way too much time thinking of a way to get back as Jungkook, but was not really successful. That is, until you overheard Hoseok and Namjoon talking while the three of you were having lunch together.

“Wait, backtrack, what halloween party?” You interrupted the boys conversation.

“It’s at Delta Sigma’s again” Namjoon clarified “but it’s dumb ‘cause it’s not even a dress up party, they’re just using halloween as an excuse to get drunk again.”

“And what’s the problem with that?" Hobi stole one of Joon's french fries, having finished his. "We could all use a bit of fun before things get chaotic with university work.”

“The problem is” Namjoon stole it back and ate it “it's not a halloween party if we’re not dressing up.”

“Of course it is, if it’s on Halloween’s night-" before Hoseok could continue, and you knew the two of them could go on like that for hours -you’ve seen it happening-, you took your chance.

“Okay I’m sorry to interrupt but I need your help with something” you smiled big, the kind of smile that told them nothing good was coming their way, the kind that had your friends terrified of you, the kind that they could not say no to.

You ended up getting everyone on board with it, they all still felt a little bit bad about the photo prank, and once you convinced Alice -who never wanted to do anything bad or, as Yoongi would say, fun- it was pretty easy getting the rest of them. You faked conversations for days on the group chat, and you were surprised at how everyone was able to keep a secret for so long, but finally the day was here.

It was hard thinking of an excuse as to why Yoongi could’t be Jungkook’s ride to the party, but after a bit of bribing, Taehyung offered to take him before he could ask the older one. He still owned you, anyway, and he should be glad he was not the target of this prank as well. That being settled, you all made the effort of getting to the party when it was actually supposed to start.

“What’s taking him so long?” You asked out loud, not to anyone in specific.

“Have you tried texting your brother?” Yoongi was beside you and heard it. He wasn’t one to talk much when he was still sober, so the two of you normally sticked around each other, specially when Alice was as hyper as she was now, taking advantage of the fact that you got here early when there was still good alcohol around, and drinking as much of it as she could with Jimin.

“Dude, is it always like this when we get to places on time?” Said drunk boy threw his arm around Yoongi.

“You would know if you tried every once in a while” he moved away from the embrace, and Jimin took the cue and hung himself around you instead.

“Nah, only y/n could make me do this” you smiled thankfully at him, and was distracted for a moment when some sort of commotion took place at the room near you, where the front door was located.

You untangled yourself from Jimin and marched there without a second thought, and you had just spotted Taehyung leaning over a wall when someone screamed “Who hired the clown?”. And there was Jungkook, still midway at the entrance door, dressed head to toe as a circus clown. Laughter erupted everywhere around the room and you could even recognize Jin’s loud one somewhere behind you, but you were too focused at the boy staring straight into your soul. Jungkook had locked eyes with you and you took your sweet time smiling victoriously back at him. No words needed to be said for him to know that it was all your doing. Some guy from the fraternity came towards him and patted him on the back, and Jungkook responded by laughing along and making his way inside. You knew he was embarrassed by how red his ears were, and by the thumbs up your brother sent you from across the room, but he was a good sport and played along with it, taking pictures, getting in character and smiling along with the jokes. You were a little annoyed at how well he was handling it, but you already knew he was just that type of person and honestly, you could even appreciate him a little bit for it. You got cold feet a couple hours ago, when you were getting ready, and even tried to call it off, but Alice, of all people, stopped you. You would have felt horrible if he actually was hurt by the prank and the pictures that would go around after tonight were enough to satisfy you as far as revenges went, you didn’t need the boy feeling bad as well. Jimin snuck back beside you and pulled you in a commemorative embrace, and you followed him to the dance floor. Your mission here was done, now it was time to have fun.

And you tried to, but your plan backfired a bit when every now and then a girl would approach your friend group and ask for Jungkook’s number. But apparently that was a normal thing for him at parties, as Jimin had pieces of paper already with Jungkook’s number written on them shoved into his pockets.

“He wrote his number a bunch of times and distributed amongst us once last year, but I still menage to find pieces of paper with it in every pocket of every pair of pants I own” Jimin took a bunch out, to prove his point.

“How are you even friends with him?” You couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“What can we do? He’s a crackhead, but he’s our crackhead” he handed you a few pieces of paper and you threw them up like they were confetti.

For the rest of the night you’d have to stop whatever you were doing so Jimin could hand someone Jungkook’s number, but it didn’t matter because at the end of the day, he would still be known by all those girls as the boy who showed up dressed as a clown, and that was good enough for you.

After the party things quieted down for a bit, as everyone’s work load got heavier. The pictures of Jungkook as a clown still made a few rounds and became a meme amongst your friends, being sent as an answer to basically everything. He pretended to be annoyed at first but couldn’t really keep up with everyone and just gave up, you won. It was already mid November and Jungkook was not really thinking of a way to get back at you. He was a little afraid to keep adding wood to that fire, but his pride was a little bit hurt. And then, the perfect opportunity was handed to him on a silver tray.

There were a few of you at the boy’s place. Jungkook and Taehyung were playing videogames, while Alice, Hoseok and you were at the kitchen cooking dinner. It was a chill and uneventful Wednesday night, and you gathered just because no one had anything better to do. You were just  telling your friends on the new updates you got on the guy you were currently crushing on.

After Jungkook’s prank, you ended up getting drunk with Jimin and Alice and bumped into the same guy you met at the previous party you went at Delta Sigma, he was still bright eyed and handsome, but now he also had a name: Ray. Even his name was cool. You ended up dancing together and talking a bit, but never got around to exchanging phone numbers, so you haven’t seen him since. You had a vague memory of him mentioning his major was something related to engineerings, and one of your classmate’s girlfriend was a chemical engineering student, so you asked her to look around, but with no success, and that’s what you were updating your friends on.

“I could ask around to the guys, if he frequents their parties someone must know him" Hoseok said, occupying his hands with the peeling of a piece of string cheese.

“I don’t want to seem like a stalker, though” you stood up to check the oven, where you were waiting for the potatoes to be done “and maybe he’s not even interested, I told him I was in lit, he could have looked for me”.

“Maybe he just forgot babes, you were both pretty drunk” Alice pointed out.

“As if I was the only one” you teased back “but seriously, I don’t want you to go out of your way to find him, if it’s supposed to happen, it will”

“It’s up to you, you know I wouldn’t mind” Hobi finished his cheese and stood up to get another piece from the fridge “and besides, you’ve been so stressed out, a good lay could help” Alice glared at him and you scoffed.

“Hobi, not even the best sex of my life could ease the stress of trying to finish that damn Bukowski paper” You played along, as Jungkook approach the counter and reached for a piece of sliced tomato on the other side.

“Bukowski? I like his stuff” you rolled your eyes at him and went to get him another beer, knowing the reason he made himself present could only be that.

“Of course you would” you handed him the beverage and, while chewing, he signaled ‘two’ with his hands, letting you know Tae also wanted one.

He took it and went away for a second to deliver the drink, but came back to the same spot “what were you even talking about, anyway?”

“Y/n likes a boy -ouch” Hobi started to answer, and Alice kicked him under the table, but it was already too late, Jungkook’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

“So the ice queen has a heart, who’s the poor soul?” He was trying to get a reaction out of you and you knew it.

“None of your business” You took the potatoes out of the oven “and get out of my way before I throw this at you”

“You have terrible aim” at that, Taehyung joined Jungkook hovering over the counter “and look, Tae’s even here, I’m safe” you rolled your eyes and decided to not further the little back and forth. Hobi and Alice were already setting up the table and you urged the two younger ones to help and stop bothering you.

They listened, not really because of you but more so because of the other two around you sending them warning glares, and the evening continued nicely, with everyone even forgetting the conversation about the pretty boy. Well, not everyone.

> A/N | We're starting to get savage here. Have a nice day, wherever and whoever you are :)

TAGLIST  @w1tchcraftt

TAGLIST IS OPEN!

[hyba]

T A G : Heads Up, Seven Up!

I got tagged for this new game (new for me, anyhow!) by the lovely @zmlorenz! Thank you very much! 😄

Rules of the Game: Post the last seven sentences of the last WIP you’ve worked on and tag seven more people to keep the challenge going.

Alrighty, so I’m not entirely sure which scene in particular I worked on last, since I jump around a lot, so I hope it’s okay that I’m sharing any random (approximately) 7 sentences from my WIP 😅

This is for The Pirates of Sissa and it features a scene where Vadra and Sahra are once again... what would you call it? Arguing? Discussing? Bantering? Something along those lines, I suppose 😅

“Well, I’m locked up and being tortured slowly, so really it’s not that different from the last prison I was in,” she said dryly. “They want to make sure you won’t run, now that you've accepted the offer,” he said. “That’s why you’re locked up. As for torture… Well, I suppose your people don’t really find merits in education.” “Oh, we find merits,” she said. “But it’s difficult to make children focus on learning anything when their stomachs are constantly grumbling. It tends to put a damper on the whole experience.”

I decided to remove a few sentences from the original scene because they had spoilers, so if it seems a bit strange in flow or dry, that’s probably why. Also, that makes it a nice 7-8 sentences, which is perfect for this tag game!

These two are such an interesting pair to write, with such a fascinating dynamic, so I’m just really enjoying putting them in different situations and making them have to face their prejudices and learn from each other.

Alrighty, peeps, I’m going to tag the last 7 writeblrs in my notifications, since 7 seems to be the magic number here! 😄 No pressure to do it, though! If you do, I hope you enjoy 😊

@contes-de-rheio​, @kaatiba​, @duttablog​, @clypso​, @ren-c-leyn​, @letswritestories101​, @nonsemsical​

[banditthewriter]

Whatever It Takes - 11 - Billy Russo

Here you go. Let me know what you think.

Tags are at the bottom. Let me know if you would like to be added to one of my tag lists! Enjoy!

*****

The client wasn’t happy with anything you had provided. At some point you had muted the call so that you could growl your frustration without them hearing it. It’d been one helluva morning.

It’d been a helluva few weeks.

The whole thing with Billy and Frank had been too much for you to handle. At least that’s what you told Karen when she asked why you’d left the hospital the morning Billy woke up. You didn’t know if he ever told them the truth, that he had told you to leave, but you doubted it.

You were glad that he was okay. You wanted him to get better, to continue to heal, but apparently you couldn’t be around for that.

You oscillated between anger and sadness.

Some days you were so pissed that he reacted like that after he had made such a big deal about not wanting you to hate him and wanting to stay friends. How dare he yell at you and make you leave when all you wanted to do was see that he was okay? You cared for him; that’s what caused the whole problem. You cared for him, loved him, but you weren’t allowed to see that he was okay?

Other days you felt nothing but sorrow. Sorrow that you couldn’t be there for him while he got better, sorrow that you weren’t there for him before he was hurt, sorrow that your friendship was in tatters with nothing you could do to fix it.

What could you do about it?

So you lied. You told Karen that you couldn’t handle things with Billy and Frank. You asked her to tell you if anything happened, but that you needed space.

Space. It was laughable.

You listened to the client complain that you were ruining everything before they ended the call with a huff.

“Join the club,” you mumbled as you turned off the speaker phone.

An email had been sitting unread in your inbox for days. With a few moments of peace and a curiosity you couldn’t ignore anymore, you clicked it open.

Y/N,

I was so sorry to hear about you and Billy. I’m sure the two of you can work it out. You both looked so happy together. I promise you that you’re meant to be. Don’t let some distance get you down. And I know he’s hurting right now after the accident at Anvil, but give him time. A man like that knows better than to let go of a woman like you. If there’s anything either of you need, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Yours truly,

Bart Keller

It surprised you when you’d seen his name but you didn’t expect that. He had been smitten with you at the gala; it was part of the reason you and Billy decided to do that fake dating nonsense. The whole ruse had been aimed at people like him, like Marcia, who would see the two of you together and that would somehow make your lives easier.

And now look at you. Marcia had told you to take some time from the charity because you couldn’t keep your mind off of Billy. Your clients weren’t happy with you and didn’t mind telling you as much. And you still couldn’t stop thinking about Billy.

You closed the email and reached over to grab your phone. You’d taken to keeping it on silent at work just to keep yourself from jumping every time a notification rang through. Deep down you knew it wouldn’t be Billy, but you couldn’t stop yourself from wanting it to be him.

There were a few pointless notifications that you cleared out. But there were a few texts from Karen that didn’t make any sense at first.

Orange is back

Frank has me packing

You need to answer me right now!!!

Orange?

Agent Orange!

With a gasp you hit her contact picture and lifted the phone to your ear. It rang through three times before she answered.

“Jesus Y/N, I thought you’d never call,” she exclaimed, out of breath. “I’m heading out to meet Frank right now. He’s getting me out of the city.”

“What’s going on?”

You stood up to gather your stuff. You typed up a quick email to your coworkers to say you’d work from home before you shut everything down to leave.

“Apparently Agent Orange is back in the picture. He left some threatening messages for the guys so Frank is getting me out of the city.”

She’d already said that. You waved at a coworker as you slipped into the elevator.

“How much danger are you in?”

She sighed, followed by a few swears as someone cut her off in traffic.

“Asshole drivers,” she muttered. “I don’t know, honestly. Frank doesn’t want me to stick around to find out.”

“That makes sense,” you said as you slipped through the lobby and out onto the street. “God Karen, this is insane. You’ll keep in touch, right? I don’t want to have to be worried about you too.”

There was silence on the other line except for the ambient sound of her driving. You turned onto the sidewalk and looked around for a cab. The longer the silence went on, the more uncomfortable you became.

“Karen? What is it?”

You heard her sigh once more.

“Frank thinks you should leave too.”

That surprised you.

“Me?” you exclaimed as you flagged down a cab that turned onto the street. “Why would I have to leave?”

“There’s a chance that Agent Orange might know about you and Billy.”

You slid into the backseat and gave your address to the driver. Then you turned your attention back to the conversation at hand.

“There was never really a ‘me and Billy’, you know that. It was a fake relationship.”

“I know that, but Agent Orange probably doesn’t. Frank thinks you should leave and I think so too. Neither of us think that Billy’s little gambit will work.”

That drew you up short.

“What little gambit?”

She cleared her throat, a nervous habit you knew meant she was hiding something. At your urging, she groaned.

“He told us what happened in the hospital. He did it because he figured if he pushed you away, you’d be less of a target for Agent Orange. Frank told him he was an idiot. I did too.” When you didn’t say anything, she urged, “Y/N? You still there?”

Your teeth ground together painfully. That asshole.

“Yeah Karen. Listen, keep me updated okay? I’m almost home.”

With a quick promise that she would call you as soon as she could, you hung up with Karen. Then you leaned forward and knocked on the glass that separated you from the driver.

“Change of plans. I have a different address for you.”

As you gave him Billy’s address, you leaned back and crossed your arms. You were going to give him a piece of your mind.

------

The last time you had been at Billy’s apartment had been when you had stupidly told him about your feelings for him. Between that and your quick escape, you never thought you’d come back. With the way things had been going lately, you weren’t sure that the two of you would ever get back to being friends.

You got into the elevator and rode it all the way to the top floor. You tapped your foot the whole way up, your eyebrows drawn together as you tried to figure out what you wanted to say to him.

What if he wasn’t even home? Crap.

When the elevator stopped, you marched out and to his door. After a moment of hesitation, you knocked hard on the door.

No answer. You raised your hand to knock again when you heard a the creak from the small door that covered the peep hole.

“Open up Billy,” you said as you banged on the door with your open palm.

“The fuck,” you heard him mumble as you listened to the locks being turned.

The door pulled open just enough for him to reach out and yank you inside. You shoved away from him and dropped your bag on the table near the door. Then you whirled around to face him, anger welling up in your chest once more.

That anger went quiet at the sight of him. You hadn’t seen him since the hospital and you’d almost forgotten the accident. His face was a pattern of scars, stitches black and sticking out from his raw, angry red cuts. His eyes narrowed at you as you stared and he turned away from you to lock the door.

That’s when you saw the gun stuck in the waistband of his jeans. That brought the anger roaring back to life.

“Is it true that you threw me out of your hospital room to push me away? So that Agent Orange—which is a horrible codename, by the way—wouldn’t target me?”

His eyes widened in surprise when he spun around to face you. Then you watched as realization came over him.

“Page needs to learn to shut her mouth,” he grumbled as he moved past you and into the living room.

You stomped after him, briefly noting that all of his windows had something covering them. Seemed he was preparing for the end of the world.

Or he was a sniper that knew how snipers worked.

“Did you?”

He sat down on the edge of his sofa and shrugged his shoulder. You hesitated for a moment before you moved to join him.

It was reminiscent of the last time you were here. Hopefully he wasn’t thinking that as well.

Although there was an almost haunted look in his eyes that told you he might be. Or maybe it was something else.

“It was the only way I could think to keep you safe.”

He said it and then immediately looked away, his eyes going to his door. You bit your lip for a moment at the sincerity in his words. But then you straightened your spine.

“Frank is getting Karen out of the city. That didn’t cross your mind before you were yelling at me and scaring your nurses?”

He turned and gave you an exasperated look.

“You asked me for space. What was I supposed to say, huh? That because of our fucked up fake relationship, a man that has the strength of goddamn kill squads at his beck and call and more money than you could imagine might come after you just to make me and Frank pay for not wanting to be murderers anymore? And then ask you to join me out of the city because I have to keep you safe even though you can’t stand to be around me?”

You weren’t sure which part to address first.

There was a desperation in his voice when he said that he had to keep you safe. It was there before, outside of the bar, when he had said he didn’t want to hurt you. Like it was the only thing that mattered in that moment.

And it wasn’t that you couldn’t stand to be around him. Honestly you wanted to be around him constantly. The hard part was the fact that you still hadn’t gotten around to getting over him.

But the part that finally drew you up short was something else he said.

“Join you out of the city?” His already wide eyes seemed to grow wider so you jumped at it. “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me, would you? You would have left with Frank and Karen, to regroup and figure out your next steps. You only stayed because of me.”

Because he had pushed you away and had made it so that you weren’t protected.

That gave you another thought.

“Karen said that Agent Orange left both Frank and you threatening messages,” you said as you stared at him, looking for any tell that you were right about your next guess. “He threatened me, didn’t he?”

A flash of guilt came up on Billy’s face and you nearly shot off of the couch. He noticed your immediate unease and reached out to grasp your face in his hands, urging you forward just a few inches.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, okay? I’ve been having you followed and protected. I won’t let him hurt you.”

It felt as if someone had scooped out all of your energy. You felt drained and uncertain. He released your face and let his hands hover for a moment before they returned to his lap.

Your head was swimming. This was too much.

“I wanna go home,” you said quietly, unable to actually convince yourself to stand.

Billy nodded and stood up. He looked around for a moment before he turned to meet your eyes.

“I’ll drive you.”

You wanted to tell him that wasn’t necessary but apparently that wasn’t true. Instead you stood up and gave him a small nod.

It was all too much for the moment.

X

Let me know if you want to be added to my Permanent Tag List @hermioneshandbag @onebatch--twobatch @smiley-celine @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @starless-skyox @youveseen--thebutcher @citation-is-here @mightymelly @realduckvader @1550kilogramsofsilver @hxbbit @rockintensse @missphanosaur18 @thepuffyeyedpuff @the-three-eyed-ravenclaw @yessy2012 @gingerstarlight @siriusement @marauderskeeper @xinyourdreamsx @wickidlady @sassygirl25 @maraudereestauderelb @rainyboul @cutie-bug @random-quartz @holamor @lea----b @heyitslexy @detectivebourbon @coffeenmoscato @presstocontinue @elisemockingbird @assbuttwithwings @geeksareunique @siriuslovesmarlene @witch-of-letters @delicatelilyflower @l-l-c-m-w-b @whovianayesha @hiddenprincess @yannii04 @jeanettexkillian @brighteststarinthesky @kilyra @gallxntdean @sweetvengeancee @lady1505 @thedarklightwithinus @ateliefloresdaprimavera @siriuslyimmoony @elodieyung @fudgeflyss @madamrogers @thatwrestlingfan91 @teranya @sophiabulbu69 @delusionsofnostalgia @effielumiere @mamaraptor @hot-and-spiceyyy @i-padfootblack-things @aya-fay @fcavalerro @sithskywalkers @raquelbc2003 @iwishyoucouldbekissed @lostinthoughts23 @tamanamohain @newtstarmander @suchatinyinfinity @blushingskywalker @queencocoakimmie @funerals-with-cake @love-dria @arrowswithwifi @swiftyhowlz @cheyfleur @dark-night-sky-99 @margot-black @celestegolden @king4thesirens @beautifuldesastre @ashkuuuu @luminex3 @nerdypinupcrystal @iblogabout-stuff  @curlyhairedblueeyedangel @myplaceofheavenorhell @cafeconsoya @nea90sweetie @traeumerinwitzhelden @kryyta @russosprettydiamondnow @dorkybryan @mahalobro @yesixoxo

Let me know if you want to be added to my Billy Russo Tag List @something-tofightfor @piink-magnolias @hoodedhavok @aylinnmaslow @musingsofbanana @bluebird214 @rileyblues @nerrdstark @that-bwitch @ethereal-heavcns @queenisabella789 @colddecember-night @j-finco @arthoeaesthetixbs​ @tomhiddlestonsbeard @mischiefs-never-managed @romanceyour-ego @evyiione @drinix @sweetheart-im-the-boss @thebabblingbook @katieswinforddiaries @benbarnesfanforever @releasethekracko @itsjustmylifeconfessions @nostalgic-uncertainty @aveatquevale- @clarasworldofwonders @ladyblablabla​ @thehanneloner @hellostarposts @girlwhoisfearless @maria-beretta @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo @marcelskittel @fictionwillneverdie @avipshamitra @hysteriadarling @living-on-rice @hello-la-v-en-rose @tiredofthisgeneration @marveliskindacool @giggleberts @stateofloveandvedder @encounterthepast @ironstank @spettrocoli @xserenax-13 @sleepwalkingelite @dreamingofonceuponatime @supernaturalcat7 @rosebunnie @damagelove @petersunderoos96 @dylanobrusso @littlemermaidprobz @agent-scully-182 @editboutique @audreychaz @songforhema @tngrayson @ilikebeachessushiandsmallanimals @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes​ @ania2603 @screwmesiriusblack @figlia--della--luna @balladblood @cloudywithachanceofcupcakes-blog @jessicahh @flightoftheflightrisk @slamharder @roschele | @rhabakoli @lexxierave @shadowhunterscloset @stories-you-wont-hear @benbarnesfrustration @weasleyisourjedi @flowers-in-your-hayr @pancakefancake

[arrowdeirdre]

12/12/12 Tag Game

Rules: Answer 12 questions with a character, then make up 12 questions and tag 12 peeps. And also having fun. :) I was tagged by @theravenjedi​. Thank you! You’ve been filling up my notifications these last few days and it made my day to log in and see them. 

I’m going to do this for my nerd Solon Charney from my untitled fantasy series. He hasn’t been getting my attention lately and he deserves better. He also rambles a lot so don’t mind the length  “:D 

Questions:

1. What’s your favorite band/musician? Why?

Music isn’t as accessible in my life compared to the average person. However, there is a special band that always plays during banquets and ceremonies. My sister, Chrya, was one of their dancers so I may be biased, but I would call them my favourite. I believe in your world’s terms, it would be considered classical music. 

2. How do you remember your school years? Are those happy memories?

My years of studies were marvelous! Even though many of them were spent alone with my tutor and Zaara instead of with the other children, I enjoyed myself. I recall once how Zaara tried to sneak some ice cream that she “borrowed” from the kitchen when they were trying to prepare for one of the huge ceremony banquets. We would try to hide the sweet under the table from our tutor and sample it when he turned his back. It unfortunately melted and gave us away. Instead of getting mad, the tutor insisted that Zaara returned to the kitchen to bring him some as well and we all enjoyed the sweet.  

3. Are you creative? How?

Creativity is my sister’s realm of ability. The extent of my creativity is in problem solving but I lack any art-related skills. 

4. If you had one wish, what would it be? And what would you be willing to sacrifice for it?

My one desire is to maintain order between the different political branches of our world. It is my job. I would sacrifice anything but the lives of my people to keep everything as it should be.  

5. According to you, what’s your biggest weakness?

Curiosity is both my blessing and curse. It drives me to learn more about everything but I can easily become distracted or too involved with a project to see the entire picture of what is occurring. I occasionally will just dive into a new topic without advanced research, which can be dangerous without the proper precautions. 

6. What’s your insight on love? Does it exist? Is one sight enough, or do you have to know and understand someone to truly love them?

It exists. I’ve seen it among my friends. And... perhaps I’ve experienced it once myself and I swear to Nox that was a mere passing moment and it no longer lingers and does not ever influence the crucial decisions I am required to make on a daily basis....

(Chrya: Mhm sure) 

Anyways, yes, you must truly know a person before you can love them. Otherwise you just fall for your idea that you’ve imprinted on that person and it isn’t the same. 

7. Do you care for politics?

I must. Understanding their inner workings and processes is part of my duty. 

8. What would you be doing on your ideal day?

I would be in my study with my friends. Even though they would argue unceasingly now, it would be just like when we were younger. 

9. Are you a thinker? Are you curious about how things work?

To a fault. Everything is complexly fascinating. 

10. What’s your style of clothing? Is there any story behind it?

Considering my position, I supposed my clothing is rather dull. A simple button shirt with trousers does me well when I’m just in my study. I do try to wear my mantle when I attend to my duties even though it gets awfully warm in the Branch chambers.  

11. Your opinion about alcohol? Do you drink regularly, socially, not at all?

Alcohol is considered a sacred ceremonial beverage in our world. I have no qualms about the drink as long as it is used properly. There have been a few instances where it has not been and in those cases, I care not for the drink’s effects. I’ve only partaken in alcohol for a ceremony and was not fond of the taste.  

12. Your opinions about higher powers and the supernatural?

There is far too much that has happened to me and my friends for higher powers to not exist. There are forces in play that even I can’t comprehend. As for the supernatural, I’ve seen them for myself and I don’t care to do so again. 

My Questions: 

1. Is there an item your character never leaves home without? What is it and why? 

2. Favourite color? 

3. Who is the person you’re closest to and what are they like? 

4. What do you like to do for fun when you’re not saving/destroying the world? 

5. What is your greatest fear? 

6. What’s the worst injury you’ve had? 

7. What is the first historical event that you can remember?

8. Have you ever been arrested/in serious trouble? What happened? 

9. What is your strongest pet-peeve? 

10. What do you think is the meaning of life? 

11. When was the happiest moment in your life? 

12. Cats or dogs?  Tags:

@bleakyleftoutside @lemonpiperpie @thewritingcaptain (*insert 9 other writers here*) 

[smelly-cassettes]

take the risk - Chapter 2

Archie Sutton wants to be a professional surfer. Gorillaz is a garage band that plays on the beach. Archie’s infatuation with one of the members makes everything so much better. But will a little rock in the ocean halt him from achieving his dreams?

Here’s chapter 1 if you missed it

Au by @putinsstepdad

Tagging @uncamurdy2 because it’s starchie

Read it on ao3 here

6k works/over 10k in total so far

There’s a song for every chapter

Thank you so much for the support<3333

(If you see any weird things like “<em>” it’s just formatting stuff. This is pasted from my ao3)

some then a cut

~

"‘Surfs up?’ That’s literally the worst name I’ve ever heard for a competition. Actually, no. Scratch that. That’s the worst thing I’ve heard for any kind of title. It’s like they ripped off seventies hippie slang and was like ‘Perfect. This is what we’re naming our competition. Not cliche at all.’”

“I never thought someone who doesn’t even surf was so passionate about surfing competitions.”

Lindsay rolled her eyes. “I’m not actually worried ‘bout it. I just think it’s a stupid name.” Archie laughed at her comments and mumbled out his agreement.

Surfs Up really was a stupid name for a surfing competition yet it’s the best one to go to if you want to make it as a surfer professionally. It was Archie’s one chance in becoming an actual professional surfer to the point where he could make money and leave the beach he was at to chase his dream. It sounds all very one-pathic and like a sugar coated goal but this was real stuff. Winning Surfs Up immediately gives you a spot in nationals which in itself has a dozen perks. Even if you don’t win you get featured in enough magazines to boost your title. Not to mention that the competition was only a few short months away.

Maybe morally speaking, your title isn’t everything. Surf speaking, your title is your career. It’s a job being an influencer like any other where being higher up in the media scale meant your talent is good enough to be seen by everyone, no matter your interest (or disinterest). Archie didn’t really care whether or not he was social media famous--though that is nice to think about--he just wanted to make it to the big leagues to compete. Competitions are fun for Archie, but he also longs for that sense of work; for that one thing that’ll drive him every day to be better than he is now.

“Stupid name or not, I gotta win.” Archie grinned and bit the inside of his cheek. He was playing with the grooves in between the long, thin pieces of wood that put together the top part of the picnic table he and Lindsay were sitting at. It was hot today. Very hot, and being on the beach today made it way hotter next to the steaming sand, but it was nice in the shade beneath the umbrella that stood up from the middle of the picnic table.

There were lots of people out on the beach this morning, mostly just families of mothers and fathers with their kids enjoying the sun and swimming the afternoon away. Besides that, it was actually pretty quiet. The ocean made sounds against the sand on the shore, waves crashing on top of itself, seagulls doing their usual chirps. It was always quieter on the strip where he and Linsday sat before their afternoon shifts, the strip was busy in the evening where tourists bought their souvenirs and the families from the beach came to grab dinner.

“Think you’ve got it this year?” Lindsay asks and Archie nods.

“Damn sure hope so. Told you, last year was just a test run.” Archie responds, focusing on the grooves in the wood more than he would normally. “I love this beach but...I can’t be here forever.”

The last part of that sentence made Archie’s throat swell up and almost hurt saying it. This beach to Archie was like his backyard, his van his home, and the restaurant his family. The concerts he’d go to at night and the years it took of memorizing the ocean in front of him, he didn’t want to leave it, but Archie was willing to give anything to be a professional.

What would probably suck the most out of that whole transition of switching beaches every week and travelling everywhere for work is that Archie would no longer be able to see the Gorillaz in their amazing beach concerts. It was one of the very few, what you may or may not call “social situations” that Archie would include himself in voluntarily. Not only that but Gorillaz was so fucking amazing. The beach concerts were the best, Gorillaz music echoing against the buildings on the strip and only about a hundred, maybe two, at the beach watching. Not many people advertised when or where their music was playing, the Gorillaz being huge examples of that, so there weren’t too many that showed up because nobody knew what band or at what time. Archie only knew because he worked on the beach and either he heard the music or somebody told him who was playing at the amphitheater down the strip.

“Yeah, I get it.” Lindsay responds with a warm look. “I don’t think you should be here forever either. No offense.” She grins and brushes her dark hair back over her shoulder with her hand.

“None taken.” The side of Archie’s lip curls into a smile but slowly transitions back to a more glum look while he picks up his phone that was faced down on the table and clicks the bottom button to turn on his screen. He bites his lip and stares at the pink and yellow There Is No Future album cover set as his current lockscreen and his face turns into disappointment at the lack of notification. He doesn’t really know exactly what he was expecting but checking his screen became a recent habit of his and it was getting on his nerves.

“Still nothing?” Lindsay asks. She knows about the whole Gorillaz ordeal. Lindsay knew a lot about Archie, actually. They’ve been working together for three years and he lives at the restaurant, how could she not?

“Hm?” Archie turns his attention up and sets his phone down. He didn’t even realize he wasn’t paying attention in the first place.

“That guy you met, he hasn’t answered?”

Archie was actually a little upset at the thought of Gorillaz for the past few days. He hasn’t received a single text since talking to 2D that one night at Seasides and it was beginning to get to him. It was more an anxious feeling than anything, like the silent regret of giving 2D his phone number in the first place. It was probably too forward and 2D was just being nice by taking it. Archie calmed these thoughts by telling himself that 2D was most likely busy, or there just wasn’t a show that they were doing. That last one was a little weird because Gorillaz typically performed once a week or two on the beach or in a local bar, but here Archie is about four weeks later and a little deprived of the great Gorillaz content he craves so much. The Gorillaz didn’t owe Archie anything, to be fair. Still, he wants to support them in any way possible.

Archie shook his head and shrugged one of his shoulders. “Yeah, no text yet.” Lindsay gave a somewhat cryptic look through her green eyes.

“That’s strange. Are you still going to their concert tonight?” She asks, taking Archie a little by surprise, he hasn’t heard a peep from the band in what feels like a decade.

“I didn’t know they were having a concert tonight.” Archie confessed honestly. This is how he found out a lot of the time, though. Mutuals talking upon each other until one brings it up and Archie plans the night around the one event. “But yeah, I wouldn’t miss it. Are you going too?” He asks and Lindsay shakes her head, her straight hair falling back in front of her shoulders and waving and whipping with her movements.

“Got class in the morning and we both work until close.” She speaks effortlessly. Lindsay was the same age as Archie, well, a year younger technically but same graduation class. She attended college while still living with her parents and is really close to graduating with her bachelors in general health and then she’s going into sports medicine. Archie looked up to her in a way, always working and gets things done no matter how hard. Given she still complains all the time but anyone would with her schedule.

Archie nods and observes his phone for a brief second but averts his eyes back up to Lindsay once he realizes. Lindsay notices and laughs at Archie.

“Just ask him out already, geez.” She chirps teasingly.

“I don’t have his number!” He exclaims back and Lindsay covers her mouth to muffle her giggles. “I mean if I did I still wouldn’t. I’m just waiting for a text.”

Just a text.

“Well you have fun with that.” Lindsay continues her childish giggles and stands from the picnic table to stretch. Archie takes this as his signal to also stand and grab his phone to check one last time but a thin dainty hand with short and chipped yellow nail polish covers his screen. “Just go to the concert, Arch. Reunite with your super hot band guy and then when you’re about to kiss, yell at him for not texting you back.” Archie chuckled sheepishly at Lindsay’s comment putting the weirdest image in his brain. Always the most charming speeches from her.

“Okay.” Archie breaths out with a shake of his head and Lindsay laughs again, hitting his arm with her palm lightly.

“Shift starts in an hour and I wanna run home for a few minutes.” She stretches again. Archie nods and gives her another okay and waves to send her off. He lifts his phone to click the button that was probably going to break today from turning his screen on so much.

Nothing. Archie sighs.

He shouldn’t let this one thing get him down, it was only a text message, how petty. Archie could still go to the concert tonight and see them, maybe talk to 2D if he gets the chance but no bets are being taken. Archie looks over away from the strip to the ocean. It was unbelievably blue and perfect out, given the families might leave with a few more sunburns than anyone would ask for, but still the perfect day. Archie breathed in the warm air and slowly exhaled it out. Maybe he’ll go out for a wave or two before his shift.

The day is extremely fast paced yet endlessly long and exhausting like all saturday’s at Seasides. Saturday’s were the days off, the weekend away, the day in the sun before going back to work or school the next monday. At least that’s kind of how it goes for most people, everyone that doesn’t work a beachside job like Archie. He can’t really complain with the number of good things he gets out of his job like minimal hours and being thirty feet away from his bed and not needing to work for any particular bills or anything, but working Saturday’s sucked because it was crowded and full of kids and sand and water--not that Archie can defend him complaint with that one either without being a hypocrite.

Point is that it’s been a long day and Archie can’t decide whether or not he wants to get up from his old boxy futon that feels like heaven right now or go to the Gorillaz concert that he only just found out about this morning with Lindsay. He lifts his phone and opens his messages to see a list of people he’s talked to over the past few months, dead end messages and nobody he really keeps up with besides maybe a “can you come into work asap please? Thank you.”

There were no new messages. Irritated at himself, he turned his phone completely off and sat up on the bed quick enough to have his hair fall in front of his face, the yellow-green becoming more apparent so close to his eye that he couldn’t focus on it entirely. He brushed it back with one of his hands and used the other to check the time on his wrist.

It was already almost ten thirty and most beach concerts only ran from ten to eleven, rarely longer because of beach rules to have everyone off by midnight. If Archie wanted to see the Gorillaz he’d have to go now even if he was only five minutes walking distance from the amphitheater, but first he’d have to get out of these greasy smelling clothes.

The stage was beautiful, like always. Black flooring on top of grey concrete that made up the entire bottom part of the theater, thick black tent-like fabric on top and directly next to it were all the stage lights that could shine any color on any band. Also along the lights were Archie’s favorite part, the fog machines. For some reason they just made everything so much cooler and exciting. All of this was set in the sand faced away from the ocean.  

The Gorillaz set was really good tonight, too. There were a couple of songs that he hadn’t heard before, which he’s assuming is the reason he hasn’t heard of any concerts recently either.

During the concert Archie watches 2D without even really thinking. He’d slowly look away to take in the view of something else like Noodle’s guitar or which part of the drum Russel is hitting, but his eyes would always move back to 2D like a magnet. 2D was in a very casual getup of jean shorts and a very ripped and worn plain grey t-shirt that was lazily tucked into the front of his shorts. Through some of the many rips in the shirt Archie could see 2D’s pale torso and he could only wonder how somebody could manage to stay that pale so close to the equator. On the off chances when 2D lifted his arms to get the crowd to cheer or sing with him, his shirt rode up and Archie could see a little more, but the harsh defined lines of his hip bones were about the tip of what exposed. His hair was sweaty and messy and bounced around his face while he moved about the stage and his black eyes looking around mysteriously. At one point Archie swears 2D is looking in his direction because he doesn’t blink or move for a few seconds and Archie can feel a weird tension crawling up his back, like it was signaling him to look away but he couldn’t.

2D’s singing was all the more exhilarating, stinging every inch of Archie’s skin and making his muscles vibrate with every movement that 2D made. Why Archie was memorizing all of these fine details? He didn’t know. Maybe it was just because he hasn’t seen a performance in a while. On one hand it freaked him out and made him question every thought in his head but on the other hand it was exuberance and he never wanted it to stop.

But what caught Archie’s eye the most was the fact that he’s never seen 2D out of jeans and a jacket. That in itself wasn’t surprising and sounds kind of silly worded like that, but it wasn’t because 2D was wearing shorts that caught him off guard, but everything around it. Archie could see pink and purple bruise-like scars that covered 2D’s shins and forearms. With them there was also divots in his skin here and there, similar to acne scars but instead of a lot of small ones he had a few big ones, the type of scars from chunks of flesh being taken away from the skin but they were very aged. 2D’s marks weren’t new enough to be actual bruises, they were scars for sure, and Archie knew exactly what they were from.

Their set was over before Archie even knew it--probably because he got there later than ever--and he was conflicted. Gorillaz exited the stage and people started shuffling off the beach almost hurriedly, people needing to get home to sleep before work in the morning and some just rushing to get warmer. That was a downside to the beach at night is that it’s like a desert, hotter than hell during light hours and freezing cold during dark hours. Archie internally debates on leaving with the crowd so he doesn’t look like the last one standing on the beach for no reason, but he also feels like he should talk to 2D. What Archie didn’t know for sure is that while he was tossing ideas around in his brain he was standing in that spot for longer than he thought and he didn’t budge until a voice broke him out of his tranced state.

“Are you ‘ere for the after party?” The voice questioned and made Archie nearly physically jump where he was. Archie turned to the voice and met with a face a lot closer to his than he was expecting and he jumped back scaredly. 2D laughed and his black eyes squinted from his raised cheeks. Archie’s face heated, embarrassed.

“A-after party?” Archie asked. He’s never been to an after party for Gorillaz before, how has he been missing out on these?

“It was jus’ a joke.” 2D’s laughter caught the end of his sentence and Archie felt even more embarrassed but before he could answer 2D placed his hand on Archie’s back, making his speech pause. “Come on, we’ve been waitin’ to see ya.”

Archie’s brows furrowed in thought, wondering how they’ve been waiting for him if they didn’t know Archie was going to be there in the first place. Or maybe they did know and he didn’t know, still never receiving any notice by text or anything of the sort. Strangely, that seems like more of the case here.

2D lead Archie to the back of the stage that contained the electric set for lighting and sound on for the stage. Russel was currently playing with it, flipping switches and turning knobs in ways that Archie would never understand or care to learn.

“Good?” Russel asked loudly, like he was shouting to someone else. A smaller voice shouted back from beside Archie.

“Good! Next!” The fainter voice sounded back. Bands were in charge of setting up and taking down their own equipment along with taking care of the sound and lights by themselves and it seems like they were all preparing their leave.

2D and Archie approached Russel and 2D’s hand left Archie’s back and returned to his side, a part of Archie wishing it hadn’t.

“Russ, this is, um…” 2D’s voice stopped midway trying to introduce Archie and comprehended the thought that he never learned Archie’s name.

“Archie.” He helped out and reached to shake Russel’s hand and Russel smiled fondly, holding Archie’s hand and shaking it briefly before returning to his work on the electric box. 2D gave Archie a stare visible enough to receive Archie’s attention but 2D looked away as soon as he made eye contact.

“Thanks for the help.” Grunted someone behind them, breaking the tension. “Don’t worry, we cleaned up ourselves no thanks to you.” Archie noticed this man as Murdoc, the bass for the Gorillaz.

“What, you need a hand carrying amps?” Russel chimed in, closing the electric box and standing up next to 2D. “I thought you were stronger than that, Muds.” He snickered and Murdoc’s face changed from anger and annoyance to a bit more egotistical.

“Yeah right, like I’m that weak.” Murdoc replied and Russel raised an eyebrow. They both knew exactly what Russel was doing and yet Murdoc was falling perfectly into it.

“So what did you need our help for?” He asked back and tied the knot. The insult finally setting into Murdoc’s face and the rest of the band laughed. The teasing was amusing to Archie, he was interested to see the types of relationships they all had with each other. As they were talking, the last band member approached, a young woman only standing to about five feet in skinny jeans and a leather jacket. This was Noodle.

“Murdoc, Noodle. This is Archie.” 2D said proudly now that he knew Archie’s name and Archie exchanged a smile with Noodle and well, he smiled at Murdoc but he didn’t really give anything back but he shook Archie’s hand politely enough to count as something.

“Introductions are nice and all,” Murdoc began. “But we gotta be off this sand in ten minutes and I don’t feel like interacting with beach security so if we could go before then, that’d be great.”

“Yeah me neither, we should go.” 2D answered and they all began shuffling towards a van. At this point Archie didn’t know whether to just go back to his van or not but once again, 2D interrupted his thoughts with, “Are you coming?”

“Okay so I’m just going to break the ice here and ask how you two know each other?” Noodle asks with a corona extra in her hand and sits in a folding chair at a small circular wooden dining table. They were hanging out in 2D’s garage, or moreso his parents garage--supposedly they weren't home--but surprisingly cozy with couches with so many signs and tools against the walls that Archie couldn’t exactly tell what color it was. Not high end or decked out with expensive items by any means, but a cool hang out spot.

Archie takes a seat next to Noodle and glances at 2D, wondering if he’s going to answer Noodle or if Archie should do it himself. 2D was preoccupied in the fridge looking at his whole two beer options to notice that Noodle asked a question. Archie chuckled at 2D’s befuddlement but turned his attention to Noodle.

“I work at Seasides.” He answers as Russel and Murdoc take seats on the opposite side of the table.

“The diner we booked last month?” Murdoc asked and popped open his beer. Archie nodded and explained the situation further. He left out most of it and left in just the part of them meeting and Archie being a fan of their music; he thought it might be better to leave out the whole waiting for a text thing.

“Why do you work there?” Russel asks out of curiosity and starts shuffling a deck of cards. 2D sits next to Archie after he finally made his decision on what beer to take.

“Money, why else?” Archie responds with a small laugh. He earns a small “that’s true” and continues. “I just need enough for food and surf competition entries. That’s the-”

“You surf?” 2D and Noodle ask in unison and Archie looks at them a bit confused.

“Yeah. Have been since I was little.” He answers.

“That’s so cool.” Noodle says back and picks up her hand of cards that Russ dealt out. 2D just stared at Archie which was both flattering and amusing.

“Wait...Sutton?” 2D asked and Archie felt a familiar feeling in his nerves. He was asked that exact phrase probably five times a day from little kids at work right before he was asked for an autograph or picture. To adults he was just another kid that liked surfing, but to the kids he was a celebrity. It was cute.

“Yeah, that’s me. Didn’t recognize from the hair?” He joked, his light green locks still flowing down unlike during competitions. It was the biggest reason he wasn’t easily recognizable outside of comps.

“That’s crazy.” 2D says, still baffled. “I’ve seen you at competitions before, you’re amazing.” The gushing by 2D made Archie’s insides twist and his face heat up. Archie smiled with a slightly nervous laugh.

“Ditto.” Archie answered and opened his beer, never looking away from 2D’s eyes. They stayed staring at each other while Archie opened, drank, and set down his beer, never breaking gaze and not stopping until they’re both smiling like complete weirdos.

“Must be why you’re a server, then, yeah?” Murdoc snarks and Noodle flicks the side of his head. Murdoc flinches and puts his hand over the place she flicked.

“Ow--hey! It was a joke, calm down.” He retaliated and Noodle contentedly smiles.

Archie was asked a lot of questions about himself. His job, where he lives, competitions he’s done before, etcetera. It was all just the basics of describing how he lived in a van and never left the beach unless he had to--which was still never. And Archie learned a lot about them, too. Noodle lives at home with her foster parents because she’s only seventeen and can’t really leave yet. Her biological parents are full Japanese but she has no idea who they are, only that she was put in foster care at eight years old and adopted quickly by a nice older couple. Noodle also graduated high school at sixteen and is supposedly the smartest book-wise out of the group.

Russ apparently suffers through living with poltergeists and other spirits that don’t leave him alone, plus he dropped out of school early senior year, but otherwise leads a pretty happy life with friends, music, and his full time job as a cook in a diner downtown. Murdoc graduated with bad grades because he started working at fourteen and never had time for anything else. He grew up with a verbally abusive family and he only dedicated time into guitar and work, moving out at seventeen and finding Russel through a roommate ad until he was eighteen and could sign a lease of his own but only moved a short two floors down in the same apartment building as Russel.

2D worked part time at a gas station and lived with his parents, which is actually their garage that they were seated at now, but he didn’t stay there often. 2D suffered from a list of traumas like a car crash that fractured his eyes and made them go mostly black, given the white or red spot that Archie never noticed from afar, and a shark attack when he was really young that gave him the many scars along his arms and legs.

“You get inna lot of trouble, don’t you?” Archie asked 2D when he heard the story and 2D laughed with a nod. 2D didn’t respond to him, Archie just memorized 2D’s smile. Slightly crooked teeth, one gold tooth on the bottom and a little discoloration on his to front teeth--cigarette marks. Blue hair, black eyes, thin lips. 2D glanced up and Archie looked away.

Russel and Murdoc are the ones that began the band in the year that they lived together. Russ already knew drums and ukulele meanwhile Murdoc knew bass and together they had some form of a band, but they needed another guitarist and a singer. Soon enough, after three weeks and a few different interviews, they had met Noodle. 2D was picked up after Murdoc found online videos of his singing and piano playing, finding out that this blue haired kid lived in the same city only a few miles away from them. Thus, Gorillaz was born and they began making music, only performing at local bars in their downtime until they could make a full career out of it. Yet they haven’t, but Russ said that they now have tickets and merch to some of their concerts so they bring in a little bit of money.

They’ve all been sitting in the garage for an hour now, playing round after round of rummy and telling endless stories to Archie about their jobs and concerts, like when equipment dies during a set or one time where 2D literally forgot the lyrics to a new song and had to stop midway and start a new song. They told Archie a lot of stories and he told a few back about surfing and working, but he didn’t have anything near as interesting as poltergeists or crazy car accidents.

It was the strangest feeling, too. Archie never once felt that night like they were idols or celebrities like a standard band member would, but why should he? They were all just young adults just like him that had jobs but also happened to be in a band--who made super good music, might he add. Archie kind of forgot about how he looked up to them in that one short hour and molded into the conversations like he would with anyone else. It was a rush, in a certain garage-full-of-tipsy-young-adults sense.

Archie took a liking to them all. Murdoc made weird jokes that nobody really laughed at, Noodle played hard and won almost every round, Russ was strategic and laid the most sets, meanwhile 2D stared blankly and confused and always discarded things he could actually play. Archie was convinced that 2D didn’t know how to play and it was amusing to everyone, but they all acted like he just got bad cards and cheered him on. It was baffling that he actually won a couple rounds. 2D still didn’t even notice until he realized he had no cards left and asked who took them.

“Beer run. Who wants another?” Noodle asks and stands. Everyone raises their hands besides Russel.

“I gotta drive you two back, don’t forget.” Russel added giving a look to Murdoc and Noodle. Noodle gave a thumbs up and proceeded her journey to the fridge.

“How you feelin’, Arch?” 2D asks with his face leaned against his hand. 2D stared at Archie lazily and lightly tapped Archie’s knee with his knuckle. Archie laughed at his lightweighted state.

“I’m feeling fine, how are you?” Archie asks back and bumps 2D’s knee like he just did. 2D smiles and giggles but doesn’t answer the question.

“Pet names already?” Murdoc teases. “Doesn’t that usually come after the date?”

“Who’s on a date now?” 2D squints at Murdoc. Archie was a little afraid to think what he thought Murdoc was implying.

Archie was gay, and he wasn’t really the most open about it. He never hid himself but it’s not something he told straight up unless he was asked and only to people he knew. Lindsay didn’t find out for at least a year working together, but she never freaked out or treated it like bigger than it is. Archie was just so used to being treated like he was the abnormal one in the group. It was part of the reason he dropped out of school so young, it was annoying being asked about your sexuality every day. Murdoc didn’t make Archie uncomfortable, only experiencing the weird feeling of treating his sexuality like it’s normal.

“Stop makings weird, Muds.” Noodle criticized and bumped the back of his head with his beer bottle before slamming it down in front of him. Murdoc flinched again and squinted at her while she passed around drinks.

“I’m gonna have a concussion by the end of the night because of you.” Murdoc spoke and Noodle opened her beer with a smirk.

“Good.”

“So,” 2D starts to veer off their topic while he shuffles cards for the next round. “What do your parents do, Archie?” It was almost like the question was on cue, interrupting the thoughts in Archie’s head. All the attention was on him now. He cleared his throat.

“Uhm, well, my father has always been into construction and electric services. Last I knew my mother was a sales rep but she changes jobs a lot, I don’t know what she’s doing now.” Archie explained. It was weird to call his parents by “mom” or “dad” in any context. He hasn’t called them that since he lived there. Long time ago.

“Last you knew?” Russ asks and Archie nods. He’s not sure if he should go in depth on his whole relationship or not. Archie chooses the latter.

“Well I uh, we haven’t talked in a little while. M’not sure what they’re up to.” Archie shrugs and opens his new beer.

“It’s nice to keep in touch while you’re still young.” Noodle answers and lifts the cards being dealt to her. “Not all of us can do that, y’know?” She asks and Archie nods. It’s not her fault that she doesn’t know how Archie falls into that spectrum.

“Yeah, I’ll visit soon.” He lies and lifts his cards and his beer. Archie doesn’t believe it’s time for him to visit home soon in any means, but they don’t really need to know that, so he stays quiet.

Another hour of drinks, cards, and dumb drunk jokes passed and it was nearing one in the morning. Their laughs and dizzy brains started to tire out and Russ was the first one to call the shots, throwing his cards down and giving an “okay we should go before I get too tired and can’t drive.” Apparently Murdoc had some hot date to get to (which was a total lie, nobody would be going on a date with Murdoc at one in the morning), and Noodle had to sneak in before getting in trouble for being out too late, though it was late enough for her to get in trouble anyways. That said, Russ, Noodle, and Murdoc said their goodbyes and nice-to-meet-you’s and shuffle into Russel’s car, driving off to their respectful homes. 2D and Archie were left in the garage, Archie helping to dispose of empty bottles and pick up cards despite 2D telling him that he didn’t have to. “It’s just cards, no big deal,” Archie spoke and 2D just shrugged it off.

“I should probably go, too. Are you sober?” Archie asked and 2D gave him a nervous look.

Shit.

“Uhh, no.” 2D says bluntly. “But I have room if you wanna just stay. I kind of don’t want to kill you tonight.” Archie laughs.

“It’s cool. I can call a cab.” Archie says with a stretch. It feels like his brain was swirling around in his head and he only had a couple beers. Archie searches around in his pocket for his phone but quickly noticed that it wasn’t in his usual spot in his back pocket, finally remembering that he left it on his futon when he got fed up with the text messages. Or lack thereof.

“Just save the fifteen bucks and sleep in my bed.” 2D says lazily and Archie smirks at him. 2D’s words set into his eyes and he got flustered. “No wait I didn’t me-”

“Oh, so you do just want me in your bed?” Archie mocked. He wouldn’t make that sexual of a joke if he was sober but neither of them were innocent now. 2D’s expression changed and he stared at Archie skeptically.

“Well obviously.” 2D said back very seriously. Archie was surprised that 2D was playing along now after trying to take back his flirty comment. “Whole plan all along, you couldn’t tell?” Archie blushed subconsciously. Or maybe it was just the alcohol. Either way he was flustered.

“No, sorry. Too focused on your body I just couldn’t look away.” Archie was surprising himself with the amount of gay comments he was springing out, and to 2D of all people, and what was more baffling is that 2D didn’t care. 2D held his arm out and waved it towards Archie.

“Then help this body up. ‘Think I might fall if I tried myself.” 2D commented and Archie gave him a look that said “really?” 2D knew exactly what he was thinking and nodded. With a dramatic sigh, Archie pulled 2D’s arm and lifted the man to his feet but 2D just crashed into Archie with a tired bump and a couple giggles. The closeness Archie had to 2D’s face now was intense and ran the same familiar tension up his spine as they stood with Archie’s hands on 2D’s waist and 2D’s hands on Archie’s biceps. Archie looked from one of 2D’s eyes to the other and 2D just stares back without much expression, or maybe it was just his eyes. It was always his eyes.

This is the part in the story where one person kisses the other, but Archie doesn’t think he has it in him, he's not drunk enough to do that. Archie darts his eyes away quickly and wraps one arm around 2D to sturdy him and keep him from collapsing on the garage floor. 2D holds onto Archie while they walk into the house and they don’t talk along the way besides Archie asking “where do I go?” and hardly getting an answer out of 2D. Archie bumped into a few walls because of 2D's towering height being hard to hold up and 2D only responded with giggles and gripping onto Archie for support.

Eventually Archie finds a bedroom and walks in with the drunk 2D and throws him on the bed almost mercilessly. 2D only grunts in response and Archie laughs. He’s pretty sure 2D was sleeping on the way to his room because as soon as he hit the bed, he was dead. Archie stood at stared at 2D for a moment before laughing again and walking over to attempt to pull 2D’s lazy form up higher on the bed but barely winning. He’ll have to survive completely clothed and half off the bed tonight.

Archie didn’t even bother trying to find a couch or another bedroom to sleep in, he was too tired and the house was almost too dark to see in for that, so he just flopped next to 2D in this decent sized queen bed and let his head spin itself to sleep. But before he fully drifted off, he felt the bed shift and noticed 2D rolling beside him. Archie stayed still, mostly because he couldn’t move if he tried, but also because he assumed 2D was just getting comfortable. He was pretty much right, with the small exception of 2D rolling over almost onto Archie. Okay, he wasn’t on top of Archie but 2D snaked his arms around one of Archie’s and leaned his head against his shoulder and fell right back asleep. Sleep cuddler, he never would have guessed. Archie was too tired and sure his body was already asleep so he couldn’t respond anyways so he just let his brain whirl to sleep along with it.

Man, what an insane day.