#people being like 'leave indiana! it's getting bad!' like. ok let me get the car i dont own and my dwindling savings and leave everything

[specters]

some people seriously lose all empathy when it comes to the people in red states like it's either "just move! you have to move!" when shit hits the fan or "well this is what you get for voting these republicans in" like 1) i did not vote for these demons (also side note: funny how you think dems have our backs 💀), 2) marginalized communities are in danger and writing entire states off because they're supposedly majority conservative does nothing for your cause & only empowers the one's inflicting harm so don't be surprised when they come for you next once they're done with us, 3) why do you expect everyone to have the means to just pack up and leave their homes, jobs, families, etc. like where do you expect them to fucking go. i am once again asking if you guys know how the world works

[nicomundthered]

The Broken Places

Chapter One: The Prologue

Word Count - 7,973

Summary - After your life gets turned upside down you move to Hawkins, Indiana for a fresh start. The night before your first day of your new job, you meet a man at a bar. Passions flair, decisions are made, and repercussions are...well they'll be dealt with. (It’s gonna follow the show after this)

Tags/Warnings - alcohol, smut, dirty talk, self loathing.

A/N -  Chapter two is written but not edited. Repost from ao3

Masterlist

Welcome to Hawkins, you read as you passed the large brown sign.

Finally! You had been driving for what seemed like days, and were ready to grab something to eat and most importantly find someplace to sleep.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day, and you want to look at least somewhat put together. In hindsight, that might be an impossible feat. It's been a while since you really took good care of yourself. In fact, you haven't felt ‘put together’ in months.

You had requested a transfer weeks ago, but your boss, who just so happened to be your dad, hadn't told you about it until a couple of days ago. So as one could imagine, you ran around frantically trying to get everything taken care of so you could leave.

When you found out the job was in Hawkins, Indiana, you were thrilled. It was states away, and although you wished it were worlds away, this would certainly suffice.

So you sold your house at the first low offer, and got rid of most of your belongings. It was probably a good thing. You didn’t have much in your possession, and most of it held bad memories. Plus, it gave an excuse for a true fresh start.

You only have about four bags of clothing and hygiene supplies, a small box with your mom's jewelry, a guitar, and a few cassettes.

You tried very hard not to get depressed that your whole life now fit in the backseat of your car.

Which brings you to now; you were arriving in a town in which you know very little about, without a place to live, at 9pm on a Sunday night, right before your first day on a new job…it was risky.

You weren't a risk taker.

Or maybe you could be? You just didn't know anymore.

Ultimately, you could have called your new boss, explained your current situation, and asked for an extra week. But instead you rushed everything and just did the damn thing. So maybe you were a risk taker after all?

You could blame the urgency on your dad. After all, he was absolutely no help. Telling you like he did when he did. Breaking the news to you that you were being sent far away, with not so much a, ‘Let me help you pack.’ or ‘don’t worry you can keep your furniture here until you find a place.’, not even a simple, ‘I'll miss you’.

Even if it were an absolute lie it would have been nice to hear.

You guess he still resented you for getting his best officer fired.

But you digress, you wanted out, so you got out. You just needed patience and resilience. The rest would eventually fall into place. You've been through so much, and you were mostly doing ok.

So you knew you could do this.

Besides progress, any progress at all matters. That was your new found mantra. As long as you were moving forward, you could survive anything.

First impressions, Hawkins seemed pleasant enough. Lots of trees but you liked that. Nature was something you didn't mind, you enjoyed the occasional hike. It was freeing and peaceful. Probably two things you could use more of.

You had your window rolled down, and one of your favorite cassettes playing. The autumn air felt crisp, and Meat Loaf’s dramatic timbre had you singing along passionately. Almost making you forget about the crushing weight on your shoulders.

As you entered the heart of the town, you passed by a well lit bar, decided it was as good of a place as any, and pulled your red 1980 jeep CJ-7, your baby, into the nearest parking space.

You figured this would tell you a lot about your new home. The people that frequented bars tended to truly know the grit and grime (and all of the juicy gossip) of a place. That's why detectives always started at their local bar. It's where the answers almost always were.

Jim Hopper left the police station in a hurry. Work wasn’t super busy or anything, but being the chief of police meant every little thing had to eventually go through him. It was, at times, excruciatingly tedious.

Examples including but not limited to:

The report of bees attacking a teenager after said teenager hit the hive repeatedly with a skateboard. Thus, having yours truly remove the hive, which was sitting harmlessly under a big oak tree in the middle of a park; with nothing but a towel, an oven mitt, and a pair of safety glasses.

Or the report of a woman seeing little green men, when in fact it was just her neighbor's Halloween costume hanging out to dry. At night, the lights shined on the costume just so causing an eerie reflection in its large black eyes. Hopper would admit it was unsettling, but come daytime it was quite obvious that the 4ft tall lime green ‘man’ floating in midair was being held up by two hot-pink pins and a clothes line wire.

Or lastly, his personal favorite, no sarcasm intended, a man who was accusing Jim Hopper himself of stealing his job. The punch line being, this man was 85 years old and worked at a peppermint factory thirty years ago hundreds of miles away.

And that all happened just this week.

He got into his blazer and cranked the air on as high as it could go. It was preparing to be a cool night in November, but he found that the AC made it easier for him to calm down and breathe after a long day.

He lit a cigarette and turned up the volume, and just as The Eagles sang ‘Take it Easy’ his radio crackled to life.

“Chief?”

His secretary’s voice robbed him of his long awaited solitude.

“Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck!” he slightly overreacted, gripping the steering wheel tight in overwhelming frustration.

“Chief? There’s been a report at the bar again. Someone keeps stealing…”

He yanked the walkie-talkie from its perch and responded with a loud annoyed, “Yeeeaah, I got it. I’ll head over.”

“Okay. Have a good night. Oh! And don’t be late tomorrow, your…”

“Flo? Flo, I got it okay. Hopper out.”

He popped some pills, a habit he’d been trying to break for some time, and took a long deep drag of his cigarette. After massaging his temples few times, he turned the radio back up, only to hear some guy with an unnecessarily loud voice trying to sell used fucking cars.

He deflated back into his seat and muttered, ‘Yeah that’s about right’.

He pulled out onto the road and decided it might be a good night for some drinks anyhow. Though that meant he’d have to go home and change.

It wasn’t exactly legal to drink in uniform.

When he got home he was thankful that his favorite blue flannel was right where he left it, draped over the chair almost mocking him. So he decided on that, and some light-washed jeans. He kept his work boots on though not really caring too much. His priority was to forget about insects, extraterrestrials, and old age; not finding a fucking wife.

He went into the bathroom and accidentally got a little too close to the large mirror, which was always a dangerous thing to do when he was in a mood.

He visibly cringed. It wasn’t that he ever hated what he saw. No, he could recognize that he had a good face, a strong face. It was that he hated what was slowly but inevitably happening to his good-strong face.

His hair was thinner, his cheeks were fuller, and there were quite a few new lines. And it wouldn’t be so jarring seeing this on anyone else, it’s what happens we age, but this was Jim Hopper.

Before Vietnam women used to practically line up at his door. Nearly gave his poor mom a heart attack.

And he knew that realistically, he wasn't doing himself any favors. Maybe if he laid off the smokes (and beer…and pills), ate some vegetables, used some moisturizer, or incorporated some light exercise, and with just that little effort he could probably get back to his military days. Or at least close, it hadn’t been all that long.

But that was probably delusional, he wasn’t that man anymore, was he? He was older, and sadder, and the fire had long been gone.

So instead of a lifestyle change he decided to spray on some of his good cologne. It wasn’t super expensive or anything, but he knew women dug it, and that was really all that mattered.

He would give a generous spray anytime he needed a little confidence boost. It never failed.

Or maybe it was just the pills kicking in?

...Either way, he felt much better.

He entered the bar about twenty minutes later. It was getting close to eight, but because it was a Sunday night there weren't too many patrons around.

“Hey Danny. It happened again?”

“Hey chief, sure did. I made sure the door was locked and everything. I don’t know how they’re doing it.”

Daniel led the way to the small kitchen. The back door was wide open, and the refrigerator and freezer were ajar and mostly bare.

“It’s a good thing you keep all the booze out front.” Hopper said, glancing around unenthusiastically.

Daniel laughed and appeared uneasy, “Yeah we’d be out of business.”

Hopper stood tall, towering over Daniel, and played a little game of ‘don't-blink’, in which Daniel lost almost immediately, and Hopper felt like he’d gotten his answer.

Instead of confronting Daniel, he moved past him and shut the door making sure it was pulled completely to and locked. Then he patted him on the back roughly and pulled him slightly towards him.

“Do you think your dear ol’ dad would mind giving me a few free drinks for the trouble? I mean I have been down here weekly for the past month. In fact, now that I think of it, every week since you’ve been back…” he said, pausing for an uncomfortable amount of time as if considering something important.”…and it is a Sunday night. I’m supposed to be reclining right now Danny, RE-CLIN-ING.”

Daniel was practically swaying on his feet, “Uh, sure chief. A- anything you want.” his voice broke in response.

Hopper almost felt evil. It was kind of a high, he wasn't gonna lie. He might have been subconsciously looking for some fun. It’s the little things in life after all.

And he's had a difficult week.

He was probably around five beers in when he heard the familiar jangle of the door. He looked at his watch seeing that it’d been about an hour. His mood had lightened dramatically, and he was about to head out before he drank too much and couldn’t drive which he shouldn’t be doing anyhow, but hey he was the fucking chief of police.

Then, he turned and saw you.

You were unfamiliar, which quite frankly never really happens in Hawkins. It was a very predictable town.The same people did the same things all of the time. No, he felt confident that he knew who frequented this bar specifically.

None of that even mattered anyway cause he’d definitely remember you.

Your jeans were incredibly tight and your green top reminded him a lot of his own. Your hair was in a loose ponytail with soft strands framing your face, and he could tell just by the quick glance that you were very pretty.

Much too pretty for Hawkins.

He watched you sit down and order a drink.

Everything was under control, it really was, he was even doing his best not to look in your direction. He was winning the battle within until he heard your laugh, and then he felt himself 'lock on target'. His fist tightened around his glass as a shockingly strong rush of arousal coursed through him.

Jesus, it hadn’t been that long, he reminded himself. But that didn't stop the blood from rushing lower at the sound of your almost musical laughter, and the thought of your ridiculously tight jeans and that sent him that much closer to spiraling.

He wasn’t a fucking teenager he berrated himself, but you were damn near gonna make him act like one.

Finishing off the last of his drink he made his way to the bar to get a closer look at you.

Upon entering you were kind of disappointed. Excluding the bartender there were only four other customers in the establishment.

Two seemed to be in a heated discussion hovering over a pool table, one was messing with the jukebox that was obviously broken or unplugged-the lights weren’t even on. And the last one was seated in a booth with his back to you, drowning out the world.

All and all, not a very social looking bunch.

At the sound of the door they all at least glanced in your direction. Some quicker than others, and none long enough for you to make out any features other than just ‘that's a male’.

Oh well you thought. A boring town is almost always a preferred town, especially in this new stage of your life.

You walked up to the bar and ordered your favorite drink and some buffalo wings.

“We- uh, we don’t have any wings.”

“Oh okay, just the drink then.” damn, rough start.

You gave him a friendly smile, and he returned it almost sheepishly.

After a short wait he sat the drink in front of you. “We’ve had trouble with burglaries lately I’m afraid. That’s why our kitchen is closed. Sorry I don't have a sign out or anything.”

You visibly perked up, “Burglars? Have you called the police?”

Maybe not so boring after all.

“Yeah, not much they can do though. I can’t seem to catch them in the act, and they're just stealing food. So it's not even a real emergency.”

“Hmm, I suppose. Well I’ll still keep my eyes open for anything suspicious.”

He grinned, “You sticking around then? We don’t get too many new faces in here.”

“Yeah I am. Just arrived actually.” you took a big sip of your drink. You don't know what you were expecting but were a little surprised at how good it was. Then again you were pretty thirsty.

You complimented the beverage, sloshing the liquid around, studying it, trying to identify what he did to make it so good.

“I’m glad you like it.” he lowered his head bashfully at the compliment. “I’m Daniel by the way. My dad owns this place, and since you’re new here and all, don't worry about your tab tonight.” He looked around and lowered his voice, “Just don't tell anyone else.”

You laughed, “Wow thanks! I think I'm going to like this place just fine.” you chuckled again, “I’m [first name].” and leaned across the tall bar to shake his hand.

“Nice to meet ya.” his palm was a little sweaty, and the innocence of it almost made you want to hug him and beg him to never change.

The thought made you feel silly. He was only a couple of years younger than you at the most, and you really didn't know the first thing about him.

You jumped at a deep ahem. And turned to see the man from the booth standing close behind you. Real close.

You reddened a little, noticing that your ass was up in the air and pointed directly at him. You moved off of the bar quickly and sat back down.

Daniel gave the man another beer without even needing a verbal request.

You could feel the large man’s gaze burning through the top of your head. So you looked up almost defiantly. What was his problem?

You swallowed hard as the intense blue eyes moved to lock onto yours. This man was huge and intimidating. No wonder he didn’t even have to ask for a drink.

There was a flicker in his stare making him look like he was contemplating something, then he abruptly walked back to his booth.

Only this time he sat with his legs parted wide, facing right towards you.

You swallowed thickly, turned back around, and finished your first drink with a large sip. And before you sat the glass down Daniel placed another in front of you. You nodded a thanks and he returned the nod, and then went back to messing around with bottles.

Typically you weren’t a big drinker. College has wiped that desire clear from your mind. Though, as you started to feel less burdened, and if you were being honest a little…horny, you remembered why people enjoyed it so much.

By your third, you knew that you needed to slow down. But there was something about the mysterious man staring at you from across the room that made you continue. It was unsettling, but not in a completely unpleasant way.

In fact it was almost erotic.

You snapped your head to his direction and caught him ‘red-handed’- openly staring at your ass. His eyes were intense and focused on one singular thing.

You hopped off of the stool, grabbed your drink, and made your way over to him. The world tilted slightly and you chastised yourself, slow down.

But as you got closer, slow steps seemed increasingly impossible. You weren't usually one for cliches but ‘a moth to a flame’ felt dangerously accurate.

The way his eyes darted up to yours made you feel in control, even though you were positive you weren’t. Something else was controlling you and you didn’t exactly hate it.

You did however hate the way it loosened your lips.

“Why are you staring at my ass?” you said with a little more venom than necessary.

He lifted his glass and downed half of his drink in one impressive swallow.

“Who says I am?”

“I-I do.” you placed your hand not holding your drink on your hip, and tried to gain back some control of your voice, “And you haven’t stopped since you sat back down.”

“Interesting.” he licked his lips and slowly sipped some more beer, all while his eyes moved over every curve of your body, “And so what if I am?”

Heat. That was what you felt. Hot, claustrophobic, burning, heat. A small bead of sweat trickled down your back, and you felt your cheeks redden. You fought the urge to rip off your stupidly thick flannel. Then you swayed a little, and were slightly worried that you were suffering from heat exhaustion. 

What was in this drink? Because you refused to believe that a man could make you feel this way.

He noticed your involuntary movement, “Sit.” he suggested firmly, if a little slurred.

You were so relieved you practically threw yourself down on the booth, before your mind could process that he hadn’t asked but commanded.

“I’m not a dog.” you practically spat.

He smiled and it damn near took your breath away. How dare he be so smug...how dare he be so damned handsome.

“Didn’t say you were.”

“Look, I’m going to be honest with you and just hope that you are a nice, honest guy. I have had too much to drink on an empty stomach, and I really shouldn't be telling you this but the alcohol is going straight to my head, so forgive me if I’m wrong...but why are you staring at me?” 

He looked almost in disbelief that you’d even ask such a silly thing. You knew how you looked, didn’t you? And surely no one put on jeans like thatand didn't know what they were doing to people. If he were a betting man (he was) he'd say putting them on was a task that took special skill. Slowly moving up your perfectly thick thighs, past your firm ass, then resting on your curvy hips...

He took a moment in silent contemplation and decided that, yeah he was gonna go for it. He was wearing the cologne after all.

“I have never, seen pants, that…tight.” he said leaning slightly towards you.

You laughed that beautiful laugh again, and his cock reminded him how much he liked it. God he needed to stop drinking. He pushed his glass to the side.

Then he got worried that if he looked into your eyes any longer, the spell would be broken and you'd realize just how far out of his league you were, so he moved his gaze to your full luscious lips. And well, that most certainly wasn't any better.

You licked your lips seductively deciding you were in fact into this, you were into him. And it might be the alcohol lowering your inhibitions, but you were really turned on. You couldn’t even remember the last time you had a good time, and it certainly wasn’t during sex.

Sex. That was it, that was what you really wanted. All of the stars aligned, and you knew tonight's endgame. Sex with this mountain of a man, with piercing blue eyes, and a voice that could command a crowd.

A night, just one night with no expectations or sense of duty. You don’t even think you’ve ever experienced such a thing. You deserved to have a good time.

This is what single adults do, right?

You leaned forward and unbutton a few buttons of your flannel, you felt a little heat release and battled the urge to sigh in relief. It didn’t reveal too much, you had a tank top on underneath, but that didn’t seem to matter as his eyes darkened at the sight.

He shifted in his seat and rubbed his hands soothingly on his strong thighs, overcome with the sudden compulsion to reach over and touch you. He glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot, which did not matter because his voice thundered when he spoke, “You know, my place isn’t far.”

You pouted playfully, even though you were silently screaming ‘yes!’ on the inside, “But I haven’t even finished my drink.”

He was entirely too unbothered for you. You felt as though you were burning from the inside out and he had the audacity to ask you so nonchalantly. And that gave you an absolutely wicked idea. You slid your left shoe off, slowly so that not even he would notice, placed your sock covered foot on the seat right between his legs, and rubbed your foot against his inner thigh.

He jumped and grabbed the table roughly, causing the heavy table to scoot and the beverages to almost spill over, then sucked air in through his nose.

You giggled, not so unbothered then. Although, you knew he’d make you pay for that later it was so worth it.

He grabbed your foot not so gently, pushed it off, and ordered, “Put your shoe on and come on”.

You obeyed and hurried so you could follow him out. Waving and calling back a polite ‘thank you for the drinks’ to poor Daniel who had just witnessed a little too much.

The air was much colder than inside, and you were absolutely relieved at the sudden change in temperature. You looked up and were in absolute awe. The sky was so clear and bright that the stars and small sliver of moon illuminated the world around you.

Yeah you could definitely get used to this.

He lit a cigarette and watched you for an uninterrupted couple of minutes. He was just as transfixed as you were.

Just with a different view.

When you looked down and saw the look on his face as he was watching you, you couldn’t take it any longer. You pushed him roughly against the wall and kissed him.

He hummed in gratitude, threw the cigarette down, and grabbed ahold of your body melding the two together as one.

His big arms surrounded you and you felt as if nothing else could possibly touch you.

The kissing was immediately great. Two people either had it or they didn’t, and the two of you most certainly had it. His lips were soft, with the perfect amount of moisture on them. You could taste the cigarette he just smoked and found you didn't mind it at all. Hell, even his scruff felt perfect as it rubbed against your skin. You literally wouldn’t change a single thing.

You started to whimper as his tongue started to play with yours causing you legs to give a little. You felt absolutely possessed and the lyric, ‘we’re glowin like the metal on the edge of a knife’ all of the sudden made all the sense in the world.

When you started nipping at his bottom lip, he knew you guys had to stop, or he was gonna get fired for public indecency.

“Jesus..” he gently pushed your head back. Your eyes were tightly closed but when you opened them they were so full of want, it damn near constricted his airway.

He licked his lips, “I’m, I’m parked out back. Are you ok to drive?” his voice sounded ridiculously gruff to even his own ears.

“Yes.” Your own sounding distant and foregin.

“You promise? The roads aren’t bad and not many people are on them, especially not this late. But if you’re not ok…”

“I’m good, I promise.” You straightened up and looked up at him seriously.

“Okay, good, good. I’ll pull around and you can follow.”

He reluctantly pushed your body from his, let his arms drop, and suddenly broke out in a sprint down the alley.

You laughed at his urgency, and heard him call back, “Get in your damn car.” Which made you laugh even harder.

When you finally did get into your car, you didn’t even have time to turn the radio on before he zoomed past you, giving you a quick honk-honk. He was so fast, you couldn’t make out the vehicle and weren’t even positive it was him. So you decided to trust your instincts and follow the lights in the growing distance.

The roads really weren't that bad, a little curvy but wider than you were used to, and true to his word you never saw another car.

He turned onto the dirt road leading to his trailer, and parked to the side so you'd have plenty of room.

He jumped out and walked briskly to the door. He slightly fumbled with his keys as he gave you a wave when you pulled in.

Rushing inside, he gave his mess a look over. ‘Crap…’ It was worse than he thought. He was overwhelmed and paced back and forth a few times. What was he thinking bringing you back here? And maybe the real question was why did he suddenly care? It was his home and his fucking mess. Why did it matter what you thought about it? You weren’t the first woman to come over and you wouldn't be the last.

Turns out no matter what lies he told himself he found that it kinda did matter to him, so he kept the lights turned off, but generously cracked the blinds so the night sky could light up the room just enough.

And then there you were, standing in the doorway, perfectly outlined by the starlight. He didn’t realize it then obviously, but he’d remember that moment for the rest of his life.

You on the other hand looked nervous but felt surprisingly determined. And you were secretly grateful for the dark setting. You really didn’t want to lose your nerve and if you got too good of a look at him you might.

He cleared his throat, “Can I get you anything? Water?...A sandwich?”

You beamed at the question. He remembered you hadn’t eaten. It drove you a little wild, “No, but you could kiss me.”

He stepped forward, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He grabbed the back of your head and pulled you into the kiss. It was hot and wet and the urgency returned in no time.

God his mouth was so good.

He grunted as you put your hands on his chest and started reaching for his buttons.

He lifted his mouth from yours, “Mmm impatient are we?” and chuckled softly.

You could just make out his features, but you didn’t need to see him to know he was displaying his seemingly favorite ‘smug’ expression.

Bastard.

“Shut up.” you replied, plunging your tongue back into his mouth, all while continuing to work his buttons.

By the time you had his flannel off you were both breathless.

“Finally.” His hands moved to your buttons.

He worked with proficient speed, and when he was done you practically ripped your tank top off. Then you were standing before him in just your bra and jeans.

He took a step back in admiration, furrowed his brow and said with quite possibly the deepest voice you've ever heard, “You know, I can’t wait to watch you peel those ridiculously...tight jeans off that ass.”

You gasped a little at the simple request, his voice and words going straight below, precisely where you wanted him. You moved to him with a gentle sway of your hips, backed him into the sofa, and gave a push.

He sat back on the sofa without much if any resistance.

You stood a little more than an arms width in front of him, turned around, unbuttoned and unzipped, and slowly bent over. Then began to peel the jeans over your ass.

You went nice and slow. You were pretty proud of your showmanship.

You glanced back at him and were glad to see him focused, watching every move you made like a hawk watched its prey.

His hand moved to his clothed erection and started palming it harder and harder with every inch you revealed, “Fuck that’s nice.” His voice sliced sharply through the silence.

Your jeans moved past your ass cheeks revealing your pretty petite black panties.

He bolted up with the powerful urge to touch, he was really trying to just enjoy the show, but his self control was practically nonexistent. He reached forward and playfully smacked your left cheek, once then twice more.

Understanding what he wanted to see, you bounced your ass up and down a few times for him.

His voice strained out, “Now where did you learn to do something like that?”

He spread his legs wide and pulled you back against him so that your ass was sitting firmly on his lap, “Such a naughty girl.” He began rocking his hips lazily up into you for the smallest amount of friction.

It made you breathe through gritted teeth as you could feel your body start to eagerly respond.

“You’re really making me regret not turning on the lights.” He purred into your ear as he moved with a little more intent.

“Mhmm.” was all you could manage as your hips began to ground down against his own.

He released the clasp of your matching black bra and with ease, throwing it near the vicinity of your discarded shirt.

Then he brought his large hands to your chest and covered both of your breasts, testing their weight, and then kneading them gently.

You groaned at the sensation as your hips started moving faster.

He shifted up slightly so he could rest his chin on your shoulder and look down the front of your body. He kept playing with your breasts and slightly pulled your nipples. You could feel his cock bob at the sight.

“Beautiful.” He said gruffly and then started nipping and sucking on your neck.

You couldn’t form words, only needy sounds. Sounds you weren't convinced you’ve ever made before.

“What is it?” suck, “Do you need..” suck, “more?”

He found a particularly sensitive place on your neck that made you gasp out, completely unable to respond.

You could feel his warm breath on the wet streaks of salvia he left behind as he laughed, “Consider this payback. You almost embarrassed me in front of all those nice people.” he sucked at the same spot, “Playing footsie in a bar.” He soothed the spot with his tongue, “Very, very…naughty.”

You were panting like you’d just ran a mile uphill. His tongue and voice were doing indescribable things to your body. It all of the sudden wasn’t enough and you started clawing for his cock.

He stopped playing with your breasts and scooted you up, making your hand miss, gripping nothing but the cool air.

“You know, as much as I love these…”

You stood up straight, tried your best not to wobble, and pushed your pants further down your legs until they were around your ankles. Then you reached for the hem of your underwear.

He leaned forward and carefully swatted your hands away, “Let me.”

He wrapped his hands around you and firmly gripped your ass, and pulled you closer to his face.

He looked up at you and you gave him your best seductive smile and bit your lip.

Despite the dim lighting, you could tell how dark his eyes had become. Almost appearing as two large shadows on his handsome face.

His hands moved to your hips, and his face pressed against your lower stomach. He took a deep breath in and sighed. Then gently nipped at the skin just above your pantyline as he slowly slid down the garment.

Before you could kick them off he had his fingers on you.

You gasped.

You knew you were wet, but you didn’t realize just how drenched you were until his fingers started exploring you. Moving around you with a well lubricated ease.

A playful comment died on his tongue, “Oh wow.” was all he croaked out.

You finally managed to lift one leg out of the clothing around your ankle, and just as you did he pulled you forward so that you were now straddling him.

His mouth found your hard nipple and he began sucking as his large fingers circled your clit. He was a big man with a big mouth, and pretty soon he had his lips around more than just your nipple. It felt as though he was trying to fit your whole breast into his warm inviting mouth.

“Gah…” it made you feel impossibly impatient and you reached down and unzipped his pants and reached for him. Just as you wrapped your hand around his hot thick cock, he stuck his middle finger inside of you.

You both simultaneously gasped in pleasure.

He was the biggest you’ve ever slept with, you could tell without even needing to looking at him. And you couldn’t help the rush of excitement that that notion caused you. What would him stretching you feel like?

Your own dirty compulsions caused you to tighten slightly around his finger and he responded by adding another.

“Yes.” You encouraged him as you began to ride his hand. You could feel your wetness begin to gather in his palm.

You gripped his cock tighter and after a few more pumps you felt him begin to leak. Honestly relieved it was just as intense for him.

You wanted to sit on him, and you wanted to sit on him now. So you grabbed his hand and pulled him out of you, and then lined yourself up with his length.

“Hey, woah.” He shifted away and you released him immediately. He bucked up and grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket of his pants.

Your eyes couldn’t look away from his straining member. Long and thick in all of the right places and for the first time this night, you too wished that the lights were on.

He scooted his pants down to his ankles as he pulled a condom out of his wallet. He slid it on quickly, and wetted himself with your remaining juices left behind on his hand. Then he guided you down so that you were laying on the couch.

“Are you sure you're ready? I wouldn’t mind tasting that beautiful pussy if you don’t think….”

The smug expression was back. He knew damn well you were more than ready. Hell you were all over the front of jeans and you felt like you had soaked his sofa.

Bastard.

“Gooood, just get inside me!” You yelled at him, as you wrapped your legs around him, and greedily pulled him towards your center.

“Yes ma’am.” he chuckled as he slowly slid into you. The sound turned into a loud curse and when he was fully surrounded by you, he had to stay completely still for fear it would be all over too soon.

After a few moments he waited patiently for you to adjust to his size. You were very snug, his own pleasure aside he knew you needed time as well.

“Fuuuck” You hissed out, feeling very very well stretched.

His sentiment exactly, “You feel so good.” he swallowed, “ It’s taking a lot for me to stay still right now.”

You lifted up to kiss him. It was not your best work. It was really just a lot of opened mouth breathing and a few clashes of teeth but it was still hot.

You tilted your hips slightly up and down and his grasp on the sofa tightened, you could hear the fabric tense. 

“Please tell me you’re ready?” he asked through clenched teeth.

All you could do was nod. Then he started to move.

It was slow and deep, and as nice as it felt you were ready to come. So you held onto his broad back and encouraged him by squeezing your legs tighter around his body.

He got the message and started pumping harder and faster into you.

It didn’t take long before you felt your walls start to flutter, gripping tighter and tighter until it was almost too much, yet just not enough. You grabbed his shoulders, silently begging for more.

“God.” he said breathlessly while bringing his hand down to your clit, “You’re so tight.”

You moaned embarrassingly loud into his neck. You’d managed to be 'relatively' quiet up until this point, but his fingers and cock were doing the exact right thing, and you knew it wasn’t gonna take long.

You moaned and gasped out, “Close.”

He hummed into your ear at the admission all the while keeping the pressure and the small circles going until you completely unraveled beneath him.

You felt your walls squeeze hard around him, embracing him in an urgent thank you, thank you.

Swears spilled out of your mouth, some combinations were quite creative, as wet slapping sounds filled the air.

Your mind slowly returned and your needy pussy calmed down.

He moved his hand away from you and held on to the armrest behind your head.

His hips stuttered but didn’t falter “Fuck, that felt so good.” He looked at you in all of your afterglow glory and gave a knowing smirk. “I would ask you to do that again, but I’m…ah Christ.” he hissed.

You firmly pushed him back, he let you but was confused and slightly worried as he fell out of you and sat back on the sofa. That was until your knees slammed on the floor, with one fierce tug you had the condom off, and with one fervent swallow your throat held his thick cock.

“Oh, Shit.” His eyes rolled back as his head hit the head rest roughly. He took a few deep breaths trying to control himself but couldn’t for the life of him. It just felt too damned good.

He looked down at you. You looked up and your eyes practically sparkled even in the darkness as you eagerly sucked him.

You looked deliciously wicked and the sight made his balls tightened and his breath quicken.

The sensory overload had you humming. Making this large man unravel was a massive turn on. The sight of him, the feel, the smell, the sound, the taste. It was all working for you and you found you couldn’t help the deep throaty moans.

Turns out, your vibrations were his undoing as he placed his hands firmly on the back of your head, holding you down as deep as you could go.

He was focusing on remembering to breathe, as he felt an intense orgasm overtake him.

You shut your eyes and relaxed your throat, wholly focused on taking him as deep as possible, and not even five seconds later you felt him start to come. His cock was pulsing wildly as large amounts of release went straight down the back of your throat.

Oddly enough, you felt affection rather than lust at this moment. True his cock was practically choking you, but you could tell he was restraining himself the best he could. And his whole body was tense and tight, but the grip on your head was surprisingly loose, giving you whatever space you needed.

He slowly stopped throbbing in your mouth and you could feel the tension leaving him. You didn’t really want to move but you needed air, so you carefully sucked your way off of him. Not wanting to over stimulate, but selfishly wanting one last taste.

He jerked as you released him with a pop, and let go of the back of your head but his eyes were still snapped shut.

You opened your mouth to say something snarky…

Then he chuckled incredulously.

You smiled brightly as his eyes locked on to yours.

“Holy shit baby.” he smiled, and praised appreciatively. Then he stroked your cheek, moving his thumb to outline your slightly swollen bottom lip. Wet and plump from the act you had just committed.

The praise and pet name warmed you as you beamed up at him. You felt instant relief for you had known you used to be quite good at it, but had never felt this accomplished in doing so.

You couldn’t believe that you'd just done this. Sex with a stranger! Man you really shouldn’t drink. This was irresponsible to the max, really level ten stuff right here.

He moved, breaking your moment of self reflection.

He put himself back into his underwear, pulled up his pants, not even bothering to zip or button, and then said a lazy, “C’mere.”

He held your arm, practically lifted you up, laid back across the couch and pulled your body to his.

The couch wasn’t technically big enough for the two of you until he repositioned and draped half of you onto him.

He sighed in content, rubbing lazy circles on your back with his thumb, until he began to softly snore.

You wanted to make fun of him for falling asleep so quickly, but your own body rebelled as your eyelids grew heavy. And as you rested your head on his firm chest, and listened to the powerful thud of his heart, you felt your own consciousness begin to slip.

A beam of light coming from a crack in the blinds woke you.

You had a headache, and felt extra sensitive to the brightness, but the feeling of warmth and security trumped the slight discomfort.

And then the memories of the previous night flooded in and almost overwhelmed you. What the hell did you do? One night in your new town and you’ve already slept with god knows who.

You lifted your head just enough to look around. Not getting any relief seeing beer bottles and pills. Clothes thrown everywhere, half eaten sandwiches. It kinda looked like you picked quite possibly the worst person in Hawkins you could have. Well at least there were some books, you almost chuckled at your rational. 

But then thinking about last night made you blush and cover your face with your hand. That, that was something. You’ve never experienced anything quite that: impulsive? Spontaneous? Hasty?

It was probably just because of the alcohol, and the fact that you’ve never really had a one night stand in your life. It was all kinds of naughty, that had to be why it felt so good.

Right?

Despite your fun, you mentally promised not to drink again. You apparently couldn’t handle it, and it made you too impulsive. You just hoped you hadn’t fucked anything up too bad.

You slowly lifted his big strong arm off of you, stood up, and gently laid his arm down. His hand was splayed across his chest, and you couldn’t help but admire the sight. Sure this guy was obviously not doing great, but you couldn’t think of a more attractive man while looking down at him.

You covered him with a blanket that was draped over the recliner, which he turned and snuggled into immediately looking absolutely content.

The light hit his watch catching your eye. You glanced to see the time, shit! You were going to be late on your first day. Which seemed about right with how your luck had been going lately.

You fumbled around getting dressed as quietly as you could manage in the hurry you were in. And looked for a piece of paper so you could leave him a note. You moved around a few items on the coffee table and accidentally clicked on the tv.

Fuck.

You looked down and he continued to sleep peacefully. You exhaled in relief.

Deciding against leaving a note, you just needed to get out of there. In retrospect, he probably didn’t care and just wanted a quick lay anyway. The thought stung but when it came down to it, you were a realist. And you felt you knew how men worked. Or at least you knew how getting drunk at a bar and sleeping with the first guy to smile at you worked.

You realized that you were no better. You sighed in disappointment in yourself.

Bending down and grabbing your keys you took one last look at him and opened the door.

You almost gasped at the view that greeted you. The sun was lighting up the soft blue sky, and the trees reflecting off of the still lake. It was so beautiful but it did nothing for your head.

You honestly didn’t even have a clue that you were near the water.

God this could have ended terribly for you.

You were in a hurry but still took a minute to enjoy the view. Yeah you could definitely get used to all of this nature business.

You walked to your jeep, it was pretty crooked but you were impressed you managed to even halfway park it at all. Yet another lapse of poor judgment. Driving drunk, really! The doors weren’t even locked but you figured you were just lucky to have remembered to take your keys with you.

Fortunately, because you hadn’t found a place to stay yet all of your clothes and belongings were in the back. So you adjusted your seat back, put on some clean clothes, fixed your hair, and applied just a little make up in the mirror. Then you brushed your teeth with some toothpaste and water that was left in a water bottle.

Finishing touch, and probably the most important item right now, you put on your favorite pair of Ray-Bans to block out some of the almost offending light.

You started the car and backed out of his long driveway. You hoped that you could easily find your way back into town, but didn’t worry too much since it was a 50/50 chance.

'Eye of the Tiger' started playing on the radio so you rolled down your windows and drummed on your steering wheel.

Your stomach growled loudly so you looked at the clock on your dashboard. You had just enough time to maybe pick up some donuts before your first day at the Hawkins Police station.

-----------

tbc

[stradlingmrstradlin]

So I enjoy writing and I this is the first story that I wrote with the intent of being posted. Constructive criticism is always welcome ♥️

Here's the story

Steven x Duff

Reader x Izzy

(No warnings, maybe swearwords if that counts, also I don't promote underage drinking)

I think I managed to stay gender-neutral

Words: 2794

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You were on a road trip with the guys, how did you end up here? Oh well, you've known the guys for a few years as you were good friends with Steven since you were kids, but you had a falling out because he moved around quite a lot and your family did too.

When you were 14 your family moved to Seattle and stayed there for 4 years. In those years you met a blond-haired dude whose name was Michael or as you and a few other people called him, Duff. You and Duff met at a corner store when you were 15 and tried to steal a bottle of vodka. Duff was also lurking around the alcohol section, also probably trying to steal some alcoholic beverage.

But he was, according to the store manager, a suspicious punk guy...so he got kicked out before even getting his hands on anything. You felt bad for him so after sliding a bottle in the inside pocket of your denim jacket and throwing a wink and a charming smile towards the cashier you walked out.

So there you were at eighteen having to say goodbye to Duff because your family was moving away... again but now to Ireland. You had a huge argument with your family about always moving and you losing all of your friends because of them so you made a decision, to run away. Ok, I know that's a stupid idea because how the fuck will you survive on your own?

Your family was well off so you decided to take a bit of money with you, they probably wouldn't even notice.

You lived in quite a few places after that, from the back alley of the theater to Duff's place, his family loved you so it was ok. When Duff decided to move to LA to pursue his dream of being in a band you of course followed him.

You moved into a small one-room apartment together, but it was great. Living with Duff is fun. But he always moved stuff on the top shelf to mess with you, and also money was tight. You guys both worked a lot but it was alright.

He joined a few bands and played a few gigs in shitty bars but none of them worked out. You played guitar so you tried but it was the same with you, never being able to keep a band together for more than a month. Also being a girl didn't help, because many bands thought that it'll ruin their image if a girl is in the band.

Eventually, he put an ad in the paper looking for a band and that's how he met the other guys. You were super surprised to see Steven there but also happy to see him. Also, you remembered Slash from meeting him with Steven maybe a couple of times. The only new people were the two boys, who, as you later found out were from Indiana. The one who looked a bit like Johnny Thunders was hot, but you ignored that fact for now.

The first thing you noticed between your two blond friends was a bit of jealousy, at first you thought maybe they liked you and were jealous of each other, but after a while, even before they knew it, you caught onto the real reason. They didn't like you, at least not romantically, they liked each other. But for about four years they didn't act in their feelings...(later on about that)

Eventually, in 1985 they formed Guns N Roses. The guys liked you, and Axl tried to fuck you, but after a big smack on the head and an angry talking to by Duff he quickly forgot that idea.

So now in 1988 here you were sitting in the back of a van, that Izzy was driving because he was the only sober one...today. Tomorrow probably you'll have to drive.

Your pov.

We were in the car for about twenty minutes and everything was calm...for now. Led Zeppelin was coming from the radio and Axl was softly singing along, in the front seat and Izzy was driving. Duff sipping something from a bottle, probably something alcoholic, and slowly falling asleep and leaning on Steven's shoulder. Steve was smiling per usual, but if possible his smile got even bigger when Duff's head landed on his shoulder. But as all good things come to an end, the comfortable silence got broken.

"I have to pee!" Steven suddenly yelled out, causing Duff to lift his head off of Steven's shoulder and look around in confusion. "The fuck is going on?"

Axl just grumbled "Steven is a fucking baby and can't go and use the toilet before road trips...no he has to use them when we are in the middle of a fucking highways"

Slash snorted at Axl's response but didn't say anything as he didn't want to get into this argument, surprising.

Can't the guys stay still for one second?

"Izzy, can you please stop the car at the next rest stop?" I asked, as kindly as possible not wanting to further upset Rosie and listen to him throwing a temper tantrum for the next hour or so, he's annoying sometimes.

Anyways we stopped at the next stop, and Steven almost ran to the restroom. I switched places with Axl because he was tired and wanted to sit in the back, so he could stretch out a bit. Now Axl was sitting next to Slash, and Steven came back jumping in next to Duff. We're on the road again.

"Can I switch the music?" Izzy looked at me with almost puppy dog eyes, well I didn't think that was possible.

"Of course, what do you have in mind?"I replied almost laughing because of the face he was making

"Maybe Hanoi Rocks?" He again looked at me with the same stupid face.

"Fine, just stop making that face because I'll probably die from laughter" At this point, I just straight up burst out laughing and he just threw a cute lil smile my way. I was super proud of myself because I made THE Izzy Stradlin laugh.

A little background on me and Izzy. When we first met I ignored that he was hot because I didn't want to mess anything up for Duff with the band, but in the next two years that feeling grew from "oh, he's hot" to "I want to fuck him". No, we never fucked, but at a party in 87' we had a really hot make-out session which was sadly ended by a drunk Slash passing out on top of me...that was a wild party. There were no awkward feelings between us but we never took it further either. We sometimes cuddled and kissed when we needed human contact but nothing else. I always wanted more, but Izzy...Izzy is a mysterious guy, hard to figure out, the only person who somewhat is able to figure him out is Axl...but you don't go to Axl asking for advice, because Axl's advice is usually bad advice.

..My thoughts were interrupted by the opening cords for Don't You Ever Leave Me, which's one of my favorite songs. Izzy glanced at me and seconds later we were quietly singing because we didn't want to disturb our four friends who were asleep in the back. Axl and Slash were leaning on each other and Axl's face was barely visible because of Slash's hair. Duff was leaning on a window and Steve was cuddled up to him.

As I was looking at my friends when Iz asked me a question "When do you think they'll realize that they like each other because you have to be an idiot to not realize it, I mean Steven always smiles around Duff, and Duff is so cuddly with steven?" Oh boy, the problem was, that our friends were indeed stupid, at least on the topic of love. "I don't know Iz, they are after all a bit ignorant when it comes to love" As I said this I saw something in Izzy's face change, but I couldn't identify it because it was gone pretty soon. After that we didn't talk much, only glancing at each other a few times but it wasn't uncomfortable or anything, we just didn't have anything else to say out loud.

However, my thoughts were really loud... Ignorant with love? That sounds like us, maybe after all Duff and Stevie weren't the only stupid ones.

...It was around 6 pm when we got to our destination, a fairly large cabin up in the hills, between a shit ton of trees. Nice, finally we can rest without reporters, fans, and annoying paparazzi asking about the private life of the guys.

Everyone had their own room as nobody really wanted to share, we specifically looked for a cabin with 6 rooms, we love each other but sharing a room is annoying. In the beginning, when we didn't have much I shared rooms with probably all of the guys.

Axl is an annoying little fucker, he kicked me in his dream a lot of times, my back hurt a lot after. Slash is nice, he let me have my own space on the small bed we slept on and didn't bother me, well he accidentally woke me up when he fell off the bed, but that sucks for him, not me. Steven and Duff both love cuddles, Steven almost suffocated me once but other than that it's nice sleeping next to them. Izzy...He doesn't hug you or cuddle up to you when you're going to sleep but somehow you always wake up tangled together.

After we brought up our luggage to our assigned rooms Slash had the awesome idea to watch a film. Steven wanted to watch something funny but Axl quickly told him to fuck off.

"Axl, that's very rude" Duff quickly came to the help of Steven. "Yeah, well I ain't watching some shitty comedy, that's for pussies" ..Axl is an asshole sometimes

Slash had enough of arguing and just put on a horror movie and told everyone to shut up and watch the movie.

Halfway through, Steven was cuddled up to Duff, hiding in his chest.

Axl laughed every time someone died, and Slash always shushed him.

Outside pov.

As the movie went on Steven was buried under his hair, two blankets, and most importantly to him, in Duff's arms. How can they be so stupid? Not noticing something that's there?

But they weren't the only stupid ones, no there was a black-haired boy, and you. Also stupid... too stupid in love to notice what's there.

After the movie ended you made food for the guys. Duff decided to help, as the others were pretty incapable of cooking or didn't want to help.

Your pov.

"You know y/n you're blind for not noticing how Izzy looks at you." Duff stated bluntly. "Well McKagan then you're pretty blind for not noticing how Steven looks at you"

"What do you mean?" He asked with...hope? His eyes got wider and you could hear his voice shake a bit.

"Duff, are you serious? Steven likes you, he always tries to be close to you, looks at all the groupies you fuck with so much anger in his eyes, I never thought he could be so angry. And don't think I don't see you staring at him all day" I said with a sweet smile on my face.

"I don't get it y/n..he..he likes me?"

"Yes Duff, he does, he really does, so please don't mess this up, promise me you'll talk to him while we're here"

I really hope he'll talk to him because it's probably eating them up from the inside to keep these feelings locked away.

"But! Y/n, you should talk to Izzy too, you have something between the two of you" Duff looked at me with pleading eyes

"Duff, things are complicated, we.... well, we know about each other's feelings but, I don't know, I guess we're just too afraid to fuck it up"

I don't know about his feelings, to be honest, but I'm definitely scared to fuck up because I really like him. For a time I never thought I'd be able to love someone, and I know that's a strong word to use, but when he came along, stuff changed.

By the time we were done cooking the guys were all hungry and basically ran to the kitchen, I was really conflicted inside from our conversation with Duff. Should I mention it to Iz? Probably should. Whatever, I'll think about it later.

Night came around and everyone retreated to their own rooms to sleep, or in my case think.

Outside pov.

Slash and Axl were fast asleep in their rooms, but the others weren't.

Duff was sitting in the kitchen, head in his hands muttering to himself about being a coward and stupid. Steven however noticed someone downstairs and when he saw Duff and what he was muttering to himself he got sad. How could this perfect human being think that he's stupid? He tiptoed behind him and pulled Duff in his arms from behind. Duff was sitting so the back of his head was pressed into stevens chest. At first, Duff was scared but as soon as he smelled the familiar and calming scent of Steven he instantly felt comfortable, like he was at home. Steven turned Duff around and carefully put his fingers under the taller man's chin and leaned down to press a love-filled kiss onto his lips. At this moment both of them understood everything without words. Duff stood up hugging Steven and lifting him up to take him to his room. They didn't do anything else besides cuddling and a lot of kisses, but both of them felt safe and eventually, they fell asleep with Duff on his back pulling Steven close to him, almost on top of him. This is how they'll be found when you walked into Duff's room in the morning to tell him something.

What was that something?

Well after a lot of thinking you got up and went to Izzy's room. It's now or never you though.

Your pov.

My fingers softly collided with the wooden door and a rustling noise inside told me that Izzy heard it. This seemed like a really bad idea all of a sudden. Well, can't do anything about it now.

A soft "Who's there" could be heard from inside the room "Just me, can we talk?" I replied really quietly wondering if he heard me.  "Yeah, come in"

"Iz, look I'm going to tell you something, ok? Please don't interrupt me."

"Alright"

"So you know when we met, I immediately found you extremely hot. Well, those feelings grew a lot since then, and when we kissed at the party, it just, felt so...right? I know you'll probably tell me that you were just drunk all of the times you kissed me, or just felt lonely. But Iz, I like you, a lot." Silence, that's all, he said nothing. Just staring at me with his signature poker face.

"I knew it, sorry for disturbing  you, I'll just go now, forget it please!"

As I turned to walk away he grabbed my arms and pulled me back into a hug that soon turned into a kiss. When I opened my eyes again we were cuddling on his bed. This is where I felt home, felt alright, in his arms.

"I'm sorry for not responding love, it was just shocking to hear that you liked me. I thought you kissed me all those times just to anger Duff or Axl. I guess I just never thought you'd want to be with a junkie " Izzy whispered looking down at his arms sadly

"You thought wrong Iz, I don't give a fuck about what you do, well yes I don't like you doing drugs, but also you can get over that and to me you are perfect" 

"Maybe it's too soon to say, but I love you y/n, I really do."

"I love you too Iz"

Outside pov.

Maybe they weren't so stupid after all, just scared of their feelings. The two blond boys, who understood each other without words. Izzy and you, on the other hand, needed words to understand each other fully.

But what matters is that in the end, everything was alright.

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 30

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 3/?

A/N: Chapter 30 already! This chapter was not an easy one to edit as I was insecure about a lot of things, but hey, it's out now and that's what matters, right? I am so aware things are progressing a bit slowly right now but I feel it's kind of 'necessary' to have a bit of down time before things start going down. (Not that I'm capable of writing actual drama.) Well, at least we'll find out a bit more about Leo's past in this chapter.

Without a further ado, please enjoy and let me know what you think (those comments really help me!!!)

Words: exactly 3000 apparently :O

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

After breakfast Leo asked Calypso if she would like him to give her a tour around Waystation. She agreed, but Leo couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow at his family members when Georgina asked if she could go with the flatmates and Leo’s mothers told her that they needed Georgie’s help in some Christmas chores.

“What?” Josephine asked innocently when she noticed Leo staring.

“I dunno, tía Jo. It just kinda seems like you don’t want Georgie to hang out with us,” he stated bluntly.

“That’s not accurate at all, Leo,” she denied. “I’d gladly let Georgina go with you but we really do need her help around here. Christmas isn’t coming if we all just slack off, right, Emmie?”

“I agree, dear. I haven’t even…” Emmie’s hesitance only deepened Leo’s suspicions. “...hmmm, taken care of our mistletoes yet.”

“Mistletoes?” Leo crossed his arms over his chest, briefly daring to wonder what would happen if he and Calypso were under one of those plants at the same time. He shook his head to dispel such an idea.

“Didn’t we agree that we don’t need stuff like that? You don’t even like Christmas!”

“I may agree that this holiday is way too commercial these days, but since Emmie has some mistletoes growing in her greenhouse anyway, I don’t see why we wouldn’t use them,” Jo commented. “It’s nice that Georgie gets to experience some of the old traditions even if we grownups don’t care about them.”

“Whatever,” Leo rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t win that battle.

“Um, if you need extra hands,” Calypso joined the conversation, addressing Jo and Emmie, “I don’t have to go with Leo. I’d love to help too.”

Leo felt a twinge of disappointment because of Calypso’s suggestion. His insecure side yelled that maybe he had misread Calypso’s intentions all along.

“Oh, no, no!” Emmie denied immediately. “You are our guest; we want you to take it easy and enjoy your stay here. I bet Leo’s tour is a lot more fun than us peeling way too many potatoes and carrots for the casserole.”

“I wouldn’t mind peeling potatoes,” Calypso mumbled but Leo’s mothers pretended they didn’t even hear that. The flatmates simply had to accept that they wouldn’t have a chaperone - except maybe Festus - on their tour.

Once the two of them were outside, Leo’s thoughts went back to the time when he had first arrived at Waystation. Back then, he had been only 15, having just escaped from his latest foster home, which had been located far away in New Mexico. His foster family there had hidden their opinion on him very badly, giving him sly remarks about his looks and telling him to speak clearer English even though Leo’s English had always been fine, thanks to his real mother allowing him to learn both Spanish and English as a small kid. They had also made him do the hard work such as carrying heavy loads while the other foster kid of the family got the easy tasks. And when he had come home from school with bad grades, the foster parents had commented: “why do we even bother with you?”

At some point Leo had simply had enough, and by selling some of the few belongings he had he had managed to gather just enough money for one plane ticket and so he flew to Indianapolis without telling anything to his foster family.

After living on the streets and successfully dodging the authorities for a couple of weeks, the police finally found him and contacted the local social workers. Thankfully, after Leo put all his convincing skills to use, they agreed to not send him back to New Mexico, instead finding him a new foster family nearby. Leo hadn’t had high expectations because he had been in at least 6 different foster homes since his mother’s death and none of them had been a good match for him. Some had been abusive, some racist, some ignorant, some had had kids who were bullies, some had had alcohol issues… What had been common for them all was that none of them had treated him the way they should have.

That was why Leo had picked some bad habits too; he wanted to drown his feelings somehow and he ended up stealing small amounts of money from his foster family so he could buy alcohol from his older homeless ‘friends’. He had hated how it made him feel afterwards, but it had been the only way he had known how to deal with his issues. At some point he had even had suicidal thoughts because the guilt and trauma from his childhood got so bad he woke up covered in sweat after the same old fire filled nightmare almost every night. And going from foster home to foster home and feeling like none of those people cared what he really did with his life definitely didn’t help him regain his feeling of self worth. He had no future, no plans, no real friends or family and nowhere to go.

Luckily, during his worst phase in his last foster home someone from his homeless group mentioned having a relative in Indiana and that he was hoping to move there at some point in hopes of getting a new start for his life. That idea sparked something in Leo’s mind and when he started planning his big escape, Indianapolis was the first place that he thought of.

When he finally met Jo and Emmie, he was surprised. Seeing them spending time with their then 5-year-old adoptive daughter, he could tell that these women genuinely cared about the little girl and did everything for her wellbeing. Not only that, Jo was a mechanic just like Leo’s real mother and they had also other things in common. With some patience and showing that they cared, simply by making sure that Leo ate, rested and had something to do with his time other than dwelling on his sad past, they eventually won him over. And when Leo discovered thanks to Jo’s help that he himself had the skills to become a mechanic someday as well, he finally had a goal to reach and studying wasn’t quite as big a struggle for him anymore.

Soon, however, Leo became afraid that Jo and Emmie wouldn’t want to keep him around because he still had some bad days when he literally had to be dragged from his bed. He was also worried that maybe the women had heard what he had done in his past and were silently judging him. Instead, they surprised him by telling him that they wanted to officially adopt him much like Georgina because he was a part of their family now. As an added bonus they assigned him for therapy sessions, which really helped and the days when he didn’t want to do anything became less and less. Leo knew he was still a work in progress but this family had helped him so much and he had found his purpose, his home, at Waystation.

Calypso had naturally noticed Leo’s silence so eventually she asked:

“Are you OK? You’re being unusually quiet.”

“Oh, yeah, just dandy!” Leo exclaimed, trying to act more like his usual self. “I was just thinking about the times when I first moved in here.”

“Really? Do you want to tell me more about that?” Calypso asked curiously.

“I guess it won’t hurt.” Leo shrugged. “I don’t remember if I’ve told you that I was in a lot of foster homes before I got here. Well, my last foster parents were really shitty people and I was this close to… I dunno, doing something desperate. So I decided to just leave and ended up here in Indianapolis. I, um, was homeless for a bit but when the social workers got me into their hands they found me a new family, Jo and Emmie. At first they were supposed to only foster me for a time being but they ended up adopting me instead. I… haven’t told this to anyone, but they probably saved my life by doing that. The Leo from that time was far from the Super-Sized McSizzle that I am now,” he attempted to joke, but Calypso ignored that. Instead, she said:

“I’m sorry you had to go through that… but I’m glad you opened up about it to me.” Leo’s heart did an extra jump when he saw Calypso smiling at him supportingly. He would never get used to that. “And I’m glad Jo and Emmie adopted you.”

“Yeah, me too… When I first saw the place I was like, ‘wow, I wish I could stay here’. Obviously the people here are awesome - they are my family - but that wasn’t the only thing the 15-year-old me cared about. The cars and other machines Jo was fixing? So cool. I had only seen something like that at my childhood home and the nostalgia hit me like ‘boom’ right away.”

“I should have known it was the machines that convinced you to stay here,” Calypso teased, but Leo knew her already too well to get provoked by that.

“Nah. I mean, they’re neat and all, but Jo and Emmie did the actual convincing.”

“Okay, I believe you. So, was Jo’s garage what made you want to become a mechanical engineer?” Calypso asked.

“I guess the spark was always there but it took me a while to convince myself that I should try to pursue that goal. But when I started going to school again regularly – long story, don’t ask – I noticed that the sciences were easy for me, I was also decent enough at drawing – which of course helps with the blueprints and stuff – and Jo let me try fixing some of the simpler machines she had and turned out I wasn’t half bad. It was Jo and Emmie who kept pushing me to apply for the uni, though, because they believed in me more than I did. I’m thankful that they did it but… sometimes I still doubt...” Leo hadn’t talked about his insecurities even to his adoptive mothers so he felt that the fact that he was able to open up about it to Calypso was a big deal.

“I’ve seen you fix countless items,” Calypso said slowly. “I’ve noticed that you’re always… so different when you’re fiddling with your machines. More relaxed. Calmer. Surer of what you do. And your eyes sparkle and you hum some old school rock song while you work and I can just tell that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

Leo had to avert his eyes from her because he was afraid he would do something stupid like cry if he looked at her too long in that moment. No matter how encouraging his family, friends and the therapist were… it was still hard to get used to the compliments. And if he was honest to himself, he probably valued Calypso’s opinion more than anyone else’s at that point.

“Wow… umm… I don’t know how to answer that…” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“A simple thank you would probably do,” Calypso replied. “But know that I mean what I say. Now, how about you show me that famous garage?”

Leo did as he was told. He introduced Calypso to all the tools and machinery they used to fix whatever item the customer happened to bring in. He had a feeling that Calypso probably didn’t have any idea what he was talking about half the time because he tended to get very technical with the terms when he got excited, but she still seemed content listening to him. At least she wasn’t telling him to stop, which was definitely a plus.

To Leo’s surprise, Calypso went to the table where he and Jo used to draw their blueprints and asked him if she could see how he did it because she hadn’t seen his blueprints before. He complied, taking a pencil and a piece of blank paper from the stack and looking at Calypso questioningly.

“What do you want me to draw, then? I may have some experience on this but even I need some ideas first…”

“You can draw whatever you like. How about Festus?” Calypso requested.

“Festus?” Leo tapped the pencil against his chin for a moment, considering Calypso’s request. “Hmm, as you wish, Sunshine.”

He started making fast, swift motions on the paper and it didn’t take him very long to finish the sketch. Sure, the lines were a bit rough, but Calypso told him she was very impressed by how accurately he remembered even the little details, such as a dark spot on Festus’ back, how the tail curved when he was happy, and how he was missing a tiny piece of the tip of his left ear.

Leo felt a bit embarrassed by the praise. “It just comes with me hanging out with him so much. Nothing more to it, really.” He looked at the sketch for a moment. “Hold on, I feel like this is missing something. Can you look towards that window for a moment?”

“What, why?” Calypso asked, but turned anyway.

“Just adding something real quick,” Leo replied and started sketching again. He wondered if it was the lighting of the room but he thought Calypso’s cheeks seemed a bit darker than usual and she kept looking at the floor shyly. When he realized that he’d probably feel the same way if she was drawing him, he himself got flustered and decided to try to finish the drawing as quickly as possible. Within minutes he had drawn her next to Festus, playing with him, wearing the same holiday sweater and jeans she currently was.

“Can I see?” Calypso asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Leo gave the picture to her. “It’s not detailed or anything but I tried.”

Calypso kept staring at it for a moment. “Leo… this looks great! I mean, I don’t think I am that pretty but I am quite amazed that you managed to do this that fast!”

Leo wanted to say that there was no way the picture did her justice but he knew that would be a never ending debate so instead he told her: “It’s the experience, Sunshine. When you draw hundreds of blueprints you learn to be fast.”

Calypso turned her attention to the drawing again. “Can I get it?” she asked after a while.

“Why?”

“Because Festus looks cute, you weirdo. That’s a good enough reason, right?”

“Fine, you can have it. I’m not sure where I’d put it anyway.” Leo shrugged. He wasn’t sure why Calypso possibly hanging the picture on her wall made him feel a bit weird. In a good way, though.

Once the two of them left the garage, Leo pointed at a smaller building next to the ‘main’ one. A couple of pointy ears were peeking from the upstairs windows. “That’s where our foster animals live. I think the kid me wished on some level that I could have a pet but my mom could never afford one… but Jo and Emmie have been fostering rescue cats and dogs even before I got here. One of them was Festus’ mum; she was pregnant when she arrived here. When she had her puppies, I noticed that one of them was a bit of an outsider and we instantly formed a bond. Jo and Emmie allowed him to stay here even though he sure would have had adopters.”

“That was really sweet of them,” Calypso commented. “Can we see who’s in there right now?”

“Sure but we should probably let Emmie know about it because she’s pretty strict about who can go in. She may ask us to wear ‘bunny suits’; some of the animals may be sick and we don’t wanna spread the bugs around.”

“No problem, let’s go see her then.”

When Emmie heard what Leo and Calypso were about to do, she promised to stop her Christmas chores for a while so she could show them (mainly Calypso) around in the rescue house. Currently she was fostering two young puppies who had been found on the streets without their mother, a mother cat with her 4 kittens who were getting close to their adoption age, and an older cat with some kidney issues who seemed to however adore the little kittens.

Leo was watching Calypso’s reactions closely as Emmie was introducing her to the kittens. Soon one of the braver kittens climbed on the girl’s lap, giving her a tiny ‘meow’ and then started nuzzling against her sleeve.

“Aww, look Leo! He loves me,” Calypso exclaimed, smiling widely as the kitten started purring loudly on her lap while she pet him. ‘He’s not the only one,’ Leo thought in his mind. Aloud he asked: “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I guess because I’ve never really handled cats so I didn’t know how they’d react to me…” Calypso noted more seriously. But then the happiness returned to her face. “You know, this one reminds me of you! He also has long, black hair like you and fierce eyes.”

“Fierce?” Leo raised his eyebrow. “That’s what you think of me?”

Calypso seemed to want to explain but with Emmie in the room she didn’t go to details. “Um, maybe? Hey, look! Another one is coming!”

This time a small ginger kitten was approaching her and Calypso extended her arm so the kitten could sniff her. The group kept making small talk about the cats in the room and continued snuggling them, but Leo’s eyes were on Calypso the whole time. He could see how happy she was about such a simple thing as kittens and it made him feel lighter, warmer again, even though he had just remembered some very bad times a few moments earlier. Maybe all of it had been meant to happen, he wondered briefly. After all, it led him here, to his family… and Calypso.

[orange-waterfalls]

I Won't Miss You Much

Illinois x gender neutral!reader

@just-bts-trash-00 ty for the prompt

A/N: the title is a lie from our very own adventurer. Illinois being a lonely boy and getting a taste of his own medicine I guess. He leaves for adventures for weeks on end and just goes "haha y/n will be fine" yeah it's not so GOOD IS IT, ILLY? sorry I'm tired. Uuuuuuh comedy??? And fluff??? I took a jab at Hallmark movies at one point lol. Rated T for cursing. I didn't intend for the end to be suggestive but I think that's what happened. Enjoy!

Word Count: 2.8k

--

Illinois drove back home, smiling from ear to ear. He'd just found an entire chest of treasure. Gold, silver, jewels, you name it. He'd give a lot of it to museums, like always, but even with what he'd have left, he wouldn't have to adventure for a month! A month to spend time with you. That sounded lovely.

He'd been going on a lot of adventures recently, so you two didn't see each other much. He was pretty okay with it, but he knew how much you wanted to spend time with him. This was a great opportunity. He didn't call to tell you he was coming home. He wanted to surprise you.

He pulled into the driveway, turning the car off and walking up to the door. He knocked 7 times in a rhythmic pattern. He heard a bit of shuffling from inside before you opened the door a crack. Upon seeing your boyfriend, your eyes widened and you threw the door open.

"Illinois?" You asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my house?" He laughed. You pulled him into a hug and he backed you into the house, closing the door with his foot.

"I thought you'd be gone until tomorrow…" you said and pulled out of the hug.

"I wanted to come home early," he shrugged. "Besides, I don't have to adventure for a month." You blinked at him.

"A… a month?" You repeated with less enthusiasm.

"Yeah! So we can spend a lot of time together, just like you want."

"Oh…"

"What's wrong? Were you planning on breaking up with me?" He chuckled. He looked behind you, seeing a suitcase on the couch. He looked back at you and frowned. "Please don't break up with me…"

"Oh! Oh, no, no, no! That's not what that's for!" You reassured. "I just…"

"What?"

"I'm… going on a business trip…"

"Business trip? To where?"

"Uh… Brazil…"

"Brazil?"

"Yeah…" you said apologetically. "A client hired me to take photos… in Brazil… I'm sorry…"

"It's alright," Illinois sighed. "We can have quality time after you get back."

"I'm gonna be gone for a month…"

"What? Why?"

"They want me to take pictures of everything. Families, animals, there's a parade that'll happen… I have to be there." You checked your phone. "And I my flight leaves soon, so I have to go now." You walked over to the couch and grabbed your suitcase, then back up to Illinois.

"Alright." He nodded. You gently kissed him, and pulled away all too soon for his liking.

"I love you! Goodbye!" You said as you walked past him to your car.

"Love you too…" he answered. You put your suitcase in the trunk and got into the driver's seat. You waved goodbye to Illinois as you pulled out of the driveway and headed to the airport.

Illinois stood at the doorway for a minute. So, he couldn't spend time with you. That was fine! You were a fantastic photographer, he couldn't blame people for wanting to hire you all the way from Brazil. He'd miss you a bit, but he'd be fine. I mean, you spent days, even weeks on end without him. He'd be completely fine.

--

Illinois was completely not fine. It had been three days since you left and he already felt like dying. How the hell did you last without him? More importantly, how was he supposed to survive without you?

The first day was probably the best one. He slept on the couch because of how tired he was. When he woke up in the morning, he went through the basics. He took a shower, washed his face, changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, and ate breakfast. He usually woke up before you, so he knew how to cook for himself. He was pretty awake when he got up, so he didn't make any coffee. He just made some of your chamomile tea. It was really good, he didn't know why he didn't try it before. He went through the rest of a pretty boring day. He watch TV, read a book, made lunch, watched some more TV, went through all of his trophies from adventures, made dinner, then fell asleep.

The second was a bit more chaotic. He was more tired that day than the first day, but he made tea instead of coffee again. He remembered you had told him that a brownie recipe you knew went very well with the tea, so he tried to make it. You were out of eggs, so he went to the store to buy some. Once he did, he got started on the brownies.

Now when I say he set the kitchen on fire, this dumbass set the kitchen on fucking fire.

He had made the batter and put it into a pan, and then into the oven. He decided to watch TV while he waited on the brownies. He landed on a Hallmark Christmas romance movie. That was a bad idea, because he fell asleep almost instantly.

He awoke to the smell of smoke and the alarm frantically beeping. He jumped up and ran into the kitchen. He swung the oven open and threw the extremely burnt baking onto the floor. He grabbed a nearby towel and waved at the air until the alarm stopped He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, noticing he was sweating.

"Well, that's unfortunate," he sighed. He looked at the time. 10:24. There was still time for brunch.

He decided to make an omelette for himself.

He made the omelette for the most part, and let it sit on the stove for a minute. He wanted to make sure it was just right. he walked over to the couch and sat down, deciding to rest his eyes for a minute. The brownie incident was very stressful. Yet again, instead of just sitting there, he fell asleep.

For the second time this same damn day, Illinois woke up to the smell of smoke and the fire alarm beeping like mad. this time, he didn't jump up because he didn't think it'd be that bad. he slowly walked into the kitchen and almost screamed when he saw that his omelet was currently on fire. He panicked, not knowing what to do, because you two had an electric stove. What was he supposed to do? Throw some water on it? He looked around for a moment before seeing the towel he had to use to wave the smoke away. He grabbed it and threw it on top of the piece of breakfast, patting it to make sure it died. After about a minute, he gently lifted the towel. The fire was out. He sighed and, again, waved the smoke from the smoke alarm to get it to stop beeping. Illinois quit trying to make breakfast and just took some of your cereal. He honestly thought that that was going to catch on fire as well, so he stayed a little bit away from it at all times. Once he finished his cereal and his tea, he went back to the couch and just collapsed. he decided that another quick nap was in order, given the chaos that happened that day.

The rest of the day was pretty calm. He watched TV, went to the store to buy some other food, made lunch, watched some more TV, read a book and got takeout for dinner because he didn't feel like cooking again.

The third day was the one where he finally started to feel the effects of you not being there. It was a Wednesday. You always woke up early on Wednesday. He wasn't sure why, and neither were you. But you always woke up at the same time as him and made breakfast. He always made the coffee before hand so you can be more awake. And that's exactly what he did. He woke up, went through the motions, went into the kitchen, and made coffee. He got two mugs from the pantry and set them down on opposite sides of the table. When eating breakfast, you two always sat across from each other so you could talk. Illinois poured coffee into both of the cups and sat down. He stared across from his seat at the table for a moment, seeing the empty chair, and realizing that you were, in fact, not here.

And then he broke down.

He missed you. Oh, God, he missed you so much. How long were you supposed to be going? A month? And how long have you been gone? 3 days? He wouldn't make it. He couldn't make it. He started to pace around the kitchen.

"Ok… ok… you're ok…" he told himself. "You've been away from them for a longer amount of time, you can handle a month."

But the thing about Illinois being away from you for long, long, long amounts of time was that he had something to do. He'd be on an adventure. He'd be in some temple ruins, or a cave, or something of the sort running for his life. But this time, you were the one with the job, and he had absolutely nothing to do. Illinois didn't have many friends, mostly because he adventured so much. He was honestly pretty surprised when you agreed to date him. Now he realized why you wanted to spend more time together.

Okay. Okay. This was fine. He just had to find something to do… What did normal people do when they were bored?

He went to the museum. It was pretty interesting, and they were doing a lecture on treasures that he had donated there. He figured that could be pretty fun. He soon found that trying to correct to the tour guide on every single thing he was saying was not the best thing to do, because he got kicked out.

The next day, he went to the zoo. He informs people on the different types of spiders and bats and bugs that lived in caves. Heated ventured for so long that he figured it would be smart to learn the kind of animals he'd come into contact with when he went somewhere. Everyone was very interested in it, until he decided to take a tarantula out of its enclosure. Again, he got kicked out.

Third time's a charm. The next day, he went to the park. He sat on a bench and read a book and watched the kids play on the playground. One kid walked up to him and asked him if he was in an adventurer.

"Why, yes I am," he said smugly, "do you want to be one when you grow up?"

"No, you just remind me of Indiana Jones," the child answered. Illinois' hand squeezed the book in anger.

"Well, could Indiana Jones do this?" He asked while unsheathing his gun. He shot a nearby tree a few times to make a smiley face. He smirked at the kid.

"Probably," they shrugged and walked away from him. He snarled.

"Fuckin' kids…" he mumbled. A parent had apparently called the police on him, because he ended up in jail. They told him he had a phone call, so he called Mark.

"Hey, Mark! So, uh… I'm in jail," he said, trying to keep his cool, "I need you to come get me…"

"Dammit!" Mark cursed.

"What's wrong?"

"I bet Wilford that you would get arrested a week after Y/N left." He explained. "He bet 4-5 business days…"

"Ha! Told you!" Illinois heard another voice from Mark's end of the line.

"Oh, shut up!" Mark yelled. "Listen, uh… I'll get there soon as I can. Bye." He said and hung up. Illinois sighed and slumped on a bench.

This was gonna be a long month…

--

Illinois had the most boring month of his entire fucking life. For the first half of it, he sat in his living room, watching romcoms and almost crying because he wanted to be lovey-dovey with you. Why should these assholes get to be together? They were cheating on the one girl's boyfriend! She can have two spouses, but he can't be with his one?

For the second half, Illinois stopped being such a pissy little fuck and actually did things. He learned how to play the guitar, he finished three books, and he painted a picture from a Bob Ross video.

It was awful.

He was so completely bored without you. He hadn't realized how much you'd improved his life up to that point. You two had figured out how to video call halfway through the month, but you were almost always busy or asleep when he was ready. It was horrible.

But now, it was over.

You got back today.

And Illinois was fucking elated.

He jumped into his car and went through three red lights to get there, not to mention he was going 50mph in a 40mph zone. This man was going to die before he was late. He didn't even give a shit he was 5 hours early, he was gonna fucking wait for you at the airport. He brought a blanket and snacks, he'd be fine.

He took a nap after an hour, and woke up three hours after that. For the next two hours, he looked at pictures of you and thought about what he'd do with you when you got back. Finally, the time came when your plane was supposed to land. He knew it'd be a bit after that, but he stuffed his blanket and leftover snacks in his backpack and ran up to where you were supposed to enter the airport. He didn't have a sign, which he probably should have, but he'd find you soon enough. He looked through the crowd of people exiting the plane. All he saw were old rich people and young rich people. He looked across the herd of people, searching for any hint of your suitcase. You had gotten annoyed with the fact that you kept mistaking yours for other people's, so he bought you a neon rainbow suitcase. That didn't seem to be very useful at this point in time. He felt a buzz on his thigh. Groaning, he checked his phone. It was a text from Mark.

Hey! It said, Is Y/N home yet?

Illinois growled.

That's what I'm looking for.

Tell me when you see them

Sure thing. Illinois shoved the phone back into his pants, continuing his search. He suddenly saw a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head to the side.

There you were, trudging your suitcase along the floor. Your hair was all over the place, you were dragging your feet, and even from where he was, he saw the bags under your eyes. You were a hot mess.

In his eyes, you were an angel on Earth.

He wanted to be patient and keep up his suave persona. He noticed himself bouncing in his spot a bit, a smile forming on his lips. If he waited any longer, he swore to God he was going to explode. He eventually decided it wasn't worth it, and dashing over to you.

You were so tired. You were so, so very tired. The people who hired you were so nice, but they never fucking slept. Anytime they did something, they wanted you to take a picture of it. Mostly because they'd just gotten married, and you could respect their enthusiasm, but holy shit. Not to mention the PARADE. You got no rest. None. You couldn't wait to get home and just relax with your boyfriend…

Speaking of which, wasn't he supposed to pick you up?

You saw something coming towards you in your peripheral vision and turned, only to see said boyfriend sprinting at you. You opened your mouth to scream, but the wind was knocked out of you by Illinois pulling you into the tightest hug you've ever experienced and you simply wheezed.

"Oh my God, I missed you so much," he nearly cried, "do not ever do that to me again, please…" in response, you coughed. He realized you were having trouble inhaling and loosed his grip. He didn't let go.

"I missed you too…" you wheezed. He stood holding you for a second. A couple of girls giggled as they walked past you two. You flushed.

"Illinois, you're embarrassing me…" you whined.

"Oh?" He asked, the smirk audible in his voice. He pulled out of the hug and crashed his lips against yours. You basically collapsed into it and he had to hold you up against his body. He pulled away after a minute. You sighed.

"Can we go home now?" You pleaded.

"Of course, darlin'! We gotta spend some time together!" He answered. You let out a soft whimper.

Looks like you weren't getting your rest anytime soon.

my phone's at 5% lololol.

[kohanayaki]

Caught in the Middle (Steve Harrington x Reader x Billy Hargrove) Ch 1

Just before the school year begins, a new girl drives into town in a black 84' Jaguar with a New York license plate. But you weren't new to Hawkins at all. As a matter of fact, you were returning. While reunited with your old friends you soon find yourself making some unexpected new ones as well; namely the hair of Hawkins high himself and a certain hot-blooded Californian bad boy. Little did you know, dark forces were at work just beneath your feet. How the hell did you get caught in the middle of this?

Links: Ch 1  Ch 2  Ch 3  Ch 4  Ch 5  Ch 6   Ch 7

___________________________________________________________

Ch 1 .:Something Old, Something New:.

Nothing really changed much in Hawkins, Indiana. It was always the same people working the same jobs or going to the same high school. However one thing that was definitely different was the fact that a giant, glass-topped complex decked out in neon signs and flashing lights stood tall in the middle of town square- a stark contrast to everything else around it. Starcourt Mall looked severely out of place in your small town, but then again it had been almost six years since you've been here.

Your gaze swept over the impressive building, swarms of teenagers weaving in and out of the stores. Your eyes suddenly settled on a cute blue and white striped sign that read 'Scoops Ahoy!'

“You up for ice cream?” you asked.

“I'm down,” your brother said from the passenger seat.

“Good, because I was going to pull over anyways,” you grinned. 

You backed into a nearby parking spot, getting out of your car and stretching out your arms. The ten hour road trip from Rochester to Hawkins did not do great things for your body or your sleep schedule, especially when you had to live off of nothing but McDonalds and 7-11 food for a few days. As ready as you were to flop face first onto your old bed, some ice cream sounded really good in the sweltering heat.

You headed into the ice cream shop as you took out your wallet, a cute little bell ringing out as you opened the door. 

“Ahoy,” a pretty girl with shoulder length blonde hair greeted you as you walked in. She wore a sailors uniform and hat and looked like she couldn't wait to go home. However, she seemed to regain a bit of energy as she saw you. She stared at you curiously for a moment, looking you up and down before smiling. 

“Hold on just a second,” she said. 

“Uh, sure?” you said, a bit confused by the girl as she quickly disappeared into the back room,

“You're gonna want to take this one, Harrington,” Robin said. 

“I'm on break,” Steve said, his feet up on the table.

“You've been 'on break' for over an hour, dingus,” Robin rolled her eyes, “Besides, you'll thank me later if you play your cards right.”

She reached behind the table he sat at, pulling up a white board with two columns reading 'You Rule' and 'You Suck'. 

“You're 0 for 6, Popeye,” Robin said, “Let's see if you can flip the odds.” 

She gestured over to the window where you stood in front of the display case, looking around for another employee. Steve seemed to perk up at the sight of you. It was a rare occurrence in Hawkins for Steve to run into someone he's never seen before, and hell if you weren't beautiful. 

Robin chuckled as he shot up out of his seat, straightening out his uniform with new enthusiasm.

“Alright, I'm going in,” he said, pausing for a moment before he opened the door, “And you know what? Screw the company policy.” He took off his hat and threw it over his shoulder with a flourish, “Totally hiding my best feature.”

“Yeah,” Robin said under her breath, “That's what's holding you back.”

“Ahoy there!”

You nearly jumped at the overly-loud greeting you received as the door to the back room swung open, revealing a guy about your age in an equally ridiculous sailor uniform as his coworker.

“Sorry for the wait, I hope you're still available to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me. I'm your captain for today, Steve-”

“Harrington,” you finished, surprising the boy behind the counter. He blinked a few times, letting his brain catch up with itself.

“Do. . . do I know you?” he asked.

“Probably not,” you chuckled dryly, “We went to middle school together. I moved a few weeks before freshman year.”

“Oh,” he said, feeling kind of bad. A lot had changed in the last year- mainly that he almost got killed by flesh eating beings from another dimension on no less than two accounts. But he'd also changed a lot as a person. He was one to acknowledge that he wasn't the greatest person in the past; Maybe it was better that you didn't know him in high school.   

“Well, I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other back then,” Steve said honestly. 

That took you by surprise. This wasn't the Steve Harrington you knew. He was the King as far back as elementary school and, as far as you knew, a grade-A asshole. He seemed a lot different than when he was smacking down lunch trays at the sixth grade table in the cafeteria, but he was still just as stupidly attractive.

“Let's start over, then,” you said, “I'm (Y/n), and this is my brother Kyle.”

Steve looked over to the (h/c)-headed boy who looked only a year or two younger than you and gave him a little salute-wave. 

“Nice to meet you,” Steve said, “What can I get you two?”

After taking your orders Steve started scooping up the ice cream, piling them into waffle cones. As he handed you yours he seemed to hesitate before talking. 

“So, are you just back in Hawkins to visit, or. . .” he trailed off.

“I'm back here as long as my dad's business is,” you said, “He moved us out to New York for work, but he's setting up base back here.”

“Oh, New York!” Steve said, trying to come up with something to say, “That's, uh, the- where the Statue of Liberty is and. . . hot dogs, and. . . taxis?”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” you laughed, the sound making Steve smile.

You looked over to the wall clock and bit your lip as you saw how late in the afternoon it was.

“Hey, we have to get going,” you said reluctantly, “I still need to finish moving in. You know, unpacking everything I own and all.”

“Uh, yeah, no, I totally get it,” Steve said, mentally kicking himself as you turned around to leave. 

Just before you closed the door you turned to look at him over your shoulder. 

“You know, I start my senior year in a few weeks at a little place called Hawkins High,” you said. 

Steve rose an eyebrow, his expression a little more hopeful, and you grinned.

“Who knows? I might see you around,” you said, a mischievous glint in your eyes.

Robin smirked as Steve watched you walk away, a little in awe.

“I like her,” she said, “Although, I'm not really sure if this one counts as a win or a loss.”

Steve was fine with that, so long as he got to see you again. 

~2 weeks later~

Hawkins High was always bustling with activity, even in the early morning. Chatter from groups of students walking to school together along with the hum of car motors filled the air. Everyone was either sitting on the steps of the school or leaning against their cars to show them off, trying to avoid going to first period as long as they could. 

Suddenly, a low rumble sounded out in the air as an unfamiliar vehicle rounded the corner. It seemed like everyone in the school was watching as the sleek, black car pulled into the parking lot with the windows down, music blasting. 

You enjoyed the feeling of the wind on your face as First Blood from AC/DC's new album sounded out through your car's stereo. You turned it down slightly only to talk to your brother.

“Got everything you need?” you asked Kyle.

“Everything but a doctor's note to get me out of here,” your brother joked.

You chuckled as you grabbed your jean jacket from the trunk; You slung it over your Black Sabbath t shirt before killing the engine and locking the door. 

You were about to start walking in until you were tackled into a hug from multiple children.

“(Y/n)!!” Dustin yelled, running towards you from the middle school next door.

“You're here!” Mike said, grinning wildly as he joined the group hug that Will and Lucas piled onto. 

“Hey, guys,” you smiled, “Good to know you avoided setting fire to this town without me.”

“Hey what am I, chopped liver?” Kyle said. 

The group quickly shifted their attention from you to your brother, each of them doing the secret handshakes they'd come up with together when they were little.

“I didn't know you guys were coming back,” Will said, “Why hasn't anyone said anything?”

“Your mom wanted it to be a surprise,” you admitted, “I already talked to her.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Will exclaimed.

You noticed two girls you didn't recognize were standing somewhat awkwardly to the side, not really sure what was happening.

“New party members?” you asked, smiling at them.

“This is El and Max,” Mike said, introducing you, “El, Max, this is (Y/n) and Kyle. They used to live across the street from us.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said to them before turning back to the boys, “Damn, I'm gone for a couple years and you all go and get girlfriends?” you teased. 

Mike and Lucas blushed and your smile widened.

“How do you know them again?” the redhead girl named Max questioned, “It's just. . . I don't know, you actually seem cool.”

You laughed at that, much to the boy's chagrin. 

“I used to baby sit them when we were kids,” you explained. 

“God knows why,” Lucas said, “It's not like you were any less trouble than us. You were only, like, thirteen.”

“Ok, but you were, like, seven and completely out of control,” you countered, mimicking his tone of voice.

“Woah, hold up, hold up,” Dustin said, circling around your Jaguar, “You have a fucking car?!”

“Hey, language, you little shit,” you said playfully, ruffling his hair, “And yes, I got it last year.”

“Sweet,” Dustin said, wide eyed as he continued to stare at your new ride. 

“If you guys want I can drive you to the mall this weekend,” you offered. 

Excited shouts followed, effectively giving you your answer. 

“Ok, but there's no way you'll all fit back there, so someone's riding in the trunk or I'm going to have to strap one of you to the roof,” you said, only half joking as you tossed your keys up, catching them with your other hand and pocketing them.

“I'll see you guys later. Hell awaits,” you said, gesturing to the school building. Kyle fell into step next to you as you walked up the stairs. 

As you entered the halls of Hawkins High you couldn't help the sigh that escaped you. Sure, it was good to be back in some ways, but school was not one of them. You liked your school back in New York. It was so different from here. The people were more diverse, more open minded, and just less dickish overall. 

One of the biggest downsides of a small town like Hawkins was that you were pretty much stuck with the same kids from kindergarten until high school, and you knew you'd have to see the same people that made your life hell in middle school for another year.

“Well shit, look who's back!”

Speak of the devil.

Your expression immediately hardened as Tommy and Carol walked up to you, looking just as pleased to see you as you were to see them. Among their posse were a couple of brainless football players and a guy you didn't recognize.

He had long, curly, dirty blond hair and blue eyes that took no shame in raking over your body. He had his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket as he chewed absentmindedly on a piece of gum.

“You just had to come and infect this school again, huh?” Tommy sneered.

“Nice to see you too,” you said sarcastically. Carol said nothing, just glaring at you behind her protective shield of a boyfriend. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes; you both knew she wouldn't do shit.

“You know, I don’t think New York changed her at all, guys,” Tommy said, leaning into your face, “You still a bitch?” 

You shot back without skipping a beat.

“I don’t know, Tommy. You still finger banging cheerleaders in the bathroom behind Carol's back?”

The new guy let out a small chuckle at that while the rest of the group looked stunned.

“You what?!” Carol said, eyes wide as she shoved Tommy away from her. 

“Carol, she's lying!” Tommy panicked as she started walking away, “Babe, it's not true, I swear!”

You sighed as you finally got them out of your hair, turning to your brother. 

“You better get to your first class,” you said, “I'll meet you at lunch, okay? And let me know if any assholes give you a hard time.”

“Will do,” he smiled, “See you.” 

And with that he bounded up the stairs.

You started to make your way across the hall to get to your locker when you found your path blocked by a muscular chest, barely covered by a half-unbuttoned shirt.

You looked up to see the guy who was with Tommy just now and your breath caught in your throat as you tried to put some distance between you two. Everything about this guy screamed red flags, from the scent of his cologne to the slit in his eyebrow, but wow he was handsome. Then again he was friends with Tommy, so that placed him in the category of 'shittiest humans ever' by default.

“You've got a smart mouth on you, I like that,” he drawled, his voice smooth and deep. He hooked his thumb through one of his belt loops, pulling his tight-fitting jeans down even lower. “I don't think I've seen you around here. The name's Billy Hargrove.”

“Cool,” you said before walking away. You were going to be late at this rate, and you knew he was nothing but trouble no matter how hot he was.

Billy was slightly taken aback at your disregard towards him, but he was persistent. He caught up with you easily, sliding into your view again as he walked backwards in your peripheral vision.

“So-” 

“No thanks,” you said, shutting him down fast.

Billy's face fell slightly as he kept up with your quickening pace.

“No thanks what?” 

You stopped at your locker and started putting in your combination. He leaned against the wall as you did.

“I’ve heard about you, Hargrove, and I know your type. You’re good looking, you know it, and everyone in this place seems to follow you around like a herd of sheep. You’re gonna make some kind of lame pass, ask if I wanna take a ride in your mediocre car which is definitely a euphemism for something else, expect me to jump into your pants, and then never talk to me again afterwards. So to that I say: no thanks.” 

Under ordinary circumstances Billy would have been in uproar about you reading him or calling his car mediocre, but instead his lips twisted upwards into a shit-eating grin.

“So you think I’m good looking?” 

You sighed as you slammed your locker shut. Of course that’s all he got out of that. 

“If I say yes will you go away?” 

Billy laughed at that, still insistent on following you.

“Quite the opposite, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart,” you glared.

“Would you like to be?” 

You rolled your eyes. This guy just doesn't know when to quit.

“Do you pull these cheesy one liners out of your ass with every girl you see?” you asked, a wry smile tugging at your lips.

“Not every girl,” he said suggestively.   

“Oh, really? Because I’ve only been here for half an hour and your hand’s slipped into the back pockets of at least five different willing participants,” you said.

“Jealous?” he smirked.

It was at this moment that you realized when you stopped walking he basically had you trapped between his body and the rows of lockers lining the walls. His gaze was hot and heavy as he loomed over you, purposefully giving you a full view down his shirt. A sudden spark of confidence made you smirk right back at him as you replied:

“You'd like that, wouldn't you?”

As the bell rang out into the hall you used it to get past Billy and continue on your way to your first period. He turned around, staring at your retreating figure. 

“I never caught your name,” he said.

You stopped in your tracks to look at him over your shoulder. 

“I never threw it,” you said, a playful tone to your voice, “(Y/n) (L/n). Don’t rack your brain too hard trying to remember it. If you’re a friend of Tommy’s we won’t be talking much.” 

Your words were harsh, but the way you said them and the grin on your face made it sound like a challenge, and Billy Hargrove has never backed out of one of those.

Read Ch 2 Here!

[steebharringt0n]

Shadows of the Night | Vampire AU

dusk | night | dawn

Billy Hargrove doesn’t remember the last time he’s seen sunlight, or the last time he’s stepped inside a church. For over 500 years he’s been a vagabond, a wanderer, searching for a place to call home - until his travels land him in Hawkins, Indiana and his whole existence as he knows it is turned upside down.

pairing: billy hargrove x fem!reader rating: m (blood, a tint of smut, abuse, language)

A/N: WOW SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER TO POST BUT THANK U FOR ALL THE RESPONSES AND FOR YOUR PATIENCE ILU ALL

Tagged: @killer-queen-xo @ephmrl-love @charmed-asylum @aillle8 @mattysheelies

—

Part 2 - Night

You were panicking.

Your foot was glued to the gas pedal, racing to beat the clock as time continued to dwindle by. You cursed the long and windy roads in Hawkins, they felt like they went on forever.

Stealthily and quickly, you managed to switch out of your heels and fishnet stockings while driving, it was a skill that was now second nature to you. Reaching behind you, you grabbed your converse, shoving one foot in at a time while you pulled over a large sweatshirt over you, effectively covering the skin tight dress you had on.

As soon as you pulled into your street, you made a sharp stop before your house. Grabbing the makeup wipes from your glove compartment, you hurriedly erased any evidence, wiping the ruby red lipstick off your lips, and the fake vampire bite off of your neck.

Incidentally, you also managed to wipe away the concealer that hid the dark purple marks around your neck.

You ran your hand through your hair, trying your best to smooth out the large curls that bounced with every shake of your head. When you felt presentable enough, you finally pulled into your driveway. Your eyes were glued to the front window where the faint glow of the TV was illuminating the living room floor.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck” you quietly muttered to yourself.

You threw your heels and fishnet stockings in the back of your car, grabbing your large purse that you had purposely placed there as well. Stepping out of your car, you composed yourself, trying hard to calm your frantic beating heart. With a deep inhale, you took the cautious steps up your porch, opening the front door and was greeted with the harsh scent of beer hitting your nose.

“D-dad? I-I’m home”

You tip-toed in the foyer, poking your head into the living room where you were met with the back of your father’s head, several beer cans were discarded around his feet.

You waited for a response, for anything, but were met with silence.

Silence was either a bad thing, or a good thing. You held your breath as you quietly walked over to him, your eyes shut as you pleaded to whatever gods above that he was passed out. When you finally reached him, you let out a sigh of relief.

He was knocked out, his mouth wide open with a half empty beer can in his hand.

You didn’t want him to spill the beer, so you gently reached over to his hand, trying your best to pull it out of his grasp but his other hand suddenly shot to your wrist, squeezing it tight. A yelp escaped from your mouth.

“You’re late” he slurred.

Your anxiety was through the roof, tears threatened to spill from your eyes. “I-I’m sorry Dad, Amber and I lost track of time at dinner, I promise it won’t happen again” you blubbered out, hoping that he’d believe your lie. He wasn’t easing up on his grip, but after a few seconds he threw your wrist back to you.

“Don’t let it fucking happen again” he hissed, taking a large chug.

You nodded quietly at him, your other hand gently rubbing where his painful grip was. You were sure to see marks on it tomorrow but you were an expert at covering up your bruises.

You soundlessly made your way upstairs, not wanting to rile him up any longer. You shut your bedroom door and rested your back behind it, sliding down and letting all the anxiety disseminate in that moment. You held your face in your hands, trying to remember to breathe through it all.

He wasn’t always like this. You have fond memories of a happy childhood, white picket fence and all. But out of the blue, your mother had up and left the both of you, claiming that this wasn’t the life for her. She had disappeared into thin air and you hated her for it.

It was then your father turned to drinking and started to blame you for everything. His problems at his job? Your fault. Your mother leaving the both of you? Your fault. His alcoholism? Your fault.

Everything in his eyes was your fault, you could do no right, even when you pulled the best grades in Hawkins.

You became his punching bag, his release for all his anger, his issues, and you had no escape.

You lifted your head back up and glanced up at the calendar that rested above your desk. November 7th had a large circle over it, it would be the day you turned 18 - it would be the day you finally could escape his wrath.

“Just one more week, just one more week and I’m outta here” you muttered to yourself.

You weren’t sure where to go, but you didn’t care. Since you were still 17 you weren’t legally allowed to leave the house yet. You graduated from Hawkins High with top marks but you decided to put university on pause - wanting to taste the world before you settled on school again. You had some money saved up from odd jobs here and there but you wanted to stay far away from the monster in the living room. He would effectively have no power over you and for the first time in your life, you felt like life wouldn’t be so bad.

You felt your phone buzzing, you pulled it out of your sweatshirt and swiped it open.

amber: hey u made it home ok?

y/n: yeah, i’m home thnx for checking up

Amber was your best friend, she had urged you multiple times to go talk to Hopper, but you knew it would just cause more issues than solve them. You were strong, you could withstand him for just one more week.

Your mind suddenly remembered the pale boy with the vampire costume. You quickly searched through your contacts until you found his name. Your thumb hovered over the texting symbol, debating on whether bringing a boy into your life would be worth it.

But something about him was … different … you couldn’t put your finger on it but he seemed off. He was incredibly gorgeous though, and you were surprised that he, out of all people in the party, paid any attention to you. Not to mention you had never seen the guy before, and everyone in Hawkins knew everyone.

“Fuck it” you said to yourself.

y/n: hey billy, it’s y/n from the party?

Instantly the text bubble appeared, you were surprised at how quickly he responded.

billy: hey gorgeous, sad to see you leave so early

What you didn’t know however, was that he was parked right across the street. His eyes were hyper-focused on your bedroom window. He was debating on whether scaling the tree or just watching you from afar. He knew it was a creep move but he didn’t care, he just wanted to make sure you were safe.

You let out a snort as you read his text.

y/n: ha, quite the charmer are you?

billy: i tend to charm the ladies here and there, what r u up to tonite?

y/n: bed, maybe watch some netflix, nothing too crazy.

billy: when can i see u again?

Billy was impatient, he had to catch a glimpse of you before the day broke again.

y/n: idk … we could hang tomorrow? maybe grab lunch?

An innocent lunch wouldn’t hurt you thought to yourself. What’s the harm in getting to know a cute boy?

Billy let out a huff, damn being a vampire.

billy: can’t, i’m busy all day and afternoon. maybe we can grab dinner if u want? i can pay ;)

You felt your heart start to race. Was he asking you out on a date? He hardly knew you.

y/n: r u asking me out on a date? lol

billy: if you want it to be

y/n: you hardly know me

billy: i can get to know you tomorrow night

A tiny smile appeared on your lips.

y/n: sure lol. pick me up tomorrow at 8. my address is 3843 willow lane. dont knock on my door just give me a text when youre here.

billy: sounds good, sweet dreams gorgeous ;)

You locked your phone and tossed it onto your bed. You stood back up, pulling off your sweatshirt and kicking off your converse. You unzipped your dress, letting it fall to the ground and pulled on a pair of cotton shorts and your Hawkins High sweatshirt.

You grabbed your laptop from your desk and walked over to your bed, pulling over the covers and settling yourself into the warmth of your comforter. You opened up your laptop and proceeded to open up Netflix to help you fall asleep.

Billy’s leg impatiently bounced up and down as he sat in his car. He watched as the light in your room turned off and as the light in the living room also turned off. He figured whoever was in the living room had also gone to bed, so he decided to make a move.

Moving stealthily and quickly, he ran over to your lawn, hoping that none of the neighbors would spot him. With his cat like reflexes he climbed up the tree outside of your room with ease, perching himself on a large branch that luckily extended out to your room.

His eyes scanned your bedroom, posters of different bands were hung up on your wall, a white desk sat in the corner, but his heart leapt when he finally landed on your sleeping figure. The soft glow of the laptop illuminated your face as you quietly slept through whatever TV show you were watching.

Even with your hair messily scattered on the pillow and your cheek pressed up against your arm you looked beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous. His fingers were aching to touch you, even if just for a second.

“Oh fuck this”

His hands found themselves on the bottom of your window, he gently lifted it up, opening enough space for him to squeeze into your bedroom. With a soft thud, he landed into your room.  He waited a second to see if anyone or anything had been awakened by the noise, but luckily he was met with silence.

He walked over to your sleeping figure, he so badly wanted to crawl right beside you and hold you against his body but he fought strongly against it. He instead, sat right beside you, watching you as your chest rose and fell with every breath you took.

His fingers found themselves playing with the tendrils of your hair. He gently pulled back your hair to reveal your supple neck, but his eyes widened at what he saw instead.

Hot anger coursed through his body like poison. His eyes turned a dark red and his fangs promptly appeared. Billy was ready to attack, and your panicked demeanor at the party suddenly made sense to him.

His knuckles brushed up against the dark marks on your neck. The feeling of your skin on his hand sent shivers down his spine, it soothed his anger as it slowly dissipated out of him. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to your cheek.

“I promise to get you out of here … if it’s the last thing I do” he whispered to you.

He felt you stir in your sleep, shifting around soundlessly. You cracked open your eyes as you felt a figure hover over you. You lifted your head up, looking around your bedroom.

But there was no one there, just the soft breeze of the wind rustling your posters in your bedroom.

You frowned, throwing your legs over your bed and walking to your window. You poked your head out, looking to see if anyone was out there, but you were met with the still of the night.

You shut your window close and threw yourself back into bed.

“Huh, must have been dreaming … “ you said to yourself as sleep quickly overtook you again.

—

You awoke the following morning with a stinging pain in your wrist. You lifted it up, inspecting the dull ache as the dark marks began to stain your skin. You let out an annoyed sigh, walking over to your bathroom and promptly starting a hot shower.

After washing your hair and scrubbing your skin, you then did your usual routine of concealing your bruises. You popped some Tylenol in hopes that it would soothe the ache in your wrist.

You waited to see if Billy would text you throughout the day, but you were disappointed to find that he didn’t. You didn’t let it deter you from the date you had planned with him tonight.

You stayed in your bedroom for most of Saturday, only heading downstairs to grab a bite to eat. Your father mostly ignored your presence as you did his.

As it was nearing 8, you went downstairs to the living room to find your father still glued to the couch with a beer in his hand.

“Dad?”

His eyes were glued to the TV. He acknowledged your presence by letting out a grunt.

“I’m gonna grab dinner with Amber tonight if that’s okay … “ your voice trailed off as you anxiously chewed the inside of your cheek.

He rolled his eyes towards you, they were glossy and bloodshot.

“Fine”

You nodded at him, uttering a thank you and walking back up stairs. As soon as you reached your bedroom, you began to plan your outfit, You figured jeans and a cute top would be good enough for tonight. You kept your makeup simple, some mascara and lipgloss, you weren’t necessarily trying to woo him tonight, just getting to know him.

It was only a date anyways.

At 8 on the dot your phone buzzed, you were trying to play it cool, but you were lying to yourself if you said you didn’t feel a little excited. You hadn’t been on a date in a long time, let alone with a gorgeous boy.

billy: hey beautiful, i’m outside

Grabbing a light jacket, you walked down the stairs, trying not to seem hurried in front of your dad.

“I’ll be back around 10 dad” you told him as you left. But yet again, you were met with silence. You were trying not to let anxiety gnaw at your stomach, you refused to let your dad ruin your date. So you quietly left your house and ran over to the blue car that was parked across the street.

Billy was lucky enough to find a close friend of Walt’s living in the next town over. He had texted Walt around 4 AM to see if he could spot anyone who could house him for the next couple of days. Victoria Marino - a sweet old vampire who had lived for almost as long as Walt was happy enough to have Billy stay over. It had been years since she had company, especially a vampire stay at her home.

“Walt told me everything” she told him. Billy towered over her, she was a frail little thing, but was sharp as hell. She gently grasped his shoulders, “You musn’t give up on love Billy, fight for her. Finding your Beloved is a powerful thing for us vampires, human or not”

He was more than happy to have someone on his side - even though he knew Walt was still vehemently against all of this.

You caught him standing outside his car, a pair of aviators rested against his nose, his mouth in a wide grin. His heart sped up as you approached him, he instinctively wished to scoop you up in his arms and place kisses all over you, hold you close until the dawn broke, but instead he controlled himself as you stood in front of him.

With a soft smile you greeted him, “Hi”

He returned the smile back, “Hey”

He promptly then walked over to the passenger side, opening the door for you, “Our reservation at Enzo’s awaits for us”

You raised your eyebrows, “Enzo’s? That’s pretty expensive, you didn’t have to go all out”

Billy shrugged, “It’s no big thing, it is the nicest place in town”

You stared at him for a brief second, wondering why on earth this guy you’d just met was pulling all the stops for you. With the slight shake of your head you let out a soft laugh and entered his car. You gazed around in awe at how nice his car was, everything looked brand new, it even still had that brand new smell.

“Holy shit you have a really nice car” you told him as he sat down in the driver’s seat.

“Ah, you should have seen my 78′ Camaro, that engine purred”

“Big car guy eh?”

A smirked donned on his lips, “Yeah, I guess you could say that”

—

The car ride to Enzo’s was filled with good music and Billy asking you 101 questions about yourself - which you didn’t mind, but you found it odd that whenever you asked about his family, he instantly changed the subject. Anything personal about him was very vague and very brief.

You didn’t want to admit to yourself that it raised warning bells in your head, you wanted to stay positive about the experience, hopeful that maybe this guy would be the one you’d spend the rest of your life with.

He was a gentleman the whole way there, letting you pick the music, not speaking over you, genuinely interested in everything you had to say. It was refreshing to say the least.

When the both of you arrived at Enzo’s he instantly ran out and over to your side, opening the door for you. He extended his hand for you to take and you took it, gently pulling you out of your seat.

He tossed his key to the valet parking, “Take care of her will ya buddy?” he patted the guy on his shoulder, handing him a 50 dollar bill.

fuck I think this guy is loaded you thought to yourself.

Billy wrapped his arm around you, the both of you walking step by step into the restaurant. The gesture made you feel all warm and tingly inside, for once in your life you actually felt safe around a male presence.

The two of you were quickly seated, Billy specifically asking for a private table.

“Of course Mr. Hargrove, please follow me” the host said.

With his arm still wrapped around your shoulder, you glanced up at him, “Billy, seriously, you didn’t have to go all out … you only just met me yesterday … “ you muttered to him.

He shook his head as he pulled your chair out for you, “No, please, this is nothing” he waved your comment off.

You sat down on the chair, watching as Billy came around and sat across from you.

The entire dinner went pleasantly well. Besides some things that made you raise your eyebrow (He told you he was deathly allergic to garlic, and he rarely ate his food, just picked around it). Billy was nothing but kind, warming and inviting to you. It helped that he was charming as hell, and by the time dinner finished, you could see yourself going on another date with him - which usually doesn’t happen.

The drive back to your house was filled with laughter and long talks. You both bonded over bands and artists you both love, about movies, about tv shows. You truly didn’t want the night to end. As he pulled up across the street from your house you hesitated on leaving, anxiety started to pool within your stomach, dreading to be back in the same house as that monster you called your father.

“This was an amazing night Billy, truly, the most fun I’ve had in such a long time” you told him.

He gave you a wide grin, shrugging casually, “Well what can I say?”

The both of you stared at each other in silence, your eyes moving down to his lips. Courage surged through you and you leaned towards him, your one hand placed on his cheek as you placed your lips on his. Billy was surprised to say the least, his blue eyes widened in shock as he felt your soft lips on his, but the shock quickly wore off as he melted into your touch. The warmth of your hand burned the cold of his cheek. You gently pulled away, nuzzling your nose onto his.

Breathlessly, he spoke, “Does this mean I get to see you again?”

You nodded, your thumb rubbing soft circles over the apple of his cheek, “Text me tonight?”

Instead of responding, he placed a chaste kiss on your lips. He wanted the feeling of your lips on his to last forever, and now that he knew he was open to kiss you, he never wanted to stop.

He watched as you got out of his car and made your way back into your house. Before you opened the front door however, you turned around, faced his car and gave him a small wave.

You shut the door quietly behind you, resting your body on it. You had a crush and it was bad. You were grinning like a fool in love and for the first time, in a very long time, things didn’t seem so bad.

You quietly then walked through the foyer until you reached the living room. The TV still on from earlier, and your dad still sitting in the same position. You poked your head in, “Hi dad, I’m back … it’s 9:45 … I’m early” you meekly announced to him.

He gave you no response as he continued to chug his beer. You took that as a good sign.

The minute you reached your bedroom, your phone started to buzz. Instantly you pulled it out of your pocket and smiled stupidly at the text.

billy: did u make it in okay?

y/n: yes im fine lol, i want to see you again … is tomorrow a possibility?

billy: hmm … idk … dinner was kinda boring … ;)

y/n: ha ha ha very funny

billy: of course we can meet up again tomorrow, id love to

y/n: great! i want to take you to the quarry, its amazing, u can see all the stars out there

billy: getting all romantical on me now?

y/n: hey you started this lol, besides a little romance with a cute guy never hurt anyone

billy: you calling me cute?

y/n: duh who else would i be referring to?

Your fingers had never been more glued to your phone. You spent all night texting Billy until you ended up passing out with your phone gripped in your hand. By the time you had passed out, Billy was already getting ready for bed. Victoria had been watching him the whole time as he sat in her living room couch, his fingers typing away furiously with every text he received. Billy swore he heard her mutter an ‘Oy, youths … ‘ at one point which made him chuckle.

It was almost noon by the time you had awakened, the sun beamed in brightly through your bedroom windows. You pulled your phone towards you to check the time but was surprised to see a text from Billy at 4:04 AM.

billy: sweet dreams beautiful girl … <3

The text sent butterflies swarming to your stomach, you threw a pillow over your face to cover up the shit-eating grin you were currently sporting, but a sudden loud banging from your door quickly dissolved all of those emotions.

“There’s no fucking food in the house! Make yourself useful for once and go shopping!”

Your father’s voice roared behind the door, instinctively you pulled the covers over your head, fearing that he was going to come in and hurl more insults at you. But when you heard his footsteps continue down the hall you let out a sigh of relief.

You then quickly got ready for the day, running out towards the local market and buying food for you and your father - not that you ate most of the time at home, you were always feeling too nervous or anxious to eat at home. So you always made excuses to meet up with friends to grab lunch or dinner at a cafe or restaurant nearby.

You were hoping to hear back from Billy throughout the day, but just like the day before he was silent, not a call or text from him. You tried not to let it get to you, you distracted yourself by cleaning up around your room, or watching a show on Netflix, but by the time the sun had started to set you finally received a text from him.

billy: hey beautiful, im on the way

Billy too had fallen asleep in his coffin with his phone glued to his hand. You were the first thing on his mind the instant he awoke - already forming plans for the two of you.

Victoria was kind enough to always lay a full glass of blood for him every morning. The last thing she needed was a love-struck vampire to go into blood-lust mode, there’s no way a vampire can control their actions when going into that head space. They become vicious, relentless and absolutely terrifying. It has happened to Billy only once before and if it wasn’t for Walt being around he was pretty sure that Billy would have slaughtered more humans than intended.

You swiped your phone to unlock it, fingers working quickly as you texted him back,

y/n: c ya soon ;)

You held your phone close to your chest when you realized that you were nowhere ready to go out looking the way you did. You threw your phone on your bed, quickly hopping into the shower and prepping your face. You kept your outfit casual again, with a pair of high-rise jeans, black boots and a cute sweater.

When you heard your phone buzzing, signaling that Billy was outside, you realized one important detail - telling your father that you’d be going out.

There was no way you were going to miss hanging out with Billy, but you knew that if you were to tell your drunk of a father that you were heading out without notifying him earlier, that there was no way that he’d let you out. You glanced over at your window, it was the only option left.

You opened up your window, poking your head outside. Billy watched you with curious eyes from his car as you shimmied out of your bedroom window, reaching towards the large branch from the tree outside your room. Once you were safely perched on the branch, you were able to quickly scale down the large oak tree. You landed softly on the grass, taking in your surroundings before making a mad dash to the car parked across the street.

Billy unlocked his car as you flung open the passenger side door, quickly sitting down and pulling the seat belt over you.

Billy wasn’t stupid - he knew exactly what was going on since he saw the dark marks on your neck. Everything started to make sense to him, your punctuality, the fact he wasn’t allowed near your house. He’d even caught wind of your anxious ticks, the way you bounced your leg restlessly at dinner last night, or how you’d constantly be glancing at the time on your phone.

He didn’t want to pry, it was a delicate subject to touch upon. He just wanted you to be safe - and he only had less than a week to convince you to come with him to New York.

Billy played it stupid to keep you comfortable.

“Sneaking out today are we?” he smirked as he pulled out of your neighborhood.

You let out a nervous laugh, rubbing your neck, “Y-yeah, you know how parents can be”

Billy wouldn’t know, he hasn’t seen his in over 500 years and Walt always let him do whatever he wanted, just as long as he played it safe.

“So, where is this quarry that you speak of?” he asked, pulling up his phone and opening up Google maps.

“No need for GPS, I can guide you there, just take a left at this upcoming road, then keep going straight until you reach Richland Road, then it’s just a straight shot from there on out. You can’t miss it, trust me”

He nodded at your words, pulling out of the neighborhood and following your guidance until he reached the infamous quarry - and you were right, it was the perfect place to see stars.

You eagerly stepped out of his car, your eyes gazing up to the dark sky that was illuminated by thousands if not hundreds of bright speckles.

In all of his 500 years of living, Billy had never seen such a thing. Sure he’d been all around the world, but he had never seen the sky lit up so bright until tonight. He followed you, stepping out of his car, his eyes glued to the sky. 

“Shit, you weren’t kidding ... “ he muttered to you.

“Yeah ... I’m gonna miss it” you spoke wistfully.

His eyes shot back down to you, his lips puckered into a frown. “What do you mean?”

You broke out of your gaze, not realizing what you had just said. A half smile formed on your lips as you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. You rested against the trunk of his car, “I’m uh, leaving Hawkins, in about 5 days ... I’m turning 18 and I’m leaving”

There was a sense of hesitation in your voice, Billy heard it loud and clear. But the fact that you were planning on leaving right when he was supposed to head back to New York ... it was as if fate was working it’s magic. His heart wanted to leap with joy, but he played it cool, calm and collected. He joined you by the trunk of his car, resting his body against it as well.

“Where you heading to?”

You shrugged, “Don’t know, haven’t figured it out”

Billy nodded, still trying to play it cool. “You know, I have a place in New York”

You turned to face him, “Oh yeah?” There was a pregnant pause, “You propositioning me?” a slight smile spread over your lips, your tone turned playful as he blushed.

Billy shifted his feet, feeling the gravel dig underneath his shoes. “I - I ... you know, if you’re looking for a place ... I have a place you know? And New York is pretty cool, I could show you around ... if you want of course!”

You wanted to laugh at his bashfulness, how quickly he was able to go from Mr. Charming Man to a blubbering mess within 10 minutes. You leaned over to him, resting your head on his shoulder. Billy instantly froze the moment he felt your body heat on his. and became more of a statue when your fingers found his - linking them for warmth, but you frowned, squeezing his hand tightly.

“You’re so cold ... “ you commented.

You glanced down at the linked hands, and suddenly came the realization just how pale Billy actually was compared to you. You quickly brushed it off, continuing your gaze to the night sky above.

“Maybe you can join me in California ... get some sun in you eh?” you gently jabbed his side with your elbow as he let out a chuckle.

“I’ve thought about moving to California ... “ he paused as he lets his thoughts meander around his head. California was definitely on his list for places to live, but he couldn’t help but feel bitter at the fact that he couldn’t fully enjoy it. He wanted to learn how to surf so bad, to enjoy the beaches, to hang out by the boardwalk.

But he couldn’t do that without his Beloved by his side.

Your voice broke his thoughts, “Why didn’t you?”

He lets out a large breath through his nose. Sometimes he truly hated being a vampire. “Oh you know, life brought me to New York instead. Maybe one day”

You nodded slowly at his response. Silence then took over the conversation, the both of you just relishing in each other presence. You didn’t want to admit it, but a small part of you was falling for him - and falling hard. A constant battle between your heart and head was currently taking place, and your heart was in the lead.

You’re not sure why, but you felt a sense of peacefulness wash over you whenever you were with him.

But something - call it the universe, call it your gut, call it intuition, - was telling you to stay with him.

“Maybe New York would be good for me ... “ you suddenly spoke.

He glanced down at you, his mouth in a grin so wide you swore you saw all his pearly whites. “Oh yeah?”

“Give me more time to think about it okay?”

He squeezed your small hand. It burned the coldness of his skin but he was far too in love to care. He leaned his head over yours, placing a kiss on your hair.

“Take your time. I’ll be here”

And he was. The two of you were completely attached at the hip the rest of the week, texting each other nonstop, sneaking out to hang with him every night. At this point your father’s drinking has become more rampant, he’d be passed out completely by 7 PM, which gave you a sense of security whenever you sneaked out of the house.

The more you hung out with the blue-eyed blonde, the harder you were beginning to fall for him. Billy was a complete dork in his comfortable nature, you two would blast out cheesy pop songs and sing them at the top of your lungs. Or sneak into a late night movie where he would toss popcorn at your hair every now and then to get your attention. You wondered why he was never available in the morning or afternoon - but when you brought the subject up he would just casually brush it off, explaining that he had work to take care of.

Billy on the other hand, was completely enamored with you. He was sure that the universe did the right thing and made you his soulmate because there was no way in hell he was ever leaving your side - and he was desperately hoping you felt the same way.

Of course things between the two of you got physical. If you both weren’t out doing something, you’d both be out at the quarry, usually in his backseat with his hands underneath your shirt and your fingers tangled in his short curls. He didn’t want to pressure you to go all the way - that would come when it came - but my god was he finding it harder to control himself around you. 

It was November 6th - a day left - when the both of you were fooling around in the backseat of his car. Your thighs wrapped around his waist as your hands found purchase on his face. His lips were everywhere - he could feel your pulse race, your blood run, with every breath you took and it was taking everything in his power not to sink his fangs on your tender neck right there and then.

You pulled away from his lips, gazing into his eyes as you rested your forehead on his. 

“I’m coming with you. To New York” 

Your announcement almost made his heart stop. He gently pulled away from you, an incredulous look on his face, “A-are you serious?”

You bit your bottom lip to keep you from exploding from excitement, but you nodded happily at him. “Yeah, I’ve never been more sure before in my life.”

“Shit. Y/N. We have to celebrate!” He exclaimed. You swore you had never seen a man so happy before. You giggled at how boyishly happy he suddenly turned.

“Slow down there Casanova ... I still need to pack, get all my things together”

“Right, right, yeah, of course” he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to let the news sink into him.

His plan actually worked. He couldn’t wait to tell Victoria and to show boat to Walt.

You gently ran your fingers through his hair as it got quiet in the car. Your eyes filled with love as you gazed down on him. The moon was full tonight, and the bright light that it emitted shone through the car - illuminating Billy. He seemed much more paler than the last several days, and you were starting to wonder if he needed go to see a doctor.

“What?” he questioned urgently, “Do I have something on my face?”

His hands quickly shot up to his face, touching around. You giggled, shaking your head.

“No, you just look really pretty under the moonlight”

A smile spread upon his lips. His hands then reached up to your cheeks, stroking them softly.

“You’re beautiful Y/N. I hope you know that”

You let out a small laugh, “Billy, you tell me that all the time”

“I know but just in case you ever forgot ... “

You shut him up by pressing your lips onto his. He instead found it hilarious to drop his hands from your cheeks, and to squeeze your sides. You pulled away from him as laughter erupted from your mouth, throwing your head back and trying to wiggle away from his grasp. The effort came to be fruitless as you were caught between his body and the back of the passenger seat.

His actions finally stopped, letting you take a moment to catch your breath. He marveled at the way your cheeks glowed a rosy red, and how your eyes twinkled brightly under the moonlight.

You glanced over at the clock on his car, your eyes widened at the time.

“Shit. It’s late. I need to get back”

You pushed yourself off of him, adjusting your shirt and straightening your hair back down. The both of you stepped out of his car to move back up to the front. The entire way back Billy was animatedly talking about all the places he’d take you in New York - but in reality his mind was reeling, wondering how he was ever going to explain to you what he truly was - and if you were to ever accept him.

It was a risk he was going to have to take, and a risk that he was willing to die for.

He pulled up near your house, remembering your strict instructions to never pull up in front of your house.

“I’ll pick you up as soon as the sun sets okay? I’ll be finished with work by then, and we can make it a night trip” he told you.

You nodded happily at him, leaning towards him and pressing a kiss on his cheek. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight ... I’m too excited”

“Happy early Birthday Y/N. I promise tomorrow will be a day you’ll never forget”

He grabbed your hand, bringing it up to his lips and pressing a kiss. You in return squeezed his hand before you exited out of his car and headed towards your house.

There was an extra hop in your step as you approached your front door, quietly unlocking it with your key. You entered your foyer, your head turning to face the living room, fully expecting to see your father passed out.

But he wasn’t there.

Fear ran it’s cool claws down your neck as panic began to set in. You ran into the kitchen, hoping to see him rummaging in the fridge for another beer. But he wasn’t there either.

You quickly ran up the stairs and ran straight into your room. You swore you had never felt such a sense of fear enter your body than when you saw your father sitting on your bed, his face completely stoic, his eyes blurry and red.

“D-Dad - “

“You little whore”

It was as if venom was pouring out of his mouth whenever he spoke. His eyes darted over to you as his mouth turned into a nasty snarl. He slowly stood up, walking over to you with his fists clenched by his side.

You began to hyperventilate as he towered over you. Your eyes filled with tears as you avoided his death glare.

His hands shot up and grabbed you by the collar of your shirt, pining you to your bedroom door as you yelped in pain.

“You think I’m fucking stupid huh? You think I haven’t seen you sneaking out for the past couple of days like some fucking slut?!”

You quietly sobbed, squeezing your eyes shut as he pinned you harder to the door.

“Answer me!”

He pulled you up, you felt your feet leave the ground as he threw you across your bedroom. Your body landed with a loud thud, spraining your wrist in the process. You let out a loud and painful wail, he watched you with a sick grin on his face as your body was wrecked with sobs.

Shakily, you reached for towards your pocket, pulling out your phone. Your fingers worked nimbly as you found Billy’s name through your texts. You hit the call button and slid your phone under the bed before your father could come and snatch it from you.

You tried pulling yourself up, but pain shot through you as you applied pressure on your wrist, bringing you back down to the floor. Your father stalked over your body as you desperately tried to crawl away from him.

Billy was stopped at a red light when he saw his phone light up with your name on it. With a soft smile, he picked up the phone, “Hey gorgeous miss me - “

“Billy! Help!”

His blood ran cold at the horrific sound of your voice.

“Y/N?”

He heard a loud thud, then followed by an ear-shattering scream. Without even thinking, he pulled a U-turn at the light, his foot pressing hard onto the gas pedal as he was reaching speeds of 90 MPH to reach your house in time. His eyes were turning a dark red, his fangs were fully visible.

There was no stopping in him getting him to you. He would slaughter anyone who would stand in his way.

He stopped his car in front of your house and darted out his car door. He was moving so fast it was as if a wind breeze was passing by. Using his shoulder he broke down the front door and ran up the stairs to your bedroom where he was met with a gut-wrenching scene.

Your father was on his knees, tears pooling out of his eyes as he sobbed over your unconscious body. Your body was splayed out on your bedroom floor, blood trickling down your nose and out of the corner of your head. Your father was too drunk to even realize that Billy had walked into the bedroom, but before he could even glance up Billy had thrown himself on him - pinning him down the floor.

“What the fuck did you do?!” Billy roared at him.

Your father continued to cry as Billy’s fingers squeezed his neck, cutting off his air circulation.

“I - I ... “

But before he could formulate a sentence, Billy had already sunken his fangs into him.

Your father screamed as Billy drained him from all the blood of his body. Leaving the man as a hollow shell, pale and empty. Billy pulled away from him, his body relishing the taste of human blood. He licked his lips, not wanting to drop a single taste a blood from the feeding.

After he was sure he drank all that he could. He ran over to your body, gently lifting your head onto his lap.

“No, no, no, no, Y/N, wake up, please wake up ... “

He put two fingers on your neck, trying to find any indication that you were still alive. He faintly felt a pulse - but he knew that your father had done too much damage.

He had failed you - he had failed to keep his promise.

He let out a whimpering sob, holding your limp body into his arms. Billy knew he could save you, but would you ever forgive him?

He had to make a decision - and quick.

So he scooped you into his arms, bringing your neck to his mouth.

“I’m sorry Y/N ... please forgive me”

He sunk his fangs into your neck and prayed that you would survive the next 24 hours.

[brown-bi-beautiful]

Supernatural Series Rewrite

Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

Dean Winchester x Named Reader (eventually)

Series Warning: language violence, angst, fluff, sexual content, Gore, molestation, mention of sexual harassment, usual supernatural violence. (If you’re triggered by any of these then please don’t read)

(A/n- I had to give the reader a name, there’s reason behind it but you can change it if you want. I changed some of the plot and some of the scenes but mostly it’s the same. I do not own the supernatural series but there are some things that are completely my imagination, it has nothing to do with the actual mythology or the series)

Bloody Mary (part 2)

Season one. Episode Five.

Bloody Mary (Part 3)

"I was on the job for 35 years, detective for most of that. Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends but the Mary Worthington murder.....that one still gets me." The detective said answering one of your many questions.

"What exactly happened?" Dean asked as you sat silently looking around the room and the three men.

"You guys said you were reporters?" The detective said.

"We know Mary was 19, lived by herself. We know she won a few local contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana being an actress. And we know that at the night of March 29th, someone broke into her apartment and murdered her. Cut out her eyes with a knife." Sam said, obviously being the only one out of the 3 of you who actually read about the case. Usually you'd do it but your mind wasn't in the right place right now.

"See, sir, when we ask you what happened." Dean said confidently.

"Technically, I'm not supposed to have a copy of this." He said pulling out a folder from the cabinet, you watched as the brothers shared a look. He started going through the folder and finally stopping at a picture which you assume was Mary laying in the pool of her own blood.  "See that there? T-R-E?" He asked and you all nodded in incision. "I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer." Detective suggested.

"You know who that was?" Sam asked.

"Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon, Trevor Sampson." He said pulling out a picture of a man in tux. "And I think he cut her up good." 

"Now, why would he do something like that?" You opened your mouth for the first time since you guys arrived here.

"Her diary mentioned a man she was seeing. She called him by his initial, T. Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell T's wife about their affair."

"But how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?" Dean asked.

"It's hard to say. But the way her eyes were cut out, it was almost professional." Detective said with a glint of sadness in his eyes.

"But you could never prove it?" You said, wording out the guilt inside his head. "No, no prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous."

"Is he still alive?" Asked Dean.

"Nope......If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guys secret. But she never could."

"Where's she buried?" Sammy asked.

"She wasn't. She was cremated." He said and you almost rolled your eyes.

"What about that mirror? It's not in some evidence lock up, is it?" You asked.

"No. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago."

"You have the names of her family by any chances?" Sam asked and luckily he gave you the name of Mary's brother.

On your drive back to Toledo Sam called Mr. Worthington to ask about the mirror. "Oh really? That's too bad, Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror ok, well maybe next time. All right, thanks." Sam said hanging up the phone. "So?" You and Dean asked in incision as soon as he was off the phone. "So that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it, one week ago..To a store called Estate Antique. A store in Toledo."

"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" You asked raising an eyebrow although you already knew the answer. "Her spirits definitely tied up with it somehow."

"Isn't there an odd superstition that says mirrors can capture spirit?" Dean asked. "Yeah there is. When someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped." You answered keeping your eyes on them the whole time.

"Mary dies and the mirror draws in her spirit." Dean said in conclusion.

"Yeah, but how could she move through 100 different mirrors." Sam wondered out loud.

"I don't know but if that mirror's a source. I say we find it and smash it." Dean replied to Sam's question.

"Yeah, I don't know. Maybe."

Sam's phone started ringing and he picked it up in the second ring. "Hello? Charlie?" He asked on the phone with concern. "Hey, hey, calm down. Just meet us at our motel and we'll be there soon. Just don't look at anything that shows reflections." He said hanging up and Dean speeded up.

"What's wrong?" You questioned as soon as he was off the phone.

"Someone said it again and now Mary's after her."

When you got to your motel you saw charlie waiting outside covering her eyes. "Hey, it's okay, we're here, let's get you inside." You led her into your room but she didn't stop shaking and didn't uncover her eyes. Sam and Dean covered every reflecting surface of the room while you sat besides her to comfort her. "Charlie, you can open your eyes now, it's okay, you're safe now. Now, listen, you're not gonna look at glass or anything that has reflection okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you." You soothing voice which Dean always referred as creepy.

"But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?" She asked and you shook your head.

"No, you're not, not anytime soon." Sam said.

"Alright, Charlie, we need to know what happened." Dean asked, sitting on her other side.

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it."

"That's not what we're talking about. Something happened didn't it....In your life? A secret, where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it." Dean asked and more tears left her eyes.

"I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night at his house...We got in a fight. Then I broke up with him and he got upset and he said he needed me and he loved me. And he said 'charlie, if you walk out that door right now I'm gonna kill myself.' And you know what I said? I said 'go ahead' and I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just.. I didn't believe him, you know? I should have." she started sobbing again after finishing her story. You looked at her with sympathy. "Charlie it wasn't your fault." you said rubbing her back but she didn't accept it.

"We're gonna go take care of this thing ok? Don't look at anything reflective.” The three of you got in the impala and started to the antique shop.

"Alex was right you know. Her boyfriend killing himself, that's not Charlie's fault." Dean said from behind the wheel and his eyes met with yours through the rear view mirror but you quickly looked away breaking the eye contact.

"You know as well as I do....spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died. That's good enough for Mary." Sam said and once again your heart dropped at your stomach. All you could think about was your secret right now. You know it shouldn't be the first priority here but you couldn't help it. "you know I've been thinking.. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror." Sam said and it caught your attention, pulling you out of your trail of thoughts.

"Why, what do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Well Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirrors. Who's to say that she's not gonna just keep hiding in them forever? So maybe... We should try to pin her down.. You know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it." Sam said.

"Well how do you know that's gonna work?"

"I don't, well not for sure." Sam replied.

"Well, who's gonna summon her?" Dean asked and before Sam could answer you opened your mouth, "I will. She'll come after me for sure." you said and the brothers looked at you with similar frowns. "No. You won't." They replied in unison suddenly acting all protective.

"No I'll do it. She will definitely come after me." Sam said, sounding guilty.

"Alright. You know what? That's it." Dean said pulling the car to the side to have a conversation with both of you.

"This is about Jessica, isn't it?" He asked turning toward Sam. "you think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow?" He asked but there was no answer from the younger man which only proved Dean right. "Sam, this is gotta stop, Man. I mean..the nightmares.. and-and calling her name out in the middle of the night, it's gonna kill you. Now listen to me. It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something then blame the thing that killed her. Or why don't you take a swing at me? I'm the one who dragged you away from her in the first place."

"I don't blame you. " Sam said.

"Well you shouldn't blame yourself. 'cause there's nothing you could have done." Dean said. You decided to stay quiet because you damn well know of you say a word the lecture will suddenly turn to you.

"I could've warned her." Sam said and you frowned.

"About what? You didn't know what was gonna happen." Dean said and Sam looked away from him you could swear to God he was hiding something from you guys. "And, besides, all of this isn't a secret. I mean we know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."

"No you don't." you knew it! He was hiding something.

"we don't what?"

"you guys don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything."

"what are you talking about?"

"Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam said and Dean was taken aback for a second.

"No I don't like it. It's not gonna happen. Forget it."

"He doesn't have to do it. I'll do it." you chipped in.

"No you won't. None of you gonna summon her. And seriously Alex, what is wrong? You have nightmares all the time, you barely sleep and when you do, you cry in your sleep." He snapped and you gave him a look. "yeah I hear it. Every night. I don't say anything because I want to give you your space. I know we don't know a lot about you but we know you enough and you will never hurt anyone intentionally. So whatever it Is, it's not your fault. So none of you are gonna do it. " He said and you felt a tear slid down your right cheek. 'only if you knew, Dean. Only if you knew you wouldn't think so highly about me.'

"You have no idea." you said in a small voice. His words only made you feel more guilty. How are you ever gonna tell him. And if they ever find out, they'll hate you. "Dean, that girl back there is gonna die. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that unless one of us do it." you said.

"And it's not gonna be you." Sam said turning slightly toward you. "Sam...... Please don't fight me on this one." you said and he sighed. "fine. We'll do it together. Maybe she'll get confused about who to kill first and we'll have a little more time in our hands." Sam said and you nodded agreeing with his plan then both turn to Dean. "Dean, you've gotta let us do this." you said in a very soft voice and he say silently for a few secs he nodded his head.

"But I don't like it, I don't like it at all." he whispered before turning on the car and driving toward the Antique store.

You were kneeling down in front the door of the antique store with your lock pick in your hand. You were successful in your third try. You opened the door and got inside, followed by the Winchesters.

There were way too many mirrors in that shop. It made spotting Mary's mirror even harder for you. "Well, that's just great." Dean commented sarcastically. He pulled out the picture, showing us the mirror in front of which Mary died. "Alright start looking." He said and Sam started walking deeper into the store. You turned to follow him but Dean grabbed your wrist pulling you closer to him, looking deep in your eyes he said. "Are you sure about this?" you nodded. "I don't like you doing this. At All." he confessed.

"I don't like it either but we don't have another choice." you said and this time he nodded.

"But when this is over, you're gonna tell me everything. No more secrets."

"Somethings are better off as secrets, Dean. Please promise me you won't ask me about it." you said and he looked away. "Dean, please." you cupped his face making him look at you.

"Fine I promise." He said and you don't know if you feel relieved or even more guilty. "let's just get this over with." He said pressing his lips to your forehead briefly. As in queue Sam called out. "Found it." and the two of you walked to where he was. He was standing in front of the mirror shining his torch on it. Dean opened the picture to confirm it was the same mirror. "that's it."

"you sure about this?" he asked Sam. He sighed and the 3 of you walked in front of it together.

"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." you both said in unison. Sam grabbed your hand with one of his and with the other he raised his crowbar. "Bloody Mary." you finished, squeezing his hand tightly.

A light shined through the shop from the window and we looked toward it. "I'll go check that out. You guys stay here. Be careful." he handed you his crowbar and started walking out. "smash anything that moves." He said and you nodded.

You heard a breath and turned toward one of the mirror. You saw a feminine figure standing in the mirror and took no time to smash it. You heard Sam smashing another one. "come on, come into this one." you said turning toward the main mirror. You frowned when you saw your own reflection smiling creepily at you. You heard a cry of pain and turned to Sam to see him bleeding through his eyes. You took a step toward him but stopped when your own eyes started burning. You could feel the warm liquid coming out of them. "it's your fault." your reflection said as the crowbar fell from your hand. "you killed him and you killed her too." you heard yourself in the mirror. From the corner of your eyes you saw as Sam fell on his knees clutching his chest. "Sam" before you could take another step there was a sharp pain in your head and your whole body. Sam was looking at the mirror but you couldn't see what he was seeing. "They told her. Everyone told her you were a monster but she never listened to them. They told her to kill you but she didn't listen to any of them and this is how you repay her. You killed them." you groaned, crawling toward Sam. "Sammy, Sammy don't listen to it. We can do this." you said grabbing the crowbar he dropped but before you could do something Dean ran by you and smashed it.

"Sammy! Sammy!" Dean said kneeling down in front of you guys and grabbing his face. "it's Sam."

"God, are you guys okay?" He said turning to you and taking your face in his hand and Wiping the blood from your face but you were pretty sure he just smeared it even more. "uh, yeah."

"come on. Come on." he tried helping you to stand up. "I'm fine help him." you told him and he did what you said and helped Sam to get to get up as you got as yourself.

He put one of his hand over his shoulder and the three of you started walking out. You were limping behind the Winchesters when you suddenly heard clinking of glass and heavy gasps behind you. You guys turned around to see that bloody Mary has crawled out of the mirror.

It only took a second for Dean to grab you and pull you behind him but it didn't help any of you. The three of you fell to the ground, groaning in pain as she walked toward you. More blood came out of your eyes.

You saw as Dean grabbed a mirror from beside him and held it against Mary. She stopped in her track and started looking at her reflection. "you killed them!" you heard a deep gruff voice. "All those people! You killed them." It repeated you saw as she melted in a puddle of blood right in front of you. Dean threw the mirror down, shattering it.

"Guys." you groaned out

"yeah?" Sam asked.

"That's gotta be like, what, 600 years of bad luck?" you said looking at all the broken mirrors, making both of em chuckle.

As you got up and walked out of the store Sam took no time in getting inside the impala and crashing down.

"Alex." Dean said before you could get inside as well, making you turn around and face him. He just stood there staring at your face. "what-" before you could finish your sentence he grabbed you by the waist and smashed his lips on yours. You were taken aback at the first but then kissed him back with the same force. You pulled away panting heavily. "what was that for?" you asked opening your eyes and looking at him.

"I'm really happy to see you alive." he said. "I'm really happy to see you alive too." you said, grabbing his collar and pulling him down for one more kiss.

The next morning Dean pulled up in front of Charlie's house to drop her off.

"so this is really over?" Charlie said looking at the three of you. "yeah, it's over." Dean said.

"Thanks you." she smiled at him and then got out of the car and started walking toward her house "Charlie? " Sam called out to her and she turned around. "your boyfriend's death... You really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did... You probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happens." Sam said and she went inside her home giving him a slight nod.

"that's good advice." Dean said pulling out the car from the driveway. His eyes met with yours through the rear view, making you blush and him smirk. He winked at you and you rolled your eyes but you couldn't hide the big smile on your face.

"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up before you guys decide to do anything stupid again." you said making a pillow from your jacket and lied down in hopes that maybe just maybe you could take a nap without any nightmares.

*******

(A/n:- HEY GUYSSS.... I know it's been so long. I said I would post soon and then I betrayed you. I actually got into this minor accident, broke my right wrist (talk about my luck.) and my right leg. It was just hairline fracture. They took of the cast a couple days ago but my wrist was soo stiff because of the plaster that I couldn't type. But I'm completely OK now and I can type again. Although not continuously, I have to keep taking break. I really hope you guys forgive me. I LOVE YOU ALL.

And also. I lost my tag list so any of you who want to be tagged in the series just ask. I know I can go and peak at the old chapter but I wanna make a fresh tag list (don't know if that's even a thing.) but whatever just let me know...

@rach5ive @paintballkid711 @chubby-dumplin @hobby27 @colie87 @iilooveereadiingfiics @spnchick1996 @greenarrowhead @for-a-brothers-love @deanw-is-pretty @puppies-make-me-extra-happy @eternaleviee

[theyearoftheking]

Book 5: The Stand

Bloggers note: if you’re looking for a complete plot summary and a list of all the characters in this epic tome, this is not the blog post for you. Proceed with caution. 

Once upon a time, there was a precocious ten year-old, with divorced parents. One parent embraced her weirdness and didn’t pay attention to what books she was bringing home from the library; and the other parent was my dad... who constantly wondered (aloud) why I wasn’t like normal kids. 

Being of slightly above-average intelligence, I saw this as an affront, and did subtle things just to piss him off. Subtle things “normal” children probs wouldn’t do. The summer I was ten, my dad had picked up a paperback copy of The Stand, and was raving to me about how good it was. I remember he was fixated on people falling dead in their bowls of Chunky soup. 

“Sounds like a cool book, maybe I’ll read it,” I commented. 

“This isn’t a book for children. You still haven’t read that copy of The Hobbit I gave you.” 

Hold my beer, motherfucker. I’m here for it. And The Hobbit was boring af. I never got past all the singing. 

Just to piss him off, I read the book cover to cover, faster than he did. You know, like normal vindictive ten year-old girls do. I don’t have a lot of memories of my dad growing up, but I hold onto this one fast and tight, because I got mine in the end. I was like the Trashcan Man of the fifth grade set. Just with a worse haircut. See below. 

Needless to say, my comprehension of The Stand almost thirty years later is a little bigger, wider, and deeper. It’s also colored by other epic “Good vs. Evil” reads (sigh, yes... even Tolkien); and King’s other works (mostly The Dark Tower). While at times this was not an easy book to read, I’m glad I powered through it. Ultimately, I feel rewarded I didn’t give up on page 872 like I had initially wanted to. I’m also glad I didn’t go with my gut instinct of reading the original released in in 1978, and then later on the uncut edition that was released in 1990. One reading of The Stand per year is more than enough, thank you. And besides, there’s fun pictures along the way! I mean, if I’m being honest, the book is mostly pictures with just a few words here and there to break it up. I’m absolutely kidding. 

Let’s get into it, shall we?

First of all, I picked the worst fucking time to read this book. Coronavirus is probably going to kill the whole world, and I refuse to be one of the survivors like in The Stand. There’s not enough bourbon in Kentucky for me to survive that shit show. Additionally, my family is huge into board games, and we thought Pandemic might be a fun cooperative game to try. Spoiler: it’s awesome, we’re all hooked on it. I highly recommend it for your next game night. Maybe an End of the World/Pandemic theme?? You can all wear gloves and masks, eat shelf stable foods and bottled water, and play REM on repeat. Sounds... awesome. 

But I digress. The Stand is your ultimate post-apocalyptic good versus evil showdown. A government employee with Captain Trips (the world ending virus) goes AWOL from his base, and takes a frantic road trip across the country with his family, where he manages to contaminate everyone he comes in contact with. 

What is Captain Trips? Well, I’m so glad you asked! To hear a doctor explain it, “We’ve got a disease with several well-defined stages... but some people may skip a stage. Some people may backtrack a stage. Some people may do both. Some people stay in one stage for a relatively long time and others zoom though all four as if they were on a rocket-sled...” 

The virus spreads (like viruses do), until there’s less than 15,000 people left in the country (rough estimate). The people still alive start having two types of dreams; either scary nightmares about The Walking Man, or peaceful dreams about Mother Abigail. Again... good versus evil. Guess who is who. If you need clarification, let me give you this one little quote about Randall Flagg, courtesy of Mother Abigail, “He’s the purest evil left in the world. The rest of the bad is a little evil. Shoplifters and sexfiends and people who like to use their fists. But he’ll call them. He’s started already. He’s getting them together a lot faster than we are. Before he’s ready to make his move, I guess he’ll have a lot more. Not just the evil ones that are like him, but the weak ones... the lonely ones... and the ones that have left God out of their hearts.” 

And his followers?

“They were nice enough people and all, but there wasn’t much love in them. Because they were too busy being afraid. Love didn’t grow very well in a place where there was only fear, just as plants didn’t grow very well in a place where it was always dark.” 

Yeah. I’m just going to leave that there for you to read and digest. 

So, the remaining people from all over the country either ended up in Vegas with Flagg, or Boulder with Mother Abigail and The Free Zone; which is basically Bernie Sander’s Utopian dream. 

God damn it! I swore I wasn’t going to get political and compare Donald Trump to Randall Fla- 

Ok, so The Free Zone. Most of the people who come to Boulder, want to meet Mother Abigail Freemantle, the one hundred and eight year old black woman they’ve been dreaming about. She’s got a self-described case of the shine, and speaks stupid relevant truth to her followers, “I have harbored hate of the Lord in my heart. Every man or woman who loves Him, they hate Him too, because He’s a hard God, a jealous God, He Is, what He Is, and in this world He’s apt to repay service with pain while those who do evil ride over the roads in Cadillac cars. Even the joy of serving Him is a bitter joy. I do His will, but the human part o me has cursed Him in my heart.” 

I’m not religious, but that hit hard. And it shows you the clear difference between Randall Flagg, and Mother Abigail. 

Later on, Mother Abigail also hits us over the head, and explains to us why this book is titled, The Stand: “But he is in Las Vegas, and you must go there, and it is there that you will make your stand. You will go, and you will not falter, because you have the Everlasting Arm of the Lord God of Hosts to lean on. Yes. With God’s help you will stand.”

Spoiler: it doesn’t quite go according to her plan. Very few are left standing at the end.

 So, The Free Zone. People come together, dispose of dead bodies, get electricity turned back on again, clear the roads of abandoned cars, and form a de-facto government. While lots of characters come and go (die. They die.) throughout the book, there are a few mainstays in The Free Zone: Franny, Harold, Stu, Larry, Nick, Tom, Nadine, and Lucy. But again... good versus evil. While most of the residents of The Free Zone are good, Flagg is able to whisper in the ears of some members, mostly Harold and Nadine, who end up defecting and making the trip to Vegas. 

While socialist utopia is succeeding in Boulder, Flagg is ruling with fear of crucifixion in Vegas. His henchmen include Lloyd, and The Trashcan Man. Oh, Trashy... maybe one of King’s most iconic characters. He’s a bit of a firebug (understatement of the century), and really goes out in a blaze of glory (ha. Pun intended). 

In fact, the two heroes of this book are Trashcan Man, thanks to his epic nuclear disaster; and simple-minded Tom Cullen, who is able to infiltrate Flagg’s inner circle, and successfully make it out, rescuing Stu Redman, who is dying in the desert with a broken leg and a horrible infection along the way. Tom Cullen is the character you root for. But Trashy is the character you’re always curious about. He’s like that rebel guy you dated in high school for ten minutes, and now stalk on Facebook, because you want to see what shady shit he’s up to twenty years later. 

This is the biggest oversimplification I think I’ve ever written. The onus is on you to just pick up the damn book and read it yourself. Do it soon, because you might not have a lot of time left, what with Coronavirus breathing it’s death fumes down our necks. 

For those still keeping track, we have TWO Wisconsin references in The Stand. The first was on page five, set in a gas station in East Texas, “...had covered himself with glory as a quarterback of the regional high school team, had gone on to Texas A&M with an athletic scholarship, and had played for ten years with the Green Bay Packers...” 

I can’t help but feel Steve is a closeted Packers fan. He lives in Maine, so I know he’s contractually obligated to be a Patriots fan (gag), but come on... homeboy loves him some green and yellow. 

The second reference comes from our friend Trashcan Man, while trying to find a walking route of possible destruction. “He had planned to get over to the west side of Gary, near the confusion of interchanges leading various roads towards Chicago or Milwaukee...”

Question... does Gary, Indiana still smell in a post-apocalyptic world? Asking for a friend. 

We also start getting the Dark Tower references fast and heavy. I didn’t make note every time Steve referenced wolves, crows, or wheels; because we’d be up over a million references now. And Randall Flagg himself is straight out of The Tower. So that’s fun. And we have our first “ka” reference: “And it came to him with a dreamy, testicle-shriveling certainty that this was the dark man, his soul, his ka somehow projected into this rain-drenched, grinning crow that was looking at him...”

‘Tis ka, bitches. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 8

Dark Tower References: 4

Book Grade: A- 

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books 

The Shining

The Stand

‘Salem’s Lot

Carrie 

Night Shift

Next up is The Dead Zone, which I must have watched a million times as a kid, because my mom was obsessed with it, but I’ve never actually read the book. So this should be fun! I mean... who doesn’t love reading a book and imagining Christopher Walken without his cowbell as the main character? 

Long Days and Pleasant Nights, Rebecca 

[snarflebiscuit2]

Homeless Winter Wonderland In Indiana... Thanks Ditech... Destroyer of Worlds...⚔️🔥☠️ (#2)

(con't)...

So after some smalltalk and a lil catching up, came the serious talk and decisions. Mom basically ended up making most of the decisions herself by bouncing a few things off of me & her sisters. They stayed for a few days and I was finally able to get down there while they were at the hospital so I could see them before the had to leave the state.

The decisions ended up being that she would leave as naturally as possible while trying to also remain as comfortable as possible. That means a DNR. But also allows her food & drink as long as she was able to take it herself, not thru forced methods or tubes. This also went for any medications. Basically she chose to go "naturally" and when it was her time, not to try to bring her back or any of that mess. She just wanted them to let her go & get it over with. I think as much as she wanted to stay and make sure I would be ok, she was just tired & wanted to "go home". 

Given her plateau status, the hospital told her she would have to choose somewhere to go, a longer term facility, because they needed the rooms & they really couldn't do much more for her. Plus it would be much cheaper and less of a "cold" environment for her. So she chose a Hospice. The home was called Abbie Bryce Hunt House, and her hospice team was from Premier Hospice. They were a great team & the home was also nice.

It was a large home, 2 levels. It looked like a large, wealthy family's home basically. They had everything on site. Kitchens, events, phones, gardens, movie nights, all that kinda stuff. Plus the hospice team came in frequently to check on & take care of mom's needs & to evaluate her to see where she was & how she was progressing. 

Actually, she progressed very quickly after she was released from the hospital. I later realized why. When you leave hospital care and transition into hospice care, hospice doesn't renew most of the meds the hospital may have you on. They focus only on the "comfort meds". The things that help to keep you as comfy as possible, such as Morphine & Xanax. They no longer focus on preventive or maintenance meds. There's simply no point. People who are accepted in hospice are those who have a diagnosis with 6 months or less to live, generally. Many have chosen to no longer pursue alternatives treatments it experimental proceedures, etc. For lack of a better way to put it, they've basically ""given up" & want to just go quickly & quietly while trying to remain comfortable. I can't say I blame them though. 😕

So, after she got to the home, they continued & even increased her Morphine supply & started on Ativan to help with anxiety & also sleep. But other than that, there wasn't much in the way of meds or actual treatments. I visited as often as I could but I haven't had a car since my divorce and thus no way to travel aside from Uber, taxi or a friend IF I could manage to run one down, get in thier schedule & throw gas money at them too. Needless to say, Uber was my main transportation.

After about 2 weeks or so in the home we had went to go visit her on a Saturday and when we arrived she was gone. I asked where the hell she was because everyone knew we were coming. Oddly, noone seemed to know where she was. After several calls and a lot if profanity, I found out she had apparently fallen while trying to get from her bed to her portable toilet beside her bed, & they callef 911 to take her to the closest ER via ambulance. So we ran down the location and off we went.

Upon arrival, we hunted her down and spoke to her. It was at this point that I realized how badly her mind had begun to deteriorate. When I asked her what had happened, she told me she had fell while trying to turn around and sit on the toilet from her bed. Short & simply, logical explanation. But between me & several others asking her the same question, after answering a few times the story begN to change and then began to get really weird... 😕😥

By the end of the night, while speaking to her hospice nurse who had came with her to the hospital, I got a chance to hear the version she had told her versus what she had told me earlier in the evening. Basically, she told her that she had fallen...from the 4th floor...and landed and fell through the floorboards up to her knees when she landed.🤔😳😐  Uuhhhh... 

1st, the house had only 2 floors. 2nd, it had a concrete slab, no wooden floors to fall through & no basement. 3rd, if she had fallen that far she damn sure wouldn't be in as good of shape as she was... You get the idea. The whole story was just looney. Then it quickly bled over into many other areas after that episode. And within another few days days, I got the call at about 7:20am from her social worker if all people, that she had passed shortly before they had come in to check on her that morning & give her her Morphine.

Everyone seemed to be rushing to try to find a way to get me to the home asap as I was texting & calling everyone to let them know she was gone.i was in shock and wasn't particularly concerned about rushing over to "see her body" before anyone moved her & before they called anyone to come take her to the coroner's office. I just didn't have an overwhelming urge to see her dead and cold stuff. I mean it was just her body, a container. My mom wasn't there anymore. She was gone. 😥

One if her sisters seemed very adamant that I should get there and see her before they moved her or took her away. She said I would end up regretting it for the rest of my life if I didn't. I tried to explain, but I have up. She wasn't listening. But she did wire me $500 so I'd have some money to be able to get around and take care of a few things that I was going to need to do pretty quickly. That was really sweet of her.💚

Then she asked me what we were gonna do with her body. I said she wanted to be cremated. She asked if I knew any places that were affordable & nice. She said mom's nurse had recommended a place called Neptune Society. I said it sounded familiar but I honestly had no clue and that I couldn't pay for anything regardless so it really didn't matter. Then she told me she was going to pay for it. I was surprised, but grateful.

So we chose them and they came to retrieve her body.after the paperwork & everything involved, things were in a state if... Peaceful chaos, is the only way I can think to describe it I guess. It was prolly the shock, idk... 

Fast forward some and my ended up paying for mom's cremation, and my ex-wife of all people ended up buying mom a nice urn. The super generic, black plastic one that comes with the basic package my aunt bought was really hideous and cheap.i mean BAD. I guess even my ex (who did not get along with mom), Couldn't stand the idea (& prolly even just the sight), if that hideous plastic mini "garbage can" they were gonna send her home in. Yea, it was THAT BAD. 😕. Actually, I couldn't believe it when she said she was gonna get her a decent urn and to pick one ouy., That she'd just put it on her credit card. 😲

I was really blown away, & also very grateful! 💚 I only wanted 1 thing but it would figure that it was too expensive & noone could afford it, least if all me. Smfh... It was a ring they offered that had the fingerprint of your loved one and it came in either yellow gold, white gold or silver. But even the cheapest one, the silver, was about $780. That just seemed excessively ridiculous to me and everyone else too! Talk about taking advantage of someone while they're grieving and down! DAMN! 🤬. Needless to say, everyone was shitty and I was at the top of that list for sure. Not because I couldn't get it so much as that they would charge so much and take advantage of people in that situation they way they were. At least they offered to go ahead and take casts of her prints and put them in her file so they were there if I found I could afford it at a later date. That was cool at least.

Donut took about 2.5 weeks to get her taken care of and back in town & ready to be picked up to come home. Then it took another week & a half to get a damn ride up there to pick her up. 😕  So I got her home finally and set up in a spot if prepared for her. Then, slowly, my world began to implode and shit started falling apart faster & faster... 

[m11leven]

You're gonna be the one that saves me - chapter 1

Fandom : stranger things

Ships : mileven, lumax (basically all the canon ships)

Hope ya like

----

Hawkins, Indiana is experiencing It's coldest winter ever (at least It feels that way), but at least It’s safe.

Everything is back to how it used to be, El is.. well, she's home and doing great.

The cabin Isn't as isolating as it was, It's mostly a hangout spot for the party. And sure, this wasn't an ideal situation, but El was allowed to go to school (finally) and Mike was happy, which let Lucas and Dustin breathe easy and for Will that meant he could go on with his life unbothered. And Max? Never Better.

She and El had clicked the second they had sorted out their differences.

To say that everything would be the same would be unfair and totally obscene, there are things that change you forever and fighting interdimensional monsters and then saving the world is one of them. But in some sense, some weird, twisted way they knew that it wasn't over. None if it was, perhaps it never would be normal again. Maybe... maybe this was simply the beginning of something bigger, something that would make everything they'd done look like the smallest detail.

These were all facts that they all had to face, one way or another. And they all knew that this day would come.

Just not today.

It started out like any normal Friday.

Mike woke up and got ready for school. He waited for Hopper, who dropped El off at his place every morning so they could walk to school. They got to walk together because it was safe and for the first time in years they could both just be together without being afraid.

“Now, look kid,” Hopper turned to El “This is the first day of the semester and I want you to be focused on your grades first, ok?”

She sighed.

“Yes dad” “And remember what we talked about?”

Another sigh - “I am under no circumstance allowed to use telekinesis whatsoever, I-”

“Need to be safe and powers aren’t safe” Hopper cut in, drawing her into an affectionate half hug, El felt all her previous anxiety and nervousness melt away.

“I’ll be safe, dad. Will you let me walk to school now?” she said, starting to grow impatient,

“Sure kid”

She got out of the car and waved her dad goodbye.

“And remember to tell Wheeler to keep his hands to himself!” Hopper yelled teasingly out the window as he drove away.

After her dad drove off she turned to the Wheeler house, only to see a beaming Mike walking towards her. She could never get tired of that smile, or the way his hair fell perfectly into his face, or his freckles or-

“El! “ she heard someone yell behind her, followed by the feeling of being tackled into the snow. That was of course her best friend, partner in crime, number one accomplice, the one and only : Max Mayfield. (Obviously followed by Dustin).

Max and Dustin had developed a close friendship during the three years, after accepting that Max probably wouldn’t ever like him back, Dustin decided to make the best of it and since then they’ve been nearly inseparable, and it turns out, they're really good at being friends. She taught him how to skateboard.

Standing up from the ground and pulling El up with her, Max noticed Mike “heart eyes” Wheeler still walking towards them.

“Might want to reel your tongue back in there Wheeler,” Lucas's voice suddenly filled their ears “you could catch a cold„

“Yeah, I heard of this guy that got an infection that way” Will said, suddenly appearing behind Lucas, a wicked grin on his face.

“That means nothing coming from you, you're totally whipped as well for Mayfield over there!” Mike yelled back with an eat-my-shit smile on his face.

“Yeah, whatever”

-

“Mr Edward's classes are honestly the worst” El sighed, walking out of her fourth period history class with Will.

“They’re not that bad when you think about it, actually”

“It probably wouldn't be if we actually did something other than taking tests and writing notes, I want t-“ She didn't get to finish the sentence.

“Well, if it isn't my favourite pair of dwarfs! How was your Christmas break, fairy? Fly away to another fairyland to meet all the other queers? ”

“I've broken your hand once and I'll do it again, Troy” El practically growled at him before Will could say anything, she could feel her heart beat faster by the second.

“That was three years ago, you haven't got anything on me princess”

“Wanna bet?”

“No you don't”

Just before El could launch herself on him she was caught by four pairs of hands, those being, of course, Mike, Lucas, Max and Dustin.

“Leave us the fuck alone, dickface” Max spat at him, holding a fuming El by the waist, holding her in place.

“Can’t you just drop it?” Mike growled at Troy, looking like he could just snap at any minute and attack him.

“Why would I, when it's so much fun to see your girlfriend get all riled up” he said, some sort of cocky grin forming on his face, while they walked away from him.

“Don’t answer him, just walk away” Max whispered to her friends, fastening her pace out of the hallway and making sure Troy saw her flip him off, Lucas wrapping a protective hand around hers.

“Thanks for saving us, I guess,” El mumbled quietly to the group once they got to the cafeteria, “Sorry Will„.

“It’s just Troy being a jerk like always” Mike said, planting a chaste kiss on El’s head as they picked out their lunch, “I’m just glad you didn't get hurt”

“You are forgetting that I could take on Troy any day of the week, I'm stronger than all of you combined….” El trailed off quietly shooting Mike a small, knowing smile.

“God, you are such a sap” Dustin chuckled as they sat down underneath the bleachers outside the school, their only one-hundred-percent safe place from other people.

It wasn't that they weren't safe, they just liked being alone, together.

-

It happened during sixth period. She was talking to Max and Mike about homework or some other miniscule subject.

Suddenly uniform clad men busted into the classroom, “Jane Hopper, you must come with us”

Fuck

Suddenly a state of panic and fear was brought over her, so she ran.

She broke a window and jumped out, ran as far as she could.

Of course she couldn't get away, they had clearly thought for everything.

From inside the classroom she could see Mike and Max in the window, Max crying on Mike's shoulder, screaming at the teacher to do something. You could almost see Mike's heart break and then the tears came, anger knowing he couldn't do anything, she was already gone.

That was the day that El Hopper learned that if she wanted to be saved she'd have to save herself. That day Mike Wheeler broke, Max Mayfield learned what missing someone really felt like, Dustin Henderson learned that loneliness can be felt even amongst people, Lucas Sinclair's biggest fears had come true and Will Byers learned that maybe evil never dies.

Let's assume that It was January. About halfway through the month, maybe the fifteenth or sixteenth. Let's also assume that neither of them thought anything bad would happen. We all make assumptions. look, i just made one for you.

Well, to be fair, nobody thought anything bad could happen at this point. It's been three years since they saw him die. At least they thought they did.

---

I'm sorry

@bitchin-promises @puzzlingsnark @michael-hearteyes-wheeler @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold @janes-mike @stellarlosersclub @mileven-bughead @reddie-to-mileven-it-up @hannahberrie (tagging people that I remember reblogging the moodboards or who I think would like it, let me know if you want to be on the tag list <3)

[speench]

Fireworks

Ok, intensely unoriginal title aside, @apostapal has been posting a lot about Jack’s PTSD and honestly? I couldn’t resist. 

Jack Morrison could not handle fireworks.

It was something Gabriel had known for years. He’d seen Jack flinch when neighborhood kids decided to set off bottle rockets. He’d calmed Jack out of panic attacks when someone nearby set off fireworks for an occasion with no warning whatsoever.

Seeing Jack panic over something hurt Gabriel as well, especially since he knew the source of Jack’s PTSD. They’d served in the same war, the same front even for some time. It was how they’d met. But still, Jack had endured something that Gabriel had not, and it was obvious on far too many occasions that it got to him.

Sure Gabriel got jumpy sometimes, certain things made him twitchy and he typically didn’t sleep without some variety of weapon on his nightstand. But even if fireworks startled him and made him curse their invention, he could keep a clear head. Jack on the other hand, couldn’t.

Either way, Gabriel was often searching for ways to help ease Jack’s stress during big holidays. Mainly New Years, The Fourth of July, and Christmas. It often meant retreating to their basement and cranking up a movie or something while they curled up on the couch together and Gabriel let Jack lay on him.

When New Years rolled around that year though, Gabriel had an idea. They always missed seeing the fireworks, thanks to the huge amount of noise they made. But both of them could agree that seeing fireworks was nice. Jack had often told Gabriel about when he was a kid in Indiana and clustering into a local baseball field with the rest of the town to watch the fireworks. Suffice to say, it had Gabriel searching for a solution.

Either way, Jack looked wary when Gabriel coaxed him out of the house after dark. He lingered in the doorway until Gabriel dragged him out by his belt loops and kissed him sweetly, moving one hand to close the door behind Jack.

“C’mon you old grouch, we’re not spending another night cooped up on New Years.” Gabriel huffed as he pulled back, pushing a kiss against the corner of Jack’s mouth. It’d been years since he and his husband had actually left the house on the holiday, so Gabriel wasn’t surprised that Jack seemed twitchy about it.

“Gabe-” He could hear the tone in Jack’s voice, the one that screamed discomfort and worry, and one Gabriel rarely heard on a daily basis. He cut Jack off with a look though, rubbing over his companion’s arms and giving him a light squeeze.

“Can you trust me for tonight? I promise this isn’t going to mess with you.” His teasing tone evaporated completely as he gave Jack’s coat a light tug, raising an eyebrow at his companion. Jack still seemed reluctant though. Gabriel didn’t take it as a personal offense, he’d seen how fireworks could affect Jack, and he’d understand if Jack really didn’t want to leave their little bunker until the night was over.

“Alright, alright, let’s go, it’s cold out here.” Gabriel brightened a bit as Jack finally agreed, stepping back to fall in beside Jack. He took his husband’s gloved hand and moved to pull him through the car.

“C’mon then, everyone goes on dates or something on New Years, we’re being those assholes this year too.” He flashed Jack a grin over his shoulder, and caught Jack rolling his eyes. But there was a hint of a smile on Jack’s face.

“You’re a sap Reyes.” Jack muttered, Gabriel could hear his companion digging his nose into his scarf as they crossed the walk to their driveway.

“You proposed.” Gabriel reminded Jack with a stifled grin as they reached the car. Jack grumbled faintly but left the matter there as he moved to climb into the passenger’s seat.

It was a bit of a drive to get where Gabriel wanted to take Jack, but it was worth it. He had to check his GPS several times, as he hadn’t driven the road in the dark, and it wasn’t long before they were headed up the side of a mountain.

The car didn’t seem quite equipped for such a rough ride, jolting and rattling over deep potholes and the occasional rock sticking halfway out of the road. It was the kind of ride where going five miles an hour with good shocks still wouldn’t save them from rattling about a bit.

Jack didn’t offer any protests beyond the occasional huff of discomfort after a bad pothole. But it was only a few minutes before Gabriel was pulling up to a large open area, it was all covered in ankle-high shrub dusted with snow (he was pretty sure they were blueberry plants) and offered a fantastic view of the entire sky. So once he got to the large dirt area he presumed people parked on, Gabriel threw the car into park.

“Alright princess, we’re here, c’mon out I’m not leaving it running.” Gabe batted Jack on the arm as he pulled the keys from the ignition and shoved them in his pocket, moving to get out of the car.

Jack shot him a quizzical look but moved to get out of the car anyways as Gabriel ducked back to pull a bag out of the backseat of the car. By the time he returned with his supplies, Jack was leaning on the hood of the car, watching the stars and leeching heat off the cooling engine.

“Gabriel why are we on top of a mountain? It’s the middle of winter.” Jack looked over at him as he heard Gabriel’s boots crunch over the thin layer of snow and dirt. Gabriel just shrugged as he set the bag he had on the hood of the car.

“Why not?” He hummed, pulling a blanket from the bag and setting it aside. Jack snorted at him before wrapping his arms around himself and looking back up to the sky. They both fell silent, enjoying the crisp, clear air swirling around them and the sounds of the trees on the sides of the mountain creaking slightly at the breeze.

“I brought a couple things to warm us up though.” Jack glanced over at him again as he spoke, only to stifle a low laugh when Gabriel held up a bottle of champagne, and a much less distinguished bottle of whiskey.

“You really know how to set a mood Gabe.” Jack laughed as Gabriel leaned against the hood next to him.

“Yep, no glasses, I forgot the paper cups at home.” He stifled a laugh as he set the wine behind them, opening the whiskey instead.

“Disgusting, you expect me to drink from the same bottle as you.” Jack’s tone was laced with sarcasm as he wound an arm around Gabriel, pulling his partner in to his side so Gabriel could rest against his taller companion.

“I mean there’s only so much one can deal with.” Gabriel snorted, humming and handing the bottle of whiskey to Jack. The blond gladly took a drink off of it, grimaced, and handed it back to Gabriel.

“That’s gross, how much did you even pay for that?” Jack glanced down over Gabriel’s shoulder, squinting at the label in the dark. Gabriel shrugged, taking a drink as well and making a face of his own. He could handle hard liquor like nobody else and had only ever been out-drank by two people. But that didn’t mean that the whiskey he’d bought didn’t taste like absolute crap.

“Don’t remember, it was really cheap though.” Gabriel shrugged, screwing the top back on the bottle and setting it aside in favor of leaning on Jack.

“So why are we up here anyways? Aside from drinking cheap alcohol like we’re teenagers.” Jack asked as he pulled Gabriel closer so Gabriel was leaning back against his husband’s chest, and Jack’s arms could wind around him properly.

“Well we’re not drinking like teens, because I have to drive home and then we can get completely wasted there if we want to.” Gabriel pointed out, folding his arms over Jacks and finding his husband’s hand in the dark.

“And we’re here to watch the fireworks.” He felt Jack stiffen up a bit, and could practically feel the unease waft off of his companion. He just turned in Jack’s arms though, hooking his arms over Jack’s shoulders.

“Relax, I did a bit of calculating, we should be out of earshot, but we should still be able to see them.” Gabriel assured Jack, sticking his fingers under the collar of Jack’s coat to keep them out of the cold. It made Jack squirm a bit as Gabriel’s icy fingers wormed under his shirt.

“You’re sure we’re not going to hear them?” Jack still sounded unconvinced, but Gabriel nodded, standing on his toes a bit to kiss Jack’s forehead.

“Yes, I’m sure. We’re well away from them.” Gabriel decided, shifting to rest his head against Jack’s collar.

“Alright, alright, what time is it?” Jack asked idly, leaning on the hood still as he ran gloved fingers over the back of Gabriel’s jacket.

“No clue, phone’s in my pocket.” Gabriel had settled against Jack, happy to just enjoy the contact and the warmth that seemed to radiate off of Jack. He stifled a quiet laugh though, when he felt Jack pat his pockets before finding his phone and pulling it out to check the time.

“It’s eleven forty-five.” Jack hummed, returning the phone to Gabriel’s pocket.

“I feel like you’re just trying to grab my ass Jack.” Gabriel teased, turning his head to push his cold nose against the hollow of Jack’s throat.

“I mean do I have to be subtle about that?” Jack yawned, draping his arms back around Gabriel as the shorter man rested his cheek on Jack’s scarf.

“Absolutely not.” Gabriel couldn’t stifle a quiet laugh as he wormed a little closer to Jack, squeezing slightly around his husband’s shoulders. Sure it was cold, and it had him shivering a bit. But he could look up at the stars wheeling above them, and feel Jack’s frame warm against his. He’d mark it down as a good night. They just had to countdown to when the fireworks actually started. Or rather, when the year ended.

The time passed pretty quickly though, and Gabriel ended up turning around in Jack’s arms again to wrap them both in a blanket and watch the sky. A bit after they did that, the first flash of light cut through the night sky. The only sound from it was the slight echo off the mountains. But it was barely audible. Gabriel couldn’t help but grin, proud of himself as he settled back against his husband. It was nice to relax in the silence, watching the lights flash above the town. It was a little underwhelming compared to actually being right there. But it was also way less stressful for Jack. That much was obvious from how relaxed he remained.

Gabriel only moved to turn around and lean up, properly kissing Jack. It earned him a content hum, but Jack was soon pulling away, pushing a gentle kiss against the corner of Gabriel’s mouth.

“Thank you Gabe, I didn’t think I’d be able to do this since I got home.” Jack flashed him a soft smile, and Gabriel couldn’t help but smile back.

“Oh hush, you’re such a sap.” Gabriel snorted, bumping their foreheads together as they listened to the distant echo of the fireworks.

“What can I say, you rubbed off on me.” Jack teased, squeezing Gabriel’s sides lightly. It earned a low laugh from Gabriel as he rested against Jack properly.

“You’re the worst, how’s about we watch the rest of the fireworks, pack up and head home to have some champagne?” He hummed, prodding Jack lightly in the shoulders as he spoke, watching the fireworks over his shoulder as he relaxed.

“You had me at home.” Jack rumbled, Gabriel heard the smile in Jack’s voice. And… While he could never fix his husband’s PTSD, he was glad he could help in little ways. Especially since Jack seemed enthralled with the fireworks, even from a distance. And that much on it’s own was far more than Gabriel had ever hoped for.

[orange-waterfalls]

Feelings? No. Never.

Illinois x gender neutral!reader

@edgynoise ty for the request!

A/N: Illinois falling in love and not knowing what to do with it. I loved writing this lol. There's a dog, and I chose a hypoallergenic dog bc... Y'know... Uh, Illinois being big dumb. Real men don't have FEELINGS. Rated T for cursing and hurt pupper. Don't worry, she gets better. Fluffy. Enjoy.

Word Count: 2.1k

--

Illinois was a bit intimidated by you. You two had a lot in common. You both loved adventure, you both were fearless, and you both could be too arrogant at times. The difference was you were more aggressive about it. He wouldn't lie, he got worried when you asked him if he dared you to jump over a pit of snakes.

Another difference was you were softer than him. You loved children and animals, and were very kind and caring. Illinois didn't really like kids and most animals just annoyed him. He wasn't the caring type. You two complimented each other well.

One problem.

Illinois had fallen in love with you.

He wasn't sure when or how it happened, but all he knew was that whenever he saw you playing with a baby or a dog or something like that, he couldn't help smiling.

Illinois had fallen in love before. At least, he was pretty sure he had. It had been a while. But the overwhelming desire to see you happy may have tipped him off a bit.

But he was honestly a bit scared.

Feelings were nothing but trouble. They had no place in his line of work. You risked your lives every day, there was no room for a relationship. Besides, he wasn't the relationship type. He was married to his job! The only thing he loved was adventure! And now, apparently, you. What was he supposed to do with that? Ask you out? No. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He'd get over this soon enough.

Then a week passed. Then two weeks. Then two months. And that mushy, touchy-feely, butterflies-in-your-stomach emotion he felt towards you hadn't faded a bit. In fact, it may have just gotten bigger.

He would sit with you while you did absolutely anything, just wanting to be around you. He would watch you from across the room, adoration visible in his eyes. Whenever he talked to you, love and affection dripped from his voice.

He hated it.

He couldn't control it! His face started heating whenever you touched him, and he started giggling like a schoolgirl when he thought of you. This wasn't like him. He needed to stop. But he wasn't sure how to stop.

And he didn't need to.

You two had discovered some temple ruins and Illinois decided to explore. He had hoped some adventure would take his mind off of things.

As it turns out, going on an adventure with the person you are in love with will not help you get over the person you are in love with.

You decided to walk through town on the way over instead of driving, just because. He thought it was a waste of time, but you wanted to see everything. So, you walked.

While walking you froze as you heard a small whine from an alleyway.

"Illinois," you called so he'd stop. He turned to you.

"What's wrong?" He asked. You didn't answer as you spun towards the alley and went in. Illinois followed you, curious in what you were doing. You slowly stepped through the alley, keeping your ears open, until both of you heard another whine. You rush towards the source of the noise and find a Portuguese Water-Dog puppy. Its fur was black, so you barely saw that its leg was bleeding. You gasped and laid your hand on the pup.

"Aw, Illinois! Look at it!" You said sadly. Illinois rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, great. Drop it at the vet so we can go." You turned to him and frowned. He suddenly felt guilty.

"No! I can't just abandon it! I found it and now it's my responsibility," you claimed. Illinois sighed in annoyance. He didn't even try to argue because he knew he couldn't change your mind.

You lifted up the small pup and cradled it in your arms, shushing it gently. Illinois tried to look annoyed, but his brain decided to make a ton of serotonin in that exact moment and he smiled at you. You two stood for a moment, you cradling the dog, Illinois smiling at you lovingly. You looked up at him and smirked.

"There a problem, Illy?" You chuckled. Illinois snapped out of his trance and widened his eyes at you. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, no. Let's just… let's just go," he said and turned around, walking back to where you came from. You jogged to catch up to him, staring at the puppy in adoration.

"I'm gonna call them… Indiana," you said. Illinois turned to you.

"Really?" He asked, offended. You laughed.

"Yeah, really! It'll be too confusing to name you both Illinois," you explained. He turned away from you, his face flushing.

"Yeah… okay," he mumbled.

--

A couple days after you nursed the puppy back to health, you made Illinois go with you to buy stuff for it. You held his hand as you dragged him around the pet store, holding the puppy in your arms as well. You repeatedly referred to her as your daughter, and told him he was her parent as well. Not to mention, a bunch of people walking around were whispering you two looked cute together.

This was not at all helping with Illinois' feelings for you. He wanted them to leave, not for other people to know about it.

"Y/N can you… not hold my hand and… stop calling me its dad?" He asked, sounding annoyed. Your happy face dropped a bit, but you nodded and let go of his hand. He immediately regretted his decision after 5 minutes of missing your hand in his. You had bought the puppy a collar, a leash, a bed, bowls, food, and a couple of toys. You forced Illinois to pick the toys out, since he was going to be living with the dog too. You wanted him and the pup to get along. He groaned but picked out five, and complained when you told him that was enough. You could tell he was having fun.

You drove the puppy back to you and Illinois' house. You both had thought it made more sense for you to live together, since you started adventuring together.

Yep. That was the only reason, alright.

You set the puppy's bed next to yours and set her on the floor.

"Go on, Indiana!" You urged. The pup wobbled over to the bed, her leg wrapped in bandages. She circled for a minute before laying down on it and soon falling asleep. You stared at her for a while before Illinois tapped you on the shoulder. You turned to him, wondering what he wanted. He held up the newspaper article about the cursed treasure that had originally made you two go on your adventure.

Well, before you found the puppy and forgot about adventure altogether.

You called a doggy daycare so you could drop Indiana off and go on the adventure. You anticipated you'd be away for the entire weekend, so you asked one of your friends to pick her up and drop her off each day. Once they agreed, you and Illinois packed your stuff.

Well, you packed your stuff. Illinois still had his bag from the first time you went.

You two tossed your bags in the backseat and sat in the car, ready for danger.

--

You two had been walking inside the actual ruins for 2 hours. There were so many different pathways you could go, and somehow, none of the ones you chose so far were correct. You had found plenty of rooms with treasure in them, but every time you took one, something went wrong.

First there was a golden statue that he'd replaced with a rock, and a boulder began to chase you both. You ended up back where you started, unhurt but very annoyed.

Then, a golden lamp sitting in the middle of a room. When Illinois grabbed it, the walls started to close in on you two. There wasn't enough time to run out, so you shot your grappling hook at the door and swung your way out. Illinois' hat almost got crushed. It wouldn't have been bad, but he would've complained to you until he eventually bought a new one.

Another memorable one was when the ground closed in under you and you fell into a pit of vipers. Before Illinois could even ask if you were ok, you climbed up the walls with two knives, smiling and saying you were good. Illinois thought it was impossible to fall more in love with you, yet here we are.

You were on your fourth pathway, and there wasn't anything interesting so far. You two normally just walked in comfortable silence, but Illinois initiated conversation.

"So, partner," he called. You turned towards him with a small smile.

"Hm?" You asked.

"Why do you like adventuring so much?" Your eyes widened as you laughed at the question.

"Well, uh… that's a long story…"

"We got time, don't we?"

You were quiet for a moment before you started telling your entire life story.

--

Half an hour into you talking and Illinois' smile hadn't faltered a bit. He loved your voice oh, so much. You had gone from talking about your childhood to what you did last week, and he listened to everything. You sped up as you talked so Illinois, with his slow saunter, fell a bit behind. He began to zone out and think.

He loved you… at this point, he knew he did. You were amazing… he loved you so much… What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to kiss you… well, he did. But not yet. He didn't know if you'd want to. He didn't know if you liked him. He had no way of figuring that out without telling you he liked you. And what if you didn't? Your friendship could be ruined! He didn't want that… he wouldn't survive. It's not like he could just… pin you up against the wall and hope you kissed him… could he? Well, he didn't have much to lose. If you didn't like him, maybe he could beg you to be friends with him again. Worth a shot.

"Y/N?" He called. He held your hand, stopping you from going farther. You turned towards him.

"What is it?" You asked.

He grabbed your shoulders and gently pinned you against the wall. Your eyes widened as you looked at him. One hand moved to the side of your neck, and he moved his other hand against the wall, straightening his arm. He was absently rubbing his thumb over your jaw, staring at your lips. He stepped closer to you, moving the hand against the wall to the other side of your neck. You held your breath as he stood dangerously close to you, your bodies almost touching.

"You're… so wonderful…" he whispered. One hand moved to your chin as he stared at your lips. You weren't smiling.

That was bad.

He worriedly looked at your eyes, seeing only confusion. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Just… kiss me if you like me back…" he begged. After a few seconds of nothing, he began moving away from you. "I'm so--" you grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him into a kiss. Illinois, caught off guard, buckled a bit. You pulled him back up and he started kissing back. Your bodies were up against each other and he wasn't sure if he could handle anymore. If he'd ascended into heaven right then and there, he wouldn't be surprised. You ran your fingers through his hair and tugged, pulling him impossibly closer to you. He whined and mentally beat himself up for it. He was supposed to make you make those noises. He reluctantly pulled away for breath.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" He murmured. You chuckled.

"I don't know. What am I doing?"

"You're throwing off my entire vibe is what you're doing," You both laughed and he watched you in awe. "I love you…" you stopped laughing and looked at him. Shit, shit, shit. Too soon… he scolded himself. You smiled at him and softly pecked him on the lips again.

"I love you too…" you mumbled. You both gaze adoringly at each other before you wiggled out from your spot between him and the wall, continuing down the pathway. "Come on! I'm not leaving without some sort of reward!" You yelled. He smirked.

"What? Ain't I enough reward, darlin'?" He asked. You rolled your eyes.

"You're good, but love won't pay the bills. Besides, we have a daughter now!"

"Right…"

"Well… I guess you're technically her step-dad, but you can still form a relationship!"

"Oh, shut up." You snickered at him and kept walking. He sighed.

Feelings could be good sometimes.

[grownups-are-the-real-monsters]

Coming Out

 Eddie had known there was something that was different about him ever since the day that Beverly had sunbathed in front of them, clad in her underwear. And what popped into his mind, as he stared was ‘I wonder what we’re having for dinner tonight?’ As he looked around at his friends, it occurred to him that they we’rent thinking the same thing. No, their batting eyes, sharp intakes of breath, and parted mouths told otherwise. So Eddie tried to keep staring, just to make sure he hadn’t missed something. But Beverly started to turn her head and his time was up. He was immediately flustered and snapped his head back around like he was burned. 

Though there had been no time at all to put himself under the microscope to figure out what exactly that meant. Because being chased by a disgusting demon clown didn’t offer up much free time. Not that he thought the thirteen year old version of himself would be able to figure it out. The sixteen year old version of himself could barely figure it out. He had to bite his tongue last week in the theater to keep himself from audibly fawning over Indiana Jones.

He thought about telling his friends one by one, maybe at least starting with Beverly but that would mean he’d have to go through the process more than once. So he was planing to just to get it over with and tell all of them at once. He was thinking this all over while he sat in Bill’s passenger seat, his friends all packed in the back. And he wasn’t quite sure why but his thoughts were interrupted with what sounded like his mothers oven timer going off in his head. saying ‘It’s time! It’s time!’ “I have something to tell you guys!” He shouted, impulsively. He knew that he had no time to back out when the whole car quieted, even Richie shut up for him. 

Eddie played with his fingers in his lap and tried to think of something he could use as an excuse. “I…well I just wanted to say-”

The radio let it’s last song fade out, the previously soft tone was replaced with it’s bursting new song choice. “I’m Coming Out!” Chimed the radio in Diana Ross’s voice. The car went silent. Eddie took the leap, knowing this way he wouldn’t have to actually say it. 

“That! I wanted to say that!” He pointed his finger at the radio like a child. He felt everyone’s confused eyes and was not looking forward to having to actually explaining himself. But before he could open his mouth, Beverly started. 

“That....you’re coming out?” she asked, a small smile starting at the corner of her lips. Eddie could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet. So he just nodded.....profusely. And suddenly, it was ok to laugh because that’s what everyone did, apart from Eddie who was sure they were laughing at him. 

He was wondering if he could make the jump if he just opened the door and barreled out and was debating if the injuries were worth it, when Bill slapped his hand down on his back as the car rolled to a stop. “It’s o-o-ok Eddie. This doesn’t c-c-change anything. We still love you.” 

Eddie breathed a little sigh of relief and nodded. “So you love me anyway?” He voiced his paranoia one more time. Everyone’s faces seemed to look concerned before Ben decided to speak up. 

“We don’t love you anyway, Eddie. We just love you.” 

Eddie was touched and bit into his lip as he gave Ben an appreciative smile. The car went silent again until...

“Damn, we’re such sentimental bastards.” Richie chuckled and everyone promptly slapped him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming out had most definitely agreed with Eddie. And it was pretty obvious, in more ways then one. There was the good. Which included, Eddie being a lot less mousy and skittish as he’d been in the last few months. The boy was practically glowing. He’d even let Beverly paint his nails, a creamy citrus orange color that was easily removed. It was easily one of Eddie’s favorite memories and he knew it before it was even over. 

~~~~~~~~

Beverly capped the polish and leaned back on the tree next to Richie as Eddie examined his nails. He glanced up at Richie, looking close to apologetic. “Sorry, Rich. That was a pretty gay hour we spent.” Eddie was still getting use to being out. And for some reason, he was still apologizing for it. 

“I can think of a much better way to spend a gay hour with you, Eds.” Richie smirked suggestively, crawling over. Eddie rolled his eyes and put his entire hand over Richie’s face and pushed him backwards with laughter. 

~~~~~~~~

Eddie smiled at the memory. But the obviousness of the situation was not only a good thing. There was a bad side that almost made Eddie regret even coming out. Everyone in the school seemed to just know too. He wasn’t sure how but he was sure it was not in the school syllabus that was sent home. No, he didn’t think that right by the parents signature the flyer read ‘And by the way, Eddie Kaspbrak’s gay!’ But it almost seemed plausible the more he thought about it. 

He scratched under his chin and tried to focus on his science project and not the fact that his partner was inching farther and farther away from him. He tapped his pencil before glancing at him, his name was Trevor. And he was biting on the eraser of his pencil, Eddie cringed as he thought of all the germs he was biting into. And maybe Trevor mistook his cringe as a look of interest, though Eddie wasn’t sure why...maybe he was just paranoid like all the other boys were around Eddie. 

He quickly pulled the pencil end from his mouth like it burnt him and glared at him. Eddie bit so hard into his cheek, it drew blood. He glanced up at the clock and tried not to let it get to him. He shouldn’t care what his frickin’ lab partner thought about him, but he did. And it hurt. He broke his pencil in half, the wood stuck out and snapped. “Shit.” He whispered and hopped out of his seat, taking note of the fact that Trevor moved to the side as he breezed past him. 

He marched himself to the bathroom, after asking of course. He slapped his hands on the heavy door, it swung open and slammed against the wall. Thankfully, no one was inside the blue and gold tiled shit hole. He gripped onto the cool sides of the sink and sighed. He mentally went through every occurrence within the past few weeks where some guy had purposefully hopped away from him. It was like they thought it was fuckin’ contagious or something. Eddie glanced up, taking in his appearance in the mirror. He spent too fucking long convinced he was sick, he wasn’t going to be made to feel like shit about this. 

He took another deep breath and marched back out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So I said to him- I says-” Richie starts out his story in some sort of greaser voice that Eddie had been known to call ‘A knock off Danny Zucko speaking during a trip through a blender’. Eddie chuckled. Richie proceeded to throw his arm around Eddie’s shoulder without a blink of his eye.

Richie had always been the touchy type but Eddie had convinced himself that when he came out, Richie might stop doing things he used to do. That’s just what happened, right? All the boys in school gave him dirty looks and moved away from him. But his friends, the Losers club, didn’t change one bit. Stan still corrected Eddie’s body to show him how to crack the baseball the best, Bill still gave him piggy-back rides, Mike still gave him boosts to reach high places, Ben still sat close to him when they studied and Richie still pinched his cheeks. Eddie had never been more thankful for that in his life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other people though, were not as thankful. In fact, they looked at Richie like the boy had gone nuts. Every time he put his arms around him or set his chin on Eddie’s head or squished Eddie’s cheeks, nearby students seemed to try and give him a silent signal. One that read ‘Watch out, He’s gay!’ but Richie never seemed to be looking back. 

So it was up to them to formulate a plan to warn Richie. Before it was too late. In Mrs. Roshner’s history class, a group of students voted Skippy Peterson as the chosen one. He was the one who supplied Richie with smokes in the bathroom during the day anyway. 

When Richie took off to wait for him, Skippy was pushed out of his seat and excused for the bathroom. He tapped his pocket, whistling as he slapped the door open to find Richie sitting on the edge of the sink. 

“Ah! Skippy my boy! Skipping class, huh?” Richie chuckled at the bad joke before gesturing for him to come over. Skippy shook his head and handed him a cigarette. He flicked the lighter in his hand and a reflection of red filled his eyes. 

“You’re close to the Kaspbrak guy, right?” Skippy asked, a little nervous when Richie gave him a heated look, breathing out smoke. 

“Yeah.” 

“Y’know...he’s gay right? Aren’t you worried he’ll think you’re flirting with him? What if he thinks he has a shot with you?” Skippy was fidgeting now as he was getting more and more curious and worried, on Richie’s behalf. Richie, shoved his lighter back into his pocket and looked Skippy up and down. 

“I sure hope he does. I’ve been flirting with him since we were like six. He could’ve had me back then. We could’ve been holding hands at recess if he wanted.” and then he spun out the door, leaving Skippy feeling dumb.

Skippy watched the door close as he tried to wrap his brain around that. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Richie hopped happily out of the bathroom and smoked down the halls like it was no big deal. He rolled it to the other side of his mouth and felt the warmth in his chest as he bounded towards his favorite place in the entire school to linger. But as he approached, there was a tall figure standing at Eddie’s locker, fidgeting a little. 

He stopped and leaned on the wall behind him as the bell rang overhead and people poured from the classrooms. Eddie’s tiny little figure came bopping from his nearby class towards his locker and that boy. Richie scooted to the best position so he could hear them but they couldn’t see him. 

“Hey, Eddie right? I saw you with your friends the other day but I was a little nervous to talk to you then.” The boy was shuffling on his feet and stroking his own hair like it would improve his looks. Richie rolled his eyes.

“Why would you be nervous Connor? I have those notes you wanted in my locker, if you would’ve asked I would’ve given em’ to you.” Eddie shrugged as he opened his locker.

‘Ahhh, so Connor was the boy band member knock off’s name’. Richie scowled. ‘And my oh my was his boy oblivious’. 

Eddie stood on his tiptoes and Connor decided it was the best time to drag his eyes up and down him, a twinkle in his eyes. And Richie wanted nothing more than to knock the twinkle right out. So he bounded over and threw his arm around the smaller boys shoulders. “How ya doin’ Eds?” He ruffled his hair and gave Connor his best ‘back off’ glare. Though, Beverly once told him that she could kick his ass at that. 

“Don’t call me that- Oh here you go, Connor.” Eddie handed him the notes and he looked like he might say something else to Eddie but then took another glance at Richie and decided against. Eddie pretended that Richie’s hands roaming on his ticklish sides were irritating, but he flourished at the attention. 

Connor gripped the notes and took off. “Huh, wonder where he’s going so fast?” Eddie frowned and held his books to his chest. Richie put his chin to rest on Eddie’s head and hummed. 

“Probably off to flirt with all the other boys.” He felt Eddie try and look up at him, his hair tickled under his chin. 

“He was not flirting with me.” Eddie furrowed his brows, that cute wrinkle forming on his forehead. Richie put on a smug smile and leaned on a neighboring locker. 

“Please, He had his eyes all over you, Eds. His flirting isn’t as good as mine though, Right?” Richie stuck his nose in the air. Eddie gave him a confused look.

“How would I know?” Eddie crinkled his nose, Richie sighed. 

“Because I’m always flirting with you…..is this not as clear as I thought?” Richie asked in exasperation. Eddie’s eyes widened and he started to chuckle awkwardly, trying to pass the moment by as one of Richie’s weird comments.

“Do you have the psych notes cause I left mine-?” 

“Eddie.” Richie interrupted him with an expectant thin lipped smile, Eddie clamped his mouth shut and looked at him. “I’m not joking.” Richie put it simply and Eddie nearly just dropped his books and ran. 

“Ok, you flirt with me but it’s just what you do I know you don’t mean it” Eddie ran his fingers down the sleeve of his sweater. Richie pursed his lips and shook his head. 

“Oh no, I mean it. I always have. Even when we were six and I pushed my block tower on you....do you remember that? Because that was hysterical, I think that’s why you didn’t talk to me again until we were ten-” 

“What are you saying, Richie?” Eddie interrupted him with urgency and Richie felt heat crawl up his neck and hit his cheeks. 

“I’m saying...we’re great friends but if you asked me to make out with you, I would.” Richie shrugged, explaining it in a way that only he could. Eddie took a breath and bit into his cheek.

“Huh.” 

“Huh? That’s all I get, Eds? Be a little more creative than that. Y’know? a ‘fuck off, Richie’ or a ‘Shut up Trashmouth’ are some gems-” 

“Richie!” 

Richie hopped back slightly, not expecting Eddie to shout. He tilted his head and waited for him to say something. “Give me time to have this sink in, ok?” Eddie said with a breathy sigh. Richie nodded. 

“Sure, take your time. I can stay away from you for a bit if you want. Give you some space-”

“It sunk!” Eddie shouted again and hopped up to Richie, hands boosting himself up from Richie’s shoulders. Their lips met for a few seconds, the best few seconds of Richie’s life. 

“You adorable little bastard.” Richie scrunched up his face as Eddie kept on giggling. 

For those who wanted to be tagged: @megelizabethvh @gazebros @deliicateloser @iammcclame @im-not-psychotic @thatonewhereshetries @okayscorbus @acidic-oblivion @spicyymoon--lovve   (I hope I got everyone)

[thirteenphoenixes-blog]

soul food

the mania creeps up on him like ice on a river, he thinks. slow and light and easily cracked by a good, strong dose of reality and ash and sleep, then it’s just there with a weight so sudden and heavy and thick that not even the sun can’t get through and he is no stranger to bad days, but these are beyond that and he can’t remember the last time he ate or how he actually ended up in this alley, but he’s here and he’s fairly sure that he’s dying.

or going to.

and it’s not the first time this has happened. the scrawny frame of indiana henry jones sinks back against the the brick of the building behind him, slumping to the ground with a soft wheeze. his skateboard has been snapped in half, the pieces scattered somewhere, and he mourns that if nothing else because that one had been his favorite. an old faithful kinda one that he had painted himself.  

his side outright burns, one shaking hand pressing against the deep lines that are half scratch half puncture wound, blood pooling in the gaps between his fingers and he hopes this puddle he’s lying in is water because an infection is the last thing he needs. his arms sting for reasons unrelated to the mess of glass in his side and he thinks about ash again.

she’d help.

and he knows—he fucking knows—she would because she’s ash and she’s been around him since he was tinier and more of an asshole, but this is something that he’s got to deal with on his own because minds like his are only good for driving people away when they get tired of dealing with him.

and they always get tired.

even those with the best intentions and the kindest hearts leave because they’re not built to worry like he makes them. so he doesn’t tell her. doesn’t text, doesn’t call, doesn’t see her. even though he himself and other parts of him want to pay her a visit. god, if she could see him now, she’d be so upset, so angry with him for not telling her but he—

he’s tired, sleepy for the first time in four days, afraid too.

and he hates that part.

you’re going to die in this alley, the ever-sinister voice in his head murmurs with a grin that he swears he can hear. indy tries to to trim the hysterics from his laugh, fails masterfully, and passes out.

sometimes, mason wonders, as he picks up indy’s limp frame from against the back side of some bar, whether this was how finn had felt. when they were younger and dumber and mase got into fights—especially fights alone, days when finn wasn’t there or arrived late, and could only deal with the aftermath. as much as they tried to seem like it, neither of them were infalliable and well 7 against one isn’t ever a fair no matter who’s involved.

he wonders, did finn ever get a call from his girlfriend, frantic and worried and concerned because indy hasn’t been home in four days and i don’t know where he’s gone? did finn ever have to try and calm her and assure her that he’s fine, sleeping on the couch in fact, crashed at his a couple of days ago? did finn ever load up the car at 3am to go hunting for his stupid stupid little brother? did finn’s breath ever catch in that split second moment of seeing him sitting there on the ground, bloodied and bruised? did he ever clench his teeth and swear deep in his heart that if he ever found out who’d hurt his little brother that whoever was in charge of all this judgement or whatever shit had better look away because he was going to do something absolutely awful and asking for forgiveness was more than he could hope.

he wonders the entire drive to finn’s house, amidst a not-really apology for waking his brother and charlie up. wonders as finn sets indy onto parker’s old bed and gets to work with charlie as his nurse, running supplies back and forth. wonders later, alone, in room as he sits against the wall waiting anxiously on indy to open his fucking eyes and stop sleeping already. 

then he does.

and oh. oh. mason is angry. “nice of you to finally join us, sleeping beauty.” he drawls, tone just the appropriate amount of pissed the fuck off as indy stares at him with wide wide brown-green eyes that just quickly narrow as he tries,

“m’not—”

“beautiful? yeah, i know.” he glares in the way that he knows needs to be patented someday between him and finn and tilts his head, “what the hell were you thinking, indiana? getting lost in blood alley of all fucking places?” indy winces at his full name, bunching the blankets up in his hands and refusing to meet mason’s stare and mase feels just as good as he feels bad about.

“it was accidental,” he mumbles.

mase scoffs, “accidental how?”

“accidental.” indy insists. “i didn’t mean to—it just sort of happened.” liar liar liar

is this kid fucking kidding him right now? “just sort of happened?”

a sharp nod, but he’s still refusing to look him in the eye and if there’s anything that mason j. holmes is sick of, it’s being lied to.

“i’m fine.”

“fine?”

“yes,” indy finally snaps, “i’m fine.” he stands, all 6 foot 2 inches of him and glares down at mase still sat against the wall, “last i checked i was a grown-ass man, so if this is that part where you start trying to lecture me, you can fuck right off. so what i got into a little fight, it’s not like it hasn’t happened before. i bounce back quick. i’m fine.”

mason can’t stop himself from gaping at the little idiot, “that’s not—you call that fine? you call bleeding to death in an alley fine? not telling your girlfriend where the fuck you’ve been for four goddamn days, fine?” mase’s voice rises as he does, standing to his full height then too, that inch between them feeling like years as he snaps, “finn picked a good eight pieces of glass from your side. eight, indy, and i’m supposed to believe that you’re fine?”

his brother wilts a little, “i—” his voice cracks, “look. it’s not any of your business, ok. something happened and i—”

“you what? this isn’t the first time that this has happened and you’re so fucking afraid of the hospital that i can’t even take you there.”

“i don’t wanna talk about it.”

“and ash told me that it’s not the first time you’ve up and disappeared on her either, coming back lookin’ like death warmed over.”

“i said i don’t wanna talk about it.”  

“and i did a little research while you were napping. it isn’t hard, putting in a few symptoms into a search bar.”

“i don’t want to fucking talk about it!” indy screams, his voice cracking again and then giving out all together as they glare at each other, so different yet so similar that it’s polarizing.

“then what are we supposed to fuckin’ talk about? the fact that my little brother disappears off the face of the planet for a couple of weeks every other month or so and then we find him dying off in an alley somewhere? that this is the third time ash has called me, crying, because you haven’t been seen in almost a goddamn week? that you’re marked up to hell with scars that--” mase cuts himself off, breathing hard. shit, he hadn’t mean to let that slip.

and indy pales. his face draining of color and his voice is hoarse, shot to hell, as he says, “don’t.”

and mase can’t help but. he works with computers and math is favorite subject and he notices patterns like he breathes and those dark lines marring indy’s arms remind him of the last time he lost his other brother and mase can’t lose anymore family because nat is — nat is gone and finn’s—finn’s happier now but there’s still that damn glint to his eye, that same casual insolence towards death and a need to martyr himself that keeps mase up at night and okeana— his wife, okeana’s solution to every one of their fights is to go and mason can’t help but, so he blinks like his eyes aren’t watering and says, “don’t what? worry about you hurting yourself? indy i’m just—”

“don’t,” indy snaps, “i’m not—” he takes a hiccuping little breath as it all overwhelms him for a moment, “i’m not gonna kill myself, alright? y-you don’t have to worry about some kid’s death on your conscience.”

mase would’ve laughed at the fact that indy had called himself a kid, if not for the actual feeling of disgust curling in his stomach because who the fuck had made indy think that he was just some kid staying alive to keep his death from making someone else feel bad. he shakes his head then and stares at him again, “you think that’s what i’m worried about, you absolute dumbass?”

“l-look,” indy grumbles, still looking away and rubbing his neck and leaving mase wondering how he didn’t notice the too orderly lines marring his little brother like stripes and feeling guilty because he’s never paying enough fucking attention until something happens, “i’m fine, i just kinda freak out and need a little bit to myself. it’s no big deal. you don’t have to worry about me and if, if something does happen it’s on me, not on—”

“shut up, and listen well, jones. you are my little brother. do you know what that means?”

indy opens his mouth to reply but mason’s glare is so fierce now that he only shakes his head.

“that means,” mase continues slowly, “that we stick around for each other. even when things actually go to shit. we might fight and things might be awful, but we’re stuck together and we defend each other. i’m not gonna leave you because of some weird brain shit. now, you gonna tell me? or am i gonna have to tell you what my research picked up, and how shitty your firewall actually is?”

“i’ll tell.” indy mumbled, “also my firewall isn’t shit, you’re just too good at what you do.”

“no it’s definitely shit, but i also am good at what i do.”

“i’m,” indy hesitates, so long mason thinks he might not say it, “i’m bipolar, have been since i was a kid. when i was younger, my uncle used to just, lock me in a room for weeks when i’d get manic. and then once i got put into the foster care system, my episodes used to be enough most times for them to get rid of me. then when i turned 18, ash convinced me to go to a doc and get like, officially diagnosed because i’d told her about the symptoms and whatever.”

“then, what’s the problem?”

indy deflates. “i don’t know,” he admits, “s’just like everything is fine and i take my meds like i’m supposed to and then i skip a few days and suddenly i’m all over the place and then the delusions set in and i feel like i can do anything. except you know, i can’t, but i feel like i can and it’s just really dumb. and all everyone tells me is how hard i am to take care of or how much i make them worry and i just—i just don’t wanna be a problem! people get rid of me for less and i—ow! the fuck was that for.”

mase sighs and they sit across from each other, the older man frowning, “because you’re an idiot. also stop whining, you baby, it was barely a flick.” he squints, “why didn’t you tell someone—hell, why not tell ash, you know, your girlfriend?”

“she’s got enough on her plate.”

“ok but she also loves you, numbskull.” he snorts, “also we love you too. hell if you need a daily reminder to take your fucking medication, just say so. i’ll set one up for you, hell i’ll call you. we didn’t make it this far without our own mental health shit y’kno? so we’re not gonna judge you for yours. besides, there’d be no family to begin with if we started kicking people out.”

indy sniffles, “okay,” and goddamn it he’s such a little kid sometimes that mase just can’t but sigh and pat him on the head, grunting as indy swamps him in a hug. “thank you.” the little nerd mumbles into mase’s chest, “for staying.”

“yeah yeah, you dork.” he says, wondering then if finn ever felt as stupidly fond as he does right now as he says, “what kinda big brother would i be if i ditched you when things got tough? now sleep. first thing tomorrow, you’re taking your meds and then you’re calling ash. then we’re gonna have a nice little talk about coping mechanisms.”

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Scarecrow- Part 3

Pairing: Eventual Dean x Reader

Word Count: 1,934

Warnings: Typical Supernatural violence, angst, language, minor character death, blood, you know the usual

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. Please, if you want to be tagged for this series, let me know and I’ll add you! If you want to be tagged for my other fics, I’ll add you! I want to hear what you guys think about this. If you want something requested, send it in!

Feedback is always appreciated

Tags at the bottom

Part One, Part Two

“Dean, it looks like it too late out. Are you sure they are okay?” You bit your lip as Dean raced into Burkitsville.

“Y/N, would you calm down? We will make it.” Dean said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“Dean. This is a Pagan God we are dealing with here. I’ve never messed with one before but I know that we shouldn’t get on it’s bad side.”

“Y/N, no one is dying tonight and I will do this without you too if I have to.” You shut your mouth and just let Dean drive his car and hopefully, the couple weren’t dead when you got there. Dean’s car came to a screech at the entrance of the orchard and it looked even creepier at night.

“Shit, Dean, that's their car.” You saw the abandoned red car and you grabbed your shotgun from the back, handing Dean his. You got out of the car and raced inside the orchard, cocking the gun.

“Go find the couple.” You said to Dean. He was about to argue but you already ran off in search for the scarecrow. You walked and looked around for the creepy thing when you heard a woman scream. You raced to the noise and saw the scarecrow making its way to the couple who were running. You raised the gun and shot the scarecrow in the back. You knew it wouldn’t do any harm but it will slow him down and that is all you needed.

“Get back to your car.” You heard Dean say to the couple. Before the scarecrow could look back at you, you ran behind the trees and stealthily made your way to Dean. You heard shots being fired and growling come from the God.

“Y/N!” You heard Dean yell for you. You were dodging trees, making your way to the entrance.

“Go, Dean! I’m right behind you.” You couldn’t see Dean but you weren’t concerned for the Hunter right now. You knew he could take care of himself. You were focused on you and how you needed to get the hell out of there. You ran out to the clearing and saw the entrance. You saw Dean but gasped when you felt a blade hook onto your jacket and you screamed out.

Dean ran inside the orchard to come to your aid, leaving the couple behind. You saw the Scarecrow ready to devour you but you weren’t ready to die yet. You quickly got out of your jacket, leaving it behind as you ran away from him. You caught up with Dean and he held your hand as the two of you ran to the entrance.

“No, wait, Dean, my mom’s letter was there!” You ran back to get it but Dean held you back.

“No, we can’t go in there. He’ll kill us.” You looked back at the entrance to see him gone. You let a tear fall but you knew it was stupid to go back in there.

“What the hell was that?” The man panted, looking at his girlfriend.

“Don’t ask.” You and Dean aid at the same time. You put your hands on your knees and breathed out deep breaths. You had to get the letter back. You would just have to go in the morning, any time before sundown.

The next day came and you and Dean had an appointment with a professor who knew a lot about Pagan Gods and their history. You were in the car, waiting to go in when you took out your phone. Dean had his eyes closed, just resting them when you dialed the one person you missed.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.” You said into it.

“Who are you calling?” Dean asked without opening his eyes.

“Y/N, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Sam, I’m fine. Dean’s okay too, if you were wondering.” You said, watching Dean open his eyes and turn towards you. You could see it in his eyes that he wanted to talk to his brother.

“Good, good. What’s up?”

“Well, Dean and I just dealt with a scarecrow. A scarecrow that walked right off its cross. It was really creepy in the daytime so imagine it at night. It kills couples and it has been for a while now. We had to interfere with the couple last night.” You looked at Dean and saw his hand twitch. “Hold on, Sam.” You handed the phone to Dean. “Would you like to talk to your brother?” Instead of answering, Dean took the phone and pressed it to his ear.

“Hey, Sammy,” You smiled at the relief that was etched on his face. You couldn’t hear what Sam said but Dean laughed at whatever was being said. “Yeah, I’m telling you. Burkitsville, Indiana. Fun town.”

“Put him on speakerphone.” You said to Dean. He did as he was told and you listened to Sam.

“It didn’t kill the couple, did it?” Sam asked.

“No. We can’t cope without you, you know.” Dean said. You heard him say we but you knew he meant I.

“So, something must be animating it. A spirit.” Sam said, ignoring his brother’s statement.

“No, it’s more than a spirit. It’s a god. A Pagan god, anyway.” You spoke up.

“What makes you say that?”

“The annual cycle of its killings? And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. Like some kind of fertility right and you should see the locals, the way they treated this couple. They were fattening them up like a Christmas turkey.” Dean said.

“The last meal. Given to sacrificial victims.” Sam said quietly. You wondered where he was.

“Yeah, I’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan god.” Dean stated.

“So, a god possesses the scarecrow and the scarecrow takes its sacrifice. Then, for another year, the crops won’t wilt, and disease won’t spread.” Sam put the pieces together.

“We don’t know which God we’re dealing with but that’s okay because we have an appointment with a college professor.” You said to Sam.

“I don’t have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research.” Dean joked.

“You know, if you’re hinting you need my help, just ask.” Sam said. You wished they would just make up.

“I’m not hinting anything. Actually, uh, I want you to know…. I mean, don’t think….” Dean had trouble saying what he was thinking. You knew what it was but you needed him to say it.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, too.” Sam said suddenly.

“Sam, you were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life.” Dean said softly. You watched him and he looked sad but envy a bit.

“Are you serious?”

“You’ve always known what you want and you go after it. You stand up to Dad and you always have. Hell, I wish I… anyway…. I admire that about you. I’m proud of you, Sammy.” You smiled at his confession.

“I don’t even know what to say.” Sam said, surprised.

“Say you’ll take care of yourself.”

“I will.” Sam said.

“Call me when you find Dad.” Dean was about to hang up but you stopped him.

“I miss you a lot, Sammy. I wish you were here with us.” You said.

“Yeah, I miss you guys too but this is something I have to do.”

“Yeah, I understand. Please be safe.” You said sweetly.

“OK. Bye, Dean. Bye, Y/N.” Sam hung up and you took your phone back from Dean.

“Why did you let him go.” You asked.

“Because he deserves it.” He looked at the time and got out of the car, ending the conversation. You opened your phone back out and sent a text to Sam just in case you were in trouble.

Sam, please call us tonight. I have a feeling that something is wrong and if we don’t answer, please come to Indiana and finish this with us. Dean loves you and I know you love him so quit acting like babies and be together again.

You got out of the car and didn’t bother checking if Sam texted back at all. You walked into the university with Dean and walked to the professor’s classroom where he said to meet.

“Professor? My name is Y/N and this is Dean. We called about the Pagan information.” You smiled at him and he got up from his desk to shake your hands.

“It’s not every day I get a research question on Pagan ideology.” He smiled.

“Yeah, well, call it a hobby.” Dean chuckled.

“But you said you were interested in local lore?” You nodded and he continued. “I’m afraid Indiana isn’t really known for its Pagan worship.”

“Well, what if it was imported? You know, like the Pilgrims brought their religion over. Wasn’t a lot of this area settled by immigrants?” You asked.

“Like that town near here, Burkitsville. Where are their ancestors from?” Dean added to your thought.

“Uh, northern Europe, I believe, Scandinavia.” You saw him tense up but didn’t think anything of it.

“What could you tell me about those Pagan gods?” Dean asked. You would be asking the questions but you were too busy focusing on the professor’s reactions to the questions.

“Well, there are hundreds of Norse gods and goddesses.” The professor began to say, trying to steer Dean off the topic.

“I’m actually looking for one. Might live in an orchard.” Dean said.

“I have more information in my office. Please, if you’ll follow me.” The professor got up and led you and Dean out in the hall and down it.

“Dean, he doesn’t seem like he was giving off everything.” You whispered to Dean.

“What do you mean?” Dean whispered back.

“I don’t know. The people in this town give me a weird vibe. Everyone except Emily.” You stopped at an office and walked inside, seeing the professor holding a hand out to you.

“Wait here.” He walked deeper into the office until you could see him anymore.

“Dean, something is happening and I don’t know exactly what. That scares me.” The professor came back with a book and set it down, opening it.

“Woods god, hm? Well, let’s see,” The man said, rifling through the pages. You watched the different pictures of Pagan Gods flitter the pages but stopped the professor when you saw what you needed.

“What, what’s that one?” You asked, looking at the older man.

“Oh, that’s not a woods god, per se.” He said.

“The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female. Kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?” Dean said, looking at the picture. You were getting somewhere.

“I suppose.” The professor said, shrugging. You could tell the professor was getting uncomfortable with this kind of questioning.

“This particular Vanir, it’s energy comes from a sacred tree?” You asked, reading the text.

“Well, Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic.” The man shrugged.

“So, what would happen if the sacred tree was torched? You think it’d kill the god?” You saw the man tense and break out in a thin sheet of sweat.

“Son, these are just legends we’re discussing.” The shrugged and wouldn’t look at you in the eyes.

“Oh, of course. Yeah, you’re right. Listen, thank you very much.” You smiled and shook the man’s hand. You looked at Dean and motioned to follow you.

“Glad I could help.” You opened the door but once you did, everything went black.

Part Four

Masterlist // Series Rewrite Masterlist // Buy me a Coffee?

Series Rewrite tags:

@helllonearth @amyisabellal @deanwnchstr @caseykitten6 @roxalya19 @quixoticcat @supernaturalblogging

Forever tags:

@maddieburcham1 @ginamsmith @mogaruke @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg

Dean tags:

@akshi8278 @mega-mrs-dean-winchester @winchesterandpie

Other tags:

@jensen-jarpad @notnaturalanahi @deathtonormalcy56 @27bmm