#please. please. my highschool years are far behind me. i have a job. i pay taxes. i don't have the energy for this shit.

[sparxwrites]

since apparently ppl don't read my about- reminder that i block character kin blogs (substitute headmate / factive / fictive / whatever / any of the other twenty billion other words for kin) on sight. if you tag my shit with any of those words, i will block you on sight. go roleplay elsewhere, please.

[floating-mid-air]

The Princess of all Saiyans

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 Masterlist

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Hey Everyone! It's been a while. My life's been kind of hectic the past couple of months. Long story short: I Graduated from Highschool this year, so I was busy with everything having to do with that. Then my summer job sadly prevented me from writing as well. And then I started College, which was a big change for me. For now, there are no more chapters in my life opening or closing. Now I'm finally in a place where I feel comfortable continuing this book again. I could've honestly been writing during all of this chaos. But I wouldn't have been pleased with the quality of my writing. I'm really excited to get back into the swing of things. I don't think this chapter panned out the way I originally planned, but I'm still happy with it. As always, I hope you enjoy it. And if you have any comments or concerns, feel free to let me know. My inbox is always open!

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Chapter 11

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You've been walking for quite some time now, and the experience has been excruciating. You haven't been in this much pain since you and Raditz were on planet Telia, ten-something years ago. Those damn underlings were able to get a good sneak attack on you. Though you can't say, you let them get away scot-free. You made sure to make their entire dreadful race pay for that injury. You and Raditz had covered up that incident, much like you're doing with your current injury.

"So---" You can hear Goku talking to Krillin from just slightly left of you. "Did you guys find the senzu beans?" Wow, Kakarot may be the least subtle creature you've ever encountered.

"Ya." Krillin chuckles. "All four of us were in pretty rough shape." Goku glances at you with a worried look on his face. You glare at him as Raditz eyes the two of you skeptically. He knows something's off between the two of you. Maybe something serious did happen while you and his brother were trapped together. 

A bit more time has passed, and you've been trying your best to keep up with the others. But it isn't as easy as you thought. You're now trailing behind the rest of them, with Raditz turning back to look at you every so often. The largest Saiyan slows down to catch up with your slower pace, now walking beside you.

He turns to you, whispering in a low tone. "Something's off." Raditz can no longer stay silent about his concerns. First, it was the strange vibes between you and Kakarot. And now it's your out-of-character demeanor making him uneasy.

"About what?"

"You. Typically you walk beside your brother, and when he doesn't let you, you make sure you're always only a few paces behind. But right now, you couldn't be more content to trail everyone. Plus, you're far too confident to not be in the very front." Raditz has been around far too long for your liking. Damn him. He knows you far too well, and you hate him for it.

You roll your eyes at him. "So this conclusion of yours is based on the way I'm walking? I'm tired. When I fought, Burter, that physically drained me. And then I got trapped in a ditch with your moronic brother, that mentally drained me. I'm exhausted, Raditz." 

"It's not just the way you're walking. It's your mannerisms as well." He points at your side. "Your hand hasn't moved from your side from the moment I first saw you."

"God, Raditz." You scoff. "Stop overanalyzing everything."

"Getting defensive now? That's your M.O whenever you're hiding something." He looks back and forth between your face and your hand that has remained glued to your side. The gears in the older Saiyan's head slowly but surely turning. " Y/N, are you hurt?" 

"No." You snap your eyes shut, biting your lip hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to suppress a wince of pain. "I'm fine."

He tilts his head at you. "Y/N, I know you claim otherwise, but I'm not stupid. I know you're in pain."

You chuckle softly in a self-pitying way. "Am I that easy to read?"

Raditz shakes his head, smiling to himself. "No, I've just known you for a long time now." He returns to his serious demeanor, his gaze returning to the area of your wound. "How bad is it?"

"I barely feel it at all. Though, climbing out of that ditch must have reopened the cut."

Raditz snickers. "You're a bad liar."

"That's strange. I've been told in the past that I'm quite good at lying."

A smirk spreads across Raditz's lips. "Well, you apparently aren't when I'm involved."

The larger Saiyan glances at the back of your brother's head. You respond with a glare, firmly pulling on a large chunk of his hair. You know what Raditz wants to do, and it's not happening. "Don't even think about it."

"I-I think we should tell him Y/N."

"No." You let go of his hair, tapping his chest with extreme force. "You're going to keep your big mouth shut. Vegeta will freak out. You know how irrational he gets."

Raditz decides to let you have your way--- for now. The man can't help but wonder why you're so stubborn, but then again, his nature isn't much different from yours.

With every minute that passes, your condition only seems to worsen. Your eyes even start to droop. "Y/N?" Raditz turns to you, his features beginning to fill with worry. He places one of his large hands on your forehead. You're burning up. "You have a fever. Your wound must be infected."

"No." You shake your head in disagreement, almost like a child. As your mental state becomes more and more delirious. 

"Vegeta!" Raditz shouts, gaining your brother's attention.

"Fuck you, Raditz! You're such a blabbermouth!" You shout at the larger Saiyan in front of you.

"What's wrong this time? Is my sister trying to pull you into another one of her elaborate schemes?"

"Y/N's hurt--- bad." Vegeta's eyes widen, and not even a millisecond later, he rushes to your side. "She has a fever. I think her cut is infected."

"Where is it?" He crosses his arms at you, noticing your hand placed firmly on your side. He moves your hand out of the way with ease, lifting your armor. "How did this happen?"

"Burter nicked me during our fight. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? It's infected, you stupid woman!" He turns his attention to Kakarot. "Did you know about this?"

You snicker. "Oh ya, Vegeta. I get hurt, and the first person I run to tell is Kakarot." Vegeta's fists clench at your sarcastic remark, turning his fit of rage back at you.

"You know, in certain situations, you're more prone to infections. And a planet like Namek checks all of the boxes! You know you need to be more careful. Damn our mother and her faulty genetics!" Sadly that's a trait you had inherited from your mother. On most planets, you'd be fine, and injuring yourself would be no big deal. But Namek has specific conditions that result in you being more vulnerable. 

"Raditz, pick her up." Raditz picks you up, giving you a piggyback ride. You wrap your arms around his neck, giving yourself better balance. Vegeta glances up at you. He looks even madder than usual. "With the condition, you're in, you will not be fighting. You will stay away from Jeice, and you won't even enter the same proximity as Ginyu. Do you understand me?"

"But--"

"No!" His voice booms, gaining the attention of every creature for miles. "I'm not kidding around. Do you understand me?"

You bite your lip, tilting your head downwards, avoiding your brother's gaze like the plague. "Yes, Vegeta." Vegeta returns to the front of the group, his mood sourer than ever.

As Raditz begins to walk, he starts talking to you again. "Are you mad at me?" You don't verbally respond. Instead, you claw into his shoulders, your nails digging into his flesh. "Fuck. I'll take that as a yes."

"You're a tattletale."

Raditz chuckles. "No wonder why Vegeta babies you. You'll thank me for this later, you stubborn woman. And I've kept your secrets before, handfuls of them, actually. Like what happened on planet Telia----" Raditz realized the grave mistake he had just made, mentioning that incident in the presence of the very being you worked so hard to hide it from.

You slap the older Saiyan upside the head as Vegeta turns backward, a scowl plastered on his face. "What happened on plant Telia?" It was a rhetorical question, mocking both you and Raditz. "Oh, the three of us will be discussing this in length later. Because it sounds to me like you both lied to me on that initial report." You and Raditz gulp, you've heard that tone from your brother millions of times now, and it has never once become any less terrifying. 

"Oh, lighten up, Geta." You groan. "That was like, what? Around thirteen years ago?"

"The amount of time that has passed matters very little to me. As I said before, this is a discussion for later."

A few more hours have passed, which honestly feels like days at this point. And considering Namek's strange day cycle, it very well could've been. "How much farther?" Your question was clearly directed at Vegeta. And at this point, you're not even sure he has any idea where you're headed either.

"I don't know why you're the one complaining." Raditz huffs.  "You're not the one doing all of the walking! And if you ask him that one more time, I'm going to drop you." Ok so maybe, that wasn't the first time you've asked that question today. Or the second, or third, you're very bored. 

"Man Raditz." You roll your eyes, which are barely open at this point. "You sure complain--- a lot."

"You were just complaining." The long-haired Saiyan grumbles. 

"No, I simply asked Vegeta a question. There's a difference Raditz. I know it's hard for your feeble mind to understand." When you're sick, you tend to act, oh what's the word? Bitcher than normal. And that's saying a lot.

Raditz clenches his jaw. "Vegeta. I need a break from your sister."

"That's how I felt ninety percent of the time I was stuck in a room with you, Nappa, and Cado. And you didn't see me running to wine to Frieza about it."

Before Raditz can retort, your brother interjects. "That's enough! From both of you!"

Krillin, Gohan, and Goku have identical bewildered expressions on their faces. Krillin turns to Vegeta, lowering his voice to a whisper. He doesn't want to be the next victim of your wrath. "Do they always fight like this?" The human finds this perplexing. Back on Earth, the pair seemed inseparable. They appeared to be the Saiyan equivalent of what on Earth would be considered best friends.

Vegeta lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, but typically it's more playful in nature. When my sister is sick, she becomes even brattier than usual."

Vegeta's warning to both of you seems to have fallen on dead ears. Because your quarrel has not ceased, in fact, it has only elevated. "I will drop you, you royal brat!"

"I dare you to you second-class runt. I could still kick your ass even in my delirious state. I wouldn't even have to try very hard."

"I'm considering----"

Before Raditz can even get three words out, your bickering is once again interrupted, and not by the person you may think. "Enough!" Gohan shouts. You honestly forgot the others were here for a moment."If you two keep fighting like this, you're going to get all of us killed!" You and Raditz stare at the boy in shock. It's been a long time since the two of you have been yelled at by a child. The last time being when you were children yourselves. Vegeta hasn't changed much since childhood. He's been bossing you around and shouting at you since you were children, but I'm sure that's not very surprising. 

"Ya, and I can take Y/N---- if you need a break." Goku rubs the back of his neck, chuckling sheepishly. "Not that I want to hold Y/N or anything."

"No." You rapidly shake your head. "Raditz, I'm sorry. I'll be good now--- I promise."

A wicked grin spreads across Raditz's lips right before he grabs your hands with his larger ones. He loosens your grip around his neck, moving your body with ease, scooping you up into his arms. Every step Raditz takes toward Goku seems even more antagonizing slower than the last. Until he's standing directly in front of his younger brother. He elevates his arms slightly, dropping you right in front of an unsuspecting Goku.

Lucky for you, Goku has sharp reflexes. That allows the Saiyan to catch you easily. Raditz look's his brother dead in the eyes, his typical arrogant grin still on his lips. "She's your problem now, Kakarot." Raditz gazes downward to look at you. "Stop pouting. Maybe next time, you'll be nicer to good old Raditz."

A low growl echoes in the back of your throat as you glare daggers at the Saiyan standing before you. "Ya, or maybe next time, I'll rip out your tail and strangle you with it!" The only thing that's stopping you from lunging at Raditz is Goku's firm grip holding you in place.

Rather than arguing that the entire group has become accustomed to, the whole area has become dead silent. You're no longer pouting. Instead, you are glaring at the man who continues to carry you bridal style. You've never liked being held like this. It makes you feel weak like you have no control over your own body.

What makes you even more irritated, Is how Goku reacts to your death stare. He just grins at you. Does he just never get angry? What kind of Saiyan is he? It fills you with so much anger that someone as dopey as Kakarot has Saiyan blood flowing through his veins. 

You clench your fists. You just wanna punch Kakarot so badly. He just has such a punchable face. If you could take away his cheery personality, he'd actually be quite attractive. Wait--- what the hell are you thinking? Kakarot is stupid and way too friendly for you to ever think of him in that way.

 You move your fist up, finally giving in to your urges, attempting to punch the man holding you. Probably not your wisest moment, but your brain isn't functioning normally right now. Goku catches your hand with ease. His reflexes are unreal, or maybe this fever has you more sluggish than you believed. You'd prefer to think that it's the second option. He chuckles to himself. He's still not upset. What the hell is wrong with him? "Come on, Y/N. You gotta be quicker than that." He's challenging you. How Saiyan like of him. You seem to always be able to find specks of Saiyan nature in the cheerful man. And those are the aspects you actually like about him. 

Your eyes begin to once again feel heavy as your eyes droop shut, just before you fall asleep in the arms of your enemy. 

Twenty-Something Years Ago:

You're sitting on your bed, sitting crisscrossed, a book laying open on your lap. Since your father is currently off-planet, you can read all you want. You're enamored with your newest book. It's all about a topic referred to as diplomacy. It's fascinating and has many concepts that are entirely foreign to you, yet at the same time, some of these ideas are also familiar. 

As you read, your door slams open, but you pay the interruption almost no attention, not even bothering to look up from your book. Honestly, the unwelcome intrusion has you more angered than anything else. "God, Vegeta." You roll your eyes. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Something's not right. When Vegeta usually bursts into your room, he's automatically shouting at you.

Out of pure curiosity, you look up from your book. However, standing at your door, you don't find Vegeta. A boy with a very similar appearance but with a much smaller stature stands in your door frame. He's out of breath, desperately huffing for air. "Tarble?" You furrow your brows at your brother, launching off your bed to get closer to him. "What's wrong?" You have this sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Your twin has never behaved in such a manner before. 

"Captain--- Captain Ginyu is here." Tarble is shaking, his eyes watering slightly.

You scowl ever so slightly. "But Ginyu's not scheduled to be on planet Vegeta any time soon." 

"It's--- It's a surprise visit. What do we do, Y/N?"

You contemplate for a moment before your features fill with alarm. "Tarble? Where's Vegeta?"

His lip quivers as he looks down at the floor. "He's with Captain Ginyu."

"Damn it." You mutter under your breath. Diplomacy is a skill you need right now. And Vegeta doesn't have a single quality that a diplomat possesses. Your elder brother is more likely to unnecessarily provoke the Captain, putting your entire race in hot water with the Frieza Force. 

You rush over to your bedside table, rummaging through the drawer. Once you have your scouter in your hand, you run back over to your brother. "Stay in here, and use this to channel our father. Let him know what's going on." You push past your twin, about to leave, before Tarble's voice calls out to you.

"Wait, Y/N!" You turn back to look at him. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go stop our older brother from doing something stupid. Everything will be fine, I promise. Just calm down and do as I said." And with that, you take off, praying that Vegeta hasn't already done something rash.

As you sprint down the halls of the palace, you run face-first into the torso of a large body. "Princess?"

You look up at the bald Saiyan, the one who's supposed to be at your brother's side at all times. Since the future king of planet Vegeta needs to be protected. "Nappa, Where is my brother?"

The imbecile scratches the back of his neck, contemplating much longer for your liking. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen the runt in quite some time. You should probably ask Vegeta." 

You scowl at the Saiyan. "Not Tarble, you fool! I'm asking you where Vegeta is!"

"Oh, Why didn't you just say so?" It's taking every ounce of restraint you have in your body to not viciously attack Nappa. "He's just outside of the palace." 

You run through Nappa, intentionally knocking the large Saiayn onto the floor. His stupidity lost you precious time. It was quite an amusing sight, though. A mere child, being able to take down one of your father's best warriors. 

You arrive outside of the palace, your eyes landing on your target. This is the first time you've ever seen Captain Ginyu. Sure, you've heard stories of the purple man. And much like your people, Ginyu is just as bloodthirsty and just as ruthless. Much to your surprise, the Captain doesn't have an army behind him. This was just before the Ginyu Force had formed. All Ginyu was at this point in time was a captain of one of Frieza's many armies. 

You walk over to them, now standing at your brother's side. "Captain Ginyu." You speak with your hands, an exaggerated smile appearing on your lips. "To what do we owe the honor?"

The man looks down at you, clearly analyzing you with his scouter. "Well, if this isn't a surprise. I think this is the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting you, Y/N." Ginyu extends his large hand out to you, causing Vegeta to feel a great deal of alarm. Your brother's body has gone tense with an apprehensive look on his face. But when your older brother looks over to you, there isn't even a glint of fear in your eyes. You're calm, almost as if one of Lord Frieza's deadliest warriors was not standing before you. You accept the Captain's hand, presenting him with a short but polite handshake. "Your father doesn't like showing you off much, does he?" 

You chuckle softly. "My father likes to hold his cards close to his chest. I'm sure a man like yourself is quite similar." Sucking up to Ginyu is not your favorite pastime, but it needs to be done. And every Saiyan on this planet knows your big brother is far too prideful to do it himself.

Ginyu looks between you and Vegeta carefully. For someone so highly regarded by Frieza, he sure isn't subtle. He's trying to read your facial expressions. Unfortunately for him, your father has raised you both much better than that. A poker face to you feels more natural than a genuine expression. "Speaking of your father, where is he right now?"

"He's of---"

You quickly cut Vegeta off. "He's in a meeting. That's why our father sent me out. He wanted you to know he sends his regards, but his hands are tied at the moment. He will be here at soon as possible. I hope my brother and I can suffice your needs in the meantime."

Captain Ginyu eyes you skeptically, tilting his head at you ever so slightly. "That sounds serious. I hope it's nothing too pressing."

"Of course not. It's nothing my father can't handle."

You're about to continue your schmoozing, but you're stopped by Vegeta aggressively yanking on your arm. "We need to talk-- in private."

You grimace at your brother's words. He just always has to make everything that much more difficult for you. You turn back to Ginyu, offering the man a cheerful smile. "Will you excuse us for a moment? We'll be right back."

Vegeta drags you around a corner, concealing you both from Ginyu's prying eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" He huffs at you in a whisper. "I had everything under control."

You snicker, crossing your arms. "You were just about to tell Ginyu that our father was off-planet. It sounds to me like I got here just in time to prevent you from making a grave mistake."

"I don't see why that matters."

"And that's the issue, Vegeta. Now we don't have time for this. Let's go." You turn back around, walking back over to Ginyu, Vegeta trailing not far behind. "I'd like to apologize for my brother's rudeness, Captain Ginyu." You shake your head but with a slight smirk across your lips. "All Saiyan men are the same, and my brother is no exception. They're incredibly thickheaded and quite savage. I'm convinced they don't even realize what brutes they are." You watch your brother ball his hands up into fists from beside you. It fills you with an immense feeling of joy knowing you're getting under Vegeta's skin for once. You turn back to Ginyu, plastering that disingenuous grin on your face. "Now, how about we give you a tour of our wonderful planet?"  

You and Vegeta have shown Ginyu around almost the entirety of your planet, and you must admit you're beginning to grow worried. Luckily you've managed to hold off any more questions about your father's whereabouts by charming him with various facts about planet Vegeta. But to be honest, you're not sure how much longer you can hold up this charade for. You've exhausted pretty much every idea that you've been able to come up with.

"Captain Ginyu!" Your father's brash voice invades your ears as you turn around to finally see the man you've been anxiously waiting for. You've never seen your father walk in such an urgent manner, and it's pretty funny watching your twin struggling to keep up with your father's pace. 

Your father places himself between you and Vegeta, ruffling your hair affectionately. You look up at him. "How'd your meeting go?"

Your father meets your gaze, catching onto your deception almost immediately. "It went very well. Thank you both for keeping Captain Ginyu company in my absence, but I think I can handle it from here." He directs his attention back onto Captain Ginyu. "Now, how about we discuss you're abrupt arrival somewhere more private."

The two men exit your field of view, leaving the three of you alone. Tarble, in his typical fashion, glues himself to your side. "What the hell was that?" Vegeta spits out with venom. "Where was your pride? You were basically groveling at his feet."

You furrow your brows at him. "I was doing what needed to be done. And if you think our father isn't currently doing the same thing, you're a bigger fool than I thought."

"I know our father is being more agreeable with him, but not at the cost of his pride."

"It's always about pride with you." You step closer to Vegeta, closing the distance between you. "Your pride today would have cost the loss of countless lives today, Vegeta."

"Then so be it. If there are Saiayn's that inadequate on our planet, we should probably just exterminate them now. It'll save us the hassle later on."

You snicker, shaking your head at Vegeta. "Some King you'll be." You turn to your twin. "Let's go, Tarble. I have no desire to be near our foolish brother right now."

The conversation between Captain Ginyu and your father was brief. It was a very anticlimactic ending to the naked eye. The briefness of this encounter only set off more alarm bells in King Vegeta's head. It was clear to the man that Ginyu's excuse for being on his planet was bullshit. He's just not quite sure what the captain's intentions were, but he sure as hell is going to find out.

As soon as Ginyu left planet Vegeta, he promptly set course for his next destination. He's headed straight to Lord Frieza to report his findings, and he's eager to do so.

 Ginyu arrives on the planet in record time, heading straight for the throne room. Ginyu kneels before Frieza, waiting for his boss to speak. "Captain Ginyu. You're sure back early. I trust you were able to gather enough information on the young prince."

Captain Ginyu nods enthusiastically. "Of course, Lord Frieza. The Price was exactly the same as the previous data we collected on him. He's powerful and quite intelligent for a Saiyan. Though, he did inherit that nasty temper from his father."

Frieza sighs. "How disappointing."

"But I did discover something that you may find interesting, Lord Frieza."

Frieza tilts his head at the man. He can't help but feel intrigued. "Go on." It's not that easy for him to find an advantage over those monkeys, so he'll take any information Ginyu can give him, no matter how minuscule. 

"Y/N--- King Vegeta's daughter piqued my interest greatly. She's not even close to as strong as her brother, but she's remarkably clever. She's very good with words, she knows how to manipulate people. I'd say she might even be better than King Vegeta himself."

"Now, that is fascinating. Good work, Ginyu. I'll look into the Princess's abilities more in-depth later. You're excused."

-

This is just something I felt the need to clarify: So in this chapter's flashback, Vegeta is around three, and Y/N and Tarble are about two. In my head, I picture children on planet Vegeta behaving like miniature adults. My idea is once they leave their chambers (the tanks they are raised in to get their basic Saiyan instincts under control), their minds are fully grown, but their physical growth is quite delayed. That's why they curse and stuff. I have a minuscule window of time to squash in all of my plot ideas. So this was the best way to do so.

[mochikeiji]

Troublesome Baby

↠ Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Reader

↠ Warning: SMUT! Slight size kink, nipple play, overstimulation, hint of breeding, Akaashi wanting to make his baby know how pretty she is and how wrong people are about her.

↬ Word Count: 4.5k

Summary: Pissing a delinquent is never a persons choice. And what pisses off Akaashi most was when people picked on you instead of him.

⇢ Day 2: Delinquent

A person's feelings can be confusing. One minute they're saying they like a good guy who knows how to keep track in time and hs his future planned out and the second they're liking someone whom their parent's had warned them about.

If you like someone who was always up to no good, are you a masochist? They would ask. Are you out of your mind? They would scold. Do you have any idea how this'll affect your life? They would judge.

You'd like to think otherwise of people who wore tattoos, have so many scars, are always picking fights or having that gangsta stance and aura. You prefer to see them as still a human being with a cold outer shell in order to protect themselves from the cruel world, shielding their gentleness deep within.

It was cliche; a bad person getting soft for one person. But that's how it is even in reality. Sometimes, we can only be vulnerable to the ones we trust the most. And the ones we trust the most are the loved ones.

And those who we love, never deserve how they spit at the world.

That's how Akaashi was with you.

Everyone was shock by the time the former first year had a drastic demeanor change. He was timid, reserved back at his first year in highschool. Polite, and what you'd expect to have an astounding school performance. Hey never would've thought that joining the volleyball club would change someone so idly.

They always thought they were a team filled with passionate players who loved to play fair, but it turns out they loved to get rough around games and outside matches.

Roughness was never Akaashi's agenda. But with a stoic facade and built, athletic feature, he fits in perfectly to look like someone you should stay away from. Still, he kept on being the reserved person he was by hiding his wounds underneath his uniform or volleyball jacket. He doesn't admit it outloud, but he was insecure about his beating wounds.

The times where he and the team would go on random beatings after losing a bet or if someone dares to mess with anyone close to them happened often. Now that word was spread that you, sweet little you, happened to be the pretty faced setters girlfriend is targeted by many disgusting comments.

No man would want to tolerate that or will tolerate their beloved pummeled onto the ground. From all the members of the team he was voted to be the most terrifying one, he doesn't stand down from a fight especially for his baby, he wouldn't stop until the person who made a worthless comment about you, the person who would make you look down at yourself, the person who would make you cry is at their mercy.

His delinquent phase soon carried on until he reached his 20s. Even though now he was an editor and his teammates had their own domestic lives and jobs ahead, they kept up with their ways to earn a bit of cash during the night. Minus Bokuto on some occasions due to his volleyball tournaments world wide, it was mostly just him and the former third years. Even the two females had managed to know their ways into the dangers in joining as long as it helped them raise the cash up a bit.

And that leads the scenario now, you cleaning up his wounds again at the peak of 1 am in the morning after a misunderstanding beat down the past hour. He came home more bruised and bloodied than before— that meant they were outnumbered. Usually, it's Bokuto who would bark at the people who would mess with them. He was known to be feared due to his popularity, but inside the group, it's really just Akaashi who was the monster amongst all of them when he was angry.

You didn't know how long you were going to tolerate this. Him always coming back to you with new scars drawing his skin and you patching him up. It was always like this since highschool, but as you grew, people get tougher, bolder. This was too much.

"Keiji, please stop doing this."

Dabbing the cotton on the alcohol a little and tapping his skin gently to avoid stinging him, you were sat on your study chair whilst he was sitting on your shared bed. You were already trying to hold in the dam from breaking as you had been cleaning all his wounds for the past minute, but as you do, they only seem to get bigger and painful for you to bear.

"I don't want you to keep getting hurt."

Finally putting ointments on his arm, he uses his free hand to cup the side of your face, and raises you too look into his eyes. Ones that weren't feral as they were a couple of hours ago.

"They were bad mouthing about you, I wasn't letting that slip."

"But it's fine! People bad mouth about me a lot even before.."

Inside it still stung. To be growing up mocked by society in any way they see flaw in you. You were always an insecure woman up until now, any little words from others can make you into a brawling mess. What more if some threatened you, you'd be a fleeting coward.

Akaashi knew that about you when you began dating. At first he didn't pay mind into it, but the more he got to know what a kind and loving person you were, he realized just how cruel people can be to those with soft hearts. He hated those to the bone, he would never tolerate that kind of person throwing a pile of crap to someone above them.

"I just don't want to keep thinking one day you won't be coming by the door because of this..I'd rather you just stop being like this after years than to get more bruises. I don't care about the money, Keiji, I earn a lot too."

Your trembling figure was obvious, he knew how emotional you get for whenever he gets reckless, and how you over think of the things the people he has placed back in their place said about you. He never liked the fact you tried to be strong for him so many times and not even reaching out for comfort from him.

"Baby."

He cooes softly, moving away the medical kit from your side and hoisting you up from your chair with ease, allowing you to straddle his lap. You were easy for him to carry considering the height difference, thus making him more protective of you seeing as you look like a small child in fear.

Protesting softly at him to put you down since he was just freshly fixed up, Akaashi let's your head fall on his naked shoulder blade with his hand behind your head, giving your hair a slow stroke down to your back.

That's where you started to cry on his skin.

"I don't care about the money that much, I just hate it when someone threatens or mocks you without even having to know you."

He hears you sniffle at his skin, your tears wetting a small patch on it along with your face. He hushes you for a second before patting your bum, indicating he wants to see your face. With head lowered, you pulled away from his shoulder, sniffling down the tears while roughly using your wrist to wipe your eyes.

He grabs one of your wrist as his soften eyes met your red ones. He lowers your hand down to your lap, with your other one following as he was the one to wipe your tears away.

"It hurts me to have them say such things and have you crying like this. You have no idea how far you are from what they say."

The both of you took a small pause, letting him squish your cheeks with his thumbs rubbing underneath your eyes as small, left over tears escaped. Your hands below pressing against his bandaged abdomen, wondering how much trouble he's gone through just for you with a new batch of tears ready to fall.

"You don't cause me trouble, baby. I did this because you didn't deserve it. It was my decision, not yours or anyones. You will never be the reason for my troubles."

He was an observant guy, any little sign of of your body he knows what's going on. He slides your hands up from his abdomen, to his chest and placing them on his shoulders for you to hold onto. Tilting his head a bit to get an angle of your view, he gives you an adoring smile at the sight of your lips slightly pouting out and your eyes wide and glossy.

"You look cute right now."

Blinking away the blurred vision, your heart thumps a little from the way he was looking at you and his small compliment. You loved it when he gave you a lot of assurance and reminders about yourself. Even in times where they seemed unnecessary.

His finger tracing your cheeks to your nose, tapping at the tip making you shut your eyes and crinkle a little. When he groaned at the shift of your hips now snugging against his growing bulge, he quickly places his hands on your hips to hold you in place.

Your eyes popped out, stammering apologies saying you didn't mean to do it on purpose while gripping his shoulders. You hear him sigh out, worried you might've hurt him but soon vanished when you felt his hands sliding down once again to your bum.

"Why don't I show you how pretty you really are?"

He moves from his position. By instinct, you wrapped your legs around his waist as he lays you down on bed and pushes himself up.

"W-wait, your wounds."

"I'm fine, baby, don't worry."

His hands found their way down to your pajama shorts and pulls them down with ease. He let's his shirt that you were wearing on as it only fueled his arousal at the sight of you looking smaller compared to him.

Thighs shaking and biting back a moan when his index finger slid down on your clothed slit, he repeats his actions upwards and downwards until you shortly got the middle part of your panties wet.

"Just enjoy and relax for me." 

You clutched the pillow underneath your head when his finger started to press in your clothed slit, his warmth radiating strongly against your sensitive regions, it made you grind shyly on the finger teasingly trying to intrude your entrance. 

He bites lip at the delicious sight and pulls his fingers away, spreading your legs apart so that he could settle himself on his stomach and his face near your lower lips. Sliding your panties down almost too quickly, he pushes your inner thighs to spread for him, giving him a better view of what his teasings done to your body and blowing cool air on your twitching hole, drooling with more arousal.

He hears a small whimper from you and looks up, you covering your mouth with the back of your hand, and your other fisting the sheets. Giving your inner thighs a kiss to calm you down, he winks at you before repeatinf his early ministrations on your now bare pussy.

"You're so easily aroused."

It came out like a breathy whisper from his lips as he watches his finger slide up and down. The thought of you tight and clenching to nothing makes him want to plunge in immediately.

He hums pleasingly at the sight and slowly inserts his index finger in. You moan out loudly in surprise, hiding your face to side and not wanting to look down thinking you might just cum from the sight. He began pulling his finger out and then pushing it back in, he wiggles a little inside of your hole loving how warm and wet it was, until he inserted a nother finger in to stretch you.

"Keiji!!"

He thrusts both fingers in with a decent pace, not wanting to go fast knowing how sensitive and easily you'll cum. His mouth was watering at the sight of his fingers being swallowed in your small pussy, and leans his face down with his other hand spreading your lips and giving it a small kiss that made your hips jolt up as he began to attack your clit.

"K-keiji! Too good!"

His free hand holds one of your thighs way to keep you spread amd at his mercy. The two fingers inside of you thrusting erratically when you tightened around them, now hearing the sloshing noises and his mouth sucking you to death.

He watches your head move from side to side and your chest heaving from his treatment. He can feel his own cock painfully erect inside his pants and moves bit, moaning against your clit at his boxers friction, and your hands finding their way to his hair and begging him not to stop.

"Keiji! Please, please, don't stop! Please, I'm close!"

His fingers beckoning inside of you knowing what he was now pressing at and flattens his tongue on your pussy before smirking up and saying,

"Go on, pretty girl, cum for me."

Hearing his voice was like a knock out for you as your hips arched up and the grip on his hair tightened. The pads of his fingers pressing and teasing your sweet spot until you were cumming hard for his mouth to take in.

He pumps a few more thrust until your orgasm faded. You whimpered from the additional thrust and grabbed his wrist to stop.

"Too much, Keiji.."

Hungry eyes raking your sweating body and wet folds, his pants getting unbearable at the moment and zips it down immediately along with his boxers, letting his cock free and breathes in the cool air as it hits his cock that made it twitch in need.

How much he wanted to keep eating you out despite being sensitive, but the need to be inside of you caves in as he hovers above your quivering body and attatching his lips with yours. He slips in his tongue to deepen the kiss, grinding his cock against your wet slit as you moaned inside his mouth from the much needed friction and something inside your needy cunt.

But Akaashi wanted to savor the moment, he knows you were a virgin. He's only fingered and eaten you out during the years of relationship. Even though the thought of having his cock a taste of your cunt drives him insane, he wanted to make sure every part of your body was touched, kissed and adored like he promised.

"Mmh!"

Fingers now tweaking your right nipples as your legs tried to close themselves from now having to be stimulated from your torso, to his hard cock still grinding tantalizing. But his body was in between them, and his mouth was practically eating your whines and mewls for him. Seeing how sensitive you were getting over the little touches he was giving made him moan against your lips. His hand moves to tweak your other untouched nipple and pulled a little, your back arching as he releases his mouth from yours letting you moan loud.

Your back still arched giving him a quick access to suck on your erected nipple, biting softly yet playfully in synch with his pinching on the other nub.

"KEIJI! HAH— PLEASE!"

Trying to move away from his mouth and fingers by pushing his head gently, he uses other hand to pin both of your smaller ones above your head and releases your nipple with a pop, shivering from the air.

He stops playing with the other one and moves there to suck on it. His finger moving to the soaked one and pulling it softly. You trashed on his hold as he continued to assault your breast. Not seeing the way his eyes are now getting half lidded at the sight of your teary ones from the amount of pleasure and the sound of your pleading singing in his ears.

"AH! Keiji!! Please— no more!"

But he knows how much you didn't want this to stop. If you really did want to stop, you would've used your safe word. But just smiles at you fondly, letting his finger move from breast to breast and pulling and pinching quickly.

"Mm, I just love," he pulls a little harder on your left nub, but not to painfully for you, "How your body reacts to me." you hear his chuckled laugh when he stops to massage your breast alternatively, leaving you whimpering from how skillful his hands were.

"You're getting cuter and prettier as time goes by."

Shamefully, your walls clenched from his words. He knows judging by how you bit your lip and shutting your eyes and grins at you. He knows how much you loved getting praised and told all the lewd things he wants to do to you.

"You'll be prettier with my cock stuffing inside you, won't you, baby? 

Hands trying to pry his stronger ones away so that you can hold him, hide on his skin and let him ravage you. He does however, using both his hands, he separated your arms and pins them at the side of your head and proceeds to attack your neck.

"Baby."

He cooes at the side of your skin, cock now lubed from his pre cum and yours with the tip just poking on your lower lips impatiently.

"Please..inside, Keiji, please."

Yours legs widened themselves, preparing for what you've both been wanting that evening. He laces his hands on yours, the position you now had more vulnerable for him and he wanted nothing more than to take you and make you feel protected and pleased.

"Tell me if it hurts, okay?"

Lips pressing on your forehead as you relaxed on the sweet sensation, but as seconds went by, your body tensed when he entered the head of his cock in, inching slowly his hard length.

Akaashi's hands gripped yours harder when he feels your cunt fluttering and hugging his member tighter than he expected. His breating becoming ragged so he started leaving trail marks of love bites on your neck to calm the both of you down from the foreign feeling.

Each mark he gave came with a soft praise, telling you how good you were doing taking his cock perfectly and how beautiful you were breathless underneath him. He told you, you were doing a good job holding in and with that you let out a shaky breath before telling him he can move.

Thrusting out slowly, letting your juice slide freely on his cock before thrusting back in with force, enough for you to choke a moan. His hips taking their pace into what he knows is bearable for a first timer like you, but the way he was clenching his jaw tight indicates how much he wants to have his way and fuck you like he was on a rut. You were so tight and small compared to his impressive length that it was getting painful for him to be in a vice like grip down there.

It was a struggle to take him, but at the back of your head as you feel his cock move in and out of you felt so right, you wondered if it could be more pleasurable as it is. His face was alarming to you so you rubbed your thumb on his hand letting him pause and exhale harshly. He didn't know he was holding back so much to the point he forgot how to breathe.

"Are you okay?"

He panted above you as you stared in daze and in euphoria from being stuffed. Trying to stay grounded, you attempted to grind your hips to rile him up, only for him to growl and thrust in, forcing your hips down with a squeal from your lips.

"Don't do that."

"But you're struggling."

He breathes through his nose, he hates to admit it but he had to hold himself together not to take you like a freak in bed. He reminds himself that tonight was about you and only you. How wrong the words were of the people he's beaten for you.

"It's fine, I don't want to hurt you."

Nuzzling his nose on your cheek, he hums happily on your skin when you press your cheek in reply. As your eyes stared at each other, you knew how gentle your Keiji was with you. You knew he would never hurt you even if he could. He wasn't going to.

"Please Keiji."

Moaning wantonly when your shifted your hips in a good angle for his cock to thrust on, you looked at him with pleading eyes and drooling mouth.

"Please go harder."

Groaning on your skin, he thrusts in suddenly, lettinf your back arch once more as he placed his chin on your chest and licks his lips in hunger.

"You asked for it, baby girl."

The thrusts he was making was now audible inside your room; his balls slapping below your bum, your cunts lewd juices being messed up on both your bodies and your moans slowly becoming screams.

"KEIJI!!"

His mouth found their way back on your nipple, biting roughly and licking away the pain followed by a good sucking. Hips never faltering or holding back anymore and engulfs your shaking body.

"Fuckers were so wrong about you, love. Look at you,"

Your mouth was drooling from the side, hair messed up in display on the pillow that made  them look soft and angelic on you, eyes, your hands holding onto him tight with your body jiggling up everytime he thrusts in.

"You look absolutely ravaging."

He lets go of your other hand and places his on the back of your leg, hoisting it up and placing it on his shoulder, letting his cock piston deeper into you and making a mess out of you.

"I can't even move a lot from how small and tight your cunt is."

He laughs breathlessly as he aims to find your sweet spot again. You were trying to pull away from his hold but with your thigh up on his shoudler, you were stuck taking this all in like a good girl.

"I think I may be too lucky to have you in my life."

The tip of his cock was now kissing that spot that made you scream out in the blue, Akaashi cursed when your cunt clenched his raging member as he kept aiming at your precious spot.

"Fuck, do you like that, baby?"

"AHN— YES! PLEASE, PLEASE, I WANT TO CUM!"

Sobbing for the much needed orgasm, your body gives up and lets the male above you use it to please you both.

"Fuck, my hips can't stop."

He buries himself at the crook of your neck, moaning near your ear, edging you close to your release to the sound of him. He lets out small whimpers and groans, his cock twitching violently inside you with his thrusts losing their rhythm.

"Baby girl."

"KEIJI, SLOW DOWN! AHH— I'M GOING TO CUM!"

The heat in your stomach felt different from your previous orgasms. This felt hotter, tighter, and a whole lot messier. But Akaashi showed no mercy and carried on,

"Cum for me, baby."

The freed hand he had a minute ago now being a teasing bastard and rubbed your swollen clit. Pinching and rolling all four of his fingers on, making you scream and thrash. Panting with the thought of dying frkm the immense sex he was giving until the last line made you scream without a sound,

"I'm going to cum inside."

Your eyes rolled sinfully at the last line, your bodh ascending above not hearing Akaashi gasp from the way you came and groan as both his cock and abdomen get soaked from your cum and your stomach filled with his thick load and kept thrusting in a slower pace. Your cunt spasming on his member, milking him dry until you were taking all of his load in.

Exhausted, his body stills and lays a bit above you, not wanting to squish you with his member remaining inside you. Sniffles can be heard coming from you as you calmed down from your high, Akaashi stroking your hand that was still clamped on his and peppered you with small kisses and sweet confessions.

"You did so good."

"That's my baby."

"Always so beautiful even like this."

You other arm came and wrapped themselves on his neck, pulling close to you as you inhaled his masculine scent, anchoring you down back to earth before coming to realization on how damp your bottom was.

"I—"

"Squirted?"

Blushing, you buried your head on his neck followed by a laugh from your boyfriend, listening to you blabber multiple apologies.

"I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, I liked it," He captured your lips with kiss, kissing you lovingly and a little longer before pulling away only to give you small pecks repeatedly, "It was sexy."

"You sound so different when you use that word, Keiji.."

"But it's true."

He didn't bother pulling out after you pleaded him not to. Even if it was your first time, it was addicting to have something fill you up to the brim. It made you feel snug and full, and it felt right. Akaashi wasn't complaining on the cock warming, in fact he held you closer to his chest and twirled your hair nonetheless.

"You're really not what they describe you, love," he admires how the dim light from your room manages to create a good lighting that made your skin glow. The hairs that sticked to you forehead after the intimacy you both caught up made you look like a soft baby with eyes looking at him full of love,

"I can't even describe you anymore."

Your eyes trailed down to his wounded torso from his face. Even though he was tainted, Akaashi was sculptured beautifully like no other. But inside you prayed that he wouldn't go home another day with freshly opened wounds just to defend you as you traced your fingertips on each bruise and scar.

He spots on and grabs one of your hands and pulls it in for a kiss on the knuckles, "I promise, I won't make you worry anymore."

Smiling, you snuggled on his chest pleased and full of bliss, feeling his lips kissing the top of your head repeatedly and his arms hugging you closer to his body.

"Keiji?"

"Hm?"

Pressing your cheek on his chest, you looked up to him and asked, with a small tint of blush on your face in embarrassment, "Um..W-why did you you know...In me?"

For a second he blushes as well, but in the end he seemed to be smiling excitedly as you missed the way his eyes glanced somewhere down your stomach.

"So I can have another pretty baby to love."

[whimsicallyreading]

Part Four~

(Part Three)

Aelin loved Elide. She did. The tiny brunette was like a little sister to her.

But if she said Lorcan Salvaterre’s name one more time she was going to throttle her.

Aelin smiled through her annoyance, as Elide filled her in on her new boyfriend. They organized shelves, set up displays, cleaned couches, as she gushed on and on.

If it was anyone besides that walking, talking, ass, she would be thrilled for Elide. She didn’t go on dates often. After the car wreck when she’d lost her left leg, Elide became shy and timid with people she was unfamiliar with.

Aelin wanted to fill her in on what happened the night before. Tell her that exactly how her new boyfriend treated women when she wasn’t around, and the crowd he hung out with. She just- Aelin frowns and rubs the space between her eyebrows. She didn’t want to damper Elide’s happiness.

“He took me to this little restaurant on the Avery River last weekend. It was adorable,” Elide babbled as she rearranged the new releases. “He didn’t even blink when I told him I don’t drink and ordered a Shirley Temple.”

Aelin laughs. “Your ordered a Shirley Temple on a date?”

Elide blushes, “they look fancier than a soda.”

That was a lie. Elide just loved everything cherry flavored.

“Enough about me,” Aelin startled as the tiny girl turned on her. “Tell me how your night went!” Elide beamed. “You went to the rodeo with Aedion, right?”

She gasps as the realization strikes her. “Did you see Lorcan ride? I haven’t even seen him compete, yet! I’m so jealous.”

“Yeah, I saw him.” Aelin answers vaguely, hoping Elide would take the vague answer and carry on.

“He told me he came in second last night.” Elide frowns. “He was really unhappy about it, and I told him that second was great. I don’t think he believed me. Lorcan is such a perfectionist.”

Yeah. So perfect he does drugs with his crappy, friends in a dimly lit bar. Aelin shoves a book onto the shelf a little too aggressively.

“I wish he wasn’t so hard on himself. It’s such a competitive sport, though. His buddies ride as well, and I think that makes it worse. He wants to impress them.”

Aelin looks back, realizing she’d stacked over half the shelf by herself, and sees Elide sitting on the floor behind her. She had a far off look on her face, and her chin was rested on one knee while her prosthetic leg was stretched in front of her.

Taking a deep breath, she tries to swallow back the annoyance creeping up on her. “Elide.”

“It’s just, a lot of peer pressure you know?” Elide continues talking as if she hasn’t heard her. “Despite all of that and the drama, he still makes time for me. It’s honestly really sweet and-“

“Elide,” Aelin tries to catch her attention gently.

“I still haven’t met his friends yet. I’m not sure if it’s just too soon for that, but his best friend Rowan is coming over tomorrow and-“

“Elide,” Aelin bites our sharply, cutting the girl off mid sentence. “I’m glad to hear you are happy, and that your boyfriend gives a shit but can you please help me do the shelving like I pay you to do?”

Guilt. Instantaneous guilt as the younger girl wilts like a flower under a gale-force wind. “Sorry, Lin.” Elide whispers and scurries away, her cheeks reddening.

Shit. Aelin taps her head against the shelf in front of her. She felt like a piece of shit.

Aelin has been dealing with her issues for years, going to therapist after therapist, but she was still prone to bouts of anger and depression. She had it mostly under control, but sometimes it slipped from her. Being tired and skipping lunch hadn’t helped.

As Yrene always told her- “The first step in better mental health is taking care of your body” Something Aelin had never been good about.

Elide hadn’t deserved her ire, she would have to figure out a way to make it up to her. Aelin sighs in resignation, already knowing what she’d have to do.

Aelin finishes the shelves first, figuring Elide would need a minute to compose herself. Her phone dings with the reply to her text message.

Lysandra- Tonight at 6:00

“Elide?” she searches around the shop for her and finds her sitting behind the computer at the front desk.

“Yeah?” Elide replies, her voice is a little gravely and she refuses to meet Aelin’s eyes.

Aelin slinks behind the desk and wraps an arm around Elide’s shoulders. “I’m sorry I wasn’t kind.” She wouldn’t lie, she felt a bit like a toddler having to apologize for her short temper. A little embarrassment was better than an unhappy friend.

“It’s fine, Lin. I know I’m a little much to handle,” Elide still doesn’t look at her.

“No, it’s not okay, but I’m going to make it up to you,” Aelin smiles even if inside she’s cringing.

“Yeah?” Elide finally looks her in the eye, curiosity sparkling there.

“I texted Lys about the party she’s having tonight,” Aelin starts and Elide’s grow wide. “Would you want to go with me?”

“To a party? You hate parties,” she questions but Elide is already thrumming with excitement.

Aelin grabs Elide’s hand and squeezes. She doesn’t hate parties. Contrary, Aelin loves night out a little too much. That was her downfall. Now she was wary of them, but it didn’t mean she hated them.

“Really? You will go?” Elide smiles and stands up. “I’m so excited. Wow. Okay. I’ll go do with you.”

“Great, we can walk over together at five-thirty?” They lived the in the same apartment complex, it was easy for them to meet up and go places after work.

Elide is grinning ear to ear now as she hustles to finish up her chores for the day. “Sounds great. I’m so excited!”

Aelin is feeling a little upbeat herself. Even if parties weren’t really her scene anymore, attending would be fun. Elide being there would keep her from getting into any trouble, so what’s the harm?

She should know that’s the question that always goes before the fall.

~~~

Aeljn was feeling good.

She pulled on her slinky, green-velvet dress, and braided her hair into a crown like Aunt Marion used to do for her. Dressing up felt like armor to Aelin and she was a warrior who would turn heads tonight.

Elide has also done a great job dressing up. Billowing black pants and a silver singlet. She didn’t enjoy dressing up as much as Aelin, being the center of attention made her anxious, but she didn’t give herself enough credit. Elide was beautiful and Aelin would make sure her friend new that this evening.

Lysandra lived in a loft in downtown Rifthold. She was old money and Aelin was a frequent of her outrageous parties in highschool. Some of her most iconic teenage memories happened in Lysandra’s family home.

Not her proudest, but memorable for sure.

It was already in full swing when they arrived. Music played over Bluetooth speakers, various concoctions were passed around in red cups and people mingles and moved against one another in every open space.

Elide looked a little overwhelmed, but Aelin smiled at her reassuringly.

“Lin!” Lysandra appears from the crowd like a leopard from a jungle. She filings her arms around Aelin’s neck and kisses her cheek. “I’m so glad you are here!”

“It’s been too long since I’ve been to one of your get together,” Aelin wrapped her arms tightly around Lysandra.

“This is my friend Elide,” she gestures to the girl standing stiffly behind her. “Elide this is one of my oldest friends Lysandra. Possibly my soon to be sister-in-law.”

Aelin throws and wink at Lys who immediately retaliates with a pinch to her arm. “I love you and Aedion but I’m too young for that,” she scolds.

“Sure you are,” Aelin teases sliding back to Elide’s side and wrapping a comforting arm around her waist. “Those two are stupid in love don’t let her fool you,” she wiggles her fingers and Elide laughs.

“Stay right here, I’ll go get us some drinks.” Lysandra smiles and disappears into the crowd.

Almost as soon as she’s gone, there’s a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, absolute dread fills her gut. “I swear you all are stalking me,” Aelin moans.

Rowan Whitethorn is standing behind them, drink in hand and a scowl on his face. “What do you mean? This is the first time I’ve seen you since you ran out on me.” There’s an edge in his voice and Aelin knows he’s there for trouble. “I just thought I’d say hello and ask what the hell is wrong with you?”

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Aelin is indignant. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Um,” Elide stammers. “Should I give you two space?”

“I really liked you, and you stormed out on me.” Rowan growls lowly. “I don’t know what I did wrong? You humiliated me in front of my friends.”

Aelin throws her head back and laughs. A sense of satisfaction brews in her chest when she sees the forest fire beginning in his eyes. “I embarrassed you? Your friends treated me like shit.” She hisses between her teeth.

Rowan’s frown deepens into a near snarl, “I’m not responsible for what those idiots say.”

“You-“ she jabs a finger into his chest. “Stood bye and let them say it, that makes you implicit. If you respected me in the slightest my comfort and dignity would have mattered to you.”

Aelin makes to jab him again but his hand catches her wrist and she can’t control the flinch.

His eyes widen, but a body appears in between them. Elide Lochan stands like a solider in front of the man who is twice her size. “You don’t touch her.”

Rowan backed off a step, his voice raising. “She was prodding me-“ he stops himself and takes a breath, a crease forming in his forehead. “I’m sorry. I’ll back off.”

“What’s going on over here?” Lysandra’s voice cuts through the noise of the party. She doesn’t look happy.

“He put his hands on her,” Elide hisses and Rowan’s eyes go from anger to shock.

He holds up his hands and looks to Lysandra. “I didn’t. I swear.”

Lysandra stands next to Elide forming a wall between him and Aelin. As one of the few people who knew about Aelin’s drama of the last couple of years, the look of this situation boiled her blood.

“Lys, he didn’t-“ Aelin tries to douse the scene they were about to create.

Lysandra gives her a look that makes Aelin quiet. “I love you Lin, but I don’t trust your excuses.”

That hurt. Her heart feels like it was wrung in her chest. Aelin crosses her arms in front of her, suddenly feeling withdrawn from the situation.

Elide hasn’t broken her stare from Rowan. “You should probably leave.”

“What?” He flounders looking equal parts shocked and horrified. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare her. We know each other.”

“I agree,” Lysandra tilts her chin to the door. “You aren’t welcome here any longer.”

Rowan looks at her for help, and she feels bad for him. Aelin knows she touched him first, but Lysandra’s comment was like a cold knife in her side and she was still bleeding. She didn’t know what to do or say.

“Rowan? What’s going on?” Lorcan appears behind Rowan, placing a hand on his shoulder. Aelin knows the moment he sees Elide standing in front of her, because his face deflated.

“You know him?” Elide’s voice is cold.

Lorcan, a beast of a male, cowers in front of little Elide. His mouth gapes like a fish. He can’t deny her question, but affirming it seemed worse. “Ellie,” her name comes out strangled.

“These are your friends, Lorcan? The people you seem to be keeping me from?” Elide darkens further as she looks at Rowan. “I guess I understand why.”

“Both of you can leave, then.” Lysandra smiles maliciously.

“I’m sorry, Aelin.” Rowan rubs both of his hands across his face then through his hair. “Damn it, I didn’t mean for this to go like it did. I wanted to apologize.” He says mostly to himself.

“Elide. He’s my friend. I don’t know what’s going on-“ Lorcan scrambles to cover his ass, but Elide isn’t having it.

“This is Lysandra’s house.” Elide says so calmly it would have been kinder if she yelled. “She asked you to leave.”

Lorcan looks at her, absolutely fuming and Aelin knows he’s beyond pissed. “I don’t know what this lying bitch-“

A slap broke like thunder between them.

Lorcan holds his cheek as Aelin gapes at Elide in shock. There are no tears to be seen in the younger girls expression. Her shoulders are trembling, not with fear but anger.

“Let’s go.” Rowan chokes out. He grabs Lorcan’s shoulder and pulls him away from the trio of women.

Lysandra watches them like a predator until they clear her front door. Her tense shoulders only relax when they leave. She releases a breath and looks at Elide.

“You are hella cool, Ellie. You deserve something better than that piss-poor beer I brought.” She nods to the solo cups that had been abandoned on the table. “I’ve got better shit in my room. Let’s go.”

Elide looks follows Lysandra with an elated look on her face. Aelin smiles dimly, she could see them becoming fast friends. Elide would be a good addition to the group.

They pushed through the crowd, and up the stairs. Aelin wasn’t in the partying mood anymore, which was disappointing. She’d been looking forward to it, and so had Elide.

Shaking her head, Aelin decides she will take a small reprieve in Lysandra’s room then suggest they go back downstairs. Elide was only comfortable coming to a party because she was going to be with her. Now not only was her night ruined, but she was on the outs with Lorcan because of her.

The very least she could do was make sure the night ended on a good note for Elide. Lysandra would be totally willing to help Aelin get her to let loose.

When they reach the bedroom Lysandra stops the outside the door. “You can go in, Ellie. I need to talk to Aelin for just a second.”

Elide nods happily and shuffles inside.

“Lys,” Aelin starts before Lysandra can. “I’m fine. I promise.”

“You promised me before,” her voice is hard but not unloving. “Who was that Aelin?”

She doesn’t miss the use of her full name. “Just some guy I went out for drinks with one time. I honestly don’t even know him.” Aelin assures.

“Has he been bothering you? If he is I will castrate him and feed his own-“ Aelin covers her ears.

“No, no. We just bumped into each other, it was a misunderstanding,” Aelin swears. “Honestly, you didn’t need to kick him out.”

“Yes,” Lysandra hisses. “I did. You aren’t going through that again, Aelin. Not over my dead body.”

“I appreciate that you love me so much,” Aelin whispers, not wanting Elide to pick up on their conversation. “But I can take care of myself. I’m not broken, Lys. Just hurt.”

Lysandra groans sadly, her dark lashes fan against her cheeks as if she’s fighting tears back. Suddenly Lys is hugging her again, and Aelin sinks into her embrace like always.

“I know you aren’t broken. I’m sorry that I’m so fussy.” Aelin let’s her tuck itself into Lys shoulder, aware that she was a safe person to be open with.

After a moment they pull apart. “Please. Just be careful,” Lysandra pleads.

“Of course,” Aelin promises. “Thank you for always having my back.”

“Never again,” Lysandra reiterates, reaching out to grab her hand.

“Never again.” Aeljn squeezes it.

“Lysandra! Your cat is so cute!” Elide coos from behind the door. The tension is broken and the two of them look at the other and laugh.

“Let’s go.” Aelin says, and Lysandra holds the door for the both of them.

Never again would Aelin submit to a cruel man’s will.

Not even for a man like Rowan Whitethorn.

Part Two of the birthday mass update! Thank you guys so much for reading 💚

(Tag list- let me know if you would like to be added or removed? :D)

@charincharge

@westofmoon

@jorjy-jo

@classyclodranchparty

@morganofthewildfire

@ashleymariegriffin

@wordsxstars

@sjmships

@rolltide7

@surielandiareendgame

@jlinez

@rowaelinismyotp

@mariamuses

@swankii-art-teacher

@highladyof-erilea

@untoldstuff

@superspiritfestival

@tillyrubes10

@ghostlyrose2

@live-the-fangirl-life

[raibebe]

Sugar and Spice

Genre: Fluff? Words: 4.390 Warnings: none for this chapter

Chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | masterlist

A/N: Sugar and Spice is a series now, I know you all probably wanted more smut but I chose to write a prequel about how Jeno ended up being a sugar baby in the first place.  Since this is going to be a longer story, I wanted to try to do it in chapters instead of writing one giant thing. Later on I will switch the POV but I felt like it was needed to start off with Jeno’s.  Do not worry, there will be smut in later chapters.

Taglist: @yutaalove​, @byunniebaekhyunnie​

Like all the bad decisions Lee Jeno had made in his life, this one started with none other than Lee Donghyuck. The two boys were sitting in the university’s cafeteria where Donghyuck watched Jeno eat the food they had served with a disgusted look on his face. “I don’t understand how you can even swallow that.” “It’s either this or instant ramen again and I am pretty sure my body consists of 60% ramen already,” Jeno whined, trying to wash down what must be the most dry piece of meat he had ever tasted his entire life with some water. “Dude you work like three jobs,” Donghyuck groaned, kicking his friend beneath the table. “Got fired from the library because they caught me sleeping,” Jeno sighed deeply. “You look like you’re ready to pass out right now.” “Hyuck, I am functioning on three hours of sleep and two redbull.” “Jeno,” Donghyuck sighed and Jeno hated it when he used that tone of voice. He didn’t need Donghyuck’s pity. He could do this. He was fine. Well mostly. Apart from the fact that he got an average amount of four hours of sleep, was barely passing his classes and got fired by one of his many part time jobs every few months his life was absolutely peachy. “I’m sure if you talk to your parents again-“ “No,” he cut Donghyuck off, “I won’t come begging at their door. I chose this path for myself and they simply don’t agree Hyuck.” “Your parents suck ass,” his friend sighed, leaning back in his chair, “Pretty sure my parents would throw a party each day for a week straight if I had told them I wanted to become a vet.” “Well mine aren’t,” Jeno sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair. It was getting too long again, his bangs hanging into his eyes. Could he ask Renjun to cut it again? Did he trust the furious Chinese man with something sharp that close to his eyes?

For a while it was quiet between the two friends while Jeno continued to stuff his face with the cafeteria food. He didn’t have much time before he had to go to his shift at a little record store not far from his dorm building. It wasn’t paying the best but the owner of the shop and no issues with him doing his readings there when no customers were around. “You know that we miss you, Jeno. Right?” Donghyuck cut the silence which made Jeno stop mid bite, “We haven’t done anything with all the boys in forever and I am not counting the times we were at the club while you were working and declining the tips we were trying to give you.” “I don’t need nor want your pity money, Hyuck,” Jeno groaned again and shoved the plate with his food away. His appetite had left him. Donghyuck and him had this conversation every other week always with the same outcome: Donghyuck explaining how he was worried about him and Jeno telling him that he was fine (which he most likely wasn’t but he managed). “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to make it to our meets ups, I really am,” Jeno tried to explain and Donghyuck’s eyes immediately went soft, “I just- I’m behind on my tuition again and haven’t paid the lease for the dorms for the last moth yet. I really need to take every minute and hour of overtime I can get and my grades aren’t getting any better either. This will all be for nothing if I fail my anatomy class again.” “Jeno,” Donghyuck tried again, “You can’t keep on like this for another three years.” “I have to Hyuck,” Jeno sighed, slouching back into his chair, “I have to.” His body had been screaming at him to stop whatever he was doing for weeks now and to be completely honest, he was aching for a full eight hours of sleep and not the usual four that were just disconnected naps throughout his day.

“I’m going to make a suggestion and I need you to promise me to not be mad at me, alright,” Donghyuck suddenly said, holding out his pinky finger. “Hyuck, I won’t take money from any of you. I don’t want Chenle to pay for my lease again. That was a one-time thing and I told him that I would pay him back,” Jeno immediately argued, shame running through him. He hated constantly being treated to meals and the thought that he had a debt with his younger friend even though the Chinese had told Jeno hundreds of times that he didn’t need to money back. “That’s not what I wanted to suggest. Now promise.” Jeno rolled his eyes before interlocking his pinky with one of his arguably best friends. “Actually this isn’t my idea. But Jaemin and Renjun brought it up last Friday at our movie night.” That alone made Jeno feel bad again. While his friends had been all cuddled up in Chenle’s apartment to watch some movies and eat popcorn while drinking cheap beer, he had been working in a sweaty club with horrible music that made his ears ring. “I’m sorry,” he muttered under his breath but Donghyuck didn’t seem to hear him. “But hear me out: Have you ever thought about becoming a sugar baby?” Jeno lost all control over his facial muscles and was pretty sure his brain had just short circuited, his open mouth free real estate for the fruit flies that were all over the cafeteria. “No, no, think about it Jeno,” Donghyuck immediately argued, “I did my research and you can get a monthly allowance for at least a thousand dollar if not more. You’d be able to quit that job at the shady bar.” “Hyuck,” Jeno cut in when his brain had successfully rebooted, “In case you haven’t noticed in all the years we’ve been friends: I’m not gay.” “So what?” “What do you mean so what? I’m not going to prostitute myself for some old man just because I need money,” Jeno hissed between his teeth. “Oh my god Jeno,” Donghyuck sighed, “You’re so 2010. There are plenty of wealthy woman out there looking for some arm candy to pass their time.” “You’re insane Donghyuck.” “Insanely brilliant that is,” his friend grinned, “This is literally the perfect solution for all your problems.” “How is fucking some old hag going to solve any of my problems?” “Oh come on, Jeno,” Donghyuck groaned, “There are plenty of sites that let you choose your preferred partner for this kind of arrangement. And don’t even try to deny that you’re into older girls.” At that Jeno flushed a deep red color. His preference about his partners was basically an open secret in their group of friends that he had confessed after a drunken round of truth or dare some time in highschool when Renjun had asked him why he had rejected the confession of a cute girl a year below them to keep crushing on the substitute teacher they had. Chenle had not let this thing die until Jeno had started to date a girl from Mark’s class and even then the boy had made some cruel comments about their age difference. “Here, Renjun found a site that seems very legit,” Donghyuck brought him back from his memories, scribbling down a link on a piece of paper, “Please just check it out.” “That’s a lot of promises I have to give today,” Jeno mused but took the paper to put it into his pocket. “We’re just trying to look out for you Jeno.” “I know,” he sighed, “And I appreciate that.” “You’re running thin Jeno.” “I know Hyuck!” He said, making his friend flinch at his outburst, “I fucking know, okay. I’m sorry I am making you all worry with how terrible my life currently is. It’s not like I am happy about it but you could really stop bitching about it.” Just when Donghyuck opened his mouth to reply something, Jeno’s eyes shot to the big clock on the wall. “Safe it Hyuck, I need to go to my shift.” With that he got up to hoist his bag that was barely holding together onto his shoulder and basically fled the cafeteria. Donghyuck could bring back his plate, that was the least he could do.  

Once outside, the student quickly plugged in his earphones into his phone and played his favorite playlist on his way to the record store, inwardly scolding himself for being so proud and not leeching off of Jaemin’s spotify anymore when what felt like the third ad in ten minutes interrupted his vibing. At the record store, he quickly unlocked the front door and put on a random record to play over the speakers before he got situated behind the counter to try to revise his notes from today that were unreadable at best. He had fallen asleep at least twice in his morning class and had to be shaken awake by one of his classmates once the lecture was over. Great. So self-study it was.

Over the course of his shift, he was only interrupted twice from reading the chapter in the book that he was pretty sure he should have brought back to the library last week. But since he really didn’t have any money to spare for the fine, he had decided to keep it a little longer until he was at a financially better place which was nowhere near in close sight now that he was fired from his job at said library. Which brought him back to what Donghyuck had said to him. But him becoming a sugar baby? Jeno really couldn’t think of himself in such a position. Sure, he wasn’t bad looking but when he thought of the word sugar baby he thought of beautiful and petite boys like Renjun or maybe even Jaemin but him? Even though he had lost quite some muscle mass since this shitshow had begun, he was still built quiet broad and had more of a masculine, handsome feel than sweet and beautiful. And wasn’t that was sugar mommies would look for? If they wanted a man, they wouldn’t search for a someone younger. Jeno sighed loudly and let his head hit his book. This was a hopeless situation.

But he guessed having a look at the site wouldn’t hurt and so Jeno ended up typing in the address of the sugar baby site into the computer at work, praying the owner didn’t know how to check which sites he had opened once he’d delete the browser history. The site itself looked clean, mainly consisting of muted pastel colors and black font and accents. If you weren’t signed in, you didn’t get much information on what exactly was going on but the site claimed that keeping their clients data safe was their main concern since very influential people were using their site. Jeno completely blamed Donghyuck and the two redbulls he had already had for clicking on the pastel blue ‘sign up’ button. He then had to fill out basic data about himself: His gender, age, profession and interests along with his sexual orientation. He hesitated for a second when the site asked if he was okay to be partnered with someone of the same sex for a strictly platonic relationship but denied it in the end. Next he was asked to choose a nickname to chat with potential benefactors as the site called the sugar mommies and daddies. Was this where he should choose something cute to attract people to his profile? Whacking his brain for any cute plays on his actual name, he came up with exactly nothing other than the No-Jam nickname he had earned in highschool which really wasn’t cute at all. The only other thing that came to mind was when Jaemin jokingly called himself Nana and Jeno Nono in that god-awful aegyo voice which never failed to make Jeno cringe. Why did he have to choose a nickname anyways? It was to protect the benefactors; he really didn’t have anything else to lose than his dignity. Sighing, Jeno quickly typed in: ‘Jenonono’ as his nickname, only cringing slightly when choosing a password and entering his email address to confirm everything. Once he had activated his account with the link he was sent, Jeno only had to choose a couple of pictures for his profile to complete it. Well this was a problem. Jeno couldn’t even remember the last time he took a selfie where he wasn’t looking like death on two legs to send them to his friends. He quickly scrolled through his camera roll in search for at least one decently attractive photo. He only stopped scrolling when he found photos from almost a year ago before he had changed his field of study and had the fall-out with his parents. His hair was bleached a bright blonde color and the sides were shaved but he was looking good, more toned than he was now and like he actually slept at night. Not even close to how he was looking right now but it was still him, so did this count as catfishing? He quickly chose two photos with his blonde hair styled up and one with his natural haircolor from before he and Jaemin had the great idea to bleach each other’s hair and send them to himself via mail so he could upload them onto the website.

When Jeno pressed the ‘complete’ button, the site showed him on overview of what his profile would look like and it wasn’t even half bad if he did say so himself. He still felt a little uneasy about the whole thing and the fact that he was basically catfishing people into thinking he still looked so bulky and put together like he had looked last year didn’t help. “Come on Jeno, you have nothing to lose,” he grumbled and pressed the ‘confirm’ button one last time. His profile disappeared and the site instead showed Jeno their actual layout for the matching. Unlike other dating sites, he couldn’t swipe through potential benefactors himself; he had to wait until someone actually message him. Great. So he had to hope that his pictures and his honestly not great profile would lure someone in who was at least mildly attractive. Maybe no one would ever contact him and he could just throw it back into Donghyuck’s face how this had been a shitty idea to begin with. Sighing, he closed the site for now and deleted the browser history just to be safe as well.

The rest of his shift went by in a blur of trying to make sense of his scribbly notes and whatever the authors of the book he was reading were trying to teach him about the anatomy of different species and Jeno didn’t even think twice about the site he had signed up for when he closed down the shop and went home to his shitty dorm. The short trip to the convenience store only made him more aware of how poor he was when he had to choose between an actual meal and food for the cat he had recently (very much illegally) saved from the streets and taken in. He’d be more than damned if the kitten he had named Bongsik would have to suffer, so it would be a delicious meal for her and more instant ramen for Jeno.

Back at his dorm room - a single one that could barely fit his bed, wardrobe and desk - the little cat immediately rubbed its tiny head against his pant leg and Jeno couldn’t help but smile and bend down to pet the little creature. He felt a little bit of tension immediately seep from his tired muscles and indulged the kitten in a little cuddle session until he felt his eyes starting to itch. His allergies be damned! Sighing the boy got up to actually shed his jacket and shoes and opened the fresh can of delicious cat food for Bongsik who immediately devoured it. If she thought it was delicious, would it taste good for Jeno as well? Chuckling he turned back to prepare his own food, all this instant ramen might have started to take a toll on his psyche. He ate his meal in silence before throwing both containers in the trash. Jeno knew he had to work on his essay for one of his classes but for a moment he just felt the need to relax for a bit, especially now that he didn’t have to rush over to his job at the library. Taking out his phone, he quickly replied to the group chat of his friends where they were animatedly planning a trip to the cinema on Friday which Jeno had to decline. Not only did he have a shift at the bar but he also didn’t really have the money for it. Sighing he locked his phone again. Well that went great, now he was stressed again. “Bongsik you love me right?” He asked and turned towards his cat again who was lounging next to him on the floor, her belly full with delicious food. Oh to be a cat...

Jeno sighed again when his cat of course didn’t answer. He really was going insane. But it was going to be worth it, he reminded himself again. Once this was all over he would be a vet and able to help all kinds of animals. He would make good money and could pay off his tuition slowly and maybe a couple of years later he could even have his own medical practice. But to have all that, he really needed to up his grades. Especially this godawful anatomy grade. Groaning Jeno got up from the floor to plop down on his desk and start his laptop that made an awful lot of noise while booting up. Knowing that it took the device a good two minutes give or take to completely be ready, he started to go through his notes again before typing them into the document where he compiled all his notes just to have them all nice and neat in one place.

By some ungodly hour in the morning, Jeno’s eyes started to close more and more often on their own accord and the letters on the screen started to blur together despite wearing his glasses. “We should probably call it a night, Bongsik,” he spoke into the silent room, his cat already fast asleep at the foot of his bed. Fondly smiling at her, he saved his progress on both his notes and his essay and shut down his laptop. Jeno didn’t really dare to look at the time, so he just quickly grabbed his stuff for the bathroom and got himself ready for bed in the vacant bathroom he shared with a couple of other students. But at this time it was almost guaranteed to be empty.

Once back in his dorm, Jeno quickly climbed under the covers and plugged his phone in to make sure his alarm would actually go off in about 4 hours. Even though he was dead tired now that his body was surrounded by the warmth of his bed, a notification caught his attention. Leeching off of the free wifi at the record store, he had downloaded the app that came with the sugar baby site praying it would work on his outdated phone which it luckily did. Maybe the programmers had actually thought about broke students with shitty phones just like him for once. Taking a deep breath, Jeno clicked on the notification that had told him that a potential benefactor wanted to text him. Well that was quick. A lot quicker than he had anticipated. When the app had finally loaded with the shitty wifi he definitely not stole from his dorm neighbor (he had set his password as 1234, he was begging to have it stolen), a profile of a woman showed up. She smiled warmly in the picture she had chosen and it seemed to be taken at some tropical place judging by the palm trees in the background. Jeno quickly skimmed through the rest of her profile that only said that she wasn’t that much older than him. Well she was but not to the extent where she could have been his mother - ew. As her job she just had just listed estate agent. Did that pay well? Jeno didn’t know. His thumb hovered over the pastel button that said ‘accept’. If he would press this, this wasn’t just a ‘I’ll take a look at this app for Donghyuck’s sake’ then he was actually invested. But even if he accepted, he was not entitled to the woman. He could still say no if she turned out to be a creep. Hell, he didn’t even have to meet her ever if he didn’t like chatting with her. Before his courage could leave him, Jeno quickly accepted the offer and a new page opened that looked just like every other messenger.

To: Jenonono You’re up late.

What a weird way to open up a conversation. But it certainly was better than perverted innuendos or a ‘hi’ like Jaemin was continuously whining over whenever he had reinstalled tinder. But what was he supposed to reply? Should he try to act cute and coy? Was that what she would be looking for? But before he could even type anything, she had sent another message.

To: Jenonono You don’t seem like the typical boy you find on here.

What was that supposed to mean?

From: Jenonono I’m not? what are those like then?

To: Jenonono They’re not as handsome as you.

At that Jeno flushed a deep red color. He wasn’t used to such blatant flirting.

To: Jenonono I really like the blonde on you but the darker color is cute as well.

From: Jenonono it’s dark right now

As soon as he hit send, Jeno wanted to hit himself. What was she supposed to answer to that message? God he was such an idiot.

To: Jenonono Cute. Are you nervous?

From: Jenonono I have never done this before and didn’t think someone would message someone like me

To: Jenonono I haven’t been doing this for long either. And what do you mean by ‘someone like me’?

From: Jenonono you said yourself that I’m not the typical boy you would find on here...

To: Jenonono Well occasionally there is a diamond between all the rocks.

Jeno wasn’t sure if this was even an actual saying but it made him feel warm nevertheless.

From: Jenonono you’re pretty forward with your flirting

To: Jenonono Am I making you shy, baby?

As if to prove her point, Jeno almost choked on his own saliva, coughing loudly which ultimately woke up Bongsik who threw him a very much not amused gaze. He hadn’t known that just reading the word baby would have such an effect on him. A voice in the back of his head that sounded a little too much like Donghyuck called him a ‘bottom bitch’. Biting his lip he contemplated whether he should flirt back. Up until now it was fun talking to her. And he still had nothing to lose.

From: Jenonono What if I maybe blushed just the smallest bit?

To: Jenonono You’re so cute. I’m glad I found you. But you should go sleep, baby. It’s late already.

From: Jenonono shouldn’t you be asleep as well then?

To: Jenonono I just came back from a long flight and my bed seems a little lonely.

Was this his chance to get a little flirtatious himself? Was she testing him?

From: Jenonono would you want me there with you? so it’s not as lonely?

To: Jenonono That does sound very tempting, baby boy. Let me take you out for a meal before I take you to bed.

Jeno’s breath caught in his throat for a little before he broke out in little giggles. He had completely forgotten how good it felt to feel wanted between all the stress that his life currently was. Maybe but just maybe Donghyuck had been right and this truly could be the solution for many of his problems.

From: Jenonono is that an invitation?

To: Jenonono How does lunch tomorrow sound like baby? I’ll treat you to something delicious.

Gnawing at his thumb, Jeno read the message over and over. He didn’t even know the woman. Meeting up with her might be a risk. For all he knew she could be a serial killer.

To: Jenonono I know this is sudden. But I want to get to know you better. Face to face. Not just over a stupid text box.

Taking a deep breath, Jeno took all his courage and replied with shaking fingers.

From: Jenonono I have a little break between my last class of the day and before I have to go to my part time job.

To: Jenonono There is a cute little bistro not too far from where I remember the main dorm buildings were. [link attached]

Clicking on the link, a website opened and showed him a French-style bistro that judging by the address was right between his dorm and the record shop. He should be able to do it. Curiously he clicked on the menu and immediately regretted it. The prices were ridiculous. For the price of a simple piece of bread, he could easily feed Bongsik and himself for two days.

From: Jenonono isn’t this a little too much?

To: Jenonono Let me spoil you, baby. Just tell me the time and I’ll make sure that I can be there.

From: Jenonono would around one work for you?

To: Jenonono I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to meeting you. Now sleep tight and have sweet dreams, baby.

From: Jenonono maybe I’ll even dream of you

Screaming into his pillow, Jeno threw his phone away. He couldn’t believe that he just send that. Quickly grabbing his kitten, he pressed his face into her soft fur while she struggled in his hold. “Bongsik I have a date,” he whispered, “An actual date. With a potentially very rich woman. I can’t believe I actually did that.”

[restlessfandoming]

“the president and the troublemaker” (part 3) (chilumi fic)

“Lumine is the student council president and Childe is the school’s number one troublemaker. They cross paths more than they’d like. Especially when Childe finds out Lumine’s big secret. Highschool AU à la Kaichou wa Maid-sama.”

[part 1] [part 2]

hello sorry for the wait my brain just be straight up farting sometimes

[Fic Masterlist] // [AO3 Link]

the president and the troublemaker (part 3)

When Lumine woke up, she was back in her bed at home, with Aether taking a damp towel off her head. The morning sunlight shined in through the window. 

“Did I sleep through the entire night?” Lumine asked, her voice hoarse. 

Aether hummed out a ‘yes.’ “I think your body was absolutely exhausted.” He sighed sitting down next to the bed. “Sis, you have to stop overworking yourself; I worry—we all worry.”

She gave a small nod. “I know. And I’m sorry.” 

“Just take the day off to relax, okay? I promise the whole world isn’t going to blow up.” He stood up. “Also, mind telling me why Childe of all people brought you back here?” he asked, eyeing Lumine’s hands. 

She hadn’t even realized it; her hands were set atop a red scarf—Childe’s red scarf—and only then did she vaguely remember him wrapping it around her as he carried her home. Clutching it, she answered, “About that...he may or may not have found out I’m Outlander.” 

Aether’s eyes widened. “He found out? And he didn’t tell the whole school?” 

“I’m surprised as well. He actually seems...nicer ever since he found out.”

“Maybe he’s trying to mooch off your earnings. Or blackmail you.”

“See, I thought that too, but he hasn’t done any of those things.” She gripped the scarf again. “In fact, he offered to be my coach.”

“Your coach? What, he does the underground fighting too?”

Lumine shrugged. “I don’t know. Apparently he has ‘connections.’”

“Are you going to accept?”

She looked out the window. “I told him, ‘no.’”

Aether silently regarded her, looking like he wanted to say something, but then shook his head. “Well, remember to relax today. Your work has been taken care of, so just take it easy, okay?”

He left the room, and Lumine turned onto her side, eyes cast out the window. Without thinking, she brought Childe’s scarf up to her nose, breathing in. She was caught off guard as the scent of salty beach shores filled her senses. 

Her face flushed and she thought, How do I even pay him back?

* * *

Lumine pushed open the door to the school’s rooftop, taking in a breath of the gentle breeze floating by. Sitting near the edge of the roof was Childe, his orange hair ruffling slightly in the wind. Lumine took a moment to observe him; he looked so serene, and suddenly Xiangling’s words intruded into her mind: He’s so handsome. 

“So, Pres, did you call me up here just to stare at me, or did you actually want something?” he asked, not even turning towards her.

Lumine felt a vein pop out on her forehead, and she proceeded to stomp towards him. “I was not staring,” she argued. “Here.” She harshly held out a little paper bag which contained Childe’s red scarf. 

His eyebrow raised an inch, and he took the bag. “You could have just left this in my locker, you know?” 

“Why do you have to make everything I do so difficult?” 

A chuckle. “I’m just teasing you, Pres. Thank you for returning it.” 

She gave him a stiff nod, then sat down next to him. “I...I also wanted to say thank you. For helping me.”

Childe tilted his head, regarding her curiously. 

Before he could say anything, she continued, gazing out at the city. “And thank you for not telling anyone. I don’t know why, but really—thank you for not saying anything.” 

From the corner of her eye, she saw his lips turn upwards in a small smile. “Of course. Wouldn’t want anyone else enjoying our little secret, now would I?” 

“This is fun to you?” she grumbled. 

“Very much so.” 

Lumine sighed. “Anyways, I don’t like to be indebted to people, and I couldn’t think of a way to pay you back—so please think of something.”

“In that case…,” he said almost instantaneously.

“You already have something in mind?”

He leaned towards her. “Let me be your coach.” 

...

...Of course he would say that. 

* * *

“And you’re sure Childe is trustworthy?” Aether asked Lumine as they walked through the bustling city of Snezhnaya, located in the next city over from their hometown of Mondstadt. 

Lumine readjusted the strap of her gym bag on her shoulder. “I mean...he hasn’t said anything yet, right? And anyways,” she muttered, “I owe him for saving me.” 

Aether frowned, crossing his arms. “I guess you’re right…It’s just...He’s been a constant pain in your ass for the better part of your council career, and now he just suddenly wants to be your best friend?” 

“He’s not going to be my best friend. Maybe he just felt sorry that I have to do all this for the sake of money, so he’s helping us out,” Lumine tried to reason. “If he’s my coach, we’ll get better conditions and pay.” 

Her twin nodded, looking around at the modern, high-rise buildings surrounding them. “Snezhnaya is really a rich city, isn’t it?” 

“I guess that’s a good sign.” Lumine stopped in front of a building labeled “Zapolyarny Palace.” She glanced down at the business card Childe had given her. “I think this is it: the gym he told me to go to.” 

The two of them took in the building before them: a gym with large windows through which they could see many members training intensely within. The building itself was made of sleek, silver materials, making the gym look like a glittering gem in the sunlight. Definitely an upgrade from the concrete basement of Kaeya’s establishment. 

Lumine was first to climb the steps, Aether following closely behind her. She pushed open the heavy glass doors, and immediately noticed everyone inside watching her from the corner of their eyes. 

“Lumi, these are some real scary looking people,” her twin whispered. 

She nodded, but continued walking forward to the front desk. The receptionist looked up at her; her name tag read Ekaterina. 

“How can I help you?” she asked. Her tone wasn’t friendly, but Lumine suspected that was the nicest the woman would sound. 

“I was told to come here by a friend,” Lumine answered. “By, uhm, Tartaglia?” 

Ekaterina looked her up and down, then stood. “Follow me.” 

The three of them walked through the gym, heels clicking against the dark slate flooring. The gym was huge, all of the high-tech equipment greatly spaced out, machines Lumine hadn’t ever seen before. 

The group made their way towards a boxing ring, elevated off the ground, and even from far away, Lumine could tell it was made from very expensive materials. 

“Tartaglia is up ahead,” Ekaterina said, gesturing towards the boxing ring, then went back to her desk.

Currently, there were two people sparring in the ring. To her surprise, Lumine recognized them both. 

“Is that...Kaeya? And Childe?” Aether asked.  

Lumine didn’t even answer, finding herself speeding up to get closer and watch the fight. 

She had only heard of Kaeya fighting from others in his arena, and that he was a fierce opponent due to his training in the military where he had actually been a high ranking captain. Childe, on the other hand, she had only seen in schoolyard scuffles, and never as an actual fighter in the ring. She was mesmerized by the two. 

Kaeya’s moves were very sharp and sneaky, while Childe’s style was lighter and much faster—until he struck, which he did so with great force, like the sudden crashing of a powerful ocean wave. Despite the huge gap in years of experience, it seemed like Childe actually had the upper hand in the fight. 

Childe threw a jab at Kaeya’s face, which the captain easily blocked. But then, Childe quickly switched his footing, twisting his body around to prep for a spinning heel kick to Kaeya’s unprotected side. As he turned, Lumine made eye contact with him for a split second. 

His foot would have slammed into Kaeya’s face, but suddenly, Childe stopped short, his leg still in the air, foot hovering right by Kaeya’s face, who regarded the near hit with wide eyes. Stopping a powerful kick like that took a lot of strength, Lumine knew, and she could see it in the way the muscles were flexed in Childe’s leg. 

“It was fun, captain, but it seems our guest is here,” Childe said, relaxing his leg and setting it down. 

Kaeya let out a shaky laugh. “It was indeed fun. Though, it seems like I need to get back into proper shape; it’s been a while.” 

Childe ducked under the ropes, sliding out onto the ground. “I look forward to that rematch then.” He picked up his water bottle and looked at Lumine. “You made it! Good job not getting lost.” 

As he drank his water, Lumine couldn’t help but look him over, at his exceptionally well-toned body. Usually his long limbs were covered by their school uniforms, but now he wore a gray tank top with gray sports shorts. It didn’t help that he was practically glistening in sweat. 

She cleared her throat. “So can you tell me why Kaeya is here?”

Her manager walked up to them, offering his signature smile. “Why wouldn’t I follow my dear Lumine to the next step in her career?” 

“I invited him,” Childe said. “I figured you’d want to keep him around.” 

He wasn’t wrong; it was nice that Kaeya was there as another familiar face. She wasn’t really sure what to expect from Childe now.

“I see you brought a guest as well,” Childe noted, his blue eyes on Aether. 

Aether subtly put his hands on his hips, defensively. “I’m Aether. Her twin.” 

The ginger tilted his head. “Ah, the Vice-President. How cute.” 

“Okay, so you’re my coach,” Lumine said. “Now what?” 

He held out his hand. “Where’s your Outlander mask?”

Lumine blinked at him, but then pulled the mask out, handing it over. He flipped it over in his hands, then chucked it behind him. Both her and Aether gasped. 

“You won’t need it anymore,” Childe said. 

Lumine glared at him. “What do you mean, I won’t need it anymore?” 

“Are you trying to get her arrested?” Aether spat. 

Childe held up his hands. “Relax. The reason I wanted you to join me is because we’re no longer going to have you fighting illegally. So no need for the mask.”

Kaeya nodded. “Yup. We’re bringing you into the world of legitimacy.” 

Lumine crossed her arms. “Kaeya, you know the reason I came to you in the first place. You get me way more money, much faster, than any legitimate competition. Especially at the beginner levels.” 

“And that’s why you’re here now,” Childe interjected. “Fighting here will give you even more money without having to worry about the cops busting in and arresting you one day.” 

“What if people from school find out?”

“No one from our school is going to come here to Snezhaya, much less to a gym.” 

Lumine and Childe stared at each other, unyielding. 

“Excuse us,” Kaeya said, pulling Lumine and Aether away from Childe. 

“Kaeya, you know it’s dangerous for her not to be in a disguise,” Aether hissed. 

“It was dangerous when she was fighting in my arena,” Kaeya said. He put a hand on Lumine’s shoulder. “Look, Childe is trying to help you, not hurt you. He knows you need that money, and that you’re good at this. He, like the rest of us, doesn’t want to see you get arrested for just trying to help your family out.” 

Lumine bit her lip. “What makes him so qualified though?” She turned towards Kaeya. “You guys are always talking about his ‘connections,’ but you haven’t really talked about who he is in this community.” 

“All you have to know is that, despite you guys being close in age, he is a known professional in this field. He’s fought and won many competitions.” He sighed. “I mean you saw him earlier: he almost handed my ass to me in that little spar. And I was a captain in the military.”

Aether sighed as well. “Lumi...as much as I dislike Childe...I think they’re right. I’ve always worried about you in those illegal fights. You’ll be safer here.”

As scary as it was that she was no longer concealing her identity, a part of her relished at the freedom. And they were all right. It was safer here, down this road. 

Lumine nodded before leading them back to Childe. She stood in front of him, arms crossed. “When do we start?”

* * *

[part 4]

[its-la-push]

Both of Us

Request | Hi it’s my birthday today 🎁! Could you please write a Paul lahote x reader where the reader is a teen mother and she moves back to forks and the father(not Paul) isn’t involved? Pretty please? YOURE AMAZING❤️

Word count: 1.3k

Moving isn’t easy, especially when you’re 19 years old with a three year old. After y/n‘s parents kicked her out, it was hard getting back on her feet. As soon as she had the baby she was out in her ass. She had been living with a friend in Seattle for the past 3 years with her little girl Sarah. Y/n and her friend Ivy got evicted after Ivy lost her journalist job in downtown Seattle. The y/h/c girl decided to move back to her hometown of Forks, Washington. She knew her parents wouldn’t let her back into their home, so she found a little 2 bedroom apartment to live in near her old highschool. She got a job at the local diner as a part-time waitress to pay her rent and provide for her little girl.

:readmore:

After she dropped Sarah off at the local day-care, she drove straight to the diner to begin her first shift. Her boss walked over to her with a friendly smile on her face and began speaking in an orderly tone. “Hun, you’ll be serving that section over there for today”, she stated motioning over to the right side of the restaurant. Y/n nodded and waited behind the register waiting for customers to come in. Soon 5 o’clock rolled around, which was the time y/n’s shift ended. She picked up Sarah from day-care and drove back to her compact apartment.

It had been a month since you had moved back to Forks and began working at the diner. Y/n was picking up an extra shift for a coworker that lasted until the diner closed, you were the only one in the restaurant, besides the unfriendly cook in the back, and were supposed to close at midnight. A tall and muscular man with broad shoulders and tan skin came striding in at approximately 9 P.M. He was the only customer in the diner at this time of night. He happened to sit at the bar stool farthest away from the register, where y/n was standing. You grabbed a menu and began approaching the stunning man from behind the counter. Y/n slid the menu in front of him as he was looking down, clearly tired from whatever previous activities he had been executing.

You gave him a friendly smile as you spoke, “Hi, my name’s y/n. I’ll be your server tonight, can I start you off with something to drink?” He looked up, clearly startled by the girl’s loud but smooth voice. He locked eyes with her as she was waiting for him to tell her what he wanted to drink. The girl abruptly noticed how gorgeous his brown eyes were, to her, they were like pools of milk chocolate that she couldn’t seem to swim out of. She broke out of the trance sooner than he did though, he just stared at her with a look of astoundment and wonder in his eyes. “Um, are you okay?” she asked him with a tone of concern in her voice. He instantaneously shook his head and apologized for his odd behavior, “Sorry, I’m just a little tired. I’ll have a Dr. Pepper.” Y/n nodded and headed back to the kitchen to fill a cup with the soda of his choice. The thought of maybe he’s on drugs crossed her mind and left as quickly as it came when she looked back and saw him looking back at her with a charismatic smile. She strutted back towards him with the cup in her right hand and a straw from her apron in her left. “I’m Paul” he blurted out when she set the cup in front of him. Y/n slyly smiled at him before speaking, “Hi Paul.” Paul internally cursed himself for his mediocre flirting. She was his imprint, he couldn’t mess his first impression up. “Are you ready to order or do you need a bit more time?” she smiled sweetly at him. “Oh no I’m ready” y/n whipped out her notepad and a black inkpen from her apron. “I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with extra mustard.” Y/n scribbled down his order on her miniature notepad. “Okay I’ll have that right out for you, Paul” she stated with a smile before walking back to the kitchen to hand the cook the ticket. Paul sat there by himself for a few moments in silence, thinking about what had just happened. He whipped out his phone and began texting the pack group chat about what just happened. They were all happy for him and tried to show their support the best they could without seeing him in person. Just then y/n came back out from the kitchen, unfortunately for Paul’s vacant stomach, with no food in her hands. “It’ll be just a little bit longer” she said to him. She walked back over to the opposite side of the counter that Paul was seated at, behind the register, and pulled out her phone as she was waiting for his food. He contemplated what to say to her, he couldn’t just sit there in silence while his soulmate was standing 8 feet away from him. “Are you new around here? Forks is a pretty small town so basically everybody knows everybody around here, and you don’t look familiar.” he finally spoke, breaking the silence that was clearly filled with tension. Y/n looked Paul’s way and put her phone away, eager to start a conversation with what she perceived as strange, yet gorgeous man in front of her. “Yeah, I actually just moved into the apartment complex around Forks High School about a month ago.” she answered. “So how’s this ghost town been treating you so far?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going. “Oh well considering I moved back after 3 years, pretty good. I think I might stay here, it’s very peaceful and content compared to Seattle.”

Paul and y/n ended up talking until Paul finished his food. She told him all about her little girl Sarah and her shitty landlord. He explained to her that he lived in a small house by himself in La Push. He also told her about his friends, obviously excluding the supernatural part. They instantly clicked and vented to each other, they both seemed like they were just waiting for the right person to talk to about their problems. Eventually the clock struck midnight, which was when y/n was supposed to lock up. “Oh shit, it looks like it's already closing time, I have to go pick up Sarah from my parent’s house.” she stated, suddenly in a rush. “Hey before you go, could I get your number? Maybe we could talk like this over dinner sometime?” he asked hopefully. Of course y/n wasn’t going to say no to someone who understood her like he did. “Absolutely, hand me your phone.” Paul gladly obliged and she typed in her name and number into the contact form pulled up on his phone. Y/n handed his sleek black phone back to him and he gently took it from her hand.

Later that night…………

Y/n had just gotten out of the shower when she heard her phone ding. She lazily wrapped a towel around herself and looked at the recent text message on her phone. She smiled when she read “Paul” in bold black letters on the screen. She quickly typed the passcode in, eager to see what he had texted her. “Hey beautiful, you up for ice cream next weekend?” y/n giggled at his sweet remark before she started tapping on the brightly lit screen. “How could I say no? Can’t wait to see you!” she responded. After she hit the “send” button she contemplated her response. Do I sound desperate? What if he doesn’t think I’m pretty enough? The anxious thoughts ran through her head like horses. “Mommy! Come tuck me in!” Sarah shouted from her bedroom. Y/n quickly snapped out of her insecure state and went to go tend to her number one priority. After the girl tended to her little girl, she took herself back to her bedroom, mind filled with only thoughts of the late-night customer.

[flannel-cladpika]

Avengers x Teen reader

The reader is a brilliant engineer, that makes (grade A+) battle armor & weapons. The Vulture and the reader works together by selling these illegal armor & weapons. (The Vulture even gives the reader profit because the reader lives alone) The reader learns at school (The R is the quiet/loner kid) about Vulture getting arrested and they soon decide to leave New York and disappear. They grab all their money and leave to Tennessee to start a new life. The ending could be the reader starting a new life

Sorry for the delay! Here it is!

Avengers x GN! Teen Reader

You weren’t always like this. 

You had a family once. Loving parents, 2 siblings that were annoying but still kind and sweet. A nice house on the outskirts of New York City. You had the perfect life.

Until the world started ending due to an psychotic AI wanting control of the world.

You’d been out getting groceries while your parents were taking your siblings into the city to pick up some take out for dinner and maybe get something from the Cheesecake Factory.

You’d gotten home earlier than them, which was to be expected.

That’s when you saw the news.

There was an invasion of robots descending on the city. You heard screams in the background of the newscaster. You hurriedly picked up your phone and called your parents. It took three rings until one of them finally answered.

“(Y/n)! Are you alright?” you heard from the other line.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but where are you guys?! Tell me you’re headed home, ple-”

“Sweetie, I’m sorry...I love you...We all love you...No, no, no! God, no! PLEASE!! N-” and with that, the line went dead.

Later, when bodies were being identified, you found out that your family wasn’t among the survivors. That was the day you lost everything.

Timeskip~ 2 years later

You’d thrown yourself into your passion of engineering and tinkering, and worked like your life depended on it. You’d managed to make a name for yourself on the dark web and black market for being a fantastic engineer of unusual illegal weapons, like gloves that could shoot focused high-intensity soundwaves, causing an opponent’s ears to be in extreme pain and bleed, even causing horrible hearing loss.

You’d managed to make enough money from work to put yourself through school and even get yourself an apartment, though it wasn’t exactly the nicest place. But hey, you just needed a place to crash, keep all your equipment, and hide your money. A shady, rundown place was perfect. 

Through your work, you’d met some people. One of those being Adrian Toomes, aka, “The Vulture”. The guy had found out about you through a client of yours, and had apparently liked your products. He’d called you up on one of your  phones (you had several cells, to as to not be tracked), and asked for your help on a project of his. You’d heard of him, and knew he was a reliable guy in the underworld, so you agreed to meet him and see what you could do. Afterall, this guy had connections, which were invaluable in this business.

Turned out, the two of you worked really well together. He didn’t look down on you because of your age or treat you like a little kid. At the same time, he gave you space to work and listened to you. After a few more collaborations, you asked to move your tools into his warehouse, as your apartment wasn’t such a good workspace. He smiled and agreed. 

Adrian, or as you liked to call him “Vultch” was good to you. He would happen to bring extra food in his meals and offer you some. He’d even gotten you a new power drill for Christmas. He knew you were an orphan, and knew you lived on your own, but never pushed for details, which you were grateful for. He was like a father-figure, or at least a caring uncle.

When you met his daughter at school, you actually didn’t know who she was at first. Their last name was the same, but you figured that was probably just a coincidence. As a quiet kid who liked books and formulas more than most people, you didn’t really pay the popular pretty girl much mind.

That was, until you both were grouped together for a partner project. She offered to drive you over to her house after school, which you quietly agreed to.

You two started talking on the way there, and you realized that Liz was actually incredibly intelligent and not at all like the stereotypical popular kid. By the time you reached the Toomes residence, you guys were making horrible math puns.

“Well, we’re here! My mom and dad should be home, but don’t let them scare you. They’re overly affectionate and embarrassing, like every other parent. Come on!”

Liz opened the front door, her mother coming down the stairs with laundry immediately greeting you both. 

“Lizzie! You’re home! And who is this sweetie?” The woman asked her daughter.

“Mom! This is (Y/n). They’re my partner for a class project.”

You slowly raised your hand for a shake. “Hello, Mrs. Toomes. It’s nice to meet you.”

She smiled and shook your hand. “Nice to meet you too, sweetie.”

Suddenly, a voice came from the kitchen. A very familiar voice...

“Honey? Is that Lizzie?” 

Your eyes widened when you saw Liz’s dad come out from the kitchen, bowl of chips in hand.

When the Vulture’s eyes landed on you, he looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment, before shaking it off.

You knew better than to say anything about what you did for a living, and knew that other people in the business had lives outside of arms deals and engineering illegal weapons. You just never thought that Adrian would be Liz’s dad.

You shook your head lightly and stuck out your hand. “Hello Mr. Toomes. I’m (Y/n). Liz and I were partnered for a school project, so I hope you don’t mind my staying here to work on it.”

Adrian lightly smiled and shook your hand firmly. “Good to meet you (Y/n). As long as you two don’t cause any explosions or fires, your welcome to come on in.”

That was the start of an odd but fun relationship with the Toomes family.

Timeskip~

God, you hated superheroes. One minute, you were working with Vultch’s team on a new upgrade to the suit, and the next, you’re hearing of his arrest and trial. You went to the trial to say goodbye to him, holding back the tears. He gave you a warning to run. You promised you would soon.

At school, you hugged Liz goodbye, heartbroken, as she was like a sister to you.

You saw your friend Peter talking to her as she left. You wondered what he said to make her look even sadder.

You packed up what few belongings you had. Adrian had asked you to blow up the warehouse, so that your fingerprints wouldn’t be found. You did as asked via remote from 1/2 mile away.

You took out all the money that you kept underneath a loose floorboard and stuffed it in a backpack, covering the cash with your clothes and personal items.

You bought a ticket for a train heading out of the city, and from there, a bus that was headed towards Florida. You planned to get off in Tennessee so that no one who follow you.

That night, as you waited for the train to come, you heard your name being called. You looked around, the station nearly devoid of other people except one guy with air-pods in and a lady on a phone call

“(Y/n)! (Y/N)! WAIT!” 

You then turned around, seeing Peter running towards you. What the Hell was he doing here?

“Peter, what ar-”

“I know.”

You froze. What?

“What do you mean? What are you talking about Pete?”

“I know you worked with Toomes on creating illegal weapons. I know that you knew who he was.”

You tried acting dumb. “What? Peter, you know me. I w-”

He stared at you with a serious expression that you’d never seen on him.

“You’re right. I do know you. I know you’re a genius with mechanical and electrical engineering. I know you live alone in an apartment that you pay for, which no highschooler could make enough to do, especially if they went to our school, which has a high tuition. You’ve also never talked about your job. I’m not an idiot (Y/n). You have 2 choices, either turn yourself in, or come with me and we can see about putting your skills towards helping others.”

You sighed as you walked towards your friend. “That’s the thing about you Peter. You’ve never been an idiot. I liked that about you. If only you had been just a little less observant.” You said as you heard the train coming

You hugged Peter, making sure you were out of sight from any cameras. He was about to return the gesture, when you stuck a needle into his arm. 

“Wai-”

You whispered, “I’m truly sorry Petey, but I don’t think either of those options is for me. This stuff will wear off in about an hour. I’ll call Ned to come pick you up. I really am sorry, Peter. Goodbye. Maybe someday, we’ll see each other again.”

With that, you slung Peter’s arm over your shoulder, making it look like you were helping a drunk friend. You placed him on a bench before calling Ned, saying Peter passed out from a fight and was at the train station.

You boarded the train with your backpack and sighed as the train slowly started  moving. You looked behind you at Peter’s slumping body on the bench and at the New York City skyline. 

Man were you going to miss this place.

Maybe one day, when it was safe again, you’d be able to come back...

THE END

A/N: Hey! If you made it this far, THANK YOU for reading! 

[needdatbag]

Drinking You/II

Notes: Soooo....Here’s part 2..Thanx for the notes guyssss <3 ♥

Summary: You encounter a stranger on your way back from the grocery shop and everything about him pulls you in.

Pairings: Eren Yeager x Reader; Various pairings eventually

Warnings: NSFW(not today tho); mentions of smoking. 

>

Part II

’’Kid….Am I not interesting enough for your small, forgetful brain?’’ asked Levi from his desk, his grey eyes expressing the dissatisfaction he had about your mistake.

THE FILE. The Eren Yeager file. The file he stole from your bag after he finished...well...screwing you. To say that you were upset about the fact that you were used as a mere excuse for theft was an understatement. You were pissed as hell.

But your boss came first, as his death glare made you snap out of your one sided grudge with the memory of the charming terrorist you encountered. It was definitely wrong and probably a bad move but you couldn’t tell Levi what happened. So….you lied.

’’For the 27th time, I am so sorry that I ‘accidentally’ threw an important file into the shredder..I was cleaning my desk and I wasn’t paying attention.’’ you sounded honest but a little mechanical as you said the same excuse for awhile now.

Levi raised one of his brows at your nonchalance but sighed and said:

’’At least you didn't lose it. That would have been a big ass problem.’’

You clenched your fist behind your back. This was not ending well for you.

’’Please..I’m not that idiotic.’’ somehow your tone didn’t betray you but a small voice in your mind retorted immediately, ‘You are more than idiotic and you’re definetley screwed.’. You gulped.

A soft knock interrupted the beginning of your inner mental breakdown. Armin entered Levi’s office carrying a stack of files in one arm and holding what looked like a coffee cup in the other. He placed the files on Levi’s desk and handed him the cup. You suddenly blurted out your first thought.

’’But you don’t drink coffee.’’

Levi’s death glare almost made you take a step back. Well, maybe Eren Yeager took more than the file...he stole your brain too as you suddenly find yourself incapable of thinking. You want to slap a hand over your mouth. What the hell was wrong with you lately?

Armin watched you curiously for a moment. You feared his intuition, he was too sharp sometimes and that made you anxious in the current situation, but you tried to play it off anyway.

’’Ahem, yes, I heard it from Mrs. Zoe? Ha, am I wrong ?’’ you laughed awkwardly at the end of your sentence.

Armin shook his head, his short blonde hair hitting his face in the process. ’’That is right. As expected of you, Y/N, your mind always picks up the smallest details. The Captain drinks tea. I got a few extra cups to go, just 10 minutes ago. You can help yourself from the kitchen...Though I’m pretty sure you love coffee more.’’ he said while giving you a kind, small smile. You smiled back trying not to break eye contact.

‘You might be my best friend’s soulmate.’

You cringed internally. Not because you didn't find Armin attractive, because you thought the boy could even model if he wanted to, but because of what happened later after Eren said that phrase. You shook your head trying to banish the image of a long haired, 6ft man on top of your naked body. ‘Not the time, not the time.’

You wondered what Armin would think about the fact that you got to meet his best friend before he did. As you found out today, turns out they have not met in more than a year. You felt guilty for keeping your mouth shut. But it seemed like the best course of action. You needed to act solo for a while.

In a safe way, of course.

Levi motioned for Armin to leave but as he got closer to the door you saw his eyes discreetly peering at your neck and then at your face. Your hair was covering most of your hickeys but Armin might have noticed something anyway.

Once he left the room, Levi got up from his seat and approached the window.

He was wearing a plain white dress shirt and black pants with a pair of dark brown leather shoes. He was not going on the field today, you could tell that much because of his outfit. He was in his thirties now but his looks still caused many casualties between the female officers, especially the MPs who were more than enthusiastic when Levi passed them by. He was one of the best at his job and his handsome face was obviously a bonus.

You always said it was the mix between his good looks and his cold attitude that was pulling people in, but he was far from an unfeeling person. He usually cared too much about everything. Seeming distant was just his way of preserving himself. People were impressed just by hearing stories about him. But most of them had no idea how much he suffered. You knew. Not that he liked that. He never liked the fact that fate seemed to always make you meet again and again.

The first time, as his student when he was teaching in highschool. The second time as his blind date, Hange’s courtesy. The third time as the new member of his team, fate’s courtesy this time.

Each time you look at him you remember how selfish you’ve always been. You hate the thought but you know and can’t deny the fact that one way or another you always became a burden for the man sitting right across you. Right from the start.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- ’’Sir, is she worth it?’’ an eighteen years old you asked a younger Levi who was just exiting through the school’s gates. As he whipped his head back to match the voice to the person, his stern look softened just a bit. It was late and you were supposed to be home long ago. Instead you were only leaving now, a bag full of books in your right hand. You always stayed in the library until the school closed. You didn’t want to go home anyway.

’’That’s not an ideal question to ask about your sister, is it, brat?’’

You started laughing. He knew better than to refer to his fiance as your sister. You hated the bitch and there was no bond whatsoever between the two of you. She was just the awful daughter of the amazing woman who took you in after your parents kicked you out.

’’Can you give me a ride home, sir? I am afraid my frail arms are unable to carry these books until I reach the nearest bus stop.’’ you said in a dramatic tone while Levi just massaged his temples out of frustration but made a gesture towards his car anyway.

You smiled at him as you entered the car. He was driving in silence, without any radio music in the background, without any small talk. You wanted to tell him so many things, you wanted to express your indignation regarding the fact that your ‘sister’ was cheating on him and using him as an alibi so her mother won’t ever suspect she’s dating one of the biggest drug dealers in the region, you wanted to complain about the fact that he wasted his good heart on someone who wronged him before, you wanted to ask him why was he clinging to unhappiness so desperately. You could never understand. Even as you watched as the road light travelled on his face while he drove, you could only think about how well he managed to hide his pain. People didn’t notice that he was alone most of the time. Or that he rarely smiled.

It made you sad, it made you think of a part of yourself. Except you constantly fought for your right at happiness even if sadness never left your side. No matter how annoying that made you, you still kept going. But he didn’t even seem like he tried. He looked like the loneliest person on earth and he hid it so well that if you said what you thought out loud, people would just think you're looking into it too much.

You reached your house and his car stopped. Somehow, only now you noticed the pleasant smell inside the car. It smelled like fruity tea-bags which you assumed came from a spare ’stash’ he had somewhere around. You smiled. He always drinks tea during the breaks. It makes him look so refined too. Without any intention you giggled. He noticed and raised a brow, asking:

’’What makes you so happy that you’re hesitating to get out of my car? Hm? Move it, you didn’t even had dinner yet.’’

You turned your whole body towards him while you spoke in an excited manner.

’’I was thinking about you, sir. The way you enjoy your tea during breaks and how that’s the most happy I saw you since I came to this school.’’

With a confused look on his face he tilted his head but let you speak nonetheless. Your voice became softer while you looked down, your hair falling over your face.

’’You see, I believe that happiness can only come from being honest with yourself. Lie to the world, lie to people but if you lie to yourself you’ll just tint your soul to the point even the tea you love so much won’t taste the same anymore.’’

Levi’s eyes widened slightly. He knew you were outspoken and that sometimes you caused trouble because you meddled in things that were none of your business and you spoke way too much but he couldn’t deny the way you arranged your words. He knew you had a kind heart and that you were trying to reach his. He almost wanted to smile. ‘Stupid kid.’

He didn't say anything as you exited the car but watched you until you entered the house. You were right, he knew he was cheated on, he knew he was used but there was another side to his truth too. He used the idea of a fiance to run away from both his past and future.

But looking at you who had nothing but wanted everything, he thought that maybe, just maybe...he became a coward. And he always hated cowards.

As you watched him drive away, that was the last time you met him as a teacher, as he would lose his job in two weeks due to murder acusations regarding his fiance. Your ‘sister’.

You’d hear from your classmates how a tall, blonde detective cuffed him in front of the whole school while he put up a fight.

Then he would be gone and you wouldn't hear anything about him for a few years. -------------------------------------------------

’’So, care to explain why you are so distracted today?’’ he was gazing outside the window but you couldn’t help notice the way his voice was softer now that you were alone again.

’’I was unable to rest well last night, however you don’t need to worry, sir. I’ll snap back as soon as I drink some coffee, just as Armin suggested.’’

Another lie. You actually slept like a baby because you were so exhausted. The bed felt so warm and the man next to you smelt so good that you felt like you were floating. Only your dumb ass could sleep so relaxed next to a criminal.

You pondered before asking the next question.

’’What type of person used to be.....Eren Yeager?’’

His name sounded so different from your mouth or maybe that was your own perception. You recognised a little stinginess in your tone.

You pulled out your phone and started a voice recording. You were allowed to do so when it came to declarations. You were a profiler afterall. You needed to go over conversations and details, multiple times to complete your work.

Levi turned away from the window and took a few steps closer to you. His expression looked indifferent but you knew better. There was regret mixed in his feelings.

’’That brat wasn’t the most talented nor the smartest agent around, I actually often thought he was more of an idiot than most people I knew..’’

You stopped yourself from laughing. ’Unprofessional...Don’t do it. Let him continue.’

’’He was too much of a hot head for his own good but he listened to my orders and tried to look at things from a more mature perspective, perhaps we might have asked too much from him. Our department was in trouble and we lost more people than you could count, in a very short amount of time. We had an operation that lasted for more than 2 years. Eren was the key to that operation. Everything circled around him. We wanted to find answers so badly, we sacrificed so much that we never saw the fact that we had spies among us and the whole operation became more than a national issue. You said you read the file before you shredded it, right? I also mentioned it in the meeting before. You know what’s the issue I’m talking about, right?’’

Your breathing becomes more alert and a bitter feeling takes over your heart. Memories from your distant childhood try to resurface but you push them away. The past always catches up.

Your voice becomes more serious when you answer.

’’After 14 years of peace we might have another war with the neighbour nation, Marley, is that right?’’

Silence fills the room as Levi only nods. He seems lost in his own mind for a while and you can only guess what he might be thinking about. He was a soldier back then and this whole deal pissed him off.

’’Eren betrayed us. No warning, just a vague explanation. He almost wiped out their whole capital, one of the biggest cities in Marley, he killed VERY important people and now we are threatened left and right. This dumbass is very close to starting the biggest international conflict this country ever faced. Can’t believe that brat had the nerve to come back and now he’s under our jurisdiction again. We have to catch him and fast. Everyone you’ll ask will say he changed, but I always knew he had it in him. He might just destroy the world...no one can cage him. He’s that type of monster.’’

Your body suddenly felt numb, a weird sense of fear trying to take over you. His face, his expressions, everything flashed in your mind repeatedly, pieces of the conversation you had, the way he touched you, the note he left. For the first time in a very long time, you felt lost in translation.

Things were not adding up. Someone was wrong here. Something was definitely missing. You paused the recording and exhaled while rubbing your temples.

’’This should not be handled by a departament full of people that know him. Someone must really want to bury the Survey unit in shit.’’

A humourless laugh escaped your mouth.

’’Sorry Levi, you always hated when I cursed. Forgot about that.’’  you said, a sad look plastered on your face remembering many of the arguments you two had mostly because of you.

He frowned and took another step closer to you, unconsciously wanting to pat your head but you were already heading for the door. He snapped out of it and looked at his hand. He got carried away for a second, wanting to comfort you.

’’I guess you’ll always have a soft spot for me, sir...but we shouldn’t be very comfortable around each other. You were always the better man and I was always the wicked little girl.’’

’’L/N..’’

You exited his office. ‘Unfortunately, I’m still the same.’ you thought while walking to your desk and getting ready to work on the details of some cases that became piled up in the last week.

As you sat down and flipped through various lists of criminals, you tried to silence your mind. Sometimes your mental state was just like a furious sea storm. You have the tendency to drown in your own dark and poisonous thoughts until your identity becomes foggy. But work was a great distraction and thankfully...you sure had plenty of it. So you rolled up your sleeves, took a sip of the coffee Armin put on your desk (somehow the fact that he did sweet gestures like this made you very warm inside) and started working on your reports ignoring intentionally a certain criminal whose face you really didn’t wanna see again today, not on a screen, not printed...you'll deal with the Yeager case at home. You had to catch up on your work anyway.

Right? You weren’t running away or anything...right?

People around you became colorful shadows that moved around exiting or entering the headquarters while you were scribbling furiously details about different cases. When your phone rang, an hour before the end of your shift, you almost jumped out of your chair. You looked around and realised everyone was out and you were the only one left. Probably investigating, or some kind of emergency.

On the screen of your phone Jean’s face was popping up with the incoming call. When he first gave you his contact number he took a selfie of himself because he thought he looked ‘cool’ in that moment and you ‘had to have his handsomeness on your phone’, his words not yours. You rolled your eyes at the memory.

’’ ‘Sup Kirschtein? I’m busy and I swear to God if you call me ‘cause you're bored while being on some stakeout I will…’’ He burst into laughter and answered: ’’Calm down Y/N, I only did that like five or six times and you might’ve even liked it, don’t lie to me now.’’ he said in a charming yet joking voice and you couldn’t help but smile. He was one of the people who could easily put you in a good mood. ’’Wanna get out to get some ‘’fresh air’’ on the roof? It turns out we sorted out what we had to do sooner than expected….well sooner than I thought. That damn Floch will kill me one day...His attitude might just get us both killed.’’

Of course he wanted to smoke and complain about his partner, Floch. Jean didn’t seem like the type to think a lot, especially when you first got to meet him. He’s loud, a little bit of a bragger and has lots of opinions on anything but he was an exceptionally capable man in times of crises. You witnessed that a few times but you also heard it from Sasha: ’’Marco, Jean’s ex-partner, always said that Jean was the one most capable of leading us out of trouble and Marco’s intuition about people was as good as my instincts about danger. He knew what he was saying.’’

When you reached the roof, Jean was already smoking while looking at the red sky. The sun was almost gone. He looked lost in thought, barely noticing you until he heard the sound of your lighter. You took a long puff and exhaled. For some reason you felt exhausted and even if the silence somehow pleased you, it felt unlike Jean. He always liked to talk a lot around you, your smoking breaks being full of gossiping. It was almost always the two of you, given the fact that you and him were the only smokers in the department. You had a hunch that Armin smoked too but only when he was truly bothered by something, Connie tried it once and said he liked it but you knew he lied, Sasha said she didn't like the taste(did not surprise you at all there) and Mikasa thought it was stupid and unhealthy and you honestly agreed.

’’Why do you smoke, Jean?’’ you asked out of the blue. You realised you never asked him that. For some reason the image of Eren staring at you while holding his pack of cigarettes in one hand flashed in your mind. You took another inhale of smoke trying to push the image away. Jean didn’t respond immediately but when his eyes fixed on the cigarette he was holding.

’’Marco used to smoke here. It was so unlike him. He really didn’t seem like the type and he tried to hide it all the time...he was even carrying perfume around.’’ he said and let out a short bitter laugh. For some reason he placed a hand on his face trying to hide his expression. ’’I started smoking after he died. I guess..well fuck...I miss being with my friend. When I’m holding this cigarette it feels as if he’s still here. As if I could …’’ he hesitated before continuing,’’....ask him for advice about what I should do..’’

You got closer to him and bumped your shoulder into his in a friendly manner. He dropped his hand from his face and looked at you. You could see he was emotionally drained but you flashed him a cheerful smile even though you felt like shit as well. You looked up at the now, darker sky and said in a loud voice:

’’By smoking this cigarette I dare ask the amazing Marco Bott from heaven to lend me some of his wisdom. Please let me give our friend here a good answer to the question troubling his, not so young anymore, soul.’’

’’I’m only a year older than you, Y/N.’’ he said, his voice a little amused now. You rolled your eyes.

’’You’re an old soul, Jean. My shift will be over soon so spit it out...What’s bothering yo-’’

’’Did you study Eren’s file?’’ he asked out of the blue. You sighed and took another cigarette out and placed it in your mouth.

’’Not yet. Tonight I plan on looking over it. Why? Wanna tell me something about him that might help me in writing his profile?’’

Jean shook his head and took a puff out of his cigarette.

’’Once you look over it, after you read our statements  about him that are also included there, before writing any report, I want you to tell me something that might help me.’’ you raised a brow in confusion but he wasn’t looking at you anymore. He was staring straight ahead at the city covered in the red light of the sunset.

’’Who do you think will hesitate when shooting? Us or Eren ?’’

You ran a hand through your hair and looked at the city too. As the night approached, it suddenly looked more dangerous.

‘Who indeed…?’ . . . . . Before leaving you stopped by Hange’s office to drop some of the work you completed for the day. Moblit, her assistant, the guy who you knew for a fact was the only one besides Levi to be able to control your workaholic Director, was trying to force feed her some pizza while she insisted that she had to look over some DNA samples found at a random crime scene.

’’M’am, I know you worked in the lab for most of your life but now you should be dealing only with the work Erwin had to do when he had your position. He didn't try to be in ten places at once! Come on, eat this slice. You didn't eat all day! Do I really have to message Levi right now? You know he always gets pissed when you act like this.’’

When Hange noticed you at the door she took the opportunity and sprinted to the lab leaving a stressed Moblit behind who was still holding a pizza slice in his right hand staring at you in disbelief . Poor man. You placed your work on Hange’s desk and eyed Moblit and then the pizza. You smiled like a cunning, old, hungry dog.

’’I’ll call The Captain for you if you give me two slices of that pizza. Deal?’’ Moblit sighed. ’’Deal.’’

So there you were now, walking out of the building towards your car, while happily munching on your pizza slice. You planned on eating the other one at home, later, if you’d get hungry while working late. You entered your car and threw your stuff on the passenger seat. You started the engine and drove home while listening to the radio. Weirdly enough there was a radio podcast about astrology. You found it weird because this type of podcast would usually be broadcast in the morning. When you heard your zodiac sign being mentioned you couldn’t help but pay a little attention. You were curious afterall and maybe some luck was ahead of you. ’You never know.’

’’As I said John, the (your zodiac) sign should really be careful about what they say and do...The ruler of divine punishment, Jupiter seems to have entered a rare conjunction. The past is catching up to them and it looks like they can’t run away from certain confrontations anymore. It could be with someone else or maybe with themselves. Also, it would be especially good to avoid Fire Signs around this time for (your zodiac), as all three, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are chaos bringers in this Jupiter conjunction. So you heard me? Don’t try to dig into anything too much these days...You might just bury yourself.’’

You started laughing.

’’Pfft, yeah right... What a load of crap.’’ you said displeased as you turn off the radio.

You finally reach home. After you park and lock your car you enter your apartment building and as always you take the elevator, too lazy to drag your tired body on the stairs. You only think about soaking yourself in a warm bath as soon as possible. You might even use the new bubble bath stuff you got last week. ’Yeah, I think I will do just that. My body aches everywhere anyway, I need some relaxation.’

So immediately after you unlocked your door, you dropped your stuff, and went straight to the bathroom to turn on the warm water. Hell, you might’ve even skipped on the way as you were so happy to finally just have a moment of forgetting everything about anything and just indulge in the warmth and the nice smell of a warm bath.

So happy that you didn’t even bother to turn on the light in the living room.

Because if you did, you would have noticed Eren Yeager, sitting on your couch with a gun by his side.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preview:

You looked at Eren. You looked at the gun. You looked at the gun. You looked at Eren.

There were many things you wanted to say in that moment but strangely enough a rather unusual question was bothering you more than anything.

’’You never mentioned your birthday,’’ you said not believing you were actually asking this out of all things, ’’not that you forgot to mention things like your name or the fact that you’re right now, probably the most wanted criminal in the...world ...ha ha ....but who keeps track, am I right?’’ you laughed nervously.

’’My birthday..?’’ he asked while watching you suspiciously but calm at the same time. ’’Why?’’

You kept your distance. Your position was stiff and you couldn’t help but be surprised that he was right in front of you. In your house ...again...in less than 24h. Why in Isayama’s name was he here?

’’Nothing important really...Just something silly.’’ again, you let out a nervous laugh. You were in trouble and you didn’t have your fucking gun on you and your phone was in the bag.

Eren let out a sigh and shook his head.

’’Hm, shouldn’t you, miss profiler, know that about me already?’’ He placed his hands behind his head and leaned deeper on one of the back pillows. His position was relaxed but something told you to not risk going for the gun. It might even be a trap anyway.

’’March, 30.’’ he surprisingly answered after a short silence.

‘March...Weren’t Pisces in March? Nah, this man ain’t no Pisces...Too unhinged...What’s next...Oh.’ you closed your eyes in frustration, ’... Aries.’

’’Great, freaking Fire Sign. Of course you are.'’

You weren’t sure if you should listen to that type of radio podcast more often or 

never again.

when you find out your signs are not the greatest match ever 

[sub-hoshi-enthusiast]

Can I request a sub Youngk with fem dom reader where is jealous over the fact that his crush and best friend flirts with his friends but when reader finds out about his crush she ends up fucking him👀 I would like something including lot of teasing, edging and pegging please💕 Love your work!♡

Here you go! I had to rewrite this so many times because I kept getting into the story part of it and making it way too long. It's still pretty long but it's a lot shorter than it could have been.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: sub!Younghyun, fem!dom!reader, pegging, edging, bratty!Younghyun, degradation, fingering, use of toys (vibrator and cockring), and bondage.

Jealous?

Younghyun was really starting to regret introducing you to his friends. For a quick backstory, you and Younghyun had been best friends since birth- seeing as your parents were friends before you it was practically predestined. You had both been busy since he debuted and you started college, but the both of you still managed to keep in contact. Since he was so busy, you had never been introduced to his bandmates, which you found a little unfair since they were also close friends of his. You had finally graduated and got a small job at this cute coffee shop near your apartment. With all the new freetime you had, not needing to worry about deadlines or upcoming finals, you decided to visit the Day6 dorms once you had gotten Younghyun's permission. 

     After you had met everyone, you had taken an immediate liking to Dowoon. He was just absolutely adorable, getting flustered every time you spoke to him. Now, you normally didn't flirt with random people you had just met, but you decided this time you would definitely make an exception. All throughout the night, you would give the youngest random compliments, smiling as he stuttered and blushed, trying his hardest not to look you in the eyes. You would cuddle up to him and leave small, lingering touches on his arm. Your favorite thing to do, however, was lean over him to grab something, making him tense up when you had sat back up and looked him in the eyes. All of his reactions were so adorable, they made you internally squeal. 

     Younghyun, however, was less than impressed with your displays of affection. He glared at you from his seat as you laughed at a random joke Dowoon had told, your hand lingering on his bicep for far too long in his opinion. The two of you had gone to the kitchen, getting refills for the rest of the boys as Jae and Wonpil were up against each other in an intense game of Mario Kart. Originally it was just supposed to be Dowoon, but you had insisted on going with him. Younghyun snapped his head over to Sungjin as he heard him chuckle from beside him.

     "What's so funny?" Sungjin just shook his head with another laugh at his question. 

     "Nothing, nothing… Those two seem to be getting pretty close, don't they?"

     "Don't remind me." Younghyun scoffed, turning back to look at you, smushed up against a very flustered Dowoon. He rolled his eyes, turning back to look at a smirking Sungjin. "Seriously, what's your problem?" Sungjin sat silently for a minute, trying to think of a gentle way to phrase his statement.

     "It's just that- to me- it looks like you might like her." Younghyun's cheeks dusted with a light pink as he chose to look at the t.v.

      "O-of course I like her. She's my best friend, i-it would be weird if I didn't like her." Sungjin rolled his eyes at the younger's stubbornness.

     "You know that's not what I meant." The conversation ended there as you and Dowoon returned from the kitchen with drinks just in time to see Wonpil speed past the finish line a few seconds ahead of Jae. The night continued this way for a while, though you didn't fail to notice your best friend's strange behavior. The next time you all ran low on snacks, you dragged Younghyun to the kitchen with you. 

     "Okay, what's the deal with you?" You asked him, obviously getting annoyed. He rolled his eyes, pushing past you to get some chips from the pantry. 

     "Nothing. Why do you care anyway?" You grabbed his arm and spun him around, forcing him to look at you. 

     "Why do I care? You're my best friend, and I want to know what's wrong." He scoffed, jerking his arm out of your grip.

     "Best friend, huh? I thought that spot had been taken by your precious Dowoon." You tilted your head at him. "Oh wait, I'm sorry, you must want him to be your boyfriend! So sorry for the misunderstanding." He said in the most sarcastic voice you have ever heard him use. 

     "Is that what all this is about? You're jealous of Dowoon?" His cheeks turned pink and he scrunched up his nose.

     "I'm not jealous of Dowoon. Go and fuck him for all I care- though that was probably what you were planning to do once everyone fell asleep, right?" Your face flushed red in anger. As he tried to walk past you, you grabbed his hips and slammed him against the counter, trapping him between your arms. You heard him gulp as he looked down at you, his face turning a bright shade of red. 

     "I don't like Dowoon, alright. I don't care if you believe me or not, but I don't like him. So if you could stop being a little fucking brat now, that would be great." You leaned closer, lowering your voice so the other boys wouldn't hear you. You heard Younghyun's breathing speed up as he looked at everything but you, trying to push you away by your shoulders.

     "I-I'm not a brat." He mumbled under his breath, looking away from you. You scoffed.

     "Bullshit. What you're doing is being a brat, and I don't like brats." Younghyun bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes, squeezing your shoulders at the low growl that was in your voice. You raised your eyebrow, looking him up and down. You smirked as you noticed the slowly rising tent in his pants. You laughed, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at you. "Are you getting off on this?" He snapped his eyes open, embarrassed, and started pushing you away again. You backed up, still smirking at him as he scrambled to collect the snacks he had gotten from the pantry.

     "N-no! J-just- Just go back to flirting with Dowoon or something." He told you with a glare as he made his way back to the living room. You felt bad as you saw him sit down with a huff- maybe you had gone too far.

     The truth was, Younghyun had had a crush on you for years. He couldn't exactly pinpoint when he had fallen for you, but he fell hard. Seeing you flirt with Dowoon had made him jealous, even if he wouldn't admit it. It wasn't fair to him; he had known you all his life, and Dowoon knows you for a few hours and you're all over him. That was the main reason he didn't want to introduce you to his members. He knew your type, and he knew someone like Dowoon fit your exact description of the 'perfect boyfriend' you had described to him in your freshman year of highschool. Anyone in his position would have been jealous.

     You continued to pay attention to Younghyun for the rest of the night, who in turn would ignore you every chance he got. You stopped flirting with Dowoon, which the young boy seemed relieved about. After you demolished Jae in another round of Mario Kart, you looked at the clock, surprised at how late it was. You ruffled Jae's hair as he pouted, continuing to claim you had somehow cheated. You stood up and stretched before telling the boys you should be heading home. You smirked as you looked at Younghyun, pulling him out of his seat. He had been the one to drive you here and he would be driving you back home, so he was going to be forced to sit in a car with you for 15 minutes. You bid the boys farewell, dragging a reluctant Younghyun out of the dorm. 

     You hopped in the front seat, smiling brightly over to your best friend. He didn't even look at you as he started up the car and got onto the road. Your smile faltered as you looked forward, awkward silence filling the air. You glanced at the radio with a smile. You two would always bond over music, so maybe music would help him open back up to you. You reached to turn on the radio, but pulled away once you saw him glare at you from the corner of his eye. Okay, maybe you had gone a little too far in the kitchen. You looked out the window, sinking into your seat. 

     He silently pulled into your driveway, staring out the window once he parked as he waited for you to exit the car. You sighed, opening the car door before hesitating. A determined look set on your face as you slammed the door closed again, turning to look at Younghyun. He turned to you, confused as he saw the determination in your eyes. God he hated how attractive your stubbornness was.

     "What the hell is your problem?" You asked, glaring at him as he turned away from you again. He rested his elbow on the window, resting his face in his palm.

     "Nothing." He mumbled from behind his hand.

     "Don't give me that bullshit. First of all, you've just been glaring at me everytime I breathe near Dowoon, and then you just straight up ignore me. You didn't even let me turn on the radio. So I want an actual answer- what's wrong." He pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out an aggravated sigh. He turned to look at you with a quick flash of anger in his eyes.

     "Fine. You wanna talk, let's talk. Why were you all over Dowoon today." You sat silently in front of him, a look of disbelief on your face.

     "Are you serious?! This is what you're mad about?" His glare didn't falter as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Oh my god- I told you already! I don't like him or anything! I flirted with him because he got flustered easily!" He scoffed.

     "Oh please, you and I both know that he's your ideal type. There had to have been something more to it." It was your turn to scoff.

     "Yes, Younghyun, I was just so desperate for sex that I decided to try and go after Dowoon, a random boy I have just met. That was the entire reason I wanted to visit your friends- I was just looking for a dick to sit on." He glared at you as you continued to rant to him, using the most sarcastic voice you could muster. He suddenly leaned over, grabbing your face and pressing his mouth to yours. You gasped at the feeling of his lips on yours before you grabbed the back of his head, pulling him closer to you. The kiss was a heated mess of teeth and tongue. Your tongues were in a very aggressive fight for dominance, though you eventually overpowered him, your tongue exploring it's new territory. He pulled away first, gasping for air with swollen lips and your hand still resting on the back of his head. "Out of the car, now." 

     A shiver ran down his spine as he flung open his car door, meeting you by your front door once you had done the same. You slammed him against your wall as soon as you closed and locked your door, throwing your keys into your house, not caring where they landed. You bit down on his lip, making him groan into your mouth before you shoved your tongue into his. You pushed his shirt up his stomach, giving him the hint to take it off. He complied, throwing it in the same direction you threw your keys before pushing your jacket off your shoulders, pulling your shirt off soon after. You grabbed his wrist, pulling him to the bedroom. He slapped your ass before you entered, making you yelp before you threw him to the bed. Your legs sat on either side of his hips as you struggled to pin his arms above his head.

     "Stop moving, you're just gonna make this harder for yourself." He looked into your eyes with a glare, bucking his hips up to grind his hard on into you. You groaned but glared at him, finally managing to pin his wrists above his head. "I said," he went rigid as he heard a familiar click and felt something secure around one of his wrists, "stay still." You growled, cuffing his hands to the headboard. Younghyun thrashed around, trying to escape the metal cuffs you secured around his wrists. You glared at him and slapped his clothed thigh, making him yelp and stop his movements. "I'm not going to say it again." He glared back at you, opening his mouth to fight back before groaning as you palmed his erection through his jeans. He bucked his hips up into your hand, making you pull it away. He looked up at you as you shook your head in disappointment. "I told you, it would make this a whole lot easier if you listened to me." You said before pulling down his pants and boxers, leaving him fully exposed in front of you. He gave a short chuckle.

     "Oh please. I could have you screaming my name in seconds, babygirl. So just take these stupid things off and I can fuck you better that anyone ever could." You ignored him as you walked to your closet, retrieving your box of toys. You set the box on the bedside table digging around for a certain object. You smirked as you pulled out a vibrator from the box, holding it up so Younghyun could see it. He gulped as he saw you think for a second before pulling out a cockring as well. He held back a whine, refusing to sound submissive in front of you. You sat yourself between his legs, grabbing his dick and sliding the cockring onto him. He grunted, glaring at you as you reached over and grabbed the vibrator. You turned back to him with a sickeningly sweet smile.

     "Now, I'm giving you one more chance to be a good little boy for me, alright?" He leaned up with a smirk.

     "Fuck. You." You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath before smiling at him again. 

     "Alright, suit yourself." With that you turned on the vibrator to its lowest setting, pressing it against the underside of the head of his dick. He gasped loudly at the sudden pleasure, his hips bucking into the toy as he grunted beneath you. You moved the toy up and down the shaft of his cock, sometimes stopping to press it against his balls or his tip. He had only been letting out deep grunts and groans, an occasion curse leaving his lips. His dick started twitching more and more, leaking precum as he got closer to his release. He let out an almost inaudible whine as the cockring stopped his climax, making you smirk at him as he started kicking his legs.

     "G-get this damn t-thing off of me- f-fuck." You let out a hum, before shaking your head with a dark chuckle as you looked into his eyes.

     "You don't tell me what to do. You're completely under my control- like my own personal fucktoy. I can do whatever I want with you." He bit his lip, holding back his moan as you treated him like nothing. You raised your eyebrow, smirking at him. "Oh? Do you like being my fucktoy?" You let out a scoff mixed with a laugh. "You're just a filthy little slut, aren't you?" He let out a loud groan, throwing his head back as you turned up the vibrations on his cock. You thought for a second before grabbing your bottle of lube from the bedside table, turning off the vibrator and laying it beside you before lubing up your fingers.

     "W-what are you doing?" You smirked, not answering his question as you turned the vibrator back on continuing to move it on his angry red tip. He squirmed, tensing up with a gasp as he felt your fingers at his hole. Your gaze softened as you saw the slight look of fear in his eyes.

     "Hey, relax. If you feel uncomfortable or it hurts at all you can tell me and I'll stop, alright baby?" He slowly nodded, relaxing his body so you could insert your fingers into him. You pressed the vibrator into him more, distracting him from the intrusion of your fingers. He let out a low groan as you moved your fingers inside him, testing the waters. You smirked and thrusted your fingers into him harder, curling them to search for his prostate. You knew you had found it when he let out his first moan of the night, his back arching off the bed. You smirked, abusing that spot as he tried to quiet the submissive noises spilling out of his mouth. You slipped your fingers out of him after a few minutes, smirking wider at the whine he let out. You removed the vibrator from his dick, lubing it up before turning up the vibrations and thrusting it into his fluttering hole. He let out a very loud, very high pitched whine as he curled his hands into fists above his head. 

     "See Younghyun? This is what good boys get. If you would have stopped being such a little slut, I would have let you come already." The glare in his eyes contrasted with the submissive whines and whimpers falling past his swollen lips. 

     "G-go f-fuck y- shit - yourself." You rolled your eyes taking off your pants and underwear, straddling his lap. He licked his lips, looking you up and down with lust blown eyes. You held his hips down, grinding your core into his hard cock. He threw his head back with a whimper, trying to grind his hips into yours but was stopped by your firm grip. After a few minutes of you grinding into him, he realized you weren't going to fuck him and started squirming and whimpering. The feeling of your lower lips so close to taking him in but not quite there mixed with the vibrator shoved in his ass made him come undone in no time, a dry orgasm washing over him because of the cockring on the base of his dick. He whimpered pitifully as he felt you come on his cock with a low groan. You sat there for a minute, regaining your strength before you climbed off of him, taking the vibrator out of him and turning it off. You smirked cruelly at the fucked out expression on his face as his rock hard cock twitched against his stomach. You heard him mumble something as he closed his eyes and squirmed under your gaze. You tilted your head, grabbing his hair, making him whine and look you in the eyes.

     "What was that slut? Speak up, I can't give you what you want if you don't talk to me." He let out another loud whimper, his eyes shining over with tears.

     "PLEASE! F-fuck- please! Please fuck me! I need to c-cum! Please master!" You smirked in victory- you had finally broken him. You gripped his hair tighter, leaning down to whisper in his ear.

     "Say it again." You growled, making him whimper.

     "Master! Please fuck me master! Y-your sluttly fucktoy needs to cum- please!" You groaned in his ear, letting go of his hair and turning around to grab your favorite toy. Younghyun moaned at the sight of the strap-on dangling from your fingers, licking his lips as you adjusted it on your hips. You kneeled between his legs, lightly brushing your fingers over his thighs as they settled around your hips. You lined the tip of the dildo up with his hole, teasing his entrance and smirking at his impatient whines and whimpers. You took the cockring off of him before slamming your hips forward, the sound of his loud moans and skin slapping skin echoing around the room as your hips repeatedly hit his ass. You held a bruising grip on his hips as you pounded into him, pulling him toward you every time you thrusted into him. "Please! Fuck- please let me t-touch you master! W-wanna touch you, please!" He sobbed out as you gripped his cock, massaging his tip with your palm. You leaned down, sucking and biting bright red marks down his neck and chest, purposefully ignoring his request. He kept whining, jerking his hands against their restraints as he begged you to let him touch you. Both of you looked up in surprise, you stopping your movements as you heard the sound of something breaking. You looked at his wrists, which were now laying on either side of his head after he broke the chains of the handcuffs. 

     "Fuck- you're so fucking desperate aren't you?" He nodded his head rapidly, gripping the pillow behind his head as he sobbed underneath you. "I dunno baby, do you really deserve it?" He whined, squeezing his eyes shut and letting tears roll down his cheeks as you rolled your hips into his one time. 

     "P-please! I-I'm sorry for acting like a b-brat earlier- just p-please let me touch you master!" You hummed pretending to think about it before you nibbled on his earlobe and began pounding into him again, making him moan loudly into your ear.

     "Go ahead baby, show master how good you feel." He moaned loudly, whimpering out a mantra of 'thank you's as you picked up your pace. His hands tangled themselves in your hair, tugging and pulling with every thrust you made. You groaned and buried your face into his neck, leaving more marks on the exposed skin. His cries of pleasure increased in pitch as you felt his dick twitch repeatedly in your grasp. He mumbled incoherently, barely managing to speak as he felt the knot forming in his belly ready to burst.

     "Fuck- AH! Cum! Ngh- Cumming!! S-shit- p-please!" You smirked against his skin, squeezing your hand around his leaking cock. He threw his head back, whining loudly as he waited for your permission to cum.

     "Cum for me baby, cum for your master." As soon as the words left your mouth, he came all over your hand and his lower stomach, drool seeping out of the corner of his mouth as tears dripped from his chin. You grabbed a tissue, quickly cleaning him up as he continued to sob beneath you. "Hey, baby, are you alright? I'm sorry if I went too rough on you, baby." You whispered as you cradled his head to your chest, letting him curl into you. He continued to sob in your hold, quieting down to sniffles after a few minutes.

     "I-I'm okay. Please don't leave." He whimpered, pulling you closer to him. You ran your fingers lightly through his hair. This must have been his first time submitting to someone- you had pushed too much on him too fast and he had fallen into subspace.

     "I'm not going to, baby. It's alright, I'm right here." His sniffles and whimpers died down as he slowly drifted to sleep in your embrace. You let out a loving sigh as you pushed his hair out of his face. You would just have to talk to Younghyun about this tomorrow.

[ephemerlskies]

in the stars tonight | pjm

⇢ pairing: jimin x reader

[other members - seokjin, taehyung, namjoon]

⇢ genre: series, ANGST, enemies to lovers au, actor!jimin, actor!oc, (eventual) fluff if you squint

⇢ word count: 8.4

⇢ genre: Landing a role that might launch your entire career as an actor had come with the most unpredictable and daunting circumstances: grappling with the tragic loss of your boyfriend, Namjoon, and co-starring in a film with the vexing yet enchanting (and famous), Park Jimin.

⇢ warnings: explicit language, themes of grief/loss, themes of depression, (many) mentions of death, mentions of driving under the influence (please stay safe!!), themes of alcoholism, themes of escapism, mentions of alcohol, mentions of marijuana, unhealthy coping mechanisms, lots of internal dialogue with one deceased boyfriend, arguing/bickering, seokjin being seokjin, eventual love triangle (ish) feud

♪ playlist: dynamite - bts, move! - niki, saint nobody - jessie reyez, through the night - iu, ilomilo - billie eilish, the truth untold - bts, slow dancing in the dark - joji ♪

╰ series index: 01 | 02 (coming soon)

a/n: i, and i cannot emphasize this enough, can't believe this came out of me.... it was just a lil idea in my head, but then it expanded into this entire story that was way too long to fit into a one shot. so, here's me serving up a hot plate of enemies to lovers with a generous side of angst and longing!!! i hope y'all enjoy (and hate) arrogant jimin as much as i did hehe <3 ps i have no idea how long i want this series to be i'm lowkey winging it

The world does not slow down for anything. Not for catastrophes or miracles or even something as devastatingly common as death.

When your boyfriend of three years, Namjoon, lost his life due to another's drunken mistake, you realized this. The world revolves on a scheduled orbit, and not even your tragedy wedged a wrench big enough to halt life just a moment. Just to let you breathe and grieve without feeling left behind. However, you were left behind, both by the world and him.

Every sun and moon, every skipped meal, every unfulfilled rain-check, every isolated Saturday night, and every cancelled audition that came as quickly as they left paid tribute to this merciless phenomenon. It seemed you now existed just to watch the days pass, just to balefully relive the moments before Namjoon's passing. And that seemed to have been the only way you could have survived. To make a recluse of yourself because if the world was careless enough to let someone as amazing as him go, then what held it back from spilling even more wreckage into your life? For the past six months, you stuck to the cold, dead past. It was all you had to hold onto; letting go meant plummeting into a depth far too unknown and inescapable.

You and Namjoon were steadfast. You were still steadfast, or more appropriately, stuck now that you had no one to be loyal to anymore.

You and him were one of those couples other people saw and wished they could replicate into their own lives, but when it came down to it, rooted for your happy ending with him. The type similar to that of highschool sweethearts who beat the odds, or the type whose encounter fell along the silver lines of fate. Something beautiful that automatically made all the love poems authenticated by you and him. And when he held you, the idea of worry or evil seemed like concepts that did not exist past fictional tales. So warm, so loving, now gone.

The way in which you and Namjoon grew over the three years you were able to love him was in a convergent manner.

Your branches and vines were woven into his, and his into yours. Even your roots, the elements of your past, began to entangle beneath the soil. To root between each other meant there had been a foundation from which you grew, a stability that was once neat. There was no boundary of which would discern your life from his. And at one, more favorable, point in time, your life did belong to him. Namjoon was someone you only knew for a mere fraction of your life, however the moment he wandered into it, you had unlearned how to continue without him.

You didn't think you would have to relearn.

But then one decision forced you to do so. One person, who decided paying fifteen bucks for an Uber was not a wise enough investment, ripped out the plant of his body from your shared soil by means of inebriated judgment and a missed red light. You had no choice but to absorb the cruel sustenance of the sun completely alone. Most of your branches of life were left barren, with torn twigs where your body once borne fruit and leaves and beauty. But the roots were where most of the pain inhabited. A stubborn, sharp ache resided in your chest, deep enough that you might have had to be cut open and searched through to find the source.

It had been six months of 'Sorry for your loss' and 'Gone too soon' and your personal least favorite 'He's in a better place now'. It made you angry, because was there a place better for him that didn't have you in it? How could anyone know what was better for him when they didn't experience something as tender and gentle and loving as your relationship?

But none of the sympathetic smiles or half-hearted condolences made you quite as angry as the monster who was too selfish to call someone to drive them and consequently punctuating the eternity you were meant to spend with Namjoon. You always followed the virtue that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Forgiveness was a sweeter release than anything else, but if you could, you would take that drunk driver's life in a heartbeat. You would have gauged out your own eyes if the chance fell into your reach.

Though, no matter how hard you screamed at the universe for hurting you, despite the countless pleas to somehow retrospectively tell Namjoon not to go out for something as trivial as toothpaste so he might be alive today, holding your hand in this waiting room, telling you that you're going to do great, you knew the world wouldn't stop for you or your sorrow.

It revolves, waits for no one, and you had to pace yourself to jump back into the turning carousel of life.

"___. We're ready for you!" His voice was ten notches above a volume that wouldn't irritate you. The only hint you let slip that his tone made you want to throw this script at his crotch was the muted sigh.

You knew this audition was going to play out like the rest. They would ask you to read, stop you in the middle of your monologue, then say something like 'Thank you for your time, we'll get back to you soon' which was show business code for 'We are not giving you the role'. The only reason you were here was because you had been out of work for too long, the piles of overdue bills on your kitchen table a cruel reminder of that. Plus, you knew Namjoon would have told you to go.

He would have said something like, 'Get your lazy ass out of bed and go to that audition! You don't want Hollywood to miss out on a star just because you want to sleep in fifteen more minutes'. And it would have worked. It always had. Now, the only motivation that came to your aid was the echo of his voice, and even that had begun its slow descent into forget. Other than that, guidance of your own volition was as fleeting and disarrayed as a violent wind.

"Hi, my name is ___, and I will be auditioning for the lead. Jordan." Your hand must have been fielding its way through a nervous tick. The person you assumed was the director was eyeing the way it had been contorting at your side, and you hated showing that you were nervous.

"Perfect! We've already casted the other lead role. This audition will mostly be based on whether we think you'll have good chemistry with him." Him. So your possible running mate was a man. Before a list of names engraved on rows of stars cemented into the Hollywood walk of fame ran through your head, you lifted the script and collected all the air your lungs would allow.

Maybe, you thought, my courage and passion might come with it.

And when you opened your mouth, something magical that you credited to talent claimed sovereignty over your body. Now, you were Jordan. Jordan didn't have a dead boyfriend, now ex boyfriend, or luggage enough grief to sink a depression into the crust of the Earth. Jordan was a kind, low-energy, and sentimental artist coming into an age of overwhelming success and fortune —and love.

That's what alluded you in acting. For a moment, you could escape your life, leave your pain on the back burner while you emerged into someone who was unacquainted with the pain of losing the love of your life. It was akin to a drug, administering an intoxicating fill of temporary serotonin. Instant relief, and if you got this job you would have your fix of this twisted sort of high that tempered the Namjoon-sized void in your life. And Jordan's life definitely seemed to have, quite literally, all the things yours lacked.

"Wow, ___, was it? That was absolutely incredible!" The hand-covered whisper that followed this appraisal gave you time to begrudgingly peel of the Jordan mask. Within a half second, all the pain seemed to compound into your body. If you hadn't already shaped your entire life around that weight, you would have fallen over. Though you had done this, and even worse, you had been shouldering it for so long, you would have felt naked without such a burden. "Okay, well, we have a few more auditions but I think we have our Jordan! We'll send your manager the full script along with the schedule for the first week of shooting in about two weeks."

"Uh-" If you had not said something quick, the opportunity might have slipped away all too fast, the way Namjoon had. You vowed to grab hold of anything remotely good that arose into your life, giving you more than late nights of choked sobs and transfixed gazes out of half-curtained windows. This offer was clutched tightly in your fist. "Oh... Th- thank you! Thank you! Fuck, thank you so much. This means so much to me, thank you!"

Before you proliferated the meaning of the words thank you and the director's smile turned into rolled eyes, you stumbled your way out of the door. Waiting on the other side was a world that might strike against you with partially docile cruelty. The wind pressed against your skin, almost blowing away all your grief with the help of this successful audition.

That feeling, as always, was as comforting as it was fleeting. Because the scars of your past would not have budged for any brash current. Because your next thought disrupted the scant flourish of joy. It was the thing that came easier and sooner to you than eating and blinking; telling Namjoon any news of both good and bad ranks, sharing your life to celebrate or stress over. One of the many things that remained by an undissolvable adhesive along your mind. You tried to soak it away with liquor or smoke it out with weed, but there was no breaking of habits you loved almost as much as Namjoon.

I did it, Joon. I landed my first role. You thought, because that was the closest you could have gotten to relaying the news.

Your heart began to physically hurt. Heartaches were literal in your case. Literal and grim. You felt the grip of loss pierce its sharp thorns into your flesh. It had nearly been as painful as all the times your words were met to deceased ears, speaking to someone that had not belonged to you anymore. Six months had passed and pain cannot tell time in the way people can. So, you knew the marathon of your grief was one that followed its own metaphorical clock. You just had to keep running in hopes you could make it out alive.

Though, being Jordan for the next six months would help momentarily satiate your grief. If there were a remote for your emotions, this role would be the mute button. Your pain would still move as it usually would, but now it would be silent. You wouldn't have to listen to its unforgiving taunts and crippling obscenities. It was only just that you were paid reparations for six months of utter misery with six more months of narcotic, soundless distractions.

Two Weeks Later

If the universe had given you one good thing, it was skill and dedication to your craft. The script was memorized in just short of four days, and even a sizable amount of lines of the other characters had been stacked atop your memory. Doing an acceptable job at this role wasn't something that was worried you. In fact, the idea of wearing another's life on your body and on your heart was something you looked forward to. 

It was a bit difficult to convince yourself how good this natural born gift was when the universe took something that felt a thousand times more crucial to your existence. Acting, or anything else that planted joy in you, was a consolation prize for merely participating in life. Namjoon was the reward you were meant to win in the end.

And you had no idea what the hell to do when the prize becomes in all of the sense of the word unattainable.

You hadn't driven in six months, despite the run-down Honda parked in front of your street, desperate to be given some sort of purpose. It was too much. Ever since the accident, the idea of manning a wheel that could take away more than it could ever offer was a responsibility you felt entirely too daunted to assume. Even though seat hogs, missed busses, and overcrowded walkways had been inconveniences of an indescribable level, it wasn't enough to put your body into the same vehicle that derailed your life.

Luckily, the bus stop was only three blocks away from the studio. It gave you plenty of time to get into character, however it also nestled in a span of time for Namjoon's voice to filter in and out through running your lines.

He talked to you a lot. As much as it made you want to cry, you held onto it, feeling as though it might be the last of his voice you'd be able to recall. If Namjoon's internal commentary were to suddenly disperse, you might forget his voice entirely. And you wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but you would always answer back. Sometimes out loud, and sometimes, when company forced you into sanity, you responded mentally. It kept you separate from life and any form of interaction with actual people, but it felt better than living in a world without him. Additionally, it helped keep his voice alive, which when you thought about it, was such sick irony. His voice, alive, his heart and mine and soul, dead.

And that was the only downside to acting. When there was another mind you had to engage in, Namjoon couldn't have broken the barrier and his voice wouldn't even register as an echo. Perhaps that was why you waited so long to dive back into your job. It felt synonymous with betrayal to do anything that would sever your connection already hanging by a single, fragile thread.

"___? Hello?" You were immune to every condescending gesture or vernacular weaponized in Hollywood by now. Your makeup artist's snaps fell into the base of annoyance you had grown used to. "Did you hear me? You're all ready."

Her voice wasn't too abrasive. If anything, you should be the one apologizing for dazing in and out of consciousness. Though, Namjoon's sweet compliments about how beautiful you looked with your stage makeup should have been the one to acquire this remorse.

"Sorry. I'm, uh, tired. Not used to waking up at six in the morning quite yet."

"Well, get used to it, or you'll have a rough few months ahead of you." Her laugh had shed whatever shell of pretentiousness once veiled her previous impression. "I'm Nayeon, by the way. I've heard many great things about you, ___. Let's hope you live up to the hype."

Nayeon's nudge was friendly, and it comforted you that within the first day you hadn't pissed off the person who could easily turn your face clown-like with a few heavy strokes of her brush. She was beautiful, too. If she hadn't been dressed in a black T-shirt strewn with foundation and powder stains, then you would have mistaken her for an actress.

"Let's hope so... I guess the director was selling me better than myself." Your eyes scanned the area, though no one seemed a fitting candidate to be your lead. "So, who's the other lead?"

"Park Jimin. I'm surprised they didn't tell you yet. I guess it's some obscure, artistic director decision to keep you in the dark. I’m lowkey fangirling right now… But, don't tell anyone that." Before you could respond, let alone react, Nayeon had collected all the products she needed for her next subject and was about a yard away from you. "Good luck, rookie!"

Park Jimin. You've definitely heard of him, but it surprised you that someone like him accepted a role in a romantic, indie, coming of age film that had not the budget to pay half of what he usually made in his repertoire of previous movies. He was certainly what one would consider an 'A-list' celebrity. The type paparazzi actually cared to stalk, and fans recognized in public, but were too shy to approach due to his sheer intimidation. It hadn't eased your nerves that he was notoriously withdrawn when it came to the behind the scenes portion of shooting a movie.

And, like any decent person, you did your very best to refrain from placing judgments without the opportunity for them to fill in their own narrative. Most of what you ‘knew’ of Jimin had been hearsay. However, you had some hunch Jimin wouldn't qualify as one who labored tirelessly for the roles he had landed or authenticated any sort of compassion with his rising fame.

See, acting and snagging a big role in a movie was characterized as a tall building for you. If one reached the top floor, then they would assume a wealth of opportunities and Oscar nominations and acclimation. Of course, this film industrial structure had various modes of climbing to the top. Some had stairs which called for more excretion and effort but still, all you needed were persistent legs, then each step would eventually get you where you wanted to be.

You had more of a ladder. Each wrung was slanted at an angle of which only deepened your brawl with success and had not been sanded down enough to save you from a generous supply of splinters. After a while, your hands began to ache and the fear that some high-society type would kick the base of your ladder always stalked the forefront of your worries. It certainly had not been a choice means of arrival to whatever awaited you on that top floor, however it was the only one available.

And while you had a ladder to overcome, Jimin had an elevator. The most he'd ever expend to reach that coveted floor was a few presses of a button. And perhaps his only sacrifice would be sharing the elevator with one or two others. Things just worked out for people like him. And an elevator’s delivery was always in a manner that was quicker than the likes of a staircase or a ladder.

When he arrived on set, dragging himself like his own body was a weight he shouldn't have to carry himself, you fought that instinct of yours to assume everything you needed to know from him.

Just because he's wearing sunglasses inside doesn't mean he's some arrogant asshole, even if that is the most cliché character trait of one. This internal lecture was certainly of Namjoon's doing, since he was always one to never run out of allotting the benefit of the doubt.

Yeah, I guess. But, come on, he looks like a fucking idiot. You replied as if he were really there before walking up to the callous man with your gauntlet thrown down by default. No need getting on Jimin's bad side, because you were sure it's complement was being blacklisted from the film industry. Instead of sharp edges you offered him a non-threatening smile and handshake.

Play nice. Namjoon reminded you before you had the chance to decide what you wanted to say.

"Hi! It's such an honor to be working with you. I'm ___." Jimin looked at your hand like you had filled it with mud and were intending on smearing his Gucci jacket, which you assumed was worth more than your monthly apartment rent. "Um, wanna touch base before we start shooting or..."

If his admonished glare at your hand wasn't encouragement enough to retract it back into yourself, then what he said, or more fittingly, what he didn't say next was.

The way his sigh infused a scoff within it made you feel small. It felt like fire, how thoroughly it burned you into a pile of ash, but then it felt like a gust of prickled wind that would scatter your remains completely. If it had not been for the way his head shifted from your head to your toe, you wouldn't have known that his shielded eyes were trailing the length of your body. Such a glare seemed like a calculation of your worth; it must have totaled out to that of a fly he had to swat away because the second you stood on the outside of his peripheries you stopped existing in his world altogether.

His back made a longer impression on you than his eyes, and that was your que to huddle yourself in the corner and stick to the two things you were best at.

Imaginary conversations with Namjoon and rerunning through your already memorized lines.

Before you say anything, I already think he's a prick. It might be pathetic to have instigated theoretical conversations with your dead boyfriend, but the world wouldn't know he would have scolded you first for already constructing an agenda to avoid Park Jimin whenever you could. You just felt an itch to lay down the first word.

You never know, maybe he had a bad day.

Yeah, well people like him don't need to be professional unlike the rest of us. I mean, I'm on the verge of openly conversing with you and I'm the one that has to turn the other cheek? Your script was decorated with a number of wrinkles. Proof that your anger was sleeping from your insides in the form of tightly gripped hands that were pretending to pinch Jimin's skin instead of the script. For once, you felt some grain-sized semblance of luck for having a grasp of acting to pull off pretending to love Jimin.

"Hey." You weren't quite thrilled to meet the person you had imagined pushing down a staircase standing over you. Without his glasses, it was difficult to remember why you had been so angry with him and you hated that. His eyes consisted of more than just irises and pupils, though you would not have been able to place what exactly accompanied these features. They were just eyes, after all, parts of a body. Functional. Mechanical facets of being. And yet, his seemed more than that. More than just sense mechanics. Perhaps beauty. 

But for him to have been beautiful, it would have tainted the very idea of beauty.

"We're about to start shooting. Don't make this difficult, I'm trying to leave on time." 

"Okay... Sure." Those were the two words you substituted for the 'fuck you' itching to crawl from your throat.

"I'm Jimin, but you know that already." The way he spoke was punctuated as though it was a waste of his time to spend any attention on you. If you weren't already drained of your strength from that tube of toothpaste that was some sort of paraphernalia of the night Namjoon became an article of your past, then you would have rolled your eyes or retorted with something that would knock him down a peg.

"I do." Your own weak will bothered you more than Jimin. "Um, I-"

"Let's not." Though he had no idea what you were about to say, a part of you agreed to not even indulge in small talk with him. It would be too forced and uncomfortable and that might leak into your performance on camera. Still, he had an abrasive way of going about it that made you want to disagree with him just to be able to lie contrary to him.

"Fine." It rolled off your tongue easily, like silk. His lingering eyes had you wondering if you somehow impressed him with your passive agreement or insulted him for not groveling for his approval. Either one would have satisfied you.

"Alright! Looks like you two got acquainted. We're jumping right in." The director, Kim Seokjin, was chirpy. Even if this project wasn't necessarily mainstream or highly anticipated, he was the type to salvage all his passion and pour it into anything he created. It comforted you knowing someone other than you found this to be somewhat life changing. "Please, Jimin, ___, on your marks. This is the scene where you two meet, so we're hoping you two can infuse that feeling of being slightly awkward but nevertheless enthralled in each other's presence. Got it?"

"Yessir." You said, and Jimin only produced a nod which seemed generous for him. Fighting the urge to snarl or squeeze your brows together came as a difficulty you had to practice at.

"Slate! Quiet on set..." Seokjin’s voice filled the empty space of the entire studio.

"Scene one, take one." Just as the snap of the slate reverberated through the room, your eyes changed just as abruptly. Your gaze upon the set transformed it into your reality. You looked at Jimin and now saw Laurie, a young soul filled with enough dreams and kindness one could have mistaken him for a cloud; the kind that spoke in loving whispers and gentle caresses. He reminded you a lot of someone else you knew.

You tucked Namjoon's voice away with the rest of your grief and became Jordan.

Amazing things seemed to happen when you least expected them too. You guessed that was the nature of amazing things, for if you expected them then they probably wouldn’t feel so amazing. About halfway through the scene, after a number of cuts, re-shoots, directorial notes, you noticed something. Or more so, this something willed you to notice.

Once you fell into stride with your character, it became easier to pick up on the person acting opposite of you. Maybe you hadn't given Jimin enough credit before. You knew maybe was an understatement, though you felt a sting admitting talent had fallen into his hands just as all his accomplishments had.

Jimin's acting rested on the side most polar to your own. You replicated, he revolutionized. You became your character, shrinking yourself enough so that one wouldn't have been able to tell who you were beyond who you were playing. Jimin, however, made the character his own. There was no minimizing his own body to fit into the mold of the character. Jimin was the mold, and he sculpted the character to fit along himself. He forged his movements, voice, and confidence into whichever role he played and brought life to someone strewn with a signature of his own soul polishing said character. All the while, he was inventive with each intention and emotion that were strung into his lines.

It was difficult to pull this off, being that you could easily begin to just play yourself in a movie and neglect any character mannerisms that you were supposed to portray, however Jimin seems to slip in and out of his role with ease. And with each take, he peppered in more dimensions to a character. He gave meaning and depth to a person constructed onto a paper script until you couldn't believe this person didn't exist in real life.

That was the amazing thing that kept your well-rehearsed lines behind an impermeable wall of reluctant admiration.

What hadn't helped, though seemed to have been timed to a tee to unwind your sensibility, and timing had always worked against you like you had done wrong to it, was the part when Laurie was written to sneak his hand along your waist after Jordan stepped backwards into his body.

His palm felt so warm. So warm that the entire world felt too cold for you to be anywhere but apart from his touch. Then, all your lines spilled from your recollection. He was standing close behind you, the plush of his cheek tickling your ear and sending the entire world away so you and he could reserve this moment just for yourselves.

"Your line." His whisper wouldn't be picked up by the mic, though it had no trouble debilitating the rest of your senses. Did he intend for it to blur any sort of attraction his character felt for you into the life beyond the camera?

The director called cut to the scene, and it felt like a lifetime before you were released from the entrapping heat of Jimin's body. When you spun around, hoping you could at least dig through your throat to pull out a deflated apology, the smirk laced along his lips illustrated every bit of his arrogance and once again shut you up.

From the way his eyebrow was arched, you assumed he must have read your mind. He knew what he did to you, and it reminded you of everything you disliked about Jimin. Presumptuous, prideful in his taunts. It also reminded you that he stood many floors above you in this architectural competition of acting. You were grabbing hold of each wrung as you went, unprepared for something as disarming as Jimin. All he had to do was peer down at the sight of you to make you feel a hundred times lower than him. 

“___? What’s wrong?” You looked over to find Seokjin’s half worried, half irritated expression. 

“No, nothing. Sorry, I just blanked for a second.” Jimin’s snide chuckle at your confession to a faulty performance didn’t help simmer the burn of embarrassment.

"It’s okay, I get it.” The director offered a smile as a peace offering, and since he looked not seven years older than you, it had you assuming he was the laid-back type. “Let's take five. We'll block a few of the scenes and finish the rest of this and we'll call it a day."

You made your nest over at the snack bar. Shoving half of a donut into your mouth had almost resurged your energy. Nayeon made a swift return to pat your face with more powder.

"Hey, you're pretty damn good." You were stuck with a mouthful of donut to null any chance of responding. "Except for when you kinda just shut down at that last scene."

You would have felt embarrassed, or rather more embarrassed than you currently did, if it weren't for the light laugh that followed. All you had to reply with was a shrug.

"I mean, I don't blame you. Jimin's pretty hot and if I were cozying up to him during a scene I'm sure I would also fuck up my lines." Nayeon finished applying whatever touch ups she felt necessary, not without a suggestive eye arch. This either meant she was going to shuffle over to another actor in need of visual repair or she would stay and talk. Her continued monologue advocating for Jimin's talents and good looks proved the latter was what you had in store. "I mean, damn. Also, I'm pretty sure he's got abs under that shirt. So, are you into him? Is that it?”

"It's not like that." The harsh delivery gave an impression contrary to what you said. "I mean, I just... He's just really good at this. I guess I got kinda intimidated."

Normally, you would have sought Namjoon's voice ringing in your head about how you could do this, reminding you how he believed in you. It would have gotten you through the scene however, Jordan didn't know Joon.

"Well, he won an Oscar for a reason, babe." You finished the rest of your donut and begun a prowl for another savory comfort food. "I mean, damn, twenty-five and already winning Oscars and getting nominations. It ain't for nothing."

"Yes, this is helping so much, thank you." You twisted in sarcasm as if that would make you seem any less intimidated. Again, Nayeon laughed off any shroud of roughness coating your words.

"What, do you want me to lie? Is that how you want to start this friendship, with lies?" Her elbow nudged you, and that alone communicated more than the brief exchanges you two shared. Now, you had a friend. Someone else to talk with that wasn't a figment of your own imagination.

Look at you, already making friends. Your smile was not as hidden as you attempted for it to be. Namjoon's little encouragements had that effect on you.

"What's that smile for?"

"Oh, nothing." You scarfed down the mini muffin, turning towards Nayeon. "Just happy my makeup artist goes easy on the blush."

She winked, and you felt ready to be sent back into the throes of this film. You weren't keen on Jimin feeling closer to a competitor than a partner in this project, however if that is how he wanted it to be, you were never one to submit so easily. You were determined to level this playing field, and your communion with victory felt like a well-deserved birthright.

"Thought I told you I wanted to go home on time, rookie." You watched his lips shape such venomous words, since his eyes, the unnamed, nearly beautiful presence, might have sunk you back into that state of speechlessness.

"I take it you're not a method actor, since Laurie is so sweet and you're a fucking ass." It felt good for all of one second before a series of reprimands fueled by none other than Namjoon now had you on the brink of apologizing.

"Feisty, huh?" Again, his lips eased out sharp words as if they would not nick the plump skin as it went.

You hoped Joon had nothing to say about how you were now tracing the lush of Jimin's lips. And yes, it had been six months, though you knew your love-ridden heart had yet to free its hands from grabbing hold of Namjoon, still, the feeling of attraction, no matter how brisk it might have been, felt like you were committing adultery. Adultery, over someone who was dead. You weren't the one who left him behind, and at the same time, you never got that shiny patent of closure. There was no break-up, so perhaps that was an explanation as to why your heart was foolishly stuck in love, never realizing its oath to loyalty was graced upon the deceased. 

You thought of love now, while you were supposed to be getting into character. You thought of the one thing you once had held worn so easily, and now you had been chasing it knowing your legs weren’t enough to catch up.

There was a well in your eyes, supplied by the same source which fossilized a ragged lump in your throat. And you must have blinked twice as many times as you normally would since Jimin's eyebrows met halfway between his forehead as he watched you. Or, more disappointingly, he might have noticed your tendency to grow red in more places than just the whites of your eyes when you were about to cry. Holding those tears in hadn't helped with keeping your skin less flushed.

It frustrated you that he might have noticed, which only twisted you tighter into the verge of crying. You knew it was unlikely that his watchfulness of your pre-breakdown expression was due to a lapse of genuine concern. For all you knew, he was subtracting even more value from your worth, plummeting you into negative integers.

And if you weren't so dedicated to your craft, then you wouldn't have the ardor nor the ability to pull off acting like you loved him.

Nayeon is a good makeup artist, I think you have a thick enough cover of foundation and powder to hide it. That of course, along with any sliver of light in this dark tunnel, had always been attributed to Namjoon. He was the reason you kept going, the reason you had been able to get out of bed to drink a glass of water once in a while, the reason you did not completely break down every time a tube of toothpaste fell into your line of vision. Him and the memorialized voice was what chipped the lump free from your throat and dried your tears before they had the chance to spill.

"What-" Whatever motivated Jimin to ask you something had been gone almost immediately after it sprouted.

"Quiet on set!" There was no way you'd figure out what he was going to say if the director had mandated pre-shooting silence.

The rest of your day went accordingly. Nothing too devastating happened that cleared away the momentum of excitement of this being your first big role. Though, not that you weren't beyond grateful for this chance, you made a chore of reminding yourself to be aware of your good fortune.

And, with the help of a few well-placed improvisations that made you seem somewhat of a visionary in your craft, your previous mistake had been washed with water under the bridge in the director's eyes. It escalated your ego and confidence to watch Jimin scavenge for an unpracticed reaction to go along with the slight details or lines you infused into the scene. At a certain point, you could almost describe him as impressed with your acting. Maybe enough to bump your worth up a few decimals, not that that should be occupying your worries.

"Wow, ___! Look's like we hired the right thespian. Great work! By the looks of it, things will flow easier from here." The director, who you finally felt on a first name basis with, approached with a hug. Though, usually this would have sent red alerts, you could tell Seokjin had no ill intentions of the predatory type. "Also, you two have chemistry, but it's not quite there yet. I want this to be believable. There has to be some real life element of camaraderie if this story is going to be genuine."

"So, what exactly are you asking of us?" Jimin, of course, sounded all but thrilled with whatever Seokjin was suggesting even when it hadn't been specified yet. And though you hadn't expressed it outwardly, this aversion for what Seokjin has been suggesting was shared.

"I don't know, get to know each other? Method acting works usually. I mean, Jared Leto did it for that movie and he seemed pretty crazy." The attention was never yours to claim once Jimin had already pressed his phone to his ear and Seokjin was off reevaluating the shots taken today.

You were alone again. Surrounded by an entire crew and cast, but alone nonetheless. Your version of escapism was never as consistent as you needed it to be. All it took was a moment of stillness for you to drift into some place much darker than your current reality. Jordan was sealed away for now, and you were trapped in your own body. It felt horrible. Being you without the man who loved and cared for such a kindred soul felt no different than writhing in pain. Being you without him was empty. Before long, you might have fallen faint in front of your coworkers.

The only target you could acquire as of now was Jimin, taken away from the world for reasons much less burdensome than your own. Where you had a plight of grief to sift through, Jimin had a phone and most likely a supply of friends to text and busy himself with. Seokjin wanted you to get to know him, try your hand at method acting so to speak, and that was the excuse which allowed you to walk over and try to kindle some sort of conversation.

"Hey, so, uh..." The pause came to no avail, since it seemed as though you could have said nothing at all judging from his reaction. "Hey."

It took a fictitious clearing of your throat and three more seconds of unwavering silence to lure his eyes from his phone.

"What?"

As it had been for this entire day, everything involving Jimin was made to be some sort of challenge. A feat you had to overcome without an ounce of reprieve, just to remain standing.

"Seokjin said we should, like, get to know each other. Or, at least get along. I think that's a good idea." His eyes gave absolutely no clues to anything below the exterior of an expressionless face.

"Why are you trying so hard?" You waited for him to laugh, or even for a laugh of your own to slip and loosen the tension. A laugh to make what he just said a joke, victimless banter, because it would have been wildly insulting if that were the most genuine thing he had said to you all day.

"What the hell does that mean?" Your arms were crossed as if that would keep your heart safe from his cruel tactlessness.

"I'm not taking this shit seriously." He laughed, but it wasn't the one that you wanted previously. It sunk wounds deeper, with such a dull edge too. "It's just a side job so people think I'm humble, or whatever my manager said."

The puzzle began to piece together, it took this admittance from Jimin for the picture to emerge from ambiguity. This movie was some form of damage control for his reputation, and that might be because your accurately placed criticisms of his lackluster humbleness did not stand solitarily. Your big break had been reduced to a convenient plot of image reconstruction. You were familiar with anger, it was one of your trickier stages of grief to surmount, but it still affected you to the same degree as before.

He didn't expect a response. You could gather that much from the way he instantly turned back to his phone, rendering you nonexistent once again. Namjoon would have told you to remain civil. But Namjoon was gone. It hurt to think that way, but if his voice hadn't emerged to mitigate this situation now, then Jimin was yours for the taking.

"You're a fucking ass." It seems brash was the only approach to seize immediate attention from Jimin. His eyes widened as if you had grown twice as large and the vision of you wouldn't fit in his narrowed, judgmental glare. "This may be a joke or a throw away gig for you, but this means a lot to me."

"Wanna back off, Jesus. I only-"

"No, I don't wanna back off. I haven't had the best year, and having a co-star that treats me like shit isn't really helping either. And, I get it, you're some sort of elitist who thinks they earned their success." You scoffed, tethering his eyes with yours as though there were a string tying them together. And with each step closer you took, the knot only secured tighter. "But people like you, men like you, don't do shit to earn where they are. But it's so cute the way you think you did! Truly, it's embarrassing watching you flaunt your ego around like you actually have something to be proud of."

"So it's like that, huh? You know, I was almost starting to respect you." The fact that his delivery suggested this was some sort of badge of honor made him all the more pathetic. You should not have put it past Jimin to boast over paying a fundamental level of respect where it's due.

"Wow," You doused a generous layer of sarcasm over your throat so the words came out so. "Basic human decency? From you? How can I ever repay you for such kindness?”

"I said almost."

"You're pathetic."

"Like you're one to talk."

"Yeah, well at least I don't pretend I'm hot shit." The tip of your shoes finally closed the gap between his. Again, you were snared in his warmth, however it didn't feel as tranquil as before. Now, it was closer to a pot of boiling water, evaporating flesh and bone until you were steam floating along the air, bendable and displayed out thinly.

"You don't pretend because you're just that bad of an actor, huh?"

It suffocated you, being this close with him; the blurry details of his face became sharp this way. His eyes were hypnotically watchful of your lips, preparing for your next gambit. You surrendered only a smirk, hoping it would antagonize him. And you could have sworn standing at the furthest point of the Earth from Jimin wouldn't appease this invasive thronging. The universe had yet to expand wide enough to provide an acceptable distance away from him. Until then, you were left with shallow bouts of breath tasting of metallic hatred, hoping those would alchemize into words that would make you seem more intimidating that you really were.

"Please, I could act circles around you. Your performance is transparent. Anyone with a scope of the basics of acting could see through you."

"Is that so?" You hated how quick you had been to notice his tongue slip along his lower lip. He must have found this delicious, patronizing someone who only had 'friend number five' or 'cashier' as proof of their employment. Jimin was greedy, devouring all the blood spilled from his wounding retorts.

In some perverse way, being the focus of his attention had you feeling fulfilled. Jimin, the man commonly sought after among the demographic of teenagers and middle-aged women. Not only were you proving your merits of qualification to act alongside him, but you had something to prove to yourself. You weren't going to let Jimin push you around without pushing him right back. You were strong enough to fight. It seemed to have come natural to you to enjoy provoking anger in him. It felt as if you were finally accomplishing something that was unattainable to anyone else. 

And even if you wanted to retreat, his gaze guaranteed your obedience. It was a battle, along with every other exchange you have had with him. Even when silence was the only parcel between you two, when the only semblance of noise was heavy, jaded inhales, it felt as though you and he were at wits to gather more air than the other. To see who would fall breathless first.

"You're pathetic." His words hit like physical blows, and you might have had to check for bruises along your ribs and torso from the churning sensation in your stomach.

"If I'm pathetic, I don't know what that makes you." You wanted your rebuttal to feel like fire. You wanted to scorch and sear blisters along his flawless skin for proof of any successful hit. “A privileged boy with enough of daddy’s money to get him any job he wants. But, I’m the pathetic one?”

He appeared unscathed, with one end of his lips rugged upwards, mocking you without needing any of the words to do so. Perhaps he'd gotten the best of you, as you were searching through your arsenal of refutes only to find it overspent. It would not have surprised you to discover his supply of acidic insults piling without a visible dent. 

His eyes looked fully employed in studying you, and you felt disrobed to be under such scrutiny from a stranger. Jimin seemed to have been reading you like words on a page, armed with a twisted smile that was unnervingly addictive, but you tried your hardest to keep your book closed. You didn’t want him to know how weak you really were.

"God, you're so-"

"Oh, great! Both of you are still here." Seokjin's voice reminded you that there was a world of events beyond you and Jimin. For a moment, you had felt secluded into a universe constructed especially for any collateral destruction that might have come of whatever war was about to be waged. "I have some notes for you two. Go home, read, digest, and come prepared tomorrow! I have full confidence in the two of you."

"Thanks." Succinct yet not lacking any tonal sentiment, Jimin got the first word in with the director, leaving you scrambling to find yours.

"Thank you." You were frustrated in how recycled your responses felt after Jimin handled them. Actors like you always fed on scraps of the higher-ups, and they were never as appetizing or filling as you would hope.

"See ya, ___." Your name sounded awful on his tongue, like his voice had filtered out the good parts of it and the waste remained spilling from his lips. Like dirt or decayed flesh, or both, and saying your name was akin to saying a slur.

"Fuck you." Those words couldn't sift through your screwed jaw or muffled throat, but it gave you satisfaction that it had been said in the slightest.

It wasn't until you were halfway to the bus stop that the realization pummeled you down a hole you hadn’t recollected being dredged. That whole time, what might have been the product of a mere ten minutes, was the longest segment you had gone without thinking of him.

It was the most intimately you had ever engaged in a conversation with someone other than the late, imagined voice in your head. And it was the most you've gone without consulting with said voice before speaking. You simply spoke, and listened, and responded; like you were normal. You couldn't tell whether that was good, because maybe you would finally be able to move forward with the world, perhaps catch up with the life you were supposed to be living. But, at the same time, the guilt festering something acrid in the pit of your stomach had you convinced this wasn't entirely sunny skies and bright futures.

"I'm sorry." What frightened you, besides your mental slip to keep the words meant for Namjoon in your head, was the unreturned sound of his ringing through. It took the longest ten seconds of your life for the mental silence to be furtively trimmed by your own train of thoughts.

Jimin had done this to you, that you were entirely sure of. Jimin and his carnivorous tongue and greedy glare had drained your head of its second conscious. The one it had adopted when Namjoon's body could no longer harbor it. And that's how he lived on, through you.

Jimin took that away, somehow. You could almost kill him for it, but you had not favored a life in prison nor tabloids that headlined the Park Jimin being murdered or 'Crazy, Jealous Co-star On Murderous Rampage Targets Jimin'. So, for the time being, all that was accessible was quiet hatred.

And you took that over nothing. You hated Park Jimin.

[abaikgirl]

In other news, I started that Yakuza AU and boy howdy am I in deep. Have a preview that might not even make it into the final draft

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Izuku didn’t intend to work for All Smite and become a part of one of the three most powerful yakuza families in the city, all he wanted was to help his mother make rent.

The people of Mutsfatsu city were not kind towards quirkless people. Izuku heard that all of Japan was the same, but he had never lived anywhere else. All he knew was as soon as people found out he was quirkless, him and his mother would be forced to find some other low rent place to live in. In a world where crime was rampant and heroes few, people put the most value on power and strength, so the quirkless and their family were seen as weak links in the gene pool and people felt confident that by getting rid of them they would be stronger. Of course, unregulated quirk use was illegal, but law enforcement was far too busy dealing with the various criminal groups to really worry about the average citizen.

Izuku knew if they could just scrape together enough money, he and his mother could buy their own place and not worry about the landlord asking too many questions. But his mother struggled to find work and he was just barely out of middle school without any prospects of his own. Inko was too poor to send him to highschool, so Izuku decided to put his one and only skill to use.

Quirk fighting was a popular and illegal sport. The largest rings were run by the Sasaki family and Izuku would hang around watching the fights. After becoming familiar with the fighters and their quirks, he was always able to predict just how the fight would turn out before they even entered the ring. He would scrape together money by doing odd jobs around the neighborhood or selling cans to the recycling plant and then go to the quirk rings and try to convince the least scary patron he could find to place a bet for him.

“Please, if I win I’ll split half,” he would beg. They would often laugh at him or swear at him or, more often, take his money and when they won beat him up and run off with it. But no matter how many times he failed to make the plan work, he always found himself back asking for help.

One day, a tall and thin blonde man was the one who stopped to listen to his pleas. “I’m sorry to bother you,” he stammered. “But if you would just place the bet for me, I promise if it’s right I’ll split half.”

He was almost skeletal with how sunken his cheeks were and there were dark rings around his blue eyes that gaze down at him. “And how are you so sure that you’ll win?”

Izuku looked at his shoes, dirty and falling apart since he couldn’t afford to buy new ones. “I’m really good at quirk analysis. I can always tell how a fight will turn out.”

“And? What are your predictions for tonight?”

“Kamikaze will win the first round, but Jelly Bender will beat him in the second.”

The man gazed at him for a long moment and Izuku braced himself for a rejection, but to his surprise, the man held out his hand. “Alright then. Give me what you’ve got then.”

Izuku handed over the crumpled bills and coins and the stranger frowned at them. “Not very much, now is there?”

“It’s all I have.” He squeezed his eyes shut to stem the tears that seemed to always be pricking at his eyes. “It’s so my mom and I can make rent this month.”

He nodded and gestured for him to follow him inside. He went up to the betting booth and made his bets based on Izuku’s predictions. When it came time to pay, he took out a large wad of cash and put it on the table. “What are you doing?” Izuku cried.

“Well, if you’re as good as you say, then I shouldn’t pass up this opportunity,” he chuckled.

They went and watched the fight and as everything Izuku said turned out to be exactly right. The man watched in silence and Izuku felt a wave of panic. Surely he was realizing how much money he would make if he just cut Izuku out and once again his hard earned money would go to waste. But much to his surprise, the man didn’t try to lose him in the crowd when he went to claim his winnings and he handed Izuku half of the money he received. It was an astronomical sum, possibly the most money he had ever seen in his life. Easily more money than his mother could make in ten years.

Izuku counted it and shook his head. “You gave me too much. We said half.”

He crouched down in front of him, his blue eyes bright and intense as they gazed at Izuku. “You can keep it, as long as you promise you can do that again next week.”

Izuku nodded so hard he thought his head might pop off his shoulders. “Y-yes I can do it again.”

“Good. Meet me in the same spot out front.”

“Th-thank you sir. I will. I promise.” He practically skipped home, he was so excited to show his mother the money.

Of course she did not approve of his plan to use illegal gambling to solve their problems, but she was in no position to turn it down. And as much as she tried, she also wasn’t able to stop Izuku from showing up outside of the ring again to wait for the blond man.

There was the sound of footsteps behind him and he heard the man’s voice. “I realize I never asked your name, boy.”

He turned around but his response died in his throat as he recognized the person standing behind him. “Y-you’re...you’re…” he stumbled back, paralyzed with fear and awe at the man who towered behind him. The man who had been thin and skeletal the last time they’d met. The most powerful man in the world and leader of one of the three families who ruled the city. “You’re All Smite.”

[westcoastrry]

Tracing The Stars Chapter 10

Blairs POV

Harry played a great game.

He only played in the first half but ended up scoring two goals, and we ended up winning four to one.

I was originally going to sit by myself when I got here, but Maya saw me and demanded I sit next to her.

I didn't know her very well. I just knew that she was Harry's friend. I know they have been rumored to mess around, and I definitely believe it. She was beautiful, but there was no need for me to be jealous. I was not dating Harry, he was my friend, and that was it. Harry's past or present sex life is also none of my business.

Maya was also extremely nice. All I knew about her was that her parents ran some big-time magazine in the city. We talked the entire game about the school musical, soccer, and she even asked me a couple of questions about my job at Joe's cafe.

Once the game was over, I noticed Harry and Gabe talking to a scout. We briefly make eye contact, and he mouths a "Wait for me," and I nod my head in response.

I was getting a few stares now that the game was over, and people started to realize I was wearing Harry's jacket, but I didn't have time to overthink the situation because Harry finally came up to me with his brown curls pushed back with a headband.

"Harry, you played so well!" I say, wrapping my arms around his shoulders going in for a hug.

His arms settle around my hips. "That was the best I've played so far. Looks like you are my good luck charm peach."

"Hey, you are coming with us to Joes', right?" Gabe says, walking over to where Harry and I are standing.

"Yeah, I'll drive with Blair," Harry responds. "I think the rest of the team can split up in cars."

Gabe smirks at us. "Yeah, yeah, alright, we will give you two your privacy."

+++

By the time Hary packed his stuff up, and we drove a short five minutes to Joe's, a lot of people from the game were already there. Harry leads me to sit in the booth next to him.

At the table was Don, Tristan, Levi, and Jacob. They were all seniors on the soccer team, and I know they usually come to Joe's after soccer games because I have served them all a couple of times. Maya sat next to Gabe, and a girl named Aaliyah, who I recognized from the cheer team, sat next to Tristan, who I believed was her boyfriend.

The rest of the girls cheer team sat at a table directly adjacent from us. I can't believe that used to be me last year. Between school musicals, the cheer team, my job at Joe's, Justin, and trying to keep up with parties and appearances at school, I was so stressed out. I don't even miss cheer that much, to be honest. It is such a popularity contest, and it was so draining.

I jumped at the feeling of Harry's arm snaking around my waist, bringing me slightly closer to his side. I was caught off guard at first, but the way butterflies spew off in my stomach and my cheeks going red and slightly tingled reminded me of when I first started dating Justin.

That was the first tell-tale sign of having a crush.

I embraced the feeling of Harry's arm around me, placing the side of my head in the crook of his neck.

Maya winks at me from across the table, and I send her back a smile and breathe out a weak laugh.

"How is your leg Harry?" Don asks.

Harry's fingers dance around the side of my hip. "It's good. No pain or anything for now, and I hope it stays that way for the season."

"Blair," Tristan spoke. "Yo, Long time no fucking see. Where the hell have you been!"

I laugh at his greeting. "Around I guess."

"Blair, remember those shrooms we did with Harry and Jacob sophomore year at Gabe's Party?" Tristian brings up.

"Yep. I'm pretty sure Harry fell into the pool that night," I giggle, looking up at Harry.

He groans. "Okay, I was high out of my fucking mind. Can we not bring that up."

"You single?"Jacob asked.  "You still with that Justin kid?"

I shake my head. "Nope, we broke up at the end of junior year, been single all summer."

Levi rolls his eyes jokingly. "Uhhh, who's gonna tell him," he says, pointing a finger at Harry. "If you are single, you might want to tell this guy. I think Styles believes he is your boyfriend the way he is all over you."

Harry becomes flustered, and his face falls red from embarrassment. "Alright, all of you shut up about me."

The conversation continues, and it feels like I have been with these guys forever. We reminisced about our old party days. Jacob brought up the time I got so drunk and threw up on his dad's boat, which I don't remember probably because of how wasted I was.

Gabe also asked me why I quit the cheer team. I just gave him the short answer and told him all my extracurricular activities were piling up.

At one point, the conversation ended up on my Dad, and who he says the worst player is. No one would believe me when I told them I didn't know, even though I knew it was Harry.  Levi swears it's some freshman named Dylan who made varsity soccer on a fluke, but I didn't even know who that was.

Our waitress finally came up to us. I recognized her as Candice. She got hired about a week ago, and I already liked her. We both complained about our overly affectionate boss on our breaks.

She waved at me before introducing herself to the table.

While Candice went around taking orders, Harry whispered in my ear, "How do those burgers sound."

I smile up at him. "Fuck yes."

Maya, Harry, and I ended up in deep conversation about our science teacher, Mr.Gunnerson, an old crazy nerd. While I was too lost in conversation with Maya, Harry's arm moves from my waist to my thigh, rubbing the exposed skin that my jean shorts did not cover.

A whirlwind of emotions hit me when I first felt Harry's touch on my thigh. I tensed up at first, not really sure what he was planning to do. When his hand just settled on my thigh, rubbing up and down, I was able to settle my emotions. I liked having Harry's hands on my body. It was a constant reminder that he was right beside me. Harry and I were sitting extremely close to one another, our sides practically overlapping. I really loved the attention he was giving me, and I wish I could just whisk him away and throw myself at him.

Was I ready to throw myself at him?

Absolutely not.

But my hormones were getting the best of me, and what was once innocent butterflies in my stomach was now a raging fire in the pit of my stomach, damp panties, a flushed face, and short isolated breaths.

The boy wasn't even touching me in a heavy sexual manner, but I was already all hot and bothered for him.

After I finished my food, I quickly excused myself to the bathroom needing a second before I jumped Harry's bones in front of everyone at the table.

When I got to the bathroom, I splashed a bit of cold water on my face hoping to cool down a bit.

"B!" A voice yells.

I turn around from the sink to see two cheerleaders whose names I can't really remember and Megan standing directly behind them.

"So I see you are wearing Harry's letterman?" The brown-haired one, whose name I think is Kacey.

My eyes dart downwards, a nervous habit, before answering her question.

"Harry just gave it to me because I was cold."

"So, how was the sex?" She curiously asks me. "I tried to fuck him this summer, but he was with some other girl at the time."

My jaw sets, and I can't help but feel a sting of jealousy.

"I didn't have sex with him. Harry is my friend."

"Please, we saw him all over you at dinner tonight." Kacey presses.

Megan places her hand on Kacy's shoulder and reprimands her in a whispering tone. "Can we just leave, please?"

Kacy scoffs. "Hell no! We all know you were Justin's whore anyways. What are you doing Blair hmmm? Trying to fuck every soccer player in the county?"

I was tired of being walked all over.

Fuck this.

I took a few steps up to Kacey, so I was a couple of inches away from my face. "First of all, I didn't fuck Harry, and even if I did, it would be none of your fucking business. Secondly, I'm no one's whore. Even if I did fuck every guy in this county, it would be none of your damn business Kacey!"

Once I finished my rant, I was about to storm out the bathroom when Kacey spoke up again.

"My name is Kelly."

"Oh wow. I don't care." I spit back, slamming the door.

High school is the most dramatic fucking place ever.

What was the point of that? My sex like, which is non-existent, is no one's business. I wasn't even surprised when Megan didn't stand up for me. She has always cared way too much about popularity and appearances.

I know Kelly is only lashing out because I have been hanging out with Harry, and she is jealous, but I'm just tired of being caught up in drama when it's the one thing I have done my best to avoid. I wish high school could be a place where everyone would mind their damn business, but this is Eastwood Highschool, and everyone here feeds off of drama, drugs, and partying.

I stormed out of the bathroom, and Harry was about to say something, but when his eyes set on me, he acknowledged the annoyed expression on my face.

"Peaches, you good?"

I grab my bag from the booth, searching for my card to pay the bill. I just want to leave Joe's as fast as possible.

"I'm fine. Where is the check?"

Harry sends me a look. "I paid it. Are you sure you are okay?"

I tilt my head looking up at him with a frown. "You didn't have to do that, Harry. We could have at least split it."

"It's not a big deal," he reassures me. "Let's get out of here."

Everyone walks outside to their cars, and I frequently forget how rich the kids who go to Eastwood are. Gabe and Maya have walked into some fancy BMW, and Levi speeds off in a Mercedes.

I don't even have a car yet. Sometimes I drive my mom's Toyota Camry on the weekends when she doesn't have work, but I have been saving up for a car, and hopefully, by the end of the year, I could afford my own.

Harry and I got in his car, and he placed his hand instantly on my thigh, backing out of his parking spot.

Before we could pull out of the lot, Maya, who is in the passenger seat of the Gabes car, rolls down her window and calls out, "If you two are going to have sex, send us an invite!"

The palm of my hand slaps my mouth in shock at Maya's bluntness.

Harry speeds off before Maya could let anything more vulgar come out of my mouth.

"You okay, Blair? You seemed a little distressed coming out of the bathroom." Harry asked, still focused on the road.

I sigh."Yeah, I had a bit of a run-in with some girls from the cheer team. They called me Justins whore, and they thought I was fucking you."

Harry frowns and looks annoyed by my words. "I'm sorry. I knew that you wearing my jacket would bring some attention to you, but I didn't think anyone would have the balls to say it to my face. Also, I'm sorry what they said to you about Justin."

"It's okay. I'm used to the rumors. Everyone thought I was fucking him even though I wasn't."

He snaps his head towards me with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

I laugh. "Yeah, literally all rumors. He tried fingering me a couple times, but it never felt good, and I never came, hence why I thought my clit was broken. A few heated make-out sessions and I gave him a handjob once in his car, but that was it."

Harry snorts. "During our all star-game, he literally told us he fucked you. What a fucking asshole."

"Yeah, he really was," I mumble out.

Harry notices my change in tone because once he pulls up into my driveway, he puts the car in park and turns towards me.

"Are you a virgin, Blair?"

Did he not like the fact I was a virgin? I know Harry was a super experienced guy when it came to sex, and maybe he wasn't into virgins.

"It's not a bad thing." He quickly reassures me.

"Yes, I have never had sex before. I usually don't do what we did the other night at Gabe's party," I trail off with my voice. "But I really liked it."

My confession makes my heart thunder, and my throat goes dry. I never got to tell him how much I enjoyed that night. When it came to Harry, I had this internal war with my brain telling me to leave him alone but my hormones telling me to let myself go.

Harry brings his other hand to my thigh, rubbing up and down and looking me in the eyes.

"Well, there is more of that where it came from Peaches. If you want it."

We stare into each other's eyes for the briefest of seconds. The tension between us was suffocating, and I wanted him to make a move so badly.

"Harry," I softly whisper.

"Fuck it." He whispered, searching for approval.

I slowly nodded my head, and that was all he needed for him to attach his lips to mine.

[jj-lives]

Legend Inktober - Bmblb

Showing Blake around her old stomping grounds ended up being a lot more enjoyable than she thought it would. When she’d asked what Blake wanted to do today, a tour of the town was not something she’d been expecting. Yang suggested a movie, or a walk in the wilderness that covered half of Patch. She’d even suggested the small amusement park on the other side of the island, but Blake shot down every one of her suggestions. She wanted to see where Yang grew up.

All in all the memories Yang had of Patch consisted mainly of the time she’d spent with her dad or Ruby. She had very few meaningful memories outside the little bubble she grew up in with her three membered circus family. She’d already shown Blake around her family’s favourite outings days ago. But Blake was insistent. She wanted to know where Yang went to school and where she spent her spare time when not taking care of Ruby at home.

So Yang did the only thing she could think of doing, since she had nowhere specific she wanted to show Blake, she reenacted a day in her highschool life. Hand in hand they left the small log cabin Yang called home for so many years. She pulled Blake close, her arm automatically snaking around her lithe body to rest on Blake’s opposite hip.

“Re-enacting?” Blake questioned when Yang explained her plan.

“You wanted to know about my life back then, right?” Blake’s cheek rubbed softly against her shoulder as she nodded in affirmation. “Then what better way than to literally walk a day in my past self’s shoes.”

“So,” Blake spoke, her voice carrying a playful lilt. “If we are walking in your highschool shoes… who may I ask is latched onto your arm as you make your morning commute to school?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Yang teased, pulling a disapproving noise from the back of Blake’s throat. “If you must know.” Yang relented. “That would be the one and only other girl to ever own a piece of my heart.”

“What?”

Blake stopped walking, pulling Yang to a halt beside her. The way Blake’s brow furrowed as she processed the news and tried to figure out who else Yang may have fallen in love with, was absolutely adorable.

“Ruby.” Yang finally answered, breaking through Blake’s internal deciphering.

“Yang!” Blake pouted as she was pulled forward along the path once more. “You are horrible.”

“That would make you a sadist then would it not?” She continued to tease. “Since you’re in love with the horrible being I am.”

Blake dug a sharp elbow into Yang’s ribs, causing her to yelp.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“And you’re violent,” Yang responded, rubbing at the growing bruise at her side.

“Who’s the sadist now?”

Yang was about to respond when they broke through the trees and a large stone wall came into view. Turning to follow it, she was assailed with memories of taking the same walk hundreds of times with her sister.

“This is where I dropped Ruby off before heading to my school.” Yang explained as they came to the front gate.

“Is this where you went to school when you were younger too?”

“I guess.” Yang stared through the bars trying to remember anything she could share with Blake from that time in her life. “But I don’t remember much from then. I remember helping Ruby patch up her scraped knee when she fell over there.” Yang pointed to the playground. “I suppose I would have been going here with her when that happened. But mostly I just remember dropping her off and picking her up everyday.”

Blake hummed approvingly.

“Ever the protector, weren’t you?”

“After Summer passed away, I kind of felt like it was my job. I always looked up to her probably because my own Mother was anything but maternal.” Yang grimaced at the thought of Raven.

“I do wish there were other stories of baby Yang you could tell me, but I suppose I’ll have to get those from Ruby and Tai.” Blake brought their entwined hands to her mouth and placed a gentle kiss to the back of Yang’s hand. “It would make sense with the trauma of losing a parent to have your mind block out the painful memories.”

“I suppose.”

Embarrassed, Yang pulled Blake to their next destination. Everytime she spared a glance, Blake was staring down the street or into yards they passed. She was fascinated at everything that came into view. Yang wondered if she would be acting the same way had their positions been reversed. She supposed she would be soaking up as much as she could about Blake’s past as well. It made her even more excited about their trip to Menagerie the following month.

Deciding to be a better tour guide, Yang entered the gate to her highschool showing Blake her classrooms for each year she attended. The front doors were closed and locked so Blake had to settle for staring up at windows Yang pointed to.

“How many hours did you spend staring out the window instead of paying attention in class?”

“My first year, way too many.” Yang shook her head, amused. “But after that my teachers conspired to stick me in the middle row so I wouldn’t get distracted by windows or the other students passing in the halls.”

“And how well did their devious conspiring work?”

“Not very I’m afraid. I’m very good at finding anything to occupy my mind besides studying.”

“I’m well aware.” Blake took one last look at the empty second floor window. “Were you in any clubs? I remember you mentioned a basketball team.”

“Oh yeah!” Yang jumped in excitement, pulling Blake around the other side of the building and down a path canopied by overhanging branches. “We used to eat lunch here instead of the cafeteria when it wasn’t raining or snowing.” Yang pointed to a fountain area surrounded by a few benches.

“We?”

“Me and some of the old gang.” Yang steered them through an opening in the foliage. “And here is where I spent my club time. I wasn’t the academic type.”

“Surprisingly.”

“So I was in track and Basketball instead.” Yang continued, only shooting a warning glare Blake’s way for her snide comment.

They took a leisure turn around the track as Yang pointed out some spots of importance from her memories. She hoped she was being a good guide; she really did want Blake to return the favour when they went to her hometown.

“What about after school?” Blake asked as they came to the starting line again. “Or did you always accompany Ruby home?”

“When she was younger, yeah.” Yang pondered. “But when she started her first year of highschool she was always walking home with her new friends.”

“So then, what did you do with your time?”

“I hung out at the mall a lot I suppose. It was just what everyone did. Including Ruby and her friends. So I would just tag along.

“With Ruby and her friends? Wasn’t that-“

“No, with some students in my class.” Yang answered. “The center isn’t that far from here if you’d like to go.” She grabbed Blake’s hand and started leading her before she ever gave her answer. “I’ll buy you an ice cream while we’re there.”

“You sure it’s not just you that wants the ice cream?”

“Can’t it be a little of both?”

Blake laughed before agreeing, quickening her steps to match Yang’s excited ones.

Yang’s first stop was the ice cream shop once they arrived. She bought one for both of them before they spent the next hour wandering the mall. She watched as Blake entered every bookstore they passed, following her willingly, or standing outside holding the drinks or treats they’d been eating when a cranky owner forbade such things near the precious paper treasures. But the smile Blake gave her and the kiss on the cheek she received each time made it worth it.

Yang’s jaw was getting tired from smiling so much and she realized just how much she enjoyed spending time like this with Blake. Her younger self wasted countless hours in this space, but never did she have as much fun as she was having now. Not for the first time, Yang wondered what her highschool life would have been like had they met earlier.

“Is that Yang?”

Looking up at the mention of her name she saw a familiar sight. Coming out of a Gap opposite her came a group of her old schoolmates. Yang waved, but didn’t want to leave her position lest Blake return and wonder where she’d gone. The group of five instead made their way to Yang.

“I can’t believe it’s you!”

“When did you get back?”

“I heard you were in the big city!”

“How the hell are you?”

They all spoke at once and Yang laughed nervously, not sure who to answer first.

“Let her breathe, you lot.” A raven haired girl stepped forward, pushing the others to the side, effectively silencing them all. “How have you been Yang?”

“I’ve been great!” The girl stepped closer with her arms outstretched and Yang returned her hug politely. “How have you been Sapphire?”

“Bored.” The girl deadpanned. She waved a hand at the group behind her. “This lot aren’t half as interesting without you around.”

Multiple voices rose up in indignation, but Yang’s ears only perked up when a familiar voice spoke up quietly behind her.

“What’s going on out here?”

One of the guys behind Sapphire stepped into view wearing a dangerous smirk at the new addition.

“Well you’re cute. What’s your name?” His voice dropped an octave as he slicked back his brown curls with one hand, holding out his other for Blake to accept. “I’m-“

“Back off Bast. She’s with me.” Yang stepped forward to push his hand away.

“A friend of yours is a friend of ours aren’t they?” Bast continued, sending what he thought was a sexy wink in Blake’s direction.

“No, as in she is with me. This is Blake, my girlfriend.” She continued to glare at him until he took two full steps back.

“Well, I’m glad to see the attitude is still intact. Big old Vale hasn’t broken that at least.” Sapphire carefully broke the tension. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

“We were just about to-“

“Please?” Another girl stepped forward. She was much smaller than the others and wore her short red hair spiked up on her head. “We haven’t seen you in years! We need to catch up!”

“Jem is right.” Malachite spoke up from the back, where he was comforting Bast’s bruised ego. “It’s been far too long, Yang.” He smiled warmly. “Besides, how could we possibly pass up an opportunity to embarrass you in front of your girl.”

Yang deflated, Malachite was always the one to persuade her with his calm voice and un-imposing manner. She looked to Blake for back up but she couldn’t catch her eye. She was too busy observing the five interlopers.

“Blake?”

Her lips curled into a smile that Yang could see didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I don’t see why we can’t spare a little time.” Blake responded as the others, excluding Bast, cheered. “We haven’t eaten yet, and I wouldn’t say no to hearing some stories of you in the glory days.”

“Perfect!” Sapphire exclaimed

She linked arms with Blake to guide her towards the food court. Jem skipped to catch them, not quite invading Blake’s personal space like Sapphire had but just as eager as ever to meet a new person. Bast followed sullenly behind them, dragging his feet. Having no other option Yang trotted to keep up with the group. Malachite and Viv, who’d remained silent the entire time, fell in step beside her.

Yang barely said two words the entire meal, seemingly forgetting her in the others excitement to steal Blake’s attention. Taking turns they told stories of Yang’s highschool adventures. Most she couldn’t even remember, but the ones she did were so over embellished by the group it was ridiculous. The stories shocked Blake at times and humoured her in others. Polite and more lively than Yang had ever seen her in a group setting, Blake spoke with each in the gang and by the end of the meal they were so enraptured with her Yang could barely pry them off long enough for them to escape.

“But Yang,” Jem whined as she clung to Blake’s arm. “We have so many more tales of ‘The Xiao Long Legend’ to tell Blake.”

“It’s getting dark and Tai wasn’t expecting us to be gone this long.” Yang repeated, for the third time. She was starting to think no one was even listening to a word she said.

“You can stay out a little longer. Blake’s having fun. Aren’t you?” Sapphire turned her eyes to the half slumped form rooted by the hanging body of Jem.

“I’m trying to impress Yang’s father, not anger him.” Blake chuckled as she pried each of Jem’s fingers off her arm. “It was great meeting you all though.”

“Oh, Yang.” Malachite chimed in. “Do tell Tai hello from all of us will you?”

“Sure,” she mumbled. She’d mentioned him multiple times trying to get away and was ignored but Blake says his name once and everyone pauses to hang on her every word.

“Will your dad be very angry that we’re late?” Blake asked as they retraced their steps from earlier.

“No, he probably hasn’t even noticed we’ve been gone.”

“Oh.”

Appearing deep in thought Yang didn’t want to bother her so they strolled in silence half the way home. Yang was used to non verbal communication when it came to Blake. But where normally walking in silence wasn’t a reason to become alarmed, today felt different. Blake was so lively back at the restaurant that now, lacking her voice, the air around them felt heavy.

“You didn’t cut the reunion short on my account did you?” Blake questioned as they stepped onto the path that would lead them the last leg of their journey.

“Of course not.” Yang took a moment to compare the sullen expression Blake now wore to the lively one from 9not long ago. “Did you want to hang out longer with them? I’m sorry. I didn’t ask you what you would prefer.”

The look Blake shot her was full of surprise and confusion.

“Why would you think I wanted to stay longer?”

“Well,” she started, a little taken aback by Blake’s accusatory tone. “You seemed like you were having a good time is all.”

“I was just being polite.”

They walked the remaining distance accompanied by a weighty reticence. Blake only brightened when she greeted Tai where he sat on the porch waiting for them to come home.

Expecting she was just reading too much into Blake’s behaviour, Yang hoped it was just the exhaustion of the day's events that were catching up with her. Blake was never one to be in a good mood when tired.

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 4 Part 9

Next part!

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey Saturday April 20

What had he said again ? I won't protect you anyway. Right. Fucking joke. Who the hell had he tried to fool ? His past self would've laugh so much at his actual self. He was fucking ridiculous. He perfectly knew Lucy the whore had something in mind. She and bitchy Miranda wanted to catch Liam, he had no doubt about that. Pretty obvious that the loser would take Doll man. They even bring along a third weel for Fatty roommate. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey had all the reason in the world to go there and fuck the two dickhead right away. So why on earth was he hidden behind a fucking tree ? Why the hell was he only watching for afar uh ? Oh yeah the plan. Because Liam thought he could deal with that alone, the Dean's grandson had decided to trust him. What an idiot I am. Anyway, it would be good for his boyfriend if he was able to do something by himself. It would help his confidence. And a confident Liam was a ballsy and naughty Liam. A win-win situation. If only the baboon manage to escape the so-called witch, that is. The group headed towards the subway and he followed suit. He observed them through a newspaper, which attracted the attention of two old hags. Want to suck my dick ? I'm already dying of embarassment, don't make it harder. For now, Lucy was doing most of the conversation. Miranda tried to cling on to Liam, but he slipped away. Nice one babe. Eventually, they arrived at their destination : a fancy restaurant, which also had a dance hall. Would you believe ! Fuck the site which had revealed the baboon was a walking stomach.

"Sir are you alone ?"

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey glared at the waiter.

"What do you think moron ? One table, and not far from this group."

The idiot looked at the pointed direction and made a face. Oh please.

"I'm sorry but..."

"Here's my ID. My family owns this place. Any other remark ?"

"No of course not. Follow me sir."

Yes, the junior knew this poor waiter only did his job. But damn he was just so pissed. I'll contact him later for sex. Hope it will make it even.

To say Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was interested by the way Liam ate was completly wrong. It just happened in front of him so often that he became used to watch. Speaking of, watching the baboon from afar made the junior almost moan in public. Almost. Fuck that. I hate this world. Liam wasn't a messy eater at all. Quite the opposite actually : he had a certain charm and timidy while eating. He always started by his less favorite dish, and at a slow pace. Throughout his meal, his speed would increase. The baboon made always a point at being well-groomed and now wasn't an exception. From his spot, Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey observed him licking his lips several times. And damnit that was hot. The idiotic girls gave many plates to the baboon but they didn't feed him, which probably saved their life from the junior's wrath. Liam's body language was graceful, with no useless movement. His eyes. They're shining so much it blinds me from here. Damn. Damn. The waiter didn't comment on the Dean's grandson weird behavior, but he obviously saw his hard-on. You would be aroused too if your boyfriend was that hot ! Fuck you. Around the fourth or fifth plate (nobody counts those), another thing happened. Liam's belly started to grow. It was nothing but Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was staring too much to not notice. The baboon had always been attractive. His recently acquired chubbiness made him even more handsome. And when he started to get stuffed... This is terrible.

"Sir, do you want anything with your coffee ?" asked the ever-patient waiter.

Man. I just... Fuck.

"You. Me. Bathroom for a quickie. Is that fucking alright ?" the blond lad suggested.

"We can do that." smiled the other.

When he came back in the room, he felt calmed. His desires were temporaly satisfied and the waiter had been nice enough to forgive him for his rudeness. After that, I'm sure he would've offered me the moon. Fatty roommate was still at their table with Third weel. As for Liam, the two bitches dragged him and Doll Man to the dance floor. For now, the baboon was barely moving, just watching them wriggle like two turkeys. Maybe I should go there and put an end to this ridiculous date ? Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's phone suddenly rang.

"Best spy of the world to biggest penis of the world." said Nancy when he answered. "Got news for you."

"I'm listenning."

"I managed to track the IP of the moderator of the site in Canada." she revealed. "His name is George Blikes."

One dead man. I swear once I find you dude.

"But that's not all." Nancy continued. "I did a check of his background and bingo ! George is Samy's ex from highschool. Officially they're not in contact anymore but it's easy to keep these things secrets now."

"Samy." Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey muttered.

This... Fucking braindead asshole. Stupid fuckup. She would never see the light again. I need to call D.R. That could wait. Once his boyfriend safe, he would pay the asshole a visit. A very awaited visit. However, he had another problem at hands. Because his boyfriend just broke Lucy's nose with a probably deserved but yet violent punch in the face.

Liam Saturday April 20

"Are you sure you don't wanna dance ?" asked Lucy for the third time.

"I'm fine thanks." the lad politely declined.

Throughout lunch, he had understood two things. Firstly, the witch intented to charm him in order to corrupt his energy. This way, she would poison the unicorns and kill them. Secondly, the force of lights were stronger than he had imagined. It's no surprise the unicorns sent Colton to help me. His friend's dance was so graceful that it fascinated the human sacrifice named Miranda. And Nick was distracting the other, a girl Lucy introduced as Velma. The chestnut lad himself was well-fed and in top form. I can focus on our main ennemy : the witch. She smiled to him.

"Tell me pretty boy, I heard from a friend you were into food games a lot. I have an offer for you." she suggested. "I'll let you do things to me for each additionnal plate you eat. How does it sound ?"

Very evil ? He had yet to find a way to defeat her without violence. Maybe he needed to reason her...

"It's tempting." he lied. "At least the food part."

I wonder what Damian would think about that. Liam could do many things to him while stuffing his face with delicious cuisine. Maybe stripping him one clothe after the other for each plate he finished... And why not make bolder and bolder caresses, going closer to his intimate parts...

"You're dribbling." Lucy hissed. "Are you that much of a feedee ?"

The young lad blushed. Whatever he had been thinking was better forgotten. Or not. (He mentally decided to keep the idea for latter). Anyway back to the main topic. He had a witch to beat.

"Why're you doing this ?" he asked. "What did they promise you in exchange ?"

She blinked, seemingly confused.

"Can't a woman woo a man she finds attractive ?" she countered. "You're my type you know ?"

"C'mon I know you've a purpose... Do you know this is bad ? You shouldn't force people to do things they don't want. You look like a nice girl, you should follow the right path."

He was kinda proud of his little speech. Let's hope it'll make her change her mind. Lucy frowned and took several seconds to think. Maybe something was bothering her ?

"Is it about the money ?" she finally asked. "We can share if that's what you want."

The forces of evil hired her of course. Maybe it was Liam's own father who did such a malevolent thing ?

"Sorry but you won't corrupt me that easily. I don't want any dirty money. And you neither, it only brings problem. What if the cops are after you ?"

He was convinced the police were an army enterily built by the unicorns to maintain order. Lucy grunted.

"Nobody has to know. It'll be fast, just some photo and we're good..." she mutterred. "Don't be a prick."

The chestnut lad was about to decline (again) when his phone rang. Surprisingly, it was his sister Chloe. What is it ? She never calls unless it's important.

"Sorry but I need to take that." he said.

He entered in the bathroom to talk peacefully. A groggy waiter was leaving, but otherwise, it was empty.

"Hi sis." he answered.w "Is everything okay ?"

A muffled noise told him it was not. He had been knowing Chloe for the fifteen years of her life and he could count on one hand the times she had cried. Even as a baby, she had been way more tough than Luka or him. The last time he heard her sobbing was when he had been accused of manslaughter. It was a sound he resented. A sound he was hearing now.

"Chloe ? What it is ? Can you talk ?"

She only cried louder. He cursed his own helplessness. Why was he here and not with her ? What a stupid big brother ! Stop that Liam. Now is not the time to lament on yourself. She needs you.

"I'm here sis. Right here." he assured. "You can cry as much as you want, I won't leave until you're feeling better."

"It's silly." she mumbled. "Sorry for worrying you."

Don't be. Don't do that. She had always been very mature and serious. A commom joke between them was to call her mother number two. But Liam would always worry about her. She was still a teenager. In light of his past actions, she had often kept her feelings for herself to not put any additional pressure on him. That was his beautiful and strong sister, who always protected him.

"I..." she whispered. "I just miss mom. That's stupid isn't it ? I lost a race today and I was so disappointed. I needed someone to talk but heck, all my friends are in another town. My mother is in another town. And I can't call her when I'm like that. She'll blow a fuse and come right away."

He never hated his family's situation more than at this moment.

"Can I tell you my day ?" she asked. "Just for a moment and I'll be fine."

"Whatever you want sis. Whatever you want."

When he left the bathroom, Liam had only one desire. To sleep. Even if it was only three in the afternoon and he had work later. Chloe was feeling better, which was a plus, but it only made him realise how everything was still so... wrong. She's way stronger than me that's for sure. However, the freshman barely got the time to breath. Lucy alsmot went for his throat.

"Welcome back handsome." she chirped. "What took so long ?"

"That's not your business." he replied. "And I'm sorry but I need to go."

He could feel an headache incoming. I'm so tired.

"Certainly not." the girl said. "I didn't suck my ego to hit on a dumbass like you for nothing. Come here."

She grabbed her arm and tried to lead him towards the bathroom. Which was ridiculous because he was bigger and heavier.

"Let me go please." he asked. "I'm not in the mood for anything you want to do."

Lucy ignored him. She strengthened her grip, making him wince in pain. He tried to free himself, but the girl suddenly pushed him on the wall. Her hands find a way to his crotch. And that was the final straw. He has enough of her, her scheme and her rudeness. Couldn't she let him alone ?! Pushed by his instinct, he did what he thought necessary to made her back off. He distincly heard a loud crack when his fist smashed her face open. He felt more than he saw everyone looking at them. He heard her scream of pain. And his slow brain realised he was doing another panic attack.

"You hit me in the face !" she yelled.

All he noticed was the blood. He heard thunder. Someone shouted.

"Kilian !"

No. No no no. A familiar head of blond hair ran towards him. He was back one year ago on this road. The young lad paniced. He knocked whoever tried to grab him over. He glanced at the exit. It wasn't far. Maybe he could go for it.

"Liam Strucker, you're charged of manslaughter by the present tribunal. What do you plead ?"

The chesnut lad ran. His legs moved on their own.

"What do you plead ?"

The crack of Lucy's bones resonated in his mind. He pushed the door and hurtled in the street. He had no time to lose. He needed to go the farthest possible.

"What do you plead ?"

Guilty. I'm guilty of everything. I hurt Kilian. I destroyed my family. I hurt Lucy. I did all that.

Nicolas Saturday April 20

The not-a-date rendez-vous went from 0 to 100 in a split second. The young lad was discreetly trying to play at pokemon while Velma was making the conversation when they heard the scream. The first thing he noticed was Liam's fist, covered in blood. Lucy fell on her knees, writhed in pain. Holy shit. Everything went crazy. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey left his hideout (not that he was very discreet to begin with) and rushed towards his boyfriend. But this one didn't hear him. He jostled a waiter and ran to the door. Nick barely had the time to get up before his roommate disappeared in the street. What the hell was that ?

"He hit me !" shouted Lucy. "That fucking moron hit me !"

Her friends were already at her side. Miranda was agitated, while Velma only watched from afar. Something is wrong.

"What took him ?" asked Colton. "He's usually better at handling his emotions."

"Dunno dude." the geek replied.

They both came closer. Her nose is broken. That's not pretty.

"He'll hear about me !" Lucy assured. "I swear to god, I will report him ! This prey is crazy ! The hunt is not worth it."

Nick froze. What did she just say ? Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey ordered her to shut the fuck up. He then turned to the boys.

"Doll man, Fatty roommate. We need to find him before he does something even stupider. Any ideas ?"

Colton answered, but the dark-haired freshman didn't listen. The hunt ? His brain was thinking fast. Imagenius talked about a reward. And Beauty admitted her boss was Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey... Is it possible that Liam is the prey ? Is he being used ? It would explain why a lot of their fellow students were interested in him. (Yes Liam was hot, but nobody was hot enough to interest that many people, except maybe this soccer player Muller something).

"Earth to fatty roommate !" yelled the Dean's grandson to get his attention. "Colton is going to the park and I go to Pasta's Place just in case. You go back to your apartment. If he's not here, check with Nate if he has any idea. Okay ?"

Nick ogled him. Could he be only involved for the reward ? Now wasn't the time to think about it. They needed to find Liam. But I will clear that mess up...

When he arrived at the apartment, the dark-haired lad knew Liam would be there. A trail of broken trash can said it all. He entered silently, hoping to find his friend in a better mood than half an hour ago.

"What the hell happened back there dude ?"

Nick shrieked like a girl when a tall shadow blocked his view. A monster !! He heard the sound of chewing.

"Woah chill pal. It's me."

He finally noticed Archie. For someone his size, this damn footballer could be very discreet. He scared the hell out of me that bastard. It wasn't unusual for him to come over and talk with Nate when they were away. He's a friend of Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey... I wonder if he's a hunter ?

"So ?"

"Liam freaked out because of what Lucy did." explained Nick. "I don't know the specifics, but it was related to the hunt or something ? He paniced."

If Archie knew something, he hid it well. He looked at the geek with his two big eyes and grabbed an handful of crips.

"Damn that sucks." he said. "Nate is with him right now so Imma get going. Text me if there is anything I can do."

"Sure."

Nick waited an hour before he sent a text to Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey. To let my poor roommate breathe. Then, himself knocked at Liam's door. Nate opened and outlined a brief smile. Behind him, it was pretty clear that their friend had fallen asleep. He had work tonight, but maybe her boss would be cool about it. Once he was sure everything was under control, the dark-haired lad headed to his bedroom. He heard the Dean's grandson strom into the apartment, but it wasn't his problem anymore. I have a more urgent business. There is something really weird going on and I want to find what. It was for Liam's safety but also to satisfy his curiousity.

*TheSavior opened a private chat with Abeautifulwoman*

< TheSavior : Yo. >

< Abeautifulwoman : You put a period ! Is it your diet ? Look idk how fat you are but I'm sure you can get rid of a few kilo easy peasy ! I believe in yu boss ! >

Yeah I'll come back to you about that. Until now, he hated this whole diet idea with his whole being. But it was necessary.

< TheSavior : It had nothing to do with my diet. I want you to tell me what the hunt is about. >

< Abeautifulwoman : Not you too... Bro I swear this is a dangerous thing. You don't want to be involved >

She already said that to Imagenius. But Nick had more or less understood what it was about. He only needed confirmation.

< TheSavior : Look beauty. My friend is Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's boyfriend. From what I witnessed today and in the past weeks, I can tell there are a lot of people after him. I know your boss is a hunter, and I know he's not very sympatic, but I do hope he likes me a bit. All I want is to know what is going on. Is my roommate not safe ? Is it Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's fault ? >

< Abeautifulwoman : ... Who are you ? How can I be sure you're Sav ? This is too much of a coincidence. Are you working for Samy ?! Just know that we're after you. D.R and us won't let you get away with it. >

< TheSavior : are you serious right now ? >

*Abeautifulwoman is disconnected*

The fuck ? Seriously ?! Nick grunted. That idiot ! But if it was a big deal, he could understand her distrust. It hurts, but she gave him some info to work with anyway. Samy uh ? And D.R... He didn't like the idea of Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey being a manipulative asshole who was using Liam. He doesn't even look the part. But it was a possibility. He needed to investigate more... Nick would know everything about the hunters and the famous hunt.

To be continued

When you’re hunting, and the prey is way stronger than you.

Lucy is stupid but no, I don’t encourage violence of any kind. Liam wasn’t right, but he’s human, and it’s well know he can’t control his emotions very well.

Nick is going to the end of it. He will. Maybe! 

[climatechangeisreal]

spectrum.

We are all on a spectrum.

mentally physically emotionally

I don’t proofread so continue at your own risk. 

If you are the #grammarnazi this may incite you to do something you might regret. apologies from now.

this is going to read as a thought, so I’ll try my best to use punctuation to share my inflection.

my name is Tierra. I’m from Toronto and you can contact me at info@scscanada.co

first of, what is spectrum?

spectrum, or Spectrum Community Solutions as formerly known by the CRA, is an initiative my partner and I drummed up. spectrum is a beacon of social reform that welcomes any and all voices that speak toward a more sustainable world. 

is spectrum non-profit?

spectrum is a non-profit organization, however our services cannot be free to the public in the current form of our capitalistic market. As we are proponents of sustainability, we ask that the public understand relying on the generosity of the elite is not a sustainable business model if the goal is longevity. 

what is spectrum’s mission?

Our mission is to encourage the development for the culture of sustainability. To do this we need to justifiably incentivize popular opinion with the rewards of sustainability. 

what are the rewards of sustainability?

we aren't certain of what the absolute value of sustainability is, but I have my version of what it could look like and my partner has her’s. I’ll detail mine and I’m always welcome of a rose, bud and thorn but keep in mind it is just a personally influenced hypothetical of ideals. Similar to when you have an ideal goal and work diligently toward achieving it. No one can tell you that your goal is wrong but we compare and contrast what your goal may look like to determine how we collectivize on a larger, more inclusive picture of our goal to sustainability. 

There are many aspects to this, between how schools would operate, their curriculum, to everyone being able to own 100% electric vehicles, to prison reform and police abolition, to eco villages. This part of my thought will be a little chaotic, so I'll apologize ahead of time. I’ll follow the list I just gave...and go from there.

How would school operate? Regarding the younger kids (infant to 17) it is important to have instructors that care, genuinely. Fuck this tenure shit, if you’re a bad teacher, you shouldn’t be one. It baffles me that this isn’t a common thought. Teaching is hard, I’d like to acknowledge the ones that have simply burned out. I know I wasn’t always an easy kid to deal with and I apologize to any of my teachers that I may have pushed too far. I would like to implore you to remember how many other bad ass little kids your teachers dealt with. I used to be an taekwondo instructor and despite the frequent positive impacts that this sport has on the lives of kids that are troubled, violent, have low confidence, etc there are still a few that slip – usually because they’re parents aren’t patient enough and lose interest. It is really easy to lose interest, even as an instructor, in kids who simply do not care. The thought is, this kid needs more, but giving them more means giving the majority less. Why would I do that? These are usually the kids that end up working in relatively shitty jobs. Keep in mind relativity is specific to the person. In my case, I work retail. Even though I’m management level with a low-median salary for Canada, to me it’s a shitty job. So, back to the kids...hiring staff that care doesn't seem to be a problem; not many people endure the six year educational commitment because they hate kids. It’s easier to be a cop (this will reappear in my police abolition thought). The point is to figure out to keep your staff roster bright eyed and bushy tailed. Why aren’t camera’s in classrooms? Could you imagine the impact of giving the administration and parents access to seeing how their children are taught? When you’re able to ask your kid, how was school? They detail an unfavourable interaction with their teacher and now you have a feed to go back to. It would have been incredibly useful for the time I was wrongly suspended in grade 8. My principle had threatened me to admit it because if I didn’t the police would have to get involved and we all have a sense of how favourable the police are of black females that seem provocative. So I said fine. She didn’t detail this to my mom, whom she simply told I pushed a girl thus citing a concussion. I accused her of stealing something, and confronted her. We were surrounded and amped up by fellow classmates. Most of them wanted to see me knock someone out with taekwondo. The girl I accused tried to back out of it and tripped on the bike rack behind her, hitting her head on a man hole covering. I was blamed for that, circumstantially. If the grounds had cameras, either my principal or I would have had proof. Now, how does this contribute to sustainability, Tierra? People get dull. The 25yo parents of a baby become very different when they turn 60 with grandkids. The value of this concept is very applicable to 25yo teachers, especially when they’re kids that aren’t yours and you interpret the lack of impact as lost cause. Then you have the people where teaching is a shitty job, remember relativity. They may act like they don’t want to be there. The impact my grade 10 chemistry teacher gave me the desire to pursue environmental science at that age. My grade 12 chemistry teacher crushed that. Though my grade 12 biology teacher tried to keep it alive, the impact of chem12 was too great and I dropped both of them. If I was able to go to my principle, and tell her, “go to date, time...go forward–there. She would have heard openly him call out my stupidity to the entire class after asking a valid question because I struggled to understand through his teaching style among peers I struggled to develop relationship with because it was my fifth highschool and 20th school in general. I never learned how to create sustainable relationships and because of that at some point I just stopped trying. Perhaps that part is my fault, because at some point phones did become more popular and I could’ve tried. The value of these impacts is what creates those kids who get varyingly shoved into the cracks. You could be an investment banker making $100k a year and feel that your shit is still just shitty, all because your art teacher didn’t try to develop a relationship by rewarding and encouraging all your efforts. The simple gesture of encouraging our local school board to implement cameras in the classroom leads to sustainable retention of interests in kids using accountability. 

Honestly that was a bit longer than I wanted it to be so, if this a concept you have a rose bud and thorn for, please reach out to connect! As for the others in that quick lists, again! connect to get in touch and collaborate on ideas. 

My partner and I are discussing and trying to get some projects off the ground. I’m add and she’s a bit more grounded than I am, so it’s a nice balance. But because I have other obligations which can be affected by further pursuing these ideas, I have to spend some time learning how to be better at time management and efficiency. The problem I see here is that if we’re not talking about, it stops and stagnates. I’m hoping this will reach some people and encourage them to hit us up so that we can keep the discussion going beyond my partner and I. 

check out my shit site...would really appreciate if someone could help we out with that...I’m broke but I’ll try to pay you😌

t