#sometimes my little sister will be saying something and she’s like “yeah i’m *insert age* and—“ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

be-ready-when-i-say-go · 3 years

Text

Christmas at the Hoods

You escape your family by going home with Calum to Australia for the holiday. And the escape is necessary, but at the end of it, you’re reminded that sometimes family is chosen rather than given.

Reader Insert. Fluff a little bit of angst. You just a perfect amount of tear your heart out but then put it back like nothing ever happened.

CW: Death of a parent, strained family relationships.

Enjoy my masterlist.

Support me on KoFi

__________________________________________

You stare down at the text from your mother. Are u coming home for Christmas? The truth is--no, you don’t want to come home. Home is too stiff, reminds you just how much you don’t fit. And maybe it’s just you, you thinking that you won’t ever live up to their expectations of what your life should be like, and maybe it’s not fair to them. But given all that, you still don’t want to subject yourself to that awful feeling, the squirming in your spot wondering how long is appropriate for you to stay before you dip the family pretend bonding.

You don’t want to go home. But you don’t have an excuse not to go. You sigh and place your phone face down on the counter. Ice clinks around in the glass that Calum sets down in front of you. Over the speakers faintly, you hear the twang and kick of guitar as Carla Thomas sings her conversation with an imagined other. At Christmas time, Calum gave you control over the speakers whenever you come over. He liked the Christmas music you had saved and even if he didn’t always get full on decorations the music helped the holiday feel a bit more real for the time you were over at least.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. “That had to be the heaviest sigh I’ve ever heard.”

“My mom,” you reply, unlocking your phone and showing him the text. “I can’t exactly say, ‘No, I don’t have any plans. But I don’t feel like pretending to care so I won’t be coming home.’ Wouldn’t go over nicely.”

Calum stares down at the text. The exchange previous to this was a Happy Thanksgiving text that you replied to and prior to that it seems like the conversation was just your mother updating you about the changes she was making to the home office. To which you only replied with ‘Pretty!’ but nothing more. He always suspected you and your family weren’t that close. You talked pretty highly of your dad, but he passed away a couple years ago. And you and your mother just didn’t click. Any sort of sustained interaction always seemed to go south. He just hadn’t had a clue just how sort you kept your conversations with your mother.

He had plans to go home to Australia. His sister was flying in too, the first time he wouldn’t have to split his Christmas vacation time between London and Sydney. Calum knew for sure that Luke was going home to Australia too. He wasn’t sure about Michael, though if previous years proved to be any sort of pattern, Michael would be spending Christmas with his partner’s family. Ashton seemed to be tentatively planning spending New Years in Australia at the very least. Sure you had other friends but given the holiday, he suspected that they might be traveling home or spending time with their families.

“Come with me to Australia,” he offers.

“You leave in a week, tops? The cost of that ticket on it’s own is going to be fucking awful.” You take your phone as it’s handed back over, but you only focus in on him. There was no way he was serious about an offer like that. There was no way he was getting a roundtrip ticket for you under three grand. Tickets for that kind of travel months in advance were easily a grand or more. So there was no way Calum could guarantee a ticket for you round trip in a week for a reasonable price.

“I always told you I was going to take you home with me one of these days,” he counters. “Show you those Sydney streets I grew up on.”

You laugh at the way he bobs with his fists in front of his face like a boxer in the middle of the ring. “Yeah, when we could both plan it out and I could at least pay for my own airfare. I can’t Cal. I appreciate it and you. But that’s too soon and I can’t have you dropping money like that on me such short notice.” You take the glass from the counter and spin around in the barstool before traveling to the couch.

Calum drops his arms and follows behind. He’s not worried about money. That’s nothing. “I can’t leave you alone for the holidays. I know going home would just be rough right now. I’d-I’d come with you if you wanted.”

“Oh my god, Calum, no. Go home. You haven’t seen your mom and dad in ages. I’ll be okay.”

“If I cancel I can still get a voucher for another time,” he offers and settles onto the ottoman in front of you.

“Go home. See your parents. Give them a hug. Fucking hell, I’m not worth canceling a trip over. I’ll suffer through this Christmas like I have every other Christmas.”

With a tap to your knee, Calum shakes his head. “My friend absolutely cannot spend Christmas miserable. I won’t have it.”

You shake your head. It’s not like you haven’t had to spend every other CHristmas miserable--what’s one more to the list? Calum looks to the coffee table and spies his phone. He stretches out for it. This would be embarrassing to admit. He wasn’t going to do it like this. In all actuality, he had meant to ask you last week. But you had to out of town for a conference. He hadn’t realized the conference was this late in the year but it was one that you had been trying to get into for years, so when you landed the opportunity, Calum knew you’d take it in a heartbeat.

You take hold of the phone as it’s handed to you. “What’s this?” You ask but Calum remains silent and you glance down to the phone to see it opened to an app. “Why am I staring at trip information?”

“It’s because I bought two round trip tickets,” he returns.

“What do you mean you bought two tickets?”

“One of those is for you. If you want to go.”

You drop his phone into your lap and push to the edge of the seat. “When the hell did you buy these tickets?”

“A couple months ago. I knew the holidays were always a little rough for you.” He shrugs. “At least you won’t have to lie to your mum now.”

“Calum you are the most insane person I’ve ever met and I’ve lived with myself for a while now. When the fuck were you going to tell me?”

“I had plans to last week. But I remembered you were going out of town for that conference and I wanted you to focus on that since you had to present and be on a panel too.”

“How fucking early do I need to wake up?” you asks.

“I-I figured you come over the day before, sleep over and then I’d drive us to the airport.”

“It’s summer in Australia right now, correct?” He nods at your question. “Beaches?”

“If you wanna go, sure.”

“Do I get to say that I’m being kidnapped for Christmas?”

“If you really want to phrase it like that.”

“I’m in,” you agree and Calum smiles, wrapping his arms around you as you fall into him in a hug. “Thanks, Cal.”

“Of course,” he returns softly. He’d do anything for you, or just about anything if he’s honest. You matter to him and even if he does have to kidnap you for the holidays, he’s happy to do it if it means you won’t be miserable.

A couple hours go by and you head home, now having to start packing for the holiday trip with Calum. As you sit on the floor in front of your suitcase, you pick up your phone. You aim to go the weather app and see what it’s like in Sydney right now. But the text notification from your mom still lingers on the messages app. You tap on it and reply. No, Mom, sorry. Going to visit Australia for Christmas.

Who’s in Australia?

Calum’s family is there.

Who’s Calum? Is that the boy you talk about in the band?

“Fuck,” you mutter, realizing there were two ways this could go. You hadn’t ever really talked about your friends with your mother. Your dad knew and he filled her in a little bit, but even still you didn’t tell him a lot before he died. Mostly because you were afraid. What would happen if you told him everything and you needed help and he died? He’d be the only one to know and then he’d be gone. You’d have no one. So you told him half of everything. You told him about the band and some of your friends and you told him that you were doing okay. But you didn’t tell him that you were finally starting to figure what what you were meant to be doing on this earth. You didn’t tell him that you were dating around. Your dad only knew half the truth and now you realized all he could tell was half your truth to your mother. He could only convey what he knew and your mother didn’t always listen too well. She always got into her head what she wanted to hear and that’s the version she went with.

You can almost imagine your mother now, sitting on her couch tapping at the screen of her phone with one finger and looking up to the kitchen where your dad would usually be--and here, she would call out to your dad to ask Do you know about this Calum fella? They ever talk to you about ‘im? And your dad would reply in some sorts clipped and in half truths, Yeah, they’re friends or something. He’s got a good head on his shoulders from what I could tell. Because that what your dad would always say about any of your friends, that they always had a good head on their shoulders because he trusted you.

Your dad told you once that he said they always had a good head on their shoulders because you had a good head on yours and you’d never be friends with anyone that didn’t match morals like yours. He knew you’d never get mixed up in something that you couldn’t see yourself out of because he had raised you, because he had to trust you now; his fears couldn’t stand in the way of you living your life.

If you could tell your dad the whole truth, you would. You would tell him the first year after his diagnosis you lost yourself. You’d tell him that Calum had found you more than once on the edge of something dark and secured you to his chest for nights on end. He’d take you the studio with you just so you wouldn’t be alone. You’d tell your dad about the times you cooked all his favorites just so your house smelt of him. You’d tell him that even though you and your mother fought and you felt like you were always at arm’s length with some family, you always loved him. You’d tell him everything in full detail so that when he died, he would die knowing fully.

Yeah, you start typing to reply to your mother’s question, he’s the guy in the band.

Enjoy. But you should see family during this season too. Remember the ones that have been with you through thick and thin.

You don’t respond to the text. More than half of your mom’s side didn’t show up to the funeral. They never liked your dad all too much and you were slowly uncovering why. But no matter the reasons, it hurt. It hurt to walk with your mother down the aisle of that church to the funeral procession and seeing a halfway empty church because her side hadn’t supported the marriage. Your father was dead and the least they could do was show up to a fucking funeral. There’s no thick or thin in that, just them.

Another text buzzes through your phone. It’s from your aunt, on your dad’s side. We’re loving the pj’s! Nana’s rocking the new slippers and everything. Take care and rest. Wanna come by for New Years? We may be old but we can still keep up!

You laugh at the photo of your grandmother, sleeping as she sits on the couch, bundling up in the robe you also ordered for her. The new slippers are almost falling off her feet. That’s keeping up if I’ve ever seen it, you return. I might come by a little after New Years but I’ll bring the wine--you just bring the chips and dip. Going out of town for a little bit.

No worries! We’ll see you then. Chips and dip are stocked. Don’t you worry. Enjoy!

There’s a twinge--you almost want to stay just for them. But nothing feels the same anymore if you’re honest. When you hang out with your dad’s side of the family, there’s a hole. His seat is way too empty, even if you sit in. There’s no one to joke around. Your grandmother has no one to pass on her list of chores too besides finding people in town to help her with. And it’s not the same. They don’t laugh when she hands it over. They don’t joke that they only had a son just so he could do all the house repairs, or lawnmower repairs.

It has to be hard for them too. It’s all around just not a great time. But then in your peripherals you see your halfway packed suitcase, the swimsuits you’ve rolled up and tucked into one of the mesh pouches. Was this running? Or was this healing? Was going all the way to Australia just an escape? Maybe it was all three, but it was running into an escape but on the other side, there was some healing in it too. You continue packing, pulling out some loungewear and figuring how many pairs of jeans to include on this trip too.

You feel silly in your sneakers and leggings as more people filter into the terminal area from TSA in bulky coats. But Calum’s dressed roughly the same next to you, only in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Your phone shakes in your hands. Let me know when you land, your mother requests in the text.

Will do.

“Do your parents know I’m coming?” you asks, suddenly remembering that you will be in their place for three weeks.

“They know,” Calum returns, slouching down in the chair. “Trust me. Mum keeps asking me if you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions. And everytime I answer, she asks if I have checked in with you recently about it. And I have a feeling if you suddenly sprouted some new allergy, I would know by now.”

“That’s how moms are,” you laugh.

“Don’t be surprised if you find your favorite snacks just chilling in the kitchen.”

The thought of Joy going out of her way to find out via Calum about your favorite snacks and to only have them just in her cabinets or pantry makes you laugh but deeper than that you feel touched, chest warming just a little at the thought that she’d do something above and beyond. You slouch down to match Calum and rest your head onto his shoulder. “Is your childhood bedroom still embarrassing?”

A soft exhale of laughter pushes through Calum’s chest. “No, not too embarrassing anymore. Some of the posters are still up and mum’s changed the bedding for sure. A few of my things are tucked into the closet. But Mum’s said she’s been going through things in the house slowly so maybe she’s put more things on display just to set me up.”

You nod. “I imagine there are going to be lots of sports posters.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” Calum chimes, resting his cheek on your head. “I was supposed to be the sports kid. I mean, I was the sports kid for a really long time.”

“Then you found out you had those pipes,” you laugh, tapping on his chest.

“Yeah, then I realized music was a thing. Mali used to blast R&B and I mean blast it. But she’s always had great taste in music so it was never like the songs were bad. They were just loud. Sometimes I’d stay with Michael for as long as I could. Not that I didn’t want to be home, I just wanted to save my ears for a little bit before Mali and Dad would take over.”

“Your dad sings?”

“He’ll tell you only a little bit. But yeah, he sings.”

“So it’s a family trait!” you laugh. “A long line of singers.”

“Mum would disagree with you.”

You glance down and look at the initials inked into his skin. You brush your thumb over Joy’s. You had only heard about her. Once you saw her. Calum was calling home when you dropped by unplanned. It was quick, you waved at her from his computer but mostly you hang around in the kitchen, petting Duke as he wrapped up the call. From the way he talks about her, you know he’s close to his family. You know being away from home is hard sometimes for him. You’ve talked to Mali more, caught Calum a few times FaceTiming her too, or meeting her when she visited LA for his birthday. You know about his Dad too. Haven’t met him yet, but you’ve seen him when you watched the ARIA’s one year and he dad popped up in the crowd while the band performed. You screencapped the moment and send it as a reaction photo to Calum whenever he shares good news. You’re sure he must be sick of it, but he never says anything about your habit.

“There’s a little shop not too far from the house. I used spend hours to looking at all the trinkets. I think you’d like it,” he admits quietly.

“Yeah, I’d be down for that.”

“But first, there will be food,” he laughs just as the speakers overhead crackle to life and the voice faintly reminds everyone of the boarding procedure. You can Calum both stand, slinging backpacks onto your shoulders as you want for them to call group one to board. “Lots of food.”

“I’m ready,” you return.

Sleep on the plane isn’t all that restful, but you take it in stride though you manage to make progress in your book. Halfway through the flight, Calum holds out one of his earbuds to you. “You’ll like it,” he urges and you take the bud placing it into your ear.

Somewhere between the songs that Calum plays and the movie you’re not fully paying attention to, sleep claims you once again. And you let it hold you well past the light layer of sleep you had the first time. Sleep lays claim to you, holding you deeply into its grasps. You only find yourself waking up when the lights on the plane lift just a little and it breaks through your lashes and Calum shakes you awake. The two of you climb from your seats, backpacks on shoulders and wind through the airport to baggage. Thanks to the cat and dog luggage tags you bought, spotting your and Calum’s luggage is easy. Calum easy snatched the cartoon dog but you didn’t put up a fight. You let him have it, especially since it looked slightly reminiscent of Duke.

As you gather your luggage, you hear a voice from behind you. Calum turns to the sound of it immediately, his hand leaving the handle of his suitcase. You grab it for him and watch him, hearing his laughter escape him, as he runs up to his mother. “Mum,” he laughs, “hey!”

The hug looks bone crushing, only the hug a mom can give that even if it shouldn’t be tight is tight because there’s nothing like the squeeze. “Oh, my boy,” she grins. It lights up her whole face and you stand, just behind them, a couple feet off, both suitcases in front of you.

Joy spots you and the grin grows brighter. She releases Calum and shuffles up to you, arms still opened wide. “Hi! Look at you,” she greets. You immediately step out from the luggage. She’s warm and taller than you imagined as you hug her. She gives you a squeeze and your eyes water just a little. There’s something to the embrace that makes your chest tight and you find yourself clinging a little tighter to her too as she runs on about how late it is, and how hungry and tired you both must be. She keeps you close, an arm around your shoulders, hand splayed across your back. Joy pinches Calum’s cheek and wraps her other arm around his waist.

“C’mon, c’mon,” she urges. “David’s with the car. But I just couldn’t wait to see you both. Oh, it’s so good.”

Even as you exiting the plane it shocked you just how bright in the day it was still. But when you look down at your phone you realize you’re almost a whole day ahead, now standing in the middle of the afternoon, as if you somehow only flew a few hours instead of half the day. Calum’s dad is not parked too far from the entrance. As the three of you approach, he runs up some of the way with a large smile. “Aye!” he laughs, hands clapping Calum on the back. “Look at you!” “I swear I haven’t gotten any taller, Dad.”

“Coulda fooled me,” David returns. “Now,” he laughs, pointing to you. “I heard you got dragged along. Did ya put up a fight?”

“Less of a drag, more a kidnapping,” you return but step into the embrace with a laugh.

“Next time, next time, you’ll go a couple rounds with him, right?”

You nod. “Yeah, next time.” You don’t know if it’s going to be a next time but the idea sounds nice. Calum and David load up the suitcase into the trunk before all four of you slip into the car--you and Calum in the back.

“Hope they haven’t scared you off,” Calum whispers to you. You shake your head, mouth opening to say more but then David pipes up from the front seat. You almost don’t catch what he says, but Joy and Calum respond, so you stay quiet with a bit of a nod and watch the lights fade behind you as you travel down the streets. You make sure to text your mother that you arrived safely.

Calum’s room isn’t so bad, like he figured. Though you do almost wish there were a few more embarrassing posters on the wall. No sooner than the two of you can slip bags off and get out of shoes, a knock sounds from the door. It’s Joy, peeking her head inside. “Calum knows this, but you’re free to whatever’s in the house to munch on. I think there’s a few beer already cold too. But,” she waves her hand a little as if dismissing the thought. “either way, whatever’s there, you’re welcome to take.”

“Thank you, Ms. Hood.”

“Joy, call me Joy.”

“Thank you, Joy.” She nods and then slips back out of the room.

“They’ll be like that for another couple of days, but don’t mind them.” Calum shows you were the linen’s closet is and where the bathroom is too. “If you wanna shower first, I’ll whip up some snacks.”

“Oh, that’s some hard work putting together some snacks.”

He glares at you, throwing a towel at your head. You manage to duck it though it does land on your shoulder. You laugh as he flips you off and then heads to the kitchen. You head back to the room and grab a different set of clothes. It takes a moment to get the water right but you keep the shower as short as you can and slip into the clean clothes.

You return to the kitchen and find Calum with a plate of various chips, fruit snacks, and a small section of meat and cheeses out. He cracks open a beer just as you pad into the kitchen. “Want one?” he asks, but you decline the offer.

“It’s cozy,” you say softly looking around the living room and kitchen of the house. Even Calum’s room teleports you. You’re not sure where just yet, and even though it’s obviously a whole different continent there’s something about the house, about seeing Calum’s family so visibly happy to have him back home and the genuine smiles that feels like a warm blanket straight from the dryer. It envelopes you.

Calum shrugs a little. To him, it’s just familiar and a tad foreign. Like he can’t remember if the paintings are the same ones from his last visit but the pictures of him and Mali have never changed. The family vacation photos still line the walls too--unwavering it seems even against all of his mum’s decorating attempts. “Once Mali comes into town, it’ll feel complete,” he states. You wonder how any of this could feel incomplete, but don’t voice that curiosity.

Calum runs up to shower next and in the middle of your munching, Joy returns to the kitchen too. “I’m surprised you’re still standing upright.”

“Oh I could fall over at any point. Keep an eye out.”

Leaning into the counter she nods. “Time zones are killer. I’d say try to make it through as much of today as you can and then zoink out later on. Might be easier to adjust to the time that way.”

“I’m hoping,” you say.

“Calum told me you went to a conference last week. How’d that go?”

“It went well. Slight tech issues with my presentation but we managed to pull through unscatched after that.” You talk a little bit more about it, but are aware that you feel like you're rambling. When you ask her a few questions, she’s more than willing to answer them but she keeps them short and instead asks you more questions too.

“As the best friend, I feel like I need embarrassing material. Do you have photos of baby Calum?” you ask after a bit.

“Of course I do. He asked for some for a video once and I scanned over the most neutral ones. But if you want embarrassing photos, I got ‘em,” she laughs, wiping the salt off her fingers from a chip and waving for you to follow her.

Calum returns the sound of laughter and you cooing about something, he thinks you might’ve mentioned chubby cheeks and he knows without a doubt it’s him. “If you are going to embarass me I’d like to be in the room,” he states, seeing the photo album open on your lap. He steps to the arm of the couch you’re near and watches you flip through a few pages. You pause at a couple and pull your phone out to snap a few pictures of the picture. He doesn’t miss the several messages still lingering on your notification screen from your mother.

It’s over dinner that Joy suggest putting the tree up over the weekend, since Mali will be in town at that point too. No one objects to this plan and the latter half the week you and Calum spend mostly trying to adjust to the time change, though Calum seems to be having an easier go of it than you. Mali is licked up from the airport and you linger behind knowing that there’s not quite enough space for all three of you in the seat. It’s a little strange to be lingering around in Calum’s old room at his mum’s house but it’s not to bad. You take in all the sports posters, notice some medals and trophies still hanging around to otherwise bare shelves. Among them are some photos too--mostly of Calum and the guys. A few of some people you’ve never seen before and you assume they’re friends from soccer, or other sports along the way.

The sound of laughter echoes around you. Though you do hold onto one photo of Calum. He’s in a jersey, arms thrown over the shoulders of two other boys. They smile wide and big at the camera. The grassy fields hold blurry people and you like to imagine in that blur there are parents hugging kids, or kids running to their parents. There are coaches, people shouting in those blurs. The sounds of feet on stair should break you out of your trance staring down at the photo and you hear more laughter too. But you continue to stare down at younger Calum.

Calum tries to catch onto Mali’s wrist. “Do not! God,” he huffs when she slips through his hold. She laughs, backpack still on and barrels past her old room to Calum’s. You’re standing halfway turned to the door, but still clearly engrossed in something.

“Hey,” Mali huffs out, slipping just inside the cracked door. “Have you found the good blackmailing photos yet?”

You jump just a little but lift your gaze and find Calum’s sister beaming brightly at you. “Hi,” you return with a laugh. “I found a few. Your mum broke out the photo album.”

“Good,” she returns. “Sorry for kicking you out of the arrival party. It’s not normally five of us.”

“No, no, it’s cool. I couldn’t necessarily swing a vote on voting Calum out, so, I just took that blow.”

She gives a light tuft of laughter and hisses just a little. “Yeah that’d be a little hard to swing. But I’ll teach ya a few pointers for next time.”

“I’d appreciate that,” you return and Mali excuses herself to drop off her bag. Everyone seems hooked on the concept of a next time. It falls easily from their lips and while you’ve enjoyed the time here thus far, next time isn’t on your mind. Honestly, you’re not sure what’s on your mind besides not thinking about the text messages you need to respond too. Most of them seem to be about making sure you’ve adjusted to the time difference, if you’ve seen anything exciting. And you want to tell her--but you know you’d most likely tell her half truths too. Possibly even quarter ones. So you’ve opted to tell her nothing really. It seems trivial to explain to her that you’ve gone out a couple times--to the beach and the shop that Calum mentioned earlier. Most of the time though, you spend with Calum going down his memory lane. You rode past the school’s he attended, saw all the spots he used to hang out. Those don’t feel like the spots your mother is looking for.

When the Christmas tree is unearthed and Joy brings out the decorations you don’t think about those text messages again. You instead help feed the garland around the tree to Calum who’s standing at the back of the tree and he passes it along to his mon and she passes it to Mali and Mali passes it back to you. And that’s the way it goes for the lights too. Once those are put up, you look over the bulbs that Joy has. Behind you Calum and Mali are already working to put the hooks through the box Joy approved. You’re trying to help her find the last box in that set.

“Short end, Calum. Short end is what you hook through the top of the bulb.”

“Which end is short then?” you hear him return.

“That end,” she laughs. “I’ll put the hooks. You put them on the tree. Don’t put the same colors close together. Space them out.”

“I can decorate a tree,” Calum states.

“Sometimes I wonder.”

You find the last box of bulbs in the matching set, under a layer of icicle like ornaments. “Found ‘em,” you tell Joy and she beams, stopping her work on the box she was digging in.

“Ah! I’m not sure how they got separated.”

“Someone packed them wrong,” Mali returns, focused in on hooks still. “Most likely,” she counters. You step over to her and help prep more ornaments. A few look homemade with popsicle stick and felt. You pause looking at them on the table.

“Made ‘em in primary,” Calum answers, picking up the ornaments you’ve already hooked. “I thought Mum would give up on bringing them out.”

“But I never have and never will,” she counters picking them up and proudly displaying them on the front of the tree.

Calum makes a show to wave his hands. “That.”

“You made them and I cannot not display them,” Joy laughs and takes the bulb you’ve prepped.

“I think it should be the star,” you tease.

“Do not give Mum any ideas,” Calum groans. “She needs zero ideas.”

“My dad would put mine near the star. I used to hate it too,” you offer.

“Because he was proud of them! See, it’s a parent thing,” Joy laughs, taking another ornament.

You don’t respond, giving a shrug. Maybe it’s a parent thing. And maybe it’s just a love thing, you think. Maybe putting your atrocious ornaments near the top was a way your dad was saying you were always near the top, he was always thinking of you first. When you blink the silver hooks blur for a moment and it hits you that you might be crying. So you blink again and the tears don’t completely clear.

Arms are around your shoulder and you think it’s Calum but as you turn into the embrace, you notice it’s Joy. “Hey, it’s okay,” she offers. She’s quick to scoot you over to the other end of the living room and hands you a tissue. “Do you want to keep on decorating? You can take a breather.”

“No, no, I’m okay.”

“As long as you’re sure.” Her hand runs a soothing line up and down your back. You can only nod. It takes another moment and a deep inhale before you find a resolve. Joy takes your spot hooking the ornaments and you hang one up on the branch. You’re not even sure if Calum and Mali noticed your quick time out, but they don’t seem to be visibly concerned. You finish the tree half an hour later--many ornaments had to rearranged after realizing the back hadn’t gotten nearly enough love. You snap a photo and you don’t think too much about sending it to your aunt and your grandmother, but you hover over your mom’s contact.

Would she think you’re betraying? Would she find some way to say that you could’ve been home decorating the tree too and that she could’ve used the help since Dad wasn’t around anymore? You don’t hit send. Instead you lock your phone, place it face down and ask Joy if she needs or wants any help cooking dinner. She waves you in happily, explaining the dish she’s preparing to you as you wash your hands. This is easy. This feels complete, listening to the sounds of the TV in the background. Knocks at the door don’t make your heart startle and you almost know, without looking, that it’s David. And he no doubts has an armful of things--food, drinks, and god knows what else.

“Do-do you mind me asking about your mom?” Joy brings up as you tend over your hot pan.

“I,” and all words have fallen from your brain. “I don’t know,” you answer. It sounds so stupid but it’s the truth. The whole truth. “I don’t know how I feel. I-I wouldn’t be upset, but there may or may not be a reason I’m hiding on the other side of the world.”

It’s a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless that Joy gives. “You know, fair. It’s okay if you don’t know. Instead, we’ll knead dough,” she offers, “or whatever else we need to do.”

“I’ll take kneading dough.”

There’s a nod and a smile, an understanding that kneading dough is the best alternative. The sleeves to your hoodie start to slip down again and just before you can clear your hands from the flour to pull it up, two hands come from the side. Calum, you deduce. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Did Mum put you to work or did you volunteer?”

“Volunteered,” you answer and go back to kneading the dough. The fridge door opens and then closes a few seconds later.

“You’re a guest. You don’t have to you know?”

“I know. Just need to do something.”

“Besides not answering your mom’s texts.”

“Besides not answering my mom’s texts,” you agree. Calum reaches across the counter and grabs your phone. You gave him the passcode ages ago and shockingly he remembered it. “Gonna delete the embarrassing photos?” you tease. You already emailed yourself copies just in case you tried too.

“Nah, no need. You’d just find a way to get them again.” You watch him for just a moment open up the app and the picture of the tree is still loaded in. “Why didn’t you send this?”

“Because I didn’t want her bitchin’ to me about how I could’ve been doing that with my real family. I would rather decorate a tree with you and your family anyway. Just as real as anything else,” you huff out, pushing in a little harder into the dough.

Calum pauses for a moment, glancing over to you. He’s not even sure his ears actually heard what you are saying. “What?” he asks in an exhale.

“I’d rather spend legit any holiday with you.”

He stops you, a hand on your wrist. “Did-did you just admit that you’d spend any holiday with me and my family?”

“Do you want bread or not?” you ask and he releases your wrist. “But yes, I did admit it.” You look up from the dough, knowing you’ve worked well enough for you to be done. The Christmas tree twinkles from the corner and it’s nice to see a family together--there’s no arguments, no need to feel like you’re at arm’s length. The TV plays and it’s idealistic. It’s what you want, not the screaming that occurs on most holidays, no one too drunk off their ass, no one being kicked out.

“I like it here,” you admit softly. Christmas is about five days out and you still need to wrap Calum’s present. It’s currently hiding in your suitcase and you want to get something nice for his parents for hosting you, and you’re not entirely sure what to get Mali but you want to do something nice for her too. Calum doesn’t miss the way you stare, the longing in your gaze as you’re still knuckle deep in dough. “I could send the photos to Dad. He’d probably just send a thumbs up. But, still it would’ve been better.”

“Then send it to him.”

“Mom disconnected the line. I have no clue who has the number now.”

“Send it anyway. Whoever it is, probably wouldn’t mind.”

You shake your head and look down at the dough. It’s done and you place it back into the bowl. The idea is asinine to you. No stranger would be okay with getting a random text about a Christmas tree you decorated and whatever sob story you’d type out. Best not to bother a stranger. Even as Calum tries to urge you one last time, you don’t give in. You move about the kitchen as if you’ve always worked in and wash your hands. It doesn’t take you long before you settle onto the couch next to Mali.

I know this might be strange, Calum starts drafting. But my best friend lost their dad about two years ago and this is his old number (this is their number and they still has the number saved). I took them to see my family for Christmas since they and their mom and that side are in a rough spot. I say that like it hasn’t been years of a rough spot but they helped us decorate the tree. I don’t know who’s going to see this, if it’ll go through or not, but I’m hoping for a miracle, I guess, for kindness in the universe and kindness in a stranger. They just needs something good, so we hope you enjoy our Christmas tree. They told my mum about how their dad would put the homemade ornaments near the star. Needless to say my mum agreed with the idea. If you see this, and get the picture, I hope you have safe and happy holidays.

Calum doesn’t even think twice about hitting send on the message. He finishes pouring himself a glass of water and pour another one for you too. By the time he grabs a snack too your phone buzzes again. There’s a response from the number that once belonged to your dad.

Tree looks awesome, kid, reads the first message. And then another one follows it. Homemade decorations near the top are the only way to go. Hope your friend gets through the holidays safely, but with people like you in their life, we think they will. Happy Holidays and enjoy our tree too. A picture comes attached with it.

Calum leaves the response up. It works out perfectly that the first response sits directly under the picture Calum sent. The first part of the second text is still visible but he doesn’t worry about that. He taps on your shoulder. “The world’s not so bad after all,” he states.

It takes you a moment to realize who the message is under. And you know it’s not actually your dad. You know that line went cold months ago.Your dad didn’t call you kid too much else he was trying to annoy you. But it’s something about seeing a message from that number that makes your chest ache. For a split moment in time, he’s real again. A sob racks through your chest and you're quick to cover your mouth, aware that other people are around. “I should’ve told him so much more,” you gasp and another sob breaks the sentence up just a little at the end. But all you can do is stare at the response with blurry vision.

Calum wraps you into his arms, pulling you into his chest. “Hey, you can still tell him. Maybe not by texting this number but you can still tell him,” he whispers. And though you tremble against him, he manages to get you to the shelter of the stairs. You settle oddly on top of him, your legs draping over his and your cowered into his chest mostly. But you don’t object to the arrangement.

Joy places a box of tissues down next to you both and settles on the step just below Calum. Her hand is warm on your knee. “I thought you were kneading dough.”

You chuckle just a little but tremors still rock you. “Dough didn’t have a lot of resistance.”

She nods, tsking just a little. “Ah, next time I’ll have you knead two loaves.” Once she’s sure you’ve cried it all out, she leaves you be, though most of her comfort was soft reassurance and knee pats. But it’s just what you need.

Calum guides you upstairs and unearths his journal from his bag. Or at least a journal you think you’ve seen him writing in before. “I was going to give this to you on Christmas. But it sounds like you could use it now. Whatever you wanted to tell your dad, write it down. Pretend like your writing letters to him. I know know it might sound silly, but it helps me.”

The journal is leather, embossed on the front are your initials. It almost looks too expensive to even write in it, but when Calum hands you a pen you think you might explode again if you don’t get it off your chest. So you settle onto the edge of his bed, which is barely just enough space for two of you to sleep on during the night and tell your dad all the full truths. Everything you felt like he couldn’t take the grave, you spill onto the page.

Dad, It’s Christmas. Or it’s nearly Christmas. I’m in Australia with Calum and I’ve already had one emotional breakdown. So we need to reset the count on that one. It’s hard without you. Joy put Calum and Mali’s old homemade decorations near the star of the tree and all I wanted was to be six again and be up on your shoulders and have you force me to put my decorations up high on the tree for everyone to see. I used to hate it. When you did that. But now I miss it.

I miss a lot of things, I guess now. I miss being honest with you. I wasn’t very honest while you were dying. I was afraid that I told everything I’d be weak. That if I told you everything you’d take all the words with you when you died and I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone else since it would’ve been one of the last things I told you. It all sounds silly now to write it down, but that’s what I thought.

Here’s the other half I never told you.

Calum lingers, sitting on the floor and finding one of his old guitars sitting on the floor tucked into a corner. He slides over, and places it into his lap before strumming mindlessly over it. The scratch of the pen is hardly audible as he strums but he can envision what it sounds like, see how fast you’re scribbling words down onto the page.

Later in the week, as you have Mali and Calum helping you find a gift to give their parents, you stop at one of the small shops in the mall. Mali’s wandered off to the far corner but Calum’s close next to you, glancing around the walls for something that looks remotely interesting and appropriate. The housewares all look too dated and Calum’s not even sure what his parents do and don’t have to even suggest something like this. But Mali thought it might be a good place to stop so the three of you stopped to look.

“Thanks,” you say to Calum, running a finger over a serving spoon. “For the journal. It helped a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” he beams at you. His attention is still filtering around the store. “I have no clue what to even suggest in a place like this for my parents. They’re not super into stuff like this.”

“You sure a Kiss The Cook apron wouldn’t do the trick?” you joke holding up the red and white apron.

“Hmm, afraid not,” he laughs. The two of you still wonder about the store and you find a couple cookbooks that seem interesting. One’s for cocktails and Calum says it’s a definite--his dad would enjoy flipping through it. Neither he or Mali had gotten one for him before, so it won’t be a duplicate.

“Your mom has a lot of photos you guys. You think she’d be into something like this?” you ask, pointing out to a few picture frames. They’re all collages, just arranged differently. Calum seems to be vaguely interested though Mali worries about the fact that she tends to keep them in a particular way.

“Could make one with the photos you’ve taken over this trip, she loves stuff like that and I’m sure she wishes she could get more photos of us now since we’re gone. We spend a day taking some photos in front of our old stomping grounds and I know she’d love it,” Calum offers looking over to Mali.

She shrugs. “That could work. Sure we can’t say it was from all of us?” she jokes.

“I wouldn’t mind, especially since you two would be doing some leg work in it,” you state.

“If we’re going to do it,” Mali counters. “Let’s go with this one.” She points to a wooden slab with rows of twine wrapped around and clasps that are wooden too where stock photos are currently pinned but it’s clear that you can add your own photos.

“This really blows my flowers out of the water,” Calum mutters, holding onto the paid for box of the wooden frame.

“You also got her the embroidered pillow,” you counter. The pillow has the coordinates of Sydney, LA, and London on it--for each of the cities they’re in respectively.

“True,” he nods. “But still,”

“If you don’t want--” you start but he cuts you off.

“Hey, no, I want to do this. Shush,” he laughs. “We gotta make another stop though. I’ve seen ads for those portable printers and can print photos and I don’t see either one of you with those old school polaroid cameras.”

“I’ll have you know,” Mali teases. But she interrupts her own joke as a ponderous hum falls from her. She rattles off a couple stores that could have it.

“Let’s give it a shot,” Calum returns. The first store is a bust but the second one has it. They grab one of the last ones off the shelf and scurry to the lines. They’re long and it’s no avoiding it two days from Christmas. The rest of the day, Mali navigates, pulling over into random parking lots and telling stories about their childhood.

You snap as many photos as you can. Some are more planned than others but it’s okay. You play with angles, flipping your phone upside to get some cool shots and you’re honestly impressed with the quality of just a cellphone camera. By the time it starts to get dusk, you’re half convinced your phone will alert you that you’re almost out of space. It’s not too hard to sneak the bags up to the bedrooms. You take up distracting Joy just a little as Calum and Mali book it up the steps.

“Oh, this reminds me,” Joy says standing right as Mali clears the first step. “If you need any sort of wrapping supplies they’re in here,” she directs you down the hall and you watch Calum and Mali clear into one of the bedrooms, you think it’s Mali’s before diverting your attention back to the wrapping paper.

“Thanks,” you nod at her. “I’ll be down in a few if you want help with dinner?”

“An extra pair of hands never hurt,” she counters with a grin and it’s become a tradition, or a thing at the very least that you help her with dinner and she’s given up on trying to shoo you out of the kitchen.

You take the stairs slowly, but you can feel the buzzing in your pocket. No doubt Calum bugging you relentlessly that you’re needed upstairs. You find them in Mali’s room situated on the floor as she removes the pictures from the frame and Calum seems to messing with the printer. “Thank you for joining us,” he teases. Music starts up and the door closes.

You settle on the floor next to him. “My job was to distract so that’s what I did. What do I need to do?”

“Pairs with BlueTooth, so I just gotta get this thing on.”

“Let me know when it’s up,” you return and then pull up the photos you took on your phone. Mali helps pick out which photos have to go onto the frame. It’s only a minute or two later that Calum tells you to make sure your phone has the BlueTooth turned on.

“You cannot use that,” he laughs, as the first photo prints out. “I look so dumb in that take.”

Mali laughs. “Oh, c’mon it’s a pretty shot.”

“Yeah of you,” he returns.

You swipe to the next photo and there are no photo blunders for either one of them so you print that one down. Some are in front of buildings that you’re not even sure could mean anything. A couple are of Calum’s old practice field for soccer--the same one from the photo you were looking at when Mali first arrived. There are a few of Mali in front of the place she sang to a large audience for the first time. There’s a picture of the Christmas tree as well--Mali and Calum are in the photo adding decorations to it. There’s one of you, in the middle of Calum and Mali, arms wrapped around each other. You’re laughing because even standing you nearly stumble just trying to shift your weight a little, but the picture is perfect as the sun just starts to step a little behind you.

With the last photo printed, you look over the arrangement and give your approval. “Did you remember to grab our wrapping paper?”

“Shit,” Calum sighs. “I’ll run to the car and grab it.” You nod and head back downstairs just in time to help Joy.

It’s late before another opening arrives for you three to place the gift under the tree and during this time you also add Calum’s and Mali’s gift to the bunch. You managed to snag some cool t’s with Calum’s help for her. She eyed them in your shopping adventure and carted them around the store before ultimately deciding to put them back. Calum stayed behind to grab them off the rack while you went with her to the next store.

Over mugs of hot chocolate--though the Australian heat doesn’t warrant it-- you, Mali and Calum sit on the floor in front of the tree. “It’s been nice to outnumber him,” Mali laughs.

“I’m already outnumbered with you and Mum,” he retorts.

“Yeah, but it’s Mum. She counts but like not really. Now you’re outnumbered by someone in our age range.”

Calum shakes his head. “If you say so. I’m glad Mum and Dad weren’t too weird about it.”

You know he hasn’t brought anyone home in a long time. And part of it is probably just time, but another part is deliberate but you don’t know why. “I’m sure they were starting to think I wasn’t real,” you joke.

“Haha,” Calum gently shoves your legs. “You’re a fucking comedian.” You snicker and take another sip from your mug. The night almost doesn’t feel like it’s slipping away as Mali and Calum take turns on the guitar. You climbed up onto the sofa at some point during the night, asbentedmindly playing in Calum’s hair. But somewhere in it the strumming, sleeps pulls you under, you felt your eyes blinking close but weren’t able to recall when the final blink took you full under.

You find yourself startled awake to the sounds coming from the kitchen. Mali’s asleep on the couch, facing the opposite away of you. Calum’s reclined against the sofa between the both of you but still sitting on the floor. There’s a faint light coming from behind you and you squint against it to see the kitchen light’s on. You settle back against the arm of the couch and let yourself fall into sleep a second time.

When you wake the second time, it’s to gentle shakes and you’re not even sure you had fallen asleep again. Until you find yourself stretching again and blinking back the light of the living room. Calum’s slumped to the floor. “No, five more minutes.”

Joy chuckles. “It’s your presents you’ve gotten open.”

“Hmm, maybe I’m awake enough for presents.” Presents are slow to be handed out, mostly to the three of you still trying to wake up. But Mali gets the first tear into the wrapping paper and beams over at you spying the two shirts.

Joy loves the pillow from Calum and the jacket from Mali. Calum gets a few things, most of them necessities but the socks are cool enough to put on immediately. Mali’s content with the clothes she’s received and the necklace. Calum thought about wrapping your journal as a joke but he hands you a tiny stocking stuffed with some candies, a cool pen, and some knicks knacks he found during some of the shopping adventures. David’s tickled as he flips through the cocktail recipes.

“What is this?” Joy laughs pulling on the wooden and twine picture frame ad she’s handed it.

“For you,” you answer. “A collective effort between the three of us.”

“But originally their idea,” Calum tacks on.

Joy looks at the three of you, unsure of what trick might be pulled. She unveils the first corner and pauses. “Seriously, what is this?”

“Just keep going Mum,” Mali counters.

Joy continues tearing at the wrapping paper and she gasps for a moment noticing the photos hanging from the pins. “No way,” she laughs, lifting it up to take a closer look at the photos. “No way,” she whispers.

“The pictures can be switched out, so you can frame some, or just rotate it based on the season,” you explain.

The tears collecting in Joy’s eyes don’t get past you but they do hurt just a little. In a good way. You hadn’t seen a teary eyed smile like Joy’s in such a long time you almost forgot how good it felt, but how much it hurt too.

“You did all this for me?” she asks.

“I had help,” you return. “But I wanted to do something or give you something nice for hosting me the past two weeks and agreeing to take on an extra mouth to feed. It’s a thank you.”

She gives you another one of those hugs that squeeze more than they should, more than thought possibly. You squeeze in return and though you feel a couple tears slip down your cheek, you aren’t so afraid of the emotion. It’s something like loved, maybe it’s understood. Quite possibly it’s just the feeling of being embraced without judgement or restriction. You’re not really sure, but you do know you like it.

“Thank you,” Joy whispers while still hugging you. She makes space for the frame almost immediately though it takes a little rearranging of the living room but she finds the space. You’re sucking on a piece of candy, looking down at your phone. You know your mother is still living in Christmas Eve and the only message she’s gotten from you are about you being safe and okay.

I would send this as an actual letter, but I worry from Australia to home would take too much time. So I guess this works as next best. I can only hope you understand.

The easy things: Australia’s been fun. Haven’t run into a spider as big as my head just yet but there’s still plenty of time. Calum’s family has been amazing. I helped with Christmas decorations. Joy and I are cooking buddies. If I never had to leave, I probably wouldn’t.

And on and on you go about the tails of this particular vacation before getting to the hard stuff, how it’s hard sometimes to be home because home feels empty and too far away and how it’s hard sometimes to feel like you fit in the puzzle of it all. You tell her how hurt you are seeing how her side paid the death of your father dust. How nothing’s felt right once and you don’t know what caused it. You don’t know how it started but all you do know is that when dad was around, when you and him had those quiet moments it was closest to right you had every experience until now--sitting in your friend’s childhood home in a whole different country, more than half the day ahead of your own family and watching someone else’s world that you know you’re not really apart of but somehow you fit even as a stranger.

There’s that nagging voice in the back of your head that tells you this could all go to shit. Your mother could read all this and blow her top. But at least she would blow her top knowing the truth and the whole truth at that--that you love your family for being your family but recognizing the detriment happening.

I need you to know Mom. Because Dad didn’t. Or maybe he did, but I know I wasn’t the one that told him. So I am telling you. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to like any of this and I’m not asking you or telling you you have to. But you have to know the truth and I have to tell you.

Before I go, there’s a present for you. Hidden in the top box of Dad’s stuff in your closet. It’s only tiny pieces of me and him, of us, but I hope you enjoy it. I hope it provides comfort.

While you’re not the most crafty, you know your way around a sewing machine. You didn't keep nearly as many t-shirts from family vacations as you would’ve liked to, hanks to a couple moves. But you kept enough and you snagged a few of your dad’s t-shirts and some of his old flannels too. All together it made a decent sized blanket--it could’ve been larger but there were a few failed starts before you got the true hang of it.

You’re not sure the whole message will send correctly and you think maybe it should’ve been an email, but that feels even less personal. So you watch the message lift up, hover for just a moment before it settles down and just beneath it, Delivered, pops up. Immediately, you place your phone face down. A watched pot never boiled and a watched text is never actually read.

“Calum!” Mali laughs. Just behind you they go barreling past, through the living room and he tries to make an escape up the steps but she manages to lunge fast enough to take hold of the back of his t-shirt. “Drop the cookies and no one has to get hurt.”

“Never!” he cries in return. His attempts are half hearted and you can only giggle watching them. That in turn earns you target as a potential accomplice and he calls out to you to get you to take the cookies and make an escape.

You walk over, take the packet of cookies. They’re decorated for Christmas and you decide take one off the top is fair pay for whatever mess you’re stepping into. After your take the first bite of your cookie, you hand the packet over to Mali who happily release Calum to snag a couple. “Traitor,” Calum returns, but takes another cookie too.

“I got my pay,” you laugh, polishing off the one cookie in your hand.

David enters then, taking another cookie too. “I got mine too,” he laughs before disappearing again back down the hallway. There are a few things around the house he needed to repair and Calum had been helping him though you suspect more than helping, Calum was sneaking cookies and trying to hide them from Mali. You offered to help too, but David insisted that you actually take a rest at least once during this time away.

You manage to catch the buzz over all the laughter. You don’t think your mother could’ve responded that fast. It’s not possible. But you slip away from the group and grab your phone from the couch cushions. Your heart hammers against your ribs, you can feel the vein in your neck throbbing.

Thank you for the blanket. It’s quite lovely. Glad you’re enjoying Australia. I don’t know if I can say sorry and have it mean much. But in turn, thank you for telling me the truth. Somehow you expected this to be much more emotional, much more earth shattering. But tides don’t change in the blink of an eye and cities don’t build themselves in a day.

“We should have a board game night,” Mali suggests from behind you. “Dunno know. Not much will be open up for long.”

“I’ll kick your ass in Scrabble,” Calum returns, “Anytime.”

And just behind is all you’ve ever really wanted. But just in front of you is all you’ve ever had, your mother and the distance. Maybe it’s not a matter of what you deserve or what is actually yours by blood. Maybe it’s just time to admit that family is also chosen. And you did all you could with your mother. You told her the truth.

A tear splashes onto your screen and you wipe at your eyes quickly. When had those formed? They didn’t even sting that time or maybe they did and you just hadn’t felt it. You’re not sure. Her message doesn’t warrant a response. Though you do imagine for a moment, her curled up on the couch, your blanket across her lap as she snacks on pistachios and the fireplace blazes next to her. The TV is playing Polar Express, her favorite Christmas film. And if the scene is sad, your mother is sad. And if the scene is happy, your mother is happy. And you like it better that she is tethered to the film’s emotions rather than anything going on outside of it.

“You down for a board game night? If not, we can find something else.” Calum’s voice is close and you can feel just how close is he off to the side of you.

“I’m down for a board game night,” you nod. Your voice quivers just a little. Crying is exhausting and you’d wish you had nothing left, but there is always the dregs left. Just enough to make your cheeks wet.

“You good? What’s up?”

“Told my mom,” you answer truthfully.

He figures it didn’t go super well given your silence. “We can watch movies in my room then.”

“She didn’t threaten to blow up the country so I think we’re good,” you continue on. “But she loves her Christmas present. So I’ll take it as a win.”

“It’s the small victories.”

You nod, looking at the photos hanging right next to the Christmas tree. “Like kicking your ass in Scrabble,” you laugh. “I’m on Mali’s team.”

“Fighting words, those are fighting words. I brought you out here and you already turned over my cookie stash. Now you’re going against me in Scrabble! Really?”

“I’ve chosen you over and over,” you admit quietly. You’ve chosen him as a friend, and confidante and you appreciate him for being there. But you don’t say all that, instead you counter with, “But I think sometimes I should kick your ass in a game of Scrabble or too.”

“You’re lucky I love you,” he returns with a laugh.

“I am,” you state simply. “I am lucky.”

287 notes · View notes

sokkas-honour · 3 years

Note

3 with sokka for your spotify wrapped playlist writing thingy? Also hii hehe i just found your blog 5 seconds ago NICE TO MEET YOUUU

it’s lovely to meet you too! (i prepared these a while ago but tysm for being so supportive of my blog!!)

affluenza - sokka x reader

pairing: sokka x fem!reader (it’s more platonic than anything)

wc: 2.7k

notes/warnings: again, i’m only really using the theme of this song instead of the lyrics. for warning, misogyny?? a bit of neglect

growing up a princess was already hard to begin with, but being the younger sister to the nation’s favourite royal was even worse. constantly being in her shadow, being ignored by parents and just being blindly spoiled. you were lucky, you could get whatever you wanted except for your parent’s own attention and affection.

ever since you turned the age of ten, you were quick to notice that you weren’t your parent’s favorite so you would try and do whatever you could to be the star in their eyes. you trained everyday in order to improve your water bending, your warrior skills, just anything that could make you stand out and get your parents to notice you more. but alas, you weren’t the crown princess, the most beautiful girl in the northern water tribe.

it came to a point where, around your fifteenth birthday, you were starting to loose motivation for things in general. all of your work had payed off, you had mastered every healing form and had even gotten secret lessons from local boys trying to use you to get to yue, you had everything you could want except for the one thing you desperately needed. so you started isolating yourself a bit more, the rest of the nation forgetting about you even more.

your isolation changed when you heard of the avatar having arrived in your tribe and suddenly, you desperately wanted to get to know them. if you befriended the avatar and even joined him on his voyage, you might just finally get your parent’s stamp of approval. it was the first thing in months to give you any sort of motivation.

during the dinner that your dad threw for the guests and to honour your sister’s birthday, you had managed to find a spot next to the southern watertribe girl and you two hit it off immediately. bonding over shared experiences as younger siblings.

“yeah it does hurt a bit to have practically mastered all your water bending forms and not get a congratulations from your parents.” was your comment as the two of you spoke about sometimes feeing as thought you’re living in your older sibling’s shadow. what you said seemed to have done something to the girl who’s name you learned was katara.

“you’re a waterbender?” she asked bewildered. her eyes looking at you with excitement and wonder.

“yeah, one of the best in the tribe if i do say so myself.” you joked lightly, a bit confused at her tone.

“i’m a waterbender too! do you think you could teach me a few things?” she excitedly asked, a huge grin on her face. you nodded and finished swallowing your pickled fish that had been prepared by the best chefs in town.

“i mean sure but i’m not sure what i could teach you. i’m basically a master but i wouldn’t say that i’m too far ahead from other people my age.” you responded, explaining to the girl from your sister tribe that you may not be able to teach her much.

“oh, where i come from, i’m the last waterbender. so i’ve never had any actual training.” her gaze averted from yours and you instantly regretted what you said, feeling horrible at your assumption. you were used to being surrounded by waterbenders and had no idea what she must’ve been going through.

“i’m so sorry, i shouldn’t have said that. if you need anyone to show you some water bending forms, i’m more than happy to. but i’m sure you’ll get more from master yagoda.” you searched for her hand and gave it a little squeeze, she turned her head to smile at you which you returned a comforting one back.

“why not master paku?” she inquired, slightly confused at not hearing the name of the respected master she had heard about at one point during the dinner.

“master paku teaches warrior waterbending skills, girls aren’t allowed to learn those techniques, only healing.” you explained, gaze faltering slightly. you hated your tribe’s costume which is why you always tried to rebel in your own way, but she didn’t need to know that yet.

“why? that’s stupid!” she exclaimed, removing her hand from yours to hit her closed fists on the table in annoyance, thankfully not drawing any attention.

“i know! but it’s tradition and the old farts who control this town hate breaking tradition, even my father won’t break it for me!” you explained, giving a small glance to your father who spoke to one of his councilmen.

“maybe he’ll change his mind if i’m with the avatar! we might even convince him to train you!” she suggested, optimism laced in her words but you simply shrugged your shoulders.

“you can try but i wouldn’t get your hopes up. if you do though, make sure to come get me.” you blankly responded, not wanting to give her any false sense of joy.

the rest of the dinner went by nicely, her telling stories about her adventure with the avatar and her brother, who’s name you learned to be sokka. he even inserted himself in the conversation once or twice, making you laugh at his comments. the night had to end eventually, and for yue and yourself, it meant you two have to leave before the party ended.

“y/n, i think i may have a problem.” yue nervously started when you were both alone. “that southern water tribe boy, he.”

“he’s hilarious?” you finished her sentence, a knowing smile on your lips.

“yeah, and i’m scared i might be catching feelings for him. he even suggested to do something together.” she explained, hand grabbing yours nervously, looking to you for advice on what she should do. no matter how much your parents favoured yue on every way, there was so way you could ever hate her or hold your parents’ doings against her.

“oh come on yue, talking to him won’t hurt you. if anything, not talking to him will hurt him.” you joked, placing your hand on top of hers to give more weight to your words.

“i suppose so.” she smiled, most likely thinking about him and the way he made her feel. your smirk never left your face as you watched the way he made her feel.

the next day, you ran into katara and aang as they went to visit master paku to try and convince him to train the both of them. you were going on a simple walk, hoping to run into them.

“y/n, want to come with us to master paku?” katara immediately asked once you were in proximity to the tow of them.

“not sure you’ll be able to convince them but i’d love to either way.” you smiled, waving hello to the avatar.

“well we’re going to try.” aang backed up katara’s optimism which was slightly sad to see as you knew the ending, you had experienced it yourself.

and like you predicted, their attempt to get the old master to go against outdated traditions proved useless. it ended in katara yelling at his misogynistic attitude and giving up to go sit in on a healing session. you decided to join her, knowing it was useless to you but it was nice to a get a refresher nonetheless.

once it ended, you were left to deal with an annoyed katara as aang was still training. you admired her for standing up to him, wishing you had the confidence that she had but you had given up fighting traditions a long time ago when you realised it was useless.

“listen, i’m sorry katara. if you want though, i can show you around town.” you tried to cheer her up but she seemed to agree with no enthusiasm.

during your tour, you made sure to give as many details as you could to the girl from your sister tribe but it didn’t do much to make her smile. her attitude did change though when the both of you ran into her older brother, a lovestruck emotion on his face which immediately led you to conclude he had seen your sister, and you were right.

“we’re meeting tonight at the same bridge we saw each other! yue and i!” was the first he said when he approached the two of you, more directed to his sister.

“really sokka? that’s great!” katara’s mood seemed to change to happiness for her brother. she then turned to you, surprisingly. “you know, maybe yue said something to y/n. did she?”

“why would yue tell her something?” sokka stopped you from answering, taking you slightly aback. his rather none accusing question hurt you more than you’d care to admit.

“i beg your pardon?” you were slightly offended at his question, more hurt but that wasn’t the tone that you wanted to show, knowing that showing hurt was more of a weakness than anything. at least in your household, your parents only seemed to notice your negative attitude when it came out. a comment made by a schoolmate hurt you and when you came home crying, you were simply neglected as yue had come home earlier and your parents were engrossed in her story. you had tried to come to them but were simply ignored. since then, you’ve only ever shown emotions theyd deem negative to your sister.

“sokka, you met her last night. she’s the second princess of the northern water tribe!” katara harshly whispered as you calmed yourself down, making a mental note to thank your new friend.

“yue has a sister? what did she say about me?” his confusion turned to excitement as he practically rushed into your face, too close for your liking.

“yes, and what do you think you’ll get out of me?” you smirked slightly, putting your hand on his chest to push him out of your face.

“i don’t know, what does a princess need?” he questioned. letting your hand linger before you dropped it.

“warrior training.” katara observed as you narrowed your eyes, the smirk still on your lips as you surprised the rather bold boy.

“why would you need warrior training?”

“because, i want to. my father refuses to let me train but i’ve found ways. yue told me you’re supposedly the best warrior in your village and i want some.” you defied his expectations, he assumed you’d probably be drastically different from your sister in a bad way but he was wrong.

“deal, you tell me what yue thinks of me and i’ll teach you a couple of things i know.” he was quick to agree, willing to do anything to know what the crown princess thought of him. you took your hand out to shake on it and he did, both of you looking each other in the eyes in defiance, hands lingering in each other’s grip.

katara giggled at the interaction which brought the two of you out of your stare and let go of each other’s hands.

“i’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully yue will tell me more after your little rendezvous today.” you told him before turning your attention back to katara, seeing as though she was with her brother now, she’d be fine on her own. “i’ll see you tomorrow around the healing hut early tomorrow?”

she nodded before you waved the two of them goodbye and walked back towards the palace, looking forward to your first session with sokka.

the next day was pretty eventful, finding out that katara and aang had gone against paku’s rules, meaning that he refused to continue raining the avatar. you found out right before leaving for the session with yagoda and decided to stick around when katara defied him. and by the end of that whole fiasco, she was able to convince him to let her train with him.

after that happened, you immediately went to your father to beg him to let you join paku’s clas but you were met with a wall.

“absolutely not, the times may be changing but i’d rather none of my daughters do anything too dangerous. you still need to finish mastering healing.” was his response, leaving you in complete disbelief. you had mastered every healing form a couple of months ago and he didn’t know.

yue tried to comfort you but you ignored him, deciding to walk around town to calm down. you knew that if yue was the waterbender, she’d be able to do whatever she wanted. even if she was their fragile little girl.

the day went by rather fast, and before you knew it, you were following katara in secret to watch the first ever girl receive training from a master in the northern water tribe. you made sure to not make your presence too noticeable, even if the majority of people didn’t notice you most of the time. you watched in complete awe of her raw skill, wishing that you were right there next to her, having something to make you stand out from your family.

when the afternoon came, you made your way to where the three of them was staying in order to complete your deal with sokka.

“hey y/n, did you find out anything about yue?” was his greeting which earns a little eye roll from you.

“didn’t she tell you that she was engaged?” you said rather harshly, regretting as you saw him look down sadly. “listen sokka, she can’t love you but she does. she’s tied to our ridiculous customs, i’m sorry.”

“it’s okay.” he took a deep breath in and let it go before meeting your eyes that were soft, matching them with a small smile. “ready to get started?”

“more than ready. my stupid father didn’t want me joining katara today so i need to let out some sort of aggression.” your tone clearly annoyed at your father which confused sokka, yue didn’t seem to have any problems with her parents.

“i don’t know if this is my place to ask, but why do you seem to hate your father so much?” he asked, curious to know.

“this is nothing against my sister, i love her to bits. it’s my parents i have problems with, they just cast me aside. all of their attention has always been on yue, hell everyone in this stupid tribe only cares about yue! i’m supposed to just be unnoticeable according to my parents yet they shame me for not being as special as yue! i mastered every single healing form and i even managed to learn a couple of fighting stances, yet it’s still not enough.” you let yourself go, deciding to dump all of your problems on the poor boy who had to hear your practically yell at the end. “sorry, you probably didn’t want to know all of that.” you joked nervously.

“no, no its okay. i just figured that being yue’s sister would be like the best thing. i mean being royalty makes your life basically perfect and i mean, she’s one of the sweetest girls i’ve ever met!” sokka ranted, not exactly being what you wanted to hear.

“yeah, i have everything i could ever want but my parent’s attention.” you laughed in disbelief at how ridiculous your situation was.

“you know what?” a silence had settle after your uncomfortable laugh but he was the first to speak, excitement in his voice as he voiced the idea in his head. “what if you joined us to defeat the firelord and travel with the avatar? that’s sure to get your parents to notice!”

“you barely know me and i haven’t actually spoken with the avatar, what makes you think that i’d fit your little team?” you were skeptic at his proposition, loving the idea but not being sure he was thinking it through.

“from what katara’s told me, you’d be perfect for us! katara could teach you what she learns with paku on the road, i could teach you what i know and you could be our own healer!” he excitedly thought about the idea of having someone else on his team, even if you weren’t the sibling he fell for, he still took a liking to you after your first conversation.

“well then, come fetch me before you leave. my parents won’t notice me gone so there won’t be any problems.” you concluded, you yourself getting excited at the idea of finally doing something that might make you stand out to your parents.

“great! now let’s get started.” he opened the door, a huge smile on his face.

“if you were at all interested, she thought you were a pretty good kisser.” you added before he could start teaching you any of his skills.

general taglist: @butterfly-skinnylegend @biqherosix

atla taglist: @missmorosis @draqondance @firelady-jay @welovediaaxx @sunnypluto

#atla x reader #sokka x reader #sokka of the southern water tribe #atla sokka x reader #sokka x y/n #sokka x you #sokka x yue #aang x reader #katara x reader #atla sokka imagine #sokka imagine #avatar the last airbender imagine #avatar the last airbender x reader #gaang x reader #gaang imagine #sokka

120 notes · View notes

cakesunflower · 4 years

Text

Who’s Gonna Love You Like Me? [Brother’s Best Friend!Calum AU] Part 1

A/N: the title is STUPID long. like a whole ass mouthful. but it is what it is. before y’all dive in, i just wanna say that this fic would NOT be possible without @bigheadbabybitch (it’s not letting me tag her bc tumblr is a whore) but god DAMN without her, this fic would not be what it is. every scene is planned with her and made better with her. i’m very lucky to be working with this on her.

Josie’s Face Claim here!

so, without further ado, here’s part 1 of my new brother’s best friend!Cal fic!!

She never experienced feeling the weight of someone’s eyes on her until this moment.

It wasn’t like Josie didn’t want to return his gaze—she just couldn’t, not if she wanted to freeze where she stood. She could feel his intense gaze on her the moment he had walked into her older brother’s house. What she had expected to be a celebration turned into an internal prison as she found herself contemplating what exactly he was thinking about. The way he had been looking at her. . . She didn’t think either of them knew just how much power he held over her. So Josie pretended to be oblivious, acted as though his stare wasn’t burning right through her skin as she talked to friends of her brother’s she was only vaguely familiar with. She had a good excuse, too; after all, Luke had thrown this party to welcome her to California, had been a good older—by three years—brother and opened his home to her so she had a place to stay right after graduating college while looking for one of her own. And nothing said welcome like a good house party. At least, according to Luke Hemmings, anyway.

A soft smile played on her lips as she nursed her drink, thinking of her brother’s welcoming arms. The warm welcome she received was one that calmed her nerves, at first feeling like she was intruding when she moved into Luke’s home, despite his encouragement. Her brother wanted her to move in with him, and yet there was still a small part of Josie that had felt as though she was encroaching on his space. But it came with the territory of being labeled as the little sister among the inseparable group of her brother and his best friends, always feeling as though she was pushing herself into their friend group, even if her company was welcomed.

Eventually, she finished her drink and was in need of more, excusing herself from the group she was chatting with before making her way to the kitchen. Luke’s house was one she loved, proud of her brother for doing so well for himself, starting off as an accountant by using the math skills their mom instilled in them before rising to the top. High ceilings and lots of windows with a view of the trees and hills of the Valley, and an open space that was so much better than the cramped dorm room she’d been living in for too long. Her brother’s spacious home was definitely an upgrade. Josie knew she’d enjoy living in a space where she wouldn’t have to stack her belongings on top of one another, now having room to spread out comfortably.

Too busy admiring her new—albeit temporary—home and pouring herself another drink, Josie had become unaware of who she’d moved towards until the familiar voice spoke up nonchalantly, “You look like you’re fittin’ right in.”

Josie put down the bottle of Coke, biting the inside of her lower lip as she raised her head to finally meet the gaze she had been avoiding. His voice was unmistakable, eyes sharp as always as she schooled her expression into one of ease right when she looked at him. She went from chewing on her lower lip to biting the tip of her tongue to focus on the sting rather than the quickening of her heart. Her skin felt warm, frustration flushing her for not being able to slow her heart rate. Still, Josie offered a smile, the perfect combination of friendly and smug even if the latter felt incredibly made up. “’Course—it helps that I’m really likable.”

Calum sucked in his teeth, giving a brief, semi-accepting tilt of his head. One hand shoved into the pocket of his leather jacket, he was gave her a once over before responding, “Depends on who you ask.” His words were followed by a sip of his beer, but Josie could make out the smirking curl of his lips from around the mouth of the bottle.

Despite the bass of the music thrumming deep in her chest, and the nerves she wished would subside because it was ridiculous to even feel so, Josie offered a smile and rested her hip against the counter she was near. She faced him as he stood a few feet away, left arm braced on the counter as the chain bracelet glimmered against the hanging light above the center counter. He looked good, Josie wasn’t afraid to admit that. To herself, anyway.

With a single shouldered shrug, Josie smiled knowingly and raised an eyebrow at Calum. “I’m asking you.” A risk, those words falling past her lips, but she couldn’t take them back. Nor the implication behind them. But Josie was trying to learn not to be regretful of things, standing by decisions she made.

There was a subtle shift in his features, lips parting to lick his lower lip. Calum looked almost impressed, if not a bit startled, at Josie’s words, and she didn’t quite blame him. She watched something flash in his dark eyes, eyebrows lowering as a bit of a warning, silently telling her she was wandering into territory she shouldn’t be. Not that she had to be told that. The hitch in her throat was a sign enough.

Before Calum could respond, however, a sudden weight of an arm settled around Josie’s shoulders, a soft yet startled gasp escaping her as her six-foot-four brother playfully hung off her shorter frame. “Do you love your party or what?”

Josie tore her gaze away from the dark haired man across from her to grin up at her brother, whom she could tell was already well on his way to getting drunk. His cheeks were flushed, pushed up to show off his dimpled grin, eyes glazing over. A chuckle equal parts forced and amused escaped Josie, his presence tightening the knots in her stomach, as she wrapped her free arm around his waist. “Of course,” she answered. “I’m feeling all the love.”

Luke grinned, clearly satisfied with her answer. “Good,” he declared, wrapping his other arm around her as well, keeping her close. Josie could feel Calum’s eyes on them but she didn’t look back at him, letting her brother hug her as he continued, “You were too far away at Davis. ’m glad you’re here now.”

His words widened Josie’s smile, a happy warmth flushing her skin. Despite sometimes inserting herself in Luke’s friend group when they were kids, her brother never made her feel as though she was just tagging along or that she wasn’t welcomed to join. Being so close in age, Luke was Josie’s first best friend—honestly, he had a higher friendship role than any best friend she’s had—and she was easily closer to him than she was to her other two older brothers, Jack and Ben. Don’t get it wrong, Josie loved all of her brothers. But if she had to pick a favorite, it would be Luke.

Which was why Calum’s gaze on them felt so heavy, like it was weighing her down, slowly squeezing the air out of her lungs. Luke’s hug felt warm for all of the wrong reasons as Calum watched them, and Josie forced herself to look up, for her blue eyed gaze to meet his brown. His stare was intense as ever, looking right through her, and despite the neutrality of his features, Josie picked up on the look in his eye. She saw the reluctance that swam in them, a hint of panic he was doing a good job in hiding from those who wouldn’t expect to see it there. But Josie knew; she knew to look for it, knew it was probably present because she could feel it knotting her insides, too.

It was a kind of emptiness in her chest that allowed for the bass of the music playing in the house to settle too deeply, wondering if Calum felt it too as he tore his gaze away from them and took a long sip of his drink. Did he feel guilt, too?

She hoped he didn’t regret it because she sure as hell didn’t. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t any room for the guilt to take up residence. Not when her brother was holding her so tightly, so happily, rambling on about how excited he was for her to be living with him. Oblivious to the tension his presence only intensified between his best friend and sister.

“It’ll be just like old times, right, Cal?” Luke’s voice pulled Josie out of her thoughts, swallowing the lump in her throat as Calum looked at them once more. The song playing through the speakers changed to an unfamiliar R&B type that Josie thought was more Calum’s style than her brother’s.

A wry expression briefly twisted Calum’s features, a subtle quirk of his eyebrows and purse of his lips as his eyes met hers quickly. A silent scoff of yeah, right being spoken by him just through his features to her as Josie bit the inside of her cheek, her smile disappearing.

“Yeah,” Calum responded, his voice sounding too deep, heavy with the thoughts swirling in his head. Josie figured she had an idea what was running through his mind. He took another sip of his drink, brown eyes on blue, her own gaze following the way his tongue swiped across his lower lip, hating that she couldn’t pull her gaze away. All too aware that he was watching her track his movements, a hardship she would have to learn to get past. His eyes never left hers as he raised his cup, a silent cheers, as he repeated, “Just like old times.”

*****

The sun was bright. Then again, this was California, and the sun was always bright. Especially as June began and the sun remained high and relentless. It felt warm against Calum’s skin, which he’d eventually cool down by taking advantage of the tempting pool in front of him. And he wanted to jump in already, except he remained planted on the poolside chair, refusing to submerge himself in the cold water because of the woman already enjoying it. So he stayed put, feeling the heat burn his legs and the thin layer of sweat that clung to his skin, depriving himself of the welcoming water because he needed to keep his distance.

Music was playing through Luke’s backyard, but Calum couldn’t tell what song was playing, attention muffled by his focus being on Josie. Or, specifically, it was on trying not to be on the woman. Sipping his beer, Calum blinked behind his sunglasses, trying to anchor himself to the conversation happening around him by trying to get a grasp on reality. It was just him, the boys, and Josie—how it used to be at times when they were younger. Except there was nothing adolescent in the way his gaze lingered on Josie from behind the shades of his glasses. Yet he tried to listen to the song, foot tapping as his mind slowly picked up on the beat. Anything to try and get a solid grasp on his surroundings to pull out of his jumbled thoughts.

“The salon’s nice, then?” Ashton questioned, popped up from the middle of a hideous duck float, arms crossed on top as he looked at Josie.

She was laying on her stomach on a pool float, legs kicked up and ankles crossed. “So nice,” she answered with an appreciative groan. Calum took a breath, sipping his beer again as the sound rang in his ears. “Really fucking fancy, and everyone’s so nice. And the same company owns the nail salon next door so we get discounts.” With a wide grin, she added, “Pretty nails twenty-four-seven.”

She emphasized this point by lifting one hand and wiggling her fingers to show off already painted and long nails. Calum’s eyes followed the movement from where he sat, and the sun burned his skin. He straightened his posture, trying to rid of the all too familiar stinging sensation that dragged down his back. His muscles twitched, taking a breath as he tried to rid of the feeling, the reminder of a memory that was still fresh in his mind despite the months that passed.

Calum smacked his lips after forcing down the sip of beer, looking down at the bottle he held in mild distaste. Suddenly, he felt as though he needed a drink far stronger than this. Something to wipe the images lighting up his mind.

Michael walked out from the house, flip flops echoing on the concrete, signaling his presence as he walked down the few steps from the back door to the pool area. He settled down on the chair next to Calum. “A friend of Crystal’s booked a couple of tables for tomorrow night at the new club that opened up in West Hollywood.” His green eyes looked at the four people he was with. “You guys down to go?”

Luke waded into the water behind Josie, and Calum watched with a quirk of his eyebrows, noting the way his best friend was making it a point to be particularly quiet in his silent approach towards Josie as Ashton answered, “Yeah; I’ve got a business dinner so I’ll meet you guys there.” He munched on some chips. “Just send me the details.”

Michael nodded, looking between Calum at his right and Josie in the pool in front of them. “What about you guys?”

“Sure,” came both of their responses, Josie’s excited while Calum’s more subdued. His gaze wandered back to Josie and he didn’t miss the way her smile kind of froze on her face, rolling her lower lip into her mouth before breaking their gaze. She couldn’t seem to hold their gaze for too long, as opposed to him, who couldn’t stop looking at her, enough to notice the way her eyes dulled when she heard his hesitated answer. Look at me. The words echoed in his mind, wanting her to hear them. Look. At. Me. Why he wanted her to look at him, he had no idea. All he could think about when their eyes connected, even for a few seconds, were the overwhelming memories he had shoved into a box in his mind. But the more he looked at her, the more prominent the images in his mind became.

Calum hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation that followed, looking out to the five foot brick wall that surrounded the perimeter of Luke’s yard. The sky was clear of clouds that made the heat of the sun all the more relentless, only adding heat to the tightness of his muscles. His attention was drawn back to the scene in front of him by the sound of Josie’s scream, eyebrows raising as he watched Luke, from underwater, pushed the float Josie was on to flip it, sending his sister splashing into the water as the sight of her flailing limbs erupted laughter from everyone else.

An amused grin tilted at Calum’s lips, his own laughter mixing in with those of the boys as Josie finally surfaced with a gasp. And suddenly the laughter from Calum ceased, watching as she rose up with her head tilted back, her slender neck drawing his gaze. For a moment, he could picture it. All of it. The droplets of water covering her skin glimmered under the sun, the blue bikini she wore attracting Calum’s attention more than he’d admit, biting his tongue as Josie turned her back to him to splash at Luke in retaliation.

Calum excused himself then, muttering something about needing to use the bathroom as he headed inside the house, the sliding door at the back of the house opening right into the kitchen as he walked through to get to the downstairs bathroom in the hall. Calum found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror, cheeks flushed, hoping it was from the sun. His eyebrows lowered into a frown as he looked at his reflection, annoyance with himself spiking.

Get it together. It was all that he could say to himself as he exhaled slowly. He felt like a teenage boy, the sight of Josie in the pool stirring something in the pit of his stomach that had him sucking in a breath. What could he do? The sight had been all too familiar.

Calum gave a shake of his head. Nope. He couldn’t do this.

He exited the bathroom, shaking his hands as if he was trying to get rid of the thoughts that clung to him, walking towards the kitchen. The sound of someone messing around in there caught his attention, distinct in the rattling of bottles, and Calum stopped when he caught sight of Josie shutting the fridge. A Mike’s Hard Lemonade was in her hand as her eyes locked on his, the fall of her sun-flushed face an obvious tell of her discomfort of being caught alone with him.

Calum could vaguely hear the boys still outside, but he was all too focused on Josie; her wet blonde hair hung around her shoulders, and he fought to keep his eyes from wandering any lower than her eyes. He didn’t want to observe the blue bikini top that complimented her eyes, grateful for the little reprieve he had with her tying a towel around her hips. Just a little reprieve. He bit the tip of his tongue, scolding himself for so easily losing his train of thought in her presence, knowing now was not the time to allow himself to fall into a silent stupor.

Licking his lips, Calum looked towards the glass door that led out back, briefly watching his friends talk amongst themselves. Their conversation was drowned out by the music playing, and Calum exhaled, not looking back at Josie as he said, “You could’ve given me a warning, you know.”

He heard the bewilderment in her voice. “A warning?” she repeated. “For what?”

“That you were movin’ here.” Calum turned his head to look at her, taking in the frown furrowing her eyebrows and tilting her lips downwards. His throat worked, keeping his eyes on her as an attempt to keep himself from watching a lone bead of water run down the column of her throat and race towards the valley of her breasts. Conjuring up the nostalgic image of her in the flannels she used to wear was proving to be difficult, his attempt of distracting himself failing. “Would’ve liked a heads up.”

Josie gaped at him, and maybe Calum wasn’t being fair to her. She didn’t really owe him anything, he knew that. But from the moment Luke had dropped the bombshell that Josie was moving in with him—the day she was driving down from Davis—Calum had found himself in a state of panic he wasn’t familiar with. One that made his stomach feel hollow and chest tighten when he thought about seeing her practically every day.

“A heads up?” Josie scoffed, clearly finding Calum’s words as ridiculous as he felt saying them. With a tilt of her head, she raised an eyebrow and challenged, “Even if I did, what would you have done? High tailed it out of L.A.?”

Calum huffed, arms crossing over his chest, picking up on her gaze drifting to his arms briefly. He would’ve smirked if he wasn’t for the conversation at hand. His lips twisted to the side before he responded, “I would’ve at least been a bit prepared.”

“You think I was prepared?” Josie retorted, eyebrows shooting up as she stared him down. She took a step towards him, her own gaze drifting towards the back door before looking back at him. “Moving to L.A. was a last minute decision. You’re not the only one who can’t look Luke in the eye.”

He licked his lower lip, finger tapping against his bicep as he shook his head, anxiety ridden thoughts running rampant in his head. He wasn’t used to feeling so. . . Frustrated. Panicked. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like feeling as if he was trapped in a corner with no way out. “Pretty sure I have more to lose than you.”

That had been the wrong thing to say; Calum knew it as soon as the words escaped his mouth. He watched the way Josie’s eyebrows shot up and lips parted. She stared at him in disbelief, incredulous that he would try to knock down what was at stake for her in this situation by trying to emphasize his own. It was a dick move, he knew, and he was sorry for it. “Fuck you, Calum,” she frowned, her voice resigned. He hated that he could see her disappointment and hurt more than the anger. He swallowed inaudibly at the thought of bringing that look on her face; one that settled a solemnity in her features against him. “We both screwed Luke over,” she added, making her way around the center counter, taking the longer way around to avoid walking past him as she headed towards the door.

Calum’s jaw set, wanting to apologize as he watched her go, feeling badly for making it seem like his guilt was stronger than hers. Josie stopped then, right before reaching the door, and looked at him over her shoulder. The hurt was still in her eyes, and she spoke with an edge creeping into her voice. “But if you take into consideration who’s more likely to get punched if Luke were to ever find out. . .” Her blue eyes gave him a once over, expression looking almost too empty for Calum’s liking until her gaze met hers. She smiled humorlessly then, wanting to fire back to mask the hurt his words had caused her by being spiteful in hers as she finished off, “Then yeah; you’ve got more to lose.”

And then with a roll of her eyes, she turned back and slid the door open, the music clear for the brief moment the door was open until she slid it shut. Calum rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, shaking his head as he released yet another slow, long breath, finally in tune with the racing of his heart he had failed to notice earlier. So fucking screwed.

tags: @irwinkitten @loveroflrh @sweetcherrymike @astroashtonio @softforcal @highfivecalum @novacanecalum @captain-what-is-going-on @angelbbycal @singt0mecalum @hopelessxcynic @lfwallscouldtalk @bodhi-black @findingliam-o @softlrh @calumsmermaid @erikamarie41 @quintodosuniversos @longlastingdaydream @babylon-corgis @lukehemmingsunflower @imfuckin10plybud @pastelpapermoons @conquerwhatliesahead92 @rotten-kandy @metangi @neigcthood @ohhmuke @old-zeppelin-shirt @5sos-and-hessa @trustmeimawhalebiologist @vxlentinecal @pettybassists @vaporshawn @lu-my-golden-boi @visualm3nte @isabella-mae13 @dontjinx-it @lifeakaharry @neonweeknds @antisocialbandmate @ixcantxdecidexwhosxmyxfave @calpalbby @grreatgooglymoogly @sunnysidesblog @miahelizaaabeth @madelynerin @dramallamawithsparkles @theagenderwhocriedwolf @kaytiebug14 @hoodskillerqueen @bitchinbabylon @empathycth @xhaileyreneex @inlovehoodx @calistheloml @aestheticrelated @bloodlinecal @sublimehood @madbomb @raabiac @britnicole11 @outofmylimitcal @wildflower-cth @bloodmoonashton @vxidhood @wildflowergrae

775 notes · View notes

shananigans402 · 3 years

Note

1-65 will do, please. Thanks fuck face :)

I knew exactly who this was and I was so tempted to not reply, but your punishment is having to read through all my answers and remember them forever or you fail the friend test. To everyone else, please do not click unless you want to be very bored, my answers are not interesting lol

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? Nope

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? Assuming 5 is the most, 1. Maybe 2.

3. The person you would never want to meet? The person who sent me this (jk I’m excited for our eventual meet up where we hit up a strip club first thing 🙏)

4. What is your favorite word? I answered with ‘conniption’ the other day and still have not found a word I like more.

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? Already answered this, fruit tree! I also like palm trees, maple trees, and willow trees. I know that’s not the question, I’m just saying random shit now.

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? It took me a long while to remember where I was this morning. I honestly don’t remember, I was rushing to get ready for an early morning meeting.

7. What shirt are you wearing? My Orlando Strong shirt

8. What do you label yourself as? Lesbian

9. Bright room or dark room? Bright room

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping? Possibly checking on a feverish little beeb who was going through it with her second dose of the vaccine.

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? No idea. I like various ages for different reasons, but this age so far is not bad.

12. Who told you they loved you last? Probably my sister 🤷‍♀️

13. Your worst enemy? The person who sent this ask.

14. What is your current desktop picture? The apple pic of Catalina island that changes based on time of day (yes it’s the default, don’t judge me)

15. Do you like someone? Lol yeah I hope so 😂

16. The last song you listened to? Pretty Girl by Hayley Kiyoko

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? Definitely @raginage

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? I feel like I can only attack Raginage so many times. Can I pick a fictional character? This week I was real mad at Dave in The Darkness. BaBe!

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? Lol no one, you’re talking to a person who feels very uncomfortable with anyone doing anything nice for them.

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional) Not this again. Last time I said eyes? Still no pics, sorry

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? What would I look like? Do I get to design myself like a sim? I honestly don’t know what I’d do because I doubt the world needs another clueless white man walking around, so maybe just stay at home.

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? Nope. And my last answer to this was awful. I do think I have a fantastic ability to annoy my friends but in a way that’s just amusing/endearing enough to make them still want to talk to me 😌

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? Unique? Uhm well my two big fears are confined spaces and deep water so a submarine is like my worst nightmare.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. Oh this is going to sound so odd. To be clear, I’ve had better sandwiches, but my go-to is provolone, turkey, roast beef, and spicy brown mustard or whole grain mustard. Please don’t judge me.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? Travel budget for future trips to visit my buds and get into trouble and eat food. I know $100 won’t go far, but it’s something.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? Well, after my last answer I want to visit my friends! But there are too many people to visit and I only have one ticket. So change of plans. I’m going on a solo trip to Greece. Or Argentina. Or Iceland. Or Bali. Damn, I’m indecisive.

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? Rabble red blend. Just a solid red wine. Also because @viola-lloyds stole my answer the other day (Juneshine; to be fair I asked her this question but whatever) and I don’t want to copy her.

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? Oh I answered this one, something about respecting others. Yeah, a nice rule like that. Want to establish some healthy communication on this island.

29. What is your favorite expletive? It’s still fuck

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? But what about my PLANTS. Can they count as loved ones? Probably my laptop, I know that’s lame but like...I have a lot of stuff on here. Or the collection of cards I have that my granddad drew little drawings in, I want to get them all framed.

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? To be honest, I don’t know if I’d change big life events in case it altered the trajectory of where I ended up. So idk maybe the ending of Bly, let’s give those lesbians have a happy ending!

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Italy! But wait, let’s get back to this sleeping with celebrities and super-powers bit...

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? Oh that’s a really tough question. I always wanted to meet my great-grandma Olga because she seemed like a really awesome lady.

34. What was your last dream about? I can’t remember, this is bothering me because I wish I could! I’m sorry. My gf recently had a dream where I kissed a dude right in front of her. It made us both very uncomfy lol

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]? I hate this question because I can only think of one thing.

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? For surgery, yeah

37. Have you ever built a snowman? But of course!

38. What is the color of your socks? Not wearing any? I was wearing blue ones earlier. Jfc my answers are so boring.

39. What type of music do you like? Lots! I tend to listen to indie, classic rock, and some pop

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets!

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? Chocolate or a variant (chocolate peanut butter, chocolate caramel)

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer) LA Rams or Seattle Seahawks. I know they’re in the same division. It’s tough. (Please don’t ask me why these teams)

43. Do you have any scars? Yep, mostly from burning myself on ovens. I simply get too excited for my food.

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? I...have graduated?

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Well bestie recently said I have “lesbian hands” and I think that’s code for man hands so maybe that hahaha

46. Are you reliable? I try to be!

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? How many more times will I watch The Darkness before I learn my lesson? (Related: When does other bestie finally admit to her fetish?)

48. Do you hold grudges? Not typically, no

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? A dog and an otter? Can we domesticate otters? No, a horse and a large bird, create a pegasus and then free travel.

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? Oh god. I don’t even know where to start today tbh. Damie and pokemon and cosycon and looming and feet and [redacted] and developing apps for VP. So many fantastic conversations.

In real life, probably the time I was at a laundromat in Italy and this guy wandered in with a beer, sat next to me and my male roommate, assumed we were a couple, and proceeded to give us bizarre life advice. I wish I could remember more of it, but it was so odd.

51. Are you a good liar? Hmm I’m okay at it I think, that is, I can convince people I’m serious when I’m actually joking. But I don’t like actually lying if it’s not just teasing someone.

52. How long could you go without talking? Probably a few days if I had to.

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? The haircut I got before studying abroad! It was too short and I was so sad.

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? For a birthday? No. For fun? Absolutely.

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? Not well, no

56. What do you like on your toast? Butter and/or honey and/or jam

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? My beautiful depiction of a scene of chapter one of Private Dancer.

58. What would be you dream car? An electric car of some sort. I don’t know enough about cars tbh

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. Nope but sometimes I’ll play music and dance and maybe softly sing.

60. Do you believe in aliens? Yep! Definitely

61. Do you often read your horoscope? Almost never unless someone sends it to me.

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? Already answered, A

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? Dinosaurs! 🦕

64. What do you think about babies? What do I think about them? They’re pretty cool. Just tiny little humans.

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of. I was very nice and let you correct your mistake and submit one after the fact:

In your opinion what is the best thing you can cook, like your speciality? My favorite thing to make is pasta, I started making my own sauce and I’d love to make pasta from scratch sometime.

#read up @raginage #this is what you get #responding to these out of spite took far longer than i thought lol

6 notes · View notes

zelskzerker · 3 years

Text

Mangadex went down so I read alot 2/7

Lets CONTINUE reviewing a bunch of isekai and related stuff I binged because mangadex went down. The scale will be a single thumbs up to a single thumbs down in terms of how much I would consider recommending it in general. Lot more to come, brace yourself future me who is reading this.

The Reincarnation Magician Of The Inferior Eyes

Chapters 1-55

This manga is FUCKING SHOCKING. [Insert reincarnation setup] but this time it is end tier level generic. I actually cannot believe the things that happen in this manga are so utterly within my prediction range. Calling the plot and characters lazy would not give this enough credit. It takes alot of force of will to produce something so utterly generic, devoid of spirit, bereft of theme and lacking in interesting setting. I keep reading only to be shocked SHOCKED at how basic the next fuckin plot point is. HOW FAR CAN THIS GO?!?! It is maddening. THUMBS DOWN.

The Reincarnation Magician Of The Inferior Eyes (Prequel)

Chapters 1-21

I cannot believe this. How is there a prequel. How is it even worse. Is this a test? Did Cthulu write this to drive me insane? HOW IS THERE A PREQUEL. This must be a personal attack. Who asked for this. Why.

Revival Game of Wandering Reincarnations

Chapters 1-20

Hmmm. This manga’s concept actually comes together and manages to have emotional highs and lows in a short amount of time. Where it doesn’t connect with me is how every arc completion in this ends with some plot-direction altering revelation about the world that its hard to grasp the theme. Its the best its concept allows I guess. THUMB SIDEWAYS.

Do You Think Someone Like You Could Defeat the Demon Lord?

Chapters 1-8.

THUMBS SIDEWAYS. Biggest problem here is how little is translated. Great trajectory, bad total amount of content. Gorey story of a former hero tricked into slavery by an evil member of the hero’s party. Using the knowledge she got there and her skill to reverse effects, she fights for a daily life with her new maid friend. Edgy dark and sweet yuri mix.

Start a leisurely lord life with a plant magic cheat After farming with the knowledge of the previous life, a reversal life began

Chapters 1-7

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time its about growing a town with MC’s OP plant growing magic. Nothing too interesting here, just slice of life slow town building. THUMB SIDEWAYS.

The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool "Asley"

Chapters 1-41

[Insert reincarnation setup] but this time he didn’t actually die, just hikki researched for waaay too long. 5000 years too long. He drank an immortality potion he accidentally made, so old age can’t kill him(he can only die when killed.) Firstly, the story has got alot of chapters which means it clearly goes through multiple arcs and scenarios that allow the grand narrative to start coming into perspective and show how the MC is going for it. Most notable thing about this is how much a comedy duo The Fool Asley and his Trusty Dog Pochi make. It is every chapter, sometimes hit or miss, so you have to be braced for constant back-and-forth comedy acts. For a reincarnation-esque series, Astley is not overpowered for the world. Or at least he really does not want to show off what he can do and has invented himself willy nilly. It is really interesting to see how he self-describes himself as an idiot and he is slow to learn and talentless, his only real advantage being his massive age. As long as you can take the comedy antics and the sometimes iffy art, THUMBS UP.

Exceeding limits can only be handled by reincarnated people

Chapters 1-5.

Absolutely wild start, even though its isekai. THUMBS UP. For at least the first chapter. Skills in this world are mineable ores and each person only has 8 skill slots. Then of course the MC equips an ability that needed 10 slots. Story outside the inciting incident is cute shotasekai stuff. But damn chapter 1 pops off.

Saikyou Juzoku Tensei: Majutsu Otaku no Risoukyou

Chapters 1-20

So [insert isekai startup here] but this time the MC’s clan uses totems to teach magic, therefore MC mostly uses totem magic. Alot of this series is made up of weird ideas like that and the biggest hook I saw is the chapter 6 stinger of the clan having its siblings marry, the MC obviously hating it and running away, and the YOOOO part of his little sister being a yandere out to fuck him. Surprisingly interesting. THUMBS UP.

Shadow Hero's Daily Life

Chapters 1-10

Displays and goes through the positivity in seeking revenge. One of the best complete expressions of the theme of “revenge” that I have ever read. A THUMBS UP based on that alone.

The Abandoned Hero is Going Home

Chapters 1-6

THUMBS DOWN. Eh. Not worth reading based on its incompleteness and hiatus.

Shokei Shoujo no Ikirumichi

Chapters 1-12

A well thought out world and story about an isekai slayer *coughcoughfuckisekaicheatslayercoughcough*. The world exists such that the isekai’d are many(relatively speaking) and are on a variable scale from good to bad. The only consistency about them being that their skills eventually grow out of control and instantiate nuclear-tier catastraphoes. So the MC is part of a group that assassinates them, before they know whats happening. Good depictions of present, past, and expectations of how the MC will grow given the recent isekai’d girl she meets and has to travel with because she can’t be killed by normal means. Also touches on how the assassins don’t neccessarily see themselves as good people. Some even see themselves as evil. THUMBS UP. Oh yeah also this is a yuri story so its anime as fuck and adorable.

Even Though I'm a Former Noble and a Single Mother, My Daughters Are Too Cute and Working as an Adventurer Isn’t Too Much of a Hassle

Chapters 1-8

Cute concept, but its kinda only it’s concept so far. Mom is a god tier semi-immortal and fights for her daughters. Maybe the revelation of mysteries later will be interesting but, its exactly as the title says. THUMBS SIDEWAYS.

Vermeil in Gold

Chapters 1-9

Gotta love these oneshota manga. Good design sense, really love Captain Kurys. Vermeil is shamelessly lewd and secretly tragic. This is a story that is going on constantly despite oneshota shenanigans every chapter. su-perb. THUMBS UP.

Ragna Crimson

Chapters 1-40

THUMBS UP. This manga is absolutely wild. It has 4 different scenarios, each which are so radically different in setting and then they just flip out into a totally different setting, making it impossible to predict the trajectory of the manga or what kind of arc will happen next. The only thing worth describing here is the MC with big himbo that is beqeauthed power from his future self in order to protecc his loli this time. Thusly, Ragna wants to kill every “dragon.” They say dragon, its more like vampires. Then there is Crimson, one of the strongest dragons who wants to hunt the 12 elites, and then at the end have Ragna hunt him. Issue being Ragna hates Crimson, because Crimson is absolutely evil. More evil the 12 elites but also more pragmatic to reel it in. The power system of the world is simple and described well so fights make sense. The real most amazing part here is the art and the concept behind fights. Probably the BEST ART of any manga on this entire list. From silly cute gags like the MC’s head being a sword or tsundere love antics to Crimson’s face as he commits a warcrime. As for one of the many amazing fight portrayls I while mention a time where Ragna has to fight an enemy for NINE SECONDS. So the whole chapter takes place over 9 seconds and there is a countdown timer in every other panel. FUCKING SUGOII.

#The Reincarnation Magician Of The Inferior Eyes #Revival Game of Wandering Reincarnations #Do You Think Someone Like You Could Defeat the Demon Lord?#Start a leisurely lord life with a plant magic cheat After farming with the knowledge of the previous life a reversal life began #The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool Asley #Exceeding limits can only be handled by reincarnated people #Saikyou Juzoku Tensei: Majutsu Otaku no Risoukyou #Shadow Hero's Daily Life #The Abandoned Hero is Going Home #Shokei Shoujo no Ikirumichi #Even Though I'm a Former Noble and a Single Mother My Daughters Are Too Cute and Working as an Adventurer Isn’t Too Much of a Hassle #Vermeil in Gold #Ragna Crimson

4 notes · View notes

troop-scoop · 4 years

Text

Mistakes & Regrets XIV

Summary: When a trip to your Dad’s hometown of Hawkins goes wrong, you end up in the year 1983, and have to learn how to cope with being stuck in the past.

Pairing: Steve Harrington / Future!Reader (like, a really slow burn)

Warnings: Swearing,

• • •

The car was mostly quiet while you drove, except for the low 80’s hair bands playing over the radio that you didn’t care to change. Whenever you sat in this car you got a bit sad. But it was a kind of bittersweet sadness. SInce you learned to drive here in Hawkins.

Dad always promised that he’d teach you as soon as you turned sixteen, that he’d take you to get your permit, and be your emotional support when you took the driving test.

Pa always said that he’d help you buy a Volkswagen. A kind of generational thing to him. His dad owned a Beetle as a broke kid in Connecticut, he owned the exact same year and model as you currently did. Except yours was preowned, and you knew with how he was raised, he bought it new.

“We should have a tape.”

It caught you off guard a little, being off on your own train of thought to remember the eighth grader who was in the seat next to you.

Turning your head to briefly look at Will, you looked back at the road. “What?”

“Well I mean, you, Jonathan and me have all been hanging out together a lot when you’re not hanging out with Steve, we should have a cassette we play whenever we’re hanging out together.”

Sometimes it was hard to remember that Will was your dad. They were technically the same person, and yet, they were different. Your dad and you were as close as could be, a lot of people seemed to be closer to their moms growing up. But considering you didn’t have one you attached yourself to your dad. But Will was just a kid, who went through something terrible that was traumatizing, and it was hard to connect the two together. But you did realize that your little brother looked a lot like your dad when he was younger. The only difference being their eyes. With Will having hazel eyes and Danny having dark brown eyes. So, you often found yourself treating Will like you would Daniel.

Will’s suggestion reminded you of the fact that you and Pa had made a playlist on Spotify for the trip to Hawkins. It had been a good idea, and you got suggestions from both your dad and Daniel, but now, it just made you remorseful.

“Nevermind, it’s a bad idea-”

“What? No! It’s a good idea!” You rushed, looking back and forth from the road and back at Will. seeing the arcade sign in the distance. “Just make sure you put some Queen on there.” You added with an awkward smile, seeing Will’s face light up a bit.

Pulling into the parking lot you found a spot by the door, seeing Mike, Dustin and Lucas all walking up to the bike rack right outside, and waving as a greeting to the two of you.

“Okay, what are the rules?” You asked turning to Will as he reached down to the floorboard and pulled out your bag, handing it to you.

“If we get separated, don’t walk or bike home, just ask to use the phone and call mom, and if anything happens to find you.”

You nodded, taking the bag from him, taking the keys out of the ignition. “Sweet, let’s go.” Opening the door of the driver’s side you got out of the car.

Having grown up when places like arcades and movie rental places started going out of business, you never got to go to them. The first time you’d gone to the arcade with the boys, you stuck to Pac-Man, always being able to go on your chromebook at school and play it on the google browser.

You had the high score on Pac-Man since March of that year, and when they got Tetris in late June, after it came out, you quickly took the high score of that game as well. Having had it on your phone since sixth grade, you knew how to play. Not even Dustin or Lucas could beat your scores.

Giving the three other boys a smile you went inside, seeing Keith behind the counter, you walked over. “Hey, can you sneak me a drink?”

Arcades didn’t technically sell food or drinks, they weren’t going to because of the games, and children being irresponsible. But Keith would sometimes hide a few sodas in a minifridge to sell them to the older kids and teens.

“Two dollars.” He told you, leaning down to grab one from the minifridge while you pulled out a two dollar bill, briefly seeing the portrait of Thomas Jefferson while you exchanged it for the beverage. “Tell Robin that our section leader wants her to change seats-”

“Sorry, I don’t speak ‘band geek,’ bye.” You told him, opening the can of sprite while you made your way over to the Pac-Man machine, placing the can on the slanted control board, letting it lean on your abdomen to prevent it from falling on the ground.

You played your game for what felt like a good thirty minutes, the map changing every time you beat it until you eventually died one too many times.

Taking a sip from the aluminum can you sighed a bit hearing Will and his friend clamoring on the other side of the isle, at ‘Dragon’s Lair.’ before their voices fell silent, meaning that whoever had gone up to play it, died. But that was only for a second before you heard the faint cursing of Dustin.

Smiling to yourself you pulled out a quarter from your back pocket, inserting it into the machine.

Placing the drink down, you heard the unexpected sound of sliding, which made you panic, because you knew that the drink was about to fall.

You acted quick, but the boy to your right acted quicker. He caught the can and looked up at you, he looked almost terrified that you seemed to notice his presence.

He looked oddly familiar, he was a boy, with medium brown hair that was at an odd length, and he seemed disheveled.

“Heh,” he laughed nervously, holding the can out to you. “Here you go.” He said. Taking the drink from him you saw how quickly he practically ran off. He couldn’t have been much younger than you. Maybe a year or two, if that.

“Okay. . . that was weird.” You told yourself before the string of “No, no, no, no,” Came from behind you. Turning around you saw Dustin turning to Dig-Dug

“Who’s Madmax?” Dustin demanded of Keith, while you walked the meter or so over to the group. You wanted to say something related to Madmax: Fury Road, but you knew better at this point.

Over a year spent in a time period where no one understood the references you made, you learned to usually not make the jokes or sarcastic references.

“Better than you.” Keith responded, with a shrug. Both you and Dustin held up your middle finger to the highschool senior.

Usually you were the mediator between him and the kids, and often times you wondered if that’s how it felt to be either one of your fathers who tried to stop you and your brother fighting with each other, or how Uncle Jonathan felt trying to get you and your youngest cousin, who was your age, to stop fighting whenever you all got together.

“Is it you?” Will asked, holding up a hand and pointing at Keith.

He scoffed and shook his head. “You know I despise Dig Dug.”

“Then who is it?”

You watched them converse with the older male while you held your soda, taking a small sip.

“Yeah, spill it, Keith!” Dustin told him.

“You want information, then I need something in return.” Keith looked from Dustin to Mike, and you knew what he trying to get.

“Gross, Keith.” You told him, grimacing.

“No, no, no! No way! You’re not getting a date with her!”

“Mike, come on. Just get him the date.” Lucas reasoned while you glared at him.

“Guys, she has a boyfriend.” You reminded them.

Mike nodded and pointed back at you. “That, and I’m not prostituting my sister!” Dustin and Lucas began to bicker with Mike while you and Keith began your own bickering.

Sure, you were a lot like Will in many ways, but you were also a lot like your Pa in many others. Always being the one to try and prove someone else wrong, or just bickering for the fun of it.

“You’re friends with Robin, Jonathan, Nancy and Harrington, yet you hang out with toddlers?” He tried to insult, while he took a cheeto from his bag.

“Different hairstyles exist, Keith, you don’t have to try and copy Steve’s from last year.” You told him with a fake smile.

“Toddlers,” He said again, gesturing to the boys who were still bickering.

You smiled a bit and pointed to your own two front teeth. “Cheeto dust.” You told him, before pointing at him.

Keith turned his attention back to Mike, Lucas and Dustin while you turned yours to Will upon feeling his shoulder brush against your arm while he moved past you.

“Will, you okay?” It was a simple question, that would probably have a simple answer, with a complicated background to it. A complicated lie he wouldn’t ever say was one. But you blinked and suddenly everyone but Will was gone.

“Do you see the-” He turned back around and his eyes landed on you, confused and worried. You looked at the front windows and saw the white particles that at first looked like snow, until a second longer and they reminded you of the Upside Down.

The lights went out and you looked to the Pac-Man machine to your left, seeing the screen was on, but something big was covering most of it. The lights flickered on the machines, and the sound of electricity struggling to stay on had you stuck in one position. Which was your legs tensed and your hand clutching onto your soda while you stared at the screen, finally placing what it all was.

There was a loud bang, which made you drop your drink and grab onto Will’s arm, pulling him back only to realize it was just the door that had swung open.

“You see it too?”

You nodded before taking small steps towards the door, keeping Will behind you while you walked outside. The sign still turned, but in the distance you could see clouds, which you didn’t remember from being in the Upside Down. It had always been too dark to see any sort of sky.

The lightning was red and while you stared at the sky, you felt an uneasy feeling come that you hadn’t felt in a long time. The same chills that were sent down your spine the year before having you practically paralyzed in fear.

You couldn’t quite put it into words, but it felt like all of those stories where you look into a certain spot in the woods that’s so dark you don’t know what’s there, but know there’s something, that you’re not just crazy, and it felt malevolent. Like it wanted to hurt people, but specifically, you.

You felt someone grab your sleeve, and looking down, everything was normal again, with Mike and WIll right by your side. Will still looked scared, but Mike seemed confused and worried. “Y/n, you okay?”

You nodded a bit “Yeah, I’m fine.” You told him, taking one last look at the sky.

• • •

The woman hummed a gentle tune while writing something down in her notebook, a college textbook in front of her.

“Y/n, don’t stalk me, just have a conversation.” She told you, turning her head to look up at you, her eyes the same as your own while she gestured to the seat across from her.

You glanced over to the seat before sighing and walking over, taking a seat on the uncomfortable wooden chair.

“You came here for a reason, what’s going on?” You shrugged a bit, crossing your arms on the table and leaning down to rest your chin on your forearm. “Sweetheart,” She reached out, a gentle hand on your exposed bicep, your pajamas consisting of a muscle shirt and ballet shorts. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me?”

You knew what you wanted to ask her, but you were nervous. “Did you know? That’d I end up like this? That’d I be like you?”

Her face softened a bit and she shook her head, eyes downcast while she placed her pen down, giving you all of her attention.

“No,” She answered. “I didn’t. I only knew when you were born. I felt it. And I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve this.”

Looking at the textbook in front of you both, you examined the picture that was upside down for you, seeing the diagram of the human skeleton.

Getting up from her seat she came over next to you. “You carry a burden, and so many people will try to use you as a weapon, because you have abilities that could destroy entire nations. People want to manipulate you.”

“You’ve told me.” You reminded her. “I saw the Upside Down.”

Her face fell as she kneeled down next to you. “You got back in?”

“No. One moment I was safe, in the arcade, and the next, I was there. And there was a storm in the distance. The lightning was red, and I was frozen, in fear. It wanted to hurt me, I could feel it, it wanted me dead. Anne, I don’t what to do-”

“Miss L/n!”

Your eyes snapped open, and you quickly wiped your nose of any blood looking up to see the entire class staring at you, while the principal stood by the door, and Mr. Haul pointed to the book “Before Mr. Olson takes you, can you tell me what the main message of Animal Farm is?”

You gave a nervous chuckle. “Communism, bad?” It got a few laughs out of the class, while Mr. Haul scowled at you before jerking his head to the side to let you follow the principal out.

In a rush you shoved your things into your bag and got up, going over to Mr. Olson. This happened once or twice every few months.

The older man led you out of the class and down the hall, while you struggled to get your walkman out of your bag. Looking up you saw Steve coming out of the restroom, sunglasses on. “Jesus,” You shook your head a bit as you and the principal came closer to crossing paths with Steve.

“Only blind people and assholes wear sunglasses inside, Steven.” You mumbled when you passed him.

“Funny,” He mumbled back, hiding a grin from you while he walked back to his class, and you smiled as well when Mr. Olsen opened the front doors, where you saw Hopper waiting by his car.

“Have a good afternoon, Miss L/n.” He told you as you left the building, with you returning the sentiments.

When you were in the car, it was mostly quiet between the two of you. The music that came from the foam headphones drowning out the killing silence. You needed it. In the past year, silence always felt like it was trying to kill you. Lately everything felt like a death trap, and you felt like you were going crazy.

“You gained a pound.” Owens informed when he walked in the room, where you sat, Hopper was to the left of the medical seat, while the stool Owens usually sat at was to your left. “That’s good news.” He added, placing the clipboard on the table.

You hummed a bit. You were slowly but surely getting back to the weight you should be at, from a month of being starved and dehydrated from the Upside Down. It fluctuated for a long time, being so one moment you were on the right track and the next, you were under the original weight you had been at when ending up in Hawkins.

“How has your medication been working out?”

“It’s been fine.” You stopped taking them six months ago, and currently had a small box of plastic pill bottles that you used for noise when you forgot batteries for your walkman.

“That’s good.” Owens commented. “Are you doing anything for Halloween? I know Will is going trick or treating.”

“Probably just gonna be home watching Halloween and handing out candy.” You shrugged a bit, feeling uncomfortable under the eyes of the nurse, Hopper and Owens.

“No parties?”

“And get ‘sheet faced?’” You quoted the party invitation Nancy had showed you when she tried to convince you and Jonathan to go. “No thanks.”

Owens chuckled a bit, and Hopper put a reassuring hand on your shoulder. Looking up at the Chief, he gave a tight lipped smile, showing he was just as uncomfortable as you were.

“Okay, let’s talk about this episode you and Will said you had.”

You nodded a bit, knowing that all Owens would do was come up with a stupid excuse as to why you and Will had the same experience that you both nervously talked about on the car ride back to his home.

“I. . . I took Will to the arcade so he could spend time with his friends, and so I could a game or two. His friends and I got into an argument with someone who worked there, and then I felt Will move past me. . . One second we were in the arcade, and then everyone was gone, then we were. . . back in the Upside Down.” You told him.

“Okay, what happened next?”

“The door. . . it was flung open, and we walked outside. I kept Will behind me, and when there was a storm brewing. And it was straight out of a comic book, the clouds were dark, and then there was red lightning, I felt. . . I felt. . .”

“What did you feel?”

“Like I was in danger. Like there was something staring back at me. Something evil, that has no. . . human emotions. It’s like when you’re a kid, you just watched a scary movie like Paranormal Activity or something, and you feel like there’s something in your room when you’re trying to sleep. You feel like something’s there with you. It wanted me dead.”

“The evil?”

You nodded and looked up at him, feeling the parts taped your head shift a little under the tape. “Yeah. It wasn’t like it wanted everyone dead though. It wanted me dead.”

• • •

Add yourself to the taglist!

@disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @jxnehxpper @yllwtaxi @songofcosplay @potatopooper05 @cheesecakeisapie @robinsdolan @yall-wildin-like-siriusly @the_passionate_freak @bisexualpears @ilovebucketbarnes @random-thoughts-003

#steve harrington #steve x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #Steve Harrington slow burn #stranger things x you #stranger things x reader

55 notes · View notes

natsspammityspamspamham · 3 years

Text

Dino Watches Anime (Nov 15)

BOI, I HAVE A MIDTERM ON TUESDAY AND TEST ON WEDNESDAY. SCREW THAT. I’M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE ANIME I’VE BEEN WATCHING IN BETWEEN STUDY SESSIONS! Yeah, the studying is like 2% while the anime and games are like 98%... I’m working on that, okay? Anyway, I’m going to cover mostly seasonal stuff with some other stuff.

Let’s go over the seasonal stuff first. Summer had so few anime coming out whereas Autumn/Fall came in like, “OPEN THE FLOODGATES! LET’S GO!!!” I haven’t even gotten around to all the anime airing this season that I want to like Yuukoku no Moriarty, Majo no Tabitabi, and Adachi to Shimamura. I missed some last season too like Deca-Dance which I just didn’t want to commit to if it was only for the good animation.

Taisou Samurai (DROPPED)

I dropped it after two episodes. MAPPA has two major series this season, but they clearly gave more time and attention to the one that was actually going to make money here (which I’ll talk about later). This one seems like a passion project without the passion in it anymore. It’s like opening a bag of chips and finding out they went stale long before you even reached into the bag.

Taisou Samurai, at its core, has a premise that I found really promising. I happen to like watching gymnastics sometimes, and the idea of an athlete who doesn’t want to retire is interesting. They went wrong with the execution. I don’t know what they were trying to pull here, but with unlikeable characters and a terrible run at it, it’s like they weren’t playing with a full deck of cards here.

Also, if you don’t know what a gyaru is, one of the supporting characters will look like a racist caricature. Also, this bird has no other point than to try to make up for this show’s lack of usable humour by using Kappei Yamaguchi’s range and going, “Please, save this show. I beg you.”

I didn’t even bother giving this show three episodes to drag me in because I just couldn’t see myself wasting another 20 minutes here. Maybe I’ll have a change of heart, but for now, I should be having better things to do.

Munou na Nana (WOULDN’T RECOMMEND)

I know everyone has made this joke already, but this is really just My Hero Academia x Among Us. I feel like if there was some more... budget put into this anime, they could’ve made it a lot better. The manga had a lot more detail, so a lot of the gruesome scenes with zombies or killings, etc. were muted and toned down beyond belief. Not to mention, I guess watching it after I read the manga just made me feel stupid. This is such a junkie show that pulls tricks that everyone knows is coming. Nonetheless, I can’t find some big reason to say “do not watch this” because it’s still a very mediocre show. It has its good points, but its presentation devalues it, the voice acting is meh (especially since Yuuichi Nakamura is playing THREE overpowered main cast characters this season), and the jig is up after the first episode, so the twists are just to make you sympathize more with the imposter. I haven’t seen a show like this for a while though, so I guess you can watch it if you want something refreshing like that. I don’t think you’re supposed to like this cast of characters, so I won’t say anything against not liking this cast.

Kamisama ni Natta Hi (CONDITIONALLY RECOMMEND)

Jun Maeda... the man who manages to incorporate baseball into every anime he does... seriously, every anime I’ve watched by him has it from Angel Beats to Charlotte to that unfinished Little Busters I just left on hold. Anyway, Kamisama is no exception. Jun Maeda has a reputation for building touching stories that start off strong then really lose their footing once he realizes that he’s not going to get 24 episodes and needs to squeeze all of those 16 episodes of story left into 4 episodes or so. It also doesn’t help that sometimes he goes off on useless storylines that pay no use to the story.

Hina is really funny sometimes (but can be annoying). Narukami is funny. Really, everyone has some valid point about them that makes the show better compared to the previous entries.

Seriously, some little kid comes up to you and goes, “The world is ending, I am God, and I’m going to stick by you.” Meanwhile, you’re just a simp that’s trying to get your childhood friend to fall for you.

Honestly, I’m still having a blast watching this. As much as Maeda’s writing can really suffer from tonal shifts (mostly in the end), I still wanted to watch this anime simply because I always like his storytelling in the beginning, and the laughs it brings can sometimes still muddle out the bitter taste that’s left in your mouth when the series finishes. I can already feel this train going down a slide and off a cliff. I already paid for my ticket though, so I’m obligated to stay on this shootshow until the end.

Seriously, I do not like where some of these relationships are heading.

Maoujou de Oyasumi (CONDITIONALLY RECOMMEND)

This anime is relatable. It can get stale fast for a lot of people, but every time I think I’m going to get sick of it, it pulls one of the same gags that makes me go, “This. This is why I’m sticking with this.” I’m not sure how much more there is to say. It’s just an abducted princess who couldn’t care less that she’s a hostage and instead, takes this newfound time to take some good ZZZs. What a life.

Oh yeah, this princess is also willing to commit murder, mutilation, theft, and assault to get the sleep she wants.

Tonikaku Kawaii (CONDITIONALLY RECOMMEND)

I’m not dropping this show... even if it makes no sense. The premise is astoundingly stupid, but it pulled a Zombieland Saga on me. It sounded so stupid, but once I gave it one episode, I found myself being entertained and almost rooting for the characters and their relationships.

Imagine this: You are about to get into the high school of your dreams when you see the girl of your dreams cross your path. You want to ask her out so you jump over the barricade and get hit by a truck. You’re on the brink of death when you realize you can’t die there without confessing your love. You chase her down with blood coming out of your head and confess. She says that she’ll only go out with you if you marry her. You then... somehow survive, drop out of school, then get a job to search for her. I kid you not. This is the setup. It’s as stupid as it sounds, and the anime knows this. It doesn’t try to fool you into thinking that this series is supposed to be anything but some highway fast-track way to convince you into watching a married couple. I think what irked me the most is that the character designs didn’t change from when they were in middle school to when they were adults. It wasn’t the being hit by a truck and not being sent to another world, it wasn’t this girl who stopped the truck without ruining her hair, it wasn’t anything else but their character designs staying the same.

Anyway, this anime is cute as long as you can jump some hurdles. It’s basically puppy-love marriage with anime stupidity through and through. I don’t know what about this series people, including myself, find charming.

Jujutsu Kaisen (RECOMMENDED - BUT DON’T COMPARE TO DEMON SLAYER TOO MUCH!)

It’s Shonen Jump. “Will it be the next Kimetsu no Yaiba? The next big Shonen Jump series? One of the next big three? Five?” No, I don’t think so. I’m not enjoying this nearly as much as I did binging KNY. The cast isn’t nearly as likeable, but I’m still having a good time. It’s not all that fair to make that comparison anyway. The cast for Jujutsu Kaisen is passable. I like some of the main cast, but I feel like they lack the same kind of depth with its main heroine. I know she gets more stuff done in the future chapters, but her backstory so far is, “I had a friend once... No, she’s not dead. She just left our small town.”

The fight scenes are actually so much fun to watch. MAPPA gave this series a lot more time and budget than say that first anime I mentioned. It’s fluid, the camerawork is amazing, the choreography is on-point.

The voice acting for this anime is spectacular among the main cast... when character dialogue allows it.

I feel a bit of imbalance, but Yuuji does offer a good protagonist template. Junya Enoki makes his lines so funny and gives this nonchalant approach that is the polar opposite of his performance in Tonikawa. This is definitely his season.

Junichi Suwabe voicing the main demon thing is amazing too. It fits so well, and he sounds so cool and evil. It’s great.

Gojou is also one badass mentor played by Yuuichi Nakamura. Overpowered, part of the main cast, etc. Insert your reverse Kakashi joke here. Just give him more Sharingan genjutsu, I dare you.

Yuuma Uchida is back playing another tragic character that’s serious and uptight. I can’t say much more about him.

The opening and ending are both worth listening to even if you don’t want to watch the anime. Lost in Paradise by ALI has been on repeat for me.

Besides that, I’m going to go over some other anime that I’ve been watching.

Hunter x Hunter (AS IF THIS HASN’T BEEN RECOMMENDED ENOUGH)

Slowly. Slowly but surely. 11/148.

I know this is going to be amazing... I just want to be in the right mood to full savour it. I don’t want to be consumed by stress and not pay attention. The reason why I like a lot of those seasonal anime is because I don’t pay the same kind of attention.

If you told me these characters’ ages, I probably would’ve believed everyone... except Leorio. The guy looks like a middle-aged money-hungry gangster.

What I would give to have the energy and serotonin of a Shonen Jump protagonist.

Haikyuu (YEAH, IT’S GOOD)

I’m watching this one with my mom and sister as they go “OMG OMG OMG” as we watch while I’m sitting there like -_-

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good show, but sports anime are made like shounen battle anime (because they are in a way) with different stakes. I’ve felt more “nervous” about some of the Haikyuu matches than I did with some of the Hunter Exam. Worst case scenario in Haikyuu, you lose the match. Worst case scenario in Hunter x Hunter? You die.

I knew what I was going to get into when I was watching Haikyuu, and it’s given me what I remembered (since I did watch 10 episodes of it a few years ago) and expected.

SKET Dance (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)

Unfollow me. Unfollow me right now. This is what I’m going to be talking about for the next month. I can feel it. I’ve had this show for like 3 days and watched around 33 episodes along with some of these other titles. I have a problem. I know that, but I don’t feel like fixing it. This show is just too good.

I get why people call this a poor man’s Gintama, but it’s not quite that. I can get the similarities, but it’s like eating an empanada and saying that it’s just like that dumpling you tasted last week. It looks alike on the surface... if you’re not that great at... telling the difference between things... but once you get to the meat of it (PUN HAHA), you realize that they are completely different, and you were a fool for thinking otherwise.

That’s our main heroine! Go go go!

Dude, episode 25 hit me out of nowhere, AND I READ THE SPOILERS! I won’t say any more than that.

The cast is one of the best that I’ve seen in a while. Their chemistry is basically the entire show. Without one of the main three, you wouldn’t have the show anymore. It handles its female characters better than some of its fellow competitors at the time, and it may have what some may call a “token fat character”, but the character never makes fun of her for being fat. They make fun of her for saying “Yabasu” every single sentence. It hurts that the manga ended with some loose ends, and this anime isn’t getting a season 2.

But at its weird and mushy core, this show is about three people with heavy and complex pasts who simply want to help people work out their issues in their own... unique ways.

I don’t want to say much else, but I wish more people would watch/read it and create/post most content for it even if it’s a bit old because it deserves it. I’m almost a decade late, and this anime still holds up.

I gave Mairimashita Iruma-kun its own post.

#dino watches anime #seasonal anime #sket dance #haikyuu #hxh #hunter x hunter #tonikaku kawaii #tonikawa #kamisama ni natta hi #Jujutsu Kaisen

15 notes · View notes

ft-dads-au · 3 years

Text

Part of the Family

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Fairy Friendship Week 2020 Prompt: Secrets Pairing(s): Sting & Gray, Gray & Rogue, Sting x Rogue

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: With Rogue's and Aki's birthdays coming up, Mika suggests that Sting and Gray go gift shopping together. Neither of them are excited about the idea, but it ends up being just the thing to bring them all closer together.

September 9, 2020

“That’s a great idea!”

The words burst out of Sting’s mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

It wasn’t a great idea.

In fact, it was one of the worst ideas Sting had ever heard. He was exhausted, having just got off what was supposed to have been a twelve-hour shift in the Emergency Room that had turned out to be more like fifteen, on top of not having gotten much sleep because the twins had been fussy all night.

He smiled at his mother-in-law warmly while scrambling for any excuse he thought she might accept that would get him out of a trip to the mall with his brother-in-law, who looked about as enthused with the idea as he felt.

“Wonderful!” Mika Fullbuster practically beamed at them, “I’ll feed the boys and get dinner ready for us while you’re gone.”

She picked up his son, Kuro, and cooed at him before placing him in a high chair next to his identical twin Haku. Gray’s son, Aki, watched with interest, although he kept close to his father.

Sting knew he was screwed when Gray remained silent, examining him with that glacial expression of his. “Okay, I’ll take a quick shower then. Be back in 10.”

He could hear Mika and Gray talking in low voices, Mika reminding her son that Rogue would probably like it if he got to know Sting a little bit better.

More than anything else, it was those words that motivated Sting to get in the shower and put on his best face because he knew she was right. Rogue loved his brother, had missed him all those years they had been on the outs, and now that Gray and his parents were a part of his life again, he wanted them all to become the family he never thought he’d have.

But Gray wasn’t exactly easy to get along with, and Sting was still irritated about how he had treated Natsu on the night of Lisanna’s birthday, not to mention how he’d dismissed Rogue all those years. Still, for Rogue, he could make an effort. The cold shower didn’t wake him up as much as he’d hoped, but he knew he wouldn’t have gotten out as quickly if he’d taken a warm one. Now he wasn’t just exhausted but also freezing cold and nervous, a far cry from what he’d been looking forward to when his shift was finally over. He passed the bed on his way from the bathroom to the closet and almost sobbed at how badly he wanted to get in it. “Come on Sting, you can do this!” he encouraged himself as he grabbed something comfy to wear and got dressed. “Go to the mall, get some birthday presents, have a chat with your brother-in-law...Can’t be too hard, right?”

It was incredibly hard.

Gray hadn’t said a word since the moment they’d left the house, and Sting had no idea what to say to get a conversation going. Almost everything he knew about the guy was off-limits to talk about, so they walked around the mall quietly, occasionally entering a store that looked interesting.

“Do you think Aki would like this?” Sting grabbed a colorful book thinking it would make a good birthday present for his nephew. He pushed some of the buttons on the front to see what kinds of sounds it made.

Gray shook his head, “He doesn’t like loud noises.”

“I wish I could say the same about the twins,” Sting groaned, placing the book back on the shelf, “just about every toy they have is loud.”

“Cana?” Gray asked, mouth stretching into a small smile.

“Well, she’s not the worst offender. That would have to be my parents,” Sting chuckled, “They’ve wanted grandkids since probably before I was born.”

Gray studied him briefly before turning his attention back to the shelf full of electronic board books. He moved away from them as he discovered the hardcover storybooks.

“He does like books though, tries to memorize them and pretend he’s reading them,” Gray added with a proud smile, “He could probably use some new ones.”

Sting thought Gray had a nice smile, it reminded him of Rogue’s. It was the first time he’d seen a real resemblance between the two brothers, outside of the dry wit they shared, and it made him warm up to him a little.

"Yeah, Rogue mentioned that.” He considered his next words for a moment, ultimately deciding he trusted Gray to be the kind of person who could keep a secret. “He’s uhm...taking a break from the stuff he usually writes to work on a book of fairy tales for kids. One of his college friends is doing the illustrations.”

“He’s writing a children’s book?” Gray asked, his voice sounding softer than Sting had ever heard it outside of speaking to Aki. He appeared stunned by the news but also something else.

Was it pride?

Sting thought it might be. The twinkle in his brother-in-law’s eye made him believe he was right.

“I kind of figured he’d write one of those mystery novels he always loved so much.” “Oh, he did. Published it under a pseudo a few years back,” Sting beamed, the swell of pride overtaking his fatigue for a brief moment. “Don’t tell anyone about the children’s book, though. He wants to keep it a secret because...well, you know your mom. Just act real surprised when Aki gets it for Christmas.”

They checked out some of the books together, flipping through the pages to see if the stories were fitting for Aki's age and whether or not they would appeal to him. Soon they'd decided on a few and headed to the register.

Sting grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket, staring at its contents blankly for a moment. He took a card out and waited for the cashier to finish ringing up his purchases so he could place it in the reader. Trying to hide a big yawn he couldn’t quite contain, Sting inserted the card into the bottom slot when the reader prompted him. He waited to plug in his pin, thinking about how happy he was that they had managed to get one of the presents out of the way fairly quickly.

The card reader beeped at him, a message reading Card Declined displaying on the screen, much to Sting’s confusion. There should be plenty of money in there, he’d just gotten paid. But even knowing that, he could feel his cheeks darken with embarrassment as he saw the cashier glance at him surreptitiously.

He turned to see Gray’s eyebrow arched in silent question.

“I don��t understand,” Sting protested, “I’m sure there’s more than enough in there.”

“Are you sure about that?” Gray asked, looking somewhat exasperated.

“Yeah, I got paid yesterday,” he insisted. “I’ll just rerun it. Sometimes these things are flaky.”

“I don’t think it’s the reader that’s flaky,” Gray muttered under his breath.

“Let me just see it for a moment,” the cashier offered graciously, “Sometimes, you just have to wipe the chip a bit.”

Sting shrugged, handing the card over. There was something about it that seemed off, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was.

“I think I see the problem,” the cashier said, and although his face remained serious, Sting could hear traces of laughter in his voice. “We do not currently accept Magnolia Hospital ID Cards as a valid form of currency.”

“What?” Sting could only gape in confusion as the cashier handed him back his ID Card.

“Long day?” Gray smirked, taking Sting’s wallet from his hand and grabbing his debit card, finishing up the transaction for him.

“You have no idea,” Sting muttered, finally entering his pin into the keypad and waiting for Gray to complete his purchase, pretending not to see that his brother-in-law was still laughing at him.

“Come on,” Gray said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him behind him.

“Where are we going?”

“Coffee.”

He led them to the nearest coffee shop, where they each ordered a drink and a snack. Spotting an empty table, they quickly sat down.

“You know, if you were this tired, you could have just said no,” Gray sighed, shaking his head at him. “Mom isn’t that scary.”

Sting looked up, and having already shoved his chocolate chip muffin in his mouth, he shrugged his shoulders in response.

“Oy, take bites!” Gray griped, snorting at the crumbly mess he was making on the table, “I bet Rogue loves that.”

Sting laughed, easily picturing the look of distaste he’d receive from his husband if he’d been present. “He knew what he was getting into. Was he always so neat and tidy as a kid too?” he asked, eager to learn some things about Rogue from before they’d met each other.

“Kind of, not as bad as he seems to be now, though,” Gray mused, “He was always serious, with a very sharp tongue, but he could be a lot of fun too.”

He stared off into space and suddenly broke out in laughter, so hard that Sting began to worry for him. It stopped as soon as it started, but the amusement continued to play on his features. “I bet there’s one thing you don’t know about him, though.”

Sting leaned forward in his seat, eyes suddenly flying right open as he was dying for him to continue.

Gray’s whole face lit up with mischief, “Did you know that right up until the moment he was born, Rogue’s middle name was Ashley?“

“Ashley?” Sting repeated, blinking in confusion.

“Yep,” Gray grinned, “Mom’s doctor insisted Rogue was a girl, something about the way she was carrying or whatever, and the ultrasound confirmed it, so we all thought he was a girl. For months my mom told me all about the new little sister I was going to have. She had Dad paint the nursery pink, coordinated all the crib sheets, bought the clothes, everything.”

“You can imagine my parents’ surprise when he was born. Everything they had was for a girl. You should ask my mom to show you his hospital pictures. They’re hilarious! My dad and I have never let him live it down,” Gray chuckled, “I still call him Ashley when I want to piss him off.”

At first, Sting was just boggled by the fact that a doctor would predict a baby's gender from the way the mother was carrying, and how, even back in the early ’90s, an ultrasound managed to support that statement. But when he imagined what those pictures would look like, not to mention Rogue’s face when he’d ask his mother-in-law about them later- which he totally would- he almost choked on his muffin from his laughter. “I should buy him some extra gifts,” he giggled, “I have a feeling I’ll need them to get in his good graces again later.”

“He had a figure skating phase too,” Gray continued, “I was a hockey nut, so I loved to tease him about it, but the truth was he was terrific. Very graceful. I was kind of surprised to see he got rid of the ice rink in the backyard. Maybe now that we’re all back, we can set it back up,” he added.

"I knew about the figure skating. He made sure to show off the first time we went skating together because I ran my big mouth but completely sucked at it."

“Well, he does love to show off.”

“I’m glad you two made up,” Sting confided, getting carried away by the moment they were sharing. “He really missed you.”

He realized too late that it had been the wrong thing to say as Gray only nodded and then went right back to being quiet, but Sting didn’t let that bother him. He’d seen a different side of his brother-in-law, and he was confident that with time they could become good friends.

They finished their coffee and shopped for birthday presents for Rogue for another hour before calling it a night. Gray drove them back to the house to let Sting rest. When they arrived, Mika had already finished cooking, and the boys were playing quietly in front of the TV.

"Wow, looks like you had a successful trip!" Mika smiled happily at the shopping bags they were carrying, "and you're right on time for dinner!"

Sting was happy to see Rogue had gotten home as well, and even more delighted when he stopped setting the table to greet him with a hug and a kiss.

"You look really tired," Rogue fretted, frowning at the mark left on Sting's cheek by the zipper of his coat when he'd fallen asleep in the car. "Go sit. I’ll plate up for you."

"You're the best-" Sting flopped down on one of the dining room chairs, watching fondly as Rogue started scooping rice onto his plate. It was a small effort, but he thought it was really sweet, and it almost made him think twice about his next words.

Almost.

"Thanks, Ashley."

Between Gray's loud snort, Mika's knowing grin, and the look of horror that started to spread across Rogue’s face, Sting could honestly say that the unexpected shopping trip, exhausting as it was, had definitely been worth it.

"You just had to tell him, didn't you?" Rogue fumed at Gray, only managing to contain his outrage for the sake of the kids.

“He’s family now, isn’t he?” Gray’s attempt to sound innocent only riled Rogue up further. “Relax, Squirt, there’s lots of stuff I didn’t tell him. Like the time you-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Rogue seethed, much to everyone’s amusement, but when he looked around the room, he suddenly became skittish. "Wait…where did mom go?"

"Right here," Mika answered as she appeared from the hallway, carrying a large photo album and an even larger smile on her face. She sat down next to Sting, who knew exactly what was going to happen, as his own mother had put him through a similar skit once.

"Let's see-" she pulled a curious Aki onto her lap, completely ignoring the protests of both her sons as she started flipping through the pages.

"Look how cute your daddy used to be when he was little," she told Aki, pointing at some of the pictures of Gray when he was the same age. "He looked just like you, but he always managed to take off his clothes wherever we went."

Sting tried but failed not to laugh as he saw her finger pointing at a picture of a much younger looking Silver holding what appeared to be a bunch of children's clothes as he chased an almost naked Gray across the playground. “Dada,” Aki bubbled at the picture and the others on that page.

Meanwhile, Rogue had finished piling food onto Sting’s plate and went to put the twins back into their high chairs before they’d start protesting the fact that everyone else had left them to gather at the dining table. He finished just in time to see Mika turn the page, much to Gray’s relief and amusement, because the next set of pictures were made at the hospital. Rogue could only groan as Sting went off in what could only be described as a laughing fit at the sight of his first baby pictures, in which he was dressed in pink from socks to bonnet.

“See Gray’s face? He was actually a little disappointed when we told him he didn’t get a sister after all, “ Mika chuckled. “He was so proud of the pink frog plushie he’d picked out as a welcoming gift, and he was worried his brother wouldn’t like it.” “The opposite was true, though,” she continued, smiling at Rogue as she continued to spill more embarrassing moments from his childhood. “You had it with you all the time. The one time you lost it, you wouldn’t stop crying and refused to leave the park without it. Dad searched for half an hour in the pouring rain before he finally found it.” “He still has it,” Sting revealed, returning Rogue’s pout of betrayal with an innocent smile. “It’s sitting on a shelf in our bedroom.” “Gee, when I saw how exhausted you looked, I didn’t think I was getting screwed today. Guess I was wrong.” “Rogue!” Mika was quick to scold her son. “What? It was kid-proof.”

Gray cackled in appreciation at Rogue’s snide remark, his grin withering when his mother flashed him a disapproving glare. He coughed uncomfortably and shifted his attention back to his brother, “You still have it? I thought you’d said you lost it.”

“Don’t get full of yourself,” Rogue crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked away. “I happened to find it when I was cleaning out the basement a while back.”

Sting knew that was some high-level bs, but he let it go, enjoying the back and forth between the two brothers. Judging from the pleased expression on Mika’s face, he wasn’t the only one.

“Suuuure you did,” Gray teased, marching towards their bedroom with an air of purpose, “I’m gonna go see it.”

“Don’t you dare put your grubby hands on Frosch!” Rogue yelled, chasing after him.

“You named it Frosch?” Sting snickered, although he had to admit it sounded incredibly cute.

“Shut up!” Rogue complained, “I was little.”

“Boys!” Mika scolded, turning to Sting to explain. “Gray ended up loving Frosch just as much as Rogue. He’d sneak into Rogue’s room and take it back to his room.”

“No I didn’t!” Gray denied, “I remember stealing or hiding it just to mess with him. It was hilarious, watching him have a complete meltdown.”

Rogue stuck his tongue out at his brother, acting more childish than Sting had seen in a long time. It was both endearing and amusing as hell.

“It’s okay. I love you too, Bro,” Gray replied, walking over to Rogue and bravely ruffling his hair.

“Rogue wasn’t the only one having a meltdown,” Mika retorted, quietly enough that only Sting could hear her.

“Ugh, just wait until you start dating someone. I am telling them everything,” Rogue promised.

Gray laughed heartily, “Good luck with that. I have zero intention of dating anyone.”

“That’s a shame,” Sting sighed, “you and Natsu looked pretty cute slow-dancing together the other night.”

“That was not what that was,” Gray sputtered, “That was just me comforting a friend.”

“Oh, so you admit you’re friends now?” Rogue immediately pounced on Gray’s words.

“No, I-we are friendly-ish, uhm…friend adjacent? Whatever! He’s still a pain in my ass!” Gray attempted to clear things up, but at hearing that, Sting and Rogue glanced at each other and cracked up.

“Oh my God, get your minds out of the gutter, that’s not what I meant, and you know it!”

But it was too late. Sting and Rogue only laughed harder at Gray’s outrage.

“Who’s Natsu?” Mika interrupted, completely lost as to what was happening.

“Gray’s source of butthurt-” Rogue pulled out his phone and looked through his image gallery, showing his mother a picture of their friend.

“Oh, he’s cute! You should ask him out, sweetie,” Mika encouraged her older son, as Aki gave them all a tentative smile from his spot on his grandmother’s lap.

“Look what you started,” Gray glared at Sting accusingly, “Now I’m never gonna hear the end of it.”

“Well, you said it yourself. I’m family now, aren’t I?” Sting bounced Gray’s words back at him, patting him on the back, “That’s what family’s for!”

Sting and Mika laughed at Gray’s less than enthusiastic response and Rogue’s triumphant smirk.

It was a fantastic feeling to no longer be watching from the sidelines like he usually did, but to actually take part in this moment and give as good as he got. It wasn’t something he was used to, having grown up as an only child.

And it was with a start that Sting realized that while he’d grudgingly agreed to go on the shopping trip with Gray hoping to befriend him, somehow in the last couple of hours, they’d become brothers instead.

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #ftguildevents #sting & gray #gray & rogue #stingue #fics #Fairy Friendship Week 2020 #prompt: secrets #sting #gray #rogue #mika #aki

18 notes · View notes

et-lesailes · 5 years

Text

missing linc //chapter two

series masterlist

pairing: ceo!dad!steve x reader

word count: 1960

series summary: you are a college student working at a daycare full time during your summer break, and you have grown especially fond of one of the toddlers in your class, lincoln rogers. you are certainly not expecting to develop such a huge crush on his dad steve when you meet him for the first time, but you can’t help but be attracted to the businessman– despite the fact that he’s married. however, as intelligent and mature as steve comes across, he has a few secrets behind his marriage- one in particular he may never be able to make up for.

series themes: romance, drama, age gap, infidelity, smut in later chapters

chapter summary: steve comes late to pick up linc, and a little more background is given on steve and tiana’s relationship.

taglist: added in reblog

** please send an ask if you would like to be added to the taglist!

It was 6:05 PM and Steve had still not shown up, despite the daycare technically closing at 6. It was not too rare for some parents to run late, especially with rush hour traffic, and so you were not too worried. It wasn’t like you ever got to leave right at 6 anyways, considering you had to clean up and shut down the room.

It was only you and Linc in the room; Stephanie and the other children had left. The only people in the building were you and the director of the center, who was really only still there because she locked up the place after everyone was gone. Linc was starting to get fussy; his mother normally picked him up at five, and it was clear that the extra hour of being there was tiring him, especially after having seen every other child leave with their mothers and fathers. He was currently snuggled up to you on your lap as you sat against some pillows in the little cozy “library” area of the room, holding onto you tight with his head buried in your chest, whimpering every now and then while simultaneously dozing off.

By 6:13, you were starting to wonder if you should pull up Linc’s parents’ numbers on the computer and call either Steve or Tiana, when the man suddenly came bursting into the room. “Hey. My God, I’m so sorry.” He instantly apologized, and you could tell by his features that he sincerely felt bad. “I got stuck in a meeting and by the time I got out, traffic was terrible.” You smiled and shook your head, standing up carefully as you held the child close to you. “Don’t worry about it, it happens.” You reassured him it was alright as he walked over to you, and you smiled as Linc immediately perked up upon hearing his father’s voice, wide blue eyes now looking up towards the ones he had inherited. “He’s a little cranky, but he’s tired. He’ll probably sleep on the way back home,” you told Steve as you handed the toddler over, unable to help but coo fondly seeing him nuzzle up to his dad’s chest. “Hey there, my sweet man. I missed you so much today. I’m so, so sorry I’m late.” Steve murmured, and you felt your heart melt.

He looked to you and smiled, still apologetic. “Thank you so much. I was actually hoping you’d still be here with him, since he seems to like you so much-- I wasn’t sure what time you generally go home.”

“I work from 9-6,” you informed him with a smile, “so I’m pretty much always here with him, except for a little while in the morning. I think your wife tends to drop him off early.” You had really only mentioned that last part to see if he would want to talk about Tiana at all while you had him here, it didn’t hurt to be subtly nosy, right? “Ah. She goes into work pretty early, yeah, so if I’m not here that’s really the only time she can do it.” He explained somewhat vaguely, and while you were a bit disappointed, you also weren’t sure what you had been expecting- it wasn’t as though you had given him a reason to go off into a spiel about their relationship. “Well, tell her I say hi!” you said, but instead of letting you know he would, he changed the subject. “Are you leaving now too? Let me walk you to your car.” He offered, then playfully bounced Linc in his arms. “This little guy would be thrilled to, he’s a perfect gentleman you know.” You blinked and giggled upon seeing Linc clap his hands, nodding your head as you went to go get your bag. You had already cleaned up while it had just been you and Linc, and so you had nothing left to do to close the room- the cleaners would take care of the rest. “Sure, that’d be nice. Thank you.”

You could feel your director staring holes into your back as you walked out of the building with Steve, almost as if you were the couple picking up your child from daycare. Something about walking alongside him as he held Linc felt so right, but you dismissed these thoughts. You had just met the man, for God’s sake, and he was married. Not to mention he was way older than you; disappointment settled in as you realized he probably simply saw you as some type of little sister figure, maybe even a daughter. But what had you been expecting? He had a child and an extremely successful career, why would he look twice at someone who was just a teenager less than a year ago?

There were only three cars in the parking lot- yours, the director’s, and Steve’s. Seeing the shiny Mercedes practically glimmering a few spots away from your very average Nissan Altima was almost a bit embarrassing, especially as you indicated to Steve that that was your car, but he did not seem affected at all as he walked you over. “Thanks again, Y/N, and I’m sorry,” he spoke sincerely, and while it was not a big deal, you noticed he did not use the ‘Miss’ in front of it like how he had referred to Stephanie. In fact, you were happy enough he even remembered your name. Did that mean something? God, you really needed to stop overanalyzing this. “Of course. I love spending time with Linc, it’s really not a problem. He’s good company,” you giggled as you reached out to give him a playful poke on the belly, making him squeal in delight, clearly in a much better mood than before.

“Then maybe you’d like to come by and babysit sometime?” the CEO suddenly inquired, and you blinked before nodding eagerly. “I’d love to!” Honestly, it was not even about Steve or Tiana-- you genuinely loved taking care of the child you had grown so fond of, and being able to outside of work sounded fun. “Great. Let me get your number.” He shifted Linc to his other arm, pulling out a sleek phone from his pocket and going to his phonebook before handing the device to you with a charming smile. You forced yourself not to stare at it, taking the phone and inserting your name and number before giving it back. “Great. Thank you, this will be a lot of help. I’ll reach out to you soon.” He told you, and even though it was childish, you couldn’t help but feel excited that you would have this man’s number. ‘Relax,’ you thought to yourself, ‘it’s just for babysitting. It’s not like we’re going to be friends.’

“Awesome,” you replied with a smile, giving Linc one last squeeze on the hand. “I’m looking forward to it.” You pressed the unlock button on your key, but before you could open the door, Steve reached out and opened it for you himself. “It was nice meeting you today, Y/N,” he spoke casually, as if his charismatic self had no impact on your beating heart whatsoever. “I get the feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future.” You got into the car trying to nod normally, having no idea what he meant by that-- you didn’t need to say anything, anyways, because he closed the door once you were safely inside, barely leaning down and giving you the same wink he did before walking off towards his car. You were left completely confused like before, wondering for the hundredth time that day if you were overanalyzing everything or if he really was showing some odd type of interest.

“Are you finished?”

Steve looked up from his phone as Tiana was standing up from the dinner table, holding her empty plate in one hand and Linc’s in the other. Linc was gazing at him adoringly from his high chair he just barely fit into, flouncing around with pasta sauce all over his face. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry, had an email I had to reply to.”

A lie. After getting your number, he had been far too curious. And so he had shamelessly looked you up on Facebook, scrolling through your photos with interest. He couldn’t deny they were cute. Pictures of you with friends, out to eat, at bonfires, sporting events, even at the beach wearing a particularly tiny bikini he stared at a little longer than he’d like to admit.

He handed his empty plate to his wife with a grateful nod, then looked towards Linc with a little grin. “Look at you, tiger, you’re a mess. Come on, let’s clean you up.” Locking and setting his phone face down on the table, he stood up and took the boy out of his high chair, carrying him over to the kitchen sink while Tiana began to put the rest of the food in the fridge.

“How long are you going to be home this time?” Tiana asked as Steve leaned over the counter to properly wash his son’s hands and face. “I’m flying out to Manila next week,” he answered, raising an eyebrow slightly while scrubbing sauce off the little boy’s ear, at this point not even surprised that it had somehow gotten there. “Why? You can have David over when I’m here, you know.” The woman immediately froze and Steve somewhat regretted saying it out loud. He didn’t even mean it in a salty way, but even then, the entire situation was… messed up, to say the least. “And make him more confused than he probably already is?” Tiana hissed, turning around and gesturing to Linc. “Than he’s going to be when he grows up and learns the real circumstances surrounding his parents? No thank you. As it is, David only comes here when he’s asleep, and as far as I’m concerned, you have no right to be upset about that.”

“I’m not. You know that.” Steve replied calmly, sighing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. That was me trying to be accommodating in-- in whatever this mess is. But how long can this go on, Ti? It’s been a year, almost two. Are we really going to keep living like this?”

“It’ll go on as long as I want it to,” she replied simply, the answer having been quite predictable based on their last few conversations about the matter. “Right. Until David finally decides he wants to lock it down, right?” Steve retorted, now unable to help but get a little more annoyed. “I know what I did was wrong. But now you’re just using me, and my money. In the beginning I let you because I felt bad. But this is too much.”

She widened her eyes, clearly shocked and offended, but before she could reply, Linc tugged on the collar of Steve’s shirt. “Baba?” he asked hopefully, and as stressed as Steve was in that moment, he felt some of it melt away thanks to his sweet, wholesome child. “Okay, yes. We’ll go outside and blow bubbles, little man. Really big ones.” He sighed deeply as he looked to Tiana. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation in front of him, anyways. But please. You know what I want, and I know you want it too, even if you’re in denial. So think about it. And stop letting David be a factor. This “secret” relationship you two are in is just juvenile, Ti.”

Turning around, he headed for the door to the backyard, first opening one of the cupboards to take out the tube of bubble soap. “C’mon, buddy. Show Daddy how you make super big bubbles, yeah?”

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers au #steve rogers smut #steve rogers x you #dad!steve #ceo!steve #ml

450 notes · View notes

its-sj-i-swear · 4 years

Text

Okay so I just really need to say this. I was rereading Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and I just really wanted to talk about it.

It’s honestly amazing. It should be at the top of your TBR, or at least in the middle. And I know people might not buy into it- which is why I’m going to explain why it’s so great, other than it’s a really cute BL (what else could you possibly want? Well whatever it is, I can assure you this book has it) There are spoilers ahead so... er... yeah. I’ll tell you when they’re about to come up though.

Firstly, the representation. Let’s ignore the obvious sexuality bit for a second, and look at everything else. We have a female Democratic president who won the election right after Barack Obama. Her son, the main character, is bi-racial. Everyone talks about those two things but how about the more subtle matters? Their family isn’t the stereotypical nuclear family- Mom, Dad, and kids. We have a Dad and a stepdad in the picture. And although tensions are pretty high with the Mom and the Dad, that’s realistic. The dad and the stepdad get along pretty well and both Alex (the MC and their son) and June (another MC and their daughter and an absolute QUEEN) love them both which is honestly so amazing. And, about the dad for a second, like he’s on the scene even though the “love of his life” (his words) is with another guy and somehow manages to be relatively okay. And he’s honestly such a good dad- he invites the kids- even Nora who isn’t really his kid but- to his house just to have a good time even though it might hurt that their mom isn’t coming with them. Also, June is the one more into making her own way with her fashion writing stuff and is honestly (this might raise conflict but) as ambitious as Alex, if not more so. In my opinion, it’s harder to make your own way as the First Daughter on something so unrelated to politics versus following in your Mom’s footsteps- or close to anyway- as a guy.

Okay, now to the sexuality and stuff. First, let me just say that there is trans representation which is honestly not done enough and it’s not even a whole thing. Like what I mean is with so many of these things- like someone being trans or there being a random threesome between Nora, Pez, and June, they’re not a big deal. Like, it’s just accepted. Like, June and Pez’s sexualities aren’t explicitly said and it doesn’t matter to anyone because that’s just how accepting they are. Alex is bi and Henry is gay which I appreciate because I’ve read books where both the lovers are gay and though that may be likely, it’s more believable if one is gay and one is bi or pan or something. And the fact that Alex’s Mom and Dad and Stepdad are all so accepting is just refreshing- and yet there is that realism with Henry’s grandma not being as accepting. Oh, and let’s get onto Henry’s family.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT!⚠️

His sister is a drug addict gone clean, and I love how they included that element because it further shows that everyone is honestly trying to get by, and the fact that she’s clean because Henry was lost and didn’t know what to do and cried to her is just... like, woah. Both the sibling bonds in this are just amazing. And Henry’s mom... she’s just amazing. And again, his family isn’t really nuclear either- his dad is dead, which is another huge plot point because it shows the vulnerability of Henry and actually addresses how hard it is on everyone when a family member dies and how they cope with it (Bea-cocaine. Phillip- being a general annoyance to everyone except his grandma. Henry- curling on in himself. His mom- becoming withdrawn).

⚠️SPOILER ALERT OVER⚠️

So yeah. The representation is just *chef kiss*

Okay. Now for the second bit; the characters. Like, can we take a moment? Every single character is so well-developed, even the secondary characters. And there aren’t really any unnecessary characters which I appreciated because some other books just have characters that don’t even do anything and it’s just annoying. But this book wasn’t like that. Every character, no matter how small, had a purpose. There’s no waste of a character, and I like how no character is explicitly evil. Like, Richards is kind of bad, but we can see why he did the things he did. This is closer to real life because there isn’t any clear cut good or evil.

Okay. *rubs hands in glee* now for the character development. We start of with a boy who is ambitious and yet hates himself sometimes for it, and hates the Prince of goddamn Wales. We have his sister who is obviously in the White House and not at uni or whatever because she has to keep an eye on him- which is a little narcissistic if you ask me, but in the least egotistical way possible. You have his Mom who he wants to be like, Rafael Luna (who I’ll talk more about later) who he wants to be exactly like. You have his dad and stepdad, both of whom he appreciates very much. You have Zahra (who I’ll talk about later again and who is an absolute QUEEN) who he’s a little scared of but loves anyway.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT!⚠️

Now, cut to the end of the book. He hates himself and the Prince of Wales a little less and everything else more or less stays the same. So why do we feel like everyone evolved? Probably because we get to know everyone so much more. I mean, we get to know Rafael Luna is an absolute genius, as his Oscar, Alex’s dad. We know Zahra will kick down a door, make half-dressed Henry fall out of the goddamn closet (‘“Quite,” Henry observes.’ Yes I’ve memorized it move on) and finish pulling Alex’s boxers up because he hasn’t yet. And then she doesn’t tell the president because Alex hasn’t come out yet with only the promise that he’ll tell her soon. Like... come on.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT OVER⚠️

So... yeah. It’s the fact that the development is so subtle that it’s literally just us getting to know the characters. It doesn’t feel like development, really, because it seems too natural for that. Like, it’s almost not the characters developing. It’s their situations changing and so they do as well. And the fact that I’m saying that really makes me feel like Casey McQuiston put a lot of time and effort into the seamlessness of this book and it shows.

Taking the seamlessness point a little further, I’m going to be talking about the last thing on my mind. All the goddamn tropes. The way I say that sounds like it’s a bad thing but it really, really isn’t. It’s honestly every cute trope rolled into one.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT! (Although I dunno how you’ve heard about this book and not heard of what’s going to happen ultimately)⚠️

We have the:

* Hated each other for ages but actually it was love all along (Drarry or Snowbaz anyone?)

* Had to pretend they were friends and actually became more

* Cheesy emails that are actually so cute that I might die

* Absolute denial of all and any feelings until the shy one kisses the other one and the other one doesn’t kiss back because THEY’RE STUPID AND OBLIVIOUS *cries* and then the shy one thinks they read it all wrong so stops all and any contact with the other one and then the other one is like WAIT... *insert that ‘I hope this doesn’t awaken anything in me.’ thing* and then corners the shy one and kisses them

* Someone finds them out and the shy one doesn’t talk to the other one because ajdijdowhfoejrjiwjc and then the other one confesses their love and the shy one’s resolve dies because they love them too

* Whatever medium they used (emails, texting, whatever) got leaked and they were kind of screwed but it didn’t matter because they had each other (this trope is only for famous people and generally used in fanfic- I would know)

⚠️SPOILER ALERT OVER⚠️

So there are all those tropes and one would think it would be cheesy and like a poorly written fanfic, but it isn’t and that what makes it so amazing. Every single plot point has a reason and maybe it adheres to these tropes but it’s is by no means unoriginal, which is a miraculous feat.

The entire book is honestly so good, and it is an easy book to get through- it’s a feel good book so there isn’t a lot of angst and sadness, even though there is some. Just... honestly I love the book so much and I thank Casey McQuiston for creating such a thing. I think everyone should read it, so please add it to your TBR.

94 notes · View notes

alexkamiya2 · 4 years

Text

About my MC [I found some questions on Twitter and decided to answer them with my MC]

Name: Alex [Originally there name is *Inserts my irl name* and *More stuff about this and that* And yep!] ~Basically Alex is A nickname since others can’t actually say her name correctly sometimes~

Age: 27

Birthday: November 29th

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight ~She likes someone who is nice and cute (looks don’t matter) and funny maybe kinda awkward sometimes but can be sweet at times.

Race: She’s human ~Asian and a quarter German~

Before coming too the Devildorm. She was a detective and a supernatural detective. [Studying supernatural and seeing if there real or not mostly demons or any other creature]

Height: 5’10

Body type: She’s pretty skinny [Not like her older brother who looks like kinda a tall stick figure...]

Alex’s love interest is Mammon. She’s basically obsessed with him. She thinks he’s funny and cute, Kinda nice and kinda awkward just like her sort of but still she loves him a Whole Lot.

Alex was born with a hole in her heart. Two major surgeries when she was a baby and had to go back to the hospital at four and stayed there for a good solid 2 weeks. (True facts I was born with a hole in my heart ;-;) She’s fine now she just can’t push herself so much. Alex has Bi-polar and anxiety along with depression and PTSD. (A little bit of Anorexia and insomnia) Alex overcomes insomnia by just heating up milk and drinking it. She can’t really handle the others but if she really needs too she will talk to someone about it. (Surprisingly she’s getting a bit better slowly)

Alex’s voice is happy and positive (tries to be at least) Its kinda in the middle of high and low. (Normal lol)

Alex does have a tattoo on her right side of her side and it’s a rose tattoo. She wants too get a tattoo on her back but she can’t decide what tattoo to get in her back. She also has a tattle on her right shoulder and it’s a skull

Alex normally just wears T-shirts and shorts or comfy pants when she isn’t going out doing her job or some errands she’s running, If she is going out she wears her normal black jacket. Dark grayish shirt and black shorts with her boots.

Since Alex doesn’t like dresses she wears shirts with her rad uniform and doesn’t pull her sleeves down (she has her sleeves up)

Alex’s parents are divorced so she lives with her dad. Alex’s dad is also a detective he’s very skilled and taught Alex how to be strong and everything. Alex’s dad is very serious but he’s mostly kind, caring and very happy [My old man is basically a weirdo] Alex’s relationship is good! Her mom and her have kinda a awkward relationship. Alex’s older sister used to be best friends when they were younger but not anymore, they don’t talk a lot but they trust each other a lot. Alex’s older brother is the reason why she has PTSD. Her brother is toxic, she tries to stay away from her brother as much as possible because she doesn’t like being yelled at or called names. She’s afraid that maybe he’ll hit her like he did one time.

Alex doesn’t speak a lot of languages she speaks a little bit of Spanish/Mexican (idk I’m sorry don’t punch me ;-;) and a bit of Japanese (very little).

Alex and Lucifer HATE each other so much they want to kill each other at some point. Alex doesn’t like the way he treats his brothers especially. She is also kinda afraid of Lucifer because he reminds her of her older brother but she would never say it.

Mammon and Alex awkward just awkward because there both two awkward idiots that fell in love with each other but hide it (Alex is pretty good at hiding her feelings for someone more than a friend. Not mammon lol. Not unless Alex is just a clueless moron) but they get along oh just so much chaos

Alex and Levi get along so well! They both like anime and would talk about it so much. But Alex doesnt okay video games (she’s so bad...at them...)

Satan and Alex get along pretty well too they both hate Lucifer so much they pull pranks on him but they both like cats (Alex likes a lot of anmikals tbh) and books too!

Asmo and Alex They kinda and kinda not get along. Alex doesn’t like going to parties [unless she feels like it, it would be pretty rare for her to go too a party] and Alex doesn’t like dresses or makeup. Tho she likes cute things (will she admit it? Yes yes she would admit she likes cute things)

Beel and Alex get along pretty well as well. They both eat a lot and love food (mostly deserts and burgers) There both are too nice and innocent (Alex can be innocent sometimes)

Belphie and Alex yeah they get along they like sleeping so they sleep a lot so haha.

Alex gets along pretty well with diavolo and barbatos. She likes cooking so she would bake with barbatos and Luke and treat Luke as if he was her younger sibling or something. Alex and Simeon get along pretty well too they enjoy talking to each other since he would advise her on things too do and what not to do. Alex probably wouldn’t get along with Solomon because he’s a shady wizard that always wants to try out new spells and she’s a victim.

Alex’s hobbies are mostly drawing and learning the brother’s demon forms and powers. What can they do? How do they do it? (She takes notes)

Alex does have a pact with all the bros she mostly summons beel or mammon and Levi. She would summons them because she’s either cornered by some demons or trying to save other people’s lives from a demon who’s being a bad dog >:(

Alex’s favorite place in the Devildorm 👆🏻

What sin fits the most...Er that’s a hard one I think Gluttony and sloth mostly. Mostly gluttony because Alex is mostly always hungry (even if Anorexia isn’t kicking in)

Alex is weird and awkward at first but when she warms up too you she is either still quiet and calm or chaotic as heck. She tries to help others and be a positive person.

Alex has a Chinese dragon dog bracelet given by her dad and she holds onto it mostly. She also wears a star necklace given by Alexis when she met Alexis in her dream.

Alex - Best friends: Levi,Beel,Belphie,Satan,Diavolo,Luke,Simeon

A song that would fit Alex

youtube

What is in Alex’s bag let’s see textbooks,pencils and notebooks. Some snacks and maybe some handcuffs 😌

Alex has blackish brownish hair. Dark grayish shirt. Black jacket. Black shorts and boots (brown boots of course that are long) also her Chinese dog dragon bracket that her dad gave her on her right wrist. Also the star shaped necklace Alexis gave her in her dreams.

Alex’s greatest fear is being judged and hated by everyone and thinking they will betray her and leave her all alone (basically losing everyone she cares about) Also she is afraid of dying

When Alex figured out she was lilith’s descendant she was shocked and Confused.

Does Alex have a pet. Yes she has two dogs in the human world but I’m Devildorm she has mammon and the other demon brothers!

Alex’s grades in Devildorm. She is in the middle in Math Kinda good and kinda not good sometimes she gets A’s and doesn’t get A’s in math. Social studies and science Tho she has A’s. PE she has A’s (somehow...) Music she also has A’s. English language and arts F’s

Alex other friends are zack and Yuki (Yuki is a OC of one of my friends OC irl) (Zack is one of my OCS)

Alex’s favorite food: pasta,noodles,cheesecake,cookies,strawberries,friend shrimp and rice, rice and eggs, and many others

Alex’s Talent is fighting (I’m not actually good at fighting irl) and playing the violin

When Alex is feeling down she rely on Simeon,beel or Levi and Belphie too. Or satan and asmo

Alex’s room is a bit messy, some papers and files here and there on her desk and kinda on the floor. Drinks on her desk as well and in the garbage and snacks too. A computer on her desk with her textbooks and pencils. Notebooks too. She has a shelf for all her books and some plushies on her bed and a stuffed obey me brothers Zack made and gave her.

Alex is a heavy sleeper and sometimes laughs or talks in her sleep. She talks medicine before she goes too sleep (she doesn’t want too end up throwing up blood or feeling sick too her stomach like when she was younger)

Alex’s Devilgram Username: DetectiveCrazy

Alex does have a part time job while doing her “other” human job (detective) Her part-time job is Hell’s Kitchen (cook)

Alex’s friends and family members do know that she goes too the devildorm they do miss her and pretty worries about her.

When leaving the Devildorm because Alex will miss them too much (She literally cries she’s sensitive-) But she did return because of the shady wizard and she’s so happy she gets too see them all again heck she even hugs Lucifer and too everyone else’s surprise Lucifer hugs back.

Alex’s D.D.D is Black and her wallpaper is a chibi photo of mammon on her lock screen then her homsecreen is chibi mammon in the corner of her phone bottom left.

Alex likes praising all the brothers because she thinks it’s cute. She also likes being praised by them as well. (Mostly mammon) Alex doesn’t like criticism and would try to stand up for the person being criticized.

Alex’s goal is to figure out more about Alexis and Lilith. Also marrying mammon!!

Alex does play the violin and kinda play the piano. She is still trying to play the guitar.

Alex doesn’t think positive about herself At All. She thinks she’s ugly or not talented enough. She wants others too think of her as a good person and as a friend and not a enemy, Too not be nervous about telling there problems too her and too trust her.

When Alex was a child she was mostly bullied and had a lot of fake friends. But she mostly cared about her family and her dogs, also the future because she would probably meet good people eventually.

For living in the devildorm forever or staying in the human world forever is a hard decision for Alex

Alex did go to the celestial realm and she thought it was more than beautiful and amazing. She did wish she could meet Michael and talk to him about the brothers and how they were back then (maybe next time!)

The pact marks only appear on Alex’s skin when she is summoning one of the demon brothers. The pact marks only appear on her hand (depending on which demon brother it is) also when summoning one of the demon brothers the pact mark glows into there sin color (example: Pact color - Purple - Belphie)

Oof that’s all- that was a lot of typing but oddly my fingers don’t hurt because of typing that much

#obey me shall we date?#obey me mc #my mc #obey me Alex #text #*More about my MC*

2 notes · View notes

bunchofbooks · 4 years

Text

It’s Time for Kyrsten’s Opinion: Flowers in the Attic Review Edition

Flowers in the Attic is the first book in the Dollanganger series but VC Andrews. It follows the Dollanganger family; the four children, Chris, Cathy, Carrie, Cory and their mother, Corrine. They were a perfect family, until their father is suddenly killed in a car accident on the way home from work one evening. The four children must stay hidden in the attic of their estranged grandparent’s estate for the sake of inheritance. Their mother assures them this is only temporary - one night at most; but the days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And the months turned into years with no glimmer of escape.

While this book was a really enjoyable read it was also a really heavy read. Under the cut I have posted a spoiler free review of the book, with my thoughts and opinions including content warnings.

Before I even start getting into the review I wanted to jump right into the content warning. A quick sidebar, I first heard about VC Andrews through the podcast, My Favorite Murder. The women who host it were talking about reading this book in middle school and high school, I thought that it can’t be too bad if they read it when they were that young. The woman who was ringing me up at the store when I bought it also said she read it when she was in middle school and said it was intense, but that she was a baby so it probably wasn’t that bad. I just want to know WHERE WERE THEIR PARENTS?!?! This book needs a lot of content warnings and I’m hoping that I cover all of them here even if I don’t get into all of them in the review. Content warning for: death of a parent, abuse / neglect, self - mutilation, incest (holy incest Batman), suicidal thoughts, victim blaming, and death of a child.

The estranged grandmother is a vile woman who is abusive and neglectful of her grandchildren. She dangles the threat over the children and Corrine that all she has to do is tell one of their maids that Corrine has 4 children from her marriage and they can kiss that inheritance goodbye. The neglect seems obvious, these kids are locked in an attic 24/7, in the dead of summer and on the coldest nights during the winter, but she also at points is angry with the children and refuses to bring them food because they broke one of her many rules. One part in particular that sticks out to me is when she tells Cathy she can either cut all of her hair off or they can go one week without food. When Cathy does not agree and the kids are able to ration what little food they have left for the entire week, she drugs Cathy and dumps tar in her hair so she must shave it off; and even after she cuts off her hair, the grandmother still does not bring the children food.The children become so hungry that Chris cuts his arm and forces his younger sisters and brother to drink his blood (insert my screaming here). The grandmother whips her adult daughter and then makes her show the marks left to her young children so they see what she is capable of. The grandmother attacks Chris and Cathy, whipping them both and then beating Cathy until she is unconscious with a hair brush.

However, the grandmother is not the only culprit here. Corrine, while she starts out as being loyal to her children, starts coming up to the attic less and less once she starts getting some money from her father, leaving them to fend for themselves. At one point she leaves for days, not telling her children where she is going or when she will be back. When she does come back she does not understand why her children are not excited she had been on a trip nor do they want to hear about it or see what she has brought back for them. Corrine gaslights her children, saying that they chose to come with her. They chose to make these sacrifices of staying in an attic all this time. They chose this life for themselves. As if they had a choice in the matter at all. Corrine then leaves them in the attic. . . again.

The children are told by Corrine that they must only stay in the attic for one night, until she can get back into the good graces of her estranged father so they can get the inheritance. The children ask what she did to make her family disowned her out the way they did and for a little bit, all Corrine will tell her kids is that she did something that her family did not approve of. Instantly I’m thinking, oh she stole money, she ran off and got married, she got pregnant before she was married. It takes place in the 1950’s so while that isn’t the end of the world today, I can see how an affluent family would want to keep that out of the public to save face. NOPE I WAS VERY WRONG! I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! The mother was disowned by her family because she was in a relationship with her father’s step brother - or her half uncle - but don’t worry no one else thinks it’s wrong (except for the grandmother and grandfather who are painted to be the villains in all of this) because he was so much younger than Corrine’s father and they were only half siblings. Have no fear though, because this is not the only instance of incest that we get to read about in Flowers in the Attic! Cathy - who narrates the story - and her older brother, Chris, begin a relationship. Which somehow goes from creepy to creepier. Cathy catches Chris spying on her when she is naked. Even more concerning was during the same scene, Cathy tells Chris to go away and he ignores her to keep staring at his sister. When Chris and Cathy are kissing in bed, Cathy tells Chris to stop and he says that what they are doing is not wrong, because they are only kissing and not having sex. . . However Chris your thinking is flawed because they do have sex, which will be brought up at my next therapy appointment and every therapy appointment from now until my dying day. While it is not a long scene, it is certainly graphic and more brother / sister sex scenes than I ever wanted to read. After they have sex, Chris is saying how he feels awful for what they did and Cathy says that she is to blame because she wears short clothes that don’t fit. If this were a youtube video this is the point I would insert the clip of someone screaming bitch what the fuck.

Flowers in the Attic, while definitely one of the most intense books I have ever read was enjoyable. There were aspects of it that I thought were amazing. VC Andrews was able to make it feel like I was in Foxworth Hall with the Dollanganger children in the attic and could make me feel claustrophobic even if I was reading outside or on a train. You really felt like time was ticking by and you were also waiting for the grandmother to catch you doing something wrong (not quite having sex with your brother, maybe something a little less. . . weird, like looking at your hair in the mirror, which is in fact a rule that the grandmother has because we don’t promote vanity. No sir, not at Foxworth Hall). VC Andrews would drop it on you like a bomb that all of this time had passed, the seasons bled into one another flawlessly. She would have one of the children say something, for instance, “sometimes eight months can feel like eight years”, and it hits you like a ton of bricks that it has been eight months since they first entered that attic, while also dropping that they should have been there only for one night.

Another thing that I loved was how much VC Andrews made me hate Corrine. Corrine Dollanganger is truly one of the most awful fictional parents I have read, but she isn’t instantly an awful person. At the beginning she is a wonderful mother who I genuinely believe would have done anything for her children. However, slowly VC Andrews would peel back these layers and show how having this money corrupted Corrine. Some of her finer moments include asking her 14 and 12 year old to provide a quality kindergarten education to her five year old twins so when they went back to school they wouldn’t be too far behind. Ma’am your children are literally living in an attic they’re going to have much bigger issues other than being behind in school. When the youngest son, Cory accidentally locks himself in a trunk, she is nowhere to be seen nor does she want to hear it, but she acts like mother of the year because she brings toys to the kids. However, the most infuriating thing about Corrine is how she causes so many fights among the children. Cathy tries to point out how messed up their situation is, but Chris does not want to hear about it and jumps to defend the mother who couldn't care less about him. Cathy at the age of twelve was left taking care of herself, including going through puberty, and her five year old brother and sister and Corrine would get all of the praise from the children when she came in to do the bare minimum! I would get so angry with this fictional woman!

The last fifty pages were absolutely wild. There were so many surprises twists that I did not see coming! Sometimes when books have all of these twists at the end I’m like, yeah okay let’s speed this along, but with Flowers in the Attic I could not get enough. I was caught off guard but it didn’t feel like it was phony in any way. I was sitting in the living room reading and I gasped and was freaking out about the ending.

My biggest complaint about the book would be the dialogue, specifically Chris. It was completely unrealistic for anyone to speak like that, even more so a seventeen year old boy. The children would talk in these elaborate metaphors and seem so worldly when Cathy says before that they lived a pretty sheltered life prior to the attic. Chris would say things to the twins like we shouldn’t quibble, as if they would know what that means?! Just say fight Christopher! At another part he is in a fight with his mother who had left them in an attic and says, “when you look and register do you see how healthy they have grown”. This is a direct quote that comes out of a child’s mouth. I understand that he was smart and read all of these books about medicine, but his dialogue specifically is what stuck out to me as unrealistic. Had VC Andrews ever met a 17 year old boy? Overall he just seemed like an unrealistic character. He kind of felt like he was there to be this convenient character that could fix almost every problem they came across. Cory and Carrie wanted a playground? Oh wow Chris comes in and saves the day because he knows exactly how to build one. . . in an attic. . . where they are living. Cathy is sick? Oh well Chris just read this book about childhood illnesses, they just have to make sure he gets plenty of fluids. Cory wants to keep this mouse that he found with its leg caught in a trap? That’s awesome because Chris can conveniently make a mouse sized splint for a little mouse leg.

Overall, I really did enjoy my time reading this book. I have some theories about the rest of the series and am interested to see how the rest plays out.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but I would be sure to let someone know the content warnings. I would not recommend this book to someone in middle school or early high school. It was a lot.

Will I keep reading the series? Definitely!

#flowers in the attic #vc andrews #book reviews #adult books #books #dollanganger

45 notes · View notes

supernaturalmarauders · 4 years

Text

I’m sorry Jensen ackles x daughter reader

summary: You are jensens 15 year old daughter and your parents have been spending there time with your younger siblings. you start to become lonely and start thinking how everyone would be better off without you. Jensen and daniel get a call from your friend, raising her concern for you ,and they learn how bad your mentall health actually is.

Warnings: Possible self harm, suicidal thoughts, self hating language, attempted suicide, bullying, father jensen and mother daniel fluff.

Please if this is happening to you, or you feel like this tell someone. i know what it’s like to keep your feeling bottled up. please don’t do it. my messages are always open

xxxxxx

you were sitting on your bed staring at the phone screen. it didn’t matter how hard you tried you couldn’t tear your eyes away from it. the hurtful words made you feel something. Everyone assumed That being Y/N Ackles made your life great. and of course your dad and Daniel loved you, but they were far to busy these days for you to bother them with your problems.

Ever since you were a child it had always been you and your dad. your mum didn’t want you so when she gave birth to you, she gave you straight to your father and ran. you were always a quiet kid, never causing any problems. but that meant you learned to keep your problems to yourself. your father was far to busy with his acting to deal with your miner todler problems.

when daniel came along your father had finally found love again. being 12 years old at the time you understood that they both loved eachother. She treated you like her child, and loved you as much as a mother should. you loved daniel with all of your heart, and so did your father.

When j, Zeplin, and arrow came along you felt complete. you had always wanted younger siblings, and you finally had them. you loved them, you really did, but sometimes you wished your parents would have more time for you.

2 months ago your family moved houses and you had to start at a new school. your siblings were all to young to start school, whilst you were starting your 10th grade. being 15 was hard enough, but having to start at a whole knew school was nothing good. normally you would have no problem making friends. everyone knew the name Ackles. sometimes you wished you had actuall friends who didn’t just hang around with you for the exposure. sometimes you wished you were lucky enough to score real friends.

but this time you knew it wouldn’t be the same. you knew from day one that you were not welcome at that school. from the very start you were called horrible names, and contantly hurt, shoved, pushed, tripped, and more when you were just collecting your books. you couldn’t add on to your parents stress and you knew that your siblings were to young to understand, so you kept quiet.

sometimes you would video chat (Insert best friend name here). your best friend from your old school. she was your friend because she loved you as a person, not because of your name. but you knew better than anyone that she didn’t need your problems adding onto her stress.

xxxxxxx

“Y/N dinner” called daniel from the kitchen. you wiped you eyes and switched your phone screen off. you pulled on you’re jumper and pajama pants and went down stairs. when you arrived you saw your mother feeding arrow and your father feeding zep. Jay was sitting at the table eating her pasta and watching a barbie movie on her Ipad.

“Your dinners on the bench Y/N, help yourself” Siad your dad gesturing to the bowel of pasta left for you.

“Thanks” You said taking a small portion of pasta and sitting next to jay. once Daniel noticed the little amount of pasta on your plate she nudged your dad on the shoulder, causing him to look at your plate.

“Are you not going to eat anymore” Asked Daniel worry evident in her voice.

“Sorry mum, i’m not that hungry” you mumbled playing with your food.

“Are you not feeling well honey” asked you dad, taking his eyes of zep.

“I’m alright, just don’t have much of an appitite” you said shrugging off the matter.

Your parents looked at eachother, more worry evident on there features. truth be toold they had a reason to worry. since you moved you hadn’t been eating as much as you should be. you play basketball so you needed to maintain your body. however since moving you had dropped basketball completely. you spen’t most of your lunchbreaks in the library, where food isn’t allowed. you had lost 20 kilograms in the past 2 months, which wasn’t healthy considering you were already small for your age. Your parent’s had been noticing the weight loss, but didn’t really question it considering that they thought you were just stressed. however 2 months in and you were still showing signs.

“Y/N, can you braid my hair please” asked jay giving you puppy dog eyes. you sighed.

“Course jay” you said letting jay lead you up to her shared bedroom, leaving your bowl of food untouched.

xxxxxxxxx

“I’m worried about her” said your mum once you had left the room.

“Me two” said your dad, concern clearly evident in his voice

“You don’t think she’s anorexic do you” Asked your mum placing arrow down in the high chair.

“I don’t hink so, she would have lost more weight by now. besides she would be excercising like crazy, she doesn’t seem to leave her bed much now days” said your father placing zepline in the chair opposite arrow.

“Maybe she’s going through exams, that could be why she’s loosing all the weight” said your mum, trying to find a reason for your weight loss.

“The school wrang me yesterday”. said your dad just as he remembered.

“You’re only telling me this now, what did they say” asked your mother.

“Her lunch pass hasn’t been used in over a month. they also said that she dropped out of basketball and drama, they were worried about her” said your dad.

“Maybe we should give her some space untill she opens up” said your mum cleaning up the dishes.

“Yeah maybe”. said your dad. he knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The following day at school you kept your head down and avioded the crowds of poeple walking the halls you quickly grabbed you’re books and headed to the bathroom. shutting the stool door you pulled up your jumper revealing the many cuts and burns running up your hip, you silently let a tear fall down you’re face knowing that you were so lost. you pulled back down you’re jumper and walked over to the mirror, your appearence looked tired. your hair looked dead and your eyes had purple bags under them, your face looked deathly pale and slim, far different from the girl you used to be. you washed your face picked up your bags and hastily exsited the bathroom.

after ariving to you’re first class you found your seat in the midle of the classroom and pulled out your laptop, you stopped when you saww it. the top of it was covered in notes full of hatefull words, drawn on in permanent marker, you opemed it to see more written on you’re screen.

you let the tears full freely down your face, you didn’t know why but you started reading them.

“GO DIE, YOUR PARENT’S WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU’

“I’M SURE YOURE SIBLINGS WOULD PREFER IT IF YOU JUST LEFT”

“ YOU DIRTY PIECE OF FILTH, NO ONE LIKES YOU, JUST GO BACK TO THE HELL HOLE YOU CAME FROM’

‘ YOU FILTHY SLUT, GO SPREAD YOUR GERMS SOMEWHERE ELSE, YOUR NOT WANTED HER SO DO US ALL A FAVOUR AND DIE”

You didn’t realise untill you finsihed that the whole class was laughing at you. because it was a study period you didn’t have an assigned teacher so there was no one to tell them to stop. you packed up your stuff and headed to the library where you would signed in and set in the corner. sitting down on a bean bag you curled up and started sobbing. pulling out your phone you looked through the photos. the one of zeplin, jay, and arrow, sitting curled into you while you read to them. the one of you your dad and daniel when you won your first basketball game. the one of you and (Best friend) when you both won the science fair. the one of you and your primary school teacher when you recieved your graduation certificate. you started crying even more, knowing that things would never be the same again.

You were about to turn off your phone when you saw a call from your dad you wiped the tears from your eyes and answered it.

“Hey dad” You said as cheery as you could

“Hey bug, how are you” he said

“Fine, is everything okay” you said knowing that your dad normally didn’t call you during school hours.

“Everythings fine. me and mum are going to have to stay on set late tonight. the kids are with uncle jared. is it okay if you catch the bus home today. theres dinner in the fridge and the remote on the counter” asked your dad

“Of course” you said trying not to cry.

“okay sweetie, we’ll be home as soon as we can. i love you” said your dad hanging up the phone

“I love you to” you wispered to no one in particular.

xxxxxxxx

The bus ride home was horrible. you constantly had paper and balls thrown at you, and insults left right and centre. you packed up your stuff and headed off the bus afew stoped before your house, so you could clear your head. on the way out your bus driver grabbed your arm.

“You okay kid” he asked kindly a sad smile on his lips. you put on your fake smile a replied an “i’m fine” before exsiting the bus. you took your time getting home as you knew it would be hours before anyone else arrived. you unlocked the door and thre you backpack onto the kitchen counter, not caring that your laptop was in the bottom of the bag. you slowly made your accent up the stairs and into your room.

your room was at the end of the hallway, you parents room was the next door down and your sisters’ room was next to them, across the halls was your brothers room. you sighed and pushed open your door revealing the room that was once full of life. the walls were painted grey and all of your exam papers were lying scattered acroos the floor. your clothes lied on a pile next to the bed and your art supplies was scattered across your desk, like it was a month ago.

your bathroom looked spotless and clean, much different to your bedroom. you walked back into your bedroom and pulled up your phone, you had a binch of text messages from about 50 unknown numbers. you felt your heart finally shatter. you had never given anyone your number, and now the harrasment would never stop. you threw your phone onto your bed and slid down the wall, letting the tears fall freely. you couldn’t do it anymore. you didn’t have the energy, you just didn’t want to. it had taken everything you had to make it this far, and you just didn’t have the fight anymore, you let the rest of your tears fall before pulling yourself off your floor and sitting on the bed. feeling your phone vibrate you picked it up to see a message with a table. by closer look you saw a petition. not just any petitiion, a petition about you. the “Get Y/N Ackles to dye petition” that already contained 280 signatures,

you stared at your phones screen, emotionless. it wasn’t untill you felt the phone vibrate again that you saw an incoming call from (Your best friend) you letit ring a bit hoping it would go away, before you lost your patience and slid the answer buttin across.

“Y/N hey, hey, answer me, are you okay” asked your best friend in a panicked tone.

‘i’m sorry” you wisper into the phone.

“What are you sorry for, Y/N, tell me that your okay”. begged your best friend.

“I’m sorry but i can’t do it anymore... i love you” you say letting more tears fall down your face.

“NO Y/N stay on the line, come on , i need you, your so much stronger than this” begged (Your best friend).

“Goodbye (best friend) i love you” you say hanging up the phone and pulling yourself into the bathroom.

slowly you walk yourself into the bathroom, and drag yourself infront of the mirror.

“I’m sorry mum, dad, jj,(best friend) zeplin, arrow, but this isn’t the right place for me” you say, grabbing medication and a razor from the cupboard. wiht as much energy as you could muster you shover 2 hanfulls of pllis down your throat. after feeling your eyes drop, you dig the razor into your skin cutting the vain open and letting the blood pour freely.

“I’m sorry, i’m sorry” you say before you drift off into the land of unconciousness.

xxxxxxx

your dad had just finished filming the final sceen when he felt his phone buzz, he pulled it out but didn’t recognize the number, knowing it was probably business he answered it anyway.

“Hello, jensen ackles speaking” he said through the phone

“Mr ackels it’s (Best friend)” your father heard (best friend) through the phone. only it sounded like she was crying.

“Hey (best friend) is everything okay” asked your father genuinly worried.

“Have you been on instagram lately” she asked.

“Not lately” he said.

“Can you please have look” said (Your best friend) crying

you dad kept the call running while he opened instagram, what he saw broke his heart. he saw tones and tones of hate messages comments and posts about you. but the one thing that got to him most was a petition, saying for you to kill youself.

“(best friend name) wheres charlotte” said your father starting to tear up. he hear (Your best friend) started sobbing.

“I was on the phone to her just before, i think she’s going to commit suicide mr ackles, she hung up on me and won’t answer her phone” cried (your best friend)

your father felt stupid. how did he not notice, he let the tears flow freely.

“(Best friend) thank you so much” wispered your dad before hanging up the phone. and serching for another number

“Hey jensen” said jared through the phone

“Jared i need you to call an ambulance for our adress, Y/N is home and i got a call from her friend. you’re colser to home than we are, i think she’s going to comit suicide” said your father through the phone crying.

“Okay, i’ll head over there noe, i’ll leave the kids with gen, just go to the hospital, i’ll go in the ambulance with her” said jared hanging up the phone.

your dad walked over to your mum with tears running downhis face

“j, whats wrong” asked your mum, worried,

“It’s Y/N”

XXXXX

Your head was heavy, your throat hurt more than anything, and your body felt like it had been dumped. you could hear the beeping of a mechine and imidiately knew you were in the hospital.

“Y/N” you heard someone say from your bed.

“Dad” you said opening your eyes and adjusting to the light.

“Hey bug”. said your dad removing the mas from around your face so you could talk properly. You tried to sit but your dad pushed you back down.

“Hey don’t move, you need to rest” said your dad pushing you back down and planting a kiss on your head

“You gave us a right good scare sweetie” said your mum grabbing your hand from the other side of the bed. recalling the previous events you started sobbing.

“I’m sorry” you said your body shaking from the sobs.

“No, no, don’t appologise, we should be the ones appologising”. said your dad brushing your hair away from your face.

“but you didn’t do anything” you said.

“We wern’t the parents you needed. we should have realised something was wrong. thats our job. if (best friend) hadn’t called your dad you wouldn’t be here” said your mum kissing your palm.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. i just didn’t want to fight anymore” you said leaning into your fathers embrace.

“ I understand that Y/N, but we need you. were always here to talk. we know that you didn’t talk to us because you thought with the others it was to much. but nothings ever to much. please don’t scare us. talk to us. we are always here” said your mum jumping on the other side of the bed.

“I know” you said keeping your head down.

“ were going to work through this together, you don’t have to be strong all the time, but you need to talk to us, deal” said your dad lifting your chin up.

“Deal” You said smiling.

“Good, we love you bug” said your mum planting a kiss on your head.

“I love you both two” you said. feeling happy for the first time in months.

#jensen ackles #father x daughter #suicide #supernatural #dean #sam and dean

40 notes · View notes

bolbianddolanhouse · 4 years

Text

BNHA self insert AU [Book 2]

Beginning of Book 2 Read here to catch up!

Chapter 12: What Was the Reason?! WHAT WAS THE REASON?!

Currently, I’m about one bad interaction away from slapping the shit out of Toei. He’s improving but not in the areas I need him as a team. It’s July and we’re training at the USJ (aka, The Death Dome) again. Not too excited to be in the dome again.

“...and as for you two,” sensei stood in front of us, assigning areas “You’ll be in the rocky area with the non-quirked villain.”

I sighed as Toei got pumped “Oh boy! We’ll win this time!”

“Whatever you say chief” I was just feeling dead inside with all the easy assignments that Toei could barely survive.

“Miss Iida, can I talk to you for a quick moment?” asked sensei to pull me aside. “I know you’re not having the best time, I see it and I’m quite tired of this low ranking too with your ability. But this is the last one before the partner switch, if Toei doesn’t perform well, he’ll have to take the reevaluation exam. So please hang in there!”

That was some hot tea, I was taken back a bit “Will do sensei, I hope he’s better prepared this time.”

“Alright, that’s good to hear!”

I walk over to the rocky area with Toei, trying not to think of the fuck ups he might do. Instead I make sure my ribbon wands and silk obi were in place.

“Hey Iida-san!” Toei snapped me out of my concentration “If we win this one, I’ll take you out to some DDR at the arcade.”

I narrowed my eyes, knowing FULL well he’s gonna fuck it up “If I say yes, will you put in more effort to actually win?”

Our classmates within earshot reacted to that roast.

“That was ice-cold Iida-san!” “Oof she got you there buddy!” “YES BITCH! CALL HIS ASS OUT!” were some of the things they said.

That roast went over his head “I always put in the most effort! I’m confident that we’ll win and move up this time.”

We get to our zone and the enemy gives us no time to think. Immediately we were bombarded with rocks. I had to think fast!

“Okay Toei, if you can-”

“I’M GOING IN!”

“NO!” I screamed as I saw him Naruto run toward the villain on the higher ground “Damn it! Toei are you crazy?!”

“I got this!” He looked back at me, giving me that cocky smile and thumbs up.

I had two options, let him get rekt on his own so he can learn from his stupidity OR I go scoop him up and tell him my strategy. At first I sat and watched him struggle but then the villain brought out a stun gun and I KNEW that I had to go in for the rescue. I ran and jump high enough to get my ribbon lasso for the save. But at the same time, I got in direct line with the stun gun that was meant for Toei and I got a direct hit in my face. I blacked out after that...

-At a nearby hospital-

Lili was snatched out of the air before her body hit the ground by a USJ staff and was rushed to the hospital. Nobody is sure if that direct hit was lethal or not.

“Oh my baby” cried out her mother as she pushed through the nurses to get by Lili’s side “I was so worried that something like this could’ve happen! Why my baby? Why today!?”

“Be strong Ita” soothed Tenya, also trying to hold in his strong emotions “I’m upset too, but lets not cry yet.”

“Too late” whimpered Iwata as tears rolled down his face “is Lili gonna be okay?”

“Daddy, please tell me Lili is gonna wake up?” whimpered Hanaka, pulling at his sleeve.

“Lili, quit playin’! Wake up!” Oro begged as he shook his older sister’s leg “I can’t look at her like this, it’s so hard.”

Tenya didn’t know what to do or say, this environment was overwhelming him and he couldn’t stay strong. “I-...I don’t know” he managed to stammer as tears fall from his face “What can I do?! Nobody told me it was going to hurt like this! I just want my daughter to be okay.”

Her mother put her hand on Lili’s face “It seems like everything is normal, stun guns cause rapid brain activity. And she’s experiencing that.”

“I was just about to say that!” said the doctor “But it seems like you’ve caught on to the main diagnosis.”

“So what did you find?” Asked her mother.

“To make things brief, there’s no brain damage” explained the doctor as he put brain scans up on the light box for everyone to see “nor brain trauma, thankfully. But we are noticing that her brain is taking a while to readjust, so what will happen is that she’ll have mild amnesia” he sat on his padded stool “So don’t be too surprised if she doesn’t remember you right away, it will go away on it’s own but if you re-jog her memories or have trigger objects that’ll bring back her memories, the better.”

“What a relief” Tenya sighed and wiped his tears “She does take a while to recover from anything.”

“As soon as she wakes up, she’ll be discharged” responded the Doctor “She’s still young and strong, so recovery will be fast. I will warn for her to be more careful next time! She’s fortunate that the stun prongs pierced her shoulders and her mask deflected the other prongs that could’ve been much more lethal.” He stands up “I’ll be coming by again in an hour to check up on her.”

“Thank you doctor” responded Ita as the doctor walked away. She turns to the others “You heard him, she’ll be fine. Now we pray to the higher power for her fast recovery.”

“All Might?” blurted Tenya, serious faced.

“What? No! To GOD!” exasperated Ita “What the fuck is the spirit of All Might gonna do?! Detroit Smash from the spirit world to revive her?!”

“All Might’s spirit can suck my ass!” huffed Oro.

“He can suck a caterpillar dick!” Iwata added.

“Can we not slander All Might?!” chopped Tenya “Your sister is trying to re- HANAKA!”

“What? Oh is it a crime that I found the wheelchair?!” Hanaka sneered as she popped a wheelie.

Tenya pinched the bridge of his nose “This family is so chaotic, I can’t sometimes.”

“Remember when you said you wanted as many children as possible?” Ita sighed as she propped up her head with her hand “And how much you cried when they were born? Is it sinking in how much chaos you brought into this world and raised them?”

“I’ve been aware” he rubbed his temples as the two boys joined their little sister in wheelchair tricks “Curly hair and rebellion may be the dominate traits, but I still love them.” he sighed “Because they remind me so much of their mother, whom I love the most.”

“Aww babe” Ita cooed as she levitated the three kids, preventing them from speeding away with the wheelchair “Love you too!”

The family decided that they wanted their privacy and not have visitors. Instead, Tenya put it upon himself to watch over Lili until she wakes up. Ita had important matters to attend to for her company and Iwata was going to be taking care of things at home. Everyone was concerned for Lili’s well-being, sensei didn’t tell the class out of respect of her parent’s wishes. Pretty much only her immediate family and honorary family knew of her condition.

-3 days later-

“Lili, I’m back” softly spoke her father as he sat at the chair at her side “It’s Tuesday, so mom might swing by for a bit if she gets out early enough for visiting hours.”

At this point, Lili still hasn’t woken up nor moved. So Tenya has just been talking to her in hopes that she could hear him and wake up.

“You know, your mom was also hospitalized in 2nd year. And I feel all those worried feelings all over again.” He leaned on the railing of the hospital bed “I’d whisper my feelings to her and give her sweet kisses, like she’d wake up when I did.” He sighed and stroked her hair “Will today be the day you wake up? Everyone is getting awfully worried. But lets see if you like what I brought today.” He pulls out a book from his satchel “It’s one of your mom’s classic literature novels, Little Women. I read a book to your mom when she was like this and she remembered listening to me reading it” he opens the book “So maybe this might work too...ahem, Chapter one, "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug...”

He didn’t have to read too far into the book before Lili woke up. Eyes watering as the hospital lights were stinging to her eyes, she groaned as she stretched her body.

“Nnnh...thirsty” she hoarsely uttered.

Her dad quickly reached for the ice water on the tray “Here, drink slowly.”

She could barely see the cup and who was giving it to her, but she sat up to drink out of it. “Thank you” she said as she tried to rub her eyes and saw the IV connected to her “Am I, in the hospital?”

“Yes, do you remember anything?”

“I remember practicing in the yard for the summer showcase” she rubbed her eyes with the other hand “and that’s all...wait, did I pass out because of the heat?!”

“No...wait, do you recognize me?” carefully asked Tenya, trying not to scare her.

She looked at him and blinked “Yeah? You are my dad” she giggled “you’re my dad! BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE!”

Tenya breathed out, relieved “Oh you gave me a scare there!” he gets up “sit tight, I’ll get the doctor.”

She waits patiently, a little confused on why she was there in the first place. Her dad ran in before the doctor.

“Please Mr. Iida” panted the doctor “I’m a doctor, not an athlete!”

“Sorry! I was just excited” apologized Tenya “But look, she’s awake.”

The doctor gathered himself “Hello Miss Lili, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m feeling a little sore and woke up with extreme thirst” she explained “But otherwise, I’m okay.”

“That great to hear! Can you tell me your full name, age and your parent’s names?”

“Um sure? My name is Lili Perla Iida, I’m 15 years old and my parents are Tenya and Itati Iida.”

“Interesting, okay” the doctor muttered as he wrote something on his notes “Thank you, now I’m going to explain what’s going on...” The doctor explained that she was in a training accident and her diagnosis “...so while you might not remember everything right now, you will very quickly with the help of your family” he stands up “so, you’re free to go home and go back to school. Just be careful and I suggest a better head gear to prevent more accidents.”

“Thank you, I’ll be more careful” She said as the doctor left. “Dad, what did he mean by better head gear? Dance isn’t a contact sport.”

“I’ll explain more when we get home” he handed her a change of clothes “Here, your sister chose your outfit since you came in with your costume on.”

She change and got wheeled out of the hospital to go home. Lili sat in silence the whole way home, she recognized her dad’s car and the route home. But what’s missing from her memory?

“We’re home” announced Tenya.

“Welcome home Lili” yipped the robo dog “Mom told me you got hurt and I’m happy you’re home safe.”

“Doggie” she bend down to pet the robo “I remember you for sure!”

“LILI!” screamed the three younger siblings as they stampeded toward her.

“Hi” she managed to say before they group hugged her “huh? Since when did you guys...looked like this?”

“What do you mean?” they said in unison.

“I don’t remember Iwa wearing t-shirts this fitting?” she pointed out “And since when did you get boobs Rosa? And the fuck did you do to your hair Oro?!”

“Huh? I’ve been wearing proper wearing shirts since I started middle school” Iwa explained himself “wait, dad, did she forget years of memories?!”

“I’m afraid so” Tenya responded “She doesn’t remember anything from the last 3 years.”

“Oh fuck, so you don’t remember your friend?” Rosa asked her sister.

“Maru?” she asked “what about him?”

The four of them glared at her in shock.

“No, your other friend...from school” Iwa spoke up.

“I- don’t have friends from school?” she furrowed her brow “come to think of it, I don’t think I have any friends from dance academy either.”

Everyone look at each other, not knowing how to break it to her.

“Um, lets go sit at the couch and let me explain” Tenya said as they walked over to the living room “Okay, so things look a little different now because you’re not 15, you’re 17 about to be 18-”

“I’VE BEEN IN A COMA?!” screamed Lili.

“NO! You’ve been in the hospital for 3 days and you just have amnesia” her dad took control of the situation “I’ve been watching over you everyday in the hospital and the doctor explained that you just need to get your memories back. And we’re all here to help.”

“So...I’m in high school?” she asked and everyone nodded “And I have friends?”

“Lots of friends!” Her dad explained “you’ve gained the respect of so many and you have your own little dance circle where you Ki Ki.”

“I do?! Wow I sound like a cool kid” she giggled “Where do I go to school? Is it that private arts school in Shibuya?!”

“No...um you” Her dad put his hand on her hand “don’t scream but you attend UA and you’re in the hero department.”

“Oh...I see” she blinked and stood up “will you excuse me a quick moment?” Before anyone could say, she dashed to her room to look through her things. And she found her admittance letter along with all her rejection letters from the schools she applied to. She sat on her bed and tried to remember anything, but couldn’t, so she cried.

“Lili, it’s okay” Rosa said in the doorway “you wanted to go to UA, trained for it and everything” she slowly made her way next to her sister “you even got in without the recommendation of our parents! You went in to flip the script on what our family is known for and changed your ways to become a hero.”

“I wish I could remember” Lili wiped her tears “You guys say all this but nothing is coming back to me. This sucks!”

“Maybe mommy can help when she comes home from work” the little sister said as she tugged on Lili’s sleeve “come outside and eat oranges with us.”

“I am hungry” she stood up “okay, lets go.”

She spent the rest of the afternoon trying to distract herself from everything until her mom came home. Nothing seemed to spark anything until dinner.

“Lili? Are you alright?” her dad asked worriedly “You haven’t reached for the pizza.”

“I remember something” Lili replied, eyes wide “You upgraded my phone on a pizza night, at around Iwa’s birthday.” She looked her dad “If you say I am in high school, then I must have memories on my phone!”

“That could help, but mom has your phone for safe keeping” he answered as he served her a slice “You know how paranoid she gets when things happen in the family.”

“Guess I’ll have to wait until-”

Comically on time, her mom came home. “I’m home!” her mom panted as she rushed into the dinning room “Lili! Oh sweet daughter of mine” she brought Lili into a tight embrace “You have no idea how worried I was! Did you wake up alright?”

“I just woke up thirsty” Lili responded, face squished in her arms “Mom, not to be rude, but can I have my phone? I was just saying that something might trigger my memories back.”

Lili followed her mother into her home office after dinner. The familiar scent of lavender hit her and it triggered the memories she had in there. Once she got her phone and turned it on, a flood of texts rolled in from classmates and people from her circle.

“If you’d like, you can stay home for summer break” suggested her mother “if going back is going to be overwhelming.”

“No, I want to go the dorms” Lili said with confidence “My journey to who I became started at school, because if I did make up my mind to be a hero and threw away my dream of being a dancer, then all those memories started there.”

“Alright Lili, when do you want to go back?”

“Hmmm, on Friday? Is that okay?”

“It is, I just gotta let the school know.”

And so I went to my room to check if I had any pictures, most of them were just selfies and videos of some crackhead activity outside (from what I assume is my dorm room) window. So much for helping me, gotta take more pictures of my friends! I clean out my inbox and see that this one contact I have saved called “Hoshi 💫🌟”. I scroll through our text history and it’s like I text them a lot! Is this the friend Rosa was trying to talk to me about? Wish I had a picture of them but it seems like our texts were saved all the way back from December, almost 7 months ago! I decided to give it a rest and get ready for bed. I lay in bed but I couldn’t sleep, like something was missing from my sleep routine. Did I add something while I was away from home? Needless to say, I didn’t wake up totally refreshed. The little things triggered my memories as I did my everyday routine and, after 4 days, I remembered up to the day I quit the dance academy to go to UA.

“Mom, do you think everyone will be patient with me?” I asked as mom was driving me to the dorms “What if they trick me or take advantage?”

“You have nothing to worry about! Everyone will help, or at the very least your circle of friends and teachers will” Mom replied, glancing over at Lili’s face “Hey, why don’t we go to a McDonalds before?!”

I get excited “For two cones and a number two combo with Sprite?!”

“Yup, glad to see that your excitement for secret McDonalds is still there” chuckled Mom as she took the left turn into the downtown area “The usual I see.”

“You know that’s been my order since I was old enough to speak!” I wiggled in my seat and looked out the window “McDonalds! McDonalds! Gimme McDonalds!”

Thankfully there was no line at the McDonalds and I enjoyed my two cones before pulling up to the dorms. I grab my bag and my drink before following my mom into the building, nothing was coming back to me yet.

“This way Lili, we have to talk to your teacher” Mom pointed to a door “Hopefully he’s not too wrapped up to talk.”

I watch her knock on the door and the sound of somebody falling off something responded along with hasty footsteps “Yes? Oh! I wasn’t expecting you two so soon!”

“Ha ha very funny mom” I was being sarcastic “How much did you pay Diaper Boy to be in on this prank?”

“Ya know Lili, I might be one of the richest women in the country but not even I’d pay Mr Mineta to be part of anything” my mom sighed and pinched her brows together “He’s your sensei...deadass.”

I nearly choked on my Sprite “No way! No wonder I ended up in the hospital!” I felt offended “You got this purple ball flinging, toddler sized, ketchup-smellin’ teaching the next generation of heroes?!”

“Hey! TO BE FAIR, I wasn’t responsible for your accident” sensei cried out “secondly, words hurt. Both of you have been roasting me for long enough, I am a man and a hero!”

“Yeah okay Diaper Man!” I roasted, which promptly triggered my memory of the first day of school “Oh man, that roast was so powerful that it triggered my memory.”

“Oh thats good! Thats what we came here first for” Mom shifted focus “Minoru, I’m going to need you to help Lili trigger her memories in terms of academics. In turn I propose Lili gets a training break until her memories come back.”

“I will allow it, don’t worry about her getting injured again” he gave his thumbs up “She excused from summer training due to her rescue points, which is this leg of the training.”

“Great! Here’s her updated medical records, please hand them to Eri when you get a chance” Mom hands over a manila folder “I just need to talk to Hoshi real quick and I’ll be on my way.”

“Wait, Mom” I stopped her “where are you going after this?”

“I’m going to do some agent work” she explained “my team has been called upon a lead for a re-opened case. I might be gone for a few days, so Dad will be there for you if you need anything.”

“But, what about me?” I pouted, feeling abandoned.

“I know its a little scary being in an environment you don’t recognize, away from your parents and siblings” She comforted me “Trust me, I know the feeling. But you have one person to rely on at least, and it’s your best friend. Hopefully you remember them after a while.” She pointed to the cat tower “Why don’t you see if Clawford is taking a nap? I’ll be quick!”

I watch her teleport out and I do what she said. She says things like this to make me feel better about her being gone for more than a day, but I still worry. I peek my head in the cat hole and see the chonky cat staring back at me with their bluish eyes. I reach in for a gentle pet and they seem to like me, maybe I spend a lot of time in this area and play with them? I don’t know how long I’ve been petting them but when I turned around, there was a group of at least 10 people just staring at me.

“Um... Howdy!” I greeted awkwardly.

“Oh my goodness! She’s not yelling at us” spoke a girl to another girl in the group “what do we say?”

“Yo Toei-kun is right there, how long until she scraps with him?” whispered the boys.

“ENOUGH! Can’t you see our classmate is back?!” spoke up one of the boys and takes a few steps towards me “Iida-san, welcome back! It’s good to see you recovered and well.”

I blinked and lightly scrunched my face “I’m sorry, but...had we, met before?”

Everyone gasped

“What do you mean? It’s me, Hashima-kun, class representative of Hero class A.”

“Class rep?...Sorry, but I don’t remember” I looked to the others “and I don’t remember any of you.”

Sensei came out of his room to inform everyone of my condition. My mom came back out with somebody before heading out.

“Okay Lili, I’ll be going now” She squeezed me “take care and call Dad for anything! I love you.”

“Okay bye Mommy” I waved “I love you!”

I watch her get in her car and drive off. Everyone’s whispers were getting on my nerves in an unsettling way. It was getting me anxiety and I felt frozen in place.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I turn around to see a tall guy with frosty, blonde hair and icy blue eyes. He was looking at me with gentle concern and that confused me.

“Yeah, um...I was just looking at my mom drive off” I meekly responded “Anyways, uhhhhhh can I ask you a very dumb question?”

Now he looked confused “Sure?”

“Where’s the bathroom? I’ve been it holding in for like 20 minutes now” I whispered, hoping nobody heard me.

“Here I’ll show you” he asked me to follow him. We walked up some stairs and down a hallway “So...memory loss huh?”

“Yep”

“Nothing from the last few years, ey?”

“Nope!”

We arrive at the bathroom “At least you remember me right?”

I run in the bathroom and into a stall before I could answer him. And just when I think I have my privacy, I hear the bathroom door open.

“Lili, you remember me...right?” he asked again.

“Um...I-” I try to not make any bodily sounds “I don’t remember you, sorry.”

“You....don’t remember me?” he responded, voice cracking and trailing off “how can that be?! We’ve done so much together! I’m saved on your phone, we have matching lock screens, you made me this shirt... does anything trigger at least the day we met?”

I flush the toilet and walk out to wash my hands “I wish it did, but it seems like routine has been triggering my memories” I go to dry my hands “and I guess that’s my second question, are you in my daily routine?”

He suddenly gets very coy “Well..um” he rubs his face “I basically never leave your side, we share a dorm room.”

“Oh...” I stare blankly at him as a hard blush rose up to my face “Will you excuse me for just a moment?”

I turn around to walk into a shower stall, closed the door and screamed for a solid 2 minutes. “Okay, I feel better” I cleared my throat as I walked out the shower.

“You know that those showers aren’t sound proof.”

“Kinda wish you didn’t say that” I blushed again “now uh, where’s our room?”

I follow him a little ways down the hall from the bathroom. He opens the door to a cramped space.

“Welcome back, hehe” he nervously said “anything?”

I look around “Not yet, but this is a bit of tight space” I walk in to see which side is mine “Hey, that’s the vanity I wanted!”

“Well, it is yours” he explained “along with that fabric wall, sewing station on the balcony, that’s your dresser and your half of the slide closet” he then points to the bed with pink sheets “And that’s your bed, don’t worry, I didn’t sit or sleep on it. I know how picky you are about that.”

“Oof, I hate that box spring feel” I cringed at the sound the bed made with I sat on it “damn bitch, we live like this.”

The boy starts howling with laughter “You’re killing me Lili! Good one!”

I watch him laugh and it made me...happy?

“Are we...best friends?”

“We are!” He calmed down to answer me “We’re like a two for one special! We do almost everything together and you understand me the most” he smiled “You’re the most important person in my life, and no matter what, I’ll help you remember everything. Because you never gave up on me and it’s about time I return the favor.”

“Really? I’m important to you?” I questioned “then I trust that you’ll help me through this.”

He smiled harder and glanced at my bag “What’s in the bag? I don’t remember you having that rhinestone bag.”

“This is my old dance bag” I zipped it open “I have my McDonalds in here.”

“Oh? Did you order your two cones, a number two with large Sprite?”

I froze in place “Whoa, you memorized my McDonalds order?”

“Yup, when we didn’t feel like going to the dorms yet after school, we’d go to the McDonalds and get it to go.” He explained “My order is the number 6 with a vanilla milkshake to dip my fries in.”

“I see, you’re a man of culture as well” I gave a face of approval “Then will you accept this orange.”

“Sure! WAIT!” He stopped himself from taking the orange from my hand “Oranges? Did you-”

I dumped all the contents of my bag on the bed “Pick a bunch of oranges before I came here because our tree was heavy with fruit?...Yes, I did.”

“Oh Lili!” he chuckled “You haven’t changed a bit, I’m so happy you’re back.”

I watch him peel the orange, trying to see if it triggered anything “Hey, not to sound dumb but” I asked as I was eyeing their shirt “what is your name?”

“Hm? My name is Hoshi Togata” he looked up from his peeling.

“Oh you’re my saved contact on my phone!” I picked up my phone “that makes me relieved that it’s you.”

“Yeah, look” he picked up his phone to show me the lock screen “We match, I’m the Big Bad Wolf from Shrek and you’re Donkey.”

“I was wondering why Donkey was there!” I giggled “This feels weird, I’ve never had a best friend before.”

“What about Maru?”

“Oh shit, lowkey forget he exists sometimes” I admitted “but we don’t do things like this. I’d never share my food with him or watch movies.”

“I’ve never had a friend period! You were my only friend for a while because-” he stopped himself from saying it “um, well...that part isn’t important anymore BUT we found more friends!”

I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out things all over again. And when it came for bed, I couldn’t really sleep again because I felt like something was missing. This sucks!

To be continued

#mha #bnha #self insert au #not canon #book 2 chapter 12 #will update regularly #ask me anything #//Palma-sama Speaks #Yes...I did use the amnesia trope and I don't regret it!#this ending arc mirrors book 1 if it went the right way instead of the fuckery that's the Ita-Tenya-Shinso love triangle #also that reading scene thats a nod to book 1...*chefs kiss* I love that shit!#And just like her dad...Lili is a McDonalds Sprite drinker. The two cones is an inside joke with my friends lmao #Also thank you to all my regular readers! I love your asks from the last chapter about the canon adult characters with their kids.#Next chapter is gonna be up in 3 days...get ready because it marks the last 3 chapters of this book! Be on the lookout.

1 note · View note