#sophie is just a big ball of nerves

[dsireland86]

There Is Beauty in the Pain: Chapter 3 Pt.3

"Cause your love is fire warm I'll be the calm babe, before the storm You got me fallin' in love, in this bad dream" -bad dream- Nerve

TAGS: @lma1986 @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @missduffsblog

“Noah, catch her,” was all I heard right before Sophie collapsed. Luckily I caught her in time, throwing my arms out just before she hit the floor. Thank God I had long arms. Her body fell into me, knocking me back, but once I had her, I held her close, supporting her head and neck. "Noah." “ Shhh, it's alright, I gotcha.” I scooped Sophie up in my arms and shifted her, allowing enough space so she could wrap her arms around my neck. Her shallow grunts and groans were clear signs to me of how uncomfortable she was feeling. The best thing for her right now was to rest. 

“Where can I lay her,” I asked Alex, while Sophie's fingers squeezed my shirt. He looked so frazzled. This night had to be tripping him out of his normal routine. I suddenly felt bad for the guy.

Alex nudged his head toward the back of the bar. “Follow me. I have a couch in the breakroom.” He led me to it motioning toward a tan couch in the corner. It looked comfortable enough. “I'll be right back,” he said, before entering and walking away. “Are you still with me, Sophie?”

Her head was snuggled in the crook of my neck and I could feel the warmth of her slow, steady breath on my skin that made me shiver. I hugged her closer and she sweetly moaned.

“I found a blanket. It's not a very big one, but it'll work for now.” Alex came in and laid the blanket at the end of the couch. The face he gave was soft. “She's asleep, isn't she?” He smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Noah.” “ For what?” “ For taking care of her. Sophie means the world to me.” I grinned at Alex. “It's no problem. I'm not about to just walk out and leave her like that piece of shit did. I gotta at least know that she's going to be okay and safe.” Carefully, I sat down on the couch, shifting Sophie in my lap.She removed her arms from around my neck and balling them up in front of her, against my chest, while curling up tighter in my lap. “You’re going to stay with her?” Alex sounded surprised.  “Absolutely,” I said, laying my head back against the couch and shutting my eyes, realizing for the first time how tired I felt. I didn’t bother to look up at Alex. 

“Sophie needs support right now. She needs to know she has people she can trust.” “And you can be that for her? Support her and be someone she can trust?” My eyes flew open and this time I did look up at him. “Yes. I mean I’ll try to be; as much as she lets me,” I replied firmly, looking down at the sleeping girl in my arms. I reexamined her wounds, the bruising slowly creeping over her pale complexion and a deep warmth settled in me. I placed a soft kiss on her forehead as she took a deep breath. “Promise me you won’t hurt her.” I shifted my eyes back to Alex, thrown off by his question. But given the circumstances, I could understand. “I promise to never lay a hand on her, Alex. I promise I’ll try my absolute best to never hurt her heart. I don’t know what will happen after we leave her, but I do know Sophie will always be in my life from now on.”

Alex smiled. “You’re a good guy, Noah.” “Thanks. You are too, Alex,” returning the smile. He left, leaving me and Sophie alone for the first time. I shifted us around in an attempt to find a better position, but ended up staying just how we were. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, I laid my head back again only to feel soft hands slither around the bottom of my neck. Sophie turned into me, burying her face into me.. 

“Noah,” she quietly said. At first I thought maybe she was talking in her sleep. 

“Yeah?” “.........Thank you.”

“You too,” I said grinning. “For what? I haven’t done anything.”

I felt her head move up and down.“You’ve been kind to me when you didn’t have to be. You’ve made me feel safe. This is the first time I really believe that I’m safe and that everything will be okay.Thank you.” Sophie nuzzled my chest, turning her head to the side and placing her cheek against it. She was so warm beneath my arms. Holding her just felt tight. It felt like this was where she belonged. 

I hugged her tighter, feeling like I couldn't get her close enough to me as her arms slipped around my back, grabbing hold of my hoodie and snuggling deeper into me. With our bodies pressed tight together, Sophie and I rested, slipping off into a much needed sleep.

Quiet whispers and gentle nudges on my shoulder interrupted my sleep. 

"Noah, hey come on man, let's go home," Jolly called softly, slightly shaking me. I opened my eyes, squinting at first, realizing that Sophie was still curled up into me, sound asleep. "Ughh, what time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "After four in the morning. Come on, let's get you both up so we can finally go home." Jolly lifted Sophie off my lap bridal style, cradling her in his arms.

"What about Sophie,” I asked through a yawn. I stretched out my arms and legs that were happy with their new found freedom.

Jolly looked at me, puzzled. "What about her?" My face fell. "Relax, I'm joking,” Jolly teased. “Come on, let's go,” motioning towards the door.

"Not funny, dude," I scolded, following him and Sophie toward the exit door. “Seriously, Jolly, where are you taking her?” I stopped him by laying my hand on his shoulder.

"She's coming home with us,” he said calmly. “There really is no other place that’s safe for her at the moment. At least at ours, maybe she can get her head together and figure out what she needs to do next.” I couldn’t hide the smile that was growing on my face. “Yeah, I figured you’d like that,” Jolly hummed. “Come on lover boy, let's get this girl to a more comfortable bed other than your bony ass lap.” 

“Hey!” 

The buses weren't far from where we exited the bar. Jolly climbed up first, and I followed, emerging into our home away from home for the last time. Matt and Folio were still awake, waiting up for us.

"Hey, there y'all are. How's she holding up?" Matt asked, rising to his feet. 

"No telling. She’s still pretty out of it,” Jolly told him.

Matt looked down at Sophie, lightly caressed her cheek.

"Poor kid. I can't begin to imagine what she's going through right now. Why don't you lay her on the couch in the back? She'll be more comfortable there."

Jolly nodded and disappeared down the hall.

"You alright, Noah?" asked Matt, patting me on the back.

Folio handed me a beer, which I accepted gratefully 

“I honestly have no idea,” I admitted while shaking my head while sitting on the arm of the couch, next to me. “I don’t know, Matt. Normally, I’d know what to do, but this time, I have no clue. Sophie can’t go back and risk that piece of shit coming at her again. And she can’t be expected to stay at a house she’s not familiar with, with a bunch of dudes she barely knows!” My voice raised louder than I meant for it too, causing Matt to throw his hands out. “Wow, okay calm down a little. It’s not that big of a crisis, Noah. Sophie will be alright with you guys for a few days while she gets her head together.” I finished my beer and sat the bottle down beside me. 

“Let’s just take it slow, Noah. Let's just get Sophie to the house, get her comfortable, and then when she’s able to talk about it, we can help her figure some stuff out.”

Glancing at Folio, I noticed his dull expression. Thinking back to earlier in the night and how on edge he was, I knew there was something he was hiding, something that was bothering him so bad and was triggered by the events that had happened with Sophie. 

“Man, are you okay?”

Folio clenched his jaw, running his fingers over his chin. “Yeah, I'm good.”

“You sure? What was the deal with you earlier and asking the kind of thing you did? What gave you that idea?”

Folio stood up and threw his empty bottle in the trash, turning around to lean against the counter. “Because she was,” he said, confidently. My eyes switched from him to Matt, then back to him. “What are you talking about? Alex said she wasn’t,”

“He didn't mean tonight, Noah. She wasn’t, but she has been in the past.” 

Folio lowered his head and I could tell he was struggling with something dark deep down inside him. I couldn’t recall a time before when he was like this. “How do you know?” I asked, swallowing to try and alleviate the sudden dryness in my mouth. Jolly returned, his expression suddenly grim, too.

“Alex told us,” Matt explained. “He said it happened the night Perry left for Germany. 

"She spent days in the hospital trying to recover from what he did to her. Alex didn’t think she was going to pull through. After she left the hospital it got a whole lot worse too.” 

“How so?” 

“She developed severe anxiety and depression. Once the anxiety attacks started happening, she would lock herself up in her apartment, only coming out to go to work. Alex eventually got her to see a psychologist. Things seemed to get better after that. He’s afraid that what’s happened to her is gonna set her back and that we need to be prepared for the worst once the shock wears off and the reality of what’s happened to her hits.”

I stood up, suddenly feeling nauseous. “Holy fuck. Just when I thought I’d heard it all,” rubbing the back of my neck.” 

“Yeah I know, it’s a lot,” Folio admitted, giving me a half smile. He was thinking about something, that long distant look in his eyes. 

“Back at the bar you said you’d seen this before. When?” Turning his back to me, Folio braced his hands against the counter.

"In high school; there was this girl in my Senior class,” he began. “We hit it off right away and basically had a platonic relationship. But then she started dating the fucking star of the school football team after telling me that us dating would ruin our friendship. Shortly after that, she became a sick joke throughout the school because she wouldn’t sleep with him. People started teasing her and spreading lies about her. Once it all got back to him, he threatened to dump her unless she slept with him. So, one night at a party we went to, she decided she was going to give it up to him. I told her not to. I pleaded for her to just leave with me, but she refused. The next day at school, she came to me with a huge bruise on her face, telling me he raped her. She was scared to death. I told her to go to the cops or to her parents, but she refused to do that too; said they wouldn't listen to her. Then right before Christmas, she said she was pregnant but had already decided not to follow through with the pregnancy. A week later she killed herself.” 

Deafening silence filled the air around us.

“What the hell, Nick, that's brutal. I'm so sorry. I had no idea that ever happened,” I apologized, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“The worst part about it is the fucker never even knew she was pregnant. He got away with ruining a perfectly wonderful girl. She was amazing.” His eyes glistened with tears that he refused to let fall. “You had really hard feelings for her, huh?” Folio only nodded. 

“I'm sorry, bro” Jolly sympathized, wrapping his arms around Folio and pulling him for a hug. I could see Nick squeezing his eyes shut, trying to push away the tears. 

"Nick, what happened to your friend is horrible, but you're wrong if you think that's going to happen toSophie."

"Yeah? What makes you so sure, Noah?"

Sighing, I brought my hand to Nick's chest and patted it.

"Because,"

"Because we're not going to let it happen." Jolly added, interrupting me. “Sophie has us now. No matter how the outcome of her staying with us turns out, she'll always be a part of all of our lives, some of ours more than others,” glancing at me. I lowered my eyes, ignoring his comment.

 "Bro moment without me? I see how it is.” All of us turned to see half-awake Nicholas, coming from his bunk, a small grin covering his face.

"We were just talking about Sophie and the whole situation.” I told him. He joined our little circle, resting his arm on Folio’s shoulder.

"Yeah, I heard some of it. Nick told you about the girl in highschool too,” nudging his head toward Folio. 

"Why am I not surprised you already knew," Jolly said with a smirk.

"While you two were off living the California dream for a while, what did you think Nick and I did? We had a lot of time to talk."

I shrugged.

"I don't know; riding Harleys, fishing, and giving people tattoos?"

Nick paused, chuckling.

"Okay, well besides that.” All of us laughed. 

"Naw, I'm joking man, I'm glad Folio confided in someone about it. That's a heavy thing to carry alone."

I patted Nick on the chest again and he nodded, giving all of us that wide goofy grin of his. 

“Bus is about to pull out,” Matt informed us. “Thank God I get to sleep in my own bed. Warehouse first, then from there, home.” Looking at the four of us, he narrowed his eyes a little. “Are you sure you all want to stay involved with all that's going on? It might get a little messy.”

All of us seemed to be in agreement. “Well, alright then. She’s staying with you anyway, so if things go South, I’m good,” smirking while scrolling through his phone. “Hey! That’s fucked up, Matt,” Folio chided, jokingly throwing a pepper packet from the table at him.

Too exhausted to think about anything anymore, I headed towards the back of the bus. Sophie was still sound asleep on one of the couches, under the comfort of a warm blanket Jolly had kindly laid over her. Leaning against the door frame, I watched her sleep, wondering what was going to happen when she woke up. Would she be capable of dealing with it all and moving forward once things settled? Would staying with me and the guys freak her out and make her leave before she was ready to? The thoughts that would stop made the anxious feeling rise up again inside me. I suddenly felt the need to be close to her, so I moved closer and knelt down beside her.

My eyes skimmed over the bruising on her pale skin trying to imagine the pain she felt each time his brutal hand came down on her, hurting the perfect delicate parts of Sophie that made her so beautiful to me. I knew other parts of her were just as bruised, but how bad was the question. None of that mattered right now though. She was with me for now, in a safe place where I could make sure Perry would never leave another mark on her body. I promised myself that I was going to see her through all of the mess she would have to wade through even if there were things she wouldn't allow me to help her with. No matter what, I wasn't going to leave her.

CHAPTER 4 PT 1

[silverhallow]

It's A Love Story, Baby just say Yes

pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x Sophie Beckett

summary: Benedict's marriage Proposal to Sophie in the When We Were Young Universe with the help of a very handsome fella.

warnings: None, just pure fluff

word count: 1094 words

author's note: this is part 3 of a four part ask in my ask box... so Anon who requested this, I hope you enjoy!

Benedict had it all planned, he knew exactly how he wanted to do it and when he wanted to do it and he had been desperately waiting for the moment.

He knew she’d never agree to marry him whilst she was still studying and despite the fact Kate and Anthony had married the year earlier and were expecting their second child, their first Edmund, coming mere months after they finished their degree.

Benedict was desperate to start his own family with Sophie, he wanted to marry her, he wanted the fairytale, happily ever after. Anthony had that now and he was jealous, he’d been in love with Sophie for longer than Anthony had been with Kate and they’d been close from the day they’d met and he hated that he was having to wait.

But Sophie was finally graduating, she had her work set up, her and Lily were working at the same Veterinary surgery and had talked about opening their own eventually.

Plans were already in place for their future, once they were more settled and built their reputation they would then open their own place but for now, they were moving into the real world more.

Benedict was already settled in his Photography studios, with exhibitions of his art and he had a good client roster for his photographs and they had their own place.

It was just a little flat but it was a place they’d made their own, it was just the two of them and Benedict loved their little life they were building but he was ready for more.

He was ready for that next step and he was pretty sure Sophie was as well.

He just had to ask.

The plan was set, he’d ordered everything he needed to make this special. Sophie had been away for the weekend with Lily at a Spa and he’d gotten everything set up at home to surprise her.

He’d been to collect the main part of his present, the thing Sophie had been desperate for once more but again had wanted to wait until she was done with her studies, he’d been to collect his grandmother’s ring from his mother and been to see Richard to ask for his blessing.

Everything was ready.

He knew there was no need to go over the top for this, simple was the key here, he knew Sophie wouldn’t want anything over the top.

He’d done over the top romantic gestures for valentine’s day and she’d enjoyed them but made him promise not to do anymore because she didn’t want to be the center of attention, like she had been on their first Valentine’s day when they were at University.

It had been after their first big fight and he’d promised to make it up to her and he’d sent flowers to her uni class, along with balloons, cakes and she was serenaded as she walked across the campus and she’d wanted to die of embarrassment. She appreciated the gesture but made him vow never ever to do anything like that in public again.

So his proposal was going to be done in their space, their home, just the two of them.

And their newest addition.

He’d picked him up a few hours earlier and gotten him used to the house, a little bow tie on and he was hoping to get him to hold a rose, at least long enough for Benedict to drop to one knee and ask the most important question he was ever going to ask.

“It’s okay buddy, your mummy is coming” he said to the little bundle on his lap, he was scratching his head and hoping to keep the little ball of terror calm.

Sophie had sent him a text to say she’d dropped Lily off at Roger’s and was on her way back.

He felt the nerves fizzing through his body as waited patiently, the music was ready to start the moment he heard Sophie’s voice. He had his grandmother’s ring in his pocket and Puppy on his lap, the dinner he’d been working on all day was on the hob and in the oven, the wine was open and everything was ready…

All he needed was Sophie.

Less than 5 minutes later, he heard the door and Sophie’s voice coming through the door “Ben… I’m home”

He pressed play on his Ipod, the romantic music floated through their little flat and Benedict took a breath as he heard Sophie making her way down the hallway “something smells good, i’m starving… what… what… oh my god” she squealed as she saw the puppy.

Benedict grinned at her “a little graduation present… and something else” he said as he put the puppy down on the floor, and he gave him the rose and watched as their new puppy carried the rose forward, and as Sophie squealed and dropped to her knees to greet their new little golden retriever puppy with tears in her eyes, Benedict did the same time.

When Sophie glanced up to look at him, she gasped.

Benedict had the box out and was shaking “I’ve been wanting to do this for longer than you have any idea… i’d have asked you years ago when we were 18, if I thought you’d have agreed and weren’t having a meltdown over your studies but Fee, i’ve loved you since I was 15, I am going to love you for the rest of our lives, you are everything i’ve ever wanted, you’ve made my life a better place and you’ve been my favourite person since the day I met you.” he said

“You’ve been there for me through thick and thin, for better and for worse already, you’re everything i’ve ever wanted and you are the other half of my soul. You are my soulmate, my muse, my queen, my entire world… and I can’t live without you so will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?” he asked.

Tears fell down both of their faces, Sophie had her arms around their new puppy, shaking through Benedict’s speech and the moment he finished she squealed “yes! Oh my god… yes!” as she threw herself forward, puppy still in her arms as she kissed him.

Benedict laughed into her lips, the sheer happiness emanating from them both as their puppy barked his approval, trying to join in the kiss, licking their faces before Benedict slid the emerald and diamond ring that had once been his grandmother’s onto Sophie’s finger.

Their happily ever after, was well underway.

[hollywoodxwhore]

wanted - part 2

Colson x Original Female Character x Pete

Warnings: swearing, alcohol and marijuana usage, very vague mentions of sex

Word Count: 1385

Find part 1 and the masterlist for wanted here!

Alicia and I arrive at the party about an hour and a half later, having stopped for food and a drink. We didn’t want to get there too early.

By the time we walk in, it seems like the party is already in full swing, and it’s much smaller than the show, which relaxes me a little. Between the living room, the kitchen, and the back porch, there’s maybe a total of twenty people. I don’t love big crowds, so this is definitely more my scene.

We find Sophie in the kitchen, talking animatedly with Justin about the show. “Hey, Soph,” Alicia says, hugging Sophie from behind.

“Hey girls!” Sophie says. 

I wave at Justin and he smiles at me. “How’d you like the show?” he asks.

“You guys were seriously amazing,” I gush. “I’m so impressed.”

“Thank you!” Justin says. “What are you drinking? Alex, right?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Um, what are my options?”

“Cider and beer in the fridge,” Sophie says. “Liquor on this table. Mixers in the cooler.” She gestures to a long table covered in liquor bottles and a large cooler beneath it. “Help yourselves!”

I make a Shirley Temple with vodka, happy to see grenadine on the table, and take a long, thirsty drink. It’s good, and I fill another one before going back to Sophie. Alicia is already gone, and I spot her on the back porch with Rook, talking closely. I bite back a smile, happy for her.

“Alex, are you good at beer pong?” Sophie asks. “I need a partner. Colson and Pete need to get their asses beat.”

“I have no idea,” I admit. “But I’ll try!” Anything to be close to Colson. 

Sophie takes my hand and tugs me outside and down the steps of the porch. A bright light illuminates a table where cups are arranged for a game of pong. I see Colson on the opposite end, beer in hand, and god, he looks so good. He wears a pair of tight, black jeans and a teal t-shirt. So simple and so sexy. 

The guy next to Colson is tall, but not as tall as Colson, who must be at least 6’3”. The other guy - Pete, I’m assuming - has brown hair and a great smile, also covered in tattoos. He wears a simple t-shirt and jeans, too, and I wonder how guys can look so effortlessly sexy in just that outfit. Pete is cute, too, and I find myself wondering if every person in this friend group is hot.

“You ready to lose, Baker?” Sophie calls, fishing a ping pong ball from one of the cups. 

Colson turns to look at her, eyes flicking to me for a moment, and he smirks. “Yeah, that’s not happening,” he says cockily. “We’re undefeated.”

“Hell yeah, we are,” Pete adds, and I’m surprised at how deep his voice is. It sounds like he has an accent, too. Boston, maybe.

“Petey, this is Alex,” Sophie says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Alex, Pete Davidson.”

“Nice to meet you,” Pete says with a warm smile. Wow. Much more approachable than his blonde friend. “Sorry we have to meet this way, me about to kick your ass in beer pong,” he adds.

“Oh, I think it’s the other way around,” I say casually, stepping up to the table.

“Oh shit,” Colson says, laughing. He doesn’t look at me. “She’s confident, Pete.”

Pete scoffs. “So am I,” he says, winking at me. 

I giggle. Sophie bounces the ball a few times, then tosses it, missing. “Shit,” she mutters. Pete and Colson share some handshake and Colson focuses his eyes, tossing his own ball. It lands in a cup effortlessly and the boys cheer. Pete goes, and he misses, so now it’s my turn. My stomach lurches slightly with nerves and I take a big gulp of my drink for confidence. I roll the ball between my fingers, then toss it. Much to my surprise and relief, it splashes into a cup.

“Damn,” Pete says, fishing the ball out. “Alright, Soph, let’s see it.” Sophie’s ball lands, too, and we slap high-fives. I land my next shot, but Sophie misses, so it goes back to the boys.

“So, what do you do, Alex?” Pete asks. 

“I’m a senior. Studying creative writing,” I say.

“Ah, another writer,” Pete says, nudging his elbow against Colson’s stomach. 

“What do you write?” Colson asks, getting ready to toss another ball. I notice that he doesn’t look in my eyes when he talks to me, but he does to Pete and Sophie both. It’s off-putting and makes me feel self-conscious. 

“Just fiction,” I say. “I’m trying to publish my novel here soon.”

“Oh shit, really?” Pete asks. “That’s dope. What’s it about?”

“I guess you’ll have to buy it to find out,” I say.

Pete smirks, raising his brow. “Smooth,” he says. “Making those sales already.”

“What do you do?” I ask.

“A little of everything,” Pete says. “I’m a struggling comedian, but my dream is SNL.”

“Tell us a joke, Petey,” Sophie says.

“Oh no no no,” Pete says, shaking his head. “If Alex won’t tell me what her book is about, I’m not doing any jokes for free.”

“Well, do you have any shows coming up?” Sophie asks.

“I do, actually,” Pete says. “Couple weeks from now.”

“We’ll be there,” Sophie says.

I’m feeling more relaxed, from my drink coupled with the easy conversation. I like Pete. He’s friendly and makes me feel good. 

We’re tied at this point, and if I land the next shot, Sophie and I win. I can tell Pete and Colson are a little nervous. “Please miss,” Pete mutters, and Colson laughs. I narrow my eyes and take a deep breath, sending the ball sailing through the air. It lands in the cup and Sophie and I scream, hugging each other and jumping around.

“Get fucked!” Sophie yells, laughing at the boys who are bitching and moaning about it. 

Pete walks around the table to me, holding out a hand, which I shake. “Good game,” he sighs. “I think I’ll make you my partner next time.” He glares at Colson who flips him off.

“Man, don’t blame me,” Colson says, finishing off his drink. “I need another drink.” He stalks off toward the kitchen.

“Sore loser!” Sophie yells, and we giggle. 

“Need another drink, ladies?” Pete asks. “Since Colson isn’t enough of a gentleman to ask.”

“I could use another,” Sophie says. “Captain and Coke.”

“For you, milady?” Pete asks me.

I grin. “Shirley Temple with vodka, please and thank you.” Pete salutes us and lopes off after Colson. Once he’s out of earshot, I turn to Sophie. “Is everyone in your friend group attractive?” I ask.

Sophie laughs. “Honestly. They’re all pretty damn good looking. You think Pete’s cute?”

“Definitely,” I say with a nod. “Colson, too.”

“Colson’s an asshole,” she remarks, “but I love him. He just has a hard shell. It’s hard to get to know him. One of those tortured artists.”

“Gotcha,” I say. Frankly, his unfriendly demeanor is a turn-off. I’m much more interested in Pete, but I won’t admit that. I’m too scared of rejection, even still. Hopefully as I drink more, I’ll become more confident. 

The rest of the night is a blast. I play more beer pong, me and Pete against Alicia and Rook. Sophie and I share a blunt with some of their other friends. I drink enough to feel good, and by the time Alicia and I leave, Rook offering to drive Alicia’s car, my face hurts from smiling. I get lots of hugs, including an especially warm one from Pete, but not from Colson. I’m not surprised or upset about it. Sophie makes us promise to come over tomorrow, and we do. 

Alicia and Rook drop me off, and I wink at her as I get out of the car. I know what they’re going to  do at her place, and I’m happy for her. I wish it were that easy for me, but it never has been. Alicia’s just more confident, less afraid of rejection. 

So I go into my apartment alone. Take a shower alone. Get into bed alone and fall asleep alone. Living like this is getting old. I’m so tired of being lonely.

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Flash of Mauve, Splash of Puce // Colin Bridgerton

Request: Hi Millie!! Could I request a Colin Bridgerton comfort fic, in which the reader gets anxious about their grand first soirée as newlyweds? 🧡 - @gryffindors-weasley

A/N: Oh Sophie, I do adore this request. Thank you so much for requesting! I hope I have done it justice! This does get a little steamy towards the end so I apologise if that makes anyone uncomfortable or if it offends anyone (that wasn't my intention). Title: The Phantom of the Opera - Masquerade.

Pairing: Colin Bridgerton x Fem!Reader

Warnings: use of female pronouns, use of the word ‘wife’, masquerade balls, lots of fluff and comfort, anxiousness, worries, panic, ballroom dancing, mentions of alcohol. THIS GOT ACCIDENTALLY STEAMY AND THEN FADES TO BLACK, I AM APOLOGISING NOW.

Word count: 3.2k

The annual masquerade ball held exclusively at Bridgerton House was not an event to be missed. Anyone who was anyone in London society was invited; it was a night in which alliances were forged, relationships bloomed, and wit tested to its very brink.

There was no better hostess than that of Violet Bridgerton; her astute eye caught every imperfection, fixing it within a matter of moments. Having held this ball for close to thirty years, she knew exactly how to play the crowd to achieve the perfect reaction.

This meant that her family had to be punctual; they had no excuse for lateness no matter how early into a marriage they find themselves. Violet Bridgerton rarely demanded anything of her children; happy for them to find their own way in life with only little interference on her behalf, but she would absolutely not accept her beloved children being late to their own mother’s ball when they have been guests at the event for all of their lives.

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

The rings sit happily on your left hand. At the right angle, they shimmer in the light of the room, bringing a small smile to your face even as you release a shaky breath. Your gown of gold hugs your figure, cut in the same style as your wedding dress. The skirts flare out in a manner that you know would be spectacular when spun around the dancefloor.

Nerves were beginning to make themselves known; in the shaking of your hands, the turning of your stomach and the wateriness of your smile. Tonight would be your first event with Colin as your husband. How many balls had he courted you at? Four? Five? Too many to count yet tonight was something else entirely; a new level to your life that felt as if it was going to be inspected at every turn.

Pinching your cheeks, you try to bring some colour to your face, hoping it would do something to bring some life into your worried expression.

The door to your bedroom opens with a small click. In the mirror, you spy the muscular figure of the man you had pledged your forever to. Colin shuts the door to your room; leaning back against it with a satisfied smile.

“Are you going to stand there all night?” You ask, trying to keep the hope out of your voice. You’d give anything to stop the growing worry turning your gut to lead, even if that meant trapping yourself in your room all night.

Colin remains silent, his blue eyes growing darker as his gaze runs over the way your dress hangs from your body. The tightened waist pushing your breasts higher on your chest; he lets his stare linger there for a moment before meeting your eyes in the mirror and smiling wickedly.

You roll your eyes, returning your focus to ridding yourself of the worry plaguing you. Logically you knew that tonight was going to be a wonderful evening; spending time with your family and dancing with your new husband. Yet, you couldn’t help but panic over the myriad of eyes watching your every move, waiting for you to mess up in some shape or form so it can become the juicy material whispered around high tea in the week after the ball.

Without a word, Colin pushes himself off the door, strolling leisurely to where you stand before the large mirror. “You look exquisite,” Colin murmurs, trailing feather light kisses along your shoulder to the base of your neck. You tilt your head, giving your insatiable husband easier access to the skin he had spent most of the honeymoon marking with his lips.

He shifts your hair to one side, dropping a slow kiss to the nape of your neck before whispering against your skin, “If I wasn’t so terrified of my mother’s wrath, I would have removed this dress by now.”

Laughter leaves your lips, but it doesn’t sound right. It sounds strangled; too much emotion clogging up your throat, making it hard for the laughter to sound genuine. If you had it your way, Colin would be removing your dress, kissing you on whatever piece of skin a button reveals.

“Darling,” Colin whispers, gently commanding, “Look at me.”

Turning to face him, you can just about make out his brunette hair. The rest of his face is blurred with tears that threaten to fall with the ever growing need to blink. His hands are gentle as he clasps your face; thumbs stroking your cheekbones in a comforting manner.

“If you can, tell me what the matter is.”

Releasing a deep breath, your hands shake slightly as you whisper, “There are so many people coming tonight.”

“It’s the largest ball of the season…” Colin admits. “You know my mother,” He offers apologetically.

“They’re going to be watching us. Watching me, checking for signs…”

“For signs of what?”

“That the marriage is prosperous,” You stutter, uncomfortable with the idea of so many eyes on you so soon after your wedding.

Colin frowns; hands slipping from your face to your shoulders where he rubs soothing circles into the bare skin. Your eyes slip closed from the simple touch; skin heating at the feel of your husband’s hands.

“Think of it as no different from any other ball you have been to,” His hands drop to your waist, pulling you to him, “I am going to be here the entire time.”

You hide your face in his chest, your arms coming up to hold him. “I hate the speculation.”

“I do too,” Colin mutters. “I’d like to live my life without constant comment from the ton but it’s part and parcel of being a Bridgerton.”

You sigh, keeping your face hidden in his chest, relishing the way his hands run up and down your back. “It’s our first big outing as a newly married couple,” You state smally, “I’m scared.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Colin asks, a smile gracing his face.

“What?”

“I’m scared too.”

“You are?” You gasp, your eyes running over his face, trying to find a hint of the fear and worry you feel.

He nods. “But I have you by my side all night so I know I can face it.”

“You have me,” You state firmly. “Do I have you?”

“You have me,” He promises, “Now and forever.”

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

The gossips of the London ton could never deny one thing: Violet Bridgerton always outdid herself. She always managed to keep the theme of the night current and the decorations spellbinding.

This year’s theme for the annual Bridgerton Ball was the sun and the stars tied in with the masquerade that Violet so adores.

Your golden gown shimmers under the light of the room; catching sight of the youngest Bridgertons – Gregory and Hyacinth – arguing over something impossible to decipher. Colin remains a steady presence by your side, leading you through the room, smiling and nodding at the many people.

Freezing in place, your breath catches in your throat as you take in the sheer amount of people. The Bridgerton family were adored by all; it made sense for this many people to show when beckoned by its matriarch. Still, seeing it from a new perspective had your fear returning full force.

Colin’s warm hand settles on the small of your back, coaxing you out of your stupor. “You’re doing wonderfully,” He murmurs, “You’re the most beautiful woman in the room.”

“You’re saying that because I’m your wife,” You tease breathlessly, fear freezing your veins.

Colin shakes his head in fake exasperation. “Even if we weren’t married, my love, I would still think you the most beautiful.”

“I love you,” You respond, voice loud enough for only Colin to hear. He ducks his head at your words; still not used to hearing them leave your lips despite the rings sitting on your finger. “I love you too,” He answers, reaching for your hand and bringing it up to his lips.

He looks pained as he catches the eye of someone across the room. “Anthony is beckoning me,” Colin states, turning his attention from his brother back to you.

“Go,” You urge.

“I don’t want to leave you when you’re this upset.”

“Colin,” You whisper, briefly touching his cheek, “He’s your brother; go to him, see what he needs and then return to me when you can. I’m sure I can find someone to talk to, I think I saw Eloise and your mother a few moments ago.”

“Are you sure?” He asks, blue eyes running over your face.

“I’m sure. Anthony wouldn’t ask for you if it wasn’t important.”

Colin ducks his head; pressing a lingering kiss to your cheek then another to the corner of your mouth. Quietly, so only you can hear, he whispers, “I love you more than life itself.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” You say with a playful shove to his shoulder. Standing on your tiptoes, you press a kiss to his cheek. “I love you too. Now go before Anthony throws a tantrum.”

Colin leaves you with a wide smile and a bow. Shaking your head fondly, you think of your husband as you take a turn of the room, looking for a Bridgerton to talk to. Metallics fill the expansive room; silver and gold flashing on dresses as they’re spun across the floor. Dark blues and purples dotted about as conversations and laughter perfume the air, bringing with it a lighter atmosphere that has you wondering what your initial fears were about.

“Mrs. Bridgerton!” An all-too familiar voice calls.

Turning on instinct, you find yourself face to face with Miss Whittaker. She had come out with you in the same year; she had received a number of proposals – all from well to do gentleman but none were good enough for her. She knew her worth which was admirable, but the way she belittled those she called her friends made it hard to find her truly likeable. A month into your season, you chose to stay well away. You hadn’t looked back since.

“How are you, darling?” Miss Whittaker titters; her acute gaze taking in every aspect of your outfit – down to the very last stitch in your dresses hem.

“I’m very well, thank you. How are you?”

“Delightful, darling. Delightful.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” You answer as earnestly as you can, eyes dancing around the room in the hopes of finding Colin free from Anthony’s clutches.

“Has he already disappeared?” She asks, voice laced with something akin to venom.

“Has who already disappeared?” You ask; face the picture of innocence despite the anger laced with worry settling deep in your veins.

“Why Colin, of course!” She laughs, “I never thought him serious enough for marriage.”

You step back, your mouth falling open in shock as her barbed words poison the very air around you. The familiar burn of tears starts in the back of your eyes, but you push them away; refusing to let the odious woman see how she affects you.

“That’s an awful thing to say,” You whisper, feelings hurt on behalf of your beloved husband.

Miss Whittaker simply shrugs; her voice bored as she utters, “It’s simply the truth.”

“I would hope that the truth you are admitting is one with reliable sources,” Colin’s voice sounds from behind you; his voice stern as he fixes his stare on Miss Whittaker.

Colour blooms high on Miss Whittaker’s cheeks; anger flushing her complexion. Without another word, she flicks open her fan before stalking away from the two of you.

“Are you alright?” Colin asks when Miss Whittaker is a safe distance away, his voice concerned.

“She always was a piece of work,” You comment; keeping your tone light when all you wanted to do was return home.

“You’re not hurt though? You’re sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, my love,” You state, bringing a gloved hand up to brush his cheek, “Only shocked and hurt at her words.”

Colin frowns, but it doesn’t remain on his face long when you poke at the expression, uncaring whether the whole ballroom was watching you in this exact moment. “I don’t like it when you frown,” You state, poking his cheek one last time.

Colin catches your hand in his, kissing each individual finger before kissing the back of it. “And I don’t like it when you’re upset or when someone upsets you.”

“I guess we’re even then,” You sigh, your now tangled hands dangling at your side.

Colin rolls his eyes, smiling widely at you. The band falls silent to which Colin gets an idea; his mother had told him the order of the dances which he memorised, so he knew which ones to dance with you. He loved nothing more than holding you in his arms; feeling your body pressed against his, noting every rise and fall of your chest.

Clasping your hand tightly in his, Colin begins to lead you the dancefloor. “What are you doing?” You ask, sounding panicked as Colin leads you to the dance floor.

“Dancing with my wife,” Colin states bluntly, settling in front of you with an open hand.

“It is not customary for the husband to dance a waltz with his wife.”

Colin smirks; the picture of nonchalance as he lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “I am not one for custom when my wife looks as stunning as you do right now.”

The music soon begins, and you are swept away in a symphony of rises and falls and the intoxicating presence of your husband. Colin holds your gaze through the dance; his eyes searching yours for any hint of panic and upset. His face relaxes into a breathtaking smile when he finds you happy in your current state; held by your husband in a sea of dancers.

Those that find themselves without a partner stand on the side of the floor, whispering behind their fans of the impropriety being shown here tonight. However, among the many are the few that watch Colin and you twirl across the floor. They take note of how gently he holds your hand, how steadily his hand rests on your lower back and how smitten he looks as he smiles down at you.

In years to come, this dance would still be a topic of conversation amongst London’s gossips but even the gossips could no longer deny the true love exemplified by the both of you.

The orchestra falls silent as the dance comes to an end. Light applause breaks out across the room as your chest rises and falls with the exhaustion that accompanies such a dance. Colin smiles at you, leaving you even more breathless as you step away from far enough for him to still keep a grip on your waist.

“Are you ready to go?” Colin asks, eyes holding the promise of something far more fun than countless dances with the love of your life.

“Take me home, Colin.”

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

Colin dismisses the maids and his valet as soon as you walk through the door to your home. When your maids protest, worried about how you would get out of your dress, Colin states quite clearly for the staff that he would be the one to help you with the buttons, laces, stays and whatever else he may come across.

Your maids flush deeply, and you send them an apologetic smile as your husband leads you up the stairs to your shared bedroom.

Any and all worries are forgotten the moment Colin presses his lips to yours, walking you backwards to the bed. Laughter spills from your lips as Colin continues his trail of kisses, beginning at the corner of your mouth before travelling down the expanse of your neck to the top of your breasts, peeking out from the top of your dress. Your breath hitches when Colin kisses a particularly sensitive spot; a low groan follows when he latches onto that area, kissing a love bite there.

As your breath deepens; as your eyes follow Colin’s path of kisses down your chest, he suddenly stops. With a devilish smile, he taps your side, “I think this is getting in our way, don’t you?”

Wordlessly, you nod. Colin’s smile grows larger as his arms wind around your back, finding the buttons to your dress. He undoes them with expert precision, barely interrupting the way in which he captures your lips once more. Sighing happily against his mouth, you note that he tastes of the champagne he had enjoyed before your final dance of the evening; if you focused, you could feel the bubbles of the drink on your own tongue.

You can’t focus, however. Colin’s undone your dress, letting the gold slip from your body as if it were molten liquid. He stands back; loving the way you chase him for further contact. He stands back to get full sight of you before him; standing like a goddess before a mere mortal man. Colin is ready to worship on his knees to be worthy of a woman such as you. He doesn’t deserve you; despite your arguments, you’re too good for him but he would be damned if another man got to see you like this. Skin flushed, chest heaving with anticipation. No – this was a sight purely for him.

His attention turns to your corset, bringing you to him, his nimble fingers begin to work on the criss-cross of laces. With every lace undone, Colin presses a kiss to your bare skin, enjoying the way it heats under his touch. You hum contentedly with every kiss; your fingers running across the broad plains of Colin’s shoulders, squeezing whenever he find a sensitive spot.

The corset is torn from your body; leaving you before him without an ounce of shame. He loves you so wholly that you can’t find it in yourself to hide from him.

Colin’s famously blue eyes do not leave yours as he reaches up, tugging loose the cravat wrapping around his neck. In no time at all, your husband is shirtless, and reaching for you like a starved man would reach for food.

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

Your dress is hung. Your nightdress hugging your body softly as you slip under the covers of your marriage bed waiting for the love of your life to join you. Colin tugs on a pair of light cotton trousers he had bought on your honeymoon not even two months ago before joining you in bed.

Rolling onto your side, you rest your head on Colin’s bare shoulder, feeling the rise and fall of his chest with your hand.

“You were a marvel tonight,” Colin whispers into the dark room; his voice giving away his tiredness.

“I had you there to help,” You confess, feeling your eyelids grow heavier as Colin’s arm tightens around you.

“And I’ll always be there,” are his last words before sleep sweeps Colin into its land of dreams. Turning your face, you let your eyes slip closed as you press one, two, three kisses to Colin’s shoulder, enjoying the sleepy hum that falls from his lips and the squeeze of his hand on your waist.

Sleep soon claims you, bringing you to your own land of dreams. Your final thought of the night relating to the man holding you so gently in his arms, feeling his love for you emanating from his body, knowing happily that you return it just as earnestly.

******

Bridgerton Taglist: @heloisedaphnebrightmore @dreaming-about-fanfictions @now-its-time-for-a-breakdown @janelongxox​ @aspiringsloth20​ @wallwriterstuff​ @magicalxdaydream​ @darkestbeforethedawn16​ @gryffindors-weasley​ @spideysz​ 

Taglists are open! Drop me an ask if you would like to be added!

[yakumtsaki]

Cyneswith rolls the want to dine out with her Methuselahian boy-toy and I’m hoping we can knock this love out during this date so we never have to see him again. Naturally the road to 20 simultaneous lovers is gonna have some duds, but did we really have to start with one?? Between Cyn’s gray hair turn on and Shajar’s fitness/fatness ones the chemistry mechanic is ruining my life this generation.

Yea that’s great, CADP, here’s an even more appropriate green face: 🤢🤢🤢

-I don’t get paid enough for this shit. 

Random Waiter sweetie, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry we’re romancing this old bitch in front of you, oh my god.

Mercifully CADP wastes no time falling in love with Cyneswith after this public woohoo witnessed by every townie within a 20 mile radius, and the date is a stunning success:

LMAO. Watch Cyneswith become a pillar of the community thanks to publicly banging the elderly, she truly can do no wrong. No wonder she’s the only child Jojo acknowledges. 

Beyond over for Don. 

Cyneswith returns home in the glowing triumph of her platinum plumbob. She literally hasn’t even made it to the front door yet-

-and CADP calls to ask her out again! Man, these drama professors are relentless, remember how half-alien prof stalked Gunther? Did this guy even go home or is he calling us right from the diner where we left him?? Whatever the case, hardest ‘Stay Here’ ever pressed, grandpa. 

-But I wanna go out with him again! 🌸

Yea well we don’t have time to be systematically dating these flops, Cyn, if you wanted in depth affairs you should have rolled a different LTW.

NICE. Another fine addition to our yard of wonders! We’re still not dating you, CADP, but when we’re throwing ragers on this thing, we’ll be thinking of you with some nostalgia and a lot of disgust. 

With Cyneswith platinum for the foreseeable future, I take a look at how everyone else is doing to ensure there aren’t any aspiration failures lurking. Ti-Ning and Frances are ultra-loved up and doing great-

-Angel rolls the want to get engaged to Wulf as well as the want TO INVITE OVER GUNTHER AKA HER TEENAGE FLING FROM 30 YEARS AGO, FFS ANGEL-

-and Don.. well he’s seen better days. The sad ‘go on a date’ want is killing me, I’ve considered it a given so far that he’s endgame for Cyn but they haven’t been interacting much lately, we’ll see how it goes, it might legit be over him.

The semester ends and with it Sophie’s insane 0 studying A+ streak, which is understandable since she literally almost died. Proud of Wulf and Don for bringing their grades up since they were both doing terribly, Don especially was flirting with academic probation last semester. I guess once your gf is no longer distracting you because she’s too busy cheating on you, you start hitting the books.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life.. and Sophie autonomously goes to gossip with Shajar!!! I was so shocked I unironically took a screenshot of the little action queue window, but whatever, it’s a big deal! 

-Hey Shajar, you know who’s an even bigger turbocuck than you?? Ti-Ning! God I can’t stand that loser. 

-Haha couldn’t agree more, Sophie! 🖤 Not like I’d agree with anything you say, I have my own personality and opinions and everything!! Why are we talking about him like he’s not right here? I’m not questioning you, just curious! 🖤

-It’s my new bullying tactic! 

-It’s great! 

-Congratulations on your ever-evolving bullying techniques, Sophie! 🖤

-Congratulations on idolizing me! Maybe you’re only a cuck and not a turbocuck after all.

AAAAAAA THEY’RE PLAYING RED HANDS OMG OMG IS THIS FINALLY GONNA HAPPEN????

-Haha great punch, Sophie! I actually felt the nerve damage as it happened!

-Thanks, ever since my post-workout coma I’m stronger than ever!

OMG THEY FINALLY BECAME FRIENDS. Bro I still cannot believe Cyneswith not only befriended Sophie first but is LITERALLY BFFS WITH HER. UN.REAL. ANYWAY there’s only so much blue balling I can take from these two, it’s time to find out if there’s something there once and for all. But first, we need a slight adjustment so let’s head to the nearest mirror..

-OH BROTHER.

In the name of love, Shaj, come on!

-So, Sophie.. As I’m sure you can see, I’m blonde now. And I had to sign a contract promising I won’t sue for how terrible it makes me look, so I’m legally blonde. Now that that’s out of the way..

-..it’s Ti-Ning trashing time!

GODDAMMIT SHAJAR NO. NO MORE TI-NING TRASHING, NO MORE USELESS PLATONIC INTERACTIONS, IT’S GO TIME. Check her out, and let the chips fall where they may!!!

F I N A L L Y I                 L N                L A                A L                N L                I Y L L A N I F

OK. SO NOW WE KNOW. What you do from now on is up to you, first and last time I’m intervening but these two were driving me insane.

-And so after careful consideration, it became clear that blonde is truly my color! 

-Are you sure, Shaj? Because when I saw you upstairs you were sobbing and doing vomiting motions in front of the mirror.

-Aw Angel, that’s not a very nice thing to say! Don’t worry sis, I love your new look! In fact, I’m so proud of the way you look I want you right there next to me when I meet potential lovers! 💗

NOW THAT’S WHAT I LIKE TO SEE. I mean I wish I wasn’t seeing Shajar’s terrible blonde hair but Sophie’s blondeness turn on forced my hand. But the rest of this pic is what I like to see!

Despite recent developments, Sophie remains elusive af but I’m not butting in anymore, I’m returning to my go with the flow playstyle. So Sophie once again leaves us dick in hand and goes inside to.. you guessed it, socialize with Cyneswith. Shajar follows suit.. and..

....

................

.....................................

SHAJAR. YOU FINALLY STEPPED UP. I guess there’s only so much cucking from Cyneswith one person can take!!! If Sophie rejects this I’m literally gonna die-

-HELL YES OMG FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYY 

CYNESWITH ARE YOU KIDDING ME. BRO. LITERALLY THE BIGGEST COCKBLOCK TO EVER LIVE

And Shajar is now in love with Sophie, whereas Sophie isn’t even best friends with her yet, oh Shaj.. Well whatever, you’ll get there (I hope). ACR gets right down to business, let’s ignore Sophie thinking of Cyneswith, istg..

Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean we literally went from first kiss ever to woohoo with 0 other interactions in between but after all those years of incelitude who can blame Shajar.

And it’s official!!! ❤️ I’ve been convinced these two belong together ever since they were teens but I was also convinced Gunther belonged with Melody/Daniel belonged with Brittany/Jojo belonged with Frances and we remember how all 3 of those went so only time will tell.

In the meantime let’s marvel at how uneven this burgeoning relationship is thanks to Shajar unilaterally obsessing over Sophie for half her teenhood. But she finally got her! An inspirational tale about never giving up on your dreams even when your dreams prefer your sister. 

[4stars-uswnt]

Healthy Competition [Tierna Davidson x Reader]

requested by anon: college tierna x ucla reader. 

A/N: i got a lil carried away with this one... also feel free to send in any requests!! :))

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me.” You pout at your best friend, Mallory Pugh. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I know, (Y/N/N), I’ll miss you too, but this is what’s best for me.”

At that, you’re silent because you know she’s right. Mal was too talented for UCLA and joining the Spirit was her best option. Although there had been speculation of you also going pro, especially after your performance in the U-20 World Cup, you decided to stay at UCLA one final year, hoping to win a national championship.

With one final hug, you say goodbye to Mal, as she enters the airport, departing for Washington DC.

—————

It had been a long and tough season, but with you up on top and Jessie in the middle, UCLA was now about to play in the NCAA championships against Stanford.

While the two schools were not the biggest rivals, your own personal rival played for the Cardinals: Tierna Davidson. She had been your greatest opponent since high school, as the two of you had been in the same division, even facing off in the state championships. Your positions, you being a right forward and her a left back, just added more fuel to the fire. For the past two years, as UCLA and Stanford exchanged wins and losses, the two of you had formed a rivalry, getting under each other’s skins like no one else could. The only times you two would get a long, or at least act pleasant, was when you played for the youth national team.

—————

With the biggest game of your life being only a couple of days away, your nerves were through the roof. You hadn’t been your bubbly self at practice; instead, you were stone cold serious, constantly snapping at your teammates and yelling out directions.

Jessie Fleming, your other best friend, noticing your change in behavior, pulls you aside at a pause in training.

“What, Jess?” You ask, exasperatedly. The younger midfielder takes in your appearance before continuing, noting the dark bags under your eyes and the deep lines in your forehead.

“Are you okay?” You go to open your mouth, but Jessie interrupts you. “And don’t you dare lie to me, (Y/N/N).”

You give a tired and defeated sigh, knowing you could tell your friend what’s been bothering you.

“I’m fine, J. I’ve just been so stressed about this game, you know how it is.” And Jessie did know how it was, not only from personal experience, being only 15 on the Canadian national team, but also from all the publicity this championship game had gotten. Based on the number of articles with your name in the headline she had seen, she knew that had been adding to your stress and affecting both your attitude and your play.

Jessie gives you an understanding look, putting her arm around your shoulder, as practicing was staring up again.

“Look, I know this is a big game for you, I do, but losing sleep over it and stressing about it isn’t gonna help you. And yelling at your teammates definitely isn’t gonna help.” She smirks. “You’re (Y/N) (Y/L/N), and you’re gonna show the whole world who you are and why you’re going number one at next year’s draft.”

Smiling at the last statement, knowing your departure was still a sore subject for the midfielder, you lean your head on her shoulder.

“Thanks, Jessie. I really needed that.”

Jessie give you a smile in response. “Now, let’s get back to practice and get ready to kick Stanford’s ass.”

—————

Jessie’s pep talk had awoken something within you. That practice, you went back to your usual self, leading and working together with your teammates and putting the ball in the back of the net. In fact, you felt at the peak of your game, and your team was working like a well-oiled machine. You were feeling good about Saturday’s game.

—————

Despite the incredible practices you and your team had the days before, as you sit on the bus on the way to the stadium, you can’t contain the nerves that consume you. Jessie, knowing the telling signs of your nerves, the bounce of the knee and the long gaze, staring out the window with your music blaring, pulls out her phone to make a call.

Poking your arm, Jessie holds out her phone. Removing one of your headphones, you give her a puzzled look. Instead of an explanation, the midfielder just shakes her phone, waiting for you to take it. You hesitantly grab it, putting it up to your ear.

“(Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N),” You immediately recognize the scolding voice to be that of Mallory Pugh. Your eyes widen, turning to a smirking Jessie Fleming, not believing your friend had basically tattled on you to your other best friend. “You better get out of that head of yours and stop worrying about other people and what they’ll say or think of you. Just concentrate on what you can control, okay? You and the team have worked all season long to get to this point, so just go out there and do what you do best.” Mal continues her pep talk.

Nodding along to your best friend, you gain more and more confidence. “Thanks, Mal.”

“Of course, (Y/N/N). And know that win or lose, you’re still my best friend, and you’re a winner in my eyes.”

You roll your eyes at the cheesiness of her words, even though you secretly love it. “So you’re gonna be watching?” You ask sheepishly.

“OF COURSE!” Mal screams, and you have to pull the phone away from your ear due to the volume. “Do you think I’d miss my best friend win a championship?!”

You tuck your head in embarrassment. “We haven’t won yet.” You mumble, not wanting your best friend to get her hopes up, and more importantly, not wanting to let her down.

“Well, yeah, but I believe in you.” You can practically see Mal smiling through the phone.

“Thanks, Mal. It means a lot.”

“Of course. Look, I gotta run, but I’ll be watching!” You got to end the call, but before you can, you hear Mal’s voice one last time. “Wait! One last thing: don’t get too distracted by Davidson either.”

As Mal hangs up, your cheeks flush, and you hand Jessie’s phone back to her without meeting her eyes, knowing the younger girl had heard the last bit of your conversation.

Although you and Tierna had been rivals, you couldn’t help but developing a crush on the defender. The way she challenged you both on and off the field not only infuriated you, but it also attracted you to her. When you weren’t competing against her, you admired her play and the way she stayed composed no matter the situation. Though the media pitted the two of you against each other, it was hard for you to hate her, as she was probably the kindest person on earth, off the field that is.

“Mal teasing you about your little crush again?” Jessie gives you a cheeky smile.

“I don’t have a crush.” You grumble.

Jessie laughs in disbelief. “Okay. Whatever you say.”

You go to protest, but your friend is already getting up from her seat, as the bus comes to a stop. Jessie turns back to you. “We can talk about this later, but right now we have a game to win.”

You nod in all seriousness, forgetting about your nonexistent crush.

—————

It was about thirty minutes into the first half when Jessie slipped you a through ball, right past the outstretched foot of Tierna. With one touch, you set up your shot just inside the eighteen. To say your shot was an absolute beauty would be an understatement, as it curved around the goalie, perfectly place in the upper right corner.

Throwing your hands up in the air, you feel Jessie crashing into you. Pulling the midfielder into a hug, you have an ear splitting grin across your face. You celebrate with the rest of your teammates with more hugs and high fives. Before making your way back to the center circle, you pass the blonde defender, giving her a smirk and a wink.

“Better luck next time, Davidson.”

Although clearly frustrated, Tierna playfully rolls her eyes at your antics. “You’ll be lucky if there is a next time, (Y/L/N).”

You chuckle under your breath, as you jog away from her, ignoring the the butterflies in your stomach.

The first half came to an end, your lone goal being the only notable action.

As you were heading to the locker room, you could feel a certain blonde staring at you from across the field. The two of you lock eyes, Tierna giving you a small smile. You return a smile, the butterflies returning.

Jessie pulls you out of your daze, wrapping her arm around your shoulder, guiding you towards the locker room.

“C’mon Romeo, we’ve still got another half before you can go suck face with your girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.” You mumble.

—————

The beginning of the second half was pretty uneventful, until the Stanford freshman, Sophie Smith, broke through your back line. You could only watch, as she slipped a shot past your goalkeeper. Putting your hands on your knees, you hang your head, as the opposing team celebrates.

Jessie comes up behind you, patting your back. “C’mon, cap, there’s still plenty of time left in this game, and it’s only 1-1.” Recollecting yourself, you tap the ball forward, restarting the game.

—————

It was around the seventieth minute when you received a diagonal ball out on the right wing. Dribbling towards the corner, you looked up to the box, noticing Jessie had beaten her defender in the box. You take a long touch, hoping to out run Tierna. Getting to the ball first, you go to send the cross in, not noticing the blonde defender sliding in beneath you.

Despite making contact with the ball, effectively knocking it out of play, Tierna had also clipped your ankle. The tackle caused you to fall to the ground, grabbing your ankle in pain.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you try to contain your tears but with no success, as the pain is overbearing. You roll over onto your side, trying to distract yourself. Tierna kneels down next to you, wiping your hair from your face.

��(Y/N), you with me?” She gently grabs your hand.

You open your eyes, tears spilling down your face, and see Tierna with a worried look in her eyes.

“Had to injure me to win, Tierna?” You attempt to give her a cheeky grin, but you wince, as your ankle throbs.

She manages a small smile at your playfulness, even in pain. “The medical team is on their way.” Tierna squeezes your hand before getting up and letting your teammates and the trainers check up on you.

The trainers ask you a bunch of questions, and you affirm that you did hear a pop in your ankle. With the help of Jessie and one of the medical staff members, you limp off the field to the applause of the crowd. As you make your way back towards the locker room, you notice Tierna still glancing in your direction. Her eyebrows furrow, silently questioning if you’re okay. Although you were in an immense amount of pain and frustrated you couldn’t continue playing, you smile and throw her a thumbs up, not wanting to make her anymore guilty than she probably already feels.

—————

You laid back, as the trainer evaluated your ankle, moving it in different directions despite your grimaces and protests. Stuck back in the locker room, you were forced to watch the rest of the game on the monitor.

Holding your breath, you watch as Stanford takes a corner kick in the eighty-seventh minute. The ball knocks around in front of the goal, and you’re unable to see who kicks it in, but somehow the ball ends up in the back of the net, putting them ahead 2-1 with only a couple minutes left. You shut your eyes in disappointment, a fresh wave of tears overcoming with you. You barely register the trainer trying to get your attention, until he repeats your name once more.

“(Y/N),” He starts with a sympathetic look. “It looks like you completely tore one of the ligaments in your ankle and partially tore another. We’ll take you to get an MRI tomorrow just to clarify.”

You put your hands in your face, crushed from the disappointment of losing your final college game along with your injury. A knock on the door interrupts your thoughts. Removing your hands, you see Tierna Davidson peeking through the cracked open door.

The trainer gives you the details of your MRI appointment before exiting, leaving you and Tierna alone in the room.

Tierna comes to sit on the edge of treatment table, placing her hand on top of yours.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” You sigh. The two of you sit in silence, not really know what to say.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/N). It was an accident. I didn’t mean to hurt you at all. If I had known I would’ve clipped your ankle, I wouldn’t have—“

“Tierna.” You intertwine your fingers, interrupting her. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Like you said, it was an accident. It’s part of the game.” You give her a reassuring smile. You laugh half-heartedly, “I’m more disappointed about the loss.”

Tierna doesn’t really know what to say at that, knowing there’s nothing she can say to make you feel better. You and her stay like that, with your hands together, for a couple of minutes, before Tierna once again breaks the silence.

“I have something to tell you.” She whispers. You watch her intently, moving to sit up.

The defender takes a deep breath before continuing. “I like you. I really like you. I have for a while now, and I know we’re always competing against each other, but there’s just something about you. And now that we’re not technically rivals or anything, with both of us going to NWSL, and hopefully the national team, maybe I could take you on a date sometime?”

You remain quiet, still processing the other woman’s confession that turned into a mini rant. Not really knowing what to say, you grab her face and pull her in for a kiss. Your lips melt together, and before you can deepen the kiss, Jessie bursts through the door.

“(Y/N), how are you— OH! Oh my gosh. I am so sorry! I’ll just go. Let me know when I can come in. I’ll just— sorry. Bye.” Jessie interrupts, before realizing what she’d walked in on, stumbling backwards out the door.

You giggle at you friend, resting your forehead against Tierna. She reaches her hand up to brush your baby hairs out of your eyes.

“So, about that date?”

You frown slightly. “Well, I’m a little incapacitated at the moment.” She rubs your noses together and then places a kiss on your cheek.

“That’s okay. I’m fine with anything as long as I’m with you.” Tierna gives you a cheeky smile.

Your heart swells at her corniness. “Me too.” You hum in agreement.

“So no more rivalry?” She asks, almost rhetorically.

You smirk. “Mmmm. I dunno about that. I’m still going number one in the draft.”

Tierna playfully growls at you before pulling you into another kiss. Laughing, you can’t help but feel grateful for the rivalry between you and the defender.

And what’s a good relationship without some healthy competition?

[moldisgoodforyou]

YES THEM REMINISCING ON THEIR “hatred” and how far they came would just be chefs kiss

you got it 😌

warning: cursing, underage drinking, mentions of a fight

wordcount 2.7k

_____

Over Christmas break, after another high school reunion party, Rafe and Sophie were both tipsy and giggly as they made their way up to Rafe’s room. It was already made pretty clear at Sophie’s house that ‘sleepovers’ of any kind with Rafe weren’t allowed, so she had to lie and tell her parents she was staying with a friend. “Soph, shh!” He admonished, practically dragging her upstairs as she tripped over her feet.  

“S’not my fault!” She argued, pushing his hands away again as he tried to help. Finally they made it up to his room and both fell onto the bed, curling up into each other. “Hey, Rafe.” She whispered, grinning. 

“Hey what.” He pulled her close, hands automatically going to play with her hair. “I like you.” She hummed, pressing her head into his touch. He laughed and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I like you too. Hey, the boys and I were talking tonight, about us in high school, and they reminded me of something.” 

Sophie scowled. “Probably not a good thing then.” 

“No, no. Remember when you got in that fight in high school?” She paused, turning to face him. “Wasn’t really a fight, but yeah.” He glanced over her to gauge her expression. “That wasn’t over me. Right?”

She shrugged, trying to stay casual even though a blush betrayed her. “No? I mean, I wouldn’t say it was over you, technically.”

He grinned. “Soph, you didn’t.”

“Hm. Might have.”

“Tell me.”

______

“He’s a fucking idiot. Too easy.” Alexandra giggled in the locker room to her friends, applying lip gloss after their gym class. It was senior year and there was a big party planned at the Cameron’s house for the weekend. She had been discussing her plans to hook up with Rafe and then ditch him for the past fifteen minutes, and Sophie had had enough.

A strange feeling bubbled up inside her and Sophie swung open her locker with more force than necessary, the clang echoing around the room. “He’s not.” 

Alexandra raised a cool eyebrow, glancing her way. “Did you say something, Flint?”

“He’s not an idiot.”  Sophie repeated, a little clearer. 

“Oh, honey. He’s not here to hear you standing up for him, you know that? Even Cameron wouldn’t sleep with you.” Alexandra taunted, rolling her eyes. 

Sophie certainly didn’t like Rafe, but she didn’t mind him. And he wasn’t an idiot by any means - he held his own against her fairly well, and she respected the hell out of that. (Although she’d never, ever, admit it to his face.) 

“I’ve never considered that, but thanks for the heads up.” She retorted dryly. 

That was a lie. She’d considered it far too many times. Thought about what his lips might feel like against hers, his big hands gripping her hips, his -

“Earth to Sophie.” Alexandra rudely interrupted her thoughts, laughing when Sophie glanced over with a mildly confused expression. “Why do you care, anyways?” 

“He has feelings too, y’know. Would you like it if someone said use ‘em and lose ‘em about you?” Sophie frowned, lacing up her tennis shoes. 

“No one would ever say that about me.” Alexandra replied with a smug smile, then stepped into her heels that were about two inches too tall for the dress code. She couldn’t walk straight in them, and looked ridiculous, especially given the fact that it was an all-girls school and the only male she had to impress was the 28-year-old history teacher. (On second thought, maybe that did make sense.)

As she walked past, Sophie made a split-second decision and stuck her toe out just so, making Alexandra trip and fall to the concrete floor with a thud, her now-shattered cell phone clattering across the tile along with a couple broken nails. The two stared each other down for a second until Sophie smirked. “Oops.”  

Alexandra lunged first, yanking at Sophie’s ponytail. “You bitch!”  

It didn’t take long before the gym teacher came running out of her office, breaking the two girls up. Sophie had taken the brunt of it, a slap to the face and a few scratches down the arm, while she acted mainly in self-defense. (Mainly.)

The two were escorted to the office straight away, in silence. The principal was shocked to see Sophie in there, almost disbelieving of Alexandra’s sob story. “Miss Flint? Do you have anything to say for yourself?” 

“She deserved it.” Sophie muttered, clear as day. 

“Oh my god, she’s not even sorry!” Alexandra cried out, wiping away a few false tears.  

“Have you thought about joining theater, Alex? You seem to have a knack for  it.” Sophie shot her a faux-sweet smile, sarcasm dripping from her tone. 

“Girls.” The principal warned, shaking her head. “I have to say, I’m surprised...Sophie, I’ll have to give you a week’s worth of detention. Alexandra...” She sighed. “One day -”

“But she started it -”  

“One day.” She repeated firmly, and Sophie held back a smug look. “Violence at Greenville Academy, honestly. You two know better. Both of you, out.”  

Two days later, at the party, Sophie wore the bruise of Alexandra’s handprint with pride. She hadn’t bothered to cover the ugly purple mark with concealer, considering it a conversation starter instead. “Heard you got in a fight this week, Flint.” Rafe greeted her, reaching out to grip her chin lightly and get a better view. Sophie yanked her head back out of his touch. “Might have, what’s it to you?”  

He just grinned, smug as ever. “Didn’t think you were the type.” 

“Yeah, well, let it serve as a reminder of what I can do if you really piss me off.” She quipped, trying - and failing - to hide a shudder as she took a long sip of her mostly vodka-lemonade. 

“What happened?” 

“None of your business, asshole.” She tacked on the last word more out of nerves than anything, not wanting to be caught in a lie.

“M’ just asking, chill.” He raised his hands in defense, tone turning a little more sincere. “Just ‘cause - y’know. I heard I was involved.”  

Sophie took another long sip of her drink, cursing under her breath. Sarah. Of course she should have known, his little sister was in Sophie’s gym class and had the biggest mouth of anyone she knew. “You heard wrong, Cameron.” 

“Alright. Hey, Alexandra’s been flirting with me the whole party.” He changed the subject, testing her. “Think I should go for it?” 

“I’d rather not hear about your lackluster sex life in the locker room next week, so no, for my sake.” She retorted coolly, though her shoulders tensed up and jaw set a little at the thought of him in bed with Alexandra. 

He nodded, suspicions confirmed, then smirked. “I can prove to you it’s not lackluster, you know.” 

“I’d like to see you try.” She shot back, regretting it the second the words came out of her mouth. “Not like - I didn’t mean -” 

“Relax, Soph.” He grinned and reached out, gently tracing his thumb along her bruised cheek. “How about another time when you’re not hurting?”

She froze, resisting every single urge she had to lean into his touch or just take a tiny step forward and plant one on him. “Do you ever shut up?”

“I would if you’d make me.”

“Oh, fuck off.” She replied lamely, rolling her eyes and walking away.

_______

“I can’t believe you fought for my honor.” Rafe grinned, teasing her. Sophie was bright red now and shoved on his chest. “It was years ago, get over it. I wouldn’t do it now.” He gaped. “Soph! You would too!” 

“I wouldn’t! I’m not dumb enough to get in a fight, I’m 21.” She told him pointedly, knowing full well that Rafe would absolutely get in a fight at that age. He scowled. “I’d fight for you.” 

“You shouldn’t, I can’t see any good reason for you to.” She paused. “Besides, I stopped standing up for you after that.” 

He furrowed his brow. “Why?” 

“Because you made me cry after winter formal.” 

He tilted his head, confused. “Is that what Carter was talking about at Thanksgiving? I really don’t remember that.” 

“Yeah, ‘cause I didn’t want you to know.” She grinned, ultra-dramatic. “I was heartbroken.” 

He rolled his eyes and kissed her. “Remind me?”

_______

“Taking anyone to winter formal, Rafe?” Kelce asked him as they were out on the driving range at the golf course, a usual pastime for them. 

Sophie was two tees away, practicing hitting on her own - she didn’t miss the fact that Rafe positioned himself close enough to watch her, but enjoyed the attention and the low whistles almost every time she leaned over to hit the ball. She hated the actual sport of golf, and only played to spend time with her dad, but she found solace in the stress relief of just hitting 100 balls in a row.

“Not yet.” The dance was two weeks away, and Rafe had been teasing Sophie about coming with him for a month now. “Hey, Soph!” 

She ignored him, pulling back for a swing until she felt him grab the end of her club in mid-air. She cursed under her breath and turned on her heel, indignant. “Jesus, Rafe, I could have knocked you out cold.”  

“Doubt it, your swing’s not strong enough.” 

She huffed and stepped closer, toe-to-toe with him - responding just as he’d hoped she would. “Would you like me to test that theory?”

“Leave her alone, Rafe!” Kelce called out, annoyed the two had found a way to fight again. 

He grinned. “Just thought I’d stop by and ask about your plans for the winter formal. You’d look pretty on my arm, you know.” 

"Do you get off on being rejected, Rafe?” She questioned dryly. 

“You’re gonna entertain the thought one day. Mark my words.” He let go of her club and stepped back, giving her room to hit again. 

Sophie rolled her eyes and extended her club just enough to poke him in the ass as he walked away. “In your dreams, Cameron.”

That banter continued right up until three days before formal. Sophie had rejected two invitations, one from a friend and one from a boy who actually showed interest in her. Secretly, she was hoping Rafe might come around and ask her for real - because the last ten times were just teasing, right? 

She was sorely mistaken when her friend on the track team at the time, Ashley, called her eagerly that night. “Sophie you’ll never guess who just asked me to the dance!” Ashley squealed into the phone.

“Landon finally worked up the nerve?” Sophie asked. 

“What? No. Rafe asked me! Rafe Cameron!”

Sophie’s mouth went dry and she was thankful she was receiving the news on the phone, not in person where she’d have to hide her reaction. “Oh. That’s, um, that’s awesome, Ash.” 

Ashley launched into a dreamy speech about how excited she was and Rafe said he’d match his tie to her dress and Sophie wouldn’t start anything when they went to dinner, right, and - “Sophie.” 

“What? Oh, sorry, my dad was calling my name.” She lied quickly, forcing a smile so it’d come through in her tone. 

“Who are you bringing?” 

“Ah...Ben.” Sophie decided quickly, and hoped to god Ben was still available. He was Rafe’s basketball teammate, and practically his sworn enemy, and fine, maybe that was exactly the reason she chose Ben. 

“Seriously?” The puzzlement was obvious in Ashley’s tone. “Have you two been talking?” 

“Here and there.” Sophie confirmed vaguely, already regretting her lie. “So Rafe’s coming to the whole thing, then? Pictures and dinner before, the afterparty at yours?” 

“Yeah, of course!” Ashley gushed. 

Sophie tried to ignore the knot forming in her stomach. “Awesome. Hey, I gotta knock out my math homework, but we can talk about it at school tomorrow?” 

“Oh yeah, for sure. Talk later!”  

As soon as the phone clicked off, Sophie fell back onto her bed with a groan. “Fucking hell.” She gave herself a solid two minutes of wallowing before calling Ben, putting on her flirtiest voice, and asking him to formal. He accepted right away. God, men are so fucking easy, she thought to herself. Except when they aren’t. 

The look on Rafe’s face was absolutely priceless when she strolled into the country club, head held high, hand-in-hand with Ben. “Surprised he didn’t ask you.” Ben murmured into Sophie’s ear, making a show of it just to piss Rafe off. “What do you mean?” She whispered back, stomach turning in knots at his proximity. “Kinda figured you two were a thing, given how often he talks about you in the locker room.” Ben shrugged. “But I’m glad you’re here with me instead.” 

“Yeah. Me too.” Sophie replied weakly, giving Rafe an overly polite nod of acknowledgment. Rafe nodded back, and that was the extent of their communication for the night. 

Until the party. 

Sophie was four drinks in, way too much for her low tolerance, when she found Rafe alone in the kitchen. “What the fuck, Rafe?” 

He turned around, amused. “Hello to you too, Soph.” 

“You brought Ashley to the dance?” She accused, foot slipping on a spilled drink as she strode closer. He caught her by the waist, then quickly moved his hand to her arm instead as he steadied her. “Yeah. What’s it to you?” 

“Thought you were going to ask me.” She wasn’t nearly drunk enough to be making such brazen statements, but figured if he called her out, she could pretend to be hammered.  

He raised his eyebrows, caught off guard as he pulled her a little closer. “Never thought that was an option.”

“Maybe if you actually tried to be sincere for once, it could be.” They were way too close to be comfortable, but everything felt overwhelmingly right, Sophie decided. He leaned in an inch more so their foreheads touched, breath intermingling. She tilted her head up - just slightly - until - 

“Sophie!” Ben called out and the two sprang apart like the same poles on a magnet. Ben wandered into the kitchen, grinning, two shots in hand. “There you are - oh.” His voice instantly fell flat as he took in the situation, Sophie’s flushed face and Rafe’s angry expression at the interruption. “Were you two...?” He gestured sloppily with the shots, tequila spilling to the floor. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Sophie snapped without a second thought. “I was just grabbing another drink.” She lifted her near-empty beer, and Rafe bit hard on the inside of his cheek to stay impassive. “Watch your hands around my girl, Cameron.” Ben joked, still wary of what he had walked in on. 

Sophie wrinkled her nose. “I’m not your girl, Ben, this was just a one-time thing.” She informed him, strolling past him and out of the kitchen with a huff. Ben watched with a slack jaw, completely confused, and set the shots on the counter. “What just...”

Rafe smirked. “She does that. Kinda her thing.”

“Sure you two didn’t..?” Ben asked. Rafe just shrugged. 

Once Ben left, going after Sophie, Rafe cursed and slammed his palm to the countertop. Sophie’s instant dismissal of the situation stung him more than he expected. Then he did what any rational seventeen-year-old boy would do - he took the two tequila shots, no chaser, and immediately set out to go make out with Ashley - right in Sophie’s line of sight. 

She retaliated, of course, by getting more drunk and making out with Ben on the opposite side of the party, willing herself to ignore the sloppy way his tongue tried to force its way down her throat. After a few minutes, she pushed away from Ben. “I’m gonna go - I need some air.” 

“I’ll come.” Ben volunteered. She shook her head quickly, pushing him away with a hand on his face. “No, it’s fine, I’m fine. Um, I’ll see you later.” He frowned, confused, but let her go. She passed by Rafe as she went, texting her brother Carter a very poorly-written drunk message to come pick her up. “Real classy, Soph.” 

“Fuck you, Cameron.” She shot back, doing her best not to cry as she made her way to the front. 

___ 

Rafe frowned, returning to play with her hair as she finished the story from her perspective. “I don’t remember that. I made out with your friend? You’re sure?” 

Sophie rolled her eyes. “I’m sure. And then I swore to myself I’d never give you the time of day.” 

He grinned. “But I’m just too irresistible, right?” 

“Oh, yeah, that’s totally it.”

[ericsonclan]

Way Up

Summary: Marlon takes some time before school to swing around the streets of New York.

Word Count: 1633

Read on AO3:

Marlon glanced ahead at bright morning sunlight that shone upon the great city of New York. His left leg dangled off the edge of the roof that he was sitting on while his right arm rested on his other knee. His gaze turned to look around the city, seeing the big, impressive buildings that filled the streets. The sounds of businesses opening up and traffic filled the air as New York began to wake up.

The blond tilted his head back, letting the wind blow through his mullet and allowing himself a few seconds to enjoy this moment. After a minute Marlon opened his eyes. The smell of the breakfast burrito drew his gaze over to the remnants of his breakfast that was tucked away in his hand. Unwrapping the last bit, he tossed it in his mouth then hopped up. School wasn’t starting for another hour or so which meant he had a bit of free time. It was time to swing around the city as Hacklemesh.

Picking up his mask, Marlon secured it over his head before chucking the trash from breakfast into a dumpster down below. He took a moment, inhaling a deep breath before exhaling. The morning sun shone on his grey and black suit and especially seemed to favor the white webbing on it, making it shine especially bright.

With a grin hidden behind his mask, Hacklemesh took a few steps back then sprinted forward. Putting all of his power into his feet, he leapt high into the sky. His arms extended out as he fell for a moment before he tucked his arms to his side and dove towards the ground. Once he’d almost reached the ground he shot out a web that attached to the side of a building in an instant. With a mighty pull Hacklemesh sent himself back up amongst the pigeons of New York.

Another whoosh of a spider web and a tug upon it made it clear that he had successfully hit another building. Hacklemesh threw himself even further up into the sky then tucked his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, making himself a small ball that spun downwards at a rapid pace. With a swift shot Hacklemesh secured another web to swing on and with another move he swung up into the air once more, doing a small twirl in the process.

Folding his legs, Hacklemesh leaned back and did a series of backflips mid-air. In an instant he webbed a lamp post and used it to propel himself towards the bright sky again. Hacklemesh placed one arm in front of him and the other behind his back, his legs tucked as he spun around in a circle a few times then sent another web towards a building. After a few more air tricks and well-placed jumps Hacklemesh reached the Empire State Building. With an excited smile lost to the world, he sprinted up the side of the building, his arms moving alongside the movement of his feet as he reached the top of the iconic New York landmark in moments.

As soon as he reached the top Hacklemesh leapt off, giving a loud cry of pure joy. “WOOOOOOOOOO!” Hacklemesh threw his head back and shot a few random webs in the air before letting himself freefall, waiting for the final moment to shoot out the next web that would swing him to safety.

Suddenly he heard the sounds of gunfire and the frantic cries of civilians. His eyes snapped over in the direction of the noises and noticed a car haphazardly driving down the street. Shooting out a web, Hacklemesh zipped over towards the car.

“Fuck! It’s one of those spider freaks!” The driver’s voice cracked from fear as he tried to get rid of Hacklemesh who was slowly but surely closing the distance.

“I’ll get rid of the little shit!” A voice appeared from inside the car and soon a masked individual poked their head out and started spraying bullets towards the spider hero. Hacklemesh spun out of the way then used webbing to redirect himself back on the right path. After dodging a few more attacks, Hacklemesh snagged the roof of the car with a web and pulled himself onto the car with a harsh thunk.

“You little bitch!” Another person poked his head out of the car and aimed the gun directly at the spider hero’s face.

With his quick reflexes, Hacklemesh veered clear of the deadly shot and stuck to the side of the car where the shooter was. Landing a heavy punch to the thug’s head, he knocked him out and quickly wrapped him in a mess of lumpy, odd webs before shooting two webs towards a building. Attaching them to the thug’s back, Hacklemesh let the webs yank him, sending the man flying through the sky. One down, two to go.

Hacklemesh quickly repeated the same tactic with the other shooter. With two shooters gone the spider hero focused on finding a way to stop the car when all of a sudden the driver pulled out a gun and started shooting wildly. He had to be dealt with, now. Hacklemesh’s hands grabbed the edge of one of the windows opposite the driver. With a mighty swing he crashed through the shotgun window, shattering all the glass and letting his feet collide with the driver’s face. The driver groaned in pain and fell out of the car, tumbling onto the ground.

Hacklemesh didn’t have time to check how badly the thug had gotten hurt though; the car quickly tilted on its side due to its lack of a driver. Sparks flew in the sky from metal scraping harshly against the asphalt of the street. He had to act fast.

Just as the car flung itself into the air, Hacklemesh slid underneath it and with his arms outstretched caught the car before it could harm the nearby citizens. His legs buckled as the full weight of the car applied pressure throughout his body. He couldn’t stop now though. Slowly he lifted up the car and gently placed it down. Or at least as gently as he could.

Hacklemesh took a deep breath and was about to swing away when he heard the happy cheers of the citizens. Looking behind him, he noticed just how many civilians were surrounding him as well as the news crew that had arrived on the scene as quickly as always.

Hacklemesh could feel his nerves rising as questions were directed towards him at a rapid pace. It was all becoming too much but he had to keep calm. He had a horrible habit of shooting out a bunch of webs as a defensive mechanism whenever he got too stressed. He couldn’t risk injuring others. His mind tried to keep track of the conversation when suddenly a citizen spoke up above the rest.

“I love you, Hacklemesh!”

“And I love you, random citizen!” Hacklemesh pointed at the citizen and froze, a bit embarrassed by the whole exchange. His eyes scanned the crowd, unsure what to do until they landed on a nearby clock in a shop. Shit, school was starting in the next few minutes. With a half-assed goodbye Hacklemesh shot a web and swung away, hoping he wouldn’t be late to school.

Sophie watched the news in awe. A piece of toast dangled out of her mouth as her eyes remained glued to the TV screen. A clip of Hacklemesh played on the screen. The way he took down those thugs and how he had caught that car and placed it back onto the ground... It was one of the most badass things Sophie had ever seen outside of her and Minnie’s feats as spider heroes.

“Soph!” Minnie’s frantic voice made Sophie glance over to see her twin struggling to put on her shoes. It was obvious Minnie was extremely anxious because her finger immediately became stuck to the shoes with an iron grip. “Help me so we aren’t late for school!”

“On it!” Sophie mumbled as the piece of toast bounced up and down in her mouth. With a  toss she munched down on the jam-covered slice and inhaled it before helping her sister. Quickly the two were out the door and on their way to school.

On the way there Sophie continued to gush about how badass and cool Hacklemesh was this morning. Minnie nodded along but it was clear she just wanted to have her worries about being late be misplaced. Sprinting down the hall, the twins noticed Renata who immediately joined them in their running and started to flirt with Minnie. Minnie became a flustered mess, trying to remain calm enough that her webs wouldn’t make her get stuck to her locker as she grabbed her books for the first class.

Sophie was about to comment on something that Renata said as the three of them walked into their first class when she spotted Marlon sliding into the classroom, his eyes panicked. After a moment of catching his breath, he noticed Sophie. “Hey there, Soph,” Marlon gave a casual smile.

“Hey, Mar,” Sophie’s smile faded for a moment as a look of curiosity appeared on her face. Reaching her hand up, she pulled a leaf from Marlon’s hair. “Did you take a nap in a tree before class?” Sophie gave a teasing smile which made Marlon’s heart flutter. His eyes immediately glanced away.

“Something like that,” Turning away, Marlon walked over to his seat and sat down just as class started. With one more deep breath he let his shoulders relax. That was close; he had almost been late. If one thing became clear to him once more thanks to today, it was this: being a hero was anything but easy.

[dreamingabouttaron]

History Repeating - Part 5

Warning - Teenage Pregnancy 

You take a moment to compose yourself and calm your nerves before taking one last glance at yourself in the mirror. You force a smile onto your face hoping that it would release some endorphins. You grab your converse and slide them on your feet before picking up your bag and slowly and cautiously walking down the stairs. You knew that you would have to face the backlash of your comments to your father at some point. You had unnecessarily snapped at him when he was trying to reassure you and make you feel loved.

As you reached the bottom of the stairs, you heard mutterings of voices out in the garden. You walked into the open planned kitchen and walked through the open bifold doors which lead out into the sunny garden. You watched Nelly sprinting around the garden with her ball. That brought a real smile to your face.

It was your mum who noticed your first, “Come to join us have you?” She said before sipping at her tea. You watched as your dad purposely didn’t turn to greet you. He continued to watch as the dog raced up and down the garden. You took a big breath before walking over to the seating area and sitting in one of the spare seats.

“Dad, I’m sorry.” You said as bravely as you could. This caused Taron to look at you coldly. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You were trying to make me feel better and I, in return, made you feel bad. Which I shouldn’t have done.”

“Look, Grace. I love you to pieces and I understand that your hormones are changing but I am still your father and you can’t talk to me like that.” You looked at the ground, a little line of ants caught your attention. Watching them meant you didn’t have to look at your father in the face.

“I know and I’m sorry.” You said, eyes still on the ground.

“Okay you two. We really need to get going now or else we are going to be late.” Your mum chimed in as she stood up from her seat.

You looked up and saw your father examining you. You pushed yourself up and walked over to your dad causing him to stand too. You wrapped your arms around his waist and held him close. “I love you dad.” You said quietly, you weren’t even sure if it was loud enough for him to hear which meant it caught you by surprise when he returned the love.

—

The walk to your grandparents didn’t take long at all. You only lived a few streets away from each other. Living so close had always been such a privilege as you had spent so much time with Rosie and Mari as you grew up. Having Aunts’ a similar age to you had always been strange but it also meant you were ridiculously close. It was probably their reaction you were most anxious for.

As you approached the front door, you felt your heart race with anticipation. You watched as your dad knocked on the door and let himself in. You followed in slowly with your mum close behind. You heard a rumble of voices coming from the garden, as a family you all walked outside to greet everyone. Smiles and hugs were exchanged as everyone greeted each other again. Guy’s children were also there with their young children, which you hadn’t expected to see. The smell of a classic BBQ was wafting in the air, which didn’t help with the queasiness of anxiety you already had.

It didn’t take long for everyone to settle down and the conversation to start flowing. You were chatting to Rosie and Mari about their university applications and things going on in their friendship group. You smiled, listened and stayed quiet for the majority of it, only speaking when you were asked a question. Your eyes glanced over to your father who was chatting away with his mother. You knew you would have to break the news at some point. Taron felt eyes burning on him and looked over to you and nodded slightly in reassurance. You nodded back, knowing what he was aiming at. It was time.

“Can I get everyone attention for a moment?” Taron announced, his eyes still on you trying to make you feel safe. But, it wasn’t helping. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks in despair. Everyone fell silent and looked at Taron. All waiting to see what news he was going to break.

The world around you felt dizzy, but you found your mouth moving and making sounds without you even being aware. “I have some news.” Everyones eyes switched from Taron towards you.

“So.. I’m.. I..Um... I’m pregnant.” Your eyes never left your fathers. You felt that if your eyes broke contact, you would be exposed to the shock and shame that everyone felt around you.

“Wait.. What?” Rosie pipped up. “This is a joke right?” She asked with a slightly giggle in her voice.

You shook your head, “It’s not a joke.” You felt everyones eyes burn into you.

“Really?” Guy asked in shock, turning to look at Taron. He broke eye contact and looked over at Guy and smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to be a grandfather. You’re going to be great-grandparents!”

The loss of your safety net of your fathers eyes meant you had to look around and view everyones expressions. “Yep.” You swallowed a lump in your throat but struggled because your mouth was so dry. “I’m going to have a baby.” You placed a hand carelessly on your stomach to accentuate your point.

“Oh shit.” You heard Mari mutter under her breath, only making you sweat more. You didn’t want to know what was going through her head.

The person who looked shocked the most was Tina. “How far along are you?” She asked with a croak in her voice. Her thoughts and feeling were written all over her face.

“Um, I have a.. uh…” You picked up your bag and pulled out an ultrasound picture you packed. You held it up and positioned it in her direction.

“Wow! Congratulations!” You heard Guy’s daughter Sophie reply before getting up and pulling you into a hug. She could clearly sense your anxiety. The human contact made you want to burst into tears. You felt like you could cut the tension with a knife. You hated it. But you knew you had to rip the bandaid off and tell everyone. Sooner rather than later.

“Who’s the father?” Mari asked rather loudly.

“It wasn’t planned…” You say trying to defend yourself.

“You don’t need to explain to us; we’re your family and we’re here to support you.” Guy said as he stood up and hugged you too. You watched Guy stand up and congratulate your parents. This made your eyes rejoin with Tinas’. She looked so disappointed in you.

You built up the courage and walked over to her, as everyone slowly started to converse again. You sat down in your fathers seat which was now empty and turned to look at your grandmother. “I know you’re disappointed.” You announce quietly.

“Gracie, I’m not disappointed.” She says with slight tears in her eyes. “I just know how hard it’s going to be.” You felt tears burning in your eyes listening to her. “It was hard for me when I had Taron, and you know how hard it was for your parents. You know that we are going to be here for you no matter what though. I promise you Gracie. Look around, look at this wonderful loving family that we have. We are all here to support you.” Tina took your hand in hers. “We love you, and this new little one.” You hadn’t noticed your dad coming back over until he placed his hand on your arm.

“It’s true Gracie, we love you and this baby.” You instantly felt yourself calm at your grandmother and father words.

“But I’m certainly not going to be called grand-grandmother! I’m not old enough for that yet!” She said trying to lighten the mood which brought a slight smile to your face.

You looked around at your large crazy family and knew that everything would be okay. Because you had them!

Tag list - @writingformany @sarahegerton96

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Three Strikes Job

leverage 2.14

tara finishing nate’s drink so she wouldn’t have to deal with his bullshit and get him upstairs asap? iconic

- - - - -

Parker: So, is he gonna be okay?

Nate: Uh, they don't know.

Tara: Okay, this guy's a cop. You're thieves.

Nate: I'm not a thief! Bonnano is the cop that we tip off when we need to put the cuffs on a mark

we about to see nate turn a 180 in the next episode

- - - - -

Hardison: That's public corruption. There's practically no files on that thing.

Nate: That's it.

Hardison: No, no, these other two files -- they -- they involve violent criminals. This one -- this - it's government corruption.

Nate: No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. That's it. That's it. Just...Check the shooting. Put up the scene. Okay, so, Bonnano - he goes to a remote location, alone, no backup. That means he knows his attackers and he's not expecting any trouble. Now, what did you just say? You said no files on it? So, Bonnano was keeping this investigation off the books.

Tara: Explains a secret meeting. Off hours, away from any witnesses.

Eliot: Cops are looking in the wrong place

- - - - -

Tara: So, what's our angle here? I haven't been with you guys very long, but taking someone down for attempted murder isn't something you normally do.

Nate: Listen, we come at him like any other mark. We flip over a rock in this guy's backyard, see what jumps out

- - - - -

[Bonnano’s House]

Eliot: Yeah, we're heading in now. You spend your weekends making these things, don't you?

Hardison: Yes, I do, and does anybody appreciate that?

[City Hall]

Parker: I do. I like the costumes. I wish I was there.

[Reelection Campain Event]

Parker, we need someone to sweep the mayor's office while he's here at the fundraiser.

[City Hall]

Parker: Fine. But I never get to do anything fun. (jumps off building)

- - - - -

Hardison: Hey. We are gonna search every inch of this carpet.

Cop: What am I looking for?

Hardison: Fibers, damn it. Fibers. And you -- you go search the bedroom and the bathroom for DNA. Get me a toothbrush, a hairbrush. I don't care if it's a nose trimmer. You bag it, tag it, and send it to the lab.

Cop: Um, th-- this carpet's made of fibers.

Hardison: Well, we're looking for other fibers -- suspicious fibers, fibers of crime. Damn! What'd they teach you at the academy, boy?! On my nerves.

eliot has to hide his smile when attention was turned to him ,,, he was lowkey very amused by hardison’s “fibers” shtick

- - - - -

Tara (walking away): You can handle this. Just feed them a story.

Parker: No, I can't do that. I mean, I can, but Sophie usually walks me through this.

Tara: Okay, take a deep breath. If you're uncomfortable, use it. Make them feel uncomfortable. Here's what you tell them.

Secretary: Who are you?

Parker: Peggy Marwood. Friend of Brad's.

Secretary: You can't just barge in here. Do you have an appointment?

Parker: Yeah, actually, I do. That's what this is all about. I sort of missed my appointment, if you know what I mean. (patting her stomach) Yeah. I, uh, sort of, uh, met Brad at the, uh...

Tara: National Mayors conference.

Parker: ...National Mayors conference...

Tara: In Vegas....

Parker: In Vegas... about six to eight weeks ago. Is that his family? (picks up picture from desk) Oh, they don't have any weird genetic...Things, do they?

Secretary: I'm sorry. The mayor didn't mention anything to me about this.

Tara: All right, now make her think you're gonna leave.

Parker: No problem. I'm just gonna go sit out there with everybody, and I might need a wastebasket, though, 'cause I'm feeling a little (gags) you know what I mean?

Secretary: No! You should wait in here... Okay....In that chair right there, away from everyone who might... see you.

Parker: Thanks. (to Tara) I owe you one.

Tara: Now, see? Trusting me is not so bad (parker smiles and gets up)

that’s very smart ??? iconic

- - - - -

Tara: I don't know. Culpepper doesn't strike me as the type to order a hit, especially on something like a graft case. What's the big deal, you know? You get caught, you go on TV with your wife, you cry, you get re-elected.

Parker: Yeah, it's the American way.

Tara: Exactly.

Hardison: Nah, this guy’s been caught in the middle of a dozen corruption cases. Each time, he's walked away, and somebody else took the fall. This guy does not get caught.

call! america! OUT!!!

- - - - -

Nate: Classic con -- hook, pinch, and flip.

Tara: Hook the mayor with the idea we're gonna build a ballpark here on all this land that he owns.

Nate: That's right, and then pinch him for a bribe to guarantee he gets the action. Hardison tells me he runs a lot of gray money through his re-election campaign, so he'll take the bribe out of his re-election funds.

Tara: Which is a federal offense. All right, so once we nail the mayor for the bribe...

Nate: The flip, right? Yeah, when the heat comes down, whoever shot Bonnano cuts a deal, the mayor goes down

so now we know the hook, pinch, flip

- - - - -

Hardison: You got drafted in the sixth round right out of high school. Had a cup of coffee in the royals organization. Then you bounced around the minors, you bounced around the world, and, as we can see here, you made a very popular commercial for an energy drink in Japan.

Eliot (on screen): Super happy power go!

Hardison: It took me 13 hours.

Eliot: There's only one problem. I don't like baseball.

Hardison: What? E-everybody likes baseball.

Eliot: I don't like baseball, man. All right? I don't like any sport you can't score on defense. Football, hockey, even basketball, but baseball?

Hardison: I'm not even talking to you. (walks away)

Eliot: It's boring. Hey, wait. Can you play the commercial?

Eliot (on screen): Super happy power go

chaotic boyfriends

also this is literally my favorite thing ever ,,, eliot enjoys the video so much

- - - - -

Eliot: Yeah, that's right, run away. Faster you start panicking, the faster I can get out of here. (swings at ball, nearly hits the pitcher)

Pitcher: Whoa!

Eliot: This time with a little more heat.

his bashful lil smile when he realizes he might actually like baseball? he’s baby, your honor

- - - - -

Parker (into phone): Los Beavers me han entristecido con su traicion, Esteban.

Hardison: You speak Spanish?

Parker: Si.

Hardison: Seriously?

another one of parker’s MANY hidden talents

- - - - -

Culpepper: Oh. Oh, be still my heart -- If my heart were somewhere in my pants. This is a thing of beauty.

Aid: He's building a ballpark?

Culpepper: A riverfront ballpark.

two words: y’all NASTY

- - - - -

eliot’s hair in this one is MAJESTIC

- - - - -

[Crowd chanting “Roy” in the background]

Nate: All right, good news, bad news.

Tara: Good news?

Nate: The mayor's hooked. We're in the pinch.

Tara: Bad news?

Nate: I think we lost Eliot until the playoffs.

+ y’all best believe I hc that parker and hardison managed to go to one of their practices/games before the con was over

- - - - -

Eliot: You left early, man. Huh? Bottom of the ninth.

Hardison: Excuse your rudeness. I'm explaining the con. It's very complicated.

Eliot: Really? The mayor gives us a check, and we deposit it in some company you connected back to him. Looks like he's embezzling from his campaign funds. Bottom of the ninth, man. I hit a walk-off single, man. Crowd goes nuts.

Hardison: But that's -- that's not all there is, okay? We got -- there's - there's the Bonnano thing.

Eliot: What? We give Bonnano’s notes to the newspaper, man? They named a sandwich after me at T.J. Philbin's.

Parker: Ohh. Ooh.

Eliot: Huh?

Hardison: I'll give it to you, man. The sandwich thing is pretty cool. Is this a hoagie?

Eliot: No, man, it's a Reuben.

THEY DID THEIR HANDSHAKE!!! we love to see the ot3 in action

+ parker’s wearing a flannel again

- - - - -

Guard: Hey, aren't you Roy Chappell? Yeah, you hit the game-winner yesterday for the beavers. I was there with my kid.

Eliot: I did.

Guard: What are you doing here?

Eliot: It's Triple-A ball, so I got to have a day job, you know? Excuse me. Sorry. (closes door)

Guard (through window): Oh, hey, Roy? You mind? (hands him paper and pen) It's for my kid.

Culpepper: No, I don't mind, man.

Guard: All right. Thanks, Roy.

Hardison: Who are you right now?

Eliot: Hey, man, what do you want me to do?

Hardison: Huh? Seriously?

Eliot: Like a role model.

Hardison: Seriously?

Eliot: What? It's not my fault

HES SO HAPPY

also hardison nobody missed your little smile and thumbs up in the background when the guy approached eliot,,, we see your secret pride for him

this was a great happy eliot + hardison interaction

- - - - -

(nearby agent’s phone rings, Nevin’s answers)

Nevins: Who is it? Who's this?

Hardison: You come in, and we'll kill all the hostages.

Nevins: What hostages?

Hardison: Oh, you thought the mayor was the only one? No, look, we got a whole Sunday school of people up in here. We got old folks, we got nuns, and we got explosives. You come in, you make headlines. (hangs up)

Nevins: We got any eyes in there?

Agent: No.

Nevins: Any cameras?

Agent: Nothing.

Nevins (into radio): All right, we hold! We hold! They're not going anywhere. Call for backup. I want bomb squads, full assault team, snipers. They want to play rough... We play rough

- - - - -

Eliot: Look, he needs a distraction.

Parker: We did just find a box of ammo and explosives. Boom. I'm just saying.

Eliot: The problem is in the delivery.

Hardison: And a detonator.

(Parker and Eliot turn to look at truck)

Hardison: No. Mnh-mnh. No. Mnh-mnh-mnh-mnh. Mnh-mnh. Mnh-mnh. Look, mnh-mnh. Not Lucille. Not Lucille! She all I got left. (Points to Parker, then Eliot) Don't you do it to me. Get that look out your eye.

(Parker and Eliot begin unloading the truck)

Hardison: You ain't got to be so happy about it, Eliot. You always had it in for my van. You always had it in for Lucille. You said she smells. She don't stink. It's just...An odor

parker and eliot were SO in sync when they both turned around at the same time

and also we love to see the ot3 being chaotic and framed together

- - - - -

parker kissed lucielle’s back door before they blew it up she has A HEART YOUR HONOR AND ITS RIGHT THERE FOR US TO SEE

- - - - -

(Hardison directs the van toward the warehouse with remote control)

Hardison: I've always been and forever shall be your friend.

awww baby

also apparently this was a star trek reference

- - - - -

Sterling: Oh, I wouldn't say that. (holds up badge) James Sterling... Interpol. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

what a DOUCHEBAG

[devourer--of--books]

I’m mad about Hunter being written off and here’s why you should be too

You: wasted potential.

Me, an intellectual: ah, Hunter and Nicola’s friendship

I have strong opinions about Hunter.

Yeah, you heard me right.

Look, I have strong opinions about many, many, things. Today, we are taking a dive on Hunter and Nicola. First I’d like to blame this post on Kate, as I decided to make it after I tried to articulate why Hunter being written off TCY makes me so angry in a huge comment under her latest OTK post but it ended up being too big and messy so I deleted it. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone elaborate on it, so if you were also mad about this, bro, not to be intense, but like, are we soulmates or...??

Before anything else, as I usually do with my text posts (which I haven’t done in a while, opsies), I shall provide you with arguably unnecessary context. Sit down, grab yourself some snacks, make yourself at home, I’m about to rant you into oblivion.

Since I know many accounts weren’t around back then, I’ll also give you the socio-political vibes of the time period, as any self-respecting half-baked essay written last minute should.

POV, you’re 14/15 year-old me. You flat iron your hair, you don’t use sunscreen, you think you’re straight and your school makes you wear those horrid low rise uniform pants, but at least you can somewhat do your make-up decently now that you grew out of your emo phase.

The year was 2016. The Ever Never Handbook has just come out. You re-watch the handbook trailer on youtube for the fifteenth time. Everyone is losing their minds over OcTObeR 14tH and “a student named Agatha ~ now Agatha of Camelot~”, as well as the portraits and the teasing for a new SGE book. Quests For Glory is announced just a few days later. 2016 tagatha ship week happens a few months down the line. 

This is the SGE Tumblr Fandom Peak.

Now, let’s start right there, two-ish weeks after the release of the Handbook, right as the QFG announcement comes out.

We all knew Soman wasn’t done with SGE after TLEA. He definitely had been teasing something in his weekly blogs (lol, remember when I used to check the blog, what a time to be alive) and once we got the ENH, we got quite lot of info to theorize. Here’s some that I can think off the top of my head: 

- The coven was going on a mission to find a new School Master.

- Tedros and Agatha were struggling financially in Camelot but were going to get married soon (even if Sophie doubted Tedros would have asked Agatha yet, as of the time of the Ever Never RoundTable, but we’re taking that with a grain of salt, because she was written to sound jealous here, and I won’t acknowledge that kinda of bs, she is happy for her friends okay, we’ve been though this-)

- Sophie had completely remodeled the School For Evil and was getting on Dovey and the rest of the faculty’s nerves (except for newly hired history teacher, Hort).

- The rest of the supporting cast had just graduated third year and was to be off in quests soon.

- The School was now accepting applications, and two of those applicants are Nicola and Bogden.

Now, I’m not even gonna bring up how it was mentioned in a video in EverNeverTv that Bogden would be an important character in TCY, and yet, I can’t think of anything relevant about him other than the fact that he knew tarot apparently, or how his application had more personality than him in the entire series, or how he was basically there so we could look at him and Willam and be like “oh, representation”, or how he’d be a good insight on how Galvadon perceives Sophie and Agatha post-TLEA, or- I’m just not gonna.

Oh, no. Instead, we are here to discuss Nicola’s application.

If your memory is foggy, let me remind you:

Nicola’s application is submitted, according to the Handbook, by her friend, Hunter. For convenience sake, we’ll assume Hunter is a guy (I’ll tell you why Hunter being a guy works better for me in a bit), but his gender is not mentioned anywhere in the ENH. I don’t think he has been gendered in any version (correct me if I’m wrong) or if there are any pronouns for him during TCY, but I’m fairly confident he isn’t mentioned at all.

Hunter tells us he is applying on Nic’s behalf, as she’d never apply for herself. He mentions that she is more or less the Galvadon equivalent of an activist for women’s rights, founding a rugby unisex team and campaigning for pants instead of skirts for the local school uniform, as well as having a feminist sounding book as her favorite book. It’s heavily implied that she is a jock, as he lists that, if marooned on a desert island, Nicola would want to have a soccer ball, a hockey stick and a set of dumbbells (“and none of this 5-lb nonsense”) with her.

Upon asked why Nicola should go to the school, his answer is: “because there’s a greater place for her in the world, where she can learn a girl’s true worth, and I don’t think it’s here.”

Then you have a note from (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) the very late, long, long gone, absolutely dead, August Sader, telling the Deans to accept her application, despite having no reason to do so, as Nicola was to “play a crucial role in it’s [the school’s] survival.” Dovey and Sophie agree to flip a coin to decide which school will take her, which Sophie must have lost, as Nicola is accepted into the School For Evil.

By now, I think we all agree that Nicola was done dirty. If you check my QFG re-read you’ll notice that I complained about her there. As I had to go though her introduction chapter again to make this post, let me tell you why: Nicola wasn’t written to be likeable.

She simply wasn’t. That’s the one conclusion I can draw. Whether that’s intentional or not, I can’t tell, but the backlash she received was fairly useful, as it meant Soman could write her off the main story without much backlash from his target audience (aka, not us, pesky pretentious older readers).

The Nicola I was introduced to, not only in the Handbook but on her trailer for QFG was not the girl on QFG. 

Nic is there to be the smart  girl™, and while I do appreciate having a character who is a bit cocky about their brains, it just doesn’t work well there. Because her bond to other characters and the way she earns their respect feels so weak, she just comes across as pretentious. Characters like Hester and Agatha, who are supposed to be smart, feel dumbed down to show us how clever Nicola is. Agatha is supposed to be the resourceful thinker and Hester wanted to be class captain, you bet she studied like crazy, she probs knows every fairytale in existence. 

Then you add that to the (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) Nicola and Hort fiasco and Nic feels like a weirdly written OC insert.

Handbook!Nicola sounded like a smart jock kind of character (read, more Gryffindor than Ravenclaw). Handbook!Nic was a Reader who read the tales as a hobby, but her favorite book is not a tale, it’s a non-fiction book (as far as I can tell). She might not be the fairytale expert, but she sounds like a practical thinker, as sport requires strategy, which is not Hester’s strong suit, given she is rather impulsive, or Agatha’s, given she is often unwilling to make hard decisions due to her Good nature and her own insecurities. C’mon, Handbook!Nic would have taken one look at Hort and sent him running to hills, because she would be able to smell his bs three miles away. She’s no one’s replacement, least of all Sophie’s (whom she probably would not have gotten along with (at least they got this part right) given Sophie’s “my prince will sweep me away from an ordinary life” phylosophy). To be honest she doesn’t sound like she’d be interested in dating at all.

But this post is about Hunter right? Let me remind you, Hunter is not mentioned in Nicola’s introduction, when she talks about her life in Galvadon. Canon!Nicola tells us that she has two brothers who want to inherit her father’s pub in order to sell the place, but Nicola is close with her father and likes working there to some extent, even if she has bigger ambitions. She believes her brothers sent her application as a way to get rid of her.

Back when I still had some faith that Soman had an arc for Nicola that included resolution, I had my theories as to why she wouldn’t mention Hunter: maybe he was to appear in later books and they’d have a huge backstory explaining their friendship, as well as a dramatic confession that Hunter sent her application because he felt Nicola deserved to live an adventure, and Nicola would either realize that she was meant for something more or that she wanted to live a quiet life, honestly either would be nice. I would have taken anything. Truly, if Nicola’s k-pop boyfriend in the OTK epilogue had been replaced with Hunter, I might be able to hate it less.

Especially if they came to the (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) school wedding as friends. Because you know what?

We are starved for male-female friendships in the SGE universe.

Tedros’s only female friends (all his friends in general) are Agatha’s friends (who all tried to get rid of him at some point, save for maybe Dot) and his actual friends are all dead (Bettina/Chaddick). Hort could be counted as Agatha’s friend, if only he didn’t bash her every five seconds like a moron (he literally pitched the idea that Agatha should be executed by Tedros in OTK, just because he was envious or her relationship with Sophie (not jealous, envious, because Sophie wasn’t his to begin with)) over his delusional sense entitlement of Sophie’s affections (which I hate, but as this is not a Hort-bashing post, I won’t get too much into), but the coven, Beatrix, Renna and co. would not touch him with a stick. Merlin’s friendship with Lady Of The Lake is gone, and Dovey is dead. Rhian and Kei both had that frenemies thing with Sophie in ACOT/beggining of OTK, but I think it was supposed to be romantic? It wasn’t ew (I hate Rhian but he’s also wasted potential, and so was Kei, whom I liked, rest in peace). Japeth hates women for??? Whatever. Willam and Bodgen are such background characters I could not care less about them. The new students weren’t memorable enough for me to remember their names. I think this about covers the main male cast.

There’s a lack of male friendships too, but we kinda have (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) Tort and whatever was that rushed Tedros/Chaddick friendship.  Rhian and Kei were gay friends (yeah, right, sure, very platonic). Tedros and Rhian could have been friends if Rhian redeemed himself, but otherwise no. Tedros and Filip… gay. Japeth literally killed Rhian, so also not very good friendship between brothers. Hort has no friends, because Ravan would so not be here for his bs. Willam and Bogden are a couple and (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) so were Aric and Japeth, I guess.

Still don’t believe Hunter was wasted potential? Okay, let me tell you what my ideal Nicola arc would be, mixing Handbook!Nicola with some canon!Nicola and including Hunter.

- Nicola is the one inheriting the pub (once she gets married), despite Galvadon’s pre-TLEA sexism and conservative views, because she is her father’s only child and her brothers are actually her older half-siblings from her mother’s previous marriage.

- Her mom died at some point early in her childhood. Not a childbirth tho, because Callis, local witch gynecologist (have you checked my post on this yet? no? you should) was there for her, even if it was a high risk pregnancy because the mom was already older.

- Because of that, Nicola’s father actually sells bread to Callis for cheaper prizes, but don’t tell the elders, shhh

- Anyway, because her mom was gone so early, Nicola was raised by her dad, brothers and by the employees (mostly men, as I don’t think it was all that common for women to work jobs in Galvadon) of her father’s pub. Due to being a girl, most guys weren’t willing to befriend her (sexism, am I right), but because she was a tomboy she had difficulty bonding with the other girls at school, even when they weren’t outright hostile (cof cof Sophie). 

- Example: she and Belle had a tentative bond over their love of cooking, but often ran out of things to talk about and the conversation fell flat.

- Which is how she ends up befriending Hunter. 

- Hunter is the only boy in a family of many girls and his father works all day. He has a good heart and is rather emotional, but he always feels like he has something to prove, which leads him to being rather impulsive. Both Nicola and Hunter love sports and are very competitive people. Once Nicola gains his respect, he feels very protective of her and often feels the need to stand up for her, even if she doesn’t need it.

- Nicola knows Hunter feels overlooked in his family, so she is always inviting him over and taking care of him, keeping him out of trouble. Her father begins to see him as his own son, and soon he spends more time at Nicola’s house than at his own.

- Everyone thinks they’ll get married some day. His sisters tease him mercilessly about it, and so does Nic’s father, but frankly, Nic and Hunter see each other as family.

- You can bet Hunter is the one teaching Nic about periods after asking his sisters, so she wouldn’t have to suffer with Galvadon’s horrid Sex Ed. (go check the Callis headcanon’s okay, give me clout, that it my favorite post I’ve ever made)

- They tried to kiss once. Nicola vomited and Hunter gaged.

- Hunter is Nicola’s number one supporter and fan, 100% had those gender-equality pins she made for her campaigns all over his bags and jackets.

- Since most wedding matches are arranged by the elders before girls even graduate, it was settled that Nic and Hunter would get married to each other and then inherit the pub. It would of course, be a secretly platonic match and they would suspiciously have no children (Nicola even had a plan to visit Callis to get a potion for infertility, just in case the elders wanted to check on her... okay, I’ll stop).

- Hunter doesn’t tell her, but Nicola knows he wants to marry for love and have a family of his own. She tries to talk him out of marrying her, but he insists that he would be doing it out of love for her, even if not romantic, because Nic didn’t deserve to be matched up with some stranger she barely knows who would no doubt be less tolerant of her more radical views.

- She tells him it’d be fine for him to have a affairs then, but he insists he would never do that to her, because people would talk about Nic if that was the case and her reputation would be ruined.

- The night of Sophie and Agatha kidnapping Nicola tells him she would rather be taken to the School than to stay there and make him live an unhappy life.

- Hunter is horrified (remember, everyone thought going to the school was a fate worse than death) and makes her promise to never treat her life so fickly.

- Sophie and Agatha get taken, come back, but during Tedros’ reign of terror in Galvadon, right before they return to the Woods, Nicola’s father grows very very sick.

- Nic thinks he’s going to die, and she frets, not only because they’re close but also because she can’t inherit the place if she doesn’t marry Hunter. But, well, she sort of always knew, but now that feels very real, she thought she had some more time before that.

- They set a date for the wedding, but thankfully, Tedros and Agatha’s escape ends up causing the ceremony to be delayed.

- By the time the new date is set, there’s no more elders and Stefan is now mayor.

- But just because he is the mayor doesn’t mean the law and the sexism is gone overnight.

- Nic’s father is getting somewhat better, but she is still very worried about him, because of his old age.

- Once SGE starts having applications and has been proved to be, well, somewhat safe, Hunter suggests that Nicola applies, but after the scare that she might lose her father sooner rather than later, she tells him she can’t bring herself to leave him.

- Hunter doesn’t want her to throw her life away, specially now knowing that in the Endless Woods there were people like her and that progress would get there before it ever got to Galvadon 

- (He also wants to not marry someone he views as a sister, pls).

- So he files her application in secret.

- Nicola gets accepted, upon Sader’s request and Sophie’s bad luck, into the School For Evil. She and Sophie still don’t get along, the Evil castle rejects her and she gets pushed to Good, becoming an Ever, but she’s only staying until Christmas, because she is worried sick about her father.

- She thinks the application was a plot from her brothers because she doesnt think Hunter would ever betray her trust like that, after she specifically told him she wouldn't go.

- There’s no Hicola, instead, she and Hort become friends and she talks him out of his delusions with Sophie, because as much as Nicola dislikes her, Sophie was a girl too, and deserved to have her feelings respected. 

- She also punches Hort into giving up his envy of Tedros and Agatha while at it, because she is just that efficient.

- Everything else up to OTK can be pretty much the same because I can’t remember what happens, other than everytime Nicola is smart girl™, it’s not “because she reads”, but because she is practical. 

- Example: on the boat scene where she very pretentiously sasses Agatha for not saying hello to her (canon!Nicola, girl, she just suffered six months of loneliness at Camelot because Tedros shut her out and is now on a quest to save her happy ending, probs didn’t get much sleep, maybe cut her some slack) and then tells her how to sail a boat (despite the fact that there are no boats in Galvadon and I’m sure you can’t just read Peter Pan and learn to sail a boat, unless I did it wrong or something, maybe the storian version comes with a crash course). Here, instead, Nicola presses Hort (who is a pirate’s son) to remember literally anything to help them (therefore making him not completely useless on this quest), and he does and they tell Agatha and she’s like sure and does it.

- Now, in OTK, I literally can’t remember where Nicola was for most of it and I read that book not too long ago, so I’m worried. 

- Okay, so, have the Knights Of Eleven actually serve some purpose, include a scene where Tedros and Nicola stress-play rugby and get her some internal conflict.

- Nic now loves this world. She just spent the last few weeks fighting to protect it. She is now a Knight, and she loves the adventures and the new friends she made. Can she really go back to Gavaldon to take care of a pub? Well, she needs to, doesn’t she? That’s what a good daughter would do.

- After Japeth’s execution, Nic goes straight home.

- Her father’s condition is stable, as he is being treated by Hunter and his new wife.

- Oh boy, Hunter has some explaining to do.

- Nicola is furious that he broke her trust, but at the same time, she’s happy he’s happy and well, Hunter what do you have to say for yourself?

- “Damn, Nic, nice armour- ouch, my arm!”

- Apparently, since Nicola was taken, Stefan approved a law for people to be able to leave their inheritance to whomever they wanted. And since Nic was gonna be at the Woods, her father was more than happy to leave it to Hunter. Of course, unless Nicola wanted to stay at Gavaldon. 

- Does she? She’s not sure.

- Hunter and Nicola attend the tagatha wedding at Camelot (what, like I wasn’t gonna fix this part?), Hunter is Nic’s plus one.

- There, Hester, Anadil and Dot show her Sader’s note, and ask her, not to become School Master, but to become Dean Of Good, because she would be perfect for the new brand of Good to match Sophie’s Evil. You know, since she is all for gender-equality, good manners, practicality and was particularly good at dealing with Sophie’s bs.

- Since Tedros has the Storian Ring, the pen doesn’t need actual protection, well, not more than it can get from Nic and Sophie.

- Sophie herself insists that Nicola accept the position, not because she doesn’t want to be alone at the school now that Hort and Dovey are dead, no, of course not, since when did Sophie ever need anyone, she was just asking cause… cause Nicola looked lonely. The pretty boy who came with her was not her boyfriend, was he? Sophie was prettier than him anyway. Who needs a boy when they can have her?

- Whether they become a couple or not, I’ll let you decide.

- Bonus: years later, Hunter’s eldest daughter is accepted at the School for Good. Nicola is her godmother, and her favoritism shows.

There, if nothing else, the reason you should be mad about Hunter and the Handbook in general is because this didn’t happen.

[vonlipvig]

Survivor Winners at War Finale Recap

If I think too hard about the fact that I’m finally--after all these years--caught up with Survivor, I’m gonna start crying. Took a pandemic for it to happen, but hey! WatW Finale time!

And what better way to start the finale of the biggest season yet than by reminding us all that we’re in a fUCKING PANDEMIC! That’s right, babey, we’re in Probst’s garage and we got the gang on the Zoom call but we can’t have a reunion because we didn’t pay for Zoom premium so this shit’s gonna get cut off at 40 minutes.

LOOK AT EVERYONE IN THEIR STUPID LITTLE ZOOM SQUARES I’M SO MAD LMAO. Nah, I get why they really couldn’t have a reunion, it would be wayyyy to awkward and just so many things could go wrong if everyone’s relying on their wifi and such...but MAN, what if someone’s pet walked into the shot? WE GOT MEGA ROBBED.

(Also, ok. Who’s not wearing pants? Y’all can’t fool me, lmao. Also wait, do Rob and Amber own two of the same wall hangings? Sophie just said FUCK IT I’LL BE IN THE GARDEN, we stan).

ANYWAY BACK TO THE GAME.

But yeah, we start right with the comeback challenge, at which my friend and I were like “Ok, this is Natalie’s challenge to lose”...and yeah, she won!

DFJHSDKF SAVAGE.

But then again, it was pretty close! She really struggled in some parts because I’m sure the nerves and the pressure of having bought three advantages was really getting to her, but in the end, she got the ball puzzle thing and won her ticket back into the game (thank god it wasn’t Wendell or my mom would have teased me SO HARD).

And remember when this thing started, that I was actually rooting for Nat to win?...Well, yeah, not anymore, really. I just don’t want anyone from the Edge to win, be it Nat or anyone else. I did want her to come back, just...not win the whole thing. Especially Natalie, who was first out. It just...feels weird. I can forgive Chris King of the Edge in his season cause...they’re mostly new players and he did everything he could to be the most deserving person in the end (Like...Gavin or Julie? Nah, Chris won). But in an all winners season? Where so much stuff happened? It just wouldn’t be satisfying, at least for me.

BUT MOVING ON!

Nat starts saying that everyone on the Edge is like “Ooh, Tony’s gonna win! He’s so gonna win!” so she can, y’know...try to get the target off of her and also target the pERSON WHO’S PLAYED A GREAT GAME.

And then...I don’t know why Sarah is so convinced that Natalie doesn’t have an idol when she clearly does. I mean, we only see the edit so who knows...but daaaamn, that’s gonna be costly!

Challenge time, and it’s the “go on different stations to get puzzle pieces and then do the puzzle” one (Also, I just discovered challenges have names...which I will Not learn, whoops). The puzzle, turns out, is the one where they stack little cilinders and build a three tiered tower...the one Michele won in Kaoh Rong. The first thing my friend says is “Oh, Michele’s gonna win this one again cause she remembers”, and I’m like haha good one...

And then Michele does the puzzle faster than everyone and wins it.

KICK IT.

So Tony wants to vote for Denise, or at least split it Denise-Natalie in case Nat has an idol--SHE DOES--but I think Sarah and Ben are just...convinced she doesn’t. Still, the guys have idols for themselves, so...

In TC, Sarah gives a really good talk on gender biases and the double standards that women who play Survivor have to face--and of course in real life as well--, and I thought that was a very honest, very powerful thing (and yEAH maybe I was snapping my fingers along, she fucking SAID IT).

AND WE GET BIG ALLY BEN WITH HIS “we should respect women because they’re our mothers and daughters” I’M DKJDFHKDJ

he’s a little bit confused but he’s got the spirit alright, king of feminism let’s go (i’m obviously joking, his heart was very much in the right place, it just seemed like baby’s first feminism dfkjdfkj).

So they vote, and then IT’S IDOL TIME, BABEY. Nat plays it for herself--and Tony goes TOLD YOU SO--, then Tony plays his and Ben also plays his. The votes end up being for Ben and Nat, so no votes, so the four that are safe have to pick between Denise and Sarah, and if they tie, the girls go to a firemaking challenge.

In the end, everyone votes for Denise, which I guess yeah, cause Nat did want to work with Sarah, so yeah. Bye, Da Knees :(

At night, Tony makes a fucking pORTABLE FIRE TORCH to go look for the idol (and I bet he had the firefighter crew right behind him cause YOU’RE GONNA BURN DOWN FIJI OH GOD NO), but he can’t find it, and it’s Natalie that eventually finds the new idol!

Tony ends up winning the next immunity challenge (ok, challenge beast!), so you know what happens when he is safe...IT’S TONY TIME, IT’S SPY NEST TIME.

So Sarah goes with Nat to talk under the Spy Nest...and what the fuck Natalie has her idol in her buff around her wrist?

BRO I’M SO CONFUSED why would she not bury it somewhere safe wtf. So yeah, Sarah and Tony find out, and because they can’t split the votes, they have to decide who to vote for, either Nat or Michele, probably Michele since Nat would probably protect herself. And if they’re wrong, Ben’s out.

AND HERE’S WERE MAGIC HAPPENS. Ben...gives Sarah permission to vote for him. He tells her her speech moved him, and that that way nobody will be able to say that Tony dragged her to the end.

And holy shit.

And there’s plenty to say here about this. I think mostly this proves that Sarah is such a good player, especially when it comes to building genuine relationships. Like, this seems absolutely sincere, they really do seem like they’ve become friends, and to get someone to like you enough that they’ll give you permission to vote them off? That’s REALLY impressive.

Also I don’t think he “quit”, per se. I think it’s kinda like a “half-Ian”, for the Palau fans out here (me). He’s still gonna vote for Michele, Sarah’s still free to do whatever, the game is still on. But he’s saying “if this happens, hey I get it and I’ll still vote for you in the end cause I think you deserve it” and...wow, props to Sarah.

And in the end, that’s what happens, she does want to make a Move and she does vote for Ben. Wow.

Then it’s final challenge time, the “catch the balls one handed” one...and it’s Natalie that wins it! So...the Edge person is in the F3, interesting how this is gonna go.

Nat ends up picking Michele to go to FTC with her, and it’s up to Sarah and Tony to battle it out in the firemaking challenge. And OH MY GOD THIS WAS TENSE AS HELL. I confess I did want Tony and Sarah in F3, I think that would have been so epic...but it just felt right somehow for them to battle here. AND GOD I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAS HAPPENING, ONE MOMENT SARAH WAS WINNING, THE OTHER HER FLAME WAS OUT AND THEN TONY WINS.

Hey, they might be cops irl but they are such a legendary duo in Survivor, I definitely got a bit choked up here. What a moment.

Aaaaaand here’s the moment my friend and I went “Yeah, Tony’s got this”. My friend was saying “Natalie should have done a Chris and go up to Tony herself”, and...yeah, yeah maybe. Or maybe Michele could have beaten Tony? It did seem so from the edit, but I bet Nat didn’t wanna go with both Tony AND Sarah so she picked Michele. Either way...yeah.

Granted, Nat had been with all the Edge people for so long, plus she did play the complete opposite of Tony’s game...but to my eyes, it was kind of clear Tony was gonna win.

...and win he did!

(Can I just say that this was so awkward? sdfkjhdsk I was doing the cheering noices because it was so weird without the live audience lmao).

But yeah, oh my god what a season! I’m actually super happy that Tony won, because HE 100% DESERVED IT HOLY SHIT. He played such a good game and he managed to tone it down at first so they wouldn’t go after him but then went FULL TONY and STILL managed to avoid votes and DAMN! (Also, I’m happy an Edge person didn’t win. Can we retire EoE/RI now, please?)

And as they say...that was that. It is still so surreal that I’ve watched all of Survivor (Ok, there’s still Int. Survivor, but STILL). It was such a rollercoaster, and being able to enjoy this last season with my friend (WHO WAITED FOR SO LONG FOR ME TO CATCH UP OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU) was an amazing moment that I’ll cherish forever.

Now to watch the Ponderosa vids!

[chelsfic]

Chapter 3/18 - Safety - Bucky Barnes x OC Soulmate AU

Masterlist

A/N: I wrote this fic over the course of 2017-2018 and it was originally published on AO3. Recently, I decided to do some light revisions in order to fix inconsistencies in the POV, some awkward diction and typos. Please note–I’m aware that a lot of people love this fic just as it is. This is not a rewrite, I won’t be changing major plot points and I’m purposely leaving most of the writing alone. Just sprucing it up. Since I wrote this before I started posting fic to Tumblr, I decided to take the opportunity of posting the revised chapters here as I edit them. If you got to the end of this A/N: thank you!!!

Summary: Soulmate AU! Bucky/OFC. Our soulmarks appear at the moment of our soulmate’s birth. The Asset’s mark appears in the Spring of 1987. The words imprinted into the skin of his forearm. “Please! Don’t hurt me…”

Warnings: Kidnapping, Angst, Violence, Eventual happy ending

---

Sophie trudged through the door of her apartment feeling like her feet were made of lead. She was exhausted, confused, and emotionally wrung out. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. When you meet your soulmate you’re supposed to fall into each other’s arms, laughing, crying with the relief of finally finding one another. This was just...awful. She’d met her soulmate and lost him all in the span of ten minutes. She could feel the spark, the stirring of their nascent soulbond fluttering in her chest. But without being near each other she knew the bond would fade and die.

She spent a day and a half as a “guest” of S.H.I.E.L.D. After her nurse discharged her from the medical ward she was shuffled promptly into a glorified interrogation chamber where she spent hours answering questions about the previous day’s incident. They wanted the exact words spoken between herself and the “subject” as well as the nitty gritty details of her life leading up to this point. She sat in an uncomfortable chair, in a dimly lit room for hours while agents regularly shuffled in and out, repeating the same questions over and over. After about an hour of this Sophie grew defensive and demanded to know why she was being treated like a criminal. By the end she gave up, replying to their queries in a dull monotone until they finally released her. She was packed into a nondescript sedan and given a ride back to her apartment building.

Before she left her interrogators she joked, “So...I’m not getting the job am I?”

Once she made it inside her apartment she used her last remaining strength to lock the door behind her. She staggered over to the living room couch, collapsing downward and pulling her fuzzy throw blanket over her body before promptly falling into a deep sleep.

---

The agent dispatched to watch the girl’s apartment stood in the hallway dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. A tool box sat at his feet. He twisted a screwdriver through his fingers and waited, feigning interest in a broken light fixture whenever someone stepped out of the stairwell. He knelt to quietly rummage through the box, checking the ammo on the Glock he had stashed inside. He was crouched with his back to the wall and still the assassin got the jump on him. The Winter Soldier slid out of the stairwell soundlessly. He barely even disturbed the air of the hallway as he stalked toward the SHIELD agent. The scuffle that followed was almost totally quiet, like a fight scene in a silent movie. The end result was the agent’s unconscious body hastily stuffed into an unlocked supply closet. 

The assassin turned and stalked toward the door of the woman’s apartment. She’d decorated it with a floral wreath, the cheery shades of orange and pink at odds with the soldier’s black tactical gear. He flexed the metal digits of his left hand around the door knob, releasing the lock with a jarring crack before stepping inside.

The apartment was small, made even tinier by the placement of bookshelves along the walls of the living room. The shelves were stuffed to overflowing with books, magazines and various knick knacks that had no other home. The soldier’s long dark hair nearly brushed the ceiling, his hulking form seeming to fill the small space. He tensed, his muscles rigid in anticipation as he evaluated the space for potential enemies and escape routes. In a matter of seconds he had mentally cataloged and cleared the space. He pushed further into the living room and regarded the sleeping form of the woman whose words were imprinted into his flesh.

She slept on her stomach, one arm and leg dangling off the side of the floral print couch, a purple blanket tucked haphazardly around her. This was his soulmate? This tiny, soft, weak thing who slept through a breaking and entering? How? Why? Even as he mentally sneered at being tied to such a woman, the Soldier couldn’t deny the pang in his chest as he looked down on her. Soulbond. The word came from the recesses of his brain--from a time before.

He was considering the likelihood that she might sleep through an extraction when he felt the sudden flare of recognition in his chest. She was waking up. She curled in her limbs and released a mammoth yawn before opening her eyes.

---

Sophie emitted an undignified squeak upon waking to find a six-foot-something assassin, decked in tactical gear, innumerable weapons and a murderous facial expression, standing in her living room. Her heart hammered a mile a minute even as the tiny tug in her belly reminded her that this dangerous man was--apparently--her soulmate.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times as her brain struggled with the concept of language. For a long moment she simply lay there, curled on her side, the fuzzy purple blanket clutched in her hands. She counted four different lethal weapons strapped to his body and that was just what was obvious to her untrained eyes. Anxiety churned in her stomach even as she felt the warmth of the soulbond blooming within her. She was in no way certain of his intentions.

Finally, she sat up and spoke, “Hi.”

Well...at least it was something...

The man--the Winter Soldier, if her interrogators could be believed--didn’t respond. Sophie’s nerves went into overdrive as she waited through his silence. She watched quicksilver thoughts flash across his face. Finally, he relaxed his stance a bit and actually sat down on the edge of the couch beside her. She sucked in a breath, almost overwhelmed by his physical presence. He was so...big. And stern.

“You’re going to come with me,” he said, his voice gravelly and pitched low with just an echo of an accent that she couldn’t place.

“Oh um…” she trailed off. Her eyes flicked beyond his face to take in her front door leaning awkwardly ajar, the door knob hanging askew. She was in so far over her head. “Actually, um, we should probably get to know each other, right? A few of my friends have already met their soulmates and they all say it can be awkward at first--” 

He let out a scornful breath. She didn’t even know breath could be scornful! He seemed to be struggling with his words, like he wasn’t used to having to explain himself.

“You’re going to come with me,” he repeated before adding. “You’re...not safe here.”

With that he leaned forward to take hold of her, apparently considering the discussion over. Sophie tensed up and curled further into a ball. She could feel the confusion and aggravation rolling off of him--the bond already growing in just the few moments they’ve been near each other. She wondered if he could feel her fear. 

Apparently, yes, because he startled back as if scorched by the air between them.

“I’m not safe here?” she echoed, skepticism clear in her voice. “You’re the one who broke down my door while I was sleeping!”

Again with the stern silence. Finally, “You’re...mine. They’ll try to take you away and keep you from me.”

Sophie actually shuddered at the thought. Even if she was still partly afraid of this man--even though they’d known each other so short a time--the thought of being kept apart made her stomach twist. She felt an inexplicable bloom of affection and thought, not for the last time, How weird are soulbonds?

“Who’s going to keep us apart? S.H.I.E.L.D?”

He nodded. He seemed about to speak again when his head suddenly cocked to the side. His eyes narrowed and he unclipped a pistol from the holster on his belt. “We have to go now.”

He dove forward and threw her over his shoulder. This was getting ridiculous.

Tagged

@watsonwise​

[savsfm]

madelaine petsch, twenty-three, cisfemale, she/her. —  SAVANNAH WALSH was just spotted out and about in los angeles with their signature VINTAGE DENIM OVERALLS. the paparazzi tried to be subtle, but the ACTRESS caught them snapping pictures and DARTED INTO THE NEAREST SHOP. they jetted off to A SECLUDED, PRIVATE BEACHFRONT before getting asked about HER UPCOMING SERIES FINALE this time, which kinda coincides with their notorious WARY attitude towards fame, doesn’t it? 

HELLO hello , i’m bay & this is my sweet lil savannah ! actress , sports fanatic , dog lover , confirmed adhd ball of energy ( as far as you know ) . if she had a label , it’d be the benevolent , and . . . well , let’s just get right into this ! 

·   ☆     .    𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚜  !

full  legal  name :  savannah raine walsh . –– her mother had a hand in her middle name , and boy was that woman a hippie . age :   twenty  three  .   gender :   cis-female . nicknames : sav , savvy , little walsh ( when in context with her older brother )   pronouns : (  she/her  ) occupation : actress ; sophie turner career claim . inspiration : listen . . . there’s a reason i chose sophie . also jane sloane . details : growing up with just her father and her brother , for the most part , sav was very much the tomboy type , and despite her father’s history in the mlb , the walsh kids often spent time away from him and lived a relatively normal life . this made sav’s climb to fame a bit more of an adjustment , but people seem to love the down - to - earth way she has about her . after wrapping an iconic fantasy series ( think game of thrones ) and starring in a blockbuster ( think dark phoenix ) , everyone seems to be wondering what’s next for america’s favorite sweetheart .

·   ☆     .    𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍  !

micah “mickey” walsh came from nothing . he was a natural born athlete with the drive of a kid who had nothing to lose and everything to gain , and he could’ve stepped right out of high school and onto a minor league baseball diamond , but his parents –– loony as they seemed –– insisted he go to college first , and he spent four years playing for vanderbilt , where he met his wife marnie . they fell in love , hard and fast , and by their senior year , they were throwing together a shotgun wedding in order to say their vows before her baby bump began to show . 

the first few years were a whirlwind with mickey never giving up his dreams of having a family and having a professional baseball career. two years in , he was called up to the big leagues , and thus began the ICONIC career of mickey walsh , second baseman and a monster at bat . after three years in the mlb , the walsh family grew , and when SAVANNAH RAINE was born in chicago , illinois , wrigley field filled to capacity celebrated . 

three years later , mickey was traded to the boston red sox , and the walsh family moved again . for some time , things were well , and they appeared to be living the dream . mickey loved boston , and boston loved the walshes , so much so , that contract after contract was renewed at fenway . when savannah was five , however , tragedy struck and her mother fell ILL . by the time sav was six , she’d succumbed entirely to her illness , leaving her and her brother , luke , to grow up without a mother .

the walsh family was devastated , mickey taking indefinite time off from his career to be with his children . his parents moved to boston shortly there after to help out with things around the house . mickey tried to keep a happy way about him , but after a season out , everyone could tell he was itching to get back , if only for the DISTRACTION of the game . . . so luke & sav grew up darting around fenway park . they attended every home game , stayed up to watch all of the away games , and they genuinely loved it . babysitters chased after them in exhaustion , and their grandparents did the most they could to raise them right .

savannah was always a FIERY little thing , and it had nothing to do with the red locks she’d inherited from her mother . she was joyful and playful , kind and a lot for any one person to handful . she asked too many questions and had QUITE a knack for theatrics . most of all , though , from a young age , she was simply good . . . and she really never expected to get into acting .

all of that energy had to go somewhere , though , and seeing as she was dramatic as is . . . she was enrolled in dance classes and school theatre projects . she took a liking to acting , starring in school plays and toying around writing her own short films . in high school , savannah was everywhere . . . spread far too thin . but hey ! keeping busy is what this girl lives for ! 

at sixteen , she enrolled at an acting camp during the summer in los angeles , and this is when she found out that her family and friends weren’t simply full of shit ,  like she’d assumed .  she had talent , and she could make a career of acting . . . and unlike others , her rise was a bit too quick . she spent the summer going to auditions , and her BREAKOUT role was one of her first . . . v much a sansa on game of thrones type of deal .

sav finished off high school through a personal tutor and online schooling , but NOT going to college , for either of the walsh kids , was never an option . so she wagered a gap year from her father ,  so she could film seasons 2 & 3 of her show . other seasons were filmed during summer months , on breaks , and on long weekends . she SPED through her degree at new york university , and graduated in 3 , freeing up time to act full time .

there’s a GENUINE way about her that just . . . captures people , when she isn’t in character . in interviews , on talk shows , on red carpets . . . she’s just blatantly very soft , very sweet . skeptics think it’s an act , but anyone who KNOWS savannah knows that the only thing she fronts for the camera is constant energy . ya girl is tired . . . all the time , but will never admit to it ! 

after one of the most watched television series finales of all time and a franchise film –– along the lines of x-men/marvel –– stunning the box office , savannah is taking a moment to SLOW DOWN , because she’s never exactly done so . . . right now ,  she’s trying to figure out where to take her career next with a pile of scripts sitting at home and the world of the silver screen at her fingertips . 

·   ☆     .    𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 & 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜  !

like i said , miss savannah is very outgoing , very bubbly . she’s good with people . . . but let it be known that she’s an introvert at heart . my girl is queen of leaving parties early . 

definitely the lost-in-a-daydream type , and she’s always been a bit of a QUIET hopeless romantic . less grand gestures and magnificent romantic adventures , more of just . . . a genuine believer in love . which . . . CERTAINLY lines up with the way her life threw her for a loop , just after nineteen , and one (1) nate carpenter absolutely turned her world upside down . it took all of one chance meeting , and sav was completely smitten . despite the fact that their dads kind of sort of ?? hate each other , they are happily planning on spending the rest of their lives together , dipping out of Famous People Things by 9:30pm at the latest .

painfully honest . . . maybe a little too honest. if she’s not careful ,  she can occasionally say too much and put her foot in her mouth . no amount of media training can REALLY rein it in . . . so her publicist is well paid and honestly . . . she has a hell of a time keeping spoilers to herself , so a lot of interviews regarding big plot lines are often with castmates aksdjfha

has a dog named hercules ! not named after the greek hero . . . or the disney movie . . . but rather named after the massive beast in the sandlot . her hercules is a mutt she rescued as a pup . they’re not really sure what he is . . . only that he’s kinda big and definitely has some german shepherd in him . 

sports fanatic af . her dad played professional baseball , and now he coaches for the new york yankees . her brother is a household name for hockey fans . . . and , well , catch her in a bright blue dodgers jersey with the name carpenter on the back , every baseball season !! 

she hasn’t TOTALLY grown out of her tomboy-ness . she still wakes up early to go surfing , still does far better in beat up converse than she does in HEELS , insists on the thrill of doing her own stunts , curses like a damn sailor , and loves a good worn in denim . queen ! of ! rocking ! overalls ! 

thinks about her mom a lot , but tries not to do to the fact that it just fuckin . . . makes her sad and anxious . the grief , she can handle , but the nerves ? her mother died of breast cancer , and savannah STUBBORNLY refuses to get tested to see if she’s got the genetic marker for it .

still visits her grandparents in boston often 

has a very .. . strange relationship with fame . she knows it’s fleeting , and she doesn’t really care for her private life being prodded into . in fact , that’s the worst part of it all . it’s taken a toll on her self - esteem , here and there , but for the most part. . . . she tries not to let it get to her . if she could do the acting thing without the fame , she honestly would . 

ok that is . . . my girl savannah . i hope y’all love her as much as i do bc i am vERY EXCITED ok !!  HIT ME WITH A LIKE & I’LL COME SWOOPING IN FOR PLOTTING !! 

[placewheredreamsneverend]

Chapter 2 : Welcome to Cordonia

The Royal Romance from MC’s POV

MC x Liam x Drake (love triangle)

MC: Jenna Dewan

Liam: Daniel Henney

Drake: Daniel di Tomasso

Maxwell: Xavier Serrano

Hana: Yoon Bora

Olivia: Sophie Turner

Music (Book 1, Chapter 2):  Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

*The characters and original storyline are all from The Choices: The Royal Romance book 1.  All characters belong to Pixelberry.

*I apologize for any misspelling or improper grammar structure. Sorry for any mistakes. English is not my native language. And also this is my first time doing something like this. I was inspired by other amazing fanfiction writers on this site.

After packing my bags and leaving my New York apartment behind, one single thought came to my mind: Is this really happening? Here I was, on a plane, with Maxwell and Drake. And I still couldn't believe that I'm leaving my home for someone I've just met, who actually supposed to be to a prince, a real one, not some prince of some kind of a fairy tale. What was I thinking? Where was my common sense? I didn't even know will this all be worth it in the end. What if I made a total fool of myself there? I didn't know much about royalty. I wasn't sure what actually awaits me there... All this thoughts and doubts... I noticed I was driving myself insane. But truth is I didn't care. I just wanted to see him. Liam... My heart pop out of my chest just saying him name in my head.

"Say 'goodbye' to New York and 'hello' to Cordonia!", Maxwell exclaimed as the airplane begin to take off the ground. We were suddenly in the clouds.

"I can't believe this is actually happening...", I said to Maxwell in disbelief.

Can someone please pinch me to see if I'm not dreaming?

"Believe it. We'll be landing soon, ready or not. And if you are not ready, those ladies of court are going to eat you alive", Drake said as he crossed his arms and glanced away from me.

What the hell that was supposed to mean? Is that a threat? A warning? Perhaps some kind of friendly warning... even through it didn't sounded much friendly to me.

"Yeah, don't scare her, Drake. Are you okay, Riley?", Maxwell asked with worried look on his face. He almost felt like a brother I always wished to have and I never had one... And he definitely sounded like one now.

Well, Drake, mission accomplished.

"Honestly..."

No. How can I possible be okay? This is all still new to me... I didn't know what to expect... I was worried but... also excited.

"I'm not afraid of anything", spoke my adventurous spirit. I didn't wanted to give him the satisfaction of knowing.

"Heh. We'll see once we land" , Drake said.

You mean if we land? And when I say 'we' I mean 'you'. I still haven't decided whatever I should throw him out off the plain or not.

Judging by the look on his face I've noticed that he liked what I've just said. Strange. But I didn't care. Much.

"I don't get why you're being so grim about this... " I suddenly felt the urge to confront him.

What is your problem? Seriously?

"Look, no offence, but I've seen girls like go come and go. It never ends well. Not for you, not for Liam, not for the royal family."

No offence? Too late for that. Don't you think?

Even if I was angry at him I believed him. There was something more hiding behind his words...

"She is not some crown-chaser", said Maxwell trying to look angry at him.

Thanks, Maxwell, but I will take it from here... I'm perfectly capable of defending myself even if it means literally like punching Drake in his face.

"Drake, I'm different that those girls. Liam being a prince doesn't matter at all to me." True.

It was true. It didn't matter me. At all. Now that I think about it I even didn't usually go for rich boys, much less royalty...

"That's exactly the kind of naive thinking that's going to land you in trouble here."

I scoffed at him as I thrown my earbuds on and turned up the music. He said something. It felt like mumbling. I didn't hear what. I looked out the window and watched clouds as they move through the sky. I eased myself into my seat, thinking about Liam, thinking about the last night... An hour late I have realized that my thought are wondering... At one moment I was think about Liam, kissing him, and on the next moment butchering Drake. That was so tempting. Where is Michael Myers when you need him? I hope I not become a serial killer in the end of all this. And It hasn't ever started yet... I'm doomed. I wonder what would Liam think if he knew what I was thinking about right now. Would he cared for Drake? He would probably think that I am insane. I smiled quietly at the thought of that. I've seen from the corner of my eye that Drake is looking at me intrigued by my laugh. He is in such trouble. I'm going to figure him out and I'm going to make his life a living hell.

A while later...

"Hey, look! You can see Cordonia out of the window. You don't want to miss this!", said Maxwell nagging me to look. I pulled my earbuds out and looked out the window to see the beautiful town surrendered by water and green trees. I saw the palace standing at the top of it. It looked magnificent. I presumed that was the place we're headed for intentionally.

"That's Cordonia? It's like it look something out of a fairytale! The sparkling ocean, the swaying trees..." I was impressed. I wasn't even imagine how it would look like... All I was thinking was Liam... Well, most of the time. That part was true.

"If you burst into song. I'm jumping out of a plane" , said Drake annoyed by Maxwell's behavior and my words, obviously.

Please go ahead, I won't stop you or perhaps you need someone to push you? This guy is really getting on my nerves... But I didn't wanted let him notice it.

"I'm just saying it's beautiful", I said as I calmed myself down.

"It is, isn't? Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

One car ride later, I stepped onto the ground of the Royal Palace.

"Welcome to your home for next few months", said Maxwell helping me with my bags. I didn't expect that I'll be living here.

"This is where I'm staying. I didn't realize I'd be living in the palace!" The Palace was more beautiful in person. It had gold trim with white and blue colors all around it.

"Most of the nobility live here while the social season is underway... Including all the ladies vying for Liam's hand", he explained.

"Yeah, living under one roof just makes it easier to attend the rose ceremony later", said Drake, laughing.

He is joking, right?

Maxwell rolled his eyes. I knew it.

"Drake's just kidding... at least about the roses... Anyway, I'll show you to your room...", he nodded his head showing me the way to the main entrance.

"This is my cue to take off. See you around... if you're lucky", Drake said taking his bags and leaving. I saw laugh on his face, again.

What that supposed to mean? 

I followed Maxwell into the palace, where I climbed the grand staircase. I couldn't help that noticed the bright-red carpet rolled down the stair. The dominant color of interior was gold. The palace was more beautiful on the inside.

"So, what the deal with Drake. Why is he is jaded?", I had to ask.

"Oh, don't mind. Drake's never really... fit in."

"Not used to courtly life?"  

"Definitely not. He's a commoner. He's always been outsider here. Even if he is Liam's best friend", he explained.

Drake was Liam's best friend! I found it difficult to believe. They were so different for each other. How can someone be friend with Drake? He has no manners and dislikes everyone and everything he encounters while Liam... Perhaps I judged him too hard.

At the top of the stairs, Maxwell turned down a corridor, showing me my room.

"Your room is here in the west wing. In case you need anything from me or my brother, our rooms are just couple doors away."

"I didn't know you had a brother."

"Yeah, an older brother. His official title is Duke Bertrand Beaumont. As the eldest son. He is the hier and I'm the spare. You'll see him tonight. He'll be excited to meet you."

He stopped short in front of an ornate door.

"This is it... Here is your room!"

As I opened the door I found a lavish guest room with full-length paintings, gilded ceiling and a bed of fluffy pillows.

"As a royal quest, you're spared no luxury..."

"So nothing is stopping me now from jumping on the bed?"

"Only your dignity", he laughed.

"Perfect."

I ran and jumped on the bed, feeling happy as I sinked into the mattress.

"This is so much better then memory foam." Not that I really knew.

"I'll let you settle before your big debut tonight..." Excuse me, my what?

"My what?"

"I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that you're not used all this. The first event of the social season is tonight.... The Masquerade."

The Masquerade? Does that mean that everyone's going to be wearing costumes? Will I need one?

"It's the ball where all the suitors will be presented to the Prince, as well as to the King. Not everyone dresses in costume, but you can be sure that the ladies competing for Liam's attention will be pulling out all the stops." He locked doubtfully at my modest-looking suitcase. And then I remembered I didn't have a costume. "I guess it's too much to ask if you've got a costume or fancy ballgown in there..."

"I packed a dress." It should do that job.

"Well, I wasn't sure so I've made an appointment for you at the palace boutique. Maybe you will find something you like better there."

"I'll check it out."

"Remember. Tonight is very important.It's your chance to make a first impression on all influential people at court and to stand apart from everyone else."

"Don't worry. I've got this."

A few minutes later, I stepped into the palace's boutique and find a women in her bra and underwear, holding a dress. He shrieked and covered herself up with her wardrobe. I immediately turned away from her. She had long straight brown hair with side bangs and beautiful dark brown eyes. She was gorgeous.

"Sorry. I didn't realize someone was already here", I apologized.

"No problem. To be honest I didn't have an appointment. I'm Hana. I suppose you are also here to prepare for the Masquerade tonight. Since you are here and now already dressed, I must assume that you're just like me... searching desperately something to wear", she sounded polite and friendly.

"More or less."

"I can show you around. The boutique has most exquiste gown. Let me just slip my dress..." She put on a dress she was holding in her hand as trying to reach for a zipper. She looked like she was struggling.

"Need a hand?", I offered my help.

"That would be amazing", she sounded thrilled.

I moved towards to her and zipped up her dress. She picked up the matching mask. She was wearing pink dress with gold design throughout.

"Thank you. Not many girls here are like you..." What do you mean?

"Helpful?"

"Nice." I believed her.

"Ah, this dress is perfect!" I agreed. She looked like a princess.

"Now what about you? One must have a mask for the Masquerade!" I totally forgot.

"Have you seen the angel costume? You'd look amazing in white.Or there's also a red one, if you're feeling more... devilish."

"I'll take a look..." , I said as I walked over to the angel dress. I decided to try it.  A few minutes later...

"How do I look?", I asked her while I was watching myself in the large mirror. It looked like the perfect dress for occasion like this.

"Heavenly!", she ran up to me and spun me around. I felt excitement running through all of my body. I picked up the matching mask and I was ready.

That evening I met Maxwell at the bottom of the main staircase.

"Nice outfit. You look great."

"Thanks."

He guided me to the doors of the grand ballroom and then whispered in my ear.

"One thing I should mention. As soon as you enter, you'll tell the herald your name and title so that you can be announced..." But I don't have a tittle...

"What's my tittle?", I had to ask.

"You really don't have one, but since my family is sponsoring you, you could technically be considered as 'lady'. Or we can go with your hometown. I guess I should've asked before. What's your last name?"

"Brooks."

"Well, it's not a classical name as Catherine Elizabeth Middleton... But It would do."

As I make my entrance to the grand ballroom, the herald announced Maxwell and then turned to me.

"Please announce me as Lady Riley Brooks."

The herald announced me and I walked into the ballroom. It was exquisite as I imagined it would be. People were all over the room dancing, talking, laughing in their fancy costumes. It looked like everyone is having a good time. But I knew better...

"I've got to talk to Bertrand for sec. You'll be okay on your own, right? Just mingle."

"Mingle... Right... I can do that..." This can't be harder then working in a restaurant and serving costumers. I can do it.

Looking across the ballroom I saw Drake standing alone... and on the other side I saw Hana and a group of finely dresses ladies. I walked towards Hana and gave her a wide smile. I was so glad to see her. She was so polite and friendly towards me.

"Hello again. I'm glad to see you made it", she said with the smile on her face. She was glad to see me too.

"Thanks."

"So, what do you think of the Masquerade?" , she asked curiously.

"Honestly, the Masquerade is a little overwhelming." It was beautiful but it was just too much.

"I know what you mean. I've been coming to these events since I was a little girl!"

I saw sadness in her eyes. I understand. I guess that's was the price you have to pay when you're born in royal family. I wanted to comfort her. I just didn't know how.

"So it never gets easier?"

"To be honest.... It gets more complicated. At least as a child I could run around and have a little fun!"

"Who says we can't do that now?" I saw on her face that she liked that idea.

"Believe me, it'd cause quite a scandal." She was right. I understand. But I don't care... I'm not noble. I'm free to do whatever I want to do with no shame attached to it. At least I was till this moment.

She was about to say more when someone caught her eye from across the room.

"Please, excuse me. There is someone I need to greet. But maybe we can talk later?" , she said.

I was really looking forward to it and I noticed she was too.

I nodded and start walking towards Drake. As i approached him, he nodded and give me a stiff bow. He was wearing the same clothes he did earlier today.

"Good evening, my lady", he sounded politely. I guess it's because he didn't know with whom is he talking to.

"So you do have manners",  I teased him.

".. Riley? Is that you?" , he said. He was looking quite surprised.

"Yeah. You didn't recognize me?", I continued.

"I... I was caught off-guard. You clean up well."  

I took you by surprise, didn't I?

"Drake... was that actually a compliment?", I keep teasing him.

"Uh, no. " He stopped talking for a second surprised by my question and then he continued. "Looking the part doesn't mean you're going to be welcome here, you know."

"Well, you are as charming as ever..."

I turned away for him feeling angry and trying to keep myself for hitting him.

"Hah. Compared to the most of nobles here, I'm your best friend."

Somehow I understood what we wanted to say.

"Drake. I believe you."

"That's the first smart thing you've said."

Here I was, feeling angry at him... again.

"Thanks."

I turned towards to him with furious look on my face. He notice it.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just trying to help."

"You have a very peculiar way of helping."

"I'm just saying the things that I wish someone would've told me a long time ago."

That was the second time I believed him. Perhaps, there was something more in Drake to be seen then his tough exterior. As I was about to say more...

"Ahem! Pardon me, but I absolutely must steal her away", said a women with long bright red hair as she pulled me. I was surprised by her and her behaviour. I managed to control myself not punching her in her gut with my elbow. It wasn't the right place to do such a thing. I saw Drake's laughing out of the corner of my eye. I guess it was written all over my face... But I wasn't here to amuse him.

"Forgive me for being forward but I've never seen you here before.I always notice when heralds announce a new name. I make it a point to know all of the ladies at court. I'm Lady Olivia Nevrakis, Duchess of Lythikos. Lady Riley Brooks... I can say that I'm familiar with your house. It must be... nouveau. Well, seeing as you're the new girl at court, let me give you some advice. When you are presented to the King, you should kiss him shoes when you curtsy to him", she said to me trying to hide away her mischievous look on her face. It was unsuccessful. I notice it.

Excuse me? I didn't believe in a single word she said.

"Really?"

"It's Cordonian custom to show deep respect and reverence for the monarchy. You're lucky that I was here to warn you! Otherwise, you'd look completely ridiculous."

She didn't seems like to be a genuine type of people. More a bitch to me. And I was very good at reading people. She wanted from me to humiliate myself. It was obviously. I wasn't planning to give her that kind of satisfaction. Drake was right...

"Thanks", I said in disbelief.

As I turned away for her Maxwell rushed back to my side.

"Prince Liam is here. Ready to see him again?", he nodded his head at him.

My heart skipped a bit just at the mention of his name.  I looked across the crowded ballroom and there he was... He was wearing a back tuxedo with a red sash draped across his torso. He looked stunning as ever.

"Do you think he'll be glad to see me?" , I asked Maxwell seeking for encouragement.

I was feeling nervous and my palms were sweating...

"Only one way to find out... Go talk to him."

A took a deep breath... It's now or never...

[moldisgoodforyou]

lost time (chapter four)

gif isn’t mine, lmk if it’s yours and i’ll gladly credit!

pairing: rafe cameron x oc

warning: cursing, underage drinking

wordcount: 2.3k

MASTERLIST

______________________________

“So. Why’d you set them up?” Sophie’s roommate Allie asked as they got ready for the party together, makeup and hair tools scattered across their shared countertop. Sophie’s ‘drunk in a frat basement vibe’ playlist blasted from her phone and she scowled as she knocked back her second shot of vodka (reserved for pregames only), the liquid burning her throat.

Julia had gotten ready earlier and was on her way to pick Rafe up and bring him back to the sorority house, expressing her nerves several times before Sophie and Allie finally shoved her out the door. “I don’t know why you’re so nervous, it’s just Rafe.” Sophie had complained. The two of them opted to forgo bringing a date, planning on staying for a solid hour to dance then head to the after party at another Theta girl’s house.

“Why not?” Sophie replied, eyes trained in the mirror as she carefully applied eyeliner. 

“I thought you two hated each other.” Allie mentioned, casting a hesitant glance her way. 

“We do.” Sophie shrugged. It was well-known at that point, why was she questioning it?

“Did Julia do something then?” Allie questioned, confused.

“No, why would you say that?”

“Because.” Allie turned to catch her eye, trying to read her reaction. “You hate him.”

“No, I don’t hate him.” Sophie set the eyeliner down with a sigh. “Look, I would never date him, but I wouldn’t have a problem with him dating my friends. He’s not that terrible.” 

Allie laughed, shaking her head. “You make literally no sense.”

“It makes sense! C’mon, you don’t have anyone like that?”

“No, I actually enjoy my friend’s company.”

“Hm.” Sophie shook her head. “I wouldn’t say we’re friends. But you’ve got it all wrong, anyways.”

“Uh huh.” Allie rolled her eyes, wiggling into her dress for the 70s themed party.

“No, I’m serious! I don’t mind being around him, no one else will argue with me like him.” Sophie declared as she tugged her halter top in place, then checked her phone. “One last shot before we have to head down?”

“We need to stop buying shitty alcohol. Now that Julia’s 21, we have no excuse.” Allie complained but poured the shots anyway, wrinkling her nose as she sniffed the bottle.

“We do have an excuse, we’re struggling college students and Burnett’s is cheap.” Sophie countered, clinking the shot glass with Allie’s before knocking it back. “Come on, we can’t miss the bus again.”

_

Meanwhile, Rafe was having a similar conversation with his roommates over at Delt. “Lemme get this straight. So you’re going on a date with her friend.” James said, gesturing broadly as he tried to understand. He and Colin, their other roommate, had followed Rafe into the communal bathroom to grill him the second he let it slip he had to get ready for a Theta party.

“Right.” Rafe confirmed, eyes focused in the mirror as he concentrated on shaving.

“But you keep talking about Sophie instead.” James stated. “Like, I haven’t heard you shut up about her since I met you freshman year.”

Colin chimed in from across the room in a matter-of-fact tone. “That’s ‘cause he’s obsessed with her.”

“Am not!” Rafe objected quickly, wincing as he nicked his jaw with the razor.

James laughed tauntingly. “Just ask her out, dude, I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You don’t get it.” Rafe turned to the two with his hand pressed against his jaw to stop the bleeding. “Sophie’s different, she’s not just -”

“Then I’ll ask her out. I need a date for our party next week.” Colin interrupted, but kept his head down as he scrolled on his phone. He knew he was pushing the limits and didn’t need to see Rafe’s look of jealousy to know it was written all over his face.

“...Fine.” Rafe said after a few beats too many.

“You’re cool with that?” James questioned, doubtful as he cast Colin a wary glance.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Rafe shot back, trying to play it cool.

“Uh, I don’t know, probably because you’re in -” James started, ultra-sarcastic.

“Fuck off, both of you.” Rafe muttered as he walked out of the bathroom. The boys followed him out to the hall and down the stairs to see him off.

“Are you gonna fix your shirt? You look ridiculous.” Colin asked, surveying Rafe’s outfit.

He wore brown corduroy pants with a slight flare at the bottom (that he had to borrow from the Delt costume closet) and had his floral-patterned shirt almost completely unbuttoned, tucked into the pants. “No, it’s a 70s party. This was the style, I guess.” He grinned, gesturing to his chest and flexed for a moment. “And I get to show off my hard work.”

“Are you showing off your singular chest hair too?” James teased, just laughing when Rafe flipped him off over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

_

“Nice shirt, Cameron.” Sophie greeted Rafe right away as he came onto the bus with Julia, heading straight to the back. He didn’t miss the sarcastic tone but was surprised as she pulled a flask out of her white knee-high boot, passing it to him surreptitiously.

He grinned, his eyes trailing over her chest for a moment as he took the opportunity to duck his head down to take a swig. “Thank you. We match.” He nudged his shoulder against hers, comparing the similar floral patterned fabric on his shirt and her top.

“You should have sent me a picture of what you were wearing, Rafe, Sophie and I would have traded outfits.” Julia told him with a hint of a complaint in her voice, her hand going to rest on his thigh. “Now it looks like you two came together.”

Rafe and Sophie laughed at the same time and Sophie shook her head. “Anyone with half a brain would know we wouldn’t come together.”

“Right.” Rafe found himself having to force a grin, then slid his arm around Julia’s waist. “Besides, I’m here with you anyways.”

Sophie averted her eyes, choosing to ignore the small pang of jealousy in her chest.

_

“I’m going to be sick.” Sophie mentioned to Allie at the after party with disgust lacing her tone, eyes trained on Rafe’s arm slung casually around Julia’s shoulders. 

Allie frowned and tried taking the solo cup from Sophie’s hand, only for Sophie to tug it back and take a big gulp. “Maybe stop drinking then?”

“No, no. Not like that. It’s just - she’s been parading him around, all night, like a fucking prize.” Sophie scowled as she reached to refill her cup with the Malibu sitting on the counter. 

Allie watched skeptically as Sophie zoned out as she poured, then grabbed her wrist gently once the cup was filled halfway. “I think that’s enough, Soph.” She murmured, knowing Sophie wasn’t really concerned with Julia and what she did.

“I just want to be drunk.” She complained, but let Allie take the bottle away and top off her cup with lemonade instead.

Allie laughed and linked her arm in Sophie’s, tugging her back out to the party. “I’m pretty sure you already are, babe.”

“Yeah, well, not enough.” Sophie almost gagged as she took a sip of her drink, immediately pouring some into Allie’s cup. “Shit, that’s strong.”

“I tried to stop you!” Allie giggled, then nodded her head toward a boy hanging around alone by the unoccupied beer pong table. “Go distract yourself. Mackenzie brought him as a friend, but I’m pretty sure she’s over there flirting with someone else.”

Sophie cast another wayward glance toward Rafe and sighed as he let out a loud laugh at something Julia had just said. “Can you tell I’m drunk?”

Allie shook her head. “No, it’s almost concerning how good you are at hiding it. I can almost never tell.” 

Sophie smiled, pleased. “Do I look okay?” 

Allie grinned and checked her hip against Sophie’s. “Stunning. Flirt away.” She said before turning away, leaving her on her own.

Sophie took another quick sip of her drink as liquid courage before stepping up to the beer pong table, starting to arrange the cups properly. “Are you any good?” She asked the boy with a flirty smile. 

“Me?” He replied stupidly as he looked around for a beat instead, almost surprised that Sophie was talking to him. 

“Yeah, play with me.” She scooped the ball out of one of the cups and placed it in his palm, a thinly veiled excuse to touch him. “I’m Sophie.”

He nodded and grinned back. “I’m Will. I can’t promise I’m any good, my aim’s kind of shit.”

She laughed and moved to the other side of the table, setting up the cups on that side too with her back to Rafe. “Good, then I’ll win.”

He had been watching the exchange from across the room, halfway listening to Julia’s conversation with a few other sorority girls. He thought she was perfectly nice, but didn’t see himself pursuing anything further once the night ended. “Hey, Julia, let’s go play pong.” He suggested abruptly, steering her toward the table. 

“I - okay!” Julia shrugged as she was cut off mid-ramble about something pointless.

“We’ll play.” Rafe interrupted Sophie’s flirting with a friendly hand clapped on her shoulder from behind, pulling her up just as she was purposely leaning across the table to show off her chest in her low-cut top to Will. 

She cursed quietly at the familiar voice and shrugged him off. “That’s alright, we weren’t really -”

“No, it’s okay, we’ll just be partners.” Will amended with an easy smile, coming over to her side of the table as Rafe and Julia took his place. “I’ll try not to let you down.” He teased Sophie, nudging her with his shoulder.

The game went on without incident for a while, Rafe and Sophie almost matching each other shot-for-shot - in both trash talk and tosses at the cup. Sophie was disappointed by Will’s performance - he held true to his lack of aim, and Julia overshot nearly every time it was her turn. “Flick your wrist more, Will.” Sophie advised, slightly annoyed near the end of the game, down to one cup each. Rafe smirked, but the smirk quickly disappeared as he watched Sophie take Will’s hand, trying to mimic the motion of throwing the ball. Will laughed, apologizing again for his poor game, then took his shot - leading it to bounce off the table.

“Julia, go ahead.” Rafe offered, eyeing his opportunity. She missed, as he expected, and he stepped forward with a wicked grin. Sophie frowned, already wary. “Game over, Soph.” He grinned, then took a hard shot - knocking the lone cup off the table and spilling it straight onto Will’s pants.

“What the fuck, Rafe!” Sophie exclaimed straightaway, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

He gave Will a small shrug, not looking apologetic in the slightest. “Sorry man, didn’t think it’d spill.”

“That’s not house rules, idiot.” Sophie spat. 

Rafe just laughed, arrogant as ever. “This isn’t your house, Flint, you can’t make up house rules.” 

She scowled as she gestured toward Will, who was making a poor effort of trying to pat his pants dry with just his bare hands. “Knocking the death cup is off limits, that’s house rules here, Cameron. You got his pants all soaked.”

“It’s fine, really.” Will deflected, trying to diffuse the situation.

“No, it’s not. I’ll go find you a towel.” Sophie huffed, having long given up on flirting. She took off to the kitchen. Rafe turned to Julia, starting to apologize. “I’m gonna -”

Julia waved him off with a knowing smile. She was honestly surprised Rafe had stuck around with her for so long, noting that he seemed bored from the start of the after party. “I know. Go ahead.”

Rafe gave her a grateful smile, then followed Sophie into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him. “Come on, Soph, you’re not actually mad at me.” He tried, leaning against the counter.

“Move.” She grumbled, trying to push him aside. 

He didn’t budge. “Sophie.” 

She set her hands on his hips, catching him off guard just enough to shove him away from blocking a set of drawers. She started going through them for a spare towel, ignoring him. 

“Sophie, come on.” He tried again.

She stood back up, empty-handed, and shook her head, going out the back door to a small porch. Normally, it’d be busy out back, but in the chill October air, everyone had stayed inside. Rafe didn’t hesitate to follow again.

“What the hell was that, Rafe?” She demanded, hating the way he leaned up against the wall of the house so easily, like he belonged.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He challenged.

“No, you know exactly what you were doing.” Sophie shot back, arms crossed as she took a step forward. “I was trying to flirt with him and you interrupted.”

He smirked, matching her step closer. “Well you were doing a pretty shit job, you seemed more annoyed about his poor game than anything.”

She pressed a hand against his chest to keep just enough distance between the two of them, lowering her voice a bit. “That’s not why you stopped me.”

He leaned closer, raising his eyebrows. “Enlighten me, then.”

She stayed quiet, only able to think about his heartbeat racing underneath her touch. As he bent his head down, closer, she fisted her hand in his shirt, her voice low with a warning tone. “Rafe.”

“Sophie.” He murmured back, lips hovering inches away from hers.

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