#still like 15 minutes early WHY is my space bar flashing when i hit it

[homestuck--edits]

Hey, I have a sprite edit of Mobster Kingpin (From MSPA) but he looks really fluffy, thank you.

-Bizcuit

not exactly a look compatible with fluffy. also looking at this sprite upsets me /lh

-mod davesprit

[clintbartonswife]

saved

Pairings: college!Rhodey x Reader, Tony Stark Summary: At a party Tony had dragged you to, someone slips something into your drink. Rhodey saves the day @whumptober2019​​ #21 : Laced drink Warning: mentions of drugging, attempted sexual assault, rhodey to the rescue, eventual fluff masterlist  || whumptober masterpost

You let out an exasperated sigh, facepalming as Tony tugged you along down the corridor.

“Tony I need to finish my thesis -“

“You can finish that another day, y/n. I’m getting you to a party if it kills me”

“That’s what I’m scared of” you huffed, trying to avoid tripping in your heels, “you know I don’t like you drinking all of that alcohol”

Tony just waved you off with his free hand, a scoff escaping his lips.

“You just need to get your ass out of the lab for a few days. You know I love you but you need to get out more”

Before you could answer, your senses were overwhelmed with the loud bass of pop music and the heavy stench of alcohol and sweat.

“Oh fuck” you mumbled, blinking heavily at the sudden sensory overload, hands tightening slightly on Tony’s arm.

“Let’s get you a drink!” Tony cheered, moving through the sea of bodies with practiced ease, “Remind me to - oh! Rhodey!”

Tony’s interest was captured by a man stood off to the side of the makeshift bar, stiff in posture and a beer in hand.

“Hey Tony”

“Wow, a beer? You’re really loosening up tonight huh?”

Rhodey pulled a face, going to retort. He stopped when his eyes fell on to me.

“You brought a friend”

“Oh - Yes. This is y/n from the lab, I finally got her out of her dorm” Tony grinned, elbowing you lightly in the side.

“I’m not that bad, I just don’t really like this kinda stuff” you scoffed, gesturing around you airily.

“I get it, I don’t come to many of these either. I mostly come here to look after his drunk ass” Rhodey smiled, offering you his hand, “I’m James, but you can call me Rhodey”

You shook his hand with a smile.

“Smooth Rhodes. Smooth”

He sent a glare at the now snickering Tony, who promptly sent a mock salute and pointed at the drinks table.

“If you don’t mind me I’ll leave you two to get to know each other”

“Oh sure, drag me out of my safe space and ditch me - love you too Stark” you called, receiving a lack-luster wave in response.

Rhodey chuckled, taking a sip of his beer.

“He means well, and hey, at least he left you in great company” he winked. 

“We’ll have to see about that” 

Rhodey’s smile widened at your tease, eyes glinting with amusement.

“y/n, I think we’re going to get along just fine”

The two of you stood on the outskirts of the party for quite a while, wrapped up in your own bubble, laughter coming easy. You were easily drawn in by Rhodey’s charm, though his slightly guarded posture made you feel safe in the boisterous environment that was so unlike the calm lab where you spent most of your time.

“ - so there we were, Tony hanging off of the Governor's daughter’s arm, piss-drunk and I - “ Rhodey cut off halfway through his sentence, eyes locking on to a scuffle occurring on the other side of the room. He fixed you with a apologetic stare, hand brushing against your arm as he rushed towards the noise, offering only the word ‘Tony’ in explanation.

You just watched him go with a small affectionate feeling bubbling in your gut. 

It was nice to see Tony with a friend who genuinely cared for his wellbeing. You had literally dragged him out of the lab multiple times already, knowing that if you didn’t he’d stay there until a professor found him the next morning. You found out very early into your friendship that he had a very strong self-destructive streak and horrible self-care skills.

For a rich popular kid on campus, hardly any his friends you had been introduced to seemed in the slightest bit genuine, mostly hanging around for free handouts or gossip about the upper rings of society. From the breif interaction you’d had with Rhodey, you could tell he was different - a true friend.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by a tall man, walking towards you with a wide smile.

“Hey, I don’t think I’ve seen you at these parties before” he said, moving slightly too close for comfort, “I’m Brad”

“Uh - yeah I don’t really go to parties like these that much. I’m y/n” 

You tried stepping back slightly, hoping he’d get the message that you weren’t exactly comfortable. When he didn’t move back into your space you relaxed slightly, offering him a small polite smile.

“Can I get you a drink? I can’t help but see you haven’t had anything yet. You should make the most out of the free booze, y’know, as you don’t come to these very often”

Not wanting to sound rude you accepted, shifting awkwardly on your feet as you waited for him to come back, eyes subconsciously searching for Tony or Rhodey amongst the crowd.

Brad came back after a few minutes, passing you a beer, the top already taken off.

“Thanks” you said, taking an obligatory sip.

Unsure of how to get out of the situation without being rude, you stuck around for a dull conversation, eyes constantly searching for anyone you recognised. After roughly 15 minutes, you started feeling woozy, your speech becoming slightly slurred, alarm bells ringing in your mind as Brad’s smile seemed to grow increasingly menacing.

“I - I’ll be right back”

“Where are you going?” he asked, head tilting to the side slightly, distantly reminding you of a lion looking at it’s prey.

“Just to the toilet?”

You didn't realise you were inching backwards until you hit the wall, trapped between the wall and Brad.

“What did you do?” you whispered, blinking hazily as you sluggishly lifted an arm to keep him away, “Did you - put something in my drink?”

He easily broke the weak hold, a small chuckle escaping him.

“Yep”

Frowning deeply, you readied all of your energy to aim a kick at his groin, trying desperately to ignore the hand that had begun to creep up your side. The nightmarish scene was broken as a hand landed on Brad’s shoulder, pulling him forcefully away from you.

“Dude what the fuck”

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly” Rhodey said, voice cold and sharp, “What the fuck did you do to her”

“Nothing!”

“Then why does she look like she’s about to collapse? Pepper can you -”

The redhead nodded, grabbing the man’s arm with a harsh grip and dragging him across the room. Rhodey rushed to your side, eyeing you as you heavily leant against the wall.

“y/n are you with me?”

You nodded distantly, placing a hand on his arm to steady yourself, “think he spiked m’ drink”

Rhodey whispered something harsh under his breath, an angry expression flashing across his face for a few seconds, before schooling his features back into the calm mask it had been earlier in the evening.

“How much did you drink?”

“Few sips”

He nodded, head tilted down to the floor as he tried to figure out what to do.

“We need to get you out of here - is it okay if I touch you?”

You nodded again, leaning into Rhodey’s body heat as he placed steadying arms around you, following his lead as he guided you out of the party. 

As the music got quieter, you started finding it easier to breathe, the cold air of the night bringing you some clarity.

“I - thank you. For helping me back there” you said, avoiding eye contact, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t”

“You don’t need to thank me, anyone would’ve done that. Besides, I liked talking to you. I would’ve come back over sooner but Tony managed to almost start another fight - I’m sorry that I left you alone”

You waved it off, offering him a genuine smile.

“Someone’s gotta look out for Tony”

Rhodey snorted in amusement, before his face turned slightly serious again as if remembering the current predicament.

“I should probably be getting you home, do you need a cab? Or should I walk you back?”

“I’m not that far, I’m just two buildings down. Could you-“ you hesitated slightly, still feeling incredibly dizzy and unstable, “could you walk with me please? I’d feel a lot safer”

“Of course”

You carried on forwards, Rhodey’s arms still stabilising you as you walked, all the while explaining why he had run after Tony earlier that night.

By the time you reached your apartment, your stomach hurt from laughing. Still feeling the effects from the drug, Rhodey unlocked the door for you, helping you out of your heels and into your bedroom.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m starting to feel less dizzy now at least” you said, melting into your mattress, “and I think my slurrs mostly gone, has it?”

“Yeah, almost all gone”

You nodded, sitting up and crossing your legs, fixing Rhodey with a smile.

“Thank you again Rhodey for tonight - I really don’t know what I would’ve done”

He smiled back, placing his hand on your shoulder in a friendly manner.

“If it’s alright with you, I’m going to sleep on your sofa for the night. I don’t know what drug he put in your drink so it might be best if someone’s here to check up on you. Or - I can wait here until someone else can get here, a friend maybe?”

You shook your head, “I trust you. Thank you again, you don’t have to do this”

“Any friend of Tony’s is a friend of mine”

You fell asleep quickly, waking up in the morning feeling only slightly worse for wear, the smell of pancakes wafting into your bedroom. 

“You shouldn’t have” you mumbled, shooting Rhodey a lazy smile as you stumbled into the kitchen, mindlessly making a pot of coffee, “You’re the guest - I should be the one cooking”

Rhodey just laughed at that, shaking his head slightly.

“I thought you deserved something nice after last night”

You brightened at the sincerity in his voice, pouring two cups and sliding one over to him. You leant against the counter as you watched him cook, eyes peaking over the top of your cup, taking in the domestic scene. 

“I know this might sound weird, but would you be open to dinner?”

Rhodey smirked, turning around to face you as he placed the last pancake on a plate, head tilted slightly to the side.

“You haven’t even had my pancakes yet and you want me to cook you dinner?”

Your cheeks went hot, shuffling slightly on the spot.

“That’s not what I-”

“I’m kidding” he laughed, moving closer to you, eyes shining, “I’d love to go on a date with you - though I wish we had gotten to this point under better circumstances”

________________________________________________________________

@xxloki81xx​ @geeksareunique​ @bangtan-serendipity​

[carmintros]

@ariwalters     /      ❛   ｡   ✩   ﾟ my eyes are probably playing tricks on me again, but is that really  awsten knight? oh, wait, it’s just  adrian “ari” lance walters. yes, that  twenty-four  year old  drummer, who i am pretty sure is a  visitor. according to the talk of the town, he is incredibly  flighty & unpredictable, yet undeniably  outgoing & adventurous. that is precisely why  a playground at dawn, a carnival ride that just keeps spinning, chasing waves on a beach, laughing until you cry & jackson pollock paintings  remind me of them so much, but then again you know what they say about  leos, we’ll see how that one turns out !   penned by kit  /  mst & they / them

car crash tw, ptsd tw, alcoholism tw

Ari Walters

Age: 24

Gender: Non-binary, he/him

[Between the Bars] - “Haha, not totally sure why this one comes to mind but like everyone says it’s like me with alcohol and stuff but I don’t really see it, I think I’m fine.”

D.O.B: August 15, 1995

Why the name Ari?

“Oh! I was named after my dad ‘cept he was always called Adrian so they called me Ari so no one got confused or anything!! It always worked really good too!”

Ethnicity: white

Relationship Status: In multiple relationships “I fall a little in love with everyone, I think, because everyone is beautiful and wonderful. I’m kind of the classic definition of poly, lol. People underestimate how much communication that takes though!”

Sexual Orientation: pan “Like I said, I fall in love with everyone! I can’t help it, haven’t you ever watched someone go about their life and you can just tell if they’re gentle or rough, if they need love or if they’re loved, et cetera? I love it and I love them.”

Appearance:

Height: 5’7

Ari resembles a puppy with ADHD. He is constantly moving, constantly engaged with the world and constantly interacting with everyone around him. He has to be active. If he sits still he might fall asleep and he still gets nightmares of the wreck.

His signature ‘thing’ has been his dyed hair for years. He doesn’t think he would recognize himself without it at this point. He thought about dying it back to brown for April Fools day one year but realized it’s been so long since seeing his real hair that he didn’t remember what color to get to match his roots.

Ari has an almost compulsive seeming need to be the most colorful person in any space he’s in. He wants to stand out and he does so by being a walking color wheel. Strangely, he manages to make his outfits cohesive.

You can’t get too close to Ari without noticing how tired he always looks. His eyes are always a little swollen and bloodshot and his skin has the uncomfortable thin appearance of someone much older or much sicker than him. If he’s asked about it he jokes that he’s just ugly (though most people would agree he is anything but ugly).

History:

Ari can split his life into a perfect before and after the wreck.

Before. Ari had a perfectly wonderful childhood. He was loved and taken care of in his historical Boston home. His dad taught Marine Biology at Harvard, his mom was the perfect socialite and Ari and his sisters were happy

His days consisted of school and drawing and going to the beach with his dad to learn about the animals. If Ari was to assign an emotion to that period of his life it would be love. If he had to assign a color it would be pink.

His life before was like something from a 50s sitcom. It was perfect. He knows rationally that he’s seeing through rosy lenses. He thinks he remembers his dad having an affair. He knows his sister and he argued a lot and he was such a mischievous child it kept him in trouble a lot of the time. He knows this. But it feels different. It feels idyllic compared to after.

His entire world shattered when he was 13. His family shouldn’t have even been out. If only he hadn’t argued with his sister. If only he had just set the table then maybe his dad wouldn’t have suggested eating out. Maybe if his mom and little sister had been home instead of in California they could have told his dad no, it wasn’t their day for eating out and they would all be fine eating at the house. Maybe if his sister hadn’t forgotten her phone and made them turn back so she could retrieve it because she was so scared of missing a text from her boyfriend.

Maybe….

Maybe they wouldn’t have been crossing the intersection when the other driver plowed through it. Maybe they wouldn’t have spun out and hit another car. Maybe his dad and his sister and the little boy from the other car and the driver who caused it all would still be alive. Maybe…

After. Ari doesn’t remember the crash itself. He doesn’t remember seeing his father’s body crushed against the interior of their car even though he’s since been told he was trying to pull him out. He doesn’t remember his sister’s glassy, dead stare though he was told he screamed at her to wake up. He doesn’t remember the ambulance ride but he’s told he fought the paramedics to try to get to his family.

He doesn’t remember getting to the hospital and being admitted.

He only starts remembering sitting in that big hospital room alone for what felt like hours (he knows now that it was only a few minutes at a time) while nurses bustled past the door outside trying to focus on the lives that were at risk after the crash. Even still, the evening comes in flashes. A teary eyed woman with a heavy accent telling him his mom would be there soon and rubbing his back. A doctor, young and frazzled, bursting into his room to tell the cops to leave and stop asking him about it. The smell of oil and burning metal seared so strongly into his skin it made his head hurt.

He remembers the funeral. Closed casket, both buried at the same time. He remembers packing up the house and selling it and moving to New York. He doesn’t think he felt real during that time. He kept waiting to wake up and find out it was just a terrible dream. Part of him still hopes he wakes up.

–

His mom didn’t try to neglect his mental health when they moved. Despite having help from family she still had to take on two jobs, she had two children to raise alone and she had just lost her husband and little girl. It was hard to be everything Ari needed her to be too.

She did her best. He was sent to a mental health clinic and given regular therapy sessions for a while where he was diagnosed with PTSD and a trauma based phobia regarding riding in cars.

She put him in music lessons to give him an outlet. She enrolled him in an arts high school so he could find similarly minded creative young people and hopefully make friends in their new city.

It didn’t really work. You can’t throw a shattered kid back into society and expect them not to drown. And Ari drowned.

When he was almost 15 he tasted alcohol for the first time at a sleepover. The idea of it had fascinated him since the wreck. How could one liquid be so influential that it would lead you to kill other people? What did it feel like to slip into a haze that strong.

His first sip was revolting. It burned on the way down and he was convinced he could still feel it burning his stomach. He almost put the bottle up and gave up on learning its allure. Something about it still called to be explored and who was Ari to say no?

He snuck the bottle into his bag and drank a little more the next day after school. Just enough to feel warm again and for his brain to quiet and center just a little bit more.

The alcohol made everything better. He felt more human again when he was tipsy. It didn’t take long for Ari to begin to crave it just to function. He started stealing it from his mom’s cabinet and then from the sweet old lady who paid him to take her groceries upstairs. When he was caught stealing from them he started trying to steal it from stores.

He was caught right away, of course, but not by an employee. Instead he was caught by a tall, average looking man in his early 30s. The man, who Ari soon learned was named Sean, offered to buy the alcohol for Ari and invited Ari over to drink with his girlfriend Eliana. Ari agreed immediately.

That night he lost his virginity to the pair. The two adults offered to keep Ari’s alcohol supply always filled so long as he continued to sleep with them. Ari instantly agreed.

—-

After he started drinking he somehow managed to pull his grades up. He felt real when he was drunk. He felt functional. He could do his coursework and practice the drums and paint and even explore New York. He quickly fell in love with the city and learned how to navigate his borough on his skateboard. He learned what buildings he could sneak into and hookup with classmates in without being caught, all the best places for graffiti and where the coolest homeless people hung out.

As Ari progressed through his teenage years his ‘adventures’ got crazier. He broke into the zoo ones and barely escaped getting caught. He hitchhiked out of the city and spent a weekend far upstate before calling his mom from a payphone and getting her to pick him up. He smuggled paint into his homeroom and painted an abstract mural on the teacher’s desk.

Not everything was illegal. He once snuck into an early morning wholesale flower market and convinced a florist to buy him enough white roses to leave one on every grave in The Cathedral Basilica of St. James cemetery and even convinced some of his friends to help him distribute them. He raised money once and bought everyone at his school pizza for lunch so “the lunch people get a day off.”

When he was asked to play drums for a new band that was forming he had to say yes. It was just a chance at another adventure.

—-

He never expected them to get as famous as they did. He figured they would disband rapidly and he could go to college for marine biology. Like his dad. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Miraculously for all of Ari’s adventures and alcoholism he didn’t have any major scandals during the bands active time. He left that for Jae.

Instead he tried to fly under the radar. He didn’t want anyone picking up on his issues. He maintained his alcoholism, adventured in the cities they toured through and focused on art when they weren’t making music.

—

Slowly he began to tire of not remembering as much of his life as he wanted to. People Ari had no memory of would come up to him as though they knew him. He got an STI without even knowing who it was from. He woke up in places he had never seen before. He destroyed things in his house and drove people away.

The catalyst came just before the band was put on hiatus and he was approached by an ex. Apparently during a drunken escapade he hadn’t used protection and had gotten the girl pregnant a few years ago. She’d had the baby and suddenly he was being asked if he wanted to be a father. He didn’t, of course, but he also didn’t want this to ever happen again.

Ari used the move to California as a chance to change everything. He swore he was going sober and wouldn’t return to the lifestyle he’d had before.

—

Now, freshly sober in California, he’s trying to figure out how to balance his new life. He’s still adventuring but it looks different without drinking. He isn’t sure if he likes it or not.

Personality -

“Ari is a rollercoaster. It could get exhausting except you don’t see him that often since he’s dating half the town at any given time. But he’s a blast anyway, especially when he’s sober enough to know up from down. You will have the most wild dates with him but you’ll have the time of your life. He rented a barn once and hired a band so we could have a ‘good old fashioned barn dance’ because he’d just seen one in a movie. It was insane. Best date of my life. That’s why it’s such a shame that he drinks so much. When he’s sober or only tipsy he’s amazing but the more drunk he gets the more the shine wears away. We actually broke up because he punched a hole through a mirror once and cried that he hated how he looked. I just… couldn’t do that. I hate it but I couldn’t.” Jessica B, ex-girlfriend.

Ari is the pinnacle of a yes-man. He agrees to almost everything so long as no one is hurt and he seems very morally grey. So long as no one gets hurt he’s down to try anything. He is high energy and always seems super cheerful. Ari is the kind of person who draws others to him just by how cheery and upbeat he is.

Ari is a romantic at heart. He says he falls in love with everyone and it honestly feels true. He sees something beautiful in everyone he meets and so he always dates multiple people at a time. It helps that he needs company all the time or the negative emotions he’s pushed away since he was a teenager begin to come creeping up.

He can never let that creep up. When it does it overwhelms him and he feels as scared and as lost as he did the entire year following the crash. He doesn’t talk about those emotions and he definitely doesn’t acknowledge that anything is wrong even when it’s exhausting to keep the smile. He doesn’t want to validate them and make them real. Ari will do anything to keep himself from ever feeling that sad and broken again.

It’s part of why he’s such an adrenaline junkie. His thrill seeking is one of the things he’s most known for in his fame. He has an adventure list a mile wide with everything from “Show up at an airport and take the next flight wherever it goes” to “scattering change along the city streets for people to find.”

Hobbies:

Art. Ari loves abstractivism and unconventional art. One of his projects that he was working on before coming to Carmel was saving every bottle from every drink he had over the course of a year so he could display it as a piece. He wasn’t sure about the title for it yet.

Exploring

Going on dates and adventures

He really wants to get a normal job because he thinks it would be hilarious to, say, work at a deli or diner because he’s technically a rock star.

Health:

Ari has PTSD. He doesn’t acknowledge it but it definitely impacts his ability to exist normally. He’s terrified of cars (he still doesn’t drive but he claims it’s because he would rather just skateboard everywhere) and he acts more recklessly to try to distract from it.

Physically he’s actually pretty healthy (aside from his chronic exhaustion). He eats well and works out, now that he’s quit drinking (besides a few relapses here and there) he is largely a super healthy individual.

wanted connections

Partners!!!! Ari is pan and poly so he is down for however many partners he has at any given time. He loves going on dates and hooking up. The more the merrier as far as he’s concerned, too!

Baby-mama. Ari found out he got someone pregnant and it was the largest catalyst for sobriety. They have a rocky relationship regarding the child because Ari really doesn’t feel ready to be a dad but I’m open to if they’re civil or uncivil outside of that.

Confidant. Everyone needs someone they can trust. Even Ari, who’s close relationships never seem to get past sleeping together and casual dating. This can be a friend, a friend of a friend or even someone he’s sleeping with.

[ontherockswithsalt]

A Made Man

/1/ /2/ /3/ /4/ /5/ /6/ /7/ /8/ /9/ /10/ /11/ /12/ /13/ /14/ /15/ /16/ /17/ /18/ /19/ /20/ /21/ /22/ /23/ /24/ /25/ /26/ /27/ /28/ /29/ /30/ /31/ /32/

A/N: These kinds of chapters are harder to write than you’d think! But very fun. Everyone is an idiot and I love them all. Enjoy the bowling.

Chapter 33.

"Lowest score…" Bianca muses, leaning over in her plastic chair as she ties her red and blue bowling shoes. "Has to sing karaoke."

"What?" I scoff without even looking back at her while I work to enter everyone's names for the scoreboard.

"Where the hell do you think you're singing karaoke tonight?" Noble wonders.

"At a gay bar called Mary's over on Waverly--"

"Whoa, wait a minute." I turn in my seat to hold out one hand while Vinny lets out a loud laugh beside me.

Bianca manages a pleading grin. "Come on."

"We're not going to a gay bar, Belle."

She opens her mouth as if she's never been so let down. "Why not? They’re fun. Haven't you always wanted to?"

With a shake of my head, I have to laugh down at the screen where I'm typing. "Not particularly."

"Hey, I'm down," Vinny offers. "Plus, I'm gonna win anyway so I need to see Reagan on that mic."

Tilting my head, I narrow my gaze at him. "Oh, you're down? Give me a break."

"What?" He shrugs. "A bar is a bar. You're telling me you're all uptight about it?"

"I'm not uptight," I insist.

"I can almost guarantee we wouldn't see anyone we know there." Bianca points out as she gets to her feet. "Nick, didn't you say we've gotta keep a low profile? It's perfect."

"Karaoke at a gay bar is the opposite of a low profile," he argues.

"Not when we're talking about the kinda people who may know us."

With folded arms, Noble shifts his gaze to me. I simply meet it with this look of resigned acceptance because whatever, it's Bianca's trip here and there's no use trying to keep a firm grip on what happens tonight. She'll just fight it even harder.

He moves away to the ball return and glances over at her. "How gay are we talking here?"

"Oh please!" She scoffs with a laugh. "Since when do you care? Although…" Then she pauses and points a look and an arched eyebrow at me.

I turn my head, confused. "What?"

"Jamie will be like shark bait over there, so just be prepared."

Noble spreads his hands. "You think I don't know that?"

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"The crowd there--" Then she waves her hand in front of me. "Will just… be a fan."

Pointing to myself, I shake my head. "Oh I'm not singing."

"Not a fan of your singing, Jamie." She clarifies. "Don't play dumb."

I check with Noble because I still don't get it.

"Because you're hot, dude," he informs me. "That's all."

"Oh." My gaze shifts as I consider it. Then I stand, making a point to broaden my chest as I offer my boyfriend a smile. "We should go then, man."

With a start, Noble juts out a fist into my arm. "Little shit."

Chuckling, I return the jab at his shoulder and pivot away.

"Whoa." Vinny looks to Bianca with an insulted pull of his brows. "You saying the crowd won't be a fan of me?"

I watch the way she smirks as she turns to him. "Depends on how good of a singer you are, I guess."

"Oh I won't need to sing," he remarks, gesturing up above to the scoreboard with our names. "Because according to that, I'm gonna be on top."

She plants her hands on her hips and blinks up at the screen. "I don't know how that'll work when I'll be the one on top tonight."

"Ayee--" Vinny blows out an amused, weary groan and turns away to Bianca's giggles.

"I feel like you guys aren't talking about bowling," Noble ponders.

Vinny points to her. "Hey, I don't know about this one. Your sister told me to keep myself in check. But--”

"Well listen," Noble cuts in. "That's a bullshit bet, Belle. Because you'll sing karaoke regardless."

"Lowest score has to sing,” she amends. “Winner gets to pick the song.”

"Alright, can we play?" I cut in, heading for my ball to take the first turn.

Noble slants a knowing smile at me. "Look who wants to get to the bar to see how popular he is with the West Village crowd."

"Excuse me," I tease, reaching across where my fingers grip the bright red ball I had picked on the way over. I lift it out of the rack, and with a subtle grunt, make a show of straining my biceps as if I'm using the ball for a set of curls.  

"Don't hurt yourself," Noble quips.

I meet his teasing gaze. "My name's first and I'd like to get this game started."

"Do we all agree on the bet?" Bianca calls out.

"Yes, it's a bet," I concede, along with everyone else's acquiescence.

"Alright, let's see it, Reagan," Vinny decides. "Make the Twelfth look good."

Positioned behind the lane, I turn to hold out one arm and look at him. "I do that everyday, man."

"Oh jeez," Vinny groans. "He's in rare form tonight."

Amused by his heckling, I fix my focus on the lane's target arrows, take my approach and send the ball down the lane. I watch it charge towards the pins where it crashes against them, toppling over all but four.

"That's alright," Noble calls out, offering an unnecessarily loud clap of his hands. "You looked cute, at least. And that's important."

Backtracking to retrieve my ball, I shake my head at him to resist a smile. "You're gonna regret that kinda talk this early in the game," I warn him.

He fakes this clueless look. "I'm being supportive."

Firmly grasping my ball once more, I position myself to take the spare. With a few solid steps, I send the ball hurtling down the lane once again before it misses the remaining pins completely and disappears behind the pin deck.

With a hard smack of my palms, I turn away, clenching my fist in frustration only to laugh at myself. "The first frame's a throwaway turn," I insist to Vinny who's cracking up at me.

"Man, look at that," Noble muses. "Right through that empty space. If the object were to throw it in the exact same place you threw the first one, this would be your game."

I come closer to him. "Watch it."

"But on the second turn," he goes on, the corner of his lips quirking when he looks at me. "You wanna aim for the ones you missed the first time."

"Ohh…" I lift my chin to play along. "I see."

"Damn Reagan," Vinny shouts. "What if those pins had been an armed perp?"

"Well the next time we take out a perp with a bowling ball, I'll let you aim."

"Shake it off," Noble offers as he takes his orange ball to the approach for his turn.

He lines up, steps to the foul line as he swings his arm and fires the ball down the lane. It's a swift defeat of all ten pins.

"Nice," Vinny approves.

Noble turns, pumping a flexed arm at his side, then points up at the screen above to note the giant X celebrating his strike. "See you're supposed to knock them all down. Rather than just… six--”

"Go get me another damn drink," I instruct him.

He sets an amused smirk on me and I don't miss the flash of his eyes, the twitch of satisfaction at his cheek. "I can do that for you." Leaving me with a slap on the back, he passes by and heads to the bar.

"Okay, me!" Bianca announces as she hops up to grab her neon purple ball. After a little hesitation deciding her approach, she flings the ball forward where it arcs across the lane.

"No, you dumb fuck!" She shouts, crouching down to watch it dump right into the gutter there at the end.

Both Vinny and I sputter a laugh, more for her performance than her gutter ball. I'm just glad the kids birthday party that was here earlier had made its way out and the bowling alley had shifted to service only the late night adult idiots like us.

Bianca finishes off her turn with an exasperated groan over another gutter ball she barely even tried to throw straight.

"First frame's a throwaway, right?" She reminds us.

"There you go." Vinny takes his place for a turn. "I'm not gonna lie. I haven't bowled since I was like ten, so--"

"Oh now with the excuses," Bianca teases. "What happened to being on top?"

"I thought that was you," he calls back, slanting a smile her way over his shoulder.

"I don't know," she laughs, peering up at the scoreboard. "It's not looking good for me."

He pulls back as he takes his steps, releases the ball with a forceful swing and it barrels right into the sweet spot to send down every single pin.

"Goddammit." I mutter the curse.

Vinny turns with a firm clench of one arm. "Ha! You see that?"

"Haven't bowled since I was ten," I mimic him, shaking my head.

He spreads his arms like he doesn't have an explanation. "I guess some people know exactly where to hit it, Reagan." As he passes by, he grips my shoulders hard and pats me there before he moves back to his chair beside Bianca.

"Really?" I arch a critical brow at him and his smug face. "That's not what I've heard."

"Listen, six," he retorts, pointing his beer bottle at me. “One day you’ll get there.”

Noble returns with a new drink for me while he takes a look at the score and gives Vinny a nod of approval. "Oh nice."

"You like that, Nick?"

Downing some of my cocktail with a hard swallow, I decide, “Okay, I’m playing for real.” Then I set the cup on the table and move to get my ball for another turn.

Taking an extra moment to set my focus down the lane, my steps carry me forward and with a perfectly controlled swoop of my arm, I propel the ball down the center.

It crashes all ten pins down for a strike.

"There he is!" Noble shouts. “Coming alive in the second frame.”

Just as my X spins across the screen in animated graphics, the bowling alley darkens to a neon glow, eliciting a lively howl of approval from the surrounding lanes. Black lights make the pins purple, the retro designs along the wall shine in greens and pinks and disco strobes cut across the floor. The opening beat of Need You Tonight by INXS thuds the speakers surrounding us.

“Oh, it’s a game now,” Vinny announces.

And for a while, it’s anybody’s to win. Noble keeps his lead for a few frames until I catch up. It shakes his confidence and he has an off couple of turns. Meanwhile, Vinny’s initial strike proves to be a fluke when he bombs pretty much every subsequent frame.

Halfway through the game, I have to laugh at the scoreboard. “This is looking bleak, partner,” I inform him when his score hasn’t gone anywhere and Bianca trails behind him by merely two points. “What happened to knowing where to hit it?”

From his seat, Vinny hangs his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with his amusement. “Maybe bowling’s not my game,” he decides.

I step up and grip my ball. “Bella, I need you to take him down,” I tell her. “Because I’ve always wanted to hear him sing and I need to decide on the perfect song.”

“Yes!” Bianca drags out the approval, then taps her fist on Vinny’s knee. “I’m excited.”

“I’m terrible, but you’re worse,” he admits, pointing his thumb to her shoulder and she turns her face to crack up there. “So I’m safe so long as you keep throwing them in the gutter.”

"I have a strategy!" She insists.

“Oh yeah?” He laughs. "How���s that working out for you?” But then they both seem to turn their attention to the fact that the deejay just started playing Michael Jackson’s PYT and the two of them just wind up dancing in their seats.

I shake my head, amused and move over to take my turn. This time I knock down eight, but follow it up with the spare which puts me ahead of Noble.

When I back up to look at the score, I push my fist against Noble’s shoulder and dig my teeth into my lower lip in satisfaction. “Tell me it hurts just a little bit,” I say, then gesture to my chest. “I need to hear it.”

In the pink and violet lights, he grins at me and it’s damn attractive. “I bet you do need to hear it.”

My gaze follows him as he comes closer. We’ve never really been out with a group, as a couple and there’s still some uncertainty between us when it comes to how much we’re allowed to act like it.

I tilt my face down as he leans into my ear and murmurs, “You look really fucking cute tonight and I love you and I just needed you to know that.” Then he eases away, scratching the back of his head and adds, “And it hurts a little bit” as he gets ready for his turn.

Lifting my gaze to him, I thankful for the dim lights because I can feel the color in my cheeks when I shoot him a wordless look and press my lips together. Goddamn, he so easily prompts this heat that dips in heavy loops inside me that I still never anticipate.  

“Don’t get used to that lead, though,” he says, pointing up to the score as he heads for his ball.

[bangtaninspired]

Lakeview High (1)

1. “Welcome to Lakeview High”

“Y/N!”, you’re mother snaps at you bringing you back to reality. You sigh and have a bite of your cereal.

“Good morning to you too”, you say sarcastically after taking your time to finish your bite. She picks up a box with your name scribbled messily on it and points at it.

You stare at her blankly. “Y/N I almost tripped over this box!”, she yells.

You raise your eyebrow. Well that’s weird-because you literally almost finished unpacking the first day you got here and it’s been a week.

“How is that even possible? I put all my boxes away the other day”, you say truthfully.

Your mother rolls her eyes and slams the box on the table. “Seriously y/n. I can’t keep picking up after you, you’re getting way too old for this.” She says as she walks out of the room making you completely dumbfounded.

Your mother decided that moving would be the best decision for the both of you… after the divorce- meaning its best for herself that she’d get out of the city and move to a more… isolated place.

Lakeview is a small small small town, far away from the big city that you had come to love. She said that she lived here before going into the city to quote on quote find herself.

All your friends,opportunities, and so on were left in the city and now you are living in a town with such a bland name. Lakeview- come on they could have come up with a better name than that. It’s literally only named that because it has a view of the lake.

You finish up your cereal and then head over to the sink to wash your bowl.

Turning on the tap and automatically going into pilot ‘DO the dishes!’ mode. You stare out the window and spot a dark haired boy hunched beside a motorcycle next door.

He’s wearing a black leather jacket in this weather-what the hell? Does he go to lakeview high?

Your mother walks into the kitchen and notices you spacing out again.

“Y/N…”, she says softly. You hum in response, still looking out the window completely focused on the guy next door. The water running only hitting your hands this point. “Y/N”, she says again and you look in her direction for a split second then return your gaze onto the guy.“Yeah what’s up mom?”, you say.

“I know the move has been hard on you.”, she says abruptly- completely catching you off guard. You look at her and she is sitting down. “I just really needed a fresh start and thought of this place”, she mumbles.

“It’s alright, It doesn’t even matter that much, It’s not like I’d still be friends with anyone from my old school post secondary”, you state and her expression seems to fall. “Besides, no one has even asked or texted me so trust me a fresh start is definitely okay with me”, you chuckle with a hint of sadness. But it is true. Nobody- not even your best friend from your old school has texted you.

“Okay dear… I just needed to get that off my chest”, she says as stands up. You look back out the window and make eye contact with the dark haired boy. What the-

“M-mom who is that?”, you ask and turn off the tap.

“Who?”, she asks and slowly makes her way over to you. You walk over to her and grab her arm to make her move faster towards the window. “The-“ you point out the window and no one is there.

What???

“No one is there y/n, stop fooling around”, she says in annoyance starts to walk out of the kitchen.

“B-but there was-“, you start but are cut off.

“Your first day of school is tomorrow and I swear if you are rushing around in the morning struggling to get ready, I will ground you!” She shouts as she leaves the room.

You look back out the window at the neighbours house and sigh.

Lakeview high… a fresh start.

Your alarm goes off and you groan. 

“No~”, you mumble as you slowly sit up to reach for your phone.

Well fuck.

You get out of bed and slide on your slippers because the floor is cold. Walking towards the stairs you yawn, you had around an hour to get ready.

Shuffling into the kitchen you grab a bowl, cereal and milk.

You walk over to the breakfast bar and sit there. A bright pink sticky note gets your attention and you pick it up.

“Y/N, I had to go to work early so I can’t drive you to school but”

“Uh-Hey?”, you hear a deep voice from behind you and you immediately jump.

You jump out of your seat, spoon still in hand. It’s the dark haired boy???

“Who are you? Why are you in my house?!”, you ask… well more like demand.

“My name is Hoseok- I’m your neighbour… I’m guessing you didn’t read that note fully”, he says and points towards the sticky note. You extend out your arm with the spoon towards him and shuffle towards the note picking it up again.

“Y/N, I had to go to work early so I can’t drive you to school but, when I was leaving this morning I ran into the boy next door and he offered to give you a ride to school! Look at me getting you friends already, I deserve a pat on the back! Have a good first day at school. -Love Mom”

“Oh…”, you mumble. You slowly lower your spoon. “Thanks, I really didn’t want to get attacked by a spoon this early in the morning”, he says. The room goes silent. “Your mom told me to make myself at home”, he says and then he grabs your arm and takes the spoon out of it. He grabs the cereal and takes a bite out of it.

“Okay-No. That is not what make yourself at home means”, you frown at him and he smiles.

O-Oh my god his smile is blinding!

“I don’t think you have time for breakfast. School starts in twenty minutes and besides this is you paying me back for the ride I haven’t given you yet”, he takes another bite of the cereal and you raise your eyebrow and cross your arms. “Hah hah funny…school starts in almost an hour”, you say snarkily.

He looks up from the bowl of cereal and laughs. “School starts at 7:30 not 8- look it up if you don’t believe me”, confidence oozes from him with every word he says. ShitShitShitFuckShit! You run upstairs without saying anything more to Hoseok. It takes twenty minutes just to get dressed!

Somehow you manage to get dressed and ready in 15 minutes. You run down the stairs and slide back into the kitchen. “Lets go! I don’t want to be late”, you hurriedly say and then run to the front door to put on your shoes.

You walk outside and Hoseok struts his way towards you and you raise your eyebrow.

“Where’s your car?”, you ask- slightly starting to sweat because you don’t want to be late.

“Car- hah no”, he scoffs then points towards his house and the motorcycle you saw yesterday is there in the driveway.

“I ride that”, he says.

You mentally facepalm considering the fact that you literally watched him working on said motorcycle yesterday.

He walks towards it sits down and looks at you.

“Are you coming or not?”, he asks and you run over and hop onto his motorcycle.

“Isn’t this dangerous?”, you ask and almost on cue he hands you a helmet.

“Hold on to my waist, don’t let go. Wouldn’t want the new kid to die on their first day now would we”, he chuckles and puts on his own helmet.

You wrap your arms around him and he starts the engine and pulls out of the driveway, speeding towards the school.

Hoseok slows down to a stop at the front of the school and you can’t help but notice people staring and whispering about the two of you. 

What? Was Hoseok the only kid with a motorcycle or something?

“Alright get off kid”, he says abruptly.

You get off and look at him.

“You’re not coming?”, you ask. “I’ve got stuff to do cupcake, give me my helmet tomorrow or something”, he starts the engine again and speeds away.

Cupcake… what type of crappy nickname is that. You look down at the helmet and proceed to sigh.

Looking up you notice that everyone was staring at you. Another sigh escapes from you, then you start to head towards the front entrance. New life… no one knows you. Who cares what anyone thinks- plus you just rode in on a motorcycle! Maybe you can be the badass, mysterious new ki-

Your face hits what seems like a wall and you back up. Dropping Hoseok’s helmet on the ground, you groan and place your hand on your head.

Looking up you are faced with a tall man who had a boyish looking face.

“Oh sorry!”, he says.

You continue to stare at him.

He’s hot.

“Hot- I mean Hi”, you say awkwardly.

“Wait, I haven’t seen you around… are you new?”, he asks.

He smirks and bends over to pick up the helmet, hesitating a bit before standing back up to face you again. The look of confusion flashed across his face.

Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear you extend your hand out for the helmet.

“Yeah, I just moved to Lakeview”, you say, unfortunately continuing to speak in an awkward tone.

He places the helmet in your hands and a smile appears. “Oh cool! Well I’m Jeon Jungkook”, he says.

You both just look at eachother. An awkward silence between the both of you.

“You’re not going to tell me your name?”, he asks.

You mentally facepalm again.

“Right~ I’m Y/N! Sorry-“

He cuts you off with a small chuckle.

“No don’t apologize it’s fine-”,his phone buzzes and he takes it out from his jacket pocket. “Sorry one second”, he states and you just stand there awkwardly observing him.

A loud set of footsteps can be heard coming straight towards the both of you.

Before you could blink a blonde haired boy appeared and he has Jeon Jungkook in a choke hold. “Dude come on! We can’t be late to first period”, his voice coming out in a low raspy tone.

Jungkook shoves his phone back into his pocket and manages to get free from the blonde kids hold.

“Namjoon chill- What’s the rush?”, Jungkook asks.

The blonde kid- ah Jungkook called him Namjoon.

Namjoon seems to finally have taken notice of you but it didn’t seem like he gave a care.

“We have Ms.T! Don’t you remember-she’s the really hot teacher who-“, Namjoon excitedly starts his sentence but Jungkook slaps his hand over the other boys mouth and laughs awkwardly.

“Ah ha ha… I guess we better get going! Y/N see you around”, Jungkook says and then the two scurried off down the hall.

You smile to yourself and spin around.

That was weird- a good weird.

You start walking around looking for your locker but to no avail you can’t find it.

Shit… you’re really going to be late if you can’t find your locker.

The layout of the school was confusing you. You see a large yellow fish at the end of the hallway.

A mascot?

They must be getting paid for that. Standing in the middle of the hallway on a hot day in a big ass fish costume.

The fish seems to be staring at you but you couldn’t really make that conclusion since the eyes of the costume were huge.  You sigh and then continue to walk down the endless amount of halls.  You seem to be getting more lost.

You look over your shoulder out of habit and see the yellow fish mascot slowly walking behind you.

Doing a double take, you raise your eyebrow. It definitely is the mascot.

The hell? Did they follow you?

Okay, you’ll find your locker later. First period is English and in… room 200.

All you have to do is get there and pretend like everything is alright. Maybe the fish wasn’t following you, maybe you are just paranoid.

You speed up a little bit and turn a corner. Noticing the room numbers 250,248,246,244,242… you must be getting close.

At this point no one else is in the hallways and you know for a fact you’re late.

You sigh and continue to walk down the hall.

Looking back again out of habit you see the mascot again- but this time they were walking at a much faster pace.

Okay… no way in hell that this person wasn’t following you.

Fucking creepy.

A bell finally goes off, alarming you that class is starting.

Fuck.Shit.Fuck.

You start to run towards the end of the hallway.

Looking back again you notice the Mascot was full on sprinting behind you. What the actual fuck?! You quicken your pace and full on start sprinting down the hallway. 

208,206,204,202,200.

You burst through the door, completely out of breath.

The room is silent and you look up to see the students and teacher staring at you in awe.

Making an entrance yet again.

“You must be Y/N L/N”, the teacher says and you nod.

Looking back out the door to see if someone was behind you but you see no one, no fucking psychotic fish,nobody,zero people.

What the hell?!

“You’re late. But since you made such an effort to get here… seeing that you are out of breath, I’ll let it slide”, the authoritative voice spoke again.

“Thanks…”, you say awkwardly as you look around the room for an empty desk to sit at.

Most students still staring at you in awe, the others on their phones.

As you are peering around you notice a boy with plush lips holding a camera in his hand and pointing it straight at you.

Was he taking a picture of you? He couldn’t be? Why would he?

You spot an empty seat and quickly walk over to it.

The kid with his camera turned his body as you passed by him. He was definitely taking a picture of you, or recording you -either way it’s creepy and making everything so much more unwelcoming than it already is.

What type of school is this?

It’s not even lunch yet and a person in a fish costume has chased you through the halls- that ironically no one seemed to be standing in and a random person is taking pictures of you.

The only normal thing that happened today was talking to that Jungkook guy.

You shove the helmet in your backpack and then hang the backpack on the back of your chair.

Sinking into your chair, you find yourself wishing that the day would be over already.

The teacher starts to take attendance. Calling out your classmates names slowly, sometimes twice because someone didn’t hear what he said.

“Park Jimin”, he shouts.

“Here”, a quiet response is barely heard.

You look for the person who responded to the name.

It’s the kid with the camera. Your phone buzzes and when you open it, you realize its a text from an unknown number. Click Here to answer the text.