#terror and horror...together again

[thebardostate]

Klondike Cemetery: A True Story

I grew up in the 1960s in the small rural town of Pauls Valley Oklahoma. Every Halloween, the kids in our school would swap spooky stories about supposedly "haunted" Klondike Cemetery, located 5 miles southwest of PV just outside the ghost town of Klondike. Supposedly there was a grave where a child's toys would move around, etc. It was a favored destination for Halloween hayrides and initiation hazings. The cemetery is situated on a heavily wooded hillside some 2 miles away from the closest inhabited house or major road, so it is very quiet and isolated. There is no cellular reception.

The Klondike settlement dated back a few years before the Civil War. In its heyday it had consisted of a general store/post office, a few scattered houses, and the cemetery. Now only a few scattered ruined houses and their lonely town cemetery remains.

There is something spooky about all cemeteries, but Klondike is undeniably creepy. Partly it's the palpable sense of isolation; partly it's the nearby ghost town; partly it's because this patch of land was a Chickasaw Indian burial ground before early whites arrived in Indian Territory and established Klondike. The Indians are why a cemetery was sited here; the oldest marked grave in the cemetery belongs to a little Indian girl who died of spina bifida. Her final resting place is marked by a spiral of stones.

Klondike's paranormal reputation attracted high school kids looking for a place to drink, which encouraged vandalism. Over the years the cemetery became overgrown, its headstones toppled, the Indian child's grave was desecrated, and several other graves verged on being lost.

Then came the murder.

TW for details of a very disturbing and gruesome murder.

On the evening of September 21, 1990 - 33 years ago tonight - Jimmy Dewayne Thompson, a shy, mentally disabled young man, met up with five recent high school graduates to "ride around" Pauls Valley and get drunk. The group stopped at several places to buy alcohol and beer before driving out to Klondike Cemetery.

What Thompson didn't know was that three of his companions were planning to jump him and steal his money and his pickup truck. They took him by surprise and knocked him to the ground where they savagely beat, kicked, and stomped him. Something - perhaps the atmosphere of Klondike Cemetery itself - caused Thompson's assailants to take things too far. As the beating went on they realized it had landed them in far more trouble than just stealing a pickup truck. They decided to cover their tracks by killing him. In a frenzy they jumped up and down on him, stabbed him dozens of times, disemboweled him, and slit his throat. The autopsy found that Thompson was still alive when his throat was slit.

Thompson's body was found the next day by oil field workers a short distance from Klondike Cemetery. Rumors quickly spread that his murder had been a ritual sacrifice.

Thompson's killers were apprehended, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.

Today Klondike Cemetery is slowly disappearing down the memory hole. The cemetery is difficult to find, and the locals don't like to discuss its history for obvious reasons.

I have often wondered if something might be lurking at Klondike Cemetery. Something that patiently watches and waits for an opportunity. Something that goaded those high school kids into savagely murdering Jimmy Dewayne Thompson. Something that feeds on human misery, despair, violence, and death.

Something inhuman.

The cemetery is now locked and visitors are strongly discouraged. I recommend giving it a wide berth. But should you take it into your head to disregard my warning, don't visit after it dark; don't visit it alone; and be sure you can trust your traveling companions, for in Klondike Cemetery there will be no one around who could hear your scream.

Enjoy Your Halloween!

[thebardostate]

A little Richard Matheson/Vincent Price appreciation post for Halloween

"What's the use?"

Vincent Price - The Last Man On Earth (1964) dir. Sydney Salkow

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC "Pick Me Up"

The stream goes live on the first day of the school year. It's the usual song and dance - mad laughing, threats, poor jokes, terror, and about thirty kids huddled together in a classroom behind Joker's back. Tim recognizes it as one of the Gotham Academy classrooms. Dick can't imagine the horror those kids' parents must be feeling right now. Jason jokes about middle school traumatic experiences. Damian is feeling very justified for skipping classes today.

Bruce, all suited up in his Batman garb, is making his way to the Academy as fast as he possibly can. Those are kids.

Gotham is once again anxiously kept on the edge of their seats, watching as Joker decides to interview the kids on their learning experience so far. Something about leaving a good first impression on the new generation or some other bullshit. Most kids stutter over their words - it's true that Gothamites are way more composed when facing life-threatening events, but those kids are only fourteen or fifteen for the most part. They are not old enough to keep their cool in the face of a murder clown.

That is, until Joker points his camera at one of the girls. Black hair in a high ponytail, blue eyes without a trace of fear, a slightly displeased, even bored expression on her face. She looks straight into the camera, not even waiting for the laughing madman to finish his question, and deadpans:

"I don't think I like school. Pick me up, please."

Joker sputters.

"Not so scared, I see," he sneers, and, in the next moment, a comically large gun painted in purples and greens is pointed to the girl's forehead, "How about now?"

The girl scrunches her nose and makes a so-so gesture.

"It's kinda meh," she admits, "Like, yeah, points for style, but you know, size doesn't matter. It's all in the technique."

Dick snorts over the comms. It's a bad time for laughing, sure, but the phrase caught him off-guard. This is not what you'd expect to hear from a teen, and definitely not something you'd expect anyone to say to the Joker. Jason's comms are muted, but Barbara knows he also laughed a little.

"Technique, you say?" Joker hisses, pressing the gun closer to the girl's head, and she winces, leaning away from it, almost as if she is disgusted by the touch.

"Yeah, I mean, guns are not that scary anyway. What are you gonna do with them, blast my brains all over the floor? Been there, done that," the girl shrugs, "Kinda nasty, but overall, it's just like slime, only sticky." She pauses and looks to the side, seemingly lost in thought, "Huh, maybe we should have added Borax to it. Or was it baking soda?.."

"Listen here, you little brat," Joker's fingers catch the girl's chin, and his voice becomes sickeningly menacing. Bruce is almost there, just two more minutes. Tim is already grappling onto the wall.

But none of them get to finish.

"Put your dirty fingers away from my sister," a low, cold, and even in a way that speaks of barely contained fury, voice comes from out of the screen.

The camera spins, like whoever is holding it turned really fast, and everyone watching the stream sees a fairly normal guy standing by the window - a turtleneck and ripped jeans, same black hair as the girl, same blue eyes... Wait, they are not blue.

And that's not a guy.

The camera falls down to the floor, and there are a lot of panicked screams coming from the broadcast now, but none of them sound like children's voices. It's the screams of adults, of grown-ass men, and later, someone even claimed they heard Joker's scream among them, too. The picture on camera glitches a few times, and the angle is awkward, but everyone still gets to see how shadows in the room morph into eyes, wide open and green, and how the darkness grows sharp teeth, countless grinning mouths that don't belong to any faces.

Screams turn into gargling and then to quiet whispers, filling the ears of all those listening with countless words in languages they don't know.

Red Robin turns off the recording and looks to that same guy from the levestream, sitting across him on the couch. The guy - Daniel, or Danny, as he introduced himself - looks him in the eyes and raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, and?"

"How did you do it?" Tim asks for the third time this evening. Danny blinks.

"Did what?" He asks, completely incomprehending. Tim groans. He's been trying to get his answers, any answers at this point, from the guy for thirty fucking minutes already. So far, he's got nothing. Danny, whoever the fuck he is, proves to be the most annoying human being on Earth.

"Seven people in a coma, including Joker himself, with no physical injuries and none of the children remember a thing! How?!" He demands, and a girl's face peeks from around the corner:

"I remember!"

Tim snaps his head at her, "What do you remember?"

The girl pauses, blinks, and looks to Danny. Then shrugs, "My brother picked me up from school."

Tim drops his head down and breathes out in frustration. He can't force the information out of civilians, he is a vigilante, not a mafia.

"Would it make you feel better if I promise not to do it again?" Danny asks, and his voice is way too innocent for Tim to believe him. He raises his head to look the guy in his shameless, amused eyes.

"I hate you."

"Thanks," Danny grins.

[quickestgold]

Goodbye, My Lover | Part 1 | The Pitt

Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x Dr. (Ex-Mil)!Reader x Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch

Chapter 1: I Love You

Synopsis: You and Jack survived the horrors of war together. But when the dust settled, you realised that coming home and going back to the way things used to be were two very different things. Though you and Jack parted ways romantically, the bond you shared remained, shaped by a past neither of you could forget. With Robby, it was different. Loving him was easy and he loved you deeply in return. But when Robby walked away, haunted by his own unresolved pain, your world shattered. Still, you continued to show up - for your patients, your colleagues and somehow for yourself. Until a patient presents with injuries that mirror your own past trauma and the unspoken tension between you, Jack and Robby resurfaces, threatening to unravel everything you’ve tried to move past.

Warnings: Age gap is around 18 years. This series will deal with some heavy themes around a physical attack, death, grief, ptsd, panic attacks, s*icidal tendencies and heartbreak >>> Girlies this will be super sad,,,with some comfort at the end, I promise

Word count: 1079

A/n: The Pitt and our saddest boys have literally pulled me out of tumblr retirement!! If love triangles aren't your thing, I apologize in advance... Couldn't decide between the two, now they're both the reader's exes... Bon appétit.

Next Chapter (2): Please Forgive Me

Your breaths are ragged, uneven. You try to steady yourself on the gurney, but everything feels unreal. Desperate, you search for something to anchor you in reality. You glance down at your hands. They look strange, pressing into the patient’s chest in a rhythm you know all too well.

A familiar voice cuts through the haze, but you don’t react.

The voice comes again, "Y/N?"

“Fuck, Robby! I’ve got it okay?!” You snap, your hands moving on autopilot.

Shit. You really didn’t mean that.

A few faint gasps from the staff break the silence. It’s like you’ve been ripped out of a nightmare. Robby used to do that, be your lifeline when the terrors threatened to pull you under.

You huff a shaky breath, searching his eyes for something, though you're not sure what. But you find it. He doesn’t say anything, yet somehow, comfort floods you. And guilt, so much guilt.

Robby steps closer, arms crossed, pressing his lips together before he tries again. Softer, like a whisper in the night, "Are we ready to call it?"

The question snaps you back to the present. "No. No!" You share a quick glance with Jack, who is working the patient with you.

"Okay. Hold compressions", Robby says gently, but firm.

You comply, everyone's eyes fixed on the monitor, dread setting in.

"Still in asystole", you hear Donnie behind you.

Jack motions for you to switch out. You step back and he resumes.

"Let’s push one more round of epi", you beg, eyes bouncing between Jack and Robby.

Robby nods. Mateo pushes another amp, as you take over compressions for another round.

Robby checks his watch. "That’s it. Stop compressions", a familiar sadness in his voice.

You comply eventually, but cannot bring yourself to look up.

The air is thick, suffocating.

Jack calls it, knowing you can't. "Time of death, 12:36".

A breath escapes you that you didn’t realize you were holding. You look at the woman lying before you and see yourself.

Still. Sleeping. Almost peaceful, if it weren’t for the tube down her throat. Gently, you touch her hand. "I’m so sorry", you whisper.

"Why don’t we take a minute and then debrief with Kiara?", Robby suggests. The nurses and techs leave the room quietly.

You stay, frozen. Jack and Robby don’t move either.

"I can do the notification, Y/N...", Robby offers softly.

"I'll do it", you counter too harshly.

Robby and Jack exchange a look. You pretend you don’t see it.

Jack opens the door to the family room, holding it as you step inside cautiously, Robby following behind. You all sit, facing the husband of your deceased patient.

The weight of what you’re about to say hangs heavy in the air. You wait, just one more minute, as if delaying it could change the outcome.

You study the husband's eyes: fear, hope, maybe both. Every movement feels deliberate. You're about to shatter this man's world. And he will hate you for it.

You begin to speak, your words soft and measured.

Dana watches you through the glass doors. The husband's sobs echo through the hallway, the sound raw and aching.

"Do you think she was-" The husband can't finish the thought.

"Scared?" You ask, your voice barely above a whisper.

He hesitates, then nods.

"No", you answer gently.

You feel Jack and Robby’s eyes on you, their sadness palpable. You don’t look at them, but the image of Robby is burned into your mind. The lines on his forehead deepening, his eye twitching at the painful memory, his jaw tight as if holding back words he can’t say.

Jack is harder to ignore. You feel the weight of his gaze, heavy and familiar, like a silent plea for forgiveness. You remember how his lips press together, the corners of his mouth pulling downward, like he’s exhaling a grief too big to contain. You've seen him break and mend over the years, unaware of the love he still carries for you.

You lean in, your voice soft: "I believe she thought about her loved ones. How much you made her laugh with your silly jokes. How she loved you and how deeply you loved her in return."

The husband lets out a strangled sob. He tries hard to keep it in, but it escapes anyway. "I don't know..."

You pause.

"I do."

He meets your gaze and it hits him.

Somehow, him realising that you're speaking from experience triggers something buried deep inside you.

Your pulse quickens, your vision blurs. You excuse yourself with a smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. "Our social worker, Kiara, will talk to you about the next steps. Again, I’m so very sorry."

Jack and Robby watch you leave, grief and guilt washing over them all over again.

You just need to be somewhere else, away from their eyes, away from the memories.

Your confession still hangs heavy in the air. Robby and Jack don’t speak, there’s nothing to say, only the fear creeping in that something isn’t right.

They exchange a brief look before moving in sync towards the stairwell, urgency in their steps, knowing the one place you go when the world feels too heavy, when you need to breathe.

But when they open the door to the roof, the air is empty. No familiar figure standing behind the railing, staring out at the city. Just the harsh wind and the distant noise of the world below.

Robby's eyes dart across the rooftop, taking in the emptiness. His chest tightens, panic rising, “She’s not here.”

Jack's thoughts spiral back to the moment they saw you leave the room. The confession. The look in your eyes. The sudden shift in your energy, the weight of something you hadn’t shared before.

Robby rushes towards the railing, peeking over the edge. He doesn’t want to entertain the possibility, but the image of you disappearing over the ledge flashes in his mind and for a moment, it paralyzes him.

"Robby, stop", Jack's voice is sharp, his eyes scan the space around them, desperately looking for anything that makes sense. But he can't bring himself to look over the edge. He won’t. Not yet.

Jack's been through this with you before, he's seen you at your lowest. And vice versa. But tonight, something's different.

“Where would she go?” Robby asks, voice barely a whisper, now full of dread.

"She wouldn’t just leave. Not like this." Jack's voice trembles, trying to convince himself more than Robby.

Thanks for reading hehe. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. It's pretty heavy, but sets the tone for the rest of the series. Pls come back for Chapter 2: Please Forgive Me

PS: Lmk if you want to be added to the taglist. ♡

[wandascrush]

For the first time

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x f!reader

Summary: “It’s just like seeing her, for the first time, again”

Warnings: kissing, intimacy, small allusions to sex, angst, descriptions of the female body

Song: For the first time by Mac Demarco

A/N: Some lyrics will be infused in this story (always italicized) Also I swear fluff coming soon for Wanda and Nat!

One Year Ago

“Promise me,” you whispered, voice barely above a breath as you traced slow, lazy circles against Natasha’s bare shoulder. You two lay tangled together in bed, limbs entwined, sheets a mess from the night before. The city hummed softly outside the window, but here, in this moment, you were in your own world.

“Promise you what?” Natasha murmured, her fingers ghosting over your spine.

“That you won’t shut me out. No matter what.” 

Natasha hesitated. She wanted to promise. She really, really did. But some things weren’t that simple. Instead, she kissed your forehead, pulling you closer, letting herself believe—just for a little while—that she could have this.

That she could keep you.

Two years ago

It had been raining that night.

   The soft patter against the windows mixed with the smell of tea and fresh laundry as you paced the tiny apartment, rambling about something that Natasha had long since lost track of. She was too distracted by how beautiful her girlfriend looked in that oversized sweater, her socks sliding slightly against the hardwood as she moved.

“And then she had the nerve to say I should’ve just let her cheat off me—Nat, are you even listening?”

“Hm?” Natasha blinked, trying to focus.

You rolled your eyes but smiled, stepping closer. “You’re staring.”

“Am I?” Natasha smirked, catching your wrist and pulling you forward until you were pressed against her.

Your breath hitched, hands coming to rest on Natasha’s waist.

“You love me.”

  The words were meant to be playful, but Natasha’s heart clenched. Because it was true. And suddenly, it didn’t feel so scary to say it anymore.

“I do,” Natasha admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I love you.”

Your  eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a smile broke across your face—radiant, breathtaking. She threw her arms around your neck, pulling you into a deep, lingering kiss.

“Good,” you murmured against her lips. “Because I love you too.”

The kiss turned more and more heated, Natasha sliding her hands between your legs, filling you up with her fingers as you moved against each other on the couch. Your moans filled the living room, Nat whispering, “Mine,” between each thrust. 

A Lazy Sunday Morning

The smell of coffee filled the apartment as Natasha shuffled into the kitchen, still groggy from sleep. You were at the stove, humming a soft tune, hair a mess from sleep.

Your girlfriend leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching with a lazy smile.

“You gonna make me coffee, or are you just gonna look pretty and tease me?” Natasha rasped, her morning voice thick with sleep.

 “Both.”

The redhead chuckled, stepping forward to wrap her arms around your waist from behind, nuzzling your neck.

“Mm, I think I like waking up to this.”

“You’re getting soft, Romanoff.”

“Only for you.”

You knew what Natasha did, it was impossible not to. She was an Avenger, a hero, a SHIELD agent. Natasha tried so hard to protect you from her life, keep you safe and guarded. But life has a funny way of messing things up. That’s all it took really, one overheard conversation, one unguarded file for your life to change. 

That day would live on in her mind forever, playing like a horror movie. The look of despair, terror on your face when you found out things that no one should ever know. Civilians, should never know. 

You two argued that night, a boxing match, if you will. You both left the ring bruised.  Pleading, crying promises- telling Natasha you’d forget everything you knew, if she just told you the truth. And she so desperately wanted to believe you, but the Agent in her had to tell Fury. She just had to. 

 His suggestion never occurred as a possibility to Nat, was never even a thought in her mind. If it was, she would have never told him. 

“I’m sorry. We just can’t risk it.” 

  “Nick, please-“

”It’s not up for discussion.” 

————

The beep of the heart monitor filled the lab. Sedation kept you peacefully unaware, the dinner you ate that night immediately putting you to sleep before you could stop chewing. 

“Are you sure about this?” Bruce asked gently, standing beside his friend, expression unreadable.

No. For the first time in years, Natasha Romanoff wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t about what she wanted. It never was. 

“Just do it.”

Bruce hesitated for only a moment before pressing the button. Dr. Cho kept your vitals in check, making sure your heartbeat and blood pressure were reasonable. Soft hands gently pressed cold compresses to your limp body. 

It was agony. Watching you twitch, the way your chest rapidly rose and fell, the groans leaving your mouth before you went quiet. 

Bruce carried you into the car, lying your head across Natashas lap in the back seat. It was thirty minutes to the hospital, the last thirty minutes she would ever be able to stroke your soft hair, feel the skin of your arms, or hold your gentle hands. 

And it was thirty minutes until they would place you in a hospital bed, dress you in a medical gown, hook IV’s up to your arms, and Cho would play the part of a typical doctor. She would tell you that you were in an accident, and you would cry. Your memory of Natasha Romanoff, the girl who captured your heart, would cease to exist. From that moment forward, you would become just another civilian. 

And Natasha—broken, bleeding inside—had forced a small, bittersweet smile as Cho wheeled you into the back entrance of the hospital. It was time to play pretend. 

Present Day – Some NY bagel shop

The bell above the café door chimed softly, the Avenger barely noticed. She was staring into her black tea, thoughts elsewhere—until she felt it.

While she’s been away, living day to day has been tough. Without her at my side, simply being alive has been rough.

A pull. A warmth.

Her green eyes shot up.

And there you were.

It’s just like seeing her, for the first time, again. 

Bathed in golden sunlight, wrapped in a soft sundress that clung to you in all the right ways. So effortlessly beautiful that it physically hurt.

Natasha’s breath hitched. Her hands clenched around her cup.

It had been a year. A year since she erased herself from your life. 

Her body involuntarily got up from the table, quickly walking toward the exit. At the same time you quickly turned, bumping into her and knocking the smile off your face.

“Oh!” you gasped, stumbling slightly.

Your eyes met.

Natasha should have left. Should have gotten up and walked away before you could even process who you were. Your brows furrowed slightly as you studied the beautiful woman before you, lips parting in soft confusion.

“I’m sorry…you just look so familiar.”

Natasha’s heart shattered.

She forced a tight smile, gripping her bag strap so hard her knuckles turned white.

“I—I don’t think we’ve met,” she lied.

You weren’t convinced. Squinting, head tilted slightly as if trying to place Natasha in the depths of your mind.

“I swear I’ve seen you before…” you murmured, mainly to yourself.  “Maybe I just have one of those feelings, you know? Like déjà vu.”

Natasha swallowed the lump in her throat.

Déjà vu.

“Yeah,” Natasha whispered. “Maybe.”

When you smiled, it was the same smile. Natasha had fallen in love with. Bright. Warm. Unaware that it had once belonged to the redhead alone. Then, as if drawn to by some unimaginable force, you hesitated.

“Hey, um…” you played with the edge of your cup. “Would you maybe want to sit with me? I—I don’t know why, but I feel like we’d get along. And my date is late anyway.”

Natasha should say no.

She should walk away.

But somehow, she found herself nodding.

[miniwheat77]

Stalker. (Slasher!Ghost x Reader.)

!nsfw, SENSITIVE MATERIAL, stalking, Stockholm syndrome sorta?, smut, unprotected p in v sex, dark!ghost, no minors, blood, murder, proceed with caution!

You don’t notice it. Not at first.

The dark presence looming over you. Eyes burning into your every move.

Nothing feels out of the ordinary. You don’t feel like anyone is watching you, but wise words echo from that all too familiar news reporter.

“It’s too late if you see him, you’re dead already.”

He’s been terrorizing your town for the past few months, stalking and killing people. His very first victim is the only person that lived just long enough to tell the tale, but he bled out on his way to the hospital. Telling about the chilling look of his skull mask and skeleton gloves. How he seemed to be wearing some kind of tactical gear, before he attacked.

He said he knew it had been going on for weeks, how he’d ignored him looking at him through windows and cracked doors, thinking it was his mind playing tricks on him, until he’d confronted the ghostly man.

That’s when he attacked.

Reports said that if you saw him and acknowledged him, you’d be dead before the sun would rise. It was terrifying and your town reflected the horror. No one was out past dark. Six pm sharp, the streets were empty. Doors were locked, windows locked and covered. The stores were still recovering and replenishing their stock of cameras and house alarms, alarm companies hadn’t made so much money from this small town ever. Locks were bought and replaced in mass amounts.

It was terrifying, the death toll had gone up to double digits at the hands of this mysterious man.

They called him a Ghost. A ghost of the night, because it’s the only time he came out.

The first time you saw him, you thought your mind was playing tricks on you. The shadowy white skeleton jaw, you did a double take and then shook your head. It was just from the news. It was gone before you saw it again.

The second time, you were getting suspicious. Bright blue eyes peering at you from doorways, you started seeing them in your dreams.

But the third time, you couldn’t deny it. You were his next victim.

Your eyes were parted enough you could see him, but he didn’t know you were awake. The door cracked and his skull mask came into view. He pushes through the cracked door, loud. He didn’t try to be quiet. You stayed completely still, letting out airy breaths like you were still asleep. Not wanting to give away that you had seen your stalker.

“It’s too late if you see him, you’re dead already.”

The reporters voice plays through your head, so you shut your eyes.

He’s not there, not like this.

So you stay comfortable in the unknown. Pretending that you don’t see his dark six-foot-something figure at the end of your bed each night, tightening his fists together at the thought of killing you.

Ghost doesn’t catch on. He doesn’t realize you had known about his looming presence. He wonders why it’s taken this long, how you could be so naive to him standing just right there. How had you not noticed? Were you this gullible?

He got closer and closer each night. Sitting at the edge of your bed as you slept, hand caressing your soft skin. Other times he’d sit in a chair in the corner of the room, usually where you did your reading. It was weird, but eventually you got used to his presence, and you knew you should probably seek out help. Because it wasn’t only that you got used to it, but you liked it.

As long as you weren’t acknowledging him, he wasn’t killing anymore people.

And he wasn’t hurting you.

His hands on you, they should make your skin crawl. They should terrify you beyond belief.

But they don’t. They make your skin hot. His hands are strong and rough. Calloused.

But when they’re on you, they’re soft.

What you were doing, it wasn’t a good idea. It was a terrible idea. You didn’t even read it, you bought it and set it down on the small table by the chair in your room where you read books. You’d seen him pick up your books before and take a look at them.

You set it there, unopened. No bookmark. It was brand new.

‘Stockholm Syndrome.’

He saw you place it there, thought that you had just gone out and purchased another book. It wasn’t until that night when he sat in the chair to watch you sleep when he took a look at it. For once in his life, his stomach dropped. The terror he feels, realizing that you had known of his presence this entire time. He had the pocket knife in his hand, standing over you before he could even think. Hand drawn back.

But his features softened when you let out a mewl, lips parting.

He took a step back. You were still asleep. “Ghost- please!” You whine.

“M-more!” You squirmed. His eyes widened. Realizing what this was.

Your breaths picked up in your sleep, hands gripping the bedsheets. Your voice is low, a whisper almost. “Yes- yes. I’m-“ your lips part and you hiccup in your sleep. He can’t believe you haven’t woken up.

You relax after a second. It’s clear what had just happened. He gives you another few seconds. Closing the knife on his pants and tucking it back away. He sits down on the side of your bed, caressing your hair.

“Poor girl..” he mumbles. “Don’t even know what you’ve just gotten yourself into.” He whispers.

He moves his left hand down, his right still brushing your hair down. Resting it on his thick shaft, hard and pulsing against his jeans. He rubs it uncomfortably through them. It’s been a long time since Ghost had gotten aroused.

Too long.

It took 3 more days for him to come back after that. You feigned innocence and he knew what game you were playing. Instead of wanting to hurt you, he watched with lustful eyes and a hard dick. Ghost was a killer but he was never a pervert.

He felt fucking pathetic, stroking his cock as he watched you through windows. As he sat in the chair and watched you squirm. Cumming in his hand and not even staying quiet as he finished. He knew sometimes you watched him, but he wanted to try your game. Because his wasn’t working.

He came back, but this night was different.

Ghost was eager, more than usual. Not to kill you, surprisingly. But to get his cock in you.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He sat in the chair, you were asleep. He could tell this time, by the deep breaths. Your dreams would start soon and he was going to spoil you. He wondered why you hadn’t called the police but your obsession had only gotten worse. Leaving bookmarks in the book. Highlighting the parts that he knew all too well.

He stood up, unzipped his jeans and tugged his throbbing dick through the hole. Stroking himself as he approached you. He drew a hand through your hair, caressing it.

But when he grabbed a handful and tugged hard, you woke up.

“There we go.” He laughs. “Now I’ve got your attention hm?” He tugs you forward by your hair, you cry out, he forces you onto your knees. Your hand wrap around his wrists to try to offer some relief to your scalp but he doesn’t relent. Hand still in your hair. “Your fucking brain should be cut out and studied with how pathetic you are. Stupid, stupid slut.”

He grasps his cock with his free hand, stroking it. The blushing tip brushes against your nose. He’s close to you. You swallow hard. “Go on. Suck my fucking dick little slut. I know you’ve been dreaming about it.” He laughs. He makes you feel small. Your eyes snap up to his, making eye contact. A ping of arousal rush through him at the eye contact, the look in your eyes was nothing but lust. He laughs, shaking his head. “Not an ounce of fear one in those eyes.” He whispers.

He slaps your cheek with his hand, hearing you gasp. Your head moves to the side but he tugs you back to look up at him with your hair. He cuts off your gasp by pushing his dick between your lips. He forces you back into the side of the bed with a hand in your hair. Wrapping his other hand in your hair as well, pulling tight. He pushes you into the bed and starts fucking your throat. Holding your head completely still.

He doesn’t care to let you have much air. Tears stream down your cheeks and the sounds you’re making are pathetic. Saliva spills down your chin. The squelching sound is lewd, and your pussy is dripping between your legs. He’s right. You are pathetic.

He doesn’t last long, not even a few minutes before he’s cumming down your throat. You swallow it down, looking up at him as you do. He cuts off your air completely and you keep eye contact with him and your face reddens. You swallow hard, keeping his gaze. He pulls away from you slowly. Cock sliding out of your mouth, strings of cum and saliva from your mouth to his dick. This used to gross you out. It usually would.

He steps back. You stay right where you are. Not moving. Even when he disappears, you stay still for another few minutes before getting up to clean yourself up.

He watched you through the window, you’d thought he was long gone. Sucking at your fingers and fucking your pussy with them. Sprawled out on your bed and crying out for him when you came.

A fucking murderer.

He was right. Your brain did need to be studied.

You’d seen the Ghost, in person. You’d encountered him in the night.

And lived to tell the tale.

You kept your mouth shut and he was sure of it. Because without his mask on, you had no idea who he was. He watched you close and you never spoke a word to anyone about what you had seen for the past few months in your room. You kept it a secret and it was a dirty one.

You worked at a coffee shop, an online order had been placed. Plain black coffee. Something you didn’t see too much of anymore. But when the man came to pick it up. Over six feet tall.

His brown hair, didn’t stand out to you. His height didn’t either. But when his blue eyes caught yours, you froze. His face was still as stone. He smiles when he sees you stiffen up. The courage and confidence you had before had been stripped away. He was huge, seeing him in the daylight terrified you. The reality of what’s been going on is setting in, completely. He’s watching your every move, not just at night.

“See you tonight, Y/N.” He takes his coffee as he says it. It’s barely above a whisper. You stand there, still frozen. You know you should tell someone. You know you should.

You glance down at the mobile order before pressing ‘complete’ but stop yourself, seeing the name. Simon Riley.

“It’s been five months since the killer has killed. We recommend you stay inside your homes and keep all of your windows and doors locked.” You scoff, shaking your head. They had no clue.

You should call the cops, have them waiting there.

But you don’t. Instead, you wait for him.

Awake, on your bed. Only an oversized shirt on. Nothing else. Your door cracks open, your eyes dart up to his. The same ones from the coffee shop. He closes the door behind himself.

He tugs his mask off, you swallow hard. He throws it down on the chair. Only now do you see that he’s covered in blood. Your eyes widen.

He laughs. It’s deep and dark. “I hope you didn’t intend on calling the police anytime soon. Because darling.” He takes slow steps toward you. Using his thumb to transfer blood from his vest onto your chin.

“You’ve just made yourself an accessory to murder.”

You clench your eyes shut. What the fuck!

“How about you get on your knees for me again.”

You do it.

Why does he have this effect on you?

He caresses your hair once more, wrapping a hand in it and grabbing another handful. Pushing your head back into the bed once more. He hears you whimper. He laughs. “So fucking pathetic. How about you beg me for it, hm?”

“Please..” you pant. His cock is already pulled through his zipper. The tip right in front of you. “Please fuck my throat, Ghost. I want it so bad..” you whine. He laughs. “Open your mouth.” You part your lips immediately.

He’s got blood smeared all over you before he realizes it. He pushes his cock into your mouth again and starts thrusting his dick into your throat. It feels good, but it’s not as good as what he’s going to get. He growls, it’s deep and low. The rumble from him has arousal pooling between your thighs.

He draws his hips back, before he’s finished this time. You look up at him. The look you’ve got in your eyes is pure lust. “Get on the bed.”

You obey him right away. Standing up and sitting on the edge. He grasps the hem of your oversized shirt, pulling it over your head. He bites his lip as he looks at you. “Lay back.” He pushes your chest slightly. He pushes you up the bed further, lowering himself to one knee. He runs his tongue up your slit and you shudder at the feeling. Finally stimulated from him, after all of this time. “Oh god…” you mewl, clutching at the sheets and spreading your legs wider. He doesn’t waste anymore time, devouring you. Tongue sliding into your hole and flicking your clit. You wrap a hand in his hair and whine as he eats your pussy. Better than you’ve even felt before.

He sucks at your clit and you nearly fall apart, it leaves your lips before you can’t stop yourself. “Oh Simon!”

He freezes up, pulling away from you. “How do you know that?” He presses his hand against your throat. He’s panicking.

You’re panting as you look up at him. Heart racing from how close he’d gotten you. You stay silent. Toying with him. “Y/N..” he warns. You hear the click of the pocket knife, the blade shining in the lamp light. He runs it along your inner thigh. “Tell me. Don’t make me hurt you.”

You whine. Eyes fixed on it. How he’s juggling your life in his hands, he can take it anytime he wants but chooses not to. “Focus.” He presses it into your skin. “Y-your mobile order… for the coffee.”

“Fuck…” he mumbles. “I’m gonna have to kill you, aren’t I?” He breathes. You’re still fixed in the trance he’d put you in with his tongue. You stay with your legs spread on the bed. “I.. I won’t tell. I haven’t, I won’t. But you do what you have to do.” You mumble.

He shakes his head, getting a good look at you with blood smeared on your stomach and tits from his hands gripping your body. “Just shut the fuck up.” He mumbles through gritted teeth, lowering himself back down. “You’re such a stupid fucking girl, obsessed with me. Glorifying me the way you do with those eyes. You’re pathetic.”

You mewl when he takes your clit between his lips again, sucking at it. He laps at your entrance with his tongue, feeling just how wet you’ve gotten since he pulled away. He pauses to look at your abused pussy, how red and blushed it’s gotten since he started eating you out. He pulls away one final time, grasping your thighs and tugging you up to the edge of the bed, pressing his tip right against the entrance to your cunt.

He pushes his cock into you and you swallow him up. He draws back and thrusts into you, the squelch is unreal, how wet you are. He unzips his vest and shrugs it off, throwing it down. Tugging his shirt over his head. You whine out as you look at him. He’s toned, clearly a huge man. He makes you feel small.

He slides out of you, forcing you up the bed once more, crawling onto it. Hovering over the top of you. He wraps his hands in yours, entwining his fingers into yours. He forces them above your head, guiding his cock into your blushing hole once more. He lays over you completely, resting his entire body on yours. He’s a little heavy but you love it. You love being smothered by him. You’ve never been more aroused in your entire life. He hammers his hips into yours, your bed slams into the wall which each hard thrust he takes into you, you cry out.

“M’gonna fill this pussy.” He shakes his head. He hovers over you, holding onto your bed frame and staring down at you. “I’m gonna fill you up and fuck it deeper, knock you up.” He laughs, his white teeth bright in the moonlight. “Huh. How does that sound hm? You want to carry around my baby? Maybe he’ll turn out just like his daddy. A killer too.” He laughs.

You cry out, pussy clenched around him. “Oh you like that? You like the idea of me filling this pussy, don’t you?” His thick accent has you falling right over the edge, your thighs shake and you want to squirm but he doesn’t let you. He pins you down as you cum around him. Shaking and crying.

“There you go, cum on my cock. Such a pathetic girl.” He talks you through your orgasm. Talking down on you.

He whines when he feels you getting tighter on him. Overstimulated but somehow your body takes more of him. He’s fucking you hard, the thought of him filling you has you reeling. You go quiet, watching his cock disappear into your pussy. He’s deep, spreading you apart. His cock is huge and you’re surprised by your body, what just a little bit of arousal can do. “Ah fuck! Gonna cu-“ he gasps, his voice cracks and it’s whiny as he cums, deep inside of you, right to the hilt. Just like he said he would.

You’re panting, looking up at him. “Fuck.. fuck you’re tight.” He mumbles. He stays still, relishing in the way you feel around him. After a few minutes, he pulls away. Hearing you gasp at the feeling of his cum pooling back out of you.

He stands up, tucking his cock back into his jeans. He’s still panting slightly.

“I’ll be back tomorrow. If I find out you take something for that, I’ll kill you.” He breathes. He grasps his mask, sliding it on. Your eyes follow him, shirtless with his mask on. He slides his shirt back on, vest following after.

He leaves through the door he’d come in, closing it behind him. Leaving you there.

When you click your light on, you see that there’s blood smears everywhere. A pool of his cum that had leaked out of you on the bed. You would have to clean it up before you could sleep.

What the hell was wrong with you?

[oldsoul007]

hope you like scary movies, cus you’re in one

a/n: I may or may not saw an edit…

ghostface!nicholas x reader

It was a quiet night in woodsboro , like it always is. I was a nanny for a little boy so I could get through college. My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter, and I glanced at the screen. Unknown Caller. I pressed declined but it repeatedly kept calling. Then the landline they had started ringing. I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hello?" I said, my voice cautious.

"Hello, y/n," a distorted voice replied. It sent a chill down my spine. "Do you like scary movies?"

I recognized the voice immediately. It was Ghostface, the infamous killer that terrorize my dad in 1996. But something felt off. There was a familiarity in the tone, beneath the distortion.

"Who is this? You’re not funny” Y/n asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Guess," the voice taunted. "Or maybe I'll just have to come find you."

My heart raced, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew this person. She thought about Nicholas and how he always played pranks on her. Could it be him?

"Alright, Nicholas," I said, calling his bluff. "Cut it out. I know it's you."

There was a brief silence on the other end before the voice changed, becoming softer and unmistakably Nicholas.

"You got me," he admitted, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I couldn't resist. I've been watching too many horror movies lately."

I let out a relieved laugh. "You really had me going there for a second. But seriously, you need to stop watching those movies."

Nicholas chuckled. "I know, I know. But hey, it got you to pick up the phone, didn't it?"

I shook my head, smiling. "Yeah, it did. But next time, maybe just send a text?"

"Deal," Nicholas agreed, his tone warm. As I hung up, I couldn't help but feel a mix of exasperation and affection for Nicholas. Even when he was being mischievous, he had a way of making me smile.

I had been feeling uneasy for days. I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. It started with strange noises outside my window at night and escalated to finding eerie notes left in places only I would notice. The notes were signed by "Ghostface," and they sent chills down my spine.

One evening, as I was walking home from work, I heard footsteps behind me. I quickened my pace, but the footsteps matched mine, growing closer with each step. I turned a corner and ducked into an alley, hoping to lose my pursuer. But as I looked back, I saw the unmistakable mask of Ghostface looming in the shadows.

My heart raced as I tried to find a way out. Suddenly, Ghostface lunged at me, pinning her against the wall. "Why are you doing this?" I cried, her voice trembling with fear.

The masked figure was silent for a moment before reaching up to remove the mask. To my shock, it was Nicholas, my boyfriend, standing there with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Nicholas? What the hell?" My fear quickly turned to anger. "You scared me half to death!"

Nicholas looked genuinely apologetic. "I didn't mean to frighten you that much. I thought it would be a fun Halloween prank. I guess I went too far."

My anger softened slightly as I saw the remorse in his eyes. "You think?" I said, still shaken. "You could have just told me you wanted to scare me a little, not make me think I was being stalked by a killer."

Nicholas sighed. "I'm really sorry, y/n. I just wanted to do something different, but I realize now it was a terrible idea. Can you forgive me?"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. "Just promise me you'll never do something like this again."

"I promise," Nicholas said, pulling me into a hug. "I'll make it up to you, I swear."

As we walked home together, I couldn't help but feel relieved that the nightmare was over. But I also realized that Nicholas had a lot to learn about what constituted a "fun" prank.

“I don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with ghostface” “babe it’s Halloween losen up!” He said as we walked hand in hand.

I had always felt a chill in the air around Halloween, but this year, it was different. I had my boyfriend, nicholas. He was charming, funny, and had a smile that could light up the darkest night. Everyone loved him. But there was something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

One evening, me and nick decided to attend the town's annual Halloween party. The old mansion where the party was held was decked out in spooky decorations, with cobwebs, eerie lighting, and ghostly figures lurking in the corners. Everyone was in costume, and I had chosen to go as a ____.

As I mingled with friends, I couldn't help but notice that Nicholas was nowhere to be seen. I asked around, but no one seemed to know where he was. Just as I was about to give up, I was walking by the stairs when I heard someone yelling.

I try not to be nosey but go up the stairs anyone. Maybe nick was up here anyway. I walked through the house looking in the rooms finding nothing. When I open the door i see some kid in a ghost face costume hop out the window. “What the fuck” I say under my breath. I pull out my phone to text him. No service?

I heard commotion downstairs so I ran down to see what’s happening. Everyone was gone from the house. I heard a floorboard squeak behind me.

It was Ghostface, and my heart raced. The figure moved silently through the room, its eyes fixed on me. I felt a shiver run down my spine as Ghostface approached, stopping just inches away from me.

"Y/n," a familiar voice whispered from behind the mask. My eyes widened in shock as Ghostface removed the mask to reveal Nicholas's face. He smiled, but it wasn't the warm, friendly smile I was used to. It was cold and sinister.

"I've been watching you," Nicholas said, his voice low and menacing. "You have no idea who I really am."

I took a step back, my mind racing. The pieces started to fall into place—the strange disappearances, the eerie feeling I got around him, the way he always seemed to know too much. I realized with a sinking feeling that my new boyfriend was none other than the real Ghostface.

Before I could react, Nicholas lunged at me, but I was quick. I grabbed a nearby candlestick and swung it at him, knocking him off balance. I ran through the mansion, my heart pounding in my chest, desperately searching for a way out.

As I reached the front door, I could hear Nicholas's footsteps behind me. I flung the door open and ran into the night, vowing never to trust anyone so easily again. But before I could even get out of the door he grabbed my arm pulling me back in. I try fighting him off but he grabs both of my wrist. “I’m not gonna hurt you y/n!” “Why, why did you do this?!” I yell looking him in the eyes. “What even is a motive?”

[merakiui]

terror in threes.

yandere!rollo flamme, fellow honest, & skully j. graves x (female) reader cw: yandere, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, nsfw, slight flavoring of religion (father rollo flamme strikes again), murder, death, brief descriptions of blood/gore, age gap for reader (19) and fellow (26), physical abuse (beating), unplanned pregnancy, slut-shaming, kidnapping, coercion, obsession, delusion, stepcest, non-consensual kisses, all three characters written as 18+ note - three short horrors featuring the halloween trio in: MERCY, the terrifying tale of a vindictive priest; ON A DARK, STORMY NIGHT, the chilling caution against getting into a silver-tongued stranger's vehicle; MERRY, the shocking story of a twisted stepbrother led by a one-sided love that is not meant to be. // inspired by this brilliant artwork. thank you to the bestie @heyyy11 for discussing these thoughts with me. :D

MERCY.

Bent over the sink, you watch yourself in the mirror while your boyfriend pounds into you from behind. His fingertips dig into the soft flesh of your hips; your dress is bunched up in messy wrinkles and ruffles.

“Some—ooh—someone might come in,” you grunt, attempting to lift yourself onto your arms and failing miserably when he all but pushes you against the counter with a particularly rough thrust.

“Don’t worry about it, baby,” he says, gazing at your blissed-out reflection. “Everyone’s gone home. Candlelight service’s over.”

“Yes, but—” you tamp down a bawdy moan— “I just worry.”

About someone catching us. About getting locked in. 

“Aren’t we in God’s house? It’s supposed to be safe twenty-four seven.”

“If you say so…”

“So don’t worry.” He leans over to kiss the top of your head. You collapse against the sink. “There you go. Just relax. I gotcha.”

You shrug off your inhibitions and surrender to the pleasure. One hand slides away from your ass to reach between your thighs. You mewl like you’re in heat, arching your back the moment his fingers brush your clit. Now you feel like you’re floating, every frazzled nerve smoothed out once you feel the waves of encroaching orgasm lapping at your insides. But just before you can unravel, his hand covers your mouth.

Confused, you meet his stare in the mirror.

“Shh.” He holds a finger to his lips. “I heard someone outside.”

You roll your eyes. Either it’s his attempt to scare you or make the situation seem sexier. You think it’s the latter when he tears his eyes away from the door and resumes his thrusting. His hand falls from from your mouth, and soon your voices are mixing together, echoing off the tiled walls of the bathroom.

“I’m close,” you gasp, clenching tightly. “So close. Oh, I’m—”

The door creaks open then. You almost don’t hear it until someone loudly clears their throat. Like well-oiled clockwork, you and your boyfriend turn to look at him. For a moment, you forget he’s Father Flamme. Without his black cassock and holy accompaniments, he looks like a normal person.

“Ahem.”

Immediately, you’re pulling away from your boyfriend and pushing your dress down. “F-Father Flamme, we’re so sorry!”

Stern greens flick quietly from your bare legs to your face. His arms are folded behind his back.

“Damn,” your boyfriend mutters, visibly agitated. You’d feel the same if it wasn’t for the scalding embarrassment rushing through your blood.

He regards the both of you coldly, a disapproving frown etched on his face. “Why are you apologizing on his behalf? He has a mouth of his own.”

Taken aback, you open your own mouth to apologize once again and then shut it. Your boyfriend hurries to stuff himself into his slacks and then stands protectively in front of you.

“Think you should apologize first for looking at my girlfriend,” he sneers.

Father Flamme is silent for a moment. “Of course,” he finally concedes. “I should apologize.”

“Then do it—”

“I should apologize,” he continues, sardonic, “for providing her with a love far superior than the foul, impure lust you’ve shown her.”

“You take that back!”

Your boyfriend surges forward, determined to beat a proper apology out of the priest, and you, rather helplessly, grab at his shirt. He stops rigidly in his tracks when a pistol is pulled from Father Flamme’s back and aimed directly at him. Your gasp hitches at the back of your throat. Suddenly, the world is encased in a jar of molasses. You don’t see the bullet, but you hear it go off. The bang pierces the tranquility of the bathroom, lodging itself in your ears until they’re ringing. You drop to your knees and press your palms into your ears, squeezing your eyes shut. You hear your boyfriend collapse in a heap, but you don’t see the brain matter splatter against the wall.

It’s a clean shot, but just to be perfectly precise Rollo fires once more into his chest. Right at his heart. Chancing a glance at the wall behind you, you scream when you see the blood. Some of it has even managed to get on you, staining your skin and your white dress. Instinctively, you scramble away from the body, pressing yourself into the corner.

“May God have mercy on his soul,” he murmurs, ensuring the safety lock is flicked on before placing the gun on the counter. “And may He forgive these hands that have been soiled in the name of justice.”

You wrap your arms around yourself in a self-soothing hug and stare blankly ahead.

That…just happened. He killed your boyfriend. Father Rollo Flamme killed your boyfriend.

Water rushes into the basin next. He rolls his sleeves up. You listen to him as he washes his hands of sin, scrubbing it from his skin with scentless, antibacterial soap. Your stare falls upon the gun, but the idea is promptly burned away when you meet his frigid stare in the glass. He’s watching you, his lips pursed in a thin line. Not quite a frown, but not quite a smile either.

“It baffles me that you would allow a sinner to defile you like this. You, who are so good and pure, a noble heart… Ah, but you aren’t at fault. That despicable pest has been exterminated, so there’s no need to point fingers. The blame shall die with him.”

You sniffle, tears clouding your eyes.

“I apologize you had to see that.” He dries his hands and then, wetting a fresh towel with soap and warm water, kneels before you. “To have tainted you in that sinner’s blood… I implore your forgiveness.”

Gently, he dabs at the mess. You can’t back up any further, but you certainly try with this startling proximity, squirming uncomfortably when he drags his knuckle along your cheek.

“Why?” you whisper, utterly, indescribably haunted.

“Did you not hear me earlier?” He offers you a warm smile, but it only makes you feel cold. “I intend to love you chastely. His ‘love’ is worthless—nothing but lust disguised as pure adoration. He failed to appreciate you in life, and thus it is a failure he shall die, his ugly sin exposed for the world to behold.”

Father Flamme presses the cloth to your cheek next. Not to clean blood, but to wipe the tear streaks and the nonexistent mark of where his fingertips once lingered.

“I have saved you from that monster. It may not seem so at this moment, for you are a lost lamb blinded by devilish temptations, but you will realize later this was for the best.”

You can’t form the words. You can’t even form thoughts. It’s all static. 

“Do you understand, (Name)?”

You nod, but you really don’t.

ON A DARK, STORMY NIGHT.

You pace to and fro on the side of the road, clutching your stomach every fifteen seconds. Rain pelts your sweater, soaking through that and the little backpack hanging off of your shoulder with its single strap. There isn’t much inside. You could hardly pack it when your mother was in your ear, shouting a nasty set of lines: “You whorish, two-bit cunt! What do you think you’re doing, throwing away your life like this?! Who’s going to afford that parasite? Not me! Definitely not you! Not when you ought to be in school, not hopping on some man’s dick! Where is your shame?!”

Her slipper came down upon your arm, the back of your head, your neck, unrelenting in its whacks. You scrambled about in your room like a headless chicken, shielding your face and stomach when you could. She continued to berate you in that harsh, shrill tone of hers. Whenever your vision became blurred with tears, you had to hurry to blink them away so that they wouldn’t obscure your view of the path to the front door.

On your way out of your room, you managed to snatch an old sweater. She pursued in a furious flurry and this time you were sure, should she get a firm grasp on your arm, she’d kill you.

“Out! Out of my house!” she squawked when you stumbled down the steps in a blind panic. Rain wet your face, or maybe it was the tears. “You’re no child of mine. Don’t think about coming back here.”

The door was slammed so hard it shook in its frame.

So you gathered yourself, lifted your shirt to check the rounded dome of your stomach, and then pulled the sweater on over your head.

You walked. Past houses and storefronts, crossing busy streets, peering into the windows of a bar.

You walked. Under flickering lamp posts, through chilly rain, towards the edge of your broken world.

You walked. Until civilization gave way to sprawling darkness and trees. Until the path was muddied and slick. Until you were wading through thick, tall grass.

Now you walk up and down this strip of road, far from home and freezing-cold. You’re hungry, too. It’s been hours since the last car sped past, blissfully ignorant to your flailing arms and desperate shouts: “Wait! Please stop! Wait!”

You’re beginning to think you might die out here, alone and poor, a worthless nobody.

“Fuck,” you spit, wiping the tears/rain from your eyes. “Fuck!”

You kick a clump of grass onto the road and scream at the sky.

And then headlights roll over the hill, cutting through the gloom. Headlights that are attached to a car. A car!

Hope restored, you scurry onto the slick pavement and wave your arms about. When it seems like the car isn’t going to stop, you skitter onto the dirt path.

“Wait! Please wait!” you cry out, still gesturing wildly.

To your surprise and relief, the car eases to a stop just ahead and a window lowers slowly. It squeaks noisily, and you can hear the broken parts of the mechanism rattling inside the door. Happiness surges through you, and you approach the vehicle slowly. A figure comes into view, most of his face hidden in the shadows of his hood. He looks thoroughly soaked, as does the little boy snoozing in the passenger seat. He’s hugging a shovel in his sleep, a satisfied smile on his face. Both of them are clad in grimy, oversized raincoats. You think it’s dirt when you peer closely, but you’re not certain.

The man lifts his hand in greeting and you realize he’s wearing gloves.

“Well, hello there, little miss!” He flashes his teeth at you in a sharp, close-eyed smile. “Bit late to be out and about, don’tcha think?”

“I… I’m so sorry, but I desperately need a ride.”

A pair of brilliant orange eyes open to view you. He assesses you with a subtle once-over.

“A ride, you say? Hmm…” He strokes his chin with his hand, feigning deep thought. “Awfully unsafe for a lady to be wandering around in the dark.”

He could drive off any minute and you might never get a ride. You’re not sure how much longer you can last in this rain.

“I don’t have much money on me… I just… I really need to get out of this rain.” You cup the small bump hidden beneath your sweater and then flounder for the necklace around your throat. “I can give you this! A-And everything else in my bag. It’s not a lot, but maybe you can do something with it…”

The man raises a prominent eyebrow. The window is cracked just enough so he can look out at you, but you can’t reach in if you wanted to. Not that you would. Something about the filthy appearance of this man and his charismatic aura unsettles you. But he’s the second car you’ve seen tonight. The first car to have stopped for you. You can’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers no matter how suspicious he seems.

“What’s your name, little miss?”

“It’s (Name), sir. My mother kicked me out. I don’t have anywhere to go, but if you can just get me to the nearest shelter…”

He gazes through you rather than at you, his attention pinned on your stomach. A shadow passes over his face, but it’s quickly dispelled when he smiles.

“That doesn’t sound too difficult now, does it? I couldn’t possibly leave a little lady stranded in these elements. Why, anyone who would is simply heartless!” You hear the click of a lock. “Hop in. I’ll take you there.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Not at all. Thank you for stopping me. Otherwise I might’ve just passed you up.”

“I’m so grateful. I can’t thank you enough,” you confess, choking on your joy. You pull the door open and climb into the backseat. It’s very…messy, and it smells like smoke and wet earth and overall unpleasant things. Your nose wrinkles, but you remind yourself not to judge too scathingly. After all, you don’t look very neat yourself in your shabby sweater.

“You from around here?” the man asks once you’ve buckled in.

“Yes. Well, no. Um… I’m not sure how far from home I am.” You rub at your sore arms, teeth chattering. “I’ve j-just been walking all over, sir. U-Um… If I may, what’s your name?”

He scoffs lightheartedly, almost like it isn’t important. “I’m just an honest fellow trying to get home in this nasty weather.” This honest fellow indicates the boy beside him next. “It’s a bit of a drive and my little brother can’t quite stay up for the entirety of it. Kids, am I right? They think they’re stronger than the world with all of their confidence, but no one’s stronger than the inescapable call of sleep!”

You laugh into your hand, careful not to wake the boy. “I see. You must be coming back from a road trip then?”

“Precisely so, little miss. You’ve keen intuition.”

A comforting quiet blankets the inside of the car. You watch the trees pass while he drives. Eventually, they fall away to reveal a neighborhood you’ve never seen before. The houses are in disrepair, and everything looks grey. This isn’t where the shelter is, you realize, and your horror only multiplies when he turns down another road and parks in front of a decrepit-looking apartment complex.

“Time to wake up now.” He shakes the boy, who comes to with a few sleepy blinks. He notices you and smiles, waving with a flappy sleeve.

“Sir? Mr. Fellow—was it?—what is this place?” You shrink back into the car when he opens the door for you and offers his gloved hand.

“Why, this is the shelter!” He beams proudly. “Do you not see the windows? The roof? The shape of this lovely building? Clearly it is the shelter you’ve mentioned.”

“But this is…” Not that. Not the home I’m looking for. You hold your bag close to your chest and allow the honest fellow to help you out. The rain is but a soft pitter-patter now.

His hands fall upon your shoulders, trapping you in place. “What do you think, Gidel? I’d say this is better than any old shelter. Why, this is a glorious haven! As they say, a treasure is not yet treasure until it’s polished to a shine. Every gem is rough around the edges, wouldn’t you say so?”

The boy—Gidel—nods enthusiastically. You don’t trust him or the shovel he holds behind his back.

“Thank you for the ride. It was nice to meet both of you, but I can walk the rest of the way.”

“Nonsense! A lady should never walk alone at night. It’s much too dangerous.” He holds his hand over his heart and gasps dramatically. “My chest aches at the thought of it! What horrid beasts might lurk out there… You must allow us to show you just a pinch more of our hospitality. At least until this pesky rain abates.”

He smiles at you in a way that doesn’t give you a chance to get a word in. The car is shut and locked, and he twirls the key ring on his finger as he guides you towards the dingy building. Gidel hurries along after you, nodding in time with the honest fellow’s cheery humming.

MERRY.

Christmas music floods your brain, a loud, constant thrum of whimsical bells and chimes. The headphones are pulled from your person next, and suddenly a voice invades your pleasant dreams. Over and over, calling out to you…

“Sister…” A slight nudge. “Dearest sister of mine, please wake up…” A cold finger prods at your cheek.

Groaning, you shift in your sleep. The muscles in your face twitch with every persistent poke.

“(Name)?”

Your eyes peel open slowly, searching through the lamplight to find a pale face. “Huh… Mmh… What’s going on? Oh, it’s you, Skully. What’s wrong?”

He fidgets awkwardly where he stands. He almost looks like a real younger brother when he’s so restless, but his looming height is a reminder that he’s grown up just like you. With his gangly limbs, circular frames that sit crooked on his face, and unkempt bedhead with those troublesome strands that fluff up no matter how many times he smooths them down, he looks more like a deer caught in an oncoming car’s headlights.

You sit up in bed and rub the sleep from your eyes. “It’s way too early. The sun’s not even up yet! Why’re you awake?”

“I couldn’t possibly sleep,” he confesses, the words just spilling out, and he sounds ecstatically happy. “Not when Christmas is finally here. Aren’t you excited, Sister? Don’t you wish to see what Sandy Claws has brought us?”

Aren’t we a little old to believe in him still? you almost ask, but the question sticks in your throat when you notice the crimson speckled on Skully’s sweater vest. It stands out starkly against the white of his collared undershirt. Now you’re fully awake and worried. Very worried.

“Skully—”

“Come, come!”

He tugs at your arm, pulling the limp you from your bed. You allow yourself to be dragged like a ragdoll, led from the bedroom into the hall. The lights strung around the tree shine so brightly you can see their glow against the wall from the top of the stairs. His hand, cold and clammy, slides into yours. He’s always had a habit of clinging to you, of reaching for your hand, ever since the both of you were little. At your age now, it feels…weird. But his fingers are twining around yours and it’s impossible to pull away.

You descend the stairs with him and approach the sitting room. Dread pools in your stomach. You sniff at the air and choke on the acrid stench of iron.

“What is that?!” You pull your shirt up to your nose and attempt to yank away from him. “Skully, it smells gross.”

“No, it’s okay!” he assures, taking hold of your arm. A wobbly smile pulls his chapped lips apart. There’s a giddy mania spiraling in his orange eyes, and his voice lifts in pitch. His next words are spoken in a breathless ramble. “Just trust me. It’s a good gift. A great gift, really. You’ll see.”

You don’t want to see. Not when you spy a splash of liquid red staining the floor, peeking out at you from around the corner.

“Oh! Close your eyes. It’ll be a surprise!”

“Skully, I don’t want to. I… I don’t like surprises.”

“Oh, but this is a good one! I promise.” He squeezes your arm. “Please? You’ll like it.”

You doubt that, but his expression is so full of expectation that you give in with a sigh. Your eyes fall shut and Skully squeals in excitement.

“Wonderful! Allow me to escort you.” He sidles closer, his hands at your waist. “There… Just around this corner here. Oh, careful now. Watch your step.”

Your nostrils prickle at the intense smell. The path he leads you through is deliberate. You’re about to open your eyes, but then his large hands fall over them.

“Not yet! I haven’t done the count.” He inhales a steadying breath. It rattles in his throat. “O-Okay. One. Two… Three.” His fingers part and then the veil lifts. “Merry Christmas, Sister.”

Nothing could have prepared you for what you find lying in front of you. Amidst presents wrapped in glittering foils are the brutalized corpses of your parents. They’re sprawled in a smattering of blood. In fact, blood is everywhere—flecked on the curtains, on the few ornaments hanging from the lowest boughs of the tree, on the wallpaper. You’re not sure if you can even call such slaughter a simple murder. This was a slaying. An execution. You spy the deep gash carved into your mother’s throat and your hands fly to your own neck. A ghastly shriek pierces the air, practically torn from your lungs.

Skully flinches, panic twisting his kind, youthful features. “Oh! Oh, no, no! Don’t cry.” He takes hold of your head, sandwiching it between both of his hands—hands that so cruelly cut down your mother and his father. “Please don’t cry…”

“Oh, my… My God… You… Y-You killed them!”

You peek at your stepfather out of some stupid instinct to hope for the best, and another sob bubbles up when you realize he and your mother are truly dead. Unable to look upon such a grisly scene any longer, you stagger away and turn sharply on your heel. Bile tinges your tongue, but you quickly slap a hand over your mouth and swallow it down. Skully braces you before you can fall over, wrapping his long arms around you from behind.

“For you!” he insists. “I did it for you—for us, dearest sister! They… They were going to send me away. I couldn’t allow that! If we were to be separated… It would tear my heart apart.” He clutches you tighter as if you’re a teddy bear. “I tried to explain it to them—truly, I did—but they couldn’t understand. They wouldn’t understand. So I had to do it, (Name). I couldn’t allow them to send me away. You understand, don’t you?”

Gingerly, he wipes your tears away and then leans in to press a kiss to your cheek. When that doesn’t change anything, he frowns.

Seemingly inconsolable, you continue to bawl even though your throat is dry and your head is aching and your heart is hurting. He releases his hold on you enough for you to stumble away.

Ever the adamant one, Skully tries again. He takes your hand in his and brings it to his lips. You slide down the wall and he follows you, caging you in the corner.

“Dearest sister of mine, don’t cry…”

His hand cups your cheek next, and his thumb swipes at a stray tear.

“I’m here for you. Always.”

Your shadows are splayed against wallpaper striped with blood. His looms over yours, almost swallowing it whole. In green and red lights, your reflections caught in glass ornaments, Skully seals that promise with a press of his mouth to yours.

[jakubrozalski]

'Zygmunt and Zośka'

Ewka joined the "Zośka" battalion before the outbreak of the uprising, together with her beloved Tomasz. She met Tomek in the Grey Ranks two years ago, they participated in many reconnaissance and sabotage missions together.  They both welcomed information about the planned uprising with excitement and euphoria. Those moments seem so distant now... The uprising has been going on for a month now...  Tomek is gone. All she has left are memories of long walks by the Vistula and those short moments together when they felt free and happy, despite the horror surrounding them. Now, with a Colt M1911 in her hand, which she received from one of the "Cichociemny" fighting in the Old Town, she is waiting for the Germans assault, leaning on Zygmunt statue, her last sanctuary, last support. They will both fall today, the old king Zygmunt and brave Ewa from the Zośka battalion. -

Exactly 80 years ago, 1 August 1944 at 5:00 p.m. the Warsaw Uprising broke out. The Uprising was supposed to last a few days at most, but it did last sixty-three days and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Directly, of course, it was aimed to liberate Warsaw from the occupation of the falling German Reich, but indirectly and politically (as part of Operation 'Burza') was aimed against the USSR and Stalin's plans. This was also one of the reasons for its calamity and the help ( of the Red Army ) that never came. It was definitely too optimistic for the Polish underground resistance command to count on any help from Stalin, whose plans concerning Poland were known and who, as a vindictive and unforgiving person - in my personal opinion - certainly wanted to take revenge for the 1920 and his personal defeat.

There is no doubt, however, that it was an uprising of brave young women and men, full of high ideals, passion and dreams of a free homeland, who wanted to feel a little freedom, self-agency and relief, but also to take revenge after 5 years of terror and occupation. Very tragic and beautiful at the same time. It is to them that I wanted to pay tribute and honor their memory. 

I also observe with great concern and sadness what is happening in the world currently. Not even 100 years have passed since the apocalypse of WWII and the world is again full of divisions, tension, polarization, violence and hatred... For this reason I believe it is worth remembering and reminding about history, to try to stop it from repeating itself, over and over again...  Honor and glory to the heroes who fought for freedom and higher values ​​against evil. Work process: https://jrozalski.com/projects/QKmkRd

[revelboo]

Do you plan to write anything about B-127 again? I would like to see something more about that little talker written by you, because I love the way you write, it leaves me wanting to see more.

(sorry if there is something misspelled, English is not my native language)

I do plan on continuing his- he’s extra and unwittingly a terror

The Coma Kid Pt 2

TFO B-127 x Reader

• “Please stop that. Or, you know what? It’s fine,” he says as you kick against the driver’s side window as he speeds through the desert. Sooner or later, you have to wear yourself out. Right? You’d gotten tired of screaming after he’d transformed around you. “I’m B-127, by the way. You can call me Bee. Or B-127. Or Badassatron. You know, whichever. You have really strong legs.”

• Slumping across the center console, a foot against the window that isn’t breaking no matter how many times you mule kick it as hard as you can. All you’ve managed to do is exhaust yourself and make your ankles and calves hurt. And he’s not shut up. The entire time. You’re not sure which is worse, the rambling or the kidnapped by a giant alien that can become a car. Starting upside down out the other window as sky and telephone poles zip by, you try to figure out what exactly you’d done to deserve this? Maybe you should have donated more to charities. Been a tiny bit religious, because some higher power decided you’d earned alien Chatty Cathy.

• “You can feel that, too?” He asks when you finally give up kicking him. “That warm, happy feeling? Isn’t it awesome? Like we’re meant to find each other? Best friends and maybe lovers?” Hears you groan and throw an arm across your eyes as he returns to the Ark with you. Transforming and immediately having to catch you as you make another frantic escape attempt. When he looks up, Elita-1 is there staring at him, mouth open. “Look what I found!” Her optics narrow.

• Upside down, you watch the pink alien close their mouth and throw up a hand in the universal language of someone who really doesn’t get paid enough to deal with whatever this is. Pinky is absolutely booking it, pausing long enough to poke her head in a doorway and yell. “Optimus, deal with that,” she says, pointing at you and the yellow terror before stomping off. And then a much bigger robot is looking out, spotting you in Bee’s hands and his shoulders slump. Wait. Is that giant, robot daddy? Was Pinky mom? Big guy definitely gives exhausted dad vibes as he walks over.

• “I found a human,” B-127 says, holding you up triumphantly. “We’re best friends,” he adds as you scream ‘no, we’re not!’ “Aren’t they great? We’re going to have a ton of sparklings together. You know, I’m going to need a bigger habsuite, and-” Denta snapping together nearly biting his glossa when you kick him in the jaw.

• Yeah, big guy must be dad. He’s almost panicky as he looks around for help dealing with the hyper menace. “Um, Elita?” He calls as you try to kick Bee again and he just catches you by the ankles in his free hand. “You can’t just- I don’t think humans work that way?” You’ve seen adults with that same desperate horror before when cornered by timeshare salesmen or folks with religious pamphlets. “Elita! Get back here and help me!

Previous

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[bvidzsoo]

Obliviate Me

✩‧₊˚ Obliviate ⇄ to forget [Latin] ✩‧₊˚

Author: bvidzsoo

Pairing: dark!Park Seonghwa x female reader

✩‧₊˚ Warning: smut, addiction, ptsd, mentions of war, violence, fights ✩‧₊˚ Word count: 27.6k ✩‧₊˚ Rating: nsfw ✩‧₊˚ Genre: Harry Potter!au, set in the forties/Grindelwald's time, lovers to enemies!au, tragic love!au ✩‧₊˚ Summary: ✩‧₊˚ Grindelwald's reign holds everyone under terror, and you decide you want to join the right side and put an end to it. But the stars seem to refuse to align for you and your lover as you find yourselves on opposing teams. Will your love prevail, or will you succumb to the darkness? ✩‧₊˚

A/N: My lovelies, I...I am bawling my eyes out ngl, I can't believe I wrote this. Bring a box of tissues with you before you sit down reading, I am already forever sorry if I cause anyone any heartache<3 I have proofread this, but it's past 1am and you might still find mistakes, so I'm sorry about that! There's little time jumps in here, so for a quick clarification, after each divider you'll find them back in the current time (which is still in the forties!). I probably had a lot more things to say, but I forgot and I'm sleepy, so I'll settle for this much: there are probably some inaccuracies to the Harry Potter canon events as I took some creative liberty so yeah, keep that in mind when reading; also Mingi and MC aren't related, they just share the same surname! I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this oneshot y'all (as into everything I write LOL), so I hope you enjoy! I appreciate all of your thoughts, so please leave feedback, I love reading them!<3 (special shotout to @hwasbbyg because somehow I always have you in mind when I'm writing something Seonghwa related <3) divider

            Times were dire, both in the Wizarding World and the Muggle World. Supremist leaders with atrocious views unleashed attack after attack upon innocent civilians, creating more destruction than victory. My heart broke daily reading the newspaper, both the muggle and wizard one. It made my blood boil that two men, so different yet similar upon closer view, would play God and decide what was wrong and right. Who was pure and who deserved to suffer. Nobody was perfect, nobody will ever be. I couldn’t just sit idly at home and be the housewife many women dreamed of becoming after graduating. I wanted to make a name for myself, I wished to become strong enough to save the innocent, to take their side and advocate for those who were too scared or weak to do so for themselves. That is why upon graduating from Hogwarts, I became an Auror. The training was harsh and demanding, but it wasn’t anything I wasn’t ready to bear if it meant it would lead to saving millions of lives. I was sick of all the spilled blood and wailing on the streets, I wished to see peace and serenity, to go to bed without the fear of never waking up again. Four years have passed since I have left the confines of Hogwarts, since I was forced to face the horrors of the outside world, to fend for myself, and to become someone. It was hard and terrifying, but for once, I felt complete. I felt happy with where I stood in my life, I was proud of who I had become. And I knew that as long as Grindelwald isn’t stopped, I shall not rest even for a second.

The auditorium was small in size and stuffed, the benches placed in a circular shape around a platform that had a table sitting on it and a chair. It was deep down on the second level, far away from the Auror’s offices, hidden between the women’s and men’s restrooms. The auditorium wasn’t meant to be easily found and it was only used when a situation had turned dire, when an emergency meeting just had to be called. I had chosen to sit towards the back of the auditorium, closer to the exit as the air felt stale and warm inside the stuffed room, at least thirty aurors squeezed together towards the front of the room. My throat felt parched and my palms were sweaty as I had them placed in front of me, leveling my breaths as Theseus Scamander, the Head of the Auror Office, stood tall on the platform, a forlorn look on his face. Anyone who had picked up the newspaper earlier this morning must’ve seen the devastating news of the destruction caused to the small and welcoming wizarding village, Apo’s Nook. There was nothing left of it, just the ashes of ghosts that would haunt the land and the smoking foundations of destroyed homes that would never flourish again.

I felt a lump in my throat as Theseus sighed long and loud, eyes surveying the auditorium. It was deadly silent in here, everyone was either too mad or sad to say anything. The time was barely nine in the morning and we knew we had a long day ahead of us. This meeting was a top-secret one, whatever was said inside this auditorium would be never allowed to leave the confines of these walls. Only the best of the best aurors were called in, no doubt for a mission that would be challenging both physically and mentally. It wouldn’t be my first special mission, yet I couldn’t help but feel dread for what was to come. A tiny voice in the back of my head tried to whisper warnings this morning while I was getting ready to come to work, my gut twisting nauseatingly and making me more restless than I usually was. Something would happen here today that I wouldn’t like, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Good morning, aurors.” Theseus’ voice rang loudly in the quiet room and I gulped, feeling sweat collect on my nape, under my hair. I didn’t want to get rid of my jacket, finding the warmth it provided comforting, but I was sweating too much. Careful, not to make any sound, I wrestled out of the satin fabric and placed it onto the table in front of me. My dress was thick to protect me from the merciless winter, and it reached just below my ankles as the front had a V-cut that stopped just above the valley of my breasts, “I assume you all know by now why you’ve been called here.”

There was a collective murmur of confirmation to Theseus’ question and I gulped, patting my forehead free of any perspiration, “What occurred in the early hours of today’s morning is—terrible and unforgivable.”

I couldn’t help but let my eyes run over the aurors as Theseus’ voice shook with raw emotion. He was just as affected by the news as everyone else in the room. I fiddled with my fingers as my eyes finally fell on a familiar person, the tiniest smile slipping onto my lips. It brought little comfort and assurance to see my former professor in a place where I was surrounded by fearless warriors who were mere strangers to me, but would soon become my trusted companions. The only other two aurors that I did become friends with throughout the four years of working here were Song Mingi and Jeong Yunho, partners in missions and other aspects of life, and I haven’t seen them in over a month now. They were alive, and as safe as possible, but they were far away from our home, in a land colder and far scarier than what London was at the moment. They were close to the German border, spying on Grindelwald’s men having infiltrated themselves amongst them. They were our precious informants, their jobs far more dangerous than ours at the moment. I couldn’t help but pray every night to a God that listened, that the two people I started cherishing in such a short time would return to me in one piece and alive.

“Grindelwald has destroyed another village,” Theseus’ words snapped me out of my thoughts as Professor Dumbledore turned his head, gaze finding mine, “wizards and witches were killed once again because they refused to join his dark cause. This cannot go on anymore, I won’t allow it.”

Professor Dumbledore bowed his head slightly in a nonverbal greeting before he turned his head, looking at Theseus with an unreadable expression on his face. I gulped and subconsciously reached for the pocket of my coat, feeling around for the plastic holder in the shape of a tube.

“I was given full permission to construct a team that will directly take out Grindelwald’s men until he’s left with nothing, until he’s alone and powerless.” Theseus leered, face contorted into fury, “I shall task you with bringing down these disgraces one by one, dead or alive, I do not care as long they cannot help Grindelwald anymore.”

My fingers tightened around the plastic, my head turning when I saw a man stand up with a heavy-looking folder in his hands approach Theseus, “We have gathered all the information we could about Grindelwald’s most important wizards and witches, they are our main target. I want you all to look at these photographs closely, commit them to memory as each one of you will be handed one to capture and bring forth to the court.”

I watched from the back of the auditorium as the man opened the folder and placed it down on a table in the front row, starting to hand out photograph after photograph. Knowing that I sat way too far in the back, I rose to my feet and swiftly took the plastic bottle from my pocket, slipping it between my breasts so that nobody would see it. Pushing my hands behind my back, I walked down a few stairs until I reached the row that had more wizards sitting in it, grabbing a photograph that wasn’t being looked at yet. The picture was in black and white, but the face of the witch was clear. Something in my stomach coiled as I recognized her being my peer at Hogwarts, just a year above myself, and a Slytherin like I had been too. The man sitting next to me looked at me with a questioning gaze, and I passed him the photograph as he handed me another one, this one of an older wizard who had a cunning look in his eyes as he held a cigar between his teeth. Something was unsettling about his gaze as I leaned against the side of the table, passing it along as another then another photograph passed through my grasp as I committed their faces to memory. Some of these pictures seemed to have been taken recently, right at Apo’s Nook before it went up in flames. My jaw clenched as the witch in the next photograph was grinning widely as if she was taunting us, and I accidentally passed it to the man next to me a bit too harshly as he gave me a concerned look. I ignored him and took a deep breath, fingers itching to hold onto the plastic bottle hidden between my breasts. The news this morning had been too shocking, and I had no choice but to take two pills instead of one. It wasn’t healthy, but I did force my breakfast down my throat in hopes that it wouldn’t make me feel ill if I doubled the dose.

The next photograph that was passed to me was flipped upside down, and I sighed as I braced myself for another unfamiliar face to commit to memory, except that when I flipped it, my whole body froze, blood going cold. I tried to gulp, but I couldn’t due to the lump in my throat. My lungs contracted, and I desperately tried not to gasp as my fingers dug into the fragile paper and I fought the urge to rip the photograph into shreds. I knew this would happen sooner than later, but I realized how completely unprepared I was for it. The wizard in the photograph was smiling widely, the photo not recent at all, his round eyes turning upwards at the corners, his front teeth on full display. His hair had been freshly cut before the photograph was taken, yet it still fell in his eyes as he failed to style it—he was talented at many things, yet he never quite learned how to tame his wild hair. I could feel my hands start to shake the longer I stared at the face of my first love, my heart beating so fast my ears started to ring. I struggled to breathe and I knew I was turning pale as my lips parted, a quiet gasp leaving through them. It was enough to alert the man sitting next to me as I felt his eyes on me, but my body couldn’t react to anything as I crumbled up the photograph, throwing it far away from myself. I heard my name being called and words that sounded like they were asking if I was alright, but my vision had started turning black from the lack of oxygen. The room was too small, too stuffy, too warm; I couldn’t breathe.

Hands still shaking, I gripped my dress and lifted it above my ankles as I abruptly turned around, eyes settling on the exit desperately as I felt my feet take me up the stairs, running as I extended my hand way before I have reached the door to grab the handle. My heart was in my throat and the ringing in my ears was as loud as a kettle’s whistle, and I yanked the door open with all the force I could muster up due to the tremor of my whole body. The air of the hallway hit me hard, making me gasp loudly as I slammed the door shut behind me, feeling tears prick at my dry eyes as I flung myself forward, hands cushioning my crash as I flew into the wall in front of me, forehead banging against it. I needed it, I needed something painful to shake me out of my borderline psychotic state. I couldn’t take another pill so soon, I really just shouldn’t. I bit my lower lip as I struggled to take deep breaths, the tremors of my body worsening as my hands curled into fists, forcing me to close my eyes. The ringing in my ears had started to subside, but my heart was still beating way too fast and my throat was too dry. I really couldn’t take another pill just yet; however, my right hand was reaching for the bottle without wasting another second as I uncapped it and grabbed two pills out of it, throwing them back as my eyebrows furrowed, struggling to gulp them down at once.

I stood desperately waiting for the downers to kick in, the thumping of my head subsiding as the ringing of my ears went away completely, the tremors of my body remaining, however. I felt my muscles trying to relax, not even having noticed how tense they had become, and I gulped as I turned around to press my back against the wall, groaning as my head fell back. My throat had started hurting, the pills having scrapped it, but I couldn’t care less as my frantic heartbeat had finally started slowing down. I heard the door of the auditorium open, and my eyes opened as I watched my former professor approach me with a concerned look on his face. He held a plastic cup that he extended towards me, and I took it eagerly, downing the cool water as it finally soothed the ache in my throat. I crumpled the plastic in my fist, sighing long as I looked at Professor Dumbledore, wondering what was going through his mind having seen me in such a hysterical state.

“War is harsh,” As if reading my thoughts, his eyes twinkled with that familiar warm glint, “it affects everyone differently. You’ve seen things no woman your age should have, but you are a talented auror, Miss Song. However, I fear you won’t be amongst us for much longer if you continue abusing those.”

I felt shame crawl up my body as the professor’s eyes fell on the bottle, and I quickly hid it behind my back, “I’m sorry.”

I felt like a little child that was being scolded for doing something bad as I averted my gaze away from Professor Dumbledore’s, and sniffed as I noticed my heartbeat had finally returned to its natural rhythm.

“How are your parents doing, Miss Song?” Professor Dumbledore’s voice was soft, and I shrugged looking up at him.

“They are scared, as is everyone else.” I sighed, biting my lower lip, “I have moved them to the Wizarding World in hopes of keeping them safe, but nowhere is safe anymore, Professor.”

“It’s saddening, indeed.” The professor nodded, sharing my feelings of sadness that were slowly turning into despair, “But I think you did the right thing. The Wizarding World might not be the safest place at the moment, but it is a lot safer than the Muggle World.”

It was reassuring to hear the approval of my much wiser and smarter professor, and for a second, I believed that I had done something right for the first time in a long time. No matter how many dark wizards and witches I have captured, I never truly felt accomplished. It wasn’t enough, because I knew I could do better if sent on even more missions, and finally, the chance to fulfill my selfish desires while proving myself to be good and useful to my superiors, had come.

“Are you feeling any better now, Miss Song?” The professor’s eyebrows raised as I quickly hid the bottle back between my breasts and nodded, squaring my shoulders back. There it was, the condescending look of deep thought crossing the professor’s face as he looked towards the ground, humming lowly, “When it comes to the matters of the heart, it’s a slippery and unsure territory, Miss Song. You might think you are prepared to face whoever and take them out, but if you haven’t completely let go of them, your heart will outrule your conscious, your rationality. Even if you have long released the feelings you had once harbored for them, your more rational side might stop you, might hold you back from delivering the final blow.”

I felt tears trying to prick at my eyes as they snapped up, boring into Professor Dumbledore’s as he had a sad smile on his lips, “It’s difficult to forget your first love, Miss Song, no matter how deeply they have wronged you.”

The tremors in my hands haven’t disappeared and wouldn’t go away today, but they halted for a second as I gulped, throat feeling dry again, “He chose his path consciously, as I have chosen mine. Our beliefs have never truly aligned, it was just wishful thinking on my side, Professor. Love, an emotion I do not feel towards him anymore, isn’t stronger than my rational mind. If I would have allowed my heart to lead me throughout my life, I would be by his side now, wallowing in self-misery and pity for all the lives I allowed perish.”

“I have recognized your passion the moment you sat on the stool on the night of the sorting, Miss Song, you’ve known from the very first moment what you wanted and how to get it. I fear I haven’t met a Slytherin as determined and stubborn as yourself, Miss Song—”

“Not even Tom Riddle, sir?”

The professor’s expression suddenly became leveled, warm smile turning into a rather forced one, “I fear I cannot compare you to Tom Riddle, Miss Song.”

I hummed and smiled, memories of the younger boy bashing the professor for even the smallest inconvenience returning. I had never figured out where their distaste came for each other, but as it wasn’t my business, I never prodded more than necessary. I fixed my hair and made sure the little bottle couldn’t be seen as I glanced past the professor, feeling calm enough to join the aurors again, “We should head inside before they deem me unfit for this task, I would hate to miss out on this one, Professor.”

“They cannot afford to lose an auror like you.” Professor Dumbledore chuckled with a thoughtful look on his face as he led us towards the door, opening it for me like the true gentleman he was. I thanked him quietly as I stepped through the threshold, the lump back in my throat as the room went silent at once, everyone turning around to watch me and the professor as we descended the stairs. I went to sit at my initial spot, but Professor Dumbledore gently grabbed my elbow and veered me towards his seat, a witch making a place for me as she had an understanding look on her face.

“Is everything alright, Miss Song?” Theseus asked once the professor and I had taken our seats, the curious eyes of the other Aurors still watching me. I gulped and placed my hands on my knees, trying to hide the tremor behind the desk so that nobody would see it.

“Yes, Mr. Scamander, my apologies for storming out like that.” My voice was leveled as I forced my face to relax, and an easy smile appeared on my lips, “I felt a little ill this morning, I suppose it returned suddenly.”

“Right,” Theseus hummed, a smile matching mine on his lips, “that is reassuring to hear; however, I do wish for a quick recovery should it get worse.”

“Thank you.” I bowed my head as my hands fisted my dress, my heart rate picking up again as I felt the witch next to me gently rub my back. I wasn’t fond of being touched by strangers, but I didn’t have the willpower to ask her to stop. Finally, seemingly content with my half-assed lie, the attention wasn’t on me anymore as everyone went back to conversing with each other. Theseus cleared his throat and walked towards our table, Professor Dumbledore gathering the photographs as they were scattered around on the desk.

“While you were taking a breather, Miss Song, I have informed your colleagues that each one of them will be assigned a dark wizard to survey and consequently take down whenever the Office seems fitting.” I tried to gulp, my throat going dry once again. The witch was still rubbing my back and her touch had started burning my skin through my dress, making me fidget with my hands as I released the grip I had on my dress. I knew this was coming, but I didn’t feel ready. If I could’ve, I would’ve downed the whole bottle of pills, not minding if I would have been the one in need of a funeral.

“I see, Mr. Scamander, who had been assigned to me?” I felt the professor’s eyes take me in carefully as if I were a ticking time bomb, and the hand of the witch was finally away from my body, her sigh too loud as Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“Records say you have been peers with Park Seonghwa at Hogwarts, yes?” I failed to inhale air as my lungs contracted, my worst nightmare lay right in front of my eyes and ears, “Professor Dumbledore, could you confirm this for me?”

“Yes, Mr. Scamander, Miss Song and Mr. Park had been my students barely four years ago.” My eyes burned as I blinked them fast, scared that tears would flood them as my hands shook more, itching to grab the bottle even if for little reassurance. The sedatives weren’t working as they should have, I shouldn’t be so wired up and nervous still. I figured I should buy something stronger; the muggles were more lenient when handing out sedatives than the wizards if you knew how to put on your best act.

“Indeed,” My voice was emotionless, and I knew my face was unreadable as Theseus’ eyes narrowed, “I know Park Seonghwa, but just merely. He was a great student I often had to compete with for the first place in our year.”

The longer Theseus’ eyes bore into mine, the more prominent the soft prodding in my forehead became. I knew what he was doing, way too familiar with the feeling of having my mind invaded. He was searching for memories of Seonghwa and me, of anything that could prove I wasn’t lying and that our roots didn’t grow deeper than a surface-level acquittance. It was laughable how easy it was to veer Theseus around my mind, to trick him into seeing only what I wanted him to see. He wasn’t a born Legilimens, I could feel he was less strong than the likes of Tom Riddle, who was a born natural in his talent, and so, I knew Theseus wouldn’t figure out that I—in fact—was a born Occlumens, the will of my mind stronger than his surface-level talent. I watched as a satisfied expression settled on his features upon viewing the images I allowed him to see, like the brief snappy exchanges between Seonghwa and me when we were in class, trying to show off to the professors, or the duels where we loved to flaunt our skills, or the brief acknowledgments in the hallway when we so happened to pass by each other.

“Very well, Miss Song,” Theseus muttered and then slammed a photograph down in front of me, a much younger Seonghwa smiling mockingly at me, “I trust you to do your best and bring him to his downfall. Mr. Park is an important asset to Grindelwald’s army; we need him gone.”

“He shall be gone, then.”

1943

            The classroom was full of vigor as everyone pilled inside, rather excited to see what Professor Merrythought had up her sleeve for us today. She had promised a dueling class sooner than later, and, as we happened to be ahead on our curriculum in DADA class, we got permission from Headmaster Dippet to go ahead and transform our usual classroom into a dueling ring. This year, the Slytherins shared most of their classes with the Ravenclaws, the DADA class being one of them. I let my eyes run over the crowd of the gathering 6th-year Ravenclaws on the other side of the classroom, pressed up against the wall much like myself and my housemates. Despite the majority of students being in their 6th year, Professor Merrythought found it essential that all students above the age of fourteen learn how to duel due to the imminent threat looming above our heads, both in the Wizarding and Muggle World. Therefore, it came as no surprise that younger students were ushered inside by Professor Merrythought, who had a grin on her face. Finding the person I had been looking for in the crowd, on the other side of the classroom, a tiny smile made it onto my lips as I found him already looking at me attentively. His dark hair, once again, fell wildly around his head in curls that looked natural, framing his boyish features as his round eyes sparkled with excitement. I chuckled and felt more elated knowing that Seonghwa was here, the chance of getting paired up with him was rather high as we were the top students of our year.

“Miss Song.” I flinched at the sudden intrusive voice in my head, always taken aback when I was addressed telepathically. I looked away from Seonghwa, eyes falling onto the boy—who despite being younger, was a lot taller than me—was now standing next to me with a stoic expression, ice-cold blue eyes boring into my darker ones. I chuckled and pressed a hand against my chest, always impressed by his skills despite his younger age.

“Mr. Riddle.” I greeted back with a grin, the small prodding at my forehead proof that our telepathic connection worked both ways. It was rare that Tom allowed me inside his mind, and even then, he knew how to guide me around his thoughts to show me only what he wanted me to see—a skill he learned from me, rather quickly. He had a natural talent for learning and achieving accomplishments that wizards and witches older than him struggled to garnish. He was an admirable student and a force to reckon with, I was never too eager when he challenged me to a friendly duel under the pretext of gaining experience by dueling a student who was as outstanding as himself—in reality, he only wished to show off and torment me in the confines of the Room of Requirements when the two of us would head over to study.

“Now, children,” Professor Merrythought clapped her hands together as she walked between the parting crowd of students, everyone watching her curiously, “as you may know, Headmaster Dippet had granted us another dueling session, and I am beyond excited to teach you new tricks that may as well save your lives in the future. The rules are the same as always, no serious spells aimed to harm, and no maiming, Madam Gorsemoor has far more important tasks than to heal some children who didn’t take the rules seriously, yes?”

Everyone muttered a ‘yes’ at once, and Professor Merrythought had a pleased grin on her lips as she pulled her wide shoulders back, her golden eyes surveying the crowd, probably counting how many of us were here. Usually, no more than twenty students were allowed inside the classroom as Professor Merrythought wished to watch and help everyone, not just those few she noticed lacking in their skill, “Can someone tell me what we’ve learned in our last class?”

Several hands shoot up high in the air, mine included, and I felt compelled to look over to the Ravenclaws, not surprised at all to see Seonghwa’s arm high up in the air, shoulders pulled back to make him look taller. I stifled a chuckle and faced the front of the classroom again, feeling Tom’s questioning gaze on the back of my head, but I paid him no mind.

“Mr. Lovegood, perhaps?” Professor Merrythought pointed at the platinum blonde-haired wizard from Ravenclaw, who stood on his tiptoes, about to bounce up and down to gain the professor’s attention.

“Diffindo!” He exclaimed, cheeks flushing instantly as the students from his house snickered, the Slytherins remaining uninterested, “I mean, Diffindo and Relashio.”

“Very well, Mr. Lovegood, thank you.” Professor Merrythought hummed, eyes narrowing as she looked over the crowd once again, her eyes stopping on me as I offered her a small smile.

“I must remind you that Diffindo is a spell that brings great harm if not death to your opponent, and inside this classroom, we shall not use it against each other. And even outside of it, I advise you use it wisely and level-headed only if the occurrence calls for it—”

“Like—if it were for Grindelwald to attack us?!” A younger boy—from Ravenclaw—asked, heads turning in his direction as he yet had to grow a few inches.

“Yes, that’s the likely scenario I had in mind.” Professor Merrythought muttered pleased, nodding at the curious boy with big round eyes. He reminded me of Seonghwa when we had just started our journey at Hogwarts, always eager to learn more and curious about how everything around him worked. Since then, his nature remained but he learned how to control it, how to make it less obvious how big of a nerd he actually was. Some would say he tries to impersonate the ‘cool guy’ archetype, but I know him too well to believe those silly ‘rumors’, “Well, before we learn something new, I’d like to see a duel from our best duellists.”

I gulped, feeling eyes bore into the side of my head as I looked over to Seonghwa again, finding his eyes on me already once again. He was smirking, round eyes fierce as we both knew who Professor Merrythought would call to the front for a demonstration, “Miss Song, Mr. Park, would you grace us with your presence?”

I heard Tom chuckle behind me, unamused, no doubt having known we’d be the chosen ones for this task. It was rarely not us, even Seonghwa and I knew it. I patted down the front of my robe, dusting it off, then squared my shoulders as I made my way through the crowd, getting a few pats on the back from people who I was familiar with. I had grabbed my wand out of my pocket, and Seonghwa and I made it to the front of the class at the same time. His smirk had turned cheeky as he held his wand in his hands elegantly, twirling it playfully as I took a few steps backward and then adjusted my stance.

“Miss Song.” Seonghwa’s voice was deep, tone almost seductive, and I couldn’t help but grin and narrow my eyes at him.

“Mr. Park.” My tone was confident and full of assurance because I knew I would win this duel. I usually did. Seonghwa was very good at dueling, but I was better since I was faster and more agile. I was also a little more talented at wandless magic than he was, I found it amusing whenever he’d exercise next to me, growing frustrated with himself way too quickly. Professor Merrythought clapped her hands and stepped back as Seonghwa and I bowed to each other, wands gripped firmly in our hands as we took our stance for the duel. I zeroed in on Seonghwa only, focusing on the movements of his body, eyes boring into his as if I would read his mind—I could, but I knew he hated it, and what I hated more was when I made him hurt. Seonghwa stood alert, his dark eyes boring into mine, a curious glint in them, laced with mischief and anticipation as he was patiently waiting for me to make my first move. He usually wasn’t the one to attack first, and we both knew that. We’ve dueled each other many times already, we knew each other’s tricks and weakest points.

“Stupefy!” I exclaimed, throwing my hand out, my wand pulsing with power as a light blue zap quickly shot towards Seonghwa, who expertly threw up his defense wall, nulling my attack with a pleased expression. I chuckled under my breath and raised an eyebrow as I threw my next attack at him, “Flipendo!”

Seonghwa huffed as another jinx was thrown his way, raising his arm high as he cast another shield in front of his body, eyes narrowing as he realized I was trying to get him to fly to the other side of the classroom. I knew he was wary of injuring himself, and unless I teased him a little bit at the beginning of our duel, I knew he would try to go easy on me. But I didn’t want easy and friendly, I wanted him to have no mercy and fight as if we were in a real fight, against each other, with only one winner standing tall in the end.

“Stupefy!” Seonghwa exclaimed, the same light blue zap flying towards me, making me easily block his attack as I threw my arms up, casting an invisible shield. Unlike Seonghwa’s, mine remained blue and violet ripples the tell-tale sign that there was something in front of me. Seonghwa narrowed his eyes, calculating his next move as I sent a hot air charm his way, which he dodged skilfully, his black hair falling into his eyes. Seonghwa chuckled and twirled the strands behind his ear, graciously raising his hand, not even looking my way as suddenly electric blue flames came barrelling towards my shield, making the students in the classroom gasp in surprise, but also fear. Someone had started clapping hard, and I knew it was Professor Merrythought as she enjoyed the show the most out of everyone.

Seonghwa was smart, and so, he knew the blue flames would demolish my shield without hurting me, and I could hear Professor Merrythought explain just this to the students who watched us with even more excitement in their eyes. Deciding to not verbalize my next spell, I winked at Seonghwa as I made the hand movement that was required for the Waddiwasi spell, Seonghwa realized a moment too late as, suddenly, crumbled up parchments floated around me for a second, before propelling towards Seonghwa with force and speed that left him defenseless. Seonghwa gasped as he turned sideways, the little balls of parchment crashing against the side of his body without causing any damage—physical because his ego was probably bruised—and the students started laughing as Seonghwa hissed, facing me once again with piercing eyes. I grinned and curtsied teasingly, enjoying the way his cheeks had flushed from embarrassment, his grip tightening around his black wand. His lips didn’t move, but his hand did, and I narrowed my eyes as for a second nothing happened, and then I felt invisible ropes binding around my body, trying to immobilize me as my eyes widened in surprise.

“Emancipare!” I yelped the counterattack of Brachiabindo, the defensive spell Seonghwa had used, and felt the ropes instantly disappear from my body. Seonghwa huffed, running his fingers through his rich curls, looking frustrated as he walked a few steps closer. It wasn’t like him to lose his wits when we were dueling, and so, this was the first sign that told me something was bothering him as he couldn’t completely focus on the task at hand. But this was an exercise, a duel in which we had to demonstrate to the other students, so I pushed my worries aside and cast my next spell, “Fulgari!”

Much like Seonghwa’s spell, it was another one that bid your arms together, however, the ropes weren’t invisible anymore but red and thick, painful, as the charm tied your wrists together tightly. But Seonghwa knew how to counterattack it, and the ropes dropped midair as a white light was cast from his wand. Knowing that we didn’t have much time anymore and that Professor Merrythought was waiting for one of us to disarm the other, I acted quickly, “Expelliarmus!”

However, Seonghwa’s simultaneous attack was silent as it shot from his wand, and our spells clashed in the middle, exploding with a loud boom after they’d tangled up for a few seconds. I gasped as the force pushed me backward, almost making me stumble to the floor. The hem of my robe had caught in the heel of my boots, and as I tried to manage the issue, I felt my mind being prodded at. Not even having to concentrate on the action, my mind instantly blocked the intruder out, my mind’s barriers strong and stubborn, no matter how insistent the intruder became. I knew who it was, in this classroom only Tom Riddle was so talented enough to use Legilimens wandless and non-verbally, but he was least of my worries as Seonghwa’s glare was deep, mouth moving before I could register his words, “Relashio!”

I gasped as my wand was snapped out of my hand, clattering to the floor, making the students roar with claps and cheers, Professor Merrythought not even trying to calm them down as she walked towards Seonghwa and me. I gulped, feeling my cheeks tinge pink at the amateur mistake I had made, the fact even more embarrassing as I was disarmed by such a pathetic spell. But this is what a duel encompassed, and I took a deep breath and released it slowly as I felt Professor Merrythought’s hand on my shoulder, pulling me next to her as she had grabbed onto Seonghwa as well.

“Brilliant!” She exclaimed lips pulled into a huge grin, “Simply brilliant, my students! You will make such fine Aurors, the department will be blessed upon your arrival!”

I muttered a quiet thank you and bowed my head abashed, missing the cold look that crossed Seonghwa’s face upon hearing our professor’s words. Then, when the class had finally settled down, Seonghwa and I were ushered back to our previous spots, Professor Merrythought taking the lead as she started explaining the new spell we’d be learning today. I felt the uncomfortable prodding once again, and a little frustrated, I turned around and snapped at Tom without considering my actions first, “Stop it, Riddle!”

My exclamation thankfully wasn’t too loud, but it made a few heads turn our way. I gulped and averted my eyes flustered as Tom grinned, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “My apologies, but I failed to gain your attention any other way.”

“I am trying to pay attention to the new spell, Riddle,” I muttered as I faced the front of the classroom again, feeling the younger boy step closer as he loomed over my shoulders.

“But you already know it,” He muttered, voice devoid of any emotion and I just sighed, nodding and confirming his claim, “Well, then, let me offer you some friendly advice.”

“The Tom Riddle offering me some friendly advice?” I teased, looking over my shoulder with a chuckle, “So you finally admit that we’re friends?”

“Well,” Tom cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable, “if you think of us as friends, we shall be that, Y/N.”

Tom hadn’t been keen on addressing each other casually in public, but he’s been calling me by my name rather often lately, “And your advice is?”

“Ah, yes,” He cleared his throat again, leaning just a little bit closer to whisper in my ear, “use more non-verbal spells next time and maybe even wandless magic too, Park seems to struggle to defend those. And, try not to lose focus so easily, getting disarmed by Relashio out of all spells is rather embarrassing, Miss Song.”

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest, watching Professor Merrythought’s wand as she drew the movement of the spell slowly for us to see, “Thank you for pointing out that Relashio isn’t even a disarming spell.”

It was rare to see any sort of positive reaction from Tom, but he snickered as I felt him take a step back to offer me more space as he was done with the conversation, “Meet me later in the Room of Requirements?”

But apparently, he wasn’t done with the telepathic conversation, “Yes, at the agreed-upon time, I won’t be late this time.”

“You better not be.” Tom’s voice sounded unimpressed in my mind and I rolled my eyes, hoping nobody saw it, “And tell your boyfriend to stop staring daggers at my head, I could disarm and harm him in just a few seconds—”

“Thank you, Tom, that’s enough.” I snapped, never too keen when he tried to bash Seonghwa and his skills—or lack of them as Tom had so often remarked, “And get out of my head, now.”

His chuckle was cut short as I raised the barrier once again, forcing Tom out of my mind. I knew it would be painful to him and I didn’t mind as lately he’s been trying to prod at my mind way too often. But being a born Occlumens came with its perks, no matter how much Tom tried to peek inside my head, he’d only be allowed inside as long as I let him. Having realized that he had some control issues, I didn’t let him know about that little piece of information, for my own peace of mind, really. Feeling like somebody was drilling holes into the side of my head, I looked over to the Ravenclaws, a little taken aback by the dark look in Seonghwa’s eyes and the sneer on his lips. He looked irritated, and as we made eye contact his expression hardened for a second before he looked away, ignoring me for the rest of the class. I had only sighed, paying attention to Professor Merrythought for the rest of the class.

            Once class was over everyone pilled outside quickly, eager for the short break before our next class would start. Wanting to speak to Seonghwa in private, I stayed back with the hopes that he’d do the same, but when Professor Merrythought noticed me and asked if I had wanted to speak to her, I realized it was just her, myself, and Lovegood in the classroom. I bid her farewell and then scurried outside, sighing long as I felt disappointed that Seonghwa had left without me even noticing it. He was mad at me, that was now certain, and we wouldn’t have the possibility to meet until dinner or our Prefect duties as this was the last class we shared today. I held the strap of my satchel bag tightly as I gnawed on my bottom lip, wondering whether I could use an excuse and search for him between my classes, when suddenly a classroom door was thrown open and I was harshly yanked to the left by my arm. I gasped as I stumbled, failing to keep up with the aggressive tugging, my back hitting a wall rather painfully as my heart had started racing, eyes widening as I felt warm lips pressing against mine. It took me a second to register what was happening.

I was face to face with Seonghwa, who had me pinned between himself and the wall, holding the side of my neck firmly with his right hand as his left one gripped my hip, fingers digging into the fabric of my uniform. His eyes were open and glaring at me despite his heated kiss, and it only made me flush more as I felt his tongue force itself between my lips while his fingers sneaked up towards my jaw, tilting my head up as he had to lean down, just slightly, due to our height difference. My heart hammered against my ribcage as the satchel bag fell from my shoulder, landing with a loud thud as I gripped his robe’s collar, the fabric a lot softer than mine. Seonghwa’s tongue lapped at mine fiercely, stealing my breath away as I felt his hand slip from my hip, trace the inside of my thigh as it slowly slipped underneath my knee-length skirt. I gasped and gently pushed him back, breathing hard as his right hand held my nape, fingernails pressing into my frail skin, “Seonghwa—”

“Did you have fun flirting with Riddle right in front of me?” His tone was harsh, voice raspier than usual, and I gulped, his hand slipping higher up underneath my skirt.

“Seonghwa, I wasn’t flirting with him.” My voice trembled as he leaned closer again, lips tracing the skin of my neck, feather-like, making goosebumps erupt all over my skin. My hands released the collar of his robe as they slipped higher up, circling his neck as my fingers got tangled in the wavy strands of his hair, “I’ve told you so many times that I’m not interested in him—”

“Well, you certainly don’t act like it.” I gasped as his sharp teeth sunk into the skin of my neck, making my stomach coil as his other hand stopped at my groin, caressing my flesh through my stockings, “I’m sick of seeing him prance around you like a lost puppy, my love.”

“He’s just a boy.” My eyebrows furrowed as Seonghwa’s head snapped up, a sneer on his face.

“Just a boy?” He scoffed and leaned incredibly close, lips brushing against mine as he spoke, “He’s barely one year younger than us, Y/N.”

Sighing loudly, I pressed a chaste kiss against his lips, seeing his eyes shake for a second, his anger dissipating slightly, “Yet I only see the little boy I guided to the Slytherin common room in his first year in him, my love, he’s nothing but like a brother to me.”

“He has no boundaries.” Seonghwa huffed, jaw clenching and unclenching as I kissed his cheek, right side and then left side, then pulled him slightly lower to kiss his forehead too. Seonghwa’s grip visibly softened, his finger rubbing circles into my hipbone under my skirt.

“I know how to put him in his place if he ever goes too far, which he has never done before.” I muttered reassuringly as I ran my fingers through his hair gently, knowing that he loved the ministration, “Abraxas is touchier than Tom will ever be, yet you make no scene when he’s with me.”

Seonghwa scoffed, gripping my chin as he tilted my head up again, “Because it’s clear he’s not interested in courting you, he’s touchy with everyone.”

I chuckled as I coaxed his lips towards mine, my eyes fluttering closed as Seonghwa’s lips gently, but firmly, pressed against mine, our lips playing a gentle dance as they moved at a calmer pace, following the other’s rhythm as I let Seonghwa take the lead, our lips slotting perfectly against each other. His breath hit my face as he nipped at my bottom lip, enjoying the way my lips chased after his again, capturing his bottom lip between mine as I felt his hand very slowly slip towards my crotch. I keened, pushing him back by the shoulders when he had started rubbing circles against my clothed core, “I need to get to the greenhouse, Hwa, we can’t do this now.”

“You can skip Herbology,” Seonghwa whispered as his lips brushed against my ear, I bit my bottom lip, eyes fluttering closed, “it’s not that important.”

Before I could succumb to the feeling of Seonghwa’s fingers teasing me, I gripped his wrist and pushed his hand away, blinking my eyes open, “I’m not going to skip classes because you want to have sex, Seonghwa. You can wait until tonight.”

“Yeah?” He grinned, round eyes glinting dangerously, “I can?”

“Unless you want to throw another jealous fit over the fact that I’ll be studying with Tom later on.” I mused and pursed my lips as Seonghwa’s expression hardened again. He was so easy to irk, his face hid nothing as I cocked an eyebrow in challenge at him.

“Right,” He muttered, clearing his throat, “You’ll be busy with Riddle this afternoon—”

“I’ll be busy perfecting my Legilimency, yes.” I raised my eyebrows at Seonghwa as he hummed and stepped back, detaching himself fully from me. I licked at my lips and ran my hands through my hair, trying to get rid of any knots that may have formed.

“Find me after you’re done patrolling, then,” Seonghwa adjusted his tie and then patted down his robe, “I won’t be coming to dinner tonight.”

“Something wrong?” I asked with furrowing eyebrows as I leaned down to pick up my satchel bag.

“No, I just need to catch up on some assignments, is all.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I didn’t say anything as he caressed my cheek with his warm hand, “I love you.”

I smiled widely, turning my head lightly to press a kiss against his wrist, “I love you too, Hwa.”

            Despite the sun trying to shine some light on the dire streets of London, the ever-grey clouds were everlasting, casting a gloomy shadow over the streets and the people that ventured outside. Lately, it seemed to be safer to go out and enjoy the much-needed social interactions, but people were still wary of the imminent threat posing over their heads. You just never knew when the enemy would strike, making you look over your shoulder at any given moment. London wasn’t anymore what it used to be, but reconstructions have started and there seemed to be light at the end of the permeating dark tunnel.

My coffee’s steam reached my nose as I forgot of its existence, my eyes having fallen on two children who had their palms out and were timidly asking for money from the passerby people. My heart broke at the sight of such innocent lives having to suffer so much, unwanted scenarios clouding my mind. They could’ve lost their parents, or maybe they still had them, but the war made them homeless and this is was the best they could do. I hated how most people didn’t even cast a glance at the obviously suffering children, their clothes strewn in places, cheeks dirty with dust. They clung to each other, the boy taller by a head as he clutched the younger girl to his side, pulling her back when a postman paid them no mind as he barrelled down with his bicycle on the pavement. But before my anger could get the best of me, the bell to the small coffee shop chimed, and I looked over, heart settling at the familiarity of the man that was approaching my table. He wasn’t a coffee lover, not when we were mere teenagers, so I had ordered tea instead for him.

“Mr. Kim.” I smiled as I abandoned my cup and pushed my chair back, fighting the wide smile that tried to make it onto my lips. Kim Hongjoong and I haven’t been close during our days at Hogwarts, but due to a person that was present in both of our lives, we had the chance to share some fond memories. Hongjoong had always been a free spirit, unafraid to break rules here and there, trying to break free of the chains society placed on all of us. Even now, his hair was brushed back in an uncharacteristic way, the black ends tinged almost blonde. His clothes didn’t match in colour, his pants burgundy and his shirt a rather atrocious colour of yellow, the grey sweater thrown over it saving the outfit somewhat. His green coat was dark, and due to the colour of his pants, it made him look like a Christmas tree.

“Dear,” Hongjoong chuckled, his hug warm and comforting, arms circling my middle tightly, “are we back to being formal with each other now? Has it been that long since we left Hogwarts?”

I chuckled, arms tightening around him subconsciously as my chin pressed against his shoulder, eyes glazing over with sudden tears that took me off guard. I have missed the faces I have become familiar with at Hogwarts, the place where I was still innocent and in love with life, with the prospect of a bright future. A future that was now my present, neither bright nor innocent. I have never had many friends, keen on keeping to myself, and the life of an Auror made it hard to keep up with others. It was better for them; my field of work had no guarantee of me returning alive. And knowing that two of the people I considered my family, Mingi and Yunho, were first in line in harm’s way, made me prolong my hug with Hongjoong. It felt nice to be in a warm embrace for once.

“Four years and three months, more specifically.” I whispered as I reluctantly let go of Hongjoong, who gripped my bicep and gave it a reassuring squeeze before we both claimed our seats at the small round table.

“So, you’ve been counting,” Hongjoong muttered, looking down at his steaming hot tea, “as have I.”

I hummed, feeling a certain sad aura around Hongjoong as he carefully cradled the teacup in his hands, humming to himself as my eyes bore into the side of his head. I was curious of what was running through his mind, but entering it without his consent was a breech of privacy and the break of trust between the two of us. Picking his fragile mind apart would’ve been very easy. Finding what I was looking for would’ve taken only a few seconds and I could be on my merry way in no time, hunting down the man I was tasked to take out, but I was yearning for just a second of normalcy, for a second that could take me back to the past where I was happy, unafraid, in love.

“How is the Auror life, dear?” I smiled at the nickname, Hongjoong being the only person who’s ever addressed me so affectionately—besides my former lover, Seonghwa.

“Dangerous,” I sighed, raising my cup of coffee to take a small sip, “exhausting, and time consuming.”

“I’ve had to treat many Aurors since I’ve started working at St. Mungo’s, and each time I pray I do not come across you, dear.” Hongjoong’s expression was solemn, as if he was trying to repress memories that weren’t kind nor pleasant, “But you seem to be in great health, so I shall not worry so much anymore.”

I chuckled and placed the cup down, fingertips tracing the porcelain in order to keep my hands busy with something, “I’m rather agile, one of the best they have. But sometimes even I worry for my own safety, thank you for thinking of me so often, Hongjoongie.”

He smiled, reaching out to grab my wrist, “Sometimes I feel bad for the way things have ended between us—between the three of us, I mean.”

I gulped, the topic of Seonghwa inevitable anymore. But still, I tried to stall it for a little bit longer, trying to enjoy Hongjoong’s company for a little bit more before the real reason I was here would ruin our nostalgic reunion.

“Don’t fret on the past, Hongjoong, what’s lost is lost.” I gripped his hand with my right one, patting it gently, “How are the other nurses treating you at St. Mungo’s? I’ve heard there’s not many wizards working there.”

“The witches seem to love me,” Hongjoong chuckled, suddenly his cheeks red, “they praise me a lot and always fight on who gets to work with me. I’m treated nicely and they’ve accepted me rather quickly despite being a wizard.”

I gulped, knowing the tumultuous history of the Kim family, “And your parents?”

Hongjoong froze, eyebrows furrowing as he averted his eyes, “My mother is speaking to me again. My father…we know how he feels about me.”

“You’ve always done just fine without them,” I encouraged him, watching curiously as he grabbed my hand and flipped my palm upside down, “and if you need a friendly advice or just an evening spent drinking wine and reminiscing, you know were to find me, Hongjoongie.”

He chuckled, forefinger gingerly tracing the inside of my palm, making me shiver. It’s been long since someone had treated me so tenderly, ever since Yunho and Mingi have been sent onto their mission actually, “Have you cut yourself here?”

“Yes.” I answered surprised, “How did you know?”

“The skin is rougher here,” Hongjoong pressed his finger a little harder against where the cut was healed up, not even a trace of a scar, “Stop by St. Mungo’s when you have a little free time, I have the perfect potion to fix your skin. I’ve got quite the tricks up my sleeve now.”

As our eyes met, a beat of silence passed, then we both burst out in quiet giggles, pressing our hands against our mouths. Memories of all the failed potions made by Hongjoong resurfaced, most of those times Seonghwa or me being his test subjects. There were too few fingers on my hands to count the number of times Seonghwa, Hongjoong, and I had ended up in the Infirmary, on the brink of dying from dangerous toxins found in Hongjoong’s brews. And yet, we continued indulging in his shenanigans as he was too endearing to say ‘no’ to.

“I suppose you’ve stopped poisoning people now, right?” I raised an eyebrow, tone joking as Hongjoong bit his lower lip, cheeks flushing once again.

“No more failed experiments or potions that would send Slughorn up the wall if he were to know about them.” And once again, we started giggling behind our palms as Hongjoong seemed to finally loosen up, making me feel bad that I would soon deter the conversation to a delicate topic. But I didn’t have much time, I had to move fast if I wanted to catch Seonghwa when he least expected it.

“I suppose you meet all sorts of people at the hospital…” I trailed off as I grabbed my cup of coffee yet again and took a long sip, Hongjoong’s lips pursing as he traced the wooden design of the table.

“Yes, quite the personalities.” He mused, eyebrows raised slightly in question as I swallowed the coffee, biting my lower lip in hesitance.

“As a nurse your allegiances do not matter, you must save everyone—”

“That is correct.” Hongjoong’s tone had turned colder, his face losing its warm glow, a mask of indifference now replacing it. I sighed knowing that Hongjoong had probably caught on to where our conversation was headed now.

“I know you still keep in touch with Park Seonghwa.” I lowered my voice so nobody would hear us. Everyone knew who Grindelwald’s men were, I didn’t want to risk the chance of anyone overhearing our conversation, even if the coffee shop was only frequented by muggles. I chose this place for this specific reason, few wizards and witches ventured out into the heart of London, not keen of the life muggles lived here.

Hongjoong had frozen, jaw clenching as his cat-like eyes narrowed at me, “What does that have to do with me being a nurse at St. Mungo’s? Are you accusing me of something, Miss Song?”

I sighed, but I knew the jabbing was inevitable. Hongjoong had been very protective of Seonghwa even before our years at Hogwarts, “I am not accusing you of anything, I was just merely curious on who’s side you stand—”

“I stand on nobody’s side.” Hongjoong snapped, pushing his teacup far away from himself, glaring at it suspiciously. He must be wondering whether I had slipped Veritaserum in it, but I would never do that to him, “I stand on the side of the victims I must save, on the side of justice, and on the side that doesn’t harm but protects instead. Do you fathom there’s a side like that? One that does not harm, but only protects?”

“No.” I whispered, averting my eyes from Hongjoong’s intense gaze, visibly irritated, “We’re trying to do our best, I promise, but I cannot guarantee that innocent folk won’t be harmed in the process of stopping Grindelwald.”

“You’re just doing your job,” Hongjoong’s tone softened, “and so am I, and so is Seonghwa—”

“Seonghwa is killing innocent wizards and witches for a cause that is irrational, for a cause that aims to harm muggles that aren’t at fault for being the way that they are. This isn’t a job!” Hongjoong’s eyes widened as my voice gradually raised, never the type to lose my cool. My heart had started racing and I felt anxiety creeping up my chest, through my throat, making me chew on the inside of my cheeks. I scrapped at my hand, averting my eyes as Hongjoong’s stare became too much, making me feel like he was judging me. Maybe I have misjudged his character, maybe he is on Seonghwa’s side, after all.

“Y/N,” But his voice was soft and I felt his hand grip mine, gently stopping me from scratching my skin until it was raw and red, “I know how hard it was when you found out about Seonghwa’s ambitions and beliefs, and I know you still feel guilty and think you played a part in him becoming like this. But as someone who’s known him since he was a little boy, Seonghwa’s always dreamed of doing big things, of changing our world into the better. You couldn’t have stopped him even if you had known of his plans since early on—”

“Then help me.” I felt choked up as I looked at Hongjoong swiftly, eyes shaking as I gripped his hand. His eyebrows were furrowed and he gulped as my eyes glossed over, his words ringing through my ears. He was right, I have always felt guilty for not noticing the blatant signs of Seonghwa’s true beliefs. He’s never been kind to muggles at Hogwarts, he’s always made snide remarks about them, and he’s mentioned joining a cause one day that purified our Wizarding World. I thought he was simply aspiring to join the Ministry, like many others wanted. Instead, he decided to join the cause of a man who thought wizards were superior to muggles and wished to subdue them, and force them to live in fear for the rest of their lives, “I need to talk to Seonghwa, please tell me where he is. Hongjoongie, you’ll be helping a greater cause than yourself and even myself. I must find him and—”

“You’re an Auror, Y/N.” He cut me off sharply, yanking his hand out of my grip as he shook his head feverishly, “If you find him, then what? Will you interrogate him and lock him up in Azkaban for a few months until he gives in and admits to his mistakes? We both know that’s the last thing Seonghwa will do if he’s ever captured. You’ll kill him—”

“I won’t—”

“You’ll kill him, and I cannot set up my best friend for his death.” He snapped angrily, cheeks red as his eyes were tear-filled, “I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that you sought me out for such a feat. You should be ashamed of yourself, Miss Song, for even thinking that I would help you out with such an atrocious thing. I love Seonghwa more than anyone, you have deeply wounded me, Miss Song, I have expected more of you.”

“Hongjoong—” Heart breaking as he swiftly stood and left with a last piercing look, I slumped back in my chair and tried not to let the sob break through my lips, cheeks damp from the tears that fell down them. Yes, I have been a fool for seeking out Hongjoong, I knew he’d never give away Seonghwa’s location, but he was my first and last option in trying to find Seonghwa in a way that I could negotiate with him, try to deter him from his cause, save him from a harsh sentence. And I have failed, and now I’ll have to kill the man that I have never stopped loving.

Having lost my appetite for anything, I stood hastily and wore my dark coat, pulling on my gloves to protect my hands from the freezing air. I gathered my purse and clutched it tightly in my hands, storming out of the coffee shop as I felt around for my bonnet inside the purse. The heart of the city was buzzing with people as the hour was nearing noon, the loudness of it all irritating my ears as I tried to walk between the people to the closest Portkey leading to the Wizarding World. But just as I was about to cross the road, I felt a hesitant tug on my coat. Alarmed and ready to defend myself, I whirled around and searched for whoever had touched me, only to find the siblings looking up at me with pleading eyes. Tapping the tears off my cheeks quickly, I opened my purse and crouched down as I fetched the pastries I have bought earlier for breakfast.

“Have this,” I handed them to the little girl, who had a runny nose and whispered a ‘thank you’. I pushed around in search for the little muggle money I still had, and once I found it, I gave it to the boy who looked beyond grateful and even bowed his head in gratitude. Feeling helpless that I couldn’t do more for them, I grabbed the bonnet that I knew I wouldn’t wear again, and placed it onto the little girl’s head. It was big and it fell in her eyes, but she grinned as her brother tried to adjust it for her, making my heart swell, “Take care of each other.”

The two nodded with eyes glistening, and I gulped down the lump that’s formed in my throat and stood tall once again, hurrying away before I felt the overbearing need to break down in the middle of a muggle filled street. I would finish this mission even if I lost my life in the process of it, it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter because innocent children and innocent common folk were the one suffering the consequences of these tyrants that ruled over our worlds.

20th of December, 1943

             Slughorn’s Christmas parties were catalogued somewhat legendary and, thus, have always been talked about in the hallways of Hogwarts. Those who were invited mentioned it in excited exclamations and those who weren’t in whispers with envious tones. I had been part of the lucky few who got invited, being part of Slughorn’s Slug Club for a good two years now, and I couldn’t have been happier. These parties were perfect for mingling with socialites and people of importance in the Ministry and other fields that piqued your interest. I had been lucky enough to meet a few well-known Aurors tonight, but my utmost luck struck when, despite his drunken state, Professor Slughorn pulled me aside to introduce me Theseus Scamander, the Head of the Auror Office. The professor had rambled on about my abilities and how talented and knowledgeable I was in the Dark Arts, painting me as a very talented duellist to Mr. Scamander. He had been eager to listen to his former professor, giving me knowing glances and a dashing smile. I couldn’t help but blush a little, the Fire Whiskey I had—secretly—drunk with Abraxas getting the best of me. Unable to hide his amused smile anymore, Theseus had excused us with the pretext that we’d head over to the delicious candy bar and serve ourselves with chocolate frogs, to which our professor couldn’t object as, he, himself loved it.

“He’s quite the talker, isn’t he?” Theseus laughed as he gently guided me through the crowd of students and outsiders, his hand holding my gloved elbow. My dress was modest, adorning the emerald green of my house that I wore proudly. The neckline was a sweetheart design, sleeveless, and the upper part of the dress was moulded tightly against my body, a silvery fabric creating the illusion of a belt around my waist. From the waist, it flowed down to my ankles in a simple A-line, highlighting my long legs. I had a thin, sheer, shawl around my shoulders—but I have abandoned that at the dinner table as it had started annoying me—and instead wore my silvery satin gloves that reached just above my elbows.

“He certainly let’s go of himself when alcohol is involved.” I said quietly, earning a chuckle from Theseus as we reached the candy bar. It was hard to choose just one delicacy as the table was littered with at least fifteen types of desserts, and I watched as Theseus grabbed a plate rather eagerly.

“I couldn’t wait for the annual Christmas party back when I was a student here,” Theseus said as he started placing different delicacies on his plate, “the dessert was the best part of the night—apart from the Fire Whiskey.”

He glanced at me briefly and winked cheekily, making me chuckle as I averted my eyes with a shy blush on my cheeks. He chose a rose shaped tart that was filled with marzipan, and it reminded me of Seonghwa as it was his favourite dessert. Wondering where he was—since he had disappeared around half an hour ago—I searched the crowd while Theseus was busy filling his plate.

“Is it you who wants to be an Auror, or are your professors pushing you towards this job?” Theseus’ question earned my attention as I looked back at him, unsuccessful in my mission of finding Seonghwa.

“It is me.” I answered with a smile, fiddling with my fingers nervously, “I hate injustice, and I hate seeing our world get torn apart as Grindelwald is trying to ruin us. I want to help in stopping him, I want to be a figure that others can entrust their lives to. I want to protect the innocent, and I am not scared to sacrifice myself for others. And when he’ll finally be stopped, I will continue dedicating my life to help the right cause.”

Theseus hummed, his eyes softening as they quickly took in my form, a pleased look crossing his features, “You sound quite determined, and you look tough too. I have spoken to Professor Merrythought about any student she deemed fit for the role of an Auror, and I am positive she talked about you for almost an hour, Miss Song.”

I gulped, feeling warmth spread through my chest in happiness that I had been praised so extensively by my professor to a very important and prominent person in the Ministry, “I’ve still got two years until I graduate, but I hope to join you as soon as possible.”

“I cannot wait for that day to come, Miss Song.” Theseus grinned, grabbing the rose dessert, “I can already tell you’ll be great; you sort of remind me of myself, actually.”

“I do?” I asked with a surprised tone, feeling my smile get even bigger.

“Indeed.” Theseus hummed and then took a bite of the rose as I tried to contain my glee, my mouth hurting from smiling so widely. Suddenly, there was a presence next to me, and I felt a hand gently grip my shoulder, the hold familiar but rather cold. I turned my head and was met with Tom’s piercing-blue cold eyes looking down at me impassively.

“Mr. Scamander.” He greeted the Auror with a tight smile on his lips.

“Mr. Riddle.” Theseus was in the middle of chewing his dessert, but he quickly forced it down his throat and shook Tom’s hand.

“Do you mind if I steal Miss Song for a dance?” Tom’s voice was suddenly light, dripping with sweetness as his face morphed into a warm smile, “Have I interrupted an important conversation?”

“I have said what I wanted to Miss Song, if she wishes so, you can steal her for a dance.” Theseus winked, our gazes meeting as suddenly his thoughts flooded my mind. For a powerful Auror like him, it took me off guard to find his mind so defenceless. Perhaps he didn’t see a reason to guard his thoughts in the confines of Hogwarts, and before I could correct him that there was nothing between Tom and myself—as Theseus’ thoughts claimed—I was already whirled around and guided towards the crowded dance floor. The orchestra played a nice tune, slow but not to the point all you could do was step left and right. Tom placed his hand on the middle of my back as he held my hand in his other one, a respectable distance between our bodies as he started leading.

“Any reason you wanted to dance with me?” I asked with narrowed eyes, knowing for a fact that Tom never danced. He hated dancing or standing as close to somebody as we were stood right now.

“Hmm,” He hummed, his tone low and his voice pleasant to the ears as he spoke up again, “you looked like you needed a little saving.”

“Speaking to Mr. Scamander was pleasant,” I shrugged, holding onto Tom’s shoulder tighter as we narrowly avoided a drunken couple, “You could’ve tried to save me when I was talking to Professor Slughorn and the spouses that work at St. Mungo’s, instead. They are weird.”

“They are peculiar people, indeed.” Tom muttered, eyes falling on my face, “But they are incredibly smart and good assets to a team.”

“What team?” I asked confused, eyebrows furrowing. Tom was leading us out of the crowded dance floor, thankfully, more towards the side where we’d have more space and wouldn’t have to avoid every second drunken couple. A platinum blonde hair popped up in the crowd not far from us, and I stifled a laugh as Abraxas tried not to topple over as he was led towards the exit by his date.

“Well,” Tom started, eyebrows lightly furrowing as he mused over his words, like he didn’t know how to formulate his next words. That was unexpected from Tom as he was a good speaker, and an intelligent person, “let’s put it this way. You build an army of people that are magically gifted, but smart too, and you lead them to victory.”

“Why would you need this army?” I asked as I grew even more confused, “Are you talking about Grindelwald?”

“We can take him as an example, yes.” Tom chuckled, a smirk pulling at his lips as our eyes bore into each other’s, making me wonder for a split second if he was hiding something from me, “The people he has on his side aren’t just strong and powerful wizards and witches who excel at magic, they are also intelligent and strategize with him, leading him towards victory—”

“You think Grindelwald will prosper in this war?” I asked, feeling myself irked at such vile thoughts. Grindelwald wouldn’t win, I would become an Auror just to make sure of it.

“No, of course not.” Tom whispered, an easy smile adorning his lips and I felt his fingers gently rub against my knuckles. I sighed and looked away, surveying the crowd in hopes that I would finally find my lover. I missed him, I wanted to be by his side and dance with him, “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Of course.” I chuckled, but my eyes were still searching the crowd as Tom cleared his throat, turning us around so that I was facing the exit now. My eyes stopped on the familiar form of my lover, and my eyebrows furrowed in wonder as I realized Seonghwa was speaking to Rabastan Lestrange and his parents, “Are you?”

“I hate these events, actually, even the Slug Club, but if I wish to remain in the graces of our daft professor, I must—”

“I am really sorry for cutting you off like this, Tom.” I released my hold on Tom and took a step back, eyes hastily falling back on the Slytherin boy, “But I’ve finally found my lover, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Right,” Tom’s expression faltered, then returned to being cold as he nodded towards Seonghwa, “I’ll see you around. But, Y/N, did you know Park and Lestrange have been acquittances for quite a while now?”

My eyebrows furrowed as I bit my lower lip, wondering if Seonghwa had ever mention Lestrange to me, “Of course, there are no secrets between Seonghwa and I.”

I felt the slight prodding at my mind, but Tom got nowhere near my thoughts as I have carefully guarded them all night. I bowed my head slightly before I walked away from the dance floor, nearing my lover and the Lestrange family with a soft smile on my lips. Rabastan was the first one to notice me, and he loudly cleared his throat, eyes jumping between Seonghwa and my approaching form. Seonghwa stiffened and I tried to mask my confusion as I stood next to my lover, “Good evening.”

“Good evening, Miss…?” Rabastan’s father was a gruff man, scary-looking, and rather unfriendly as his voice was harsh.

“Song, Song Y/N.” I answered and offered him my hand before I greeted his wife, who looked stoic and glared at me viciously. But I remained unphased as I continued smiling.

“Song,” She muttered, eyes narrowing as she shared a glance with her husband, “your parents are quite prominent figures in the Ministry, aren’t they?”

“Yes.” I answered, not keen of talking about my parents. It was always about them, never about me. They’ve made their own reputation already, I wanted to make one for myself.

“Y/N is just as brilliant as her parents, if not more.” Seonghwa mused with a warm tone, lips pulled into a dashing smile as I felt his arm sneak around my middle and gently pull me into his side. My muscles softened as his familiar warmth and cologne embraced my being, making me look up at him with a small grin. Rabastan’s parents exchanged a glance as their son cleared his throat again, looking rather awkward.

“And you make a pair, I assume.” Rabastan’s father quirked an eyebrow, not looking very impressed by the prospect. Before I could answer, Seonghwa hummed lowly and I felt his fingers flex against my hips in a quiet request to remain silent. I bit my bottom lip, but adhered to his request.

“Yes, Miss Song and I had been quite the academic rivals, but I suppose in our fifth year we found common ground and discovered together we are more powerful, our knowledge forever expanding.” Seonghwa’s answer made my eyebrows furrow as I turned my head to look at him with a questioning gaze, but he continued looking at the Lestranges, who seemed pleased with his answer.

“Well, yes, she is a Slytherin like our son,” Rabastan’s mother said with a chuckle that was filled with vice, “but she might take after her parents, after all.”

Fed up with the cryptic conversation, I chuckled and flashed the Rabastans an apologetic smile before I cradled Seonghwa’s cheek in my hand and turned his head to face me, “May we dance? You’ve neglected me the whole night, my love.”

“My apologies,” Seonghwa hummed and kissed my wrist as I let my hand fall from his face, the two of us looking back at the Lestranges, “It was a pleasure talking to you and meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange, I shall see you around—hopefully.”

They nodded wordlessly as Rabastan bid us farewell, and I intertwined my fingers with Seonghwa’s as I led us back to the dance floor, the crowd a little more dispersed now than it has been when I was dancing with Tom. The orchestra now had started playing slow tunes, all the dancing couples swaying gently to the music. I sighed as I felt Seonghwa’s arms slip around my hips to pull me close in, my arms circling his shoulders as our bodies flushed together, my nerves and muscles easing at the familiar press of his body against mine. Seonghwa’s round eyes had a warm glow in them, his cherry-like lips pulled into a soft smile. I chuckled and fought the muscles in my body yearning to press a kiss against his lips, and instead let my eyes travel down to the early Christmas gift I had given him earlier this morning. Seonghwa and I would be going home tomorrow, meaning that we wouldn’t spend the holidays together like last year, when Hongjoong, his best friend, decided to stay at Hogwarts due to his horrible parents and Seonghwa and I decided to stay too, to keep him company. It was one of the best Christmases I have ever had.

My gift was something small, a thin silver chain necklace with a small star pendant hanging on it, representing the way I viewed Seonghwa. He was bright and beautiful, always glimmering in the darkness and guiding me through my hardships, helping me sparkle as bright as him. He was an inspiration and so easily lovable that sometimes I felt like I fell for him over and over again each day.

“I had no idea you knew Rabastan Lestrange?” I raised an eyebrow as Seonghwa sighed, our moves smooth as he twirled us around.

“Barely.” He muttered, dipping his head low, his breath fanning my face, “Did Professor Slughorn introduce you to Theseus Scamander? I saw you talking to him.”

“He did!” I beamed, Seonghwa’s eyes creasing as he smiled back at me, “I am so happy I met him tonight, he said he cannot wait for me to join the Auror’s Office.”

“Is that so?” Seonghwa hummed, making my eyebrows furrow in confusion. He didn’t look too eager, but he chuckled upon seeing my reaction, it didn’t sound amused, “With how eager Riddle was to whisk you away for a dance, I figured you couldn’t talk much to Mr. Scamander.”

“Seonghwa,” I sighed, interlacing my fingers around his neck as I tilted my head back, “can we not do this here? Can we just not talk about Tom for one second?”

“How can I not talk about Riddle when he’s openly trying to court my partner—”

“Seonghwa.” I snapped quietly as I didn’t want anyone to overhear our useless argument, “Tom hates every female that breaths around him withing a meter radius, can you please for the love of Merlin stop this nonsense?!”

“I cannot.” He hissed, eyes narrowing as our steps faltered, “You fail to see the issue at hand, Y/N, he hates every female but you. And I cannot stand that—”

“Why are you so jealous when I have never given you a reason to be?” I cut him off, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance.

“Because you’re mine and I cannot fathom losing you, I just—”

“Park Seonghwa.” I sighed, cupping his cheeks as I shook my head at him, “You are the love of my life, I have never loved anyone before you and I will never love anyone else but you. I don’t want anyone else that isn’t you, and I will never do. You are my star and the reason I live for, and I trust you with my whole being and have given all of myself to you. Sometimes—I just wish you trusted me as much as I trust you. When you act like this, you make me feel guilty and bad, like I don’t deserve your love and you.”

Seonghwa’s bottom lip was between his teeth and he released a long sigh as his hands sneaked back to grip my hips, “Only Merlin know how much I love you, Y/N, how much faith I have in you, and just how much I trust you. It’s this irrational fear that I will lose you if I make a wrong move that makes me act like this. I don’t even care about Riddle—or anyone else—if I have one fear, it’s that of losing the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I might be your star, but a star cannot shine without darkness. I need you, promise me you’ll stay by my side no matter what.”

“I promise to forever stay by your side, Hwa.”

            Hongjoong was a good friend to Seonghwa, righteous, and ferociously protective. But even Hongjoong could tell apart right from wrong, unlike Seonghwa. And when I had gotten home after meeting him at the coffee shop, in the haste of searching for my yellow bottle of pills as my hands had started trembling once again, I found a small rolled up paper nestled between the white tablets. Eager to swallow the sedatives, I held the paper carefully, and after downing two tablets, I unrolled the paper, eyebrows furrowing when I realized it was an address to a fancy place in high-end London, where socialites mingled to their hearts wishes—both muggles, wizards, and witches alike. Hongjoong would never help me in taking down his best friend, but he also knew I was offering his best friend the easy way out this time. I would let him flee if he promises to never show himself around Grindelwald—I would do that because it’s Seonghwa. Because I cannot imagine a life without him even if he’s not by my side, just the thought of knowing he’s out there breathing and living keeps me going.

The casino Hongjoong had given me the address of was fancy and elite, only those who had an invite could enter. But I had connections, getting in was the easiest part. And perhaps, feeling nostalgic after having seen Hongjoong, I yearned to see more familiar faces that reminded me of my innocent childhood, familiar faces that could help me forget that I haven’t heard from Mingi and Yunho in a week. They were alive, that much we knew, but we had no idea if they had been discovered or injured, or if they have gone low-key in order to have even fewer chances of compromising their mission. Nonetheless, when I sent an owl to an old-time friend, I did not expect to receive an answer this eager, at least not from this particular person. Having taken my time to tidy up and make myself presentable, I slipped my bottle of pills inside my purse, knowing that there were great chances I would be seeing Seonghwa tonight—that was the whole point of me going to the casino. I was restless all day long and I had probably already taken too many of them, but the tremors of my hands never once stopped, and I could feel my heart race all day long. It was unsettling, but I knew there was nothing more I could do about it but slip the bottle in my purse and pray to Merlin for a successful mission. If I managed to get Seonghwa on my side tonight, much would change—the war would change.

There was a light smog in the air of London as I neared the casino, the evening breeze pleasant for once as the cobblestones were slippery from the previous rain. There was a light drizzle in the air still, but the invisible shield I had casted around myself to protect me from it was doing its job fairly well to keep me dry. My fur coat kept me warm as the nature of my dress was more daring tonight, attention grabbing on purpose. As I neared the entrance of the casino, lit up brightly and bustling with ladies and gentlemen that had bright smiles on their faces, I noticed a tall figure looming to the side in the darker corner of the street. Heartbeat halting, I hurried my steps as I clutched the invitation tighter in my hands, eager to see the man’s face from up-close. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen each other, I didn’t think he’d actually join me tonight. I knew he had his own ambitions, what those were exactly, I couldn’t tell. He’s always been secretive, but he’s made quite the reputation for himself after finishing Hogwarts. He was a young promising man, eager to chase after his desires.

“Miss Song!” His voice had gotten deeper over the years, but remained as velvety as always. My lips pulled into a smile as I was finally close enough to see his face clearly, and I was taken aback by the obvious changes the years have brought to his once youthful face. His eyes were still as bright and blue, perhaps even icier than they used to be, but his cheekbones had become hollower, skin ashier. He looked good, but he looked ghastly.

“Mr. Riddle.” I came to a stop in front of him with a big smile on my face, and was taken aback by the arms that have wrapped around me in a hug. Tom had always hated physical contact, I wondered if the passing of years had changed that, “You’ve changed. A lot.”

“Hopefully in a good way.” He chuckled as he released me, smirking dashingly at me. I would be lying if I said my heart didn’t skip a beat. I chuckled and shook my head, taking in his even taller, but lanky, form.

“I suppose yes,” I hummed, realizing that there were no traces of the young boy I have once viewed as perhaps my little brother, “You’ve grown taller, I didn’t think that was possible.”

Tom and I chuckled at the same time as he reached out again, squeezing my lower arm, “And you look stronger than ever.”

I hummed and tried to hide the way my tremors only worsened at his words, wanting to tell him that I was on the brink of falling apart every day. I wasn’t strong, I was far from being strong, I just refused to give in to the darkness until I have fulfilled my purpose, then I could finally let go. Give in to whatever madness threatened to pull my thoughts to an everlasting field of blackness, the stars absent from the night sky. Stars that have long abandoned me, left me alone to fend for myself, to figure things out without a guiding light.

“Let’s head inside, I’m beginning to feel cold.” I muttered as Tom hummed, offering his arm for me to take as he confidently waltzed us towards the entrance, the bouncer smiling at us pleasantly as I handed over our invitation. It seems that he already knew Tom, who, it turns out, frequents this casino rather often. The question was on the tip of my tongue, whether he sees Seonghwa here often or not, but I didn’t want to know. It was better not to know. I couldn’t start questioning Tom’s morality right now, I had to stay focused on the task at hand, which was finding Seonghwa and trying to coerce him onto my side.

            The place was buzzing with all sorts of people, all seemingly eager to socialize and make lasting connections. The interior of the casino was vast and covered in red and black décor, giving it a sultry but eloquent touch. We had barely walked in when our coats and purses were taken to a garderobe for safe keeping. And before Tom could explain much about the place and the type of events that were held here, we were swarmed by quite a few wizards and witches, all very keen of talking to Tom, of holding his attention for more than five minutes. It seems like that hasn’t changed since Hogwarts.

I remained by his side and smiled, only spoke up when I was addressed to as I was too busy searching the room—the crowd—for the familiar face that I was here in the first place. I had opted to wear a long-sleeved dress as it was still cold outside, the velvet fabric feeling soft against my skin, keeping me perhaps too warm inside the parched room. The neckline of it was a deeper cut, just shy of stopping at the swell of my breasts, and I had decorated my long neck with emeralds that glinted prettily under the light. The dress was long, I had to be careful not to step on it with the heel of my high heels, and it was a poison green, tricky as under the light it glimmered green, however, otherwise it appeared black. I had pulled my hair away from my face and curled the strands, letting them fall free against my back as simple emerald earrings decorated my ears.

I was itching to hold onto something as I tried not to fidget with my hands, preferably to feel the comforting weight of the bottle of pills, but as they were hidden away in my purse, the only reassurance that I wasn’t completely defenceless lay hidden under my long dress, strapped against my shin was my wand. Over the years, I have learned to excel in wandless magic completely, but just knowing that I had my wand on me helped ease my nervous heartbeat. My eyes never stopped surveying the crowd, waiting to spot those round eyes and cherry-red lips.

“Aren’t you the Songs’ daughter, my dear?” I felt a lady gently touch my arm in order to grab my attention, and I averted my eyes from the back of a man who seemed to have a form similar to Seonghwa’s.

“I am.” I answered the older lady with a pleasant smile, trying to seem cordial despite my nerves.

“Oh, you are gorgeous.” She whispered, fingering the velvet sleeve of my dress, lips pursed, “You were a Slytherin, yes?”

“Yes.” I hummed, glancing side ways at Tom, wondering whether he could save me from this stranger, but he was busy speaking to who seemed to be the lady’s husband, “Does that matter?”

“Well, Slytherins are highly regarded in our society, we are prestige, you know?” The old lady smirked, and I gently pulled my hands behind my back, feeling uncomfortable that she wouldn’t stop touching my dress.

“I wouldn’t call ourselves prestige when most from our house turn towards the usage of the Dark Arts in inconvenient and illegal ways.” I grumbled, trying to hide my distaste as the older lady chuckled, eyes narrowing at me.

“So, you seem to share your parents’ beliefs, after all.” I heaved a long sigh, looking at the lady with a pressing glare. It was always about my parents, about sharing their beliefs. I was fed up with hearing that over and over again. What did people expect of me? To follow the ‘path’ of other Slytherins and join dark causes? Why did everyone have prejudices of us? And most of all, why did everyone assume all Slytherins were evil and would turn against what was right to do?

“My parents are mighty people and proud of their legacy.” My voice was harsh as I squared my shoulders back, the older lady’s eyes slightly widened, “My mother was a Hufflepuff and she raised me with compassion and fierce love that taught me how to differentiate wrong from right. My father was a Ravenclaw that is beyond wise his years and values knowledge above anything else, he taught me that there is no reason to live if you don’t learn constantly, if you don’t find a passion that you excel in. Excuse me if I find no joy in slaying those innocents around me, if I don’t enjoy tea parties organized to discuss who would and who wouldn’t live another day. You, and everyone else, should know basic human decency and stop playing the Gods you’ll never be. I am Slytherin proud of my heritage, and Merlin be damned if I let another one look down on me because of my parents, who have achieved things far beyond your capability in this fragile life that we live. So, if you happen to have a problem with me, or the fact that I am a Song, please, speak to be bluntly and not in riddles.”

The older lady’s mouth hung open in shock, and we have earned the attention of Tom and the man he was talking to, the two looking just as taken aback as the lady. Well, Tom didn’t look that much surprised, his frown told me of his distaste towards my words, and the swift glare sent my way signalled to me to shut up. But I didn’t want to, my nerves were on a high and if one more person mentions my parents and the fact that I am the ‘Songs’ daughter’, I shall repeat my speech proud and loud for the whole room to hear. It wasn’t hard to guess that it was infested with Grindelwald’s people, and my stomach churned as I felt Tom’s fingers sneak around my wrist, holding it so firmly I almost winced in pain.

“She’s opiniated.” Is what the old man said at last, eyes narrowed as he pulled his wife closer into his side, “Is this who you’ve looked up to at Hogwarts? The woman you’ve mentioned before?”

My breath stilled as I looked at Tom confused, feeling suddenly uncomfortable as I tried to untangle his fingers from my wrist but he wasn’t letting go. Was Seonghwa right all along? Was Tom trying to veer me away from Seonghwa while we were at Hogwarts? Had I been actually blind to Tom’s advances? But that mustn’t have been possible, I’ve heard Tom say multiple times that he wasn’t capable of feeling love for anyone, nor was he interested in maintaining any relationships, not even friendships.

“I apologize for her harsh words,” Tom bowed his head humbly, making my eyebrows furrow, “in her field of work she must be blunt and unfiltered, sometimes that slips into her everyday life too.”

I grit my teeth, but remained silent as the older man chuckled, eyes twinkling as he took me in. My face was a mask of impassiveness despite the urge to jinx both him and his wife. Deciding that I didn’t want to partake in this wretched conversation anymore, I turned my head and allowed my eyes to survey the crowd again. I heard Tom’s voice, but I paid no mind to what words were said. I knew the older couple walked away with a laugh on their lips, and I felt Tom’s eyes piercing the side of my head, but I was frozen. My tremors returned in the worst way, making my arms tremble as I tried to gulp but my throat felt dry, eyes glassing over the longer I looked at the familiar, yet so foreign face of my once lover. He was far from us, in the heart of the crowd as he tipped his head back, lips pulled into a charming smile as he laughed. The sound was swallowed by the cacophony created by the conversing people and the playing orchestra, yet I could hear its warm timbre as if he were right next to me.

He had also changed, became less boyish looking and turned sharper in angles he didn’t have before. His jaw was sharp and his nose tall, his round eyes void of the softness I was so used to receiving from him. His cheekbones were more defined than before, his cheeks having lost the baby fat I so loved pinching, and his black hair was longer than I have ever seen it before, framing his face, falling onto his forehead as his bangs were styled carefully. Gone were his wild curls that he always struggled to keep in one place. Park Seonghwa has changed since the last time I’ve seen him, and I was afraid I couldn’t recognize him anymore. Had Grindelwald stolen away even the last remnants of my lover?

“I can’t breathe.” I croaked out as I held onto my middle, my muscles so tense I was in pain as I tried not to double over and empty the contents of my stomach. I needed my pills, I had to take them before I would cause a scene. Suddenly, as Seonghwa’s eyebrows furrowed and his eyes turned sharp, vigilante, and found mine, Tom obscured my view of him, eyebrows furrowed in concern, yet I couldn’t actually see the concern in his eyes, or on his face.

“Let’s head over to the bar,” He said quietly, grabbing my hand and stopping the absent-minded scratching I had started doing, “water will do you good.”

I hummed, unable to will my legs to move, and felt thankful when Tom gently coerced me towards the bar, nestling my arm in his as he pulled me into his side, his cologne foreign. There was nothing comforting about his presence, unlike how Hongjoong’s had been, and I struggled to regulate my breathing and frantic heartbeats, telling myself that I was here on a mission and that I had to place aside any feelings I felt towards Seonghwa. I couldn’t compromise my mission this way, I was here to offer Seonghwa a way out. If I wasn’t able to keep it together for just one night, then why was I even here?

Too wrapped up in my mind, I didn’t hear Tom speak to the bartender, nor did I see the glass of water that was placed in front of me until Tom poked my trembling hands and pushed the glass towards me. I quickly took it and gulped down the cool water in a few sips, thankful that the ache in my throat was finally soothed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I placed the glass back onto the surface of the bar, willing my muscles to loosen up as I licked my lips, Tom’s pressing stare becoming irritating. I exhaled slowly and opened my eyes, glancing over to Tom, voice raspy as I spoke up, “Thank you.”

“I’m here for you.” Tom muttered, grabbing my hand and making the hairs stand on my arms as I didn’t want to be touched. But I said nothing as I gulped and nodded once, focusing on my trembling hands as I knew Tom had noticed them, his eyes straying towards them. If only I could fetch my purse to take just one pill, it would help a lot right now. I sighed and had started pulling my hand away from Tom’s just as a person appeared right next to Tom, lean body leaning against the bar as his eyes were cold, narrow, and piercing.

“Good evening.” He spoke up upon making eye contact with me, and I forgot how to breathe all over again, “Miss Song, Mr. Riddle.”

“Mr. Park.” My voice was a mere whisper as our eyes bore into each other, mine desperately searching for a semblance of the man I used to love. But it was gone, innocence and youth long ripped from him, now only a shell of the dorky and geeky boy that used to recite poems to me that he found in muggle books. It broke my heart; it made me mad—it made my hands tremble even worse.

“Oh, and who are these?” A very thick accented female voice spoke up, her dark red lips pulled into a pleasant and friendly smile as her eyes rivalled Tom’s blueness. I gulped, eyes straying from her onto Seonghwa as he looked down at her, his expression softening as he placed an arm around her middle. I didn’t allow myself to feel anything upon seeing that as my eyes snapped back up to Seonghwa’s face, waiting for his next move.

“Old acquittances from Hogwarts.” He said easily, flashing the woman a quick fake smile, “This is Rhaena, she went to Beauxbatons.”

“Pleased to meet you!” Her French accent was irritating as she extended her hand to shake, eyes stalling on Tom for a second too long. I bit the insides of my cheeks, trying to reign in my scowl as Tom elegantly pressed a kiss against her knuckles, smirking at her with a charming gaze.

“My name is Song Y/N.” I introduced myself confidently once it was my turn to shake her hand, my handshake firm and perhaps too strong as Rhaena winced while my eyes landed on Seonghwa, my own lips pulling into an unamused smirk, “I must admit being introduced as mere acquittances leaves me with a distaste I didn’t think I’d harbour towards you, Mr. Park.”

Tom laughed loudly, watching Seonghwa with a challenging look as Rhaena turned and looked back at him with a quirk to her eyebrow, “My memories must be murky, my apologies, it’s been long since we’ve last seen each other, Miss Song. But I see you continue entertaining your old admirers—”

“Admirer is a strong word,” Tom cut him off with a chuckle, but it was far from being friendly as he glared at Seonghwa, “I merely admire Miss Song’s working etiquette, always have, ever since our time at Hogwarts, I suppose. Is it such a crime to look up to a strong, ambitious, and independent woman?”

I could see the spark of interest in Rhaena’s eyes the longer Tom talked, and it irked me. If she was with Seonghwa, why was she so openly interested in other men? Did Seonghwa not see? Did he not care? Seonghwa deserved better than a woman who couldn’t remain loyal to him.

“Ambitious with foolish ideas—” Before Seonghwa could finish his jab and break my heart more than it was already, Rhaena interjected, smiling widely at Tom. I knew he wasn’t interested in her, but it was scary how well he played his act of looking interested in the eager woman.

“I have always loved a man who is able to recognize the power his partner holds and worship her like a queen.” Rhaena’s lips pulled into a suggestive smirk as she licked her lips, eyes raking over Tom’s body, making me feel uncomfortable as I eyed the two. Tom chuckled under his breath but I noticed the way his jaw clenched and unclenched.

“You’re too daring for me, Miss Rhaena.” Tom settled with saying, making the French woman pout as she suddenly pressed herself to Seonghwa’s side, who was glaring at Tom’s blatant rejection.

“And Miss Song isn’t?” Seonghwa’s lips pulled into a vicious smile, face contorting into something sinister as he continued with an air of insignificance, “After all, Aurors take great pride in their work and never place anyone above themselves.”

“Miss Song knows the distinction between her personal life and her work.” Tom snapped back, grabbing the sleeve of my dress when I started shuffling on my feet, feeling uncomfortable by the exchange. I felt a little prodding in my mind and as I glanced at Tom, he was already looking at me with a frown. I nonverbally reassured him that I was okay, and finally admitted to him that I was here on a mission. He understood quickly and didn’t ask questions, only stated that he’d help me with whatever.

“So, you two are married, then? Rhaena kept on antagonizing us as our telepathic conversation was broken, and my eyebrows furrowed as I scoffed.

“Tom is an old friend that I have always been fond of, are you married to Seonghwa?” Perhaps my tone was too snappy, perhaps my words gave away too much. I gulped, realizing that my emotions were getting the best of me, making me ponder again whether I should just go ask for my purse to take another pill. Things were going horribly; this isn’t what I had planned for the night.

“No.” It was Seonghwa who answered, voice deep and laced with anger, “What are you doing here, Miss Song? I haven’t seen you at the casino before.”

“I’m here to accompany Tom as he’s told me he’s been feeling rather lonely on his visits to the casino.” I plastered on a fake smile, levelling my voice so that they wouldn’t be able to tell that I was lying. Even Tom seemed to be surprised as he hummed next to me in confirmation of said lie, tilting his head as he looked at Seonghwa challengingly, “It’s a nice break from my work that you seem to know so much of, Mr. Park.”

But Rhaena seemed to be stuck on a different part of the conversation, “Mr. Riddle, would you like to be my first dance partner of the night?”

I stiffened as Tom chuckled, giving me a quick glance before he nodded and extended his hand for Rhaena to take. She batted her eyelashes at him and pursed her lips as she waved at Seonghwa, walking off with Tom towards the dance floor. I gulped, eyes stuck onto them as I subconsciously started rubbing my left hand, nails digging into my skin painfully, scratching the skin as it left marks. My heart had started hammering against my chest, and I couldn’t face Seonghwa as I felt his piercing gaze bore into the side of my head. I knew why I was here; I knew what I wanted to say to him, but his hostile attitude wasn’t something I had expected, and now I felt like I needed to rethink and reformulate everything I had wanted to say to him.

Jumping at the sudden warm touch against my hand, I faced Seonghwa with wide eyes as he squeezed my fingers, stopping me from scratching my skin up more. My eyebrows furrowed as my hand tingled, leaving my throat dry once again as Seonghwa’s expression was blank, his round eyes having lost their beautiful and warm glimmer.

“Will you dance with me?” His voice was quiet, tone almost dejected, and I gulped as I nodded wordlessly. He didn’t release my hand, instead, he intertwined his fingers with mine as he led the way towards the dancing crowd, making my insides churn at the familiar feel of his larger palm pressing against my small one.

For a second, I felt like a teenager back at Hogwarts, dancing with Seonghwa under the moonlight to a melody that he so often hummed. But the bodies that nearly collided into mine did a good job of helping me repress the memory to stay level-headed, and instead, I straightened my back and finally remembered what I was taught when I was training to become an Auror. The mission was my number one priority now, and so, I repressed all emotions and slipped a neutral expression onto my face as Seonghwa stopped in the middle of the crowd and turned around to face me. He raised our intertwined hands and yanked me towards himself, taking me off guard as I stumbled into his body. He swiftly grabbed onto my hip and I steadied myself as I held onto his shoulder, turning my head away to gaze over it as Seonghwa’s eyes landed on my face. My heart was hammering against my ribcage, skin burning everywhere it touched Seonghwa’s.

It felt familiar being in his hold, warm and comforting, yet his body was tense and on-alert. Seonghwa was a smart man, he knew if I was here, other Aurors might be too, he was on the look-out in case he needed to flee. My body was tense too, but for different reasons. I was trying not to give in to the yearning of my consciousness after the warm body that I knew so well, the embrace that made me feel like the luckiest person on the planet, the lips that ignited my skin on fire wherever they touched. I have missed Seonghwa so much that sometimes I wondered if my impeding madness was imposed upon me by our separation.

“It’s unexpected seeing you here.” Seonghwa muttered carefully, voice void of the previous hostility. I gulped and nodded, having to agree with him.

“I was curious of this place.” That wasn’t a total lie, and Seonghwa could tell. I felt his finger graze against my knuckles, gently rubbing them, but I ignored it for my peace of mind—which I was already struggling with.

“And how do you like it?”

“It’s too pompous, fake, prestigious.”

“People are here to make beneficial connections, of course it’s fake.” Seonghwa’s voice had dropped low so that nobody but me would hear him. I hummed, licking my lips as I felt him pull me more into himself as we danced around in a small circle, his familiar cologne making my head spin. Even after all these years, he looked and felt like the Seonghwa I once fell in love with.

“Your hair is long now.” I had no idea why I said that but I couldn’t take it back now, and Seonghwa’s steps stuttered for a second, making me step on my dress.

“I’ve always liked it better like this,” He said once he cleared his throat, “I kept it short because my parents didn’t like it.”

“I know.” I whispered and closed my eyes, giving in to my body’s cravings as I felt Seonghwa’s hand slip lower, press firmly against my lower back as our bodies flushed together, making me let out a stuttered breath.

“And your parents, are they well?” I felt bile rise up in my throat upon the question that left his mouth. He knew about them, of course he did, it was his people who sent them into hiding. My parents had played an enormous part in discovering the identity of Grindelwald’s men and their hideout. Of course, they were being hunted by Grindelwald now. I wasn’t safe either, but I was an Auror now, a talented one, Grindelwald wouldn’t waste his time on somebody who could very well defend themselves against him and his army. At least, not yet. I’m sure my time will come too.

“You’re being a hypocrite right now, Seonghwa.” I snapped, hearing him heave a sigh.

“They’ve always been kind to me, I do not wish mal-intent towards them—”

“And towards others?” I snapped, eyebrows furrowed as I pulled my head back to be able to look him in the eyes, “Towards all the innocent lives Grindelwald has taken—you have taken?!”

Seonghwa gulped, jaw clenching as his eyes narrowed, “There’s nothing innocent about being oppressed and having to hide our true nature while those mudbloods continue living their lives carefree and in peace.”

“Mudbloods.” I whispered, shaking my head in disappointment at Seonghwa, “You’re a half-blood, Seonghwa—”

“Enough.” Seonghwa snapped, his grip on my hand turning just a little painful, “I do not want to hear whatever you have to say—”

“Well, that is hilarious, Seonghwa.” I chuckled humourless, eyes narrowing at him in annoyance, “You cannot silence me, you cannot tell me what to do.”

“I can silence you,” He gulped, eyebrows furrowing, “for forever, if I want to.”

I froze, feeling a chill run down my spine, and then I just chuckled. I raised my eyebrows at him, looking him in the eyes challengingly, “Like you’ve silenced all those unassuming folk living in those village you burned to a crisp?!”

Seonghwa’s face contorted in anger, his round eyes narrowing as they stared me down fiercely, a dangerous glint in them, “What had to be done was done. They refused to join our cause.”

“A cause that is wrong and harms others, Seonghwa.” My voice raised slightly as I had lost my patience, our faces leaning in close as we both breathed through our noses harshly, glaring down each other, “You’ve done so many atrocities that you’re afraid to face the repercussions, isn’t it? It’s still not late, Seonghwa, if you come with me tonight, I can make things less painful for you. I can convince the officials to lessen your sentence, I can make them reason with you. If you say you regret everything you’ve done and that you will strive to fix your mistake, they will—”

“I will never do that.” Seonghwa hissed and I felt his breath fan my face, “I stand by what I believe in, I stand by what I have done, Y/N. You are on the wrong side, and you all will pay.”

Body shaking from both anger and anxiety, I tried to inhale deeply and exhale, but my throat felt restricted, and the longer I remained in Seonghwa’s arms the more choked up I would feel. I needed to get away, to get away from the man that didn’t resemble my once lover. This wasn’t the Seonghwa I had fallen in love with, this was—a monster standing in front of me. I bit my lower lip, feeling them tremble as I tried to supress the desperate need to cry, I wouldn’t do it. Not here, not in front of him, not ever again. I have cried enough because of him.

Feeling unsafe and cold in his arms, I tried to detach myself from Seonghwa, but his hold only tightened as his eyebrows further furrowed, looking like he was fighting with himself, a turmoil going on inside his mind. My blood froze over when my eyes slipped from his face, falling onto the necklace that sat against his black shirt, sparkling underneath the dim lights. It was the star necklace I had gifted him. Shaking my head, I looked back up in his eyes, grabbing onto the collar of his vest as Seonghwa’s arms held me in a firm embrace, fingers pressing painfully so into my lower back, “Seonghwa.”

And when his eyes shook, I knew he had lost control over himself, over his emotions, over his mind. I felt my eyes fill with tears for breaking even the little trust that’s remained between the two of us as our eyes bled into each other, making it easy for me to push through his fragile mind’s barriers. It was frightening how dark his thoughts were, revolving around murder and strategies of taking down even more people, of converting even more wizards and witches for their ‘greater’ cause. It was terrifying how good of a manipulator Grindelwald was, the fatherly look in his eyes when he looked at Seonghwa, the praises that left his mouth addicting—the complete opposite of Seonghwa’s muggle father who would never understand our world. I felt a small resistance trying to build itself back up in his mind, but I was stronger—Tom’s lessons at Hogwarts had paid off, the Auror training only making my acquired skills stronger—and so, I pushed forward, searching for anything that would be of use for future purposes.

In my search, I stumbled past sleepless nights spent staring up at the ceiling, of tear-filled eyes and salty cheeks as a familiar man cradled Seonghwa to his chest, shushing him and reassuring him of a bright ending. I heard broken whispers of my name as he’d wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare, of lustful touches that were turned down in a haste at last, and ear-piercing shouts that sent everything tumbling to the ground, shattering. And then, painfilled screams and pleas for mercy, people on their knees crying, mothers cradling their children to their chests as their houses burned down and—a piece of parchment that would’ve been blank if it wasn’t for the name of the town scribbled down on it, Grindelwald’s harsh voice commanding my once lover to make everyone perish, nobody spared. He didn’t need anyone on his side from that village, he wanted revenge. Revenge on my parents and on everyone who’s ever tried to mislead him and take him down. Mingi. Yunho.

Seonghwa and I gasped loudly as he finally managed to push me out of his mind, not that I wanted to see anything beyond this. I have seen everything I needed. I had to alert the aurors of the attack Grindelwald had planned on our hideout. My heart raced in fear for my loved ones, and suddenly, I became aware of the hands holding my arms painfully, making me hiss out in pain as I looked up at Seonghwa’s face, feeling my heart still as his eyes were filled with tears, shaking, mouth agape as he looked speechless. I knew he’d hate me for invading his mind without permission, but I had to do it. Our trust in each other has been long broken; I was doing this for the greater good. Seonghwa wouldn’t understand, but he didn’t have to. Despite being a monster, he did something good, he contributed to saving hundreds of lives by weakening his mental barrier.

“You-you—” His voice was shaky as his eyebrows furrowed, body starting to shake from anger, “how could you?!”

“You made me do this, Seonghwa.” I gulped, jumping when he grabbed my nape painfully so, yanking our heads so close to each other that our lips brushed together. I felt my knees grow weak, it would be so easy to press my lips against his now, to feel the soft and plush skin against mine, to devour him and taste him. He’s always felt like home, but would he still feel like it? “You gave me no choice, Seonghwa.”

He scoffed, sneering at me as I whimpered when his fingernails dug into the sensitive skin of my neck, “You’re a monster, they’ve turned you into a monster.”

“As they have with you.” I whispered, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying, to keep myself from surrendering to Seonghwa completely. Seonghwa huffed, looking like he couldn’t believe what I have just said, eyes falling onto my lips as I tilted my head back, hands smoothing against his chest as my fingers ached from griping onto his vest so tightly. And my eyelashes threatened to flutter closed when Seonghwa angled his head just a little lower, his plump lips slotted perfectly against mine if one of us were to just tip our heads even the slightest forward.

But we were monsters to each other, the bogeyman of each other’s stories.

 1943

            I was close to finishing my patrolling duties, the Astronomy Tower my last stop before I could head back to the Slytherin common room and catch up on some much-needed sleep. Our examinations for the end of the year were nearing, more notedly, we only had one more week to catch up on every lesson before we’d be subjected to the long week of finals. It was stressful and I barely had any time for anything besides studying, so, much like others, I was cooped up in the library, scribbling down any necessary information that I might’ve missed during classes. Seonghwa and I only met up when we’d have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining hall—unless one of us decided to skip due to not having studied enough that day. But that was alright, we both valued our studies and grades above all and, besides, we left little messages for each other in hidden places that we knew the other would patrol in the evenings after curfew.

The steps to the Astronomy Tower were steep and made of thick concrete, I pressed my palm against the stone wall for guidance and to feel safer as I was headed up to the tower. I had a slight fear of heights, which wasn’t too handy when I had to fly on a broom, hence why I never even considered playing Quidditch despite finding it cool and entertaining. Hongjoong could’ve probably brewed me a potion that made my fear halt but then again, I don’t know how smart it would have been to trust Hongjoong with even the simplest potions. He loved experimenting, and I had been on the receiving end of his failed brews one too many times. I am sure Madam Gorsemoor, herself, will banish me from this school if I turn up with an aching tummy to her Infirmary one more time.

I was panting by the time I reached the top of the stairs, all I had to do was round the corner and peek around it, then I could bolt back down to the Slytherin dormitories. However, just as I was about to do that, I heard hushed voices echoing around the stone walls. I couldn’t tell exactly what was being said as the voices were low, nonetheless, I did have to interrupt whatever was going on as I was a Prefect—I would even need to deduct house points if these were students and not professors. Squaring my shoulders and straightening my back to look more menacing than I actually was—with hopes of scaring off the students—I power-walked around the corner, only to freeze in the next second. Seonghwa stood leaning against the railing of the terrace, the wind howling loudly without the walls protecting us, and he was speaking to Rabastan Lestrange. My eyebrows furrowed as I noticed another figure sitting down, feet dangling over the ledge as he was leaned back on his hands, gazing up at the bright starry night sky, Hongjoong.

I didn’t understand what was happening, and I gulped as I carefully hid back around the corner, grateful that the three boys hadn’t noticed me. I peeked my head around the stone wall, still, and cast a wandless eavesdropping spell, Seonghwa and Rabastan’s voices suddenly tangible to my ears.

“So, what you’re saying is that your parents got everything ready for us?” Seonghwa’s usually warm voice lacked emotion now, and I could see that his eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

“Yes, all we have to do is give them the go.” Rabastan’s voice was harsh much like his father’s, and my eyebrows furrowed even more as I felt more confused than ever. What was this about and how did Seonghwa know Rabastan? What even was the purpose of this meeting after curfew? Was it worth it for Rabastan and Hongjoong to get caught and have house points reduced?

“But are you certain we’ve got enough people on the inside?” Seonghwa pressed on, sounding stressed, “Out of twenty-five people I have talked to, only ten wanted to join the cause.”

“Is he one of them?” Rabastan scoffed, tilting his head in Hongjoong’s direction as he remained ignorant of the two. I chewed on my bottom lip as Seonghwa glanced back at his best friend then shook his head slightly.

“Don’t worry about him,” Seonghwa muttered and Hongjoong gave him a lopsided smirk and a wink. Rabastan looked disgusted as he averted his eyes, glaring at Seonghwa now.

“If Grindelwald arrives and marches inside the school, we need to have enough students on his side to defend against the other fools, Park.” Rabastan hissed and my eyes widened, a tiny gasp slipping past my lips in shock, “He’s been planning this for way too long for you to mess it up—”

“And I have been planning alongside him just as much, Lestrange.” Seonghwa leered as he got all up in Rabastan’s face, his face contorted in anger. I had never seen Seonghwa look like that, I couldn’t believe this was real, that my Seonghwa was saying such things. What did he mean he’s been planning alongside him—alongside Grindelwald?! Was Seonghwa doing bad things behind my back? There had to be an explanation to all of this, this can only be a sick joke. Before I could react, Hongjoong tipped his head back, looking rather bored until we made eye contact. His eyes widened instantly and his mouth fell open as he struggled to scramble up as I shook my head at him ‘no’, but it was already too late.

“Seonghwa!” He hissed, and I watched as my lover looked over to his best friend with an irked expression on his face until he followed Hongjoong’s line of sight, our eyes meeting. I gasped, my heart racing in my chest as I whirled around and took off running, waving off the spell I had cast. I held onto the railing tightly as I tried to make my way fast down the stairs, struggling not to stumble and accidentally fall as I heard hurried footsteps echo behind me, laboured breaths leaving the person’s mouth. I didn’t dare look back to see who was following after me, but if they weren’t casting jinxes my way it meant that I was somewhat safe. At least as long as they didn’t reach the end of the staircase. The winding stairs seemed to suddenly never end as the wind howled in the distance the closer I got to the bottom, to the wooden door that was ajar as I had left it like that, the key to the door sitting in my pocket.

My lungs heaved for air as I finally reached the last stone step, letting go of the railing as I ran for the wooden door, screaming in fright when I felt a hand wrap around my bicep and yank me back before I could leave. I was whirled around and pushed against the door as I frantically tried to fight off the hands gripping my arms now.

“Y/N, it’s me.” The breathy voice was gentle, “My love, it’s Seonghwa.”

But that wasn’t comforting to hear anymore as my head snapped up, wide eyes staring at Seonghwa’s worried face. I gulped and gripped his forearms, pulling him closer towards me as our chests rose and fell quickly, “Explain.”

Seonghwa’s face blanched, skin paling as he gulped, his grip softening against my biceps, “I—what you heard isn’t—my love, let’s stay level-headed—”

“Is it true?” I snapped, jaw clenching as I couldn’t stand to hear him stutter, “What Lestrange has said, is it true, Seonghwa?!”

“Calm down first—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I screamed and fought his grip off, pushing him away from me. My hands had started trembling as I stared at him with disgust, trying to make sense of everything, “It is true?! Are you on-on Grindelwald’s side?!”

“Y/N,” Seonghwa froze, his expression suddenly faltering as he looked past me, at the wooden door, “Yes—Yes, I am.”

I felt my heart clench as tears flooded my eyes in an instant, and I was gripping Seonghwa’s shirt in a flash, yanking him down to be eye-level with me, “Tell me you’re lying. Look me in the eyes.”

Seonghwa’s jaw clenched and unclenched as he licked his lips, struggling to take a long breath as his eyes fell on my face, searching for something that he didn’t find as suddenly he looked resigned, “It’s not a lie, my love, I have chosen to support Grindelwald’s cause. We’ve been forced to suffer for too long, shunned into hiding while those creatures do as they please, while they live the lives we are supposed to live.”

I shuddered at his words and released him as if he had burned me, hugging my arms around my middle as I bit my bottom lip, a few tears having escaped my eyes, “You were there. At Lucy’s funeral, you were there, Seonghwa. She died because of Grindelwald. Her entire family—eradicated, burned down, because she was an innocent Muggle.”

Seonghwa’s eyes were filled with tears too as I had started crying now, hands shaking even more as I tried to wipe my cheeks dry, but the tears just kept flowing, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?!” I snapped, voice shaking from the betrayal I was feeling, from anger, and from feeling like my heart’s been ripped out, “How could you look me in the eyes every single day, touch me, when you’ve been going behind my back and plotting such atrocious thing, Seonghwa?!”

“I wanted to tell you but you—you—” I took a step back as Seonghwa tried to reach out for me, watching the hurt expression on his face due to my rejection, “I knew you’d react like this; I just couldn’t tell you. You’d—ruin our plans.”

It felt like a punch to the gut hearing the love of my life say those things and I laughed, body shaking in despair and pain that this is the side my lover had chosen. The man I thought I would marry one day, give children to, grow old with. Yet here he stood in front of me, with tears streaming down his face—an abomination, just a mere shell of what he used to be, “Your father is a muggle, Hwa.”

His jaw clenched and he swiftly wiped his tears off his cheeks, taking deep breaths to calm himself down, “And he’s never been good to me.”

I gulped as I closed my eyes and willed my muscles to ease up a bit so that I could move again. I brushed my hair back as I blinked my eyes open, a little blurry from the tears that still threatened to spill out, but I sucked it up and nodded, ignoring my heart that was crying out for my mind to stop, not to say the words that would leave my lips soon, “Goodbye, Mr. Park.”

“What?” Seonghwa’s eyebrows furrowed as I grabbed the door handle behind me and bowed my head respectfully.

“Finish your Prefect duties and go back to your dormitory.” My voice was devoid of any emotion as I yanked the wooden door open behind myself, mind numb and silent for once, “I shall do the same, I won’t report this to Headmaster Dippet just yet.”

“Y/N, what are you—”

“I believe it’s Miss Song to you, Mr. Park.”

Seonghwa’s eyes widened as I stepped outside, hands trembling beyond normal as I had started feeling faint, “Y/N, no. No, you cannot leave me, I don’t—I cannot—please, Y/N, my love, please don’t. I cannot live without you, Y/N—”

The wooden door was loud as it slammed shut in my face, making my knees go weak as I tumbled to the floor, gasping for air as my whole chest felt on fire, tears wetting my cheeks before I could even try to stop them from escaping. The gut-wrenching sob that rippled through the hallway despite the wooden door that separated us made my skin crawl, my heart screaming at me to go back and take back everything I’d said to Seonghwa, but my mind knew what was right. My mind knew there was no further future for us, for Seonghwa.

He had chosen his path, and I have chosen mine.

            Like many knew, my work etiquette was beyond pristine and precise. I valued my missions above anything else, and so, I had wasted no time in reporting back to the Auror’s Office—to Theseus Scamander—about what I had found out at the casino. The attack that Grindelwald’s men—Seonghwa—was tasked to lead to avenge their leader. I could only hope that I was on time, that they hadn’t gotten to the village just yet, but with Seonghwa knowing that I had discovered their plans, it was probable that I was either too late, or they wouldn’t attack anymore. Either way, I was compromised and I needed to move, to go into hiding at one of our safe houses. I had requested to be placed close to Yunho and Mingi, in hopes that I could finally find them and speak to them. I missed them gravely, and slowly I had started feeling crazy without their safe and comforting presence around me.

But my mission wasn’t over yet, due to the weight of Seonghwa’s own mission, now I was tasked with killing him. It was a straight-up order, nothing could change their minds. Even if Seonghwa apologized and begged, they wouldn’t forgive him. In their eyes, he deserved to die—and I knew this. He did deserve to die, but I couldn’t ignore the growing lump in my throat and the coil of my stomach any time I tried to come up with a plan to lure him towards me. I was a trained professional, and I was tasked to kill a man. It would have been like second nature if said main wasn’t Seonghwa. I didn’t know how to proceed just yet, but I knew upon seeing Mingi and Yunho I would find solace in their presence and inspiration in their ideas. But one thing was certain, I would never be able to face Hongjoong again if my mission was successful.

I had woken up early in the morning to pack away my most important belongings, stuffing old polaroids deep into my satchel bag—the same one I had used at Hogwarts. At times when I felt nostalgic and missed the good old times, I would flip through the moving polaroids that had been taken at Hogwarts, many of them of Seonghwa and I, or of Seonghwa, Hongjoong, and I. Despite Yunho and Mingi having entered my life recently—three years ago, more specifically—the pictures of the three of us belonged in the same pile. Those two were like the brothers I never had.

I had taken my time to venture into the Muggle World and buy enough pills to last me three months in case I had to hide for a longer period of time, and I was already tempted to abuse the prescribed amount as I placed the third bottle away in my satchel bag, zipping it closed and placing it down onto the floor, next to my other bags. Now all I had to do was wait for the official that would fetch me and Apparate me to the safe house. Only a select few knew of its location, and I would be granted permission only once we have arrived to it. It didn’t help either that last night I was plagued with nightmares, the lack of sleep and the pills I had taken earlier this morning made me feel drowsy now, making me contemplate if taking a nap right now was smart or not. But I felt too restless to sleep, and thus, I couldn’t stop pacing around my main hallway, chewing away at my bottom lip. I was thinking of ways that I could deal with Seonghwa, desperately trying to find a way out in which he remained alive, when there were three firm knocks at my front door. I released a stressed sigh, grateful that the official was finally here and that I wouldn’t have to think about my issues for a little while.

I hurried over to the door, unlocking it quickly and yanking it open, freezing in surprise. The black cloaked figure was tall, head leaning down and obscured by a hood, making me wonder if the Ministry had changed up their customs and forgot to update me about them. But then, the person raised their head just until I could see their eyes, and I froze. Round eyes were narrowed into a ferocious glare and I gasped as I went to slam the door shut, fear striking my whole body as Seonghwa threw himself against my front door, pushing with all of his force to throw it open. I hissed as I leaned against the door heavily, refusing to give up, but Seonghwa gave it an aggressive push and I was sent tumbling back as I crashed into the round table placed in the middle of the hallway. He pushed the door open with his foot and unclipped his cloak from around his shoulders as he elegantly stepped inside, eyes cautiously glancing around, surveying the place. Perhaps he was looking to make sure I was alone.

I quickly snapped out of my initial shock and pushed off the table, heart beating fast as I ran around the table, going to fetch my wand which was placed atop the fireplace, but suddenly I felt my feet tangle together, sending me face first down onto the floor. I groaned as I narrowly avoided banging my head against the surface and rolled onto my back as I heard footsteps quickly approach. Staring up at Seonghwa wide eyed, his wand pointed at me, I narrowed my eyes and watched as the wand flew out of his hand at my non-verbal spell. His jaw clenched and I quickly jumped up to my feet, eyeing his wand, contemplating whether I should grab his instead as I knew he was never too good at wandless magic. I could only hope that was still true.

But as I lunged towards his wand, which had rolled underneath the table, Seonghwa lunged for me, arms wrapping around me and tackling me onto the table. I gasped as I collided against the surface painfully so, my shoulder digging into the sturdy wood as Seonghwa pressed my cheek with his hand against the surface without mercy.

“You’ve got a nice little cottage for yourself, Miss Song.” He sneered leaning down, “A little too daring for my taste. You didn’t even have wards set up.”

I huffed and grabbed his wrist with my left hand, which wasn’t trapped underneath my body, and yanked his hand off my face, kicking his shin hard with my leg, “I fear no one, Mr. Park. One doesn’t need wards when they live on the edge a Wizarding and Muggle town.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, my love.” I gulped at the once endearing nickname, and trashed around until Seonghwa’s hold loosened, “You made tracking you so easy.”

I chuckled as I finally wrestled my way out from underneath Seonghwa, “Perhaps I wanted to be found, my love, perhaps you just willingly walked into my trap, Hwa.”

Seonghwa froze for a second, face falling as I smirked and jumped up, hand curling around his neck as I threw him into the wall behind him, making him gasp at the sheer force I had used. I had never fought physically against Seonghwa, we had only duelled at Hogwarts. He had no idea what I was capable of in hand-to-hand combat. But I also had no idea how he fought, and I was certainly taken aback when I felt his knee raise into my stomach, making me suck in a sharp breath of air. My hand left his neck as I doubled over, fighting the urge to vomit as Seonghwa looked down at me with a dark look in his eyes. I felt fingers card through my hair and my head was yanked back as I groaned, looking up into his eyes with venom.

“You’re rather unprepared for someone who’s just lured me into their trap.” Seonghwa leered, leaning down, but before he could get too close, I stomped on his foot harshly, making him cry out as he let go of me, pushing me to the side. Regaining my balance, I dashed towards the fireplace to retrieve my wand and I heard hurried movement behind myself as well as we both turned around at the same time, wands held in each other’s direction threateningly. Neither of us moved nor spoke, our eyes boring into each other’s to see who would make the first attack. Based on experience, Seonghwa wouldn’t attack first, he would wait for me to do that, but I suppose times have changed us as I was forced to dodge an attack that almost made my fireplace explode into pieces. My eyes widened at the aggressive nature of Seonghwa’s attack and decided to return the energy. If he wanted to play dirty and use non-verbal magic, I could certainly match his energy.

I sent a Stupefy his way and watched in satisfaction as it took him off guard and sent him flying into the wall, breaking the small shoe rack that I have mounted myself. I smirked at Seonghwa, tilting my head with a challenging glint in my eyes, until I suddenly lost my footing again. It had seemed like he was fond of the spell. Seonghwa looked slightly dazed as I tried to regain my bearings, my head having hit the floor a little hard this time, but the duel must go on, I have gone through far worse things compared to this.

Sharp icy arrows were shot towards me as I scrambled backward, raising an invisible shield with my left hand as I sent blue fireballs towards Seonghwa using wandless magic. His eyebrows furrowed as he raised his own shield last minute, looking taken aback that I could use my magic so sharply while utilizing three methods at once. I knew he couldn’t when his eyes hardened again, giving me time to finally stand up and continue my attack with a spell that had birds materializing and diving for Seonghwa. He yelped and shielded himself, his barrier broken by the bird’s beaks as I shot another Stupefy at him, which he barely avoided as it crashed into the portraits hung onto the wall, sending them crashing to the floor.

I knew his next move before he even did it—I didn’t need to read his mind to know—as I raised another shield, dodging his strong Stupefy as it shattered my spell quite instantly. This duel felt childlike, as if we were testing each other’s patience, wanting to see who would give in first. It almost felt petty, like he was only teasing me because he was so certain that he’d win. I could count on my fingers how often he had beat me in a duel, and I knew for a fact that he still wasn’t better than me. Fed up with our useless fight, I decided to put an end to it as my eyes hardened, Seonghwa’s eyes narrowing upon seeing my expression. But before I could yell out Expelliarmus, I felt my right hand burn, the wand so hot that I had no choice but to drop it as I gasped, the tremors of my hands worsening as I looked back up at Seonghwa. He was smirking, thinking he had won the duel, but I raised my left hand and screamed, “Expelliarmus!”

He didn’t expect me not to give in right away, and so, his wand flew out of his hand as I whirled it against the wall, hearing a crack. My breath halted in my throat as my eyes widened in horror, watching as Seonghwa’s broken wand fell to the floor, his jaw falling open as he flinched. The apology was on the tip of my tongue, but the pure rage that had encompassed Seonghwa’s face made me shiver, and I dashed for the front door, trying to escape before his wrath could reach me. But had I miscalculated our distance, and as I grabbed the handle and tried to open the door, I felt a warm presence behind myself as the door was slammed back shut, my breathing loud in the silent room as my heart had started beating fast.

I was frozen, too afraid to move as I didn’t know what Seonghwa would do now. The man that stood behind me, stopping me from fleeing, was somebody I didn’t know. I could hear Seonghwa trying to level his breaths as his palm remained pressing against the door, his arm brushing against my hair. I tried to calculate my next move, work out what would be the smartest thing to do next, but his proximity made it hard to focus. I had seen him barely two days ago and his touch was still fresh in my mind, haunting my every waking moment, making me crave him like never before.

“Where’s Riddle when you need him, huh?” Seonghwa’s tone was poisonous, laced with hatred as I tensed, eyebrows furrowing.

“I don’t need Riddle,” I hissed, jaw clenching as my grip tightened around the handle, “I can protect myself; I don’t need anyone.”

“One would assume he’d be running here to save you like the lost puppy he was following you around at Hogwarts—”

“Tom has no part in my life!” My voice raised as I grew angrier, whirling around to face Seonghwa. I faltered for a second, finding him too close for comfort as he glared down at me, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes as I gulped, “I only used him to get an invite to the casino because I heard he goes there often—like you.”

Seonghwa’s careful mask cracked for a second as his eyebrows twitched, almost turning into a frown, but he caught himself and smirked instead, leaning down, “You think you can fool me with your pathetic lies?”

“Want me to show you?” I raised an eyebrow challengingly, knowing that it would only make Seonghwa angrier as he detested Legillimency, especially after I have used it on him at the casino.

He scoffed, leaning down closer to my face, “I should’ve killed you on the spot two nights ago—”

“Yet you didn’t,” I breathed out with a scoff, “like I haven’t told anyone about you and Lestrange’s stupid plan of bringing Grindelwald inside Hogwarts.”

“It wasn’t stupid—”

“You failed.”

“Because Riddle caused a scene, as always.” Seonghwa hissed, and I jumped when his fist made contact with the door above my head, making me melt back into the sturdy door, heart racing all over again, “I would’ve killed him a long time ago if Grindelwald hadn’t seen potential in him.”

Dread washed over me as I felt my stomach drop, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry,” Seonghwa leered, tilting his head to the side as his glare made me feel sick to my stomach. He’s never looked at me like that, with so much venom and hatred, “your little lover refused his offer and Grindelwald decided to let him live for a little longer.”

“He’s not my lover.” I snapped, chest rising and falling quickly once again as I started getting angry. When would he understand that I could never look at Tom the way he thinks I did, “I have never harboured any romantic feelings towards Tom—I don’t even understand how my personal life is any of your business. You don’t see me talking ill of Rhaena or questioning her motives with you, Seonghwa.”

He paused as he gulped loudly, his hand slipping lower on the door until it was right next to my head, his wrist brushing against my cheekbone, “Rhaena is someone I work with, it’s all professional.”

“I do not care, Seonghwa.”

“You don’t, right.”

I gulped as suddenly an uncertain look crossed Seonghwa’s features, his eyes momentarily softening as I felt my whole body tingle as he stepped closer, his clothes brushing against mine. I felt my mouth go dry as my eyes roamed his face, palms turning into fists as I felt the sudden urge to reach out to him and touch him. Seonghwa placed his other hand against the door too, caging me in between himself and the sturdy surface. His eyebrows furrowed as his dark eyes bore into mine, bangs slightly obscuring his beautiful eyes as he exhaled slowly, closing the distance between our bodies. I shuddered and tilted my head back as he straightened up, my eyes landing on his plush lips as he parted them, tongue poking out to lick his dry lips. My whole body was buzzing as my eyebrows furrowed, my heart and mind fighting a never-ending battle as I couldn’t contain myself anymore and reached up, fingers reluctantly touching his cheek.

I wasn’t certain if he’d let me as his eyebrows furrowed even more, obvious that he was also struggling to make up his mind. But at last, I decided to be brave and cupped his warm cheek, my hand trembling against his soft skin. Seonghwa gasped quietly as his eyes widened, searching my gaze before his eyes fluttered shut, bringing tears into my eyes. I so desperately wanted to be engulfed by his familiar embrace, the warmth of his safe hug, the feeling of belonging, something I haven’t felt ever since we parted ways. Then, just slightly, as my fingers have started tracing his cheekbone, he turned his head and pressed a firm kiss against my wrist, alighting a vicious fire in my body.

“Seonghwa.” I had barely finished whispering his name when my lips were muffled by his, the familiarity of them making me moan as I threw my arms around his shoulders, clinging to him with desperation. Seonghwa inhaled loudly as he gripped my hips and flushed our bodies together to the point you couldn’t tell where he started and where I ended, and I pushed up on my tiptoes to better kiss him. His pace was sloppy and desperate as I returned the aggressivity of his own lips, fingers tangling in his dark and long locks, pulling on the strands and making him groan in the back of his throat. He leaned down and I felt his hands travel to my thighs, and I jumped before he could signal for me to, legs wrapping around his hips firmly as he pressed me back up against the sturdy door, moaning against my mouth when I finally parted my lips for his tongue to explore. He tasted like the old Seonghwa, he smelled like the old Seonghwa, he even felt like the old Seonghwa.

His body had gotten sturdier, stronger, and yet despite the desperate way he clung to me, fingers pressing into my cheeks or grabbing at my neck, he remained mindful of hurting me, of being gentle even in our desperation to feel each other, to love each other. His tongue lapped at mine eagerly, sucking my bottom lip between his teeth when he pulled back for a scarce breather, making me chase after his lips again as I couldn’t let go of him just yet. Our lips were swollen and covered in our mixed saliva, but I couldn’t care less as finally my thoughts were silent, my body and mind only focusing on Seonghwa. He gripped the back of my thighs and I made sure to hold onto him tighter as he pulled me off the door and started walking aimlessly around my cottage, having to pull away from my lips just slightly so that I could give him directions towards my bedroom.

Our clothes were quick to come off, even before we made it to the bedroom, and I found his once flawless skin now littered with scars, bringing tears to my eyes as he shuddered when I gently traced them with my fingertips. My body wasn’t perfect either, but it definitely harboured less scars than his, and it made me wonder just how many times he’s been in harms way with no guarantee that he’ll make it out alive. Before I could cry, Seonghwa’s lips were pressing against my cheeks, my forehead, my eyes, my nose, my jaw and chin, at last finding my lips as I was guided backwards onto the bed, pressing me down gently as he wasted no time getting on top of me. Despite the passing of time and being away from each other for four years, our bodies seemed to still know the other, our minds remembering every little thing that made the other tick, and it felt natural as we were guided by pure lust and desire for each other.

I had tried to remain composed and focused on Seonghwa, to give back just as much as I was receiving, but when he had settled between my legs, lips pressing feather-like kisses against my thighs until he drove me crazy and had me begging for more, I was a gone woman only able to focus on the immense pleasure his long tongue and plush lips brought, his fingers helping out when it wasn’t enough anymore. When my fingers yanked on his hair so hard that it made him whine, tongue lapping at my juices even faster, making me writ around until he held me down by the hips, Seonghwa knew I was close to unravelling, to coming undone on nothing but his tongue and fingers. But he pulled back, he always did, because he wanted to fill me up, to make me scream his name while I came undone on his dick. His lips kissed all the way up to my lips as I whispered his name over and over again, scratching down his back with my long nails, legs hooking around his hips as he wouldn’t lay on me just yet, tongue tangling with mine and making me taste myself as I reached down between us, grabbing his twitching member.

Seonghwa froze, moaning against my mouth as his eyebrows furrowed, rutting against my palm as I jerked my hand faster, until he was begging me to stop because he didn’t want to finish like this. And I did, I cradled his face in my hands as our eyes bore into each other’s, his dick finally lined up with my entrance as he slowly pushed inside, holding himself up by the forearms. It was painful, it was bittersweet, and it was the most pleasure I have felt in years, all in the arms of the man I had once loved—I still loved. My mouth had fallen open as I hissed in pain, eyebrows furrowing and eyes falling shut as Seonghwa kissed my wrists, whispering reassuring words, understanding that I haven’t done this since we went our separate ways.

But I didn’t need much to get accustomed to the once familiar feel of his dick splitting me open, stretching me out and making me feel filled to the brim, the only thought on my mind being him, Seonghwa. And I tried to swallow the noises that wanted to tear through my throat, but the harder Seonghwa slammed back in, the faster his hips thrust, I could only moan and whine, call out his name repeatedly as he fondled my breasts and made my back arch, hitting my sensitive spot over and over again. I grabbed onto his arms for leverage as he sat back on his heels, holding my hips up tightly as he pulled me down on each thrust to meet him halfway, making me curse out loudly as my stomach had started coiling, the pleasure building up until I couldn’t bear with it anymore.

“Seonghwa.” His name was nothing but a broken whisper as I bit my bottom lip, opening my arms, knowing that he’d understand my request. And he did, because he pressed himself completely against me, my arms going underneath his to hug him tightly as my fingernails pressed into his shoulder blades once again, painfully so, making Seonghwa hiss in pain and pleasure at the same time. He buried his head in my neck as he was panting, hips jerking messily as he was nearing his own undoing, much like I was. Our bodies were covered in a thin layer of sweat, chasing our own orgasms as Seonghwa’s right hand lowered between our bodies and started quickly rubbing my bundle of nerves, making me throw my head back and come undone in just a few seconds. His name left my lips like a mantra as I felt tears spring into my eyes from the overwhelming pleasure, body trembling as he stilled, and then I felt hot liquid spill inside me as he lazily continued to move his hips, making my body ache as it all felt too much.

“My love.” His lips brushed against my ear with one final thrust and then he stilled, body going lax as I was panting hard, trying to swallow but my throat felt parched. Seonghwa muttered something against the skin of my neck but I didn’t understand, and I turned my head to press kisses against his hair, his shoulder blade, and ultimately his lips when he raised his head. I instantly felt cold and like I was missing something as he rolled over and pulled out, his chest rising and falling just as frantically as mine. My heart was beating so fast that it felt like a vein would pop in my forehead and I felt Seonghwa’s fingers intertwine with mine. I gulped and looked over, finding nothing but a pained expression on his face and eyes that were overflowing with tears. I couldn’t hold it back in anymore, and let mine fall free as Seonghwa sniffed loudly, his beautiful black hair strewn across my pillow, the cloudy weather casting my bedroom in a dim light.

“I love you, Y/N,” Seonghwa’s voice was raspy and it trembled as he pressed a long-lasting kiss against my knuckles, “I love you so much, my love.”

I bit my bottom lip to fight the sob that threatened to rip through my throat and nodded, bringing our hands up to my cheek to nuzzle it against Seonghwa’s skin, “I love you too, Hwa, always have. Always will.”

But we weren’t meant to be since we were on opposing sides. And we both knew that as our tears stopped flowing, our fingers going numb from how tightly we held onto each other. Seonghwa sighed then released my hand reluctantly, making me bite back a whine as he sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Before he could get off my bed, I sat up hurriedly and threw my arms around him, letting out a long exhale as he returned the embrace, cradling my head against his naked chest. I wanted to grow old with him, I wanted to have children that would gift us grandchildren, I wanted us to never be separated again. And maybe Seonghwa wanted that too because his whole body trembled as we somehow found the strength to separate from each other, eyes yearning for something we’d never have.

I watched as he rolled over, then sat on the edge of my bed as I pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging my bare legs, looking for even the smallest comfort now that I knew I would let him leave, just this once. This was our final goodbye, the closure we never got. Once Seonghwa was out of my cottage, we’d play our parts, we’d be the enemies everyone thought we were. I was ready, and perhaps he was ready to. An easy smile settled on my lips as I watched Seonghwa lean down and fetch something, his back muscles tensing as he glanced back over his shoulder. My eyebrows furrowed upon the solemn look on his face and I went rigid as he turned his torso around, my own wand pointed at me. His voice was resigned, a whisper, pained.

“Obliviate.”

1944

            The train came to a screeching halt as we neared the next village, sending me back in my seat as I stared out the window, feeling bored as I knew nobody who shared the compartment with me. But that’s how it is when you don’t have friends of your own. It was alright, I had always done just fine on my own. As the train stopped and the doors opened, I watched the students who lived in this village get off, pulling their heavy luggage after themselves, greeted by their families who couldn’t wait for them to return home for the summer holiday. My chin was resting in my palm as I pursed my lips, finding it hard to enjoy my last train ride back home, never to return to Hogwarts. There was an ache in my chest that grew the longer I stared out the window, the longer I stared at the messy black-haired boy that had stopped close to the edge of the platform, gazing inside the train, dark and soft eyes landing on me unmistakably.

I gulped, feeling my heartbeat pick up the longer our gazes remained connected, confused by the ache in my chest that only got worse the longer we looked at each other. My eyebrows furrowed as I felt this sudden urge to reach out to him, to get off the train and run into his arms, to breathe in his familiar scent and feel his plush lips press against my skin, and his low voice whisper reassuring words into my ears. I didn’t know why I felt like that, I couldn’t explain the yearning of my own body as the boy’s once familiar face became hazy, unclear. No matter how hard I tried to look, I couldn’t see his features clearly. I couldn’t remember his name.

He became a murky memory in the back of my mind as the train whistled, signalling its departure, and as we took off, I felt the lurch of my heart and the coil of my stomach worsen as I jumped up from my seat, pulling the window open and scaring those sitting in the compartment with me. I looked out the window, head leaning outside as my eyebrows furrowed, the name of the boy on the tip of my tongue as I desperately tried to cry out his name—but I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know who he was. The alarmed cries of the people who rode with me snapped me out of my unexplainable actions, and I settled back into my seat feeling confused and embarrassed as I apologized.

I couldn’t tell anymore why my heart ached like I had loved someone with my whole being, with my soul, like I had sworn to remain by their side forever and even beyond. It confused me as to why I wanted to sob and scream after a boy that once was my guiding light in the darkness, my star. A face once familiar now became just the whisper of a distant memory that I couldn’t put my finger on, a nostalgic ache of a love that felt real, yet intangible.

The stars couldn’t shine bright without their darkness.

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❀ complete the forms if you're interested! ^^

[beforetimes]

For!!!!! The role reversal!!!! Falling into the endless abyss!!!!!!

That would be so cool and sexy if you aaaaaaaa

[link to og au]

Screams paint a backdrop for Shen Yuan’s heart pounding like a drum against his rib cage, blending together seamlessly with the blaring sirens of the System striking him with reminder after reminder of his fate. As though he was ever under any illusions that he would skirt by this—Ha! No, Shen Yuan knew better than to hope, and had fallen into this world reminding himself of that fact.

It's just so much harder to remember, he thinks now, staring at Luo Binghe wearing a look of betrayal on his face while demonic qi pours from his veins, fingers, teeth, sneaking out from under his eyelids, as though bursting from the seams now that the dam was removed. Horror is an ice pick through his chest, white hot and burning even as Shen Yuan's insides freeze.

"Shizun," Shen Yuan says, desperate, even after trying to tell himself years earlier that should this time come, he'll stay so calm and collected that no one would believe him to be behind the attack. "Shizun, please."

"A demon," Luo Binghe says, before saying nothing more at all. Shen Yuan can't help it—his legs tremble, hands shaking violently as the System blares in the corner of his vision. He can feel the heat of the gorge behind his back, sweltering and unknown. Terrifying. Shen Yuan swallows another desperate keen as he reaches out for Luo Binghe.

"Please," He says again, like a broken record skipping over and over, needle unable to find a well-worn groove to anchor itself in before jumping over to the next. Replacing him.

"Everyone will think you led the demons here," Luo Binghe notes, almost absently, as if he's very far away from everything and everyone. Watching through a screen and sounding the way he did in those first few weeks when Shen Yuan woke up in this new stolen body of his, long pale fingers pinching at the meat of his skin hard enough to leave a bruise.

"I didn't—! Shizun—"

Shen Yuan falls to his knees, terror and grief and heartache and everything else that twists his insides until it feels like his ribs are trying to claw their way out of his chest leaving him unable to stand.

He grabs on his Shizun's robes, dirtied at the bottom where Luo Binghe's been scouring the forest for disciples in trouble.

Disciples he thinks I hurt, Shen Yuan thinks, and he shakes and shakes and shakes apart.

"I wouldn't," Shen Yuan chokes out, even as the System's alarms grow louder. He feels like a five year old again, hiding in his room while his parents fought, just a line of heat pressed against his sister. "I wouldn't, I wouldn't, please."

"You've been so nervous lately," Luo Binghe says quietly, even as his hand lands on top of Shen Yuan's head in a well-practiced motion. He's so numb that he can barely feel it, Shen Yuan only hearing the accusation as he scrambles back, terror pushing adrenaline into his system in a blink.

"Shizun, please, I would never—No, you don't understand—" He pleads, and everything falls apart.

"Shen Yuan," Luo Binghe cuts him off, and Shen Yuan falls silent immediately. As though he's still a fifteen-year-old, star-struck with bright eyes, not nineteen and facing a death sentence. "What is there to explain?"

He asks, and it's not angry. It's so simple that it knocks all the righteous desperation out of Shen Yuan, lightning bolt through the chest.

He knows his role here—get pushed into the abyss or die—and the System has never once yielded in its strict composure.

Shen Yuan looks behind him, and sees fire and hatred spat from the crevice in the Earth. He looks forward and sees Luo Binghe's stepped closer, sword in hand and pointed toward Shen Yuan. And he has to take a breath to remind himself that this is the plot, this is how things need to be so he doesn't die.

"This disciple only ever wanted to help you," Shen Yuan croaks, even as the winds pick up and threaten to swallow his words. He closes his eyes and wipes violently at the space under them with his sleeves, replaced immediately with more tears, unending in their sorrow. "For Shizun, I would've done anything."

"Even bring danger to the sect?" Luo Binghe asks, before blinking in surprise, as if he hadn't meant to say it. Shen Yuan falls silent. Faltering and slow.

He takes a step back, and Luo Binghe's eyes widen.

"Shen Yuan—"

"Shizun," Shen Yuan interrupts this time. "This one is sorry. Shizun can stay angry with this filthy one as long as he desires but—but. Let me leave. Let me leave, and I'll never come back, I'll never bother Cang Qiong. I'll live far away, locked away in my room so Shizun doesn't have to risk seeing this one, just—Please forgive me one day, just let me leave, please let me—"

"You can't leave," Luo Binghe snaps, angriest he's been since the abyss cracked alongside Shen Yuan's seal. Fear tastes like blood in the back of his throat and a cheek bitten raw, and he finally lets himself sob.

A moment later, the edge of the abyss crumbles under Shen Yuan's feet, and he plummets into darkness.

masterpost

[muzansfangs]

Black Russian with muzan?

The scientist and his experiment.

Starring: Muzan Kibutsuji x f!reader;

Format: one-shot;

Warnings: nsfw, spanking, power imbalance, blood and gore, violence, mention to death and death threats, mention to cannibalism, body horror, abusive language, hair pulling, creampie, unprotected sex, vaginal sex, demon!reader, orgasm denial, language, degradation, sub!reader, dom!muzan, testing onto underlings;

Plot: Experimenting in his laboratory, Muzan had tried once again to come up with a way to finally withstand the sunlight. Not keen to test the potion on himself, he had summoned you, one of the new Upper Moons who had joined the higher ranks. Teasing him about the most likely negative outcome of his experiment, you ended up smashing the cruet containing the potion and you both inhaled the exhalation generated by the liquid. If you both were pissed off a minute before the accident, why were you now growling and tearing your clothes off of your bodies?

Drink chosen: BLACK RUSSIAN (spanking, hair pulling, orgasm denial, vaginal sex, creampie);

MASTERLIST FOR THE EVENT | RULES FOR THE EVENT

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

“Not a day can pass without you craving my presence, huh?” you sassily gloated, head dangling from the edge of the canopied bed of the infamous Kibutsuji Muzan to stare at his back, flexing underneath the silken fabric of his shirt with each movement he made. If you were a lower rank he would have most likely already killed you.

He never truly enjoyed your presence, only restraining from getting rid of you for your loyalty and lethality. You were not the strongest Upper Moon at his service, yet you were the only one who solely searched for the Slayers and consumed them to the bone. Your diet was remarkably satisfying for him. Pillars, new recruits, you never paid attention to their rank. When they died, their flesh tasted the same.

“Silence” Muzan flatly muttered, pouring some greenish substance into a still empty cruet. Sadly, he had summoned you for testing his new experiment and had no interest in striking up a conversation with you. Let alone actually enjoying your company.

Then again, you could not actually believe he was completely unaffected by your charm. Brows knitting together in indignation, you scoffed and rolled off of the bed. Your kimono had slided down your shoulders, cleavage on full display for a wandering eye to admire, but still Muzan blatantly ignored you. He deemed you something between a slimy worm and pretty much an annoying fly, to be correct. A slave to his whims, at best, a pawn in his scheme to conquer the sun and expand his reign of terror to the daylight.

Walking up to him, you slammed your hands onto his desk, paying no attention to the papers you were creasing, as your head tilted to the side to scrutinize the way his hands flipped the pages of his diary, or how he carefully grasped a pipette to mix up multicolored substances “Shush me again and I won’t drink up your shitty potion. Or shall I refer to it as your new failed attempt to imitate the skills of that doctor you regrettably murdered, huh?” you asserted, fed up with his attitude.

This bastard should have been glad you worked so hard to purge Japan from his natural born enemies. You even went to the extent of setting fire to the wisteria you ran into through your journeys. However, it was not enough with him. It was never enough.

Muzan’s irritation grew exponentially at your words, jaw clenching in unbridled rage at the mention of his incapacity to find the blue spider lily and improve the medicine his doctor had given him so many centuries ago. You should have been grateful he had even bothered turning you into a demon, welcoming you in his kingdom, sharing his blood with you, donating incommensurable power and eternal beauty. Still, ungratefully, there you were, daring to mock him for his unsuccess in upgrading a stupid medication. He was a man of intellect, he only lacked a mere ingredient to perfect that effing brew.

“Useless brat, wash your mouth, when you talk about me. — he hissed through gritted teeth, the nails in his right hand sharpening under your now wary gaze — Will you ever understand how insignificant to me you are and how privileged you have been for having stumbled on my path?” he bitterly stated, snapping his diary close with a dull thud and tossing it across the room in sheer wrath.

His fangs had protruded from his gums, shiny, pointy and deadly. The veins rooting on his face and his pupils reduced to two slits were your last warning. You tried to dodge his attack, but the dark blood dripping down the floor from your face, as your skin slowly regenerated, were events happening in a fraction of time not even your demonic eye had registered. The pain though was there, the wince burning your throat the proof he had already struck you, before you could react.

A slash straight on your cheek, deep cuts left by his claws still bleeding up led you to clasp your hand pathetically over the wounds, as if you could stop the flow. You cussed, fury glinting in your eyes, your subservient nature leaving space to an unprecedented thirst for revenge nothing could quench. You knew beating him was impossible. Lacking the skills was the least of your problems. Why? Because how could you defeat someone who could read your mind?

You growled, fangs on full display, before your good eye darted from his face to the desk. Fetching a blow directly at him would have never worked, but not even Lord Kibutsuji could prevent glass from shattering, or ink to restore on the paper.

The moment he understood your aim was not directed at him, he did not hesitate to wrap his hand around your throat. The air was sucked out of your lungs, feet leaving the ground, kicking at the air, as you glared in defiance at him. Maybe he thought he could physically stop you, but your blood demon technique worked without you touching the elements you wanted to destroy.

“Don’t you dare” he snarled at your face, his nails digging onto your smooth flesh drawing crescent bloody moons, tinging your white kimono in a crimson shade of red.

“Respectfully, f-fuck you” you choked out, smiling like a mad woman as you snapped your fingers and the very potion he had just ultimated exploded into a million splinters under his incredulous eyes. The sound of the glass shattering was the sign of your victory. You were probably going to die, your immortal life coming to an end by the very hands of the man who had gifted you that second chance of living like a supernatural being.

But you smiled, you never stopped smiling, not even as your forehead was smashed down against the edge of the desk. You laughed instead, an hysterical but genuine laughter that made Muzan’s blood boil as he tangled his fingers through your hair and strained your neck back to meet your eyes. Pain was long forgotten in that very moment. Every fiber of your body screamed to you that you had reached a level of freedom from him no one had ever been able to reach.

“You are a degenerate worm not deserving of existing. The sight of you makes me vomit” he deadpanned, forcing you back on your feet roughly and tightening the grip on your hair, as he watched the puddle of the liquid spilled sizzling onto the carpet underneath his feet, liquifying it. He had failed then. He had wasted his time once again. Two weeks spent in mixing together ingredients, studying new a formula, only to be reminded of the thruth you had shouted at his face: he could not match the skill of that damned doctor.

He never lost his composure, not even when he punished his underlings. But you had truly amazed him with your stupid antics and a kink for self-destructing choices. He had made up his mind. You could not live another day. You had to die, now. It would have not been enough to calm him down but it was going to be extremely satisfying anyway. He wanted to be covered in your blood, only to forget your name when he would have washed himself.

But no, he needed you to suffer. What a way to go down it would have been, if he devoured you?

“I was right, you’re too dumb to comprehend chemistry” you spluttered out, your vision finally restored albeit you were still bleeding out on the parquet.

The moment he heard the sound of you voice again, he pinned your head down onto what remained of his potion, disgust in his gaze as he watched you whimper out in pain as the liquid burned your skin. It was corrosive, your flesh on fire as he forced you to practically wipe the carpet with your cheek. The sadism in his action dripped hatred, while tears brimmed up in your eyes. You clawed at the carpet, disperately attempting to set yourself free, but Muzan had other plans for you. Kneeling down next to your writhing frame, he grinned, lifting your head up to examine the resault of his assault. Your cheek was deeply damaged, but you would have surely been able to regenerate it.

“Tell me, Y/N, would you rather have me consume you to the bone, or reduce you to nothing by biting chunks off of your body? Tell me, you stupid bitch” he chimed, your mouth going dry as you inhaled sharply, eyelids closing to avoid looking him in the eye.

Muzan clicked his tongue, impressed by your sudden silence. He leaned even closer, taking a whiff of the disturbing smell of that potion that had scarred your face. His lips curled into a crooked smile, his eyes watching intently the way you sobbed and your skin gradually restored its former smoothness. Your head was spinning at this point, breath uneven, whilst Muzan pushed you down onto the carpet once again. He had all the intent of beginning to devour you, his mouth salivating as he leaned down closer to you.

He barely had the time to pierce your jugular, though, that he felt his pants tighten uncomfortably. A boner in the middle of a hunt. This was not exactly what he had anticipated, just like the sweat beading his forehead and his heart pumping the blood faster in his veins. This was primal arousal, a need setting his body on fire as he pulled his bloodied mouth away from your neck. Your whine, pained, was strained with something else. Muzan saw the way you were writhing underneath him, chest heaving, as you pressed your thighs together.

Your dilated pupils, the way droplets of sweat were running down the valley of your breasts causing his cock to twitch into his undergarments. You were just as aroused as he was, thrashing onto the carpet in agony. He could smell your hormones, he could see the way you were looking at him questioningly. You were on fire.

“What the Hell have you done to me?” you blurted out, gripping the collar of his shirt so harshly it ended up being torn.

Muzan refused to believe this was the effect caused by his potion, but it was the only valid explanation to this. He bristled, swatting your hand away and growling at your face like an animal “Oh, believe him, I wanted to kill you, not to fuck you. — he snarled, grasping your jaw roughly and leaning his face down to let his lips hover over yours hazardously — Now, however, I have no other choice but to rut into someone. The question is: do you want to be that someone and be satisfied, or do you wish for me to end your misery in a more brutal and permanent way?” he hissed, watching the way you stared daggers at him.

You had a choice, that much was true. You did not want to die, you still had plenty of things to do before dying. The possibility to be eradicated from the world was not alluring anymore. Your clit throbbing between your legs, craving attention, some kind of friction, made you agree with him. You gritted your teeth, legs spread to let him accomodate between them.

“So be it” you stated, watching him fidget with his hands to unbuckle the belt keeping his trousers up.

It was not something you two could control. The fire coiling on your lower abdomen matched the pulsing desire in Muzan’s briefs. Gentleness, care were far away from them. The moment he had gotten rid of his clothes, he was already disrobing you of yours.

You thought it was going to be a regular intercourse, something to look back at with a weird sense of disgust and the thrill of the rush, but it turned out to be much more than that. Flipping you over your stomach, Muzan gripped your hair with one hand to force you to arch your spine. The bulbous tip of his cock dragging up and down your slippery heat to collect your juices.

“If you think I am merciful enough to grant you the sight of my face, you’re even more of a goose than I deemed you to be” he rasped out, your scalp stinging, as he yanked you back against his chest.

You whined, mouth ajar, as you felt him enter you. The friction was surprisingly smooth and pleasurable, your spongy walls sucking him in perfectly, whilst he grunted from behind you “Honored! You should feel honored I’m f-fucking you” he mocked you, hips driving into yours quickly, smacking your skin with a ferocity you had never experienced before.

You moaned out, unable to look back at his face, but capable to speak up again “I should’ve let you fuck your fist. How would it have felt, huh? Instead— fuck, instead, there you are, nestled into me and moaning like a pig to the slaughter… H-How low the Demon King has fallen” you taunted him nack, regretting your impudent display of courage instantly.

The smack on your rear felt like incandescent iron on your flesh, his cock rubbing insistently through your walls causing you to babble out incoherent words you could not repeat. Muzan was furious, his desire to ruin you and humiliate you blinding him as he felt you clamping down onto his length tightly. No, you did not deserve to reach your orgasm, but he did.

The sudden feeling of emptiness within you felt like a cold shower, as you gasped and tried to whip your head around to meet his gaze “What—”.

The audacity, the direspect you continued to show him could not proceed any further. He could not bear the sight of you for any longer.

Your protests falling deaf to his ears, as he pumped his shaft with one hand, lolling his head back in ecstasy as he felt his orgasm wash over him as a violent wave. The feeling of his seed dripping down over the curve of ass, warm, sticky, was the last thing you felt before you heard the biwa’s melody echo through the room and you fell naked and alone into a black-pitch forest.

Underserving of an answer. Underserving of a goodbye. You were nothing for him.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hi, there! Well, guys, what can I say? Muzan is a walking red flag. Let’s be real, albeit I love studying his character and personality, he would very much do all of the atrocities you’ve read in my fic. I do not condone any of this and I never will, therefore I will keep on depicting him more human in my modern au’s and pretend he is a good person. Stay the fuck away from people like him, hons❤️

Writing is fun, but he is a monster.

Until next,

x o x o

TAGS: @mrskokushibo @doumadono

[sugarmuseum]

DOUBLE KILL | L.MK, L,DH. | PART ONE

PAIRING: Mark Lee & Lee Donghyuck x female!reader

GENRE: smut, horror, thriller, college!au, frat!au, obviously inspired by the movie Scream.

SUMMARY: As the campus gets filled with a bunch of frat members dressed as Ghosface for a Halloween joke, you suddenly get dragged into your own scary movie when someone decides you’ll be the protagonist.

WARNINGS AND CONTENT: yandere vibes, explicit lenguage, explicit sex scenes, oral sex (f and m), fingering, spanking, creampies, cumshot, praise and degradation, soft but not really doms mark and hyuck, choking, dirty talk, anal play, big dicks, reader also gets anxious and scared, mentions and descriptions of blood, murder and death, mind games, annoying frat boys, y/n and her friends are lowkey little menaces.

WORD COUNT: +27.k

AUTOR'S NOTE: i lost my mind writing this so i hope you enjoy! also stream +82 pressin' that strong duo mark and hyuck really fit this fic

IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT ON A WEEKDAY AND YOU WERE CONTEMPLATING THROW OUR HISTORY BOOK OUTTA THE WINDOW.

A study questionnaire was taking too much time to answer in preparation for an upcoming exam and you tried to stay focused, fighting the sleepiness, ignoring the way your eyes felt heavy and your mind started fantasizing about your soft bed. You wanted to finish it up so you could go to sleep after a day full of classes, the tiredness about to shut down your body at any moment. 

Your phone next to you lit up with an incoming call and you answered it automatically, without stopping reading your book. "Hello?"

"Hi, Sidney," a raspy voice asked, making you roll your eyes for what would be the 500th time that day. Not again.

‘’Who is it? Jungwoo? Yangyang?" You asked, sighing and shaking your head. You turned your tired gaze away from the book, closing it and deciding that it was enough for that night, feeling your eyes dry. The bed was calling your name, the idea of sleeping for at least 10 uninterrupted hours being very tempting. "If you ask again what type of underwear I'm wearing with that damn modulator, I swear to God…’’ you threatened him. 

It all started in early October.

Since the boys in the NCT frat had decided to go as Ghostface as a group to their annual Halloween party, they had been playing with the voice modulator they bought together non-stop like a new toy, and you were one of their favorite targets. They definitely didn't know how to control their enthusiasm, with incessant calls at any time of the day, although their preferred time was obviously at night. 

You couldn't distinguish any voice, all being the same due to the voice changer that was rotating between the fraternity rooms. Renjun had even told you with exasperation how they had a board with names and shifts to know who got the modulator for the day, which was organized by Taeyong after too many complaints and headaches of whose turn it was. 

You had heard from Chenle that the mastermind behind this matching costume idea was Jaemin, who insisted that "all the girls love Ghostface!" and ‘’this would get us tons of pussy, trust me!’’ and that's how everybody agreed to it. Their calls ended up coming to your phone daily, some following the original script of the movie and others deviating from it to ask dirtier questions, like Yangyang and his close group of friends did.

It wasn't that funny to you but apparently some guys found your deadpanned answers hilarious, for an unknown reason to you. 

If it were just those stupid calls, it would be fine, but of course they went a step further and were terrorizing the campus with their pranks, using the full costume to run around campus and classes, fake knives and masks included. It was a bit creepy not knowing which one of them was under the white mask, there were so many members in that frat. 

Just last week, Hendery had jumped out at you from the shadows as you were about to enter your sorority building, which had made you scream in surprise and felt your soul ricocheting inside you, and he hadn't stopped laughing at your reaction while you tried to strangle him. At least Kun had scolded him a little afterward, to your satisfaction.  

And it wasn't like Jaemin's plan didn’t work out, because it did. Maybe too well. For days, you had been seeing masked black figures coming and going in the hallways of your sorority, entering and leaving some of the girl’s rooms. But you couldn't tell if it was because of the fame of the Ghostface mask and the effect it had on girls or because the ones underneath were the guys from Neo Chi Tau, one of the frats full of hot guys. Although you were getting used to seeing them everywhere, you couldn't deny that they gave you a creepy feeling every time you saw that eerie mask. 

You loved the saga, actually it was one of your favs, but it was a scary costume nonetheless and seeing so many around campus was… well, fucking creepy.

There hadn't been any murders so far, fortunately, but you were sure that would change if the guys kept messing with your patience. Halloween was your favorite holiday, and you loved everything that came with it, especially horror movies, which were your favorite genre. The campus was very enthusiastic about the celebrations and you usually enjoyed them, but in the last few days, you felt a bit nervous not knowing when another Ghostface would appear in your day to mess it up. Maybe the NCT guys were dead set on giving you a heart attack.

"None of those fools," the voice said as you yawned and got up from your desk to look for your pajamas in the closet. "Now listen carefully, Sid. What did you answer for question E and could you pass it to me, please?"

"Oh my God, Renjun, not you too," you complained incredulously, pulling the phone away from your ear to see that the call indeed had the ID of one of your friends and classmates. You scoffed and smiled, teasing your friend. "Wasn't yesterday when you thought it was a dumb idea and now you're using that modulator?"

"It is a dumb idea, but Yangyang signed me up on the board without me knowing," his voice, now normal, explained with a sigh. "I was just playing with this thing, I…it's kinda fun," he said, sounding a bit surprised by the realization.

You laughed at his tone, imagining his cute face crunching at the utter horror of knowing Yangyang was right in something. "So now you're going to join in terrorizing the campus with the others?"

‘’Nah, I'll just scare Yangyang with a call and then I'll go to sleep. You can pass me the answer, right? I'll pay you with a coffee tomorrow,’’ Renjun offered. 

‘’Yeah, no problem, I’ll send you a text,’’ you yawned again, hung up the call and approached your desk again to take a photo of your quiz answers. You send it to Renjun, who immediately responds with a heart and wishes you good night. You put down your phone and walked away to finally get on your pajamas to sleep, when it lit up with another incoming call. 

These guys didn’t sleep or what? This time you looked at the ID, a private number. Knowing that NCT's day of nonsense is clearly not over, you answered but put it on speaker this time. 

"Hello?" You responded for the third or fourth time today, starting to undress and choosing a large, worn-out t-shirt, pulling it over your head. As no one said anything on the other line, you frowned. "Junie? You were supposed to call Yangyang, not me," you reminded him with a giggle.

"This is not Renjun," a distorted voice said. You turned to look at your phone for a second, hesitating, and then continued taking off your clothes, now tossing your jeans into the laundry basket.

"Oh? So who is it then?" You asked as you rolled your eyes, feeling tired of playing this game so late. Turning off the speaker and your room lights as well, you went to your bed, laying down in the dark and stretching with a small sigh. So happy to be in the comfort of your sheets after a long day, you thought there was nothing better than that cozy feeling. 

"Someone else. You’re going to bed?" The caller asked, sounding interested, the low and seductive voice catching you a bit off guard. It's not the playful tone that others had used.

‘’Yeah, I was just about to,’’ you replied, turning on the small flat-screen TV in your room, looking for something on Netflix while holding the phone to your ear. ‘’Although I might put on a movie for some white noise, it helps me sleep.’’

"What movie?" The voice inquired you, tone deep and raspy.

‘’I don't know, maybe a horror movie,’’ you murmured, putting a random one and lowering the tv volume a little. You just needed a little bit of sound and the glow of the tv to fall asleep. "Halloween season has started, after all.’’ 

"A horror movie is gonna help you sleep? People chased and sliced does that to you?’’ The caller chuckled darkly, mocking you. ‘’What's your favorite scary movie?" He asked, the altered voice resonating against your ear.

You took a pause, thinking for a few seconds. To everyone who had asked before, you had given different answers and lies to keep up the joke and ruin the original script, but this time you decided to respond with the truth, laughing quietly at how ridiculous it would sound.

"Scream," you admitted, tossing the remote aside and curling up under the blankets, keeping your eyes on the movie. "You guys, don't you get tired of making the same calls during the day? You're all going to drain the battery of that damn thing before Halloween.’’

The voice ignored your last comment. ‘’What do you like about that movie?’’

"I find it original, I like how it mocks and pays homage to the clichés and rules of slashers," you replied, unable to prevent another yawn from escaping. "Drew Barrymore has the most iconic scene," your attention was diverted to your door, listening to noises coming downstairs. They were probably sisters returning to the building.

"Are you tired, pretty girl? I bet you were finishing your homework like the good girl you are, I am right?" The caller said, making you frown with a strange feeling forming inside you upon hearing the nickname. But you couldn't tell if it was fear or something else.

"How do you know that?" You asked, curious but a bit hesitant. 

"I saw you in the library today, looking so distracted and a bit... skittish," the voice commented with a small laugh that had you swallowing hard. "Is something making you nervous?"

‘’You know what? Yes, some group of idiots are bothering students everywhere," you deadpanned with your eyes closed, ready to sleep. "Including me. It's annoying."

‘’Well, in that case I hope the distractions don't make you forgetful. You locked the door, right? Did you set the alarm?’’ The caller asked, taunting you.

Wait, what? You opened your eyes as you slowly sat up in bed. The atmosphere had changed, and you felt a sense of discomfort and a bit of fear from his words, especially when the voice laughed hoarsely against your ear, as if he knew something you didn't. No one knows that today it's my turn to set the security system, you thought. 

‘’You should check that, baby. If the door’s not locked… maybe there’s someone’s already inside,’’ the voice said.

You remembered the noises you heard from downstairs. Did you set the alarm before, right? Wasn't the door closed? No sister could enter after curfew, you assured yourself, glancing a bit frantically at the time on your phone. Past midnight. 

Fuck. You were so tired after a day that had started so early, then the classes and the quiz you had been answering for hours— no. You locked the door and put the security code on. Stop, you’re getting paranoid, you chastised yourself, it's just the boys being annoying. 

"Are you scared?" The electronic, smooth voice asked in a mocking tone, as if it knew exactly that you were going a little crazy. It cooed at you. "Do you want me to come and help you calm down? Just open your door for me. Maybe I’m standing behind it..."

Without thinking twice, you hung up the call, leaving your phone on your nightstand as if it were burning. Fuck those calls. Enough with the games. You were about to lie down again when a tooomp sounded too close to your room, stopping your movements. It sounded like a heavy door closing.

You paused the movie to listen for something else, but after another tense, silent moment, you didn’t hear anything. So you were about to lay again, but this time you heard clearly footsteps on the stairs. You began to get up slowly from your bed, your footsteps dragging on the floor trying to be silent. As you came closer to your door, the footsteps were more evident. You turned the key in your room with care, feeling your heart thumping against your chest as you opened it slowly… when suddenly a face appeared in the opening.

You couldn't help the scream that escaped from you, startling Hanni and making her scream too. When you realized it was one of your friends standing in front of you, you sighed in relief while she laughed, looking at you strangely as you placed your hand over your racing heart, feeling like an idiot. 

‘’God, are you crazy? You're going to wake up the entire campus," she scolded you, a bit surprised by your reaction.

‘’You scared the hell out of me!’’ You signed loudly, taking a step back and turning on the lights of your room, the tension disappearing. You crossed your arms with a groan, ready for the day to end. ‘’What are you doing so late?" 

Hanni made a face and shrugged, and that's when you noticed your best friend was still carrying her backpack. ‘’I had a study session and I ran late,’’ she explained, ‘’good thing the door wasn't locked yet. I came to give you your book before I forget, by the way!’’

"What?" You asked, taking the book from her hands, although Hanni didn't notice that you paled a little, frozen in your place. ‘’The door wasn’t locked?’’

‘’I know, right? Lucky me,’’ she said as she started walking down the hallway to her room, without noticing the thoughtful expression on your face as you replayed the conversation from the call in your head. Before Hanni closed her door, she peeked out and winked at you. ‘’And don't worry, I already put the security code for you. Night, babe!’’

You stood at the threshold of your door for a moment with chills covering your body, your hands tightening on the book you were holding against your chest like a shield.

You didn't receive any more calls since the last one, fortunately, and the next few days passed in relative peace. Between studying with Renjun and Chenle in the library and having coffee with Hanni at the café where Sion worked—who occasionally gave employee discounts in the form of delicious cupcakes to your friend group— your mind was distracted from all this Ghostface situation. The last call left you a bit paranoid, now checking the locks twice and making sure everything is locked up tight before going to sleep. 

You told everything to Hanni, who obviously blamed the frat boys, assuring you it was another bad joke and that anyone could forget to put the code, especially someone stressed over exams like you. It was not a big deal. There was no way to know who the caller was since it was a private number anyways, and besides, you had other things to worry about than interrogating a whole frat about it. So you followed the voice of reason sometimes Hanni was to you and relaxed a little bit. It was just a dumb joke, you kept repeating to yourself.

When you thought your life would go on without much chaos until Halloween, Hanni reminded you of the invitation to the horror movie marathon that Friday, or as Johnny had officially named it: Super Spooky Spectacular Scary Movies Special. 

‘’You have no excuse and you’ll come with me,’’ Hanni said while hugging your arm firmly like a sloth, making sure you wouldn't run away in the middle of the cafe after saying that. She really knew you. ‘’You seriously need to get laid! You deserve a reward after your exams, you know? You have so much tension pinned up, that can’t be healthy.’’

‘’Can you keep it down?’’ You whispered, signaling with your head the figure of Sion coming to the table with two coffees and orange and black cupcakes, Halloween themed. You two smiled at the boy as he left, who didn’t notice how you kicked your friend's ankle under the table so she could keep her mouth shut. You looked at Hanni and frowned down at her when Sion left. ‘’Excuse me? What do you mean? Is this a intervention about my health habits?’’

‘’You were so stressed about exams and studying, I swear I thought I'd find you petrified or something on a library chair,’’ she scolded you after taking a piece of cupcake to her mouth and pointing her fork at you after, threateningly. ‘’No more! That ends tonight, you obsessed book mouse! Leave the body of my friend right now!’’

‘’Please stop screaming and exorcising me,’’ you begged her as you looked around, noticing some stares of other consumers coming your way curiously, attracted by your friend’s loud voice. ‘’Thank you, now everybody knows about my non-existent sex life,’’ you growled when you returned your attention to her. ‘’Keep it down!’’

‘’Wow, and how could that change, huh? Jesus, I wonder. Maybe if you actually went to a party and socialice? The NCT parties, you know those? The ones you always get an invite to?’’ Hanni reminded you, feeling a little exasperated. 

Parties weren’t really your thing, especially not NCT-crazy-wild-ones, and the times you actually went you spent your time with your friends in their rooms, having fun by yourselves, drinking, smoking, eating and talking non stop.

Some other times you actually danced and had fun with Renjun, Chenle and Hanni, like one night Yanyang was testing his live DJ set. But it was really out of the ordinary.  Most nights ended up with you passing out with Renjun and Chenle in the same bed like some puppy cuddle puddle after drinking too much, actually getting kicked out of the bed so they could cuddle without you. 

Some people were envious you had a free pass to those parties since your friends were members and pretty popular ones. And some were more curious about your close relationship with them. You were friends with the most calm frat boys you ever met, but something Chenle and Renjun didn't lack was attitude and personality, and when someone dared to come to them with some question or rumour they would just stare blankly with their bitch resting faces, patience thin as ice.

You didn’t know, but actually a few guys who were interested in you suspected the Chinese students were keeping you out of their reach and they called them out on that, and maybe it wasn’t a lie. Like when Chenle didn’t give your number to Yangyang right away, thinking you could do much better or Yuta, because he would devour you and your heart with a single bite. Renjun simply ignored the other frat members when asked about you, even if that got him sulky tantrums from Jeno and Jungwoo for days. Chenle and Renjun felt protective over you but more importantly, they were completely uninterested in playing matchmakers that could lead to messy situations.

You were considered a pretty unicorn to the frat guys, with two shining knights glued to your sides who judged everyone. But Chenle and Renjun didn’t know one important, big secret, that Hanni did. You had the biggest crush in the world on Mark Lee and Lee Donghyuck. An embarrassingly love-struck puppy type of crush. 

Like a stare-at-them-fantasizing-about-them-doing-so-many-nasty-things-to-you type of crush.

Not your proudest moment, but one time you spend a whole class daydreaming about Mark’s hands.

You were actually pretty timid, so you knew for a fact that if Chenle ever found out about that, his crazy ass would climb to the university’s biggest building for shit and giggles and scream to the wind your secret just to see you blushing and malfunctioning in the middle of campus. Of course Chenle loved you and your friendship, but he also loved chaos. Him finding out about your crush on Mark, one of his best friends and roommate, was a big no no. 

‘’Alright, you got a point,’’ you accepted as you drank your coffee, shrugging. ‘’But what do you expect me to do? Coming to them and just— what do I do?’’

‘’You just talk to them, they’re chill, and—’’ Hanni interrupted herself, thoughtful and grimacing a little while remembering your last encounter with them and rethinking her next words. She tilted his head, contemplating you. ‘’Okay, you just have to breath in and out and try not to stutter or just leave in a middle of a conversation like you did last time.’’

‘’I couldn’t help it! They make me so nervous,’’ you bit your lip in an anxious gesture, already knocking this conversation was going nowhere, since you acted like a weird loser when one of your crushes comed your way. It was ridiculously really, you were an adult! A grown woman! An independent grown woman who blushed like a Victorian bachelor in their presence. ‘’This is ridiculous, I’m not even a virgin or something—’’

‘’Maybe you should practice on someone else, just to get around things,’’ Hanni proposed but you shook your head immediately. ‘’But it’s a good plan, think about it! Any guy in the frat would be interested! Just until you build confidence.’’

‘’But I don’t wanna practice, I’m just interested in them. I don’t have a problem speaking to anyone but them. It’s like my brain gets shut down or something,’’ you deflated against the table, playing with your fork on the cupcake while you pouted, feeling defeated. ‘’It's silly anyway. You said it yourself, I’m a book mouse and they’re the most popular guys. I bet they think I’m weird or something.’’

‘’First, why are you talking like a nineties movie? Second, what the fuck? You’re the hottest book mouse around here,’’ Hanni gasped, offended and then looking at you in disbelief. ‘’You look like a Penthouse model… possessed by the spirit of a haunting librarian, but that’s not the point.’’

‘’Well that last part definitely made me feel sexy,’’ you deadpanned, voice dripping sarcasm. ‘’Penthouse model? Really? Weren’t you in Gender studies last semester?’’

‘’Babe, please tell me you don't have your nose so buried in your books you don’t notice the guys coming to the library just to look at you,’’ Hanni said, imploring with her eyes.

‘’What guys?’’ You asked as you frowned and ignored the way Hanni groaned, trying to remember someone watching you in the library but not recalling something like that or out of the ordinary. You usually study alone or with your friends, and no one ever has come down to your table to speak to you... well, maybe the librarian when it was closing time. ‘’It’s a public place, you know that? People go there to study, that includes frat guys, Hanni. They’re students even if they don’t look like it.’’

‘’Lord give me strength. You really think Yuta would go to the library? Or Jeno?’’ She asked, opening her eyes like it was an obvious thing and waited for your answer. When receive none, she stabbed her cupcake with the fork. ‘’I swear you’re so dense, baby girl,‘’ your friend sighed, sending a player in silence as she finished her coffee and gathered her thoughts like she was about to speak to a five year old. Her hands grabbed your softly and you looked at her in confusion. ‘’I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this as your dear friend. You’re really pretty and hot and everybody wants to fuck you. Start using your body on those fans you have.’’

‘’Alright,’’ you responded, squinting your eyes, done with the conversation as you laughed at her. ‘’Thank you, Hanni, but that’s enough,’’ you kissed your intertwined hands making her yelp when she noticed the stains of orange from the frosting you left in her skin. ‘’It’s not that I don’t wanna have sex, I do, but I just feel like… running to the hills when I see Mark or Donghyuck. And then turn around and run to them, but my legs don’t respond. It’s like I’m sinking into the ground.’’

‘’Listen, Shakespeare. Word on campus is they’re not sleeping around any more, you know?’’ She said, caughting you out of guard. You didn’t know much about gossip or rumors yourself, Hanni being that source of information, sometimes followed by Chenle. You swore those two would multiply their yapper tendencies when a juicy rumor would come their way. She smiled like the Chesire cat when she noticed your reaction, knowing she stroked a nerve. ‘’That’s right. You don’t think it’s interesting? Your two crushes apparently are leaving behind their fuckboys status. It’s a signal of the universe, if you ask me.’’

‘’I should listen to the universe and you, then?’’ You said, getting up and putting on your coat. ‘’So here’s the plan: I show up in a slutty outfit tonight and then I magically organize a threesome with Mark and Donghyuck while everyone watches the movies downstairs.’’

‘’Oh my God, fuck yes! Really?!’’ She squealed and clapped in excitement, eyes shining and mouth open with another squeak ready to leave out. 

‘’Are you insane? Of course not,’’ you laughed watching your friend about to throw a tantrum or stabbing you with a fork, you don’t know which option she’ll choose. ‘’I could explode like a supernova of nerves doing something like that. Now let’s go, it’s getting late.’’ 

Your friend didn’t say anything as she put on her coat too while pouting, porting a thoughtful face. As both started walking out of the cafe, in classical Hanni nature, she didn't keep her mouth shut much longer. She elbowed you playfully, her fox-like eyes glowing in what could described as an profound enjoyment of messing with your shyness. 

‘’So, a threesome? I knew you were into some freaky shit,’’ she mumbled with a pleased smile, ‘’it’s always the quiet ones.’’

You snorted and rolled your eyes not saying anything, grabbing her arm with yours to keep her going, ignoring her protests and more rumours about your crushes, like the one she heard about Donghyuck rejecting Yoo Jimin, one of the prettiest girls on campus at a party last week.

Well. You actually paid attention to that.

As the two were leaving, chatting and laughing, none of you noticed the black figure staring at you from across the street. 

On the other side of campus, two pairs of Ghostfaces were laying down in their beds, going through their phones absently while listening to music. Downstairs other frat members were getting the big living room ready for tonight’s movie night, as the work had been distributed between everybody and Chenle and Mark already finished theirs, installing the projector and sound system. Another Ghosface entered the room, this one in the form of Johnny, with his mask up to his forehead.

‘’Chenle, you remember that you were voted designated driver for Doyoung, right? His flight is tonight,’’ the taller man said, leaning against the door. Chenle raised a thumbs up in understanding without stopping scrolling through his phone with his other hand, barely listening. ‘’Alright, thank you for your service. By the way, your pretty friend is coming tonight?’’

Chenle tore his gaze away from the phone, completely lost in the conversation, thinking about what pretty friend he had. ‘’Huh?’’ He asked, shrugging when he heard Johnny say your name. ‘’Ah, yes. She’s coming with me though.’’

‘’What? She’s coming tonight?’’ Mark asked, sitting down on his bed and looking at his friend feeling betrayed. ‘’Dude, I asked you yesterday and you said you didn’t know.’’

‘’Because that was yesterday and I didn’t know,’’ Chenle explained himself in a calm voice, brows raised in a mock expression. He shaked his phone towards Mark. ‘’I just find out, she text me just now.’’

‘’Do you have to be such a cockblock and take her? When she’s finally coming after weeks?’’ Johnny asked, like scolding a little kid who wouldn't share his toys. ‘’Man, just take Kun, Renjun or whatever with you if you don’t wanna drive alone.’’

‘’I heard the word cockblock,’’ another Ghostface said as he passed by the aisle. He lifted his mask, revealing a redhead Yuta with a devilish grin on his face. He leaned against Johnny, giving the roommates an up and down glance. ‘’Of course it's coming from Chenle’s room.’’

‘’Are you guys tag teaming Chenle?’’ Jaemin asked, his form coming between Johnny’s and Yuta’s, looking interested and curious, face in the middle of his hyungs. Just like them, wearing the same Ghostface costume. ‘’You guys don’t do that without me,’’ he said, smiling like a naughty creature, showing all his white teeth. 

‘’Kun-ge is on bar duty tonight, so why don't you come with me, then?’’ Chenle asked Johnny, crossing his arms knowing damn well he had the winning hand in this whole petty argument. He liked to be difficult sometimes. ‘’Why is everyone in my room?’’

‘’What's going in here?’’ Jeno questioned, appearing with his mask lifted like everybody else and joined the little group by the door. Mark sighed from his bed, watching how the hockey team captain was watching everybody trying to get a clue, a little confused. It just took Yuta saying your name to make Jeno’s face illuminate with realization and interest. ‘’She’s coming tonight?’’

‘’Chenle wants to take her in his car tonight,’’ Yuta further explained, arching a brow towards him. ‘’Little shit wanted all for himself and didn’t tell us.’’

‘’What? You like her?’’ Jaemin asked, surprised. Intrigue filled his face. ‘’I thought you were asexual or something? You never made a move on her.’’

‘’First of all, I’m not. And even if I was I’m not discussing that with a fucking comiteé in my room,’’ Chenle groaned, sitting in his bed and and making an exasperated sound. ‘’Jesus, I don't like her! She’s my friend and I don’t wanna drive alone, it’s boring.’’

‘’You’re driving with Doyoung-hyung,’’ Mark reminded him, browns frowning in confusion. 

‘’Exactly,’’ Chenle rolled his eyes. ‘’That’s my point.’’

‘’Well I’m gonna stay here and sit next to your pretty friend,’’ Johnny finally responded, crossing his arms too. ‘’I already kicked Jaehyun out, the room is mine for tonight.’’

‘’Gross, hyung!’’ Chenle said, making a face. To him you were like a little sister, and imagining you doing adult activities like flirting or worse made him kinda uncomfortable. It didn't help that the most notorious fuckboys were interested in you, having a little reunion on his door. ‘’Ew, get out! All of you!’’

‘’Yeah, yeah, just take someone and go, you have an hour,’’ Johnny pointed threateningly at Chenle, backing away and putting on the Ghostface mask again. Yuta, Jaemin and Jeno followed him, all of them porting similar smirks knowing damn well you would be fair game tonight and your dear friend couldn't do something to stop it.

‘’What’s up?’’ A new, muffled voice asked as a new incomer Ghostface took off his mask while entering the room. Mark said your name, catching all the attention of Donghyuck, who stopped in his tracks. ‘’What?’’

‘’She’s coming tonight and Chenle wants to take her with him to drop Doyoung-hyung to the airport,’’ Mark tiredly explained, looking at Donghyuck and noticing how the wheels in his head started to run immediately. He knew the way his friend filtered information and made plans quickly. Not a beat passed that Donghyuck sat on Mark’s gaming chair, putting on a veil of disinterest not only on his face, but in his voice.

‘’Take Renjun with you or something,’’ Hyuck proposed like it was an obvious option, hands searching in his pocket for his lighter.

‘’Renjun is studying in Ningning’s room tonight,’’ Mark said, remembering his friend saying something about it early in the day.

‘’I don’t want her to stay alone here and Hanni is leaving with Sion for sure,’’ Chenle sighed, attention coming back to his phone and ignoring everyone. 

‘’Who are you? His virgin protector or what? Just leave, she’s a big girl,’’ Donghyuck mockingly said with a scoff, making Mark chuckle low. The two friends shared a quick look with each other, communicating in silence and going unnoticed by Chenle. ‘’Listen, if you’re so worried, take Johnny with you, since he’s the biggest threat. I heard him coming downstairs, he has some filthy mouth,’’ he lied, putting on his Ghostface mask again and leaning back comfortably. ‘’Man, I wouldn't trust my precious sheep with that wolf.’’

Nobody pointed out that Johnny was probably the tamest of them all, but all Donghyuck needed was a slight doubt and someone to push under the bus. He knew Chenle wasn't dumb or easy to persuade, so he kept his tone indifferent, focusing on the blunt he took out of his pocket, leaving the final push in Mark’s hands.

‘’It’s kinda true, dude,’’ Mark conceded, massaging his neck thoughtfully and making a face. ‘’He said he wanted to take her to his room after all, like… you know everyone has other plans besides watching the movies,’’ he commented, knowing that just a small group actually watches the complete marathon. He shrugged. ‘’Haechan has a point, I think.’’

Donghyuck said nothing, smug under the mask and letting a thick cloud of smoke out of it. It was a team effort and it was easy to follow Mark, who led not only the basketball team but their friend group too. He was reliable, what you’d call a good guy. 

Mark was well known on campus. Either by his looks or his talent on the basketball court, but also because actually a good student known for his easy smile, his contagious laugh and his approachable aura. That didn’t mean he didn't have his intense side, being one of the fastest and most focused players, the type to play to win. It was also well known for his reputation of leaving girls limping and satisfied after an encounter with him. 

Chenle sighed again and left his phone looking at Mark, actually listening to him. ‘’I just— she’s kinda shy, you know? I don’t wanna leave here alone, feeling anxious and shit.’’

‘’Dude, I understand but it’s like a forty minute drive to the airport— nothing’s gonna happen to her. What if I stay here with her?’’ Mark asked, laughing a little at Chenle’s silence that followed.

Chenle looked at Mark and considered his words for a second, thinking that maybe he was overreacting a little. His roommate was one of the best, chill guys he knew and one of his closest friends. Maybe this was a good idea after all, he considered it with a hum. 

‘’She can chill here, and we’ll wait for you, she won’t be alone,’’ Mark confirmed, keeping his soft voice, trying to look assuring and sincere. And fuck, of course it worked. ‘’You don’t trust me?’’ 

I took some moments of more thinking, but Chenle finally agreed, nodding with his head. ‘’Yeah… yeah, you’re right. You’ll take care of her, right Mark?’’ Chenle asked and the Canadian boy smiled, nodding too.

‘’Of course I’ll do,’’ Mark responded, going back to his phone. ‘’Stop worrying so much, dude. She’s in good hands.’’

Donghyuck snorted under his mask.

After getting ready with Hanni, the two of you went to the frat by walking, not being that far away. It was spooky season but it felt too early to wear a costume, so Hanni had brought matching headbands with bedazzled little pumpkins on it that looked really cute.

As you two were walking, you kept feeling as if someone was watching you, but every time you turned around anxiously you didn't see anyone, just students coming and going, everyone in their own world. It was friday, so everyone on campus was leaving or getting ready for a party happening tonight or the movie marathon at NCT’s house. 

When you turned in a corner, you saw from the side of your eye a black figure, catching your attention immediately. Standing on a building's entrance a few meters away a Ghostface was staring at you, not moving, just… looking directly as you walked with your friend. He slowly raised his hand, showing you the knife he was holding with his fingers and moving it from side to side waving at you teasingly, saying hello. It was just someone from NCT, you tried to convince yourself as you looked ahead and chose to ignore him and the creeps it gave you, trying to catch what Hanni was saying. After a few steps you watched behind your shoulder again, but that Ghostface wasn't there anymore. 

Jisung and Sion had hung the Super Spooky Spectacular Scary Movies Special sign at the entrance of the NCT house under Taeyong's and Kun’s attentive (and worried) gaze that very afternoon while the other members worked inside the house. They had a huge screen to project the movies that were chosen by voting last month, and they also had set up a small bar in the kitchen for the pledges to serve the guests. 

Obviously supervised by Kun, who wasn't really convinced about leaving the bar in the hands of Yangyang (the resident Tasmanian devil) guiding the sweet and easily stressed Jisung.

The place was illuminated by red and violet lights to give it a more eerie look, in addition to the Halloween decorations they had put up at the beginning of the month. Music was blasting too, until it was time for the movies to start. 

You heard someone calling your name as you were arriving at the frat house, coming from someone wearing a pale, well known mask waving at you. You smiled when he lifted it to reveal Taeyong, the frat president, greeting you with a warm smile. His large, doe-like eyes didn’t match with the pretty realistic Michael Myers costume he was wearing.

"Why aren't you dressed as Ghostface?" You inquired with curiosity when you were in front of him, impressed by the outfit he was wearing. Even if the material was dark you could see some splashes of red, fake blood. It really made his blonde, recently bleached hair stand out.

"I lost it yesterday," he sighed, running his hand through his hair a bit embarrassed, "and I have no idea where it is and I had this one from last year's. I thought maybe Doyoung packed it accidentally in his suitcase, but he already left, so…’’

"His suitcase?" Hanni asked, giving him a confused look, but she didn't stay to hear the answer because Hendery appeared by the door with a crazy look in his eyes, grabbed her arm as soon as he saw her and dragged her away excitedly into the house.

"I have an impartial jury!" He announced to a group of Ghostfaces behind him. "Hanni, listen, you have to vote for me as the sexiest Ghostface—"

You and Taeyong decided to ignore that, falling into the conversation again. 

"Doyoung is going home this week, he hates Halloween and the stress of exams isn't helping either. I think he might kill Xiaojun if he sees him running around with the Ghostface mask on the hallway or Yangyang making a pumpkin sacrifice,’’ the president looked back, noticing a group of people coming with the echo of their voices, and lowered the mask to cover his face again, laughing at your puzzled expression. He started back walking towards them, waving at you with his fake knife. "It's a long story, never mind. Enjoy the movies!’’

With your friend taken away by Hendery and Taeyong receiving more guests, you sighed upon realizing you were alone, so you took out your phone as you entered the house and checked the group chat. Trying to ignore the multiple Ghostfaces around you, you took refuge in one dark corner as you typed fast. 

you: where are you guys??  king lele: doing something brb  junie: study night with ning king lele: study hard and use protection junie: ???  you: thanks for letting me know??? just now??? king lele: mark will stay with u dnt worry!! go to my room he has the key

Mark?! You read that text over and over. So not only did it send you a little bit on edge to be surrounded by people dressed as Ghostface, especially knowing about the creepy encounter you had on your way there, but now you were about to be alone with Mark. 

No fucking way.

You lifted your worried gaze from the phone with a loud sigh just in time to see a Ghostface slowly coming your way, knife in hand, removing the mask to reveal what it could be a determined Yuta, eyes shining maliciously. So, his normal look. You averted your eyes from his only to find another tall, dark figure making his way towards you from the other side. It was Jeno with his mask pulled up to his forehead, giving you that attractive, cute smile of his. 

You remembered the time at a party a few months ago when Jeno talked to you about his hockey statistics and Yuta cornered you to talk about bondage, so you turned around fast and fled to avoid being caught in those strange conversations again. You were really not in the mood to entertain frat boys, determined to hide in Chenle's room until he showed up, even if the door was closed.

But you weren't so lucky to avoid other situations, because as you walked through the entrance that led to the kitchen, you bumped into another Ghostface, making you jump. Luckily you didn't scream this time, silently appreciating your composure when he removed his mask to reveal Mark underneath, who smiled down at you. He looked so good, light-brown hair falling on his face, giving him a soft aspect and wishing you could play with the long strands. Still, you just stared at him like a deer caught in highlights, hoping that the other two Ghostfaces didn’t follow you.

‘’Just the girl I was looking for,’’ he said, eyeing you and noticing your headband and then chuckling, as the two tiny pumpkins shaked above your head. He gave one a tiny push, making it shake more. ‘’Cute.’’

‘’T-thanks’’, you said, moving a step back and giving him a small smile. Don’t run or make weird talk, you told yourself exhaling, don’t be weird. Act like a normal person. ‘’Um, you were looking for me?’’

‘’Yeah, Chenle’s not here and I am supposed to take you to our room,’’ he said, looking straight into your eyes, with such a gentle expression it melted your heart. Ugh, he’s so cute and nice. ‘’Don’t worry, it will be just us. I mean— is that okay with you?’’

‘’Yeah, yeah, sure,’’ you said, trying to sound cool while discreetly touching your cheek as you adjusted a strand of your hair, trying to feel if you were blushing. So far, so good. ‘’It’s okay, lead the way!’’ 

You were about to kick you internally, feeling a little cringy, but then someone else joined you and Mark. You recognized him as one of the Big’s of NCT, Jaehyun. Of course, he was wearing a Ghostface costume too. 

‘’Mark! You got a minute?’’ He asked, passing an arm to his shoulders, and then looking at you. He tilted his head as he squinted his eyes as if trying to remember where he knew you from, pointing at you as he struggled to recall your name. ‘’Hey, you’re that girl. The library girl.’’

‘’Oh?’’ You asked, raising your eyebrows, a bit confused. Even though you knew who Jaehyun was, you had never really spoken to him until then, not even shared a class or something. ‘’Who?’’

‘’Yeah, the girl that—,’’ he interrupted himself, feeling the heavy gaze of Mark’s on him, and realizing it was the best to shut the fuck up. He gave you one of his best smiles, full of dimples, and then turned his face towards Mark, giving him a pat on the chest. ‘’Can you come for a minute, man? There’s a problem with the sound connection and I think you’re the only one sober here.’’ 

‘’Yeah, sure,’’ he looked at you with a doubtful face and surprised you when suddenly he grabbed you by the shoulders, pushing you smoothly but firmly towards the wall so you weren’t that visible from other entries to the kitchen. ‘’Wait for me here, I’ll be quick. Okay?’’

‘’Okay,’’ you just responded, trying not to scream my crush just touched me! and nodded with your head, giving him a reassuring, small smile. It wasn't’ like you were about to run anywhere else. 

The moment Mark and Jaehyun disappeared in the hallway, you shoot from where you were standing straight to the bar. You knew it was impossible for them not to have a good damn bar anytime they do something, so you thanked them in silence and their alcoholic ways. You expected to see Kun or maybe even Johnny there, but instead you encountered Yangyang in the wild, making eye contact with the pink haired boy and hurriedly coming over. If you were about to be alone with Mark Lee for God’s know how many minutes, you needed some liquid courage. 

‘’Give me anything as a shot right now, quick!’’ You whispered-shouted, looking behind your shoulder to make sure Mark wasn’t coming back yet. 

‘’Okay, okay!’’ He said matching your desperation without asking questions, his hands rapidly grabbed the tequila and served two shots. He looked at you with his mouth open watching how the two shots disappeared almost instantly as you drank both. ‘’Uhm, thats was mi—’’

‘’Oh my God! Give me something sweet, not gasoline, please,’’ you made a face, feeling the burning taste of the tequila coming down your throat and coughing a little. 

This time Yangyang served two shots of something pink, and he hurried to grab his before you could drink that as well for the second time. 

‘’Jesus, what’s up to you? You never drank like this,’’ he said, looking at you suspiciously while you took another shot. He also noticed you were alone, nor Chenle or Renjun next to you. Weird. Even if Yangyang was a menace, he was a good guy, so he lowered his voice and searched for your eyes. ‘’Are you okay?’’

‘’Why? I don’t look okay?’’ You asked nervously, serving yourself another shot before Yangyang took the bottle away, making him more suspicious of you as he observed how you drank the fifth shot. You decided to change the topic, distracting him. ‘’What are you doing here alone? Where’s Kun?’’

‘’He left me in charge, he went to smoke or something,’’ Yangyang said, uninterested as he was guarding the bottle as if you were about to steal it or drinked completely. And maybe he was right. ‘’Jisung went to buy some alcohol, we ran out of beer already.’’

‘’You? In charge?’’ You let out a small laugh, a little surprised, gaining yourself an unamused look from Yangyang. You wondered what the other frat guys were up to that night that the top choice was the pretty, chaotic boy in front of you. You looked behind your shoulder and saw Mark close to the kitchen door, speaking with Kun, who was coming back to the bar too. You grabbed the bottle Yangyang was holding and gave him a serious look. ‘’Give me another shot and we never had this conversation, okay?’’ 

‘’Yes ma’am,’’ he responded quickly, serving two more shots after following your gaze to the door. He smirked a little with a knowing look but said nothing, drinking the shot with you and just giving a smile to the other two neos as they were about to approach the bar. ‘’Don’t worry,’’ he assured you in a whisper, ‘’I don’t know nor I heard something. Actually, who are you?’’

‘’Are you drinking?’’ Kun asked the first thing to Yangyang with a sigh, making him move out of the way and taking the bottle he was holding. ‘’I swear, leaving you in charge it’s like leaving a sugar addict in a candy store.’’

‘’Hey! I was taking really well care of the bar!’’ Yangyang defended himself with an offended scoff, but you stopped listening to their banter when you felt Mark grabbing your hand in a soft movement, seeking your attention. 

‘’You ready?’’ He asked, coming so close that you could feel the warmth coming off his body. God, he smelled so good. The shots might have worked, because you were able to nod your head and smile at him, feeling much relaxed while you were screaming internally trying not to freak out because he was holding your hand. ‘’Let’s go then.’’

Mark guided you towards an internal aisle that lead to the stairs, and even if you knew the way since he was roommates with Chenle, you didn't let go of his hand, leaving behind Kun and Yangyang arguing as the other people in the NCT house were already waiting for the movie to start.

But as you were climbing the last steps towards the first floor, you heard the opening scene. The Exorcist? You saw behind you trying to steal a quick glance, but instead you encountered a Ghostface standing on the bottom of the stairs. It was looking up at your moving body, head tilted in a curious manner. You were about to tear your eyes away, but then he slowly lifted a gloved hand and moved two fingers to the black mouth of the mask, making a V form and wiggling them. You gasped lowly, taken aback by the dirty gesture, the reaction going unnoticed by Mark.

Mark took you to two sections of stairs, you watching his back the whole time while the sound of the movie was being more and more muffled as you two got away. He let you go in first after opening the door, and as you entered you noticed the music playing low and a mood lamp, giving a cozy, chill vibe you liked. This was more of your style. You let out a heavy sigh, grateful to be there. 

You went straight to Chenle’s bed to sit like you usually did and watched as Mark went to the small mini fridge, taking two bottles of water and offering you one. 

‘’You’re not drinking tonight?’’ You asked him curiously, playing with the cold bottle as you didn’t want to to ease the shots you took before. The few times you were at the frat you’d never seen Mark completely out-of-it drunk, but definitely not not drinking either. 

‘’Nah, I’m taking it slow tonight,’’ Mark answered and smiled down at you. He took a seat next to you, so close his tight brushed yours, sparkling goosebumps to your legs, which you crossed it trying to play it cool. You needed to do something, so you actually took a sip of water and missed the way Mark was staring at your legs, eyeing your black stockings. 

‘’You can leave, you know? You don’t have to wait with me, you’re missing the movie,’’ you blurted softly, feeling a little bad for him. Being a babysitter while the whole frat was having fun downstairs. 

‘’I don’t want to, I… I really want to keep you company,’’ he said with a small smirk, eyes gentle. ‘’I mean— if you want to.’’

‘’You do?’’ You questioned a little surprised, moving your body so you could face him better, the cold feeling of the water bottle in your hands being a good anchor. You weren’t able to stop your eyes from looking at this mouth, but quickly moved it to his eyes. Focus. Don’t stare at his cute smile.

‘’Yeah,’’ he laughed a little sheepishly, ‘’I actually wanted to talk with you a few times but you kinda… run away?’’ He tried to say it without grimacing, stare static on you to measure your reaction. You laughed a little, embarrassed, but ended up nodding your head. Why would you deny it? You shrugged and murmured a small sorry, feeling a little shy. ‘’It’s okay, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, you know? That’s all.’’

‘’You don’t!’’ You quickly assured him. Apparently the alcohol was not only making you more relaxed, but it opened your big mouth as well. ‘’You don’t make me uncomfortable. I just… get a little bit nervous around you and— and I don’t know what to say so I just leave and—’’ you interrupted yourself, feeling a hand on your knee, comforting you. 

You looked down, seeing Mark’s pretty, big veiny hand caressing your knee and making circles with his thumb— making you malfunction as you study his long fingers. You felt warm filling your body and breathed deeply. He’s just being nice, calm down.

‘’Relax, baby, it’s okay,’’ Mark said, giving you another gentle smile. He signed while shaking his head, looking relieved and a little bit amused. ‘’I get it. I really thought you were avoiding me because I was annoying or something… or maybe because you like someone?’’ 

‘’I like someone?’’ You dumbly repeated, feeling your face warm and trying not to sound panicked. You licked your lips deep in thought, you couldn't say that you crushed on his best friend too, right? Don’t say he’s your crush! Don’t speak about your other crush in front of this crush either! 

‘’I haven’t seen you dating, even though I know there’s a couple of guys interested in you,’’ he mumbled, keeping his curious gaze on you as his hand very slowly went just a little up, moving towards your thigh. It felt really innocent, like he was still trying to comfort you, a pretty but scaredy cat. Relaxing you, winning your trust. ‘’Why’s that?’’ 

‘’Um… I don’t know,’’ you lied, not doing anything to stop his hand. Why was the room getting so hot? It was such a bad idea to wear a sweater that night. Your legs twitched a little under his touch, making Mark grin even more.

It felt like falling under a spell, you had him so close and he smelled really good, and was so kind, and you couldn't help but study his handsome face. It was just the two of you, and that made you feel a bit more confident and calm. It wasn't as stressful as other occasions, full of other people watching and judging. 

‘’Little liar,’’ he laughed huskily, coming even closer to you. He fixed his gaze on your face, squeezing your thigh a little, hand completely under your skirt now. ‘’I thought we passed the part when you ran away, baby. I wanna know what’s in that head of yours,’’ he whispered.

Your heart jumped everywhere inside you going crazy, racing and nervous. Sometimes you imagined the power Mark could have on you, he made you blush with just crossing glances on the hallway. But having him so close to you, touching you and teasing you— it was too much. But it felt so right, and your body was reacting to him so fast. Thighs rubbing against each other slowly, wet covering between your legs and making your pussy throb. Fuck it, you wanted him so bad. You tried to take your eyes off him, but Mark pinched your tight teasingly, making you gasp in surprise.  

‘’You won’t tell me, it’s that so?’’ He smirked, leaning his body towards you and putting his other hand on your chin, pinching it softly as he raised it so his lips could find yours. ‘’I’ll show you what’s in mine, then.’’

Nothing could prepare you to feel his lips on yours. Mark kissed you softly first and the shock lasted for a few seconds until you kissed him back, making him smile a little against your mouth before going at it again. His soft, almost tender kisses did an excellent job of relaxing you, loosening your body against his and even daring to rest one of your hands on his chest, clutching his shirt. The kisses didn’t feel awkward or clumsy, mouths moving against each other easily and that kinda surprised you for good, feeling a wave of desire building up on you. It felt so easy, wanted.

You felt more loose thanks to the way he was kissing you, giving you small touches with his tongue and taking the time to get to know your lips, but damn it, you wanted more. Your tongue brushed against his in a languid and sensual manner, wanting to make its way between his lips that he parted for you, letting out a low growl and sliding his hand to your neck, devouring your mouth with an eagerness that you felt as well. 

The kiss that started slowly got completely out of control, your shyness flying slowly but surely out the window and doing what you had really wanted for a long time; kissing Mark Lee with total freedom. The wet sound of your lips joining and your tongues playing filled the room, Mark's hand moving up and down your thigh in such a possessive way that it almost had you purring for him. 

You didn't stop him when he gently pushed you against the bed without separating his lips from yours, in the back of your mind you tried not to think that it was your friend's bed, but hell would freeze over before you stopped kissing Mark. His body covered yours and settled between your legs that you parted to make space for him, wrapping them around his thighs to pull him even closer to you. You felt his hard cock everytime he rubbed himself against you, sending a rush of desire to your body, moaning lowly in his mouth as you were getting more and more wet until it soaked your panties.

The heavy breaths of the two of you was all you could hear, completely immersed in Mark and his touch, his pretty whimpers engraving in your mind while he started dry humping you. Bodies moving in unison, slowly building a sensual and needy rhythm, softs gasps leaving your mouth every time he brushes his length against your pussy.

Unfortunately, both of you needed a bit of air, so when Mark pulled his mouth away after a hot making out session, you didn't stop him, taking a breath as well and feeling your body burning all over, including your lungs, both of you panting. He took his hot, wet kisses to your neck, kissing and giving small bites that did nothing to calm your racing heart but making you moan more. 

He moved one of his hands underneath your sweater, palm slowly finding your breast and squeezing it possessively when realized that you weren’t wearing anything under your clothes, soft skin against his long fingers that started playing with your hardening nipple. ‘’Fuck, baby. No bra? What other surprises you have, hm?’’

You were feeling so happy and excited, an empowering sensation filling your veins. It was more than just adrenaline and arousal, and you tested it rubbing your pussy against his hardening length again, winning some horny, lowly whimpers from Mark that made you even wetter for him. You let out a breathless laugh that was cutted by a harsh bite Mark left on your neck. 

‘’Baby, did you drink before?’’ He breathed heavily into your face, staring down at you. His hands caressing your thighs under your skirt, moving his touch up to your sides and squeezing his fingers there. He was exploring your body, touching and grabbing, making you more agitated and so fucking needy.

You ignored him and kissed him again, not stopping the rubbing against his hard cock in his pants. But he actually moved away, arching a brow and waiting for a response. Fuck, he was so handome like that, you thought with a soft whimper. ‘’I asked you something, baby.’’

‘’No,’’ you lied, grimacing afterwards with regret. No more running. ‘’I mean, actually yes, why?’’ 

‘’You taste like strawberry liquor,’’ he simply responded, smiling against your lips, brushing his with yours. You felt your cheeks warming up a little and licked your lips, feeling nothing but his taste. Mark’s eyes followed every movement and groaned when he felt you rubbing against him, slowly and sensual. ‘’Taste so good.’’

‘’Thanks,’’ you murmured without thinking, kissing him again without any shame and making Mark give in to the kiss, this time more soft yet deep, sensual. He cupped your cheek, thumb brushing against your swollen mouth from the hard kisses, giving you a small bite to your lip.

‘’Fuck. You’re so pretty,’’ Mark said, voice sounding a little hoarse, his strong hands taking your legs, untangling them from his body. He pushed them up to your sides, making you let out a sound of surprise for the sudden movement, your skirt completely lifting and leaving you exposed to him. His eyes held a mixture of desire and tease, gaze dark with hunger. ‘’I wonder if you taste like that in other parts too. You'll let me find out, right?’’

"W-what?" You stuttered, feeling a new wave of wetness covering your cunt when Mark looked at you with those big, pretty brown eyes usually full of calm and gentleness, but now seeming more intense and focused on you. "T-taste me?"

''You'll let me taste this pretty, shy pussy no one gets to touch?'' He muttered huskily, his gaze traveling to between your thighs, where a patch of wetness covered your panties and stockings too, making him moan just by that vision. He caressed your pussy and directed his thumb to your clothed clit, massaging it in slow circles and making you moan with need at the sensation. He gave you a little slap there, making you almost close your legs but he stopped you by pushing you more open with his hands. ''Say it, baby.''

‘’Mark, please!’’ You begged him, wanting his touch more than anything. You didn’t give a fuck about anything now, feeling a rush of heat hit your lower belly and driving you insane. You heard a sudden noise and stared at Mark with a new sense of thrill filling you when noticed he just ripped your poor stockings, leaving the fragile material broken against your skin.

‘’You gotta do better than that,’’ he mocked you, moving back a little and taking you to the edge of the bed and gettin on the floor sitting on his knees. His cheek rubbed your inner thigh, inhaling and leaving wet kisses there, even some bites that made you whimper with need. ‘’I’ve been waiting for this long enough, don't you wanna be good for me? Fucking say it, baby.’’

‘’Yes,’’ you said, breathless, feeling your head in the clouds with everything that was happening. You blushed a little more, trying to close your legs when Mark bit your sensitive skin harder, sucking it and brushing his tongue over, face dangerously close to your core. ‘’M-mark, taste me,’’ you begged him with a whisper, red cheeks, pushing your hips into his face, an invitation. 

‘’That’s my good girl,’’ Mark purred. He didn’t wait any longer, fingers slowly moving aside your panties, eyes fixed on your dripping pussy like he was memorizing it. Using the tip of his nose to bump your clit almost playfully, lips kissing your clothed cunt slowly, driving you crazy with his soft movements. 

Mark couldn't believe he had you just to himself, all pretty and wet, opened for him to do whatever he wanted. ‘’Fuck. This is all for me, baby?’’ He didn’t waste more time and went down on you, his tongue giving you a long, slow lick that made you moan as he separated your glisterings folds with it.  

He eated your pussy in the same way he kissed you before, slowly and savoring you, lips and tongue roaming in your folds slurping and licking your slick like a hungry man, taking his time in building a pace that had you whimpering and arching for him, filling you with pleasure every time his hot mouth would suck and lick you. He made out with your cunt, tongue swiping lazily and in circles against your clit, making a mess of his saliva and your juices combined, mouth open wide to catch any rests of it, the wet, dirty noise of it filling the room. 

You saw stars and held into his hair, making him chuckle against your wet folds when you started rubbing against his face moaning his name, not a single trace of the shy girl you usually was.

‘’Mark, fuck. Feels so good,’’ you moaned, grabbing his hair like you always wished to, fingers tangling in his locks. He flicked his tongue on your clit and sucked hard, his long fingers playing on your entrance, teasing you. ‘’Oh my God, don’t stop—’’

‘’Taste so fucking good,’’ he groaned, dipping into your pussy with more desperation, like he could’t get enough of you. His tongue traveled from your entrance to your clit, leaving saliva strings and slurping them, tasting your over and over. Your breath hitched and you squirmed as you felt his tongue swirling around your clit, moaning as the pleasure was increasing intensely. ‘’Fuck, so wet and pretty for me. Can you take more, baby?’’

You nodded rapidly, desperate for more pleasure. He pushed deep inside one finger into you as he didn’t stop moving his tongue on your pussy, pressing and moving it in circles in your clit. He worked both at the same time, his finger fucking you more fast and his tongue carresing your palpitating clit. 

You heard knocks on the door and completely ignored it just like Mark did, so deep in ecstasy you didn't care about anything but Mark and his touch, and the hot feeling of his mouth eating you in such an obscene, filthy way. Your eyes rode behind your head when he added two more fingers pushing them deeply, making you moan and feeling so close to cum, feeling so open—

‘’That’s it, take it,’’ he praised you, watching your face twist in pleasure. ‘’Sound so pretty— I can’t fucking wait to fuck this pussy,’’ he grunted, fucking you more fast with his digits. ‘’I’m gonna fill you up so good you’ll feel me for days.’’

His words leave you a little astonished and so fucking turned on— this was the same calm man you admired from afar? Talking so dirty, eating you up like a whole meal, you couldn't believe how things took a turn like that, but you love it.

‘’I’m gonna cum— Mark,’’ you whimpered, breathless, hips rising up but Mark’s firm and strong grip pushed you down to the bed. Your cunt clenched around his long fingers and you moaned, feeling your body explode with delight, thighs crushing Mark’s head as you came on his fingers with a gasp, roding your climax as his fingers didn’t stop moving even afterwards it ended. 

You were breathless and sensitive to his touch that was caressing your velvety walls with slow, profound thrusts of his fingers until you could’t take more. The knocking on the door didn’t stop, making Mark groan by the incessant interruption. Your eyes shut opened when a wave of awareness hit and realized where you were, registering the sound a moment later in your foggy, pleasured clouded mind. 

‘’Hello?! Mark? Is anyone here?’’ A voice you knew perfectly asked, followed by some more knocking. 

‘’Fuck, that’s Chenle!’’ You hurriedly whispered, sitting and pushing Mark. You didn’t knew what to do, just sitting there listening to the knocks. He didn’t seem as alarmed as you, taking his sweet time in licking his fingers clean while looking at you with a playful smirk on his face, your slick adorning some parts of it.

You stared at him in a daze, feeling a new rush of heat hitting you, not stopping him when he launched at you to kiss you again. You both kissed deeply and languidly, tasting yourself in his mouth. Tongues moving and playing together in a heated kiss that had you needy again in no time, moaning into the kiss. Mark cradled your face, forehead touching yours as he smiled down at you. 

‘’Just ignore him, baby,’’ he whispered against your lips, kissing them sweetly a few times, none of you couldn't let go of the other. He sighed and rolled his eyes when his phone rang loudly with one text after another, not going unnoticed by Chenle outside the room either. ‘’Keep kissing me, yeah? I’ll make you feel real good.’’

The knocking stopped.

‘’What are you guys doing?!’’ Chenle asked teasingly after a few seconds, making you sigh against Mark’s lips, defeated. You heard your friend gasp in somewhat horror, realization hitting him. ’’You better not be fucking in my bed!’’

Since the weekend you were locking yourself in your room, going to classes almost incognito. After the encounter you had with Mark you were… well, avoiding him. You felt so shy and nervous again, running away the times you saw him coming to you. You clearly enjoyed the whole thing and wanted more, but at the same time it felt so intense and good— you didn't know what to say or do, or how to approach the situation.

That wasn't Chenle’s case. He just looked at you with a knowing smile, until you blushed and he giggled fascinated with the situation. He had given your number to Mark, he announced proudly (and a little threateningly) one morning he went to deliver books to your room. He also threatened to bring Mark himself to your dorm if you kept hiding, two days being enough foolery. 

Turns out Chenle was delighted with the idea of first, having something above your head (with the intention of annoying you and not blackmailing you (kinda)) and second, having his best friend date his another best friend (‘’you two make so much sense!’’ he had said like he couldn't believe he hadn’t realised that sooner). 

Chenle felt like an idiot, not giving a second thought about the way you acted, how you blushed and stuttered in his friend’s presence. ‘’You like him!’’ he announced, pushing up his big, black sunglasses revealing two eyes shining like he discovered the truth of a conspiracy. He kinda did. 

You knew it was dumb and sooner or later you would have to confront Mark at some point but for the time being you were hiding in your safe space, the library. Well, Chenle would call it hiding, but you preferred calling it ‘’time for yourself to think what the hell is going on’’ and clear your mind. 

It was pretty late at night after dinner, but still some students were doing work, like you. You knew the opening hours like the back of your hand, so you had some time before the librarian kicked you out. You had quite a few books in front of you for an investigation for an assignment you were doing in advance, and didn’t know exactly when, but your eyes shut down for a moment. 

Your soul almost jumped out of you when your phone rang in an upcoming call and interrupted your unprop nap, hurriedly searched for it by rummaging through sheets and books scattered across the table, not wanting to bother other people with the loud sound.

‘’Hello?’’ You said groggily, blinking a few times and leaning back in the chair. That it was enough for today, you thought as you were massaging your neck.

‘’Did I wake you up?’’ A voice cooed at you lovingly and a little bit mocking. ’’Sorry, but I don't want you to stiffen your neck, sweetheart.’’

Suddenly you felt more awaken after listening to that fucking voice. ‘’What? Who's this?’’ You moved away your phone to see the ID, but it was a private number again.

‘’I don’t think the library is the best place for a nap, the chairs are uncomfortable, don’t you agree?’’

An eerie feeling that you were getting accustomed to filled your body, making you sit straight and look around in the library. You felt not only annoyed, but a little cautious too. The caller must be here, you thought. You scanned the few students left studying and reading, some were getting ready to leave, but no one had a phone in their ears and nobody was looking at you either. Thankfully no one was wearing the stupid Ghostface costume, too. Who the fuck is calling, then?

‘’How did you know? Are you here?’’ You asked, standing up. You looked up from your table to the first floor. It was a pretty big library so maybe the caller was elsewhere, but you didn’t see anything or anyone up there. You tried not to catch attention, walking like nothing to the stairs, wanting a better look from another point of view. If you had him talking, maybe you could hear his real voice wherever he was. 

‘’I always know where you are’’, the voice simply responded. ‘’Why do you wanna know that? You wanna see me?’’

You didn't answer as you climbed the stairs, getting to the first floor and finding it empty. You advanced a little more anyway, observing the deserted tables and the lamps turned off. It wasn't that scary up there being alone, knowing there were other people at the library even if it was late. It made you feel safe. 

‘’I wanna know who you are,’’ you said, pausing when you heard a noise coming from one of the aisles the bookshelves formed. You heard movements below too and when you looked down, some more students were leaving. ‘’I’m seeing you everywhere, it’s not fair I don’t get to see your face.’’

‘’You think you don’t know me?’’ The caller said, his electronic voice annoying you with his teasing tone at the same time it raised the hair on your neck. ‘’Who you think I am?’’

‘’Do I?’’ You said with clenched teeth, advancing towards the aisle you heard the noise before. The voice laughed lowly, waiting for your response. ‘’Xiaojun? Johnny?’’

‘’Maybe we could play a game,’’ the voice purred his offer. ‘’Do you like Hide and Seek?’’

‘’Why would I play that? I’m not five nor interested,’’ you quietly said after huffling, walking by the aisle that was becoming more and more dark. You didn’t hear more noises, thinking you were actually alone up there, nothing but old books and dust.

‘’If you wanna know who I am, you have to figure where I am first,’’ the caller said, making you stop. ‘’And I could be anywhere, it’s a big place. So many good places to hide...how’s your sense of direction?’’

‘’Ten? Jeno? Jungwoo?’’ You tried once more, losing your patience. ‘’Stop this game, I’m being dead serious!’’ 

‘’But we’re already playing and it’s so much fun, don’t you think? I’m hiding and waiting for you. The question is, you’re gonna find me? Or are you looking at the wrong direction?’’

‘’Yeah, right, there’s no one else here…’’ You stopped speaking, feeling your heart beating fast in the middle of the dark. You quickly turned around another bookshelf, more illuminated and feeling a little more brave. ‘’I bet you aren’t even here, you’re just bullshiting this whole thing from your room, isn't it? Hendery? Yuta?’’ 

‘’You don’t really believe me? Sweetheart, I’m right here in this library,’’ the voice laughed a little, amused by your distrust and uncertainty. ‘’Can you find me? If you do… you’ll get a prize. But if you don’t, it will be your turn to hide. And I never lose.’’

‘’Bullshit, if you were here I’ll hear you talking and I only hear silence. So? I think you’re cheating,’’ you answered, turning another corner and finding no one. The place actually was silent, so you felt more confident in your theory.

You were alone and someone was keeping up the fucked up joke probably from the other side of campus. You scanned some aisles as you passed by, seeing nothing but darkness and books. 

‘’I would never cheat on you, princess,’’ the voice said, sounding almost insulted. ‘’And I can be quiet as a mouse when I need to be. That’s the fun part, you never notice my eyes on you, getting all paranoid on me. It's cute,’’ he playfully said. 

‘’And you like that? Seeing me scared and making me paranoid?’’ You scoffed incredulously, feeling a rush of anger. ‘’Well, fuck you. I’m not afraid.’’

‘’You should be. I’m right behind you,’’ the caller whispered flirtily on the phone.

You spinned around so fast, heart pounding crazily in your chest, but no one was there. You sighed feeling a little shaken, thinking that this game maybe was getting outta control… and it really, really didn’t feel like a fucking frat prank anymore. Like the previous call, you felt like entering a dead end game. 

‘’Oh, sweetheart, don’t be scared! I was just teasing!’’ The voice said, cooing at you. ‘’You’re so cute. You seem a little disappointed, keep looking for me. Where am I? Maybe behind the encyclopedias? Or near the romance novels, watching you with all the love in my heart?’’

‘’You’re not here,’’ you said trying to convince yourself, hurriedly trying to leave the first floor and stopping when you thought you saw something fast passing by the bookshelves on the other side of the floor. ‘’You’re messing with my head and it’s not funny, stop that.’’

‘’If that’s so, why are you looking for me, then? You’re getting warmer, by the way… how long will it take you to find me, pretty girl? I’m getting anxious, you know,’’ the caller sighed as he was the bored one, making you lose his precious time. ‘’I’m closer than you think.’’

‘’You’re not here,’’ you repeated, done with the whole situation. You walked towards the stairs ready to come down, but before you did you jumped hearing the noise of a book falling behind you. You turned around and saw no one there once again. Your eyes pickled with some tears and you took a breath, slowly taking the stair railing to try to ground yourself not giving into panic and nerves. ‘’Stop trying to scare me!’’

‘’But I don’t wanna do that, sweetheart, I just wanna… give you a little thrill,’’ his mischievous tone resonated against your ear. ‘’I’ll give you another hint. I’m not on the horror novels or the history books shelves. C’mon, I thought you wanted to see me?’’

You ended the call and quickly came down the stairs, noticing the librarian stuff was still on her desk but no other students were there on the main floor, just you. You went to your table and pushed your stuff into your backpack, but then your phone rang again. 

You let it ring two missed calls before answering. ‘’What do you want?!’’ 

‘’Good girl, I knew you'd pick up again,’’ the voice mumbled seductively, teasing you. ‘’I'm getting impatient, you know? I’m waiting for you to turn around but you don’t notice me.’’

Once again you turned around seeing nothing but empty space, hearing him laugh in your ear with that electronic, teasing voice. He was watching you?

‘’I’m done with this game,’’ you said, moving towards the entrance. ‘’Stop fucking calling me.’’

‘’Then why do you keep answering? Maybe you like… my voice? My games? My attention? You walked past me so many times but you don’t seem to notice how I look at you,’’ the caller said, making you doubt as you grabbed the door handle. ‘’Maybe you’ll start to look around more.’’

‘’So this is what it is? Are you a weird secret admirer or something?’’ You angrily asked, pushing the door and leaving the library, taking a deep breath of the cold breeze. 

‘’And you haven’t guessed the best part yet,’’ the caller said, ‘’now did you? You see… I never play these games alone.’’ 

You didn't say anything as you walked watching everywhere around you, feeling really on edge, like he could come outta nowhere. 

‘’Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll have so much fun together.’’

You hung up the call feeling your heart racing and breathed in relief when you got far enough from the building… just to turn around one more time to see, not able to stop yourself from doing so.

You gasped when you saw a Ghostface standing by the building entrance, staring directly at you. He sent you a flying kiss, entering the building you just left.

So you ran out of places to hide. With Chenle keeping an eye on you with his new found interest in playing Cupid and the thought of another encounter with the stalker in the library, you didn’t have much options. More like down to zero.

Halloween was close and Neo Chi Tau was keeping their group joke, so you had to still see Ghostfaces around you everyday. But what started as annoyance in the beginning transformed into distrust… and morphed into fury. You were angry, feeling really dumb. Why were you letting the whole thing go so far? Why do you let whoever it was get into your head? Giving them power? Whoever was calling, you won’t let it have control again. 

Next time, you’ll confront who was underneath the costume once and for all. 

You felt pushed out of one of your favorite places, avoiding the library, not wanting to go there and staying late like you used to. But Renjun could bring so many books to you before getting annoyed and weirded out at your behavior (You’re not going to the library again? It’s like the third time!) and you didn't know if you wanted to tell him what’s going on like you did with Hanni before. Even though you didn’t tell her about the last call. 

Huang Renjun watched you closely as he stopped writing, feeling your stare on him instead of your books and he frowned suspiciously. You were studying his two toned hair like it holded the answer to all your questions, and maybe it did.

‘’Junie, remember the night you called me? With the voice modulator?’’ You started, trying to play it cool. 

He sighed, leaving his pen and turning all his attention to you. ‘’Yeah, what about it?’’

‘’I was wondering… Who was next in line? To use it, I mean.’’

‘’Mh, I don’t remember,’’ he said with a shrug. He went back to his notes, writing. He lifted his eyes back to you when you didn’t say anything more or went back to your book. ‘’Why?’’

‘’Nothing,’’ you were quick to respond, but you should know better as Renjun murmured your name, arching a brow. ‘’What?’’

‘’Spit it out.’’

‘’Just… someone called me the other night with that stupid thing and I wanna know who. Can you check it out later, maybe?’’

Renjun made a face, shaking his head no. ‘’Sorry, I can’t. They erased the board because Xiaojun and Hendery needed it for a Math project or something, I stopped listening when they talked about condoms, body counts and statistics as a final presentation.’’

‘’Damn,’’ you whispered, disappointed. You looked down at your book, feeling at the starting line once again. 

‘’Don’t worry, they won’t bother you much longer. I think Jaemin lost that thing when he got drunk at the Spooky Super Mambo Jambo, whatever it's called,’’ he rolled his eyes and smiled at you.

The weird prank was spiraling out of control and it was taking you down too. It was frustrating, that little game you didn't ask to be a part of. What was worse, it was becoming your little secret, in fear of looking like a paranoid killjoy if you talked about it.

Your mind was thinking hard about the last encounter. Why did you answer the calls? That question lingered in your head. You actually wanted to play the game? No, you felt paranoid too many times. But then why was it weird not to receive a call that day? What the hell were you waiting for? 

It was so dumb… what were you doing? Acting like a prisoner for a stupid frat joke? October was about to end soon anyway, and the whole Ghostface thing was about to finish too. 

After one of your classes you decided to take the long walk back to your dorm, enjoying the weather and the calmness your resolutions were giving you. Everytime you come across a Ghostface, mask on or not, you will hold their gaze almost threateningly, gaining a few confused and weird out looks because of the attitude, even Yangyang giving you his middle finger after he got an especially annoyed snarl from you.

You kept on walking, faltering to notice someone was following you not that far away. As you advanced around the campus, fewer students appeared, making everything look emptier as classes were finishing. You started noticing footsteps behind you and turned around, seeing a Ghostface coming right behind you. This time you didn’t feel scared or nervous, huffing and giving him an eye roll. Fucking weirdo. If that idiot was expecting a reaction from you he could go fuck himself.

But your heartbeat picked up a little bit when he kept walking behind you, even daring to come a little more close. You turned around again and gave him the dirtiest look you could manage, not feeling that secure as before but unwilling into turning into your scared self. You kept your composure and didn’t show anything in your face, choosing to ignore him. 

But when you turned around a corner and he followed you just like a shadow, you had enough.

‘’Hey, asshole! Stop following me!’’ You sneered, turning around and facing him. He stopped a few steps from you, tilting his head like a confused child listening to you. He shocked his head no. ‘’No? Are you dumb or something?’’ 

He shook his head no once again, infuriating you. So started to walk towards him but Ghostface didn’t move or stepped back.

‘’Take off your mask,’’ you demanded, irritated. He shook his head once again, and that was enough for you. You came toe to toe with him, trying to take off the white mask yourself, but then, his gloved hand shot quickly and grabbed your wrist firmly.

Well, fuck. 

‘’Let go,’’ you said, trying to shake his grip on you. Your pulse picked up, now feeling the ugly claws of fear scratching your body. ‘’I said let me go!’’ You repeated, giving him a hard push.

As both began to struggle against each other and you were about to scream, a noise stopped you. Something had hit the ground. You looked down and saw it. It was a knife, but it didn’t seem like a fake, plastic one you had seen other times at campus. It seemed heavy and had a shiny texture… sharpened and long. This one looked… goddamn real. 

The hairs on the back of your neck rose when a sensation of danger so intense hit you so fast that your stomach collapsed down to your feet, tensing you.

A heavy heartbeat passed, a tense silence feeling like hours.

‘’You know what? I really have to go, so…,’’ you muttered, twisting your wrist to get out of his grasp. He actually let you go, bending down to take the knife slowly, not taking his eyes off you. You backed away immediately, starting to walk quickly with the desire to leave him behind. You turned around to see if he was still there and there he was, walking towards you but this time with the knife firmly held in one of his hands. 

Fuck being brave and confrontational. 

You didn't waste another second in running away, not caring anymore if this was a joke or not. You didn’t know who was behind that mask and weren’t dumb enough to trust blindly that someone won’t hurt you, especially holding a knife. Something inside you was screaming to get away from there and you followed your intuition... which wasn't so wrong, because Ghostface started running to catch up with you.

Adrenaline rumbled inside your body, someone with a fucking real knife was chasing you fast. You kept running and thinking what the fuck to do, which direction take, needing time. You came through some buildings and went to their doors, finding them closed, classes most likely over for the day. You groaned and kept escaping and seeing behind you, that fucking black figure still following you, now walking more calming once it saw you. Some tears of desperation burned in your eyes but you didn’t give up, able to put some distance between him and you. 

You desperately reached another building and pushed hard its door, a squeak of victory leaving your lips when it opened. You entered quickly and turned around to see if he had followed you there, breath caught in your throat then you noticed him not far away but disoriented, like he didn’t know where you went. Seeing him obviously looking for you made you tremble. You backed away fast and ran through the aisle, trying every classroom door to see if it was opened, no luck. 

Until the last one.

You opened the door frantically and entered the classroom, locking it behind you with a sigh. You leaned your forehead against the door trying to catch your breath, heart quivering inside you ready to spiral you into panic mode again. So caught up in the moment, you didn’t notice that the classroom wasn't empty and that someone was inside, with you. 

‘’Just the girl I was dying to see,’’ Lee Donghyuck said, greeting you playfully.

You let out a small, surprised scream when you heard his low voice. You turned around and saw Donghyuck standing up, coming at you slowly. You couldn't contain yourself from observing him carefully, his figure seemed to fill the entire empty room effortlessly, like he was the guardian of it. There were some books and papers on the table, as well as some notes on the old mobile chalkboard behind him, like he was doing homework or research before you interrupted him.

Lee Donghyuck carried himself with a mix of intensity and elegance, a charming personality that could fool anyone with his jokes and humor. He loved being the center of attention, making people laugh and lure them, drawing reactions from them. But he wasn't a clown, reminding you more of a sly jester instead, the campus being his court.

You noticed from time to time that there was another part of him, something that he managed to hide until it was the moment to let it show. Something more dark and sharp, very cunning and calculating. He had a reputation as the best member in the debate team, twisting and morphing any theme it was thrown his way to win. And he did every time, to no one's surprise. Many had tried to throw him off and dared him in class, but Donghyuck's quick tongue was no joke.

That was a well known trait among campus girls too.

‘’Hey, are you okay?’’ He asked, coming close to you noticing your stiff stance. He brushed lightly his knuckles against your moist cheeks, spotting your starting to dry tears. Your breath caught once again, he was suddenly so close to you that even if a potential murderer was chasing after you, you couldn't stop yourself from blushing a little because of his closeness. ‘’What happened, sweetheart?’’ 

‘’S-someone was following me— it was Ghostface with a knife,’’ you sniffle a little, trying to compose yourself, still a little breathless. 

‘’Ghostface? With a knife?’’ He repeated, frowning. He grabbed your arms carefully, caressing them softly trying to comfort you, a little worried. ‘’Hey, it was probably a pra—’’

You shook your head with a scoff while searching in your bag for your phone, trying to ignore the sparks Hyuck’s touch provoked you. ‘’Don’t say it! It wasn't a damn prank, he was holding a knife! I’m calling campus security.’’

His hands stopped you, making you stare at him. ‘’Wait, calm down. It was probably one of the guys, I saw them earlier in the cafeteria.’’ 

You scoffed and shook your head, you weren’t convinced and Donghyuck noticed right away, his attentive eyes not leaving yours. ‘’I don’t care who it was, are you listening to me? He was armed!’’

Donghyuck pressed his lips into a thin line, starting a staring contest with you that incredibly you didn’t lose, challenging him and holding his gaze.

‘’Alright, I’ll go check.’’

‘’What?’’ You asked, letting him move you from blocking the door, unlocking it to your horror. You gasped and locked it again, pushing him softly away from it with a heavy frown on your face, taken aback. ‘’What are you doing?! You can’t go out there, he might be outside still!’’

‘’So? I’ll just talk to him,’’ Donghyuck said, looking at you carefully. A second passed until a teasing, pretty smile started forming on his lips. His brown eyes shined mischievously at you. ‘’Are you worried about me, sweetheart?’’

You looked at him in disbelief, speechless. ‘’I-I, yes! I just got chased with a knife and you wanna look for the guy? Haven’t watched any horror movies? Or have any sense of danger?’’

‘’Alright, calm down,’’ he chuckled, rolling his eyes when he noticed the way you were holding the door handle like your life depended on it, getting more tense. He also noticed your doubt, the way you were biting your lip nervously. ‘’How about… we stay here, then?’’ 

‘’Why we would do that?’’ You asked him, stuttering when you felt his hand covering yours and slowly made you let go of the door handle. You did, feeling more at ease when he didn’t try to unlock it again. Instead, his body started coming close to you, making you retreat towards the nearest wall. ‘’Um. W-what are you doing?’’

‘’Relax, pretty girl. We’ll stay here and I’ll make you feel better, how about that?’’ Hyuck simply said, smirking with you didn’t respond immediately.

You looked nervously to the side, not wanting to leave the door out of sight, but then Donghyuck cradled your face. He didn’t seem worried, focused on you as he studied you up close. You just blinked at him, mesmerized by his beauty and low, rich voice. 

You could see the pretty moles that adorned his soft, tanned skin. Obviously, you didn’t have any idea the effect you had on him, filling Donghyuck’s mind with various visions of you looking at him with your pretty and tearful eyes, but doing something else, like sucking his cock or moaning his name.

Of course you didn’t have any fucking idea of how many times Donghyuck follow you through campus just to have a glimpse of you, how many times he tried to catch your gaze in the hallway to let you know that he wanted you, heart broken everytime you run when he tried to talk to you. He found your shyness cute and endearing, but enough was enough and his patience had runned low.

You tried one more time, your voice filled with hesitation. ‘’I don’t think this is a good idea—’’

‘’Eyes on me, sweetheart,’’ he ordered with a whisper, his firm voice making your heart flutter. ‘’How do you end in these situations, huh?’’ He asked, tilting his head and looking at you with a small smile, teasing you. His hands reached to your body, grabbing your waist smoothly and making circles in your skin with his thumbs.

I’m wondering the same, you thought. His question made you frown, confusion filling your eyes. ‘’What do you mean?’’ 

‘’Locked up in a room with a man that wants nothing but to make you cum until you cry,’’ Donghyuck responded simply, raising a brow at you, waiting for your reaction to his crude words.

And a reaction he got. Your brain malfunctioned right there, surprise and embarrassment making your words die for a moment. You took a shaky breath, feeling like you were caught doing something wrong, cheeks warming under his gaze. You realized quickly the weight of his words, the way he was watching you with something daring in his eyes, like the two of you shared a secret.

‘’H-how do you kno—’’ you stuttered, intrigue blending in your tone.

‘’I know everything that goes on with my best friend,’’ he was quick to respond, smirking smugly at you, pleased. ‘’And my girl. I’m a little hurt, baby,’’ he signed tiredly, complaining, a little offended. ‘’I was the one who saw you first, you know? Still… he taste you first.’’

Your cheeks fired up under his intense gaze, a little mortified. Donghyuck laughed at your puzzled expression, hands surrounding your waist more firmly, his touch possessive when he cornered you against the wall. No words came out of your mouth, licking your lips under Hyuck’s hard glare, not knowing what to say. He smiled a little, coming even closer to you, making your heart go crazy and your head dizzy as the tension Donghyuck created escalated and heated more and more with every passing second.

‘’Poor Mark is heartbroken, you know? Give him so much and then… running again, sweetheart? Are you trying to make him go insane?’’

This was another crush confronting you, but this time it was different. You didn’t have some shots on you to give you valor or had a free way to run to the hills like you used to. You wanted them both so bad… confess to him, say Mark it’s in your head too, just like him. This was something that could come in the middle of their friendship? You were thinking it too much?

‘’I-I didn't mean to—’’

‘’I know. And I know you won’t run from me, right? You’re gonna be good and make it up for me, yeah?’’ Donghyuck muttered under his breath, lips brushing against yours. ‘’You owe me, pretty.’’

You nodded absently, too enchanted in Donghyuck perfume that was filling your senses, being the one who broke the distance and kissed him hard, making him groan contently in your mouth. The way Hyuck was kissing you was exactly like him, provoking and consuming, dominating. His hands roamed your body, hands coming down to your thighs and making you yelp when he lifted you up like nothing. The movement surprised you, not expecting that show of strength you didn’t know he had, quickly throwing your arms around his neck and shoulders holding onto him.

The kiss didn’t stop but it got needier and deeper, lips moving and devouring each other tongues, playing and caressing them with desire. Your legs surrounded Donghyuck’s hips, his hands grabbing you by the ass and holding you against the wall. He whimpered softly in your lips, so needy and sexy it made you shiver with excitement, grinding yourself against him as you kissed him hard. Your hands runned roughly through his hair, holding him and taking control with hot, demanding kisses. 

‘’These fucking skirts will be the death of me,’’ he groaned shakily, mouth coming down to your neck. He kissed your sensitive places there while his hands roamed your ass and thighs, breathing heavily against your neck, busy leaving a trace of hickeys on you. 

‘’You like them?’’ You dared to shyly ask him, gasping when he moved you suddenly, taking you to the nearest desk. 

He kissed you fiercely, making you whimper in his mouth when you felt his hard cock grinding against you, but it wasn't enough. He nodded and chuckled darkly, madhandling you and turning you around, pressing his hard length into your ass. A hot, consuming wave of heat traveled in your body, igniting every part of you with desire. Your thighs rubbed together, feeling your soaked cunt throbbing with need, seeking relief.

‘’I fucking love them. Feel what you do to me, pretty girl? You look so cute and act so coy, making me hard every damn time,’’ he groaned and slapped your ass, winning himself a loud gasp out of you. You moaned at the burning, sting sensation and pushed up your ass, silently asking for more. 

‘’Donghyuck,’’ you whined lowly, unable to find the right words, but deep inside you knew exactly what you wanted, moaning when he spanked you again, harder. Your cheeks burned but you pushed down the sudden rush of shame that threatened to take control over you and grabbed Hyuck’s hand, directing it between your legs, to your aching pussy. 

‘’What do you want, sweetheart? You have to tell me, I wanna hear you,’’ he taunted you, deep voice in your ear. He rested his chin on your shoulder, both hands moving to grab your tits, squeezing them with a husky moan without stopping rutting against your ass.

‘’I-I want you,’’ you whispered, pulling your head back with a soft gasp at his possessive and burning touch, your hand reaching back to grab the hard bulge in his pants. 

Donghyuck moaned in your neck, biting it as rubbed himself in your hand. Feeling like he was about to go insane at any minute, touching you like a mad man, the need to destroy you in the best way possible was the only thing in his mind. He found the strength to speak, tightening his hands on your breasts. ‘’What do you want from me, pretty girl? My fingers, my tongue? My cock?’’ 

You whined again but Donghyuck didn’t give you any, waiting for your response. You closed your eyes and squeezed his dick harder, needy and annoyed by his teasing. ‘’You c-cock, please.’’

‘’Now that’s my good girl,’’ he purred pleased, pushing you down to the cold desk until your cheek touched the surface, firmly pressed by Donghyuck’s hand in your nape. ‘’If you want it so bad, you gotta take it, baby. Go, don’t fucking make me wait.’’

He was nice enough to unbutton his pants and take them down, so you could easily grab him when you reached back, feeling its weight and warmth on your palm, stroking him firmly with long movements. It was big, your fingers barely touching each other around his shaft and your position didn’t help either, but any of you cared. Your face burned a little hot, feeling his size on your hand really made you question nervously if he’s gonna fit, never having someone like Donghyuck before.

You tried to stroke him faster, using your thumb to caress the head of his cock, making him moan louder, breathless. A small smirk formed in your lips, letting go of his cock and moving your hand to push to the side your panties, showing him your wet and shiny, pretty pussy aching for him.

‘’Hyuck, please—’’ you begged, seeing him above your shoulder, giving him your best pleading eyes. ‘’Please, give me your cock.’’

Donghyuck felt as the air was punched out of his lungs at the scene, falling into his knees and giving a silent player to the fucking higher gods that give him such a dirty, beautiful girl like you. He pushed his face between your thighs, giving you a long swipe with his tongue, licking your folds and sucking your clit until you saw points in your vision. He was ruthless, eating you up with grunts and spanks, his pretty lips attached to your sensitive clit, making lingering, firm circles with his tongue until you gasped and tembled.

‘’Fuck, so sweet,’’ he breathed against your pussy, giving you a hard slap in your ass that made you cry a shaky moan. He gives soft, fond kisses to your core and folds as his thumb brushes your sensitive clit softly. ‘’So wet and needy, I could eat you for hours,’’ he murmured as he stood up, licking his lips. ‘’Next time,’’ he added to himself, caressing your ass, inspecting proudly the red marks he left in your delicate skin.

Your breath catches when you felt him angling his cock in your entrance, but no pushing yet, teasing you, so turned on and eager to feel that burn, the stretch his cock promised. Your heart pounded heavily in your chest, the anticipation killing you, a desperate whining leaving your lips.

‘’Fuck,’’ you moaned low, grabing at the desk as Donghyuck starts sliding his cock into you slowly, opening you out on his thickness. It felt like nothing before, so big and carrying that burn you needed so bad. ‘’Oh my God.’’

‘’That's it, take it all,’’ he praises you, feeling you clenching around him with a shared moan, pushing his length into you almost in awe, eyes fixed on your pussy stretching out around him, so tight it might explode. ‘’You’re doing so well, pretty girl. Relax for me, yeah?’’

‘’You’re so big,’’ you wheeze, trying to loosen your body. You moan and hide your face on the desk in an intent of breathing in and out, but Hyuck had other plans as he raised your head with a makeshift ponytail with your hair. Your back arched, the new angle making you feel his cock in places never reached before, now conquered by him. ‘’Mmh, Hyuck! You’re so deep—’’

Swearing you could feel the tip of his cock on your lower stomach, another hot wave of slick covered his length, your pussy throbbing and needing more. 

‘’Fuck yes I am,’’ Donghyuck chuckled darkly, giving you another slow but firm push, nailing himself completely inside you. He moaned huskily, biting into your shoulder. ‘’I’ll fuck this little pussy until you can’t walk.’’

Every thrust of his hips made you moan as he started fucking you so merciless, deep and fast, not giving you time to think or say anything, just feeling so full and being hit with waves after waves of pleasure, becoming rapidly an addict to it. His thick cock stretched you so good, opening you with every inch he pushed inside you until your mouth fell open with a silently cry, so taken aback by the feeling of being fucked like never before. 

You labored breaths mixed with the arousing sound of your bodies crashing into each other, the wet squelch so loud and erotic. 

‘’Feels so good,’’ you murmured, eyes rolling to the back of your head, pussy clenching around him at his brutal pace. One of his hands cupped your jaw roughly, turning your face so you could look at him, pupils blown wide. ‘’Don’t stop, harder—’’

‘’Look at you, such a fucking brat giving me orders,’’ he snarls, slaping your cheek. Your desperates moans made Donghyuck smile, caging you in his arms as he sped up his pace, his cock thrusting into you harshly. ‘’You’re gonna take what I gave you or I won’t let you cum,’’ he threatened.

‘’No, no, no—’’ you begged, babbling and too fucked up to speak. You whimpered when Donghyuck started hitting that spot inside you, knowing that if he wasn't holding you, you would be limp on the desk, too drunk on the pleasure. ‘’Hyuck, please let me cum!’’

Your body trembled with every thrust of his hips, whimpers falling into Donghyuck’s mouth as he kissed and licked your lips, large hands coming to play with your tits. He pushed up your sweater with one hand and grabbed them, smirking when he realised you weren’t using anything underneath, your soft, pretty tits fitting perfectly in his possessive hand. He played with your nipples, pinching them until they hardened. 

‘’You’re gonna be good for me, baby? You’re gonna cum on my cock and thank me for it?’’ Donghyuck asked you, his deep voice taunting you and making you even wetter for him. You nodded rapidly and clenched hard around him, making him whimper too, fucking you harder, powerful thrusts shaking your whole body.

The pleasure burned in your veins deliciously, amplified by the effect Donghyuck had on you, his smell, his rough hands, his cock ramming into you. Everything was so much but so good, the intense feeling driving you insane. Nothing existed in the world at that moment, your mind clouded and fuzzy, just his big cock using your hole and fucking so you hard until you could’t take more.

‘’I’m gonna c-cum,’’ you whispered, biting hard on your lip. Your hand grabbed the one Donghyuck had on your jaw, needing to hold onto him.

‘’Cum on my cock, pretty. C’mon, milk my cock like the good girl you are,’’ he said into your ear, coaxing you like a demon waiting for your sins. His hand serpent down your body, his long fingers moving in circles on your clit, making you whine. ‘’I’m gonna fill you up so good, baby, cum for me.’’

You cried, cuming so hard your vision went blank for a whole moment, but you didn’t forget his orders, muttering various ‘’thank you, thank you’’ as your orgasm hit you hard, your voice shaky and spent. Donghyuck fucked you through your climax, hearing him groan as he chased his own, feeling his warm cum filling you up not much after. Hearing him moan and whimper in pleasure provoked more heat pooling in your belly, Lee Donghyuck’s sounds were the most sensual thing you ever listened to.

‘’Fucking take it,’’ his hoarse, low voice mumbled in your ear. You felt his cock twitching inside you, his load stuffing your womb. ‘’It’s all for you, pretty girl.’’

You never did something like that before, and the action made you blush, finding being full of his cum so amazing and hot. You liked the feeling of his cum leaking from your entrance, such a nasty, intimate connection. 

His touch softened, now cupping your face more gentle as he kissed your cheek and jaw, heavy breaths filling the room. Donghyuck whispered your name, his hands roaming your tits and stomach like he was memorizing every part of you, of your skin.

‘’You did so well for me, sweetheart,’’ Donghyuck said, smiling darkly, holding you even closer. 

Donghyuck lived to his word and… yeah, it was hard for you to walk, especially with his cum leaking out of you. Even more hard was trying to avoid his stare after fucking him in the classroom, and a small part of you kinda preferred being chased with a knife by a potential murderder instead of the mortification of being walked home by your crush turn out one night stand.

Hell, the first option was less tense than having Hyuck’s eyes on you the whole way, silently studying you and your reactions, like when his hand grazed yours and your whole face turned pink, making him smirk amused by your attitude. 

He had insisted on taking you back to your dorm, being a gentleman at heart, and you were grateful for it because you didn’t think you were able to walk around campus knowing someone could jump out and chase after you again. Much less alone at night and far away from your dorms, so you obviously accept it. Luckily, Donghyuck kept his mouth shut but you knew he didn’t need to say a word, the malicious, teasing glint in his eyes being enough. He looked at you with so much desire you were hoping he would push you into somewhere and fuck you again, but you didn’t knew how ask for it.

As the day couldn't turn more twisted, destiny had more in store for you, because Zhong Chenle and Huang Renjun were sitting outside your dorm waiting for you. Looking bored, swiping on their phones and surrounded by some books you recognized from the list you had sent them the day before. They looked up when they heard footsteps, freezing when they noticed you weren’t alone, a very much smug Donghyuck glued to your side.

Holy shit, you thought.

‘’Holy shit,’’ Chenle said out loud, eyeing you both with his brows incredibly high. His face was priceless because he wasn't stupid, the aspect of the two of you was enough evidence about what you were doing and it took nothing to click inside his brain. 

It was impossible to, but Chenle was out of words, staring at the evident new marks on your neck and untidy clothes with a mix of interest and shock, a little bit of horror and confusion too. Renjun mirrored his expression with more horror, but also kinda entertained by the awkward scene, squinted eyes focused on Donghyuck at your side and connecting the dots silently. 

‘’Uhm, well, this is my room,’’ you turned to Donghyuck, tucking your hair behind your ear and wishing for the ground to part ways and swallow you whole. ‘’Thanks for walking me back, Donghyuck.’’

Both Chenle and Renjun pretended not to be there or listening, but you knew your friends and knew they were more likely analyzing everything, gaining material for your incoming interrogation.

‘’It was my pleasure, sweetheart,’’ he smiled, eyes shining mischievously with a terribly handsome smirk. ‘’I’ll see you at the Halloween party, alright?’’

‘’I don’t—’’ you started talking but his presence silenced you, face coming close to yours, lips softly tracing the curve of your ear. 

‘’Don’t even try to ditch on us, princess. Now I know where I can find you,’’ he murmured, giving you a quick kiss to your cheek and just like that he left, leaving you with the ghost of his perfume and full of questions. What the fuck just happend? 

‘’What the fuck just happened!?’’ Chenle questioned you, quickly standing up, eyes big in shock. ‘’Did you— Oh my God I don’t wanna know but did you—?

You nodded your head and opened your door, pushing your books and your friends inside hurriedly, hoping none of your sorority sisters and especially not Donghyuck listened to the chaos. You pushed your back to the door, exhausted. 

‘’Lee fucking Donghyuck?!’’ Renjun shouted inside your room, incredulity filling his voice. ‘’I didn’t see that coming.’’

‘’Well neither do I, weren’t you into Mark?’’ Chenle asked, snapping his fingers in front of Renjun’s face when he gasped in astonishment at the new information. ‘’Catch on quickly, gégé.’’ 

‘’Listen! I… I like Mark, okay? But… I’m also into Donghyuck,’’ you finally confessed, walking into your bed while rubbing your hands tiredly in your face. You groaned. ‘’I like them both.’’

‘’Damn, talk about being greedy,’’ Renjun whistled and laughed, sitting in your bed next to you. ‘’This is amazing and weird. I feel like my child just went on her first date.’’

Chenle snorted, jumping to sit in your desk, crossing his arms. ‘’More like first double fuck festivaI,’’ he said under his breath, shaking his head. ‘’I can’t believe none of you losers tells me anything, I have to find out in the most unholy ways!’’ 

‘’What? How you find out about Mark?’’ Renjun questioned, interested. He tilted his head thoughtfully, thinking about Donghyuck and the way he acted those past days. Calm, composed, no whiny tantrums. No wonder the fucker stopped asking him about your classes and attempts to steal you number, he went his own way to finally get you.

‘’These horny monsters tarnished my bed,’’ Chenle said with an accusing tone, making you groan in embarrassment and Renjun laughed hard, finding hilariously the awfulness Chenle had to endure.

Renjun hand caressed your shoulder in an intent of comforting you as he controlled his laugh, taking a big breath. He tried to catch your eyes, noticing your silence and he cooed at you, giving you a little shake.

‘’Yah, don’t get all gloomy and shy. You’re coming to the party, right?’’ Renjun asked, thanking in his mind it wasn’t his roommate doing those things with you in their room. One point in favor of Donghyuck, for once. 

‘’I don’t know,’’ you sighed softly, grabbing your favorite pillow to hug. ‘’They’re gonna be there and… it’s gonna be too much. I don’t even what to say if they talk to me.’’

Chenle made a face, humming meditatively. ‘’I don’t think talking it’s gonna be their priority.’’ 

Renjun directed a warning look in his way, mouthing ‘’be nice’’.

‘’I mean,’’ Chenle backtracked, ‘’why? You think they don’t know? Are you afraid they’ll get mad or something?’’

‘’I thought about that but then Hyuck said something… he knows about me and Mark,’’ you said, browns furrowed together. ‘’He didn’t seem angry about it.’’

He just fucked me into oblivion, you wanted to say.

Renjun looked at you interested, sitting more comfortably. ‘’You think maybe Mark told him?’’

‘’Most likely. Those two don’t hide anything from each other, trust me,’’ Chenle commented, expression turning thoughtful. ‘’They have a… intense friendship.’’

‘’What do you mean?’’ Renjun questioned, before you could ask the same thing.

‘’Oh, c’mon. They’re like brothers, competitive but loyal, and have another type of understanding. Mark and Donghyuck are different but so similar, I swear sometimes they speak with their minds or something, it’s fucking weird.’’

‘’That’s true,’’ Renjun admitted, nodding. He looked at you and smiled a little pained, palming your back. He knew his friends carried a certain force when they chose to join powers. And it seems like they had their sights on you. ‘’You’re so fucked,’’ he snorted.

‘’They usually do this with girls?’’ You asked, watching your friends shaking their heads immediately. You deflated, thinking about everything. ‘’I just… everything’s happening so fast and outta nowhere. A lot it’s happening,’’ you doubted, knowing that your friends didn’t know anything about the whole Ghostface thing going on.

‘’Hey, what’s the problem? You said you like them both, and it seems like both are interested in you, so…’’ Renjun said, studying your face. ‘’That’s a good thing, right?’’

‘’Yeah, but… they make me so nervous still,’’ you confessed, the point of your ears turning pink. You sighed and stared at the pillow in your hands like it could give you answers. ‘’I really like them, Junie.’’

Renjun patted your knee, smiling at you. ‘’Stop thinking hard, you should give it a go and have fun. Halloween it’s the perfect night to do mischief and shit, after all.’’

‘’Not in my room, hopefully,’’ Chenle said under his breath. He jumped out of the desk, sitting next to you on the bed. ‘’Yah, Renjun's right. You should have fun! What’s the worse could happen?’’

‘’Oh my God,’’ Hanni shirked, ‘’you look so hot!’’

You looked away from the mirror and smiled at her, winning yourself another gasp when she saw your whole outfit. The pep talk your friends gave you successfully poured courage into you, finally choosing to enjoy yourself for the night. 

You didn’t know if you were ready for the party and what could happen there, but you weren’t running anymore. You wanted to have fun with the boys you liked, enjoy what they could offer you. Even if that meant dealing with your nervous heart, but that was a problem for the future you.

Hanni had bought the costume you were wearing last year, but you decided it was too much and it ended up collecting dust in your closet, completely forgotten. But not that night, because Hanni's wish finally had come true and both of you were going to the NCT party with matching (very revealing in your opinion) costumes.

You were wearing a short, sexy baby blue latex dress, paired with red gloves of the same material, white high boots and stockings up to your thighs, a small apron tied tightly to your waist. And of course a white nurse headband, which you decided to stain with some splashes of fake blood to make it look more Halloween-ish.

Hanni was wearing a very similar outfit in the same material but in black, a sexy police officer costume with pink handcuffs hanging naughtily on her side.

‘’This is the best day of my life,’’ Hanni smiled, taking more photos of you with his phone, grinning like the cat who caught the mouse. ‘’The Lees will have a aneurysm on their cocks when they see you like this.’’

‘’Oh my God,’’ you laughed, throwing a blending sponge at her, mortified. ‘’Shut up!’’

‘’What? That's happening, girl! Such a bummer I can’t see it,’’ she pouted, putting away her phone. ‘’I’m getting candy with Sion before the party.’’

She winked at you, opening her small purse and taking out a small bag of candies, sending you flying kisses when you throwed her an unamused look. 

‘’I can’t believe you’re ditching me to get high with your boyfriend. You know how hard it was to put on his dress? I can barely breath!’’

‘’I knooow and you look so pretty! I wanna post our photos right now so bad,’’ she lamented, whining and stomping her feet. ‘’But I don’t wanna ruin the surprise for the guys. See? I’m an angel.’’

‘’Yeah, expelled from Heaven,’’ you joked, pushing her to the door, rolling your eyes. ‘’And there isn't a surprise for anyone. I’m just wearing a costume,’’ you lied, smiling despite yourself.

‘’Yeah, keep telling yourself that, hot nurse. Once you finally get your two boyfriends you’ll understand me,’’ she said, grinning and hugging you tightly. 

‘’I don’t think that’s the most possible outcome.’’

Hanni ignored that completely, clicking her tongue at you with a frown, hands on her waist. ‘’Don’t start, young lady.’’

‘’Yeah, yeah, go with your boyfriend,’’ you rolled your eyes smiling, giving her a soft push. ‘’If I get murdered on my way there, it’s gonna be on you.’’

Hanni gasped and raised her arm, pretending to have a knife and pinched your side playfully with her finger. ‘’Kill, kill, die, die!’’

‘’How do you even know that? You don’t like horror movies.’’

‘’Getting impaled with a dick counts as a stab?’’ She asked, tilting her head, an evil glint in her eyes.

You shrieked with a smile and gave her another push. ‘‘Just go!’’ 

The wicked laughs of your best friend resonated in the hallway as she left, gaining some looks from other sorority girls who were leaving as well. Your house was getting ready for the most expected party, the NCT’s Halloween one. 

Some frats couldn't compete with their parties, let alone their Halloween one. But one tried, as another party was happening at the ATZ house that night and definitely gained some attention on campus, students were divided between seeing what they could have in store and being faithful to NCT’s parties. Everybody was buzzing with excitement and the spirits were really high. You knew that NCT had the winning hand, because everybody wanted to see those damned Ghostface costumes in action.

You were going alone, because Renjun was getting ready with Ningning at her dorm and Chenle, well, he had planned something with Jisung and Hendery as far as you knew, some kind of prank on Johnny. Your nerves were up high and a stir of anxiety fucked up your mind a little bit, being the first time going alone to the frat. To a party frat.

As you started walking you felt at ease, seeing that the streets were full of people wearing costumes, talking, laughing, some even held baskets with candy, the regular ones. You noticed some eyes in you and tried to ignore it, knowing damn well you definitely stood up with a colorful outfit. A ring made you stop, the phone in your hand lit up with an incoming call, but before you could answer it something dark jumped in front of you. 

You scream, startled and ready to run again, but the obnoxious laugh of Liu Yangyang stopped you. You punched his arm with a heavy groan and that actually poured more gasoline into his loud laugh. But suddenly he stopped, lifting his mark and taking a good look to your body, his eyes burning holes in you.

‘’Fuck me,’’ he inhaled, taking in our outfit. ‘’You wanna be my girlfriend?’’

‘’No!’’ You were quick to respond, wishing to have a bat to hit his annoying face. Instead, you gave his arm another punch he tried to dodge with a big grin. ‘’Especially after you tried to give me a heart attack, Pinkie Pie.’’

‘’I had to give it a try,’’ Yangyang said, shrugging and putting his mask on again, laughing. ‘’See you at the party, hot stuff. Try and not get caught by another Ghostface, yeah scaredy cat?’’

Another punch went Yangyang's way but he dodge it successfully again, laughing as he left and ran to a group of girls that caught his attention. You scrunched your nose, seeing him waving his fake knife at a group of sorority girls who squealed in delight, entertained by the pink hair boy. 

As you were getting close to the NCT house, your senses were up high. Some trees trembled because of the wind, giving the night a creepy vibe, the moon shining in the darkness, as you couldn't help yourself from observing everything around you, remembering Yangyang’s stupid words: try and not get caught by another Ghostface.

Your phone rang again, taking you back to reality. Thinking it may be Hanni, you answered the call as you walked, now more aware of possible NCT members trying to scare you on your way. 

‘’Hello?’’

‘’Hello,’’ that electronic, deep voice you started to feel familiar said. ‘’Are you coming to the party?’’

Your eyes searched around you, that weird, uncertain feeling of paranoia expanding in your skin like crawls, making you tense. ‘’Who is it?’’

‘’You played that game and you lost it, gorgeous’’, the caller chuckled. ‘’Is that want you want, to play with me?’’

‘’I don’t wanna do anything with you,’’ you said with clenched teeth, walking faster. The wind had picked up, a cold breeze against your body and blowing some dry leaves. 

‘’But you already did, don’t break my heart like that,’’ the voice lamented, laughing softly. ‘’We’re having so much fun, don't you think?’’

You kept alerted, watching the people around you, looking for that stupid black costume. Yangyang’s warning resonated once again in your head, slowly halting your steps as your suspicion rose. Try and not get caught by another Ghostface.

‘’What do you want? Halloween’s over, this stupid joke’s over. No more calls,’’ you said, keeping at bay your tone, trying not to get scared or angry. ‘’No more stupid Ghostface.’’

The caller laughed in your ear, like it could see through your weak attempts. ‘’That doesn’t mean I’m done with you yet’’, the voice said seductively. ‘’Tonight it’s the perfect time, don’t you think, baby?’’

‘’The perfect time for what?’’ You asked annoyed, feeling relief filling your heart when you saw the NCT frat not that far, people coming in and the faint sound of loud music beating down the street. 

‘’To get you, pretty girl.’’

You heard the beeping of the call ending, eyeing your phone a little incredulous.  Did he cut you off? A hard scoff left your lips, rolling your eyes. A hard desire to throw your phone to the bushes tempted you, when it suddenly rang again.

Of course you picked up the private number’s call, fed up. ‘’What the fuck do you want!?’’

Another voice coming thru the modulator speaked, saying your name like it was tasting it on its tongue. The caller breathed heavily, his voice sounded… different. ‘’Hi, sweetie. Finally, I wanted to speak with you for so long.’’

‘’So long? You’ve been calling me the whole month, asshole. Are you gonna call the whole night too?’’

‘’The question is, can you keep up with me tonight? You see,’’ the caller laughed a little, making the skin of your arms come alive full of chills, ‘’we have a problem. I wanna go after you and stab that pretty body until you puke blood but I don’t think you can run with those shoes. And that’s half of the fun!’’

The voice gave you the chills, a heavy feeling of fear tightening your heart. You blinked rapidly, trying not to spiral in a full crisis, dropping your gaze to your high heels, a cute pair of white boots that reached your knees.

‘’How do you even know where I am?’’ You murmured, eyeing the entrance of the party, ready to make a bee line over there. ‘’How you know what I’m wearing?’’

‘’I’m watching you.’’ 

You swallowed, feeling like you were glued to the ground. ‘’Come out, then. Or don’t you dare, since I’m not alone?’’

‘’You think you’re safe? I could cut your throat right now and you wouldn't see it coming, dumb bitch.’’

A sudden noise startled you, coming from your side. You quickly hung up the call and walked hurriedly to the entrance that was clear, nobody there, not Taeyong or someone from NCT watching who entered, and the realization that you were actually alone scared you. It was like everybody disappeared into the party.

But before you could enter the frat house, another noise caught your attention. But it wasn't just a noise, it was a voice. A scream. 

You lifted your eyes and saw Kim Doyoung not that far away, standing right in the street, illuminated by its dim lights. Red, dark blood coming like a tsunami out of his opened mouth and sliding over his clothes like a wet, sticky veil. But he wasn't alone, because behind him was someone dressed as Ghostface, holding him by his neck and taking out a big knife out of Doyoung’s stomach, provoking a new wave of blood to splash everywhere. 

What. The. Fuck.

Try and not get caught by another Ghostface. Try and not get caught by another Ghostface. Try and not get caught by another Ghostface. Try and not get caught by another Ghostface.

Yangyang’s voice burned in your brain. You swore you heard a laugh coming from somewhere, making you hold the door handle harder as your heart pounded loudly, just like the music coming from the house.

‘’Alright, haha, nice joke, idiots,’’ you took a profound breath, chuckling awkwardly. ‘’I’m not falling for it again!’’

You shaked your head and stepped into the NCT frat, needing a fucking drink. 

You pushed bodies without a care in the world, unable to stop thinking about what you saw. Your eyes examined the dark room, seeing people drinking, dancing, making out in the corners and smoking, the usual scenes in NCT parties. Ghostfaces were everywhere, making you feel crazy when you tried to get a glimpse of knives in their hands, but the shadows and the dim lights made it hard for you. You tensed when you saw Jeno pinching the tip of his knife into the revealed stomach of a very giggly bunny who paid no mind, relaxing when you realised it was obviously fake.

Relax, you’re going insane, you thought rubbing your temples, needing a moment alone from all the people and music, overwhelmed already. This is a prank and it’s over.

You lifted your tired gaze and froze on the spot, seeing a Ghostface watching you from across the room. You holded its gaze, studying him as well. It was wearing his mask, no knife in hand, just… standing still. The loud music bumped around you, taking control of your already rapid palpitations, immersing you in the moment, hot.

He moved.

Ghostface started walking towards you, black body moving without difficulty in the sea of ​​people, making his way towards you like he owned the place, the flashing lights giving it a terrifying appearance that no one seemed to notice. 

You turned around and bolted. 

Knowing your way, you went straight to the stairs and you cursed in your mind your stupid idea of wearing that outfit, too difficult to move and to breath, the material clinging into you like a second, uncomfortable skin. You tried to climb the stairs as fast as you could, but it wasn’t enough because you felt a presence behind you, coming closer. You looked back and there he was, Mr Ghostface following you with calm steps, like he had the whole time in the world. 

You ignored him and tried not to freak out like other times, calmly trying to open the first room you knew, Chenle’s. You knocked and tried to open it, but no one responded and it was locked. You sighed loudly and crossed the hallway to your next target, Renjun’s room. When you saw behind you there was Ghostface, looking at you from across the hallway. You moved when he did, advancing once again towards you, intentions clear. 

A strange sense of deja vu washed over but you pushed that feeling to the back of your brain, heart pounding in your chest as you finally reached Renjun’s room and almost screamed in victory when it opened, stepping inside rapidly and closing the door behind you. 

You took a step back when you turned and saw another Ghostface laying on the bed, playing with a small knife that, for the fortune of your mental state, was obviously plastic, a toy. He looked at you and pushed his mask up slowly, revealing the handsome face of Mark Lee smirking at you. 

He lifted something small and white to his mouth, some kind of dispositive that came to life when he pushed a button. 

‘’Finally, baby. I was about to call you again, you know? What took you so long?’’ His electronic, deep voice said. A voice you knew really well.

‘’What?’’ You whispered, frozen and finding your voice after some seconds. The door opened behind you and made you jump, moving back when the other Ghostface entered the room. Your back crashed against someone, turning your head to see Mark behind you, looking at you intensely. 

‘’Look who I found,’’ Donghyuck said, pushing his mask up and throwing it aside. He locked the door, starting to get closer to you until you were trapped between them. ‘’Such a good girl, I knew you'd listen and come to us.’’

‘’Dressed so prettily too,’’ Mark said in your ear, hands roaming in your hips, fingers pinching the material of your short dress making you yelp when it hit your skin. ‘’You look so good, baby.’’

‘’She really does,’’ Donghyuck said, nudging your chin playfully with his knuckles. ‘’So fucking pretty. Cat caught your tongue, sweetheart?’’ 

You babbled, moving your eyes from one to the other, feeling the heat fill your body at their touches and closeness. Alarm tainted your voice, breaking your words a little. ‘’I— what is going on?’’ 

Donghyuck chuckled, grabbing a strand of hair and playfully wrapped it around his finger. ‘’I know you’re a smart girl, don’t play dumb.’’ 

You looked from one to the other again, his bodies caging you between them. Mark hugged you from behind, preventing you from escaping like he could read your mind. ‘’The v-voice modulator. It was you… this whole time, it was you? The calls, the—’’

‘’We wanted your attention, princess. And you didn’t give us much of a choice, don’t you think? Avoiding us at parties—’’

‘’We never catch you alone,’’ Mark whispered in your ear, his hot breath making you tremble in his arms. He kissed your neck softly, tracing your skin with the tip of his nose as he speaked. ‘’Always running and hiding from us, playing.’’

‘’H-how— what the fuck?’’ You asked, looking at Donghyuck when he cradled your face, thumbs caressing lovingly your cheeks, amused at your small outburst. ‘’How did you know where I was? And— and the things I was doing?’’

‘’I did a really good job knowing your library schedules, don’t you think? And Mark, well, he’s fucking good at getting information. Chenle talks about you with him and doesn't even realize how much, about your books, your homework, your likes, how fun you are, how you hold the record in your group for most soju’s bottles in one night.’’

You keeped your silence, astonished at the truth of his words, hearing Mark’s endearing laugh behind you. You did have that record. You frowned, feeling something hot coming up and flying free from deep inside you, very different from fear, but burning the same.

‘’Are you fucking for real?’’ Your cold, annoyed tone resonated in the room. Long gone was your usual shyness, feeling so fed up— so much frustration and stress pinned up in your body, finally exploiting with a fire that kinda took everyone by surprise, including you. ‘’So this was your plan? Stalking and chasing me playing god damn Ghostface? As a way of courting me?!’’

‘’Don’t forget about making you cum as many times as possible,’’ Donghyuck mused, smiling when you shook his hands off your face. He bumped you softly on the nose. ‘’That was part of the plan too.’’

‘’I can’t believe this. You’re both fucking insane!’’

Donghyuck gave you an unamused look, arching a brow as he studied your face. ‘’You think we’re idiots? That we don’t notice the way you always look at us? Like you’re asking us with those cute, shy eyes to be fucked stupid.’’

‘’Why you’re acting like you don’t like it, baby?’’ Mark purred in your ear, his arms squeezing you possessively against him. ‘’We just gave you what you wanted. You told Chenle that your favorite movie was Scream, remember? I know how you love horror movies.’’

You scoffed, giving him a push with your elbow, ‘’Yeah, so? You turned my life into a scary movie because— because of that?’’

Mark clicked his tongue, chucking darkly behind you. ‘’We wanted to give you a little thrill, something that will make you finally play with us. And you did so well, baby, we’re proud of you, our brave girl. I saw the real you, that alive look on your face, how you liked our games. You were looking for us, turning around and waiting, don’t you, pretty girl?’’

You couldn't answer that. You bit your lip, thinking about how you picked up every call, how you didn’t turn off your phone or told somebody else besides Hanni. You didn’t report the things that were occurring. You didn’t change your number of speaked to Taeyong to stop the joke on you as the frat president, knowing he had that type of control. Sometimes you even expected a call, a challenge to your fears, to your control. You liked the attention, the luring feeling of waiting… something. It was true, maybe? You liked the fear, the paranoia? How did they challenged you? You couldn't even begin to unroll those odd questions, bubbling in your mind like poison, confusing you. Making fun of you for… liking it. But admitting that out loud? No way. 

Heat rushed to your face, ashamed that, deep inside you, you weren’t that mad. You liked how they took care of you, how they kissed you until you forgot about everything, how their eyes lingered in you after, like they wanted more. Because you wanted them, and they chased you. You blinked at Donhyuck’s neck, unable to hold his eyes, feeling that you got caught doing something wrong. They just confessed being your stalkers, the ones who played with your mind and you felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner. 

Their voices, how they spoke to you in those calls, how you never said their names when trying to guess who it was. Maybe, stashed so deep in your mind you don’t even dared to think about it, you knew.

And you kept the game going. 

Donghyuck kissed your cheek, laughing when he noticed your face and your silence, how the fire inside you subsided and you were watching him wariness, like he had another card up in his sleeve. Of course, being him, he had. ‘’Maybe you have a thing for psychos, have you thought about that?’’

‘’Look what you made us do, baby,’’ Mark clicked his tongue, giving a hard squeeze to your ass that made you jump with a surprised squeal, your chest colliding with Hyuck’s. ‘’I told you no more running, and what did you do? You hid from me, leaving me blue balled and all alone for days. You think that was fair?’’

‘’Can’t relate,’’ Donghycuks smirked, hand grabbing your jaw and giving a little slap in your cheek with the other, making you whimper. ‘’But that isn't very nice of you, don’t you think? You’re not gonna apologize to Mark, brat?’’

Your breath catched, his harsh, seductive order was clear. Turning over your shoulder to see Mark, his dark eyes followed every one of your movements, waiting. He pressed his glowing erection against your ass, rubbing himself in you and smirking when a soft gasp left you and didn’t pull apart. 

You licked your lips, blinking at him timidly, noticing the storm forming in his brown eyes. ‘’I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to,’’ you whispered, watching him from underneath your lashes. Mark scoffed and turned you around, grabbing your face, his mouth descending on yours. ‘’I’m sorry, Mark.’’

‘’You fucking better be,’’ he said before kissing you hard, eating the whimper that you left out. 

Donghyuck chuckled behind you, taking Mark’s prior position and rutted against your ass, his hands hovering over your body possessively. He kissed your neck and shoulders, making sure to leave marks behind, sucking into your skin as he squeezed your ass. You moaned in Mark’s mouth, daring to take your hand to his hard bulge that was pressing against your stomach.

Mark growled in your lips. ‘’You gotta prove it, baby. If you’re so sorry get on your fucking knees for us,’’ he said, pushing his clothed cock into your hand with a groan. 

Donghyuck gave you a deliberate, slow shove to your head, a needy whimper coming out of you as you did what you were told, obeying their commands and kneading in the ground slowly. Your knees touched the soft carpet and you lifted your eyes to them, your hands grabbing at your own thighs tightly, heart going crazy as you expected another order to come your way with heat traveling in your body and pooling between your legs.

‘’Good girl, you love this, don’t you? Having two cocks just for you, ready to fill all your holes,’’ Donghyuck smiled down at you, patting your head sweetly. He slapped you without force, not that hard but enough to move your face, making you moan when he pushed his fingers past your lips at the opportunity. ‘’We have to stretch that throat too, yeah?’’

Your cheeks burned just like your whole body, feeling like you had fallen into a different dimension. All you could feel was the hot, wet throbbing in your cunt, ruining your lace panties. It felt so good being controlled like that, seeing the two men watching you with identical intense gazes, taking in your sexy outfit like it was both a curse and a blessing. It felt powerful. You were the one who turned them like that. So hard for you, desperate for you, so insane for you. 

In the middle of your foggy mind you remembered Chenle’s words, talking about how they understood each other. They matched perfectly. Mark and Donghycuk moved like different pieces on a board, but with the same objective. With the same intent of win, of conquer. 

They cooed at you when you choked a little around Hyuck’s fingers when he pushed them deep, making you gag a little at the intrusion in your throat, his knuckles glazing past your teeth.

‘’Keep that mouth open,’’ Mark ordered you once Donghycuk took off his fingers, licking your saliva off them. He groaned, pleased when he noticed you even took your tongue out, breathing heavily. ‘’Good girl, doing so well.’’

You whimpered at his words, blushing as you watched how they started undressing, taking off their Ghostface tunics. Their cocks made tents in their pants, the image making you salivate with another needy moan, both males chucking darkly at your eagerness and how an embarrassing amount of spit was dripping from your lips. They quickly took off their pants, stroking their lengths in front of your face, your glazed eyes following their hands, sparkling with sheer lust.

Mark was as big as Donghyuck, veiny and long. You stared hard at both of them, rubbing your thighs timidly to try and get some friction on your palpitating clit. Of course both noticed, Donghyuck being the one who made a ponytail on your hair, throwing your head back. 

‘’Aw, are you all hot and bothered, sweetheart?’’ He mocked you, rubbing the tip of his cock on your cheek. ‘’Such a needy slut, all wet and horny.’’

‘’We’re gonna give you what you want, baby,’’ Mark promised you, tapping his cock on your dripping tongue, making you moan softly. ‘’Open big, yeah?’’

You nodded as he pushed his length into your mouth, moaning huskily at the sensation of your wet, warm mouth welcoming him. You sucked him, moving your tongue around him as you bobbed your head with Donghyuck’s help, who kept a tight grip on your hair. Mark’s whole length barely fitted in your mouth but you tried anyway, taking all you could, relaxing your mouth and jaw. 

‘’That’s it, keep going, baby. Take it all,’’ Donghyuck praised you, smiling when he heard you gagging around Mark’s dick with every deep push of his. ‘’You’re doing so good for us, you’re made for suck our cocks.’’

‘’Fuuuck,’’ Mark moaned, pushing deeply, slowly into your mouth, dragging his length back and forth. ‘’Feels fucking good, baby, keep sucking,’’ he breathed, shoving his cock down your throat until your eyes filled with tears from the effort of trying to get as much as you could of him. ‘’Such a pretty mouth, taking me all in.’’

Mark removed his cock after some long seconds, cooing at you when you coughed and took a breath, looking so fucking pretty. It was Donghyuck's turn as he pushed his thick cock in your mouth, smirking when you immediately started to suck it, moving your lips around him as your eyes shily holded his gaze.

Your hand reached and started to stroke Mark’s cock, making him moan as you moved your pumped him faster while you sucked Donghyuck eagerly, bobbing your head trying to get all of his length. You let it go with a loud, wet pop, turning your face towards Mark’s and taking him in your mouth again whimpering, not wasting time as you sucked his cock again, making yourself a mess of spit and tears.

‘’Doing so well, you look so pretty like this,’’ Donghyuck moaned, pushing his hips into your hand, sharp eyes watching you full of heat. ‘’Sucking our cocks like a good slut,’’ he purred, grabbing his own dick and slapping it in your face, caressing your soft skin, waiting for his turn. 

‘’C’mere baby,’’ Mark said breathlessly, taking a step back and helping you stand up. He laid on the bed and smiled at you, a smug, full on himself smirk that made your knees weaken. Mark pulled you into his body, and you looked at him confused, a little lost about what he wanted. ‘’Sit on my face.’’

‘’Mark!’’ You gasped, burning red. ‘’Thats—’’

‘’Fucking hot,’’ Donghyuck rasped in your ear, pushing you towards his friend’s body. ‘’Let Mark eat your perfect pussy, sweetheart. Show him how wet you are, yeah?’’

Donghyuck grabbed your jaw and kissed you hard, tongue coaxing you to ease, compliant, moaning into his mouth when his hand reached between your legs, catching the wet trace of your slick leaking down your thighs. He rubbed your clit slowly as he played with your tongue, turning you into a whole whimpering mess in no time. 

‘’Look at you,’’ Mark said, stroking his cock as he could’t stop watching the way you were making sounds so fucking alluring, hearing the wet noise of your folds being explored by Donghyuck’s fingers. ‘’So fucking soaked, aren’t you? I can’t wait to taste you, baby.’’

Hyuck’s fingers kept taunting you, moving in circles on your clit, making you arch your back in need of more of his touch. Your eyes locked with Mark’s, who maintained his sharp, burning eyes on you, taking in every little detail of your reactions, the erotic, breathless, little sounds you made. Donghyuck pushed one finger inside you, moving it slowly in and out of you, chin placed in your shoulder. You shuddered and gasped loudly when he added another and then more, his three fingers opening you with deep, long thrusts until you clenched around them, the loud, wet sound of your pussy being pounded echoing around you, making Mark and Donghyuck growl.

‘’Don’t keep him waiting,’’ Donghyuck said as he helped you get out of your panties, both males groaning when they noticed it matched our outfit, red lace completely wet in your juices. He tasted you in his fingers, licking them clean. ‘’I’m fucking keeping these,’’ he said under his breath, throwing it into the other bed. 

Even if you had it before, nothing really could have prepared you for the feeling of Mark’s mouth on you again, thighs shaking on each side of his head in anticipation, his hot breath crashing against your wet cunt. Mark started giving you long strikes with his tongue until you whimpered, so out of it already you didn’t notice Donghyuck climbing to the bed too. 

The position made you feel so exposed and dirty and you liked that. You sinked into Mark’s face, pushing your core into his mouth as he ate you out eagerly, twisting his tongue on your clit and sucking it non stop, pleasure sending shivers down your body. Your hips rolled in his face, moaning and taking his hair in your hands as you rode his mouth moaning like you were in heat. You felt a hand on your head and looked up, encountering Donghyuck’s cock pushing into your mouth.

‘’Open up,’’ he ordered, smiling when you did it immediately, wrapping his length in your mouth and sucking, taking a shaky breath through your nose. ‘’That’s my girl, let me use that pretty mouth.’’

You nodded with a loud moan, moving your hips back and forth on Mark’s face, feeling his hands grabbing your ass and squeezing it, pushing you down into his tongue harder. He pushed it into your entrance, catching every drop of your juices and tasting it desperately, slurping and sucking. Donghyuck used your mouth, thrusting into it over and over, spit dripping from the corners of your mouth and chin as you kept it opened for him, blinking slowly at his twisted expression, eyes burning darky.

‘’Fuck yes, just like that,’’ Donghyuck moaned, holding with one hand onto the headboard of the bed and the other sunk in your hair, your poor nurse headband lost long ago, falled into the ground. You choked on his cock, moaning as Marks gave you a hash suck on your clit. ‘’You look so cute sucking my cock, fuck.’’

Mark didn’t give you any mercy, eating your cunt so viciously it drove you crazy with pleasure, riding his face as you chase your climax, his tongue lapping at your pussy until you crushed his head between your thighs when it was too much, so much pleasure it almost broke you. Your body shook and you moaned with your lips wrapped in Donghyuck’s cock, cuming so hard you thought you may have gone delirious, all to blame on Mark’s expert tongue. 

You breathed shakily, barely registering what Donghyuck said as you felt aftershocks of your climax still, Mark’s mouth kissing and moving his tongue on you still, now at a more lazily rhythm that provoked more moans out of you, overstimulated.

‘’I’m gonna cum,’’ Donghyuck whined, fisting his cock close to your face. You nodded and held your mouth open for him, pleading with your teary, clouded eyes and soft tongue hanging. Seeing your mascara lines down your cheeks and your lipstick all smudged, Donghyuck reached his limit. ‘’Swallow, princess. It’s fucking yours.’’

Thick, warm stripes of cum landed in your face and mouth, hearing his labored breaths as he cummed with a deep moan, tasting him on your tongue as you rapidly swallowed his load. You stroked his cock softly with your hand, giving him tiny licks on the tip, sucking it coyly until there were no more drops to taste. 

Donghyuck was in the same state as you, a whole mess of moans and remains of the best orgasm he ever had lingering in his body. Mark shifted below you, taking your waist and moving you backwards, inhaling while he licked his lips clean, mouth and chin shining with your slick. 

‘’Sweetest pussy I ever taste,’’ he murmured, giving you a sharp smile and a spank to your ass, making you cry in surprise. ‘’I can’t wait to fuck you. C’mere, pretty girl.’’

They were clearly not done with you yet.

His hands guided you exactly where you belonged, his lap. Mark grabbed his shaft, guiding his stiff cock into your folds, sliding it between them, catching your wetness with it. He smiled when he gave you teasing slaps with his length, focusing on your clit until you whined and tried to push him.

‘’That sensitive, baby? I haven’t given you my cock yet and you’re already shattering? Mh, maybe you can’t handle us.’’

‘’N-no, I can! Mark,’’ you said breathlessly when he kept teasing you with his cock, rubbing it in your pussy slowly, making you feel how hard and big he was. Your eyes shut down, lips trembling in a pout. ‘’Please, just—’’

‘’Just what, mmh? Now your needy pussy wants my cock, is that so?’’ He mocked you, his large hands caressing your back and kneading your ass, his lower, intimate voice having such a strong effect on you. You didn’t doubt, pushing your hips back and forth to try and get more friction against his cock, desperate. ‘’C’mon. Talk, baby, or you won’t get anything.’’

‘’Yes, I want it,’’ you cried, the sharp noise Mark made, his breath caught. ‘’Please, can I have it? Just— just fuck me hard, Mark. I need your cock so bad, please.’’

Both males growled, completely mesmerized by you. Hair tousled, make up ruined, making your eyes look more big and wild, lips swollen from kissing and sucking. 

You were so fucking theirs.

Mark pressed the tip of his cock on your entrance, smirking when you reacted immediately, your hands grabbing his shoulders and nailing your nails on his skin. He didn’t let you run from it, his strong hands pushing you down on his thick length, making you feel the burn of the stretch, how he made his way inside you until you felt so full you couldn't think.

A hoarse moan left you, clenching around him and causing Mark to gave you another spank in your ass, hard, pushing his hips up until his balls pressed against you. 

‘’If you wanted it so bad then fucking take it, baby. Ride my cock,’’ he ordered, watching you intensely. He smirked when you did it, slowly starting to move your hips, your brows slightly furrowed as you tried to do it, but his size didn’t quite help. You whimpered, moving around him and feeling so full and exposed, aching for their touch. Mark coed at you, taking your face in his hands, kissing you. He bit your lip playfully, giving more soft and wet kisses, relaxing you. ‘’Good girl, you’re doing so well, just like that. Take it.’’

‘’Mark, it's so— I’m so full,’’ you moaned, fastening your movements, taking his cock further every time, hitting all your right spots. ‘’I-i feel you everywhere,’’ you said, taking one of his hands and placing it in your lower belly, whimpering. ‘’You’re so deep.’’

You rode him faster, making both of you moan as the pleasure consumed your bodies, nothing in your head, just letting your body take control. Your hips rolled, sinking into him entirely, covering it with a mix of your juices and his precum, your wetness making it more easily to take him as his cock opened and opened you more.

In the middle of it, you sensed something, someone, next to you. Donghyuck kissed your cheek, licking it softly, smiling as he moved his hand down the valley of your breast, pushing down your dress until your tits flew free. He grabbed one and massaged it in his hand possessively, pinching and pulling your sensitive nipples, making Mark whimper of how hard you clenched around his cock.

‘’Fuck, you’re so perfect, baby. This pretty pussy is all ours, no one gets to see you like this, just us,’’ Mark growled, catching one of your nipples with his mouth once Donghyuck withdrew his fingers. He sucked it hard, moving his tongue around you, making you moan and rode him faster. ‘’You’re ruined. No one else will ever fuck your tight pussy like us, you know that, right?’’

‘’Yes, yes, Mark— please, I’m-i’m just yours,’’ you moaned, feeling another hand cradling your jaw. Donghyuck turned your face to him so he could kiss you, opening your mouth with his tongue, moving it lazily against yours. 

‘’Mmm, what about me, sweetheart? You’re mine too?’’ Donghyuck whispered cruelly in your ear, tone lowering dangerously. He licked your ear slowly, pushing his tongue inside it and twirling it, the wet sound and sensation making you whimper hard. But that wasn't enough, because soonly his fingers found the point hidden between the cheek of your ass, brushing his fingertips there as he kept making out with your ear.

‘’Yes, fuck, I’m yours too,’’ you murmured, nailing your nails in Mark until he hissed under you, riding him quickly, setting a brutal pace that was destroying both of you. Shallow breaths, broaked moans and growls, just desperately fucking eachother, drunk of passion. 

You felt Donghyuck’s fingers gathering some split out of his mouth, winking at you like the devil. His fingers went back to the place they were teasing, feeling how he spread out the wetness in your asshole, making you turn a little alarmed. 

‘’Keep riding Mark or we won’t let you come, brat,’’ he warned, using the hold he had in your jaw to turn your head again. He slowly pushed one finger into your tight hole, making your eyes go big by the unknown, but good, intromission. You moaned, standing still, sitting on Mark’s cock, pushing him deep down on you. 

Donghyuck moved his finger in and out of your ass, smiling when Mark growled and pushed his pelvis up, thrusting into you. ‘’Pretty princess can’t take it? What you’re gonna do when we both fuck you, huh?’’

His tongue brushed your ear, whispering dirty nothings into you, holding your throat and squeezing it tight enough. Your body almost went limp, feeling your holes dilating, full of them, head spinning. Mark hugged your waist, keeping you still as he rammed into your pussy, fucking you hard and fast, slaming his cock into you until you were a sobbing mess. Donghyuck kept opening your ass two, adding another finger and leaving them there, a hot presence that reminded you that they owned you, your body, your moans, everything. And you were giving it to them.

‘’Oh my God, fuck,’’ you breathed, thighs shaking around Mark’s hips, your eyes dilated. ‘’I’m-im cumming,’’ you cried, letting your body loose, letting them hold you. Your body shook, an explosion of pleasure breaking your body in two, cuming so hard you couldn't even make a sound, just a shallow choke.

‘’Fuck yes, cum on my cock, baby, fuck— so pretty and good, I’m fucking filling you up,’’ Mark said, growling. He slammed his cock into you, making you whimper but letting him use your body, falling into his chest when Donghyuck let the grasp on your neck go.

He stilled inside you, his arms almost crushing you but you didn’t care. Mark looked so good, so feral, some sweat covering his face, remaining you who he looked after an intense basketball game. His hands pushed you against him, holding into you as he cummed hard, filling you to the brim with his load, thick cum warm inside you. 

You were destroyed. So deliciously destroyed. 

Your eyes were barely opened, your face hid in Mark’s neck, trying to catch your breath. You felt hands caressing you, both Donghyuck and Mark’s, smoothing your skin, leaving soft kisses.

‘’What do we say, sweetheart?’’ Donghyuck reminded you, giving a soft kiss on your shoulder.

‘’Mh, thank you,’’ you murmured with a contently sigh, laying on Mark’s chest completely out of it.

‘’You trained her so well, Haechan,’’ Mark snorted against your temple, his hands now touching you more gently, caressing your waist. ‘’Such a good girl for us, really. ’’

Donghyuck gave him a smug look, his hand tracing softly the line of your column. ‘’Are you okay, sweetheart? Talk to us.’’

‘’I think… you both fucked my soul outta me,’’ you said, too exhausted to open your eyes.

Mark chuckled, hugging you tightly with a soft kiss to your temple. ‘’That’s okay. We can always put it back the same way.’’

‘’Get your cocks away from me,’’ you whined softly, snuggling your face in his neck with a weak laugh, spent. 

Donghyuck laughed, moving his eyebrows up and down as he tucked a strand of hair out of your face, fingertips tracing your cheek carefully. 

‘’That’s not happening, princess. The quicker you get used to, the better.’’

‘’What now?’’ You asked, blinking groggily, moving your face up a little so you could see both of the boys.

‘’Now we tell you everything,’’ Mark started, taking a deep sigh. 

It was hard to fit three people in one small bed, but all of you managed to. You were laying against Donghyuck's chest as he played with your hair, with Mark sitting in front of you both, his hand stroking your leg. Your pretty but uncomfortable dress was long gone, now replaced with Mark’s favorite hoodie, the one that had his team number below his surname written in big, white letters: LEE.

They had cleaned you, hydrated you and forced you to eat some packs of candy and gummies too, all of you sharing them. If someone told you months ago you’d be eating Halloween candy with your crushes after an intense fuck session, you'd laugh in their faces.

You felt more at ease in their presences, not that timid, but still eyeing him, thinking about them. Donghyuck words lingered in your mind as you played absently with the hoodie paws covering your hands. Maybe you have a thing for psychos, have you thought about that?

Well. It looked like you fucking did. You ponder at the thought, unable to stop your little smile.

But you still had things in your chest that you had to say, shadows that were still nagging your mind, questions that needed answers.

‘’You know, you really went overboard with the stabbing thing,’’ you gave them an unamused look, shaking your head. You fixed your eyes on Mark, frowning a little. ‘’And the last call. You had to go all murdery and call me a bitch?’’

‘’What?’’ Donghyuck snapped his head quickly towards Mark, his eyes hardening. 

‘’What?’’ Mark repeated, big, brown eyes reflecting how completely lost he was. It was so interesting, how those eyes burned into a storm before, but now they were shining almost innocently. Like the Mark you knew. ‘’What are you talking about? I didn’t call you that.’’

‘’Um— you even said that you’ll cut my throat or something,’’ you laughed dry, the sound coming shallow to your ears. ‘’That was too much. You were… really channeling Scream with that one.’’

He said your name, expression turning serious, eyes studying your face. ‘’Baby, I would never say something like that to you. I mean— I know I say nasty things to you, but never if I don’t know you'd like it. I didn't make that call.’’

Your eyes moved to Donghyuck, frowning. ‘’I didn’t do that call either,’’ he murmured, noticing a heavy, weird feeling falling into all of you, a sudden silence.

You took a deep breath, looking at Mark again, feeling cold even swallowed in his warm hoodie. ‘’But, but what about the other joke? That was so real, like, I through Doyoung wasn't supposed to be here…?’’

‘’Doyoung?’’ Donghyuck said, sharing a confused look with his friend. His hand reached yours, grabbing them softly to get your attention. ‘’You really got us lost here, princess. What are you talking about?’’

‘’How do you even— no wonder he’s majoring in Theater, that was… he’s a really good actor,’’ you eyed both curiously, getting chills at the bloody memory, still a little shaken by it. ‘’Who was that Ghostface? Was it you, Hyuck? Mark was already here, right?’’

The tense, weird silence that deepened made you frown, confused by their reactions. They seemed a little pale, worry radiating from their stiff bodies as you continued talking. Something was wrong.

You licked your dry lips, feeling a little shy of speaking under their intense gazes. ‘’I saw Doyoung getting stabbed, haha, I get it, Scream it’s pretty bloody,’’ you breathed. ‘’I guess you guys are really good at this whole Ghostface thing,’’ you said with a nervous, short laugh. But you stopped laughing slowly when none of your lovers were laughing with you. 

They looked… scared. Panicking sliding into their eyes.

Mark’s hand reached and brushed your cheek slowly, his body coming closer to yours. ‘’Baby, that’s—that’s impossible. Doyoung-hyung isn’t here. He left days ago.’’

‘’What? No, that’s— I saw him outside, he was— bleeding and,’’ you stopped yourself, maniacally moving your eyes from one to the other. ‘’Stabbed and… that… that wasn’t any of you?’’

Mark looked increasingly pale by the second, and it was Donghyuck who got out of bed without saying anything in a swift motion, going to the door and making sure it was well locked before picking up his phone from where it was charging with a low curse. It took Mark a few seconds, but he finally reacted, blinking like he just woke up from a profound dream.

‘’We didn’t do that,’’ Mark whispered to you, his tone tainted with uneasiness. ‘’What you saw— that wasn't a joke.’’

[hello-eden]

-Stopped rebirth-

Pain, rage, work, sleep

pain, rage, work, sleep

a cycle that goes on and on and on.

Jason doesn't know how to say anything to his family anymore. He knows some of it's his fault for how he came back but he also refuses to believe it's entirely his fault. 

Jason knows he shouldn't come back all right; he knows the Lazarus Pit rewrote his original Resurrection. He has no idea how he knows that's what happened but he does. Memories that make no sense that are popping up on the outside of his vision. Seeing people and thinking of names that are not their own. Doing things that feel like a habit that he has never started.

Jason knows something has been wrong for a long time and he tries not to rage at his family for not seeing it. The days where he fakes missions and just lays on his bed in agony. Feeling as though he has been hit by a thousand bolts of lightning only for it to relent then start again.

For him to feel nothing when he sees the glowing green eyes in the mirror but anytime someone else brings them up he feels like he's on the brink of a breakdown. Hitting harder than he should when he confuses the people in front of him for others. The urge to fight whatever is in front of him whether it be Friend or Foe. The knowledge that he doesn't quite believe he's human anymore that he keeps to himself.

The bone deep terror that Jason feels whenever Bruce mentioned something Jason didn't have before. The rage that fuels Jason's very being whenever Bruce reminisces. Insults on the tip of his tongue that Jason feels like are not for Bruce. The feeling of wanting to cry in the arms of the only father figure he has ever felt safe with only for Bruce to show again that he is not safe.

Wanting to scream that he did not want this, that the bubbling green under his veins is more corrupt than even Ras himself knows. The knowledge that Bruce’s obsession with protecting his home city is the one thing that brought Jason back. Unfortunate knowledge that Jason holds that he could never tell Bruce because the self blame he will inflict on himself would slowly drive him to Madness.

The flinches that Jason sees whenever one of his siblings gets a little too close. The knowledge that he can never do anything about it. He will spew insults at Dick but they will never be seen as playful as he means them.

That he will never be able to play fight with Tim as he wants to as those instincts that told him to bond went too far.

He will never be able to get close with Stephanie as all she has ever heard has been his horror stories.

He will never be able to have a sister in Cass as she has been in the middle of his violence for far longer than she ever should have been.

He will never be able to get close with Damien again as every single member of their family has made sure they are never left alone in a room together.

Pain, rage, work, sleep, repeat

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Inspirations and Themes in “Nosferatu” (2024), according to Robert Eggers

At the surface this film appears to be “just another remake”, but it’s actually the opposite; it’s a subversion of every theme in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and on the original 1922 “Nosferatu”; because Eggers threw the “sexual purity”, “Christian salvation” and “Victorian romantic love” out of the window in this one.

What is Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” about? What are the themes? What makes his adaptation different from the others? Let’s explore the list of inspirations for this story, according to their own creator:

1. Emily Brontë “Wuthering Heights” (1847)

“You loved me then, what right had you to leave me? What right, answer me, for the poor fancy you felt for Linton? Because misery and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heart, you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.”

Themes of the all-consuming, obsessive and self-destructive passion, wrecking the lives of everyone around them and only stops when they are both dead; the destructive power of love; revenge; love triangle between a “beastly” man/mental unstable woman/gentleman; blend of hatred and love; couldn’t be together in life, united in death and reunited in the spiritual world; I already expanded on this topic in another post.

2. “Svengali” (1931)

“Oh, God, grant me in death what you denied me in life; the woman I love.”

Theme of the villain who induces others in a hypnotic and mesmerized states; infectious nature which causes contradictory feelings of repulse vs. attraction. Orlok using his sorcery to access Ellen (once again); Love triangle between a obsessive hypnotist/young woman/gentleman; Ellen’s life consumed by her connection with Orlok; couldn’t be together in life, united in death and reunited in the spiritual world.

3. “La Belle et la Bête” (Beauty and the Beast) (1946)

“Love can turn a man into a beast. But love can also make an ugly man handsome.”

Themes of reality vs. appearance: nothing is as it seems, and there’s more to the story than meets the eye. The storytelling is intricate, complex and requires intention and receptivity to truly understand it. Transformation and metamorphosis. Love and self-acceptance; embrace oneself and breaking free from social expectations. Cursed creature whose curse can only be broken by love: “And so the maiden fair did offer up her love unto the beast, and with him lay in close embrace until first cockcrow, her willing sacrifice thus broke the curse and freed them from the plague of Nosferatu.”

4. “Great Expectations” (1946)

“A young gentleman of great expectations.”

Themes of wealth and ambition vs. affection and compassion. Inspiration for Thomas Hutter character, who seeks social advancement, wealth and climb the social ladder, motivated by a desire of self-improvement. Friedrich Harding is Thomas’s Pip Estella; as he wishes to emulate him, and become a sophisticated gentleman. The arrogance and snobbishness of the upper class. Taking damaging risks in order to achieve ambition (traveling to a remote and mysterious castle), and falling into debt to sustain a certain lifestyle (with Friedrich). Learning that love is more important than wealth, the hard way (both Friedrich and Thomas).

5. “The Queen of Spades” (1949)

“If you've any human feeling in your breast, you can't refuse me. I beg. I beseech you. I know why you won't speak. The secret is connected with some terrible sin. That's it, isn't it? I'll make a bargain with you; tell me your secret and I'll take your sin upon my soul. Do you hear me? I mean it. A bargain. I'll take your sin upon my own soul.”

Theme of the horror element relying on Gothic ambience and atmosphere, than overt terror. Heavily rely on visual symbols to give meaning to the story: in “Nosferatu” are the lilacs and windows showcasing the connection between Ellen and Orlok. The idea that malevolent forces are at work is introduced early in the narrative. Theme of Faustian deals with the Devil. Themes of fate and the supernatural commanding the life of the characters, and leading to their demise. Themes of greed, power and pride leading to ruin; thirst for power as a pathway to madness, loss of dignity and loss of compassion for others, embodied in Herr Knock’s character, as he won’t stop at nothing to learn Orlok’s secret of immortality.

6. “The Innocents” (1961)

Miss Giddens: Were Quint and Miss Jessel in love? They were in love, weren't they? Mrs. Grose: Love? [Laugh] Oh, I suppose that's what she called it. But it was more like a sickness. A fever that leaves the body burned out and dry.

Themes of sexual repression and Victorian views of female sexuality (wickedness; sickness, shame; contagion; corruption) vs. love (pure; virginal; sacred; innocent; over-protective). The female protagonist overbearing protection of the children/Thomas masks her underlying conflict with her own sexuality (which she sees as sinful, shameful and diseased). Probably the inspiration for connecting flora (lilacs vs. willow tree) with the Ellen and Orlok, too.

7. “Andriesh” (1954)

Theme of the folk horror fairy tale, which also characterizes “Nosferatu”. The inspiration for Thomas dwelling in Transylvania and traveling to Castle Orlok, in the Carpathian Mountains; as he’s also given a magical token for protection, meets the people targeted by the supernatural, and faces a perilous journey to reach the castle, and then escape the castle; making allies along the way (Romanian old lady and the Nuns).

8. “Vechir na Ivana Kupala” (“The Eve of Ivan Kupalo”) (1968)

Theme of a darkly evocative, poetic and imagistic story deeply rooted in folklore. Use of several and overlapping cinematic techniques (fast motion, camera angles, etc.), to break the sense of reality within the film; in “Nosferatu” this probably translates in the dream/nightmarish atmosphere and hallucinations. Quick changes in tone (from horror to comedy to melodrama). Non-linear story and “show, not tell” approach; where the symbolism, mythology and cinematic complexity are more important than dialogue. Probably also the inspiration for Orlok giving Thomas’s a mount of gold as payment for his signature on the covenant, which will lead to the ruin of his marriage to Ellen.

9. “Leptirica” (“The She-Butterfly”) (1973)

Theme of a story and a vampire heavily influenced by folklore; in “Nosferatu”, by Romanian (strigoi). Use of humor to disarm the viewer. Withholding the reveal of the vampire to the audience; starting with close-ups on the hands, eyes, etc. Using a horse to find the grave of a vampire (in Balkan folklore it’s a black stallion, but Eggers probably choose white to be more visible in the night). A new and completely original ending to a cult classic. The female lead character appears to be naïve and harmless, but is revealed to be the true monster of the film.