#that my mum she didn't say something bad but like all of a sudden it's like me and her last year and she's weaponising her love and pride

[35253319]

Literally came here to rant about my mum and I see this. Plus decor cause felt like it teehee✨

[woso-dreamzzz]

Sound

Steph Catley x Baby!Reader

Summary: Steph talks with Macca

The rest of the Tillies crowd around you when Steph settles in a seat.

She'd left training early last night to pick you up and sign the paperwork and had slept in. She was lucky Tony was so accommodating. This was a big moment and she's glad that she's got you now.

The idea of adopting hadn't been on Steph's mind at all until she'd finished a game and looked up to see a little girl holding a sign that said 'This is my adoption day present'.

There was something about it that got Steph thinking. It hadn't crossed her mind once and then all of a sudden it was all she could think about. The process was long and she was constantly flying back and forth from England to Australia to sort everything out.

"How old is she?" Mini asks.

"Six months," Steph replies, smiling down at you.

"You're going to be a great mum, Steph. If you need any help just call. I'd be happy to babysit for a bit."

"I can't ask you to do that. Really, it's-"

"Trust me," Mini laughs, patting her on the shoulder," Give it a few weeks and you'll see why I offered." Her eyes are drawn behind Steph's shoulder. "Kyra! Charli! Stop teaching Harper bad habits!"

More of her teammates come up to fawn over you but Steph's waiting in anticipation for one in particular.

You seem unbothered by all the noise, something almost everyone comments on and Steph has to offer them all a forced smile as she rocks you back and forth and pulls silly faces to make you giggle.

"You wanted to talk?" Mackenzie says as she falls back next to Steph," You sounded pretty serious. You're not dying are you?"

"No...Macca...I was wondering if I could get some advice."

"If it's about changing position then I don't recommend goalkeeper. If it's about this little angel, then I'm not sure I'm much help either."

"I think you are." Steph isn't quite sure why she's treating it like it's some big secret. Everyone will know eventually but it's personal right now and she doesn't want anyone prying.

"Steph, you're scaring me a little."

"You know when you found out about your hearing loss, did you feel like learning auslan would help?"

Macca's brow furrows. "Why would..." Her eyes drift down to you. Somewhere across the room, Kyra and Charli shriek. It's enough to catch everyone off guard, heads automatically turning to the source of the noise but you don't react in the slightest. "Oh."

"She failed her first AOAE test and then the second one too. She failed her ABR test too."

Macca reaches out gently as Steph looks at her with wide eyes. "Is it complete hearing loss or is she hard of hearing like me?"

"Like you. I've...I've got baby hearing aids for her..." Steph digs around in her pocket to bring out a little blue case decorated with whichever stickers caught your eye when she got you yesterday. You'd smacked a few of them when Steph presented them to you and she had stuck them onto the case. She pops it open to reveal the aids.

Honestly, Mackenzie didn't even know that you could give babies hearing aids.

"She doesn't really like them though. The doctor said to keep them in whenever she's awake but...She really doesn't like them sometimes and I don't want her teased when she goes to school."

"It's different," Macca says eventually as she watches your whole face be taken over by a yawn," I was much older when I found out. I knew how to speak and communicate. I...I don't think it could hurt to learn it with her although if you're staying with Arsenal long-term then you should probably do a bit of bsl too, just to be safe."

"Right, yes."

Steph had known about your hearing loss for months now. Some of the workers assigned to you had tried to warn you away from her because of it. They made you out to be a difficult case or defective in some way.

But Steph thought you were a little angel.

You were so perfect and sweet and she wanted to adopt you even though everyone told her that there were better, hearing babies to choose from.

But you had endeared her from the moment you met, smacking blocks together and chewing on your fingers.

"You should put her hearing aids in though," Mackenzie says," She'll get used to them eventually but they're no help if she's not wearing them. Did they teach you how?"

Steph nods. "Yeah."

"Can you teach me? Girls like us have to stick together. I can't believe they make ones that small."

That shocks a laugh out of Steph as she sits you upright to slip your hearing aids on.

You whine a little when they're turned on, scrunching up your face at all of the noise you can suddenly hear.

"Yeah," Macca laughs at your annoyance," It was like that for me too. It's so strange that people just regularly hear so much."

You turn your head towards her when she speaks, the first time she's seen you react to noise at all and giggle, kicking your feet.

Steph beams as she stands you up on her thighs and kisses your chubby baby cheeks, blowing a few raspberries on them for good measure.

"Can we play with the baby now?" Kyra asks, suddenly barrelling into the quiet moment," Please?"

"No, Kyra," Steph says with an eye roll," You can play with my angel after camp. You'll be seeing a lot of her back in London."

"Please? I'm really responsible! I take care of Harper all the time!"

In sync, Steph and Mackenzie both watch as Charli goads Harper into rolling off the table. Thankfully, Mini is there to catch her just in time.

"That wasn't my fault! Charli was watching her!"

"Go and play with Harper, Kyra," Steph says," This angel needs a little nap so she can greet her adoring fans at dinner. Maybe, if you're good, you can help feed her."

Kyra walks off in a huff as Steph gets up from her seat.

"Steph," Macca calls out as Steph starts to get ready to put you down for a nap," My audiologist in London does kids as well. I can set up an appointment for you if you want."

"Thanks, Macca."

In the quiet of her hotel room, you finally settle. Steph's seen this kind of behaviour from you before, on those visits before she could adopt you.

Noises still seemed a little shocking to you and strange.

You give her a little smile to show off the few teeth you've got and Steph flutters kisses upon your cheeks as you giggle ecstatically.

It's the best sound in the world and Steph settles on the bed with you on your chest. You're still giggling as she slips your hearing aids out so you can sleep peacefully.

"Go to sleep, angel," She coos to you, close enough that you can feel the vibrations of her words against you," We're going to have so much fun together."

[the-wales-5]

"Her Legacy"

27th June 2023.

The Prince of Wales was on the way home from Sheffield which was the sixth and last stop of his 'tour' dedicated to a new initiative "Homewards". He felt pride but some kind of anxiousness over what will become of this project throughout the next five years consumed his thoughts as well. Therefore, when he got informed by his official secretary that his car is getting closer to Adelaide cottage, relief was clearly visible on his face.

His wife had returned home an hour before from her engagement at "Hope Street" and was cooking one of his favourite dishes for lunch. Her children joined her in the kitchen and asked about their father. Catherine told them that he most likely was on the way home already.

A few minutes passed and there he was, at home hugging his children and petting their Cocker Spaniel Orla. He was avoiding Catherine's eyes for some reason and she began to feel rather worried.

/

"William, is everything alright? You haven't eaten a lot for lunch and you also seem to be rather disconnected.." she said with hesitation right after George and his siblings left for the garden to play there.

"What do you mean, Kate?" William looked at her and pretended to feel surprised.

"I simply notice that you are stressed. We're always talking about it, aren't we?" She smiled a little and sat on a chair next to him where Louis was sitting before "Just tell me what is bothering you" she said.

William sighed and at last his eyes met Catherine's as he spoke up "It feels heavy, carrying my mother's legacy like that with no certainty. Of course I know that she would've been proud of me and I absolutely want her to feel this way wherever she is but I wish she would be here with us, and guide me through the process of making 'Homewards' and support me with many other situations that have happened over the last 25 years, you know?" He smiled faintly and Catherine put a hand on his knee as she said quietly "I know. I know that you miss her and wish all the things you've just said but you must remember that she probably still see everything"

"Everything?" William replied his wife's words and took a deep breath "Even those bad situations between Harry and me? If so, then she must feel heartbroken to see it".

Catherine hid a sigh and then she simply hugged her husband. "It's not your fault that all of it happened, William" she said. "You've done everything you could to repair your relationship with him, to make him realise that what he does is wrong. He did not listen. That's all. You have nothing to regret. And I believe your mum would tell you the exact same thing if she were here with you now" she smiled and squeezed his hand as she added " 'Homewards' is not her legacy, it is completely your own thing. Work on homelessness is her legacy in a way but each time you do something in that field or the environment projects, you are making your own legacy. And trust me when I say that your mother is supportive and proud, wherever she is and that 'Homewards' will be successful".

Her husband nodded and without saying a word he inhaled Catherine's hair scent. She smiled and caressed his cheek when she noticed his teary eyes. She tried to wipe his tears but then he gently grabbed her hand.

"How is it possible that you are giving me support just by saying a few simple words?" He asked with a little smile on his face "One would think that it is not enough after so many years together and yet these few words you just said are everything I wanted to hear since I left my last engagement in Sheffield today?"

Catherine kissed both of his cheeks and giggled softly. She wanted to say that he didn't need to thank her but right at that moment he put his finger on her lips and whispered "My mother would have loved you as much as I do, Catherine. I've told you about it many times, I am aware but I mean it. I really do".

They stared into one another's eyes for a few seconds and were about to kiss when all of a sudden they heard Charlotte calling them to come into the garden too.

/

In the late evening, before going to the bedroom, William was standing next to his mother's portraits. George quietly approached him and asked "Are you thinking about granny Diana, papa? Do you feel sad?"

William smiled at his son and then at his mother's portrait as he replied "No, I feel happy, George. I feel happy because granny surely feels the same when watching you, your siblings, your intelligent mum and.. and me from the above" he said and wiped his tears and put hand on George's shoulder as they walked away from that portrait together.

_The End_

[l-e-morgan-author]

Patience in Recovery

They said she was full of hope, all that time.

They said a lot of lies. I knew because I'd listened at the door, when they didn't know I was in the room at all. I'd overheard the doctors talking, and I knew what they said.

They weren't particularly happy with the way things were going. Nobody was quite sure if her voice would recover properly, because of how long she'd been breathing smoke. Mine recovered just fine, and I wasn't hurt as bad as Patience was.

It was irony, I guess, when you thought about it, that her name was Patience, because now we all had to wait to make sure she'd get better. The doctors had talked to her, and she wrote back answers (carefully, and with her right hand, because the left was still in plaster).

They told me she was brimming with hope, like the way my eyes had been when I woke up in hospital and they told me what had happened. She was ready and waiting to get better.

But I heard them discussing worriedly among themselves, how she was lying there and not actually wanting to get better, like it was too hard. Her body was battered, and seems her mind was, too.

I don't understand. She brightened up a lot when I first came in, and I thanked her for saving me, and she smiled, just a bit, and made a thumbs-up gesture. She was awfully white, and made the sheets look skin colour, and there were all sorts of bulky dressings everywhere, but she whispered, in her hoarse voice, that it was "worth it". I can still hear that if I think about it.

They said she'll walk again, all that sort of thing, but they're worried about the way her hand was damaged, and the amount of burns she got. They don't know if she'll be able to comfortably knit again.

Knitting is her safe thing, her biggest hobby; what would Patience do if she couldn't knit?

She told me she'd knit me a jumper when she was out of there, and that was as good as telling me she loved me, for Patience. Seems she warmed up to me at last.

I was trying not to complain; you know how it is, though, sometimes? When you're living in a house and someone else in the house doesn't like your existence. I guess it was pretty sudden, and Patience is a cagey old dear, but it doesn't feel nice.

Mum wasn't cheerful anymore, not how she used to be. Her expression was worn and like she hadn't slept in a week. I heard her crying one time after she and Dad met with the doctors. Then she and Dad got into an argument, the worst argument I've ever heard, and that's saying something. It was just words, but words are important. Some of the things they called each other weren't very nice, and I shan't reproduce them.

Grief can tear apart a family. I hope it doesn't ours. I hope Patience gets better soon, and all better, because otherwise I don't know what we'll do. She's important, though I'm sure she doesn't realise how important. She better get better quick. I pray for her every night, and I wouldn't like to tell her how much I cry about it. She wouldn't be in trouble if she hadn't saved me. Then again, they say I'd probably be dead.

I guess she figured I was worth saving. Guess I'd better buck up and be someone worth saving.

Get better soon, Patience, and I hope when you're better I can show you how much I care, in a less obnoxious way to how I did before. Rhona out.

&&&&&&&

Added this story to my page of free stories, found here. There's almost 6k of writing on here, all told, and I continue to add to them on a fairly regular basis.

[greeen-bean]

Thursday

"It was in my thirteenth year when I first heard an Ark song"

"The lights dim, and everyone suddenly turns to look at me, and then they start singing 'Happy Birthday'. To me. Wait. What? What's the date? They finish singing, by which time Rowan has made it across the room to me. He grins. 'You forgot again, didn't you?' 'I never know what the date is...' I mumble, feeling very embarrassed from the sudden attention."

"Then he comes up to me and takes my hand, pulling me around, galloping across the floor, then pulling me up onto the sofa and bouncing up and down in time to the music like we're on a trampoline. Rowan used to have a trampoline in his back garden. Well, I guess it's probably still there. 'COME ON RO!' shouts Lister through harsh breaths as we bounce up and down. I start laughing at Rowan's expression - his classic eyebrow raise. Despite this, he runs across the room and leaps up onto the sofa to jump with us, throwing his arms around me. I stagger and nearly fall over and laugh again."

" I feel happy,maybe. Just for a little bit. Maybe my wish came true."

"I kind of have a little cry about it for five minutes. Just a minor cry. Which is stupid,because all she's done is gone to the supermarket without me. Didn't think I was that clingy."

"'What is it about this band?' he asks. 'I like their music.' I say. [...] 'Are you sure? he asks. 'Is it just because they're good-looking?' 'No.' I bite my lip. 'It's more than that, baba.' 'More?' 'Just... more.' 'We don't understand, Fereshteh. Help us understand.' 'You... can't.' They can't understand. Some things are impossible to explain."

"'What short of relationship is it if you can't even talk to each other when something bad happens? Not a good relationship. That's what it is. But I don't want to say that to him."

"'What's wrong with drinking? What's wrong with having parties and having a good time and enjoying what we have?!' He laughs. 'We're rich and famous, Jimmy. Do you understand how good that feels when you grew up like me? We had nothing.' I stay silent. 'No,' he says. 'You don't. Because you didn't have to worry about money before all this started. I did. Me and mum were this close to being on the street. And now you're telling me off for actually enjoying having money and being happy. You're just getting angry at me.'"

"'You're both just as bad as I am. So, stop fucking acting like you've got the higher ground.'"

"He just leans in and kisses me. My stomach lurches. Not because I'm excited, but because I'm shocked and I'm getting flashbacks to the last time I did this. Never my idea, Is it? I want to, I want to kiss a boy in some dramatic way but I don't too, not when it doesn't feel right. It's never the way it should be, the way it looks in the movies. That sort of starlight romance doesn't exist for me."

"I don't know what to do and he's taller and stronger than me, and even though he's gentle, and important to me, I don't... I've never thought of him that that way... have I? And even though I could kiss him just because he's attractive, even though I could kiss him because I so badly want to feel wanted, wanted in a good way, not how the fans want me, not how everyone else wants me, even though I lean into it for a brief second, suddenly high on the feeling of being with someone who knows me the real me... I don't... I just... I can't."

"'I-i don't hate you,' I say, because I can't get out what I really want to say, which is that I love him, but not really in that way, I mean, not right now at least, and I want to help him, I don't want him to keep drinking all the time, but we're all dealing with shit, and I don't know anything about the world, and I thought the three of us would be friends forever. I can't deal with unsaid feelings. I don't want to know about them. I don't want to think about them."

"I don't know what I'm going to feel. They will be good feelings. That I know. I feel like I've come. To the end of a pilgrimage."

"'Nothing bad is happening to you.' 'Everything's bad.' ' Nothing bad is going to happen to you.' But I feel like it is. 'I am not afraid,' says Rowan softly. 'Remember?' 'I am not afraid,' I whisper, but the second half of that quote, I was born for this, swirls around my mind and makes me want to run. I can hear the rain outside. Wait- no. That's not rain. That's the girls."

" I'm already gone. I'm up above the three of us and gazing down at the three bodies and wondering who on earth decided that these three particularly flawed human beings deserve so much worship."

"Jimmy, who is the heart and centre of The Ark. Rowan and Lister revolve around him like the three make up a solar system."

"Rowan reaches out his hand towards her over the heads of the crowd, his hand and arms sneered with blood, but can't quite reach far enough, and the tableau of them both reaching their arms out towards each other reminds me of the Michael Angelo, The Creation of Adam, where God is reaching. Out to man."

"I need to be polite. I try to reach inside myself and pull out the Jimmy who smiles, says hello, how are you, would you like to take a picture, but I can't. He's gone; he's dead now."

"Wait. What? Jimmy Kaga-Ricci isn't going to stab me. Is he? He's Jimmy. He's sunshine. He's the dreamlike centre of the Ark, a little aloof but always shining, always lovely."

" Why am I scared of Jimmy? My Jimmy? I love Jimmy. I've loved Jimmy for years."

"'I love you,' I tell him. His expression drops. He looks down at the floor. 'You don't love me. You don't know me,' he says. 'Do you even know what love is?' Not the response I expected. Then again, I hadn't intended to tell him 'I love you' like I was reciting a romantic confession, or something pathetic like that. Because it's not a romantic confession. It's so much deeper than that. Love sometimes doesn't feel like the right word. The feelings I have for The Ark are what keep me going every day. They get me out of bed, even when some everything is shit and I'm feeling worthless. And it always is and I always am. If you think about it, it's really no wonder someone like Jimmy can't understand. When you have a life Like that, why would you need to cling on to something like a band? A celebrity? When you have a life where you have everything, where every day brings joy and passion, travelling around the world with your best friends, why would you need to spend your life thinking about anything apart from yourself? He'll never know what that's like. Needing desperately to think about anything apart from yourself. 'Do you?' I ask him."

"I just stop registering what's happening around me. It's not really happening to me. It's all just happening to this this body that people call Jimmy Kaga-Ricci. The body that people call Jimmy Kaga-Ricci isn't really me, anyway. Never has been. People look at Jimmy and they don't see me. They see Jimmy Kaga-Ricci. Smiley, dreaming musician, Jimmy Kaga-Ricci, not the actual Jimmy.

"'No one can do anything to surprise me any more.' He frowns. 'What- what d'you mean?' ' I'm not in here anymore,' I say, pointing up at my chest. 'This is all just happening to someone else.' 'Are you... okay?' I laugh at him again."

"I watch angel. She watches me back. I feel suddenly like she understands me more than any person I have ever met."

[eternitas]

So by now a good chunk of people have watched @quinton-reviews Video series (or as he calls it :'Mini series' lol) discussing Fred, iCarly, Victorious and now Sam and Cat.

One thing that just wouldnt let go of me (and I also made a comment on that) was a moment in iCarly he talked about in which Sam and Freddy as a couple have to deal with Freddies mum trying to seperate them. It all goes so far that Freddie finds out that Sam manipulated his application to a summer camp so he would be rejected.

I wont go into much more detail but lets say that Sams reason is not fully... Understandable here.

Now mind you I have only wwtched quintons review and never seen that particular episode myself, but their "fight" really bothered me because it seemed like a completely botched moment where they could've inserted a real character moment.

So. Here is my 5 minute first draft of "how it couldve gone" in scipt form

DISCLAIMER: I do not have a proper grasp on these characters so its likey that this is very out of character. But then again, the writers didn't do them that well either so-

[Scene: Sam and Freddy are upatairs in the iCarly studio, having an argument after Freddie found out that Sam is responsible for him not being accepted to the summer camp. They are alone in the room]

F: I want to know WHY sam!

S: because-- i was mad at you

F: for what?

S: remember when I asked you for the time and--

F: that can't be the reason.

S: it is!

F: Sam, tell me the truth right now or I am leaving!

S: no wait! Wait, please don't go-

F: ...

[Freddy is taken aback by her sudden display of panick and it knocks him out of his own anger. He becomes soft]

F: Sam. Please tell me why you did that. I want to understand.

S: because--- i don't want you to go.

F: but WHY

S: because I need you.

F: need me how?

S: I dont know! It's... Easier with you. Everything is. Like it is with Carly but different. You make things better.

[She sits down defeated and lets her head hang. Freddy hesitates then sits down next to her]

F: Like Carly?

S: yeah but differently. She makes things less awful and problems less.... Bad. She gives me a place I can call home. And you're giving me something like that.

F: being with me grounds you

S: yeah that.

F: ...

S: Please don't leave me.

[ Sam tears up and her voice breaks. Freddy pulls her close so she can lean onto him]

F: I'm still mad. I get now why you did that, but that doesnt mean that I will just forgive you and forget this. I really wanted to get into that summercamp.

S: I know.

F: It's not just a camp I really want to go to. I'd get some space from my mum.

[Sam sits up and faces Freddy with realisation.]

F: I could've had a summer without her constantly being around me. Not that she wouldn't try to still visit and call all the time. But that's not an option anymore.

S: I--- I didn't know.

F: yeah. why didn't you talk to me?

S: because! ... I didn't want you to see me as clingy. we weren't dating and I didn't want you to know what you mean to me.

F: but if we cant talk to each other then maybe we don't even have a friendship we can rely on!

[It grows quiet and freedy stands up. Sam tries to reach for him to sit back down but he manages to escape her.]

F: I'll go get Carly for you.

S: Freddy.

F: You seem to have no trouble talking to her.

S: Freddy!

[Carly comes in and stops in her tracks looking from freddy to sam and back]

F: I'll be going.

C: Freddy-

F: I'll text you. Take care of Sam.

[Freddy leaves without being stopped and Sam tears up again before anger gets to her and she starts to become violent in frustration.]

C: Sam! stop it!

[Carly manages to wrangle Sam away from her destruction and hugs her while Sam breaks into sobs and clings to Carly.

Black]

----

And then we get a full second episode of sam and freddie being awkward with each other and trying to mend their relationship.

[kierancampire]

I've been in and out of therapy basically all my life, it's been a very long time. And this has been the longest I have gone without it, and sometimes I wanna go back, I wanna go back to Jayne even, she was one of the best therapists I had. But this is why I don't. It's these memories. This didn't happen just this once, there were so many bad situations I was in that Jayne told me I should just be grateful for something no matter how I was treated, she got angry at me for using simple terms, she got angry at me for using certain words, she got angry at me for naming things, she got angry at me if she thought I was self-diagnosing. There was so much of it.

Like I have had a life long condition where I can't fall asleep, stay asleep, and will wake up early, and it is only marginally helped by heavy meds. A whole life time of being unable to sleep. Have I ever been diagnosed with insomnia? No. But it sure as shit is clear I have it. 28 years of being unable to sleep. Yet Jayne got mad any time I called it that. She got angry at me for using terms like "agoraphobia", when not only is that a basic term many people know, but I did bring this up to her once, you can't expect someone to be in and out of therapy for around 15 years, yet not pick up on any therapy things. Like Jayne even commented herself when I first started seeing her that I was masking with therapy and giving her the therapy side of things, so she knew herself and once commented on how I picked up therapy terms and techniques and would use them to my advantage, yet later on I suddenly wasn't meant to know any of this stuff?

But it really was this main issue. It didn't matter how mum treated me, I had to be grateful she gave me life, a home, and other things. It didn't matter that Kirsty was abusive, it was a really bad coercive control relationship, and everything she put me through, I had to be grateful she gave me a home and a job (which to stress, at separate points in my time seeing her she did tell me to be grateful to mum and Kirsty, even knowing what was going on). It didn't matter the toll Swan took on me, which I still haven't recovered from, the hell they put me through the years, the state of my flat, the fact I was freezing to death in winter, didn't have functioning doors and windows, my flat was over run by mould, the extreme mental and physical toll this all took on me, they gave me a form of a home and I should just shut up and be grateful.

But then in that same breath, Jayne spent forever working on me saying no, standing up for myself, that I deserved better, that I deserved kindness, respect, the bare basics. Yet any time I did what she told me, she got mad at me and told me I don't deserve better, I should just be grateful for what I have. I don't deserve an apology for bad treatment, I should just be grateful for what I have. I shouldn't stand up for myself, I should just be grateful for what I have. Even if that was this flat or an abusive relationship. I left so many sessions crying and angry. Sometimes a part of me feels I need it, and I want to see her, I knew her for years, we had so many shared moments that were great, and outside of 3 family members, Jayne was the only other person I got to see in life, losing her made me lose 1/4 of the people in my life. But I just feel her messages became harmful, she was fighting me, weighing me down, and hurting me when I really didn't need that, and frankly she was trying to stop me from growing.

Just to quickly vent about another thing. I remember one week I went to see her, I was in such a bad state she called my doctors under a crises case, she was that concerned about me and my welfare, that was the first time she'd ever done that, which given everything I went through while seeing her, that shows how bad things were. Then literally the very next week, all of a sudden she was trying to pressure me into working, saying I was fit and stable enough for a job, my life was at that point I needed to work, and would not stop hounding me on it. This is without getting into what started this was me opening up to her how everyone was pressuring me to work at the time, and the severe distress that was causing me on top of everything else I was going through. Which again wasn't a one time thing, Jayne did that multiple times where I opened up to her about a way people were upsetting me, then she'd instantly do it herself. But yes, how do I, in the span of one week, go from incredibly unstable crises case, to work ready and being stable/secure for a job? In one week?

[thoughtsofafruit]

Can we please talk about grief?

Tw: Grief, parent loss, mentions of mental health issues

Look, I'm starting to see more accurate representations of grief in media but so often is shown in such an unrealistic way that makes my skin crawl and sometimes that bad representation makes me feel like I'm in the wrong for how I've experienced grief.

My mum died when I was five. It sucked. It still sucks. It will always suck. I know that, anyone who has a similar experience knows that. Yet sometimes I'll pick up a book and boom parent dies, completely over it in three days or a week or some insane shit.

I'm eighteen now. I spent my entire time in school after my mum died being bullied in some form or another. I had to move schools in the middle of the school year, I lost my closest friends, and every single thing in my life was different. The only thing that has actually felt consistent in that entire time is grief.

In books, grief is something you can get over, something that fades. In real life its not.

I'll be going about my day and suddenly I'm bombarded with this deep longing for my mum. It happens for no reason, it happens when I see happy families, it happens all the time, and its been happening for the last fourteen years.

I'm writing all this out right now because I was hit by that sudden and dreaded thought, 'what would my mum think of me now?' And I need a place to vent about grief. What better than the black hole of the Internet?

I was once told 'you need to get over it' in reference to my grief for my mum. And to that I say, fuck you, you heartless bitch.

Grief doesn't go away. It stays, it hovers around the edges. You get better at dealing with it, sure, but its still there. You don't just stop missing someone who you had for so long and was suddenly gone from your life.

Grief shows in strange ways. Some of my most common thoughts are

Would she be proud of me?

What would she think of me?

Am I living up to her expectations?

Am I too much like her?

Am I the kid she wanted me to be?

These thoughts suck.

When your young and your mum is freshly dead and everyone around you is still mourning and just as hurt they'll tell you she'd be proud they'll tell you she'd love you. But when your 18 and trying your damn fucking hardest to find a way to live and still be yourself, no one tells you those things.

Grief haunts. Grief is the ghost in the corner of the room and grief is the monster stalking you.

You learn to live with you, you learn to move on around it. But you're never the same.

I broke at five, and I've never been me since. I'm still me, just not the me i would be if my mum was still alive.

That side if grief is never shown in media and it fucking sucks. I'm never gonna pick up a book with a character whose parents are dead and read a scene that so perfectly encapsulates that pain. That sudden, 'god what would she think of me now?'. That side of grief is so often left behind.

I've been to a grief counciling sort of thing and a lot of it was geared to getting over grief not learning to life with it. This course was specially aimed at kids who lost a parent. Imagine that, being young, clearly depressed and you're sent to a place for grief even though your mental health issues aren't connected to the grief, not anymore, and every last thing is aimed at getting over it.

They, being my school guidance team, sent me there to help and it made it worse! Because there i was, eight, nine, years after my mum had died nkt yet over it and all these people around me whose parents had more recently and all the advice was geated towards getting over it.

Grief isn't something you get over! And I'm fucking sick of it being portrait that way. My grief is part of me now, I've learned to live with it.

Sure, sometimes ill still cry myself ti sleep missing my mum. But thats fine because I was five and my mum was my closest person and she was ripped from me. One day I had here, the next I didn't. I'm going ti spend the rest of my life missing her. And that is ok. It is so ok.

In short, I'm yet to see grief shown in media in an accurate way, I'm yet to receive grief counseling that isn't about getting over it, and I'm yet to see other people talk about how grief actually is for them.

[annaphoenix1994]

Ch.112 - The Call

Previous Chapter - Masterlist 1; Masterlist 2 - Next Chapter

Kiera receives a call from the last person she'd expect...

This is a very short chapter and I'm sorry! I may come back and add to it later, but I've been compiling many ideas to keep adding to this story so that I don't have to wait until the new game comes out in November and I'm sure you guys wouldn't want to wait until November for an update!

*

"I really don't want to leave," Kiera sighed once they stepped into the airport terminal towards the waiting area. "I had such a great time. I'm definitely glad you didn't give me any hints about the surprise!" 

"I'm glad, love. You looked stunning wearing that dress." 

"I can say the same about you, babe. You pulled off looking good in that suit. Too bad we can't stay in that era forever." 

"I'm sure it was worse than what it is now." 

Once they took their seats to wait on their next flight, Kiera crossed her legs while Simon's left hand rested on her knee, again bouncing his foot impatiently while he kept a stark eye on the entrance and exit points of the terminal. "Uh oh," Kiera giggled, breaking Simon out of his protective glance and pulling her phone from her purse. "Baler is calling me." 

"Brace yourself for a heap of trouble," Simon grumbled. "Your mum has been calling us twice a day since we've left telling us about the twins, but when that lad calls, he's either up to something or is testing the water..." 

"He might just be calling because he misses us!" She rolled her eyes after Simon shot her a glare that said the teen was lying. 

"He's a teenager. The last thing on his mind is calling his parents who are on their honeymoon just to ask how they are. He's probably sleeping in our bed, eating all of my favorite snack cakes for when I want to cheat on my diet, drinking all of your Dr. Pepper, and feeding Kimber what he doesn't eat." 

Kiera couldn't help but laugh, "I thought you were quitting eating those cakes altogether?" 

"I am... Once they're all gone. I only eat one once a week." 

"Yeah," She scoffed. "One pack! Which has two cakes in the pack!"

"I can't help there's two in the pack!" 

"I know, Simon. It's okay to have a favorite cheat food for someone as strict on yourself like you are." 

"Have to stay in shape for my job." 

"Yeah, and when you eventually deploy again," She frowned at the thought, looking down at her lap to answer her ringing phone. "Hello?" 

"Momma, when are you coming home?" 

"Depends on what you're about to tell me," Kiera replied, arching her brow and putting him on speaker. "Is everything okay?" 

"Well," Baler huffed. "Everything is fine here at home, but my ego isn't okay." 

"Bloody hell." Simon scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

"What happened?" 

"So, Nana couldn't pick me up from school today because she was still stuck at the doctor's office, so she asked Johnny to come and pick me up..." 

"Okay? What's the problem with that?" 

"Well... He couldn't find the keys to his car at first and - you know how they've been staying at the house with me on the weekends?-"

"They have their own house to stay in!" Simon barked, startled, ignoring the breathy laugh Baler let out at his father's sudden rise of blood pressure. 

"Take me off speaker, mom... Dad's going to get mad." 

"Okay," Kiera giggled, not doing as he requested because she too was eager to see how Simon was going to react with whatever it was that Baler was about to inform them on. "Alright, you're off speaker." 

"Good. Anyway, Teeter was going to take your truck like you told her she could, but the truck needed diesel and DEF and she didn't have time to run to the store, so-"

"Don't fucking tell me they took my car." Simon muttered quietly. 

"-She gave Johnny the keys to dad's car." 

"Oh... Is that all that happened?" 

"No, being picked up in a Hellcat definitely didn't hurt my ego," Baler laughed. "It's what Johnny did when he picked me up that did." 

"What did he do?" 

"I didn't know it was him at first until I saw my name on that big ass - sorry - big ole card that's supposed to go on the dashboard and at first I got excited because I thought it was dad coming to pick me up and you were going to surprise me by coming home early, but anyway Johnny started blasting that stupid bagpipe song or whatever it was at max volume yelling "SCOTLAND FOREVER! SCOTLAND KNOWS WHAT TIME IT IS!" out the window like he's some drunk idiot and wouldn't even turn it down after I got in the car. I saw his phone too, so I know he was taking a video to probably send it to dad later to piss him off. And he was shouting something like "GIVE EM STEEL LADS!" and I'm emotionally vulnerable until you come home."

Kiera couldn't help but laugh at the imagined scenario, looking over at Simon to see his face beet red. Even though she knew he was livid, she knew he'd be laughing about it later. Especially if they were to somehow see the video from Johnny himself. 

(Author's Note: Here is the video in question to give you a full picture ;) Please giggle and enjoy it like I did because it's 100% accurate! I also couldn't find it on YouTube, so I'll have to copy the link to the video here so you can open it on TikTok or your Safari browser: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8Fejgkk/

"I'm sorry, baby," Kiera giggled. "Did he at least get you home safe and sound?" 

"Yes. He didn't even scratch dad's car and I'm surprised." 

"He better be glad he didn't, lad." Simon scoffed. 

"Mom! I thought you took me off speaker!" 

"Um, I did! Simon can just hear really well!" 

"Yeah, right. When are you coming home?" 

"We're at the airport now." Simon grumbled. 

"That doesn't tell me anything." 

"Love, he's getting his attitude from you. You should do something about that." He murmured with a playful glare. 

"Maybe it's a good thing," She retorted. "We're at the airport in Manchester. We were supposed to fly home yesterday because our cruise got cancelled, so we stayed the night in a hotel and are taking the first flight back to the States. We're going to land in Nashville and stay a night before getting on another flight that takes us to Cody." 

"Okay." 

"Are you at the house or with your Nana?" 

"I'm at Nana's. It's not a far walk," He snickered.

"How're your brother and sister?" 

"They're good. Never caused any problems since you two left. I think Evie said dada at one point, but she's been quiet ever since."

"She did??" Simon questioned, his heart thudding with excitement.

"That's what Nana was sayin'. I'm just laying on the couch while she's making dinner-"

"Why don't you go and help her?" Simon scoffed. 

"Alright. Oh, hold on. Someone's knocking on the door. I'll get it, Nana!" They heard Baler exclaim from the other side of the phone. "Um... Hello?" 

"Hello," The sound of a woman replied back. "Do you know where I can find your mother?"

Kiera's brows furrowed at the conversation she and Simon were both hearing from the other side of the phone. 

"May I ask who you are?"

"Tell her that Kate from Butte came by to see her. I was in town and wanted to catch up." 

"Um... Okay, I'll tell her," Baler spoke before directing his attention to Kiera on the other side of the phone after the mysterious middle-aged woman dismissed herself from the porch and back towards her car, Baler keeping a confused eye on her from the window after he had shut and locked the door. "Momma, some lady from butt came to see you." 

"From where?" 

"Butt - you know, that town in Montana?" 

"You mean Butte?" She breathed a laugh. "I don't know anyone from Butte, honey." 

"Well, she sure knows you," Baler scoffed. "Said her name was Kate." 

Kiera's breathing halted briefly, immediately looking at Simon who shared the same expression as her. Why didn't she call me? "Okay." 

"She's still sitting in her car. Want me to take the phone to her?" 

"No, that's fine. I'll call her. Our flight is boarding now. I'll call you when I can, okay?" 

"Okay, momma. Be careful. I love you. Tell dad I said I loved him too." 

"Love you too." Simon answered, hearing him as clear as day since he was on speaker. 

He looked at Kiera with a concerned gaze, watching her end her call with Baler before finding Kate's phone number. "Put it on speaker." 

"I can't if it's classified, Simon," She sighed before reaching into her purse to pull out a pair of AirPods from their case. "Here, put one in your ear and I'll put the other in mine. Just don't say anything." 

"Okay, love."

They both heard the phone ring roughly four times before she answered, "Kiera, I see word travels fast when I come to visit." She chuckled. 

"Was it just a visit, though?" 

"I wish I could say it was," She sighed. "I had forgotten you were still on your honeymoon when I pulled up to your house and realized that you weren't home with your truck and car sitting in the driveway. Is there any way you could meet me in Jackson Hole after you get back?" 

"Why Jackson Hole? Why not meet me at the ranch?"

"With what I'm about to tell you doesn't need to be said on your ranch." 

[thegalaxyonherlips]

Imma do this here because I don't love the attitude that because I can hide behind the comments, it won't cause an issue. First - I am allowed to dislike something you like, end of. Nevermind my 2014 attitude. How about yours. This episode had flaws. I'm allowed to call that out and I'm allowed to point to the fact the flaws come from Moffat's writing style and his understanding of female characters. And Davies is not innocent here - Ruby's is his, and it's disappointing.

Ah amazing, so because the writer tells me they're absolute besties without showing me it, that makes it good writing, yeah?

Because what I've seen so far is not much in defence of building a good character here. I have no idea what her motivations really are. I have no idea what her internal conflict is. I have no idea what means anything to her or what her life was really like before the doctor. I know her circumstances, I know her mother (barely, other than she's a foster mum and lives with gran). I know that the plot revolves around her being born (great, this plot again, went down so well the last time).

We're not even given drip feeds of it. It feels like they wanted to skip the part that makes them good characters. By removing the building of that relationship, they've just jumped to the "good part," the plot. Also six months? Sorry, did they not just say that was her first planet? Seems odd to happen six months in, but okay.

Also, as I've pointed out before, I find Ruby jarring. I don't love the actress' choices here. I think the way her dialogue is written is entirely too expositional and has no emotional impact on the story as a whole. I think that a couple of scenes have been very wooden and pull me out of immersion in the world.

I don't like Ruby throwing herself at a bomb, because as the audience we're also implicated in this relationship here. And what we've seen is very little to convince me this was a worthy thing to do. I don't give a damn that they told me they're friends, what they've shown me is that she plays piano and jumps at ropes and at bombs. Oh, and that he suspects something up with her and keeps her around almost like a freakshow to gawk at and 'figure out'. There is nothing stand out here about the character itself.

Also, lol at the 2014 pseudofeminism comment. Sorry, when did it become a bad thing to critique stories and consider what could've been better? Did my degree become obsolete all of a sudden because someone on tumblr didn't like my opinion? Did my opinion become any less valid because someone disagrees? Didn't think so.

Also, I am allowed to hold someone accountable for the shit they have said and written - flaws =/= consistent and inaccurate portrayals of women. I am also allowed to say that I don't like the character, I think she sucks. Sorry!

Edit: I removed the other person's comment from the post because actually they were just doing as I was and expressing an opinion without malice or insult. I am sorry to include them in this conversation. They were doing nothing wrong. However, the original post still stands as I suspect that calling my opinion "2014 pseudofeminism" was probably used to devalue my opinion and as an insult rather than a constructive criticism of what I have been saying for two weeks.

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [one] // wanda maximoff

summary: when you're paired with the most popular girl in your grade for Chemistry class, you definitely don't expect to start liking her like that...

warning/s: none i don't think??

author's note: okay so i have a ton of requests to work through but i got sidetracked and before i knew it, five parts of this imagine were written.

It's based off the song 'Teenage Dirtbag' and idk, i thought it was cute to write! Who doesn't love the popular girl!wanda and loner!reader concept?

Here’s a cover of the song to listen to because i really liked it and a girl sings it so it immediately made the song 10x more gay, just how i like it 🥰

masterlist | wattpad | part two | part three | part four | part five

"Are you all comfortable?"

The class stayed silent, watching our Chemistry teacher, Mr. Hale, as he looked to everyone with a raised brow.

"You all like who you're sat with?" he asked again, as if expecting an actual response from someone.

I exchanged questioning glances with my best friend, Y/BF/N, who was sat beside me. It was the first day back in Chemistry class of our final year of high school and we were just waiting to begin.

"Anyone?" he asked, looking around.

"Yeah," a few students mumbled in response so we could move on.

He clapped his hands together. "Great! Well, don't get too comfortable because I made a seating chart."

A chorus of groans erupted from the class, including from me and Y/BF/N. Every other class had successfully managed to not give us a seating chart. I'd heard that Mr. Hale was an awkward teacher who hated students (ironically), but I didn't think he'd stoop so low as to pair us with students who weren't our friends. These new seats were also our partners for the rest of the year and were non-negotiable, so any projects or work we did would have to be with our seat buddy. Fun.

Students began to shuffle to their newly-assigned seats reluctantly as Mr. Hale read out the chart. When Y/BF/N left my side, I frowned dramatically, waving goodbye to him.

"Wanda Maximoff, you're now partners with Y/N Y/L/N," said Mr. Hale, making me look up at the mention of my name.

I didn't get chance to register what he'd said as the aforementioned girl soon approached me, settling her bag on the table beside me. I looked up and saw Wanda Maximoff smiling my way before taking a seat on the stool.

Huh. Wanda Maximoff. She was one of the most popular girls in our grade. Everybody loved her, either wanting to be friends with her, be with her or be her. I'd personally never crossed paths with her apart from the few classes we shared. She seemed nice enough, but I guess I had preconceived notions of what she was like since she'd made the very poor decision to date the most obnoxious guy ever. Anyone making decisions that terrible definitely had a flaw.

She had a twin brother, Pietro, who was also in our grade and played on the football team alongside her boyfriend. Her parents were good friends with mine, through mutual friends, I think, as I recalled my mum mentioning 'Mrs. Maximoff's boy' or 'Mrs. Maximoff's girl'. And I remembered when her family moved into our town back in second grade.

Admittedly, Wanda was the star of the show back then, too. We were only kids, but child Y/N wasn't blind. She was the first girl I'd crushed on, an innocent child crush – the crush that made me realise I liked girls. Apart from that, and the fact that she had a locker behind me in the hallway, I never really thought about her.

I glanced behind me, catching Y/BF/N's gaze across the room as he sat beside some other kid. He frowned, implying he wished we were partners, and I knew just how he felt.

Once Mr. Hale finished assigning seats, he gave us five minutes to get to know our new partners as he struggled to find the powerpoint for today's class. If there was anything worse than getting assigned seats, it was ice breakers.

"Er, well, hi," Wanda greeted, turning to face me. Green eyes sparkled brightly behind a friendly smile. "I'm Wanda. But, I mean, we already know each other."

"That we do," I said with a nod, returning her smile. "How're you doing? Your summer go well?"

She ran a hand through her hair, adjusting herself so she was comfortable on her stool. And as she did, a waft of her perfume washed over me and I blinked, trying to ignore how nice it smelled. Floral. Subtle. It suited her.

"Good, yeah," she answered with a nod. "Could have gone on longer for all I care."

I chuckled. "I feel that. I'm definitely not ready to be back."

"Right?" she said with raised brows. "It's gonna take a while to get back into routine, that's for sure. But I guess I did miss seeing my friends everyday."

I hummed in agreement, eyes flickering to Mr. Hale as he attempted to tackle the oncoming stream of animations on his powerpoint. I tried not to laugh as I looked back to Wanda, who clearly noticed the same thing as me and stifled a smile.

"Have you had Mr. Hale before?" I asked, nodding his way.

She shook her head. "Nope. You?"

"Never."

"Sucks that he makes seating charts," she said with a sigh, before realising what she said and looking to me with panicked eyes. "Not that I don't like you or anything–!"

"It's fine, I get it," I cut her off with an amused smile. "I wanted to sit with my friend, too."

She breathed out quietly, a hint of relief in her eyes, and scrunched her nose with an apologetic smile. Okay, yeah, maybe that was kind of cute. Older Y/N wasn't blind either. Wanda Maximoff was beautiful, with long brunette locks and matching hazel eyes that seemed to change from blue to green to brown in a kaleidoscope of colour. A winning smile and soothing voice was enough for anyone to fall for her unintentional charm, but it was purely admiration. Everyone pretty much had a mild crush on her, you'd be stupid not to.

"If we're gonna be working together, d'you wanna get the whole awkward number exchange out the way now?" she asked, half joking, half not.

"I– er– sure," I stumbled out rather carelessly, before cringing internally. Where did that come from?

Thankfully, she didn't seem to pick up on it (or just saved me the embarrassment of acknowledging it) and was already writing her number on a slip of paper. Sliding it my way, she capped her pen and gave me her signature smile.

"Thanks," I said with a nod, accepting the paper and pocketing it. "Can't wait to start those lovely science projects we've got coming up!"

She let out a quiet laugh at my sarcasm. "It'll be fine. You're not dumb, right? So, we'll be fine."

"Can't promise you that," I joked, making her roll her eyes playfully.

"Maybe if we–"

But she was cut off when Mr. Hale spoke up loudly, interrupting everyone's conversations.

"Five minutes are up, let's begin!"

I wondered if everyone was thinking the same thing as me – that was not five minutes.

"So it begins...," I mumbled to myself, facing forward.

Wanda breathed out, a stifled laugh, probably having heard my comment, and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe I judged her too harshly. She wasn't actually that bad.

—

Since being paired with Wanda, I was surprised by how much she'd made an effort to befriend me outside of class. We'd always been back to back with our lockers though not quite speaking, but since becoming Chemistry partners, she'd wish me a good morning if she caught me, or greet me briefly as we collected our books.

She didn't have to, but I could see why everybody liked her now. She was just genuinely nice. Due to circumstance, we'd become partners, but rather than leaving it at that, she made a genuine effort to befriend me. And not even just me, but also Y/BF/N, who was at the locker next to mine. He was as surprised as I was, expecting Wanda to mind her own business as we weren't exactly in the same social circles.

This was, I guess you could say, the start of our friendship. And it was a good one at that. I grew to learn how funny she was, how much she loved her brother, the passion she had for art and painting... she was a wonderful person. Which is why I didn't understand why she was with her boyfriend, Nate. He was a grade-A dick and everything Wanda wasn't. How were they a thing?

It sounds like I'm being a bitch and judgemental, but he really is the worst. The few unfortunate times I shared a class with him or caught sight of him around school, he was causing some sort of trouble with the teachers or picking on students in a way that made it seem like a joke but everybody knew it wasn't.

For example, there was a time when Wanda and I were studying for an upcoming Chemistry test we had. We decided to just help each other study since we already worked together in class, so knew we could motivate each other to actually put in the work. It was, maybe, the fourth studying session we had, and I was going over some notes when I felt her eyes watching me.

"You need a hand?" I asked, unable to take the staring any longer. I looked up at her, quirking a brow.

She seemed to fall out of her daydream and straightened up, eyes flickering to mine. "Huh?"

I gave her an awkward smile, unable to maintain her gaze. "You're staring."

She didn't seem fazed as I called her out, instead leaning back in her seat and continuing to study me curiously.

"Did you do something different with your hair?"

Subconsciously reaching for my hair, I straightened up my ponytail and shook my head. "No...?"

She chewed on her lip, saying after a pause, "You tied it up. You usually leave it out."

Did I? I wasn't sure. I just knew that her noticing something like that made me feel self conscious all of a sudden.

"It looks good," she decided, before offering up a small smile. "You should do it like that more often."

Quickly, I felt warm. Was it stuffy in here or was it just me? God, compliments already made me feel stupid. And compliments from pretty girls made me feel ten times that. It didn't help that she was watching me with an endearing expression, making me focus on my book before me.

"Thanks," I got out quickly. "I– yeah."

Her smile widened before she looked back down to her own book. Suddenly, I became acutely aware of the way her leg brushed up against mine under the table.

Thankfully, the strange fuzzy feeling following her compliment faded and we were able to get back to work without her tuning out again. As we were going over each other's practice questions, an annoying voice shouted from across the library.

"Wanda, head's up!"

"Hey, no talking in the library!" a librarian hissed at the voice.

Wanda and I looked up just in time for a football to smack me in the side of the head. I didn't even see it coming until I felt the thing slap my head, giving me an instant urge to strangle whoever threw it.

"Fuck," I cursed, holding my head and closing my eyes to breathe through the pain.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Wanda's voice made me open my eyes and I saw her leaning forward, hand resting on my shoulder and the other on top of mine that was clutching my head.

"Been better," I admitted, trying to make light of the situation because as angry as I was at the idiot who threw it, I was also embarrassed because it hit me.

Wanda seemed concerned as she gently pulled me hand away, not letting go as she got a better look at the side of my face which I was sure was burning red. At least that's what it felt like.

"Shit, I'm so sorry."

I looked up and saw none other than Nate Green, Wanda's boyfriend, hovering and stifling a laugh as he looked at me. He had his stupid varsity jacket on and I was tempted to strangle him with it.

"I thought Wanda would catch it," he explained stupidly, before moving around the desk to collect his football.

Breathing out through gritted teeth, I pulled away from Wanda and nodded reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Just need an ice pack."

"You're such an idiot, Nate!" Wanda snapped, looking to him with a glare. "You need to watch what you're doing!"

He smiled sheepishly, making me roll my eyes and clench my jaw at the heat on the right side of my face. Fuck, that really hurt.

"What did you want?" Wanda asked him with a quirked brow. She definitely wasn't impressed. I'd hate to ever be on the wrong side of that condescending glare.

"I thought we could go out," he said like it was that simple.

"I'm studying," she quipped with crossed arms.

"I'm happy to wait," he said, toying with the ball in his hands.

Knowing I definitely didn't want that, I closed my books and said, "It's cool. You guys go. I think we're done here anyway."

Nate grinned. "See? S'all good."

Wanda ignored him and looked to me with worried eyes. "Y/N, are you sure?"

"You know your stuff," I said, referring to the work. "You'll be fine in the test. I'm sure."

I offered her a small, forced smile, before standing up to pack my bag. She did the same, beginning to pack her own things, but her eyes kept flittering towards me.

"D'you want me to go to the nurse's office with you?" she asked, shame laced in her voice.

"It's fine, I'll be fine," I said, hurrying up with my actions so I could just get out of here whilst I still had (some of) my dignity left. "See you in class tomorrow."

She nodded, sending a guilty smile my way. "See you tomorrow, Y/N."

Without giving either of them a look, I shouldered my backpack and left the library. Just another reminder of why Nate Green was literally the worst person ever.

—

Liking Wanda as more than a friend wasn't something that happened for a while if I'm being honest. I guess I started to enjoy her presence more and more the longer we spent time together.

I'd come to appreciate it whenever she'd say something completely out of the blue that made no sense whatsoever, or whenever she'd laugh at something I'd said that was arguably not funny but she didn't want to make me feel bad, or even whenever I teased her about something stupid she did, resulting in her doing that cute little nose scrunch she did. But I didn't think of it as liking her, more just a randomly-formed friendship that I was glad to have.

Maybe it was this misinterpretation that didn't make me see how I was acting around her, such as the time I was in the dinner queue at lunch when I realised she was stood behind me.

"Oh, hey, Y/N," she said when she noticed it was me in front of her. Her usual bright, friendly smile was on her lips as she looked to me. "You good?"

I nodded, returning her smile. "Yeah. Just getting some doughnuts for Y/BF/N and I. You?"

"Same," she said, before nudging the guy next to her, who I recognised as her brother. "Pietro and I thought we'd treat ourselves."

At the mention of his name, Pietro looked down to his sister before his gaze fell on me. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips as he put out his hand.

"Pietro Maximoff," he introduced. "You must be the Chemistry partner, Y/N, right?"

I raised my eyebrows with surprise as I shook his hand. "You, er, know who I am?"

He glanced at his sister with a cheeky smile. Wanda was avoiding both of our gazes, her cheeks dusting pink.

Clearly saving face for Wanda, he said, "We've been in the same grade since kids, right? 'Course I do."

Despite the truth to his words, something told me that wasn't how he knew who I was. Especially since I was sure I'd never spoken to him in my life. But, to save Wanda the embarrassment of clearly having spoken of me at home, I nodded to Pietro.

"Right," I agreed with an amused smile. "Duh."

I moved down the queue and grabbed two doughnuts from the display, putting them in two separate paper bags.

"Dibs the last one!" Pietro exclaimed as soon as I returned the clippers to the display. He reached around his sister immaturely and bagged the last doughnut.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You know I can ask for more, right?"

Pietro grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Go on then."

The two were twins, but they couldn't have been more different. I simply revelled in their interaction, finding it adorable.

Wanda did as she said, asking the dinner lady if there were any more doughnuts in the back. Unfortunately for her, those were the last for the day, making Pietro laugh as Wanda pouted.

"Sucks to be you," he teased her, as I paid for mine and Y/BF/N's doughnuts.

"I hate you," she mumbled playfully, but I saw the disappointment in her eyes as he lovingly but annoyingly waved his bag before her eyes.

Without even thinking much of it, I held out one of the bags in my hand. "Here. You can have mine."

Wanda looked to me with surprise. "Are you sure? I can live without a doughnut, if that's what you're thinking."

I chuckled, grabbing her hand and making her take it. "It's okay. I wasn't in the mood anyway."

Plus, you look better when you're smiling and not pouting, I added in my head.

She accepted the bag reluctantly. "I– thanks. At least let me pay for it–"

"It's just a doughnut, Wanda," I teased, before nodding her way. "See you later."

Leaving her and Pietro to it, I headed back to the table Y/BF/N was sat at and took a seat opposite him before giving him his doughnut.

"Sweet," he said, quickly opening the bag before realising I didn't have one. "Where's yours?"

Over his shoulder, I saw Wanda and Pietro taking a seat at their lunch table, doughnuts in hand and a heartwarming smile on Wanda's lips.

"They ran out," I answered Y/BF/N. "Wasn't in the mood anyway. Enjoy."

He shrugged before digging in. I'd like to say I didn't spare glances in Wanda's direction every now and then for the rest of the lunch hour, but I'd be lying if I did.

—

I'm in the art department. You okay to bring it here?

I read over the text Wanda sent me before shooting her an 'okay' and heading to the Art department. I'd grabbed her notebook in class earlier on, only realising as I was studying with Y/BF/N in the library and pulled out an extra one, so I was going to give it her back.

I guess, when you realise you like someone, it comes randomly, suddenly, without warning. Liking someone isn't instant, it's constant and gradual and subconscious. I guess I'd been falling for Wanda for a while, without even realising, but today was the day I acknowledged that fact.

The Art department wasn't somewhere I frequented regularly – give me a paint and brushes and I'd probably present you with a finger painting – but it was definitely worth the visit. Art pieces from current and past students were hung on the walls, a mural of the school was spray painted on another, and sculptures stood around. The whole department brought a smile to anyone's face with its bright colours and open space – I could see why Art students always hung out here, Wanda included.

Speaking of Wanda, I found her in one of the classrooms sat at a stool in front of a series of canvasses. The room had a few other Art students littered around, working on their own pieces during their lunch period, otherwise it was empty.

"Hey," I called, getting her attention as I approached her.

She followed my voice and straightened up with a cheery smile. "Y/N, hey. Thanks for coming. I'm working on my Art project, so I couldn't pull myself away."

I waved my hand dismissively, joining her side. "It's all good, don't worry." My eyes wandered to the series of canvases on easels she was working on and widened. "Holy shit, these are so good."

Three unfinished hyperrealistic portraits of people were before us, one whom I recognised as Pietro. The paintings were so detailed, despite their medium-size, and I couldn't imagine how long they must have taken.

"You think?" she asked, glancing between them. "I think I messed up the nose here." She pointed with the back end of her paintbrush to the nose of Pietro. "It's a bit bent."

I almost laughed as I looked to her with disbelief. "Are you kidding? Wanda, these are amazing. How did you even do this?"

She looked down bashfully, a nervous smile on her lips. "I don't know. It's for a project. I chose to do family portraits." She pointed to each one as she said, "My mum, my dad and my brother."

I was in awe of her talent, jaw dropped with amazement still. I always knew she was an artist, but I'd never actually seen her work. I was starting to wish I'd come here a lot sooner.

"So, you got my notebook?" she asked, pulling me back into reality.

I looked away from the paintings reluctantly before getting her notebook from my bag and holding it out for her. As she accepted it, she must have forgotten she was holding her paintbrush as the tip brushed my wrist, leaving a swipe of red there.

"Oh, my bad," she said with a laugh, before setting her notebook and brush down and grabbing a paper towel from beside her.

Wetting it with water from her bottle, she pressed it to my wrist and swiped the paint away. It was such a mundane action, but the way her fingers gently held my wrist and emanated a warmth only she seemed to carry sent shivers down my spine.

I glanced up at her, letting her do it, and noticed the swipe of paint she had across her cheek, as if she'd touched her face without realising.

Now that I paid attention, I noticed how cute she looked in her Art getup. An old, oversized shirt covered in paint was being worn to cover her clothes, sleeves loosely rolled up to her elbows. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, but her baby hairs framed her forehead adorably.

When her hair wasn't in her face, her eyes only seemed more intense, glistening with excitement and happiness. I almost forgot to breathe when they met mine briefly, a hint of embarrassment there from when cleaning me up. She was in her element here and it made sense to me now.

I knew I'd fallen for her.

—

"You don't get it," I was saying to Y/BF/N as we hung about the school gym, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson. "It's bad. I like her. Like, like like her."

Y/BF/N laughed, clapping me on the back with pity. "You're screwed."

I frowned. "I know."

As he stretched for class, he continued, "I mean, I get it, I do. She's super nice. Pretty. And you guys seem to get on."

I chewed on my lower lip worriedly.

He gave me a knowing look. "There's one problem though."

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "I know, I know. She's got that dick of a boyfriend."

He chuckled. "That's one way to put it."

I sighed, crossing my arms with annoyance. Since realising I liked Wanda as a little more than a friend, things weren't going well for me. Whenever we worked together, I'd forget what I was thinking because I was too busy admiring her side profile or getting lost in her eyes. If she spoke about the work, told a joke or was simply speaking her thoughts aloud, I'd focus on every little thing she was saying, knowing I could listen to her speak all day. It was bad, but thankfully I hadn't stumbled over my words or made a total fool of myself in front of her. I was determined to not let it get that far.

My eyes wandered around the gym as Y/BF/N tried to give me advice, but admittedly, his words flew in one ear and out the other when I caught sight of Wanda.

She was standing with her friends, smiling and laughing to whatever they were saying. Like everyone else in here, she was wearing her gym kit – black athletic shorts and a blue and white tee shirt, the colour of our school. It wasn't anything special, yet she made it seem that way, outdoing anyone in here. Her brown hair was tied back, the ponytail falling down her back, showing her stunning profile and making my mouth go dry.

Another clap on the back from Y/BF/N pulled me from my reverie and I looked to see he was laughing at me.

"Majorly screwed," he corrected his previous comment.

He was definitely right.

[joekeeryswife]

Teen pregnancy 2 -H.G

here is part 2 loves

you were nearing your due date and to say you were nervous was an understatement. you were petrified. obviously everyone in school now knew that you were pregnant and they would sometimes say rude things in the corridors, if you were in school, but you couldn't help but sometimes allow them to get into your head.

Harry had been an absolute diamond throughout your whole pregnancy journey. he would never ever allow anything to happen to you and he was all around the perfect person you'd want a baby with. he got a job, he helped you with anything you needed even if he really didn't want to, and he never missed a single baby appointment.

you had heard from a few people that Harry, the most popular boy on the rugby team, wouldn't care about you during or even after pregnancy and he had proved them all wrong and you were so proud of him.

you were sat at home on the sofa, scrolling through the enormous bundle of pictures and videos you had taken throughout your journey and you felt warm inside. it started with the first ultrasound photo, then came the gender reveal video which was so beautiful, then came the many videos of Harry either talking to your bump or kissing it or just videos of the baby kicking.

the thought of you having your own baby was amazing. you had dreamt of having a baby since you were little and your dream had finally come true. Harry was on his was going your house and you had to make sure he was okay. you messaged him and he instantly replied.

he replied saying he was 'okay 👌🏼' which put your mind at ease. during the 6th month of pregnancy, you started overthinking basically every situation. whether it would be crossing a road and what might happen or even eating food.

Harry arrived about 4 minutes later, unlocking the door with the spare key you had given him and he entered the living room. 'hey love, you doing ok?' he said with a soft smile. he sat down next to you and gave you a quick kiss before laying his head at the top of your stomach. he rubbed your belly and kissed it.

'you know, i've been alright but my back is killing me at the minute. i don't know what's happening but it does hurt a lot.' you replied whilst rubbing your hands through his thick hair. 'i think maybe it's just getting closer to the time. everything's set up so now we are just waiting for the little one to get here and it'll all be perfect.' he said, still stroking your belly softly.

you guys sat in silence for a bit, you kept playing with Harry's hair whilst he still laid on your stomach. you kept feeling the little kicks from your baby girl. feeling them kept your mind at ease. you couldn't wait to meet your baby and neither could anyone in both of your family's.

Harry's mum and dad had been so supportive of the decision you guys had made and so were your parents. your friends kept messaging you asking if it was time yet and you kept reminding them that 'no she isn't here yet, feeling like she will come out soon though'.

Harry himself had changed a lot. he had apologised to Nick and Charlie for how he treated them, mainly because you had cried non stop on the phone to him about how bad you felt for them because everyone was mean to them, but nevertheless he did apologise.

he also became kinder in general; he became the best version of himself for you and your baby and you could not fault him for that.

after an hour or two of you guys sitting together, talking about the future, you felt the sudden pains in your back and lower stomach. you had felt Braxton hick contractions before and different pains but nothing compared to this pain.

'ouch what the fuck' you said, pushing Harry's head off your stomach. you placed one hand on your belly and the other on Harry's hand. 'what's the matter? what's happened?' he said, confused and the sudden outburst you had.

the look on your face gave him an indication that something really hurt you. with the car seat ready in Harry's car (ok yes i understand Harry is 16 but for this he can drive) and you knew that it was time.

you sat still for 10 minutes, contractions coming every 5 minutes. 'Harry, i need you to run upstairs and get the suitcase from my room, it's a pink colour and there is a bag on top of it.' you said, looking into his blue eyes, full of fear.

'okay, i'm going. do you need me to get anything else from up there?' he said in a rushed tone. for the first time ever, you saw Harry getting nervous. Harry had said when you first got together that he never got nervous but he he was a year and a bit later, showing off his nerves.

'maybe my phone charger, and the pink blanket on my bed please' you replied smiling a bit, showing him that it was fine and he shouldn't be nervous. he ran up the stairs quickly and brought down everything you needed.

you stood up and put on some slippers before opening the door for him to put everything in the car. once he had put everything into the boot, he came rushing back, grabbing his keys in the process and helped you to the car.

'are you ok? is she coming now?' Harry asked, standing by the side of you. 'no Harry i'm fine, we need to time the contractions on the way' you replied, giving him a quick kiss before he closed the door and ran around to his side and started driving.

as Harry was driving, he was keeping track of each time you had a contraction. you guys stopped at a traffic light and Harry turned to you. 'Harry it hurts so bad.' you said with a few tears rolling down your face.

'i know love, i'm sorry i can't do anything right now' he replied, taking your hand and giving your forehead a kiss. he wiped the tears before he had to start driving again. you leant your head on his shoulder as he was driving and kept hold of his arm.

you arrived at the hospital about 10 minutes later. 'stay there whilst i get everything out then i'll come help you get out' he said, rushing again to get everything out the car.

he helped you get out then helped you walking into the hospital. they helped you get everything ready and got you situated into your own room before leaving so you could get dressed into the gown they had given you.

Harry helped you a lot. you lent on him as he rocked you softly, whispering encouraging words. 'you are already doing so amazing and you haven't even started

pushing yet.' he said, giving you a few kisses here and there.

the midwife came back into the room and checked how dilated you were and she said you were at 9cm already which was amazing. it meant you were so close to seeing your beautiful baby. you were allowed gas and air and that was your main source of pain relief. you had no other way of pain relief as you were over the 4/5cm rule of the epidural.

it was around 6:36pm. you had been in the hospital for about 2 hours and it was now time for you to start pushing. the contractions had been getting worse and worse and now it was finally time, after 9 long months of waiting, to meet your little girl.

'ok miss y/n, are you ready to start pushing?' the midwife said, looking up at you. 'uhh i guess.' you replied, trying to mentally prepare yourself for what you were about to go through.

'you're gonna be absolutely amazing ok? you've already done so much and nows the last bit' Harry said, holding your hand and putting his other on your forehead, stroking it a little.

then it was time. you started pushing. the pain was excruciating and you couldn't do anything about it. you had to keep going. after about 20 minutes of pushing, and hardly any progress, you started to give up.

'no no, i can't do anymore, it's to painful and nothings working. i can't do it' you said, tears rolling down your face. 'hey yes you can. you think about how much you've already put your body through and this is the last hurdle hmm? do you really want to do all that work for nothing? you can do anything you put your mind too' Harry said. those last words he said reminded you of when you found out you were pregnant. Lauren said them. and here you are again, but this time you are actually going to be a mum.

you looked into Harry's eyes and saw him give you a small smile. you could do this. you kept on pushing and pushing until you heard the sound you had been waiting to hear. your daughter was here. you instantly started crying and you looked over at Harry who had a few tears rolling down his face.

they took the baby over to weigh her and check everything was ok but just before that, Harry got to cut the umbilical cord. after that he came back over to you, he kissed you all over your face and said 'i'm so proud of you. you did so well' whilst giving you one last kiss on your forehead.

you waited for the baby to be put on your chest as skin to skin contact was amazing. it allowed mothers to bond with their baby's even after birth. once you were given her, you got left alone to start being a family. You got a picture of the baby on your chest and sent it to the little group-chat you had with everyone on it; such as Harry's mates and yours.

You also got a few pictures of Harry holding the baby. once you got those photos, you sent them to the group chat and everyone went crazy. you got messages like 'no way you have just had her' and 'she's the most perfect thing i've ever seen'.

it made you smile realising you had created this little bundle of joy and you wouldn't change it for the world.

it was around 8:30pm when you had gotten a few visitors; your parents, Harry's parents and a few friends like Lauren, Nick, Imogen and Charlie etc.

they all gathered around you guys, taking in the new baby that was laying on your chest. 'i cannot believe you've just had a baby. you did amazing' your mum said with a few tears rolling her face.

everyone congratulated you and held the baby at some point. 'i told you that you could do anything you put your mind to didn't i?' Lauren said as she sat next to you on the bed. 'yea you did' you replied, moving up a bit for her to lay next to you. you rested your head on her shoulder and she hugged you.

'i'm so proud of you. i knew you could do it. you've already done so well and she's not even a day old.' she said, looking at the family surrounding Harry as he held the baby. 'he's changed hasn't he?' she kept on, he had a different sort of glow to his face and this smile, a smile that you had never seen before. he looked happier. 'yes, i think he has' you replied.

That baby had changed Harry for the better and you did not mind it.

[annie-blackhill]

Aight, I know that I've been away for awhile but now I'm back and I have ideas babes!

____________________________________

Warnings:

Depression

Anxiety

Past panic attacks

Mentions of past domestic violence

Abusive childhood

Post traumatic events unconscious coping mechanisms

Unconscious flinching out of instinct

Sudden panic when hearing fighting between a man and a woman screaming very near

Loss of breath

Domestic violence

Blood

Panic attack

____________________________________

Dazai Osamu

________________

Safe and Sound

________________

Dazai and (Y/N) have been in a relationship for two years now. They're so in love with each other that everyone at the ADA are questioning the fact as to why they weren't married yet.

Dazai really loves (Y/N) and she loves him just as much back. They both really love each other and they both understand each other the most too.

But there were still some things that Dazai didn't know.

The main reason why (Y/N) and Dazai weren't married yet was because Dazai wanted to get her parents' blessings first. He was so excited to get their blessings, to meet the people who brought his perfectly imperfect lover into this cruel, tainted world.

He was eternally grateful to them for bringing her into this world, although the cruel world had tainted her and made her the broken person she is now, he still loves her for her. She's the only reason he has to live now. And he loves her for that.

Whenever Dazai asked (Y/N) about her family, she would tell him stories about when she was a child and how her dad would bring them to the beach every weekend because they lived near to the beach or when they went back to school shopping together.

But that was it. Her dad never really appeared in her other stories much. He would pop in at some point of the tale and then disappear. Her mum, was mostly the one to witness her achievements.

But (Y/N) has never described her parents' proud expressions whenever she achieved something.

At times, when Dazai did pry lightly, she would turn the story somewhere else, mostly to her friends.

He knew that she didn't really have a good primary school life, seeing as she's told him before that she's been bullied at that time. She's described them as the loneliest years of her life and how much she's hated herself those times.

Whenever (Y/N) talked about friends, it would be about her friends from her high school life. Her high school was much more on the better side.

She had been a prefect in her high school years, since her first year to her last year.

The only bad memories she had was when she realized that being in the first class and being the top of the class meant the other students would sabotage her and the two times in her senior years where she had to fight back as self-defense when she tried to break up a fight and they started to hit her too.

Dazai wasn't daft. Of course, he picked up on all the signs she showed that she wasn't really fond of her parents.

At first, he thought that it was just because of a small fight they had. But two years have passed in their relationship and (Y/N) hasn't cracked even the least to tell him why her childhood stories are only until a certain age or why she's never told him how proud her parents were of her.

Dazai was worried. In the end, he decided that maybe her parents just have a slightly tight relationship with each other.

Dazai decided to not ask. He let it slide and slip past them. He never touched the subject of her parents for the half of the second year of their relationship.

As the other half year of their relationship rolled in, Dazai and (Y/N) had saved enough money to buy a cozy little apartment near the ADA and move out of the ADA's hostel.

The day they were moving in, the couple were greeted by the middle aged woman who lived next door with her husband and 4 year old daughter.

She had been a very sweet auntie that welcome the sweet couple to the apartment complex with open arms and a sweet smile.

More than once had she cooked good food for the duo since they always returned late from work.

"You two kinda remind me of how my husband and I used to be when we were younger and so in love," the auntie would say to the duo all the time.

The little 4 year old would also come by and play around with the loving couple whenever they were on leave.

Auntie would always try persuade her daughter from "disturbing the lovely young couple" as she would always say to her daughter.

"It's alright, auntie! I love kids! (N/N)-chan and I are planning to have a few little munchkins like this when we're married too!" Dazai would assure her, while playing with the little girl.

But there was always something about how (Y/N) would send the auntie knowing looks as though she knew something that he didn't all the time, so he decided to pay more attention too.

When Dazai did start to notice more, he noticed the dark bags under the auntie's eyes and he noticed how tired she always was.

The more he noticed the more concerning she looked to him day by day.

"Auntie, would you like to join us for tea, today? Osamu and I wanted to play with that sweet little angel," (Y/N) invited the auntie.

"WHO'S THAT AT THE DOOR???!!!" the booming voice of the male from inside the auntie's house shook (Y/N) to the core and it ignited old memories that she didn't have to remember.

"Auntie, you really should come. Osamu insists! You know how he gets when he doesn't get what he wants! He'll be whining all day long like a little baby!" (Y/N) tried to convince the auntie discreetly.

"I ASKED 'WHO'S THAT AT THE DOOR'! ANSWER ME YOU USELESS WOMAN!!!" the man shouted from the bedroom again.

(Y/N) flinched. She was regretting sending Dazai to the store now. They had been running low on groceries and she had sent Dazai to the store, as she would say "please contribute you're lazy arse to do something in this household, my love" and he had carried his lazy arse to the store near the apartment complex.

After Dazai had left was when she started to hear the shouts and yells from the next door auntie's house.

Even as the bad memories plunged her being, she had forced herself to go and at least try to save the auntie before anything bad happened to either her or her daughter.

But even then, if you looked closely at (Y/N) you could see that she was trembling badly and that she could barely stand on her two feet.

"Auntie, come on please!" (Y/N) begged in a mutter exclamation.

"I'm sorry," the auntie murmured before closing the door on her with an apologetic smile.

"Auntie, no!" (Y/N) exclaimed.

And that was when she heard the terrible screams and the yell. The cries of the little 4 year old teared her soul apart into the smallest of pieces.

"NO, NO, NO!!!!" (Y/N) yelled as her mind turned blank and the memories flooded her brain.

Her mind turned so blank that she forgot that she was slamming her fists onto the door and that she had an ability.

The memories of how her father would come home drunk and lay on the sofa. Of how her mother had found out that he was having an affair. Of how, he would beat the living daylights out of her mother.

(Y/N) never told Dazai any of that. She felt ashamed to tell him that her childhood was the most terrible thing to ever happen to her.

A blood curdling screamed pierced the air along with a loud cry and that was enough for (Y/N) to snap out of her traumas and remember that there were lives on the stake right now.

She finally regained her senses fully and remembered that she has an ability.

Using her elemental abilities, she bent the wooden front door so much that it broke it half and broke off of it's hinges. The lower half flew to the side of the corridor almost hitting her while the other half flew into the house and hit the middle aged aggressive man that was about to beat his wife over the head with a glass flower vase.

The auntie stood in shock as the younger woman ran to her and hugged her.

"Auntie! Are you alright?! Are you bleeding anywhere?! Do you have any fatal injuries?!" (Y/N) questioned quickly as she held the shorter's woman's face in her hands and looked her over, making sure that she wasn bleeding anywhere majorly.

"Why you little freak show! You must one of those freak shows that are born with those little abilities! How dare you interfere with someone else's family problems?! Youngsters these days don't know how to respect their elders! Let me teach you then!" the man yelled at (Y/N) as she stood in front of the trembling woman, making sure that the older woman was perfectly hidden behind her.

(Y/N) slipped a hand into the back pocket of her jeans. She clutched the holster of her gun.

"Step away, right now before I seriously hurt you," (Y/N) warned as she held her left hand out to stop him from coming any nearer to them.

The man took off his belt and folded it into two, straightening it out with a snap, which caused both women to flinch as more dark memories flooded into (Y/N)'s mind.

"I said STOP RIGHT THERE!" (Y/N) warned yet again. It was against the law for her to shoot him and she couldn't even use her abilities against him as he was a normal civilian.

She was trying her best to not hurt anyone here and let the civilian authorities handle the ruthless man.

The moment the man raised his arm was the same time (Y/N) slipped her gun out of her back pocket and shot his arm.

The man let out a cry of pain and fell back from the sudden pain. He looked at the younger woman, wide eyed as she held the gun tight and pointed the barrel to his forehead.

"Armed Detective Agency member, (L/N) (Y/N)," (Y/N) announced as she showed him her ADA card.

The man backed away more at that. His eyes wide as he realized that she was a member of the authorities.

"(Y/N)?!" Dazai shouted as he entered only to see the bloodied situation of the man and the two trembling women.

"Where's the child?!" Dazai asked immediately.

"Sh-she's in her room," the auntie answered meekly.

Dazai nodded. He looked down at the man, disgust, venom and a desire to kill clear on his face.

The man even then, still tried to gain Dazai's pity as Dazai was a fellow man too.

"S-sir! All I was trying to do was educate my wife to be more better and obedient! I wasn't trying to do anything other than that! I swear!" the man said.

That only made Dazai even more disgusted as he spat on the man's face in disgust. He stomped his foot harshly on the man's hand that was holding the belt.

"You disgust me you old fool! You're an utter disgrace of a human being! I'm disgusted to see people like you are still alive! Terrorizing women's lives! Making them only feel like obedient dolls that should only do whatever you say!

I'd rather kill you then let you go to jail and then get back out after a few months! People like you shouldn't exist at all in the first place!

Your wife is supposed to be your life partner! Not some maid or toy that would do everything you say! You're supposed to live life and do everything together!

I can't believe you even had a child with her only to state your dominance over her and make her unable to run away from you!

You disgust me!" Dazai yelled at the man as he twisted his foot on the man's hand more and stomped it over and over and over again, intent on breaking it.

(Y/N) shielded the auntie's sight form her lover's rage as he broke the man's hand and rendered it completely shattered under his shoe.

"Osamu..." (Y/N) called out for him.

Dazai raised his head to look at his lover, tears streaming from his eyes from utter pure white hot rage.

"Are you alright? Are the two of you alright? Is that little angel injured?" Dazai's voice turned so soft that (Y/N)'s heart broke at the mere sound of it. He sounded as scared as she was feeling.

Dazai went over to the two women and squeezed them into a light hug, he buried his face into the crook of (Y/N)'s neck. (Y/N) hugged his waist, her arm practically limp, but her hand still clutching the gun tight just in case the man tried anything, her ear was placed against his frantically beating heart.

The older woman had wrapped her arm over his back and was hugging him tight, scared out of her life and grateful for the presence of the two youngsters at the moment.

"Osamu... We need to call the police and the ADA, specifically Kunikida-san. We need to explain a hell load to them all," (Y/N) murmured lightly to the shaken man.

Dazai nodded lightly at her statement before pressing a light kiss to the crook of her neck and removing himself from the hold of the two women.

"Auntie, do get your little girl and wait outside of the house. (Y/N) and I will call the police and our co-worker to handle the mess here," Dazai informed the older woman.

She merely nodded, not trusting her voice to be strong enough to answer him as she went to the little girl's bedroom to get her out of the house.

Once the child and woman were safely out of the house, Dazai dialed Kunikida while (Y/N) dialed the police station.

Both at had arrived at the house. The man was brought away on a stretcher by the paramedics as (Y/N) was explaining to the police as to why she had used her gun.

Kunikida and Dazai, both standing on either side of her, trying to justify the reason as to why she did so and the police accepted the reasons in the end.

Dazai said his end of the story and then they moved on to ask the wife and the child about their ends of the story.

"(Y/N), you know you shouldn't have used your gun. I'll have to confiscate it for now. You'll only be allowed to use it on missions. I'm sorry but those are the rules that you need to follow after that little act of 'misusage' as the police says," Kunikida sighed as he took the gun lightly from her slightly slackened grasp on it now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was scared and he raised the belt above me, ready to hit at any moment---" her voice cracked and she couldn't continue the sentence anymore.

Kunikida held her hand softly as Dazai brought (Y/N) into a soft side hug, holding her softly and rubbing her shoulders.

"I know and that's why I'm the one that's supposed to be saying sorry for taking away your gun, (Y/N)," Kunikida said.

"Hey, hey. It's alright, the both of you. I'll pull some strings here and there and make sure, (Y/N) gets her gun back, alright? Easy peasy!" Dazai lightened the mood up a little.

"Sigh, thank you, Dazai. For making this easier for all of us," Kunikida said before excusing himself, saying that he needs to fill out a few more forms at the police station and make sure that neither Dazai or (Y/N) get accused for anything that they didn't do.

Dazai proceeded to lead (Y/N) back to their little home as the auntie and her daughter were led to the second ambulance by the new paramedics.

(Y/N) leaned into Dazai as she curled up onto him. He held her close and tight, knowing full well that she was shaken up from the encounter.

"Osamu... Remember how you always asked for the truth about my childhood... What you witnessed today that was happening to that auntie and her daughter? That's the real truth to my childhood.

But no one saved us. And as I grew and my dad lived his other life with his little affair, he would come and go to let off steam on my mother and my mother started to blame me for how miserable our lives were.

That's why I never had a past occupation like everyone else. I had been working with the ADA ever since I was 18 and I ran away from her.

The president helped me. He helped my mother by providing her safety and a new home.

My father is still out there, somewhere with that other woman.

And I... I've never seen my mother since the day I ran away. She must be happier now," (Y/N) said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Dazai hugged her closer and kissed her forehead.

"It's alright, love. You have me and the other ADA members for you as well now. Hell, even the Port Mafia is with you right now after how much you helped them out when we were all having trouble with The Guild and Fyodor. You have all of us here for you.

Most importantly, my love, you have me. I won't let anyone so much as hurt you even a little bit and go off the hook.

I swear," Dazai murmured softly into her ear and she snuggled closer to him, their feets touching and their hands interwined with each other's.

____________________________________

"Port Mafia strikes again as a man who was arrested yesterday due to commiting domestic violence was murdered by them brutally in his own jail cell much to the surprise of all the police officers present.

Police officers were considering requesting the Armed Detective Agency to further an investigation at first, but has now decided against it as the chief of the police station has deemed it as a waste since the man was a criminal," the news reporter announced on the morning news as (Y/N) sipped her (bitter/sweet/neutral) (coffee/tea) and Dazai adorable chewed his crab sandwich.

"Who did you ask to do it?" (Y/N) asked immediately as soon as Dazai swallowed.

"Chuuya was more than willing after I told him the story. I didn't even have to tell him which police station and cell that scum was in, he ran off and figured it all out himself and finished the job," Dazai answered before continuing to adorably eat his crab sandwich.

"That scum deserved it," (Y/N) agreed as she continue sipping her (coffee/tea).

____________________________________

Awareness Note:

Stop domestic violence. The pain lingers on even after the relationship has ended. No one should have to be bounded to a spouse that only views them as an object and an inferior instead of a human being and an equal. No one has to go through physical and mental pain with a monster that prefers to take control of everything. No one has to go through such pain.

Marriage isn't pain! Marriage is a bond of two people who love each other!

If it hurts both physically and mentally, then it's not love.

Know the difference.

[inglourious-imagines]

Piece Of Cake (Fred Weasley)

Summary: Fred claims that asking a girl out to the Yulle ball is a piece of cake. Harry and Ron dare him to prove it.

Prompts: fluff list: 2 - "I don't care, just hold me." & angst list: "Try to see things in my point of view." & miscellaneous list: 4 - "My mum thinks I'm dating you." (changed a bit)

Warning: angst at the beginning, some swear words, fluff at the end

Author's Note: This is for @lunalovecroft 's 1K writing challenge! Probably it was meant to be the other way around, but that idea suddenly strucked me and I decided to give it a go. Happy reading ♡

HP Taglist: @alienoresimagines @95swifi

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"You have a place in my heart no one else ever could have." - F.S. Fitzgerald

All the Yulle Ball decoration were making Y/N beyond sick, every ribbon reminding her that she still did not have a date to accompany her throughout the approaching evening. Molly Weasley was so kind to send her as a gift the most beautiful dress Y/N had ever seen in her life and now she was genuinely thinking about not going to the ball at all. 

When she threw herself at the bench in the Great Hall right next to her best friend Hermione who was sitting way too far from Ron, Harry and the twins were seated. Y/N knew about the brightest witch's secret crush on the young Weasley that was slowly but surely growing into something more than just a simple crush. She'd even swear that Ron felt exactly the same about Hermione but she had to promise not to get involved or play a cupid. 

"He didn't ask, did he." Y/N dared to speak up first, glancing from Hermione's sad expression on her face to absolutely oblivious Ronald just a few metres away from them who seemed to be stuffing as much food as possible into his mouth as fast as he could. 

Y/N's eyes wandered from one Weasley to another, much taller one, who's smile was so contagious that she found herself grinning like an idiot for no particular reason.

"What do you think, Y/N." Hermione sighed bringing her back from her daydreaming, "guess he's not the only one who didn't ask, right?" 

Y/N looked at her friend again, simply nodded as she wasn't able to react in any other way. As much as she tried not to, she felt a bit disappointed when the only person she wanted to go to the Yulle ball with, hasn't asked her.

"They've been bickering for the past 15 minutes whether asking a girl out is easy or not." Hermione stated, clearly upset with the whole situation.

"Are you serious, 'Mione? What are their points of view?" 

"Well, Harry and Ron are obviously struggling to even compliment a girl in the right way but Fred reckons there's nothing easier." 

The girls look at each other and burst out laughing in the next second. "Like he'd know how to ask." Y/N managed to get out of her through her laughter, "however, I must agree with Harry and Ron. They're the most oblivious idiots." 

"Tell me about it." Hermione giggled but a trace of hurt flew over her face and Y/N suddenly felt really sorry for her dear friend. 

"Hey Y/N!" Fred shouted out of the blue, his clear voice echoed through the Great Hall causing other students to perk up their heads in order to find out what possibly he has in mind now. 

Y/N threw a look full of question marks to Hermione before turning her head to the tall red-head. "Yes?"

The moment his typical mischievous grin appeared on his face Y/N knew that something either funny and unpleasant to her or something embarrassing is about to happen.

"Will you..." Fred kept on talking as loudly as possible while wildly gesturing with his arms - apparently pretending to dance, "go to the ball..." now he was just pointing at her and him, "with me?"

Y/N's whole face turned brightly red, her nervous eyes wandering from student to student with such awaiting and amused expressions on their faces. Her heartbeat fastened in the matter of seconds that it seemed like it might jump out of her chest. Y/N looked at Hermione for help with such desperation hidden behind her gaze but her friend just simply shrugged, absolutely shocked with the sudden question, just like Y/N was.

A few seconds passed and Y/N was still sitting at her spot totally speechless. She imagined many times how Fred would ask her to the ball but never in a million years did she think it'd be like this - shouting at her in front of the whole Great Hall with absolutely no sign of sincerity or romance; to her it seemed like some sort of a bet to prove his point.

Their eyes for a moment and Y/N realized that Fred was convinced that she's going to accept his offer, confidence was basically radiating off of him. She knew he's not bragging, Fred was one of the kindest people she'd ever met but sometimes, sometimes he just wasn't able to estimate the situation. 

Anger was slowly bottling up in her as she quickly stood up grabbing all her books. As much as it hurt her to say it, Y/N was still able to straighten up looking directly into his eyes. "Sorry, Weasley, not interested. But thanks for the offer, I feel flattered." The sarcasm in her voice was more than obvious. 

Y/N winked at Hermione, rightly feeling satisfied with her as she heard a few laughs from many students when she walked out of the Great Hall leaving absolutely speechless and embarrassed Fred Weasley. 

•••

Y/N rushed into her dormitory, not wanting to deal with anybody at the moment as the anger was slowly transforming into hurt. This wasn't what she imagined.

She threw herself at her bed; her books were casted off on the ground, papers flying all over the place.

"Y/N! Wait!" a muffled voice of the too familiar Weasley filled her ears and before she knew it, Fred was standing in the middle of her dormitory with flushed cheeks due to the long run, doors slammed shut behind him. 

"Let me explain." he almost begged taking a few steps towards her. She quickly got on her feet as she shook with her head couple of times. "Please, no. I don't care if your intentions were the noblest, but it happened and that's it."

"If you could just let me talk."

But Y/N didn't see the regret in Fred's eyes, or how his hands trembled a little bit, she was way too furious to notice all these things.

"Try to see things from my point of view, Weasley! You basically shouted at me in front of the whole school if I want to go to the ball with you! I understand that you just wanted to prove something to Ron and Harry but this is not a game for me."

Every single word that left her mouth went straight to Fred's heart. He never in a million years intended to hurt Y/N, he'd rather suffer himself than have something happen to her. But he was scared, Fred felt truly terrified of asking her out and when the boys confronted him about it, he panicked. He didn't have an idea why he reacted that way. The pounding heart, sweaty palms, the hotness in his cheeks - all this was new to Fred Weasley and he wasn't sure what do to with his stormy emotions.

"I'm real sorry, Y/N. I didn't want to offend you but that doesn't mean I don't stand behind what I said earlier." he tried to ease the tense in the small room, his lips even formed into a cute little innocet smile.

"I don't know, Weasley. I simply think-"

"Let me make it up to you! The ball's tomorrow, just say yes."

Then they were there - Fred's puppy eyes that no matter how serious the problem was, Y/N wasn't able to bring herself to say no. She knew he's very well aware of that fact, he somehow managed to melt her heart.

"Fine. I'll go to the Yulle ball with you, Weasley. Don't make me regret it."

"I can certainly promise you that, Y/L/N."

•••

Y/N was nervously pacing in her new white dress that she got from Mrs. Weasley while Hermione was watching her with an amused expression.

"You know, this isn't funny." she frowned but a part of her was telling her how unreasonably ridiculous she is.

"Actually it is," her best friend couldn't held back the laughter, "you'll be fine. I bet he's even more nervous than you are." 

"Hermione! His mum thinks I'm bloody dating him!" 

"That's just so perfect. Maybe you will be after tonight."

Their eyes met for a moment and then, as if their minds were connected, the girls started giggling like some 13-year-olds. Y/N finally relaxed a bit, just like Hermione did, as they both promised themselves to look after each other during the evening.

"So what do you think?" Y/N winked at her friend, "shall we?"

"Absolutely."

•••

The duo walked together down the stairs leading to the dance hall, side by side, both of them smiling widely. Y/N found Fred's tall figure right away as he was nervously pacing back and forth mumbling something under his breath while George watched him amused. Just like Hermione watched her a couple minutes ago. God, how similar they could be.

"Well done, brother dear. Fucking well done." George whispered into his twin's ear tapping his shoulder. Fred's gaze immediately landed on approaching Y/N making him stop in his tracks. George just smirked and left with his own date to give them some privacy.

Fred was closely watching her every step, how elegantly she carried herself through the room, the beautiful white dress flew around her making her look like an angel descending from the sky. 

"Blimey, I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful like you." Fred breathed out, his eyes roaming all over her body.

"You don't look too bad as well, Weasley." Y/N blushed at his compliment as she sent him one nervous smile. The truth was, he looked way more better than just 'not bad' and she had to remind herself not to stare at him too much. He pulled her into his side, his scent and warmth immediately embracing her, and she found herself falling for this dangerously good looking red-head. 

"Everybody's turning their heads after you. I swear I even saw a smile on Snape's face." Fred pointed out, his voice filled with obvious jealousy as his grip on her waist tightened. 

"I don't care, just hold me, Fred." Y/N gave him a reassuring smile taking his hand in his, "just hold me."

"I never wanted anything more." 

[heshoes]

Twin Telepathy

❝And I never thought it would be true that one day I'd have to live without you.❞ In which a connection started at birth remains strong until the bitter end.

Warnings (BC THIS ONE IS TRIGGERING): ⚠️ angst, main character death.

Idk the word count but this one is short

Main Characters: Harry Styles, Edward Styles

There is no smut in this one my loves. I wrote this like 5 years ago and I’m posting it here now. I hope you enjoy and reblog let’s talk about it after you read.xx

5

Age five is when Harry and Edward noticed that they were identical. Age five was the time of development for secret languages, tricks, and pranks pulled on parents, grandparents, and even the teachers at primary school because they could get away with it.

They would even switch classes sometimes.

Harry was always good at maths. He progressed at counting blocks and telling time where Edward was a bit more fuzzy in the subject. However,  Edward could always read and excelled in primary school literature despite the fact that he would throw a tantrum anytime his mum would pull him away from the television in order to for him to read her a bedtime story.

“What time is it Harry?” Their mum would ask knowing full well what the time was herself,  as she took her seat behind the two curly headed boys on the floor who sat helplessly too close to the television. One because he really couldn’t see all that well, the other because he wanted to be close to his brother.

“I’m not Harry! I’m Ed.” Harry laughed cheekily as he told a lie while his brother squinted to look at the cartoon characters on the telly screen.

“Well, Ed,” His mother spoke playing along with his game, “What time is it?”

“Eight o’clock! Time for bed?”

“Thats right!” Their mother laughed, “When did you get so much better at telling time Edward?”

“Uh-oh”

“That’s right, Harry. Uh-oh.” The boy laughed in his mothers arms as she began to tickle and he began to squirm. Edward found it amusing, and because his brother laughed so did he, feeling the same exact joy that his brother did from the top of his head down to his tiny toes. Rushing for his mother in order to save his brother from the tickle monster, Edward pulled Harry from her arms, and for once he didn’t put up a fight when his mother asked him to read to her after he and Harry were dressed in their pajamas.

•••••

10

Ten was the age of growing into your face and the ever present awkward phase that everyone has to go through. By age ten, Harry had to wear braces and Edward wore a pair of glasses thicker than should be allowed. Their pranks didn’t work as well as they used to when they were younger due to the physical tell all’s that adorned their faces, but it didn’t make the boys any less close together. If anything it made them stick together more. Age ten was also the age in which they were constantly bullied.

As the boys walked down the hallways books would be ripped from their hands or feet would be purposely stuck out in order for one to trip. When Edward fell and broke his glasses, Harry had decided that he had, had enough. Edward was angry, furious even, but because he could barely see he couldn’t do much about it. Harry, however, could and the anger that Edward felt radiated off of his twin in hot streams.

“Apologize!” Harry shouted at the much bigger boy, standing his ground though he was much shorter.

“For what?” The boy challenged in a much more condescending tone. He knew what he had done and he was proud of himself for it.

“Apologize to my brother or I’ll– I’ll...”

“You’ll what brace face?!”

“I’ll kick your ass!”

The crowd in the hallway ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ at the use of Harry’s language as he stood in between Edward and the boy who was much taller. Edward had since put his broken glasses in his pocket as he squinted, tugging at Harry’s arm to get him to walk away from the situation, but Harry wouldn’t budge.

Harry wasn’t prepared for what was to come. As the boy lifted his fist to connect it with Harry’s jaw he was cut short. Before any contact could be made, the boy who was much taller was seated forcefully on the ground holding his bloody nose in his hand, looking up at Edward.  Edward looked down on the bully while flexing his hand open and closed hoping that if he shook it hard enough the pain of breaking someone’s nose would go away.

Harry looked at his twin with shock in his eyes and a smile on his face as Ed continued to shake his hand while all three of the boys were escorted to the principal’s office.

“I thought you couldn’t see?” Harry whispered to his twin  in hopes of a quick explanation.

“I can’t see things that are far away, but that fucker, he was pretty close.”

Harry and Edward both began to laugh as they sat patiently in the principals office for their parents to collect them for their suspension from school.

•••••

15

Fifteen was the age of rebellion, girls, and more argument’s between the boys than usual. They had since grown into their faces and their own personalities and though they were still close, they didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. Harry had gotten into sports and school, while Edward had gotten into bands and trouble. The one thing that they did both agree on at the moment however was going to Tash Fraser's birthday party. Although she was two years their senior she had still sent the boys a personal invite. She was turning 17 and this of course would help boost their popularity for the year.

They were already high on the food chain at school for boys of only fifteen years old, and since they had grown into their faces and out of their braces and glasses, they had become rather attractive aside from the baby fat that they still had here and there.

“You ask.” Harry spoke, shoving Edward towards their parents room and grabbing the newspaper out of his hands, disturbing him from his place at the table as he read while flicking his brand new tongue ring against his teeth. Harry didn't care if Ed was angered by his rude interuption. He was older after all even if it was only by two minutes. Edward should do as he said.

“Why would I ask?! I just got off of punishment. I’ll be lucky if I can go anywhere. If I ask, dad will take one look at me and say no. No doubt I'll go anyway, but I'd rather do it without having to sneak. Leave me alone and give me my shit back! If you wanna go so bad you ask asshole!” Edward pushed his twin back, both of them equally aggravated by the other.

“We won’t be able to go anywhere if mum and dad hear you cussing! Fat chance on sneaking out with your big mouth!” Harry spoke aggressively above a whisper to his brother, making himself be heard.

Edward pulled his tongue ring between his teeth, playing with it and making Harry cringe before he nodded his head up and down in agreement.

“So what are we going to do?” Harry asked as if he were fresh out of ideas though he really didn’t bother to think of any.

“We’ll make them breakfast.” Edward spoke quickly, thinking on his toes much to Harry’s approval. And so they did, buttering their parents up with toast, pancakes, tomatoes, sausage, and bacon in order to get a simple, “alright” from their mother and father.

“You have to be home no later than one thirty!” Their mom reminded them as they headed out the door, riding with a mutual friend in order to make their way to the party.

“We’ll be home by twelve.” Harry yelled back jokingly earning a slap to the back of the head from his brother.

As the night went on, the music grew louder and the illegal activity had gotten more out of hand. Drinks of the alcoholic kind had been passed around, and though both Harry and Edward had one or two, neither of them dared to get drunk, knowing full well that their mother would be up waiting for them to get back.

“It’s one fifteen.” Harry spoke looking at his silver wrist watch that Edward had gotten him as a gift on their thirteenth birthday. “We should get ready to leave soon.”

Edward nodded his head in agreement as he looked around the crowded room for their friend. Hoping that he was sober enough to take them home. When he spotted him and told him that he was ready to go, their friend agreed to drive them even though Harry had notice the stumble in his step.

“Nuh uh, Edward. He’s drunk out of his mind.” Harry spoke to his twin, but was ignored as soon as the words left his lips.

“I can’t get in trouble again Harry. He’s fine we just live right up the street. It won’t take us long to get home. It’s fine.” Edward began to walk towards the car, but as soon as he took a step Harry pulled him back.

“Ed no! Why don’t you ever listen?!”

“Harry! If you want to stay here and get in trouble with dad because you’re not home in time then fine! Stay! I’ve just been freed and I’m not gonna be grounded again over something as stupid as this! I’ll see you when you get home.”

Harry let his brother go tired of arguing back and forth. There was no arguing with Ed and no point in trying to get him to think clearly when he had gotten an idea of his own.

Twenty more minutes passed before Harry had found a sober soul in the party who was willing to take him home. He hadn’t been drinking again, but he had the worst headache that he’d ever had in his life and it felt like it would split him clean in two if he didn’t get home and lie down. As they got in the car they traveled down the road only to see that it was blocked, a sudden panic started to set in. Harry’s head pounded worse and his mouth went dry and before the police got the chance to turn them in the opposite direction, Harry saw the car that Edward was in wrapped around a tree as if it were a flimsy piece of  aluminum foil.

•••••

20

Today Harry was twenty and though this was considered to be an age of a milestone in life, he didn’t celebrate it in the traditional way. Harry hadn’t celebrated any birthday since fifteen because he saw no point in it. Instead of throwing a party or hanging out with friends, every year since after his fifteenth birthday, Harry would go to the cemetery in Cheshire so that he could be close to his brother.

Today was a day of remembrance.

As Harry sat against the cold granite headstone that represented Edward, he thought of the time that they spent together while he was living. Harry was thankful that he was in a fairly secluded area because he would talk to Ed and tell him about the things that went on in his day and as he thought about his brother, he would laugh out loud when he would remember a prank that they pulled when they were younger, like when Harry dressed up as Edward for an hour at school just so that he could take his maths test for him. Their mum was so proud of Edward for passing with flying colors.

Or when Edward would run into Harry’s room and pretend to be him when they were supposed to be sleeping. Harry had a girlfriend at the time and would sneak out of his room at night to go see her, where they would make out under a tree. Harry realised that he had never thanked Ed for that so he did it now. A simple “thank you” left his lips before he fell silent and his eyes began to water. Because this was a day of remembrance, Harry would also remember the day that he lost his best friend.

Harry remembered the waiting.

Waiting in the oddly cold  room at the hospital with his mum and dad as doctors rushed about doing everything they could in order to save his brother.

Harry remembered the tears.

Tears that rolled down the faces of his family and himself as he rocked back and forth in his chair with with his hands clasped together tightly, saying a silent prayer that Ed would somehow walk out of the emergency room with maybe only a couple of stitches here and there.

Harry remembered the screams.

The deafening screams that came from his mother, his father, and himself when the doctor came out of the operating room and said that Edwards heart had given up and that his poor body was too weak to put up a fight.

Most of all, Harry remembered how he already knew that Edward was gone before the doctor came to announce it. His head had stopped hurting and his stomach was in knots, but he could no longer feel that strange connection that he and Edward shared since before he could remember and since age five, the age that he and Edward realized that they were identical.

Harry sat against Edward’s tombstone and allowed his tears to fall uninhibitedly, ridding himself of the pain that he felt everytime he thought about that fateful day. And though it hurt that he no longer had Edward around physically, he wasn’t sad anymore because he knew that he was there in spirit. The feeling that Harry felt was more overwhelming  because everytime he thought about it, he could barely believe it.

He never thought it would be true that he would have to live a day without his best friend, his brother, his twin.

[barbenheimer-core]

AUDERE EST FACERE !

하나. chanel : part two — 1.7k words

TURN.

The lights in the shop lowered in their intensity, and Ahyeong gasped, drawing in heavy breaths of air as her limbs finally moved of her own accord, bending low to clutch her knees and balance herself when she slightly stumbled.

"Are you okay?" Wangja the Shop Owner asked, concerned about the sudden change in demeanor.

"I,"— Ahyeong found herself at a loss for words, what was happening to her?— "I don't know."

An abnormal lucid dream, she thought, that was what she was experiencing. One in which she was aware of her made-up fantasy world but couldn't control her speech and actions at times.

It was like the dream itself had a script of its own.

Huh. Maybe that was it. She just had to follow the script.

"Umm... I think I should get going," she mumbled, hoping her hunch was right.

Wangja looked a bit disappointed that he couldn't carry on the conversation, but nodded in agreement. The sleek black car outside that he had spotted while coming in was probably her driver waiting on her.

Suho was still coughing on their way out, and upon the two shooting concerned looks at him he merely ignored them, gaining his composure and zooming past them and into the dimly lit night in his mildly flustered state.

As Ahyeong stepped into the cold night air, she saw her family's personal car, finding Driver Kwon sitting in front of the wheel through the tinted windows.

Her family and acquaintances must be the same as before then.

"Well, do come by often," Wangja said, handing her the copy of Shiver that she had been sifting through previously, and when Ahyeong looked at him confusedly, he winked, "as an insurance that you do visit, I'm letting you borrow it. Remember, the shop's policy only lets you borrow items for two weeks. Any more and you'll have to compensate."

The girl tucked the comic under her elbow, amused at his antics as if she'd known him for a long time, and said without thinking, "Does ramyeon work as compensation?"

The shop owner grinned, "Aye, you know me so well. Now go. Your driver is giving me the creeps with his glare."

Ahyeong chuckled at that. Driver Kwon was rather overprotective over the Song siblings and got suspicious of anyone who got within six feet of them, even the people the two kids had explicitly stated were their friends.

Bidding Wangja goodbye, Ahyeong slipped into the leather seats of the car, fastening the seatbelt around herself as was the clearly stated rule by the person in front of her who turned the key as soon as she got in, revving the engine before taking off into the night and to, presumably, her home.

Ahyeong paused at the front door, looking at the front lawn with puzzled eyes.

Why did it look even more extravagant than it was on a usual day?

The flowers were in full bloom despite spring having passed months ago, the garden lights were still switched on, illuminating the finely-trimmed shrubs and foliage, and the cars were displayed out in the open instead of being in the garage.

It was as if someone was trying to make a drawing of a picturesque rich household, perfect in every aspect with next to no flaws in its design.

The mahogany doors opened abruptly, halting her thoughts, and the housemaid, Eunjung, hurriedly ushered her in, putting slippers in front of the girl's feet as she toed her shoes off.

"Why were you out so late? It's past curfew. Thank goodness Mrs. Song hasn't returned from work yet, or you would've been in trouble," she fussed.

Trouble with her mother? That was odd. That never happened because Ahyeong usually informed Eunjung of where she was going, and her mother didn't really mind if she was out past curfew as long as she had alerted someone of coming in late.

"I'll prepare your dinner while you wash up. Do you want to eat at the table or should I bring it to your room upstairs?"

"My room, if it's not too much trouble."

Eunjung waved her hands, dismissing her, and scurried off to the kitchen while Ahyeong headed up the stairs to the West Wing of the house where her bedroom resided.

Contrary to what she thought, her room had not been what she expected.

It was littered with cardboard boxes and suitcases, most of them unpacked and organized but there still being enough to do that the floor looked messy.

Ahyeong remembered her involuntary words back at Prince Comics.

So her family moved to Seoul in this dream?

From where though? She's never lived anywhere else other than this city.

Oh well, too bad. There was no use dwelling on it. Her dream would end as soon as she would go to sleep and wake up anyway.

But her nagging mind urged her to clean her room up, and despite knowing that her efforts may be in vain she obliged, and by the end of the hour, her room looked just as it had been in real life.

Setting her towel by the bathroom rack to dry, Ahyeong sat down in front of her desk in her pajamas, where the maid had spread out a variety of steaming dishes on fine china while she had been tidying up.

Leave it to Eunjung to make mouth-watering food for any time of the day.

Just as she raised her spoon to eat the seaweed soup, her door swung open.

Gilyeong stood by the threshold, racing to her and shoving his phone in her face, a rather horrible picture of a mangled body on its screen.

"What the-" Ahyeong dropped her utensils with a clang, pushing the device away from her face with a disgusted expression and glaring at her brother, who giggled mischievously, "I'm trying to eat, you gremlin. Don't make me lose my appetite."

"It's payback for the time you showed me a clip of a gutted person when I was trying to eat pat-bingsu. Now get a taste of your own medicine, grinch," Gilyeong laughed evilly, shoving his phone into Ahyeong's eyesight as she tried to stop him from ruining her eyes in front of her food.

Even in dreams, her brother was as nasty as they came.

"You evil little-" Ahyeong wrestled the phone out of his hands, making the younger Song frown and whine at her to give it back to him, and got an idea as she glanced at the shelf on top of her desk.

"If you promise to behave yourself this week, I'll let you borrow that," she said, pointing at the Junji Ito comic that Wangja had let her borrow.

Gilyeong looked up, and his eyes glimmered in anticipation as he jumped up to grab it from the shelf.

"Woah, where did you get this from?" He exclaimed as he started to peruse the pages, "It was out of stock in every bookstore I dragged you to."

"I got it from a hippie who starred in a drama," she smirked at her brother's puzzled face , "so, do we have a deal?"

She raised her hands as she said so.

Her brother looked up at her suspiciously, eyes narrowed in contemplation, then nodded briefly, "deal."

He raised his palms, meeting Ahyeong's halfway as they did their Handshake of Temporary Truce.

Yes, they had different handshakes for a whole list of situations.

"But you still have to pay up for your flinches from yesterday and now," he drawled while walking out of her room.

Wait, yesterday?

"What do you mean the flinch from yesterday?"

Gilyeong stopped midway and turned around, confused.

"Don't tell me you've been getting amnesia too. We were at the restaurant yesterday with Mum and Dad's investors, remember?"

With that ominous comment, he stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

Sunlight peeked through the half-open blinds, beaming on Ahyeong's face as she woke up and looked around her room, same as ever.

What a crazy dream.

She remembered it as clear as day.

But it was over and done with, and she was in reality now.

For a moment she pondered how she had gotten into her bed, but then trashed the thought. One of her parents had probably carried her here when she had fallen into a deep sleep in the lobby of the restaurant.

She got up, picking up her phone to look at the day and time.

It was around 8 on a Sunday morning, and Ahyeong yawned, kicking off her blanket to freshen up. She woke up too early for a weekend.

Deciding to explore the city for the day, she changed into a button-up and denim trousers, picking up a set of Doc Martens on her way out for breakfast.

"What's new this mornin', gremlin," she greeted Gilyeong while running down the stairs, who sat by the couch reading something, its cover blocked out of her eyesight.

She slightly tripped on the last two steps and hit her knee on the railing, hissing in pain and lightly hopping towards the dining table.

"Good morning, Eunjung-ssi," Ahyeong smiled through her discomfort at the maid, in complete contrast to the way she greeted her brother, and he scowled at her from his spot but didn't say anything.

Eunjung rolled her eyes in good nature at the sibling's antics, all too used to it, "Good morning to you too."

She set down two servings of rice, soup, and a variety of side dishes for breakfast, and the siblings came to sit at the dining table.

As Ahyeong scooped up a spoonful of rice, she saw Gilyeong putting down his book, finally spotting its cover.

She paused.

"Hey, dongsaeng, how did you get that?" She said as she pointed at the copy of Shiver.

The young Song stopped eating, pointing a fake grin at her.

"From the grinch who got it from a hippie who starred in a drama."

This was not a dream.

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