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ginnyweasleywannabe · 3 years

Text

Treasure Hunt Chapter 2

You can find Chapter 1 linked in my Masterlist

Chapter 2

Her plan to find Marc was off to a bit of a rough start. For starters, she didn’t actually know where Marc went and even if she did, she didn’t have a car to get there. Damn. Marlene liked to think of herself as an independent person but the more she thought about it, the more she was going to need help. She was brainstorming who to ask, she needed someone who would be willing to go on this kind of trip, someone who wouldn’t stop until they finished. She of course thought about asking James. He loved a good adventure, but he was about to start his season and training was taking all of his time. Her best friend from uni, Dorcas, was still in Glasgow and besides she loved Cas but the girl would quit if this thing got to out of hand. There was one person Marlene could think of. Dammit.

It was 8:30 and still raining, Marlene was barely noticing the rain, she had just knocked but she was wondering if she could still make a break for it, maybe he hadn’t heard the knock. She had decided that 30 seconds had been long enough and he wasn’t home so she could turn around, when the door swung open. Dammit. Again.

“Hel- lo?” Sirius Black opened the door with irritation. He wasn’t sure who could be at his door at 8:30, he knew the group was out for drinks and it was too early for any girls to be showing up. But he had to admit this was this last person he was suspecting. He quirked his eyebrow up as he finished his greeting.

“Marlene?”

Ok so Marlene hadn’t thought that far in advance. She had got the idea and her mind and immediately set it in motion, now she was standing at his door in the rain like a crazy person. Like the clingy girl he had made her feel like.

“Um Hi,” She tried to offer him a smile but it was more of a grimace. “I was hoping we could talk?” she then rushed out, “not about us! Um I have an issue, well a problem, a situation.” God this was already going so bad and he was just standing there. “ I brought beer” she held up a 6 pack with a sheepish smile. He was still just standing there, staring at her. “and its raining, Sirius.” She finally resolved herself and leveled him with a glare.

“Oh right! Sorry! Yeah come in!” He awkwardly held the door as she stepped into his studio.

Marlene looked around the place, he hadn’t changed anything, she was about to have made a full turn, she was taking it slow not quite ready to face him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a big black dog lunging at her. Quick to brace for impact, “Snuffles!!” she wrapped her arms around him., “oh I’ve missed you buddy!!”

Sirius had walked to the two giving them a slight eye roll, “I can’t believe you leveled my big English mastiff named Samson to that cuddly goob who answers to snuffles.”

“Yeah well that’s because he’s a big cuddle muffin! Yes you are! Yes you are!”

Sirius was just looking at his ex, he couldn’t possibly thing of why she would be here. They hadn’t talk once since their breakup. He wasn’t sure what to say, he still felt for the way he ended things but he didn’t like to think about it, better to avoid.

“So Marls, why are you here?” Sirius pursed his lips and braced himself for whatever way this could go.

Marlene looked up at him, she felt ten different emotions, “I hope I didn’t crash you twos bachelor night. I’ll give you a moment to text the flavor of the night and tell her you’re going to be delayed.” Ok so maybe Marlene wasn’t completely over the breakup.

Sirius let out a puff of air, “Alright time to crack open of those beers you brought, yeah?”

They both grabbed a beer and as nervous as Sirius was, Marlene seemed more, she had finished her can in one long gulp.

“So you’re probably wondering why I’m here, at your door, like the crazy clingy, ‘its getting too serious girl’” Sirius just stared, that was thing about Marlene- she always just said whatever came to here mind. “ok well you know my brother Marc” Her arms were flying around now, “Marc, tall, brown hair, permanent scowl, 6 foot 2-“

“Yes, Marlene, I know Marc, if you remember you forced all of us on an awful double date.”

“Yep. That’s the one! Well he found some old diary in the archives and he was following some lead about some old, well don’t make fun of me but treasure.” Marlene bit her lip in anticipation.

“Treasure?” Sirius raises his eyebrows, “what does that even mean?”

“Well you know the old wives tail about the lost items of the Hogwarts founders?”

Sirius knew they story, his whole family had gone to Hogwarts, just a gave her nod and waited to see where this was going.

“Well its real and Marc thinks, thought, he could find it. Anyway he left two weeks ago and he was supposed to return last night but he didn’t come home. And my graduation ceremony was today, he wouldn’t have missed it. Also he’s been texting me, Marc has been texting me. I’m starting to get worried.” Marlene’s worry for Marc showing on her face, “So I was think I would go after him and bonus if there is gold!”

“Marlene, I don’t mean to be rude but why are you here?” Sirius still wasn’t sure how this story was relevant to him, especially since he was under the impression was that she hated him. Or at least wanted nothing to do with him.

“Well the thing is I don’t think I can do it on my own, for one I don’t have car, and two I’m not sure what’s waiting out there for me.” God Marlene couldn’t believe she was having to ask Sirius for help, taking a big breath she knew she needed to do this for Marc, “I need your help.”

Well that was not the answer Sirius was expecting. He could see how much she didn’t want to ask him, why had she asked him?

“And you came to me for help because……?”

“Because you’re a greedy asshole.” Marlene said in a flat tone. “The thing is I need someone who is willing to go through whatever’s waiting out there for us if it means he’ll get something big in return. If you help me, you can have gold. All I want is the four lost treasures, for museums. …And James happened to mention you family was exactly funding you now that school is over so it could be helpful.”

Damn James and his big mouth. He looked at her, she was giving him big puppy dog eyes, she had the brightest blue eyes. She looked like a mix of nerves and hope.

“Please Sirius, its Marc. You know what it took for me to come to you. Besides, it could be a great adventure!” She was hoping to appeal to his mischievous side but she was starting to lose hope but then she saw him smirk…

Sirius couldn’t help it but she just looked so desperate, and he really did need the money.

“Alright McKinnon, let’s say it is real. Where would we start?” He said it in a teasing voice but Marlene was going to take it and run for it.

“We???” She said it with a big smile- one Sirius used to tell he loved and she had once told him it was reserved for only him. “Well we,” She waved a finger between them, “would start by going to Marcs office, he must have left some kind of note about where he was starting.”

Sirius gave her a small headshake, “Okay McKinnon, we’ll go to his office and if we find something that is actual hard proof and not your word. I’ll go.”

“Great! Let’s rock and roll” Marlene gave a bounce and started past him for the door.

Sirius put hand on her waist as she passed by, both of them ignoring the slight heat they felt. “Slow down there blondie, it’s almost 10 at night on a Saturday we can’t go right now.”

Marlene was pointedly trying to ignore that his hand was still on her waist and their faces close together. She would blame that mix of feeling in her stomach on her slightly tipsy state.

“Well duh, but I have a key to the artifacts department. So now.” She hesitated then said, “Unless you do have someone coming over.” There’s that weird dip in her stomach, “God you’re right we can just go in the morning.”

“No, no, I uh just didn’t know you had a key. We can go now.” Sirius didn’t know why he was so quick to correct her. Sure he had gone out with a couple girls since their spilt but he never went past a second date.

“Great.”

They both released some air and just shared a small smile. Marlene was the first to break eye contact. She pushed some hair behind her ear.

“Okay well the rain stopped so we can just walk.” God she was over him, that was the whole point of asking him so she could show everyone that she wasn’t hurt about what happened, they could co-exist. But even if just to herself, she could admit, he would always be that handsome guy she was first taken with in some ruddy pub.

Luckily the campus wasn’t far from Sirius’ place. The building was so old there wasn’t an elevator. The history and artifacts were on the fifth floor. The two we climbing the stairs. There was a loud creak from behind Marlene, she gave a sigh and an eye roll.

“Could you please try to be quiet, I know I have key but its technically Marcs spare so we can’t get caught.” She had turned her head around to glare at the ridiculously handsome in the moonlight boy a few steps behind her.

“Sorry McKinnon, I got distracted by the view” He gave her a wink and a cheeky smile.

Marlene rolled her eyes at him muttering perv under her breath as turned back around. Right as they reached the top of the stairs, there was a loud clang from the end of the dark hallway. Marlene let out a shriek, Sirius’ hands went out to her waist to stop her from falling back down the last stair he was on.

“What happened to being quiet, princess?” Sirius had step up on to the landing so he was whispering right behind her ear.

Marlene stepped away giving him a small glare and smoothed her shirt

“Are you still afraid of the dark?” He was trying hard not to smile

“I’m not afraid of the dark! I’ll have you know I’ve handled myself just fine with Marc gone. Besides, there are just a lot of old cursed things in this building, it can be spooky. And ghosts.”

Marlene turned on her heel and headed down the hall way. Sirius stopped holding back the smile he was trying to hide. He used to jump at the chance to be her hero, as he liked to think it, whenever Marc would go out of town. He always find it cute how jump she was. Those nights she would practically sleep on top of him. He missed it. Wait no. Sure it was nice but that was then, not now, not after he burned her.

He was watching her dig through Marcs desk. He honestly didn’t know why he did it, well he kind of knew the reason. The truth was when he and Marlene first started dating he was looking for a future. It was right after spending the holidays at the Potters and he saw what Mia and Monty had. He realized that marriage wasn’t the hallow imprisonment his parents had made it out to be. He wanted that someone who he knew he could always count on, not someone perfect but something at the end of it all it was worth it because you still had them.

Marlene and Marc had come to the Potters for Christmas dinner, she looked stunning. Well honestly she looked hot. He was surrounded in the best environment he had been in and she was adding to that. Things had changed after that Christmas and he pursued her. He was ready to get serious with her but then James bought a ring. James had bought a ring and Sirius was just ready to be officially exclusive. Seeing James talk about proposing was freaking him out, this was too much. Marlene had never pushed him but he just got freaked and called the whole thing off. Now he just avoided her if he could help it, it felt weird, like there was this underlying tension between them. He supposed there was they had never had a really talk about their breakup, it was just one day were serious and exclusive and then the next they were over and haven’t spoken since. Now he was here watching her dig around some old filing cabinets. Her blonde hair was almost a silver glow in the light coming from the window.

“Ah ha!” Marlene had pulled him from his thoughts, thoughts he shouldn’t be having.

She was scanning over some papers she had found, her tongue sticking out.

“Whatcha got there Sherlock?”

She didn’t even glance up at him, “It’s Marcs initial notes, it’s not much but here he mentions something about a town called Godric’s Hollow.”

“Who’s there?” The old groundskeepers voice rang.

“Shit, we need to move” Sirius pulled her into a closet. A rather small closet. They were standing face to face. Chest practically touching

“What are you-“ Marlene’s voice was cut off by Sirius’ hand clamping down over her mouth.

He tried to give her a stern shut the hell up face but she just licked his hand.

“Did you just lick me?” He said it with an angry whisper

“Oh nothing I haven’t done before” Marlene raised her eyebrows then, “I’ll just go out and show him my ID and it’ll be fine.”

“No. It will not be fine. Me and James have had loads of run-ins with old Filchy and he takes his job way too seriously.” Sirius was still whispering with a tone. Marlene just rolled her eyes, it had only been a few hours but she was going to be doing it a lot during this little adventure of theirs.

Sirius peaked through a small crack in the door, “Alright do you think you have enough? We should probably get out of here.”

Marlene gave him a nod and they emerged quietly from closet. Marlene gave a little shiver in the hallway, she hadn’t realized how warm they had gotten in the small closet. They quickly made their way down the stairs. Emerging from the building letting out puff of air.

They decided on walking back to Marlene’s, all while going over the notes she had found.

“It’s kind of a jumbled mess but he used a code. It was one we made up when I was little. He would make up little treasure hunts for me and James to on around the property. See this line

‘jrgulfv kdoorz’ if you take each letter and go to the letter 3 after it in the alphabet it spells Godric’s Hollow. I looked it up in my phone its some tiny town about 5 hours from here. He’s got some other random stuff that doesn’t quite make sense to me yet but I figure going there would be a good place to start.” The had made it to her door stop, she stepped up on to the first step, “We should get started in the morning, can you pick me up at 8?”

If Marlene was going to make him get up that early, he was going to give her a tease. He had remembered what she said earlier in the night, “You’re sure you don’t want me to stay the night McKinnon? I know how you can get when you’re alone.”

Sirius was giving her that teasing smirk, it used to always get her worked up but two could play at that game, “I’ll have you know I’ve been doing just fine on my own.” She said it in a voice that alluded that they were now talking about something other the being scared.

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, “Oh really?” He said slow, he was always happy to flirt with Marlene, especially about this topic.

Marlene leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Really, you see I’ve had some help.” Sirius face fell flat at that. Marlene smirked and leaned back a little, “It’s about this big,” She held her index fingers about 6 inches apart, “hot pink and battery operated.”

Sirius let mix of a puff of air and an attempt at a small laugh, Marlene just smirked. She knew she was getting him worked up. She leaned in again. She lowered her voice to her best sexy voice.

“I’ll admit, I’ve been lonely lately. It’ll be late at night and my mind will start to wander. And I just can’t help myself, slowly I’ll reach my hand down, God I’m already so wet. I touch myself and I started to get worked up, I’m almost there, I speed up, and then,” Marlene stood up straight and deadpanned her voice, “Sometimes I’ll think of you and it really kills my mood.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder turned around in walked up the steps. She turned over her shoulder and with a wink said “I’ll see you at 8, Sirius.” In the door she went.

Sirius was just standing at the bottom of the stoop, mouth parted. He rubbed his hand against the light stubble on his face, that girl was going to be the death of him.

#blackinnon #sirius x marlene #Treasure Hunt #marlene x sirius #marlius #my writing

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tarotdeckshuffle · 5 years

Note

This is a weird prompt but I think you will knock it out of the park as you always do: HC about the chocobros (and whoever you choose!) needing their crush's help (not quite s/o yet but feeling is probably mutual) to remove a tick that has latched onto them in an embarrassing area (butt cheek, on a scar they don't want to show, etc.) and having to remove a tick from their crush that is in a similar area. Just thought it would be a funny prompt. Thank you and have a good day!

Wow…this thing took forever to write. I don’t know why, but it was SUPER hard for me.

Also, this is super long already, so it’s just the Bros.

Director’s cut can be found here!

Hope you enjoy!

Taglist: @idiotflowerex, @laststory1013, @sayaoqueen, @jophinabean, @mysme-already

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But…Ticks.

Noctis

The two of you went out hiking together, where he had planned to confess his feelings for you.

You’re on a romantic overlook,

He’s trying to gather the nerve to say something,

When suddenly he freaks out because he feels something crawling on him.

He’s dancing around like an idiot.

“What is it?! What’s crawling on me?!”

You’re begging him to stand still between fits of laughter.

But he insists something is biting him.

When you ask where, he blushes…hard.

“Nowhere…I’ll get it!”

He runs behind a nearby stand of trees,

You hear grunts, cursing, and the like.

And are in tears from laughing so hard!

Finally, a defeated and blushing Prince comes out.

“I can’t get it off…”

“Get what?”

“It’s a tick…”

“Do you need help?” You’re going to have to pry the words out of his mouth, you fear.

He looks at the ground, “Yeah.”

You go behind the trees, where Noct starts undoing his belt.

It’s your turn to blush.

“What’re you…What’re you doing?!” You stammer.

“It’s…on my butt…” Noctis is about to explode he’s so red.

You had thought the insect was on his back or something,

But this?!

You’re blushing hard as you’re exposed to a full moon…

He just went for it.

The pants and the boxers are gone.

You have to turn away for a moment.

But you come back as you promised to help him.

There it is,

Latched onto the royal butt cheek

Is the tick.

You reach down to pinch it off,

But it won’t come.

“OWowowowowow…” Noctis complains.

“Give me a second, I’m trying!”

Again, you pull at the little insect.

“It’s biting harder!”

You really can’t please Noct, can you?

The little bug isn’t coming off.

You’re about ready to call off this rescue mission when an idea strikes you.

“Wait! I know what to do!”

You run to your bag and rummage around it.

Finally, you find them: your matches.

“I read about this on Pinterest once!” You exclaim proudly.

“You did what? What are you doing?”

Noctis is not ok with this plan.

Before he can complain further, you light the match

And hold hit before the tick.

You look up at your crush, a mischievous twinkle to your eyes.

“Don’t fart,” you say with a wink.

Noctis’s expression says it all: “What the hell?”

Your plan works!

The tick begins to unlatch from Noct, drawn to the new heat.

You pinch it off of him and toss it into the woods,

Before blowing the match out.

Victoriously, you exclaim “And there you have it, your royal hiney-ness!”

He can’t even right now.

The two of you get situated before making your way back down the trail.

The walk back is silent.

It doesn’t bode well for your friendship.

You’re sure Noct never wants to see you again.

“I’ll…see you around, then…” you mutter as you turn to walk home from the trail head.

“Wait.” Noctis takes your hand.

You’re stunned for a moment.

Noctis lets you go as he searches for words.

He removes his hat, trying to be formal and sincere.

But instead just fidgets with it in his hands.

“I…I brought you out here today for a reason,” he begins. “I wanted to…to tell you how I feel.”

You stare at him, still stunned.

“I really like you and…and I was hoping to spend more time with you. I want to know you better.”

Noctis stares at the ground to his left.

“You do? I mean, you STILL do,” you ask.

Noctis simply laughs.

It’s an amazing sound and his whole face lights up.

“Especially now,” he exclaims.

You can’t believe it!

Your joy reveals a warm smile on your face.

“I’d really like that,” you reply.

The two of you are smiling at each other,

Unsure of what to do next,

When an uninvited guest decides to butt in.

Something bites your earlobe.

You cry out from it.

Noctis immediately comes to your rescue.

“What is it?”

“Something bit me!” You can still feel that nasty bug crawling on you.

“I see it,” Noctis picks at your hair, attempting to rid you of the pest.

When suddenly,

He makes time stand still.

You’re so focused on the intruder that you didn’t notice Noctis was preparing to kiss you.

His warm lips softly kiss your cheek.

You can feel your whole face turn red.

“What was that,” you stammer. “Did you get the bug?!”

Noctis laughs again.

“Yeah, I got it.”

Your head is still spinning.

Seconds pass as Noct wonders if he sidestepped.

For you, everything is wonderful.

The Crown Prince!

Likes you!

YOU!

Just as Noct pulls away, you pull him close,

And kiss those perfect lips.

In that moment, the world speeds past you,

But it’s no matter.

Because this is where you belong.

Prompto

The two of you worked together.

Honestly, you couldn’t be more different.

You were always trying to be serious as Prompto joked about a situation.

He tried to comfort someone as you tried to help them find a solution.

You found his constant optimism fairly annoying,

He found your logical approach to everything to be bleak.

You like cats, he likes dogs.

Etc.

But you couldn’t deny he was amazing.

He could raise everyone’s spirits,

And brighten even your day.

His smile could bring you to your knees,

And his humming was infectious.

But…damn if he didn’t also annoy you.

It got so bad that your boss “recommended” that the two of you do some “team bonding”.

For a shift, you two got dropped off at a trail head and told you’d be picked up in eight hours.

The whole prospect annoyed you.

“Fine, you go do whatever, I’m going to walk home,” you said as your boss’s car drove away.

“Noooo,” Prompto whined. “We’re supposed to be team building!”

“We’re not a team.” You had started to walk away.

Your flat wasn’t far from here, you could easily make it home to have a day off!

“C’mon!” Prompto jumped in front of you, taking you by surprise.

“Even if we’re not a team, doesn’t a hike sound nice?”

He looked remarkably like a puppy right now.

You had to admit, there were worse people you could be spending the day with.

You took a moment before relenting.

Prompto cheered as he took your hand and led you up the trail.

You were glad he was focused on the path ahead and couldn’t see your face.

How were his hands so soft?

You continued on for sometime before he “realized” he was still holding your hand.

He blushed and apologized for holding onto you for so long.

You really didn’t mind.

You weren’t sure how long you had been going, but the hike was quite pleasant!

You shared stories and laughed at his jokes.

You really had more in common than you thought!

Time passed quickly and you were stopping for lunch.

Miraculously, Prompto had brought a picnic?!

You were impressed by his planning, but also suspicious.

You sat and enjoyed sandwiches while admiring the view.

The whole experience was turning out rather well, you had to admit.

Prompto was in the middle of another story, mouth half full of food, when he suddenly froze.

There was silence,

Before you asked, “What’s up? You ok?”

Like a bolt of lightning Prompto sprang from his seat!

“BUGS!!” He cried.

He was dancing about, kicking food over, and frantically brushing at himself.

Mouth still filled with food, his screams were inaudible.

You stood and held out your hands to him,

“Prom, Prom, PROMPTO!”

Finally you got his attention.

“Calm…” You took deep breaths and gestured for him to mimic you.

He did.

“Good, now swallow your food. Good, don’t choke…Now, what’s wrong?”

It was like trying to calm a horse: you had to slow the world down to one thing at a time.

Prompto quivered as he tried to keep calm.

“Buuugs…” he whimpered.

“You have bugs on you,” you tried to clarify.

He nodded, swallowing hard.

“Ok, ok. What can I do to help?”

Prompto snapped back to reality and took count of his surroundings.

“I got this,” he exclaimed with a newfound confidence.

Arms outstretched and walking like his legs couldn’t bend,

Prompto made for the nearest stand of trees.

Once out of sight, you could hear shuffling.

“Ew, ew, ewewewew…” he exclaimed.

You had to laugh a bit.

It took some time, but finally, he came out.

Prompto was still shirtless.

He was as white as Elmer’s glue.

Like…bad.

But he was remarkably fit!

Damn…

He was blushing as he approached you.

“Can I…can I have a hand? Please?”

“What’s up?”

“I have one I can’t reach…”

“Er, sure…how can I help?”

“There’s one…” He blushed too hard to finish.

You gestured for him to continue.

He took a deep breath. “Down there.”

“In your pants?!” Your face felt like it was on fire.

No! No way were you doing that!

“Yes, but not like…not on the front!”

“On your…butt?”

“Yeah…”

“NOPE! No way I’m doing that! Not in my job description!”

You threw your hands up and began to walk away.

He reached out and took your shoulder.

“Please,” he begged. “I’m terrified of bugs!”

How could you say no to those eyes?

AND his warm hand on your shoulder?

“Fine.”

You relented and turned back to him.

Back in the tree stand, you found out that his butt was as snow white as the rest of him.

He surely was the fairest of them all.

Pants down, you picked all of the ticks off of him, one by one.

You tried not to see too much, though.

“So, you’re scared of bugs? Is that why you like birds so much,” you asked, trying to ease the situation with small talk.

“I guess so…I never thought about it like that, but it makes sense.”

Prompto tried to turn to smile at you.

“Nonono buddy, you face THAT way!”

You put up a hand to push him back.

You thought you were finishing up,

When a voice came to you from the campsite.

“Is someone there? Is everything ok?”

Two strangers were at your camp.

“CRAP CRAP CRAP! Hi! Yeah, everything’s great!”

Prompto yelled out to them.

“Just,” he looked over to you for help.

“NAPPING,” you shouted.

He bent over, attempting to gather his clothes,

Forgetting you were right behind him,

When the hikers peeked behind the nearest bush.

“Ok, we just wanted to make sure…”

You didn’t know old women’s eyes could grow that large.

But there they were,

And there you were,

Face to face with Prompto’s glowing bare butt.

“It’s not what it…” you started.

The second old woman grabbed the arm of the first.

“It’s ok,dear. You do…you.”

Your brain quit working.

“We’ll be going now,” the second woman proclaimed.

“See ya later!” Prompto blurted.

They looked like they had seen aliens as they disappeared.

When you couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore, you fell over backwards laughing.

Between breaths, you managed “See you later? What the hell?”

Prompto had pulled his pants up and was hiding his face in his hands.

“I don’t know…it just happened, ok?”

It took a long time before you could stand due to laughing fits.

Eventually, you made your way back down the mountain.

Prompto had forgotten all about his bug problems.

You were near the trail head as your time together ticked away.

“Sorry,” Prompto began.

The usually cheery man looked glum and wouldn’t look at you.

“For what?” You genuinely didn’t know what it was about.

By now, you truly enjoyed his company.

You realized you hadn’t wanted someone to make you happy,

That’s why he had annoyed you so badly.

Prompto looked at you, desperation in his eyes.

“For all of this! There’s something you should know.” He took a deep breath and held up a hand so silence your protests.

“This whole day was planned…well, sort of, not the weird bug bits and…” He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter! I like you! Like…REALLY like you! And everyone at work knew! So, it was their plan to make us spend the day together so I’d ask you out and I was on board with it but…I screwed it up, but not the usual way! NO, I MEGA screwed this one up! You go, Prompto, you took a perfectly nice hike and…”

He had planned this?

He got you out of work to ask you out?

It was a cute plan, you had to admit.

You stopped his pacing and ranting by placing a hand on his shoulder.

You spun him around and kissed his shocked lips.

Finally, he was silent.

“It was a weird day, but it was fun,” you whispered as you pulled away.

“Really?”

The question seemed to pull the last of Prom’s strength from his body.

“Yes. What do you say we turn around and spend more time up here?”

He smiled as he leaned in to kiss you, again.

“EEEGH!” He screamed, almost falling away from you. “BUG!”

“What?!” You were taken by surprise! “Where?”

“In your hair!” Prompto summoned all his courage to flick out one hand from his chest and get the small bug out of your hair.

You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Wanna check me for more,” you asked, winking at him.

“NO.”

“Aww, c’mere!” You chased after Prompto back up the path, teasing him the whole way.

Ignis

You came to visit the guys at one of their campsites.

Hoping to spend a little bit of time with Ignis,

Who you had a crush on for ages.

You tend to think that most people have a crush on him, though.

The day passed by with ease,

Mostly spent helping the other men with their hobbies.

When dinner rolled around, you hopped up and offered Ignis your assistance.

He gave you a warm smile,

“Ah, is it my turn to have your attention?”

A rosy blush crept over your face.

“If you’ll have it,” you teased back.

His smile deepened.

“Most gladly!”

Unbeknownst to you, the other three men all exchanged looks.

You and Iggy set out to prepare dinner.

Everything was going smoothly,

You were cutting up vegetables as Ignis added them to a searing pan.

Enjoying the smooth pace and culinary dance,

When your thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

“Bullocks!” It was Ignis!

“What’s wrong? Did you cut yourself?”

You were at his side in an instant.

“No…we’re short ingredients.”

He looked around the makeshift kitchen.

“I could have sworn we had more tomatoes…”

You brightened at seeing a way to help!

“I could go find you some! They should grow in this area!”

You were already five steps out of the kitchen when Ignis caught your arm.

Both of you froze.

You were blushing, having not expected that from Ignis.

He was blushing, not knowing why he had done reached out.

He pulled away and attempted to regain his composure.

Pushing up his glasses to hide his blush.

“I should go with you,” he cleared his throat. “The monsters here are quite formidable.”

“Are you sure? Won’t the food burn?”

You weren’t sure why you were asking these questions,

You really did want him to come with you!

“Yes, it shall be fine. It’s all but done.”

Ignis removed the pan from the heat and covered it.

He made the “watching you” gesture to the other men,

For he had a feeling they would eat without the two of you,

Before joining you at the edge of camp.

“Let us be off, then!”

He held out his elbow for you to link with and the two of you were off.

“Aren’t they cute! They look like something from the Wizard of Oz,” Prompto exclaimed as you left.

He, Gladio, and Noctis all pulled tomatoes out from under their chairs.

You and Ignis strode on, looking everywhere you could think of for the ruby red fruit.

“Finally! Someone who agrees with me! A tomato is technically a fruit,” you discussed with Iggy.

“That is true, although it does not have the sweetness commonly associated with fruit,” he continued.

“True. As the saying goes, “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit…’” you began.

“‘Wisdom is not adding it to a fruit salad,’” Ignis finished.

You smiled at him.

How could one man be so intelligent and handsome and charismatic and…

“Oh! Over there!” A red glint in the sun had caught your eye.

Growing out of the dry dirt was a giant mess of a tomato plant!

The old thing was so large it resembled more of a bush than most plants you had ever seen.

You and Ignis investigated your discovery, hoping to find any remaining fruit on it.

Unfortunately, animals had beaten you to many of them,

With the resident bugs getting many of the rest.

But deep within the bush, one crimson globe still remained.

You offered to get it, but your companion refused.

“Logistically, I’m much taller than you. I should be able to reach it.”

You shrugged and let him, not eager to dive into a dark, bug infested bush.

Laying on his side and leaning into the plant, Ignis stretched one arm into it.

After much struggle, the battle was won!

“Got it,” he exclaimed, a look of victory on his face as he pulled his arm from the bush!

But the victory was short lived as the arm of his suit was now swarming with bugs.

Ignis jumped to his feet!

He threw off his jacket and started swatting at the bugs that were now on his shirt,

Somehow, not dropping the tomato in the process.

You rushed to his back to help, attempting to brush bugs where he couldn’t see them.

Ignis whined as he danced around, now pulling his shirt off over his head and discarding it.

The tomato ended up in the pile of clothes.

“THEY’RE EVERYWHERE,” he cried!

His distress made you distressed, but you were unsure of what to do.

“Stop…” Iggy muttered to himself.

He forced himself to stop dancing about and breathe.

“Think…”

You could see he was attempting to focus.

“ARG! They’re absolutely everywhere!”

His composure was lost as he now began brushing at his pants.

“Iggy, Ignis! Stop!”

You finally got his attention.

“How can I help?”

He tried to breath, again, but it came out as a whine.

“They’re all down my legs! And they’re biting,” he bemoaned.

You saw only one solution.

“Then get rid of your pants.”

The bluntness in your voice caught Iggy off guard.

“Excuse me?”

“Take off your pants,” you exclaimed.

“I cannot!”

“I’m trying to help you, though!”

“I shall not!”

“You shall!”

“Shant!”

“SHALL!”

“It’s not…” Ignis struggled to find the last word as he began to bounce again. “Proper.”

“Do we have time for proper?”

He sighed as he accepted your argument.

His long fingers shook as he undid his belt.

His cheeks took on the same shade of crimson as the tomato as he turned his back to you and dropped his pants to the ground.

You would have taken a moment to admire the view if the bugs skittering over his legs were not so clearly visible!

Hurriedly, you helped him sweep away the unwelcome guests on his legs.

“Disease ridden pests” Iggy cursed as you worked.

“I beg your pardon,” you joked.

“No! Not you, I mean…” He looked even more flustered at your joke in his current position.

“It’s alright! I’m kidding! There…I think we got them all,” you said, leaning back.

“I would agree but…I can attest to one more.”

“Oh? Where? I don’t see it,” you started to examine his legs.

Ignis would not look at you.

You got suspicious.

“Iggy, where,” you asked sternly.

“It’s really no problem! I’ll take care of it at camp…”

Ignis reached for his trousers.

You snatched them away.

“Where, Iggy?”

“It’s made its home in a…private area.”

“Iggy, don’t play games with me.”

You sort of hoped he was just playing.

“Unfortunately, I’m not,” he said in an exasperated tone.

You took a sharp breath.

You used it to say,“Let’s just…get it over with.”

Ignis closed his eyes tight before throwing his boxers down.

You closed your eyes for the reveal and now opened just one to see.

It was just going to be a normal butt, right?

Nothing weird, nothing great, just a butt?

And it was, but it was also extraordinarily well defined.

Could someone work out their butt muscles? Was that a thing?

Did Ignis specifically work out his butt?

You eyes scanned the muscly masterpiece before coming to rest on a brown dot in the middle of his cheek.

“I see it!” Your voice held more excitement that it likely should have.

With a powerful pinch, you sent the bug away.

“Ouch! Careful,” Ignis yelped.

“Sensitive down there, are we,” you teased as you got to your feet.

The strategist snatched his clothes from the ground and began to violently shake them.

“Perhaps,” he stammered, blushing.

Still in his boxers, he turned to you.

“Your turn. Turn around,” he commanded.

You had to admit, being ordered by him filled a certain need you never knew you had!

Snapping back to your senses, you protested.

“I’m fine! Really, you got them all!”

“Best to be sure of that than have you sick later,” he retorted, forcefully spinning you around.

His hands were warm on your neck, igniting a fire within you.

He was close enough that you could feel the heat from his body.

His fingers worked through your hair, sending tingles up your spine.

But this wasn’t how it should be.

“Wait!” You snapped back to your senses.

Ignis seemed like he had just come back to reality, as well.

The two of you stared at each other for a moment.

“At least…get dressed first,” you offered.

Ignis sighed.

“Fair enough.”

He was buttoning up his shirt when he glanced over at your bushing face.

“Is something wrong?”

“No!” You were brought back to the Ignis before you, not the one in your fantasies.

The one you had let run his hands through your hair and kiss down your neck.

You looked up to find him staring back at you, a gently sullen look to his gaze.

“I’m truly sorry. What I did was…inappropriate,” he exclaimed, looking down at his shoes.

“What was?!” You truly didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I should not have laid a hand on you without your consent. Forcing you to be checked for insects was inappropriate and…”

“Iggy!” You were before him in a few quick steps.

“It’s alright! I’m not upset about that,” you assured him.

The look of shock on Ignis’s face was adorable.

In that moment, he slightly resembled Prompto.

“You’re not?”

“No!”

“Well, that’s comforting! I was so afraid I had overstepped! It was just that I didn’t want you to get bitten by those nasty things and in my haste I wasn’t thinking!”

You couldn’t help but giggle.

He really could be a knight in shining armor.

Ignis couldn’t help but admire your smile.

It was utterly beautiful.

He put his hands on your cheeks as you calmed.

“Then what are you upset about? Please, tell me.”

You couldn’t hide anything from those warm eyes, especially not now.

“I’m upset that part of me wanted something else. It was a completely platonic moment where you were worried about me and my dumb self thought it was…something more.”

You stopped, shocked you had actually said so much.

That was it, you were sure of it.

You had just finished off your friendship with Ignis in one fell swoop!

“Well,” he began. “It sort of was.”

Your racing mind halted in its tracks.

“It was what?” You couldn’t have heard that right.

“It was. I thought so, too.” Ignis was beet red but trying to shrug it off.

You couldn’t help it as you burst into fits of laughter.

Ignis joined you.

Every time the two of you would meet eyes, you’d start laughing again.

Finally, you found your composure.

“Wow, Iggy, I thought you were more romantic than that,” you teased.

He straightened. “I would like to think that I am! How about you let me prove it?”

He took a step closer to you.

“I’d like that,” you smiled as the distance between the two of you ceased.

Tilting your chin up, you shared a soft, warm kiss, leaving you both with a smile.

Upon reaching camp, you found the food gone and plates dirtied.

“You were gone so long, we figured you ate,” Noctis said as Ignis frowned at the scene.

“I bet you ate something, all right,” Prompto added, wiggling his eyebrows.

His blond hair changed to red as Ignis smashed the tomato over his head.

Gladio

You mentioned one day that you had never been on a proper hike.

He couldn’t believe it and said that you NEEDED to go on one.

You smiled and nodded saying that the two of you should “Make a date of it!”

He blushed so hard you wondered if he was ok.

It was so cute!

He told you that you’d go this weekend!

You didn’t believe him.

That was, until he showed up at your door early the next morning!

His chest bare under the unbuttoned flannel shirt.

“Going for the lumberjack look,” you asked, still half asleep.

“Yep. You could say I’m lumber-jacked,” he retorted with way too much enthusiasm for a morning.

He hoped that being “spontaneous” would be romantic.

Honestly, it was kind of annoying.

He waited as you rushed around to get ready.

Then you were off!

You drove together to his favorite trail.

An “easy” one, he claimed.

But it wasn’t long before you were winded.

The hike really wasn’t that easy,

Even Gladio shed what little shirt he wore and tied it around his waist.

You had to admit, the view was great!

Especially now ;)

It was approaching midmorning when you finally stopped for a break.

You sat down in the shade to enjoy a snack

When you saw Gladio.

What was he doing?

Some sort of yoga pose?

His arms were bent and stretched over his head,

His face was contorted…

He saw you staring and snapped his arms to his sides.

“Could you…could you scratch my back? Please?”

He looked so embarrassed.

You just laughed.

“Muscles too big?”

“…yeah,” he admitted.

He turned his back to you

And you saw what was bothering him!

It was a small bug,

Latched onto his back!

“Oh! Bug,” you cried!

“Calm down. Just get it off.”

Leave it to your lumberjack warrior to be cool in this situation.

You picked at the dark thing,

But it started scampering away from your fingers!

Gladio danced as he felt it crawl down his back,

You tried to chase after it, pinching him all the way down!

But the speedy little thing slipped below his pant line in an instant!

Gladio turned his head and the two of you stared at each other for a moment.

Before he turned back and started undoing his belt.

“WHAT…What are you doing?” you stammered.

“Getting that little bastard,” the shield grumbled.

You began to blush.

“Can’t it…wait?! It’s just a little bug and we don’t know each other and…”

And with a clatter, Gladio’s pants hit the ground.

“Do you see it?”

He wouldn’t look at you, but his ears were red.

“…no.” You squeaked, peeking out from between the fingers covering your eyes.

Gladio growled.

You know what he was thinking.

“WAITWAITWAITWAIT….”

Your hands left their post at your eyes and were waving before you but…

Woop.

There they went.

You stared dumbfounded at him.

The good news was that his butt was just as perfect as you expected it to be.

But it was tanned…

“IS IT THERE?!?!?”

His booming voice brought you back to your mission.

“There it is!” You saw the little bug, now latched onto Gladio’s butt.

The little thing looked about as happy as a bug can look.

And you couldn’t really blame it.

You set your eyes on your prey,

This time, you were ready!

With what you hoped were lightning fast reflexes you lashed out,

Slapping the bug…

And Gladio’s butt.

The bug went flying!

Gladio started holding his sore cheek and dancing around,

Before falling over, tripped by his downed pants.

After getting everything worked out,

Gladio back on his feet and clothed,

You made your way down the mountain.

“Wanna get lunch?” The shield asked as you reached the car.

“You still want to spend time with me?!”

You were sure he would want you as far away from him as possible after this whole ordeal.

“Of course! I mean, we’ve come this far…” He winked at you.

You couldn’t help but laugh.

But your joy was interrupted by a sharp pain.

You squeaked and spun around to try to see what it was.

“What’s up, babe?” Gladio looked over at you worryingly.

“Something bit me!” You replied incredulously.

Gladio was silent for a moment, before breaking into laughter.

“I’ll help you get it off, but only if we do it at your apartment this time!”

#ffxv #noctis x reader #prompto x reader #ignis x reader #gladio x reader #noctis #prompto #ignis #gladio #Noctis Lucis Caelum #prompto argentum #ignis scientia #gladio amiticia #ticks #funny #ffxv hc

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amnachil · 5 years

Text

The College Society Chapter 1 Part 1

Hello guys ! Here we are with my new long (very long) story ! To be honest, I have so much things I want to happen in this story... it will be a huge work :D I hope I will be more steady than with HSG.

Soooo, this story is about... Liam ! It take place 1 year after HSG, when our young hero starts College ! We’ll see some old character, some new... in a very different environment... I hope you’ll like it !

Liam Monday September 4

Monday. Monday and the return from the summer holidays. A mortal combination for the young lad. He was lying onto is bed, under his sheets. His alarm clock had already rung ten times this morning, but he wasn't brave enough to stand up. Unfortunately, today, his sister wasn't here to tire him out until he goes to the bathroom (yeah, when he was in highschool, she had always been there to wake him up). (He wasn't proud of this, but please, no judgment). Slowly, Liam turned his head on his pillow, and rose his duvet. He was so fine here, drowsy, warm and without any problem. (It definitely was one of his favourite feelings). But obviously, it wasn't endless... (the boy would have love to be infinitely drowsy, warm and without problem but yay, that's not life).

"Dude, you gonna be late." laughed his roommate. "When you told me you weren't a morning person, you weren't exaggerating."

Liam mumbled something imcomprehensible.

He had moved in town two days ago, for the university beginning, and had met in this way Nicolas Lawson, aka Nick. This one was a friend of his bestfriend Nate, who fortunately went to the same university and owned an appartment in the student accomodation. Not directly in the campus, but close enough. Because college was far away Liam's home and state, his mother asked Nick's parents to let her son live here, and there he was. All that because there were no place left in the dormitory. The two boys didn't know each other very well, but it appeared they shared severals interest in common, and Liam thought this apartment share would be fine. However, they got a different point of view about mornings, obviously.

Groggily, the brown lad sat up straight and looked at his roommate, who was in the living room eating breakfast. Am I smelling pancakes ? Shit. I told him I hate theses craps. Liam just stood up, and ran into the bathroom in order to escape the aromatic flavor. Pancakes were his worst nightmare. A forbidden thing. To be honest, he hated food in general. At least since bad things had happened in 12th grade. Anyway, it wasn't the most important today. Liam took off his pajamas, and looked at the mirror. In order to be good-looking for his first day at college, he had exercised during the whole summer, and he was rather satisfied with the result. Standing up at 183 cm (6'0"), he had a nice and slim body. No six pack, but a flat stomach, with a strong chest, which he shaped by swimming the last five months. Indeed, he had stopped soccer during his 12th grade, because his friend and captain left, and the team had changed, becoming less interesting for him. With some of his buddies, he tried some sports, before choosing swimming. However, Liam didn't like to think about this part of his life, because it ended bad (no detail).

The young boy dressed up with jeans and a sweater. He greeted the unicorns under his bed (yeah, don't ask) and then joined Nick, who waited at the door.

"Are you seriously going to the opening course without taking breakfast ?" asked this latter.

"Yeah, I'm not hungry yet, I'll take some dietetics things later."

His roommate nodded silently. He can't understand... I mean, I don't want to have anything to do with food anymore... I'm eating only because it's obviously necessary, that's all. They walked together towards the amphiteater B, where took place the introdutive lesson. Meanwhile, Liam looked a bit more to Nick, letting the dark-haired boy walk in front. Probably around 180 cm (5'11"), he was a twig, without neither muscle nor fat, but only skin and bones. Maybe not as much as... whatever, maybe not enough to be called anorexic, but he was quite thin anyway. During those two days, the brown lad had understood two things : Nick loved to speak about everything, without any awkwardness (which was making Liam blush often, because himself was a prudish boy), and he loved videogames. He brought with him a whole collection of games and consoles, and played like ten or more hours per day. That was probably why when they entered in the amphiteater, they both knew no one. Well, at least they didn't see anyone they knew, and they just sat together, next to a bunch of girls and boys. There were around a thousand of students, from everywhere in the country and maybe beyond that. Who expected economics studies to be so attractive ? And they told me it's a small college. It was so big compared to highschool (to be fairly honest, Liam felt like a little tiny 8yo boy lost in a crowd, and it was scary). Anyway, the head of the faculty was making his speech, barely listened by overexcited students, and the young boy couldn't hear a single word. And for almost two hours, it continued like this, with a boring hubbub. Eventually, after the head of economics department's speech and the head of professor team's speech, they allowed a break. (There were head of somethin' everywhere). Following Nick, Liam went outside, and sighed with weariness.

"I thought it would be boring, but not that boring dude." he mumbled.

"You think so ? I found the speech of the head of the students department about the canteen rather interesting. She said we can eat whatever we want for low price, and it's sound good, isn't it ?"

The mention of food made Liam's belly gurgled loudly, and he blushed when several other students stared at him.

"Told ya it would happen." stated Nick. "You should have eat this morning dude..."

"Quiet, I'm not that hungry." lied the young boy, knowing perfectly he was starving.

Back in 11th and early 12th grade, food had been his weakness, and he had loved it. He even had been named the black hole, because he had been (and he still was) able to eat a lot before feeling full. But this was an old story he didn't want to remember. Some experiences were better to forget...

At noon, the two roommates decided to try the canteen. (Ok, Nick wanted absolutely to, and Liam having no willpower, he came with him). Anyway, it was a buffet, except for the meat, and they could pick whatever they wanted after paying a few dollars. He's right, it's cheap as hell for this food... That could explain the rumor about the freshman 15, but Liam didn't feel concerned. He chose some fried chicken, french fries and water, and then sat on a table. His roommate joined him with a bit more food, but not that much, and they started to eat in silence. The brown lad finished quickly, and while he was waiting for Nick, observed nearby. Here and there, people he had already noticed from his promotion were eating in groups, manifestly knowing each other. According to Nick, there were several parties the last week, but Liam had family issues, and he moved in town only two day ago (sad story, nobody wants to know). He had tried his best to avoid the forces of evils since. (Don't ask).

Suddenly, he glimpsed a familiar face walking outside, with blond hair, but he didn't get time to think about it, because next to him, his roommate finished a sentence by saying his name. Curious, Liam turned his head, and stared at the boy Nick was speaking to. Certainly older than them, he was around their heigh, but with a well built body. He worn a bermuda short and a vest, showing his strongs arms and legs. However, he was rather V-shaped, with a large chest, and Liam judged he probably did swimming.

"Nice to meet you two boys." smiled the newcomer. "I'm Theo Meyers, by the way. Sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I saw you and I could not stay overthere without saying anything."

Creepy. He sounds like a stalker. Just, Liam knew some shit about creepy stuff. Parents of his ex were a witch and a serial killer. And they hated him, so he was like an expert about creepy stuff (he had a quite good imagination, but his ex's parents were seriously scaring). Anyway, Theo continued :

"I'm the head (again, the head of something) of the swimteam, and when I noticed you, I immediately knew you were made for the pool."

Nick opened his mouth, but Liam replied faster :

"Thanks man, and you're right, we want to be part of the team. But I thought enrolment would only start tomorow ?"

His roommate looked at him, surprised by this uncommon motivation, but Liam just smiled. Dude, I trained hard for this. Before, he was doing sports with his friends in order to make a physic activity (and because his highschool was like the main place to practice soccer), but now, he needed that to clear his mind.

"That's true, but every club is trying to recruit before." confessed Theo. "You'll see, to be part of the club, it's quite easy : just come to the campus pool tomorow, and ask Laura. Okay ?"

"Sure."

Nick tried again to say something, but didn't get the time to, because Theo stood up and left them with a last smile.

Rebecca Monday September 4 – Tuesday September 5

With meticulouness, the beautiful girl took a little medal out of her cardboard box, and put it on her desk. She smiled with pride when she glimpsed the cup in the box. She won this one last january, for her last tournament as an highschool student. Rebecca dropped it off next to the other, and then stood up to admire her whole collection. Being a national runner had led her to win a lot of reward, and it was one of the thing she decided to bring with her at university. Well, it also allowed me to earn a special scholarship for economy. That was why, in contrary of the others students, she got an appartment for her, and her shedule was modified to let her train. Slowly, she headed towards her bedroom and took off her clothes. It was already 11pm, and after the introductive conference this morning and her exercising this afternoon, she felt exhausted. She lay onto her bed, but heard suddenly a loud voice swearing.

At start, she tried to ignore it, closing her eyes in order to get some sleep. But the boy (she was pretty sure it was a boy) continued to scream, and she could also hear the music of the game he was playing. Jeezus, did I seriously need to do this the first night ? She moved this morning in town, because of organisation issue, and never met her neighbors. It was a college facility, but out of the campus, with bigger apartment. However, Rebecca wasn't a shy girl, even far from it. And she was restless. Definitely restless. When the boy shouted again, saying something like "fuckin' noob", she decided it was enough. The girl stood up, put her clothes back on and went out angrily. She knocked strongly to the next door, and heard someone coming. Eventually, a boy (as she said) opened, quite surprised by this impromptu visit.

"Hi ! I'm your unlucky neighbor." she stated openly. "Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to know if you can shut the fuck up when you're playing video games ? Some people try to sleep when it's late."

A swear word resonated in the flat, revealing she was not talking to the right boy. By the way, this one looked at her absent-mindedly, and he didn't seem offended by her rough attitude. A bit taller than her (she was 181 cm or 5'11"), and broad-shouldered, he worn a striped pajamas, and was probably trying to sleep too. He had dishevelled chestnut hair, and tired eyes. Anyway, he seemed to realise she was speaking about the other guy, because he yelled :

"Nick ! There is a girl here who want you to stop shouting ! Get it dude ?!"

You probably are waking up the whole floor man... Sometimes, boys were just idiot. But the named Nick replied that he understood, and it was all Rebecca asked for. She was about to leave when the lad continued :

"Did I already saw you somewhere ? You look familiar to me..."

Curious, she looked at him. For her tournaments and running, she travelled the whole country, and met a lot of people, but she did not remember him. However, his face lit up, and he exclaimed :

"You're this champion of athletics who won Shirley every year at the tournament in our town. My sis' Chloe is a huge fan of you !"

"Chloe Strucker ?"

It was the only Chloe she knew, a young girl who was rather gifted for running, like her. The lad nodded, enthusiastic. Well, and I remember Shirley Vince too, she was a good opponent last year...

"Rebecca Bab." she introduced herself. "Despite the circumstances, glad to meet you."

"Liam, Liam Strucker." he replied. "Nice to meet you too. Anyway, I should let you sleep, shouldn't I ?"

The young girl smiled. This boy looked a bit odd, but he was certainly sympathic. She may have misjudged her neighbors, after all.

The next morning, Rebecca woke up excited. Today, students were all invited to visit the campus and discover the differents clubs and places. Obviously, because she already had athletic every afternoon during at least 3 hours, she was not supposed to join another club, except, according to her trainer, a sport club. That was why, once dressed and ready, she headed towards the hall 5, where were all the university's sport facilities. Here and there, she glimpsed some students who were in her promotion, but she was too fascinated by the sophomores and juniors which were pluging for their clubs. She glimpsed the cheerleaders and the football clubs, which attracted most of the students. No way. I don't want to be a fuckin' dancer. She hated cheerleading since her mother forced her to try. And obviously, football club looked more for boys than girls. Rebecca went to the fitness club, and then the tennis one's and then, headed towards the swimming club. The town wasn't famous for swimming performance, and the freshman were few. But... according to Bob (her personnal trainer) a bit of swimming would be good for me... She came closer, and looked to the brochure. They asked freshmans girls to join the sorority Alpha Delta, which was the smaller of the campus, and freshmans boys to join the fraternity Theta Omicron, which was also small. But anyway, she didn't care about sorority.

"Hey you. Wanna some information ?"

Rebecca turned towards the boy who talked to her. Smiling, he was wearing the jacket of the swimteam, and held in his hand a brochure like the one she had just read.

"Well, I wanted to know when and where are the training, who is the trainer, how much competitions are you doing and how many girl there are in your club."

(Yeah, she was direct, and she wanted a lot of things. When she started a new sport, she liked to be aware about every detail before). The boy frowned, and answered slowly :

"The pool is open every night, so it's up to you to come training as much as you want. The trainer is Theo, a junior in law pretty good at swimming. You can do as much tournament as you want, and there is at least five girls, without you."

She smiled. Five girls... that's a few. Rebecca got a pen out of her bag, and asked the boy where she was supposed to sign. He showed a little girl next to them, and added :

"I'm Pete, by the way. I have to go or I'll miss registration for the cooking club, but I'll see you tonight for the club party, I guess."

She nodded and then called the girl in order to join the club.

Pete Tuesday September 5 – Wednesday September 6

"Here are the lockers." announced Laura. "Right for boys, left for girls. Please, don't get the wrong one's."

Some people laughed. The young boy, as for him, looked in the large mirror next to him, lost in his mind. For the party, he decided to worn a flowery cool shirt, and0 black jeans he loved. His blond hair were cut short, and he got blue eyes. Eventually, I'm not that ugly... His mother had told him he was ugly just before he moved in town. She also had said he was a fucking little selfish asshole, and a cheese cake (yeah, when she was upset she often said nonsense). Of course, he wasn't an Apollo, unlike several other new swimmer recruit, but whatever, he was fine with himself. The lad followed the group behind Laura, who was presenting the pool's facilities, when he heard someone whisper to his ear :

"You lied to me dude, I thought you were a sophomore or junior, but it seems like you're a freshman..."

Turning back, he ran into Rebecca, the black girl taller than him and way more impressive. She was wearing a sweater and sweatpants, and looked at him with a bit of aggresiveness. Okay.. I shouldn't have talk to her at first place I guess...

"To be fairly honest, I didn't say I was a sophomore or whatever..."

"Yeah, you said nothing. Look, I'm not searching problems, but if you're a pervert or something, just don't try it with me, am I clear ?"

Wow... She's crazy... a pervert, me ? No way, absolutely not. Actually, he talked to her only to be polite. Fortunately for him, Laura called the group to show the pool, and they all joined her. According to rumours (yeah, Pete listened to rumours since the first day), the small girl was Theo's girlfriend, and a pretty bad swimmer, but everyone loved her.

"Just look to the water." she ordered. "You'll see how transparent it is."

The lad believed hear a bit of humor in her voice, but he watched the water anyway. Suddenly, he could feel someone pushing him, and he fell into the pool with a scream. Around him, freshman were all jostled while the olders members were laughing.

"Hello everyone !" shouted the team captain. "I'm Theo, the swimteam leader, and tonight, we're here to welcome the newcomers ! Let's have some fun !"

They were supposed to have a lesson in five hours, at 8 am. But a lot of them were still having fun, like asked Theo. Pete was strating to feel a bit exhausted by this long and hectic party. He wasn't drunk, unlike the great majority of the students, and the heat in the pool added to the brouhaha and his moist clothes made him feel bad. (Honestly, Pete wasn't used to parties... In highschool, he was quite solitary and unpopular). Anyway, the lad went discreetly outside in order to take a break, and once alone, sighed with release. From his position, he could hear the different parties taking place everywhere, according to the club and the fraternity joined. University, the start of something new... He dreamed about this moment during the whole summer. There was something different between the atmosphere here and in highschool. People are not looking for popularity anymore... We're so many... I'm sure to find somes dudes like me here... His mom had always been telling him he wasn't ready to university. That he would come back home in no time, and take a year to make things the right way. But he already survived one week without her. One entire week ! Pete glimpsed a lad sat on a bench not far. I didn't notice him before... He's discreet... Coming closer, the young boy released he was one of the swimmer freshman. Half naked, because of their unvoluntary bathing, he only worn gray sweatpants, and Pete could admire quite a good physic. Light brown-haired with almost grey eyes, the freshman was tall, and well-builded. No abs, but a nice V-torso body, with strongs arms, and a beautiful chest. When he saw Pete, he raised an eyebrow and smiled prudently.

"Hi. Name's Liam. Am I doing something bad ?"

"What ? No, absolutely not. I... I just saw you alone on this bench, in the dark, and I thought I would come to see if everything was fine."

The named Liam had a comforting voice. The more Pete stared at him, the more he found him cute. What am I doing ? I don't even know him... Far away his thoughts, the chestnut boy smiled.

"There is no problem." he assured. "I don't really like parties. Not anymore at least."

"I understand. Too noisy. But you don't have to stay alone for all that, you know ?"

Holy shit. (Just, one of the reasons why Pete was not popular in highschool was quite simple : he was gay. And he decided to join the swimteam in order to... okay, check the boys out). (In other words, this situation was kinda awkward for him).

"I like solitude." stated Liam. "I feel better without people surround me. I can think peacefully. Anyway, thank you for being that polite."

"Well, you're welcome. Being nice is one thing my momma taught me."

Am I serioulsy speaking about my momma ? My mother. Jeezus. Shame on me. Fortunately, the light-brown haired lad didn't seem to note, and he just smiled sadly. Damned... He's so cute when he's doing this... (Pete was the kind of people to get turned out fast. Really fast). However, he had to keep calm. Firstly, because he didn't know the sexual orientation of Liam. Secondly because a young boy smiling sadly had necessarily problems, and Pete didn't want problems. Luckily, Theo saved him from this embarrasing situation when he hurtled and shouted :

"Boys here you are ! You must come ! Come ! We have something for the news recruits ! Come !"

Needless to say, he was heavily drunk, and while speaking, he tried to grabs theirs hands but only caught a bush. Liam as Pete decided to follow him before he pull the poor vegetable off, and the trio went inside.

The whole swimteam was gathered around an enormous cake. Laura handed paper plate and spoon out to every freshman while the other were yelling something like "cake, cake, cake". (They were so drunk that Pete was understanding "coke, coke, coke"). Anyway, once every new recruit had a plate, Laura served piece of the cake, and they all started to eat. Strangely, when the young lad took a large mouthful he didn't recognise the taste of chocolate he expected. Even more, he felt something weird. Seing he was hesitating, Theo just took his spoon, and stuffed it in his mouth.

"You'll see, it's delicious ! With awesome effect ! Just swallow it !"

Having no choice, Pete obeyed easy. At first, he felt nothing more than this weird taste, but soon, he starting to sense at ease. And he enjoyed it. Slowly, like a robot, he turned his head towards the captain, and asked :

"What the hell did you put in this cake ?"

"Why are you talking about cake ?! We told you it was coke dude ! Have a good trip !"

Pete wanted to say something, but only smiled. Damnit, it feel so nice...

To be continued

Well, there are our three mains characters for Chapter One. This is an introduction to the College Society, where a lot of shit will happens. And don’t worry, weight gain will obsviously happen :)

#the college society #CS #Liam #Pete #Rebecca #Freshmen in the big ocean #Theo is a hot guy #chapter one #Part 1 #My Story

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sassysweetcollegegirls · 6 years

Text

I’ll Love You no Matter What pt4

The training deck was about focus and having each other’s backs. Lance was good at defending and offense but some of their other excersizes were difficult. Like the invisible maze which they decided to start with today.

“I need you to take two steps forward and then go left Lance.” The honey sweet voice was in his ear and it made it hard for him to remember the directions but he was trying. He’d already been zapped four times so when he bonked into the wall he threw the helmet,” Alright why am I getting zapped!! I keep following the directions.”

He can see her cherry lips move and the point at his helmet. Lance grabs it and settles it on his head and sighs,” What now beautiful?”

“I may straight up choke you.”

“What if I’m into that?” Lance teases

“Dude that’s hardcore even for you.” Keith responds in a half grumble half sigh.

“Well we never know till we find out do we keef?” Lance is cheery waiting for direction.

“Shiro? I’ve zapped this dude four times wanna run another pair?” Keith asks letting Lance hear every word.

Shiro looks down at Lance from the window his dad face evident. And he gestures to Keith’s mike. Lance swallows nervously as Keith hands it over trying to keep her hair out of the process.

“Lance why don’t you come up in the chair and direct and we’ll give Keith a shot in the maze.” Shiro’s voice is somewhat dead and Lance knows what that means. He’s not pleased.

Keith jumps up a fist in the air and Shiro smiles pleased to have given her an opportunity to work out with the body she isn’t used to. Lance swallows nervously and makes his way upto the viewing box. Shiro stands in his normal dad arms crossed posture watching Keith on the mats below.

“Lance what do you see?” Shiro asks

“Well I mean the maze is down there. And Keith is down there stretching. She tied her hair up. The lights are on, and she’s gunna put on her helmet? What’s the point of this excersize sir?”

“How many of those things you listed were about the actual room Lance?”

Lances face grew red and Shrio smiled lightly looking at Keith who is bouncing from foot to foot like she is testing the agility of her body. Then she looks at her helmet and at the room where Shiro and Lance are standing.

“Look I get it he’s attractive. He’s got this innocent look and sweet voice and it doesn’t make sense coming from Keith. But that’s still our Keith. He’s scared and he’s afraid to admit it. He needs you to look out for him and be his friend. Just try not to let yourself get caught up in the look okay?”

Shiro claps him on the shoulder and then he waves at Keith below who gives him a thumbs up. Lance looks at him and then at Shiro his heart aching torn ,” Let’s make this a clean run alright?” Shiro says and Lance nods.

He takes a seat in the chair and looks at the pattern of the maze and then at Keith below. Had this been their Keith would he be this goofy? Would his stomach twist at the thought of him?

“Walk three steps and go left.” Lances voice wasn’t full of the laughter and teasing anymore. It was soft almost hesitant.

“What the hell happened to you?” Keith asked her honey voice was clipped and it made Lance close his eyes and he imagined his friend. The one with the mullet that was greasy and short his chest puffed up with annoyance and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Dad happened to me. Go six steps forward and three steps right.” Lance ordered looking at the map instead of the beautiful girl running the maze below.

“He really needs to pull that stick out of his ass.” Keith remarked and Lance could almost swear he felt the low gravel of the real Keith in his microphone.

“Next left take eight steps and one hard 60 degree turn left and then go straight. He’s just concerned.” Lance commented turning to wink at Shiro who rolled his eyes but continued to watch Keith pleased by at least seeing progress.

“What that I can’t take the heat?” Keith snorts and Lance smiles because it’s a cute snort not entirely girly and not manly just a snort.

“Take three rights and then one left and go straight.” Lance is trying to think of a response,” He thinks your scared.” He admits finally just being honest.

“You know what’s scary Lance?” Keith says and lance can see his dot on the screen has stopped completely and he can hear Keith panting. But To Lance it doesn’t feel like Shiro’s there it feels like it’s Keith and Lance.

“I got a puddle under my boobs.”

“ Keith, that is the most terrifying thing I have heard all day.” Lance says serious and his face is three levels deep in shock as he looks at Shiro who is pinching the bridge of his nose and trying not to laugh at the same time.

Lance covers the mic with his hand and looks at Shiro,” WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO SAY?”

“I have no response for this. Get him out of there and I’ll have Pidge get him a towel and explain boob sweat...” Shiro says shaking his head and leaving the room.

“Looks like it’s just us buddy.” Lance calls down nervously after a moment

“Lance?” The honey sweet voice is soft and scared sounding the panting has died down. What Lance wouldn’t give to hear that name whispered before a kiss or late at night before he fell asleep.

“That’s not the scary part...” Lance recocognizes the grumble kinda it’s there but it’s just faint you just have to really pay attention and look for it.

“What’s the scary part?” He asks his tone just as soft

“Not knowing which me is real....” is the crushed response and then Lance watches as Keith carefully crumbles to the floor his body falling flat.

And all Lance can think is : I hope to god he’s okay. Please let him be okay. As he rushes down the stairs and past the now turned off Maze (he’d found a way to turn it off thank god) and to his friend who is looks simply exhausted.

“Keith talk to me buddy.” Lance says drawing him up into his arms and he realizes that Keith is cold. His skin is clamy and his lips are turning blue. “SHIRO.” He screams and then he halls himself up taking Keith with him into the hall.

Keith is light and his body fits perfectly in Lances arms. His hair is drawn into one of those messy buns and Lance wants so badly to tease him and ask what turned him into such a girl he knows he’d get punched but that’s better than this blue lipped nothing.

“SHIRO!!!! HELP?!? Anybody!?!”

“Lonce, my word! Is he alright?”

“No he’s turning blue where’s Shiro?!?”

“CORAN!”

“POD NOW.” Lance watched as Coran took Keith deftly from his arms and ran with him carefully down the hall Allura at his shoulder.

Shiro comes running watching as Keith is pulled into the medical area,” what the hell happened lance?”

“The puddles got him Shiro...” he said turning and hiding his face in the older mans chest fear gripping his own somewhere in there to tight for comfort.

***

Lance & Hunk were we waiting outside the medical wing when Shiro came out with Allura eyes narrowed.

“Who told Keith he could bind his chest?” Allura looked between the two boys and Shiro crossed his arms behind her.

“Bind his chest?” Lance whispered confused and Hunks eyes went wider than dinner plates.

“Katie...” Hunk whispered and then he dragged his hands down his face and groaned,” she must have told him about how she bound her chest in the garrison to look more like a guy... Keith must have done it too tight. Those idiots.”

Lance was confused first by the binding and then by what this has to do with Keith’s current state. “ What does Pidge’s whatever have to do with Keith going Blue?”

Hunk looked at Lance and then at Allura and then at Shiro before explaining,” You can tie up breast women used to do it way back when. They would tape them n whatever to pretend to be men. But the thing was if you do it to tight you can make it to hard to breath or even break ribs. If you don’t know what your doing. Things have changed and they have equipment that have made it safe since then but there are rules and stuff and we don’t have that stuff for Keith. He could have broken a rib or he can die if he does it wrong. That numbskull. What did he use?”

“Ace wrap” Shiro responds his voice level and everyone is quiet.

Lance speaks up,” I don’t think Pidge told him that to hurt him...Shiro you told me this morning this is confusing and scary for Keith. I think Pidge tried to tell him to make him feel better.. ya know, like I tried hiding but it was better when I didn’t... but..”

“Keith took it the wrong way.” Allura whispers

“He thought maybe he could hide... hide being a girl. Hide being feminine.” Hunk finishes everyone looks at each other somberly.

“This isn’t something we can just gloss past is it?” Shiro finally asks.

Lance shakes his head. “ Keith doesn’t know which one is going to end up being the real him, he doesn’t know if he’s going to be stuck as a girl or if he’ll get to go back to being who he was... imagine that fear. Not knowing what you are and if anyone will still be there when it’s over.”

Not a single person in the room had thought about it that way besides Lance who had just started thinking about it that way. All eyes were looking at Lance and most were filled with tears.

“ So what do we do Lonce?” Allura asked

Lance stopped to give it some thought,” we give him both sides. All of it. The good the bad. And we love him through it.”

***

When Keith comes to somehow it’s just him and Lance. Everyone else seems to need time to figure it all out so when Keith wakes up in the sweats that are his and the tank top and Lances jacket by his feet he’s a little out of it. He touches his chest first panicked and then his hair and his face and then he hugs himself cold and looks at his room.

“ You took the binders?” The whisper is honey and soft and panicked.

“Keith, they hurt you.” Lance is level his jaw quivers more than anything he wants to hold his friend “You were turning blue.”

“But Pidg-“

“Pidge knew all the science. She read all the facts and the history.” Lance sits on the bed and he puts his coat around Keith who just looks small inside of it. Keith looks at it confused because it’s warm,” She knew what was safe for her body and what wasn’t Keith..you’ve been a girl for what 12 hours?”

Keith hangs his head and Lance pulls him into his arms unable to help it,” I have no idea how much this must suck...”

Keith punches Lance and Lance takes it because he knows that Keith can’t really say a word about how this all feels for him. And it’s not like they hurt it’s a girl slamming her fist against his chest without a lot of force. “ Just fucking let it go Keith. Let it all go.” Keith punches lance again in the chest and on the shoulder and Lance just holds her as she begins to shake and scream until she finally finally just cries.

#klance #angst #keith kogane #voltron #voltron shiro #voltron lance #allura #voltron coran #voltron hunk #voltron pidge #keiths a girl #theres tears

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thelittlestkitsune · 7 years

Text

Mid Semester; chapter two.

A/N; This chapter is trash, so I do apologise. I hope you guys enjoy the surprise guest. ;) Enjoy! Love Lau xoxo

Pairing: ScottMccallxProfessor!Reader

Author: thelittlestkitsune

Warnings: none. for now.

Word count: 4,083

Listen to me. Mid Semester Masterlist Let me know?

WEDNESDAY.

“Are you guys comfortable?” You asked as your students looked back at you, dumbfounded at your question. “You guys got snacks?” You asked another question as brows knitted over eyes, chatter of what the fuck is going on as you sank into your chair, pulling it in front of your desk. “‘Cause it’s rant time. You know this is my favourite part of the week.” You chuckled as they all breathed a sigh of relief, the chatter dying down until silence lay heavily over the room. You pretended to crack your neck, a slight shudder rippling through the students as you sat back against the pleather seat. “Can anyone guess what I’m bitching about this week?” You threw the question out there as you waited for someone to bite. “Student loans?” Audrey, the quiet girl in the back row spoke, her eyes avoiding yours as you shook your head. “I mean that’s a whole different pot of tea. But any other guesses?” A chorus of concentrated humming washed through the room as you got yourself comfy in your seat, wrapping your scarf around your shoulders.

“The government.” Audrey tried again, her voice clearer this time. Nice of you to finally join in the conversations. Good for you boo. A smile played on your lips as you shook your head, her hands falling flat against the wooden desk as she sighed. “Okay but surely you have complaints, I mean the way the president-” Cat started before quickly stopping, taking a steadying breath as she plastered a fake smile on her pink cheeks. “-Never mind, this isn’t the place to talk politics.” She sighed, her breath shaky as you gave her a small nod, her cap flopping back down over her eyes as she slid down her chair further. “So what are you going to bitch about?” Maddie asked, her hair bouncing around her face as she turned back to you. “Well none other than our buddy, our pal, the massive cockend that is Zeus.” A collective cheer vibrated through everyone as you smiled, enjoying when you could teach through pure hatred of a certain myth. “What did he do this time?” Kenzie asked, her elbows leaning on her desk as she propped herself on one arm. “Oh honey, you’ve got a storm coming.” You started, before launching into “WHY ZEUS IS THE WORST PART TWO.”

“-And that’s why Zeus is the biggest fuckhead in history. Mythological or not, he shaped alot of pop culture these days.” You finished, taking a moment as you let everyone jot down notes. “Wait, lemme get this straight-” Cat started, pulling the cap from her head as she ran manicured fingers over her forehead, her green eyes pooling with confusion. “-So, Zeus decided to test this nefarious daddy Lycaon by visiting him looking like a homeless dude? The dude with 50 sons? And when Lycaon literally straight up murdered his own son and fed it to Zeus he got hella pissed and turned Lycaon into a wolf?” You pressed your lips together in a thin line as you stretched, standing up from your seat. “In not so many words yeah!” You summised, your head cocking to the side as you processed the information. “Now not to be a traitor in this class or anything? But like, doesn’t lycaon sound like the fucking worst?” Kenzie piped up, her lips caught between her teeth as you turned sharply. “Look, I have so much to cover about Zeus that Lycaon? Kinda looks like a martyr, a saint, the best pal a gal could have until he knocked her up!” You laughed as half the class snorted in reply.

“Why are we even talking about Zeus again? Doesn’t the syllabus say that we should be discussing werewolves?” Todd piped up as you scowled at him. “You need to know the history. God, do you have no flair for the dramatic, I was building to it. You ruined it now.” You faked anger as you turned to the board, revealing your masterpiece. Art class paid off. A full size werewolf head graced the blackboard as you brandished towards your works. “This is being dramatic. Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your butts, we’re diving into the shit show myth that is-” You mocked a drum roll on your desk, holding your breath for even more dramatic effect. “-Werewolves.” Laughter echoed through the small room as you stood up straight, taking your scarf off from around your shoulders, the room warmer than it was when class began. “What kind of werewolves are we talking about? The pop culture ones or the scary old wives tale?” Kenzie asked as she chewed on the tip of her pen, your shoulders shrugging as you perched on your cluttered desk.

“Well that’s the thing. We’re going to talk about both and do a comparison between the tales of yonder and the effect they have on our pop culture today.” You explained, lacing your fingers together over your knee. “So, we’re talking little red riding hood and twilight?” Em asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. Her eyes flickered between you and her notes as you nodded. “Yeah, well the myth surrounding werewolves goes a bit further than the Grimm brothers. We’re going to explore 4 myths associated with shape shifters; from the Armenians to the Slavic to the French. Of course we’re going to discuss the greeks though. Let’s start with the Armenians; you know, the ones who thought women that sinned were forced to walk as a wolf for seven days and seven nights. Not like they already had enough to deal with-”

THURSDAY.

“Cami, where are you? I thought you wanted to meet for coffee? I only have so long before I need to be at my office?” You spoke into the receiver of your phone, balancing it on your shoulder as you scribbled in your notepad. “I won’t be long, I’m like not even two minutes out?” She breezed, a smile in her voice. “Tell me you’re not coming straight from a meeting with Thomas. We all know what those meetings entail!” You laughed as you doodled in the margins, your thoughts distracted once more. “Shut up you, you wish you were taking meetings.” You could almost hear the air quotations as she giggled. “Low blow, that’s cold. You owe me a coffee for that.” You joked, a small frown on your lips as she clicked off the call, leaving you to your devices. You stared at the stack of papers in front of you as you sat in the student coffee house, soft music playing as people chattered around you. “Excuse me, can I borrow this seat a moment?” a dark voice interrupted you, a familiar face coming into view.

You turned, your mouth hanging open in shock as you gaped, words catching in your throat. “Derek?!” His name finally escaped your lips as you recognised the green eyed guy in front of you, his face much unchanged in the past 6 years since you saw him last. “What are you doing here?!” Derek asked, his fingers still gripping the seat next to yours as he flashed his oh so famous smile. “I’m a professor; believe it or not!” You laughed, tucking your frizzy hair behind your ears as you smiled. His lips mimicked your own as he nodded, pulling the chair out before sitting in it, his tall frame barely fitting in the plastic chair. “I don’t believe that for a moment. I’m just here visiting an old friend and you’re here. What kind of fate is that?” His eyes twinkled as you swallowed dryly, forgetting what a beauty he was. “A twisted sense of fate. 26 years old and still in college, I mean I teach it-” You laughed, looking down at all the papers you had to grade.

“Yeah, well at least you went!” He joked, his hands running through his thick dark hair. “Look, I’m gonna be in town for a while, staying with my friend, I was wondering if you wanted to get a coffee-” He paused, licking his lips as he looked over you, his eyes lingering on your open shirt for a second too long. “-or dinner sometime. I’ll give you my number, I finally caved and joined society. Gimme a call and we’ll sort something out okay?” He stared at you as you nodded meekly, his lips curling into a smile as he stood. “It was really good seeing you y/n, catch you later.” He winked as you pressed your lips together, trying to stop them from gaping open. “See you later Derek.” You waved shyly, looking over his handwriting as you heard a seat nearby scratch over wooden flooring. “Who in the hell was that?!” Cami exclaimed as she fell into the seat, her hair bouncing as she caught her breath. “An old friend. I’ve known him since middle school, I never thought I’d see him again, he kinda fell off the map when we got to high school.” You stared at the spot he’d sat in as you tapped your fingers on the table in front of you.

“You don’t just drop off the map if you look like that.” She dropped her phone into her open bag, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she pressed forwards. “You got his number right? Y/N you’d be crazy not to get his number.” She babbled as you nodded, pointing to his scrawl on your notepad. “You need to ring him right now and set up a date. Right now, cause honey if you don’t then I will.” She demanded as you stuck your hands up in protest. “Look I can’t date right now?! I have too much to do!” You tried to defend yourself as her arms crossed across her chest, her brow quirked high above her hazel eyes. “You were complaining about not getting enough dick like last week?” You burst into laughter at her blunt comment, strangers turning to look at the noise that just erupted from your mouth. “Thanks for telling the world I’m sexually starved Cami, it’s just what everyone wanted to hear.” You sniffed, holding back chuckles as she gave you a shy smile. “What? It’s true! Let’s be honest, he looks like he’s hung like a horse.” She mocked a scale, her hands getting further and further apart as you shook your head and laughed. “I don’t think Derek likes me like that.” You smiled, tucking your hair behind your ear again as you looked at the number once again.

“Well then he’s blind. Certifiably insane. Lock him away. In a sex dungeon of course.” she winked as you laughed, your lungs aching as you looked at her. “What would I do without you?” You smiled, looking at one of your best friends. “I dunno, die probably. Pay for your own coffee? Speaking of-” She trailed off, standing to her feet as she grabbed her purse heading off to order the two of you coffee. Maybe I should date? Might stop me being so distracted by certain guys that are so off limits it’s stupid. You gripped your pen in your hand as you searched your coat pocket for your phone, typing in Derek’s number. I’ll just send him a message, tell him it was great bumping into each other. You drafted the message, Cami interrupting you before you could send it. “So, what’s this I hear about you having boy troubles?” Cami’s words brought you hurtling back to reality as you let your phone fall from your hands.

“Ugh, I guess Mal told you about Scott.” She nodded as she handed you a latte, her eyes sympathetic as she bundled herself into the small chair. “She did, we’re worried about you!” You smiled, your lip caught between your teeth as you thought of your situation. “It’s just so complicated, but it’s also so fucking simple. I feel so stupid even thinking that I could just do this job and there would be no complications.” You sighed, circling over the rim of your mug. “Before you judge me, I know I shouldn’t pursue it. I won’t because it’d be mortifying! He’s not interested in me. Maybe he is but he doesn’t show it at least-” You rambled, your mood plummeting as you dreaded your tutoring session in a few hours. “Y/N, stop it. I’m not judging you for it. You really think you’re the first person that wants one of their students?” She spoke quietly, the din of the coffee house muffling her words as she leaned closer. “You know Thomas was a student just a couple of months ago?” She admitted as you furrowed your brow in confusion.

“You two have been dating for like a year?!” She looked at you as you processed what she told you. “Cami! You didn’t!” You mock slapped her arm as she leaned back a small smile on her face. “I did. I regret nothing. Fuck it, you’re young and he’s hot! I say go for it. I mean what have you got to lose?” She asked, picking up her mug as she sipped at the piping hot liquid. “I mean nothing but my morality, my job, any sense of dignity I had.” You joked, cupping your mug as you sighed. “As I said, he’s not into me that way. I’m just his professor.” She laughed, her head tipping back as the noise carried through the small room. “Yeah, cause guys don’t have teacher fantasies. You’re so naive; it’s like you’ve never seen any porn. Ever. So sheltered. Either way, it’s set okay? If he shows he likes you, go ahead and ask him out. Discreetly of course, if not then you have to leave your options open.” Her eyes connected with yours as you nodded, knowing there was no way you could argue with her. “Fine, you win. If he shows any interest then I’ll ask him out.”

LATER ON THAT DAY.

A knocking on your door pulled you from your slumped position at your desk, your eyes streaming as you tore your eyes from your computer screen. “Come in!” You called, readjusting yourself as Scott walked through the door, a smile plastered on his cheeks. “Hey Y/N!” He chimed as you smiled, inviting him to sit down. “Hey Scott, you got that good shit for me?” You asked as he nodded, digging through his bag for the album he’d promised to bring this week. You reached across the desk, your fingers brushing against his as you took the album from him, your touch lasting longer than it needed to be. “You know I always deliver!” He joked, a smile playing on his lips as you quirked your brow. “Oh is that so? If that’s true where’s your paper?” You asked as his eyes widened, a dry gulp echoing in the small room. “About that, um, would you mind if I had an extension?” He asked, his puppy dog eyes batting together as he smiled.

“Sure, you get a day! But only cause you get me the best albums.” A grin broke out over his face as he dug in his bag, looking for his trusted notepad and pen. “So, what treasured myth are we savaging today?” He asked, his pen gripped between his teeth as he continued to look for his notepad. “Werewolves.” You spoke triumphantly, excited to finally be covering the lesson with him. He paused, nervously licking over his lips as he sighed. “Werewolves?” He asked, a little hesitation in his words. “Yeah, do you believe in the myth?” You asked, turning the fan in the corner off as you shrugged off your cardigan. “I guess you could say that? It’s pretty common talk in my town.” He laughed, the noise awkward as he produced his notebook finally. “Where abouts do you come from Scott? I’m assuming Washington?” You asked, genuinely intrigued to know about him more.

“California actually, I’m from a town called Beacon Hills? It’s a couple of hours away, it’s quite small.” Your mouth dropped open at the coincidence as a laugh fell from your mouth. “Fuck all the way off. You’re joking right?” He looked at you with confusion in his eyes over your outburst. “Please tell me you’re joking. I mean I don’t believe in fate but this is too rich to even be real.” You continued to laugh, doubled over as you dry heaved, tears forming in your eyes. “What’s so funny? How is it fate?” He asked, worry crossing over his face as he surely thought you’d cracked and gone insane. “I’m from Paradise! It’s like a town over or something right? I went to Devenford back in the day.” You smiled as he leaned back in his chair, pen dropping from his mouth. “No fucking way.” He breathed as you grinned. Well that’s a strange turn of events. “So you know about Beacon Hills? Everything?” He eluded to something grander as he spoke. “I know what you’re hinting at Scott. Yeah I know the myth isn’t a myth. Why do you think I teach this shit? It’s easy to teach something so abstract that actually exists.”

Scott looked at you like a light had just been shone on you, his face glowing as his eyes tracked over you. A sigh left his parted lips as he flopped his arms down. “How do you know?” He asked, more intrigued with you as you shrugged. “It’s not exactly a secret. I knew of an alpha and his pack constantly saving the town from doing something or other. When the facts are laid out in front of you, you kind of have to add things together.” You knitted your fingers together as you twiddled your thumbs. Scott looked slightly pained, like something was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it. “Do you know who the alpha was?” He hurried the words as you shook your head. “No clue, why? Do you?” He shook his head, tapping his foot as he looked at you. “My friends and I had an idea but-” His words caught in his throat as he stopped talking, looking at you with a glint in his eye. “Can you keep a secret?” He asked in a low hushed voice, his eyes darting about the room. “Yeah, I keep a lot of secrets. I have two best friends so that constantly keeps me on my toes.” You laughed as he stood up, heading over to your window as he shut the blinds, his posture straightening as he turned around. “Scott?” Your words were shaky as he turned, something different about him.

His eyes. Your eyes tracked over him, always returning to his usually brown eyes, however even in the low light of your office you could see them almost glow; red piercing through the dusty air. “You’re the alpha aren’t you?” Your words were a whisper as he blinked, the glow gone as he crossed the room, taking a seat opposite you once again. “Guilty as charged.” He admitted, his cheeks burning bright pink. “I thought you’d be scared of me cause i’m a monster or something and I trust you-” He rambled, his voice small as he looked downwards. “Why would I be scared? You saved Beacon Hills so many times from so many fucking things? You’re not a monster, and even if you are; not all monsters do monstrous things.” You reassured him as he gave you that sunshine smile, his eyes crinkling as he looked at you. “You’re not the first person that’s told me that.” His tongue darted over his lips as you found yourself reaching for his hands. “Well do you believe it?” You asked, your fingers finding callouses on his knuckles, your skin smoothing over his.

“I believe in a lot of things, I’ve met humans that are darker than the other side of the moon and I’ve met so called monsters that weren’t monsters at all.” His nose twitched as he scooted closer to you, his warmth radiating through you. This is risky. You caught your breath as his hands covered your own, his fingers tracing the lines on your palm as his head dipped. “Some people aren’t born with the monster inside of them, some are just so affected by others darkness that they slip into it themselves-” Something in his words felt off as you furrowed your brow. “I don’t know if you know of what happened a few years ago? The fights?” He looked at you as you shook your head, your lip caught between your teeth as you listened to him talk. “There was this woman. As ordinary as anyone out on the street; but she was pushed to her limit because of my friends and I. She lost her mind and announced war on everyone that was deemed to be unnatural or as she called us mon-” He choked on the words, tears welling in his eyes. “Monsters?” You finished for him, your skin leaving his as he nodded. “Her name was Monroe, she’s the reason I didn’t come here years ago. She’s the business I had unfinished. If it weren’t for her I’d be a vet by now.”

“Well, that was in the past wasn’t it?” You asked as he nodded slowly, his head lifting as he smiled, unsure of himself. “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.” You quoted, his lips pulling back in a grin as he shook his head, a light laugh filling the air. “Did you seriously just quote Rafiki from the Lion King?” You nodded, biting back a laugh as he shook his head. “You’re awesome you know that right?” You nodded, crossing your arms over your chest as you leaned back in your chair. “Oh yeah, I’m aware.” You joked, your body jarring slightly as you fell sideways. Clutz. Scrambling to your feet you brushed yourself off, sitting back in your seat before clearing your throat. “Before we get into the actual lesson I just want to thank you for protecting Beacon Hills. I don’t think many people would thank you, but I want you to know that I’m grateful.” He gave you a half smile as he mouthed a thank you. “But that’s enough about werewolves, lets talk about, um shit, werewolves.” You laughed off your own stupidity before turning to your laptop. “Sure, sounds fake, who’d believe in something like that?” He joked as he settled back in his chair, one leg resting against the other as you stopped yourself staring. This is going to be one long semester.

AFTER THE SESSION

That was too close, you got too close. You sat at your desk long after Scott had gone, replaying the moment you had held his hand in your head. You’re making a mistake. You need to push him from your mind. You need a distraction. Before you knew it you were typing in Derek’s number, lifting the handset to your ear as blood rushed through your eardrums. It’s just a crush, crushes go away? Especially when they see you as nothing more than a friend.

“Hey Y/N? What’s up?” Derek spoke as you clammed up, instant regret pooling in your stomach. “It’s not too late for me to be calling is it?” You asked, your lungs flooding as you finally took a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “I like the night time remember?” He breezed as you nodded, locking up your office for the night. “Oh yeah, how could I forget? Sorry, it’s been a really long day.” You rubbed over your tired eyes, trudging your way out of the building. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go for that coffee?” You asked him, your heart slamming against your chest as you waited for an answer. The question hung in the air for a beat before he spoke, his voice like silk through your speaker. “Sounds great Y/N. How about next thursday?” He asked as you thought over Scott, your resolution clear. “Sounds great, text me about it?” You spoke softly, barely audible over the wind. “You got it, goodnight Y/N” You huddled into your jacket as you clicked off the call, your mind racing a mile a moment.

I just need to get Scott off my mind.

Tag List:

@thisrandombitch @honeymoonmuke @sincerelystiles @sammyrenae68 @fillthevoid-stilinski @5sospoplikerock @lovefilledtragedy @ellie-bee242 @cobrienkai1972@dumbass-stilinski @maddie110201 @rememberstilinski @sweetmisseddreams2002@random-fandom-fangirl2112 @obrosey-af @sammwhiches @mf-despair-queen@7e6205 @stilinski-stydia-obrien @wydobrien @we-are-like-a-timebomb @dylan-trash-tbh @lydia1524 @minhosmeanhoe @redstringlovers @werewolfmutant @itsall-inmy-head @susybird @hirafth @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @girlwiththerubyslippers @fan-child @sarasmismyonlydefence @cuillere @vixsyncynco @sumcp@fuckwhateverfuck @itsbilescallmebiles @relentlessgame @ninja-stiles @sumcp@teenwolves-ahead @skepticalstilinski @sarcasticallystilinski @apollogirl13 @savage-stilinski @montanagirlatheart @alexhmak @cathobs @blairscott

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jaded-envy · 7 years

Text

hit the ground running

Soul's crush on the girl he sees jogging in the park is the one thing that makes his crappy barista job tolerable. Learning how to run in order to keep up with her might just kill him though. Also featuring Black*Star as a Total Bro.

READ HERE: [ao3] [ff.net]

Welcome to my first fic for the Soul Eater fandom and the culmination of my July 2017 Camp Nanowrimo goals! This is an entirely self-indulgent fic, as I started running with C25K this summer, but I do hope you enjoy!

A thousand thanks to my beta and writing sister, @redphlox - she is the best and the most awesome and please go read her SoMa fics if you haven't already! And I couldn't have finished this without the help from my husband, who provided much of the crazy Black*Star punishments.

“my heart could take a chance, but my two feet can’t find a way”

-I Don’t Feel Like Dancing by Scissor Sisters

“my girl’s a switchblade, bright lights on a cityscape,

wherever she goes, I’m gonna chase”

-Celeste by Ezra Vine

“so you say one day you’ll be my life, my love, my guiding light,

my pillar of strength; I’ll call you home, my rock, my stone”

- Testify by Hifi Sean and Crystal Waters

The windows of the café are smudged, and Soul resolves to make sure Hiro catches hell for screwing up the one thing that makes this job enjoyable. At least it's not too hard to see out into the park beyond - he can see yellow and orange tinges on the leaves on the trees, and the ducks by the pond waddling around pulling at the grass. It's beautiful by most people's accounts, but Soul is looking for something that he thinks is much prettier.

"Whatcha looking at?"

Soul jumps a half a foot in the air and whirls around to see his least favorite customer and best friend lounging at the counter, looking bored.

"Is Jogging Chick passing by or something?" Black*Star raises up on his tiptoes, trying to look over Soul's shoulder. Soul uses his height to his advantage for once, drawing himself up completely and blocking him from the view of the window.

"No," Soul says, scowling. "Go away Black*Star, I'm busy working."

Black*Star makes a show of looking around the almost completely abandoned café. "Obviously."

He sighs. "What do you want?"

Black*Star shakes a finger in Soul's face, prompting him to bare his teeth in response. "Now Soul, is that any way to talk to a customer?"

Soul rolls his eyes. "Customers pay. You're here because you want to bum an espresso off me."

Black*Star gasps dramatically. "How could you suggest that I'm here for any other reason than to see how my best bro was doing and coincidentally buy a coffee with my own legally tendered currency, though now that I think about it I may have left my wallet at home…"

Soul tunes him out, subtly trying to keep the park in sight as he nods along to Black*Star's increasing loud excuses. Soul is contemplating giving in and just making him the damn coffee when he sees her.

"Shut up, shut up," Soul says absently, cutting him off and pushing Black*Star's face away as he cranes his neck around.

And there she is - the one thing that makes his crappy barista job worthwhile. With her blonde hair in pigtails, long toned legs, bright pink tank top, black shorts, Soul couldn't imagine a cuter sight. Her hands gesture animatedly, never breaking stride as she relates some story to her friend. When she laughs, he imagines her voice to be bright and cheerful; when she chances a glance at the street, he imagines her eyes to be lively and kind. Watching her run is like watching seals swim, or hawks glide - it's watching something so graceful, so in its element, and so far off from what he's capable of.

She's absolutely beautiful, and completely unobtainable.

Black*Star squints at Soul's object of affection. "That's her?" he asks, incredulous. "The skinny flat-chested one?" He side-eyes Soul. "That's the one?"

"Mmhm," Soul almost sighs.

Black*Star makes an indecipherable noise. The girl's pigtails bounce in time with the cadence of her gait.

"One time, some creep tried to grope her as she was drinking from the water fountain," Soul says dreamily, watching her. "She turned around and karate-kicked him in the head."

Black*Star raises an eyebrow. "And…you thought that was hot?"

Soul buries his face in his hands. "Yes," he mumbles from between his fingers. What he doesn't say is that he's pretty sure she could kick his ass three ways to Friday and he would enjoy every minute of it.

Black*Star shakes his head. "I mean, whatever floats your boat dude, but if I were you I'd be after that one." He points to the other girl, a taller, dark-haired woman. "Actually no," Black*Star revises, "you can keep your interest in the skinny one. The other one is more my style."

The two of them admire the girls as they run past. As they disappear from view, Soul resigns himself to another long, boring day with nothing else to look forward to. He tries not to dwell on the fact that the most exciting part of his day is over in about seven minutes.

"Tell you what, my best bro," Black*Star says, leaning on the counter. "I'm gonna do you a huge favor."

"Black*Star, the last time you told me that, I ended up crawling out of Mrs. Kearn's window after accidentally discovering her bondage porn collection."

He rolls his eyes. "You still got your cassette tape back before she chucked it."

"I couldn't look her in the eye for the rest of the semester," Soul hisses, fingers tightening on the edge of the counter.

Black*Star waves his protests away. "Listen. You have a morning shift again tomorrow right?"

"Yes," Soul says reluctantly.

"Good. Meet me in the park at four." Black*Star starts to move away, hollering, "And don't you dare try to skip, remember, I know where you live!"

"We're roommates you asshole!" Soul yells after him. He glances apologetically at the few customers in the shop, then blows out a heavy sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

Fuck. Maybe it wasn't too late to move back to Connecticut.

The next day, Soul kicks at the leaves littering the asphalt of the park trail. There's a chill in the air heralding the onset of fall, and the few passersby wear scarves and hats. He shrinks into himself as much as possible, feeling like a complete dolt in the thin gym clothes Black*Star insisted he wear.

"All right!" Black*Star's voice rings out, entirely too cheerful. "Glad you could make it!" He hands a coffee cup to Soul.

Soul glares at him over the rim. "You dragged me out of here after kicking down my door and waking me up from my nap with a water balloon to the face."

"You weren't getting up!"

"That doesn't mean - ugh, whatever." He takes a sip of his coffee and grimaces. "This is horrible, where did you get this from?"

"Your coffee shop."

Soul sighs. Looks like Kid was going to have to be trained again on how to make a proper cup of coffee. Hopefully he wouldn't insist on counting out how many coffee beans went into the grinder like he did last time. "Why are we out here again?"

"Listen broski." Black*Star cracks his neck and starts doing lunges. "You wanna get together with your Jogging Chick, I wanna meet her bodacious friend. Now, we both know that there's a snowball's chance in hell of you just going up and asking the girl out because you're a total pansy."

"Hey!"

Black*Star raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, fair," Soul mutters.

"Anyway, I figure the only way to get both of us what we want is to meet them on their own turf, doing their thing."

"Wait," Soul says, heart sinking, "wait, you don't mean-"

"And that means running!"

Soul groans. "Black*Star, you know how I feel about physical activity."

"Well that's why we're out here late, so we can get started without running into them. Heh. Oh, by the way, think fast!"

Soul barely catches the object thrown at him, fumbling with what he identifies as his own phone.

"Took the liberty of loading your new exercise program on it."

"It's password protected, how the fuck did you get in?"

Black*Star holds a finger to his lips. "Gods don't reveal their secrets."

Soul groans, resolving to change his password for the third time this week. He scrolls through his apps, locates a new, obnoxiously bright orange one, taps it. "C25K?"

"I have all my clients use it if they want to try running, so I figured it'd work on you too. Load it up, we're gonna do the first week together. Week two, we'll run when the girls do and introduce ourselves that way."

Soul's tempted to turn on his heel and go spend the rest of his day off doing preferably anything else, but he recognizes the look in Black*Star's eyes - one that almost dares him to try wriggling his way out of this one. Last time he challenged that look, he ended up finding out exactly how many mousetraps could fit into his bedroom at once.

So he sighs instead and digs out his headphones. Black*Star bounces eagerly from foot to foot, leads him through some basic stretches, and falls in step with Soul when he starts his warm up walk.

Thirty minutes later, Soul is bracing himself against a tree, trying to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Black*Star has hardly broken a sweat and is currently doing one handed pushups. Soul kind of hates him.

Black*Star flips into a hand stand, then pushes off to stand normally as Soul slouches his way down the pathway towards their apartment. Black*Star shoves ahead of him and begins jogging backwards.

"Good job today buddy." He flashes Soul two thumbs up.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Soul grumbles.

"First day is always the hardest! You'll get the hang of it soon." His index fingers stick out to join his thumbs as he gives Soul two finger guns. "Then we'll get you hooked up with your crush -" he turns his fingers onto himself, "- and me with her lady friend."

Yeah right, Soul thinks to himself. Black*Star's always been a little deluded about Soul's motivation and dedication, being the complete opposite of him in both areas. If Soul had a shred of the drive Black*Star possessed, he'd be…well, he probably wouldn't be working at a coffee shop full time, with no real prospects on the horizon, and staring longingly out the window at a girl he knows he'll never work up the courage to meet.

By the third day of running, Soul's body seems to be adjusting to the increased activity it's being subjected to. Black*Star declares that three days from now, on Soul's next day off, they'll be meeting at one, the same time the girls usually run.

Soul almost bails three times before Black*Star forcibly drags him to the park. When he realizes there's no getting out of it, Soul insists that they get there at least a half hour early, partly in hopes that they'll be done with their session before his crush shows up. He doesn't think he could handle the first time she looks at him be a look of disgust, or worse, pity.

He almost gets his wish - they're on their fourth walking interval when through the trees he spots the two girls on the opposite side of the park. Soul's heart stutters in his chest and he almost slows to a stop, staring at her like a fucking moron. He can't help it though; without the windowpane separating them, she seems so much more vivid and within reach.

Then Soul remembers that he's currently incredibly sweaty and red-faced from running and not at all attractive. He picks up the pace, jogs faster when the program tells him to run, keeping one ear free of earbuds to listen for them.

It's in vain though - he can hear their footsteps behind him and their rapid fire speech over the sound of his music and the trudging of his feet. He keeps his eyes trained ahead, and doesn't look at them as they pull up next to him. His heart is pounding in his chest, and he doesn't think he can blame it just on exertion.

They pass him without even a glance his way, and he's just about to breathe a sigh of relief and settle back into familiar longing when Black*Star starts to pull ahead. One glance into his eyes and Soul's hissing his name, trying desperately to get him to not embarrass them or get them arrested.

Predictably, Black*Star ignores him, and Soul is forced to watch as his running partner/coach begins to catch up with the two. Instead of overtaking them, though, he falls into pace on the other side of the taller girl. Soul's crush shoots Black*Star a glare, and he can hear the fierceness in her tone as she addresses Black*Star, even though he's too far away to hear the actual words. They disappear around the bend, and Soul gives up on catching up to them, focusing instead on finishing his session. Worse comes to worse he'll just pretend not to know Black*Star and take his punishment for that later.

About ten minutes later, Soul spies the three standing near the water fountain. The girl is leaning forward, arms crossed, arguing with Black*Star, who is mirroring her pose - her friend stands between them, looking amused. Soul slows his pace, debating on whether to approach them or turn around and leave, when Black*Star sees him and makes an over-exaggerated gesture of "get over here!". Soul finds himself on the receiving end of three gazes, one curious, one suspicious and one sly, and reluctantly makes his way over.

"Here he is!" Black*Star crows, and Soul suppresses the urge to punch him. He hovers next to his loud-mouth friend, giving only a grunt and a nod in acknowledgement. Up close the girl is cuter than ever, with freckles and bright green eyes that are currently narrowed at him and Black*Star.

"We were just saying to your friend that we haven't seen you guys around the park before." Even her voice is attractive, and he feels completely tongue tied as she continues to scrutinize him. "Do you run here often?" she asks.

"He's just starting," Black*Star says, and Soul feels his face heat up.

The girl gives him an appraising look, then breaks out into a smile. "Good for you!" she says, sincere, and he flushes further. "I'm Maka." She sticks out her hand to shake. Soul goes to shake it, hoping he doesn't get her hand too sweaty.

"Tsubaki," the other girl says, giving him a small wave and a gentle smile.

Black*Star winks at her. "Black*Star. This sad lump here is Soul."

"Hey," Soul mutters.

"Turns out we go to the same dojo! Who would have thought huh? Maka here takes the morning classes though, so that's why we've never met."

"A true shame," Maka deadpans. Soul falls further. "Anyway, Tsubaki and I have to get going, but it was nice meeting you Soul." She gives him another brilliant smile that makes him duck his head.

"You too," he manages, studying his shoes.

"I'll see you at yoga class tomorrow Tsubaki!" Black*Star hollers. "Eight am!" Tsubaki gives him a thumbs up before jogging after Maka.

"Eight am?" Soul asks him slyly as they walk towards their apartment. "You never get up before noon. You passed up on a promotion at the gym because it would mean you start your shift at ten!"

"Got the promotion anyway because I'm so awesome," Black*Star responds. "Also, shut your piehole. Shouldn't you be mooning over the fact that you now know Jogging Chick's name? Don't think for a second that I didn't see you making eyes at her."

"Wasn't making eyes," Soul grumbles - then, at Black*Star's incredulous stare, "What about you, huh, I think if you flexed for her friend any more, your biceps would fall off."

"A body this good needs proper appreciation," he replies airily. "Don't be jealous, I flex for you plenty."

Soul shudders. "Please stop. In fact, just save it all for Tsubaki, she'll appreciate it more."

"That's the plan!" Black*Star sings as they cross the street.

They fall into a companionable silence for the rest of the way back, and it gives him time to think about the new developments in his love life (if he could even call it that). If he had been secretly hoping, just a little, that actually meeting her would make any potential feelings he had for her wither, well, that had been thrown out the window completely.

Maka. Soul mulls over the name, turning it over in his mind. He thinks of her sharp green eyes - her sarcastic, take-no-shit tone - her open, friendly smile. Maka.

The weekend after, Soul is rudely awakened, once again, by his asshole of a roommate, who bursts into his room and loudly announces that they're going to the basketball courts in twenty minutes so "get up and get dressed before I start to see how well your records act as frisbees."

Truthfully, basketball is one of the few forms of physical activity Soul can get behind, so it's with a minimal amount of grumbling that he gets ready. In fact, Soul is feeling pretty good up until Black*Star casually mentions that Tsu and his potential snugglebunny would be there too.

His only consolation is that Maka, apparently, did not seem to know that this was happening either.

"Soul!" Maka greets him enthusiastically, and Soul does his best to give her a cool nod in response. "I'm glad you're here. Did you know that this was going on?"

He shakes his head. They watch as Black*Star zooms over to Tsubaki, saying something that makes her giggle.

"I think she's really taken with him," Maka confesses quietly. She huffs. "Honestly, I'm not sure why…"

"Black*Star is a good guy," Soul protests, feeling weirdly protective. "He's loud and obnoxious and brash, yeah, but he's really loyal, and he's uh, helped me out a lot."

Maka hums. "I guess I can see that," she concedes. "Still, if he hurts Tsubaki I'll kick his ass."

"I'm sure you will," he says, and if it comes out a lot more admiringly than he meant it to, Maka doesn't seem to notice.

"Yo scrubs, get over here!" Black*Star calls.

Soul and Maka exchange a wordless glance of resignation.

"There's four of us, so we're gonna be on two teams. Soul, my bro, you take Maka here, and I'm gonna take Tsubaki."

"What exactly are we doing?" Maka asks.

"Basketball, duh."

"What? I don't know how to play basketball."

"What, didn't your boyfriend or girlfriend ever teach you?" Wow, subtle, Soul thinks, glaring daggers at Black*Star and trying not to cringe. Black*Star gives him a wink in response

"Don't have one," Maka responds briskly. "Ugh, fine, I'll play, but I need to look up the rules."

Black*Star looks at Soul like "seriously? You have a crush on her?" and Soul scowls at him in response. "Whatever," Black*Star says. "We're gonna warm up then."

They run a lap or two around the court, then move to the other end for lay-ups. "Did you hear that?!" Black*Star whispers at a volume roughly equivalent to an airhorn as he passes the ball to Soul. "She's single!"

"Shut up!" Soul hisses, frantically checking to see if Maka heard. Luckily she seems too preoccupied with reading the rules of basketball on her phone (what a nerd, he thinks far too fondly) to have heard Black*Star. "That doesn't even mean anything," he says. "She could not be into guys for all we know."

Black*Star takes a deep breath and Soul just about falls over in stuffing his hands over Black*Star's mouth before he could do something stupid like ask her about her gender preferences. Black*Star grimaces and struggles, but Soul keeps an iron grip on him until he finally stops moving and rolls his eyes instead. Soul carefully removes his hands, and relaxes slightly when all Black*Star does is sigh. "She's into guys, trust me," he says. "She was totally checking you out when you were running."

Soul scowls. "No she wasn't," he says, but still turns his head to look at Maka, still staring intently at her phone, as if he could catch her in the act.

Black*Star shrugs. "If you say so dude. Hey dorkzilla!" he yells across the court. "We gonna play or what?"

Maka looks up and the fire in her eyes does weird things to Soul's stomach. "What did you just call me?" she growls as she stuffs her phone in her pocket.

"We can do a practice game first, since I'm a gracious god," Black*Star says magnanimously.

Maka favors Black*Star with a wicked smile. "Bring it on, Smurf."

Maka's really, really terrible at basketball.

"You really suck at this," Soul says when the ball bounces off the court for the fifth time after she fumbled with dribbling.

"Thanks, tell me something I didn't know," she grumbles. "Can't I just hold the ball and dribble occasionally?"

"No, that's called double dribbling and is against the rules," he says again patiently.

"Ugh!" She throws her hands up in the air. "This is so confusing and makes no sense!"

"It makes perfect sense," he insists. He casts around for something for her to do that doesn't involve touching the ball. "Look," he says, "how about you guard Black*Star while I try to get the ball."

She looks a little cheered at that, and eagerly jogs to get in front of Black*Star. Soul takes Tsubaki as she comes back from retrieving the ball. He keeps his eyes trained on hers, and when she moves to toss it, he easily reaches up and knocks it off course with the tips of his fingers. Quick as lightening, he regains control of the ball and dashes down the court, sinking the ball into the net.

"Yes!" he cheers, only to become aware of the squabbling happening off to the side.

"SOUL!" Black*Star bellows, sounding a little strangled. Soul turns to see him struggling in a chokehold, face a slight tinge of red. "GET YOUR GIRL-"

"MAKA!" Soul interrupts loudly. "You're not supposed to touch him! Just block him from getting the ball."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Maka drops her grip to cross her arms.

Black*Star takes a deep overdramatic gasp of air and glares at her. "Overpowered pipsqueak," he says with a begrudging tone of respect.

"Hyperactive buffoon," Maka replies easily.

Tsubaki claps her hands together. "Should we start playing for score now?"

Soul hesitates, glancing at Maka. She catches his eye. "I think I understand it now," she insists. "No double dribbling, can't touch the other person, put the ball into the net." She flashes him a smile and a thumbs up that does nothing to reassure him but has his face heating anyway.

They're losing terribly. Soul stopped keeping track of the score fifteen points ago.

It doesn't help that Black*Star seems to be hellbent on winning. Normally, Soul can hold his own against Black*Star. Actually, Soul would wager he's slightly better at basketball - he's got the reach and the precision that Black*Star, for all of his superior speed, strength and stamina, doesn't have. When they play one on one, they usually come out pretty evenly, maybe even slightly in Soul's favor.

But for whatever reason, Black*Star seems to be pulling out all the stops this game, including parkouring up the basketball pole for a dunk.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping me!" Soul growls as he attempts to slap the ball away from his so called friend.

"I am!" Black*Star retorts, easily dodging. "She's pathetic at this game, making you look bad will give you a chance to bond!"

"That is not helping," he grits out as Black*Star backs off, before running straight at him and literally sliding between Soul's legs. He then proceeds to take a shot, which bounces off the rim, then springs into the air with the help of Tsubaki's laced fingers to catch the ball and dunk it. "Yahoo!" he shouts, pumping his fist in the air.

An hour later, they declare the game over. Tsubaki and Black*Star win by 35 points.

"Well that was a disaster," Soul says, sitting next to Maka on the bench, watching Black*Star chat up Tsubaki across the court.

Maka flicks her hair out of her face. "Sorry," she huffs, crossing her arms.

"'S okay." He shrugs. "I still had fun. Playing with you I mean."

Out the corner of his eye he can see her scrutinizing him, probably judging whether he's sincere or not. He keeps his face carefully blank, looking away from her.

"I had fun too," she admits finally. "Thanks for helping me out."

He shrugs again, but can't help the smile that pulls at the corner of his mouth. "We'll beat them next time," he assures her.

Her eyes brighten. "Yeah!" she says, jumping up. "I'm sure the library has some books on basketball. Next time I'll definitely know the rules."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "What?" she asks, defensive.

"Nothing," Soul says, standing up. She narrows his eyes at him. "You know," he begins, trying to adopt a casual tone, "if you uh, wanted to practice, we could play. Together. Sometime. Whenever." He bites his tongue to stop more inane words from spilling out.

"Sure," she says. Soul does an internal fist pump as they exchange phone numbers.

The edges of the sky are just starting to turn dusky when Maka and Tsubaki decide to call it a day.

"See you around?" Soul says, hopeful, as they gather their jackets.

"See you around!" Maka confirms, waving goodbye.

Black*Star flashes Soul a thumbs up that is about as subtle as a brick to the face. He can only hope that she didn't see that, though a burst of quiet giggles from Tsubaki lets him know that at least one other person witnessed it.

"Well that went well," Black*Star says. "Want to have a rematch? Try to scrape together some of your pride after we kicked your ass so thoroughly?"

Soul shakes his head. "I'm good." He begins to walk away in the direction of their apartment, but pauses when he realizes Black*Star isn't following him. "You comin'?" he asks.

Black*Star stretches. "You go on ahead. And don't wait up, I have a date tonight."

Soul's mouth drops open. "What? Tonight?"

Black*Star rolls his shoulders. "Yu-p! Tsubaki and I are gonna go out to that pho shop on 6th Ave."

"Already? You already asked her out? What did you even say?"

He gives him a strange look. "I told her that I thought she was attractive and if she was interested, I'd give her the opportunity to go on best date she's ever been on."

"H - how," Soul manages, "how are you good at this."

"Well I can't blame her for wanting to get it on with a god," Black*Star says, preening, "but ladies love confidence, man."

Soul chews on his lip. "Really?"

"Yeah dude! You gotta show them that you're worth their time! Why would they want to date you if you don't think you're worthy of it?"

Soul mulls this over. Black*Star catches his expression, and quickly amends, "Obviously you don't want to be an asshole, she doesn't owe anything to you, but confidence is sexy!"

He has a point, Soul is forced to agree. He thinks about Maka's smirk, the challenge in her eyes when Black*Star goads her into racing him, the assuredness in her stance when she tells off some guy for catcalling her or Tsubaki.

"Maybe you're right," he concedes.

"Of course I'm right," Black*Star scoffs. "Now off with you peon, I've got to warm up for my date."

He settles into a routine. Three times a week, Soul pulls on his gym clothes and pulls up a playlist before trudging over to the park, where he spends a half hour cursing out the little voice telling him when to walk and run. Sometimes Black*Star joins him, sharing entirely too much detail about his relationship with Tsubaki. Sometimes Tsubaki joins the both of them, which is always worse because of the extra details she adds to Black*Star's lewd stories.

Maka isn't always there at first - he still stops to watch her run past the coffee shop whenever he's on a morning shift - but when he mentions the times he's been running at, she starts to show up more often. She'll lap him with a cheerful shout and a wave, and he can't find it in himself to berate his slow pace when it means he's watching her from behind. Sometimes she'll loop back around after she's finished running around the park, joining him for his intervals.

His five minute cooldown walk begins to turn into a half hour walk around the block with Maka, and soon enough he's meeting her for long wandering journeys on the days he's not running. They explore the city together, sometimes chatting or arguing as they thread through back alleys and narrow side streets, sometimes not saying anything at all, just admiring the trees and buildings in a comfortable quiet. He never realized before how little he's seen of the city he's called home for the past three years. And seeing it through Maka's eyes is refreshing - where he notices litter on the ground, she calls his attention to an intricate, gothic design on the side of a building. He wrinkles his nose at squashed restaurants that look like the last time they were mopped was when the place was built; she orders Mexican food at a suspicious looking food truck and it ends up being the best taco he'd ever had.

They're walking down one of the areas a little outside of the old district. Maka's balancing on a short wall, teasing him that she's taller than he is as he looks up at her. Every once and a while, she gets a little wobbly and reaches out for his shoulder to steady herself. He grumbles half-heartedly, pretending to be annoyed to hide his pleasure at her brushing against him.

"Hey uh, Maka," he starts.

"Hmm?"

"I uh…" Crap, this was so much easier when he was practicing in his mirror, Black*Star's obnoxious remarks notwithstanding. He squares his shoulders. "I made you a playlist."

"You did?" she exclaims, hopping down in front of him.

Soul nods, and pulls out his phone and a pair of earbuds. "Here," he says, unlocking the phone and handing it to her. "You can listen. If you want. Or later, if you didn't want to now…"

She's already popped the headphones in her ears and is bopping along to the music. "Hey this is pretty good!" she says too loudly.

"Thanks," he mutters, pleased.

"What?"

"Thanks," he says louder as she takes an earbud out to hear him better.

"You should listen to my stuff too!" Maka shoves her phone at him. His heart skips a beat when he realizes her background photo is the selfie they took in front of a random statue of some short beaked thing with a cane and top hat. The two of them are smiling widely as they mimic the statues ridiculous pose, and his stomach does flip-flops as he loads up her music program.

"Wow," he says about halfway through a song. "This is…this is what you listen to?"

"Yeah! I love Owl City!" She hums a few bars for him, off-key. "Are you a fan too?"

"No way in hell," he says, wincing at the synthesized warble in the singer's voice.

As she punches him in the shoulder, he realizes suddenly how easy this all is - how he doesn't feel like clamming up around her, how he doesn't worry about saying the wrong thing or upsetting her. How he's slowly stopped thinking that she'll eventually realize that he's not that interesting, or bold, or as quick as she is, and will drop out of his life.

He pauses in the middle of the sidewalk. Maka walks on, but stops and turns back when she sees he isn't following. She pulls the earbuds out of her ear. "Soul?"

"Maka," he says, swallowing hard.

She tilts her head.

Ladies love confidence, he reminds himself as he opens his mouth. "I…" He clears his throat. "I…uh…" His hands tremble, and he stuffs them in his pocket as he opens his mouth to try again. "You…I mean, I…like…"

"Soul?" She's looking at him in concern now, and he feels the last of his nerve die as she takes a tentative step closer. "Are you okay? What do you like?"

"I really like this song!" he blurts out, shying away from her.

Her face brightens. "You do?"

"Yeah, uh -" he checks the screen, “- Waving Out The Window? It's um, good."

"I have the whole album!" she exclaims. "I can lend it to you if you want!"

"That would be great," he lies, sending a mental apology to his eardrums.

The long, lonely walk home is spent in loud, berating contemplation. His internal dialogue, which sounds suspiciously like the voices of his parents and teachers, presents irrefutable evidence of his cowardice and utter incompetence. Soul has no choice but to agree that he is a disappointing waste of space, like he always does.

But something must be changing in Soul, because when he gets back to his apartment building and looks up to see the flashing light of the TV spilling outside of the living room window, he suddenly knows what he has to do.

Soul knows in about thirty seconds, he's going to regret what he's about to do. No - regret is too soft a word for what his future self is going to feel towards the present him. Loathe? Abhor? Detest? Maka would be proud of him with the number of synonyms he can conjure for his future emotional state.

Well, future him could suck it. Bastard is always taking advantage of the suffering present Soul is going through. Case in point - this whole ridiculous running plan.

"Black*Star, I need your help."

"Anything for you best bro," he replies, not even bothering to glance up from the video game he's playing.

"I like Maka."

Black*Star rolls his eyes. "Tell the world something it didn't know."

Soul ignores him. "But I don't want to say anything because…"

"You're chickenshit."

"Basically," Soul says, not even bothering to deny it this time. "I need you to keep me honest."

"Oh?" Black*Star pauses his game and turns around, finally invested in the conversation.

"When I can complete a full circuit around the park without stopping or dying, I'm going to ask her out." Soul had picked the goal very carefully - it was equally likely that he would give up completely, in which case he didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of her saying no to him, or that he would actually complete it, in which case he could play asking her if she'd go out with him as a celebration of his achievement.

Black*Star squints at him. "Still don't get why you can't do it now, but you do you bro. What do I get out of this?"

Here came the hard part. Soul takes a deep breath. "If I don't ask her out, you can pick my punishment."

"Really?" It's like Soul told Black*Star that Christmas was coming early this year, and the sudden gleam in his eyes has shivers running down his spine. "You're letting me decide."

"Yes."

"You remember what happened last time I passed judgement onto you."

"Yes," Soul grinds out, "how could I forget." He still wasn't welcome back at his favorite Italian restaurant.

Black*Star's ever widening grin is distinctly unreassuring. "Oh man. I can't decide now if I want you to succeed or not."

Soul scowls, and Black*Star cackles, throwing an arm around him. "I'm just joking, of course I'm pro-Soulie boy getting with his lady. Still though…"

"Well I'm going to do it, so don't think too hard," Soul snaps. Black*Star just raises an eyebrow at him, which makes Soul insist, "I am, I can already run for fifteen minutes without dying." Maybe just five minutes at a time, but whatever, technicalities.

"And I am proud of you for that, broseph. You and Maka are gonna be the sappiest, mushiest, cutest couple - after Tsubaki and me of course." He smacks Soul's back a couple of times, making him stumble and wince. "Don't worry bro. I got your back."

That's what Soul's afraid of, and exactly what he's banking on to get him to go through with something for once in his life.

"Yeah what can I get you?" Soul asks, squinting down at the filter he's cleaning.

"Hi Soul!"

His head whips up. Maka stands in front of him, dressed in a black trench coat that hides her workout clothes. Her elbows rest against the counter, gloved hands cradling her face as she gives him a smile that makes his face hot and his hands shaky.

"M-Maka!" He almost drops the filter, and tries to pass it off as him smoothly putting it down on the counter. "H-how did you know I worked here?"

Maka blinks. "Black*Star told me."

Like so many other moments over the past month, Soul wavers between wanting to strangle and wanting to high five his best friend.

"Oh!" Maka says, peering behind his shoulder. "You've got a great view of the park from here." She smiles at him, and he feels his heart thump painfully in his chest. "You must see Tsubaki and I run by pretty often huh?"

"No," he blurts out. "No, I uh, am usually too busy working to look outside." Fuck, why did he say that? It wouldn't have been that weird to just say he sees them, but would she have thought it was creepy? It was kind of creepy, honestly…

Maka hums noncommittally. "I see."

"Uh, did you want to order something?"

She orders a mocha. When Maka goes to pay, he shakes his head, pushing away her credit card. "On the house," he insists, ignoring her protests.

He takes his time to make the best damn mocha the shop's ever seen, and finishes it off by creating a little flower of steamed milk in the drink. He presents it to her with a flourish, and basks in her praise.

Unfortunately, she came at one of the busier times at the café and can't linger at the counter. She moves to one of the tables nearest to him and pulls out a book, and he sneaks glances at her while his hands are on autopilot making drinks for the customers.

That is, until -

"What's up Soul," Black*Star greets him. "The girls run by yet?" He fiddles with his phone, completely oblivious to the frantic aborting motions that Soul is making.

Maka looks up at the sound of Black*Star's voice, and Soul drops his arms, giving her a weak smile. "I wouldn't know Black*Star," he squeaks.

Black*Star snorts. "Yeah right, you stare out that window watching for Maka so much that someone could hold up the store and you wouldn't even notice."

"ANYWAY, what can I get you," Soul rushes to say, as Maka cocks her head curiously. "I'll pay," he says desperately, feeling a deep flush work its way down his neck.

Black*Star immediately brightens. "Awesome! Well in that case…"

After Black*Star leaves with his six dollar caffè macchiato, Maka sidles up to him. "You're awfully generous to your friends Soul," she says, corner of her mouth twitching.

"Not really," he mutters, busying himself with wiping down the counter. "Just…just special ones."

"And Black*Star is one of them?"

"No," he spits out, "he's just really good at being annoying."

A pause, and then, "And me?"

Soul's heart hammers in his chest so loudly that he doesn't even hear himself when he mumbles, very quietly, "Special case." It only beats harder at the slow smile that spreads across her face.

The next day, Maka waves at him through the window as she runs past the store. Soul's hands dance between his face and his pockets before they compromise, one of them giving her a shy wave, the other one coming up to rub away a goofy grin.

Fall is winding down, and Soul can feel himself getting stronger, gaining stamina with every workout. He can't believe it's already been a month and a half since Black*Star dragged him into this fiasco. A month and a half of way too much sweat and exercise.

A month and a half since he was properly introduced to Maka - Maka, who he now knows uses books as both entertainment and as weapons - Maka, who hates raw fish and loves white chocolate - Maka, who texts him every night with a different grumpy cat gif, claiming they look exactly like him, who somehow always has some place new for them to explore, something new for them to look at. She's so much more than the attractive jogger he would stare at through the window, dreaming up scenarios where she would suddenly notice him and ask him out. So different from what he imagined her to be like - quieter and nerdier and more uncertain, but just as bold and strong and kind. Whatever happens - if he finishes, if he confesses - it doesn't matter as much as the fact that she's part of his life in some way.

His phone vibrates and dings as the automated voice announces that his workout is complete. He stops, breathing hard, and sits down on a bench, throwing his arms around the back and looking up to the deepening sky.

A crush. A workout. And at the beginning of all of it, a friend.

"Hey Black*Star."

"Hmm?" Black*Star pauses his one handed pull ups to look at Soul.

"I uh." Soul clears his throat awkwardly. "Wanted to uh, say…thanks for helping me out with Maka. I wouldn't, you know, have met her or anything if you hadn't…"

Black*Star flicks away his words. "Say no more dude. You know I've always got your back."

"Yeah," Soul confirms, "yeah I know. Still." He brings out an envelope from behind his back and offers it to Black*Star, who lets go of the bar to take it.

Black*Star pulls out two pieces of paper from the envelope. "What's this?"

"Uh, tickets. To the symphony. The one that you had wanted to take Tsubaki to for your one month anniversary and waited in line for tickets for five hours before being told they had just sold out?"

"No shit!" Black*Star's mouth drops open as he stares at the tickets. His eyes dart up to Soul and he squints, suspicious. "Wait, how did you get them?"

"Well I…kinda pulled a couple of strings…?"

"You…" Realization dawns in his eyes, and Soul shuffles his feet uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Soul confirms. "Yeah I uh, talked to Wes -”

"Wes, like, your brother Wes?"

"What other Wes would there be Black*Star."

"Wes, like, your perfect brother that you haven't talked to in a decade?"

"It's only been three years," Soul mutters. His ears still hurt from Wes' squealing when he answered the phone.

"What did he say when you called?"

Soul shrugs. "Not much," he lies, choosing not to tell him about how Wes alternated between crying and yelling and lecturing all while prying out every detail of his little brother's mundane life for two hours.

Black*Star hesitates. "And…your parents? Now that Wes knows where you are, are they gonna…?"

Soul blows out a sigh. "…They were gonna find out eventually." He stares at his hands - his precise, long fingers. Perfect for playing piano, his parents told him, over and over until he felt like that's all like they were good for, all he was good for. "…They can't really do much to me now anyway. And…it's like you said. I can't keep hiding forever."

Black*Star stares at the tickets in his hand before putting them back into the envelope as carefully as Soul's ever seen him handle something.

The scent of Axe body spray washes over Soul as Black*Star engulfs him in a hug, one that's made all the more awkward by the height difference between them. "You're the best bro a bro could have Soul," Black*Star sniffs.

"Yeah," Soul says, smiling as he pats his best friend's back. "You too Black*Star. You too."

"One minute left," the tinny voice encourages him. He clings to that as he rounds the bend. Just one minute. Before the end of this song is done it'll be over. Just keep going. Don't stop. Don't stop -

Ding! "Your workout is complete."

Soul slows to a stop, mind replaying the words.

"I did it," he says, disbelieving.

"I did it," he says again, and feels like shouting it, maybe even channeling Black*Star and adding a "yahoo!" at the end.

Black*Star and Tsubaki wave wildly from a bench halfway across the park as he looks over to them. Black*Star stands up on the bench, cups his hands around his mouth and bellows, "I TOLD YOU!"

Soul grins, shaking his head. Black*Star stabs a finger in the direction that Soul just came from. Soul turns around and -

There she is. She hasn't noticed him yet, looking at her phone, and Soul had specifically gotten here before her workout time so that he could bail out if he needed to but -

Maybe this is what they call runner's high, or maybe it's just Soul actually achieving something he never thought he'd even try doing for once, but he doesn't even need Black*Star's nod or shooing motion to send him off - he's already running towards Maka, calling her name.

She stops and waits for him, smiling. He pushes his muscles to run faster, and a tiny part of him marvels when his body obeys without complaint as he flies towards her.

He skids to a stop in front of her, only panting a little bit. The sun is filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on her face, glinting gold off of her hair, and her eyes are bright and fond as she looks at him expectantly, and in that moment he wants to tell her - wants to tell her that he started this for her but finished it for him, wants to thank her for encouraging and supporting him and never making fun. He wants to tell her that he loves their early morning walks and late night texts, that he thinks she's amazing and smart and strong, that he probably never would have finished if she didn't make it more fun than torture, that he wants - that he loves -

"I like you please go out with me." Soul says in a rush.

Maka's face changes from fondness to confusion. "Sorry?"

"You heard me," he mumbles, resisting the urge to use his new stamina to run the fuck away.

"I…no? Sorry, you said it so fast, could you say it again?"

"Uh." Where was Black*Star and his menacing "you won't believe the things I have in store for you" grin when he needed it? Maka's looking at him curiously and god dammit past Soul was the absolute worst -

But he wasn't about to give up now. Soul takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, tries to look Maka in the eye but ends up sticking his gaze somewhere in the vicinity of her shoulder instead. "I like you," he says again. "And I've really enjoyed getting to know you. And I would like to take you out to dinner." Did he just say that? He just said that. "As a date," he clarifies. He's on a roll. "Though uh, you don't have to if you don't want to." Wait, wasn't he on a roll? "We could uh, just celebrate me actually being able to keep up with you." Apparently it was more of a slow tumble. "Or uh, not." Off of a cliff. "You know what, just ignore me -”

"I would love to go out on a date with you."

Soul looks up from his shoes. "R-really?" he stammers.

She nods, smiling. He takes a hesitant step forward, and she meets him halfway, drawing closer until their running shoes are almost touching. "I was actually thinking of asking you out tomorrow," she says, peering up at him shyly through her bangs. "But you beat me to it."

"I…I did?"

She's close enough now to bump him gently with her shoulder, sending a tingling buzz through his body. "I like you, dummy," she says, and that combined with the way she's grinning at him, looking a little shy and embarrassed herself, makes him feel like he's as light as air.

"So where do you want to go for dinner?" she asks, entwining her fingers in his.

"Well uh, I was thinking maybe that Lebanese place we found last week, you know, by the shoemaker?"

Her eyes light up, and then take on a mischievous look. "Race you there."

He smirks back, heart racing forward for once instead of shrinking back. "You're on."

She takes off, and he follows, knowing she'll outstrip him in a heartbeat, but that she'll be waiting patiently for him to catch up at the end. He lets her peel ahead and focuses instead on making the world turn beneath his feet, setting his own pace.

He'll get there eventually.

Thank you for reading! Comments and criticisms much appreciated!

#soul eater #my writing #my fanfiction #fanfiction #soma #soul evans #maka albarn #black*star #tsubaki #coffee shop au #jogger au

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pinkfan-gurl · 7 years

Text

Starry Night

chapter six of an 1oo high school au

Monty tried to keep calm as he sat in the backseat.

Never in a million years would he have thought that he'd be riding in the backseat of Bellamy Blake's car. And it wasn't that Monty was afraid of Bellamy, because he wasn't.

Bellamy wasn't exactly popular in the traditional sense that typical movies like Mean Girls try to portray. Everyone knew that he was working three jobs and taking advanced classes in attempts to get into a recognizable college. Everyone knew that his main goal at this point was to get a degree in social science.

The hard work and dedication that Bellamy had been putting into his work since starting high school was notable and everyone respected him for it or held him in at least some high esteem. Almost everyone. Clarke was too oblivious by their rivalry to view him any differently from the boy who dumped a pail of sand in her lap in kindergarten.

The car ride wasn't long at all—maybe ten minutes at the most. Jasper and Monty stayed quiet while Octavia filled the silence with a recap of her day while Bellamy listened. "Thanks for the ride, Bellamy," Octavia said as she pushed the front-seat forward enough for the two boys in the back to scramble out.

Bellamy eyed Jasper warily before glancing back to Octavia. "What time do you need a pick-up, O?"

Monty noticed Bellamy regard Jasper suspiciously again and Monty wondered if it was because he was Clarke's brother or if Bellamy knew of Jasper's crush on Octavia. "Few hours," Octavia said and let the seat spring back into place. "I'll call you."

"Are they going to need a ride too?" Monty had expected Bellamy's tone to be hostile but it was surprisingly calm.

Octavia glanced over at Jasper who shook his head. "No, uh," he hesitated, looking nervous, "Clarke's supposed to come get us."

Bellamy scoffed slightly, shaking his head. He muttered something under his breath—"the princess" Monty heard—then he nodded. "Okay, I'll be back around ten to get you, O."

Octavia scrunched up her nose, clearly disappointed. "Why so early? I said I'd call you."

"Mom doesn't want you out later than that. Plus, I'm going over to Miller's and I don't need to be worrying about the trouble you're getting into while I'm over there."

"Fine. But don't show up even a minute before ten."

"Someone's being bossy. Makes me wonder what you're up to." He tilted his nose down and Octavia blushed slightly.

Monty turned away politely, pretending to take an interest in an ant crawling between the cracks of the sidewalk while Octavia hastily hissed at her brother. When Monty looked up, Bellamy was pulling out of the parking lot and Octavia's face was returning to it's normal color.

"Everything good?" Jasper asked upon her return to them.

Octavia nodded, rubbing circles into her arms. "Just Bellamy being a dick, per the usual. Come on, I can see Sterling's car parked near the front."

…

After having gotten his M&M blizzard, Jasper followed Octavia to a table where a few of the other soccer kids decided to settle.

The entire place was full of people that Jasper recognized from the team and most of them had other friends along with them. The noise decibel was through the roof, reminding Jasper of when he was forced to eat in college cafeterias on field trips. He found not being able to hear the person sitting across from him rather annoying.

Octavia slid into a booth with Harper, Fox, and Sterling which Jasper found appropriate. Other than being on the soccer team, he knew that the three of them also resided on student-council because on more than one occasion they had been over to help Clarke out with something or other.

When Harper smiled at them, Jasper made sure to nudge Monty in the side roughly and he almost tripped head first into the table except he was able to right himself at the last moment. "Hi," Monty tried to cover it up but his face was still slightly flushed and his voice was weak.

Jasper had to keep from laughing, but then Octavia grabbed him by the cuff of his hoodie and pulled him over so that their shoulders brushed as they sat. He took it that his face said it all because suddenly Monty was the one refraining his giggles.

"You guys did great today," Harper gushed excitedly to Sterling and Octavia.

Octavia shrugged nonchalantly. "Not a big deal. Right place at the right time."

"Yeah," Sterling agreed, crossing his arms on the table. "It was kind of a fluke. It only went in the net because the goalie tripped over his own feet."

"Who cares?" Jasper's stomach twisted as everyone's eyes turned to him. God, he was so awkward. "I mean, we won right? Flukes still count."

Everyone stayed quiet for a second, but then Fox said "Jasper's right" and the growing pit in his stomach stopped deepening.

"We beat Mecha Prep and that's what matters." She planted a kiss on Sterling's cheek.

Quickly licking the ice cream off of his spoon, Japser stuck it back into the lump of ice cream and then held the cup up over the table. "To winning!"

He felt stupid for a second, but then Monty's cotton candy and Octavia's double-chocolate chip cookie dough blizzards joined his in the middle followed by everyone else's. "To winning!" they cheered, breaking out into giggles.

As more people filtered in, the louder the room got. Some of the kids who happened to be present were trembling behind their parents, terrified of the older kids hanging around like they owned the place.

Octavia must have read his mind because she called over the noise, "You guys wanna go to the elementary school play yard?"

"Sounds good!" Harper shouted back.

Jasper slid out of the booth, falling into step with Monty as Harper and Octavia led the way through the restaurant and to the door. The elementary school was just down the sidewalk from the Dairy Queen, making it an ideal spot for them to unwind.

"Are you going to talk to her?" Jasper nudged Monty. Harper and Octavia were talking in depthly with their hands.

Monty scowled. "No way."

"Why not?"

"Unlike you, I don't have an entire battle plan drawn up on how to get a girl to like me."

"I can get my box of crayons and colored construction paper and have one drawn up for you in like, thirty minutes."

Monty rolled his eyes. "No thank you."

"Okay," Jasper shrugged as they stepped onto the school yard field. "But I'm always here to help you with your girl problems, buddy."

They took their time crossing the field opposed to the mad bolt to the merry-go-round that Octavia had opted for. Harper called out to her to slow it down, but then she took off to intercept Octavia at break-neck speeds.

"Come on," Jasper laughed, pulling Monty along once they made it within a reasonable jogging distance.

Octavia's hair whipped around as she held onto the metal bars, leaning her torso off the edge as far as she dared. Even in her dirty, yellow uniform and clashing flip-flops she looked so beautiful.

Jasper was so busy staring at her, he hadn't even registered that Monty had already climbed onto the merry-go-round or that he was just awkwardly watching them spin with a dopey smile on his face.

"Jasper!" Monty cupped his hands around his mouth. "Make it go faster!"

"Yeah!" Harper whooped and Octavia's grin just widened, but it was enough to motivate Jasper into running what felt like a mile around in a circle to help it gain speed before jumping on himself.

"Oh my God," he panted, falling flat on his back in the middle of the rotating disk. "This thing is so heavy, especially with you giants on here."

"I'm a giant?" Monty snorted, obviously trying to be heard. Harper chuckled.

Twisting her leg around the bars, Octavia stood up and stretched her arms out. From his spot on the ground, Jasper couldn't see anything but the blue sky and clouds revolving around her as she stood freely against the wind. From the gentle smile on her face to the deep inhalations to the way her hair barely touched her face as they moved, Jasper could tell she was in a bliss.

And right now, while she was sweaty and covered in dirt, he couldn't think of a moment where she looked more beautiful.

…

Darkness came too early in Octavia's opinion.

The covers of darkness first started taking it's dim hold on the sky around nine and only continued to darken since then. Now at a quarter to ten, she knew that she was going to have to leave soon, even though the darkness called for to stay.

After the merry-go-round, Octavia and the others alternated between the different pieces of playground equipment, acting like they were kids again. At one point, they busted out Jasper's soccer ball and used it as a basketball on the blacktop. When Harper left about a half-hour after dark, the rest of them decided to settle down and enjoy each other's company.

Originally they had been sitting on the top of the monkey bars, but that soon grew to be uncomfortable so Monty suggested they chill out on the grass.

"Do you guys ever wonder what's out there?" Monty murmured suddenly.

Octavia turned to her right where Monty was lying. "What do you mean?" Jasper asked from her other side.

Monty sighed, keeping his eyes trained on the stars. "Do you think there's other life other than our planet? Or if there's something out there that could support human life?"

Octavia rolled on her side, waiting expectantly for Jasper's rebuttal. "Maybe," he said finally. She noticed how he kept his gaze on the sky intently as well.

"What about you, Octavia?" Monty's voice came from behind her.

Octavia returned to her initial position on her back. "I'm not really big into the whole science aspect behind the galaxy. I'm more into the history behind it."

Jasper pursed his lips. "Isn't history and science the same thing?"

Octavia laughed wistfully. "Not the history I'm thinking of."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't done this in awhile," she started. "Watch the stars, I mean. I used to do it all the time with my brother when I was a bit younger. He's really into mythology and stuff so he would tell me the stories behind the constellations."

Octavia pointed up at what she distinctly knew as Orion but could be easily seen as a clump of stars. "That's the Hunter, Orion. He fell in love with the goddess Artemis, but she swore herself to eternal maidenhood. Apollo, Artemis's brother, was so furious that he shot and killed Orion on the day he was supposed to marry Artemis."

She pointed out another group of stars that could've easily been overlooked by the untrained eye. "And that's the constellation of Andromeda. She was a princess of Ethiopia who was doomed to being mauled by a sea monster after her parents pissed off Poseidon. But the demigod Perseus saved her on the condition that her parents let him marry her, which they agreed to but kind of forgot when it was all said and done. But Andromeda upheld her parents end of the bargain and married Perseus, so the goddess Athena put her in the stars as a reward."

"Wow," Jasper breathed. "That's really cool that you know those stories."

Octavia grinned, rubbing her palms against the grass. "I don't know nearly as many stories as Bellamy does. He's like a walking encyclopedia for Greek myths. He could probably recite an ancient story for how every star that's visible from earth came to be."

"He must be great at parties."

Octavia laughed out loud. "Yeah. One day, I want to be a legend in the stars. I want people to recount the epics of Octavia Blake every time they see a certain constellation."

"That's a lot cooler than asking about aliens," Monty conceded.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking in the cool atmosphere. It was the first time in a long while that Octavia genuinely felt at peace.

"Hey, look." Jasper nodded toward at red light that flashed in intervals as it crossed the inky blue sky. "Satellite."

Octavia shivered. "How could people ever voluntarily live in space?"

"I think it could be cool," Monty said. "Not forever, but it'd be cool to see the planet from a different angle."

"Not to me." She shifted her legs so that they were pulled up to her chest. "It sounds claustrophobic and restricting. No fresh air. No soccer. No pizza. Oh my God, no pizza." She faked a groan. "But especially no fresh air. I'd lose it in space. I need the freedom of the ground, ya know?"

"I understand that." Jasper smiled, tearing his eyes away from the sky.

For a minute, Octavia was tempted to lean over and kiss him. It didn't have to be big or extravagant; a quick kiss under the stars sounded perfect. She was already starting to lean in when her phone buzzed where it sat on her stomach, surprising everyone.

Jasper fell back in the grass, and if it weren't for the cover of darkness he probably would have been visibly red in the cheeks.

"Hello?" she answered as harshly as she could into the phone.

"I'm in the parking lot outside of the Dairy Queen but it's closed. Where the hell are you?" Bellamy's voice came from the other end and Octavia didn't even stop her eyeroll.

"We're just down a block. At the elementary school."

"You're not alone are you?"

"Jasper and Monty are here with me."

"Still?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"

"I just assumed Clarke would—you know what? That's not important. Come to the sidewalk; I'm gonna pull over and get you."

"See you in a minute." She hung up the phone. "That was Bellamy."

"We figured," Monty said. Jasper shot him a look, but Octavia figured that Monty couldn't even tell with how thick the dark was. "You want us to walk with you? It'd be safer."

Out of the corner of her eye, Octavia saw the headlights of a car pulling over to the side of the road. "No, that's okay. I see him now. Thanks for the offer though."

She stood up and Jasper quickly scrambled to his feet. His hair covered his eyes. "Well thanks for inviting us. I sure had fun."

"I did too," Octavia smiled. "I'm glad you guys could hang out for a little bit." She cupped Jasper's face and placed a kiss on his cheek. "See you guys on Monday!"

She snatched up her hoodie from the ground, then jogged to where Bellamy was waiting. "Hey, big brother," she greeted whilst climbing into the car.

Bellamy put the car into gear and pulled back out onto the road. "So how was it?"

"Told some Greek myths." She felt satisfied when his face perked into a smile. "I'm the life of the party."

"Well that's good, I guess. I don't know how I feel about you being the life of a party."

"Nothing bad happened. We were just eating ice cream and playing on the playground."

"It's not you I don't trust."

A slight rush of anger filled Octavia's stomach. "Jasper and Monty are good guys."

Bellamy's fists tightened on the steering wheel and his body tensed against his seat belt. "I don't know them, O, so I can't know that for sure."

"If you trust me, then why can't you trust that I'm making a good decision?"

"Because I know how some guys can be, O. I've hung out with people like that before and I don't like the idea of my little—"

"—please stop." Octavia slammed her fist against her lap. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but I can take care of myself."

Bellamy's tone remained calm even though his body was more tense than she had ever seen before. "You're still just a kid, Octavia."

"I'm only a year and a half younger, alright, Bellamy? I'm not some helpless little fifth grader who doesn't have friends on the playground anymore. I can take care of my damned self."

This time, Bellamy growled and his eyes flashed. "I can't demand that you respect me, but at least you could pretend you do."

Octavia gritted her teeth. "Fine, then. How was your student council meeting on Monday?"

She was still seething, and everything about her tone was sarcastic. At this point, she couldn't care less.

"It was fine, thanks for asking." Bellamy was just as pissed as she was. She could tell not only by the body language, but also by the fact that he almost bypassed the street that led into their subdivision. "I'm stuck being co-president with Clarke."

"Good," Octavia snarled. "Maybe she can teach you some manners."

"I'm pretty sure that she and Wells have enough etiquette for everyone," he snapped back. He pulled the car to a stop in their driveway and ripped the keys from the ignition.

"News flash, dipshit," Octavia climbed out of the car, "Clarke and Wells broke up." She watched as Bellamy's jaw slacked, then dropped.

She didn't wait for him to respond before slamming the car door in his face and then locking herself in her bedroom.

chapter 7

#The 100 #bellarke au #bellarke #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #clarke x bellamy #bellamy x clarke #bellarke fanfiction

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mantlelificent · 7 years

Text

Protected | R.M.

Summary: Reggie Mantle grew up protecting what he loved.

I miss you.

You received the text on the first day of school, the instant your baby pink ballet flats maneuvered within the halls of Riverdale High, which were marginally filled with mayhem from everyone’s first day jitters.

Well, not everyone. You, despite your extra pretty face, extra shiny curls, and extra preppy outfit, wore a heavy façade that drooped lower than the Maybelline Fit Me-concealed eye-bags that were situated below your unexplained, cheery eyes that tried to greet everyone with much positivity as possible. As everyone knew your perfect reputation, the happy-go-lucky cheerleader that everyone admired and loved since the day you entered high school. It was never tarnished, so you refused to let a silly break-up move it at all.

You took out your phone and shakily gazed down at the message. It was sent in clear, with no emoji’s or silly grammatical errors. Your nervous fingers moved for you, but your brain was being silly that day and it had no planned response for the text message.

A wave of students accidentally crossed and one of them partially collided against your hardly five feet tall physique, which was a thankful jolt that rattled you off from replying to the text message. You squeezed the iPhone tightly, bearing no mind of the glittery fake diamonds from the phone case bearing harsh indentions against your palm.

The moment you were able to fix your locker and lock it behind you, you immediately set off to find a seat in the gym—hoping that an early departure from the first day madness would create a false sense of comfort from your inevitable fate, which was meeting your ex-boyfriend again subsequently after a summer of trying to forget all about him.

Everyone had always said that you were perfect for Reginald Mantle.

You were a girl blessed with your father’s dominant sloped nose and your mother’s graceful and tiny, ballerina body. Being the only child meant being under the revolving gaze of your mother and father’s watchful eyes twenty-four/seven, and you grew up to be accordingly limpid; yet, at the same time pretentious for you were the heir of one of the wealthiest families in Riverdale.

Reggie was a boy meant for you even before you knew what he was supposed to be. He was a constant person in your life, a fixture caused by your parents and his parents’ meddling. Though, despite your unending play times together and a hired tutor that taught you and him up until you were in middle school, Reggie and you grew up in different paths, in different aspects.

You and Reggie were in the opposite sides of the spectrum. Nevertheless, you were inexplicably drawn to him. He was exactly the same as you, but as the same time, so, so different.

He was difficult to figure out. He had pushed children off swing sets and had hogged all the toy cars to himself as he disliked sharing. You hated the smirk on his face when he teased his inferiors, and still you loved him when he kissed you goodnight. He’d hold you in the softest way possible, muscled arms entrapped around you with touch as light as a feather, and similarly he’d used the same arms dangerously with heated intent at someone else.

You never got why people often told you that he was perfect for you. He was, in your point of view, a mixture of positives and negatives. He was your opposite.

The thing about opposites was that when a unity occurred, it would be a co-existent dependency that held itself with tension.

You loved him more than he loved himself. That was probably the reason why the balance wasn’t right and he pushed himself off, leaving you in the dust.

“Are you alright?” Surprisingly, Cheryl Blossom would be the first person to question you that today. The said Blossom stood above you, her red curls down the right side of her chest, a hand on her hip and a raised eyebrow. You tried to hide the flinch that came with Cheryl’s edged tone, but she assumingly noticed it since she took it herself to sit next to you on that noisy lunch table.

“Talk to me,” she demanded. “I don’t want anyone on my squad to be sadder than my supposed star quality. You cannot rain on my parade on this week’s performance.”

“I’m fine,” you muttered as you picked on your salad.

“[y/n], a stupid boy doesn’t have the right to state your mood status.” She hissed. “There are 7 billion people in the world. God knows how much boys will there be after your life post-Reggie Man—“

“Damn, Cheryl,” You stood up. “I said I’m fine!”

Your words were a little too loud, and laced with anger. The whole open-lawn cafeteria went into a full pregnant pause from your little burst and your eyes betrayed you as it went to a familiar face that you couldn’t just let go off. His smirking, never ceasing, hardly-caring face wavered slightly as he looked your way, as everyone had. He looked down once before pushing his left foot off benched on the seat and faced in the opposite direction, going back into a conversation with Chuck Clayton.

You couldn’t care less what that meant and you sped off from your table, grabbing your cellphone with you. Opening the text message up on your interface, your quivering fingers typed out a reply before hitting send.

“I thought you said I couldn’t see you again,” the tall and handsome boy chuckled as he sat coolly on the stools that they had in Pop’s. His tousled, brown waves would shine into a blondish side under the neon lights of Pop’s infamous signs, and his pretty blue eyes would turn your messy head into a complete haze of white noise. “I missed you,” Jackson voiced out, echoing what he had recently texted you that morning.

It was seven in the evening, and mostly everyone had this night tacked to watch the last screening due for the closing Midnight Drive-In. You had thought to go but you knew that it would simply be another place that would haunt you again with memories that happened in the arms of a familiar stranger.

“I couldn’t resist,” you whispered zealously, biting your lip, then striding towards him until both of your faces had no space with each other. He kissed back passionately, and you followed along in accord, ignoring the way your heart bleated in a monotonous fashion, like it was a routine you followed every morning. Fingers tracing down his rugged, jean jacket, you stopped as it went to a tracing on his arm. A tattoo of a dangerous serpent.

“Watch it,” he pushed himself off you and went to slip down his sleeves. “Any good ‘ole folk wouldn’t wanna see that snake on a young thing’s skin.”

“A young thing, huh?” You titled your head, letting him caress your cheek. It made you feel like being touched by an intruder. You held your tongue from stating that out loud. “I heard that your buddies are over at the drive-in tonight.”

“—yeah,” the handsome, rugged boy agreed, holding your hand like a whisper. “But you’re much better than any movie, let’s agree. Pretty and innocent [y/n][y/l/n].”

“If my father saw you with me,” you told him with a trace of a smile hinting on your lips while leading the boy down to a booth. “He would freak,” you ended with a pendulous but crude smirk, as the feeling of going behind your parents’ back often created a brilliant feeling of teenage rebellion.

However, the light that would go unperturbed that night beneath the luminescence of you with the boy from the Serpents would go back unlit as a sudden burst of unexpected customers walked in the empty Pop’s.

It was a famous group of blue and yellow hues, the king, the boy in between the boisterous and rowdy laughs, and you couldn’t help but shake as his eyes immediately turned toward the serpent and your contumacious self.

“[y/n]?” Reggie Mantle took it upon himself to breeze through the rows of booths with a face of disbelief, his voice rising. And as you expected, anger rising as his comical face slowly slipped to stone cold when his eyes landed on the lingering fingers of the serpent teenager on your arm. “Who the hell is he?”

“Fuck off, Reggie,” you glared, bringing yourself to whisper to your current partner beside you, “Ignore him.” You tried your best to act a casual as possible, though the sudden racing of your heart that went with the way your ex-boyfriend stared at you in a mix of hardening confusion and indignation.

The other football players were left in a fit of widening eyes as Reggie, in impulsion, went and grabbed your arm in fury, “I’m taking you home.”

And it was a laughable scene, provided that you have been in witness in a circumstance like this before; on the contrary, you were always behind him before, supporting him like a good girlfriend. Until now.

Reggie showed the chaos within him through the bones between his knuckles—several scars made proof of that. Now, you were his enemy, the one that caused the fire beneath his eyes. The booths made a guarded ring.

“What the hell, man—“ The serpent boy scoffed before Reggie snapped and gripped and landed a good punch with no regret on the other boy’s face. That started a full-blown fight, which lead pandemonium where Moose, Chuck, and several others hurriedly tried to pull the Asian off the other boy. Reggie’s blows were pernicious, and over the yells of the football team trying to stop the fight, the only thing you could do was watch everything in horror.

“—fighting on public property, what on earth caused you to do that?!” And Mrs. Mantle let out a startled shriek and tried to shield her son as Mr. Mantle gave a tumultuous slap on Reggie’s already bruising face. You gripped your jacket, feeling the cotton and thinking of it as abrasive as hooves, guilt going off you in waves as the only thing you could do was watch the aftermath unfold in the Mantle estate, where you had been protectively ushered off to with your parents and Sheriff Keller due to Pop’s emergency dial.

“This is getting out of hand,” Reggie’s father continued, a harsher than stern look on his purple face. Yanking back his hand, his gaze shot to you, which you couldn’t bear to hold longer than a second. “This boy has been nothing but trouble this year—I swear, this was the last straw, Reginald. I need to ship him to board—“

“It was my fault,” you found your voice, hurried and not gentle at all—willing to cross out the guilt killing your tightening chest. Your parents’ tension-heavy faces whipped their heads to you, their protected daughter that could hardly do no wrong in this world. “I came there with Jackson—“

“No, I fought him, she had nothing to do with th—“ Reggie hastily claimed, harsh and scarily void of emotion. He was seemingly too callous from responding to his father—and you had realized that this could have been happening more so than none and that this boy could have grown up this way, and while your heart was pouring from hearing him protect you, you knew that it was your call to turn things around.

“No,” you squeaked, hearing yourself panic. “I guess I was being rebellious, I met up with Jackson, and – and- “ You eyed your father. “He was with me and Reggie saw me and Jackson did something and he got provoked,” you finished, lying. You looked at Reggie, and he gazed at you, turmoil and hurt swirling in his eyes.

That led to a tension-filled silence. You closed your eyes, and could hear the sounds of Reggie’s father’s footsteps going off to a direction. Somewhere that’s not here, of course.

“Sorry, that shouldn’t have happened,” he would tell you days later, smirk latched to his lips like a boy to a candy bar. He’d say it would no feeling, no emotion, as if he wasn’t someone that was in what happened and he was merely a person who’d heard of what happened.

The memory of his father slapping him because of you would haunt you forever, and your eyes would wander to his cheek not due to any romantic purpose, but the ache of wondering how much it hurt to protect you, a person he shouldn’t even be caring for anymore.

“I’m sorry,” you ignored his first statement, and spat out what you needed to say. The hallways were empty. “I was being petty. I wanted to—“ The words were dignified to be stated out in the open. “I wanted to forget about you.”

His silence mocked you. The 6’3 handsome and usually word-y jock—the boy you really, just really, really loved, gazed at you as if your turbulence, though with a slip of concern on his façade. You continued, lips burning with words you only imagined you would say in a dream, “You hurt me, Reggie. I hated you for making me spend a summer without you. So, yeah. I did something. I slept with that douchebag, that serpent, just to forget about you. So, fuck you.”

The response was instant. An utter storm shadowed over his face. “Fuck me? Fuck me? Are you fucking kidding me?” His fingers wrapped tightly around his coifed hair, eyes blazing with chasms of void and anger. “The only thing I ever did was goddamn protect you! If you hadn’t been so stupid, you wouldn’t be in this mess. I shouldn’t have protected you from the start if it was going to lead this way.”

“Protected me from the start?” You questioned, beckoned with hatred.

“Yes! I’ve always been protecting you. I love you, [y/n]. So much. The reason I ended things is because you were going to end up broadcasted on this shitty book and—“ Reggie sighed and you looked at him confusingly. He stepped forward, “Look, last year I was in hell. My dad caught me doing some stupid shit and he was going to blame it on you. I needed to protect you, it was instinct. I had to break up with you because I couldn’t bear the guilt that—“

This time, it was your turn to slap him. Reggie snapped his head back at you, shocked.

“You stupid jerk,” your body shook from relief and at the same time, numbness. “You couldn’t have at least told me about that? I literally cried for a week because I thought I wasn’t good enough for you, the great Reggie freaking Mantle.”

Reggie stared at what only could have been eons, before shaking his head and returning a soft gaze that was only for you. “I’m sorry.”

You could shake your head as he placed out his warm hand next to yours, swirling and wrapping it around yours in the gentlest way possible.

It was an epiphany, when you looked at him and you had finally seen a glimpse of an extent that he would do for you. The balance was off and you had thought of it in the wrong way.

He loved you more than he loved himself.

omg i’m so sorry. whenever i write i’d always get so carried away with excessive details and annoying character musings!!! please tell me what you think! feel free to reblog or like or message me! always open to hear what you guys think huehue. :)

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froggydarren · 7 years

Text

as a friend

Dylan/Tyler || 1.8k || M || AO3

Summary: (989): I miss your penis. I'm telling you this as a friend, like its just a really great penis. You should be proud of it.

A/N: Y’all can blame @literaryoblivion for this one. That is all.

At first Tyler thinks the text came from Posey. It’s something he’d expect from him, completely without context or preamble, but with enough history that it wouldn’t seem super creepy. They did live together, after all, and occasional accidental nudity -- well, accidental sighting of said nudity -- was something that did happen. And sending something this random that’s this personal is absolutely Posey’s style.

Then he looks at the top of the screen again, and almost chokes on the water he’s drinking. Because the text didn’t come from Posey.

That’s it, that’s how Dylan’s number is saved in his phone, because not only is it what Tyler calls him, but it’s also unassuming enough that only some people would match it to the person. He’s had enough people looking over his shoulder to know better, and to save people’s numbers either by nicknames like this, or by full names to keep things appropriate. Dylan is one of those who gets a nickname -- and not a cutesy one that’d give too much away -- because he’s the one whom Tyler texts a lot, and it’s not like he wants to advertise it. And “D” could be anyone, really. At least that’s what he tells himself.

I miss your penis.

Tyler stares at the phone some more, slumped in his chair on set as he’s waiting to be called for the next shot. The penis in question twitches in his shorts, and he winces because now is not the time, dammit. Sure, the competition on who’s gonna wear the shortest of shorts seemed fun when it started, but he wasn’t counting on Dylan texting things like this. And he can’t reply now. Can’t, because he has no idea where that conversation might lead, and if it goes any further than what his mind is already trying to come up with, the shorts will be very inconvenient.

It’s his own fault, really, for not checking all his texts before he got to set.

Tyler reluctantly taps into the reply space, and tries to think of a reply that’s not going to start an immediate conversation. Then he spots the time the text was sent -- 2am -- and it suddenly makes a little more sense.

I see your reunion with the Maze Runner crew went well.

He locks the phone’s screen right after he exits the messaging app, and when the PA calls his name, he’s relieved that he can leave the phone behind. It does take the whole walk around the house they’re filming at to clear his head though. Because penis talk from Dylan.

The shoot and the rest of the guys keep his mind occupied with normal things, and it's only on his way to the hotel that he thinks about the text again. He's checked his phone during breaks and lunch, but there was no response. There still isn't one, but Tyler isn't surprised. Considering that Dylan was still coherent enough to be texting at 2am, chances are that his hangover is of the “leave me alone to die” kind.

Once he's out of the shower -- a long one, to give his body some hydration back after the whole day in the sun -- there is a bunch of notifications right in the middle of his phone screen.

Shit dude, sorry.

But I do.

I mean, I do think you should be proud. Your dick is awesome.

Fuck. Sorry. Will I get away with saying I'm still drunk?

Tyler chuckles at the texts and the rambling. Dylan’s not Stiles, but sometimes they have things in common, and the chattiness -- with people he knows well -- is one of them. He’s yet to understand why some people find it annoying or anything but charming. Then again, he’s maybe a little biased when it comes to Dylan’s… anything.

No.

It’s a simple text, and yet it takes him a good few minutes to press send. Because it means that he’s opening a conversation which could lead just about anywhere.

The reply comes faster than he expected it to.

Shit. Thought you’d let my stupidity go this time.

You’re not stupid.

Maybe not now. I was a drunk idiot last night though.

I mean, it wasn’t a false statement. Just not something I meant for you to know.

Well, no, I want you to know that your dick is awesome. You probably do.

Okay, please text back to stop me.

LOL

That’s not funny. You’re not funny.

Lies. I’m hilarious.

I believe that’s my line.

Except when you say it, it’s a lie.

I am wounded Hoech. Wounded.

LOL

You’re laughing at me. I’m mortally offended.

And yet you’re still texting me.

I can stop. I just wanted to make sure that you know that I meant that text. Just didn’t mean to actually send it. Because awkward.

Maybe a little. Didn’t know you paid attention. Didn’t expect you to pay attention.

I don’t have your locker room “no homo” training. I liked what I saw then.

I feel like I should be offended by the “no homo” comment. But strangely I get what you mean.

Locker room training to not view other guys that way. You’ve got it. I don’t.

Who says I do?

Doubt you’ve ever seen me or Posey naked and saw us as anything else but your team buddies.

Not Posey, no.

He pauses and looks away from the screen, trying to catch his breath. It’s a confession, what he just said, and he’s… he wasn’t expecting the conversation to lead to that today.

Oh.

Me?

Tyler stares at the question and hovers his fingers over the phone screen. Because yes, Dylan. Yes, he noticed back then. He just wasn’t planning on ever admitting it, because for all he knows, Dylan’s never been into anything but girls. And admitting bisexuality was a surefire way to make things awkward. Only a few people in Tyler’s life know, and one of them is Colton, who’s been sworn to secrecy. Colton, and who isn’t out either.

Yes.

Again, sending the reply takes a while. Tyler types it, then deletes the word, then types it again. It’s the only word on his mind, so he eventually bites the bullet and hits send. Then he tries to ignore the dots indicating that Dylan’s typing a response, and he fails miserably, eyes glued to the ominous sign of… well, nothing good. It either means that Dylan’s writing a long-winded rejection, or that he doesn’t know how to write it.

He’s about to toss the phone on his bed and ignore it for the rest of the night when a text finally comes through.

Me too.

Tyler stares, and then another text comes.

Not me, obviously. You. I noticed. As I made painfully clear with the text last night.

When he reads it, Tyler chuckles quietly, a little from the shock of Dylan’s admission, a little from relief that it wasn’t a flat out rejection.

I’m surprised you remember. It’s been years.

Too long, if anyone was to ask Tyler. It’s been way too long since they were living in the same space, since he had a chance to be around Dylan for that amount of time. Sure, on set, they were still close and hung out the year after the move to LA, and they had on set time together too. But the last season was… well, there were multiple reasons for why they weren’t spending as much time together anymore. Tyler refuses to acknowledge his own avoidance of anything Dylan-shaped during the filming of that season. Or during the breaks, when he’d hide in his trailer and complained to Colton about the lack of screentime for him and Dylan together.

It has. I might need a memory refresher.

Tyler is glad he’s not drinking or eating, because the response from Dylan would’ve made him spit out anything that was in his mouth. It’s not like it’s a shocker for Dylan to be direct, Tyler’s just never had it directed at him. Not in this way. Not when it feels almost like flirting. He wonders for a beat if that’s what the conversation has turned into.

Only if that’s something you’d be okay with.

Maybe not like, texting, but meet up?

Normal meeting up, I mean. You’re in Texas, right? We could, if you have a free weekend coming up. It’s been months, man.

Okay, please say something before I propose something too embarrassing, like that I won’t blow you on the first date.

Shit, how do I unsend a text?

Hoech?

Sorry.

Tyler winces, because he’s imagining Dylan’s face going from eager and amused to panicking and worried. He quickly presses on the screen so that Dylan can at least see that he’s still alive, then realises that seeing the ominous dots on the screen is probably worse. But he’s not sure what to reply, since his mind has been utterly blown by Dylan’s words.

BJs are a third date thing.

He almost facepalms when he sends the text, but it’s done. And it was Dylan who mentioned the date thing in the first place, so Tyler isn’t reading too much into where their conversation has gone. At least he hopes he isn’t.

Right. So, breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Then BJ?

I’ve been told I have the mouth for it.

Tyler falls onto his bed and breathes for a moment, one arm thrown over his face, fingers wrapped tightly around the phone. Because Dylan isn’t wrong, and Tyler is all too aware -- thanks to several unmentionable dreams and fantasies -- just how much of a mouth for blow jobs Dylan has. He’s not going to ask where Dylan heard it, or who it was that told him, but it’s not something that Tyler hasn’t thought about before.

He takes a few deep breaths before he looks at his phone again.

And well, we already established that I think your dick is great.

Tyler groans again, his dick very much interested in the imagery that Dylan’s texts are providing.

Date first? I could fly over two weeks from now, long weekend. Or you could, when you get time off. It’s off the radar here.

I’m off this weekend, we’re still just rehearsing. That OK? Too soon?

Let me know when, I’ll come get you from Austin. And it’s been years. Not too soon.

Sap. Can’t wait. I’ll text you the deets when I get them. It’s a date.

Tyler is still grinning when he puts the phone down on his nightstand. He didn’t think they’d ever get there, let alone that it’d take drunk-texting, but he’s not going to complain.

When his phone beeps with a text from Dylan a little while later, it makes Tyler downright giddy to see the flight confirmation.

See you soon.

Can’t wait.

He would say that he doesn’t spend the rest of the evening smiling, but it would be a blatant lie.

#hobrien #eternalhobrien #otp: tension and the spark #jen's attempts at words

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zefurrwrites-blog · 7 years

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Commission - Man’s Best Flying Friend

Dogs are cool and all but birds are where its at: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/25141850/

-----

“Ooo dude, look at this one. This one is blue and yellow. And oh that’s a great green one” a young man excitedly said to his friend. He was ogling pictures of birds online. “Why are we looking up birds on the internet Scott?” his friend answered. “Because Travis, I will soon be living on my own. I am finally an honest and true adult who can make their own decisions. I go to bed when I want, I can leave the toilet seat up, but most importantly, I can get a pet.” “Scott you already slept whenever you wanted and you DID leave the toilet seat up. More than once” Travis recalled annoyed. His friend at least had the decency to look faux ashamed. “Sorry about not warning you there haha” he laughed remembering. “All I heard was a loud sploosh and your yelling and then-” he said stopping at his friend’s glare. “Aheh right, so birds, love em, gonna get one of these bad boys” Scott said trying to change the subject. “When are you moving into your new place anyway?” Travis asked getting up from the living room sofa. He headed to the pantry pulling out a box of cookies. “Next week and I can wait!” his friend said pumping his fist into the air. “Don’t get me wrong I love ya but a man needs his own space.” Travis laughed rejoining him in the living room. “Yeah, I gathered.” “Hey, you wanna come with me to the pet store when I go pick one up?” he asked. “Sure, when?” Scott scrolled through his phone looking at the move in schedule. “Uhhh, I think my tv and stuff get there around noon, so anything after 1 next Tuesday okay?” “Yeah no problem.” Travis replied eating another cookie.

The following week Travis showed up to Scott’s new place. He was there early to get able to see the house before they headed to the mall. The outside of the townhouse was pretty impressive. Lawn was freshly cut, bushes and surrounding plants full of life, even the neighbors seemed cool. Scott answered the door practically beaming in excitement. “Please, enter my humble abode” he said bowing and stepping back. Travis rolled his eyes walking in. Taking a look around the place Travis had to admit, his friend did a good job decorating the house. Framed movie posters plastered the living wall surrounding the homemade entertainment system. Scott’s decent sized flat screen fitting snug between the two speakers. “Movie nights are officially at your house now” Travis looking around the house more. Scott laughed showing him the rest of the house. It wasn’t a long tour with the place only being two levels. “It’s small but cozy. Totally perfect for me and my soon to be ‘new’ buddy” he said nudging Travis with his elbow. Travis raised a confused eyebrow before checking the time on his phone. “Speaking of which we should get a move on” he told his friend. He grabbed his keys off the coffee table. “Yeah no problem. Let me just grab my jacket and wallet” Scott said running upstairs to the bedroom. When he came back down he had his coat on and carried two water bottles with him. “Hydrate up dude” he said tossing one to Travis. He fumbled it not expecting the sudden pass. “Oh yeah, it is pretty hot out today, thanks.” Travis unscrewed the cap and took a long swig of the water. Scott giddily watched expectantly drinking his own water.

The drive to the mall didn’t take long with where Scott was living now. The pet store was on the first floor but almost near the back. The place, unlike other stores at the mall, was enclosed like an actual store. Scott explained the reasoning being something about the noise level of the rowdier animals. Travis only nodded along. Puppies could be seen from the glass window pane pawing at the glass and pouncing on one another. Onlookers gushed over the young canines and their antics. The inside of the store was much more expansive. Pet supplies, food and toys lie on shelves all around. The sounds of various animal calls could be heard throughout the store. A couple of bunnies in a glass tank wrinkled their noses at the newcomers while some hamsters popped up from the bedding in their playground. “D’aww, look at the puppies” Scott said going over to enclosure there. He picked up one of the pups and cuddled it close. The puppy licked his face and poked his cheek with a paw. “I thought we were here for birds not dogs” Travis said raising an amused brow. “Touche my good man. But no one on earth can resist an opportunity to cuddle a puppy” Scott said carefully placing the pup back in the pin. Travis trailed his friend as he led him further towards the back of the store. Soon, the bird section came into view. All sorts of birds could be seen from the different cages. Some lovebirds were playing a friendly game of tug-of-war with a squeaky toy. A cockatiel was grooming itself with its beak. Some parakeets were playing hide and seek in a multi window bird house. But Scott had his eye on one species in particular. Thinking of earlier, he smiled knowing he’ll have the perfect one very soon. “Hi, can I help you?” a woman’s voice came from behind them. She was wearing a simple shirt with jeans and an apron. A nametag reading Julie lie on the left breast pocket. “Hey Julie” Scott said coming from behind his friend. “I’m here about earlier. I think it’s around that time” he told her. Travis look at his friend confused. But he found it harder to retain attention on one thing since coming to the mall. It was like his mind wanted to be in a bunch of different places at once. Julie smiled knowingly. “Sure thing Scott. Follow me to the back” she said moving past them to the steel door down the aisle. Travis thought it weird but went along with it following his friend and Julie to the back room. Beyond the door was a medium sized room with a concrete floor and a couch. A table with an elegant looking white bird cage sat on it. “So where’s the bird?” Travis asked once again confused. He picked a stray feather from his hand surprised at the slight sting he felt. His mind darted around the door taking it in. He has a strange passing thought of how fun it would be to fly around it. “Hm? Oh, right. Julie here is gonna get it, meanwhile we can sit here and relax” Scott answered taking a seat on the couch. “Be back in a flash” she said leaving them in the room. A resounding click could be heard. “Did she jus-” Travis began before clutching his throat. He felt tongue tied as if he was swallowing it. His lips throbbed in pain as well. “Ah, so it’s starting with your beak. Interesting” Scott nonchalantly commented. “Wha……tartin?” Travis tried forcing out. As the throbbing in his lips continued, they puckered up slightly and darkened in color. “Oh, I guess I did purposely leave that out. Well I didn’t lie. I did come here for a new pet bird. It just happens to turn out that it’s YOU buddy” Scott said grinning. Travis’ eyes went wide in shock. “ow..ven…ssible” Travis tried emitting as his vocal cords rearranged. “How is it possible?” he repeated faux comprehending. “Well, Julie there is a witch specializing in transformation magic. What luck right? I’d say about half the animals here are some unfortunate souls” he said laughing. “Tur….me..ba-AK” Travis said in a panicked squawk. “Sorry buddy no can do, but maybe if you ask nicely, Julie will haha.” Travis started to lunge for him friend before looking down at alien hands. His fingers lost their nails and started growing the same feathers like the one he plucked off himself earlier. They snaked their way along the tops of his fingers. Vibrant, green feathers also started blossoming around his neck and arms. He was so enraptured in shock he hadn’t noticed Scott helping him out of his clothes. “You won’t be needing these soon anyway” he said folding up his shirt and shorts. He simply tossed the old sneakers next to the couch. Travis was left in his underwear where the same colored feathers stretched down to his legs before stopping just above his ankles. Scale-like patterns formed along the tops of Travis’ feet as he tried desperately to pluck himself free of the growing feathers on his arms. They just kept growing in more rapidly now forming a dense coating of green. His pinky toes throbbed and Travis stopped his plucking to look down at them fusing into his other toes. He felt a slight pain as his outside toes deformed and curled outward. The nails darkened and grew out much longer and curled before stopping. His feet had turned into the perfect talons for gripping food and cages. Red feathers grew out along his elongating forehead with white specks surrounding the top of his forming beak. His puckered lips grew out as well with his face. His top lip becoming more prominent than the bottom and curved downwards. Travis felt a headache forming as he rapidly blinked his shrinking eyes. With every blink, his field of vision changed. He found his peripheral vision improving greatly but lacking much else. Travis’ hearing also increased. He could hear the leaky pipes of the barren room and Scott’s amused chuckles. “This is even better than I thought” he laughed. Travis glared at his friend until the muscles in his new eyes prevented him from doing so anymore. The green feathers covering Travis’ body started to change color in certain places. The tips of his new hands, now ends of his growing wings, brightened into a sky blue color. Below the tips of his former palms the feathers lightened in a brilliant yellow. Travis crouched over himself baring his tailbone which was steadily growing out. The assortment of colored feather snaking up the length until it too, was covered in a bouquet of color. Travis now looked like he was wearing the most realistic macaw costume. “This is the best part” Scott piped up. Scott looked up at his friend confused. Who was this man? The face was familiar but his changing mind couldn’t place a name to it. Scott started growing much larger before him. The man seeming giant to him in a matter of moments. The underwear he was wearing now nearly suffocating him. “I made sure you didn’t feel any pain once the shrinking part happened” Scott said coming over to the confused military macaw. He scooped up the animal out from the discarded clothing in his hands and pet the bird soothingly. Travis was confused and scared before calming before the steady pattern of pets he received from the nice man. The nice man walked over to the white cage and opened the door before depositing Travis on a comfy perch. The new macaw nearly lost his footing trying to keep balance. Panicked flapping of brightly colored wings sent feathers falling to the ground. Travis got his footing after a while and crawled across the ledge back and forth pleased with his efforts. “Good boy!” the nice man told him. “Good boy!” Travis mimicked. Scott laughed giving Travis a cracker who gladly accepting. He used his new taloned feet to break off a piece and feed it up to his mouth. A click could be heard from the door making Scott turn his head towards it. “Everything okay in here?” Julie said popping her head in. Scott smiled. “Yep, we’re all good here. By the way, I am one satisfied customer” he said poking a finger through the bars of the cage. Julie smiled. “Thank you for shopping at Julie’s Pet Boutique!” she said clapping her hands together. END

--------- If you like my work consider buying me a ko-fi http://www.ko-fi.com/zefurr FA: http://furaffinity.net/user/zefurr & http://furaffinity.net/user/zephyr10101

#tf #transformation #tfstory #bird #macaw #sfw #commission #zefurrwrites

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fatrat66 · 7 years

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Full Train Log - Toronto to Vancouver

- For the first 12 hours of my train ride, I moved between my seat downstairs and the 'Dome' car, a viewing carriage that offers a 360 degree view of the surroundings, which juts out higher than the train's roof. I read some of my book (an indie title called The Arena Mode saga, which I picked up for cheap on Amazon kindle), and I ate some frankly terrible ready meals from the on-board cafe. I also stared out of the window for many hours, enjoying the views. That's why I opted for the train in the first place, after all. It was beautiful, we wound our way at a steady pace, passing green farms, and fiery orange trees still showing off their autumn colours. There were lakes, hills, and many small towns with railway crossings that ding and beep as we crossed in front of the waiting traffic. Once the sun went down and I could no longer see much outside, I watched 4 episodes of The Expanse on my laptop, and at around 10.30pm, I curled up in my chair under a blanket to get some sleep.

- It's now about 6.30am on Thursday, and I'm at Nakina, wherever that is. That's what the sign outside says. We will cross our first time zone soon and gain 1 hour. We must have just stopped. A freight train is going past, its wheels howling their ghostly noises as they pass by my window, a sound that has haunted some of my dreams this past night as I slept here in my chair. THERE IS SNOW OUTSIDE! A fair bit of it too. We're on the move again, and the trees are dusted with it, thick clumps of powder cling to their branches. We're still in Ontario but Winter is suddenly here.

- The views outside now remind me of an episode of Planet Earth where David Attenborough describes the 'Tiger Forest'. These trees look similar to that, tall and thin with evergreen needles and snow hanging off their branches.

- It's now 1pm (although my watch says 2 because I haven't changed it yet), which means I've been on board for 26 hours. We just stopped for another 10 minute break at some place called Sioux Lookout, a typically small northern Canadian town covered in a layer of snow. I ran to a nearby store and bought a box of 90 chocolate bars. Yes, 90. They are bite-size, admittedly. But this'll keep me going for the next 3 days.

- At 4.40pm on Thursday 26th October, I have crossed into the province of Manitoba. My views outside the train look frosty. We are cruising through a winter wonderland, although the lakes are still liquid. Ever since setting out from Toronto, starting just outside the city, I have seen powerlines following the train tracks just off to the right. But many of the posts are broken, bent and leaning over ready to topple. Sometimes, the cables themselves droop low, touching the ground, or support fallen trees. These lines probably used to provide phone or some other form of communication, but are now clearly abandoned. I wonder how long they have been like that. There's something sad about the way they still remain, dipping and snaking through the trees, an endless line of broken sentinals, now standing in snow upto their midpoint. Sad, but strangely mesmerising, my eyes are always drawn to them as they zip past my window one after the other in a seemingly endless array.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN5J-48dayc

- The land is flattening now. This must be the start of what they call the 'prairies'. I've been told to expect a vast flat plain of farmland that seems to go on forever.

- We have stopped just outside Winnipeg, and are apparently blocked in by a freight train that cannot move yet. We're going to be stuck here for 2 hours, unable to move forwards. This must especially suck for the crew on board, who are due to get off and switch out with another crew at Winnipeg station. I feel sorry for them, as they've been working for 4 days straight now, doing very long shifts with hardly any sleep. Lucky for me, I'm in no rush to get to Vancouver and any delays are simply part of the experience of travelling by train.

- We finally left Winnipeg at about 2am last night. As the train's crew tagged in and out, we had 1 hour to kill in the city, so me and my seat buddy went for a run in search of a Tim Horton's for a late night snack. We finally introduced each other after already having a bunch of conversations, his name is Michael and he's from Germany. Luckily, he spends most of his time either in the Dome or the cafe, so I tend to have these double seats to myself, even during the night, which is especially handy because i can stretch out a little bit. Out midnight jog proved fruitless, as everywhere was closed. We had only 45 minutes to find something and get back to the train for re-boarding. After giving up, we ran back towards the station and found a pub right across the street serving until 4am. I got myself a steak poutine and devoured it back in my seat on the train.

- 8.30am on Friday 27th October. I wake to my first real glimpse of the prairies. A thin fog covers the expansive field on either sides of the train right now as we wait for more freight trains to clear a path ahead of us. I just counted 147 carriages on the last one that went by, and that actually felt like a smaller one than others I've seen. These trains are enormous. I'm not expecting much of a view between here, right through Saskatchewan and partway into Alberta, but I still hope the fog clears.

- At 1pm, the sun has come out and its a beautiful bright day. We are cruising through Saskatchewan. I just watched Snowpiercer (a movie set entirely on a train, in case you didn't know) which I found very immersive, given my circumstances. Our train is now running 17 hours behind schedule, apparently. Our new head-host is a guy called Fabian who has been working on these trains for over 30 years. He gave a passionate speech last night at 1am, after taking over from the previous guy, and told us how the government sold off the train lines to private businesses. This is what causes the trains to frequently become late now, because whenever a freight train approaches a junction ahead of us, we MUST give way to it. The freight trains always take priority, and that leads to moments such as last night where we had to wait 2 hours for the freight train ahead of us to move out of the way.

- The current view from the train is brown and flat, though there are at least some undulating hills and lots of little blue ponds. There are shiny metal grain silos in the distance, and each settlement we pass by is obviously home to farmers. This is an enormous region of agriculture, farmland as far as the eye can see.

- 9.45am on Saturday morning. I got my first glimpse of the rockies when I awoke this morning. And now, on the south western edge of Alberta, the mountains loom in the near distance, filling the horizon. We are travelling straight towards them, like a gigantic natural snowy wall. I can physically feel my spirits lifting the closer we get to them. Next stop, Jasper.

- Jasper was nice. I would like to go back one day. I only had time to run to a cafe and eat a delicious toasted sandwich, then we had to get back on the train.

- It's now 6.45 (the clocks went back another hour as we crossed the final time zone into West Coast Time or whatever its called). Holeeee-crap, I knew the views would be good as we entered British Columbia, but it still was utterly breathtaking to finally see. I have spent the majority of the daytime sitting up in the dome, admiring the views. The sun has now set so I've returned to my little seat-camp to watch some more movies as its too dark to see much outside any more. Throughout the day, I've been treated to stunning views of forests, rivers, forests, rolling hills, hills covered in forests, snow capped mountains, forests, and the occasional forest. Did anyone ever tell you that Canada has a lot of trees? Because it does. Riding in comfort on a lazy train across the entirety of Canada has been a truly unique experience. I don't think a ride on any train will ever feel long again, after this. I've now been on board for over 50 hours, and there's still another 12 to go before we reach Vancouver. The sheer quantity of freight trains that we are sharing the tracks with has meant that we've managed to add another 10 hours onto our already 13 hour delay. So, we will be getting into Vancouver almost a full day late. Any extra delays during tonight will guarantee we break the 24 hour late barrier. I'm still not bothered by this in the slightest though. To compensate us, we've been given free food for today, which is nice. I have 3 nights booked at a hostel, before getting on a bus to Fernie where I will be spending my winter.

- I wish it was daytime!!! This is the final stage of this truly epic journey across Canada, and somewhere outside my window is the last of the Rocky Mountains but its too dark for me to see them! The train rumbles on through the darkness and I am nearly arrived at my destination.

- And we made it!

Some final thoughts:

- VIA Rail staff are excellent. I have nothing but admiration for the people who work on that train. They were entertaining, helpful and patient with us all. They are all fighting a losing battle against the private corporations who throttle their service and force them to become late.

- 4 days on a train is very uncomfortable for your legs. I recommend stretching regularly... I did not do this enough.

- The food was good after Winnipeg when a chef joined us. Before this, I was living on terrible microwavable ready meals. The chef cooked us some roast beef, pasta and made good cheese and ham toasties.

- I really, really stink... The first thing I do when I get to my hostel is have a shower and change my clothes...

- The train beats the plane every time. It may have taken 4 days, compared to 6 hours. But the views were amazing, and it was such a rewarding experience to connect with the journey by being on the ground for the diration of this truly epic voyage. I've said it before, but it seems relevant to say again - CANADA IS ENORMOUS!

#train journey #train #trans canada train #toronto to vancouver #epic train ride #canada #travel

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