#the bus driver says have a good day to me every day. you know? love is everyone. or smn. lol

[everythingne]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ ➛ double gold - gr63

the most undescreet mercedes fan makes her way to the olympics for team usa. people very quickly learn why she's very unhinged about her love for all things mercedes.

george russell x usa gymnast!reader / fc: suni lee

warnings/notes: reader is mentioned to have had kidney disease in the past/going through dialysis (shout out suni lee my WIFE) everytime i write a george win he either dnfs or disqualifies. i should stop. i also made this SO FAST. ignore any formatting mistakes.

liked by lilymhe, teamusa, alexalbon and others...

uruser: represented my team (USA) and my team (merc) and then promptly fell asleep on the bus bc my awe of being here is too much for my little brain :(

tagged: mercedesamg, teamusa, and two others...

lilymhe: literally boarding my flighttt !!! im so so proud see u soon !

⤷ uruser: pls tell me you stole alex's hoodie for me...

⤷ lilymhe: he'll never know

⤷ alexalbon: these are PUBLIC comments.

user1: every once and a while i forget lily is not only dating an f1 driver, but her cousin is literally an OLYMPIC FUCKING GYMNAST?

alexalbon: SO PROUD WE WILL SEE U AFTER THE GP!!

logansargeant: i love knowing one of the powerhouses the us sends to the olympics

⤷ uruser: aweeee love u too logannn <3 (US PRIDE THIS WEEKEND BITCH U BETTER NOT FINISH LAST)

⤷ logansargeant: yes ma'am i will make u proud

user2: good luck !!

user3: MAKING THE USA PROUD ONE NAP AT A TIME

mercedesamg: we love our biggest supporter <3

⤷ uruser: i love YOU mercedes

georgerussell: best of luck yn :)!!

⤷ uruser: thanks georgie :D!

⤷ alexalbon: hello?? what is this??

⤷ lilymhe: eyeing you russell

⤷ georgerussell: literally what have i done wrong

⤷ landonorris: nah you cant flirt with his future in laws

⤷ georgerussell: if saying good luck is flirting, i have news for everyone.

liked by logansargeant, simonebiles, teamusa, and others...

uruser: talked about it in an interview, but i struggled with my blood pressure all day. i've been lightheaded, swollen, and exhausted, but i did it. we fought through it, and ur girl is moving to finals!!

tagged: gk, teamusa

georgerussell: incredible work today !

⤷ landonorris: rooting for the enemy i see

⤷ uruser: thank you george <3

teamusa: that's our girl!!

user: so proud of u as a fellow kidney disease survivor <3

user1: girl had a bp of 140 and still beat like everyone. my fucking queen.

alexalbon: ez work queen get back to training

uruser: yessir

lilymhe: get ur meds and take it easy!! love uuu see u for dinner <3

landonorris: u make it look easy

uruser: trust. its so hard.

simonebiles: i dont know how you do it. ur so amazing.

⤷ uruser: coming from the goat herself ?!!!!

liked by uruser, susiewolff, alexalbon, and others...

georgerussell: left it all out on the track today. absolutely honored to do this a second time so soon.

tagged: mercedesamg, f1, barcelonagp

uruser: YAAAA GEORGIEEE!!! congrats!!!

⤷ georgerussell: thank u :)

user: GEORGE W!!!!

lewishamilton: amazing as always george. first half of the season crushed.

⤷ georgerussell: it's only up from here mate

simonebiles: the tears @ uruser shed for this win...

⤷ jordanchiles: we will finally get peace and quiet on weekends

⤷ uruser: shut up get a hobby both of you

alexalbon: incredible drive as always george

landonorris: ur so mean for not letting me pass :(

oscarpiastri: best fight of the season so far. looking forward to more.

⤷ georgerussell: hope to see you on that top step again mate

uruser: lets go george lets go george

⤷ georgerussell: my personal cheerleader <3

⤷ alexalbon: delete that heart or so help me god

liked by georgerussell, teamusa, simonebiles, and others...

uruser: this 'lazy' athlete skipped her dialysis today to win A FUCKING GOLD MEDAL!!!! YAAAAAA!!!! so so so proud of my girls for the team effort put together for this all around win. you are the greatest. (yes lily and alex, i am doing dialysis now.)

tagged: simonebiles, teamusa, jordanchile and others...

georgerussell: congratulations but please do your dialysis before alex finds out

⤷ uruser: its alright love, im all hooked up and dilating or whatever. thanks for the support as always russell <3

⤷ georgerussell: wow, no georgie?

⤷ uruser: gonna pout over it, honey?

⤷ user: is this not flirting?

alexalbon: YN. I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD.

user: SHE SKIPPED HER DIALYSIS FOR FLOOR??

⤷ user1: and they wouldn't move the schedule around her LIFE SAVING MEDICAL APPOINTMENT?

⤷ user2: no wonder the teamusa physicians grabbed her so quickly after the medal ceremony :(

alexalbon: DIALYSIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. IM GOING TO HIT WHOEVER SAID YOU COULDN'T DO IT.

⤷ uruser: IM DOING MY DIALYSIS RIGHT NOW WHY ARE YOU MORE STRESSED THAN LILY??

⤷ alexalbon: because YOU'RE A BABY

⤷ uruser: YOU ARE NOT THAT MUCH OLDER THAN ME FUCKER

lilymhe: alex is pacing but GREAT JOB BABYYYY YAAAYAYAYA SO PROUD OF UUU

user3: fire whoever had her SKIP MEDICAL TREATMENT.

liked by snoopdogg, usagymnastics, georgerussell, and more...

uruser: bronzed. sharing that podium with rebecca and simone is such an honor. up and up we go!! <3

tagged: simonebiles, teamusa, rebeccaandrade and more..

georgerussell: very deserved, as always

⤷ uruser: i swear ur obsessed w me (its ok just dont tell alex)

⤷ alexalbon: i'm starting to think none of you understand the concept of public comments

user: WELL DESERVED!!!

rebeccaandrade: você foi incrível!

⤷ uruser: obrigado! você também! (i hope thats right!)

⤷ user: YN LEARNING PORTUGUESE TO SPEAK WITH REBECCA HAS MY WHOOOLLLEEE HEARTTTT

landonorris: shiny !

logansargeant: AMERICAAA!!!!

⤷ uruser: RAAAHHH

liked by georgerussell, rebeccaandrade, lewishamilton, and others...

uruser: GOLD in beam. and y'all know how much beam and i fight. there are no amount of words to express the joy im feeling. wow. thanks to my lovely brit @ georgerussell for the support for his girlie across the pond <3

tagged: georgerussell, parisolympics, teamusa, and others...

alexalbon: i am so.

alexalbon: what the fuck?

⤷ user: LMAOOO

lilymhe: YAY!!! MY BABY DID ITTT!!! I UGLY SOBBEDDD AHAHA LOVE YOU SO MUCH BABES DINNER ON ME TNNN!!!

user1: george!!!!!! GEOOORRRGEEE!!

alexalbon: GEORGE???

⤷ uruser: was me liking mercedes a weird amount not enough of a hint for you?

georgerussell: so proud of you sunshine <3

⤷ uruser: love u georgie

⤷ landonorris: gross get a room (jk. very proud george got a girl just as talented as himself)

⤷ georgerussell: wow a rare lando compliment. i will cherish it for years to come.

⤷ landonorris: fuck you im never complimenting you again

lewishamilton: congratulations!! hope to see you in the paddocks soon in some merc gear this time

⤷ mercedesamg: oh we can handle that

⤷ williamsracing: you can pry yn from our cold dead hands

⤷ mercedesamg: babes. im gonna hold your hand when i say this williams, you've lost in the public eye after ur stunt with logan. we win yn in the divorce.

⤷ uruser: YEAH IM ON LOGANS SIDE DAMNIT!!! AMERICANS STICK TOGETHER!!

⤷ logansargeant: true patriot right here

georgerussell: still in AWE of my gf being a TWO TIME OLYMPIC AA GOLD MEDALIST

⤷ uruser: my boyfriend is a FORMULA ONE DRIVER. how fucking cool is that!???

⤷ georgerussell: cool enough for you to go to dinner with me?

⤷ uruser: always

⤷ lilymhe: they grow up so fast

alexalbon: GEORGE WILLIAM RUSSELL?

tag list for all works (open!)

@d3kstar (i hope ur tag works this time lovely!)

[sy-on-boy]

Okay, so Ch69 was a BOMBSHELL (and I'm going insane)

SSS appearing at the beginning makes me think Yuri might take on the case, meaning he might meet Anya (Anya's not supposed to know about Yuri's job) and Damian

It would also make sense since the Red Circus was taken on by Yor (Ch17.5) and it would be funny to see the two siblings deal with the same enemy while preventing the other sibling from knowing about it

Damian is sitting with George. You would've expected him to sit with Ewen/Emile, but he let them sit together. This is very curious to me because George literally tried to get Damian expelled, and only failed because Anya stood up for him (the teacher wouldn't believe E&E). Damian, sweetie, this is a boy who tried to frame you as a smoker and sent a spy to change your grades. Good for you that you don't hold it against him, I guess

I do think Ewen and Emile are very devoted to Damian (see the boys' field trip) but maybe Damian doesn't want them to fight over who gets to sit next to him?

Anya and Damian also sit in the same row on the two sides of the bus. Knowing how Anya wants to approach Damian (and how Damian notices Anya), it's probably intentional.

Bill makes a reappearance, which is a welcome surprise. Damian sounds like a classist (literally) with his comment that the school should've at least given each class their own bus. Huh, didn't know Damian liked his class that much (or hated the other classes so much)

"Shut up. Who told you Wald hall kids you're allowed to talk to me?" ??? Is Damian still salty about losing the dodgeball match?? Does he think Cecil hall is superior? Is there a hierarchy at school? Or does he just not like Bill?

"All you other classes are our rivals" Damian bestie your classes could change next year. According to what Becky said, they're going to be divided by grades. Damian sure has a lot of Cecil hall loyalty / pride for some reason

I love Anya's impression of Damian. He's a silly, snot-faced crybaby. Like, it's really evident from the artstyle that Anya thinks of herself as "totally adorable" (with Becky nodding in agreement, aww) while Damian is just a goofy scion.

NOTE: in Anya's imagination, the teacher says Damian is "an uggo on the inside". And Anya also says, "Sy-on boy isn't ugly, he's just a piece of crap"

So Anya doesn't judge from appearances, unlike Damian who repeatedly calls her an uggo and a runt, and it's possible Anya thinks of herself as "superior" to Damian because she doesn't think he's ugly, she just thinks he sucks in general LMFAO

So Anya doesn't think Damian is ugly. Maybe. She probably thinks he looks stupid though

By the way, Anya makes herself look prettier in her own filter. Damian also makes her look prettier in his filter

Anya throws a crumbled up piece of paper to get Damian's attention. This is exactly what Damian did when they first met and he wanted her attention

Damianya violence arc omg. Damian seems to be blushing less as the chapters go on, and they have a fun sort of semi-rivalry.

DAMIAN GOT THE CAKE FOR ANYA!! "I should just hand her the stupid cake and be done with it" Awww he genuinely got her cake! And it's the crunchy sort which she likes!

And Damian let E&E eat it (it doesn't look like he ate any himself) while being all flustered and annoyed. He's a good kid, deep down

A reference to the macaron arc! Lots of references to so-called Damianya (aka school) chapters, with 1) Bill + dodgeball, 2) George and the macarons, 3) Handkerchief + cake (+ Bond's kibble which was a gag in the handkerchief chapter)

Anya offers dog food to Damian. This is hilarious because she sounds so innocent and genuine, but Damian is furious.

"Cecil hall kids sure are noisy" Whoops, even Wald hall knows about Cecil's reputation. Damian and Anya probably argue every day at school. They're going to be Those Two

It's interesting to see that Anya isn't reading minds this chapter. She didn't realize Damian got cake for her and she didn't seem to have realised the driver was a terrorist? Missing Damian's thoughts is normal because it was a fleeting thought, but the terrorist was probably concentrating on the hijacking for like, the entire bus ride. Anya, you good?

And then the bus is hijacked. Woo! Action! Drama! Wow!

I'm super excited for this arc because of how much potential it as. It's giving me the vibes of Cruise Arc but with the Eden kids. It also feels like a fanfic to me, particularly my fic when Anya saves Damian from an assassination lol. Here's a dump of my thoughts:

Damian might be a main target. We know about his dad and his influence in the political sphere. Bill says "chairman's son Damian", which might be a nod to the fact. The terrorist guy also mentions "as the nation's elite, you've probably figured out what's happening", and Damian is an elite among the elite

This will focus on the subplot of Damian and Anya's friendship. As I said earlier, this chapter has multiple references to past Damianya chapters. There's also the theme of friendship going on currently, with Loid telling Anya to treasure her friends. Anya is also desperate to go on with Plan B because she feels threatened by her mom befriending Melinda. And Damian indeed buys Anya cake even if he never agreed to it in the first place lol, showing a bit of development. Anya also fantasizes about purposefully getting Damian into trouble and saving him, and now the entire bus is in trouble (and Anya can save him maybe?). So maybe we'll have scenes of Anya saving Damian (furthering his debt to her, which is mentioned in the chapter) or Damian saving Anya (paying her back since he never got to give her cake)

The adults might come in too. The possibilities:

Yuri, as I mentioned earlier, might be one because the SSS knows about this. I know this is a stretch but we might get Demetrius debut with Yuri (or after this arc). In a previous post I noted that the Forgers and Desmonds meet in pairs of fathers, mothers, and children. Demetrius is Damian's brother and Yuri is Yor's brother, so maybe the brothers might be a pair?

Yor was previously involved with the Red Circus, and I can see her coming back to tie up loose ends. And possibly going batshit because Anya is in danger. This might end up with Yor meeting Damian, which I think certainly makes sense after the Yorlinda chapters and Yor acting shocked that Melinda doesn't seem to care much about Damian.

Twilight would be interesting because of his dynamic with Damian. I analyzed the panels during the Twilight-Donovan face-off and you can just see Damian is standing with Twilight instead of his actual father. They get along fine and I think Damian likes Loid well enough.

Obviously, all three will have to conceal their identity from Anya (and the other Eden kids), so we might get one-sided interactions (such as Twilight saving Damian but Damian thinking he's just been saved by a random man)

And even funnier would be to have multiple adults on the scene (for Anya) and they have to hide from each other. Iconic Thorn Princess x Twilight teamup maybe?!

Anya (and the rest) might get Stellars. This time, if she saves them, she'll have an entire bus full of witnesses, unlike the Ken drowning incident. This could drastically affect Anya's reputation at school and her relationship with Damian. We might also get the Cecil 5 (+ Bill and George since they're sitting close to them) working together, which will be fun.

I do think Damian might give up the "our classes are rivals" thing if the two halls end up bonding / working together

And since I have the brain of a fanfic author, imagine if Damian is in trouble and Anya has to save him and vice versa... this is going to be the first real danger the kids have been in

I know this is a bit chaotic and messy but this chapter is scratching the itch lol. I'm going to be insane for the duration of this arc.

I'm so excited. I cannot wait for the next few chapters <3 Endo really went all out on this one with drama, action, humor, and there's so many ways this one could go!! <3

[queerdiazs]

tease tidbit tuesday <3

sweetheart @honestlydarkprincess tagged me in this (thank you, jess, mwah)

this is from the bad things fic, which i'm hoping to finish today/tomorrow, but i severely overestimated how hard writing angst was going to be, lmao

“There was a pileup on the bypass,” Bobby explains. “Only a few casualties and a couple minor injuries. Traffic was rerouted.”  Buck tugs off his t-shirt and pulls on the polo Eddie hands him. “D’you know what happened?”  “A big truck rear-ended a bus,” Bobby answers. “Brakes gave out and the driver pulled over to the shoulder, but not before clipping the back end of the bus hard enough to send it into the other lane.”  Eddie winces, mind going to Christopher before he shakes off that thought. There’s no need for him to go down that road because he’ll only chase useless rabbits. “Who responded?”  “One-thirty-six.”  He hums. “Good hands.”  Bobby agrees, nodding. “We waited until you two showed up to go over the day’s announcements,” he says, dropping his arms and widening his stance and there, that’s the Bobby Eddie loves, all open and warm and inviting like a dad. He smiles, crinkling his eyes at the corners. “Breakfast is almost gone, so you two had better hurry and change.”  “Will do, Cap.”  Bobby heads back up toward the loft, leaving Eddie and Buck to finish getting dressed. They hurry, tugging on pants and buttoning up shirts, jostling each other’s shoulders for a round of giggles just like they do every time they share a shift.  Buck sits on the bench and pulls his boots on. “You know,” he starts, doing up his laces, “kids are almost eight times safer riding in a school bus than in a car with their parents.”  “That so?”  Buck nods. “I, uh, did a little bit of research without you when Chris asked to start riding the bus,” he says, scratching the back of his head. “I know we talked it through and decided it was fine, but I just wanted to be extra sure.”  Eddie smiles, soft and mollified, and combs his fingers through Buck’s hair. “Of course you did,” he says, tipping Buck’s face up for a quick kiss on the forehead. “I love you so much, baby.”  “Good.” Buck grins and lifts up for another kiss, longer and sweeter. “‘Cause I love you, too.”  Laughing, Eddie laces his fingers with Buck’s and pulls him up from the bench. They’ve been together for a few years, having spewed their feelings for one another a couple months after they ended things with Marisol and Natalia, and Eddie’s never been as heavy with joy as he is now. He hopes it’s like this, always—fun and free and full of adoration and loyalty. It’d make for a long, happy life.  They bound up the stairs together, taking them two at a time because everything’s a competition when it comes to them; Chim and Hen see them first, waving and yelling so loud over something Ravi’s apparently said and heckling for their opinion on the matter that Eddie almost misses the sound of his phone going off. He reaches into the back pocket of his pants and pulls it out.  Buck taps his bicep. “Who is it?”  He frowns. “It’s Chris’s school.” 

no pressure tagging: @wikiangela, @wildlife4life, @thewolvesof1998, @housewifebuck, @jeeyuns, @try-set-me-on-fire, @jesuisici33, and whoever else wants to do it <333

[amgk22]

“She’s Gone Mad”

Hi! You might know me as the person who’s obsessed with who’s in the lead of fics between rajbow/bowraj and mkulia. However, I’m also a writer, and I thought I’d publish the first chapter of my story onto here since a03 is down :(

the story’s an AU if Lauren/Scary Girl never competed in total drama and is instead a sheltered but slightly creepy new student at a school. Hopefully you enjoy the first chapter!

little girl, little girl

whatever path you take

I’ll be here through thick and thin

See what your future makes

==++==

My eyes are baggy. My lips are chapped. My legs feel frozen. I just can’t sleep. 

Tomorrow starts a new day at school. 

School…other people. 

I haven’t interacted with people much.

I’m more of an inside person. 

But my mom wanted me to make friends. 

I reach over to the edge of the table next to my bed, and grasp my hands on the record player. Turning it on, my favourite record plays. 

It’s my moms voice. She’s singing a lullaby. My dad said that she was going to sing this to me every night as soon as I was born. 

But she never got the chance. 

I lay back, and take a deep breath. The music calms me. 

I wonder what would happen if mom was here right now.

==++==

I pull up my left knee sock, my right sock already on. “Needs a bit of decoration,” I mumble. Looking at the clock, I see there’s still thirty minutes until the bus is supposed to come. Enough time to add some sparkle. 

My dad’s already at work. Usually I don’t like this, but now it works in my favour. Opening the door, I walk down my hallway to the kitchen. 

I step up on the ball of my feet, reaching up to the cabinet. I look for the purple food colouring. It’s right in the front, a bit of it is dried onto the lid. “Perfect,” I say to myself, grabbing the food colouring. Maybe I should put it in my water and tell people at school it’s poison. They’d all think it’s cool. 

I lay my knee socks flat on the table, as I take off the lid of the food colouring. “Gone goes the boring socks, here comes the unique design,” I mutter as I squeeze the bottle and the food colouring drips out. 

Drips on the top. 

Drips on the bottom. 

Drips on the left. 

Drips on the right. 

I still leave some white space, because plain purple socks is no better than plain white socks. 

The food colouring dries quickly, so I turn the socks around to colour the other side. 

Drips on the top. 

Drips on the bottom. 

Drips on the left. 

Drips on the right. 

As the socks dry, I go to the bathroom and look into the mirror. I practice my normal smile. It looks really good! I still don’t have any makeup yet. Only some concealer for when I had lots of acne two years ago. Now that my face is clear again; there’s really no need for the concealer. 

Grabbing my hair brush, I quickly stroke the brush through my dyed purple and pink hair. My dad freaked out when he saw it. But eventually, he embraced it and told me it looked amazing. 

I tie my hair up into pigtails, giving myself a satisfactory grin. I look very pretty, if I do say so myself. Checking the clock on the wall, there’s fifteen minutes left until the school bus arrives. What can I do in fifteen minutes?

I adjust my uniform anxiously as I stand in the bathroom, continuing to look at myself. Everyone’s gonna love my hair. Everyone’s gonna love my socks. Everyone’s gonna think I’m so pretty. 

I’m gonna be the most pretty girl at the entire school. 

==++==

I’m standing right by my driveway. The bus is about to arrive. It’s very yellow (dad showed me pictures) and has four wheels. Will the school be yellow too?

I’ve never seen a yellow building before. It would look very nice. 

rrrrrrrrrrrr. The bus is coming up my road. It’s finally time. I adjust my backpack, making sure it doesn’t fall off as I walk over to the other side in order to enter. 

“Hi bus driver lady!” I exclaim, waving and hugging the lady sitting, arms on the wheel. The lady does not look impressed. She gives me a look, first of annoyance, then of slight terror, before pointing to the seats emotionless.

“Okay! Not in the mood for hugs,” I say, walking down to find a seat. I’m about to sit next to a blonde girl, but she slams her hand down. 

“This seats saved,” The blonde girl said, chewing her gum. 

“For who?” I ask. 

“It’s saved,” the girl repeats. I get the message. I go over to another seat, but the boy does almost the exact same thing as the girl. 

And so does the entire bus.

“Hurry up and find a seat! We have school to get to!” The bus driver yells. I’m startled, and quickly run to a spot in the back. It’s empty, and I sigh of relief. Nobody can tell me not to sit here. 

“Sorry: but my friend’s sitting there,” a girl says, looking back. 

“Ugh!”

==++==

The bus parks. We all get off. As I walk towards the entrance, I notice people looking at me. Their faces are scared. Or grossed out. I don’t like it. 

“Excuse me Ma’am,” the principal says, holding a clipboard. “What happened to your socks?”

“I painted them!” I say. “They felt too..boring.”

“Well, we don’t want your socks to be a distraction to our other pupils, so I’ll have to ask you to take them off and spend today with no socks,” The principal tells me, placing her hand out. 

“What? But,” I look down at my socks. They don’t look distracting. The principals a meanie. A big meanie. However, she is the principal. I take off my socks and hand them to her as I hear giggles. Some people have been watching. 

I turn my head around, and glare at them. “Anything you’d like to say?” I ask, frustrated. The two don’t respond. “That’s what I thought,” I say, smirking. I put back on my shoes, and look one more time to the principal. “Sorry, miss.”

“Hopefully you’ll learn from your mistakes,” the principal says. “I’ll have some struggles with Lauren,” I hear her mumble. My name. Lauren. It’s always felt a tiny bit wrong. My mom wanted to name me something different- like Scarlett or “Scarlie” Gayle. My dad sometimes still calls me Scarlie, or Scary Girl. Cause Scarlie Gayle sounds like Scary Girl. How do I change my name?

“I will,” I say quietly, looking down as I walk down the hall to find my locker. As I glance to people, I notice things. They’re all friends. They’re all talking. They all have their hands making a C motion around their face, as if they’re whispering. Some are glancing at me. Some don’t even know I exist. 

If I join a group, I won’t be targeted. Right? I find my locker combination, and there’s a girl leaning on the side of my locker. She has blonde, curly, short hair, and I can’t keep my eyes off of her. Maybe it’s because I want to go into my locker, but I’m too scared to ask. Why am I too scared to ask?

“Can I get into my locker,” I mumble, as the girl and her friends talk. I repeat, “Can I get into my locker!” They still don’t respond. Now I’m getting mad. “CAN I GET INTO MY LOCKER!” I yell, covering my mouth immediately after I say that. 

A couple of people are looking my way, and the blonde girl looks completely terrified. “S-sorry,” she says, running off with her friends. I grin in satisfaction, as I open up the locker, and stare into my locker. It’s small, cold, and a bit of the paint is chapped off…

But it’s perfect.

==++==

It’s the first day of school for everyone. The teacher just told us. Of course, I should’ve known- but how is everyone friends already?

They must have been in the same junior high. 

I was homeschooled, so I’m not surprised people don’t know me. But they will soon. The teacher is getting everyone to say their names and 3 things they like. I’m almost up.

I wanna tell everyone my name is Scarlett, so they call me Scarlie Gayle. Would the principal hate me if I did that? 

You know what, I’m gonna do it. She took away my socks. “You, can you stand up and tell us your name and three things you like?” The teacher asks me. She has a very soft voice. And a nice smile. I get up, and walk over to the front. Here it goes. 

“Hi!” I say. “I’m Scarlett, Scarlett Gayle. But you guys can call me Scarlie.” So far, so good. Nobody’s told me my real name is Lauren. And that’s how it’s gonna stay. “I like painting, paper mache, and horror movies!” 

“That’s amazing Scarlett,” the teacher says. I sigh in relief. She doesn’t know I’m Lauren. “Why do you like horror movies?”

“Because everyone has such a distinct scream,” I reply. “I’ve seen them all. Saw, scream, human centipede..” I list off all the horror movies I’ve watched, and I notice that a couple of people are startled by my interest in horror movies. Did I say too much?

“Hey, that’s the scary girl on the bus!” One of the guys in the background say. He has brown hair. I think he was someone who rejected me from sitting with him. 

“Yeah!” I say. “I was on the bus! Why didn’t you let me sit with you?”

This just makes people chuckle. What did I do wrong? “Was it something I said?” I ask. “Why are you laughing! Tell me!” I feel myself getting angrier as they keep away the secret on why they’re laughing at me. They’re meanies! They’re all meanies!

“Come on you guys, give Scarlett a break,” The teacher says, but they don’t listen. 

Why aren’t they listening?

What did I do?

Is it all my fault?

“Stop!” I exclaim, frustrated again. “Why are you laughing!” I stomp my foot in anger, and clench my fists. 

“Everyone, seriously, stop,” the teacher says, finally dying down the laughter. “Scarlett, I’m sorry about that. You may sit.”

“Thanks teacher!” I say, sitting down. However, now that I hear everyone better, it’s clear they’re still giggling. And laughing.

What did I do wrong?

[dove-caverne]

The Black Sheep and The Silver Rabbit

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy my Stardew Valley FanFic. Chapter two will be out this weekend. Sebastian x Reader

Elliott x Reader

A bit of a love triangle but not exactly

Bestfriends: Sam, Abby, Leah Warning: Swearing (A lot) and steamy 18+ content to come. Read it below or on Wattpad (linked below) https://www.wattpad.com/story/366629885-the-black-sheep-and-the-silver-rabbit Thank you for your support!

This is my first time writing something like this so please bear with me on any minor grammatical errors. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3 Chapter 1 - Raindrops

As you sit on the bus with a long ride ahead, you can't help but feel a sense of loneliness. All the things you are leaving behind in the big city, it was your hometown after all, the place you grew up, the place you knew best in the world. Since your mom passed away last year, things have been pretty quiet for you, you lost some of your light when she left you. You stopped partying and going out every weekend, you started to calm down and appreciate the people and things that mattered most to you. To think you'd be leaving so many things behind to start a brand-new life doing something you had not considered since you were a young child visiting your grandpa. However, despite that feeling of loneliness, you also felt like this would be an adventure worth fulfilling. This land you inherited was both precious to your mom and your grandfather, you could not go on every day having thrown it all away for selfish reasons. You know in your heart this is where you should be right now in your life, even if it is a hard decision to move away from your comforts.

The bus keeps moving on, slowly you see less and less houses and more and more trees. The bumpy roads are somewhat calming and you take a few deep breaths and remind yourself of the good times you had in the valley with your mom and grandfather. You feel content and a little tired as the bus shakes around. You close your eyes and relax as you know there are still a few hours before you will arrive.

...

You awaken to the sound of the bus brakes squealing to a stop. "Am I here?" you think to yourself.

"This is your stop, young lady" the bus driver announces. You get up and grab your multiple suitcases that are way overpacked. I mean you are moving your entire life to a new place what do they expect? As you unload your bags, you think about all the things you couldn't bring with you that you ended up selling. "Hopefully I will be able to get some new stuff once I save up some more cash" you think to yourself.

______________

You step off the bus and see a 40ish year old ginger-haired women, she is quite pretty but seems to be wearing work clothes that are a bit dirty.

"Hi! You must be (Y/N)!" she exclaims "I'm Robin, I guess you could consider us neighbours! I live a short walk down the road with my family, I'm also the local carpenter, hence my clothes" she says giving a slight laugh.

"Hello, yes I am (Y/N), very nice to meet you Robin" I say in almost a whisper.

"You must be tired after your trip, let me show you the path to the farm in case you forgot the way! I know it's been many years since your last visit to the valley!

...

"Now don't be too alarmed the land itself is very overgrown and has seen better days that's for sure! But that is why you're here after all! To give it the love it needs to be a beautiful farm once again! And just so you know I am here to help you out, so come see me anytime" "Thank you, Robin" you say as you walk up to your new home. A small cabin, it looks in somewhat decent shape, despite it clearly needing some serious updates. Robin starts to head out and gives you a smile and a wave, almost bumping into an older gentleman.

"You aren't giving our newcomer trouble, are you Robin?" He chuckles as she storms by. "I'm Lewis, nice to meet you (Y/N). I'm the town mayor here in Pelican Town and I wanted to stop by with a little "starter pack" for you that a few of us chipped in on." You open it up to see some seeds and a few pre-packed meals and snacks and some worn out tools. "Thank you so much!" You exclaim with a sweet smile. They both seem so kind you thought yourself. "I won't keep you as you have certainly had a long trip, come by and have a chat with me once you're settled in." He says as he walks off. ______________

You open the door and let out a big sigh. "I made it" you say to yourself. You look around your small cabin. It's not much but you're going to do everything to make it your own.

You quickly get tucked into bed and fall asleep almost instantly. "I wonder what tomorrow will bring, I hope everyone is as nice as Robin and Lewis" you think to yourself as your eyes shut.

______________

Your alarm sounds, waking you from a deep sleep. You wake up slightly confused about where you are, it takes you a couple of seconds to remember everything that happened. It almost felt like the entire trip here was a dream.

You crawl out of bed, and eat some breakfast. "What should I do today" you wonder. "I should probably go greet everyone and start clearing my yard," you sigh.

You grab your t-shirt overalls and boots and head out to your yard. Using the old tools the townsfolk so kindly gifted you, you begin swinging your scythe at the overgrown weeds. It takes you about three hours to finally clear out the weeds, sticks, and rocks leaving a nice open spot of your seeds. You look in your bag. "Heuh, turnip seeds? Not my favourite to be honest but maybe they're in season or something?" you think to yourself as you begin tilling the soil.

...

"All done! Look how adorable you all are, my little turnips, you better grow big and strong and make me some cash!" You laugh awkwardly at your embarrassing comment. "Yep, this is why I have no friends," you think to yourself.

Looking at the time, it's just after lunch and you've certainly earned a break. You quickly change your dirty clothes into a cute jeans and crop top combo that way you don't totally scare off all the townsfolk on the first day. You grab one of the pre-packed meals and head into town. You find a bench right near the town centre and decide to sit down and eat. The spring breeze catches your long hair as it now falls out of the braid you had made this morning. The air here in the valley was so fresh and clean that it actually felt different just to breathe. It was so freeing. For the first time since you were a kid, you didn't feel the stress and pressure of work or your social life. You had forgotten what it felt like to be peaceful. As you look around at the town centre some vague memories of visiting as a small child begin to return to you.

...

"Um hey" a kind voice breaks you from your daydreaming. You look up and see a tall blonde-haired boy who's probably close to your age. "Are you new here or just passing through?" he says staring at you with his big blue eyes. " Oh hi, um, I'm new here I just moved to the big farm right outside of town, my name is (Y/N)." You say in a shy voice. "Oh that's great!" He says with a big smile. "I'm Sam, nice to meet you (Y/N). I live here with my parents and my little brother Vincent, well right now it's just my mom and brother my dad's away...for a bit" he stutters. " Anyway, you should stop by the saloon tonight almost everyone comes by it would be a great way to meet everyone!" He smiles waiting for your answer. You look at him nervously not wanting to seem too eager as you have had trouble making friends in the past. "I mean no pressure if you are still settling in!" he says reassuringly. "I...would like that," you say as you smile back at him. "Great! We usually get there around 530 and stay a couple hours. I gotta go to Joja Mart to pick something up for my mom right now but I will catch ya later (Y/N)." You smile and wave to him as he walks off.

________________________

Sam's POV

"No fuckinggg wayy" he thinks to himself as he walks towards Joja mart. "What are the chances the cutest girl ever decides to leave the big city and move to this small ass town. This town just went up in standards." He laughed to himself as he walked with a huge stupid grin on his face. On the walk, he passes by the town sports boy Alex. He sees Sam with a stupid grin on his face and starts walking up to him. "What are you smiling at you weirdo?" Alex asks. "Duude have you seen the new girl in town?" he says as he stares him down holding both his shoulders as if this were the biggest news ever. "What new girl? You got some imaginary girlfriend now?" he replies in disbelief. "Naw man, you heard how that old farm was getting a new owner? Well, it's not some old retired couple looking for the quiet life... it's a 20 something year old beauty with long hair, sparkling eyes, and a perfect smile. I seriously could barely keep it together introducing myself. She seems kinda shy though but I at least convinced her to swing by the saloon tonight." he says still grinning like a loser. "Wait are you for real? That's actually so fucking lucky, Ill have to meet her... I bet Haley is gonna lose her mind if she sees me talking to any other girl though...she thinks I don't notice her watching me workout every day but shes way too obvious." he says sounding unsure of what to do. "I mean...who knows maybe they will become friends and get along? Don't worry so much it's not like you two are dating seriously. I gotta go tho Alex at least say hi to her!" Sam continues on his way to Joja thinking about how tonight at the saloon will go.

"She seems shy, hopefully, she likes Abby and Seb. I mean it's impossible for her and Abby not to get along, Abby is so down for new friends. Seb however, fuck, he's gonna be pissed I bet, I wonder if I should text him first. Ugh if I tell him he might ditch instead though." Sam groans to himself.

______________

Farmer's POV

You sigh as you look at the time 5:37 PM. "Should I really go to that little town bar place Sam mentioned? What if everyone thinks I'm weird cause I'm a city girl? He was really nice though and I can't spend my entire time here not speaking to anyone. I guess he was actually pretty cute too... ugh FINE. I'll go... and just say hi because I said I would." You think to yourself. You fix up your hair, and makeup and switch to a tight black top and baggy jeans and head out.

DripDripDrip

"You gotta be kidding" you say out loud as it starts to rain on your walk into town. The breeze is cooler now that the sun has gone down, even though it's spring you can still feel the chill in the air as the wind blows through your soft nicely brushed hair. "I hope I get there before I'm soaked and my makeup is ruined." you think to yourself as you pick up the pace.

As you arrive you scan the room for any familiar faces and notice Robins's lovely red hair. She smiles as she notices you walk in. "Hey (Y/N), so nice of you to stop by, this is my husband Demetrius." She smiles as she pulls him closer. "Hi nice to meet you (Y/N), Robin was telling me all about you make sure you don't overwork yourself! Our daughter Maru is actually really looking forward to meeting you she couldn't come this evening as she works early at the clinic tomorrow but please stop by our place on the Mountain and I will introduce you! She is several years younger but she is very mature for her age." he says with a proud smile. "That would be great" I reply. "Were you looking for someone (Y/N)?" Robin says as she remembers your eyes searching the room when you first entered. "Um... well I met a boy named Sam today and he said to come here tonight so I could meet some friends our age." "Oh that's wonderful, Sam and the gang are usually in the pool room over there. Actually, my son Sebby...I mean Sebastian is there as well. He is pretty shy and might come off a bit standoffish but I promise you he's a good boy with a kind heart." She smiles motioning for you to go over. You smile back at both of them but notice Demetrius had left the conversation and went back to the bar when Robin brought up Sebastian..."strange" you thought to yourself.

You take a deep breath as you peek around the corner. You see Sam right away, he's laughing as he holds his pool stick. "Thank god he's actually here," you think to yourself. You continue to scan the pool room and notice some interesting decor, vintage arcade games, a Joja cola machine and some comfy couches. "Oh, who's that." you think as you notice a girl with lovely violet hair sitting on the couch. She seems very focused on the game...or is she just staring... as you follow her gaze you see a pale, dark-haired boy with gorgeous grey-blue eyes he's tall and slender and dressed in all black. "Ah, I see what she's looking at." You giggle to yourself out loud. Your giggle catches Sam's attention and he looks over with a massive grin on his face. "(Y/N)!" he exclaims. "Glad you actually came, come on over and have a drink with us!" He gestures to you to come over to the pool table and pours you a beer from the pitcher. "Over on the couch is Abby" She looks up from her Nintendo Switch and smiles at you. "Nice to meet you, Abby, I love your hair colour it's so pretty," you say softly. "Aw thank you!" she replies. You look back over at the boys and notice some tension. The dark-haired boy is glaring at Sam with some serious fire in his eyes. But it seems like Sam knew he would NOT be down for this little "new friend" meet-up. "Oh and this is Seb, he's not much of a talker I wouldn't waste your time on him but he's alright sometimes" Sam teases. Sebastian nods his head in disapproval and gives you a slight smirk with zero eye contact, immediately focusing back to the game.

"So that's Robin's son Sebastian she mentioned him earlier...he's actually... very handsome under that mop of luscious dark hair. His skin is so pale and his eyes although they look dark are a cool shade of blue, they glisten so nicely under the pool table light, you almost feel like your feet are sinking as you stare for a bit too long. "Ah makes sense now, he's certainly not Demetrius's son. From the way he acted I'm guessing there is some Step-Father x Step-Son tension going on... rough." you think to yourself.

You decide to go sit next to Abby as not to interrupt them mid-game. Just by the way she was staring at Sebastian, you can tell she's totally into him. "Makes sense they seem to have similar styles and they are clearly very close." You think to yourself.

"Let's go get a better drink, you don't have to drink that shit," she says as she takes the beer from my hand. You quickly walk up to the bar together and she orders some weird colourful drinks for the both of you. As you walk back to the sofa she starts up a conversation. So far she seems pretty cool you think to yourself her style is something else though, as you notice her massive knee-high black boots. "So what's it like in the big city? Are you gonna miss it?" Abby exclaims. "I will a bit, yes, but honestly it's really crowded, loud, and everyone is always in a rush. Don't get me wrong I will always want to go visit but it is chaotic." You say with a giggle. "Honestly I couldn't imagine that I have lived here my entire life and probably will, but the city seems so cool to a small-town girl like me. If I ever do go I will be sure to bring you as my tour guide." She smiles trying to imply she hopes to be friends.

"What kind of game are you playing." You ask as you point to her switch. "You like video games?" She says excitedly. "Hell ya, I actually worked for a company that designs them back when I was studying," you say. "No way that's so awesome I am so totally jealous, you must be so fucking smart," she exclaimed. "I mean I actually only designed the artwork for the video games I didn't really do the actual techy stuff." You continue to explain your past jobs and what your interests are and continue chatting with Abby for a while having several drinks that were wayyy too fucking strong for a lightweight like you.

As you sit on the sofas across the room from the boys you keep feeling eyes on you but you are too nervous to look up.

______________________-

Seb's POV

"Wait who is that? What is going on right now." he thinks to himself as Sam starts smiling and welcoming some random girl as if he invited her. "No he fucking didn't. God why is he like this? Our friend group is perfect it's been this way for years and we don't need anyone else." he groans to himself not even looking at you twice, feeling already out of his comfort zone. His eyes focus on Sam and only on Sam. He can't just blurt out "Why the fuck is she here" so he will have to settle for the death glare.

"What the fuck did he just say? As he continues to glare at Sam "Whatever he's being so annoying and awkward I am so getting him back for this." he shrugs it off and decides to just focus on the game.

...

"3 more shots and Sam loses 4 games in a row," he thinks to himself.

Gigglegigglegiggle

The sound of the new girl's laughter catches his attention and he finally looks up from the table at this unwanted guest... His pupils widen and he takes a step back feeling his face get flushed. He can't seem to take his eyes off her. "Holy shit," he thinks to himself. "She's actually beautiful. Not good, not fucking good. There is no way on this fucking planet she's allowed in our friend group, no fucking way I can't talk to her, fuck me I can barely talk to ugly girls and he expects me to keep it together with her in our group. Ugh fuck she probably thinks I'm so rude and weird for not introducing myself... fuck why can't I just say hi like a normal human." He starts to panic as his eyes are glued to you looking you up and down clearly checking you out hard. "Her body is so sexy what the fuck, long legs, long hair and huge sparkling eyes. I am such a sucker for big eyes...Stop staring you weirdo stop it right now." Finally looking away at the sound of Sam's voice. "It's your shot dude... you alright you look pale, too much beer?." Sam smirks. "Fuck off Sam, I just need a smoke break, let's end this here tonight unless you want to lose 4 outta 4." He scoffs. "You're such a buzzkill dude...fine let's end it here."

_____________

Farmer's POV

"Hey Abbs, (Y/N) we're heading out now." Sam exclaims. As you look over you see Sebastian already over next to Robin and he quickly walks out the door. "Don't get caught in the rain." Sam says to you as he leaves with Abby and waves.

You pack up your bag and start to head out. "Holy fuck did I really have that much to drink," you think to yourself as your head is a spinning mess walking out the door. The rain hits your skin, it's much colder now and you really regret wearing your cute top instead of a warmer one. You stumble along the path through town... "what's that weird feeling... it feels like someone is staring at me again."You turn around quickly and the fast movement gives you a headrush from all the alcohol. You stumble to the ground and are completely soaked in a puddle. "Fuck me" You say to yourself.

Seb's POV

He takes 10 steps out of the saloon and stands under the shelter from the roof of Abby's family store to light his cigarette. He leans up against the bulletin board just needing a moment to himself before he walks up the mountain in the rain back to his house. Honestly, he'd rather wait for his mom and Demetrius to head back and go to bed so he doesn't have to interact with them again tonight.

He sees you walking past clearly a little wobbly from all the drinks Abby was pressuring you to have. "Ugh Abby, just cause you can handle your alcohol doesn't mean most girls can drink like that," he thinks to himself feeling kinda bad you are clearly struggling. "She's really gonna walk home in that tiny shirt in this rain." he thinks as he rolls his eyes.

StumbleStumble

"Fuck me" he heard you splurt out. He laughs under his breath at your rage and your drunkenness...

"I guess I can't just leave her there," so he walks up to you.

Farmer's POV

As you sit in the cold wet puddle the only light coming from Pierre's shop blinds you as you are surrounded by pitch darkness on all other sides. Suddenly the light gets blocked and you look up to see someone... "are they trying to help me up." you wonder to yourself. "You need some help," a familiar voice says (not that he's actually spoken to you until now.) "C'mon," he says as he lifts you out of the puddle. "You must be freezing" he says noticing how cold your hands are. "It's okay I'm fucking stupid for not bringing a jacket," you mumble. "Nonsense" he says as he puts his jacket over your shoulders and props you up grabbing your waist. "Thank you, Sebastian," you say sincerely as he escorts you back to your cabin. He smiles at you genuinely and you can't help but feel butterflies in your stomach. "It's been so long since anyone has held me this closely, especially a boy." your face gets flushed as you think this to yourself. "Ah stop it (Y/N) he's just helping you it's not like he likes you. He literally just met you and blatantly ignored you all night on purpose and clearly has no interest at all stop being so horny." you giggle at your own embarrassing thoughts.

You arrive at your doorstep. Sebastian is looking around despite it being dark. He seems interested like he's never even been here before. "Thanks, Sebastian, you really didn't have to walk me all the way here, I owe you for helping a stranger," you say hoping he doesn't see you blushing. "No it was my choice to help you (Y/N), you don't owe me anything... You really did a lot of cleaning for only being here a day," he mentions trying to change the subject. "I guess I did, you should stop by when it's daylight and I'll show you around properly," you smile. "Sure I guess that would be fine, have a good night (Y/N)." He runs off the porch back into the rain before you can give him back his sweater. "That was really surprising, hopefully, Abby won't be mad at him for helping another girl?" You think as it is still unclear if they're together or not...

You walk inside, shut the door and flop on your bed, too tired to even take my clothes... or shoes off.

To be continued... I hope I can update you soon! <3

TYSM for reading. YES SLOW BURN. There will be some hot scenes in the future stay tuned.

[petit-papillion]

Some people just don’t listen what Charles says in his interviews… I noticed he is more “in love” with Ferrari lately (since june) the RB and AM approaches happened in may and after that Fred rushed the contract extension talks (pausing everything with carlos, and it shows for the way he is acting lately) so I think he already signed or is about to sign the contract

This interview is from last week!!! Like come on he is not leaving

Q: what is a good reason to stay in ferrari

CL: “there a thousand. i’ve always been a tifoso of ferrari, i always loved her. this is already a valid reason.”

Q: your goal at 25?

CL: "to become world champion with ferrari. i don't know if and when it will happen, but the day i leave formula 1 i want to know at 200% i have done everything to make it happen."

Q: what is a leclerc's strategy to get out of difficulties?

CL: "years ago, i had my father to help me. now i don't need anybody in particular. then obviously, i have the mechanics and fred: i openly discuss with them when there are bad situations."

CL on fred: "we've known each other for years, he knows what type i am, as a person and driver. we've a very honest and direct relationship, every time something is not ok we don't fear to say what we think, this makes us go on faster. we don't mince words."

As someone who works for a company very similar to Ferrari (as far as management, turnover, issues), I can tell you that a caring manager who acknowledges the value you bring to the company can make a world of difference. After having someone throw you under the bus for a year, it can be the difference between staying and leaving. So my money is definitely on Fred being able to keep Charles at Ferrari.

Aside from the whole, you know..

[nicolesainz]

New Romantics (Part V)

Carlos Sainz x OC x Mason Mount

Warnings: lot of cursing, sexual themes, angst, (there’s everything in this)

Chapter 6

I don’t know how this conversation with Carlos sparked, but it felt good for things to go back to normal. This is much better than trying to avoid him whenever he’s in sight.

Mason had dozed off next to me, sleeping peacefully and having his arms wrapped around my waist. The kiss we shared was unexpected but very pleasant. I had grown to like Mason more than a friend back in the day, but was so scared of Lando cutting ties with him, that I never told him anything about this.

I finally felt alive and was filled with thrill, while his hands were softly caressing my bare back and leaving wet kisses all over my neck and lips. What I was scared of, was that what if Mason regretted this? Maybe he was drunk and wasn’t thinking clearly. Or was this something that was meant to happen?

Was this a sign that the chapter of Carlos’s and I story, that was being written by the version of myself in love, is now ending? Everything will be determined soon.

Even though I cracked a smile as I was going through all pictures of me and him, I finally felt appreciated by a man who didn’t threw me under the bus.

I check out the time, only to see that it’s 8 am. Race day is finally here. Being close to the circuit, you can hear the engines revving up from miles away. There are always other races before the F1 session takes place. A lotus race, moto gp race, formula 3, formula 2, and then comes the star of the show. The real reason why people attend such an event.

Even when Lando was in formula 2, we would stay until Formula 1’s race was finished and the podium ceremony too. He would always say the same thing every time one of his favorite drivers would stand on the podium:

“One day, I’ll be standing there too”

Suddenly, I felt a pair of lips moving around my cheek, kissing it softly, until I finally turned my head to face Mason. The semi-opened curtain would bring a little light into the room, allowing me to read his facial expressions. All I could see, was a big sweet smile drawn on him.

“Good morning sunshine” he straighten himself onto the bed, removing his body from mine. His eyes had lightened up so quickly, and that made my heart pound even faster.

“Good morning to you too Mr. Chelsea” I replied with one of his many nicknames, flashing him an equally excited smile.

“Can I ask you something, Mase?” my throat dries up as the words won’t come out of my mouth

“Uh oh. You’ve got the worried look on your face. Did I do something? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Please tell me” Mason curled up again, now this time looking me even deeper in the eyes

“No no, you didn’t do anything bad. You said something last night but it wasn’t something to worry about either, or at least I hope so”

“I didn’t insult you or anything like that? Was I too drunk and said something mean?”

“Certainly not mean. Not at all. It’s just that-well-uh-last night you told me that you wanted to kiss me and after we did, you asked me if I wanted to be with you tonight, I mean, last night. And, uh, I wanted to ask, why? Do you mean all this?”

I could hear Mason’s fast heartbeat even without being close to him. We’ve been drunk a few times together and said sloppy things to each other, but then laughed them off. This time, it was completely different.

“Y/N, do you trust me?” He exclaimed before making a statement

“More than anything”

“Then i think it’s high time I tell you that you’ve been in my head since forever. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel happy whenever I’m around you. You’ve been my biggest supporter since day one! I loved you as a friend but as the time went by, those feelings grew, but I was scared of ruining such a great friendship. So yes, I meant what I said. Every single word”

I can feel something fluttering inside my stomach and I’m sure those are butterflies. I know it’s cheesy to say this but that’s how I felt when those words escaped his lips. They were to cherish forever.

“Please say something, I feel like I’ve scared you off now” Mason came closer to me, caressing my arms with his. He looks so worried as he waits for my answer

“If this was to scare me off Mase, then I would have fought the urge to tell you that I’m glad those words and actions were valid. Because you just made my entire day, if not, the couple of past years” a wave of relief washed him over, after I gave him a very unexpected to him answer but certainly the one he was looking for.

“So, I also think it’s about time, I take you out on a proper date and without anyone interfering. Just me and you. Once we arrive back in London, be ready at any time”

“I’m all in Mase. I’d be more than happy to go on a date with out!” I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a big hug. This felt like heaven.

“You don’t think your brother will chop of my legs, do you? I remember me being off limits”

“Nah, I even think he had realized I was crushing over you and was more than fine with it”

“Thank god! You can’t even imagine the things he’d tell me, when I even dared to comment you positively”

“He’s a big boy now. Plus, I feel like he thinks that you’re the safest option for me”

“I will keep you safe. All jokes aside. I am so glad I opened up. I was scared you’d hate me or you'd never talk to me again. Plus, I was starting to think another guy may be in the picture”

uh oh, what other guy? I haven't had a boyfriend. Ever! Being Lando’s little sister meant that a lot of guys would want to go out with me just because my brother is an F1 driver. 

“Can I tell you a secret? But please don't laugh!” 

“Why would I laugh sweetheart? You can tell me anything”

How do you explain to someone that you’d never had a boyfriend. That's certainly not an easy task. Carlos and I never dated. With me being scared of commitment and especially with someone who is constantly on the run, I never believed that there could be an us. I wanted it. Very much. I craved for it. But it never happened. It was simple flirting. Mostly one sided. Although, there was a day that I will never forget with Carlos...

“I have never been in a relationship” I blurt out and shut my eyes close, waiting for his response. Luckily, he doesn't take too much time. 

“I promise to be the best first boyfriend. If you give me the honour to” Mason cups my cheeks and looks me deeply in the eyes. The sparkles of the sunrays, make his hazel eyes shimmer. This is better than a Disney moment. 

“I’d call myself more than fortunate, to have you as my first boyfriend, Mason Tony Mount” I smile at him, grabbing him from the hem of his shirt and smashing our lips together. The small kiss that I intended it to be, turned into a heavy make out session. 

Mason’s lips were roaming all over my body, leaving marks, both visible and none. My nails were dug deep on his bare back, as his tongue run through my pussy, making me exclaim his name extremely loud. This was more than a euphoric way to start the day. 

“Next time, I don't want you to hold back. I wanna cherish those moans” my cheeks turned into a deep red colour, while he was removing his mouth away from my core. 

I can barely move my legs after being under his influence. I finally manage to get up and we both dress, ready to make our way to the track. I open my suitcase and put on my McLaren shirt, with Lando’s number on the back. At the corner of the case, my eyes fall on an orange had, but this time, it had the number 55 on it. 

I didn't know, whether it was a good idea to wear it or not. Carlos wasn’t at McLaren anymore. Red was the colour representing him. He has a new teammate and a new reputation. Not the same as the Carlos I met two years ago. I decide to ignore the hat and just slip on my sunglasses. 

“Shall we go better Norris sibling?” Mason gives me his hand and I immediately grab it.

“Let's go enjoy the race!” 

After all the trouble we went through, we finally made it to the paddock and at McLaren's garage. There was Daniel and my brother, putting on their racing suits and heading towards their cars. 

“Ah, there you are! Thought you overslept” Lando embraces me into a very tight hug. I can feels the nerves by the way his hands are shaking. I know Lando, better than my own self. 

“Don't be stressed. You’ve got this. You will do wonderful!” I whisper in my brother’s ear and give him a comforting smile.

“I owe you for coming today! I miss you a lot and it was nice you took some time off to come at a race” 

“If I could, I’d spend all my time with you. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 22 years”

“And Danny Ric, good luck out there! Rock them all” 

“Thanks little Norris. Glad to have you again on the paddock!” 

“Alright, we shall get going. Go ask Heidi about your headsets, she's there waiting for you in the box” 

“Good luck guys! You will make the team proud” Mason says to both of the drivers and pats them sympathetically on the back. 

We find Heidi and explains to Mason how the headset works and how he can change channels between Daniel, Lando and the commentator. While he is still learning and figuring out how to work it out, Heidi pulls me aside for a quick moment. 

“He was here looking for you” 

“Who?”

“Carlos! He asked Lando where you were, but he didn't know, and was constantly looking at his phone. Then, I kinda peek at his phone and saw that you were texting last night” “He texted me first. And was he really expecting a message? He’s my brother’s ex teammate. I’d text Daniel but not him”

“You should have seen the anger in his eyes when Daniel mentioned that you were sleeping in the same room as Mason. I’ve never seen him this furious”

Was he jealous of Mason? Is that the reason why he acted so weird at the club last night? Why he referred to Mason as “my boyfriend”? Why would he feel like this? He’s barely talked to me the whole weekend. 

“I can't do something about that. If he was angry, that's on him, not me. I am simply here to support my brother” 

“No, you’re right. Plus, Mason seems a tag extra happy today. OH MY GOD DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?” Heidi almost yelled out but thankfully I shushed her. 

“Keep it down. I will tell you everything after the race” I give her a playful wink and we both make our way back to Mason. 

“Race is about to start. Oh this is exciting” he says to us before we could put on our headsets

“The craziest parts are the first 5 turn until lap 2, when all the cars are still trying to get a better position” I tell him and turn my head to face the big screen inside the garage. 

The formation lap ends and now all cars are waiting for the five lights to switch off. I get nervous every time this happens, whether im attending a race weekend or watching it at home. 

“Its lights out and away we go...” I can barely understand the things Crofty says as the race starts until I hear “on the inside Lando Norris, takes third place from Charles Leclerc, bad start from him...DANIEL RICCIARDO HITS CARLOS SAINZ! THE FERRARI HAS SPUN AROUND AND RICCIARDO KEEPS GOING AND OH NO CARLOS SAINZ FOR THE SECOND RACE IN A ROW, SECOND GRAND PRIX IN A ROW LOOKS LIKE HIS AFTERNOON HAS BEEN ENDED EARLIER THAN HE WOULD HAVE WANTED”

My mouth almost falls to the ground, as I see Daniel knocking off Carlos into the gravel and everyone at the garage is currently groaning at the incident. My heart drops as I see Daniel entering the track but Carlos being stuck. 

I turn the channel back to my brothers radio

“Yellow flag, sector one, and safety car deployed”

‘What? Why?” My brother asks his engineer. 

“Daniel crashed with Sainz on turn one and the Ferrari is stuck on the gravel”

“Fucking hell. Okay, keep me posted on tyre temperature and Dan’s position”

“Copy” 

I remove my headset and scratch my head, trying to realise what has just happened. First ever Grand Prix, I attend after two years and Carlos is already out. At least Lando is currently third, which gives me hope for the end of the race. 

My eyes haven't left the big screen, as I see the crane removing the Ferrari off the gravel and Carlos walking with his head down towards the garage. I feel incredibly bad for him. This is the first home race of Ferrari and all the wanted was even a podium. He wants to make Tifosi proud, but this doesn't seem to make the cut. 

I place my headset on a chair and mouth to Mason that I will be going to the bathroom for a moment. 

“Do you want me to come with you? Need any help?” He comes closer to me but I reassure him with a kiss on his cheek that I will be back in a few moments.

I go from behind the garage and try to spot Carlos’s driver room from behind Ferrari’s motor house. Lando had showed me through FaceTime last time how he managed to sneak into Carlos’s room and prank him. Very glad I remember the route. 

Once I’m outside of the door, I knock softly, hoping for an answer. All I get is a “si” in Spanish and walk in, to be faced with a disappointed Carlos and a few tears escaping his eyes. My heart breaks seeing him like this. 

“¿Qué haces aquí? Tu hermano sigue en carrera!” (What are you doing here? Your brother is still racing!)

Over the course of two years, I have managed to improve my Spanish, being able to communicate better with Carlos, while it was also helpful when we wanted pull a prank on him, since he couldn't understand 

“I know he is, but that's not the problem right now. Are you hurt? What happened? Everything occurred so fast” I fall down on me knees and put on hands on my thighs, shoving my nails deep into my skin. 

“Ricciardo can't fucking wait till the end of turn apparently! He knew he had no space!” Carlos screams and I totally understand him

“Carlos I am so sorry this happened. It was truly unfair and totally not your fault”

“Go tell that to race control who will give him maybe a 5 second penalty and that's it! Gilipollas” (Asshole)

“Can I do anything to help you? Just tell me and I will do it” I place my hands on his knees and he immediately removes them 

“No. Vuelve al garaje con tu novio. No te necesito aquí” (Go back to the garage with your boyfriend. I don't need you here)

“Stop trying to shut me off when I am only trying to help you!” I yell at him aggressively and head towards the door of his room. 

Before I could touch the handle, Carlos grabs my wrists and pushes me back onto the wall. His body is holding mine steady and his hot breath is hitting my lips, as he’s trying to catch his breath. Last time we were this close, things got more complicated than they already were. 

“Si te dejas llevar, existe la posibilidad de que te rompa el corazón.” (If you let yourself go, there is a chance I will break your heart)

“Set me free then” I say in a lower manner, realising I will regret this later

Carlos’s lips crash onto mine with force, while my wrists are still under his grip. He doesn't let me go and shoved my hands underneath his race suit. I quickly unzip the fireproof and lead my hands towards his boxers, which were hiding one of Carlos’s biggest secrets concerning me. 

“If you touch me right now, I promise to you, that you won't be able to scream another mans name ever again” he says underneath the kiss, while I completely ignore him, focusing on letting him go off on me. 

I offered myself as a toy to him and without a hesitation, he accepted the offer. Now, it was a matter for the toy to shatter into pieces.

Before we could continue, he removed my hands from him and wore a jersey to cover his semi-naked body. 

“I can't let you fall into this loophole again Quinn. I am sorry. This isn't what you deserve. Please leave. This isn't right” Carlos’s voice has gone much quieter and peaceful 

“Your day will come soon Carlos. Everything good takes time to come around” 

[princessofmerc]

With each passing race I become more and more bitter.

I love Lewis for what he has achieved in the sport, but my goodness his fans put me off. Why do they always have to hate on George for no reason? It’s disturbing and cult like, people can beat your driver.

When he first joined the team I was so excited to see how the move benefited his career, but it’s come to the point where I want him out of it. Time and time again his teammate, team principle and members of the team throw him under the bus time and time again. I hate seeing people who rated him in Williams turn against him.

Mercedes won’t win championships any time soon and I want George to have the opportunity to do so. I can’t remember the last time I watched a race live. You know RB are gonna win the rest. Maybe next year will be better.

Lewis is a great driver. But he needs to realise that he's not going to lose by losing out against George. George was better all weekend the result may not show this in points but anyone who really watches knows. He may even be a great person. I'm personally getting the ick from the people he surrounds himselves with but let's be honest. They're all privileged and rich. Even Lewis as the only black driver. As the most succesful driver.

His fans are an abusive bunch of shit. And I mean that. With Max I didn't say a lot because I personally didn't see a lot of abuse that wasn't a direct reply to racism. And both sides were wrong. With Nicky it was unwarranted. The FIA and Red Bull are so much more to blame and for Nicky to hire security to protect his girlfriend (because he was scared of something happening to Sandy more than himself). They're visibly sending out "kill yourselves" to people. To minors. And no their excuses mean nothing. Not if we're already back to part two of the vicious cycle of dealing with team Lh. Tomorrow they'll pretend nothing ever happened.

Honestly Lewis, as long as he continues glorifying his fans the way he does and giving people the reason to believe they are right and they have nothing to fear. I'm through with him. I'm not claiming there aren't assholes along the George Russell fans. Even Alex Albon fans can get it wrong sometimes. Being a Lewis fan doesn't make you an asshole. As much as being a George fan doesn't make you a racist or fatphobic and stuff. And I'm aware that just because there are black sheep in every section of driver fans and it's generalising to claim there'S an issue with Lewis fans that I amd oing what I'm condoning.

Maybe it's being friends with someone who claimed "yeah okay that's bad but I got one hate anon by a George fan so both sides are bad". But I'm bitter. In 2021 y'all wanted him what are you so afraid of?

George showed a lot more this weekend than any driver did the whole year. He can drive on the same level as the world champions on the grid. He is the driver to look out for. He makes these mistakes and never makes them again. He takes responsibility (other than others who blame their team, the wind, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, the sun, the moon and the stars). The pace he's been showing. He's going to be a problem to so many drivers in the future. And I guess that's the issue

As for the team. I feel like something shifted today. It's small. It's maybe just a different twitter admin. Who knows. (But for Shov to not even mention Lewis). Maybe I'm delulu. But at the end of the day I don't think George should go elsewhere. Not because he couldn't outdrive any driver in their current team, which I believe firmly he could. But because I'm not sure if the teams that could help him succeed would let him. Other than maybe Williams, who after the European stretch is over are probably going to go back to the back of the midfield because that's what happened 2020,2021 and 2022. No other team would let him grow as much as Mercedes. What use is a Red Bull seat if you aren't allowed to beat Max Verstappen?

So yeah. I feel like a lot of the leading engineering voices in the team are more neutral than, say Toto. Which makes sense. Lewis had a massive impact on the success of Mercedes. But let's not forget that without a team like Mercedes Lewis wouldn't have had the success he had as well. Mercedes is one of the best teams on the grid as much as we sometimes hate it. They can win championships in the future and I feel like the people who matter know they can do it with both Lewis and George. And that George is their future.

Mercedes can be a shit place but unless Williams turns it around for the 2024 season it is the best place for George to be.

[gallivantingheart]

Me, a Princess? Shut Up!

masterlist | previous |

⏮️ chapter 13: amaide ⏭️

who?: jihoon/woozi x (f)reader

word count: 2670

genre/s: fluff, humour, social media!au

warnings: some course language

synopsis: Life’s pretty good for y/n. Easy, even. Until someone claiming to be her grandmother says she is the queen of a small island country - and y/n, a princess.

a/n: THIS IS IT! THE END IS NIGH. He’s a long one, that’s for sure. Thank you for anyone who has stuck through and tolerated every drawn out update - I appreciate it very much and hope you enjoyed it anyway xx

**please ignore the timestamps - they are not accurate**

TAGLIST: @strykiss, @karrotkarrotkarrot, @3sriracha, @minkwans, @annakemi, @chaseyui, @noniesgirl, @gyubagebin @kookiedesi​ @binniebutter​ @wonwooslibrary​​

You sit at the train station, the rain bucketing and splashing your legs. You can barely stand to check your phone.  Already, you can see the headlines: Princess To-Be Disappointing No-Show. That and the tens of voicemails probably piling up in your message bank. The disapproving hum of your mother, the squealing worry of Mingyu and Minghao. Soonyoung’s barely restrained desperation mixed with understanding only he could have. The guilt churns thick and slow in your stomach, a monster ready to rear its ugly head. But, amongst all that and your blurring tears, you find one you don't expect. Jihoon.

Your finger slips on a raindrop as you tap it.

“Hey. Uh, look. Whatever you're feeling and whatever you decide, it'll be okay. We'll still be here for you at the end of the day. But please, come home. We're all worried. Your grandmother is still waiting for you at the embassy. Everyone is. But, I'll be at home - uh, my place if you need me. Please, just be safe.”

There's another one, from an unknown number.

“Y/n,” your grandmother. “I know you're scared. I'm sorry if you ever felt like I was pushing you into this. So much has been riding on your shoulders, all so soon. And looking back, we should have waited. I should have waited. As much as I may not have looked it, I always cared. You’re family, our legacy. I'll still love you, whatever choice you make.  You could never disappoint me - anyone. I love you.”

That's all you needed. Mingyu's attempt at motivation could fall flat, Minghao terrible with your specific type of sympathy. Even Soonyoung’s familiar reassurance or anything your parents could ever say wouldn't sink in. They were all you wanted to hear. Grabbing your bag, you take off running, back to the bus stop back into the city. You might never make it. But you'll give it a damn shot. Violently struggling to tap on your transport pass, you slump into a window seat by the front, sighing in relief as it begins to putter away.

The scenery gets gradually slower and drivers’ thick brows furrow. You sit up wearily as we splutter to a stop, the air brakes whooshing anyway.

“W-why are we stopping?”

He turns to the few of us seated. “We've broken down. Probably the oil or something. I’ve called the depot and we’ll have a replacement shortly. Just sit tight.”

“We - what?” you squeak, getting up into the aisle. “No, no no no! I've got to be at the Amaide embassy! I have a ball to go to!”

He shrugs, opening the doors to let air in. “Sorry, Cinderella.”

You climb out the vehicle, out into the rain again. The road is straight and relatively unmarred. You'll have to run. Shouldering your bag oddly, slinging both straps of the duffle over each shoulder you start to sprint.

It's a bad, short lived sprint. Why you don’t think of a taxi is beyond you.

Your chest is heaving with pain, and so are your legs, crying out for relief. You look to the sky, unforgiving and heavy. You throw your side into a wall as you drag yourself along the footpath. You'll never make it.

“Oh - my - god. This is - how I die. Dead in a - in a puddle.” You sniffle through heaving breaths.

Leaving against the wall, you try holding back another sniffle before giving up, rubbing at your cold, running nose instead.

A car honks. Dropping your head down, you see the official envoy pull up, the door kicking open and the drivers’ window roll down. Junwoo and...Jihoon?

“Come on, princess. You're late!” the bulky man calls with a smirk.

You push off, throwing yourself into the leather seats. Jihoon is across from you, sitting neatly in his simple black suit. God, he looks good in it.

“Thank you for finding me.” You smile.

“Well, after that text and then you didn't show up, something had to have gone wrong. And Junwoo was going out to look for you anyway. Queen's orders.”

You sink into your seat as he passes you a towel. “Gotta love Grandmother.”

“She wasn't giving up on you too soon.” The stocky guard in front says through the open partition. You catch his smile in the rear view mirror. “Especially when Jihoon showed up.”

You pat your arms down and rub furiously at your hair. The cold is only just starting to sink in, wetting the leather under you and sending a shiver through your torso. Jihoon sighs and tosses another fluffy towel over your legs. You slide side to side on the seat a little as Junwoo zips through town while trying to be reasonable.

“Oh well, I'll definitely be making an entrance. Not the prettiest thing to ever get out of an Amaide envoy. Certainly not very princess-like.” You chuckle, throwing the first towel helplessly round your shoulders.

Jihoon’s gaze is warm on you, for once resting for more than a few moments in your direction. His pitch black hair is rustled from the gale that the rain brought with it.

“You're always beautiful, Princess.” He hums.

You laugh breathlessly, ducking your head. He was always so soft-spoken but never failed to make you at least a little flustered.

“How come you were ready so soon?” You squint at Jihoon.

“I was ready even before you messaged me. Call it intuition, but I had a feeling I’d end up here tonight, whether you knew it or not.”

The embassy houses are starting to pop up and you know you're close, even though the rain hasn't let up. You would never have made it in time with your ridiculous idea.

Junwoo pulls up an umbrella and the lot of you usher yourselves inside. Jihoon is swept away in the backstage madness, with not even a chance of goodbye. Soonhee is standing in her soft champagne dress, sash in red over her shoulder and across her middle. She smiles warmly and you don't care how much her dress costs for once as you barrel into her. She makes a soft grunt with the force but delicately wraps her arms around you.

“Thank you for not giving up on me. Sorry I'm late.” You mumble into her shoulder.

“Of course. You're a Park at heart. You're strong enough to make the right decision. It may not have been easy or kind and it might have taken a little while, but you're here.” She says haughtily. “Now, I’ve stalled for as long as I can but that means you're going to have to go out there as you are. There's no time left.”

How did everyone but yourself know you were gonna be here? 

You pull back to look at her with furrowed brows. “Are you sure you can't do any more? I don't want to go out like this for you or Amaide.”

Soonhee shakes her head. “I'm sorry. But, I think this will do. It’s...how do you say, authentic. I am glad and incredibly proud that my people will be in your hands.”

Soonyoung has wormed his way back behind the heavy velvet curtain. He giggles at the sight of you.

“Hey Boss! Bit late?”

“Just a little. Weather is vicious.” You shrug.

He slings an arm around you, rubbing fondly at your hair under the towel. “Say what you feel. It’ll come out right. See you after.”

You swallow and nod. Soonyoung gathers the queen up with Junwoo and they both exit down a short hall to the main ballroom. You sling the towel round your neck for later. Someone would announce you when you were ready. And you had to be ready now. You glance to an attendant to your left and nod resolute, heaving a calming breath.

You hear your name and the curtain pulling away to warm bright lights and a podium ornately carved with lemon tree motifs - you know, you watched them pull it out from storage. There’s the violent, sickening shutter of cameras but you hold firm, plastering on a nervous smile, your towel slung round your shoulders.

Your grip is tight on the wood as you lean into the mic. “Hello. Good evening. I apologise for the wait - the weather is a bit horrendous.” A smattering of laughter from press and guests. The lights aren’t blinding but you’re trying not to focus on the many faces on you. “Thank you for attending tonight. Amaide’s freedom and independence has always been our pride. But, I understand if that’s not really why you’re here. And that sort of sucks. Because our country and our people should not boil down to the latest tabloid gossip. We have a thriving tourism and agriculture sector and are one of the few modern societies with a very active and well-functioning monarchy - and a matriarchal one at that. We should be celebrating its freedom and everything that makes it what it is. But, I digress.

“As of half an hour ago I was sitting at a train station in the pouring rain, running away from all of this. And think about it, three months ago, I didn’t even know about this world. And I didn’t think I was ever going to be ready. You’ve all seen my face more in these last few months than anyone ever has all my life. These events have turned the lives of myself and everyone I care about upside down. They have borne this mess none of us ever asked for. I love them all so much that I didn’t want to ruin my home.

“But - oh but. Amaide is home for millions of people. And it could be my home too. I mean, you all just heard me wax poetic about a place I’ve never been. But, it is part of who I am. Who I am going to be. I would never dream of hurting it. I’m so desperate to take care of my home, always have been.

“So with that in mind, I make my claim as Princess and heir apparent to Amaide’s throne - to the future.”

You smile and the delegates make raucous applause. Camera shutter click and flash but you hold steady. You have claimed your birthright. Now it's time to make the right impression for once.

You tip your head. “Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d love to dry off a bit before I catch the flu! Please, enjoy your evening.”

You’re ushered off to the side stage then around the back to servants quarters. Antoni is violently brandishing a round brush and Dyson Air Wrap like a club.

“Where is the Princess! Chop chop!” He cries out.

Massive, calloused hands are firmly on your shoulder blades and shove you into his direction - damn Junwoo, enjoyed any pain that you endured. His eyes light up then he goes pasty.

“This? This is my canvas? Ey, I have my work cut out, huh?” He shoots you a look. “Always the hard road, hmm Princess? Come come, we fix.”

You are whirled up the staircase where Antoni makes quick work of you. The gown fits perfectly, all those fittings paying off in the speedy transformation. Antoni knows what he’s doing, determined as he works around you, drying your hair out for some more control.

“I try to keep you a little natural - we want a good, open impression of you, Princess. Looks can be everything, huh?”

Your hair draped behind your ears and up off your neck in twists and layers where you didn’t know where your hair began and ended. A glittering hair comb, part of the private collection, just like the heavy set necklace that rested against your collarbone, dazzling and weighty. Antoni claps his hands, triumphant. “You are done - beautiful! My work is perfect! Come, the queen will give tiara.”

The embassy is no longer daunting, the staircase not a passage to doom. You turn to Antoni and tip your head.

“Thank you, for your help tonight.”

He scoffs and waves you off. “Is honour, Princess. I must go and ready myself for the people. They will all want to know who dressed the future queen of Amaide.”

You laugh as he whirls back out the way he came and you look to the attendant again, motion to call.

“Announcing Princess Y/N, of Amaide.”

The red curtains part and you step back into the light.

The queen holds a sparkling tiara, the most stunning thing you’d ever seen. This, you hadn't organised. Your grandmother was quite secretive about this part, insisting it was something she must do alone.

She raises it and you tip your head down so that she could place it on your head. “This was my first tiara, also gifted by my grandmother at my coming out ball. I was not meant to be queen. Neither were you. Now look at where we are. Now you must shine.”

A round of applause and your sight falls on your mother's eyes glassy and red as she smiles, her applause one of the few that mattered at that moment.

When you step to the main floor, you are swarmed by diplomats and the like with congratulations. Soonyoung is by your side in a heartbeat to mitigate them as quickly as possible, while turning the lights on even more and the strings rising in. A lot of greetings and thank you’s and “look forward to discussing the topic of choice with you at a later date.”

Then, as soon as you’d finished, the people fell away and you spot Jihoon by a pillar, close to the string orchestra. Of course he was where the music was.

I sidle up next to him, watching the orchestra. “Evening.”

He glances at you and smiles. “Evening, Princess.”

“How’s your night been?”

“I did meet the conductor here. Got some tips, had a chat. I can keep myself busy.”

You mock frown. “That’s the conductor of Amaide’s Philharmonic Orchestra, you know - the queen pulled out all the stops. But, I had sort of hoped you would be at least a little bit bored. What am I supposed to do to top that for someone like you?”

“Not sure. Maybe become princess?” Jihoon smirks.

“You’re annoying. Lee Jihoon, will you do me the honour of being my first dance partner?” You pout up at him a little, clasping your hands in your lap. “I saved it for you. Even over my own parents!”

“Of course. How can I deny that?”

He guides you gently out to the mosaic floor, settling you in front of him. In your time training and with Jihoon as a music major, you yourself have come to appreciate the string set playing tonight - you might not know the song, but it’s very beautiful and fits the energy of the room. He starts with a simple, not very royal, sway. With your meticulously manicured hands slung up round his neck, you let the fact that this is your first dance as princess, in public, cameras shuttering only metres away fall to the back of your mind. You’re happy that this moment would be one of the first pictures for the news outlets. You wanted it documented.

“Are you sure you’re okay with a princess as a potential girlfriend? We’re very prim and proper and not very fun. We certainly shouldn’t be going out for fried chicken and drinks on a weekly basis.”

He rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I’m sure you can make an exception.”

“For you?” You quirk a brow.

Jihoon gives you an unimpressed look. “Yeah, I guess for me.”

“Well, of course then!” You laugh. “Anything for you!”

And after all this, you really mean it. He grits his teeth and grins, tightening his grip on you and giving you a forceful spin that has you cackling. Jihoon doesn’t even get tangled in your dress!

“I didn’t know you could dance.” You chirp.

“I’m a music major. I’ve got rhythm.”

“Shut up.”

final notes: well, here we are. the end of an excessively drawn out two...three? year journey. i hoped you enjoyed it as much as i did. and i certainly hope i did justice any sort of expectation you may have had walking into this. thank you so much for all the support, i promise it did not go amiss! who knows? maybe i might pull a “princess diaries 2: the royal engagement” just to be funky...

[makuta-tobi]

bored huh? do the prime numbers then

you think i won't? i will. i'll do it. no readmore cause nothing matters

2. Are you outgoing or shy? mostly shy until i get to know you, then i become a problem

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? no one in particular? i might get to see megatron and/or tahu this summer.....

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? I don't drink but presumably, if she wasn't also drunk

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? i better be

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? mostly indifferent but it depends on how i'm feeling, often times it overstims me

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? to an extent

19. Do you like bubble baths? they're fine, but kinda boring i think

23. Do you have trust issues? not really? well, actually, maybe. feels like people are lying because there's no real effort to be engaging with me most the time but i'm always told "no we love to spend time with you" so yeah i guess

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? uhhh, i don't remember? probably not

31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? i literally just cut it this morning, hair in the back is like 3/8" or something

37. What do you say during awkward silences? I don't, i usually just start swishing or kicking my feet and balling up my shirt

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? usually, but it depends on what they did, some things are beyond redemption. as a general rule, though, yeah

43. Do you smile at strangers? only if we accidentally make eye contact and they do it first, I'll mirror back

47. Have you ever been high? not afaik

51. Ever wished you were someone else? every day. like a specific person? i can't think of any individuals, but generally speaking? yeah

53. Favourite makeup brand? i don't really engage with it, so whatever is cheap and does what i need it for

57. Favourite food? teriyaki chicken and borger

59. First thing you ate this morning? s'mores cereal

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? nope, only major trouble I got into in school was in 8th grade when someone farted on the bus and i targeted by the driver for unrelated shit

67. Facebook or Twitter? lesser of two evils, personally, i'm picking facebook

71. Craving something? What? still thinking about how good a milkshake and/or iced coffee would hit right now

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? depends. normal nights there is at least 1 in the bed, but it's not mine, it's brandee's, and she cuddles with it. when i'm by myself on those rare occasions, then usually i do

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? black with a knockoff white riamu with neon green skeleton on her shirt

81. Favourite tv show? uhhhh loaded question, i'll go a safe route and say kamen rider

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? never seen mg2 so the original ig

87. First person you talked to today? brandee? no wait okay i opened discord, the first person i directly addressed today was jules the french person in a server i'm in

89. Name a person you hate? ohhhh that's also loaded, and most of the people I directly hate are dead right now, so for my sake i guess I'll say Jay Patton yes i'm putting the full name

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? see above I guess?

97. Favourite actor? oof, there are too many to recount currently

101. Do you type fast? maybe a little, certainly not as fast as i used to. i used to be a member of a clan on xat that focused on speed fighting to defeat our enemies and i had to train hard to get to that point

103. Can you spell well? as well as any other person I guess, i'm not bad at it

107. Have you ever been on a horse? a few times

109. Is something irritating you right now i have a headache that has persisted for several hours, and I'm just frustrated by being alone with nothing good to do while i hear brandee button mash and laugh with her friends in the other room

113. What was your childhood nickname? i can't really recall any that weren't just people mispronouncing my name, which is all too common, but i gave myself the name tobi in 8th grade and that has stuck

127. What makes you happy? good stuff? what makes anyone happy yk

129. What your zodiac sign? karkat piseces

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? in this moment, feel a bit flustered and say awww thanks but try to move through life as normal

137. How tall are you? 5'6"

139. Brunette or Blonde? no preference

149. Do you believe in ghosts? to an extent, not entirely certain how they manifest but there's...something

you can ask other questions if you want

[gleeksfreaksandwannabes]

I’ve watched the Nerdy Prudes proshot twice now since it came out, so here is:

A completely unhinged list of all the things that are on rotation in my head because I lack the ability to be normal about anything ever, but they get progressively more unhinged each time:

(Spoilers under the cut)

The classic, “high school, is killing me! I’m so fucking dead!” also “it’s not cool, it’s a fallacy, it’s a cruel and unusual brutality” even though that’s not the order of the words

��I got left behind this morning, bus driver’s a fuckin’ asshole,’ - dude Joey as Pete is a damn gem!

‘Oh god, BUTT OUT CHASITY!’

“He’s got the hallway on lock, his fists are always half cocked, he’s got me hiding in ma locker!” - something about the way Joey says ‘my locker’ satisfies the little gremlins in my brain

“He’s a literal monster!” - also Max’s dance when he sings it cracks me up

‘I learned that in anti bullying assembly last month - FUCK NUGGET!’ - have I mentioned I love Max?

“What if all my thoughts were stronger? What if my beliefs were taller? What if I were king of the hill? Captain of the team!” - this one is on serious repeat for no damn reason except I love Joey

Just all of Bully the Bully and Bury the Bully - especially “I just cut off his nips”

‘Oh my god, it’s a skele’on!’ - I cannot with that fucking line oh my god

“I never thought I could walk into a bathroom, without the fear of a swirly, but now I can pee all by myself!”

Also the boys just going “NIGHT HAWKS! NIGHT HAWKS!” in the background cracks me up

The entirety of Nerdy Prudes Must Die but also:

“Does the math club comfort you? Should’ve joined the SMOKE CLUB YOU NERDY PRUDE!” - I sing this at least 5 times a day even though I am legit a nerdy prude

Also “Will you pray for me? When I’m gone? Or until another Ritchie comes along?”

ALL of Hatchet Town, but particularly “someone’s got their hands on the hatchet handle, swinging on the youth it’s a hatchet scandal” - I swear Jeff put literal crack into all of these songs oh my gosh

“Oh how was it?” “Fuckin transcendent!” - dude I don’t know why this line cracks me up but I literally can’t stop saying it

“If i loved you, you would know it, if I loved you, I would show it, if I loved you like you should be loved, loved you like I’m capable of!” Again… Joey and Mariah, I have no other explanation other than singing up high on the ‘you’ is pretty fun

Literally just… the way they sing each of the Lords in Black’s names in The Summoning. I just… I have no idea, it’s just addictive

“You summon us once, you summon us twice, you gamble it on the roll of a dice! La la la la la!” Again, no reason… just vibes

“Stephanie has got a g*n it’s time to have some fun! Stephanie has got a g*n she knows what must be done!” - The whole Summoning scene is so good oh my god!

“It’s like you knew me, before you knew me, it’s like you saw me, before you saw me,” - I keep getting the words to this one mixed up so I just throw in random ass lyrics

And that’s it! Long story short, this musical gave me severe brainrot, but I loved every second of it, and now I’m going to go listen to the soundtrack every day until the proshot is on YouTube, thank you for coming to my Ted talk!

[leatherforhell]

Things I Like About Myself, addressed to a Mr. Hobart Brown (@arachstar)

look at my hair isn’t it gorgeous

my eyes are dark brown which is so the best color

I have MULTIPLE ear piercings so I have OPTIONS which means I can have a goth earring a cute earring AND a seasonal earring. all at the same time. I’m a genius

I am so smart actually that should be its own point

I’m also hilarious. no one appreciates my humor enough 

speaking of kissing I am an excellent kisser 

Have you seen my tattoo?? gorgeous. designed it myself. can you believe

you have never in your life met anybody as good at menial chores as I am

I’m also great with kids. except for the swearing. but other than that I am so good

I have an excellent fashion sense

Actually my fashion sense is so impeccable that I can change styles every day and still look cute. have you ever seen me wearing the same outfit twice?? no you haven’t

I may not be good at cooking but I am good at finding food in a pinch, no one’s ever gonna be hungry around me

I also make the best fast food combos. stuff you’ve never even thought off. back to the genius thing

I do ALL THE JOBS and I do them ALL THE TIME!! construction? that’s me! janitorial? also me!! plumbing, electrical, tech?? damn I’m on a roll

did you know I can make a perfect circle without a stencil

I’m also good at juggling

dogs love me. actually all animals love me but like… dogs though

I might be bad at strategy games but I am a killer at fps

haha. killer. I am also good at puns

I have good taste in friends 🥰 nudge nudge

and also everything else tbh but especially music. hint hint

I’ve never once broken a bone despite all the dangerous Gotham bullshit. do you understand how impressive that is

Oh I didn’t even think about it because I never do my makeup but I’m great at that too. go me

I’m very expressive, which is great, because I live in the gloom capital of the world

I smell nice. or like, my soap smells nice. but I feel like it counts because I’m deliberately trying to smell nice

sometimes I can scare people just by using my I’m Not Mad I’m Just Disappointed face, which is always fun

I’m very good at shenanigans. you wanna do a hijink, I’m there

I have watched the pride and prejudice bbc miniseries in its entirety no less than eight times because I am Good Person and Jason wants to so I do it

I’m friends with some of the rogue gallery even though they are, infamously I would say, hard to get along with

I tip well

I’m bisexual

I’m very high energy

I am an EXCELLENT thief. literally how could anyone do better than ‘just teleport the thing to where I am.’ catwoman has nothin on me

I’m very good under pressure

I fall asleep and then STAY asleep, which is probably not a great one to list but I’m very glad I do it because I would be a monster if I didn’t sleep well

I’m a fast texter. speed demon 

as I said I’m not a good cook but I CAN make some mean tortillas. there’s an old lady in one of the apartment buildings I work on that was determined to make me learn how to cook one singular thing and that was the best we got

oh shit I speak so many languages! how did it take this long to mention that! I’m like a god damn universal translator! 

I’m very good with names AND faces

automatic designated driver and very good at it. nobody’s getting lost in an alley around me I’m keeping a close eye 👀

I’m a good dancer too! I used to be able to do pointe but I might break an ankle if I tried it now. but I’m still a good dancer in other styles

like did you know I can salsa. so sexy of me fr

I also know how to ice skate

and bowl! I’m so good at bowling!

I was a pretty cute kid, too. I wish I had pictures. I’ve only got one and it’s from a Photo Booth at the mall

my powers are really cool, actually. I can bend metal with my brain. that’s fucking cool

I know the subway and bus schedules by heart

oh and I can teleport! not just stuff but I can teleport ME 

I am also the person picking up all those leftover batarangs and whatnot. and putting them in neat and orderly piles. and then returning them to the Batmobile. in case anybody was wondering.

I picked a pretty badass name if I do say so myself 

I can do a back flip. fuck you thats 51 I’m so fucking good at this. bite me

[sommerflue-22]

SWIPE RIGHT | Armin Arlert x Reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

One swipe to the right and you found yourself going on dates with Armin Arlert, loving how he treated you right. Who could possibly resist such a gentle and compassionate man? It's only a matter of time before he officially asked you to be his girlfriend...

Pairing(s): Armin Arlert x Fem!Reader

Warning: -

Word count: 617

Author Note

Hi, guys! This is the last part of the fic. Thank you for the likes, reblogs, and for reading until the end. This fic is also available on Ao3, it's a different version from this one. I'll publish more fic after this. Let me know if you have any request! <3

You haven’t heard anything from Armin in months. After that night you didn’t block his number. You kept your words that you would wait for him. However, it seemed like he decided to follow his parents’ will. Good for him, that’s what you’ve always told yourself. Even though you tried to convince yourself that it was for the best, you still locked yourself up in your apartment over the weekends. Your body sprawled on the sofa or on your bed, the delivery man knocked at least twice a day (or thrice, sometimes your friends sent you food). You tried your best every day to get up and go to work, but at the end of the day you missed his presence in your life. It’s crazy how a match from a dating app could turn your life upside down in a matter of weeks. Maybe you were meant to be together, maybe you just wanted to be in a romantic relationship. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

You slammed your laptop shut, causing Hitch to jump in her seat.

“You okay there (Y/N)?” Hitch asked.

“I’m fine.” You replied calmly. “Too many emails today, but I’m grateful they’re from our clients.”

“Yeah, it’s great. It’s not even the holiday season yet, can you believe it?”

“Well, I hope the sales keep increasing.” You shoved your laptop inside your bag, “You’re finished yet?”

“Nah, I think I’m leaving in half an hour. You go first.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow, Hitch.”

You left the store around fifteen minutes after five and walked to the bus stop nearby. You rubbed both of your hands together and blew hot air from your mouth…

…until it reminded you of that one particular night ride.

You shook your head and leaned against the bus stop sign. Even as the cold wind hit, you just shoved your hands inside your pocket. Your bus should arrive any minute. Impatient, you looked to your left, hoping to spot the blue bus. 

Instead, you noticed a really familiar black sedan with a plate number you recognized, parked only a few steps away from the bus stop. You held your breath as the door opened.

Armin stepped out from the vehicle, dressed casually in a white button-up with his sleeves rolled up. It seemed like he was alone because he didn’t rush to open the other door. You saw him sighed, white fog escaped from his lips. You caught yourself staring, right when Armin turned his head.

It was the first time you’d seen each other after that night. None of you moved. You weren’t sure if you should approach him. 

Armin raised his left hand to wave and that’s when you saw it. A silver ring on his fourth finger. 

Ah, you thought to yourself, that’s why.

You’ve never been happier when you saw your bus. As it pulled over, you nodded to him and smiled. Your chest tightened as he put his hand on his chest and nodded back. As if he was saying his last goodbye, thanking you for the memories.

“Miss, are you coming in or not?” The bus driver grunted.

“Yeah, I’m going.” You let your stare linger on Armin once again, before getting on the bus.

You sat in the very back of the bus, trying so hard not to look back.

However, your feelings got the best of you and you peeked over your shoulder.

Armin stayed still in his place, staring at your bus as it moved forward. You kept staring at him until the bus took a turn and you couldn’t see him anymore. 

You leaned back on your seat, closing your eyes and let out a sigh. 

Good bye, Armin.

This fic is also available on Ao3

[wildswrites]

find the word tag ;

thanks for the tag, @sleepyowlwrites! i loved your excerpts!!

my words were : right, rain, release, rest. BONUS: rekindle, rancid.

tagging : @kellanwrites @writercalamity @italiangothicwriteblr @doikayt.

your words are : same, sort, shift, seek, sake.

right.

Though the stars enchant me, twinkling above and so distantly, Sienna is right in front of me now. Sienna, whose magic awoke in my defense. Sienna, who speaks of past lives as if she is collecting them. Sienna, who will make it home with me or be the end of us both. Maybe then I can gather the courage to tell her the truth - about me, about the parts of my family that she does not know, about us.

(continued below cut)

rain.

“I’m not sure, officer. Is one of my brake lights out?”

I complete a truck walk around every morning rain or shine - a holdover from my stint as a bus driver when I was trying to find myself a few years back. Turns out I wasn’t made to cart around screaming children, but the habit is a good one - I know for a fact that my brake light isn’t out. But Officer Henderson doesn’t know that. We’ve hardly seen each other since graduation day.

release.

“You get in the car,” Sienna says, picking up where I had left off - but switching the two of us around. “Don’t let the man in the driver’s seat touch you. If there’s a diaper bag, grab it. Leave the seat - it’s too heavy. He’s old enough to hold his head up. Now go!”

With that she releases me, swooping towards the bloodied man nearly close enough to touch. I cry out, terror a cruel chill through my veins, but she is already moving once more, stepping out of his way in a manner that seems a thousand times easier for not my dead weight. And a part of me wants to watch her, wants to see how she handles this, wants to be impressed and make sure that she is safe all at once. But I have a mission. I get to it.

rest.

“What do you think they’re thinking?” Sienna says from behind me. At her gentle prompting, I take a seat on the ground at her side, no longer observing those that shuffle by far below. There used to be a rooftop garden here, herbs and flowers and vegetables, artfully arranged with the loving care of someone who knew what they were doing. Now everything is overgrown, the garden just as abandoned as the rest of the building, though I can’t quite determine why no one lives here anymore. 

“I don’t think that they think at all. They’re dead, aren’t they?”

rekindle.

The sight of Sienna Bradley, bathed in sunlight, alight from her wavy blonde hair to the bare toes that peek through the dirt … it changes something within me. She is a flame beneath my skin, rekindling a feeling I had forgotten, and I must look away for the way that she shines.

“Calla,” she says, and my heart stutters in my chest.

rancid.

The room has a subtle scent, and it is not a good one, and it does not take long to figure out where it is coming from; there is a plate of food on the table, long abandoned just the same as the rest of the building, rancid hints of what was left behind coloring the air. There is nothing much to be done about it; it’s been here too long, inserting itself into the very fabric of the room. It’s something to live with for now, but at least we are living.

taglist (and a tag if you want it!) : @tate-lin ; @thatonedreamer.

[atlfics]

Missing in Action- All Time Low Fanfiction

Jack doesn't act like himself on tour, to the concern of his bandmates. Word Count: 4881

TW: depression, references to suicide

More notes at the end. 

“Thank you so much Denver, be good to each other out there, and we’ll see you next time! We love you!” Alex exclaimed as the last notes of Dear Maria came blaring from the amplifiers.

Alex danced around the stage as his bandmates jammed around Rian’s drum kit, and the crowd went wild, screaming and clapping as the show came to a close. Once the jam was over, the four of them walked up to the front of the stage to throw guitar pics, setlists, and drum sticks out into the crowd.

Alex grinned from ear to ear as he watched the fans excitedly try to catch everything, then made his way offstage a few minutes later. The rest of the band followed him, Rian and Zack walked together, and Jack trailed behind them, walking slowly and looking down at the ground.

“That was a great show! I think it was one of the best of the tour so far!” Rian stated, grabbing a towel from a crew member to wipe off some sweat.

“Dude, we’ve only played, like, five shows so far, isn’t it a bit early to say that this is the best show?” Zack asked, making everyone but Jack laugh.

“Well, I guess you could say that it’s been the best show of the tour so far, we still have twenty more shows to play before we decide which one is the best of the whole tour. The show did go really well, but I can’t get used to this altitude here. We’ve played Denver almost every time we’ve toured, but the altitude kills me a little bit every single time,” Alex continued, clearing his throat.

“You still sounded good, man, but this altitude is a lot. I’m just glad that we’re going to a flatter state next,” Rian said.

“That’ll be nice, and I’m so glad we have a hotel tonight, too. I don’t hate sleeping on the bus, but a huge king bed is definitely a thousand times better, even if I have to share it with Rian,” Zack replied, making Rian roll his eyes.

“We’re basically leaving now, right?” Jack quietly said, reminding his bandmates that he’d been standing there the whole time in silence.

“Yeah, we do. I guess we should get on now, so we don’t get left behind,” Alex joked, awkwardly laughing.

He was a bit concerned about Jack; he hadn’t been acting like himself all day. Jack had been extremely quiet and to himself since the previous night, but it had gotten much worse over the course of the day. Part of him wanted to ask Jack what was going on, he wanted to make sure that his friend was okay, and help if something was wrong. Despite this, Alex also knew that Jack typically came to someone on his own when things were rough, and Alex trusted that this situation would be the same.

After everyone shared an awkward smile at Jack’s response, the four of them walked out the back door of the venue, then onto the bus. They all greeted their driver, who let them know that they’d be stopping for gas once they were out of the area of the venue, then took a seat in the front lounge. Alex was surprised that Jack had joined them, but hoped that this meant that Jack was starting to feel okay from whatever was bothering him, if something had been bothering him at all.

“Alright, well we have a little over an hour until we get to the hotel in the next city, how should we pass the time?” Alex asked his bandmates, earning shrugs in response.

“I think I’m going to go nap in my bunk, I’ll be back there if you need me,” Jack replied, awkwardly getting up and looking down at his feet as he disappeared to the bunk area.

Alex, Rian, and Zack all exchanged confused looks while they waited to make sure that Jack was out of earshot. After a couple minutes, Alex opened his mouth to speak.

“Okay, is it just me, or does he seem a bit off?”

“I was thinking the same thing. Has he talked to one of you guys about whatever’s bothering him? He hasn’t come to me, I would’ve said something if he did,” Zack continued, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Same here, he hasn’t said anything to me, either. I wonder what’s up with him, he normally comes to us when he’s upset over something,” Rian pointed out.

“Exactly, that’s what worries me, it’s not like him to just isolate like this. I mean, he’s normally pretty happy, and doesn’t get upset or sad, so it’s weird that he’s even down about something. I really wanted to ask him what was going on, but I’m hoping he’ll just come to me soon like he normally does. I don’t want to make him feel awkward or anything, but I want to know what’s up,” Alex explained, sighing as he grabbed a bag of chips.

“Well, hopefully he will soon. Maybe he’s waiting until we get to the hotel to talk to you about it, so it can be a bit more private,” Zack suggested, making Alex shrug his shoulders.

“Yeah, maybe that’s it. I guess I’ll find out. Hey, do you guys want to play a game on the Play Station? I kind of want to get my mind off of this,” Alex offered, getting up to turn on the console and grabbing three of the four controllers.

“Sure, we haven’t played anything in a while, but I’m still going to kick both of your asses!” Rian exclaimed, making his friends laugh.

“We’ll see about that, Dawson! Let’s play a racing game,” Zack requested, as Alex selected his profile and the game that Zack had mentioned.

Alex quickly set up the game, then they started to play. As they played, Alex tried his hardest to stop himself from worrying so much about Jack. For all he knew, Jack could be just fine, maybe he was just tired from having to readjust to life on tour. Sure, he normally didn’t have such a drastic personality shift like this on past tours, but they were getting older, maybe that’s what this was. The three of them continued to play until they felt the bus slow down as it pulled into the gas station.

“I want to get some food, or a snack, or something, I’m really hungry. Do you guys want to come with me?” Alex offered, as his friends stood up.

“Sure, that sounds really good. Should we invite Jack?” Rian suggested.

“Yeah, you guys go on in, I’ll see if he wants to go, then meet you inside,” Alex proposed, walking towards the bunks while Rian and Zack made their way off the bus.

Alex knocked on the side next to Jack’s bunk, then saw Jack barely pull back his privacy curtain.

“Are we at the hotel?” Jack asked, his voice small.

“Nah, not yet, we’re at the gas station. I just wanted to see if you wanted to come in with us and grab something while our driver gasses up the bus,” Alex offered, sympathetically smiling at his friend.

“Um, I think I’m going to stay here, I don’t really want anything. Thanks for the offer, though,”

Alex sighed, he wanted to know what was going on, Jack was acting so unlike himself that Alex didn’t even feel like he was talking to Jack, he felt like he was talking to some other person in Jack’s body.

“Okay, um, I guess I’m going to go on in, then. I’ll let you know when we’re close to the hotel. If you think of something you want in the next few minutes, text it to me, and I’ll grab it for you,”

“Thanks, Alex,”

Jack pulled his privacy curtain shut, then Alex heard him shift around in his bed for a moment before the bus was filled with silence. Trying his hardest to not worry about Jack, Alex got off the bus and went into the gas station, where he saw Rian and Zack standing by the slushie machine.

“He didn’t want to come?” Rian asked, filling a huge cup with cherry slushie.

“No, he said he didn’t want anything. I’m still going to grab some snacks for him, just in case he ends up wanting something later. Do you know how far we are from the hotel?” Alex asked, grabbing a slushie cup.

“We’re about twenty minutes out, that’s what our driver said when we saw him filling the bus. I’m so excited to sleep in a real bed tonight, I’ve missed having a real mattress,” Zack continued, making Alex laugh.

“Dude, we’ve been on tour for a week, not two months, you slept in your own bed at home less than a week ago,” Rian pointed out, making Zack shrug his shoulders.

“Hey, it’s not my fault that this bus has mattresses that are clearly from a college dorm! I swear, when we visited our friends who went to college, they had beds that were more comfortable than the ones we have now!” Zack exclaimed, as Alex filled his slushie cup.

“Maybe so, but we have a lot more touring in front of us, so you’d better get used to it! Let’s get in and out of here so we can get to the hotel before it’s insanely late,” Alex suggested, before leaving his friends to browse his snacking options.

After a few minutes of looking around, Alex decided on a couple bags of chips and some candy for himself, and the same for Jack. Once the three of them paid for everything, they got back onto the bus, and took their same seats from earlier. When they were situated, the bus began moving again, as it got back onto the main road.

“I’ll wake Jack up when we’re about five minutes from the hotel. Until then, do you guys want to play again? I think I’m owed a rematch!” Alex exclaimed, grabbing his controller.

“You’re so on, good luck beating me!” Rian replied, as Alex started a new game.

The three of them played and ate their snacks until their driver announced over the intercom system that they were just a few minutes out from the hotel.

“I’m going to go get Jack now, can you guys turn off the console and put everything away?” Alex asked, standing up.

“Sure, we can do that,” Zack replied, walking over towards the Play Station.

Alex walked over to the bunk area, then knocked on the side of Jack’s bed like he’d done earlier. He didn’t get any type of response, confusing him some.

“Jack, we’re just about to be at the hotel, you need to get up,” Alex tried, still knocking.

Alex couldn’t hear Jack at all, and the privacy curtain never moved. As much as he didn’t want to invade Jack’s privacy, he had to get Jack up so they could walk into the hotel, so Alex pulled back the curtain and immediately felt his jaw drop. Jack wasn’t there, his bunk was completely empty, except for a couple pillows and a blanket.

“Oh, shit,” Alex muttered, his mouth still open in shock as he went back out to the front lounge.

“Alex, are you okay? You look like you just shit a brick,” Rian pointed out, as Alex took a seat.

“Jack’s not back there,” Alex finally replied, watching his friends’ faces mirror his own.

“What do you mean he’s not back there? He stayed here when we went to the gas station, where else could he be? Do you think he’s in a different bunk or something? Like, maybe he’s trying to be funny,” Zack suggested, making Alex immediately shake his head.

“No, I didn’t check, but I don’t think he’s in a silly, joking mood right now. You guys can come look with me back there, but I don’t think he’s on this bus,”

The three of them quickly went back to the bunk area, both checking a few beds each with no luck. Alex quickly looked in the back lounge, and Rian checked in the bathroom, both being unsuccessful in finding their friend.

“Fuck, this isn’t good. I’m going to try calling him. Ri, can you tell the driver that we probably have to turn around and go back to that gas station?” Alex requested, pulling out his cell phone and going to Jack’s contact.

Rian walked up to where the driver was, while Zack and Alex sat back down in the front lounge as Alex called Jack. After a few rings, it went to voicemail.

“I just told the driver to turn around, did you reach him?” Rian asked, sitting back down with his friends.

“No, he didn’t answer. I should’ve just asked him earlier today if something was going on, this wouldn’t have happened if I’d just been a good friend in the first place,” Alex continued, sounding upset with himself.

“Hey now, don’t blame yourself for this, dude. You just didn’t want to be invasive, you did think that you were being a good friend. We’ll find him, don’t worry,” Zack assured, putting a supportive hand on Alex’s back.

“We’ll find him if he’s even still at that gas station, what if he’s been wandering since we left? It’s been a while since we were there, he could’ve gotten really far since then,” Alex stated, putting his head into his hands in frustration.

“Wait, I know how we can see where he is!” Rian exclaimed, pulling out his phone and unlocking it.

“What do you mean, Rian? I mean, unless you’ve got some type of chip implanted in him or something,” Alex said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, it’s not in him, it’s in his phone. I’ve never told you this because I didn’t want you to make me disable it, but I have all of your all’s locations on my phone,” Rian replied, showing Alex his screen.

Alex was looking at a map with three icons that had the first letter of his first name, along with Zack’s and Jack’s.

“Right, um, why do you have this? This is borderline creepy, dude,” Zack pointed out, to which Alex nodded in agreement.

“No, it’s extremely useful! On our last tour, there were so many times where Jack and Alex would get plastered on a night off and bar hop without telling anyone. Trying to speak on the phone with you guys would be useless, usually the signal would suck, the bar would be loud, or you’d be too fucked up to form coherent sentences. I put this on all our phones for if that were to happen again, and now I’m really glad I did. It looks like Jack is still at that gas station, sitting behind it,” Rian explained, pointing to the icon with the letter J in it.

“Shit, I guess he is. So, you’re sure that your location tracker thing is accurate, right?” Alex asked, grabbing Rian’s phone and staring at the screen.

“Well, it worked great on our last tour, so it should be. We weren’t in an area with no reception, so it should be current,” Rian replied.

“Man, I hope so. I still can’t believe this happened, I should’ve checked on him when we got back on the bus or something, like, I just feel like this could’ve been prevented had I just tried to be a better friend,” Alex continued, sighing.

“Like I said before, this isn’t your fault, Alex, so don’t blame yourself. It’s all going to be okay, we’re on the way back to him now, and we’ll figure out what’s going on, okay?” Zack assured.

“Zack’s right, this isn’t your fault, but it’ll all be okay. Let’s just try to stay calm until we get back to the gas station,” Rian added, patting Alex’s back.

The ride back to the gas station was the longest fifteen minutes of Alex’s life. Never before had he felt so desperate to be somewhere other than where he was. He knew that he’d be having a conversation with Jack now, and he felt nervous for it; sure, he’d talked Jack down before, but this seemed entirely different than all the past times. Normally, Alex went into conversations like this feeling confident that he could help, but he didn’t feel this way now. He couldn’t help but wonder why Jack didn’t come to him earlier, and why it had to turn into this situation.

Eventually, the bus stopped moving, and Alex saw the gas station from earlier out the window.

“Do you want us to go with you, or do you want to go yourself?” Zack asked, as Alex stood up.

“I think I’m good to go alone, I also don’t want him to feel ambushed or anything. Is he still in the same spot, Ri?” Alex asked, turning his attention to Rian, who was still looking at his phone.

“Yeah, it looks like he is. If you need something, just text us, we’ll be here,” Rian replied, a sad smile on his face.

“Thanks, guys, I’ll be back as soon as possible,”

Alex walked out of the lounge, and thanked the driver for stopping, before walking off the bus, and towards the back of the gas station. Jack was sitting on the ground, his back leaned up against the building, and his head in his hands. He was crying and shivering, as it was a chilly October night.

Alex quietly made his way over to his friend, not wanting to startle him while he was in such a vulnerable position. He slid down the side of the building to sit with Jack, who still didn’t know that Alex was there, then Alex put a hand on Jack’s shoulder, making him jump.

“Shit! Who’s- Alex, is that you?” Jack frantically asked, his quiet voice cracking as he spoke.

“Yeah, it’s me, dude. Sorry to startle you, I didn’t mean to sneak attack you like that,” Alex replied, trying to keep his tone even, despite his nerves.

“What’re you doing here? I figured that the bus left already,”

“Well, it did, we actually almost made it to the hotel. I went to wake you up, and you weren’t in your bunk, or any of the other bunks, or the back lounge, or the bathroom. After panicking that you were gone, we realized that you probably got off here, and came back. What’s going on, Jack? Why did you sneak off the bus to stay here, while almost giving the rest of us heart attacks?” Alex demanded, his tone more stern than he’d intended.

Jack looked back down at his lap as he cried some more. Alex scooted closer to Jack and put an arm around his shoulders, hugging him as tightly as he could while he cried. They stayed like this for what felt like hours to Alex; the uncertainty and cold air made this moment feel like time had been paused for the two of them.

Eventually, Jack’s crying began to subside, and his breathing started to become even. He used the sleeves of his hoodie to wipe his eyes, before turning back to face Alex.

“Sorry about that,” Jack finally said, sounding embarrassed.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay. What’s going on, Jack? You’ve been distant since yesterday, and you’ve had this sad and depressed demeanor that I’ve never seen you have before. To be honest, I wanted to ask if something was up the moment you started acting different, but I didn’t want to pry, you normally come to me, or Rian, or Zack, when something’s going on. What makes this time different?” Alex asked, his tone much more sympathetic this time.

“Um, it’s kind of a lot, if I’m being honest. We can go back on the bus and get to the hotel so we can sleep, if you want,”

“No, that can all wait, I want to see what’s going on with you first, that matters way more to me right now. I don’t want to force you to talk if you’re uncomfortable doing so, but you’ve got to understand, I’m worried about you. You’ve not been yourself, and you snuck off the bus, probably hoping that we wouldn’t realize and come back for you. Please, I just want to help you feel okay again, dude,”

Alex pulled Jack closer, and rubbed circles into his back. Jack shifted around uncomfortably, then finally settled into his spot.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you, but sorry in advance, because it’s probably going to sound really dramatic and stupid,”

“I’m sure it won’t dude, and I’m not going to judge you; I want you to talk to me because you’re my best friend and I love you, and I just want you to be okay,”

Jack took one last deep breath before clearing his throat so he could speak clearly.

“Alright, well, remember how after our last tour, I was diagnosed with depression? I mean, I knew I had depression for a long time before getting that diagnosis, but it was made official then?”

“Yeah, I do. I’ve thought that you’ve been handling that really well since then, to be honest. You’ve not said much about it,”

“Right, well, it’s not really been good since I got that diagnosis. Some things have gotten better, I’ve learned real coping skills that don’t involve me drinking myself into oblivion, but some things have been worse. My thoughts have been a lot lately, um, they’ve been kind of scary, and even if I do all of my new coping skills a thousand times over, the thoughts are still there,” Jack explained, his voice wavering again.

“What thoughts have you been having, Jack?” Alex bluntly asked, still rubbing Jack’s back.

“Quite a few, but the main ones have to do with feeling unwanted. I don’t know what it is, or why I have these thoughts, or how to get them to shut the fuck up, but I’ve been waking up most days lately, feeling like a huge burden on everyone in my life. You guys, my other friends, my family, everyone. Like, I feel like everyone in my life just tolerates my existence because they have to, not because they want to, or because they like me. Sometimes, that gets a little darker and I-“

Jack cut himself off, his voice cracking as he started to cry again. Alex reached the arm that had been at his side the whole time around, so he could wrap Jack into a proper hug.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay. You said it could get darker, what did you mean by that, man?”

“Um, well, I’ve never actually said this out loud to anyone before, even the therapist I was seeing prior to this tour, but, um. The thoughts I just mentioned, sometimes feeling unwanted can make you feel other things, too, things that are just as stupid sounding. There have been days lately where I don’t know if I want to be here anymore, where I don’t know if I want to wake up the next day. I’d never actually do anything to myself, I’m too scared to do anything like that, but sometimes not being here sounds nice, then I wouldn’t have to feel unwanted and like I’m a burden on other people,”

Jack’s tone was shaky and quiet, saying these thoughts out loud was clearly very difficult for him to do. Instead of crying again, Jack focused on taking deep breaths and looking down into his lap. Ever since he’d gotten off the bus earlier, he’d done a great deal of crying, he didn’t feel like he had anymore tears left, and he wanted to speak without getting emotional; he just wanted to communicate how he was feeling, and he wanted to get the thoughts he’d been having somewhere else aside from his head.

“Jack, man, I’m so sorry, I had no idea that you’ve been thinking like that recently. Why didn’t you come talk to me, or the others? We would’ve done everything we could to help you,”

“It’s hard, it’s so fucking hard to talk about, man. Like, I know that everything my mind is telling me is wrong, like, logically, I understand that. Despite understanding that, I still can’t help but think those things, and believe them to be true. Over the last couple days, I’ve been feeling so unwanted, and I wanted to talk to you about it, but I couldn’t make myself do it, it made me feel like a burden. That’s why I decided to sneak off the bus, I didn’t want to keep myself in a space where I was making myself feel unwanted, and I think part of me wanted to see you guys come back for me, to prove myself wrong,” Jack continued, still looking down at his lap.

“Well, did it work? Did you prove to yourself that me and the guys care about you?” Alex questioned, loosening his grip on Jack a bit.

“For now, yeah, it did. You guys actually came back for me, and you’ve proven that you care about me just by having this conversation with me. So, for now, I feel good, but that doesn’t mean that this feeling will last. I bet I’ll wake up tomorrow and feel the exact same way that I have the past few days. I’m not going to do something as stupid as this again, staying behind at what seems to be a pretty shady gas station, but I’ll come up with other stupid shit that I could do instead,”

Jack shifted around a bit, putting his head into his hands. Alex sighed, he hated to hear his best friend talk about himself in this way.

“Well, if you feel like this again, come talk to me, Rian, or Zack. We all love you, man, and we’re happy to listen and help in any way that we can. This band wouldn’t exist without you, and my life wouldn’t be as good as it is if you weren’t in it,”

“You’re just saying that,” Jack replied, rolling his eyes as he looked back over to Alex.

“No, I’m not. Meeting you in eighth grade was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You completely changed my life, partly due to the band, but also just because of who you are. When I met you, I was a shy, insecure kid who was afraid of his own shadow. You took me under your wing on my first day at your school, and ever since then, you’ve talked me up when I’ve needed it, and you’ve been an amazing friend all around. I’m so lucky to have you in my life, and so is everyone else that has that privilege. You’re not unwanted, or a burden, you’re my best friend, and always will be,” Alex assured, making small smiles start to appear on their faces.

“Thank you for that, it means a lot to me. I should’ve just come to you when it started getting bad, I shouldn’t have tried to handle it alone. You’ve always been really good at talking me down in times like this, I should’ve used my resources better,” Jack joked, awkwardly laughing.

“Yeah, you should’ve, but I also could’ve come to you, I could’ve asked you what was going on. I was waiting for you to approach me, I didn’t want you to feel cornered or forced to speak, and I was worried about reading into something that wasn’t even there. I’ll come to you next time I think you need it,”

“Thanks, Alex, that means a lot. Sorry about all this, I didn’t mean to cause such a scene and delay our traveling schedule. Thank you for coming back for me,”

Jack and Alex exchanged a smile as Alex pulled Jack back into a tight hug.

“You don’t have to thank me for that, dude. You’re my best friend, I’ll always be here for you, no matter what. Also, sorry to bring this back up, but the really dark thoughts you mentioned, if you think them again, please let me know. I don’t want you to think about not being here, and shit like that, okay? It’ll never be a burden, I promise,” Alex assured, sounding serious.

“I will, don’t worry. Hey, it’s really fucking cold out here, should we get back to the bus?”

“Good idea, let’s do that. Oh, I grabbed a couple bags of chips and some candy for you when we were here earlier, but if you wanted something else, I think the gas station is still open,”

“Hm, maybe we could take a quick look inside? To be honest, ice cream sounds really good right now,”

“You know what, I was thinking the same thing. Come on, let’s go,”

Alex stood up, then extended his hand to help Jack up. They exchanged one last smile before walking into the gas station together. Alex and Jack knew that this likely wouldn’t be the last conversation like this that they would share, but that was okay. They could always count on one another to be there, and that was all that mattered.

A/N: Hey guys, this was a request for zack_and_alex on AO3! I haven't written a request in a pretty long time, so I really enjoyed working on this! I have more fics in the works, and plan on posting again soon! As always, please send in requests or ideas if you have them. Also, my next fic will be my 300th, which is absolutely insane to me; thank you for the continued support, it means the world. -Liv

[rinnysega]

Letter - A Gustavo Drabble

Mi Lienzo,

How have things been in the Encanto? It’s started to rain almost every day here, and I can’t help but miss Pepa’s sunshine. The roads are getting too slippery for me to walk, so Maria had her sons deliver food to me at the motel so I won’t have to leave. She offered her home during the storms, but I think I need this time to reflect on what I’m doing here.

It’a such a foreign feeling to love yourself. I remember being young and going to Confession where self hate seemed to always be brought up in conversation, and all I can say is I’m glad you didn’t know me back then. That feeling carried me for too long, and now here I am at 60, learning something I’ve been told in church ever since I was born. I always thought love meant to serve others, and it brought me immense joy to do so. It still does. To see the good in others - to love others as they were despite my own self. But lately I’ve had to forgive myself for past things I’ve enabled by looking the other way. It’s a tricky balancing act for a man with a bad leg.

Love comes easy to me for others, but not myself. You know this - we’ve talked about it a lot over those first few dinners when we became a couple. I wish I could be with you now and tell you all I’ve learned but letters will have to do for now.

What I can tell you now is I love myself. I love that I have a gift to share with others. Even if it ends in heartbreak, it felt nice in the moment to exist with someone I may or may not ever see again. For instance, I still think about my bus driver on occasion, and I’m thankful we got to spend a short moment in time together in each other’s life. For others…I’m thankful, but the pain lingers.

Some things I’ve found too much as far as pains of the heart go, and I had to put them away. Not gone or forgotten, but just away. But the things I can cope with? They bring me comfort when it’s late at night and I say my prayers for them. I pray for their happiness as I pray for yours too. Death is constant here in the city. The prayers for the dead seem to get longer each week at Mass. Life is precious. A short burst of energy given to us by the Divine to burn out how we see fit with the free will of humanity that lately has become something of a super power to me (which reminds me, I’m bringing back some comic books for your niece).

Life has more than one meaning, and as I meditate and grieve my losses, I am thankful I got to experience them. It would make me happy to have return back to me what I had to let go of, but life doesn’t stop, and neither can I. I may be 60, but there are new things to discover and create, and hey, it’s true what they say that youth is wasted on the young. Daydreams run away with me imagining what I could have done if I’d done this sooner, but better late than never I suppose.

I look forward to coming home to see you, and I am thankful we are together. I hope we last for a long, long time.

Your Arcilla, Gustavo