#the frog holler

[jacqcrisis]

Hmm, I've never done the tiefling party without sleeping with Astarion and I've already done Gale's Act 1 romance, so what happens when Al goes to sleep?

Oh well that's kind of cute if odd phrasing, but I dig it-

The scream I scumpt.

Alfonso. My man.

[nerdierholler]

Look at these little guys!

[acatpiestuff]

For the prompt if you're still doing it! A Frog that has seen Too Much and is quite concerned about it

a very concerned frog

[earthnashes]

Melon didn't stand a chance.

One moment he's staring the end of their journey over the horizon, and the next he's sent plummeting into the awaiting maw of the trench he stood over by a hearty smack of a claw.

He yelps as he tumbles, twisting in the air for a heartstopping moment before his back meets a crag. Mario's cries are muted by rushing wind as he slips again, falling falling falling--

A heavy thud echoes as he collides--bounces-- off another rock face. His ears rings with the rattling in his skull---

A sharp thwack of his head hitting a jutting ledge, and suddenly Melon doesn't hear-- or feel-- much of anything the rest of the way down.

A metal tang coats his tongue red, and the sting of the air bites against his bruises.

 No weight on his back anymore-- 

Everything hurts. 

--the boy...Mario. Where's Mario? D-did he fall too--

Can't move.

--he needs to get up. His human cub, he could be hurt o-or--- get up--

Stay down.

--get up get up GET UP-- 

Melon stays down, can't muster the strength to listen to the mantra in his head. Instead, all he hears is the desperate wails of Mario, and it's enough to force his eyes open just a sliver. He blearily looks up.

At the edge of the cliff he tumbled from stands the silhouettes he can only barely make out; three huge, three smaller, all laughing and pointing and grinning toothily at the heap of him. The leader- and he must be, with how he leers cockily over the ledge-- sneers down at him.

"Thank ye for the delivery, lad! We've been lookin' all over for this little bastard," he says, and without a care he swings a hollering Mario over the ledge by the scruff. The boy twists precariously in his grip --one slip from falling-- and reaches out for Melon with terrified tears in his eyes. He wails some semblance of his name, and Melon feels his gut twist.

no

"Come now, lad, I see that long face from here; ye nothin' to worry about! Brat may've been a pain in the arse to get, but it'll be worth it in the end. Pirate's Honor: we'll take real good care of 'em," The leader gloats, ugly grin stretching wider as he flicks the boy's nose with a sharp claw. "Just like we have his snivellin' flake of a brother. They'll fetch a fine cut yet."

No no no give him back

"I reckon ye wanna say g'bye at least, aye? I could grant that much, bein' a frog of honor and wot-not." The captain holds Mario high above his head, like an angler would his prized catch, and grins down at Melon from his spot above.

"Go on then. Tell 'em 'afore I change me mind."

Something twisted and ugly clogs Melon's throat with bile and copper. He bares his teeth and tries tries tries to bark, to roar, anything to demand his human cub back to him.

GIVE HIM BACK, his mind screetches. But all that crawls out of his mouth is a rattling, broken whimper. It drags his strength with it by the scruff, spilling in a tiny puddle of spittle and grime and blood as his vision begins to waver. His eyes glaze over and fall closed against his will.

And within the canopy of booming laughs and grating cackles, the last thing Melon hear is Mario's cries.

--------------------------------------------

AND HERE IT IS.

Part 10 of Melon's Adventure, FINALLY COMPLETE, and with it Arc 1 of this story has come to a close!

I'm glad I managed to finish this arc even with it being forced into a hiatus alongside my burnout months back; I had an absolute blast revisiting my childhood and telling the story in a way I've always imagined it as a kid.

Now, given that it's been a while since the last part, I've taken the liberty to compile all of Melon's Adventure into the #melon's adventure tag for ease of access if you'd like to read it back from the beginning!

Despite this marking the end of Arc 1, I'm hoping to make this the start of me delving back into my Super Mario AU, albeit in a slightly different way. There's still plenty of stories there I'd love to share with ya'll. :>

In fact, in related news: I'm actually planning on opening an online store, and my first planned launch will be themed on Melon's Adventure! More information to come on that relatively soon as more work is done.

At any rate, I hope ya'll enjoyed this story! More to come soon! owo

[lilylovestowrite]

Could I request Gepard with a chef! reader who enjoys cooking for him?

Reader loves to spoil Gepard with homemade bread or cake. Upon realizing that he skips meals, reader decided to take action and make him boxed lunches.

SWEET LIKE BUTTERCREAM! ୨♡୧

PAIRING ୨♡୧ (Gepard Landau x Gn! Chef! Reader)

WARNINGS ୨♡୧ None

SYNOPSIS ୨♡୧ Your husband has been neglecting himself, and you decide to spoil him rotten. 

WORD COUNT ୨♡୧ 1.5k

A/N ୨♡୧ Thank you for the request, Anon! I know you didn’t specify whether the reader was married to him or not, but Gepard is so husband material that I couldn’t help myself. Hopefully you don’t mind! Please enjoy!

Divider by @/cafekitsune

“Honey,” Gepard echoes through the entryway to the kitchen, “I’m here.” 

You can’t hear him through the chaos, but he can hear you barking orders at your coworkers. Even your yelling soothes him to a certain degree. Still, he wants you to talk to him, so he shuffles through the tight squeeze in between the kitchen island and the ovens. Honestly, even though he’s a guard, his workplace is almost as dangerous as yours. The smell is heavenly, saffron and spices waking him (and his stomach) from a stress-induced daze, but the discord is immeasurable. 

He can hear you asking (shouting) for someone to check on the tiramisu, followed by a louder, “Thank you!” which makes him chuckle. That’s what the blond first noticed about you: even in dire situations, you never forget your manners. The memory of a rainy day in Belobog flashes through his mind: on his daily rounds, he finds a figure dressed in an adorable frog raincoat, beating a thief with their matching frog umbrella, hollering tearful apologies with each strike. Whilst as a Landau, his teachings have raised him to believe that ‘manners maketh man’, that scene was a rather overexaggerated use of the phrase. Nevertheless, the second he met your teary gaze, he was so enraptured by you that he nearly stumbled into a puddle. He’s about to melt into one too, watching you work away with that little look of concentration that makes him want to scoop you up. 

“Darling?” Your husband calls once more, just metres away from you. Finally, you turn around. Meeting his deep blue eyes, taking in his tired tiny smile and outstretched arms, you leap right into his arms. You’re not one to throw yourself at people, nor are you one for physical touch, but of the many years you’ve known him, Gepard will always catch you if you fall. It’s that trust that allows you to dive into his embrace every time he visits you at work, he’s just so reliable. 

“Hello handsome,” you hug him so tightly he nearly stumbles backwards, “back from work so early?” It’s then that you do a double take at him. Gepard is never home from work early. He’s a doting husband, yes, but he’s an equally hard-working Captain. You hug him harder and realise just how much skinnier he’s gotten. “You must be sick, sit down. Let’s get you to the private lounge.” You take a deep breath, ready to yell once more, and Gepard shuts his eyes in anticipation of another wave of noise-barrier-breaking-banter. “Jiaoqiu, I trust you’ll keep things running?” The new foxian chef nods, and you leave your domain with your husband behind you. 

Working as a chef in a hotel is a stressful job: entitled customers who plant hairs in their food to get a discount, waiting staff who hand in an order that is completely illegible, the loud hustle and bustle of the kitchen. It’s not for the weak, and your employers are appreciative of that fact and give the cooks a little lounge. Even for a five star hotel, it’s amazing they even considered it in the first place. You take full advantage of their kindness and lead your husband to one of the cream coloured couches. The sea is visible from the lounge, full glass windows making you feel as if you’re trapped in an ice cube. The hues of sunset begin to paint the sky, light red casting light on the hollows under Gepard’s eyes. 

“Geppie, you haven’t been overworking yourself and skipping meals again, have you?” 

He looks away, slightly red: “It’s not that bad. It’s just a few meals.” He winces, his soft voice jaded from fatigue. To make matters worse, his stomach rumbles ferociously. He covers his stomach with white gloved hands, blue eyes widening with panic. “Listen, go back to work, love, I promise I’ll eat once we get home. Just, don’t do that thing where you go insane trying to cater to me. You work a full-time job too, don’t let me get in the way. I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself.” 

“You’re a grown man when I saw you are, Geppie. I’m bringing you pasta, just the way you like it.” You flash him a pout, frustration building up inside of you. You hate seeing your husband neglect himself like this, every time you see him convince people around him when he’s fine when he’s obviously struggling, it hurts. You two lead your lives in effortless synchronicity, like a perfectly executed ice skating performance, so observing his health deteriorate when you two are so close it’s like you share the same chambers of your heart is hurtful to you too. You’ve given him his space, but now it’s time for an intervention.

“You don’t have to cook me pasta, darling, I can cook too, you know?” 

You grab both of his legs and rest it on the white fancy coffee table in front of you so suddenly, he startles and jumps back like a frightened rabbit. You fetch him a blanket from the hotel cabinet and drape it over him. “I know you can, love,” you run your hand through his soft hair and he leans into your touch, eyes fluttering shut in ecstasy, “but just let me handle it tonight, okay?”

He yawns, finally giving in. “Okay honey, but only for tonight.” Gepard replies, his Captain’s authoritative lilt leaking into his words. 

But that voice doesn’t work on you, it seems, because the next day during his patrol, you bound up to him like a puppy. Gepard may walk into you at times, and you will greet each other, maybe share a kiss. But you know not to interrupt his work, as any lack of diligence may result in casualties in rare cases. But Gepard doesn’t want to take that gamble. Today, however, in this picturesque sunny day, the sky the shade of his eyes, there is something hidden behind your back. 

“Darling, hello! Are you enjoying your day off- oof!” The second he reaches out to kiss the back of your hand, you smack an adorably wrapped box into his arms. Although he is in his uniform, perfectly built to protect him, he does stumble back slightly. He assesses the box, unwrapping the floral pink fabric that holds it, and finds a bento box. “Wait, love, I love your cooking but we have food at work, don’t waste your day off on-” His voice trails off, because as he looks in front of him again, you’ve already vanished. He shakes his head dismissively, “What a sly fox.” But a few of the Silvermane Guards at the same post as him watch as a wide smile breaks out on his face, along with a blush that turns the tip of his ears a deep pink. 

It has become a daily thing now. And although Gepard feels a bit ashamed that his partner is babying him, the complete truth is that on your days off, he intentionally ‘forgets’ his bento box just so you can find him and hand it to him then. It’s no different three months later, when you stomp up to him in your wellie boots, under your frog umbrella. “Hello, love.” He greets, ruffling your hair and taking the bento box. He looks at the fabric that decorates it and tilts his head to look at you better. “I like the ducks on this one, it’s cute.” When he laughs with the same softness as a tiny bell, you swoon softly, even more so now that he’s gained some of his baby fat back on his cheeks after your rigorous diet schedules. It makes him seem so much more peppier, and now that things are a bit more difficult for you at work, he’s been stepping up and taking care of you too. It shows now more than ever that he’s less overworked. There’s a pep in his step, all signs of tiredness in his face replaced with a healthy glow and rosy tint in his cheeks. He makes your cheeks bloom with heat when he kisses the back of your palm, his common Prince-like greeting. “So, what did you make this time?” 

“I made some linguini and I had some leftover battenburg cake, so that’s in there too! It’s a bit chilly today, so wrap up warm, sweetheart. I’ll get going now, I have to pick up some groceries.” You’re about to turn away, but Gerpard calls your name in such a way, it resembles the light and sweet taste of buttercream. 

“Wait! Before you go,” he sets the bento box on a nearby bench and lifts you up for a kiss. You meet his lips and exchange a cold kiss that ends up warming the both of you up significantly. “I’ll see you at home, angel.” He smiles, putting you down. You say your goodbyes and walk away, heart swelling with affection and excitement for the next time he opens the door to your house so you can leap into his arms once again. 

[weebsinstash]

Really like the idea of a yandere Vox who is so ride or die for his overconsumerist capitalist Musk-esque lifestyle UNTIL he sees it negatively affecting his darling and does a complete 180

like take that poly red string soulmate Vox x Reader x Alastor concept and, you've got Alastor KINDA warming up to technology and willing to watch TV and do other things with you but he's still not a fan of you being on your phone constantly and some of the video games and movies you consume. He's on the couch reading a paper and (affectionately) rolling his eyes as you and Vox take turns headshotting each other in a video game and hollering "hell yeah, suck my fucking dick!!"

Meanwhile Vox is just 200% chronically online and loving it until one day he asks you why you wear baggy clothes all the time and you're ever so casually replying "because my body is fucking icky, duh" and Vox has absolutely no idea what you're talking about until you break down on a tangent about it

I was watching a clip the other day where someone was pointing out that Marilyn Monroe was considered the 50s icon of beauty and there are plenty of photos with her with thick thighs or a visible belly pooch and, imagine Vox sitting there, the disbelieving 'are you joking?' smile falling off of his face as you just, go OFF, "why would I wear anything other than sweatpants? I have fucking CELLULITE VOX, I'll NEVER have leggings legs no matter how thin I am, and look at my hip dips, they're so fucking GROSS, and my butt isn't shaped right, I have banana rolls, and, do I have siren eyes or doe eyes?! Am I bunny cute or am I frog cute?! And look at how bad my facial balancing is! Ugh, where's my gua sha?! I'm so tired of being UGLY!!"

Later that week Alastor is looking up from his paper to see Vox just, slowly entering the room, sloooooowly shutting the door behind him, looking to his old friend, "so hey! Funny idea, stop me if you've heard this one before but, I was thinking we could uh, maybe take their phone away annnnnnnnnnd... not give it back?" and here's Alastor, "oh, funny story! So earlier today they asked me if I 'wouldn't like them anymore' if they got COSMETIC SURGERY, yeah, ON THEIR FACE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, so, naturally, I'm already one step ahead of you :)" as he just casually gestures to the smashed wifi router in the garbage can in the corner of the room

You just get home from work one day and Vox has his CRT head back on and you're told 'if you want to look something up online, you can use the desktop in the computer room, and only 3 hours of screen time' and it all but blasts you 15 years into the past 💀 no more nights where you're gaming for 5+ hours straight and ruining your sleep. No more skipping meals because you're hyperfocused and binge-watching an anime while also playing an idle game on your phone. No more Alastor and Vox finding out you're just smoking bowls for hours literally nonstop because you need some sort of extra stimulation while you doomscroll and watch 3 hour long roast reviews for shows you've never watched

Alastor catches you swiping through an app and you get a divisive video thrown in your face from some alpha dude bro podcast, "yeah, a real man knows how to protect his lady! She should be at home cooking and keeping the house clean, not running around like a tramp and doing dumb chick stuff! All women need to focus on is marriage and being good wives, you know, a TRADITIONAL relationship!" and Alastor is just, swiping that shit out of your hand, "he DOES have a bit of a point, repulsive as he is! I suppose I'll have to start looking at potential dwellings that can fit you, me, and, I SUPPOSE Vox too 🙄" and little do you know he's already got a cute little home in the 'burbs set up already. He's just... you know! Waiting for the right moment to let you and the annoying TV bastard know that you'll be moving! Maybe he'll just... wait until the day of! Nothing beats a fun surprise, right? ^^ he doesn't want either of you... trying to run away or anything after all haha!

[froody]

There’s this TikTok trend about seeing yourself in the lives and photographs of relatives who passed before you were born. I look a lot like my grandmother’s brother Robert who suffered a traumatic injury at birth and died of the measles in 1950 when he was only 11. We have the same eyes, same big dark brown eyes with long eyelashes, same round face, same thick and wavy dark hair. We looked exactly alike when we were babies. He never gained the ability to walk or talk but great grandmother loved him so much and was so devastated when he died. My grandma told me how much I looked like him. Apparently when I was a child, I’d see photos of him and say “Is that me?”.

He never got the chance to grow up due to a disease that wouldn’t have a vaccine for another 13 years. Due to the medical malpractice at his birth, he was robbed of the chance to do a lot of things boys his age in his era loved to do. Run, holler, catch frogs, climb trees, play cards. But for every day of his 11 years on this earth, he was with his mama who loved him so deeply. He got to meet his baby sister, who loved him for his gentleness and quiet comforting company. He got to eat delicious home cooked meals everyday. He got 10 Christmases, 10 beautiful Virginia summers.

He lives on in me. His memory lives on in me. His face, so like my own face, smiling at me from photographs.

[stargazing-imagines]

New Girl ( Conrad Fisher x Fem!reader )

Description: your family decides to take a summer vacation to cousins beach for the first time, but what happens when you catch the eyes of none other Conrad Fisher

Warnings: none,

A/n this is my first tsitp imagine so please be nice! 😂

Part two

You sat in the back seat of your cousins SUV as you and you’re family were driving to cousins beach for a family vacation. Everyone of your family took 3 cars, your aunt and uncle and their family, your mom and dad, and your grandparents. It was a 4 hour car ride and you were getting tired of the constant bickering that you endured with your cousins which consisted of what movie to watch. Princess and the frog, or Spider-Man.

“Mommy! I want to watch tiana!” Said your little cousin at the age of 5, who was in her Princess car seat

“But I want to watch Spider-man!” Said your other cousin who was the age of 8

“Guys guys, you both can watch both movies at the beach house.” Said your aunt as she looked at the two kids “now we’re almost there, why don’t you guys bother Y/n.”

‘Great’ you thought as you sunk in the very back seat looking out the window

After an hour driving, and Ambree’s constant bickering about all the things that she wants to do this summer even though she’s five, you finally arrived

“Finally.” You said as you got out of the car

“Y/n wait for me!! I have little legs!!” Shouted Ambree as she tried to get lose from her car seat “mommy!”

You ignored your family as you took in the glory. The wind in the air that brushed your long y/h/c hair, the smell of the ocean breeze in the air, let’s just say that this was long needed after being in the car with your cousins for 5 hours

“Y/n help me with the bags will you?” Asked your mother as she had 3 bags in her arms as she carried them in, you walking to the trunk of the car until you heard something in the distance

“Hey!”

You looked up confused at the boy.

“Hey?” You said

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here.” Said the boy as he walked closer to you “I’m Jeremiah by the way, I’m in the house next door.”

“Y/n.” You said as you shook his hand “this is actually my first time visiting this place.” You said as you tried to get a bag out “I’m here with my family for the summer.”

“Cool!” Said Jeremiah as he smiled, you two looked at each other before you were interrupted by Ambree

“Y/n, you promised me you would play princesses with me.”

You looked down at your little cousin before muttering something under your breath

“I told you I’m not playing princesses with you.”

“Im telling mommy!” Said Ambree as she ran off hollering towards your aunt

“Princesses?”

“Don’t ask…” you said “the perks of being the only oldest cousin in the family.”

“Well if you ever need an escape you can always come over if you would like.”

“Thanks, I’ll take that into consideration.” You said, you were interrupted when your aunt hollered your name

“Y/n L/n, you get over here!”

“I better go.”

“Ok see you around.” Said Jeremiah as he waved at you, watching you walk away before walking away himself

——

It’s been a couple weeks, and you heard that there was a party down at the beach, you wanted to go but you were afraid of what your parents would say, so you snuck out until you got caught by your mom

“Where are you going?” Asked your mom as she was putting dinner away into the fridge “and why are you dressed like that?”

You looked down at your outfit, which consisted of a red and black striped cropped top, and some Jean shorts, along with some black strappy sandals before looking back up at your mom

“Clothes…” you said “I’m actually going next door, Jeremiah invited me.” You lied

“Ok just be home by 11.”

“12?” You said as you let out a big smile, hoping that it would convince your mom of extending your curfew

“Make it 11:30! And that’s it!”

“Thank you mom.” You said as you hugged your mom before walking out

——

You arrived at the Beach, you were standing around being new to the area was kinda hard as you didn’t know anybody, that was until you saw a familiar face.

“Y/n you made it!” Said Jeremiah as he approached you, drink in hand “I want you to meet Steven.”

“Hi,” you said as you waved at him “I’m y/n.”

“I heard some great things about you.”

You nodded your head, before rubbing the back of your neck sheepishly, that was until you caught someone staring at you

“That’s Conrad.” Said Jeremiah as he noticed you looking his direction “he’s my brother.”

“Oh, cool.” You said, you looked down at your phone before realizing that it was past 11:15 “sorry I have to get going, promised my mom I’ll be home by 11:30.”

“Ok, you should come over sometime.” Said Jeremiah as smiled at you before walking away, leaving steven behind

“It was great to meet you,” said steven “by the way, welcome to cousins beach.” Then he walked away.

You did a salute before walking the other direction, that was until someone stopped you

“Hi, I don’t believe I’d seen you around here.”

“Oh, that because I’m new here, my family and I are staying at a beach house for the summer.”

The boy smiled before extending his hand

“I’m Conrad.”

“Y/n.” You said as you shook his hand, which lasted about 10 seconds before you let go of his hand “I better get going.” Then after that you walked away leaving him staring at you as he smiled.

——

The summer I turned pretty masterlist

[spidercookie18]

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒖𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒅𝒆

The Lost Boys 1987 AU set in modern time. None of the boys died, and all the Emersons/Star/Laddie/Frog brothers are vampires. This is explained later…

Tags: General violence, halfing vampire, swearing, choking, mentions of suicide/death/kidnapping/dangerous acts, unprotected sex, breeding, scenting, degradation/praise, use of y/n, afab, use of she/her. MINORS DNI Word Count: 8.6k Previous chapter here: Next chapter here:

“No one should suffer what I suffered. I still dread those scenes when man killed man. I lost my parents, most of my family, by running away.” — Milkha Singh

Chapter Two:

It had been over a week since David last saw you. He went by your house most nights and saw that your lights were off, and your truck was gone. He noticed that wherever he tried to mark as ‘his’, was gone the next night. Your scent had the same potency each time he went back, so he knew you were there during the day, which he was fairly sure you knew he wouldn’t be by to bother you then.

Where the fuck did she go. David's thoughts kept returning to the memory of you and how he longed to feel you against his flesh once more.

He was irritable again, and the other boys noticed. He had been avoiding Max as he was sure he’d be able to smell you on his clothes, and he didn’t want to get yelled at – if that was all Max would do, David thought. He groaned with frustration as he put on his boots.

“Come on man, are you fucking going back there again?” Paul yelled at David as he was walking up towards the mouth of the cave.

“Shut up Paul,” David grumbled, not turning.

“Dude you’ve gone like every night this week,” Paul responded.

“Yeah man, it’s not like she’s going anywhere, all her stuff is there, right?” Marko said, turning the bag of chips upside down into his mouth. “So why don’t we go out,” Marko tried to appeal to David, his mouth full of chips.

“This really isn’t healthy behavior, David,” Dwayne said, casually throwing some candy into his mouth.

David grumbled; he was annoyed but knew they were right. He felt a pang in the pit of his stomach, he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep, he was on edge all the time. He sighed, “fine,” he turned back to the boys, “I got to get out of my head,” David said, grabbing the keys to his bike. “Let’s go crack some skulls,” he smiled a dark smile and the boys rallied behind him. They grabbed their jackets and headed to the bikes.

“Hell, yeah man!”

“Woo-hoo”

“Let’s go kick some teeth in!”

The boys yelled as they followed David up out of the mouth of the cave towards the bikes. They sped down the hill and towards the city, hollering the whole way.

They rode into town and up the boardwalk to a spot they knew would cause a commotion. They wanted to roll heads tonight, and where better to do that than where you’re ever so despised.

They parked outside a new ice cream shop that had been open a few weeks and there was still a line of people waiting to get in. They skidded to a stop loudly and revved their engines to turn all the heads.

The boys loved attention and smiled and chuckled at the contorted and angry faces that stared back at them. David looked over at his brothers and asked who they thought would be able to put up a good fight, they all laughed.

“So, y’all just constantly go around terrorizing people is that it?” A voice cleared itself behind David; he turned and saw you.

He had been looking for you all week and suddenly, the second he stopped trying, you appear.

The boys all turned to look at you, “can we help you?” Marko spat, clearly still pissy from the bar.

You looked over at him and rolled your eyes, then looked back at David, “I need you to move your bikes for the night.”

David shook his head in disbelief at how haughty you were being right now. “You want to run that by me again?”

A few minutes before, you had finally got to the front of the line for the new ice cream shop that you had been dying to try since you first stepped on the boardwalk. You’d been much too busy with work this week and finally had a second to yourself to go get a little treat.

It had taken much longer than you had initially thought to get your sweets, and it was now dark out. You finally reached the front of the counter and tried to order some of your favorite ice cream.

“I’m so sorry, but we’re out,” the boy behind the counter told you.

Just my luck...You sighed, “fine, can I get…”, you scanned the menu for something that wasn’t marked ‘unavailable’. “Can I just get a churro with caramel?”

The young man behind the counter apologized again for the inconvenience and turned to tell your order to his coworker. “I haven’t seen you in here before,” the young man tried to make small talk while your food cooked.

“Yeah, I’m new in town. I’ve been wanting to come here all week.” You watched him stare at your breasts from under the brim of his uniform hat and you handed him the money from your bag.

As you waited, you heard the roar of motorcycles coming up the boardwalk and turned to see David and the boys park opposite of the shop. They immediately begin provoking the customers standing outside, and you chuckled. Those idiots.

The cashier groaned and turned to his buddy, “they’re back again.”

“God damn it,” the other teen responded. “Well, I’m not going out there again, you tell them to move.”

“Nuh-uh, I’m not going out there,” the cashier quickly responds. He takes the churro and places it in a white paper bag and starts to hand it to you.

“I bet I can get em to move,” you say pointedly. The teens look at you with wide eyes.

“Yeah, fat chance,” the one furthest laughs out.

“No, I’m serious, I bet I could.”

They turn to look at each other, “...okay,” the cashier begins to haggle with you, “what do you bet?”

You think for a second, “tell you what, Charlie,” you nod at his name tag, “I bet, that I can get them to move for the night...for an extra churro.” The cashier smiles, “and all the money in the register,” you finish saying. The one making the food scoffs, “and if I can’t, then...” you stare at the cashier and wink at him, “I’ll let you take me on a date.”

The cashier makes a face like he’s thinking. He’s weighing the options of the ridiculous bet; no chance you get them to move, he can’t lose. He smiles down at you, “I’ll throw in the churro, and you got yourself a deal.”

You take the small crinkly bag from him and walk out the door, they’re both watching as you walk up to the ‘biker gang’.

“If you move, I’ll make it worth your while,” you raise an eyebrow at David.

He looks you up and down, “what do I get out of this,” he sneers at you. He wants to be upset at your demeanor, but you look adorable in the green off the shoulder dress you’re wearing.

“First,” you waggle the food in front of him, “this churro, but you have to snatch it from me… Second, is the cashier looking?” You turn to point with the churro at the shop.

David leans on his bike to see around you, “yeah?”

“Okay, well I made a bet with him that I could get y’all to move for a prize, and if I lose then I have to go on a date with him.”

David scrunched up his face in a frown at the sound of your words, you could hear him growling lightly.

“And I really don’t want to do that, so…” you trailed off.

“Well, what’s the second part?” Paul chimed in.

“It’s a surprise,” you smiled sweetly at the boys. David stared at you with a blank face, unamused by your little ‘bet’.

“Please,” you asked, with honey dripping from your words, “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

He looked back at the boys, who also seemed bored by the idea. But he really didn’t want you going off with some human, on a date.

“Fine,” he stated, and the boys started to protest at the idea. “Enough,” David’s response was quick and scathing. He looked back at you, “if you even think of weaseling out of this…” he narrowed his eyes.

“It’s not like you don’t know where I live,” you remind him; that’s exactly the point he was trying to make. “I’ll meet you on the far end of the boardwalk in fifteen mi-”.

David cut you off, “you’ve got ten.”

You smiled at him, “deal,” you took a step back and the boys started up their engines; David easily snatched the snack from you. They rode two circles around you, David was eyeing you the whole time- the image of sharks in the water crossed your mind. Then they took a turn down the stairs of the boardwalk, swung around on the sand and headed off in the direction you agreed upon. You could hear them hollering as they rode off on the beach, you walked back into the ice cream shop and sauntered up to the counter.

With slack jaws, the teens watched as you nodded towards the register.

“What… what did you say to them?” The cashier asked.

“Oh, I just told them if they didn’t move, you’d come outside and kick their asses.”

The one further away walked up to his friend, who stood frozen behind the cash register. “My dad is going to kill me,” the cashier whispered, unmoving.

He looked over at his friend who’d elbowed him, “come on man, fair is fair.”

“Tell you what, how about I take you out tomorrow?” You smiled up at the cashier and his nerves seemed to have been soothed. As he looked at you, his eyes became glossed over, his expression became blank, and he slowly, and unwillingly opened the register and emptied the drawer into a plastic bag. The one that was prepping food handed you another churro in a small crinkly bag. “Pleasure boys,” you took both and walked out of the shop.

It took less than the ten minutes you’d thought it would to walk over to where the boys were. “You’re almost late,” David yelled at you.

“No, I’m not,” you smiled and tossed the heavy plastic bag at him.

He reacted fast and the bag hit his gloved hands with a THUNK, he looked inside at all the money you’d just given him. “What’s this?” The boys were by his side curiously looking in the bag as well.

“It’s the other part of your gift,” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Dude that’s gotta be like six hundred bucks!” Paul shouted and happily shook David by the shoulders. The boys are happily bouncing on the balls of their feet and David, who was still sitting on his bike looks up at you.

You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly, “yeaaah, sorry. I thought they’d have more cause they’re so busy; but I guess most people don’t pay with cash anymore huh?”

David was more than pleased with how the bet played out, he flashed you a toothy grin, “not bad, Y/N.” 

“Oh, but there is one more thing,” you said as David handed the money to Dwayne to stuff in his saddlebag. “The cashier, Charlie, he’s still expecting a date,” David gritted his teeth, “so can you, like, do whatever it is you do to make people go away?”

The boys snicker, “what makes you think we just make people ‘go away?’” Marko laughs.

You shrugged, “well, they seemed scared nuff’ of you, so I figured you could fix my little problem.”

David laughed and gestured for the boys to head back to their bikes, “sure, we can do that.” David nodded to Marko who led the boys off on the bikes, presumably to fulfill your request. It was just you and David standing on the boardwalk now as you watched the boys ride off and out of sight. 

“While I’m not upset with the money,” David turned back to look at you, “I was picturing something a little…different when you said you’d ‘make it worth my while’.”

You giggled, “you don’t think you can charm my pants off the old-fashioned way?”

David laughed heartily, “hop on, I want to take you somewhere,” he grinned sweetly. You moved over to the bike and threw a leg over and tucked the hem of your dress under your thigh so it wouldn’t fly up as you rode. You wrapped your arms against David’s waist, you felt so warm against him, he throttled the handle, and you felt the vibrations against your core.

“I like to go fast,” he turned back to you, “so, don’t let go.” You squeezed tighter, and he took off. You were flying down the road; he wasn’t kidding when he said he went fast, you thought.

You leaned into David’s ear, “if you’re gonna kill me, can you at least make it quick?”

You can feel him give a deep laugh over the sound of the bike and the wind, “I’ll try to remember that.” 

You rode by a lighthouse on your right, and you could see the light turning as the two of you sped past it. You wanted to ask where he was taking you, but the air felt electric; you were too nervous to speak up, so you just held onto him. The ride itself wasn’t very long, maybe five, ten minutes, but the way David was driving made it feel frighteningly long. He zigged and zagged through traffic, and you thought he’d kill you both more than a few times. Every time you asked him to slow down, he’d speed up; so, you just stopped asking.

“Don’t ya trust me Y/N?” He’d yell over his shoulder.

“No!” You’d shout, and the way you were pressed up against his back you would feel him laughing.

There was one point where he was trying to pass someone on the two-lane road where you were sure you were going to bite the big one. He was tail-gating damn near every car he’d passed but this one wasn’t going to let it go; when he moved into the next lane, the car sped up.

You saw from over his shoulder there was another car coming from the lane you were in, “David,” you tried to get him to move back over, “David there’s a car coming.” He didn’t care, he wanted to feel your heartbeat against him, he wanted to smell the fear coming off you. “David, the car!” It was almost too close a call; at the last second, he gunned it in front of the driver that wouldn’t let him pass and ran them off the road. You turned to watch the car slide off into a ditch, and you could feel David laughing again. “Holy crap,” you clutched to him; “David I want to get off,” you hid your face in his jacket.

“We’re almost there,” he grumbled.

“No! I want to get off now!” You dug your nails into his side.

“Fuck!” He grunted and kept driving.

“David!”

He kept going; you dug in harder, and you could hear him wince with pain. “Calm down already!” He shouted at you, “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you!”

“Please,” you were whimpering into his shoulder; to be fair, he was probably a much better rider than you were giving him credit for, but for Christ’s sake it wasn’t fun anymore. It wasn’t much longer till he pulled off the main road and turned towards the shoreline. You were riding up hill and he stopped the bike when you were at the top.

“Happy?” He kicked out the stand and turned back to look at you.

Your face was still pressed against his back in terror. “Take me home David.”

He sighed at your response, “if I take ya home now, I’m just gonna drive the same way.”

“Then I’ll walk,” you grumbled.

“Will you fucking look up already? It wasn’t even that bad.” He stepped off the bike and watched you hide your face in your hands. He almost felt bad at how scared you were, almost. He rolled his eyes at you, David had enough of your behavior. He leaned down to brush your hair behind your ear, “come on Y/N.” You sheepishly pulled your hands away from your face.

The view before you was gorgeous; the moon was so full and so perfectly placed above the cliff you stood on. The lights from the city were all but gone, and you could see every star in the sky. The waves crashed on the rocks below you and you couldn’t hear anything but the sound of the scenery.

You stood from the bike in awe, “wow,” you held your breath.

“Told ya,” David crossed his arms smugly.

You took in the scenery a little bit longer, staring up at the stars; without looking at David you started to tell him off, “if you drive like that again without letting me know,” you looked over at him with wide eyes, “I’ll fucking kill you.”

He laughed again from the pit of his stomach, “alright, alright, I’ll let ya know next time.”

He walked over to you and placed his hand behind your neck. Before you could react, he pulled your face to his and kissed you deeply. He tasted like cigarette ash and the cinnamon sugar from earlier. You tried to pull away from him, but he held you tightly; his other hand came up to your cheek, and he pushed his tongue into your mouth. “Mrmph”, you struggled against him. “David,” you whimpered, he smiled against your lips. You felt your body start to get hot, you were still so angry with him, but he was so strong. You wanted to trust he wouldn’t hurt you, but you knew exactly what he was. His hand behind your neck traveled up to the back of your hair and pulled down hard, “aah!” He smiled against your neck, your whimpers and moans sounded so sweet to him; you felt him kissing and sucking marks on your skin, his grip turning into his nails in your skin. You were mewling at his touch, “David,” you breathed out. He loved the way his name sounded off your lips. So sweet, so full of want, for him. You felt his teeth scratching against your skin as he continued to suck marks into your flesh.

“Not so hard,” you whimpered, and felt his fangs grow, you could hear him growling under his breath, you could see his eyes glow under his lashes. He started biting lightly, then harder. “Not so hard David.” You knew what was coming next, you felt his sharp teeth getting ready to rip into you; you reached down into your bag and searched as quickly as you could. By the narrowest margins, David’s fangs had pierced your skin, when he was stopped by a cold piece of metal against his temple. 

He heard the gun cock. “I said, not so fucking hard, David,” you panted out the words, and he pulled slowly away from you.

Without turning his head, he eyed the gun, then looked back at you. He raised his hands up by his head and stared at the gun nervously. “Take it easy there,” he watched you intently, as he blinked, his glowing amber eyes turned back to their normal blue. “If this is about the drive over, then I’m sorry, alright?”

You stared directly into his eyes, “no, I think you know what this is about.”

His eyes narrowed, “you know.” It was more a statement than a question.

“Uh-huh,” you nodded.

“How long?”

“Pretty much immediately,” you said pointedly. “You guy’s made it really easy.” He scrunched his face up, “you all were sniffing me like…animals.” David rolled his eyes, keeping his hands above his head, “also, you’re going to STOP pissing on my fucking lawn.”

He stepped forward to defend himself, “Alright I can explain th-”,

“Ah-ah,” you waggled the barrel of the gun in his face; he stepped back in place.

“You know they’re gonna kill that guy, Charlie, right?” He raised an eyebrow at you.

“Why do you think I asked y’all to get rid of him for me?” 

He laughed weakly, “so…you gonna kill me?”

You scoff at his words, “this was never about that,” David raised an eyebrow in curiosity, “I just wanted you to stop biting me.”

He exhaled in relief and put his hands down. “Fuck me, you had me there for a second,” he placed his gloved hand on his stomach and laughed gratefully that he wasn’t going to be shot in the face.  

“David,” you kept the gun pointed at him, “you can’t have my blood unless I say so, got it?” He stared at the gun and tried to keep from growling. “And,” you continued, “I don’t want your blood… Give me your word.”

He groaned at your demands.

“David I’m serious.”

“Fine, fuck!” He growled out, “you have my word.”

You turned the gun from him and decocked it. In an instant, he’s on you; your back is pressed hard against the ground. Your teeth clang as your head hit the dirt below, and your ears rang loudly. You strained to focus on the vampire before you, your double vision cleared to reveal David and his glowing amber eyes. His features start contorting in anger, “what makes you think I won’t just kill you now?” His hands around your throat, squeezing hard, and you can hear the blood pounding in your ears.

You reached for the pendant around your neck and held the vial up for him to see, “do it.” 

He held it in one hand and sniffed it. “What is this?” His voice dark and distorted.

You cough, “do you think I knew what you were off of a hunch?” He squeezed harder, the pressure behind your eyes making you nauseous, “you’d be doing me a favor,” you choke out, tears running down the side of your cheeks.

He turned the vial in his hand and saw a bubble move across the surface. He released his hold from your throat and stood quickly to his feet. “Whose blood is that!”

You cough and rub your throat, “my sire.” He feels his stomach churn at your words. You sat up on your elbows, “he killed my family, everything I ever loved was destroyed by his hate,” you yell at David. “He wanted to turn me, and I told him I would kill us both…”, you stared off over the cliff and let the tears come to your eyes. Your voice cracking as you spoke, “I told him if he spared my life that I would never run from him, never fight him… I would just be…his.” David was in disbelief; his body was in anguish at the words that came from your mouth, like poison in his veins. “I ran away from him thirty-five years ago,” you tucked the vial back into your dress. “I’ve been running ever since,” you stared up at him, and wiped the tears from your cheeks. 

David was livid, you were his. He didn’t care who had claims on you, you were his now. He knelt down to snatch the vial from you.

“If you do that I’ll die.”

He growled and let the vial fall to your chest. “Then take my blood.”

“David! I just told you I don’t want it!”

He gripped your jaw harshly and snarled in your face.

“I am not tethering myself to another vampire,” you shouted back at him, “not after all I’ve survived!” 

He bared his teeth against your neck and pulled away resentfully to keep himself from biting down, “you are more than flesh and blood can bear!” 

David sat on your waist, angrily. He claimed you as his before he met you, the second he smelled your scent, he claimed you. You stared at him, defiantly. His nostrils flared as he stared down at you from his position. “You’re smelling him, that’s why you’re drawn to me.” David placed his head in his hands, he felt he was running out of ways to rationalize keeping you. “It’s instincts! Alphas seek out other alpha’s mates, it’s part of why war is waged for territories… we’re the only ones that can bear the weight of your love.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “just… stop talking for a second.”

You sighed, crossed your arms in frustration, and laid back down on the ground.

So, this is what Max was going on about. 

David had known for some time that there were vampire lords all throughout the world. They were sires to many, and masters of their vast territories. They were, ‘for all intents and purposes, kings,’ Max had explained to him once. And that it was best to avoid them at all costs. “Fuuuuuuuuuck!” David shouted into the night. 

Why couldn’t he have just said that.

Should he kill you? Was it easier to just remove you from his life? No, like you said, it was instincts, he wouldn’t be able to do it. Could he get one of the other boys to do it? No, he felt sick just thinking about your death. David stared down at you; your attention was off over the cliff somewhere. Were you thinking of running away from him too? No, you ran away from…, “what’s his name?”

“Montgomery,” you didn’t look over at David, you stayed pretending you were somewhere else. 

She ran away from, him because he was a bad pack leader.

Whatever he had done to you to make you break a vow and stay on the run for all these decades was something that David would never drive you to.

I’ll never make her run away; he thought as he looked softly down at you.

“What David,” you looked up at him finally, still fuming.

Whatever you had said and done to keep your old alpha from turning you must have been enough that he thought it was easier to bewitch you into being a halfling. David knew he wouldn’t be able to turn you and keep you from murder suicide, not forever. He knew his persuasion didn’t work on you, so he couldn’t force you to be docile, especially not if he turned you. There was only one way to keep you from leaving.

David raged against the thought, he bellowed and screamed in his mind. His nails gripped into his palms with all his force, if the gloves weren’t on his hands, he would have surely bled on you. Civility was not something David actively practiced; nor was he used to not just taking the things he wanted, things he claimed as his. He took a deep breath in, sighed, and reluctantly got off you. He threw himself on the ground beside you and looked up at the sky, still raging in his mind.

“I don’t want you to run away…” you looked over at him as he spoke softly, “I won’t drive you to that.” He said, it was almost a whisper.  He sighed, loudly. He threw his hands up to his face, and pulled down on his skin, with a groan.

“Thank you…” you uncrossed your arms and smiled at him.

You could hear him growling, and the creak in his gloves as he continued to clench his fists. “This feels AWFUL,” he protested.

You laughed, “I’m sure it does,” you placed a hand gently on his arm. “You’re not really supposed to go against your instincts.” 

David looked over at you, a look of annoyance on his face, “I could still kill you; you know.”

You rolled your eyes at him; you knew he didn’t mean it, but were sure he didn’t know how to process these new feelings without lashing out at you. As you watched him, you noticed his coats had lain open when he threw himself on his back. The edges of leather and wool falling off from his abdomen and onto the grass by his sides. Breathing in, you could finally smell him.

Leather, oil, cigarettes, salt…David.

His scent filled your nostrils and swirled around in your lungs. You could feel your chest heave as you panted, breathing in more of him. It was the first time you noticed his scent. Not even when you were wrapped around him on the bike could you smell it. The coats did a very good job of masking him, and as his air filled you, you instinctively began to squirm. Your body becoming hot, the flush in your cheeks; your heartbeat quickened. You could hear little over your own panting, but David could hear you quite well. He cocked his head as you tried to stifle a whimper.

“I can help you though,” you kicked off your shoes. You needed something to quell the fire in your loins. You slid on top of David and sat atop his hips. You leaned down to kiss him, you felt you could trust him; but more importantly, all the screaming and yelling and raging fell utterly unimportant in comparison to the instinct that demanded you roll your hips against his.

 If he was willing to give you his word, he wouldn’t feed on you or try to turn you; and he wouldn’t hide you away from the world like some stolen prize, maybe he wasn’t the vampire you thought he was.

You put your hands to the sides of his face and kissed him deeply, he sat up with you still on him. You moaned into his mouth, and let your hands wander down to slip off his jacket.

“No,” he whispered into your skin, he stopped you from taking them off.

He shrugged you off his shoulders and slid his hands under your dress to pull it off you. You stayed kissing him while your hands unbuckled his belt, and feverishly unbuttoned his jeans. He put a hand to the back of your head and pulled you closer to slip his tongue in your mouth. “Mmhm,” you whined and grinded your hips down on his stiffening cock. He was kneading your breasts and moved his hands around your back to unclasp your bra. “David,” you whimpered, and he smiled against your skin. You loved the way he sounded when he chuckled, so deep, and dark; he excited you so. David kissed and licked your nipples, “ahh.” He was enjoying the feeling of your soft, plush breasts in his hands. He loved hearing you melt for him.

David pushed you down on your back- you always forgot how strong vampires were- and you giggled as he nibbled down your neck. He pulled away from you and took off your panties; his gloved fingers hooked under the thin fabric, and he kissed down your legs as they came off. He put them to his nose and took a long inhale, and you felt a blush come to your face at the sight. You saw his pointed ears twitch with excitement and his eyes flashed bright blue to a deep orange. David stuffed them in his pant pocket, “you’re not getting these back.” His voice was deep and slightly distorted again. You giggled and he shoved his jeans down enough to free his cock. 

David was big, enough to make you clench around nothing at the sight of it. Not overly long, maybe six, six and a half inches, but he was impossibly thick. He had plum, prominent veins running along the underside and one on the top, his fat tip already leaking precum. You gulp, and he laughs at your reaction. “You might be too big for me, David…” you make a worried look, and he runs a gloved finger up your slit.

You mewl under his touch, and he chuckles, “you’ll take me just fine, darlin.”

He circles his finger around your clit as you begin to whine for him, “aah, fuck.”

You bite your lip and look up at him, he brings the finger to his mouth and licks your love off it. “Fuck, you taste so sweet,” he moans, and grips your hips tightly to pull you to him, you yelp as he drags you. He pushes his pants down further around his thighs and you chuckle nervously as his ample balls sway lightly. He He’s smiling down at you, licking his lips; he lines up with your cunt and presses into your heat.

You cry out as he stretches you to what feels like past your limit. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, David,” you push your hand against his hips to keep him from driving more of himself in, and he ignores your pleas. With force, he slams his hips against your ass, and you move to grip his forearms. Your nails are digging into his coats, and he growls as he pushes into you to the hilt. David gives you no mercy, and you can feel the wind be knocked out of you in shock. His cock is pulsing as he nestles against your cervix, you’re whimpering, and he tries to remind himself you’re still part human. David huffs as he tries to regain himself, his fingers digging into your hips. You wrap your legs against his waist to try and keep him from moving. “Wait,” you gasp out and you can hear him suck air in through his teeth. You try to adjust to his size, but he hooks his hands under your knees and pushes your legs forward. Your hips are off the ground, and he starts pistoning into you.

“Fuck!” He growls.

You’re so full, the weight of his cock feels like it’s going to tear straight through your cunt. “David!” You dig your nails into his forearms and keep moaning your screams; you can see his fangs growing in his open mouth.

He leans down, and you’re folded in half, “you’re so fucking noisy,” his words accentuated by each thrust. He covers your mouth with his gloved hand and your eyes roll back into your head. He feels so good, he’s so, so big, and he keeps hitting against your cervix. You cry out, and he’s laughing, “ohhh, sweet thing, does that feel good?”

You nod under him, his hands still covering your mouth, “mmhm.”

“How about this, darlin?” He releases his hold on your face and moves his hands to your hips. He lifts them off the ground, changes the angle of his thrust, and his tip is rubbing against your sweet spot.

You moan and scream and writhe into the night.

With his hand off your mouth, your tongue lolls out; David laughs, “you look like a dumb, fucked out toy, you know that?” His pace is punishing, it sounds like a sledgehammer breaking against your pelvis, and you try to focus on breathing as your orgasm quickly approaches. He looks down at you and his eyes narrow at the sight of the vial around your neck. He batts it away so he doesn’t have to look at it as he claims you. You breathe out a chuckle between gasps, and he can feel you squeezing against him, “are you gonna cum already sweetness?”

“Please sir,” you moan out, “please can I come?” He groans and thrusts his cock in harder, “fuck, David!”

He can’t get enough of your noises; you sound so cute getting fucked out on his cock. “Come for me sweet thing,” he rubs his thumb over your clit, and you spasm around his cock.

You’re moaning and gasping for air in between sweet ‘thank you’s’. The image of you crying and trembling under him is being burned into David’s mind. He holds your thighs close against his body and shoves his cock in as deep as he can reach and paints your insides white. You can feel his pulse hammering inside you as he comes. It’s so much, you can feel it dripping out of you and down your ass. David’s throbbing cock feels so good pumping you full of cum. He doesn’t stop pistoning into you, he just turns you on your side and fucks his cum back into your wet cunt. You’re clawing at his arms now, “fuck, David, wait!” He ignores your pleas; he can only hear the sound of your pounding heart, and the squelching of your soft warm pussy around him.

He’s growling, moaning something like, “so fucking good. So fucking tight f’me. So soft, n’ wet, n’ warm, f’me. My sweet thing.”

You can feel him slipping away from you as he mumbles into your flesh, he’s going feral fucking into you.  “David,” you call out to him, and he looks down, his features completely foreign to what he looked like a short while ago. He grunted as he pushed your leg over your head. “Fuck! David calm down!” He fucked you hard, as hard as he could manage. Your breathing was staggered from the weight of him pressing over your ribs. The sound of his hips cracking into your pelvis was painfully loud. You were glad no one was around to hear, the plap and wet noises was sinful, and you moaned like a whore for David. The feeling of your gummy walls sucking him in was the best thing he’d felt in so damn long. He let his cock bully into you and drag slowly out. His fingers pushing into the plush of your thigh, the sound of your wet pussy getting fucked raw inviting him to keep going. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and focused on how good you felt around him. 

“So…soft,” was all he could manage as he grunted and came again in you. His voice completely distorted now. He let his open mouth settle on your calf, sucking lightly as he came. You could feel his teeth, not enough to break the skin, but enough you were sure it would leave a mark.

Your arms were up by your head to cover your face; you panted, and wheezed, and gasped, hard, trying to get air into your lungs as David kept railing into you, “please David.” You begged, tears coming down your cheeks. The pleasure was too much, you couldn’t stop cumming around him. You thought you were gonna pass out as he ripped another orgasm from you, you needed air.

He grabbed your arms and pulled you up towards him, “don’t look away from me.” He had his arms wrapped around your upper half and was fucking up into you now; you were sobbing. Your body went limp against his and you let your face hide in the crook of his neck.

“Too much… David” you cried out. His hefty cock kept pistoning up into you. It was too thick, too heavy, too much, you could feel him ruining you; and you felt your cunt spasming around him again.

He nuzzled his nose against your cheek, he loved how needy and pliant you were for him. He couldn’t get enough of you, your pretty little pussy, your cute noises, your scent. David groaned and bit into your shoulder, he lapped at the dark purple teeth marks on your skin. He focused on his hips slamming up into you, your legs weakly draped around his hips; the warmth of your body seeping into him. He snaked a hand up to your jaw and lifted your chin to look at him. He loved how you looked, glossed over eyes, flush cheeks, baby hairs stuck to your forehead with sweat, mouth agape with soft whines escaping with each thrust. He bit his lip and kissed you. He swirled his tongue around yours, and you whined into his mouth. Poor David couldn’t stop himself, his mind screamed that he needed his scent to envelop you. He came again and your head fell weakly against his shoulder.

You felt David reposition you, he turned you over to all fours. He grabbed your hips and pulled you back towards him. His hips pressed hard against your ass as he shoved himself back inside you. You let your hands grip at the ground beneath you, you tried not to clamp down on David’s cock, but he stretched you so goddamned good. “I’m gonna come again!” You half begged, half thanked him, the way his girth dragged in and out of you was divine. You felt your legs buckle under you and David held your hips up to keep you from falling over.

“Come!” He demanded, he let one of his hands wrap around your body and rubbed your nub.

“Fuck!” The high-pitched whines that came from your throat a clear indication of how hard you were coming undone for him. David felt your walls sucking him in again and growled as he fell against your back. He pumped his come against your cervix once more with a groan. He bit down on shoulder, his tongue tasting the sweat from your flesh. It took everything in him to keep from sinking his fangs into your skin wherever he could.

All the while you focused all your strength on not buckling under yours and David’s weight. You could feel his come and your slick drip down your folds and your clit. You whimpered at the feeling, you felt so fucked out and loved it. “Daavid,” you whined, he stepped out from under you and grabbed you by the top of your hair. “Aaah!” you shouted in pain as he pulled you to a kneel, he pushed his cock into your mouth and started fucking your face. You gagged and moaned against his girth; David moved his hands to hold you by the back of the neck and, pushed his thumbs up to your nose to fuck down your throat. You could feel his cock down the back of your throat, through the tears in your eyes you could see him above you; completely lost in his own instincts.

His cock slid quickly in and out, atop your tongue and he moaned, “so good.”

You could taste yourself on his length, your come and his come mixed in your mouth with your saliva. His cock was painfully big in your mouth, it almost felt like your jaw was going to pop.  David pushed you deep on his cock till he was at the base against your lips, you could feel yourself beginning to gag, and he fucked hard shallow thrusts against the back of your throat. Your hands grabbed at his arms and dug your nails into his flesh as hard as you could manage; he pulled you off so you could breathe. You gasped loudly and he shoved his cock back inside. 

David fucked back into your mouth; his pubes pressed against your nose. You fought to pull yourself off him, but his hold was too strong. He pushed the back of your head down on himself, shot down your throat and slowly pulled you from him; you were gasping for air. His come was salty and thick. You coughed as you tried to ease your breathing, but David still held you by the back of your head and jerked off in your face. He was going to cover you in himself. You flinched as he sprayed on your face and breasts. You could feel his cum dripping down your face, and you grumbled in protest. He ignored your complaints; hooked his hands under your arms, pulled you up off the ground, and wrapped your legs around his waist. David was standing; he had you held close against his body, and he lowered your weeping pussy back down on his cock. He licked a long stripe across the length of your neck and sucked bright red marks into your chest. 

More, more, MORE, his mind screamed. 

David held you by the plush of your ass and fucked up into you. His fingers gripped into your skin and if it wasn’t for his gloves, his claws would have ripped clean through your flesh. Your hands gripped tightly to the collar of his jacket, you whimpered and moaned as you felt his thick cock slide in and out of you. Your pussy was raw, and it felt like he had been fucking you for hours now; the pleasure that ripped through your body took your breath with it. The sound his hips made slapping against you ass was loud and wet, and you thought again of how grateful you were that there was no one around to witness you getting fucked like a pathetic doll.

“David,” you cried with the last of your energy. He didn’t stop, he couldn’t stop, and you didn’t entirely want him to stop.

“Keep squeezing my cock like that, sweet thing” David growled out. The way you spasmed around him had him fighting back the last of his sanity to not fuck clean through your cunt. He couldn’t push himself far enough into you, the way your fat little cunt sucked him in was enough to bring him to another orgasm. He could feel his and your cream dripping down his shaft and down his balls, he wanted to fill you to the brim, and he would fuck you as long as his hips would keep pistoning.

As your vision faded to black you watched David’s face. He was completely gone, and you were sure he was far from stopping that night. You felt him reposition you, he turned you around and gripped you by your hair and fucked you standing up. Your limp body being held up by his sheer strength; the pain on your scalp matching the pleasure that came from your pussy. You were going to pass out, and all you could do was listen to David as he moaned and growled, and whimpered praises and degradations into the night.

“Such a good toy; such a dirty whore; you fucking tease, you wanted this. My perfect fuck toy, my sweet thing I’m going to fill you. You want that don’t you? Of course, you do why else would your soft little pussy be sucking my cock like this? You want my come, don’t you? Say it. Say it! SAY IT!”

David adjusted how he was holding you; he laid you back down on the ground and wrapped your legs around his waist, he was pistoning into you again, demanding that you begged for his come. He looked down at your limp, weak body and screamed a loud, pained growl into the night. He couldn’t stop himself. He felt his mind slipping away. He was worried he hurt you, but he physically and mentally couldn’t bring himself to pull himself out of you. David had gone completely feral fucking into you; he couldn’t think of anything but scenting you and pleasuring himself with your warm wet cunt. He pressed his sweaty forehead against yours and covered you in his scent. There was little you could do but moan weakly, your eyes wouldn’t even flutter open anymore. He pulled your hips towards him and pushed deep against your cervix. You sobbed quietly, feeling his cock throbbing inside you, and he filled you again.

David finally stopped ravaging you some hours later. He kept going until he was past the point of exhaustion. You had long since passed out from the abuse on your body, and David knelt over your unconscious form. His mind stopped screaming, and he panted, hard. You were covered in bruises, bite marks, scratches, and his sweat and come. You smelled overwhelmingly of him, and he was finally satisfied. He looked over the cliff, he didn’t have the faintest idea how much time had actually passed, but he knew it would be morning soon. He gathered your things and stuffed them in your bag, he snorted softly as he picked up the gun and put it away too. He placed the bag on your chest and wrapped you in his jackets, he was much too tired to try and redress you, and he couldn’t guess when you would wake up. You groaned softly as he placed you in his lap and straddled the bike. He didn’t want to take you home like this, but he had little choice. He was too weak to fly you both home and he didn’t want to leave his bike so far from the cave.

So, he started the bike, with you draped over the front of his seat, and cradled you between his arms as he rode. Luckily, there was no one else on the road at this hour… whatever hour it was. It took longer to ride back to the cave than he had hoped, as he had to drive slowly for fear of dropping you. Finally, he’d reached the entrance to the cave, he put the stand out and carried you down into his home. 

“Aye, there he is,” the boys shouted.

“Hey man, we brought you back a doggy bag,” Marko, who was wearing the cashier’s uniform hat, pointed to a 7-11 cup that Paul was sipping on. “Dude fucking knock it off,” he chucked an empty beer can at Paul.

“My bad,” Paul laughed and popped the straw out of his mouth. The big gulp was in fact, filled with blood, “where have you been all night?”

David walked down the entrance into the cave, cradling you close to his body. The boys sniffed at the air, “dude, what the fuck is that smell.”

The boys covered their noses with their jackets.

“Bro what is that?”

Their senses were assaulted with the unbearable scent of David that was coming off your body. He walked you down to a small alcove where the bed was, he placed you gently down and the boys walked over to investigate.

Still covering his nose, Marko looked down at you, “oh David… what the fuck did you do?” David moved to grab a bucket and some rice for you and put them by the bed.

“Is… is she still alive?” Paul asked, peering down at you.

“Of course, she’s alive you idiot, can’t you hear her breathing?” Dwayne mocked him.

David had knelt down by you on the bed and brushed your hair out of your face. “David… what did you do man?” Marko asked worryingly.

“She’s fine,” he sighed out, “she’s just tired.” He handed your bag to Dwayne, “put this where she can’t get it.” Dwayne looked briskly into the bag, then flew up to put it in a hanging light high in the cave ceiling.

“Dude she’s covered in bruises! What happened?”

David snapped his head to look at the boys, “it’s not like that,” he growled at Marko, “I just…I just got carried away…,” he looked back down at you, his expression softening. With the back of his hand, he rubbed gently on your cheek, “really…she’s fine.”  He stood and took the cup from Paul, “no one is to touch her. And no one will tell Max about this.” The boys watched him as he flew up into the roost, “I’m fucking going to sleep.”

Paul leaned down to sniff you, “ugh,” he wafted his hand in front of his face and left to the roost. Marko pulled the jacket closer around you and turned to follow the others to bed.

[hahskeleton]

Frogs - Harpy AU drabble

It’s harpy Sun’s first appearance! I have a sketch for his design page, but now I have to go work in contest winner stuff :3

reblogs and feedback is appreciated!

Word Count: 1,230

Read Time: ~5-6 min (depends on reading speed)

Content Warnings: Lichtenberg figures, brief screaming, (idk what else to put lmao)

“Eclipse, have you seen Sun today?” Moon’s voice pierced the air, his groggy tone the same as it seemed it always had been.

Eclipse shrugged, standing up from a huge rice bag they used as a chair, “He left this morning. I have not seen him since.”

Moon scoffed, “I’m sure he’s gone foraging again.” He rolled his eyes, walking over to a handmade, wood cabinet filled with things Eclipse claimed to have found along the trail to the forbidden forest on one edge of the valley. Truthfully, Eclipse was quite the thief, and also quite the liar. He’s never been caught, and Moon’s never been able to tell his truths and lies apart.

Eclipse walked over to the edge of the cave, staggering outside where the path turned to a cliff just about six paces forwards, “The sky’s getting dark, Moon.” Eclipse called back in, “I’m sure it’ll rain. Perhaps storm.”

Moon took out a pan and walked over to the edge as well, looking for any sign of Sun, “If it begins to rain, tell me. I’ll be cooking up lunch.”

“Let me guess,” Eclipse knew exactly what they’d be having, “Bacon and eggs?” Sun usually cooked for them, and when Moon cooked it was always the same thing. Moon’s favorite. He nodded silently.

Eclipse watched the clouds roll slowly across the grey sky. It was humid and a breeze was barely living enough to nudge a leaf. “Moon, I’m going for a fly.” He said abruptly, stretching his large wings. Despite being the youngest of the three brothers, he had the largest wingspan.

“What? Hold on, you can’t just leave!”

Eclipse shrugged, taking five steps forward, “Sun did.” He took the sixth step and a seventh, striding right off the edge. He let himself drop for a moment until he gracefully opened his wings and glided up, flapping them as needed. He flew quickly, swiftly away from the cave, not even bothering to look back. He already knew Moon was glaring at him as he soared away.

For a long while, Eclipse flew through the mountains and fields, coming to a place he knew Sun would be. There was a huge lake several leagues from their home, and around that lake was a beautiful scene of trees, moss, vines, and stones. Sun loves to forage there, and the best part for him was Moon didn’t know about it.

Sun loved Moon more than anything in the world, but even twins as close as those two need something to keep to themselves. Eclipse came across it one day when following Sun because he was particularly bored that day. It was their secret from that time forward.

Eclipse flew low to the water, reaching his arm down and letting it drag gracefully through the lake, making water fly up behind him. He smiled at his reflection in the perfectly smooth water when he picked up his hand as he reached the shore.

He landed slowly and with a clatter of rocks, stones, and sand, then proceeded to walk into the trees. As he went, he spotted the clearing of trees and where on a rock, a yellow harpy sat with his back facing Eclipse, talking to something.

Eclipse walked through the soft grass, stopping just at the edge of the trees, “Moon’s worried.” He spoke suddenly, cracking the silence.

Sun nearly jumped out of his cloak, turning around with something hidden in his hands, “Eclipse, don’t do that!” He hollered, a smile on his face.

Eclipse smiled too, but his eyes were set on Sun’s hands that he now very slowly brung to the front of his torso. “What do you have there?” He grinned subtly. Sun flung his hands out towards him and giggled, obviously about to show him what he’d found.

He unfolded his hands and revealed a perfectly green frog that he now held by its chest with both hands, its webbed feet hanging down. “Look at this little guy!” Sun said with glee, clearly fascinated by the amphibian.

“Ew!” Eclipse screeched, holding up his hands as if to guard himself from the small animal, “Gross! Gross, put it down!” He yelled loudly, “I hate frogs!”

“I know!” Sun laughed, walking closer to Eclipse with the green creature still in his outstretched arms.

Eclipse squeaked with disgust, slowly accelerating into a run to get away from Sun’s frog, who chased him with it. “Sun, quit it!” Eclipse stopped and smacked the frog out of his brother’s hands. The frog was dropped, and it landed on its side, quickly hopping away like nothing had happened.

“Hey!” Sun gasped, “Don’t smack small animals like that!”

Eclipse cackled lightheartedly, placing his clawed hands upon his hips, “I needed to defend myself from disgusting, horrible, animals like that.”

The two brothers had now ended up near the lake, running wildly out of the small forest with that frog. Eclipse looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds getting darker and darker by the second, it seemed.

“Is it going to storm?” The squeaky voice of the cloaked harpy rung in the hot, humid air. The moisture made Eclipse’s clothes uncomfortably sticky to his feathers and his skin. “We should get back before it does.” And with that, without warning, Sun took off towards the fluffy grey skies, flying back towards the cave.

Eclipse followed, gliding a little closer to the clouds than his brother. He flew over what looked like his bright colored shadow, but it was just Sun. Despite Sun and Moon being twins, Eclipse and Sun looked more alike. Moon looked like the odd one out of the trio.

The sky far above them began to rumble and rain started to roll out of the angry clouds. Eclipse knew Sun hated flying in a storm, even the rain, so when he started to fly faster, it didn’t surprise him at all.

Eclipse did his very best to catch up with Sun, but for some reason he just couldn’t fly fast enough. He became blinded by frustration and rain, soaking him an unbelievable amount. As he soon realized he had no clue where Sun had gone, he also figured out he didn’t know which way was home.

Damn it.

Eclipse flew in all directions, trying to catch something to indicate he was going the right way, but he didn’t spot anything at all. He was lost, wasn’t he?

The next few seconds were all a blur. He heard his name being yelled, then a crack of thunder and lightning, and then… he was struck. His own screams weren’t the only ones he heard.

Eclipse screamed, flinging his head off his so-called pillow and breathing faster than a stallion could run. He clutched his shoulder in pain and grasped the collar of his shirt and pulled it aside, brushing away a few feathers to reveal his Lichtenberg Figure. The scar that the blasted flash of lightning had given him.

Sometimes, he wished his brothers hadn’t left him. Sometimes he hated them for doing so. But most of the time, he pretended he never knew them.

However, it was times like these he wanted Sun or Moon to comfort him, perhaps sooth him with a cup of honey-lemon water. Help the pain of his past go away. But alas, his mistake drove them away, and he knew, they were never going to come back.

[littlemisssquiggles]

The Missed Potential of WISH

It’s funny.

Last year, I really wanted to watch the new Wish animated film from Disney.

While everyone else were hating on the art and animation style, I actually kind of liked it and was genuinely looking forward to possibly viewing it on the big screen.

Then the reviews came in. Needless to say, I didn’t watch Wish.

I remember a time when people used to complain about Disney making “too many love stories”. Then Disney stopped making love stories leading to films like Moana, Coco, Encanto and even Turning Red, which weren't bad.

Following the failure of Wish, the biggest complaint I’ve heard for that film is that “it probably would’ve been more successful if it were a love story”.

The last romance Disney had we’re the protagonist was a “black girl” was Tiana from The Princess and the Frog which was technically their last 2D animated feature film.

And don’t get me wrong, til this day, The Princess and the Frog still tracks. Second to Tangled, I still very much love TPATF and it's one of Disney's classics that definitely have the rewatchability.

That being said, Wish is the first Disney film I've seen where the missed potential of what its story was originally supposed to be (herego a love story between a human girl and shape-shifting star boy) versus what we actually got is more popular.

Aww Disney, what were you thinking?! How could you think a film where the main character, who is a PoC, the first "black girl" (well technically I think Asha is meant to be mixed) female lead/love interest that you've had since Tiana in The Princess and the Frog in 14 YEARS where she is actually human for all of the movie and gets to share a love story with a handsome "star boy" who can literally make all of her dreams come and think that that's NOT gonna make you money!

I haven't even watched Wish yet I've seen more artwork and fan-made animatics of Asha and Star Boy than anything from the actual film.

At this point, Disney should just take all of the original ideas they left on the chopping block for Wish and revise them into a future title which is an actual love story they could market from.

Or…as an audience, we can just wait for one of their competitors, like Dreamworks to smell the blood in the water like the sharks they are and capitalize on Disney’s latest flop by taking the ideas they didn’t use and coming up with something that could potentially usurp the popularity of Wish’s failure.

In the case of Dreamworks, they don’t even need to make a new star boy since, technically, they already have potential “star boy” they can use.

Remember Rise of the Guardians?

Hahaaaaa OF COURSE you do, since it gave us the original immortal boy internet heart throb (also ironically voiced by Chris Pine who played King Magnifico in Wish) ---Jack Frost.

I find it hilarious that another reason why folks are hating on Wish so much is because Disney could've given us another potential immortal boy heart throb "Star Boy" to finally usurp the chokehold that Jack Frost has had on our generation of weebs and artists for the past 12 years since RoTG first dropped.

We could've had it all.

But as I mentioned Rise of the Guardians, did you know that there is character in the original series it was based off of called Nightlight?

While technically not a “star boy”, Nightlight is the closest thing to one in an already established universe from a Dreamworks property and since this squiggle meister never misses a beat to push for continuation of Rise of Guardians, hear me out:

Imagine a Rise of the Guardian prequel-sequel about the character Nightlight and make it a love story.

(Because apparently there's a girl that Nightlight grows close to in his story called Katherine. It's just a friendship but needless to say, there is potential there).

I know it’s been 12 years since Rise of Guardians first dropped and I know I've be hollering for a sequel since 2012.

But c'mon, if there was ever a time for Dreamworks to capitalize on an RoTG sequel, it's now.

As Wish has proven, the internet is hungry for another handsome immortal boy with magical powers.

Dreamworks set the ball rolling with Jack Frost.

If Dreamworks were to revisit RoTG again, take Nightlight's story. Take his design and give him the "Jack Frost" treatment and make it a love story on top of that.

I'm not saying it will happen. Not even saying it could happen.

But if somehow thought becomes reality and something like this does actually happen, whoever does it will be rolling in dough.

This is just a longwinded way of me to say that somebody needs to bank on the concept of a star falling in love with a human and do it now since as the internet has shown, it's what the people want and what Wish failed to give.

~LMS (2024)

[hp-hcs]

(Fine, I’ll do it my damn self: part 6 of my silly lil mlm stories <3)

love triangle — rival! ron weasley x male! reader

solving a love triangle in the only correct (and gay) way

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Hey, Hermione,” you said with a cheeky grin, sitting across from her.

She glanced up. “Hey, Y/N..?”

“D’you wanna go to the Yule Ball with me?”

“Oh! Uh, that’s very sweet of you to offer-”

“-but I’m sure Hermione would much rather go with someone else,” interrupted the annoyance that was Ron Fucking Weasley.

You glared at him. “But of course, going to a dance with a platonic date is rather pathetic, wouldn’t you agree, Granger?”

Ron opened his mouth to snap back, when Hermione interrupted the both of them. “Boys, boys, you’re both pretty, stop fighting. I’ve already got a date.”

You turn to look at her quizzically, saying at the same time as Ron, “Who?”

“Well, if you must know, Viktor Krum.”

~~~

The Ball crept closer, Hogwarts’ halls alive with excited whispers and laughs. It seemed like everyone had a date except for you. And Ron, you supposed.

(And Ron’s friend, Harry. Although you had sneered in passing to the ginger, “looks like he’s got eyes for your sister, Weasley,” which had almost led to a fight breaking out in the halls as he hollered for you to “shut your bloody mouth!”)

((Sure enough, within the week, Harry Potter had a date to the Yule Ball—Ginny Weasley. You took great pleasure at smiling smugly at Ron whenever you saw him.))

Hermione’s rejection hadn’t deterred either of you though. Ron seemed determined to outdo you. When you gave her a tiger lily you’d picked in Herbology, Ron sent a bouquet of flowers to her dorm. When you split a Chocolate Frog with her, Ron took her to Honeydukes. Anytime you saw each other in the halls, you glared daggers sharp enough to make the paintings rattle on the walls uncomfortably. It was all-out war.

Even the teachers seemed to notice, for better or for worse.

“I’m taking your girlfriend to Flourish & Blotts this weekend, Weasley,” you whispered casually under your breath to your elbow partner in Potions.

“I swear to Merlin, L/N, I’ll-”

“Mr. Weasley, Mr. L/N, if you’d care to pay attention rather than chatter about your meaningless weekend plans,” Professor Snape drawled, glaring his beady little eyes on you both. “Ten points from Gryffindor.”

You stifled a giggle under your breath, accidentally making eye contact with Ron, whose embarrassed expression and red-tinged ears made you just absolutely lose it. You had to clamp one hand over your mouth to prevent any laughter from escaping.

Then, much to your surprise, Ron started chuckling quietly too, cheeks still flushed from the reprimand.

“Pay attention,” he drawled under his breath in a mocking imitation of Snape. You snorted, clearing your throat to disguise the noise when the Professor in question whirled around to see who dared disrupt his class.

~~~

After class, you elbowed Ron in the hall. “Man, Snape’s such a dick, right?”

“Totally. He’s got it out for me, I swear.”

“I think he’s just got it out for Gryffindors in general. Remember when he antagonized Longbottom so bad that he was his boggart?”

“Yeah, that was brutal,” Ron shook his head, as you both walked to your next class together. “Hey, look, I just wanted to say like, sorry? I’ve been kind of an ass to you this whole year…” Ron trailed off.

“Nah, it’s fine, man. I haven’t been much better. I think we both kind of got caught up in the competition of asking her out,” you shrugged. There was no reason to clarify who her was. “Truce?”

“Yeah,” Ron smiled. “I’d like that.”

~~~

So here you were, alone at the Yule Ball, your friends having left you to dance with their dates. You leaned against the wall, watching the couples twirl around with a mild tinge of jealousy. Sipping your drink, you surveyed the crowd, appraising everyone.

When your eyes landed on Hermione, who was being lifted up and spun around by Viktor Krum, your first thought was not one of envy, but rather, she would’ve looked much better in blue. Your gaze drifted to her date, and lingered on Krum for a moment too long.

Damn, he looks good, you thought to yourself, blinking quickly at the thought. Where did that come from?

Ron sidled up to you, looking rather smug for someone wearing such an ugly outfit. “She’s having the time of her life, isn’t she?”

“Huh? Oh- yeah, yeah, I guess,” you mumbled, your gaze drifting back to Viktor.

How can someone look so hot? That ought to be illegal.

Ron’s eyes narrowed, and he followed your gaze. “Merlin, dude. Are you staring at Krum?”

“What? No! S-shut up!”

He snickered, patting your shoulder patronizingly. “S’alright, man. I’ve been watching Diggory all night myself.”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. “You’re-”

“Yeah,” he cut you off, lips thinning a bit. “That bother you?”

“Not a hypocrite, Weasley.”

He glanced at you, clearly taken off guard. You kept his gaze for a long moment, finding the way his blush matched his hair to be rather cute.

“Care to dance then, L/N?”

“If you can keep up, Weasley.”

You two took to the dance floor, twirling around like idiots and laughing loudly. Neither of you noticed your respective friends, and the teacher chaperones, watching on in morbid fascination.

And when you kissed at the end of the song, neither of you noticed Harry scowling as he handed both Ginny and Hermione a galleon each.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

[nerdierholler]

Frog butt. Ribbit.

[obanaispy]

More ex hubby eren🌚🫶🏽

cast ! eren jaeger + reader

wc ! 1.6k+

tldr ! house party with your ex = house party with some sex

content ! dirty talk + alcohol + spanking + rough sex + light cunt slapping

a/n ! i took so long.. hope it was worth the wait!

“Its going to be the party of the century”

With an outfit like this? It better be. Y/n had pulled out all the works. A mauve colored spaghetti strap dress with the back cut out– the hem stopping right below her ass. Her neck was coated with a sweet Vanilla scented perfume, an arrangement of silver necklaces complimenting the fragrance. Connie had finally convinced them to leave their safe space by planning “The party to start the summer”. His words. Jean and Connie were the homies so it was hard to turn down their every invitation without feeling a bit of guilt.

Buckling her heel around her ankle, Y/n pulled out her phone to make sure her date for the night was still game. He would be an idiot if he wasnt. “Hello?” his voice rasped from the other end, sending a chill down her spine. “Hey Reiner, are we meeting at the boys?”. “No no.. i’ll pick you up”. Y/n smiled, “right answer.” Hanging up, she did one last round of perfume before going into the living room to wait. Maybe this night would be just what she needed.

At first it was, Jean was in charge of music and the vibe was absolutely right. Reiner had a hand on her waist, swaying along as she rolled her hips– ass pressing against him subtly. Y/n was 3 shots in and feeling right. Not drunk but definitely not sober. “I’m going to run to the bathroom” Reiner spoke into her ear before kissing it lightly, walking away and leaving Y/n to the wolves. “Cuff It” by Beyonce began to boom over the speakers, causing Y/n to holler, “this is my SHIT!”

“I thought that was you..”

She froze. Turning around, Y/n was met with no one other than her worst nightmare– Eren.Her hands immediately became clammy, the dance floor suddenly becoming too crowded. “Hey–” Y/n had vanished before he could even finish his sentence. Rushing into the kitchen, she found a plastered Connie with his face smushed into Sasha’s chest. “You mother fucker” Y/n seethed, yanking him back and pulling him into the pantry before slamming the door. “Woah woah… I didn’t know you liked me that way” he slurred, a drunken smirk on his lips. Y/n rolled her eyes, pinching him– “don’t flatter yourself, Gnomeo. Why the fuck is my ex husband here?”. Connie looked at her confused, frog blinking before clocking in, “oh shit….” Oh shit indeed. Eren and Y/n had a VERY messy divorce, the legal papers somehow not being enough to really call it quits. She had just now stopped responding to his booty calls… as well as stopping all of her own. She was free of him! So.. why did seeing him make her stomach fill with fluttering? She wasn’t 20 anymore, she saw him for who he was. A handsome basket case– unable to correct his own flaws.

“Y/n.. I swear hiccup I had no clue he would be here. He told me he was too busy to come” Connie stared at her , his expression letting her know he was being honest. Connie hated drama and suddenly, Y/n felt like a fool dragging him into his own pantry. “Okay… okay my bad. You know how I get when I see him” she sighed, hugging Connie tightly before opening the door. Walking out, she dragged him back to Sasha, apologizing and giving her a proper hello. After a few words of kindness, she turned to walk out before being blocked by him. “Do. Not. Run. Please.. Can we just talk” Eren asked, voice barely above a whisper, a light hold finding its way around her wrist. She could do nothing but stare at him for a minute, his eyes looked softer, his hair long enough to be pulled back into a sizable ponytail. Looking back at Connie and Sasha who were trying to pretend they weren't eavesdropping by throwing a golf ball into the same red cup. Beer pong my ass. “Fine… fine. You get 10 minutes.” She pushed past him, making her way through the crowd towards the back door. Once outside she scanned the space, spotting the greenhouse where they grew their.. happy grass. She quickly walked in that direction, Eren following close after.

“So..” she stated, arms folded as she made direct eye contact. “Soooo.. How have you been?’ Eren asked sheepishly, Y/n’s response being silence. For a moment neither of them said a word, the silence being filled with the faint of Sza’s, ‘I hate you’ blasting over the speakers. “Listen… I really do mean it when I say I regret how we fell out. You put up with a lot of my shit and.. sighs I'm way too grown to be acting the way I did.” Y/n just scoffed. Eren stared at her for a moment before continuing, “You look.. Gorgeous. See you came here with Reiner’. Y/n could tell he was trying to act unbothered. “Who I'm here with is none of your business” she smirked, biting her bottom lip. Why was she nervous? She should know better but… fuck he smelt good. Looked it too.

“Y/n…” he gruffed, an arm going around her waist to pull her closer before she could protest. “Come on, you don’t even miss me a bit? Don’t miss the way I could.. Handle you? Treat your body like a God? You know.. I still do worship you. I fucked up, I know but–” he was cut off by her lips meeting his, her hands immediately going up to bury themselves into his locks. Eren followed her movements, both of his hand wrapping around her waist, pressing his body against hers almost as if he wanted to fuse into her. Their bodies stumbled into a wall, Y/n’s dress being hiked up, her hands fumbling to unbutton his shirt. Eren’s lips traveled from her lips to her jawline– latching around the skin on the side of her neck. One of his hands found its way between her legs, palming her cunt through her damp panties. Y/n melted in his touch, legs struggling to keep her up as he slid the fabric to the side and pinched her clit in between two fingers– rolling the bud between them. His head came up from her neck to study her face– lips slightly parted to match her own. Y/n sighed out, hips jutting upwards into his touch, “please…”. Eren let out a breath, fingers pooling into her at the singular word.

He quickly found a rhythm, a curl joining each thrust in, his lips smashing against hers. Their tongues swirled around one another, Y/n sucking the tip of his tongue, teeth closing around his bottom lip with a harsh tug. Eren laughed into her mouth, his free hand going to unbuckle his pants while the other one kept busy. His fingers spread deep within her, making way for a third one while he wriggled out of his jeans. “You ready for me?” he said hurriedly, eyes dark with lust and possession. As soon as Y/n nodded, he replaced his hand with his cock– pushing past her folds as a grunt fell from his lips. “Oh fuck..” he growled, pace picking up quickly before she had time to adjust. Eren’s hand quickly went to her thigh, a firm grip bringing her leg up to wrap around him. He thrusted upwards as Y/n loosely wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes struggling to focus with the new angle.

“S-so Reiner huh?” he mumbled, head resting inside of the crook of Y/n’s neck. His thrusts were becoming deeper, balls smacking against her skin with each thrust. “Really thought pulling that shit was funny? Hm? Sorry.. I refuse to give this up” he said between clenched teeth. Before she could respond, Y/n was now flipped around and bent over– Eren’s dick slapping against her bare ass. “Want it?”. She couldnt help but roll her eyes, “yes, cmoon” she whined out. Eren chuckled before giving her a firm slap on her ass. “Youve done better than that in your sleep” he chuckled before cocking his hand back once more, allowing this one to land on her cunt. Y/n let out a yelp, thankful for the sound of the party.

“Please babe.. I miss your dick so much. You know that I feel good around you.. Please fuck what’s yours” she looked back at him as she spoke, cunt drenched at this point. Eren’s dark eyes looked down on her, strands of his hair sticking to his face— lips slightly parted. A smile slowly spread across them before he pressed his tip against her hole. Y/n sighed out in relief, hips going to push back against him— her eyes closing before opening at the feeling of him pulling away. “What did I do now?”

Eren chuckled, shaking his head, “just want you to look at me..”. Placing a firm grip on her shoulder, Eren slid himself all the way in— eyes focusing on the way Y/ns face contorted. Each thrust made it harder for her to focus, a couple of spanks from Eren reminding her of her instructions. “Yeah.. take that fucking dick..” he gritted, body twitching as he slowly started to lose rhythm. Suddenly, both of his hands went to her waist, thrusts becoming rabid as he pulled her back into each one. His rhythm was now completely gone, sloppy thrusts coming to an end as he came deep inside of her.

They both sat in silence for a minute, panting as they struggled to get dressed. Finally, Y/n cleared her throat— “I should…probably tell Reiner he can go home..”. Eren stared at her for a moment before chuckling, “he’s a grown man, he’ll live. Besides..” , he pulled her closer, “I don’t think this was enough to call it makeup sex.. Let me show you how sorry I truly am..”

[sarahghetti]

going to the carnival hcs; m.k.

pairing: marc spector x reader, steven grant x reader, jake lockley x reader, the gang's all here

summary: the carnival's in town! some headcanons for how you spend your time there with the boys.

warnings: mildly suggestive near the end, but essentially just pure fluff all the way through. reader is called princesa once, no descriptions otherwise.

word count: 2.0k

moon knight masterlist | all masterlists

the carnival rolls into town—of course you’re all going!

and it’s kind of perfect because they all have their favourite parts.

food

marc is your food guy—he won’t be the one to suggest the funky fair foods like frog legs or peanut putter pickle corn dogs, but he will go halfsies with you on anything you want to get so you can try a lot of different things.

you’re giving this look to the deep fried oreos stand that has marc pursing his lips, obviously hesitant even though he offers no resistance when you direct the two of you towards it.

“if you want cookies, I saw a place near the entrance,” he suggests in a placating sort of way, as though he could dissuade you from trying any of the monstrosities at your disposal.

“but…” you gesture at the sign, look at it! and he’s never been more aware of how much you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger because he’s buying an order for you without a second thought.

“it’s… very sweet,” he remarks after his first bite. “not sure if it’s much of an improvement on the original thing.”

“then why do you keep eating it?” you make grabby hands towards the tray in his hand to try one, and he dangles it out of your reach. “wha—hey!”

“just hang on a sec.” he polishes off his cookie, tongue darting out to catch some errant sugar on his lips before pulling you deep into a kiss.

he’s grinning wide at his own cheesiness before he even draws back completely, your face is burning and, yeah—it’s pretty sweet.

meanwhile steven kind of taps out for this. veganism doesn’t exactly pair well with the hodgepodge of carnival foods being offered, but he will take a good sorbet when it gets particularly hot out.

if he fronts after marc or jake eat something non-vegan, steven will find the nearest lemonade stand to wash the taste out of his mouth. he gets a different one every time, and almost drinks the entire bubblegum flavoured lemonade even though he dislikes it.

jake secretly thinks it’s good. marc fronts again near the end of the cup and immediately tosses it in the trash.

jake has simpler tastes but will try to deviate a little in spirit of the carnival. as long as it’s generally something he likes, like fried chicken or a burger, he won’t mind if it comes in a cone or has a shit-ton of cheese piled on top. is the one to pay eight dollars for a cob of corn.

games

marc and steven will only play the fair game scams if you want to, but jake has no qualms about them at all. you mention that there’s a prize plushie you think is cute and he’s already pulling you towards the booth, eyes glinting in a way that you know he’s up to trouble.

jake then proceeds to crush every single game you come across.

skeeball? he’s getting 100 points with every ball he throws. hoops? draft this man into the nba, he’s sinking baskets like your life depends on it.

jake’s bracing a pellet gun against his shoulder, lining up the scope with the targets at the end of the booth when it finally clicks.

he might not be wearing the suit, but that doesn’t mean that khonshu isn’t with him. you lean in over his shoulder. “wait, are you—?”

bam, bam, bam. three shots, three bullseyes. the people around you are whooping and hollering, but jake just turns to you with a smug look on his face.

“didn’t even need him for this one, princesa, but—” his eyes dart to the top of the booth and you can imagine the god sitting up there, watching you. “what is true justice if not scamming a scammer, hm?”

the attendant comes around to give jake his prize, which he presents to you with flourish and a wink.

“now, is there anything else you want? the fist of vengeance—” he drops his voice down to what you know as an imitation of khonshu “—still has a few games left in him.”

marc fronts again to find his wallet much lighter and his arms full of plushies that jake won for you and just sighs.

steven must’ve read a book about the design behind carnival games at some point because boy is he knowledgeable about it.

it’s a bit of diversion from his usual egyptology, but he seems to know all the tricks of the major games like the back of his hand and leans in close to your ear to tell you exactly what’s happening as you watch other people play.

“you see that?” he points towards the ring toss booth, where a handful of people are fruitlessly bouncing rings off the rims of bottles.

you already know what’s coming but still, you ask: “do you wanna play?”

“oh, no, love, now the rings—” he brings the tips of his forefinger and thumb together in demonstration “—they’re barely big enough to fit over the bottles, you’d have to hit it dead on to have a chance. even then, the material isn’t any help, the rings’ll bounce right off like—that!”

he snaps his fingers, and you giggle a little at his theatrics. the sound always makes him blush a little, and he turns back to the game to distract himself before he gets too flustered.

someone puts down twenty dollars for a bucket of rings and he clicks his tongue in disapproval. “poor buggers.”

maybe he says it a little too loudly, catching the attention of some of the players and his face flushes red as he stammers an apology. you shove him playfully, face similarly burning. “steven!”

“sorry!”

the only exception for marc is the horizonal bar game, you know, the one where someone has to hang from a bar for some length of time? it’s practically impossible because it rotates under your hands, yeah, yeah, steven—he knows.

but marc’s a guy with far above average fitness who climbs up walls on the reg. doesn’t even need khonshu’s power to beat it, he just hangs up there, smirking at you as the timer counts down. it’s the easiest prize he’s ever won in his life.

rides

marc’s whole life is a rollercoaster, so he’s ok.

but in all seriousness, the midway rides aren’t really his thing. they’re transported in from who-knows-where, then set up in a parking lot by who-knows-who, and you’re supposed to just let them flip you upside down over and over again while paying ten bucks for the honour? no. he does not trust them.

steven and jake, however, see all the bright lights and loud music and are a little more favourable.

steven probably feels nauseous at the idea of being put upside down, but travelling fast in a circle, or spinning around in teacups? he’s so down. will join you in spinning the teacups to the max or sport a devilish grin as he singlehandedly spins the teacup as you scream.

(will give you a lil kiss on the forehead as an apology if he accidentally takes it too far)

jake sees the crazier rides as a challenge. won’t push you to do them if you really aren’t comfortable, but he gets this spark in his eyes and promises to keep you safe if you ride with him.

what does that mean? it means that he has full confidence that if there’s a failure in any of the safety mechanisms, he can suit up and save you before anything bad happens.

marc is absolutely flabbergasted that jake “protector of the body” lockley even considers going on any of these deathtraps. loudly protests from within as jake tells you about how fast his reaction time is—it doesn’t matter, jake, just don’t take them on the ride in the first place!

the Ferris Wheel SceneTM goes a bit differently depending on who’s fronting at the time.

steven absolutely insists on going on the ferris wheel and will wait any length of line so that you can ride it.

“look at that!” he’s pressed against your side, shoulder to hip, and uses your joined hands to point out landmarks in the distance as you climb in height. the city lights glitter across the horizon, and steven laughs at the spectacle of it all.

he’s probably imagined this very moment happening ever since you told him that the carnival was coming to town—sitting on top of a ferris wheel with you at his side, being able to kiss you at the top.

“did you have fun?” you bump into his shoulder, smiling at how happy he looks.

“fun? love, this is—” he shakes his head. “today has been like a dream. you’re like a dream.”

he says the last part like a confession, grinning, and you feel his happiness when he finally gets to press his lips to yours.

jake suggests you go on the ferris wheel in the same way as when he suggested the two of you cheat at the carnival games, so you’re immediately suspicious.

“stop looking at me like that.” he tries and fails to keep a smirk off his face, giving you an innocent look as he rests a hand on your knee. “isn’t it beautiful outside?”

it is. you take your eyes off him for one moment to admire the view and his hand creeps higher, fingertips pressing into your thigh.

“jake!” your eyes widen, and the bastard has the audacity to laugh. he leans in close, lips brushing against the shell of your ear.

“nobody can see us up here—it’s just you and me.” his lips move down to graze your jaw, and your breath catches in your throat. your heart flutters.

“I like the sound of that.” jake pulls back slightly to see the small smile on your face. “’you and me.’”

it’s like you’ve taken the wind out of his horny sails. he can’t help but to smile back, and when he kisses you again, on the lips this time, you know that he agrees with you.

the ferris wheel is the only ride you can convince marc to go on; no matter what he says, he’s a big softie at heart.

he keeps an arm wrapped around you the entire time, holding you close. the scent of him envelopes you like a warm blanket.

marc doesn’t say a lot, preferring to just enjoy your company as you slowly make your way to the top. you don’t mind—you just rest your head on his shoulder and wait for him to open up on his own.

when you stop at the top, it’s like you’re in a movie. the neon lights spread out beneath you, your quiet breaths in the cabin, the soft kiss he presses to the top of your head.

“I love you,” he murmurs, and it means so much more than you’ll ever know. you smile up at him and he looks back at you with the softest expression you’ve ever seen—like he’s at finally at peace, and you’re the reason why.

you can’t help but kiss him, then—let him taste the words as you say “I love you, too.”

[featherandferns]

pirates (fic)

jj maybank x fem!reader | shamelessly and obviously inspired by taylor swift's 'seven'

content warning: mentions of abuse (physical)

word count: 9k. roughly

blurb: if you ever needed to find yourself or jj maybank, one would recommend you head to pirate's cove, no matter the age or day.

The water was tepid. There was some lingering woodsy fragrance, probably from the cedar trees that towered high all around the waterside, alongside something undeniably fresh in the air. JJ waded in the murky water. The ground was warm with sunlight that flitted through the canopy of trees. As it illuminated the leaves, there was a strange greenish hue that overcame everything. The water plants and reeds only added to it, making the place feel peaceful and serene. In one hand he held a net, and another a bucket. JJ was searching for frogs. His father had told him it was season for them and JJ had taken that as his summer-break mission.

There was a ripple in the water and something that wasn’t short of a ‘splash’, and JJ spun around in time to see a frog leap from the water and onto a moss-covered rock. He grinned.

“Got ya,” he muttered to himself.

Slowly, carefully, he approached. Net at the ready, he continued to ease towards it. ‘Slowly now, JJ’, he told himself. ‘Slowly’.

A sudden scream ripped through the trees.

The frog leaped away for safety and JJ, in the fright of it all, stumbled backwards and tumbled into the water. It came up to his shoulders, his tiny body almost fully submerged, and he swore out like he had heard his father do. Somehow, it made him feel slightly better. Before he could get to his feet, the scream came again. It sounded high, but there was no telling if it was girl or boy. It was probably somebody playing around. He rolled his eyes, frog now gone, and got to his feet. Just as he went to get back to frog spotting, he heard it again. Only, this time:

“Help!”

His head spun around to where it came from. That didn’t sound like no joking. He waded out the water as quick as he could, feeling as if it were pulling at his legs to keep him from land. Managing onto dry ground, he looked around through the thick forestry for where it came from.

“Come on,” he mumbled to himself. His little legs were a little scratched up from the rocks and dirt he’d fallen on in the water. As the air got to the tiny cuts, making them sting.

The scream came again, this time louder and more panicked. JJ started off in the direction of it, ditching his bucket but holding onto his net. He raced towards the sound, perfecting his course with each one that came, until he stopped at a bank.

There stood a girl on a mud bank.

You couldn’t have been older than seven. You were surrounded by marsh water. Hair falling around your shoulders as if the sea had churned you up and spat you out. Your cheeks were wet and eyes wide, focused on something below in the water.

JJ squinted as he tried to focus. Driftwood?

The wood shifted closer to the bank and you opened your mouth in a screech.

“Gator,” JJ said.

Your head darted up at the sound. You locked eyes with JJ. More tears came.

“Help me!” you cried. “Please!”

JJ looked around. Where was his dad? Wasn’t there somebody else here? Could nobody else hear you hollering like someone being murdered out in daylight?

“It’s getting closer!” you wailed. JJ watched the gator slowly slink towards you, as if taunting.

“Okay, okay,” he said, nodding. “Lemme think, alright? You’re gonna be fine.”

“Hurry,” you continued to sob.

JJ’s young mind was racing. He thought back to his mother’s lessons when they were sat out in the sun the other week. Snakes don’t like dogs and gators don’t like noise? Was that it? He looked down at the net in his hand. It was a long stick, at least half his height. If he were to disturb the water and yell, maybe it’d change course? That’d give you enough time, perhaps?

“Alright,” he said, voice trembling. He looked to you again and, as if you could feel his gaze, you looked up from the gator. Clearing his throat, he tried to make his tone more demanding like his pops. “Alright, here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna try and distract him over here, and you’re gonna make a run for this here bank.”

“What?” you gaped. “I…I can’t do that!”

“You gotta! Run as fast as you can, alright! Keep running that way, back to the houses,” JJ instructed, pointing to his right. Your lip trembled. “You can do it, alright? I’m gonna be right behind ya.”

You stared at him. Looking back down at the gator, you seemed to consider his plan. Then, meeting his eyes again, you pursed your lips, sniffled, and nodded.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” JJ said, nodding himself. He swallowed his fear, squared his shoulders, and moved to the left of the bank. Grabbing another large branch, struggling only slightly with the weight, he took a deep breath. Then, splashing the water as hard as he could, he began to yell. “Come here gator! Come on!”

The moment the gator turned; you took off running. Your small body met the water and you started to swim as fast you could. JJ hit the water harder now, yelling louder.

“Come on gator boy! Come on!”

The frantic splashes of your front stroke seemed to catch the gator’s attention more so. You weren't looking behind you, eyes focused on the land.

“Come on! Come for me!” JJ practically pleaded.

The gator stayed still a moment. Then, slowly, began to sulk towards JJ.

His victory and smile were only brief, as his prepubescent brain caught onto the fact that a gator was making way to him.

Glancing to you, he saw you crawling onto the land, coughing and panting. You began to race towards the houses, just as JJ has instructed. Following suite, he ditched his net and branch and took off after you.

“Keep going!” he hollered. “Keep going!”

The pair of you ran and ran and ran. You ran until you were out of the marsh, out the of the clearing of the trees, and out onto the main street of the neighbourhood you were in. You finally stumbled to a slow, and eventually a stop. JJ copied. The two of you hunched over, panting heavily, hands on knees.

“Oh my God,” you whispered to yourself.

JJ felt as if he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs. It certainly didn’t help when you flung yourself at him, arms wrapping around his neck.

“Thank you!” you cried.

It took a moment for him to react. Then, he wrapped his scrawny arms around your frame.

“Hey, hey,” he coaxed, rubbing your back like his mom did with him when he was poorly. “You’re alright now.”

You nodded against him but continued to cry, nonetheless.

“I thought I was dinner for a second,” you laughed sadly. JJ chuckled too.

“You scared off my frogs,” he told you. You laughed harder, untangling yourself from him.

“Sorry,” you said, wiping your cheeks.

“What were you doing on that bank, anyway?” JJ asked.

You looked down at her feet nervously, almost embarrassed.

“There was this real pretty butterfly on there and…I just wanted a closer look.”

“Don’t nobody tell you that’s gator land?” JJ said. You looked back up to him and shook your head.

“No! I just…I wasn’t thinking!” you replied, becoming tearful again.

JJ reeled himself in.

“It’s alright,” he said. “It gets confusing out there.”

You smiled tentatively and nodded. Sniffling once more, you stuck out a hand and introduced yourself.

JJ took it and gave it a shake like he’d seen adults do at school and his daddy’s work. “JJ.”

“Nice to meet you, JJ.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

You both stood a moment and smiled at one another. “I’m sorry about your net.”

“It’s alright. Had it for ages.”

“I can get you a new one,” you told him. Then, as if a light bulb had gone off, you said, “I have a spare one I think!”

JJ hesitated. His mom had told him not to be greedy of people. ‘We don’t take charity, JJ.’

“You don’t have to,” he hesitated.

You shook your head firmly and took one of his hands in yours. You began to drag him as you set off walking down the road.

“Yes, I do. You saved my life, after all.”

JJ couldn’t really argue with that logic. Hand in hand, the two of you walked to your house. As you went, you asked about the frogs. JJ told you as much as he could remember reading. There was a picture book in school about them with a few easy-to-read facts put here and there. It was far more interesting than the maths the teacher had been going on about, so he’d read it under his desk. You nodded along and listened fervently. At some part on the walk, you'd started playing frogs. Ribbiting and hopping around, even playing leapfrog. Eventually, you came to your house.

JJ paused as you started walking up to it. When you noticed he was no longer by your side, you turned around.

“What?” you asked.

“It’s just…I live just down the road there,” JJ said, pointing. “Near the water.”

Your smile came back, wide and pure. “No way!”

He smiled back. “Yeah!”

You raced over and grabbed his hand, pulling him around the back, to the shed.

“We’re gonna be best friends!” you cheered, making JJ laugh.

He didn’t hate the sound of that. Making friends at school hadn’t been all that successful. There was only one boy who he truly got on well with, and he was called John B. JJ wasn’t sure why his name was John B, but then again he wasn’t completely sure why everyone called him JJ. He liked your name. It was different, a bit like you.

You came to the shed and pulled it open. Going through the tools and such, you dug about until you found a spare net buried amongst spider webs near the back.

“I knew it!” you triumphed, holding it up. Walking over to JJ who stood out in the late afternoon sun in her garden, you stopped before him. “Kneel.”

JJ did as demanded.

Tapping him on each shoulder, you announced with a laugh, “I now pronounce you sir knight JJ…Uh, what’s your last name?”

“Maybank.”

“Sir knight JJ Maybank!” you said, loud and proud.

JJ giggled as he got to his feet, giving a bow. He then began to wave like he’d seen the English queen do on TV once. You began to applaud and cheer, pretending to bow to him like he was Jesus walking into town on palm Sunday.

Someone called your name. "Is that you?” a voice called from the house.

The pair of you turned to see a woman stood on the patio, using her hand to keep the sun from her eyes.

“Yeah, ma!”

“Come on in! Dinner’s nearly ready!” She called.

You nodded and looked to JJ. You handed him the net.

“What’re you doing tomorrow?”

“Nothing, I don’t think,” JJ replied.

“Want to play pirates?”

“Sure,” he said, not fully sure what pirates involved but very interested, nonetheless. Maybe he could see if John B was free too. The three of you might make good ruffians.

“Okay,” you grinned. You flung your arms around his neck again before racing towards your house. As you went, you called out your farewell to him.

“Smell you later, Maybank.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*

The creek had quickly become the usual haunt of JJ and yourself. It was a little bit from the waters near his house, more secluded by forestry, though not as much as the marsh. You still got twitchy about going in there after the alligator incident. JJ couldn’t really blame you. The thing would’ve eaten you in one bite.

You'd found a small nook of fresh water, deep enough to swim. There was a rope swing tethered to a branch which made your secret spot feel only slightly spoiled, under the notion that someone else had gotten there first. Never the matter, every time you went, it was empty. Your whoops and hollers, and the narrative of whatever make-believe game you had come up to play, filled the air. It probably carried through to JJ’s house, which was nearest the spot that only JJ and you knew.

“Ahoy!” you growled, jumping out from behind a bush. “Gimme your gold and nobody gets hurt.”

“If I’m getting hurt then there’s gonna be two funerals!” JJ returned loudly as he unsheathed his sword.

You advanced forward with yours, already posed for fight. JJ slashed in return and the two of you heard the clink of metal hitting metal. You swung and sparred, dancing around the bank of the water. Bare feet treaded over pine needles and rotting, fallen leaves, damp from the water from when the rain pushed the level to rise yesterday.

Gasping, you ducked to avoid a deadly swing of JJ’s sword to your head.

“You’re gonna regret that, matey!” you threatened, and with that, drove him into the water. Before you could break free, JJ was pulling you in with him, and the two of you became submerged.

The water was cold. The continuous flow of it meant there was no time for the sun to heat it, least of all through the leaves above them. There was only one break in the trees where you could see the blue sky fully. You broke to the surface first, then JJ. The two of you were grinning as they clambered to your feet. The water came up to your waists, though only to your parent’s middle thighs most probably. Not that your parents knew their spot. This was sacred ground. When you'd found it, you had demanded that JJ keep it a secret.

“Cross your heart, won’t tell no other,” you'd said. JJ did as you asked and you grinned that same carefree grin as you copied. JJ was still warming up to ask youif John B could join. As the summer had gone on, he’d become closer and closer to Big John’s successor.

“You’ll never find me gold!” JJ announced, holding his sword above his head with one arm. “It dies with me!”

“As will I!” you countered loudly.

Another battle, bloodier than ever, and JJ ended up on his back on the wet bank, dripping from head to toe. His t-shirt was drenched, sticking to his sun-kissed skin, and you stood over him in your sopping blue summer dress. Your skin sparkled with the sheen of the water under the sunlight. It was as if the heavens were blessing you.

Your sword’s tip met his chin, driving his head backwards and up.

“Any last words, Maybank? Your crew is nowhere in sight,” you snarled.

JJ grinned. “Kiss my ass.”

You couldn’t help but gasp out a laugh. Taking advantage, JJ batted the sword off of him and drove his into your chest in one fluid motion. You stumbled backwards with another gasp, this time more dramatic. Holding the handle of the sword, you gently pulled it from her chest.

“You’ll rue this day,” you warned weakly.

Then, you tumbled backwards into the water to meet your untimely demise.

A hand searched for your arm and wrapped around your bicep, pulling you up to sit.

“What does ‘rue’ mean?” JJ asked you.

You sat in the water.

“I don’t know,” youreplied. “I just heard them say it in a movie once.”

“Hm,” JJ thought.

He sat himself beside you. You were no longer pirates battling over treasure. Instead, you were best friends for the summer. At that age, of seven-turning-eight, friendships come fast and easy. All what matters is if you’re any good at gallivanting and sword fighting, or running secret missions against the Russians and English, or racing from one house to another. Not what clothes you wear or how much money you have, or if you’re a kook or a pogue.

“I should probably go home soon,” JJ said. The sun was getting crisper, more orange, warning of dusk.

“You could stay for dinner at our house if you like,” you offered.

JJ thought it over. “I’d have to ask my parents.”

“Okay. I can come with you, if you like.”

“That’s alright,” JJ said. He got to his feet and you got to yours. “Come on.”

The two of you made their way out of the hiding spot and back into real life. A slight shiver had begun to run up your back now that you weren’t racing around in battle. It was a chillier night. You came to JJ’s house first. He hesitated as he looked up at the door. There was a faint ruckus coming from inside. You stood beside him and stared up. He’d been in your house plenty of times, but you’d never been in his. Come to think, you'd never met his parents.

“You gonna ask?” you wondered.

JJ didn’t look at you as he nodded. His eyes remained focused on the door.

“Yeah. Just…wait here a moment,” he said quietly.

JJ approached the house and made his way up the porch steps slowly, then opened the shutter. To the back door he went. He took a breath before pushing it open and walked into his home.

You stood in the garden and waited.

The ruckus was getting louder and it began to sound like voices, shouting. A woman and a man. There was the sound of something being shoved, maybe a table, and then a loud smash of a plate. You gasped and felt your heart begin to pick up. This wasn’t the same sort of heartbeat as when you were battling JJ on the water banks. This was true fear. The type you'd felt when you were face to face with the gator. It only seemed to speed up the louder the hollering got.

“Leave her alone!” you heard JJ’s young voice yell.

A crisp, clean noise echoed in your ears.

Skin hitting skin.

JJ’s unmistakeable screech.

You couldn’t stop yourself from taking flight. You raced to your house, up the street.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was the sound of something tapping. It wasn’t a regular tapping, like a leaky drain dripping outside. It came and went for ages, then again, maybe louder or quieter. You groaned and tucked your head under her duvet, hoping it would pass. It wouldn’t. You tossed your sheet off and flicked on your lamp. Staring to the window, you waited for it to come again. For a long while, it didn’t. Then: clink.

“Are you joking me?” you mumbled sleepily, getting up. You trudged to the window and pulled up your blind. It was dark outside. The sound of crickets and a distant owl hooting was the only sound you were met with when you pushed the window up and open. Looking around, there was nothing save for your back garden.

“Psst!”

You frowned and looked down. There stood JJ. He was in his pyjamas, barefoot.

“JJ?”

He replied with your name as if checking, nervous. You heard him sniffle.

“What are you doing? It’s really late,” you yawned, rubbing your eyes to help them adjust.

JJ rubbed his arm.

“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?” you asked, trying to keep your voice to a whisper. JJ looked up at you again and now, with your eyes adjusted, you could make out tear streaks.

“Can I sleep over, do you think?”

Glancing briefly to your bedroom door, you wondered what your parents might say. They liked JJ for the most part. He was polite when he came around. They knew he made a good friend for their daughter. Besides, it was the summer break. Why couldn’t you have a sleepover? You looked back down to him and nodded.

“Can you climb up?”

You lived in a lodge, the same as most of the people on the cut. It was elevated from the ground by a meter or more. JJ nervously eyed up the wall before shaking his head.

“Do you have a rope or something?”

You turned around and searched your room. You could tie together your bedsheets and blankets, like they did in the movies. No, that wouldn’t work.

“Ah,” you said.

You spotted a skipping rope hung up on the back of your bedroom door. Grabbing it, you came back to the window and lowered it down. JJ wasn’t particularly large. You were the same height and nearly the same weight. His shoulders were a little broader and his legs a little longer, but save for that, you were equals. You believed you might be able to tug him up.

“Grab on.”

JJ began to climb up the wall, using your rope to help. You struggled as you held it steady, managing his weight only just. He came to the windowsill and got a grip, clambering in. You helped him step down into your room. In the full light of your bedroom, you could make out his running tears. On his left cheek was a bright pink mark, almost the perfect shape of a hand.

“Oh JJ,” you mumbled.

That only seemed to make him cry more. You quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. It made you feel better to be hugged whenever you scraped your knee or fell off your bike. JJ hugged you back, crying into your shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he wailed, voice small and fragile like a fixed China plate.

“You don’t gotta be sorry,” you told him quietly.

When JJ had cried most of his tears, you pulled away and closed your window. JJ made his way to your bed, burying himself under the pink and orange duvet. He mumbled something about his head hurting. You closed the blinds, climbed in too, turning off your lamp. You tucked your white childhood bear, named August bear, under one arm.

You lay in silence for a moment. This was different to the other sleepover you'd been to. You'd only been to one, for a girl classmate’s birthday. The other girls and you had spent all night whispering, giggling about anything and everything. The birthday girl’s mom had shushed you several times. Here, all there could be to hear was JJ’s shaking breaths and occasionally sniffs.

“JJ?” you whispered. It was dark now and you couldn’t make out his face.

“Yeah?” he whispered back.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah.”

“I think…I think your house is haunted,” you told him quietly.

JJ sniffed. “Why’s that?”

“Well, your dad’s always mad,” you explained in a hush. “I think something in there takes control of him and…the ghosts are messing with you all.”

JJ’s face was slowly coming into view. His pale skin and blue eyes. Thin lips, still trembling, and nose redden from crying. “You think so?”

“Mhm,” you said.

You found his hand under the blanket and clasped it tightly.

“I think you should come live with me and…and we can be pirates, and sleep at sea, out in the secret spot, and never have to answer to anyone ever again. We won’t have to go to school when summer ends. And you won’t have to hide anymore.”

“That sounds nice,” JJ yawned.

Contagiously, you yawned too. “Yeah. It does.”

Closing your eyes, you felt herself beginning to drift off once more. Your hand remained enclosed around JJ’s. A strong grip, tight like a bowline knot. Then, JJ whispered your name.

“Mhm?”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, smelly,” you hummed.

~*~*~*~*~*

A tapping at the door came. Three rhythmic knocks. Your face lit up and you got up from the breakfast table to answer it.

“Coming!” you called. You'd grown a little over the last school year and didn’t need to go on your tiptoes no more to open the door. On the other side stood JJ, smiling.

"Morning smelly!"

“Morning,” he said. He walked into the now familiar house. Two years of friendship meant he had become a local in your household. “Did I miss breakfast?”

“Nope,” you said, walking to the table with him.

“Morning JJ,” your mom said. She plated him up two pancakes and handed him the syrup as he took the spare seat around the table.

“Morning,” JJ said politely. He was always polite to your parents.

Your dad sat to the left, saying a hi behind the paper. He came alive in the afternoons. Your mom rubbed her swollen belly. JJ had never seen a pregnant woman before. At first, he was worried an alien was growing inside of her. When he told you that, you nearly died with laughter. It wasn’t the greatest feeling to be on the receiving end.

“What’re you kids plans for the day, then?” your mom asked as she took her seat.

“We might go fishing,” JJ said, lathering his pancakes. “There’s some good spots near the marsh.”

“Not the marsh,” you said. Still afraid of the gators, even after two years.

JJ rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, you gotta be careful of them gators,” he told you. He grinned as he lent over to steal a slice of bacon off your place. “They might bite!”

“Hey!” you complained, shoving him in the shoulder.

“Easy you two,” your mom chuckled. “What about John B? He coming with?”

“Maybe. We could go by his and ask,” JJ said to you. You nodded.

Your twosome became a threesome towards the end of the first summer. After playing pirates for the majority of your break, they had decided to invite John B to join. Your friendship with JJ was already set in stone (with him sleeping over almost every other night, though neither of you spoke about why), but considering you went to a different school to them both (a Catholic joint for girls only), your friendship with John B had mostly blossomed at the weekends or in the evenings after school like moonflower. Winter was filled playing games mostly inside, and spring in the grass largely. But now summer was back, school done with, and at the age of nine, there was little else more important than fishing, swimming and playing pretend in the wake.

The two of you polished off your breakfast and you finished getting dressed. Then, out you headed on your pushbikes. You stopped by John B’s, said hi to his dad, JJ stealing another slice of toast in the process, and then your trio went off to the jetty with the promise of being safe. John B had learnt how to drive his dad’s boat, so long as you stayed within a certain area, and JJ was becoming a natural fisher like his dad. You made yourself useful in anyway that you could. It seemed your blessing was swimming. You were strong in the water, could hold your breath the longest. You had taught JJ how to backflip off the jetty.

“I caught one!” JJ hollered. He tugged on the rod, struggling a moment. Reeling in a fish, he whooped loudly. It wasn’t exactly large but compared to the three nine-year-olds, anything was a marlin.

You did a little victory dance.

“Think we could have it for dinner?” John B wondered. His brown hair blew around in the summer breeze.

You pinched the still wiggling fish off the rod and dangled it in John B’s face. He cringed and scrambled away.

“Gross!”

You laughed like a mad man and then tossed it back in the water.

JJ whined. your name in complaint.

“What!? That thing wasn’t good enough to eat,” you said.

“I could’ve used it for bait,” JJ said.

“Oh,” you went meek. “Sorry.”

JJ kept his forlorn expression a moment longer as he got to his feet.

“You’re gonna be!”

With that, he pushed you in the water. You gave out a small squeal as you tumbled in. Before you hit the surface, you heard JJ’s mad laughter. An idea popped into your head. You broke to the surface, gasping for air and thrashing like you'd seen a guy do on TV.

“Help!” you gargled.

JJ panicked, leaning over and calling your name.

You kept your hands above you, splashing around. JJ tried to grab onto you. The moment you felt his hand in yours, a wicked grin came to your face, and you tugged him in too. When he came to the surface, you were cackling away, treading water comfortably as if going on a brisk jog.

“Hilarious,” he muttered, splashing at you. You splashed him back.

John B muttered something snidey about third-wheeling, and JJ and yourself shared a look. One nod then another, and the two pirates were hijacking the ship and pulling the third of their gang into the water too.

After swimming around for what felt like hours, the three of you clambered back into the small rowboat. Cheeks aching from laughter and chests heaving, you collapsed onto your backs. You grinned up at the sky. You wanted forever to feel this way. Lungs full, heart light, mind empty.

And hey - why couldn’t you?

~*~*~*~*~*

On his way back from school, JJ heard your laughter from your garden. He could recognise that sound anywhere. Walking over to your house, through to the back yard, he saw you sat on the porch steps. Your dad was sat with you, blowing bubbles in front of you both. The moment JJ came into sight, you were sitting up straighter, waving.

“I like your cap, smelly,” you said as he approached, nodding to his head.

JJ grinned and took it off. Placing it on your head, pushing down on the lip so it fell over your face, he said, “got it from my dad.”

“Nice,” you giggled, correcting it.

JJ smiled down at you. He was taller than you now, by a couple of inches.

It felt as though he had recently realised you were a girl. It sounded stupid, because JJ knew that you'd always been a girl, but when you were playing out it never seemed to matter. You were a good pirate nemesis and a decent fisher, and always up for a laugh. But in the latest school year, the girls had started whispering about the boys, nervously asking them to hold hands around the playground, playing kiss tag during lunch break. JJ and John B never got involved. They’d sit back and watch from a branch in a tree, talking about surfing. JJ was itching to try it out. His dad always raved about the waves.

You had nice hair though. Sun-stained skin and strawberry kissed lips. Your colourful eyes were squinting against the sun.

JJ stole back his cap and cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to distract his wandering thoughts.

“Wanna go get John B and head to the cove?” he wondered.

You turned and asked your dad. The answer was yes, so long as you were back before dark. With that, the two of you set off to John B’s place. JJ bumped your shoulder as you walked. You talked about school and your peers. Told stories about the fights that had broken out on the school yard. You complained about your school's mandatory summer dress's and the lack of good jello flavours in the canteen. JJ complained about only catching small fish and nothing big enough to fry.

When you went to retrieve John B, he complained that he was tired, and didn’t feel up to coming out. Walking to the pirates cove, JJ and you complained about John B not coming out to play when you hadn’t seen him in five days.

“He’s so lame,” you muttered, kicking a stone.

“What an asshole.”

“I don’t think he’s an asshole,” you said to JJ. “Sides, you shouldn’t say things like that.”

JJ shrugged. “My dad says it all the time.”

You eyed his side profile. “How are things, with your dad?”

JJ shoved his hands in his short pockets and shrugged again, watching his feet as you kept walking. “Fine.”

“He do anything lately? To you, I mean?”

He sniffed and looked the opposite way to you, at the houses. “What’s it matter?”

“Well…” You weren’t sure how to answer that. You sighed and conceded. “I guess it doesn’t.”

The rest of the walk to pirate cove was quiet. JJ felt badly and he wanted to apologise, though there wasn’t anything specific to apologise for. There was just a feeling itching at him that he’d upset you. As you came to the clearing which led to the cove, he stopped. You followed suit, watching him.

“Race?” he offered, giving you a small smile.

You grinned.

“Bring it.”

A countdown, feet poised and at the ready, and you were off. JJ stumbled over a tree root as he ran, making you laugh. You ran and ran until you got to the cove. There, panting, you had to accept defeat. JJ’s hand slapped the tree in victory.

“First!” he cheered.

You laughed.

“Best two out of three?” you wondered.

JJ eyed up where you stood, on the edge of the jump where the rope swing had been made. There was a small drop into the deeper part of the water. He grinned.

“Nah.”

Shoving you on the collarbones, you let out a screech as fell into the water. When you came to the surface, you were yelling all sorts of things at him. JJ knew you weren't really angry.

“Asshole!” you hollered.

JJ barked out a laugh.

“You said it!”

“Screw you!” you returned, making him laugh harder.

You swam to shore and unsheathed your sword. It was a little rusted from want of use, with school disrupting your battle. The older the two of you got, the more unnatural it was starting to feel to wield it. You raised it in threat of war. JJ raised a brow. Doing the same, he pulled out his own sword. Recently sharpened.

“You’re gonna regret that, Captain Maybank,” you said in a croaky voice.

“Argh,” JJ countered, advancing to you with his sword extended. “We’ll just have to see.”

The battle was bloody and brief. Though out of practise, you triumphed, with JJ dead on the dirt bank once more. Winning the fight, the map died with him, and thus the treasure. Upon realising this, you cried out a long, dramatic ‘noooo!’, dropping to your knees before falling flat on the dirt beside your defeated foe.

As you caught your breath, your smiles slowly fading, you watched the sky above. You'd fallen on the perfect spot where you could see it through the trees. Sun now lower, the days shorter thanks to fall, you sighed and folded your arms behind your head. JJ did the same.

“Hey. Can I ask you something?” JJ wondered.

“Yeah, course.”

“Have you had your first kiss yet?”

You kept watching the sky. A bird flew by, merely a dark spec.

“No,” you said. “I mean, I go to an all-girls school, remember? Not many guys to be kissing.”

“You could kiss a girl.”

“I don’t know,” you said. “Not sure if I wanna. Kiss a girl, that is.”

JJ nodded against the floor. He sighed and watched the leaves rustle in the breeze. A few fell.

“Have you had your first kiss?”

“No,” JJ admitted. Somewhat bashful and somewhat proud, he told you, “this girl Becky wanted to kiss me.”

“She did?”

“Mhm. But I didn’t feel like it.”

That was a lie. Ten year-old JJ was nervous as hell. Scared, even. He’d laughed it off with John B, was perhaps a little mean to Becky in the process, but she didn’t ask again. That was on Tuesday.

“What do you think it’s like?” you wondered. “I mean, they do it all the time in the movies.”

“Not sure,” JJ frowned. “Maybe wet?”

“Ew,” you laughed, snorting. You sat up and dusted the pine needles and dirt off your wet arms. They were already drying off. You looked down at him. His grey t-shirt was stained with dirt and dust. The red cap on his head sat funny, having been shifted since he laid down.

“We could always kiss,” you said.

JJ’s eyes darted to you.

“We could?”

“Why not?” you shrugged. You fiddled your fingers. “You and John B are the only boys I know.”

“Then why don’t you kiss John B?” JJ asked you, sitting up too.

You shrugged, looking to the water. “Just…don’t wanna.”

JJ considered your offer. He took you in as you watched the creek. Slightly imperfect features, sun-kissed cheeks, faintly rosy from running and playing. He’d rather kiss you than anybody else.

“Okay,” he said. You turned your head to face him.

“Okay.”

The two of you nervously giggled, then shifted around awkwardly. Somehow, you both ended up on your knees, facing one another. You had your hands clenched in little fists on your thighs. JJ had his buried in his short pockets. You stared at one another for a long minute, then slowly, nervously, leaned towards each other. You closed your eyes and JJ supposed he should do the same. That’s what they did in the films, after all. A gap, a falter, and then your lips clumsily met. It wasn’t a quick peck like JJ saw the other kids doing at school during kiss-tag. It also wasn’t long or passionate, like in the films. It just sort of…was. You pulled away first.

JJ opened his eyes just before you opened yours. His face was bright pink. You snorted before laughing altogether. JJ couldn’t help but copy. The two of you fell into hysterics.

“That was it?” you howled.

“What the hell is all the fuss about?” JJ agreed with a guffaw.

Your laughter echoed off the trees and rocks, and encased you in a joyous, jovial bubble.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

There were no more pirates, at pirates’ cove. Now, instead, you, JJ and John B would sit around on the dirt bank and listen to music. You passed stories back and forth about school, with the JJ’s become more and more filthy, making you and John B groan through your laughs. You often wished you went to the same school as JJ and John B. Jealousy tickled at your throat whenever you thought of the two of them hanging out without you throughout the day. You knew JJ didn’t love school. As you neared the age of thirteen, he joked about skipping class more often. You also had this weird feeling that he still preferred it to being at home. Just two nights ago he had slept at your house again. He had red markings around his neck, as if his dad had tried to choke him. As always, you didn’t ask and he didn’t explain. You just held his hand and let him sleep. Snuck him breakfast in the morning and helped him climb out your window. He didn’t need the rope as much anymore, having had a growth spurt over the summer. It remained your shared secret. It was the only one you had from John B now. Neither of you had said about keeping it on the downlow– you just mutually decide it was best to.

JJ’s aforementioned growth spurt hadn’t gone unnoticed by you. As the three of you passed stories about the boat race that happened a couple of days ago, in the first week of summer break, you found your eyes drifting to JJ. To the way his arms moved as he talked, the beginnings of muscles building since he started getting more obsessive with gym. Around his neck is a shark tooth necklace that you’d given him as a feel-better gift, a couple days after his mom left, a year ago now. It sits against his toned, sun-kissed chest. The black button-up shirt he was wearing hung lose on his frame.

“Hey! You wanna stop ogling JJ and answer the question?” John B asked, tossing a grape at you to get your attention.

You rolled your eyes at him and flipped him the bird. “In your dreams am I ogling JJ, John B.”

“Think they’re more like his dreams but whatever,” John B muttered. To that, JJ flipped him off too.

“What was your question, then?” you asked.

“Wanna go hang out at the docks? See if there’s some odd jobs that need doing? We might be able to earn a couple of bucks or something,” John B said.

You shrugged. That actually didn’t sound half bad. So, finishing your soda, you nodded and got to your feet. “Let’s do it.”

“I’m telling you,” JJ began as he stood up, too. “This guy Heyward gave me a twenty just for helping wash down his boat the other day.”

“You’re full of shit,” you told him, rolling your eyes.

“I swear to God! A whole twenty!” JJ argued back loudly. His voice cracked in the process, making you and John B share a snigger. “Fuck off.”

“Oh, someone’s got their panties in a twist,” you whistled with a grin.

“You think I wear panties?” JJ asked you, raising a brow. The three of you had started walking by then, out of the marsh.

“I know it,” you quipped back.

JJ grinned boyishly and sprinted ahead, back facing you, before promptly mooning you and John B. You both groaned, shaking your heads at him as he broke into hysterics.

“You’re so gross, JJ,” you muttered, pretending to gag.

“Lucy don’t think so,” he cockily replied, falling back into step with the two of you.

“Lucy? That the flavour of the week, huh?” you teased.

JJ rolled his eyes, smirking. “She’s cute. She’s got this wonderful, enormous—”

He gestured graphically to his chest.

“-Personality.”

“You need help, JJ,” John B said in response, making you laugh.

It seemed the moment JJ had become an official teenager, he started thinking more with his dick than his head. Girls weren’t blind to him. He was a good-looking kid; funny and outgoing and rebellious. One of the girls in your friendship group at school had a crush on him, too. Had started asking you all about him: his favourite food and favourite music. Shamelessly, she wore a band tee-shirt of The Kooks (which hung so big on her, you suspected it was from her dad’s wardrobe) the next day when the two of you went to the boneyard to hang out. The older kids didn’t much like you guys there, but when there was enough of you, they seemed to tolerate it. You had stuffed down the joy you had gotten when seeing how JJ barely even glanced at her.  

The docks were rather quiet that day. Miss Amy nodded hello to the three of you as you walked down the jetty. JJ made a crude joke about her to John B, earning a shove in the shoulder as the former boy laughed. You petted one of the fishermen’s dogs as you passed another boat. Then, you were walking up near Heyward’s. There was a boy sat outside, reading a book.

“Yo. Heyward in?” JJ asked him.

The boy looked up. Dark skin and dark hair, eyes wide as if surprised someone was talking to him. “He had to head out for a bit.”

“Damnit,” JJ sighed, looking to you and John B.

“Why? What’d you need?” the guy asked.

“We’re just looking to see if we can make a couple bucks,” JJ told him.

John B clarifies what he meant by adding, “we helped him out with some groceries the other day.”

“Oh,” the guy nodded. “You guys from around here, too?”

“Sorta,” you replied. “We go to Kildare High.”

“Me too,” he smiled. You smiled back. He seemed like a nice guy. A little awkward and tense, but friendly, nonetheless. “I’m Pope.”

You introduced yourself, shaking his outstretched hand. John B did the same and JJ nodded at him, dropping his name last.

“There’s no groceries to run but the boat needs a clean,” Pope told you all, rising to his feet. “I was just gonna finish this chapter before doing it.”

“We’re down to help if you like,” John B said.

“How much for, like?”

“JJ!” You scolded.

He held his hands up. “What? Just asking! Not gonna do slave labour!”

“Ignore him,” you said to Pope. You looked to the jetty. “Which one’s yours?”

“This one,” Pope said, pointing. It’s painted white; a little well-loved but still in good nick. He put his book down after dog-earing the page. You couldn’t help but take a scan of the cover. The World Of Autopsies.

Following his lead, you grabbed at buckets and sponges. Pope unravelled the hose pipe and pulled it with him as you headed towards the boat. JJ messed with his cap, chatting to John B about fishing, and you fell in foot with Pope.

“What’s that book you’re reading?”

“It’s about autopsies,” Pope replied, sounding somewhat embarrassed as he looked at his feet.

“What? They didn’t have any copies of Jekyll and Hyde left?” you joked.

He smiled at that. “I wanna be a coroner, when I graduate high school.”

“Damn, you’re thinking about after high school? I don’t even think past after this year,” you chuckled.

“I don’t even think past after today!” JJ added loudly.

“You don’t have any reason to!” you called back snidely. He stuck his tongue out at you.

The three of you climbed aboard and got to cleaning. The conversation came naturally; cracking jokes and telling stories, getting to know Pope. Already, he was starting to feel like he was slotting quite comfortably into your strange little gang of pirates. JJ took the piss out of him rather a lot, but you knew that he liked him; could tell by the way he kept asking him questions and offering him help.

As you hosed down the deck, JJ scrubbed away at a stain on the flagpole. A wasp flew at you. Made you screech and dodge out of the way, sending the water stream messy. It hit JJ and drenched him in a second. He shouted out your name in a curse.

“Sorry!”

JJ rolled his eyes, finding his smile, and grabbed at the bucket of soapy water. You already knew what he was thinking. Laughing, you went to start running, but he was so fast (legs now so much longer than yours) and caught up easily, tipping the water on you. Screaming from the cold, you directed the hose pipe on him, aiming for his face. The two of you laughed, starting to wrestle as he battled for the hose, and you feel like pirates again, just as you were when you were seven.

Finally, easing up, the two of you broke apart. Your chest ached from laughing. JJ wiped his face and took off his soaked cap to brush back his hair. Then, his eyes fell on you.

Laughing, pointing at you, he said, “you’re looking way to hot right now.”

You looked down to see that the t-shirt you were wearing was now see-through from the wet, sticking to your bralette. Rolling your eyes mirthfully, trying to fight off the heat that was rushing to your cheeks, you messed with your top so it was no longer pasted to your skin.

“If you two are done flirting, I’ve got some drinks for you kids for your hard work,” a deep voice called.

You and JJ spun around to come face to face with Heyward. He was holding up a tray of plastic cups. The warmth in your face only got worse. JJ mumbled something along the lines of ‘we’re not flirting’ under his breath as the two of you dumb your stuff. Stepping off the boat, hose pipe now switched off, you, JJ, John B and Pope all enjoyed a drink, an unspoken, newly formed foursome.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

At sixteen came the year of experimenting. Alcohol and weed and cigarettes. A few classmates were now in relationships. First kisses were a thing of the past and instead gossip consisted of sex. Who did what? How far did they go? Conversations like that were made for JJ. Sat around at John B’s house, you sat next to the latest member of the group (Kiara), he’d divulge in dirty stories of debauchery which none of you asked for, but all would listen to, semi-curious. Especially the boys. John B was already leaning towards being a hopeless romantic. He’d revealed to you, one night, his crush on a certain Kook girl. You tried your best not to laugh him out of your room. There’s was no chance in hell anything like that could ever work out. Pope was less awkward with you guys now, but still useless with girls. Flirting was like a foreign tongue to him. Kiara didn’t seem all that interested in dating. You and she had never talked about crushes or guys.

“I swear man, this girl was going down on me like she was thirsty,” JJ grinned, smug and sure of himself.

You gagged into your drink, making Kie laugh.

“You’re so full of shit,” Pope told him.

“Dude, I’m telling you. Getting your dick sucked is like the best feeling in the world,” JJ gloated.

“Can we please talk about something else?” Kiara asked, rolling her eyes.

John B seemed happy to indulge. “So, my dad’s got a new trial he thinks with this gold—”

“Not about the gold!” the four of you chorused at him. John B shrunk back into his seat around the fire, taking a swig of his beer, wincing at the taste. None of you really liked it all that much, yet.

“Well, my parents are still leaning towards sending me to Kook Academy,” Kie said.

You frowned. “Really?”

“Mhm. I’ve managed to convince them to let me stay another year, but I think when I turn seventeen, it’s gonna happen.”

“Damn,” you said.

“Well, we’ll still, like, come hang out with you,” JJ told her.

“Gee, thanks, JJ,” Kiara sarcastically quipped at his luke-warm sentiment.

“Yeah. I’m sure your life is going to be lacking without JJ’s sex-stories,” you joked.

“Jealousy is a disease, babe. Get better,” he said to you, semi-bitter.

The conversation fell into talks about school and summer. Daydreaming for the endless days, when the sun rises at four and sets at midnight. Life feels infinite then, full of endless possibilities. Possibilities that you dote in, like how maybe JJ might snap out of dating this endless string of girls and look at you for once as more than a friend. You knew it was a pipe dream. After being his friend for so long, it seemed pathetic to think he might be able to picture you outside of that box. No matter. He was still your best friend.

“I gotta get going home,” Pope eventually said.

“Me too,” Kie agreed, getting up.

“You guys staying?” John B asked you and JJ.

You shook your head. “Sorry, Stinky. My parents asked for me back for midnight, so I’m already past curfew.”

John B smiled at the nickname. JJ was Smelly so it only seemed right for John B to be Stinky. Downing the last of your beer, you groaned and got to your feet. JJ stood up too.

“I better head as well before my old man gets ticked off,” JJ sighed.

The two of you share a look. You know it was bullshit; he was crashing at your place tonight, just like he did almost every night. The last fight him and his dad got in got bloody. JJ was strong enough to fight back now. He didn’t cry like he did when he was a kid. Just got angry. More times when he’d show up to your house after a row, he’d be seething, cussing his dad out and tugging at his hair. It scared you to see him collapse under the pressure like that. It seemed more and more like there was this tension lying under him. Part of it must’ve been inherited from his dad – his short-fused temper – but it seemed the happy-household he lived in only coaxed it out of him further.

“Ciao ciao,” JJ called as the two of you walked away from the chateau.

“Later Pogues,” John B hollered back.

“Pogues?” you mumbled, looking to JJ.

“Like Pogies? Scum-fish?”

“Ah,” you said, nodding.

“I like the sound of it,” JJ said.

You hummed your agreement. He fixed his cap. This one was green. He got it cheap from a thrift shop.

“Hey, smelly?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?” you wondered.

“I feel like you’re going to anyway,” he chuckled.

“Is sex…Like, is it actually that good?” you asked. You want to look at him when you do, but you can’t seem to be able to hold his gaze. Found it easier to casually look at the ground ahead.

JJ shrugged; hands shoved in his short pockets. “Depends. Sometimes it’s better than other times.”

You nodded.

“Why?”

“Just wondering,” you mumbled.

The two of you don’t talk more about it. You walked back to your house in near silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or tense. Routine as always, you headed up the front door and quietly call out to your parents who are sat in the living room, watching television. You snuck past your younger brother’s door to his bedroom before walking into your own. Opening the window, you started taking off your jewellery at your dresser whilst he clambered through the window. He grabbed his toothbrush from your make-up brush pot, checked the cost of the corridor before darting into the bathroom. By the time he’s done, you were in your pyjamas and sat on the bed, scrolling through Instagram.

JJ borrowed your comb to start taming his hair. He’s stood in front of your mirror, in a pair of gym-style shorts that hang low on his waist. You do your best not to look at him, stood half-naked, abs on proud display. It feels wrong for you too.

“You haven’t had sex yet, right?”

You have to look up from your phone with that.

“What?”

“You haven’t slept with anyone yet, have you?” he repeated.

“Well…No, I guess not,” you mumbled.

JJ looked to you. “Why not?”

You laughed, trying your best to keep your voice down. “Nobody’s really into me like that.”

“Bullshit,” JJ immediately said.

“What?”

“Bull-shit! I know Matty P was asking you to the kegger just last week. That guy’s so horny for you – it’s obvious,” JJ replied.

You rolled your eyes and looked back down at your phone. “He’s also a sad loser who thinks owning a designer watch is an entire personality trait.”

JJ sniggered. “True.”

“I mean, everyone knows it’s fake,” you chuckled. It seemed to work, your distraction from the topic. You didn't think there would be anyway for you to subtly explain how you hadn't entertained the idea of someone else, in the hopes that one day, JJ might want you back.

You move to crawl under the bedsheets as JJ finished up on his hair. He took his spot and you yours, like always, and you flick off your lamp. There’s nothing but a single string of fairy lights keeping your room lit up. They hang above your bedroom door, batteries half-dead, only half-lit. Sighing, you turned off your phone and dumped it in on the bedside table. JJ got comfy, shifting around under the sheets. He smelt of cologne and smoke from the bonfire.

As he laid on his back, you laid on your side, facing the wall. You felt wide awake.

“You remember when we kissed?”

Wide wide awake.

“You mean back at Pirates’ Cove?”

“Yeah,” JJ said lowly into the darkness of the room.

“I mean, yeah. I remember it,” you replied. Silence. “Why?”

“Just thinking about it,” JJ mumbled. Frowning, you wondered what he could mean.

“In what way?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. You hear the rustle of the duvet as he turned onto his side. You weren’t sure if he was facing you or the other wall. “Just how that was the first time I sort of realised you were a girl.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. You moved the blanket to muffle the noise. Rolling over, you come to find he was facing you. There was barely enough space for Jesus to fit between you both. Maybe his arm, might?

“Flattering, smelly,” you mumbled. Both of you sported lazy smiles.

“You look so different now,” JJ told you.

“I should hope so. That was six years ago,” you replied.

“Shit. Was it that long ago?” he checked. You nodded. “So, we’ve been friends for…”

“Nine years,” you finished.

“Nine years,” JJ echoed.

There was a strange sadness to his voice, like time passed too quickly. He was so much older now. Youth still there but mellowed, from his dad and his mom and his life. One would think adult things like sex and drinking would make him more mature, but it just screamed out him being young. Wanting to experience everything the world can offer, as if he might drop dead tomorrow.

“You know the first time you slept here,” you began, “you were crying. It was after your dad hit you.”

“He’d been laying into my ma,” JJ said, filling in the blanks. “I tried to get him off her and he just went for me instead.”

“I told you something.”

“I know,” JJ smiled. “You told me my house was haunted.”

“I really thought it was,” you chuckled soberly. “And I really thought if we just moved to pirates’ cove, everything would be fixed.”

“I know,” JJ said. “I believed you. I…I remember thinking that it was one of the nicest things you’d ever said to me, when you did.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. I think…”

He cut himself with a sigh, eyes drifting down, away from your gaze. For some reason, it makes your heartbeat viscerally harder.

“You think?” you encouraged, staring at him.

“I think that was the moment I realised I liked you.”

“Well, obviously. We’re friends, JayJ. I knew—”

“No,” he said, cutting you off, firm. His eyes are boring into yours, as if he can see into your thoughts. Your short-lived smile faded. “I mean that I realised I liked liked you. That I had a crush on you.”

You licked your lips nervously. “When we were kids?”

JJ’s fingers brushed against your own, under the blankets. He tangled his into yours, intertwining your hands, just like you had done when you were kids. You couldn’t tell who moved first, but the two of you start to kiss. You sighed against his lips, bringing up a hand to stroke at his jaw, feeling half-detached from your body. Is this real? Is this actually happening? The moment JJ’s teeth gently nipped at your lower lip was your answer. Yes.

All the other girls and all the other bullshit faded away. It didn’t matter to you, in that moment. JJ was tethered to you from the start, since you were kids. Everybody could see it coming – maybe even you – that the two of you would tumble through life together. It just needed time to grow, like nurturing a rare but beautiful flower. Yes, you thought, as the kiss deepens and the hands explored; good things take time.