#this is specifically about my mom responding to pieces of writing I send her with just the heart or thumbs up reaction on imessage.

[six-improbable-things]

It really, really sucks when you're proud of something and you show it to someone you care about, and you ask them to tell you what they think, and all they say is "cool". From that response I don't even know if you actually saw what I showed you! Tell me how it made you feel! Ask me questions!

[icequeenbae]

The Duality of Baekhyunie (m) | BBH

Sequel: Double the Jealousy

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader, female!Baekhyun x Reader

Superpowers, best friends to lovers, lots of backstory (sorry), some angst, smut

Warnings: female Baek, some girl on girl action, explicit content (mostly f/m, but… you’ve been warned), unprotected sex

Word Count: 9.3k

Summary: Teleporting into your best friend’s office uninvited was something you’d gotten used to. What you didn’t count on is overhearing a 'private moment' one late night. Realizing that you could not accept the notion of him being with somebody else, you responded the only way you knew how – you ran away from the object of your inconvenient feelings. But when you have to face him in the most vulnerable state, can you really accept him for what he is?

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Author’s Note: So… This is my tumblr debut hehe It’s not at all my first piece of writing, but I’m happy to start off my blog by sharing this. It was a very long road for me, and I couldn’t do it without @technicallymilkshakes who was my rock throughout the editing process [sending love your way, Mars]. I hope you guys enjoy the story, please let me know what you liked (or suggest improving) in the comments or DMs, I’d love to hear from you! 

Tags:  @blahblahblah-boo​

Byun Baekhyun was your bestest friend. You’d known him a lifetime, and absolutely adored him from day one. Although incredibly cheeky (which, in all honesty, was part of his charm), Baekhyun was also incredibly soft-hearted towards everyone – those he considered family in particular. During the many years of your friendship, he looked after you, especially since he was a few years your senior.

Both pretty open-minded and talkative, you used to chat about anything and everything, and it was so natural for you to ask him to come over with snacks and cuddles and some mischief whenever you were feeling down or just plain bored (like he wasn’t already on his way). Baekhyun, dramatic as he was, would lift your spirits up easily, telling you hilarious stories about himself. Like that one time he told his then-crush he was a goalkeeper to make a pun (girl-keeper, you see?), and then had to pretend to actually be a goalie of the school’s soccer team. His goalkeeping skills were so miserable that the girl he was trying to impress walked off with someone else after the game. However, he stuck with it and, turned out, he wasn’t a talentless player – he just went for the wrong position. Baekhyun loved telling this story of him becoming a star-forward of the school, and – a tiny TMI – a universal crush for any girl in a ten mile radius. All thanks to one bad pun. And maybe a haircut.

Still, the biggest secrets you’d traded were those related to your abilities. Both you and Baekhyun came from very special backgrounds and inherited the familial powers of your ancestors. The women in your family traditionally received the gifts from their mothers — thus, your power was teleportation. Your mom also had the gift of vision, but this ability was not as easy to tap into so it came later on in adulthood. That you were thankful for; teleportation alone was difficult enough, requiring more practice than you could muster the discipline for. But with the help of your loving family and your best friend by your side, you gradually got there.

As for Baekhyun… it was complicated.

His family had a specific way the familial magic was inherited. For generations, their women had been giving birth to twins – a son and a daughter. The son would then receive the power of shapeshifting, and his sister would control the healing light. Yet Baekhyun’s mother did not follow any rules: she simply fell in love and got married — against her family’s wishes — to an ordinary man with no magic in his blood.

The inevitable happened; the firstborn – only a son, no daughter – was discovered to have taken after his father and held no magical power. Not that it made a difference to his parents, but the mother’s side of the family was inconsolable — their powerful line was in danger.

When Baekhyun was born, surrounded by shimmering orbs, it was clear as day that he indeed had a power. As he grew older, it became more and more evident that he controlled the Light. You would think that his mother’s family would finally be pleased… Yet they were furious. Not only did the boy not have the ability to shapeshift, but he also held the power inherited exclusively by women of their family. It was a disgrace.

You, on the other hand, never cared about his heritage. In fact, you thought he had the coolest power in the world! The amount of times he fooled around, lighting in-house stars for you during sleepovers, was impossible to count. Though you feared the dark before, Baekhyun managed to make it your friend. And why would you fear anything when his touch could heal almost any injury? Even though it could drain him, he always healed you. ‘What are friends for?’ he used to say, patting you on the head fondly.

The two of you were inseparable for many years, and you never questioned it – not until high school. Since Baekhyun had already started university, you saw much less of him around. No lunch breaks together, no fun walks home after classes… You kept coming over (read – teleporting) to hang out, of course, and he told you about the ‘grown up life’ he was leading. But that was far from how much time you used to spend together when you went to the same school. You missed the way he would always make you laugh at the library, getting both of you kicked out as a result, just to have you come to his hapkido classes and watch the elementary school kids he trained call him Master-nim. Every time one of them addressed him, he side-eyed you with the most neutral expression he could muster. You didn’t buy it for one second – he definitely enjoyed that! Most likely because of the giant eye roll you responded with, which easily broke his attempts to maintain a straight face and made him tilt his head back in that rumbling laugh of his. You only shook your head and let the corner of your mouth turn up slightly, contemplating if it made his chest hurt.

It was hard for you, not having him around all the time. No one could read you so well. Whenever he met up with you to go home after school, it only took him 3 seconds to know if you were upset or tired or simply in a bad mood. And he always figured out what to do – joke around, give you a tight hug, or sit you down in ‘your’ armchair in his room (he asked his parents to get it since you complained that sitting on the floor left bruises on your butt) as he opted to sit on a pillow in front of you, and have a long conversation about what was bothering you. Usually fueled by some hot chocolate too – you were a teenage girl, after all.

Of course you strived to reciprocate, however, Baekhyun didn’t like to share much of his troubles. He just made it sound like a joke. ‘I’m a man, you know? I’ll figure it out, Y/N-ah!’ But you could tell from his tone when it was hard for him to handle alone. So you just didn’t let him; ignoring his act, you would throw your arms around him in a tight lock and tell him you would always be there to help. And you really were – cheering him on wherever he went and being someone he could rely on.

But could you do that from a different city? You guessed he simply avoided talking to you on the phone if he was down. Obviously, you couldn’t teleport every few hours to check on him. It felt like he was slipping away, little by little, with you knowing fewer and fewer details of his day and, generally, his life. But you still wanted to know those things and be a part of his life! You wanted to be the one to press your cheek to his shoulder as you held him when he was sad or frustrated. And the one he showcased his cringy aegyo to in order to get you to cook him something yummy. And the one he teased mercilessly every time you messed up in his favorite video game, tickling you and shoving you playfully to the side with one hand as a distraction because the winner got a wish granted.

Long distance friendship made you realize that you missed him. His playfulness and silly jokes, his caring eyes and warm embrace, his loud laugh and tiny pout, even the way he always devoured food as if someone was after him. You missed him so much more than one would miss a friend.

That was not a revelation you were ready for. The unfamiliar stirring in your chest every time you visited, or so much as thought of him, was not something you were equipped to handle. He suddenly became the first boy to make you feel like a million butterflies fluttered their wings in your belly with just his morning voice on the phone. But what could you do from so far away? You desperately wanted to get him back in your life, now more than ever, and decided to choose universities closer to his whereabouts. So that you could be around more – the way you used to be, as opposed to stopping by as an occasional guest.

Luckily, you got into the same school as him, although not in business administration, but marketing. You were so happy – finally you had a chance with him! Being in close proximity again, you were sure you could find a way to let him know that you wanted to be more than friends. Yes, you had no experience in this whatsoever, and you barely even acknowledged that your newly discovered feelings for him were of a romantic nature, but it was Baekhyun, after all. If anyone could read you like a book, it was him. And he’d know what to do.

But as time passed, you realized that you were so heavily friend-zoned that no technique would help make Baekhyun see you as a girl. You were just that – his precious childhood friend. And at that point of your life, for the first time, the notion made you sick. You used every trick in the book on him, but all in vain. Falling asleep on his shoulder? He’d just cover you with a blanket. Subtly asking him out on a picnic date? Sure enough, he’d bring his friends – the more, the merrier, right? And if you opted for extra pretty clothes when you came over to his place, he offered you to change in some of his, since yours didn’t ‘look comfy’.

Maybe you weren’t skilled enough to get the message across, you thought. So, as an act of despair, you did the last thing that came to your mind. You got drunk. Not just for the sake of it though – you merely needed some ‘liquid courage’ to confess to your best friend. You should’ve realized that it was a bad idea, but you still went with it. And, as anticipated, it did not go well.

‘Baekhyunee,’ you whined, putting your head onto his chest as you wrapped your arms around his waist. ‘You’re always so good to me. I want to tell you something… important.’

Your speech was slurred, but you tried to sound as serious as possible.

‘And what would that be?’ Baekhyun chuckled, holding you by the shoulders to keep you from falling on the floor in his room, where he brought you to crash.

‘I love you,’ you breathed out full of determination, and he…

He snickered!?

‘Yeah, me too. Can you let go of my shirt?’ He tried to shake you off onto the bed. ‘You should sleep it off, little lush.’

You wanted to insist, but he scolded you for your lack of cooperation.

‘Come on, my back is hurting already. You’re such an impossible drunk,’ he joked, but you instantly pulled back.

‘It’s your bed. Aren’t you getting in?’ It made you grit your teeth – how desperate must you be coming off!

‘Of course not, I’ll be on the couch. See you tomorrow!’ He said as he walked out of the room, leaving you slumped on the bed.

Of course not.

This entire situation, the way he reacted… What if the real problem was not your poor seduction skills, but the fact that he just didn’t feel the same way? You did not take that into account.

You regretted everything. Your stupid behaviour, your pathetic attempts to flirt with him and get him to see you as girlfriend material. There was a reason why he kept treating you like an older brother would – your feelings were one-sided. What made you feel even worse was knowing that Baekhyun actually had dating experience, as opposed to you – pining over him for years like a silly schoolgirl. You’d found out that he’d been in a relationship with a girl who was his senior in university, which he only told you about after it ended. When you confronted him about keeping that from you for months, he explained that he ‘didn't want it to be awkward’. Maybe you just weren’t his type. Or maybe he only adored you as his ‘little sister’. And perhaps that was worse than rejection.

Your pride, as well as your heart, was smashed. You wanted to disappear to the farthest ends of the world. The very next morning, when you teleported out of his room upon awakening (anything to avoid the awkwardness of that breakfast conversation), you decided that something needed to change. No more than a week later, you brought the documents needed to study abroad for a double degree. 

You told Baekhyun you wanted a challenge, and an international degree would also give you more opportunities later on. But in all honesty… It was your unrequited feelings for him you were foolishly running from.

He supported your decision, hoping that you’d still be in touch just like when he moved away. But you were always so tired from excessive studying that you couldn’t even use your ability to teleport properly, certainly not to such impressive distances. After one particular incident where you wound up in the middle of nowhere after trying to visit him on the weekend, and barely managed to make it back home safely, Baekhyun forbade you from trying again. At least not until you had enough energy to use your power for longer teleports without scaring him out of his mind. He missed spending time with you, he kept telling you over text complete with multiple emojis, but tried to distract himself by hanging out with his other friends more and focusing on his studies and career.

You were doing pretty much the same thing. Except your goal was to finally move on and fill the empty space in your heart with someone other than the person you wanted most. He was unattainable, so your fixation on him had to end.

For a long while you thought that you’d succeeded; a few months into your studies abroad, you started a relationship. It was the first time in a while that you were happy, and thoughts of your best friend became less frequent and bothersome. Your first real date, your first real everything – your life seemed much fuller than before, and you truly believed that your attraction to Baekhyun had finally died down. Out of sight, out of mind, or so they say.

But the happiness didn’t last, and the glass castle you’d been building so diligently for months fell apart right in front of you.

Baekhyun rang you up one day just to hear you choking back tears, telling him that your boyfriend had broken up with you. The reason was simple – he found someone else he was interested in. That was only a few weeks prior to your planned return home. Your ass of a boyfriend made it clear that it was ‘fun while it lasted’, but he was not about to get into any ‘long distance messes’.

This was your first relationship, and your best friend couldn’t allow you to go through major heartbreak all on your own. So, he came to see you the following week, and your wallowing ass was never out of his sight. Baekhyun made sure to provide all the distraction you needed, bringing you home safely afterwards.

Soon enough, you got your act together and decided to pursue a Master’s degree at your old university. It was a great school, especially great because the campus was located not too far from the small fashion design firm Baekhyun now ran with one of his close friends, Chanyeol.

Naturally, you were being constantly pressured by your bestie to forego the dorm life and just move into the spare room he had vacant ever since his previous roommate had moved out. You knew he owned the apartment, but he was still paying off the mortgage. Yet he insisted that the rent his former roommate used to pay was ‘symbolic’, and he wasn’t going to take your money anyways. You tried an ultimatum – that you weren’t going to move in unless you paid at least some rent. But Baekhyun, being the cunning little shit that he was, begged you to help out with marketing for his company instead – much like an intern, or a junior employee. He said the department was small and could benefit from a fresh pair of eyes and your international expertise. So you agreed, not yet realizing he was doing you, a graduate student with no solid previous experience, a double favor. 

He wasn’t even consistent in his efforts to fool you – a few months later, you were not only officially hired, you even had your own little secluded corner at work. And, of course, you had exclusive rights to the huge whiteboard in Baekhyun’s office. The ‘Big Boss’ – Chanyeol called him that every time he went into his overly serious mode during meetings – did not allow anyone to scribble on it. He had his own creative chaos on the board, which was not to be disrupted by any living thing.

The first time his assistant saw you walk into Baekhyun’s office without a care and erase his doodles to draw a big draft of an internet ad you had in mind to get your boss’s opinion on, she almost had a heart attack. She then proceeded to have it when Baekhyun suddenly walked into the room to witness what you were doing to his precious whiteboard. Before the assistant could come up with an excuse to keep her from facing the director’s wrath, he chuckled and ruffled your hair affectionately. He told you to add some color and went to his table calmly. The triple heart attack nearly rendered the assistant dead.

The company he owned wasn’t huge yet, but it was growing rapidly. Granted, there were a lot of young people occupying various positions, starting at the top with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. This fact, however, made it extremely hard for you to even walk out of your best friend’s office without causing a new wave of rumors about your relationship. They didn’t even know that you actually lived together… You were no celebrity, but you had your fair share of ‘anti-fans’ by now. All thanks to Baekhyun and his gorgeous looks, which made the entire office swoon and fantasize about the ‘sexiest human being on planet Earth’. Or so you’d heard.

You, however, knew him as the biggest dork in the world. And you would choose it over any macho man sexiness people were somehow attributing to him. Your suspicion was that his wallet had something to do with this distorted perception. At some point you had grown so sick from all of the unwanted attention to your persona, especially from Baekhyun’s adoring assistant, that you decided to use your power to slip in and out of his office unnoticed. You were used to teleporting somewhere right from your desk, since you sometimes stayed late. Those nights, you were basically chased away by Baekhyun, who seemed quite displeased with you being practically the last one to leave the office while the rest of the marketing team was long gone. 

‘Don’t you think it’s kinda late for you to still be at work?’

‘Well, you’re also here, aren’t you?’

‘Yeah, but that’s me,’ he shrugged. ‘Go home. Don’t make me shut your computer down.’

‘I just need to finish one-’

‘Finish it tomorrow. Your boss is kicking you out,’ Baekhyun quipped and you sighed in annoyance. You knew that he wasn’t kidding about shutting your work computer down, so you made sure that you were indeed alone, and teleported back home.

‘Traveling’ around the office, however, was slightly different. It required even more precautions. Thankfully, Baekhyun had a small walk-in wardrobe area, which you used often to check whether there was someone in the room before getting to the huge whiteboard you loved to utilize. It had worked pretty well for you for weeks and months, until that one time… it suddenly did not.

The night you decided it was late enough for most people to be out of the office anyways and teleported to your usual spot, was the night everything changed.

It was dark outside, and you weren’t sure why Baekhyun’s assistant hadn’t left yet (you saw her coat on the hanger just minutes earlier). So you decided to sneak in the way you always did, and blinked, shutting your eyes for a long second. Opening them, you faced the wall of Baekhyun’s wardrobe and listened to hear if someone was there. You were always quiet after you teleported, and you became extra cautious when you heard something. You couldn’t make anything out at first, but then realized it was a sigh. Or… a moan?

Unsure, you stayed frozen, turning all ears.

‘Fuck.’ A soft curse grazed your ears and you perked up.

It was Baekhyun’s voice. You were one hundred percent sure that it was him. You’d known that voice back when it was screechy and boyish, right before it broke and became velvety and warm, like honey left out in the morning sun.

‘Shit, baby,’ you heard him breathe out, accompanied by an obscene wet sound and a chair creaking. ‘Yes, just like that.’

It was like lightning struck you on the spot.

Realizing what you were hearing, you closed your eyes, teleporting faster than you could blink. In that odd moment you were stunned and panicked and not in control. It was a while since you’d teleported unsafely like that. The act required some concentration, which you were unable to exercise then. Hence you ended up losing your balance and crashing into your office desk, somehow obtaining a long painful cut on your thigh from the corner of the table in the midst of it. You almost cried out, but held it in, to avoid making any more noise than you had already made. Staring at the wall blindly for a few moments, you felt tears forming in your eyes. Why was this upsetting you? So what if he was having sex with his assistant in his office? It wasn’t like you caught your boyfriend cheating on you. You had no right to feel like this about him. Hadn’t you moved on a while ago?

As a thick drop of blood began to trickle down your thigh, you snapped out of it and teleported home. You had to prevent an ugly scar from replacing the deep scratch in the near future, and there was no way you were going to ask Baekhyun to heal you.

You spent the next hour crying in the bathroom, unsure whether you were so hurt by the wound you’d inflicted upon yourself or by the reignited feelings you thought you had buried deep enough.

You took a few days off.

Unable to look Baekhyun in the eye after the shameful ordeal in his office, you told him you needed to see a family doctor via text and left for the rest of the week. You did see a doctor in your hometown, and stayed with your parents for a bit too. Not only because you didn’t spend time at your parents’ house too often, but also because you could lock yourself up in your room and stare at the ceiling, hearing the now distant voice looping in your head. ‘Shit, baby. Just like that.’

You felt sick to your stomach.

It wasn’t only the shame of catching your best friend in such an act, but also the bitter disappointment you felt at the circumstances. You never thought of Baekhyun as the stereotypical boss who’d have his secretary sprawled over his own desk. He had always been pretty quiet about his relationships, and you thought he was just being a gentleman. Now that your ears had witnessed how ‘classy’ he actually was, it was impossible not to question all of the aspects of his personality that you thought you knew through and through. And the hidden context of the moments you’d shared recently. Like, whenever he was nagging at you for staying late in the office, was he actually mad at you for being an obstacle to his rendezvous with the ubiquitous assistant?

The thought of being an obstacle to Baekhyun did not sit well with you.

‘No, it can’t be,’ you whispered to yourself, shaking your head and picking up the phone to scroll through the previews of at least a couple dozen messages Baekhyun had sent you since your sudden relocation to your family home.

‘How are you?~ I still want to know why you needed to go to the doctor’

‘Tell me, Y/N-aaaah~’

‘It’s not serious, right?! Hehe I hope not’

‘I can heal you anyways, not a big deal. Don’t worry about me, just come back and I’ll make you lit. Ye know? Lite u up’

‘You’re not reading my messages’

Missed call

‘Text me when you’re done. I’m worried’

Missed call

Missed call

‘Y/N, you still busy?’

‘Pls text when you can’

Missed call

Missed call

‘I have a meeting, but call me whenever you see this, I’ll leave my phone on’

‘Y/N-ah, are you ok? I’m home, and I really don’t know what to think’

‘When are you coming back? Do you need me to come see you?’

‘I can come, just say the word. Are you really that sick, Y/N-ah? I’m really worried’

‘Text me even if it’s late. I can’t sleep anyways’

You couldn’t finish reading though his monologue, tears clouding your eyesight. Every message played out in your head so vividly. Every little bit of it was Baekhyun. Your best friend, the playful one, the one who always worried about you and took care of you, the one who you desperately wanted to hold onto, and the one you were currently running away from, again. You could almost hear his voice reading the message out loud in your head, when your screen lit up.

‘I’m gonna come see you, Y/N-ah. I can’t find your mom’s phone number, but it’s only a few hours to drive’

You’d let out a shaky breath and almost choked on air as you accidentally clicked on the message, opening the entire chat.

‘Shit,’ you cursed at your own clumsiness, staring at the screen. He could definitely see that you had opened the messages. You almost felt his anxiousness grow as he waited for you to reply.

‘Y/N?’ he prompted.

You chewed on your lip. It was too early, you weren’t ready to talk to him yet.

‘Don’t come. I’m fine’

The text seemed so dry compared to how you usually chat.

Baekhyun fell silent.

And then started video calling you.

Almost jumping up on the bed, you hurriedly pressed decline, heart almost beating out of your chest with nerves.

You were both silent for a few moments before you saw him typing something.

‘I just need to see that you’re fine. I know it’s late’

‘I don’t want to’

You responded, gritting your teeth.

‘A pic then? Or tell me you’re really ok, and I’ll call you in the morning’

He was so in your face with his concern that you snapped.

‘I don’t want to talk to you!’

You threw your phone on the pillow and sobbed, feeling pathetic once more.

‘So stupid,’ you cursed, unsure if it was directed at your friend or yourself.

Your phone vibrated again.

‘Oh, what now?’ you grabbed it frustratedly and read his message.

‘…Why? Did I do something?’

He seemed so clueless that you couldn’t hold it in any longer.

‘I don’t wanna talk to you, Baekhyun. And I don’t want to see your face, so don’t even think about coming here.’

Send

‘You’re just like every other man I know. I don’t want to see you!’

Send

‘Leave me alone!’

Send

You put your phone away, tears streaming down your face, chest heaving with renewed sobs. It was probably the first time for you to fight like that, and you felt devastated. You were on the verge of being hysterical.

Closing your eyes, you tried to focus on your breathing. It was essential for you to calm down before you accidentally threw yourself into some desert or hurt yourself again. You were especially afraid of teleporting right into Baekhyun’s room, since your own heart was aching at the way you told him off. But you were so angry and so incredibly sad, you didn’t know how else to deal with it. Whenever you used to argue when you were kids, it was so easy to make up. Baekhyun had always welcomed you back in. What if you had slammed the door too loudly this time?

Why did you care if he was fucking his assistant or not?

How could you stop the painful squeeze in your chest?

The questions swirling in your head had you crying yourself to sleep that night.

You woke up so shattered that you were wary of showing your face to your parents. After a long refreshing shower… you still didn’t look great, but noted slight improvement. Checking your phone timidly, you realized it had died, so you left it to charge before joining your parents for lunch.

As much as they were happy to see you, they knew something was going on. You looked terrible and you had no appetite for the home cooked meal, but most importantly – you were not glued to your phone to talk to your ‘puppy dog tail’, which is what your mom used to call Baekhyun for following you around when you were little. Everything was off about this unannounced visit, and your mother knew that better than anyone.

‘Did you have a fight?’ she asked, once you were left alone in the kitchen to do the dishes.

‘Huh?’

‘You and Baekhyun. What happened?’

‘Nothing,’ you answered sourly. ‘He just- disappointed me, that’s all.’

‘Is that so?’ your mom asked, the corner of her mouth jumping upwards faintly. ‘I’m sure you can let him off the hook once in your lifetime.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Oh honey, that boy has been all over your case since forever. I wonder whether you’re trying to keep your relationship a secret from me, or maybe you are that silly.’

‘What are you talking about, mom?’ you whined. ‘You don’t know him that well. Even I don’t know him that well, apparently-’

‘Oh don’t you now?’ your mother interrupted. ‘Just ask him how he feels about you.’

‘Yeah, right,’ you sighed.

‘What’s holding you back, your pride? Or maybe you’re scared, because you know you broke his heart with a harsh word?’ Your mom’s eyes had a fiery spark you didn’t witness often. Only when she tapped into her power of vision.

‘Why did you leave him when he needs you the most?’

‘You- saw something?’ you stuttered.

‘I only saw that hearts can be mended,’ your mom smiled at you and turned around to join dad in the living room. ‘But he is desperate right now.’

‘Desperate? Why, is he in trouble?’ you felt sick again, worry bubbling in your stomach. ‘M-Mom?’

‘I’ve already said too much. Ask him.’

As she said that, you bolted. Up the stairs, to your bedroom. Grabbing the charging phone from the nightstand, you unlocked it and opened your messaging app.

‘Baek…’ you sent, typing the follow up message right away.

The dots appeared immediately, making you pause.

His next three messages made you shiver.

‘I don’t know why you’re so upset with me, but… Something happened’

‘Please come’

‘I’m scared. I need you’

You sprang off the bed, pacing around the room nervously. Should you change from your pajamas? Did you have time for that? What if that was a trick to get you to talk to him? But your mom said his heart was broken, and he was- you couldn’t-

‘Mom, dad, I’m going home!’ you yelled before shutting your eyes and reappearing in Baekhyun’s eerily quiet apartment. All of the curtains were closed, and it was as dark as the night in there.

‘Baek?’ you called, walking almost blindly towards his bedroom. ‘You home?’

‘Y/N,’ his voice sounded so different when he called back. You weren’t sure if he called through a sob, but you were aware of your heart beating fast and heavy in your throat as you approached his room hurriedly. You prayed that he was okay, that he didn’t do anything stupid or hurt himself while you were away.

Storming into the dimly lit room you looked around until your eyes fell on a curled figure on the floor, back leaning on the bed, and you froze.

You knew these pants, and this shirt. Baekhyun wore those a lot at home. The stupid fluffy socks you gifted him for Christmas as a joke? He had always put those on when he was down, he said they cheered him up. But Baekhyun never had such long silky hair. He did not have narrow shoulders and round breasts.

And you were sure as hell that Baekhyun never was a girl.

‘B- Baek?’ you mumbled in shock.

He looked up at you, eyes poignant and glimmering with tears.

‘Oh, Baekhyunie,’ you lamented, walking up to him and dropping on your knees to gather his (her?) fragile frame into a tight hug.

It didn’t matter that you were mad at him before, or that you had your own feelings to worry about. He was your best friend, even when you wanted to beat the hell out of him for being a moron and messing around at work, and he was going through something profound.

‘What happened?’ you asked, stroking his soft locks to calm him down.

He clung to your pajama top, almost sobbing into your neck as he tugged you closer, effectively making you straddle him. 

‘I thought you weren’t gonna come,’ he sniffled.

‘I’m here. I’m sorry,’ you unwrapped your arms to wipe the tears off of his beautiful delicate face.

‘I can’t snap back into my male form,’ his voice trembled. ‘I don’t know if I can, ever,’ he added in an almost panicked voice.

Your heart clenched at his vulnerability. He was always there to pick up the pieces for you, and it was time for you to be his rock. Fair is fair.

‘You can. Hey,’ you caught his face in your palms, repeating calmly, ‘You can, and you will. You shifted, right? It means you’re a shifter, Baekhyun. You can always shift back, but maybe not right away.’

He swallowed hard, rubbing his reddened eyes.

‘But- This has never happened before,’ he mumbled. ‘The first time in my entire life-’

‘Maybe it was dormant,’ you suggested, hand stroking his hair gently. ‘What triggered you?’

Baekhyun was silent for a few moments, while you were busy brushing rogue strands away from his eyes.

‘You,’ he then provided, surprising you with his answer.

‘...Because I said I didn’t want to talk to you?’

‘No. You said you didn’t want to see me. That I was just like all the other men,’ he reminded bitterly. ‘I kept thinking about it until I felt dizzy. I don’t remember anything else, I woke up like this.’

‘Oh my god,’ you gasped, guilt overwhelming you. ‘I’m so, so sorry, Baekhyunie!’

You held him tight, whispering jumbled apologies into his ear.

‘At least now I know you’re okay,’ he sniffed again before looking down and noticing your bandaged leg. ‘What happened? You are hurt, that wasn’t an excuse?’

Ignoring your protests, he hauled the bandage down to reveal the still fresh cut. He brushed his fingers over it, knitting his eyebrows in concentration, as warm lights appeared around your wound. He pressed his open palm to your skin, and the light slowly died down. The deep scratch underneath his hand had vanished. But then he looked at you again, waiting for clarification, which had you mumbling something about it being unimportant.

‘No, Y/N. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? You disappeared on me, you ignored my messages and then told me to fuck off, I wanna know what I did to make you hate me this much!’ He was definitely more snappy as a girl.

His intense eyes pinned you down, and the frowning lips caught your attention. As he raised an eyebrow impatiently, you came back to your senses.

‘Huh? Oh, just forget it. I’m sorry for what I said earlier-’

‘Tell me. Now,’ Baekhyun gritted, grabbing you by the shoulders.

‘I- I- I can’t!’ you squeaked.

‘What? Why?’ a narrowed pair of eyes blinked at you.

‘It’s too embarrassing, I-’

‘I am a girl, Y/N! I gotta know-’

‘I heard you with your assistant!’ You yelled in his face with your eyes closed. And waited, clasping the material of his shirt in your hands anxiously.

‘…what?’ You opened your eyes to his confused face.

‘You- Umm,’ you were unsure how to proceed. ‘I teleported into your office at a late hour, and apparently, you were in there, and I heard you… uh-’

‘Oh fuck.’ He threw his head back in realization.

‘Yeah,’ you pursed your lips, unsure of how to interpret his reaction.

‘Wait, the assistant?’ he suddenly straightened up and frowned. ‘You thought I was fucking my assistant?’

He sounded offended, so you tried a tiny ‘Yeah?’

‘You’re such an idiot!’ he complained, and you got a bit defensive.

‘Frankly, it’s your fault for engaging in that at work! Even if it wasn’t the assistant!’

‘Hell, excuse me for being a man and having to relieve myself in my damn office because the girl I’ve been in love with for years is clueless about how much I fucking want her!’

The way he said it in one swift frustrated breath made you feel like boiling water was poured all over you. Did he mean… you?

But- Why didn’t you know? How could you have missed it? It wasn’t like you didn’t care enough to see the signs, quite the opposite, and you still never noticed him being anything more than warm and friendly with you.

His breathing was ragged from the simmering emotion.

‘You… Want me?’ you whispered hesitantly.

‘Yes,’ he said firmly, but then added in a softer voice. ‘Even then, in my office… I was alone, I was... thinking of you, actually. Your damn shorts make me regret the no dress code rule!’

Shocked at his confession, you could only stare at him blankly.

‘What does it matter. I’m a freaking girl now,’ he scoffed, looking down at himself.

‘I don’t care,’ you stated out of the blue.

Taking his face gently between your palms again, you continued.

‘I don’t care if you’re a girl. Whether you are Baekhyun or… Baekhyunie?’ he snorted slightly at the name. ‘I love you all the same,’ you finished your cheesy disclosure, taking in his astounded eyes. A heartbeat later, you were kissing him. For the very first time.

Slow to react initially, he then wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer, dragging your hips over his and causing you to moan into his mouth. He used this opportunity to slip his tongue in, exploring, bossing you around and getting more and more into it with every passing second. It was a bit sloppy, and the loud sounds of your kissing made the little hairs on your skin stand in excitement, but you couldn’t get enough of his sweet peachy flavor.

The atmosphere in the room changed in a matter of seconds.

‘Shit,’ he cursed after you broke the contact to get some oxygen. ‘Excuse me when I say that I wish I could have my dick back right now.’

‘Oh what, you’re nothing without your dick?’ You asked teasingly, sliding the shirt off of him with one hand, and squeezing his bare breast with another. ‘Perky.’

‘Fuck off,’ he laughed softly, letting you play with it for a little longer, before pushing you on your back to trap you on the floor. ‘Let’s get these off, baby.’

After receiving a slight nod, he removed your pajamas along with your underwear. You kind of expected yourself to be shy, after all, it was the first time he was seeing you fully naked, but you didn’t really mind. Maybe it was his female appearance that put you at ease.

‘It’s nice that you walk around in your pajamas all the time. So easily removed,’ he pecked your mouth before latching onto your nipple and grazing his teeth over it slightly.

‘Ah! Slow down,’ you cried out, twisting his nipple in revenge.

‘Ouch!’ he looked up from your breasts, holding onto his own soft mound.

‘Be gentle,’ you stressed before letting him get back to it.

Realizing how tender the body part was, he proceeded with a much more delicate hand, trailing light kisses over the area and up the side of your neck.

You still felt like your entire body was scorched. It was difficult to wrap your mind around the fact that this was Baekhyun, your best friend, and you were about to have sex with him. While he was a girl, no less. You’d never even let yourself think about being intimate with him, slapping yourself on the wrist mentally any time something stirred inside you. Moreover, it was your first ever experience with someone your own sex. It wasn’t hard to imagine how weird it must have felt for Baekhyun to do this in a female body, with his own reactions foreign to him. Had he ever experienced this tightness and heaviness in his lower stomach? Or maybe the tingle in his nipples, when you used an opportunity to brush your fingertips over them briefly? Or the feeling of soaked panties sticking to the skin?

Thinking of this, you snaked your hand into his loose pants.

‘Ah fuck!’ he jolted from your touch, grabbing onto your wrist. ‘What- what the hell-’

You giggled at his perplexion and decided to make it worse.

‘You’re wet, Baekhyunie.’ You licked your lips, suddenly thirsty. ‘Come here.’ You tugged him closer, as he resisted feebly. ‘Don’t be shy.’ You placed a quick kiss on his cheek and rotated your wrist to shake his hold off.

He swallowed, unsure of what to do, but his grasp on you weakened. Sucking his lower lip in, he avoided your eyes and focused on breathing in and out as you slid your fingers further down, reaching his slick folds again.

He let out a breathy gasp and grabbed onto your shoulder.

‘It’s okay, baby,’ you whispered, pushing against his frame to roll him over on his back.

He obliged, and you used this as your cue to rid him of the remaining clothes. They weren’t a great fit for his female body anyways.

‘Fuck, Baek,’ you sighed in astonishment. ‘You’re so gorgeous.’ That wasn’t a lie. He was probably the prettiest girl you had ever seen in your life. Features even more sculpted, body so milky and feminine, soft locks emphasizing his plump lips and dark almond eyes.

‘I wonder if you weren’t interested in me before because I wasn’t a girl,’ he chuckled, visibly bashful.

‘Hey, you’re turning me gay as we speak,’ you retorted. ‘I might not want the male version of you back.’

‘I hope you’re kidding, it feels weird to have a- a- I can’t even say it!’

‘A pu-’

‘Shut up!’ He hid his suddenly burning face in his palms.

You laughed, leaning forward to hover over him.

‘I don’t remember ever seeing you this flushed. Cute.’ You avoided his arguments by kissing him, trailing your hand down his tense belly in the meantime. ‘Relax, it’s just me. If you don’t like my fingers, I can use my mouth.’

‘No-’ Baekhyun rose up on his elbows and stuttered. ‘I- don’t think I’m ready for that.’

‘Okay.’ You nodded easily.

‘But I think I can…’ He swallowed anxiously. ‘I think I can take your fingers.’

‘Aw.’ You cooed, making him even more red. ‘Cutie.’

He wrapped his arms around you to glue your body to his and stop you from ogling his nakedness. Laughing into his mouth, you resumed fondling his inner thighs.

‘This is so weird,’ he kept repeating, once you’d slipped inside. ‘So freaking weird.’

Only smiling before nibbling on the tender skin of his neck, you still worked your wrist.

You were almost shaking yourself, since his leg was now trapped between yours, and in this position your wetness was getting smeared on his smooth skin.

‘Oh fuck,’ he sighed, voicing your own thoughts.

‘Just like that?’ You whispered smugly, curling your fingers and grunting as he writhed underneath, unintentionally rubbing his thigh against you.

You swayed your hips slightly, stimulating him further with your hands on his body.

‘I- I think- I’m gonna-’

You bit down your lower lip, working him up to his first high in this body. Crying out, he arched his back and shook violently as you let him ride it out, squeezing his breast with your other palm. Slowing your tired hand down, you allowed him to enjoy the aftershocks, until his body went limp. Baekhyun’s arms, still holding onto you, kept you from rolling off onto your side, so you just laid on top of him, legs still intertwined with his.

Listening to his steadying breath with your ear to his slightly damp chest, you chuckled at your thoughts.

‘What?’ he asked, probably still a little self-conscious.

‘I’m just wondering.’ You moved your head up slightly. ‘If we were dating, would that be considered cheating?’

He stilled for a second and then let out a strained laugh.

‘I guess you’ll have to date me to find out.’

‘Guess so.’ You beamed, feeling him tense a little.

‘You mean it?’ he inquired cautiously, urging you to look at him.

‘Oh I mean it. I also mean it when I say that the locks in your office need to be changed. It should only be easy for me to get in at any point.’

‘Still jealous? I told you I was alone.’ He grinned at your now frowning face.

‘Not for lack of volunteers! Pretty sure any unmarried female employee you have would’ve gladly joined you. And now possibly male, too.’

‘Glad that I don’t need them, then. I have you for all of my forms.’

‘All?’ You perked up. ‘You have more? Oh, don’t tell me you also turn into wild animals or some other nonsense!’

‘Hey! I might as well turn into a tiger if you keep harassing my pure feelings for you!’

‘Pure f- I just had my fingers in your p-’

‘Stop! Talking about my lady parts!’ He squirmed, freeing himself from your weight to crawl onto the bed and hide under the covers.

You sprawled on the floor, laughing at him.

‘Lady parts? Gosh, Baek, do you secretly work in a kindergarten?’

‘No, I don’t. I just want my dick back to shut you up,’ he mumbled from under the blanket.

‘Oh? You didn’t want me to go down on you earlier, but you have no reservations about shoving your dick in my mouth? Men are so weird,’ you mused, and Baekhyun kicked his leg into the air feigning annoyance.

‘That’s not what I meant!’

You laughed, getting on the bed next to the fuming pile of cloth.

‘Yah, Baekhyunie,’ you snickered. ‘You are a fabulous woman, but your feet are still quite, well… Large,’ you lifted the blanket further. ‘And hairy? But- Wait a second,’ before you could finish, he shook the covers off.

‘Am I back?’ 

You nodded, the usual Baekhyun with ruffled bed hair in your view. ‘I’m back!’ he yelled, and then quickly lifted the blanket where it was covering his modesty. ‘And you’re back! Oh my god, we’re back!’

You giggled as he tackled you on the bed, his male body and strength returning at once, and peppered ecstatic kisses all over your face.

‘Fucking finally,’ he swore in a much deeper voice. Not giving it any thought, you opened your legs for him to rest between.

‘But wait,’ you protested playfully. ‘Does the cheating begin now?’

‘Oh you.’ He moved your hair out of your face. ‘Pretty sure ‘Baekhyunie’ could do better in bed. Didn’t she just leave you all wet and needy?’

You whined at his touch on your tender skin, and he pressed his hips forward, his growing hard-on grinding into your soaked pussy. The tip nudged your clit roughly, putting pressure onto the sensitive spot and almost making your eyes roll.

‘I think it’s between me and my girl,’ you gritted your teeth at the pleasure.

‘I think not.’ He somehow sounded jealous, although he knew he only had himself to compete with.

He pulled back slightly, making you whimper at the loss of friction, slick dripping from your entrance just to be caught by his fingers and spread over your already glistening folds.

‘Baek,’ you moaned, grip on his forearm tightening.

He kept teasing your slit with his fingers, enjoying the way your hips bucked into his palm every time his digits slipped inside. You sobbed as he stretched you – not the way you wanted though.

‘Please just- fuck me already,’ you moaned, arching your back when he reached your sweet spot. Would have felt so much better had he done it with something other than his fingers.

‘I can make you come like this. It feels pretty good, now that I’ve tried,’ he chuckled and you slapped his shoulder as he sat up.

‘Stop playing with me!’

‘And what do I get if I stop?’ He teased, rubbing you leisurely with his thumb and stroking himself with a spare hand.

‘You can fuck me raw.’

His fingers froze.

‘No condom?’

‘No nothing. I’m on the pill. And I trust you.’

Baekhyun swore under his breath, licking his lips hungrily. Your words had wound him up to no end, but the man’s mind was wondering. ‘Since when?’

‘My ex. Just continued taking them when I moved in with you.’

‘That asshole boyfriend of yours,’ Baekhyun spat, making the feeble lights flicker, as you cleared your throat.

Then he caught on to what you’d said.

‘So, had I hit on you one evening-’

‘Most likely would’ve let you. The amount of times I had to hand wash my panties feeling ashamed and horny after our movie nights…’

‘Oh now you just want me to feel stupid.’ He frowned, the dim light in the room dying.

‘No. I want you to feel good. Inside me,’ you responded into the darkness, feeling the pads of his gentle fingers travel across your inner thigh.

He kept stroking you silently for a few seconds.

‘Tell me how you want it.’ His voice was a bit hoarse, and you shivered in anticipation.

‘I wanna see you,’ you whispered, and then tiny little orbs began appearing all around you, until it looked like the starry night sky above the bed.

You only let out a shaky breath as he slid into you. Rolling his hips steadily, in and out, he grunted from how tight you were around his length, and how welcoming.

Right after spending some time in a female form, Baekhyun suddenly felt so hunky. He saw you as tiny and fragile now more than ever, wanting to be extra protective and most gentle with you. His thrusts were slow and somewhat lazy, but his ears and eyes didn’t miss a single gasp or a knit of your brows.

You, on the other hand, were almost floating. Not just from the long awaited pressure against your inner walls, but from the affection in every touch, and the way your lover’s skin pressed into yours, and the sheen of sweat on his chest, and the glint of minuscule stars in his eyes…

‘Baekhyun,’ you called, motioning him to lean closer and wrapping your arms around his neck. ‘I really love you.’

He huffed out a laugh and grazed the tip of your nose with a bunny kiss.

‘Don’t say that when I’m inside you,’ he murmured, yet unable to contain his blissful smile.

‘I’m sorry for earlier,’ you began, but he wasn’t having any of it.

‘I don’t care. You’re finally mine.’ He drove his hips inside you with precision. ‘I don’t care.’

You used his proximity to start a kiss, losing the driver’s seat to him pretty quickly and not spending a second regretting it. It was obvious that you could give yourself to him fully and he’d know what to do. Trembling in his embrace, you clenched around him and urged him to go faster. Not making you ask twice, he picked up the pace and gradually worked up to intense thrusts, the swollen tip hitting your spot every time.

‘Fuck, you feel so good,’ he rumbled, reveling in the responsive motions of your body. You only hummed, grinding your pelvis against him.

A small droplet of perspiration made its way from the shorter hair at his temple, and you raised your hand to catch it, then slipping your fingers into his hair. You were both so close; his hot sweaty body on top of yours made you crave release even more.

‘Ah please, don’t stop,’ you wailed, meeting his passionate hips with yours, inner muscles clenching around the hardness inside you. He felt perfect, like he fit you in every way possible.

‘Shit, baby,’ he called. ‘I’m close too, don’t-’

‘I want to,’ you interrupted him, pushing him into yourself with the heel of your foot. ‘You can come inside me.’

‘Fuck,’ he almost growled, gripping your thigh desperately as he reached deeper and deeper. The sounds produced by your exhausted bodies were so crude and lascivious that it didn’t take long for the growing tension in your lower belly to burst and overwhelm your entire body.

‘Oh, oh fuck-’ repeating your lover’s curses, you held onto his shoulders while your orgasm shook you underneath him.

Keeping his thrusts quick and shallow, Baekhyun groaned as he felt himself tipped over by your release, face contorted in pleasure as he finally filled you with his warmth.

~

The lights around you shone the brightest, resembling magic dust sprinkled around your tangled bodies. They shimmered on Baekhyun’s skin, making him look like an angel. So much so that you had to touch his face with your palm to make sure he was real. And all of this was not a dream.

‘Is it too much if I call you my Light?’ You began sentimentally.

‘Is it too much if I ask you to come in my office whenever I want?’

‘You’ve been doing that all along,’ you tittered, watching him pull the covers over your bodies and lying down comfortably next to you.

‘Come in my office, not come into my office,’ he clarified with a smug expression.

‘Baekhyun!’ You exclaimed, only slightly appalled, and he pulled you into his arms before you could smack him out of embarrassment.

‘I know, I know. I can’t wait for it either,’ he hummed, his childishly happy laugh almost deafening while you merely cursed at him.

What could you do, you loved this dork and his silly sense of humor. And his awesome powers. And his soft heart. What a package, this Byun Baekhyun. What a perfect package.

A/N: So... here goes the first one. Let me know what you think about this :) I’ve mentioned earlier that a sequel for this is very possible, so let me know if you’d be interested in that. Thank you for reading!

[jjmaybanksbaby]

Where It Leads (Rafe Cameron)

Summer I

Part 01: Pick Me Up, No Headlights

series masterlist | next part

summary: It’s your first summer in the Outer Banks.

a/n: I'm so so so excited to introduce my new obx series! This whole thing is based off the song Style by Taylor Swift (which I'm sure you've picked up on lol!) This series is going to be about Rafe during HS so Summer I = the summer before 9th grade and so on and so forth. Enjoy!!

word count: 2k

The Outer Banks was a little bit like a fantasy. The way your mom talked about growing up under the North Carolina heat with her fearless twin brother, Austin, the decades-long feud between the Kooks and the Pogues, the endless summers, it all felt like a movie. There was a specific smile that snuck onto her face when she talked about the place. Their parents had moved away from OBX to the mountains while she was still in college and she’d never been back. Last September, her father's health had taken a turn for the worse and he passed away rather unexpectedly. Your uncle had suggested to your grandmother that she should move back to the Outer Banks since she was also so happy there. To the shock of everyone and your Nonna bought a house on Figure Eight, just a street over from the home your mother been raised in, and moved back to NC.

You’d flown into the tiny Outer Banks airport two days after the Fourth of July and, so far the sky had stayed crystal blue the entire week you’ve been there. It had been great to have some time with your grandmother all to yourself. The house on Figure Eight was huge; you definitely understood why she’d asked your mother if she would spare one of her three daughters to keep her company for the summer. Having the echoing house all to herself sounded glum. Your older sister was spending the summer in Italy for a college-writing program and since you know how to weaponize your middle child charm, you talked your mom into sending you to OBX rather easily.  

“Nonna,” you called down, leaning over the balcony at the top of the stairs. “I can’t find my sandals and I don’t have any other shoes to wear to the Club for lunch.” 

Your grandmother walked into the foyer and looked up at you. “y/n you know I can’t understand you when you yell from upstairs.” She turned around and walked back into the kitchen. You sighed under your breath careful that she didn’t hear you since you’d gotten in trouble for doing that yesterday. 

Your mother use to complain about the way that her mom always felt the need to act - and have her children act - so posh during her childhood but those stories seemed so strange to you. Like a Nonna from a past life, not the one you knew. However, it seemed the Outer Banks had reignited her need to act sophisticated all the time. 

You double-check your appearance in the mirror and then resigned to searching the downstairs of the house for your shoes. 

☼☼☼

Nonna was busy making small talk with some of the other ladies at the Club after lunch but you were antsy to get back to the beach while the sun was still at its peak. You had had all the polite smiling and nodding you could take in an afternoon. 

“I’m gonna- ” you pointed in the direction of the Club bathrooms and your Nonna waved her hand dismissively. You turned on your heel and headed away from her and the others. 

You pushed open the door and was surprised at the quietness. You double-checked under all the stalls to make sure no one else was in there before sitting on the counter and resting the back of your head against the mirror. You knew you were probably smudging the glass but you needed a minute from all it. 

It wasn’t that you weren’t totally in love with the Outer Banks. It was just that your mom seemed to leave out the strenuously boring parts of her childhood - the small talk, the lunches, the emphasis on class. Plus, on top of that, it seems your grandfather’s death has rattled your Nonna deeper than she cared to admit and she’d become overly cautious about everything. She was keeping a much tighter leash on you than was really needed, or so you thought. 

The door swung open and you jumped off the counter hoping whoever had just entered didn’t see you sitting atop it. The young girl stopped rummaging in her cross-body bag and glanced look to meet your gaze. She had on a green and white polka-doted dress and her dirty blonde hair spilled over her shoulders. She looked young, maybe 13 or 14 you guessed. 

“Oh. Hi!” She said. 

“Hi,” you responded. She walked over to stand next to you facing the mirror. She pulled a pink lipgloss out of her purse and ran it over her top and bottom lips before recapping it. 

“Hiding out in here?” She asked. She took your moment of hesitation as an answer. “Yeah, me too. It’s by far the best hiding place. Plus my dad can’t come into the ladies' restroom so it buys me a little time.” She laughed, seemingly at the thought of her dad barging into a women’s bathroom. She looked over at you. “Not to pry but I don’t think I’ve seen at the Club before. Just visiting?” 

You nodded. “Yeah, I’m staying with my Nonna, my grandma, for the summer. I got in last week.” 

The girl smiled big. “The Outer Banks is ah-mazing. Sarah Cameron, by the way.” 

Her genuineness brought a smile to your own face. “I’m so happy to meet you, Sarah. I’m y/n. I haven’t gotten to meet a lot of other kids yet.” 

“I’m not really supposed to know this but my brother talks obnoxiously loud on the phone so it’s really not my fault for eavesdropping, but there’s a beach bonfire tonight down at the cove...it’s a Kook party spot.” She clarified after seeing the confusion on my face. “I’m sure he’d be cool with you tagging along.” Sarah reached into her bag and held out her phone. “Put your number in. I’ll pass it along to him.” 

“Thank you so much,” you said, your heart feeling warmed by this girl's kindness. 

“Yeah, of course,” she stepped forward and wrapped you in an unexpected hug before she exited, leaving the door swinging in her wake. 

☼☼☼

Your phone rang with an unknown number that afternoon around five, just after you’d gotten back from the beach. You answered the call and tucked the phone between your ear and shoulder as you finished rinsing off your sandy feet. 

Sarah’s voice filled the speaker. “Hey y/n, so I told Rafe about you and asked about the party. He said he’ll pick you at 10. Okay? Text me your address so I can give it to him.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay! Umm...one question Sarah. What do I wear to this bonfire?” You asked. 

A friendly laughed echoed through the phone. “Put your bikini under a sweatshirt and some short. You’ll be fine.” 

“Um also one more thing,” You said. 

“Sure!” Sarah replied.

“I think don’t think my Nonna would be too thrilled about me going to this party so could you ask Rafe to turn off the headlights when he get’s here. She sleeps on the first floor and I’m trying not to get caught sneaking out.” 

“Trust me, I know.” You wondered how much 13-year old could possibly know about sneaking out but Sarah was becoming your one friend on the island so you just went with it. 

“Thank you Sarah. I owe you.” 

“I think you’re gonna get along with Rafe great. Okay, talk to you later. Bye y/n!” The phone beeped as Sarah ended the call. You slipped it back into your beach bag and grabbed your towel off the ground, feeling grateful for your new friend. 

☼☼☼

Rafe had shown up at 10:03, a text from another unknown number appeared on your phone announcing his arrival. You'd climbed out of your second-story window and down the attached porch with a surprising amount of ease, only slipping once.

You'd opened the door to the black car and slipped into Rafe’s passenger seat, slight of breath.

Rafe chuckled light. "Hi," he said.

You glanced over, your eyes locking with yours and words escaped you. So Sarah has forgotten to mention her brother was hot. Like the kind of hot girls always giggled about when they passed him in the school hallway. The kind of hot he could probably get away with murder if he just flashed the cops a smile.

That same deadly smile was spreading across his face now. His tongue darted out of his mouth wetting his bottom lip.

"Hi," you squeaked out.

Rafe shifted the car into drive, still refusing to break the eye contact first.

"Should we go?" You asked, your nerves no less unsettled.

Rafe raised his eyebrow conspicuously before turning his head back to focus on the road.

The tension was already killing you and you'd spent less than five minutes together. That was the first moment you realized what Rafe was going to do to your life.

☼☼☼

Your phone pinged as you say around the little bone fire listening to the others talking about the Fourth. You were slowly starting to piece together the names and faces of the other Kooks Rafe had introduced you to.

There was Cole, Milo and Sawyer, who seemed to be Rafe's best friends. Cleo and Riley who welcomed you rather warmly. And Phoebe who had kept her eyes on you all-night in a threatening way that you had tried your best to brush off.

You pulled your phone out of your shorts pocket to see a text from Rafe on the screen.

'Wanna head out?'

You glanced at Rafe to find his eyes already trained at you. You read his text again before nodding your head yes at him.

You turned to Cleo sitting next to you. "It was nice to meet you. I think Rafe and I are gonna go."

"Oh, yeah okay!" She replied. "Wait," she pulled her own phone out of her pocket. "Put your number in. I'll add you to all our group chats. Rafe made it seem like you're gonna be around this summer so you're welcome to hang with us anytime!"

"Yeah, I'm here through August!" You said, smiling at Cleo's offer, taking the phone from her hand.

While you were typing your number into Cleo's phone, Rafe had materialized behind you.

"Thank you so much," you said handing Cleo back her phone.

"Of course!" Cleo replied, her eyes shifting away from your face to look up at Rafe. "Bye Rafe."

"See you later Cleo," he said. "Ready?" He asked looking down at you.

"Hmmhmm," you said before standing up, waving bye to the rest of the group and following Rafe back to his parked car.

"I didn't have anything to drink tonight," Rafe said as you settled into the passenger seat next to him.

"Okay," you replied, thinking back on the night but not remembering Rafe with a solo cup in his hand ever.

"Okay," he repeated back. "I just want to make sure you knew. I wouldn't ever do something that could hurt you."

"Okay," you said again, trying not to read to deep into his comment.

"What you'd think of everyone?" He asked.

"They're nice," you offered. "Different from friends back home."

"Oh, well I hope you'd keep hanging out with me...with us" he paused, quickly correcting himself.

You glanced at Rafe out of the corner of your eye, "Yeah, okay. That sounds good."

"Cool." Rafe said.

His hand on the gear shift twitched, moving the slightest inch closer toward you. You swore you could feel him wanting to grab your hand, to interlaced his fingers with yours but he didn't. His hand stayed in place, his eyes on the road watching as the headlights of the car on the opposite side of the two- lane road grew closer and closer.

Your eyes grew suddenly big with panic and Rafe looked at you with fear written all over his face as you both realized the car was plowing down the wrong side of the street. It was on your side of the road and it was going to hit you.

Rafe frantically spun the wheel trying to avoid the oncoming car but there wasn't enough time.

Your body flew forward on impact before the resistance of the seatbelt caused you to snap back. You felt Rafe’s hand hold onto yours as your eyelids closed and the world faded to black.

[hockeyisit]

What was it like when they left the hospital with Kai and Noah? What was their first night like with their two babies?

A.N: So I had a lot of different request for Auston and Amelia’s first night with the twins and what it was like when Felix met the twins. This piece is specifically focused on Felix meeting the twins and what it was like when they left the hospital. I am planning to write another piece about their first night alone with the twins which will hopefully be done soon!

Word Count: 1,841

Masterlist

“It’s safe to bring the twin’s home whenever you guys are ready,” the nurse told us as she held the clipboard out to the two of us. I glanced away to look at Auston. I had given birth to the twins two days ago and we were finally getting the all clear. We had to stay an extra day because they wanted to make sure that the twins were fine since they had been a little underweight. I reached out for the clipboard so I could start signing the papers.

“We don’t have the carseats,” I panicked, turning back to Auston who was looking down as the boys. He glanced up and sent me a reassuring look.

“My mom grabbed them,” Auston told me softly, reaching out to take my hand. I relaxed once our hands were locked together. As I went in to respond Ema walked in.

“Everything is all set to go,” Ema said clapping her hands and then making her way over to where the boys are sleeping. I winced slightly as I let out a light laugh. I let go of Auston’s hand so I could push myself up into a sitting position. Auston glanced over to me with a small frown.

“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out for me.

“I’m fine babe.”

Another nurse then walked in with a wheelchair. Auston made his way around the bed to help me stand up. Once I was situated he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I smiled to myself as I held my hands out in front of me.

“Someone give me my babies now,” I whined only slightly joking, everyone in the room laughed before Auston made his way over and picked up the baby with the blue socks, Noah. He squirmed once he was in Auston’s hands before relaxing.

“Mom can you get Kai?” Auston asked as he made his way back to me. As he leaned down to hand Noah to me Ema stopped him.

“Wait, I want to take a picture,” she walked over and handed Kai to me instead and then asked for our phones. Auston bent down a little so he was closer to me and then we took a few different photos.

“Alright, we're good to go,” Ema said, locking my phone she slipped it into the bag on the table.

“I should probably run ahead and pull up the car,” Auston thought aloud as he handed me Noah. He then ran ahead to grab the car while the Nurse helped push me down the hall. Thankfully when we reached the main lobby Auston had pulled the car around and was waiting for us. Ema immediately walked to the trunk to put our bags away, while Auston walked over to help me with Kai and Noah. He grabbed Kai who had green socks and set him in the car seat before repeating the action with Noah.

“I’ll sit in the back with them,” I told him as I slowly pushed myself up from the wheelchair. Auston reached out for my hand and helped me into the car. I was still extremely sore so I took my time as I pulled myself into the car. Once I was settled Auston shut the door gently before making his way over to the driver's seat. Ema hopped in the passenger seat.

“Ready to go?” Auston asked as he put the car into drive. During the drive the boys didn’t fuss to much and we didn’t have to deal with the normal Toronto traffic which I was thankful for. Twenty minutes later we were pulling up to our house.

“Where’s Felix?” I asked the two of them once he put the car in park. Auston glanced away from the windshield to turn to me.

“Fred has him right now I have to go get him,” he mumbled lightly trying to keep the babies from waking up. I sent him a small nod as I pushed my door open. Auston and Ema both hopped out of the car. Ema reached out to help me out while Auston reached in to grab the closest twin out which happened to be Noah. I leaned over and grabbed Kai before straightening myself out.

The three of us made our way to the front door and inside. Thankfully we had already completed the nursery so there isn't much that we needed to do now. It was weirdly quiet when we walked inside because Felix wasn't there to greet us at the door. I turned around to face Auston once we were both in the door.

“Can you go get Felix?” I asked him. Before he had a chance to answer, Ema cut him off.

“I can go get him.”

I sent a quick look to Auston to which he shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright he still lives in the apartment above my old one,” he told her as he handed her his car keys. She gave him a soft nod as she reached out for the keys. Once she was gone and the door was shut behind her Auston turned to face me with a grin. We both set the kids down in their carrier as we took our shoes off.  

“Welcome home beautiful,” Auston grinned wider as he made his way over to me. I let out a soft laugh as I leaned into him. We shared a soft kiss before I pulled away.

“I can't believe this is real,'' I whispered to him. I leaned down and pulled Kai out of his carrier. Auston leaned down and grabbed NOah before sending me a soft smile as he looked between the twin’s. Who would have ever thought we would get this lucky. Auston walked over to the couch and took a seat. I made my way over and sat next to him, I leaned my head on his shoulder as I looked down at our boys.

“I can’t believe we had two boys,” Auston said jokingly. He had been convinced it was going to be a girl and a boy. I had told him that I was feeling it would be boys, mothers intuition and all.

“Mitch is going to be so upset he lost,” I laughed lightly as I reached out to rub Noah’s cheek. He squirmed lightly in Auston’s arms before relaxing. Auston laughed loudly at what I said before quickly correcting himself and lowering his laugh. He sent me a wide eye look as both of the boys squirmed before settling. I let out a soft chuckle as I rocked Kai gently.

“Guess we are going to have to learn to be a little quieter,” I teased Auston lightly. He blushed light pink as he looked between the boys.

“I’d do anything for them,” he mumbled looking at them with a fond look in his eyes, causing my face to form a soft grin. I pulled my phone out and opened the camera before holding it out for a selfie.

“We should send a text to our friends,” I said looking over to him. He nodded as he leaned in to press his head against mine. He sent a soft smile to the camera as he held Noah up further so he would make the photo. I grinned brightly as I snapped the photo before pulling it closer to take a look.

“Aww were so cute,” I grinned showing him the photo. His smile grew as he looked it over.

“Send that to me. And the photo’s my mom took at the hospital,” he mumbled as he looked back down at Noah. I looked between the twins.

“Aus can we switch?” I asked gently. He looked up at me as he nodded eagerly. He handed Noah over to me and I handed him Kai. We both took a moment as we tried to memorize the boys.

“Wow. I can’t believe they are so perfect,” I said in awe as Noah opened his mouth slightly.

“We did so good,” Auston reached over and pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning his attention back to Kai. As I was about to respond I heard the sound of the garage door opening. I stood up and grabbed the carrier bringing it to the table. Auston followed behind me doing the same. WE set the twins down before turning to face the garage door. Just as Auston finished setting Kai down Felix was running inside making his way over to us excitedly, Ema following behind slowly. . I let out a soft laugh as I gently kneeled down.

“Hi bud,” I grinned as I rubbed his fluffy fur. “Did you miss mama and papi?” I asked as I glanced over to Auston with a smirk. He let out a soft laugh as he reached down to pet Felix. He grabbed a hold of his face.

“I’m going to go up and talk to your dad,” Ema told us as she made her way over to the stairs. We sent her a nod as we focused our attention on the excited puppy.

“I need you to calm down buddy. You're going to meet some really important dudes and me and mama would prefer you didn't eat them,” Auston told him as he leaned his forehead against Felix’s. My heart wormed at the sight as I pushed myself up to grab Noah who was right in front of me. Auston grabbed a hold of Felix's collar as I turned around with Noah. I leaned down slightly.

“This is baby Noah,” I whispered. Felix reached forward immediately causing Auston to yank on his collar lightly and me to stand up fully. “Felix calm down,” Auston said sternly, causing the puppy to pull back right away. I leaned down again slowly. Felix made his way over timidly and started sniffing at Noah’s head before pulling away and looking up at Auston waiting for his next command. I turned around and placed Noah in his carrier. Then I reached over for Kai.

“This is baby Kai,” I grinned down at Felix. He was much more careful now as he reached forward to sniff at Kai’s head. Felix then licked at Kai’s arm causing the little baby to let out a loud shriek. Noah immediately disbrought at his brother's cry let out a similar shriek causing Felix to let out a sharp bark and become alert. I let out a light laugh as I ran a soothing hand up and down Kai’s back.

“Shh baby it’s okay it’s just Felix,” I reassured as I rocked us back and forth. Auston had reached a hand out to Noah’s leg and was rubbing it in a comforting motion as we stood there.

I shared a quick happy smile with Auston as he let go of Felix and made his way over to pick up Noah once again. We both made our way to the couch and spent the rest of the night in a cuddle pile. I really had the best family.

[creativeashproductions]

Healed by the Music // Luke Patterson

Summary: After the fallout of reckless behaviour and forced to return back home the reader had rediscovered her love for music. Close with her family once more her band Graveyard Petals receives an offer that could turn around the band’s tarnished reputation. The only issue is not wanting to hurt those close by leaving.

Warnings: Swearing, talk of death, angst, and fluff

Words: 3.3k

A/N: The second and final part to a lovely little series I had grown to love, the first part is Drowning From the Past. I came up with the band name so if you want to use it send an ask and we talk about it. This is set after the first season and Ray can now see them after the whole Golden glow thing.

Part One - Drowning in the Past

Masterlist

In the months you retreated back to Los Feliz the band had grown exponentially bringing in more revenue with merch. The social media followers grew as well with the hope of a new photo posted of you and the band. The most recent teased new music coming.

Speaking of music, it seemed to pour out of your body into two notebooks unknown to both your sister and her band—the band of ghosts that become massive fans of Graveyard Petals when Julie played full-length debut album Dahlia. Luke had even collaborated on a song for your band; his name the first of writing credits.

Now, seven months after the shameful return the band had gotten the offer of a lifetime to open for 5 Seconds of Summer on a world tour. The issue came with talking with Julie, and the guys gave you had shown your father you had healed.

"Hey, what's been up with you lately?" Julie asked, seating herself in the swing right beside you. Her hair pulled away from her youthful face.

Whenever you looked at Julie, you saw Mom with the gorgeous hair and gleeful smile that brightened a room. Even on your mom's death bed, the room flared with that same smile in every picture in albums and on the walls. Sometimes you swore the piano in the studio bath in the warm light brought by the one person that taught you and Julie to play.

"I've been thinking." You simply spoke eyes focused on the park that had been a massive part of your life.

Every year Rose and Ray Molina had brought their three children to the very park the two had met years before. Rose would bring flowers to a specific bench, and every time you asked why she had the same answer.

Little Y/N was a precocious child inquisitive of the world around her held at an arms life by her parents. Skilled at singing and natural affinity for music it worried Rose, in her eldest child she recognized something. The intense passion and talent that a particular guitarist had once displayed on a stage that would have changed everything.

"It a place of absolute joy and acceptance. Four legends came together in front of that very bench."

Rose would never know about the place had Bobby not subconsciously led her there for the first time mere hours after the devastating loss. He had collapsed to his knees, pleading for his best friends, his brothers to return. In broken sobs, he had told Rose that this park, this bench was the first place Sunset Curve played. Band fresh and still unnamed they had gotten confident enough to set up near the bench to start building a following.

Now it was eight years after the first visit with Bobby who started going by Trevor a year after the loss. The fresh-faced boy that had flirted with Rose had changed, and at that time, Rose wasn't sure it was a good or bad thing.

"It was the guys Mom left the flowers for." Julie started following your eyesight to the bench that had a fresh bouquet. A single dahlia in the middle of the flowers for your mother.

"Yeah." You softly spoke, turning to focus on the girl that had healed through music. Seeing how grownup Julie had become hurt your heart. Julie wasn't a child anymore, and you wished she never went through what you did for months.

The two Molina girls sat in comfortable silence with minds thinking the most opposite things possible.

"5 Seconds of Summer is going on tour. We should try and score some tickets when they come to LA." Julie spoke, raising one leg to rest her arm on it. The high waisted light washed jeans with paintings on them.

Your heart clenched at her excitement for a band you both adored for years.

"I know. 5SOS gave Lucy an offer for Graveyard Petals to open for them worldwide. The others are down to join, but if I'm not ready, we won't." You avoided the brown eyes burning your cheek for a second.

Julie's warm hand clasped yours in hers to jog to your car you had bought with your first paycheque. Unable to figure out her state on the possible tour, you quietly drove back home with no sound other than breathing.

"Hey!" Luke beamed as his two favourite girls, came wandering into the studio with pensive expressions and stooped shoulders.

Alex picked up on their moods almost instantly, "Are you okay?"

Your mouth opened before the loud yell of Flynn cut off your opportunity to respond and a slap smack to the back of your head. The sharp cry of pain stumbled from your chapped lips and Flynn's frustration rolling off her form.

"Flynn!" You sharply called rubbing the stinging spot with a glare outmatched by Flynn's fire. The look unlike you had ever seen on the girl with a sharp sense of fashion and unapologetic personality.

"You got asked by 5 Seconds of Summer to tour the world as an opening act!" Flynn elaborated at your confused expression, "Jules texted me. You need to do this! The amount of questions of if GP will return is outrageous! In the last two days, the band's Instagram got five thousand new followers."

The ghostly trio stayed silent as Flynn reprimanded her best friend's older sister with crazy talent. Flynn was your self appointed biggest fan with buying the first album at the store to demanding to wear newly designed merch before the drop.

"I'm enjoying being at home. I'm on good terms with Julie and Carlos, Dad doesn't look like he's gonna drop dead in disappointment when he sees me." You shrugged focusing on the discoloured mark on the ground.

"It's okay to be scared." Alex supplied smiling as Flynn nodded her thanks as the tall drummer stepped in.

After escaping the Hollywood Ghost Club (HGC), a handful of people gained the ability to see them, including Flynn. It was rather refreshing for the girl to finally interact with the guys with Julie being the middle man.

"I'm not-"You cut yourself off at the disbelief on Julie's face with her arms crossed just as your mother had done, "I nearly lost myself in the bottom of a bottle. I fucked up my relationships and tarnished both mine and the band's reputation."

Luke's warm hand came down on your shoulder in the act of support, the touch a new factor to the ghost. Your hand came to rest on his with a smile of gratitude cast to the dead boy.

"You have healthy coping mechanisms to fall back on. You'll have us to visit with the poofing ability. If you stumble, we will be here for you." Reggie informed you with his toothy grin and kind eyes.

The last piece of the puzzle clicked into place, feeling the wound close up, leaving a scar that had blistered and reopened since last year. The cheers enveloped you like their arms as you texted Lucy and the band your decision.

Dublin, Ireland 2021

"Hello, Dublin!" Your voice amplified in the large stadium of fans cheering for your band—the thud of Iris on her drum kit.

James idly stroking the strings on his dark green teal guitar your band had pitched in as a gift to him. On the opposite side of the stage was Sawyer with their custom-made gorgeous marble green and white colour.

"I hope you are enjoying yourself so far! It is our last song before the real act comes out!" You exclaimed to the boisterous crowd.

Just barely in the wing of the stage waited the band that had quickly become older brothers to you. A band that had given you a chance after the madness of your downward spiral.

"This song came out in 2018 and quickly became one of my favourites. It wouldn't be right to sing it without some friends." You continued as the guys walked onto the stage, "Without further adieu, this is Lie to Me by 5 Seconds of Summer!"

Luke Hemmings along with Calum, Ashton, and Michael ran to join your band as Iris started a sick beat. Calum and Michael already joining Sawyer and James in absolute perfect sync leaving Ashton to rock out by Iris. Hemmings, to not confuse him with Luke Patterson, came to stand next to you with a guitar.

[Verse 1: Hemmings]

I saw you looking brand new overnight

And I caught you looking too, but you didn't look twice

You look happy, oh, mmm

You look happy, oh

Hemmings angled his body to face you but not cut off the fans behind him, creating the vivid story you had done each rehearsal. The blue clashing your own eye colour holding your personalized sparkly emerald green mic.

[Pre Chorus: Hemmings & Calum]

Flashing back to New York City

Change your flight so you stay with me

Remember thinking that I got this right

Only adding backing vocals as Hemmings retreated to jam out with Calum leaving you to jump around the stage. Landing next to Sawyer they beamed with the loud stadium heard even through the in-ear monitors.

[Chorus: Hemmings & Calum]

And now I wish we never met

'Cause you're too hard to forget

While I'm cleaning up your mess

I know he's taking off your dress

And I know that you don't, but if I ask you if you love me

I hope you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie to me

Raising the mic to your lips, you came into your cue returning to the middle of the stage with Hemmings.

"Give it up for Y/N!" Ashton yelled into Iris' personal microphone.

[Verse 2: You]

It's 3 AM and the moonlight's testing me (Ah)

I know that you've been holding on to someone else

And now I can't sleep (Ah)

I ain't happy, oh

I ain't too happy, oh

[Pre Chorus: You]

Flashing back to New York City

I was done, but you undid me

Classic me to run when it feels right

The stage was charged with the chemistry the two lead singers of their respective bands all sharing grins. The cheers growing as Hemmings came closer to share the green microphone, the tech guys skillfully turning Hemmings off; no feedback sounding.

[Chorus: Hemmings & You]

Now I wish we never met

'Cause you're too hard to forget

While he's taking off my dress

I know she's laying on your chest

I know that you don't, but if I ask you if you love me

I hope you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie to me

Singing, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie

Li-li-lie, lie, lie, lie, lie

Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie

Li-li-lie, lie, lie, lie, lie (Yeah yeah)

I know that you don't, but if I ask you if you love me

I hope you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie to me

The Australian singer stepped closer to hug you quickly before finding his way to your bandmates too. The crowd all having their phones out in which the hugs would be made into edits, and the shipping would intensify.

"Dublin! You have been incredible to play for. Enjoy the rest of the concert and rock out because I will be doing so backstage." Your voice echoed over the fans with a beaming grin feeling comfortable on stage again.

"This is Easier!" Hemmings shouted as the rest of his band commenced their part of the concert just as they had the last few months.

Watching the guys perform with your own band with you was incredibly bittersweet after touring worldwide for months. The media had eaten up the sudden reappearance of the band with positive publicity increasing the popularity.

"I love this song," Sawyer spoke with a twinkle in their eyes tapping their foot to the beat. James was just barely moving his head to beat while Iris was jumping around uncaring of the people around.

"You love it because we got to collaborate on the song!" James exclaimed, tapping his hip on her thigh. Iris' 5'11 form towered over James' 5'7 height but that never caused issues with them.

James's black hair gleamed blue in the strobe lights tinting his pale complexion as well. Sawyer's hair dyed bright red pairing well with their tawny skin colour with their mocha brown irises. Iris had changed over the break abandoning her past style for a more laidback skater style.

"I'm gonna head to the bus. Grab a shower and change." You informed the band as you started retreating to where the bus was parked.

"See you soon!" Sawyer yelled with their attention halfway back on the band of guys that had given you all a second chance.

Walking down the hall with employees milling around, you barely acknowledged them other than a smile. The performing had taken a lot out of you after a fitful sleep. Carl, your band's security detail and current bouncer to the backdoor, nodded at you.

Carl's colleague would be stationed at the bus as per usual with your routine of catching one song and then leaving. Bea's hardened gaze relentless on scouring the area with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey, Bea." You spoke earning a grunt in response from the jaded security detail hired after adjusting back to civilian life.

You didn't have the entire story other than Bea had been in the military, but due to an injury had been medically discharged. Your manager Lucy had been the one to hire her as per the new policy of having two people of different genders on detail.

The bus was quiet as you entered flinching at the sight of your father sitting on the couch with Julie and Carlos beside him. Your mouth gaped at seeing your family after months of only FaceTime and calls.

"Oh my gosh!" You yelled lunging to hug your siblings with wide eyes matching.

Carlos had definitely grown at least two inches since you last saw him, and Julie's hair was pulled back in an intricate style. Her outfit screaming Flynn's advice but her ring was on show that matched your own.

"Surprise!" Ray exclaimed to his eldest child with pride written clear on his face, "I missed you, Mija."

"So, did I!" The cheerful voice of Luke interjected as the three boys of Julie and the Phantoms made their appearance.

Standing further back in a band shirt with Graveyard Petals was Alex's boyfriend Willie with a shy expression. He still felt incredibly guilty of delivering the boys straight into Caleb's hand and often voiced his feelings of not feeling he deserved to be friends.

"Hey, Willie. I like your shirt!" You told the tall skater who sent a shy smile.

"Still weird," Ray muttered having walked in on Reggie towel drying his hair the month before you left for tour.

It had been a very confusing and emotional time for Ray and Carlos to adapt to the new information. After Julie saved the boys and that weird golden glow happened, they had been able to make themselves visible; just no poofing in the vicinity of Ray after he nearly fainted that one time. The details hadn't been worked out yet, but Caleb was out of the picture.

"Did you catch the concert?" You questioned the group tugging on the damp t-shirt you had worn on stage. The fabric was drying after being drenched in the sweat after spending an hour under hot lights and continuous movement on stage.

"We stayed for the one last night. We stayed for your set tonight before we got Bea-"

"-she's terrified by the way," Alex interjected with a grimace on his face at the stoic young woman. The glare at focusing on her scars had truly scared the anxious drummer.

"-to let us on the bus. We wanted to surprise you and congratulate your success." Luke informed the group, "You're insanely talented by the way."

His left hand coming to intertwine with your right hand just as it had before you departed for the world tour. You had grown incredibly close to the guitarist firstly as best friends before developing into a relationship.

"We did explore Dublin for the morning. I'll forever be in Lucy's debt for sending the tickets for us." Ray happily sighed, thinking of the lovely woman that had helped Ray guide his daughter back to herself.

"I'll just hit the shower quick." You swiftly jogged to the back of the tour bus where the shower was situated near the five came rooms. The entire band each had one room and a spare for the driver.

Los Angeles, 2021

Your hair pulled away from your face you sat beside a willow tree in contemplative silence with only your guitar and notebook. You knew that in a few seconds Luke would appear for another writing session.

"I love you." Luke breathlessly spoke as he ran up to you with a great big smile.

The awe at his words blinding your thoughts from the hope you had been feeling for the last week. Luke's hazel eyes glittering in the sun and the smile bubbled onto his face.

"I love you too." The words slipped quickly off the tip of your tongue as the guitarist tugged your form into his body. Supple lips quivering on the skin of warm neck all Luke felt was gratitude.

Luke leant back to brush his calloused fingers on your cheek, "Julie got a call. Someone little birdie sent in a demo to a label."

"I wonder who that happened to be." Your smirk revealing just precisely who had sneakily grabbed the freshly recorded demo.

Lucy had always had an interest in Julie's talent in music but tabled in during the period that Rose died. The grief stealing Julie's voice and leaving behind stage fright hadn't been something Lucy would chance. The manager had always hoped Julie's voice would return.

"You gave Lucy the demo, and she passed in on to the Red Bedroom Records!" Luke was quick to tug you into his arms with a huge grin, "Julie and the Phantoms are getting signed! The owner is personally flying over on Monday to go over the contract and sign it!"

Your words muffled by his chest, "Lucy informed me about that, and she offered to manage you as well."

"Lucy is the best. She gonna mentor and give Flynn an internship to still work with the band. Thank you so much, baby." Luke whispered against the warm skin of your forehead.

"I just decided to speed up the process. Can I tell you something?" At Luke's nod, you continued, "I'm thinking in a few years to open a label of my own. I was hoping you guys and Julie would be interested in doing that with me?"

"I am so down to do that. We're gonna hire an investigator to make sure what Trevor did isn't able to happen at our label." Luke was already passionately thinking of what the hypothetical future label.

"That's perfect!" You beamed, "We could give a workshop to aid songwriting too! I thought that we could name it A Rosie Sunset. My dad called my mom Rosie most of my life and Sunset for your first band."

"I didn't think I could love you more than I did a minute ago. You proved me wrong." Luke breathless laughed before humming when your lips made contact with your own.

The warmth that had been missing the year after you mom passed away had returned, and sometimes you swore the sun shone down on you. You had no doubts it was your mom's way in heaven to hug her children. You and Julie had come to the conclusion that your mom had sent the boys into your lives.

Rose Molina, even in death, did her best to make her children happy. The three remaining members of Sunset Curve the absolute best part of her two daughters lives.

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[djarinvibe]

Dreams (Din Djarin x F!Reader) Pt. 8

A/N: okay im so sorry this took so long, first of all. Second, this is going to be the last chapter of Dreams. I’ve honestly lost my motivation to write for this fic, and I have a new idea in the works. So, I’d like to thank you all so much for reading my little creation and I hope you continue to read my works in the future! <3

Warnings: mentions of labor, marriage, helmet reveal, fluff

Words: 3.0k

Disclaimer: The pregnancy may not be 100% accurate as I am not a doctor nor have I experience my own. All of the information I get is from maternity websites, so please bear with me. Thank you!

One and a Half Months Later…

“You’re supposed to be on bed rest.” The voice of Cara quickly caught your attention, prompting you to flip around. The woman stood in the entryway of the hut, arms folded with a smirk plastered across her face. 

“Lying in bed was beginning to hurt my back.” You responded, rubbing your large bump. It’s been one month and two weeks since Din had rescued you from Tuck. The three of you traveled the stars along the Outer Rim for a bit longer until your pregnancy became too hard to manage on the ship.

 It was then you decided to land back on Sorgan where you would deliver the baby, and probably stay until it was safe and you were healthy enough to continue your voyage. You’ve been here for about two weeks now, your due date approaching quickly. You’ve been instructed by the village's midwife to remain on bedrest until that moment, however sometimes it became boring, or painful.

“That excuse works for me.” She chuckled, walking further into the hut, “Maybe not your boyfriend, though.” 

You laughed in response, shaking your head at the woman. You were glad Cara stayed within the village; getting to see the woman warrior again felt special, like seeing an old friend. 

“Yeah well, I’m just glad he’s out working rather than hovering over me.” You smirked, looking out the window to see the man chopping wood nearby. He was surrounded by a few fellow men of the village, also doing the same task. It was nearly comical to see a fully armored man doing such a mundane chore. 

“He sent me to check on you.” Cara spoke, also gazing out at the man, “And to ask if you needed anything.” She added, looking back at you.

“I’m fine,” You spoke with a sigh, holding your belly. You could feel the child kicking, causing such a pain. You’ve been experiencing false labor pains for a few days now, however they have been getting progressively worse.

“Getting close, huh?” Cara questioned, noting the discomfort on your face. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding and nodded at the woman.

“I just want to get it over with.” You sighed, slowly waddling back to your bed and away from the window. You sat down with a huff, leaning back to ease some pain. The sun setting outside signaled that Din was going to be returning to your hut soon. Omera should be returning with the child as well. Due to you being on bedrest, The woman and sometimes Winta, had begun to watch over the little green boy. He spends most of his time playing with the village children anyways, so it works out.

“Can’t say it looks enjoyable.” The woman warrior chuckled. She glanced over her shoulder just then, witnessing Omera gently knock on the door frame, asking permission to enter. In her arms she held the child, squealing happily. 

“How’re you feeling?” She asked after Cara nodded, allowing her in. 

“Like hell.” You responded with a pained chuckle as another minor contraction settled over your body. She quietly padded across the space, sitting down next to you on the bed. The child squirmed from her grasp, sliding off the sheets and landing on the wooden floor below. His head cocked in confusion, staring up at your sitting figure. 

“I think you’re going into real labor.” The woman murmured, hand gently rubbing your back. You took a deep breath as the pain passed, shaking your head in dismissal. Deep down you were scared, why wouldn’t you be? Within the next day or so, you’re going to have a physical baby swaddled in your arms.

“I don’t think I’m ready,” You whispered, looking between the two women. Cara put her hands up, backing away, while Omera only gave you a knowing look.

“I am no good at the whole… mom... thing. So, I’m the wrong person to confide in.” The woman warrior humored, folding her arms once again and leaning against the wooden wall. 

“I’ll be with you every step if you’d like, alongside with the midwife.” Omera continued to rub your back for comfort and smiled warmly. You’d met the midwife, Kandri, a day or so after coming back to the planet. She’s an older woman, her age proving her experience. Later that same evening, you learned that she was there the day Omera was born; actually, one of the first deliveries she had done since becoming a midwife.

“Please,” You nodded towards the woman, resting your hands on your bump. The pain had gone away temporarily, but you know that it’s going to come back. 

“Better let you get some rest.” Omera murmured soon after, “Send the Mandalorian to my hut when it's time. If not tonight, I’ll check on you in the morning.” She stood from the bed and tapped Cara on the arm, beckoning her to follow. The child crawled up the sheets hanging from the bed after the women left, eyes staring up at you tiredly. 

The sun had nearly fully set by now, leaving a dark purple to contrast against the silhouetted forest scenery around. You grabbed the child, kissing his little forehead as you tucked him in your arm. He cooed up at you, a smile crossing his cheeks. Standing up from the bed took you a minute, being unbalanced, but once you made it, you padded over to the child's crib and tucked him in. Just as you stood back up, you heard the familiar footsteps of the Mandalorian step into the hut.

“Cyar’ika, bed rest only.” The man spoke, dropping whatever was in his grasp and instantly walking to you. He rested his hands on your hips, flipping you around. 

“He wanted to be tucked in,” You defended, pointing down to the sleeping child. The man still shook his head, leading you back to the bed slowly. He helped you sit, before beginning to remove his armor piece by piece. You sat quietly, watching him do so.

You still haven't seen his face, not being married yet. When you reached Sorgan a few weeks back, you were curious as to when you would. The man hadn't talked of it since your time with the Armourer back on Nevarro, and secretly it's been bothering you. Of course you always respect his boundaries and creed, not pushing anything, but with the baby actually on the way now… 

“He could’ve waited until I got here.” Din murmured, sitting on the bed next to you and breaking your thoughts. He was fully stripped of his armor now, save for his underclothing and helmet. Your hand slipped into his bare one, fingers intertwining perfectly. You admired the tanned skin, noting the new minor cuts he’d received from the chores just as another contraction hit.

“Another false one?” The man asked as you squeezed his hand tightly. You shook your head no, eyes closed and brows furrowed in pain. 

“I’m in actual labor.” You spoke once the pain had calmed down, looking back up at the man's visor. Even though you couldn’t see his face, you could tell his body language had changed. He felt more tense now, and had gone nearly as still as a rock. 

“Okay.” He spoke after a few moments, finally showing signs of life.

“No need to panic,” You whispered, rubbing your thumb along his hand as an intimate comfort.

“I’m not panicking,” The man spoke as though you’d tempered with his ego, his voice low and stern. It made you let out a snort, shaking your head in humor.

“Of course you aren’t, my love.” You murmured soon after, patting his back. The man stood up afterwards and began to blow out a few of the lanterns lit around the room, dimming the lighting until it was a soft golden glow. You climbed into bed in the meantime, laying on your side with a large pillow made specifically to support your belly. 

“Would you like me to sleep with the blindfold tonight?” You asked the man shortly after he climbed into bed beside you. 

“Whatever is comfortable for you, cyar’ika.” His modulated murmur responded. 

“I would like for you to hold me,” You whispered, reaching for the blindfold sitting on the bedside table. You tied the fabric at the back of your head, blocking off your vision. When you reassured the man you couldn’t see, the hiss of his helmet releasing filled your ears along with the thud of him placing it on the floor. You felt his arm gently snake over your side and rest on your belly, efficiently pulling you into the little spoon position. It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep, the comfort of Din encasing all of your senses. 

---

It wasn't until the early morning when your water broke. Luckily, you’d already climbed out of bed due to the contractions worsening. The Mandalorian wasted no time going to alert Omera as asked; you've honestly never heard-- being blindfolded still-- him get into his Beskar that fast before.

When he left, you changed out of the soiled dress and into a different one. You then grabbed the child from his crib, awake and cooing for breakfast. 

“Good morning, little one.” You spoke softly, rubbing your finger along his cheek. The boy squealed in response, a little giggle escaping him in the process. You waddled back to the bed, sitting down with the child in your arms, and held your breath as another contraction passed through you. 

This one hurt more than the others, worse than the most awful cycle cramp you’ve ever experienced. Clenching your teeth through the pain, you held your breath despite knowing you’re supposed to breathe. The child squeaked in confusion, and squirmed out of your grasp. He landed on the bed next to your figure, gently raising his hand and placing it on your arm; as though he was comforting you.

Just then, footsteps settled on the wooden stairs catching your attention. Glancing up, you watched as the Mandalorian returned with Omera and the midwife. The woman gave you a warm smile upon meeting your gaze. She stepped aside, letting Kandri and a 2-1B medical droid into the hut. Your gaze then caught the intense stare of Din’s visor. Though it blocked his real face, you could sense the concern radiating off him like a fire gives off heat. 

“Okay, my dear, I need to see how far you are.” Kandri spoke softly, her aged voice giving you comfort. You nodded, eyes then darting between Omera and the armor-clad man. The woman caught the hint and grabbed the child from next to you on the bed before turning on her heel, beckoning Din to follow.

Once the two of them had left, the midwife had you lay back on the bed. She was quick to check how dilated you were, knowing how uncomfortable the process is. The medical droid hooked you up to an IV that strapped to your body during, checking your temperature and vitals as well. Another contraction washed over your body, prompting a soft groan of pain to escape your lips.

“Oh honey, you’re so close.” Kandri murmured, standing up from between your legs. “Just a few more hours.”

“I want it over now.” You sighed as the contraction passed.

“That’s how I felt with my first.” The midwife smiled, recalling the memory, however her smile faltered shortly after, “He died to the Raiders last season.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” You spoke sincerely, watching as the woman shrugged it off. You don’t know what you’d do if your child died. That’s something a parent should never have to experience.

“No reason to feel sorry. Your Mandalorian avenged him by getting rid of those stupid beasts.” She spoke in reference to your time spent previously on the planet. You had nightmares of the Raider that almost killed you for weeks.

“Get out of the hut, take a walk; It’ll help the process go by faster. I’ll be back in an hour.” Kandri added after a few moments of silence, gathering up her supplies. You gave her a nod, watching as she and the 2-1B medical droid left the cabin. 

---

Sunrise through the lush forest was a sight to behold. Golden rays glowing through the fog ridden trees gave a wonderful contrast against the green scenery. Taking the midwife's advice, you and Din left on a walk while Omera stayed behind to watch the child. The two of you currently wandered along the outskirts of the village, taking in the fresh morning air, even though you’ve both been awake for a few hours now.

“How do you feel?” Din’s modulated voice asked, hand hovering on your lower back as you waddled next to him.

“Better now that I’m not stuck in the hut. And whatever that droid gave me is starting to kick in.” You mused, holding your belly as you walked. The chill morning air sent a shiver down your spine, but it was refreshing compared to the stale air of the cabin’s framing. You’ve been stuck in there for so long on bedrest, you nearly forgot how beautiful Sorgan is.

“Good.” The man murmured in response, his hand slowly rubbing your back. Another contraction washed over you, causing you to pause and breath through the pain. Din gladly offered himself as a crutch, his gloved hands rubbing your back as a show of comfort. As the pain passed, you were just grateful that your baby will be here soon and the whole horrible process will be over. 

Continuing on your walk, your hand found the Mandalorians as your eyes watched the local wildlife skitter about along the forest's edge, while alluring insects fluttered around the grassy meadow that separated the village from the forest. It was still so early that dew remained lingering on the foliage. Hardly anybody had exited their homes yet, leaving the village to appear quiet and serene.

In the bright golden glow of morning, surrounded by a lush forest and a dainty meadow, fingers intertwined with the man you loved, You couldn't have wished for a better moment to be alive. Maybe while not in the throes of labor, but nonetheless, it was still perfect. 

Din made no comment as he quietly guided you into the forest, deep enough until the village was no longer in view. Sunlight still poured through the trees, illuminating the morning fog. Little critters jumped across the grassy path, going about their business and paying the two of you no mind. 

“Where are we going?” You asked, waddling while trying to keep up the man. He finally paused his steps, content with how deep into the forest you’d gone. 

“Cyar’ika,” Din’s somewhat serious tone caught your attention. You moved your gaze from the surrounding scenery and up to his visor. The man stopped walking, grasping your hips and pulling you so you stood in front of him.

“Yes?” You questioned, raising a brow. His hesitancy to speak caused concern to wash over your body, your mind running a mile a minute. His hands moved from your hips and grasped your hands from your belly, holding them firmly. 

“Will you marry me?” His tone was soft, almost as though he was timid. Your shoulders released the tension they’d been holding and instead your heart picked up speed. Deep down, you'd been wondering when he was actually going to ask; ever since your encounter with the Mandalorian Armorer.

“Right now? How does that even work? I’m kind of in the middle of something…” You finished with a short laugh, your eyes casting down to your bump before greeting his visor once more.

“Mandalorian vows are simple,” He stated softly, “Just repeat after me.” You nodded, silently agreeing with the man. 

“Mhi solus tome,” The man began, the Mando’a language ringing like music to your ears. 

“Mhi solus tome,” You repeated, blushing at your pronunciation. 

“Mhi solus dar’tome,” He spoke the second line, hands gripping your own tighter. 

“Mhi solus dar’tome,” You murmured, eyes never leaving his visor. 

“Mhi me’dinui an,” The words floated from his lips easily, never stuttering.

“Mhi me’dinui an,” You felt like a bird at this point, repeating the man so carefully.

“Mhi ba’juri verde.” He finished, a smile overtaking his cheeks even though you couldn't see it. 

“Mhi ba’juri verde.” You reciprocated, the thump of your heart filling your ears. A soft giggle erupting from your lips disrupted the serious moment, joy overtaking your senses.

 Never in your existence did you think your life would have changed so drastically; and in such a short time too. Just months ago you were a scared woman on the run, married to an abusive asshole. The Mandalorian saved not only you, but also your baby. The same man that woke you up upon first greeting by pointing a blaster square in your face is now your husband.

Din broke your thoughts by giving your hands a gentle squeeze before releasing them. Furrowing your brow, you watched in confusion as he visibly took a deep breath, slowly raising his gloved hands up to his helmet. Your heart gained speed as realization clouded your senses. His fingers latched onto the piece of metal, the sound of releasing air filling your ears. You swallowed thickly, feeling as though time slowed while watching his face be revealed inch by inch. 

And oh.

Oh.

You felt tears well up in your eyes as the sight of Din filled your vision. 

You slowly raised your hand, placing it on his stubble-ridden cheek, thumb rubbing softly. He was just as handsome as you pictured. Soft, medium length, curly brown hair fell and framed his face. His eyes matched with swirls of amber and mahogany staring back, accompanied by a gently hooked nose, stubble, and chapped lips. 

“You're so handsome.” You murmured happily, a quiet, teary giggle escaping your throat. 

“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” The man responded, a grin taking over his face. The two of you giggled with tears threating to spill over, admiring each other. Din, however, wasted no time leaning down and capturing your lips against his. The hand not holding his helmet quickly gravitated towards your waist, pulling you as close as your belly would allow, while you placed both your hands on his cheeks, thumbs rubbing his stubble softly. Butterflies erupt in your chest as your heart fluttered at the sensation, your lips meshing together perfectly. 

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

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[etoileholland]

it’s nice to have a friend

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Warnings: insecurity

Word count: 2.1k

Summary: Peter, upon finding out that you’re bullied at school and that you have no friends, wants to be yours.

A/N: this was cathartic to write so I hope it’s cathartic to read

Feeling alone was something that you were quite accustomed to. You had a few people that you would consider friends, but it always seemed that they had something else that was more important. Or, rather, spending time with someone else that was more important.

Every day at school filled you with anxiety and despair, and you always counted down the hours and minutes until you could leave for the day. 

On some days, it felt as if you were truly invisible. No one would talk to you, or eat lunch with you, or even as much look in your direction. 

Other days felt as though you stuck out for all the wrong reasons, like being asked for your homework or having rude remarks directed at you. Boys would comment on how unattractive you were, and would ask you on a date only as a dare. Girls would snicker behind your back, saying comments like, “Her outfit choices are awful, do you think she gets dressed in the dark?” or “If only she put on cuter clothes and some makeup, maybe then would she be pretty.”

The comments would get to you, and you found yourself trying to ditch school or show up late to classes so that the odds of being publicly ridiculed would be slim. You often felt that no one would notice if you disappeared. 

Or so you thought. 

There was one person that always seemed intrigued by you, but you never seemed to pay much attention to him. 

The boy was named Peter, more specifically, Peter Parker. 

He sat right next to you in English class, and he had only spoken to you once when you were paired together for an in-class assignment. 

He had always wanted to start a conversation with you, but he never knew how to go about it. His heightened senses picked up on the fact that you were often anxious, and he didn’t want to make your anxiety worse by trying to start a conversation. So, he never said anything to you, holding onto the hope that one day the right time would arise and he would be able to finally speak to you. 

And today was that day.

You had walked into English class fifteen minutes late, your head hung low to not draw anymore attention to yourself. However quiet you tried to be, it didn’t go unnoticed by your teacher.

“Late again, I see?” your teacher, Mr. Harris remarked harshly. The comment caught you off guard, which caused you to trip on someone’s backpack that was in the aisle. “Next time you come in late Y/N, I’ll have no choice but to give you detention.”

“Or better yet, you could just do us all a favour and not show up?” a boy named Chad remarked without skipping a beat, and the whole class broke out into laughter.

It took everything in you to not run out of the classroom, but instead you scurried to your desk and slumped into your seat, hoping that you wouldn’t call any more attention to yourself. You wrote something on a stray sticky note that was stuck to your binder, before pulling out your notebook and taking notes on what the teacher was saying. 

When the bell finally rang, you quickly shoved everything into your backpack and practically sprinted out the door. You ran out so quickly that you didn’t even notice you had dropped the sticky note, which landed right by Peter’s shoe.

“Wait,” he tried to call out to you but it was too late. He bent down to pick up the note and let out a small gasp when he read what it said, “I just want to disappear.”

“No.” Peter muttered under his breath. Looking around to make sure no one noticed him reading the note, he discreetly placed the sticky note in his folder before heading to his next class.

—

Lunch rolled around, and Peter struggled with what to do about that note. He sat at the usual table and impatiently waited for Ned and MJ to show up so he could ask them what to do.

The duo walked over to the table a few minutes later, and when they set their things down, Peter asked if they had seen you around. 

“Nope.” they replied in unison.

“She wasn’t in History today, so maybe she went home early?” Ned said with his mouth full of pepperoni pizza. 

“Why do you suddenly want to know where she is, Parker?” MJ questioned as she stole Peter’s gogurt. 

Without responding, Peter pulled out the sticky note from his locker and showed his friends. 

“Oh.” MJ responded quietly, and Ned stayed quiet. 

“She was late to class today, and Chad made a remark saying that she should just never show up to class anymore. She didn’t speak up like she usually does, and wrote this during class. When she left, the note dropped and she didn’t notice it, but I picked it up and now I’m worried thinking that the comment really got to her.”

Ned and MJ nodded their heads and MJ placed her hand on Peter’s arm. 

“What should I do?” Peter leaned over the table and placed his face in his hands. 

“Talk to her.” Ned answered. 

“I’ve tried, but there never seems to be a good time to do so.”

“Hm, maybe write her a note and slip it in her locker? So that you won’t be seen passing notes in class and she won’t be flustered receiving it?”

Peter sat back up and looked MJ in the eye. “I never thought I would say this, but that’s actually a good idea, thank you.” 

“No problem, now if you’ll excuse me,” MJ reached for Peter’s bag of chips, “those cheetos are calling my name.” She ripped open the bag and smiled. 

That’s what I’ll do, I’ll go home and write her a letter, Peter thought to himself as he stole back the bag of chips that MJ took.

—

At 2:55pm, the last bell of the day rang and Peter ran out of class, down the corridors and out the main doors. He had been anxious all day since he found your note, him counting down the hours until he could rush home. The anxious feeling in his stomach grew when he didn’t see you at lunch, or at your locker. He was fearing the worst, and he hoped that he wasn’t too late. 

Instead of taking the subway home, he had changed into his Spiderman suit before his last class ended, and ran into an empty alleyway. He took his school clothes off, stuffed them in his backpack and swung home. He knew that he was working against the clock, and he wanted to get home in plenty of time so that he could write that letter to you.  

Making it home in record time, he climbed into his room and began looking for a piece of paper and a pen. He thought about what to say and fervently wrote that letter to you. After ten rewrites, and four hours later, he knew that he had finally said what he wanted to say. He gently folded it and stuck it in a homemade envelope, writing your name in cursive on the front and putting a heart at the end of your name. All he had to do now was wait until tomorrow to give it to you. 

—

The next day, during second period, Peter had excused himself from class and ran through the halls to put the letter in your locker, but stopped in his tracks when he saw you sitting right below your locker. You were sitting there crying, with your knees to your chest. The door to your locker was open and there was a small box sitting next to you on the floor. 

“Y/N?” He whispered, and you shot your head up to see Peter standing there confused. “Is everything okay?” 

“Oh, um, hi Peter. I’m sorry you have to see me like this.” You weakly smiled and wiped the tears off your cheeks with the arm of your sweater.

“Why is there a box on the floor?” He asked, taking a step closer to you.

“Oh,” you sniffled, “I’m moving schools.”

“Why is that?” Peter asked, his voice soft. He moved the box over and sat down on the floor next to you.

“You probably wouldn’t understand.” 

“I could try.” He scooted closer to you and looked at you sympathetically.

“I don’t feel like I belong here, at all. I don’t have any friends, and I don’t have any connections here that would make it worthwhile to stay.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He answered, unsure of what else to say.

“It’s not your fault. My mom offered to send me to a school across town and I’m gonna take her up on it.” 

“Well, if that’s the best choice for you, then you should take it.” He paused, “but I think maybe before you make that choice, there’s something you should know.” He grabbed the letter out of his back pocket and gave it to you. “I hope it doesn’t come off as creepy.” 

With shaky hands, he handed you the letter and you lightly grabbed it. Admiring the front of the envelope, you said, “Your cursive is really good, Peter.” 

He laughed at that comment and replied, “thank you, I won the ‘best penmanship’ award in third grade, and I pride myself with that.” 

“I bet you put that on your resume, didn’t you?” You joked and Peter replied, “oh, definitely.” 

Getting back to opening the letter, you took it out of its envelope and unfolded it. 

Y/N, 

I’ve thought about the best way to go about saying this, which I think may be this way. Today in class, I saw your note that said that you want to disappear, and I knew that I had to say something to you. So here it goes. Although I only know you from sitting next to you in class, you are so nice, patient and intelligent, and I hope that I can get to know you more. I always see you sitting by yourself at lunch, and I always tell myself that one day I’ll work up the courage to sit next to you and say hi, but I never can. 

You don’t deserve all the crap that you get, and I’m surprised that you don’t have any friends because you are one of the best people here at school. I genuinely mean that. You are one of the most ‘real’ people here; you’re authentically you, and I admire that about you. You don’t conform to what people say you should do or act or dress, and that’s admirable. You don’t hide your intelligence, and you sure as hell don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Maybe that’s not a popular opinion with many people, but it is to me. 

If you ever need someone, I’m always here for you. I’m hoping that you’ll take me up on that offer Y/N, because I know what it’s like to be lonely, and what it’s like to not have any friends. It’s nice to have a friend, and I’d love to be yours. 

Peter x

You didn’t realise you were crying when a teardrop hit the paper, the ink spreading where it hit. 

“Peter, this is the nicest thing I’ve ever received, thank you.” 

Peter shrugged his shoulders and gently bumped your shoulder with his. “You’re welcome, and it’s true, by the way. All the things I said were true. You really do seem like a nice person and you don’t deserve the rude remarks that you get.” 

“I don’t know what else to say other than, thank you Peter. This means a lot to me.” You folded the letter up nicely and stuck it in your backpack. “This makes me reconsider wanting to move schools now.”

“Ultimately it’s your choice, and you should do what you think is best. But if I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s to not walk away when people are ridiculing you. Instead, if you stand your ground and don’t give into the crap, they’ll realise how strong and persistent you really are and eventually leave you alone.”

“Maybe you’re right, maybe I should stay here in order to stand up for myself. I’m not going to let a douchebag named Chad be the reason I move schools.”

“Exactly.” He chuckled. “But I also know how hard it is to stand up to bad people by yourself. It’s so much easier to have a group of people who have your back behind you, supporting you all the way. So if you need a friend Y/N, I’m here for you, because trust me, I know what it’s like to not have a friend.”

“Well Peter Parker, it’s nice to have you as a friend.” You whispered to him. You looked over at the boy with the soft curls and the kind eyes, and you mentally thanked the gods above for sending an angel like him to you.

“It’s nice to have you as a friend too. Now c’mon, let’s go show Chad that we’re not a force to be reckoned with.” He stood up and held his hand out for you to grab, to which you gladly did. Together, the two of you walked the empty halls, hand in hand, ready to take on the world.

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[crashdevlin]

Jump The Shark

Author’s Note: This is part nineteen of The Best Laid Plans series

Summary: When John gets a call from the youngest son he never got to meet, Y/n goes with him to find out what happened to the one-night stand John had back in 1990.

Pairing: Alpha!John x Omega!Reader

Word count: 3597

Story Warnings: angst...A/B/O dynamics, canon divergence, angst, mentions of physical violence, mentions of mindfuckery, mentions of ferality, pining, did I mention angst?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You hadn't said anything. Not from the moment you and John found the truck. You climbed up into the cab and changed into jeans, a black and green plaid flannel and a pair of hiking boots. You dropped your suit skirt and blouse out the window going 80 down the interstate, and then you closed your eyes and listened to the Rolling Stones.

You had to open your eyes when your memories started attacking you.

Dean had been so sure that you were the one he wanted, the one he was looking for...but that was Dean Smith and Y/n Colt. That was a Stanford MBA and a former Miss Teen USA runner-up. The idea that he wanted to mark you was particularly hurtful and you were kinda glad you made him wait because you weren't sure if it would have reset like the first mark Sam gave you and the last thing you wanted was for Dean to be tethered to you when he could barely stand to be around you.

He only wanted you because he was someone else. He was someone else, but his soul was still stuck on you. You both felt that pull because you were connected but he didn't want you. Smith liked Colt, but Winchester would never love Y/l/n.

John just drove. It was obvious he had no destination in mind, he just pointed the truck West and drove. Part of you wished that he would go back to Mississippi but you knew that your semi-normal was gone...and it was better. You were a hunter and so were your alphas. No normal for you.

"It hit her hard, Sammy," you heard John whispering as he drove when you woke up a few hours into Missouri. "She hasn’t been that close with your brother in years and the fact that it was all fake is killing her."

A pang of sadness hit you as your brain called forth what John was talking about. The haze of sleep had taken the memory, but now it was clear why your heart felt like so many broken pieces shoved into a box in your chest.

"Yeah, we know that but he won't say it and she probably wouldn't be able to hear it now anyway." John sighed as Sam spoke through the phone. "Son, I don't know what we can do other than what we always do. If you need help, just call, but she definitely doesn't need to be around your brother for a while. All right. Keep me updated," John said before setting his phone on the dashboard. "I know you’re awake, 'mega. Can't fool me."

"Wasn't trying to fool you. Just letting you finish your conversation," you responded, sitting up and stretching as best as you could in the truck cab. "What'd Sam want?"

"Tell me that the whole deal in Cincinnati was the Angels fucking with us. Specifically fucking with Dean. They wanted to prove to him that he was always supposed to be a Hunter or something."

"And we just got pulled along for the ride? That was nice of them." You rolled your eyes and reached down for your purse, pulling out a travel mouthwash. "So, what, everything's dandy now?" you asked as you took a drink of the mint liquid, swished it around in your mouth and swallowed.

"You know, you're supposed to spit that out, right?"

"Only quitters spit," you said automatically. You ran your hand across your face as you dropped the bottle to the floorboard. Dirty jokes Dean told you as a teen were not what you needed to get out of your funk. “I’ve put worse things in my body.”

“Girl, we...we’ll get through this.”

“Not like we have a lot of options, right?” You licked your lips and shook your head. “I’m fine, John. I slept. I’m better. I’m fine.”

“When are you gonna learn that it’s useless to lie to me?” John asked.

“I’m sure it’ll sink in eventually,” you responded, chuckling. “I promise...I’m going to be fine.”

“I know you will,” John said, reaching over to pat your knee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks passed and you were getting better at putting it behind you. The might’ve-beens dragged up by the Angels in Cincinnati were slowly being pushed back into the recesses of your mind and you were feeling better. Sam emailed John to tell him about some jerk in Ohio writing books about the boys’ lives, someone Castiel revealed to be a Prophet of the Lord who was writing The Winchester Gospels. There were books about the boys’ lives, their actions, their innermost thoughts, just hanging out on bookshelves around the world. You wondered if you were in any of the stories, the gospels.

John’s secondary cell phone went off as you pulled the truck into the parking lot of a coffee shop and he frowned as he looked down at the screen before he answered, “Hello?” A beat of time as you parked the truck and turned to him. “He’s not available. Can I help you?” He had a severe look on his face and you shook your head at him, confused by his reaction to the call. “What’d you say your name was? Milligan...and, uh, what are you callin’ John for?”

He made a fist and hammered it into his forehead. “Right, well, uh, I hate to have to tell you this over the phone but John is dead. He died in 2001.” Your eyes went wide and John put a finger up to quiet you before you could even start to question. “If you need help, then I can meet with you, kid. I’m, uh, John Winchester’s son, Dean. Windom, Minnesota. Cousin Oliver Café. We’ll be there tomorrow at 8am. See ya then, kid.”

“What the fuck, John?!” you exclaimed when he ended the call.

“Fuck.” He scratches his fingernails across his forehead and sighs as he sets the phone on the dash. “I recognized the area code, knew it was Missouri, thought it might have something to do with...with this case I had around January 1990. Anybody I interacted with back then, they would’ve known me before I got hit with that hex. So, that’s why I answered the phone like that and I’m glad I did because...because the kid on the other end of the phone is…” He trailed off and you gave him a pointed look.

“The kid on the other end of the phone is what?”

“My youngest son, Adam.”

Your eyes went wide, confusion and anger filling your body. “Your what?”

“I told you...I told you that I had one dalliance before you after Mary died, remember? When I was on that ghoul hunt and I went into rut and I-I was almost feral and I had one night where I couldn’t fuckin’ control myself and-”

“You knocked her up with pups?” you whispered. For some reason, it hurt a lot more than it should, especially considering you were only seven years old at the time.

“Only one. Adam.” He shook his head at himself. “She never told me. I didn’t know anything about it until 2001...and by then…by the time Adam called the first time, I was a young man again. I couldn’t show up looking like a twenty-five year old and start a relationship with the boy. So I just never called him back, kinda put him on the back burner. I figured I’d go see him when we found the witch and fixed me but I never found the witch and-”

“So, why’s he calling again now?” you asked, trying to be understanding. It wasn’t John’s fault. He should have told you. He should have told his other sons, but he couldn’t do anything about it now.

“His mom, Kate, is missing.”

“And he called you because?” you asked.

“Because the cops aren’t worried and his mom told him to try to get a hold of me if anything weird ever happened. She knew about the hunting.”

“So, your plan is to...pretend to be your oldest son and go meet your youngest son for the first time and try to find his missing mother...who most probably is just normal-missing, not supernatural-missing?” you asked, cautious of your tone.

“I can drop you somewhere if you don’t wanna participate in this, girl,” he said, biting his bottom lip.

“No,” you responded vehemently. “You don’t get to leave me behind, Winchester. Not ever again, remember?”

“Okay, then I’m gonna need you to back me on this and you’re going to have to call me ‘Dean’.”

You nodded. “I can do that.” You weren’t sure you wanted to, but you’d do it for him.

“Thank you, darlin’.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John was nervous. You could smell it in his scent. You leaned into his shoulder as you sat in the booth, trying to calm him with your own scent. You kept your head on his shoulder as he switched a glass of water out with a glass of holy water and set a trio of silverware on the opposite side of the table. “Just in case.”

“You really think-”

“I looked into him, ya know? Kid did real good without me in his life,” John said suddenly. “He’s real and he’s smart and he never had anything to do with this life. I’m scared it bled onto him anyway.”

You sighed and leaned up to press a kiss to his temple as the door opened and a tall, thin young man walked into the diner. He looked like a mix of Sam and Dean. “That’s him,” you whispered, recognizing him from the Facebook profile.

John, or rather ‘Dean’, stood and waved at the boy.

“Dean?” Adam asked, walking over. John nodded. The boy laughed. “Wow, you look just like the picture my mom had of-of John. You’re almost the spitting image of him.” He let out a scoff as he sat down, his eyes moving to you. “Who’s this?”

“My omega,” John said, a bit defensively.

“Y/n,” you said, offering your hand to him.

Adam took it with a smile. “Wow.”

You felt a cringe move through your body and you looked down. “What?”

“I just…” Adam cleared his throat. “There’s not a lot of omegas in Windom and none are as pretty as you.”

Another Winchester flirting with you was sending all sorts of bad signals through your body. You softly tugged your hand back and sat back down as Adam settled into the opposite side of the booth and picked up the water. You held your breath when he took a drink but the water went down easy so you relaxed a bit.

But not much.

He smelled wrong. John was lavender and orange and ylang ylang, Dean was lavender and honeysuckle and anise, Sam was vanilla and coffee and undercurrents of honeysuckle when he was in rut. Adam smelled like dirt.

Not grass and forest and mossy logs, dirt. Just dirt. He didn’t even have a secondary scent to him, no undercurrent or complementary smell. Just dirt.

There should have been some part of him that smelled like a Winchester, even if he wasn’t the same makeup of a Winchester as the ones you knew. He shouldn’t smell like that.

Adam didn’t seem to notice your musing or your deep breaths to try and find something else in his scent. He went off on a tangent as he ate his breakfast about how John and Kate met in the emergency room at the hospital room where she works and he went into rut after he got hurt and Adam tried to get a hold of John when he was a kid and John just never picked up the phone and he’s glad that ‘Dean’ answered the phone this time.

“At least I know why he didn’t answer when I was calling before. So, uh, what happened to John?”

“Heart attack,” John responded. “It was sudden.”

“Right, guess that makes sense. Heart disease is the number one killer of men his age in the US,” Adam said.

Your eyes focused on the silverware in the man’s fists. Not a shifter either then. But this was something. This was not a Winchester.

“Well, after we get done eating, why don’t you take us to the house and we’ll see if we can’t find something to tell us where your mom got to,” John offered.

“Thanks, Dean,” Adam said with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He didn't react to silver or holy water," John argued as he followed Adam's car down the road.

"So? There's plenty of things that can alter people's perception of them that don't react to silver or holy water! Rakshasas, sirens, djinns, ghouls, do I need to go on?" you argued back. "He smells like dirt, John. That is not-"

"Maybe that's just-"

"What'd his mother smell like?" you interrupted.

"Passion fruit...and something else I can't remember."

"Not dirt. He shouldn't smell like that. He's not your son."

John sighed and scratched at his chin. "You might be right. He should smell more like one of us. He doesn't even smell like an alpha, honestly, but...if he's not Adam, then where the hell is Adam? And where's Kate? And why the fuck would whatever he is try to get me out here?"

"I don't know."

"Me either. For now, let's focus on finding Kate and we'll go from there." You held in a groan and focused out the windshield. "I know, 'mega. I'm just...I got this feeling...I lost my opportunity to be a part of this boy's life because of that witch."

"And that’s terrible, John...but you wouldn't have me if it wasn't for that witch so…"

“I’m not sayin’ I regret it, sweetheart, I just...wish I could have...met him once before I went after that bitch.”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, biting your thumbnail. “Sometimes I wish things were different, too.”

“You wish I never came over when you were going into that first heat,” he guessed.

You swallowed, but you didn’t answer. The truth was, you had thought through a lot of different wishes and butterfly-effect ripples of how it would change everything. If John didn’t show up, you wouldn’t be a hunter. If Dean hadn’t pushed you to let Sam take you when those apple-pie assholes put you in heat, you would have just been Dean’s. If you never sold your soul for Dean, you might have been able to move on, find another alpha...a non-Winchester.

“I don't think I'd be myself if you hadn't shown up,” you answered eventually. “I'd have stayed stuck at Bobby's, never ended up with an alpha let alone two, and I would be dying from never getting a knot in a few years' time...it’s better you did.”

"I'm...glad I did, Y/n. I like the woman you are, the strong and beautiful omega you are.”

You smiled and your cheeks heated up at the praise. “Let’s just get this done, huh?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You weren’t exactly happy that you were the one who had to crawl through the vents but Adam said, and John fucking agreed, that you were smallest and therefor the best choice. When you found the blood and pieces of skull and blond hair, you were happy to be small enough to pull your phone out of your pocket and text the news to John so he could break the news before you crawled back out.

“Call the cops. We gotta get out of here, though,” John said as he offered you a hand to help you up out of the vent.

“Wait, but-” Adam started to argue.

“We don’t mix with cops,” you responded, before stomping away from them, roughly brushing dust off of your jeans and shirt. “Come on, J-Dean. Let’s get out of here.”

“You don’t mix with-” Adam started to argue, but you pushed past him and stomped out to John’s truck.

“There was no surprise in his scent. There was no anger or sadness. I’ve lost both parents, John, there should have been-”

“Maybe he’s numb or-”

“Maybe he’s made of dirt or something!” you snapped. “That is not-”

“He hasn’t done anything wrong yet, ‘mega.”

You shook your head. “Yeah. Yet. You know what, John? I’m gonna go ahead and look into things that could be pretending to be your illegitimate pup.”

You barely looked at him as you got out of the truck and headed inside to start researching. When Adam showed up to find out what was going on with his missing mother and you and ‘Dean’ leaving before the cops showed up and “what the hell?!” John decided to explain about hunting as simply as he could. He didn’t explain who he really was, though. And then John decided to take Adam to explore other options of finding Kate.

It was a couple hours later that you came across a mention in an online lore forum that said ghouls, while normally scavengers who feast on dead flesh, could actually eat living specimens and have been shown to greatly enjoy fresh human meat and blood...and just like feasting on the dead, the ghoul can take the visage of their victim and their memories.

“Didn’t John say that’s what he was after when he was here before?” you whispered to yourself as you picked up your cell phone and dialed John’s number. It rang through until it went to voicemail. You called again. It went to voicemail again.

Panic fell over you. Your alpha was in trouble. Your alpha was in trouble and you had no idea where he was.

“Fuck!” You were almost shaking as you stood up and looked around aimlessly. What could you do? Another string of expletives fell from your mouth before you forced yourself to focus. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. Your soul was connected to him. You needed to find him.

It only took a flash. A flash of the dining room at Kate’s house, John tied to the table had you grabbing the keys to John’s truck and rushing for your alpha. You pushed that truck as fast as it would go to get it to the house on the outskirts of Windom. The truck tires screeched as you slid to a stop in the front yard. You grabbed your shotgun from the rack in the truck bed and ran into the house.

John was tied to the table, ‘Adam’ and ‘Kate’ standing over him as he bled from his wrists. “Y/n,” he groaned. “They’re ghouls!”

“I know!” you snapped, aiming at Adam’s head and shooting. Parts of his head exploded onto the wall behind him and Kate shrieked before running at you. You moved to pump the shotgun for a second shot, but Kate grabbed you and tossed you into the wall like you were nothing.

“Y/n!”

“I’m fine, John!” you shouted, rolling onto your hands and knees.

“John?” Kate spat out, her tone dripping with poison.

“Forgot to mention before you started draining me,” John groaned. “I’m the one who killed your daddy, sweetheart.”

“Witches are better than plastic surgery, bitch,” you said, sweeping the woman’s leg with your foot. She fell to the floor and you jumped up, grabbing the shotgun and shooting her in the head, too. You licked your lips and panted as you limped over to the table and pulled out a knife, getting him loose from his binds. “You okay?” you asked, grabbing a rag and ripping it in half, wrapping each half around his wounds.

“Yeah. You...you got here in time.” He sat up, his legs hanging off the table as you secured the wraps around his wrists. “How’d you know?”

“I figured out ghouls could eat fresh and then I couldn’t get you on the phone and...I…” You licked your lips. “I knew where to find you.”

“How?” he pressed.

“How’d you know what motel room I was cutting Sam’s mark off of me?” you asked in answer.

“You felt it?” he asked and you nodded. He reached out, barely wincing at the pull on his wrist, and pulled you in for a soft, sad kiss. “They were siblings, kids of the ghoul I took down last time I was in Windom. They called to get revenge for me killing their dad.” He looked away. “Killed Kate and Adam to get revenge first. I was hoping I wasn’t right about my life bleeding on his.”

“It’s not your fault, John,” you whispered.

He shook his head. “I know. Shoulda stuck around to see if the thing left behind little monsters for me to kill, but...I went into rut...and then I had to get back to the boys.”

“John...it’s really not on you.”

“He’s dead because of me.”

“He was alive because of you,” you insisted. “He had nineteen years before these things...he had nineteen years because of you. Please, don’t let this get to you.” You chuckled, ruefully. “I’m the one that’s supposed to be barely floating in an ocean of shit. You’re supposed to be my life raft.”

He smiled and nodded. “I am. I am your life raft, darlin’. Just...a little blood-deprived right now. I’ll perk up after a glass of O.J. and some protein. Come on. Let’s get outta here.”

You nodded and wrapped his arm around your shoulders, helping him off of the table and walking him out to the truck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[charismaandcashmere]

In the modern world, it often seems like it’s harder than ever to accomplish your goals.

It seems like everyone has already done the thing you want to do — that your idea is already out there, that your niche is beyond saturated.

Want to start a blog? You’re up against a million rivals. Thinking about starting a podcast? So is everyone else and their mom. Hoping to write a book? With the advent of self-publishing, you’re not only up against authors approved by major publishing houses, but anyone, anywhere, with a laptop. Want to become a YouTube star? Better hope you get noticed next to the thousands of other folks uploading new videos every day.

There’s seemingly a million graphic designers, a million wannabe filmmakers, a million other, probably more qualified candidates gunning for the same job you want.

And that’s just in the marketplace. In your personal life, the competition can feel equally fierce. In the days of yore, you were just competing against people in your college or church to win the attention of a lady. Now you’re up against every Tom, Dick, and Harry on Tinder. The dating marketplace hypothetically stretches beyond your community to encompass your whole state, maybe even the whole country.

Yes, in both economic and personal spheres, demand seems high, and resources seem scarce. It’s enough to make you decide to give up and not try in the first place.

Yet this feeling of scarcity is just an illusion, a myth.

In truth, there’s never been a more opportune time to live. Not only because it’s never been cheaper and easier to write a book, share your art, or start a business, but because the average person’s ability to execute on the basics has never been in such short supply.

While opportunities to achieve your goals aren’t as scarce as you think, there are areas where true scarcity does exist: in common sense, in social skills, in manners, in reliability. There’s a dearth of people who know, or have the will, to do the stupidly easy stuff to be charming and successful.

Let me give you just one example. Both off the air and on, guests of my podcast will tell me, “I can tell you actually read my book before this interview and I really appreciate that. It’s so rare.” I don’t bring this up to toot my own horn, but rather to point out how ridiculous it is that this might even be something worthy of mention! An interviewer reading someone’s work before asking them questions about it would seem like the barest of bare minimum job requirements — a prerequisite rather than something above and beyond. And yet the majority of podcasters aren’t even taking care of this most basic of basics.

There are tons of people doing what you want to do, but how are they executing? In 90% of cases, not as well as they could be.

That’s your opening. And such openings are absolutely everywhere.

To take advantage of opportunities, people typically concentrate on stuff like building up their resume — going to the best school or getting the right internship. And certainly, these things can help.

But what’s missed is that it’s often doing stupidly easy stuff that’s going to allow you to make friends and land your dream job. It’s doing the stupidly easy stuff that almost no one else is doing that can most readily set you apart from the pack, and up for success.

What is some of that stupidly easy stuff? Below you’ll find a (non-exhaustive) list of the things it’s hard to believe people don’t do more often, and which have a huge ROI because most people can’t be bothered.

1. Send a thank you text when you get home from a nice party/date. In my opinion, this is the #1 easiest and best way to be a more charming texter. Yet almost no one does it. When someone has you over for dinner, or you take someone out on a date, once you part ways, they typically worry a bit as to whether or not you had a good time. And a party host wants to know their effort to throw the shindig was appreciated. So even if you thank your date/host in person at the end of the evening, once you get home, shoot them a confirming text saying, “Thanks again for the delicious dinner. We had such a good time!” Trust me on this, it’s stupidly, stupidly charming.

2. Write handwritten thank you notes, always and often. When an occasion was especially nice, instead of sending a text, write the person a handwritten thank you note and stick it in the mail. And send handwritten thank you notes for anything and everything else. Received a gift? Thank you note. Job interview? Thank you note. Someone helped you move? Thank you note. Someone went to bat for you at work? Thank you note.

Thank you note writing has become such a lost art, and receiving snail mail is so delightful, that sending handwritten appreciation has become one of the most effective ways to set yourself apart from the pack.

3. Edit your emails/texts before sending. No one ever catches all of the spelling and grammatical mistakes contained within their communications, but giving your texts and emails a couple reads before you hit send will tighten things up. These “clean” missives significantly contribute to making a winning digital impression.

4. Know how to make small talk. We spend so much time behind screens, that when we finally meet people face-to-face, our conversation can often be awkward and stilted. But being comfortable with small talk opens a tremendous amount of doors; sure, it starts out with the superficial, but it’s the on-ramp to deeper discussions — the pathway to relationships with potential lovers, new friends, and future employers. Fortunately, once you know the simple methodology that makes small talk flow, it’s easy to master.

5. Don’t be a conversational narcissist. Related to the above. The only kind of talk many people know how to make these days, is about themselves. Someone who knows how to listen and ask good questions comes off as stupidly charming.

6. Don’t look at your phone during a conversation. In an age of scattered attention, a person who can concentrate their attention on you, and fight the urge to look at their phone while you eat or talk — someone who can make you feel like the most important person in the room — is a charmer par excellence.

Can’t seem to pry yourself away? Check out our complete guide to breaking your smartphone habit.

7. Dress well for a job interview. You don’t have to show up to a job interview in a three-piece suit (unless the position calls for it); overdressing can make as poor a first impression as under-dressing. But showing up dressed just one notch above what current employees at the company wear will immediately set you apart from many other candidates. Well-shined shoes, a pressed shirt, and good hygiene will help too.

8. Come to a job interview prepared to ask questions of the interviewer. Whenever we post this article on “10 Questions to Ask in a Job Interview,” HR folks always weigh in with how “amazed” they are at the number of candidates who stare blankly when asked at the end of an interview, “Do you have any questions for us?” Know some questions to ask going in.

9. Take a woman on a real date. In a landscape of “What’s up”? texts and non-committal hang outs, taking a lady on a real date puts you head and shoulders above other suitors. What constitutes a real date? Watch this video and remember the 3 P’s: Planned, Paired Off, and Paid For.

10. Offer a sincere apology when you mess up. My generation seems to struggle with saying “I’m sorry” when they make a mistake. Numerous times I’ve had my order messed up at a restaurant, and when I bring it to the attention of the waiter or manager, they just shrug, say “Okay,” and fix it, without saying, “I’m sorry about that.” Then the other day an order of mine got messed up, and the manager took a totally different tack — comping my whole meal and bringing me a free dessert. That kind of treatment is so rare, it was unbelievably winning. I even found the manager after my meal to tell her so, and let her know I would specifically make an effort to return because of her gesture.

As it goes in the restaurant biz, so it goes with everything else. Most of your fellow employees will just say “Okay” when an error is brought to their attention. Offering a sincere apology that demonstrates you take responsibility and understand where you messed up and how it affects the company, will easily set you apart (so will immediately trying to make it right and preventing it from happening again).

And in your personal life, apologizing when you stumble is stupidly endearing. You’ll probably mess up again, and often with the same issue, but even when you can’t completely overcome your flaws, showing you’re at least completely aware of them goes a long, long way.

11. Follow through. I get a lot of emails from guys who want to do something with the Art of Manliness, like write a guest article or strike up a business partnership. They are excited! They are passionate! They are…MIA. They never follow-up or follow-through on their idea. I’ve often wondered what happens between their excited initial email, and their descent into silence. But whatever it is, it can easily be avoided by those committed to following through.

12. Be reliable. No quality today can more readily set you apart from your peers than reliability. Doing the follow-through just mentioned. Showing up on time (and just plain showing up). Meeting deadlines. Managing expectations and not overpromising. Promptly responding to emails. Keeping your word.

Are freelance graphic designers, artists, video/audio editors, app developers, programmers, contractors, etc. a dime a dozen? Surely. But a reliable creative professional or handyman? A pink unicorn. If you couple talent and skill with reliability, it’s stupidly easy to dominate your competition and your niche.

When you survey the economic and dating markets, they can seem incredibly oversaturated. Demand seems high and resources seem scarce. But when you take a closer look, you’ll find that while there are plenty of people all grasping after the same thing, there are only a few executing well on the attempt. Setting yourself apart isn’t complicated or hard; it often involves simply doing the stupidly easy stuff that everyone else overlooks.

Their obtusity is your gain; see through the myth of scarcity, take care of the basics, and the world is your oyster.

[geniusgub]

north//chapter five

new chapter time!! let me know if you want to be added onto the taglist. enjoy and don’t forget to leave your feedback!

also this chapter is dedicated to @babybobbybones​ because Ruby is always so supportive of my writing and they are always willing to give me honest opinions on my writing and my moodboards so thank u sm!!!!! love u fishy!! dis is for u!

genre: fluff

pairing: season nine spencer x female oc

warnings: none

word count: 5.6k

AMELIA

I fall onto the floor of my studio, leaning my head against the wall and staring up at the easel, a half-painted canvas propped up on it. I scrunch up my nose, tilting my head back and forth to try and find the beauty in the ugly flowers I’ve just painted. I sit up on my knees and reach my brush forward, adding just a few more strokes to the canvas, but my brush happens to be too saturated with water and the paint just drips down to the bottom of the canvas, ruining the entire painting. Whatever, I didn’t like it anyway.

I throw my brush into the water and sit back down against the wall, letting my eyes wander out the window to my left. My eyes dart between the window and the canvas and I wonder whether I should start over on a new canvas or throw in the towel for the day. Before I can either stand to get my keys and leave or stand to retrieve a new canvas, my phone starts ringing beside me. The name Mike flashes across my screen, so I lunge to answer.

"Hi, there!” I quip, and before Mike can even speak, I hear squeaks and screams of children in the background. The sound makes me grin. 

"Hey, Lia. How's it going over in Virginia?" He nearly has to shout over the kids around him.

"It's-" my eyes wander back out the window and to the Starbucks across the street. A couple walks out the door just at that moment, clutching cups of steaming liquid and giggling with each other. My smile only grows and my mind wanders off to Spencer and what he might be doing right now while I’m trying to work, "it's pretty amazing, actually. I'm, um, yeah, it's great, Mike,"

"That's,” he pauses, “great, but there’s something else in your voice. What's happening in Virginia? Anything I need to know about?" Mike's voice is teasing, as he always is.

"Maybe," I respond in the same mischievous tone he gives me, my cheeks turning pink. I don’t give Mike another chance to question what is going so well in Virginia, and I just keep talking about the guy that has been on my mind every second since I first laid my eyes on him. "I've, um, I met a guy and I really like him and-"

"Whoa, whoa, you've got a boyfriend? Have we entered a parallel universe? Is this even you on the phone? Whoever is talking to me on the phone- who are you and what have you done with Amelia Stark?”

"I know, I know," I giggle, and I start to kick my feet like an excited child. "I met him at this cafe, and I swear, Mike, you'd love him. He's insanely smart and he's so sweet and he's such a gentleman. And get this, if you're not convinced then this will convince you- he’s an FBI agent."

"Amelia Stark. You're dating an FBI agent?"

"More specifically, he works for the BAU," Again, I let out a dramatic sigh and fall onto my back on the floor, letting myself be pulled into another lovesick daydream. I let my mind wander off to Spencer’s smile and his laugh and his warm touch and how utterly beautiful he makes me feel whenever we are together. "I just- I know I don't really date but-"

"Telling me you don't date is the understatement of the century. You’re not a commitment girl, and you’re a one night stand girl. You've never answered my calls and told me that things in Virginia are amazing and great and you've definitely never told me that you have a boyfriend, much less a boyfriend that works for the BAU,"

"There's just something about him! He's so different from any guy I've ever met before. I never wanted him to just be a one night stand or some guy that I hang out with for a few weeks and then forget about. Spencer is just amazing- he's so gentle with me, and he indulges in the things I like instead of always forcing the things he likes on me, and he always makes an effort to see me even though he's insanely busy,"

"Wow," Mike scoffs out a laugh. "I don't even know what to say. I'm glad you found someone who you like this much. I'm not even gonna bring up the capital L word because I know you're scared of it, but I have a nasty feeling that you might be bringing up the scary L word soon. And I'm even more glad that you've found an FBI agent with a gun who can protect you,"

"Oh my gosh," I shake my head at him, rolling my eyes into the back of my head. "I've never seen his gun, actually,"

"Good. You tell him to keep his gun away from you for quite a while, especially since you’re telling me he won’t be one of your one night stands. Both of his guns, if you know what I mean,"

My jaw nearly hits the floor at Mike’s remark, and before I can even respond, he bursts into a fit of laughter. "I- oh my god, you did not just say that,” 

He chokes on his laughs as he keeps talking. "I'm only messing with you, but not really. Form emotional connections before you jump into bed. That’s what I did with Wendy and look at how long we’ve been together,”

I wrack my brain for any kind of number, but I come up empty. “How long have you guys been together?”

“Too long,” he deadpans.

“Hey! I hope Wendy isn’t home right now because she would have your head on a stake if she heard you say that,”

“She’s at work right now but she left me alone with all the little monsters. Listen, just make sure you use-"

"A condom! I got it, Mikey. I’m a responsible adult, contrary to popular belief. Can we stop talking about this? Let me talk to the kids! I’ll tell them to stop screaming,” I sit up again and my grimace from the slightly NSFW conversation turns into a wide smile, the giddiness bubbling in my stomach.

"Hey, kiddos! Gather around! Your favorite grown-up person is on the phone!" Mike shouts over the hoard of children in his house, and their shouts get closer and closer to his phone until their voices are blaring through the speaker of my phone.

"Amelia! Amelia! Amelia!"

"Hi, my loves!" I exclaim, "how's everything with Mike and Wendy?"

"Come home, Lia! We miss you!" Reese cries out, stumbling over her words in a way that makes my heart swell.

"You didn't come home for Christmas and we missed you so much!" Tyler squeaky voice adds.

"I know, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to come home for Christmas, and I missed you guys so much too. But I’m sure Mike and Wendy made Christmas really special for everyone, didn’t they? I'm gonna try to come home soon but I can't promise anything. I have lots of pictures of you all and I think about you every day. I'll draw and I'll paint lots of new things and I'll send them home to you. Does that sound good?" They all shout confirmations back at me, and I manage to pick out a few requests for things like dogs and cats and flowers, and that request makes me remember the failed painting right in front of me. "Great. I'm sitting in my studio right now so I'll get working on those. If y’all have any more requests then tell Mike and he’ll tell me. I love you all, okay? I miss you guys so much,"

The kids all shout goodbyes at me before there's rustling on the other line. "Alright, it's just me now," Mike says. 

"I actually plan on sending you guys art, partly because I want to and partly as an apology for not coming home for the holidays. Let me know if you need anything new for the walls, whether it’s at home or at the police station. Need a new piece for your office, Sheriff?" I tease, pushing myself off the floor for the first time in almost two hours, grabbing a stack of new canvases.

"We could always use more of your artwork, sweetheart, you know that. Call more, okay? I know it's hard, but we clearly all love hearing from you. And I wanna hear more about this profiling boyfriend of yours. Maybe I'll look up his file in the FBI database,"

"You don't have access to that database, you’re not a federal agent. Just google his name. I gotta get started on these paintings. I’ll call soon.”

“Wait! I only know his first name! What’s his-”

“Oops, that sucks. Tough luck. Gotta go,” I finally get the chance to throw his teasing right back in his face, a grin coming to my face as he groans dramatically. “Love you, Mikey!”

"Love you, kid. Stay safe,"

"You too. Don't get shot,"

"I won't."

///

SPENCER

///

My fingers drum against the book on my lap as I listen to dial tones over and over, waiting anxiously for an answer. Maybe today is a bad day and we don’t get to talk today, and that’s okay. There’s always tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. But I was just hoping for a nice conversation today, and every time another dial tone rings in my ear, it’s like another stab to the chest.

“Spencer?”

I perk up at the answer, grinning and setting my book onto the coffee table in front of me."Hi, Mom,"

"Spencer, I've been waiting for you to call me for weeks! You can’t ignore me for that long! You can’t leave your poor, old mother in the wind like that!”

I chuckle at her, happy that today seems to be a good day and she’s even capable of joking around. "Sorry, Mom. I've been really busy with work lately, but I wasn’t ignoring you. How was Christmas? I'm sorry I couldn't make it out,"

"It was good, Spencer. I would've preferred to spend it with you, but I enjoyed it," Mom tells me. "We watched movies and made gingerbread houses and some of the nurses got us gifts,"

"That sounds wonderful,"

"So tell me how you've been, honey. You know I hate talking about me and this dreadful place. I'd much rather hear about you,"

My eyes wander over to the coffee table in front of me, or more specifically the scarf that Amelia had left here when stayed over. It must have slipped off of her head when we were sleeping and fell under the couch, and when she rushed out so I could get going, she didn’t realize she wasn’t wearing it anymore. I hadn't gotten a chance to return it because I got whisked away on a case and I haven't been able to see Amelia yet. I reach for it, feeling the soft silk between my fingers. "Um, it's- huh, it's actually pretty great over here,"

"That's wonderful to hear! What's so great about it?" Mom doesn't get much entertainment in her facility and her main contact comes through me. I'm always open to telling her everything and I try to write her at least one letter every day so she can have something to read if I can’t call her, but I was so hell-bent on keeping Amelia a secret. I thought that maybe if I kept her a secret from everyone, then I'd be taking one more precaution at shielding her from my world, but I know that's useless. It's not worth it to keep Amelia a secret and to lie about the source of my happiness, at least not from my mother.

"Well," I look down at the scarf and picture the way Amelia uses the square of fabric to tie back her unruly curls and the way she always seems to look like an angel, "I've met a girl,"

"I’m sure you meet many girls, Spencer. You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that.” 

"Her name is Amelia and she's an artist and I swear, Mom, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. We met at the cafe where I get coffee before work and we got coffee together every day that I was home from a case for two months and we spent Christmas together. I just,” I fully expect my mom to cut me off and start rambling about Amelia and how I should pursue a relationship with her if she is making me this happy, but she doesn’t say anything and it forces me to have to finish a sentence I don’t want to say, “she's the first girl I've liked this much since, you know, since Maeve, and I knew I liked her right away and that’s just- it’s really scary,"

"Spencer, it sounds to me like you might even love her," Mom's voice softens. "I'm not going to try and tell you what you’re feeling, but like I always tell you, a mother knows. I'm happy for you, I really am. You deserve to be happy and have someone in your life to look after you and make sure you're healthy and take care of you. Did you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, last week. But we've known each other for almost three months and every time I look at her, I just feel so, I don’t really know. Whenever I get to see her, I never want to leave when I have to and-" I lay down on the couch and throw my head onto a pillow, the scarf resting right in front of my face. "Maybe I do love her. That's so scary though. I haven't known her for long at all. Can you fall in love with someone after three months?"

"When you first meet someone, you get a first impression, right? Sometimes you can be put off, or you can be instantly intimated by someone, or be intrigued, and so on. Love is a feeling, right? It’s a feeling in the same way that fear and intrigue are. Who’s to say you can’t feel love when you first meet someone? Who's to say you can't fall in love with someone in that same amount of time that someone can scare you? Love is complex and, yes, it’s scary and you've been scorned by it in the past, but don't let that get in the way of this good thing you've got with this Amelia girl,"

"I've never thought of love like that before."

Mom laughs gently. "Like I said. A mother knows," she pauses. "Oh, Spencer, I've gotta go. The nurses need me."

"That's fine," I breathe out a sigh, pushing myself up to a sitting position and pulling the scarf into my lap again. "Thanks for the talk. It was really helpful. I love you, Mom,"

"I love you too, Spencer," Mom says before hanging up, leaving me alone yet again in my apartment.

I push myself to my feet, leaving the scarf on the coffee table, making my way into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for myself. I lean over the counter and check my watch, counting down the seconds until Amelia is set to show up at my door. And as if the universe is answering my silent prayer, there's a soft knock on the door just a millisecond later. I leave my coffee on the counter and rush to let her in, throwing the door open. 

Amelia is standing there, looking as beautiful as ever, wearing a white dress and her black peacoat, camera hanging around her neck and one strap from her backpack draped over her shoulder. She’s beaming at me, almost emitting rays of sunshine from her body, shuffling her way through the door and throwing her arms around my neck in a tight hug. It nearly takes me by surprise, but if I’ve learned anything about Amelia by now, it’s that she’s affectionate and she loves to hug, and I can’t seem to find a single fault in that. I whisper a greeting in her ear, reaching around Amelia’s waist to shut the door, keeping out the cold air that blows inside from the hallway.

"Hi, dove," she chirps, sinking down on her heels when we pull away from the hug.

I cock my head to the side like a puppy, trying to hide my confusion but I’m positive it’s evident on my face. "Dove?"

"It’s just a pet name. Do you not like it? I could call you something else, or I could just stick to your name if that’s-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Amelia unravels her arms from around my neck and shrugs off her backpack, hanging it right beside my jacket, then crouches down to take off her shoes. “I like it, actually.” 

“Noted,” Amelia jumps back up to her feet, now noticeably shorter without her heels, and gives me a cheesy smile. She opens her mouth to say something else but her mouth snaps shut when her eyes travel downwards just a bit. “Spencer, you’re still in your work clothes.” 

“Oh,” I follow her line of sight and look down at my trousers, button-up, cardigan, and tie, my gun holster on my hip (but my gun is locked away in a hidden place) and my credentials in my pocket, “yeah, sorry about that. After I got home, I was on the phone with my mom for a bit and I just didn’t get a chance to change yet.”

Amelia’s lips settle into a pout as she follows into the kitchen. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your phone call.”

“You didn’t, don’t worry. Do you want a cup of tea? Anything to drink or eat or-”

“I do but why don’t you go change? I can handle a cup of tea by myself. Put on something other than a dress shirt and a tie. Be comfortable,” she breezes right past me and reaches into the cupboard for a mug, already grabbing the kettle and filling it with water. I just watch her for a moment, slowly unclipping my watch from my wrist and watching the way her white dress slides across her legs with every tiny movement. But she doesn’t turn around again to check on my location and just looks between the box of Earl Grey tea and camomile tea, mulling over which to indulge in tonight. So I leave Amelia to her seemingly challenging decision and hurry off to my bedroom, ridding myself of the work clothes I’ve been wearing for almost thirty hours. I change into plaid pajama pants and a sweatshirt, only glancing in the mirror for a split second to check if my hair is an absolute mess before returning to Amelia.

She’s leaning against the counter with her mug in one hand and her camera in the other, and when I re-enter the room, she looks up at me and grins at the sight of my more relaxed state. “You look cozy. Guess I should have worn my pajamas today.”

I go and lean against the counter beside her, picking up my cup of coffee and looking over her shoulder at the pictures she is flipping through on her camera. At first, most of the pictures are of a redhead I’ve never seen before, posed in a park and modeling for the camera. Then the pictures turn to the sights I see every day and I conclude they must be pictures that Amelia took this morning or on her way here. “These are really good.” 

“Oh, thanks,” Amelia’s cheeks turn pink at the compliment as she tosses the camera aside, clutching her cup of tea instead. 

“I’d love to see more of your art sometime. I haven’t seen that much but the things that I have seen, I really loved.”

“Maybe one day, when you’re available, you can come to my studio. It’s just a couple of blocks away. I’d love for you to come and see some of what I do when you’re gone,” her head falls onto my shoulder and she scoots closer to me, her arm slowly moving around my waist, pulling me even closer to her. “It’s what I did all day. But speaking of all day, how was your day? How was the case?”

We move into the living room and get under a blanket as I give Amelia vague details about the case we solved this past week. She sits just as close to me as she was in the kitchen and tucks her feet under my legs to warm herself up, and once I’ve decided I’ve told her enough about the serial killer that we captured last night, she starts telling me about her last few days and how she went out to see a bad movie with her group of friends. She keeps moving closer and closer as the sun gets lower and lower and soon enough, Amelia is laying over my lap and my hands are in her hair, brushing the strands out of her face. I can confidently say that it’s the most relaxed and the most comfortable I’ve been this past week, and maybe even in the last few months. Every time Amelia is around and we get to just sit and talk, it’s a breath of fresh air. I don’t get to do this enough. I look up at the clock after being on the couch for a long time, seeing that it’s almost midnight. Thank god I don’t have to work tomorrow.

“Hey,” Amelia hums and looks up at me, her head in my lap and the blanket wrapped mostly around her, “it’s late. Do you want anything to eat?”

She hums once more, sitting up and keeping the blanket pulled up to her chest, her eyelids fluttering like a child fighting off sleep. “Yeah. I could really go for some ice cream. Do you have any?”

“I do, actually. But just chocolate, I think,” I stand from the couch and hold my hands out to Amelia, lugging her off the couch when she puts her hands in mine. She follows me one more time into the kitchen and pulls out bowls and spoons while I grab the gallon of ice cream from the freezer. 

“So,” Amelia draws the word out, bumping her hip with mine when she reaches over me for a bowl, “will you tell me about your BAU team? I know their names, but they’re your best friends and basically your second family so I wanna know about them.”

“Oh, really? What do you wanna know?” She grins as I slide the chocolate syrup over to her and she quickly steals it to drizzle it all over her bowl of ice cream. 

“Mm,” she hums, far too concentrated on her ice cream at first to give me a proper answer. But when she finishes with the syrup and hands it back to me, she hastily grabs spoons from the drawer and returns her full attention to the conversation, “just about your history with them. I’m not sure, whatever you wanna tell. Whatever’s important.”

We retake our seats on the couch, both of us now evenly draped in the blanket with our ice cream bowls in our hands. Amelia slings her legs over my lap and scoots as close to me as she can get, pressing her cheek to my shoulder. Despite wearing pajama pants, I can feel Amelia’s thighs, exposed by her dress, pressed against mine and it takes my breath away for a moment. I have to shift my position in the slightest so Amelia isn’t too on top of me, and once I’ve moved and I’m more comfortable, I start to let my mind race over what I could tell her. 

“Well, Morgan is one of my best friends and he was one of the first people I met when I started working at the BAU. He’s loud sometimes and a little overwhelming but he’s always there for me. For example, during a case, I got anthrax poisoning and-”

Amelia nearly drops her bowl at this revelation and she reaches for my arm, squeezing tighter than ever before. “I’m sorry, what? Did I hear you correctly? Anthrax poisoning? And you’re still alive?” She practically throws her bowl onto the coffee table, quicking whipping around and grabbing my cheeks, pulling my face closer to hers until our noses are touching. “Am I speaking to a robot right now?”

My eyes practically roll into the back of my head. “A robot? Amelia, I can’t even use my DVD player. What makes you think I’m a robot, which is essentially a being made completely of technology?”

Amelia narrows her eyes at me, dragging her thumbs down to my jawline. She looks away for just a moment to eye the DVD player and then returns to me, just as close as she was two seconds ago. “Why do you have that thing if you don’t know how to use it?”

“It was a gift from JJ,” my lips brush against Amelia’s as I speak and even though we’ve kissed a million times by now, the feeling of our lips touching still makes the butterflies in my stomach act up. But her lips taste like chocolate and I can’t help it when I pull her closer and into a kiss. Now, it’s almost like it’s second nature to want to be constantly touching Amelia and kissing Amelia and just being around Amelia all the time.

Amelia abruptly pulls away from our kiss and lets out a loud yawn, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. “Sorry, sorry. It’s impossible to hold back a yawn while kissing.”

“It’s okay, it’s fine,” I wave my hand at her casually, and when she rubs her hands over her eyes and then pushes her hair back, my heart seems to pound just a little bit faster. She’s a little bit bleary as she inhales sharply, falling forward and pressing her temple against my shoulder. “Hey, it’s really late. I can tell you about my coworkers another day. Do you wanna get to sleep?”

“No,” she shakes her head but her body language strongly contrasts her words as she lets herself melt further into my embrace, “I don’t wanna leave you. I missed you a lot today.”

Okay, Spencer. Being bold with Amelia has yet to fail me so why should it now? Just ask her if she wants to spend the night for the first time. It’s with innocent intentions, anyway. No funny business. Just a couple sleeping in the same bed- what’s wrong with that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. So just ask. Ask! It’s one night and I’ve recently cleaned my bedroom and washed the sheets so everything should be fine for a girl to sleep over. Sleep over? You’re not a ten year old, Spencer. Don’t ask her if she wants to sleep over like you’re a group of girls planning on eating candy and watching movies until three in the morning on the living room floor. Is that what girls do at sleepovers? I don’t even know. Nope, don’t get sidetracked. Just ask. 

“Lia?” She hums in response, not even lifting her head from its spot on my shoulder. I’m used to her being boisterous and loud and positive when I’m anxious so I guess I’ll have to muster up enough courage to ask without her encouragement. “It’s really late already and, well, I don’t know what you’re doing tomorrow but would you wanna stay the night? It’s just- it’s past midnight and, you know, 40% of all fatal car accidents happen at night. 60% of adults have driven while drowsy and 37% of adults have fallen asleep at the wheel. I-“ I let out a breath, my chest deflating at her overall silence. “You don’t have to stay over and I could drive you home so you don’t have to drive but, you know, I would just like to know you’re safe.” 

I pause once more and wait for some confirmation or rejection from Amelia, but all I’m met with is quiet breaths across my chest. I duck my head down and find Amelia fast asleep on my shoulder and one of the straps of her dress falling down her arm from the odd angle she’s laying at. Of course, what else would happen? I go on a nervous rant and Amelia sleeps through it. 

“Hey, hey, Amelia?” I card my fingers through her hair and luckily, it’s enough to rouse her from her quick nap, and she lifts her head from my shoulder, eyes half-lidded. “Did you hear what I said?”

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t. I’m really tired.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was talking about. Do you want to stay the night? I gave you a bunch of statistics on car accidents at night but I’m sure you’ll fall asleep again if I repeat them.”

Amelia lets out a small laugh, pushing herself to a sitting position and rubbing her eyes yet again. “Could you lend me some clothes? Sleeping in a dress is not really my vibe.”

“Sure, I can give you some clothes. But let’s go to bed before you fall asleep again,” I grab onto Amelia’s hands and pull her off the couch, leading my half-asleep girlfriend to my bedroom. She waits patiently as I open my closet and reach for a pair of sweats, handing her sweatpants and a hoodie from Caltech. “Here. I’m gonna go clean up the ice cream while you change.”

“Thank you,” Amelia lays a kiss on my cheek before I can leave, and the tingling on my skin persists even when I get into the living room and clean up our ice cream bowls, putting them into the dishwasher. 

I suppose that after tonight, there will be plenty of nights spent together. I won’t lie and say that sleeping in the same bed as Amelia isn’t a bit scary. I don’t know what kind of sleeper I am. Will I steal all the blankets and leave her freezing all night? Will I kick her relentlessly and leave dark bruises all over her pale skin? Will she just plainly hate sleeping with me and thus would begin the end of our relationship? 

“Spencer,” Amelia’s voice rips me out of my anxious spiral, and when I turn to look at her, my breath is knocked completely out of my chest. Amelia wearing my clothes is quite a gorgeous sight, even if they’re hanging off her body and pooling around her feet. Her hair is up and her face is washed of any makeup and she just looks wildly beautiful. She pops her head into the kitchen and gives me a tired smile, maybe the millionth of the night. “Do you need help with anything?”

I shove my bowl into the dishwasher and then slam it closed, shaking my head at her. “No, I’m good. Let’s just go to bed.” I shut off the kitchen light and swing my arm around Amelia’s waist, bringing her back towards my bedroom and shutting the door behind us. 

I watch with wide eyes and a stupid smile as Amelia crawls onto the bed, but right when she gets onto her knees, she pauses and looks over her shoulder at me. “Is there a side of the bed that you prefer?”

My eyes dart between Amelia and the pillows on the bed. Is there a side I prefer? I wouldn’t know. “I don’t think so. I mean, honestly, I’ve never slept in the same bed as anyone before,”

“Me either,” Amelia pouts, her eyes locked on mine as she debates which side to choose. “Well, we’re technically already on different sides of the bed.” She gestures to her place on the right side and me on the left side. I just shrug in response to her suggestion. It’s not a big deal to me whatsoever, just as long as Amelia is comfortable and she doesn’t wind up hating me after tonight. 

Amelia, completely exhausted, flops onto her stomach on top of the duvet, wiggling up just a little bit further until she can rest her head on the pillow. I shut off the lights and then crawl into the bed, on my predetermined side, tugging the duvet from under Amelia so she can join me under it. And as soon as she’s under the duvet, Amelia rolls over and curls up beside me, laying her head on my chest and slinging her arm over my stomach. “Thank you for letting me stay over,” she whispers, craning her head to kiss my cheek. “Goodnight.”

The feeling of laying in a bed with another person, especially a person who I feel so strongly about, is such a warm feeling. I’m sure I’ll literally be warm soon, what with Amelia on top of me and a duvet covering my legs. But my chest feels tight and I can’t wipe off the smile on my face, no matter how hard I try. I just beam, knowing that Amelia will be beside me all night. 

So I sink further into the duvet and tug Amelia as close as I possibly can, receiving a small snicker from her. But she doesn’t seem to mind the closeness since she curls into me even more and then presses another kiss to the center of my chest. Maybe she can feel my pounding heart under her lips. Her affection comforts me enough to allow me to close my eyes and force out a goodnight, drifting off to sleep with Amelia in my arms.

TAGLIST

@babybobbybones​ @thematthewgraygube​ @anepiphany​ @goldenalvez​ @reidscardigan​ @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto​ @stxrryspencer​ @rxseinbloom​ @penelopecult​ @nastyhar @whollytaciturn​ @thegingerfairchild​ @matthewreid​ @shrimpyblog​ @garcias-batcave​ @anamelessfacelessnerd​ @gublergirls​ @wonderlandhatter​ @matthewgublerswife​ 

(I’m pretty sure I messed up this taglist so if you weren’t tagged and you should be OR you’re tagged and you don’t want to be, then lmk and I’ll make the appropriate change)

[thedivinescorpio]

Here || Akaashi x Reader Part 5

Genre: Angst, Fluff (Mainly fluff)

Warnings: Toxic Relationships, Profanity, Violence, fights, injuries/blood (But this is mainly supposed to be a fluff chapter, so these apply to the part previous :))

Authors Note: Thank you guys for all your support! This short series is coming to an end, and I will be posting an AFTER ENDING tomorrow! This was actually one of my favorite fanfics to write because Akaashi is just <3. I have mentioned before that Akaashi might be a little OOC but I hope you enjoy it regardless :)

Comment to be a part of the taglist! 

Part 1  Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 After Ending

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Uhm... where’s Akaashi?” You mumbled to yourself as you set down everything on your bedside table. 

There was no sign of him in the room. The bed was left vacant, and the door had been left wide open. You wondered how he even managed to get up, with his injured ankle. 

“I’m here” a deep tired voice said, in almost a whisper. 

You turned your head to the sound and saw Akaashi leaning against the door frame clutching the side of his torso, sending him a look of worry. 

“I, uh, had to go to the bathroom...” He grunted, walking back to the bed with a limp. You immediately assist him by putting an arm around his upper body, careful not to put any heavy pressure, and sat him down on your bed.

Akaashi let out a little sigh and leaned his back on your bed board. 

“You should’ve waited for me so I could help you...” You muttered before opening the first aide kit and taking out all the necessary materials to treat his wounds. 

“I’m fine...” He murmured. “Plus you wouldn’t want to be watching me doing my business, now would you?” 

You scoffed playfully and slightly blushed at his comment, “ That’s not what I meant...” Pushing all the materials closer to the edge of the table for better accessibility, you sat on the edge of your bed next to Akaashi.

Akaashi let out a hasty chuckle and coughed immediately right after, making a face full of agony.

“Tch, just relax for now Akaashi...” You sighed with slight vex in your voice. “You’re so lucky my mom is a nurse...”

Your mom always cleaned your injuries when you’d fall and scrape your knees as a child, so you’d observe what she’d do. Eventually, you picked up her routine and cared for your own wounds.

Holding a damp cloth in your hand, you scanned over his scratched up face. There was a small cut above his slightly swollen eyebrow, his right cheek was bruising into a shade of purple, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His beautiful face, destroyed by the hands of such evil...

Gently, you dabbed away the dirt and blood that had already started to dry out on his fair skin, starting at his eyebrow. He winced at the contact making you pull your hand away, “Oh, my bad...”

“It’s fine, don’t mind me...” Akaashi said closing his eyes, trying his best to bear the pain. He thought to himself then, “ Bokuto was right, I guess I did find a new side of me... but if it means protecting her from harm then-”

You continued to tend the wound in silence, trying not to apply any excess force; yet, a small groan escaped from his mouth, interrupting his thoughts.

As you put a band-aid on his eyebrow, you let out a huff, “I never knew Akaashi Keiji could be such a reckless idiot...”

Akaashi opened his eyes and looked at you with an expression mixed with embarrassment and guilt, trying to think of a reply. And not being able to conjure one, he just remained silent. 

Finishing up the treatment for his face, you took the bag of ice and placed it on his cheek, “ It’s cold, but I need you to hold it with your hand. Can you?” 

He nodded and replaced your hand with his, holding the ice pack to his face as you think of what area to tend to next. Then, you remembered the way he was clutching the side of his torso. 

Swallowing the lump in your throat, your cheeks became a slight pink as you asked, “Do you mind if I uhm-...” You turned your eyes away as you pointed to his button up. 

Akaashi raised his uninjured eyebrow with confusion before realizing, making a ‘o’ with his mouth, “ Oh uh yeah it’s fine”

Hesitantly and slowly, you unbuttoned his black top and gasped at what you saw. Under his rib cage and to the side of his abs, a huge red bruise was exposed. 

“Damn... he’s such an asshole for this” You furrow your eyebrows with irritation, “ and you,” you couldn’t help but sigh and relax your face into a frown, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get there sooner...” 

Laying a thin cloth over the area, you placed another ice pack on top.

You couldn’t help but feel guilty about this too. You knew that you were the cause of this fight, and it resulted in Akaashi getting hurt.The fact that Rin had targeted him and beat him up with no remorse...it was all because of me, you thought. 

“Y/N... don’t apologize, please” He said seeing your face change into a look of sadness; looking away at the mini lamp that sat on your desk illuminating that specific corner of the room, “He deserved it. Especially what he said about you-”

“You should’ve just let him say whatever, Akaashi. Rin is not worth it. Gosh, both you guys are so stupid. You know, if it weren’t for Bokuto, who knows what could’ve happened to you-” As you continued to rant about the fight and scold Akaashi for his actions, your words became inaudible. 

He loved it when you were like this, where you would continue to nag him about something foolish he’s done, but he knew it was because you cared.

Akaashi moved his eyes from the lamp to your face once more. Your eyes looked tired, but your makeup was still intact. Your eyebrows were curled as you focused on making sure his face was spotless of any red. Your bottom lip was slightly tucked between your teeth, also another indication of your concentration. 

Regardless, he still admired the way your eyes glimmered amidst the dimly lit bedroom, the way a piece of your hair lingered down the side of your cheek, and your soft tender hand that grazed his sensitive yet pure skin. Your touch that made chills run down his spine. Your touch that he’d sell his soul for, just to feel at least once a day.

A certain kind of tension roamed around the atmosphere as you were wiping away the remaining blood stain next to the corner of his lips. It was heavy, but your heartbeat was starting to beat a little faster, your palms began to sweat, and your stomach felt like it was tied in a knot. You didn’t even realize how close you were leaning towards him until you could smell the faint fragrance of his cologne and the feel of his breathing against your cheek.

Then, you hear him mumble something inaudibly, despite the still quietness between the both of you. 

“Wha-” You turn your focus away from the area you were cleaning and moved your eyes towards his, that were already fixated on yours. He stared deeply into your orbs as he repeated what he said, a little louder this time. 

“I said... I may have acted a little out of pocket, but if it means I’m protecting you from getting hurt from that bastard again, then it’s worth the trouble for me” Akaashi whispered, trailing off towards the end, but by then your eyes moved down to his lips, watching every movement they made. 

God damn, this side of Akaashi was so alluring. There was no sign of anxiousness in his voice at this time, and the confidence that replaced it was the most desirable of all. He said every word with purpose.

Before you knew it, the both of you started leaning in towards each other, feeling each others breaths getting warmer and warmer within every inch that got smaller and smaller. 

Akaashi’s lips brushed over yours, before he ultimately closed the space between the both of you, placing his soft yet mildly chapped lips on yours. He tasted of the sweet fruit punch mixed with the touch of alcohol from earlier that evening, and so did yours. He let go of the ice pack from his cheek, letting it fall onto the floor before wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you in closer to his chest. 

At that moment, he forgot about all of the pain that coursed through his body, and melted into your warm and loving touch. As his hand roamed up your back, you laid your hand in his bare chest, feeling the curves of his pecs on your fingertips.

Your hearts were beating in unison as you pull away from the long kiss, with the presence of his lips lingering on yours.

For a few seconds, the both of you stare into each other’s eyes, processing the tender moment that just happened.

Akaashi sent you a small smile before laying his forehead on yours, the tips of your noses touching, “Thank you Y/N, for letting me be here for you...”

You chuckle and trailed your hand to his cold cheek, caressing his bruised skin softly with your thumb, “Don’t be so corny Akaashi... but I should be the one thanking you, for everything. I was dumb, but in the end you were the one who saved me from the hell to come... and showed me the lights of heaven”

Akaashi couldn’t help but chuckle shaking his head as he leaned back on the bed board, “and you called me corny?”

“Oh shut up!” You threw a band aid wrapper at him, leaning back.

“Okay then kiss me” He boldly said pulling your arms, jolting you towards him.

“As you wish” You hum against his lips before placing yet another kiss, this time it was short and sweet.

Akaashi smiled against your skin, closing his eyes to truly take in this moment before pulling away to ask you, “So maybe, if you forget about that jerk Rin, you wanna move things forward between us?”

You raised your eyebrow playfully as you respond, crossing your arms, “ Rin who?”

“I’ll take that as a yes?”

“No”

“Oh...”

“I’m just joking you dork, I thought you were smarter than that”

“Wait Y/N...”

“What?”

“So it’s a yes?”

You giggle at Akaashi before leaning in to place a kiss on his forehead, “Yes, now I have to treat your ankle, then you need to rest up”

After you finished up Akaashi’s final treatments, you took the spare clothes you had in your closet. The same ones from the day he cared for you at his house; the day of you and Rin’s breakup.

You helped him change from his ripped up party clothes, before you took a shower and changed into your comfy pajamas.

“Hello kitty?” Akaashi asked as you slipped under the duvet.

“What’s wrong with Hello Kitty?” You asked scooting over to him.

Akaashi hummed as he wrapped his arm around your back. He pulled your body close to his torso and laid his cheek atop your damp head, “ Nothing, I just thought it was cute.”

You lay your head on his chest and wrapped your arms around his upper torso, avoiding the bandaged part. The sound of his heart drummed into your ears.

Another silence drew upon the two of you, as the moonlight shined in through your curtains. The sound of your ticking clock echoed through the room.

You let out a small yawn, and your eyes closed. In no time, you were out like a light.

Akaashi ran his hand through the strands of your hair, admiring your resting state, before softly cooing, “ Thank you for being here... Goodnight y/n~”

His eyes fell heavy, and dozed off into a a state of slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART TO WRITE ADSKKNFL. AKAASHI WHY CAN’T YOU BE REAL DUDE. Also, it gets a lil cheesy my bad hehe

Taglist: @beanst0ck @seffuchan @tvbiio @marvels-supernaturalsherlock @iridescentjae 

[immortalcoelacanth]

PTA: Science Team (HLVRAI Fic 1/3)

*pulls dusty story out of garage and drops it into Tumblr*

I have been trying to finish the first chapter for AGES, and I finally got it done! I crave PTA AU content due to the wholesomeness and angst, and I just had to work on one short fic for this fandom. So, welcome to the first chapter out of three!

Word count: 1788

Summary: PTA meetings are a sham and no one hates them more than Gordon, but upon being forced to miss a “mandatory” meeting because of work, Benrey comes up with a brilliant idea to deal with this problem.

Chapter 1: Hostile Arrangements Require Equally Hostile Solutions

“Fuck! Shit! Okay-okay, I’ll just-motherfucker she did what?!”

Cursing was in Gordon’s nature. He often used it as a way to express his angry, dismay, shock, and all sorts of other negative emotions. As such it was not unusual to see pacing about and spitting insults left and right. 

What was unusual, however, was the fact that he was cursing in his own home. He had a strict swearing free zone in effect as a way to stop Joshua from picking up on any foul language, including a swear jar that tended to fill up whenever Bubby visited. It was quite fortunate that Joshua was currently being distracted by Benrey as the pair had been playing video games together for the past hour or so. 

Or they had been until, in a surprising display of stealth, Benrey crept out of the young boy’s room and slowly approached the frustrated Gordon. 

Gordon, who was currently continuing to quietly yell into his cell phone. 

“Are you kidding me?! I was scheduled for a meeting on the weekend! I have work tonight! How in the FUCK did she-”

“psssst, hey, hey feetman. you might wanna chill out there and, uh, stuff. turn down the volume.” Benrey cut in while pointing the tv remote at Gordon and clicking the volume button. “don’t wanna be a bad boy and teach joshie any naughty words.” 

“Shut the fuck up.” Gordon sighed, no real anger in his voice before redirecting his attention back to the phone call. “No, not you Natasha, it was just Benrey-”

“tell tasha her cookies are baller.”

“Wha-baller? Who the fuck says baller anymore?!” 

“c’moooooooon man, be a bro.”

“Natasha I am so sorry-tell her that yourself!”

“i can’t feeman, you know i don’t have a phone.”

“YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STUCK IT IN THE MICROWAVE!”

“i-i was just chagrin’ the battery with those radio waves, man. ads… they never lie.”

Laughter could be heard coming from the phone in response to the conversation going on between the two men. It was enough to snap Gordon out of his somewhat enraged state and refocus on whatever it was that Natasha was telling him. He gestured for Benrey to leave and only succeeded in shooing the ex-guard to the kitchen so he could have some peace. 

Not that the peace lasted long based on the muttered cursing and general sounds of Gordon stomping around. 

About ten minutes later, the frustrated physicist joined him in the kitchen, quickly making himself a cup of coffee and grumbling under his breath. Welp, looked like this was the perfect moment for some interrogation. 

“soooooo, wha was that about?” Benrey asked as he took another bite of the block of cheese he had been digging into. If you asked him, he’d say it tasted pretty gouda.

Damn, he needed to torment Gordon with more puns again. 

“Fucking-” Gordon exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his messy hair, too angry to noticed how Benrey reached out and gently pulled at some of the locks, watching them bounce and resume their previously curly shape. “Linda.”

Well, there went his good mood. 

Benrey’s eyes immediately narrowed, becoming nothing more than glowing slits in his shadowy face, as a disgruntled frown replaced his previous smile. Even the cheese in his hand seemed to start burning, smoke wafting off it as it began to melt in response to the sheer anger that name invoked in him. 

Linda Smith, the scourge of the neighborhood and one of the most uptight, pieces of shit that Benrey had ever encountered. A narcissist with a massive superiority complex, she constantly put down everyone around her who she thought of as being inferior.

Which was just a cover for how much of a racist shitwad she was, plus there were the various comments she made about fags invading the neighborhood.

An obvious insult aimed at not just Gordon and Benrey, but the other “not normal” couples that lived here and there. Poor Joshua had overheard some of the insults on multiple occasions, and she had called the kid a mutt to his face-

“Benrey? You wanna calm down before you poke holes in the ceiling again?”

Fortunately, Gordon’s exasperated voice snapped Benrey out of his enraged state before he accidentally inflicted more damage to the kitchen. A place that had seen many, many small explosions and fires. At this point, he towered over the other man as sharpened, boney spikes poked out of his back and scrapped the ceiling. Plaster fell and dusted the countertop. 

“oops, s-sorry dude.” Benrey awkwardly shrugged, flesh dripping from his arms and face in a rather gruesome display, not that Gordon was bothered by this. He was used to how… horrific his partner could become. 

Especially when someone mentioned Joshua being hurt or insulted in any way. It was actually quite wholesome thinking about how much Benrey cared about the young boy and how much their friendship had bloomed since they first met. 

“I get it.” Gordon sighed. “She’s such a bitch she’d make anyone Hulk out.”

“ten points for the ref there, feetman.”

The physicist somewhat seriously flipped Benrey off, making him laugh, before continuing to rant about the purpose of the now finished phone call. 

“I still can’t believe that stupid school listened to her, and I’m not the only one getting fucked over here!” He spat. “I can’t just drop out-”

It was at this moment that the source of Gordon’s rage dawned on Benrey, and the ex-guard spoke up. “wait, the school thingy?”

“You mean meeting?”

“ya.”

Gordon groaned and hid his face in his hands. “The MEETING! Linda fucked up my schedule! I don’t know what she said to the administrator, but they canceled the weekend meeting I was booked for and rescheduled me for tonight. When I have WORK!”

Benrey winced in sympathy and reached out to pat Gordon’s shoulder with his not cheese coated hand. “damn, th-that’s a real cringe move. can’t you get, uh, joshie’s mom to take care of it? s...shea?”

“I can’t,” Gordon muttered, face muffled by his hands. “Shea’s been on a business trip for some conference and she gets back in five days.”

“oooooh, that’s why you’ve had little josh bro for so long?”

Rather than respond, the physicist just continued to groan and hide his face in his hands as he tried to figure out how to fix the mess he had been caught up in. 

Joshua’s school had a very… specific structure to how it was run. Standard funding and where it would be directed was determined by the staff, however, sometimes the school would receive donations or raise large amounts of money through fairs and other events. 

And it was how this extra funding would be spent that the local community had the chance to weigh in on. Determining if it should be used to get more sports supplies, help fund after school programs, or be used to help make the school more accessible. 

The ramp that had been added two years ago was one such example of the potential good that these extra funds had, however there was one problem with this process. 

All parents were required to attend a meeting and voice their thoughts. This was a rather new development that had been added after a small group of disgruntled parents, ones who had objected to using the extra funds to improve the school and arguing that it should go towards planning fun trips instead, had tried to sue the school board. 

Of course, the case had immediately been thrown out and dismissed, but it had set a dangerous precedent. A precedent that now made it mandatory for all parents to attend one meeting to determine their opinions on where the funding should be used and write it down so they could not claim their voices had not been heard. 

Honestly, it was such a stupid arrangement in Gordon’s opinion. Why not just send out an email? Or forms that kids could take home to their parents. It was so… disruptive and annoying, especially for single parents who had to work long hours. 

Like him. 

His hands tensed, nails nearly dug into his skin before Benrey carefully moved them, holding them. As Gordon looked up, the ex-guard sent him an awkward yet warm smile. An attempt at reassuring him that things would turn out alright. 

“hey... you-you gotta chillax feetman, things’ll be okay-”

“How the hell am I supposed to chillax in this situation?!” Gordon barked as he removed his hands from Benrey’s, shoved himself out of his seat, and began pacing around, furiously staring at the floor. 

“I’ve been fucked over by some racist bitch! Joshua needs someone there and it has to be someone who has some kind of guardianship over him for that stupid funding bullshit!”

As his partner raged on about the unfairness and overall stupidity of the situation, Benrey decided that it was time to think. To think, and plot, and come up with something that would hopefully calm Gordon down while solving the problem that Linda had caused. 

Simply put, Joshua needed someone who had designated guardianship over him to be present during the meeting to act in his best interests. Not surprisingly, Benrey did not have this title due as both he and Gordon had agreed that it would not be the best idea due to both his inhumane nature and the potential destruction he might cause. 

But, that did not mean that only Shea and Gordon were listed as the young boy’s guardians. There was one other who had been granted the title in case of an emergency, although his presence had never been needed up until this point, which was probably why Gordon had forgotten about him in his stressed out state. 

Dr. Coomer, one of Joshua’s “grandpas”. 

And, of course, if one member of the Science Team went somewhere, then the rest had to follow. The Science Team stuck together through thick and thin, no matter the strife or struggle and always left chaos in their wake. 

Hostile arrangements required equally hostile solutions, after all. 

“this is gonna be baller.” Benrey chuckled, his eyes flashing brightly at the brilliance of his plan. Now all he had to do was get Gordon to agree to it.

“pssst, yo, xen to gaydon.”

There was something about the tone that Benrey’s voice took on that snapped Gordon out of his ranting. How calm and collected he sounded, the coherency and confidence in his words. Somewhat concerned, the physicist turned around and saw the scheming look in the ex-guard’s glowing eyes as his fingers drummed on the table. 

“feetman, i got a plan.”

                                             xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I would like to make it clear that no offense is intended towards anyone named Linda, aside from the one racist Linda I know that she was named after who will never, ever read this so my sins will forever remain unknown :>

[optimistic-dinosaur-nacho]

Imprisoned - Chapter IV

Chapter IV

Story Rating: 14+ Warnings: Violence, Murder, Mentions of Murder, Language [Confirmed Story of Spoilers For Defending Jacob From Now On] Summary: Y/N is Andy and Laurie Barber’s 14-year-old daughter who is a high-grade student in Arch Middle School. Her best friend, Alice Miller had been gone for a while. They search for the lost student and find out that Alice Miller’s body has the print’s of Andy and Laurie’s daughter, Y/N.

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI Chapter XII Chapter XIII

Author’s Note: I had finished the show and I know some may have not seen it but for your experience, I suggest you don’t read this story if you have not seen Defending Jacob.

Characters I have spotted where different names from my story. Paula Duffy is actually Pam Duffy, so that will change. Including the school name and your grade.(Soon I will change the names in the other chapters) Thank you! Sorry for mistakes that I’ve made!

Love you!

I have warned you about spoilers, right?

~~~

The students were returning to the school. After a small break after the day Alice was reported, they called off school for a day. Laurie offers to drive Y/N to school, not allowing her to go to that park.

She slowly drove up to the front as Y/N stared out the window nonchalantly. Laurie stops the car when the officer nods them over, she turns to Y/N, “Okay. You got everything?”

“Yep,” Y/N says, grabbing her bag and hopping out. “Am I walking home?” She asked. Laurie sighs, “I don’t know. I’ll call you if any of us are gonna pick you up. I don’t know about dad.” Y/N nods. “Bye, mom. Love you.”

“Love you too, honey.” The door closes and Y/N began to walk up to the school.

She spotted Henry on her way to the doors, “Hey, Henry.” Her friend turns around and gives her a scared expression. Her smile slowly dropped when he looks at her like he didn’t know her. Henry turned around and completely ignored her.

Her hand grips her backpack strap as she passes him.

Andy began to walk through the offices to meet up with his boss, Lynn. The one who kind of called him up on the case of Alice Miller. The chatter began to fade as he enters her office.

“Have a seat, Andy,” She says. He takes the seat in front of her desk and lets out a sigh. “I thought that press conference went well enough,” He says. Lynn folded her hands together, leaning back.

“They want answers, Andy. So do the girl’s parents,” Lynn states. Andy situates himself into the chair more, furrowing his brows. “Yeah, so do I. You know as well as I--” The clicking sound of the door behind them opens and Andy turns around.

“I asked Neal to join us,” Lynn says, the tall man without his jacket shows his suspenders started walking in. “Andy,” Neal greets. The man turns back to Lynn like a crazy person. “This isn’t an ambush. I think you handling this case is not the best idea. You’re friendly with the parents, your daughter goes to the same school--”

Andy scoffs, “We barely know the parents. Yes, we’ve spoken to them but we haven’t really had connections. I barely knew the girl but she’s best friends with Y/N. Let me guess, Rasputin here offered to take over?” Neal smiles at that.

Lynn seemed defensive, “Neal has legitimate concerns about the appearance of conflict. And frankly, so do I,” She unfolds her hands for a second, “Appearances matter.”

Andy shakes his head, “Yeah, to voters.” Lynn scoffs at that, “Oh, come on, Andy.”

“Sorry,” He mutters.

“It’s a question of objectivity,” Neal finally says. Andy glances over, “Shut up, Neal,” He brings his attention back to Lynn, “Are you taking me off the case? Yes or no.”

Lynn leans forward, “Right now I’m merely asking what you think.”

“I think I should keep this case. If I were concerned about my reputation, maybe I’d feel differently. But unlike Mr. Logiudice here,” Andy glanced at the man beside him, “I’m not gunning for your job.”

Neal shakes his head, “Fuck off, Andy. Okay?” Andy lifts up his hands, “Hey, I get it. High-profile case, big splashy win. Be a game changer.”

“You’re a real piece of work you know that?” He said.

“Gentlemen,” Lynn says sternly. “You’re dragging your feet on this case,” Neal continues as Andy removes his eyes from the man. “The case is going slow ‘cause that’s how the case is going. I’m not going to indict someone just to make it look good,” Andy said.

“You always told me to push every case as hard as I could.”

“I am pushing as hard as I can,” Andy snaps. “Then why haven’t you interviewed any of the kids?” Neal asks. Andy turns, “Because it isn’t Dorchester High, Neal. It’s Newton. Every single detail has to be negotiated. Half the parents there are lawyers.” Neal doesn’t respond to that and turns away from Andy.

Neal was somewhat new but not. Andy was more experienced as he was, maybe even taught him a few things about being a DA. But, boy do they argue.

“Look, we got interviews lined up all day. You wanna send Neal? Be my guest,” Andy said. Lynn inhales softly, “I have concerns, I voiced them. If you say there’s no conflict--”

“There isn’t,” Andy cuts her off. 

“I don’t know how you can be the one to make that call,” Neal cuts in. “Because that’s the way it works, Neal,” Andy faces him, “I make the calls.” Neal shuts up once again so Andy turns back to Lynn. “And if I’m wrong, I’ll be the one to stand in front of the jury and take the hit.”

There was no other choice. Sure, Lynn could say no, but Andy just seem to not refuse to get rid of the case he wanted. “Okay,” She says. Neal leans in his chair and lets out a sigh without the sign of irritation. Andy glances at him, “Thank you.”

“Of course, Andy.” The man stands up from his seat, “I’ll keep you updated,” He said. “Please do.”

.

Pam and Andy were beginning to head to the Archer Middle School. They needed more details on the day of the party. “We’ve gotten consent to fingerprint most of the kids.”

“I think we start with high-priority witnesses. Alice’s close friends, kids known to walk to school through the Cold Spring Park and who attended to Emily Walker’s party.”

The two entered the building and the office woman led them to an empty classroom to do their interviews with most of the students. The first one comes in and it’s a girl who shyly walks over to the table. “I’m Lieutenant Duffy. I’m with the state police. And this is Mr. Barber. He’s the assistant district attorney in charge of the case,” Pam states towards the girl, the girl watched Andy carefully.

“You’re Y/N’s dad, aren’t you?” She asked. He nods, “That’s right. So how well did you know Alice? Was she a friend?” He asks. The girl nods unsure, “Yeah, I guess.”

Andy plays with the pen in his hand, knowing these kids are gonna be difficult to talk to. “Tell us about her.”

“She was okay.”

Duffy shuffles, “Can you be a little more specific?”

They had another kid the next 15 minutes. The boy shrugs. “She was nice.” Andy looks over at Duffy. “Anything else?”

“I don’t know. Not really.”

The adults moved on to the next child. “Can you think of anyone that would’ve had a reason to wanna hurt Alice?” The girl in front of them shakes her head, thinking. “I don’t think so. No.”  

.

Andy writes down things on his notepad. “What about people Alice didn’t like?” The two look up to the curly hair boy, “I don’t know. I mean, nobody likes everybody, right?” Andy and Duffy look at each other.

.

“Wait, are you Y/N Barber’s dad?” The next girl asks, all Andy could do was smile. These kids don’t really focus on the topic here other than him being the best father to his daughter, Y/N. “Can you think of anyone who might have a reason to wanna hurt Alice?”

The kids replied with the same answer.

“No.”

This wanted to make Andy rip the notepad. Duffy rubs her forehead, “Did Alice say anything to you that made you think she might be in trouble?” She asks. The girl tilts her head. “In trouble?”

Their next witness says the same thing. “In trouble? How?”

Andy began to write in his note book to the next kid in front of him. He knew it was around an hour at this point. “Did Alice ever say anything to you to make you think she might be in trouble?”

The same answers through all the kids.

“No.”

.

Andy presses the end of the pen on his notepad a couple of times. “Was Alice acting differently at all the week that this happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“Never said anything about anyone following her, anyone bothering her?” Duffy asks. The kids all shook their heads at that question.

“Wait,” The girl says, “Are you Y/N Barber’s dad?” Andy drops his head and sighs. “Is there anything else you think we should know?”

Andy hated to hear the same one syllable and two letter word. 

“No.”

“About Alice?” One kid had asked. Duffy shrugged, “About anything.”

After almost an hour and a half of talking with the kids, they handed them cards. “Well, thanks for talking to us,” Andy pulls out a card, “This is my card. It has all my information if you need to get in touch.” They all nod.

“If anything else occurs to you, even if you think it’s nothing,” Duffy pulls out her card. The girl takes it, “Like if I heard something?” She asked.

“Exactly,” Andy said, he tilts his head, “Wait, did you hear something?”

“No,” She shook her head, “Just... you know.”

“No, we don’t,” Duffy said. Those kids were bad talkers. Y/N could be like that sometimes but these kids were worse. 

They all wanted to leave with the words:

“Can I go now?”

.

Andy began to write some notes down as a phone buzzes beside him and Duffy pulls out her phone. She sits up, “Let me know what I miss,” Pam stands up and walks away.

He brought his attention to the last kid in front of him. “So is there anything else you want to tell me about Alice?” He asked. The girl shakes her head. Andy gives her a softly okay. 

“Well, you have both our cards. If you think of anything else, please feel free to call anytime,” He said. The girl nods, “The cop who came to our class said there was a tip line. Just in case we wanted to say something anonymously or whatever,” She says.

Andy nods this time, “That’s right.” He folded his arms in front of him. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

“No, I was just wondering.” There was a small silence before she reaches for her backpack and puts it over her shoulder. “I know your daughter, Y/N.”

Andy smiles, “Oh, yeah? You guys friends?”

“I guess so. Well, not exactly. But, I mean, we know each other. Saw her at Emily’s party.” Andy nods at her as she stood up in silence to head for the door. All this sudden she stops, turning to face him again.

“Have you talked to Y/N about this?” She asks.

“About Alice?” He leans on the table, seeing her nod, “Why do you ask?” He says. The girl shakes her head and turns to walk away. “Sarah,” He calls.

She turns back. “Must have been some reason you asked that.”

Sarah shook her head again with the monotone voice, “I was just asking. Really.” Andy watches her inch closer to the door, “Well, if you think of anything else,” He adds. Sarah gives him a thumbs up and walks out the doors, just like the others.

With a sigh, Andy reaches for the button to his neck and unbuttons it, the feeling of it tightening around his throat made it hard for him to breath.

.

After another few minutes and a couple look over the notes he had gotten, it was nothing. Duffy comes in, “We’re not better off than we were yesterday. These kids are like mafiosos,” He says. He sees her hand him her phone and he takes it into his own hand.

“What’s this?” He asked.

“Just came in,” She responds. He reads the top words. “Leonard Patz. Indecent A&B on a minor, lewd and lascivious indecent A&B on a minor pending,” Andy reads.

“He’s 36 years old, lives near the park in that condo, the Windsor, or whatever they call it.”

“Why didn’t we know about him before?” Andy looks over the information and the photos of him. “He moved to Newton last year. Guess it was never registered. One of the ADAs in the child abuse unit flagged him. That’s the pending.”

“What did this guy do?”

Pam inhales, “Grabbed a girl’s chest at the public library.” Andy looks up to Pam if she was serious. The look never faltered. “Kid was 15. Only a year older than Alice Miller.”

“He groped a girl and got out on a personal?” Andy sits back down in disbelief. “Apparently there was some question about the kid’s testimony,” She said.

Leonard seem to be around 5′6 of height. This could be a suspect, “We should bring him in.”

“Keep in mind, the Miller girl had no sign of sexual assault. If we bring this guy in without something tying him to the case--” She cuts herself off. “Right,” He says, “He’ll lawyer up.”

Pam pierces her lips at him, “I know you’re under a lot of pressure, but if you play this wrong, you could lose your one chance to talk to him.” He thought about for a moment. But these kid’s and their answers over the past 2 hours, they got nothing from them. He needed to break it off for a moment.

“Let me sleep on it.” It was close to being maybe another 30 minutes before school ended so he texted Laurie that he’ll be picking up Y/N today. 

.

It rained not too long ago. The cement ground was wet, including the fields as the students came out of the school. Andy spotted Y/N and he rolls the window down catching her eye.

She runs over and hops into the passenger side. “Hey, dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart. How was school?”

“Good. You were here?” She asked. Andy nods, he didn’t want to answer what they were looking for. It was kind of obvious why they were there. Y/N nods, “Did you get anything?”

“Not really. No,” He says. He sounded just like those kids. He glances at her and grins, “Did you eat?”

“Kind of.”

“Mom didn’t pack you anything?” He asked, Y/N shook her head, “I didn’t want anything. Wasn’t feeling good at the time.” Andy pulls out of the school driveway and heads down the road. “Do you want me to pick you up something?”

Y/N took a while to answer. “I’m okay. I’m sure there’s leftovers at home.”

Andy looks over at her for a second. Her eyes staring out the window to the kids hopping on the buses or kid’s walking home. He turns away and continued to drive back home.

.

Y/N was already in bed around nine after dinner. Andy and Laurie were in the living room and dining room. Andy worked late along with his wife who works at the children’s cottage. He was looking over the cases. Laurie lets out a sigh and closes her laptop to head over to Andy at the dining table, flipping through pages.

“I’m exhausted. I’m going up,” She mumbles. He gives her a soft whisper of an Okay. She rubs his back, “You?”

He doesn’t look at her, “Yeah, a couple minutes.” Laurie looks over to the photo’s of Alice’s body by the pond. She quickly looks away and leans down to kiss his forehead, “Goodnight, honey.”

“Night,” He says.

After Laurie goes up as Andy drops the pages and stares at the screen of his laptop. He takes out his phone and holds it up to his ear, “Hey, did I wake you?” He asks. They respond back. “Yeah, pretty much.” Duffy was on the phone with him. “Yeah. Yeah, I wanna bring him in... I am. Okay. Thanks, Duff.”

He hangs up and puts his phone down, looking over the file once again. Leonard Patz had to at least be involved in this. He was sure, but they needed to ask him first.

Andy glanced over to the photos and began to call it a night. He collected the photos and his computer dings. 

He reads the message in the corner.

pbjhwohbgbwi29y859@gmail.com Re: ALICE MILLER >>> README Look here.

Andy reached over and clicks on the link Look Here. The link takes him to an instagram post with the hashtag #RIPALICE

Andy dug in deeper and began to scroll through the comments down below. One caught his eye and the air caught in his throat.

Y/N STFU. Bitch.

WTF? YB go fuck off and die.

So not cool Y/N

Andy continues to scrolls and finds his daughter’s profile. 

Alice is dead. Why are you writing her messages? Acting like her best friends.

Andy sighs softly, spotting the four replies underneath her response to others. He clicks on them. The one made chills ride up his spine and the horror rose.

Y/N, everybody knows you did it. you have a knife. I’ve seen it.

Those words repeated in his head. He leans into his chair and his breathing began to rise. Was this true? Or does this Derek think this is funny to say that on social media?

Without even saying anything. Andy walks up the stairs and enters her room. The room was dark, he heard the faint music as he looks down to see her with earbuds in.

Her photos hung up on the wall with those firefly lights that shined, it still didn’t light up her whole room. He turns away from her and looks around. Carefully, he pulls a drawer out and gently moves things around for something hard and heavy. Silver and sharp.

He hoped he would not find some knife in her room. He looks over to make sure she didn’t wake up. He goes to her bookshelf, moving books around to the sides, looking behind, under, over or whatever.

He pulls out his phone and uses his flash, searching through her closet, checking every sweater pocket hanging in her closet. Hoping she wasn’t hiding skeletons in there.

No find as he closes the door slowly and looks around one more time. Not missing anything he hadn’t checked, before he looks at Y/N. She was sleeping so soundly. Peaceful. Alongside with Milo who luckily just relaxed and didn’t dramatically jump up to him.

He knew his daughter wouldn’t do this. He felt guilty just to assume she had one. That she did it. Before he headed out, he walked over to her nightstand. Pulling out the drawer to search it one last time.

He reached in, finding pencils, game cards, till his fingers touch something soft but it felt heavy. He reaches in and pulls out socks. He unravels the cloth off from whatever was hiding under it. He felt his heart beat against his chest, hoping his daughter couldn’t hear it like thunder.

He saw the dark handle, a grip and cold metal. He looks down at her in pure horror and disbelief. Using his two fingers to pull the large sharp blade out of it’s hiding. 

The moonlight hitting all it’s sharp edges giving Andy that eerie feeling. His fingers shook under the blade, it had smaller blades down itself. The knife that was more critical, one strike and the pulling could rip out the flesh and tear it. There were no blood tracings, no knife was found on that scene. 

Could this be it?

~~~

I hate to use the same dialogue. It makes me feel like a bad person. 

TAGS:

@jtargaryen18​ @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​ @chrisevans-imagines​ @princess-evans-addict​ @elliee1497​ @ifuseekfatamy​ @ssebstann​ @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ @avengerswon​ @wandascarlett​

[ohemgeeitscoley]

Ben Solo is the recently assigned editor for Rey Johnson’s book about star-crossed lovers in space when the world is turned upside down and stay home orders are issued. Ben and Rey begin working together over Zoom and their relationship grows.

Or, an and they were zoomates fic.

Based on this Tumblr post. 

The one I have been waiting for (Part One of Two)

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing: Rey/Ben Solo (Reylo)

Note: This was going to be a really, really short one shot. It turned into a 12k two-shot. Whoops. This is pure fluff. 

As always, the biggest thank you to @andyouweremine for being the world’s best beta and friend. Seriously, thank you for all of your cheerleading and input and for convincing me that one more scene never hurt anyone. You’re the absolute best.

Read below or on AO3.

From: Leia Organa-Solo <leia@rebelpublishing.com> To: Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com> Subject: Quarantine assignments 

Ben,

Unfortunately with everything going on right now, I've decided that we are going to close the office and have everyone work from home. I know you were looking forward to the big welcome lunch I had planned. Hopefully we will be able to reschedule in a few weeks once the risk of spreading COVID-19 lessens.

In the meantime, I am going to assign you to Rey Johnson. She is working on a new novel with a goal of having the first draft submitted by May 30. I'm attaching her contact information and what she has sent over so far. Please coordinate with Rey to schedule an introduction meeting. 

Warm regards,

Mom

Leia Organa-Solo CEO Rebel Publishing, LLC

From: Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com> To: Leia Organa-Solo <leia@rebelpublishing.com> Subject: RE: Quarantine assignments

Leia:

I am deeply saddened that the welcome lunch you coordinated over my many, many vocal objections to has been cancelled. I suppose we will have to plan another inner-office get together wherein I can find a way to embarrass and let you down. I'm greatly looking forward to the opportunity.

On that note, was it really necessary to use my full name in my email address? Was Ben already taken? I am fairly certain as my mother you are aware that you are the only person who ever calls me Benjamin. Would it be possible to have IT change this before tomorrow? 

I think closing the office is the right decision. Social distancing is quite important now more than ever. I'm assuming this means that Saturday dinners will also be postponed?

I'll look over what you sent and reach out to Ms. Johnson. I'm looking forward to working with her. 

Sincerely, 

Ben Solo Editor Rebel Publishing, LLC

From: Leia Organa-Solo <leia@rebelpublishing.com> To: Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com> Subject: RE: Quarantine assignments

Benjamin:

I distinctly remember writing Benjamin down on your birth certificate. I'm unaware of any name change order being in your personnel file. The email stays.

The lunch has not been cancelled, it has been postponed. Despite your assertions, you will not embarrass or let me down in any get together. However, I make no such promises. Seeing as how I'll be trapped at home with your father for the foreseeable future, maybe I'll finally have time to find some of those old pictures of you. I've been meaning to redecorate my office.

It does appear that Saturday dinners will need to be postponed. However, I am working with Chewie and Luke to see if we can perhaps get them set up to attend virtual dinners. I'll keep you updated.

Warm regards,

Mom

Leia Organa-Solo CEO Rebel Publishing, LLC

-----

Ben sighed, pushing his hands under his glasses as he rubbed at the corners of his eyes. It wasn’t that he necessarily thought that agreeing to go work at his mom’s publishing company was going to be the easiest of transitions, but he also hadn’t been prepared for his name to be on the list of things they would argue about. 

It only made sense, then, that it was one of the first things. 

He considered sending another email, pushing the issue. But he knew better than to think it was an argument he was going to win. And, honestly, he was hopeful that if he didn’t respond maybe she’d never again think about coordinating, or asking him to coordinate, a virtual Saturday dinner. 

Instead, Ben opened the contact card his mom had sent for Rey, and got to work.

From:  Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com>  To: Rey Johnson <ReyWrites@gmail.com> Subject: Introduction Meeting

Good evening Ms. Johnson:

I’m the assigned editor for your next book. Leia has already provided your initial pitch, character sketches, and outline. However, I usually prefer to talk with an author prior to reading these materials. I have found in the past that going into these conversations without any preconceived ideas based on the initial workups leads to a more organic understanding of the material. As such, I’d love to have the chance to talk with you about your book prior to looking over the material.

Given the increased concerns of spreading the virus, Leia has closed the office and has asked that we conduct all of our work from home. Please let me know what your availability is tomorrow or the next day so that I can coordinate the conference. I am just transitioning to Rebel Publishing, so my calendar is currently fairly open.

Of course, if you’d rather me read through the materials and start the process that way, just let me know. 

I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Ben Solo Editor Rebel Publishing, LLC

From: Rey Johnson <ReyWrites@gmail.com>  To: Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com>  Subject: RE: Introduction Meeting

Mr. Solo,

Leia let me know today that we would be working together. I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I’d love the opportunity to talk with you prior to you reviewing the materials that have been previously sent. This is a different approach than my previous editors have taken, but I am intrigued by your theory. 

With that said, given the recent orders to stay home, my schedule is very flexible. I usually try to block out specific times to focus on writing so that I can turn off notifications and limit distractions. With the times I had previously blocked out for tomorrow, I could make an 11:00 am work? If that doesn’t work, just let me know what does and I’m sure I’ll be able to make that work.

I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

Rey Johnson

-----

Rey was the first one in the Zoom meeting the next morning. She fidgeted with her web camera, adjusting the angle until the image on the screen blocked out most of her messy apartment. She spent a few minutes pushing things out of the way before sitting back down and waiting for Ben to appear. 

She glanced down at the clock on her computer screen, sighing at the time. The meeting wasn’t supposed to start for another five minutes. Being early had never been one of her defining characteristics, but she also hadn’t had any real human interaction in days. 

The day the stay home order had been issued by the Governor, Rey had planned on meeting up with Poe and Finn for drinks. They had been on her for days to avoid slipping into a writer isolation. Poe had a lot of experience in knowing just how easily Rey could spiral when she was writing, hiding away from the world for days at a time. It had always just been easier for Rey to stay in when she was writing. Easier to stay focused on what kept her paid and fed and a roof over her head. 

She didn’t have to worry about getting too distracted and forgetting where she left off or what she had planned for another scene if she just stayed home. Poe liked to remind her that she was ridiculous and that going out also was what provided her with actual inspiration to write.

There was a balance, she was sure. She just hadn’t achieved it yet. Then the stay home issue was ordered and Rey found herself wishing that she had listened to Poe sooner. 

Not that was going to tell him that.

The computer dinged when Ben joined the meeting room. The image was fuzzy at first, Rey could really only make out that he had dark hair and rather broad shoulders. In fact, he looked rather… large, his body taking up most of the space that she could see. The image cleared and Rey took in the rest of his features, the sharp nose and pouty lips. 

He was definitely attractive. Which was not what she needed to be thinking about at the moment.

“Good morning, Mr. Solo,” Rey said, smiling politely as she held her hand up in a tiny, awkward wave.

“I would say Mr. Solo is my father,” he responded, shaking his head slightly. “But he also hates being called that.” 

“Right, so, Benjamin then?”

“No, no, no, no,” Ben grimaced, as if the word personally offended him. “Ben. Just Ben.”

“Okay, just Ben,” Rey laughed softly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Ms. John-”

“Rey,” she interrupted him with a grin. 

“Well, Rey, tell me about your book.”

Rey took a deep breath before, running her teeth over her bottom lip before she began. She started by attempting to introduce the main characters, Kira and Kylo, and their backstories, but she was easily distracted with certain points of plot that felt so imperative to interrupt and explain.

By the time she finished, she wasn't really sure what information she had shared or left out.  But she was fairly positive that she had failed to hit all of the main plot points.

Rey waited for Ben to say something. She knew that he had told her that he found it beneficial to hear about the story in an organic way, but the longer the silence stretched, the more she wished she had spent more time preparing last night to explain to him the story and the characters in at least a logical way.

“So they are connected?” He finally asked. “What was the word you used?”

“A dyad,” Rey answered. “Soulmates, really.”

“Star-crossed lovers fighting on opposite sides of a galactic war," Ben paused, jotting something down on a piece of paper next to his computer. "Doomed from the start?"

"Hardly," Rey snorted. "It won't be easy, but I fully plan on a happily ever after ending for them."

"Really?" Ben seemed surprised. "That's unusual for star-crossed couples."

"Your words," Rey reminded him, "I said they were soulmates."

"That you did," Ben conceded. "I just assumed since they are fighting for different things that one would fall."

"But they aren't."

"What?" 

"Fighting for different things," Rey clarified. "It seems that way, at first. But really, they are both fighting for a place in the world. For a family. For a balance that they are being told can't exist."

"It sounds like quite a world," Ben noted. "I'm excited to see you build it."

"Yeah," Rey looked away from the screen, staring at the knick knacks that filled up the shelf across from her. "It's a little scary actually, creating a world this complex."

"That's what I'm here for."

"Right," Rey smiled at him. "Well, I'm glad I have you."

Rey thought that maybe Ben was blushing, even though logically she knew that it was more likely just a shadow or reflection from his computer. Either way, she liked the way it made him look.

"So, same time next week?" Ben asked. "I'll go over everything Leia sent me. Now that I know what I'm getting into, I think my notes will be a lot better."

"Yeah, same time next week," Rey glanced down at the notes on her desk. "Should I send you things throughout the week as I'm working? Or save it for next week?"

"For now I say save it for next week. I have a lot of material to get started with."

"Sounds good."

"It was nice meeting you, Rey." Ben held one hand up in an awkward wave.

"Yeah, you too, Ben."

-----

From: Rey Johnson <ReyWrites@gmail.com>  To: Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com>  Subject: Earlier meeting?

Hi Ben:

I know that we have a meeting scheduled in four days, but I was just wondering if you might be available earlier than that? I’m having a bit of difficulty with the corner I think I’ve written myself into, and I am hoping that a fresh pair of eyes might help me find my way out. I understand if you want to keep the meeting as scheduled, I know you haven’t had a lot of time to go through the materials that had already been submitted, but I’d really appreciate any insight.

I hope you are staying inside and staying healthy!

-Rey.

------

Rey groaned, rereading the email she had sent Ben. It wasn’t necessarily a bad email, it was actually lightyears better than the first draft she had written at 2 am. Which went something like ‘Hi Ben, as it turns out despite my years of believing otherwise, I need human interaction and your face is the only face I’ve seen in a week and I’m slowly losing my mind. I sang to my plants. I’ve never written this much in my life, I’ve started reading the dialogue out loud because I’m no longer sure what human conversations sound like. So, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could we move up our meeting? I’m a little worried I’m becoming an insane person. I swear I’m not normally this weird. Quarantine life.’

She, thankfully, pressed the delete button instead of the send button. The other three drafts were slightly more professional, but all with the same undertone of her being slightly desperate for any conversation that didn’t involve her voicing both sides. She had tried facetiming Poe, but he and Finn had been keeping each other plenty busy. Which really, she should have expected.

Logically she knew that she could reach out to either one of them anyways, or Rose, or any of her other friends and just tell them that she was potentially on the verge of a self-isolation mental breakdown and they would be there for her.

But that was a showing of vulnerability that despite years of therapy Rey wasn’t comfortable with demonstrating.  And so she emailed Ben instead.

It wasn’t like it was a complete lie. She had written more than usual and she was at a point in the story that she would appreciate some feedback at this point. 

Kira and Kylo were at a turning point in the story. Their connection had been steadily growing stronger and more frequent, forcing them to face each other. Now was the time for them to come together and join each other or for them to pull away and keep fighting against each other. 

It wasn't a terrible idea for her to get some feedback and opinions before moving forward full speed. Her reaching out to Ben for an earlier meeting had nothing to do with her ever increasing thoughts about how he was rather attractive and his smile was rather enticing and that she wanted to see it again. 

At least, she was fairly confident that wasn’t the main reason.

She glanced at the sent email one last time before closing out of her email tab. Only fifteen minutes had passed since she sent the email and she already felt regret settling over her nerves. 

It was going to be a long day waiting for him to reply.

-----

In hindsight, Ben probably should have found it strange that he had not received a single company email in over 24 hours. Especially since Leia had a habit of sending him personal messages to his work email. Despite him reminding her numerous times that she had his personal email, and his cell phone, and, really, at least four other ways of contacting him.

A part of him knew that Leia did it because she genuinely enjoyed reminding herself that he came back to her company, that he came home. He also knew her well enough to know that the larger reason was because she also genuinely enjoyed annoying him. And Leia had to know that he would find knowing that her personal assistant had access to all of her emails about whether or not he was interested in attending a virtual dinner, if he had enough food in his apartment or if he would like her to make an instacart order for him, and that Han had been cleaning out the garage to make more room for his ‘quarantine projects’ and found boxes of his old toys and baby blankets and she was just wondering if he perhaps wanted her to bring the belongings home so that he could come get them, you know, for the future.

So, he should have known that something wasn’t working, but he had been distracted going through Rey’s materials, making notes of his questions and of his proposed edits. She was a fantastic writer. The world she had built was fresh and lively, jumping off of the pages in clear images and descriptions. She had provided extremely detailed character sketches for most of the characters, but he hadn’t found that he had to read through them or refer to them to understand any of the characters or to analyze any of the choices the characters had made simply because she wrote them so well.

It was very impressive.

He had finished going through the materials that Leia had sent him in two days. He was working his way through them again, going slower and providing more detailed notes and able to ask more pointed questions given the knowledge of where the story was heading. Still, he found himself wishing that he had told Rey to send over more work. 

He noticed his phone light up on the corner of his couch. He picked it up, glancing at the message icon showing that he had four messages from his mother and… 48 unread emails.

Mom: Servers are back up at the office.

Mom: Sorry for the onslaught of emails you are probably going to start getting in five minutes.

Mom: I didn’t realize at first that they weren’t going through.

Mom:  It’s possible 75% of them could have been text messages.

Ben: The server was down at the office?

Mom: You didn’t notice that you have received no emails in the last day?

Ben: I guess not. 

Mom: That’s an unusual thing for you to not notice.

Mom: What have you been doing?

Ben: Going through the materials you sent over for Rey’s book. 

Mom: Ah.

Mom: That makes sense then. 

Ben sighed, closing the messaging app to start going through the emails from his mother.

They were exactly what he had expected them to be. A few emails from HR and IT that were sent company wide about how to submit hours when working from home, a reminder to sign up for direct deposit if you hadn’t already, and a few guided walkthroughs on common computer and technology issues. His mother’s emails focused more on whether or not he had all of the ingredients for the Risotto she wanted to make for dinner on Saturday. Followed by an email with the receipt. And another email that went to him, Luke, and Chewie, wondering why it was too much to ask them all to make the same meal as her so that the virtual dinner felt like an actual dinner and not a happenstance of people meeting at the same time.

He almost missed the email from Rey.

 -----

From:  Benjamin Solo <benjamin@rebelpublishing.com>  To: Rey Johnson <ReyWrites@gmail.com>  Subject: RE: Earlier meeting?

Dear Rey,

I’m truly sorry for my delay in responding to your email. I was just informed that the server at the office went down, which affected our email host and I am just now getting this message.

I would love to go over this with you sooner than we had planned. I have already reviewed the materials you had previously sent, so I believe I will be of much more use in hopefully helping you figure out where you want to go next. I do find it hard to believe that you’ve written yourself into a corner, you seem to have a great grasp on the characters and the story you want to tell.

I’d hate for any future requests to be severely delayed due to technological issues beyond our control. My cell phone number is 917-555-3298. 

I am available whenever. I suppose that’s the upside to a quarantine.

I look forward to receiving the materials and discussing them with you.

Ben

Benjamin Solo Editor Rebel Publishing, LLC

-----

Ben: I think it’s abusing your power as owner of a company to go through and change your employee’s email signatures without consent.

Mom: I have no idea what you are talking about.

Mom: Benjamin

------

929-555-4593: Hi Ben. This is Rey. I just got your email and figured I’d send you a message so you have my number. I sent over what I’ve been working on. I’m also free whenever. So, just tell me when and I’ll be there.

Rey Johnson: Thanks again for agreeing to meet up with me earlier than planned. I appreciate it. 

-------

Rey threw on a blazer over the red tank top she had been wearing for the last two days when she got the Zoom invite from Ben. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror to the side of her desk, double checking to make sure she didn’t have dried mascara on her cheeks and that her hair looked moderately presentable.

She clicked on the link in the email and---

Oh

Ben wore glasses. Ben wore glasses and Rey was not at all prepared for how he looked wearing them. Really, it didn’t seem quite fair that something as innocuous as glasses managed to make him go skyrocketing up from ‘fairly attractive’ to ‘how inappropriate would it be to initiate sexting with her new editor that she had maybe spent a grand total of twenty minutes communicating with’ in her mind. 

Rey really, really needed the stay home order lifted. Clearly, she was worse off than she thought.

“Hey,” Ben greeted her. “How are you surviving the stay home order?”

“Oh great. Some might even say I’ve been thriving,” Rey rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she laughed. “At least I’ve been able to get a lot of writing done.”

“I would say,” Ben ran his hand through his hair, and Rey could hear him clicking open something on his computer. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve only skimmed through everything you sent over today. So, depending on what has you stuck, I’m not positive this will be a very productive meeting.”

“The part I think I’m stuck at?” Rey opened the word document on her computer, her eyes narrowing in confusion. “You mean it isn’t obvious?”

“I guess, no?” Ben responded, and Rey can tell from the way he’s focusing on his computer screen that he must be going through the document again. “I just assumed you were stuck on what to do after Kira took Kylo’s hand? But that didn’t make much sense either because you have such a clear plan for the story.”

“Kira doesn’t take Kylo’s hand.”

Ben glanced up to the camera, his mouth slightly open. “What?”

“Kira doesn’t take Kylo’s hand,” Rey repeated, lifting her shoulders in a small shrug. “At least not yet.”

“What do you mean she doesn’t take his hand yet?” Ben asked, and Rey has to bite down on her lip to keep herself from laughing at how insulted he sounded. “You’ve spent the last eight chapters building their relationship for her to take his hand.”

“That doesn’t mean that this is the right moment,” Rey pointed out. “I’m not sure it’s the right moment.”

“Okay,” Ben leaned back in his chair, lifting his hands to rest behind his head. “I guess I’m going to need you to explain to me what you think the right moment will be then.”

“That might take awhile,” Rey admitted. “I don’t know that I even know the answer to that.” 

“That’s okay,” Ben said with an encouraging smile. “I have plenty of time.”

-----

They ended up talking for over two hours. By the end of the call, Rey at least had a better idea of the different paths she could take Kira and Kylo down. Even if she still didn't know which one she would choose.

But they also talked about other things besides the book and Rey's struggles with where the characters should go. Rey discovered that Ben was also sheltering in place by himself. She was pretty amused when Ben didn’t immediately end the video call when she started discussing the finer points of being ordered to stay in, like what Netflix show he was binge watching and whether or not he had enough toilet paper to last.

She was oddly unsurprised when he refused to discuss his toilet paper situation with her and when he said that he didn’t watch a lot of TV and wasn’t planning on binge watching anything. Rey gave him a week before he caved on that.

It was nice. 

Rey’s mood had significantly improved half way through the conversation. She had forgotten just how wonderful it was to talk to someone else. It also didn’t hurt that Ben Solo wasn’t exactly hard to look at for two hours. It wasn't even the obvious physical features that Rey found herself thinking about hours later, although she was certainly going to be thinking about them for a while. But Ben had a certain way of moving and mannerisms that only added to them. 

Getting to know someone over a video call was interesting. Rey kept waiting for the normal wave of must look away to hit her like it would if they had been face to face. Staring at someone the entire time you were together wasn't normal.

If they had been in person, Rey would have felt uncomfortable with the amount of time she had spent just staring at him. Noticing the way his hands dwarfed the size of his coffee cup and the way he talked with his hands when he was particularly passionate about whatever he was saying.

She particularly liked how his face was open when she said something he disagreed with, the way he would narrow his eyes and shake his head, but waited until she was done to raise his counterpoints. There was something about the way that he was just himself that was refreshing. 

He listened intently, scribbling down notes when she talked about the story. Even when she started mentioning shows that he should watch, if he were to get really desperate, and he pretended to be uninterested, Rey was fairly positive she saw him write them down as well. 

They set up another meeting in two days, and Rey was determined to have at least made a decision on whether or not Kira was going to take Kylo’s hand by then.  She had to admit that Ben had made a convincing argument as to why it was the right moment for the characters to move forward together. 

Rey sat down at her writing desk, opening up the current version of her project, and began writing.

[artificialqueens]

You Know You Love Me, Chapter 1 (Branjie) - Kiki

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first time writing for this fandom so very sincere apologies if it sucks lol. I had the idea of doing a Branjie Gossip Girl AU a while back and just couldn’t seem to get it out of my head so I had to write it! Hope you enjoy! 

Hey Upper East Siders, Gossip Girl here. And I have the biggest news ever. Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand: Brooke Lynn Hytes. Was it only a year ago our It Girl mysteriously disappeared for “boarding school”? And just as suddenly, she’s back. Don’t believe me? See for yourselves. XOXO, Gossip Girl.

The bright yellow cab pulled into the valet parking area quite quickly after leaving Grand Central Station. As Brooke Lynn Hytes went to reach for the door, she found that it was already opened for her, the concierge staff of the luxurious Palace Hotel never letting their guests lift a finger. To her left, she saw that her suitcases had been removed from the car and after she paid the driver, the doorman was already holding the door open for her, ready for her arrival.

“Welcome Back, Miss Brooke”, said Vanya, one of the hotels employees who had been taking care of Brooke’s family for years.

“Thanks, Vanya”, Brooke replied as she quickly walked to the elevator and immediately pressed the button for the Penthouse Suite. It had been a year since she had left for boarding school and although her mother had come to visit her once or twice throughout the school year, she had missed her a lot. She missed the fast-paced life that living in New York City had to offer compared to the boring life she had led in her boarding school in Connecticut. She missed her apartment, her bed, her friends and surprisingly, her school. But right now, all she wanted was to spend some time with her mom and catch up on everything she had missed.

The elevator doors opened and Brooke was greeted with a completely different apartment to the one she had left behind. The bright red couch, the colourful art pieces on the wall and the bright painted walls were all gone. Found in their place were boring and bland grey furniture that made Brooke feel like she was back at boarding school.

“Brooke Lynn, honey, you’re home!” Mrs Hytes announced as she immediately embraced her daughter in a tight hug. Brooke Lynn responded by hugging her mom back even tighter, inhaling the scent of her Chanel No. 5 perfume as if it were the oxygen she needed in her lungs to stay alive. As they pulled away, Brooke could feel her mother eyeing her up and down, clearly judging the casual outfit of jeans and converse that she had thrown on when packing up this morning.

“I…like what you’ve done with the place, Mom, it’s very…different”, Brooke lied as she looked at one of the newer pieces of art on the wall, a picture of the Manhattan skyline, trying to distract her mom from nagging her about her outfit choice. Not everyone had the energy to wear a blazer, skirt and heels at 11am on a Sunday morning, especially not after an almost four-hour train journey.

“Well, I decided the place needed more of an adult feel to it considering it was just me living here for the past year. Although, I do think that this outfit of yours could do with a bit of an improvement, my new partner will be here soon and I wanted you to make a good first impression on him, not make him think you work at Forever 21 during your free time.” Mrs Hytes said with yet another disapproving look at Brooke’s outfit, specifically her shoes. But that wasn’t what Brooke chose to focus on.

Her mother had a habit of dating her way through all of the most powerful men in the world of New York real estate and she really shouldn’t be surprised that there was yet another boyfriend she had to be introduced to, but she was shocked that her mother didn’t want to even spend time with her after being separated from each other for so long.

“Really, mom? I was thinking we could go out, get brunch in the restaurant downstairs and then maybe go shopping or catch a movie.”

“Come on, Brooke, this is important to me. We can do that stuff anytime we want to, but Brian is a very busy man and we’ve been together for six months now, it’s about time you two met, so please do us all a favour and go get dressed!” Mrs Hytes sighed as she smoothed the non-existent wrinkles from her skirt out, sounding as uninterested as she possibly could in the conversation they were having.

“Actually, mom, I’m not feeling too well so I’m just going to go and rest. But I’m sure I can meet husband number 5 another time.” Brooke said quietly as she ran up the long stairs to her bedroom, which she prayed had not been touched in her mother’s awful home renovation.

—

1 year ago

Brooke Lynn walked out of the elevator and took her heels off immediately, sighing in relief as her bare feet touched the cool tiles of the floor beneath her. She slowly walked up the stairs to her bedroom, trying not to stumble or wake her mother up with her loud noise.

She had just been at a club opening with all of her class from school – a big final night out before school started up again for the fall semester. The night ended up with all of them having way too many cocktails and dancing on the dancefloor until 3am, when her curfew was supposed to be at midnight. As she tiptoed down the long hallway to her bedroom, she regretted not taking up Vanessa’s offer of sleeping over at her house but she had a feeling that her mom would be super pissed if she didn’t come home that night – her grades from last year had been really bad and she had missed curfew multiple times over summer vacation.

As she tried to open the door to her room slowly and quietly, she found her mom sitting on her bedroom floor with a bottle of tequila in her hand.

“Mom, what are you—”

“Jesus Christ, Brooke, where have you been? You were supposed to be home four hours ago,” her mom screamed as she got up onto her feet, still clutching the bottle of tequila. “And what the hell is this? Are you an alcoholic now too? As well as almost getting expelled for your awful grades and coming home whenever you feel like it, you’ve decided that drinking all of your problems away will help you? Come on, Brooke, seriously.”

“Well, I learnt from the best.” Brooke replied as she shoved past her mom and went to her closet to find some pyjamas. Her head was spinning and she was exhausted, all she wanted to do was go to bed and sleep it off.

“You’re not getting away with this, Brooke. You have to learn that there are consequences to your actions.” Mrs Hytes announced as she stormed out of the room, her heels still clacking against the wooden floors even though it was the middle of the night. Brooke rolled her eyes as she changed into pyjama shorts and a hoodie and climbed into her soft bed. Yeah, she really regretted not going to stay with Vanessa.

She woke up the next morning to the sound of her mother’s voice ordering people around – quite a regular sound to wake up to in the Hytes household. Except this time, it sounded like the noise was coming from right inside her room. She slowly opened her eyes as she realised how hungover she must be. When her eyes fluttered open, she saw that her closet was empty and that there were five large suitcases standing at her bedroom door. There were also two housekeepers packing the contents of her vanity and her nightstand into a sixth suitcase.

“Mom, what are they doing? Why are you taking all my stuff?” Brooke asked. Suddenly, the memories of the previous night came flooding back to her: her mom finding her hidden alcohol and not reacting well to it.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, Brooke Lynn, and you’ve left me with no choice. Manhattan isn’t a good place for you to be in right now.” Her mother replied without even looking at her, instead she handed over a hanger with a black pencil skirt, white blouse and a blazer that had “Knightley Boarding School” written in a small font across the front. Her eyes widened in horror as she immediately jumped out of bed to try and plead with her mom.

“Please mom, no, you can’t send me to boarding school. I love my life here, you can’t make me leave my friends, please mom, I’m begging you!” she yelled as she felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. She couldn’t imagine her life without Vanessa by her side, they’ve been best friends for what feels like their entire lives and the thought of having to go to school without her made Brooke’s heart feel like it was being snapped into two pieces.

She started to panic and began looking around the room for her phone, checking her nightstand and the clutch bag she had been using the previous night, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

“Are you looking for this?” Mrs Hytes questioned as she held up Brooke’s silver flip phone in the air. “I’ll have it sent to Connecticut when I can see that your grades are going up and your behaviour is improving.” Brooke couldn’t hold her tears in anymore and while she would normally feel embarrassed about crying in front of the people who work for her family, this time she couldn’t care less.

“Please mom, I need to call Vanessa, I need to tell her where I’m going to be, she’ll be so worried if I just disappear!” Brooke tried to coke out in between her sobbing as she felt large tears rolling down her face.

“I’ll tell Vanessa where you are and she can write to you until you get your phone back. Stop being so dramatic, Brooke Lynn, I’m sure there will be a phone there that you can use to call her if it’s as important as you’re making it out to be. Now get dressed, please. The car will be here at nine.” Her mother exited the room with the housekeepers following closely behind her.

Brooke sat down on her bed again and tried to calm herself down. She managed to get her breathing back to normal but couldn’t stop the tears from slowly rolling down her face. She grabbed a framed picture from her vanity – it was a picture of her and Vanessa that was taken while they were visiting one of the Mateo’s vacation homes in Italy. That was one of the happiest days of Brooke’s life. She had gotten to spend the entire day with just Vanessa. They spent the day by the pool, swimming and sun bathing until Vanessa’s parents returned home that evening. She always felt her happiest when she was with Vanessa and that was evident from how big her smile was in that photo. She quickly unzipped one of the suitcases and slid the photo inside, returning back to her vanity to get herself ready for what she was sure was going to be one of the most upsetting days of her life.

—

Now

The white walls, high ceilings and expensive furniture of the Mateo family’s Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment usually made Vanessa feel completely relaxed and at ease. But not today. Today, it seemed like everyone in that apartment was doing their absolute best to piss her off.

Planning and organising had always been a skill of Vanessa’s. Give her the task of planning any kind of event and she would rise to the occasion flawlessly every single time, provided the people around her cooperated with her every wish. If they didn’t, they would have to deal with the wrath of Vanessa Mateo raining down upon them. She was trying her very best to plan the Kiss On The Lips party, a party that was held at the beginning of each school year to welcome all of the students back and was always guaranteed to be a glamorous night, which is why Vanessa was going through every single detail to make sure that they are all up to her standards.

With her pink clipboard in hand, she stomped around the apartment making sure that each planning station she had set up was running smoothly. She had a decorations table where the decorators were preparing samples of the table pieces, she had the caterers serving samples of the food they were planning to cook on the night and, her favourite station, the design station. She had her dress custom made months ago, approved by her fashion designer mother, of course. Her two closest friends, Akeria and Silky, were trying on their dresses.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Vanessa screamed in horror as she looked at the decorating teams attempt at incorporating roses into the table pieces. “It’s peonies or nothing on those tables, I thought I made that very clear in the brief I emailed you WEEKS AGO!” Akeria rolled her eyes as she heard the shrill of Vanessa’s uptight voice, wishing for the moment the party was over so she could go back to having fun with Vanessa instead of having to deal with her stressful outbursts.

“What do you think of my dress, V?” Silky asked, twirling in front of the mirror with a massive smile on her face. “It’s hot, right?” Vanessa’s eyes shot up from her clipboard. She took a large deep breath in and out to try and calm herself down as soon as she laid her eyes upon Silky’s dress.

“I thought I made it very clear that I was wearing a strapless dress, Silky.”

“So what? They’re both completely different!” Silky argued back.

“Does anyone listen to me around here? I swear to God, I told all of you people exactly what I wanted from you weeks ago and here we are, just a few days away from the hottest party of the year and everything is awful! Dorota!” Vanessa yelled at her number one trusted housekeeper who immediately was at her side, as usual, ready to try her best to solve all of Vanessa’s problems.

“Dorota, did you or did you not send everybody in this room my list of demands for this stupid party?”

“Of course I did, Miss Vanessa, I sent to each and every person as soon as you were done typing on your phone.” Dorota said proudly, her thick Polish accent coming through as she spoke.

Suddenly, a beeping noise rang out of all three of the teenage girls’ phones, which can mean only one thing: the latest Gossip Girl blast of the day had just been posted. Vanessa immediately rolled her eyes and shoved her phone away from Dorota’s outstretched hand, wanting to focus on the party planning and not whatever gossip was being shared at that moment. She would save the gossip for later, when she was having her nightly bubble bath.

“Oh my God!” Silky said in shock as she held her phone out to Akeria so she could see what was on her screen.

“Why didn’t V tell us that Brooke was coming back?” Akeria whispered as quietly as she possibly could, not wanting to aggravate her friend even more. Silky shrugged and shook her head.

“V, when were you gonna tell us Brooke Lynn was back? This is huge news!” Akeria said excitedly, happy that the fourth and final member of their tightknit group was finally back in New York.

“What? Show me that!” Vanessa grabbed her phone from Dorota and opened the website as quickly as she possibly could and sure enough, there it was: a picture of her former best friend Brooke Lynn Hytes standing in Grand Central Station, her perfect blonde hair blowing in the wind as she made her way through the train station.

Akeria eyed her friend up and down sceptically.

“You didn’t know she was coming back?”

“Of course I did, I just…forgot.” Vanessa’s hands were slightly trembling and she could feel her hands starting to beat faster. She hadn’t seen Brooke in a whole year and she wasn’t sure she wanted to see her again so soon considering Brooke hadn’t even bothered to let Vanessa know that she was moving away, let alone say goodbye.

She stood in the middle of the hallway with her phone clutched tightly in her hand as she glared down at the picture of the girl she loved, completely in her own world and unaware of the things going on around her.

—

2 years ago

Brooke and Vanessa sat on Brooke’s four poster canopy bed, the latest issues of Vogue littering the mattress as well as the chocolate covered strawberries and glasses of champagne that the two girls were slowly making their way through. They were both wearing pyjamas with black silk robes over them as they tried to enjoy their last moments of freedom that summer break had to offer before they had to start their sophomore year of high school.

Vanessa watched Brooke as she animatedly described all of the things they were going to do that year. All the parties they’d host, the new restaurants they’d try out, the places they’d travel to during their winter and spring break. Vanessa, usually being the louder one in their friendship, was happy to sit back and listen to her best friend when she was this excited about something, especially if she was involved in the plans that Brooke was making.

“This year is gonna be different, Ness. This is gonna be our year. We’re gonna rule that school together.” Brooke said while she grabbed a strawberry from the box and slowly started to bite the chocolate off of it.

“Don’t we always?” replied Vanessa, a single eyebrow raised as if to challenge Brooke’s statement.

“Come on, V, you know what I mean. We’re closer than we’ve ever been…this year is all about you and me. Nobody else.” Brooke said, getting quieter towards the end of her sentence.

“Nobody else?”

“Just you and me, Nessa.”

—

Now

“Hey, earth to Vanessa!” Silky shouted, her hand waving in front of Vanessa’s face. Vanessa’s eyes were still glued to her phone, to the picture of Brooke Lynn that she quickly removed from her screen and snapped her head up guiltily.

“You have to get that little freshman girl Plastique to make an invitation for Brooke! She’s gonna love this party now that she’s back, especially because she didn’t have to help plan any of it.” Akeria said with a laugh.

“She’s not invited.” Vanessa said simply.

“What do you mean she’s not invited? Why not?” Akeria asked, her perfectly arched brow raised as high as it could possibly go.

“The party’s planned and adding another person to the guestlist would throw everything off. You’ve seen how incompetent everybody here is today…I’m not risking the success of the entire party just for Brooke Lynn.” Vanessa looked up to find Silky, Akeria and also Dorota were staring at her, clearly extremely confused, but at that point in time she just simply didn’t have the energy to care.

“What are you guys doing? Get back to work! You need to find a new dress that isn’t copying my entire style, Silky, remember? Maybe focus your energy into that instead.” With that, Vanessa stormed up the stairs into her bedroom, slamming the door on her way in. she was not in the mood to be messed with right now.

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ [Thanksgiving Special! 🦃]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 4,439

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“Oh, oh, oh, it’s Thanksgiving, we’re gonna have a good time. With the turkey ey! and mashed potatoes ey!. We are gonna have a good time. It’s Thanksgiving~” Nicole Westbrook, “It’s Thanksgiving”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

Oh look, the Author’s Note is at the top this time. I bet you’re thinking, ‘Well shit, this can’t be good!’ And you’d be right 😂 Okay so, I wanted to write a special for Thanksgiving right and I had these plans to make it this shit fest of just absolute crack and humor right. WELL if you know anything about me you know that I go back to angst by default. Like, you know how when you play online games, sometimes your settings just reset on their own and then you gotta go and turn off the music and turn the subtitles back on and why the fuck is PVP ticked on?? That’s basically me okay. I auto default back to angst unless I changed the settings again lmfao

So, I started this off, full fucking intent on being funny right. Yeah, no. Runaway while you fucking can. It got so fucking heavy in the middle and it’s just… I’m sorry bro. That’s all I can say. It might make you cry? I mean, I’m a sensitive lil bitch and I cried while I wrote it sooo~ But fear not! I gave it a cheerful, happy and somewhat enlightening/inspiring ending?? At least I think so anyway… Also, you don’t have to celebrate Thanksgiving to enjoy this! Oh yeah, and don’t @ me about facts, I literally used Wikipedia because I’m an uncultured fuck that knows nothing about Thanksgiving even though I live in the USA lmao Don’t fucking @ me about the song I chose either 😂 I ain’t adding that shit to the playlist tho.

So yeah! Read this shit, cry into your snuggie or your dog that looks like a mop and then go enjoy some turkey or hug your mum. Don’t forget to reblog this chapter because I’m a hoe for them reblogs ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

☔ Rain

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

The door to class 1-A slammed open with so much force, it bounced off the wall and came back, stopped only by a gloved hand. An obnoxiously loud voice filled the room, “Are you ready, kids?!”

“Aye aye, captain!” I jumped up, automatically answering only to curse myself a moment later when he smirked. “Bitch, this ain’t Spongebob!!”

He clicked his tongue and gave me double finger guns. “But you responded!”

I slumped into my seat in frustration.

Present Mic approached the board, picking up a piece of bright orange chalk before writing a word on the board in English: Thanksgiving. He slapped his palm under the word, making several pieces of chalk fall to the floor. “We’re going to be talking about the meaning of Thanksgiving in Western Countries, most notably in the United States!”

“Sir!” Iida’s hand shot into the air.

“Thanks for calling, listener! What is your request?!”

Iida stood tall. “With all due respect, sir, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Japan, we celebrate National Labor Day.”

“You’re correct… almost! Many people consider National Labor Day to be Japan’s Thanksgiving! Plus, I’m your English teacher, so why not take this time to talk about a wonderful holiday where you get to stuff your face with as much food as you can handle without being looked at like a weirdo?!”

“It doesn’t matter what you do,” I commented blankly. “People will always think you’re a weirdo, cockatiel.”

“Hey, aren’t you American, Winchester?” Kaminari questioned, tilting his head back to look at me.

I shrugged. “My mom was American, but I was born in Japan. I mean, Gramps taught me English and we had a small dinner every Thanksgiving to ‘celebrate my heritage’ or some shit, but I don’t really know the details about the holiday.”

“Which is what I’m here for!” He slapped the board again, giving up a grin. “Now pay close attention, listeners! In America, Thanksgiving occurs on the fourth Thursday of November every year! In Western Countries, this holiday is known to be the moment to thank the Native American people for helping European pilgrims to survive their first winter in the United States! Typically, this is a day when families come together from across the country to be with their loved ones and feast!”

I hummed. “Gramps used to always make me watch these American pageants where grade-schoolers put on plays reenacting the interaction between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. I remember one year, this kid was dressed in a fucking black trash bag stuffed with newspaper.”

“Plays are very popular in schools all across the states!” He nodded his head. “Can anyone tell me what year that Thanksgiving became a federal holiday in the USA?” He cupped his ear, but the only thing he got in response was a cricket that had snuck into the room a week ago to avoid the approaching chill settling over Japan. That fucker is really good at hide-n-seek because we still can’t find him and he’s at the back of the room so it’s like he’s in my fucking ear. “That’s right, the year is 1863! Before that, it was celebrated off and on since 1789 but the third president, Thomas Jefferson, just wasn’t feeling the holiday so he put a stop to it!”

“Seems suspect,” I responded.

“Now, who can tell me about the First Thanksgiving?!”

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.

My eye twitched and I turned in my seat, eyes scanning the back wall. Where the fuck is that goddamn cricket?! I swear to Deadpool I’m gonna roast that bitch when I finally fucking find it.

“Right again, my impressionable listeners! The First Thanksgiving was created by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621! The feast lasted a total of three days and, according to one attendee named Edward Winslow, there were one-hundred-forty-three rockin’ attendees – ninety Native Americans and fifty-three Pilgrims!” He continued to drone on about the history of Thanksgiving in the states, listing off several different dates and names I couldn’t be bothered to remember.

I mean, History is cool, I guess, but when am I ever gonna need to know this stuff to function as a member of today’s society? Especially here in Japan, where American norms aren’t focused on at all? Plus, that fucking cricket is all I can think about!

“By the way, there will be a test on this and if you fail, you get remedial lessons with me, your chart-topping host!!”

Oh, fuck me.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

I stepped out into the chilly night, my breath coming in puffs of smoke as I walked. Aizawa didn’t like us to leave the dorms after dark, but there was no specific rule about it as long as we stayed on campus. It was two in the morning, and I had been tossing and turning in my bed since I got there. It hadn’t bothered me at first when Mic brought up Thanksgiving, but now that it was just a couple days away, I’m starting to get restless.

This would be my first Thanksgiving without Gramps…

I fell onto the icy cold stone bench, letting my head fall back to stare up at the navy sky. It looked like ribbons of velvet, bright stars dotting across it like sequins caught under the light. The moon was a perfect crescent.

“Jen?”

I glanced over, seeing Zuku with his arms wrapped tight around his body. Even with the thick sweater he wore, it was obvious he was cold. I patted the bench beside me and he sat down, letting me throw my arms around his body. I focused on my quirk, raising my body temperature to warm him up. “Why are you awake?”

“I got up to use the bathroom and spotted you out the window.” He frowned up at me, his brow furrowed. “You look so��� sad. What’s wrong?”

My grip tightened around him and I smiled sadly. “I guess I am a bit sad… This is my first Thanksgiving without Gramps, so… it kinda hurts, you know?”

“Oh, I see… I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. Just something you gotta deal with, ya know? It’s life, and life is full of unfairness.”

“Will you… tell me about it?” He asked softly, playing with his fingers in his lap. “About what the two of you did each year? If it’s not too painful, I mean…”

“I’d love to,” I ruffled his hair and closed my eyes. “Let’s see – Gramps thought it was important for us to celebrate Thanksgiving because my mother was American. ‘It’s part of who you are, kitten, so we must celebrate!’ is what he’d always tell me. He spent the first five years learning everything he could about the holiday because he wanted it to be authentic and at age five, he started hosting a small feast for the two of us each year.”

“It sounds like he loved you a lot.”

“Yeah… Yeah, he did. We were each other’s world, the only two people we had in life. It was just us against the world!” I chuckled, but it held no humor. “Gramps was a hell of a good chef. He always used to attribute that to the fact that he worked for near six years in a restaurant with his father before the man died and the place had to be sold. Cooking reminded him of a simpler time, so he took pride in everything he cooked. Now that I think about it… that was the first time I met Skye and Heather.”

“Friends of yours?”

“Nah, they made my life hell growing up.” I waved my hand. “I don’t think they remembered this, but I met them once when I was seven. They lived a couple blocks down from us and Gramps had met them on several of his midday walks. Skye was half-Japanese on her mother’s side, while her dad was American and Heather was full American but her family moved to Japan just a year or two previously. Since Gramps wanted to make Thanksgiving as authentic as possible, he went to them for advice. Sky’s father had asked his grandma back home to send a few of her recipes for the holiday and that’s when I met Skye for the first time. He stopped by on his way to work to drop them off and she was with him, but she took one look at me and turned her nose up.”

“You were bullied?” He asked softly, lowering his head. “I never would have thought that.”

“Yeah, but it didn’t start until I was twelve.” I chuckled. “Anyway, we didn’t have much money to work with, but he saved up with every paycheck for months in advance. Just small amounts from each check and then the week before Thanksgiving, he’d take the money he saved and go all out, buying a Turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie, the works. Some of the shit he couldn’t even get in our town, he had to travel to specialty shops or order the ingredients online from overseas. I kept telling him it was too much work, but he was a stubborn old man.”

Izuku shifted in my arms, his head on my shoulder. “Tell me more about him,” his voice was soft and growing husky as sleep started to claim him.

I hummed softly. “He liked what the day symbolized – families coming together to be thankful for the people in their lives and for the things they were gifted with. To be honest, I often wondered as a child if he regretted raising me, but I knew that was wrong as I got older. It was almost like… raising me gave him a purpose, a reason to face every day with a smile. And I guess in a way… he was the same for me. I remember it so clearly, waking up at one in the morning on Thanksgiving day to sounds in the kitchen. I’d sneak down the hallway, careful of that stupid ass board on the right that always creaked when you stepped on it. And there he was, seeming to radiate warmth and happiness as he bustled around the kitchen getting all the dishes ready for that day.”

I smiled, my hands fisting around his jacket as I took a shaky breath. “He always wore that stupid ass apron I gave him on his birthday in fifth grade. It was this god awful snot yellow color with lime green stripes. If you stared at it too long, you’d go fucking cross-eyed. And it had this… hell, even to this day I don’t know what it was. I think it was a Rhino in a chef’s hat but I guess it coulda been a hippo? Or a fat giraffe with a short neck. He was convinced it was a Thanksgiving Zebra, but I still think he’s nuts. There’s no way that was a damn Zebra, and I would literally list the reasons why it couldn’t be, but he’d just listen intently with a bright smile, nodding his head to show that he was listening. And once I was done ranting, he’d pat my head and simply say, ‘Thanksgiving Zebras are quite special’. I swear he was batty.”

Zuku chuckled. “What makes a Zebra a Thanksgiving Zebra?”

“They have to be fat as fuck apparently. And orange. At least I think it was orange. It coulda just been a really dark yellow. I’m telling you, this apron was all kinds of wrong! I will never understand what I was thinking when I looked at that thing in the store and was like, ‘This is feckin’ awesome, he’s gonna love it!’. But he did love it, wore it every time he cooked, even on the rare occasions we had guests over. He wore it without shame and always with a smile.”

“Because it was from you, so it was special.”

“Hmm, probably, yeah.” I sighed deeply. “Come on, let’s get you to bed, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I wanted to hear more stories,” he pouted, but he was clearly having trouble holding his eyes open.

“I promise to tell you some more later, okay?” I stood up, putting my arms under his body and lifting him into my arms. He snuggled closer, mumbling something under his breath before sleep finally claimed him. I held him closer, feeling my eyes sting with tears, but I forced them back. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t cry, not until I’ve earned the right to do so.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Hey, Jen, wait up!”

I paused in the hallway, glancing over my shoulder. Ryuu was dodging students as he headed toward me, smiling brightly. When he finally reached me, he threw his arms around my neck, pulling me into a hug. I chuckled, hugging him back. “Hello to you, too. What’s up?”

“Are you busy?” He questioned, pulling away.

“Uhh, I got a shit-ton of homework that I probably won’t do and might accidentally burn but that’s about it.” I grinned.

He huffed, putting his hand on his hip. “You better not! You’re not allowed to get kicked from the hero course because you refuse to do your work.”

“Yes, mother.”

He nudged my shoulder but I didn’t miss the way his lips twitched up. “What do you say we hang out at the library for a bit and work on it together?”

I hummed. “Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to lure me away, Hiryuu Rin~”

“As if,” he teased, tugging on my hand. “Come on, let’s get to it!”

“But learning is so boring~”

“You won’t be a hero with that attitude~”

“Last time I checked, pros don’t have to go around dividing letters with numbers to defeat villains,” I grumbled, throwing my head back.

He hummed. “True, but what if you come across a math villain?”

“Punch him in the dick.”

He sweatdropped. “What if he has hostages and he’ll only release them if you solve his math problems?”

I looked at him blankly. “What are the actual chances of that fucking happening, Ryuu?”

He huffed, puffing out his cheeks. “It could happen!”

I poked his inflated cheek with a chuckle. “Anything is possible, I guess.”

Ryuu led me to the back of the library, settling down in the corner. The next few hours were spent taking turns on our homework assignments. I was able to help him with a couple subjects, while he had my back for some of the harder ones, like math. And then there was physics, which left us both fucking stumped.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

The librarian peeked her head around a large bookshelf, her tired, dull eyes landing on us. “Library’s about to close. Time to leave.”

I glanced out the window and clicked my tongue. “Damn, we were here for a while. It’s dark out.”

He nodded, stuffing his books into his bag. “They say time flies when you’re having fun, but…”

“We weren’t having fun at all,” I pointed out and he shrugged, stifling a yawn.

“Can I come back to your dorm?”

“Ho~? I didn’t know you were so forward, Ryuu.” I wiggled my eyebrows at him and he rolled his eyes, rubbing his arms as we stepped out into the cold.

“I was thinking more along the lines of hot chocolate and a movie.”

“Well, that’s no fun.”

“Just what were you thinking…” he muttered under his breath before shaking his head at my grin. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know!”

The walk to 1-A’s dorm passed in comfortable silence, Ryuu practically glued to my side as he soaked up the warmth from my body. I wonder if his body reacts negatively to the cold because of his reptile-like quirk. I should ask him about that later.

We stepped inside and I immediately froze in the doorway, my eyes wide.

Ryuu took his shoes off, looking back at me curiously. “Jen? What’s wrong?”

“I, uh…” I swallowed hard, covering my mouth and closing my eyes. As soon as I stepped into the building, the smell of food had wafted to my nose, almost as if it were waiting at the door to tease me. It smells just like… like the house did every Thanksgiving morning. It’s the exact same smell.

A hand rested on my shoulder, Ryuu looking at me with worry. “Do you feel sick?”

“No, I just…” I took a breath, forcing a smile as I tried to ignore the smell. “Sorry, just remembered something.”

“Are you sure? You look pale…”

I chuckled, pushing past him. “I was born pale. You up for grabbing the hot chocolate and heading to my room for the movie? Not really in the mood for socializing.” I stepped into the kitchen and froze for the second time. What the fuck?

“If you’re not in the mood for socializing, that might be a problem, Winchester.” Kirishima grinned.

“You better fucking get in the mood, bitch!” Katsuki scowled, his face twisted up.

“Welcome home, Jen.” Izuku greeted, brightly.

“Huh, class A certainly loves going over the top for everything, don’t they?!” Monoma laughed, but it didn’t have its usual mocking undertone to it.

“I hope you don’t mind us joining you guys,” Kendo smiled, tilting her head.

My eyes scanned the faces of classes A and B, all stuffed into the kitchen around the table that had been covered in various dishes of food – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole… Am I dreaming? I don’t… I can’t…

Ryuu embraced me, his hand finding my cheek. “You’re crying…”

“What? No, I -” I lifted my hand, wiping at my eyes. I am crying. I’m crying in front of both classes. They’re supposed to look at me and be reassured and feel safe, how can they do that if I’m crying my eyes out? Why am I even crying?

Momo and Ashido rushed over to me, pushing Ryuu away as they fussed over me, squishing me between them. “We’re sorry, we should have asked first!”

“Yeah, don’t cry, Jen!” Ashido squeezed me tighter.

“I don’t… know why I’m crying…” I sobbed, rubbing at my eyes furiously but the tears wouldn’t stop coming.

Izuku smiled sadly as he approached, pulling my hands away from my face. “All Might thinks you haven’t properly grieved for Gramps. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to do this, to give you a chance to… to… properly grieve and to realize… to realize that you’re not alone!” His shoulders shook as his eyes filled with tears.

“Damn it, Deku! You’re supposed to make her feel better not start crying with her!!” Katsuki slammed his hand on the table, the silverware rattling.

“Can I… have a minute, please?” I asked softly.

The two girls exchanged a look before hesitantly pulling away. I bowed my head and stepped out of the kitchen, heading back out through the doorway. As soon as it clicked, I leaned back and slid down, my body shaking from the effort it took to hold back the rest of my tears.

‘Remember, kitten, life isn’t always easy. More often than not, you will face hardships and pain that will be so bad, you will begin to question why it has to be that way. However, just as happiness is often fleeting, so, too, is sadness. You may think that crying makes you a weak person, but I assure you it does not. Crying is a sign that you’ve been strong for too long, and there is no shame in it. Don’t be afraid to show your emotions, kitten. They are not your weakness, they are your strength.’

“Young Jen?”

“Toshi…” I sobbed, tears flowing down my cheeks as my body shook.

Warmth flooded me as I was brought into a strong chest, arms wrapped tight around me. A tired voice sighed from somewhere behind him, “I told you this was a bad idea.”

“Shouta…”

He kneeled beside us, his hand gently rubbing the top of my head. “Sorry, I should’ve stopped them.”

I shook my head. “No, I… I just…”

Toshi rubbed my back comfortingly. “When young Midoriya came to me and told me about his conversation with you the other night, I saw this as a teaching moment. He wanted to get together with the rest of your class, as well as class B, to have a Thanksgiving dinner in honor of your Gramps. I knew this would be hard for you, but I was sure that it was the right thing to do. You accepted the fact that he was gone, but you never grieved for him, did you?”

I shook my head, clutching his sweater between my fingers.

“When we lose someone we love, closure is important for us to heal and move forward. And… I worry that you might feel alone in this new world, but you have impacted those around you, even those from class B. They were more than happy to help out when young Midoriya explained things to them.” Toshi pushed me backward, grasping me by the shoulders and giving me his signature smile. “You are surrounded by people who love you, my dear Jen. Never forget that.”

And I smiled back, even with the tears still falling from my eyes.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

When I returned to the kitchen twenty minutes later, several worried eyes snapped to me, no doubt noticing my red and swollen eyes, but I smiled brightly at them to ease their worries, stepping aside to let the two teachers inside.

“Hey, All Might made it!” Kaminari cheered.

“And Aizawa-sensei, too!” Kishima grinned.

“Does that mean we can eat now? I’m fucking starving,” Katsuki complained, his arm thrown over the back of the chair as he glared at the ceiling.

“Yes, let’s dig in!” Momo clapped her hands excitedly and the room sprung to life, everyone squeezing into the chairs around the table. Not everyone could fit, of course, and they ended up sitting off to the side or on the counters. All Might himself took up two and a half seats as he sat at the head of the table, laughing and chatting with the students as he told them stories from his youth.

I sat at the opposite end, between Shouta and Izuku, both of whom kept glancing at me with worry, though the greenette wasn’t trying to hide it like our teacher was. I chuckled, taking each of their hands with my own. “Thank you for this. It really means a lot to me.”

“Of course!” Izuku squeezed my hand, giving me a bright smile. Aizawa didn’t say anything, but he squeezed my other hand.

“You Sparky fuck, that turkey leg was mine!!”

“Huh? I don’t see your name on it, Bakugo.”

“Do you wanna die?!”

“Ahahaha! What deplorable manners class A has! Pathetic!”

“Be quiet, Monoma!”

“So many beautiful girls packed into one room, I just wanna touch them…”

“You’re disgusting!”

“Can you pass the cranberry sauce? Ribbit.”

“Here you go, frog girl!!”

“You’re too loud, Tetsu!”

“Hey, All Might, what was your favorite thing about America when you lived there?”

“That’s easy, young Kaibara! I loved seeing the -”

“Hey, you guys started without us!!” The room turned their attention to the doorway where Midnight, Gran and Present Mic stood. Midnight, who had spoken, huffed in annoyance. “There better be a turkey leg left!”

“Itps mjinre!” Katsuki mumbled around the turkey leg that he had stolen from Kaminari.

“You little brat, give it here!” She demanded, nearly jumping across the table to tackle him. His eyes grew wide and he took off, yelling obscenities at her as she chased him around the kitchen.

Gran approached me, putting her hand on my shoulder and smiling kindly. “Happy Thanksgiving, deary.”

I looked around the room, watching the chaos that was ensuing around me. And I smiled, my heart full of happiness and warmth. Things haven’t been easy, and I’m sure the road ahead of me is far from clear, but I’m surrounded by people that care about me, that I care about. Gramps… wherever you are right now, I want you to know that I’m okay. You don’t have to worry about me. These idiots may not be entirely sane and they may drive me up a wall sometimes but… they are home. My home.

“Hey, hey!” Mic raised his voice, making the glasses rattle. “Let’s go around and say what we’re thankful for! Start us off, Uraraka!”

She pulled a surprised face at suddenly being called before tilting her head and smiling. “I’m thankful that we can all be here together!”

“Excellent! Iida, you next!”

“I’m thankful to be with friends during this time of giving thanks!”

“That’s the same as what Uraraka just said but good job! Let’s keep this train a-rollin’, folks!”

“I’m thankful for music.”

“Boobs. Definitely boobs.”

“I’m thankful Bakugo didn’t kill me for that turkey leg…”

“I’m thankful that everyone here is so manly!”

“I’m thankful I’m not sitting next to Mineta…”

“Anime and manga, definitely.”

“I’d be thankful if this bitch would stop chasing me!!”

“And I’d be thankful if you’d give me that turkey leg you brat!”

“I’m thankful that all of you dears are healthy~”

“Hah, I’ll be thankful when class A finally goes down!”

“I’ll be thankful when I don’t have to babysit Monoma anymore…”

“I’m thankful I got to meet Kirishima!!”

“I’m thankful that I sparkle so beautifully. I am magnifi -”

“I’m thankful for this awesome food!”

“What about you, Jen?” Izuku asked, curiously.

“Me?” I hummed as several people looked at me expectantly. I grinned brightly. “Ain’t it obvious? I’m thankful for tacos!”

Zuku sweatdropped. “I shoulda guessed…”

“Well, you stick to your guns, at least, young Jen!”

“Speaking of,” I looked Zuku dead in the eye, my expression deadly serious. “Where the fuck are my tacos, bro?”

His body tensed and he swallowed hard. “Um, I… I didn’t see any mention of tacos when I was researching Thanksgiving…”

I clicked my tongue. “That’s fucking shameful, Zuku. No holiday is complete without tacos.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

I grinned, ruffling his messy hair. “Make sure you don’t forget next year, ‘kay?”

His face lit up and he nodded. “Of course!”

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

「“Give thanks for a little, and you will find a lot.” – Hausa Proverb」

「“People cry, not because they’re weak. It’s because they’ve been strong for too long.” – Johnny Depp」

「“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.” – William Shakespeare」

「“Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” – Franklin P. Jones」

「“We fall, we break, we fail. But then, we rise. We heal. We overcome.” – Unknown」

[pug gif]

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

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