#this really did come out of nowhere lol but it was a good dream

[rise-my-angel]

the discourse on jace and baela being the oh so perfect targ power couple that never was because mean little alicent and her brood were evil little usurpers is even funnier when you take into account that baela begged jace to marry her and he was like 'nah' and used the war as an excuse to turn her down lmaooooooo. the hot takes on these two being some beautifully in love power couple is headcanon lol

Making Baela bethroed to Jace and Rhaena to Luke was a PLOY to refuse the girls their birthright by way of making them marry the bastards trying to usurp it from them. That isn't giving them power, thats marrying them in a manner that denies what they are entitled to by blood.

The idea too that Jace would be the best of them as King, comes from no proof. We see none of that. Jace lies and allows his mother to take control of the situation with Aemond who was the victim who got mutilated. Jace did not protest the Driftmark debate when by marrying Baela it would force her right away from her. We see him what? Do things for his mothers side of the war she starts?

Is that a good King? A son who lets his vindictive mother dictate what he should be doing and why? Maybe he would be a good King, maybe he would be like the dozens of Kings before and after him that are not good and treat their wives like objects to birth sons and have little value of her life or agency beyond that.

Some of the best Targaryean Kings were still bad men especially when it came to women. People say that Viserys was a good King and loved his wife, well that didn't stop him from having her own midwives hold her down as she screamed in terror nor for him to butcher her like cattle all for the sake of a son that didn't even survive.

People say Viserys loved Aemma despite murdering her in a fashion that was akin to terrifying torture. What hope does it give me that his grandson wouldn't turn into that, should Baela find the same struggle in fertility issues?

Pretending they are some power couple when most Targaryean marriages prove to still abuse and neglect the women in the situation, when we know NOTHING about what their actual relationship is like or how they really even feel about the other, is just pure headcanon.

I have been given no reason to think Jace would treat her well. Maybe he would, but we and team black don't know that. We know nothing about him really, or her, or their feelings on their bethrothal.

Pretending they would be some power couple is based on hopes and dreams. Rhaenyra thought she and Daemon would be a power couple. Someone ask her how well that one's going. Or how well that marriage ends too.

They might be good together, but NO ONE around Jace as he grew up were good enough role models to give him someone to learn from to be a better husband then literally every other man in his family was to their wives. Jace's upbringing literally tells me he is more likely to mistreat Baela if she was his Queen Consort.

No one around him has treated Baela with respect the way she deseverves, why would he start out of nowhere now?

[fandomfourever]

Lawrusso Dream (2)

Okay, so, out of nowhere I had a Lawrusso based dream, and I figured I'd share it here, because why not? It was kinda cool because it was set up like an episode of the show, mixed with fanfic, and of course, ~dream logic~ lol

So it started off with the POV of some random lady my brain made up, apparently named Olivia, who was arriving at a seedy looking hotel (everything was very brown and outdated). She got into the elevator where she ran into Johnny. They made kind of awkward small talk, but Olivia felt like he seemed like not a creep.

They got off on the same floor and he went to room 14, while she went to room 10. Except her room was in the process of being cleaned (looked like they were trying to hide a crime scene) and the lady inside said her room wasn’t ready and she couldn’t keep her bags in there yet.

Olivia went to her car, grabbed her bags, because she was worried about her abusive ex showing up and taking her things to try and force her to interact with him. She went to the room Johnny had gone into, and knocked on the door to ask for help. Johnny and Daniel answered the door and she was surprised.

(It changed here to Johnny and Daniel’s POV)

So as Olivia was explaining her predicament, she said something like "Oh, I'm so sorry for bothering you and your husband" to Johnny. Johnny and Daniel both glanced at each other. Daniel was waiting to see Johnny deny it, but he didn't, and they both silently kinda came to the agreement to go along with it because she might feel really uncomfortable going to two old straight dudes for help over an apparent couple. (Suddenly) Sam was sitting in the room watching as Johnny and Daniel went along with it, looking highly amused (she disappeared pretty much after this, lol dreams).

After Olivia left to go into town (leaving her bags in their room to get later), Johnny and Daniel decided they had to keep up the charade because they had no idea when she'd show up, or if she might need help. So they brought all their stuff into Johnny's room (Daniel may have been rooming elsewhere but had just been talking with Johnny when all this happened). They were like tossing things to each other to place around the room, and putting each other's stuff on the bedside tables, to make it look like they were Very Much A Couple and then high-fived lol.

They of course had to share a bed now, and went to sleep. Johnny woke up to Daniel sprawled across his chest, and he had a sudden thought of how things might have been if they'd been friends like this when they were younger (~daydream transition fade woo~). Young Johnny and Daniel (like 20s) are sitting on a couch watching a show or movie together and laughing and cuddling under a blanket. Daniel ends up with his head on Johnny's shoulder, snickering away at whatever they're watching, and Johnny can't stop from smiling.(~daydream transition fade back to present~)

Johnny and Daniel both woke up and got ready. Daniel had brought food that could be thrown together in the little kitchenette in the room, and made them both breakfast. Johnny took one bite and had a sort of flashback (if you're picturing it like the scene with the food critic in Ratatouille then you'd be correct) where he realizes that food is his love language. He also realizes he actually wants to be with Daniel for real.

The "episode" ended and I immediately got onto to Tumblr to see if people were talking about how wild this episode was and if anyone was freaking out of the Lawrusso stuff, but nobody was talking about it.

And then I woke up.

So that was the Lawrusso Dream, lol. It was very silly, but also really cute. Maybe it'd make a good fanfic (with obvious edits to make it actually make sense and not have people randomly appearing and disappearing lol). Anyway, if anyone read this, I hope it amused you. Or inspired you, idk.

[p1utofairy]

PAC: “good karma my aesthetic. keep my conscience clear, that's why i’m so magnetic.” 🩰🍥🫧🪷

• what do you need to hear right now?

disclaimer ✩: take what resonates, leave what doesn't. i really appreciate y’all sm <3 for the patience, the love, the feedback and support. y’all are the greatest ever. i’m open to pac suggestions as well, so don’t hesitate to slide in my ask box! xoxo.

pile 1 ☂️ —

heyyy pile 1 ⭐️ what you need to hear right now is: release. relax and let go of any unhealthy attachments you may have to a certain person, place, idea or thing. i think you've been holding onto someone/something or the idea of what it could be/could’ve been. i pick up a feeling of yearning. you’ve been wanting something to work out in your favor, so you’ve been holding out…waiting to see if this situation will turn out how you anticipate. big 3 of wands energy. you’ve been waiting awhile now (i’m hearing weeks for some, months for others) for a clear answer. i think the more you wait around and stall things, the less likely things will go into motion. don’t chase, attract. remember that things will flow naturally to you and it’ll always work out in your favor no matter what — when one door shuts, several more will open. don’t put a time frame on it, you’ll get your answer/wish/clarity when you least expect. keep focusing on yourself and what you’re currently doing! whether that be going to school, work, the gym, studying, spending time with friends, etc. there’s a certain area in your life that you greatly want change to occur in, i’m heavily picking up for some that this is in regards to your love life, and again — i keep hearing that things will unfold in your favor when you least expect. very soon. you’re on the brink of something great, just don’t overthink it. relax, take a breath and just BE. your guides will handle the rest. love, prosperity and abundance are on the way to you. it just may not appear in the way you envision, which doesn’t mean it won’t happen at all. think about it this way, you might fantasize about coming across your dream person while you’re in a bookstore (on some ‘harry met sally’ type shit lol) so every time you go into a bookstore you’re kinda anticipating that to happen, but let’s say your busy at work or you’re frantically trying to prioritize doing your school work and studying and out of nowhere you look up and make eye contact with this person you’ve never seen before but you can feel the ✨vibe✨ like WHOA that’s…my person. i just see you being in your element when you meet this person pile 1, your mind will not be preoccupied/you will not have any precognitive thoughts — your person will just reveal themselves to you out of the blue. okay i feel like i’m getting carried away lol but everything’s gonna work out even better than you imagined pile 1 💗 trust that.

other channeled messages:

don't settle for less, pink + white by frank ocean, strawberry milkshake, chemtrails over the country club by lana del rey, leo sun, cancer moon, vedic astrology

pile 2 🦢 —

what's goodddd pile 2! i feel like you're in your self-love/healing era. you just bounced back from something and you did it with such resilience, ease and grace might i add. i'm hearing church girl by beyoncé, “i'm gonna love on me, nobody can judge me but me! i was born free.” okayyyyyy pile 2 i love this for y'all. i think some of you are really working on strengthening your throat chakra by speaking up for yourself and setting boundaries. just saw a meme that said “how i reclaimed the word ‘cunt’ by being one” OH WOW WOW WOW. i think you’re just over a lot of people and their bullshit, you may have just gotten out of a relationship, had a friendship breakup or recently left a job. good for you 💗whichever situation applies to you, i know it was draining and heavy on your shoulders. you finally feel like a weight has been lifted and you can spread your wings and be free. idk why i’m hearing some of you might be listening to a lot of lana del rey lately? (random but REAL af lol) i love that you know yourself at the core pile 2, you can’t fake it…if somethings not pleasing you or it’s not in your best interest, you know how to walk away and find something better. you don’t even know it, but you're inspiring to a lot of people. i think what you need to hear is: keep being your true authentic self. never forget where you came from and who helped you along the way, because i see that you have a big, bright and successful future ahead of you pile 2. you’re gonna be a star. “the diamond in the rough” from aladdin is what i’m hearing. you’ve got the wit, talent and empathy to get where you need to be in life. i wish you nothing but happiness and success pile 222 ♾️

other channeled messages:

hurricane by bridgit mendler, switch a n**** out by summer walker, olivia pope, sagittarius rising, cancer moon, pisces energy, save your tears remix by the weeknd & ariana grande, on my shoulders by sabrina claudio, red dress

pile 3 💵 —

hi pile 3 🤗 i’m getting rich vibes from y’all already lmfao, even if you aren’t (yet) there’s this energy of being very well-kept and liking the nicer things in life. you love you some good ol’ retail therapy. the message you need to hear right now is: spend your money wisely. i think you need to budget/save a bit more pile 3, you can sometimes go a bit overboard and indulge in the latest clothes, upscale restaurants or beauty products. you like nice things!!! there’s nothing wrong with that at all, you just need to make sure you’re prioritizing and balancing your earnings. some of you that picked this pile have very young energy lol like i can see you chilling at like 12am scrolling on youtube/tiktok and ooo’ing and aaa’ing at so many different product reviews and adding shit to your cart. some of you are tempted to buy stuff from the tiktok shop too lolll that was so oddly specific but i also feel like you've been big on protecting your peace lately. kickin’ back by mila j is coming to mind, “i’m kickin' back and i’m lightin' up doin' what the fuck i want. just rolled a wood, i’m feelin' good. just me, myself and this blunt.” i know das rightttt pile 3 🤭 you know your worth and you’re not settling for less than anything that you deserve — i love this.

other channeled messages:

luxurious by gwen stefani, need to know by doja cat, i just had an epiphany i need to go to tiffany’s, fenty gloss bomb, chanel chance, scorpio moon, catching flights not feelings

[vettelsdarling]

Could you please do a Charles x Schumacher!reader insta au? Where she’s a chef and they both do a soft launch. I don’t really have much of an idea but can you make it a bit long? Not like with text but just a lot of posts? I hope I’m requesting right lol

I really liked your Danny insta au

Crème De La Crème, Ma Chérie

Lissie note… I really like the idea of reader being a chef! Haven’t seen that before??? You’re giving me a lot of creative freedom and I could not be happier<3 Thanks for this!!!

Few things to note:

Reader is Mick’s twin sister, and Gina’s younger sister.

Reader is a Michelin star chef (one star)

Reader is famous (obviously)

This follows the 2022 season

Reader and Charles have been dating since the beginning of the 2021 season (1 year)

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Fem!Chef!Reader

Warnings: Some cursing, gut wrenching fluff

Here's the playlist recommendations

y/nschumacher

Liked by charles_leclerc, mickschumacher, gina_schumacher and 836,236 others

y/nschumacher Movie date and a home-cooked meal for him❤️

View all comments

mickschumacher You should invite us over for dinner soon… miss your cooking🙏

gina_schumacher Yes pleaseee!!

francisca.cgomes AHHH it looks SO GOOD😩 Where’s my share?🤨

user1 great dinner but WHO IS THAT🫣🫣🫣

user2 She’s allowed to date yk

user1 no need to be rude. I was just wondering who it was…

user3 It’s clearly a boyfriend that she doesn’t wanna reveal or something

user4 A SOFT LAUNCH???😭

user5 MOTHER NOOO😭😭😭😭

user6 Byebye… to my parasocial relationship…

user7 I haven’t seen her like this before and idk if I like it😭

user8 He never has to pay for dinner again💀💀💀

charles_leclerc

Liked by pierregasly, y/nschumacher and 1,184,339 others

charles_leclerc Tough weekend so far but we’ll improve for the next weekend.

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y/nschumacher Good luck next week!

user1 Somebody save him😭❤️

user2 y/n in the comments?

user3 She switched from Haas to Ferrari💀 Wonder what Mick has to say about that

user2 omg💀💀💀

user4 Seems suspicious…

user3 I mean, I don’t think so? She’s great friends with everyone on the track.

user5 Not Ferrari again😭😭😭 WHYYY

user6 Atp I don’t even wanna watch the races anymore😭 It’s just depression on a screen😭😭😭

user7 Ferrari is making him delusional💀 No way they’re ever gonna improve…

user8 I’m still hopeful😞🫶

user9 Tbh I’ve given up

y/nschumacher

Liked by mickschumacher, charles_leclerc and 735,229 others

y/nschumacher November dump🌅🍂 He tried to challenge my cooking. Bold move, sir… bold move.

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mickschumacher I doubt it tasted good😒

y/nschumacher It was actually really good

mickschumacher Biased.

y/nschumacher 🙄

carlossainz55 It was nice having you in the Ferrari garage for a change

Liked by y/nschumacher

gina_schumacher I miss you :/

y/nschumacher I’m coming to visit soon🫶

gina_schumacher You better

maxverstappen1 Red Bull > Ferrari

y/nschumacher No.

user1 since when did she become a Ferrari girl—

user2 wtaf is going on😭

user3 why are there so many drivers in her comments all of a sudden💀

user4 she’s soft launching. Mother is soft launching.

user5 Please leave him for me❤️

user6 No she’s leaving him for me😒

user7 Um no. She’s obviously leaving him for me🙄

user8 You’re all wrong. It’s always been me.

user9 Okay but whoever she’s dating is so lucky. Home-cooked Michelin meals? That’s literally living my dream.

user10 Ugh it’s so unfair. This guy should be ashamed he stole a national treasure

user11 I second that statement

user12 What’s with the new insta era😭 Pls post more food pics😔

wagsoff1

56,297 likes

wagsoff1 You heard it here first…

View all comments

user1 EXCUSE ME???? THIS WAS A YEAR AGO???

user2 wtaf this came out of nowhere…

user3 but where’s the proof😭

user4 It’s probably fake since there’s no proof

user5 I bet all the 13 yr olds and their parasocial relationships are disintegrating rn

user6 yeah um I won’t believe it until I see it💀

charles_leclerc

Liked by y/nschumacher and 855,970 others

charles_leclerc Drank some wine and went out for dinner for the first time in a long time😘

View all comments maxverstappen1 Wine and oysters, but you didn’t invite me…

charles_leclerc Sorry mate. Next time!

pierregasly Thanks for the date idea mate

Liked by charles_leclerc

user1 ig @ wagsoff1 was right

user2 Why am I crying

user3 This is genuinely so cute🤍

user4 His gf is so lucky

user5 WHO IS ITTTT

user6 Honestly, we should just look out for her at the paddock.

user7 We gotta wait for the next season for that…

user6 I forgot😭 I don’t want to wait so long ughhh

user8 Well, there goes my husband.

user9 Does anyone know who it is?

user10 I have an idea it’s someone we all know…

user9 Who?

user10 Dms

francisca.cgomes

Liked by y/nschumacher and 84,293 others

Tagged: y/nschumacher

View all comments

francisca.cgomes Girls night🥂🪩

y/nschumacher Same time next week?

francisca.cgomes Obviously🤍

pierregasly You cancelled date night for this?

francisca.cgomes It’s. Girls. Night.

pierregasly Understandable, have a nice day.

user1 IN LOVE WITH THIS FRIENDSHIP

user2 Me and my bestie when exam season is over:

user3 Literally

user4 Since when did they start hanging out🫣

user5 They’ve been friends for a long time, actually💀

user4 Oh okay I didn’t know😭

user5 Two pretty best friends🫶

y/nschumacher

Liked by charles_leclerc, gina_schumacher, mickschumacher and 763,298 others

Tagged: gina_schumacher

y/nschumacher I should stick to cooking… fell off so many times. How do you do it???

View all comments

gina_schumacher You’ll get there with practice!

y/nschumacher If I mount another horse, I will die.

charles_leclerc I’m sure you did great❤️

y/nschumacher I didn’t, but thank you❤️

mickschumacher Watching you fall was great entertainment

y/nschumacher At least I didn’t refuse to get on the horse😒

user1 WHAT WHAT WHATTTTT CHARLES??? THE HEARTS????

user2 wtaf this is insane😭

user3 is this their idea of a soft launch wtf😭

user4 they really just act as if it’s known💀💀

user 3 Literally💀

user5 so basically, Charles and Y/n?

user6 That explains why Charles wrote that one caption

user5 what caption?

user6 The one where he said he hadn’t been out for dinner in a long time

user5 whaaaat you’re right

user7 How did we not see this coming…

user8 I mean, they might not be dating? They could just be close friends…

user9 Nah, there’s no way

user8 You don’t know that

charles_leclerc

Liked by y/nschumacher, pierregasly, maxverstappen1 and 1,173,994 others

charles_leclerc She took me wine shopping…

View all comments y/nschumacher She looks like she knows what she’s doing

charles_leclerc I hope she knows..?

maxverstappen1 Mate, she’s a keeper.

charles_leclerc I know

user1 Charles pls😭 We all know that’s Y/n

user2 I’ve been living under a rock. What’s going on???

user3 Y/n Schumacher is a Michelin chef (and also Mick’s sister). Basically there are rumours that Charles is dating her. They haven’t confirmed it, but it’s pretty obvious by their soft launch…

user2 I was gone for a few months from social media and this is what I come back to?😭

user4 Charles has taste

user5 She’s literally a goddess

user6 Ugh he’s so lucky but she’s also lucky… idk who I want to be. Both???

user7 relatable.

charles_leclerc and y/nschumacher

Liked by mickschumacher, y/nschumacher, maxverstappen1 and 1,482,663 others

charles_leclerc I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve had so much fun with you this past year. Happy 2 years anniversary❤️ Tu es créme de la créme, ma chérie❤️

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y/nschumacher Mein Süßer❤️

Liked by charles_leclerc

mickschumacher Congrats guys!

francisca.cgomes This is so cute😭❤️

gina_schumacher So happy for you guys🤍

maxverstappen1 Congrats!

pierregasly When’s the wedding?

francisca.cgomes Don’t push them like that

pierregasly Sorry.

francisca.cgomes No, I actually also want to know @ y/nschumacher🤨

y/nschumacher Wedding??! Too early… but maybe we’ll start talking over a steak dinner…

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻...

𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪��𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚!

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

©vettelsdarling

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺— 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

[daquila]

My Wife || Gojo Satoru x Reader

synopsis: cleaning out a closet, you find the coat that you wore the month Satoru proposed to you.

A/N: i didnt proof read.. i just wrote it from how lovesick i felt about him LOL (prequel to this fic)

Spring cleaning— something you loved and hated at the same time. You’ve already finished cleaning everything in the house but one place: the closet. You and Satoru knew that you had to empty a lot of it, since it was filled with clothes that were barely worn.

Satoru took the honour of opening the wooden cabinet, and you took the honour of grabbing spare boxes. You planned on giving away the clothes to Megumi, Tsumiki, or maybe the students. Whatever piece reminded you of them will be theirs.

Running your fingers through the collection of fabric, you find yourself pausing at a certain coat. It was a long, brown, and somewhat thick coat. The fabric was of high quality, so it was still in great condition. You haven’t worn it in about four years. The last time that you did, though, was on the month that Satoru proposed to you.

It was snowing on that day. The snow was as faint as the blush that crept on your cheeks. You still remember how Satoru’s tongue was burning from eating a skewer too quickly. “ Y/N! Let's go here— wait no! We should try that other stall next, “ he yelled as he dragged your hand through the crowd of people. The street lamps illuminated everything, but Satoru had always thought that you illuminated the place better.

A week later, the both of you spent the night cuddling and talking about what the future would look like. The both of you fantasized about a life of peace, solitude, and domesticity. Satoru was sooo lovesick that night. He even watched how your eyes fluttered, listened to your heart beating, and traced imaginary circles on your back.

“ Will you marry me, Y/N? “

It came out of nowhere— even Satoru was surprised at his own words. The sorcerer quickly shot out of bed, covered his mouth, and blabbered about how he ruined his perfect plan. He then confessed about how he was supposed to propose to you tomorrow afternoon.

You ran your hands through his dishevelled hair, wondering how it can stay so soft when it looks like a literal bird's nest. “ It’s okay, ‘Toru. I’ll still take your hand in marriage, “ you giggled, tackling him in a bear hug. Everything felt so right that day, as if the stars aligned and prayed for this day to come.

“ God— Y/N. I can't imagine a life without you. You’re the reason why I’m still here, “ hearing those words trail out of his mouth while he held you against his chest felt like a really good dream. You then brought your lips next to his, and Satoru kissed you with all of his might. That kiss somewhat told you everything that you needed to know. It spoke to you about his love, the future, and the burning desire to have even more of you.

A/N: crying, sobbing, wailing

[roronoacherries]

Hey!!!! I watched the movie fifty shades freed a few days ago and there was a scene where the protagonists were having sex on the kitchen table lol. could you do something like zoro and a female reader? thank you I'm really loving your blog and your fics, keep it up it's very very very very good!!!!

𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤 | roronoa zoro

3.049 words

content: nsfw, sort of fluff sort of angst, afab reader, oral f. receiving, rough; trouble sleeping, bad dreams, and a midnight snack…

note: thank you for the request! sorry i took forever. i love kitchen sex and i could write about it a dozen times. this isn’t quite as good as the fifty shades scene — and it’s a lot more emotional (i got carried away? hope that’s okay) — but it’s not half bad. enjoy!!

each night, sanji locks the kitchen to keep a certain someone from eating everything in his sleep, but he’d gifted you (as well as nami and robin) with a key to enter if you ever desired to.

you’d never used it before — you were hardly the type to crave a midnight snack — but after tossing and turning in bed for the past hour, you quietly felt around the darkness of your room, searching for the key.

if anything, at least a trip to the kitchen would let zoro sleep in peace.

the swordsman laid sprawled across your bed, mouth slightly agape as light snores escaped him. you had struggled to remove yourself from his arms without waking him. he was usually a light sleeper but, strangely, he hadn’t stirred at all.

you weren’t too surprised; he’d come to bed exhausted after a late night workout, snuggling into you, not letting you say a word before muttering something about his room being too far and your bed being comfier. he was fast asleep in a matter of seconds — unlike you, whose thoughts wouldn’t allow her a moment of rest.

as you searched your nightstand for the key, zoro’s hand seemed to search for you beside him, but beyond that he gave no sign of waking up any time soon. the last thing you wanted was to wake him; so, as soon as you found the key, you stepped out of the room, shutting the door as quietly as you could.

you took your time making your way to the kitchen, letting your tired mind wander back to the image of zoro asleep at your side, the warmth of his skin, the rise and fall of his bare chest, the weight of his arm wrapped around you… it should have been enough to lull you to sleep but all you could do was think.

even with zoro at your side, all you could do was worry that you were drifting apart. it felt like the only time you spent with him anymore was on the nights he didn’t have watch duty, when he wandered into your room with some excuse to sleep beside you. it wasn’t like he needed a reason, but something told you zoro must have felt the same way you did. like something was changing between you.

he was with you a few nights a week at most — nowhere near as much as you’d like. sometimes he’d listen to you tell him about your day as you rested your head against his chest, but most nights were like tonight; he’d wrap his arms around you, pulling you close to him, before falling asleep. in the morning, he was always gone before you woke. you’d tried keeping him company in the crow’s nest, too, but you never managed to stay awake long. by morning, you’d find yourself in the comfort of your bed.

so when you were laying beside him, all you could think about was that it felt like you were always missing him. it pained you to look at him and notice that his hair had grown longer or that he had scars you didn’t recognize and didn’t have a clue where he’d gotten them.

it pained you to fall asleep beside him when you knew he wouldn’t be there in the morning.

the scent of delightfully sweet desserts pulled you from your melancholy as you entered the kitchen. you couldn’t be more grateful that sanji had spent the entire afternoon baking; chocolate wouldn’t solve your problems, but you could still try. at the very least, it was a perfect temporary fix. you took a seat on the counter beside the treats, swinging your legs as you questioned what to eat first.

“there you are. what’re you doing in here?” zoro spoke in a hoarse whisper, squinting from the door as his eyes adjusted to the kitchen lights.

“shit, sorry. did i wake you?” you said, half a brownie in your mouth. despite your guilt, you couldn’t help letting your eyes admire zoro’s bare torso as he made his way over to you. his pants hung painfully low on his hips.

the swordsman shook his head, averting his eyes as he replied. “had a bad dream.”

“what about?” you wrapped your legs around him, pulling him a little closer to you and zoro rested his hands on your hips.

“doesn’t matter.” there was something in the way his grip tightened around you that made you question his sincerity, but before you could say anything else, zoro reworded his earlier question. “why weren’t you in bed?”

it was you, then, who averted her eyes. “it…doesn’t matter,” you whispered, partially to tease him but mostly to keep him from worrying. “i couldn’t sleep.”

“and sweets were your solution?” zoro raised an eyebrow. you shrugged, taking a cupcake and putting some of its frosting on his nose. “i needed a walk. and besides, i didn’t want to risk waking you.”

“i wouldn’t have minded.”

“i know.” you leaned forward, slowly licking the chocolate frosting from his nose. you hadn’t meant for it to be a sensual act, but it made your body feel hot nonetheless. before you could move back, zoro pushed his lips against your own, enveloping you in a kiss that clouded all of your senses. you wrapped your arms around the swordsman, running your fingers through his hair as you pulled away — an act that felt different than you remembered.

his hair had gotten longer, you reminded yourself. of course that would make a difference, but had it really been so long since you’d last run your fingers through it that the act would feel foreign?

you tried to ignore the thought, pressing your lips to zoro’s once more for another, softer kiss. at least, he’ll never stop tasting like sake.

“i missed that.” the words left your lips before you recognized what they implied: you couldn’t remember the last time you and zoro had kissed like this. there were the half-asleep goodnight kisses and soft, short-lived kisses on the deck when either of you disembarked, but that was all. and somehow, you hadn’t realized it until then.

if the swordsman had heard your words, he showed no sign of it, his eyes fixed on your upper arm.

“what’s this?” he traced his thumb over a scar on your skin.

“oh. that’s nothing. i was helping sanji in the kitchen a couple weeks ago and he sort of, accidentally grazed my arm with a knife,” you explained, but zoro’s eyes still stared at the fading scar. “it sounds worse than it really was, i promise,” you added, placing your hand on his chin as you turned his eyes toward you.

as insignificant as the scar was, you could see the same unease in zoro’s eyes that you’d felt as you brushed your fingers through his hair.

“...weeks ago.” he repeated, shutting his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed. but you weren’t going to let him dwell on the thought. pressing your lips to his again, you slipped your tongue into his mouth and let your hands roam his body. you felt the curves of his arms, the familiar scar across his chest, the outline of his abs. his own hands moved slowly along the sides of your body, slipping under your shirt to meet the softness of your skin.

regardless of time, your bodies still knew one another; your hands still knew where to touch each other without need for thought. you still moved in perfect sync with one another. the subtlest touch from zoro’s fingers could still light a fire within you.

“zoro…” you pulled back — or at least, attempted to, your body aching to be pressed against his. “lock the door.”

you spoke between kisses, breathless as zoro pulled you closer, refusing to let you pull away. his movements were almost uncharacteristically relentless and possessive. though it wasn’t difficult to imagine why.

“what for?” zoro traced his lips slowly along your jaw, leaving kisses down your neck and along your collarbone; you could feel him smirking against your skin. the swordsman had never been one to fear getting caught in the act with you. on the contrary, there were times you were certain he aimed to make sure the whole ship knew what you were up to.

“roronoa zoro.” you forced yourself to pull away from his touch, crossing your arms as you glared at him.

“alright.”

a smile tugged at your lips as the swordsman walked to the door, without any rush — you couldn’t complain, loving to admire the curves of his bare back. roronoa zoro was a man sculpted by the very gods; there was not a doubt in your mind about it.

you reached for the cupcake beside you, not taking your eyes off the swordsman as you dragged your finger along its side, meeting zoro’s eyes as you brought it to your lips. slowly, you licked the frosting from your fingertip before gently sucking. “want some?” you asked innocently as zoro returned to stand between your legs.

he took the cake from your hand and set it aside, leaning into you, his breath warm against your neck as he pressed his lips just below your ear, the spot he knew always made your breath hitch. “i’m craving something else…”

if you’d felt a heat rushing through your body before, now you were burning up. zoro pushed up the fabric of your shirt, eyeing you with greed as he waited for you to take it off. the swordsman wasted no time in pressing his mouth to your breast as he pressed you back against the cold countertop. his hand traveled lower, ever grateful that you slept only in panties and an oversized shirt as he slipped aside the fabric of your undergarments, fingers slowly dragging along your intimacy.

with a devilish grin, zoro pulled back, giving his fingers a swift lick. “so good.” he said with a smirk, his low, gruff voice sending shivers through your body. “have a taste,” he brought his fingers to your lips, kneading your breast with one hand as you obediently sucked on his fingers.

“fuck. i can’t ever get enough of you.” his arms moved to wrap around your thighs, leaving you exposed for him to feast on you however he pleased. he started slow, pressing his tongue along your drenched labia, relishing in the taste of you — but you knew better than to get comfortable with this pace. the drunker he got off of you, the more remorseless he could be.

you felt him groan against you, the feeling momentarily making you forget how to breathe; you could feel him smirking against you before burying his face deeper against you, spelling a storm around your clit with his tongue.

you couldn’t help but gasp at the sensation, curling your toes and biting your lip as you fought to stifle your moans, knowing it would be in vain soon enough.

and you were right. nothing could quiet your sweet moans, the soft utterances of zoro’s name falling incessantly from your lips as he slipped two fingers into you. all proper thoughts left your mind as you indulged in the pleasure rushing through your body.

“f-fuck, zoro. amor—” one hand reached below, slipping your fingers through zoro’s hair as you massaged your breast with the other. “don’t stop. i’m c-close.”

a slew of incoherencies escaped your lips as a wave of pleasure went through your body, zoro’s fingers not ceasing their movements as he moved to press his lips against yours, his free hand bringing you forward, pressing your body up against his.

when he pulled away, you were beyond breathless, clasping your legs shut. you rested your hands on either side of his face, kissing him over and over again. “fuck. i love you. let me suck your cock, please.” you pleaded, licking your lips, wanting nothing more than to get on your knees and wrap your lips around him. you wanted to struggle to take him in, to feel his hand on your head guiding you, and most of all to have him fill your throat with his hot cum.

“sorry, babe,” you watched as he stepped out of his sweatpants, the sight of his hard cock making your mouth water. zoro didn’t waste time dragging it along your dripping cunt, evoking a soft moan from your lips, your pussy still beyond sensitive. he shut his eyes in pleasure as he pressed his cock against you, just against your entrance. you whimpered at the feeling. “i need something a little different.”

“fuck me,” you said slowly, leaning your body back against the counter. “please, zoro.”

the swordsman didn’t waste a second fulfilling your request. he stuffed you full, all at once before you could think twice about it. his pace was rough, only fueled by your loud whines. “z-zoro-” your back arched forward in bliss, your hands grasping for something to hold. in all of your mess, you’d completely forgotten about the sweets beside you until your arm knocked them off the side of the counter accidentally. but zoro’s merciless thrusts made it hard to think about anything other than his thick cock buried inside you.

“too much, zoro, i can’t,” you whimpered, feeling another orgasm building inside you. but zoro only quickened his pace, his hands gripping your hips, holding you firmly in place as a second wave of pleasure unraveled within you.

feeling your cum around his length, dripping out of you, zoro didn’t halt his thrusts. instead, the lewd sounds of bodies connecting and his skin against yours kept him going. your arms wrapped around him in agonizing pleasure, your nails digging into his back as you felt another coil building inside you. tears swelled in your eyes as you moaned zoro’s name over and over.

“hold on a little longer, sweet thing.” zoro pressed his lips to your forehead and you held your breath as you obediently fought back your release. you were notorious for being the only crew member who could tell roronoa zoro what to do, but in bed it was you who was weak to his commands.

as his pace became messier, movements slopier, his hands gripping your hips tighter, zoro shut his eyes before uttering an assertive, “cum.”

with that one word you let go, feeling his seed fill you with each continuous thrust as your own juices did. his thrusts slowed and your body clenched around him as he released every last drop into you.

“sanji’s going to kill us.” you whispered, breathing heavy. there was no way you’d be able to clean up this mess. you wouldn’t be able to walk to the door in this state.

zoro chuckled, kissing you slowly, his hand gently cupping your cheek. “i needed this.”

his words were quiet, vulnerable. his eyes avoided yours, focusing instead on your intertwined hands. “i know. so did i.”

“you wanna tell me why you really came down here?” zoro’s eyes shifted only slightly higher; they stilled on the scar on your arm.

“you wanna tell me about your bad dream?”

his eyes met yours then, with a playful glare. “i asked first.” you stared into them, looking for something, anything, that might give you an answer. something that might ease your fears.

what could you say to him? that you couldn’t stand sleeping in his arms anymore, that there was a glaring distance between you two that you couldn’t bear to ignore any longer? what could you say that wouldn’t ruin the night for you both.

you opened and shut your mouth several times, unable to find the right words, not quite aware of the tears forming in your eyes.

“shit. don’t cry,” zoro instinctively moved to hug you, pressing you close to him as he wiped the tears from your cheek, resting his chin on your head. “i’m sorry. you don’t have to say anything.”

he was quiet for a moment, but you could tell that, like you, he was looking for the right words to say. and for the courage to say them.

“i lost you.” you stayed still in his arms, holding your breath as he spoke, his voice only a whisper. “i dreamt that i’d lost you. that you’d left and it’d been because of me.

“when i woke up and you weren’t beside me, i…”

“i feel like i miss you all of the time,” zoro sighed; you couldn’t be more grateful that his sudden show of vulnerability had had him voice the words you couldn’t say.

you pulled back, slowly, looking up at the swordsman whose eyes were shut tight. you knew better than anyone that zoro hated to be vulnerable, that confessing his nightmares was worse to him than any wound. you knew that if he was telling you any of this, it was because he needed to.

“i’m right here.” you placed your hands on either side of his face, a gentle smile on your lips as his eyes opened to meet yours. “all yours, zoro. if i try to stand it’ll prove that.” zoro’s eyes gleamed with pride at those words. “and you’re not getting rid of me easily,” you whispered these words against his lips before kissing him softly.

“thought i was the one comforting you.” the swordsman raised a brow, but you could see the faintest of blushes flush his cheeks.

“i love you, roronoa zoro.”

the words took zoro by surprise, but he didn’t hesitate to return the sentiment, leaning in to kiss you again. “i love you, y/n.”

“ i’m tired of missing you. let’s take the day off tomorrow,” you said between kisses.

“and the day after,” zoro suggested, pulling away only to slip back into his sweatpants and toss you your shirt.

“and the rest of the week.” meeting your lips, he stood between your thighs again, lifting you with his hands on your ass. “zoro, wait. we can’t leave the kitchen like this.”

the swordsman rolled his eyes, though promising to get up and clean your mess before the cook could notice. “c’mon let’s go to bed.

“and if you’re still up for a midnight snack, i’ve got something you were begging to have a taste of earlier…”

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taglist: @zorobraun @maaarshieee @lyriczhou @tinkywinky27 @dimimyth @gaby-chwan @tk6uro @zoros-4th-sword @idiotlittleme

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[bvidzsoo]

Nowhere we won’t go

 Author: bvidzsoo

 Warning: violence, murder, blood, some swearing

 Pairing: Jeon Wonwoo x female reader

 Word count: 27, 401

 Summary:  Life had mysterious ways of working, and it took you off guard when you lost your best friend to a ruthless criminal. No one knew who did it, the whole town was in terror. However, it didn’t stop there, more people were dying and your suspicions of the murderer started raising. Could it really be your boyfriend?

 A/N: Hiii lovelies! I’m back from the dead lol. College always takes a tool on me, so I barely have inspiration to write nowadays. I watched Scream lol and this oneshot came into fruition. Ofc it’s heavily inspired by the movie so don’t come at me, but I tried to be original still. I might be a little rusty crusty dusty, but I hope it’s not that noticeable. Please leave feedback, you know I love it and I hope everyone enjoys this! Happy reading!

           This morning wasn’t any different compared to other mornings. The sun was slowly rising, beaming down on our little borough and letting its rays spread some well needed warmth as autumn has approached, coating the town in a grey fog as a result of daily rain. I missed the summer days, when the temperatures were high and I was carefree and able to spend my time doing what I liked. School takes up a large amount of effort and energy, and sometimes, I’m drained by the end of the day. I am conscious that going to school is crucial as it’s supposed to educate us and develop us into mature and smart young adults, ready to pursue our dreams and goals once we’re out of high-school, but most of times it’s just a buzzkill. The teachers are always dull and mean to us, as if they hate us for being in their classes, and most things we learn seem useless once we have stepped out into the real world. I like studying, but I am not desperate, and find myself spending my time doing something else quite often. This has always been an issue with my mom, as she’s a hardworking nurse and stern woman, only expecting and accepting perfection. But we got past our differences a few years ago and now, if I get good grades, she allows me to do whatever I like on the weekends. When I was young, I was supposed to attend various activities which my mother enjoyed while she was young, like: swimming and ballet classes. I have always hated ballet; it gave me bad ankle and toe aches making me unable to get out of bed on some lamentable days. But my mother wouldn’t accept my whining and forced me to continue ballet, only allowing me to stop when I told her I had no interest in being a ballerina. That was three years ago. Mom was quite disappointed but when I told her I wanted to take up some drawing and painting classes, reluctantly, but at last she agreed. Now, I can see myself being an artist, attending a prestige arts college. I only have to convince my mother at this point to oblige to my wish. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but I’ve still got two years to come up with a good solution. Perhaps if Wonwoo and I can go to the same college she’ll let me be. Wonwoo, my boyfriend, is someone who my mother adores. She’s loved him from the very first moment they have met. He’s soft spoken and kind, a little withdrawn, but nonetheless friendly once he opens up to you. We’ve known each other since we were kids as we’ve been living on the same street for our whole lives, but our romance only began in high-school, last year. It took us some time to mature and notice each other finally, but when it happened, I couldn’t have been happier. He was so attentive to me, always listening closely to what I had to say. He made me laugh and smile, sometimes even without trying to, and filled my heart with warmth I didn’t know was even possible. I found a confidant and friend in him, someone whom I could love freely and carelessly, never doubtful or uncertain of his intentions. Wonwoo was direct and honest from the get go and it made me like him even more. We had our ups and downs, just as any couple, but managed to work them out and move forward as a stronger couple. He had moments when I couldn’t understand him, questioning whether I was imagining his lack of empathy or he really lacked of it, but never thought too hard about it. After all, both of us were enamored with each other, living under our pink cloud as any newly formed couple.

I had dressed up after waking up, realizing I needed to hurry up if I wanted to catch the bus, mom had a nightshift and wouldn’t be driving me to school today. I could smell bacon and eggs wafting through the downstairs as I descended the stairs, headed for the kitchen. My mother was still in her nurse uniform, her blonde hair pulled in a tight bun as she placed the fried bacon on a plate next to the already done eggs.

“Good morning, mom.” I greeted her with a smile and she turned around, dark bags under her eyes as she returned a smile.

“Good morning, slept well?” She asked as she handed me the plate which I took eagerly. I didn’t have dinner last night as I was too lazy to cook something and my stomach was screaming at me right now to fill it with something.

“Yes, although the storm did wake me up…” I trailed off as mom hummed, sipping some orange juice as she sat down opposite of me.

“It was quite bad; the wind tore a few trees out around the hospital.” She said and I hummed in surprise, not having thought the storm was actually that bad. My mom looked behind me with furrowed eyebrows as she quickly went to grab the remote control. I was just chewing on my breakfast as she turned the volume up of the TV behind me, making me turn around to see what has caused such interest in my mom suddenly. However, the words of the reporter made me drop my fork.

“Breaking News.” Her voice was loud and clear, eyebrows furrowed as she stood in front of a white house, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Trees getting torn out of the ground during last night’s storm wasn’t the only unfortunate thing to happen. It has come to our attention, that a beloved citizen of our serene city has been murdered in cold blood last night during the storm. Her name is Myoi Mina and she was a student at Primrose High-School. Not much is known as of now about her death, the police are still investigating the crime scene, however, I managed to find out before going live, that she’d been stabbed in the chest three times and suffered a fatal trauma to her head. I offer my sincere condolences to everyone who knew her. Stay tuned for more news about the terrific death of Myoi Mina, a bright girl who will never be forgotten. I am Park Sooyoung and you’ve been watching Prime News.”

For a second the world went quiet around me as I continued staring at the TV with my mouth open in shock. If it weren’t for my mother calling out my name, I probably would have stayed longer in that trance.

“Honey!” Her voice rose an octave and suddenly I felt her gripping my hand, eyes searching mine.

“Mom—” I managed to whisper as she pulled me into a hug, offering me support. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Mina…dead? How is that possible? Who would do that to her? We weren’t friends, but as we go to the same high-school we’ve known each other. She was always bright, and friendly, just as the reporter has said. Who would want to take away her life? When she was so innocent—oh, poor Wonwoo. If I was this affected by the news, I couldn’t imagine what he was going through. They had been exes and despite a tumultuous relationship, they managed to figure things out and stay somewhat friendly with each other after their breakup. Still, she was a person he once had loved and I would totally understand if he needed time to sort his thoughts out.

“Honey, are you alright?” My mom whispered and I lightly nodded, pulling away from the hug. I wasn’t very alright, confusion and fear meshing together, but I needed to stay strong. For Wonwoo, probably.

“Yes, just very…shocked.” I answered mom and she nodded; eyebrows downturned as she understood my feelings.

“It’s going to be fine. The one responsible for this will be found and held responsible for their actions, don’t be afraid.” Mom tried to cheer me up and offer some security, but it didn’t do much. However, I did appreciate her attempt.

“You’re right.” I tried to give her a smile, but I wasn’t able to.

“Let me drive you to school today—”

“No, don’t worry! I am fine, really. You look very tired, just go get some sleep. The bus is coming in five minutes.” I reassured her and got up from my seat, appetite gone as I quickly filled my water bottle with some orange juice.

“You’re sure?” Mom raised her eyebrows and I nodded, going up to her and kissing her cheek.

“Go rest, mom.” She hummed and patted my head before I hurried into the hallway to pull on my shoes and take on my coat. I opened the front door and took my keys, locking it once I was out of the house. Just as I walked down my porch the bus approached and I got on it, noticing the silence and somber faces of the rest of the students on it. Today was a grey day and nobody could deny it.

           My first task after getting off the bus was to find Wonwoo and check up on him. I kept biting my lip nervously as I looked around the halls, even going up to his locker. He was nowhere to be found and it made me even more nervous. I walked up to his classroom and peeked inside, but his usual seat was empty, not even his bag was there yet. Classes would start in ten minutes and I was panicking, about to grab my phone to call him, when I realized I hadn’t checked one place yet. The spot designated for the students to park their bikes and motorbikes. Of course he’d be there, why hadn’t I thought about that earlier?!

I ran down the hallways and finally exited the school, beelining it for the parking lot. Nobody was laughing this morning, people whispering amongst them, some even crying. Mina’s closest friends weren’t even seen at school, I understood why. I greeted a classmate of mine in a rush as I passed by him, he had just gotten out of his car and was taken aback by my presence, but by the time he greeted me back I was already facing the motorbikes parked in the corner. And there he was, Wonwoo, dressed in all black, his helmet in his hands as he got off his bike. His black hair was badly ruffled as he hadn’t run his fingers through his hair yet, and I suddenly took off, running towards my boyfriend. He had placed the helmet where he was sitting just seconds ago when I crashed into his back, hugging him from behind. I rested my cheek against his shoulder as I squeezed my arms tightly around his middle, making Wonwoo let out a surprised gasp.

“Hey, there, sugar.” He chuckled and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Just as I pulled my head away from his shoulder he turned around in my embrace and hugged me back, just as strongly as I had hugged him. He was crushing me, but I didn’t care.

“Wonwoo—” I managed to mutter out as I wiggled out of his embrace, torso aching in certain spots, “Are you alright?”

Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed as he ran his fingers through my short hair, resting his hand on my nape, “Why wouldn’t I be alright?”

I became even more confused at Wonwoo’s words, searching his face for some sort of tell, but there was none, “Well…did you not hear?”

I decided to feel around, scared that I had to be the one to tell him. It would break me seeing him in pain.

“Hear what?” Wonwoo asked confused, his thumb rubbing my jugular, it was slightly distracting.

“Oh, well—” I cleared my throat and licked my lips, “Mina—”

“Oh, that.” Wonwoo muttered and looked down, his grip slightly tightening on my nape, but I said nothing as I watched his expression. He seemed unphased almost, like he wanted to look sad but it wasn’t working. My eyebrows furrowed when Wonwoo sniffed, yet there were no tears in his eyes. He clearly wasn’t alright, and I felt horrible for even reminding him of her death.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Why are you sorry, did you kill her?” He suddenly looked up and his sharp eyes were piercing into mine, and I suddenly stuttered before shutting my lips. What? He looked so…cold. As if he didn’t care at all.

“No, I just—”

“Y/N,” He grabbed both of my cheeks with his hands and pulled me into him, our foreheads almost touching, “You are the love of my life and whatever happened to Mina…she had it coming.”

I couldn’t believe my ears, and my eyebrows furrowed as I looked at Wonwoo with even more confusion. He didn’t actually mean that, right? How could he…he cared for her once.

“She was murdered, Wonwoo.” I whispered; my voice almost trembling. Wonwoo sighed and swiftly kissed my forehead, but it didn’t reassure me like it usually did, no, it made a chill run down my spine.

“I know, but she cheated on me multiple times, sugar, I do not care what has happened to her.” Wonwoo’s voice was sinister, almost gloating if I hadn’t known him better, “But she deserves it.”

My mouth opened in a gasp as I shook my head, refusing to comprehend the words which were leaving his lips, but also shocked and trying to process what he could really mean by saying that. But before I could voice my thoughts, his warm lips were pressing against mine softly, our noses touching. His was cold as it was really windy outside and I pulled back from the kiss, opening my eyes to gaze into his. I couldn’t read what he was feeling, his face expressionless and somehow so cold.

“I love you.” Wonwoo muttered before he let go of me and stepped back, grabbing his helmet off his motorbike. I watched him as he grabbed his backpack as well, trying to go over what has happened in the last few minutes, realizing this was just probably Wonwoo’s way of processing the traumatic news of last night’s happening. I knew deep down he was feeling miserable, he just didn’t want to show it in order to not worry me even more. I felt sympathetic for him and as he looked at me, it shocked me how much hatred was behind his irises, but it was gone just as quickly as it came, and it made me wonder if I had started seeing things. The news must be affecting me real bad if I couldn’t decide anymore what my boyfriend’s reactions meant.

           Today was grim. Everyone’s mood was bad and students almost whispered to each other despite it being our long break. Myoi Mina’s death has affected all of us, it was obvious. Everyone seemed to hold some sadness in their eyes and somehow they seemed to be more sympathetic towards fellow students. Even the teachers tried to be nicer to us. An hour ago we held a memorial for Myoi Mina at the football field of our high-school and once we were dismissed we quickly hurried back to our classrooms as the wind started picking up once again. The weather seemed to worsen as we reached noon and currently we were bundled up in the cafeteria, trying to enjoy our lunches. However, I found it rather hard to swallow the mashed potatoes as I overheard the girls next to our table talking about Mina’s brutal murder. I found the topic insensible and rude to talk about, especially since they seemed to be giggling about it from time to time, wondering whether the criminal looked hot or not. Kim Yerim, my best friend, seemed to have had enough as well as she slammed her fork down against the table, the loud sound catching those girls’ attention.

“Listen here, insensible cunts, if you want to gossip about that poor girl’s terrible death and fantasize about a murderer, go do it in your bedrooms and not in the cafeteria where everyone can hear you and realize just how fucking stupid you are!” Yerim’s words were harsh, always having been a brutally honest person, and it caught the attention of a few more students around us who seemed to be agreeing with her as they shot nasty glares at the gossiping girls. They seemed to be offended and one even gasped as she stood up, causing an unnecessary scene.

“How dare you call us—insensible cunts?!” Her voice rose and Yeri scoffed, giving her an amused grin.

“I was merely telling the truth, sweetheart.” Yerim answered back and I turned my head to look at the girl who was very pathetically gasping for air.

“I think everyone around us knows by now that you just want your five-minute fame, so settle down before you embarrass yourself furthermore.” I spoke up, trying to ease up the tension, but I figured I only did worse by saying that. The girl’s friend gasped loudly and both were standing up now, looking down at Yerim and I as if we were some monsters.

“Look who’s talking about fame, Y/N.” The second friend, who was blonde and had a pixie cut, looked at me maliciously, “Aren’t you the one dating Myoi Mina’s ex?”

Yerim and I glanced at each other, not understanding the correlation here, “I am, and so what about that?”

“Ah, look at her talk about fame,” The first one who caused this scene mocked, she had jet black eyes, “You’re acting as if you’re an angel when it’s because of you Wonwoo and Mina broke up. Did you know he cheated on her with you?”

I gulped, feeling the eyes of many students on me. This information was wrong, merely a gossip Mina spread around after she found out Wonwoo started going out with me out of jealousy. It didn’t last for long, the gossip, because a week later Mina and I talked and cleared things up. I held no harsh feelings against her and she apologized, realizing how foolish she was, and promised to make things right.

“That’s not true.” I said as I glared at the two girls, “Mina spread that rumor around out of jealousy—”

“Are you seriously bad-mouthing a dead person right now?!” The blonde one exclaimed in outrage and I couldn’t believe my ears. Suddenly I was the bad guy when I just wanted to protect someone who couldn’t do it anymore themselves. I could hear my ears ringing and my jaw clenched as I glared at the two. Yerim was just as appealed as I was and she slowly stood up, expression menacing.

“Look who’s playing the victim now.” Yerim chuckled and went around her chair, oh no, this was going to be bad. I stood up and grabbed my friend’s arm, knowing she’d get physical if no one was there to restrict her. Yerim always struggled with her anger issues, but when someone was disrespected she couldn’t help it, she saw red. I glanced around and gulped nervously, too many people were watching us now. And they were whispering too. I didn’t want this. Today out of all days this was so unnecessary.

“Yerim—” I spoke up, but before any of us could say anything else, Wonwoo and Soonyoung, his best friend, approached our table, each holding a tray full with food.

“What’s your problem, Hyuna?” Wonwoo snapped, blazing eyes glaring at the girl with the pixie cut, “Are you letting out your frustration on Y/N now that Mina’s gone? What? Are you going to beg me soon to leave Y/N for you?! Just like you did when I was dating Mina?”

My mouth fell open as Yerim and I looked at each other shocked, and even the students who were fully watching the commotion now, seemed surprised. The blonde one, Hyuna, turned red in the face and she gasped, looking at Wonwoo with her mouth gaping.

“That’s—that’s not—” She stuttered, shrinking under Wonwoo’s harsh glare, “That’s not what I was doing!”

“But you were speaking poorly of a dead girl.” Wonwoo said nonchalantly and Hyuna gulped as her friend took her hand and started pulling her away. I think they realized they have embarrassed themselves enough. Soonyoung started cackling as everyone watched the two girls basically run out of the cafeteria and he had the audacity to shout after them, “Look, Hyuna! I’m still available!”

His words elicited laughter from many students as they called Hyuna pathetic and everyone slowly went back to their lunch, Yerim and I long forgotten as we both sat down with Wonwoo and Soonyoung now having joined us. Wonwoo sat next to me and he kissed my cheek as I offered him a small smile, checking his face for any reaction. Perhaps a change of heart since the morning. But he still looked…fine, uncaring. Sooyoung, to Yerim’s dismay, sat next to her and she quietly sighed when he leaned close to her and whispered something, making her push his face away. Sooyoung giggled and I glanced at him, observing his attitude too. He looked like himself, as if Mina didn’t die, as if Mina and him didn’t even know each other.

“How are you feeling, Soonyoung?” I found myself asking my boyfriend’s best friend, curious.

Soonyoung looked up just as he stuffed his face with a chicken wing and grinned, “Quite well, thank you!”

Wonwoo cleared his throat next to me and I glanced at him briefly, but he was staring at Soonyoung quite coldly, “Oh—I mean, quite well despite the shocking news…I mean, how terrible, isn’t it?”

Yerim glanced at Wonwoo before she looked at Soonyoung and her eyes narrowed at the blonde, “At least you could try sounding more genuine next time, Soonyoung.” She emphasized his name as she gave him a glare. Yerim has never been fond of Soonyoung, she found him obnoxious, loud, dumb and overbearing. Despite Soonyoung’s efforts to get her to like him, she refused to spend any time with him if Wonwoo and I weren’t there.

“Yeah, you knew her quite well…” I found myself mumbling to no one in particular as I ate my lunch, but it seemed like everyone from our table heard me. Yerim nodded along. It was weird seeing the two boys so uncaring towards Myoi Mina’s death, after all, Soonyoung was the one who introduced Mina to Wonwoo.

“Oh, come on.” Soonyoung scoffed and leaned back in his seat, an irritated smirk crossing his lips, “That bitch whined all the time if something didn’t go her way. She didn’t let anyone breathe around her unless they first pleased her and my God—if Wonwoo wasn’t with her it was the end of the world, and if Wonwoo was there—why was he showing her no affection?!”

Wonwoo placed his fork down and placed his elbows on the table, leaning forward and placing his chin on his knuckles, “Thank you for you input, Soonyoung, although I’d like to enjoy my lunch without hearing about my ex-girlfriend’s death…again.”

It was the most emotion Wonwoo had shown all day and I grabbed his hand, squeezing it and offering him a small smile. He looked at me, seemingly still pissed off at Soonyoung, but offered me a small smile back. Yerim was silent as she watched the two boys before shaking her head and taking a sip from her glass of water. I knew how she felt about them, she never liked them too much, but they were good boys. A bit odd, but well-intended.

“Fine,” Soonyoung muttered displeased as he took another chicken wing, eyeing Yerim from the corner of his eyes, “but the bitch deserved it.”

“Excuse me?!” It was Yerim who was appealed this time, her reaction being the same as mine when Wonwoo said it. She just reacted stronger than I had. I was quite speechless, she rarely was.

“Nothing.” Soonyoung smiled sweetly at my best friend and I could feel my heartbeat pick up when Wonwoo’s tongue poked his cheek from the inside of his mouth, a clear sign he was getting angry. I looked at him, but he was glaring daggers at Soonyoung. Thinking quickly, I looked down at his plate and touched his thigh, trying to get his attention.

“You don’t like chicken wings,” I said with a smile as I pointed at my plate, “You can take my fried cheese.”

Wonwoo’s attention was back on me and his eyebrows furrowed, “You don’t look chicken wings either—”

“Don’t worry, I’m full already.” I smiled, I wasn’t full, in fact. But they were probably out of fried cheese and Wonwoo was quite particular about what he ate. I didn’t want him to be hungry until we got home.

“How sweet,” Soonyoung cooed from the other end of the table and both Wonwoo and I glanced at him, “She’s so caring, Won, don’t you just love her?”

He sounded quite mocking and I sighed, starting to get fed up with Soonyoung. I had no idea what his problem was today, but I didn’t enjoy being around him anymore. Wonwoo sensed my discomfort and shook his head at Soonyoung.

“Yes, I love her.” Soonyoung grinned widely and chuckled, shaking his head. He looked at Yerim and reached out for her hand, but she quickly took it off the table and gave him a glare.

“Don’t you want us to be sweet like them?” Soonyoung blinked cutely at Yerim, leaning closer to her, “How about—we go out on a date tonight?”

“Soonyoung,” Yerim scoffed and leaned closer, smirking at him, “For the nth time—no. I don’t like you and I will never date you. Stop being so fucking obnoxious all the time, thanks.”

Soonyoung tsked and shook his head, “You’re gonna get killed one day for talking like that to me.”

His words were barely audible but both Yerim and I caught it. Our heads whipped in his direction and he looked up innocently, blinking at us confusedly, “What?”

“Soonyoung, come to the wending machine.” Wonwoo abruptly stood up and smiled at his friend, however it didn’t reach his eyes, “Now.”

Wonwoo became demanding once Soonyoung made no sign of wanting to move and the blonde just sighed before getting up slowly, winking at Yerim before walking up to Wonwoo. Wonwoo swiftly grabbed his nape and pulled him away from us, making Soonyoung exclaim in annoyance. Yerim turned to look at me and I sighed, eating some more of my mashed potatoes.

“What is wrong with them?!” She whisper snapped as she watched me. I shrugged and ignored my friend, not wanting to think too deeply of what’s happened the past few minutes. Wonwoo was weird all day, but he’s been even weirder ever since they sat down to have lunch with us. Soonyoung’s words were even more unsettling and my head was a mess currently, I didn’t want Yerim questioning everything as well.

“Nothing.” I muttered back, head lowered as I tried to eat some more. Wonwoo took the fried cheese I gave him and I pushed the chicken wings to the side of my plate, I really hated them.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Y/N.” Yerim snapped and grabbed my elbow, making me look at her, “Something is very wrong with Soonyoung and we both know it. He’s giving me the creeps now more than ever before. Did you hear the things he was saying about Mina? How is that alright? How could he even think them and then say them—”

“I don’t know.” I snapped, getting pissed, “And I don’t want to know. This whole situation scares me and I’m not taking it well, okay? Everyone is talking about it and it’s making me lose my mind. I’m scared, okay? Can you at least, please, just drop it?!”

Yerim looked down and released my elbow, feeling bad for bringing this up again. I had already told her in the morning how scared I was of this whole ordeal, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you more. I just noticed things and wanted to tell you, because Wonwoo’s been weird too. He has always been, but today out of all days…he’s too quiet.”

“Wonwoo’s always quiet.” I chuckled and Yerim rolled her eyes.

“Not like this, you know what I mean…” She deadpanned and I huffed, turning back towards my plate.

“Whatever, you’re just being paranoid.”

“I’d rather be paranoid than dead.” Yerim muttered and I groaned, nudging her leg with mine underneath the desk. She giggled and started stealing the chicken wings off my plate as she glanced back, “I’ll take these before Soonyoung gets back and asks for them.”

I giggled and nodded at her, offering her my whole plate. I wasn’t full, but my appetite was long gone. I just wanted to be close to Wonwoo right now.

           I pulled the curtain to the side as I peeked out the window, eyebrows furrowing at the strike of lightning. The weather was horrible once again. It’s been raining almost the whole week. Mina’s murder was still fresh in everyone’s minds and people were cautious. It’s been three days only, after all. Today was her funeral and it was really sad. Many people showed up, although I preferred to stand towards the back, Wonwoo went ahead and offered his condolences to her parents who burst out in tears once they saw him. It made me realize how well liked Wonwoo was by the parents and elders in our town. He truly had a good soul and it was hard not to love him. My mother was working the night shift again tonight and as I didn’t feel comfortable staying home alone yet, Yerim and I agreed to have a sleepover tonight, however, she was still at the pool. She was a professional swimmer and she’s been training hard for the past half year for the upcoming national competition her team was to attend. I watched as the lighting struck again and waited for Yerim to pick up as my phone continued ringing. There was a chance she was still in the water, but I was hoping she wasn’t. We were supposed to meet half an hour ago, but she was running late.

“Hi!” Suddenly Yerim picked up and I smiled, closing the curtain, “Sorry, coach extended today’s training.”

She sounded breathless, “I figured, don’t worry. I still have some things to pack; do you want me to pick up pizza on my way to you?”

“Oh, pizza!” Yerim giggled and I heard someone shouting in the background for her, “One second coach—I’m supposed to be on a diet, Y/N, but sure.”

“Okay, one pepperoni pizza it is, then.” We both giggled.

“Wait—wasn’t I supposed to pick you up though?” Yerim asked and I went to my closet to take out my pajamas.

“You were, but since you’re running late I’ll drive myself, don’t worry.” The pool was a bit further from my house and I knew she was usually tired after practices; I didn’t want to burden her more.

“Thank you! See you!” I greeted her back before Yerim hung up and I finished packing the essentials before dressing up in my comfy sweater. It was actually Wonwoo’s but he gave it to me after I told him I liked the fabric of it. His cologne still lingered on it and I smiled as I nuzzled my nose against the collar of the black sweater. When he’d come over, every once in a while, he’d bring his cologne with him and spray it on the sweaters which were once his, so that I could feel him close to me even if he wasn’t here. It was a sweet gesture and it still brought butterflies to my stomach. There was another lightning strike and the thunder followed instantly, making me yelp at the loud rumble of it. My cat meowed loudly from the hallway and I opened my door, beckoning her over with a pout. She hated storms just as much as I did.

“Come, Byeol, this weather is driving me crazy.” She meowed back as if she understood me and jumped into my arms once I kneeled down to hold her. She nuzzled her head against my chin and I giggled, starting to pet her. She was a black cat with light green eyes which sparkled like stars, hence her name, Byeol. Mom bought her for me five years ago when I started complaining about being scared when she’d have her night shifts. I hated staying home alone at night until I got Byeol. She brought a sense of security with her and it made me appreciate her even more.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone tonight, Byeol, you won’t be too mad at me, right?” I whispered at my cat as I played with her ears, she was purring loudly, “Mom will be back by five in the morning, so you won’t be staying alone for too long.”

Byeol meowed loudly and I chuckled kissing her head before placing her down on the floor gently and standing up to grab the charger of my phone, which I almost forgot to pack. I looked around the room and mentally checked off everything from my imaginary list of what I had to bring with myself to Yerim’s and picked up my backpack, making kissy faces at Byeol. She followed after me as I turned off the light in my room and walked down the hallway, headed for the stairs, when my phone suddenly started ringing. I looked down at the caller and saw Yerim was calling me, maybe she changed her mind about that peperoni pizza.

“Hi, Yerim—”

“Y/N!” Her voice was panicked and I stopped in my tracks, right at the top of the stairs, “Someone’s—following me!”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, this was out of character for Yerim, “What? I don’t understand—what’s happening?!”

“I’m at the pool—” There was a loud crash and Yerim gasped, “I’m scared—a masked man—they are following me—”

“Yerim, are you being serious?!” My heart picked up as I raced down the stairs, backpack long forgotten as Byeol looked at me confused.

“Yes!” She exclaimed and she started whimpering, making my hands tremble, “They have a knife, Y/N!”

I could barely pull on my tennis shoes when I heard her words, “Hide!”

“I’m in the locker room but I couldn’t find the keys—” There was a loud bang and a sob left Yerim’s lips, bringing tears to my eyes.

“I’m on my way, I’m calling the police—”

“Don’t hang up, please!” Yerim was crying and I was shaking so badly that I could barely grab my keys.

“Yerim, I have to—” I was cut off by Yerim’s scream.

“No! No, stop! Please!”

“Yerim!” I screamed as I slammed the front door shut and struggled to lock it. I sprinted towards my car, ignoring the cold raindrops crashing against the pavement and myself, “Yerim, are you there—”

But another scream cut me off and I started crying, feeling helpless as I listened to my friend’s painful sobs. Just as I reached my car and unlocked it, the line went dead and I panicked even more, hands trembling so hard I could barely dial 112.

“112 what’s your emergency—”

“Please, I think someone’s murdering my friend! She’s at the pool on Wellington’s street, nr. 18. Please! Help her!”

“Ma’am, calm down, can you tell us your name?” The woman on the other side of the phone tried to calm me down, but I couldn’t hear her words. I had to get to Yerim before it was too late. I had already started my car and was pulling out of the garage as I started rambling mindlessly about where Yerim was and that they had to get to her right now.

“Ma’am, calm down and tell us your name.” The woman tried again and I wiped my tears away as I speed down the streets.

“My name is not important! Get to my friend! Her name is Kim Yerim for fucks sake!” I screamed as I rushed past a red light, barely avoiding getting hit. I didn’t care what happened, I only had Yerim in mind, I had to get to her. No, this couldn’t be happening. She’s playing a sick prank on me, she must be. Otherwise…no. No. No. It’s not the murdered. No. They aren’t targeting her, she’s probably just playing around—I slammed on the brakes when I saw someone crossing the road, screaming at them to get the hell away as I started driving again.

“Ma’am, where are you right now?” Suddenly, I heard the woman’s voice through my phone, forgetting I hadn’t hung up.

“In the car, I have to get to my friend.”

“You can’t drive in the state you are—”

“What do you know about that!” I snapped and took a harsh left turn, realizing I was just two blocks away.

“Ma’am, officers are already at the scene, your friend is safe.” The woman tried to calm me down but I shook my head.

“I’ll believe that when I see her with my own eyes.” I reached over and hung up, pulling up to the building as the flashing lights of police cars blinded me for a second. I parked the car and got out without turning the engine off, uncaring of the rain which drenched me in seconds, as I ran towards two officers who were just getting out of their cars.

“My friend—where is she?!” I asked breathless, but they just looked at each other and I didn’t wait for their answers, I pushed past them and ran inside the building. There were more police officers and I saw the entrance to the pool being tapped off, and I instantly knew. Something inside my stomach dropped. I heard nothing and I saw nothing. I had to know. I couldn’t just stand there and wait for the news to be delivered to me. So when three police officers noticed me and demandingly told me I had to leave, I pushed past them and sprinted to the doors leading inside the pool. They were already opened, and I could see everything. The blood. All over the floor, coloring the water. And I could see her. Face down. Floating in the water. Her black hair sprawled out around her. Her favorite swimming suit still on. My ears were ringing and my heart was thumping so fast I started seeing black. I couldn’t hear anything. I felt cold hands gripping my arms, but I couldn’t move. It’s like I was there, but I wasn’t. My hearing only came back when I found myself screaming her name and trashing around in the firm hold of the officers, who were pulling me away from the scene.

“No! Stop!” I screamed, sobbing loudly as I tried to fight them off still, “That’s my best friend! I need to see her! I need to be there for her! Don’t you understand?!”

“Bring her to the ambulance, give her a sedative.” I heard one officer say and I started shaking my head as my body went slack and I could only cry.

“But Yerim—” Suddenly I felt myself being lifted in someone’s arms and I curled into the person, crying loudly.

“It will be alright, miss, cry as much as you need.” A man, with a comforting voice, said reassuringly as I was outside again, the rain still pouring hard. I felt us running until the rain wasn’t hitting me anymore and I was sat inside an ambulance.

“Please—” I whispered, grabbing the officer’s hand as he went to pull away, “Save her.”

I saw sorrow in his eyes, as if he knew something I didn’t, as if he understood something I refused to believe in, “We will try our best, miss. Can you promise me you’ll stay here?”

I nodded and wiped my tears away, but new ones came rushing down my cheeks. I was cold. My body was shaking. I hugged myself and curled up into a ball as I tried to comfort myself, but nothing could bring comfort right now. I started mumbling, it was okay. Everything was okay. That wasn’t Yerim. Yerim was playing a prank on me. Yerim was hiding in the locker room and laughing her ass off, because she loved drama and attention. Yes, that is what was happening.

“Miss—miss—” I jumped when someone touched me and I grumbled at them to stay away from me, “Can you tell me your name?”

I didn’t want to talk, but when they asked me again, I snapped at them, “Kang Y/N!”

“Thank you,” The lady had a very calm voice and I felt her touch me again but I pulled my arm away, once again, “Can you tell me how old you are?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions?!” I snapped again, raising my voice, “You’re supposed to help my friend! Go help her!”

“I’m supposed to help you, Miss Kang—”

“No, because I’m fine—”

“Y/N?!” A familiar voice asked from behind the doctor lady and my eyebrows furrowed when I looked past her and came to see Soonyoung. Why was he here? What was he doing here?

“What?” I whispered confused, glancing back at the doctor who was preparing an injection and I started shaking again, “What are you doing with that?!”

The doctor said nothing as she sighed and walked closer, making Soonyoung protest as well, “Young man, stay out of this unless you want to be sedated as well.”

“Sedated?!” I exclaimed and went to stand up, but suddenly someone from behind held me down and I just realized I wasn’t sitting alone in the ambulance. I started trashing around, trying to free myself as the doctor was now standing right in front of me and I started crying once again when she started feeling around for my vein.

“Please go help my friend—” The doctor shushed me and I whimpered when the needle entered my skin, the doctor injecting the sedative inside my body.

“She’s in shock,” I heard her say as my muscles slowly started to loosen, as if they weren’t listening to me anymore, “She started calming down but you triggered her again, I’m asking you to step back and let her be.”

I realized she was talking to Soonyoung as I was laid down on the stretcher inside the ambulance and the doctor checked my eyes before nodding at someone. I was covered by a blanket and I sniffed as I continued crying quietly, my body feeling numb all of a sudden.

“You should rest now; everything will be alright.” I heard someone saying to me as I felt my eyelids get heavy and I tried shaking my head and telling them that I needed to be next to Yerim, but my mouth wouldn’t move.

“Can you let me stay with her? I’m her friend, I also knew Yerim.” I heard Soonyoung saying before he climbed inside the ambulance. Knew Yerim? Why in past tense? Yerim was fine, what was he talking about? Why is he here?

“It’ll be fine, Y/N.” I felt a hand patting my wet hair as my mind was slowly losing consciousness, “Yerim was a strong girl, but too stubborn for her own good. I just couldn’t help it…”

Before my brain could comprehend Soonyoung’s words, everything became black and I fell into a state of unconsciousness. Did I lose my best friend?

           It was all so blurry. The past two weeks. Everything went by quickly, Yerim disappeared so suddenly. She was here, next to me, laughing and being excited about her up-coming tournament one moment, and the next…I watched her coffin being lowered into the cold, wet ground. I had no tears left to cry at her funeral, I could only watch with a blank stare as her coffin was slowly getting covered by the dirt, swallowing her forever, robbing her from me. I felt nothing. My skin was cold, I was shaking. It was a sunny day and everyone wore short sleeves, but I was wearing a long sleeve and a coat. I could hear the priest saying a prayer, Yerim’s mother weeping next to me and her husband gasping for air, but I couldn’t actually hear them. It was as if I was underwater. Yerim’s smiling framed picture, which I was clutching, was the only thing reminding me that I was at the funeral, present physically, but so far away mentally. Someone held my shoulder, but I couldn’t be bothered to check who it was, I just shook their touch off and stared blankly at Yerim’s tombstone. I read her name, her year of birth and day of death, and I broke. The priest had just finished talking, ceremony ended, when my body started shaking violently, sobs raking my whole being. My legs were weak, and my feet hurt from the high heels I only wore because Yerim loved them and complained I never wore them. The sun was suddenly so hot, the coat and long sleeve were suffocating me, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t do this. I just couldn’t. Why did they kill her? What did she do? Why her? Why not me?! I knew my sobs turned into wailing and my feet gave up and suddenly, I was on my knees, clutching the framed picture to my chest and trying to find my breath, but my sobs wouldn’t let me. It hurt so much, my chest was in pain, it felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart out. Suddenly, I felt strong hands gripping me by the elbows as I was lifted up. My body was limp so I did not fight back when the person turned me around and cupped my cheeks. My mind was far gone from the present, from what was happening, but I’d recognize his hands anywhere, anytime. They were big, warm, and soft. Wonwoo’s thumb started rubbing my cheek reassuringly and I found strength to open my eyes, still sobbing. His face was emotionless, but his eyes were soft and I knew he felt powerless for not being able to support me. But I appreciated his presence here, he calmed me, the aching wasn’t as bad as before. I tried taking deep breaths, my sobbing coming to silently crying as I hoarsely apologized to Yerim’s parents for creating a scene right at the end of the funeral. They shook their heads and brushed it off, engulfing me in a big hug as Wonwoo stepped back, and they tried to cheer me up with reassuring words, but they only broke me more. They were so supportive and loving, they always let Yerim follow her dreams and encouraged her to become her better self. They did not deserve to lose their brilliant daughter in such an ill manner. When her parents let me go I bowed deeply to them and handed them her framed picture, making her mother cry again. Her father took it from me and then they turned their backs and slowly started walking away. I turned towards my mom and Wonwoo and nodded at them, ready to leave as well. I didn’t want to go yet, but I had to. I had to learn to live without my best friend. Without my other half. As we started walking away, my eyes fell on a figure dressed in all black, head hanging low. His blond hair made it easy to recognize him, it was Soonyoung. He was gazing absent mindedly at Yerim’s grave and my eyebrows furrowed as I watched him. He looked emotionless, something foreign to Soonyoung. His eyes seemed to be red, but he wasn’t crying. Suddenly, he took off towards the grave and before I could follow him with my eyes, Wonwoo squeezed my hand and asked me if I wanted to have some lunch his mother cooked. I wasn’t hungry, but I didn’t want to refuse. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday’s lunch time. And my mother seemed to cheer up a little bit at the idea of seeing Mrs. Jeon, so I agreed to that lunch. And as my mother opened the door for me before going to the driver’s seat, I glanced back at Yerim’s grave and furrowed my eyebrows. We were far from it, but not so far that I couldn’t see Soonyoung’s face. And he was smiling. I felt goosebumps erupting on my skin as I quickly got inside the car, his words from when he sat with me in the ambulance as I was falling unconscious ringing through my mind, ‘I just couldn’t help it…’.

Everything was hard after the funeral. Time really went by fast and I found myself doing nothing but staring out of my head, reminiscing about all the memories I had with Yerim. We’ve been best friends since primary school. I had no other friends, nobody that could live up to her or to our bond. I had no one to talk to suddenly, no one to annoy and no one to listen to as they told their ridiculous stories. It was so hard. I couldn’t eat, some nights I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t focus in school or when I had to study. Wonwoo tried to help and studied with me for a hard test, but it did nothing as I failed it. The teachers were understanding and they weren’t pushing me too hard, but for how long would I have their pity? How long until they start calling me out and telling me to get a grip and move on? Sometimes, in the hallways, I would see Myoi Mina’s best friend and I understood. I understood the sorrow in her eyes, the way she wouldn’t even look at anyone else but the ground. How she’d jump at the tiniest sound and how she’d brush off anyone who tried to talk to her. I was like that too, although I was trying hard not to be, it just wasn’t working. A girl who knew Yerim tried to take her seat yesterday and I flipped and screamed at her horrendous things for trying to do so. I felt horrible after that, but it didn’t matter, I was sent to our school’s therapist. He didn’t do much, just gave me some tips on how to grieve, told me to contact him if I started feeling worse, and then sent me on my merry way. I was already feeling the worst, could this get any worse? Wonwoo was understanding, but I could see he was growing restless. He’d snap at me when I’d refuse hanging out with him for the fourth time that week, but he’d instantly apologize saying he understood and he was also dealing with grief. Yerim and him weren’t very close, but they spent a lot of time together because of me, of course he was grieving too. However, Soonyoung was nowhere to be found. Some say his parents took him away on a retreat after he snapped at his younger sister at home, Wonwoo wouldn’t talk about him when asked. It was strange. Their behavior. Wonwoo would become tense when anyone mentioned the killer but when I’d ask if everything was alright he’d become defensive and say he was just stressed.

Tonight was one of those nights when I was restless and couldn’t stay at home anymore, so I went for a walk. My mom was cooking dinner and after playing with Byeol, I grabbed my coat and told my mom I’d be taking a walk in the neighborhood. She asked me to be home in half an hour as it was getting dark and rainy clouds started gathering on the sky. I missed Yerim a lot, and I couldn’t help but think about how excited she’d get whenever it rained. One summer we went down to the lake and it started raining hard, but despite that, Yerim still went and swum in the lake, splashing me repeatedly, making me go in with her despite being scared. Without meaning to, I found myself walking by Yerim’s house. I glanced up at her window, but of course the light wasn’t on. Of course it wouldn’t be on, why would it be? Yerim wasn’t there studying. I wished she was so that I could convince her to hang out with me and Byeol, but she wasn’t here with us anymore. The front door to their house opened and I smiled when I saw her father walking down the porch stairs. He looked up and spotted me, waving at me, as he was headed towards me.

“Good evening, Mr. Kim.” I greeted him and he smiled, opening the gate for me.

“Hello there, Y/N. What brings you here?” His eyes had always reminded me of Yerim’s, and their laughter was the same.

“I was taking a walk in the neighborhood, and found myself wandering here…” Yerim’s father’s face seemed to lose the little happiness he displayed and he sighed, glancing back, up at Yerim’s window.

“I understand, sometimes I find myself walking up to her room in the mornings, wanting to wake her up…” I bit my lower lip and Mr. Kim sighed before looking back at me, “Would you like to come inside? My wife baked those muffins you two girls really like.”

I found myself smiling, Mrs. Kim’s chocolate muffins were the best, whenever she baked them, Yerim and I would devour them in an hour, “If I’m not bothering too much…”

“Non-sense, child.” Mr. Kim laughed and stepped aside, allowing me inside their property. I bowed my head a little at him and walked through the gate, “I’m headed to the supermarket, want anything?”

“No, thank you, Mr. Kim!” He nodded and patted my head before he left through the gate, walking down the street, headed for the closest supermarket. Mr. Kim had always been the father figure I never had. He had also always treated me as his daughter. He was the one who taught me how to swim and how to ride a bicycle as my mother was too busy at the hospital. My parents divorced when I was really young and my father disappeared after that despite promising to come by sometimes and pay for the allowance. I shook my head at the thought of my absent father and walked up to the front door, knocking on it before walking inside. There was some jazz music playing quietly in the background as the delicious muffin smell wafted through the air. I took off my shoes and coat, and walked towards the kitchen, knocking on the door, realizing Mrs. Kim didn’t hear me entering.

“Oh, you’re back—Y/N!” A wide smile spread on Mrs. Kim’s face when she saw me and she rushed up to me, hugging me tightly, “How lovely you stepped by! We haven’t seen you since—”

Since the funeral, “Right, I was out for a walk and found myself passing by. Mr. Kim and I just happened to run into each other, he invited me inside.”

“How smart of him,” Mrs. Kim chuckled; however you could see she wasn’t feeling as giddy as she was acting, “I just happened to bake your favorite chocolate muffins.”

And Yerim’s. I smiled gratefully at Mrs. Kim as she handed me two chocolate muffins, which were still warm, “Thank you.”

“I will pack some for you to take home. I baked too much either way, my husband and I don’t have a sweet tooth, I just missed the smell of it. Your mother loves them too, she’ll be happy for the small gift.” Yerim might’ve looked like his father, but she talked just as much as her mother. When you’d sit down with the two of them and listen to their stories, time would fly by and you wouldn’t even notice. They had a very captivating way of speaking, conversing with them never felt awkward or boring.

“Thank you, she will probably give you a call when she gets them.” I said with a chuckle and Mrs. Kim smiled.

“As she should, we haven’t talked in a while…” Since Yerim’s funeral, but she didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to say it either. It felt nice being in their home after two weeks. I always felt so welcomed here. The house was bright and homey, Yerim and Mrs. Kim having decorated it in an eccentric way, which would sometimes give Mr. Kim a headache. I looked behind me and glanced at the stair leading upstairs as Mrs. Kim placed some muffins in a smaller bag. She turned back and noticed me staring back at the stairs.

“You can go up, if you want to—Yerim wouldn’t mind it, I know.” Mrs. Kim spoke up and I nodded at her gratefully, placing the muffins I was holding on the table, before hurrying up the stairs and beelining it for her room. I hesitated for a second before opening the door, preparing myself for her absence, but it still hit me hard when I opened the door to darkness. I gulped and turned on the light, blinking away the tears which suddenly sprung to my eyes. Her room was the same, messy but not exactly. Her closet door was slightly opened and I could see her pink hoodie spilling out and I chuckled as I walked over and grabbed it. I always told her to just hang her hoodies up, but she never listened to me. As I held it in my hands, Yerim’s sweet scent hit my nose and I bit my lower lip, taking a deep breath. I placed her hoodie on the bed and pulled my long sleeve over my head before pulling her hoodie on and closing my eyes. My skin got covered in goosebumps as I imagined Yerim sitting in her chair and complaining about me wearing her favorite hoodie, but secretly not being bothered by it at all. We always shared our clothes when we’d have sleepovers, even tried them on and did a fake fashion show or acted as if had to sell them to each other at ridiculous prices. The hoodie’s fabric slowly warmed up and I opened my eyes, looking around her room. Her parents haven’t touched anything and I was reluctant to do so too, so I sat down on her bed and started playing with my fingers. The book I recommended to her to read was on her desk, bookmark somewhere at the middle of the book. She never got to read the mind-blowing plot twist, it made me sad, she would’ve loved it so much. Feeling a bit stuffy, I stood up and opened the window before going back to her bed and jumping on it, sprawling out on it. Yerim’s bed was always so comfortable, her blanket puffy, and bed covered in stuffed animals. I turned onto my stomach and started humming my favorite song as I stared up at the pictures above her bed, smiling as most were with the two of us. Our favorite pictures or just really silly ones. Yerim had big dreams compared to me, I was still struggling to decide what to do after high-school. My eyes went to her nightstand and I grinned when I noticed her favorite strawberry candy laying in her jar. It was the last one. I would always steal it, so I did just that. Hopefully, wherever Yerim was, she could see me right now and she’d be frowning and shaking her head at me. I loved annoying her like that. I unwrapped the candy and slowly ate it, chuckling at myself and how silly I must look. As I threw the wrapper on the nightstand, my eyes widened when I noticed her phone next to her lamp. Her parents must’ve placed it there. It surprised me for some reason, and as I reached for it and grabbed it, a twig snapped outside Yerim’s window and something hit the window. I gasped loudly and turned around, coming face to face with Soonyoung, as he had just climbed inside. I quickly placed Yerim’s phone in the hoodie’s pocket, something told me to hide it from Soonyoung.

“What are you doing here?!” I asked alarmed, heart beating fast from the scare. Soonyoung looked around before leaning against Yerim’s desk.

“I was running and saw light coming from her room—”

“So you just climb inside?!” I asked accusingly and Soonyoung shook his head.

“No, I didn’t meant to, but I saw it was you and—” He cleared his throat and looked down at the floor, “I don’t know…I just felt the need to talk to you.”

It made me realize this was the first time seeing him since Yerim’s funeral. And based on rumors, he wasn’t even supposed to be home.

“Are you okay? I haven’t seen you in school and Wonwoo wouldn’t talk about you.” I asked and Soonyoung looked up with a cold gaze, he looked tired.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was visiting my grandparents for a week, and I didn’t feel like going to school this week, so yeah.” Soonyoung explained and I nodded, taking in his posture. His shoulders were slumped and his forehead sweaty. He was out running, after all.

“And you?” Soonyoung cleared his throat, “Are you good?”

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking through my answer, “On some days I’m good, on some days I can’t eat nor sleep. I’m feeling content at the moment, but maybe that’s because we’re standing in Yerim’s room and I’m wearing her hoodie and I can just trick myself into believing that she’s downstairs with her mom or taking a shower…”

Soonyoung nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at the hoodie I was wearing, “That was her favorite.” I hummed and he licked his lips, starting to shake his head suddenly.

“You know—if only—” He scoffed and his eyebrows furrowed, “If only she wasn’t so stubborn. She just—she always refused to go out with me, never even gave me a chance. I tried to convince her so many times, you know, I was patient and nice, but—”

I watched as Soonyoung grew agitated and started walking up and down, “But I just couldn’t do it anymore, you know? It’s like, my brain just clicked and I snapped and—”

I was growing confused as I listened to Soonyoung rambling, what did he mean? Snapped and what?, “You snapped and what, Soonyoung?”

“I didn’t want to do it, I swear.” His voice grew low and when he stopped and faced me, he looked different. His expression was dark and his mouth was in a sneer. I gulped and stood up, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Soonyoung didn’t seem to notice my discomfort as he hung his head low and sighed loudly.

“I just couldn’t help it…” I gasped. Those words again. What did he mean by them? He didn’t…no. This is Soonyoung, it’s impossible. He couldn’t have…no. He’s my boyfriend’s best friend, he’d never—he’s not a criminal!

“We should go.” I found my voice as I shook my head, growing afraid all of a sudden. Soonyoung was acting weird and I had to go home now. My words seemed to snap him out of his mumbling and he suddenly looked at me, face void of the previous darkness.

“You’re right…” He nodded and patted my shoulder, offering me a small smile, “Don’t tell her parents I climbed in though, I don’t want them to believe I did this often.”

I forced out a chuckle and watched as he climbed out the window and then jumped down, sneaking away from the Kim’s property. My heart was beating like crazy as I closed Yerim’s window and I clutched her phone firmly in my hand as I turned the light off and closed the door behind me. I always refused to listen to what Yerim has always told me, but maybe, just perhaps, there was something very wrong with Soonyoung.

           Today the sun seemed to finally come out, no rain clouds seemed to appear anytime soon. It was warm for an October day and I found myself sitting in the courtyard, drawing in my notebook to pass time. I wasn’t hungry, so it was useless to go to the Cafeteria. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so when this morning Wonwoo approached me and suggested going on a date after classes, I declined and told him I had to do some catching up in Biology class as I skipped the last two classes having felt unwell. He got moody and stormed off without a word, making me sigh. I was pushing away everyone from myself, but I didn’t know how else to cope with the loss of my best friend. It was the only thing that made me feel content. I drew some harsh lines, trying to create the skyline in my drawing, when I saw someone approaching from the corner of my eyes. I didn’t look up, thinking it was either Wonwoo or Soonyoung, but the girly scent which hit my nose once the person sat next to me on the bench made me turn my head and look at them. It came as a surprise to see Minatozaki Sana sitting next to me, Mina’s best friend. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore a sleeveless turtleneck underneath her cardigan. She looked better than on most days, but her eyes were quite empty. She was staring at me too and I blinked at her in confusion. We never really talked to each other; she was in an entirely different grade than I was.

“Hello.” She broke the silence and I cleared my throat.

“Hi.” I greeted back and looked down at her hand curiously as she extended it towards me.

“My name is Sana; we’ve never been formally introduced to each other.” She seemed like a very straightforward person. I nodded and shook her hand.

“Indeed, my name is Y/N.” Sana hummed and we let go of each other’s hands, “I’m sorry for you loss.”

“I’m sorry for your loss too.” Sana was quick to return my words and I chuckled humorlessly, bringing a sarcastic smile on her lips. She nodded at me and then turned away, gazing at the trees on the other side of the courtyard. I continued watching her, thinking she’d say something else, but she remained silent, even ignored me. Realizing our conversation ended here I shrugged and looked down at my drawing, continuing to draw those harsh lines. And like that, we sat in silence next to each other. Sana proceeded to take out a book and read, and in a weird way, it brought comfort to have someone sitting next to me. But it was weird, if it were Wonwoo or Soonyoung, they would’ve irritated me. Sana’s presence was relaxing, understanding. Words didn’t need to be exchanged, we understood. Our silence was louder than our words could’ve been. I found myself smiling, something I haven’t done in the past four weeks. I glanced at Sana from the corner of my eyes and she was smiling too, sneaking glances at me. Before we could say anything, we both started giggling and it felt so nice. It was so relieving, as if I released all the pent-up stress I had in my muscles.

“We must look so odd to someone if they have been watching us for the past fifteen minutes.” Sana said through her giggles and I shrugged my shoulders.

“That’s the nicest thing someone could be thinking about us at the moment.” I said and Sana nodded, our giggles coming to a stop. Neither of us had to say it, but after Mina’s death there were whispers about Sana. How she killed her best friend because she was jealous of Mina’s success as she was the cheerleading captain and just wanted her position. How they weren’t even friends and kept a façade because their families were friends. Some rumors spread about Sana being in love with Mina, who didn’t reciprocate her feelings, so Sana killed her in a fit of rage. They were awful. And as the students were gossiping about Mina, they were gossiping about me too. I heard the jealousy version too, the need for attention version too, and even the version where Yerim was in love with Wonwoo and I killed her because I couldn’t stand the thought. They were hilarious, but they still got to you after a while. Just last week, Wonwoo almost got into a fight because of a guy who dared to ask me how it felt plunging that knife into Yerim. If Wonwoo wouldn’t have punched the living daylight out of him, I would’ve definitely.

“Don’t let the gossips get to you, they are ridiculous.” Sana said with a roll of her eyes and I nodded, agreeing.

“I know, but they still get bothersome after a while…” I muttered and closed my notebook as the bell rang, signaling our break was over. Sana looked up at the sky for a second and then closed her book, placing it in her backpack.

“You could always just slap them, you know.” She said with a mischievous smile and I chuckled.

“Have you slapped anyone so far?” I asked and Sana pursed her lips.

“Of course, I have,” She stood up, “Johnny thought it was funny talking about my dead friend’s figure and how pitiful it was that he couldn’t sleep with her before she died.”

I didn’t know who this Johnny was, but he deserved that slap, “How disgusting.”

“Indeed.” Sana hummed and waited for me to pack my belongings and get up from the bench. We took off, headed to the side entrance to the school, when suddenly, the intercom went off and our principal’s voice came through.

“This is the principal speaking. I ask everyone to pack their belongings and head straight to the main entrance. All students have fifteen minutes to leave the premises, a dead body was found in the men’s bathroom on the third floor. I instruct everyone to leave right now, and do not try and approach said bathroom or there will be repercussions!” Sana and I stopped dead in our tracks and looked at each other before hurrying inside the school, you could only leave through the main entrance. The halls were full of students rushing to get out, it was chaotic. Everyone was pushing everyone around and I found myself reaching for Sana’s hand, keeping her close to me as a bigger guy almost ran into her. She thanked me quietly and we continued making our way towards the main entrance. My heart was racing and suddenly I was feeling sick. Another victim. Another crime. Who was it this time? And just as that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly felt my legs turn weak. Wonwoo. Where was Wonwoo? Soonyoung? Where were they? Were they fine? I couldn’t do this again. I felt like I was walking through water again, the entrance was just there, but it felt so far away. I felt Sana tugging on my hand and I followed her, trying to control my rigged breathing.

“Hey, look at me.” She said once we were outside and she pulled me to the side of the steps, “Breathe, Y/N, you’re turning red.”

I nodded and tried to take a deep breath, but my muscles were tense and I felt tears gather in my eyes, “Where’s Wonwoo?”

An understanding look crossed Sana’s face and she started looking around, “I am sure he is alright; he’s probably looking for you right now, just as scared. You need to breathe, Y/N.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, feeling Sana’s grip tightening on my hand, and I tried to breathe. It was hard at the beginning, my lungs seemed to refuse to listen, but at last I was able to take little breaths here and there. Before I could react to the disappearance of Sana’s grip, I was engulfed into a bear hug, held tightly to someone’s chest. I gasped and opened my eyes, my arms going around Wonwoo’s neck.

“Oh my God, you’re okay.” I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheek. Wonwoo’s breathing was shaky as well and he nodded, his hold crushing me.

“Yes, yes.” He whispered and kissed my head, “Are you hurt?”

“No.” I muttered and shook my head, pulling a bit back. Wonwoo’s eyebrows were furrowed and he was breathing hard, his hair fell into his eyes. I pushed it back and smiled at him, grateful that nothing happened to him. I really wouldn’t have been able to deal with losing him too in such a sort time after Yerim’s death. I leaned up and pressed a short kiss against his lips and I could feel Wonwoo’s muscles relaxing, his hold not tight anymore.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all break.” Wonwoo muttered, pushing my hair behind my ear.

“In the courtyard, I wasn’t hungry.” I answered and then looked down, “Sorry, I should’ve told you.”

Wonwoo shook his head and kissed my forehead swiftly, “No, it’s alright.”

I realized Sana was with me seconds ago and looked around, spotting her to our right, “Thank you.”

She smiled and nodded her head before she placed her backpack around her shoulders and started walking away. Wonwoo nodded at her and Sana greeted him back before disappearing in the crowd of people.

“You know her?” He asked quietly, almost sounding irritated.

“Not really, we talked for the first time today. But I knew who she was.” I explained and he nodded, looking off in the distance.

“You shouldn’t be friends with her.” Wonwoo sounded serious as his expression hardened and I stepped out of his hold, confused.

“Why?” But before he could answer me, Soonyoung came running up to us. His hair was disheveled and he was panting, a duffel bag in his hands. My eyebrows furrowed and I stepped back when he stopped next to me a little bit too close for my liking. I’ve been avoiding him since we met in Yerim’s room, scared of his sudden changes of mood. Soonyoung had a crazed look in his eyes and he was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Wonwoo.

“Did you hear? The murderer killed someone again.” He sounded excited and my eyebrows furrowed when I saw Wonwoo’s lips twitching.

“Who was it this time?” Wonwoo asked, voice uncaring, but I didn’t miss the hint of smirk on his lips. I gulped, curious too, but a bit taken aback by the boys attitudes.

“Boo Seungkwan.” I gasped and took a step back again, eyes widening. I knew him. The two boys looked at me with raised eyebrows. I gulped and avoided their eyes, feeling uncomfortable.

“Are you sure?” I asked quietly, feeling a lump in my throat.

“One hundred percent, Y/N,” Soonyoung chuckled and he went and slung his arm around Wonwoo’s shoulders, “I was the one who found him.”

My head snapped up and I watched the two boys in front of me as they looked at each other and chuckled, and then my eyes fell on the duffle bag. It was zipped closed, but…it looked as if there was a darker spot on it. I squinted as I tried focusing on it, but Wonwoo’s voice caught my attention.

“Didn’t you know him, sugar?” He asked sweetly and I nodded, eyebrows furrowing.

“Yeah, I did, he—” I cleared my throat and scratched my arm in discomfort, “He’s been bullying me since kindergarten.”

“He must’ve had a crush on you, right, Wonwoo?” Soonyoung asked with a laugh and I grimaced, weirded out by their behavior and feeling bad for talking like that about a dead person.

“Well, he’s been put out of his misery, so, I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.” Wonwoo’s voice was smug and my eyebrows furrowed as I looked at my boyfriend, who seemed amused by the whole situation. What was happening? Why were they reacting like this? Wasn’t Soonyoung supposed to be shaken up after finding a dead body? I shuddered, and Wonwoo noticed because his demeanor changed instantly and he shook Soonyoung off him and took a step toward me.

“Y/N, I’m—”

“I have to go.” I cut him off and hurried away before he could grab me and convince me to stay with the two of them. I glanced back when I was a good distance away from them and saw Soonyoung making some slashing motions with his hand while laughing and Wonwoo smirking at him as he dug his hands inside his pockets. There was something very wrong with Soonyoung, and I was getting more and more scared of him.  

           Despite the sun being out throughout the day, by the evening some dark clouds started gathering on the sky, lightning flashing in the distance. I sighed as I drew my curtains to the side and opened the window, letting some fresh air in before the rain could start. I figured we’d have another stormy night, great, my mom had the night shift again, I hated being home alone during storms. I could hear Byeol running up and down the hallway as I sat on my bed and I chuckled, she had the zoomies again. I was holding Yerim’s phone in my hands and I figured I couldn’t do much damage if I looked through her gallery. Before leaving the Kim’s house I asked if it was alright if I borrowed her phone for a while, and they said it was okay as long as I returned it. So, pulling my hair to the side I unlocked her phone and went to her gallery. She was very organized, even when it came to pictures. There were different folders for different themes, all labeled accordingly. I clicked on the one with our nicknames for each other and giggled at the first photo. It was taken when Yerim and I went to the movies and I accidentally got stuck in the bathroom as the lock was faulty. You could see my hands from above the stall and I remembered how loudly I was screaming as I had left my phone with Yerim. It was hilarious, but I prefer not repeating the incident. Then the next one was with her neighbor’s dog; she took a selfie as we both were petting it. Then there were a bunch of hilarious and cute selfies from our latest sleepover, a few pictures of Byeol, and our favorite picture which we took while hiking one day. I sighed and looked out the window, just in time to see the lightning strike again. The thunder followed almost immediately, but it wasn’t as loud as I expected it to be. I looked back down at Yerim’s phone and excited her camera roll, about to place her phone to the side, when Byeol came zooming inside my room, scaring the living daylight out of me. I yelped and watched as she stopped underneath my window before she jumped up on the sill, looking at me innocently. I grimaced at her and looked back down at the phone, having accidentally opened the call log. My eyes ran over the familiar names of people, mine being the last one. I was the last person Yerim called before she died. A lump formed in my throat and I gulped, noticing the unknown number underneath mine. Who could that have been? Maybe a scammer or a guy she newly met, however I doubted that was the case, she always saved the numbers she was talking to. Biting my lower lip, I debated calling the unknown number, but after all, I had nothing to lose. And curiosity was eating my alive. So, I clicked on the number and dialed it, waiting patiently for the person on the other side to pick up. However, a ringing sound not too far away from my window suddenly caught my attention and I knew I wasn’t hallucinating as Byeol’s ears perked up at the sound too. But before I could think more of it, my call was picked up, but there was only silence on the other end. My eyebrows furrowed as I stood from my bed and walked towards Byeol, lightly petting her head as I looked out my window.

“Hello?” I asked quietly, getting a strange feeling of being watched, so I closed the window and locked it quickly.

“Hi there, beautiful.” I jumped at the distorted voice. It sounded like a robot speaking, the voice was low but almost glitchy. I looked out the window, wondering who was this and why had they called Yerim?

“Who are you?” I asked curiously, figuring it was just someone playing a prank on me.

“Wouldn’t it be boring if I told you that?” The voice almost took a playful tone and I chuckled.

“Perhaps, it would ruin your fun too soon, right?” I decided to play along and the person chuckled.

“Smart girl, indeed, it would ruin my fun too soon.” There was a pause before they continued, “And I’m not done having fun yet.”

I hummed and started petting Byeol’s head again as she was staring out the window, “Why did you call Yerim?”

“I was just about to ask; how do you have your dead friend’s phone?” I paused for a second, eyebrows furrowing. So this person seems to know us well. First, they probably called Yerim and were pranking her and now they are playing with me. It’s probably one of our classmates then, Mark likes goofing around.

“You must know us well if you have her number.” I decided to feel around and try and find out who this was.

“Oh,” The person chuckled and it sent a chill down my spine, “I happen to know you very well, Y/N.”

I licked my lips and looked down at Byeol as she pulled her head away, having had enough of my petting, “Really? How?”

The person chuckled again and I watched as Byeol jumped down from the window sill and walked out of my room, “I can’t tell you all of my secrets just yet, beautiful, it’s our first time talking.”

“I don’t think it is,” I chuckled, “Mark.”

There was a pause before the person sighed, “Who’s Mark, beautiful?”

I rolled my eyes, amused, “Ha-ha, very funny. My classmate, obvious. You really like playing pranks on people, don’t you? I thought last week’s detention was enough for a lifetime.”

“What if I’m not Mark?” The voice sounded very serious all of a sudden and I bit my lower lip, tracing a rain drop on my window as it started lightly raining.

“Then who could you possibly be?” There was another lightning and I turned around when Byeol started meowing loudly in my doorway. She was hungry, again, “I’m bored of this game—”

I turned to face the window again but instead of finishing my sentence, I cut myself off with a loud scream. A masked person was standing outside my window, and I started shaking as I froze for a second. It was…a Ghostface.

“Auch, beautiful, that was loud.” The Ghostface whined and I quickly drew the curtains closed, pulling down the blinds too, “What are you doing? Let me see you—”

“Who are you?!” I cut the person off, almost screaming as I ran out of my room, Byeol following agitatedly behind me. I checked the front door quickly, making sure it was locked before I went to check the door in the living room as well.

“Just a Ghostface, beautiful.” The person answered nonchalantly and my heart started beating fast as I hid behind the sofa, pulling Byeol into my chest. She made no sound as she gazed at me with her big green eyes.

“Stop calling me beautiful!” I snapped and tried to take deep breaths, debating on calling the police from my own phone. Who was this? What did they want? Were they…were they here to hurt me? What if…what if they were the killer? I felt dread flush over my whole being and I swallowed my tears and blinked my eyes continuously. I had to stay focused, if I was in danger, I had to save myself somehow.

“Did I scare you, beau—”

“Did you kill Kim Yerim?” I cut the Ghostface off, voice shaky as I waited for an answer. The person’s laughter made me shudder and Byeol wrestled herself out of my arms and meowed loudly at me for holding her so tightly. I felt sorry, but I was scared, and I was trying to hold her close to myself in case we needed to escape.

“Maybe I did.” There was a pause and I gasped, “Maybe I didn’t.”

I sprung up to my feet, acting out of pure terror, as I ran up to my room and grabbed my phone. I was too scared to look out of my window to see if the person was still there. There was a loud thunder and I screamed as the line went dead, leaving me shaking. Was the Ghostface gone? Shakily, I placed Yerim’s phone on my desk and slowly raised the blinds, scared of seeing the Ghostface outside of my window still. But nobody was there. I was scared, shaking, and on the verge of crying. Byeol was downstairs and the rain started falling harder. I couldn’t stay alone tonight; it would kill my nerves. So I quickly unlocked my phone and dialed my boyfriend’s number, pacing up and down in my room as I waited for him to pick up. Something rustled outside of my window and I froze when I faintly heard Wonwoo’s familiar ringtone, but the thunder swallowing the sound was louder and it made me feel stupid. Why would Wonwoo be right outside my window unannounced either way? What was he? A burglar? Wonwoo picked up on the third ring.

“Hi—”

“Can you sleepover tonight?” I cut him off, words hurried as I fixed my eyes on my window, starting to shake again.

“Are you alright?” Wonwoo sounded concerned and I heard rustling on the other end.

“No, are you coming over?”

“I’m on my way.” Wonwoo said before hanging up and I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. This was good. I wouldn’t be alone. Wonwoo would come by and sleep here. I took deep breaths as I paced around my room, Byeol sat in the doorway and watched me with a confused look on her face. I chuckled when I looked at her and tried not to think about the Ghostface and our conversation. It freaked me out. Who was behind the mask? And why would they want to prank anyone in this kind of way? It was distasteful and creepy, I was scared. Just as Byeol meowed she reminded that I forgot to feed her, the doorbell rang. I paused and looked at Byeol, my heart suddenly racing again. Who was that? Wonwoo lived twenty minutes away from me and it wasn’t even five minutes since I had called him, it couldn’t have been him. Was it…the person wearing that Ghostface mask? My heart started beating fast again and I glanced at Byeol as she started meowing loudly and took off towards the front door. The doorbell rang again and I hurried after my cat, calling out her name quietly.

“Stop!” I whisper-shouted, motioning at her to come to me, but she was ignoring me. Her meows were loud and I cursed quietly as I creeped towards the front door, convinced that it wasn’t Wonwoo, but that masked person. I should call the police. Suddenly there was loud knocking on the front door and I jumped as Byeol glanced at me.

“Y/N?!” Wonwoo’s deep voice made me sigh in relief as I quickly unlocked the front door and opened it for him. His hair was drenched and his jacket and jeans were wet too, it was pouring outside now. Byeol started meowing as Wonwoo stepped inside and he smiled at her, kneeling down to muzzle his face against her head. Byeol loved Wonwoo and they always played together a lot when Wonwoo came over. But…how did he get here so fast?

“Wonwoo—you’re drenched.” I muttered suspiciously as I helped him out of his jacket. He suddenly looked at me with a wide smile, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah, I was on my way here when the rain started.” He said with a shrug and I hung his jacket on the hanger.

“But you got here really fast…” I trailed off and watched him take off his shoes before he gave Byeol a swift kiss.

“Oh, yeah, I was already on my way—”

“Why?” I asked accusingly, eyebrows furrowed, and arms crossed in front of my chest. There were too many weird things happening today, I was freaked out. I couldn’t decide if my thoughts were real or I was being delusional. Could I seriously not trust my own boyfriend anymore? But he gave me no reasons…

Wonwoo looked taken aback by my tone and words, “Uhm…I just wanted to surprise you? You told me your mom was working the nightshift and I know you hate storms…”

He was right, I was overreacting, “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry—it’s just, lately I’m so jumpy.”

Wonwoo smiled and approached me, cupping my cheeks, “I noticed, but it’s fine. Things will get better eventually.”

I nodded and kissed his lips, their warmth bringing a sense of tranquility as I stepped closer to him. Wonwoo’s grip got firmer and our lips started moving against each other as I circled my arms around his neck, his wet hair tingling my wrists. One of his hand’s gripped my waist, and I hummed when his familiar scent hit my nose. It felt nice kissing him, I’ve been keeping my distance from Wonwoo, feeling uncomfortable lately with any physical contact besides a brief hug. And this felt nice now. His familiar lips, and firm grip, musky scent, I realized I had missed them. Byeol’s loud meowing broke us apart and I chuckled as I pressed another kiss against Wonwoo’s lips.

“Poor cat, she’s hungry…can you feed her while I bring you a towel?” I asked and Wonwoo nodded with a smile, releasing me from his hold as I turned and headed to the bathroom. Byeol followed Wonwoo as they headed into the kitchen and I could hear him pouring the cat food into her little bowl. I got a clean towel and then walked to the kitchen, handing it to Wonwoo.

“Do you want tea or hot chocolate?” I asked with a grin as I grabbed two mugs. Wonwoo pursed his lips and pulled out his glasses from the pocket of his hoodie.

“It’s a hot chocolate kind of night.”

“Right?!” I asked with a chuckle and he nodded at me amused.

“Do you still have my spare clothes?’ Wonwoo asked and I chuckled as I glanced back at him.

“What do you think?” He smirked at me and pushed up his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, “They are in the laundry room.”

Wonwoo thanked me and then walked away, leaving me with Byeol in the kitchen. While she quietly ate her food I prepared the hot chocolate for Wonwoo and I. He took his time to change out of his wet clothes and dried his hair with the towel as best as he could. When he joined us in the kitchen again, the hot chocolate were already ready and Byeol was somewhere off in the house, probably sleeping as she had just eaten. I handed Wonwoo a mug as he approached me and he thanked me with his signature gummy smile. I had always loved his smile, it made him look so cute. It was a nice contrast compared to his usual poker face. Wonwoo wasn’t very expressive usually, but when it was just the two of us, he could be very cute. He interlaced our fingers as we drank our hot chocolate and I giggled, raising my eyebrows at him.

“I missed you.” He whispered, looking down at his mug. I bit my lower lip and felt bad for pushing him away for so long, but I needed the space. I still do, but it’s not as bad as after the funeral.

“I’m sorry, I just felt uncomfortable around people after…” I trailed off and sighed, taking a sip of my hot chocolate. Wonwoo squeezed my hand.

“I understand you, and I’m not pressuring you in any way. It must hurt like hell losing your best friend.” I gulped a bit harder and glanced at Wonwoo briefly, noticing the change in his behavior. There it was again, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. It was confusing.

“Yeah, it hurts a lot. I hope the criminal is caught soon so that I can face them—”

“And what would you do?” Wonwoo sounded curious as he turned his body to face mine. I raised an eyebrow at him as I shrugged.

“That they are a piece of shit and I hope they rot away in prison until they get to root in hell.” Despite me being dead serious, Wonwoo started laughing and I pulled my hand out of his, slightly irritated.

“You’re hot when you get fired up, sugar.” Normally his compliments would leave me feeling giddy, but we were talking about the murderer of my best friend right now, there was nothing hot about it.

I shot Wonwoo a glare before walking to the sink to wash my mug, “I thought we were having a serious conversation, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo sighed and approached me, still sipping his hot chocolate, “Come on, I was just joking—”

“Well it’s not funny!” I snapped, looking at him, “Yerim was murdered and you’re telling me I’m hot when I talk about her murderer?!”

“No, that’s not hot, I was just saying you are—nevermind, I’m not in the mood to fight. You’ve been ignoring me for three weeks and when we finally get to spend some time together you’re just getting angry at me.” Wonwoo sounded accusing as he placed the mug forcefully in the sink and I rolled my eyes.

“What did you expect me to do? Jump in your arms the day after my friend’s funeral—”

“You didn’t have to push me away!” His voice raised and I turned to wash his mug too, hating it when he started getting loud while arguing, “I get that you don’t let me touch you, but you wouldn’t even speak to me, Y/N! If I knew you’d be like this I wouldn’t have let Soonyoung—”

I paused, turning to look at Wonwoo. He seemed speechless as he stared at me wide eyed, shaking his head. I turned off the water and faced him.

“What the hell are you even saying?” I asked confused, trying to comprehend his words but I didn’t understand what he was talking about. What had Soonyoung to do with our argument right now? What did he do?

“Nothing, I’m just—” Wonwoo shrugged and took a deep breath, composing himself, “I just missed you, that’s it. I hate arguing with you, you know that.”

“Yeah, well,” I scoffed and dried my hands in a towel, “I wouldn’t be arguing with you if you tried to understand my feelings—”

“I do understand.” He cut me off and my jaw clenched as I gave him a glare.

“I don’t feel it, but whatever, do you want to watch a movie or what?” Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to watch anything, I just wanted to go to sleep, but I knew Wonwoo would bother me until I wasn’t grumpy.

“Do you want to watch one?” Wonwoo asked with a sigh, knowing that our previous conversation was over.

“No.” I muttered and he looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath.

“Do you want to go to sleep?” I nodded wordlessly and he pulled me into a hug, making me roll my eyes. I didn’t want to be hugged right now, but I didn’t push him away, just didn’t reciprocate the hug, “It’s still early to go to sleep.”

It wasn’t that early, but he was right, I would wake up during the night, probably, “Whatever, I want to go to bed.”

He groaned and suddenly I felt his hands gripping my thighs as I was hauled up, I yelped and grabbed onto him, “What are you doing?!”

Wonwoo said nothing as he took off and headed up the stairs, towards my room. He pushed the door open with his foot and walked towards my bed, before I could ask him to let me down, he fell forward, crushing me against the bed with his weight. I groaned as my bed’s mattress wasn’t soft.

“Wonwoo…” I muttered with a glare, grabbing his shoulders to push him off. He whined and didn’t move as he nuzzled his head in my neck, “You’re too heavy.”

“And you’re too grumpy.” He muttered and I slapped his shoulder, making him chuckle. I wanted him off, but he wasn’t budging. Before I could interject, he started pressing kisses against my neck, knowing well I was ticklish there, but I tried to keep my laughter in as I tried wrestling out from underneath him. Wonwoo was having the time of his life as he started laughing and tickling my sides too, making me cry out in despair as I hated being tickled.

“Stop! Wonwoo!” I tried to push his hands away, but it was futile. Wonwoo was giggling and quickly kissed my lips before he finally stopped tickling me, smiling at me mischievously. I glared at him and as I went to smack his arm, Byeol decided to join us as she jumped up on Wonwoo’s back. I started laughing as Wonwoo hissed, Byeol’s nails dug into his back, he deserved it after torturing me here.

“Hey, Byeol!” Wonwoo started shaking his back, trying to get my cat off of him, but it wasn’t working, so I started poking her, trying to get her off his back. And it worked, because Byeol jumped off and Wonwoo finally got off of me as well to start playing with my cat. He got on the floor and started pushing her lightly around, making Byeol land on her side as she started turning around, attacking Wonwoo’s fingers and jumping on his hand. I chuckled and left the two to play as I went to the bathroom to change into my pajamas and brush my teeth. I was too tired to shower, so I tried to be quick and when I walked back inside my room, Wonwoo and Byeol were still playing. I poked Byeol to rile her up more and she lunged for Wonwoo’s hand, making him hiss as I plugged in my phone. I looked at him and Wonwoo was glaring at Byeol.

“Did she scratch you?” I asked as Wonwoo got up and sat on my bed.

“Yeah.” He nodded and showed me his hand, two long, red, scratches decorating his hand. I pouted at him mockingly and kissed the scratches before laying down in my bed and pulling the blanket over my body.

“Don’t worry, soldier, those scratches won’t kill you for now.” I said mockingly and Wonwoo rolled his eyes, pulling the blanket over my head, but I managed to punch his bicep, making him groan. I giggled and pulled the blanket off, sticking my tongue out at him, “Are you coming to bed?”

“Nah,” Wonwoo stood and walked to my computer, “I want to play COD before I go to sleep.”

“Fine,” I muttered and closed my eyes, “but don’t stay up until late and check if we locked the front door before you come to bed.”

“Okay, mom.” Wonwoo muttered and I rolled my eyes, “Good night.”

“I love you.” I whispered and sighed, getting comfortable as Wonwoo turned off all the lights in my room and only left on the one at my desk. I heard Byeol moving around, no doubt she went to sleep in Wonwoo’s lap as he started playing Call of Duty.

           After Wonwoo left I had a whole three days to think about everything that’s been happening lately and they way Soonyoung and him were acting from time to time. It was getting quite obvious that there was something wrong with Soonyoung and it seems like only Yerim had noticed until now. The boy gets upset at the smallest of things and he’s always saying some fucked up shit about the people he doesn’t like, and it almost always involves a comment about how the Earth would be better off without them and that he could slay them in their sleep. I never paid attention to these comments because I thought he was just joking as he has always had a dark sense of humor. But it didn’t make sense why he was at the pool on the day Yerim died. I was the last person she called and somehow Soonyoung knew about her death. Was he perhaps nearby? But why would he be? Yerim refused to go on a date that evening, so there was no reason for Soonyoung to show up there. He was tough to deal with, but if he was told no, he wouldn’t bother you for a while. And his words kept bothering me still, ‘I just couldn’t help it’, what did he mean by them? What has he done? Wonwoo’s slip up about how he wouldn’t have let Soonyoung do whatever also didn’t sit right with me. I wished there was someone I could talk to about these crazy thoughts, but I knew how it would sound. Was I accusing Soonyoung of killing Yerim? Not exactly, but it started sounding like that. Was I suspecting my boyfriend’s best friend about being a murderer? I tried not to, but it was becoming difficult. So I decided to try and talk to him, sort things out with Soonyoung without accusing him of anything, just ask him all of the questions I desperately needed an answer to and everything would be alright. But Soonyoung started avoiding me, he wouldn’t talk to me if it was unnecessary and he’d only sit with me if Wonwoo was with us, and even then, he remained quiet. It was weird, Soonyoung talked a lot. I brought it up to Wonwoo and he said not to think too much about it as it was Soonyoung and his talkativeness depended a lot on his mood. I tried to explain to Wonwoo that I didn’t care about that, that it was his attitude which changed and that I wasn’t able to talk to him because he was avoiding me or ignoring me, but Wonwoo just shrugged it off and said that he didn’t notice anything weird with him. I knew it was futile to press the matter more, so I let it go and focused on other things. Sana and I started hanging out in the long breaks and it felt nice to have a girl to talk to again. However, one day, she freaked me out a bit.

“Did you notice how every murdered person has something to do with you so far?” She had asked as she took a bite of her sandwich. I had choked on my smoothie upon hearing her words.

“No? What are you talking about?” I had asked confused, goosebumps erupting on my skin.

“Well,” She had started saying as she gazed up at the sky, “Yerim was your best friend, you’ve known Seungkwan since you were little and well…you sort of knew Mina too, she was Wonwoo’s ex.”

Yes, I had known all these people, but I couldn’t follow Sana’s train of thought, “Yeah, but…it’s not like I’m the only one who knew them…”

“True,” Sana had hummed and then had looked at me, “Whatever, ignore what I said. I’ve just been thinking about it.”

So, we moved on with our conversation after that, however, her words made me think hard about what she had said. Somehow, she wasn’t wrong. I had known all three people, even if not from very close, they did have a significance in my life at some point, it made me shudder again. I thought about bringing it up to Wonwoo when we were hanging out after class, but I was scared he’d think I was going crazy. I was just desperate to find out who murdered and why my best friend, and all these other people. And what if I was the serial killer’s next target? Nobody was safe.

           Time flies by so fast you don’t even notice it. It feels like Yerim’s funeral was yesterday yet it’s Halloween already. Almost two months have had passed since losing her, and I was still getting used to it. I couldn’t say it was easier, but I was doing slightly better. Today was a particularly hard day as Halloween was Yerim and I’s favorite holiday. We’d always dress up in our favorite character at the moment and throw a small house party for our close friends. The rules were that we’d go trick or treating to each other and before midnight we’d gather at a bonfire and tell scary stories which have happened to us. It was a lot of fun each year and we couldn’t wait for it; however, it was my first Halloween without Yerim and it didn’t feel right. I was feeling nauseous all day long and quite moody as the weather had gotten colder too. Sana noticed my grumpiness and once I told her what the issue was she left me alone. Wonwoo wasn’t so understanding as we had talked about going to a Haunted House for fun months ago. He said he understood yet he was pressuring me in going with them. He promised it would be fun and that I shouldn’t stay at home and sulk all night long. I wasn’t sulking, I was trying to cope with the absence of my best friend, but it seemed like he didn’t understand that. So, very reluctantly, I agreed to go with him to the Haunted House. A few of his friends would be joining us, so I figured asking Sana if she’d like to come wouldn’t hurt anyone. She seemed quite excited once I told her and she promised to pick me up at around nine as Wonwoo wanted to go out beforehand with his friends. That was fine with me, I wasn’t in the mood to hang out with drunk teenage guys either way. They would get loud and pushy; I knew someone would bring up Yerim and it was the last thing I needed tonight. Mom was happy to see me going out and even encouraged me when I asked her to braid my hair. I wasn’t in the mood to go shopping for a costume, so I dressed in last year’s witch outfit. Nobody would care either way. Only Yerim actually cared, and she wasn’t here. Last year I was the one hosting the small party and I figured since I had a black cat I should dress up as a witch, it was a total success. Everyone loved the look and the vibes.

As nine o’clock approached, Sana texted me that she was right outside my house and after mom kissed my cheek and told me to have fun I left the house and jogged up to Sana’s extravagant car. They were quite rich and despite her being humble, her things screamed rich girl vibes.

“Hi!” She greeted me excited and I waved at her as I sat inside the car, “How are you?”

I sighed and closed the door, “Well, I had better days.”

“You look amazing though,” She patted my thigh and I nodded wordlessly, “If at any point you feel uncomfortable and want to come home, don’t feel hesitant to tell me. I’ll drive you.”

I felt my heart warming at her comment and gave her a genuine thankful smile, “Thank you.”

Sana wasn’t Yerim, and she’d never be, but it felt nice to have someone who was so understanding and kind. She’s shown me nothing but kindness since we started talking and it was refreshing. Sana was soft spoken and quiet usually, she didn’t speak unasked and often times we’d just sit in silence next to each other, enjoying each other’s presence. She was the total opposite of Yerim, yet we seemed to get along well. Sana made me feel seen and understood when nobody else could, perhaps that’s why I felt a little attached to her. I could only hope that she felt the same about me and didn’t think I was cold to her.

Once we got to the Haunted House the place was buzzing with people, everyone was excited for the new addition of the Amusement Park. It was a Halloween special and it was the first year they had opened a Haunted House for Halloween. Yerim would’ve loved coming here, we’ve discussed our outfits for tonight quite often and how much fun we’d have at the Haunted House, but now I had to do all of that alone. I owed it to her at least. Finding Wonwoo wasn’t hard as he and his friends had come with their bikes and they were gathered at the entrance of the Park, being loud and annoying. Sana followed after me as I was headed their way. I spotted Wonwoo next to his motorbike and walked towards him, catching his attention when I got nearby. He grinned at me and opened his arms once I was next to him, pulling me in a big hug.

“Hello, beautiful.” I smiled and pulled back, kissing his cheek. His friends got quiet and I faced them, waving at everyone. They greeted me back and I glanced at Sana before clearing my throat.

“This is Sana,” I introduced her to everyone, and starting from our left started introducing the boys, “That’s Minghao, Vernon, Soonyoung and Jeonghan.”

“Nice to meet you!” Sana smiled and the boys quickly greeted her, Minghao shaking her hand and introducing himself individually too. I chuckled and looked at Wonwoo who was smirking. Minghao wasn’t very interested in girls, but when he was, he made it quite obvious and Sana was a gorgeous girl. Jeonghan was smirking to our right as he watched me and I noticed, so I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Looking quite ravishing, Y/N.” Jeonghan said in a flirty tone and I felt Wonwoo’s arm tightening around my shoulders. Jeonghan was quite flirty, even with me. I used to think he was annoying, but after getting to know him better, I realized he flirted even with his guy friends, I figured it’s just the way he was. Besides, he was no threat when it came to Wonwoo, I was too in love with my boyfriend to find any other guy interesting enough. Sometimes I wished Wonwoo understood that too and stopped being jealous, but I figured he was just the possessive type.

“Thank you, interesting choice of outfit, Jeonghan.” I commented, making Soonyoung laugh as he pushed off his bike. I glanced at him but he was avoiding eye contact, still.

“Who dresses up as a cat, Jeonghan?” Soonyoung teased but Jeonghan just shrugged and pushed his long hair behind his shoulders.

“I do, why? Are you falling in love with me?” Jeonghan started leaning towards Soonyoung who flicked him off and grabbed his backpack off his bike.

“Yeah, right.” He muttered sarcastically and Minghao smiled, speaking up.

“Are we going in then?”

“Yes, let’s go!” Vernon said with excitement lacing his voice and I nodded, sighing quietly. Wonwoo noticed and looked down at me.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly as we took off towards the ticket booth. I nodded and pressed a kiss against his lips, bringing a smile on his face. He bopped our noses together before we joined the others in line, waiting to buy our tickets too.

           The night seemed to be going well, everyone was having fun. Sana and Vernon seemed to be hitting it off quite well, much to Minghao’s disappointment. Jeonghan kept giggling as Minghao continued sulking while we watched Sana and Vernon play a shooting game in order to win a pink teddy bear. Sana really wanted it, but after missing almost all targets she walked away sulkily and that’s all it took Vernon to try his luck, and he seemed to be doing really well.

“Does our little Vernon have a new crush?” It was the first time in a while Soonyoung addressed me directly and I looked at him surprised. Was he done ignoring me and avoiding me?

“Who knows, but I don’t blame him.” I said with a shrug and Soonyoung looked at me.

“Good for him, she never liked me.” Soonyoung sounded a little bitter and it made me remember that Wonwoo and Mina once were together, of course Soonyoung and Sana knew each other. But I didn’t know he was into her…much like he was into Yerim as well. Interesting pattern, I thought to myself as my eyebrows lightly furrowed. Soonyoung seemed to notice and he cleared his throat, looking off in the distance.

“Do you want some cotton candy?” He asked as he took out his wallet.

“No, thank you, Wonwoo is buying some caramel popcorn for us.” I declined nicely and Soonyoung nodded.

“I’ll be right back.” He said before walking off to the cotton candy booth, buying one for himself. I continued watching Vernon and Sana as they both laughed, trying their luck for another plushie, this time it was a blue shark. Wonwoo was buying popcorn not far away and Jeonghan and Minghao decided to ride a very scary looking roller-coaster. They didn’t want to come to the Haunted House with us so we agreed to meet in an hour at the Ferris-wheel as we had to wait a little for our tour at the Haunted House. They only let in around ten people at every half an hour. Chuckling at Vernon’s dramatic fail at hitting the last target, I noticed someone in my peripheral vision. The person seemed to be approaching me and as I turned my head a wide smile erupted on my lips. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I hadn’t seen him in ages. It was Seonghwa, my ex-boyfriend. He was my first serious boyfriend and I only had fond memories of him. We parted on friendly terms and have been civil with each other ever since. He moved away two years ago, so it was a surprise to see him here.

“Seonghwa!” I exclaimed as I ran up to him and engulfed him in a hug. He giggled and hugged me back just as tightly. He had gotten taller since the last time we saw each other. He still had that bubble gum scent, it made me giddy.

“Y/N, I would’ve never thought we’d meet here of all places!” He said with a laugh as we let go of each other and took a small step back.

“Right?!” I chuckled as we smiled widely at each other, “I didn’t even know you were back in town!”

“Yeah, it’s a brief visit, so I didn’t tell anyone.” He scratched his nape awkwardly, “I wasn’t even supposed to be here, but San and Wooyoung dragged me here because of the Haunted House.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s a hot topic at the moment. I wasn’t in the mood to come, but I promised Wonwoo we’d go so…” I trailed off with a sigh and Seonghwa nodded.

“How is he?” He asked with a polite smile and I shrugged, looking around for him.

“He’s fine, just the usual.” I answered and Seonghwa nodded.

“I, uh—” He cleared his throat, “I heard what happened to Yerim. I’m very sorry for your loss. She didn’t deserve that.”

I looked away and gulped, hating that she was the topic, but I knew Seonghwa didn’t mean bad, “Thank you, she really didn’t. She was taken from us so early…”

Seonghwa gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “I’m always here for you, I hope you know that.”

“I do.” His words brought a smile to my face, even after breaking up, Seonghwa was always there to support me and cheer me up until he had to move away. He was a kind soul always looking out for others, “How’s your grandma?”

“She’s the reason I’m visiting, actually, she’s not doing so well.” Seonghwa’s voice lowered and he looked down, it was my turn to offer him a reassuring pat.

“I’m sad to hear that, I hope she gets better.” Seonghwa nodded and I could hear them before seeing them. Wooyoung was almost screaming as he was telling San to let him go to the teddy bear booth. He wanted to get the blue shark Vernon lost, but San wasn’t letting him as he had spent too much money already. Seonghwa and I looked at each other before we burst out laughing.

He shook his head and sighed tiredly, “I better go and do some damage control before we get kicked out.”

I laughed and nodded, ushering him away, “When are you going to the Haunted House?”

Seonghwa glanced at his wrist watch, “In about ten minutes.”

“Oh, that’s great! Us too!” Seonghwa had an excited smile on his face as he waved at me and quickly ran up to San and Wooyoung, who were full on arguing by now. I chuckled and shook my head, but quickly jumped when someone gripped my arm.

“Who was that?” Wonwoo’s deep voice whispered in my ear and I turned to face him with a grin.

“Seonghwa!” I answered him and Wonwoo hummed as he released me and looked after Seonghwa who was now standing in between San and Wooyoung, talking and making exaggerated hand gestures. I had to laugh as I watched them. Wonwoo had known about Seonghwa, but he’s never seen him in person. Wonwoo and I started dating a few days after Seonghwa moved away.

“And those two idiots are his best friends, San and Wooyoung.” I explained to Wonwoo as he started eating our popcorn, “They are very loud, argue almost all the time and like to cause trouble. Poor Seonghwa…sometimes I pity him for having left him alone with those two devils.”

Wonwoo gave me a quick glance before he interlaced our fingers and pulled me away, walking us towards the Haunted House, “Well you’re not their mother, so I’m glad I stole you away.”

I rolled my eyes and gave Wonwoo a look, “You didn’t steal me away, dumbass, Seonghwa and I had broken up a year before I started dating you. The only thing you stole is my heart.”

My last comment brought a smug grin on Wonwoo’s lips and he kissed me before acting like nothing happened, “I love you.”

I laughed and leaned closer to him, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Wonwoo looked at me from the corner of his eyes, “You did.”

“No, I didn’t.” I shook my head and pouted at him.

“Yes, you did.”

“How could I, everyone is so loud and you were speaking so quietly.”

“I love you.” Wonwoo said with a groan, louder this time, and I giggled as I punched his stomach playfully and grabbed some popcorn into my hands. He rolled his eyes and rested his arm around my shoulders as we spotted the others in front of the Haunted House staying in line and joined them.

            The Haunted House was a twenty-minute walk and it was quite well done. I got a good scare right as we started the tour, a killer doctor jumped in front of Wonwoo and I, and I screamed the loudest, scaring Sana and Vernon who were behind us. Wooyoung and San, who were at the front with Seonghwa, started laughing at me and I stuck my tongue out at Wooyoung. However, he got his payback when a black fake spider was dropped on his head and he almost passed out from screaming so loud, making the whole group erupt in loud laughter. Vernon seemed to like their vibes as he dragged Sana to the front to be with them and I chuckled as I looked at Wonwoo.

“San and Wooyoung can be fun people, but they tire you out very quickly.” I told my boyfriend as we walked through a very dark zone, ghostly voices coming from the speakers. I was holding his hand tightly and I could feel his shoulder grazing mine lightly.

“Did you spend a lot of time with them?” He asked curiously.

“I did,” I chuckled, remembering all the fun I used to have with them and Seonghwa, “On Friday’s we’d go to the diner and after we’d go karting, it was a lot of fun. It was a tradition of ours which was started by Wooyoung.”

“Sounds nice,” Wonwoo muttered and then I felt him squeezing my hand when we heard footsteps running behind us, “Why don’t we have something similar?”

His question made me think. I didn’t exactly know, maybe because Wonwoo didn’t invite me to hang out with his friends quite often, so I wasn’t very close to them besides Soonyoung, “I don’t know, I figured you don’t like it when I hang out with you and your friends.”

“That’s not true,” Wonwoo scoffed as a marionette was hung in front of us, dangling limply and I flinched, “I don’t mind you hanging out with us.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I told him as we were partially blinded by green neon lights, “You never told me that though. And you never invited me out with you guys either…”

Wonwoo was silent as he glanced at me and stepped in front of me when a man dressed in Frankenstein ran towards us. I could hear Sana giggling in the next room and I pulled Wonwoo after me, entering the room just in time to see Wooyoung threateningly throwing punches at a skeleton and cussing at it. San was laughing loudly and Seonghwa was apologizing to the masked man as he clutched his shoulder. Sana and Vernon were watching it unfold with amusement, and I chuckled as Wonwoo and I approached them.

“What did he do this time?” I asked Seonghwa while pointing at Wooyoung, but it was San who answered me.

“The vampire jumped out of its coffin and Wooyoung punched it.” It made me laugh too as Seonghwa dragged his friend away from the skeleton before bowing at the vampire guy again. The guy just told us to go on and went back inside his coffin.

“Ah, Y/N, finally!” Wooyoung exclaimed once he saw me talking to San and ran up to me, throwing his arm around my shoulders as he pulled me with himself to the front. I glanced back at Wonwoo, but he just smiled and nodded, joining Vernon and Sana at the back of the group. Soonyoung and the other three people who came with us seemed to be much more ahead of us, so our little group stuck together.

“I hear you’ve been causing problems all night long, Wooyoung.” I narrowed my eyes at my friend and he chuckled, placing a hand on his chest.

“Non-sense, was it Seonghwa who told you that? You know he’s always lying and overreacting!” I chuckled as Seonghwa slapped the back of Wooyoung’s head and San glanced back at us with a grin before he opened the next door. The room was pitch black and I gulped, a bit nervous about entering it. I knew Wooyoung wouldn’t release me, he knew I hated the dark, but I still preferred being with Wonwoo right now.

“It’s good that our gang is back together.” It was San who was talking and I lightly ran into him as he stopped to wait for us. He seemed unbothered by the whole tour and was just laughing at everything and making fun of Wooyoung any chance he got.

“Yeah, I missed you.” Wooyoung said and squeezed my shoulder as I lightly held onto his hoodie, scared a bit. I knew Seonghwa was next to me, on my left, and San in front of me and the others behind, but I still felt uneasy.

“I missed you too, although you’re being a pain in the ass—”

“Am not!” Wooyoung exclaimed and soon screamed as a strong light was flashed in our faces and fake bats came flying towards us. I screamed too and ducked as I held onto my head, scared they’d get entangled into my braided hair. San was laughing as he caught one and started antagonizing Wooyoung with it, running after him as they ran into the next room. Seonghwa was quick to approach me and help me stand, but Wonwoo was by my side instantly, and the two looked at each other as each held my arm. I chuckled awkwardly and shook off their grips, standing up on my own.

“Sorry, I hate bats.” I muttered embarrassed as Vernon and Sana walked by us.

“I know.” Both boys said at the same time and I felt awkward as they looked at each other before Wonwoo cleared his throat and Seonghwa scratched his nape.

“Uhm, let’s go?” I proposed and they both nodded as we took off, Seonghwa going in front of us as I intertwined my fingers with Wonwoo, who was glaring at the back of my ex-boyfriend’s head.

“Stop it.” I whispered at Wonwoo and his jaw clenched, “Wonwoo, you know he means no harm.”

“I don’t like it when other guys touch you, Y/N.” Wonwoo snapped at me and I sighed, side eyeing him.

“Jesus, he just tried to help me up—”

“I was there already; he didn’t have to.” Wonwoo’s voice raised lightly and I stopped walking and faced him as I was sure Seonghwa could hear it all and I didn’t want to make him feel more uncomfortable.

“Can you stop acting like this? Have I given you any reason to be jealous, Wonwoo?” I called out my boyfriend and he rolled his eyes, releasing my hand.

“You have no trouble being so friendly with him.”

“Maybe because we remained friends?!” I exclaimed and Wonwoo just sighed, walking by me, “Seriously?”

“What? I’m curious what’s in the next room.” He muttered and I rolled my eyes as I followed after him. What a way to ruin the little fun I started having. I just sighed as I followed behind Wonwoo, not even interested anymore in the Haunted House and all of the different masked people jumping out in front of me, trying to scare me. Seonghwa was back at the front, San and Wooyoung pulling him in all kinds of directions as he didn’t turn around anymore, keeping his distance. I felt bad for him and reminded myself to apologize for Wonwoo’s behavior, reassuring him that he did nothing wrong and Wonwoo sometimes overreacted. There were flashing lights in the room we were in currently and ghosts hung from the ceiling as people were screaming through the speakers. I sighed and shielded my eyes, the lights hurting them as I hurried towards the last door. The others were outside already and I was left behind, I didn’t notice that everyone walked out while I was getting lost in my thoughts. Just as I was about to touch the doorknob, a dressed up person jumped in front of me, blocking my way. I gasped and jumped back, eyes widening when I came face to face with a Ghostface. The person wore a black gown and a real looking knife was in its hand. My heart started racing and I started backing away from the person, getting flashbacks from the night they had shown up at my house.

“What—what are you—” The Ghostface chuckled and slowly approached me.

“I’m a Ghostface.” The voice was still as glitchy, but lower than the one I had talked to on the phone, “Hello, beautiful.”

I shuddered at the words and gulped, “Who are you?”

The person behind the mask chuckled and twirled around, “An actor? Hired by the Haunted House?”

My heart was racing, but their words seemed to calm me down a little bit. Of course, we were at the Haunted House and this person was an actor hired to scare people. And they did a good job at scaring me.

“Right, sorry—” I chuckled, “You gave me a good scare.”

“That’s my job.” The Ghostface bowed and I smiled, “Did you enjoy the tour?”

“Are you this nice and talkative with everyone?” I raised my eyebrows as I held my hands behind my back. The Ghostface started circling me, making me turn my head to see them.

“Only with the beautiful ones.” They answered and I rolled my eyes, not into cheesy flirting.

“How cheesy.” I muttered and the Ghostface seemed to laugh as they came to a stop in front of me. It looked as they looked down before raising their head back up and I saw the knife glinting in the dim light as it lightly touched my chin and they raised my head with it. The air caught in my throat a little as I felt the sturdiness of the knife. It was either a very real looking and feeling prop or it was a real knife.

“And tell me…do you like bad guys?” The Ghostface asked smugly and I laughed nervously.

“Not really.”

“Isn’t your boyfriend a bad boy?” Well, that’s not how I’d describe Wonwoo if someone asked me. He looked like a bad boy, but he was actually a very nice and loving guy.

“Not really,” I chuckled and quietly let out a sigh when the person lowered the knife from my chin, “He’s well raised and really nice.”

“And do you love him?” Wasn’t this Ghostface a little too curious?

“Of course I do.” I said matter of factly and the Ghostface hummed just as the door opened. Light poured in from the outside and I squinted until the door was closed again. I instantly recognized the person once my eyes adjusted to the light again, it was Seonghwa.

“Y/N, are you alright?” He asked worriedly as he walked up to me, “I saw you weren’t with the group and nobody knew where you were.”

I smiled at him sweetly and nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just fell behind accidentally and Ghostface over there seemed to be quite interested.”

Seonghwa looked over to where the Ghostface stood and his eyebrows furrowed, “Oh? They didn’t show up when we walked through this room.”

I turned to look at the Ghostface as well and I gulped as dread washed over me, slowly realizing what was happening, “Seonghwa—” But before I could scream at him to run, the Ghostface charged at us and I yelped as they pushed me to the ground and pinned Seonghwa to the wall. I watched wide eyed as Seonghwa struggled against them and as I got to my feet, I saw the Ghostface raise their knife. My heart stopped for a second and I didn’t even realize I had screamed as the knife slashed Seonghwa’s abdomen. He cried out in pain and the Ghostface stepped back a bit as he angled their knife at Seonghwa’s stomach. I was shaking, but I couldn’t just sit on the ground and watch as they murder my ex-boyfriend.

“Y/N, run!” Seonghwa exclaimed as the Ghostface poked his stomach, but I was fast enough and got up in time and ran over, knocking the Ghostface aside. They gasped in surprise and I could feel their gaze burning into me through the mask. I turned to face Seonghwa and with shaky hands caught him as he slid down the wall.

“No, Seonghwa!” I exclaimed, hand getting bloody as I pressed it against his smaller wound, momentarily not knowing what to do.

“Get out!” Seonghwa whispered as he grimaced in pain, pulling out his phone. I turned around and came face to face with the Ghostface, gasping at the proximity. I didn’t know who was behind the mask, but I wasn’t about to go down without a fight. I punched their shoulder and took the knife out of their hand, throwing it on the ground as I started punching their abdomen. The Ghostface groaned and tried catching my hands, struggling to do so until they had me pinned against the wall. I tried fighting myself out of their hold, but they were stronger.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” The Ghostface said breathlessly and I glared at them, kneeling them, making them double over.

“You shouldn’t have hurt my friends!” I screamed and kneeled them in the stomach this time, sending the person onto the ground. I ran back to Seonghwa and saw him trying to call the cops, but there was no signal inside.

“Let’s go.” I whispered and tried to control my shaking as I attempted to help Seonghwa stand, but just as he warned me, I was tackled to the ground. I screamed again, and suddenly, a hand was muffling my screams. A bare hand. Long fingers, warm, soft palm. My heart was beating like crazy and I felt a tear run down my cheeks when I noticed the Ghostface holding the knife again. Was I about to die too? But they didn’t move, we were just staring at each other. The hold on my mouth seemed to loosen and I glanced down at it, heart jumping in my throat when I noticed two long, red scratches on the person’s hand. Why did they look like cat scratches? Why did their hand feel like Wonwoo’s? A groan to our right got both of our attention and I saw Seonghwa approaching us, almost stumbling, but as the Ghostface got off of me, Seonghwa swung his fist at the person’s jaw, sending them stumbling into the wall. I got up and grabbed Seonghwa, placing his arm around my shoulders as I held his hip and we made a run for the exit. He was groaning in pain but still remained strong as we could hear the Ghostface shuffling around and catching up with us, but just as I felt them gripping onto Seonghwa’s shoulder, I kicked the door open, light flooding the room. Everyone was standing there, waiting for us probably, and when they saw the blood coating Seonghwa’s torso and my hands, chaos erupted. Wooyoung ran up to us in despair and started shouting things, asking what happened as I yelled out for them to call an ambulance. Vernon rushed up to us and helped Wooyoung as they took Seonghwa’s weight off of me and carefully placed him on a nearby bench as San called for an ambulance. Sana was by my side instantly and I realized my whole body was shaking as I looked around for familiar faces. She was talking to me, but I was searching for one person. Jeonghan and Minghao looked shocked as they stood helplessly by the bench, watching Seonghwa struggling to stay awake. Wooyoung was freaking out and San was holding onto him tightly as they talked to Seonghwa, trying to divert his attention from the pain. Vernon was trying to stop the bleeding as his father is a doctor and he knows this and that. Soonyoung was off to the side, looking almost sick yet unimpressed as he talked on the phone with someone. And Sana was hugging me tightly, saying reassuring things to me which I was unable to hear due to my ears ringing. Wonwoo. Wonwoo wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I gulped and hugged Sana back, hearing the ambulance sirens in the distance. Wonwoo wasn’t here with us.

           My mother was reluctant to let me go to school the next day, understandably so. I barely got any sleep after last night’s incident. As Seonghwa was placed inside the ambulance and driven to a hospital, two detectives approached the rest of us and started their questioning. We were brought to the side separately and asked to retell our whole night. Of course, I was the one they questioned first as they knew I was inside with Seonghwa when the attack happened. I was shaken up and on the verge of crying, but surprisingly, Wooyoung and San stood by my side and tried to cheer me up until my mother got to us. After finishing my retelling of story, I walked to the side and sat down, curling into a ball as I felt arms holding me. It was Sana and she remained quiet as she tried to offer me some support. I appreciated her gesture, but I would’ve preferred being left alone at the moment. My mind was swirling with questions and I was frightened out of my mind. Wonwoo was nowhere to be seen and I couldn’t help but think he was the one behind the mask. Could it really be my boyfriend? The killer? I bit my lower lip at the thought and my head whipped up as I heard Wonwoo’s deep voice, laced with terror and panic as he was asking around for me. Just as we made eye contact, the two detectives stepped in front of him and brought him aside to question him as well. I could feel his gaze on me, but my mother had arrived and she was by my side in an instant, helping me up and she gave me tightest hug ever. I started crying when I felt her arms around me and she quietly shushed me, thanking Sana for sitting with me. She noticed San and Wooyoung too, nodding at them as a small greeting before she walked me towards her car. I didn’t talk to Wonwoo that night, but perhaps it was good, because I had no idea what I could’ve said to him.

Mom insisted on driving me to school this morning and I didn’t object; I wasn’t in the mood to ride the bus and act as if I didn’t feel my classmates burning gazes. I knew everyone would whisper about me again. I hated this all. I hated the killer. I hated that Yerim wasn’t here. And I hated the fact that I was helpless and couldn’t help a person who once was so dear to me. Thankfully, Seonghwa got to the hospital in time as he was losing blood fast and since he was stabilized quite quickly, he’d survive. I asked my mother to stop by his ward from time to time, to check up on him. She complied happily and told me she’d update me; I was really thankful. Before getting out of her car, I kissed my mother’s cheek, making her smile sadly at me. I had dark bags underneath my eyes and despite tying my hair up, it looked like a mess. I felt miserable, and I looked miserable. The baggy clothes weren’t helping much to offer me comfort, all I could do was sigh and pull the hood of my hoodie over my head and walk to my classroom. Everyone seemed to have eagle eyes, because as soon as I opened the entrance door, people noticed me. Some started instantly whispering, there were a few who were ignoring me or stepping out of my way as if I would hurt them, some would stop conversing and stare at me like I was some sort of freak. I hung my head low and walked up to my locker, opening it to place my backpack inside it. I sighed as I got my science book and two notebooks out, off to walk to my classroom. Sana texted me that she wasn’t feeling well and she wouldn’t attend school today, apologizing for leaving me alone. I didn’t text her back, but I appreciated her letting me know. Surprisingly it was San and Wooyoung who approached me as I was walking up the stairs.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I heard San asking me and I raised my head, eyes wide.

“Oh, I didn’t see you—” Wooyoung had a warm smile on his lips and I looked back down at the ground, “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Us neither.” Wooyoung muttered and San cleared his throat, “We visited Seonghwa before coming to school.”

“How is he?” I asked quickly, looking back up at the two boys.

“He’s in pain, but he’s doing good despite that huge cut—” San elbowed Wooyoung and I gulped, averting my eyes from them, “I mean, he’s fine, don’t worry. He asked us to tell you that he’s grateful you saved him and he hopes you’ll visit him when you feel ready.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded at the two boys wordlessly, “Thank you.”

“No problem, you know where to find us.” San smiled and bumped his shoulder with mine lightly as we got to my floor, they had to go up one more flight of stairs. I nodded at them and they waved as they took off. I sighed and took off too, headed towards my classroom, the hallway not as packed as downstairs. A few students glanced at me but seemed to ignore me mostly, it made me feel slightly better. Not too good, but at least they weren’t staring or whispering. As I looked up, I suddenly froze. Wonwoo. He was standing next to my classroom’s door, leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets as he was biting his lip, looking anxious. I gulped and slowly approached him, wary still. His head turned and when he noticed me he pushed off the wall and approached me, instantly pulling me into a hug. I felt tears in my eyes as I buried my head in his chest and Wonwoo rubbed my back up and down. I grabbed his jacket and tried to keep silent as I started crying, scared and confused. How could I think it was Wonwoo? My loving boyfriend. I was so scared something happened to him. But why was he not outside when everybody else was?

“I’m so glad—” Wonwoo’s voice was low and raspy, as if he had been screaming all night long, “I’m so glad you’re alright. I was so scared—I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you from that criminal, I—”

“Where were you?” I found myself whispering, desperately needing an answer to this one question only.

Wonwoo remained silent before he sighed, “I caught up with Soonyoung and then I went to the bathroom, when I got back everything had already happened—”

“Okay,” I whispered and sniffed, pulling my head back to look at him, “Don’t blame yourself. I’m fine and Seonghwa will recover.”

Wonwoo’s jaw clenched and as I was looking up at him, my eyes fell on his jawline. There was a small bruise forming, slightly greenish already. My eyebrows furrowed and I felt my heart starting to beat fast. Seonghwa—he punched the Ghostface in the jaw, same exact location, before we ran out. I gulped, hands slightly shaking, as I took Wonwoo’s right hand and interlaced our fingers, bringing it up to my eye level. Wonwoo watched me wordlessly, eyebrows slightly furrowed. I maintained eye contact as I brought his hand to my lips, pressing a kiss against it. And just before lowering it, I glanced down, and my blood ran cold. There. On his hand. Red scratches which Byeol left on him when they were playing. His hand, bare. Long fingers, warm, soft palm. I shivered and stepped back, releasing his hand as I tried to act nonchalant. Wonwoo watched me confused as I stumbled over my words.

“I—I have to go—” I opened the classroom door, avoiding eye contact, “I’m late.”

“Y/N—” But I stepped inside the classroom and slammed the door shut, biting my lower lip, whole body shaking as I approached my desk and sat down. It was Wonwoo last night. Right? Was it really him? What do I do?

           My mother tried to switch her shifts with a nurse she was friends with, but she couldn’t make it. She didn’t want to take the night shift tonight, worried to leave me home alone, but I reassured her I would be fine. In fact, I felt like shit and didn’t want to be alone, but remained silent and decided to have a Harry Potter marathon, that way I wouldn’t fall asleep and could wait for my mother to return home in the morning. It was a Friday, so it would work out. I desperately needed a good sleep, but I could deal with that later. I cooked some dinner for myself and played with Byeol, but after she got bored and went to sleep in my room, I decided to take a shower and start the movie marathon. I definitely lost track of time while showering, because my phone kept ringing, but I didn’t feel like answering. My mother would never call me while working, so I knew it was Wonwoo. But I didn’t want to talk to him. My mind was a mess and I didn’t know what to believe anymore. He couldn’t be the killer, but some signs were pointing at him and it was eating me up alive. I was scared and confused. My gut told me to sleep on it and ask him tomorrow, but for some reason staying away from him felt most comforting. Getting out of the shower I got dressed in sweatpants and Yerim’s favorite pink hoodie, eyeing Wonwoo’s sweater resting on my chair. He left it here when he slept over and told me to keep it until he’d sleep over again. Brushing my fingers against it as I towel dried my hair with one hand, I shivered. Its scent once brought comfort, but now I felt uncomfortable. Byeol was sitting on my bed and for once it wasn’t storming outside, I was thankful. Just as I placed my towel on my desk, my phone rang again. I sighed and walked up to it as it was charging on my nightstand, and despite expecting it to be Wonwoo calling, it was an unknown number. My eyebrows furrowed and my heart started racing as I remembered the time when I spoke with the Ghostface on Yerim’s phone. I took my phone and walked to the window, looking through the curtain.

“Hello?” I asked as I picked up the call, chewing on my lip. There was some heavy breathing on the other side, freaking me out.

“Hi.” I froze for a second as the Ghostface’s robotic voice came through the phone. What did they want? Were they here to kill me? The thought sent panic through my body and I quickly made sure my window was locked before pulling down the blinds as well.

“What do you want?” I demanded, voice shaking but still harsh.

The Ghostface chuckled, “You gone.”

I shuddered as tears suddenly sprung into my eyes, “You killed Yerim, didn’t you?”

“I did.” Was their answer and I sniffed, wiping away a tear as I raced down the stairs, to make sure all doors were locked.

“Why?”

“Multiple reasons,” The Ghostface sighed as I checked the front door, “One, she was always rude to me. Two, she never gave me a chance and the list just goes on, Y/N.”

“So you killed her.” I said accusingly, checking the door in the living room as well. It wasn’t locked, but I locked it now and pulled the curtains closed as well.

“Well she pissed me off to my last nerve, didn’t have much off a choice—”

“You don’t kill someone because they piss you off!” I screamed into the phone, shaking and fuming. How could they?! Kill someone because they pissed them off?! This is not how life works.

“I do.” The Ghostface laughed and I felt like screaming.

“What do you want?” I repeated, body shaking from anger and fear too.

“To kill you, honestly, I’ve had enough of you too.” I gulped and turned by back to the door, walking back outside in the hallway.

“I won’t go down easy.” I muttered and the Ghostface just laughed.

“A fragile girl can’t do much damage to me, sweetheart.” They said and I chuckled sarcastically.

“You’ll have to wait for another night then, you can’t come in if the doors and windows are all locked.”

“They are locked, now.” I froze, heart thumping fast, “But they weren’t until you locked the one in the living room just minutes ago.”

The voice now didn’t come through the phone only, they were here. Inside. Close. Too close. Shakingly, I slowly turned towards the kitchen entrance, and screamed. The same person from the Haunted House was standing in the doorway of my kitchen. Black gown and a Ghostface mask, glows, and a sharp knife in their hand. The Ghostface laughed, dropping the phone as it took off towards me and I panicked, showing the phone in the hoodie’s pocket as I started running, headed for the laundry room. I quickly entered and locked the door, whimpering when the person started pounding on it. Why did they want to kill me? What did I do? Who was behind the mask? As I reached for my phone to call the police, the pounding stopped, the sudden silence making me jump. Did they leave already?

“If you don’t come out, I’ll start with Byeol.” I whimpered and covered my lips, tears streaming down my cheeks at the thought of the person killing my cat. How did they know her name? I couldn’t let them kill her, she was my everything, “I’m headed to find her—”

“Stop!” I screamed and gripped the doorknob, “I’ll come out, just don’t hurt her.”

The Ghostface laughed and I heard them grumbling, “Stupid people with love for their stupid animals.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, readying myself to face the criminal on the other side of the door. If I had to die tonight, then I would. But I wouldn’t go down without a fight. I was feeling extremely hot in the hoodie, but it was Yerim’s, and all of a sudden, a wave of bravery washed over me as if Yerim was telling me that I could do it, that I could survive. If she believed in me, then I could believe in myself too. Wiping my stray tears away, I unlocked the door. The click of it seemed to be so loud in the silence, and with shaking hands, I pushed open the door. It opened very slowly and I held onto the doorknob tightly. There it was. The Ghostface, leaning against the wall. I couldn’t see their face, but I could swear they were smirking. I was glaring at them, breathing hard as I released the doorknob.

“There you are.” They said in a sing song voice, suddenly raising their knife. It was my cue to run off. And so I did just that, I took off, and ran towards the kitchen. The only problem was that it had no doors and two entrances. My goal was to get the Ghostface to follow me outside, far away from my cat and close enough to other people to see and call the cops for me. Their loud thumping made it obvious enough that they were following me and I stopped in front of the sink, the counter putting distance between us. Nobody said anything, we just stared each other down. My muscles were tense and I felt the adrenaline kicking in, making my shaking even worse. Before the Ghostface could react, I took off again, running for the door. I barely got in the doorway, when a hand gripped my hair and I was hauled back. I cried out in pain and quickly groaned as I was thrown on the floor.

“Yerim screamed a lot more than you, you know?” The Ghostface taunted and I sneered at them as I got up, getting backed into the wall. What could I do? Take their knife would be an option. The Ghostface raised the knife and lightly grazed it against my neck, making me gasp. I was breathing through my mouth, barely able to think of my next move. They raised their other hand and gripped my neck, pulling our faces close to each other.

“But you both seem to be just as dumb—” And just like that I headbutted them. I didn’t wait for them to finish the sentence or plunge the knife in my stomach. The person stumbled backwards and dropped their knife in shock. What a dumb move. I reacted faster and picked it up in a flash, pointing it at them.

“How does it feel to have your own weapon pointed at you?” I hissed and the Ghostface groaned, starting to stomp their feet. Were they seriously throwing a tantrum right now? I watched confused, but stayed alert.

“You’re not ruining my fun tonight, Y/N!” They screamed and charged at me. The smart thing to do would’ve been running away and out of the house, but I froze. If I had the knife, could they still kill me? Of course, there were many ways to do that, but my brain went blank. And just last second, I dropped the knife, scared to stab anyone. I wasn’t a killer; I couldn’t do it. The Ghostface grabbed my neck and started squeezing it, but I was fighting back. I wasn’t about to die. I tried pushing him backwards, and it was working. The Ghostface was muttering things I couldn’t understand, but I stumbled and stepped on their long gown. The person tripped over my leg and before I knew it, their hands were gone from my neck and they were falling backwards. I gasped and watched as the person hit their head on the edge of the counter and fell to the floor limply. I stood shocked, not knowing what to do. They weren’t moving anymore, I carefully pushed their leg with my foot, but they didn’t react. I approached them, heart racing and forehead sweaty as I leaned down and touched the mask. I had to know. I had to know who killed my best friend, Mina, Seungkwan and tried to kill Seonghwa and now me. So, without thinking for another second, I ripped the mask off. I felt my body going numb at the sight, ears ringing as I stared down at the blond laying unconsciously on my kitchen floor. My lips started trembling and my body started shaking more violently as I clutched the mask tightly, hand hurting from the force. Kwon Soonyoung lay unconscious in front of me. Blood was slowly seeping from underneath his head. How could it be him? I started crying loudly and threw the Ghostface mask on the floor, stomping on it and screaming. How could he kill Yerim?! How could he! In all the ruckus and screaming, Byeol woke up and her loud meows were the ones which brought me back to reality. She was staying away, gazing at me with her big eyes, meowing loudly. I was sobbing and started walking towards her, when the doorbell rang. Once. Twice. Thrice. Knocking. Panicked screaming. Asking to be let inside. The voice of my boyfriend. Jeon Wonwoo. My boyfriend. Acting without much thinking, I ran up to the door and unlocked it, throwing it open. Wonwoo was panting and he gasped when he saw me. I flung myself into his body, hugging him tightly and crying loudly. He hesitated for a second before wrapping his arms around me and slowly walking me inside the house, closing the door behind us. I was crying, I couldn’t do anything else. Soonyoung killed my best friend because she didn’t like him back. Because she didn’t want to date him. Who kills for a reason like that! I couldn’t hear Byeol meowing anymore, Wonwoo was caressing my head and kissing it softly, muttering words to calm me down. I found my breath again and pulled away, finding comfort in his arms. He was here. He was here to witness it all. He was here to take Byeol and I away from this nightmare.

“He—he did—it.” I stuttered out, body shaking, “Soonyoung. He killed—everyone.”

Wonwoo’s face went blank as he looked towards the kitchen entrance, but the only thing he could see from here was the destroyed Ghostface mask on the floor. His grip seemed to loosen around me as he looked back at me.

“Soonyoung killed Yerim, Wonwoo.” I whispered as I wiped my tears away, “He killed Mina and—”

“He didn’t kill Mina.” Wonwoo’s voice was void of any emotion. I shivered, “He didn’t try to kill Seonghwa either.”

I shook my head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What—what are you saying? He’s the criminal, he—” I winced when Wonwoo’s grip suddenly turned painful on my arms, and I stepped back. His bruise on his jaw was now a dark blue, it looked like it hurt a lot. The cat scratches on his hand were still red.

“You—” I gasped and slapped his hands away, taking a step back, “You killed—Mina and Seonghwa—”

“I failed to kill that bastard, but it’s not too late yet.” I started shaking my head, feeling like my whole world was ending.

“What are you saying, Wonwoo—” Suddenly he was all up in my face, holding my chin roughly as he made me look him in the eyes. His expression scared me. His eyes were almost black and manic as he stared into mine. His lips were curled into an amused sneer and all warmth had disappeared from his aura. This wasn’t Wonwoo. This wasn’t my boyfriend. This was someone else. Someone I didn’t know and was scared off.

“I killed Mina. I tried to kill Seonghwa and now—” His pause made me gulp, his voice was quiet when he continued, “I have to kill you too.”

I whimpered and started shaking my head, gripping his wrist, “No, Wonwoo—Listen to me, you’re not like this, I can—”

“How would you know what I am like when I never allowed you to see the real me?” His words felt like someone dropped a cold ice bucket on me, numbness washed over my whole body. Was it all fake? All this time? Everything between us?

“Did you ever love me?” I found myself whispering, it was the least important thing to know right now, but I had to know.

“I love you more than I have ever loved anyone.” I sniffled, heart breaking and head spinning. Before I could react in any way, Wonwoo’s lips crashed against mine. I was disgusted, I didn’t want to be kissing him. But I couldn’t help myself. I still loved him despite his terrible confession. Despite him saying he wanted to kill me, I still loved him. So I kissed him back with the same fire he was kissing me, our lips crashing against each other’s messily, painfully. Maybe it was our last goodbye, maybe it wasn’t. I didn’t know what this kiss meant, until I felt Wonwoo’s hands around my neck and my eyes flew open. He was squeezing me, not allowing an ounce of air into my lungs. I tried pulling my head back, but he wasn’t letting me. He was still kissing me, but I couldn’t do the same. I clawed at his arms, gripping his wrists and yanking on them but he wasn’t budging. I started seeing black and I felt like throwing up, finally, Wonwoo’s lips left mine and I tried gasping for air but it wasn’t working. I tried talking, but it wasn’t working. I was going to die. In Yerim’s favorite hoodie, by the hands of my once lover. My grip fell from Wonwoo’s wrists and I felt my legs giving out, body limp. I didn’t want to die, I really didn’t. Not like this. I had no power, yet something so strong, as if someone knocked the last gust of wind out of my lungs, gave me the power to raise my knee and kneel Wonwoo in the groins. It might’ve been weak, but Wonwoo yelped loudly and released me, my body falling to the ground. I started coughing and gasping, holding my burning neck as my head hung low. My lungs were on fire and my eyes filled with tears as I filled my lungs desperately with air. Wonwoo was doubled over, groaning and hissing in pain. Perhaps I could escape him. Walk around him and out the door. So I tried, I got up from the ground, legs almost buckling, but I tried. I started walking, catching Wonwoo’s attention as his head whipped up and he reached for me, but I stepped back. He was starting to straighten up, still groaning, realizing I was getting better. I barely had any power, but I was starting to breathe again. He lunged for me and I realized walking in the kitchen was my best escape right now. So, I entered and my eyes fell on an unconscious Soonyoung, making me shudder again. I tried to run, but my legs felt heavy. I went to walk around the counter and grab a knife, but Wonwoo grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. The knife Soonyoung was holding was in his hands now. I shook my head at him and begged him to let me go. We couldn’t figure this out, but he had to let me go. If he loved me, he would’ve done that. But he didn’t want to. The knife was angled at my stomach and I took a deep breath, turning my hand into a fist. I had no power left in me anymore, this was my last shot at life. So, as Wonwoo raised the knife to stab me, I punched his jaw, just where Seonghwa had punched him yesterday, and grabbed the knife with my other hand out of his. He groaned loudly and looked at me with an animalistic look in his eyes. The knife was pointed at him and one move sealed the deal. I guess he didn’t notice I pointed the knife at him as he ran straight into it. We gasped at the same time and stared at each other wide eyed. I didn’t want to do this, but he gave me no other choice. I released the knife and watched as Wonwoo fell to his knees, starting to cry. He was begging me for forgiveness and asking me to love him, but I couldn’t hear him. My ears were ringing.

“Byeol! Byeol!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs, throat scratchy from getting chocked. I heard a faint meow coming from the living room and ran inside, looking for my cat, “Byeol, please come here!”

And she showed up, she crawled out from underneath the sofa and ran up to me, coming into my arms as I picked her up. I shushed her and ran towards the front door, not sparing another glance inside the kitchen as I grabbed my phone from Yerim’s hoodie’s pocket. I stumbled off the stairs on the porch as I started getting light headed, but I managed to dial the police.

“112, what’s your emergency?”

Masterlist

[mayariviolet]

Eren Jaeger in a Relationship

summary: How Eren would be in a relationship that he doesn’t want to be in and the aftermath of it all.

cw: gn! reader x eren, angst, eren is an accidental asshole…

a/n: I was listening to All Too Well (10 min Version) Red (Taylor’s Version) - From the Vault when writing this… lol

✧˖°.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ✧˖°. ✧˖°.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ✧˖°. ✧˖°.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ✧˖

I’m not saying Eren would be a horrible boyfriend- far from it, actually. He would try to make plans with the people closest in your life, try to remember the little things (like your dearest childhood memories and worst ones, along with how to make you feel better) and be the textbook perfect boyfriend.

HOWEVER-

He would definitely be one of those guys who gets into a relationship that he’s not ready for because the girl he actually likes has shown no interest in him. Eren wouldn’t understand how this is a shitty thing to do because he does care about whoever he’s dating, just not in that way.

You could also definitely tell if he likes a person based on how often he talks about them. So when he gets into a relationship and doesn’t talk about them as much, his friends know something is up. But his partner wouldn’t be the wiser.

“He’s just a private person,” they’d tell their friends. “You guys just have to really get to know him!”

Those words stayed repeating throughout the duration of their short lived relationship.

So when he finally breaks up with them because he has been given some sort of hope that the girl he actually loves is interested, it comes out of nowhere. Well, from the POV of who he’s dating, at least. But whoever he’s dating… their friends picked up on the subtleties.

How he would always say something- but never actually do anything. How it took Eren MONTHS to introduce them to his friends, while his partner was so eager to show him off. How his responses became shorter and shorter. His time spent with them never actually felt like they meant anything. Just empty promises that they convinced themselves he would fulfill later. When Eren was ‘feeling better,’ like he always says.

Of course, Eren never really understood what he did was wrong. He genuinely thinks that everyone acts this way or should anyway. He could never understand why his ex-partner hated him so much after the breakup, which resulted in a screaming match and a firm slam! Of his apartment's heavy oak door. Followed up with his ex, cutting him off, disappearing in the daylight like they were some figure in a mirage. That hurt him a lot- but he would never admit it.

In the end, Eren, when he FINALLY gets the girl of his dreams, he’s grateful that he was taught how to be a better boyfriend for the girl he ardently loves.

a/n: I actually have no idea why I wrote this! Good night! Also sorry for being so busy lately… I swear this is the week that the Geto fic gets updated… Love you all!

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© Please do not copy or replicate my work. Inspiration is appreciated, but credit properly! ♡

[jakeyt]

Covet: Chapter 3

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!Reader

Covet Summary:

Life was good. No, life was great. 

Was. 

Until.

Jake Kiszka crashed into the picture.

You welcomed him into your life—your home. 

Yes, he was your best friend’s twin. But, he was also the one who would end up disrupting your whole world with his attitude, his troubles, and the annoyingly natural way he lured you in. 

Jake Kiszka came with so much you really didn’t want.

At least that’s what you tried to convince yourself.

Warnings: minors DNI (18+ ONLY); masturbation (f!receiving); vivid descriptions of sexual situations; tension; mentions of past toxic relationship/cheating; consumption of alcohol; anxiety; Jake being an asshole; veryyy stubborn reader (lemme know if I missed any!)

Chapter Word Count: 10.6k

a/n: hi sweet readers & friends! get ready for a little bit of spice in this chapter. hopefully it meets your standards. if not, there will be so much more to come. . . just you wait! lol

this chapter was supposed to include a few more scenes, but i'm saving them for next chapter. i just liked the idea of leaving off with this one where i did. ;)

also, if you care at all what the guys look like in my mind as i'm currently writing, here you go (sammy & danny are included under the chapter 3 section). :)

Chapter 3

You had to work the day after your talk with Jake. 

It was a Josh-less shift, so naturally, it went by much slower than a shift where Josh’s musings would fill the air. 

Normally, you’d enjoy the stillness of the store. A sweet summer morning filled with mindless thoughts and music. 

Though today, your brain spun with thoughts of your roommate. Were they mindless thoughts? Yes. Obviously. They came out of seemingly nowhere. . .save for the little dream that had completely interrupted your sleep the night before. 

But these mindless thoughts weren’t the normal thoughts you’d get that would bring a sense of calm. No, these brain loops were extremely unwelcome. 

The first thing you did was print out all of the things you’d promised Jake you would on the store’s copier. You were hoping once that was out of your hair, maybe your mind wouldn’t stay on him. You’d thought that maybe the thoughts were just serving as a subconscious reminder to get that done.

-🌼🌼🌼-

But completing the task didn’t work like you wanted it to. Because around noon, Jake was still at the front of your mind. 

Fuck. Why?! It was completely aggravating.

You didn’t really know what made him stick in your mind for the majority of your shift, but all you could seem to think of was his smooth, tanned skin, kissed by the summer sun. His long hair that swayed so smoothly with every motion. His big, amber-brown eyes that dug so much deeper than you wished they did. 

For some reason, after that talk, you had etched Jake’s mannerisms into your mind. You replayed the conversation more times than you’d ever care to admit. 

And you were now noticing that maybe talking with him wasn’t great for you mentally. 

You’d noticed that, apparently, Jake Kiszka had a special way of making his own little ridiculous home in multiple crevices of your poor brain. 

Why did he have that power? 

All it did was piss. you. off. 

Anytime his face appeared behind your eyes, you would suddenly get so angry. 

He did not deserve any place in the thoughts that came during your quiet times. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

When your shift finally ended at 3:00, Tara and Lacey (the only other people who worked at the B&G with you and Josh), walked in with joyful greetings. You gave them a quick smile as you grabbed your purse and the things you’d printed. 

As soon as you stepped out onto the busy sidewalk of the city, and the summer sun hit your face, you sighed with relief. On this day, you were beyond ready to get away from the stillness of the record store. You let the normality of busy NYC breathe a sense of calmness into you. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

When you got home, Jake was in the shower and you hated how quickly you felt your cheeks flush at the thought. 

You realized that maybe you just needed a good nap before game night ensued, so you went to your room intending to do just that. Stevie noticed where you were going, and softly padded after you. Probably eager for her own little nap.

You hadn’t had time to make your bed that morning, so you sat on your ruffled sheets and sent Josh a text asking when he’d be there and what they wanted for dinner. Josh loved cooking with you. 

Stevie came up to you as you texted, putting her head into your free hand. You petted her as she purred, and finished your text. 

You were excited to distract yourself by being with your best friend. You were also dying to see Sammy and Danny. It had been way too long since the last time you had hung out with the three men. It was a soul refreshing experience every time you came together. 

And now Jake was suddenly getting added to the mix. . . 

You grit your teeth at the thought. Suddenly irritable over that particular fact. 

It made you less than happy to make him a part of the group, to say the least. 

Josh had just pinged a couple texts back saying they’d be there around 7 with booze in hand and ingredients for stir fry, when there was a light knock on your door. 

You couldn’t hold back the eye roll. What could he want?

You opened the door in a brisk manner. 

Of course, Jake stood waiting on the other side. 

Half-naked Jake.

A towel was tied around his waist snugly. And, your eyes betrayed you. It was as though you had no self control, you let your eyes travel from his shower-drenched locks to his firm chest. Your eyes followed a single droplet of water that dripped from his hair. It traveled down his taut nipple, to his toned abdomen and finally into the fluffy fabric of the towel settled at his lower region. 

You gulped.

“Um,” his voice shook you from your actions and you looked up into his eyes. Your cheeks heated at being caught. “I was just in the shower, and I thought maybe it would be a good idea to figure out how we wanna split utilities?” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “It honestly just came to me while I was in there.”

You blinked a couple times. His thoughtfulness caught you off guard. 

“I–yeah, that’s fine with me,” you nodded, looking back to see Stevie already curled up on the bed waiting for a snooze. “How about we talk about it later, hm? I was kind of wanting to take a nap.” 

“Oh, yeah–of course, um,” he took a step back, gesturing for you to shut your door. “Sweet dreams.” 

Sweet dreams. How ironic when all he’d done was haunt yours the night before.

You shut your door with much more force than expected. You just couldn’t help it. Your roommate brought out an impulsive behavior in you that you weren’t the biggest fan of. Why did you have to ogle him? Why couldn’t you just address him normally? Why did he have to—? Ugh.

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding and flopped down onto your bed. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

You awoke from a (thankfully) dreamless sleep to the sound of John Lennon’s voice. Your “Dear Prudence” alarm tone, a faithful friend to bring you back.

You were feeling ready to face a night with your friends–and Jake. You assured yourself of this as you brushed through your hair a couple of times in the dresser mirror. The fact that his face or body hadn’t met you in your dreams was what you needed to feel confident and ready for this night.

Last night’s dream was a total fluke. Surely it had only happened because his interaction with you had jostled your irritation and nerves . . . your subconscious mind had been unstable because of it.

All you’d needed was some good rest to reset.

-🌼🌼🌼-

You weren’t disappointed at all that you didn’t see Jake until Josh’s voice quite literally reverberated throughout the entire apartment. It was a normal way for him to enter a room and announce his presence.

The curly-headed twin came in with a flourish of his arms and hands, standing in place with purpose. He was gesturing wildly with his hands, operatically singing what you knew to be an Aretha Franklin song, at the top of his lungs. 

You felt for your neighbors, but you couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear at your friend. 

But when Josh saw Stevie, he got distracted and loudly sang her name. He knelt down to start petting at her right away. He talked to her with so much enthusiasm, and you watched her eat it up. Her tail curled in glee.

You absolutely beamed when Sammy ran up to you, wrapping his arms around you tightly in a bear hug. He swayed you slightly from side to side, and your feet lifted a bit off the ground at the gesture. 

When he set you back down on the ground, he pushed his hair back from his face with both hands. His smile was wide across his face, instantly lighting up the room around you all. 

“Y/N,” he cocked his hip and spoke with little waves of his hands. “First of all, I missed you. So much.”

“Not more than me!” And you felt Danny’s arms wrap around you from behind, bringing your feet several inches off the ground. You felt him squeeze you once, and then he balanced you on your feet. His hands gripped at your shoulders slightly. He came around to stand next to Sammy, in front of you. “How’ve you been, Y/N?!”

Josh circled around, laying a lazy arm over your shoulders. You felt every bit of the usual contentment the three men brought with being around them. You felt your heart swell in your chest. 

“If you’ll excuse us, I’ve missed her most,” Josh turned you both around, walking with purpose to the kitchen. He gave you the big bear hug you were sure he knew you needed. When you pulled apart, his hand patted a case of your favorite alcohol. 

You gasped ridiculously. “Angry Orchard,” you placed a hand to your chest. “Joshua, you shouldn’t have.” 

You heard the other boys talking with Jake in the living room and suddenly, the sound of a crackling vinyl sparked to life. You listened briefly, wanting to get a clue at what Jake had picked to play. You gave an approving face, nodding to the melody. 

Cream. Wheels of Fire. You knew it well. After all, Clapton was a favorite in your own family. 

Josh sighed. He had a smirk on his lips. “Cream. Figures,” then he paused, giving you an inquisitive look. “You’re letting him play his vinyl on your player? You’re awfully protective when it comes to that thing.”

You felt your stomach do a little loop. Your sentimental attachment to the record player hadn’t ever entered your mind at offering for Jake to use it. It was one of the only pieces you had of the parents who’d left you. But when you’d come up with the idea, all you had cared about was getting to know your roommate. 

You’d been desperate, okay? That’s the only reason you hadn’t thought of it all the way through. 

“It’s just a way to get to know each other,” you explained. “A last ditch effort that I knew he couldn’t refuse.”

Josh’s eyes held a glint of mischief. You didn’t even entertain whatever he was thinking. You just went about getting out the Zip-loced ingredients Josh had brought in his little tote. You knew Sam well enough to know he’d taken it upon himself to cut the veggies and cube his tofu for you. All that wasn’t prepared yet was the raw, packaged chicken. 

You grinned to yourself. 

“Sam wouldn’t touch the chicken,” Josh noted, getting the necessary pans down. “Got everything else diced up, though. Even the sponge.”

You laughed outright at that. “The tofu?” You looked at your friend from the corner of your eye. 

His brown orbs flicked to you. “Sponge.”

You laughed again, spreading some olive oil in the pan Josh had put on the burner to heat up. You went about getting out the necessary sauces and minced garlic from the fridge. And as you did, you heard a husky, unfamiliar laugh within Danny and Sam’s own guffawing. Your stomach held a few butterflies at the sound.

Could it be? You shook your head. It didn’t matter.

Josh was searing the vegetables and tofu with a bamboo spoon when you walked back with the additional supplies. You grabbed the cutting board from behind the faucet, and got out a paring knife to start chunking up the chicken. 

“I love being able to hear him laugh again,” Josh commented absentmindedly. You could hear tears in the back of his throat. “It’s quite literally music to my ears.”

“I’m glad for you, Josh.”  

Your friend cleared his throat, and you caught his eye as he glanced over at you. “How’s he been?” 

You thought for a second, deciding to keep it brief (obviously ignoring how you hadn’t been able to get Jake out of your head all day), “It’s been alright.”

He hummed, “Just alright?”

“Yeah.” 

“Okay,” you thought he was done. He didn’t speak for a few minutes until, “How did he respond to the rules and such? Did you go through with that?”

You really didn’t want to taint your time with Josh by talking about Jake. You decided to give a short response to give Josh a hint, “Last night. Went well enough,” you continued. “He obviously checked the things I printed off. Tonight’s his record player night, and he’s playing his vinyl on it.”

“His record player night?”

“Yes. He gets a night, I get a night, and so on,” your tone was slightly snippy. You just didn’t want to waste time on the topic. “It’s to help us get to know the other through our music taste.”

He patted a hand on your shoulder, “How did you possibly think of a way to get Jacob to open up so well, Y/N?”

You scoffed. “Desperate times, Josh. I told you that. Besides, it’s what I always use to bond with people. It was a shot in the dark. Wasn’t specifically for him. It was so I could actually get to know him in some sort of way. It was for me, not him.”

He gave a small hum and turned back to continue cooking. Thank God. You didn’t want to talk about Jake.

You both went about your business for a little. After you’d set the chicken in another oil-greased pan, it sizzled, so you turned down the heat. Then, a thought came to your mind.

“You know, I think I’ve finally decided on the house plant I want.”

The two of you had ventured into a shared curiosity of house plants for the last year. 

And you had spent about that long trying to decide on plants for your homes. 

It was a difficult decision, because certain plants brought their own energy. And trying to narrow down the house plant that would start the collection and bring your specific desired energies into your living spaces? It had turned out to be a harder task than you’d both anticipated. You both struggled to stay on one thought for long enough to actually see it through, and you were both the type to not act on something until it felt totally ‘right.’

“Oh?” You’d piqued his interest. He nudged around at the vegetables and tofu in his pan a bit, then turned the heat down to face you. He raised a brow, crossing his arms at his chest. “Do tell.”

“French Lavender,” you started. He motioned a hand for you to keep going, looking down, his eyebrows completely knitted in thought. “It just smells so good, it’s a beautiful color. It will survive in any indoor climate. How cool is that? And it has the highest vibrational frequency of any plant that’s known to bring good fortune. All of these things and more make it a sure sign of good to come, you know?”

By the end of your rambling, he was staring intently at you, “You are truly the best kind of human, Y/N.”

And, of course, his voice interrupted your pleasant moment with your friend.

“We’re trying to decide on games, Josh.”

Jake. How long had he been standing in the doorway without you two noticing? Jerk. Eavesdropper.

“I’m helping Y/N with the stirfry, Jacob,” he turned back to his post, shuffling the veggies. He noticed at the same time as you that they were officially done. So, he really wasn’t helping you anymore. Which freed him up to–, “It’s actually done, so I’m going to help them find something fun to play. That okay?”

You were proud of how you schooled your expression. You gave a (fake) little grin. “Yeah, that’s perfect,” you poked at the chicken, turning a few pieces to see it browning well. “The chicken is almost done.”

Josh gave you a quick smile before following after his brother into the living room. 

You sneered over the chicken you cooked, displeased with how Jake was now stealing away your time with Josh. 

Was he just incapable of allowing you one moment of peace?

-🌼🌼🌼-

It had been about an hour since you’d all sat around the dinner table with stir fry. It had been accompanied by hilarious stories of Sammy’s recent (failed) Tinder match dates, and Danny commentating, totally ashamed of his friend’s ‘love life’. He and Sam had the perfect dynamic for friendship. One being the insane risk-taker. And the other, the completely rational mind in every situation.

Now, you all sat around your coffee table. You sat on the couch, flanked by Sam and Josh. Danny and Jake had brought a couple of your dining room chairs up, so they could be involved. 

Josh had decided on a favorite of his: You Laugh, You Drink. And you were spinning an empty Angry Orchard bottle for any card that made you interact with someone else. 

Thankfully, neither you nor Jake had gotten a  card that required a partner yet. You were very tipsy. You’d cracked and laughed way too many times during the game to still be sober. 

You weren’t sure how this inebriated version of you would react to Jake having to yell at your crotch, if you were being completely honest. 

Josh and Danny had already played that card anyway.

Admittedly, under the influence of alcohol, you caught yourself casting a few too many looks in Jake’s direction. But you couldn’t help yourself. You were a warm-blooded woman who was attracted to men.

And he was a damn good looking man. You knew addressing this fact under the influence was an “ok” thing to do. You were drunk. You had alcohol in your system, so you weren’t thinking clearly.

But you had to admit, even sober-you knew he was sexy as hell.

In this state, you noticed that everything he did was enamoring. The way he’d brush a hand through the front of his hair, making it wave perfectly at the top of his head. The way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he laughed. Why was the sight so alluring to you? 

But the best part of his face? His smile. You had noticed tonight that he had perfectly straight and perfectly white teeth that you hadn’t really been able to observe until this point. His smile was absolutely beautiful. It lit up his entire face. The bigger he smiled, the more the apples in his cheeks swelled. You wished that you saw your roommate more. It was pure serotonin when his face was all joyful and shit. 

And you’d never say it out loud, but being around him made you feel (strangely) giddy. Like, school-girl-has-a-crush giddy. 

Maybe Josh had been onto something when he’d suggested the idea of you being able to see what Jake was like around others. Jake was a captivating individual, to say the least. 

You took another swig of your cider. 

When you put your head back down, it was your turn. 

And when you looked to see where Jake was, you noticed he was up at the record player. He was switching Wheels of Fire back to Side A. The entire double LP had officially played through once. And instead of putting a new record on, he just replayed the same one. You assumed the record was a favorite. 

“You like Wheels of Fire a lot, huh?” you inquired in his direction.

He didn’t look at you as he placed the needle back on Side A, “It’s one of the best; a classic.”

“Yes, he’s always liked that one,” Josh agreed. “Has a few of his favorites on it.”

Jake actually respected his brother enough to look at Josh when he responded to him, “Nothing like hearing the live version of Crossroads on vinyl.”

“Clapton fan?” You implored. 

He rolled his eyes and gave you a look with raised brows that said ‘really?’. 

It irked you. Considering you were only trying to make polite conversation. Why was he so impossible?

“It’s Cream – not specifically Clapton,” he corrected impatiently. “You literally just said it was Wheels of Fire. You know it’s not just him, right? There were two other extremely valuable members. Ginger Baker? Jack Bruce? Ever heard of ‘em?”

His questioning tone wasn’t a kind one. You could tell he was mocking your musical knowledge; all it did was piss you the fuck off. 

You were about to retort when Sam chimed in, “Jake is the biggest Clapton fan on this beautiful green Earth,” he looked over to Jake, who you noticed was still staring at you, obviously annoyed by you. Ass. “Don’t let him fool you, Y/N.”

You stared back at Jake until your face was completely heated. Your skin was crawling. “Why do you have to make it a fucking argument? I’m just being nice.”

He scoffed. He walked back to his seat next to Daniel, and sat down with his elbows resting on his thighs, challenging you. “I wasn’t arguing. I was educating you.”

“I don’t need to be educated by you.”

“It seems like you do,” he pressed further. “I wouldn’t be surprised if all you’d known about Cream until tonight was that Eric Clapton was in the band. Basic knowledge.”

“Jake. . .,” Danny started. 

“She knows more than you think, brother,” Josh intervened. “Might even challenge you a bit, honestly.”

Jake scoffed. “Oh, I fuckin’ bet,” he rolled his eyes again with the words.

There were a few moments of tight air between you and your roommate. Even with the others’ responses, he continued staring only at you. Probably continuing to assume what he wanted about you. You were tired of it, but you couldn’t pull your eyes from him. His eyes were like magnets for your own. 

And you needed to win the staring contest that was apparently happening now. You wouldn’t give in.

“Let’s move on,” Josh’s voice cut through. You couldn’t help it when you looked over to him. Your heart was racing and all you wanted was to feel a sense of peace. And Josh’s intervention made it obvious that he was also eager for peace. “Y/N. . .choose a card,” Josh motioned to the stack of cards as a magician might.

You grabbed a card from the stack. 

Your mind nearly blanked at what it said. 

“The prompt reads. . .,” Josh verbally nudged you to read your card. “Will you laugh when someone in the group. . .” 

You cleared your throat, “Touches parts of the Target’s body while whispering what each body part is.”

Sam chuckled. “This could be hilarious.”

You swallowed deeply. You could only hope that the bottle would choose your ‘someone’ wisely. 

Your hand hesitantly reached towards the bottle, and gave it a decent spin. 

“Who shall your Target be?” Josh said as the bottle spun. 

You kept your eyes trained on Danny and Jake’s knees, both clad in black skinny jeans.

The bottle went a few times around the table. When it started slowing down, your stomach dropped. 

It went a couple ticks more. And then slowly, very slowly. . . It landed on. . . 

Jake. 

Of fucking course.

Your ears filled with white noise. You just stared at the bottle, not wanting to acknowledge the realness of the situation. You thought you heard a single ‘ha!’ and you could have sworn it was Sam. 

“Fuck you, Sam,” Jake corrected, confirming your theory.

You looked up at him and affirmed your fate. 

Jake was already staring directly at you. But his eyes weren’t angry. He was looking at you in a way you couldn’t quite pinpoint at that moment. 

“Anyone laughs, just once. . . I get to stop?” You turned your head in Josh’s direction to ask, while you still held eye contact with the alluring man in front of you. 

“All it takes is one laugh and the next Joker is up,” Josh answered. 

“And I have to touch his body?”

Josh hummed. “Technically, you should only be touching his body, but,” he paused. “Start by touching clothes if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

You decided to bite the bullet. You could start by putting on a little show to get some laughs. Stop it before it even starts.

You rose from your place between Josh and Sam. You even curved your back as you did so, your ass poking out with the motion. You kept your eyes locked with Jake’s. His jaw clenched. He definitely wouldn’t be the one to laugh.

Your legs were slightly shaky, but you felt like your little act covered that up. You walked towards Jake, around the small coffee table. And the closer you got, the more you swayed your hips. You licked your bottom lip the slightest bit. 

Jake’s mouth dropped open, his eyes moved to your hips.

His reaction was surprising, but welcomed. You wanted him to be at your mercy. He needed to be put in his place. Normally you wouldn’t use sex to get your way. . . But you’d had alcohol and it was making decisions.

And you honestly couldn’t help how your body seemed to activate like this for Jake. It felt natural.

But no laughs from anyone yet. Dammit.

As soon as you were in front of him, you sort of froze. You didn’t know what to do next. You let the alcohol make the first move for you. 

“Get up,” you commanded. 

And surprisingly, he did just as you asked. 

You moved a few steps closer to be right in front of him, your chest getting so close to touching his. You kept enough room for your arm to move between the two of you. The space between his pecs, all the way down to the top of his stomach, was uncovered, thanks to the man not knowing how to button a damned shirt. 

You let your hand graze from the shoulder of his shirt, all the way down to the first button that was fastened. Your eyes followed the movement of your hand. You rubbed your thumb over the button, playing with the plastic.

“You always have to show off your chest, huh?” You said softly to him, trying to act annoyed. But in reality, you rather liked that he didn’t button his shirts all the way. You were sure that all women who saw him like this were thankful for it. What a sight. 

Jake only gave a ‘hmph’ in response. 

With the next action, you looked up at him, through your lashes. He was already looking at you. His pupils were completely dilated. You had moved a finger to be on the fabric of the shirt, nudging the button through its loop.

When it came undone, his eyes blinked once in shock, widening a bit. But, the rest of his face stayed stoic. 

Level 2, you thought.

You then slipped one hand in the open area of the shirt, under the flowered material. You placed your hand on the side of Jake’s abdomen. His skin was warm. It made your own skin prickle at the feeling. It was nice. 

You brushed your thumb over the heated skin. It felt so thrilling. You stepped closer to him, still holding eye contact. 

“Stomach,” you whispered to him. 

He closed his eyes for a second, and when they opened back up, they were dark and hooded. Your skin heated under his sultry stare. 

You turned your eyes back to your hand. This time, you smoothed over the skin of his stomach on the way to his right pec, brushing over the hardened nipple on his breast. You flushed at the feeling of it pebbled under your hand. 

You edged your body closer. When you did, you got close enough that your hips almost touched his. Your heart skipped a beat when you felt a little hint of hardness through the fabric of his pants.

It made your body thrum. It urged you on.

You held your hand there and gripped the flesh just slightly. He let out the slightest moan. You just knew the other guys hadn’t heard it, it had been so quiet. But you heard it and the sound went straight to the pit of your stomach.

“Chest,” you whispered, getting awfully close to his ear when you said it, wanting only him to hear the next part. “You have a very nice chest.”

You didn’t know where the courage came from to say the last part, but you felt Jake flex underneath your hand. You felt a twitch between your thighs. 

You decided to creep your hand from his chest to his neck. The smooth, tanned skin of his neck. You skated your nails against his skin. You sighed just a bit, your breath hitting Jake’s skin. You weren’t sure where the sound came from, but after it happened, you watched goosebumps spread over his skin. 

When you made it to his neck, you wrapped a hand securely around the nape. You stroked circles with your thumb over the pulse point that was nearby. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as your thumb worked his neck. 

You brought the other hand up to join and you lightly cradled his neck. Involuntarily, he let his head lay back into your hands, his hair falling against your wrist. The feeling sent a chill over your body. 

“Neck.” 

From their spot, you moved your hands the slightest bit to hold his face in both of your hands. It felt so intimate, you almost forgot where you were. He locked eyes with you when you looked up at him. And you could have sworn you felt his hand brush the curve of your hip. 

“Fa—.”

Then, Josh started laughing. It made you jump the slightest bit. 

It was a fake laugh out of him. You knew the real sound like the back of your hand. You knew him well enough to know he was trying to save you from this situation. He still thought you didn’t want it, that it was making you uneasy.

It was making you feel uneasy. But you weren’t sure if it was still true that you didn’t want it. 

You moved away from Jake hesitantly after the laugh had rung through the air. And he seemed to blink himself back into real time after you stepped back.

But he still looked at you in a way that was new. . . His eyes were questioning you, almost like he was so curious to know more about what you were (apparently) hiding. 

Though, you weren’t even sure what it was you were keeping hidden, so you broke eye contact sharply and walked back to your spot between Josh and Sam. You gave Josh a look of relief to try to convince yourself that relief was the emotion you were feeling. 

But you were completely confused by yourself. It must’ve been the alcohol controlling you and clouding your thoughts. It had to have been. 

Josh rubbed your back, and gave you a little smile of comfort. 

You hoped to God you wouldn’t have to partner with Jake again because you weren’t sure what would happen next time. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Around 11:30, when the guys were gathered around the door waiting to leave, Josh asked his brother something. 

“So, Jacob, any news on the job front? I meant to ask you earlier.”

Jake’s head perked up, his shoulder was leaning against the door frame. 

“Oh, I got the job, actually,” he said with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. “I guess my audition was so good that I’ll be teaching some of the more prestigious clients. Only the most impressive auditions get a chance to give lessons to the ‘high end’ clientele.”

Your ears tuned in. You were very curious. You hadn’t known he was actively looking for jobs. And what kind of job would have clients? And he’d auditioned? What could it be?

“I mean, other than that being societal garbage,” Sam started, interrupting your thoughts. “That’s pretty fucking sweet.”

Danny and Josh agreed, seeming very happy for their brother. 

Why had you known nothing of any of this? You were pretty agitated. You were the one who had offered him a place. You were probably the only person who needed to know considering he needed to help you pay rent and shit. 

He had been the one to bring up utilities, after all. Maybe that’s why he had thought of it today. Because he’d gotten a job.

“You're going to be doing something that you love, Jake,” Danny added with a grin. “I’m so happy for you.”

Josh made a noise, so you looked at him. You saw one single tear leave his eye that he quickly brushed away. He sniffed, then inquired. “Will you teach children? Or adults?”

Teach? you thought. And why was Josh so emotional over it?

“Both,” Jake replied.

Sam went to Jake and patted his shoulder a couple times, then clasped the material of Jake’s shirt in his hands. “Those people are going to be in awe of your skill, Jake — especially the kids.”

Kids?

“What sort of job is this going to be exactly?” You wondered aloud.

Jake only stared at you, seeming to remember that you were there at all. Josh answered for him, “Jake is going to teach people how to play the guitar.”

Your eyes widened. “You play?”

Sam gawked at that. “You’re Jake’s roommate and you didn’t know that he plays the guitar?” 

“I had no clue,” you affirmed. “I mean, I knew he had guitars, but—,” you shook your head. “When–how long have you played?”

Again, no answer from him, so Danny replied in his place. “Since he was like, little. . .toddler age,” he continued. “It’s his favorite thing in the world to do, play guitar.”

The other two friends agreed with the statement.

“You really didn’t know how much he loved to play?” Sam still seemed completely shocked.

You shook your head again in response. 

You were surprised at it. You knew he’d brought the guitars with him. You could never forget when you tried to help unload them and he’d completely snapped at you for it. It definitely made more sense now. He was probably extremely protective over them if he’d played for so long. 

But, why had you never heard or seen him play? If he was so passionate about it, surely he’d play more. But maybe he didn’t find you worthy of knowing this talent of his. That honestly seemed most likely.

You’d initially thought that maybe it was something he just did for fun. A little hobby. Apparently it was much more than that. 

“I’m curious how it will go,” Jake finally spoke again. “I’ve never done something like this. It’ll be interesting.”

Sam moved back to his spot next to Josh. “You will totally stun those kids, Jake,” he brushed a hand through his hair. “And the adults! I mean, they will not know what to do with a living legend.”

Living legend?

You stepped forward, irritation clear in your tone when you spoke. “How come I’ve never heard you play?”

“I do it when you’re not at home,” Jake responded coolly. 

“Why?” you challenged. And at the same time, Sam also asked ‘why?’. 

All he did was shrug at you, and looked back to Sam, who was already speaking again. 

“Jake, you’ll be such an inspiration to those little kids. Someone they’ll want to be when they grow up for sure,” Sam’s voice softened. “Just how I always looked at you.”

“Thanks, Sammy boy,” Jake blushed, a small grin forming on his face. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

After the boys left, you went about putting the leftover stir fry in Tupperware while Jake busied himself in the living room putting games away. 

You were steadily getting hit by waves of tiredness thanks to your many ciders.

You had put the stir fry in the fridge, and were now moving onto putting any spare alcohol in a little group on the counter. Just as you’d arranged all of the beverages, you saw Jake enter the kitchen out of the corner of your eye. Your stomach got swirly in his presence and you just wanted to go to sleep. 

You kept doing what you had been doing before he’d come in and when you finished, you went to leave. 

But a hand with calloused fingertips gripped your forearm to stop you right as you got to the doorway. 

You hated how your tummy flipped at the feeling of his overworked fingertips that moved up your bare arm to lightly grip your bicep. 

You didn’t turn to him completely. You just shifted your head to the side, to show you were aware of his action. You felt the heat of his body come up behind you, and tried to hide the shiver it brought over you. He wasn’t touching you, but he was so close.

“Thanks for letting me stay here while I get back on my feet,” he offered, surprisingly kindly. “I appreciate it.”

Your cheeks flushed. You couldn’t help it. This was completely unexpected. “You’re welcome,” you offered quietly in response. 

He didn’t move. Your breath was stuck in your throat at the proximity of him to you. 

So, you decided to be the one to create a distance between you two. You didn’t want to push any more limits tonight. And you didn’t want to give him too much of your time.

You were just so tired. You were ready for bed. 

You left him in the kitchen. And for some reason, you felt just a little bad for it. 

— 🌼🌼🌼 —

Middle of June

After game night with the guys, things had gone back to normal. You didn’t steal glances his way, not wanting to somehow chance catching his eye.

You decided to move on from it as though it hadn’t happened. Blame it all on the alcohol. 

Except—you remembered every detail. The feeling of him touching you, you touching him

. . . The way it felt to hold eyes with him, almost as though you were both waiting for more.

But you pushed it down. 

And Jake must have forgotten or pushed it all to the side as well. 

Because, there was absolutely zero movement on his end to make conversation or change the way of things. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

For the first part of June, Jake was hardly home. 

Since you really didn’t see him, it was easier to pretend he didn’t exist in your space and ignore him. You were glad to have the apartment to yourself. 

You didn’t want him in your space.

You couldn’t help that you were a little curious as to where he was spending all of his time, though.

Almost every night, he was gone. And during the day, he would be gone to work, and you’d leave to work closing at the B&G before he got home. You would go to sleep without seeing him all day. You hardly bumped into him. 

On the days you were there to witness it, he would come home from work for a total of about 15 minutes (sometimes less), and then leave with both of his beat-up guitar cases in tow.

It was odd, but you figured it probably had to do with his new job. 

You really didn’t miss having him around at all.

-🌼🌼🌼-

But somehow, Jake still found a way to make his presence known. 

About halfway through June, you started receiving random sticky notes from him. Reminder stickies, if you will.

The first was a surprise to you. It shouldn’t have been. He was naturally an asshole, after all. 

You’d found it next to a used coffee cup of yours that was sitting in the sink. 

No dirty dishes. It’s a rule. -Jake

You’d huffed and crumpled it into a ball before trashing it. 

Then, you washed the cup. You wouldn’t be bested by him. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

The second note rested atop a jar of applesauce you’d purchased for yourself. You saw it when you went to get a can of Coke Zero out of the fridge.

You slapped your forehead when you realized you hadn’t labeled it before you put it in the fridge.

You had a good idea of what his note would say. 

Probably a good idea to label our groceries. God forbid we mix anything up. -Jake 

You labeled the applesauce and then took that note, and ripped it in half. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

The third was left on the bathroom door, right above a bra you’d stupidly left hanging there. 

You were assuming it had been after a longer shift you’d come home from when you took it off. You hadn’t even thought of it at the time.

Probably best to not keep our undergarments laying around. New rule? -Jake 

That sticky pissed you off the most. (And, no, it wasn’t because of any embarrassment you were feeling—he just made you that angry). 

How did he have the right? You were fuming.

In your fury, you’d grasped the piece of clothing so quickly and roughly that it had ripped. And it had been an expensive bra, too. 

Thanks for that, Jake, you’d thought. 

Thankfully, he hadn’t been home. So, when you made a noise that went from growl to piercing scream, he hadn’t gotten the chance to revel in your frustration. 

You were so close to your limit with him. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

You were ready to be around your family when the time came towards the middle of June. It was your grandma’s birthday, and Elsie would be in town to celebrate. 

You needed to see your sister. Fill her in on your ridiculous roommate and get her wise advice.

You were putting a couple of records you’d bought for your grandmother in a gift bag when you heard him humming on his way out behind you. 

You didn’t know what came over you or why you cared to ask, but you turned to him. It was perfect timing, you caught him just as his hand was on the handle to leave. 

“Where do you keep going?” You narrowed your eyes at him. 

He turned from facing the door to face you directly. 

Then, he leveled you with a look over the tops of his sunglasses. He shook his head and let out a sigh as if totally put out, and set his cases down on either side of him. He tucked a hand into one pocket and used the other to push his shades into his hair. You tried not to watch all of this too closely; starting with the way his glasses pushed his locks back just right. 

But you couldn’t help yourself. Every action seemed to be measured out flawlessly. And, you’d learned that he looked good doing anything. 

You hated how attractive he was—how easy he was to watch. 

Once you could fully see his eyes, you realized that he was giving you a look similar to the one you were serving him. “Why do you have to know?” 

“We have roommate things to discuss, and there’s never time to do it because you’re always gone,” you were making shit up on the spot. 

“‘Roommate stuff’?” He raised a brow at you. 

“Yeah,” you were spitballing. “Like bills and stuff.”

He rolled his eyes. “I leave my money for the payments on the counter,” he retorted, pointing to something behind you. When you looked to where he was pointing, you saw a fresh envelope sitting on the bar behind you. You didn’t let it phase you. You could have slapped yourself for not noticing it was there before now. 

It made you look irresponsible. . .and you hated looking irresponsible.

A smirk grew on his face at your lack of reply; like he knew something you didn’t. “You miss having me around? Hm?”

You tried to keep your cool, but you felt your face heat. You didn’t miss him. You didn’t know why you were having this reaction. You snorted to hide it. “I could care less about you being here,” you argued. “In fact, it’s kind of nice to have you gone. I get to pretend I still live alone.”

You heard a horn honk down below, and it was unmistakably Josh’s squeaky, tired one. 

“Why is Josh here?” You wondered aloud.

Jake eyed you for a second, then responded, “He’s picking me up.”

“To go where?” Then you had a lightbulb brighten above your head. “Have you been with him all these nights?”

“And it’s your business how?” 

It really wasn’t your business; he was right. He could do what he wanted. There was no valid reason why you needed to know what he was doing in his own spare time. You didn’t know why you were so curious. It didn’t matter.

You refused to show that he’d smarted you. Your chest was tight with whatever emotion it was you were feeling. “Whatever. I don’t care. I was just wondering,” you turned your back as your sign that you were done talking to him. “Tell him I said hi.” 

He made a noise that sounded like ‘mhm,’ and then you heard the door open and close for him. 

Your shoulders loosened once he was gone, and you released a sigh. You lifted a hand to feel your cheeks. And to your dismay, they were still hot. 

Absolutely ridiculous.

-🌼🌼🌼-

In a quaint little town just outside Brooklyn, your grandparents’ house sat, never changing. It was stuck in time; it still looked and smelled the same as it had when you and Elsie initially came to live with them 12 years ago. The maroon walls and fruit-filled wallpaper border, the same as always. 

You stood with Elsie in the kitchen. You were each cooking your own part of your Grandma’s favorite: Tortellini Carbonara. You worked on the pasta and vegetables while Elsie worked on the sauce. 

“Els, it’s terrible,” you said as you stirred the pasta steadily. “He makes me absolutely insane.”

Elsie set her sauce to simmer, and stepped to the side to work on the dump cake that would wind up being the birthday cake. 

“What’s so bad about him?” she questioned.

“Where do I begin?” You chuckled sarcastically. “He’s just an asshole. Ever since his first time stepping foot into the apartment, he’s treated me like I’m scum.”

“Scum? Y/N, do you think you’re being a little

. . .dramatic?” She gave you a look that almost put you in your place, but then Jake’s face came to your mind and you were heated all over again. 

“No! He has only been rude to me,” you huffed. And while that wasn’t completely true, you needed to make a point.

Elsie scooted in front of you, and you made enough room in front of the oven for her to put the dump cake in. She then set the timer on the microwave and stepped away to check her work phone. She really only glanced at it, and then looked back at you.

“You wouldn’t believe he’s Josh Kiszka, Actual-Sunshine-In-Human-Form’s, brother,” you carried the tortellini to an oven mitt that was laying out while you searched for a strainer. “They’re twins, even. . .Josh calls him the moon to his sun. But I think he’s more like the moon that comes during a solar eclipse that makes the whole world fucking dark and dreary.”

Elsie giggled at that, “Wow. . . Sounds depressing.”

“It is, Elsie!” You clanged around a bit longer, making more noise than you probably needed to. But Elsie refusing to understand was firing you up. Finally, “Ugh, found it.” 

You went about straining the pasta’s water while Elsie checked on your vegetables. 

She spoke from the stove across the kitchen. “Like you said, he’s Josh’s twin brother,” her voice sounded dreamy when she said Josh’s name. Elsie had it just as bad for Josh as he did for her. She just refused to admit it. You didn’t know why she was so stubborn. “There has to be some good in him. Why did he move to live with you anyway? I haven’t gotten the full scoop.”

You mixed some olive oil in with your noodles and then moved to check on Elsie’s cake. 

“Messy breakup with his girlfriend,” you felt remorse for being so cold about him when you remembered all of the details Josh had told you. You couldn’t help it when your heart dropped a bit. “She cheated on him, even though he was selfless enough to follow her, leave his brothers, and give up anything he may have wanted in life.”

She gasped, “Are you kidding me? She’s the terrible one,” she took your vegetables off the heat and carried them to the pasta while you grabbed the sauce to follow her to the pan on the mitt. “He’s just hurting. Any way he’s acting now is just a reaction to the trauma of that breakup.”

“Trauma?”

She bugged her eyes. “Y/N, you know first hand that trauma comes in many, many forms,” she leveled you with a look, reaching forward to squeeze your shoulder. “Give him some grace.”

You sighed and relented a little. “I have seen a few positive things come out in him recently.”

“Like what?” She grinned, like she knew a secret. You ignored that.

“He’s actually been pretty good about following our apartment rules—even taking it upon himself to remind me of a few. . .y’know, for shits and giggles,” you scrunched up your face to show your annoyance at that. Elsie squeaked a laugh. “Josh had mentioned he’s not really one for ‘being okay’ with rules set before him, and he honestly accepted the ones I made pretty well.”

“That you made?” She gave you a look. “Did he get to add any of his own?”

“He didn’t want to,” you shook your head. 

She blew out a breath. “Wow. Any man I’ve ever dated has never respected any rules I’ve set.” 

You blanched at the comparison to her past flings. “First of all, Elsie, we are not dating.”

She rolled her eyes and continued as if you hadn’t interrupted. “The ones I get with only ever act like I’m always wrong and they’re in the right. And that’s toxic. If he isn’t like that. . .I think you’ve got a good one.”

“I don’t have a ‘good’ anything. It’s not a relationship,” you corrected. Why was she being so dense? And why was your stomach fluttering at the term ‘relationship’? Absurdity. “He’s my roommate. But I guess you’ve got a point with the other stuff,” you agreed. “He’s really just been pushing me away. Jerk? Yes. But he hasn’t been straight up disrespectful— save for the first night. You can ask Josh yourself.”

“He’s never given me his number,” she looked down to her purple painted toenails momentarily, then looked back up. “Or else I would.”

You weren’t sure how to respond to that. You didn’t want to expose his massive crush on accident by saying something out of turn. So, instead, you decided you needed to call your grandparents in from their gardening outside. The food was going to get cold if you didn’t act too soon. 

Besides, you were getting uncomfortable thinking of how Jake truly wasn’t as impossible as you’d mentally made him out to be. You’d never slowed down and given yourself time to think of his past. You just jumped to every negative conclusion possible. 

And why had you conveniently left out anything about game night when talking with Elsie? 

You looked at the timer on the microwave and saw that it said the cake had about 30 minutes left. 

You motioned a thumb at the window that looked out onto the flower bed your grandparents were tending to. “Let’s go tell them dinner’s ready.” 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Dinner had been filled with talk of your schooling and Elsie’s career as a traveling journalist. 

And as you left, all three of your family members encouraged you to keep writing. At dinner, you’d divulged your lack of doing so this summer. 

You didn’t know why, but your writing hadn’t been a priority lately. You’d been consumed with making sure the record store was up to par. 

All things music had been at the front of your mind.

Music had been your first passion, after all. Your first core memory was of hearing a Stevie Wonder song. You couldn’t remember which one—only the groove that could only be classified as a Wonder tune. Hence the sentimentality of your cat’s name.

Though, you’d never felt the courage to pursue music as your career. You always felt like it was more of just a silly desire that would be pushed to the side as a ludicrous idea. Your grandpa had always been an avid lover of it as well, but he’d advised to not pursue it as a career, and to find a more sensible path in life.

So, you had ended up pursuing journalism—just like Elsie. And to be fair, when you’d chosen your major, you’d wanted to do everything she did. But now, (ironically) being almost done with your degree, you were realizing that journalism wasn’t everything you’d cracked it up to be. 

It was fun, but you didn’t live and breathe it the way you did the nostalgic melodies of music. But your grandpa’s words were always in the back of your mind. 

So, when you got home, you went about getting a notebook out and turned up your favorite 1970s-themed playlist to inspire your written words.

-🌼🌼🌼-

“Will you please give me some kind of clue?” 

You followed Josh to the door of the store. You were coming in to close the B&G; he’d opened that day. 

And just like in his brother, you’d become more of a passerby in Josh’s life these days. 

The more you’d thought of it, you realized that you had been working a lot of closing shifts. Josh had started a pattern of opening most days since the first part of June. And he was always in a rush to leave when you came in to cover close. He usually only gave you a quick hug with barely any words. 

Ever since you’d found out he was the one picking Jake up from your apartment that night, you’d started clicking pieces together. They had both been consistent with being these fleeting forces. Present one minute, gone the next—seeming to always be on a mission. 

The situations were too similar to not suspect something was amuck. 

You were fed up with feeling excluded from something happening in his life. You needed to know what it was. 

So, you'd been trying to get information out of Josh. . .but he wouldn’t give it up. 

“Y/N, you’ll know soon enough,” he gave a reassuring smile. You sighed in the most theatrical way, which only made his smile grow. “It’s too soon to tell anything.” 

“Not even your best friend?” You gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes you could. 

And still, “Not yet, Y/N,” he winked. “Just wait,” his soft hand lightly kneaded your shoulder. “I’ve gotta go.”

You watched him leave. 

As soon as he was out of eyesight, you stomped to the ‘Featured’ wall and changed it to spite him. You were beyond frustrated with the secrecy. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

One night, you forced yourself to write again. 

When you’d gotten home and Jake was (of course) gone, you took that as an initiative to turn up the music a little louder than normal. 

You ended up getting consumed in writing this made up story based upon The Beatles’ ‘Mother Nature’s Son.’

In the story, the main character was a mysterious man with long hair that had let the world guide him in his ventures. The world had opened up these opportunities that were so perfectly aligned to the man’s desires. Mother Nature was his guide on his journey, letting him release himself to the power of a true destiny. The intense power that only she could—.

A harsh knock against your door thundered through your thoughts. Initially, due to natural shock, it made a tiny scream burst through your chest. 

“Can you turn down the fucking music?!” Jake was back, yelling against the beautiful sounds of The White Album. You growled to yourself, angry that he was back to ruin all sense of your serenity. “The walls are thin, remember?!”

You threw the spiral notebook, and in your haste it hit the wall with a thud. You pressed the pause button on your phone, making your Bluetooth speaker silent. You jerked your door open.

You stopped for a second. You hadn’t seen him for a few days, and your mind naturally had to readjust to the sight of him. 

God, you wished he was ugly.  

You let your exasperation at his rude interruption fuel you, “Really?!” 

You stepped out of the doorway, forcing him to take his own step backward. You didn’t need his dark aura clogging up the safe place of your bedroom. You closed the door behind you.

You continued, “You’re allowed to bring a woman back here on the night we establish the rules and make sure to warn me that you’re going to make her get loud, but I can’t play my music?!” You aimed a thumb in the direction of your bedroom, behind you. “At least music is something we both enjoy. I don’t really enjoy the idea of you fucking a girl right next door to me.” 

His eyes widened. “Oh?” He stepped a little closer and your heart thudded in your chest. “You jealous, Y/N?”

You pushed him back by his bare chest, exposed from his lack of buttoning. His skin was so warm, you wanted to keep touching it, but instead, you flung your hand back as though he’d burned you. 

“Jealous?” You scoffed, looking momentarily to the side to gain grounding. “Jake, give me a fucking break. What would give you the idea that I would in any way be jealous of that?”

His eyebrows raised and after he tucked his hair behind his ears, he crossed his arms across his smooth chest. “You couldn’t keep your hands off of me at game night.”

“You just answered your cute little musing, Jake. You called it what it was: game night,” you set a steady gaze on him. “It was a stupid game,” you put a hint of viciousness in your tone to get your point across for your next words. “It meant nothing.”

His mouth pursed closed and his jaw clenched, but it didn’t last long. He schooled his features soon enough and looked at you with overly-calm eyes. He raised his hands up. “Fine,” he backed up a step. “I won’t bring women back here if you keep your damn music turned down.”

You rolled your eyes, grinning in disbelief. “It’s music,” you walked towards him once more. “We both love music. What’s the harm if it’s something both of us love?”

“Sorry,” he placed one tan boot in your direction and rubbed at his chin. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t love sex?” 

You blinked a few times at his words. Had he really just. . .? Your heart fluttered and your teeth ground together. “It’s not the same.”

He chortled at you, “Oh, Y/N,” your name said in his raspy register almost instantly made your cheeks heat. Your mind felt cloudy as he came up to you, almost touching his front to yours. He smoothed some hair behind your ear which caused you to shiver. You felt his breath on your face with his next words. “I think it’s just the same.”

His hand stayed resting on your head behind your ear. You even felt his thumb rubbing at your scalp. It felt so nice, your eyes almost fluttered closed. 

But you kept your eyes open and trained them on him, “Fine,” you breathed at him. “No loud music.”

He grinned at you. Except this time, it felt softer. “No loud sex.”

“No sex,” you repeated. 

And as soon as the word left your lips, reality hit you at how close he was. Your eyes widened and you instantly took a step back. Your back made a thumping noise against the door to your room, and that sound caused him to take his own steps back. 

“I’m just—,” he picked up the cases he’d sat just outside the hallway. You watched his ass in his black jeans as he turned and bent down to pick them up. You caught yourself licking your lips at the stretch of his jeans. But as soon as he turned around, you readjusted. “Going to bed.” 

He looked at you with a loaded stare just briefly, and then escaped to the short trek down the hallway to his own room. 

You stared in his direction, even after his door had shut. 

And when Stevie came to rub her soft gray fur against your shin, you jolted. You looked down at her precious form and remembered you needed to feed her. 

And while you were getting her food ready, you remembered something else: you did not have any feelings for Jake. 

And whatever that had been was completely against your own imaginary rule. You could not cross that boundary with him. 

You didn’t even want to. 

At least. . .that’s what you told yourself as you went to bed that night. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

A guitarist’s fingers had to be so skilled. 

In more ways than one. 

Calloused fingertips that had recently held your arm were between your legs, touching you just right. Feeling you exactly how you needed to be felt. 

The familiar pointer finger massaged the inside of your folds while the thumb reached up to nudge the underside of your clit, rubbing it, encouraging it. 

And then a tongue joined the pointer finger that was going through your soft folds. He fit his tongue so it curled right into your most secret place.

Your back arched and your calves came to cross against a bare, tan back. A tanned back that was still wet from a shower. You reached up to touch your hair, which was wet. 

You’d showered together. 

“How do I taste, baby?” You sighed down to the man who was on his stomach between your legs. 

His face was hidden, blocked by something you couldn’t process in that moment. But when you saw his head come up, Amber-brown eyes met your own. They were filled with lust, hooded in your direction. 

Jake. You sighed with relief at it being him.

His long hair fanned against your legs, and he removed his hands momentarily to move up your body and kiss your stomach, so delicately. 

“In every way, you are perfect,” he affirmed. 

You flushed a little smile his way, but your clit throbbed for more. 

“Jake, please,” you moaned. 

And without needing any more direction, he was back at work between your legs. Except, this time, his tongue was what nudged against the underside of your sensitive nub and his fingers continued to take turns working in and out of you.

-🌼🌼🌼-

The next morning, you woke up in a sweaty mess of sheets. 

You’d dreamt of him again. . .and this time, it had been much, much worse. 

And taking care of the tingling feeling between your already-shaking legs was your first assignment that day. 

Before your feet ever touched the ground that morning, you’d very quietly sighed Jake’s name as your fingers worked your pussy to the point of an amazing release.

When you came down from your high, you laid on top of your comforter. You needed cool air to wash over you. You pondered the thoughts that had entered your mind. You really hadn’t been able to help it. They’d come so naturally and it had felt so right. You didn’t know what was going to come next. 

What in the sweet hell was happening to you?

-🌼🌼🌼-

a/n: i'll give you one guess what the boys are up to ;)

let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist! also, if you changed your username and it's not tagging because of that, please let me know and i'll update it!!

Taglist: @joshym, @gretavanfleetposts, @alyson814, @fretaganvleet, @lallisonl, @writingcold, @gvfpal, @twinszka, @jessicafg03, @reesetrippingthelight, @sacredjake, @laurenlovesgretavanfleet, @gretavangroove, @222headedcalf, @dreamssingold, @carbondancingthroughtime, @raviolilegs, @way-to-go-lad, @jakekiszkasmommy, @katgvf, @objectsinspvce, @jaketlover, @vanfleeter, @thetroublegetssoloud71, @seditabets, @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface, @jaketlove, @ohgodthefeeling-gvf, @katelynn-gvf, @gretavansara (even if it seemed to refuse to tag, i still tried - ugh! i apologize for any weirdness of the tagging. if i missed you, please let me know! i think i included everyone, but it's def possible i accidentally left someone out.)

[justwritedreams]

Nowhere left to run | San

San x Reader, bffs to lovers au!, dystopian au! Word count: 5107 (sorry lol) Genre: Angst, fluff, kinda action Author: maari Warnings: Mentions of death, ship hijacking, assassins, bruises, cuts, punches, a little suggestive in the end but nothing really happens. No proofread because I was too anxious to post this one to worry about mistakes so forgive me. Note: I've been watching too many Gerard Butler's movie so I wanted to try to write something like that and the fact that I dreamed this entire scenario last night helped so enjoy! Summary: When it seems like the end of the world, you and San have nowhere left to run.

⩥ Ateez Masterlist

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

Y/N smiled at the voice behind her and turned after she closed her cabin door, meeting the dimpled smile that made her heart skip a beat.

“Good morning, San!” she responded excitedly and the best friend pulled her into a quick but warm hug.

"Feeling better?" he asked as he pulled his body away from hers, Y/N pouted slightly at the lack of contact, but nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I am, the medicine made me a little groggy, but I'm used to the rocking of the ship.” she shrugged and the two of them started to walk towards the main hall.

“You should have told your parents that you get sick easily.”

“Hey, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to travel the world on an all expenses paid ship before starting university.” she said and San laughed, nodding in agreement. Y/N glared at her friend and then her eyes dropped to his outfit. “Why the sweater?”

She didn't want to stare at him for so long but even wearing such a simple outfit, black pants and a black sweater, he managed to be the most handsome guy on the entire ship full of foreigners and tourists. And well, San had been working out lately, even though the sweater was slightly too big, it framed his broad shoulders very well and the image made Y/N miss all the air.

Couldn't she have a less handsome friend? It wasn't good for her heart.

It was hot outside though, so much so that Y/N was woken up by the hot sun hitting her back.

"I saw that it's going to get cold in the next few hours, I anticipated it, I don't want to get sick on vacation." he explained and got a laugh out of Y/N.

"San!"

"What? I'm cautious."

"So I guess no pool for us today, huh?" she asked and San scratched the back of his head.

It wasn't like she was going to take it badly, seeing San wet in a tank top would be too much for her poor heart. And she wouldn't even be able to hide it or make up an excuse since she wasn't feeling bad because of the ship and she wasn't even taking the medicine for cravings anymore.

San stopped and Y/N did the same, glaring at his friend.

"I think-" San's speech was interrupted by a loud crash.

Everyone in the main hall stopped to cover their ears at the noise, but then the ship rocked hard, as if it were made of paper, and people were thrown to the ground by the impact. Y/N closed her eyes as she fell to the ground and felt San's hands clutching her body, as if somehow he was going to protect her.

The still strong noise began to hum in the ears of the people who were confused, in pain and fallen, the ship gave another lurch and the lights failed, glass was broken and the shrapnel was thrown everywhere. Soon then desperate screams were heard.

Y/N opened her eyes and tried to locate the screams, noticing San did the same, and when she saw where the screams were coming from she wished she hadn't seen any of it.

The glass elevator had broken in half and fallen, the people inside were screaming for help, and Y/N swore she saw blood. Then she looked around and the main hall looked like it had turned into a war zone, everything was out of place and broken, the lights were dim now and she strained her eyes to adjust. "Are you okay?" San asked worriedly and stood up, holding Y/N who followed him still confused.

"Yes." she replied low. “And you?” “I’m fine.” San's voice didn't sound good but she didn't question since looked around, seeing a lady lying on the ground and she ran to help.

The lady was just as scared as she was and thanked her for her help with an almost smile, Y/N looked back at San wondering what the hell had happened there.

Strangely the ship had stopped rocking, as if it had stopped where it was. People started to help each other and a group of men went to the elevator to help the victims and Y/N put her hand to her mouth, she had stopped biting her nails when she was nervous but at that moment she didn't even remember her bad habit .

And it got even worse when she saw the lifeless bodies being taken out of the rubble, she looked away at the same moment that San hugged her and stood in front of her so that she wouldn't look at the scene anymore.

She didn't want to cry but there, with nerves on edge and in complete despair, some tears came out that she couldn't control.

Everyone in the hall started talking at the same time, wondering what had happened and why the captain hadn't said anything until now, Y/N didn't know how much time had passed but it seemed like an eternity. "Okay, look, at times like this we need to stay calm." a tall, foreign, and older man spoke a little louder, getting the attention of all the tribulations that were there.

Including San and Y/N.

He must have been Y/N's father's age, if not a little older.

"And how are we going to calm down? People died!"

"It's easy for you to say that!"

People started snapping at the man's speech and Y/N took a deep breath, she felt like her body would collapse at any moment and if it wasn't for San's hand stroking her back, it would have already happened. "And what do you suggest we do?" Y/N asked the man, who turned to face her.

"Each floor of the ship has a way to contact the captain's cabin, we try to talk to him."

"What if we don't?" San questioned, making the man sigh.

"Then we'll have to go there and find out what happened."

Y/N gulped, something said they wouldn't be able to reach the captain the quickest way.

"My cell phone has no signal!" one person alerted and then everyone got their devices.

Y/N did the same and also found that hers was without signal too, she faced San who was doing the same and they exchanged an accomplice and terrified look.

The man then started looking for a way to contact the captain through the hall, it wasn't that difficult actually as people who weren't complaining offered to help him.

Y/N clasped her hands together, mentally praying that he got what he had planned as he put the phone to his ear. But when she saw him huff and hit the phone, she knew the first plan hadn't worked. "Does anyone have the ship's map?" He asked and no one answered.

"I have it on my phone." San spoke, lifting the device and Y/N looked at him with a frown.

"Can I borrow it?" he asked, extending his hand and with the other he took his phone, turning on the flashlight.

"I think you're going to need help." Y/N cocked her head to the side as she heard her friend speak. "I'll go with you."

He took a step forward but Y/N grabbed him by the arm, feeling her heart sink.

"San, no!" she asked desperately. "Y/N please, we don't have a choice." he turned to face her, determined and she eyed him suspiciously.

Why of all people did San have to go? There were so many men in the hall, why not another one?

"It could be dangerous." she warned and he sighed, bringing his face to kiss her forehead, and she just closed her eyes at the contact.

"I'll be back faster than you know." he tried to smirk, but he was just as worried as she was. "I promise."

Y/N took a deep breath and nodded. He was one to keep his promises and she clung to that, even though her heart squeezed even more. San made a move towards the man and Y/N followed.

"What is your name?" she asked the older one when she got close to him.

"Mike."

"Why are you so sure you know what you're doing?"

"I used to be in the US Navy."

This should have made Y/N feel more at ease knowing that San was accompanying Mike but in fact it only made her more nervous.

"Take care of him, please." she pleaded and saw the man nodding in agreement, before giving San's shoulder two light slaps.

San looked at Y/N one last time and she held his gaze, visibly worried, and she didn't stop watching him walk away until she lost sight of him.

In the midst of that chaos and despair, the only thing she could think about was San getting well and returning safe and sound.

[...] Y/N walked from one side to the other, she didn't know how many minutes or hours had passed since the incident, she had already helped more people than she thought she could in the state she was in, but San and Mike didn't come back yet.

San hadn't come back as fast as he had promised, and that made Y/N cross her arms so she wouldn't have to bite the skin off her fingers since her nails had all been destroyed. She was scared, terrified, anxious and seeing people hurt and scared wasn't helping her keep calm. Her heart beat faster when she saw two silhouettes coming back and one of them she knew well but when she saw San resting on Mike's shoulder she despaired and didn't think twice before running to him. San rested his hand on his forehead and smiled guiltily at Y/N.

"What happened?" she asked, putting an arm around his waist and the other hand went to his, pushing San's hand away she could see that he was bleeding. "Oh my God."

"It was an adventure" he replied and Y/N wanted to smack him for sounding so...excited.

Now was not the time for him to be so himself.

"We tried to get into the captain's cabin but..." Mike started to speak and Y/N stared at him, confused.

"But?"

"All are dead." San replied quietly, looking at the other crew members behind Y/N, as if she didn't want him to hear.

Y/N felt her jaw drop.

"How is this possible?"

"The cabin door is locked, we can't access it from the outside." Mike started to explain.

"So I had the bright idea to see through the glass." San continued and Y/N glared at him. "But the glass was all broken so I could see a masked person strangling the captain."

Y/N felt a shiver go through her body and the hand that was holding San's fell to her side.

"When he saw that San was there, he punched him in the face."

"The glove had sharp points so that's why the cut on my face." San pointed at his wound and Y/N grimaced in pain. "And what happened to the masked guy?" Y/N asked, curious and angry at the same time.

San and Mike exchanged a knowing look.

"It was him or San. I had no choice." Mike shrugged and Y/N glared at him.

She didn't want to understand what he meant but she did and although she was a nervous wreck, she was grateful that he had saved San's life.

"Look, some people here need to go to the hospital urgently!" Y/N pointed back and Mike saw the situation.

A man had a deep cut on his chest and was having trouble breathing, a woman had a piece of glass stuck in her thigh and it was bleeding a lot, but if they removed the glass she would lose a lot more blood because the glass had caught an artery. Other people had less worrying injuries, like a broken finger or cuts on their arms and face, in addition to the bodies that they had to cover with their own clothes and cloths they found in the hall, so as not to scare the two children who were there even more. "Yeah, I really wanted that to be possible." Mike responded and walked away, going to the crew to see what he could help with.

Y/N frowned and without understanding pulled San to the ground, she went to the first aid box that they had managed to rescue and returned to take care of her friend.

Seeing that the cotton and bandage were already gone, she tore off a piece of the thin shirt she was wearing to stop San's forehead from bleeding.

He hissed when she placed the cloth on the burning cut and grabbed her wrist. Y/N stared at San with concern and fear.

"We went down to the communication room." he began to speak quietly so that no one else could hear. "Mike knows that part so we tried asking for help."

"And?" she encouraged him to continue as she removed the part of the cloth already stained with blood and put the clean part back on San's forehead.

"All communication is down, something is blocking the signal." "And what does that mean?" she asked, startled.

"I asked Mike what he thinks, he said he believes they are trying to hijack the ship."

"What?!" Y/N spoke louder and San covered her mouth while the other crew members looked at the two.

"Shhhh! Don't scream." he begged.

Y/N was wide-eyed as San's long hand covered her entire mouth to muffle the sound.

"Promise me you'll keep your voice down."

She nodded and when San let go of her hand, she took her hand away from his forehead, it wasn't bleeding anymore but the cut was still ugly.

"Okay, tell me what you found out." she asked for bass and took a bandaid out of the box to put on San.

While she busied herself with bandaging his forehead, San shared what they had discovered.

The ship had received a message from a Japanese ship, warning that there had been a leak in the sea where the ship was going to pass, so they had to change the route and ended up in unknown areas, near the East China Sea, far away from the original path that it was the Philippine Sea.

San warned that he found the message very strange, he had studied Japanese and the accent of the voice in the message was completely different from what he had studied.

Hearing this statement from his friend only made Y/N's heart sink even more, because if the original theory was kidnapping, it would make sense to manipulate the ship's route.

They had probably fallen into a trap. One that not even the captain had noticed. "And the rest of the crew?" Y/N asked San after sitting down in front of him, they would have no other way to pass the time than talking.

"They're all dead." San replied, lowering his head and Y/N hugged her own knees. "Before Mike killed the masked guy, he said that anyone leaving the ship's premises would inhale a deadly toxic gas, so he was wearing a mask. When the ship's windows broke, the gas went into the saloons and rooms further exposed, the captain's cabin and killed everyone."

"Then why was the guy strangling the captain when you arrived?"

"It was to ensure that the captain had died."

Y/N felt her entire body shiver with panic and hugged her legs even tighter, to give the false feeling that she was safe.

"The lower decks of the ship may be safe."

"May?" Y/N stared at San in confusion. "We don't know how many masked guys boarded that ship." San shrugged and Y/N ran a hand over her face.

What a great vacation she had!

"I'm not enjoying this, San, not at all." she said and he sighed, moving his body closer to hers and putting an arm around her shoulder. Y/N sagged at the contact and rested her head on his shoulder.

"On the bright side, our cabins don't have windows and the locks are with keycards so we'll be safe there."

"If no killer got there before." she said. "Will Mike tell the rest of the crew?"

"Only about the gas."

Y/N took a deep breath and nodded, feeling her head spin, so she squinted her eyes tightly and didn't bring up the subject. She stayed there with San for who knows how long, he was stroking her shoulder the whole time.

When she heard more screams, she opened her eyes again and saw that the ship's lights had completely gone out, the pitch black didn't last long as everyone turned on their cell phone flashlights, Y/N didn't even bother to turn on hers since the others were enough to light the place.

"Okay, that's enough!" a woman spoke, getting up from the floor. "I'm going back to my cabin since apparently nothing is going to work around here."

She started walking towards the stairs and other crew members started to do the same as Mike got between them.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you guys."

"Oh come on man, we paid for this trip, don't tell us what to do." a man responded, shoving Mike by the shoulder to get him out of the way.

San got up to help Mike stop the crew and Y/N did the same.

"You can't go!" San spoke loudly and practically pleaded with the couple carrying the child with them.

"And you can't make us stay here!"

"If you open that door, everyone will die!" Mike pointed to the door closest to the stairs and everyone stopped to stare at him.

At the same moment, a strong lightning echoed throughout the ship and everyone jumped in fright, including Y/N who grabbed San's arm tightly.

"What?" a chorus sounded and Y/N looked at San, foreseeing what was to come next.

"Great, now there's going to be a storm while we're out in the middle of the ocean while some guy wants to scare us!"

"What's this about us dying if we open the door?"

"I’m serious." Mike replied, glaring at the crew. "There is a deadly gas outside the ship."

Y/N sighed when Mike spoke and everyone spoke out loud at the same time, some believed, others doubted and others didn't know what to believe.

"Americans and their fantasies!" the man rolled his eyes and Mike started to laugh. "Do you think this is funny?"

"First, I'm Scottish." he replied, laughing. "And I'm not lying." he was more serious this time.

“He’s not!” San said but no one paid attention, making him frustrated. “Bullshit! If this had really happened, the captain would have warned the entire ship.” San and Mike exchanged a look, as if debating whether to tell the whole truth.

"Look guys, I really need to get back to my cabin, all my jewels are there!" A young woman spoke and her eyes hovered over San, something that didn't go unnoticed by Y/N. "Hey, pretty, you could walk me there, couldn't you?" Y/N stared at her in complete disbelief while San looked extremely confused. “Excuse you?!” Y/N spoke and grabbed San's arm tighter.

"If you help me, I can give you something." The woman took a step towards San and Y/N stepped in front of his friend, letting go of his arm to grab his waist as she kept facing the woman.

"He's not going anywhere with you!" you horny bitch, she thought. The woman glared at Y/N who raised an eyebrow, challenging her.

The world ending outside she worried about jewelry? And she still wanted to put San in danger!

That woman couldn't be serious. “Yeah, I don’t think I-” San's speech was interrupted by Mike's scream

"Sir, don't do that!" he asked the man at the top of the stairs and everyone turned to face him.

The man who was arguing with Mike had already gone up the stairs and had his hands on the door, San grabbed Y/N's arm that was hugging him.

“Now you’re going to say that a murderer is going to come in here." the man rolled his eyes before opening the door.

The moment he put his foot on the other side, a knife hit his neck squarely and the man fell forward lifeless.

Y/N's eyes widened and San took a step back, bringing her with him as he saw a person with the same mask as the guy he and Mike had found. "Y/N, run!" San spoke and she blinked a few times trying to react while the entire crew screamed.

But her legs felt as stiff as cement so San pulled her by the arm to follow while Mike yelled for everyone to run to the cabins below.

San and Y/N ran so hard that she almost twisted her foot on the stairs, hearing the desperate screams of the rest of the crew behind her made her extremely scared, it felt like she was in a scene from the movie Scream. "Which cabin?" she asked in a hurry to San

"Yours!" he answered quickly and she took the card out of her pants pocket.

Once they arrived in front of the door, she put the card in place but her hands were shaking so badly she wasn't helping to identify the code.

“Shit!” San took the card from her hand and put it back in place, the door opened and San pushed Y/N inside when he saw that the masked guy entered the corridor where they were, the knife was dripping blood and even though he couldn't see anything of the face of the person, I knew it was terrifying.

Seeing San standing still, Y/N pulled him into his cabin and the two struggled to close the door before the masked guy had a chance to reach them.

They took a deep breath, both with their hands on the closed door and when a loud thud followed by a curse was heard, Y/N backed away from the door. She stared scared ahead and San turned his head to look at her.

"He's not going to come in here, is he?" she asked, feeling her eyes fill with tears and San walked over to her.

He hugged her tight and closed his eyes, his heart was racing as fast as hers. For a second he thought he was going to die.

"No, I promise he won't touch you." he assured her and she nodded, burying her face in his chest.

San felt Y/N tremble and soon a sob escaped her lips, she couldn't control her tears anymore and all the mixed emotions that went through her.

"It's okay, I'm here." he brought a hand to her hair and stroked it as he sat her down on the bed.

Y/N gripped San's sweatshirt tightly as if her life depended on it and cried.

She didn't know how much time passed but they continued in that position, when Y/N took a deep breath and pulled her face away from San's chest, he looked at her tenderly, taking a hand to dry her face.

"Do you want to wash your face?" she pointed to the bandage she had made, they now had the advantage of having a bathroom in the cabin.

"No, it's fine. But I really need to get this off." he held up his sweatshirt and Y/N nodded, stepping aside for him to do so. The room was warmer since she had turned off the air conditioning when she left the room.

San was wearing a black tank top underneath and Y/N had to control a sigh when he saw his bare arms, but when San got up from the bed to put the sweatshirt on top of the armchair in the cabin Y/N saw that his back was also bleeding.

"San, your back!" she said and got up from the bed.

"What?" he turned to try to see but it was impossible so he put a hand behind his back, looking for what she had said.

"It's bleeding." she warned, staring at the cut on his back.

"Oh, I think it was when the guy punched me in the face, I fell against the shards of glass."

Y/N looked with concern and before she could say anything or even blink, San took off his shirt while complaining of pain.

Although the rational part told her to stop staring at San's bare back like that since he was bleeding and apparently in pain, the emotional part of Y/N completely ignored it.

She'd seen him shirtless, of course, but that was before he started working out, when he was still skinny. Before she saw him more as a friend. And seeing him so close, made her legs shake and it got even worse when San turned to face her, showing his defined abdomen, right there in front of her eyes. Y/N cleared her throat to try and disguise that she was staring intensely at her best friend, not that she succeeded because of course he noticed, she was far from acting discreet even after they went through all that panic. "I will..." she pointed back, taking steps back trying to focus on San's face, which had an almost imperceptible smile. "yeah, I think there's a first-aid box..." San nodded for her to continue and she lost focus, ended up hitting her back against the bathroom door. "Ouch! Yeah, I'll get it from the bathroom." she spoke too fast and looked for the box while San laughed quietly, going to bed. Y/N glanced at the mirror quickly as she took the box.

"Jesus Christ!" she spoke quietly, raising her eyebrows in complete surprise.

Yeah, San had the famous chocolate abs and she loved chocolate. How could it be the same boy who had the cutest dimples in the world?

She shook her head to clear the thoughts surrounding her best friend's strong body. Now wasn’t the time to be acting like a fervent teenager.

When Y/N returned to the room, San was sitting on the bed and she placed herself behind him, placing the box on her lap. She treated the cut with care as San hissed when she touched the wet cotton to the cut, first cleaning and then bandaging. During the process they both remained silent, he sighed every now and then as she tried not to focus on how soft and warm his skin was. As soon as it was finished, Y/N sat next to San and tried to properly take care of the cut on his forehead, the first time it had been in a hurry because of the confusion but she didn't want it to get worse so she would take advantage of having all the tools to take care of it. She noticed that the apple of his cheek was purple, probably from the punch he had taken, and after he finished the bandage, her fingers went to the bruise. "It hurts?" she asked, quietly.

San took her hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss her fingertips.

"Not anymore." he stared straight into her eyes and Y/N pouted as she couldn't smile after so much tension.

"You scared the shit out of me."

“I’m sorry!” “Yeah, you should be. Never do that again.” San nodded nonstop and she sighed. "I'm scared, San. What are we going to do now? We have nowhere to go."

"We should have gone to the kitchen, at least there's food there."

"And knives." she remembered, she was still tense, thousands of thoughts swirling in her head, coming and going without permission.

"Hey." he called, bringing both hands to her face, gripping both sides to make her face him. "We'll figure it out, don't forget we're not the only survivors, Mike will probably find a way to get us out of here. Someone will miss us."

"What if they don't?"

San saw the concern in Y/N's eyes and stroked her cheeks trying to give her hope.

"We'll find a way to send a signal!"

She took a deep breath and gave up, San gave her so much confidence that she couldn't do anything but believe his words.

"I'm not going anywhere." he guaranteed.

Y/N laughed wearily.

"Because you can't go anywhere else." she answered and waited for San to laugh but he didn't.

"Even if there was any other place, this is where I wanted to be." he intensified his gaze and Y/N stayed quiet, unable to speak. "With you."

She continued to stare at him, San's gentle eyes didn't make her want to look away from the dark iris.

That was all she wanted to hear for a long time.

And no words needed to be said, she didn't need to ask him if he was serious because she felt the truth in his voice.

As if it were a magnet, San approached Y/N's mouth and captured her lips with such desire and desperation that she sighed before she could even reciprocate in the same way.

Holding her by the waist, he started a quick and at the same time sweet kiss, she was forced to take her hands to his shoulder gently, not wanting to hurt him.

San's hot lips were driving her crazy and the room became hotter, she then climbed her hands to San's neck as he pulled her onto his lap.

When their tongues met, Y/N adjusted herself better on San's lap and rested her knees on the bed, making him stay between her legs, the position made the kiss intensify and his hands went up all over her extension of her back.

She wanted to continue but the lack of breath was greater than her desire and she broke the kiss, touching their foreheads.

San's heavy breathing against her face made her smile before she even opened her eyes.

And when she did, she saw San smiling widely and the dimples showing, making her take her hands to caress, without restraining herself now.

"We should have done this sooner."

Yes, they should.

[suckondescoconuts]

Kyojuro in springbath??

YES 100% YES

I have a plot for this, a great one at that, LETS MAKE IT REAL LOL

✨Thank you for the request✨

Kʏᴏᴊᴜʀᴏ Rᴇɴɢᴏᴋᴜ Sᴘʀɪɴɢʙᴀᴛʜ ミ★

𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙾𝚁𝚂 𝙳𝙾𝙽’𝚃 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃

𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝

𐦐𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖𐦐

You were tired and wanted to relax and clean off all the dirt that was on you from your training and slaying all those demons. You found out that the place you were staying has a hot spring bath, so you were relieved that you can finally can have a nice, relaxing, hot bath waiting for you to just jump in.

When you finally got there, a lady took you to your room and gave you a towel for the bath and so when she left and stood outside your door for your dirty clothes.

You quickly started strip out of your clothes and then covered yourself with your towel. You slid the door open and willingly gave your clothes to her for her to clean and saying thank you for her gesture and kindness.

When she left you shut you door closed and walked yourself to the hot spring bath you were looking forward to and you indeed finally got to that spot. Seeing the steam rising off and out of the water and the water fall making a small splash against the water satisfying, it was like a dream come true.

"Huh~, finally, I can't wait."

You took off your towel and sunk yourself into the hot spring water.

"Mmmm, now this is the luxury."

"I didn't know you were here?"

You shrieked in surprise and turned your head towards the direction the voice was coming from and stood there was...

RENGOKU

"Oh, Rengoku, I didn't know you were here too." Smiling at him sweetly.

"Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't mind."

You turned you head the other direction to give him some privacy to take off his own towel.

The water made waves when he came in, splashing into you with little to no force, then a hand was on you shoulder, giving you the sign that you can turn back over to him again and when you did, you saw face first his chest.

"How was your mission?" He asked sinking more into the water with you.

"It was good, yours?"

"Same..."

Silence ran through the warm air which was unusual since Kyojuro was the type to keep talking.

"I have something to tell you, and it's really important."

"What would that be?" You asked curiously, looking into the water in front you.

"I love you."

You were shocked and started to blush because you too did feel the same towards him. You turned your head towards his direction and stared at him, making contact with his own eyes.

"I... I love you too."

"Really!"

"Yes."

Out of nowhere his arms wrapped around you suddenly, hugging you close to his chest, feeling his heart thumping wildly just from the confession, then a sweet kiss came onto your cheek.

"Thank you, I was worried you didn't feel the same, but now I'm certain that you love me too."

You giggled a little bit and replied "Really, you are always so positive about these things, what made you think that way?"

"I really don't know."

Then more kisses were covered all over your face trailing down your neck. You felt more heated then water was producing, but soon the kisses stop and Kyojuro looked into your eyes.

"May I continue?"

You blushed realizing what he meant and shook your head yes, but soon as you did he turned you around having your back face him and laying your front on the edge of the spring bath showing breast out for everyone to see. You tilted your head back in anticipation for his next move.

A hard rod was poking at your behind, knowing what it was, while he was kissing the back of your neck and your wide back. He brought his hand downwards towards his cock and put the tip of it inside of you.

"Kyojuro~"

Then more of it was shoved inside of you, hitting the deepest part that you couldn't even reach yourselves. You moaned in pleasure feeling him inside you. You started to wiggle your hips trying to make him move in and out of you, his hands were brought on top of your hips making you stop your movements, but too long after he started to move himself, thrusting into you in and out with the right speed and rhythm. The water were splashing everywhere, flying out of the bath, making the floor more wet then it was already.

Press here for the Twitter link ——> 𐦐𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𐦐

It felt so good going in and out of you, it was something you couldn't grasp from any man in the world can provide.

"Oh sweet flame, I'm cumming."

"Please cum inside me Kyojuro, please, I need you inside, god yes."

You felt yourself coming close too, following right behind him.

"Cum with me."

Then it hit hard, you started to shake a little, feeling his warm cum inside of you, flooding your insides and senses. He pulled out of you, making it leak from inside of you little by little.

"We should maybe clean up huh sweet flame?"

"Yeah, before the owner sees up." You giggled, kissing him on the lips with love added to it.

𝓘 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝔂'𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓽 𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓪 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓰𝓾𝔂𝓼 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓫𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓫𝓰 𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓑𝓨𝓔

P.S. follow me on Wattpad, my name is @Ava873703, I post there more new stories then here

[beevean]

Nuke Sage. She brings nothing to the table lol

So far, she really hasn't.

I know that many people love her. Some love her arc, how she develops emotions and the need for a familial bond. Others love how efficient she allegedly is, how utterly loyal to Eggman she is even after she grows a heart. I know this, but there is nothing about her that appeals to me. She's bland, quirkless (she supposedly told Eggman one joke, offscreen), repetitive in her dialogue, the discount copy of Rei Ayanami and more blatant about it than the Death Egg, and her sacrifice for the sake of her "father" was literally nullified twice over.

Oh, you enjoy her because she develops emotions? Gamma is literally right there. And his sacrifice stuck. And I got to play as him and experience his change of heart. Frontiers' story is just a half-baked SA1, and that game already needed more time in the oven. no you cannot @ me.

And we talked multiple times how she's actually not as impressive as the game makes her out to be, and by all means, Eggman should have lost his patience the moment she kept insisting that he needed to team up with Sonic, like he did when Infinite disappointed him one too many times. mfw in the Japanese script, Eggman ends up saving himself from Cyberspace because Sage is that incompetent lmao

And the writing itself flipsflops between "Eggman is only proud of her because she's so impressive that it shows how great he is" (mostly in the missable memos) and "Eggman genuinely cares about his daughter and cries when she has to die and call her his daughter and adorable and holds her hand in the DLC and genuinely ponders whether she likes being called 'she'." It's... forgive me for the joke... wildly inconsistent :P

^ the thing is not that he assigned a gender to a creation of his, because he calls most of his robots "he", it's nothing new. The thing is that he actually stops in his tracks and questions if Sage would prefer "she" over "it". It's that he cares about her opinion, when by all means he shouldn't give a single shit about an AI's preference.

Then you add how fans, already juiced up over years of discourse on Mr. Tinker, took this undecisive writing and decided that this is proof that Eggman was Not So Bad After All, that he has a good heart deep down, that this sudden love for his "daughter" is what finally makes him human and tridimensional! They Fixed The Bad Character! Now yes I shouldn't base my opinions on the fandom, but as I said, if Flynn's intentions were to paint Eggman as a self-centered creator, he did a very poor job, because there is a reason the voice director ordered Pollock to sound like he was in tears when he said lines like "I understand. Go, fulfill your function".

And the kicker? Sage hasn't made a meaningful appearance yet. She cameo'd in MOSTH, looking sad and red/black instead of blue/white, and she's nowhere to be seen in Eggman's dreams in Dream Team, which lowkey implies that he actually doesn't love her as much as it seemed like in Frontiers.

but in the Takeover that everyone will take as gospel, Eggman says that she is the reason he keeps existing. Who wrote that. How can you put those words in that order in Eggman's mouth. And fans not only gush about how cute this is, but roll their eyes that Sonic is bored at this wildly OOC display of affection.

Sure, as a character she barely existed for one year, there's plenty of time for her to come back and finalize Eggman's direction. But yeah... so far she hasn't done anything to ingratiate me.

[wordsarelife]

—back to december

pairing: quill kipps x fem!reader, ex!anthony lockwood x fem!reader

summary: you had left lockwood in a night filled with regret and there was nothing you wanted more than to apologise to him

warnings: angst, mention of unwellness, but not specified

notes: this got a bit more lockwood x reader (in a platonic way off) than i had planned lol. sorry :)

"so you're just going to leave?" he let go of your bag and had that look on his face again. a look that almost made you regret everything. but you wouldn't stay. you couldn't.

"i'm sorry" you said and with that you opened the door and left portland row, without ever coming back.

you woke up from someone softly shaking you. "what is wrong, love?" quill asked worriedly.

you looked at him confused, blinking at the light of the night lamp. "huh?"

"you were crying" quill explained

"oh" you adverted your eyes, trying not to think about lockwood and the dream you just had. you weren't going to think about your ex-boyfriend while you were laying in bed with your current one. "sorry, i woke you" you said quickly "it was just a bad dream"

"alright" quill pecked your lips, before he settled down again. you weren't able to go back to sleep, so you stood up and sat down on the couch in the living room, grabbing a book and trying to concentrate on something else.

you were sure those sudden dreams about lockwood and the night you left hadn't come out of nowhere.

there was this mission quill had mentioned. something that involved working with the agency head. of course quill knew about your past relationship, that's how you had met after all, but he had assured that you didn't have to see lockwood if you didn't want to.

"it's fine" you had said "i have to face him at one point"

quill had accepted your decision. you knew that you had to face lockwood, there was no way around it anymore, that didn't mean that you felt good though.

it had been a year since that night and you knew that it was your fault. you had known since that night that he atleast deserved an apology. something you hadn't been able to give him until now.

your relationship with quill had changed your perspective on a lot of things. it had made you realize that you were in a bad state during your relationship with lockwood. you had to llove yourself before you could love anyone else. you had made that clear to quill when you started going out. he had been nothing short of supportive and patient.

it's not that lockwood wouldn't have been, but you couldn't drag him into your mess. not when he had enough on his plate already.

the sun came up quicker than you had anticipated. "since when are you up?" quill walked into the living room barefoot.

"good morning" you smiled, craning your neck so he could kiss you "i wasn't able to go back to sleep after my nightmare"

"so bad huh?" he opened the drapes

"yeah" you shrugged

"was it about lockwood?" he could really read you better than anyone

you sighed, before you nodded

"you don't have to come" quill assured "i can take bobby"

"no" you shook your head "i want to come. i just feel so guilty"

quill's eyes grew softer when he turned to look at you. he sat down beside you and hugged you. "he will understand"

"he was good to me" you muttered "and i just walked away. without any explanation"

"you can explain now"

"i will" you nodded

later that day, you were standing in front of the door of portland row. quill knocked.

george opened the door and to your surprise he smiled and even hugged you. "y/n" he beamed "i haven't seen you in such a long time, how are you?"

"aren't you.. angry?" you threw a glance at quill, who just shrugged

"why would i be angry?" george made a motion for you two to enter the house "lockwood explained everything to us"

"he did?" you asked surprised

"y/n!" lucy rushed down the stairs and almost made you fall over by the force of the hug she was giving you.

you hugged her back. "hey" you muttered into her hair. the smell of the house and the smiles of your friends almost broke your heart. you had missed them. you had missed home.

"hey" lockwood said, entering the hall. he had grown a bit, his suit, that used to be too big, fitting him perfectly now. the bags under his eyes had disppeared and he looked a lot less tired.

"hi" lucy had loosened her hold on you.

"why don't we go into the kitchen to discuss the case?" lockwood suggested and you weren't able to do anything more than nod.

"so where did you find it?" quill pointed at the wrapped up mirror

"we can't tell you that" george crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair

"okay" quill nodded "did you steal it?"

"we also can't tell you that" lucy said excusingly

"well what can you tell us?" quill asked

during the encounter at the kitchen table. lockwood wasn't able to take his eyes off of you. he noticed that you looked healthier than the last time he had seen you. just like you had noticed the positive change about him.

your mind drifted off and you caught lockwoods eyes, who also seemed to be thinking about anything else.

"could we talk?" you whispered

lockwood nodded. "please excuse us" he said and you followed him out of the kitchen and into the library.

"you didn't change anything, did you?" you said, walking around the room and noticing that it was still the same that it had been all those months ago. even the photograph that pictured lockwood and you together hadn't left.

you took it into your hand, watching it closely. the photo had been taken by a stranger when lockwood and you had been on the london eye.

you had only thought about that day a month ago, when quill and you visited the london eye. the memory had hit you suddenly and almost ruined your entire day.

"i remeber this day" you muttered, putting the photo down in it's place

"i do too" lockwood said "a great day" "yeah" you turned around. "what did you tell george and lucy about me leaving?" you asked "i bet it wasn't the truth, no" you shook your head "they wouldn't treat me like this if it was" you looked at the door

"it wasn't exactly a lie either" lockwood shrugged "i told them that you needed time. that you weren't well and that you couldn't do that while you were here"

"lockwood" you muttered

"you look happy" he said "healthier and better than when we last talked"

"it's been so long" you mumbled

"a year and fourteen days" lockwood added "i thought about everything a lot"

"why aren't you screaming at me?" you asked with tears in your eyes "i just left and ruined everything"

"you did what you had to do"

"i hurt you"

"still"

"why do you always have to be this good to me?" you cried "why can't you just be angry?"

"because i'm not" he touched your arm to comfort you "and i won't pretend i am just because it's easier for you"

"i'm sorry" another tear escaped your eye "for everything. i wish i could go back and change things, i'm sorry fur hurting you"

"i know" he hugged you

"i wish i could've loved you right"

"i do too" he admitted "but i know that back then you weren't able to do that, even if you wanted it so badly"

"i always cherished our time together, but i wasn't the version of myself you needed" you explained "i think that you look much healthier too"

"i am much healthier"

"great" you smiled "i won't ever say that the way i handled it was right, because it wasn't, but i think we both needed to heal individually, we couldn't do it together"

"i agree" lockwood smiled back softly "and even if i'm not angry, i'm still glad that you came to apologise"

"i hope it wasn't too late"

"it never was" he assured "maybe we can be friends again some day, but for now, just know that i will always love you"

"i will always love you too"

"and i'm glad that we met, even if it ended badly" he send you a last assuring smile. "come on" and with that you followed him back into the kitchen, sitting back down in your seat, while quill took your hand, squeezing it softly.

lockwood noticed the gesture and smiled at you. you smiled back. everything was alright again.

[daisiesonafield-blog]

Hiiiii! Ok I was one of the lucky 24 people who got to do the meet and greet with Louis yesterday at the Phoenix show and I’m not sure how I’m still even alive to tell you this 🥲 I’m still not fully convinced that the last 24 hours were real because it felt entirely like a dream to me 😭

Everyone’s tags are killing me about not getting photos of his ankle 🤣 but to be fair, I think the majority of us just like completely blacked out. We also were truly only with him for a max of 5 minutes and he came out of nowhere we were all too stunned.

Like, please tell me you would’ve noticed his ankles were out when you got to meet the man you’ve been obsessed with for like 11 years and he is DIRECTLY right in front of me, a foot a way, looking into my eyes and saying “I’m gonna need you lot to scream really loud tonight because me voice is shit right now” and then having him sign your ticket and then having a seperate like 15 second conversation with him. I know ya’ll think you would’ve noticed but I promise you, you wouldn’t have 😂

My friend hugged him and she’s like yeah I legit think I blacked out 🤣 it was so so wild!

It was all just a whirlwind! It was for those of us who had won tickets to the Phoenix radio meet and greet in September that got cancelled. I literally never thought anything was going to come from it, and then two days before the show they were like “hey! Louis and his team agreed to do a quick meet and greet and group photo with you guys because he felt bad about having to cx the Phoenix event last fall”

Like 🤧🤧 he’s such a sweet heart! He didn’t have to go out of his way to make this happen, but he did out of the goodness of his heart - just when I thought it wasn’t even physically possible to love Louis more 🩵🫶🏼 I’m so thankful, I really didn’t think anything was gonna happen after they cancelled it last year, so I feel so incredibly lucky 🥹 (ALSO I GOT TO SEE THE GREY IN HIS HAIR UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL I ALMOST PASSED OUT)

Sure it would’ve been awesome to have a full Q&A with him and much longer to enjoy his calming and lovely presence, like everyone else who did the radio meet and greets did last year. But this was honestly so special to me and I will never shut up about it until the day I die 🤣 (also why no one noticed the ankles because it was so much shorter than the meet and greets that happened last year haha)

P.S. I’ll message you off anon so you know this is legit lol (sorry for the anon friends - I’m hella shy and introverted and won’t be able to handle people messaging me about it 😅)

Hi dear,

OH MY GOD I AM SO HAPPY YOU GOT TO MEET HIM!!! This is amazing! And you're right, I would've also blacked out and forgotten about the ankles if he was right in front of me looking me in the eyes and talking to me. I LOVE that they were so kind to do a quick m&g with you and you got to meet him before the show. Truly amazing and so so special <3

[deliciousangelfestival]

You said to send you prompts and ideas and well I’ve always wanted to write my own fic but i know i can’t write worth a damn lol I’m not good at describing shittt but what hears an idea I’ve thought about and so far I mean I haven’t come across any fics about it at least in my chosen fandoms lol so here it is.

Reader is you know just an average person in the world we live in and maybe is a huge fan of CE or Sebastian Stan and gets sucked into a portal and boom transported directly into the MCU meeting their favorite actor only it’s not Chris or seb it’s THE Steve rogers or Bucky Barnes, and maybe they just stare at them wide eyed all starstruck and shit. Maybe they wanna find a way home or not 🤷🏻‍♀️.

So again not the best at explaining lol but I’ve always thought that would make a pretty good interesting fic/series. It also doesn’t have to be Steve or Bucky it could be any other CE character ( as long as it ain’t Curtis Everett I wouldn’t wanna be teleported on that fucking cold ass tail end train lol)

Wow this is really challenging. It's like transmigrated story. But I'll try. The universe that I choose is Marvel, since it made more sense.

Here it goes. I hope you like it anon! 😘❤️

Other Universe

Character : Steve Rogers x platonic!reader , Bucky Barnes x platonic!reader, Dr. Strange x platonic!reader.

Once in your life, you probably knew someone that has crazy ideas.

Like Y/N. She has this one unique friend. Her special friend is obsessed with everything related to the transmigrated story.

And the universe she wants to enter is Marvel World.

It's impossible.

But the universe could be funny sometimes.

When Y/N visited her unique friend because she couldn’t contact her friend. Where is she?

Y/N entered the house, everything was a mess, and she saw a magic circle inside the room.

Suddenly, the magic circle glows and opens a portal. Every object got sucked into the portal, including Y/N.

Inside the portal, her body is floating. There's nothing she could hold on to. Did her friend also get sucked into the portal?

In a second the portal dropped Y/N. She didn't have a chance look around where she was. Because floating or flying inside the portal made Y/N dizzy and vomit.

"Are you alright? You suddenly fall from nowhere." Someone with a commanding voice asked her.

Y/N body shivered. This voice is familiar.

It can't be!!!

She slowly turned around and was shocked. Captain America and The Winter Soldier in their combat uniform is looking down at her. Their eyes also say they're shocked by what they're seeing now.

Y/N gasped "Oh my god. It worked!!!"

Steve raised his eyebrows; what does she mean? Did the land hit her head? She suddenly appeared. Did she have magic like Dr. Strange and Wanda?

He has so many questions.

Y/N was nervous, but then she remembered, "Do you see someone else that appeared out of nowhere just like me?"

Bucky tilts his head. "You know her?"

Y/N felt relieved; that meant her friend was also in this universe. That means she could go home. "Yes. Do you know where she is? I got transport here because of the magic circle my friend made."

She takes a breath before she explains, "I don't know how to explain from the start, but I'm not from here. I'm not crazy; please believe me!"

Steve and Bucky could tell she was afraid and didn't look dangerous. Steve leaned down and got closer to her. He talks with a low voice. "You should see it for yourself."

"Huh?"

Y/N doesn't understand, but she follows Bucky. This place seems like the Avengers Headquarters she has seen from the movies.

So she arrived at a safe place. That's relieved. She wondered if her friend had arrived safe, too. She must be excited since her dream to enter the Marvel Universe came true.

Bucky brings Y/N to a secluded room. Her body turned cold when she saw a big bag in the middle of the table.

'Please don't open the bag.'

Bucky couldn't read Y/N's mind. He opened the zipper line and revealed a pale body.

Y/N fell to the floor.

It's her friend.

Her friend is dead.

Her funny and silly friend.

"What happened?" Y/N asked with a crying voice.

Bucky sighed. "Your friend arrived at the wrong location. The moment she arrived, the security alarm activated, and the system saw her as a threat."

Scary. This is scary. Y/N felt afraid. She doesn't want to be in here anymore. She wants to go home.

Steve put his arm on his right shoulder. "We're really sorry."

Y/N looked up with tears running down her cheeks. "If she's gone, how can I go back?"

Both soldiers felt pity for her. Steve said, "We could try Dr. Strange to help you."

Y/N makes a slight nod. She hoped Strange could help her.

*****

But when Dr. Strange heard her story, he became quiet. So quiet that it made Y/N uncomfortable.

Strange sighed "If your friend is still alive, you could go back, but because she died, it's impossible."

"Huh?"

"This kind of magic only recognizes the creator and understands desire. Your friend created the magic circle, and you got transport here because she wants you to join her. That's why the portal opened again when you entered her house."

If the creator died, the magic wouldn't work, and the portal to return to the Y/N real world got disconnected.

"Does it mean I can't go back?"

Strange picked a book with his magic; he read it for a while and said, "It's not impossible. It will take time. Do you want to try?"

Y/N nodded her head multiple times. "Yes, yes."

Strange said to Steve and Bucky, "She will be my disciple. Both of you could leave now."

Steve and Bucky are relieved that Y/N has a chance to go home. They both knew how it felt like a person without a home and friends.

Steve gave her a phone number. "If you need someone to talk to, call us."

Y/N looked at the small paper on her phone, and her vision blurred again. If her friend is still here, she will be excited to get a phone number from her favorite characters.

But she's not here anymore, and Y/N has to survive.

"Thank you."

After that, Steve and Bucky returned, and Y/N followed Strange to study.

Her first day at Marvel Universe has started.

[panblackeagle]

I need more roleplay partners

This is an active attempt at making people want to roleplay with me, because I just need more active ones, other than the one that I currently have (they're irreplaceable for sure!)

Now, I accept anything MxM and FxF, shipping OCs is cool, but I mainly ship things from fandoms (I am quite sure that you will recognise at least one of these, trust me). I find gore completely fine and I come for drama, as long as it doesn't come out of nowhere. I write in a weird mix between semi-lit and literate. If I keep myself short, I either don't know what to write or I am preoccupied with something else at the moment. 18+ stuff is good too, I am 20 (I am a pure bottom, but not all that I roleplay is submissive, most of them stand their ground quite well). I am a very creative person, who will most likely find a plot in anything, so if you want to add things aswell, just let me know!

These are the fandoms that I roleplay (+ if I am desperate to roleplay in it lol)

♤Dream Daddy (not really desperate, only doing it if I get to be Damien)

♡Spaloon 1-3 (yes, yes, yes, all of them queer tentacle creatures!)

♤Pokemon (every generation is fine, we can even be the Pokemon, I am a furry)

♡No Straight Roads (I had an incident, not doing it for at least the next few months)

♤The Stanley Parable (not really desperate, I've done it quite a bit)

♡Countryhumans (it's been at least three years, very desperate and I make a good Germany and Finland)

♤Undertale/Deltarune (I never really mind it, even the AUs are cool)

♡Team Fortress 2 (always up for it, if I get to be either Medics)

♤Super Mario/Luigi's Mansion 2-3 (I want to do it from time to time)

♡Jojo's Bizarre Adventure part 3-4 (the most desperate, poor Kakyoin got done dirty!)

♤Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss (eh, could be worse, I'm obsessed with Staticmoth (don't expect me to be Val though))

♡Detroit Become Human (not desperate, but I can make exceptions)

♤Yokai Watch (I just think this one to be fun)

♡Pikmin 1-4 (I'd be willing to try it)

♤Super Smash Bros (I'd be Mii Swordfighter because he's my main)

♡Steven Universe (I'd be up to do it, respectfully for the lesbian space rocks)

♤My Little Pony (Sure, why not!)

♡Sonic (I don't know much, but I am still willing to do it)

♤Villainous (I make a good Flug and Slug, not desperate though)

♡Good Omens (I have not seen the second season yet, but still!)

♤Hetalia (I am not really knowledgeable, but I can roleplay as Ludwig)

♡Sanders Sides (there are possibilities)

♤Fnaf (I really like being Bonnie of any kind ^^)

♡Cookie Run Kingdom (there's good potential in it!)

♤Wander Over Yander (I literally only want to do deathglare and to be Peepers!)

♡Legends Of Avantris - specifically Once Upon A Witchlight or Stardust Rhapsody (honestly, I would absolutely love to!)

♡The Amazing Digital Circus (holy hell, I did NOT expect to dive into royalteeth so deep- (my favourite is Caine, no doubt))

If you are interested in roleplaying with me now, you can comment or dm me. If you prefer roleplaying with me on Discord, I can send you my Discord in dms.