#to save up money by staying at his friends place and working as a lifeguard not knowing about the magical nature of the town

[ppjeterka]

i have a crazily elaborate au premise i outlined for a fic i was planning on writing for a pairing three fandoms ago and i'm seriously considering adapting it to fit hrpf now

[calicheer-cove]

Select Clientele - Billy Hargrove x Chrissy Cunningham

Summary: Chrissy has her eyes on Billy. Billy has his eyes on Chrissy. He decides to have a little talk with her. What will be her decision?

Author’s Note: The pool flirting scene, but make it Calicheer. Also let me know if you want a part two.

Summertime in the small town of Hawkins meant something different for everyone. For El and Max, this meant sleepovers and playing around with her powers to spy on the boys. For Dustin this meant computer camp to learn and build with the latest in tech ware. For Will, he was hoping for D&D, while Lucas and Mike wondered if their girlfriends were mad at them. As for the older ones, summer internships and jobs to save up for future endeavors. Billy was more than happy to work as a lifeguard if it meant being out of the house. Chrissy, against her mother’s narrow mindedness, worked at the GAP.

Training alongside her friends was a nice change of pace instead of attending bible camp, again. Utilizing her people skills, practicing money management, and keeping the place in tip top shape made the time roll by. Even on days when only a small handful of customers came over, she was happy to be there. Aside from store discounts, she also had the benefit of stopping by Scoops Ahoy! to meet up with Steve and Robin during her lunch breaks. Harrington went on about his failed love life, while Buckley and her rightfully poked fun at him. Dustin was surprised to see Cunningham, feeling apprehensive at first. In time he was able to see that she was actually a nice person. Chrissy thought of him like a second little brother.

Aside from the mall, the community pool was also another big hot spot. The place to be for fun in the sun, much to the boredom of the juniors and seniors working as lifeguards. They did their training and work of course, their faces indicated that they would rather be anywhere than here. Billy was no different, still at least he was able to earn a little extra money and work on his tan. Billy was not ashamed of how he looked, he took pride in his appearance. A number of the mothers clearly took interest. He offered them a charming smile as he passed by, his face dropping immediately once he turned his back on them. He loved the attention of course, but there was only one set of eyes that Billy wanted on him. Eyes as blue as the ocean beneath the Santa Monica pier in July.

Nancy took in the warmth of the bright sun on her skin. Robin preferred to stay under the umbrella with Vickie, worried that the 50 spf wouldn’t be enough for her; despite her reassurances. Dustin was engaged in a battle of chicken, keeping himself steady on Steve’s shoulders. Making his best attempt to push Will off of Jonathan’s shoulders. Lucas and Mike were showing off in front of Max and El, the two girls focusing on each other rather than their idiot boyfriends. Erica and her friends were more than prepared to make fun of the older Sinclair sibling and his friend.

Chrissy’s nose was firmly in a copy of some trashy romance novel that Heather loaned her. A pretty predictable story, but one that she enjoyed nonetheless. In a small, shanty sea town, a faithful woman of god (who so happens to be a widow) crosses paths with a sexy pirate. He steals her, they go sailing, have sex, and that’s it. The words were enticing, the same could be said for the cover art as well. Muscular man with a tan, long flowing locks of golden, curly hair, eyes as blue as the sea, and he’s wearing a shirt that showed off more cleavage than the lady.

“So how are you liking it so far?” Heather asked, passing over a can of Tab to her.

“It’s good. Captain James is wooing Prudence in his quarters,” Chrissy answered back, eyes going back to the page.

“Ooh, you’re gonna love the next chapter. It’s so hot,” Heather purred, sliding a stick of gum into her mouth.

Chrissy wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of romantic smut, but her curiosity was definitely piqued in freshman year. During a slumber party, Heather shared her mother’s private reading collection and the girls all had a good laugh. Chrissy wasn’t sure what the flowery language meant, but she giggled as well. In sophomore year, she would find a private corner at the public library to read those stories; that is until Heather would offer one to get, in exchange for a little tutoring. As they studied for an upcoming science test, Heather noticed how distracted Chrissy appeared during a session. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Cunningham was crushing on Hargrove as he walked by. Heather, in good fun and genuine curiosity, had questions. Chrissy was easy to read: Cheeks glowing, heart thumping, and scowl that wouldn’t scare a rabbit. Heather swore to tell no one and she kept that promise.

Chrissy peaked over her heart shaped sunglasses at the tanned Adonis. She had an inkling that he was looking at her, despite wearing his aviators. She figured that maybe she wouldn’t register on his love radar, boy was she wrong. Billy wasn’t a stranger to certain members on the cheer team, little flings in between after school practice were commonplace. To his surprise, all she did was offer him a friendly greeting and nothing more. He sat behind her in geometry, staring at the gentle slope of her neck. The curled loop of her ponytail looked so pretty, often accessorized with a scrunchie or a bow. Her perfume smelled expensive, costing more than a six pack, a box of Camels, and gas combined. In the cafeteria their eyes met briefly before she went off with her friends. One of Hargrove’s fellow goons made the fatal mistake of jokingly stating that Billy had a crush on Chrissy. A threat and swift punch to the shoulder was enough to shut him up. Wounded pride aside, it was true; Billy did find her fascinating.

Getting paired up in class for a history project led to conversations, allowing for them to talk; even if it was surface level. They began to converse in the hallway and after school as well. People began to talk, Billy didn’t give a shit, but Chrissy did. He wasn’t sure why, but a part of his mind ordered him to keep her safe. If someone made an inappropriate remark at her, Billy was the first to know. If he noticed that she wasn’t in class, he would ask around. Max kept her distance between her step brother and the cheerleader. She figured it was going to be nothing more than another quick relationship that she would end up having to hear from her bedroom, again. Yet he seemed different around her. The last thing Max could do was bring it up. Still, she found it a little amusing that El didn’t understand what Mayfield meant by “happy screams” and why Chrissy wasn’t making any.

“Chrissy? Hello, earth to Chrissy?” Heather stated as she waved her hand in front of her friend’s face.

“Huh? What?”

She chuckled, “You were totally staring at Billy.”

“I was not,” Chrissy hissed back, her blush betraying her.

“Aww, look at you, you’re blushing.”

She crossed her arms, “No! I- I- I’m sunburned.”

Heather leaned back in her chair, expensive sunglasses perfectly perched upon her nose, “Uh-huh sure, whatever you say. I mean, it’s not like he’s been staring at you since you came in or anything.”

Was he? Chrissy wanted to check, but she didn’t want to be so obvious. She placed her own glasses back up, eyes lingering back to the beautiful man. Solar spectacles on, face on the residents having their fun. No one would ever know about the ocean eyes gazing at the strawberry blonde.

Chrissy inhaled slowly and made her way over to the pool. Fake it til you make it as the old saying goes. For Chrissy, her confidence always shined through whenever she cheered. Her feet and legs gracefully strolled over to the water. His eyes kept his sight on her, his mind taking in each and every step that she took. She dawned a two colored one piece swimsuit, purple and white adorned the fabric. She wondered if it was too revealing due to the revealing neckline and how the suit hugged her rear. Heather and Nancy insisted that she looked amazing, Vickie loved the colors, and Robin was speechless before giving her a compliment (well more of a ramble, but Chrissy still thanked her).

The water felt so welcoming along her skin, allowing her to feel so comfortable and so free. She always loved the water, be it rain, lakes, and whenever she took a bath. As a child, she used to pretend that she was a mermaid swimming far, far away into the endless depths. No more responsibilities, no more worries, and no more stress. She could be her own person with a strong, shining tail and locks as long as a kelp forest. If only this mermaid knew just how much the lonely sailor watched her. Billy slowly removed his sunglasses, admiring the incredible form and movement. Chrissy took to the water like a bird to the air, with ease and strength. Her vibrant eye makeup never washed away, strawberry blonde locks darkened to a warm amber hue. She was radiant, lively, and enchanting.

His job was to focus on everybody at the community pool, yet he simply could not look away. He could hear music playing loudly in his eardrums. The booming of drums, the slick plucking of a bass, the melodic riffing of a guitar, and the amorous lyrics from the vocalist all came together. In his eyes, Chrissy moved in slow motion to the tune of Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded.” As much as he loved Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, her presence was no longer lingering in his mind. Chrissy was the one to break the surface of the pool’s water, strutting towards him in a red hot bikini. Manicured fingers carefully unclipping her top from the front to reveal her small and pretty breasts. His whistle seductively brushed along his upper lip and tongue, blowing out a loud tweet. The loudness of reality returned, but he kept his eyes on her. Chrissy used the ladder and was pleased to see him walking over.

“Looking good out there, Chrissy,” Billy stated, unable to keep back his smile.

She couldn’t resist smiling as well, “Thank you.”

He offered her a towel, their hands touched for a moment, “Perfect form.”

She felt the pleasant spark, eyes drifting along his sculpted body before she met his eyes, “Well… your form is amazing.”

Oh god, did she really say that to him? She really said that to him. His smile grew, letting out a mischievous chuckle.

She felt the little twinge of embarrassment, “I’m sorry. I’ve seen you… teaching lessons. Swimming lessons.”

Chrissy looked away briefly, asking for the concrete below her to melt beneath her feet. Maybe getting buried in a rock solid hole would be less painful than this. Yet he was still here, more than ready to engage. She hoped that perhaps he could smooth out the wince inducing matter.

Billy’s toothy grin dropped from humorous to a heart palpitating smirk, “You know, I could uh… I could teach you, if you like.”

Did she hear that right? Or did she imagine those words? He fluttered his long, lovely eyelashes when he spoke. Chrissy stood there with her mouth slightly agape.

“Oh?”

He continued, grin still evident, “I know all the styles. Freestyle.” He took a step closer, his expression neutral; enjoying the way she obediently nodded her head and clutched her towel. “Butterfly.”

Chrissy could hear her heart racing many miles a second. Her brain begged her not to say something stupid again. She could feel her body heat rising. She swore that she could also sense the warm sensation of his body as well, despite the short distance between them. Chrissy was so lost in his eyes that she didn’t notice the fresh stick of gum that he unwrapped and fished from his pocket. Gazing at the thick fingers gently holding the treat beneath his lips.

There it was, that smile, that gorgeously handsome smile, “Breaststroke.”

Chrissy did not blink, fingers loosening up as the air from her lungs momentarily vanished. The sound of her towel plummeting to the hard surface brought her back. She bent down to grab it, finding herself looking at Billy’s face when he helped her; his hand brushing hers once again.

“You okay?” He asked, sounding a little concerned and a bit smug.

She wrapped the towel around her waist, trying to hide her shyness with a friendly disposition, “I didn’t think you- I didn’t think you taught other age groups.”

Billy smacked his lips while he chewed, his breath minty fresh, “Well I offer more uh… advanced lessons to select clientele.”

He looked her directly in her gleaming eyes, he could see her demeanor change. Any time they spoke, even if it was just for a few minutes, Chrissy noticed how she felt a little light headed. Being in such close proximity made her lower half pulsate, a feeling that would continue to plague her long after they spoke.

His voice became as soft as the wind, Pacific blue eyes drilling into her soul, “Come to think of it, there is a good pool out at a Motel 6 on Cornwallis. It’s very quiet. You know, very private. Shall we say tonight? Eight o’clock?”

Chrissy’s brain reminded her to breathe, her ears focusing on the sound of his deep, gentle tone amidst the noise of summer fun. She could feel her head nodding, having to stop herself when she gave him a sympathetic smile, “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

He sounded heartbroken, it was all an act of course, one that made her laugh, “Can’t what? Have fun? Chrissy Cunningham.”

She felt so weird in this unusual predicament, yet she couldn’t help but enjoy this extra attention that he was giving her. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Billy to flirt with others, but she couldn’t imagine herself being with him romantically; and yet her mind did wander to that possibility.

Chrissy ran her nails through her soaked locks, doing her best to calm down her racing heart beat, letting out another chuckle, “No. I… I… I just, uh… I don't think I need any lessons.”

How strange. Her voice sounded different. Breathy and just a little seductive. Billy liked that, he really liked it.

He was closer to her, truly towering over Chrissy, “Oh, you see, I think you do. I just don’t think that you’ve had the right teacher.”

She gulped, this was really happening, “I, uh-”

The smug bastard showed off his best smirk, his voice was like caramel, rich and smooth, “It will be the workout of your life.”

Chrissy wondered if it was possible for a human heart to thrust back and forth through one’s chest the way a cartoon character’s heart does. His wolfish demeanor should have disgusted her, but she couldn’t lie to herself, she was enjoying this. Yet she could sense the judgemental eyes of everyone around her. As if she were bare before all of Hawkins, a sensation that haunted her in life and in her dreams.

Chrissy gasped when she felt Heather’s grasp on her arm, “Hey Billy, don’t you have some cougars to flirt with?”

He rolled his eyes, “Speaking of cougars, how’s your mom doing?”

Heather scowled at him, “You’re such a prick.”

“Well, I’d like to stay and chat, but I have a job to do. See you later, Chrissy,” Billy stated before heading back to his station.

Chrissy covered herself with the towel, “Thanks Heather.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, “Yes, I’m fine. Just um… I don’t know… kinda weird right now.”

[zodiyack]

Rude! (3,000+ Follower Fic Special 1/3)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Female!Hopper!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Billy stuff, lyrics, fluff

Song: Rude by Magic!

Words: 1,798

Summary: Billy's love for Hopper's daughter is too strong to be stopped by the tough Chief Jim Hopper. Despite being told "not in a thousand years", he plans to love her regardless.

Note: Thank you so so much! I love you all, and writing your ideas, as well as sharing mine with you, has been so fucking fun and amazing! I'm sorry for my lack of words, I wish being an author came in handy with writing this, however, all I can say is that I love you all from the bottom of my heart. I've seen people do shout-outs, and ask-related stuff with their follower things, and I may do that, I'm not sure. For now, I hope you enjoy this... Thank you all, again!

Also 1/3 means that there will be two other fics released for the 3,000+ follower present!

Taglist: @urie-bowie-mercury, @matth1w, @redspaceace-writes, @fandom-puff, @darling-i-read-it, @simonsbluee, @sebastianstanslefteyebrow, @dpaccione

Masterlist | Stranger Things Masterlist

"Saturday morning, jumped out of bed and put on my best suit. Got in my car and raced like a jet all the way to you. Knocked on your door with my heart in my hands, to ask you a question, 'cause I know that you're an old-fashioned man. Yeah."

Billy was freshly graduated, working as a lifeguard whilst his girlfriend worked her own job, both saving up for their chance to ditch Hawkins and move to California. Sweet Cali. Billy was excited to show the love of his life around the place he called home. Though, physically, he left the salty ocean and windy beach behind, the place never truly left him.

You could see it in his eyes. The waves crashing in his blue orbs. He swore the scent had just barely clung to his belongings; the smell of the tangy air that followed a majority of the state. Working at a pool was the closest he got to the memory of California. Chlorine was most certainly not the salted ocean waters, but with the circumstances, he decided it'd do.

The way his face lit up whenever he talked about his home...it made Y/n more and more excited to see it. His girlfriend had grown up in Hawkins, stayed there her whole life. Never once did the Hoppers leave Hawkins.

But the second that was introduced to Billy, he knew it had to change.

Although they were saving for a big move, Billy had...other things in mind with what to do with his first large pay-check (or series, rather. Working as a lifeguard didn't pay well with just one check). He began to work more shifts to make up for the money he'd spent, and one day after calling in for a day off, he decided to put his plan into action.

"Billy, stop messing with the tie."

"It's annoying." Hands slapped away his attempts of adjusting the black silk tie.

"Well it won't stop being annoying if you keep fucking it up."

For the first time in a long time, Neil Hargrove was calm. Not happy, not amused, not pissed off for some unjust reason- just calm. He wasn't wreaking havoc and he wasn't being an asshole to his son. Billy hadn't seen this side of his dad in quite some time, in fact, he thought something important was going on and he was about to fuck it all up. And then, Susan retreated to the living room with a camera and a freshly ironed suit.

"You're not putting me in that."

"And who asked for your opinion?" Neil deflected with a raised brow. One heavy sigh later and Billy was leaving the bathroom, dawning the whole black and white getup.

Susan clasped her hands over her mouth, a tear leaving her eye, "You look so handsome! Just like your dad!"

Billy rolled his eyes, "Great."

However, his careless attitude was swept under the rug when the blue Camaro pulled up to the police station, interrupting a clearly distressed Chief Hopper bickering with his daughter. Billy had to get himself together before stepping out of the car, jaw slack after seeing the beauty he got to call his date.

"Hello Mr-"

"Don't even try play nice with me, Hargrove. She's not going anywhere with you. End of story." Hopper kept his eyes trained on the blond, body tense like a snake preparing to strike it's prey.

Y/n grabbed Billy's arm, slowly directing him to the car, "And in the sequel, we find out I am going with Billy. End of that story."

"There is no 'sequel.' The writer got drunk and lazy." She paused, turning to face her father who stood tall, arms crossed and face unamused.

"So his daughter picked up where her father left off, and then the sequel was published and the two lived happily ever after, the end."

While her dad attempted to search for a line that would better hers and force her to stay, she pushed Billy toward the driver's side and slid into the car as fast as she could, rolling down the window as Billy started it up. "Bye! I'll be back before midnight!"

The two drove off toward the school, leaving behind a trail of dust and very, very, pissed off Hopper.

Prom was better than Billy thought it would be. He didn't want to go at first, but after Max found out and spoke to her mom about it (the little redhead a cupid-in-the-making), Neil pushed him to go (as he was "doing something else besides being a lazy-no-good rebel"). It was then that he called Y/n and asked if she'd be going.

The suit came in handy. Clashing with his rocker aesthetic, he put it back on once more. The once-annoying tie proved to be somewhat okay in the end.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know. You say I'll never get your blessing "till the day I die, tough luck my friend, but the answer is no!"

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I'm gonna marry her anyway. Marry that girl, marry her anyway! Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say! Marry that girl, and we'll be a family! Why you gotta be so rude?

With a deep breath, he ran-over the conversation in his head once more. Like a script for an actor, he had thought of every possible outcome and every possible line for him to face it with. He almost chickened out as his fist rose to the door, but it was too late, for his knuckles rapped against it before he realized he was even knocking.

El opened the door, eyes wide when she saw the familiar mullet and button-down. "Papa..." She muttered as she backed away and out of view.

Hopper traded places with her, his lazy expression sobering up instantaneously, replaced with a grumpy scowl. "Hargrove."

"Mr. Hopper, sir."

"What are you doing on my front porch?"

He swallowed roughly, palms sweaty against his sides. "I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"You seem to be doing just that right now, Hargrove." Hop crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.

Well, this was certainly not something Billy had thought of. He was on panic mode internally, attempting to find any response that could save his hide and accomplish what he set out to do. Unfortunately, the word-vomit button seemed to be misplaced under the button labeled "help".

"I'd like to marry your daughter, sir."

Hop's eyes grew just as big in size as El's had when she opened the door. He choked on his own surprise, coughing it off, then glaring at the boy in front of him. "Over my dead body, Hargrove. If that's all, I'd strongly advise you to get off of my fucking porch while you're still alive."

I hate to do this, you leave no choice; can't live without her. Love me or hate me, we will be boys- standing at that alter. And we will fly away, to another galaxy, you know. You know she's in love with me, she will go anywhere I go-

"Billy, he's just stubborn."

"No, no, I don't think he likes me."

Y/n sighed, rubbing her boyfriend's back. He hadn't told her of his proposal plans, only that Hop seemed to have it out for him. "It'll take time, but he'll warm up to you!"

"It's been how many years since he's met me?"

"To be fair, your reputation wasn't doing you any good until now..."

"It's not like that was fucking obvious." He slouched further down in the front seat of his Camaro. To Billy, all hope was lost. If he couldn't get Hopper to give him his blessing, he was sure he'd lose his goddamned mind.

Y/n frowned. Her frown flipped around as an idea popped into her head, her lips finding Billy's knuckles and quirking his attention. "Even if he never likes you, I'm not going anywhere."

Billy laughed softly, "he'll fucking kill me if you go against him."

"Eh, that's only if he can catch us."

"You're out of your fucking mind, Y/n Hopper."

"I know."

The rest of the night was spent in the Camaro, of course, doing one of Billy's favorite pastimes. By the time the sun rose, Billy was sneaking a kiss to a giggling Y/n before dropping from her window in the cabin and running to his car, parked far enough that Hop or El wouldn't notice. He blew her one more kiss, which she pretended to catch, then he broke into a sprint.

Maybe, he thought, just maybe; there was still a chance.

His knuckles hit the door again, shifting on his feet nervously. It swung open to reveal Hopper, an unimpressed look bringing no surprise Billy's way. It was quite expected, honestly.

"What." His tone made it clear he wasn't up for fucking around.

"Mr. Hopper, if you just give me one chance to prove to you that-"

"No, no, no, no, no. Let me make it very clear to you that I want you to have nothing to do with my daughter whatsoever. No marriage, no friendship, I don't even approve of you guys fucking or whatever-"

"We're in a serious relationship, sir. It's nothing like you think it is."

This made Hop laugh. He continued to do so, holding his stomach, until he realized Billy was unamused. "Oh, you're serious?... My answer is still no, Hargrove. My answer will always be no. Go find someone else's daughter's heart to break. You're not hurting mine."

"It's not like-"

Before he could even get the words out, he was met with a door in his face. Turned down, again.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know. You say I'll never get your blessing "till the day I die, tough luck my friend, 'cause the answer's still no!"

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I'm gonna marry her anyway. Marry that girl, marry her anyway! Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say! Marry that girl, and we'll be a family! Why you gotta be so rude, rude?

Again, again, and again, Billy incessantly pleaded with Hopper. Different tactics were all met with the same answer; rejection.

He held up a sign outside the cabin, only for Hopper to close the curtain and chuckle as he sipped his coffee.

He asked at the door again, only for Hop to threaten to give him a black eye (which was met with "aren't you the sheriff? Isn't that illegal?").

He raced past the police station, Max leaning out the window with another sign, only for Hop to threaten them with holding cells.

He even went as far as to ask Max and El to help, but Hopper had none of that, and sent Max home with a rant full of nos.

However, if Jim Hopper thought any of it would get it into Billy's head that getting his blessing was just not happening- he was as wrong as Nancy when she claimed not to have feelings for Jonathan.

Billy had another plan in mind, and this one was impossible to say no to.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know. You say I'll never get your blessing "till the day I die, tough luck my friend- but no still means no!"

"Hopper." Billy stood before his desk, interrupting his nice date with a delicious doughnut, and earning a very annoyed glare. "I got Miss Byer's blessing. Aren't you two a thing?"

"You son of a-"

"I got Eleven's too."

"Hargrove, I'm gonna-"

"Before you cuss me out, I think you should know that I've got a stable job, an interview with a mechanic so I have a job when the pool closes for the winter, and I've got a house on the market I'm looking at. I'm devoted to your daughter and she's devoted to me. You may not like me, but I think you're a great dad, better than the one I was unfortunately stuck with. You raised a strong and amazing woman. She's incredible and I admit, she deserves better than me-"

"You don't have to say that twice." Hopper huffed, crossing his arms.

"I know she deserves so much better than me, I'm surprised she's even with me too. But she loves me, and I think you can see that. I love her too. I would never, in a million years, break her heart."

Jim stayed silent for a few minutes. The silence brought uneasiness to Billy, but that was intentional on Hopper's behalf. He finally piped up with a cough, clearing his throat, before his piercing eyes met Billy's blue orbs.

"I'll hold you to that, Hargrove."

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I'm gonna marry her anyway. Marry that girl, marry her anyway! Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say! Marry that girl, and we'll be a family! Why you gotta be so rude? Why you gotta be so rude?

Bonus:

(after the wedding)

"What was that about a no?" Billy quipped with his infamous smirk.

"You're lucky I'm sheriff, Hargrove."

Why you gotta be so rude?

[disaster-by-chance]

Some Luca headcanons because I need more of them:

Not in any particular order or anything, just whatever comes to mind first...

Might come up with more later.

Ercole and Giulia used to be friends when the two of them were younger and would participate in the race on a team together

But then Ercole grew up and became a dick, they had a falling out after Giulia cost them a race, and they grew apart

Alberto takes up art and drawing in his free time and finds delight in drawing different things/people from around Portorroso

He sends doodles to Luca in letters and they caught the attention of Giulia's mom

Now he gets art supplies and lessons from her every now and then whenever he goes to visit them in Genova

At first Alberto would just send Luca doodles because he couldn't read/write and was too embarrassed to ask Massimo to read the letters to him

Eventually he gives in and Massimo reads Luca's letters to him and helps Alberto learn how to read and write as well so that he can send letters back

Every doodle and letter that Alberto sends Luca is taped to the walls of Luca's room

Every letter that Luca sends Alberto is saved in a painted box by his bed

Guido and Ciccio become friends (after lots of apologies) with Alberto and the three hang out when Giulia and Luca are at school

Ercole hates them for this and they are very aware and could care less about what he thinks

Massimo also teaches Alberto how to cook and after lots of accidental fires and slight food poisoning he soon becomes very good at it

When Giulia and Luca come home for the summer he often cooks for them to show off

They all have different friendship bracelets!! Luca and Giulia made them at Giulia's mom's place and sent Alberto's over.

Luca's has purple and red thread, Alberto's has blue and red, and Giulia's is blue and purple!

Luca wears it on his left hand, Giulia wears it on her right hand, and Alberto wears it on his left ankle!

Whenever Luca and Giulia phone home it starts with both families being around the phone and listening to Luca and Giulia tell them about their week

It usually starts out with both families on both ends listening in with each one of them taking turns to talk to their kids and then the parents slowly start to leave to let the kids chat amongst themselves

Then after a bit, Giulia takes her leave to let the two boys chat by themselves for a bit. Their conversations usually consist of a lot of "I miss you"s and Luca info-dumping on Alberto about the things he learns in school

Alberto teaches Giulia how to swim better when he's on break being a lifeguard.

He got tired of how she swam and he gave in and decided to teach her different methods of swimming so it stops getting on his nerves and so she could keep up with him and Luca

The first couple of nights were rough for Luca and Alberto respectfully. They didn't really like being away from each other and Luca missed his family as well, so they spent a lot of the first couple of days crying themselves to sleep.

Massimo and Luca's family helped Alberto work through it while Giulia and her mom helped Luca work through his homesickness as well.

With some extra money they had, Massimo was able to make Alberto his own room next to Giulia's so that he had somewhere to stay

Alberto brought a lot of the stuff from the island back into his room and when Luca and Giulia came back they painted the walls together

There's an extra bed in there for Luca as well, whenever he stays the night at their place with his side of the wall painted to look like outer space (with fish as stars)

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

By My Side (Part 2)

Summary: Jensen and the reader grow more tense with each other at the cabin but a revelation leads to a change in more than just location...

Masterlist

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen x reader

Word Count: 4,300ish

Warnings: language, mention of underage drinking/accidental death, angst

A/N: Enjoy!

_________

Twenty Hours Later

“Welcome home,” said Jensen, climbing out of his SUV the same time as you. You raised an eyebrow as you looked at the cabin in front of you. “You gonna carry your shit or what? Bodyguard, not your butler.”

“When you said cabin, I thought-”

“I told you. We’re off the grid. Most off the grid people don’t have quartz countertops and crown molding in their homes,” he said. “This is as good as I could get last second.”

“As long as it’s clean,” you said. He laughed and you stared back at him. “What?”

“Okay princess. There ain’t no cleaning service out here. You want something cleaned in there, you do it yourself,” he said. He slung a duffel bag over his shoulder and tossed one at you, nearly knocking you to the ground. “I’ll even let you pick which room you want.”

“Might take the kidnapping at this point,” you said, sighing as you followed him across the dirt yard. “We drove back in here for like an hour.”

“Hour and a half actually. Nobody’s finding us,” he said. He grabbed a key from under the rock by the door and undid the lock, swinging the door open wide. “Home sweet home.”

You followed him inside and cocked your head.

“Okay, this place is a lot nicer than I was expecting.”

“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, tossing a bag back towards a hall. You set your bag down on the kitchen table, narrowing your eyes at a picture on the wall. There was a little boy with a fishing pole and a pair of familiar green eyes staring back. 

“Is this your cabin?” you asked, nodding to the photo.

“It’s in the family. Dad let me have it when I got out of the service,” he said. “I needed some alone time to decompress a bit. It’s safe. Trust me.”

“You were a cute kid. Too bad you’re sort of an asshole now,” you said.

“You were an asshole first,” he said with a shrug.

“I’m not a fan of some stranger coming into my life and telling me how to live it,” you said.

“I’m not telling you how to live your life, Y/N. That’s not my job. Keeping you safe is,” he said. “There’s two bedrooms. We have to share a bathroom.”

“Alright,” you said, Jensen pushing open a few solid wood doors. One was furnished a bit plainly and had a queen size bed, the other a set of bunkbeds and a full bed shoved against the wall. 

“Take it,” he said, nodding towards the larger room.

“You’re bigger than me,” you said.

“Yeah, well that’s true but you’re also paying me. Take the bigger bed. The couch is a pullout anyways. Go on,” he said. You sighed and set your bag down on the bench, Jensen tossing his bag in the other room. “I need to go into town and finish getting supplies. Before I do that, we need to go over a few ground rules.”

“Of course we do,” you said, plopping back on the bed and watching a cloud of dust appear in the air.

“There’s a first aid kit in the cabinet over the fridge. There’s an emergency satellite phone there also that is to only be used in a real emergency. Washer and dryer we use once a week. There’s a solar panel on the back of the cabin that’ll help save us gas. We’re going to try and limit needing to use the generator more than we need to. There’s not much in the way of hot water. There’s a lake nearby and a few trails you can walk around but they’re probably overgrown at this point. Unless you’re in danger, never leave the premises. If you need something that’s not here or on the list, tell me now. I want to limit trips to town to once a month if possible.”

“Cleaning supplies,” you said as you sat up. “This place is dusty.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in about four hours,” he said, turning to leave. “There’s a shotgun in the gun safe. Key is in the nightstand drawer. Try to keep out of trouble.”

He didn’t look back as he left, the door opening and shutting, the sound of an engine turning on and slowly back away.

“Well. Might as well try to make this place more livable in the meantime.”

Four Hours Later

“Hey. I’m back,” said Jensen. You lifted your head up from the couch, Jensen flipping on the light switch. “You don’t have to sit in the dark.”

“You said to save the generator.”

“During the day. It’s after eight,” he said. He made a few trips in and out before he finally locked the door after himself. His nose twitched and he glanced over at you. “It doesn’t smell as musty in here.”

“A wet towel works when you don’t have a swiffer,” you said.

“I grabbed fast food,” he said, setting a bag down on the table. “Eat up. Last take out for a while.”

“I was thinking while you were gone,” you said, Jensen putting things away while you took out a burger and a box of fries.

“I bet that was difficult,” he mumbled.

“You know I’m not gonna stay here if you’re gonna be an ass.”

“I frankly don’t give two fucks. I’m here for money. You want to go do this job back home, that’s fine with me,” he said.

“Well fuck you,” you said. You got up and went outside, not getting too far from the cabin before it was pitch black. You stopped by the end of the truck, staring at the darkness you knew was the dirt trail that would eventually get you to the main road.

“Don’t be an idiot,” said Jensen as he stepped outside.

“Why do you care? I already paid you,” you said. “You know what? Why don’t you just go and leave me here by myself. That way you don’t have to hang out with the dumbass actress.”

“I never said you were a dumbass.”

“You literally said that thinking was difficult for me not two minutes ago. Maybe I don’t know every little thing about whatever the fuck badass shit you learned in murder school but I am not the helpless bimbo you think I am.”

“Do not trivialize taking a life. You have no idea what it does to you.”

“I know a thing or two. Don’t assume you know a thing about me.”

“I had a full background worked up on you. You never-”

“The summer I was a camp counselor? You remember reading about that in your little background check? Another counselor drowned at camp that year. I know a thing or two.”

“Drowning is not the same as-”

“You have no clue what I’m capable of.”

“What? You saying you did it?” he asked, crossing his arms at you. 

“It was an accident. It could have happened to any single one of us,” you said. “Don’t use that whiny little bitch excuse for being a hardass. People die and sometimes it’s your fault. It doesn’t give you a free for all to be an ass.”

“An accident isn’t the same thing,” he said. He walked over and narrowed his eyes. “Inside. Now.”

“No. I should have followed my first instinct and fired you,” you said. You spun back around, barely getting a step in as strong arms wrapped around you and lifted you off the ground. “Hey! Put me down!”

“You’re a freaking idiot,” he said as he carried your squirming self back inside. He set you down at the table, shoving your shoulder when you tried to get up. “Eat and go to bed.”

“I’m not-”

“Do you have any idea why I’m a hardass? Why that might be? If I give a shit about you, I can’t do my job because then I’m going to worry. I’m going to worry about how you’re feeling and I don’t have time for that. You had a scare, fine. I calmed you down. Out here, you have to suck it up and deal on your own. I will keep you safe but we’re not friends. We’re a boss and employee and that’s it. Eat your damn dinner and go to sleep.”

He grabbed the bag with the remainder of the food and went into the other bedroom, slamming the door behind him. 

“Dick,” you said quietly. Ten minutes later you were changed into your pajamas and crawled under the blankets, staring out the dark window. “I just wanna go home.”

You didn’t speak when you made your way into the kitchen the next morning. Jensen was sat at the table with some rugged looking laptop and a cup of coffee. It probably worked off a satellite if you had to guess. You poured a cup from the pot for yourself before heading outside with it. You walked over to the dock on the small pond nearby, staring out at the calm water as you sipped on the warm liquid.

“You didn’t kill anyone you know,” you heard behind you. You didn’t turn but did hear one of the boards creak. “Being unable to save a guy who shouldn’t have been out there in the first place doesn’t make you a murderer.”

“I was on lifeguard duty that day,” you said.

“Yeah. That day. You weren’t at work when it happened. No body made that guy go underage drinking and swimming in the middle of the night. In a thunderstorm.”

“We were all drinking. No one was paying attention to the storm. It was the first and last time I’ve ever been drunk.”

“It wasn’t your fault. It was no one’s,” he said.

“I know. You think I should get over it,” you said, wrapping your arms around yourself in the cool air.

“I was going to say, it wasn’t your fault but I get feeling responsible for things that aren’t your responsibility.”

“I guess,” you said. “You find out who this person is yet?”

“No. I’m going to be spending most of my time working at that. Don’t go too far from the cabin, alright?” he said. He began to walk away and you turned your head, looking him up and down.

“I thought you didn’t want me going outside,” you said.

“Not alone at night, no. You can’t see your surroundings. During the day, stay within eye sight of the cabin and I think it’s acceptable for you to be on your own a bit.”

“Jensen,” you said. He turned and looked at you, waiting for you. “If I pay you more will you at least try to be a little nicer like you were just now?”

“Listen to what I say and I’ll be the nicest guy in the world,” he said, heading back to the cabin. “You want breakfast, make your own.”

“Good chat, Jensen,” you said, shaking your head at him. 

When you’d finished with your coffee you popped inside to put on some clothes better suited for outside. He gave you a quick glance before you slipped on some sneakers and had a hand on the door.

“Ah ah,” he said. The chair scratched against the floor and next thing you knew, he was right there, reaching into his back pocket. He held up a small little thing and pushed a button, flipping a blade out. “Switch blade. From now on, this doesn’t leave your side ever. I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night and you’re taking a piss. It goes with you.”

“Keep it with me. Understood,” you said. He put it in your palm and nodded.

“Open it.” You flipped it open and stared at him. “Where would you use it?”

“Maybe I’ll stab the guy in the dick. How’s that sound?” you asked. He smiled a little and looked away.

“Not a bad choice. Vulnerable points if you have time to think. Aim low. Up here, rib cage will try to do its job. It may hurt but not incapacitate. Down low, you got better odds. All else fails, just try to stab something.”

“I got it,” you said, slipping it into your pocket. He took hold of your arm as you started to leave and you groaned. “What now?”

“The keys to the truck are under the rock by the corner of the house. The flat one. If you have to get out of here for some reason and I can’t take you, you take yourself and don’t think twice,” he said.

“I understand,” you said. 

“Well...enjoy your day,” he said. He dropped your arm and went back to his computer. You headed outside and started to explore before he could come up with even more rules for you to follow.

Four Hours Later

You were stood on the edge of the shore, trying to teach yourself to skip rocks on the water when you heard a rustling behind you. Your head shot back over your shoulder, Jensen wearing a strange smirk on his face.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“You’re not very good at that,” he said, picking up a flatter rock. “You need to flick your wrist more.”

“You know how to do everything, don’t you.”

“I spent more than a few summers here. Not a whole lot to do,” he said. “Got it all the way out to the catskills over there once.”

“You’re not worried about my lack of rock skipping skills,” you said. He shook his head and shot a rock out, getting a few skips off before he stood by your side. “I can take it. What’d you find out?”

“How often do you read in detail the contracts your manager gives you?” he asked.

“For my shows, word for word. Appearances, I skim sometimes. Why?”

“You sign anything with Boom stunt services lately?” he asked.

“I signed some insurance thing I think, so I could do a few stunts on the show,” you said. Jensen nodded and crossed his arms. “What?”

“Your manager lied to you. He thought you were getting stuck in a rut with your show, your wildly successful show, so he hired a stunt man, one you signed off on and agreed to fake kidnap you. Even the drugging part of it. To help your image. Make you appear strong but vulnerable. You actually got a lot of offers recently for good movies after what’s happened.”

“My manager…” you trailed off, balling your hands up. You stormed back towards the cabin, Jensen on your heels. “I’m gonna fucking kill him! What the fuck is wrong with him!”

“Technically, you did sign a document saying you understood the arrangement,” said Jensen. “But obviously not. Based on what I’ve found and saw happening before, there’s no credible threat against you. My suggestion would be a lawyer at this point.”

“Can you take me home now please, Jensen,” you said, squeezing your eyes shut.

“I’ll load up the truck. We’ll be back tonight.”

Later That Night

“Y/N,” said Jensen as you wandered straight over to your liquor cabinet when you got home. “He’s quitting and paying a substantial amount for you to not press charges as well as covering all of your moving costs and my pay. You don’t have anyone after you. I know it doesn’t feel like it but consider it a win.”

“I moved out of a house I loved that I can’t go back to, I’m far away from my friends, the one person in this industry I’m supposed to trust hurt me and this has been nothing but a complete waste of your time. I’m sorry, Jensen,” you said as you poured yourself a double.

“You didn’t waste my time,” he said as you sat on the counter, knocking back the liquor. He walked into the kitchen and took the bottle by your side, pouring himself a glass. He sipped his slowly, your head ducking down. “I would like to stay on as your bodyguard if you’ll allow it.”

“For what?” you asked. 

“Protection for you, same as before. This time though, I’ll make sure to keep you safe from the people you trust,” he said. You raised your head, Jensen licking his lips. “Managers, agents, anyone. The only person I will trust is you. You let me be the asshole bodyguard, scrutinize the people you work with. This never has to happen again.”

“Why would you do that? You don’t like me,” you said. He finished off his glass and set it aside, stepping right in front of you and staring you in the eye.

“I don’t recall saying that.”

“We aren’t friends. We’re a boss and employee. Your words,” you said.

“I still don’t hear the words I don’t like you in there,” he said.

“I can’t trust you to take care of me, protect me, if I think you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“I told you. It’s very difficult to do my job if I care about you,” he said. “But the situation has changed. The threat is smaller. Safer. I can be friendlier...if you don’t question when I ask you to do something. My job is to protect you. You have to trust that all I am ever trying to do is keep you out of harm’s way. If we can agree to that, we can find a good rhythm, one where you don’t even notice I’m there and one where I know you’re okay. The threat before might not have been real but it exposed a problem. As long as you are living alone, you need someone here, just in case.”

“We will negotiate a new contract, one I can end anytime I so choose, and will detail when and when not you are on the clock.”

“Negotiating with you will be fun,” he said with a smirk. “We have a deal?”

“Do you really think I need a full time bodyguard?”

“We can negotiate that,” he said.

“I’m serious.”

“I think powerful, pretty, single women should use the advantages available to them to protect themselves.”

“We’ll talk about it,” you said. He smiled and headed for his bedroom, your gaze following him as he walked out of view. “Jensen.”

“Yeah?” he said, popping back into view.

“We’ll figure out your new contract in the morning,” you said.

“Yes mam,” he said. “If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

“Goodnight,” you said. He left and you lightly swung your feet, staring down at the hardwood floor. You hopped down and put the bottle back in the cabinet, taking a deep breath. 

Nothing was wrong. Nothing at all. 

But something still felt strange. You couldn’t put your finger on it. Maybe Jensen sensed it and that’s why he wanted to stay. But he wasn’t shy about coming out and telling you how it was. 

You sighed and went to the freezer, taking out a pint of mint ice cream and heading upstairs to bed, hoping a night of sleep at home would put it out of your mind.

“No way,” you said as you sat back in your chair in your home office the following morning. Jensen was smirking from the other side of the desk and was leaned back in his own, your lawyer sat at the small sofa with his laptop and typing up what the two of you were going back and forth on. “When I am filming and appearances we agree on.”

“We already agreed on those. Now we’re negotiating the parts we don’t agree on.”

“I do not need a bodyguard on the weekends. I already compromised on the you being on at night thing,” you said.

“Well, I’m going to be living in that bedroom so-”

“Actually, you’re not,” you said. He raised an eyebrow and you sat up straighter. “I decided last night that seeing as how I don’t particularly like this house and Jared and Gen just moved, I’ll be moving closer to my friends. I saw a home last night with a small guest house in the back that would be perfect for you.”

“I might as well be living in a different home at that point. It-”

“It is connected to the main home. I thought you might appreciate your own space and to be frank-”

“You don’t look like a frank,” he said. You smiled a bit, Jensen’s grin growing.

“If we’re going to have a long term relationship, which considering the possible trajectory of my career this might very well be, I’m going to have to insist on you having a separate space for yourself. You will of course have full access to the main house at all times but if I have friends over or a date, I would like my privacy. I’m sure you would like your own,” you said.

“If we’re going to have a long term relationship, any of your friends or a potential boyfriend are going to have to learn to live with me being around. No exceptions. I will give you privacy but I will be staying in the main house. As for you moving closer to friends, I welcome it. They’re my friends too after all.”

“Let me pose a hypothetical question to you. Say I meet a guy, we date, he moves in with me. Are you going to continue to live in the main house?” you asked.

“That will depend on the circumstances of your life at that point but if he’s living with you, I would move into a guest house or suite,” he said. “I may possibly move to my own place entirely. As I said, it’s going to be highly dependent on your life at that time.”

“I can agree to that. But your bedroom in the main house will have some space from mine,” you said.

“Understood. I will keep my own personal excursions out of the home,” he said.

“Good,” you said. “Now back to the weekend thing.”

“I’ll compromise with you. I am off duty on the weekend but I reserve the right to protect you if I feel you’re in danger,” he said. “I will keep to a small area of the house on my off days for your privacy.”

“I appreciate that but I won’t enforce it if you choose to watch some TV in the family room. You being off duty on the weekends does mean that if I go out, you are following though,” you said.

“Compromise. If you go out and I want to go, I can but I don’t have to,” he said. “I can use my discretion.”

“What if I want to go out with my friends?”

“Go out with your friends. I may or may not come. I’ll stay away, let you enjoy your fun without me interrupting unless I see a threat. Deal?”

“Alright,” you said. “But I reserve the right to fire you on the spot for anything and I mean anything. Two weeks pay if I do.”

“Okay,” he said. You were surprised at how quickly he accepted that but he seemed indifferent. “It sounds like we have most everything settled.”

“Rob, can you send us both a copy of the contract for review then and-”

“Oh, I have something else,” said Jensen. “A little...requirement of mine.”

“We already discussed pay and benefits.”

“Those are fine. I’ve found in the past we don’t get along when you don’t listen to me. As part of our working relationship, you will take a self-defense course chosen by myself and you will learn the different things that if you do, will make your life safer and minimize the need for me. They are for both our benefits. One’s a short book and the other a two hour class. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes. Rob, write up our contract for us please,” you said. He said he’d have it by the end of the day and you slumped back in your seat, Jensen staring at you. “What?”

“Want to go pick out a house?” he asked.

“What?”

“You want to move. It’s Sunday. Open houses.”

“Rob’s already put in an offer on the place I mentioned,” you said.

“Oh. You don’t even want to see it?” he asked.

“The pictures seemed nice. I’ll renovate what I don’t like. I’m not moving again after this,” you said.

“Oh. Cool. I will pack up most of my things in the meantime,” he said as he stood up.

“It’s Sunday. You’re not at work right now. Do whatever you want, Jensen,” you said.

“New contract isn’t effective yet,” he said. “Besides, knowing you we’ll be in the new place in a week. Might as well be prepared.”

_______

A/N: Read Part 3 here!

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 06 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 2.4K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

<- Previous part (05)

Next part (07) ->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

Point of No Return

“(Y/N)! Go get the door!” Your aunt yells from the kitchen. “I'm busy here!”

“Ok!” You turn off the blow dryer, quickly fixing your hair before rushing downstairs. “What are you doing?”

“Grandma's cake.” She answers as you move to open the door. “Who's this?”

“Monica, probably.” You're still speaking when you unlock and pull it open. Your heart skips a beat when you see it isn't Monica. You raise an eyebrow to see him leaning against the door frame, a smile spreading through his lips.

“Honey?”

“It's just Billy, aunt,” you say, raising your voice a little. Pushing him backwards, you close the door behind your back. “What are you doing here, Hargrove?”

“It's our day off. You promised to go to my place to meet Maxine, remember?”

Oh, you completely forgot about that. “I made no such promise.” Crossing your arms, you jump a little when the door is opened again. Turning around, you see your aunt with bright eyes.

“(Y/N), won't you invite your friend in?” Her tone makes you blush.

“Goor morning, Miss Florence. Actually, I'm just here to pick her up.”

“I can't go today, Billy. Diane is baking something nice and–”

“No, no, no. She's going.” Diane cuts you off, grabbing your arm and pulling you inside. “Go change out of your pajamas, honey.”

“But–” She gives you a meaningful look.

“(Y/N), go change.”

Rolling your eyes, you sigh. “I'll be right back,” you tell Billy, ignoring how embarrassed you are, and the smirk on his lips.

You run upstairs, trying not to think too much about where you're going. You were kinda hoping he'd forget about that, but you'll try to keep in mind what Monica said. There's no reason to overthink. When the moment comes to make big decisions, you'll make them. You do enjoy being around Billy, and you do have fun together. The whole feeling you have when you're around him is unlike anything you ever felt before, and some part of you is starting to get addicted to it. On the pool, you have found yourself excited for the lunch break because you'll get to talk to him... It scares you, but as you change into a lilac blouse and jeans, you make up your mind for the day. You'll be with him today, so you'll make the best of it.

After taking one last look in the mirror, you take some money because you remember saying something about pizza. You take a deep breath before leaving the bedroom. But you move backwards abruptly when you see Billy standing outside. “What the hell!” You exclaim, pushing him and closing the door.

“Can't I see your bedroom?”

“No.” You wouldn't mind actually, but you decide to tease him since he came all the way up here without asking.

“Then you won't get to see mine.”

“That's fine by me.” Shrugging your shoulders, you bump into him as you move back downstairs. “I'm going, aunt. See you.”

“Have fun with your boyfriend, honey.”

You freeze by the door, feeling as if Diane just betrayed you. You feel Billy's eyes, burning, and you bet he has that stupid smirk on his face. “He's not my boyfriend,” you shout at her, grabbing Billy's arm and pulling him out.

You're impressed by the fact that he opens the passenger door for you, but since you're still blushing, you avoid his gaze. The short trip to his house is silent as you hope what your aunt said fades away... And you're also memorizing the way there.

Soon enough you're at his front door, and you watch as he unlocks it. “The place used to suck, but I've been trying to fix it, so... Don't mind it. It's not as cool as your house.”

“Uhm...” You mumble, stepping inside and looking around, taking in the place. It's not bad as he described it, it's cozy...

It's Billy's place. You feel weird to be here, as if you're giving a whole new step closer to him. “How many girls have you brought here?” You suddenly need to know if you can allow yourself to feel special.

“One.” He moves to stand before you, holding his index finger up, then slowly pointing it at you.

Taking a deep breath, you step back, smiling. “You brought me here to meet your sister. Where is she?”

“Max!” He yells suddenly, at the top of his lungs and you jump, heart racing.

“What the hell.” You breathe out, slapping his arm playfully. His bare arm. You haven't noticed the sleeveless tattered dark gray shirt that leaves his arms exposed. You have to force yourself to look away, meeting his blue eyes. “Why did you do that?”

“Did I scared you?” He smiles, towering over you.

“Yeah, you did.” You step back again, eager to put some distance between you and him. “Jerk. Go get your sister before I change my mind and go home.”

“She's probably listening to music.” Billy walks away, disappearing in the hall. You're left alone so you walk around, noticing the bench press he has in the middle of the living room. Walking around it, a piece of paper above the TV gets your attention. Taking it, you sigh to read Max's handwriting. “She's not in her room.” Billy says as he comes back, gesturing at the hall.

“Be back in fifteen minutes, shithead.” You read the words out loud to him, showing the paper.

Billy takes it from your hand, rolling his eyes. “I'm gonna kill her.”

“Sorry that you have to stay alone here with me. It must be a true nightmare, Billy Hargrove.” Raising an eyebrow, you smile at his expression. “What about that?” You walk around the bench press, standing behind it and trying to pull the barbell up. The thing doesn't even move, so you try again, using more strength, but nothing happens. “Whoa, this thing is heavy.”

“I work out almost every night, so I just leave it here.”

“That you work out is pretty obvious.” You gesture at his arms and chest.

“Yeah. I'm glad you noticed.” He comes to stand behind you. “Let me just–” He picks the weight up, both his arms around you, keeping you caged between his body and the bar.

“What are you doing?” You ask in a low voice as he starts moving the damn thing, up and down, up and down. “Ok, I'm just a tiny little bit impressed to see you lifting this thing up, but put it down, please.” He knows the effect he has on girls, and he also knows you're not immune to it.

He doesn't say anything, pulling the bar up once again, forcing it a little against your shoulders, pushing you backwards until your back hits his chest. His solid, strong chest. “You're such a jerk, Billy.” Why is your voice so weak? You look at his left arm, how tensed his muscles are. “These things are heavy. Put it down before you drop it and hurt me.” You need to get away from him. Being this close is dangerous, because you feel something coming from the back of your mind, an idea that had never crossed your thoughts before.

“I'd never let anything hurt you.”

You turn your head to the side, just enough to look at him. He's already looking, those blue eyes threatening to drown you. Your eyes fall on his lips, of how close they are. You could easily tiptoe now and find out how his lips would feel on yours. It feels like he knows exactly what you're felling because when he moves the bar to give you more space, you turn around, almost as if you're being pulled towards him, like a magnet.

But you know you shouldn't kiss Billy. It would be a point of no return. That's it, a big decision... But right now, the last thing you want to do is think. You just want to feel, and let these feelings flow out.

When you're face to face with him, you feel the bar on your back, pushing you against his chest, making it impossible to run away. As if you would even if you had the chance. “You know I hate you, right? For doing this.” You whisper, as your arms involuntary move to lay on his chest.

“I'm not–”

“Hey, shitface. I'm back.” A girl's voice drags you out of your numbness, and Billy puts the bar down on the bench.

“That's disgusting.” Someone else says and you step away from Billy, catching your breath and clearing your throat. Max isn't alone. She brought a small army with her, five people, and everyone looks the same age.

“Perfect timing as always, Max,” Billy complains. “(Y/N), this is Maxine, my dipshit sister. And the rest of her gang.”

“The gang that saved your ass, you mean.” One of them says, his voice a little muffled, which makes you giggle a little. “Dustin, nice to meet you.” He steps forward and shakes your hand. “So. Are you Billy's girlfriend?”

“No, I–”

“Ok. These are Lucas, my boyfriend.” Max starts, and you feel Billy sighing when she names the boy. “Will, Mike, Eleven, and Dustin you already met.”

“So these are your saviors,” you say, turning to look at Billy.

“Every single one of them.” He answers.

“If you two aren't dating, why did you bring her here, Billy? Wasn't there a rule about not bringing your flings to the house?” Max mutters, walking past you and to the TV. The others move to seat on the couch and some on the floor.

“(Y/N) is not a fling.” He says, rolling his eyes. You try hard not to smile at what you just heard.

You're a little uncomfortable since Max's friends keep staring as if you're a ghost. Their eyes fly from Billy and back at you, and they even gossip, whispering on each other's ears. “Max, you look like a very smart kid.”

“I am.” She says with a smirk. “Unlike my brother.”

“So, if I make you a question, would you be able to answer real quick?” You smile at her curious face, as you slowly step backwards, closer to the hall and further away from Billy.

“Yes.”

“Billy's room?” You burst out, speaking a fast as you can.

“First door to the right.” She yells, just as fast as you spoke, and you're off, like a lightning bolt because you see Billy moving.

You run through the hall and literally throw yourself on the door, opening it and almost stumbling in. You're laughing when he grabs your wrist, giving up when he notices you're already in. “You got me there, I'll admit.”

It's your time to smirk at him, teasingly, stepping further into his bedroom. “What did you say before? That I wouldn't get to see your room?” As you speak, you start pacing around. His room is more organized then you expected. His bed has a dark red blanket over it, and it looks very comfortable. There are movie posters on the walls and a sound system on his dresser. You move to stand before the mirror he has on the nightstand beside his bed, looking through the colognes he has. “Which one you use?”

“All of them.”

“No, there's one you use more often.” You have the scent vivid in your memory, so you quickly go through the small bottles, bringing them close to my nose. “This one.” You look up, meeting his eyes through the mirror.

“It's my favorite.” He says, moving a little closer.

“Mine too.” Thanks to the proximity, you can smell it, irradiating from his body. It's fresh and strong, very masculine. “I mean... I like it.”

Billy takes the bottle from your hands, opening it. “Here.” He pour some on his index and middle finger, bringing them to your neck, on the soft spot below your left ear, pulling the hair away, and does the same on the other side. You feel the cold liquid spreading through your skin, and the scent surrounds you completely. “Now you smell like me.”

What should you say? Or do? You're frozen, inebriated by the closeness, by the low sound of his breathing. “I...”

“Hey, lovebirds. We're watching a movie.” Max says, and her voice brings you back to Earth. She has such perfect timing to save your ass. “You can either come and watch or stay here and make out. You pick.” And she leaves.

“Movie...” You tell him, catching your breath.

“Did I make you nervous?”

“I just want to watch the movie, Billy.” Grabbing his hand, you pull him towards the living room. “We're watching the movie,” you tell the kids.

“You and you. Move.” Billy gestures at Dustin and Will, who immediately stand up from the cough, giving you and Billy enough space to sit down.

The movie is already starting, and you roll your eyes to feel Billy's arm around your shoulders. You're aware the kids are staring, but you guess they're not used to see Billy like this with a girl. But you try to really focus on the movie, as you slowly relax.

You feel as you move closer to Billy, your legs touching. The movie isn't very good, and you laugh when Billy sigh's out of frustration. The kids seem to like it though.

“Not a very good one, right?” You whisper to him.

“You picked the wrong option, princess.” He snaps back, and you immediately remember what the other option was.

“What makes you think I want to make out with you?” You turn your head to look at him, using all the sassiness you have to cover up the truth. That you want to kiss him so bad, a fact that you just realized today. You've been wanting to kiss him for a while now, but you know how dangerous it would be.

“You think I don't notice when you blush? Or when you start breathing fast? Or when–”

“Shhh.” Someone mutters, and your eyes move back to the TV, abruptly. You feel Billy's chest moving when he laughs.

“I need to know something...” He whispers, and you feel as his arms slide down, encircling your waist and pulling you closer. You can feel his breath on your hair, and whatever is on the TV right now is just a distant blur. “I need to know if you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you.”

×

@chloe-skywalker @dpaccione @tilesandtokens @dreamin-of-dacre

[alagalaska]

A Summer To Remember- Prologue

Summary: Mini Series. Modern AU. You get a summer job working as a resort rep in Magaluf. The resident lifeguard helps make it a summer to remember.

Pairing: Lifeguard! Billy x Fem! Reader

A/N: So, the prologue is just a short explanation of how reader ends up in Magaluf. There’s no Billy in this part, sorry, but he will be in the first proper chapter, I promise! I have decided that I always take my stories too seriously and over-edit, which is why I update SO slowly! So, this one will be an experiment to see if I can just have fun and not stress too much about it being perfect; as a result this has hardly been edited lol, apologies if there’s any mistakes. Updates will hopefully be quicker but chapters will most likely be shorter. I was super excited to start writing this, so here it is! Hope you enjoy! Y/N= Your name and Y/N/N= Your nickname.

SERIES MASTERLIST // MY MASTERLIST

Chapter warnings: swearing, talk of a recently ended relationship, a smidge of angst.

Word count: 3,135

Please do not use or copy my work, in part or in whole. Plagiarism is a crime.

------

Sunlight filters into your bedroom through a gap in the curtains. You glare at the golden rays, thinking about all of the other teens, who are outside enjoying the glorious weather and the freedom of the summer holidays. You roll lazily onto your side in bed and face your alarm clock. It’s already well past midday. You groan, pulling the covers up over your head and will yourself to go back to sleep.

There’s a timid knock on your bedroom door. You reluctantly drag the duvet off your face, frowning in the direction of the sound.

“Y/N, sweetie,” your mum’s voice calls gently through the wood, “Heather’s here to see you.” 

You bury your head back under the covers with a groan. As much as you love Heather, you’re still not in the mood to see anyone; much less in the mood to talk about what happened yet. 

Your mum opens the door and cautiously sticks her head into the room and you mentally curse yourself for not having relocked it after sneaking out to the bathroom earlier. She sighs when she spots you, curled up in the foetal position under the covers, and steps aside to let Heather in. 

“I really think you should talk to her sweetie. It will make you feel better,” she says. 

When you don’t respond, she shares a concerned look with Heather, then leaves the two of you, alone. 

Heather stands near the door, staring at the lump in the duvet that is you; hot pink sunglasses pushed up into her dark hair. 

“You gonna stop hiding and talk to me?” she asks. 

“No,” you say childishly, voice muffled by the bed covers. 

She huffs loudly and crosses the room. 

Wondering what she’s up to, you peer out from your cocoon and watch as she picks her way through the clothes strewn across your bedroom floor. There’s a ‘swoosh’ of material as she draws the curtains back with a flourish and opens the window wide. 

You hiss at the sudden invasion of light and duck back under the covers again.

“It smells like something died in here,” Heather says, turning to face you, crossing her arms over her chest. Her foot taps impatiently against the carpet. There’s a beat of silence.

“Come on,” she says suddenly, in a stern voice, “Get up.” She pulls the covers off you, dragging them onto the floor at her feet. You try feebly to hold onto the material, but it slips from your grasp and you can’t find the energy to stop it. 

“I leave in a week,” she continues, “and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you spend the time we have left together lying in bed sulking! I’m taking you out for some retail therapy.”

You groan.

“Please, Heather, I really don’t feel like it.” You curl up tighter on the bed, hugging your knees to your chest. 

“You know what?” she gumbles to herself, moving round to the side of the bed so she’s towering over you. “I’ve been patient enough. It’s been a week!” She says, exasperated.  

You say nothing, just offer her a sad little pout, hoping she’ll take pity on you.

“So Nate broke up with you,” she shrugs. You feel a sharp ache in your chest at the mention of his name.

“This is you trying to make me feel better?” you ask, lifting your head off the pillow and narrowing your eyes at her. 

“Face it, Y/N,” she says, acting as if she didn’t hear you, and leans back against your chest of drawers, “The guy’s an asshole and you are so much better off without him. Now you need to stop wasting your time pining after him and get on with your life! It’s the summer!” She gestures at the window with one arm.

You follow with your eyes to where she’s pointing, until you’re staring at the sunlight spilling into your bedroom and think again about your fellow ex-classmates, fresh from graduation. You think of Nate, smiling and laughing with his friends and feel defeat tugging at your gut.

When you don’t respond, Heather sighs.

“Ok, tough love’s obviously not working,” she says to herself, pushing away from the dresser, and sits down on the edge of the bed. 

“Look,” she says softly, “I know this sucks, trust me, I do. But you can’t stay in here forever.” She reaches over to you and places a hand on your arm, rubbing it gently. “Y/N, please. I need to know that you’re gonna to be ok. I can’t leave you behind in this state.”

She falls silent, looking at the floor. 

“I’m fine,” you reply, flatly.

Heather looks at you. Knows you’re lying.

“I could stay here,” she suggests. “I’ll just tell the resort I found another job or something.” That makes you look up at her.

“What? No, you can’t do that,” you say quickly, sitting up. “You’ve been so excited about it, you have to go.” 

She smiles gently at you.

“But look at you, Y/N/N, you clearly need me here,” she says softly. Gestures to you and your room.

“Heath, I’ll be fine…” you say hesitantly, glancing down at the state of your floor, “eventually.” She looks at you like she’s not convinced. 

“Listen, you’re getting on that plane, even if I have to drag you to the airport myself,” you threaten. 

She huffs a laugh at your sudden feistiness. 

“At least that would get you out of bed,” she says.

You laugh too. Your throat strains a little in complaint and you realise this is the first time you’ve even so much as cracked a smile in over a week. 

A comfortable silence fills the room and you both share a smile.

“Will you please just come out with me?” Heather asks finally. “Even if it’s only for an hour. I think some fresh air will do you good.” 

You look at her pretty face as you reluctantly consider her offer. She’s already caught the sun on her forehead; lobster red hairline, clashing with her glasses. 

You suppose you could try to hold it together for the next week; to convince her that you’ll be ok whilst she’s gone. You at least owe her that. It’s just typical, that the one summer you don’t have a boyfriend to spend it with, Heather’s got herself a summer job working abroad. 

“Ok,” you agree, shuffling towards her on the bed. She pulls you into a hug and you rest your head on her shoulder. “It’s a shame you’re going away for the whole summer,” you say softly.

“I know,” she sighs into your hair. “What are you gonna do whilst I’m gone?” 

You lift your head to look at her. There was a bunch of stuff you had planned to do with Nate, which obviously wouldn’t be happening now...

“I dunno,” you sigh. “I could get a summer job, I guess.” You pull away from her.

“You know, I think that’ll be good. Help keep your mind off things,” she says encouragingly. “Hey, you know what?” she asks, slapping your leg gently with her hand, “If you save up enough money, you could come visit me in Magaluf! Spend a long weekend lounging by the pool,” she suggests excitedly.

You smile along, even though you know deep down you only said about getting a summer job to appease Heather.

“Right, come on,” she says, ushering you up off of the mattress. “Go take a shower. You stink.”

---

As reluctant as you were to come out with Heather, you’re really glad she’d convinced you to. You’d felt much more human after your shower, like a little bit of your sadness had been washed away with the dirt. Between that and the beautiful weather, plus some serious retail therapy with your best friend, your mood had been lifted considerably. 

You’re sitting outside of the 50’s themed diner, in the food court of the Mall, with Heather; a basket of french fries between you on the table and shopping bags at your feet. 

Heather had asked on your behalf about whether there were any jobs available at the diner over the summer, and the woman behind the counter, who was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, had told you to pop back in next week to talk to the owner. You’d just smiled and said thanks, knowing you wouldn’t come back. 

Heather animatedly chats away about her new job.

“Well, ‘cos of my experience working at the pool last summer, they want to train me to do lifeguard duties too!” She tells you excitedly. “Apparently there’s already one other rep who does that.” She slurps soda through a straw then plucks up a couple of fries, smearing the ends with ketchup. “And the best part is, if it goes well and I like it, there’s the option for me to go back next year,” she beams at you and pops the fries into her mouth, chewing happily. 

“That’s great,” you say, taking a sip of your own soda. It’s nice to see her so excited about it, but you’re still sad that you’ll be alone all summer. 

Her phone rings from next to her elbow, on the table. She wipes her hands clean on a napkin and looks at the caller ID.

“Speaking of,” she says, recognising the number. “You alright if I take this?” 

“Yeah, of course,” you say, offering her a smile. You look around at the shoppers passing by and help yourself to a couple of fries. 

“Hi, Brynn. You alright?” Heather says cheerily. 

She listens to the response and her brow furrows slightly. 

“Oh no,” she says, concernedly. 

You watch her, trying to gauge what’s wrong. 

The voice on the other end of the line talks for a bit then Heather’s eyes flick to you. Her face breaks into a grin. 

“Actually, yeah, I might know the perfect person,” she says. More murmuring comes from the phone. 

“Yeah, I’ll call you back,” Heather replies, “Thanks.”

She hangs up, still smiling. 

“Who was that?” you ask her warily. 

“That was the Head Rep of the resort I got the job at. Turns out one of the other reps has backed out and they need a replacement. Asked if I had any friends I could recommend...” she lets her sentence trail off meaningfully, practically vibrating with excitement. 

“I don’t know, Heather...” 

She lets out an exasperated scoff at your obvious reluctance.

“Oh, come on, won’t you at least consider it?” she asks disappointedly. “Listen, you’ll be earning some money, it’s right on the beach and we’ll get to spend the summer together!” she counts off on her fingers. 

When she puts it like that, it does sound tempting. But, as much as you’d love to spend the summer with her, you just can’t picture yourself actually going. Magaluf is well-known for its crazy party scene; something you’re not very experienced with. And you know, through Heather, that a big part of the job is accompanying groups of guests on their planned nights out.

“Seriously Heather, me in Magaluf? I’m not much of a party girl, am I?” you ask, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“Well, how would you know?” she comes back quickly, “You’ve never been allowed to find out.” 

You blink at her in response. That was a dig about Nate. He used to make a fuss if you were invited to parties without him, so you hardly ever went to them. Heather hated that about him. Accused him of not letting you have friends; said he was trying to control you. 

“The timing literally couldn’t be any more perfect!” She grabs your arm excitedly and gives it a small shake. “Look, just think about it, please?” she asks with hopeful hazel eyes. 

You look away from her.

“Ok. I’ll think about it.”.

Your gaze falls on a young couple, around yours and Heather’s age, walking along together through the food court. The girl is wearing a pretty baby blue dress, which is what drew your eye in the first place. The guy has one arm draped over her shoulders, whispering something into her ear that makes her blush. She giggles, turning to hide her face in his shoulder.

You go to avert your eyes, but then you do a double take, realising who it is and your stomach lurches, threatening to bring up the fries you’d just eaten. It’s as if the rest of the mall has been put on mute, the sounds of the other shoppers drowning out into nothingness, and all you can see is Nate, with his arm around that girl. 

You feel like all the air has been punched out of your lungs as you watch them from across the food court.

Heather asks you if you’re ok, but you don’t hear her. She follows your gaze to Nate and her face drops instantly.

“Oh God,” she whispers, mortified. 

She hurriedly gathers up your bags and eases you out of your seat by your arm. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

She guides you past rows of shops to an alcove near some toilets. She eyes you warily, as if she’s expecting you to break into pieces at any moment. A woman with a toddler in her arms casts you a concerned look and Heather smiles quickly at her, she’s ok.

Heather pulls you into the alcove.

“I am so sorry Y/N,” she says, remorse and concern etched on her face. She comes to a stop in front of you and gently places her hands on your upper arms, holding you there.

Your eyes drift to her face, almost dreamily, your expression flat. You feel oddly numb. 

“I just wanna go home, ok?”

She doesn’t object. 

“Yeah ok,” she says softly.

---

Neither of you says a word on the short walk back to your house.

When you enter through the back door, your mum is sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. She lowers it to check who’s there then closes it completely when she sees it’s you, Heather trailing cautiously behind. 

“How was your little shopping trip?” she asks, beaming at you both. 

You walk straight through the kitchen to your bedroom, without saying a word. 

Your mum’s smile falters. She looks at Heather for an explanation. 

“We saw Nate,” Heather says in a low voice, eyes flicking to the hallway where you’d disappeared, to make sure you can’t hear her. “With another girl.”

Your mum’s brow creases deeply at the news. She gets up and goes over to stand next to Heather, both of them staring down the corridor after you. 

“How did she take it?” she asks.

“I don’t really know…” Heather replies, glancing at your mum. “She hasn’t said a word.” 

A heavy silence weighs down on them. 

“You ok if I go check on her?” Heather asks finally. 

Your mum smiles gently at her. 

“Of course. Oh, and Heather?” Heather turns back in the doorway to look at her. “Thanks for getting her out,” she says genuinely. 

Heather smiles sadly in response. Yeah but look how it turned out, she thinks.

When Heather enters your room a moment later, she finds you sat on your bed, with your back pressed against the headboard and your knees pulled up to your chest. You’re still wearing your sneakers, dirty prints marking the undersheet. Your forehead is resting on your knees, face hidden from view. 

Heather places the shopping bags on the floor by the door and comes over to the edge of the bed, hesitating before sitting down. 

“Are you ok?” she asks you carefully, reaching out a hand to stroke the back of your head. “No, that’s a stupid question,” she quickly corrects herself, “Of course you’re not ok.”

You make a small squeak, your shoulders quivering just the slightest bit, and Heather suspects you’re crying. She wraps her arms around you as best she can and gives you a big hug. 

“I’m so sorry,” she says. Sorry Nate broke your heart, sorry I forced you to go outside when you weren’t ready, sorry he’s a massive asshole… sorry this is happening to you.

“They looked so happy,” you whisper, so quietly that if Heather weren’t hugging you, she wouldn’t have heard it. You give another small tremor. 

Heather doesn’t speak, because she knows there’s nothing she can say to you in this moment that will make it hurt any less. Just holds you a little tighter. 

“Thanks for being here, Heath,” you say into your knees with a small sniffle.

She strokes your hair lightly in response. 

You honestly don’t know how you’re going to survive the summer without her here. The thought of seeing Nate and that girl again seems all the more awful knowing that Heather won’t be around to hold you like this. 

You lift your head and Heather pulls back to give you room. You wipe at your tearstained face roughly with your hand, frustrated with yourself for wasting tears on him. Heather rubs your back soothingly with her palm. 

You glance around at your room and it’s as if you’re seeing it for the first time; dimly lit and depressing. There’s discarded clothes everywhere, your bed covers still bundled in a sad pile on the floor at the foot of the bed. A couple of photo frames on your dresser, tipped over so that the pictures inside are hidden. You can’t go back to wallowing in here. But you can’t stand the thought of running into them again. Of pretending you’re ok. 

And suddenly, braving Magaluf’s nightlife seems like the least of your problems…

“I’ve made up my mind,” you say, your voice surprisingly steady. 

Heather looks at you, confused.

“What’s that?”

“I’ve made up my mind,” you repeat. “I’m coming with you.”

“Wait, to Magaluf?” she asks, still unsure what you’re talking about.

You nod. 

She beams excitedly for a second then quickly reigns it in. 

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you wait until you’re less upset to make up your mind?”

You turn to face her more head on. 

“No, I’m sure about this,” you say resolutely. “I just need to get away from Hawkins for a bit, clear my head.”

She considers you seriously for a moment, her eyes searching your face for any uncertainty.  

Seemingly convinced, she lets herself be excited again.

“Oh, this is gonna be so great!” she says, giving you a squeeze.

You laugh at her enthusiasm and you can’t help but feel hopeful that this summer might not suck after all.

When Heather finally lets go of you, you wipe away a few stray tears from your cheeks, vowing to yourself that they will be the last you will ever cry over Nate. 

------

Please let me know what you guys think so far! I’ve been very excited about this idea. My taglist is always open, just drop me a comment if you wanna be added!

A Summer To Remember tags:

@charmed-asylum​ @alias-b​ @nottherightseason​ @hargroveswift​ @lilac-skies-xd​ @mikaelsonzz​

[wisherbysharlight]

YOOOOOOO MY FREN........ THAT TROPEY BEACH AU IS GIVING ME L I F E RIGHY NOW!!!!! id love to hear some of the other LAMP scenes you mentioned...... as well as any angst you didn't include............ 👀

HELLO NEW FREN HERES 1.5k WORDS OF CREATIVITWINS BEACH AU ANGST WITH BONUS EPILOGUE TO SOFTEN THE BLOW

Tw for not exactly abusive parenting? Just kinda toxic. -Roman has known since he was 3 that his parents expected a lot from him Sit up straight and be polite and be nice to Mommy and Daddy's friends and we'll let you play on the beach later 

  -Remus always had the same expectations, but to a lesser degree. Roman was already the Golden Child after all, an 'heir and a spare' and all that nonsense But if Roman was good, then they got to go to the beach, and Remus liked the beach too, so he put up with being Slightly Worse so his brother would look even better 

   -Their roles solidified when Roman woke up to Remus sitting straight up in bed, white as a sheet, and turning to him with haunted eyes. Remus couldn't talk, that night. But his parents did take him to talk to a really nice lady named Ms. Picani((yes i AM making emile a legacy therapist)) who taught him that many people are subjected to nasty thoughts but that doesn't mean they were bad 

Their parents called him imaginative. Remus felt like it sounded like a curse next to when they called Roman creative

-So Remus and Roman both wore a mask. Roman pretended to give a shit about meetings and mergers and getting a law degree and taking over for his parents. Remus pretended it didn't hurt when they told him he could be "whatever he wanted" but laughed when he said CEO

Remus didn't think his parents even know the dichotomy they created. Roman was bitterly sure that they did. They clung closer to each other, spending every spare hour out on the water, their surfing prowess unquestionably on the same level and keeping them from turning on each other

-Remus quietly helped Roman stay awake in school when he stayed out all night sitting and waiting for the perfect waves to catch. Roman quietly fed Remus the information he learned when their dad had him sit in on "man to man" chats with other leaders.

-When they turn 14 they both tell their parents in no uncertain terms that they will absolutely be working at uncle Thomas' restaurant like Remy did when he turned 14, thank you very much. Their parents think it's a good lesson in responsibility. The twins think its a great reason to get out of the damn house.

-They drag their friends along with them. Virgil becomes a junior lifeguard with a passion Roman had yet to see in him, watching over everyone like a hawk. Logan gets to read under an umbrella. Patton is charming as hell as a bus boy and he and the twins quickly become waiters despite technically being too young(they just can't carry the alcohol for two years)

-There's still stuffy dinners that alternate with nights alone just the two of them in the house as their parents jet set around the world, but now they have somewhere to be every single day Thomas Actively encourages them to use the private beach for surfing when they have time off, and they love it because they can just grab their boards on their lunch breaks and go

-It is out on these lunch break surf and chats that a plan falls into place, as it normally does, when Remus just says the first thing that comes to his mind Roman knows what he wants now, and so does Remus, and who better to get it than the Creativitwins(coined by Patton, LOVED by the twins)

-By the time the Main Timeline happens(when they're all 18) the brothers have Solidified the plan 

They've both enrolled at the same elite school(much to their parent's condescending surprise, seeing as how Remus' grades are actually better than Roman's), both majoring in business, but they swap majors without telling their parents. Remus takes Entrepreneurship and Business Analytics, and minors in pre-law, and Roman takes Management.

-Roman knows, deep down, that once the jig is up he might lose all the money they put away for him. So, when he sees that there's an amateur competition on the island with enough prize money to get them both through at least a few semesters of school he leaps at it

-He trains Non Stop. He hasn't told LAM about the plan and they get super duper concerned about him 

-Thomas and Roman end up in a screaming match because Roman is clearly not sleeping and when Remus can't get through to him he sends Thomas and tells Roman he’ll handle their parents

This is when it comes out that Thomas is living Roman's dream that he feels he doesn't deserve, feels like he's failed as the Golden Child and hasn't earned the right to go after what he truly wants

At the Same Time Remus has shown up in Roman's place to a Very Important Dinner because he knows its just time to let the cat out of the bag. His father pulls him aside and tells him that he cannot afford any "outbursts" and that this is a "very serious meeting". Remus gives a sickly sweet grin and goes in anyway, smoothly makes rounds to say hello to all the customers who come to the resort and is joking and laughing with three of them within 15 minutes. His father is so taken aback he actually doesn't hear one of his other colleagues ask if he's alright.

Janus shows up to back him up about 30 minutes in and Remus brings him around to introduce, and the two of them charm the pants off of the few people they hadn't met yet, forcing the Twin's parents to confront their own biases against their son. Roman turns his phone off so he won't see his father calling. Him Remy and Thomas are having a disney marathon, anyway

-Roman doesnt go home til morning. When he gets there, both his parents are sitting at the table with Remus. They all have tears in their eyes and look like theyve been there all night. He'd gotten the text from Janus when he turned his phone on, knew that it had gone well, or he'd be genuinely concerned. The first thing his father says is, "We're sorry"

They have a discussion, and it feels a little bit like the business discussions he always sits in on, slightly stiff and with everyone still not really comfortable with each other, but at the end his mother hugs him for the first time in what feels like years and tells him she's proud that he worked so hard towards what he really wanted, and that he reminds her of herself at his age trying to break into the business world, and he cant truthfully say that isn't the best thing he's ever heard in his life

-Their parents arent perfect. Remus will say something slightly off kilter and they will visibly wince before they can correct themselves. Their mother will still attempt to baby Remus and put Roman on a pedestal. Their father will still turn to Roman for his opinion before Remus. They both pitch a fit when Roman insists on transferring to a local school to save money. But there's progress made.

-And on the day of the competition, Thomas comes up to Roman when he stops by the restaurant to get Luck with a key on a lanyard that says "Thomas Sanders Beach Emporium - Surf and Swim Shop". He'd purchased the small surf shop next to the resort from a local who'd wanted to move inland. 

"Ro, I know you still want to go to college and that's fine. But know you are the only one I want running this, even if I have to wait." 

Roman bursts into tears IMMEDIATELY and Patton has to hug him for like a full 20 minutes to calm him down

-And then, as we all know, THEY WIN THE COMPETITION. And they don't need the money for college anymore, so they take it and give it all directly to Thomas for the shop, and the twins own it together but Roman runs it while Remus is off being one half of the Ultimate Power Couple on the mainlaind

And Now That You’ve Survived the Angst Train, here’s EPILOGUE

-Roman takes over the surf shop as soon as he graduates, of course. 

-Patton becomes a Divemaster/Ocean Archeaologist and gets to spend all his time in the water 

-Logan becomes an Oceanographer who creates super detailed and beautiful diagrams 

-Virgil becomes a marine biologist specializing in rescue and release and they buy a house across the street from the restaurant

-Remy takes over the restaurant and Emile opens a practice right on the island and Remile live in the apartment above the restaurant

-Dukeceit move inland towards the city so Remus can get his MBA and Janus can have some Night Noise and Janus gets his law degree and they are a Power Couple 

But they always take at least a month where they are either off or working remotely and rent a house on the same block as Remile and LAMP and surf and hang out at the restaurant and beach and relive that One Summer Of Pure Happiness and Freedom

[palettes-and-prompts]

Prompts for Beach/Pool Day

Dialogue Prompts

1) "The sun's out and the water smells not good." "I know, isn't it great?" "No. Why can't we stay inside?" "You have to get sunlight or you'll probably die." "I'm not a plant!" 2) "Let's go swimming, the ocean's right there!" "Absolutely not! Do you know how many creatures are living in a drop of water from the ocean?" "No because I'm not a nerd." 3) "I can't swim." "You're a full grown person though. No one ever chucked you in the water and told you to swim or die?" "What? No! Did that happen to you?" "Yeah." "That's awful!" "Yeah, but you know what?" "What?" "I can swim." 4) "My ice cream's melting!" "Eat faster." "But then my head hurts!" "Then don't eat it that fast." "But then it melts." "Oh my god, I will drown you." 5) "I love seeing those big boats all the way out there, they look so small, they make me feel like I'm a woman from the forties waiting for my strong sailor lover's ship to dock so he and I can spend a magical night together that'll result in my pregnancy. And he and I aren't married but he finds out about the baby and promises to make an honest woman out of me, but then he gets called back to the ship and I spend the next few months coming to the beach, rubbing my stomach and wondering when he'll return. And of course I go into labor and I get upset thinking maybe he's never coming back and I'll have to do this on my own. But then he rushes into the room and holds my hand and the doctor delivers our baby and they're so beautiful, they've got his eyes. And he promises to make me the happiest woman in the world and I just whisper back 'You already have, Robert.'" "Who's Robert? All I asked you was 'Are those boats out there?' I didn't ask for your sailor fantasy story." "Well, you should have. Maybe you should ask for more stories from me sometime. Robert certainly would." 6) "Wanna go swimming?" "It's winter." "So? What are you scared of a little hypothermia? Come on, don't be a chicken." 7) "Dude...I think there's something in the water." 8) "What the fuck was that? I just felt something swim by my feet!" 9) "Those waves look pretty high, maybe we should go back." "No way, it'll be fun!" 10) "You gotta help, A's stuck in the riptide!" 11) "If you go out on that ship there's a good chance you'll die out there." 12) "There's the boat...why aren't they in it? Person A, why aren't they in it?!" 13) "Why don't we go diving and see what kind of fish live deep under the water?" "That's how you discover terrifying creatures and get eaten alive so why don't you go fuck yourself?" "Wanna build sandcastles then?" "Yeah, sure." 14) "Wanna buy a boat and make money as deep sea fishers?" "You want to anger the sea gods? Yeah, I don't think so." 15) "Where are we going again?" "This is the place where all those feet end up washing up on shore and they don't know why." "Can we do just do one normal thing? For once in our lives?" 16) "Dude, we just found a body on the beach, wanna go see it?" "Ew. What the fuck?!" "It's got a lot of bite marks on it and it's bloated from being in the water too long." "That's disgusting. Let me get my keys and you can show me where it's at." 17) "Why's the government out here?" "I hear they got video of a unidentified fish out here and they found out it's real so they're trying to find it." "What kind of fish? Like megalodon?" "I heard they think it's a mermaid." “Ah, so less cool then.” 18) "Holy shit! You have a fish tail!" "Holy shit! You have human legs!" "..." "Yeah, see how fucking stupid you sound pointing out the obvious like that?" 19) "I found this shell and it reminded me of you." "Is it because it's ugly and incomplete without its other half?" "What? No! It's cause it's shiny on the inside and I thought you'd like it." 20) "Look at this colorful giant pearl I found!" "That's a bouncy ball."

Regular Prompts

1) A and B are in a relationship and decide to go sailing. A is hesitant because they've never been in the ocean and don't know how to swim. Despite this they go sailing. When they hit bigger waves A falls in and they get dragged by the waves unable to get back in the boat. When the boat is dragged too far away A notices a tail popping out of the water. Thinking it's a shark they start kicking hard and wildly but when they see a person's face they freeze completely. The creature introduces themselves as C and gives them the ability to be like them in the water and takes them to their kingdom. A gets so swept away in this world they forget about B for a while until the others mention the surface and A remembers. But by this time C's really attached to them. They have to decide to either return to the human world for B or stay with C. 2) A goes to the beach and ends up almost drowning while attempting to surf, only to be saved by lifeguard B just in time. B remembers them and constantly asks A if they want them to teach them how to surf. A says no and wipes out multiple times before admitting they need help learning. B helps and is happy to be around A more. 3) A and B haven't admitted their feelings for each other yet so their friends set up a beach and games, forcing the two to work as partners to win. 4) A and B are on rival teams for volleyball and have been competing every summer against each other. They're tied this year and once they both make it to the finals it'll decide who the winner really is since they wont be coming back to play anymore due to them going off to college. They don't like each other but outside volleyball they spend a lot of time together. After all that time and the competition is over they decide winning isn't important and share a kiss, both sad to be parting ways. (Bonus if they end up as roommates because they both applied to the same college.) 5) A's always had a thing for B but B's never noticed A before until they all go to the beach with friends and A shows up in a bathing suit that looks very good on them. 6) A and B are determined to build a huge house out of sand at the beach even if it kills them. 7) A and B go to a nude beach except they start to notice no one else is naked and A's starting to feel like they may have taken a wrong turn at that last sign. 8) A and B go to the beach but find dead animals everywhere concluding something isn't right. When they find people washing up things become increasingly scarier. A brings some of the sand and some of the water to a their scientist friend who informs them that it's not the sand or water. When strange writing appears and they see a mysterious woman they research her only to find out she’s a sea witch who is angry and that they must figure out a way to appease her or she’ll have to move onto land. 9) A wakes up on a beach but doesn't know who or where they are. They're found by doctor, Person B and brought to the hospital and there are no missing persons reports and none of their DNA is in the system. They can't remember where they live or anything about their past. All A can remember is the ocean and so B takes them back by themselves and soon they're in the water and that's how they realize A's not human and in fact a water dragon. 10) Strange items wash up on the beach and A's collecting them while B thinks they're trash. When they realizes all the items fit together like a puzzle it unlocks a message from Atlantis telling them they need help from the human world and they're immediately transported their and given things to help them breathe underwater. They meet mermaids and eventually help them. When they do they're given the option to become mermaids like them if they want. (Bonus if they pick this but also decide to come up to the surface for food.)

[emotionally-imbruised]

Floating Along

A/N: Here’s a little follow-up blurb thing to Sink or Swim (lifeguard!harry) Enjoy :)

Contains: well, there’s actually smut in this one so...

Word Count: 4.6k

“Then, m’thinking if we bring this tune in,” Harry paused before pressing play on an instrumental recording he had helped produce earlier that afternoon. As the music started to play, he moved back to the soundboard sat on the table to his left and began adjusting the various knobs and dials on it to create a steady beat. “And tone it down a little bit, it’ll make an excellent underlying track.”

The man and woman standing behind him nodded in surprise, making no effort in hiding just how impressed they were as they continued listening to the music that was being mixed in front of them. With being an intern at this record label for only two short months now, Harry had shown a great sense of knowledge and understanding when it came to the profession of music and wasn’t long in leaving a lasting impression on his colleagues. Mike and Alex were the first people to really take Harry in under their wing when he started working for them. They let him take part in the actual music-making process much faster than any intern in the past and were always blown away by just how good he was.

Once the song was over, the two of them approached the young man with wide grins.

“I’ll never understand how fast you pick up on these things, kid,” Mike stated while patting Harry on the shoulder excitedly, causing him to chuckle.

“Learn from the best, don’t I?”

“Flattery will only get you so far,” Alex laughed as she started playing the track back again and nodded in appreciation. “Remind me though, what was it you did before this? I know you went to college and all, but work-wise.”

“I was a lifeguard,” Harry replied and looked at his two supervisors with a shrug. “Nothin’ too special.”

“Right!” Alex exclaimed, thinking of how she’s heard this story before. “How could I forget? That’s how you met your girlfriend, right?”

Harry hummed in response and nodded with a goofy grin, falling silent as thoughts of Y/N entered his mind. There was undoubtedly this sense of happiness that only she was able to create for him, and it always left Harry in a bit of a daze. Mike and Alex have observed numerous times just how lovestruck Harry would become, solely at the mention of his girlfriend and this moment was no exception; however, it was short-lived when Harry’s phone lit up with a notification of a missed call and multiple text messages.

“Oh, shit.”

In an instant, Harry was out of his seat and darting across the room to grab the device from where it rested on one of the plush leather chairs in the corner. He muttered the word shit multiple times as he read over the messages he had been sent, anxiously tugging his hand through his curls as realization washed over him.

“Everything alright?” Mike asked from his spot across the room.

“Didn’t realize what time it was,” Harry responded, reaching for his jacket and pulling it on before making way towards the door. “I’m uh- I’m really late. Fuck, Y/N is going to hate me.”

“Then get a move on, man,” Alex told him and waved him off. “Get home to your girl, we’ll see you on Monday.”

With one last smile and a quick nod, Harry was out the door and trying to get home as fast as he could.

Y/N had just finished canceling the reservation she and Harry had at a fancy restaurant just down the street when her boyfriend came crashing through the door of her apartment, causing her to yelp. “Oh my god!”

“I’m so sorry m’late,” Harry spat out as he kicked off his shoes and made his way to the kitchen.

She sat on one of the barstools, leaning her elbows onto the counter, and dressed in that new black dress she refused to let Harry see her wear until she felt like it. Apparently, that night was tonight, and damn did she look good. Harry couldn’t help but internally groan just at the sight of her and cursed himself even more for being late.

“It’s alright,” she replied with an easy tone as she watched him approach where she was, surprising Harry. Maybe she wasn’t mad?

“I- you look beautiful, love,” he mumbled once he reached her, and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her from the stool and in closer to him. “I really am sorry.”

“And I said it was fine, H,” Y/N told him honestly before standing on her tiptoes so she could peck his lips. “I just canceled our reservation, and I had a really long day at work. I’m completely ok with staying in tonight unless you still wanted to do something?”

“I’d love to stay in,” he replied with a smirk.

“Perfect, I’ll pour us some wine.”

Y/N unwrapped Harry’s arm from around her waist and moved to the other side of the island to grab some wine glasses, leaving Harry to lean against the counter and patiently wait for her to return as he glanced around the apartment.

Y/N’s one-bedroom unit was much nicer than Harry’s, and he’d be the first to admit that. Her building was in a less sketchy part of the city, and about a twenty-minute drive from his dingy flat and messy roommate. When Y/N told Harry about the money she had saved to afford this place, he didn’t believe her. But being true to her word, she actually did have quite a bit of money saved before she even started working at Oceanside Resort, and continued saving when she began her job as a lifeguard there with Harry a few months ago.

Every day since reconnecting with the girl he somewhat knew back in high school, she has continuously blown him away. After developing a relationship with her this past summer while at the resort, he had spent the last few months wishing he’d gotten the chance to know her like he did now when they were younger. But, although Harry is only greedy when it comes to his girl, he doesn’t let that fact bother him too much. For now, he got to call her his own, and he never wanted to give that up. She was too good for him.

“What are you doing?”

Y/N had watched as Harry mindlessly walked away from the island and made way to the large glass windows of her living room, observing as he leaned against the glass and looked down at the city lights below. Her words caught him off guard, though, and she had to stifle a chuckle when he jumped and accidentally knocked his head against the window.

“Ow!” Harry groaned and placed his hand over where he just hit his forehead, a pout forming on his lips when he turned to see his girlfriend laughing at him. “It’s not funny.”

“Oh, but it is,” she replied while shaking her head and continuing to giggle, only stopping when he moved his hand to see there was already a red spot forming on the left side of his forehead. “Shit, H, how hard did you hit did you hit your head?”

Harry just shrugged as he watched concern take over Y/N’s features while she rushed around the counter and over to him. She wasted no time in pushing her hand into his curls so that his hair would be out of his face as she looked him over, a tsking sound leaving her mouth as she assessed the damage. “Didn’t think it was that hard.”

“It’s red already,” she told him and reached down to grab his hand so that she could lead him over to the barstool again. “Sit.”

Harry did what he was told, knowing he’d be sassed if he didn’t and waited as Y/N disappeared down the hallway and into the washroom, only to come back a moment later with a damp face cloth. She quickly placed the cold rag against his forehead, causing him to flinch slightly and smirk to dance on her lips. She was enjoying it far too much.

“S’cold.”

“It’s supposed to be,” she told him firmly, pausing as she began dabbing at the spot for a moment before placing it back against his skin. “It'll help keep it from swelling you klutz.”

“I am no such thing,” he scoffed and chuckled as Y/N glanced at him skeptically. “Ok, maybe a little. Thank you though, love.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled at him gently before removing the cloth and tossing it into the empty kitchen sink. His arms snaked around her waist yet again as she lazily wrapped her arms over his shoulders and positioned herself between his legs, mindlessly reaching up so that she could play with the small curls that rested at the nape of his neck. “How was your day?”

“It was good,” Harry told her. “Did lots at the studio, which is why I took so long getting here. How was yours?”

“Long and exhausting,” Y/N groaned dramatically and leaned her head onto Harry’s shoulder, smiling when he started rubbing small circles on her back. “You know, I thought I saw it all with some of the people we had come to the pool at Oceanside, but no, some of the people I have to serve while waitressing just take the cake.”

“That bad, huh?”

“You don’t even want to know,” she stated before moving away from him and sitting on the stool opposite of him, not noticing the way Harry frowned at her sudden absence from his embrace. “Let’s just say I’m thrilled to have this weekend off. I get to spend tonight with you. Nick and Aimee are coming to visit tomorrow, it’ll be a good couple of days.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Harry responded with a smile as he gently placed his hand on her knee and started rubbing small circles with his thumb. “What would you like to do tonight then?”

Y/N smiled back before nodding towards the two glasses of wine sitting on the counter that she poured before Harry hit his head on the window. “Why don’t we have some of that and see where the night takes us?”

Naturally, Harry agreed.

The two of them remained seated as they sipped on their wine. They covered everything from how Harry basically got to produce a song while at work that day, to how Y/N thought she found an online course she might want to start taking, and what the game plan was for when their friends came to visit the following day.

After about a glass and a half in, they both migrated towards the living room and prepared to curl up on the couch while an episode from the fourth season of House, M.D played in the background, much to Y/N’s dismay.

“I’m not done the second season yet, Harry.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate for you, because I think Hugh Laurie’s voice really sets the mood. Plus, it’s my Netflix account.”

Despite the eye roll Y/N gave her boyfriend, she welcomed his presence as he sat next to her on the couch before resuming their conversation. They talked for what seemed like twenty minutes but really was actually well over an hour. This type of thing always happened to them. It was so hard for them to not get lost in what the other was saying, for they were just so intrigued by and comfortable with one another.

As their conversation died down a bit and most of the bottle of wine had been consumed, Harry started really looking Y/N over as he finished off the last bit of red liquid that was in his glass.

“Did I tell you how good that dress looks on you?”

“Think you might’ve when you first got home, but I forget,” Y/N answered and giggled, only to cut herself off a second later when a hiccup involuntarily left her mouth. Harry knew how much Y/N hated having the hiccups, so watching her scowl each time her upper body shook with one was quite amusing, despite the frown that stayed planted on her mouth. “Oh, come on.”

She was getting annoyed, which Harry knew. He was also aware that the only way for Y/N to get over her hiccups was to either scare her or take her mind off them. After a moment of debate, Harry chose the second option when he leaned over and crashed his lips against hers.

A final hiccup mixed with a surprised squeak left her mouth at the sudden contact, but soon enough, she was melting into the way his hand delicately cupped her cheek while the other rubbed up and down her thigh. Once a few moments of making out passed, Y/N eventually pulled away; almost right after Harry pulled her close enough so that she’d be straddling his lap, and he couldn’t help the whine that he made as her lips left his.

“What was that for, hmm?” Y/N asked as she started brushing her hands through his hair.

“Thought I’d try to help get rid of your hiccups,” Harry replied while pinching lightly at her sides. “Did it work?”

Y/N waited a moment to see if her hiccups were still there or not, her eyes widening when she discovered they weren’t. “Now how in the hell did you know that would make them go away?”

“I didn’t,” he shrugged. “Just thought it’d get your mind off them. Did you want me to stop?”

“No, you can keep going,” Y/N stated as she leaned down to catch his lips in yet another steamy kiss.

Predictably, both Harry and Y/N were immensely turned on and were beyond the point of no return rather quickly. They stayed latched onto one another as Harry started laying Y/N back onto the cushions and let his hands start roaming her body, all while not breaking the kiss as he hovered over her.

His first move was to unzip her dress. It took him a moment to find the zipper (that was located on the side rather than the back, which he thought was stupid) but soon enough, he was tugging it down and making Y/N’s cleavage much more visible.

Y/N moaned in pleasure as Harry reached up to start massaging her breasts through the fabric of the dress. She smirked against his mouth at how he paused slightly upon coming into contact with her boobs and waited for him to say something about it.

“No bra?” He asked huskily before trailing kisses from her mouth, across her jaw, and down her neck.

“Didn’t think I needed one,” she breathed out as Harry started sucking on what seemed to be his favourite spot in the dip between her neck and collarbone, biting down on her lip to prevent another moan from escaping.

“You’re right, you don’t,” Harry replied as he continued making a trail of kisses further down her body. “Makes things easier for me.”

Before Y/N could even think of coming up with a witty response, she was cut off by her own gasp as Harry gently separated her legs and immediately indulged in her warmth. He placed another soft kiss to her centre through the lacy black underwear she decided to wear and felt his ego inflate at just how wet she was already.

“Don’t say it,” Y/N spoke up as if she had read his thoughts, tugging at his curls although he hadn’t even done anything yet. Refusing to make eye contact, she leaned her head back onto one of the pillows so she wouldn’t have to see the smug look she already knew he was looking at her with. “Just keep going, H. Please.”

“Oh, but you’re so wet for me, love,” Harry teased as he looped his fingers around her underwear and tugged them down, mindlessly tossing them away once he had them completely off. “But you don’t need to tell me twice.”

In a matter of seconds, he was hiking the dress up a bit more and burying his face back into Y/N’s burning core. Harry then began rotating between sucking harshly on her clit and licking long wet stripes up her middle, devouring every bit of the wetness that had already accumulated... and becoming desperate for there to be more.

Y/N’s moans mixed with the sounds of Harry lapping her up were just barely audible over the sound of House still playing in the background, but to them, it was deafening. If Harry could keep the sounds Y/N made when he did this type of thing on a constant loop in his brain, he would. Without hesitation. He loved every freaking moment of this.

The way one of her hands tugged at his hair while other gripped on to the side of the couch for dear life was a sight Harry thought belonged in the Louvre, or at least to be engraved into his memories forever. It was a beautiful picture, but what Harry really wanted to witness was her coming undone.

There was a slightly nagging thought at the back of Y/N’s mind as this all unfolded. The thought being of how she was getting properly fucked by her boyfriend, on her couch next to the vast windows that pretty well showed off everything to the streets of LA below when the lights were on. Usually, they made it to the bedroom when it got heated between them, but for some reason, tonight things weren’t that way, and Y/N hoped no one walking past her building felt the need to look up to the eighth floor and see what was going on.

Harry could sense that Y/N was worrying about something, and that made the want to make her cum, hard, that much more of a goal for him. As much as he truly loved this woman, he hated how her overthinking mind could get the best of her during the most inconvenient times and knew he needed to get her mind off whatever it was bugging her.

Without any warning or indication, Harry moved his mouth up to solely focus on attacking her clit while beginning to pump two fingers deep inside of her. The loud gasp that left his girlfriends mouth assured Harry he was doing something right before he soon added a third finger and started curling them, making sure to hit that spot he knew made her back arch and toes curl.

After that, Y/N was a goner. Once Harry had found a steady pace of sucking and nibbling at her sensitive bud all while inserting his fingers in and out of her at the same rate, it didn’t take long for the familiar bubble of an oncoming orgasm to form and make her knees tremble.

��H-Harry, I’m gonna,” she stuttered but stopped when Harry curled his fingers one last time and sent her right over the edge. “Fuck.”

A series of moans and groans left Y/N’s mouth as she gripped onto Harry’s hair for dear life and came entirely undone. Harry watched it all unfold, loving the way her eyes stayed screwed shut and her breathing became uneven all while he lapped up every bit of her release.

She was out of breath by the time Harry moved away from her centre and slowly started making his way up to her mouth again. The tangy aftertaste of her own release danced on her taste buds as Harry was quick in inserting his tongue into her mouth and deepening the kiss entirely. The gesture caught her off guard, but again, she soon found herself getting lost in his touch as she felt his hardened erection brush the inside of her thigh through his dark jeans.

“If we’re doing this out here,” Y/N started and broke away from the kiss, giggling when another whine left Harry’s mouth. “You’re going to need a condom.”

Sure, Y/N was on birth control, and the two of them had not used a condom many times before, but they’ve never fucked on the couch like they just had. She knew that if things went any further, it would more than likely end in a mess that she did not feel cleaning up afterward. A condom or just merely washing her bedding once they were done was a much better option.

Harry pondered her words for a moment before ultimately deciding to move their activities elsewhere, mainly so that he wouldn’t have to wear the piece of rubber Y/N had mentioned. “Bedroom it is.”

Another surprised yelp left Y/N’s mouth as Harry scrambled off the couch, and started pulling her with him. She stumbled a little as she tried to find her balance due to Harry’s impatience, but luckily for her, he was there to steady her before placing another peck on her lips and eventually leading them down the hall to her bedroom.

None of them bothered with the light, knowing through muscle memory just how far the bed was from the door along with its dark figure that could be made out from the dim lights that shone in from outside. Harry immediately removed Y/N of her dress once she crashed onto the mattress, and she started to get to work on unbuttoning the red shirt he decided to wear to work that morning.

Once they were both completely bare, Y/N pushed herself closer to the headboard, and Harry followed after her. She thought about throwing a curveball and getting on top. However, Harry seemed on a mission as he began littering her skin with kisses once again, so she just let him have his way… this time.

Harry made sure to press his length against Y/N’s inner thigh once again, grinning into her collarbone as she moaned in anticipation, but kept her waiting as he leaned over to turn the bedside lamp on.

Y/N snapped her gaze to Harry, confused as to why he felt the need to turn the light on. “What’re you-.”

“You’re so beautiful,” Harry cut her off as he took in the way she was splayed out entirely for him. He noticed the blush that was forming on her cheeks as he leaned down and repositioned himself, pausing so that he can mumble one last thing into her ear. “Had to get a good look at you before I fuck yeh into next week.”

Before Y/N could even react, Harry was pushing himself into her slick core, causing her walls to burn at the sensation. Harry was not small by any means. Y/N learned that the hard way this summer the first time they slept together. She liked to think she’d become accustomed to his size, but sometimes that proved to be wrong, especially when it’s been a little while since the last time they went at it.

The gasp that left her mouth at Harry entering inside of her was a mixture of pleasure and pain but only left her wanting more as her nails unintentionally started digging into his back.

“You alright?”

His question was sincere, but Y/N couldn’t find it in her to answer as he finally came to a stop; every inch of him covered by her. Harry waited for a response though, he always did, and when Y/N nodded to indicate that she was okay, he got right to work.

His thrusts started off slowly, easing into a steady pace that soon picked up fast. Each push was harder and deeper than the last, and they both knew that neither of them would last long if they kept going at it this way, which Harry decided he was ok with.

Y/N clawed at his back as his movements increased in speed, and Harry started hitting her in all the right places. She moaned each time his skin came in contact with her own, and couldn’t help but gasp whenever Harry’s prick reached that particular spot, which quickly had her seeing stars.

Still sensitive from being eaten out on the couch earlier, that all too familiar bubble formed in the pit of Y/N’s stomach and each time Harry would thrust deep inside of her, that bubble got closer to bursting. “H.”

“I’m almost there too, baby. Gonna get you there first, though.”

True to his word, Harry pushed himself deep inside of her a few more times while sucking harshly at her collarbone and soon enough, Y/N was being hit with another wave of an orgasm.

This one was more intense than the last, that much Harry could tell. He saw it in the way her eyes fluttered shut, heard it in the way she moaned his name, and felt it in the way her nails dug into his back and her walls pulsated around his throbbing cock. It was like stimulation to his senses and was more than enough to send him right over the edge with her.

Y/N could feel the thick, long spurts of Harry’s release shoot inside her as he muffledly groaned the word fuck over and over again into the curve of her neck. His thrusts became sloppy all until he came to a complete stop and flopped onto the mattress beside her, gently pulling himself out.

She could feel his cum begin to drip out of her but didn’t move as she listened to hers and Harry’s uneven breaths, and attempted to slow down her heart rate. After a few moments went by, Harry was soon tugging at the blanket they were laying on as a silent way to tell her to lift up so that he can cover them with it. Y/N obliged, and a few seconds later, the blanket was draped over her as she nestled into her boyfriend's chest.

The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, Harry listening to Y/N’s breathing while she listened to the steadying beat of his heart. Once they were both relaxed enough, Harry reached over to turn the light off again and finally spoke up.

“I love you.”

It wasn’t the first time he told Y/N this and most definitely would not be the last, but regardless of that fact, his words still made her grin like a complete idiot. “And I love you, Harry.”

“Say it again,’ he said while he started mindlessly playing with Y/N’s hair. “But different.”

It took a second for Y/N to realize that Harry meant to say it in a different language. One of his favourite things to hear her talk about it all the travels she went on before moving back to California and working at Oceanside, and he just loved how she could say different things in the languages of the countries she visited. I love you, being one of them.

“Je t’aime.”

“Again,” Harry replied as he shifted to look at her, even though it was dark.

“Jeg elsker deg.”

“Again.”

“Eu amo-te.”

“And again.”

“Harry,” Y/N whined. “I want to go to bed.”

“Just one last time,” he started as he brought her hand up to his mouth to place a soft kiss against it. “Please?”

“I love you,” she replied one last time before scooting over and cuddling against him once again. The exhaustion of the day's events soon caught up with her, and she wasn’t long in gradually falling asleep in her boyfriend's arms.

But, before he was sure she was fully passed out, Harry brushed his hand through her hair and spoke on last time.

“I love you so much, Y/N. Sleep well, m’love.”

[revisitingstoneybrook]

#8 Boy-Crazy Stacey: Chapter 10

Stacey makes a fool of herself. And she’s still a bitch.

I guess Stacey wrote this notebook entry to Kristy on a mini-postcard, because it's all abbreviated and sounds like she's updating her Twitter: K- Noth. new to rept. Kids fine. B. still afrd. of H2O. -S. You know Kristy is enjoying this, because it sounds all official, like she's getting a daily briefing from her troops.

Or, maybe she's being concise in her BSC update, because her postcard to Claudia has an entirely different tone. Basically, it's her lamenting to Claudia that she's such a jerk and she wouldn't listen to Mary Anne about Scott and she feels like such a jerk and just wouldn't listen to Mary Anne's warnings and did I mention she thinks she's a jerk and she should have paid attention to Mary Anne? Seriously, that's all the postcard is, those things repeated over and over again. She ends by saying she'll explain in the next postcard, then tells us she had to write Claudia three more postcards to tell her the whole story. Holy crap, Stacey, why didn't you just write an actual letter to Claudia and save yourself three stamps? I'm sure you could find a piece of paper and an envelope somewhere. Maybe she was so heartbroken, she couldn't think straight.

Stacey explains that she was having a great time in Sea City. Her hair's now two shades lighter, thanks to the Sun-Lite. So how is she going to explain that to her parents? "It was the sun, honest!" She's got actual tan lines at the edges of her skimpy little bikini that makes her look sooooooo sophisticated. And she bought a new bikini in town. In case you care, it's pink with palm trees and parrots all over it. Which sounds more like something Claudia would wear. But don't worry, Claudia's still kind of sophisticated, so Stacey's sophistication hasn't been affected!

Mary Anne, however, hasn't been faring as well. Her sunburn's gone but she's now dealing with the aftermath of blotchy pink skin. So she isn't in a good mood about that and is still staying under the umbrella as covered up as possible when they go to the beach.

Oh, and Stacey’s diabetes hasn't been an issue and her mom has only called twice! So Stacey is sitting pretty at this point, especially because the best part is she's been spending lots of time with Scott! Saturday, the Pike parents make another run for it so they don't have to spend time with the kids and head to Atlantic City, so Stacey and Mary Anne are in charge. Maybe that’s how the Pikes can afford this huge beach house every year - they’re good at gambling!

Stacey spends the whole day ignoring her responsibilities and parks herself up by the lifeguard stand, leaving Mary Anne alone. By the end of the day, Mary Anne is royally pissed off and accuses Stacey of spending too much time with Scott, while leaving her to do all the work. Stacey, in turn, pulls the "UR JUST JELIS!!!!!!!!" card. Seriously, let me post the next two paragraphs in their entirety so you all can see what a heinous bitch Stacey is. And I usually reserve that term for talking about Dawn or Kristy at their worst, so you know this is bad:

Personally, I think she was jealous. And if I were Mary Anne, I'd have been jealous, too. That nerdy mother's helper had been hanging around her endlessly, and the two of them were always doing stuff with the kids, like building sand castles, or collecting shells to make a moat around the towels and umbrellas. Mary Anne says I'm not spending enough time with the children, but I AM doing something important when I'm on the beach. I post myself by the lifeguard stand and watch the kids when they're in the water - and Adam and Jordan are in the water nonstop. I can't help it if Scott talks to me every now and then, or asks for a soda or something.

Oh my, where do I start. First off, she honestly thinks Mary Anne's jealous that she’s off flirting with an 18-year-old lifeguard? And she hasn’t even met the mother's helper guy and she's calling him a nerd and assumes he's bothering Mary Anne. The Pikes should be paying HIM because he's doing the job Stacey’s getting paid for! Of course they're playing with the kids; they're babysitters, it's their responsibility to watch over the kids, something Stacey isn’t doing! I still can't get over her accusing Mary Anne of being jealous. I guess everyone can't be a sophisticated New Yorker, with barely-there bikinis and heavenly boobs that fill out said bikinis. Part of me kind of wishes that Mary Anne tattled on Stacey, just to see how the Pikes would react. But since they're such free-spirits, with almost no rules, they probably wouldn't care. And Mary Anne's such a doormat, she'd never speak up, so there goes that fantasy. 

And way to pretend you're doing your job, Stacey. Someone's in denial! Adam could get pulled away by a riptide and Stacey would be too occupied with fetching Scott a can of soda to notice.

So while Mary Anne's watching the Pike Army with the help of the boy mother's helper (who deserves a medal for going out of his way to keep helping Mary Anne), Scott inflates Stacey ego some more by telling her she's beautiful. And she swoons because the only other people who call her beautiful are her parents. Well, and herself, but I don't think that counts. He gets cut off from telling her something else so he can blow one of his many whistles to alert some kids they're out too far in the ocean. See, Stacey? He isn't neglecting his job! And you know the kids he's warning are Adam and Jordan, who Stacey claimed she was watching.

Stacey asks him what he meant to say before he was rudely interrupted by those damn kids who were too far out in the water and Scott quickly says she's the greatest. Stacey giggles to herself that he's just too shy to tell her up front that he LUVS her too. Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, honey.

Later that afternoon, Stacey tries talking with Mary Anne, who isn't saying much and obviously wants nothing to do with her. Stacey tries making conversation and offers to get her a soda but it's no use. That's pretty much the only interaction they have the rest of the day until they leave the beach.

Stacey says Mr. and Mrs. Pike returned from Atlantic City in a “great mood,” so I think we can all conclude what they did there in between winning enough money to pay for next year's trip to Sea City. They're in such a good mood, they decide to be nice and spend the evening with their kids, giving Stacey and Mary Anne the night off. Mrs. Pike invites them to come with the family to Gurber Garden, so they can use Nicky's coupon for four free dinners, but says they can go off on their own too. Stacey's excited and begs Mary Anne to not be mad at her, so they can have fun for the next five hours. Mary Anne began to look a teeny bit interested. And by the time our bikinis were off, we had showered, and our boardwalk clothes were on, she was actually speaking to me. That makes it sound like they showered together! I guess Stacey decided to use her powers of persuasion.

They select their boardwalk outfits carefully, Stacey hoping they run into Scott. Oh, you will...it just won't be as you imagined it.

Their boardwalk outfits are actually pretty decent. Stacey's wearing a white cotton vest over a pink cotton dress, and has a big white bow in her hair that's flopping over the side of her head. Ok, it was good up until the bow. Mary Anne has nothing she feels like wearing so Stacey loans her some of her stuff. Mary Anne ends up wearing yellow pedal pushers, a white and yellow striped tank top and an oversized white jacket. Ok, her's was good up until the white jacket. It makes it sound like she's wearing a lab coat over her outfit. And if Stacey's got magical boobs of wonder and Mary Anne doesn't, that tank top must be baggy on her.

They have dinner at a burger place, and Mary Anne has fudge for dessert. Stacey obviously can't. Then they go and buy souvenirs. Mary Anne gets visors for Dawn and Kristy, and Stacey gets Claudia a bright yellow t-shirt with a surfer on it because she thinks the surfer looks like Scott. Oh, that'll be fun explaining that gift. "Oh this shirt I'm wearing with my purple plaid capri pants and matching high-tops? My best friend bought it in Sea City. She said the surfer looks like this guy she had a crush on who then broke her heart. Dibble, right?"

After they play some arcade games, Mary Anne suggests they go for a ferris wheel ride. On the way there, I'm sure Stacey is puzzled at all the teenage/college-aged girls wearing whistles around their necks. They buy their tickets and the guy in the booth calls Stacey “cutie.” Mary Anne is getting denied here! While they're on the ferris wheel, Stacey decides out of the blue that she should buy Scott a present. "Hmph" is the only response she gets from Mary Anne. I guess she takes that as a yes because once they get off the ferris wheel, she drags Mary Anne to practically every gift shop on the boardwalk.

While Stacey ponders what to get him, she says Mary Anne waits in each shop patiently. Though knowing Mary Anne, she's suppressing the rage and saving it up, making herself a ticking time bomb that explodes when she lets all that pent-up anger loose at a later time. Among the gifts Stacey chooses, then unchooses, are a book about shells (what), a blue hat, and a custom-made t-shirt that says "STACEY + SCOTT = LUV." Yikes. More like if she gave that shirt to Scott, it would be "STACEY + SCOTT = CREEPY" or "STACEY + SCOTT = RESTRAINING ORDER."

They come to a candy shop and Stacey, ignoring the fact that just being around chocolate will make her go into diabetic shock, runs in and drops 10 bucks on a giant, red satin, heart-shaped box of chocolates. She triumphantly shows her gift to Mary Anne, who's looking at something else. She tries to stop Stacey from looking but it's too late. Stacey turns around to find Scott behind her, curled up on a bench and sucking face with an OLDER GIRL. Well, older for Stacey, because the girl was at least 18. And, to make matters worse, she's curvy and gorgeous!

Ok, does anyone have an inkling that Mary Anne purposely made herself look distracted so Stacey would look and see Scott "cheating" on her, just so she would stop lusting after him and go back to doing her job? Or is her evil side not big enough to pull that off?

Stacey thrusts the box of chocolates at Mary Anne and says, "Guess I won't be needing this. You take it. You deserve it. You were right all along. Enjoy your prize." Then she breaks down sobbing. Surprisingly, Mary Anne doesn't join her in crying and instead puts her arm around Stacey walks her back to the house. LEAVING THE BIG EXPENSIVE BOX OF CHOCOLATES ON THE BENCH!!!!! This annoyed from the first time I read this book years ago and it still annoys me. Stacey spent 10 freakin dollars on that, bring it back home with you!

[mother-shipper]

@flippyspoon put the idea out there and now I can’t get merman Billy out of my head! You gave us the Harringrove Farms AU so here’s a contribution in return. :)

So I’m imagining a part Ponyo, part Little Mermaid kind of deal.

Robin gets accepted to Berkley and Steve goes with her to Cali. He gets a job on the boardwalk to while away the hours while Robin is in school. He's tried to make friends but he hasn't had any luck meeting people locally. He's gone from the king of Hawkins to a nobody in South Beach.  He decides to stick around after work one night and walk along the beach. 

 But Steve's not familiar with the ocean. He grew up land locked and has no idea what a riptide is. He goes for the calmer looking bit of water, thinking it's safer but his feet get pulled out from under him. He's suddenly completely submerged and he can't tell which way is up. The water is black and he can't see a thing. He can't find the surface. There was no one on the beach when he walked in, no lifeguard, nothing. No one saw him go in. He's going to disappear. He's going to drown and get eaten by fish and no one will ever know what happened to him.

His lungs are screaming and the pressure in his head is pounding and everything in him is begging him to breathe. He fights, kicks, tries to find his way through the oppressive, dark, heaviness of the water but it's no use. He's inches from just letting the cold, seawater invade his lungs, letting it all go when a dark figure is suddenly coming toward him. It's moving so fast. Too big to be a fish. His mind immediately goes to shark and he panics. He screams and tries to swim away but this thing is much faster. It hits him hard in the back. Steve is sure he's going to be ripped apart so he fights and struggles but...it feels like there's an arm wrapped around his middle. And it's locked around him like iron. The water splits and he can feel air on his face. Steve gasps in a desperate breath and turns to see...a man.

His face is hard and stern, bathed in moonlight. Steve can make out freckles, and a strong, bearded jaw. His brows are furrowed in an intense gaze. He looks angry and Steve feels guilty under his scrutiny. 

 "I-I'm sorry. I didn't...I know it's closed but...I just..." He bites his lip, realizing he's rambling. "Thank you." 

 The man tilts his head like he's studying Steve. He moves closer, looking at Steve like he's never seen another person before. Then Steve sees the gills. They're subtle, just under the curve of his jaw and up behind his ears. He makes this clicking sound and Steve is frozen in fear and confusion. The man pulls away, seemingly unimpressed in his assessment of Steve and then they're moving again. He's being pushed along until his feet hit sand. He stands there in the shallow, lapping waves and turns to the man who points to the calmer looking place Steve walked in and draws a finger across his throat.  "Stay away" he says, the words sounding broken and like they took significant effort to get out. Before Steve can respond, the man dives back into the surf and Steve sees the glimmer of scales and fins. He about shits his pants. He just got saved by a fucking mermaid! Robin's never gonna believe him!

Steve is thinking about it for days. Dreams about the merman who saved him from certain death. Of freckles and intense eyes and strong arms. He starts to think that maybe it was just a dream. But it couldn't have been. It was too real. The danger, the pain, the ice in his lungs. There was no making that up. So he starts to walk the beach at night, looking out over the water for any sign of the creature that saved him from the jaws of the sea. He never sees anything but that doesn't discourage him. He was in the water last time. Maybe he had to venture into deeper waters again. He gets out early one day and buys himself a board from one of the surf shops a few doors down. When it's dark and everyone's gone home, when the beach is deserted, he goes to the water. He paddles out like he's seen so many others do. Once he gets out to where the water was more gentle in its movement, he just sits there for a moment. Now what was he meant to do? He hadn't really thought that far ahead. 

 "Hello," he calls, not expecting it to work. "Hello!" He sat on the board and looked around, searching for any sign, any ripple. "I know you're out there! Come out!" Nothing.  Steve sighs and lays down on the board. What a waste of money. Who knew if the merman was even still here? He could be miles and miles away by now. He kicks his feet lazily back and forth, his head resting on his hands. He should go back before Robin started to worry. 

But then the water started to swell beside him. The gentle waves break and Steve sees brows and fierce eyes he knew better than his own face by now. He startles upright. 

"It's you!" 

The man ducks away again at the sudden noise and movement and Steve instantly feels guilty. "Don't go! I'm sorry. I just...you're really here."

The man is hesitant but he slowly rises up further out of the water. He makes that clicking noise Steve remembers from last time and approaches the board. He moves around it, skims his hands over it. "It's a surf board," Steve tells him. He looks at Steve, tilting his head like a puppy. Steve pats the board beneath him. "Surf board." 

 His eyes narrow and he seems to weigh the words. "Sur...surf...board." 

 "Right!" He flinches again and Steve looks embarrassed. "Sorry," he tells him, much quieter this time. "I uh, my name is Steve." He returns to the board, tracing his hands up the other side until he's at the nose of it, looking up at Steve again. 

"Steve," Steve says again, laying an open palm against his own chest. "Steeeeeve." 

 He looks over Steve, mimics his body language with a hand over his heart. "Billy." 

"Billy," Steve repeats with a smile. The man, Billy, nods. "It suits you."

Steve starts going out on the water almost every night and Billy always shows up. Steve brings things to show Billy. Pictures and books and little things he picks up on the boardwalk. He comes out one day to see Billy with more things to teach him about and Billy comes to the surface, beaming and looking so pleased with himself as he presents Steve with a starfish and a sea urchin and a tiny little crab who looks none to happy at being disturbed. He puts them on Steve's board and starts excitedly showing them off. Steve makes the mistake of trying to pick up the urchin and it stings him. His hand hurts like a mother fucker and he's trying to shake the sting out when Billy takes him by the wrist. He pulls it under the surface and gently blows warm water over it and the pain is suddenly gone. Steve looks at his hand, impressed and Billy looks up at him. "Better?"

"Much better," Steve tells him. "Thats amazing. How did you do that?" Billy waggles his eyebrows at Steve. "Magic." Steve laughs. Because Billy's funny. Even if he doesn't quite understand sometimes, he knows how to make Steve laugh.

Billy looks forward to Steve's visits. He waits for him every night, excited to see his friend and what he'll bring with him this time.

But one night, the visits just...stop. Billy waits  all night for him. He keeps surfacing, looking for the familiar mop of hair and the bright pink board until finally giving up and slipping back down to the depths at sunrise. It's been more than a week now and he hasn't seen Steve once. He's hurt and angry and worried sick and he doesn't know what to do. It's not like he can go to Steve instead.

...unless...

These legs are so hard to control. They're wobbly and he's not used to having to move two appendages. But he figures it out. He learns how to balance and move around without falling though he still stumbles a fair amount. Humans are squeamish about each other's bodies. He knows that much. So he finds some things he's seen Steve wearing hanging on a line. He manages to find some that fit. He gets his legs and bits covered but having something over his top half feels wrong. Billy finds one that's open in the front and that's a lot more comfortable for him.

Now he just has to find Steve. This proves more difficult than he thought. The cars Steve told him about were much bigger and faster than Billy had imagined. And most of the humans he encountered were nothing like Steve. They pushed and shouted and talked too fast. Billy wandered all day. His new legs and feet were sore. He was hungry and he still hadn't found even a hint of Steve. Maybe he was...gone. 

 "You can't go out on the water like that! The doctor told you a million times."

 "You don't understand." 

 Billy perked up at the familiar voice. 

 "I have to figure something out. Maybe I can rent a kayak or something." 

 "Or you can just wait five more weeks," a girl said. A girl. With Steve. Billy's jaw clenched. He clicked furiously, the sound a shadow of what it had been but enough to make Steve turn and look. His eyes were wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise. Billy glared. He'd spent so much time waiting for Steve and instead he was... 

 Billy's eyes landed on a thick, white casing around Steve's arm. It was held up with a strip of something, tucked against his chest.  Steve was hurt. Billy closed the distance between them, moving to inspect the hurt, lifting this hard, white shell gingerly. 

 "Billy I...wha...how? How are you here?" 

 Without looking up, Billy answers "Magic." He traces the fabric that goes up and around Steve's neck. 

 "I didn't think you could leave," Steve paused, glanced at the girl next to him, "home. Why would you? Especially to come here." 

 "Find you," Billy told him. "Lost...Steve." 

 "I was gonna come back," Steve told him fervently. "I promise. I just can't get my cast wet." He lifted the shell on his arm. 

 "Cast," Billy repeated. "Cast hurt?" 

 "No. It's gonna make me better." 

 Billy looked up at Steve, his expression offended. "I make Steve better." 

 "Yeah well, a broken arm is a little harder to fix than an urchin sting," Steve tells him sheepishly. 

 Billy looks skeptical but Steve knows more about surface stuff than him. He lets it go, instead looking to Steve and drinking in all the details of his face that he'd been searching for all this time. "Missed you," he said softly. Steve smiles, his cheeks turning pink. 

 "I missed you too."

[unholyhelbig]

Part Two of the lifeguard/ blood moon thing? I like that universe

Read on Ao3 | Send me more Legacies Prompts! 

Title: Uncharted Waters [P2] 

Ship: Hope Mikaelson/ Lizzie Saltzman 

(Read Part one here) 

Electronic music hissed and pounded, the windows of the small house shaking with the tempo. Lizzie couldn’t bring herself to exit the car. Not with the group of people crowded on the front step, taking easy gulps of whatever cheap alcohol filled red plastic cups. With each wary glance towards the Chevy, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

Josie reached across her in a fluid motion, turning the key until the engine didn’t purr anymore. “People wouldn’t be staring if you turned off your headlights.”

“They’re staring because I almost let a kid drown.”

Lizzie kept her eyes forward. She was sure that she had the license plate of the car parked in front of them memorized. WTV-2869. It was an obnoxious shade of yellow that had once been white- Virginia is for Lovers, it read, but she wasn’t feeling any of it.

Kaleb was accustomed to throwing the end of the summer parties filled with alcohol and at least three bad decisions. It was a celebration of a good season and a flaunt of money that each of them had struggled to save up over the past three and a half months of being crammed in hot plastic chairs and mopping up fluids no one wanted to identify, not fully.

“That was almost a week ago, Lizzie.” Josie’s voice was tender and her fingers traced the seatbelt across her chest. She wanted to unclip it and pad up the front steps until she ran into the other girls that worked at the snack shack. All of them smelled like fried dough and artificial cheese but Lizzie never mentioned it. “I’m not saying you should get over it, it’s scary, I know. But no one else is holding it against you.”

Lizzie scrunched up her nose “Hope Mikaelson is, even though I apologized and thanked her for saving my ass.”

She finally conceded after a pointed glare from her twin, because yes, she had been talking about it non-stop for the past couple of days. Lizzie couldn’t shake the odd feeling she got when they walked past each other at the park or ended up being the last two in the locker room again.

The auburn-haired girl had switched all of her shifts to early mornings and refused to make eye contact. Lizzie had the deep and running feeling that Hope Mikaelson was avoiding her like the black death- and the only explanation she could conjure up was a fit of running anger from her own lack of awareness when manning the wave pool.

Both girls exited the powder blue car and breathed in the last summer breeze the season had to offer. There was a hint of autumn in the air that made her want to fold into herself with a good book. The grass vibrated with the sound of the latest pop song, neon lights flashing against the dirty windows. Kaleb knew how to throw a party, and a small part of her admitted that.

Lizzie stopped short of the drive and blinked up at the blanket of stars. The moon, she had noticed, was finally at its full peak. It shone bright like a crimson ornament in the sky, hung expertly on the best branch.

“It’s kind of cool isn’t it?” Josie smiled softly, craning her neck “And spooky.”

Lizzie tore her gaze away and growled “I wish people would stop saying that. Come on, if I absolutely have to be here, I can’t do it sober.”

And maybe Josie was right; she didn’t’ feel the looming eyes of her coworkers prosecuting her for her mistakes. No one even dared a glance at the two of them, not right away. MG stood against the mantel with his own cup of mystery liquor, and he gave a slight dazzling wave.

The pungent scent of weed leaked from the upstairs floor and greasy pizza littered the granite countertops in the kitchen. A few lifeguards loitered by the fridge, laughing quietly about the Polaroid’s tacked up with alphabet magnets.

Lizzie wandered over to one of the counters and fished through the ice bucket filled with alcoholic lemonade and bud light. She opted for the off-silver can, pushing off the extra ice and water. She was content with a slight buzz and staying to herself in the corner, Josie rushed off once she found her usual shift leaders crowded around a table converted for beer pong.

Jed was lingering at the edge of his pack of friends, hand wrapped around a glass bottle and eyes flashing towards her every once and a while. Lizzie pretended not to notice and instead started to scroll through her camera roll like it was something more engaging, setting the nearly empty can on the counter.

“Hi Liz,” He had moved closer, smelling of aftershave and sweat and whatever masculine scent his car had adopted. “I didn’t think you would show.”

Lizzie snapped her gaze up and shoved her phone in her pocket. “And why wouldn’t I?”

“You nearly let a kid die?” Kelsey had pushed herself close to the island in the middle of the kitchen, running a hand through dirty blonde hair that threatened to be greasy. She lifted the oil-stained lid of a pizza box before frowning and letting it fall back down. “I’m sure a party beats a jail cell.”

“Oh well, it’s never too late.”

She shoved herself from the counter, fully intent on joining MG next to the fireplace. Even if she did just stand there and listen to his off-handed conversation about who would best win in a fight between Superman and the Green Lantern. Jed took a step to block her path, giving a wolfish grin.

“Okay, Jockstrap, maybe you should get out of my way.” She knew her voice had gotten darker with the amount of patience she had left. People had never classified her as friendly, especially when she had a saint for a sister, but she had adopted the persona of intimidating.

Kelsey laughed, taking a long gulp of her own drink, “Sweetheart, we just want to know how on earth you even passed your entrance exam?”

Lizzie felt her nails dig into the palm of her hand because she knew she was a damn good lifeguard. She was human and she made mistakes, never had it been one that dire before and her mind was still grasping at that. She had studied for weeks and passed with flying colors- but she wasn’t about to give Jed or his little lackey the satisfaction of her fighting back.

“Leave the girl alone.”

Both lifeguards tore their predatory gazes away from Lizzie and situated them on the entrance of the kitchen; Hope Mikaelson seemed to stumble upon them, once again saving the day. Lizzie felt her blood boil because she had it handled. Much unlike the situation at the wave pool.

“Hope?” Jed had taken a half-step back “I didn’t’ think you were going to come tonight.”

“Funny, I was under the same impression.”

Kelsey swallowed loudly and lifted her chin in defeat, maybe even acknowledgment before the two of them stalked off and out of the kitchen entirely. Hope’s eyes were dark, darker than she had ever seen them before. Darker than that night in the locker room. She let out a sigh that was deep enough to echo a growl.

“I didn’t need your help.” Lizzie protested.

“Oh really? It seemed like you did. Jed and Kelsey would have eaten you alive, trust me.”

Hope turned away at once and left the kitchen through the hallway entrance. A small passage lined with photos of Kaleb’s family, one on the beach and two graduation shot’s. Lizzie pretended to ignore the fact that there was none of him. She followed her quickly.

“You can’t keep doing that.”

“Doing what?” Hope asked innocently.

“Swooping in like I’m some damsel in distress and you’re the hero that saves me from certain doom. I’ve got it covered, okay?” Lizzie reached forward and grasped at Hope’s wrist, trying to stop her halfway through the corridor.

Her back was suddenly against the drywall, the picture frames shaking at the strong impact. Though she had a few inches on Hope Mikaelson, she felt her heart rate spike. The other lifeguard had her pinned, a hand splayed next to her head and a dangerous hint in her stare.

“Don’t touch me, Saltzman. Not tonight.”

Lizzie gulped in the scent of vanilla and something metallic that she couldn’t’ place. Her voice came out a slight whisper and Hope’s impossible gaze flicked down to her lips. “What’s so different about tonight?”  

“Coming here was a mistake.”

Hope tore herself away from the situation and pushed towards the front door. Through a group of people too stubborn to move. Lizzie blinked twice and tried to clear her head of the intoxicating allure that she had never registered before. She followed her again, instant relief washing over her once she was away from the stuffy house.

Anger still bubbled like an unchecked stew. What Hope had just done was shockingly intimate and her skin tingled where her hands had all but lingered. She glanced up at the moon sparingly and padded onto the walk where she searched either direction, but no Hope.

A thicket of woods surrounded the back of Kaleb’s house and for some pulling reason, Lizzie decided to brave it. The neon light of her cellphone was enough to make up for what the Blood Moon didn’t- and really, it wasn’t so hard to move along the wet trees and the subtle sounds of crickets.

“Hope!” she called out, breaking the near silence.

Lizzie shouted out a few more times before she stumbled into a clearing surrounded by stars. The stretching grass reached her knees and swayed like a crimson ocean in the scattered light. A deep pit formed in the center of the blonde's stomach; because maybe this was a terrible idea. The hairs on her arms stood up at attention. She didn’t feel alone.

She scanned her eyes against the tree line as the wind picked up until they landed on a set of eyes. Too low to the ground to be human, glowing like the moon above as they bored into her. She had read somewhere that in the face of an animal you had to make yourself look bigger but all she wanted to do was shrink.

Lizzie was rooted in her spot, helpless as the creature slowly stalked from its home in the shadows. Large and black and bigger than any type of dog that she had spotted before. Its eyes were a dark red and a deep growl erupted from the wolf’s chest. Lizzie felt like her own was on fire.

Another, smaller wolf, that was spotted in gold followed, its stance strong and offensive. Now would be a good time for her to run, or to cry, she wasn’t sure which instinct would latch onto her first but with the way her eyes felt heavy she considered it was the latter.

“Good doggie,” Lizzie held her palms out and lowered them because she saw it in a Chris Pratt movie about dinosaurs once. But the animals kept approaching and her legs felt like Jell-O. “Nice doggie.”

The larger one snarled and crouched lower to the ground. Its tail tucked and nose crinkled, and suddenly it was increasing its speed. Lizzie dropped to her knees and clenched her eyes shut, and she waited for impact.

For the warmth of blood and the sound of her own screams. The thought of News Vans and police officers and yellow caution tape flashed in front of her instead of some poetic movie of the good parts of her life. Maybe they wouldn’t even find her body because it would be picked clean to the bone.

Instead, she breathed deep on the scent of soil as she felt it work its way under her nails. There was another noise, one that was louder than her own heart. A yelp of fear low enough to only come from the animal lunging at her.

She propped one eye open and saw the black wolf on its back, hissing out in what could only be described as palpable fear. The yellow one had its tail tucked and eyes averted, golden and flashing in the light of the moon.

Lizzie dug her heels into the dirt of the clearing and pushed herself back a couple of inches, propping up on her elbows. Another wolf, smaller than the black one and so gray it was almost white like snow, emitted a loud and commanding rumble.

She felt her hands dig right into the roots of the grass as if she gripped it for stability. The black wolf rose from its position and let out a huff of air before dashing back into the cover of the trees. Inky and all too consuming.

The newcomer sent out another warning growl before the second animal scampered away entirely. But Lizzie could still feel the fear in the air like electricity as the white wolf shot an accusing glare at her, leaking with the annoyance of something larger.

The hair on the wolf’s back suddenly smoothed out and its ears were flat, head dipping and brilliant golden eyes shrouded with worry.

Lizzie conjured her words “I’m okay. Thank you.”

She sat and stared at the creature for a long moment, feeling the sting where her palms had scraped against rocks and dirt. It cocked it’s large head to the side as if questioning her, and took a daring step forward.

“You’re not so scary, huh?” She leaned up a little bit and the wolf let out a huff of air as if to protest the statement. “Oh? And you can understand me too.”

Maybe this was a fever dream, she realized suddenly. She had fallen in the woods looking for Hope and had hit her head on a log or a rock. Someone would come looking for her eventually and she would wake up in a hospital bed with enough ammunition to get even with Hope Mikaelson for saving that kid.

“Lizzie!” The call of her sister broke the world that they were in and the wolf took a few ample steps back. Those brilliant marigold orbs scanning the tree line.

“Wait, don’t-“

But the wolf had already caught wind of the scent and was rushing in the opposite direction of the way it carried. Fluid and so strong in its motions that Lizzie was entirely sure that none of this could be real.

Her sister, covered in muck and dirt, sprouted through the trees, nearly falling over herself. Lizzie felt bad for the worry on her face and the pure fear that soon followed. “MG said he saw you run out of the house and go into the woods- what are you doing out here?”

“I needed some fresh air.” She didn’t even buy that.

“Then why are you on the ground?”

“Looking at the moon, you’re right. It is kind of cool.”

Josie suddenly got a pensive look on her face as she squinted at the apple-red color in the sky. She shook her head and reached a hand down to her sister, not minding the dirt or the possible blood that coated her own palm. She pulled her to her feet and glanced around apprehensively.

“Come on, it’s creepy out here and I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”

Lizzie didn’t’ answer, instead, she followed Josie and hoped that the shorter of the two knew where she was going. But her nerves eased as the electronic sound of the party's music started to fill her ears once more. She couldn’t help but agree;

This was too much excitement for one night.

[eds-trashmouth]

PolyJAMorous

A/N: hi I hate this! But it’s here and it’s not what I intended but I hope you like it regardless. I’ve also decided that people probably don’t care about word count and all that so I’m not going to put it on anymore (unless you guys want me to) Thank you for the support and the next one will be better. I promise ❤️

-

A road trip was certainly not how the losers thought they would be spending their summer break before they all packed up and headed off to college. Yet, Richie had the bright idea to make the trip from Derry, Maine to Colorado. He’d come up with the idea a week or so into the start of their senior year. Luckily they’d had all school year to plan and save up money.

Richie got a job at the Aladdin, the local theater, taking tickets and cleaning up after the shows. He ended up making decent money and buying a used suv by the middle of the year. He had to cut out smokes but Eddie says it’s better that way. He’d do anything for Eddie so giving up cigarettes was nothing, although on his very stressful days Bev was nice enough to share a cig or two with him.

Eddie on the other hand, wasn’t allowed to get a job. Mrs. K turned down that idea almost immediately, yelling about how any job he would get as a teenager would be flipping burgers and she couldn’t have her precious Eddiebear flipping burgers in a “disgusting” fast food place. So, he decided he would tutor some underclassmen after school. He had put up flyers around campus to try to get some tutoring jobs but ultimately he didn’t get that many. He even tried to back out of the trip because he felt bad for having less than everyone else. Richie was the first to shut that idea down. “You’re going Spaghetti. Even if I have to pay for you myself. It’s a losers trip. Gotta have all seven of us!”

It took Beverly until the middle of the school year to finally find a job. Through no fault of her own, it seems that when the whole town thinks you’re dirty as a child, you don’t find many people who forget that kind of thing. She eventually landed a job with Richie at the theater. She suspected the Trashmouth himself had something to do with that, but she knew he’d never tell.

Now, Mike and Stan had a pretty easy time finding work. They’d been together since Sophomore year and Stan loved helping out on the farm, so Mike asked his grandfather if they could get paid for some of the farm work. It took a little convincing but by the third week of school, Mike and Stan were already getting their first week of pay. Stan definitely enjoyed rubbing it in Richie’s face that he got to see his boyfriend and get paid to do so. Maybe Richie took a quick glance at Eddie when he did so. Maybe he didn’t.

Bill also had a pretty easy time finding work. There was a new YMCA opening up in Derry and Bill already had experience lifeguarding for the past two summers so he applied to work at their pool. Obviously he got it, and he even snuck the losers in a few times for a late night swim.

Ben had been working at the library since sophomore year so he didn’t have to do much worrying. He had the money saved up by December, and a little extra for Eddie just incase. Although, Richie already called dibs on paying for Eddie. Even if Eddie didn’t know it yet.

Today was finally the day. They’d made it through the school year and even stayed for graduation. The losers had all met up at Richie’s to help get ready for the trip. The sun was blazing down upon them as they packed everything into the van. Each loser had a duffle bag and they’d brought a cooler filled with lunchables, sodas, and flavored waters requested by Stan and Eddie. It didn’t take too long to load everything and hit the road.

Richie insisted on taking the first shift driving. The trip was a whole days worth of travel, inevitably they would need to stop for gas, food, and possibly even a hotel but Richie was determined to drive as much as he could before stopping. This trip was his baby, he’d been planning it all year. They hadn’t really set a destination yet, other than Colorado, the whole idea was to just decide to stop somewhere pretty. Of the losers, Richie, Ben, Bill, and Mike were the only ones with a license, they’d done the math and needed to switch every 7 hours or so.

“What are these idiots thinking?!” From the passenger seat, Eddie rolled his eyes. The roads were bustling by mid day, and the cars were just flying by. “Don’t they know the speed limit is only 70? They’re going to cause an accident.”

“Eds, I’m only going 65. They’re probably going like 75 or 80.”

“Well regardless, that’s still over the speed limit Richie! It’s dangerous!” Eddie was talking with his hands, overly exaggerating everything, giving it the emphasis he always seemed to. Richie couldn’t help but glance at the boy beside him. He smiled fondly as Eddie noticed his attention. “Eyes on the road Chee!”

“Would you two lovebirds q-quit bickering? I’m t-trying to nap before it’s my turn to drive.” Richie peeked into his rear view mirror to see Bill with his eyes still closed and his head on Ben’s shoulder in the very back seat. Ben didn’t seem to mind the intrusion, his attention was fully on the game Beverly was playing next to him. Stan and Mike were seated in the middle of the vehicle, a bench seat to share, and wearing one earbud each watching Netflix. Richie would’ve gagged had he not fully intended on doing the same with Eddie once he was done driving.

“Let’s listen to some classic Richie tunes then Spaghetti! Everyone else is doing they’re own thing.” He could see Eddie roll his eyes once more in his peripheral vision before he leaned down to get the aux cord for Richie. He laid his hand out, waiting for Richie’s phone, which he gladly handed over. “Alright, I wanna listen to something good. Let me think.”

“I’m playing something while you decide then.” Eddie already went to work, plugging in the aux and setting up the radio. He opened the phone with his thumb and in seconds was on Richie’s Spotify. Richie couldn’t help but think how much of a routine this was. Just for them. None of the losers had their thumb print on his phone, everyone else had to ask how to work the radio or where his aux was, but not Eddie. His Eddie.

“No Jonas Brothers. That’s my only request.”

“You love them, don’t pretend to be hardcore.” Eddie was already scrolling down his playlist to search. Before long a familiar beat filled the air. A Jonas Brothers song.

“Don’t out me like that, and then play my favorite JB song. You can’t do me like that Eds.”

“Not my name, and this is your punishment for calling Spaghetti as well.” Don’t Throw It Away off their newest album blessed the speakers. Richie couldn’t stop himself and soon began screaming the lyrics at the top of his lungs. His fingers tapped happily to the beat, while he danced in his seat. As the chorus hit and Richie had given into the music, he glanced over to see Eddie recording him.

“I know I’m famous but no pictures please. I’m just trying to live my truth!” Richie’s hand came up to cover the camera while he let out a loud laugh. Eddie was too quick for him though and moved the phone right out of his reach, leaning into the side door.

“Hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. You wouldn’t want us to die before we even get to Colorado would you? And besides, I have to document the trip. This is the last trip that we all get to have together before we move on.”

“I’ll never move on from you Spaghetti.” With his eyes still on the road, Richie tried grabbing for Eddie’s cheek only to get smacked away from the boy himself.

“Ha ha. Very funny Trashmouth. You know what I mean. We all have our own livings waiting for us when we get back. I want to remember this. Remember us Chee.” Out of the corner of his eyes Richie could see the slight flush on the boys face. “The losers that is. All of us.”

“Eddie,” Beverly spoke up from the back. “You know we’ll still be best friends right? Us going to college doesn’t change that. We can still have movie nights and study dates. Sure, it’ll be different because it’ll be through a screen but we will still be together. Once a loser, always a loser.”

The car fell into a comfortable silence after that. Richie’s mind always wondering to Eddie. This trip was really important to him, and Richie didn’t even know it. Eddie hadn’t told him and he hadn’t noticed. What kind of best friend is he? He couldn’t even see how worried Eddie was about the future. The future of the losers club. Of course Richie knew they’d always be together in some way, but he shouldn’t have assumed Eddie was feeling the same.

“Hey Eds,” Richie made sure to talk quietly, a conversation just for them. Eddie turned his attention from the road to Richie with a slight hum. “You know you’re my best friend right? And nothing will ever change that. Not even distance.” Eddie nodded in understanding but turned back to the window. Richie glanced at the time. They’d been driving for about 6 hours at that point, and the gas tank was getting pretty low.

“Alright. We’re stopping, we need some gas and then it’ll be Big Bill’s turn.” There was a chorus of okays as he looked for an exit with a gas station. Luckily the next one was only 10 miles down the road. He pulled off the exit and into a Speedway. “Go pee now! No accidents in my baby please!”

Everyone did their business and Bill paid for this round of gas. Richie checked the cooler to find only four more lunchables and a few flavored waters. He grabbed for the extra soda he’d packed to fill up the cooler again, making a mental note that they all needed a proper meal soon. Everyone piled back into the suv, Bill and Ben in the front, Stan and Mike once again on their middle seat, and Eddie Richie and Bev on the back bench seat. Then they were back on the road.

“Hey Eds, do you wanna watch some Netflix or something? I brought earbuds.” Eddie was in the middle of him and Bev and currently watching Bev play whatever game on her Switch. He’d been watching her since they left the gas station about an hour ago and Richie was jealous. Not of Beverly of course, just that she was getting Eddie’s attention. Richie had already listen to her explain her game to him, twice, and he wanted some Eddie time.

“Maybe later Rich. Bev is just about to beat this level but she only has like four units left. It’s really intense.” He didn’t even glance in Richie’s direction. If he would’ve, he would see the pout on his face and the hurt in his eyes.

“I don’t know what that means. What game are you even playing?” He was still pouting.

“Fire Emblem dude. I’ve already said that like five times since you’ve been back here. The new game came out and I’m obsessed. You get an X amount of fighters, they all have different abilities, and you have to try to kill all the enemies on the board. This game makes you a professor, so you have to train your students. This is a big deal. My class is about to kick ass. Now shush. It’s intense.”

“Sorry.” Eddie barely spoke as he continued watching Bev. Richie simply hung his head and plugged in his earbuds. He knew he was being a little ridiculous but he couldn’t help it. He’d spent 6 hours driving so it’s not like Eddie got much of his attention, and he deserved all of it. That just wasn’t in the cards this trip it seemed. It didn’t take long for Richie to get bored of Netflix, he was just watching old episodes of Criminal Minds anyways. Not even his guilty pleasure show could lift his mood. Looking over at Eddie once more, the other lad was still watching Beverly, but he also had his phone out on Instagram. Beverly had already finished the battle and he wasn’t even fully watching her. Yet, he hadn’t said a word to Richie. He’d be lying if he said that didn’t hurt, but he didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to be annoyed for hours either. Unless it was Eddie annoying him of course.

Richie went back to his own little world, turning on his ‘sad boi’ playlist, it felt fitting. He knew it was silly, but he felt like a fool. Of course Eddie would rather do anything else than spend this trip with Richie. This was his last trip with most of their friends, but Richie was going to UCLA with him. Why would he want to spend time with him? He already had to spend at least four more years with his annoying friend who made stupid jokes that weren’t even funny...and was secretly in love with him.

Fuck.

Richie’s mind was jerked to consciousness as the car came to a stop. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. With a yawn, he lifted his head off the arm of the seat. Man, his neck was killing him. As he cracked his neck he wondered how he even fell asleep lying on that in the first place. The doors were slammed open as everyone filed out one by one. Richie being the last to emerge, he caught a glimpse of the Taco Bell beside them and realized he was indeed starving.

“Lets fucking eat!” Beverly exclaimed running toward the restaurant doors. Everyone followed suit and mumbled their agreement. Eddie fell behind with Richie.

“Hey Chee. Did you have a nice sleep?” Richie didn’t even bother lifting his head as he simply shrugged. His mind was still elsewhere. He’d never admitted to himself that the things he was feeling were more than platonic but now it’s the only thing he could think of. The way he enjoyed the other boy’s attention, his eyes, his lips, his whole fucking face. He wasn’t ready to reveal his feelings so he suppressed them, even if it meant ignoring Eddie. He was sure Eddie would be relived anyways.

“Did you wanna watch Netflix after we eat? I’ve been looking forward to that Blake Anderson movie you downloaded.” Richie finally looked at him, honestly in shock that the other still wanted something to do with him. Which was a mistake. He shouldn’t have looked, then he wouldn’t have caught the sun in Eddie’s eyes.

“Nah it’s okay Eds. You can keep watching Bev play, I don’t mind.” Richie waved him off as they stepped inside.

“But I want to! Have you seen the trailer for Game Over Man? It looks fucking hilarious.”

“Oh. Sure, you can watch it. I think I’m just going to drive the rest of the way. I took a nap.” With that, Richie walked to the register to order. The other losers were already sat a table toward the back, waiting for their food. Eddie could pretend to want to spend time with him, but Richie could tell he wasn’t interested in the car. What would change that now? He had accepted it, and just wanted to drive. It helped him get away. Neither boy spoke the entire time they were eating, while the others engaged in casual conversation. If they noticed the two being quiet they didn’t mention it.

“Hey. I’m going to drive. I napped.” Richie grabbed the keys from Bill as he started toward the drivers side. He didn’t wait for a reply as he got in and started the suv. They had around 8 more hours until the reached Colorado and Richie intended on driving the entire way. It seemed like every could sense the tension but was too afraid to say anything. By the 20 hours mark everyone in the back was sleeping soundly while Richie jammed out. Everyone except Eddie. He’d been listening to Richie play half a song then change it, then listen to half another song then change it, and so on, for the past hour and a half. Richie knew he was probably being annoying, but he was more interested in keeping his mind off his own insecurities than noticing. It took another five songs for Eddie to finally snap.

“What the fuck Richard? Why do you keep changing the song?! Let one finish.” Richie didn’t need to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes, and probably pouting as well.

“Eds, did you just meme me? The meme lord.”

“First of all. No one says meme lord anymore. Second of all. We haven’t listened to a full song in hours, and it’s driving me insane.”

“I have multiple favorite songs and I love them equally. What can I say? I’m polyjamorous.”

“Ugh. Just shut up and pick a fucking song already.” Eddie turned his body to look out the window as he went silent and crossed his arms. Richie didn’t say another word, simply choosing a playlist and letting it play. This was going to be the longest five hours of Richie’s life. He hated making Eddie upset, but he didn’t want to open his dumb mouth and make everything worse. He always made everything worse...

“Hey, uh, Eds?” Richie finally broke the silence, Eddie had been staring out the window for two hours now and Richie was starting to worry. “I’m sorry about the music.” Eddie’s attention snapped to him as he turned back to him.

“That’s not why I’m upset idiot. Why are you being like this? We barely talked this entire trip! I was really looking forward to this, but now I’m just thinking it was a mistake.” Richie sneaked a glance in his direction before turning back to the road. He saw Eddie’s hurt expression and suddenly felt like an asshole.

“You made it pretty clear earlier that you weren’t interested in watching anything with me. I was just making it easier for you, by taking myself out of the equation. You can do what you wanna do now.”

“What? What are you talking about? I literally asked if you would watch it with me!”

“I know you only asked because I seemed down. But I’m okay Eds. You could’ve watched Bev play more. I didn’t take it personally don’t worry.” Richie tried to give a smile but it didn’t even meet his eyes.

“No Chee. I am worried. You’re talking non sense. I asked because I wanted to spend time with you. Dumbass. I was only watching Beverly because you needed to sleep! You’d just driven like seven hours in the early morning and I know you don’t sleep at night.” Richie’s eyes widened at Eddie’s words. He was officially speechless. Eddie wanted to spend time with him? He was just worried?...about Richie’s well-being? No way. No way Richie had misread the entire situation. No way.

“Richie. If you don’t say something I’m going to be more upset. Just being honest.” Eddie’s arms were once again crossed.

“I...don’t know what to say. I thought you seemed really disinterested in Netflix...with me.”

“I’d watch anything with you.” Eddie’s voice was so soft, Richie had to lean closer to even hear him.

“But...why?”

“Because I love you. You big dumb idiot.” Richie’s hands gripped the steering wheel as his brain processed what was just said. Platonic Richie. Platonic. He means it platonically....doesn’t he? Of course he does.

“Richie...” Eddie’s voice was soft once again as he leaned over to lay his hand on Richie’s. “When we stop, we should really talk.”

-Taglist

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