#warning the video in the link can get pretty loud in volume and has swearing at the end

[simple-symphonia]

bazinga

oh boy I’m so sorry my good dude we don’t have those kinds of clothes in stock at the soup store

[twokinkybeans]

The Arachnoids: ROCK BAND AU [Starker] - Chapter 8: FADING FACADE

READ “CHAPTER 8: FADING FACADE” ON AO3

Find the masterpost with all the chapters linked here!

Taglist: @crystallinecrimsonmoth​​​​​​ & @staticwhispersinthedark​​​​​​ (Let me know if you want to be added!)

Note/warnings:  PS: A quick trigger warning: There will be a panic/anxiety attack and anxiety-related problems will be discussed, including meds and drug allergies.

-

Chapter 8: Fading Facade (Tony’s POV)

“Everything,” Tony hears himself whisper. “Everything’s wrong.”

The second the words fall from his lips Tony knows he should’ve kept quiet. He’s never lost control like this before. Not with anyone around, that is. His chest tightens. He can’t breathe. He can’t speak. Tony lets himself sink onto the edge of the double bed and presses his palms into his thighs. He’s very aware of the signals his body gives off but there’s nothing he can do to stop it. Not with this damned mantra flickering in the back of his mind.

You fucked up. You fucked up. You fucked up.

“Tony?” Peter’s voice pierces through the cloudy thoughts. Tony looks up warily and finds a pair of worried, deep-brown eyes searching his face. “Hey…” “I’m alright,” Tony chokes out. “Let’s just sleep.” “I… Don’t you wanna talk about it?” “No.” He can keep his facade up for a little while longer. He has to. ‘Cause if he doesn’t, who knows what might become of him?

Tony, honest to God, doesn’t know what to do. All these years and no one had ever found out about Morgan before. No one has seen the many videos on his phone filled with the girl’s sweet giggles and her never-ending stream of questions. No one’s seen her eyes sparkle with curiosity whenever she explores something new. He still remembers what it feels like to hold her small body in his arms. Always squirmy, the little queen.  But now, Peter has seen a picture of her. Tony ponders not telling a thing. But what if that leads to Peter asking other people about it? That’d be the true disaster. Then, everyone would know.

“The kid in the picture,” he whispers quietly. Peter’s head perks up. “That’s Morgan. Eh, my daughter.” “You have a daughter?!” Peter exclaims in surprise, his eyes wide and shocked. The boy quickly realizes what he’s doing and he lowers the volume of his voice. “How…?” Even now, Tony’s snarky comebacks get the better of him. Especially now. “I’m pretty sure you know how children are conceived, space boy,” Tony says, voice still painfully fragile. Peter huffs quietly.

“I mean… Does anyone know? Like-” The boy stutters, clearly trying to find the right words to not upset him. “-I’ve never heard of this before.” “Yeah. That’s the way it should be.” “Why?” “I don’t want her to grow up, not knowing who she can or cannot trust, simply ‘cause of her father’s fame.” Peter seems to contemplate that for a second, and somehow, the boy radiates such… serenity. Enough for Tony’s legs to stop moving. For now.  “Yeah, I guess that’s a good point.” Peter pauses. “But… How does that tie to everything being wrong?”

Instantly, Tony’s heartbeat picks up again and his fingers clench involuntarily.  “You ask too much,” he breathes. “No offense, but you keep shit to yourself too much.” “Mh-” is all that Tony answers to that. The boy is eerily perceptive. Tony sighs. He has to admit that it doesn’t feel too bad talking to Peter. 

“It… Doesn’t tie together at all. Not really,” Tony finally mumbles. God, he can’t believe he’s saying it out loud. “Somehow, I’ve developed a drug allergy for my anxiety meds. We’ve tried different types, but nothing works…” He scoffs. “Lucky me.” “Oh, uhm, so you’ve got anxiety then?” “Yeah,” Tony sighs. “My mind just… Doesn’t stop. Never. Not without the meds.” “Is that why you’re… y’know, eh- So tense all the time?” “Nice choice of words,” Tony laughs. “You can call me an asshole. I don’t mind. I know how shitty I am - don’t worry.” He hates how self-loathing it sounds. But then, he does loathe himself, so where’s the lie? “The anxiety’s the reason Pepper keeps Morgan away from me.”

“Wait what?” Peter’s eyes widen. “What happened?” “Nothing happened. I swear- I might be a wreck, but whenever Morgan is around it’s different, y’know? My focus is on her. Fully.” Tony breathes out. Dammit, he can’t believe he’s telling Peter all of this. Peter doesn’t push for more, instead, he waits for Tony to keep talking. Tony sniffs. “I still have my emergency meds though. They’re much stronger, not meant for daily use. They make me sleepy and foggy and unattentive. I’ve never taken one with Morgan there, but Pepper… She thinks it’s a hazard. In her eyes, it makes me a bad father.”

Tony presses his lips together and feels another wave of tears flood his eyes. “Pepper and I never dated. Morgan was, eh, an accident from a one night stand. “I’ve supported Pepper from day one. I paid for everything she and Morgan could possibly need. I even canceled shows to babysit her whenever she wanted a night off…” “How long has this been going on for?” Peter asks quietly. Tony shrugs. At this point he, funnily enough, told Peter so much he doesn’t even care about oversharing anymore. His secrets are out anyway. “My drug allergy started about a year ago. I haven’t seen her in eight months…” Tony laughs bitterly. “You remember my ‘shitty day’ on New Year’s Eve? Pepper was supposed to come to watch the show with Morgan. Of course, not backstage for their privacy- but in the crowd, y’know? I’d meet them a few blocks away before the show…” Tony swallows. “Pepper never showed up and blocked my number and social media.”

“Jesus fuck,” Peter mutters. “That’s… I can’t believe she’d do that. Tony, for real, can’t you just sue her?” “I could,” Tony says quietly. If he’d get a dollar for each time that that thought crossed his mind, he’d be a billionaire by now. “But it’s only a matter of time before some crap journalist finds out. I’d throw Morgan in the spotlights and that’s the one thing I don’t want.” “Right, I… I didn’t think about that.” Peter shakes his head. “Fuck.” “Yeah, it’s a real Catch-22.” “What’s that?” “Doesn’t matter. I’m fucked. That’s what it means.” Tony stands up from the bed, suddenly restless. He paces back and forth. The room is so infinitely small and he groans. His chest aches when the reality of his own words hit home full force. 

“I’m fucked, so fucked. Goddammit!”

Tony had been somewhat calm throughout the talk. Now, his fingers are tingling and it’s only then that he notices his shallow breathing.  “Fuck,” he rushes out and reaches for his small travel bag. “Talking about Xanax, I’m gonna need one now- I need…” He should’ve known that talking about this was inevitably going to set him off. He wishes he didn’t need it. He wishes Peter wouldn’t see him like this. But he knows that if he doesn’t take one he’s not going to calm down anytime soon. “Need water?” Peter asks, clearly trying to help. Tony just nods, unable to say anything else. His fingers finally find the bottle with his pills and he chews on his bottom lip as he tries to open the lid. His hands are shaky, though, and his panic grows when he can’t seem to take it off.

“Here,” Peter gently mumbles. “Lemme help.” The boy crouches down and takes the bottle from Tony’s hands. He opens it and hands Tony one of the pills together with a glass of water. Tony gratefully takes it- too tired to fight it. He sticks the pill into his mouth and quickly chugs it down with the water. He knows he’s still gonna have to wait for the actual effects to kick in, but knowing how he’ll feel once it does, helps him to not lose himself to the whims of his body.

“I’m… Just gonna lie down,” he mutters. “Can you maybe, uhm, God, I’m sorry. Can you maybe distract me a bit until I calm down?” “Of course. Wanna hear about the early days of The Arachnoids?” Peter suggests while Tony crawls under the covers. He tugs his legs into his chest and closes his eyes. No more thinking. Peter doesn’t second-guess Tony’s request and that tugs at Tony’s heart. Peter’s been nothing but nice, even helping him after being such an asshole to him for days on end. Tony knows he doesn’t deserve this, knows he- “Alright, so, we had to do this weird as fuck school project once. MJ was the first one who came up with…”

-

Thirty minutes later, Tony finally starts to feel the familiar, drowsy feeling he’s been longing for so much. Peter’s still talking. Tony isn’t actively listening to the words anymore. Instead, he lets Peter’s voice rain down on him. He never realized quite how pleasant the boy’s voice is. Soft and warm, with hints of excitement seeping through whenever he tells a part he’s passionate about. It’s nearly meditative. “...and then we got the invite to play for The Avengers, and that’s where we are now!” Peter ends his story, voice cheerful and light.

“Thank you,” Tony whispers and he hates how much his voice still wavers. “I needed that.” A small breath leaves Peter’s lips before he speaks.  “Of course, Tony. I’m here whenever you need me, ‘kay?” “Y-yeah. Okay.” Tony tugs at the sheets to hide his body underneath it a little more. The soft, thick fabric feels so incredibly soothing against his skin that it nearly makes him tear up again. He stares when Peter’s head turns to look at him, the glimmering of the boy’s eyes reflecting the tiny bit of light that still enters the room through the curtains. “If you need a hug,” Peter whispers so gently it’s almost unfair. “-I’m right here. All you have to do is ask.”

“I don’t need a hug,” Tony mutters before he even realizes it. “That’d… Be weird, wouldn’t it?” Tony already feels weak enough. Admitting he needs a pair of strong arms around him is something he could never do. “Alright, what if we flip it around, huh?” Peter smiles. “If I’d say I want to give you a hug right now, would you accept it?” “I…” Tony frowns and blinks a few times when he realizes that, while it’s the same thing, somehow this doesn’t trigger any form of resistance inside of his body. He’s painfully aware of the point Peter’s making here. “Yes.”

Peter hums and shifts a little closer. Tony swallows when he feels how the boy’s arms wrap around his rigid body. The first thing Tony notices is how soft and warm Peter’s skin is. The second thing is how Peter cuddles up to him completely. Yes, that feels so good.

The third thing… He can’t even think about that anymore. His mind drifts off into the dark depths of his mind. The darkness doesn’t swallow him, though. No. It’s warm. And cozy. 

Safe.

-

Next Chapter >> 9: Wary Words

[pengiesama]

Lucia Fex and Lio Fotia's Great Big Tiddy Heist (starring Lucia Fex and Lio Fotia) (Fic, Promare, Galo/Lio, Aina/Lucia)

Title: Lucia Fex and Lio Fotia's Great Big Tiddy Heist (starring Lucia Fex and Lio Fotia) Series: Promare Pairing: Galo/Lio, Aina/Lucia

Summary:

“We are both gonna score ourselves a big titty firefighter,” Lucia said. “One for you, and one for me. Are you in or are you a coward?”

Lucia has a devious plan to get a hot date and Lio is going to help whether he likes it or not.

Link: AO3

Read on Tumblr!

“You and me,” Lucia drawled, leaning in close. “Me and you. You and I, we’re not so different.”

Her teeth flashed in a dangerous grin. Lio stared back at her, his expression completely blank. He took another sip of his bubble tea.

“We are both persons of culture,” Lucia continued, undeterred. “Even though our tastes may not align completely, we both are passionate about a singular core concept.”

She waited for Lio to ask her what that core concept was. Lio continued to just stare her down across the café table, drinking his tea. There wasn’t anything left in the cup, however, so there came only loud slurping noises interrupted by a thwump when a tapioca bubble was sucked into the straw.

“We can both help each other,” Lucia continued. “To achieve our goals.”

Silence. Slurping. Thwump.

“I broke you out of prison for this, so you could at least have the decency to be curious,” Lucia said. “I’m being all ominous here. I’m even petting Vinny all ominously.”

Vinny squeaked on Lucia’s lap at the sound of his name. Lucia stroked his back with her full hand; ominously, as previously indicated.

Lio sighed deeply. “…what is the goal,” he asked, flatly.

It was like a shark scenting blood in the water, with a toothy grin to match. Lucia leaned and dragged Lio in by the collar; the motion causing their foreheads to smack together hard.

“We are both gonna score ourselves a big titty firefighter,” Lucia said. “One for you, and one for me. Are you in or are you a coward?”

Lio opened his mouth to speak, but there was no time for discussion when giant juicy tits were on the line. They could bounce away at any moment, lost forever! Bouncing, jiggling off into the distance; never again within the reach of Lucia’s waiting grabby hands. Also that ass too. There was just too much riding on this.

Lucia whistled, and a walker mech crashed through the café wall.

“Our ride’s here,” Lucia said.

The walker mech secured Lio in its grip before he could bolt. Lucia tucked Vinny safely into her pocket before she hopped into the pilot seat.

“We’re off to my secret lab.”

 --

 “Galo. I got word that Lio was broken out of prison for the third time this week.”

“…”

“None of the usual suspects are involved. I don’t suppose you’d know where he went?”

Galo looked up at Ignis mournfully, sitting on the ground like a sad puppy outside the door.

“The sign says I’m not allowed.”

He pointed to a sign, sloppily-written in marker and taped to the door, reading as follows: LUCIA’S SECRET LAIR!!! MADE FOR KIDNAPPING LIO!!! NO ONE ALLOWED (ESPECIALLY NOT GALO AND AINA.)

“Hmph,” Ignis said, crossing his arms and letting out a short little huff of breath. “That explains why he didn’t turn himself back in yet, at least...”

Lio Fotia, leader of Mad Burnish, was the savior of the planet. He was also partially or directly responsible for a whole lot of crime, and as part of the efforts to re-integrate the former Burnish into society, had willingly submitted to six months of jail time to atone for the actions of all those associated with the Mad Burnish group.

Even without his Burnish abilities, it had taken him less than 48 hours to become the undisputed leader of the prison’s population.

It had taken less than 72 hours for his two henchmen to commit enough petty crimes to be arrested and thrown into the same prison just to get them to stop.

And on top of that, that six-month sentence was interrupted every few days by a new group trying to break Lio out of jail for their own reasons: former Burnish convinced their savior was being held unjustly, anti-Burnish fanatics convinced that he was getting off too easily, and now apparently Lucia, whose motives were as unknown as they were almost certainly nefarious. Lio had always managed to slip his captors, and always headed back to fulfil the rest of his agreed-upon sentence, but…the current situation might require the assistance of a professional hostage negotiation team. Ignis would try using his Dad Voice first, though. The last time the hostage team had to face off against Lucia, she’d made them cry.

Ignis knocked firmly on the locked door.

“Lucia Fex,” he said in a tone that he’d worked hard to cultivate over the years. It was a tone meant to say I’m not mad, just disappointed, and it worked well on most everyone on Burning Rescue…except Lucia. “Open this door right now.”

Lucia cackled from inside. A thumping bass beat was shaking the floor, and flashing colored lights could be seen from the crack under the door.

“You’ll never catch me! I am an evil witch!!” Lucia’s voice was crisp and clear, and coming from the firehouse’s overhead speakers. She’d hacked them, because of course she did. The same thumping music began to blare across the whole building. “I’ve captured the fair prince Lio and I’m making him do drugs and listen to music with swears in it!!”

Galo gasped aloud and leapt to his feet. He backed up, then began to ram himself into the door shoulder-first to dislodge it. It was perfect firefighter form, and Ignis would have taken the time to be proud if Galo hadn’t nearly run him over in the process.

“I’m coming, Lio! JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS! JUST SAY NO!”

“Ughh…”

The hot house beats blaring at top volume throughout the fire house had woken up Aina, who had previously been resting up in the nap room after her turn on the night shift. She blinked blearily at the sign on the door, then at Galo, ramming himself into the door repeatedly. Lucia’s cackling continued non-stop.

“Keep on trying, you’ll never get in! In this next song they say the F-word at least five times!!”

Galo let out a howl of despair and grabbed onto the doorknob with both hands and feet, thrashing himself around to whatever purpose he thought the action would serve.

“LIO! LIO!!”

Aina grumbled and shuffled over to the door in her slippers. She pressed the button on the video intercom.

“Lucia. Can you like, do this later…? I was up all last night…”

She squinted her eyes shut and broke off with a yawn. When she blinked her eyes back open, she saw Lucia staring at her through the video intercom. Leering at her, really.

“Oh…? Have they sent another knight to try and save Prince Lio, and stop the evil witch Lucia Hex?”

Aina was still pretty sleepy, but knew something about that sentence didn’t sound right.

“…isn’t your last name Fex?” Aina settled on asking.

“It’s Hex now ‘cause I’m an evil witch,” Lucia explained.

“Okay,” Aina said. “Can you turn your music down and stop making Galo cry? I’m trying to sleep.”

“I accept your challenge, brave knight!” Lucia said. “WELCOME TO TERRORDOME!”

Trapdoors opened beneath Galo and Aina, and spirited them away to parts unknown. Ignis shook his head and walked away.

 --

 “So, brave knight,” Lucia crooned, flinging herself against the nearest wall to pose like a femme fatale from an old film. “You’ve found me.”

Aina squinted at her. “…why are you dressed like that?”

Lucia was dressed in a witch’s hat and black robes that reached the floor. The sleeves would’ve covered her hands if she hadn’t rolled them up and secured them with what looked like staples. It was…kinda cute, but had she not heard of safety pins?

Lucia rolled her eyes and sighed. “Once again. Evil witch. And…”

The leering returned. And the posing.

“…I could ask the same of you, brave knight.”

Why was Aina dressed like this? She’d literally said that she’d just woken up. She was dressed in a thin tank top and shorts that she’d had since middle school and were way too small on her at this point, but she liked them too much to donate them, they were from her old lacrosse team, and anyway they still fit mostly fine? She tugged on the hem of one leg, self-consciously making sure it was still covering her butt. Anyway, when it came down to it, Galo was the one who was the one who always ran around half-naked—

“LIO! I’M SORRY LIO!” Galo was sobbing hysterically, hugging Lio tightly as he did. He’d just “saved” a very bored and unconcerned Lio from being held captive under a large laundry basket with a heavy book on top of it. “DID SHE MAKE YOU SNORT A WEED!? HOW MANY TIMES DID SHE MAKE YOU SAY BAD WORDS!?!”

Whatever answer Lio might have had to that was lost between Galo’s pecs. Galo squished Lio’s face into his chest even harder, and continued to wail.

“You know,” Lucia said. “I think I’m only an evil witch because I was never hugged tenderly by someone in the possession of a pair of juicy mondo melons.”

“What,” Aina said flatly.

“Look at Lio. He was huge on arson until Galo’s tits came along and smothered that out.” Lucia nodded wisely at her own analysis. “Proof of concept. Come give me a huggy-boo-boo.”

Aina held Lucia back with one hand on her forehead, keeping her at arm’s length before she got within hugging range.

“My sister warned me about you and your hugging,” Aina said. “She saw all you got up to when she TAed your freshman physics class.”

“I’m a changed woman since then!” Lucia squawked, flailing her arms in place. “The years have matured me like fine wine! I’m just looking for a gal to smother me with her honkers for the rest of my natural life!”

“You know, Lucia, she probably would’ve said yes if you’d just asked her out normally,” Galo interrupted. He looked a little out of breath from his crying fit, and was being princess-carried by Lio to the lair’s exit. “Try asking her to the burger shop down on fifth street! They’ve got a picture on the wall of her when she did their mega burger challenge!”

Aina saw Lucia’s eyes go huge at that, and she couldn’t help but shift in place and scratch at her cheek, a little shy.

“I-it was only five pounds…it was nothing special…”

“Nothing special, my foot! That’s like that size of my head!” Lucia retorted. “And I got a big head for my big brain!”

“Well…I could show you, then. Maybe this Friday night?” Aina asked.

Lucia froze in place, processing the statement. She then went beet red, and gave a brief nod before she fumbled a remote out of her sleeve and mashed the big red button on it. Trap doors opened underneath their feet again, and they were spirited out of the lab to be dumped into the break room.

“…it’s a date, then,” Aina mumbled, rubbing her sore head.

“Fex sure talks a big game,” Lio commented. He shifted Galo in his grip and began to walk off. “Anyway, c’mon. You’re treating me to more bubble tea before I head back to prison.”

[thegrandtortoise]

The Exchange Students

Chapter: 3/?

Adhira POV

Fic Summary: Hogwarts decides to create an Inter-House exchange program, and the fifth years of Slytherin House get two unexpected visitors: Enter Adhira Nazari- perceptive, nerdy, Hufflepuff, and Scorpius Malfoy- mysterious Gryffindor that’s caught the eye of Albus Potter. (Alright I’m giving up with this summary there’s like five important characters and I’m too lazy to describe them all. Basically it’s next-gen, there’s a lot of fluff and romance and lgbtq and I’ll try to make it funny okay thanks I hope you like it)

Chapter Summary: It’s fluffy and fun.

Word Count: 1940

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: Spoilers (I will add more as I add chapters so keep a lookout)

A/N:   This chapter was originally going to be am angsty Scorpius POV chapter, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I give you whatever the hell this is.

(ao3 link)

(read from beginning)

Chapter 3: Adhira

            It’s been a few days since I came to Slytherin, and so far it’s been pretty good (aside from a few catfights between the third year girls and the snarky comments that come my way occasionally). It’s Saturday today. A day off, and I had set the day aside to write.

           I’m sitting on my bed, laptop open with a blank word document shining at me. My mind is as empty as my screen. Damn you, writer’s block. I’ve been hoping to get in another chapter of my story today, but it looks like it’s not happening.

           I need inspiration, I think, and open up the Internet.

           My mother told me that when she went to school, electronics didn’t work. Thank god that they do now- I don’t know what I’d do without the Internet.

           I type ‘YouTube’ into the search bar and pull my headphones out from my desk drawer. Lila is trying out a new makeup look in the bathroom and has dragged Tina with her to be her assistant. They haven’t noticed what I’ve been doing. Rose and Veronica are out, probably in the library studying and doing homework.

           I scroll through the list of recommendations, until I finally land on the thing I’m looking for: A new SimplyNailogical video. I’ve been watching her for a couple years now, and she never fails to make me laugh and give me a little push for my writing.

           I’m about halfway through the video, and I guess I laughed out loud because now Tina is standing next to me, looking at the screen curiously. I pull out my headphones and pause the video.

           “What are you watching? Is that a movie?” Tina asks, sitting beside me. Has she never heard of YouTube before?

           “Not exactly. Are you pureblood?” I ask. She nods. Well, that would explain it.

           “Um, it’s this thing called YouTube. People make videos and upload them so anyone can watch them,” I explain.

           “What’s the point of that? Are they like stories?” Tina asks.

           “No, not really. Some people make funny videos, or they rant about stuff. Other people do makeup tutorials, or they just tell people about their life. There’s all sorts of things out there.”

           Tina’s eyes light up. “So, what are you watching right now?”

           I look back at the screen. “This is SimplyNailogical. Her real name is Cristine. She makes nail art tutorials, except they’re really funny and entertaining. She swears a lot though,” I say.

           “Can I watch?”

           “Sure.” I unplug the headphones and turn up the volume. As Cristine buffs in nail powders into her nails and makes drug jokes, I hear Tina chuckling next to me.

           “This is really cool!” she says, leaning in. “Can you show me other videos?”

           Before I can answer though, Lila’s screech erupts from the bathroom.

           “Tina! What are you doing? Leave that poor girl alone and come help me with this! I need to test out this highlighter on you!”

           Tina grins. “Yo, Lila! Come here, I want to show you something cool!”

           “What could possibly be more important than Rihanna’s ‘Trophy Wife’ highlighter?”

           “Just come here, will you?”

           Lila huffs, and sets down her beauty supplies, stalking over. She looks like a ghost with her pale white face, dark drawn out eyebrows and no color on her cheeks.

           “What is it?” she asks, crossing her arms and jutting out her hip.

           “Tell her what you told me,” Tina says, elbowing me in the waist. I repeat what I said to Tina, but don’t get to finish because Lila interrupts me at “makeup tutorials”.

           “Makeup?” she says, that same hungry gleam that I had seen on the first day in her eyes. “Show me.”

           I hurriedly type “Nikkie Tutorials” into the search bar and pull up her page of uploads to show to Lila.

           “Pick one,” I say, gesturing at the screen.

           “These are all makeup looks? And this person will show me how to do it?” Lila asks skeptically, scrolling down the page of thumbnails.

           “Yep.”

           Lila scrolls through a bit more, and settles on a dark red, smoky look that would look absolutely stunning on her. She clicks on the video, and pretty much shoves Tina off the bed and pulls the laptop into her lap. She’s completely engrossed. I open my mouth to explain a little bit more, but she shushes me immediately.

           I hear the door click open, and look up to see Rose and Veronica walk in carrying their bags.

           “What’s going on?” Rose asks us, setting her stuff down on her bed and walking over to join us. Lila shushes her without even looking up. Rose looks at me and Tina questioningly.

           “Lila just discovered YouTube,” I explain quietly.

           “What’s YouTube?”

           “Rose, you pickle, I’ve already told you about this before,” Veronica says. Then she turns to me. “These purebloods, honestly.”

           I’m taken aback. “Are you not pureblood?”

           Veronica shakes her head. “Half-blood, same as you.”

           “What’s YouTube?” Rose asks me again, and Veronica sighs.

           “I’ll explain it to you, dear. I imagine Adhira’s tired of having to explain it,” Veronica offers, and I look at her gratefully as she pulls Rose aside and begins speaking quietly. I definitely like Veronica.

           A loud gasp comes from behind me, and a loud exclamation of, “I HAVE THAT PALETTE!”

           Lila jumps up from the bed (taking the laptop with her, mind you) and begins to search through her bottom dresser drawer, which I recently learned is her makeup drawer. That first night when Lila went to take a shower, Tina had pulled me aside and said, “Rule number one: Don’t touch Lila’s makeup drawer. Ever. You’ll regret it.”

           “Why? Did something happen?” I had asked.

           Tina grimaced. “It was the middle of third year. Rose had this boy she was trying to impress, so she went looking for concealer or something. Ended up in Lila’s drawer. Lila caught her in the act, and all hell broke loose. Rose couldn’t even go near Lila’s bed for two weeks without getting yelled at, or at least a nasty look. It was terrible.”

           I now have no intention of going anywhere near Lila’s dresser. She can do what she wants with her makeup.

           Lila seems to have found her eyeshadow palette, because now she’s standing back in front of the mirror, switching between watching the video and applying makeup to her eyelids. It takes another couple minutes, but soon Lila looks like she’s done with one eye, and satisfied. She comes back with the laptop, half her face made up and the other half a ghost.

           “Adhira, you are an angel,” Lila declares, handing the laptop back to me. “These videos are absolutely incredible. Are there more people like this?”

           I blush a little at her compliment. “Oh, it’s nothing. And yeah, there’s actually like this whole beauty community on YouTube, and they all have different styles of makeup looks and they do reviews of new products too. I can show you if you’d like?”

           Lila smiles widely. “Well, I’m going to finish this makeup look first and perhaps take a couple photos, but perhaps later tonight? You’re such a darling!” Then she bounces back to the bathroom and continues on to her other eye.

           “Look at you, already on Miss Kim’s good side and not even a week in. Quite an achievement, I have to say,” Tina remarks, clapping a little. “So, are you going to show me some other videos or what?”

           A couple hours later and the five of us have settled onto the floor, lying down around my laptop watching Dan and Phil play games.

           “They’re so cute! Are they dating?” Rose asks, leaning on her elbows. I laugh. She would fit in perfectly with the online fan base.

           “Well, not officially but lots of fans think they are. A lot of people ship them,” I answer.

           “What’s shipping?”

Me and Veronica exchange knowing looks and laugh a little more. Perhaps we should keep shipping a secret for now.

           “…Let’s not get into that right now.”

           “Oh. Okay.” Rose says, turning her attention back to the screen. I’m surprised by her complacency, but I don’t question it. Rule number two: Don’t question Rose.

           Phil closes the video by putting his hand over the camera lens and the screen goes black.

           “Do you guys want to watch more?” I ask. I usually don’t watch more than two or three videos per day- mostly just the new uploads from the channels I’m subscribed to, but today we’ve watched about fifteen already.

           “Yes!” comes the unanimous answer, and I smile and shake my head. They were going to be addicted for a couple weeks now. Oh well, what can you do?

           “Can we watch another makeup video?” Lila asks and the rest of us groan.

           “We’ve already watched three, Lila! Can’t you give it a break?” Veronica moans. “Here, give the laptop to me, Adhira, I want to show you something.”

           I push the laptop towards Veronica and watch as she types something into the search bar.

           “What are you guys doing?”

           I snap my head up to look at the open doorway where Kaito and Matt are standing, their eyebrows furrowed. I immediately sit up on my knees and pull my headscarf tighter. It’s become a habit now, adjusting my headscarf whenever there were boys in the vicinity.

           “Hey, guys,” Tina greets.

           “Adhira’s shown us the YouTube,” Rose answers, without looking up.

           Veronica snickers. “’The YouTube.’ Rose, you popsicle stick, it’s just YouTube, not ‘the YouTube,’” she corrects. I’m really starting to enjoy her creative name calling.

           “What could possibly be so interesting that Veronica’s put down her book?” Kaito asks, leaning against the door and raising a brow. I look over at Veronica and yes, she has in fact abandoned her book. She must like YouTube a lot. She finishes typing in her search, clicks around a little bit, and turns the laptop around so Kaito and Matt can see.

           “This.”

           Another hour has passed. Matt and Kaito have joined us, as well as the other boys. Veronica introduced us to animation YouTube (we binged through five Domics videos), moved on through gaming (I thought the boys might like this better, though they’re a little too screechy for me), had a brief interval with Dude Perfect which Sebastian seemed to enjoy, and now we are in the middle of a mind-twisty video by KickthePJ.

           “How did we not know about these before?” Matt asks, putting his chin in his hand. “These are so cool.”

           “Y’all are just hella oblivious,” I say, and immediately realize how weird that sounded coming out of my mouth, because everyone turns to stare at me. “Sorry, sometimes my American slang comes out of nowhere,” I say quickly.

           Matt just smiles his super-cute, Charming TM smile and shakes his head a little bit, turning his attention back to the screen.

           “That was an experience,” Tina murmurs, wiggling her brows, still watching the screen.

           “What other surprises does our little Adhira have in store for us?” Sebastian wonders aloud, and I can’t help but giggle.

           I hadn’t had a lot of friends back in Hufflepuff. They were all put off by my quietness and my reserved demeanor. But here, looking around at my new housemates all enthralled by a video playing on a screen, I can’t help but feel that I’ve come to the right place. That I’ve come home.

           The PJ video finishes, and the room is silent for a moment.

           And then: “Can we watch a makeup video?”

           “Lila, you spork.”