#we both thought of how when we're too old to remember the voices of our friends we would like to stand in the pathway of the LHC beam pipe

[oatbugs]

Jack Marsh (2005), Friendship Otherwise - Toward a Levinasian Description of Personal Friendship

[misshugs]

The Cameragirl || snc

You've been Sam and Colby's cameragirl for some time now. Usually, nothing too crazy happened to you in most investigations, but this time...

warnings: paranormal activity, reader getting attacked, near death experience, strangling(?), cursing, angst?

a/n: took a bit of inspo after watching the boys' video of the asylum, but nothing exactly like it. just the fact that the place is an asylum

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

word count: 3.6k

[u n e d i t e d]

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

As they were making their iconic intro and explaining what this new place was about, you made sure to have a sturdy pulse whilst filming them.

"Today, it's just me, Sam and our lovely cameragirl, Y/n." Colby said, letting you shift the camera towards your face and smile at it.

"Hello there." You said, making sure your face was extremely close to the camera, merely because it has become your way of introducing yourself.

"And since it's only us today like the good old days, we decided to make something fun. ALL of us." Sam explained to the camera and smirked, looking directly at you.

You batted your eyes, looking at them while they kept on smiling menancingly at you. "This wasn't a part of the contract." You said, gaining a laugh from both of them.

You zoomed onto his face and began talking with this soft, almost narrative voice. A voice you very well knew they enjoyed. "What is this oh so fun idea you seem to be hyping about, mr. Golbach?"

"Why thank you for asking." Sam nodded slightly, moving his attention towards the camera. "The three of us are gonna do a little challenge tonight." He clapped his hands together as you began unzooming the camera, putting Colby back on frame.

"That's right, we're going to walk alone, lights out throughout some of the most haunted corridors from this place." Colby continued. "The owners of this place told us it gets freaky when people are alone, so we thought this might get us some good activity."

"We have some cameras with nightvision but we're not gonna see shit." Sam added, "After a while, we all should find our way back to the main lobby."

"So stay until the end to see how that's gonna turn out." Colby says, getting close to the camera before covering it with his hand, making you stop the recording for the cut.

"That was pretty good." You said, looking at the video slightly.

"You're still good with the challenge, right?" Sam asked, looking at you. You scoffed.

"Please. I wouldn't have come if I wasn't sure about it. Remember you told me about it before the video?"

"I know, I know. Just making sure, you know how I am." He laughs. "Wouldn't want you to do something you're not comfortable with."

"You're saying that like we haven't known eachother for how long?"

He chuckles. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Alright, so since we're all settled, should we start right away?" Colby chimed in, looking at both of you.

"Not yet. This place has some good cinematic potential, lemme cook first." You said, looking around with your flashlight.

"Aight, we'll let you do your thing, I'll go ahead and look for the equipment." Colby said.

"Oh, shoot. I forgot to ask the owners about something." Sam said, taking out his phone.

"Go out with Colby, I'll be here waiting." You said, fixing back your camera to start recording.

"Alone?" They both asked, looking at eachother and then at you.

"I do my best work alone, gentlemen. You know that." You begin walking towards the shadiest corridor you've seen in your life, without even looking back.

"Oh wow. Fearless. She's trying to do the challenge before us." Colby laughed.

"Alright, I'll be super quick. If anything happens, just yell. As loud as you can." Sam said, smiling.

"Copy that." You laughed.

In the blink of an eye, you were left alone. You were used to these type of things, so it didn't bother you much. You've somehow become numb to all of this paranormal adventuring.

And that was one of the main reasons why you liked to take control of the camera, since you were able to keep your cool in stressful situations, making it easier for the viewers later on.

Plus, you didn't know how to act on camera and they were the professionals... allegedly.

Whenever something odd happened, you made sure to try and record as much as you could, in the best angles possible. You liked to joke around and call yourself a professional in your craft, although sometimes it wasn't even a joke.

You were passionate about it. The videos and the ghosts, it was only natural to try and do more, risk yourself to do something more interesting and outgoing.

That's a piece of yourself they loved about you. You were simply a perfect match in their combo.

As you began to do your cinematic, you began to have shivers. A sudden draft of air passing through you, as if a window suddenly opened.

Looking around, there was no possible way of that happening. You were in the middle of the corridor, absolutely no chance of an air draft simply passing through so randomly.

You thought it might've been a bit odd, but nothing you haven't felt before anyways. While you kept on making some videos, an eerie feeling of someone watching crossed over your spine.

The sensation of a presence slowly getting closer to you behind your back.

Almost feeling the heat of another person behind you, towering over you.

Hurriedly looking back, you were met with Sam's hand almost touching your shoulder. He stopped midway, knowing he got caught trying to scare you. "You bitch." You spit out, making him laugh.

"Damn it!" He said mid laugher. "I was so quiet this time, how do you always seem to know?"

"I can feel you lurking closer, you stalker." You looked away from his gaze, trying to ignore the thoughts of his pretty face. You began walking back to where he came from, meeting Colby in the process.

"I'm not a stalker, if anything, I'm protecting."

"Quietly from the shadows, sounds like a stalker to me, but you do you." You smiled softly, looking at the confused Colby.

"I left for a second, what did I miss?"

"Stalker behavior, nothing else." You said, putting your camera up again and ready to record.

Colby shook his head from side to side, already being on your side of the story without even asking further questions. "I can't believe you brother."

"Wha- it wasn't-..." Sam sighed, defeated. He knew you were joking, so he wasn't going to win anyways.

You laughed and pointed the camera at them. "Ready when you are." They nodded and you began to record.

"So as you can see, in our hands we have some devices that we'll scatter throughout this first room. If you've been here before, you'll probably be familiar, but if you haven't, these are basically some motion censor devices that will let us know if something walks infront of it." Colby explained, turning one of the devices on and showing to the camera how it worked.

As they organized everything, the REM-POD immediately began beeping. "Oh, shit. That's the rem pod." Sam said, stopping on its tracks. "That was the temperature dropping."

You made sure the camera caught that as you got closer to it. "Oh fuck. I was feeling a bit cold since we got here." Colby added. "Alright. I think we're ready."

"Okay. If there's any spirit around that would like to communicate with us, we would like for you to use any of these devices we've put up for you." Sam started, as you made sure to get far enough from everything for the shot.

"You can touch these lights on the floor, or maybe this device I have on my hand." Colby continued, pointing towards the EMF reader. "We mean no harm, we'd just like to talk to someone."

A couple of seconds passed, looking around, waiting for something to happen.

"Maybe they don't want..." Sam began, before getting interrupted by the REM-POD beeping, making you hurriedly move your camera angle. "Oop. Nevermind. Thank you very much. Can you do that again if you're here with us? To let us know it wasn't something else?"

Silence filled the room for a while, before the device started to beep once again.

Excited, they began asking questions to this entity, expecting for it to be somewhat intelligent enough to give answers back.

Luckily, it was. It seemed to be someone that died inside the asylum, a woman. Curious about the story of this woman, they kept on asking questions. Some of them being answered, others being completely ignored.

Asides from the constant beep from their device, you heard a knock coming from one of the corridors. Quickly looking around, they stopped talking. "What?" Colby asked.

"Heard something." You whispered. The room went silent, followed by what sounded like footsteps getting closer. You turn the camera back at them and their faces were shocked.

"Holy fuck." Sam whispered.

"That was like... thumps. We're the only ones here, right?" Colby asked him.

"Yeah, we're supposed to be." Sam says, walking towards the place they heard the sound, quietly. You followed close behind. "Hello?"

Nothing. They kept on looking around, searching and at the same time waiting for something else to happen. "There's no one here." Colby says. "But that was clear as day."

"Super clear, the camera must've have heard that, for sure." Sam said, looking at you as you nodded. "That was crazy."

"Yeah, let's try something else but closer to this area, maybe it's more active." Colby said, and all of you nodded.

A couple of minutes later, and you were all set up. This time around, they turned on a spirit box to try and communicate better.

The idea was to first use it as normal, then for Colby to do the Estes Method.

And so, the spirits began to talk.

"What's this." It spat out. Colby and Sam looked at eachother, smiling.

"Hello, this is a spirit box, you can use it to communicate with us. Would you mind telling us who you are?" Sam said, looking around.

"Hello?"

"Hi, hello." Colby responded. "Who are we talking to."

"I'm scared."

"Scared? Scared of what?" Colby asked, furrowing his eyebrows whilst looking at the camera.

"Behind you."

They quickly looked behind them. "Oh, fuck. I hate that." Colby said, as you smiled at their gestures.

It quickly faded away when you felt the familiar presence of someone behind you.

Heart racing, you looked around for a second, but there was nothing there. It didn't mean the feeling went away, though.

"Monster. Care..." It seemed the audio cut before finishing the whole word.

"Monster... care?" Sam asked, confused.

"Or maybe it meant careful? Like, careful of the monster?" Colby questioned.

"It would make sense. What monster are you talking about? Is it harming you? Are you scared of this monster... or... person?"

It took a while before responding. Last thing it said, before a screech filled the radio was... "Run."

Quickly, they turned it off. They looked at eachother. "That was terrifying." Colby said. Sam nodded and sighed.

"Let's try and look around for some other place. This doesn't feel safe." Sam said and everyone agreed.

For the past hour of recording, moving around and joking here and there, you felt a bit uncomfortable. Usually, you weren't the type to get scared over the paranormal, but this place felt more eerie than usual.

You heartbeat has been increasing slowly, as well as a slight pain in your chest that quickly faded. You felt watched.

There was a point where you even felt slightly touched, quickly warning the boys about it.

Due to this, they almost discarted the idea completely, thinking you might be getting targeted, scared that it might do something to you. It took you a couple of minutes of convincing them to keep on recording before the conversation was dismissed.

You tried to brush it all off, as 'something you've felt before', but deep down you were really anxious about it. Perhaps it made you feel better to think about it being just the nerves.

But you weren't the type of person to feel these nerves for no reason.

"Hey, you good?" Colby touched your shoulder and whispered to you, noticing you seemed a bit weird. "You seem out of it today."

"Yeah, I'm good. I was just zoning out."

"Yeah, I noticed." He chuckled, looking into your eyes. "You sure you're okay though?" He raised an eyebrow, seemingly concerned. "You don't look well."

"What? Do I look like a ghost to you?" You asked, smiling, which quickly made him show that gorgeous smile you loved.

"More like you've seen one." You shook your head.

"I'm fine. I've just seen some shadows running in the corners of my eye, but nothing too big to point out."

He batted his eyes. "You've what?"

"Calm down, you know I see those things all the time. It's nothing new." Half of it was true. The other half, well... there was a chance you might've seen a whole figure standing close to a doorframe, but you felt your imagination was tricking you too much tonight, so you didn't say anything.

You weren't a psychic or a medium or something close to it anyways. If anything, you'd probably consider it more like a hallucination due to the constant lack of sleep you've been having lately.

"I know, I know, but still. You could tell us about it, you know? Maybe we all see the same thing you do and since you don't point it out, we don't notice."

You rolled your eyes playfully. You were about to say something, but a breeze passed through your ear, a soft whisper saying "Come play."

You jumped, covering your ear and walking closer to Colby. "Shit." You whispered.

Confused, he held your shoulders. "What? What? You heard something?" His worry was enough for Sam to stop setting the cameras up and walk closer.

"What happened?" He asked. You looked around where you were standing.

"Did you guys not hear that?" You asked, the shook their heads. "I heard something like... right next to me." When you said that, Sam began recording once again.

"Alright, so... apparently Y/n just heard something right next to her." He began explaining to the camera, pointing it at you.

"It was like a whisper, it.. uh... it just said 'come play', like, the creepiest shit you can say. I even felt the air on my ear, that shit made me jump." You tried laughing about it to not let the mood down, but it wasn't working much.

"Although I really want to, maybe we shouldn't do the challenge." Colby said, looking at Sam straight in the eyes, genuinely worried.

"Guys. Come on. Don't back down when we're this close." You said. "We're basically done for tonight, this is the last thing we're doing and we're out, right?"

"...yeah." Sam whispered. "Let's..." He sighed. "Let's do it. Just like she said, we walk through the corridor and come back straight away."

Althought skeptical, Colby nodded. "Fine. Let's hurry up then. The quicker we begin, the quicker we're leaving this place."

And so, everyone held their cameras and said their goodbyes. The three of you went through your respective corridors and began walking, alone, with no light.

"Alright guys. I'm not good at, like, talking to the camera but I'll try." You sighed, pointing the camera at your face while slowly walking the dark corridor.

"Honestly? I'm usually not as creeped out when we come to places like this, but this one is like... up there. It's giving me the chills, making me paranoid, I feel like I'm... seeing thing. Or maybe I'm just sleep deprived. That's... that's also an option now that I think about it."

Looking around with the camera, although it's absolutely useless, you started feeling out of breath. Almost as if the air didn't reach your lungs anymore. "It feels... hard to breathe." You took a deep inhale and shakily exhaled.

You gulped, your throat suddenly feeling dry as the lack of oxygen was evident.

"I'm just gonna walk... faster. I wanna get this over with..." And so, you did. But the further away you got, the worse it all felt. You felt your vision starting to get blurry although you could barely see anything.

You paused as your vision began to get used to the darkness.

At the end of the corridor, what you could shape out like a human figure was standing there. Seemingly the same one you barely saw before.

This time, it didn't seem to go away.

You were also alone.

Unable to breathe.

You don't know when it started, but you were unable to breathe properly. You choked, trying to regain yourself from the feeling.

Your neck feeling tight, your stomach hurting at the sudden feeling.

Putting your hands on your neck, you coulnd't feel anything that would make you feel this way. You started to get worried.

You felt as if you were being choked. You tried to scream, but all that you could spat out from your lips was a soft, quiet, 'help'.

Trying to turn around and walk back, you saw the figure again and got scared, falling towards the floor. You coughed for air, sucking back as much as you could but being unable to.

Leaving the camera behind, you tried to crawl back to where you came from, but the lack of circulation on your body failed you as you coulnd't handle it anymore.

Your body falling on the floor, the camera seemingly recording your movements come to a halt.

Your eyes closing, leaving you unconscious.

It didn't take long before Sam and Colby got back to the lobby. Waiting for you, something seemed off.

They knew the corridor wasn't as long as theirs. You should've been the first one out by that logic. They've been waiting long enough and they were starting to get worried.

Even though the concept of the challenge was to be alone in the darkness, the idea of you being in trouble was too much to bare.

Heck, even if you were pranking them, the anxiety of you not coming back on time was driving them insane, they were ready for a scare if it had to come to that.

But the scare they were expecting wasn't the one they got.

Minutes of walking and calling out your name came to a stop when they saw you on the floor.

Hurriedly, they ran towards you and fell to the floor, yelling out your name. "This isn't funny, Y/n!" Sam yelled, moving your body, only to notice how cold you felt. His heart sank.

"Y/n, come on!" Colby said, putting himself on the other side, looking at Sam. The color from his face was gone when he felt her body. Colby, worried, touched your body and understood why he looked that way. "Oh, fuck. Fuck!"

Throwing the camera to the side, Colby quickly checked your pulse. "Sam. Call 911. This is serious." You still had a pulse, but you weren't breathing. First thing that came to his mind was CPR.

While Sam began to call, Colby was trying as hard as he could to help out. He began doing mouth to mouth, trying to bring some oxygen back to your lungs.

Tears streaming down both of their faces. Colby started making compressions to your chest, while Sam was talking to the 911 dispatcher and using the flashlight to illuminate Colby.

Luckily, they weren't too late. You began to cough and moved to the side to spit out some saliva. You breathed heavily and both of the guys sighed in relief.

As you tried to catch your breath, they softly held you up in place while your color came back to you. You blinked a couple of times, adjusting your view to your surroundings.

When you looked at them, they hugged you tight. "Fuck..." Sam whispered. "Let's get the fuck out of here right now." He held you softly and helped you out, as Colby grabbed all of the cameras.

It was hard for you to walk. It felt as if a ton of weight was keeping you from even standing up. It felt as if your limbs went numb, the lack of oxygen probably acting up.

Sam noticed, and didn't hesitate on holding you up and putting you on his back so that you could rest. They began walking as fast as they could, reassuring you that you will be fine.

You were focused on getting your breath back while listening to them scream at the spirits.

"You are not allowed to follow us home." Listening to Colby talk like this, while taking all of the equipment made you feel light. You started moving your arms and made sure to hold onto Sam, closing your eyes.

"You'll be okay. We're leaving." Sam reassured you, waiting for Colby to grab everything and get out of there in a rush.

After the police arrived and handed you an oxygen mask, you started feeling much better. You had some marks on your neck, like some hands were just squishing the air out of you.

Your body... at first, you could even see your veins pop out of your legs because of your lack of color. The poor circulation that ran through your body for a couple of minutes really drove your body to its limit somehow.

It took you a while to be able to stand on your two feet again, but before the police left you could walk on your own just fine. Sam and Colby however still managed to help you out.

"Let's head back home." Sam whispered to you. You nodded slightly and tried to walk on your own, only to be held up by Colby.

"Don't force yourself right now. You need some rest." He said, taking you back to the car. Your face having a rush of blood because of the gesture.

"I... I can walk."

"Let us do this. Please. It's too much already that you fainted right when we weren't with you." Sam said, looking at you, your heart racing at the look of his blue eyes upon you. You gulped.

"...f..fine." You said, resting your head on Colby's chest, making him smile.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

part two is up!! the link is in the beginning! <3

thanks for reading all the way! likes, comments and requests are much appreciated.

-nikkõ

[nogenderbee]

Hi bee, may I rqs oneshot Reo with childhood friends to lover trope?

So reader and Reo are childhood bestie but they both separate for years because reader's parents have a job or something to do that make reader need to follow their parents and leave Reo behind but they made promise that they will meet each other again eventhough they don't know when. Until few years later, they both meet again and surprisingly reader in the same school as Reo

Absolutely! I may or may've not had a bit too much fun with this... but hopefully you'll still like it as much as I enjoyed writing this! ^^

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Reo meeting childhood friend!reader

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ no one in TagList

You finally came back to your native city after almost 10 years. You knew there was absolutely no chance for any of your old friends remembering you so you decided to start a new life here.

You were just going through corridors of your new school as you tried finding your class. You brough the paper a bit closer to your face trying to read small letters, you didn't even noticed person coming from the opposite direction which of course lead to you two bumping into each other and loosing your balance a bit.

When you looked up you saw a boy with short purple hair and purple eyes, you were almost 100% sure it was one of your childhood friends, Reo Mikage. You wanted to ask him if it's really him right here and now but you just had to make sure he was alright first.

"Are you okey? Sorry for bumping into you..."

"Y/N? When did you came back?"

But it looks like boy you bumped into wasn't so patient, maybe he was even more excited to see you than you were to see him!

"Just three days ago... Reo? Right? You go to this school?"

"That's me. And yes, I do but looking at your plan, I don't think we're in the same clas... I can walk you to your class tho?"

He said as he handed you your plan after having quick look at it. At least you don't need to worry about finding your next class anymore!

"That'd be great! Thanks a lot!"

"Absolutely no problem."

He answered with small smile before he showed you your next class. On your way he also exchanged phone numbers with you and shared his plan with you so you two can meet whenever you'd like.

"How about I walk you home after classes? I'd be nice to catch up, wouldn't it?"

"Oh totally! Where should we meet?"

"Just wait for me in front of your last class, I will find you."

You nodded at his small suggestion. It was nice way of him saying he doesn't want you to get lost... but it's still nice to see him caring for you like it used to be!

Once final bell rang, you excitedly packed yourself. Not only because you were finally reunited with your best friend but also because you were getting reunited with your crush! You still remember your cute little crush you had when you were children. Some might think you got over it by the years but it wasn't your case... if anything it grew a lot stronger!

"Hello Y/N! Are you ready to go?"

Familiar voice woke you up from your thoughts and catched you off guard as well, leading to you being a bit more nervous. Not necessarily because you were the shy type but because the person you were daydreaming off just now woke you up fromm your exact daydreams.

"Y-Yeah! Let's go!"

But luckily for you, he didn't seemed to notice and slowly walked with you towards your place. Basically it was him guiding you to school gate but from there, you took the lead! But of course, it wasn't a quite walk as the two of you had a lot to catch up!

"I still find it impossible we met so easily you know? I mean... what are the chances I ended up in the same school as you after so many years!?"

"Heh~ Well I'm not really complaining. I know it may seem childish but I think it may be our promise doing it's thing..."

"Huh? What promise?"

Your question made small smile of Reo's turn into one of embarrassment and shyness as his cheeks became slightly more pink.

"Oh... it's fine if you don't remember. It was quite a lot of time that passed..."

He finally looked back at you, back with that small smile of his.

"I remember us promising we'll meet again, no matter how long it takes. Heh~ I even promised I'll fly over whole world just to find you."

That explanation finally hit you, you weren't even watching over your words anymore. You just enjoyed those childhood memories coming back to your head.

"Ah right, now I remember! It was around that time when I barely confessed to you about my crush! Hehe~ I can't believe you remembered it."

"C-Crush?"

When you looked back at Reo you noticed him blushing and with slighly wide eyes. That sight caused you to realize what you just said... and your cheeks also became a bit more red as you thought of possible ways of getting out of this situation.

"W-Well... uhh... hehe... we... we were kids! You know how kids are... uh... silly ideas and all! Heh..."

"Heh, yes... you're right..."

The two of you walked in silence for a little while. You were just about to break it by starting some new topic but it looks like your friend was faster than you.

"Do you still... feel the same?"

He was looking away, his cheeks were burning right now! Could it be that he... felt something for you as well?

You ran away from your crush once, when you were a child. And now world decided to give you another chance and if he's not giving you hints he likes you, then you may as well change school because there's no way you're keeping it in again! Someone needs to be the brave one here!

You collected all your courage and looked straigh at him as you said your next words.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

It was easy to say your sudden eye contact made the boy next to you more flustered but he tried his best to also collect his courage. He didn't wanted you to get the wrong idea after all!

"Would you believe me if I said I do too? Since we were children actually..."

His sudden confession got you a bit surprised. Not only because he loved you as well right now but because he had a crush on you as children and you didn't notice anything!!

"Seriously!? So we both were oblivious of each others feelings for this long...?"

"I-It looks like so..."

In that moment you arrived at your place, as if world wanted to ruin this beatiful moment for both of you. Boy knew where this will go so he gently grabbed your hand, also making you look at him.

"In that case... would you let me take you to cafe? Tomorrow? After school?"

You just nodded excitedly. Both of you were blushing messes in that moment but it was obvious none of you mind, after all that was the moment when you and your crush finally got together! You thought it'll only happen in you dreams and yet here you are!

He soon let go of your hand but just after he placed a soft kiss on it's back. Before walking away he said few last words...

"I can't wait for tomorrow then~"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

[raysources]

𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊  𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒     —     a collection of one - liners taken from the soundtrack of the 2015 broadway musical, school of rock.   slightly edited for clarity.   change pronouns as necessary.  

just wait and see!

let 'em laugh.

i know my time is comin'.

no one'll call me a loser again!

try to walk as if you're going somewhere.

the pressure's on for you and me.

don't, and it will mean i go ballistic.

good luck, have fun!

just like the good old days!

you've always been a dreamer.

give up your dreams.

your dreams are lame and weak.

we ought to cut the bull and just get real.

give up your dreams, and get a freakin' job.

join the grown - up world like us.

quickly, don't let anybody see you!

how come you never told me you could play music?

you ever play electric guitar?

let's waste that time together, shall we?

you're in the band!

don't forget to emote!

i only play classical.

that's good. for my grandma. who's, uh, dead.

i still don't have a job.

is that something you could swing?

i'm putting you in charge of the whole damn thing!

i pledge allegiance to the band.

if you're in raise your hand!

you never let me get in a word.

no matter what it is that i do, it's like i just can't seem to get through.

i've got so much to say.

still, you never listen.

can't you see i'm hurting?

i promise, one day i'll make you hear.

i'm not the kid you want me to be.

you just don't wanna see the real me.

you just keep shutting me out.

i'm not gonna beg you — you'll never see a tear.

the legend of the rent was way past due.

how can you kick me out of what is mine?

you're not hardcore unless you live hardcore.

what it all can mean is quite confounding.

the children all like him more than us.

who knows what he does but god, it works!

maybe we too could do some good.

there's been one solution since the world began : don't just sit and take it, stick it to the man!

get all of your aggression out.

stick it to the man!

go off the script, do what you like.

they hate it, they can take a hike.

why live your life to someone else's plan?

crank the amps to 17!

don't just sit and take it, stick it to the man!

show 'em what rebellion means!

why march to someone else's caravan?

there's no way you can stop the school of rock!

i'm in charge!

go punk, or start packing.

it's time to play!

come on, this isn't hard!

make sure he remembers, or i'm breaking both your necks.

we don't have time to waste while you try to find some taste!

i can still remember how the music used to be.

where do last year's one - hit - wonders go to?

what happened to the girl i was?

guess the songs kept playing, but i didn't stop to hear.

where's the joy i used to know, way back when?

sorry for the outburst.

let's keep this our secret, who'd believe it anyway?

thanks for the reminder that there's music in me yet.

if you flip the record and start over, does it sound the way it did before?

he can barely read!

i promise you, i can read!

we're gonna sue!

his ass belongs in jail!

i'm a loser, okay?

i used you.

worst of all, i wasted your time.

i thought nobody could, but you, you understood.

you raised my voice up, taught me not to fear.

i've learned who i am because you're here.

school won't be the same without you here.

now that i've found you, you can't just disappear.

you've taught me so much since you've been here.

two and two make five!

rock got no reason, rock got no rhyme.

i've been biting my tongue too many times.

today's assignment : kick some ass!

[musings-of-a-rose]

Love at the Top - Part 2

Pairing: Teacher Ben x f! Teacher reader

Word Count: 2000+

Rating: Mature - 18+ ONLY!

Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story. 

Notes: This is a multiple requested smutty part 2 to LOVE AT THE TOP with our beloved Teacher Ben! @fishingforpike I hope you like it! It was not beta'd.

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

❤If you enjoy the fic, please consider giving me a warm beverage! (It is not required in any way!)

Main Masterlist 

Teacher Ben Masterlist

Love at the Top Part 1

A knock raps on my door promptly at noon. I open it with a smile, my dress swishing around me as Ben stands there, mouth slightly agape behind the flowers he has in his hand. 

"Y-you… you l-look amazing."

I smile, swaying my hips side to side. "Thanks. Are those for me?"

"Oh, yeah. I wasn't sure what your favorite was so I got one of each."

The bouquet held about 12 flowers, each one a different kind. It was bright and beautiful, bring life into the room when I placed them in a vase on my table. 

"They're beautiful, Ben. Thank you."

He wipes his palms against his pants before putting them in his pockets. "You ready? We have an hour drive or so."

"You never told me where…wait. Does your tie have a Gatsby quote on it?" I walk up to him, picking up the end of the tie and looking at it. 

"Oh, uh yeah. You said it was your favorite…" His voice trails off as he shrugs. 

I look up at him, big brown eyes looking at me like I'm the only thing in the room. I tug it to pull him down and kiss him, arms sliding around each other. Suddenly he breaks the kiss, staring down at me. 

"We better get in the car or we'll never make it."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

He groans in the back of his throat. "No. But I really think you'll like it."

"And I wouldn't like you?"

He chuckles. "I hope you will, sweet girl."

"You're gonna have to stop calling me that if you want us to leave."

He smiles. "That's fair."

He takes my hand and leads me out of the door, pausing as I lock it behind me. We drive for about an hour, chatting about anything and everything along the way, having concerts with the good songs that come on. It's only when he turns into the parking lot that I realize where he's taken me. 

"The Gatsby manuscript??" I all but yell, neatly vibrating off my seat as I stare out the window at the museum. "How did you know I've been dying to see them?"

"You mentioned it a month or so ago."

I turn to look at him. "A month? And you remembered?"

He smiles and nods at me. "Of course. Your eyes light up when you talk about it."

I lean in and kiss him, my hand rubbing at the stubble on his cheek. "How did you score tickets? They've been sold out for a while."

"The curator is my cousin."

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"That's so fucking cool."

He escorts me out and into the museum, watching my face nearly the entire time, letting me ramble on and on about how much I love The Great Gatsby and how amazing it is to see it first hand, actually handwritten notes by the author himself. 

He smiles the whole ride back to town as I continue to talk, the conversation eventually shifting to Star Wars as we sit down to eat. Conversation flows easy between us, no matter what we're talking about. 

Eventually, we end up on my doorstep, both of us shuffling nervously and chattering on, unwilling to let the evening end. 

"I had a great time, Ben."

"Me too. I didn't think you'd get along with an old man like me."

"I thought we agreed you aren't old?"

"No, you said I wasn't old. My back begs to differ." 

"Hhmm…" I fiddle with his tie. "Sounds like you need to go to bed."

"Y-Yeah. That might help."

He kisses me, pushing me back against my front door. I hitch my leg over his thigh, pulling him closer, both our hands tangled in the other's hair. 

"I have a bed inside you can use."

His eyes darken as he stares down at me. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

I fish out my keys, trying to unlock my door but finding it hard to focus with Ben's hands on my hips, rubbing little circles into them. 

Finally, my door unlocks and I push it open, turning to grab onto Ben's tie, pulling him inside, giggling when he kicks the door shut behind him. I reach behind him to lock it, gasping when Ben starts sucking on my neck. 

"Ben," I sigh, feeling him shift and moan into my neck.

His lips move to mine and we start to walk, me guiding us towards my bedroom. But several steps later, Ben trips and we fall and he lands on top of me. 

"Fuck I'm sorry! Are you-"

I pull his face to mine, kissing the apology from his lips, my legs parting to pull him in closer and I can feel him through his pants. 

"Here?" He breaks the kiss, staring down at me, our noses barely touching. 

"I don't care where, Ben. I need you. Now." I grip the back of his shirt, trying to untuck it from his pants. 

"I.. yeah ok."

I look at him this time. "Is that ok?"

"I.. yeah."

I push him up slightly, getting him to meet my eyes. "What is it?"

He blushes slightly, looking away from my gaze. "I just…"

"Are your knees ok? Your back?"

"What? Oh yeah I'm ok."

"Then what?"

He quiet a moment. "I've never done…this… on a floor before."

Oh. 

I smile and trace his cheek with my fingertip. "That's ok, Ben. Do you want to?"

His clothed hips rut into mine in response and I whine, watching him smirk down at me. "I want you, sweet girl."

"Then take me. Please."

His eyes darken, blowing wide with lust before he kisses me. One of his arms braces him on the ground while the other moves down my body, sliding up my bare thigh as he pushes my dress up. He hesitates at my panties but when I moan, he gains some courage, hooking his fingers around the band and sliding them down. His hand comes back up my body, his finger teasing me between my thighs. Finally he touches me and my hips jolt at the connection. 

"Oh fuck," I pant, as his fingers explore my apex. 

"I gotta work you open, sweet girl. Get you ready for me. Is that ok?"

I nod several times quickly, pleading for him to do more. He wastes no time in pushing a finger inside me, twirling his finger around until I jolted. He adds another finger and finds that spot again, curling his fingers against it. 

"Here?" He asks, studying my face. 

"Oh fuck yes!" His thumb comes up to rub at my clit and I'm done for, too wound up to wait and I whine his name, gripping his arms as I find my release. 

"You make the sweetest sounds when you come."

I chuckle. "I usually don't come that fast even when I'm solo."

His eyes snap to mine. "When..when y-you're solo?"

"Yes, Ben. People masterbate."

His voice is quiet and a few octaves lower. "Will you show me sometime?"

"I can show you now-"

He grabs the wrist I had started to slide down my body. "No. Now, I need you. If that's ok?"

"God, please."

He lifts himself slightly off of me and I fumble with his belt, quickly opening it and reaching my hand inside to grip him. He grunts, a series of swears tumble from him as I pull him out. He's big, bigger than I've had. No wonder he had to work me open - I can't barely close my fingers around him. I line him up with me and I feel him at my entrance, just touching me and heat rushes to my cunt. But he doesn't move. 

"Ben?"

"Do you have a condom?"

"I uh, oh. No. But we discussed being clean-"

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"I'm protected. It's safe. If you want."

There's no more color in his eyes, dark and black with lust. "Oh God I want to. If that's-"

"Stop asking if every move is ok. All of it is. You have my consent to fuck me however you want. If something is wrong I'll tell you. Just please, Ben. I need you to move."

He catches my gaze and then slowly pushes inside of me. I can feel my skin stretching to accommodate his size, burning slightly at the edges but it's a good feeling. He pauses halfway and looks at me.

"Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah. You're just…the biggest I've ever had."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"If you stop, I'm going to fling myself out of the window."

He chuckles. "We can't have that."

My reply dies on my lips as he pushes in the rest of the way, stretching and filling me. I don't remember ever feeling this full before, and oh shit what is he hitting inside me? 

Ben pulls his hips back and slides into me again, slowly still. I hitch my thigh over his hip and he grabs it to hold my leg in place. He adds an extra thrust when he bottoms out and I cry his name, stars erupting in my vision as heat rushes between my thighs. Ben is hesitant, as if he can't read my expression. Or he doubts himself. 

"There! Fuck, Ben. What are you- ugh!" He pushes in again, picking up his pace and slamming into that spot over and over, my next orgasm building quickly with each thrust. He slows down, only to bring a hand up, trying to lift my dress up over my chest. He's struggling, so I reach my hands up, sliding down the straps and pulling down the top of my dress. Thankful I wore a front clasping bra, I quickly undo it, boobs springing free. His hips falter as he stares at my chest. 

He drops his head to my chest, taking a boob in his mouth, biting at my nipple. His hips resume rutting into me and my release washes over me, warmth spreading out from between my thighs as I cry his name, Ben still moving his hips and hitting that spot to drag out my release. 

"I'm gonna…" Ben tries to speak but then his hips sputter, thrusting up several more times into me, quiet moans and gasps leaving his lips as he comes inside of me. Breathing heavy, we lay there still connected for a few moments, just trying to catch our breath. Ben lifts his head from my chest and stares down at me, the lust receding and being replaced by something more like…love?

"Fuck you're so beautiful." 

"So are you, Ben."

He scoffs. "I'm an old man."

"An old man who just fucked me into this floor."

He smirks, unable to hide the pride on his face. "That's true. But I'm sure you've done this before, with your young back and all."

"No one has ever fucked me like that, Ben. I've never…I've never came like that before."

His eyebrows knit together. "What?"

"It's like you were hitting some spot in the back of me. Like..at the far back-"

He nods. "I think that's called your a spot?"

"WE HAVE ANOTHER SPOT? MY EDUCATION HAS FAILED ME."

Ben cracks up, his laughter shaking my body as I join him too, stopping when he hisses. 

"Stop laughing! Hold on." He pulls out and then resumes laughing with me. 

Ben helps me straighten my dress and stand up, pulling me close to his body and kissing me. 

"You ok?"

"I am. But next time let's be in a bed. I may be 24 but this floor is still hard."

His eyes darken. "Next time?"

"Yeah. If you want?"

"As long as you'll have me. I'm free tomorrow for dinner?"

"Dinner? I was thinking in another 10 minutes."

He chuckles. "I'm an old man, sweet girl. I don't think my knees can do that again so soon."

"Who says you'll be on top?"

—----

General Taglist:

@frankie-catfish-morales @chaoticgeminate @janebby @astoryisaloveaffair @balekanemohafe @greeneyedblondie44 @hoeforthefictional @marvelousmermaid @hauntedmama @giuliarogers-blog @icanbeyourjedi @wretchedmo @sunnshineeexoxo @livingmydreams13 @adventures-of-a-noodle @sara-alonso @theewokingdead @punkerthanpascal @giggly-otter @f0rever15elf @phandoz @dirtytissuebox @gallowsjoker @lovesbiggerthanpride @sarahmilesbendrix @booksarekindaneat @mrsudontknowme @swol-bear @charlispersonallyhell @xoxabs88xox @amneris21 @gooddaykate @alindeluce @avengers-fixation @paintballkid711 @harriedandharassed   @ladykatakuri @marrianena  @practicalghost @withakindheartx @batdarkladyvampir @justanotherkpopstanlol   @mermaidxatxheart @alexxavicry @ichigodjarin @justreblogginfics

[paty0831]

Hongice week 2024 || Day 4

Chapter 4: Borrowing clothes/It's not what it looks like

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Human AU

Advertisement: A little bit of NSFW content

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

“Li," Li's mother's voice was heard on the other side of the door, "breakfast is ready”

“On our way mom” Li replied, trying to pretend nothing had happened.

Li and Emil got up and picked up their clothes quickly, as they were scattered on the floor. While trying to put on his trousers, Li fell down. The family, who were eating breakfast on the kitchen on the first floor, heard this. Immediately, they went upstairs to see what was going on.

Emil and Li panicked when they heard accelerated footsteps approaching, so they tried to get dressed as quickly as possible. As the family entered the room, they surprised Li and Emil…

“Are you all right?! We heard a bang!” said Li's mother.

“Yeah ma..." said Li until he was interrupted.

“Why are you wearing Emil's ugly sweater?” Mei asked, turning to Li.

“Hey!" replied Emil angrily.

“And isn't that your red shirt?” said Yao, pointing out that Emil was wearing Li's shirt.

“Ehm...no” replied Li.

It was obvious that they were wearing each other's clothes, Emil's sweater was too big for Li and Li's shirt was too small for Emil.

“What’s happening?” asked Li's dad.

“...well, it's just that... we thought it would be fun to exchange clothes for today," lied Li.

The family thought that answer was odd, but they let it go.

“...you'd better give your clothes back," said Li's father.

With that said Li's parents and siblings left. Emil and Li sighed in relief.

………………………………………………

Emil and Li decided to keep their secret, knowing that if their parents found out they would be grounded and probably forced to break up their relationship. However, they took every opportunity they had to have sleepovers so they could be intimate with each other.

Their intimacy secret did not last long as they were discovered a few months later at a sleepover at Emil's house. They were seen by Lukas, who had difficulty sleeping because of the noise they were making.

“What are you doing?!”

“Ehm... Don't you knock?” said Emil, not knowing how to defend himself.

“Are you f***ing? You’re just kids, you know that's inappropriate at your age?

“...” Emil and Li didn't know what to say in their defence.

“It would be best if they never saw each other again” saying this, Lukas turned to leave.

“No Lukas! Don't tell mum and dad!” said Emil, “what if... we don't do it again?”

“Ehm...” Lukas was about to answer, but he noticed the sad look on his brother's face so he decided to accept, “it's OK, I won't tell if you don't do it again”

“OK” promised Emil.

“...OK” added Li with no option to refuse.

……………………………………..

As time passed, Emil and Li refrained from doing so and Lukas did not tell anyone what he saw; however, this became complicated as time went on.

One night, Emil was in his room trying to sleep until he heard knocking on his window. When he saw it, it was Li throwing pebbles.

“What are you doing here?”

“I couldn't sleep, so I snuck out and came to see you... can I stay?”

“I don't know, if anyone sees you, we'll be in trouble”

“Please, It will only be a while”

“...fine, just don't make any noise”

Emil went downstairs to open the door for Li, and they crept up to his room and lay on Emil's bed covered with a blanket.

“Don't you think it's unfair that we can't do it, we're basically of age now”

“Lukas doesn't want to accept that I'm growing up. To him, I'm still a five-year-old boy”

“Doesn't he do it with Mathias?”

“If he does, he knows how to hide it well”

They were both silent for a moment until Li said:

“I'm cold, shall we hug?”

“All right, but just that. Remember that Lukas's room is next door”

They hugged and kissed, but went no further. Afterwards they fell asleep.

The next day, Emil's mother came into his room to wake him up, but was surprised to see the scene.

“Emil, wake up," she said as she tapped him on the shoulder.

Emil woke up and, after a few seconds, realised that Li slept next to him and his mother saw them.

“Mum! It's not what it looks like!”

“Don't worry about it; I did the same thing when I was young”

“What?”

“It's normal at that age, but you should have told me. We would have had a talk”

Emil was surprised that his mom wasn't upset, at the same time he was relieved.

……………………………………………..

Li, Emil and his family were having breakfast together. Lukas was surprised that his parents had taken it well that Li and Emil were intimate, so he was considering telling them that he had already been intimate with Mathias.

All was quiet until the doorbell rang several times. Emil's mother went to open the door and found Li's parents.

“Li's bike is outside, is he here?” asked Li’s mom.

“Yes, he spent the night here with Emil”

Li's parents were shocked to hear that, assuming Li had sex last night with Emil. Therefore, they both went into the house:

“Li, what do you mean you spent the whole night here!” his mother asked.

“Why not? He's my boyfriend. Besides, you gave me permission to have a boyfriend”

“Not to do those things! You're underage!” his father intervened in the conversation.

“We didn't do anything last night!”

“We know you did! Now let's go home! You're grounded!”

Li went home sadly with his parents. His parents grounded him; they took away his mobile phone deleting Emil’s contact and forbade him to see Emil.

A few weeks later, Li's parents moved Li to another school so that he would never see Emil again. For a while, this did not stop them from continuing to talk via text messages when his parents returned his mobile phone. Emil still had Li's number registered in his mobile phone.

…………………………………….

Emil and Li maintained a long-distance relationship for the rest of the school year. Unfortunately, over time, they stopped talking to each other, as they were busy with their studies and their friends and family.

To be continued...

@hongiceweek

[mcflymemes]

PROMPTS FROM STEP BROTHERS *  assorted dialogue from the 2008 film

this house is a fucking prison!

we're in the bathroom!

i don't believe in belts.

it usually starts by you telling me a little something about yourself.

i'm going to take a pillowcase and fill it full of bars of soap and beat the shit out of you.

this wedding is horse shit.

you guys have an outstanding track record.

i was faking. i used ninja focus to slow my heart rate down.

i smoked pot with johnny hopkins.

you're not gonna come down and say hi to me?

i thought we'd begin talking about your parents' divorce.

i want you out of my fucking house!

i just want you to know i hate you.

oh stop it!

i dont have to swear to shit!

you must feel just terrible.

i owe you an apology.

you gotta keep an eye on it.

you take that back.

we do it because we love you.

hey, can i ask you something?

this is my house now.

what do we do now?

you're failures!

i wasn't fired from my job. i was laid off.

whoa, calm down, man. i'm just joking.

you know what? i still hate you.

you were dead. i saw you die.

sweet jesus! i love korean food!

maybe someday we could become friends.

do you wanna do karate in the garage?

we could hug.

i didn't want the salmon! i said four times!

it sounds a lot like the plot of good will hunting.

how old were you when they got divorced?

why are you so sweaty?

this is what i live with!

this is just like cold case files!

get out of my face, or i'm gonna roundhouse your ass.

was that a fart?

in no way, shape, or form do i feel any feelings of intimacy towards you in any way whatsoever.

what if i were to tell you i could sell this house for 30% above market?

oh, i'm exhausted.

well that's fine.

i always wanted to be a dinosaur.

i can taste it on my tongue.

we're here to fuck shit up!

on the count of three, name your favorite dinosaur.

i swear, i'm so pissed off at my mom.

i remember my first beer.

we can bicker about this all night, but what's done is done.

i would follow you into the mists of avalon.

shut the fuck up!

you're alive! oh my god!

my little brother is even a bigger asshole than you are.

i'm just saying, you need to think about your options.

i'm not gonna call him dad.

did you touch my drum set?

he had the craziest look in his eyes.

you have the voice of an angel.

believe me, i've told him that.

hey, you're embarrassing yourself!

do you want to talk about some of those feelings?

we like to shit with the door open.

guess what? i hate you too.

now the tuxedos seem kind of fucked up.

you better not go to sleep, 'cause as soon as your eyes shut, i'm gonna punch you square in the face.

stop being a fucking dinosaur and get a job.

hey, you awake?

are you fucking crazy, man?

you're not feeling this?

i tea-bagged your drumset.

i know you two are technically married.

i'm not going to! ever!

my best friend is ben affleck.

look, i didn't touch your drum set.

okay, i'll be honest with you. i did fart.

you know what's good for shoulder pain?

we're putting the house on the market.

don't even think about it.

what's your problem?

i would've done the exact same thing.

did we just become best friends?

i feel like i'm smarter than most of the people who go there.

you and your mom are hillbillies.

it stinks. and this is a small room.

obviously... you don't know me.

my penis is tingling right now.

we make our own beef jerky.

you better not get in my face.

where are we moving?

ready? one, two, three.

i think it's time for a change. for both of us.

your voice is like a combination of fergie and jesus.

i know that we started out as foe.

i've seen him do it.

this house sucks ass.

the clown has no penis.

we are living the dream.

i'm just thinking about our life together.

what kind of dreams are you having?

shut up!

it was in international waters, so they couldn't prosecute him.

i hope you stay still when you sleep, 'cause i'm gonna put a rat trap between your legs.

why do you have randy jackson's autograph on a martial arts weapon?

you leave me money for pizza?

well what about us?

we literally have never done any of those things.

what's this all about?

shut your mouth!

what the fuck happened?

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

on our fates alight--fraught recovery

"You said that your brother was afflicted as such for some time?" Urianger asked. Mathye nodded.

"He was exhausted. Had mood swings. His appetite would yo-yo. I thought he was having a hard time adjusting to the Eikon. But the night he told me that it wasn't him--or rather, that all of it was Halone--that's what made me suspect something was wrong. And when I dared to look at Her aether--or what I could detect of it, it was out of balance."

"Out of balance?" Urianger repeated. "Out of balance how?" He watched as the black haired hyur paused, thinking.

"...As if she was recovering from an injury. Or something toxic had been removed, and now she was regaining her equilibrium." Mathye answered. "Then there was another option that I wasn't too sure of, but after I Primed--I began to suspect that it was the real reason for what I sensed."

"Which was?"

"She was imprisoned." Mathye answered. "Imprisoned and harmed. When she first Primed with Augustine she was missing memories. When I Primed she'd regained some, but not a lot. But she remembered enough to tell me that she was free to bind herself to those who truly embraced her aspects, and not to 'decrepit old men'."

"She was recovering from trauma." Urianger breathed.

"It was one one of the reasons why we left the city." The priest finished. "Augustine was doing better--but when we both retreated into Coerthas proper--that's when Halone started to recover in leaps and bounds. She grew stronger--and then that's when we discovered something else. We could semi-Prime and Prime if we were fighting to defend ourselves and others, but one day, when we went on an offensive against the dragons..." Mathye shook his head. Urianger's eyes widened.

"She would not let you Prime?!"

"No." Mathye answered. "When we asked Halone why, she said that while she couldn't remember everything--she just knew that Ishgard somehow was in the wrong for the Dragonsong War. And that she would not allow her power to be wielded in attacks against dragonkind." That had been a shock in and of itself to both him and Augustine, Mathye remembered.

I will not put you, my sons, in danger--but nor can I allow your hands to become even more bloodstained as they are.

"We more or less dropped everything and returned to the city to speak with Aymeric." Urianger nodded, listening intently. "However that was the day when Wyrmblood Primed. Barely had enough wits to fly back as the dragon--crashed before the city gates in Central Coerthas before transforming back. The chaos that broke out afterward..."

"I can imagine." Urianger mused. "That was the cause for Ser Borel to cry for a ceasefire, then?"

"Not just between us and the Dravanians, but to get the damn city to calm down." Mathye answered. "Shiva's people rose up--and nobody knew that the heretics had that many in their number. There was at least two days of fighting in the city before the Archbishop relented and called for a temporary hold to the fighting. Ever since then the Vault's been dancing rings around the hard questions. And when Tioman and Darkscale resumed their onslaught against the region, they dug themselves in and won't entertain anything until 'Nidhogg's brood has been defeated'."

"Which has led to the current state of affairs." Urianger finished, understanding. "You, your brother, and the sers Borel and Greystone have become the unofficial champions for peace and a future outside of the eternal war. Your opposition, the Church and Ishgardian society itself. Nothing will be settled unless something or someone gives way." Mathye nodded.

"We need help." He said. His voice was quiet but his tone was deadly serious. "There is only so much Augustine and I can do, and we're also trying to protect ourselves and Halone."

[orangevtae]

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy [S.Harrington x Henderson!Reader]

prev - next

Chapter 13: Keep Youself Alive

"Hey, buddy, how are you? Are you ok?" You asked Dustin as you neared him

"Y/N, you were right! About the Upside Down, about Dart, about Will, i'm so sorry!" Dustin said, hugging your waist tightly and you heard him sniffle and your heart shattered at hearing it, you can't even imagine how hard all the news about Will had been on him, knowing that once more an inter-dimensional world managed to make his life complete hell again, and you hugged him tightly and right after got down on his eye level, cleaning his cheeks were tears made place.

"Hey, hey, deep breaths ok? Deep breaths" He did as you said and you smiled "That's it. Dusty i'm so sorry that you had been so pent up with everything and into this mess again, i never wanted to be right, i was just worried about you, we're together in this okay? We gonna take care of that like we did last year: together. Alright? Nothing's gonna happen to Will, we will be able to get things on it's place again, kick some asses" he laughed at that "and at the end we gonna eat a lot of snacks while re-watching Star Wars on our living room"

"Do you think it would be ok if we called Steve to join our nerdy friday's night?" he asked hopefully to you

"I don't think that he's into the pop culture world like us, but yeah, of course he can join if he wants to" you smiled at each other and he hugged you again "Thanks Y/N/N, i love you, you are so cool"

"Aw, thanks Dusty, i love you too" you said as you rubbed his shoulder

"Are you mad at me? About Dart?" he asked softly

"What? No, no way sunshine. Yes, i would like to have at least a normal year without fighting monsters but you know what?" he waited for you to continue "It would've been so so boring"

You guys laughed and you got up, hitting the cap of his hat, that got into his line of vision "No more tears, yeah?"

"Yeah" he adjusted his hat

"If you ever need me, you know you can talk to me" you kissed softly his cheek and he groaned

"I know"

Some quite time after your conversation with Dustin, you were sat at the couch, your feet up on the coffee table while Chief Hopper was talking to someone on the phone, his voice nervous trying to get to whoever was on the other side, to understand the situation you guys were in.

You tuned out the conversation and got distracted by the watch on your wrist and the coffee table under your feet, your thoughts back on last years events when you joined Jonathan and Nancy to take down the Demogorgon that had fallen just on the old coffee table, you remembered how scared you were that night, how frightened you were when both Jonathan and Nancy cut open their palms and how the last thing you saw of it was flames overtaking it and you never had to see it ever again.

You had nightmares for one month straight and everytime you went to bed, you had to close the curtains of the windows on your bedroom, afraid that if slept with them open, that thing would appear out of nowhere, you hoped that this time you could handle better. When you decided to look your surroundings again, you noticed Hopper huff and getting somewhere on the house.

Then you saw Mike get something on his hands and went back on the kitchen were everyone was gattered and you decided to follow him, supporting yourself on the kitchen counter on the kitchen entrace. Steve looked at you at where he was, a worried look on his face towards you, he hoped that you were doing alright, you were quieter than usual, he guessed that it was the first time he saw you get quiet since you guys started your journey.

"Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of the Hawkings A.V?" Mike asked, your eyes trained on him

"Really?" Lucas picked interest

"Yeah, he petitioned the school to start it and everything, and he got a fund raiser for the equipament. Mr.Clarke learned everything from him, pretty cool right?" Mike's wandered a bit, you couldn't even imagine how the last hours had been for both him and Will, presencing Bob's death, scaping demogorgons and you thought back to Joyce, of how much it had been to her with having to worry about what hapened to Will and then having to mourn about Bob, you couldn't even imagine "We can't let him die in vain" Mike spoke again

"Well, what you wanna do Mike? The chief's right on this. We can't stop these demodogs on our own" Dustin said, a frown present on your face

"What?" you and Max asked at the same time

"Demo-dogs?" Max asked, confused at Dustin words

"Demogorgon-dogs. Demodogs? It's like a compound. It's like a play on words, you know" He was such a nerd, you couldn't believe it

"Okay!" Max interrupted and you let out a chuckle

"I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe..." Dustin said again

"But there's an army now" Lucas said completing Dustin's thoughts

Then, something clicked, like an ignition on the back of your head remembering some of the kids sessions on D&D, your eyes encoutering Mike's that had the same look on yours.

"His army!" you both said, the eyes present on kitchen turning to you both

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, eyes moving from you to Mike to the kids and back on you

"His army. Maybe if we can stop him, we can stop his army too" Mike went somewhere and cameback with one of Will's draws that he putted on the table, you took some steps closer

"The Shadow Monster" Dustin said in realisation, looking at the draw of the monster that has been torturing him on the last week "Y/N, we never told you about it, how did you-"

"I don't know, when i heard that Will was sick on the same day we found Dart and i started to connect the dots, it came as to me as an old memory from one of your sessions of D&D, i figured that what we facing, had to do with this shithead" your eyes moved to Mike, for him to continue

"It got Will on the field" Mike started explaining "The doctor said it was like a virus, that it infected him"

"And so this virus, is connecting him to the tunnels?" Max asked, getting on the hang of the thing

"To the tunnels, to the monsters, to the Upside Down, everything!" Mike exclaimed

Steve took a step forward and stoped right beside you, his presence a little above of yours "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, slow down" he said, looking at Mike

"Okay so, the Shadow Monster's inside everything and if the vines feel something like pain, so does Will" Mike explained

"And so does Dart" Lucas completed the thought

"Yeah, it's like Mr.Clarke taught us: The Hive Mind"

"The Hive Mind?" Steve echoed, lost in the conversation

"Yeah, a Have Mind works like a collective consiousness, it works like a super-organism" you explained to him and he nodded

"And this is the thing that controls everything, it's the brain" Mike montioned the drawing of the monster

"Like the Mind Flayer" Dustin trailed off

"The what?" Steve and Max asked, puzzled expressions on their faces.

Dustin got up and went somewhere, Steve looked lost at you but you just smiled and wink at him, and mentioned Dustin with your head when he sat down at the table again, you noticed that Nancy and Jonathan joyned you guys.

"The Mind Flayer" Dustin said, opening in the page of their RPG, Hopper reapered, interest on your little conspiracy

"What the hell is that?" Hopper asked, his voice filled with disppointment

"It's a monster from a unknow dimension, it's so acient that doesn't even know it's true home. Okay, envolves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using it's high-developed psionic powers-" Dustin rambled

"Oh my god, none of this is real! It's a kids game" Hopper said, palms against his eyes

"No, it's a mannual. And it's not for kids and unless you know something that we don't, this is the best metaphor-"

"Analogy" Lucas interrupted Dustin

"What?" Dustin asked

"It's an analogy, not a metaphor" Dustin looked at you and you shrugged

"Analogy? It's that what you worried about? Fine, an analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is" Dustin huffed

"Okay so, this Mind Flaymer thing" Nancy said, Dustin corrected her but she ignore it "What does it want?" she looked at you

"To conquer us, basically, right Dusty?" you asked your brother

"Exactly, it believes it's the master of races"

"Like uh...like the Germans" Steve said and everyone turned to him

"The nazis?" Dustin asked

"Yeah...yeah, yeah, like the nazis" he cleared his troath and looked elsewhere

You chuckled at his reaction, seeing the tip of his ears get red by the attention his mistake gave him and you passed a hand up and down on his back in a comfort manner and got your attention back on the conversation.

"...views other races, like us, an inferior to itself" Mike completed to whatever Dustin had said before "It wants to spread, take over other dimensions"

"We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it" Lucas finished the train of thought

"That's great! That's great, that's really great, Jesus" Steve said and you giggled at his reaction

"Hey, calm down pretty boy, don't go stressing over it, it's just theories" you said lowly to him

"But still scary" he responded on the same tone, eyes on you and soft smile on his lips

"Okay so if this things it's like a brain controlling everything, if we kill it" Nancy said

"We kill everything it controls" Mike completed

"We win" Dustin exclaimed

"Theoritically" You and Lucas stated at the same time

"Great. So how do we kill this thing? Shoot it with fireball or something?" Hopper asked, tone full of sarcasm and you could tell that he had enough

"No, no, no fire, no fireballs. You summon an undead army, uh, because you know...zombies, doesn't have brains and the Mind...Flayer..." he saw you moving your head to one side to the other to get him to shut up and he went quiet "It's just a game. It's a game."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hopper stated

"I thought we were waiting your military backup?" Dustin responded, a frown present on his face

"We are!" Hopper shouted

"Even if they come, how they gonna stop this? It's not like you can shoot this thing with guns" Mike asked

"You don't know that! We don't know anything!"

"We already know that it's killed at the lab" Mike said

"And that the monsters gonna molt" Lucas completed

"And we almost got killed by them, we were lucky that they just went away" you added

"And we know that it's just a matter of time until those tunnels reach this town" Dustin sighed

"They're right" Joyce said from the kitchens entrace, joining your group gathering "We have to kill it, i want to kill it"

"Me too" Hopper went up to her

"I-"

"Me too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don't exactly know what we're dealing here"

"No, but he does" Mike interrupted and you looked at where he was looking: Will's sedate body, sleeping happily while your group tries to deal and get to a point of understandment of what to do "If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's Will. He's connected to it, he knows its weakiness"

"I thought that we couldn't trust him anymore because he's a Mind Flayer spy" Max voiced your thoughts

"Yeah, but he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is" Mike finished and as if on cue and everyone's understandment, everyone started to go to the small cabinet that the Byers's had on the back of the house and cleaned it, taking everything out and bringing things so it could be an unreconasible place to Will's to keep his mind off of being a Mind Flyer spy.

As you got inside and out of the house with some tapes to deliver and help Nancy and Steve, you stopped besides Jonathan that was taking off the clothes "So, will i wanna know what happened on these three days?"

"Sure, Nancy wanted to get an end on all the Barbara missing issue, to get her parents to know the truth so that they stop suffering and have a real chance to mourn their daughter's death, and i went to help" he said taking off the last article and looked at you

"And were does it enter you guys together at the hip being super dorkys with each other?" you smirked

"I think we got into an understandment and hmm..."

"Are together finally?" you finished for him "Like dating?"

"Yeah, like dating" he smiled, a little embarrassed

"I'm happy for you Johnny Bunny" you laughed at the way he rolled his eyes

"Will you please stop it?"

"Eventually" he groaned

"So...will i wanna know what's going on between you and Harrington?"

"There's nothing going on between me and Steve" you told him

"Steve" he mocked the way you said Steve's name "C'mon, i saw the way you were looking at each other at any moment you got"

"I really have no idea on what you talking about

"C'mon Y/N/N, you can play naive with anyone, but not me. I know when you lying" he said and you scoffed "I'm not!"

"Then why are you playing like that with your foot?" he pointed to the way you were pretending to kick something, an unfortnate move you tend to do when lying

"I hate you so much" you deadpanned

"No you don't, now will you answer me?"

"I...i don't know okay? Just kinda happened i guess, but i don't wanna jump to conclusions" you sunk

"Really?" he raised his brows

"Yeah, really" you said lower this time "He's obviously still in love with Nancy and i don't know if i'm ready to have my heart shattered again"

He looked the way you went like, that look on your eyes when you fear disappoinment, the last time he ever saw this look was after what that asshole did to you, you passed a whole day crying on Jonathan's chest till you fallen asleep for exhaustion. He knew that that situation between you and Steve were way more different than his situation with Nancy.

"Okay, i understand, if you ever need me, you know where to find me" he smiled softly at you and you nodded

"Yeah, thank you, i will uhm...give this to Nancy" you montioned for the tape on your hand

"Sure"

When you arrived at the cabin, you immediatly runned over to help Nancy and Steve to tape everything together. You were on one side while Steve and Nancy were on the other.

"Hey hmmm...it was nice, what you guys did, helping the kids, i mean" Nancy said, breaking the tension that settled after some time

"Yeah, i guess so, those knucleheads are a pain in the ass sometimes" Steve mentioned and you giggled, getting another piece taped

You shrived a little and tried to keep yourself warm the best you could, damn you the moment you left home without thinking to bring an extra jacket, you tried to ignore it and kept on putting tapes and getting everything together.

Suddenly, you felt something heavy on your shoulder and was surprised to see that it was Steve jacket, his hands adjusting it better around your shoulders while you looked at him "Better?"

"Yes, thank you. But really-"

"If you gonna say that you don't need it because you worried that i'll get cold, i suggest you don't, i've noticed that you were cold at the lab too, so just take it, okay? You gotta take care of yourself too and your hands are freaking cold" he looked at you, expactating an answer but nothing came

"Okay, thank you" you sighed up at him

"Sure, i'll head inside, yeah?"

"Ok"

And then he leaved, leaving you and Nancy alone and she let out a giggle after getting the final panel taped on the same time as you "What?"

"It's just that, that was freaking cute"

"I guess so..." you trailed off

Truth be said: It was deeply strange to talk about that with your crush's now ex-girlfriend. Yeah, you came in terms and just accepted that you developed a huge crush on Steve Harrington after what he said to you on that cliff before you encountered Nancy and Jonathan.

"You really didn't noticed, did you?"

"I really don't understand what you implying Nancy" you said confused

"Nothing but the fact that he just got head over heels for you! And that you reciprocate" she nudged you a little

"No! What? Pff, i don't..."

"So tell me on my face that i'm wrong Y/N/N" You really wish you could be able to lie to her, to say that no, she was wrong and that no, you didn't developed a crush on her now ex-boyfriend, but you knew that lying would be in vain because she knew really well how to read someone and unffortunately she knew you like the back of hand, so you just slumped "Ok yeah, you right, i have a stupid crush on Steve Harrington, again"

"When was the last time you had a crush on him?" she asked, voice full of pure curiosity

"Ninth grade, and i was doing so well in forgetting that i had that silly crush on him" you said, palms covering your cheeks and Nancy smiled softly at you "But everything just happened so fast and when i last seen it, he just snapped his fingers and everything was just like ninth grade again"

"Y/N/N, you're so cute, i highly doubt that he would not fall for you, i can see it by the way he looks, talks and even moves when you're on the same room" she said

"What do you mean?"

"You kidding right? He looks at you like you're hanging the moon and the whole stars on the sky" she said while accompaning you outside of the cabin "It's easy to say that something has been going on between you two in less than three days."

"God, you and Jonathan really are made for each other" you let out a giggle and saw her cheeks get red at the mention of Jonathan "Isn't that weird for you? I mean, you just turned to be his ex-girlfriend now"

"No, not in the slightlest, i had been such an ass to him on the last months, pretending that i felt the same when i couldn't give not even half of what he was giving me because i was selfish and wanted a normal life to forget last year and i don't deserve not even a single teardrop coming out of his eyes because i know that i was a jerk in keeping this up instead of telling him how i truly felt" she took your hands on hers "Steve is a sweetheart, it's kind, funny and caring, and the only thing i deserve from him is to at least be the receiving end of his anger, but you? God, you deserve everything he has to offer. You're kind, selfless, more funny than i'll ever be able to be, super smart and i'm not even gonna talk about of how you care and take care of the children whenever they in danger"

You felt overwelmed about what Nancy was telling you, you never thought that hearing her say that to you made something on your chest, giving a comfort zone that you never thought would be able to get out from.

"I've broken, spitted and completely shattered his heart with my lies and choices, but if there's someone that can help him mend it everything together, that one is you."

"You think so?" you asked, a little bit hesitant

"I know so" she smiled and the both of you went back into the house

Taglist:  @mochminnie @marmol4d4 @starhastoomanyfandoms @ren-ni @xoxoloverb @nctma15 @realmoose @yeswhatever33 @lostinneverland @rinsane @0shippingtrashaway0 @fixtionlover @doctorsgirl262

[silly4sillinger]

The Summer Everything Changed Pairing: Cole Sillinger x Fem!OC Word Count:945 Chapter One:

Every summer, my family has a tradition. We spend the majority of our time off at the Sillinger's lake house.

The Sillinger boys and my brother Oliver have always been the best of friends, and while Owen and Lukas try to include me in things Cole seems to have a deep dislike for me, no matter what I say or do.

Right now, we're stopped to get gas. I'm staring out the window, lost in my thoughts as usual, when Oli interrupts by plucking out one of my AirPods. "Earth to Jaz."

"Sorry, I was daydreaming. What do you want?" I reply.

"Try and stay out of our way this summer, please. And don't go tattling on us like you usually do. We're adults now," he says.

I scoff and roll my eyes. "Tattling? I'm not ten anymore. Like you said we're adults now, and I promise you have nothing to worry about. I'm steering clear of the Sillinger boys completely."

"What are you going to be doing then? Making friendship bracelets with the eleven-year-old next door?" Oli snorts.

"No, but so what if I was? If you remember correctly, at the end of last summer, there were people moving in," I remind him.

"And what? You're going to try and befriend them? You don't have the balls for that. You freeze up and become stupid whenever you meet new people."

"So sorry that I was graced with social anxiety, Oliver," I snap as Mom gets back in the car, tossing snacks back at us.

"Are you two arguing?" Mom asks.

"No," we both immediately answer, not wanting to deal with an hour-long lecture.

We arrive at the lake house, and everyone comes out to help us bring our stuff inside. I carry what I can up to my room and set the bags in the corner of my room for now.

"Where do you want these, Jaz?"

I turn around to see Owen with the last two of my bags. "There is fine, thank you."

He nods and sets the bags down before walking out of my room, shutting the door behind him.

I make my way downstairs after unpacking everything and getting my room situated. The guys are obviously already outside because I can hear them all yelling.

"All unpacked?" Mom asks as I walk into the kitchen.

I nod and grab a water from the fridge. "Yeah, I didn't want to have to do it tomorrow."

Karla sets her phone down on the table and looks over at me. "Why don't you go out and play with the boys, hunny?"

"I'm okay. I'm going to go for a walk."

"There are new boys about two houses down. You should go introduce yourself." She says, causing mom to wiggle her eyebrows at me.

"Hm, maybe. Depends if they are out or not." I tell her, making my way out of the kitchen. "I'll be back!"

I walk outside and as I approach the neighbors house, I notice movement in the yard. Two boys, probably closer to Cole and I's age, are tossing a football back and forth.

Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I muster up all the courage I can and walk up the gravel driveway. The boys pause their game, looking at me.

"Hi," I say, my voice coming out a little shaky.

One of the boys, tall with blonde hair, waves. "Hey. I'm Nate, and this is Liam. What's your name?"

"I'm Jazlynn," I reply, feeling a small spark of confidence.

Nate smiles. "Nice to meet you, Jazlynn. Are you new around here?"

I shake my head. "No, you guys were moving in last summer when we were leaving, so I never really had the chance to come say hi before."

Liam nods. "Well, we're glad you did. You want to join us?"

I hesitate for a moment, but decide to. "Sure, why not?"

As we pass the ball back and forth, we get to know each other and I find myself laughing and having fun.

Nate and Liam are easy to talk to, and I feel like I can be myself around them without fear of judgment unlike with the Sillinger boys.

I don't realize how much time has past until the sun starts to set. I pull my phone out of my pocket and it's almost eight.

"I should probably head back. It was nice to meet you guys." I tell them.

"It was nice meeting you too. Could I get your snap?" Nate asks.

"Yeah, sure."

I give him my snapchat and realize I have missed calls and texts from Owen as I head back to the house.

I walk in and Cole looks over at me.

"Does your phone not work? Where the hell have you been?" Cole asks as I shut the door.

"I was at the new neighbors? And my mom and your mom knew that, so I don't know why it's such a big deal to you." I sass.

"Well neither of them thought to tell us that before they left."

"Where did they go?" I ask.

"They all went out to the bar. But my question is why was it so hard to answer my calls or send a simple text so I knew you were still alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere." Owen says, walking downstairs.

"I wasn't on my phone, Owen. I'm also nineteen and don't need you guys to watch my every move! I'm not a kid anymore!"

Cole laughs. "Really? Cause you sure act like one."

"I'm not dealing with this. I'll be in my room." I say, pushing past Owen.

[magnuficent76]

He was there before me.

He sat hunched over, with a bottle by his side and flowers in hand. Uncharacteristically small, for someone who tried so hard to make himself as big as possible. He didn't even hear me come in, I'm pretty sure. He's not supposed to be here today.

"Archie?" I called out. He turns around without a word, then turns back to the graves in front of him.

We've been burying family in the same spot nowadays. The old house wasn't serving any purpose, so we buried them all in the same place. Mom's bedroom. After pops died, she went soon after because of grief. We moved them both here.

"...Jonah." Archer responded after a minute of silence.

"'Thought we were going to switch every week for the flowers?"

"I know. I just… I wanted to add more. I feel like they deserve more flowers."

I look at the bottle. It's already half emptied. He's drinking it here of all places.

"...Fair."

I sit by his side. We're sitting on mom's favourite bench. We moved it in the room after she died too. It used to stay outside, for her to watch us over when we were kids. The paint is faded, and it's old, and it creaks a little when I sit on it. It's weird, thinking this used to be such an honour. Sitting by your mother's side after playing for an hour or two. But now she's dead, and it's not where it's supposed to be anymore.

"...Jonah, do you remember when we were kids, and you lost your leg?" He asks, dragging out his words a little. It was a tell tale sign of his. Whenever he gets drunk, he sounds out the "w" and "u" a lot more.

"How could I forget, right?" I pat my thigh and extend my prosthetic a bit. I'm smiling, but it feels morbid to be. "What about it?"

"I remember when we came home for the first time afterward. Mom played the violin for you, I'm pretty sure."

The sound of violins echoed back in my mind.

I heard it whenever I got a new leg. I heard it when I would wake in the morning and put it on. I heard it when the phantom pain came back to itch in a specific spot on my ankle that didn't exist anymore. The violin was and still is one of my favourite sounds because of her, I think.

"Yeah. I- I remember that."

"We got instruments too. Yours was a saxophone, and dad would let me play his piano-"

"Oh, I remember that. You used to get in trouble for how dirty your hands were when you played!"

"Heh, yeah… he…he picked on that a lot." His voice gets quieter for that. Pops picked on Archer a lot as a kid, no matter what he did. Curse of the eldest, I suppose- but there was something else.

When we were kids, by far I was the scrappier one. Pops loved it. I was his "big strong man" at 6 years old. It was weird, thinking back on it now, that I got away with so much as a kid for being "rougher" than my brother. I was rude and always getting myself into trouble, but the consequences never came for me. Archer never did anything as a kid, at least not that I remember, that was particularly odd. He and I were curious about the world and so we'd explore it together, but when it came down to problems, he was always the one getting the blame for them.

It occurred to me at some point that maybe Pops just didn't like him as much. I didn't know exactly why. But it felt like it. Now, I'm pretty sure it's because Archie was "softer" in his eyes. He looked a lot more like our mom. He spent a lot more time with her too. The piano was dad's, but she was the one that taught him to play.

Sometimes I wonder how much of her our dad associated with Archie, and if that made him mad, somehow. For being more "effeminate". I wonder if he knew.

"Sometimes, we'd all play together. Dad said it was a concert just for him, and it was…well. It was nice." He pauses for a moment. His hand clutches around the bouquet. "I was thinking. Do you think we could, um, play together, again?"

"Mm. I haven't played the sax in a while though. I don't even know if I could, really."

"That's alright. It's been years since I laid hands on a piano. I just, I feel like we could do with bonding time, you know? We haven't… been around each other much."

I look back at the almost-empty bottle. Then I look at him. He doesn't look back. I bite my tongue before I say,

"...Could be fun."

"Could be."

We stay quiet.

There's pictures of our family near their graves. They're dirty, and old, but they show us. We're closer in the pictures hung over the bodies of our parents than we are in this very moment, on different sides of the bench. I wanted to ask If that's the truth, why do you never ask that when you're sober? Why do you need to get shitfaced before you even talk to me? but I didn't. I couldn't. Not here. Not now.

The wind outside blew against the window. Dirty air, carrying dust and death, against the bedroom window. It rattled the lock just barely.

"I wish I could've been here for them more, sometimes."

I don't say anything.

"Mom was so lonely after dad passed. I should've been here."

What else is there to say.

"I just… I don't know. I miss her a lot, you know? I wish she was still around."

When she was here you were busy with your work. Your work and nothing more. It's always work with you. Of course you wish she was around, because it'd mean you'd feel less bad. It's always about how you feel, and not the fact your mom is dead.

I bite my lip, barely being able to contain the wrinkling between my eyebrows.

"...How was your week, Jonah?"

…

"...Just long. No invasions this time around. Got to be with my friends though."

"That's nice,"

"Yeah."

…

"How about you?"

"...I don't remember. My head hurts."

"Ah."

…

..

.

"Jonah,"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I should've died? Before she did, that is."

I can barely contain the shock in my voice, "What?? No! Why would you want that? Why would you say that right now?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it. Maybe I should've died in the accident, instead of having you save me."

"God dude. No. What the fuck. Why would you even say that?" It makes me angry when he does this. Dwelling in what ifs. Making a situation about him, how HE would've reacted. "That shit already happened. There's no point in thinking about that."

"Do you think our parents would've loved me more as a memory?"

I can't even bring myself to speak. I just stare at him. I stare, and I almost wish he'd explode right there and then. How could you even say something like that, in front of your mother, your very dead mother?

"Maybe dad wouldn't have been so disappointed in me if he saw just the outline, right?"

"Archie."

"I'm just saying." He finally looks back at me. His eyes are so dead. One of them glows brightly yellow, from the LED lense he installed in his eye. It was company mandated. Even here, at the edge of the world, in his childhood home, in his parent's bedroom, he couldn't forget about it for one minute. "I wish he loved me more," he whimpers, "I wish I died as a kid so he would love me more."

"God, I hate when you do this! It doesn't matter! Our dad is fucking DEAD Archer! He's DEAD and GONE and maggots are eating him right now! Stop talking about it like it matters!" I snap, getting up from the bench.

Archer cries, and lets go of the bouquet so he can cover his face.

"Why are you being so mean to me? Aren't I suffering enough?"

"It's not about you right now! Look at where you are!"

He wipes away his snot and tears on his pristine condition suit. I never see him like this. I never see him at all. I feel bad, I think, but ultimately I can't sympathise on a real scale.

"You have so much shit now Archer. You've a job, and money, and a whole different life on another planet, and everything you could possibly want at the tip of your fingers. You abandoned your life here the moment you had even the slightest opportunity to." I feel anger flare up from a hidden place behind my lungs, rushing through my throat as I talk, rattling in my ribcage, "And you deserve to feel bad, because when you had the chance to be around, what'd you do? Nothing. Because that's what you do."

He's still sobbing. The bottle fell over on the bench, away from him. But I won't stop. Not now, that I'm already so far in.

"You're complaining so much for someone who never even cared to text our mom. You miss her so much for someone who didn't even care to be here the day she died. I buried her on my fucking own Archer!"

"Stop. Please. Please stop."

"No! You need to hear this because if you don't you'll keep being the brat you've always been! I've been working my ass off since FOREVER to get to where I'm at! You got LUCKY doing NOTHING and now you get to do NOTHING for a life! Do you even understand? You don't get to be upset! You don't get to feel bad that she's gone now, because you were never in her fucking life to begin with!"

"Jonah please. Please. Please, I'm sorry. Please stop. I understand. I'm the worst. Don't yell at me please. I don't like it. Please." He slurs, clutching his hair. It's so messy. He's a mess now.

"...stop saying that. I didn't… say that." I take a deep breath, and sit next to him, placing an arm around his back. Why did I do all that? Why would I even say all of that? What was even the point? "You're not the worst Archie. But you need to understand. All you do nowadays is work and drink wine and work again."

"I know."

"Then why do you keep doing it? You say you want to be around me more, but I never hear from you."

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

…

"Do you hate me Jonah?" Archer looks at me with big, wet eyes. They've been puffy for a while. This isn't the first time he cried today. He's red and sweaty and his hair is all frizzled. He doesn't look like my older brother, and I don't feel any younger. "I don't want you to hate me Jonah. You're the only family I have. Please don't hate me."

"...I don't hate you Archie. I don't hate you at all." I bring him closer and let him fall to my shoulder, hugging me tight. "I hate when you do dumb shit like this, but I want you well man. You're my brother."

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't. Don't say that unless you're gonna stop doing stuff like that."

Silence.

"Are you going to stop?"

"...I don't know. I don't know how to."

"Then don't say it until you figure it out."

"...okay. That's fair."

He doesn't let go. And I don't either. I pat his back, and feel him slump a little more. He won't remember what happened today, even if he does, and I guess that's just how it's going to be.

He's the last family I have. And I don't want to lose him. But it's hard to feel bad.

It feels worse to have said that in front of our par ents. They're dead and they can't even have a break from us. But I guess that's just how it is.

We sit on the bench for a little longer in silence. Then, after what felt like hours, he grabs the bottle, and puts the flowers inside. There's barely any liquid, and I will change it once I get the chance, but he places it right in between their tombs. Wordlessly, I help him get up,

And then we both part ways.

[bnnywngs]

when wei wuxian woke up, the first thing he felt was his dry lips and his aching throat, the first thing he saw was white, and there was few to no sounds around him. his brain was slowly coming up with answers - he was in cloud recesses, for the classes, he was redirect to the cold pond after his punishment.

"wei gongzi." came a soft voice from somewhere to his left, it was a older man, probably lan qiren's age, and obviously a lan "good morning, how do you feel?" the approached his bed with a tiny smile and wei wuxian realized he was probably in the healers quarters.

"thirsty." wei wuxian said, coughing a little.

the man, probably a doctor, gave him a cup, and then another one, both full of cool water. wei wuxian thanked him after drinking everything.

"what do you remember last?" the doctor asked.

"i was at the cold pond. it was very cold." he shrugged.

the doctor nodded, looking thoughtful "wei gongzi, you were found near drowned and too cold to be healthy. you nearly died, and you would if your friend didn't question lan-er-gongzi about you."

"...oh."

"we are all glad nothing serious came out of it, and we apologize for our negligence." the doctor bowed.

"oh! please, don't apologize!" wei wuxian said nervously "it was my fault, really. i..." he bit his lower lip, hesitating "i was probably, unconsciously doing it on purpose. i remember thinking i should get out, but..."

"but you didn't."

wei wuxian nodded, not looking at the doctor, who stayed silence for a moment.

"wei gongzi, could you tell me why you would drown yourself?"

wei wuxian opened his mouth, ready to joke and deflect, but then closed it, hesitating once more before letting out a deep sigh.

"i'm tired."

"tired? of what, if i may ask?"

wei wuxian laughed "i've been yelled at, accused, not heard, been called ridiculous and shameless, punished for things others aren't... and continuously rejected by the person i wanted to befriend the most. even old man lan threw a scroll at me!" he sighed again "why is that you lans expect we outsiders to change our ways of living from one night to another like a duck walking to water? it's unfair."

the doctor said nothing, only staring at him and letting him talk.

"like... we're all supposed to accept that lans follow all their rules all the times even when outside their territory and the we accommodate them on ours respecting this, but why we need to pretend to be like them while here?" wei wuxian continued "why when i do something that is completely normal to me, i'm called shameless?! why do i have to feel ashamed to be the way i am?"

"it's unfair." the doctor nodded.

"exactly!" wei wuxian laughed "i'm tired of these expectations, of the punishments, of being hurt every time i try to make conversations... i just want to go home."

"i understand." the doctor sighed "should i write to your parents to come and fetch you?" he smiled softly.

"...please?" wei wuxian's voice shook with unshed tears.

the doctor patted his shoulder with a nod before asking him to rest while he asked for a meal and write that letter.

after sending it, the doctor sighed, long and deeply, and walked to where he knew the current sect leader was probably having his evening tea with his nephews (and waiting for him to tell them that wei gongzi is awake and well).

after bows and niceties, the doctor asked to speak frankly.

"i just sent for the boy's parents to fetch him." he started "he is not adapting well to the cloud recesses and, frankly, i'm quite disappointed on you, Qiren."

"why is that?" lan qiren asked, looking surprised.

"the boy is being targeted and almost bullied by our sect, breaking as much of our rules as he has, if not more." the man sighed.

"i'm sure is just a misunderstanding." lan xichen smiled softly "wei gongzi is being treated as any other of our guest disciples."

the doctor looked at him with a serious expression "i do hope you are not as blind as you sound, lan gongzi. wei wuxian himself told me your uncle threw a scroll at him, that he's being yelled at and punished more than his peers."

"this is serious accusations." lan qiren said, looking uncomfortable.

"yet, i believe in them. and when he asked me to go back home, i said yes."

no one spoke a word for a long moment and the doctor wanted to sigh again.

"qiren, i know you don't like his mother, but our rules said to not blame the child, and not treat them differently. you should know it more than anyone else. nonetheless, he's being hurt while trying to befriend a peer from our sect and that made things worse. this child thinks he does not belong here, that he's not welcome."

lan xichen's smile seemed frozen, and young lan wangji was just sitting there with a blank expression, while lan qiren just looked more and more uncomfortable.

holding back a sigh, the doctor bowed to them "i will take my leave. wei gongzi will spend the night in the healing pavilion before going back to where he's staying. i ask for him to be released from classes until his parents arrive." with another bow, he left.

less than a week later, cangse sanren and wei changze arrived with tense smiles, waiting for their son by the gates and not stepping inside cloud recesses. the guards were uncomfortable, feeling that something was wrong as they clearly remember that those two were welcome to enter.

jiang wanyin and nie huaisang were the only guest disciples to walk wei wuxian until the first step of the long stairs that led to the foot of the mountain. the lan doctor wasn't there, but had come by earlier to with the boy a good journey, and gave him a bag full of tea leaves that would help him calm his mind.

wei wuxian waved with a big smile to his friends before hugging his parents and walking with them to the city, talking loudly about his experience and complaining about the food the most.

both boys that stayed behind, were surprised to see lan wangji standing not much far, looking rather intensively to where the small family of three once was. but before any of them could say anything, he turned back and walked away, looking rather annoyed.

"does he hate wei-xiong that much?" nie huaisang asked out loud behind his fan

"looks like." jiang wanyin shrugged.

(a year later, during a cultivation conference, lan wangji would try to apologize, but being inexperienced on these matters, he ended up just hurting wei wuxian again, though, after a few months and another meeting between them, he could at least secure that, yes, they could be friends.

years later, after almost losing wei wuxian on a night hunting, lan wangji finally told him the truth, apologizing and confessing.)

[ecoamerica]

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[cannibalcoyote]

Unraveled Ch.3: The Family

Ch.2 Ch.4

After doing some paperwork for about an hour Ellie suddenly runs into the office, rushing over to my desk.

"Come on Els! The beach has been blocked off and we're both being called down there. Apparently there is a body." Ellie whispers quickly to me in distress.

I look up at her, feeling my memories attempting to resurface, but I quickly push them back, swallowing my nerves as I put on my cold, stern exterior. We quickly walked out of the department, hopping into our respective cars and heading over to the beach. I can constantly feel the memories of that little girl's body in the water trying to pick its way into my vision, but I shake it off. I couldn't avenge her, but I can try and solve whoever it is that we find.

Flashing our badges we park our cars and get access to the beach, I stumble slightly in the sand as Ellie and I weave through the small group of people beginning to crowd against the police tape.

We walk straight up to the tape, quickly being allowed in by the uniforms, Ellie going first and walking towards the body. I, however, feel myself slowing down, the waves rolling and the image of a child's dead body being all too similar. My mind and my body feel disconnected, like I am physically here but my mind is simply watching the nauseating scene unfold.

The only thought in my mind being, 'Is this penance for my downfalls, God?', closing my eyes and sharply reopening them I push myself forwards, watching Ellie beginning to get emotional, I think I heard her saying 'no' and 'I know this boy.' Both of these caused my blood to run just that much colder.

I trek towards the body with false confidence, keeping my eyes trained on the body. I can see figures of the D.I. and Ellie having a slight confrontation in my peripheral vision, but I pay them no mind as I spot the body of Danny Latimer lying in the cold sand.

I then look up when I hear an all too familiar accent and tone. The buried feeling of longing resurfacing as the voice awakens old memories.

"Shut it down. You're working a case now!" His voice was serious and his accent Scottish, I finally look up to see his face. He luckily hasn't seen me yet, but seeing him causes my striding over there to hesitate greatly as I feel my facade of confidence crumbling in mere seconds.

He introduced himself to Ellie but I care not about that, all I can focus on is the face of my best friend, Alec Hardy. Luckily they are talking about Danny, him turning around as Ellie identifies the body, Alec turning around as he learns this information. The sickening feeling in my gut is only growing in this whole situation, but I push myself forward. I've got a crime to solve now and I can't let past personal experience interfere with that.

I walk forwards, my feet feeling heavy, the type of heavy like when your boots are filled with water that can never be emptied. I only stop when I reach Ellie, trying to stay out of Alec's view.

"Ellie? Is that who I think it is?" My question rang through the tense air, my voice soft and accent not as noticeable. Ellie jumped in fright before realizing it's me.

"How bad are the uniforms at keeping civilians out of a crime scene?!" Alec exclaims in anger, luckily not looking at me yet.

"They're not that bad, seeing as I'm no civilian Alec." I state. Ellie looks at me in surprise and confusion as I call our new D.I. by his first name. Even he freezes at my tense greeting, almost as if having a moment of realization at hearing my voice. He slowly turns to see my face, the face of his missing best friend, the face of a person he desperately longed for though thought he would never see again.

"Elswyth?" His soft yet gruff voice is full of longing and questioning. His eyes seemingly darkening in sadness as he remembers our past together. Sadly we don't get long to remember as I hear the sound of someone who is not going to take this situation well at all, Beth Latimer.

"Oh, God, who's that?" Alec questions as he shifts his gaze to the distraught mother.

Ellie and I both looked as well with wide eyes, seeing one of our closest friends and mother to the now deceased Danny. We both glance at each other before stumbling forwards, holding our arms out to catch Beth before she can reach Danny. Ellie is telling her she can't be here, but my only focus is to keep her from reaching Danny. I grab her, struggling as she pulls me slightly forward, Alec grabbing her too until the uniforms finally rush over and drag her back, Beth fighting violently as she screams about how those are Danny's trainers, screaming both of our names in despair.

I quickly look away, stumbling backwards slightly, this is all wrong, it's happening all over again. I feel as though I'm going to collapse and be sick when two strong arms grasp me quickly, holding me against their chest as comforting words are spoken quietly. I recognize him, his smell and touch are the same even after not seeing him for so long. He turns me around, as I rest my head against him, his arms wrapped tightly around me as we both understand how this is affecting each other.

After a few more moments I push away from him, I can't let Ellie see this, she would quickly catch on to what happened in my past, and I don't want her hating me like how she loathes Alec. He looks at me as I stumble back again, reaching out to steady me but I push his hands away, he stops immediately, looking down slightly and lowering his hand at my rejection. I can't stand looking at him sad, so instead I turn to Ellie, her hands against her forehead at the despair of Beth. I quickly pull her into a hug, I know this is going to be one of the worst experiences of her life, and I have to be there to make sure it doesn't end up how my case did.

——————————

We're walking along the cliffs, the tape now blocking the edge. We all walk through the y'all grass, I cross my arms across my body as a form of comfort, the waves below splashing loudly.

"They let people walk along here, no safety barriers?" Alec questions, his tone confused as to why.

"It's the coastal path, people know to be careful." Ellie responds simply, all of us continuing to trudge through the tall grass.

"It's a death trap." Alec states as he looks behind us then back around. I give a small, almost nonexistent smile at how blunt he still is, hopefully he doesn't realize how much I've missed his rudely blunt and socially awkward personality.

We continue walking, finally running into SOCO at the crime scene.

"How's it going?" Alec asks as we stop to speak with Brian.

"Well, from what we've got up here, sir, it's looking like the rockfall around the body was faked." Brian responded solemnly. My eyes going dark as I now know for sure that this is a murder.

"What do you mean?" Ellie questions. I hold in my sigh of annoyance as I remember that I can't be mad, this is after all her first murder, as well as this town's first murder; I'm going to have to be patient for Ellie. Brian continues to talk but I feel my mind wandering elsewhere as I examine the area in my head, already having seen that there was no proof Danny was even up here, I then begin to think of all possible suspects, the family are always suspects at first, as well as anyone he might've seen on a day to day basis.

I don't even realize we're leaving until I hear my name being yelled, "Els! Let's go!" I quickly look over to see Alec glance over at my frozen form before walking down the path and Ellie waving me over before following Alec. I quickly run over to catch up, hearing Alec telling Ellie to get the pathologist to hurry up even if it's preliminary. I walk a few feet behind them both, my head looking down at the steps until I hear a sharp yell that grabs my attention.

"D.S. Miller! D.S. Carlisle!"

"Who's that?" Alec questions Ellie as to why someone is shouting our names. I look up to see the one and only obnoxious reporter, Olly Stevens. I push in between them, pushing both of them forwards faster.

"Just keep walking." Ellie sighs as she picks up the pace.

"Ellie! Els!" Olly shouts as if we're best buds.

"He seems to know both of you." Alec states, albeit a little bitterly as he looks at me. I roll my eyes knowing exactly what he's thinking.

"Auntie Ellie! Auntie Els!"

"No no no, don't pull that bullshit Olly." I angrily snarl as I continue walking, now leaving the other two behind as I head to my car.

"I told you, don't do that!" I hear Ellie practically growl at him in annoyance. I ignore them as I go to open my door, looking back to see Alec scowl and release a disgusted sound when hearing Olly works for the Broadchurch Echo. I smile slightly at that scowl upon his face, it makes me remember back to when I would call him Hardy when we were younger and he would scowl in annoyance before returning the favor and calling me Carlisle. I realize what I'm doing and wipe the smile off my face, slipping into my old Alfa Romeo and waiting for Ellie to leave, hearing bits of their conversation and how they're not giving statements.

Olly, seeming to not have any luck with them, instead rushes over to my car.

"Auntie Els, I heard there was a body?"

"Don't pull that shit Oliver, we're not giving statements right now, and you are not allowed to speculate. Now shut it and wait till we give a proper statement." Feeling pissed I slam my door, harshly shifting gears before I speed off to follow Ellie to the Latimer house.

——————————

We all exit our vehicles, Ellie looking a little confused and perturbed. Alec must've told her to tell him if the family we're acting odd. I understand why she's acting like that, but she needs to understand that right now everybody's a suspect. Ellie walks up to the doors first, Alec hangs back and pulls me aside.

"Els, I know this case is bringing up bad memories, if you want to hang back in the cars I understand." Alec states, his normally rough Scottish voice now quiet and concerned. I smile slightly, resting my hand against his shoulder as he looks at my eyes.

"I would love to take up that offer, but this is Ellie's first homicide, and I can't let her face that with you, I know you understand what you're doing, but Ellie won't listen to you, she needs me there to guide her." I pat his chest before walking up to the door, Mark answering it. A flash of uncertainty streaming across his eyes as he greets Alec, Ellie, and myself.

We enter their home, meeting the whole family in the living room. Beth standing up, anxious and restless as she already knows why we're here. Her daughter Chloe, gazing up at me as if begging me to tell them it's not Danny. I look away, the ground becoming my sole focus as they take their seats.

"Hi I'm Detective Inspector Alec Hardy, and I believe you know D.S. Miller and D.S. Carlisle" Alec introduces, inviting them to sit down as he grabs me and himself a chair. We all sit down, the whole family distraught, Ellie barely keeping it together, and Alec being the one forced to keep it together. I'm simply there, I'm there for Ellie and the family, and now I'm also here to make sure that Alec is alright as well.

"The body of a young boy was found..." Alec starts before Beth interrupts, being hushed by Mark before he tells Alec to continue.

"We believe it's Danny's body." Alec states.

Beth looks over at us as she breaks down, "Please Ellie, Elspeth... Was it him?" Beth's question destroys Ellie, she looks over at me before nodding in confirmation to Beth. Beth breaking down even more now, Ellie being unable to hold in some of her tears.

The whole family shudders, the dread of the situation amplifies as everyone cries and Mark attempts to keep it together and hold the family.

I have a feeling of complete emptiness, this is the second murder of a child I have to investigate where I know the family personally, and this is going to be the one to destroy what was left of my shattered soul. My hands shake slightly, and Alec discreetly reaches over to hold them, running his thumb over the top of my hand to calm me down whilst still keeping an eye on the family's reaction. I knew this case was hitting close to home for him as well, so I attempted to soothe him as well, squeezing his hands in thanks and comfort.

Ch.2 Ch.4

[thefirstknife]

Do you think all of these reveals about Misraaks's backstory are... a bit much? All we knew before was he was a vandal during the reef wars who met Sjur, then became our ally. The splicer stuff was a cool reveal, albeit surprising (and what did he do with his old helmet?), but this most recent reveal feels almost retconesque? Just wondering your thoughts!

I saw the comments that it could be an issue with his timeline since he's depicted as a ruthless captain, but when he's found by Sjur, he's just a vandal.

I hope Bungie addresses this, but it's also pretty clear to me that Mithrax at one point stopped using the relic. We don't know why and how and when (yet), but he must've abandoned the pirating ways at some point and by doing so, he would've been demoted. A demotion for Eliksni means less ether and less ether means they lose their size. So him going from captain to vandal isn't really a retcon.

Another thing to remember is that we're talking many hundreds of years (at minimum) of a timespan in his story. Mithrax had plenty of time to grow up, take over as a captain, do the bad stuff, stop, get a demotion and eventually end up with the Awoken. I think the timespan is the most crucial here and people tend to forget that we have no definitive information about how much time it's been, other than vaguely several hundred for sure. There's definitely enough time for Mithrax to have had such a rich history before our time.

However, I would definitely like to know more and get an official explanation from Mithrax himself. All this so far has been told by Eramis and I would love if Mithrax sat us down and told us himself.

Survivor's Epitaph from Splicer reads a lot differently now with all of this in mind:

"There was a ship," Mithrax eventually replied. "It may have been soldiers. Civilians. I do not know." He looked away from the Traveler as he spoke. "I led a boarding party onto it. We slaughtered any who resisted and rounded up those who surrendered."

Shaxx turned to look at Mithrax, a wordless question in his faceless mask.

"We argued what to do with the prisoners. Some suggested we keep them as warning-trophies. Others said to barter with them." Mithrax looked away, shoulders sagged. "But I was young. Impatient." He closed his eyes. "I opened the airlock. It seemed the simplest solution."

This definitely hinted, even back then, that at some point in his life, Mithrax had a significant position of power among the Eliksni. He led a boarding party and he was the one who had the power to decide what to do with prisoners.

But yeah, either way, I hope we get more clarifying lore about his past. They obviously haven't forgotten that he found his daughter in a wreck (he mentioned it in a voice line) and that he spent time with the Awoken (Eido's name) so I wouldn't say they're retconning anything. But it would be great if he told us more about his past just so we can get a better grasp on when all of these things happened.

As for his old helmet, no clue. His mother is shown wearing an identical one in the cutscene, so he either inherited hers or had an identical one made, and he later abandoned it before coming to the Last City for, perhaps, peace keeping reasons. Him wearing the old helmet while he was hiding in the basement on the Farm was fine, but coming to the City with it was something he perhaps saw as too much for those that might recognise it (both humans and Eliksni). But again, I would love to see some official lore on that so we don't have to extrapolate.

[soullesspen]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and excited to share my first story! (Constructive criticism is very welcome, by the way) !

🕯🕯🕯

The Candle.

I have always felt evenings are weird, it seems like a blend of both worlds. Beautiful, no doubt, but weird. The darkness of the advancing night etching closer and closer to swallow the red aura marking the death of day. The sun passes on its light to the moon, who doesn't really handle the job that well. I mean, it's still dark, isn't it? The only time when you'll see both bats swooshing through the trees and birds flying high up in the sky. Street lights blink open when it's not completely dark. Some people set off to work, while others return home looking so tired as if they just sold their souls. Perhaps they did, how else would they buy stuff? Adults are weird too.

But not as weird as the battered old one-storeyed empty house down our street. Like those few old men in the metro who refuse an empty seat. Standing crookedly on its worn foundations with only the sheer power of will, as if still trying to maintain its reputation in front of its younger neighbors. How can the same house look so different during the day and at night? During the day, you wouldn't bat an eye at this house. It blends in so easily with its neighbors that most people forget it even exists. During night though, it seems like one of those houses you see in those horror TV shows. Like a fusion of the normal and the paranormal. An old dried-up tree, with leaves grazing the foggy broken glass paned windows and a rusty old mailbox on its dark grayish lawn, that had lost its hue due to years of neglect. However, what caught my eye today was none of its usual hideousness.

Behind the broken attic window, just above the front door, I saw a faint yellow glow. Is that a candle? Who would light a candle in an empty house? I hadn't quite followed my thoughts to a conclusion when I found the answer to it. Draped completely in white, a hooded figure, stared intently at the candle, like a moth admiring a flame. I gazed at it for a while, but could not make any sense of it. The more I tried to understand what it was, the more my eyes seemed to blur, not unlike paying attention in math class. Like trying to walk straight through a fog or trying to remember a dream you just had, whatever it was, it seemed to be just outside my reach. I was awake, wasn't I? Then, as if through the fog it turned towards me and I froze. Those intense white eyes seem to glare at my soul. A chill ran down my spine. Panic-stricken, I tried to run, but I couldn't. My body wasn't mine anymore. It seemed to be calling at me. Unknowingly I took a step towards the house. No, I wanted to. I wanted to see the candle, its warm aura seemed to call me. I couldn't look away. I stepped past the broken fence, onto the overgrown lawn.

“Ravi?... Ravi !? ”

An arm tugged me back into reality. I broke out of the trance. It was Jyoti. I had forgotten he was here with me.

“What are you doing?? One minute we were talking and the next you're having a staring contest with someone? Your face is all red.”

I fell on my knees. I was sweating profusely.

Was it fear? fear of death? No, it didn't feel as simple as that.

It took me a while to regain my voice.

“I-”, I stuttered as I pointed at the window I was looking at. And not surprisingly, the figure was gone. But not the candle. I am not dumb, I know a ghost when I see one. Jyoti, on the other hand, laughed at me when I explained everything to him.

“Do you even know why that house is empty?”, he enquired.

Of course not. What ten-year-old would want to know about what happens in his neighborhood? We're more concerned about what happens in the next Power Rangers episode.

“Shall we go in? ”, I suggested.

“What? Didn't you just say you just saw a ghost? ”

“I'm still curious. Who wouldn't want to see a ghost up close? Plus, I want to check out the candle. Why would there be a candle in an empty house? Also, I've always wanted to go into the house but my father wouldn't let me. And I thought you weren't afraid of ghosts. ”

“Of course, I'm not afraid. I don't believe there is anything like a ghost. All those horror shows are fake. Don't you know that? ”

“People like you are the first ones to die in those shows. ”

“Fine. I’ll go! But you owe me a treat. ”

I knew taunting him would work. It's too easy. Also, I don't know why, but I knew it would be reassuring if I had Jyoti by my side. He's not at all skinny, but it would not be right to call him fat. He's somewhere in that sweet gray zone that parents want their kids to be. Overall, if I had to choose someone from a group of ten-year-olds to support me on my Ghostbuster mission, I would pick Jyoti because- well, he seems stronger than me.

“Sure! Who's a goood boy? ”

“Screw you! Not a dog treat. You'll treat me to the special panipuri down the street. ”

There goes my pocket money for this month, I thought.

Standing at the edge of the porch, we mustered our courage. As I stepped through the dark gray grass again, I realized how large they were. These seriously need a trim. Both of us knee-deep, we pushed through who knows how many creepy crawlies brushing against our legs, until we finally reached the balcony. Jyoti tried to peek inside through the windows but was thwarted by the thick layer of dust on it. I knocked at the door, mostly out of reflex. Jyoti looked at me ridiculously. “I panicked”, I gestured silently. “I'm with an idiot”, he gestured back. He made a face that my father makes when I do my homework. Geometry is hard, he doesn't realize that. He never had to do those.

For a while we stood silently, hoping that no response would come from the other side. Surely enough, no one opened the door. Well, at least now the ghost knows that we're polite intruders. We pushed the door open. It took some effort to push through years of dust and rusty hinges. However, a question bugged me, was it always unlocked?

As soon as we stepped in, a horrid stench hit me like a physical force. I retched. Covering my mouth with my hands, I ran to the nearest patch of grass. And, well, let's say I revisited my entire lunch, in reverse. There goes the chicken pakoras I had for lunch. “Chicken pakoras for lunch?” you'd ask. Perks of having a single parent. Of course, in return, I had to promise Dad I would bring an A+ in maths. A deal I am now regretting. Do I still have to keep my end of it? I groaned. Inhaling as much fresh air as possible I covered my nose and went back in. The rancid air still made my eyes water. Imagine smelly rotten cheese mixed with your father’s smelly socks that he has been wearing for a month. Jyoti gagged, a choke escaped from his mouth, but he carried on. I realized we had made another huge mistake. What ghostbuster doesn't bring a flashlight with him? A useless one of course. What will you hit the ghost with if it attacks you? It took a while for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Faint light dripped through the dusty windows, turning the entire house a pale shade of brown. With tattered curtains and shredded wallpapers, the house added more flair to its decaying aesthetic. Just what you'd expect from a horror house. Thank god for the full moon today. Now I feel guilty for calling it useless earlier.

The first thing we noticed when we went in was a strange graffiti made on the floor. I have played Subway Surfers, of course, I know what graffiti is. Right in front of the door, a white outline of a person dancing. Not exactly dancing, it reminded me of when the Power Ranger villain is defeated and they lie down on the ground, just before exploding in bursts of color. Only it looked much more agonizing. With arms stretched towards the door like the person was crawling towards it. And there seemed to be some dried-up brown paint where the outline's stomach was supposed to be. Some dark moss had gathered over the paint. That's a weird art, I thought. Jyoti seemed to be confused as well. The more I looked at it, I realized the outline was too small to be an adult's. Probably some kid, who wanted his father to draw around him with chalk. My father once made a mark of my height on the door frame, but never on the floor. I'll probably ask him later. What a sweet memory, I thought. Forever engraved into the house.

We were both lost in our thoughts when we heard it. A soft creak, barely enough to be heard aloud. Footsteps! Right above us. The floor above squeaked ever so slightly with every step, and dust fell down as if marking the footprints of the resident above. The footprints stopped just before the door. I felt a familiar chill run down my spine. A wave of goosebumps ran through my arms. I glanced at Jyoti. His terrified face was more than enough to feed my ego. Did I finally make a believer out of him? Oh, what an addictive ecstasy it is to force someone to believe in what you know to be true. Through the fear, a smirk escaped my lips. He caught me looking and quickly handled himself. “Let's go up”, I gestured. He had to follow. It's a matter of his pride now.

A single staircase in front of us led to the attic. I realized the window was just above us, where the footsteps had stopped. With every step, the stairs groaned. I flinched. If only every house had these stairs, there would never be any theft. With Jyoti right on my heels, I went up, with less stealth than an elephant. Each creak echoed through the house, and with each step I took my heart sank. Every shadow I saw through the corner of my eye seemed to move ever so slightly. I kept glancing back, quietly hoping some adult would barge in to stop us from going further, but all I saw was Jyoti's face, now not even trying to hide his fear. Well, that didn't help with my nervousness. I could almost imagine my epitaph reading: “Curiosity killed the Ravi”. Is it just me or did it get slightly cold here? The rotten stench became more intense as we went up. My eyes watered as I tried not to gag again. With each step, I questioned my decision to come in here. Why did I even want to? What called me here? Is the candle that important? I thought of turning back but I knew I would never hear the end of it if I did from Jyoti. It's a matter of my pride now!

A strange light seemed to fill the room above. Is it the light of the candle? I froze in my tracks. Unfortunately Jyoti, not realizing that, kept walking, straight into me. Both of us stumbled forward and fell. Standing in front of the window, with its back towards us, the mysterious resident of this fine establishment and the source of this fragrant smell, that almost made me lose my breakfast too. Seeing it so close for the first time, I realized it was much smaller than the ghosts on TV. Through its pale glowing aura, I could make out the shape of a kid. Someone of my age. Is the kid whose outline is marked on the floor below? Is he looking out the window? No, through his vaguely transparent shape, I could make out a yellowish flicker.

Over at the window sill, stood the lonely candle. Its flames flickered with the evening breeze, dancing to the tunes of an unknown symphony. The rotten smell seemed to disappear, gradually turning into an intoxicating fragrance, truly this time. The tendrils of its smoke seem to strangle my entire being. Bit by bit I sensed I was losing myself. Pulling at my desires, it seems to want to say something to me. What does it want? No, it wants to give something. What can it give? Anything I want? What do I want? Can it show me the cartoon episode I missed yesterday? Even better, can it give me good grades in math? Even more, can I see my mother again? Something clicked inside me. Oh, the sweet joy of promised dreams. The tranquil peace that this flame offers. Are these really my thoughts? Is this what I want? Will it make me happy? I am always happy. How much more joy can it give? A voice whispered inside my soul, “More than you can ever imagine”. My legs gave away. My body is no longer under my control. Floating through clouds of unfulfilled fantasies, I inched closer and closer towards the flame. I stumbled but did not stop. I was exhilarated. I raised my arms, clawing at empty air. Trying to grab the candle. It's mine! Give me it! I want it! I tried to run towards it, but couldn't.

Something yanked me back with a jerk. My eyes flew open. With the annoyance of someone who had just been woken up from the happiest dream of his life, I turned around furiously. “Let go!”, I screamed. But the grip didn't loosen. It was Jyoti. His eyes wide and distorted from fear, stared fixedly in front of us. I followed his gaze and froze in terror. A few feet in front of us, the figure has turned around. Its skeleton hands stretched in front, welcoming its brethren into its arms. Skin dripped from its bones like wet sheets of paper. Is that what I was reaching for? I stepped back in disgust. For the first time, I saw its face up close. Or rather I didn't see it. Where its eyes were supposed to be were two empty pits of abyss. The shriveled mummified remains of its face seem overjoyed to find some company at long last. It took a step towards us.

We took one step back. With each move of this Tom and Jerry chase its expressions seem to darken. The overjoyed face gradually turned into a face of absolute wrath. Its wrinkled skin now resembled a predator snarling at its prey. A low guttural growl erupted from its within. Barely suppressing the urge to run, we kept our eyes on the monstrosity in front of us, as we inched closer and closer towards the stairs. Then in a split second, it all happened. Making a sharp shriek, like a banshee’s wail it leaped at us. Gliding through the air held by invisible strings, it caught up to us. Not wasting a moment's breath we dashed for the stairs. I was the first to reach it. Rushing down the stairs frantically, I had no time to look back. Then, my foot caught on something. The world shifted from beneath my feet. I tumbled down without any control. I lost count of the number of bruises I got or the number of stairs I skipped. I think I broke my ankle somewhere in between, and then thud. The ground put a halt to my motion. The floor where I fell, is now tinted with my blood. My ears are ringing. The world deafened me with the cry of a hundred crickets. A thousand needles drilled at my skull like spikes on an iron maiden.

Panic-stricken, I looked up. Has it caught up to me? What I saw up the stairs will be forever etched into my eyes. Halfway down the stairs, I saw Jyoti. But he was not alone. Suspended in the air, pulling by his leg was the figure in white. Its face is now more frightening than ever. Distorted with joy. It was ecstatic. Jyoti was now upside-down, frantically grasping at the ballisters, his face contorted in a mask of pure agony and terror, tears streaming down his face, his mouth open wide but unable to speak a word. No, he did, deafened by the blow I never heard it. I can only imagine how loud and agonizing the screams that erupted from him must have been as he was dragged away, etching marks of blood and nails on the wood. I can never forget the look in his eyes for as long as I live. As I lay petrified, I knew this was the end. I will be next. I had accepted it. Fatigue had finally caught up to me. Fear is a good thing sometimes, I thought, it makes you forget about the pain. My leg twisted at an unnatural angle, blood dripped down my chin, and I knew I would never escape. The pain steadily snaked its way up my legs, twisting at my nerves. Do I attempt to crawl my way out? Clawing through the wood and then the tall gray grass, passing through the shadows into the light? Will that be enough? The outline lying beside me seemed to disapprove. Gazing outside the door, the gleam of the street lights blurred gradually. Darkness crept up the edge of my eyes. My heart is beating faster than ever. The pain is unbearable now. The world turned black. I think I heard some footsteps. Is it finally back for me?

A sudden jerk. I felt myself being lifted. Then a gentle rumble gradually faded into a rhythmic lullaby. I know this feeling. I have experienced this many times before, falling asleep on the desk and waking up in my bed. I opened my eyes. Tucked in a blanket, cradled in the arms of my rescuer, my heart loosened up. Above my head, stars twinkled innocently, unmoved by the events of us petty mortals. The moon peeked guiltily through a few wisps of clouds scattered here and there. I turned my head to look behind us. A few houses away, I could see the House. Its dark face now radiated with blue and red flashing lights. A crowd had gathered around the ambulance. My father's face looked stern. Was he angry? Was he glad? I couldn't tell. I didn't really care. I snuggled closer into his warm cotton shirt. It's finally over. A single tear slipped down my face. I felt him tightening his grip as I again dove deep into my well-earned sleep.

I never asked him what they found in the house. And my father never spoke a word. But I knew what they'd find. Every now and then, from far away, I could still see the sweet soft yellow glow on the window, calling at me tirelessly, whispering dreams of the unknown. Through the murky shadows, I could see two shapes. Two moths now gathered at the flame. One of whom I know.

Open to suggestions and improvements!!

[aucoba]

Rewtaching Good omens S2 here we go :

Ep 1 :

Aziraphale saying he forgives Maggie for not paying rent 'cause he is "very good at forgiving things, and it' s his favorite thing" - yes that's me dying in the background of foreshadowing

I already saw it the first time but crowley's paper has an article on taddfield being a wonderful place to live in

Crowley wondering what the point is into creating the universe only to stop it Vs after armagedon't, Crowley wondering what's the point of heaven and hell's existence

John ham's ass

Extreme sanction aka book of life... [suspicious]

Aziraphale becoming defensive the second gab's talks about how it feels to be in love

"the something terrible" that might not happen to you in A. Z. FELL bookshop

Why do Crowley not like it when you call and appear mysteriously at the same time? What's wrong with that?

Soon to be 'named Jim saying "you' re funny I love you", sends me to heaven

And the little fly (I did see and hear it the first time, just love the detail)

WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THE QUOTE ON THE MATCH BOX oh and it's "Job"!

Aziraphale turning on his left when Crowley enters the coffeshop and then saying how nice it is to tell someone about his good deeds now that he isn't reporting to upstairs... Missing heaven??

bohemian rhapsody in the background in the coffeshp ❤️ (I didn't notice the first time)

Crowley calming down, not by eating the eaglecakes but by going outside, tryong to do a human technique before casting lightning - I wish I could do that

Muriel my love

Archangel in front of a material object will never not be funny to me

Beelzebub going out of their way to get their boyfriend back

The book of life again and how things might have never existed... Sending Crowley on a "lover boy" driving to his angel

The teeny-tiny miracle bit is still brilliant

Ep 2

Aziraphale and Crowley being workers from ennemies company, just chatting, trying to both do their job. So mundane.

THERE ARE BIRDS FLYING AWAY AFTER CROWLEY DESTROYED THE GOATS

Aziraphale not asking questions, simply saying "killing kids! That can't be right", acting like... Almost has if he is acting as the devil's advocate when interacting with his boss ("job liked his old children... What we could is..." so powerful)

Miracles to make places accessible is such an awesome idea

Gabriel being unnoticeable although he shoves a Terry prachett book into the archangel's faces

Jim using "the wicked bible" to try and kill the fly, what the heck is up with that! Gab the fly must be so chocked by how dumb he is ("the beauty part is that it never works)

Poor aziraphale, that's too much stress for him

"we're never going to the pub" flirt

Mister Brown holds a metro paper saying "Nebraska woman taught duck to play accordeon" and I hope Crowley is the Nebraska woman

"Maggie has a... Pash. And doesn't know how to conduct a courtship" YOU DON'T SAY, AZIRAPHALE

Wait, aziraphale can lie to the archangel's about miracling people falling in love, and knows it wouldn't actually work, but the archangels don't know it wouldn't work??

Invoke fiction properly - Jane austen being cooler than I thought she could ever be - SHE HAD BALLS - "people would gather and then realise they had misunderstood each other and that they were actually deeply in love" I need s3 to have a ball with this happening for our happy ending

Aziraphale being si excited about the clue and doing the same little dance Everytime he sings it

Hearing god's voice when Jim remembers Gabriel and Crowley knowing Jim can do better

The schuhite visiting to check up on the kids

Aziraphale "thinking" about what god's want while Crowley questions it

"may god forgive you" after Crowley does the bad guy act... And then putting his faith in crowley's words that he will not kill the kids

Aziraphale eating for the first time in the middle of a storm, as if he had been starving for ever

God answering job's questions by asking him if he ever paid any attention to everything god ever created, if he realises how insignificant and powerless he is

Crowley stopping job's wife to curse god 'cause "that never ends well"

Aziraphale and Crowley doing an improv scene magic trick to bring back the children and it working 'cause the archangels are too ignorant

Aziraphale feeling like he is failing as an angel when he lies to save humans... Him trying to cope with grey morales for the first time VS now owning the fact that the heavenly hierarchy was awful

Nina saying her partner was "not impressed" for not meeting her insane expectations... Makes me think of heaven's style of monitoring

"what car" "our car" "we don't share a car"

Gabriel rearranging the books, reading the first line of the book Muriel read at the end... And the bible is on the same shelf - and then pride and prejudice incipit-- and then good omens book incipit

Cut to depressed aziraphale in the past with depressed music

This scene... I will have to watch it again and again... It's the first and only time I think we've ever seen aziraphale feel so guilty : he feels guilty for lying, but not for the lie in itself. And Crowley offers him acceptation (rather than forgiveness) : if there's nothing to forgive then there's never been anything wrong. So we can just be, next to one another. And still the scene ends with Crowley referring to his demonic nature, as if they can't escape what the world made them to be