#we haven't even gotten to Halloween

[kaymarie-bell]

I GOT MY SON ON THE FREE PULLS 😭💖💖💖💖

also I can't believe I got this lucky on JP server??? I'm so thankful 😭🙏

[whateverloomis]

Lick me like a lollipop ✒︎ Billy Loomis x GN reader

Warnings: SMUT, Infidelity, Stu is annoying (lol), oral (male receiving), edging, size kink if you squint, unedited.

Note: Afab or amab people apply for this <33

Readers POV | Word count: 1.4k / Part 2

-

It was Tatum. She had gotten me addicted to freaking lollipops after I told her I have an oral fixation. Apparently she did too, and Stu was very happy about it, if you know what I mean.

It was Friday after last period, I was at my locker with Billy, Stu and Sid putting away my books -- with a lollipop in my mouth, of course -- before we all left to Stu's house to get ready for movie night. It was a routine at this point. Every Friday night after class we'd go to Stu's house to wait for Tatum to get out of practice and bring Randy over from work. He'd bring a scary movie to watch and criticize all night long until one of us got too tired to continue the pointless debate.

"Stu, we watched that one last Friday!" I said for the third time, patience long gone. That was the fourth week he suggested to watch Halloween.

"But it's Jamie Lee Curtis, man! She's hot as fuck! I bet Randy would be on my side here, you guys are no fun." Stu replied with a huff.

"Yeah, because he has a weird obsession with her too." I replied, rolling my eyes as I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth, it releasing a soft pop sound.

There was a brief pause, Stu smirked at my actions and shamelessly looked at my lips when I pulled the sugary bulb out of my mouth. Billy was staring too, but he was subtle. His eyes raked from my own, down to my lips, lingering a tad bit more than usual before he took a deep breath and glared at Stu. "Shut up about it will you? We're watching Psycho. It was decided last Friday, dumbass."

"Can we all leave this argument for tonight? It's too early for this." Sidney said, closing her locker before we walked out of college and made our way to Stu's house.

-

Once everyone arrived at Stu's house, we didn't take long to settle and start debating about the movie, because Stu couldn't keep his mouth shut. His argument was that Psycho wasn't even that good because you couldn't see the red color of the blood, therefore it wasn't scary. Randy and Tatum were practically arguing about the topic while Sidney laughed at their unnecessarily serious discussion.

"All I'm staying is; what makes a movie scary is the blood, man!" Stu commented.

"Stu, it's a classic black and white movie. Plus, horror isn't all about the blood and gore." Randy countered, and Tatum agreed. "See? That's what I've been telling you doofus!" She told Stu, and he laughed at her anger.

I decided to pitch in and attempted to cut the conversation to continue watching the movie. "Guys, it's not that serious. Stu is clearly too basic with horror movies-" - "Am not! I bet you haven't watched nearly as many horror movies as me and Billy!" Stu cut me off, and I pointed at him with my third lollipop of the day. "Not fair! Two people versus one person's movie knowledge? That's not how it works, Stu." I countered and Billy placed his beer bottle on the glass table loud enough that it caught everyone's attention.

"You guys are being idiots and I need a refill." The boy said, and I quickly stood up from the couch as I put the lollipop in my mouth, following Billy to the garage.

When we arrived at the door, Billy opened it before me so I could climb down the stairs first. I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth before sending him a small smile of appreciation. His eyes scanned my lips before he caught my gaze and smirked at me. As I climbed down the stairs I could feel his eyes on my back so I purposefully walked a bit slower, adding a bit of swing to my hips.

When I opened the fridge and bent down to look for the beers, I felt one of Billy's large hands on my lower back. "Need help carrying those?" He questioned, following my gaze as I stood up to face him. Placing some beer bottles on the table next to the fridge, I took the lollipop out of my mouth again to answer "yes." He visibly tensed up at my actions.

"You really need to stop doing that." Billy said, voice lower than usual. I looked at him questioningly, and before I could pull the pop out of my mouth again, he did it for me, putting it in his mouth before pulling it out a second later. "This." He said.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked, took the lollipop out of his hand and repeated his actions before I discarded the candy in the trash next to the fridge. "Can't handle your urges, Loomis?" I asked teasingly and he took a step forward, towering over me. A tense silence washed over both of us before he closed the gap and kissed me softly, placing his hand on my hip as he pressed me against him.

"Billy, Sidney is upstairs. We agreed not to risk it like this..." I said, reminding him that our ongoing affair could've cost us a lot.

"I don't care... You've been driving me crazy all day sucking on that lollipop." He replied and kissed me again. This time more desperate and needy. It didn't take long for us to start playing with each others tongues, tasting the sweetness off the candy we had been savoring earlier.

I pulled Billy's hair softly with my left hand and grabbed his shirt with the right, pulling him impossibly close to me. We continued making out hungrily and then he broke the kiss. I leaned on the edge of the table and he pulled me towards him, parting my thighs with his leg so I could rub myself against him.

As I continued kissing Billy, he moved my head towards his neck and I knew what he wanted instantly, so that's what I did. I kissed his neck and made my way down his body, kneeling down in front of him. He unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans for me before pulling his throbbing cock out. I opened my mouth for him. Billy smirked at me and tapped the head of his cock against my tongue a few times before sliding half of his length in. I started bobbing my head up and down slowly, moaning softly around his length while looking up at him with the most innocent look I could give him. That drove him crazy, so Billy grabbed the back of my head and started to thrust into my mouth, slowly picking up the pace.

We moved together in unison, never breaking eye contact. I moaned and whined around him while sucking, pushing him closer to his orgasm. As I felt him getting close, I slowed down my movements, edging him. Billy loved it. He hissed at the sudden change of speed and bucked his hips so his cock penetrated deeper inside my mouth. I pushed his length all the way inside and then pulled my head away, opening my mouth with my tongue sticking out. I licked the tip of his cock as if I were licking a lollipop, then I sucked, and licked, and sucked, and licked, and;

"Fuck, baby... Open up." Billy said and I did as I was told, sucking a few more times before opening my mouth for him, tongue sticking out for him to cum inside me. I chuckled at his attempt to keep quiet while the orgasm washed over his body. I swallowed his load in front of him, licking my lips and biting them afterwards.

"Oooh fuck..." Billy moaned. The sensation of his most sensitive spot being overstimulated was enough to get him close again. I noticed the tension building and giggled at the neediness he was displaying. Taking him all the way inside my mouth, I continued bobbing my head like I was before and looked up at him once more observing how he panted and threw his head back in pleasure.

Standing up in front of him, he kissed me and tasted himself on my lips. "You're so good at giving head, my God." He said and chuckled, before zipping his pants up along with his belt and fixing his hair.

"I know." I said, smirking at him before pulling another lollipop from my pocket and putting it in my mouth.

"Leave your window open tonight, we're not done here." He said and kissed me one final time before picking up the beers from the table and joining the group as if he hadn't gotten the soul sucked out of him a few minutes prior.

[luna-lovegreat]

Wait...

It's November. It's November first. Yesterday was October 31st, so October is over. ...it's over. Is it over?

Inktober, artober, whumptober, flufftober, linktober, every tag ending with -tober that's been circulating for the past month... is it over? I don't know why it's just hit me but...

This matters. So I will try to get the message across, even though I'm not the best at it sometimes

Fanartists, fan writers, artists, fic writers, people making comics, every single one of you that has created art for the past month...

Thank you

This is my first October on tumblr. When I started seeing the "tober" tags, seeing the posts from artists with wips, saying they were going to make something every day to a prompt, making masterposts to update with each day, I thought "cool"

But every day this month, I have gotten on here and smiled.

And I don't mean smiled. I mean I smiled at least 20 times every time I got on the app because I saw all the art and fics. I got to see artists/writers connect stories through different day prompts. I saw people having the most brilliant ideas and creativity, flowing from their hands into their posts. I saw artists responding to continuous asks, telling them how amazing they are. I saw artists getting behind, and keeping going.

I saw Free. Beautiful. Emotional. Amazing. Original. Creative. Art.

Every day

I haven't committed to anything of this before, so I can't directly relate to what you guys were thinking and feeling. But I'm willing to guess; I think you probably enjoyed it, because most won't do such a huge project unless they enjoy it. I think you probably saw it as a challenge you were willing to fulfill, and an opportunity to grow and develop your skills.

... but I'm also willing to bet you did it for us. For people like me, who love art, but don't do this specific type, who are in fandoms, who love tracking and watching you art and sending you compliments, who take joy in your work. For the other artists (and writers!) who admire each others styles and love to learn from each other.

If anyone ever tries to tell me that humans are inherently evil again, I will strap them to a chair, pull up these posts and say look. Look at what these people did. Look me in the eyes and tell me these sorts of actions don't come from the most loving hearts. Tell me these people don't want to make others happy, that they aren't inherently good. And I will tell you you're wrong.

I have so much going on, yet somehow it slipped into my life that I was constantly looking at your art for the joy of it without me even noticing.

And how is it possible. That we have such a beautiful community of people here that we will share. And communicate. And exchange compliments. And literally do things and send asks solely for the purpose of making someone smile.

I'm almost crying by now. God I can't express it well enough! But I am so. So. Grateful

You guys brought me a month of joy! You gave headcanons, and art, and stories!

Even yesterday, Halloween, I was blown away. Because I had expected... I didn't expect anything. And then I log on and see people sending happy halloween asks, exchanging doodles of candy, and headcanons and gifs.

And some are still catching up to the schedule or whatever, and that's ok! But at the beginning of this post, when I was simply realizing it was November, I asked myself "is it over?"

Is it over?

... I don't think so. I've seen artists say they're going to continue and expand on a piece they made and especially liked this month. Some people are still continuing, catching up to a voluntary deadline. All those masterposts with your whump/fluff/link/ink tober art? I know many as well as myself will be going through, looking over your posts with smiles, catching up on some things they missed this month... it will continue in the people and artists I didn't know existed before, but now follow. In the skills and growth in creativity! In the community we've grown, and art you've made, and the art to come, at a normal rate like every other month, even if it's not October anymore!

But my artists, writers... thank you so much. I don't know if you guys know how valuable and amazing you are. How incredible it is that you exist! People say it's amazing we exist under a sky of such stars, but how incredible is it that you made a stranger on the internet smile every day! Your life is so. So. Valuable. I can't even express how grateful I am that you exist, that you somehow are selfless enough to share the most beautiful parts of yourself simply to create, and to create joy. Thank you so so much.

(And this applies to all artists, in any fandoms, not just mine. And I'm just as grateful to people who couldn't do something every day, or only one day! You still share your art, you're just as... incredible. You are incredible.)

Okay.

So I'm gonna do this, and if others want to do it in the reblogs that's great! I do not care at all about reblogging or likes, but I want to make the people that have brought me such joy some appreciation- I hope I can bring you even a smidgen of the light you have brought into my life. So I'm gonna tag all the artists/writers I know of/can think of that have done any sort of October challenge, all of you creators that have made me smile. If people wanna want to tag others in the reblogs or replies to spread love that's cool.

(Basically I don't know social customs or anything at all, so if you don't want me to tag or if I was supposed to do something different or something let me know I have no idea what I'm supposed to do)(if I like accidentally tagged someone who isn't an artist/writer or forgot someone I follow... sorry)

@skyward-floored @kikker-oma @adrift-in-thyme @blueskittlesart @zeldaseyebrows @smilesrobotlover @bahbahhh @soso-dedeck @lennsart @arecaceae175 @illcamp @breannasfluff @solarfire-art @26kabeuchi @cathianemelian @truffeart @scribbly-z-raid @uniquevoidflowers

To all the artists and writers out there: thank you so much!!! You are amazing and I'm glad you exist. Your life is precious, and you matter. Thank you so much for sharing your beauty with us, we love you too!!!!!

... yeah. Just want yall to feel loved... because you are. Again, thank you. Thank you so so much to my beautiful creators who create joy as well as art, who keep storytelling alive. Just... thank you.

:)

[kentopedia]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ CANDY PRINCESS — nanami kento

you miss out on trick or treating with your daughter, but kento and yuuji don't

contents. fem!reader dad!nanami, big brother yuuji, fluff sorcerer!reader, aftermath of trick of treating hehe, cute nanami family moments on halloween — 969

you get home from a mission later than usual, your clothes coated in the blood of curses, bruises up and down your arm. your hair is a mess, and you miss your family, irritated that you'd had to work on halloween, especially since everyone knew you had a young daughter you'd wanted to spend the evening with.

when you open the door, there's a movie playing, a halloween cartoon that you haven't watched in years. candy wrappers are spilled all over the floor, your daughter picking out all the candies she doesn't like.

she sees you before you can say anything, and she jumps to her feet, scurrying across the room in her little pink princess dress, crown tumbling off her head. "mommy!"

you smile, relaxing at the sight of your sweet little girl, and outstretch your arms as she jumps into them. the blood from your shirt smears onto her dress, but she's used to seeing you in such a state; you and kento can protect her from a lot of things, but not from the vision of you covered in gore, exhausted after a long day.

"hi, sweetie," you say, kissing her forehead as you brush the loose tendrils of hair away from her face. "i missed you. i'm sorry i couldn't come trick or treating with you."

"that's okay, mommy," she squeezes your hand, her tiny palm wrapping around your thumb. "yuuji came with us! we had so much fun! he's really good at being my knight!"

you squeeze your daughter tight once more, and set her back down, letting her lead you over to the stash of candy.

"hey, you're back!" yuuji says, sitting up on the floor next to his own bag of halloween candy. he's dressed up in a knight costume, the helmet beside him on the floor as he grins up at you. "your mission took longer than we thought."

"well, there was unexpectedly first grade curses that no one warned me about." you sigh, letting the exhaustion seep into you; you're finally able to relax, the tension in your shoulder draining away. "where's-"

you feel kento sneak up behind you, his arms snaking around your waist as he kisses your temple, grins into your hair. "a treat for me finally?" he asks stupidly, and you roll you eyes with a smile, squeezing the hands that rest on your stomach. "how did the mission go?"

you don't get a chance to respond before your daughter is pulling you back to the ground, guiding you and kento to sit beside her.

"mommy, here are all your favorites! daddy said you liked these ones a lot so i saved them for you," she smiles, only able to hold a few pieces of candy in her small hands. "and yuuji traded some with me, because i think those are yucky!" she points to a pile of caramel candies that she's traded for the packages of gummy bears.

kento sits beside you, throwing his arms around your shoulder as he stretches his legs out in front of him. you still feel dirty from the mission, but you let yourself bathe in the relaxing atmosphere as you melt into your husband.

"did he?" you ask, looking up at yuuji. "what a nice big brother."

the teenage boy shrugs, picking up a caramel that he tosses into his mouth. "i'm not picky, i'll eat anything."

kento sighs. "we're all well aware of that."

your daughter scrambles onto kento's lap, bringing over some of the packages of gummy bears with her. there's chocolate on her face, and the lip gloss she'd begged you to let her wear had somehow gotten all over her chin. still, she looks adorable in her little gown, which has muddied at the bottom.

"which ones do you want?" she asks her father, smiling up at him with a wide grin, toothless grin. "the pink ones are my favorite. actually, i like them all! but you can have the blue ones if you want. they match your shirt, daddy!"

kento laughs, brushing a hand over her head. "i'll let you have them, princess. you've had such a busy day of running the kingdom, you deserve all the candy." he grins at her, tickling her sides as she giggles, burying her head in his collarbone.

you smile, dropping your head on kento's shoulder as you kiss the top of your daughter's head, a few tears springing to your eyes.

then, she runs off with yuuji, the two of them off to find a different halloween movie to watch to wrap up the evening. and kento holds your hand in his, his thumb running over your knuckle, smiling into your hair.

"tired?" he asks, his fingers tracing your arm, soothing circles relaxing you.

you hum, and a yawn bursts out of you, the scent of kento so much like home. "yeah," you admit, eyes fluttering closed as he holds you tighter. "i'm sorry i couldn't go with you."

"don't feel bad, sweetheart," he shakes his head, tipping your chin up to kiss him. "you didn't miss much. i had to carry her most of the way, she got tired."

you laugh, looking at the bundle of energy that's chasing yuuji around the kitchen, unsurprised that she'd begged kento to carry her around the neighborhood. a surge of love washes over you, and you kiss kento's cheek, his lips, your heart delicate in your chest.

despite missing an evening with your family, you're grateful you're still able to have this moment with him, to bathe in the affection you feel for the man beside you.

and though being a sorcerer is exhausting, a job more brutal than its worth, you'd never give it up. just because, you'll do anything to keep the young girl and boy in the kitchen safe.

[sanjismywhore]

Scream For Us

Scream AU! Carlos Oliveira x Reader x Leon Kennedy

Warnings: nsfw, slasher kink, slight dub con, threesome

Do you like scary movies?

A/N: I know i missed halloween, don’t say anything about it

—————————————————————————

Nestled cozily upon the plush cushions of your couch, you find yourself surrendering to the allure of a horror movie.

Just as the tension in the movie reaches its peak, the shrill of a telephone breaks your immersion. Your gaze snapped away from the screen and across the room to where the phone sits, “Who the hell calls someone this late?” You grumbled inwardly.

At first, you ignored the ringing until it ceased. You were about to turn back to the movie when it persistently rang again. With great annoyance, you threw the remote control onto the coffee table and stormed over to the phone.

Plucking the handset off its cradle, you placed the device to your ear, “Hello?” You sighed into the receiver.

“Hello.” A gravely, oddly seductive voice replied on the other end. Then you were met with silence.

“Can I help you?” You asked.

“Who is this?” The man interrogated eerily.

“Who are you trying to reach?” You retort.

“I don't know.” He eerily replied with a hint of sarcasm.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes, “I think you have the wrong number.”

“Do I?” The voice had a mischievous edge to it, making you almost smirk. Instead of responding, however, you quickly hung up the phone.

Returning to your seat next to the television, you resumed the movie, not even bothering to rewind. But despite your attempts to ignore it, the ringing of the phone persisted yet again.

After several minutes of trying, and failing miserably, to ignore the sound, you forced yourself to get up out of your seat again and retrieve it. “Hello?” You sighed.

The voice from earlier spoke, “I’m sorry. I guess I dialed the wrong number.” You could imagine the cocksure grin on his face.

“So why did you dial it again?” You asked, clearly not amused.

“To apologize.” He replied simply.

You rubbed your eyes and sighed, “Apology accepted. Bye.” As you were about to hang up abruptly, he griped in protest. “Wait, don’t hang up.”

“Why?” You raised an annoyed brow.

“Cuz I wanna talk for a sec.” He said with a hint of playfulness.

“Well, I don’t. Goodbye.” You raise your voice before abruptly hanging up the phone yet again. When the man called a third time, though, you decided enough was enough.

“What do you want?!” You snapped into the receiver.

After an awkward beat passed between the two of you, he answered, “Listen, I was just curious about you.” He spoke casually. “Why would you hang up on me so easily? We haven't even gotten to know each other,” The man was starting to get cocky.

You pinched the bridge of your nose with a groan, “Who are you?”

“You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine.” The man continued, unperturbed by the clear irritation in your voice.

“You first.” You couldn’t help but smirk, twirling the telephone’s cord around your finger. There was a pause that seemed to stretch on longer and longer the more you waited.

The movie you were watching was still playing in the background, the only thing breaking the uncomfortable silence. “What’s that noise? You watching something?” His voice chimed in again. This time, though, his voice was laced with curiosity rather than jovial teasing.

You let out another exasperated groan into the phone and turned your attention back to the television. “Just some scary movie,” You mumbled, resting your chin in your palm.

The man chuckles, “Do you like scary movies?” His voice seemed to carry intrigue with it.

You let out a small laugh as well, “Maybe. I haven’t watched many of them recently. They make me kind of nervous, though.” You admitted, playing along with his banter.

“Yeah? Why’s that?” He inquired.

“They scare me,” You admitted bluntly. “Sometimes I’ll even get nightmares.”

There was a low hum of amusement from the other side of the line, then another moment of silence. “So, you got a boyfriend?” The man finally spoke again, causing you to choke on your breath. “Or a girlfriend, maybe?” He added, his tone suggesting a flirtatious quality.

Despite being flustered by the question, you managed to give him a sharp reply nonetheless. “Why? You interested?” You mused.

“Maybe.” Again, there was a brief pause, followed by a quiet laugh, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

You chuckled softly as well, “No...” Your lips creased to form a small smile as you continued to coil the telephone cord around your fingers.

“You never told me your name.” He prodded.

“Why do you want to know?” You teased, smirking and leaning back against the sofa.

Once again there's a short pause, followed by his dark chuckle. “Because we want to know who we’re looking at.” His tone sounded much more sinister. Your eyes were instantly blown out wide. You swore for a moment your heart stopped. The air was sucked out of your lungs and you felt an icy chill run down your spine.

“E-excuse me?” You stuttered, unsure if you heard right. But you knew you heard right when he responded, his husky whisper filling your ears and making every nerve in your body tingle, “I said I want to know who I’m talking to.” He lied.

“That's not what you said.” You quickly stood up from the couch and walked towards the nearest window. Were you crazy? Was this a prank, and he was just some weirdo stalker? What the fuck was going on?

“This isn’t funny.” You pressed yourself against the glass as hard as you could, peering outside of the home in hopes of catching sight of someone standing beneath the street light, or maybe the yard. But there was nothing. Just darkness and the sound of wind whistling through the cracks of your window.

“Looking for someone?” He teased over the phone. His voice sounded deeper, it felt like his breath was close to your ear in real life. You knew there must’ve been a wide, devilish grin plastered on his face right then.

Your mind was racing as the paranoia set in; your chest rising and falling rapidly as your hands shook. You held your breath as you quickly hung up the phone, dropping the device onto the ground. Dashing into the kitchen, you grabbed a knife from the block and made sure to tread carefully around the house. Your stomach tied itself into knots as you hovered near the other windows in the house,

It felt like the temperature was rising, but all the air was being sucked out simultaneously. Your heartbeat rang through your ears, drowning out every other sound. You were practically walking in circles with your back facing the wall, observing every doorway in case a possible intruder would reveal themselves.

You began to back yourself up near the foyer leading to the front door. Inch by inch, you crept backward when suddenly your back met a firm, warm surface. “You’re looking in the wrong spot, sweetheart.” It was the voice from the phone. You felt someone’s breath tickle the back of your neck, causing your hair to stand.

Gasping, you quickly spun around to face him, eyes widening as you took his appearance in. He was tall, dressed from head to toe in a black cloak, and wore a white ghostly mask just like Ghostface.

“You should put that knife down before you hurt yourself.” He laughed, stepping towards you. His movement prompted you to take a step back, stumbling slightly as you did so.

“W-what the—How did you–” You stammered, cutting yourself off as you continued to back away. Suddenly you felt your back hit another surface.

Behind you was another man, around the same height and dressed as Ghostface too. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, smugness evident in his voice. He sounded just like the other one.

You were too freaked out to question anything. Instead, you raised your knife as a threat. It would prove useless though, as you were quickly disarmed when both men came closer and grabbed you.

The man behind you grabbed your knife and held the blade against your throat, keeping your back pressed against his chest. “Whatever it is you want from me, I’ll give it to you,” You muttered in defeat, looking down at the floor. “You can take my money. Take anything you want.”

“How generous.” The frontman remarked, making a gesture for the man behind you to remove the knife from your neck, “As tempting as that sounds,” he brought his face closer to yours. “That’s not what we had in mind.”

There was a short pause. “What’s your name?” He asked, tilting his head.

You hesitated a bit before answering, “(Name). My name is (Name).” You replied shakily, turning your face to the side so that you didn’t have to look at his mask.

The man behind you let out a deep chuckle and grabbed your face with one of his hands, “It’s rude not to look someone in the eyes when they’re talking to you.” He uttered.

Your heat felt like it was pounding through your chest. Maybe it was just the adrenaline coursing through you, or the fear, or the anxiousness.

Your breathing was heavier and shakier, and your body slightly trembled. Their hard bodies pressed against you. It wasn’t long before you could feel your body heating up and your palms get sweatier. Something about this situation was oddly arousing.

You couldn’t help but let out a small whimper of embarrassment, which was cut short when a finger slid under your chin and pulled your head upwards forcefully. Your eyes widened and your breaths hitched when your face was directly inches away from the frontman.

“I can see that you're scared.” He chuckled, reaching up to take off his mask. “Relax, we're not gonna hurt you.” As the mask was lifted off his face, your eyes widened slightly in shock. He had a beard and dark curly hair that hung over his eyes a bit. Despite how strong his features were, his eyes were surprisingly warm and soft. And the expression he wore caused your insides to twist into knots.

“Name’s Carlos.” He smiled, fingers caressing the side of your jaw with such gentleness, that you barely noticed it. A shiver ran down your spine, you couldn't help but blush.

The man behind you grunted, pressing himself into you. “Leon.” He rasped, taking his mask off as well. You glanced behind yourself to look at him. Compared to Carlos, Leon’s features were a lot sharper. He had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a smooth face.

Both men were equally handsome, causing you to willingly lower your guard. Something about this predicament was exhilarating to you.

Your thoughts started to warp from nervousness to a mix of fear and excitement.

But the thought was fleeting once Carlos’s voice chimed in, “Look at that.” He remarked with evident amusement, “Someone’s turned on by this.” He teased.

You felt your face grow hotter, gnawing on the inside of your lip as you soaked everything in. Your mind was screaming at you to quit having these thoughts, but your body wanted it. Your thighs pressed together to alleviate some of the tension growing between your legs.

Carlos noticed this, smirking a bit as he glanced at Leon for a moment. “You thinking what I’m thinking, Leon?” Carlos mumbled.

The two men were still smirking with amusement as they eyed you like prey. Each licking their lips, and eyes darkening with lust.

You gulped nervously, “I, uh…” Your mouth felt dry like sandpaper. No words would leave your lips, nor would any pop into your mind. You felt like you were stuck in a trance, completely incapable of doing anything.

“Spit it out,” Leon demanded calmly. “You seem to have something on your mind. Gonna beg us for mercy?” He smirked.

Before you could see it coming, both men pressed against you at once, trapping you between their bodies.

“Tell me, what would you be willing to do for us?” Carlos looked deep into your eyes as he whispered the question. Leon’s lips ghosted over the juncture between your neck and shoulders, while Carlos’s hands held your hips firmly as he loomed over you.

“Anything.” You answered, almost moaning, unable to form any kind of coherent sentence. “You can have my body. In exchange, you don’t kill me.”

Both men smirked down at you as you looked back and forth between them. “Hmm,” Carlos hummed, leaning forward slightly to press his lips softly against your ear. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer. What about you, Leon?”

Both men pressed into you simultaneously, allowing you to feel their already hardening cocks. “I have no objections,” Leon replied.

One of Carlos’s arms wrapped around your waist, holding you securely against himself, while Leon leaned in further, pressing his lips into your neck. The heat was getting more unbearable now, and you couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped your lips.

They both pressed kisses against your neck, soft and light on your skin while they caressed your body. It was as though they were enjoying this way too much. They moved their lips slowly along your neck until they reached your collarbone.

Your body tensed when Carlos pressed against your chest, causing your nipples to perk up from the friction. That's when one of Carlos’s hands cupped your face as he detached his mouth from your collarbone and brought your lips to his.

Moaning into his mouth, you were too distracted to notice how they each moved a hand toward your thighs. Before you knew it, they were roughly gripping onto your thighs and grinding themselves against you.

Carlos grunted into your mouth, slipping his tongue past your lips, while Leon groaned into the back of your neck.

This all seemed to happen in a matter of seconds, but it also felt like it lasted an eternity. The feeling of their combined weight was intense as well. You could barely focus on anything else other than the sensations being thrust against you.

After several moments passed, Carlos broke the kiss. “You want this?” He whispered, breathing heavily while tracing circles over your hips with his thumbs.

“Yes,” You breathed out quietly.

Once you said that, Leon grabbed your hips and continued grinding against your backside, holding your body firmly against his. Meanwhile, Carlos slides a warm hand up your shirt, cupping and squeezing your chest

His thumb trailed lightly over one of your nipples while his other hand dipped beneath the waistband of your pants. You bit your lip harder trying to suppress a moan as his fingers brushed against your sex causing you to shudder.

Your knees wobbled, knocking against Carlos’e legs as you struggled to control yourself. You quickly moaned out, “Please,” sounding weak and desperate, causing Carlos to grin in response.

Carlos’s fingers continued to rub you until his fingers were soaked with your juices; after which he removed his hand, and you whined.

“You’re wetter than I imagined,” Carlos commented huskily. “Want me to take care of that?” His eyes met yours, boring into the depths of your soul. you were already long gone, lost to the pleasure.

You quickly nodded your head, “Please don’t stop.” You begged, grinding your hips into his to persuade him. The effort was meaningless though as he would shove his hand back into your underwear, this time teasing your wet hole.

You gasped loudly as he began to pump his fingers inside of you, making your head spin and stomach churn. You were panting heavily, your legs trembling, holding onto Carlos’s shoulders for support.

Fuck!” You choked out, burying your face in Carlos’s chest as you tried to control your arousal. You could feel your eyes starting to roll to the back of your head as you closed your eyes tight.

When Leon bit down on your shoulder, you let out a loud cry, arching up into him. He wrapped his arms around your front, almost pulling you back onto him so that he could grind deeper against you.

“That’s it.” Leon cooed, his hand grabbing your ass. “Keep moaning, sweetheart.” A moan tumbled out of you, followed by another.

They both grinned as they watched you fall apart in their arms. Carlos thrust his fingers deep inside of you, causing you to scream out in pleasure. “That’s it. Just like that.” Leon encouraged you. “More.”

Your entire body shook violently as Carlos pumped his fingers into you faster, his eyes never leaving yours as he watched your body go through its euphoric state. “Mh…More..” You huffed, your head falling back against Leon’s chest.

“You want more?” Carlos raises a brow teasingly before slowing down his movements and then removing his hand altogether. Your gasp was followed by a disappointed sound as Carlos’s body pulled away.

He seemed to wink at you as he stepped back, allowing Leon to fully spin you around to face him. Without warning, he lifted you and threw you over his shoulder. You yelped in surprise, grasping his arm as he carried you across the room.

“Where are we going?” You asked, your voice shook from the initial shock.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Leon uttered as he continued to carry you. Soon you were deposited onto the sofa, lying on your back while Leon stood beside the couch beside your head and Carlos kneeled between your legs.

Leon’s hands found the hem of your shirt, ripping it upward until your chest was exposed to the cool night air. Carlos teased your nipples with his fingers, causing your breath to hitch as you squirmed in his grasp.

While playing with your nipples, his tongue darted out to swirl around one. You whimpered when the sensation of Carlos’ teeth dragging over your skin as he sucked your nipples harshly.

Carlos released one nipple, only to suck on the other while looking at you. Your eyes fluttered closed when he licked down your chest, sucking gently on a spot that made your entire body shiver.

Carlos leaned closer to nibble on your chest, his fingers circling your nipples tightly. His fingers dug into your flesh before as his lips traveled down your body.

“Oh god,” You moaned, your hands clutching onto the sofa cushions.

After licking up down to your navel, he glanced up at you and then stopped. “How long can you hold your breath for?” Carlos asked suddenly.

Suddenly, there was an abrupt change in the atmosphere. You were briefly stunned by the random question, “Huh? I don’t know.” You blinked, staring up at Carlos who still sat between your legs. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious is all,” Carlos replied nonchalantly before resuming his teasing of your body.

Before you could even blink, you felt Leon grab your arms and pull you toward the end of the couch. Your head hung upside down off the edge, completely helpless to whatever he was going to do to you.

You were met with Leon’s cock and balls in your face. “Open your mouth,” Leon demanded, his voice low and rough.

It wasn’t necessary. As long as you had a chance to breathe, you weren’t gonna turn down this opportunity. Opening your mouth wide, you obediently accepted him into your mouth.

He was slow and gentle as he thrust into your mouth. You tried to suck him down as best as you could, but soon enough, he started fucking your mouth harder, pushing his shaft deep inside and hitting the back of your throat as he did. Both of his hands wrapped around your neck, keeping you steady in the process.

Leon let out a low, satisfied groan each time he thrust into your mouth, to which you would gag with discomfort. Soon blood started to rush to your head and it became harder to breathe through your nose. You squeezed your eyes shut tightly, gurgling against Leon’s cock.

Your hands were now desperately clawing into the sofa cushion underneath you as Leon continued to fuck your face. When your throat abruptly closed around his cock, he hissed out. “Fucking Christ.”

His grip on your neck tightened causing you to let out a strangled groan against him, which prompted Leon to slam his thick cock deeply into your mouth again.

“Take it.” Leon continued letting low growls of pleasure escape his lips and he continued to pound hard into you. He was enjoying himself more now. Each stroke of his cock against your mouth was accompanied by some sort of grunt or groan that made your core tingle.

Too distracted by Leon, you failed to notice Carlos’s breath fanning against your inner thighs. Your underwear had been carefully peeled off, and it seemed like Carlos was planning to take you with his mouth.

First, you felt his lips graze your sex, making you squirm and gasp against Leon’s cock. He took you in his mouth, circling his tongue around you and sucking harshly. He continued moving his tongue across your opening, taking you in as far as possible without actually swallowing you whole.

Your moan sent vibrations down Leon’s cock, causing him to twitch in your mouth. “Fuck, keep it up, Carlos.” He grunted, prompting Carlos to continue hungrily tongue-fuck your hole. You were struggling to remain still, legs quivering and hips bucking against his tongue, trying desperately to stay conscious and not pass out from lack of oxygen.

You raised your arms to tap on the back of Leon’s thigh, signaling to him that you needed to breathe. Instead, he pushed deeper, stopped moving, and held himself inside your mouth. You instinctively gagged and squirmed against the restriction of Leon’s weight and the fact that you couldn’t draw a full breath.

“Shit.” Leon moaned at the feeling of your throat closing around him.

Carlos only chuckled against your sex, plunging a couple of fingers inside you to accompany his skilled tongue. He thrust them deep inside you before curling his fingers against that spot that made your back arch. You clenched around his fingers and tongue as your eyes rolled back into your skull.

“Oh, they liked that.” Carlos chuckled against you, removing his tongue but keeping his fingers still inside. He pumped deeper and harder, kissing your inner thighs.

You swallowed around Leon’s cock again, urging him to let you breathe. Slowly, he withdrew his glistening cock, allowing your saliva to drip onto your upper lip and eyes. You gasped for air, shuddering and moaning heavily while Carlos continued to give you head. You felt your hips bucking against Carlos’ hand, begging for more stimulation.

He grunted against you, hooking his arms under your thighs and pulling you flush against his mouth. You squirmed against him, feeling the tip of his tongue press against your slit as he thrust harder against it.

“Shit, don’t make them cum yet,” Leon grunted as he stroked his cock in front of your face. Another breath later, he positioned his cock at your lips yet again. This time he allowed you to control the pace.

You stuck out your tongue and swirled it around the head of his cock. A warm sensation slowly spread throughout your whole body as Leon let out a moan, throwing his head back slightly. “Oh fuck,”

Leon kept his hips motionless, waiting patiently for you to suck him off so he could feel how much you wanted him. The longer you went without actually taking him in your mouth though, the more frustrated he got. But he said nothing else before pushing himself forward with his hips.

He opened his legs wider, thrusting deep into your throat to the point it bulged with each stroke. Leon began to rock his hips back and forth, grunting lowly. “Yeah, c’mere.” He grabbed the sides of your neck and forced you to swallow his length fully.

You instantly felt it slide down your throat, sending shocks of electricity down your spine as your jaw locked tightly around the base of his cock.

Carlos’s mouth and hands pulled away from you, only to be replaced by the head of his large cock sliding against your entrance. The precum that was beading at the tip mixed with your fluids, lubricating his shaft so that he could easily slide into you.

Carlos groaned as thick cock slid into your hole, planting both hands on your hips. “Fuck, you feel good.” He purred, lifting one of your legs onto his shoulder so that he could fuck you nice and deep while stimulating your sex with his hand.

Your body arched back against the couch, your eyes rolling back into your skull, and tears streaming down your cheeks. It was such an intense sensation. Every stroke caused you to writhe beneath Leon’s weight, making it even worse as each one sent shocks of ecstasy through your body.

Both men groaned lewdly when you clenched around them from both ends. Carlos’s movements were deliberate and controlled, whereas Leon’s movements were sloppy and erratic.

“C’mon, swallow me whole,” Leon grunted deeply, slowing down his thrusts just to make you deepthroat his cock. You obeyed him immediately and gulped his entire dick down your throat.

Leon grunted, lolling his head forward. “Fuck,” He bit his lip, slamming his hips harder against yours, griping your throat loosely. His eyes closed, mouth open slightly as the pleasure from his cock shot up through his entire body.

He grunted loudly as you swallowed him fully. “Goddamn, I’m close,” He cursed, tightening his hold around you while he thrust deeper. He began to quicken his pace, filling you up until there was almost no room left for anything else.

Leon’s face was flushed red with exertion as his movements grew quick and sloppy. His cock throbbed violently in your mouth, signaling how close he was. Just as he was about to lose it, he pulled his cock from your throat quickly, stroking his cock furiously.

With a deep growl, Leon shot his load all over your face, pumping himself through his orgasm. It was a harsh release that forced you to gasp and sputter with every pump. Some of his releases landed in your mouth, lips, and even your chest. You did your best to swallow everything down. The sight of the white liquid dripping from his dick was utterly sexy to watch

As Leon came down from his high, he released you from his tight grip and took a step back from you.

You took the opportunity to catch your breath, letting out a soft moan in the process when Carlos suddenly thrust deep and hard into your hole.

“My turn,” Carlos grinned as he firmly held your thighs, dragging your body towards so that your head could settle fully on top of the couch cushion. This swift action allowed the tip of his cock to graze the spot inside you that made you see stars.

Your eyes shot open, head lifting to look Carlos in the eyes while he fucked you. As he pounded into you relentlessly and your hole contracted violently around his shaft every time he slammed into you.

“F-fuck…” You threw your head back, gripping the edge of the couch to ground yourself while the pressure built within you with every hit, your sex throbbing uncontrollably underneath Carlos. In your dazed state, all you knew was that you needed this.

“C’mon, baby,” He growled as he pounded into your tight hole, causing you to jerk your hips upwards. “Tell me what you want.” He continued to slam into your entrance relentlessly, rubbing your sex passionately as if he knew how to make you cum hard. You could feel yourself clench around his cock, causing him to groan in pleasure.

““Deeper…” You begged, arching your back further so that your insides could rub against his dick. He smirked devilishly as he pressed down on your hips to increase the friction between your bodies.

Leaning down, he captured your lips in a searing kiss, tasting remnants of Leon on your tongue. Your legs wrapped around Carlos’s waist while his free arm snaked around your back, supporting most of your weight as he thrust deep into you.

You gripped onto the cushions above you and dug your nails into the fabric, clenching your teeth tightly together to muffle any sounds of pleasure.

“Oh no you don’t,” Carlos growled, “Let me hear you scream.” He demanded, digging the tip of his thumb against the spot that drove you crazy with pleasure. He pressed hard against the spot that caused you to tighten around him.

“I wanna cum, Carlos! Please!” You held onto him for dear life, moaning loudly. His fingers tightened around your hips and he grunted deep against your mouth. The two of you rocked together, grunting and growling into each other's mouths as sweat dripped down your foreheads.

“Please...I need this….I need y--oh fuck!” You cried out as a wave of bliss hit you like a train. Tears spilled from your eyes. It had been far too long since you felt like this. Too long since you felt this full.

A loud groan erupted from Carlos’s lips, “Fuck yeah, cum on my cock.” You could feel yourself being lifted from the couch cushion slightly to allow Carlos better access to your hole.

It wasn’t possible to describe how good it felt to completely come. Everything felt lightheaded as if you were floating high up in the sky. You were dizzy and lightheaded as you tried to take in as many air molecules as possible.

As he pushed deeper into you, you shuddered under him, letting out another cry. It felt so good having him so deep inside of you. It felt so good to have him touch you so intimately. The feeling was overwhelming. You wanted more. You needed more.

Your arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling yourself closer to him. “God damn,” Carlos gritted his teeth, holding you so tightly that his muscles tensed. “You feel fucking fantastic, baby.” He moaned as he began to thrust harder than before.

One moment, you were gasping and panting heavily for air. The next thing you knew, you were moaning into Carlos’s mouth.

Carlos grunted loudly once again, his grip loosening around you but still keeping you trapped in his embrace. “Fuck, oh fuck.” His voice shook into your ear. He felt his balls tighten and his cock begin to twitch uncontrollably.

The feeling of him pulsing against your inner walls was so good that it sent tremors shooting through your entire body. Carlos grunted loudly, pushing himself as deep as his dick would go, grinding his pelvis against your sex in circular motions.

You squirmed beneath his weight, grabbing onto the sides of his biceps. “Don’t stop..” You panted, wrapping your legs tighter around his waist. “Cum…inside me.” You begged.

Carlos laughed loudly as he continued pounding into you, plunging deeper and deeper. “Hell yeah, I am.” He growled, “Gonna fuckin’ explode.” His breathing became ragged as his climax threatened to overtake him.

You gripped him desperately as your body trembled uncontrollably. “Please, I need you to fill me up.” You whimpered. Carlos smirked. “Oh, I am going to fill you up, baby. Don’t you worry.”

His thick erection was so engorged that it was leaking precum inside you. “Please,” You begged, squeezing his forearm gently as you felt his dick twitch rapidly within you. “Please..” Your voice broke at the thought of not being filled soon.

You bucked your hips against Carlos’s, desperate to relieve the unbearable feeling building within your core and sending sparks of ecstasy throughout your entire being. “Alright, alright, alright,” Carlos gasped, moving one hand up to grasp at your lower back.

Soon he reached his tipping point, filling you to the brim with his hot cum. He pumped his hips wildly, making you grind up against his dick in slow motion. His eyes screwed shut as he released into you, shuddering after he emptied himself.

After the intense orgasm subsided, he slowly moved off of you, standing up from the couch. Leon joined him and stood as well. “Why’d you get to cum inside?” He grumbled as he slid his pants back on.

“They wanted it,” Carlos shrugged, giving you a side glance. “If you’re so upset about it, you can cum in them next time.” He uttered.

You perked up at his comment, sitting up on the couch as both men got dressed. “W-what do you mean next time?” You questioned.

Carlos smirked as he slid his boxers on, “You thought this was a one-time thing?" Carlos chuckled, “We’ll be back, sweetheart. That I can guarantee.” He winked, kneeling beside the couch so that you two were face to face.

He grabbed your face, pulling you closer. “So don’t be alarmed if you wake up with my cock down your throat.” He teased, pecking your lips once before pulling away from you.

Leon approached you from behind, clasping a large hand over your mouth. Before you could try to fight back or scream, you were knocked unconscious.

In your final moments of consciousness, you heard the men eerily chuckle, “See you soon, (Name),” and then you succumbed to darkness.

[banditthewriter]

Run, Run, Run - Billy Russo

Here we have 2023's Halloween fic! I haven't written much fic this year and I can't promise that I'll write much/any next year, but I wanted to make sure I got this done. It's not edited or proof read beyond brief skims so sorry about that. It's also 17.2k so.

Warnings: Murder. Blood. Depiction of serial killer attacks. Discussion of scars and grief and fear.

Summary: The reader survives an attack by a known serial killer when they are in high school. Only the attacks start up again when they are older and in another state. Is it related to the first attacks? Is it a copy cat? And more importantly...is it someone the reader knows?

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

[gif is mine]

-----

You hadn’t been to many parties since you started high school, but the ones you had gone to had always gotten rowdy. Spilled out all over a house except for any rooms marked Occupied or Out of Bounds. The front and back yards would be covered in cans and bottles and cups. And quite a few people passed out.

This party might be in full swing, but it was nothing like the last parties you’d gone to. There were a lot of people, but everyone was squished into the basement den. A few went up into the kitchen in sets of two or three or more, but they all came right back after they got a refill or more snacks.

As it was, there were only about twenty people at this party. Once upon a time that’d be laughed at, considered a failure of a party, but this time? You were honestly surprised to see this many people at the graduation party most people had been looking forward to.

Why were things different this time? Simple. 

Over the last three weeks, seven people had been brutally murdered in your small, sleepy coastal town. Four teenagers, one parent, one police officer, and one unlucky Good Samaritan. Everyone said that nothing like this had ever happened here before and you believed it. It wasn’t a place where people left their doors unlocked, but murders? Multiple murders in just a few weeks? It was unheard of.

The media named the murderer the Seaside Slasher, but tonight everyone had his real name. He had been caught when he fled the scene of his last murder. No one recognized the name as being a local. As terrifying as it was that a random man had come to your town to brutally murder complete strangers, it didn’t matter. It was over. He was in jail.

Parents had reluctantly granted permission for the seniors to go to parties as a way to celebrate the upcoming graduation and a way to mourn the loss of their classmates. Your parents had been very hesitant to grant permission, but your older brother who had come to town made them agree that you deserved to let loose.

Not that this party was much of a way to do that. Music played so softly that you could barely hear it, teenagers sat around and talked quietly. You hadn’t expected a blowout or anything, but this felt more like study hall. 

You could either stay here and be reminded of the horrors of the last few weeks or you could go home and actually relax. It wasn’t a hard decision.

A quiet goodbye to your group of friends later, you went up the stairs and slipped your shoes on. You checked your purse for your things and then headed to the front door.

“Where you headed sweetie?”

You turned around and saw the mom of the student whose house you were in. You smiled as you hoisted your purse over your shoulder.

“I’m going to head home. My parents didn’t want me out for long with everything.”

The mom smiled, but you could tell it was with a heavy heart. She looked out the glass of the front door and frowned a bit.

“It’s late. Do you want me or my husband to drive you?”

That wasn’t a rare occurrence even without the murders still hanging over the heads of everyone, but you still shook your head.

“No, I live one street over, on Granite Avenue. It won’t take long.”

She laughed a bit as she reached out and touched my shoulder.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be so cautious. He was caught, wasn’t he? We’re safe now.”

“But it’s hard to switch gears that fast,” you added, since that’s exactly how your parents had worded it. She laughed as if you had read her mind, but you could see she was still a bit hesitant to let you walk. “I’ll call once I’m home. How’s that?”

With your friend’s mom placated, you headed out into the night air. It wasn’t overbearingly hot, even though summer was right at the cusp. Living this close to the coast meant there was also a little bit of a breeze though.

You walked down the street a few blocks before you cut across to your own street. There weren’t many sounds in the distance, just the sound of your feet on the asphalt, but you still felt the hair rise on the back of your neck the longer you were out. You sped up your pace until you could see your house clearly, the front porch light on to welcome you home.

Maybe your parents had the right idea to not want you to go out. It didn’t matter that you were safe, right then you felt like you were being hunted.

On the front porch you pulled out your key and let yourself in. There were no lights on upstairs or in the living room as you put your purse down and tugged off your shoes. You bypassed the stairs and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. With it in your hand, you took a few sips before you headed to the stairs that led down to the den where your brother was staying. There wasn’t an overhead light on but flickers from the television. He was probably awake though and you wanted to let someone know that you were home.

Down the stairs, you looked over to the couch and saw the back of your brother’s head as he was facing the television which was on the local news on mute. Right as you opened your mouth to say something to alert him to your presence, you saw what was on the television screen.

Captions ran across the bottom of the screen in a delay to the way the anchor’s mouth was moving, but you saw the picture in the corner of the screen and the tag under it.

SEASIDE SLASHER ESCAPED POLICE CUSTODY

“Oh god,” you whispered as you stared at the news footage. Somehow the murderer had gotten free and whereabouts were unknown. 

You needed to call your friend and let them know that you were home and also what had happened, in case they didn’t already know. You needed to wake your parents. You needed to…

“Jere?”

You whispered your brother’s name, not wanting to scare him, but he didn’t budge from watching the news. You flicked the light on which would have ordinarily caused him to at least jerk but he didn’t move still.

Unease filled you as you tiptoed across the carpet to the edge of the couch. As you peered around, multiple things happened at once.

The first was that you saw your brother, his eyes dull and face slack as blood oozed from his neck. He was propped up on the couch to look like he was still alive, but he very much wasn’t. 

The second was that crumpled on the floor in front of the couch, hidden from view at first, was your mom. Her face was upturned a bit, but had the same dull eyed look as your brother as she laid in a pool of blood that soaked into the thick carpet underfoot.

The third was that, from the corner of your eye, you saw something move in the reflection of the framed picture of your family that hung over the television. That split second heads up is what made you spin around only to be face to face with a masked murderer who held a bloodied knife in his hand.

The scream came out of you all at once, from the horror of seeing your murdered brother and sister to the terror of being face to face with their murderer. It all happened so quickly that you just screamed for it all as you immediately started to run. You tossed the glass of water you held at his face as you took off across the room.

It meant you had to run through the pool of blood and you felt your socks soak in some of it as you did, but you couldn’t focus on that. You couldn’t focus on the fact that you’d just run past the dead bodies of your loved ones. You could only focus on survival.

Another scream came out of your throat and you felt something slash against your shoulder. He had caught up to you. You bounced off the wall and then darted behind the couch, desperate to get to the stairs, but he was right on you. Your hand grasped a picture frame from the shelf nearest you and you spun around to slam it against his face as you scrambled, screaming as his knife cut into your stomach. You needed to put distance between you and him, needed to get up the stairs. Needed to…

Was your dad even alive? Maybe he had been killed too. Maybe there was no one in the house to hear you scream.

Your face was slammed against the corner of the wall near the stairs, another slash of the knife as it went across your shoulder blades. The den wasn’t large enough to run from him, nowhere to hide. You were going to be killed, you were going to be—

A thunderous noise came to your attention right before someone came down the stairs and barreled into the body that was holding you against the wall, the knife carving against your back and the back of your arm as he was ripped away. You screamed as you spun around, but you watched as your dad wrestled the masked man to the floor and ripped the knife from his hands. Even though the other man fought back, your dad had something to help him.

Cuffs. He was in his police uniform so he must have just gotten home and heard your screams. 

As your heart stopped pounding in your ears you heard your dad’s voice break through the fog.

“–911, okay? You need to call 911!” 

You stumbled over to the landline that was kept in the den, your feet screaming as you did, but you didn’t focus on that. Just on getting to the phone. Hitting the 9 then the 1 then the 1 again. Then you slumped against the ground as a voice came across to ask what was your emergency.

“Please,” you begged softly as your eyes went to the dead bodies that you could clearly see, your eyes welling up with tears as you felt nausea roll through you. “Oh god, please just…please.”

A bloodied hand entered your vision and you screamed, but your dad bent down so that you could see his face.

“Give me the phone sweetheart, let me,” he said, tears in his eyes. 

You must have given it to him. Or maybe he just took it from you. Either way, you watched as he walked back to where he had tackled the masked man as he spoke quickly into the phone. He stumbled over to the body of your mom and knelt down, those tears now pouring over his cheeks. You couldn’t hear his words, but you closed your eyes so you couldn’t see it anymore. 

Everything hurt. Your feet from walking through broken glass, either from your water that you’d thrown or the picture you’d smashed against his face. Your back from the multiple knife slashes. Your stomach from the knife. Both of your arms from the knife. Your head from being bashed into the wall.

Your heart. That’s what hurt worse. 

—

“You sure this is what you want?”

You looked over at your dad and then back down to the papers in your hands. It listed the information about your dorm room assignment and orientation. You were about 30 miles away from the city but your dad was finally asking the question you knew had been on the tip of his tongue since you had told him that you had gotten into NYU.

“Little late to change my mind, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. I’ll turn this car around right now if you ask me to.”

You knew he would, but you didn’t want him to.

At one point you had contemplated going to a college closer to home, maybe driving in to see your parents every now and then. Maybe you’d go to your brother’s college. Then…

“This is what I want,” you said softly as you looked out of the window to the cars that were all heading the same direction.

“Okay sweetheart,” your dad replied equally softly. “You know I’ll worry about you in a city like New York, but I can’t fault you for wanting to get as far away as you can.”

Your arms subconsciously came around your stomach, fingers searching out the rigid raised scar that stretched beside your naval almost to your side.

“Bad things happen in the city, but bad things happen in small towns too,” you reminded your dad, as if he ever needed a reminder. 

As if he hadn’t nailed the door to the den shut the day of the funeral.

“Maybe I’ll move out this way too,” he said instead of addressing your comment. “Less travel so we can see each other.”

Normally the thought of a parent moving to be closer to where you were going to college would seem embarrassing or ridiculous. This time it sounded like a good idea.

“Maybe you should,” you replied as you looked over at your dad, the bags under his eyes and the gray that seemed to sprout up in the last six months. “I think that would be a good idea.”

—

Your roommate was out at another party, but you didn’t mind. You’d gotten used to the solitude, even surrounded by people as you were in New York.

Instead you stared at the computer screen where you had been doing homework. An email had come into your personal box and desperate for a change in pace, you’d opened it. Now you were unable to look away.

A news alert. You’d set it up before you left for college, although this was the first alert you’d gotten. The article was short and to the point, but you kept staring at the headline.

SEASIDE SLASHER SENTENCED TO DEATH

Your phone rang as you read the words again and you answered without looking at the caller ID. You already knew who it was.

“Did you see–”

“Yes,” you said quickly, cutting your dad off. “Yeah, I’m looking at it now.”

Both of you sat in silence on the phone for a few more minutes, neither of you sure what to say at first.

“It’ll be years before it’s actually carried out,” your dad said finally. “These things go through certain stages and he can appeal but, it’s not like there’s much chance of him winning. Justice will be served.”

You closed your eyes and flipped through memories of that night like a flipbook. You felt the horror and terror and pain flow through you all over again.

“Good.”

—

“You’ll never guess who I saw earlier,” your friend Karen said as she flopped down onto your couch. “Never in a million years guess.”

“Frank Castle,” you teased back, not needing to guess. 

Her laughter was a good enough answer to tell you that you were right. You laughed as you spun around in your desk chair to look at her.

“And? Did he ask you out or are you continuing to pretend not to like him?”

This was a pretty common sight in your tiny little apartment. You and Karen had met in college and stayed friends even with both of you having hectic lives. Now, out in the real world as it was, you two still hung out a few times a week. To the point where you each had keys to the other’s places.

“He asked me out.”

You let out a whoop and pumped your fist in the air. 

“Knew he had it in him!”

“Oh shut up,” she laughed even as she got a starry look in her eyes. “I think I’ve led him on quite a chase already.”

Those two had circled each other for a while, neither one relenting at first even though it was obvious they both liked each other. You were almost annoyed at how perfect they were for each other.

“He said he has this friend named Kevin. He wanted to know if…”

You weren’t sure why Karen had trailed off until you realized you were frowning. 

“No blind dates,” you said as you spun back around to your computer. “I appreciate it and all, but I’m fine.”

Your hand went down to your stomach and traced the ridge of the scar in a familiar fashion. You knew without looking that Karen had caught the gesture.

“I know that your first time ended badly, but not every guy is going to…”

She trailed off but you turned to look at her.

“To what, freak out when he sees me naked because I look like someone tried to unsuccessfully gut me like a fish?”

Your college boyfriend had been surprised when he’d seen you without a shirt on, but that wasn’t what had ruined the mood. Even when he’d seen the scars on your back or your arms, he would still have been willing to go further, but it was you that stopped it.

Simply because he had asked “what happened?” As if that wasn’t a reasonable question at that moment.

“I know that you don’t like talking about what happened,” Karen started softly, and then a little more forceful when you scoffed, “but you can’t keep going like this. You rarely leave your apartment unless it’s to come to mine, you never date because you don’t want to talk to anyone about what happened, you only ever talk to me or your dad. It’s not healthy.”

The hand that had pressed against the scar reached up to work the mouse on your computer, although your eyes were unfocused as your mind replayed Karen’s words over and over again.

“Have you thought about going back to a counselor?”

You shook the mouse to make the screensaver go away.

“The last one looked freaked out when I tried to explain what happened. Hard to go back to one after that.”

Karen was one of the only people in the city that knew what had happened to you. It had happened one night about two years into being friends when the two of you had gone out drinking. You’d gotten spooked by someone wearing a ski mask, even though it was winter and obviously cold outside. Karen had found you having a panic attack in the bathroom and everything had just flowed out of you.

She was a great friend, your best friend. That was the only reason you didn’t kick her out of your apartment as she pushed for you to better yourself.

Except you didn’t want to keep having this conversation, so you opened your mouth to change topic but your cell ringing stopped you. Your dad’s picture showed up so you answered it with a smile.

“Hey dad.”

“Hey sweetheart,” he started, his voice slow and careful. “What are you up to?”

“Just sitting at my apartment with Karen,” you said as you turned back to Karen who called out a hello to your dad as she picked up a magazine off your coffee table. “What’s up?”

It took a moment before he answered.

“Have you been watching the news?”

Both you and your dad lived in New York, although he was a ways away from the city, but you knew he didn’t mean the local news. Not even state news. There was something in his voice that told you he meant the news back home.

“No,” you said as you turned to your computer and typed in a search. “I turned off my alerts a while back. Why, what…oh.”

The headline was the first one that popped up, sixteen hours old.

SEASIDE SLASHER EXECUTED

The article wasn’t very long, but you read through it twice just in case. Pretty to the point. No stay of execution was ordered, so the execution had been scheduled. Some of the family members of the victims were present, noticeably absent was the family of the last victims but you and your dad’s names weren’t listed at least. His last words were quoted near the bottom of the article.

“You have no idea. I’ll be back.”

You closed your eyes and took a few breaths until you were regulated once more. When you opened your eyes, Karen was standing beside you and obviously reading the screen because her hand went to your shoulder to give you an encouraging squeeze.

“I guess it’s over,” you said as you covered her hand with yours.

“I guess so,” your dad said back.

For some reason, neither of you sounded convinced.

—

It had been Frank’s idea to leave the city for a few days. While his reasoning was different from yours, you had to admit that you weren’t against the idea. It was around Halloween and while that holiday had not always been an issue for you, sometime over the last few years you just started to react differently. 

Even though the man that had killed multiple people in your town, including your mom and brother, had been executed a few years ago, you still felt like you couldn’t fully breathe and be at ease. You didn’t know how to explain it, but that’s just how you felt. Halloween in the city meant seeing people dressed in costumes and a majority of that wasn’t a problem. It just put you more on edge.

Not that your apartment ever got trick or treaters.Still.

“My friend is gonna come out to join us,” Frank said as he carried your bags into the little cabin. “Before you say anything, it’s not a setup kind of thing. Billy is just like a brother to me, I want him to meet the girl that’s like a sister to Karen.”

“Karen already told me. Plus I’ve heard a lot about this Billy guy over the years, it’d be nice to actually meet him.”

Frank was a great guy and had been great to Karen since the two of them had gotten their shit together to start dating. You hadn’t known that Frank was military when the two of them first met, but they made it work. In fact you couldn’t think of any couple that was as in love as the two of them.

So no, you knew that Frank wasn’t the type to try to push a blind date on you. You’d heard a hundred stories about Billy Russo but whenever they were back in the city, you weren’t able to meet up. Sometimes it was for legitimate reasons, deadlines for work or that one memorable Thanksgiving you had the stomach flu. Sometimes it was just because your anxiety and fear had gotten triggered by other situations and you couldn’t leave your house.

This was good though. You were out in the world which always made Karen happy, you were going to meet Frank’s best friend which would make him happy, and you were secluded from any potential jumpscares that Halloween might provide which made you happy. It was a win-win-win. 

Two frozen pizzas were popped into the oven and the three of you settled into the living room to watch a movie. Frank got updates from Billy on his own travel out from the city to a remote cabin that you all had rented for the long weekend. When you’d asked why he hadn’t met up with you all to head out together, Frank revealed that Billy liked to do things on his own.

You understood that. 

The movie was some actiony Blockbuster that you only vaguely recognized the name of, but it wasn’t really meant to keep everyone’s attention. It was more background noise while the three of you talked. Karen was in the middle of a story from her work at the law office when what sounded like a car pulling up had all of you looking over to the door.

“Bill said he still had an hour left,” Frank said as he checked his phone again. Then he stood up and approached the door and looked through the glass. “Huh. I don’t see a car besides ours.”

Karen frowned and got up to move over to the large glass windows that you had pulled the curtains closed on. She opened them just a bit and looked around.

“Think they drove around to the back? The driveway wraps around the house.”

Frank walked out of the living room and into the kitchen to check back there, but called that there wasn’t a car there either. 

“Maybe someone just turned around in the driveway and was gone before you got up?” you offered as you tried not to let yourself get swept away in worry and fear.

“That…is a good possibility,” Karen agreed as she let go of the curtains and moved to sit next to you once more. “Out here away from the city you can hear everything like that. It didn’t sound too close, now that I’m thinking about it.”

Frank came back into the living room with another piece of pizza halfway eaten already as he nodded in agreement. He sat down on the chair closest to the television and put his feet back up on the coffee table.

“I always forget you both are from small towns,” he said as he wiped his hands on a napkin before he crumpled it and tossed it with the rest of the dinner’s debris on the coffee table. “I’m used to cities.”

You stretched your legs out and then moved so that you were sitting criss cross on the couch cushion.

“My town was tiny. The kind of place where everyone knew everyone, secrets were nearly impossible to have, people felt comfortable going to anyone’s house and asking for something if they needed it. It was…it was a great place to grow up.”

You waved off Frank’s look of concern with a small laugh.

“It’s okay, I’m okay. The last therapist said that I needed to get better about talking about the good things from my past. It wasn’t all…bad.”

Karen reached over and squeezed your hand in support which just made your chest swell with a bitter happiness. How bad off were you that you could be praised for doing something as simple as talking about the good days of your past?

Knock knock.

All three of you looked over at the door. Frank glanced over at his phone once more and then stood up. He went to the door and looked out of the small window, but didn’t seem to see anyone. When his hand went to the bolt, you opened your mouth but immediately closed it.

This was just a normal situation. It wasn’t anything to get worked up about. If you gave into your fear every time something happened that was out of your hands, you’d never get to have a normal life.

He opened the door just a few inches and looked out, the light from the house flooding out onto the porch. He flicked on the overhead light but didn’t open the glass door to step out and check.

Tap tap tap.

All of you looked over to the window that was in front of you, angled so that someone standing in front of it wouldn’t be visible from the front door. You opened your mouth and looked over at Karen who was frowning. Frank held a hand out, but Karen stood up and marched over to the window. She didn’t pull the curtains wide, but she didn’t have to. The moment she pulled them even partially open, the sight made her scream and jump backwards.

There was someone just outside of the window dressed in a black hoodie with a Halloween mask on their face. You recognized the mask from some horror film or other that had come out years and years ago, but that didn’t really click. Instead you found yourself staring at the mask, mouth open as if to scream, but nothing coming out.

Things happened very quickly after that. Karen had turned to Frank who was already out of the house in the blink of an eye. You were up and launching yourself to the kitchen, hands fumbling as you pulled open drawer after drawer before you found the knives. You grabbed the largest one and swung around, but then you jumped back as you saw the person with the mask was in the living room.

Except the mask was in his hand and you recognized him. It was Frank’s friend Billy. Frank’s friend Billy who was being yelled at by Karen as she yanked the mask out of his hand.

Your body was still in fight or flight, the knife held aloft as if to ward off anyone from coming closer. When someone did move closer to you, you recognized that it was Frank but still couldn’t lower your arm. You heard your name being called, heard Karen say your name as well, but you still couldn’t move. 

You were safe as long as you stayed right where you were. Your back was to a solid wall, the knife was in front of you. You would be safe, you would be…

“It’s alright, you’re alright,” a voice softly called to you from your left. You turned your head and saw Karen, a few feet away with her hands up, her face paler than you’d ever seen it. “It was just a mistake, a stupid prank. Everything is okay.”

Your eyes looked past Karen and Frank to where Billy stood, his eyes wide as he stared back at you. He raised his hands slowly and showed his palms. Then he spoke, or maybe just mouthed the words.

You are safe.

Safe. You shut your eyes for a moment and then when you opened them back up, the haze you had gone under when everything had happened was lifted. You dropped the knife and shrank back into the wall so that you wouldn’t crumple. 

“Oh god,” you whimpered as you looked over at Karen, “I’m sorry. I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

“No, of course not,” Frank answered as he grabbed the knife and put it on the counter. 

Karen swooshed in and wrapped you in a hug. You held on as tight as you could and buried your face in her shoulder. You weren’t crying, no tears and no body wracking sobs. Just shook as adrenaline fled your body.

“I am so sorry,” a new voice said a few feet away. When you glanced up, you met Billy’s dark eyes as he stared at you and Karen. “I didn’t…I didn’t know. I thought it would be a funny prank, I didn’t know.”

Didn’t know what? You remembered seeing Karen yell at him as she pulled the mask from his hand and you assumed that maybe she had said something. Something to let him know that he just traumatized you a bit.

You sniffled and pulled away from Karen. Then you stepped a little closer to Billy.

“We haven’t been formally introduced. Hi, I’m…a survivor of a masked serial killer.”

Billy let out a shocked laugh and held his hand out to you.

“Nice to meet you.”

—

Karen and Frank had gone to bed around midnight and although you should have done the same, you found yourself still sitting in the living room with Billy at almost two in the morning. Once everything had settled down and Billy had apologized again for scaring you, you all had gone into the living room to talk and try to recoup from the events that had happened. 

Once the couple had gone to bed, the comfortable silence had made you say something you hadn’t expected.

“It was my senior year. In total, nine people were killed. Including my mom and my brother. I think I was going to be number ten if my dad hadn’t arrived.”

With that, you spilled the whole story in a way you’d only done with Karen and with a few therapists. You told Billy everything that had happened and how it made you feel. 

“I don’t leave my apartment much,” you admitted as you stared down at where your fingers were picking at the thread on the blanket over your lap. “Karen has helped a lot with that, and Frank too now. They help me get out and feel…safe. Halloween is a hard time because of the masks. It’s like I go right back to the den that night, feel like I’m going to die.”

“I’m really sorry about everything. I had no idea.”

“I know,” you whispered softly as you looked over to where Billy was watching you. “To be honest, that’s the scariest thing that’s happened to me since…since the attack. As messed up as it is, I think…I think it helped me.”

Billy tilted his head to show that he was listening, but he didn’t say anything. As if he knew him speaking would make you not say what was on your mind.

“I’ve been in a holding pattern since it all happened. I moved to the city for college and then I got an apartment and a job and somewhat of a life, but there’s a part of me that never left my hometown. A part of me that is still running around that room, thinking I was going to die. Tonight, when I was scared for my life again, I didn’t run. Or well, I did, but I was going to fight. I was going to…I wasn’t going to be caught unprepared again. I was going to fight.”

You bit your bottom lip as you looked down at your hands. Then slowly you grabbed your shirt and pulled up the hem to show your scar. It was the first time you’d voluntarily shown anyone besides doctors or Karen.

“This is just one of them, but...I was always ashamed. That I came out of that terrible night with just some scars. It never felt right that I was alive with just scars, when everyone else was gone.”

Billy’s eyes had moved down to the scar along your stomach, but the way they lingered didn’t make you feel hideous or like he thought you were a freak. In fact, the way his eyes moved along the skin made butterflies appear in your stomach.

“Survivor’s guilt is a difficult thing,” he said as he finally raised his eyes to meet yours. “You have that fear, but you also feel guilty. Like you shouldn’t get to be carefree because you don’t think you should have survived.”

You lowered your shirt and thought about that, let it sit for a while. Then you closed your eyes and laughed.

“Six therapists. I’ve seen six therapists and no one has put it so perfectly.”

Billy leaned his head back against the couch for a moment and then looked over at you.

“Every tour that Frankie and I do, I always tell myself that I probably won’t make it back. I make smart decisions and I do what I can to survive, but I accepted a long time ago that no one would notice if I was gone.”

“Frank would,” you said softly, your eyes darting over to the hallway where Karen and Frank’s room was. “He said that you’re like a brother to him.”

When you looked back at Billy, he was staring at you with an emotion you couldn’t name.

“The guy. What happened to him?”

The jump from topics made you confused for a moment before you shook your head to clear it a bit.

“He was sentenced to death and a few years ago, he was executed.”

Billy nodded as he stood up, stretching a bit until his back popped.

“Good. That’s…good.”

He moved into the kitchen and you didn’t follow or try to speak to him while he was in there. You had a feeling that Billy was going through his own journey with the things that weighed on him, but you weren’t going to push.

When he came back into the living room, he gestured to the hall.

“Should probably head to bed. It’s late.”

You nodded and stood up. To extend the time with Billy, you grabbed the trash from the coffee table and moved into the kitchen to throw it away. When you opened the trash can, you stared down at the mask that had started it all.

“Here,” Billy said as he took the trash from you and pushed it into the can, burying the mask completely. “Like it never happened.”

You glanced up at Billy’s face and then nodded, even though you knew that wasn’t what you felt like at all. Just like you had said to Billy, you felt like the whole ordeal pushed you into the healing part of your journey. Now you honestly felt like you could breathe again.

It had been a long time coming, but you were starting to feel whole once more.

—

“I have a box of picture frames. Where do you want it?”

Karen looked over at you and then glanced at the messy living room. 

“Put them on the coffee table for now? Honestly I have no idea what I want to do with this place.”

You laughed when you placed the heavy box on the coffee table. Honestly you didn’t blame Karen for being a bit overwhelmed. Frank and Billy and Curtis had moved the furniture into the house over the weekend so you and Karen took it on yourself to unpack as much as you could.

Karen and Frank’s new house was very nice and as everything was unloaded, it slowly became more and more like a home. You were happy for the two of them, even if you were a little envious.

Since that Halloween cabin trip, you had made a lot of strides with getting over your past. Even so, you were just starting to get your life back together.

Including going on a few dates over the last few weeks. Still nothing serious, but casual dating isn’t bad every now and then. 

As you unpacked books for the bookshelf, you let your mind wander to Billy. Since that trip, all of you had gotten together a few times for other trips or just for a meal and a laugh. When Frank and Billy were deployed again, you and Karen sent care packages and kept in touch with them. It felt natural. 

Karen got your attention as she came through with a box.

“I’m taking these clothes upstairs. Wanna stop for lunch soon?”

You agreed as you broke down the box you had been pulling stuff out of for the bookshelf. As you opened the next box, your phone started to ring in your pocket. When you looked at the screen, you saw Billy’s contact on there and answered immediately.

“Hey Billy,” you greeted as you started to pull the books out for the bookshelf.

When his voice came through, it was obvious he was calling from his car.

“Hey, uh, you and Karen unpacking?”

“Yeah, about to stop for lunch though. What’s up?”

He didn’t say anything at first which made you stop unloading the box. You stood up and turned as if you expected to see him behind you, even though you could still hear the car in the background.

“Have you seen the news? From your old town.”

Your chest felt like it became a bit too tight at those words. The last time you’d heard a version of that, it was your dad calling to tell you about the execution.

“No.”

He sighed a bit which made you tense to the point where you had to turn to sit down on the chair nearest you.

“There was an attack in your town two nights ago. From what I know, it was…your childhood home.”

There was a moment where you were really glad you sat down because otherwise you think your legs would have given out. As your mind swirled, you tried to think of what to ask first.

You knew that Billy had looked into your story after you told him about it. Hearing your version of events made him want to see it from start to finish so he’d looked it up. There was still a lot of information on it, including the lack of any real motive.

“An attack?”

“The police were called to the house when they heard screams. The mom and a son were on an overnight field trip so it was just the dad and daughter in the house. By the time they got there, the dad and daughter had both been brutally murdered.”

You closed your eyes and remembered what it felt like to have someone break into your house with the intention of killing you.

“They were found in the finished basement on the floor.”

Suddenly it felt like you couldn’t catch your breath. Your mouth went dry as you thought about stepping into the basement den and finding your mom and brother. The healed scars felt like they were bleeding and even though it was impossible, you still reached into your shirt to see if there was any blood from the scar.

Nothing.

“Did they find who did it?”

“They were gone, but there was a note stabbed to the door. It just had a date on it.”

“What date?”

When Billy said the date that was on the note, you half expected it to be the date you had been attacked, but it wasn’t. It was only from a few years ago, so you didn’t think it had anything to do with what had happened, just a coincidence.

Until…

“Wasn’t that the date he was executed?”

You closed your eyes as you realized that Billy was right. It had been a while since you’d thought about the date, but thinking about it you were pretty sure that Billy was right.

“His uh, his last words were that he’d be back.”

“That’s impossible. He’s dead, there’s no way he can be back.”

You almost laughed because yes, you knew that. You knew that it was impossible, but that’s what he said either way. Instead you felt tears start to gather in your eyes as you settled more into the chair.

“I’d come by but I’m out of town. Maybe stay with Karen and Frankie tonight, okay? Just…I don’t think you’re in danger, but I still don’t think you should be alone.”

You nodded and wiped at your eyes.

“Thanks Billy. I’ll talk to Karen when she comes downstairs. I’ll uh, I’ll talk to you later? Drive safely.”

“It’s all going to be okay. I promise.”

You hoped he was right but you didn’t know. Nothing felt right at the moment.

All you knew was as the call with Billy ended, you needed to call your dad to let him know about it. Once upon a time you thought that things were over, but not anymore. Now you were thinking things were just about to begin.

—

It was dark out as you made your way through the parking lot to where your car was parked. In the background you could hear your coworkers laughing as they headed to their own cars. A shouted invitation to join them at the bar came over, but you waved them off and promised next time.

Which you’d actually follow through with. It wasn’t like it had been before, where you kept to yourself at all times. You’d branched out, made friends, started working from the office just as much as you worked from home. You still kept certain things to yourself of course, a habit you were unable to break anytime soon, but you opened yourself up to people.

The car chirped as you unlocked it and slid into the front seat, immediately locking the doors again. As you started the car, you noticed something on your windshield. A folded piece of paper tucked under your windshield wiper. 

Carefully you leaned forward and leaned out of the window to pull the paper out of the wiper. It came free after a tug. Once settled back in the seat, you rolled the window back up and looked at the paper. You unfolded it and stared at it.

Did you miss me?

Your hands shook as you dropped the paper into your passenger seat. Then, without hesitation, you started towards the entrance to the parking lot. Your headlights went across someone in the distance but you didn’t even focus on them, just stepped on the gas to get out of the parking lot.

The person didn’t move at least, seen from the corner of your eye as you sped out. It was possible it wasn’t anyone to worry about, someone from the office or just someone passing by. 

As you headed to the freeway, you connected your bluetooth and dialed Karen’s number. It went to voicemail and you swore as you hung up. You were about to call her again when you hesitated. 

For some reason, you wanted to call Billy. So that’s what you did.

He answered after a few rings.

“Hey, what’s up? Leaving work?”

Your hands shook a bit as you navigated through the traffic on the street.

“I came out of work and there was a note on my windshield.”

“Okay. Did you…”

“I grabbed it,” you admitted as you drove around a slow driver in the fast lane. “I realize now that I shouldn’t have, that it could have been…but I grabbed it.”

“It sounds like you’re driving so at least nothing happened. What did it say?”

You glanced down at the paper in your passenger seat and then immediately back up to the road. 

“Did you miss me?”

“Fuck,” Billy breathed out, the connection distorting a bit from the force. “This isn’t good. I thought that whoever it was wouldn’t come all this way, but it sounds like maybe he did. Maybe you’re a target.”

Your chest felt tight as you pulled onto the street where you lived.

“I need to call to check on my dad. I’m almost home so I’ll call him when I get inside.”

“You don’t need to go to your place, not alone. Do you think Karen is home yet?”

“I tried to call Karen first,” you said as you drove past your house, your eyes on your rearview mirror just to check. “She didn’t answer so I called you.”

“That’s okay, never hesitate to call me if you need me. But for now, come to Anvil. Frank is there, I’ll let him know what’s going on. We’re gonna make sure you’re never alone until this guy is caught, okay?”

You nodded even though he couldn’t see you. You knew the way to Anvil easily enough, but that didn’t stop your heart from thudding in your chest. Whether this guy was connected to the man who had done the original attacks or it was a copycat, it didn’t matter. Right now all that mattered was that you could be in danger.

“I need to call my dad,” you said again.

“I know, but stay on the phone with me for right now, okay? I don’t want something to happen to you while you’re out.”

You wished that you could close your eyes or burrow into yourself, but you had to focus on the road. Instead you lowered your voice a bit.

“I’m scared Billy.”

His sigh came through the phone so clear that it felt like he was in the car with you.

“I know. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

He couldn’t promise that, not really, but you didn’t say that. Instead you simply listened to the ambient noise of the connection all the way to Anvil. 

—

Your dad’s cell phone rang to the voicemail twice, but you didn’t stop. As you clicked it again, you looked over to where Frank and Billy were talking. Billy had gotten to Anvil a little bit before you did and had filled Frank in by time you got there. The two of them were discussing a plan, although you weren’t sure what for just yet.

All you cared about was getting in touch with your dad. He didn’t normally miss a call, not like this.

On the third time you called, the line was finally answered but it wasn’t your dad’s voice that greeted you.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hello...you have my dad’s phone. Who is this?”

The men turned to you when they heard what you had asked, both with concern on their faces.

“Hello miss. My name is Dr Roberts. Your father was brought in earlier this evening. He had been in a car accident.”

As he explained what had happened, you felt yourself sway. If you hadn’t already been sitting, you would have fallen over. Instead, as you were obviously struggling to focus on the words the doctor was saying, Frank came over and took the phone from you. He didn’t go far as he spoke, asking the questions you should have been asking.

“Hey. I’m right here.”

You blinked a few times and looked over to where Billy had knelt down in front of you, his hand in yours. You didn’t even notice him coming to your side or touching you. With a shake of your head, you looked over to where Frank was giving you a comforting head nod as he asked about hospital security.

“Oh god,” you breathed as you finally let yourself shake a bit. “My dad, he was in a car accident.”

“I know, but he’s okay. He’s in recovery and he’s going to be okay.”

Your eyes slammed shut as you tried to remember what the doctor had said before Frank had taken over.

“Earlier this evening. He had been in a car accident earlier this evening.”

Billy stared up at you. Then, with a glance over to Frank, he moved to sit next to you on the couch.

“He lives about thirty minutes away, right? Be enough time for the copycat to leave the note on your car and then go after your dad.”

Your hand contracted around Billy’s as you looked at the note that was on the table where you’d left it.

“There was someone in the parking lot when I got in the car. I didn’t see them very well, too far away and too desperate to leave. What if that was him? It’s not like he can be in two places at once.”

Saying that made your heart stutter in your chest as you remembered something. Something from so long ago that it had been buried.

“What is it?”

You looked over at Billy and then back to the note.

“The murders. The original murders. The only other night where two people died on the same night besides…” You let your words trail off, unable to mention your mom and brother right then. “It was never investigated and as much as I can remember, it was never talked about in the trial, but there had been speculation back then. The first murder that night was on the mainland and the second murder was on a little island. The newspapers said it should have been impossible for one person to cross that distance on the ferry in the time between murders, so they were looking for a boat that might have been used. But what if there wasn’t a boat? What if there were two murderers this whole time?”

Billy looked at the note and then over to Frank who was nodding as if he had heard. You caught a quick snippet of him telling the doctor that one of Anvil’s men would be there as soon as possible to provide extra security.

“If there were two murderers back then, then it isn’t a copycat. It’s a continuation.”

Your hands went around your stomach as if to hold you together, fingers seeking out those rigid scars under your top.

“Why me? Why my family? We never did anything to anyone.”

“It can be a fixation of finishing what was started. It can be the chase because you got away. Revenge because you got his partner killed. There’s a lot of reasons someone might keep going after you.”

You wanted to laugh, but the logic was important. You needed the reality of this before you lost yourself.

“I don’t know what to do,” you whispered as you stared down at your hands with tears in your eyes. “I want to see my dad.”

“We’ll take you,” Frank said as he passed you the phone, the screen showing the call had ended. “I’m going to pick up Karen and tell her what’s going on. Then we’ll take you to your dad.”

“Maybe we should wait,” Billy said as he stood up to face Frank. “Get Karen, get someone from Anvil to sit on her dad, but if we drag her out of the city, we can’t be sure that he won’t follow us and more people will get hurt. Here, we’re on our turf.”

As the men discussed the pros and cons of both plans, you let your hand go back to the scar. The fear that had gone through you that night in the basement den of your childhood home had started to come back, but as it rose, so did something else. A strength you never knew you had.

The strength to survive.

“I’m staying,” you said finally, cutting off their conversation. “If he wants to finish what he started, he can start with me. I’m not running again.”

Both men looked at you and you saw the pride in their eyes. Frank pulled out his phone.

“I’m going to get Karen. We’ll stick together. You and Bill should stick together too. We’ll come up with a plan to draw him out and we’ll end this.”

Your eyes went to Billy’s and found those dark eyes were already on yours.

“I’ll take you to my place. We’ll be safe there.”

This was it. The final standoff.

For years you’d thought you were safe, that the danger had been left behind you. Now, whatever happened, you knew it would really be over.

—

“Here, this will be more comfortable,” Billy explained as he handed you some of his clothes.

You hadn’t gone back to your place, unwilling to take the chance. Instead Billy had brought you straight to his over the top apartment and told you to make yourself at home.

You went into the bathroom to change, placing your clothes on the side of the sink where you could change back into them in the morning. As you stared at yourself in the mirror in Billy’s clothes, you felt your throat catch a bit.

Inch by inch you raised the shirt and looked at the scar on your stomach. Then, even though you had just put the shirt on, you pulled it off and held it to your chest as you turned. With your back facing the mirror, you looked over your shoulder and looked at the scars there.

You had felt the knife tear through your skin. The stitches hadn’t been nearly enough to keep the scars from being ugly, but you didn’t care anymore. Once upon a time they made you ashamed, but why should they? They meant you were a survivor.

A survivor.

“Hey, are you…”

Billy had knocked on the door and it came open fully since you hadn’t shut it all the way in your daze. He looked at your back in the mirror for a long moment before he met your eyes.

“Are you hungry? I was going to make dinner.”

You swallowed thickly as you looked down from his gaze in the mirror to the scars.

“They don’t bother you.”

It wasn’t asked, it was stated. When his gaze flickered away from the mirror, you turned to face him in the doorway. His eyes went down the scars on your stomach. The ones you had showed him that first night in the cabin after he had scared you. He walked towards you and reached out, slowly as if to let you move away if you wanted to.

You didn’t want to.

When those fingers touched your scar, you shivered but didn’t pull away. His eyes moved from the scar and landed on your face.

“We all have scars,” he said softly as his eyes dropped to your mouth. “Shows that you’re a survivor.”

A survivor. He had echoed the words you had thought right before he’d walked in.

“Billy,” you began but he shook his head.

“Later,” he promised as he leaned in and captured your lips with his.

Since you were going to ask if you could kiss him, you found yourself happy with this change of pace. The shirt was dropped to the floor. Chest bared, you leaned in and wrapped your arms around his neck to hold him closer. Even as his hand skimmed up your back and slowly touched the scars there, you didn’t pull away.

You were done pulling away.

Billy led you to the bedroom. As you pulled your pants and underwear off, Billy beat the record to pull his clothes off as well. His shirt was already on the floor and while he worked on his pants, you caught the scars on his shoulder and side. 

Your fingers went to the ones on his shoulder first, tracing over them. Then you touched the one low on his side.

“What are these from?”

Billy placed his hand over yours as you touched the one on his side.

“I’ll tell you all about them. After,” he added as he leaned in to kiss you again. 

You smiled against his lips, unable to help yourself. It wasn’t like you’d never thought about kissing Billy. In fact you’d thought about it a lot, even that first night when he’d scared you nearly to death. There had always been some sort of attraction between the two of you, something you never dwelled on because you hadn’t been interested in making things awkward between the two of you.

Although now you didn’t think that it would be very awkward. Something told you that Billy was just as interested as you were. 

Instead of focusing on the scars on either of you, you decided to focus on Billy and the way he was making you feel. 

There’d be time to talk later.

—

Billy wasn’t in the apartment when you woke up, but a note on the table said that he had to run to Anvil and would pick up breakfast on his way back. You had smiled at the note and folded it to put into your pocket. You were stupidly enamored by that man.

As you went over to the coffee pot that looked like it belonged in a spaceship, you heard your phone ring from your purse on the coffee table. With the reminder that your dad was in the hospital, you rushed over and grabbed it.

It was him. You immediately answered.

“Dad? Are you okay?”

“Hey kiddo,” your dad answered, his voice drowsy and laced with pain. “Finally awake enough to call. Wanted to hear your voice. The goon at the door said you’d called and talked to the doctor.”

“Dad.” Your voice broke as you slumped onto the couch. “Dad, you…do you remember what happened? Who did it?”

There was silence for a long moment before your dad sighed, the noise a bit strangled as he wheezed.

“I only saw him for a split second, but I’d recognize it anywhere. I thought I was seeing things.” You listened as he shifted, the bed crinkling him under him loud enough for you to hear over the phone. “He came by when I was in the car. I think he thought I was dead or maybe unconscious, but I heard his voice. I heard him tell me it was about time.”

You closed your eyes and wrapped your arms around you as tight as you could. 

“I had a letter on my windshield last night. It asked me if I missed him. I don’t think it’s a copycat dad. I think that he was involved in the original murders.”

The slow beeps from the phone was the only way you knew the call hadn’t failed. Then your dad finally spoke.

“I think you’re right. I don’t know why, but I agree.”

At least you were all on the same page with that.

Your phone buzzed with an incoming call and you checked it to see that it was Billy. After you told your dad you’d call him back in a bit, you switched over to talk to him.

“Hey, is everything okay at Anvil?”

“You’re still at the apartment, right? You didn’t leave.”

You looked around for some reason and then sat up a bit straighter.

“Yeah, I’m still here. What happened?”

There was a lot going on in the background in the call and you strained your ears enough to pick up a few words. By things you could hear, Billy was near a bunch of cops.

“There was another murder. Your next door neighbor, Melinda Geillis.”

You knew Melinda well enough, the two of you often talked in the elevators or hallway. You closed your eyes tightly and shook your head.

“Are we sure it was him?”

Billy said something quietly to someone nearby and then it was quiet on the other side of the phone.

“Her throat was slit and then she was dragged into your apartment and propped up on your couch like she was watching television.”

The memory of your brother’s body flashed before your eyes. Yeah, that was him. 

“There’s a note here too. It says ‘sorry I missed you’.”

You flinched at that. Then your hand went to your pocket where Billy’s note was. The feel of the paper comforted you a bit.

“Dad said he saw him, recognized the outfit from the night of the attack. He also said he heard his voice. The guy came by after the accident and was taunting my dad, either because he thought he was dead or thought he wouldn’t hear. He said it was about time.”

Billy swore through his teeth. You could almost picture his face as he absorbed that information.

“We’re gonna catch this guy, okay? Nothing is going to happen to you or to your dad. Not again.”

You let out a breath and then slumped against the couch a bit.

“How’d you find out anyway? I mean, if it was in my apartment, you’d think I would have heard about it first.”

“I was driving by and saw the police presence,” Billy explained softly as someone came through the room he was in, talking about taking pictures. “I asked what happened and they let me know. I’ve worked with enough local law enforcement so they let me up. The detective in charge is going to call you, but…I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

You laughed a bit as you reached up to rub at your eyes.

“Thank you Billy. Really.”

“I’ll come pick you up and bring you to the station so we can coordinate with the locals. Just stay inside and keep the door locked, okay? There’s a spare gun in the safe; the combination is 7895.”

You looked over at the safe, but didn’t make moves to go get it. You weren’t big on guns.

“I’ll see you shortly Billy. Thanks again.”

When the call was over, you leaned back and wrapped your arms around your legs. It had been such a long morning already and you’d only been awake for an hour. 

At some point this would be over, wouldn’t it? One way or another.

—

The police station wasn’t a place you’d spent a lot of time since you’d come to the city. Once upon a time, in the little seaside town you’d grown up in, you’d been in the police station a lot. Not for any nefarious reasons of course, simply because your dad had worked for the force. You’d gotten comfortable in police stations.

Now though? You had to admit that you were very uneasy. It wasn’t the people themselves of course, they were just your run of the mill law enforcement officers. No, you were uneasy because of the reason you were there.

Billy had suggested that you not see the pictures from the crime scene, but you reminded him that you had lived through it once. 

It was like seeing a ghost. Your neighbor’s body was propped up in a mirror of your brother’s, down to the television being on in front of her and playing the news. You tried not to stare into her lifeless eyes, but in the close up picture your only other option was to look at the gash across her neck.

There had been a struggle. She had fought hard.

After some questions and rehashing the details with the police, you were led to the front lobby to leave, but Billy doubled back to coordinate coverage at your dad’s hospital room. While he did that, you called your dad to let him know what was going on.

“You gotta leave the city,” your dad said sternly. “I don’t want to lose you. You need to leave, you need to get somewhere this maniac will never find you.”

“Dad, I can’t leave. Look what happened when I stayed somewhere else for one night? Who knows what will happen if–”

“Hey, they said we can head out whenever,” Billy called as he approached. He nodded to where your phone was against your ear, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just my dad. Hey dad, I’ve got to–”

Your name from your dad made you pause what you were saying, only slightly annoyed by being interrupted again. Something in your dad’s voice made you stop speaking, stop breathing. There was terror in his voice.

“Who is that? With you right now. Who is with you?”

You looked over at Billy who was frowning in concern.

“It’s my friend Billy, the one I’ve told you about? He’s the one that brought me to the police station after what happened at my apartment.”

There was a long pause that made you a little antsy.

“You need to get away from him right now. You need to get out of there. Immediately.”

“Dad–”

“Stop. Don’t let him know, but leave. Go back into the station, stay with them. Get away from him. That’s the voice I heard after my accident.”

You swallowed thickly as you heard those words, your eyes going from Billy to the door he had just come through. You could see police officers moving around through the glass door. From the peripheral you could see Billy watching you, barely making out the concern still on his face as you stood a little straighter.

“Are you sure?”

“I can’t be one hundred percent sure, not over a phone, but it sounds just like him. Please, get away from him.”

With your eyes closed, you listened to your dad plead with you while you remembered the way that Billy had touched you the night before. Was it possible? Was it possible that Billy was this person that was tormenting you? Killing people?

The things you knew about Billy told you that anything was possible. 

You nodded and then made a noise like you were listening to your dad as you reached and patted yourself, as if looking for something.

“Billy, can you check and see if I left my wallet in the interview room,” you said with a glance over at him. “I don’t want to see the pictures again but I think I left my wallet in there.”

“Sure,” he said with a nod and a brief touch to your arm.

When he disappeared behind the door to head back to the interview room, you grabbed your wallet out of your pocket and nearly ran from the police station. On the road you found a cab that was thankfully letting someone out of the door at the same time that you’d gotten there, so you simply slid right in. Then you thought about where to go.

After you gave the address to the hospital your dad was at, you glanced over your shoulder to the door of the police station. Right as the cab started to pull away from the curb, you saw Billy step out and look around. You didn’t know if he saw you or not, but you settled back into your seat and let out a sigh.

“I’m headed to you dad,” you said softly. “I don’t know if you’re right, I don’t see how Billy could…but I’m on my way.”

You had no idea how to explain what your dad may or may not have heard. You couldn’t imagine that Billy was the one that had done those things. How would he have even been involved?

But you remembered that every time something had happened, Billy had been gone. He’d been on the road after the attacks back home, he’d been out when the note had been left on your car and your dad had been hit, he’d been out when your neighbor was attacked.

Was it possible that billy wasn’t who you thought he was? Was it possible that you’d slept with someone you shouldn’t have trusted?

The mere thought made your stomach turn.

—

The officer at the door was a bit confused when you told him not to let an Anvil employee watch the door alone, but he reluctantly agreed without you explaining why. He was agreeable otherwise.

Your dad looked rough, but he smiled tightly when you came into the room. His eyes cut to the door and then back to you as you shut it behind you.

“His men were out there, weren’t they? Are they still?”

“Not right now,” you said as you went over to his side to grab his hand. “I still don’t know for sure, but if that’s what you heard, then I have to trust you.”

Your dad winced as he leaned closer to you, his hand tight on yours. 

“We can’t stay here. From what I’ve been able to tell, he has a lot of pull with the locals.”

“Dad, you can’t go anywhere. Look at you, you’re barely able to sit up right now. I can’t lug you around, I’m not strong enough for that.”

Your dad closed his eyes and nodded slowly. 

“So you need to go somewhere else. Somewhere without telling anyone. Once you’re gone, I’ll talk to a detective about my theory and we’ll have him looked into.”

You shook your head as he spoke.

“No, I can’t leave without you,” you cried as you hugged him, gently to keep from hurting him. “If something happened to you while I was gone, it would kill me. I can’t lose you.”

“I’ll be safe here until I’m able to get out myself. I’ll call a friend to come sit with me for a while. You’re my only concern, you’re my priority.”

You wiped your tears off your cheeks as you pulled back a bit. With a sniffle you glanced over at the door to see the back of the cop’s head as he pulled his phone to his ear. As he nodded and looked over his shoulder at you, you felt something cold wash over you.

“I have to go now. I think Billy’s trying to find out if I’m here.”

“Then go sweetheart. Do you remember the plan for Tallahassee?”

The codeword made you shake a bit. It was picked after your mom and brother had been killed as it’s where your mom had originally been from. If something ever happened and you and your dad had to run off, you’d go to a location that was a secret between the two of you. Far away from Tallahassee, but it was a word that could be used even in front of others without being discovered.

You really hoped you never had to use it.

“One week and then I’ll head to Tallahassee,” you said as you stood up and wiped tears from your eyes again. “Then when you’re better, you can join me.”

“One week for us both, whether or not I’m feeling better.” 

The old man was stubborn. You laughed a bit as you leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. Then the forehead.

“I love you dad,” you said as you placed another kiss on his forehead.

“I love you too kiddo,” he repeated as he squeezed your hand. “Go. Get out of here and be safe.”

That’s all that there was to it. And now you needed to figure out where to go to wait out the week.

You’d need to stop at some ATMs to get money out so that you wouldn’t leave a trail. Something told you that Billy would use whatever resources he had to find you and you weren’t going to give him that chance.

—

The man at the front desk of the motel didn’t even look at your ID or anything else as you pushed the cash over for the week. He simply counted the bills and then handed you the key.

“Ice machine doesn’t work, vending machines are on the first floor, pool is closed for now.”

You tucked the rest of your money into your waller and palmed the key, mumbling a thanks to him as you turned and walked out of the office. Your room was on the second floor so you made it up the stairs with the crinkle of the grocery bags you carried your freshly bought clothes in. At room 17, you put the key into the lock and turned it. It stuck a bit but came open after that.

“Home sweet home,” you muttered as you dropped the grocery bags onto the bed. 

You’d bought some clothes and some other necessities on your way out of the city. Here you were, about six hours from the city, settling into a motel that didn’t even have a sign to tell you the name.

At some point you’d need to go to the vending machines and get a few snacks. Maybe try to find a local grocery store where you could get some nonperishable items. There was a microwave in the room and a mini-fridge. More like a mini-mini-fridge, but whatever.

You felt naked without your cell phone, but you definitely knew that you could be tracked with that, so you’d left it at the hospital. 

With a sigh you sat on the bed and grimaced a bit at the hardness of the mattress. Not exactly comfortable, but you’d make do. If it meant not losing your life, you’d lose some comfort. The remote was next to the bed so you grabbed it and turned the television on, turning the volume down a good deal just in case. You never trusted these places. 

One channel surf later you landed on the news. It touched on a bunch of national stuff before it narrowed in to local and you waited to see if anything would come up about the killer. It never came.

After the news cycled over to some infomercials, you grabbed some money and left your room, locking it behind you. You checked your surroundings carefully before you headed down the stairs to the vending machine.

There were only about five cars in the parking lot besides yours. You looked over each and tried to commit them to memory before you stepped into the alcove where the vending machines were. You grabbed a bottle of water and an energy drink from one and then some chips and some chocolate from the other. Hands full, you stepped out of the alcove and looked around on your way to the stairs.

Six cars.

You stopped where you were and stared at the new car, a nondescript dark colored sedan. Between the distance and the darkness, you couldn’t tell if there was anyone in the car. They were parked in front of the office though, so it was possible that it was another person here just to get a room. It wasn’t far off the beaten track from the interstate so maybe they found it the same way you did.

With a deep inhale, you held your breath and ran up the stairs. You had to juggle the items in your hands to get your key back out and back into the room. It didn’t stick this time so you were able to get in and shut it behind you in mere seconds, locking it and the chain behind you.

Then you pulled the chair from the corner and pushed it in front of the door.

Once that was done you put your items down on the dresser and moved further into the room. The bathroom was open so you could see into it clearly, but you turned on the light and looked around just in case. Even checked behind the shower curtain. Then you checked the half closet which wasn’t really big enough to hold a grown man.

You looked under the bed but there was a trundle bed so not enough room for someone to fit.

Satisfied that the room was empty besides yourself, you went over to the window and peered out. The angle you had didn’t allow you to see much, but you could see your car at least. 

Tomorrow you’d head out to a nearby grocery or convenience store to get what you needed for the rest of the week. Once you were through the week and could head to the meeting place with your dad, things would be fine. You’d be safe again.

You still couldn’t believe that Billy was the one doing this to you. Part of you refused to believe it, the part that had had sex with him and laid in his arms the whole night. The rest of you had more questions than you had answers and when faced with the unknown, you had to rely on what you could put together. Your dad had said he couldn’t be certain but felt it was a close enough similarity to demand you leave and save yourself.

That night when you curled up on the hard as hell mattress, the thin blanket pulled over your body and the television providing light into the room, you weren’t sure you’d ever fall asleep. Not with how your brain was on turbo mode.

But you were able to finally fall asleep somewhere after two in the morning.

—

The third night at the motel had been as uneventful as the other two. You had gotten some food at a nearby convenience store so you didn’t have to rely on vending machine snacks. You also got a deck of cards so you could play solitaire with yourself to waste time.

The news still didn’t say anything about what was happening, but you had to imagine there were constant murders in the city so maybe it didn’t make the radar yet. You didn’t know how many more deaths it would take for it to hit the news cycle but you hoped it didn’t get to that.

As you crossed the room to do your hourly check of the window, you wondered what everyone else was doing. Your dad, Karen, Frank…even Billy.

Since you’d been in the motel, you’d spent a lot of time thinking about Billy. Thinking about him being the killer, thinking about it all being a miscommunication. The more you thought about him, the less you felt certain one way or another.

As you stared out the window, you checked the parts of the parking lot that you could see and then looked over to where your car was parked. As you looked at it, you noticed someone walking past your car and towards the office. It was dark so you couldn’t make out who the person was, but you traced their steps back to see if there was another car nearby that they had come out of.

There was a truck not far from your car that was in line with the path they were taking, but it had been there since yesterday. 

You looked at the chair in front of your door and made sure it was still pressed against the door. This way at least you knew you would have a warning if someone tried to get into the room while you were there.

Back on the bed you grabbed the cards and shuffled them a bit. It was time for more solitaire. You really wished you’d grabbed something else, anything else at this point. It was hard to go without a phone to spend your time, but you were making do. 

A noise outside made you look over to the window with the blinds down. A streetlight let a little light in and you stared at it for a long time until you watched a little darkness move over the window. Someone was walking past your window towards your door.

You held your breath and waited. When you heard the door beside yours open, you let it out with a sigh. It was another person staying in the hotel.

Without winning the current game of solitaire, you turned off the light and stacked the cards on the bedside table. You had a flashlight that you’d gotten at the convenience store that you kept nearby as you curled up on the bed, your eyes on the window and door. When no sounds came to you, no change in the minimal light that trickled through, you felt yourself drift off to sleep.

A dream came to you then, while you dozed in and out. A darkness seemed to pour into the room from the ceiling, like a shadow but more solid. The darkness seemed to melt and shift along the lines of the ceiling, never fully there as you stared up at it.When you woke up, it was with your back to the window and door, a blank wall in front of you. The first thing you did was look up to the ceiling but there were no shadows moving around.

You rolled over to your other side and immediately checked the window, but nothing had changed. It was still dark out there, still a slight amount of light pouring through the window. You blinked lazily and rubbed your eyes before you looked at the door to check that the chair was still there.

It wasn’t. It was in the corner now and someone was in it.

You sat up and opened your mouth to scream, but it didn’t come out as the occupant leaned forward and was lit up by the incoming light stream.

Billy.

“How’d you find me?”

There was a beat of silence as he nodded then sat back so that he disappeared a bit from your sight. 

“It wasn’t easy. You really tried to drop off the grid. It’s my job to be able to find people though.”

“Yeah,” you said uneasily as you shrank back in the bed a bit, your legs pulling to your chest and bracing just in case you needed to jump up. “How’d you get in here without making a noise? The chair…”

“Took some maneuvering. I figured you’d do something like that.”

You blinked and tried to nod a bit. Of course he’d know how to get through your defenses. You should have known.

“What are you going to do to me?”

It was quiet for a long moment before Billy leaned forward again to look at you. You wished you could see whatever emotions were in those dark eyes, but from this distance the dark brown was pitch black and it made you feel hunted.

“Why would I do anything to you? I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Safe. You’d heard the word a lot, but it had been a long time since you felt it. And right then, with Billy sitting in a chair across the room, you didn’t know if safe is what you felt at all.

What was the next step? Did you confront him for who you suspected he was? Did you wait for him to prove you right or wrong? 

“Why didn’t you let me protect you? I could have gotten you and your dad somewhere safe. Then maybe…”

You watched as he looked away from you, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“Maybe what?”

He looked over at you and shook his head.

“You left your phone at the hospital so you hadn’t heard. The killer broke into the hospital, somehow got through the security we had on your dad. He survived, got a few stab wounds, but the killer took down two of my men and a police officer.”

You felt sick. Your body bowed in and you pressed your face into your knees as you thought about it. At least your dad was alive, but being stabbed on top of already suffering from the car accident couldn’t be good. 

“He’s alive. He’ll stay alive,” Billy said as a hand came down to rest on your shoulder.

You jerked backwards as he touched you, body nearly falling off the bed as you tried to get away from the touch. When you looked up and met his concerned gaze, you couldn’t help the pitiful laugh that came from you.

“What will it take? What do I have to do?”

Your stomach rolled as you thought about what he might say.

“What are you talking about?”

At some point tears had started to flow down your cheeks as you stared up at Billy. His hand on your shoulder, the scent of the cologne that he always wore, it made you feel lost in memories you couldn’t afford to be lost in.

“He heard your voice. The day of his accident, he heard the killer and when he heard your voice at the police station, he said it was you.”

Billy’s hand fell to his side as he stared down at your crumpled form.

“My voice? So you…what, think I’m the other murderer? This whole time. Even from when you were in high school?”

You closed your eyes for a long moment and then shook your head.

“I don’t…I don’t know Billy. He said he heard you. And every time there was a murder, you weren’t with someone who could account for your whereabouts. What am I supposed to think?”

He crossed his arms and took a few steps back to lean against the wall across from you.

“I’ve killed before. More than a few times and not all of them deserved it. But I never killed anyone stateside that I didn’t have to.”

You wrapped your arms around yourself as you stared at Billy.

“He heard you Billy. He recognized your voice.”

“He had a concussion. Maybe he heard something, someone, but how could he be sure it was me? Especially since the second time was just over the phone.”

You wiped the tears out of your eyes as you stared up at him.

“I can’t take the chance Billy. I can’t take the chance that you’re someone who wants to hurt me.”

“I could never hurt you,” Billy swore as he walked closer to you. Then he shook his head as he turned away. “But you’re right. You can’t take the chance. If I’d known this was your worry, I never would have come here.”

He got to the door and right as you thought about telling him not to leave, to ask him to talk the rest of this through with you, he opened the door and things happened so quickly after that.

A masked man stood on the other side of the door. The moment it came open, he raised his knife and brought it down hard into Billy’s shoulder. You screamed and shoved yourself up and off the bed, body stuck between going to the door and further away. 

You grabbed Billy and pulled him back, body slamming against the door to try to close it. Billy threw his body weight into it too, wincing as the shoulder with the blood pouring through it slammed against the wood. The two of you got the door slammed shut but you still didn’t move.

“Believe me now?” Billy asked through gritted teeth as he moved around you to peer through the peephole. “He’s not there. He’ll come back though.”

You nodded as you tried to get your brain to get back on path. While Billy kept his body against the door, you grabbed a washcloth from the dresser and pressed it hard against his shoulder to stem the blood flow.

“What are we going to do?”

Billy accepted the cloth and held it against his shoulder. With his free hand he reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife which he pressed into your hands. As you were about to ask what he was going to use, he pulled a gun out of the waistband of his jeans and checked that it was ready..

“We need to make a run for the car. We can call the cops once we’re on the road.”

You nodded and grabbed your wallet from the dresser and shoved it into the pocket of your sweats. There was nothing else here that you needed to make sure you had. Prepared, you grabbed Billy’s uninjured shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“I should go first.”

“I don’t care if I was missing an arm. You’re not going first,” Billy said through gritted teeth as he shoved the cloth under his jacket. Then he moved to tuck you behind him. “You stay at my back, okay? Keep the knife up and let me know if I need to turn and shoot. Are you ready?”

No. 

“Yeah,” you breathed as you stood at his side.

He went out first and looked both directions a few times before he motioned for you to follow him. He gestured to keep you close to him. You stepped out and didn’t bother shutting the door as the two of you headed to the stairs. As you made your way past the front office, you noticed blood sprayed on the wall behind where the man had sat at the computer.

“Oh god,” you whimpered as you kept as close to Billy as you could.

“Eyes forward baby, we can’t wait. We’re almost there.”

He was leading you to his car, not yours. You looked behind the two of you to see if someone was out there, aware of what was going on, but you saw nothing. Heard nothing but the pounding of your heart between your ears.

At the car, Billy unlocked it and tugged you to go to the passenger door. As you reached out, you saw something from the corner of your eye.

“BILLY!”

He spun you around and thrust himself between the two of you, his gun raised at the man that had been running at you. He stopped, his knife still raised. The eerie black mask tilted this way and that as he stared at the two of you.

“You can’t win. Gun beats knife.”

“I don’t have to win. I just have to take one of you down with me.”

That voice. It sounded similar to Billy’s, enough that if you’d heard it you might think the same thing. But you didn’t dwell on that as you watched the man launch himself forward at the two of you. The gun went off and the attacker faltered, but he kept on running. When his body ran into Billy’s and shoved you against the car, you heard the gun skitter to the asphalt. 

As the attacker stabbed the knife into Billy’s side again, the moan of pain coming from the man you were trying to hold up, you realized that you didn’t have a choice. You had to lean around Billy to do what you needed to.

The knife went straight into the attacker’s bicep first. Then you pulled it out and swung out, harder this time. As it went into the attacker’s neck, Billy reached up and took hold of your wrist and thrusted it in harder. The attacker’s scream echoed through the emptyish parking lot, you stepped around Billy and pulled the knife out before you plunged it in again. 

Billy’s hand didn’t leave your wrist as you thrusted the knife into the man’s neck and chest, over and over. When the attacker fell, you almost went with him just to keep going, but Billy wrapped an arm around your waist to keep you up.

“He’s gone,” Billy said into your ear as he held you tight. “He’s gone. You can stop.”

You closed your eyes for a long moment before you looked at the body slumped at your feet. He was gone. He was gone and this was over.

The knife fell to the ground next, clattering loudly as it bounced a bit. Your eyes burned as you stared at the man who had tried once more to end your life.

“Who…”

Billy squeezed your hip and then bent down. You shook your head because you didn’t know where Billy’s wounds were but you were worried he would hurt himself worse than he already was. You followed him down, hands immediately on his sides to check his injuries.

“No, no, stop,” he said as he pushed your hands away for a second. “We need to…”

He reached out for the man’s mask but you grabbed his wrist and stopped him. When he pulled his hand away, you reached out for the mask yourself.

The man under it was completely nondescript. You weren’t sure that you’d ever seen him before in your life, not here or back home. He looked like any man you may have passed on the street a thousand times.

“I don’t know who that is,” you said as you stared at him.

“He’s dead. That’s who he is.”

You slumped on the ground next to the car. When Billy passed his cell phone to you, you immediately dialed 911. Billy needed an ambulance. And this needed to be put to an end immediately.

As the dispatcher answered, you remembered the first time you’d made this call. Instead of staring at the death of your mom and brother, you were staring at Billy’s bleeding body and his tired eyes.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“I need an ambulance and a lot of cops. We were just attacked by a known serial killer and we had to kill him to defend ourselves.”

Billy smiled with pride at you as he reached out to grab your hand in his.

—

The room your dad was in was a different one this time, but you found it easily enough. When you walked in, your dad was talking to the nurse quietly. She smiled and waved at you as she turned to leave, giving you the space to nearly climb into your dad’s bed to hug him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” you mumbled softly as you tucked your face into his neck.

His arms went around you and you noticed one arm didn’t have the same strength as the other. Still, he didn’t let you go for a long time.

“I’m sorry sweetheart,” your dad finally said as you pulled away. “If I hadn’t accused Billy, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“We can’t think about what might have happened,” you said as you grabbed his hand to hold it tight in yours.

The injuries from the accident were mostly healed but now your dad had the knife wounds to heal from. The doctors promised that he would make a full recovery and that it wouldn’t hold him back any. 

“I’m just glad it’s over. That you’re safe.”

You sat with that for a long moment. As terrified as you had been for so long, even before you knew there was someone out to get you, it had been so hard to feel safe. Your memories and nightmares kept you on the edge, even when you were supposed to be safe.

The only times those memories and nightmares stopped were when you were with Billy. 

“When he’s better, I want to meet Billy. I want to apologize in person. He deserves that much.”

You glanced at your dad and then back down to your clasped hands. 

“If I hadn’t left, he wouldn’t have been hurt. I should have talked to him, heard him out instead of just running.”

Your dad squeezed your hand until you looked up at him.

“It’s not your fault. I told you to leave. You listened to me.” 

“I’m an adult dad, I could have stood up for myself at any point. I believed you because I think part of me didn’t trust Billy but I should have.”

You knew things about Billy and Frank, things that made it a little easier to believe that he would. Although knowing those things, you shouldn’t have assumed anything. You knew Billy better than that. At least you should have.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he told me he never wanted to see me again.”

You tugged on the fabric of your scrub pants, provided by a nurse at some point. The police had gathered your clothes for evidence since they had been drenched in blood. Mostly Billy’s.

“Kiddo, from what I’ve seen and heard since all of this happened, that man isn’t going to turn away just because of some stabs. He moved heaven and earth to find you when you ran off. The only other reason for him to do that besides being the killer is because he cares.”

You laughed and shook your head, but didn’t say anything. Instead you moved to lean into your dad’s arms once more.

“It’s all going to be okay sweetheart. It’s over.”

He was right, it was all over. It was going to be okay.

Somehow.

—

The room Billy was in was on a different floor. When you knocked on the door, his voice called out that you could enter. He was sitting up on the bed, a tablet in his hands as he looked through it. When he looked up, he seemed surprised to see you. 

“Hey,” you said slowly, drawing the word out a lot longer than it needed to. “I don’t have to stay or anything, I just wanted to check on you.”

His eyebrows furrowed as he put the tablet down to the side.

“Why wouldn’t you stay?”

You shifted a bit before you took two steps into the room.

“You wouldn’t be in that bed if it wasn’t for me. Plus the whole, you know, thinking you were a serial killer thing.”

Billy laughed which surprised you. He gestured you over to him and after you glanced over at the chair a few feet away, he made a soft ‘tsk’ sound before he patted the bed beside him. 

As you sat down on the very edge of the bed, Billy made that noise again and tugged you to him. You immediately froze and checked to make sure you hadn’t landed on any of the bandages on his chest, but he shook his head when he could tell what you were looking for.

“I’ve had worse,” he said as he put his hand over the bandage on his side.

“Billy, I–”

“Unless the next words out of your mouth are ‘understand that this wasn’t my fault’ then I’m not sure I want to hear them.”

“It was my fault though. If I hadn’t left without even talking to you, hadn’t thought you were the killer, you wouldn’t have had to come find me. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Fingers under your chin made you move your head until you met Billy’s dark eyes. 

“Given the chance, I would always put my body between you and danger. Whether or not you thought I was the danger. And in the end, you know I wasn’t involved.” After a beat of silence, he narrowed his eyes and gave you a small smirk. “You do know that I wasn’t involved, don’t you?”

You laughed and leaned into the hand on your face a little.

“If this was a movie or something, it might not mean that you were uninvolved. But this isn’t a movie, it’s real life. So no, I don’t still think you were involved.”

Billy laughed and released your chin but only so that he could reach down and run his fingers over your wrist a bit.

“I’m just glad that nothing happened to you. It would have…I don’t think I could have handled it if something would have happened to you while you were running from me.”

You didn’t want to think about that either. Billy being there had been a fluke, it should have just been you against him. That made you look at his bandages once more.

“It feels wrong somehow that you and dad got hurt this time but I didn’t. I’m glad that Frank and Karen had gotten out of town and were safe, but I came out of this without a scratch on me and both of you had been attacked.”

“I like to think of it as cosmic karma.” At your confused look, Billy explained. “The last time, you were the one that went through it all. You saw the dead bodies of your mom and brother, you got chased around the basement, you’re the one that had to fight for your life, you’re the one that still wears the scars. In more ways than one. So this time, we were able to take that for you. We can bear those for you.”

You didn’t even realize you were crying until he wiped the tears away. You sniffled and wiped at your face as you looked away from a long moment, gathering your thoughts.

“Do you think…”

You didn’t know how to continue the thought. When you didn’t, Billy called your name. As you looked up, he leaned forward until he could press his mouth against yours.

“Karen and Frank will be happy about this development at least,” he said as he pressed his forehead against yours. “They’ve been telling me to get over my hesitation and ask you out for a while. I just wanted to give you space until you were ready.”

With a laugh you raised your hand and pulled Billy back in for another kiss.

It had been a tough few years since the original murders. Safety had been hard to come by. Since then you had kept yourself caged and terrified the whole time. It had been hard to make connections with people over the last few years. But now? Even before the encounter in the parking lot with you killing the man who had tormented you.

Now you were thinking it was time for you to live your life once more. You smiled and leaned back between kisses to mutter two words to Billy.

“I’m ready.”

X

Thank you for reading this year's Halloween fic! I hope you enjoyed!

[jaidens]

smaller acts — zach bryan

pairing [s] : spencer reid x reader

warning [s] : none!

a/n [s] : requests are open! + my red requests for fall are open for another week or so.!

The Keurig coffee machine stutters and practically shakes as it churns coffee from the spout, filling the air with the delicious smelling coffee pods. Spencer is grabbing two mugs from the cabinet, one with a jack-o'-lantern face on it and the other one had a cat in a pumpkin on it.

Recently, you had gone out to the store for Halloween decorations and other things you ‘needed’ which ended up with hundreds of receipts from Spirit Halloween, the local mall, and Target.

He's stirring in the vanilla half-and-half and sugar into the jack-o'-lantern cup, which was rightly decided to be his, and taps the metal spoon against the corner.

“Hey,” You emerge from the door for you and Spencer’s bedroom wearing a pair of his plaid pants and a tank-top. “Are you making coffee?” He turns to look at you and hands you your cup of coffee, with your preferences of milk and sugar in it.

You take a sip and close your eyes, before letting your feet take you to Spencer's warmth. His arms wrap around your lower back and tuck you in his arms. His kisses your forehead before saying, “Do you wanna go to the farmer's market today? Then we can get that coffee place you love.” You nod into his chest and pull away, giving him a peck against his lips.

Spencer pulls away to take another sip of his coffee. “I love the mugs, honey, very halloween-ey.” He compliments you and you laugh, holding your mug up to show it off to him.

“They were on sale! How could I ever skip up these adorable things?” You laugh again and Spencer picks up a book that was sitting on the counter and you follow him to the couch. You both sit down and cuddle up underneath the crocheted blanket.

The apartment wasn't very good at keeping in the warm air, but while underneath a blanket wrapped up in your boyfriend's arms were enough. “And yes, I wanna go to the farmer's market. We still haven't gotten pumpkins.”

Spencer kisses you again and you close your eyes. “I love you. Thank you for making coffee again. I'll do it tomorrow morning.” You're smiling at him, watching him read his new book he had got at the library.

Bzz. Bzz.

“No way they're calling you on your day off.” Spencer moans and picks up his phone, and nods at you when he reads the caller ID. “Well, bye sweetheart. I have to go shower, I'll see you when you get home.” You hug him, kiss his lips, and walk away. Inherently, you're upset about the fact you can't go to the farmers market even after you had already planned it. You were disappointed about the unexpected call, but it could always be another day.

[wolfprincesszola]

"Do you want a kiss?" | 707 x Reader

I couldn't think of anything else for the summary because I wanted it to be vague. Have a first kiss scene that's so cute that it makes my teeth rot every time I read it. I smiled so much when I wrote it that people in my house started to ask me if I was texting an s/o (i'm single asf). If you are one of my irl mutuals who know about my obsession with 707, no, you don't see this. Scroll away. (candy fic just in time for halloween <3) ————– Summary: You offer Saeyoung a kiss and he gladly takes the opportunity.

Trigger Warnings: None

Content Warnings: Food (Chocolate), Light Swearing (only one) ————–

"Do you want a kiss?"

707 choked on the water he had been drinking, quickly putting the cup down and going to grab a napkin to wipe his mouth and the remnants of the water that had gotten on his clothes. His voice cracked as he turned to you with confusion, "What?"

"Are you alright?" You asked, staring at him with concern etched on your face.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about me." 707 brushed it off as he joined you on the couch, "I must've just heard you wrong."

Yeah, that was it. His lovely, innocent girlfriend wouldn't have suggested for them to share your first kiss right then and there.

"Do you want a kiss?" You blinked innocently, enunciating the words so that 707 wouldn't misunderstand you again. "What did you hear?"

Nope. He heard you correctly.

"I heard you correctly, I guess. I'm sorry, that's just such an odd question to ask when I'm drinking water."

"Why?" You raised an eyebrow, "It's something that people normally ask."

707 couldn't help but question the people you had been hanging around and debating trying to take you away from you friends without knowing the full story. Who had been asking you to kiss them and would 707 be able to take them in a fight?

"I don't know. I just never thought that you would be the one to ask me that first. I guess I also thought that it'd be in a more romantic setting than this."

You raised an eyebrow before glancing around the room, "Sitting in the living room together domestically isn't romantic enough for you? I guess I could present it down on one knee too..."

"No, no! There's no need." 707 laughed nervously, stopping you from getting down on one knee, "This is fine. This is romantic enough already."

"Besides, not everything we do has to be romantic." You hummed, smiling at 707, "What are you so nervous about? It's just me asking you if you wanted one. It's okay to say no."

Why weren't you freaking out about this? Why were you treating this like nothing? Had you done this before? Was he ready to make the move? What if he was bad? What if he was horrible and then you wanted to dump him? What if he messed things up because he had agreed to a kiss? Was he overthinking this?

Looking at your nonchalant face, he definitely was.

"It's okay to say no, Saeyoung." You repeated, "You don't have to say yes to make me happy. I don't care either way."

"You don't?" 707 raised an eyebrow.

It wasn't the earliest stage of your relationship together as the two of you had been together for more than half a year already. However, you still had yet to do many things. It took you two almost three months to start holding hands even because of the anxiety 707 held and the inability to make a move you had. You two were fine with the slow pace you were going at though. It was nice and a fresh breath of air from the constant whirling of the rollercoaster life took you two on.

"Of course I don't. Why would I?"

"Well because I just assumed that you never had one before, so this would be as big of a deal for you as it is for me." 707 admitted, "Are you telling me you have?"

You stared at 707 as if he was insane, "Everyone I knew has had one, especially in your elementary school days. Don't tell me you've never had one."

"Of course I haven't! You know me. I mean, you're my first girlfriend."

You raised an eyebrow, "What does that have to do with ever having a kiss?"

707 flushed, knowing that he had greatly assumed that if you had already had your first kiss, it had to have been from your previous boyfriend. 707 did not know a single thing about your ex, but wanted to strangle him for ruining the experience of you ever sharing your first kiss with 707. Great, you had officially turned 707 into a homicidal maniac, ready to kill anyone that got in the way of his relationship. "You're right, it doesn't."

"But you're serious about that? You've never had your first kiss?" You seemed appalled by the statement.

"No!"

"Somehow I doubt that."

"What? You think I'm so likeable that people are just lining up to give me kisses?" 707 accused you.

"Well, yeah! You're the Saeyoung Choi. You're my boyfriend. If I like you, that means that there had to have been several friends of yours that have offered you them." You scoffed, "I mean, I'm not very much of a likeable person and I still had people offer them to me."

"Did you take the offers?"

"Of course I did! It was free kisses. Why wouldn't I?"

"You whore!" 707 scoffed, amusement clearly sparkling his eyes with no malicious intent to the comment.

He was surprised though. For someone who seemed very new and innocent to the relationship idea just like he was, you sure had a lot of experience if you had kissed many people. 707 felt a little jealous at the fact that he wouldn't be your first kiss, although he knew that his thinking was silly. You were his and would always be his for as long as he cherished you. He didn't have to worry about you accepting anyone's offers to kiss anyone while you two were together. There was at least that.

"What? You're telling me you've always refused it when people have offered them to you? I completely doubt that's true." You examined 707 for body signals to show that he was lying.

"They've never offered them to me." 707 admitted, "Unfortunately."

"You never bought any either?"

"Why would I? The booths are just overpriced for something I know I'll experience in time."

"Weirdly poetic for something as small as a kiss." You smirked, "Would you like to try it now?"

His heart started to pound. Was this really happening? Was he really going to kiss you for the first time?

"More than anything." He breathed out as he stared at you. "I just...what if I mess up?"

"Mess up?" You raised an eyebrow, "I doubt you can mess up at this."

"Says who?"

"Says me, who has gotten plenty of kisses in the past!" You giggled.

"Well, I've never had one before, so I don't know what to do."

You stared at your boyfriend before exhaling in amusement, "Alright, fine. I'll help you out. Move your phone, I'm going to sit on your lap."

"O-oh, okay." 707 cleared his throat as he moved his phone, trying not to show his flushed face. You straddled him, your legs in between 707's as you were facing him. 707 wrapped his arms around you to keep you from falling off. "How do I do this?"

"Just relax and close your eyes." You instructed.

707 did just that, feeling the darkness comforting him. He really hoped that you couldn't hear just how loud his heart was pounding.

"Open your mouth."

707 let confusion wash over his face as he emphasized every word to make sure he knew what you were saying, "Open my mouth?"

"Open your mouth." Your voice remarked as he could hear crinkling of something.

"Why would that be beneficial in any way, Y/N?" 707's voice had raised from confusion all the way to bewilderedness.

"Just do it, babe, before I force your mouth open. That's the correct way." You remarked.

"Alright, alright." 707 sighed before letting his jaw open, feeling you move yourself closer to him and his mouth. There seemed to be no more sounds of crinkling as something--your fingers--brushed against his lips. His heartbeat fastened as he was waiting for your lips to close in on his.

Then, he tasted chocolate.

Sweet, creamy, and velvety chocolate. It had the same distinct taste that Hershey's chocolate kisses had.

Oh...that's what you meant. His eyes fluttered open as he looked at you, smiling.

"How is it?"

707 burst out laughing, pulling you close so that he could bury his face into your chest in embarrassment. "Oh my universe. Y/N, you're so innocently sweet. Just like this kiss."

"What?" You laughed, pushing 707 gently off of you so that you could look at his face, "What are you talking about?"

"I thought you were talking about an actual kiss, not a Hershey's. I've had plenty of chocolate kisses before." 707 brushed a hair out of your face as he waited for the recognition to hit you.

"Huh? Oh-OH!" Your eyes widened as you burst out laughing too. "Is that why you were so flustered and nervous?"

"What else was I supposed to think when you just randomly offered me that?"

"The treat! I didn't think you would think of that!"

"Clearly not." 707 gasped for air as he finally finished the chocolate in his mouth before he could choke on it. He cupped your cheeks, "My innocent, sweet girlfriend."

"Shut up." You huffed, "So you're telling me you've had a Hershey's kiss before?"

"Yes, plenty."

"But not a kiss on the lips?"

"Nope. I've never been offered that."

"Then...do you want a kiss?"

707 stared at you, wondering if you were truly offering it this time. His voice cracked as he tried to ask you to clarify, "What?"

"Do you want a kiss?" You remarked, enunciating things the same way you had asked in the beginning of the situation. "It's okay to say no, babe."

"No, I want it." 707 gave a small smile, "How do I do this?"

"Just close your eyes and this time, close your mouth." You giggled as you cupped 707's face. Your chest was pressed against his and he could practically hear your heart racing at a hundred miles an hour. His heart was pounding almost the same speed as yours.

707 slowly closed his eyes as you leaned in, fully shutting them when he could feel your breath on his face. Your lips brushed together before finally, you gently pressed your lips against each other and then pulled away.

You tasted like Hershey's chocolate kisses and strawberries. Your lips weren't chapped, but instead waxy as only moments before you offered him a kiss, he had watched you apply your signature strawberry chapstick. He hadn't realized how much he had wanted to know what it had tasted like and how it was like to be so close to your lips until the moment he had gotten a taste of you. Maybe that was why your chapstick never seemed to last you long. It would dry out in hopes that the chapstick would once again touch your lips, becoming addicted to that sensation. Now that 707 had gotten a taste of his own, he knew that it would become an addiction of his.

"Was that okay?" You asked as 707's eyes fluttered open, staring at his girlfriend that was facing him with anxiety written all over your face.

All 707 did was pull you closer to him with his arms still wrapped around your waist before having his right hand travel to pull you face closer to his. He crashed his lips onto yours as an answer, desperately wanting another taste of your lips, of you.

You returned the energy as your hands traveled from his face into his hair. 707 could not care less about how you were messing up his hairstyle when you had your fingers in his hair while you were kissing him. Those combined together made the top ten list of his favorite things you did in that moment.

When you two separated--albeit only because you two were humans that needed to breathe--you pressed your foreheads together, whispering a feisty remark, "You never answered my question."

707 couldn't help the smile that spread onto his face, "It was more than okay."

"Good."

You two stayed in quiet silence, enjoying each other's company. Even as you shifted off of 707's lap and onto the spot next to them, you took comfort in nestling closer to one another and holding each other.

The only thing that interrupted the silence was when you held out another chocolate kiss, "Do you want a kiss?"

"I'd love one." 707 replied as he pulled you closer to him for a kiss before grabbing the chocolate and popping it in his mouth. ————– If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and it's just two clicks of a button (trust me, likes don't do anything to help me). Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see what other fandoms I like to write for! :)

[halfagone]

Celebrating DPxDC Ships

Since I missed out on DPxDC Ship Week this year (I promised myself I would focus on my multi-chapter fics more and I already have so many birthday gift fics to work on, forgive me-), I thought what better way to celebrate the event than looking back on a variety of ships!

I'll try my best to showcase as many ships as possible, but if I miss out on any y'all think should get some love, please do add it in a reblog and spread the celebration! Please keep in mind that all these figures are sourced from Ao3.

Jazz Fenton/Jason Todd (Hardcover Ship) (F/M)

First Fic Posted:

Crash Course by Carmic (Published: March 29th, 2020.)

As of February 21st, 2024: 173 total.

---

Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead On Main) (M/M)

First Fic Posted:

I Don't? Work Alone by DomesticatedOpossum (Published: June 17th, 2020.)

As of February 21st, 2024: 277 total.

---

Danny Fenton/Dick Grayson (Death Defying) (M/M)

First Fic Posted:

The Ghost of a Robin by MaxineWolf (Published: August 5th, 2015.)

As of February 21st, 2024: 93 total.

---

Cassandra Cain/Jazz Fenton (Quiet Time (better known as Cazz)) (F/F)

First Fic Posted:

Hit me with your sweet love (Steal me with a kiss) by coolerdazai (Published: February 9th, 2023.) @bum-bum-bakudan

As of February 21st, 2024: 21 total.

---

Cassandra Cain/Danny Fenton (Deathly Silent) (F/M)

First Fic Posted:

El retorno de Sentry by RocKzAr77 (Published: January 24th, 2022.)

As of February 21st, 2024: 31 total.

---

Danny Fenton/Damian Wayne (Dead Serious) (M/M)

First Fic Posted:

Incision by DizzlyPuzzled (Published: January 29th, 2018.) @dizzlypuzzled

As of February 21st, 2024: 123 total.

---

Danny Fenton/Bruce Wayne (Spirit Halloween) (M/M)

First Fic Posted:

You Got The Feels by happy_alligator (Published: July 14th, 2022.)

As of February 21st, 2024: 45 total.

---

Tim Drake/Danny Fenton (Dead Tired) (M/M)

First Fic Posted:

Vertical Limit by hppjmxrgosg (Published: January 6th, 2022.) @hppjmxrgosg

As of February 21st, 2024: 206 total.

---

As always, please read any tags and warnings before you continue further with a story. I haven't gotten the chance to read all of these myself, but it is very curious to see what ships have endured the test of time and what have bloomed at surprising speed.

And this isn't even including all the platonic relationships we've explored! We've grown a lot as a niche crossover, and that deserves some love too. Look out, world, we ain't stopping any time soon. Happy reading! 📖✨❤️

[shieldofiron]

Legally Brunette

For @intothedysphoria, Happy birthday!! Have a frat boy Stevie! Sorry for the slight villainizing of Jonathan, one does what one can.

He had freckles. No. Moles. Scattered across pale skin, more skin than anyone was showing in Boston in late October.

It took a moment for Billy to force his eyes up from the strong lines of the stranger's back, only to blink for a few seconds at the worn and faded Kappa Phi Delta hat.

It probably couldn't be. But just in case, he cleared his throat, rocking back and forth on his heels. He still remembered the warm feeling he'd gotten when the pretty boy had told him how glad he was that he ran into Billy. He didn't actually want to jeopardize that by creeping on the (likely straight) law student he'd just barely befriended.

And that same pretty boy, Steve he'd said, turned, met Billy's eye, and sighed, his shoulders slacking a little. "Don't ask."

"Wasn't gonna," Billy said, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.

Whatever had Steve Harrington out in the middle of the Boston night in short shorts and what looked like a Chippendale's bow tie, also had apparently made his eyes red rimmed and raw.

"But..." Billy ventured, "Are you ok?"

Steve turned back to the front of the line. And then back towards Billy, his eyes darting around like he was getting away with a crime by purchasing a new laptop in the middle of the day.

"You know that ex I told you about, the one I... kind of... followed here?" He said haltingly.

"Yeah?" Billy moved the hard drive he was buying to the front of his crotch, trying to be cool.

"He was there. At a party. With his new girlfriend. Who told me it was a Halloween party," Steve's shoulders fell.

So, not straight then. But very much hung up on this ex.

"So that's why-"

Steve shrugged, "Jonathan liked when I used to show some skin. That's not even the problem."

They moved up closer to the front of the line and Steve blinked those big pretty bambi eyes at Billy. As if he wouldn't be helpless for that shit.

"Want to hang out for a second after you check out? Or we can go next door and get some coffee?" Billy offered.

"Yeah," Steve's shoulders dropped a little, and he nodded, the little wave of bangs pulled through his hat bobbing just a little.

They checked out one after the other, and met up by the entrance, sliding door opening and closing rapidly as they hung for a moment by it.

"I'll just put this in my car and grab my jacket," Steve shook his head, "I was so mad, I wasn't thinking when I came in."

Billy nodded, "I'll get you something. What do you like?"

Steve bit his lip, "Just a latte. Oat milk. I'm a vegetarian."

Billy couldn't seem to stop nodding. Something about this guy turned him into a bobblehead.

It was only a few moments after he sat down that Steve joined him, hoodie laid over his arm, hard nipples and chest hair on full display. Jesus, it's like he wanted to kill Billy.

"So. The ex."

"Yes. The ex," Steve shook his head. "He was just... kind of flirting. But then he said... he just said that I didn't have to be here. That it was gonna be too hard on me and he didn't want to see me hurt."

"That what was going to be too hard?"

"Law School," Steve played with his cup. "Like, duh, I fucking know that. It's already been hard. And I know I'm not, like, the smartest of guys. But like..."

Billy was trying not to jump in, let the guy say what he needed to. But Jesus Christ, this ex was some kind of an asshole.

"I took the LSATS. I got in. I've been... like maybe I haven't been trying the hardest in every class but..." He shook his head. "Kinda pissed me off, you know."

"He's a fuckin' idiot," Billy curled one hand in a fist. "Didn't you say he got with this new girl like less than a few months ago."

"Yeah," Steve finally gave Billy some relief, shrugging the oversized hoodie on, "Gave her a ring and everything."

"He probably just doesn't like being confronted with his own bad behavior," Billy frowned, "You got in to Harvard Law, Steve. You know people work their entire lives to do that. I worked my entire life to do that."

"I worked really fucking hard to be here," Steve sipped his latte, "Fuck, that's delicious."

You're delicious, Billy thought. God, he needed to get a handle on that.

"Thanks for asking what was wrong," Steve smiled softly. "And not thinking that I'm too stupid to be here."

"Anytime," Billy smiled. "And don't worry about that guy. Plenty of bitches in the sea, am I right?"

Steve chuckled, "I guess so."

It wasn't really much of a statement, but the way those brown bambi eyes lingered had Billy sit up a little, trying not to preen. Maybe it wasn't so hopeless a crush after all.

"So. Why are you buying a computer? I thought you had one." Billy asked after a long moment.

"Oh. That. My friend Dustin back home convinced me I needed a linux computer before I left but I just need something easy. I'm going to law school, not computer science... school."

Billy chuckled, "Fair enough."

Steve smiled, his pretty brown eyes lighting up as he launched into a story about his friend Dustin, who sounded like a grade A nerd.

Billy had briefs waiting at home to research. He ought to be making dinner. But instead he had another coffee and then another, earning them the ire of the barista as they stayed late talking.

It was worth it.

[multifandommilfs]

Days and Weeks

Pairing: Olivia Benson x reader

Wc: 1040

Y/n is a teacher/prof, Janice is your colleague. S13 E5 spoilers. Fluff

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"So both of them confessed to the murder! Almost simultaneously even. I mean what were they thinking? Because if we hadn't dug up their baby's body, we could've charged them BOTH with murder by all means." She paced around your frame as you did your skincare by the sink. Her hands were gesticulating all over the place as she ranted about a recently closed case.

 

"But there's no evidence of trauma in the M.E.'s, wouldn't the case be baseless then?" You indulged yourself in one of her rare rambles, careful not to get all the soap past your lips as you washed the product off. It was understandable that with so much secret-keeping from the media, she had to get it out of the system one way or another. You'd rather hear it out than let anyone else take up that part.

 

With a direct view of her reflection behind you in the mirror, you saw as a frown creased its way between her brows. "It's not just baseless, it's a complete lost cause! Any first-year lawyer could've gotten them off without so much as an objection! And can you imagine what she wanted to charge them with?!" She appeared with hands akimbo beside you when she heard your brushing, knowing you couldn't speak.

 

Mint filling up the crevices of your mouth now, you cocked your chin up in reply to her rhetoric. "Manslaughter in the goddamn second degree." She deadpanned and a surprised noise came up from the back of your throat as you whipped to her, expressing, 'Are you serious?'

 

She widened her eyes for a split second which conveyed, 'Yeah, that was what I thought too.'

 

"Verdict?" You asked after finishing up, moving from the bathroom to bedroom. Olivia followed behind.

 

"A.D.A. wishes she got one, turns out the baby died of SIDS—sudden infant death syndrome. M.E. said it's not uncommon."

 

"What? And you just released them?" You made a split-second decision to not strip due to the chilly autumn night, getting under the covers as Olivia flicked off the lights.

 

"We had to, there weren't any charges to go on. Even though I wish there was a 'sending officers on a wild goose chase' charge."

 

You sputtered with laughter. "Yeah? I bet that'll be just as memorable. But you gotta give it to 'em, you don't see that kind of dedication nowadays." You adjusted yourself to maximum comfort, sleep already invading your senses after the long day.

 

She hummed, slipping under the covers. "Grief comes in many forms, but getting yourself into custody? And on Halloween? That's something I haven't seen before." She grumbled, draping half of her body atop of yours as you shuffled closer to her, a telltale sign that you wanted to hit the sack in about five minutes.

 

"We haven't talked about your week sweetheart." She lowered her voice so that it was just above a whisper, her breath fanning at your jaw, her hand enclosed around the far side of your waist.

 

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, Liv." Your words came out in a quiet murmur.

 

However when Thursday morning rolled around, it wasn't your alarm that awakened the both of you but the blaring rays of ultraviolet.

 

The peace scattered as you clambered out of bed. "I'll shower at work!" You said as you threw on an outfit, letting Olivia hog the shower. Her on-the-run job knew no bounds when it came to physical exertion while your job required minimal to none.

 

It seemed as if she took a one-second shower because she was hollering for you (or her clothes) the second you tossed two pieces of white bread into the toaster. And so you were rushing back into the bedroom, your ears victim to her colourful choice of words. “Something black!”

 

"Liv, that’s like your entire wardrobe.” You drawled loud enough for her to hear.

 

“Crew neck!”

"Long-sleeved or short?”

 

“It’s autumn Y/n!” Her words made you laugh as you unhung her shirt and picked out the rest.

 

You shoved her outfit into her arms by the entrance of the bathroom. “If it’s any redeeming I didn’t have a problem with the lingerie.” She spluttered, laughter pealing throughout the room. “I’ll redeem you when you tell me about your day!”

The toasts leapt with a satisfying ‘ching’ as Olivia hurried into the kitchen wafting with freshness. “The school surprised the students with a pop quiz the other day." You rushed out as you buttered the crispy golden-brown surface. “And?” She took the coffee from the machine and dunked it into a glass before heaving back a mouthful, stretching it out to you next with a straw in place which you took.

 

“Mh, so the thing is, I never knew things actually pop during pop quizzes. You shoved a piece of toast into her mouth and wolfed down what you could while dishes clanked into the sink.

 

“Janice popped half an hour into the test.”

 

“What?! Janice? I thought she was 6 months along!” Olivia spun to your busy frame, a hand over her mouth as she half choked in laughter.

 

 

“Time flies babe, she popped during the pop quiz.” Your look of cheekiness did nothing to quell her chortle even as she ran around the apartment gathering case files, her coat and yours while you scrubbed the dishes as fast as possible.

 

“So that was what you were holding back from me?”

 

“Hold back? Please, I could never." You slipped on your heels as she did hers, the both of you finally meeting at the front door. She did the watch strap on your wrist with practiced ease as you brushed her stray hair from all the morning chaos into place before snatching her in for a soft kiss.

 

“You better pray Cragen’s in a good mood, you’re thirty minutes late.”

 

“Says you, you’d be an hour late with all the traffic.”

You raised your hands in surrender as you filtered out the front door and soon, the apartment building. You were parted halfway to your respective cars before you heard her yell, “I’ll see you tonight!"

 

You blew her an air kiss in response, already knowing your Thursday night would be the highlight of the week.

[xenocorner]

Here's some little christmas gifts for some amazing mutuals that have made this year a whole lot more bearable with their amazing content and their amazing interactions and just being amazing in general :']

Long post ahead so divider here to spare your scrolling. (I am also probably gonna get a bit sappy so if that makes you cringe: you've been warned lol)

@lilbitofmac Thank you for being my introduction to the fandom here on tumblr :'''D I really think I wouldn't have stuck around if it weren't for your initial warmth and encouragement. Your Tony remains my fave Tony I go feral over your art orz I may or may not have the clingy ironstrange drawing as a phone wallpaper-

Hope next year is kinder on you man! I know we don't really talk outside of tags/replies, but if you ever need smthn I can help with my inbox is always there.

@strxngetimes I'm just tagging this one blog because I don't want to spam all your other blogs lmao. Thank you for sharing your interpretations of the characters with us, not only the rps with other muses but also the headcanons and brainrot. It's always such a pleasure both to see you on the timeline writing with other muses and on the inbox with the disaster man.

I specially like how you include his Cloak in the mix and give it a personality- I absolutely adore the Cloak :'') So here's it being all clingy to the disaster man. Hope to see more of you having fun with all ur muses in the coming year :D

@starkkawajiri Pretty art!! Hilarious and heart wrenching character interactions!!! I love your designs and lore building so much. Fanboying over the same disaster man and making him suffer always brings a smile to my face. I've wanted to draw your Strange for a while now, so this was also the perfect excuse, I love him so much you have no idea-

Can't wait to see more of your amazing designs and lore stuff for this AU! (and anything else you create next year :])

@nekojetto I think your Strange is the purest Strange there is and the fact that it's based off Supreme makes that so much more impressive. Your animatics are simply breath taking, and whenever I go back to check your concepts and sketches for character interactions I always get a smile on my face :D

I'm sorry I haven't gotten to the collab just yet :'') Plz know I still have it in mind, haven't forgotten about it and am still just as excited to finally get to it as I was the first day!

@infiniteeight8 Your words make me cry and laugh so much all the time :'') You write the disaster men so beautifully both in serious, fluffy, angsty and funny situations. Reading ur stuff keeps the creative juices flowing!

I remember you liked the vampire Stephen prompt you were sent, so here's some of that, even if it's more halloween-y than christmas-y.

[godspeedviper]

Pride at Arkham Asylum - Headcanons

𖤐 SFW || TW: None

𖤐 A/N: Happy pride to all! Please keep in mind these are just headcanons made from my opinions for FUN! Do not get mad if these do not align with your own takes on the characters. Additionally, some of the chosen gifs are my own fancasts for live action of the characters we haven't gotten yet. Once again, this is not meant to upset anyone. These are simply my opinions done entirely for LIGHTHEARTED FANDOM FUN.

⚠️DON'T LIKE DON'T READ. BLOCK AND MOVE ON⚠️

Dr. Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow)

While he was staff he absolutely hated pride month on simple account of the excessive decorations & frivolous activities. Dr. Quinzel was his absolute nemesis as she was always the most enthusiastic member of Arkham's staff.

After he gets put into Arkham as Scarecrow he started to relish in the decorations & celebrations just to annoy his handlers. He makes a game out of everything & has started a tradition of repurposing Halloween decorations for pride month.

When Harley joins him as an inmate she encourages him to bring out his artsy side, & together the two begin making Pride Pumpkins. Even the staff have caught on & they hold a competition to see who can make the best Pride Pumpkin both in the break room & for the inmates (No carving allowed, painting only, for obvious reasons).

If asked about his pronouns & orientation he will usually say it's none of your business, but sometimes he will reply with "they/he/it" for The Scarecrow. No one really knows for sure, but 'aromantic? asexual? agender???' is written in his file on the margins, as it seems he has no interest in such activities (though rumors suggest otherwise). The staff regularly place lunchtime bets as to his sexuality (or lack thereof).

Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn)

When first arriving at Arkham as a member of staff, she insists upon decorations in the breakroom, & starts encouraging related activities for the patients such as a pride ball/dance, arts + crafts, & group therapy based around queer issues.

Once she returns as an inmate, she insists upon painting her own little bi pride flag every year & decorating her cell with whatever items she's allowed. Sometimes she will switch it up with a pan flag, & other times she keeps both up.

Her favorite activity is the pride ball that she herself started when she was still employed there. She usually chooses the music & theme along with Ivy & Selena (or both if all 3 of them are in at the same time).

The staff can never really keep up with who she's attending the dance with & they regularly place bets on that too. Sometimes it's Joker, sometimes its Poison Ivy, & one time she even dragged Bruce Wayne into it when he was around for a visit. No one could figure out for the life of them why the man agreed in the first place.

Dr. Pamela Lilian Isley (Poison Ivy)

Much like Scarecrow, Ivy at first wasn't very fond of the festivities on account of her introverted nature. Also like Scarecrow, she only began partaking in the celebration because of Harley.

She is oddly competitive in the annual Pride Pumpkin contest & has a concerning rivalry going with Scarecrow. If one of them wins best pumpkin for pride, then the other has to win best Halloween pumpkin out of pure spite.

Although she was denied the request to start a WLW knitting club (for obvious reasons) she is the only inmate granted permission to pin a large lesbian flag in her cell on the condition of good behavior. Outside of Arkham though, she does start that knitting club with the Birds of Prey + Gotham City Sirens.

"God is a Lesbian Woman: On The Divine Feminine, Mother Nature, & Climate Change" is a paper she managed to publish as a zine while at Arkham. From that point on, she receives a lot of fanmail from other climate activist queer women. The staff have no idea how she got that zine out there, but at least half of them are secretly subscribed to it. She makes great points.

Edward Nashton/Nygma (The Riddler)

His sexuality seems to be the most complicated riddle of them all, as he regularly seems to have a fluctuating crisis over his sexual orientation. He really takes to the group therapy sessions & is always the most talkative (and weepy).

When well behaved, he is given permission to enter the hospital kitchen to assist in baking cupcakes for the end of the month pride ball/dance. He loves decorating them with icing, but he will also hide a little plastic rainbow toy despite being told numerous times not to as it is a choking hazard. Whoever gets it has to help him decorate the cupcakes next year.

His favorite activity is being allowed to watch Drag Race in the rec room. While he was denied permission to conduct a drag competition in the asylum, he is given permission to host a vogueing "class" in the yard all month long (they watch VHS tapes on how to vogue and try to keep up, that's the class).

Despite only being allowed to use wax crayons, he likes to draw new riddler themed outfits for himself whenever he has the chance. Mostly after he finishes an episode of Drag Race. He's actually quite skilled at drawing. The staff often wonder if he makes his own costumes or if he gives the drawings to a tailor, but no one really wants to ask.

Selina Kyle (Catwoman)

Like Ivy & Crane, Selena is quite the reclusive introvert when first brought in. However, she will open up to her fellow rogues when they are also in attendance, but she retains her ever-present 'too cool' attitude.

Her favorite thing to do during pride month is her makeup. She will spend hours in solitude toying with eyeshadow to debut intricate pride themed looks despite the limitations (no brushes with long handles, no palettes just individual rounded eyeshadow pans, etc).

When not doing her own makeup, she's usually doing someone else's. She & Joker will oftentimes have these odd "spa days" where they do each other's nails &/or makeup, along with whatever skincare they are allowed to have (hardly any complex products due to various inmates being expert chemists. Cucumber peels only).

Despite Harley & Ivy making a lot of contributions to the playlist for the end of the month pride ball, Selena is always resident DJ. No one will admit it, because they're not as cool as her, but she has the best music taste of anyone. Even the staff will try to shazam whatever songs she plays at the ball to add to their own playlist.

Dr. Jervis Tetch (Mad Hatter)

When asked about pronouns Jervis will have two different responses depending on how well medicated he is at the time. If coherent, he will respond with "he/him/his". If in Wonderland, he will go on a rant about how fascinating xenopronouns are yet never directly answer the question. Sometimes he will blurt out "her pronouns are she/her!!!" in regards to Alice.

His favorite activity is joining Riddler in drawing potential costume ideas, although most times he draws anything at all while Ed works on a costume, bouncing ideas off out loud without waiting for Jervis' response. It's more of a parallel play kind of activity.

Much like his dear friend Jonathan Crane, no one can seem to really figure out a label for him. He doesn't seem to express any interest in courtship or intimacy, but salacious rumors exist. Is sex just a means to an end for him or is he simply being private about his romantic/sexual life? The only person that seems to know is Crane, & he enjoys keeping the mystery alive.

Thanks to him, tea is served alongside Riddler's cupcakes at the end of the month pride ball. He takes great pride in carefully selecting blends for the craft services table, mixing in both hot & iced tea to serve all tastes.

The Joker

Just like Crane & Jervis, Joker's gender + sexuality are a mystery, but in quite the opposite manner. He's unabashedly flamboyant & will flirt with anyone if bored enough. No one can ever tell if he means it or not.

Despite his vile reputation, he's quick to adapt to preferred pronouns & new names. He was the first to properly address Ed by his preferred name of Ed Nygma instead of Nashton, & lightheartedly joked that it was a transition & refers to Nashton as a deadname. Even villains have standards it seems.

If asked about his pronouns, Joker will reply "hehe/haha" to the point that people quickly stopped asking just to be spared the dad joke. However, staff have heard his fellow rogues use any & all pronouns under the sun to refer to the clown. It seems they all make a game out of keeping the staff guessing, & no matter what pronouns they use, Joker always responds without missing a beat.

One year in particular he was sent to solitary for weeks after somehow managing to smuggle in various dresses & makeup to indulge Riddler in his desire to host a drag contest. By the time staff noticed, the entire rec room had been transformed into a scene straight out of Paris is Burning. No one knows how he pulled that off, not even Harley.

Ao3 || WiPs || Ko-Fi

[braveclementine]

Chapter 9

Warnings: None. (Will however be a 18+ reader book)

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

You were working out with Steve, Bucky, and Sam, when Y/S/N came into the gym. "Oi, Y/N, we got a facetime call with our dear father."

You paused in the middle of your sit-ups. "Pardon? English next time?"

"Humorous. Hurry up." Y/S/N said, nerves in her voice.

"I'll finish later," You murmured, snatching up a towel and your water bottle, hurrying out of the gym.

"When did he call?" You asked as the two of you walked down the hallway. Y/S/N was leading slightly and you ended up in her room on the fiftieth floor.

Tony had let her design it to her tastes. It was mostly dressed up in pinks, purples, and blues. The bed was against the wall with a large, sheer princess curtain coming from a small circular add on from the ceiling. The nightstand was covered in different makeup products, the desk scattered with homework. Several celebrity prints were tacked up on the walls. There was a large dresser with a vanity, more makeup products there along with hair things. The bathroom door was ajar, showing the curling iron was still plugged in.

There was also a minifridge that you were sure were stocked with Snapple and frozen chocolate bars.

She'd also gotten windows which were square and framed with the same kind of curtains as what surrounded her bed, just thicker to block out the light.

The carpet was white and fluffy.

The computer was set up on the bed. Your father was waiting, the outline of a bottle of beer just barely visible in the camera eye. He pushed it up discretely as the two of you sat down in front of the computer.

"Hello pumpkin, long time no see." Dad said with a bit of a grudge in his voice.

"Hello dad." You replied cautiously. "What are you calling for? You never call?"

"At least I didn't run away and abandon my kids." You farther said, a muscle twitching in his cheek.

You sighed. You really didn't have any energy for fighting. "If you call to bitch about, save it. I was in the middle of a workout."

"Don't use that word Y/N." Your father said sternly. "And I heard that you have a wedding coming up in five weeks. Who're you going to have walk you down the aisle?"

Very good question. Fantastic, really. You had no idea. Tony had suggested Happy, who really wasn't a bad choice. You and Happy got along fantastically. He was a really good guy who took his job seriously. And he was very deeply in love with both of his wives. Fury had also said Coulson wouldn't mind walking me down the aisle. And Thor had said any number of his friends were more than willing to walk me down the aisle as well. Even Bruce, Scott, and Vision had offered.

"We haven't decided yet." You said stiffly.

"Maybe you'd let your father walk you down the aisle?" He asked awkwardly.

"Dad. . . you've never been a part of mine and Y/S/N's life. Very rarely anyways. Why would this be any different?"

"It's a special event." Your father said firmly. "We were always there for every birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July. We were there for each graduation and sporting event. We were always there for the big things!"

"But you were never there for the small things." You protested. "My best friends parents taught me to ride a bike. My kindergarten teacher was the one to teach me to brush my hair and teeth. I mean, I know you and mom never wanted kids, but gosh Dad, you could've at least acted like a parent!"

"Y/N, I'm trying here!" Your dad shouted back.

"And then after the wedding, when would we see you again? Y/S/N's wedding? The birth of my child? Or would we see you every weekend as a family? You have to get your priorities together before you come back into our lives. I mean, there was a reason we left. The drinking? The abuse?"

"I didn't abuse you girls!" You father snapped. A red flush was starting to creep up on his neck.

"You neglected us. And after mom died, you took your anger out on us. There's a reason we left and you're going to have to get your fucking shit together, alright?" You tapped the hang up button before snapping the laptop closed.

"To much?" You asked your sister who had been completely silent the entire conversation.

She just shrugged. "I don't know. Guess you kind've covered everything, really."

You sighed, grabbing your water bottle. "I'm gonna go and hit the shower. When are you seeing Y/S/BF/N again?"

"Tomorrow night." She sighed. "What do you have this afternoon?"

"Nat, Maria, Wanda, and I are going dress shopping. Wanda is adamant that I get a fantastic wedding dress." You said, starting to pin your hair up so that you didn't get it wet in the shower. "Plus they'll be looking for bridesmaid dresses and such."

"Who did you choose as maid of honor?" Y/S/N asked.

"Shuri. Thought it was fitting. Cassie and Morgan are going to be flower girls. I just need one more bridesmaid, but I don't know if I should choose Pepper or Hope."

"Hope, I think." Y/S/N suggested, "Nat and Wanda are both red heads. Maria is a brunette and so is Hope. Then you've got them matching. Of course, Tony is the one being bonded to you and he's close to Pepper. . . but I think Hope would be better, aesthetically speaking."

"Good idea." You mumbled. "Alright, I'll see you later. Natasha will kill me if I'm late."

"Have fun. Get a black dress." Y/S/N shouted behind me.

"It's a wedding, not a funeral!" You shouted back as you made your way up two floors to your bedroom.

Your bedroom looked like [details to describe your bedroom to the fullest fantasy]

For those of you who have no imagination:

You had a large pink and gold bed under and archway against the back wall. It was thick with blankets and comforters and had like seven pillows on there, all of them comfortable and plush. The matching furniture was aesthetically white with gold coloured knobs. There was a nightstand next to the bed which had a simple white and pink lamp and a few books stacked on top of each other.

You had a desk where you did some of your work at. It was white as well, a baby blue spiny chair behind it. There were several cups on the desk which held pens. You had a few more books on the desk, along with your laptop covered in Kawaii food stickers and Severus Snape/ Remus Lupin stickers.

The closet was a large walk- in one that was already filled with clothes, all of them to your taste. There were also several pairs of shoes and a few purses.

There were several tall bookshelves that were crammed with every single book you'd ever read. There were also two white armchairs and a small coffee tables, almost making it a very miniature library.

Like with Y/S/N's room, there was a small minifridge. Tony had made sure every room had a minifridge so that people stopped waking him up when FRIDAY alerted him consistently that there was someone in the elevator going to the kitchen at three in the morning.

Of course, some people *cough Sam and Rhodey cough* liked to use the elevator at three in the morning anyways just to irk him.

Clint had no problems- he just used the vent system.

Your minifridge was filled with [several snacks] rootbeer and 3 musketeer bars.

You quickly climbed into the shower, cleaning yourself of sweat and boiling hatred with a calming soap with a [Fav scent] scent. Once you had officially clamed down, you rinsed off your body, shutting the shower off, and stepping out of the shower.

You dried off before pulling on a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved purple sweater. Seriously, New York in the winter was freezing. You were so glad you guys were going to the Bahamas soon for the wedding.

Which reminded you.

You grabbed your phone and sent a text to Stephen as you grabbed your winter jacket and pulled on winter boots.

Y/N 🥖: Don't let Tony book the most expensive hotel room when he books hotel rooms. It's unnecessary as we'll be spending a lot of time exploring.

Severus Snape 😂💞: Don't worry. Rhodey is handling that aspect.

Y/N 🥖: Good. I'm going out with Nat, Wanda, and Maria.

Severus Snape 😂💞: Have fun

You giggled every time Stephen's text name popped up on the phone. You had changed his name from My Wizard to Severus Snape when you had heard him do an extraordinary impression of your favorite wizard from the Harry Potter movies. So now that was his name in your phone.

You quickly hurried through the tower before meeting the three ladies out front. Nat drove, stealing one of Tony's cars. You clutched your seatbelt for dear life as she tore through the streets.

"I'm driving on the way back." You gasped as she finally parked in front of the bridal shop.

"Why?" Nat asked, puzzled while Maria also looked like she was recovering from a heart attack. Wanda looked unfazed. But Wanda would probably be fine if we crashed, burned, and got turned into a metal rubix cube.

You just shook your head, walking into the bridal store. You hit with mostly a variety of white dresses, but also some pale pinks, creams, and sky blue dresses.

Nat and Wanda were very quick to scoop up half a dozen dresses. "Here." Nat said, shoving them into your arms and then forcing you into a dressing room.

You let out an exhaling breath. You sorted through them, setting aside ones that you knew were definite 'no's' just by looking at them.

You stepped out in the first one and Maria actually held a hand up against the glaring gems.

"Yeah, this is a bit much Nat." I said, glancing over at her. "It'll actually blind the guests. Especially in the Bahama sun."

"Alright, fine." Nat muttered, "But you look like Cinderella."

"Well thank you." You said with a grin, "But it's also a bit heavy. To hot I think."

Wanda nodded, "Next dress then."

You quickly changed, already deciding that you didn't like it as you stepped out of the changing room. "I don't like this." You said just as you opened up the door. "It looks more like something I'd wear to one of Tony's high end function parties, not my wedding."

"Agreed." Maria said. "Although it is thinner for a beach wedding. But it doesn't really scream 'wedding'."

You sighed, heading back into the changing room. You tossed on another dress. God, was Nat trying to boil you alive?

"This is a bit much?" You asked, raising an eyebrow at Nat.

"You look beautiful!" Nat squealed, helping you zip up the back of the dress for the full effect.

"I'm hot just looking at you in it." Wanda said.

Nat sighed in disappointment, rolling her eyes and tossing her red hair over her shoulder, "So? I mean, look. How long is the ceremony? Four hours? You'll be fine. I'm sure there'll be some fans up."

Fans?

You laughed. "Oh Nat, I love you. But I'm not going to try and stand under a fan for four hours to stay cold in this."

"Here," Wanda said, levitating a dress over with her powers, "Try this."

You took the dress out of the air, moving back into the changing room. Maria quickly helped you unzip the dress before closing the door behind her. You stepped out of the dress, putting on the fourth. You stared at yourself in the mirror for a moment, a shy smile coming out on your face.

It wasn't sparkly or fancy or lacy like the others. But it was thin, simple, yet elegant and would be a good dress.

You stepped out shyly, "I think this is it."

"Yes." The other three said together. "That's it."

"Gosh, just wait until they see you in this." Wanda sighed wistfully.

Nat was almost squealing with excitement. Despite her hardcore assassin personality, she absolutely loved clothes, just like her sister Yelena.

"You look stunning Y/N." Maria said sincerely.

"Thank you. Um, do you guys know what colour your bridesmaid dresses will be?" You asked.

"Not until Steve, Bucky, and Shuri get back to us on what the colours of the wedding are. We don't want to show up wearing orange if it's pink, red, and white." Nat said.

"Orange would clash with your hair anyways." You pointed out as you stepped back into the changing room to take off the dress. You put it in the special bag before bringing it up to the front to pay for it.

After you guys climbed back into the car- Maria driving while Nat pouted in the back- you headed out to eat at an Italian place before heading back to Avengers Tower.

Once there, Nat helped you sneak the dress up to her floor. She had already decided that it would be best to keep the wedding dress in her room so that if the guys tried to peak, they wouldn't be able to find it. You had agreed.

After that, you went down to the library, finding it empty except for Loki.

"Hello my Queen." He said, looking up just briefly from the book to wink at you.

You flushed before he made a hand motion with his hand to tell you to come over to him. You did so, coming to stand near him. He reached out, pulling you onto his lap. "Have you read this book before?"

It was called A Poem a Day by Clementine.

"I'm afraid not." You answered.

"Shame on you." He jested lightly. "I'll just have to read it aloud to you."

You settled into his chest, resting your chin lightly on his shoulder. He kept one arm wrapped around your waist, the other holding the book, before he flick the page to continue.

Each poem brought you deeper and deeper into the abyss. Loki and you continued to enjoy your afternoon just like that until you both fell asleep in the library, content in each other's embrace.

⬅️➡️

[findafight]

I have been thinking of my Swimmer Steve au babyyyy...

Except. It isn't Will that gets stuck in the upsidedown. Its Dustin. His mom flips her shit and reports it that night, calling Karen and then Sue and then Joyce. No one's seen her boy.

Susan holds her hand as she looks through pictures for his missing poster. (they have been best friends since childhood and Lucas and Dustin have know each other since birth). She refuses to believe Dustin ran away or got lost in the woods because he knows better than that. Wouldn't have left Will by himself just to get lost in the woods!!

Joyce gets Jonathan to help put up posters at the highschool, and Robin and Steve see it and are like oh that's sad...but how are we, fifteen and sixteen year olds, supposed to help. And continue on with their regularly scheduled Tuesday plans.

Which is why Steve swims in his pool for probably the last time of the season, it's getting way too cold and he should have drained it before Halloween anyways, and pulls on sweats and a hoodie before tugging the pool cover, accidentally cutting his hand on the crank. (It's getting cold and his hands are drying out so his skin just caught and tore a little) and then he's gone.

Last post etc. Robin freaks and bikes to the police station to report Steve missing at lunch. His parents won't be home for another week and no one else besides his coach would even really care he's gone except maybe Nancy, who Steve is sorta dating after the teasing about Brazilian Gymnast made it clear that Buckley and Harrington weren't dating (yet, some say) but Nancy doesn't know his schedule well enough to know something's wrong soon enough.

And when asked how she knows he wouldn't skip town by a disinterested police officer OR Jonathan Byers I haven't decided which, (disregarding the fact his car was still in the driveway) a stressed and upset Robin says "because he would have taken me with him!" Because he would have. They'd talked about it, leaving Hawkins once they graduate and not looking back. Getting an apartment together and maybe working the same shitty retain job to make ends meet as she coaches him into gold medals.

If Steve were to run away, he would have taken her with him. But he didn't. Robin was still in Hawkins and Steve was gone. He didn't run away.

And then Dustin's "body" is found. Claudia knows it's not her boy. They didn't let her close to him but she saw, she saw, that the corpse on the table had front teeth, and her Dustin didn't. Susan Sinclair is beside her, nodding, and stands behind her as she tells Chief Hopper this. That it couldn't be her son because he had a condition, his teeth hadn't come in yet and he didn't have collar bones.

Meanwhile, Jonathan develops the pictures he took while going through the woods trying to help look for Dustin. He has one of Steve, standing bare footed in the pool gutter with his sweats rolled up, grimicing at his sliced hand, as something looms behind him. No Robin don't worry about the picture of shirtless and dripping Steve before that it's nothing a misshot don't mention it again

Dustin, who was pretty ambivalent about Hawkins' resident Olympic hopeful, clings to him in the upsidedown. He's glad he's bigger than Dustin and strong enough to be able to carry him if they need to run fast. Steve's gotten a bat out, already splattered with gore from whatever thing dragged them here, using shoes from the weird, nasty version of his house, and tells Dustin funny stories about his adventures with Robin as he keeps watch while Dustin tries to talk to his mom on the phone or to get the Christmas lights to blip in Morse code.

As Claudia and Sue discuss what's happening and how to get someone to believe them, the lights in the Henderson house keep flickering.

[netherworldpost]

Dearest Mx. Atticus Q. Redghost,

I was looking through old photos for an in-joke I half remember and found this classic Evil Supply Co gem from back in my "I like it I save it" days (circa 2010s). Still applicable. Much love and congrats on the Everything, You're Doing Amazing Always.

R. Fox

The Ghost Librarian

I remember drawing it.

I remember the late nights spent worrying and fussing. I remember designing it, packing it when it was ordered. "Why purple? Because I love it. Not black, no, something brighter, pink? no, pink for the highlights" to myself.

Early card. One of Evil Supply Co.'s earliest.

Thank you for this memory.

Thank you for being here.

Sometimes I think "it is incredible we are allowed to exist," and then I remember, paradoxically,

there are so minimal actual rules (mostly governing taxes -- what rules are left boil down to "ensure you have cash to keep going")

but there are, of course, rules: Gatekeepers, the complexity of tax codes, the raw fact that no matter how strong the protective shields technology provides, the raw operations of a small business is difficult.

I'm the magician

performing a magic trick

and the audience.

If you have a moment? a ramble

At once this is all carefully planned and orchestrated and budgeted with safeguards and controls when things go wrong, and a swamp of chaos and trial and error and testing and "oh wait OH WAIT ah ha? AH HA"

When I was... 6, 7, 8... somewhere around that age, very young, Not Having A Great Go At Things for Reasons, I was at a mall. No clue what why we were there, the family and I. It was two levels, upstairs, downstairs.

We were on the top level, at the head of the escalator, about to go down. I'm peering forward to see what comes next.

Elvira.

Thick as dreams (the image), thin as a shipping box (the cardboard standee, she was not there in person). Halloween store. It was late September, maybe early October.

Halloween pop-up store.

Costumes. Plastic smell. Cheesy decorations. Fake blood, rubber tombstones, pitchforks-red on black staffs that could be swapped out for any number of axes or other faux, practically harmless, weapons.

Everything cheap. Priced to go. Sale-price-upon-entry-to-inventory.

Celebrate the season.

However you saw it.

Started connecting the dots, Elvira. Vincent Price. Creature Feature movies on Saturday. Frankenstein's monster ordering Dunkin' Donuts via grumbling growl.

Scooby-Doo, of course, a thread in the background, looping it all together.

Become who you are, not what others force you to be. Don't know who you are? Let's find out, no worries at all.

I owe my life

hauntingly literally in a many ways

to such things.

Places. Shows. Movies, actors, cartoons, decorations, candies, celebrations, masks, books, it all. Legends, myths, vernacularization of Old Things into New Things.

Magic trick.

I am the magician, I am also the audience at the same time, performing on the greatest stage. I owe everything to the powers of orange and black and green and purple and white.

Haven't even gotten to the mail parts, laugh.

Long enough ramble. It's 5:22 AM.

Cheers and thank you for this space. From the depths of my heart.