#we’re staying protected this summer girlies

[reverecurrent]

got my septum pierced today!!!

[anatrik]

First thoughts TTPD:

What a lana x folklore girlie win this issss!

1.Fortnight is about matty?? HAHAHAHA also why did this make me think of when holt was going running with the ladies when he was in witness protection??? Crying. Fav line has to be they were supposed to take me away but they forgot to come and get me. So sad but also so cool in relation to her cancellation/return. 10/10

2. TTPD- not so hahahaha anymore IS THIS ACTUALLY A FUCKING MATTY HEALY ALBUM??? There was a typewriter at the 1975 show she performed anti-hero at? Unless its somehow about harry? Who else is tattooed on her roster??? Or is this about herself? Kinda feel like modern idiots/who’s going to decode is directed at us lol😂 9/10?

3.My boy only breaks his favourite toys- went in expecting mad woman rage. Pleasantly surprised. king of my heart to queen of sandcastles he destroys….DESTROYED ME. Are you fucking kidding me rn? Im caling it. Best song. Im crying at 7.30 am this is not funny anymore. Also THANK YOU FOR NOT SLANDERING DAD. I knew you wouldnt let us down like that. Also the chorus sounds like long story short😭 oh this is so sad. Once i fix me hes going to miss me? He was my best friend?😭 he runs because he loves me? Stopp😭😭 1000000/10

4.Down bad- ….aaaand we’re back to MATTY AGAIN? He does not deserve this spotlight but why are all the song so goood😭😭😭 is this why artists love to date problematic men? It unlocks some extraordinary potential? Crazy crazy girl😭 also stay down (bad) 🤌🏾 shes done it again 10/10 also for personal reasons i will be believing this is about joe in that Tom/Joe/met gala overlap period when she was photographed going to the gym a lot and that this is about all that yearning please let it be about that plesplesplesplesplesples also down bad waking up in blood staring at the sky…like i lost a twin is giving bigger than the whole sky🥺

5. So long, london- so so long long, lon-don DONE? ok miss girl😭 the hoax parallels😭 dont be undoing the song i was going to play at my weddddding what is wrong with you😭 my only one my smoking gun to two graves one gun youll find someone??? Also reminds me of la la land :/ how much sad did you think I had in me? You wrote hoax so a lot ok leave us alone. crying again. 10000000000000000/10 oh lol its a track 5 ofc it is😂

6. But daddy I love him- she really said if you ever liked, shared or even LOOKED at the ‘vivaa las vegas’ memes you cant come to the wedding and shes so real for it. Lfgggg. Ubothered unhinged uhmazing. Growing up precocious sometimes means you still hold on to that princess/quarterback wattpad fantasy AS IS YOUR RIGHT QUEEN GO THE FUCK OFF🥳 100000/10 calling out toxic fandom for the first time and we love to see it🫡 this is suchhhh a happy songggg you deserve ALL the chaos and revelry.

7. Fresh out the slammer- god she gets it. Like sure he was great and he is still my biological father and everything but as a decidedly melancholy person myself who has constantly had atleast one close friend in a deep depression I can see how all that heavy lifting can just get heavy at some point especially when youre a partner and their sole lighthouse in wtv storms be out there buffeting their mental health. Its not for everyone and thats so fair and so valid but so sad as well. 10/10 for the honesty.

8. Florida- she really said girlrot summer🫡 this is the lanaest song ever. So lucky one/nothing new coded. This will be the First song I repeat and then so long london. Aaaghhh how i love a self aware melancholic anxious little superstar. 90283749292/10 thank you for giving florence an entire verse whew. Little did you know your home’s really only a town you’re just a guest in is soooo going on my body forever

9. Guilty as sin?- honestly just fuck if it means we dont have to hear about how desirable ratty healy is man ffs. IThe only reason he looks so hot is bc hes forbidden. You have to trust me on this. He’s sooo mid JESUS. U cant be writing hozier lyrics about a man that hasn’t met a shower😭 1000000/10 writing. -16392992/10 content. Unrequited love/lust truly is the greatest weapon in a poets arsenal bc where is this energy in the joe songs binch?😭 this is such a teen in love with a 26 yo creep who called me so mature for my age mom you just dont get ittt anthem😂😂

10. Who’s afraid of little old me?- is a warning 😂 im so here for it. Like yes I still hate matty with all my heart and soul but yes I agree fans should not be allowed so much of an opinion on another persons life and yes I should be afraid (I am). She said aight love letter era over I AM WRITING YOU ALL HATE MAIL AND I’M HAND DELIVERING IT. Shes sooo done pretending to be the relatable girl next door when she’s anything but and is now reminding us of it and yes yes yessss girl OWN ITTTTTTTT. I’ve been saying for agesssss that there is a darkness under all that sunshine from where she clawed her way to the top and this is sooo vindicating. 10000000000000/10 favourite song ever. Mad woman wishes she was who’s afraid of little old me. I am unwell. I am in love. This is the Taylor Swift i stan. The marketing genius the calculating business woman the puppet master with narcotics in her songs thats why we sing along🫡 she so can handle a dangerous man

11. I can fix him (no really I can)- you cant.

12. loml- ofc. OFC. Its the saddest song of all time. OFC. Fuck offf ughhhh. 😭😭😭😭😭 its giving happiness. Its giving divorce. i am a child of a broken home now and my parents still love each other and hold so much regret still. What do i do with thissss? Im just a little girl taylorrr! 1002380292011010101/10 soo so gooood.

13. I can do it with a broken heart- first of all track 13. Love it. Second of all the upbeat barbieness of it all. Third of all I FINALLY PLACED IT. Shes in her unrelatable era. She is not your girl next door. You will never understand her life. She is as much a phenomenon as a person and we literally only see as much as she allows us to and honestly if i have to get put in my place theres noooo better way to have it done. Im having such a great time actually. 10 BILLION TRILLION OUT OF 10 you tellll em girl you FUCKING TELL EM.

14. Smallest man who ever lived- not going to speculate on who it is bc they clearly had a serious problem and its not a joke but damn :/ thats so sad :/ hope they get help? Didnt expect this to be what the song was about at all?

15. The alchemy- she said TRAVIS IS MY BOY WITH HER WHOLE CHEST😌 10/10

16. Clara bow- did she just name drop herself ? I was so right about unrelatable era. Also the Subtle nod to olivia/sabrina noted and appreciated. Lucky one/castles crumbling (mature version) fr fr. Solid legacy song.

17. The black dog- shared your secrets with and location is the same whiplash as a red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground with no one around to tweet it🤌🏾 joe songs hit so so different 😭😭😭 1000000000/10

18. imgonnagetyouback- the valiant roar was not so valiant and more of a mew i guess. 7/10

19. The albatross- oh this is the ONE. The album defining song for sureeee. Mad woman on coke. A rose by any other name is a scandal???? Thats my religion right there. Little last great American dynasty twist there at the end! Fuck yea. She does reallly try to warn the men in her life have to give her that. One gazillion/10

20. Clearly god has favourites and they are the ppl called chloe or sam or sophia or marcus😭 ALSO this song is about joe for sure. The internet starlet hasss to be delaney rowe!!!! It HAS TO BE. 10/10

21. How did it end?- shes back for the fans😂 plot twist the breakup is with yall🤌🏾 but yesss say it louder! One gasp and then how did it end. So good. 100/10

22. So high school- lmao aristotle grand theft auto ONLYY taylor swift man😭😂 you know what you want and boy you got her🫡🫡 11/10

23. I hate it here- mother’s having a mental breakdown kids yk the drill🤌🏾 10/10

24. ThanK you aIMiee- what better way to say fuck you to a hater than to thank her for jumpstarting your legacy my god!!! She is insane for this. The capitalisation is a bit petty tho ngl. 8/10

25. I look in peoples windows- once again I thank you for the kindness and respect shown to joe. Never doubted you but thank you nevertheless. 10/10 short as nice to have a friend but it didnt need to be longer.

26. The prophecy- its so sad and humbling to see even a woman at where she is having to beg for love bc that literally is the nature of love. Something humiliating, to have to beg for 🤷‍♀️ cards playing out like fools in a fable cursed like eve got bitten. No one writes like her damn. 10/10

27. Cassandra- very madeline miller on this one. Love love loveee modern takes on tragic greek women. 100/10

28. Peter- ah fuck. This one is going to hurt (it did). 1000000/10 my ribs get the feeling she did😭 all her joe related aches are so bone deeeep ugh. Promises oceans deep but never to keep😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 oh god it hurtsss it hurts it hurtss

29. The bolter- curious child ever reviled except by her father wow.

30. Robin- OMG! I needed this song growing up sooo bad. That way to go tiger felt so so warm like running into a kitchen after a day of being in the mud and u tell ur mum the silly things u did and shes genuinely interested and impressed by your smol victories. A bajillion/10

31. The manuscript- postmortem of every ex ever🤌🏾 love it.

[theoreticslut]

Sleepover // f.w. + g.w. + o.w.

 fred weasley x reader; george weasley x platonic!reader; oliver wood x platonic!reader

requested: no

word count: 4.5k

warnings: none, fluff

A/N: hey loves! I wanted to post something last night, but after I got done with classes I didn’t want to even look at my laptop (hence why I didn’t do any homework & am highkey stressing but that's beside the point). Either way, you’re getting this right now. (i may be procrastinating homework now but shh) I hope you all like this! I really like it, even though it’s probably not my best writing. It just makes me smile when reading it 💗

Song mentioned is No Idea by All Time Low 

“Good practice today guys. I think we’re getting in shape for our next match. Hit the showers and don’t forget about practice tomorrow at 2.” Oliver states, ending practice.

You sigh, grabbing your duffel bag as you catch up with him and the twins.

“I know you want us in shape, Ollie, but geez.” You huff, breathing heavy as you finally fall into line beside him.

“It’s not his fault that you slacked off on training this summer, y/n.” Fred teases, slinging an arm around your shoulders, his body odour hitting you right in the face.

“All I did was train this summer! I had fun with it, but I trained none the less. And please, refrain from putting your pits near me until after you’ve showered.”

He chuckles, removing his arm upon your request, not without ruffling your hair beforehand though.

“You bloody git.” You huff, fixing your hair as he laughs, Oliver rolling his eyes at the both of you.

“You could always take up more training sessions with me if you feel like you’re not doing well.”

“That’s the last thing I want, Ollie. No offense, but most people enjoy having a break from training every now and then.”

He chuckles, shrugging his shoulders as the four of you make your way back to the castle.

The four of you have been friends since you first met at quidditch tryouts, all of you beyond excited to play for your house. While Fred, George, and Ollie all made the team to play, you had made the team as a reserve seeker as you were “supremely talented,” but the current seeker was already skilled and trusted. It was her last year anyway, so instead of playing your first year on the team, you spent the year learning and training under the current seeker to take over for her once she graduated.

You’re not really sure why, but the four of you just hit it off and had been friends ever since. You never really connected well with female classmates, even less when you started hanging out with the popular, desirable quidditch boys. You didn’t really care though, you and the guys got along well and had fun together joking around and hanging out on your free time.

Even though you didn’t really care to, you do wish you had at least one female friend. You’ve been dreaming of having a sleepover for years now, but you’ve yet to convince the boys into having one as they “didn’t want to be girly.” That doesn’t mean you haven’t stopped trying though. All you wanted was one sleepover and you’d be happy.

“So what are you guys doing this weekend?” You ask.

A chorus of “nothing” sounds from the three boys and you smile, putting on the cutest face you could make.

“Well if none of you have anything going on...could we please have a sleepover?” You plead, attempting to make puppy dog eyes.

All three of them groan, looking over to you in pleading.

“This again?” George sighs to which you pout.

“Come on, they’re not that bad. Seriously, I won’t make you do anything girly if you’ll give me just one, ONE face mask.”

“Y/n, we’ve talked about this.” Oliver states.

“I know, but I promise it’ll be fun. We can sit around and snack, watch some movies, play some board games or something. Sleepovers really aren’t as girly as you make them out to be.”

“No. We don’t do sleepovers, y/n. I’m sorry, but they just don’t sound fun to us.” Ollie explains.

You sigh, frowning as you surrender to defeat for now.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

All three of the guys frown, feeling bad that they’ve upset you, but they’re not going to force themselves to sit through something like that.

“Why don’t you ask the girls? I’m sure they’d love to have a sleepover with you.” Fred suggests, slinging his arm around you again.

“I’m not going to ask them, Freddie.”

“Why not? They seem like they’d be into that.”

“Because I’m not going to. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t really get along with other girls.”

“You’re being silly. Here-“

You pale as you see the girls just a little ways behind you and you know what Fred is going to do.

“No, Fred!”

“Hey! Angie, Katie, Alicia?”

“Fred, stop. Please.” You beg.

“What’s up?” Alicia asks, cocking her head a bit at Fred.

“Y/n here has been begging us for a sleepover for awhile because she doesn’t really have anyone else to have one with. Maybe you girls and her could have one?”

“A sleepover? Yeah! We’re actually planning one for tonight, would you like to join us?” Angelina smiles, excited to have you join.

In all honesty, the three girls have been dying to get to know you better. They’ve seen you joke around with the guys and know you’re funny, and you’re also immensely talented and intelligent. They’d love to be your friend, you’ve just never seemed interested.

“Really? You’d be okay with me joining you guys?”

“Yeah! We’d love to get to know you better. Why don’t you meet us after dinner?”

“Yeah, okay. Thank you!”

“Of course! I can’t wait for tonight! It’s going to be so much fun!”

You nod, smiling at your other three teammates as they head off towards the courtyard while you and the boys make your way back to the common room.

~.~

“Is it just me or does Oliver push us super hard at practice?” Alicia asks out of nowhere.

“Oh no, he definitely does! I swear to Merlin that I’m doing everything I can to just keep up.” Angelina huffs.

“He’s awful about it. And yet he says that I just need to train more.” You huff, rolling your eyes as you pop some popcorn into your mouth.

Its nice having others you can talk to that understand your thoughts.

“No way! Really?” Katie asks.

“Really. I don’t think he understands the meaning of going easy.”

“That’s ridiculous! I can’t believe he said that!” Katie gapes, eyes wide.

“That’s not even the worse thing he’s said before. I swear to Merlin that he doesn’t realize how bloody blunt he is at times.”

So far this sleepover has been going pretty well. You honestly didn’t expect it to go so well. You were sure that it would be really awkward and you’d have to excuse yourself halfway through the night.

“It can’t be easy being friends with three athletic boys.” Alicia states.

“I mean, it’s not all bad, but it’s not the most fun at times either.”

“Yeah? Like when?” Angie asks, all three of the girls focusing their attention on you.

“Well, they’re protective whether they realize it or not, but they can also be real insensitive at times and often make things worse before making them better. They’re nice to hang out with. There’s never really any sort of expectation with them so that’s cool.”

The girls nod, listening intently to you. They’ve never been jealous of you for being so close with the guys, but they have often wondered what it was like.

“I think the worst things about being so close with them, is that I get a lot of backlash from other girls and I never really get to be a girl myself. I guess they just kind of see me as one of the guys, you know?”

“Yeah. That can’t be any fun.” Angie agrees, frowning.

“I’m actually surprised you three don’t hate me. A lot of the girls here are really mean to me just because I’m close with them.”

“We could never hate your for being close to them. I mean, if you’re friends, you’re friends. There’s no crime in that.” Katie states.

“You think it was sometimes.” You sigh, popping some more food into your mouth.

“We’re sorry about that, y/n. You don’t ever have to worry about that with us.”

“And if we ever hear someone being mean to you about it we’ll definitely take care of it.” Alicia states, Angie and katie agreeing.

“Thanks. That’s, uhm, really nice to hear.”

“And from here forward we’re all friends and we’ll have sleepovers whenever we want! You deserve to have some girl friends and be able to be a girl yourself. Seriously, I know they’ve been your best friends for ages, but you don’t have to give yourself up just to stay friends with them.” Angelina adds.

You smile, feeling like you finally fit in for once with other girls. You’re really not sure what had happened to get here, but you were beyond excited.

~.~

It’s been about a month now since you and the girls had your first sleepover together and you’ve found that you get along with them surprising well. Not only do you get to talk about girl things like crushes and makeup or clothes, but you still get to talk about quidditch and classes and day to day things. And surprisingly, you feel like you’re heard and understood compared to when you were only hanging out with the guys.

You and the girls have had a sleepover every weekend since then, usually starting Friday night and not ending until Sunday afternoon. You’ve gotten to know each of them really well and them you.

You learned that Angie has a bit of a crush on George, Alicia has one on Oliver, and Katie has one on the Ravenclaw chaser, Roger Davies. They learned that you have a crush on Fred, and have been trying to help get him to notice you after you explained that you’re positive he’s never once seen you as anything other than a friend.

They’ve been helping you learn to do makeup because you only knew the very basics. They’ve given you some of their clothes that they don’t care for that accentuate your body and it’s curves. They’ve even helped you update your hair a bit, trimming it and adding some movement to it. Angie even went as far as adding some balayage to it, having learned how to from her aunt over the summer.

It’s safe to say that you’ve been spending a lot more of your time with the girls than you have with the guys and they’ve been noticing.

“It’s been awhile since y/n’s hung out with us, hasn’t it? I think I only really see her in classes lately.” George points out.

“Yeah, she’s been spending a lot of her time with the girls. Which is good I guess, but it is kind of weird not having her around as much.” Oliver answers, frowning a bit as he pushes his food around on his plate.

The three of them sit in silence for a bit before Fred pipes up with an observation of his own.

“It’s not just me that’s noticed that’s she’s changed a bit, yeah? Like, she’s been dressing a bit differently, and she’s done something with her hair.”

“Yeah, and have you noticed that she’s been wearing makeup? Did she wear any before?” Oliver asks, ignoring the food on his plate now.

“She did, but she’s definitely wearing more of it now. It looks good though, yeah?” George asks, looking between his twin and his team captain.

“Yeah.” Both Fred and Oliver sigh.

“Is it me, or does she almost seem...happier now too?” Fred asks, bringing the big question to existence.

They’ve all noticed you seem to smile bigger and brighter, even though you’ve always smiled a lot. Not only that, but you seem a bit more outgoing too and just more confident in yourself.

Have they really held you back that much as your best friends? Would it have been any different if they did more with you? You always did things that they enjoyed. Sure you enjoyed them too, but the one thing you wanted most they kept denying you. If they had given in and had a sleepover with you, would you have been as happy with them as you are with the girls?

“Hey, guys! How are you doing today?” You ask, sitting down beside Oliver as you start filling a plate for yourself.

“Y/n!” They all greet you happily and you smile, not sure where all the enthusiasm came from but you’re not going to complain about it.

“Uh, we’ve been good. A bit lonely without you, if we’re honest.” George answers, watching as you start eating.

They’d never admit it outright, but they’ve missed you more than should be physically possible. They never realized how fun you were to have around until you weren’t around anymore.

“Yeah? I’m sorry, I haven’t really hung out with you guys lately have I? I’ve just been so busy with the girls I guess I hadn’t realized how long it’s been.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s been a while. It’s okay though. Maybe we could watch a movie together tonight?” Oliver suggests.

“I’d love to, but I already have plans with the girls. I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s okay. We get it. Maybe another night?”

“Yeah, definitely! I miss hanging out with you guys.” You say, smiling before turning your attention to your plate, missing the way each of them perked up at your words.

~.~

“Y/n!” Oliver calls as you make your way out into the hall after class.

You stop, turning to see him pushing his way out the door trying to get to you, Fred and George right behind him.

“Hey, what’s up guys?”

“Not much. We were just wondering if tonight you’d like to watch a movie with us? We’ll head down to the kitchens and grab all your favourite snacks and drinks, we can even watch one of those romcoms that you like. If that’s what you’d like to do, that is.”

“Oh,” you frown.

“Guys that sounds amazing, but the girls and I are having a sleepover again tonight. Maybe we could do that tomorrow night?”

All three of them deflate at your words. It’s been about a month and a half now that you’ve barely hung out with them and they’re all starting to get a bit upset by that fact. They miss their best friend and how they never had to share you.

“Another sleepover? But you do them every weekend. You’ve even done some throughout the week!” Fred pouts, not believing that you’d turn down an offer like that.

“I’m really sorry guys. Definitely tomorrow night if that’s alright?”

“Yeah. Th-that’s fine.” Oliver agreed, bummed that you’re turning them down but not wanting to make it seem like you can’t hang out with the girls.

“I’m sorry.” You frown, awkwardly walking away from them as they all nod.

“What are we supposed to do? It’s like she doesn’t want to hang out with us anymore.” Fred sighs.

“Even at practice, on breaks or during drills, she’s hanging around them more than she is us.”

“It’s frustrating, I know, but at least she’s got someone to do the things she was always asking us to do. I mean we should be happy, she gets to have her sleepovers and we don’t have to, right?” Oliver states.

“I guess. But do you think it’d be any different if we had just given in and had one with her? I mean they can’t be that bad can they? The girls are always laughing when they’re having one.” George points out.

“That they are. I wonder if they’d let us in on one...”

“We could ask them tonight? They usually start after dinner, yeah? So let’s ask them at dinner if we can join!”

~.~

“Oh Merlin” Fred, George, and Oliver all mumble as they step foot into the girls’ room.

It took some convincing, but the girls eventually let them join their sleepover tonight, but they didn’t realize how unprepared they were for it until they stepped in.

“Hey guys! We’re glad to have you here!” Alicia greets, giggling alongside you.

“I can’t believe you guys actually wanted to join. How many years did I ask you three for one and you turned me down each time?”

“Well they didn’t seem interesting then, but you’ve thoroughly piqued our interest now.” Oliver mumbles, blushing a bit.

While it’s true they were curious about it, they were truly more jealous that your attention was here and not with them.

“I think they were just jealous that you’re spending time with us and not them.” Katie whispers in your ear, making the both of you chuckle as you roll your eyes and katie nods at you.

“So, uh, what normally goes on at these things?”

“A little bit of everything. I’m sure all of its a bit too girly for your liking though.” Angie teases, all three of the boys flushing in embarrassment.

“Well we’ll give it a try. One time won’t hurt, right?” Fred asks, not too sure of his words anymore.

“You’ll have to find out.” Alicia smirks, breaking out into a fit of laughter with the rest of you girls at the guys terrified faces.

“C-can you at least give us an idea of what to expect for tonight?” Ollie asks.

“Like Ang said, a little bit of everything. Obviously we can’t do all the same things as we normally do, but we’ll get pretty close.”

“What things can’t you do?” George asks, looking over all the girls but stopping on you, hoping that you’ll give an honest answer.

“Oh you know, sharing gossip, talking about boys, sharing personal details.” You say, counting them out on your fingers as you talk.

“Talk about boys?” Oliver asks, eyes popping out of his head as Fred cuts him off.

“Personal details? What kind of details could you share that we wouldn’t already know about?!”

All four of you girls stop, looking at each other, before breaking out into a bout of laughter.

“Oh, Fred. You boys barely scratch the surface of knowing y/n. Trust us.” Katie states, chuckling to herself as she looks back at you.

“That’s not true!”

“What’s her most embarrassing memory to date?” Angelina asks, cocking a brow as Fred stutters.

“Uh, oh! I-it’s, well...”

“It’s alright, Freddie. It’s not important so it’s not like you need to know.” You try to console him but it only seems to make him feel worse.

He’s supposed to be one of your best friends. He should know things like this, but as he thinks about it, he’s not even sure of your favourite colour.

“Alright, so that’s what you aren’t doing tonight. What other things do you do?” Oliver asks, changing the topic of conversation.

“Well we do face masks, we do each other’s makeup and hair, we try on different outfits....but we don’t have to do any of that while you’re here.” Angie informs.

“Yeah, we can just eat snacks and play some games. Do some karaoke. Maybe watch a movie? We kind of just do whatever we feel like.” Alicia explains.

The guys nod, worried about what the night will be like, but knowing that they’re not going to leave early. They’re going to get the full experience and they’re going to at least pretend to enjoy it.

~.~

“Wait she said that to you?! Bloody imp.” You huff, as Alicia tells you about a run in she had with one of the ravenclaw girls.

“Right?! I just can’t believe she had the nerve. Someone definitely had her panties in a twist that day.” She huffs, working on applying some eyeshadow to your lids.

The guys watch in amusement as you and Alicia talk. They’ve never once seen you so happy.

You have inside jokes that make you laugh over the littlest of things. You have the confidence to talk out loud and freely share your thoughts. Sure you talked with the guys, but not nearly as much or as animatedly as you do with the girls.

You seem to thoroughly enjoy the activities you were doing, and not just sitting there because that’s what you all were doing.

In all honestly it sent the guys into a spiral of mixed emotions. They were happy to see you so happy, but they wanted you back for themselves. They felt guilty for wanting you to themselves when you weren’t nearly as happy as you are now. They feel guilty for not caring about you in the same way as the girls seem to.

“I think I impressed Snape today with my potion.” You share.

“That makes one of us. I completely botched it. Maybe you could help me with it next time?!” Angie asks, shifting her attention to you from where she’s laying with her face mask on.

“Yeah, definitely. I’d love to see Snape’s face the day we brew a potion perfectly. He’s such a grumpy old git, always finding something wrong. It’d be nice to get a compliment from him or at least render him speechless.”

“Definitely. I’m sure he’d find a way to criticize the potion even if it was perfect, though.” Katie adds in, sending all of you girls into a fit of laughter.

“Is this what you normally do?” George asks, looking around at all of you girls.

“What?” Angie asks, looking over at him.

“Just talk about anything and everything?”

All four of you look at each other before nodding and shrugging.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“It’s cool.”

Fred and Oliver nod in agreement. It’s kind of nice just listening to you all talk and gossip.

“Stop moving!” Alicia chuckles at you, drawing everyone’s attention, as you sing along to the music playing in the background.

“Now there’s a piece of me, tells me I shouldn’t leave, every time I see your face.”

You giggle as Alicia shakes her head at you.

“Because every time you come around, love you take my breath away!”

Alicia rolls her eyes at you and all that the guys can do is smile. They’ve never once seen you so open and carefree. You’ve only sung a handful of times, but every time you’ve noticed someone is around you immediately shut up.

It’s kind of nice seeing you participating in something you enjoy so much. You truly do look so happy.

“Sing with me, Alicia. Please?” You pout, doing your puppy dog eyes at her.

Oh how Fred misses that look. You only did that when you were trying to get them to do something, usually to get them to have a sleepover with you or go to honeydukes in hogsmeade.

“I never want you to leave until I take you in, but the truth is...” he watches at you look at Alicia, waiting for her to join in.

“She has no idea - no idea!”

“That I’m even here- that I’m even here!”

You cheer, laughing as she sings along with you, completely getting into the song.

“She has no idea!” You belt out, letting Alicia do the echo.

Fred watches as the two of you sing animatedly to the rest of the song, even started to throw theatrics in to emphasize the lyrics.

Oh how he wishes he had seen this side to you sooner. He’s not really sure what’s going on, but watching you be so happy makes him feel all warm and bubbly inside. Although he does wish to see you that happy with him, he is just happy to see you happy in general.

“Wow” Oliver states, staring at the two of you, not realizing he spoke until all of you look at him.

“Wow what?” Katie asks, confused.

“Huh?”

“What are you ‘wow’ing at, Ollie?” You ask.

“Oh, uhm. Well, you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, y-you’re so happy now. It’s just nice to see. I mean, You’d never sing around us voluntarily and you’re laughing so much more.”

You smile, nodding at him. You’re not really sure what to say to that.

“Yeah? Thanks.” You smile. “I, uh, have been a lot happier lately.”

“It shows. It’s really nice to see, but we’re sorry that we weren’t making you happy.” George frowns, watching you as your eyes water.

You can hear the girls awe at them but you’re suddenly slapped on the shoulder by Alicia.

“Hey, hey, hey! I know this is sweet, but no tears. I did not just spend half an hour on your makeup to have you cry it off.”

“I can’t help it.” You chuckle, your tears ready to spill over.

“Wow, so emotional y/l/n.” Fred teases, smirking as Alicia, katie and Angie all throw something at him while you just chuckle and carefully wipe at your tears so you don’t ruin your makeup.

“You’re such a git, Freddie.” You roll your eyes, chuckling as he smiles at you.

“But I’m clever. I didn’t want you ruining your makeup. It looks too good.”

You laugh, trying to hide a blush as the girls all ‘ooh’ at you, knowing how you feel about him.

“Thank you, Freddie.”

He nods, smiling as he watches Alicia keep working, ignoring the teasing punches and hair ruffling from his twin and Oliver.

~.~

“Hey guys.” You greet, sitting down next to Fred as all 6 of your friends looks up at you.

“Hey, y/n. How did your Charms test go?” Angie asks, taking a bite of her food.

“I think I nailed it.” You smile, proudly, as you start filling your plate for lunch.

“That’s my girl! I knew you would.” Fred smiles, pulling you into a tight hug as you giggle.

It’s been a few months since your sleepover with the girls and the guys. Since then, your two friend groups have meshed together really well.

All of you would sit together at meals and would joke around. You would still have your sleepovers with the girls, but at least once a month all seven of you would have a sleepover together again, although they’re a little bit different now that you’re all coupling up.

It didn’t take long for George and Angie to get together, and after that happened it didn’t take too long for you and Fred to get together. It kind of helps that once Angie and George were dating, Angie told of your little crush on his brother. Luckily for you, George knew that his brother liked you too so it only took a few pushes and some convincing on Fred’s part to finally ask you out.

Alicia and Oliver have definitely gotten closer, but they’re not quite dating yet, and katie is still chasing after her ravenclaw chaser. It’s helping a bit now that the guys are on her side and can talk to Davies for her.

It’s safe to say though, that all of you are happy. You have the girls to share yourself with, but you still get to see the guys and hang out with them. The guys are happy that they have your attention again and that you’re happy with them, and the girls are happy that they’ve gained you as a friend.

For starting out with just the guys, you have to say you’re pretty happy with where you’ve all ended up together. All it took was a sleepover.

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

general taglist - @accioalix @captaincactusjuice @inglourious-imagines @keepawaythenargles @lemongrasshoney @onyourgoddamleft @valiantobservationkitty @concepcion @eternallyvenus @fandomwhoress @fleurho @fredweasleyzwh0re @harleigh110 @hufflepuffflowers @hufflrpuffforfred @i-miei-amori @littlemisswitt @sammy-the-gay @sightiff @starstruckgranger @teenwolfbitches2 @watermelonsugar2810 @harrypotterwifey @ioverslane99 @yikeyikesyikes95 @darthwheezely @callmelilone @teawiththeweasleys @softlyqoos @justmesadgirl @xuckduck @filipi-yes @aestheticwh0r3 @siredkai @matsuno-nadeshiko @msmarklee1213 @immajustreadwritereblog @msmimimerton @perfectlysane24 @mischievous-queen @bunnyboo7 @grandeoptimist @daddystevee @slytherinxhunter @streetfighterrichie @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @isthereanymorejello @karushinekomiya @p0gue420 @hogwartslut @sebby-staan @fredshmeasley

Weasley twins taglist - @tovvaa @midsummernightdream @wand3ringr0s3 @tinylumpiaa @freddie-weaselbee @lovesanimals @pandaxnienke @stxrryxsky @fredweasleypls @georgeweasleyishot @melonoptimist @pineapplesandpinas @psychocracker @the-real-santana-lopez @zabinizucchini @andrea-23-5 @slytherinambitious @amourtentiaa @slytherin-7 @youralternatpersonality @teenagesublimefan @accio-remus-lupin @lindsaytriestowrite @missetbilu @pinkypurplemagic @leovaldez37 @chlo333w3asl3y @georgeswhore @weasleysprincess @snoopydoop1 @angeletarte @hpotterwhore @hogwortslut123 @impulse-anchor @celestialmage23 @gomi-owo @rosietoesy @jackys-stuff-blog @4amhotchner @weasley8800 @mollysolo @lilypad-55449 @harrysboo28

fred weasley taglist - @justafredweasleysimp @christhebell @papapapadumb @person992004 @aviezap @cctorresavcadiz @hopefullhearts @onlyfreds 

george weasley taglist - @georgeweasleysbabe @stilinskibiles

oliver wood - @anxiousblanketqueen @moatsnow @stoopidwithtwohoes  @livvysnaps

[heyitsyn]

Prince Iwa-Chan

Oikawa!Sister x Iwaizumi Hajime

a/n: it aggravates me that my mans bara-arms-iwa-chan is so UNDERRATED!!!!

requests open!!

like look mom, im in love

ofc youre an oikawa

tbh, i dont think iwa wouldve been comfortable w you when yall first met

lets say youre a year younger than tooru

its a well-known fact that theyve been friends since they were really young so you, being oiks’ baby sister, was also part of your little trio

like lets say they met when they were 6

that would make you about 5

since yall have an older sister, you were exposed to the girly girl stuff like dolls and princesses

ngl, tooru was too thats why hes so flamboyant

but seems his fashion style refutes that

ya didnt hear that from me

anyways

tooru had already developed a deep fascination w volleyball bc he saw it being played during the 2000 summer olympics

but you remained w your sister and continued letting her treat you like a princess

im not really sure how old his sister is but lets say she was about around middle school when you were 5-6

however, tooru still made you play w him even though you didnt know how but you didnt care bc you were close w your brother so you would play ball w him

then came along iwaizumi hajime that tooru met from school

he found out that this boy also liked volleyball and tooru yeeted them both home so they could go and play at the back yard

you peeked from your window and you just thought iwa was the most handsome boy youve ever met

ofc, you just bolted down the stairs to where your brother and his friend was

oiks saw you standing by the door w a red face and him, being still a child and not understanding crushes, thought you were sick

he went to you and beckoned hajime to follow him inside

tooru sat you down and asked if you were okay but you just kept staring at hajime

he figured that you were just confused as to who this person was

‘oh! iwa-chan! this is my little sister, y/n! y/n, this is my classmate, iwaizumi hajime!’

cue iwa hitting him at the head

‘i can introduce myself perfectly fine, bakakawa!’

iwaizumi hajime,,,

iwaizumi hajimeee,

iwaizumi y/n

that thought made you turn even redder and you squealed in embarrassment before running back to your room

lmao what

if your personality doesnt align w this, i deeply apologize

i just think if you were an oikawa, you would bound to immediately also be drawn to this handsome specimen named iwaizumi hajime

he be getting the oikawas though

iwa was actually concerned but oiks waved it off

‘don’t worry, iwa-chan. shes weird like that. lets go toss the ball!’

so that was kinda how he met you

now, since hajime basically lived in your house by how much him and your brother hung out, youve slowly mellowed out and gotten to be friends w him

despite your hatred w bugs, you still went w them to explore just bc you wanted to be around hajime

lmao tooru youre now irrelevant

hajime didnt mind and he always made sure you were okay with the adventures of the day

even though you were only like a year younger, he cant help but baby you bc of your much smaller height than him and overall cute baby face

one day, they both came home from school all sweaty bc they raced home

‘iwa-chan! you can settle in the living room while i go shower!’

‘don’t call me iwa-chan, bakakawa!’

‘then stop calling me that!’

he sat down on the couch and started doing his homework when he heard you come home from school

lmao how do little japanese kids go back and forth from school to home at the age of 6

idek how to cross the street

‘tadaima’

‘oh, okaeri, y/n’

you perked up at his voice and you ran to the living room, seeing him

‘iwa-chan!’

he grunted and you threw yourself to him in a hug

if your personality doesnt align w this, i deeply apologize

i just think if you were an oikawa, you would bound to immediately also be drawn to this handsome specimen named iwaizumi hajime

part 2

tbh it doesnt even faze him anymore since you do this to him every time

he continues doing homework and just wraps one arm around you and starts patting your head

‘tooru-nii?’

‘shower’

‘okay’

then silence

but its the good kind of silence

you and iwa just sit there with you snuggled up on him while he continues to add numbers

then it was ruined

by the pterodactyl oikawa tooru who comes flying down the stairs and glomps on to iwa’s other side

‘y/n-chan! stop hogging iwa-chan!’

‘he’s mine, tooru-nii!!’

you pout while iwa turns and gives him a glare

‘shut up, bakakawa! and stop calling me that!’

‘aahh!! you were mine first, iwa-chan!’

‘i was never yours! be quiet!’

‘itai, iwa-chan!’

‘he’s mine forever! we’re going to get married so butt out, nii-chan!’

‘HAH?!’

once everything calms down, yall actually start your homework and work

‘anything happen today, y/n-chan?’

oikawa always asked that question bc he believes its his duty as older brother to be caught up in your life

thats actually annoying bruv

‘hmm, me and the girls in my class were playing princess tea party today and a boy asked to be my prince.’

‘WHAT!’

oikawa is 7 now and he faintly has an idea about crushes and his father made him promise that he would protect you from nasty boys

‘calm down, bakakawa’

iwa mumbled, continuing his homework but also paying attention

‘WHAT!? NO! WHATD YOU SAY, Y/N-CHAN! YOUR BROTHER IS THE ONLY PRINCE YOU NEED!’

‘i told him i already have a prince’

oikawa was so smug and crossed his arms

‘hm, serves them right-’

‘prince iwa-chan and i are going to get married and live in a castle so there’s no room for anybody else’

iwa had to double check and turned red really fast

like who was this iwa-chan

wait, what his name?

his name has iwa in it

is he iwa-chan?

y/n’s prince iwa-chan?

was he really iwa-chan?

‘NO! YOUR NII-SAN IS YOUR PRINCE! IWA-CHAN CAN BE YOUR KNIGHT OR SOMETHING! BUT IM YOUR PRINCE!’

you glared at tooru and shook your head

‘no. iwa-chan is my prince’

you were so shamless about this fact

lmao i want your confidence

from then on, youve called iwa as your prince

like his name on your phone is literally prince iwa-chan

then when you were in middle school, you’ve started calling iwa as haji-senpai

there wasnt even a large event that spawned this

well,,, actually,,

youve noticed that iwa hated the nickname ‘iwa-chan’ a lot and he hit tooru many times bc of it so you stopped calling him that bc you didnt want him to be mad at you

so you started calling him senpai bc he was technically an upperclassman

when you first called him this, iwa was lowkey shook

‘haji,,,, senpai?’

you nodded from your spot on the couch, not looking up from your homework

‘see? i can only call iwa-chan, iwa-chan! OOF!’

that was iwa hitting tooru at the face with his pencil case

‘y/n, you dont have to call me that. we’ve known each other since we were little so you dont have to call me by an upperclassman term’

you shrugged

‘i know. but you dont like it when you’re called iwa-chan, do you?’

‘not if it’s by this trash’

he jutted a thumb to the fallen tooru

‘so,,,, iwa-chan is fine?’

your eyes sparkled at the permission of being able to freely call him that without worry

he gulps at your face and turns away to hide his red face before nodding

‘my prince iwa-chan!’

‘no! my iwa-chan!’

‘shut up shittykawa!’

‘itai, iwa-chan!’

keeping up with the oikawas

this nickname will forever be stuck

since you went to the same middle school, you were known to be around your brother and iwa and even staying behind for practice to walk home w them

it became a bit of a joke to the team of you picking up your prince

one day, a teammate called iwa, ‘prince iwa-chan’ and he almost busted a fuse

was ready to square up bc only his babie can call him that

but when you came through the door

‘prince iwa-chan! your princess is here!’

he turned all soft and squishy and pats your head so gently that they couldnt believe this is the same boy who is the ace

you were interested in volleyball so you were kinda friends w the team but you didnt really care for the sport, mainly focusing on your academics

thats how it really was for you three

they focused on sports while you studied

oh my here comes highschool

oikawa and iwa were already known throughout the FREAKING PREFECTURE bc of how TALENTED THEY ARE AT VOLLEYBALL

and you were already known by your pretty face and your cute personality

basically genderbent oikawa

and just wanted to stop you from reading by telling you that you are beautiful and you are a KWEEN and you are a GODDESS and confidence is the most beautiful thing to wear and best of all, it’s free!!

ofc, youd have to go to aoba johsai bc your brother was there

‘y/n-chan! you need to go where your brother is! you love him, don’t you?’

‘sure, tooru’

you actually went to seijoh bc you would see iwa 

you didnt hear that from me

your first day, boys (and gals) were already flocking towards you when they saw you walking with iwa and tooru

still being the overprotective brother since day1, oikawa was just snarling at anyone getting close to his baby sister

lmao what baby

hes only like a year older

but iwa was being terrirorial protective bc he finds it as an obligation as tooru’s best friend and your childhood friend

when oiks wasn’t paying attention and being drowned by his fangirls, iwa was your bodyguard

there was this one boy who started walking towards you as yall were going to your class but hajime placed an arm around your waist and pulled you closer

‘oh? i’m only at the first floor, iwa-chan. don’t get all clingy now’

lmao, girl hes trying to show that boy that hes your unofficial mans and will cut off his family jewels if he tries to even BREATHE in your direction

umm,,, iwa’s not yandere in this one yall

iwa just rolls his eyes and makes you walk forward until yall are at your door

‘i’ll see you later, iwa-chan!’

‘yea yea. i’ll pick you up’

he starts to walk down the hallway but you poke your head back out and shout

‘i miss you already, prince iwa-chan!’

he turns red all over and freezes for a 0.0002 seconds before raising a hand without turning around

now ladies and genitals

this is when iwa-chan starts to catch feelings like he catches them spikes

your cute smling face and saying his dumb nickname that he actually loves was like a recipe for a stroke for him

it has come to the point at the mere thought of you would make him all flustered and red

it tripled over when this happened:

puberty was kinda late for you and you actually just woke up looking like a goddess one day and you were like, lmao what

your chest just ballooned up and your height just skyrocketed that your skirt was now very short

ew i dont know what i would do in this situation

you were self-conscious about this and was kinda scared 

obvs, you would scream for your mother and she and your father and brother bolts up to your bedroom thinking there was a whole michael meyers in your room

but when you explained that your uniform doesnt fit anymore, she starts making appointments to get you fitted for another one

but you had to wait for a few days

so you went to school looking like a whole snacc

more of a snacc than you did before

when iwa saw you, he had a literal nosebleed in the middle of campus and runs to the bathroom to get all cleaned up

why in the name of asahi do you look like that?!

when you saw your prince look at you in horror and run away, you cried

you were already very self-conscious and him doing that just topped the cake

cake that tooru doesnt have

oop imsorry

tooru reassures you that he had a nosebleed and he was just sick and ran to not get any blood on his clothes

but you just walked away with your head down low

it didnt matter to you if this caught all the student body’s attention

that their precious oikawa y/n, little sister of the oikawa tooru, was a walking perfection goddess Venus

all that you cared about was iwa’s opinions bc he was your prince and your best friend

girl, accept that you actually like the mans

this was the worst day of your entire life and you went straight to your locker to get your gym clothes out and wear it for the day

it was tight but at least it covered skin

and it still attracted enough attention to be catcalled and whistled at

it felt violating

the entire morning, there was more attention and more people flocked over to you and guys were staring at you as if you were a piece of meat, not a girl

‘harry potter is a boy! not a piece of meat!’

sorry i cant help it

you were so uncomfortable that you called your brother during lunch time to come pick you up for lunch bc you were too scared to walk alone after being catcalled during your walk to your class

tooru sends out iwa to go help you as an apology from this morning and he just runs to your class bc you were in trouble and he was going to protect you!!

go iwa-chan!

he finds you sitting on your chair, looking down at your desk as there seemed to be boys piled up on top of each other, trying to get your attention

first world problems, amirite

‘OI!’

that angry grunt but at 2x bass boosted

hearing his voice, you were still embarrassed from earlier but you were so relieved

‘iwa-chan!’

iwa pushes people away and he grabs your hand to pull you up before wrapping an arm around your waist, protectively

‘if i see you idiots making her uncomfortable or even trying to touch her, i will destroy you’

protection and the feeling of safety is my fave

he leads you out of there to the stairway where him and his teammates were eating

he held your hand tightly and you squeezed it, trying to show that you were grateful

even if they were still male, your brother was there and if something happened, they were both strong enough to take them on

besides, its just mattsun and maki anyways

tooru saw you and he hugged you before leading you to the 2 others

‘guys, this is y/n, my sister. that’s mattsun and that’s makki.’

you slightly smiled and raised a hand in greeting

‘yo’

‘hello’

to be safe, iwa made you sit a step down from him so that if something happens, he could protect you

idk how but you do you boo

‘i can protect her too, iwa-chan!’

‘shut up, shittykawa. youre literally sticks and bones’

‘so mean! iwa-chan, you’re so mean!’

you giggled, head leaning down to rest on iwa’s right thigh since you were full and tired and he runs his hand through your hair

mattsun and makki shared a look before asking

‘are you dating our ace, y/n-chan?’

at the mention of dating, you both turned red and you sat up

‘OF COURSE NOT, MATTSUN, MAKKI!’

iwa shouts but his red face and ears betrayed him

‘iwa-chan grew up with us so he’s naturally like that. we’ve adopted him into our family!’

oikawa explained but you looked at him and he gave you a knowing look

oh he noticed everything

the lingering looks during practice

the bashful smiles during hang outs at home

unnecessary touches during the walk to school

oikawa may be annoying but he’s observant and he is smart

after that fiasco, the two boys were a little wary of letting you walk home alone so iwa offered to take you since he was already making more progress and didnt need extra practice while tooru wanted to practice more

‘iwa-chan, can we go to your house this time?’

he turned to look at you curiously since you never ask to go to his place

‘i miss your mom and ive been meaning to go visit her. so can we, iwa-chan?’

you squeezed his hand and showcased your pleading look making him agree

‘fine’

his house wasn’t a frequently hung out spot since your house was closer but you were still familiar with his home since his mother was fond of you

‘tadaima’

mama iwaizumi peaked from the kitchen and greeted him home before squealing at the sight of the youngest oikawa

‘oh my, y/n-chan! hello!’

‘hello, auntie!’ 

she gave you a big hug and you returned it with a laugh

iwa just standing there to the side with a smile bc his mom approves so all is good in life

‘you’ve grown so much, y/n-chan! so much prettier too!’ you turned bashful at her compliments.

then she leaned forward to whisper in your ear but made her voice loud

‘say, has my son finally ask you to be his girlfriend?’

omg mama iwaizumi really ships it

iwa turns red and complains to his mom about being in his business too much

‘don’t be so timid, hajime! y/n-chan could be taken from under your nose any minute now!’

‘dont you think i know that’ he mumbles but very lowly so that no one hears him

but you decide to tease him more

‘no. but i’m waiting for it. i’ll tell you once he does, auntie!’

fed up with the teasing, he grabs you and drags you up to his room to change into comfortable clothing

you sit on his bed while he rummages through his closet for a sweatshirt and sweatpants

‘here! change into these!’ he shouts, still flustered and refusing to look at your eyes

youre an oikawa and you lived to tease so you stood up, tossing the clothes to the side and wrapping your arms around his neck

ooo gurl you want iwa to die today, don’t you?

he gets even redder and scowls

‘oi, y/n, what are you doing’

you shook your head

‘nothing. i just miss my prince iwa-chan. you were so brave for saving me today, prince iwa-chan’

the nickname used to not affect him that much but now, he watches the it fall from your cherry lips

‘say my name’

you furrowed your eyebrows

‘iwa-chan?’

he gently shakes his head no

‘my real name’

‘iwaizumi hajime’

you say, distracted at the way his mouth moves

‘and what’s yours?’

‘iwaizumi y/n’

you breathed out

he growls softly before taking your sinful lips

wowza jesus took the wheel bc he stepped on that pedal

we going straight 100 mph up in this bih

iwa really said, ‘skip the confession. imma go straight for my babie girl’s lips. also, proposal who? let’s go get married in vegas!’

it wasnt even been literally 15 minutes until you came bounding the stairs wearing hajime’s signature grey hoodie with his seijoh sweatpants and calling for your auntie to announce you were now dating are going to get married

‘WHAT!?’ 

she screams and comes running from the kitchen, holding a ladle

you flashed a grin while iwa shows a small smile with red cheeks from behind you before telling you that you were both too young to get married

‘i told ya you would be the first to know’

after dinner, you call your brother and hes like, ‘okay, since you’re not at home i’m assuming youre at iwa’s’

‘omgomgomg, nii-chan! i just had dinner with my boyfriend’s family! they accepted me!’

‘BOYFRIEND?! DOES IWA-CHAN KNOW!? HOW COULD YOU BREAK HIS HEART?!’

oikawa just has that special type of voice that even without being on speaker phone, it sounds like he is

iwa laughs at his friend’s worried questions

‘better hand over your princess to the prince, grand king’

oikawa screamed

i hope i did my mans justice 

[headcanonsandmore]

“Letters to Charlie” 

Summary:  A selection of letters from Ron to his brother Charlie, throughout Ron's first four years at Hogwarts. Includes some mild Romione mentions.

Read on FFN.                             Read on AO3. 

~~~~~~~~~

[1st October 1991]

Dear Charlie,

How are things at the reserve? You said in your last letter that you’ve been getting a lot more burns than normal; have you asked mum for her recipe on salves?

Anyway, I’m settling in okay at Hogwarts. Really glad I was in Gryffindor; my friend Harry was really worried about it, I think. He’s doing fine, but I wish everyone would stop gawking at him all the time. He’s a good bloke; bit quiet but, considering what his aunt and uncle seem to be like, that’s not surprising.

Also, there’s this girl in our class who’s pretty annoying. She treats everyone like they’re idiots and she’s such a teacher’s pet! Her name’s Hermione Granger, and she’s always butting in whenever me and Harry are chatting. She’s not all bad, but I wish she wouldn’t be so uptight about everything. You’d think that someone with hair that bushy would be a bit more fun-loving, but she’s very straightlaced. But I saw her laughing the other day at a joke I made, so maybe she’s not so serious all the time? She has a cute nice laugh.

Don’t tell the twins I said that, or they’ll never stop going on about it.

Anyway, hope you’re okay and that everyone at the reserve is doing fine,

Love,

Ron

  [12th November 1991]

Dear Charlie,

Glad to hear that that the Common Welsh Green pair are doing okay. Things have gotten pretty weird at Hogwarts; someone (probably Peeves) let a troll into the castle at Halloween! Me and Harry had to rescue Hermione Granger from the troll; she covered for us, so we didn’t get punished. McGonagall even gave us some points for Gryffindor!

Hermione’s alright, I think. Bit intense, but she’s not as stuffy as I thought. I mean, it was kind-of my fault that she ended up getting caught by the troll, so I’m glad she didn’t hold a grudge about it. She’s always asking me about stuff, probably because she’s never grown up in a magical family. You wouldn’t think it if you saw her in class, though; she gets so many questions right and she’s apparently memorised the textbooks! Barmy, I know, but she’s alright.

Speaking of dragons, do you know if there’s any way of getting a baby one out of the country? Hagrid has a baby Norwegian Ridgeback in his house, but it’s dangerous for the baby to stay here.

Love,

Ron

 [16th August 1992]

Dear Charlie,

We managed to rescue Harry from the Dursleys! Mum went mad when we got back, but no harm done. Harry’s aunt and uncle had bars put on his window!  I told mum we had to get him out quick; good thing I noticed he wasn’t responding to my letters. Apparently, a house-elf was trying to stop him going back to Hogwarts; weird, right?

Hermione’s saying that she’s hoping to meet up with us in Diagon Alley; I hope so. It’ll be nice to see her again. Apparently, she’s already done all her homework, but that’s what she’s like. What do you think I should get her for her birthday? I asked Harry, but he suggested one of the textbooks (the poor bloke’s never had to buy any presents for anyone ever). I was thinking maybe some of her favourite long-lasting quills, but I’m not sure. Do you reckon I should get her something more… girly? Her best mates are two blokes, so maybe she’d like something to make it clear that  I we don’t just see her as another boy? What do you think?

I’m looking forward to Hogwarts this year; hopefully, it should be a bit quieter than last year. How’s your summer been going? You mentioned about the Chinese Fireball having fang rot; has that been fixed yet, or is she still having troubles?

Hope all’s good with you,

Love,

Ron

 [6th January 1993]

Dear Charlie,

You’ve probably heard the news already about the attacks happening at Hogwarts. The teachers don’t seem to know who’s doing it. Me, Harry, and Hermione have been trying to figure things out, but we haven’t got any leads lately. We thought it might have been Malfoy, but turns out he’s not doing it (still too happy about the attacks, though, the little git!).

I’m really worried about Hermione, to be honest. The attacks are always against muggle-borns and I’m scared she’s gonna be attacked. Do you know if there’s any creature that can petrify someone? I would ask the defence teacher, but Lockhart can barely tell one end of  his wand from the other. Can’t see why Hermione likes him so much; can’t she see how much of a stupid twerp he is?

Like I said before, I’m really sorry about breaking your old wand. I know you said you don’t mind and you’re just glad I was okay, but still. It keeps making weird bubbles whenever I try and cast any spells. My own fault for breaking it, I guess.

Hope you’re well,

Love,

Ron

 [8th May 1993]

Dear Charlie,

Hermione got attacked. She’s been stuck in the hospital wing ever since.

I’m scared. Harry’s managing to keep his head screwed on straight, but I can’t concentrate in lessons. I keep expecting Hermione to be sat next to me, and whenever I turn to look at her, I remember where she is. All pale and cold, like she’d dead or something.

What do I do, Charlie? How do I help her?

Love,

Ron

 [1st June 1993]

Dear Charlie,

Hermione’s okay! The mandrake stuff finally got given to her, and she’s back to normal! I haven’t smiled this much in months! She gave me and Harry a massive hug each when she turned up in the great hall; me and her couldn’t quite look each-other in the eye afterwards, but I think we both got a bit overwhelmed, you know?

Turns out, this was also because Lucius Malfoy was trying to stop dad’s muggle protection law being passed; people could have died!

Confused as to why none of the teachers bothered to ask Myrtle, since she was a witness to the last time the chamber has been opened, but I guess we’ll never know. Were the teachers like this when you were here?

Anyway, got to go; I insisted that Hermione play some chess with me, since our exams have been cancelled (can you guess which Gryffindor was upset about that?).

Love,

Ron

 [3rd September 1993]

Dear Charlie,

We’re all settling back in at Hogwarts; I’m still using those quills you got me in Egypt (thanks again, by the way). Everyone’s talking about Sirius Black, and Malfoy won’t stop being smug about how he knows something we don’t (arrogant little twerp as always).

Hermione’s cat is a bloody nightmare; he’s spent every evening trying to get at Scabbers, but Hermione won’t hear a word against him! Honestly, I don’t get why she can’t just keep the cat away when I ask her to. But she’s always had this thing about being right about everything, so it’s not unsurprising. I just wish she’d stop acting like it’s normal; Hedwig’s been around for three years, and she’s never attacked Scabbers!

Having said that, the first Hogsmeade visit is something to look forward to. It’s gonna be a bit different because Harry can’t go (his aunt and uncle refused to sign his form), but me and Hermione are going to make sure we take back lots of stuff for him so he doesn’t feel left out.

I am a little nervous about going, though; me and Hermione spend loads of time together, so why would this be any different? Probably nothing. Maybe it’s just because we’re bickering more because of our pets? Yeah, that sounds about right. I’ve already got her birthday present, so hopefully she’s not too angry at me and won’t mind me giving her a present.

Let me know how the Chinese Fireball baby is doing,

Love,

Ron

 [4th January 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Hermione just can’t keep her nose out of things! She reported Harry’s firebolt to McGonagall, and now it’s been confiscated! She says it’s because it could have been sent by Sirius Black. I know that’s a possibility, but she didn’t need to go behind Harry’s back about it!

I swear, this girl is driving me nuts!

Love,

Ron

 [13th February 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Me and Hermione have made things up; she even apologised about Scabbers. She must have been really upset, because she started crying and hugged me! Is it normal to get all flustered when a girl hugs you? Cause it didn’t the same as it did when she hugged me at the end of second year.

You’ve probably heard from Hagrid about Buckbeak being executed. We’re trying to get an appeal plea sorted; it’s mostly me and Hermione doing it, since Harry’s got other stuff to worry about. It’s nice being friends with Hermione again; I hated it when we weren’t speaking. It’s still a bit awkward (we both can’t quite look each other in the eye at times), but that’s probably normal, given what’s happened.

Remember to put that salve mum made on your new scars,

Love,

Ron

 [14th July 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Hope you’re enjoying the summer so far; it’ll be great to see you again, mum’s organising the room situation, so I think you’re sharing with Bill. Can’t wait for the world cup! Do you think Ireland will win against Bulgaria? I’ve been saving my pocket money all summer for it, so I can buy some souvenirs! Are you gonna bring some stories about the dragons when you get here?

Mum’s said I can invite Harry and Hermione over, and they’ll be coming to the world cup with us! It’ll be brilliant to see them again; Harry deserves a break from those horrible people he lives with, and Hermione could do with a break from work in general (she’s already finished all her summer homework, but that’s what she’s like).

It’ll be great to have both of them here for the summer; I hope Hermione doesn’t mind sharing with Ginny, since Gin’s more of a Quidditch-head than Hermione is. Mum keeps on at me to tidy my room before Hermione arrives, but it’s not as if she’s staying in my room, is it?

I did clean up my room a bit, though. Hermione’s a bit funny about mess, and I don’t want her to think I’m a slob.

See you soon,

Love,

Ron

 [30th October 1994]

Dear Charlie,

I’m still angry at mum, dad, and Bill for keeping us in the dark about the Triwizard Tournament; half the other kids from wizarding families knew! Speaking of the Tournament, the students from the other schools have arrived. You won’t believe it but Viktor Krum’s a student at Durmstrang! He’s a bit grouchy looking, but I guess he gets sick of people treating him different all the time. I didn’t know he was eighteen; he looks way older. The Slytherins are trying to cosy up to him, but he’s knows exactly what they’re doing; I saw him telling a few of them off for being unpleasant to the muggle-born first years. So I guess he’s alright.

The students from Beauxbatons are all nice enough but one of the girls has some sort of Veela charm thing. Hermione keeps glaring at me whenever I get caught in it, but it’s hardly my fault, is it? Harry gets affected too, but does she yell at him? No, of course she doesn’t. I swear, Hermione’s been weird ever since the term started; the other week I caught her staring at my hands for no reason. She got all flustered when she saw I’d noticed, and yelled at me to concentrate on my work. I’m worried about her. Did that ever happen between you and your friends at school? Is this something that happens around our age? I know that mum said things start to change after you get into your teenage years.

Speaking of change, I hope I can get some new dress robes before I ever have to wear these ones. Do you think Bill has any old ones he can let me borrow? I don’t get why mum didn’t just remove the lace and change the colour. I was going to ask Hermione to do it, but I don’t want her to think I’m whining. I just wish I could have some decent robes like all the other boys have. I know money’s tight at the moment, but even the twins have got alright-looking robes to wear I’d feel a lot better if I wasn’t stuck wearing rubbishy clothes for once.

Apparently, the tournaments due to start tomorrow evening. Me and Harry did have a think about entering, but it’s probably too high security. Fred and George said they’re gonna enter, because they turn seventeen in April, so they won’t need to use much aging potion. Should be interesting to see whether they succeed. I just hope we get a decent Hogwarts champion; Cedric Diggory’s alright, but half the girls get giggly over him and it’s bloody annoying. Hermione says it’s because he’s a prefect, but she’s a bit funny like that. If I ever end up a prefect, I bet I wouldn’t have girls giggling and getting flustered about me.

Got to go now; Hermione said she wants to go over our Transfiguration homework in the common room.

Love,

Ron

 [25th November 1994]

Dear Charlie,

You should have told me you’d be here for the first task! I know it was secret, but it would have been nice to catch up! Glad the trip over was safe and that the dragons are all okay. That Hungarian Horntail was a nasty piece of work; Harry almost got hit by it!

Speaking of which, me and Harry are best mates again. I’m glad; it was miserable when we weren’t speaking. Funnily enough, he said he didn’t even need an apology; just told me to forget about it. Weird bloke, but it’s great to be friends with him again. Hermione got all teary and told us we were being stupid, but she’s never really understood things like this, so there you go.

Love,

Ron

 [17th December 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Glad to hear the dragons got safely back to Romania with no issues. I almost wish I was there instead; ever since this ball thing got announced, half the school’s gone mad about it. Everyone’s asking everyone to it, and I don’t get it. Why can’t we all just go as friends and have fun? But the boys keep going on about dates, so I said I best go with someone good-looking. Yes, I know it’s dumb, but how else will I get everyone to not laugh at my robes? I even asked McGonagall if I could go in my school ones, but she insisted that I use my official dress robes (although she did look sympathetic while she said it, so I guess she understood where I was coming from).

Flitwick’s doing alterations to people’s robes, but he was so swamped with requests that there isn’t any room for me to get mine changed. I swear, I can’t wait until the ball is done and I won’t have to worry about this stuff anymore.

I’d happily stay behind in Gryffindor Tower with the first, second and third years, but I can’t leave Harry in the lurch. He’s got to be there to open the ball, and it wouldn’t be fair to leave him on his own; the poor bloke isn’t good with crowds, especially since half of the school still gawks at his scar every day.

Hermione doesn’t seem to take much interest in the ball, so maybe she’s also planning on staying behind. She got angry at me when I mentioned about going with a pretty girl, which is understandable (it was a dumb thing to say). Hopefully, she’ll have forgiven me by the time Christmas swings around, and we can just go and have fun at the ball. Just as friends, obviously. Maybe if we’re having a laugh, I won’t have to think about my robes looking so awful.

Love,

Ron

  [27th December 1994]

Dear Charlie,

I swear, if I ever have to go to another ball again, it’ll be too soon! Hermione’s still angry at me about it; which makes sense, since I was a bit of an arse. But, well, she went with Krum! Seriously, he’s eighteen and she’s barely fifteen! Why didn’t any of the teachers think that was creepy? Why was I the only person who got irritated by it? Is it really so bad that I don’t want my friend being pursued by some creepy eighteen-year-old git? I know what the twins are saying about it, but it’s alright for them, isn’t it? They had decent robes and could actually ask a girl without the girl glaring at them like they’d only just realised the girl was a girl! Gits. They don’t get it.

Ginny had a nice time with Neville, at the very least. Neville’s a good bloke, and I’m glad he treated her well. Apparently, she borrowed a dress off a friend for the ball. I wish I was shorter so I could have just borrowed something off Harry; that would have at least made things a bit easier. Then I wouldn’t have already been a bad mood before we even got to the ball.

Seriously, I’m never wearing those robes again. I don’t care what mum says, I’d rather go in my normal school ones that those frilly disasters.

Me and Hermione are being more polite to each other than normal, which is probably for the best. I hate the fact that I got so angry at her, but I’ve learnt now to not act like that again. I mean, considering she got Krum, I don’t think she’ll need to worry about me acting like that again. It wasn’t as if she even said she wanted to go with me, either; how was I supposed to know? I’m not a mind-reader!

Hope your Christmas is going better than mine, and thank you for the burn-proof socks; they’ll come in handy against the Skrewts.

Love,

Ron

 [27th February 1995]

Dear Charlie,

It was nice getting some of the limelight for a while; everyone was asking me about what it was like during the second task. I even had Padma Patil hanging on to my every word about it; I even managed to apologise to her properly for being such a berk at the ball (she was my dance partner, but we didn’t do any dancing). She seemed pretty okay with it.

Fleur Delacour (you remember, the champion who used the calming charm on her dragon in the first task) is being very nice lately; I think she got the impression me and Harry helped saved her sister in the second task. She even gave me a kiss on the cheek after we were all out of the lake! It’s nice to get attention from girls for a change.

Funnily enough, Hermione get glaring at me for the rest of the day. Funny how it’s fine for her to get attention from boys (that creep Krum had her as the person he’d miss the most; they’ve only been to the Yule ball together, the pervy git!), but I can’t do so much as talk to other girls without getting the cold treatment from her. Barmy as ever, but that’s what she’s like.

I think Harry’s really happy about the tournament just having one task left; at this point, I just hope he gets through it with no injuries or anything. Poor bloke’s had another rough year, and I hope he can take it easy after this is all over.

I wonder what I’ll get for my birthday this year. You think Hermione will get me anything? She’s so irritable lately that I wouldn’t be surprised if she just gets me a card and some chocolate frogs. Given what’s happened between us lately, that sounds about as much as I can hope for.

At least we’re still friends, though. I’m not that much of an idiot that I’d stop talking to her over this. I almost lost one friend this year; I don’t want the same thing happening with Hermione.  

Love,

Ron

 [29th June 1995]

Dear Charlie,

Harry left the hospital wing a few days ago. Me and Hermione are trying to help him as best we can, but the poor bloke still’s struggling. I’m not surprised, considering what he went through.

Dumbledore’s said that things are already changing. I just hope he knows what to do. But he’s still saying that Harry needs to go back to the Dursleys this summer. I hope we can pick him up as soon as possible; Harry’s relatives are bloody horrible.

After the third task, me and Hermione stayed up in the common room. We’ve both said we’re gonna help Harry with whatever happens in future. She also hugged me before she went to bed. It was different this time. It seemed like neither of us wanted to let go.

Stay safe,

Love,

Ron

 ~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed it!

[myjjbaby]

okay so a jj request where the reader has been keeping it a secret from jj that she’s epileptic (they’re dating) and then one night when they’re at a party and jj gets into a fight and she gets really overwhelmingly stressed from trying to get him to stop that it triggers a seizure, maybe like only kie knows she’s epileptic or something?? idk i totally get it if u aren’t comfortable writing this i just love ur writing and yeah ((:

i didn’t know

author’s note - guess who’s back, back again!! here’s a request surrounding mental illness and I just want to note that I am in no way intending to romanticize epilepsy or seizures, I just think that someone could really benefit from having a story that might fit with them and including a form of comfort through writing. big thanks to @jjmaybanx for her help because she helped me figure out a way to best portray what I wanted to get across.

synopsis - requested by anon! you kept a really big secret and it all crumbles away along with your so called perfect day.

warnings - epilepsy, seizing, underage drinking, fighting, overall angst for 1.6k. if any of these topics are possibly triggering to you please don’t read and if you have any concerns including me feel free to reach out.

Today was a perfect day. The sunrise was peeking through the window of John B’s spare room when you woke up, your blue eyed boy wrapped around you. You spent the better half of the morning admiring his peaceful features, blushing when he caught your stare.

“Morning, baby,” he smothered your cheek with an open mouth kiss, giggles erupting as he wrapped you in his arms, “you liking your view.”

You hummed lightly in agreement and continued to stare lovingly at your boyfriend. He traced your face with calloused fingers, brushing along the bridge of your nose as he watched you flush. JJ pulled you into his chest and your head rested comfortably on his collarbone while he kissed your hair.

“C ‘mon lovebirds, time to catch the waves.”

JJ groaned at John B, throwing an empty beer can at the door.

“Fuck off, let me hold my girl. It’s too early, the waves probably suck anyway.”

“JJ, it’s half past noon. Let’s go,” the brunette threw a muscle tank and a red baseball cap at your boyfriend, “Kie and Pope are already in the van.”

You smiled before trying to slip out of his grip and climb off the navy sheets. JJ caught your wrist in his warm hand, pulling you back into his familiar hold.

“J, we’ve gotta get up.”

He shook his head, curls tickling the underside of your jaw. Not long after, the two of you were packed into the back of the rusty Volkswagen with your boards trapped to the top.

JJ held you in his lap, kissing your neck when you threw your head back with laughter. His hands slipped under the gray fabric top you stole from him and prodded at the bikini strings. You slapped his hand away but he just smirked and continued twirling the purple straps between his fingertips.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” John B’s voice broke through the lively chatter, “let me present to you the finest Outer Banks waves ever.”

And he wasn’t wrong, the ocean was still wild from the surge of the hurricane a few days ago and the curl of each wave crashed beautifully. The Pogues climbed out of the beat up van before unstrapping all of the surfboards, John B and JJ running ahead with loud cheers being carried by the wind. You giggled as you carried your board alongside Kie, stopping just short of the sea. Looking over at the tanned girl, you sent her a wink and a bump to her hip before gliding off after your boys.

“You left a couple waves for me?”

“Of course,” the blonde reached his hand out to squeeze yours, “always do.”

The water was cool, relaxing her muscles, and JJ smiled, watching you absorb the sunshine. You all stayed out on the waves until your fingers were pruned and your eyes couldn’t stay open from the amount of salt water splashed on you.

Drifting back to shore, JJ was quick to grab your hand and bring it up to his face for a kiss. You felt content when John B drove the group to the Boneyard, a metal keg placed between you and Pope. The first kegger of the summer to end a perfect day.

A filled red solo cup quickly found its way into your hand and the bonfire burnt brightly as everyone showed up. Your fellow resident of the Cut, the Kooks from Figure Eight, and those clueless Tourons. You noticed your boyfriend’s grip pulling you back into his chest, successfully stumbling you away from the drunk idiots who couldn’t take a hint when JJ glared at them.

“Bub, ignore them.”

“I can’t.”

You chuckled when he clenched his jaw with jealousy.

“You have no reason to worry,” he hummed, features softening when they set on you, “I’m all yours, J.”

The night seemed to carry on without a hitch until a smooth hand slipped its way over your thigh. The soft skin contrasted the familiar roughness of JJ’s touch. You slipped your body away from the stranger’s eager touch.

“Where you going, girly?”

“Away from you.”

“I think you should stay right here wi-“”

His vulgar suggestion was cut off by a ring covered fist that you could recognize anywhere. JJ pushed you behind him as he overshadowed the clueless drunk boy. You could feel the blonde’s anger coming off him in waves, hand clenching and ripping his arm away when you went to hold him back. Your boyfriend was blinded by anger and his protectiveness over you.

“Stay the fuck away from my girl, you hear that?”

“What’s your problem?”

Wrong move, dumbass. JJ’s back was tense with bottled emotions, his breathing labored as he watched the Touron stand up.

“My problem? You thinking it’s okay to grab my girlfriend or any girl like that, that’s my problem.”

Like a fuse run out, JJ lunged at the stranger as a harsh gasp escaped your throat.

“J!”

He was seeing red, too absorbed by his anger to notice your cries or fastened breathing. Kiara, however, noticed when your hand lifted to your shirt, grasping the fabric as strangled heaves pressed out of your body.

“Y/N? Y/N! Hey, hey, c ‘mon, don’t give out on me,” she watched as you stumbled into a dune, collapsing to the sand, “Y/N? You still with me?”

Kie watched as your gaze fogged over as if you were in a daze. She quickly moved the rocks and driftwood from near you and shouted for Pope or John B’s attention, the two boys rushing to your side.

“Pope, start timing. We’re about five seconds in right now.”

“Timing? That’d only happen if Y/N was having a sei- shit, okay.”

“John B, help me roll her onto her side.”

The two best friends turned you over as your arms began to tremble.

“Eleven Mississippi, twelve Mississippi…”

John B watched on helplessly before realizing JJ wasn’t by your side. Running back into the crowd and pushing through the circle formed around the fight, the brunette grabbed your boyfriend and tugged him towards you.

“Baby? Hey, hey, baby? Kiara? what’s happening?”

“She didn’t- she didn’t tell you,” Kie searched JJ’s panicked gaze for some kind of recognition.

“Tell me what? Kiara? What the fuck is happening?”

“She’s having a seizure! She’s epileptic! The fight must’ve overwhelmed her and triggered a seizure.”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know,” he mumbled to himself shuffling closer to your frozen body. JJ stared back at Kie before turning to your disoriented figure laying out of the sand. He fell to his knees beside you, grabbing your face to try and comfort you.

“JJ, don’t touch her!”

“What? Why?”

“You can’t just grab her when she’s like this. You need to cool off and wait for it to end.”

“I- I didn’t- I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”

Harsh sobs were pulled from his chest as he gripped his hair tightly. JJ had never felt so useless watching you, the girl he loved, struggling and he didn’t even know how to help you.

“W- Wh- What just, what just h- happened?”

Kie sighed when she watched you slowly come out of your stunned state. You glanced around bewildered not knowing where you were or how you got there.

“You had a seizure, Y/N. There was a fight and it just stressed you out,” she watched the panic cross your face again, “hey, it’s okay. Everyone is okay. You’re okay.”

You quickly scanned the group in front of you until your eyes landed on tear filled blue ones. You breathed in a short gasp seeing your boyfriend so torn up in front of you.

“JJ?”

He slowly inched towards you until he pulled you onto his lap like countless times before, but this time felt different.

“Could we have a minute?”

JJ glanced up at his friends before they all nodded and stepped away, clearing the infamous beach of the wandering partygoers. You didn’t dare look back up at the blonde boy, hating the pained look you knew would greet you if you did.

“I- I’m so sorry,” you fiddled with your fingers until he slowly gripped your own, pulling you deeper into his frame.

“Y/N, this isn’t something you can just keep from me.”

“I know, I know and I really am sorry. It was unfair of me to keep something like this from you. I just wanted to be normal.”

JJ nodded slightly, pressing a tender kiss to the crown of your head.

“I felt so hopeless. I didn’t know what the hell was happening and when I tried to help I just made it worse.”

“That’s my fault,” he vigorously shook his head, “yes, it is. I love you and should’ve told you.”

You sat in silence, JJ’s legs slotted between yours, his chin resting on top of your head. You leaned back and pressed your lips to his temple and the blue eyed boy returned the gesture with a soft smile. The silence was peaceful and perfect until JJ shifted to look down at you.

“Do you think I could get away with using the internet at work?”

“What? Why?”

“Hurricane knocked the towers down and I need to do some research, so I can take care of you.”

“I love you, J.”

“Love you too, baby.”

[northcarolinanative]

𝐏𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐞

Requested by anon: Hi! I have a request where John b has a younger sister and her nick name is Poguie/ Little Poguie but only John b and the pogues are allowed to call her that. So one night at a boneyard party, Rafe and topper won’t leave her alone, just being annoying and low key harassing her, and one of them call her the nickname and she punches them, like no, no, can’t call me that. And Rafe is not happy about the punch, so he goes for the grab And leads to Pope, JJ and John B getting involved. Thank ya!

A/N: I have no idea how long ago you requested this but I know it was a while ago! I’m sorry!! I hope you still enjoy it! I wanted to put a little *twist* on it because that’s what I do:) As always let me know what you think:) My requests/asks/messages are open!

Warnings: Violence/Fighting 

Being John B’s half-sister was fun for the most part. I had a built-in set of friends, the pogues. Each of them being protective over me despite the minuscule age difference, less than a year, between the two of us. Kiara was the older sister that I would never have and also my ‘mom’ friend. While it was embarrassing at first to ask her questions, the older we got the more normal it became, she helped me navigate girly things that I missed out on living in a house full of boys. JJ and Pope were like two peas in a pod, one always picking or bickering with the other, but just like John B, teased me to no end, but the moment a Kook, or hell even a pogue, tried to talk to me they made sure they knew I was off-limits. 

My fingers moved swiftly across the smooth surface of my phone screen. I felt my face flushed at the words that were being written to me, but even more so from me. I had met a boy, on my way home from work on the pier. He was cute, and so far sweet and flattering. I had not met him before because he went to the Kook Academy. My phone buzzed again, signaling that I had gotten another message from him. 

Kelce: I heard there was a Party at the boneyard tonight. Do you think I could meet up with you there? 

Me: Ehhh, we’ll see;) 

I replied back quickly, a soft smile and blush rising to my face.

“Hey poguie, what are you doing?” JJ said barreling in the door, startling me. He used his knuckles to rub across my head, sending my hair flying in every which direction. I quickly locked my phone, tucking it under my leg so that they wouldn’t see I was on it. The last thing that I needed was John B or the others finding out. They would lose their minds if they found out I was talking to a boy, much less a kook. I never quite understood what they others had against the Kooks in general, sure they had their bad seeds, but so did the cut, right? 

“What are you all smiley about?” JJ asked as he made his way through the door carrying two cases of PBR in his hands. 

“Just so happy that all of you are back!” I retorted sarcastically, watching the others file in the door behind him. “What took you so long?” I joked with them. 

“What are you talking about Poguie, we’re right on time!” John B said, shitting the door behind him. I rolled my eyes looking at the clock, signaling that they were in fact an hour later than they said they’d be. “So what time is the party tonight?” 

“Eh, We’re leaving in a few minutes I think,” Kie said, fixing her watch to look at the time. “Are you coming tonight?” She said smiling. 

I blushed at her enthusiasm and nodded my head. Pope raised his eyebrows, immediately looking to see John B’s reaction. John B was pulling beers from the fridge and into the cooler that JJ was holding. He looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “You want to come?” He questioned, leaning onto the door. I just nodded my head, giving him another expression of confusion back. “Oh, just that you, you know?” He said, moving to keep stocking the cooler. “You never wanted to go before.” He shrugged

“Awe. Our little poguie is growing up!” Pope exclaimed in a mocking tone, causing me to once again roll my eyes. 

“Well if you’re coming, maybe you should, I don’t know? Help us out?” JJ deadpanned as he struggled to hold up the heavy cooler. I laughed before moving from my spot on the couch, careful to slip my phone in my back pocket. I grabbed the other handle of the cooler watching JJ dramatically wipe sweat from his forehead. 

-- 

The party took less than an hour to reach full swing. There was a mix of people around, from Pogues to Kooks, and the few Tourons that were holding to the last bit of summer vacation. The air was still warm and tinted a warm golden yellow as the sun had barely fallen behind the horizon. I was sitting on the white folding table that the boys had set up to hand out beers from. John B was pulling the cans from the cooler and passing them to JJ and Pope, who stood at the front, handing the beverages to the lines of people. The night was still young so everyone was itching to get their drinks. Kie was setting up trash cans in hopes that people would actually use them. 

I was waving at the familiar faces that came through the line and hugging a few girls that I knew from school. I was laughing with boys as they commented on the naivety of the tourons. They were all ‘so totally drunk’ off one beer. One took a sip and sighed “This is good shit,” as if it wasn’t PBR the boys stole from the gas station, causing us all to laugh. Every boy that would move to my side and talk to me quickly wandered away, I could only assume it was due to the death stares that JJ and Pope were giving them. 

Kelce caught my eye from across the way, he was on the edge of the party, drink in hand. We smiled at one another, as he waved at me. I blushed before trying to figure out a way to get out of the situation with the boys. I looked back at Kelce to see him nodded toward the fire, motioning me to join him. I nodded before turning to the boys. 

“Hey!” I said, all of them sparing a glance at me before getting back to their job, the line slowly dying down. “I’m gonna go find Kie, haven’t seen her in a bit?” I questioned. They all just nodded their heads. I smiled, suddenly feeling the nervousness in my stomach build and a small shake come to my hands. I slid myself off the small table and into the soft sand below me, I made my way through the crowd of bodies, pushing my way through. That was why I stayed away from the larger pogues parties, all the people. I finally made it through to the more open area that was around the orange fire. I locked eyes with Kelce a few feet away, he was illuminated with the same firelight that was heavy in the air. I could not hide the smile that made its way to my face. Our steps finally met in the middle and He wrapped his arms around my middle, picking me up and spinning me. I giggled at the action but hugged him back before he set me down. 

“You look really pretty tonight Y/N” He smiled at me. I felt my cheeks heat up as I took in his appearance as well. He was dressed in normal casual wear for him. He had on a teal polo that complemented his tones body nicely, dark khaki shorts, and a pair of Sperry’s. I took in his figure and looked back at his cheeky smile, realizing he totally caught me checking him out too. 

“You look pretty good too,” I said, suddenly feeling myself get shy. Kelce laughed at my new awkward tone, easing the mood a little bit. He took my hand softly, and lead me to a log on the far side of the fire. I looked over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of the pogues, still distracted, before following Kelce. I felt the butterflies in my stomach start again with the way that he held my hand closer to him and kept it as we sat down. The warmth from the fire hiding the blush on my cheeks. Kelce’s smile made me want to melt, and not to mention he looked so good, the way that the flickering light was dancing across his chiseled features. We fell into a light, casual conversation naturally. Texting had helped us to get to know one another on the surface level, but it was nice to look at him while talking. The night grew darker and the fire was slowly dying since no one added anything but a few beer cases to it and we continued to talk. 

“Oh Kelce man, don’t tell me this is the girl you were telling us about?” I heard a voice come from behind me. I looked up at Kelce, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but the redness that covered my face was proof of my embarrassment. 

“Dude! Why would you say it like that?” Kelce said, moving closer and pulling me into his side, wrapping his arm protectively around my shoulders. I was able to turn and see who was speaking. I looked up to be met with none other than the Kook royalty, Rafe Cameron and Topper Thornton. “But yes. This is Y/N” He said while a smile before looking at me. 

“You were talking about me?” I giggled, the blush on my face staying there like a stain. Kelce just nodded, he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Rafe. 

“You mean Poguie Trash?” Rafe said, mocking a baby voice when he called me by the nickname. I felt my hands clench into fists. “Not even good enough to be a Pogue, Y/N.” Rafe’s voice degrading. It was only making my anger continue to rise. “Not even you’re brother lets you in his group. What makes you think you’re good enough for a kook like Kelce? Poguie” Rafe taunted. 

I’d had enough. As soon as I the nickname fell from Rafe’s lips, I was up on my feet, closing the short distance that was between us. Rafe’s tall figure stood over me, but heald no fear against me. I didn’t realize what I was doing before I had slung my right fist into the left side of his face. Obviously taken aback by the blow, Rafe stutter-stepped backward. 

My grew wide, not expecting myself to really do it. Rafe brought his hand up to his face, pulling away and looking at the blood on his hand. A small crowd had gathered around us. “You fucking Pogue,” he spat at me, lunging forward. Kelce was quick to pull me into his chest and out of Rafe’s line of fire. That’s when I was able to see the three taller figures that had approached from behind me. 

John B was leading the pack, making his fist colliding with Rafe’s face. JJ and Pope stood back, holding Topper out of the fight. “You don’t get to call her that” John B managed to get out between punches.”You don’t get to say those things to her!” He said, his fist meeting the boys face over and over again. I locked eyes with JJ, seeing the same worried expression on his face. I moved towards John B, JJ moving from the other side, as we tried to get him away from the boy underneath him. 

“John B come on!” JJ yelled as he pushed him toward me. 

“He’s had enough dude!” I called, pulling him up by the shoulders, and passed him to Pope who quickly pulled him away from the beach. I looked around for Kelce, to say something. I caught his eye and walked the short distance between us. 

I stood in front of Kelce who had his hands dug in the pockets of his khakis, the air heavy between the two of us. I knew that we didn’t have much time before the pogues pulled me away. “Are you okay?” Kelce asked I watched as his eyes searched over my face and body. “Did Rafe hurt you?” He breathed out, closing his eyes and shaking his head with his last statement. 

“Not physically no,” I said, bluntly. “I guess the others were right tho.” Kelce knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. “You know? A kook and Pogue, we can’t be friends Kelce” I said with an awkward laugh. “It’ll be too complicated.” 

Kelce stared at me with wide eyes. I heard the others calling my name and JJ ran up to my side. “We said come on Poguie!” I could feel the frustration radiating off of him as he slung an arm around me, pulling me away from Kelce. 

“Y/N! Wait-” Kelce started, but it was already too late. JJ and I had already started our trek back to the chateau. 

A long and uncomfortable silence filled the walk home. The waves from the beach were slowly replaced by the crunch of gravel until we got to the front of the chateau. 

“What the hell were you doing with the Kooks to begin with Y/N?” John B said. I was stunned. He never used my real name unless he was really mad. I blinked a few times trying to register his tone. 

“I’m sorry?” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You‘re the one who almost beat Rafe within an inch of his life! I had it covered!” I said, my voice rising with every word. 

“Me?” John B said, his voice breathy. “Me?” He repeated, raising his voice. “What was all that about with Kelce huh?” He questioned. Pope and Kie took it as their cue to give us some privacy. John B pointed at JJ. “Why did he have to get you? Huh?” He asked his voice condescending. 

I felt tears prick in my eyes. “It was nothing okay!” I said, looking between the two boys. “You were right, they’re kooks, and it would never work!” I moved through the two of them making my way into my bedroom before slamming the door behind me. I let my back slide down the door. 

I felt like I had been crying for hours when a knock came to my door. I slowly moved to get out of the way. I took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. I opened it just a little to see JJ standing outside of it with a large grin on his face. 

“Can I come in?” He asked, his voice much softer than previously that night. I just nodded and opened the door wider. As he walked in I took it as an opportunity to look out over the empty living room. JJ sat on the edge of my bed, patting the spot beside him. 

I listened, moving to sit beside him, pulling my knees to my chest and looking at him. “I brought you some water.” He extended his arm with a cold bottle of water. “Kie said that you need to rehydrate or something.” He said with a short laugh. I took it taking a few sips, the silence over us become more awkward. 

“I’m sorry about John B. I know we’re protective over you, but we just want what’s best for you. And if you think that’s Kelce, then.” JJ paused taking a deep breath. “Then we’ll lay off.” He said with a soft smile. 

I smiled back at him. “Thanks, but I kinda blew it already.” I laughed awkwardly at my own mistakes. JJ looked at me, confusion clear on his face. “I told him it wouldn’t work, that it would be ‘too complicated’” I emphasized with air quotes. 

“Well, he’s stupid if that keeps him away,” JJ said. He pulled me into a side hug before moving to the door. 

“Hey JJ” I spoke up, causing him to turn in the doorway to face me. “Really, thanks. It means a lot to know you have my back.”I smiled at him. 

“Anything for you, Pougie.” 

Masterlist

Taglist: Just @kikifromtheblock​ rn (bc she asked to be tagged for everything:))

[youralternantpersonality]

The Altar

Seth x reader: The Altar

WARNING: Sad af.

***

August of 1998—Pre-K

“HEY! Leave him alone!” Y/n pushes Leo, another kid in your grade, off the new kid at school.

“Y/n! What have I said about pushing other students?” Ms. Carmichael says, going up to Y/n.

“But he was hitting him! And no one was stopping it!” You yelled, stating facts to the wretched woman. She shakes her head and reaches to grab the new kid on the ground.

“Are you okay Seth?” The teacher helps the kid up. He nods his head and looks at you with a smile. “Well then, Seth, Y/n, Leo, follow me. The principal waits for you.” We follow the she-beast and you wait for your punishment. As you’re sitting outside waiting for Leo to get done with his lame of excuse, you sneak a conversation with the kid named Seth.

“Hey, Seth, right?” he looks at you with wide eyes and nods his head. “You okay? Fat butt in there is mean to everyone and tends to hurt the smaller kids.” He smiled at the name.

“I’m okay. Thank you…”

“Y/n, Y/n Y/L/n. at your service sir.” I said with a smile with a missing tooth. He smiles back.

“Woah, you already lost a tooth?”

“I lost three. See!” Y/n proceeds to show him your mouth and all your missing teeth.

“Woah…I’ve only lost two. And they’re a pain in the” looks around, “butt.” They both laugh at the word butt.

“Wanna be my best friend?” Y/n ask randomly.

“SURE!” he says with excitement.

“Ms. Y/L/N, Mr. Clearwater! No talking!” Said the receptionist.

“Sorry.” They said in unison, looking at each other trying to not laugh.

October of 2007—7th grade; Halloween

“Oh, come on Seth! Tell me! Please…I’ll be your best friend!” Seth stops, looks at me with a grin and a side-eye.

“Y/n, we’re already best friends. What!?” he laughs, bumping shoulders with you.

“Okay, yes. But come on. Just tell me!”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“…”

“Vampire.” I look at him with a blank face. Then start laughing.

“Ugh, this is why I didn’t want to tell you.” He starts walking away.

“No, sorry. I wasn’t laughing at that. I was laughing at the fact that we were almost going as the same thing dum-dum.” He stops and smiles.

“Really?” he smiles.

“Yes. I was debating as a witch or a vampire. So, since you’re the vampire, I’ll be a witch.” You smile next to him. You were low-key laughing at it, but seeing as it is Seth, and anytime he looks anything but happy always hurts you, you could never laugh at him for certain things. He wraps his arm around your shoulder and you guys walk home to get ready.

“Bet I can beat you to my house.” He says pulling you down and taking off.

“NO FAIR!” you state chasing after him.

Summer of 2010—Before 10th-grade year.

Nothing. No call, no text, not even visitation. I had gone over to the Clearwater’s house yesterday, only to be turned away by Harry.

“Sorry Y/n, Seth still isn’t well.” Sue standing behind him with a sad look on her face.

“Can you at least tell him I stopped by, and to call me? I’m worried about him.” You say with tears in your eyes. Desperate to hear from your best friend and crush. You had developed hard feelings for the small raven head boy. He was everything to you always but was more before 8th-grade year. You didn’t know or understand what was happening, but you knew your feelings for Seth were nothing but genuine strong feelings.

The funny thing was you knew he felt it back. Those times where you two would get lost in each other’s eyes, the times where a kiss was almost shared but rudely interrupted by the arguments of Leah and Sue over trivial things. The slight touches and spark that flew between the two. Not even a blind person could miss the way you two responded to each other. Hell, your moms would secretly plan your wedding to one another. They even created a budget for the both of you for damn sakes!

But at that moment, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that boy you’ve always loved was okay. And if you could get one word from him, everything would be fine. You saw Leah coming to the front door about to head off somewhere. She stops and looks at you with a defeated look on her face.

“Y/n/n. I was just heading out. Let me walk you home.” You knew, since childhood, not to question the girl who was, basically, your older sister. She always protected you and, unknowing to her, you idolized her. Her strong will and strength you gained came from watching Leah. You looked down and nodded your head and followed her. At your porch step, she finally said something that broke you to pieces.

“You and Seth are done. I’m sorry Y/n, but…Seth…he’s not the Seth you know. I’m sorry.” She says, running off somewhere. Your eyes followed her until she became blurry with tears. You started to hyperventilate and didn’t want to be home. So, you dropped your bag and ran. You didn’t know where you just ran in the opposite direction and didn’t stop until you were on the edge of the forest. You recall Harry telling you to never step into the forest after a bunch of people from Forks have gone missing. And abiding by his rules, you don’t. You find a spot near the tree line and let it out. You stay there for a while and let all the tears fall as the warm summer rain hits your skin.

May of 2012—Senior year; Graduation day.

After that faithful day where you cried near the forest, you vowed to try to get Seth to talk to you. You were determined to have him to say something, anything, about what the hell was going on. But all you got was the cold shoulder, a growl, or his friends telling you to back off. He wouldn’t even look at you. You became bitter and he became a thing of the past. Your feelings for him came to a halt as you lost touch with the boy you’ve always loved.

It finalized in the middle of the first semester that year. You decided to wait sometime after Harry’s death to return everything. Even at the funeral, he avoided you. It was then, your feelings harden, and everyone could see it. So, it was no shock to Sue when you came by to return his things in exchange for yours. Since he wasn’t home, you took that chance to do so and left without saying a word, a note, or anything. Plus, you doubt he would’ve noticed.

But he did. When he returned home that evening, he instantly knew you were in his room. He could not only feel it, but he smelt your fragrance, he smelt you. He noticed the trinkets, sweaters, and brush all gone. Some clothes you kept in the drawers, gone. Everything was gone. He then saw the box you left on his bed. He lifts the top only to discover everything he’d ever given you. A ring with a wolf on it that you only took off when you washed the dishes, took a shower, or was asleep. His sweaters and shirts he’d leave behind if he slept over. Hair ties you both shared; you guys had to color coordinate occasionally, he had red and you had purple.

On the floor, he noticed a bag of his shoes and clothes that he doubt he could fit any more. He looked at the stuff you returned and just stood there with his eyes closed and let the tears he had been holding in go. He hated everything that he was and everything that had happened. He hated Sam and his gag rule. He hated how because of this, his father died; he never blamed Leah, he blamed his genes. But most of all, he hated how he lost the love of his life, the woman he always saw himself with, who he wanted to marry, to grow old with. He hated how he lost Y/n. He was afraid to look; if she wasn’t his imprint, it would kill him. So, Seth just watched her from afar. He still looked after her when she didn’t notice. But he couldn’t risk it, even when his gut and friends told him to.

He felt two sets of arms wrap around him. Leah and Sue held onto him as he cried all of what he had been holding in. Memories of them since they were kids, those little moments of the almost that they had with one another. The time in 8th grade where he was ready to tell her that he loved her but chickened out when Kyle Graden asked her to the Spring dance.

“She’s gone.” Had been his final words before he broke down and let the pain ooze from him.

December of 2022—Y/n Wedding

“You’re going Seth, and that’s final,” Sue told her youngest cub as he begrudgingly got ready to go to the one celebration he wishes he could run away from. Y/n wedding. When they got the invitation, Seth pulled a Jacob and hightailed out of La Push. It had taken a month or so for him to get back, and when he did, he wasn’t him. He knew he had no right to stop it, he knew he had no say in anything. But it killed him finally having this day to come. A day he knew would come eventually. Her wedding day.

“Come on man. We know it hurts, but you guys haven’t seen each other in, what, 10 years. She’s probably changed! You may realize that she was just a crush and nothing more.” Paul says, attempting to be helpful. Seth cracks a noticeably fake smile and just gets up to go to the ceremony that is being held at the nearby chapel.

Once there, they guys situate in the back and carry on a conversation while Seth looks around the place. He laughed to himself, if he remembered correctly, which he did, he knew this wasn’t Y/n idea of a wedding. It was Christmas themed, with sparkles and fake snow everywhere. You hated the idea of holiday-themed anything (especially Christmas). The overrated holiday, along with Valentine’s Day, bothered you. So seeing this Winter Wonder Land shit, made him realize, this wasn’t you. At all.

“Yeah, Y/n/n did not plan this wedding,” Leah said next to Seth. Only validating what was Seth’s inner monologue. You then herd the music start and the bridesmaid and groomsman walk next to one another towards the front of the church. The groom waiting up there for Y/n; Seth loathed him. A hand was placed on his shoulder by Sam, who made him realize that this isn’t the time nor place. Seth continues to watch the scenery as the flower girls throwing sparkles and peddles on the ground. Leah gagging at the girly-like shit they both knew you hated. Then, the music tempo changed, and the pastor motioned us to rise.

Y/n walked next to her dad down the aisle and from what Seth could see, you were a sight to stare at. Pictures were being taken and smiles were being drawn your way as you continue to the piece of shit you were to marry.

“Yeah, she really had no control. She always hated cake topper dresses.” Everyone nodded at that. You may not have known or met pack, but from what they could tell from the memories Seth and Leah had and when they watched you from afar, they knew you hated the bullshit of the wedding you were having.

The wedding continued, vowels where said, and a kiss was shared. But that’s not what broke Seth, no, out of everything, it's not what killed him. When you turned after being pronounced as Mrs. Forayed, somehow, by the universe screaming, Seth was hit with the realization of his mistake. Air left his body as he fell dead weight to the seat beneath him. The second your eyes locked, everything slowed down, time stopped, even your heart skipped a beat. There was no one in that room except you two and the shadow of regret clouding over him and the love breaking through your heart for the boy you love.

“Seth…Are you-” Jacob said.

“It was her…” Everyone looked at one another, then at you. Your eyes didn’t leave that spot and you felt something stir within you. The arm wrapped around your waist pulled you back to reality as you faked a smile at your husband. Feeling bad that it is not him you want but knowing that you can’t turn back.

Seth left in a hurry, leaving everyone without a second thought. While in the car on her way to the reception, a howl in the distance could be heard.

If only he looked at her once, it would have been them at the altar.

[dana-sculy]

Vive Ut Vivas - Chapter Two

→ Chapter One

It’s been 84 years since I wrote the first chapter of this story, I know, sorry it took me so long to continue to write it, hope you all enjoy! To read it in AO3 come here :)

tagging @today-in-fic

In this chapter, different from the first one, we'll see the story under Scully's perceptive. It's also a way to better explore her emotions and inner feelings of the situation. Plus, since in season 11 we came to learn more about Skinner's past and how he also had to deal with trauma, I decided to use that background in the conversations between him and Scully.

Prologue

I remember a time when I was only 5 years old. It was an ordinary day of summer, and mom had decided to take her children for a picnic in the park not far away from our house. She had little pots of everything with too much sugar and more packaging than the space-shuttle. Dad had been away on the sea for a long period of time, and even under the naïve perceptions of myself as a kid, it was possible to see how much she missed him. I don’t know if the picnic was an attempt of cheering the mood more for herself or for us. I should’ve been worried, but instead I just gave her my best smile and pulled out the fresh baked baguettes with brie and cranberry.

The air was warm that day, the beams of sunlight glowed on my skin. Melissa liked to sit close to the flowers and inspect them, under the freshly cut green grass. Charlie and Bill would start fighting with each other any time soon; it was sort of their motto. And that was my cue to go get and adventure by myself.

Looking back today, I wonder how could I and Melissa get along so well together. We were opposites in everything: she was the model, girly girl, who loved dresses, flowers, dolls and the piano lessons mom made sure we attended to. I was never that way. I loved dogs, sports and comfortable pants. I would only come inside home when mom called me with that tone of threat, which is the reason to my abundancy of freckles, due to hours and hours under the sun, climbing trees, running and playing around.

I was the tough child, I guess. Mel was the soft, popular one. That hasn’t changed much now that we’re adults. I still don’t go very well with softness; I keep it under tons of labored layers, deep inside.

This was mainly the reason I feared so badly to come here and stay with my sister. She has always had this thing of hers that somehow goes straight into your heart and sees everything. I’m a private, reserved person, and I like keeping my feelings only to myself. But that never really worked with Mel. Let’s say she would be very good at interrogations.

---

After what felt like an eternity, my tears, which eventually turned into little sobs, finally went away. At some point, Melissa’s tightened her hold on me; there wasn’t much else she could do about the whole situation for now. I ran my fingers through her knuckles, and she released me slowly.

“I guess I’ll be going, Mel.” – I feel terrible for leaving her after such an intimate moment, and especially because I know she’ll have a lot of other questions for me now.

“Work stuff you said, right?” – She sounds discouraged, but not mad, at the very least.

“Yes. Skinner had called me in the morning and he’s expecting me at the Bureau. So… I’d better be on my way.” – I rise from the couch and start to collect my things, stuffing them in my purse. It feels weird, not having my badge with me.

I say goodbye to my sister without turning to look back at her. If I did that, she would find her way into convincing me to stay. Even so, I can still feel her eyes burning on me, absorbing each detail, each movement I do. I close the door quietly and follow my way down the stairs of her building.

---

FBI headquarters  - 3:00 p.m.

There is a feeling: it starts when you enter a place you’ve already been a thousand times before, and yet, when you look around, you feel like it’s not the same, even though nothing’s really changed. You try desperately to find out what is different, but the only thing you find is a bitter taste in the back of your mouth, a feeling of intrusion, as if you were the wrong peace of a puzzle, trying to fit in.

I enter through the front door, the big cement columns threatening to smash my tiny figure as I pass them to go through the metal detector machine.

As the elevator doors open, I feel a sense of relief as I notice it’s empty. I am aware that my abduction has made me quite a popular person in the bureau, as if being part of the X Files division hadn’t already granted me that. Mulder talked with me about how a few people, whose existence he’s never known before, had stopped him at the corridor to ask if Mrs. Spooky had been taken by his fellow aliens, or simply to know what really happened to me.

Being a woman in a field that is predominantly occupied by men has taught me that the standards are never equal when it comes to gender difference. I had to work harder than most of my male colleagues at Quantico to stand out, and now as an agent, I feel more than grateful to be Mulder’s partner, because, unlike the others, he treats me like an equal, recognizing my work as an agent without making me feel less capable due to being a woman, and protecting me when it’s needed without making me feel like I couldn’t handle myself.

The problem in that is that it often makes me forget how mean the rest of the bureau can be. I realize I wasn’t that lucky when the elevator doors open again, now in Skinner’s office floor, and I see a very crowded hall ready to swallow me up.

The loud noise of my high heels coming in contact with the floor fill my ears and I feel my body threatening to throw up all the remnants of the cheap lunch I had back at the hospital. I walk silently, looking straight away and trying my best to avoid the curious eyes that follow me. I hear whispers too, but my ears don’t register any words being said. My mind is way too busy fighting to keep me standing and moving forward. Thank God Skinner’s office is not so far from the elevator itself, and I get there quickly enough.

Arlene’s attention is instantly drawn to the creaking door as I open it, increasing considerably as she recognizes my singular figure entering the precinct. She tries her best to be discreet, though. She even gives me a little smile, embarrassed with the whole situation.

“Agent Scully, you can go inside. Mr. Skinner is already waiting for you.” – with that, she returns to typing in her computer.

Skinner is indeed expecting me as I walk to a chair in his conference table. Different from the others, he doesn’t show any sign of curiosity or pity. I feel immensely thankful for that, so I give him a smile. I’m well aware that the evaluation is merely standard procedure, not to mention that it’s just me and Skinner there, but, still, the knot in my stomach doesn’t subside a bit. I guess after all that’s happened, my mind had gotten a little susceptible to Mulder’s paranoia of breaking The X-Files division, and shutting our careers down along with that. Let’s not think about that right now, Dana. I turn the focus of my mind on taking long, deep breaths.

“Agent, Scully, it’s a relief to see you well.” – Skinner is sincere in his words, as he looks straight into my eyes to show me he means it. – “I hope you understand the need of this procedure. You were under a highly stressful situation and that requires a bureau evaluation, to make sure you’re ready to go back to field”.

“Thank you, Sir, I understand. I just want to go back to work as soon as I can.” – And forget this nightmare, I think to myself. For a moment, I wish Mulder could be here. His crack jokes and sassy faces would certainly help lighten the mood.

I remember Mulder with that thought, how he was worried with me coming back so soon, how he couldn’t help himself in hiding his desire to have my company back, despite that. My memory traces the lines of our office: the dusty shells of stuff Mulder makes sure to keep there, his table, his geek poster I came to like with time, the silly green alien key chain he bought me last summer, while lecturing me about how aliens are actually grey. It gives my heart some comfort to remember something so familiar to me.

“Good to hear that, agent. So, let’s begin, shall we?”

Thereby, Skinner starts to present me a series of routine questions, then about standard FBI procedure, and, finally, questions with, I suppose, a more psychological approach. Turns out it’s not that bad, after all. I feel relieved.

After I give my last answer, he pauses, closing his eyes for a bit. He uses the tips of his long fingers to massage his temples, and then takes a deep breath.

“If you allow me, Dana, I’d like to talk to you, off the record.”

I realize I won’t escape personal interrogations today, so I give him a week nod.

“Listen… Your test shows no reason to keep you away from work. That said, I’m letting you know you can return to work any time.”

“I see a ‘but’ coming” – I attempt to make a joke, but he doesn’t alter his serious face.

“Well, yes, indeed. As your boss, I’ll tag along with the evaluation, but as your friend, I’d like to advise you to go home, Dana. You’ll continue to be paid normally even if you take some more time off, and you really should do that. Go be with your family, go rest and give your body and soul time to heal. Trust me, I know the feeling. Your strength is increasing and your body seems better, so it feels like you’re ready to go back to action, but these wounds, Dana, they’re bigger than they look. They can threaten to unsettle your spirit in the most inconvenient of times, and I wouldn’t forgive myself if that caused another risk to your life, or to agent Mulder.”

He was probably right; I knew it in my heart. But how could I tell him that taking time was consuming me, that it was making me mourn over and over again all the things I lost during my abduction? I could no longer rest unless I was under the effect of my sleeping pills, or drowsy due to my strong medication, because when their effect passed away, all I could see in my mind was the same nightmare over and over again. I must've let out something, because when I turned my eyes back to Skinner’s, he had a bigger frown on his face.

“Don’t fight me on this, Dana. You’re the bravest agent I know, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need help.” – He waited for a response, so I opened my mouth in an attempt of an answer.

“Sir, I appreciate your concern, but I really need to work.” – I sigh – “I need something to focus my mind on. I’ll be careful, plus, Mulder will be there to help me.” – I try to give him my best sad-puppy face. It seems to work.

“That’s not the answer I hoped for.” – Now it’s his turn to sigh. – “But I know you well enough to understand that trying to convince you otherwise won’t make any difference.”

“Thank you for understanding that, Sir.” – As I rise from my seat, he speaks once again.

“Agent, as you’re released to come back to work, I want you to be aware that, due to the circumstances of your case, you’ll have to go through periodic psychological counseling. That is not negotiable, agent Scully, but don’t worry, everything you say during session will remain private, these routine sessions are just to make sure you recover from your experience.”

I nod to him and find my way to the door, but he calls my name when I’m about to leave the room.

“Just one more thing, Dana.” – I turn to him. – “As you return, if you feel like you can’t stand a situation, anytime, my offer stands. Promise me you’ll accept help from the ones closer to you.”

From all the times Mulder and I had to count on Skinner’s assistance, I’ve learned to trust him and to believe in the fact that he really cares for us both, but now, from the way he says this words and the look on his face, I feel like this is more than just concern for me. It feels personal, and I’m inclined to conclude that he’s had his amount of trauma too.

“I promise.” – I tell him and leave, there’s a basement I have to go to.

[glazslippers]

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Pairing: Stanley Uris x OC (female) Warnings: cursing

Summary: Quinn had spent her whole life protecting other women from the dangers of men. When she met Stanley, she thought he was just like every other boy she had come across, sex craved and egotistical. Although one of those was correct, that didn’t stop the feelings she felt towards him form.

A/N: this is my first fanfic i’ve posted on here and i honestly feel like a mom on snapchat. if you like it please let me know and i might continue writing things like these in the future! (i’m really sorry if this sucks)

Even though Quinn Macey had moved to Derry less than three months ago, that didn't stop her from making tons of friends. They loved her outgoing and sarcastic personality and the fact that she didn't take shit from anyone. She wouldn't constantly stick up for them at school and in town if there was a guy trying desperately to get into their pants. She was often nicknamed spitfire or hot head or a string of other names, drawing inspiration from her short temper and red hair.

It was no secret that in the three short months she'd lived in Derry, she gained a string of female friends partly because she refused to talk to any of the boys at school or on town. It was her own personal grudge that she held against every living male. They didn't cause anything but trouble in her opinion and the only thing on their mind was sex.

Because of her refusal of boys, many of them and even a few girls had coined her as lesbian, not that she minded. She dressed girly enough, but when she wanted to she could get down and dirty, playing a variety of sports. In her old town, she played on a softball team that won a few state-wide games. She had also dabbled in football and soccer. Though soccer wasn't her favorite, she played it anyway.

When she moved to Derry, she had to quit her team and say goodbye to her friends, which she probably won't hear of again. Starting at the end of the school year might have been hard for anyone else opposite of Quinn. She decided to start out nice, warming up to everyone but when a few guys tried hitting on her, she quickly put her in their place and made it clear she wasn't interested. They had bugged her over and over. If it was just some one time thing she might have looked passed it but since they kept on pestering her, she had to take matters into her own hands.

The last day of school was nearing an end and Quinn found herself eyeing the clock. Her reasoning behind staring at the gadget was nothing more than "maybe if I stare hard enough it'll tick faster." It obviously didn't get the memo, and continued ticking at its agonizingly slow pace.

Maybe it was the sun shining from outside through the classroom window onto her skin, or the fact that she couldn't wait to get out of the retched classroom and was bouncing her leg up and down so much that she had broken out into a small sweat but one thing was certain: today had to be the hottest day of the year.

Quinn thought of the regret she had for wearing jeans and had her hair down while she fanned herself off with her right hand. She had already tied her shirt up as high as the school would allow but it didn't help because of the broken AC system in the class she was in. She looked outside, seeing the seniors leave school early, being dismissed by the teachers because they were upperclassmen and did the calculations in her head. If the seniors already walked out, they must have been released by the teachers, like everyday, five minutes before school let out. Quinn started counting down from 300 in her head.

297, 296, 295.

She couldn't focus on whatever the teacher was saying. The small heat stroke she was having didn't help with focusing either.

230, 229, 228.

She leaned her head back, fanning her neck and wrists. Her once ice filled water bottle became a lake of boiling lava in her metal cup.

134, 133, 132.

Quinn wondered if she had gotten to the halfway mark or already passed it while she was counting. She didn't think she could take one more minute of being without air. Black spots clouded her vision and she lied her head against the window.

97, 96, 95.

She was getting so close. Less than a hundred seconds to go until she could escape the body heat filled room and into the hot summer air. At least she would feel something other than hot.

Quinn was two seconds away from ripping her shirt off and using it as a noose when the bell rang. She sprung up as fast as she could and bolted out of the door. One of her friends, Savannah, walked by her and Quinn grabbed her arm.

"I'm dying," she said in between pants.

Savannah raised an eyebrow at the dramatic girl in front of her. "You good?"

"Do I look good?" Quinn retorted. "I am the definition of lava. If you look it up in the dictionary you'll see a picture of me melting."

"I take it you're hot?"

"How are you not? It's literally two hundred degrees out!"

Savannah rolled her eyes and closed her locker. Ah head just cleaned everything out and placed it all into her book bag. With an amused smile, she looked down at Quinn who had her head against the tall blue lockers. "Wanna go swimming?"

The words sparked energy into Quinn's body. Suddenly, she didn't realize that she had drops of sweat rolling down her face or the bottom of her hair had stuck to her neck. All she cared about was the cool release of hitting the cool body of water and cooling off.

At the mention of swimming, Savannah watched Quinn's eyes widen and laughed. "I'm guessing that's a yes?"

"That's a hell yes!"

Quinn and Savannah hopped out of Savannah's car and Quinn had never undressed herself so fast in her entire life. She stripped down to her underwear and immediately ran and jumped off the cliff that towered over the river. Savannah looked over the edge, worried when her friend didn't pop back up but let out a sigh of relief when Quinn's head poked its familiar red hair out of the water.

"Come in it feels so nice!" She yelled up at the brunette looking over the rocks.

"I don't know, Q. It's pretty high up."

"Just jump! It'll be over in an instant!"

Savannah shook her head and backed away from the edge. "I can't do it."

Quinn rolled her eyes and swam to land. She crawled out of the water and hiked back up to where Savannah was standing. Her wet body weighed her down but the second she rang her hair out it felt as if she lost five pounds.

"Here," Quinn grabbed Savannah's hand. "I'll jump with you."

"Quinn," the brunette whined.

"Don't whine, you baby. It's just a few feet."

"A few feet?" Savannah yelled with wide eyes. "Girl, that is at least three hundred feet."

"Maybe, but once you jump you'll realize it's not that high at all."

"Yeah, but I'm not jumping."

Quinn groaned. "Sav, I'm gonna day this in the nicest way possible: stop being such a pussy and jump."

Savannah frowned. "That was you being nice?"

Quinn shrugged and cornered Savannah where she was back to the edge. "You're either gonna hump or I'm gonna push you. You're choice."

"Quinn," Savannah warned. "You better back up." The ginger smirked and an evil glint shone across her eyes.

If it weren't for a group of teenage boys pulling up on their bikes behind them, Savannah would've been done for. The girls' head snapped around to see who had joined them. There were four boys, obviously outnumbering them and probably had the same idea they had after school let out. They threw their bikes to the ground and some removed their shoes while the other removed their shirts, obviously not noticing the two girls half naked in front of them.

Stanley turned his head to the direction of the cliff, sprinting over to it but stopped when he saw the girls. "Um, what're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Quinn said with a little more attitude than she meant.

"Well, obviously we're gonna swim. So, why don't you too head home and play with some Barbies or whatever."

Quinn scoffed and Savannah sighed, knowing what her friend would do in this situated. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Stanley rolled his eyes. "Get lost."

"I'm sorry, who was here first?"

By now, the rest of the boys came over to their friend, backing him up against the girls or one girl in particular. "We come here every summer so it's our hangout," Richie said.

"Oh, sorry. Well just be on our way then."

Stanley crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows when she didn't move.

"What, you thought I was serious?" Quinn bitterly laugh. "I knew boys were dumb, but I didn't think they were that dumb."

"W-We're not d-dumb!" Bill replied.

"Well?" Stanley said.

"Well what?"

"Leave already!"

Quinn put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "No. We were clearly here first. Doesn't matter if you guys come here every summer or not."

"You must be new around here cause this is our space," Richie spike.

"And so what if I am? I don't see your name on this cliff."

Stanley glared at the girl in front of him. "Who do you think you are?"

"Quinn Macey." She smiled almost taunting him to keep bugging her, which he gladly did.

"Well, Quinn Macey, why don't you and your friend head home before you get yourself jumping off this cliff."

Quinn grabbed Savannah's hand protectively. "Her name is Savannah and I've already jumped it. But you pretty boys are probably too chicken to jump aren't you?"

Stanley scoffed and walked forward, making the friends behind him walk forward too. "You think we can't jump it?"

"Nah I don't think that's it. Maybe it's the fact that you're just threatened by two girls who rightfully deserve to stay at your precious little river."

Stanley laughed. "You think we're threatened by you? A spoiled brat that can't stand not getting what she wants?"

"You little-" Before Quinn could get close to Stanley, Savannah held her back by her arms. Quinn obviously struggled against Savannah's grip but the brunette wasn't looking for a fight, she just wanted to swim.

"Stan, maybe we could just share it," Eddie whispered to the curly headed boy in front of him. He also wasn't looking for a fight and wanted to remain peaceful, knowing Stan was too stubborn to give up and Quinn probably was the same.

"Share? Ed, have you gone crazy? Why would we share the river with some random girls?"

"Well, I don't really wanna fight over it and it seems like the best option. We both get what we want," Eddie shrugged.

"I-I'm fine w-with sharing," said Bill.

"Not you too," Stan sighed and looked at Richie. "Rich, tell them sharing's not an option."

Richie looked away from Stanley, kickoff the dirt underneath him. "I mean, all I want to do is swim. I guess it wouldn't matter if there are chicks in the water or not."

Stanley groaned. "Fine."

"So you guys are leaving?" Quinn asked, crossing her arms.

"No, we're gonna share," Eddie explained. "That way we both can swim."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "No way. There's no way-"

Savannah cut Quinn off. "We'll take it!" At the ginger's gaze she shrugged. "What? I want to swim."

"Good." With that the boys finished taking off their clothes, leaving them in only underwear.

"So, are we swimming with strangers or..." Savannah trailed off.

"That's Bill, Eddie, and Stanley," Richie introduced, "and I'm Richie."

"Savannah and Quinn," the brunette formally introduced.

Stanley and Quinn kept glaring at each other during the introductions as if the first person to look away would lose their little mind game between just the two of them. During this time, Eddie, Bill, and Richie had already jumped from the cliff. Quinn obviously had no intention of moving her gaze until Savannah grabbed her arm. She cursed herself when her head turned to meet Savannah's gaze. Stanley held a satisfying smirk on his face because he had won their staring contest.

"Q, I'm just gonna take the long way down."

Quinn frowned. "No jumping?"

"You know I'm terrified of heights."

"Fine. I'll be down in a minute."

Savannah walked away leaving Quinn alone with Stanley. Stan walked up next to her and got into position for a running start. Quinn followed his actions, giving him a challenging smirk. Stanley narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze ahead. They took off at the same time, another wordless challenge adapted to see who could jump the farthest.

Quinn thought for sure she jumped farthest and swam back up to the surface with a satisfying smile on her face. That was until she saw Stanley pop his head up and flip the hair out of his eyes. He was just a few feet in front of her and a frown formed on her face when she saw the teasing glint in his eyes as if he was dying to annoy her by saying he had gotten farther than her.

With a huff, Quinn swam over to where Savannah had gotten in at and began chatting with her, occasionally swimming further out to get away from the boys.

Stan tried his best hiding the looks he gave Quinn from afar but the boys had caught on since he wasn't that good at hiding. Richie splashed Stan's face to stop him from staring.

Stanley wiped his face and glared at Richie. "What was that for?"

Richie smirked. "You were staring."

"Was not."

"We're to."

Eddie joined in. "It was kind of obvious that you were staring, Stan."

"Stan l-likes Q-Quinn," Bill teased.

Stanley splashed Bill in the face to shut him up. "No I don't. I'm just annoyed that they're here."

"I'm not," said Eddie. He turned to the girls that were a little further out than they were. "Hey, guys!"

Their heads turned to the voice shouting at them. Stan's eyes went wide as he hit Eddie in the arm. "What are you doing?" He whispered.

Eddie shrugged. "Inviting them over for a game." He turned to the girls that started swimming over, led by Savannah. "Wanna chicken fight?"

"How do you play?" Savannah asked. The boys stood on the shallower end so when the girls came up, the water was up to their chests. Quinn stood behind Savannah with her arms crossed, not particularly wanting to be around Stanley.

"One person gets on another person's shoulders and fights the other team. The first first to knock the other off, wins," Eddie explained.

"Okay, who's gonna get on who?" Quinn questioned.

"We'll switch it up so it doesn't really matter right now."

"Okay, Savannah. Hop on." Quinn went under water and let Savannah climb on top of her shoulders. When she was on, Quinn went back above water and grabbed onto Savannah's thighs so that she wouldn't go anywhere.

"How the hell did you-" Richie started but was interrupted by Quinn.

"Sav's a twig. She weighs, like, two pounds."

Richie got on Bill's shoulders while Eddie and Stanley watched. Richie and Savannah grasped hands and started fighting. Bill and Quinn navigated to help better their team's chances at winning by moving from side to side or forwards and backwards. It was a tough fight, but eventually Richie was the victor. Richie yelled how proud he was and Bill shook him off his shoulders.

"Who's next bitches?" Richie asked, ready for another round.

"I wanna go," Quinn announced. Savannah seemed to have a lot of fun and it would be extremely satisfying to knock one of the boys off. "Sav?"

Savannah's eyes widened. "Um, no offense, but I'm not as strong as you."

Quinn playfully glared at her. "Are you calling me fat?"

"Don't worry, Quinn. Stan's pretty strong, he'll be able to hold you," Richie winked.

"I'm not fat!"

"Alright, Eddie get your ass over here so I can get on your shoulders. Quinn you get on Stan's shoulders," Richie instructed. Stan and Quinn's eyes widened at the boy's words.

"No way!" They yelled in unison.

"Everyone else has gone. Stop being losers so we can play the game."

"Fine," Stanley huffed and went under water so Quinn would have an easier time of getting on. After a few seconds, he still didn't feel her weight on his shoulders and popped back up. "You just gonna let me drown?"

"That was the plan," Quinn admitted with a smirk on her face.

"Will you just get on, brat?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist." Stanley dipped back under water and Quinn crossword over his shoulders. He came back up and placed his hands a little too high up for Quinn's comfort. She smacked them away but the second she started falling back tugged on Stan's hair. His neck got hot and the tips of his ears went red. "Got a thing for hair pulling, pretty boy?"

"I won't hesitate to let go," Stanley warned.

The truth of the matter was that Stanley was beet red. Only Eddie and Richie could see him like this and to anyone else they would've thought that Stan was just having a tough time keeping Quinn up. Except that was the opposite of what was happening. Stanley was quite strong as he used the muscles in his legs to hoist them up out of the water.

It just so happened that the mix of hair pulling (one of his turn ons), the fact that her stomach was up against his head, and the his touch on her thighs made him blush all over. Oh, and also because her crotch was sitting on the back of his neck.

Quinn and Richie joined hands and the boy knew that if Stanley was in his place he would've had a field day at what he was witnessing. Because Quinn was bent over and her arms had squeezed to the sides of her breasts to meet Richie's arms, her boobs had smushed together. Richie didn't dare look but he could still see them from where he looked on her face.

They fought back and forth, Quinn pushing at Richie and the other way around. She would occasionally grab onto Stan's head to regain her balance and when she did, Stanley backed up so that Richie wouldn't take the opportunity to knock her off. After a few minutes of struggling on both ends, Quinn eventually pushed Richie off Eddie's shoulders.

The boy went down with a loud yell and defeated, emerged from the water with a frown. "I really just got beat by a girl."

Quinn had a proud smile on her face. "Don't take it personal, I'm just stronger than you." She patted Stanley's head. "You can let me down now."

Stanley went under water and released his grip on Quinn's thighs. Once he didn't feel her on him anymore, he returned to the surface, almost bumping into her. Neither said anything, but both had a small blush on their cheeks as they swam to their separate groups.

Savannah didn't miss the pink tint on Quinn's cheeks and shared a knowing look with Eddie. She and Eddie walked onto land that was about two yards away to get away from the others.

"So, are they in love or are they in love?" Savannah laughed.

"All of the above," Eddie responded with a smile similar to the girl in front of him and looked at Quinn and Stanley who were hiding behind both Richie and Bill.

"And what are we gonna do about it?" Savannah asked, rocking on her feet.

"What do you mean?"

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Well, if we're gonna set them up we gotta have a plan."

"Oh, right. How about we all go to the movies and make them sit next to each other?" His eyes suddenly went wide at the thought he had. "And they can share a bucket of popcorn!"

"Shh," Savannah shushed him. "That's a good idea. But what movie are we gonna see?"

"How about a horror movie?" Eddie suggested.

"That's genius! I know Quinn and she gets scared easily. A scary movie will have her jumping into his arms."

"The theater's doing a rerun of all the eighties scary movies on Saturdays. So tomorrow they'll be playing A Nightmare on Elm Street."

Savannah nodded. "We'll be there."

"Are you gonna be scared?"

Savannah laughed at his question. "Hell no. If there's one thing I have over Quinn it's scary movies. I love them, she hates them."

"Alright, we'll meet you guys there at six, okay? By the time we get out, it'll be dark."

"I'll make an excuse on why I can't take her home and then Stan'll have to walk her." She wiggled her eyebrows.

After a few more hours in the water, it started getting dark out, which meant it was time to leave. Quinn decided against putting on her jeans and instead slipped her shirt over her head and put on her socks and shoes. Her shirt was rather large because it was her mom's so it came down a little above the bottom of her butt, still showing the underwear underneath.

Savannah didn't miss Stanley's stare directed towards Quinn's body and held a big smile on her face. Once in the car, Quinn questioned why Savannah was smiling so large.

"Cause I have a huge crush on Stanley Uris."

Quinn didn't sense the joking tone in her voice and replied with a simple, "Oh."

Savannah snorted at her friend who stared out the window like her soul had just collapsed. "I'm just kidding, he's all yours."

Quinn's head snapped to the driver and scowled. "I do not have a crush on Stanley. Did you not witness what I witnessed today? He was an ass."

"Or maybe, he was having a bad day."

"Or maybe, he's an ass."

Savannah rolled her eyes and continued driving. "Wanna go see a movie tomorrow with the boys?"

"Is-"

Savannah interrupted Quinn's question. "Is Stan gonna be there? Yes."

Quinn glared. "That's not what I was gonna ask. Is someone gonna pay for my ticket? Cause I don't have any money."

"I'll pay for you, sugar baby." Savannah winked.

"Thanks daddy." The girls erupted into laughter.

The next day, Savannah showed up at Quinn's house just before five. Quinn was still getting ready as Savannah walked into her room. She was contemplating whether or not to wear her smaller hoops or go bold and wear larger ones. "Which ones?"

Savannah raised an eyebrow at Quinn's attire. She wore a short blue sundress that had no sleeves and reached just above her mid thigh. It might have been one of the shortest dresses she owned but it definitely wasn't number one. She didn't wear any makeup, like always, but had lip gloss on her lips.

"The small ones," Savannah decided and watched Quinn put them on in the mirror. "Is all this for Stanley?"

"Will you shut up? It's hot outside and I am not making the same mistake as yesterday."

"I'm guessing that's the same for the earrings, lip gloss, and perfume?"

Quinn have her a look. "We're going to the movies with a group of people. Why not get a little dolled up?

They hung out for awhile at Quinn's house until it was time to leave. They both hopped in Savannah's car and drove into town where they would meet the boys at the movie theater. Savannah had yet to tell Quinn what movie they were going to see but she could only assume it wasn't something sappy if the boys were tagging along. Or maybe they were tagging along with the boys. Either way, they were going to see a movie and Quinn hoped it was going to be good.

The boys were already waiting for them as they pulled up and parked. Quinn noticed there was one less male from yesterday and furrowed her eyebrows as they neared the group. "Where's Stanley?"

Eddie and Savannah looked at each other knowingly while Richie responded. "He's inside away from the heat. We've been here for awhile."

"It is pretty hot out," Quinn admitted. "How long have you guys been here?"

"Since four thirty. Eddie forgot what time we needed to be here so we've just camped out waiting for you two," Richie explained.

"Well, lets go in and buy our tickets."

Savannah bought her and Quinn's ticket while the boys bought theirs. When it came to who was getting popcorn, Bill and Richie would share a bucket, so would Savannah and Eddie and Quinn and Stanley.

"Wait, why can't we share a bucket?" Quinn asked Savannah as she took the bucket of buttery popcorn in her hands. Movie theater popcorn was her favorite kind of popcorn. It was popped fresh in front of you and you could determine how much butter you wanted on it.

"Cause I'm not sitting next to you. I'm sitting next to Eddie," Savannah said as they walked into the theater where the movie was playing.

Eddie sat next to Savannah, who was adjacent to Bill and Richie. Quinn found herself sandwiches between Richie and Stanley. A duo she didn't know if she could handle without her open minded friend. Reluctantly, she handed the bucket of popcorn to Stanley. If she wanted some later, she'd grab it herself. When she usually shared, Quinn would set the popcorn on the arm rest but right now she wanted to rest her arm on it.

After what seemed liked a thousand previews of every movie other than the one they were watching, the movie started. The theater went black and the only lights were the emergency ones and the big screen in front of them. Quinn grabbed popcorn and shoved it in her mouth, almost chocking when she saw the title come up on the screen.

THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Quinn watched in horror with wide eyes then turned to her left, looking over Richie and Bill and scowled at Savannah who was happily eating popcorn. Resting her back into the chair, Quinn sank down and mentally groaned.

"What is it?" Stanley whispered.

"I wouldn't have come if I knew we were watching this," Quinn responded. She would rather puke her own guts out than watch anything gruesome or filled with jump scares. Unfortunately for her, it would be a long night full of violence and scares.

Quinn wasn't expecting a sex scene to show up and the moment it did, she immediately became uncomfortable. Thankfully, it passed by quick enough and she was left with more agonizing jump scares. One scene in particular made her grab onto Stanley's hand that was resting on the arm rest.

The movie continued with little touches like that. Sometimes when Quinn stuck her hand inside the bucket of popcorn, Stan's hand would be there too and they would brush up against each other.

Then there were times when Quinn got really scared and hid herself in Stan's shoulder to stop herself from watching the screen. Stanley was more than okay with the times she got scared. He didn't want to seem too forward and comfort her back but he let her continue hiding in his shoulder.

When the movie ended, Quinn bolted out of the theater to finally get air and leaned against the wall, the rest following shortly after.

"S-Scared of a m-movie, Q-Quinn?" Bill teased.

"Not at all. I was just getting a little hot," she lied. The group walked to the front of the theater and Quinn looked out the windows with wide eyes. "Oh, it's dark."

"That a problem?"

"No," Quinn snapped a little too harsh at Richie's taunt. "I think we should head home, Sav."

"About that, mom said I needed to be home at eight and it's already seven fifty-two. Could you walk home?"

"A-Alone? Out there?" Quinn's gaze went from Savannah to the pitch black outside.

"Stan can walk you home," Eddie suggested and nudged his friend. "Right, Stan?"

Stanley's head shot up at the mention of his name. "What?"

"You'll walk Quinn home, right?"

"Uh," Stanley looked at Quinn who seemed nervous about walking home alone. His expression softened. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay, well I had fun guys, but I should go so my mom doesn't rip my head off and feeds it to the dog." Savannah waved goodbye and got in her car and left. Richie, Eddie, and Bill all left together, leaving Stanley and Quinn alone.

"So, did you like the movie?" Stan asked.

"Hell no."

Stanley laughed and Quinn felt her heart beat a little faster when he did. "I take it your not much of a horror fan?"

"I avoid them like the plague." Quinn crossed her arms and continued looking outside, almost as if she was looking for any supernatural creature or serial killer hidden behind street lamps or alleyways.

"Where do you live?"

"The culdesac off Baker Street," Quinn responded. When they started to walk, she noticed her shoe was untied and told him to wait as she bent down and tied it. "Okay, we can-" Quinn gasped and froze when she felt a hand come in contact with her bottom.

Stanley's eyes widened and his head shot to the culprit. It was some teen who didn't go to their school. Luckily, he was Stan's height so when the Jew grabbed hold of the boy's collar and lift him up, he didn't have to move far. While up in the air, Stanley pinched him in the face and threw him on the ground. Some of the people in the same area witnessed it happen and also saw that when the manager came out, Stan grabbed Quinn's hand and ran outside. They didn't stop running until the theater was out of sight.

Quinn was in shock and confusion by what had just happened and who she had froze instead of beat the boy to a pulp then and there. Maybe when you've defended other girls your whole life, it comes as a shock when it actually happens to you. Quinn was extremely lucky to have had Stanley there beside her in her vulnerable moment and snuck a glance in his direction.

His forehead glistened under the lamp's light because of the sweat from running and he stuck his hands into his pant pockets. He looked down and tried to regain his breath. They walked in silence for a few paces until Quinn finally spoke up. "Thank you."

Stanley looked over at her. He wasn't going to push the subject on her so he let her speak first before asking any further questions. "It was nothing. Are you okay?"

Quinn nodded and frowned. "I should've chopped his dick off and made him eat it right there." Stanley raised and eyebrow and Quinn huffed. "All I've done my life is try to protect other girls from men like that but the second it happens to me I freeze? It's pathetic."

"It's not pathetic. It's just different when it comes to protecting yourself. Instead of an offense attack, it's defense. Two different tactics."

"Then I guess I need more practice on defensive strategies."

They walked through the dark with only the light of the street lamps over their heads. From her left, Quinn heard a bush shake quickly and pounced onto Stanley's side, grabbing onto his arm for dear life. He looked down at her and the second she realized there was no danger, she looked at him. It was only for a second before she jumped back to where she was beside him earlier.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"I-It's fine." He looked down at her and bit his lip. "If you weren't just sexually assaulted, I'd ask to kiss you."

Anger rose in Quinn's body until his full sentence registered in her mind and her face softened. "Y-You would?"

"Yeah. You're pretty and confident and when you jump into me it makes me feel more like a man."

Quinn rolled her eyes with a smile. "I guess I wouldn't mind if you asked."

"Really?" Quinn nodded. "So, can I kiss you?" Quinn nodded again and Stanley bent down and placed his lips on top of hers. Even with the limited knowledge about these encounters didn't stop her from kissing back. Her hands made their way up his neck and while one stayed there, the other trailed up into his hair and twirled it around her finger. Stanley placed his hands on her sides and pulled her in closer so that their hips were touching. He was bold enough to run his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance and she was fine with it, letting him in.

Their little kiss had turned into a make-out session in the middle of the sidewalk until a sound from behind Quinn made her break away and dart her head towards it. It was just a bird flying out from the bush but that didn't stop her heart from pounding fifty miles an hour. Stanley's puffy lips turned up into a smile as he grabbed hold of her hand, reassuring her that it was alright.

"Sorry," Quinn apologized and under his gaze, blushed. He was the only one that had ever made her blush and she didn't know how to act.

"It's fine. Come on, we're almost there." They continued to walk, neither one talking about their shared moment just a few steps ago and fell into a silence before Stanley broke it. "You know, as a man, I don't claim him as part of my gender."

Quinn chuckled. "'As a man,' huh?"

Stanley scoffed in shock. "I am eighteen. Legally I am a man. And I look like one, too." He flexed his muscles.

Quinn let her eyes sweep over his body. "Whatever you say, pretty boy."

"Pretty man," Stan corrected with a smile and Quinn just rolled her eyes.

[writemywaytoyourheart]

One- Next

a/n: so like, here it is. tada~ I hope you guys like it! Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, I just really want to get to the present day so that we can meet hobi T-T but I did do my best! again, pls don’t let this flop 

pairing: idolau! Hoseok x female reader

genre: angst, fluff 

word count: 2,904

warnings for this chapter: language, cheating, non-consensual kiss, implied self-harm...I think that’s it

Trigger Warning: if u get triggered easily, pls read other stuff on my ML. It's in my bio!

Tag list: @melikeylikeyjimin @jannoda

if you want to be on the tag list, send an ask or dm me :) 

Daisies in the Dark Masterlist

Part Two: When Somebody Loves You

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second you stepped through the threshold of what would be your new home; a breath you hadn’t even known you were holding released with a huge sigh. The apartment wasn’t big at all with a small kitchen, a tiny sitting space that had bookshelves about half full with what you assumed were Eui’s books, a small hallway turned off to the right where you figured the bedrooms and bathroom were, it was dimly lit with a small lamp on a coffee table. 

It was perfect. 

Eui stumbled into the apartment a second later and laughed breathlessly at your stunned face as she plunked one of your bags down, “like what you see? It isn’t much, but it is cozy.” You spun around over and over taking in every single inch that you could and holding in tears of joy before you turned back to your new friend, “it’s absolutely amazing, I love it so much, thank you.” The lingering nausea from your nerves was now gone completely, replaced by comfort at your surroundings. 

Eui smiled while nodding then patted you on the shoulder, “no need to thank me girlie, I know we’re gonna have an awesome time together! Let’s get you unpacked!”

To say you had an awesome time together would be an understatement. You were more of an introvert before coming to Korea because you never really had anyone to hang out with, always eating lunch alone and studying alone. Group projects were always the worst when everyone jumped to grab whoever they wanted to work with, constantly leaving you in an awkward position seeing as everyone had a partner but you. Things were different after you met Eui though, she took you out to the arcade and to food stands, slowly bringing you out of your comfort zone. At first it was just the two of you, then she introduced you to some other girls that you would be going to school with. 

The rest of the semester and through the summer was filled with giggling girl talks and romantic movie nights, stuffing yourselves with pizza and junk food. When school started again, you were nervous but knew you could handle it with Eui and your new friends to do it alongside you. Classes were hard but you continued to study and do your best, to thank your wonderful teacher who sent you here and prove that she hadn’t done it for nothing. 

About two months into the semester you felt Eui start to pull away a bit. It happened after she met a boy in college; you were studying one night when she burst into your room and jumped on the bed squealing. You shut your books and laughed at her excitement, “what’s going on?? Why are you so excited??” She took a deep exaggerated breath then proceeded to explain, “ok, you know Kim Yung-Kwon from mathematics that I’m totally in love with?” You nodded and she continued, “he started talking to me today and he literally ended up asking me out to coffee!!” Your eyes widened and you jumped up to join in her mini dance party, screaming and giggling over her crush liking her back. 

Needless to say, she accepted the date. After that day she spent a lot more time in her room on the phone with her new boyfriend, which you totally understood, so you gave her space. You two stopped your daily outings and only went out together once every few weeks. It was okay with you since you were busy with school and actually happened to find an internship at a company not too far from your place. 

You got the internship, and from there everything went to hell.

-

-

6 months before the incident...

“Hello, my name is Y/L/N Y/N, I hope we work well together. Please take care of me!” You bowed to your new coworkers and they smiled, bowing in return. They were really nice people and your first day went smoothly. You were in charge of making copies, bringing coffee, scheduling meetings and taking notes for those who could not attend said meetings. It was pretty easy; especially since the girl training you made it easy to understand and she was super nice. 

After your shift you went to clock out, you were looking down to fix everything you were holding and ran right smack into someone’s hard chest. You looked up to apologize and stepped back in surprise when you saw who it was, “Kim Yung-Kwon?” You asked and he nodded while laughing, “Y/N?” You bowed and smiled laughing a bit yourself, “funny running into you! What brings you here?” He smiled back and picked up some of the papers you dropped after running into him. He handed them to you and answered your question, “I got an internship here. I’m guessing you did as well?” You nodded and he brightened then stepped to the side to let you walk past, “well I hope to see you around Y/N, I have to go, but you should join Eui and I on a day out sometime!” You smiled once more while passing by him, “that sounds fun! Let me know what you guys come up with. See you around!” You waved to each other then you walked away, a pit of dread in your stomach at the butterflies that were in you at your encounter. 

Kim Yung-Kwon was a very handsome young man, but he was definitely taken. You slapped yourself gently on the cheek to bring your mind back. Don’t you dare Y/N, don’t you dare! You chided yourself as you walked to the bus stop. Eui was your best friend and if there was one thing you wouldn’t do, it would be stealing a taken man. You stepped into your home and saw Eui lounging on the couch. Eui looked up from her phone and waved to you, asking happily, “how was your first day?? Yung-Kwon texted me and said he ran into you today!” You breathed a sigh of relief that she already knew and plopped yourself down next to her. You two spent the night talking and gossiping like the old days a few months ago. Like nothing had changed. 

Except that day, everything changed. Neither of you knew it yet though. 

Work and school were your norm those days. Day in and day out, studying and doing the internship. Yung-Kwon was always really sweet to you and you hung out with him and Eui a few times a week. You knew he liked Eui a lot and you knew you could keep your feelings in check, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were doing something wrong, the uneasy pit dwelling in your stomach made you miss out on a few outings with them. 

It was all saved however, by Lee Jin-Ho. A boy that would talk to you on a daily basis since your start of school. You always thought he was cute and sweet, and he was really easy to talk to. You were completely blind-sided though when he finally had the courage to ask you on a date. Your feelings for Yung-Kwon disappeared the more you went out with Jin-Ho. You never had a boyfriend in your entire life so the whole ordeal was foreign and a bit stressful for you. Jin-Ho was a complete sweetheart and totally infatuated with you, so he was patient and never pressured you into anything.

-

-

3 months before the incident...

One time about two months into your relationship, you two went to the arcade together. You walked in and smiled at the purple flashing lights, K-pop songs blasting and people laughing. Jin-Ho went immediately to a claw machine that had stuffed animals in it. “Which one do you want, Y/N?” You laughed and joined him, scanning the toys and pointing to a little stuffed bear, “I want that one!” He nodded and got right down to business. Never in your entire life have you had someone care so much about you, let alone like you. This whole thing was mesmerizing and you were so scared that it would shatter into a million pieces at any minute. It must be a dream, because good things don’t happen to you.

After a good twenty tries, Jin-Ho finally hollered in victory, holding up the tiny bear and presenting it to you with a smile. You weren’t thinking and went right in for a hug, it was the first time anything physical besides holding hands was initiated between you two. He froze for only a second before hugging you back just as tight. You’d never been happier, and you knew you never would be. You didn’t need anything else. 

Turns out you’d never been more wrong in your life.

-

- 

2 months before the incident...

It was the party. You knew going to a party would be a terrible idea, but Jin-Ho knew the person throwing it and told you that the people there weren’t the reckless drunk type you always heard about. You two walked in and you could smell the alcohol already, flashbacks from your past started to swarm your mind until you felt his arm around your waist protectively. Jin-Ho whispered into your ear, “it’s okay baby. I got you.” His pet name for you sent a chill down your spine and you nodded. Your boyfriend kissed the top of your head and led you to a couch, “I’m going to get us some drinks, stay here and don’t worry.” You grabbed his hand and stuttered, “n-no alcohol, right?” He smiled and nodded, gave your hand a reassuring squeeze before disappearing into the crowd. 

That was the last time you saw your boyfriend that night. Now, Lee Jin-Ho you did see again, but this time he had a girl on his lap making out with her and running his hands all over her body. You had gone to search for him, and you found him. He happened to see you a second later. But unlike what you expected to happen, the boy you thought you loved didn’t look concerned or regretful. He never got up or pushed the girl away. He never called your name out to explain himself. Instead, he smirked at you before raising an eyebrow, as if to say, what? Watch all you want, before turning back to the girl and continuing what he started. Who knew that something so precious and dear could be ripped from you in a split second? 

You ran to the bathroom, shoving past people, some gave you pitiful looks and some laughed at you. You rushed to the toilet and threw up a few times, until nothing was left in your stomach. You were numb. A lot of running happened that night as you ran out of the party and all the way home. There were no questions asked when you burst into the apartment sobbing, your makeup running down your face. Eui gestured to you and held you in her arms, singing to you. Rocking you back and forth while you cried your heart out over your first relationship heartbreak. Eui whispered how much she loved you and how sorry she was. 

You took a few days off, saying you were sick. Which, technically you were throwing up. At just the thought of that man, you couldn’t help but rid your body of the little you ate that day. Your stomach wouldn’t stop turning for weeks. Eui came in however, after about a week. She pulled you out of bed and forced you to dress, eat and go out with her. You couldn’t explain how hard it was to do normal everyday tasks, especially when Jin-Ho was still in some of your classes.

 He never spoke to you again, would walk by you as if you were nothing more than-

a used tissue....

But, you wouldn’t let him continue to hurt you. So, you turned back to what you promised yourself you would never do again. You numbed the pain, and there was only one way that that always worked. Long sleeves would have to go back in fashion again, for you at least. If anyone could hurt you, it would be yourself.

“You’re fine, Y/N….You don’t need him anyways.”

-

-

1 month before the incident...

You continued to do the internship, the best part of the day was when you ate lunch with Yung-Kwon and Eui when she came to join you guys. Yung-Kwon never acted as if he pitied you, for which you were extremely grateful. It had been almost a year since you came to Korea, and a lot had happened. You just hoped that it would get brighter from there on out.

The final straw was that day. 

That one day you would forever wish you could turn back to and stop. Stop everything that was never supposed to happen....

-

-

1 week before the incident...

It was just another day at work, you were typing up a few emails while you rubbed your eyes in exhaustion. It was around lunchtime, but you still had a lot to do. You were sending your last email when you got a text from Yung-Kwon:

“On the roof?” You asked yourself in confusion, but then brushed it off. There were lunch tables on the roof and you three had wanted to try it out someday. You wished Eui would be coming, but you guessed she was busy. Your feelings for Yung-Kwon were strictly friendly those days. You had been able to talk sense into yourself and realize he was just a nice guy, and your heart hadn’t been used to nice guys. After seeing one it immediately wanted him. Now you knew better, and so did your heart. You packed up your stuff and got up to make your way to the roof. You walked up the stairs and pushed the door to the roof open. Yung-Kwon was standing at the balcony looking down into the street. Just then your phone pinged with a text from Eui. 

What was she talking about? Yung-Kwon said she was busy….You quickly typed a reply and smiled, Yung-Kwon would be happy that she could make it!

You frowned at the text in confusion but got distracted when you heard Yung-Kwon call your name, “Y/N! Come on, I got food already.” You walked over and sat down on one of the benches. Yung-Kwon sat right next to you, which confused you. You scooted a little away from him and started opening your sandwich that he bought for you. You decided to let Eui surprise him so you said nothing.

“Thanks for the lunch.”

“Of course Y/N.” 

He opened his sandwich then turned back to you, “uh, can I ask you something?” You nodded and went to take a bite of your food when his next words made you freeze, “are you in love with me?” You turned to him in shock, your eyes bugging out of your head and your mind screaming at you to just get up and leave. You stupidly stayed put, furrowing your brows and shaking your head, “what are you talking about Yung-Kwon? I am not in love with you, weirdo.” You laughed it off, thinking maybe he was pulling a prank on you. It wasn’t a very funny one though. 

You jumped when he grabbed your hand and you tried to pull away. He held on tight and looked into your eyes, “Y/N, you can be honest. I know you’re scared because of what Jin-Ho did to you. But, I would never hurt you. I- I think I’m in love with you.” You yanked your hand out of his and stood up, “you better shut up right now Yung-Kwon. I don’t know what you’re playing but it isn’t funny. You think I would turn right around and cheat with someone right after knowing what it’s like?! And to my best friend??” He stood up and walked towards you, forcing you to walk back until you couldn’t anymore because of the railing. 

“Don’t be ridiculous Y/N. Jin-Ho was an asshole, and we all know it. I’m in love with you and you’re in love with me so it’s different!” You stared at him in shocked silence before responding, “what the hell are you talking about?? We don’t love each other! You love Eui!!” He shook his head, “no I don’t! Ever since I found out you were interning here, that first day. Something changed for me. I knew you liked me then.” You flinched at his touch on your cheek and slapped his hand away, “don’t touch me!” At that moment, you saw the door to the roof open behind his shoulder and saw Eui slip through carrying a bag of food. 

You were about to shove him away from you and call out to her, when to your horror he grabbed your hands and pulled you to him. 

Maybe Eui would run to help you. 

Maybe Eui would understand and come save you.

Maybe Eui would know you.

But, don’t you remember, silly girl? Good things don’t happen to you. 

Yung-Kwon smashed his lips against yours at the exact second Eui waved, her eyes locking on the scene before her, her face blanching. She dropped the bag with a thunk. 

Yung-Kwon stole your first kiss…..and your best friend in the entire world went right along with it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n 2.0: ok...this gave me more grief than the first chapter lmao. if y’all don’t like this im giving up....JUST KIDDING IM GONNA MAKE A HOBI FIC IF IT DESTROYS ME . which it probably will. 

[manrocket-mo]

Leave the Light On - Morgan Rielly (Part 4)

requested: no

word count: 6,083

author’s note: if you haven’t read part 1, 2 or 3, it is linked in my masterlist!

this chapter was truly a labor of love and hate for me. I struggled with it and fought back and forth about where it should end. this was the result. leave me feedback in my ask or just come to talk about Mo, Leave the Light On or whatever! I’d love to have you!

If you’ve never listened to the song below, I highly recommend! 💙

song: Come to Me - The Goo Goo Dolls

Come to me my sweetest friend Can you feel my heart again I'll take you back where you belong And this will be our favorite song

“Good night, Morgan.” He smiles back at you one last time before he walks away from you and you stand there and watch him leave. And although the goodbye is only temporary, and although he was just there with you, holding you close, keeping you warm and safe in his arms, you aren’t sure how long you stood there wishing desperately that he could’ve stayed.

You huffed and pulled on the very first oversized tee you tried on over your ripped blue jeans. You grab a jean jacket and a baseball cap as the knocking on your front door continued incessantly.

You were greeted with Steph’s bright white smile and way too cheery demeanor for a Saturday morning. She squeals as she throws her arms around you in a tight hug.

“I can’t believe I get to hug you again!” And you hug her back despite being slightly annoyed with her. You really did miss your friend even when she was being bossy and impossible.

“Cute Canadian tuxedo,” she laughs and adjusts your baseball cap, pulling it down slightly.

You take in her outfit, a lot more put together and girly and brunch appropriate for the first days of sun and warmth in the city. You were already so out of place.

“Steph, should I go change?”

“What? No, you look SO cute! Besides, we’re late and Mitchy is waiting in the car!” She grabs your hand and before you could even gather a second thought, you are out of your apartment, the door locking behind you.

You were so thankful for Mitchy more than ever as he reigned Steph in on the car ride over to the restaurant. He seemed to understand that although you loved her so much, you just weren’t quite ready for any of this just yet. He winked at you in the rear view mirror as Steph pouted in the passenger seat from Mitch telling her to chill out for the third time in the journey over.

“Thank you,” you mutter to Mitch as Steph races ahead of you to the entrance.

“No problem, Y/N. I know how she gets. She’s just so excited to have you back in her life, we all are.” He gives you that boyish smile that makes him look like he’s 19 again. “She wouldn’t shut up about you last night. I fell asleep to her talking about making all these plans with you.”

You groan and he laughs, bumping shoulders with you.

“We’re all glad you’re back though. You were a part of the group. It was like a part of us went missing. Guys and their girls came and went but the missing piece was always obvious.” You smile at him.

“I just don’t know if I even fit anymore,” you admit.

He throws an arm around your shoulder and pulls you into a side hug. “You’ll always be a part of our puzzle. You’re a part of this family no matter what.”

“Oh there she is! Y/N, I’m sure you’ve seen how John signed with the team in the summer. John, Aryne, this is Y/N.”

They greeted you with a handshake and a hug before Aryne asked the dreaded question. “Forgive me for asking. Who are you with, Y/N? I haven’t really seen you around.”

While the smile on her face was truly endearing and warm, you couldn’t help the feeling of panic overtaking you.

“She’s with me,” you heard the familiar voice chime in, an arm winding around your waist. You relax fractionally as you look up and catch Morgan smiling down at you. “Just a special girl.”

You can feel their eyes on you as your eyes drop and your hands fidget with the cuff of your denim jacket but you can’t help the touch of a smile pulling at your lips.

“You’re matching! That’s so cute!” Steph squeals and you blush red hot, not even noticing. You peek up at Morgan and sure enough, he was wearing the same Cleveland Indians hat, although his isn’t as worn.

“Ha, we are matching!” he laughs. “It may be because someone stole my favorite hat.” Your face is impossibly warm but your cheeks are on fire for more than that reason—the smile spread across it. “‘s okay. Looks better on you anyway.”

“Thanks,” you mumble, turning into him, hiding your face from the group.

“Come on, let’s go grab a seat before Steph arranges us according to a seating chart.” You let Morgan pull you away and seat you at the end of a long table.

And for once, things didn’t turn out as bad as you thought. You were sandwiched between Auston and Morgan and across from you were Jake and Lucy so you were very comfortable with the familiarity of those around you.

“You’ll have to come over and visit someday, come see Hank!” Lucy insists taking a sip of her mimosa.

You nod. “I’d like that.”

“He’s a pretty cool little dude,” Jake chimes in. “When he’s not screaming when Matty is holding him.”

You look to Auston who was rolling his eyes. “Dude it was one time.”

“Yeah because you never held him again,” Mo retorted, laughing at his younger teammate’s expense.

You enjoyed seeing Mo like this. Seeing him on TV never did him justice. This Morgan was relaxed, laid back, the happiness and laughter touching his face with little wrinkles that surrounded his eyes, a sparkling blue of absolute joy.

Suddenly Mo’s laughter ceased and you heard him mutter “fuck,” under his breath.

“I’ll be right back.” You watch as he runs off, disappearing for the entrance.

You try not to get distracted by his sudden exit but you can’t help yourself and keep glancing back.

“Y/N, how is the mimosa?” Auston asks, his own eyes glancing to the front of the restaurant as he tries to capture your attention. “I’m starting to think I should’ve gotten some of that juice.”

“Sure, sure have some.” You push your glass toward him and look back, searching for Morgan. You really wish you hadn’t when you catch a quick glimpse of the beautiful girl with him. Her blonde hair, bright blue eyes, gorgeous face and fit body was everything you weren’t. You could hear her tinkering laugh from across the room.

“Aus, who’s that?” the whisper came out weakly. Your arms fold around yourself, protecting yourself from the answer.

You watched, as much as it hurt and you couldn’t find it in yourself to look away.

“Y/N… don’t do this to yourself…”

And in that moment, your eyes connected with Morgan’s and by the look on his face, he could see the absolute heartbreak in your eyes, even from across the room. His face softened for just a second before snapping back to the beautiful girl’s, his reaction harsh, his demeanor, his posture hard as stone, no longer the Morgan of moments ago. This was a side of him you had never seen before.

This was a Morgan that you didn’t know.

You look away. You weren’t sure how much more you could stomach.

You tried to shift your attention back to the conversation around the table but you know you won’t be able to keep up, with your mind wandering and your heart nowhere in it. You smile tightly back at Steph down the table when she looks over at you though you’re unsure just how convincing it looks.

“Hey.” The soft voice and the warmth that slides back onto the bench next to you causes you to flinch away. It was involuntary but it was easiest. To shrink away, to run away from difficulty and confrontation and pain.

With the close proximity, you feel his body move against yours as he sighs heavily. You want to look anywhere but him so you turn to Auston who is looking down at you, a sad smile on his face.

When your food arrives, you focus on that. You nod along with the conversation but you were totally in your head. Your sadness, your hurt was brewing under the surface with something more, something red hot and potent. You didn’t realize what it was until Steph catches you off guard.

“So… Y/N. That Nate guy… he sucks.” The table erupts with laughs at her bluntness. She’s leaning over the table trying to look around Auston before she gets tired of it and pushes him out of the way to switch seats with him.

“Steph, be nice,” you mumble.

“Oh, honey.” She turns and eyes you. “You can do so much better… Hell, I could do much better for you and I don’t know your tastes past Mo over here... Ooh, let ME set you up on a blind date! I got the perfect guy!”

You roll your eyes, a show compared to the churning in your stomach.

“Come on, Y/N! Anyone is better than Nate. I can’t even believe… come on, please! Please!”

“You better just give in, Y/N,” Jake teases taking a sip of his cold brew. “You know how this goes.”

“Steph!” Mitch chastises from down the table but there was no use.

You sigh. “I...” you hesitate but knew Jake was right and you knew Steph was just looking out for you. Maybe this was your chance. Maybe. “I guess just... set me up, Steph.”

“...And Lucy, too! Partially her idea!”

You laugh nervously alongside the girls. And you realize what this is. You would never agree to this otherwise. You would never be brave enough. Never in a million years. This was unknowing jealousy, retaliation. It had overshadowed every emotion in your body and crept up on you. The pain, the hurt, the sadness, every bit of your rationality.

You feel Morgan freeze up next to you but you aren’t even given any time to react before Steph is rattling off about what qualities you needed to find in your future husband who she was sure would be the guy she’d set you up with.

“This will just be perfect. He’ll fit right in with everything. You already have everything else, you’re beautiful, you have your dream job, all you need now is your dream guy and everything will fall into place, be perfect and you’ll live happily ever after!” She was gushing, getting ahead of herself, meaning all the best trying to hype you up but all you wanted was for the floor to open up and swallow you up.

You suddenly felt so cold, so uncomfortable, so lost in the future when you could barely focus on the present.

You wrung your fingers together, trying to push the vulnerability and insecurities aside to just humor your friend.

“God, I’m so excited! And then there will be a wedding and I can be a bridesmaid, right Y/N?”

“Of course,” you relent, trying to play it off, trying to play it cool when you were anything but.

“Leave her be, Steph,” Mitch cautions his girlfriend.

“Yeah, Steph. Let her breathe.” The voice from next to you chimes in and you look to him, your eyes searching wildly for his. He nods when he catches your attention and grabs your hand under the table, his eyes on you gauging your reaction before going back to those relaxing circles on your skin that kept you present.

“Yeah, Steph! You need to lay off the caffeine and chill,” Auston teases, causing her to bite and snap at him.

You feel Morgan shift closer to you on your left side. “You okay?” he whispers, leaning down.

You hesitate but shake your head.

“You want to leave?” He asks, his hand squeezing yours. You could practically hear the worry seeping into his voice.

You shake your head again. You needed to learn. You needed to grow stronger again, before the world kept taking you down, before you couldn’t control the thoughts your brain thought up, before you lose all semblance of yourself. You needed to be with your friends again, with people again. You needed to stand on your own.

“I’ll be okay,” you whisper, looking back to him, aware that there were tears welling up in your eyes, aware that you were scared beyond belief every time your future was brought up but comforted nonetheless by the man next to you. Sad, confused but comforted.

“You let me know and we’re out of here.” You squeeze his hand back, thankful for his warmth to keep you grounded.

So you try to focus on the laughter and the bickering. Steph’s voice ringing and Jake chuckling, John’s sincere smile as he took in the camaraderie of this family that was forged by the Leaf they wore on their sweater, the passion they all shared. You felt what it was like to have a support system of people that cared, surrounding you whether it be with the press of Steph’s shoulder to you as she laughed, the wink from Lucy when she caught your eye, Auston looking to you to suppress laughs as he pushed every one of Steph’s buttons, Morgan’s touch. You try to focus on the things that once made you happy and gave in to them as they pulled the pieces of you together, little by little.

This was once your happy place. Maybe it could be that once again. Maybe even if it had to be without him.

When the checks came around, you realize yours never made an appearance and you look to Steph expectantly.

“What, don’t look at me!” she shrugs, turning back to her iced latte which causes me to turn to Morgan.

You glare at him but there was nothing you could’ve done. He was faster than you were, always a step ahead.

“It’s done.” He hands over the check book to the server and you’re left to pout about it, much to his amusement, that smirk sweeping through pursed lips and crinkled eyes.

“So girls, are we ready to hit Yorkville?” This time Ashley, Naz’s wife asks from down the table.

Your eyes go to Steph’s questioning.

She turns to you. “The boys are going to do some team bonding thing at this Escape Room. Thought I’d be fun if you joined us for the day.” She smiled at you brightly, charismatically, almost convincing you again without even begging you to come along.

“Sorry, Steph. I got her for the day. Get in line.” You looked to Morgan, your eyebrows furrowing as you took him in, cool, calm, collected and lying in your stead. “Maybe next time, don’t trap her into plans?”

“Maybe next time, let me know you had plans with her set up before I kidnap her, MO.” Steph pouted. “Next time, then, Y/N?” You nod quietly, smiling at her. “I really do miss you a ton. We could go to our old favorite brunch spot with the books and the good lattes and just sit and gossip about the boys like we always did since we don’t have homework anymore.” She pulls you into a hug.

“We’ll make plans, Steph. Quiet plans.”

She laughs and readjusts your cap one last time before pushing you into Mo. “Go, have fun doing whatever without me.”

Mo laughs, his hand pulling away from yours discreetly when he stands to let you out of the long booth.

“We’ll see you all soon,” Mo yells so that the furthest reaches of the table could hear and you wave awkwardly before moving forward, Morgan’s hand at the small of your back, guiding you out.

Once you are out the door and on the patio, you turn and look to him, coming to a stop, thankful that the overcast skies ensured that the patio was virtually empty. “You don’t have to, you know.”

“To, what, Y/N?” He shoves his hands in his pocket and rocks on his feet again, suddenly uncomfortable with the distance that you put between the two of you.

You eyed him wearily. “Do this. You just... you don’t have to keep bailing me out and keep around me like you want to be here. It’s fine, I’ll be fine.” You felt guilty for taking him away from his friends, his life, the easygoing nature of it all before you entered his life, again.

His gaze softened and he sighed. “I’m not doing this for any reason other than I want to spend time with you, get to know you again.” He was speaking in earnest, his eyes not letting yours go. “I meant what I said last night, Y/N. I want to know you again.”

You hesitate. “I just... I don’t want you to get caught in my mess again.”

You watch as Morgan’s eyes closed in frustration before opening up and taking you in. He steps into you and holds your face in his hands. “You pushed me away once. I’m not letting that happen again.”

You bring your hand up to tangle with his again. “You...”

“I haven’t seen you in two years. I haven’t seen you since I dropped you off at your parents’...” And you wince at that. “I see them everyday. I know everything about them... but you...”

“Morgan, I can already see that I’m messing up a lot for you. You had a routine before me and I derailed that and  I—“

“Y/N, listen to me. I want to spend the day with you. I want to do mundane things with you that will bring me back to a time where I knew you... but if you don’t want this, I can take you home. I don’t want to pressure you into anything you don’t want to do or make you feel uncomfortable or forced or...” his voice trails off into a shy whisper.

You look down. “I don’t think you know how long I’ve thought about this, seeing you. Just seeing you last night...” you look back to him and feel the emotions rushing over you, all those lonely nights of regret, replaying every single word that cut straight through him, wishing that you could see that he was doing better despite you. “I... I just want to know that I’m not ruining things for you again. You seem to have everything together and I don’t want to come in and just...” You sigh, the endless guilt weighing on you. You’ve put so much on him already that you didn’t want to add even more to the burden.

“Y/N.” Your name on his lips is so familiar, so soothing. “There’s always been a part of me missing in the time that we weren’t in each other’s lives... you’re not ruining anything. Everything happens for a reason and for whatever that reason is, I’m glad that we get whatever time we do to be here for each other.”

“But you had—“

“That girl... she doesn’t mean a thing. So don’t you worry about that, okay?”

You nod slowly and he nods with you, smiling sadly at what this was.

And just like that, the sky opens up and it starts to rain, forcing you to grab onto Morgan’s outstretched hand as he led you back to his car.

You push your slightly damp hair behind your ears and examine Morgan as he brushes his hands through his blonde locks as soon as you’re settled into your seat. His damp hair pressed up against his forehead makes him look younger, reminds you of the young man that stole your heart away, the one that held your hand and comforted you and loved you unconditionally for two years of your life.

You just wanted to enjoy the company of the man that was only inches away from you, the man that was still on your side, still by your side. You wanted to know him again. This Morgan.

You watched as he leaned his head back against the headrest, breathing in deeply.

“What’s wrong?” You ask quietly. Your hand reaches out on its volition and touches his arm softly. His eyes close at the contact before opening to you, noticeably tired. “What’s on your mind?”

He cracks a little smile. “Hey, that’s my line.” He breathes out deeply, coming back to you. “Let’s just go and enjoy the day, okay?”

“I’d like that. I need that.”

And that’s what you did. Morgan pulled out of the spot of the brunch place you visited downtown and hit the road, seemingly with a destination already in mind.

“Where are we going?” You ask lightly, eyes trailing out the window to the tumultuous sky outside, the raindrops sliding down the glass and blurring the city in front of you.

“I was thinking St. Lawrence Market? It was a Saturday morning tradition.” He looks to you and shoots you a breathtaking grin.

“How did you know I still go every Saturday?”

“I didn’t... I just thought we’d take a little walk down memory lane.” It was a tradition that you and Morgan started back when you first started dating, in an effort to get Morgan back on a health kick when he was in-season. You’d both go to the market every Saturday to pick up fresh produce, meats and if he was being good, a treat from one of the many vendors that served there. It was crowded and noisy but you never minded. It meant that when you were there, you were just like everyone else. You were one of many, unrecognizable, just normal and you loved that. Sometimes when you were anxious, you’d go to St. Lawrence just for that feeling of being a small piece of a whole, a part of something bigger. You enjoyed the atmosphere, the buzz and you needed human contact, even if it was in the form of passersby.

When he pulled into a spot, you looked out the window at the torrential downpour.

“Are we going to make a run for it?” you wondered, pulling your denim jacket tighter around yourself.

You caught his mischievous grin and you inhaled sharply.

“1...2...3!” And together, you scrambled out of the front seat of his car and slammed the door behind you, running for the entrance of the market, screaming and hollering as you went.

You squealed as you finally reached the doors and flung yourself inside and into Morgan. You were now equally, even more wet.

“Now we’re committed,” he huffed, trying to swipe off what water he could from his hoodie. “Now we gotta buy stuff, make it worth it.”

“It’s a chicken soup kind of day, that’s for sure,” you confirm and move along to the fresh produce in the first shop, your eyes perusing the vibrant greens and reds and yellows lining the displays.

“Do you still make soup every time it storms out?” He asks, standing right there next to you.

You nod. “Creature of habit I guess. I need the consistency.”

“Do you still bake those cookies too?”

You chuckle, turning to him. He’s trying to keep it light after the heaviness of the last 24 hours and you appreciated that. It shouldn’t be hard. It should be this effortless.

“Is this turning into a game of Q or true?”

He ducks his head and a pinched pink spread across his cheeks. It was a game you played from time to time when either of you felt inquisitive about the other, whether it had been after a first date sitting in your apartment’s parking garage or after a game or before meeting Morgan’s family for the first time. It marked a lot of firsts but this was different. This time it felt different.

“Q, shoot,” he responds, shyly. “Ask me anything.”

You smile. You pick up a stalk of celery and point it at him. “Do you still hate vegetables?”

He laughs, taking the celery from you and put it in a reusable bag he grabbed from the cash wrap. “Yes, although don’t tell John. He’ll be upset to know that I didn’t eat one of the kale scramble dishes he’s sent home with me.”

He takes the carrots you had grabbed and deposits it into the bag before turning to face you. “Your turn.”

It’s your turn to flush.

“Come on. I’ll go easy on you. Pick one.”

“Okay, Q.”

“Hmm...” he laments. “Is your favorite color still blue?”

You roll your eyes but laugh nonetheless. “Yes.”

“The blue of my eyes though?” He teases, wagging his eyebrows and you shove at him, playfully.

“First of all, you skipped me. Second, you can’t use that against me, you ass!”

Morgan laughs out loud, his eyes crinkling, the blue sparkling in the light and you have to look away. There’s a feeling within you that forces you to. The shifting blues of his eyes really were your favorite color and if you could, you’d drown in them forever.

“I thought so! But I think it’s adorable anyway...” Your eyes shift up to find him smiling softly at you. “...I’ll go with Q.”

“Hmm...” you hummed, rounding the corner of the display and picking up a head of cabbage. You started absentmindedly picking at it in your hands. “Favorite part of growing up these past two years?”

“I have to think about that one...”

You grab at the bag Morgan was toting around but he stubbornly pulls it away from you instead heading to the counter and paying for it himself. You grumble as Morgan pulls out cash to give the vendor.

“Can you stop doing that?” you mumble, trudging away to the next stand to look through the various knick knacks littering the table.

Morgan just blissfully ignores your pouting and takes the bag from you.

He looks down at the wooden figures thoughtfully. “My favorite thing about growing up was probably just coming into my own, getting my shit together, just literally growing up and into the person I’ve always wanted to be. I always remembered envisioning who I wanted to be and who I’d become... and for the most part, I’m happy with the person I’ve become, you know? That’s what I think my favorite part is... being happy with the person I am now.”

You smile to yourself and your hands stop fidgeting with the wooden figures, your eyes looking to him shyly. “I’m glad you’re still you, you’re still true to you.” True to the man you had fallen in love with.

“I am, too. I hope to always be that man.” He gazes into your eyes and you feel your heart race in your chest, warmth spread through your body.

“I do, too,” you whisper, softly, mostly to yourself. “Morgan?”

“Yes, Y/N?”

Before you could chicken out, you uttered the words that had been resting on your tongue, “Do you want to have dinner... with me? Tonight?” Your cheeks flooded with color and your eyes avert again the second those words left your lips. “But you don’t—you probably have plans—“

“Hey, Y/N,” Morgan calls, garnering your attention, your meek acknowledgment. “I think you skipped me.” His crooked smile spreads across his cheeks and you’re just relieved that you didn’t mess this up even if you want to smack it off his face. “But yes, I’d love to... as long as your chicken noodle soup is there...”

You smack his arm. “You ass!”

“Okay, chocolate chip cookies, too!”

“Morgan, is that ALL you want to have dinner with me for!” He earns another smack to the arm.

He chuckles grabbing your hand before you’re able to land a good hit and clutches your hand to his chest. “But you better be there, too, because if you’re not, THAT’S the deal breaker. I’d just go home. No point.” He smiles down at you brightly, there in front of the postcard vendor you had moved to and you had to catch your breath.

“You’re such a sap!” You yell, pulling your hand from his grip but not quite winning. “Morgan, I need my hand if we’re going to want to have dinner at a decent time!”

He sighs jokingly but let’s you have your limb back. “Come on, then. We have to get some chicken for the soup. Can’t have chicken noodle soup without the chicken.”

“Lead the way.”

And that’s how the afternoon went, learning about each other again through your dumb little game. You hadn’t laughed  so much in so long like you did walking through the market with Morgan with his bright smile and sparkling blue eyes lighting the way. You hadn’t been so happy in so long, so carefree, so you. You hadn’t been so whole. And you knew that it was in part due to the one thing missing from your life, the one piece. The piece that enthusiastically helped you pick out the veggies that would go into your dinner even though he hated vegetables and refused to let you pay for anything or carry anything and shared a bag of pastries with because he insisted he was being good and bought you the flowers you had been eyeing when you turned your back. Anything to see the smile on your face and your face was aching from all the smiling you were doing.

Even when you were sat there atop the island in your kitchen, instructing him how to cut the ingredients because he insisted he learn how to prep and cook, you felt at home, something you hadn’t felt in your place in a long time.

“Q.”

“When was the last time you cooked a legitimate meal?” You wonder as he struggles to keep the knife from his thumb. You tuck your leg underneath you as you continue to watch over him and his nervous hands.

He laughs and looks up to you. “Legitimate? Maybe my first week back from Van. You know the week that I convince myself that I can cook for myself.” You laugh, absolutely mortified but knowing exactly what he meant. “I know, I know. I’m surprised I’m alive too.”

He finishes chopping up the rest of the cabbage you had portioned out and looks to you expectantly. “Time-out. Do I put this in with the macaroni or the broth?”

“Is your macaroni done?” You watched as he wandered over and looked into the pot with the macaroni and shrugs. You laugh and push yourself off the counter and come to his side. You test the macaroni, explaining the process to Morgan giving him an elbow to taste. “So you drain and dump it all in to the big pot.”

You watch as he comes dangerously close to actually dumping the entire strainer’s worth of macaroni into the hot broth. Your hand reaches and grabs his arm before he can make a huge mess in your kitchen. “Slowly,” you instruct. “Use the wooden spoon to scrape it in.” And he does as you tell him. “Now, add the cabbage... slowly.” And when he put the cutting board aside, his gaze trailed down his arm to where your hand was still clutching his bicep, curled comfortably around his muscle.

You quickly let go, stepping back and blushing wildly. “And now we wait for it to come to a boil and then remove it from the stove.” He nods and puts the utensils down, leaning back onto the counter.

“Q or true?”

“Q,” you respond, your back turned to him as you worked on cutting up the fresh loaf of sourdough.

“Have you ever cooked this with anyone else? Charmed them with your cooking skills?”

You laugh a little and assemble the pieces of bread onto a baking sheet.

“Can you lightly butter these for me, please?” You request and you know he agrees when he steps next to you.

You’re back to stirring the soup when he speaks up after a few minutes of silence. “Are you not going to answer the question?” You look to him to see an eyebrow quirked, his face stoic.

You sigh and answer vaguely, “there’s not really much of an answer to that question,” you shrug. “I have rarely had anyone else in my life much less anyone else that I’d want to cook my specialty stormy weather soup with so no...”

He studies you. “How could you not have people in your life that want to be around you all the time?” He asks and you have to look away. “How could someone not want to be with you all the time?”

You shrug again but this time don’t provide an explanation. You turn away hoping to shield yourself from showing the hurt that crossed your face. Instead, you pull the pot off the burner and grab bowls, silently preparing your dinner and Morgan’s. You walk them over to the coffee table where you had always gathered around for nights like this and sit back against the couch. Morgan takes his seat next to you in silence.

“Y/N, I’m sorry if I...”

“It’s okay, Morgan. It’s fine.” You stir the soup in your bowl, the steam rising. You pushed through the emotions tearing at you. “Q or true?”

“True...” you look up to him at the sudden turn in the game. Truths were rare and heartfelt and when they came you always listened. “I wish I knew what happened. Why it all happened. I wish I could fix it, whatever it is.”

“Morgan...”

“No, I want you to know that you’re not alone anymore. I left you alone when you needed someone. I let you push me away. I forced you to find someone like that fucking... guy that doesn’t care about you and how you’re feeling because you didn’t have anyone... but you don’t have to deal with everything on your own anymore. I know you’re still hurting. I could feel it from the first time I laid eyes on you again. But you don’t have to... not anymore. Not alone.” You didn’t even notice that you were crying, sobbing, until you were cradled in his arms, his body around you, shielding you, protecting you from the yourself and the world around you.

It had finally hit you. Through the two years you were without him protecting you, watching over you, you were running on pure adrenaline to keep your thoughts at bay. You were sad all the time but kept at 100% to try and keep going. You had no one filling your cup and you were draining yourself empty on a daily basis trying to prove that you are someone worthy of good. You were running on empty, you were dangerously close to being completely spent. And you had no one. You never let anyone in, you never allowed yourself to open up.

You had no one.

But finally you had someone. Someone who should’ve turned his back on you but didn’t. Someone that shouldn’t care anymore but does. Someone that you shouldn’t burden with your heart but you always wanted to. He would always have a place in your heart. He was safe. He was home.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he chanted into your hair, holding you tight to his chest, holding every piece of you together. “You’re going to be okay. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure of it.”

“Morgan?” You fall, your voice hoarse and breath shallow from your sobs.

“Yes, sweet girl?” he murmurs against your head, his arms still around you.

“True...” Your eyes fall, your heart slows in your chest, your voice soft and small and scared and vulnerable. “I’ve never felt so safe in my life than when I’m with you.” You hold him to you tighter. You never wanted to let go. You couldn’t for fear of the uncertainty, of what could come.

“I’m not going anywhere. Not again,” he promises. He lets his hands run circuits up and down your back, trying to calm your breathing. “Breathe,” he prompts. “In. 1, 2, 3, 4...”

And you sat there, cradled in his lap with him for what could’ve been hours, the storm brewing outside, your dinners long forgotten. You sat there until your breathing slowed and you rested against his chest. You sat there in silence, your fingers tracing along the neckline of his t-shirt, brushing his skin everyone once in a while. You sat there until the question bubbled up on your lips.

“Are there any other girls?”

“No.” His fingers ran through your hair, the way you always loved, the way that always relaxed you, calmed you.

“True,” you whispered. He slowed his movements and squeezed you, his way of letting you know he was listening. “I don’t want you to see other girls...”

You felt his lips sink into your hair and you sighed contently. You didn’t expect an answer.

“True,” he murmured, his voice muffled by your hair. He leans down and presses a kiss to your temple before breathing, “good, because I don’t want you to see other guys...”

[svtts]

camp leader!jae x camp leader!fem reader

→ category: angst/fluff

→ topic: you and jae had been best friends since your first year at camp when you were five. however, you'd both caught feelings for eachother and your first summer being camp leaders seemed to aid in getting you together.

→ warnings: none

i

summer 2019! the year you’d finally be a camp leader instead of a camper. everything was so exciting, you’d trained all year round for this.

there were ten camp leaders, five female and five male. lucky for you, you were the leader of the bear-cub girl group, which consisted of five girls, all aged 7-14 and you loved them.

a trait that you had acquired after endless years at camp was being competitive, the five girls being equally as competitive as you. especially against bear-cub boy group leader, jae. i mean, it wasn’t your fault that he always seemed to do well in everything effortlessly!

[♫] love by lana del rey

ii

—‘the world is yours and you can’t refuse it.’ 

the constant teasing, small yet noticeable skinship and giggles from both of you made it pretty damn obvious you were into eachother.

almost every camper, leader and parent could see the chemistry between the both of you. however, you were both too dense to realise.

you’d gotten up promptly, getting ready before sliding your beat-up doc martens on and strolling out of your shared hut, with the other female leaders.

jae was standing on the porch, as he always does, waiting for you.

‘good morning sunshine.’ he says, poking your side as you laugh lightly.

‘good morning jae.’ you tell him as you head to the two identical bear-cub huts opposite eachother, discussing the plan for the day.

‘rise and shine girlies.’ you shouted, knocking on the door lightly as jae said the same, swapping girlies with uglies instead. ‘fifteen minutes until breakfast.’

you plopped down next to jae on the grass outside the huts. as he lied down, the sun reflected on his fair skin, making his plump pink lips highlighted. you studied his face before he spoke out.

‘are you wearing suncream? it’s already warm and you’ll get burnt soon.’ he says, opening his eyes to look at you. he looked at you closely, drawing your features with his eyes, although he wanted to run his fingers along your cheeks. 

‘i knew there was something i forgot.’ you cursed silently, standing up.

‘do you have some?’ he questioned, leaning up.

‘i should.’ you answer him.

‘you’re so dumb, how can someone as pale as you forget to put suncream on.’ he laughs and you pout, kicking him lightly.

‘why can’t they see that they’re basically in love?’ eunsol said, peeking out of the window, one of the other girls next to her, as they cooed at jae and you.

‘we should get them to date.’ the older one, yeri, suggested. ‘i’m sure the boys would help us.’

[♫] brooklyn baby by lana del rey

iii

—‘i think i’m too cool to know you, you say i’m like the ice i freeze.’ 

as you rushed into the canteen, freshly covered in factor 40 suncream, you scan the hall for jae and the ten kids.

it doesn’t take long before you hear his loud yet, cute laugh. making your way to the back table where all of them are seated, a space left next to jae for you.

‘look! here’s a sun-protected _______.’ jae says, the ten kids all laughing lightly.

‘hey! i just wanted to make sure you were all awake!’ you exclaimed, looking at the five girls that were eating and whispering to the other boys.

‘i got your food.’ jae tells you, giving you your usual breakfast, before continuing to eat his.

‘thank you.’ you say, beginning to eat. ‘why are they all whispering so much today?’

‘i have no idea. hey! are you keeping secrets from us?’ jae pouted and a small smile played on your lips as you watched him.

ever since you were young, you’d be coming to summer camp. you and jae met on your first year due to being in the same group and ever since you’d be best friends; all through your early teenage years, to training and getting qualifications to now.

‘see.’ the older girl whispered to the older boy, both of them coming up with a plan to get the both of you together.

‘i’ll talk to jae, you talk to ______. maybe we can get one of them to admit to us that they like eachother.’ he suggests and she nods before telling the others.

after a silly breakfast, as jae began to joke with the smallest camper, asking her to do his hair as she shook her head laughing.

‘den building huh?’ you said, walking next to jae and one of the younger boys.

‘ah! we’re gonna be so good at this!’ jae squeals enthusiastically, high fiving the boy at your side.

‘hey! we’re supposed to be a whole team.’ you whine and jae messes up your hair playfully.

‘girls vs. boys.’ he says as you begin to enter the woods, keeping a count on the kids you have with you.

‘i mean, if you want to play like that.’ you shrug, walking faster than jae, grabbing the smaller girls hand. ‘pick a spot for us to make dens missy.’

the littlest waddles to a few trees, many logs and leaves on the floor near them. ‘here!’

‘so, we’ll have here and, you can have the ones parallel to us.’ you offer to boys.

‘perfect!’ one of the five boys says enthusiastically.

‘ok, we have forty-five minutes. starting,’ jae pauses momentarily to look at his phone. ‘now!’

immediately, a group meeting is called where the girls decide that you and the oldest, yeri, will walk around looking for branches and logs big enough, the middle three, chaeyoung, eunsol and jungeun, with work on constructing it and the youngest, haejin , will pick flowers from the middle of the two dens for decoration.

‘jae, are you alright to stay here whilst we gather some stuff.’ you ask, and he nods pointing finger guns at you whilst winking.

you lightly blush at his foolishness before yeri grabs your hand, dragging you into the he woods.

‘so, jae?’ she wiggles her eyebrows.

‘what do you mean?’ you answer as you bend over to brush some leaves off a log.

‘i mean, it’s pretty obvious you like him.’ she spills out and you pause.

‘is it that obvious?’ you say, looking up at her as she laughs and nods. ‘i mean, it’s just the little things, like the caring for me and the play-fullness and the-‘

‘as much as i would adore to hear you awe over jae, we need to get a plan in action.’ she says.

‘no we do not.’ you answer back, picking up a log as she copies. grabbing a few extra as well.

‘come on! you can’t just hide behind your feelings. live a little!’ she suggests and you shake your head.

‘i’m pretty sure i don’t want to get humiliated by being turnt down by my colleague and best friend.’ you tell her as you both begin to head back.

‘oh my gosh, _______, you’re so dense! he likes you too! it’s so obvious.’ she tells you exaggeratedly.

‘yeah and pigs can fly.’ you say before the conversation ends as you arrive back at the den building area. you can’t help but feeling on edge, now she knows, who’s to say she won’t tell the girls, who will tell the boys, who will tell jae.

you push it to the back of your head as you begin to help construct the den, jae now gone off with the oldest of his group to gather supplies.

[♫] love by lana del rey

iv

—‘it’s enough just to make you feel crazy, sometimes.’ 

it had been three weeks since your conversation with the yeri, and so far nothing had changed. jae had still be the same, however he seemed to touch you and hug you a lot more.

everyday was eventful and fun, you were by far having the best summer of your life. the good thing is, as you had a permanent job here, you’d stay here all year round.

the camp opened on the weekend near halloween however, the activities where completely different, ranging from ghost hunts to pumpkin carving.

once the children left, in two and a half weeks, you’d be moving around the huts and cleaning, fixing up the activity huts, checking the quality of all the equipment.

any lonely person would find that tedious and annoying however, jae would be with you the whole time and you can’t help but look forward to it.

as much as you hated to be adhering to the ‘best friend to lovers’ cliche, you were completely head over heels for jae. he made the most boring thing into the funnest, most exciting thing ever by only cracking a few jokes or imaging something extravagant or adventurous.

his cute laugh was something you lived for, it sounded like music to your ears and his voice. his voice was angelic whenever he sung. he only really sung when he’d whip out his guitar at the last campfire of the summer. but, you couldn’t help but get excited thinking about him singing in two weeks time.

your crush was making you feel crazy, making you go insane with love.

v

today, all your plans were ruined when it began to rain as you arrived at the lake. luckily, you and jae had planned for when the weather was rough.

all twelve of you had rushed back to camp, and huddled up in the boys hut.

‘we should tell ghost stories!’ one of the boys suggested as you felt a small pull on your shorts. you look down to see the haejin , looking quite distraught.

‘what’s wrong? hey, don’t cry.’ you say, bending down to pull her into a hug.

‘i left my teddy bear by the lake.’ she stutters.

‘hey, i can go and get it now! we’ll get him back.’ you tell her as you stroke her arm, calmly.

one of the girls takes the youngest, distracting her with the boys as they do silly tricks.

‘what’s happened?’ jae says quietly behind you, his breath on your neck. you can’t help but wonder, what would it feel like to have his lips on your neck?

quickly, you snap out of your mini trance and turn around to him. ‘she left her teddy by the lake, i’m gonna run and grab it.’

‘are you sure? it’s really bad weather and you could get hurt or lost.’ he says, worry laced in every word.

‘i promise you i’ll be fine.’ you reassure him but, he doesn’t look convinced. there’s a moment where jae wishes he kissed your cheek then instead, it passed and you pulled your coat on and rushed out of the door.

jae tried his best to be his normal, funny and entertaining self as he worried about you however, the ten kids could see straight through him.

‘we all know you like _______.’ chaeyoung says and jae looks at the oldest boy.

‘pffft, no i don’t.’ he tried to deny.

‘yeah right, so if _______ was to date,’ she pauses. ‘baekhyun from woodpecker, you’d be totally fine with it?’ these children knew how to get what they wanted, and they were doing a really good job at it.

‘i mean no, she’s free to date who she wants right?’ jae says, biting his lip and looking away from the ten.

‘so if they cuddled up at the campfire, and always kissed,’ chaeyoung began to taunt.

‘ok no. that won’t happen, she’s not even close with baekhyun. and plus, i won’t let that happen.’ jae blurts out.

‘date already!’ one of the boys giggles whilst the others fake gag.

‘i don’t know.’ jae answers back.

‘she literally told me she likes you! just hurry up so we can see you two days before we leave!’ yeri strops.

‘she did?’ jae questioned, and they all sigh.

‘yes.’ she answers blankly as if to say duh jae stop being so dense. jae smiles to himself at the thought of you being his girlfriend, being able to hold you, kiss you, call you his.

soon enough half an hour has gone by and you’re still not back, to make matters worse it had begun to thunder as well.

jae was getting increasingly worried, fiddling with his fingers, trying to distract himself with playing monopoly with the kids.

he’d finally reached for his phone pulling it out and discovering yours in his pocket as well. damn you, jae, always looking after her stuff.

‘guys i’m going to call chan, sit tight.’ he tells the ten as he heads outside onto the porch briefly, the kids all occupied playing the game, or at least trying.

‘chan, can you hear me?’ jae says, he has no idea whether the weather would affect the connection between the phones.

‘jae, yeah. what’s up?’ he answers almost instantly.

‘is there a chance you can watch my lot, _____ has gone into the woods to get a lost toy and she hasn’t come back yet.’ jae rushes.

‘i’m in the canteen with my lot, bring them over to me and i’ll watch them.’ he answers and jae thanks him before getting the children into their coats and rushing to the canteen.

[♫] im with you by vance joy

vi

— ‘you looked at me and said, baby this rain changes everything.’

as soon as the ten kids are dropped off with chan and jihyo, the leaders of the crocodile group, jae sprints towards the lake.

every single bad scenario runs through his head, it was muddy and the rain could easily batter someone as small and fragile as you.

‘______!’ he shouts, as he wipes his glasses. he recalls what you were wearing, a pair of shorts, your dark blue camp leader top, identical to his and a matching dark blue raincoat.

as he approaches the side of the lake by the shelter, he’s had to wipe his glasses multiple times and he was soaked through.

‘_______!’ he tries again. he peeks into the small shelter and his heart suddenly races. your cuddled in the corner, desperately trying to warm yourself up, your legs covered in mud.

‘_____, oh my god.’ he quickly runs to you, pulling you into his arms, feeling your cold damp skin against his warm skin.

‘i’m sorry, i tripped and i thought i’d wait until the storm passed, but then i started to get really cold and-‘

before you can continue rambling, a soft pair of lips land on yours. it feels like every bit of cold nibbling at you had warmed up, and the sound of the rain had stopped. you both pulled away to breathe as he admires your face.

‘o-oh.’ you stuttered. he laughs lightly, helping you stand up.

‘please be careful, i was so worried, you’re freezing cold and wet, you could’ve died.’ he exclaims.

‘maybe a slight over exaggeration but, i’m fine jae, really.’ you tell him, but he shakes his head. he turns before grabbing the teddy bear that you had collected and placed next to you on the ground.

‘i’m going to call chan, then we’ll head back to camp.’ jae says, before he grabs his phone out of his pocket with one hand, using his other hand to wrap around your waist, pulling into his arms.

‘i’ve got her. we’re heading back now, we might need first aid.’ he says, as you look up at him. can you believe you just kissed him? his lips were just on yours. holy shit.

‘please be careful. i’m not letting you go out alone again.’ jae repeats, as you both venture out into the rain and wind.

‘if it wasn’t raining then i would have been perfectly fine.’ you argue.

‘but it is raining and it is windy.’ jae answers back and you roll your eyes. concentrating on walking back as jae slips his hand into yours.

this was nothing new to you, he seemed to do this a lot, but something about this time it seemed so much more reassuring and comforting. you state at your intertwined hands before looking up at him.

jae began to rush a bit as he noticed you shivering slightly. as soon as he could he would make you his girlfriend, but he wanted to prioritise making sure you’re fine.

it began to rain even harder as you enter the canteen. despite the peaceful jog-walk you’d just had with jae, your legs were still covered in mud and your were completely drenched, jae not far off being drenched as well.

‘_______!’ the kids scream all running towards you. you smile at them, trying to convince them that your head isn’t all over the place.

‘here! this is for you.’ you answer, pulling the teddy bear out of the inside of your coat, and placing it in haejin a petite hands.

‘thank you!’ she squeals then begins to tell her teddy bear off for ‘wondering away.’

‘_______, are you okay?’ jihyo says, she seemed concerned as chan distracted the kids with a crappy scooby-doo movie.

'i'm fine, just a bit cold.' you answer, jae raising his eyebrow at you.

'i'll call siwon, tell him you need to take the afternoon off.' jihyo says.

'i'm completely fine. i promise you.' the thought of siwon, your boss, finding out you were injured for such stupid reason made you anxious.

before you can detest anymore, jihyo is across the room on the phone and jae is trying convince you that you need the rest of today off, plus it's only a few hours.

'siwon is coming now.' jihyo says and you grab jaes hands, fiddling with his fingers, a habit you had acquired after numerous movie night with the kids,meal times, quiz nights etc.

'you're basically siwons favourite leader ________, i'm sure he'll be more concerned than mad.' jihyo tells you and you shake your head.

[♫] young and beautiful by lana del rey

vii —'he's my sun, he makes me shine, like diamonds.' young and beautiful by lana del rey

as suspected, siwon was completely worried and not the tiniest bit mad. he understood why you went into the woods and reassured you, much to jaes dislike, that he would do the same.

'take the next few hours off, come back around 7 for dinner, alright?' siwon says. 'and also it was about time you two dated.' his eyes flicker to your hands and you blush deeply and jae laughs.

'make sure to look after her please jae. jihyo, are you and chan okay with watching the bear-cubs, i'll happily stay as well.' siwon asks. 'jae, go and take _______ to get cleaned up.'

there was a mutual element of trust between jae, siwon and you. siwon knew you were best friends, as you both had been when he was a camp leader for you, he knows you two very well and knows that you both care for eachother deeply.

jae nods and instantly you're both rushing to the girls cabin, where you let jae in. he'd been in here millions of times before, there was no ban on girl leaders and boy leaders being in eachothers rooms as siwon knew you wouldn't doing dirty things at a place like this.

'first shower and clean all the mud off your legs,' jae instructs, placing himself down on the bed. you obeyed, grabbing some new clothes out of your wardrobe.

after fourty minutes, you'd successfully showered, gotten changed and refreshed. now jae was concerned about the developing bruise on your leg.

'what am i gonna do with you,' he sighs.

'it doesn't hurt, just let it be for a bit.' you says and he nods his head. 'so uh.'

'hmm?' he says, looking at you. barefaced you looked so incredibly beautiful and jae just wanted to make sure you knew.

'the kiss...' you start.

'i meant it. i obviously wanted to do it in a more romantic situation but, i just had the overwhelming feeling when i saw you there.' he brings to ramble.

'it was perfect jae.' you tell him, you were afraid he meant have regretted it or not meant it.

he signals for you to come over to him and you stand between his legs as he continues to talk. he doubts whether it was really perfect, i mean you were in the middle of the storm, freezing your asses off.

'we have three more hours right? we can take my car and go to town.' he suggests. you nod before he slings the key out of his pocket. 'we're gonna have to be quick, they might catch us.'

[♫] what you know by two door cinema club (i 100% recommend you listen to this whilst you read this part)

viii —'and i can tell just what you want, you don't want to be alone.' 

quickly, you scan the outside, the rain had died down slightly and resorted to a wet drizzle, the sun now beginning to shine, there was no one in sight as you closed the door behind you both.

before you can process what's happening, jae is grabbing your hand and you're both running to the staff car park.

once you spot his car, he's unlocked it and you're both sliding in to your seats before buckling your seatbelts and jae steps on the gas, zooming out of the car park.

'lets get it!' he shouts, as you shake your head in shame.

switching on the radio, you both laugh and talk as jae's hand sits comfortably on your thigh. everything was perfect, you were laughing and joking around, driving in the now emerging sunshine, jaes hand resting with your hand on top of his comfortably.

when you began to approach the town, which was just around the lake, jae pulled over by the side of the lake. it was exceptionally beautiful now, the storm had passed and left a glare on everything, that caught the light often and made you admire it.

'so,' jae says, as you make your way around the car and to his side, where he's closest to the shore. he brings his arms tightly around your waist, as yours find their way to his shoulders.

'this seems like a nicer place, to ask you to be my girlfriend.' he laughs lightly and you smile, heat rising into your cheeks. 'so, _______, will you be my girlfriend?'

'of course.' you reply, a smile dancing on your lips. you pull his head down so your lips can meet his.

this kiss had x1000 more feelings than the one before, every inch of love that's been trapped inside is finally free and swirling around the both of you.

jae feels like he's on cloud 9, your lips are so soft, and taste like cherries. he feels complete, every time he didn't kiss you feels like this kiss has made up for it.

once you pull away, to breathe, jae laughs lightly.

'i've liked you for so long but, i didn't think you liked me back.' you start, as he kisses your cheek, he kisses everywhere he's wanted to. your cheek, your jawline, your neck, your nose.

'how long?' he says, pulling away from a particularly long kiss on your neck.

'since we started leader training, last year.' you finished, your hands running through his hair.

'so, i could've kissed you a whole year ago?' he says, almost in disbelief.

'you could've.' you say, laughing lightly.

'well, i wish i told you earlier.' he sighs, 'but, i'm gonna make up for all the missed kisses now.'

the next three hours were full of laughs, kisses and visiting all the places in town that you'd never seen before.

[♫]apocalypse by cigarettes after sex

xi

—'your lips, my lips, apocalypse.' 

as it approached 6:45, you both got back into the car after having the best time of your lives. the sun shone peacefully, as you drove back to camp.

you peered out of the window, admiring the view of the lake as the sun reflected on it perfectly. jaes hand was securely on your thigh, as you both sing the lyrics to the song on the radio.

finally you make it back to camp, parking the car and both getting out. jae leans against the car watching you as you get out, admiring all your features.

you both enter camp, incredibly happy and excited to see the ten kids that you left with jihyo, siwon and chan.

as you enter the canteen, all eyes are on you both, before haejin, the youngest, shouts.

'______! jae!' she squeals getting out of her seat and running toward you both whilst the other nine all do the same. you smile before accepting the smallest into your arms.

'i missed you so much!' she says, as she shows a cute little pout. the canteen has gone back to its normal level of chatter.

'we were only gone for a few hours.' you say.

'the most boring few hours of my life.' one of the boys adds. both of you laugh before you scoop haejin into your arms, jae in front of you talking to the eldest boy and girl.

'i did it.' jae said to the two.

'finally!' they cheer, as all the kids sit down on the table. jae sitting opposite you as you sit with haejin on one side of you, eunsol on the other side.

the table erupts into chatter, the kids expressing their disgust to the boring few hours.

'well, tomorrow we'll do something so fun that it'll make you forget about your afternoon.' you suggest and they all reply enthusiastic responses.

'we're gonna go and grab our food, are you guys ok here?' jae asks and they all nod, most of them busy eating whilst the others talk about playing games.

you both go up to the counter, where the rest of the leaders are getting served.

'______, is that a..' yukhei starts, a hint of sarcasm on his voice. 'a vampire bite?'

confused you look to where he's pointing, and a purple mark is on your neck. jae giggles lightly as the other leaders start to jump on the joke, jae now getting food for the both of you.

'hmm, jae? what do you think? it could be a spider bite.' lisa suggests and you shake your head, pulling your hair to cover the hickey.

jae comes up behind you, wrapping one hand around your waist, 'i don't know? i don't think i spider bite would look like that.' he continues on with the joke. the leaders all laugh before scurrying off to their tables.

'what if one of the little ones saw this?' you whisper and you walk back to the table, his hand still around your waist as he'd already put the food on the table earlier.

'it's a mosquito bite as far as they're concerned.' he whispers back, as you reach the table and sit in your seat.

[♫] wonderwall by oasis

x —'hot summer nights, mid-july, when you and i were forever wild.' 

two weeks had passed, the best summer of your life so far was almost done. you couldn't help but pout as you walked with your group to the bonfire.

this was the annual bonfire, it had been happening ever since jae and you had been coming here at five years old.

'hey! why do you look so pouty?' one of the boys said, making jae, who was just in front of you, guitar in his back and his hand in haejins, turn around to you.

'it's just sad because, you guys leave tomorrow and i'll miss you all.' you say, looking at them. you'd gotten really close to the ten kids and hate to admit that it's going to be quiet and boring without them.

'we'll come back for the halloween and easter and next summer!' eunsol tells you and you laugh, nodding.

as you found your area around the campfire, all the kids settled down, you and jae sitting beside them.

the bonfire was regulated by siwon, leeteuk and donghae. the five different groups had areas to sit in, purely so that the kids didn't get hurt by running around wildly between seats.

jae cheekily slipped his arm around your waist as you hummed in content, feeling the warmth of the fire in your face.

'you're beautiful.' he says to you and immediately a deep red blush had spread across your cheeks.

'you guys are so cute.' yeri cooed, disturbing the small moment. nervously, you pull your hair behind your ear.

jae stayed cuddled to your side whilst siwon and the rest of the supreme leaders did their speeches, highlighted the best and worst moments of this summer.

'now, jae and brian.' siwon turns around, and everyone's attention is turned to the two of you as well as some diverted to brian. 'are gonna play guitar.'

'right, yeah.' he giggles almost nervously but excitedly as he grabs his guitar.

'think of some songs guys.' siwon says as you move out of jaes way. jihyo calling you over to them as the bonfire had died down and the kids were aloud to move areas.

'i'm going over to jihyo, ok?' you tell jae.

'ok babe.' he answers as he works on tuning his guitar. he looks up at you, pouting his lips and you give him a quick kiss before running over to jihyo.

'he loves you so much.' jihyo starts, as haejin finds her way onto your lap, obviously sleepy.

'i do as well.' you answer as you glance over at jae, to find him already looking over you, then winking at you before talking to chan and brian who were sitting next to him.

'i'm gonna request wonderwall.' she says.

'oh yeah, that's a good one.' you say as you try to brainstorm for songs.

almost fifteen minutes later, a song had finally been decided and it was jihyos suggestion.

you watched closely, as jae concentrated on his guitar, his glasses slipping down his nose slightly as the fire highlighted his features perfectly.

'five, six, seven, eight.' brian said before they both began to play their guitars. as soon as jae began to sing you felt like you were in heaven.

his voice was perfectly smooth and sexy, you felt amazed not only by your boyfriends voice but how easily he could harmonise with brian.

i don't believe that anybody, feels the way i do about you now

he sung so effortlessly, your eyes locked with his as the words left his lips. as they glided into the chorus, everyone began to sing with them however, jaes eye only went between you and the guitar throughout the whole song.

you're gonna be the one that saves me

the song finishes, everyone cheering and clapping before edging them on to perform more.

as they began to sing do i wanna know? haejin falls asleep against your chest and you coo at the sight as jihyo giggles as well.

'she's so cute, oh my god.' jihyo gushes, as some of the campers begin to sing along with your boyfriend and brian.

when you turn to look at jae, his eyes are already glued to you, as you mouth to him 'she's fallen asleep' and he awes at her as well.

after forty-five minutes of singing songs and enjoying your last night together, it comes to an end. as much as he hated to admit it, you'd only been sitting across from him but he felt like he wanted you by his side the entire time.

'she's so cute.' jae says, as you carry haejin back to the huts, the other nine all tiredly dotted around you all.

this was by far jaes favourite combination, you, the love of his life and a small cute, sleeping child. it made him so incredibly soft, and excited for the future, even if it was too early to say.

after fifteen minutes, you'd successfully gotten the five girls into bed and you were waiting outside the hut on the wooden railing, for jae to emerge from the boys hut.

'ah! finally, i have you all to myself.' he says, standing between your legs and kissing you sweetly.

'you were amazing tonight.' you tell him as you jump down from the railing, taking his hand in yours and wondering back to your huts. 'you should sing more.'

'i'm really gonna miss the kids.' jae sighs and you agree, leaning into him as he slides his arm around your waist, letting his hand sit in your back pocket. 'i've had the best summer yet.'

'me too.' you answer, 'but hey. let's not get all sad now, we've got the rest of this year to be here, kids or not.'

'we're moving into a hut together, right?' he asks. when the kids all left tomorrow all the huts could be moved around and lived in until they returned in october.

'is this your way of asking me to move in with you?' you laugh lightly. 'it's only been two weeks.' you shimmy away from his embrace purposely, to tease him. you begin to skip off ahead of him.

'it might as well be a year and two weeks.' he mutters, before running after you and bringing his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest. 'we'll move in then move out in october, it'll be fun.'

'right. and siwon will have nothing to say about it?' you ask, turning around in his arms, as you bring your hands to side of his face, drawing your fingertips along his cheek.

'shut up, you know he won't. you're literally his favourite leader, if anyone else had gone out into the woods that day, they'd get in so much trouble. but, because it was you, you didn't.'

'you're annoying.' you tell him, bringing his head down so you could kiss him.

'i know.' he giggles, before reconnecting your lips.  this was your happy place, being with jae at the place that you loved.

nothing beat this summer, and you doubt another will however, as long as you had jae you knew you were going to have the best time.

'thank you for the best summer yet.' you tell him and he smiles, looking at you in complete adoration.

'wouldn't be the best without you.' he finished before reconnecting you lips again.

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 14

Link and Mipha spent every moment they could together in the following days. On Thursday, he came home to find Aryll and Mipha in the kitchen, both with a carton of ice cream in front of them.

“I deserve this,” Aryll said, coming to her defense when her brother eyed her judgingly. “I survived my last final.”

“Oh, yeah.” He let himself drop into one of the chairs at the table. He grabbed Mipha’s ice cream and helped himself, ignoring her glare. “How was that?”

“A waste of time,” Aryll said. She sighed. “Guess I’m a senior now.”

“Sucker.”

“You’ll be fine,” Mipha said with a warm smile. Without turning to Link, she snatched her ice cream back, and grinned.

Link sighed, then turned his attention to his phone as Aryll continued.

“I was thinking,” she started. “We should take Mipha for a ride this weekend.”

Mipha hesitated and looked to Link for answers. “Ride? Ride what?”

“Horses, of course,” Aryll said.

“You can ride horses?”

“Well, I can. Link thinks he can ride, but he's not as good as me.”

Mipha grinned and crossed her arms. “You're full of surprises.”

Link didn’t look up from his phone, frowning down at his pathetic bank account. “I shovel shit all day. Is it really that unreasonable?”

“I guess I never pictured you as much of a horse person.”

“Ha,” Aryll barked, rolling her eyes. “You should see him dote on all the animals there. You'd think they were his kids.”

“I like the dogs,” Link muttered. “So what?”

“Mr. Tough Guy likes the fuzzy little animals,” Aryll teased, elbowing Mipha.

“I don't like the cuccos,” Link said firmly. “They're evil.”

“He thinks the cuccos are out to kill him.”

Mipha raised a brow. “I'm sorry. You took down the great evil Ganondorf with only a sword, and you're afraid of a bunch of little feathery cuccos?”

“They're evil and they want vengeance!”

“Vengeance?” Mipha shouted. “For what?”

“Link ran one over once,” Aryll continued to fill Mipha in.

Link ran a finger across his neck in a slicing motion.

Mipha batted her eyelashes playfully at him, getting up close. “Will you protect me from the cuccos, Mr. Hero?”

“No way,” Link said, shaking his head. “You're on your own with that.”

Aryll smirked at Mipha, then stood, returning her ice cream to the freezer.

“Where you going?” Link asked.

“To bed,” Aryll said with a yawn. “My brain is fried.” She stretched her arms over her head as she rounded the corner. “Time to sleep all summer!”

“Sounds like you’re kinda summer,” Mipha said with a grin. But when she turned back to Link, he had his head in his hands and was back to staring at his phone, his brows furrowed. Mipha frowned as she watched Link scroll and tap on his phone. “What’s wrong?”

Link sighed and turned off the screen before setting his phone on the table. “I need to win the lottery.” He rubbed his face tiredly with his palms.

Mipha hesitated. “That bad?”

Link stood and made his way to the fridge, grabbing himself a beer, though he cursed himself in the back of his mind for caving to the craving. He shrugged as he opened it. “I could always resort to selling my blood or something. Maybe a kidney. That’ll at least get Aryll through high school. She’s on her own for college, though.”

Mipha didn’t find him amusing, however. “What are you going to do?”

“Ignore my problems like I’ve been doing for the last five years.” He sat back down. “If I can stick it out another year, I can at least sell the house after.”

“Well,” Mipha started. “I’m not exactly digging my tiny apartment.”

Link’s brows furrowed. “You want to live here?”

Mipha shrugged. “I can pay half the mortgage, and I’ll even throw in sex.”

“A tempting offer,” Link started. “But I’m already getting sex.”

Mipha smiled. “Then I’ll withhold sex until you let me move in.”

Link frowned. “That’s unfair,” he said. He pulled his gaze away. “Besides. I’m not taking your money.”

Mipha shrugged. “What’s mine is yours.”

“That only applies in marriage.”

“I’ve seen plenty of marriages where that doesn’t apply.”

Link smiled. “Good thing I’m not a sucker.”

“Come on,” Mipha whined. “Stop being so stubborn. I’m not doing it for you, alright?”

Link’s lips twisted to the side. “Then, who’s it for?”

“For me,” she said simply. “We’ve been dating for two weeks. It’s time we take this to the next level.”

Link smiled. “Right,” he said. “But then I have to like, get a key made. And then you’ll be getting mail here.” He groaned. “I don’t want girly shit in my room.”

“You have it so hard, don’t you?” Mipha said dryly. She frowned and pushed herself away from the table, getting to her feet. “Fine. I won’t move in. I’ll stay in my shitty apartment and spend my nights window shopping on EHarmony.”

Link grinned, chasing after her as she moved to the door. He caught her wrist and pulled her into him, kissing her lightly.

“I’m kidding, alright?” he said.

Mipha’s gaze narrowed as she studied him. “I don’t think you are,” she said. “You don’t want me around.”

“I want you around. I’ve always wanted you around. For as long as I’ve known you, alright? Move in here.” He grinned. “And then I won’t have to take that job with Revali.”

Mipha smiled. “Well, we can’t have that.”

*****

Aryll frowned down at the box. She had arranged everything perfectly, optimizing the space to allow her to pack as many items as possible. What she hadn’t considered, however, was the weight of the box, tightly packed with Mipha’s items. Her lips twisted to the side.

“Here’s another one for ya,” she said over her shoulder to her brother as he made his way back into the apartment.

“Will you stop it?” he hissed at her. He moved to the box and peered inside. “Aryll, you can’t possibly fill every box like that. They’ll break.”

Aryll tapped the box with the toe of her shoe. “These are sturdy boxes,” she said frankly. “They won’t break.”

Link sighed and rolled his eyes. He lifted the box and headed back outside to pack it in his car. Mipha whistled playfully as she passed.

“I knew it,” Link said. “You’re using me for my muscle.”

Aryll snorted from behind, a much smaller box in her arms. “I’m way stronger than you.”

“Then why are you making me carry all the heavy boxes?” Link sneered at her.

“Because I figured you’d want to impress Mipha or whatever stupid guys do.”

“He’s never tried to impress me,” Mipha said.

“You mean he didn’t win you over with his lazy work ethic and carefree attitude?” Aryll grinned.

“He was completely oblivious to every woman that ever looked at him,” Mipha said. “He was an absolute idiot.”

“He still is,” Aryll confirmed.

Link slammed the car door shut. “Alright, fine,” he snapped at them. “See if I help anymore.”

“What a baby,” Aryll said, rolling her eyes.

Mipha batted her eyelashes at him and kissed his cheek. “At least you were smart enough to finally kiss me.”

“Smartest thing I ever did,” he said with a smile.

Aryll stepped between them stubbornly to pack the box she held in her car. She straightened after and stretched her arms over her head. “Is that it?” she asked. “Are we done now?”

“Now we get to move it all back in,” Mipha said.

“Just don’t break up any time soon,” Aryll said. “I’m not doing this again.”

“You’re so lazy,” Link muttered.

“You would know,” she responded. “Besides. I’m allowed to be lazy. I deserve to be lazy. It’s summer break.”

“Get a job.”

Aryll frowned. “Can’t I just be lazy for one more summer?”

“Not if you want to go to college,” Link said as he got into the car.

Aryll sighed, but said nothing more as she slid into the passenger seat. She leaned over the car door, her arms dangling, as Mipha moved to get into her own car. “Don’t grow up,” Mipha said to a grin as she passed Aryll. “And whatever you do, don’t date heroes.”

“Are you really sure about this moving in thing?” Aryll said, returning her grin. “It’s not too late.”

“Someone’s gotta make you something besides peanut butter and banana sandwiches, since apparently you’re both incapable.”

“I learned from the best,” Aryll said, smirking over at her brother as she settled back into her seat.

“Maybe I’ll move in with Revali,” Link muttered to himself.

Aryll ignored him and flipped through the stations on the radio as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. When she finally settled on a song, she sang along loudy, pausing only when her phone rang, and she quickly answered it.

“Hey… No, I’m out… Nah, just helping my stupid brother.” She grinned over at link, then immediately frowned at the voice in her ear. “Ew. Shut the fuck up… No, we’re busy. Mipha’s moving her shit in.” She grinned as she listened. “Sucks to be you.” And the frown returned. “I hate you so much… I thought you were grounded for life?” She snickered after a moment. “Yeah, totally. I wouldn’t know… Hey, I can say it, you can’t… Because when I say it, everyone feels sorry for me. When you say it, you’re just a huge bitch… I get away with shit. Obviously I’m going to use that to my advantage.” She rolled her eyes. “I take what I can get.” Her cheeks reddened. “He did? Seriously?” She listened intently. “Why would you do that?... Goddesses, Cremia. You’re -... Fine. Maybe. I’ll think about it… Bye.” She ended the call rather abruptly and fumed in her seat for a moment.

Link glanced at her quickly. “So, who was that?” He grinned.

Aryll rolled her eyes. “Cremia. She says hi.”

“Did she?”

“In so many words,” she muttered.

Link raised a brow. “What does that mean?”

“It means she’s a horny slut bag,” Aryll snapped.

“Okay,” Link said slowly. “I thought you guys were friends?”

Aryll sighed. “Yeah. For some reason, we are.”

“What did she do this time?”

“She keeps trying to set me up with this football guy.”

“He sounds out of your league.”

“Fuck you, man,” Aryll hissed. “I don’t like him anymore, anyway.”

“Anymore?”

Aryll crossed her arms and turned away, her cheeks warming. “Boys are stupid.”

“Atta girl,” Link said.

“That means you, too,” Aryll sneered at him.

“That’s alright,” he said with a shrug. “You’re stuck with me for another year, anyway.”

“What does she see in you?” Aryll said, mostly to herself. She shook her head.

“Who?”

“Mipha,” she said. She paused for a moment. “And every other girl in the world.”

“Where were all these girls in high school?”

Aryll snorted in disgust. “You had one lucky moment as a hero. Why does that make you the most popular guy in the world?”

“Are you jealous?”

“I’m jealous of everyone who has a normal family. Do you know what I have to deal with at school? All your dumb fangirls asking me for your number!”

“They do?”

“Ugh! You’re such a stupid guy!”

“You’re stupid.”

“Real mature. Thank Hylia I’ll have Mipha around from now on. I don’t think I can take another year of your shit.”

“My shit?” Link echoed. “Get through your senior year without getting expelled, and then we’ll talk about who has to deal with more shit.”

Aryll shrugged. “That was just my rebellious junior phase. I’m over that, now.”

“Who knew it was that easy?”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll get out of your hair the second I turn eighteen.”

Link frowned. “Really?”

“You have Mipha,” she said. “You won’t want me around.”

Link shrugged. “As long as you don’t go far.”

Aryll smiled. “Maybe. We’ll see.”

[writing-of-a-british-bitch]

Brother (Part 2)

Fandom: Queen/ Bohemian Rhapsody

Specified gender: Female

Pairing: Brian may/queen x reader

TW:  swearing, mentions of violence

Genre: Fluff and kinda angsty

Word Count: 2.1K

Requests: OPEN

Requested: (1)  Hi darling 💙 may I request some borhap cast or queen fluff of them cheering up reader because she burst into tears after having a rough day at school? I just had one and I feel shitty, plus my friend told me shitty things about me and even though he said he was joking it made me feel bad... sorry for this strange ask and also for bad English.

(2) Brother part 2 ???

Masterlist

Brian was about to lose his mind. His house felt small when his bandmates and his sister were wedged inside. Everything seemed louder, with Freddie and Roger's constant bickering. It was a godsend when the phone broke the loud squabbling. Brian let out a relieved exhalation before sneaking past his bandmates, tugging the phone off the hook.

"Hello?" Brian's voice turned louder with every second as the arguing continued.

"Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Harold and Mrs. Ruth May or Mr. Brian May?" A cold voice made him jump lightly, turning his head to hear the woman better.

"This is Brian May, who's this?" He requested, wrapping the phone's cable around his wrist, as Deaky shot him an odd look, curious as to who was on the phone.

"This is Sunset High School. We need you to pick up your little sister, (Y/N) May," The feminine voice answered harshly, so harsh that Brian winced before his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement and concern.

"Why? What happened?" The curly haired guitarist couldn't believe what he was hearing. Were you sick? Had you gotten into a fight? Had something terrible happened?

"We'll explain everything when you get here, please just come pick up your sister, Mr. May," Without another word, the line rung dead and Brian released a huff,  placing the phone down before pulling his shoes on, rushing to the door and grabbing his keys.

"Where are you off to, Bri?" Roger enquired, cutting Freddie off mid-reply, blonde hair falling in front of his eyes as he turned. Suddenly all attention was on the gentle giant.

"Something happened to (Y/N), her school needs me to pick her up," Brian explained, already twisting the door handle to open it.

"Is she okay?" Deaky suddenly perked up, worry filling his eyes.

"That's what I'm going to find out, I'll be back later," Brian quickly closed the door behind him, opening the door to Roger's car before heading towards your school.

You glared at the boy beside you, a large black bruise tattooing his left eye. Elliot shot you a furious, yet defeated look, before looking away, intimidated by your strong eye contact. You felt on top of the world, underneath all of your rage, until you heard the delicate voice of your older brother. You froze, and you saw Elliot snicker as your brother walked in. Your eyes immediately met the floor, feeling your blood run cold. The headmistress opened her door, ordering you and Brian into her office. Reluctantly, you stood up, wiping at your bloodied nose, wincing as you caught your busted lip, following after your long-legged brother. You kept your eyes locked on your feet as you both took a seat in front of your headmistress, knowing that there was angry look on his face.

"Mr. May, I'm sure you'd like to know why you've been called here," Mrs. Andrews began, placing her interlocked hands onto the desk.

"Yes, I really would," It was clear the fury in his voice wasn't aimed at your headmistress, but you instead.

"Well, your little sister here decided to attack another student- unprompted, may I add," You ducked your head down, fingers meddling with the necklace that hung around your neck - a gift from Roger- anxiously waiting for Brian's reply.

"Oh, is that so?"Brian forced out from gritted teeth.

"Indeed, now, in order to keep other students protected, we'd like for you to take her home and keep her away from our academic grounds for a week," Mrs.Andrews' voice was stern and dripped in disappointment; she'd always been fond of you, taking favour of you over others. But yet here she was spreading bullshit about being unprompted!

"Of course. Apologies on (Y/N)'s behalf. Have a good day, Mrs.Andrews," Brian stood up, extending his arm and Mrs.Andrews shook it before dismissing you both, calling in Elliot and his dad. Brian gestured for you to walk out and you stepped in front of him, head lowered as you made your way out of the building, bag shouldered onto your back. 

The drive home was filled with a tense silence, almost suffocating you.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?" Your brother asked harshly, though it was more of a command.

"Not particularly, no," You shot out, turning your head to look out of the window.

"Don't think that we aren't going to talk about this. I'll call mum, or get Freddie on your case, "You rolled your eyes, glancing down on your phone and beginning to type. Just as you pulled up at a red light, your phone was snatched from your fingers. "Hey!" You snapped, reaching out as Brian slotted your phone in the car doors side pocket.

"If you believe that you get the privilege of your mobile phone after what just happened, you are insane," Brian growled, eyes fixated on the road as the light turned green. You crossed your arms, glaring at your lap, fire in your eyes. Soon, you arrived back at Brian's house, instantly climbing out,, grabbing your back before slamming the door aggressively. You stormed into the house, stomping up the stairs, ignoring the looks of the boys. Brian followed swiftly after.

"Change out fo your uniform then come downstairs. We're going to talk about this," Brian instructed, stopping as you crashed your door closed.

"Did you find out what happened?"Roger asked, glancing up from the video playing on his phone, tugging an earphone out of his ear.

"What do you think, Roger?" Brian hissed.

"Brian, dear, chill out. She's clearly upset and if you're angry it won't help at all. It will make it worse actually," Freddie advised barely looking up from his game of scrabble with Deaky.

"Brian stays with Roger, I'll go talk to (Y/N), calm her down so you both can think logically," Deaky stated before standing from his seat and clambering up the stairs. Deaky paused by the door, hearing Panic! At The Disco playing quietly, knocking on the door gently.

"Fuck off, Brian!" You exclaimed, burying your face in the pillow.

"S'not Brian. Can I come in, love?" Deaky requested, a noise of consent leaking through the door. He heard the door lock click and let himself in just as you collapsed face down into the bed. The bassist frowned, perching himself on the edge of the bed.

"Hey girly," Deaky greeted quietly, watching as you rolled on your back, turning your head to face him. You looked both furious and upset, tears threatening to spill despite the scowl on your face.

"What is it, Deaks? If you've come to lecture me, just wait until I come downstairs in a minute," You huffed, standing up and turning your stereo off, readjusting your shirt - you'd stolen from Roger when Queen come to stay for the spring and summer.

"I'm here to calm you down. I know that you're angry, girly, but neither you nor Brian are going to get anywhere if you're both angry. Roger is helping Brian take a breather," Deaky reassured, voice calm and even. Next to Brian, Deaky was like a brother. Freddie and Roger took the position of your best friends. Deaky had such a domestic vibe about him, it was almost surprising that he was in one of the most up-and-coming rock'n'roll bands. You let out a breath, running a hand over your face.

"Okay...Okay. Alright. Just give me a minute, Deaks," You wandered into the bathroom and Deaky made his way back downstairs, where Roger had just about calmed the guitarist down. To Deaky, it was a peculiar seeing the hot-headed drummer calming the usually tranquil guitarist. Not even a second later, footsteps echoed down the hall as you reluctantly wandered down the stairs. Just like when you entered, all eyes were on you. By the time you came downstairs, all the boys were situated at the dining table, an empty seat placed between Roger and Freddie, Brian and Deaky sat opposite the unoccupied seat.  You gulped before silently pulling the chair and sitting down. Your eyes remained fixated on your fingers, running your thumb over the broken skin of your knuckles.

"(Y/N), can you please tell us what happened? I only dropped you at school two hours ago," Brian enquired softly, reaching across the table to take your hand.

"Don't want you to be mad at me," You mumbled anxiously. Roger, Deaky and Freddie exchanged concerned glances.

"Just be honest. No one will be angry if you're honest, love," Deaky shot you a reassuring smile. Every second you sat surrounded by your friends felt like decades.

"I, um, there's- I- well," You attempted, your breathing increasing dramatically. Roger placed a hand on your shaking knee.

"It's alright, girly, take your time," the blonde stated softly, prompting you to take a deep breath.

"At school, there's a kid who won't leave me alone. He constantly harasses me and won't stop picking on me. Elliot talks shit about me. He used to be my friend. I hit him because... he found out that I'm your little sister and said some awful stuff about you guys. I got angry, furious even, and he said "What? Are you gonna hit me, you weak cunt?" so... I did," At some point during your explanation, tears had begun to leak from your eyes. Freddie wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you so you leant into his side

"Shh, birdie, it's alright, darling. Calm down, breathe," Freddie guided, rubbing your arm gently. During your confession, Brian's face had shrivelled into one of sadness, Roger's expression showed fury and Deaky showed concern. And, though you couldn't see it, Freddie's face screamed anger as well. Roger placed a hand on your back, while Deaky took your other hand.

"Pooh bear, why didn't you tell us?" Brian asked, carefully running his thumb across the back of your hand.

"Didn't want you guys to think I'm weak. That I couldn't take care of myself," You answered allowing Freddie to wipe away the seemingly endless stream of tears.

"Girly, we would never think that you were weak," Deaky responded, squeezing your hand tenderly. You could see tears rimming his eyes- it made you feel guilty.

"You're the most badass person I know, chickie! You're not weak for asking for help," Roger agreed, pressing his lips to your temple.

"Pooh bear, I'm your older brother, I'm here for you. I'm in your corner. I want to protect you," Brian sounded like he was on the verge of tears, doing nothing to stop the salty water making its way down to your chin.

"Thank you, guys. I'm sorry about the waterworks,"You mumbled, removing your hand from Deaky's grip to scrub at your eyes.

"Don't apologize for crying. Don't you dare," Roger demanded delicately, just as Freddie placed a kiss in your hair.

"I'd suggest moving schools but you graduate in two weeks," Brian added, twirling the ring on your pinky - the ring identical to the one on his middle finger.

"Only one, considering that I'm not allowed to back for a week," You replied, wiping away the last of the salty water.

"As soon as you go back, Brian's going to talk to your headmistress, won't you, darling?" Freddie narrowed his eyes, informing Brian that there was no discussion fo the matter.

"Definitely. Don't worry, love. We'll sort this out. At least you can do extra exam revision this week," Brian joked lightly and you let out a light chuckle.

"Bri, I love you but that's the last thing I want to do right now," You smiled, leaning into Freddie a little more, enjoying the warmth and comfort he provided.

"What do you want to fo, girly?" Deaky asked with a fond smile.

"I want to go to my room and listen to Panic! At The Disco. Then I want to eat, watch a movie and go to bed," You smiled back and the men around the tab;e laughed quietly.

"Alright, if that's what would make you feel better, then go ahead chickie," Roger squeezed your shoulder before you stood up and hugged each of them. Your brothers, who would love you no matter what.

Bonus:

"Thanks for making dinner, Roger," You wiped your mouth as Brian began picking up plates, Deaky helping him to place them in the dishwasher.

"No problem, chickie," Roger grinned at you before going back to wiping the dining table. Suddenly, Freddie grabbed your arm.

"C'mon birdie, lets set up a movie. Your choice, dear," Freddie instructed, leading you into the living room. A gasp escaped your lips at the sight. A large pillow fort dominated the room, the Tv buried underneath the mountain of fluffy blankets and oversized pillows. Fairly lightly decorated the outside and, you had no doubt, the inside, spreading the room with soft light.

"I hope you like it, girly," Deaky stated, making you jump as he appeared behind it you.

"It was Bri's idea, chickie," Roger added and you smiled, launching yourself at your older brother.

"It's perfect."

Tags:  @writingfortoomanyfandoms @metaphorical-love-for-a-car@queens-n-roses @freaky-dcaky @yourealegendfred@fierce-bab@dusthas-beenbitten   @bensroger @strangeandwonderfulconcepts @babebenhardy@benhardyjones @silvver-rose  

[artificialqueens]

Trial of the Magician (Pearlax/Trixya), Chapter 1 - Grey Darling

a/n: Hey guys! Yes, I am starting yet another new fic, but this is the last one for a while, I promise. Anyway, this is the first installment of a fantasy au I’ve been thinking about for a while now, and I know it’s a little different than the usual fare you get with this fandom, but I hope you all enjoy nevertheless!

Violet had always enjoyed summer nights, hiding under the blanket of darkness, a soft warm breeze blowing through her dark hair. She’d never know that pleasure if she lived a sheltered, human life, where everything happened indoors and nobody knew the pleasure of sleeping under a canopy of stars. Yes, being a mage - well, a poor mage - meant living as a nomad, travelling from place to place and never settling in one town for more than a week. But Violet liked that life, and although she enjoyed the occasional bout of ostentation, there was no way she’d rather live.

Of course, it’d be much worse if she had to do it alone.

Her sister, Max, sat on the other side of the campfire, scratching out a design in the dirt with a stick she’d found nearby. Although they were twins, the pair couldn’t look more different - Violet was all dark and sultry, with a tiny waist accentuating her curves and plenty of skin on show through her ebony clothes. On the other hand, Max was as pale and as pure as the moon itself - grey hair, pale skin, lanky, androgynous form. Violet often admired her sister for her cool temper, which balanced out Violet’s quick one in ways that had saved them from more scrapes than she’d care to admit.

She and Max had travelled together since their parents passed seven years ago when they were both just fifteen. It had been hard at first - their parents had always been the ones to guide them through their nomadic life, teaching which terrain to avoid for setting up camp, how to barter for and sell any goods, how to live off the land. But the girls were nowhere near ready to strike out on their own, so the first few years were more difficult than anything they’d ever gone through before. Yet through hard work and determination, the magical sisters had got through life as best they could, and now they couldn’t imagine living any other way.

That night they’d set up camp in the woods, just off the dirt path that lead through it. They were far enough not to be seen by the average traveller, but not so far that they’d lose themselves trying to get back to the trail. If Violet’s map reading skills were any sort of accurate, she’d say they’d be able to make it out of the dense forest by tomorrow afternoon.

“I was thinking,” Max began, scratching away at the dirt, “we could go to Fortbridge next. It’s close by, and I hear they’re short on doctors willing to care for the poorer folk.”

“You think they’ll pay us, though?” Violet asked, cocking an arched eyebrow. They were always travelling from place to place looking for money - that was the life of the poor, nomadic mage. They weren’t rich enough to afford a proper home or protection, so they had to keep moving, getting money from wherever they could, however they could. That was just how it was - and if they weren’t constantly on the move, then the mage traders would get them.

And that was equivalent to a death sentence.

Max nodded. “It wouldn’t be much, but it’d be something. Besides, they need help… I want to give it to them.”

Violet smiled - of course she did. Max was nothing if not charitable, and her talent for the healing arts was a great aid to her generous nature. She’d been born with the gift of restoration, the powers of healing and protecting coursing through her very blood. The number of cuts and bruises she’d tended to on Violet alone were countless. Violet, on the other hand, was an illusionist, a distorter of reality. She could twist and bend the fabric of the world however she liked - although she was far from an expert in her craft.

“Of course you do,” Violet said with a grin, her eyes flashing in the firelight. “You make me look bad, Maxie.”

“I do not!” she protested, looking up from her drawing with a huff. “I think it’s impossible to make you look bad.”

Violet tossed her thick, dark hair over her shoulder. “Is that why all the handsome mercenaries flirt with you at the taverns, then?”

Max flushed and ducked her head. Both girls had a certain allure about them - Violet, seductive and mysterious, Max, sweet and delicate. They made for quite the pair. “They’re hardly flirting with me, silly. They just want to use me to get to you, that’s all.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Violet chided. “You’re pretty, Maxie. Deal with it.”

A small chuckle escaped Max’s lips, but their conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of voices drifting from the trail. Exchanging a glance of concern, Violet and Max fell deathly silent. They needed to be paranoid, always on the lookout. There was every chance that any old traveller could be a mage trader in disguise, a horrid creature who kidnapped unprotected mages and sold them into slavery, separating them from their families and their freedom. To be kidnapped by mage traders was to lose oneself forever.

“It could just be a merchant?” Max suggested, her voice a soft whisper.

Violet shook her head. “We can’t be sure unless we check. Come on - if it’s traders, I can cast a cloak of invisibility over us.”

“It might be safer to stay here, Vi.”

“But we can’t afford that risk. Let’s go.”

Violet deftly hopped to her feet, her leather boots not making a sound on the dirt ground. With a small sigh, Max rose too - although with a touch less grace than Violet. As pretty as she was, Max had always been rather awkward and gangly, her immense height not helping her case. Raising a finger to her lips, Violet lead her reluctant sister through the trees, casting a cloak of silence over them to hide their movements.

Arriving at the edge of the trail, Violet and Max hid behind a thick tree trunk, peering out either side to see what they were dealing with. It was mage traders alright, made obvious by the large wagon pulled along by strong, athletic horses, their muscular frames shining in the light of the torches fixed to the wagons metal sides. One figure was visible in the dull orange light - a short, squat woman dressed in a ragged leather garb, pistols secured in holsters on either side of her belt.

“Zahara’s mercy…” Violet cursed softly under her breath. “It’s traders…”

Max tensed beside her, watery blue eyes growing wide. “Oh, goodness… Vi, cast-”

Before Max could finish, a muscular arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her away, Max crying out as a dagger was thrusted against her slender throat, its make crude but the blade sharp nonetheless. Violet’s eyes went wide, and she went to grab Max out of her captor’s grasp before she was shoved to the ground herself, coughing roughly as a booted foot was placed against her back.

“You think you’re clever, don’t you, little witch?” The voice of Violet’s attacker was slow and drawling, mocking her for her failure and throwing in a slur to add insult to injury. “Castin’ your fancy mufflin’ spells and shit.”

Max’s captor laughed, a gravelly sound that drowned out Max’s struggling whimpers. “We know the game by now, we weren’t born yesterday.”

Violet let out a gasp as her attacker removed her boot from her back, but that gasp soon turned into a cry of pain as she twisted her hand in her dark hair and pulled her up to her feet. “You a trickster, then?”

“Illusionist,” Violet growled, her whole body tensing with each foul slur they threw at her. “And it’s none of your business what I am.”

“Oh, we got a feisty one!” Max’s captor cried in delight, and Violet could just make out a wide grin spreading out in the dark. “What about you, girly? Got something to say?”

Max, always a timid one, didn’t say a thing, paralysed by fear and dread. Violet had never seen her look so terrified, and the only thing that stopped her from lashing out at their attackers was the brutal knife held against her sister’s neck. The muscular woman sneered, angling the blade a little so that it just broke the skin, and Max whimpered as a thin ribbon of blood started to trail down her pale throat.

“Let go of her,” Violet ordered through gritted teeth, her vision turning red.

“Hmmm… no, I don’t think so,” the muscular woman replied. “She’s pretty, ain’t she? What kinda witchery you got, girly?”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Max croaked out her reply. “R- restor- restoration…”

The pair of traders exchanged wicked smiles, the sort of smiles that turned Violet’s blood to ice. Of the four schools of magic, restorers were easily the most sought after by mage traders - they fetched the best price on the market given how useful they were. Illusionists, on the other hand, sold for next to nothing.

Why did Max have to be so damn honest?

“Ooooh, we’re gonna make some coin with this one!” Max’s muscular captor announced with glee, a cruel, harsh cackle colouring her words. Her companion’s laugh was slower, more sadistic, characterised by the same drawl as her speaking voice. 

“Think they’re both worth it? Little miss trickster here could be a nice bonus.”

There was a beat of silence as the muscular one thought it over. “No. If the buyers know the healer hangs out with tricksters, she’ll sell for less. Ditch the other one.”

Before she could react, Violet was forcefully shoved back down onto the forest floor, coughing as the impact winded her. She cried out as her attacker grabbed her wrist and tied a slim rope around it, attaching her to a tree branch so she couldn’t do anything to stop them. Violet screamed in protest as the muscular one reached into her pocket and pulled out a cloth, forcing it over Max’s face until her eyes rolled to the back of her head, fully unconscious.

Violet struggled and pulled at the rope, doing everything in her power to free herself and go after Max. She wracked her brain for some kind of spell she could cast to stall the traders, but she’d only studied her magic to the extent of simple parlour tricks - invisibility, silencing, changing how things looked. She could hardly bend reality to stop them - no wonder illusionists sold for so little, they were bloody useless.

She could only watch as her sleeping sister was dragged down to the wagon, the short, stout woman from before attaching thick iron manacles to her wrists - a mages worst nightmare. Those manacles stifled a mage’s power, dampened their abilities to next to nothing. So long as they were painfully attached to Max’s wrists, she was powerless to help herself.

Once the manacles were attached, she was unceremoniously thrown into the back of the wagon, and the sight of a second mage in there with her was only a small relief. At least she wouldn’t suffer alone - but Violet didn’t want her to suffer at all. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she wrestled against the rope, thin and deceptively strong. It was only when she noticed a sharp rock on the ground beside her that she saw her way out.

Grabbing it with her free hand, Violet used every last reserve of strength to saw at the rope, gritting her teeth as it started to split. With a panicked gaze, she looked over at the trail and cursed as she saw the wagon receding into the distance, the cruel cackling of the traders ringing throughout the night. Devils, the lot of them.

After what felt like years, Violet finally severed the rope. Wasting no time to gather her things from their now abandoned campsite, she cast a cloak of invisibility over herself and began her mad dash down the trail, praying to every god there ever was that she could catch up in time.

***

She followed them for hours, the depth of night slowly transitioning into the dull lilacs and oranges of early morning. Violet had thought she’d lost the wagon in the woods, the trees dense and the path twisted and winding. Only once she’d reached the clearing did she finally see it, the great metal box trundling down the road, pulled by its muscular horses who were ridden by the foul traders themselves. If she was a wielder of destruction magic, she would’ve ruined them in an instant.

With her cloak of invisibility still cast over her, Violet stalked towards the wagon, keeping her footsteps light so her bootprints weren’t too obvious in the dirt. But no sooner did she get a mere few feet behind the wagon did her spell begin to falter, losing its power after being held for hours. If it faded now, the traders would see her, and what good with that do?

“Shit… shit…” Violet muttered as her ghostly figure began to break through the cloak, growing visible in the morning light.

Spotting a bush nearby, Violet ducked behind it, watching the wagon from her hiding spot. Fortunately, they’d reached a valley, meaning that the wagon would be easy to see even from a distance - she wouldn’t lose sight of it now. 

As she waited for the spell to wear off, Violet’s thoughts drifted to Max, her sweet sister caught in the jaws of the slave trade. She’d never survive it - traders treated their victims like they were nothing, unworthy of even the basics of human kindness. Max was a waif, with a delicate constitution and a preference for pacifism that was a boon in some situations, and a curse in others. Now, it was the latter. If those monsters hurt her, would she fight back? No, because it wasn’t in her nature. Maybe that made her weak, maybe that made her pitiful, but all that Violet cared about was that it made her vulnerable. 

She’d already lost her parents. She didn’t need to lose her sister too.

With the invisibility spell fully worn off, Violet needed to think of a new plan. Hopefully, it had been too dark for the traders to get a good look at her face when they first met, so there was every chance she could just wander down the trail and not get caught. It was just about the only option she had - she’d used up all her power sustaining her invisibility for so long, so casting another would be impossible until she rested. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time for that.

So, throwing her hood over her head to hide her face, Violet carried on, the wagon in her sights.

***

“Hey? Hey, you awake?”

“Hmmm…”

“Can you hear me? They didn’t hurt you that badly, did you?”

The warmth in the girl’s voice was the only thing that cut through the immense chill that was sinking into Max’s bones, freezing her to the core. Her head was pounding as she opened her eyes, blinking once or twice to try and clear the haze that coated her vision. She knew she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Violet wasn’t there… Neither was the forest or the warmth of summer…

The memories of the ambush all came flooding back - the knife to her throat, Violet getting thrown around like a ragdoll, and the fear that had turned her to stone. With a start, Max bolted upright, a scream-like gasp escaping her throat, panic rising from her stomach and choking her. A soft, manacled hand rested on her shoulder, and that same warm voice drifted into her ears.

“Hey, hey! It’s alright.”

“It- it’s not… Violet… I have to get to Violet…”

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere,” the girl told her, a slight sadness to her now. “Even if you wanted to. Neither of us can.”

Max glanced over at her companion, a dark-skinned, plumper girl with a braided hairstyle commonly found in the north. Although she was locked up in chains, there was a smile on her face, albeit a weary one. “Oh…”

“I tried getting us out,” the girl said with a sigh. “But these stupid manacles keep getting in the way… Can’t conjure up a key when you’re all chained up, right?”

“You’re a conjurer?” Talking to the girl was grounding her, calming her down. If Max could keep her talking, she’d have more time to relax, and then she could think with more clarity. 

The girl nodded. “That’s right. I’m Jaidynn, by the way.”

“Max…”

“Good to meet you! Nice if we could’ve met differently, but that’s life, I guess.”

“You seem awfully calm about this,” Max remarked shakily, hanging her head. It was taking all the strength she had not to break down in tears - she’d been kidnapped, taken to be sold. Unless she could figure out how to escape, which would take a miracle, her life was over forever. How could Jaidynn seem so chipper?

Jaidynn shrugged. “I just been in the back of this wagon for a while, I guess. And you look really scared, so y’know, thought I’d try and make things a bit easier for you. Because things are always less scary if you got a friend by your side, right?”

“Right… Thank you.”

Max tried her best to smile, but instead, her lips twisted into a frown as her inner strength broke down, and the tears flowed as freely as they could. As she buried her head in her hands, sobs wracking her body, Jaidynn went to her side in an instant. She hugged her as best she could with the manacles in the way, in the end just letting Max lean against her shoulder and cry into it. 

It wasn’t enough to comfort her. It’d never be enough to comfort her. But at least it was something.