#well if it isn’t mikes sweetie pie

[chirpsythismorning]

Mike pulling up to his house in a pizza van w his sweetie pie by his side ☺️

[hopefulfuturenovelauthor]

STRESS (part 2)

Eddie Munson x reader mini series

STRESS (PART 1), ..., STRESS (PART 3)

Warnings: language, gore, blood, allusion to suicide, bad metal health, drugs, drinking, and stranger thingsness. (if you think I should add anything else to the warning please let me know, thanks.)

please do not copy or plagiarize my work.

***

“Y/n!” Your mother screamed from downstairs, “your boyfriend’s on the phone!”

You jumped, eyes immediately leaving the clock that was no longer there. You yelled back, “Mom, he isn’t my boyfriend, god, get it right.” You didn’t want Eddie to hear your mother say that.

You ran down the stairs and grabbed the phone from her terribly manicured hand. The whole downstairs smelled of cigarettes, but it didn’t entirely cover up the stench of spilled, molding alcohol.

“Hey, Eddie. what’s up?” You asked over the phone.

“Hey, sweetie pie, not much, what’s up with you?” 

You rolled your eyes and laughed, beginning to fiddle with your hands out of nervousness. You started to speak the second you found the red indented crescents on your palms, “haha, very funny, just ignore my mother. I’m not doing too much at the moment.”

“Great!” He exclaimed into the phone all excited, “you can join our D&D game tonight. I know I told Dustin and Mike to find someone to cover for Sinclair, but your better than anybody they could ever pick and you are so good even just jumping into games and you-“

“Eddie, Eddie, I can’t,” you told him.

“What?” He asked, sounding like a kicked puppy, all of his enthusiasm and excitement left his voice.

“I, um, got a new part time job, and I’m closing up for the first time this weekend. I’m sorry.” LIE

“What, why didn’t you tell me? Is something wrong, do you need the money?” He began to berate you with all of these questions. 

“No, no, I was just wanting to try and save up for that car I wanted. I’m fine money-wise, seriously. I just won’t be able to make it tonight.” LIE

“Oh, okay,” he replied.

“But how about I play with you some other time, okay.”

“Yeah, no, I’d love that. Good luck with closing. See you tomorrow, cutie.”

“Oh my god, Eddie, shut up. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You laughed, and then hung up.

Bing

You jumped, watching as your mother ran to the kitchen, checking the oven. 

“I’m going to be leaving soon,” you told her from the hallway.

“Okay, have fun,” she said back, not even turning your way.

You nodded your head in contemplation and annoyance. You would be fine, nobody knew the truth. Nobody knew why you worked the extra jobs or that this wasn’t actually your first time closing. Nobody knew your family was struggling either, you kept that information to yourself.

You changed into your uniform, just a vest, polo, and some jeans. The convenience store wasn’t too far from your house. You biked to your work, it was probably the only relaxing thing you did alone. After all, you only ever truly were peaceful with Eddie.

The bike ride was only about 10 minutes. You locked your ride to the bike rack before heading inside. 

“Hi there, Y/n,” Mark, your manager, greeted you. You had known him since you were young, since he had somewhat been friends with your father. Mark was like a grandfather to you, he had been there when you and your mom had needed him. He was there for you when you were financially struggling, which is why you have this job. 

“Hi, Mark. How has your day been?” You asked, smiling at the old man.

“It’s been good. How was yours kiddo?” He returned the pleasantries. 

“Pretty good, school was school.”

“And your mom?” He awkwardly put out the question, uncertain how you would answer.

“She’s, she’s doing alright,” you search for the correct words to put in some sort of neutral phrasing, “she’s at home.”

“Has she been…” Mark trailed off.

Drinking, smoking, crying, eating, applying to jobs, sleeping, grieving, going out. 

“She’s been alright the past couple of days. She was thinking of getting a reception job at the local newspaper,” You informed him. LIE

“Oh,” he straightened up, shocked, “well that’s good, that’s real good.”

“Yeah,” you look away.

“If it doesn’t work out,” Mark spoke, “she can always work here.”

You looked back at him, “thanks for the offer, but I think she would just see it as charity. I’m grateful you let me work here though, I know you don’t exactly need the help.”

“Nah, none of the others like closing up, and I’m getting a little too old to keep up,” he smiled at you.

You smiled back, “well, I’m glad I can help.”

“Thanks, kiddo. I’m going to go, you need anything or anything happens, you call, alright?”

“Alright,” you smiled and nodded.

“Goodnight kid.”

“Goodnight, Mark.”

The old man left you alone in the convenience store, locking the doors behind him. You had your spare set hooked to your vest. Throwing on your headphones, you played your favorite mixtape and went to work. You started to restock shelves and put out new items on shelves. You closed the blinds and cleaned the cashier booths, registers, baskets, and carts. You finally turned off the lights and started to walk back to the entrance.

“Y/n.” Your head shot back to the isles of the small store.

“Hello, Mark, is that you?” You asked, goosebumps beginning to form on your skin. “Mark?”

“Y/n, Y/n, I’ve been waiting for you,” the voice was distorted, almost staticy.

“Who, who’s there? Who is that?” You freaked out, starting to back away from the voice.

“Y/n,” it came out as a whisper. “Y/n,” the voice became louder. “Y/N!” It screamed, items began to fall from their shelves.

“What the hell!?” You screamed, running to the door, trying to open it. As you fumbled with your keys trying to unlock it, vines grew onto the handles and spiders began to join them.

You turned, hoping to have more luck with the back door. You didn’t move after you swiveled around.

“Y/n,” he said again, “Y/n, it’s me.”

“No,” your voice broke with emotion, “D-Dad?” The tears started to escape from your eyes, mini waterfalls flowing down your cheeks.

“Hi sweetheart, I’ve missed you,” he said, taking a step forward. He was still about ten feet away from you. 

“Dad, I-I missed you too. Dad I missed you, I missed you too.”

“LIAR,” he hollered, his face contorting, his body rotting, blood leaking through the arms of his button up shirt. “LIAR, YOU WANTED ME DEAD.”

You couldn’t move. All you could do was sob and shake your head muttering, “no, no I didn’t want you dead, I didn’t want you dead.”

“LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LIAR-“ he took a step closer after each word until he was right in front of you.

‘Mama told me, 

When I was young,

Come sit beside me,

My only son,

And listen closely,

To what I say,

And if you do this, it will help you some sunny day, oh, yeah.”

The store was empty. No one else was with you, the door was clean of arachnids and vegetation. The items were still placed perfectly on the racks of their isles. Nothing was different.

Your cheeks were still wet from the tears. But it wasn’t real, you thought. You started to think you needed sleep. You felt like you were losing your mind. 

You left as soon as you could, once you managed to convince yourself to move. God, you hauled ass out of the store. You grabbed your bike and pedaled home faster than you had ever done before. You didn’t stop when your mother called your name once you managed to get inside your house. You kept on your path to your bedroom. 

You knew you needed sleep. But you couldn’t. So, instead you played your favorite song over and over again. Just trying to manage with the fact you were terrified and that it was all because you thought you were losing your sanity. You ended up playing your cassette tape in the boom box in your room. You turned it up as loud as you could, disregarding your mothers commands to turn it down. You couldn’t turn it down, you were trying to cancel out the damn ticking of that god damned clock. There was no clock, but, god, time did seem to be running out.

STRESS Mini Series Tag List:

@slvdsjjk

[just-jordie-things]

Can’t Pretend - Richie Tozier

word count: 13,840 warnings: swearing, sexual themes summary: richie and (y/n) share a dirty little secret, and it’s starting to get in the way of her relationship.  but it shouldn’t if it was just a fling, right? based on this song (a/n): about to hit 5.4k so I thought I'd celebrate by posting this ol’ thing :) I really like it I hope y'all do too :3

___

[ love... i have wounds, only you can mend // i guess that’s love… i can’t pretend ]

It was a plain saturday for the Losers.  And by plain, I mean they were chilling in Bill’s bedroom, thankful that his parents were out of town for the weekend because that meant they could raid the liquor cabinet and be a bit louder than usual.

(y/n) was leaning against the mattress, sat on the floor, a beer bottle in hand and a smile on her face.  These were the best kinds of nights, where all they did was talk, and it was all they had to do.

Eddie smacks Richie on his shoulder, but nearly hits his face in his drunken stupor.  And when (y/n) laughs, her head leans a little more into Ben’s leg, which is hanging off the side of the bed where he sat.  She’s laughing loudly into the denim of his jeans, and the material does nothing to muffle the sound.

Everyone else is laughing too, though, so it doesn’t matter.

“Alright, so is anyone aware that in four months, we won’t see each other like this anymore?” Beverly asks, a frown on her face as she takes another drink.  “I mean, what, am I supposed to make new friends?”

“Yeah, good look with that, Ringwald” Richie snorts, and Bev just flips him off, the way she always does when he calls her that.

“We won’t be that far from each other” Ben says to her with a sweet smile.

“And it’s not like we won’t write, too,” Stan chimes in.  “Except you Richie, after we graduate, never fucking talk to me again-”

“Oh, I’ll send you love letters every day sweetie pie,” Richie says before Stan can even finish.  “Don’t you worry, it’ll be like I’m right there with you”

He sticks his tongue out and snickers, while Stan grumbles about needing a break.

(y/n) can’t help but giggle at both boys.  Partially because she gets very giggly when tipsy, and partially because they’re the two funniest people she knows.  Richie grins at her when he catches her laughing, only making her laugh more.

“How are w-we gonna do it?” Bill muses, not really looking for an answer, because there really isn’t one.

“We don’t,” (y/n) shrugs.  “We avoid it until… there’s not really any other option” 

“Dark” Ben mumbled.

“It’s true,” (y/n) argued.  “If we go through this year with the mindset that this is the end, then we’ll push each other away, it’s psychology”

Eddie nods because he was in her class and is pretty sure he remembers hearing that.

“So we just live our best year” He agrees with her.

She high fives him.

“Well you’re already on your way,” Beverly said, and stood up from where she sat next to Mike so she could plop down next to her best girl.  “What, with your fancy scholarship, and your boyfriend” She singsonged the word, and (y/n) wilted with embarrassment.

“Come on Bev-”

“Are you guys gonna stay together?” Stan asks, the gears in his head turning as soon as her boyfriend was mentioned.  “I mean it’s been like… five months, right?”

“Four and a half” (y/n) mumbled, pulling her knees to her chest.

She stares down at her drink, and then takes a long swig.  She had a feeling she’d need it.

Talking about her boyfriend when everyone was around was… awkward.  It was one thing if it was just her and Beverly, but to have all the boys’ eyes on her every time his name came up made her feel hot, like she was being interrogated.

“So you’re kinda serious,” Stan shrugged.  “How many times have you done it?”

She chokes, and coughs for a long moment before catching her breath.

“Stan you don’t get to-”

“Come on, just fess up,” Beverly giggles.  “We won’t make fun! Promise!”

(y/n’s) cheeks go hot, and she knows they’re pink and that she’ll only be picked on more for it.  She locks eyes with Richie, who winks at her, and now her face must be red.

“We- uh-” Her eyes dart away before she can choke and lose her train of thought again.  “We actually um… haven’t… done… that” She says slowly, and with every reluctant word her voice gets softer.

“What?” Eddie screeches.

“No way,” Stan is laughing in disbelief.  “Come on, just give up the number.  What, ten? Fifteen? Twenty-?!”

(y/n’s) eyes are narrowed at him, silently yelling for him to fuck off.

“Really?” Beverly asks, just as shocked as the others.

Well, everyone was surprised.

“But he’s so…”

“Hot?” Eddie offers, only to get nudged in the ribs by the trashmouth next to him.

“I was going to say affectionate,” Beverly answers, staring skeptically at Richie.  “He’s always hanging all over you, how have you not hooked up?”

(y/n) shrugs her shoulders and stares down at her drink again.

“I dunno” She mumbles weakly.

“Has he tried-?”

“This is super awkward, can we be done?” She asked, voice still soft, embarrassed.

“I mean come on, don’t you want to f-”

“Can we stop fucking talking about this, before I’m forced to visualize his dick?” Richie cuts in, faking a gag.  “Oh, fuck, too late, thanks a lot you sluts”

Stan and Beverly are distracted by the comment and burst into laughter while Richie pretends to throw up.

After the conversation ends, and Ben starts talking about the colleges he’s deciding between, (y/n) glances over to her favorite glasses-wearing idiot.  He catches her gaze, and she mouths ‘thank you’.  He just smiles, before diving right back into conversation about why Ben should be an architect and not a poet.

A few beers later and they have to cut themselves off, because if they drink too much then Bill’s parents will notice and they’ll all get in trouble.  They shouldn’t be drinking anymore anyways, because everyone’s relatively tipsy, and with the general excitable mood among the group, drinking more would be a bad idea.

Everyone’s lying on their backs, staring at the ceiling and talking about nonsense.  What was once a serious conversation about their future has turned into a debate about what the most important thing to have when stranded on an island would be.

“A knife, definitely a knife” Mike argues.

“What? Fuck no, a gun” Stanley fights back, thus starting an argument about not having bullets because you can only choose one item.

“Flint? I guess? I don’t fuckin’ know” Beverly says sleepily.  She didn’t care much for this discussion when it started, and forty five minutes later, she still doesn’t.

“I’d bring an issue of Maxim, for sure.  Gotta keep busy you know-”

“Beep beep, Richie,” Eddie grumbles.  “I’d bring an epipen.  I’m allergic to everything on an island”

“Oh fuck off, you’re not allergic to sand” Richie smacks the boy on his arm for suggesting something so idiotic.

“I’d bring  one of my grandpa’s sheep,” Mike spoke after what seemed like forever of deliberation.  “It’d save his life and I’d have a companion”

“That’s sweet,” (y/n) cooed, smiling delightedly at the idea of Mike wanting a friend more than anything else.  “I’ll take a sheep too, please”

The two break out into laughter for a few minutes, uncontrollable, belly aching laughter.

“You can’t copy Mike, come up with your own!” Eddie scolded, offended that (y/n) tried to break the rules of their made up game.

“Alright, alright, let a girl think first…” (y/n) folded her arms over her head as she squinted, to help her thought process.  “Um… a book”

“A book?” Eddie laughed almost maniacally at her answer.  “Alright, just fuckin’ take a sheep from Mike, that was even worse”

“What? No it isn’t,” (y/n) argued.  “It’ll keep me occupied and entertained, and when it’s done I can read it over again”

“Lame” Eddie muttered.

She reached over to smack him, and sadly Bill got caught in the crossfire.

“You wouldn’t bring your lover?” Stan teased, and she almost hit him too.  “You’d pick a farm animal over your boyfriend?”

“I didn’t think of it like that” She said quietly.

“I don’t get you guys,” Stan says, and she sighs because the conversation has somehow drifted to him, again.  “I mean, it’s been four and a half months, and typically couples get it on for their one month.  But you’ve had four anniversaries and still haven’t-”

“Why are you so interested in my business, Stanley?” (y/n) asked, a bit more defensive than she needed to be.

He raises his hands and pulls an innocent face.

“I’m just worried about you!” He retorts.  “You’re the one in desperate need-”

“I’m not desperate for anything” She snaps.

“Yeah, Stan, she’s not a virgin, (y/n’s) gotten some before” Beverly makes an attempt to back (y/n) up, but it only makes her feel worse.

“What? But he’s her first boyfriend- oh my god, who was it?” Stan asks, way more interested in this topic now.

“Leave me alone” She rolls her eyes and shoves his shoulder.

“Oh god, it must be real embarrassing,” Eddie is giddy for the gossip now, sitting up to join in better.  “Who was it?”

“Cut it out” She says a bit louder, sharp eyes meeting Eddies, a silent threat in them.

“Who was it, Bev?” Eddie asked, deciding to go the source it came from.

But she shrugs her shoulders, and makes an ‘I don’t know’ sound.

“What do you m-mean you don’t kn-know?” Bill stammers out.

“She didn’t wanna tell me” Beverly answers, simple as that.

(y/n) covers her face with her hands.  She wishes she was more drunk than she was, because then maybe there was hope for recovering from this.  Or maybe even forgetting completely.

“Must be real embarrassing,” Richie teases.

She peeks at him through her fingers.

“Bowers?” He asks with a raised brow, and she barks out a laugh.

Everyone laughs then, at the mere idea of anyone hooking up with that nutcase.

“I promised I wouldn’t tell, okay?” She admits after the laughter has died and all attention is on her again.  “It’s private” She adds softer.

“Fine” Stan gives in, not wanting to make the girl anymore uncomfortable.

If they knew anything about (y/n), it was that she kept secrets and promises locked away forever.  She was the most trustworthy person any of them had ever met.  And she’d never break someone else’s trust either.

“But if you’ve done it before, why aren’t you, yaknow, still doing it?” Stan asks, and begins to giggle at his own words.  “I mean, if I had a hot girlfriend, I’d be doing it like… all the time”

“Pervert” (y/n) mumbles.

“Did you just call (y/n) hot?” Eddie asks, and everyone ooohs at his catch.

“Alright, alright! Calm down, of course I did!” Stan announces, and a blush takes over the girl’s face again.  But this time she’s not embarrassed, she’s flattered.  “It’s an observation, okay? Jesus”

She giggles, and leans over to kiss his cheek.

“You guys are so dumb,” She mumbles.  “I love you all so much”

“All I’m asking,” Stan declares, voice loud.  “Is why you’re avoiding it!”

“I’m not avoiding it” She argues, but she knows she’s failed because it’s such a blatant lie, and any sober mind would be able to see that.

Luckily, no one in this room is sober.

“Oh yeah?” Stan scoffs.  “Have you been home alone with him in the last four and a half months?”

“Yeah?” She asks, voice cracking slightly.

“And you didn’t screw him?”

“Watch it” Richie’s voice bites from where he lies a few feet away from them.  Stan pays it no mind, but Bev kicks his leg, and furrows her brow at him, wondering why he gave a fuck what Stan had to say.

The others were either asleep, or didn’t want to step in on the mini argument (y/n) and Stan were having.

Ben and Mike had passed out on the floor a few minutes ago.  And Eddie and Bill just sat and listened to the argument, wishing they could pass out.

“No, I- I didn’t,” (y/n) stammers.  “But so? I don’t want to rush it-”

“Liaaaar,” Stan singsongs.  “You don’t want to hook up with him”

“That’s not true!” She exclaims.  “We-. we’re actually hanging out at his place tuesday night,” She tells him matter of factly.  “Alone!”

“Ooh, good for you,” Stan retorts sarcastically.  “That doesn’t mean shit unless you actually take your pants off”

Her face scrunches up as her eyes narrow at him.  Now she’s angry, because he doesn’t believe her, and he’s not trying to.  So what if she’s lying through her teeth? He’s her friend and he should believe her.

“I’m tired” She announces suddenly, and forces herself to stand up.

She steals one of the few blankets on Bill’s bed that he’d prepared for everyone.  Her balance is a bit shaky as she wraps it around herself, and heads for the door.

“Goodnight” She calls, only once she’s left the room and is heading for the pullout bed in the living room sofa.

The room is silent for a few minutes after she’s left.

“Well fuck, you’re gonna have to apologize in the morning” Eddie mumbles, and San knows he’s talking to him.

“I didn’t think she’d get that pissed,” He replied guiltily.  “I was just messin’, I thought she’d just get embarrassed.  I don’t know what I did-”

“She doesn’t like talking about that stuff, dumbass,” Richie says.  “Shit makes her uncomfortable”

“Well I didn’t know that-” Stan starts to argue.

Beverly stops him before he can start any more drama tonight.

“Don’t worry about it, Stan, she’ll be alright,” She says, and then gets up to get a blanket as well.  “I’ll go talk to her to make sure she really is alright, goodnight”

The boys mumble a ‘goodnight’ back to her, and she descends the staircase to check on her friend, who’s laying facedown on the mattress.

“Oh, hon,” Bev laughs, and lays down next to her.  “Don’t be so upset with Stan, he was just being dumb-”

“I know” (y/n) mumbles into her pillow.

Beverly pulls the blanket she’s brought with her and drapes it over her back, so she won’t get cold while she’s pouting.

“Then what’s troubling you?”

Her words are a bit slurred, but the care is still there.

“I just… I don’t know.  I didn’t have to think about it before and now I can’t stop,” (y/n) admits with a sign.  “And maybe I’m upset because… he’s right.  Maybe I’m upset because he’s write and I wouldn’t admit it to myself, but I have been avoiding hooking up with him.  I mean, so much could go wrong and I just… don’t want to have a bunch of drama our senior year, yaknow? I want it to be smooth and easy.  And so far with him our relationship has been smooth and easy, but what if he’s wanted to do it this whole time and I keep dodging him and now he’s gonna break up with me?”

(y/n) lifts her head to turn to her redheaded friend for advice.

But Beverly is sound asleep, snoring softly against her pillow.

(y/n) can’t help but smile a bit, even though she really needed help sorting out her messy thoughts.  But she wasn’t going to bother Beverly by waking her up.

So she carefully crept off the squeaky pullout mattress, and went back upstairs.

Ben and Mike are still asleep on the floor, but someone’s thrown a couple blankets over them.

Stan is on Bill’s bed, facing the opposite direction as Bill, and they’ve both knocked off as well.

Maybe everyone else had more to drink than her, she thinks as she shuts the door to leave them be.  When she turns to head to the guest bedroom, she nearly runs into Eddie.

“Who are you looking for?” He asks right away.

He rubs his tired eyes, and she adores that he looks like a child when he does so.

“Um-”

“Richie’s in bed already,” Eddie says before she can answer.  “If you’re gonna prank him, you might want to wait a few minutes, so you know he’s in a deep enough sleep”

(y/n) chuckles at the unprompted advice, and nods her head.

“Alright... thanks” She says.

Eddie doesn’t say anything else as he pushes past her to go to sleep in Bill’s room.

“You aren’t gonna sleep in the guest room?” She asks with furrowed brows.

“Fuck no, Richie kicks and talks in his sleep.  I’d rather stay on the floor with those two” Eddie answers, and then gives her a small wave before shutting the bedroom door.

She takes a deep breath as she stands in front of the guest room’s door.  And then before she could stop herself, she opens the door, and shuts it quickly behind her as she steps inside.

Richie's laying in bed, arms wrapped around the pillow that his face is pressed into.  He mumbles a slurred ‘who is it?’ into the feathery cushion.  But he knows it’s her before she even answers.  Because as she sits on the side of the bed next to him, he can smell her perfume.

He squints up at her, having lost his glasses somewhere in Bill’s room, and wonders what she’s doing here.

“Surprise” She says weakly, and a slight smirk tugs on his lips.

“What’s goin’ on?” He asks, leaning his face back down into the comfort of the cool pillow.  He was already getting a headache from the four beers he had.  (He’d drank two of the three Eddie had gotten)

“Can we talk?” She asks in a voice so soft that she can only be referencing one thing.

Richie nods, and pats the space next to him with his palm.

She hesitates for just a moment, before giving in and laying down in the spot, grabbing a hold of the other pillow she mirrors Richie’s actions and hugs it under her head.

He doesn’t say anything, just lays there with his eyes closed in the dark and waits for her to go first.

“Was I….” She starts, but then bites her lip and shakes her head as she changes her mind.  “When we…”

“...hooked up?” He offers.

It’s so casual, so quiet, that her heart skips a beat, because she can’t believe he can just say it like that.  Speak their darkest, most carefully kept secret, out into the open like that.

“Yeah…” She mumbled back.  “Was I… I don’t know… good?”

He opens his eyes now, and his brows furrow as he sees her anxious expression.

They hadn’t talked about it since it had happened, which was their deal, but after her argument with Stan he figured she was going to sneak in here and talk to him.  He’s not sure why she looks so scared, though.

“Were you good?” He repeats her question, like he doesn’t understand it.

She nods her head.

“(y/n), of course you were good, you were you,” He chuckles, a genuine smile on his lips.  The compliment, if you could call it that, made her blush.  “He’ll be lucky to have you in his bed, alright?”

“Be honest with me,” She said.  “Don’t just say stuff to make me feel better”

“I’m not” Richie grumbles, laying back down again.

His head his swirling a bit, and with her laying so close to him, it wasn’t helping.

“Why haven’t you done it yet, anyways?” He asks her after it’s been silent for too long.

“I…” She tries and fails to answer the question.  But she’s her most honest self when she’s with Richie, and feels he deserves an explanation for her behavior tonight.  “... was scared” She finishes after a few minutes.

“You’re scared of sex?” He mumbles, and she shakes her head.

“No… just… with him”

“That makes no sense, (y/n/n)”

“I know” She whispers out, and her fingers draw patterns on the sheets.

“You think he’s gonna… hurt you?” Richie asks, because as soon as the thought crosses his mind, he has to ask.

“No, of course not,” She replies, and lifts up his blanket so she can shimmy under it and warm up a bit.  “Sometimes I feel like I just don’t know him” Her voice drops to a whisper again.

Her eyes are focused on his tee shirt, trying to figure out what band is advertised on it while Richie thinks.  He’s not sure what to tell her, because of course he doesn’t want to promote her hooking up with him.  But… the guy’s her boyfriend, so what’s he supposed to do?

“(y/n)....” He sighs, and subconsciously wraps an arm around her.  His hand tangles in her hair, massaging her scalp comfortingly.  “That’s not true, you’ve been together for a while now”

The logic is there, but she’s unconvinced.

“And besides,” He continues, and she looks up at him, meeting his kind eyes.  “When you’re ready, you’ll know,” He says, and he grins before poking her cheek and nose.  “But you already know that”

She giggles softly, swatting away his hand.

“I hate when you’re right, you know,” She says through a yawn.

Without thinking, she leaned her head into his chest.

“What if I don’t want to do it, though?” She asks.  “What if… what if I don’t like it?”

“You hurt my feelings when you talk like you’ve never done it before”

“No more jokes,” She whispers.  “I mean it”

“Then you tell him, and you stop,” Richie answers without missing a beat.  “That’s how it works… you know that, right?”

“S-sure,” She stammers out.  “But what if-”

“No, there’s no ‘what ifs’ about that one, (y/n/n),” He tells her seriously.  “I’m not fucking around, if you want to stop then you-”

“Don’t worry, Rich,” She hums.  “You don’t have to give me the consent talk, that’s not what I mean”

His brows furrow down at her, but she doesn’t see because her eyes are closed and her face is hidden in his shirt.  For a second he’s distracted and wonders if he should be holding her like this when she has a boyfriend.

“What… do you mean, then?”

“What if I’m not… um…” She trails off, clearly embarrassed.

“Come on, don’t hold out on me now” Richie chuckles teasingly.

“... attracted to him… sexually?” She speaks like she’s unsure of her words, and it takes everything in Richie not to laugh out loud.

“That’s not something I can fix, hon” He tells her, and she can tell he’s holding back a laugh.

She’s silent, and Richie hopes she hasn’t fallen asleep, because knows it wouldn’t be right to share a bed for the night.

“I mean you’ve… done other stuff, right?” He asks, and even that seems wrong.  He really shouldn’t even be talking to her about this, but it’s not his fault that he’s the only person she can talk to about this stuff.

(It’s maybe his fault that they slept together in the first place, but surely (y/n) can take some responsibility for that one)

“Not really” She says in a barely audible mumble.

“Not really?” He repeats, confused by the question.  “All you’ve done is-”

“We’ve made out a couple times,” She tells him before she overthinks it and starts to feel uncomfortable.  “That’s it”

“Clothes have never come off?” He asks with a chuckle he can’t contain.

(y/n) shakes her head.

“What the fuck is wrong with-”

“Richie…”

“-him?” He finished anyways, taking her by surprise that he wasn’t trying to bash on her.  “Look, (y/n/n), it’s your relationship, you do what you want to do.  But do you even see a future with him?”

She’s silent again.

And then she shuffles off the mattress, and heads for the door.

“(y/n),” Richie called with a sigh.  “It’s just a question”

She held the open door in her hand, and looked back at him.  He had a guilty but confused look on his face, and was propped up in ed, hoping she’d come back and finish talking.

“I’m tired, Richie,” She said softly.  “Goodnight”

He let out a sigh, regretting having been so forward and pushing her out of her comfort zone.  He hadn’t realized it when he’d asked, but he sure as hell could tell now.

“Goodnight” He said before she could shut the door behind her.

(y/n) was glad that Beverly was fast asleep on the pullout bed still, because all she did for the rest of the night is fuss to get comfortable, only to lay wide awake, overthinking.

Trying to figure out a future with her boyfriend in it. ___

[ oh feel our bodies grow, and our souls they play // yeah love i hope you know how much my heart depends ]

It was loud, it was so loud that the bass in the music playing was ringing in her ears, and making the liquid in her cup ripple.  But that might have just been because she was stumbling around so much, trying to find somewhere to chill out for a minute in this sea of bodies.

Richie Tozier’s hand was holding on tightly to hers, pulling her behind him, acting as a guide through the chaos.  But who was she kidding, he was the chaos.  It was his house party after all.

How he’d even invited this many people, (y/n) wasn’t sure.  It’s not like he knew everyone here, but word of mouth works fast in Derry, and a byob party that had half a dozen kegs and then some, not one student from their school missed it.

Even Stan was here… somewhere.  

It was a bit hopeless to go looking for people in this crowd.

Finally Richie had taken them outside.  There were still a couple dozen people hanging out in his backyard, but at least she could hear herself think, or take a step without bumping into someone.

“Thank god,” She huffed, pushing her hair out of her face and taking a drink.  “I thought I was gonna get trampled to death in there”

Richie chuckles, eyes shining as he watched her finally relax a bit.

“You would’ve made this party worth talking about if you had” He teases her.

“I think it already is,” She replies with a small and nervous laugh.  “The whole school’s here, Rich, I think people will be talking about it for a- who brought a kiddie pool?”

She cuts herself off as her eye catch a plastic pool, filled with eyes and the most beer she’s ever seen all at once.  They definitely hadn’t brought it, although she’s surprised that none of them had thought of it when planning for this party.

“Don’t know” Richie shrugs, and then wanders over to grab them two bottles.

They’d been drinking soda all night, not wanting to get shit faced so they could keep an eye on things.  But they were well past that, and at this point, whatever happens, happens.

She taps her glass against his in a quiet ‘clink’

“Cheers to you, Tozier” She says with a rather sweet smile, the kind that he compulsively smiles back at.

“And you” He replies, before tipping the bottle back and taking a long swig.

The thing about (y/n) was that… well, there was just this thing.  An undeniable, unspoken, electric thing.  There was something about her that drew Richie towards her like a magnet.  Even tonight, he’d shown up at her side, and just like that they’d spent the last two hours together.  She was such a lovely person, which was a rarity in this town.  

He had a feeling that she owned his heart, even though he just had a silly teenage crush on her.  But what had started as a silly crush, an admiration for her beauty, grew into an adoration of her entire being, her soul.  He was falling for her, at a speed from the atmosphere, and he was bound to crash soon.

Her hand reaches out and seizes the sleeve of his denim jacket, yanking him towards her all in one motion.  His heart’s beating out of his chest with anticipation, but as quickly as she’d grabbed him, she was shaking him out of his daze.

“You almost got knocked over,” She tells him, nodding to the pair of drunken boys with their arms slung around one another, stumbling around the backyard, trying to walk in sync.  “You alright?”

“Yeah, sorry, out of it” He answered with choppy words.

He finds the crease between her brows adorable.

“You only took one sip,” She jokes, poking at his bottle.  “Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?” She asks, holding four fingers in front of his face while giggling.

Richie rolls his eyes, grabbing her hand to pull it out of his face.

But he doesn’t let go.

And for the next hour, as they talk and drink a little and dance, her hand remains in his.  She didn’t say anything about it, which he’s silently thankful for.  Maybe she feels safer when attached to him, knowing she’s not going to get sucked into the crowd and lost.  Or maybe she just… wants to.

They’re dancing in the living room, to a song neither of them knew, with a hundred strangers, when she finally mentions it.

“You’re blushing!” She announces, albeit a bit tipsy.

There’s a grin on her face, and with her free hand she pokes at the pink on his cheeks.

“Cut that out- what’s with you and jabbing your fingers at me today?” He says, trying to brush it off and get her to forget about it.  It doesn’t work.

She bursts into a fit of laughter, and her body leans towards his a bit as she does.

She only lets go of his hand to wrap her arms around his neck and spin them around excitedly.

“You never blush,” She says.  “So what’s on your mind?”

She sounds bubbly, as if his answer is amusing to her, and she’s impatient to hear it.  Richie shakes his head, and wills the heat in his face to go away, but it doesn’t.  Of course it doesn’t, she’s standing a few inches away from him and staring at him with those round and curious eyes that he loves and-

“You” He responds with a shrug.

His voice is cool and casual as ever, but he’s losing his shit on the inside.

Her lips form an ‘o’ as she processes the single word.  For a second he regretted speaking, which was kinda normal for him, but then her eyes lit up and she giggles with delightful bashfulness.

A breath of a laugh escapes his lips as he laughs nervously with her.

“You’re adorably funny” She says, and takes him by surprise when she leans up on her toes, cups her face in one hand, and presses a kiss to his other cheek.

When she lands back flat on her feet, she’s amused by the grin that she’d put on his face.

“Drinks?” She asks, and when he pulls a face, she clarifies, “Non-alcoholic drinks”

“Fine” He agrees, and when they head out of the living room, her hand reaches out and grabs his, slotting her fingers through his with ease.

He glances down to her when she does so, but she just gives him a big and innocent smile.

They find their friends in the kitchen.  Beverly and Eddie are quite… shit faced, while Bill is drinking water and trying to get them to have some as well.  From what Richie and (y/n) could tell, his efforts were useless.

“Let them be,” (y/n) says, ruffling up Eddie’s hair with her free hand, only to get swatted away.  “They’ll pay the consequences in the morning”

Bill shrugs and hums in agreement, but he tries to get them to drink something.

“What’s goin’ on here?” Bev asks, pointing at Richie and (y/n’s) conjoined hands.

Richie starts to let go, but she squeezes his hand and smiles almost proudly at her drunk friend.

“Well I don’t wanna get lost” She says confidently.

Beverly shrugs, not having the attention span to ask further questions, or really care.

“Is that- are you- is that rootbeer?” Eddie asks, and he squints at the can in (y/n’s) hand, like he can’t see.  “You’re at a- a fuckin’ party and you’re drinkin’ a soda?”

“Leave her alone Eddie Spaghetti” Richie chides, smacking the shorter boy on the shoulder.

“Yeah, Eddie Spaghetti” (y/n) adds in a mocking tone, and giggles to herself at the nickname.

Eddie hates it, but he’s drunk off his ass, so there’s not much he can do about it.  He’ll try to throw hands with Richie tomorrow.

Bev starts to tell a story about a fight she saw on the front lawn.  It’s missing parts, and she’s having a hard time remembering most of it, but they listen because it’s funny and interesting.

(y/n) sat herself on the kitchen counter, drink in one hand and Richie’s hand in the other, laughing along and encouraging her to continue.  Even when she finishes her story, she’s not sure what happened, or who was even fighting, but it doesn’t matter.

“It’s l-late,” Bill says, eyeing the stove that reads 2:15.  “I think I should go”

“You’re not staying the night?” (y/n) asked.

Richie’s parents would be gone for another day, leaving plenty of time for the Losers Club to hang out, and clean up the trashed house everyone else left behind.

“No, I sh-shouldn’t,” He says.  “B-but I’ll come b-back tomorrow to help with th-the mess” He adds in a reassuring tone.

“Alright Billy,” (y/n) reaches her arms out towards him, prompting him to hug her goodbye.  She embraces him tightly for a short moment.  “See ya tomorrow”

He gives a small wave, and then offers a ride to Eddie and Bev.  They both decide to keep drinking and crash at the house.  He’s not surprised.

“I feel like dancing!” Beverly declares, and is out of the kitchen before anyone could say a word.

“Man is she fuckin’ wasted” Eddie chuckles.

Richie and (y/n) burst out laughing at the irony, but don’t tell him why it’s funny when he asks why they’re laughing their asses off.

Eddie winds up sitting on the kitchen floor, and then laying on it, cradling an empty bottle of vodka to his chest.

“You gonna sleep down there with him?” Richie asks (y/n), and gives the asmathic on the floor a gentle kick.

(y/n) giggles and shakes her head, and without thinking, reaches out to grab onto his hands again.  With a small tug, he steps closer, almost standing between her open legs.  But he doesn’t dare move that close.

“No…” She answers after a minute.  “There’s no way in hell you’re making me sleep on a floor”

“Well, if the beds are all taken-”

“Richard Tozier” She says his name firmly, “If you don’t give me a bed to sleep in like a human fucking being I swear I will-”

“You’ll what, sweetheart?”

His voice drops an octave, and his head cocks to the side a bit as he stares at her skeptically, wondering what it was she was about to say next.  When her mouth is left hanging open, he smirks a little.

“Come on (y/n/n), you’re not the threatening type,” He speaks at a normal volume again, but his closeness and the look on his face doesn’t fade.  “Besides, you got nothing on me”

“Oh, I doubt that-” She tries to argue, but he cuts her off again.

“Just try to think of something, you can’t.  My record’s squeaky clean”  

He leans a bit closer with every word, but the movement is miniscule, and she’s probably the only person in the room who could have noticed it.

As soon as he eyes wander to his lips, they dart right back up, but it’s too late, he caught the glance, and his smirk widens.

Richie quirks a brow in question, like an asshole.

She sets her soda can on the counter next to her.

“You really value me so little that you’ll make me sleep, where, on the floor? The bathtub?”

“I think the tub is still occupied, actually,” Richie says.  “And the floor, well, it’s covered in trash and…” He looks down to Eddie, who’s very close to passing out.  “... more trash”

(y/n) hits his chest with the back of her hand.

“That was for Eddie” She says, and Richie laughs.

She’s got an offended look on her face, and fuck if it wasn’t the cutest thing he’s ever seen…

“I’m just saying sweetheart…” He shrugs his shoulders innocently.  “Your sleeping options aren’t looking great.  Pretty much everywhere is taken”

She’s quiet for a moment, and he can tell she’s hesitant, because she bites down on her lip, and she has a hard time keeping eye contact.  He doesn’t rush her to say whatever’s on her mind, just stands there, unmoving, and waits.

“Show me a bed, then, Tozier”

It’s soft, whispered like a secret, and unsure.

They’re both still for a beat, each waiting for the other to back out.

But neither do.

So he offers her his hand, which she gladly takes before hopping off the counter and following closely behind him.  Through the thinning crowd in the living room, and then up the stairs.

When they’re in the hall, he casts a look over his shoulder to her, and her eyes meet his instantly.

There’s something serious in them that he’s never seen in her before.  Like she was trying to tell him something, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it is.

Her free hand grabs onto the sleeve of his jacket, tethering herself to him.  There was nowhere to get lost up here, everyone was downstairs.  Except for the boy passed out in the bathtub, and Richie was fairly certain a couple passed out in his parent’s bedroom.  But right now, they were alone.

He brings her to his room, carefully peeking in to make sure no one was in there, before letting her inside.  He’s quick to shut and lock the door.

(y/n) gives him a look at the sound of the lock clicking, and his face flushes.

“I mean- it’d be weird if some frisky couple were to come in- while we’re in here” He defends his actions.

She just hums, and wanders over to his dresser, where his fish tank sat.  She smiled at his goldfish before swirling the tip of her finger in the water.

Richie just admires her while she glances over his things.  The picture frames, the trinkets and forgotten things he’s left there.  She looks so natural standing there.

It wasn’t often that she was in his room, Richie’s house isn’t somewhere that everyone hangs out at, and (y/n) and Richie rarely hang out alone.  It was kind of nice to have so much time with her tonight, just her.  And still, he wanted it all the time.

She can feel his eyes on her, and when she turns around, she isn’t surprised that she was right.

She gives him a small smile, and clasps her hands together behind her back.  It was a nervous habit she had, squeezing her hands together tightly, and Richie loved seeing her do it now.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in here,” She says, desperately trying to fill the silence.  “Hasn’t changed much though” She added in a quieter voice.

He doesn’t say anything, and it only amps up her nerves.

And then he strides over to her, rather quickly, and her breath caught in her throat as he’s suddenly towering over her, face a mere few inches away from hers.  

She’s frozen, staring at him wide eyed and waiting for him to do something.

She’d thought he was going to kiss her, and when he didn’t, hear heart only beat harder in her chest.

“What?” She asks, wondering what he was doing if he wasn’t going to make a move.

“Nothing” He shakes his head, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“What are you doing then?” She questions him again, voice a hundred times softer.

He gives her a playful smirk, and she almost frowns at him, annoyed by the teasing.

“I’m not doing anything” He hums with a shrug.

She rolls her eyes, done with the games, and steps away.  She needs a breath.  Or two.  Two very deep breaths.

But before she can, Richie’s hand shoots out and grabs her wrist, pulling her back so rough that she collides into his chest, making them both stagger for a brief moment, until his lips crash down into hers.

She’s just gotten her balance back when he pulls away, staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to tell him to stop.

Her lips are parted and she’s panting softly, still in shock, and her eyes flutter open to meet his.

She doesn’t tell him to stop, instead, she leans up on the tips of her toes to kiss him again, a much longer kiss that she wished he’d begun with.

They pulled away at the same time.

“We can’t tell the others!” They both rush out the words so fast, so panicked, but it disappears as they register the other agrees.

And then all at once they’re kissing again.  His hands are gripping her hips, keeping her pressed completely against him, while hers are tangled in his hair, combing and gripping at his strands of curls.

Their lips move so feverishly, both desperate for every second to be fulfilling.  They knew this was a once in a lifetime chance, that this was their only chance, and it had to be perfect.

They part for a few seconds, so (y/n) can catch her breath.

His nose prods against hers, before he takes her cin between his thumb and forefinger, turning her head to the side so that he can trail a line of kisses along her jaw, tracing up to the sweet spot just below her ear.

He bit the soft skin, because he couldn’t help himself.  She gasped softly, and then giggled at the delightful and ticklish feeling of his mouth against the spot.  Her hands tighten a bit in his hair.

Eventually, once he’s left a decent purple mark on her neck, she tugs on his hair, pulling his lips back to hers needily.  She’s delicate as she glides over the seam of his lips with her tongue.  Richie isn’t so sweet as he gladly tangles his own tongue with hers.

When she’s the one to win the battle for dominance, she smirks against his lips.  But Richie’s quick to retaliate, turning her suddenly, and pushing her backwards until she runs into the wall.

Her lips detach from his as she grunts at the surprise contact, and her eyes shoot up to his out of annoyance.

“Jesus, fucking watch it” She mutters.

She grabs the collar of his jacket and yanks his lips back down to hers anyways, already craving more contact.

Kissing Richie Tozier is exactly as she expected, or more accurately dreamed, it would be.  Bliss.  Passionate.  Hot.

She hastily shoves his jacket down his shoulders, and then practically clawed the sleeves off of his arms.  As soon as it was discarded, his hands slammed into the wall on either side of her head, caging her in.  She loves it.

She wonders if he’s really gotten her addicted to his lips in a matter of two minutes.

After a few more kisses, she confirms that he has.

Her arms wrap around his neck and she can’t hold back a smile.

They part for a moment, and then rush to his bed.

(y/n’s) giggling as Richie crawls over her, one hand caressing her cheek while the other is pinned to the bed as not to crush her.  His thumb brushed over her cheekbone sweetly.

“You’re sure?” He asks, suddenly worried that he was rushing her.

But she nods, excitedly, and pulls his face down so she can kiss him again.

“But like-” Richie pulls away.  “You’re sure you’re sure? Like absolutely positive?”

“Richie,” She laughs, shaking her head a bit.  “Yes”

And that’s how it happened. ___

[ but i guess that’s love, i can’t pretend… i can’t pretend... ]

(y/n) had known Richie pretty much her whole life.  And they’d always gotten along, despite his big mouth and his tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.  She found it endearing that he would call her hot stuff and then his face would go bright red, knowing he’d made a mistake.

But the thing was, that changed the day after they’d hooked up.  They were still friends, they still hung out, and it wasn’t necessarily awkward, but it was different.  He didn’t call her cute names anymore, not even sweetheart.  He stuck solely to his nickname for her.

She wasn’t sure if it was because of their incident, or because she was seeing someone.  It often felt like she was walking on eggshells around him, unsure of what to say or do.  It was like as soon as they’d crossed the line between friends and more than friends, she wasn’t sure how to go back to being just friends.

And she hadn’t ever thought of Richie as boyfriend material.  Even when they’d hooked up, she hadn’t considered the idea of being with him romantically.  Sure, he was attractive and funny and… charismatic, exciting, and somehow tender at the same time-”

“Babe..? Babe?”

(y/n) snapped back to reality, spinning around to see her boyfriend standing behind her.  He gave a short laugh before nodding to the dish in her hand that she must have been scrubbing for a few minutes now.

“Daydreaming?” He asks, while she bashfully set the very clean plate on the counter.

“Something like that” She replied, and went on to cleaning the next dish.

They’d had a nice dinner, one they both prepared.  She thought it would be fun to cook with him, maybe they would even listen to music and dance around the tiled floor.  But her boyfriend wasn’t that kind of guy, and this wasn’t a romantic comedy.

Richie would dance in the kitchen with me-

“So!” (y/n) spoke, a little too loud as she tried to rid her own thoughts from her head.  “Movie?”

Her boyfriend grinned, and gave her a thumbs up before leaving the kitchen and heading to the living room to pick out a good movie for them to watch.

(y/n) went back to distracting herself with doing the dishes.  But her pesky thoughts kept on getting in the way of her task.

Thinking of Richie in a romantic light made her feel dazed.  He was Richie.  Trashmouth Tozier, the boy she grew up with that was infamous for trying to ride his bike off the cliffside at the quarry.  He wasn’t someone you had a crush on, he was someone you always had a dumb story about.

But besides that, it simply wasn’t fair of her to think of him this way.  They had both agreed that what they had was a one time thing, and it didn’t mean anything to either of them.  They were just friends, and that was all either of them wanted to be.

At least, that’s what she’d always told herself.

But when she thought back on last summer, all she could remember was how badly she wanted him to kiss her that whole night.  And when he finally had… it felt like she was flying.

Drying the last dish, she left it on the counter, and forced herself to relax on the couch with her boyfriend.

Whatever movie he’d picked, she’d never heard of, and it only took seven minutes of watching it for her to realize why.  It was boring.

She was so damn near close to passing out, even though he seemed excited to share it with her.

“Hey,” She hummed after half an hour of forcing herself to stay awake.  He hummed in response, but didn’t look away from the television.  

So she took matters into her own hands, and turned his head so she could kiss him.

She poured all of the passion that she could into the kiss, hoping to convey that she wanted him, and she wanted him now.

But how could she do such a thing when it wasn’t true? She simply wasn’t convincing enough.  Not to him, or herself.

Defeated, she pulled away from him, and by the look on his face, she knew that he sensed her disappointment.  Which was ironic, because he had never been in sync with her emotions in the last four and a half months they’d been together.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

There was a deep frown on her face, and her eyes were so apologetic that he just knew what was coming next.

“I’m sorry” She mumbled out.

“(y/n)...?” He was hoping that by some miracle she wasn’t about to break up with him.

“I can’t do this anymore” She finished weakly, voice cracking a bit as her throat burned with tears.

“What do you mean?” He asked.  “What’s wrong? What happened?”

She didn’t say anything, just shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep herself from crying.  It would be pathetic if she broke up with him and she was the one to cry about it.

“Whatever it is I can work on it, we can fix it-”

“No, you can’t-”

“Yes I can-”

“You can’t fix this!” She shouted, not meaning to come off as angry, but her emotions had flustered her and it was making her frustrated.  “Because there’s nothing to fix, there’s nothing here” She clarified, her hands flying between them.

“What do you mean there’s nothing here?” He asked, sounding broken.  For a moment, she felt bad for saying something so cruel.  “Is there someone else?”

And then her guilt disappeared.

“What? Of course not-”

“Well there- there has to be!”

“Well there isn’t!” She shouted back.  “Jesus Christ, don’t make this more difficult than it has to be,” She rolled her eyes.  “I don’t feel anything, anything, for you! I thought with time that I could learn to love you, but I haven’t.  There’s no spark-”

He seized forward, taking her face in his hands and kissing her frantically.

But just as soon as his mouth crushed over hers, she shoved his shoulders with all the force she could muster, and leapt off of the sofa.

She was stunned to silence at first, surprised that he’d done something so dramatic and… disgusting.

“I’m done,” She said, heading for the door, and putting on her shoes and coat with lightning speed.  “Don’t fucking call me- don’t talk to me at school, I’m done”

He tried to call after her, but she slammed the door behind her as she stormed out, and ran down the sidewalk, just in case he had the idiotic idea to chase after her.

She slowed at the end of the block, mentally striking herself upside the head at the thought.  Of course he wouldn't chase after her.  It would be an act of passion for him to pursue her, and he would be in denial to think he was any more in love with her than she was with him.

It dawned on her that she’d been in denial for the past four months for thinking she could learn to love him.  You can’t learn to love anybody, it has to come naturally.  And there wasn’t one natural thing about their relationship.

She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm in the chilly december air, and walked the rest of the way home.  She’d had enough of today, and just wanted to crawl into bed, and try not to cry. ___

When the doorbell rang, Richie ignored it.  Surely his parents would get it, and he could stay in bed.

When it rang again, he shoved his pillow over his head.

It wasn’t until the third time the sound rang that he remembered his parents were at an event in Augusta tonight.

So with a groan, and the realization that whoever it was, wasn’t going to go away, he dragged himself out of bed, and down the stairs.

It was almost midnight, who the fuck was a the door? He decided if it was some freshman ding-dong ditching him, that he’d run them down and ruin their shit.

When he whipped open the door, he also opened his can of whoop ass on the unsuspecting freshman.

“Do you realize that it’s the middle of the fucking ni-”

He shut up real fast when he realized it was (y/n) standing there, who now looked incredibly taken off guard to have been greeted so harshly.

“(y/n)?”

It was only then that he realized she was crying softly.

“Oh- oh my god, I’m sorry-  I thought you were-”

“It’s fine” She said, and then sniffled quietly.

“What- what are you-”

“I’m sorry, it’s not r-right of me to show up in the middle of the night,” She whimpered a little bit, and wiped her sleeve over her cheeks to get rid of her tears.  “I should go home-”

“No,” Richie reached out, taking her wrist and tugging her inside.  “Come in, stay” He rushed the words out while shutting the door, not wanting her to leave, and especially not like this.

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop her own shivering.  She didn’t even want to look at Richie while crying, but at the same time-

“So what’s going on-?”

Before he could even finish talking, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

Richie stumbled a bit from the sudden force of her hug, but wrapped his arms around her nonetheless and hugged her tightly.

It was obvious that she was trying to stop crying in front of him, but she just couldn’t help it.

“Did something happen?” He asked, but received no answer.  “Are you hurt?”

He could feel her tears seeping into the fabric of his tee shirt.

“Hey, sweetheart,” He called softly, and pulled her away to look at her.  She kept her eyes shut, which made him chuckle, but eventually she looked up at him.  “Come on, (y/n/n),” He hummed.  “Talk to me”

She took in a deep breath, and Richie mentally prepared himself for whatever was going to come next.  It must be serious if she came to him instead of Beverly, or Eddie.

“I couldn’t have sex with him” She murmured.

Richie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and confusion, and a feeling he wasn’t quite sure of.  He never would have guessed that’s what had her so distraught.

“Um…”

“I know,” (y/n) cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks again.  “It’s pathetic, I’m so pathetic!”

“(y/n),” Richie said, setting his hands on her shoulders so she would calm down.  “You’re not- where is this coming from? Why are you so upset about this?”

It took her a minute to catch her breath, and her tears hadn’t really stopped flooding, but at least she could speak again.

“I broke up with him” She admitted.

Richie’s eyes widened, and again, she’d done what he’d least expected.  Her eyes were darting between his, trying to figure out what he was thinking.  But he looked so shocked, she couldn’t tell.

“Do you think I made a mistake?” She asked in a murur, her hands resting against his chest, and her body gravitating towards his a bit more from the sensitive question.

“I…”

He was having a hard time maintaining eye contact with her, his brain moving far too fast and his train of thought going in too many different directions for him to comprehend what he even thought.

“You do, don’t you?” (y/n) asked defeatedly.  “I should’ve tried harder- maybe I could have loved him-?”

“What? (y/n), no, don’t think like that,” He scolded her gently.  “If you didn’t feel anything, then that’s it, that’s the end, it didn’t work”

She stares down at her feet.

“(y/n)...” Richie sighed, lifting her chin softly with his hand.  “Did you even like him?”

She shrugged her shoulders, which was answer enough.

“Oh, (y/n),” His thumb stroked gently against her jaw, before he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her again.  “If you didn’t like him there was never even a chance of you falling in love- that’s just not how it works sweetheart”

(y/n) grabbed the back of his shirt in her fists, just wanting to hold onto him for a few moments longer.

“How’s it work?” She mumbled into his shoulder after embracing for a few moments.

“Well first of all, you don’t learn to do it, it just happens,” He chuckles, and his hands begin to rhythmically rub her back.  “And you won’t find them boring.  That guy was a sack of fucking potatoes (y/n/n) I don’t know what you were doing with him-”

“Yeah yeah I get it,” She cut him off before he could go on.  “What else?” Her voice was so soft, so full of curiosity for where these kind words were coming from, that she just had to know what more Richie thought about the subject.

“Well…” He hummed, still rubbing her back as he thought.  “You typically enjoy their company, more than anyone else’s, even if you won’t admit it,” He was thinking out loud.  “And they’ll always be the prettiest thing in your eyes- even when they won’t stop crying all over you” He teased.

She glared up at him, and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

“Come on, be real,” She said.  “He was nice, and cute, and he really liked me, why wasn’t there a spark?”

He shook his head at her.

“Like I said.  Can’t learn to love someone, and you can’t force what isn’t there,” He shrugged.  “I’m sorry though.  You’re clearly bothered by it”

She wanted to explain that she wasn’t bothered by the breakup at all.  She was bothered by the mixup in her feelings.  By what she thought to be true- but wasn’t quite sure yet.

“You want tea? Or something?” He offered after she hadn’t spoken for a few beats.

“No,” She shook her head, and then stepped back from him.  “A blanket would be nice though? I had to walk the whole way here and it’s freezing”

Richie chuckled, and nodded.

“‘I’ll get one from upstairs.  Be right back”

He headed off rather quickly, taking the steps two at a time to get a blanket from his room.

The one time she’d stayed overnight, she’d really liked one of his- and he’d know, because she hogged it, and he had to wake her up to get her to share.  So he figured that one would do fine.

At the sound of a soft knocking at his door frame, he turned to see (y/n) standing there.

Her eyes were wandering around his room, mapping it out like it was her first time here.  However, she hadn’t been here since…

He didn’t miss the blush on her cheeks when her gaze landed on his bed, the covers messed up from his attempts to sleep earlier.  And then finally, she looked at him.

“Oh,” She smiled, and walked into the room, taking the blanket from his hands.  “You remembered” She said with a small laugh as she wrapped it tightly around herself.

It was still a little bit warmed, and smelled so distinctly like Richie, it made her want to melt into it.  And she nearly did for a moment.

“Well how could I you almost made me freeze to death that night”  He muttered teasingly.

“Fuck off, I did not” She played back, but her voice was much gentler than his.

He gave her a look as if to say ‘you did though’, which she only rolled her eyes to.

Deciding it’d be best to ignore him, she walked over to his dresser to excitedly play with his fish.  It didn’t do much, but it did swim back and forth in front of her finger, which was amusing enough.

“You… want to watch a movie?” Richie asked.

He didn’t want her to leave, but he didn’t know how to offer her to stay the night either.

“Sure” She answered, and followed him downstairs.

Richie made her pick the movie, that way whatever they watched she wouldn’t lose interest in.

“What?” She’s asked when he tried to leave the room for popcorn.

“I said pick whatever you want so you actually watch it and enjoy it” Richie repeated himself, and was in the kitchen before he could see her face change expressions.

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest, and all she could do was stare at where he stood with his back to her.  She didn’t even bother looking at his DVD collection, and followed him into the kitchen.

“You want me to pick a movie I like?” She asked him.

Richie gave her a weird look over his shoulder as she set the timer on the microwave.

“What? Yeah” He answered.

“But you’ll hate it,” She said matter-of-factly.  “It’s a chick flick, it’s real cheesy, not even Eds would watch it with me”

“Okay?” Richie repeated.  “You setting me up to hate it?”

She stared at him skeptically, and Richie had a similar look on his face, but only because he was very confused.

“Just pick a movie, (y/n/n), anyone’s fine” He chuckled.

He pulled the bag of popcorn out of the mic when it beeped, and dumped it’s contents into a large bowl.  When he turned back around, (y/n) was still standing there.  His brows furrowed, and he popped a kernel into his mouth.

“Would you dance with me?” She asked him.

Her volume was so soft he almost didn’t catch what she’d said, but when he processed the words, he was sure he’d heard her wrong.

“What?”

“Would you dance with me?” She repeated, a bit more clearly.  “If I asked?”

“Is…. that what you want to do?” Richie spoke unsurely, trying to figure out what part of the breakup process ‘dancing’ would fall under.  He shoved more popcorn into his mouth.

“I just wanna know” She shrugged.

“I mean, sure, but then the popcorn would get cold, it’s only good when it’s-”

“Richie” She mumbled, and by some miracle he actually heard her, and stopped rambling.  He knows from the way she’s staring at him, and the sudden softness in her voice that something’s up.  He waits for her to continue, but she doesn’t.

“What?” He feels like he’s lost, because he really has no idea what’s going on with her tonight.  This breakup had really thrown her for a loop, he supposed

“Nothing” She shook her head, and before he could question her about her strange behavior, snatched the popcorn bowl and made a break for the living room.

When they got settled on the sofa and the movie (y/n) picked began to play.  They were sat side by side, the bowl of popcorn separating them.  She tucked her feet up underneath her in an attempt to be more comfortable, and kept on fussing with the blanket.  It was like no matter how many times she readjusted, she just couldn’t get settled.

Eventually, she sighed, and looked over at Richie.

Low and behold, he was completely wrapped up in the plot of the movie, and hadn’t noticed a thing.  (y/n) smiled at this, loving that he’d actually gotten into her lame romantic comedy.  She leaned her head back on the cushion as she admired him.  He was so serious when he was focused on something, his jaw set in place, eyes trained on the screen.  It was so cute how drawn into the movie he really was.

Something happened that made him laugh, and he turned to (y/n) to crack a joke about it, but whatever he was about to say was lost on him when he caught her eyes already locked on him.

“Would you do it again?” She asked, before he could think of anything to say.  He doesn’t have to ask her to clarify what she means, because he knows, he can tell by the way she’s studying him.  “Ever?” She adds in a mumble after he’s been quiet for just a beat too long.

“Well, that’s a trick question now isn’t it?” He chuckles, but she shakes her head.

“No,” She speaks softly, “It’s not, I’m just wondering,”

She’s looking up at him so innocently that he wonders what sparked this question.  Not that he hadn’t been thinking about it every minute of every day for the past four and a half months or so.  He just didn’t think it ever crossed her mind.  They had sworn to each other that it was a one time thing, no pesky strings or feelings attached.  And Richie had thought she’d stuck to that promise pretty well- mostly because not a week later she’d gotten asked out, and then she dated the guy for a while.  

“There’s no wrong answer, Rich,” She giggles, a nervous little sound that was the result of her heart doing backflips in her chest.  “Really”

His eyes flicker between her impatient ones, testing to see if that were really true.

“Kind of” He says.

Her brows furrowed, signaling that there apparently was a wrong answer, and he’d said it.

“Kind of-?”

“Well, there’s a lot I’d do differently” He muses with a shrug of his shoulders, before she could get upset and ask him just what the hell ‘kind of’ means.

She angles her body a bit more towards his, waiting eagerly to hear what he has to say.  But he gives her a confused look.

“What would you do differently?” She asks.  She sounds restless, and Richie chuckles to himself.  “Come on, really”

“For starters, I wouldn’t have chosen to do it at my own houseparty.  Someone busted the coffee table you know, and I blame you for that-”

“What else?” She asks abruptly.

“Alright well,” Richie huffs, deciding there was no turning back now, because she was already more than eager to hear what he was thinking.  “Also probably should’ve been a little more sober, just a little,” She laughed quietly, but didn’t speak so that he’ll keep talking.  “And I would’ve grabbed an extra blanket, had I known you were a blanket hogger”

She laughs again, and this time he laughs with her.  It’s a sweet moment, for it being so vulnerable.

“And I would’ve made sure you didn’t go in the morning” He confesses, in the midst of their laughter.  (y/n’s) laughter stops instantaneously.

“What?” She murmurs, like she’d heard him wrong, because she must have heard him wrong.

“Yeah,” He shrugs.  “I wouldn’t have let you go”

She blinks, stunned.

“You wanted me to stay?” She asks, a sweet little whisper that was bound to make everything come crashing down.

“Of course I did,” Richie chuckles.  “I’d be an idiot to let you- I was an idiot to let you go.  I hated that feeling,”

She’s silent again, her lips parted as the more he explained himself, the more surprised she was.

“It felt like- like I’d made the biggest mistake of my life- and trust me sweetheart, sleeping with you was a miracle- but if I could do it over again I wish that I could’ve...um…”

She’s waiting, hanging on to every word he spoke.  She doesn’t realize that she’s leaning closer to him, too antsy to wait for him to find his voice.

“(y/n/n) if I’m being honest then I would’ve told you how I felt- about you- that night”

“How you felt about me?” She repeats in disbelief, and then sits upright on the couch, realizing they’re only a few inches away from one another.  

Richie watches her as she takes the popcorn bowl and sets it to the side.  And then leans back in towards him again, giving him her undivided attention.

“And how did you feel about me?” She murmurs.

Her hands set on his wrists, grasping onto them softly as his hands reach out to wrap around her waist.

“How didn’t I feel- Jesus I liked you so much I lost my fucking mind when you wanted me too”

Once he’s holding her firmly, she lets go of his hands to rest her palms on his shoulders, tilting up towards him to be more at his height.  Even sat on the couch Richie practically towered over her.

“I didn’t know it was more to you than a quick fuck” She hums.  Her voice is too sweet to be saying something so filthy, and it makes him chuckle just a bit.

He couldn’t help but tug her hips forwards, small prod really, but she took the bait and swung her leg over his lap.

“There was nothing quick about it sweetheart,” He teases, and as she situates herself on his lap, he releases one of his hands from her waist to gently trail his fingers over her throat, until his hand settles against the side of her neck.  She’s blushing, but she’s smiling with anticipation.

He pulls her towards him a bit, and the tip of her nose presses against his cheek, her lips barely ghosting his.  When her eyes flickered shut, Richie smirks

“And you were never a quick fuck”

She leans in, wanting nothing more than to kiss him and never stop.  There was more electricity between them in this moment than she’d ever felt with her ex, and the realization made her feel like she was alive again.

Just as her moment of liberation is about to happen, the doorbell rings.

Richie brushes it off and cups her cheek, leaning in to kiss her anyways, but then his visitor started screaming.

“Richiieeee!” The distinct voice of Eddie Kaspbrack rings out from the other side of the door.  “Dude! Open up! I got some drama for you!”

Richie and (y/n) turn to look at each other, equally confused.

“Let’s just pretend he’s not there” Richie says, making her giggle as he finally tries to kiss her.

And then Eddie lets himself in.

“I’m coming in!” He announces, and shuts the door behind him.  “You’re not gonna believe this! (y/n) broke up with-”

It doesn’t surprise the couple on the couch when Eddie stops talking, and stares wide eyed and open mouthed.

“What the fuck is going on here!?” He’s screaming, which also isn’t a surprise, but it’s very upsetting.

(y/n) calmly slides off of Richie’s lap, and he lets go of his hold on her.

“Nothing” They say at the same time, unconvincingly.

“You were on his lap-” Eddie accuses.

“I-”

“You were kissing-!”

“No-?” Richie tries.

“You guys have been fucking this whole time!” He screeches.

“No!” Richie and (y/n) speak simultaneously again.

“Wait,” (y/n) walks over to Eddie.  “How did you know I broke up with-”

“He called me” Eddie shrugged.

“What?”

“Yeah, he was trying to call you, but you never picked up.  Clearly you weren’t home, because you were here, letting Richie get in your pants- jesus fuck (y/n) I thought you had better standards-”

“Stop it” (y/n) hissed, before frustratedly running her hands through her hair.

Richie shot up from the couch, walking over in hopes of convincing her to sit back down and relax again.  But she shrugged off his hand and continued to pace around between him and Eddie.

“Very uncool, dickwad” Richie muttered to Eddie, who gave him an exasperated look and flipped him off.

“Why’d you come here then?” (y/n) spoke up.

“Um… huh?” Eddie played stupid.

“Why’d you come here? If my ex called you looking for me, why’d you come to tell Richie the news?”

Eddie and Richie shared a look, only making the girl more confused.

“I- well I thought you’d be here, you know, for support-”

Eddie shut up when the girl narrowed her eyes in disbelief.  He was never a good liar, and (y/n) had a pretty good bullshit detector.

“This isn’t important,” Eddie shook his head.  “What’s important is that he’s heartbroken, and looking for y-”

“I don’t care,” (y/n) said with a humorless chuckle as she crossed her arms over her chest.  “I don’t fucking care! He’s the worst, and he’s insane to think that he was ever in love with me.  Had a real boring way of expressing it-”

“Uh, I’m not here to tell you to get back together with him” Eddie said before she could yell anymore.

“What are you here for, then?” (y/n) asked.

“I could ask you the same thing” Eddie shoots back, and smirks victoriously between the two.

Richie’s just standing there, knowing better than to open his mouth.  If he did, something bad would slip and he knew it, so he stared down at the ground.

(y/n) puckers her lips, casting a glance to Rich before back to Eddie.

“Well?” The asthmatic boy asks.  “What the fuck were you guys up to?”

“None of your business,” Richie says before (y/n) has the chance to say anything.  “You should go, Eds, I’ll call you tomorrow.  We’re busy”

“With what?” Eddie’s practically daring Richie to confess.

“We’re watching a movie, don’t make me fucking kick you out”

Eddie rolls his eyes, bored with the lack of drama, and then heads for the door.

As soon as he closes it, he whips it open again, pointing an accusatory finger at the pair left standing there, as if he’d caught them in the act.

“Go, Eds” They both say, with the utmost annoyance in their voices.

This time when he left, they both watched the door, as if waiting for him to jump back into the room again.  When it was clear he’d actually gone this time, (y/n) let out a sigh of relief.

She looked at Richie, and then back to the couch, where the movie, the popcorn bowl, and her blanket were left unattended.

“I should probably g-”

“You wanna stay the night?” Richie asked before she could finish her sentence, and her eyes shot up to his.

“Really?” She asked in disbelief.

Richie just nodded, and so she hesitantly nodded back.

“Okay” She agreed softly.

“I’ll find something for you to sleep in,” He told her.  “You can finish the movie if you want” And with that he headed up the stairs.

At this point, she was more confused than ever.  She had no idea where her and Richie stood now, the line between friendship and something… else… was so warped in her mind that she couldn’t tell how he felt anymore.

Richie came back down a few minutes later, finding her sat on the couch with the movie paused and the popcorn bowl in her lap.  He grinned as he handed her a long sleeved shirt and a pair of sweatpants that looked very soft.

After changing quickly in the bathroom, she concluded they were the coziest things she’d ever worn.  And Richie’s scent and laundry detergent lingered in them, making every inhale of breath she took be inviting.

When she came back out, Richie was on the couch, just waiting.  His back was turned to her, and she could tell he was drumming his hands on his legs, a frequently done nervous habit of his.

She stood there for a moment, too anxious to walk over and sit with him like nothing had happened in the last half hour.  Even though with everything that’s happened, her heart was beating a mile a minute with no end in sight.

Richie must’ve realized she was there, because he turned and made a face as if to ask why she was just standing there.

His expression softened though when his eyes landed on her figure.  She looked so goddamn cute in his clothes that were just a bit too big for her.  And by just a bit, I mean the sleeves kept falling over her hands and the waistband of the sweatpants had probably been rolled three times to keep the fabric from barely touching the ground.

He thought he was gonna have a stroke.

“You gonna come sit, sweetheart?” He finally spoke, “Or just stand there and look pretty all night?”

She laughs, and the tension in the room thins out a little as she makes her way over to sit with him again.  Richie plays the movie again, and just like before, gets sucked right into it.

(y/n) sort of watches it, but has little attachment to what’s going on.  Her mind is too busy processing everything, there was no capacity to keep an eye on a film as well.

The popcorn bowl is empty, so she can’t distract herself with eating.  And she’s already tapping her fingers on her knee to a made up beat in her mind.  How Richie is able to actually watch this movie right now is beyond her.

“(y/n)?” He asks, and she realizes he’s been staring at her for a while, trying to get her attention.  She hums in response.  “Do you want me to shut off the movie?”

Her eyes are wide as they meet his.

“W-why?” She stammers out.

“Because you aren’t paying attention at all,” He chuckles.  “Are you tired? It is like… one in the morning”

“Uh- yeah, I-I guess” She stumbles over her words again, and balls up the fabric of her blanket in her hands.

He gives her a dorky little smile, and then stands to turn off the tv.  She watches him grab the empty bowl before leaving the room.

She gets up to follow him into the kitchen, but he waved her off.

“You should go up to bed,” He says.  “I’ll finish up down here”

She doesn’t know what else to say, so she follows the instructions.

It dawns on her that she hasn’t told her parents that she won’t be coming home tonight, but as she gets situated in Richie’s bed with her new favorite blanket, she just can’t seem to care.  She decides a lecture when she comes home tomorrow is worth it.

She’s under all the covers, and her face is buried deep into a pillow when Richie finally comes up.  He smirks at how settled she’s already gotten.

“You sleeping already?” He asks quietly, and her eyes open to smile at him.

“No, ‘m waiting” She hums, before snuggling her face back into her pillow.

“Waiting?” He asks, and walks closer to hear her better.

“Mhm”

“For… Santa?”

“For you, dummy,” She giggles softly, and then makes a grabby hand towards him.  “Hurry up”

He laughs, and shakes his head at her, before kneeling onto the bed.

“I kinda thought I should sleep on the-”

“In here,” She whispers, hand finding his wrist and latching onto it.  “With me, please” She adds in a much softer voice, like she’s embarrassed to ask, and he knows that she is.

“Okay…” Richie hesitantly gets under the covers.  “As long as that doesn’t bother you”

“It didn’t before” She replies casually.

Her eyes are closed, but he smiles warmly at the comment.  He thinks she’s falling asleep, but he was wrong, because her hand trailed from his wrist so that her fingertips were pressed into his palm.

“Richie?” She calls quietly.

He hums.

Her eyes open, and she squirms a little closer to him, finding comfort in the heat he radiated.

Her fingers slot into the spaces between his perfectly, and she grasps his hand tight.

“You weren’t a quick fuck for me either,” She admits gently.

He can see in her eyes that she’s uncertain, that she’s nervous to say anything, so he squeezes her hand to reassure her that she can tell him anything.

“And I wanted you long before that night, I just… um…” She licks her lips anxiously before continuing.  “I didn’t think that you uh… actually wanted me, you know, like, more than…” She doesn’t finish her thought, but she doesn’t have to.

Richie gives her a smile, and then reaches his free hand out to brush his knuckles over her cheek.  She smiles back at the comforting touch.

“You’ll stay in the morning?” He whispers, and she nods, brows drawn together as her smile widens.  “Good” He breathes out in relief.

They lean in simultaneously, and their lips touch in a soft and sweet kiss.  (y/n) relishes in how her lips seemed to have his committed to memory, and she melts against him once again.

She pushes forward so that her body is flush against his, and her free hand is holding his shirt in a fist.  She’s filled with more love and lust and happiness that a girl can be, practically overflowing with it, even.

Richie pulls away too soon for her liking, tucking a strand of her hair back behind her ear tenderly before meeting her gaze.

“If anyone asks,” He tells her, “That was our first kiss”

(y/n) giggles, and nods her head before kissing him sweetly again.

“Okay” She agrees.

His fingers comb through her hair for a few moments, and he contemplates laying here, like this, with her, for the rest of his life.  The quiet moment is so serene, so perfect, that he can’t imagine ever being happier than he is right now.

(y/n) whispers something, but it’s so soft that he only catches her lips moving.

“What?” He muses, and instantly there’s a pink blush blooming across her cheeks.  “What?” He asks again, this time chuckling at her bashfulness.

“I love you…” She murmurs, only darkening her blush.

Richie pulls her into his chest, wrapping her up in his arms as he cradles her close for the night.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” He responds with a kiss to the top of her head.  “Let’s do it right this time, okay?”

“M’kay” She hums back delightedly, already beginning to fall asleep in his arms.

It took months of agony and confusion to get here, but it couldn’t be clearer now.  This is what love was supposed to feel like.  She hadn’t learned to love before because that’s simply not how it works.  Her heart already belonged to someone else, and she hardly even knew it.  But now, it and she were all his, and he’d take good care of them.

[ i guess that’s love, i can’t pretend. ]

___

taglist: @fiantomartell​ @lemonypink @darling-egg​​

xoxo ~ jordie

[x-ximenas]

Love Means Trouble: Chapter 2

Prompt: Hurricane by Halsey, which you can find in this playlist.

Pairing: OC/Nikki Sixx

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, drug consumption, mentions of smut  and my terrible grammar and punctuation remember English’s not my first language.

Word Count: 5,354 words

A/N: I’m really sorry for taking this long, but I’ve had a hard time writing this bit and suddenly in just one sit I wrote the triple of what I already had, fuck me... Also, if you liked this bit, I’d love to hear some comments! If you’d like to be added to a taglist for upcoming parts comment, dm me, ask me… just communicate with me!

// Prologue // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter //

———————————————————————————————————–

Circe woke up with a groan, a hand immediately coming up to cover her eyes from the burning light that came through her curtains, every morning she seemed to realise how much she loathed the LA sun, especially when she woke up with a headache, a stuffy nose and a body both naked and sore. She removed her companion's arm from where it was lying on her stomach as she made up her mind to go pour herself some water and a glass of Jack, neat and on the rocks.

On her way out of the bedroom, she bent down to pick up her discarded panties and the red tube top she had worn the night before. She could care less about the man that was still sleeping on her bed, she had met him yesterday as he approached her halfway through Mötley's set and unlike with Nikki, she decided to give the poor man a chance, not like she was going to see his face ever again. Furthermore, she didn't even remember his name, it had slipped her mind as soon as it left his mouth, reason why she refrained from moaning his name -not like she felt like moaning out of pleasure last night.

Circe went up the stairs, her partner for the night -was his name Will? Or maybe Mike? Fuck who cares- trailing behind her like a lost puppy, his eyes noticeably glued to her ass, practically drooling and getting mildly hard from just the thought of getting to do what he pleases with that.

Circe wanted to have fun, but she could already tell that she had said yes to the wrong man, he reeked of selfishness under the 2 dollar cologne and cheap booze he had drunk that night; her last resort to help her have some fun was teasing, her expertise.

She took her time opening her door, not minding the insistence of the man behind her, in his intoxicated state he truly believed that thrusting upwards into her ass and kissing her neck was going to make her break, sweet thing he was just so painfully wrong, Circe pushed her ass back against him, earning a deep grunt, as she put the key in the lock, moving the key around before finally unlocking the door.

Once inside she didn't even mind turning the lights on, not like he'd let her, he swiftly -read aggressively- turned her around to face him, both hands travelling to cup her ass and push her forwards as to make their hips meet, making her feel his -disappointment of- excitement. This was going to be a long night and not one of the pleasing ones...

As she downed the glass of Jack in one gulp, she felt how a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her frame, a dissatisfied roll of eyes were her silent answer before she actually turned around to acknowledge the man before her. He was attractive, for sure, a strong nose, with a piercing set of eyes, they were a very common colour -quite like hers-, a dark shade of brown, but you could feel them on top of you as they held quite an intense flame to them; his lips were slightly pouty and a nice shade of rosé; and despite all of this nice characteristics she felt no real attraction to him whatsoever, what happened the night before wasn't meant to happen again, especially because she had no real fun, no orgasms, none, zip, zero, quite disappointing to say the least. So with an almost unnoticeable smirk, she broke the silence:

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Queue a slight bat of her eyelashes.

"You were? -cocky casanova eyes, ridiculous- Bet you want another go, right doll?" Airhead, she thought but kept her act up, her smirk becoming more prominent when she felt his hands travel downwards, tracing the small of her back and the curve of her ass as to rest comfortably there, both hands cupping, grabbing and pinching at will as he thrust upwards into her, Circe just faked a small moan.

"Yes, I was" she said, coming up with a small plan inside her pretty little head.

Looking downwards in false bashfulness, her hands trailing upwards from his chest to the back of his neck, playing with the messy hair that lingered there. Then she crooked her neck to face him completely, a small smile playing on her velvety lips; she leaned forward, her nose close to rubbing against his and as he moved to meet her halfway on a kiss, she moved her head back a bit, her smile transforming to an almost full Cheshire Cat grin, not like he actually noticed, such an airhead. He moved one of his hands to her hair, to coax her back in position; but Circe, having none of it, placed a single finger between them, laying it on top of his lips, ceasing his movements. Next thing, that same finger started to move south, pulling on his lip as she went; it crossed over his neck, down his chest drawing small figures on his sternum, then it moved down his stomach and as she reached under his navel she decided to stop, earning a soft hiss from the man.

"Aren't you going to do something, doll?" he demanded, but his voice broke in frustration, his eyes closed. Finally, her hand moved inside his trousers and as she closed in on him, she stopped once again, earning yet another groan of exasperation.

Before her hand had slipped underneath the clothing her face looked innocent, nearly angelic, but once he opened his eyes, he was almost certain he was gazing at the devil; she had a mischievous smirk on her lips and an equally wicked-looking spark shone brightly on her chocolate coloured eyes.

"I think it's quite late for you to be here...isn't it time you leave, sweet pie?" she said, a fake pout on her lips. She slightly tightened her grip on him before removing her hand and turning around, her back facing him.

"Are you really telling me to leave?" The man questioned in anger, placing himself in front of the brunette from, the countertop being the thing that divided them. He was clearly frustrated, his hard-on being a clear tell-tale of such fact this only made Circe feel better with herself.

"Yes, sweetie, I've got places to go to... and people will arrive here soon enough, I'm sure you don't want to give them the wrong impression" Circe said, the devilish smile never dropping from her lips as she placed a cigarette between them, lighting it up without breaking eye contact with the nearly naked man in front of her.

"You can come back some other day if you like..." she lied, as she started heading towards the man in front of her, her fingers dragging over the surfaces of the countertop and the walls as she made her way to him. She took a drag from her cigarette before connecting her soft lips against the man's, letting the smoke blow between their conjoined mouths, making a small moan drop from his lips.

"Fine" he answered as he broke the kiss, making Circe smile.

Circe then poured herself another glass of whiskey and sat on the couch in her small living room. As she watched how the man picked his clothes up from where they randomly lied on the ground, she switched between taking a puff out of the cigarette between her lips and taking a drink out of her glass; she laughed to herself enjoying the little show the man before her was putting up, his flustered cheeks and quick pace seemed hilarious to her as he continued his search. Soon enough she was met with an empty apartment.

She took that as the queue to pick up her own clothes and head to the bathroom, for she died to remove the dried sweat from her skin and whichever other dried fluid that lied on her. She decided to make a quick job out of it, not wanting to open the door for Tommy in just a towel.

Walking out of the shower naked not caring to wrap a towel around herself felt like a relief from the rising heat in LA, not really wanting the constriction of the fabric around her chest and aching to feel the soft breeze that managed to enter from her open window. She reached her closet, pulling out a pair of clean panties and a bralette out of a built-in drawer, then she picked out her favourite pair of overalls, the one she used whenever she painted. As she swiftly put on all of her clothes a knock on her front door made her rush even more, she was certain that she knew who was standing outside, Tommy waiting for his review of the previous night.

"It's open Tommy!" She yelled from her room, knowing the boy was soon to become impatient and she wasn't even close to the door to let him in properly.

"Hey, Ce!" yelled Tommy from the entryway, before closing the door behind him, "brought breakfast, thought you might want some."

"What did you bring?" Circe said as she adjusted her clothes, walking to her living room and as she looked up she found herself not only facing Tommy, but Vince as well, a small embarrassment infused blush crept up her face. "Hey, Vince."

"Hey" he muttered back, leaning over Tommy to take the food from Tommy's hands.

"Blueberry pancakes for me and waffles for you, you freak" Tommy answered Circe, earning a roll of eyes and a punch on the side of the arm.

"Waffles are better, just fucking admit it, you just have bad taste" Circe bit back, accepting the container that probably held her food from Vince's hands.

"Whatever, Ce" Tommy said, standing up in search of the maple syrup and forks for the trio.

"So... how did Tommy convince you to come, Vince?" Circe asked with a smile, "What was the cost? A Jack bottle? A baggie? Cause I know the price must be high."

"You don't actually believe that I wanted to see you?" Vince answered with a smug smile, draping an arm over the sofa he was sitting in. Just as Circe was opening her mouth to answer Vince, Tommy handed her a fork and wordlessly poured some syrup on her waffles.

"It's kinda hard to believe" Circe answered, covering her mouth as to avoid little crumbs falling out her mouth. She swallowed the bite she took and proceeded, "it's not like you don't love me, I know you do, but you never come see me" a smirk prominent in her lips, a joking glint dancing in her eyes.

"You've never invited me here, all your notes are for Tommy, sweet cheeks, no Vince, it's like you've forgotten about me" Vince bit back, a spark lit up in Vince's eyes, mirroring Circe's look.

"Oh, boo hoo" Circe mocked as she took another bite to her waffle.

"Stop bickering, you're like kids" muttered Tommy, making both Circe and Vince burst out laughing.

"Us kids? Oh, Tommy, sweetheart stop" Circe managed to get out between laughs, Tommy snorted out a laugh failing at the job of staying serious, joining them.

After the laughter died down, silence took its place, the only sound in the living room was the trio chewing on their food and Tommy's leg bouncing uncontrollably.

"Well, -Tommy gulped down his last remaining bit of pancake- what did you think of last night's gig?"

"It was so good -Circe extended the o's in so to punctuate her point- you did a fucking great job back there with the drums, man. And you Vince? You're giving the groupies a show up there, got them drooling and shit, just fuck one of them already."

"Already have, Ce" Vince said casually, making Circe laugh a bit.

"Of fucking course Vin, who cares about your girlfriend, right?" Circe answered, mischief in her eyes, making Vince roll his eyes and flip her the bird.

"What about you, Tommy? Getting laid?" Circe continued not before flipping Vince back, a grin on her face. Tommy didn't care to answer verbally, he just laughed, and Circe took that as a 'duh, yeah.'

Silence. "Anyways... when are you putting the album out, I need some new shit to listen in the car, man."

"Soon, I guess" answered Vince.

"We haven't gotten around to finding a studio to record it, nor a record label" Tommy added, shrugging.

"If you want me to help you I can, just let me connect you to someone or some shit" Circe said, abruptly standing up from her place before being pulled back down by Tommy.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get around to it, on our own" Vince said, calmly might I add.

"Kay, just offering you some help, though you can make up your own record label for this kind of shit" Circe said, putting both her hands up in defence, catching both guys eyes.

"You got a new tattoo?" Tommy said, grabbing Circe's arm, examining the new ink in his best friend's arm, when did she get it and how did he not notice it?

"Yup" she answered, popping the p.

It was a very simple tattoo, a snake that crawled down her arm to her hand, the head of the snake barely reaching the first bracelet of her hand and its tongue meeting her destiny line, the snake's body wrapped itself around one of Circe's old scars.

"That's so fucking cool, dude" Tommy said excitedly, a giant grin gracing his features, his elbow hitting Vince's side as to make him say something encouraging to the brunette.

"Yeah Ce, that's gnarly, man" Vince said with an honest smile, not meeting Circe's gaze, his eyes still examining the ink.

"Thanks, guys... So - Circe finally stood up- I'm going to try and do some work but you can stay if you like" she said, dusting off her overalls.

"Nah, we'll leave you to it" said Tommy, dismissing her with a hand movement.

Both boys stood up from her places, saying goodbye to Circe with a kiss on the cheek before a light went off inside her head.

"Hey dickheads, put the forks in the sink and fucking drop the rest of the shit in the garbage" she yelled from inside the apartment, earning an annoyed groan from both boys who for a moment thought they'd gotten away with leaving things as they were.

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More than just a few hours had passed since the two messy boys left Circe's apartment, leaving her alone to procrastinate on the work that was starting to pile up.

Currently, she was sitting facing the TV, a Roger Taylor interview playing on some random channel, she sighed quite loudly as she saw the blond man talking about his solo debut album, he looked quite strange standing up all alone in an interview, lacking the company of his bandmates, it was a strange thing to look at, to say the least.

With a shake of her head, she stood up to turn her TV off, finally deciding to address the things that were due to do. She went to the spare room in the apartment, an unfinished painting standing in the background of the room looking at her in judgement -almost. Yet another sigh escaped her mouth as she ruffled her hair, she headed back to the living room, bending down to the floor, deciding to put some music that could inspire her enough to finish her work. As she went through her vinyls her eyes were practically drawn to the bunch of Queen vinyls and the Fun In Space one, a smile slipped by her as she stared at the funny little alien on the cover reading a magazine of sorts with Roger's face stamped on it, she took it out of the pile as she made up her mind, the man was promoting the album, so why not play it and give it a chance. She slipped the vinyl out of its sleeve, walking to the player, her eyes quickly scanned through the selection of songs and as she lifted the needle to place the vinyl in place an insisting knock on her door cut her short.

As the knocks grew sharper and closer to one another Circe let out an exasperated yell:

"Coming! -then she followed it with an angry mumble- goddammit."

When she opened the door she was faced with a mess of brown hair and blown out hazel eyes, Tommy, again.

"Hey, Ce!" said the tall man quite excitedly taking a drink out of an uncapped bottle of Jack.

"Hey, Tommy, what are you doing here?... again" she said, snorting out a small laugh when Tommy practically choked on the drink from trying to answer her quickly.

"I'm here to invite you over to our party, you should come!!!" He replied, pointing at her with his index finger, the bottle tightly held by the other 4 fingers.

When Tommy moved his hand closer to Circe, she caught a sniff of the liquor he had been drinking, her throat quickly drying up and her mouth slightly watering at the thought of having more than a couple of drinks. Even though she had a bottle on top of her countertop she hated drinking alone and she wasn't up for buying another bottle anytime soon, the bottle of Jack she kept around was there for whenever she craved a small sip of a hard drink instead of a snort of coke, she drank it to help her artist block -despite it helping make it bigger, but who cares, right?.

"Oh, c'mon Ce!!! You can even fuck Nikki up or some shit" Tommy tried to convince the brunette in front of him, who's gaze shifted between the inside of her apartment and him.

"I don't know Tommy" she mumbled, she hated saying Tommy 'no' as much as she has been doing lately, but she had work to do and alcohol wasn't going to help.

"I-I-I can help you with your little game or something, please Circe" he continued, giving her his best puppy eyes as he started to wiggle the bottle of Jack in front of her face, mockingly almost. "I know you want some..."

"I do, but I need to finish this painting..." She weakly argued.

"You can finish it later, I've seen you do it before, c'mon Ce! Don't be such a bore" Tommy continued taunting her, finally she caved as she took the bottle from him, giving it a large gulp.

"No more drinks for me, I'm going with you for a bit and then I'm coming back to finish this shit" She said, walking inside her apartment, Tommy close behind her.

"Coke then?" He taunted with a lopsided smile, she just let out a laugh and a nod as she headed to her closet.

She quickly searched through the clothes, thinking about what to wear for their 'casual' party, taking in consideration the fact that Nikki was going to be there and if he was still up for a few more rounds of push a pull she had to look good to play the part. After a while, she finally settled on an old Generation X shirt that had gone under some alterations to make her fit her frame whilst being long enough to be considered a dress; Circe had cut off the sleeves of the shirt and the fabric around the neck, making it have a deeper neckline that showed a bit of her chest. Then she pulled out a pair of fishnet stockings and her high heeled ankle boots. To sum up her outfit she decided to go punk but glam, apparently.

After placing everything on her bed she turned to Tommy with her eyebrows raised high, who just stared back with a dopey smile.

"What?" He questioned, his smile never dropping.

"I have to change Tommy..." Circe mumbled in slight annoyance.

"So..." He teased, Circe just rolled her eyes, she knew she wasn't going to make him leave the room so she decided to undress with him on the room, it has happened before, so who cares, really.

"Like the outfit, Ce" Tommy mentioned as he passed her the stockings, not really minding the fact that his best friend was standing in front of him in just underwear. Circe just hummed and nodded in response while putting the stocking on.

The room fell in comfortable silence as Circe got dressed, Tommy handing her the clothes she required as he kept drinking from the bottle of Jack, soon enough Circe was done dressing up, deciding to put some make-up on her bare face. Heading to the bathroom she quickly came up with a simple look, not much had to be done, she was only putting on some black eyeliner to frame her eyes accompanying it with mascara, also she was going to brush up her eyebrows and paint her lips maroon.

"Done!" She said as she walked back to her bedroom, her hands messing up her curls a bit, adding a slight volume to them.

"Great, let's go" Tommy said, jumping off the bed.

As they both walked out the room and neared the door a thought popped in Circe's head.

"Want to do some lines before we head out, T-bone?" She said excitedly, grabbing Tommy by the wrist to cease his movements. At the mention of coke, Tommy's eyes lit up with a mischievous flame, a flame that mirrored Circe's.

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Once they arrived at the small apartment complex near the Whiskey, Tommy opened the window and let her in before he did, making a reverence as she stepped through. As soon as Circe was inside Nikki's eyes were quickly drawn to her in an almost magnetic manner, his gaze trailing up and down as he examined every bit of skin exposed, catching a small glimpse of a vine and a thorn around her thigh; a smirk was quickly rising up his features thinking that the brunette had come around on her own, without the ass from last night trailing behind her.

Nikki's excitement was quick to fall when he noticed Tommy entering the room right behind Circe, his long arm quickly wrapping himself around her shoulder's pressing her against her side.

"Play nice" Tommy whispered teasingly to Circe before walking away, making her smile.

Circe looked around the room, taking notes on the kind of people that hung up with these guys, realising that it was mostly a female population, some accompanied with their boyfriends -clear mistake to bring your girl at a rock star's house- and other by their friends. Without much thought Circe headed to the countertop that divided the itched from the living area, looking around to see what they were offering for drinks.

"Well, well, well, Tommy finally made you show the fuck up" Vince teased, leaning on the countertop, offering her a bottle of vodka.

As Circe's hands went to go grab the bottle, Vince pressed it to his chest. "Nah-ah, you're gonna drink it from the bottle and I'm gonna pour it"

Queue, Circe rolling her eyes." Just fucking do it" she said as her head bent backwards, her mouth hanging open waiting for Vince to pour some vodka in her mouth -so much for not wanting to drink.

"There we go, baby" Vince coaxed as he saw the brunette drink what he had poured down her throat.

"Thanks, Vince" she said, whipping her mouth as she jokingly winked at him.

"I was told by Tommy over there about your game plans for Nikki" Vince said, inching closer to Circe's face, he was smirking triumphantly.

"Well, Tommy should shut up about that, and you too, understood blondie?" She threatened, her eyebrows rising, he just huffed out a laugh.

"A'right" was all he said before leaving, making Circe roll her eyes yet again.

With a shake of her head, Circe decided that she had had enough of being inside the Crüe's apartment and that she desperately needed to have a smoke. As she walked past the band's table on her way out, she caught a glimpse of some cut lines perfectly laid out on top of a cymbal, making her stop in consideration. Said cease of movement caught Tommy's eyes, who just signed her to approach him.

"Want some?" Circe looked at the drummer with playfull eyes and then she nodded, "then have some"

Circe moved closer to Tommy, taking notice on the three pairs of eyes that followed her every movement. One pair looked at her with a knowing glance -Vince's; another pair analysed her every movement and was quick to connect the dots between Circe and Tommy, considering that he actually paid attention to him every once in awhile -Mick's; and the final pair of eyes were challenging and underneath that, jealous -Nikki's.

Tommy pulled Circe onto his lap, making her push down a giggle -so much for not wanting her to play this game; Tommy then grabbed the cymbal, placing it in front of Circe who was handed some rolled-up bucks by Vince. Her eyes scanned the lines, trying to figure out which one she wanted, settling for the one on the left; she placed down the rolled-up bucks by the end of the line, then she bent down to get her nose closer to it, finally snorting the white powder. It burned slightly, but not as much as it did the first time she had done it, it was almost a pleasing burn especially since she was aware of the effect that came afterwards.

Circe stood up from Tommy's lap, looking around the table to see everyone's reaction, though their expression hadn't changed much from how it was before. Dusting off her made-up dress, Circe returned to her initial course, outside.

Once outside a sudden breeze of air hit her face, making the alcohol she had just drunk along with the coke she just snorted take a harsher effect. She breathed out hoping that it would help clearing up her head, but how do you clear your head when the music from inside the apartment was really loud and the walls were thin enough that she even managed to hear the rocking of someone's bed. With a shake of her head, she started to pat around her waist hoping to feel the outline of her pack of cigarettes somewhere around the elastic of her stockings, but she was just faced with the outline of her clothes, making her groan in frustration.

"So much for not being a groupie, don't you think, babe?" A voice broke her out of her daze of annoyance, said voice dripped poison, but still offered her a cigarette, almost as if he had read her mind. Circe faced Nikki, both leaning on the railing of the 'hallway' as she took the cigarette, placing it between her lips, waiting for him to pull one out for himself so he could light her's up.

"Well, it is true, I'm not a groupie" Circe mocked, seeing as Nikki lit up her cigarette and then his.

"Are you sure? With that fucking show you put up inside I'd think otherwise" He mocked back, never breaking eye contact with the brunette.

"You call that a show? You ain't seen nothing yet, babe" Circe said with a smirk, breathing out smoke, "and I've only been here for not more than an hour..." She dragged out, earning a huffed-out laugh from Nikki.

"I'm sure of that" he added, taking a puff out of his cigarette, letting the smoke escape from between his lips, Circe's eyes drifting downwards for a second before locking eyes with him once more.

Nikki noticed the movement Circe's eyes made, causing a sneer to grace his features, it was his moment to make a move, it was his turn to play the cat instead of the mouse. He looked at the girl, his eyes slowly trailing from his face down to her exposed legs; the lack of proper lighting made it hard to distinguish her pupil from the iris- though it might also be from her current state-, he recalled from the night before that her eyes were a dark shade of brown, not chocolate-coloured nor coffee-coloured; her nose was mostly straight except for the slight crook at the very top, it was nearly unnoticeable but under deep examination, one could tell she had once broken her nose; her lips were painted the exact same shade as the last time he had seen her, a deep maroon shade that complemented her slightly bronzed skin and that gave the illusion of a fuller mouth, a mouth that he already desired to kiss and put in good use, not like he didn't enjoy the few words he had managed to get out of her, she was feisty and he liked it; when moving his gaze downwards he found himself looking at her chest a few freckles had been splattered on the skin, giving it a realistic touch, making it human; then his eyes moved to her left arm finally taking his time to look at the intrinsicate flower design that hid the figure of a woman, the flowers were of a strange combination, but the ones that he could actually tell apart were the roses from the others.

Nikki's gaze fell heavy on Circe's body, she felt naked underneath while being completely clothed and it thrilled her; she had an idea of what he was doing but that didn't stop the adrenaline from pumping through her system, expecting his next movement, knowing he was taking his time to take his well-deserved revenge on the brunette, she knew she was the mouse and she was willing to play, but she was still going to try to put up the fight -try being the keyword.

He moved off the railing, placing himself parallel to it, in front of Circe; then he walked towards her, Circe could feel her heartbeat accelerating as his hands were placed on top of the railing at her sides, his forearms grazing hers as she moved under his gaze. Circe removed the cigarette from her lips putting it out with the cold metal before throwing it out; her breathing that was once controlled by the intake of smoke was starting to become heavier, now she could take in his scent and it was intoxicating, he smelt like all things 'good', smoke, Jack and blood, he smelt like danger and she loved it.

Nikki removed his cigarette from his lips and mimicked Circe's movements, putting it off and throwing it out. Now, there was nothing between them, not like last time and it made her feel anxious, especially when he moved closer to her, their bodies practically pressing against one another. Nikki's face neared her's, he brushed their noses together and as his lips brushed against her's she took in a sharp breath causing him to let out a breathy laugh.

"What do you want me to do, babe?" Nikki whispered, moving from her face to her ear, rubbing the side of his face slightly against hers.

"What do you want to do?" Circe questioned back, trying to regain some power over this situation, reason why her hands moved up to Nikki's neck, her nails scraping the back of his head, pulling on the hair lightly.

Nikki didn't answer he just let out a frustrated huff, enjoying the feeling of her nails and hands were they laid, it was posessive, almost. He, then, moved his face back in front of her's, their gaze never braking and as he almost met her mouth, Circe closed her eyes, but the kiss never came, instead, Nikki nibbled on Circe's lower lip, a moan dropping from her before she could catch it.

Then he broke the trance they were in, pushing his body off of her's and walked back inside, leaving Circe heaving.

Two can play this game...

// Next Chapter //

[the-silentium]

Unsteady Pt. 4

Summary: Y/N have to face the consequences of having found her soulmate.

Masterlist

Pairing: Eddie Brock x Reader , Venom x Reader

Warning: Fluff

Words: 2450 words

A/N: Happy New Year dear readers ! Thank all of you for your support on my work and I hope you all enjoy this chapter like I enjoyed writing it. May this year bring all of you new happiness, new goals, new achievements and a lot of new inspirations on your life !

You grunted. A ray of light passed through your curtains and hits you directly in the eye. You passed your hand through your face and your hair, trying to wake yourself up a little. For a moment, you think that you can take the day off, stay in bed and watch movies, but then your phone starts to lose his mind and a cacophony of beeping assaulted your ears. You sit on your bed slowly while reaching your phone. 6 texts messages, 4 missed calls and 2 voice messages. You opted for the texts messages firsts.

JAYA 1:04 a.m.: Hey bestie. I just wanted to get some news. If you wanna talk, you know where I am, never too late, never too early. Love ya girl.

P.S. I'm down for a pizza night if you are ;)

You laugh and crack a smile, taking note of her offer. You decide to answer her quickly with a “Roger that, call you later !” then you go to the next.

AXEL 1:09 a.m.: Hiya there sweetie ! How is my favorite brain manipulator ? Give me some news.

AXEL 1:21 a.m.: Don't keep me waitin’ ! Quit your lovey-dovey moment for 2 seconds and give me a thumbs up if everything's good.

You roll your eyes, still smiling. Axel could be dense and insistent sometimes, but you never get angry at him for that. As the time passed by, you grew to look at Axel like you would look to a big brother. He is always there to be a total goof, crack stupid jokes at your expenses and most of all, he is always there to keep your walls up. Whenever you feel like falling to pieces, he is there to keep you on tracks.

AXEL 1:30 a.m.: Seriously girl, answer me. I know I'm probably overreacting, but I just want your well being. Send a thumbs down if he is restraining you or whatever the alien or the guys might be doin’ to you.

AXEL 1:32 a.m.: Haha. That's stupid. Forget my last message. If they are, you can't do it. Well, send a signal through our mental radio frequency thing so I can relax a little.  

AXEL 1:45 a.m.: Well, you’re probably asleep, so you have to text me back at 8 max. or I’ll go kick your door down and get your little ass out of there.

Your sight moves to the clock at the corner of the screen. 8:07. 

You practically jump out of bed and go for the door of your apartment in a hurry. In the meantime, you press Axel’s phone number. His own apartment is only at 15 minutes from yours, well, when you respect the Traffic laws and God knows that Axel has a bit of difficulty with that. He answers at the first ring.

"Hey sweetie. You not dead yet ?" You know that behind the casual tone there is concern because you feel it through your door.

You open the door to come face to face with your favorite sarcasm dripping guy. His hair is shaggy like he drove his bike without a helmet, he wears his leather jacket and carries a sports bag. You give him a you’re the dumbass of the year look to which he only answers with a smile and pushes past you. He pats Hidde’s head once inside and put his bag on the side of the door.

"Well, my casa es tu casa." you say following him to your kitchen, your wolf-dog on your heels.

"I already know that. Now that I know that you still have all your body parts, you can thank me with a breakfast." he says with a wink.

"Thank you for what ? You nearly break through my door without reason !" you reply while sitting on a stool on the other side of the islet.

"Me fearing for your safety isn’t a good reason ? Plus, it didn’t happen, did it ?" he smiled at you and turn his attention to the coffee machine.

You were going to hit his shoulder when a movement in the corner of your eye catches your attention. You turned to see Eddie sitting on the couch, passing a hand on his face and through his hair. He looked lost for a second, but when he took notice of your presence, you saw him relax and a smile that makes all the butterflies in your stomach go wild graces his features. You were about to talk when Axel pushes a mug filled with dark coffee toward you and catch the attention of your soulmate. You see him frown at the unexpected guy in your kitchen.

“Good morning ! Eddie, this is Axel. Axel, this is Eddie."Axel takes notice of Eddie’s presence and wave at him, then point to his mug.

"Hey. Want a cup ?"

Eddie nods and comes to meet you. He kisses your cheek and takes a seat on a stool next to you, shaking the hand Axel presented him.

“Hey, sorry for last night.” says Axel.

“Yeah. Let's forget that.” he replies. You see him giving your friend a curious glance and you chuckle.

“Wondering why the sunglasses inside ?” Axel asked while giving Eddie his coffee and you stand to cook breakfast.

“Not that I judge. I have an alien up my ass, so… Wearing sunglasses inside is like the new kind of normal.”

“We are faaaaar from normal here. I have a heat vision and sometimes the colors are just too bright for me to bear it without sunglasses.” replies your friend.

To say that Eddie was not expecting that answer is an understatement. You couldn't see his face, but you could easily tell that he is surprised. You start cooking eggs and bacon for everyone while the conversation goes on. Mostly, it’s Axel asking questions to Eddie, wanting to know who he is, what he does, this kind of things. Yep, the perfect big brother.

“What's happening with you now ?” asks Axel while he puts his shoes on, ready to head back home.

“Well…” you trailed off while taking your phone noting that Mike left you a voice message. “I have a message from Mike so I'll have to call him back. I guess that I'm off the team now…” you look at your feet, sad to know that you will never work with them again.

“Don’t worry, we may not work together again, but I will come to annoy you twice a week as usual !” he says hugging you.

You hug him back.

“He is a good guy, you can keep your door” he whispers in your ear. You chuckle and punch him on the arm playfully.

“Call you later, hunter.”

You return to Eddie who is currently petting Hidde's belly. You are really relieved that those two get along well. You know that you can't continue your daily life without your loyal furry friend and now that you will have to find another job to keep you occupied, you know that you will need him even more.

“I have to make a call, I will be back in a few minutes.” you tell Eddie who nodded.

You go to your bedroom and dial Mike's number. Your thumb hovers above the green button for a moment. You know what's coming next. You will have to leave the team. Leave everything you know and start an apple pie life. You know it can't be that bad, but you are scared because you can't remember a life without having to kill, capture, spy and protect some witnesses. With a shaky breath, you press the button and wait for Mike to answer. One ring. Two. Three.

“Hey there Y/N.”

“Hey Mike. Sorry for missing your call.”

“There's no problem there kiddo. I totally understand. Is everything alright on your side ?”

“Yeah. The only thing that almost goes wrong is Axel nearly breaking down my door because I didn't answer his texts so I think it's on a good way.” you say with happiness evident in your voice.

“That smughead.” he sighs. “So, let's talk about what will happen. You know the rule. No person with a soulmate in the team. It's too dangerous. I'll transfer in your account your part of all our missions that weren't already transferred. I can ask some acquaintances of mine to find you a job easily if you'd like. Not that you would really need one in a near future.”

“Thanks for that. I don't know yet, but I'll give you a call when I have decided.”

“Sure, take all the time you need. I can make that call in a year if you'd like. Just know that there's no due date to this offer. Now. I have a last order for you. Take it easy, live the life that was taken from you so long ago and live it to its fullest. You will never have to watch your back, I can guarantee it. Enjoy your life with your soulmate.”

At this point, tears fell from your eyes and you couldn't hold back a sob.

“Can we keep the Friday night tradition ?” you ask with a little voice.

You hear Mike chuckles. “Of course. What would we do without our food and movie night at your place ?”

“Thank you Mike. For everything. From then to now. You did so much for me that I can't repay you for.”

“That's what family is for. See you next Friday. Take care.”

You end the call with a smile on your face and tears in your eyes. You found yourself so lucky to have this family who cares and looks out for you and now, you have the right to live with your soulmate. You couldn't be happier.

You return to the living room, wanting nothing more than hug your other half. Unfortunately, you didn't think that you had cried a lot during the call, but you did. A lot. And now, when Eddie puts his eyes on your puffy red eyes and trails of tears on your cheeks, Venom doesn't think twice. He doesn't even question why you are smiling while having this face. He engulfs Eddie and gets to you within a second. You see Hidde jolts but he is soon hidden by the big mass that is the symbiote. You send your dog reassuring thoughts while Venom cradle your cheeks in his hands.

“Our morsel cried. Who hurted you ? We will make him pay for hurting you by eating all his limbs one by one.”

You put your hands on top of his and finally take a time to admire his body. You take in each white veins on his pristine black body, getting higher. When your gaze fell on his eyes, you can't stop yourself. You retrieve your hands from his and put them on his cheeks. Well. Where they should be. At your contact, Venom seems to melt a little. He arched his back a little more to grant you more access to him and you take it as your cue to explore the sensation of his skin on yours.

Your hand explores his face, then his neck, then his chest. You wondered if you could feel Eddie under it but the more you touched, the more you knew that the answer is no. There was only Venom for now and you found yourself liking the symbiote. When you pull him in a hug, you weren't surprised that he hugged you back. But what surprised you was that he started to purr. You felt the small vibration and the happiness radiating of him. It makes you push away a little. Just enough to be able to be face to face with him.

“No one hurted me Venom. I cried because I was extremely happy.” you say.

Venom smiled at that. You had a perfect show of his very sharp teeth and you didn't feel scared. At all. You could feel what he feels for you and you know that you would never have to fear him. In any circumstances.

“What makes you happy morsel ? We need to know so we can make you happy more often.” he says.

He slips his tongue past his lips to lick your right cheek affectionately. You chuckle, the feeling reminding you of Hidde when he licks your face but way more wetter.

“I was happy because I have such a perfect family who takes care of me. And now, I have the opportunity to live a life with my soulmate.” you say with joy. Then, you think of something and you frown. Your smile disappeared and Venom becomes concerned, his purring stopped.

“What is troubling you morsel ?”

“I never apologized for what I did to you Venom. I hurted you and I'm terribly sorry. And you're not a parasite, I'm sorry for that too.” you say with remorse in your voice, lowering your head.

There is a moment of silence. Venom's hands release your back to take your chin between his fingers and make you look at him.

“We forgive our morsel.”

Then you smile and your eyes watered again.

“You are happy right ?”

“Yes Venom, extremely happy.”

His purring started again and you see his form moving. He starts to shrink and soon enough, you can see Eddie. He is radiant of joy and engulfs you in a breath-stealing hug. He pulls back, locks eyes with you and gets closer to you. When his lips brush against yours, he says “ I love you so much.” You can't take more and push your lips to his. You move perfectly in sync with each other and go slowly. You both want it perfect, filled with love, not pressing the other into anything, because truly, that kiss only was filling an enormous hole in both your hearts. That kiss on hitself made you both feel satisfied. You feel Venom wrapping himself around your waist and you didn't know you could be happier at this moment, but you definitely could. Both of them made you feel whole for the first time of your life.

You were the first to push away to breathe but you stay close to him. You put your forehead to his and you both stayed there for a while, enjoying the other.

Then, you heard a beeping sound from your cell phone, but you ignored it. Eddie, on the other side, took a glance at it while the screen was on and he jumped. His eyes were wide and you really wondered what happened. You asked him, his only answer being "How many zeros were on that transfer ?!"

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