#who just gave his students worksheets and said ‘do them’ and also never opened his teaching practice journal the whole time

[yayakoishii]

Picture This | Balam Shichirou x Reader

Fandom: Mairimashita Iruma-kun

Pairing: Balam Shichirou x GN! Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Genre/Tags: Fluff

Summary: You find out about the kind and gentle Balam Shichirou and meet him with a proposition of your own.

A/n: I have known this demon for 3 episodes and I'm in LOVE;; so I basically got possessed by the sudden urge to write something for him. he's the kindest, the sweetest, the BEST TEACHER EVER 😭 I love teachers like him so much, this was very self-indulgent and kinda just me admiring him hehe... I hope you enjoy this short thing I wrote, even though there's a high chance that he might be slightly ooc since I haven't known him for longer than 3 episodes.

also available on ao3!

The chatter in the class was a low hum as everyone worked on their own worksheets that you had just printed out. The Apocalypse Test was close and as a new teacher at Babyls, you wanted your first results to reflect well. If the results were not good then that would mean you had to work harder as a teacher.

You were walking amongst the students, listening in on their discussions or aiding them in finding where the answer could be found in the textbook. It was an open book, open discussion worksheet solving session and you were pleased with how well the students seemed to be handling it without making too much noise. The abnormal class could be really serious about studying when they put their mind to it, huh?

The bobbing of a blue head caught your attention and you walked closer to Iruma's seat. As always, he was sitting between Alice and Clara but the three of them were referring to their own books. (Except for Clara; you were pretty sure the book in her hand had nothing to do with studying…) The book in Iruma's hand was one you had never seen before but it looked interesting.

"Iruma-kun?" You stopped in front of his desk and looked down at the book curiously. Said boy startled and looked up in panic until he realised it was just you. "Where did you get this book?"

"Oh!" He gave you a warm smile, the kind that always made you smile in return. "Balam-sensei gave it to me because I was… y'know… struggling to understand."

"Can I see it?" You asked, curiosity taking a hold of you. Iruma handed you the book and you leafed through it. Surprisingly, it was a picture book with really easy explanations. Whoever wrote it had your gratitude; these were the kind of books that made learning enjoyable and less daunting. You closed it and looked at the cover to check the author's name. "Huh? Balam Shichirou…? Balam-sensei wrote this book?"

"Yes!" Iruma beamed at you. "He made some of them especially for me."

"That's wonderful," you felt touched even though you had never met the man. When you had aspired to be a teacher, this was the kind of teacher you were aiming for. Somebody who helped even the students who were struggling to understand, from the basics so they could build a stronger structure of knowledge on it. "Is it easier for you to understand this way?"

"It is," Iruma admitted, shyly scratching the back of his neck. You smiled and lightly patted the top of his head, startling the boy a little.

"I'll keep that in mind for my next class," you said. "And while I'm grateful for Balam-sensei… Why didn't you tell me if you were struggling to understand my teaching, Iruma-kun? I would have adjusted for you."

You pouted at him so he knew you weren't seriously mad at him; just a little upset.

"No, no, no!" The boy panicked and shook his hands in a negating gesture. "That's not it, (y/n)-sensei!! I just didn't want to burden you because I was the only one struggling even with your easy explanations… I guess having it in written form like this just helps to remember what you've already taught."

"It's not a burden, Iruma-kun," you reminded him. "It's my job as a teacher to make sure you understand. If you don't understand something, that's my responsibility. If you're worried about being a bother to the rest of the class, you can always come to me after the classes are over to get a quick personalised lesson."

"Eh?" He looked surprised. "Wouldn't that take up your time, sensei?"

"If it helps my students then it's time well spent!"

•

After your classes for the day were done, you asked around the staffroom for where you could find Balam Shichirou. Kalego gave you the directions and you made your way to his office, curious about what kind of person he must be and how he would look. From whatever Iruma had told you, he already sounded like a kind person and a great teacher. You found the door and knocked on it before looking inside.

"Balam-sensei?" You asked. There was a demon with long white hair sitting on a table, writing something down, who startled at your voice. "Can I come in?"

"O- Oh, yes, please!" He seemed a little confused by your presence but you stepped in and closed the door behind yourself. There was an empty stool across the table so you sat down on it. "Um, (y/n)-sensei, would you like some Hell Grey Tea?"

"Oh!" You hadn't expected him to know your name. Suddenly, it felt embarrassing that you had never heard of him before this. "Yes, thank you for the offer, Balam-sensei."

He nodded and got up to make you some. He worked in silence so you took the time to look around his office. The shelves full of books were eye-catching and your hands were already itching to dig into them and read all the unfamiliar volumes. Your eyes drifted over to the book sitting in front of you that Balam was working on. Your eyes widened when you realised it was another picture book, this one on one of the battles that had occured some centuries ago. Your hands moved to check it before you could even think that it would be rude.

"Here you go– oh, you saw my book," Balam placed the tea just out of the way enough so that you wouldn't accidentally bump it. "Do you… like picture books, (y/n)-sensei?"

"Not particularly," you admitted as you skimmed through what was already drawn and written. "But I like to read so picture books are fun too! I suppose I never got much into them because my home was full of textual books and I liked those just fine so I never had any picture books as a kid. I may not know much about them, but this is really well-written, Balam-sensei! You draw so well too."

"Oh," the other demon pinked at your words as he took his seat. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it. I'm making this one for a student but you could borrow a different one if you're interested."

"Ah! That reminds me why I came here," you beamed at him, gently placing the book back where you had picked it up from. "I saw the picture book you gave Iruma-kun in my class today. Our subjects have a small section that overlaps so he was referring to the book you made for him and I couldn't help noticing it. It was truly so easy to understand and it gave me the idea that such a method would be helpful with other subjects too."

"Really?" He seemed surprised by your words but you could tell that he was also touched. "I would like to share them with all the students too, but for some reason, they keep running away when I try to show them my picture books."

"Ah," you leaned back when you realised that you had accidentally leaned over in your excitement. The other teachers in the staffroom had told you about Balam's reputation amongst the students. "I'm sure they would benefit from it. I could share your books with some of my students if that works for you, Balam-sensei. And, if you would be interested, I wanted to try making a picture book explaining my subject too. It's a huge task and I would compensate you accordingly for your time and efforts–"

"You…" If Balam had seemed shocked before, it was nothing compared to his face now. Although his mouth was covered by a metal mask, you could tell from how wide his eyes had gotten. "You want to… make a picture book… with me?"

"Only if you're interested!" You bit your bottom lip nervously. "I personally really liked your books and I thought it would be a great way to learn for the students who have a weaker or slower grasp of understanding. Since I'm not very familiar with the process, I thought it would be amazing if I could have the aid of your experience. I understand if it's a commitment that you don't have the time for, and there's no guarantee that it will work out but I would love to at least try it with you."

"I would love to," Balam uttered softly and even without seeing his mouth, you could tell that he was gently smiling at you with how his eyes curved just so. The sight made your heart unexpectedly quicken and you fidgeted in your seat, picking up the Hell Grey Tea you had forgotten about. "I didn't think any of the other teachers liked me much but I'm very happy that you thought of me when you wanted to try this out."

"I don't think they dislike you, Balam-sensei," you smiled from behind the cup of tea. "But I suppose people just get so caught up in appearances and assumptions. People who have much to hide seem dangerous at first glance and we don't take time to get to know them if we can help it. I admit I might have fallen prey to the same kind of thinking if I hadn't heard about you from Iruma-kun. I could tell you were a kind and wonderful teacher from the way he spoke about you."

Balam's eyes widened and for a second, you thought his eyes seemed glassy. You blinked and the light was gone but Balam's eyes were still the soft shape. Now that you took the time to study his face, you realised he was quite handsome. The thought made you accidentally slam your tea cup down on the table in panic and the ceramic broke, startling the both of you.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!!" You were flustered but you hurriedly tried to collect the pieces together without hurting yourself. "I'm so clumsy…"

"It's okay," Balam reassured you, coming over to your side to help you pick up some of the pieces. "I'll take them to the trash. Are you hurt?"

"I don't– oh, just a little it seems," you had a very tiny cut from a sharper piece you had picked up. It didn't hurt. You waved it off as you carefully put the pieces you had collected in Balam's large gloved hands. "Nothing to worry about. It will be healed in a day or two. I really am sorry for troubling you, Balam-sensei!"

"I told you, it's fine."

He carefully threw away the trash then returned to you with an ointment from his desk drawer. You had stuck the finger into your mouth to suck at the blood and stop the flow but it felt embarrassing when you realised that Balam was watching you. You hurriedly removed the finger and tried to find a cloth to wipe it off but Balam crouched in front of you and asked for your hand silently. You ended up placing yours in his and watched him carefully pat it off before putting on the ointment.

"Thank you," you blushed fiercely when he was done and still hadn't let go of your hand. In fact, he was now standing up and holding both your arms in his own; the proximity was making your heart beat unnaturally fast. "Um, Balam-sensei..?"

"Yes?" He asked, blinking down at your comparatively smaller form in his arms.

"Y- You can let go of me now," you mumbled. Your words made him stutter and he let go in a panic.

"I- I'm so sorry, I just tend to do that without thinking!" He was blushing too, embarrassed. Balam didn't want to make you uncomfortable after you had been so nice to him. For once, he was actually getting along with someone new. For that matter, you were the one to approach him first! Not to mention, he had found you really beautiful when he had first seen you in the staffroom, laughing at Dali's joke. You hadn't seen him then, but that brief memory flashed in his mind when you softly giggled.

The sound of your laugh made his heart skip a beat. Balam stared at you as you flashed him a warm smile.

"If you wanted to hold me, you could have just asked, Balam-sensei!" You beamed and opened your arms for a hug. "I don't mind you touching me. I was just surprised."

Oh.

Balam's hands twitched for a second, the same nervousness he felt when Iruma tried to touch him popping up. But this time, it felt a bit different. The nervousness in his stomach felt like those fantastical creatures called butterflies that he had read about. His heart seemed to be thumping louder than usual too.

It was only when his larger frame swallowed yours into a gentle grip that he realised. He could feel the outline of your smile against his bicep.

Ah, this was what they called a crush, huh?

°•❀•°

All likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! ♡

[yourneighborhoodstalker]

For You

Requested by: 🧼🫧 | anon

Pairing: Yandere!Mark x GN!Reader, David x GN!Reader

Genre: yandere, romance, thriller

Summary: Mark has been noticing that the popular guy is a little too close with you…

WARNING: yandere (of course), extreme emotion, murder, blood, mature (due to murder content), manipulation

Note! this story does not follow the events or storyline that happens in Killing Mr. Griffin!

“Please get out your textbooks and open up to page 57.” Mr. Griffin, the strict English teacher, voiced out to the class as he glanced around the room. The class quietly groaned but took out their textbooks from their bag.

Though his eyes caught onto one student; David Ruggles, who seemed to not have his book out. “Mister Ruggles, may I ask why you do not have your textbook out and on your desk?” The boy looks up, a bit startled. “Um… I—”

He was cut off when the classroom door suddenly opened. Everyone turned to see who it was. “Sorry I’m late sir.” You nervously said, slowly walking to your seat— which was right next to David.

Mr. Griffin sighs in disappointment. “This is your last warning for the term, (Last Name). It better not happen again.” You nod, gulping a bit. The old man then points to David. “It seems Mister Ruggles has forgotten his textbook. Would you please share yours with him for the time-being?” You nod again, pulling out your textbook and placing it on the table.

“What page number, sir?”

“Page 57.”

David scoots his desk closer to yours to look at your book. He makes eye contact with you and smiled a bit. “Hey.” He greets. “Hi.” You also greet, smiling back.

From behind you two, there was the cold boy with thrilling gray eyes and a calm demeanour. You always thought he was cute but never approached him because of how intimidating he was. You thought that Mark was such a cool guy.

You felt like someone was burning holes at your head and David’s. So you turn and look but everyone behind you had their eyes on the textbook. You turn back and read with the boy next to you.

‘Why does it feel like someone is staring?’ You thought but quickly shook off the thought when David had tapped your arm. “Can you flip to the next page, please?” You nodded, a little confused since he could’ve done it himself.

Someone scoffs quietly behind them. ‘I would’ve done it instead of being a stupid little asshole…’ They thought.

You look behind you out of curiosity and see Mark staring at you. You felt shivers going down your spine at his cold gaze. When you looked at him, something about him made you wonder. You wanted to talk to him more but he was just so… scary.

So you gave him a small smile and wave before turning back to the book. You shift in your seat a bit after that little gesture, feeling unsure about how his reaction was. What was he thinking about you? He probably thinks you’re a weirdo… right?

-

Mark was fiddling with his pen, staring at it. Some might’ve thought he was just thinking about assignments or cars but no. His mind wasn’t even anything near those topics.

He was thinking about you.

Your eyes looking at him.

Your smile at him.

Your hand waving at him.

You turned your body to see him.

That’s all he could focus on. He wanted you— he needed you. He wanted to hold you close and whisper into your ears sweet nothings. He wanted to feel your comfortable warmth. He wanted to hear your voice speak to him.

You’re just so funny, smart, caring, genuine, beautiful… Who wouldn’t want to date you? You’re straight up perfect in his eyes.

He purses his lips at the thoughts that had crossed his mind. He stops moving his pen, staring at the math worksheet on his desk. He then tightens his pen.

He is in love with you. In fact, he is infatuated with you. He’s obsessed with you. He needs you and you only. Nobody else will ever replace you. Not even Lana could match up to you.

And nobody will take you away from him. He’s certain that you and him will be together. Forever, even.

He vowed himself at that very moment that he will protect you and harm anyone and anything that hurts you.

He will… win you.

-

“So what’re your plans this weekend?” David asked you, putting his hands in his pockets as he was walking with you.

“Ah… Well… I might go to a party with my family friends.”

“Oh okay. Do you wanna hangout then? Like whenever you’re available.”

“Oh well… Sure. I guess.”

David smiles widely and lets out a breathy chuckle. “Great! Can I have your house number?” I nodded. “Yeah, let me just write it down for you.” I stop by the lockers and take the backpack off my shoulders. I take out a piece of paper and a pencil, writing my number down.

I give him the paper after writing my number down. “There you go. My mom usually picks up the phone so… just a warning.” David nods.

“Okay. I’ll call you. When are you going to your family’s party?”

“Saturday.”

“Sunday it is, then.”

“Okay. I’ll be expecting it.”

“Yep. I’ll see you.”

David walks away, excitedly clenching the piece of paper in his hand. He couldn’t believe he actually got your house number!

-

David starts walking the through the empty parking lot since it was in the direction of his home. He honestly couldn’t wait to tell his mom and grandmother.

He still had the paper in hand. As he walked pass a car, he heard a door open. “Hey David!” He turned and saw Mark. “Oh hey. Sup man.” He smiles at him but Mark had a blank expression as he approaches him. “What did you need?”

Mark stops a few feet in front of him and looked down at his hand. “What’s that you got there?” David looks down and his smile widens. “Oh. It’s (Name)’s house number. They wanted to hang out so.” Mark raised his eyebrows in surprise. “They wanted to hang out with you?” He asked in “interest,” inching closer. “Yeah. I’m planning on maybe a football game.” Mark narrowed his eyes a bit for a quick second. “Oh really? That’s nice.” They both chuckle and nod at each other.

But that moment quickly ended when Mark had snatched the paper out of his hands and crunched it up, shoving it in his pocket.

“What the hell man?! What’re you doing?!” David tried going after the paper but Mark puts his hand on his chest, preventing him from doing so. “You asking them out? Right. Like that’s gonna fucking happen.”

POW!

Mark punched David’s face really hard, making him fall down. The blonde boy groans and holds his face in pain and slight fear. He tries to get back up but then—

WHOP!

The boy had kicked him right in the face so hard. Out came blood from the boy’s mouth as his head shot back from the impact. David’s head hits the concrete. He was experiencing such pain that he’s never experienced before. He weakly looked up at Mark. “(Name) likes gardens you shithead.”

The boy grabs David’s collar and gives him one final punch.

POW!

David falls back down, unconscious and his lip and nose bleeding. His left eye had developed a bruise and his cheeks were swollen.

Mark sighs and opens his car door. He grabs David’s ankles and drags him across the ground and to his car. He then stops and smiles a bit. He starts chuckling. He was in amusement at the fact that DAVID tried to go on a date with you. Overall— David is not good enough for you. Why should anybody be good enough for you when there was him.

If he had to get rid of anyone to make sure you think that way, he will.

-

It was night time. You were expecting a call from David but you didn’t. Not like you cared or anything since you knew he was a bit too enthusiastic about getting your house number.

You asking your mother if anyone called and getting a negative response surprised you. You shrugged it off, thinking that he has a life too and he was probably taking care of his grandmother.

“Honey! Can you take out the trash really quick? I have to feed the cat!” Your mom shouted from downstairs. “Okay!” You yell back, putting your drawing book down and heading downstairs.

You head into the kitchen and got the trash can. “So who is coming to the family party again?” You asked, passing by your mom and heading to the back door. “Oh. Basically everyone except for Uncle Ted and Aunt Darling.” She responded, putting the cat’s food bowl down for your cat, Pepper, to eat.

“Oh… Shame.” You open the door and head out. You walk down the steps of the stairway of the backyard. You walk closer and closer to the trash bins.

You open one of the lids and put the trash in. You close it, sighing in relief that that’s over. Then you hear rustling on the other side of the house. You furrow your eyebrows at the unfamiliar, uncomfortable sound.

You slowly and quietly walk to the source of the noise. You press your back on the wall of the house and slowly peaked your head around the corner.

That’s when you saw a familiar figure standing and looking down at something. ‘That hair… that brown jacket…’ You widened your eyes when you saw— what you could’ve sworn was blood— dripping down his hand… and down to his knife that he was holding.

You let out a shaky breath out of fear, stepping back. You were afraid. Your heart was racing and you felt lightheaded. Was this real? Was that blood? What’s happening? What did he do? Is he gonna hurt you, too? Are you just seeing things?

You blink rapidly and even rub your eyes. Though the figure was sure, indeed, still there. He was so familiar. You could’ve sworn you knew him.

You let your eyes slowly travel down his figure; down his back… down to his legs… down to his feet… and another pair of feet. Your mouth and throat goes dry when you realise there’s a body laying on the floor and that’s what this figure is standing in front of. You gasp, feeling tears well up in your eyes and your chest tightening in fear.

The intruder looks up from the noise that came out from your mouth and slowly turns to look at you. Your eyes were then as wide as saucers as you recognised the man. “M-Mark?!” You choke out, stepping back again.

The boy doesn’t respond, staying eerily silent as his cold gray eyes stare into your soul. Those gray eyes… you don’t know why… but you feel something twist in your chest as you look into him. For a moment you were in a trance at him.

So there you both were. Staring at each other. No words exchanged at all. You quickly snap out of it once you realised your mom and dad are inside.

You slowly start stepping back. “What… are… you doing…” You breathe out, your pupils shrinking as Mark stepped up.

He breathes in and looks back at the body lying in the ground. He steps aside and points at it. “Recognise him?” You narrow your eyes to try to see more in the dark.

Sure enough. You recognise that jacket with the school’s letter and mascot. You also recognise the face. “David?! What did you do to him?!” You lurch forward to try to get a better look at him but Mark blocks your way, holding up his bloody knife. You let out a small yelp and jump as you see the bloody knife in front of you.

“O-Oh god… Y-You… You…” Mark smiles a bit. “You’re cute when you stutter.” He claps his hands a bit. “But yeah. Your thoughts are the same as mine baby.” He steps forward suddenly, going close to your face. “I killed him.” He whispers lowly.

You let out a noise of shock and fear, stepping back. “W-What?! Why?! Why would you do that?—” You interrupted by your own hard, fast breathing. You were hyperventilating. Mark sees this and tilts his scared.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared, (Name)…” He says in a mockingly and soft way, slowly approaches you. “Are you?” He puts a hand on your shoulder but you hold his wrist and push it away. “Don’t touch me.” You said, your voice shaky.

“Are you scared of me? Do you fear me?” He asked, not taking your push as an answer. He inches closer, his face close to yours that you can feel his hot breath fanning down your face.

“…”

“Answer, sweetheart…”

He tilts your chin up, forcing you to make eye contact with him. His intense gaze dominates you entirely, making your knees weak. “… Yes…” You answer quietly. He smirks a bit and pat your cheek. “Good. Now…” He draws the knife up again and gently places the tip of the blade on your cheek.

“I am very aware that your mom and dad are inside right now. But even if you do scream or cry for help, your life will be taken by me either way so… be a good, cooperative partner and you won’t die, ‘mkay? I would be so heartbroken if I had to kill you…”

Mark frowns at you, looking into your eyes with a soft expression. Out of survival instinct, you nod slowly. He smiles, delighted of your response. “You’re so adorable…” He takes the knife off your cheek and places it in his knife holster.

He looks up back at you before sighing a bit. He gently grabs your hands and brings you close. You flinch at the touch, and he wasn’t surprised.

“Hey… I did this for you… David wanted to do bad things to you… And I wanted to make sure he doesn’t hurt you. I never ever want to see you get hurt. Especially by someone as stupid as him.”

His hands slowly slide up to caress the sides of your neck. Something about him right now made you feel… comfort? It was like he was luring you in.

“Don’t you worry. I’ll get rid of him for good and we can go to your favourite garden, okay?” He assures in a comforting tone. You slowly nod, your breathing going steady again. “Just the two of us.” He says, smiling.

He lets go. He grabs one of your hands and kisses the back of it. “I’ll be back. For now just go on with your night. I’ll call you tomorrow morning.” You nod, gulping.

You still felt afraid… but not as much anymore. You felt comfort in his words, strangely. You aren’t supposed to, but you did. Why is that? Is it because a man like Mark protected you from possibly danger?

“Goodnight, my sweet. Rest well because I’m taking you to the gardens tomorrow.” He smiles at her, acting casually as if he wasn’t dragging a body right now.

You slowly turn and walk back to your backdoor. You opened it and go through. Your eyes caught sight of Pepper, who was eating. You smile a bit, relieved to see some light of the day.

You sat in the chair of the kitchen and stare at Pepper. Your mind began to race with thoughts like crazy. What the hell just happened? Did you just see a dead body and did nothing? Why are you so… attracted to him? Why did he say all of that to you?

You sigh, rubbing your temples in frustration and confusion. You felt stressed. You just let him walk off casually dragging David’s dead body around.

You then heard the house phone ring. You gulp and get up from the chair, walking to it. You reach for the phone but hesitate. What if it’s him?

You inhale deeply and finally answer the phone. “(Last Name)’s residence. How may I help you?” You answered confidently, straightening up. “Make sure you eat dinner, love. And drink some water.” You heard Mark’s voice over the phone say. You felt goosebumps develop across your skin.

“Um… All right…” You nod awkwardly, standing there and not knowing what else to say. “If you want I can get you some diner food?” Your heartbeat increases its speed as he said that. How can he be so sweet after that incident? “Oh. Well… I’m okay. My mom already made some food for me so…” You heard him hum in understanding.

“Okay. Good. Homemade food is the best. Catch you tomorrow at 10 AM sharp, all right?” He says with a little joy in his voice; something you’re definitely not used to. “Yeah. Okay.” You nod, smiling a bit.

“Great… Bye. Sweet dreams.”

“You too, Mark.”

You end the call, leaning on the wall as if you were exhausted. You’re really smiling now after seeing the incident?

‘Can’t be that bad… right?’ You thought, finally going to the kitchen to eat.

[id-rather-be-an-outsider]

The Lonely

Meg Thomas x Rin Yamaoka

summary: it’s winter break, and Rin stays on campus so her girlfriend doesn’t have to face it alone.

word count: 1851

a/n: am I thoroughly in love with MegRin? YES yes I am, enjoy! posted for my writing club and a december writing comp

Rin Yamaoka knew her girlfriend would be spending the holidays alone. Meg’s father left a long time ago, and her mother passed away shortly after they began their relationship. Meg was strong about it, but Rin knew how much she was hurting. Meg’s eyes were always red when Rin saw her, she could always hear her choking on a sob when she came to visit her dorm, and she hadn’t been performing as well in sports as usual. The coaches didn’t say anything, primarily because they all knew she’d had a rough Summer break, secondarily because her performance was still good enough to secure them wins, but when Rin would watch Meg practice, she would notice the coaches’ eyes shifting back and forth when she made mistakes she normally never would.

Rin had thought about it long and hard, so she called her mother. Her mother’s weak voice answered, but she sounded stronger. Knowing her daughter was in love gave her some more pep, nowadays. “Hey mom,” Rin said, “I was thinking. In America, Meg grew up celebrating a holiday called Christmas with her mother. It’s been really hard for her lately, and I’m worried about her. I don’t want her to be alone on that day.”

“What day is it?” Rin’s mother asked.

“It’s the 25th, same day as Shimai Tenjin.”

“Well, it’s a good thing your father is working that day, otherwise he’d expect you to be at home. I will tell him your coworker called out sick on the day so you picked up an extra shift.”

“Really, mom?”

“Yes, really. Make sure you pack before he gets home, so he doesn’t realize you’re staying there overnight. And tell your sweet girlfriend her future mother-in-law says hi.” She replied with a chuckle.

“Okay mom, I will. I love you!”

“I love you too, my precious girl. See you when you get home.”

“See you then! Bye.” Rin hung up as she stepped out of the elevator onto Meg’s floor. Her footsteps echoed down the long hallway, and she nodded her head at a student who was lugging an overfilled trash can over to the garbage chute. He must have lost the competition with his roommate, she thought to herself. She reached Meg’s door, but hesitated outside to listen. For a second, she almost thought that Meg was getting better, but then she heard the by-now familiar sound of sniffling.

She frowned, knocking, and Meg’s voice sounded raw when she said, “Coming!”

The door opened, and Meg’s eyes were bloodshot as she clung onto a tissue like it was her lifeline. “Hey baby.” Rin said softly, sliding her arms around Meg’s neck and kissing her cheek. “I came to check on you.”

“Oh, hey, Rin.” Meg said, personality gone from her voice as she returned the hug, holding Rin tight. “I’m just studying right now.” Meg pulled the door closed behind her girlfriend.

“What class? Maybe I can help.” Rin let her go, walking over to the table and pulling out one of the chairs. “By the way, are you busy on the 25th?” Rin plopped down, grabbing a pencil as she took a look at the partially completed worksheet in front of her. “You’re taking med anatomy?”

Meg nodded. “I want to be a physical trainer at my old high school. The one they have now is set to retire when I get my degree, and they’re looking for a replacement.” She paused. “I… guess I don’t really have any plans. Why?” She sat in her original spot, averting her eyes from Rin’s seeking stare.

“Well, my dad is working, so I was thinking, we should spend the day together.” Rin placed a hand on Meg’s thigh, rubbing a circle with her thumb. “Also, this one is wrong.” She pointed to number four. “Bile is made by the liver, but it’s stored in the gallbladder.”

“Thanks.” Meg said, moving onto the next question.

“So?” Rin asked, “What do you think?”

“Of your idea?” Meg asked, eyes darting to Rin’s for half a second, “Uhm… yea. We could do that. But… you don’t have to. I know your mom is sick.”

Rin countered. “I want to. And my mom is covering for me. It’s not like we’d be able to go to the market as a family that day, anyway. She says hi, by the way. I think she wants you to come see her again on a day that my dad is gone at work.”

Meg shook her head. “Of course she is. And of course she does. I hate… sneaking. It’s your dad’s house. I feel like he might kill me someday.”

“If he would kill anyone, it would be me for falling in love with a girl and not providing him grandkids beforehand. Besides, everyone knows my mom is the real boss around there.” Rin gave a short huff in laughter.

Meg sat in the silence for a few moments, thinking to herself. “If you really are okay with staying with me and you won’t regret being away from your mom, then…” She then reached out, grabbing Rin’s hand and squeezing it. “Thank you, Rin.”

Rin placed her other hand over Meg’s, bringing their hands up to her lips, and kissed Meg’s knuckles.

Rin returned on Christmas Eve wearing mint green, red, white and bubblegum pink candy cane striped leggings, a color-blocked, oversized hoodie with matching tones, and a white beanie to cover her head, letting her long, ink black hair hang loose underneath. When Meg answered the door, Rin shouted, “Surprise!” and held up a knit sweater, complete with a basketball theme. “Do you like it? I found it online!”

Meg smiled, saying, “I see you did your research for this.” She grabbed Rin’s forearm, tugging her inside the dorm. As she did, Rin noticed that Meg’s eyes for once weren’t puffy and red, and neither was her nose. When the door closed, Rin threw her arms around Meg’s neck, getting up on her tiptoes to place a tender kiss on her lips. Meg hummed. “Mmm, peppermint lip balm? You’re more festive than I am.”

Rin laughed. “I figured I had to bring the festivities so you could just relax this year. Now, go put your sweater on and pick out a Christmas movie while I make hot cocoa!” She said, poking Meg’s side. “The big meal will be tomorrow.”

“Yes ma’am,” Meg saluted her before taking the sweater and heading into the bedroom to change.

One Christmas film and several cups of cocoa later, Rin was surprised to find Meg had fallen asleep in her arms on the couch. She chuckled to herself, tucking her head in. She took a deep breath, enjoying the peace for a moment. It was the happiest Meg had appeared to be since losing her mother, and Rin relished in it – she missed the playful Meg she used to know. She still loved her, but it was different, and Rin didn’t always feel like she did a good job of supporting her girlfriend. It left her stumped. Rin sighed, getting up to throw a blanket over Meg, and moving into the bedroom to sleep.

Rin woke and could hear a song playing, the man’s deep voice sounding like it was from another time. A red hat sat on her – or Meg’s, rather – bed, along with a stocking. Rin smiled, pushing her covers back, and pulled the hat on. She grabbed the stocking, full of candies and trinkets, and headed out to the living room, where she saw Meg sitting with two cups of cocoa and cookies. “Merry Christmas, babe.” She said, leaning against the door frame of the bedroom, tilting her head to the side. The fluffy white bobble dangled in front of her eyes, slightly obscuring her vision, but she didn’t need both eyes to witness the hot red taking over Meg’s cheeks. For a second, she felt a coolness on her stomach, and when Rin looked down, she realized her shirt had bunched up just above her waist. She pulled it down and laughed, meeting Meg’s eyes once again. “Oops, Christmas faux pas. It’s a family holiday, right?”

Oops indeed. Meg’s face shifted from one of embarrassment, to one of realization, and then, devastation. “Oh, Rin. Rin, I–” In a matter of seconds, Meg burst into tears.

Rin’s eyes widened in concern, and she rushed to her partner, wrapping her up in a protective, loving, warm hug. “Oh, Meg.” Rin noticed wetness decorating her own cheeks. She hated knowing when Meg cried, and she hated seeing Meg cry even more – it pained her so much, it made her cry. “Meg, it’s okay.”

Meg crumpled in Rin’s embrace. Rin knew Meg to be a strong woman, but she supposed that if someone always had to be strong, eventually, they would start to feel weak. It only furthered her resolve to be the one to fill Meg with renewed strength. Rin had endless strength, as it was. It ran in her blood. Meg whimpered out, “I miss her, Rin. I miss my mom. I miss her so much.”

Rin tightened her hold on her beloved. “I know you do. I’m sorry you can’t be with her, Meg. I know it’s hard.” She lowered her head to look Meg in the eyes. “If it’s too much, we don’t have to, but is there a way you’d like to honor her this year? I know it can’t give you what you really want, but… maybe it could comfort you in a way I can’t.”

“Rin…” Meg looked at her with appreciation – and a new wave of tears – shining in her eyes. “You’ve been so supportive and comforting to me. I don’t want you to think that you haven’t meant the world to me this whole time.” Rin kissed the tip of Meg’s nose. A quiet acknowledgement. Rin knew. Meg smiled sadly, and continued. “My mom liked to feed the local deer carrots on Christmas day. She told me they were Santa’s reindeer.”

“Well, deer might be hard to find since we’re in the city, but… what about the local petting zoo? There are goats there, if that’s good enough.” Rin said thoughtfully. “I can pay.”

“No, no, I’ll pay. You’re tight on money and already got me a Christmas gift by surprise.” Meg sighed, wiping her eyes. “Thanks, baby. And– I’m sorry, for crying on Christmas.”

Rin shushed her. “Don’t ever apologize for crying. Those are tears of love, and they’re real. Why don’t we get ready to go?” She brushed Meg’s cheek with a gentle hand, looking into her eyes. There was something so tragically beautiful about the color Meg’s eyes turned when she cried. Rin wished they could’ve been happy tears, so she didn’t feel a secret guilt about finding it so pretty.

Meg smiled, grabbing onto Rin’s hand and pressing it further into her cheek. She closed her eyes as she sighed. “Yes, let’s go. And thank you, for taking me as I am. I love you.”

“Always. I love you too.” Rin replied. And she meant it.

[fingertipsmp3]

Me getting the job:

Me immediately being hit with imposter syndrome:

[yutahoes]

All About You

pairing: nerdy! Yuta Nakamoto x rich! bratty! Y/N (I hope I made justice) other characters: Johnny as your twin brother, Taeyong as your bestfriend word count: 4.2k words genre: fluff summary: He’s supposed to teach you Math, why is he teaching you to love? warnings: cursing, Y/N has a bad temper, cheating, cringe  Some scenes are inspired from ‘It Started with a Kiss’ 

a/n: Based on this ask. I’m sorry anon, this took such a long time to write. 😭 I just feel unmotivated to write and the week had been such a whirlwind of emotions. I’ve also been so busy, it’s so crazy. 

Also, this is my thank you post for reaching another milestone of this writing blog. I never expected that I’ll past 500 followers but now, it’s in 1.5k. Thank you for following me and reading my works. Please, don’t hesitate to give me feedback even if it’s good or bad. 😅  

"Y/N!" Your eyes shoot open at the sound, groaning when you realize that it was your brother shouting. "You'll be late for school." You hid your head under the pillow to shut down the noise coming from outside the room. "Your car is towed, have you forgotten about it?" Once again, you groaned. "If you don't come down after five minutes, you'll have to take the bus." 

Once again your eyes opened, raising your head. Five minutes? How will you get ready in five minutes? Your allowance is almost gone. You needed to go to school with Johnny or you might end up taking a bus. You were wearing your school uniform when you heard a car engine and saw Johnny leaving already. "Fuck!" You whispered to yourself before taking your bag and hurriedly ran down the stairs. 

"Fuck you, Johnny Seo!" You shouted in annoyance, dragging your school bag outside the gates of your large house while taking your phone out and calling your bestfriend. "Pay for my cab fee." 

“I don’t have any money left,” Taeyong whined. “Just take the bus.” He said before hanging out that pissed you off much more. 

You groaned in annoyance before walking to the bus stop. You will get scolded for being late again if you don’t take the bus. You just wished that no one is going to see you. 

Luckily, the bus isn’t that crowded but there’s only one seat available, beside a guy who had the same uniform as yours. How annoying.

The guy was focused on answering a worksheet, his name written above. Yuta Nakamoto. You heard that name before but instead of pondering over it, you decided to shrug it. You were thankful that he’s the only person from your school who is on the same bus as you or it will be really embarrassing. Once you walked to the gate of the school, you noticed the discipline director on the gates. Shit, you thought, you forgot your necktie. This has detention written all over it. This day is so unlucky. 

A piece of fabric can be felt on your neck followed by the same male student walking before you. The discipline director saw him and scolded him for not wearing a necktie that startled you. You glanced at the necktie hanging on your neck and hastily fixed it before getting inside the campus. Your eyes meeting with the same guy you were sitting next to earlier on the bus. Yuta Nakamoto. 

You shrug while passing him. It's his fault that he's punished like this. Why would he give his necktie to you? When you arrive at your locker, you exchange the worn-out necktie with the spare you have in your locker. "Hey, did you study for our Math exam?" Taeyong greeted that made you roll your eyes. He knew you never study for anything. 

"You know everyone in school, right?" He's such a social butterfly, everyone is his friend. You handed him the necktie, "Return this to Yuta Nakamoto."

"You know Yuta?" But you didn't answer him and started walking the opposite way to your first class in English. Johnny's eyes were on you as you entered the class you shared with him, raising your middle finger as you sat down on your chair and slept on the desk. 

The bell rang. English is done. Lifelessly, you walked to the other side of the building to attend your most loathed class of all. Math. 

Everyone was busy reading notes as you sat next to Taeyong. "Did you study?" You asked and he nodded, grinning. "Just open your paper." He groaned and you gave him a glare before the teacher came in with papers in his hand. He asked everyone to keep their notes and handed out the worksheets. 

Your head was aching at all the numbers and letters on the paper. Your eyes glanced at Taeyong's paper, lightly elbowing him to show his answer. The teacher passed your table and Taeyong lightly glanced at his paper then glared at you. 

"Let me see." You whispered when the teacher passed your table. He opened his paper, lightly glancing around as you try to copy what is written. Someone called for the teacher while you were busy copying the numbers from Taeyong's paper then someone called your name. 

"Copying, Ms. Y/N?" the teacher asked that made you turn to him. "Thank you for informing me, Mr. Nakamoto." Nakamoto? You lightly glanced at the guy in glasses next to the teacher. Of course, it’s him. 

You were brought to the detention room after class. An hour of doing nothing. What’s more annoying is the fact that you were given a failing grade in Math already. There’s nothing you can do but hiss in annoyance. 

When you got home, you had an earful from your grandfather about how you’re such a disappointment to your mom and even comparing you to the perfect Johnny. “Get Y/N a personal tutor.” the older commanded your twin brother, “Maybe she’ll stop cheating in exams.” 

You were annoyed. It’s a one-time event. This is your first time copying from Taeyong since you really didn’t know about the Math exam. Why are they all acting like you’re a serious offender? This is all that guy’s fault for snitching on you. 

The next day was more annoying because you came face to face with Nakamoto Yuta, the snitch, who even had the guts to sit in front of you. “He will be your tutor,” Johnny claimed that made you wide-eyed. He’s kidding. “Grandpa already agreed to it. He said if you pass Math, you’ll get back your car.” You glared before sighing. You needed the car back, going on the bus is a hassle and Johnny isn’t even helping you at all. 

Even if you hated and wanted to ruin this guy’s life, he’s your only choice to getting what you want. 

From your usual seat, you were always transferred to sit beside Yuta as per your grandfather’s wishes. If he’s this influential in school, why are you even bothering to study? Yuta is always with you every class and you were annoyed at how he seemed like a bodyguard, making sure that you attend classes, rather than a tutor. He’s quiet, you have to give him that. Always buried in his books. You believe he doesn’t even know your name. 

That was until you pushed all his buttons. 

It’s not because you’re dumb but school is unmotivating for you so you never put in any effort into your subjects especially Math. “You got this wrong again, Y/N.” Yuta exclaimed while pointing at your answer. Wow, he knew your name. “I’ve been explaining this for hours. Are you stupid?” 

“What did you call me?” 

“Stupid,” he said while looking straight at you. “Even a second-grader would know how to multiply numbers.” You hissed before taking the paper and started answering the question properly. Yuta chuckled when you returned the paper to him, checking your answer. “You have such a bad temper.” 

“Piss me off more and you might get the worst temper ever.” You warned but he only smirked that annoyed you more. “Annoying loser!” you muttered under your breath. 

"That's the reason why you don't have any friends." He really is here to annoy you, isn't he? And you have a friend, Lee Taeyong. Pissed off, you pulled the first thing you saw from him, his glasses, then threw them on the ground before stepping on them. 

Johnny's booming voice can be heard in the library and you know, you're in deep trouble already. 

------

"You broke your tutor's glasses?" your grandfather asked, voice rising. You rolled your eyes, poking the beef on your plate before cutting it so small. “Apologize to him tomorrow.” 

You stared at him in surprise. You? Apologize? To that nerd? He started it! “I won’t, just buy him new glasses.” 

“I already did,” Johnny whispered, drinking his juice. 

“See?” You smiled cheekily, “Problem solved.” 

The older man sighed before dropping down his utensils that startled your twin brother. “You’re hopeless, Y/N.” He claimed while glaring at you. “If you don’t apologize to Mr. Nakamoto, I’ll cut off your allowance in half. And we’ll pretend that the discussion about your car didn’t happen.” What? You gasped but he only stood up, making Johnny sigh. 

“Y/N, please be nice to Yuta. He’s been through a lot.”   

-------

You have no choice but to wake up extra early and come to school with Johnny. You were napping on your desk when you felt a thud beside you. Yuta is here. “Is that really Yuta?” You overheard your classmates asked that made you curious. When you raise your head to look at him, you were startled at his shining, glassy eyes staring at you as well. Before you could say anything, a female classmate called his name. “Yuta, do you want to eat tteokbokki with us later?” 

You sighed before taking out your book, tapping a pencil on the cover. “Yeah sure,” Yuta claimed and you inwardly smile, no tutor lesson today. “Do you want to come, Y/N?” The girls were looking uncomfortable so you just shook your head, claiming that tteokbokki is disgusting which made Yuta roll his eyes. “Then I’ll just come to your place later for the tutor session.” A groan escaped your lips. What the hell? 

It was late afternoon when the maid called for you, saying that Yuta is looking for you. Johnny welcomed him and even claimed that he asked the maids to prepare the garden for the session. You were seated in front of him, looking uninterested, books sprawled in front of you as a tower of cupcakes and tea was on another table. “Your house is on another level. Must be nice living in a house like this.” 

You smirked before trying to substitute x with the equation. “It’s nice because I’m always alone.” 

“Why?” He asked, “Johnny seemed so cool. Your grandfather, I met him once, he looks kind.” 

You giggled, multiplying both sides of the equation. “I’m not like them.” You whispered. “I’m stupid and I have such a bad temper.” You focused on the numbers in front of you.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Yuta whispered, putting down his pen. “That was insensitive of me to say those things and I understand why you hate me.” You lightly glance at him. What’s with the turn of events? You should be apologizing for breaking his glasses. “But I want to be your friend, Y/N.” 

“My friend?” 

“I don’t have lunch plans. Whenever Taeyong or Johnny leaves you during lunch, I want to sit beside you.” You only stared in curiosity. What is he saying? “Let’s be friends, Y/N.” He held out his hand and you saw your grandfather watching the two of you from afar with a smile on his face. Hastily, you took his hand and shook it, smiling at him. Maybe your grandfather will return your allowance to normal. 

The maid went out with a large bowl which made Yuta smile while thanking her. “I brought tteokbokki. Do you want some?” He asked but you shook your head, giving him a disgusted look. “Just try one.” He poked one tteok covered in orange sauce, showing it to you. “Just say ah.”  

How weird. But you opened your mouth to taste this almighty tteokbokki he loved. It was so chewy in your mouth, the taste of spiciness and sweetness playing in your mouth. “How was it?” 

“Disgusting.” 

You didn’t realize how lonely it is to eat alone if not for Yuta. Whenever Taeyong would eat lunch quickly because of council duties or Johnny with his radio show, Yuta would always sit beside you and offer you dessert. He would ask you if you have trouble understanding something in class when you’re seated next to each other in almost all classes you have. 

“Maybe they’re dating.” You overheard in class once, female classmates looking at you who just entered the room. “Why would Yuta reject you if not?” She was talking to a girl seated in front, touching her hair.  

Another girl came to your table. “Are you and Yuta dating?” 

What? You and Yuta? A chuckle escaped your lips. “Of course not, who would fall in love with that nerd?” You saw how the girl seated glared at you followed by a thump beside you. Yuta laid his head on the desk and the girl scrambled back to her seat just as the teacher came. You shrugged. 

During lunchtime, Taeyong immediately left for a meeting in the council. But unlike any other day, Yuta didn’t sit beside you. It was weird. He was consistent these past few days. Why would he suddenly change? But once again, you shrugged. It’s not even lonely to sit alone. 

You waited the whole afternoon for him to come to your tutor session but he's a no-show which startled you. He never misses a day even if he has part-time jobs to do. And you need him now because tomorrow is your exams in Math, the make and break of your car. 

From Taeyong, you found out that he works part-time in a coffee shop near the school. He looked startled when you came in, even ordering a lot since you'll be studying. Yuta only laughed before taking your order. 

The cake looks unappetizing after you kept poking your fork in it, annoyed at how you cannot understand the equation. Why are there letters in Math? It should just be numbers. "You're substituting it wrong," Yuta mumbled before placing his tray on the table and taking your extra pencil. He leaned closer to write on your paper but your gaze was on him. 

You've been seated next to each other but this is the first time you saw him this close. He's handsome. A boyish charm that you cannot see in anyone else. When he turned to look at you, you blinked in surprise. He's so handsome. His red lips, the high nose, his glassy eyes. "Did you get it?" 

A heavy breath followed by a shake of head, to return your focus to the equation and not the image of Yuta. "How did you get this answer?" You asked, looking at the answer which is way different than yours. Are you getting stupider? 

He sighed heavily then glanced at his wristwatch. "Wait for me. I'll just finish my shift." And you nodded. That was your goal all along. 

But instead of doing some practice exercises, you were focused on Yuta serving drinks. He looks like an invisible person in school but a really charming man outside. Whenever he looks at you, you look away from him and pretend to be busy in your workbook. Why are you so worked up because of him? This is crazy! Yuta is making you crazy. 

He's a nerd. He's annoying. He's such a know-it-all. "Yuta doesn't like you, Y/N." you whispered to yourself then gasped when you realized you said it out loud. To your annoyance, Yuta just passed by your side with an empty tray. Did he hear that? You hope not. 

It was the fifth equation when Yuta sat in front of you, yawning and stretching his arms. He was done with the job and had some break before he had to go to the gas station for his second part-time job. "You have a lot of jobs." You claimed while he checked your work. "Do you need that much money?" 

"I have to pay for my tuition." 

"Why would you go to a private academy if you can't even pay for it?" 

Yuta put down your workbook, showing the mistakes and where you missed the question. "My parents met in that academy so it means a lot to my mom for me to graduate in the same alma mater as her." They did? Then Yuta might be rich. "My dad is filthy rich. She got pregnant but his parents don't want the child. My mom left him." 

"That's just tragic."

Yuta smiled. "You know, it’s the typical rich boy - poor girl love story. It will just end that way." You glanced at him before pursing your lips. "Just try finishing three questions. It's the exams tomorrow, you need rest." Once again, he yawned. "And I have to walk you back home."

You stopped after one equation seeing how he almost fell asleep while waiting for you. He might be tired and you don't want him to be late for the next job. You promised you'll do the remaining exercises at home and show him tomorrow then hailed a cab so he won't have to walk you home. Just to be sure, you promised to message him when you arrive home. 

But you never did. Never messaged him, never answered the remaining problems. All that's running in your mind is him. Yuta Nakamoto. He's not bad yet he's not great either. But something about him is piquing your curiosity. Something about him makes you want to be closer to him. 

"Aish!" you shouted. You should be studying. 

--------

You were surprised when the girls were left inside the room and the guys were brought outside for the test. You cannot copy from Yuta. Maybe it was your grandfather’s plan. Surprisingly, the questions aren’t as hard as you thought they would be. Or maybe you just got smarter. The studying to distract your mind from thinking about Yuta has paid off. 

Taeyong sighed heavily while seated in front of you during lunch. “I think I’ll fail the exams.” You glance at him in surprise. Do you have a different question as him? You asked him the first question which you remember clearly and you had a debate on what the right answer is. When you showed him the solution, Taeyong just whined in defeat. “Wow, you’re teaching me Math now.” he claimed before tapping his chin. “Should I get Yuta as a tutor as well?” 

“You can’t.” You raised your voice at him. “Yuta is mine.” 

Taeyong snickered. “Speaking of him, did you know that he was sleeping while taking the exam?” That took your attention. “I don’t even know if he finished the questions. He’s just out of it.” Now, you’re worried. What happened to him? Why did he just sleep when he’s taking exams? 

“How were the exams?” Yuta asked when you met in the library but you only stared at him. “Is it hard?” 

You shook your head. “Did you finish your exam?” He chuckled while nodding, asking if it was Taeyong who told you. “You finished everything?” 

Again, he nodded. “Don’t worry. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.” You asked him why but he just smiled. “The exams are now done. We’ll just have to wait if you pass to get your car back.” 

You nodded. “You want a ride?” 

Yuta shook his head, smiling at you. “I’ll have to resign as your tutor, Y/N.” You stared at him in surprise. Wait, why? “I’ll have to take a new job…”

“My grandfather can pay you.” But Yuta shook his head. “Why do you need that much money anyway? Are you dating someone?” He smirked before leaning his back on the chair. He didn’t say anything but the smile in his eyes was enough proof to know that he is indeed dating someone. 

Nakamoto Yuta? The nerd? Someone actually had the nerve to ask him out? Someone actually raced you to ask him out. 

You passed by the tteokbokki shop and ordered some of Yuta’s favorite food. It does taste weird, but addicting. You poked one tteok and put it in your mouth, munching on it with a lot of annoyance. Why doesn’t it taste good now? It tastes good when Yuta was feeding you one. You just wasted money on this food. 

You were annoyed. At Yuta. At this girl. He seemed friendly with everyone, it’s annoying. You sat beside Taeyong in class which surprised your friend. “You broke up with Yuta?” he teased that made you roll your eyes. “I thought he’s yours.” You stepped on his foot, earning a yelp from him which made the whole class look at the two of you, even Yuta. 

When the results came out, you rushed to see if Yuta is still the first-rank student. You were worried the whole time when you found out he slept in class. What if he lost the top rank? He lost his scholarship? You grasped your hands together, wishing that he’ll remain in his spot. When you opened your eyes, in front of the rank one student, you beamed at the sight of his name. Yuta Nakamoto. 

He’s still the rank one even if he slept during the exams. Yuta is really amazing. 

Your phone rang and you answered it without even looking at the caller ID, “Where are you?” Yuta. “Did you see your rank?” Wait, what? “I don’t think your grandfather…” A crowd of students came and you almost lost your balance if not for someone who caught you. Him. “Hey.” 

“Hey,” you called then glanced at your phone. You were just talking to each other. “My rank?” 

He smiled. “Twelfth.” You almost ran to the part of the bulletin board that has the top 10-20 rank list. On the twelfth rank is your name, three spots higher than your twin brother and seven spots higher than your bestfriend. You felt a hand on your shoulder and you turned to hug the grinning Yuta. “You did it, Y/N.” He whispered against your ear, “I’m proud of you.”  

You lightly glanced at him. The first person who told you that he’s proud of you. Now, you had an answer to yourself on why Yuta is someone you cannot shake off. He is the first person who believed in you. 

“I’ll treat you to tteokbokki.” Yuta glanced at you in surprise before you took his hand. 

The old woman greeted you and Yuta was surprised when you greeted her back. “We should eat something you like. I’ll treat you.” But you shook your head, licking the sauce from your fingers. “When did you start eating tteokbokki?” 

You shrugged then dipped the tteok to the red sauce. “Why were you on the first bulletin board? Do you think you’ll get the top rank?” A light kick from you under the table made him wince. 

“I thought you might lose your scholarship.” You claimed before eating tteokbokki again. "You were distracted during the exam so I was worried." He stared at you in surprise before smiling. "Shouldn't you stop all these part-time jobs if you want to keep your scholarship?" 

"I lost the gas station gig," he confessed, poking his fork on the tteokbokki. "I'm worried that you didn't come home that night so I skipped work. Johnny told me that you did when I came to your house but I can't sleep that night." 

That night? You were thinking about him that night. "Eomma said someone might be thinking about me." Shit! "But I guess I'm just worried about you." He's what? "But don't mind it." He shrugged before eating the tteokbokki. 

"You were worried?" 

He rolled his eyes, looking at you deadpan. "Of course. What if you fail your exam? Your grandfather's payment will all go to waste." You just munched on the tteokbokki, chewing loudly. "You're enjoying the tteokbokki so much. I thought it's disgusting." 

You shook your head, stuffing your mouth with the chewy tteok. "When did I say that?" 

Yuta chuckled, wiping your sauce-clad finger with tissue. "You're really charming, aren't you?" You rolled your eyes. Why is he shaking you like this? He's already dating another girl. "Just let me save a little more money before asking you out on a date, hmm?" 

What? You choke on the chewy rice cake, coughing at his statement. Ask you out on a date? "I don't want us to be like my parents' story so I need to work hard to at least reach halfway to your world." He munched on the tteokbokki but your eyes remained on him. "Please wait for me before I can take you out officially." 

Is that why he resigned as your tutor? How did this turn into this? "How are you so sure that I'll wait for you?" 

"You said so yourself, I'm yours." He chuckled and you mentally killed Lee Taeyong. "And I do like you." Shit! He did heard you back in the coffee shop. This is so embarrassing. "Even if you don't like me romantically, just let me take you out on one date." 

"Sure." You claimed, "Since you sound so desperate and I'm such a nice girl to reject you." 

Yuta chuckled. "Of course you are." 

“Yuta.”

“Hmm?”

“Treat me to ice cream after this.”

The guy nodded that made you smirk to yourself. This nerd isn’t so bad at all.  

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which you and harry steal each other’s stuff that eventually leads to more.

a/n: hi beauties! here is my fic for @stylesharrys​ 10k challenge! my picture of harry is the one above, enemies to lovers, and prompt is: ‘can you use your mouth for something other than talking?’ dedicated to my appreciation for great teachers & wanting to become one, but not happening lol

thank you to my girls @bopbopstyles​ & @harrystylescherry​ for beta reading <3

enjoy 23.4k (LONG AH) words of teacher!harry x teacher!reader, (kind of) enemies to lovers, angst, smut, plus a bit of twist in between!

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF STEAL YOUR HEART! i’d love to hear your favorite moments and thoughts!

pls rb to share! <3

It was seven in the morning when you quickly sneaked over to the front desk where the cubbies for mail sat unbothered.

Call it a Monday ritual, where Nina would chuckle at your playfulness as you would take your fellow coworker’s mail and put it someplace else as said coworker would take something of yours and do the same.

Every Wednesday, he would take your bottle of milk from your own personal mini fridge and place it in different refrigerators throughout the building, leaving you to wander around to fifteen different classrooms as you raided their fridges and embarrassingly apologize for being in their business. But they would laugh it off knowing you and Harry always played games like that.

You could use different milk for your coffee that other teachers have, but since you’re lactose intolerant, you’d rather not, especially during work.

And today was no different for you. Every Monday, you would steal Harry’s mail from his mailbox and place it somewhere else; whether it’d be in your classroom or someone else’s classroom—sometimes you would even put it in other people’s mailboxes.

It may be immature of you both to be messing around in a school environment where you’re both teaching third graders how to behave and be nice to one another, but after working alongside Harry for six years, there was bound to be some kind of way to keep the workplace fun and light, but also remain somewhat professional.

But stealing each other’s belongings had begun a year after both of you started working at the school because after you two had met, things were a bit rocky, and somewhat still rocky as of now. You remembered the day so clearly when you accidentally stumbled upon his classroom.

You were nervous for your official first day because it was the first time you would have a class to yourself. You were rather proud of your achievements as you now had your own classroom at twenty-four. It was a different feeling when it was your own; when you were a TA for the high school down the street, but you rarely got to do any teaching because Miss Landson would never miss out on a day of teaching, so you were only really limited to grading papers and helping her students if they went up to you and asked. But you had no experience teaching in front of a whole class.

To say the least, you were nervous.

You had walked into your classroom to find it already decorated, and you assumed it was from the teacher prior who had just retired and didn’t take all of her decorations down. And although you brought many of your own decorations to put up, you didn’t mind it. It was nice to start off your first day not looking at empty walls, as they were filled with all sorts of decorative stars and colorful fliers.

Hesitantly, you took a seat in the comfy and cushioned chair, putting your bag down right beside the legs of the table, and spun around slowly as you tried to ease your nerves. Once you had fully spun around and made your way back to the correct position in front of the desk, you abruptly stopped spinning as you noticed a man standing in front of you with his arms crossed.

“What are you doing?” He had said with his brows furrowed. You looked at him as if you were a deer in headlights, feeling like you got caught doing something bad.

“I, uh…just getting a feel for the chair?” You sat up straighter, realizing that was such a bad and stupid answer.

“And why are you doing that in my classroom?” Your eyes widened at that, making you immediately stand up from his chair.

“I-I’m so sorry. I must’ve gone to the wrong classroom,” you hurriedly opened your folder that contained a copy of your contract, school rules, a map of the school, and the room number that you were supposed to be in.

“You must be the new teacher, correct?” He asked as he raised his brows, but still looked at you as if he was scolding you.

“Yeah, that’s me,” you said with a chuckle, hoping to try and lighten the mood as your face had reddened. Harry only nodded, and you felt his stare intimidate you, so you quickly gathered your belongings and walked around the desk. “Uh, nice to meet you,” you took your hand out as you told him your name, and you felt him hesitantly reach for it. But nonetheless, he shook it, and his heavy ring covered hand met your delicate two ringed one.

“You too. I’m Mr. Harry Styles,” he introduced himself.

Once he had said his name, chills had immediately risen onto your skin as he looked at you so intently. You couldn’t deny that he was incredibly handsome, green eyes piercing into yours, and most likely a year or two older than you, based on how well dressed he was. Everything about him had made you swoon for him.

But that had quickly changed later in that school year of your first year teaching.

It was January, after the Christmas break, when you noticed that some of your things in your classroom had gone missing. Just some basic school supplies such as your gold stapler and all of your expo markers were not in your classroom. You thought that it was impossible your students had taken them because they were in your class when you had left the last day you had gone on break.

It wasn’t until you were helping out with the rest of the staff, putting up decorations for Valentine’s Day when you noticed a certain someone had your gold stapler in his hand as he stapled heart shaped cutouts onto the bulletin board.

“Mr. Styles!”

“Oh, hello there. How are you on this fine Thursday afternoon? Did you know that one of my students-”

“You took my stapler!” You said, and he looked at you confusingly, so you looked at his hand so he would know what you were talking about.

“This is my stapler,” he held it up.

“I don’t think so because my gold stapler was taken from my class and now it’s gone, and I know you don’t have a gold-”

“Snooping in my classroom, are you now, Miss?” He said, interrupting you and a clearly amused look on his face.

“Uh, no, but-”

“Then how would you know I don’t have a gold stapler?”

“I-I…don’t,” you said softly because you really didn’t know as you were assuming.

“Then it’s settled. You must’ve misplaced your stapler,” he told you as he continued stapling decorations to the wall. You huffed as you had walked away, continuing what you were doing.

It wasn’t until a week later, your gold stapler had magically appeared on your desk when you walked into your classroom, and you noticed that a red stapler was on Harry’s desk, when you had buddy classroom meetups, and not in fact, a gold one. And you knew it was him, but decided not to confront him about it as you carried on with your day, happily using your stapler.

So, from that year, fast forward to five years later, taking each other’s things had continued on. Taking his mail and your milk had only started last year, and it’s been fun as you both found new hiding spots and watched each other lose your minds when trying to find them. It was nothing serious, really, and neither of you made an effort to stop.

“Where are you going to put it this time?” Nina asked, amused. You pursed your lip, thinking as you gathered all of his mail in your hands.

“Hmm. I was thinking under my refrigerator, but-”

“What do we have here?” A voice you recognized as Harry said as he snuck up on you, causing you to squeal and jump, making you drop his mail. “Think you dropped something, or is that my mail?” He said as he looked down at the dropped mail.

“Son of a bitch. What are you doing here so early?” You rolled your eyes as you bent down to pick up his mail. He usually arrived at the school around 7:30, and school started at eight.

If it were any other day when you weren’t his annoying coworker and fellow class buddy, he would’ve loved the sight below him, but he had to remind himself to snap out of his thoughts and get it together.

“Now, we are in a workplace where there are children around. Don’t be using that kind of language,” he teased, but proceeded to answer your question. “But I had to print some of the worksheets that I forgot to do on Friday, so here I am. And you know the printer, always getting jammed when you print too many.”

“Seems pretty irresponsible to me if you forgot on Friday,” you turned your head towards Nina as you chuckled, but only found her eyes dreamily staring at Harry, which caused you to roll your eyes. But you didn’t blame her; he was very attractive, but the fact that you both are always messing and annoying one another didn’t completely make your heart swoon for him.

“Says you; the one who gave them a worksheet that was supposed to be for the month later,” he said back. Your jaw slightly dropped, impressed that he still remembered that considering that that happened your first year at the school.

“Ugh, whatever,” you scoffed as you crossed your arms, mail still in your hands. Harry chuckled as he looked at his mail underneath your arms, so he went to grab them, causing you to uncross your arms.

“Think this is mine. Thanks for grabbing them for me,” he said sarcastically, and you sighed, bummed that you weren’t able to do your morning ritual by hiding his mail and watching him struggle while finding it.

You watched him walk away as he flicked through his mail, and as you were about to follow him because your classroom is right next to his, he turned around and stopped walking to look up at you.

“By the way, you look nice today,” he said, looking you up and down in a non-creepy way, before walking away to his classroom.

You slightly raised your brows as you were taken off guard by the compliment, but a tint of pink had creeped up your cheeks as they began to warm up. Turning around to look at Nina if she heard the same thing you did, she was already looking at you with a blushing and giddy smile as you whispered to her, “did he just say that?” To which you earned an immediate nod of her head.

With your lips curled into your mouth, you walked back to your classroom, to get on with the day as you tried not to gush over the words of the curly headed teacher next door.

The rest of the week passed by quickly, and per Harry’s ritual, he moved your milk on Wednesday from your fridge to his fridge.

You had never thought about looking through his fridge since he would be quite obvious with knowing that it was in his room, but once you were getting cranky after looking through everyone's mini fridge and the lack of coffee, you had marched in his classroom and told him you gave up. And he chuckled, getting up from his desk as he walked over to his fridge before opening it and giving your container of milk. You took the milk, shaking your head as you walked back to your classroom as Harry followed.

“You know, I think we’re going to have to find something else to hide because I’m running out of places to stash your stuff in before they rot because you’ve been taking forever to find them lately,” he teased as he leaned against one of your student’s desks.

You rolled your eyes, pouring a splash of milk in your coffee. “I’m not taking forever,” you denied.

“Yeah, you are and you know it.”

You gave up arguing, silently agreeing. “Alright, you can pick something else, but I’m going to still do your mail. It’s fun searching through your monthly catalogs,” you said with a chuckle, and he dramatically gasped.

“It’s illegal to look through someone else’s mail!”

“Please. Like you don’t look through mine?” You said as you sipped your coffee, looking at him with testing eyes, and he was caught red-handed.

One day, you were walking to the cubbies and once you got there, you caught Harry sneaking a peek at one of your fashion magazines that you subscribed to. And since you have enough subscriptions that are being mailed to your home, you decided to mail some of them to the school.

“To be fair, it fell out of your mailbox. I was just simply putting it back,” he explained, and you smirked as you told him okay with a testing look.

The next week, there was a meeting with the rest of the staff after school was out of session in the multipurpose room. You took a seat next to Stephanie, or Mrs. Bale, as Harry sat in the row in front of you on the end with Mr. Ken. He was a bit older than Harry, already had that salt and pepper kind of hair and you thought he pulled it off really well, but he was already attractive to begin with.

“Thank you, everyone, for sticking around to attend this meeting. It’s Friday and I know everyone wants to go home, so I’ll keep it short,” Mrs. Morgan started, “So in one week on Saturday, there is a very special anniversary coming up, and that is the school’s 40th anniversary!” She said excitedly as she clapped her hands.

There was small chatter as everyone let out ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahh’s’, saying how that’s exciting and a big milestone.

“And we would like to do something to celebrate that—nothing huge, but I’ve already coordinated with a hotel to let us rent out their conference room for next week, and I’ve also hired an event coordinator to grab some decorations. But as for helping set up, I need everyone’s help for rearranging that.” Everyone nodded, not thrilled with the fact that they had to help out with organizing this event. “Just maybe if you can take the time of your busy lives and exhausting job, if some of you can, that would be great.”

Mrs. Morgan then started talking about what would be served, and to sign up if any of the staff were vegan or vegetarian. She also talked about games and photo booths, and expected everyone to participate and be a good sport because it would be a lot of fun when there are more people involved in the activities.

“Also, it is formal wear because the conference hall is a very luxury hotel that overlooks the coast. And besides, you get to dress up, so that’s always fun!” She said cheerfully as she was clearly very excited for the event.

The meeting didn’t go past twenty five minutes as people mainly chatted or asked questions on the location and capacity.

“Alright, everyone is free to go. If you’d like to sign up to help your dear principle set up for next Friday, please sign this clipboard right here.” She waved the clipboard in the air and set it down on the stage as the staff and teachers got up, and headed out of the multipurpose room and some stayed back to ask questions or sign the clipboard.

You stood up from your chair as you gathered your purse and backpack where you keep various folders of your student’s class work, homework, quizzes and tests.

“Gotta get to the kiddos, finally,” Stephanie said as she began to walk, and noticed that you weren’t following. “You coming?” She asked as she turned around.

“I’m just going to sign up for next Friday. I’ll see you on Monday,” you bid her goodbye.

“Oh, you’re an angel for wanting to help out. I’ll see you next week!” She said her goodbyes as she walked out of the room, and you walked towards the stage to sign your name up for setting up the event as well as writing your name down on the list of vegetarians, although you are pescatarian.

You scanned the list to see if there were any teachers you were close with signed up, but so far not many you really know personally, just the occasional hello and how are you. There were only about three people who signed up so far, including you, and you hoped that more people who write their name down and you also hoped the conference hall wasn’t that big because there were only three people helping out, then it would probably take a while to decorate and set everything up.

As you put the clipboard back down onto the edge of the wooden stage before taking one last glance at it, you turn around to be met with a hard chest, causing you to halt back slightly, and soft grunt coming out of your mouth.

Harry was staring right at you as you looked up, you gave him a look as you wondered why he was in your way and standing behind you so closely.

“Watch it, Mr. Styles,” you said, trying to pass by him, but he shifted towards the right as you took a step to your left, making you both face to face again.

“You were the one who bumped into me, Miss,” he said back with a smirk on your face.

You simply rolled your eyes, exhaustion taking over your mind as you’d rather not bicker with him at the moment. He noticed your tiredness, and kept his mouth shut and his games to himself as he let you walk by him. He picked up the clipboard, glancing down at it as he saw your name written down on the third line.

He felt a bit bad that only three people signed up to help out next Friday, especially considering the first two people were Kyle and Saya (Mr. and Mrs. Terrance) who both are way older, and it would be dangerous for them to lift anything heavy. Plus, he probably knew that you would take care of everything if they couldn’t lift anything, but he didn’t want all the work to be unloaded on you, so he decided to grab the pen and write his name down. He also signed his name on the vegetarian list as well.

Once he turned back around, you were already gone, so he lugged his black leather briefcase with him to the parking lot where he saw you walking towards your car. He snuck up behind you, making you squeal and gasp.

“You need to stop sneaking up on me,” you said as you caught your breath and fished for your keys in your purse.

“Thought you liked it?” He asked sarcastically, and you scoffed.

“Aww, annoying,” you stated.

“Aww, you too,” he said right back in the same tone as you, making you playfully roll your eyes, making a small chuckle fall from your lips.

“What do you want, Harry?”

“Just wanted to say that we’re on the event committee for setting up next Friday,” he said, and you raised your brows.

“Oh, goodie. More moments where you get to mess with me,” you told him in an unexcited tone as you gave him a look that told him you found him annoying.

“Please, you like when I tease you,” he said in a more low tone; his voice was deep as shivers ran down your spine.

His words had come out naturally, and his eyes slightly widened at what just came out of his mouth, hoping you didn’t take it the wrong way because it can be taken differently. And you didn’t miss what he said, especially how he said it.

You hadn’t noticed the position you were both standing in and if someone were to walk by, they would definitely have some eyes on you; your back was against the trunk of your car as he stood quite close as he looked down at you while you looked up. It was like you were back to the day you first met him when you stumbled into the wrong classroom and he stared you down until you got up out of your chair. But this time, he was much closer and it seemed like he was definitely not annoyed at you.

And the slightest bit of sweat had run down your neck as you felt hot under his gazing green eyes and the bit of sun was shining right down on you both. You felt a bit nervous under his stare as it can come off quite intimidating, but through the years of knowing Harry, you knew how to bite back.

“That’s too bad though, isn’t it?” You asked, and he raised his brows. “That you would never know if I liked being teased or not.”

With that, you didn’t even wait to hear his response as you shifted to the side, turning around to walk to the driver’s side. He opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to come out of it as he was shocked to hear your words.

A smirk was present on your face as you chuckled a bit from his reaction before you said, “I’ll see you next week, Mr. Styles.”

The weekend flew by with the slightest bit of drizzle, but luckily, Monday came in with sunshine. You were able to steal Harry’s mail successfully and hide it in the cabinets of the lounge room, but you were disappointed because he found it within ten minutes, and probably because you made the dumb mistake to put it where all the sugar is, so that was your fault. 

On Wednesday, you were surprised to see your milk in your fridge until you remembered Harry telling you that he was probably going to steal something else of yours that doesn’t require your milk spoiling. So, you skeptically searched your room as you tried to find something that was obvious that he stole, but you saw everything in place and nothing that you knew was taken. 

With a confusing expression on your face, you continued on with your day. 

It wasn’t until after lunch when you noticed something was different when you sat in your chair. Looking around, you felt like something was off when you leaned back. Your students were chatting as the movement of the chairs slid against the floor. You gave them about ten minutes to get situated because you weren’t one of those teachers who didn’t allow your students to use the restroom after lunch because they “should’ve gone at lunch.” 

So, you sat there wondering what felt so off about sitting down as you had five more minutes left until you had to teach. But once you figured it out, you gasped, telling your students that you would be back in three minutes and that you were going next door. 

Luckily the setup of the inside of the school is one large room with big divider walls for each classroom, so you didn’t have to go outside and you could practically hear other classrooms as well. 

Stomping over to Harry’s classroom, you walked in and he was sitting on his chair with a smirk on his face as he had his hands on the back of his head, telling his students to take out a math worksheet. He had heard you tell your class that you were leaving for just a few minutes, and he immediately knew that you were headed to his class. As you walked over to his desk, he turned towards you with a sly grin. 

“Oh, hello there. To what do I owe this pleasure of you visiting me?” He said in a very obvious tone, knowing that he’s done something. 

You took a deep breath, “You stole my footrest.” He slightly turned his head to the side as if he didn’t know what you were talking about. “You know, the one under my desk?” You clarified, and he opened his mouth as he realized what footrest you meant. “Where is it?” You really didn’t want to disrupt everyone’s class looking for it, so you just asked him. 

“Hmm, I’m not sure,” he said, and he was really getting on your nerves.

You didn’t want to put up with him, so you didn’t answer back as you took a look around his room until you noticed that he was way too comfortable in his chair. Looking at him weirdly, you walked around the desk to where he was sitting to find his sock covered feet resting on your footrest. 

“Ugh, Harry!” You slightly pushed his chair, causing it to roll to the side a bit. 

“Isn’t this what you do? Take your shoes off when the class is working?” 

“Yeah, doesn’t mean you get to do it too,”  you said before you bent down and roughly pushed his feet off, grabbing your footrest. 

“Woah, if you wanted to get under my desk, you should’ve just said so,” he said with a smirk. You rolled your eyes as you scoffed, quickly getting back up and backing away from his desk.

“Shut the fuck up,” you said quietly for only him to hear as his students were distracted doing their classwork. 

“Language. See you Friday night, by the way,” he said before you made your way out of his classroom and towards yours. 

It was only Wednesday, and you thought the days couldn’t go by any slower. 

Friday rolled around, and you already knew it was going to be the longest day of the week. 

With work, and staying two hours after to wait and head to the venue to help, you already knew you were going to crash easily once you got home. And on top of it, Harry was going to be there as well, so you kept the interactions with him limited during work hours because you simply just did not want to put up with when you had a long day ahead of you. 

It wasn’t like you hated him--because you really didn’t. You tolerated and are civil with each other, and you’ve never gotten a chance to get to know him because all you two do is steal each other’s things. Besides, you really had no reason to hate him because you do the same thing to him. 

Luckily, he sensed that you didn’t really want to talk to him, so he knew to not bother you. He figured that you were having a long week, and he made it worse by stealing your footrest on Wednesday and to make matters even more worse, he bickered with you and made innuendos that you didn’t appreciate. So, ultimately he felt a bit bad for that and left you alone. 

Work seemed to go by pretty quickly, and you were already on your way to the venue; the time reading 4:30 p.m, and you hoped setting everything up didn’t take long. Did you regret signing up? Maybe as exhaustion took over you as you drove. But you know that you wouldn’t later on once you had finished decorating. Plus, you felt bad that there were only two people who signed up before you. 

The venue was about thirty minutes away from the school, and when you walked in, the conference hall was completely empty besides the uncovered tables and chairs, but luckily, it wasn’t a huge room. But there were no decorations yet or centerpieces, and you felt like it was going to take a while. Harry arrived right when you did along with Kyle and Saya. 

Mrs. Morgan had assigned you all different jobs so the work would be faster and everyone would finally go home. You were assigned to draping curtains in the entrance and on the window. Harry was in charge of carrying tables and boxes in and out of the storage room of the hotel. Kyle and Saya were placing table cloths on the tables and seat covers, along with placing centerpieces. 

Everyone was working hard for about an hour, and you were on a ladder, reaching for the top of the door frame to hang one side of the curtain. Thankfully, you decided to switch your mules from work to sneakers because you probably wouldn’t have worked as fast as you were. 

Kyle and Saya followed the hotel manager to a different storage closet to get more table cloths for the food table as Harry was still carrying chairs into the room. But you were having trouble draping the sheer curtain over the curtain rod. 

You were completely alone in the room as sweat dripped down your back from how hard and fast you’ve been working until Harry came into the room with his sleeves rolled up as he carried four chairs that were stacked on one another. You hadn’t seen him come in as you were still trying to hook the curtain, and you always didn’t realize the ladder was slowly closing in as you kept moving around. And Harry quickly put the chairs down, rushing over to you as he saw the ladder tipping and you were still working. 

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the ladder completely tipped over, causing you to fall off the ladder. You thought you were going to be met with the hard ground, but instead you were being caught in someone’s arms as you two hit the ground. Grunts came out of both of your mouths from the impact of the fall. Luckily, the ladder fell sideways rather on the both of you because that would have been a painful mess. 

“Oh my god,” you groaned, looking over and seeing Harry lying flat on his back with his eyes closed and one of his hands on his back. “Holy shit. Are you okay?!” 

Harry moved on his side to put pressure on his back as he was in a bit of a fetal position. Your body was sat against his as your back was against his stomach. 

“Fuck, that hurts,” he groaned out. 

“Harry, let me see if I can get some ice,” you were about to get up when he placed his available hand on your knee, stopping you from his touch. 

“No, don’t leave. Just…need a minute,” he said softly as his eyes were still closed. You nodded, staying in your seated position against him as you took your hand and rubbed his back. It was quite sweet, considering how you both normally acted towards each other, but you felt really bad that he was the one that had to take the pain. 

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling and remembering where he was. He sat up on his elbows, and you stood up to help him up. 

“You sure you’re okay?” You asked cautiously, not wanting him to collapse on you. 

“Yeah. Just a bit sore, but it’ll go away. Feel like I’m old and got a bad back now,” he tried to joke, hopefully lightening up the situation, making it humorous. But you were still worried as you held onto his arm to hold him up just in case. 

You scoffed amusingly, “Please. You’re thirty years old. You’re not gonna feel that until you’re maybe fifty.” Harry chuckled, telling you that you were right before you let go of his arm. “By the way, thank you for catching me. I didn’t even notice the ladder tipping over until it fully did. But I, uh, feel really bad that you had to take the fall,” you said, scratching your neck. 

“Eh, don’t worry about it. This pain will be temporary,” he brushed it off before taking a seat on one of the chairs for a moment to relax and not immediately go back to a strenuous task. 

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” You said before walking away slowly, and he nodded. 

You two hadn’t been so nice or caring for each other like this, so it was definitely a new approach to it. But you didn’t mind it. Playing games with each other was fun, but you wished you had that sort of friendship where you could talk to him and not banter or bicker like a married couple because you think he was a genuinely cool and nice person, even though he really got annoying sometimes. Guess you just attracted annoying people, then. 

You took another glance at yourself in the rearview mirror to make sure your makeup and hair was okay before you got out of your car. You stood still next to your car, trying to see your reflection from the window as you fixed the top of your dress. A blush colored cami dress was looking amazing on your body with the straps crossing each other on the back with a slit on the side. You wore nude heels and dangly diamond earrings to accessorize. With your hair pulled back into a low bun, you thought you looked very nice--beautiful even. 

There weren’t many times when you got to dress up for the fun of it nor does your job require you to go full glam when going into work. But you think some of your students will love seeing you dress all pretty because they would always compliment you on your outfits. 

You walked in just on time, not wanting to be too early when no one is there or too late, but the perfect time. There were a decent amount of people already as the room was filled with teachers, staff, and some people from the school district; all celebrating the anniversary of the school. Everyone was dressed gorgeously--like you, probably having a blast wearing fancy clothes that was hanging from a hanger, waiting to be worn. 

The place looked great, and you were really happy with how everything turned out. The lights were dimmed a tad bit as LED lights were pointed towards the wall as music played softly through the speakers. 

Stephanie found you once you walked in as she took you to the bar because luckily, tonight’s event was an open bar, all thanks to Mrs. Morgan. 

“You look bangin’! That color is amazing on you,” Stephanie complimented as she hyped you up. She was practically the only person you’ve gotten really close with when you started teaching. While you were somewhat close to the other teachers, you and Stephanie hung out outside of school and gossiped your hearts away. 

“Please, you’re too kind, but thank you. You look great as well,” you said back after you did a little turn for her, causing you both to laugh as you sipped your mojito. 

You two chatted for a bit as she asked about setting everything up last night, and you told her about the incident between you and Harry. 

“See, I knew you would fall for him,” she said, making a pun out of it. 

“Ha ha, very funny. I really did feel bad for him though.” A slight frown pulled onto your face and Stephanie chuckled before you saw her brows raised. 

“Ah, speak of the devil,” she said, and you turned around to find Harry in a lovely double-breasted cream colored suit and a light blue shirt under it. You try not to ogle him too much because you know that he’ll catch on and tease you about you checking him out, so you look at him quickly to find him already staring at you. 

“Evening, ladies. Already talking about me?” He smiled as his dimples popped out, making you swoon for him a tad bit more tonight, but you quickly snapped out of your thoughts.

“She was telling me about your little incident yesterday,” Stephanie said, and Harry nodded. 

“Yeah, how are you by the way? Are you still doing okay?” You asked, placing your hand on his arm before quickly pulling it away as you realized that you hadn’t asked him if he could be touched, but he smiled softly as you at the action. 

“I am, thanks for asking. I took some pain reliever medication and iced my back, so I’m fine. Just a bit sore, but all good,” he reassured, and you simply nodded, glad to hear that he was somewhat better than he looked yesterday. “I’ll be around. Gotta mingle and whatnot,” Harry said before walking away. 

After an hour of mingling and eating dinner, you were sat with Stephanie at a circle table along with Harry, Penelope or Miss Nguyen, and three other teachers who were in a deep discussion over wine. Going against your liking, Penelope was being a little too flirty with Harry, and you had no idea where this tinge of jealousy came from. You were hoping to sit next to him and Stephanie, but your plate was moved to the seat over as you went to get napkins. So now, you were on the left of Penelope instead of Harry. 

You saw her touch his arm as you did when you first arrived, but this time, she didn’t pull her arm away, and you thought he might’ve liked her arm there. With sneaking glances at the two of them as Stephanie watched some of the staff play the activities, you took a deep breath and stood up from your chair. 

“I’m going out to get some air,” you told Stephanie, not looking back to look at Harry rather wondering if he was watching you as you walked out. 

You took a step outside through the side doors of the venue that led to a balcony of the hotel. The hotel was on a hill overlooking the coast, and the sun was at its peak of saying goodbye for the day. The golden light illuminated everything around you as you felt calm, watching the sunset as you leaned against the railing before undoing your bun and letting your hair fall free. 

“Hey,” a voice from behind you said, and you quickly turned around and saw Harry standing a few feet away from you with one hand in his pocket while the other was holding a drink. 

“Hi,” you said back, turning back to the coast as Harry walked to stand beside you, watching the sunset as well. 

“S’pretty, innit?” 

“Yeah, it really is,” you responded, not turning your head to look at him, but being captivated by how the view in front of you looks. 

“You look amazing, by the way,” he complimented, and you blushed. Hard. You turned your head towards him as you caught him eyeing you up and down, and you felt intimidated. 

“You look great as well. I love your suit,” you said, hopefully to cover up your nerves. He said a thank you to you, and you turned your head back to the view as Harry continued looking at you. 

And you didn’t notice Harry looking at you the entire time as you watched the sunset. You didn’t know how entirely gorgeous you looked as the gold light was being melted onto your skin, making you look more beautiful than you already are. You also didn't know that Harry couldn’t simply stop staring at you because he was taken back and practically speechless with how the slightest bit of wind that was blowing the right way, which made your hair flow perfectly. You were the epitome of beauty, he thought, and he captured a mental picture to remember you in this moment because it was surely his favorite. 

“My ex never really liked watching the sunset,” you suddenly said, and Harry looked over at you. “I’m sorry. That was really random.” 

“No, no. It’s okay. You can talk about anything,” he encouraged. 

“Well, he never really liked watching the sunset with me. Always said that it was a waste of time and it was boring, but I don’t think so.” 

“It’s really not boring at all,” he said. 

“Yeah, I agree. But people have their own opinions. The earth deserves to be watched over.” You looked straight into the sun as it wasn’t bright enough to blind you anymore as you watched it turn into an orange tone. 

“Why did you two break up, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“We just fell out of love with each other. We were together for three years, and the last few months of our relationship, there wasn’t any love. He stopped taking me out on dates, and when I asked if he wanted to go out, he always said he was busy. I believe he never cheated on me, but he just wasn’t in love with me anymore, and I can say the same for him—I wasn’t in love with him anymore. So, we had a mature talk and figured it was best to part ways,” you explained. 

“And are you happier because of the breakup?” 

“Much happier,” you simply said, and it was the end of that conversation. 

You didn’t know why you were telling Harry about your past relationships, but there was just something about the sunset where you could be your most vulnerable self. 

After a few moments of admiring the earth and its wondrous ways, Harry spoke. 

“Do you mind doing me a favor?” He asked. 

“What’s that?” You turned your head to look at him as you asked. 

“Do you, uh, mind taking a picture of me?” He asked nervously, not knowing how you were going to react to a random question. Your brows raised as you nodded slowly. You didn’t expect him to be the type to be in front of cameras or want his picture taken, but you did it for him anyways. 

“Oh yeah, of course,” you said, and his face perked up as he smiled softly. Harry took his phone out of his pocket and opened the camera icon before handing it to you. You took several pictures of him so he would have options to choose from, but he was standing completely still as he looked into the camera. “Maybe, like…move around?” 

“What d’ya mean?” 

“I don’t know, like give me some different poses,” you said, and a soft ‘oh’ came out of his mouth before he started to stand differently, occasionally giving you a smile. 

You tried hiding your face behind his phone as you looked at him through the screen, snapping at every chance you think that’ll be a great photo turnout. But you already know that either way, the photos will come out great no matter what. 

After a few more clicks, you smiled and gave his phone back to him as you stood there, watching him scroll through the photos before typing on his phone rather quickly right after. You thought if he was sending them to someone or sending them in general, and you wondered if it was a significant other. 

Trying not to look into it too much, you turned around towards the doors, and asked him, “Do you want to head back?” He looked up from his phone, putting it away. 

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” he followed you through the doors and towards the room where everyone was dancing on the dance floor. Harry had immediately parted ways with you as you saw him walk towards the bar while Stephanie dragged you on the dance floor. 

You kept the going down and throwing it back very minimal as these were the people you worked with, and only stepped side to side, swaying your hips just a tad bit. 

Harry, on the other hand, had already downed three tequila shots within six minutes, and including the drinks he had before he went outside with you, he was pretty buzzed. He watched you dance with Stephanie, and chuckled at how you were restraining yourself. He thought you were adorable. The whirling thoughts of his mind when he watched you take his picture was stuck in his head. Head to toe was splashed in the golden light giving you the most goddess-like look as a slight smirk was plastered on your face as you took his picture. Yeah, you were the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. 

It was a strange feeling to feel like this when it's been years of plotting against each other, and he hadn’t felt like this in a long while. The thumping of his heart had told him that he was falling. Just the mere vision of looking at you had made a butterfly in his stomach appear. You just had that effect on him. And it wasn’t like he was complaining, but he was definitely terrified of that feeling. 

So, that’s why he’s had three, now four, shots of straight tequila to ease his nerves and calm his mind as he watched you on the dance floor with a fifth shot in his hand. 

The music had turned into a much slower one, and the staff that brought their staff or significant other had taken over the dance floor as you walked back to the table to sit down. Stephanie brought her husband, who she immediately dragged to the dance floor, and you watched them smile and look at each other with hearts in their eyes as they swayed. You smiled, observing their faces and how in love they looked, somewhat wishing you had that as well. You hadn’t had a serious relationship in a long while--the last one being before you started teaching. 

You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned around to find Harry smiling down at you with his hand out. 

“Would you like to dance?” He asked. You didn’t immediately grab his hand nor did you say anything; you just looked up at him in shock that he asked you. But after a few seconds, you grabbed his hand and nodded as he led you to the dance floor. 

Once you two were facing each other, you hesitantly wrapped your arms around his shoulder as he wrapped his around his waist. His hold wasn’t too high or too low, but it was placed on the right spot for you to feel comfortable, and you appreciated that. 

As you two swayed to the soft classical piano ballad music, your eyes were elsewhere; looking at the other people dancing and the people sitting to find that no one was watching you both and that didn’t matter. So, you trained your eyes towards Harry, and of course, he was already looking at you. Being under his stare was something you were somewhat used to, but when it comes down to it, it made nerves along with the flutter of your heart appear. It was as if he was looking deep into your soul, trying to figure something out, and it remains once he’s found what he’s looking for. 

“I was surprised you asked me to dance,” you said suddenly. You felt him pull you a bit closer, so your stomachs are pressing against one another, but not your chests, and your face was very close to his, making butterflies in your stomach present as you wondered if he had the same feeling. 

“Why’re so surprised?” He genuinely asked as he swayed you both in a slow circle. 

“Thought you might’ve asked Penelope to dance.” 

“Why’s that?” His brow crinkled, wondering what brought these questions to mind. 

“I mean, you were awfully close to her during dinner,” you said honestly, and Harry let out a chuckle, which you didn’t find amusing like you usually did. “What’s so funny?” 

“Are you jealous?” His face inched closer to you, and you could smell the alcohol on his tongue. With how fast he was downing those shots, it was slowly starting to kick in. 

“I’m not jealous. It was just an observation,” you said. 

“No, I think you’re jealous. Didn’t like seeing me give another teacher attention, huh? Just wanted to give it all to you, is that it?” He asked with a hushed tone in his voice. You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He was full on teasing you as you tried to ignore the arousal that was forming inside of you. 

“I’m not, okay? I was just genuinely wondering because you know, you think I’m annoying and whatnot, so I was surprised you asked me to dance,” you tried brushing it off, and Harry scoffed shaking his head. 

“You’re saying a load of bullshit right now, and you don’t even know how I feel. Can you use your mouth for something other than talking?” The words had come out like rapid fire, and he is fully blaming it on the alcohol because he would never say something like that sober. And you know he wouldn’t say something like that to you, so you found it humorous as you were a bit shocked you heard those words come out of his mouth. You looked at him with your brows raised and your jaw slightly open as it somewhat curved into a smile as you tried not to laugh. Harry hadn’t said anything else, neither had you, but you did give him a shoulder shrug as if it was telling him ‘we’ll see.’ 

The song had ended, and you and Harry made your way off the dance floor and to the table. It was nearing 8:30, which means the party was almost over in thirty minutes. So, you decided to leave a bit early to grab some dessert on your way home since you didn’t really like the selection at the party. 

“Think I’m gonna head home now,” you told Stephanie who made her way to the table. 

“Aww, okay. We’re gonna head out soon too. But drive safe and I’ll see you on Monday.” You two hugged each other, telling each other that you both had fun tonight before grabbing your clutch. 

“Uh, I’ll see you on Monday,” you told Harry. 

“I’ll walk out with you. I’m heading home as well,” he said, and you nodded your head as he took a last sip of his drink before you two headed outside of the hotel. 

The air was chilly as the sound of the coast was heard under the starry night that was above. You shivered slightly, turning to Harry as he was taking his suit jacket off and holding it out for you to wear it. 

“Oh, it’s okay,” you waved off. 

“Please, I insist,” he said, and you nodded before turning around, facing your back towards him as he slipped his cream colored suit jacket on your shoulders. 

The piece of clothing was warm and smelled like his usual tobacco vanille. As you were wearing it, you felt a sense of comfort, like Harry himself was hugging you, and you cherished the feeling of it, even if it wasn’t the real thing. 

“I’m parked over here. I can drive you-” you pointed to the left of the parking lot. 

“Oh no, it’s okay. I took an Uber anyway. Just gonna wait here for a few,” he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, blinking a few times from the bright screen. He was clearly buzzed, and couldn’t really think straight, so you took his phone out of his hands. 

“Let me drive you home. It’ll give me a piece of mind, yeah?” You offered, and by the look of your face, you were persistent, so he nodded, following you to your car. 

You started driving down the hill and onto the main street before you said, “Is it okay if I stop by the Sweet Treats before I drop you off?” You asked, referring to the dessert place about two miles away from your place. 

“Yeah, of course. S’bit early, so you can go wherever,” he replied as he leaned his head on the shoulder of the seat, clearly a bit sleepy. You let out a chuckle as you continued driving as Harry drifted to sleep. 

When Harry woke up, he looked around out the windows and found himself alone in the car until he saw you quickly walking towards your car with his suit jacket still around you. And all he could think was how great you look in his clothes. 

“Ah, you’re awake. I got you a cupcake and two cookies. Didn’t know what kind of flavor you like, so I just guessed and got you chocolate,” you said once you got in the car and handed him his box of sweets. 

“Oh, thank you. That’s very kind of you,” he smiles as he opened the box, and the sweetness of the desserts filled his nose. 

“Now, I’m going to need directions to your place,” you said as you started the car. 

Harry navigated you to his house, telling you to turn right here and turn left there. But you needed to make sure, asking him, “Wait, right here?” 

“Yeah, here,” he chuckled, playfully rolling his eyes as you were driving slow so you don’t miss the turn. And luckily, there were no cars behind you. 

Once you finally parked in front of his house, you noticed that he didn’t leave that far from you because you’ve been in this neighborhood before as your cousin lives a few houses down; it was probably a five minute drive to your place. 

“Thank you for the ride, and the dessert,” he said, turning his head towards you, and making no effort to get out of the car yet. 

“You’re welcome. Couldn’t let you be in an Uber while intoxicated--just doesn’t sit well with me,” you said honestly. Harry nodded, telling you that he appreciated it as he looked at you deeply.

“Also, about what I said when we were dancing--I’m sorry about that. That was out of line of me,” he apologized, feeling quite embarrassed from his words, and knowing that he was going to think about what he said and beat himself up over it after you leave. 

You let out a breathy chuckle, “No worries. It was quite funny. But maybe I could use my mouth for something other than talking.”

“W-What?” He gulped nervously, slightly turned on from your teasing. 

“Maybe one day you’ll find out,” you said with a sly smirk on your face as you watched Harry scratch his neck and run his hand through his hair nervously. “Goodnight, Harry,” you bid him goodbye, and that was his cue to get out of your car already. It wasn’t like you wanted to kick him out, but you wanted him to think about your words for the night. 

And since it was still too early to go to sleep, maybe you’ll think about his words to.

It was Monday, a month later after the anniversary party, and you had Harry’s mail in your hand as you decided to stuff it into your filing cabinets that hold future worksheets and your students’ progress. 

It wasn’t until lunch when you were having the pasta you made the night prior as you watched a fashion competition on Netflix when you saw Harry stomp into your room. 

“Where’s my mail?” He asked immediately, not bothering to say hi to you. 

Ever since the party, your moods had changed towards each other. Of course, you both still messed with each other and annoyed one another, but the mood and energy between you two was different. And you didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. 

“Gotta find it, Mr. Styles,” you said as you took a bite of your food as you eyed him. You could tell he was beginning to get frustrated with you, but you didn’t see a reason to stop because it’s the same way with you when he hides your stuff. 

“Just hand it over. I’m not in the mood to put up with this right now,” he rolled his eyes as he huffed. 

“Now, those aren’t the rules. You made me find it until you just laughed and pointed at me, so now you have to-” 

“I swear to god, just give me my damn mail!” He said in a loud tone, not technically yelling, but enough for you to stop talking and finally notice how angry he looked. “Fuck, just give me my fuckin’ mail, so I could get out of here,” he added, waiting for you to make an effort to give him his mail, but you were too in shock by his words and tone that you didn’t move. “Well?” He said, arms crossed, and you snapped out of your thoughts and got up, walking over to your filing cabinet. 

Once you handed him his mail, he immediately snatched it, flipping through it as he walked out of your classroom with no thank you, and you swore that you heard him mutter ‘fuckin’ annoying’ as he walked out causing your stomach to drop. 

You sat back down in your chair, pushing your glass container away and turned off your phone as you took deep breaths, trying not to make a big deal out of it. But of course it was a big deal to you. You had thought that your relationship with Harry was doing okay, and you weren’t at each other’s throats, but that hope had all washed away within a minute as he raised his voice with you as if you were a little kid. 

Normally, you wouldn’t take bullshit like that, but this one seemed to hit differently as your eyes started to tear up and your hands started to shake. You got up from your seat, fast walking to the staff restroom before you let it all out. Your tears made its way down your face as you covered your mouth as muffled sobs echoed through the tiled walls. 

A week later, you headed straight to your classroom, deciding that you weren’t going to move Harry’s mail around. 

There was an awkward tension between you two, and Harry’s at fault for it. He knew that he shouldn’t have raised his tone at you because it was completely unnecessary, and he knew better than that. He ultimately felt really bad for talking to you like that, and he didn’t even say please in a calm manner, which he should have. 

Last Monday when he got back to his desk, he immediately knew that he was wrong for how he spoke, so he had gotten up and walked back to your classroom, only to find you already headed for the staff restroom. And he hoped you weren’t crying, but he had a feeling you were. 

After that day, he had gone into your room to try and apologize the entire week, but you would either be talking to a student or avoiding him as you saw him enter your classroom, so you exited, saying an excuse just to be out of his presence. He frowned as he watched you walk away, but it was very understandable and he didn’t blame you whatsoever. 

Now, after a week of pondering what to say to you, Harry walked over to his mailbox to see all of the envelopes in his box. With a small frown, he turned towards Nina who was watching him, and he saw her shrug as she continued doing her work. He walked to your classroom to find you on your laptop, round tortoise framed glasses sat on your nose, and he thought you looked absolutely adorable. Sitting on the side of one of the students’ desks in the front row, you didn’t even bother to look up at him. 

“Hey,” he said. “Can we talk?” 

“About what?” You asked, still not looking at him, but obviously knowing what he wanted to talk about. 

“Please, look at me?” He pleaded, and he saw you take a deep breath in, taking your glasses off before looking at him. “I-I’m sorry. For last week. It was so unnecessary to talk to you like that and I regret it so much. You didn’t deserve that at all.” 

You nodded, “You’re right. I didn’t deserve it. But can you explain to me why you talked to me like that?” 

“I was waiting on something from my cousin back home. He had sent me some stickers that he made for the class, and I really wanted to give my students them already. And when I couldn’t find my mail, I got frustrated and annoyed, and I took it out on you, which I shouldn’t have,” Harry explained, and your face remained neutral. 

“You know, I would’ve eventually given it to you if you would’ve asked nicely, but you raised your voice and called me annoying when this is the kind of game we play. And it’s not an excuse to talk to me the way you did,” you said sternly, but also calmly. Harry felt like he was a kid getting lectured, which he thought this is probably how you looked like when your students got in trouble, and he thought that it was great how you’re so calm. 

“Yeah, it’s no excuse whatsoever. I feel really bad, and I’m really sorry,” he offered a small but sad smile as you looked him in the eyes to see if he meant it, and thankfully, you didn’t find a spec of lie. 

“I forgive you,” you said, and Harry lets out a deep breath. “But that doesn’t mean you go around talking to me or anyone like that ever again when they don’t deserve it,” you added. 

“Yeah, of course. It was just that moment, and I’m sorry it was you. But thank you for forgiving me,” he beamed gratefully and you nodded. “But just know that I think you’re more than annoying,” he confessed suddenly. 

“Do you?” You asked calmly, but on the inside, your heart was racing. 

“Yeah, way more than annoying. I mean I’ve known you for years, and I see you everyday. And I can’t believe this is the time when I’m about to confess this right now, but…” he took a deep breath before saying, “I like you. I really do.” Harry pursed his lips as you were looking at him with a shock expression, but your eyes were saying something else. 

They were almost telling him that you were happy to hear those words, but you didn't expect it and it was shocking to hear because of how sudden and how things escalated so quickly, but there was a hint of sparkle in your eyes, and for that, he remained hopeful. 

“You, uh, you like me?” You asked, wanting to make sure you’re not dreaming, but also wanting to hear it again. 

“I do. I like you. And I know it’s crazy to say it because the way we acted and treated each other seemed otherwise, but lately I’ve just been thinking about you nonstop and it’s driving me crazy,” he said with a small smile, still remaining hopeful.

“Harry-” 

“I totally understand if you don’t feel the same way,” he interrupted. “Because I mean who would like someone that messes and bickers with you every chance they get. But maybe that was the reason why I did it.” 

“What do you mean?” You asked curiously. 

“I guess… when I first met you, I thought you were way out of my league. And I know I put this front up to seem like I’m intimidating, but I’m not! I was actually intimidated by you,” he said honestly, and your eyes widened because you thought it was insane that this handsome man in front of you was intimidated by you. “And I kind of just wanted a reason for you to talk to me and see if we had this bond, and for some reason, I did a childish thing and stole your stapler-” 

“I knew it! You kept insisting that it was yours, but all of sudden ‘yours’ was gone and mine suddenly appeared,” you said excitedly causing him to laugh, which of course, made you join him as well. 

“Yeah, it was kind of immature, wasn’t it? But you started taking my things as well, and I was happy with that because at least we were interacting and talking y’know?” You nodded with a smile on your face. “And I may have acted cocky and whatnot, but I was just scared. I haven’t felt like this in a while, so I hid my feelings, and I couldn’t even believe myself when I confessed that I liked you, but I just needed to say it.”

“Harry, you know you should’ve just told me. But I get where you’re coming from. I was actually really intimidated by you, and I couldn’t believe I walked into the wrong classroom and practically trespassed,” you chuckled at the memory that was so long ago, but it was still so fresh in your mind. 

“It’s okay. You can trespass any time,” he joked. 

“But as time went by, I tried to deny my feelings for you, and then we started talking and it was less banter and more teasing, I knew I couldn’t push it away, so I accepted it,” you said, and he nodded his head with a look as if he’s trying to figure something out. 

“So, what you’re saying is…” he said, wanting to hear the full thing loud and clear. 

You laughed before you said, “I like you too, Harry.” 

The brightest smile was plastered on Harry’s face; dimples popping out with the crinkle by his eye present. You’d never thought you’d be the reason Harry would smile like that, let alone at you, but you weren’t complaining at all. His smile was contagious as you both let out giddy giggles, matching each other’s beaming grins. It was also beautiful as his cheeks had a tint of pink to it while running his finger on the tip of his nose, trying to hide his happiness. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on your door, turning both of your attentions to it, and Harry went to answer it since he was closer. When he opened the door, he found a small boy at your classroom doorstep, and you got up, walking over to your student. 

“Dawson? What’s up, buddy? Why’re you here so early?” You bent down as you talked to him, and you noticed that he had a sad frown on his face. “Are you okay?” 

“My mom dropped me off here early, so I’m here,” he said sadly, looking down at the floor. School started in about forty five minutes, which was usually too early to drop kids off as parents started dropping them off about twenty minutes before school. 

“Okay, that’s completely fine. Come in, yeah?” You stood on your feet, and moved out of the way to let him inside of the classroom. 

“I was wondering if I could talk to you?” He said once he put his backpack on his assigned chair. “You said that we could talk to you about anything, right?” 

“Yes, of course. Anything you like,” you said, reassuring him with a smile, and he nodded. 

“I’m going to head back to my classroom,” Harry said, and you nodded before Dawson spoke up. 

“No, wait!” He called out, and Harry stopped walking, giving your student his full attention. Dawson turned to you and asked, “Can Mr. Styles stay? He’s really nice when we have our buddy classroom days.”

You smiled at the young boy, “Of course he can--that is, if he can. Anything to make you comfortable.” 

“I’d be happy to stay for you, Dawson,” Harry offered him a smile as you walked over to the table in the back of the classroom that’s used for group work and teacher-students discussions. 

You sat at the octagon table, Dawson sitting on your right and Harry sitting on your left. You had completely turned your body towards Dawson as your back was facing Harry. 

“Dawson, since this is the first time we are speaking to each other one on one,” you turned around towards Harry, and softly grinned, and you turned back towards Dawson. “Well, two on one. But just know that whatever you say will stay between the three of us, and it will not leave this classroom, okay?” 

“Okay,” Dawson said softly. 

“Now, what’s on your mind?” 

Dawson began to tell you and Harry about how he feels neglected by his mother because of the reason that she’s starting to drop him off earlier than normal and not coming home until later as his aunt picks him up. He then told you two that he just feels a bit sad that he never gets to see his mom that much anymore, and how his father is rarely around, so he was quite torn. 

You felt your heart sink as you listened to him, making sure to not interrupt him as you and Harry listened to his words intently. 

“Okay, I’m done,�� Dawson said, eyes a bit swollen from the tears that had fallen out of his eyes, and Harry got up to grab him a tissue box. 

“Dawson,” you started, “I’m sorry you have to go through that. Have you told your mom how you felt?” He shook his head as aggressively wiped his face with the tissue. 

“Never see her anymore.” 

“What about when she drops you off at school?” 

“I’m always eating breakfast in the car, so I never get a chance to,” he placed his elbow on the table as he leaned his face against his hand, while the other hand traced the outline of the polished wood. 

“What about your aunt? Have you told her anything?” Harry pitches in, and you slightly turn your head towards him, gratefully he’s being involved. 

Dawson’s face changed to a much lighter one as if he had a realization to what Harry had said. 

“Oh, I-I haven’t told her anything.” 

“Maybe if you’re comfortable, you can talk to her when she picks you up, and I’m sure she’ll tell your mom if you’re not comfortable doing so,” Harry said, and Dawson nodded in agreement. 

“I want you to know that, your mother not being there for you at the moment or your father not being in the picture does not have to do with you. Don’t think that it has to do with you, okay? You’re good enough and you’re an amazing person that I’m so lucky to have you in my class,” you said, emphasizing your words so it was stuck in his mind. 

“You’re a great student, and my class and I are happy we’re that we’re classroom buddies,” Harry adds with a bright and reassuring smile on his face that lightened the mood, and added a smile on Dawson’s face as well. 

“C-Can I give you two a hug?” Dawson asked, standing up from his chair. 

“Of course, come here,” you scooted your chair back, opening your arms as you welcomed him into your arms. 

You knew that he really needed this hug by how tight he was hugging you, but you didn’t mind, glad to comfort him for as long as he needed as you rubbed his back as he buried his face into your shoulder. Once he let go, you rubbed his shoulders for good measure before he walked around you and over to Harry. 

Harry widely opened his arms before Dawson placed himself between them as they both gave each other big hugs. You heard Harry whisper how proud he was of the boy in his arms, and your heart swooned at the sight, making you blush and practically have hearts in your eyes as you witnessed their moment. 

There was a moment when Harry looked up from Dawson’s shoulder to look at you. A hint of gleam sparkled in both of your eyes as you looked at each other. Although you’ve just confessed your feelings for each other, you knew that this was going to be completely special. 

You were sitting on the small couch that was in the back corner of the room. You were quite proud of this area of your classroom as you wanted to make it a comfortable place for your students to read or take a break at as you decorated it with a cream colored couch, a floral rug, and hung fairy lights along the wall. 

Sometimes you would take a seat on the couch during lunch when you were getting tired of sitting on your chair where your desk was, so it was a nice change up. 

With your container filled with your lunch on your lap as you looked down at your laptop, sat beside you and earphones in your ears, you saw Harry walk in with his lunch in his hands, a beaming grin on his face once he saw how comfy you looked. 

“Hey,” he greeted, taking a seat next to you on the couch. He completely turned his body towards you with his arm on the back of the couch as you did as well. 

“Hi,” you said with a smile. “What’s for lunch?” 

“Salmon with some veggies. I made it last night,” he said proudly, and you looked at his meal and ooh’ed. “Try some?” 

“Course I will. But you also just want me to boost your ego even more because I’m sure it’s good,” you teased. 

“Maybe. Open up f’me, yeah?” He said, cutting a piece of salmon and sticking a piece of green bean on his fork before bringing the fork up to your mouth. 

You tried not to think of his words so literally as there have been many times he would talk as if he was in the bedroom, not that you know anything about what he’s like in the sheets nor how you know his lips feel against yours. But you’re not complaining about his word choices; they do get you a bit turned on, but you simply couldn’t do anything about it. 

With your mouth open, he fed you a bite of his lunch and a ‘mm’ was heard from you as you chewed. 

“Wow, that’s really good,” you complimented the chef as you wiped your mouth with a napkin. 

“Well, thank you very much, darling,” he said, and you blushed. 

It’s been a month since you and Harry have known how you two feel about each other, and it was full of two days out of the week, eating lunch together. He had stumbled into your classroom one day, and asked if you wanted to have lunch together, and you said yes. So, lunch dates stuck, whether it’d be your classroom or his because he also has a comfy corner in his classroom with a record player next to the couch. When you two didn’t feel like staying inside, you would grab a bite to eat together. It also definitely made finding a place to eat much easier since you two found out you were both pescatarians. 

The mood is definitely different with each other as you two have slowly gotten to know one another as you tell each other about your childhood, past stories, interests, etc. You already knew that he was such a kind person, despite the bickering, but truly talking to him had confirmed your assumptions. 

Within the month had also made you earn a pet name from him. From your past relationships, you were always called babe (along with some nicknames from inside jokes), which in all honesty, you never really liked; it was a generic pet name from a significant other and it was an okay pet name. But hearing the word name ‘darling,’ especially from Harry, it was like butter. The name rolled off of his tongue, and you caved in as you continuously looked at his lips right after, wanting him to call you that multiple times. 

“I know my lunch isn’t all that interesting to feed you, but we can share a pie I made earlier this week if you’d like?” You said, looking down at your food as you only had a sandwich with avocado, tomatoes, and lettuce. 

“Sounds good,” he smiled before taking another bite of his delicious lunch. 

After a few minutes of talking about funny stories that happened during class and upcoming assignments, you changed the subject and nervously asked him a question that has been on your mind. 

“So, I was wondering…” you started, but trailed off as nerves crept up your skin. 

“That’s always interesting,” he teased. 

“Say, how about we go on a date? Like a real and official date?” You looked at him with hopeful eyes, and you saw a smirk slowly spreading onto his face as he blushed a bit. 

“Are you asking me out?” He was completely flattered and loved how you made the effort to ask him because he’s been thinking about it for an entire month, but was too nervous to do so. 

“Answer the question,” you chuckled. 

“I’m so flattered you're asking me. Y’know, really boosts my ego, let me tell you,” he stalled as he laughed, and you playfully rolled your eyes. 

When you had thought he was a kind guy, despite the bickering and being annoying with one another, the annoying Harry was still there. 

“Let me deflate your ego then, and take it back,” you joked, and his face immediately went down. His beaming smile as he teased and joked was gone and was replaced by a frown. 

“Hey, no. Don’t take it back. I was just messing with you,” he said softly, making you giggle from the change of moods he just went through. 

“Then answer the question, you big baby.” 

“Would love to go on a date with you. Of course I would,” he finally answered, and his smile, once again, was present. He reached over to hold your hand as his thumb caressed your skin. “I’ve been wanting to ask you since last month, but it was always a bad time or I would get nervous and come into your room to ask you a completely different question.” 

“Aww, that’s sweet. No need to be nervous anymore. But now I’m noticing that those days you came into my classroom, you always acted strange, but I brushed it off since this is so new and fresh still,” you explain, and he let out a breathy chuckle. 

“Yeah, those were the times when I was supposed to ask you on a date. But I’m glad you asked me, and I would absolutely love to go,” he smiled, still hand in hand with you. 

“I’m happy you said yes. I was wondering if you’d like to come over? I’ve been dying to try this new recipe out. It’s a Thai Coconut Curry rice, and I got it off YouTube, and I was watching it late at night and just wanted to make-” you paused, noticing Harry looking at you funny, but he was really just admiring how you’re just adorable when you ramble about things you’re passionate about. “I mean, if you think it’s too soon, I can look for a restaurant if-” 

Your idea of inviting him over had immediately been thrown out the window because he was looking at you funny, and was probably thinking that it was definitely too soon to be at each other’s houses, which you now see. But you didn’t know Harry was just simply adoring the way you talk. 

“No, no. I’d love to come over if you’d still have me. And I’d love to try that dish out,” he reassured you. 

“Really? It’s not too soon?” You asked, wanting to make sure he was okay with it. 

“Yes, I’m sure. And there’s no real timeline in how people should do things when they’re in a relationship. So, we’re going at whatever pace we both want,” he said, and you took in his words, thinking he was completely right. 

For the rest of your lunch breaks, you both scheduled a date and time, which was going to be this Saturday at 7 p.m, and as you suggested that time and day, you watched Harry look up as if he was thinking if he was available that day before he agreed to those suggestions. 

This was going to be the first date you’ve had in a long while, but you were excited knowing that it was with Harry.

It was a brutal four days of waiting for date night to finally arrive, and you’ve never been so happy until Saturday. 

You had barely gotten any sleep due to your thoughts racing on what to talk to him about and what you should wear, but you managed to get about seven hours of sleep, which was really well considering how late you stayed up. 

Saturday morning, you decided to wake up at eight a.m to go on a run. You had so much energy inside of you, despite waking up, and you needed to let it all out of you so you’re not too overly excited. So, you thought a good run would exhaust you for a few hours. 

You ran around your neighborhood and on the main road for a good two hours. You just had so many things on your mind that you were thinking that you lost track of time as your legs continued on as you were in a daze. 

It was a beautiful day. Although there were a bit of clouds, the sun was out and shining. Thankfully, not at a brutal temperature where you couldn’t go out for a run. But it was the perfect weather for the morning. 

You got back to your house at around 10 a.m, immediately heading for the kitchen for a glass of water. The  coldness streamed down your throat, making you sigh in relief as exhaustion took over you. With tiredness settling over you, you knew that you needed to shower before anything else as sweat was dripping down your back, making your shirt stick to your skin, so you made your way to the shower, stripping down as the warm water hit your skin as you washed off your morning run. 

By 12 p.m, you had lunch and caught up on some grading; being very proud and impressed all your students did really well on the assigned homework. After grading papers, you decided to take a quick nap before you had to go out and get some groceries for tonight’s dinner, and the last thing on your mind before you were lulled into sleep from your run, was how a particular man you were excited to see at night. 

Once you’ve woken up and gotten groceries, buying plenty of spices, veggies, and a Thai curry paste, it was 4 p.m, making you right on time with the schedule you had in your head. You started chopping the veggies before you sautéed them to a beautiful golden brown as the sizzle of the pan brought music to your ears. 

You had a show playing in the midst of cooking that you’ve watched two hour long shows that you didn’t realize the time was now six p.m, meaning you’d have to get ready. As you walked to your room, you heard the splatter of liquid hitting the ground outside, so you looked out your window, seeing the sky had turned grey as rain fell down. 

Quickly, you grabbed your phone, opening your message up with Harry before you typed: (bold) started raining hard just now! Be safe when driving, and see you soon! You hit send before opening up Spotify, playing ABBA to hype yourself up as you sang along while getting ready. 

You opted for a minimalistic makeup look since you were just at home, and a pair of black cropped flared trousers with a nice white blouse. You looked yourself in the mirror and felt satisfied with your look, giving yourself a smile before you took a deep breath as nerves were catching up to you. Checking your phone, the time read 6:55 and no text back from Harry, which you assumed he was getting ready or on his way. 

Keeping yourself busy, you checked on the dish you were making that was on low heat as it simmered, and wiping down the counter and fixing the throw pillows are your couch. Your tasks didn’t take that long, about seven minutes in total, as it had already passed 7 p.m. 

He would arrive any minute, you thought. 

But you thought wrong. 

You had waited thirty minutes before you sent him another text asking if he was on his way, but later on you got nothing. Worriedly, you tried not to let your mind think the worst, but it was difficult not to because he wasn’t answering his phone whatsoever and the weather was horrible. 

As you waited another hour and a half with a glass of wine sitting in front of you, you were starting to get angry. How could he stand you up and not call you? You had thought you two were doing really well, and he seemed to want to go on a date with you, so why would he change his mind so quickly? 

It was 9 p.m when you decided to call it a night a bit earlier than you planned, so you placed the food you made in a container and washed the pot before grabbing the plates and utensils you placed on the dining table, and putting them away. The entire time, you were silent as disappointment and an upsetting feeling hit you. You really tried not to cry as you did your normal skin care routine as if it was a normal night, but it wasn’t. 

But when your head hit your pillows, the disappointment had settled, making you release your tears, hating that you’re going to bed feeling the complete opposite as you did when you woke up, 

The night was slow as you watched the night from your bed, looking out at the window. It was most likely slow because you couldn’t sleep—only getting about three hours of sleep as you were woken up by the sun at six a.m. 

It wasn’t until about nine when you decided to get out of bed to start the day. You didn’t really have anything planned, but if you were to stay in bed, then you would continue being sad that your date didn’t show up. 

You were waiting for your coffee to brew when you heard your doorbell go off, grabbing your attention as you looked towards your door. You then looked down, noticing that you were wearing a flowy shirt with your pajama pants. Shrugging to yourself, you decided to walk to the door, not caring who’s behind it as you think that it may be your sister or cousin stopping by in the morning as they sometimes did. 

But you were completely wrong. 

It was the person who was supposed to be at your house last night just as he’s stood on your doorstep, but it’s the morning after, which doesn’t make it any better. 

You scoffed, shaking your head as if you couldn’t believe it. 

“You’re a bit late to dinner, don’t you think?” You immediately tell him as your words came out as an obvious tone. 

Harry expected those kinds of words to come out of you once you opened the door. He knew that you had just woken up, and it wasn’t smart that you were already in such a bad mood. Looking down at your pajama outfit, he tried not to let himself get too distracted by the way your nipples hardened under your white shirt that poked out due to the warmth of your house colliding with the coldness that is the outside. 

“I can explain-”

“Seems like you’re always explaining, huh?” You stressed, huffing as you were closing the door, but he quickly placed his hand on it, stopping it from closing him out. 

“No, please! I swear I have a good reason,” he pleaded. You looked him in the eye, and saw a hint of sadness, like he really just needed to explain it to you. 

“Y’know if you didn’t want to go out with me, you could’ve just told me that. Didn’t need to stand me up and have me wait for hours with a home cooked meal,” you opened the door a bit wider, but not moving so you could let him in. Instead, you crossed your arms as he stood at your doorstep. 

“I’m sorry. I did want to go out with you. But there was something I needed to do,” he said softly, looking down. 

“And you couldn’t even think to call me?” 

“I know I should’ve. I feel horrible, but my daughter needed my help, so I just couldn’t,” he confessed. Harry was really holding that in for a while, and he sighed in relief once he said the word. He noticed your change of face as it softens; you were taken back, and part of you was shocked because of how off guard that was. 

“D-Daughter?” 

“Yeah. I have a six year old daughter. She’s in the first grade with Mrs. Monet,” he confirmed with a small nod. He was really nervous telling you as his hands shook and his heart pounded, not knowing how you would take his news. 

“How did I not know this?” You said, more to yourself than asking Harry. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just…I didn’t know how you would take it, so I refrained from telling you,” he apologized. And he did notice that it was like he was apologizing to you a lot (the other time was from when he raised his voice at you); it wasn’t like he had trouble expressing his words or needs to say something, he just needed a minute to gather his thoughts and wait for how other people react to what he has to say. 

“Harry, I teach the third grade where I absolutely adore my students, so I should love kids in general. I’m gonna take the news well,” you said more lightly, and your words made Harry’s shoulders drop as he relaxed a bit more. “What’s her name?” You asked as your anger with him had completely flew out the door, excited to hear all about her. 

“Her name is Bella Anne,” he smiled as he looked down. You wondered why he was always looking down as if he was a shy kid, but you brushed it off until he spoke again. “I know it’s a lot to take in and I still have to explain what happened, and it may be too soon to others, but again, we’re on our own timeline…” 

“What are you trying to say?” You asked curiously. 

“Would you like to meet her?” He asked nervously, and a big smile was placed on your face as you excitedly nodded your head and said yes. “So, would right now be too soon?” 

Your eyes widened, “Like right now?” 

“Yeah, she’s actually right here,” Harry looked down and averted his eyes slightly towards the side, right next to the door frame as he brought his hand out. And that was when you knew why he was always looking down so subtly. 

The little girl wearing blue denim overalls, a white t-shirt with a tan coat over along with some white sneakers, held her father’s hand as she looked up at you with her green eyes; the same as Harry’s. Your eyes immediately sparkle as you look at her, bending down so you’re eye level with her. 

“Hi, Bella. It’s nice to meet you,” you smiled at her as you greeted her. She shyly smiled as she waved at you before looking up at Harry causing you to look up at him as well to see what he had to say. 

“Go on, bub. Ask her what you wanted to ask,” he shook her hand in encouragement as Bella looked back at you. 

“Have you had breakfast?” Bella finally spoke, and your heart flutters at how cute you think her voice is. 

“I actually haven’t had breakfast yet. Why do you ask?” 

“Because we brought breakfast for you!” She let go of Harry’s hand before she bent down to pick up the paper bag, smiling as she held as much as she could up. You gasped, placing your hand on your cheek from the thoughtful gesture. 

“Well, I’ll only eat the food on one condition,” you proposed. Bella’s face dropped as she waited for you to tell her what that condition was, glancing up at Harry quickly before looking back at you. “You two have to join me for breakfast.” 

With that, her face lifted once again as she beamed at you and quickly said an okay. You opened the door and moved out of the way so Harry and Bella could walk in. Bella skipped into your house with no hesitation as Harry called out for her, but you told him that it was okay. 

“You didn’t need to do this,” he told you, feeling bad that he hasn’t even told you the full story of what had happened last night, and you being the angel that you are, openly invited both of them into your house when you had every right to slam the door in his face. 

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk later, but for now, let’s eat? I got coffee ready,” you said, brushing it off, and he nodded, still knowing that the conversation needed to happen. 

He followed you to the dining table where Bella had already taken the food out of the bag. She sat there proud of her contribution, and Harry said ‘good job’ and ‘thank you’ to her as he always did when she helped set the table. You got three plates from the cabinet and utensils from the drawer; the same ones you set from last night, but this time, with a plus one. 

You and Harry opened the containers of food as there were various breakfast dishes for the three of you to share. 

“So, Bella. What’s your favorite movie?” You asked, wanting to get to know her better. 

“I like Mamma Mia! That’s one of my favorite movies, but the next one would have to be The Princess and the Frog!” 

You gasped, “Mamma Mia is my favorite movie too! And The Princess and the Frog is an excellent choice.” Bella nodded, agreeing with you. 

Harry watched the two of you interact; talking about all of your interests and dislikes, most Harry already knew about, so he sat back and ate as he thought the sight before him was the most precious thing he’s witnessed. He’s noticed Bella’s eyes gleam as she talked her heart out, and how you gave her your full attention when she did. And he thought that the interaction and connection was so important to him when he introduced a potential love interest to his daughter. The bond between you and Bella wasn’t like anything he had seen before, and he was grateful it was with you. 

After an hour of talking at the table, Harry told Bella it was okay if she wanted to play on her iPad for a bit, and she nodded her head before asking you if it was okay. 

“Of course you can, sweet,” you said, giggling a bit because she felt the need to ask you, but you thought it was sweet; the pet name completely slipped out as if it were natural for you to say it, but you think it really suits her, and by the way her eyes lit up when you called her that, you think she likes it as well. 

Bella opened her backpack, grabbed her iPad out, before walking to Harry, whispering to him. 

“Go on and ask her,” he said to her before she walked around the table to you. 

“Do you think I can get the WiFi password please?” She asked politely, smiling to yourself as kids nowadays know so much of technology from a very young age. 

“Of course,” you said before she unlocked her iPad. 

You noticed her wallpaper, all too familiar because you were the one who took the picture. It was a picture of Harry in front of the sunset with his mouth open as he smiled with his two hands up, throwing peace signs at the camera. 

“I like how you put your wallpaper as your daddy,” you complimented, looking up at Harry as he blushed. 

“Me too! He went to this party type of thing, and I told him to take a picture in front of the beach!” She beamed. 

“Yeah, bub. She was there,” Harry pitched in. 

Bella suddenly gasped loudly, “Are you the pretty teacher that took his picture and bought us cupcakes?!” She asked excitedly. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. That would be me,” you said as you nervously chuckled. 

“Thank you! Those cupcakes were so good!” She thanked you, remembering how good those cupcakes tasted, and you told her that you were glad that you liked them. 

After you typed in your WiFi password, you told Bella that she could sit on the couch in the living area. 

“Twenty minutes, okay?” Harry called out as she walked away. 

“Okay!” Her soft voice yelled back as she took a seat on the couch. 

Your head turned towards Harry as he turned to you as well. Both of you had a moment of silence as you two looked at each with a soft and admiring look. Things were way different now as you now know Harry has a daughter, but in all honesty, you don’t mind it whatsoever. You’ve managed to adore that little girl in a matter of an hour and a half, and you think she’s the most beautiful little girl ever. 

“So the pretty teacher, huh? I liked her wallpaper,” you said with a mischievous grin, and Harry snickered. 

“Yeah, I kind of underexaggerated--should’ve said ‘the gorgeous teacher that I like who took the wallpaper,’” he flirted, and you raised your brows as you blushed, thinking that was incredibly smooth of him. After a minute of thinking how to go about this conversation, you spoke up.

“Do you want to tell me about last night?” You asked, and Harry nodded. 

“Bella was a bit in a bad mood from the morning she woke up. Couldn’t really do anything to please her, so I was pretty frustrated because she couldn’t really explain what was happening to her, just threw a tantrum while holding her head, and then I figured out that she had a headache, and that’s no fun,” he explained, and you nodded as he said so. “It was literally hours of crying nonstop for hours. The only time she stopped crying was when I gave her something to eat,” he chuckled. 

“Everyone stops being pouty after some food,” you joked. 

“She did for a bit, but then it was right back to crying. My mum came over because she was supposed to watch her while I was with you, and usually her Nan would cheer her up, but not this time. After a few hours of trying to comfort her, she started becoming clingy, and when I would leave her side, she would just start crying. By this point, I was just exhausted, so I held her as she slept, which then resulted in me sleeping, also thinking I would wake up just in time, but waking up at midnight.” 

The look on his face was a disappointing one as he couldn’t believe he missed the first official date, and if you were to forgive him, he’d make it up to you with every date you would give him. 

“I understand, H. I can imagine being a single parent is hard. At least, I hope you’re single,” you tried lightening up the moods. 

“Yeah, definitely single,” he confirmed with a smirk.

“Well, maybe not for long,” you teased at the fact of becoming his girlfriend sooner or later, and his heart started to race. 

“Oh yeah?” He smirked. “Is that what you’re thinking?” 

“Yeah. Are you?” 

“I’ve been thinking about it, darling,” he responded honestly, glad to know you’re on the same page. 

He could possibly ask right now, knowing you feel the same way about him as he does you, but with not showing up for the date and practically throwing having a daughter at you, it wasn’t the right time. He wanted it to be special, not during a time when he was explaining why he screwed up. 

“Good. I’m happy we’re thinking the same thing.” 

“Me too.” 

There was a moment of quietness between you two, and the only thing that was heard was Bella’s game that she was playing on her iPad and the thumping of both of your hearts. Harry checked the time on his phone, realizing that he had to leave. 

“What are your plans for today?” He asked. 

“Just clean up around here, and perhaps go to the farmers market before they close.” 

“Sounds lovely. The weather’s nice after all that raining last night,” he said, and you agreed. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t here though.” 

“Harry, stop apologizing. Bella’s your priority and I totally understand.” He sighed deeply before nodding his head. 

“Say, how about this: bring me that lovely dish you cooked yesterday for lunch tomorrow because I would love to try it, and this time, you come over to my house on Saturday for our date? I’ll cook you dinner,” he suggested. 

The corners of your lips perked up as you nodded, “I’d like that.” 

“Great. But we’ve got to go to my sister’s house right now. Can I help you with the dishes really quick before we leave?” Your face softened even more, thinking of how kind and helpful he is. 

“No, I got it from here. Thank you, though.” 

You and Harry got up as he called out for Bella, telling her that it was time to leave. Harry helped put her coat on as he muttered something to her. Bella walked over to you, and you bent down as you smiled at her. 

“Thank you for letting us have breakfast with you and letting us into your home,” she opened her arms, and your heart fluttered as you opened your arms as well, taking each other in for a hug. 

“It’s so great to have you both. You’re welcomed here anytime,” you said against her ear, and Bella hugged you tighter and you rubbed her small back. 

After you two let go of each other, you walked them to the door, a bit sad that they had to leave, but you’re reminded that you’ll see Harry tomorrow and hopefully Bella around school. 

“I’ll see you two soon. Drive safe, yeah?” You told Harry, and he nodded. 

“Always do. I’ll text you?” You nodded, reaching up to give him a hug. 

It was a quick hug that only lasted about five seconds, which was way too quick for your liking, but when you two let go, Harry pressed his lips against your cheek, and that totally made up for it. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he smiled, and nothing came out of mouth, so you nodded instead and waved at the two. 

You watched them get into the car and drive off down the street, far enough where you couldn’t see them, so you watched back into your house and closed the door, placing your palm on your cheek as you felt the warmness of your skin heat up from the softness of his lips. And you hoped that you would get to feel his lips again.

Meanwhile as Harry was driving towards Gemma’s house, Fleetwood Mac was playing through the bluetooth of his phone until Bella spoke up, causing him to lower down the volume. 

“I really liked her,” she said. 

Harry smiled, agreeing with her, “Yeah, me too, bub.” 

“You’re right--she is pretty,” she confirmed, and Harry chuckled. 

“Very pretty.” 

“I hope I have her as my teacher when I get to the third grade.” Harry gasped, looking into the rear view mirror. 

“What?! You don’t want me to be your teacher?” Harry asked her, but knowing that his own daughter can’t be in his class, according to the rules and policy of the school. 

“I mean, maybe. But we might get annoyed with each other,” she stated, and Harry definitely agrees with her, but also loves how she’s not afraid of speaking her mind. “I hope I see her again soon,” Bella said, looking out the window as if she was in a dramatic movie. 

“You will, bub, you will.” 

And he meant what he said because Harry plans on keeping you around for a very long time. 

It was Friday after school when you heard someone say ‘knock knock’ from the entrance of your classroom. You looked up from your laptop to find Harry peeking his head out into the door frame. 

“Hi! Come in,” you said, standing up and taking your glasses off. Harry fully stands up straight, walking into your classroom. You walked towards him until a small figure that is Bella who is running straight towards you, excitedly. 

“Oh, hi sweet!” 

“Hi!” 

“We were just about to leave, but figured we could stop by and say hi--or goodbye since we’re leaving,” Harry chuckled. 

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you two. Well, I’m glad you two stopped by. I’m probably staying here for another hour or so,” you said, and you think that was probably the reason you also never knew Harry had a daughter because you two never leave at the same time. 

“I also wanted to give you these,” Bella chirped, grabbing the box of cookies from Harry’s hands before giving them to you. “We made you these last night!” 

“Wow, thank you so much. I’ll be sure to have some after I have dinner, but I just know they’re really good.” Bella nodded her head in joy. 

“I heard you’re coming over tomorrow. I’m sad I won’t be there because I’ll be with Aunt Gem,” she frowned slightly. 

“Yeah, I will be. But how about this: next weekend, with your dad’s permission and if you two aren’t busy that weekend, we can go to the park? Have a little picnic there and play some games?” You suggested that idea to her, and she immediately said yes. 

“I’m definitely up for that plan,” Harry said, smiling from ear to ear as Bella jumped eagerly. “But for now, we really do have to go.” 

You hugged Bella once more, telling her you couldn’t wait for your picnic together before hugging Harry as well. You became flustered as you remembered the time he kissed you on the cheek. And it happened again--every time you two had lunch together, he kissed your cheek hello and goodbye, and you blushed every time. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“Tomorrow,” you confirmed. 

And you couldn’t wait for the evening.

As you knocked on Harry’s door, you were filled with nerves. 

The night was a bit cold out, so you wore a pair of black jeans, topped with a red leopard top, and some three inch black booties, and of course, a black coat for outside. In your hands, you held two bottles of Chardonnay--a wine that is paired well with seafood. And although you don’t know what he’s cooking up, you do know you two are pescatarians, so it saves you from roaming down the wine aisle. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” he complimented once he opened the door as he looked up and down at you. Harry was wearing a light blue vertical pinstripe button down with cream colored pants. His sleeves were rolled up, and his hair was pinned back with a clip. “Oh, sorry,” he said once he felt his clip that was still in his hair. 

“No, don’t be sorry. You look really handsome,” you complimented back. 

“Thank you. Come in,” he moved to the side of the door, stepping out of the way so you could walk in. 

The Styles’ residence was a very cozy and welcoming home. You had already felt welcomed by the presence of Harry, but his home just made you feel even more welcomed and loving. It was the perfect size, not too big where it looks empty, but not too small so Bella can still run around. There were pictures hung up on the walls, a fireplace, and neutral colored furniture that complimented Prussian colored walls. 

He led you to the kitchen, and you thought the kitchen was lovely as well with white cabinets and potted plants along the backsplash of the kitchen, which you assumed they were fresh herbs. 

“So, I made some seasoned shrimp, and bought some ingredients that I’ve chopped up already for some shrimp tacos? We can do our own if you’d like,” he said proudly. 

“I’d love that. Do you need help with anything?” 

“Yeah, if you don’t mind?” You shook your head. “Do you mind grabbing the toppings in the fridge? They’re all in bowls.”

You made your way over to his silver refrigerator and took out all the bowls you saw, placing all of them on the counter in a line. Harry turned the stove off before grabbing two plates from the cabinet on the side of the stove, and handed one to you. 

“So, these are raw tortillas, which I’ve already cooked and placed on the pan, so it’s really good.” 

“Everything smells amazing. I can’t wait,” you smiled at him. 

Impulsively, Harry leaned forward and placed his lips on your forehead as a thank you. Not really knowing he did it until he pulled back, you beamed at him, thinking the gesture was sweet and made your heart pound. 

You and Harry assembled your shrimp tacos together, giggling when you both would reach for something at the same time, causing your hands to touch before one of you pulls back shyly. After, you followed Harry to the dining table, and it was a beautiful grey wood table with cream colored cushioned chairs. And you came to the conclusion that everything about Harry’s house was beautiful, including Harry and Bella. 

“Thank you for coming,” he said before taking a bite of his taco. 

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” You asked, and he gave you a sad look before you realized what he meant. “Harry, we’re passed that. It was one time, and you had to take care of your daughter. Yeah, I was angry when I was waiting for you, but only because I didn’t know what was going on. But I’m not mad anymore. Please, don’t beat yourself up with that.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. I still feel bad about making you wait,” he frowned. 

“Don’t. I’d wait for you if I have to,” you said, your words coming out as a double meaning to it. 

As you and Harry ate, you complimented him again on the food as you both drank a glass of wine. 

“Tell me about your family?” Harry asked. 

“Hmm. Well, my parents are divorced. They have been since I was sixteen, but they still have a really great relationship with one another. They see each other occasionally, not often. But I have a younger brother; he’s two years younger than me and he works at a magazine company in the marketing department. My dad is in the construction business, and my mom is a pharmacist. Not really much to tell, we were--are a great family,” you told him, smiling to yourself as you remember how lucky you are to have the family that you have. 

“Do you see them often?” 

“Not as much as I should,” you replied honestly. Your family lives about ten hours away from you by car, which does not cooperate with the school schedule. But you do see them on holidays and whatnot. “Can I ask you a question now?” Harry nodded nervously. 

“What’s your relationship like with Bella’s mom?” 

“Uh, well…we were together for the last two years of uni. We moved in together during those two years, and everything was great until she got pregnant. She kept saying that her life was over, but I kept telling her that everything was going to be alright. It was pretty rocky from then. When she had Bella, I immediately fell in love with my baby. She was this precious little thing in my arms, and I was committed, y’know? But she didn’t feel the same way. She was having trouble bonding with her, and I told her that that sometimes happened and she shouldn’t give up, but one day, she told me that she was over everything. That she’s in the peak of her career and that she’d rather travel. Of course, that turned into an argument, but at the end of the day, that was her choice, so I didn’t bother anymore.” 

“Does she still see Bella?” You asked hesitantly, and Harry can sense it. 

“Maybe once a month? If not, then every other month. But they only see each other for about an hour, and that’s about it,” Harry said, and you nodded, not saying anything. “If you’re wondering, I don’t love her anymore, like, I’m completely over her. Just because she’s Bella’s biological mother, that doesn’t mean I love her,” he said, wanting to make sure you knew. 

You chuckled softly at his assertiveness, “I know you don’t love her. You’re a wonderful father to Bella.” 

“I try,” he said shyly. 

“And that’s all that matters. She completely loves you and she looks up to you,” you told him honestly from what you observed. Harry doesn’t say anything but take in your words, and his heart flutters from it because everyone needs a bit of encouragement; it helps them keep going and to not give up. 

There were no words that fell between either of your lips as there was no need for it; just the unspoken connection that you two shared as you stared at each other so intently, silently sharing a bond with one another that will mean something so deeply to you hearts. A blush settled on both of your cheeks, and it definitely wasn’t the wine because it was so much stronger; Harry had that kind of affect. 

Harry placed his arms on the table, slightly leaning in. You did the same, and your faces were inches away. His hand reached up to brush your hair behind your ear before placing his palm on your cheek, your skin immediately heating up. As he looked at you, his thumb brushed your cheek and it was the most soothing and innocent action anyone has ever done to you, and it made goosebumps on your skin rise. 

“Can I ask you something?” Harry asked. 

“Anything,” you said softly. 

In a moment of weakness where you would let this man do anything to you, you felt strong and powerful. You felt confident and beautiful. And you think that is so important in seeking a partner because they should make you feel like that even with the simple act of staring. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

“Please do.” 

Harry smirked, glancing down at your lips before looking back up at your eyes--something he’s accustomed to doing to you, and you noticed every time. 

He placed his forehead against yours, nose touching as your lips were just a small movement apart. Harry’s hand moved closer to your mouth as he took his thumb and placed it on your bottom lip, pulling it down slightly. You were breathing deeply as you didn’t expect him to do that, but you were nonetheless turned on by it. 

And when he went to caress your cheek again, he finally leaned forward and kissed you. 

It was like everything you imagined. Through the years of tension that was building up, stealing each other’s belongings, the bickering, the days of daydreaming in class of how his lips would feel against yours, and all those nights imagining his lips against your skin—it all came down to something so explosive but marvelous at the same time. 

The taste of Chardonnay adding to his own was something so sweet as his tongue brushed against yours as you grabbed the back of his neck to bring him in closer. Your lips molded together as if it were one, and there was no hint of rushing it even further. It was sweet and slow, taking in one another’s feel as the spark between you two heightened and bursted. 

Once you two pulled back, and the appearance of swollen lips and being breathless, you two looked at each other and giggled, finally relieved that happened. 

“Not sure if this is too soon, considering this our first date, but will you be my girlfriend?” He asked nervously, and your kissed lips turned up, smiling brightly at him. 

“So, when you meant soon, that meant the next week, huh?” You teased, not completely answering his questions straight away. 

“Precisely,” he chuckled, knee shaking under the table. 

“But I thought you’d never ask sooner, so yes. I will be your girlfriend.” Beaming, you held his hand as you said so, and Harry’s face dropped. 

“Really? You’re not messing with me, right?” He said shockingly. 

“Of course I will! How could I say no?” You placed your hands on the sides of his face and caressed your thumb, meeting your pointer finger as you pinched his cheek ever so gently in a comforting way, and not childish one. And Harry finds it sweet and it might be one of his favorite things if you keep doing it. 

Harry took your lips in with his again, knowing he won’t get used to the feeling of having your lips on his. It was a surreal feeling that he’s been wanting to happen for a very long time, and he’s talking about years, way before he even confessed his feelings. 

After a few minutes of kissing and getting used to each other’s soft lips, Harry suggested moving to the living area. So, you two cleaned up after much declining from Harry as he rejected your help, but you helped him anyway. 

Taking a seat on his couch as you waited for Harry to open the wine in the kitchen, you took a look around the living room. It was very warm and comforting; it made you feel safe. From the moment you stepped into his home, it had that sort of feel of security, like you were being wrapped up in a warm hug of love and safeness. And you absolutely loved it.

Harry finally joined you, taking a seat next to you as he poured more wine into both of your glasses—you two having the same amount. 

“What’s your family like?” You asked, only knowing the basics of them. 

“Well, as you know, I’ve got a sister; grew up with her and my mum. My parents got a divorce when I was seven, and it was a bit weird. I was young at the time, so I didn’t really know how to deal with it, but luckily mum always told me that it didn’t have to do with Gem or me,” Harry remembered that day so vividly as him and Gemma were sat on the couch of their childhood home as his mum and dad was in front of them. 

“Did you still see your dad?” You asked. 

“Yeah, we did all the time. I still do see him to this day. He was always an amazing father; never left us worrying. He’s an amazing granddad to Bella, and I really love their relationship.” 

“That’s amazing,” you smiled fondly at him, and Harry agreed. 

For the next hours, you cuddled up to Harry as you both talked about anything and everything as you two were a bit tipsy off your friend called Chardonnay, and off one another as the kisses hadn’t stopped. You hadn’t realized you were talking for so long that it was almost midnight, and you suggested you call it a night to get out of his hair. 

“Wait, how about you stay the night?” He suggested instead. 

“I shouldn’t,” you had sobered up during the last hours as you told him you’d pass on another glass of wine, to which he stopped drinking as well. 

“No, please. I insist. I know that you’re a bit sober, but I don’t want you driving like this anyways,” his hand met your forearm, rubbing it slightly as a way to convince you, and the mere touch is enough for you to say yes. 

“Okay,” you complied, nodded your head. Harry smiled, grabbing your hand as he led you to his room. 

Walking into his closet, he told you to pick anything you’d like to wear as he went to change into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, but hoping you’d be okay with him sleeping shirtless. 

You opted for one of his band tees and one of his a pair of shorts that were actually pretty short on you, so you were eager to see what it would look like on Harry. You met him in his restroom as he handed you a toothbrush and a makeup wipes, telling you that Bella liked to do makeup on him sometimes, so he bought wipes for it, and you told him that the next time she does it, to invite you over. 

Once you and Harry got ready for bed, you had felt like you were intruding, but he reminded you that you weren’t and that if you wanted to sleep in the guest bedroom that he would be okay with that. But you wanted to spend the night with him, so you climbed into bed with him, the worries about things being ‘too soon’ or ‘too quick’ flew out the window as you both were on your own timeline of your relationship. 

Harry pulled you into his bare tattoo chest, and luckily you were totally okay with him sleeping without a shirt on. You were amazed with his inked body, thinking how beautiful it is and wanting to look at every single detail of art that’s permanently on him. He kissed your forehead as you two made light conversation before your eyes dropped and slowly closed. 

You were in his arms, sharing a bed with him for the first time on the night of your first official date where he asked you to be his girlfriend and your first kiss with him. 

Everything had happened so fast, but with the warmth of his arms around you, feeling ultimate safety, it felt so right. 

The next morning arrived and Harry already knew that the night prior was the best sleep he’s ever had. 

He had been sleeping well, but he didn’t know what sleeping with you felt like until last night, and he loved every bit of it, even though he only had memory of the moment before falling asleep and waking up to you. 

The hold on his girlfriend’s arms became tighter as he woke up from the morning light that was peeking through the shutters. It was a quiet Sunday morning; no one in a rush to get anyone as it was everyone’s day to sleep in. 

The position you both were in as you cuddled was an interesting one. Harry had woken up to you both facing each other as Harry's arm was under your neck and your arm on his waist. But what was different was that his thigh was between your legs, squeezed together by them. 

He didn’t want to move because that’ll wake you up, he’s sure. So, he laid still, brushing off the hairs on your face as he watched you peacefully sleep. You were quite adorable as you slept, even though there was a bit of dried up drool on the corner of your mouth. But still adorable. 

After a few moments of laying there, his eyes were slowly starting to close as the silence took over, making him sleepy again. But after a minute of having his eyes closed, movement from you had startled him awake again. 

You were still sleeping, and your position hadn’t changed, only the movement of your hips slightly grinding down on his thigh in your sleep had left him wide awake. He thought it was a mere coincidence of you jolting, but as you continued to do it, he knew that you were having some sort of dream. And he hoped it was about him. 

Harry had been semi hard since waking up, but he felt himself start to grow harder in his pants as you let out quiet whimpers. He leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to your lips before kissing around your entire face in order to wake you up, thinking he could get used to this. 

You stirred, but your hips didn’t stop, and Harry continued to kiss your face until you opened your eyes and yours locked with his as you started back a tad bit, looking at him. 

“Morning, darling,” he greeted, bringing you back into him. There was a bit of a smirk on his face, and your eyes widened, remembering the dream you just had before you woke up. The familiar heat between your legs that made its appearance every time you had a glass or two was being relieved by Harry’s thigh. 

“Oh, god. I’m so sorry,” you said, moving back to push his leg out from between yours, but he pulled you back in, placing his leg between yours again. 

“No, no. C’mere. Don’t be sorry. Were you dreamin’?” He asked, voice deep and raspy from the slumber. And it only added to your arousal as you felt very wet inside of your panties. 

“Uh, yeah. I was,” you replied, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hand as you stretched, hoping to hide away the embarrassment you’re feeling. 

“What about?” He consulted with a smirk on his face. You still had your eyes covered, but you know him all too well to know that he has a mischievous grin on his face, and you know yourself all too well to know that you’re red. Harry grabbed your wrists gently, pulling your arms. “C’mon, don’t hide from me please.” Once he held your arms down, you opened your eyes, meeting his gaze once again. “Wanna tell me about your dream?” 

“It’s embarrassing,” you muttered. 

“M’sure it’s not. I’ll tell you something ‘embarrassing’ if you tell me,” he emphasized ‘embarrassing’ as a sarcastic tone because he knows that it’s not really anything to be ashamed of. 

After a few moments of thinking, wondering if Harry would laugh at you, you huffed as you told him. “Every time I have a few drinks, I tend to have some sex dreams.” 

“Yeah?” He smirked. “What was your dream this time?” He asked curiously, but the look on his face tells you that he already knows and just wants you to say it. 

Figuring that you’ve already confessed that you had a wet dream, you told him honestly. “It was about you.”

Harry’s brows raised at that, shifting closer to you before he briefly kissed your cheek. He hadn’t said anything, and it’s driving you insane because here he was, telling you to tell him, and once you did, not a word out of his mouth. 

“Are you not going to say anything?” Your brows furrowed. 

“How about you tell me all about your dream?” He suggested, and the crease on your brow flattened. 

“W-What?” 

“Yeah. Then maybe after, we can make those dreams into a reality.” 

There was no stutter in his words. No lie in what he said. He had this raging hard on below him, and he knows that you’re probably wet already, so why not help each other out? After all, you two are together. 

“How does that sound?” He asked when you hadn’t said anything, dipping his head down to kiss your neck. “Do you want that? Because it’s okay if you don’t. Although, I’d still like to hear about your dream-”

“No, no! I want that. I want that so bad, please,” you pleaded, eyes looking into him so innocently when your dreams were about him railing you. 

“Do tell then, darling,” he gave you a kiss to your lips before, pulling back too quickly, so you pulled him by the neck, reconnecting your lips again. 

Unlike last night’s kisses, this one was eager and rushed, knowing it’ll lead to way more. Your tongues met, and Harry grabbed the back of your thigh, squeezing the flesh, making you hiss out. 

“So we were actually in the position,” you started your storytelling. “We kissed for a while,” Harry pecked your lips again, making you chuckle. “It felt nice, like I felt it through my dreams.” 

“Maybe that’s because I was actually kissing you,” he pitched in. 

“Maybe. And I really liked it.”

“Tell me more,” he hands roamed against your arm that was resting on his waist, and you could already feel the chills from his touch rise on your skin. 

“Your hand sneaked down to my panties, and you teased me a bit, not putting your hand inside of them right away.” 

“Like this?” As you said so, his hand trailed down your torso, slightly pulling your (his) shirt up to reveal a bit of your stomach as he raked his finger down your skin and to the hem of your shorts, dragging his nail along the hem. 

“Yeah, like that,” you confirmed as butterflies settled into your stomach. “Then you took my pants off, and you touched me very slowly.” 

“Can I take this off?” He asked, and you breathed out a ‘yes’ before he pushed the shorts down and you kicked them off your legs. You were wearing red lace panties, just like the top you were wearing, and he admired them for a quick second before taking them off. 

“Can I touch you?” You asked suddenly as you were half bare in front of him. 

“Is that part of your dream?” 

You shook your head, “no, but I really want to touch you, if you’d let me?” 

“Please do. I want you to touch me,” he gave you his consent, and you placed the palm of your hand on top of his clothed crotch, feeling him out as his hands roamed your thighs, Harry softly moaning from your touch. 

“Take this off, yeah?” You referred to his boxers, and he briskly took them off, kicking them on the floor. You looked down at him, impressed by his size, but did do well with your wet core as he still hadn’t touched you yet. “Next, you rubbed my clit for a while as you kissed me.” 

His fingers finally met your clit, and he rubbed as the wetness from your arousal had lubricated his fingers. He lifted your shirt up, and you slightly sat up for a moment to take off the material, finally fully bare for him, and the sight in front of him was to die for. 

“God, you’re so fuckin’ beautiful,” he said, fingers still rubbing you and his mouth immediately going on your breasts, kissing the skin and sucking on your nipples. You moaned out at both of the feelings of his hands and mouth on you. 

Suddenly you felt his finger dip into your wet hole, plunging them in and out of you as he curled his fingers up, hitting that soft spot of your upper walls. 

“Oh my, fuck,” you moaned out as Harry continued to kiss your tits. 

“You like that?” 

“Mhm. So good,” you felt as if you were about to come on his finger, but you held back, edging yourself and wanting the feeling to last longer. 

You looked down at his cock as it stood straight up and looked quite painful, but Harry didn’t show it; only focusing on your pleasure and getting you off. But you cared, so you licked your hand, and grabbed his cock, pumping it slowly. Harry hadn’t expected you to do that as he groaned, throwing his head back, exposing his neck, so you leaned forward, kissing and sucking on the skin of his collarbone; not wanting to go too high up because he does have a daughter.

“Like that, darling,” he moaned out while you were pumping your hand around the tip, learning that was probably his most sensitive spot. 

The thrusting of his fingers hadn’t stopped as well, alternating between fingering you and rubbing your clit as you started to grind against his hand. 

“Do you wanna fuck me?” You asked straightforwardly, slowing down your movements as did he. “It was part of my dream,” you added. 

“Y’know, you can just ask me to fuck you. Don’t have to say it was in your dream,” he smirked. 

“True, but it really was in my dream. That’s why I was practically humping your leg,” you chuckled. “It’s okay if it’s too soon, I’m close anyways.” 

“Yeah? Let me fuck with you then. Been wanting to feel you,” he smiled before turning around to grab a condom. He turned back around at you, his smile no longer there. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t have a condom.”

“Oh,” you said, trying to think if you had one in your purse. 

“I haven’t had sex in about two years, so I don’t have any.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think I have one either.” Neither of you said anything, trying to see how to resolve this situation. Harry could possibly go to the store quickly and get one, but you had a better idea. “We can go without one? I mean I’m clean. I have an IUD. I haven’t had sex in about a year, and I recently got tested and I’m clean,” you stated, and Harry nodded. 

“Okay. I got tested about a month or two ago, and I’m clean as well,” he told you, not giving you a straight answer. 

“So, yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

With that, he crashed his lips onto yours, gladly taking in the softness of them. You moaned against his lips as he grabbed your ass, pulling your body closer to his while squeezing. His hand made his way back to your clit, rubbing it relentlessly, causing you to whimper from the sensitivity, and you physically pulled his hand out from between your legs and looked him in the eye.

“Fuck me already,” you demanded. 

“Alright, alright. So bossy,” he teased, and you rolled your eyes. 

Your chests were pressed together as there was no change in position, just the two of you on your sides, facing each other. Harry reached between you, grabbing a hold of his cock before running the tip up and down your slit, collecting your wetness to coat it. You slightly bucked your hips, urging him to put himself inside of you already, and he chuckled at your eagerness, but obliged as he slowly pushed into you. 

The position was definitely different than what you were used to, but he was so deep into you that you felt him everywhere. You both groaned out, sighing in relief that you two finally made it this far. Harry started to thrust into you, grabbing your leg, placing it high on his hip, practically on the side of his stomach as he fucked you. 

“Holy fuck, yes. That feels so good,” you screamed out as you placed your hand on the side of his face. 

“So fuckin’ tight for me, yeah? Love the way I’m fuckin’ you?” He asked before taking in your lips with his quickly, and pulling away so you could answer him. 

“Mhm. So big. Just like that,” you said, feeling him every time he hit that lovely spot inside of you, making you moan loudly. 

“M’not gonna last,” he said, chest heaving deeply as continued thrusting. There was so much foreplay that happened before the fucking that he could’ve came with your gentle touch of your hand wrapped around his cock, and also because he hasn’t gotten a single bit of action in two years. 

“Me neither,” you agreed, bouncing the way you can as you met his thrusts. Harry’s tongue met one of your nipples as you continued your movements, trying to get both of you on edge of an orgasm. 

“Tell me what you need. Let me get you there,” he said, wanting to help you out. 

“Play with my clit,” you breathed out, and his hand immediately went in between you to rub your sensitive button. Once you felt his fingers on you, it didn’t take you long to reach your peak. “Oh... shit, H,” you let out, voice shaky as your orgasm surged through you, whimpering his name out into the air, not ashamed with how loud you were being, 

Harry took place of you, pounding into you as you rode your high. “There you go. That’s it, darling. Look so pretty cummin’ for me.” With sloppy thrusts, his orgasm rushed through him, finally releasing inside of you as groans came out and he smashed his face on the pillow. Moans of your name was practically all he knew as they came out muffled from the pillow. 

You pulled him into your chest to calm down from his high, and the hot and deep breaths against your skin made you warm up as you scratch his curly hair lightly. 

After a moment of being in each other’s arms, you felt his lips press against your collarbones, sucking the skin lightly. His head moved up to your neck, only kissing it as he knows not to leave love bites there because of work. 

He pulled his head back, laying his head next to you against the pillow as he lazily smiled, looking so fucked out as do you. You moved to cuddle into his side as he gladly took you into his arms. 

“That was amazing,” you said. 

“Really, really good,” he agreed. “Did I do your dream justice?” 

You giggled, completely forgetting that you started out telling him about your dream.

“Way better actually.” 

“Can’t believe you’re my girlfriend now,” an overwhelming feeling hits him as his face is in disbelief. 

“I can’t either. Do you think Bella would be happy?” You worriedly asked, hoping the little six year old, that you’ve grown to adore, would love to have you around often. 

“Please. She would be ecstatic. She loves you so much already. But how about we don’t tell her yet? Just have you around, so she could get used to you, and then we’ll tell her?” He suggested. 

“That’s actually a really great idea. I wanna make sure she likes me fully enough to tell her,” you said, and Harry nods his head, chuckling as you’re still not convinced Bella loves you already. 

“Can you believe after five years, we’re in this position?” 

You smiled fondly at the fact; you really couldn’t believe it nor would have guessed you would end up like this with Harry. But you knew all this time that he was a genuine person, and if he truly hated you from the beginning he wouldn’t have talked to you at all throughout the years. 

“It’s crazy, but I’m so happy,” you smiled at him, eyes gleaming with happiness as you placed your hand on his stubbled cheek.

“Me too. Does that mean you’re gonna stop stealing my mail?” He joked, making you laugh loudly; the voice echoing the room. He smiled at you as he watched you laugh, realizing that might be his one favorite sounds right next to you moaning his name. 

“Nah, I’m still gonna take your mail. But think I stole something else.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Well, I did steal your heart, right?” Harry blushed, a crimson red settling on his cheeks, and you gently pinched his cheek as you did the night prior. And he was right, he loved when you did that. 

“Who knew you would be cheesy,” he teased, and you playfully slapped his chest. “But yeah, you completely stole my heart.” You smiled, cuddling more into his che

As you two laid on his bed in each other’s arms, there was a comfortable feeling that you two felt, knowing that this has possibly got to be the most safe you both have ever felt. 

And as your chests pounded in sync, you thought that he had stolen your heart too, and you wouldn’t mind if he kept it. 

hope you loved it as much as i loved writing it! 

LETS CHAT IN MY INBOX ABOUT THIS! i’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback! <3

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[honey-milk-depresso]

The Wild and The Quiet (Floyd Leech x Kuudere Reader)

Part 1 : How You caught feelings in your fishing net.

“Koebi chan~~~!”

“...hi, Floyd..”

“Where are you going???”

“...back to Ramshackle..”

“Ehh??~ Can I come~?”

“...fine...”

It was quite funny to see the two of you interact. You and Floyd were complete polar opposites of each other, where Floyd is that wild, rambunctious and certainly loud student, you were the much calmer, shy (or seemingly emotionless-) and quiet student.

Well, you know what they say, opposites do attract.

How Floyd even got attached to you was a mystery even to yourself.

You had no idea how he even started clinging and conversing with you everyday at every hour. You didn’t try to bath in the limelight, well, accept you possessing no magic. But that certainly wouldn’t attract anybody, right? There’s nothing spectacular about that. In fact, that would have sounded lame and boring to anyone’s ears, so certainly Floyd wouldn’t be interested in something “boring”, right? Well....

Floyd at first, for the most part, scared you like any other student would be scared of Floyd. He was tall and intimidating, his attitude is very unexpected, at one point he’s smiling and another his face darkens and your met with his fist. You never know, and that’s what scared you sometimes.

But, you never showed that fear. Towards him. Towards anyone. Something in you had always made you tell yourself: “Don’t show them how vulnerable you are.”

Over time, you got used to the large, rambunctious mer-eel’s shenanigans. And over time, you secretly enjoyed his company. You just thought of it as him always treating his friends like this. Although, you would admit, you wanted your relationship with him to grow a little further.

Stepping into the Ramshackle dorm, you made way for Floyd to come in to which he sloppily went in before making himself comfortable on your couch.

You put down your bag and took out your notes and homework, before heading to the coffee table, where Floyd rested on the couch behind it to do your work. Floyd stared at you lazily as you scribbled away formulas and answers.

“...You don’t have work to do?”

“Eh~~ I can do it later.”

“...You should do it now.”

“Huh~~~? I don’t feel like it..”

You stopped writing and glance back at him, he closes his eyes as he wore a relaxed expression on his features. You hesitated a little, eyes averting away from him for a few seconds before turning away from him again.

“.......Want to do homework with me...?”

His eyes shot opened and widened. This was one of the rare moments where you offer him to do something with you. It’s usually him who forces offer you to do something with him, but it seems the tables have turned. He smiled a toothy grin before standing up and bending low where he rested his chin on your shoulders.

“Ehehehe~! Why didn’t you say so!”

Just went he placed his chin on your shoulders, you swore you shivered a little due to the skin sudden cold feeling of his skin. Of course, you showed no sign of being affected, and just shifted more to the left sub consciously.

Floyd came back with his own homework and writing materials, but rather than sitting opposite from you, he sat beside you on your right, which made both your elbows rub in contact of each other, making it even harder for you to focus on your work as your flustered emotions continued rising inside of you, harder to contain.

Floyd was simply oblivious and in his own bliss of being able to do something together with you and did his work.

A few moments of him being halfway distracted and started talking to you, to which you asked him to go back to his own paper continuously, you finished your second to last worksheet. All that’s left is the alchemy worksheet Professor Crewel has given you today, which was assigned tomorrow. Obviously do it now, who wants to be discipline by the strictest professor around.

You took it out of your file and.... it’s crumpled, almost life it was bleached, as the ink prints were faded and smudged. Words were written all over it: Loser, weirdo, bitch.. a bunch of nasty nicknames which you admitted kind of put you down. 

You should’ve known. Those Savanaclaw delinquents and their constant bullying towards you. Jack had to always chase them away for you, but he doesn’t take the same Alchemy class as you did. Those Savanclaw students did on purpose so that you would be scolded by Professor Crewel for having a toilet paper of a worksheet. Great, now you have to ask Deuce or Ace. Grim certainly can’t help.

“Hmmmm~? Is koebi chan spacing out? I though you told me to focus, now it’s my turn~!”

He tried snatching the crumpled and vandalized worksheet out of your hand, but you immediately caught it before he could even view it to his face.

Truthfully, you didn’t want him to see it as you felt like you would look stupid in front of him. When it comes to being bullied, you rather hide it than tell anyone about it. That feeling of hiding it made you turn on your instincts and told you to take it back, hoping that Floyd would just let go.

Yeah, those chances of him letting go of something unknown to him were a chances of slim to nothing.

He held on and tried pulling it out of your grip, and he proved to be much stronger than you, easily getting the worksheet.

He faced away from you as you only crouched back, a little nervous of the outcome. 

“....Who did this, y/n...?”

You gulped internally. You had never heard him in such a low, threatening tone. And it’s been quite a while since you heard him call you by your real name.

“Nothing.”

“Koebi. Tell me. Now.”

“I really don’t know.”

Floyd isn’t stupid, and you know. He knows when something’s up, and he would be very persistent in figuring out the situation. It’s his job together with Jade. So why bother denying to him?

“....”

“.....”

“Why do you care?”

Ouch. You didn’t mean to sound harsh towards him. 

Without hesitation, he immediately replied. 

“I care about you, obviously.”

======================================================

“What..”

You saw a familiar teal haired eel in his lab coat,  sleeping soundly under the shade of a tree. 

You were carrying blankets and pillowcases you collected from the Heartslabyul dorm. Trey and Riddle allowed you to used their clothes dryer to hang your blankets and stuff. Pretty neat.

You stared at the peaceful eel. He’s way more different than his wild usual self. You couldn’t help but think he looked cute. He really did. Then you took note of his lab coat. He had alchemy. And Floyd only sleeps at random places if he ever felt moody or sleepy. Maybe he had a rough day in Alchemy class?

Well I mean, who wouldn’t? Professor Crewel and his ridiculous amounts of homework with his seemingly impossible to meet deadlines. 

You quietly knelt beside Floyd and gently draped the blanket around him. Seems like he really is deep in sleep. Sitting down beside him you looked up to the sky and took a deep breath.

Lazily, you felt your eyelids feeling heavy, unconsciously falling asleep on Floyd’s arm. You didn’t mean to, but you were so tired yourself.

Little did you two know, that Azul and Jade were trying to search for Floyd, and only find you and him sleeping.

And little did you know, that Floyd used his fingers to intertwined with yours.

===========================================================

“Oh..”

Cornered by the same Savanaclaw delinquents. Just great.

They’re probably here to extort your food and valuables again.

You know you said you hated looking vulnerable, but you also hated getting into trouble. So you just complied and gave them your bag.

They dumped out all your contents out of your bag, crushing and stepping on them.

In your head, you’re insulting them of how they are equivalent to an angry baby throwing a tantrum, but on the outside, you remain stoic.

Emotionless.

“Hey.”

All four of you immediately looked to the left upon hearing a dreaded voice. Floyd stood, casting a dark shadow as his eyes gleamed danger. The Savanaclaw students stopped their harassing and cower at the sight of the tall eel.

“You three were lucky I didn’t chase you down two weeks ago, after you ruined Koebi Chan’s homework. This time, I’m not holding back.”

You closed your eyes shut as you could only hear screaming from the Savanaclaw students, you went behind the door of your empty classroom until you heard only silence.

Three Savanaclaw students all passed out on the ground. Floyd gave them one last menacing look before he met your eyes with his dramatically softened ones.

He cling onto you.

“Ne~~~ Koebi Chan! You should’ve told them to stay away from you~”

“I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Huh~~~~? But you need to toughen up a bit~”

“What are you going to do with them?”

He glanced back to the pile of students he had created.

“Ehehehehe~~~ I’m sure they’ll wake up!”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

His sudden change of his easy going attitude to a serious one slightly caught you off guard.

And then very quickly, he grinned a toothy grin.

“Koebi Chan shouldn’t let others tell you what to do!”

He took your hand in his.

“I will protect you! But make sure to protect yourself, too! Ehehehehe~~!”

Something in you told you that the warm feeling blooming in your chest, would only grow bigger.

============================================================

Want me to do part 2????

How to procrastinate 24/7

[mctherofdragons]

A Sanctuary Heart | 3 | SR

summary / after her abusive husband lands her in the intensive care unit, y/n changes her identity and moves as far away as possible. upon starting her new life, she meets dr.spencer reid and his son, maddox, when she begins her job as a teacher. but can she keep herself safe and keep up the facade with spencer? can she be safe at all?

pairing / spencer reid x fem!reader

warnings / slowburn romance, fluff, angst, marriage, trauma, domestic violence/abuse, dad!spencer, wheelchair use, paralysis, injury, ptsd flashbacks, car accident/serious injury, bullying, mention of ableism, a singular mention of god.

important links / series masterlist + domestic violence resources

authors note / i absolutely adored writing this chapter, omg. we get more of spencer and maddox's backstory. and things start to get a little more exciting as the rest of the team makes their first appearance! thank you all for the great feedback so far, i'm so glad you're enjoying the series. also my tags are not working, so reblogs on this chapter would be insanely appreciated. Flashbacks are in italics!

Seeing the blood on your hand, Spencer instinctively reached out to grab your wrist gently. You snatched your hand back, bringing yourself up to your feet, wobbling. You grabbed your bag, wrapping your hand in your scarf that you had managed to take off in the cool October night.“Ivy,” he said the moniker one more time and you felt your insides reel once more.

‘I’m a liar, Dr. Reid, I wish you knew,’ you thought to yourself, stumbling to search for your keys under the warm glow of the moon.

“I have to go. Thank you for dinner,” you contended, making your way out of the side gate. Spencer watched in confusion as you made your way out quickly. He figured he ought to chose his battles, not wanting to startle you by following after you.

Once you were safe inside your car, you sat in the driver’s seat, hands gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life. You felt a sharp combination of embarrassment and frustration. You wanted the flit of light that came from the possibility of new love. But instead, the one before had taken everything from you. Even now, all these miles and a new name away, he was pulling you away from those little flickers of brilliance and back into the darkness of yourself.

_____________________________

2 years earlier.

“Maddox,” Spencer whispered, feeling his heavy eyelids open just slightly. He was disoriented, noticing that the once right-side-up roadway was now upside down instead. The loud blaring of the horn was constant. It sent a piercing sound into Spencer’s ears and head, which caused him to wince. “Maddox.”

Spencer tried to turn, but he couldn’t move. Something had him pinned in the driver’s seat. He looked into the review mirror, which by grace alone wasn’t entirely broken. Maddox was slumped in his car seat, blood trickling down onto his Toy Story tee shirt. Spencer let out a weak gasp, trying again with no avail to move.

Spencer noticed how cold it was. It had been snowing all night, and Spencer wasn’t sure how long they had been where they are now. The snow had fallen through the shattered glass, tiny flakes gathering anywhere they could.

Using all of his strength, he turned his head to his wife. Her eyes were half shut, a trickle of crimson come from her mouth.

“Baby,” Spencer whispered. “Are you alright?”

She began to speak, but began to sputter, her lungs sounding flooded. Her hand curled and uncurled, and Spencer could barely reach it. He was able to hold onto her fingertips with his. They felt ice-cold like she was already three steps into Eternity. Spencer knew that type of frigid touch. He had come in content with it a million times, and the person on the other end was never living.

“D-don’t talk, baby. Okay? The ambulance is coming. Do you hear them? We’re going to be okay.”

Spencer could hear the medics somewhere far off in the distance. The repeated echo of the sirens sounded like a band of angels to him. Spencer Reid admittedly didn’t believe in the Judeo-Christian God. He wasn’t sure what he gave credence to, in fact. But at that moment, inverted in the shattered glass, surrounded by the labored breathing of his dying wife...he prayed.

________________________________

Spencer walked into the Bureau, adjusting the brown satchel on his shoulder. His brow looked furrowed as he sipped from his paper coffee cup. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way you left, trying to profile what exactly had gone wrong between the Merlot and you rushing out of his backyard.

“Penny for your thoughts?,” Emily piqued as Spencer sat down, tossing his bag onto his desk. Spencer let out an exasperating sigh, taking another drink of his coffee.

“Just trying to figure someone out.”

“Oh, oh, oh. Is this a lady someone?,” Derek queried, wiggling his eyebrows. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning onto Spencer’s desk with a sparkling grin.

“Maybe.”

Spencer felt himself smiling despite his best efforts. Emily opened her mouth in surprise, giving Derek a playful shove.

“I told you he would get back out there, Morgan!”

Spencer smiled. “Yeah, she’s sweet. I just...don’t know if I’m ready yet.”

That morning, Spencer had put on his wedding band. He still did it when he was scared, or nervous, or needing to feel close to her. He would feel the cool metal atop his finger and feel less alone. For a brief moment when the metallic touched his skin, he could pretend she was still here.

Derek gave Spencer’s shoulder a supportive squeeze.

“I hope you know me and Prentiss are just messing with you. We care about you, kid. We know these past two years have been hell for you. Just want you to be happy.”

“Yeah…I appreciate that. I just…,” Spencer paused, bringing his hands up as he spoke, as was so akin to him. His lip curled into the smallest smile. “Seeing this girl interact with Maddox. She...loves him for him..already?”

“Maddox is a great kid, Reid.”

“I know. I just don’t want her to find out---”

Spencer’s sentence was cut off by Hotch appeared, letting everyone know they had a case and to meet for Round Table. Spencer quickly shot a text to Maddox’s home health nurse, letting her know he’d need coverage for a few days.

________________________________

You sat in the front of your classroom, your eyes scanning from the test in front of you to the answer key. The students were working on a Social Studies project in small groups. Their task was to read a short story about colonial times and fill out a short worksheet. If they finished early they were permitted to color, which most of the children thoroughly enjoyed.

“Maddox can’t use crayons,” you heard a small voice snicker. You raised your eyebrow, hoping it wasn’t harmful, and rather just an observation.

You heard another child sling a slur at Maddox, who was sitting quietly with his aide, trying to ignore them. But as you looked up, you saw Maddox’s tiny bottom lip begin to wobble. One of the children picked up a crayon and threw it at Maddox, hitting him in the shoulder.

“He can’t even feel that! My dad said that’s why he’s in a wheelchair,” the bully jeered again, high-fiving his friend.

You stood up with a loud squeak of your chair against the linoleum floor.

“You two. Principals office. Now.”

The rest of the class erupted in a chorus of childish ‘ooo’s. You clapped your hands together - your universal signal to quiet down.

“I did not ask for comments from the audience,” you scolded. The children settled down, going back to their work, whispering amongst one another.

“Maddox, come talk to me in the hallway,” you offered. Tears were rolling down Maddox’s cheeks. His aide reached over with a tissue to wipe them, but he turned his face away, one of the only ways he could physically set a boundary.

Maddox’s aide helped him into the hallway and then left the two of you alone. You sat down on one of the small, metal benches in the hallway. At this angle, you were about Maddox’s height. He was blubbering, trying to take deep breaths as more tears came. You pulled a small, clean, cloth handkerchief from your pocket. He let you dab his cheeks, giving him a gentle click of the tongue.

“Buddy, do you want to talk about it?”

“T-they’re so m..m..mean to me,” he whimpered, closing his eyes as more tears fell. “And, and, and I can’t play with them even, that’s why. I can’t do anything!”

You nodded empathetically, gently catching more of Maddox’s tears.

“I hate school! My daddy wants me to like school. It’s all he talks about. I hate him!”

“Maddox,” you softly redirected. “That’s not very nice. You don’t hate your dad.”

Maddox looked a deep breath. You smiled, knowing Spencer must have taught him to do that when he was upset.

“You’re right. But I’m sad, and I wanna go home.”

You sighed, reaching up to blot the little bit of redness still present on Maddox’s cheeks. You adjusted his glasses, moving some of his curly brown hair from underneath the metal.

“Just a few more hours, okay? We have library at the end of the day.”

Maddox’s face lit up, his apple cheeks glowing beneath the rims of his glasses. “Library!”

“Yes, and just for this week, you can take home two books.”

______________________________

Spencer felt distracted the entire flight to Vermont. He knew he was going to be far away for a while, and that Maddox wouldn’t know until he got out of school for the day. The agent detested when he had to leave without Maddox knowing in advance, but it was usually impossible given the nature of things. Thankfully, Reid had a good setup of support through healthcare and respite so Maddox never went without someone to care for him.

Then, there was you. He couldn’t stop thinking about your reaction. He had seen it before in abuse victims. The way you flinched when he moved too fast, the apologizing like your life depended on it, even the way you looked at him with pleading eyes, desperate to avoid a blow. He bridged his fingers together, thinking to himself for a moment.

With that, he stood up, making his way to the back of the plane. He unlocked his phone while he chewed his fingernail with his free hand. Before he knew it, he was calling Garcia.

“Penelope. Hey, I need a favor. A personal one. If you could keep it between us, that would be great.”

“Anything for you, my precious string bean.”

Spencer laughed. “I need you to get all the information you can on someone. Ivy Porter.”

“Ivy Porter. That’s like a movie star name. What did she do?”

“Um..nothing, I don’t think. Just call me when you’ve got something, and email me everything you find.”

“You got it. Every in and out of Ms. Ivy Porter coming to you soon. Be safe. Talk soon.”

With that, Penelope clicked off of the call. Spencer sat back down, anxiously waiting for whatever information Penelope could find about you.

___________

series/criminal minds taglist: @hufflepuffhaze @omghufflepuff @txtdreamss @rainbows-dreams @bvttercupbby @k-k0129 @rexit-mo @britishspidey @graciehams @manuosorioh @shemarmooresfedora @big-galaxy-chaos @thatoneszesty13 @ssavanessa22 @awritingtree @sweetandsunny​ @rainsong01 @kuolonsyoja @taralewiz @bluelittleblackgirl @asexual-booknerd @the-wolfie

[shorkbrian]

OOOOO okok.... kirishima with a darling who’s his study partner by chance (college) and he just like,,, falls in love with them! but she have a boyfriend so :(((( but he decides the best idea is the take her by the hair and “lovingly” fuck his new little girlfriend, even though the cries pouring out her mouth are anything but... and he just. forces her to be his girlfriend and you’re just miserable babey

Bro bro bror bror b rorr bor rbro rbo

Prelude - He’s like a stereotypical jock, but is super kind and friendly and just a big HIMBO lololol.

Pairing - Kirishima X Reader

Prompt - At the top

Warnings -  NSFW, full non-con here folks. Kirishima doesn’t let reader tell him no. That is NOT cool y’all. Consent is always required.

Music -  https://youtu.be/2k5w6eTxGXk 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You’re good at most subjects but this one just really flies over your head. When you went to the teacher, she paired you up with the only other person in the class that seemed to be having trouble, Kirishima. The teacher figured that the two of you could work through the material together.

You didn’t mind. Kirishima seemed like a decent guy, even though he was very physically intimidating. He was on the football team, built like a literal brick wall, but his personality was sunshine and rainbows. The man always greeted you with the brightest smile when you showed up to study.

For the most part, the two of you struggled to get work done. Kirishima could do no more than three problems before getting frustrated or bored, and he’d start making funny faces at you, maybe kick your shins underneath the table to get you to pay attention to him. When you finally looked up to see him with his face contorted in the weirdest way possible, you’d burst out laughing. That’s how the two of you got kicked out the library for a month, had to meet at a coffeeshop to study.

Kirishima liked coffee so sweet that it made you sick, almost gagging after taking a sip of his drink when he offered. Likewise, Kirishima couldn’t stand your tea, said it tasted like “old lady water” and needed sugar. You learned a lot about each other, and eventually reached the point were you would consider the two of you to be friends.

You were friends. Until he decided you weren’t`

——

Today you two are in the library, both of you struggling over your worksheets. A tapping on your shoulder alerted you to the presence of your boyfriend, and you were promptly hopping to your feet, smiling and hugging your boyfriend. He wanted to come see you, spend his lunch break together, so you had told him to meet you in the library, where you and Kiri had rented a study room.

“Midoriya! Hi baby.”

With a kiss on the cheek, your boyfriend was b lushing, pulling out a chair at the table so he could sit down. “Hey, who’s this?”

He was gesturing to Kirishima, who was glaring at your boyfriend. That was odd. Usually the redhead had no problem meeting new people, maybe he was just grumpy because he was trying to study?

“Oh, this is my study buddy, Kiri. Kiri, this is my boyfriend, Midoriya!” Midoriya nodded at Kirishima, and Kiri gave a flick of his head in return, before hunching over to scribble furiously at his paper. Yeah, he was definitely irritated at having his studying interrupted. Unusual, but you figured you should be supportive of the redhead taking his studies seriously.

“Hey babe, let’s go eat out in the courtyard - I don’t wanna make Kiri uncomfortable.”

Your boyfriend nodded, getting up from the seat he had just plopped down in, before giving a sheepish wave to the as the two of you exited the room.

“I’ll be back, sorry!”

you whisper-yelled to Kirishima before the door swung shut.

There was small talk as you and your boyfriend made your way to the pretty courtyard of the college, filled with flowering trees and cozy benches for couples (like yourselves) to sit on.

It was peaceful, sitting there, chatting with your boyfriend while he shared his sandwich with you. He was working as an intern for a big engineering company, and you could tell he was happy about his work as he animatedly recounted what he had done so far that day, pausing every now and then to gulp down a bite of sandwich.

But as all good things must end, your boyfriend had to leave after his lunch break was up, checking the time on his watch and gasping as he realized he had spent way too much time talking to you.

He apologized profusely for his abrupt exit, giving you a brief, slightly messy press of his lips against yours before he gathered his bag, shoving the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. Midoriya waved, skipping backwards, making you chuckle when he tripped and almost fell.

You loved your boyfriend, thought of yourself as the luckiest girl for getting together with the kindest, sweetest man you had ever met.

——

Returning to the private study room, You were surprised to see Kirishima still hunched over his paper, still scratching out numbers. His grip was white-knuckled on the pencil.

“Uh, Kiri? You okay dude?”

“Yeah, it’s whatever, I’m fine.” He didn’t sound fine. The man sounded angry.

Figuring he just maybe needed some space, you shrugged “... I need to go get a book real quick. Need anything?”

“No.”  Was his short reply.

Kirishima was normally a bubbly, friendly person. Why was he so irritated all of a sudden? Did this have something to do with your boyfriend interrupting the study session? 

You pondered over this as you walked through the shelves, partly glad that you weren’t having to dodge other students. You and Kiri usually choose times that the library was relatively empty, just in case the redhead made you choke in laughter again. 

Finding the aisle your book should be in, you meandered slowly to the end, scanning the shelves. Ah! There it was, on one of the higher shelves - but luckily you could still reach if you went on your tippy-toes.

A  big hand slipped around your waist, and suddenly you felt cool air on your backside, as if someone had flipped up the edge of your skirt. You tried to whirl around, smack whichever dumb idiot thought it’d be funny to feel you up, but you were pushed up against the bookshelf before you had the chance, shelf almost rattling with the force.

“Hey—!” Another hand clamped over your mouth, smothering your rather loud protest. The giant hand covered more than half of your face, and you couldn’t help but gasp. Was this really happening? Were you really about to get groped by some meathead senior?

“I’m really disappointed (Y/N).”

Wait.

“I thought what we had was special, thought that I was the only one you looked at like that. That hurts.”

Kirishima?

The hand on your waist dipped lower, and yup - he had flipped your skirt up, was running his hand the top of your panties, feeling the fabric between his fingers. You struggled - tried to kick back, headbutt him, twist out of his grip - but the man was too big. He slipped a finger underneath the elastic waistband of your panties, pulled it back, let it go so it could snap against your skin; make you flinch.

“Newsflash (Y/N), your ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t actually love you. You could do so much better than a little Twink like him. You need a real man, someone who can take care of you and give you what you need, give you anything you want.” What was he talking about? The hand at your mouth was clamping your jaw shut, putting so much pressure against the lower half of your face that you couldn’t even open your mouth, just let out angry whines.  When his other hand traveled around to the front of your body, dancing over the flesh of your hip,  you wiggled, trying to put up a fight. It was useless.

Kirishima shoved his hand down your panties, groaning lowly into your ear when his fingers grazed the tuft of curls above your pussy, before dipping further down to stroke gently over your folds. You shivered, angry whines giving way to distressed whimpers, wanting to yell, scream for the librarian that you knew was at their desk. 

You were hanging on his arm, trying to pull his giant hand away from your face, but there was no point. The man spent hours in the gym, building up his muscles to make him better at football, and it coincidentally made him better at holding you against his body while he slipped a finger into your now-wet cunt.

The side of his thumb was flicking at your clit, his middle finger slowly dragging across your walls. You held back a groan when it thrusted in deeper, passing by your g-spot on the way in. Kirishima noticed.

“Did you get tired of waiting for me to make a move? So needy for a cock to fill you up that you ran and got a boyfriend?” What? You shook your head no, but his fingers clenched down tighter over your face, and you froze in pain.  “I was gonna be so romantic for you, get a bunch of flowers and one of those big stuffed bears. Ask you to be my girlfriend.  But you just couldn’t wait, could you? Had to go and ruin everything.”

His voice was low, his breath tickling your ear and making you shiver as he whispered, practically growling. You had never seem him irritated, let alone angry. You were scared. Another finger slipped into your pussy, and you keened, scrabbling at his arm at the sudden stretch. Kiri snickered.

“Gonna have to take a few more to get you ready for me babe, I’m not a little stick like your stupid excuse for a ’boyfriend’.”

Tears sprang to your eyes. You loved Midoriya, had ever since you met him. He was shy and nervous, but he was also sweet. Midoriya would never treat you like this, would always ask if you wanted to make each other feel good, ask before he so much as looked at you. Kirishima was a brute.

Another finger entered you, and while the stretch stung, you also felt pleasantly full. His thumb was still moving over your clit, and with a muffled wail your hips twitched in the air, grinding down on his thumb as you suddenly came.

Kirishima didn’t stop. He huffed out a quiet laugh, gave your a wet kiss against your neck. “See? Knew you were meant for me. I love you baby, gonna make you feel so good.”

Blinking, you were trying to come down from the height of your pleasure, flinching away from Kiri as his fingers slipped out of you. Oh god, you didn’t want him to keep going. Muffled cries left your lips, desperately trying to get Kirishima to stop, slow down, please wait, but the man was determined. Your panties were pulled to the side, and something big nudged against your entrance. 

“Sorry baby-“ Kiri grunted, beginning to inch his way inside your tight pussy. “You’re just so sexy ’n pretty, can’t hold myself back.”

The mushroom head of his cock popped past your opening, and you squealed in pain. You were wailing behind his hand, and the man could feel the tears dripping onto his fingers as he held your mouth shut, could feel your lips moving as you cried “Stop, stop! Hurts, oh god Kiri it hurts.“

“Shit, baby I’m sorry, ‘m sorry.”  Without moving, you heard the sound of him spitting, and then felt his hand bump against where he was connected to you. He had spit in his palm, and was the rest of his girthy cock with the slickness, practically jerking himself off into your cunt. You cried harder.

“Shh, shhh it’s okay. I’m gonna take care of you. You’ll get to cum again, don’t worry. Bet your shrimpy little bitchboy never had you cumming twice, did he?” His voice turned sour at the end of his sentence, filled with venom at the mere mention of your boyfriend. 

Kirishima moaned, wet hand coming to rest on your hip as he slowly, slowly began inching forward, forcing his cock into your body. It still hurt, but not as much as it had at first - the slide easier with the addition of the man’s spit. It felt like he was pushing himself in forever, his cock could’ve been in your throat by the time his balls pressed flush against you

. He was bottomed out, and you were gasping, struggling to suck in air around your sobs and his giant hand. The redhead stilled, allowing the two of you to adjust to the sensation. While he waited, Kiri brought his hand up to your hair, sweeping it away from your neck so he could kiss the tender flesh their, hair still in his fist.

“You’re so good for me, look at you takin’ all of my cock. Fuck, fuck - you feel so warm.” He whined between kisses, pulling your hair to tilt your head back as he kissed towards the front of your neck. You shivered as the pain zinged through your scalp, sharp and prickly.

The man pressed up behind you had waited long enough. With no warning, he drew back his hips - cock sliding out of you. He was so /big/.  You wished he had prepared you more, at least then you wouldn’t be sore as he pressed back into you, setting up a rhythm of slow, long thrusts.

He was pulling your head back by your hair, making your head rest against his shoulder against your will, your hands still clutching desperately at his arm. Shoved against the bookshelf like this wasn’t very comfortable, but neither was getting your pussy wrecked by a man twice your size. 

Gradually, Kiri’s pace increased, your pussy working to lubricate itself and making each rapid thrust end with a squelching sound and the slap of his plump balls against the top of your clit.  Truthfully, Midoriya had never fucked you this good, but you were fine with the young man’s sexual ability. He would finish inside you, then lick out his cum until you were squirming and writhing on his tongue, and then Midoriya suck at your clit, shove his fingers into you and fuck you fast until you squirted, leaving the both of you in bliss.

Kirishima had carnal desire, sucking dark marks into the column of your throat, accidentally tugging your hair on each thrust, making you climb further onto your tiptoes to try and alleviate the pressure. He was getting rougher, throaty moans being punched out of him on each thrust - the man tried to quiet himself down by burying his face into the crook of your neck, biting down onto your skin. It just made you sob harder, the pain and pleasure mixing and sending you hurtling towards another orgasm.

And then he slammed into you so hard that your feet lifted off the ground, your body held up by his hand in your hair and the cock filling your pussy. A wail escaped you, his hand silencing it, and you came, twitching in the big man’s hold. 

“Oh, fuck, oh my god baby you’re so amazing oh my god, oh my god-“ Your toes brushed against the ground again. Kirishima was slouching his back so he could pummel into your smaller form even harder, babbling into your shoulder as his hips stuttered when he reached his own orgasm.

You sobbed as you felt his warmth filling your insides. 

Kirishima stayed there, leaning his head against your shoulder while he sucked in air, breathing raggedly. On every sob, you could feel his length inside you, and you were so disgusted.

His breathing evened out. Your sobbing quieted down into measly sniffles. Kiri let go of your hair, scratching at your scalp to alleviate the stinging sensation that he knew he must’ve caused by pulling on the strands.

“I’m gonna take my hand off your mouth now, can you be quiet for me?” You nodded, and the brushing grip was released from your face. 

You stayed silent, hand coming up to massage at your jaw where his big fingers had dug into the tender flesh.

“Good. Wanna go back to my dorm to clean up?”

Shaking your head, you barely choking out a panicked “N-no!”, almost forgetting to be quiet in your haste to respond.  Kirishima sighed behind you, pressing his chest against your back as he did so.

“Baby, I said I was gonna take care of you. I wanna take care of you. We’re going back to my dorm.”

He slowly slipped out of you, wincing as the air hit his dick.  With his length leaving you empty, Kiri smoothed your panties back into pale, then wiped his cock on the underside of your skirt before tucking it back into his pants. You wished you hadn’t chosen a skirt that morning when you were getting dressed.

Without another word, Kiri gently turned you around to face him, his eyes filled with a warmth that they always seemed to hold whenever the two of you locked eyes during a study session. His big arms encircled you, pulling you into his broad chest as he squeezed, the hug surprisingly gentle, almost calming. It would have been an amazing hug, if only the man hadn’t raped you beforehand.

  A jacket was being wrapped around  the bottom half of your legs, Kiri securing it so that you wouldn’t flash anyone when he picked you up in his arms, carrying you bridal-style. You rubbed at your eyes, trying to scrub away the tears as your ex-friend carried you towards the library exit, smiling down at you fondly.

“I love you, you know that? I’m gonna take such good care of you baby.” You ignored him.

“And don’t worry about your old boyfriend, I’m going to talk to him and break the news that you aren’t interested in him anymore. You’ve got something much better now.”

[writingsnmusings]

Zoom Session

pairing: modern!ivar the boneless x reader

summary: classes have started back up for you which should be a nice distraction, but when are things ever that easy? 

a/n: i had no idea what gif to use of alex so here's this! also, here's my vikings masterlist!

gif credit- @therealcalicali​

To say you were an anxious mess was a severe understatement. It was a week into the lockdown and today was your first zoom session with your students. You missed them like crazy, but not knowing how all this would go down was nerve wracking; they were just 7 year olds after all.

“You look tense,” Ivar chuckled as he stood behind you. You rolled your eyes, not in the mood for his teasing.

“I am.”

The feeling of his hands on your shoulders made you jump slightly. God, you were a mess. “Take breath, Y/N.” He began massaging your shoulders which did ease you a bit. You were sure you’d given yourself about a dozen stress knots since receiving the email from your principal three days ago.

Your laptop was open on the zoom website, a countdown of how long till your students would be joining was on the screen. 1 minute. 60 seconds and you’d see 20 of your favorite 7 year olds.

“Alright,” You sighed, shrugging Ivar’s hands off you. “I have 30 seconds to mentally prepare myself.”

Your bestfriend laughed at your expense once again before leaning down and giving your temple a quick kiss. “You’ll be fine. You get a lunch at 12 and i’ll have something ready for you by then.”

You didn’t even process the words he spoke since all your brain could focus on was the way your skin tingled where his lips just were. Ivar was gone in a second, presumably going to his room where he’ll be holed up while you work. The wifi worked best at the island counter so that’s where you were set up.

A chorus of “Miss Y/N” soon rang in your ears and all thoughts of Ivar were gone. You gave these kids your undivided attention for the next three hours.

You were in the middle of explaining the math worksheet they had for homework when one of your boys asked a question. “Miss who’s behind you?”

Your brow furrowed as you turned your head, only to spot Ivar coming out of his room with his airpods in and phone in his hand. “Yes Floki, we got the masks Helga made. Y/N loves her marvel one so thank her for us please. All right, I need to start on lunch now.”

Ivar hadn’t looked up since he walked into the frame of your camera and you couldn’t lie and say you hadn’t stopped looking at him either.

“Miss Y/N, is that your boyfriend?”

As soon as the question left your students mouth, both yours and Ivar’s head snapped to the screen. So he had hung up with Floki already.

You cleared your throat, “Uh-no, Max, he’s um my roommate.” You stuttered your way through the short sentence, mentally scolding yourself.

Ivar smiled at the flustered mess you’d become. He took out his headphones as he came to your side. “Hello,” He waved at the kids who eagerly waved back. “I hope you all are behaving for Miss Y/N here.”

The overlapping chatter of ‘yes!’ and ‘of course sir!’ made you and Ivar laugh. “I’m starting lunch, any requests?” He asked, trying to keep his voice.

You shook your head, “I’m good with anything you make.”

Ivar nodded and winked your way before going around the counter and beginning to rummage through his thankfully fully stocked fridge. You had to tear your gaze away from him. Only 10 minutes till your lunch break. You could do this.

The way you talked to your students, so engaged and animated made Ivar feel something. Something he’d never felt with anybody else before. Hearing you laugh at something silly a kid said made his heart swell. He loved hearing you laugh. He had just finished plating the sandwich he made as you said your goodbye for the next 45 minutes.

“Okay guys, any questions before we go on lunch? Yes, Emma?” You smiled at the little girl who cleared her throat before speaking.

“Miss, my sister has a roommate too and they go on dates and kiss. Do you and your roommate do that too?” She asked so innocently that you couldn’t even scold her for asking such an intrusive question. All eyes, even Ivar’s were on you as they awaited your answer.

Ivar’s eyebrows raised as your cheeks flushed, a subtle smirk on his lips. He mouthed ‘answer her’ and pointed to the laptop.

“No honey, he is just my roommate. Boys and girls can be friends and not kiss and go on dates.” You plastered a smile on your face and willed the flush on your face to go away. “I will see you guys at 12:45!” You quickly ended the session and shut your laptop.

Ivar couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer. He legitimately was belly laughing which made you roll your eyes. “Shut it and give me my sandwich.” He slid the plate to you, but not before stealing a chip.

“Kids are hilarious.” He said as he cleaned up.

“Yeah,” You shook your head, “Sorry about that by the way. They really don’t know boundaries yet.”

“It didn’t bother me.” He shrugged, making your eyes widen. “What?” Ivar eyed your reaction, looking confused. “Y/N, this isn’t the first time someone’s thought we were together. Your students were just more vocal about it”

“Oh I mean, yeah you’re right. I just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” You explained, suddenly feeling shy.

Ivar shook his head, “That would never make me feel uncomfortable.” He gave your shoulder a squeeze as he walked by, going back to his room. “We still watching Thor after you're done?”

“Of course.”

You had minutes left before your students were back on your screen and you needed to clear your mind of Ivar. Just two and a half hours and class would be over. Then it would be you and Ivar. Alone. Watching a movie. Together. Just the two of you.

Sighing, you clicked the button to begin the session again. Who knew a couple of questions from your students would send you into a spiral.

XXXXXX

taglist-

@youbloodymadgenius​

@heavenly1927​

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@katfett​

@1950schick​

[ificanthaveu]

Paper Rings || Shawn Mendes

Description: After a little too much procrastination, your boyfriend helps you learn a craft to teach your students. Very loosely based off Paper Rings by Taylor Swift.

A/N: I have had just “paper rings” sitting in my notes literally since Lover came out. Then I added a quick one line of what I wanted to happen a few months later. And FINALLY the other day, inspiration struck and I came up with this cute lil thing. ALSO the fact that there’s absolutely no angst in this??? who am i??? Hope you love it anyway :)

Word Count: 2.6k

“Have you chosen your activity for the Fall Festival next week?” The principal of your school asked as she poked her head into your room. 

You looked up from the dense pile of worksheets you were grading before you looked at your calendar next to you to see that the due date was tomorrow. 

“Shoot, no, I haven’t,” you said through a sigh as you set your pen down and leaned back in your chair, cracking your knuckles and stretching out your back just to glance at the time and see it was already after 5:00.

She walked in and sat at the chair next to your desk and glanced down at the papers. 

“Are you doing ok?” She asked with a small smile. “I know the first year teaching can be hard.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” you said with a quick head nod. “Guess it’s my fault for assigning so much work.”

“It happens,” she said with a shrug as she picked one of the worksheets up to look at the math you were teaching your second-graders. 

“I guess I just got caught up in things at home and got distracted from the many things I hadn’t graded yet,” you explained. 

“Everything ok at home?” She asked hesitantly. 

“Oh, yeah! I didn’t mean to sound like that was a bad thing. My boyfriend just travels a lot, so I get caught up in it every now and then,” you said as you glanced down at the framed photo on your desk from a vacation you took the summer before. 

“Well, I know everyone is going to tell you to keep those two things separate, but it’s hard not to. As long as the two of you understand that you both have your own things to take care of, the rest falls into place. He seems like a really great guy,” she offered. 

“Thanks, Beth,” you responded as you started packing up some of the papers in hopes of finishing a few more tonight once you got home. 

She stood up with you, handing back the worksheet and giving you one last smile and wave before heading out of the room. 

You let out a sigh as you checked your phone to see a few messages from Shawn asking when you’d be home. You sent him a response that you were on your way before locking up your classroom and going home.

You could smell the pasta coming from the kitchen the moment you opened the door. John Mayer was playing through the speakers as you walked through the dining room, instantly feeling relaxed.

“Hey,” you said softly as you walked up to Shawn stirring the sauce on the stovetop. 

He looked up at you and smiled before leaning closer to press a quick kiss to your cheek before turning off the burners. 

“Just a few more minutes, and dinner will be ready,” he said before straining the pasta. 

“Sounds good,” you said before setting your stuff down in your room and making your way back to him, wrapping your arms around his torso from behind as he rested one of his hands on top of both of yours, your cheek pressed firmly against his back.

“You ok?” He asked cautiously, craning his neck back to get a peak of you. 

You let out a sigh and nodded your head as best you could. 

“Yeah, just a long week,” you mumbled.

Shawn’s grip tightened against your hand as he mixed the pot once more before turning around and placing his hands against your cheeks.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked softly, his breath fanning over your lips. 

You pressed a quick kiss to his lips before saying, “Yeah.”

So Shawn scooped the pasta on to two plates and poured two glasses of wine (“I know it’s a Thursday, but you can’t have pasta without wine. That would be a crime,” he claimed when you fought him on opening a new bottle) and met you at the table where you now sat in running shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

“It’s my first year teaching, and I get that they can’t teach you everything in college, but shit, I feel like I know nothing sometimes,” you ranted as you poked at your food. “And then on top of the actual teaching, you have to make sure the kids are ok mentally and everything is ok at home and they have materials outside of class to work with and now I need a craft for the damn Fall Festival.”

“A craft?” Shawn questioned after setting down his glass. 

You sighed before leaning back in your chair. 

“Yeah, there’s a day in the fall where the kids do a different activity in each room. I was told about this weeks ago, and I still don’t know what to do,” you said. 

“Any ideas at all?” He questioned. 

“I’ve been thinking we can just meditate, so I can sit in silence but something tells me elementary schoolers wouldn’t think it’s that fun,” you said. 

Shawn stifled a laugh as he nodded his head, “Personally, I would be in, but I do realize I’m not seven.”

“Every time I thought I came up with something unique, I’d check the sheet and someone else already took it, so I’m open to absolutely anything you have,” you said as you set your fork down.

“You could just turn on music and do a dance party?”

“Taken. The music teacher came up with that one at lightning speed.”

“Hm, ok. What about just coloring? Do fall themed coloring pages?”

“Taken.”

“Friendship bracelets?”

“Taken.”

“Oh, huh, well…” he trailed off as he stared at the ceiling with a crease in his eyebrows. His hands flew up and back down to his legs dramatically. “Paper mache?” 

“Yuck, way too messy,” you said with a nose crinkle.

“Origami?” He said with eyebrows raised. 

You cocked your head to the side and studied his excited expression as you thought about it. 

“That could actually work,” you said quietly as you grabbed your laptop from the counter to look at the sign-up sheet. “And no one has it!”

“Perfect! Easy! You can do those little fortune things!” He said, making the back and forth gestures with his hands to get his point across. 

“I feel like I could tailor it to the grades, too. Like the Kindergarteners could do something easy like a basic paper airplane, and the fifth-graders could do something more complicated like those little swans,” you said as you started to pull up instructions. 

“Do you know how to do any origami?” Shawn asked as he peered over at your screen. 

“No, not at all,” you said. “Well, I used to be able to do it when I was younger. I was actually pretty good, but I can only remember how to make a heart now.”

“Well, you’ve got some learning to do,” Shawn said as he grabbed your plate and glass. 

“We have some learning to do,” you corrected him as you shot him a sweet smile. 

He leaned against the counter and looked at you from across the room with a deadpan look on his face. 

“We?”

“We.”

He sighed and hung his head before looking back up at you. 

“You know I’d do anything for you, and you take advantage of that a lot,” he pointed out. 

“I know,” you returned as you continued opening up new windows to look for new shapes. 

“And to think if you didn’t procrastinate, we could’ve just made a child-friendly playlist to dance to,” he whispered in your ear as he leaned on the back of your chair, looking over your shoulder.

“Don’t talk about it,” you squealed as he pressed kisses down the side of your neck.

The next night the two of you had patterned origami paper and instruction sheets scattered across the kitchen table as you both attempted to learn how to make a chair for the chair and table set you were going to have the third graders make. 

“I’m confused. What does this arrow mean?” Shawn asked you as he pointed to one of the pictures. 

“You tuck it into the slot,” you said as you showed him yours. 

“I don’t have a slot.”

You looked up from your nearly finished chair to see that he was right. He had no slot. 

“How did you manage to do that?” You asked him as you studied his shape. 

“I have absolutely no idea,” he said as he stared at it with you. 

You tossed it in the trash bag before either of you could think about it any longer. 

“Hey,” Shawn said softly as he stared at the trash bag. 

“I already have it figured out, so you don’t have to keep struggling,” you said as you placed your small chair in front of him. 

“It’s so cute,” he said quietly as he placed it by the table he had figured out a half-hour ago. 

“Ok, now let’s work on this jewelry set for the fifth-grade girls,” you said as you placed a packet in front of him. 

He flipped through it and scanned over the directions. 

“A packet?” He questioned as he gave you a look. 

“Yep,” you said through a yawn.

“I think we should call it a night,” he said as he pushed the pages toward the center of the table. 

“No, let’s just keep going,” you said as you widened your eyes for a second as you stared at the directions. 

After a few moments of silence and Shawn waiting for you to buckle, you finally did. 

“Ok, let’s go to bed,” you finally mumbled after crumpling the half-done charm. 

“That’s what I thought,” Shawn said as he stood up and held his hand out for you. 

You gripped onto his hand as he pulled you to your room, pulling you under the covers with him immediately. You landed on top of him, your legs settling on either side of his waist as you buried your head into his chest and his hand ran up and down your back.

“I’m so proud of you,” Shawn whispered as his other hand tangled into the ends of your hair.

You adjusted your head so you could look up at him.

“Thanks, bub,” you said back just as softly. 

“I could just never do what you do,” he started, shaking his head for a moment before continuing. “Like, the stories you tell me and the kids you’ve bonded with and the influence you have on them. You’re really making a difference in these kids’ lives. I don’t think you notice that as much as other people do.”

You stayed quiet as you mulled over what Shawn had just said. 

“I just feel like sometimes I’m still not doing enough,” you mumbled.

“Hey,” Shawn whispered harshly, tapping your back to get you to look at him. “It’s your first year, and you’re doing the best you can. The kids love you and feel comfortable with you and they’re making progress and that’s all that matters.”

You stayed quiet, choosing to stare at your dresser instead of Shawn, 

“[Y/N],” he mumbled. 

Before you could answer, he flipped you over, hovering on top of you as you looked up at him. 

“You’re an amazing teacher, and you’re only going to get better and better. I love you, and I love what you do,” he said before pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

“I love you, too,” you said as he smiled down at you. “And I am a good teacher.”

He laid back down next to you, pulling you against his side before you looped one of your legs around his.

“The best teacher,” he repeated. “And soon the best teacher who also does some decent origami.”

The next morning, the two of you dove into the jewelry packet as you drank your coffee. Shawn figured out the star charm pretty quickly as you worked on a heart version. Shawn eventually moved onto a ring as you folded small pieces together to make a bracelet. 

“This is stupid,” you mumbled as you added the last piece and throw it in the middle of the table. 

“I think it’s gorgeous,” Shawn said as he picked it up and tried to slip it onto his own wrist. 

“It was made to fit a fourth-grader,” you pointed out.

“Are you saying I don’t have the hands of a fourth-grader?” He said as he gave you a pointed look.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” you said as you flipped to the ring instructions as well.

“Done,” Shawn proclaimed as you barely made your first fold. 

You glanced up at him to see him proudly holding out the ring in front of him. 

“I hate you,” you mumbled as you tried the next step.

Shawn grabbed your hand before you could make the next fold and slipped the ring onto your left ring finger. You looked from him to the paper ring as he just stared at it. 

“It looks good there,” he said softly as he ran his thumb along the top of it. 

“Yeah, it does,” you replied as you looked back up at him. 

Comfortable silence flowed between the two of you as Shawn continued to hold your hand in his. After a moment he cleared his throat and pulled away, moving to work on the final piece and leaving the ring on your finger. 

You didn’t take it off. 

And it stayed there as the two of you finished learning all of the steps and packing up the paper and instruction packets to bring to school with you on Monday. 

After spending the rest of the day cleaning up the house after a long week, Shawn laid in bed and waited for you, scrolling through his phone. 

You shut the door behind you before you crawled in next to Shawn and buried your head in his shoulder with your arm draped over his middle. 

“You’re still wearing this?” Shawn asked as he fiddled with the paper ring still on your finger. 

“Mhm,” you mumbled as you held it up. “I always wanted a pink paper ring.”

“Think we can switch it out for this one?” Shawn said as he pulled out a black velvet box. 

Your breathing stopped as he opened the box to show you your dream ring. 

You shot up as your hand flew to your mouth. Shawn slowly sat up as well, holding the box tightly in his hands. 

“Will you marry me?” He asked with a genuine smile on his face as tears streamed down your face. 

“Yes,” you choked out as you lunged on top of him, wrapping yourself around him as he held you tightly. 

You leaned back in his lap, holding your shaking hand out as he removed the paper ring and slipped on the new one. 

“Much better,” he whispered before finally pressing his lips to yours. 

“I would’ve married you with the paper one,” you whispered against his lips as he smiled. 

“I’m well aware. That’s why I had to switch it out as soon as possible,” he said through a laugh before you pressed another kiss to his lips to shut him up.

“I think I like this one a little better,” you said as you leaned your head on his shoulder and looked down at the ring. 

“Only a little?”

“Yeah,” you sighed. “I have to keep you humble.”

You could feel him laugh against your shoulder before the two of you moved back to laying down. 

“Do you want me to make your wedding band out of origami?” You asked him after a moment of silence. 

“Absolutely not.”

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[lilikags]

ೃ‧₊› a b o u t  t h i s  p o s t° ➮ Pairing: Miya Atsumu x reader ➮ Oneshot ➮ Tags: fluff ➮ Word Count: 2182

A/N: This is for @serowotonin​! [for Luna’s Valentines Day collab] Ik I said I was doing Atsumu bc “I was bored” but I always say “imagine being bored” and truly, I haven’t been bored for so long. I forgot that this was for the collab for a fat moment then when you saw the preview I was like, “Wait- no- it’s a surprise.” 

Premise: You and Atsumu are cleaning out the apartment, when you find a few letters you thought you would never see again… 

“Oi, (y/n), look at what I found,” you heard Atsumu say, leaning over the contents of a drawer he had been sifting through. 

“What?” you walked over to see what he had found. The two of you were cleaning out the apartment, as you were going to be moving out soon. Atsumu had a habit of keeping things that connected him to an important memory of his, unless he wanted to forget it- and this was one of them. You didn’t know he kept them- actually, it did make sense of him to, but you had simply forgotten about it and you somehow expected the same for him. You looked down to see what he had in his hands, and your face literally went emotionless as you saw the letter in his hands. 

You really didn’t mind the letters, for the most part. Actually, they held dear to you. However, that first one… you were grateful for it, but you also remembered just how bad you wanted to buy a grave space and bury it for eternity back then... 

Miya Atsumu.

This was a dare. This is a love letter. For Valentines. Happy valentines day. If you have extra chocolate, send me some. 

Sincerest thanks, (y/n). 

Atsumu usually threw away the letters he received every Valentines. It wasn’t that he was trying to be rude; it was just that there were too many letters for him to read (and reply to), so he usually just threw them out. Osamu often teased him for this; he boasted that he at least read his letters.

“Oi, ‘Samu, look at this one,” Atsumu called out to his brother. 

“What?” Osamu looked at him, with a face of disbelief. “Yer actually lookin’ at them?”

“Nah, not really, but this one’s hilarious,” Atsumu laughed. 

“Okay, not funny, keep yer lame humor to yourself.” 

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

“(y/n), truth or dare,” (b/f/n) asked. 

You smiled, “Dare.” 

“Hmmm… alright, send a love letter to Miya Atsumu- it has to be at least one line long.”

“I’m- okay then.” 

You brought out a piece of paper, wrote the first things that came to mind, and once you reached one line, you stopped. You folded the paper and grabbed whatever envelope you could find and sealed it with tape. The dare required actually giving the letter, much to your dismay, but it wasn’t like you could back down from a dare. After all, it was (b/f/n), and the nonstop teasing would definitely occur if you failed to complete the dare. 

Dearest (y/n), 

I did in fact receive your rather interesting letter, and I have decided to bring you some chocolate as you wished. I wish you, as well, a very happy valentine’s day this year.

Most sincerely, Atsumu. 

Atsumu was intrigued enough to write a reply; in fact, he decided to write in the most formal way possible. He knew from the letter that you were either a tsundere or someone who was actually dared to do so, and decided that it would be fun entertainment for the both of you. 

When you received the letter, you were surprised to see a reply. It was known he didn’t send out replies, yet you had received one. As you read it, you felt a need to reply; you’d simply feel bad if you didn’t. However, what was there to talk about? How the chocolates were good? He had stuck it on your first period desk, out in the open. And you also sincerely wondered what was with the overly formal tone. You do remember writing the most shitty letter you’ve ever written to him, and that volleyball-obsessed dude just writes something formal to you? Baffles the mind.

Well, then, if he was going to reply, you would too. 

Miya Atsumu,

Thanks for the chocolate- your fans make pretty good chocolate, I have to say. Bet I could make better chocolate than ya, ‘cause all ya focus on is just volleyball. Anyways, what was with the overly formal tone- ya like me or somethin’? Would be funny if ya did and I turned ya down. XD  

(y/n) 

You never really thought of Miya Atsumu, but this really sparked your interest. It was amusing, his reactions. It was definitely something you didn’t expect- you actually didn’t expect a reply at all. The reply you received was definitely out of the ordinary as well, one you never thought a hotshot volleyball player would write. It seemed he was interested in you in some ways- and you as well. 

(y/n),

Pfffft, you think I might like ya? I just thought yer letter was interestin’, that’s all. Ya really think I can’t make chocolate? Bet I could make better chocolate than ya, I’ll show you. I make you chocolate myself and we’ll see how it tastes. Just you watch, I’ll make ya say I make the best chocolate ever! 

Atsumu. 

You saw that in your shoe locker the next morning- and everyone saw it. You were beginning to regret actually replying to him, but there was no backing out now. (b/f/n) really hit the goal here, for her. People were probably talking about it. It’s always some event that involves romance that catches everyone’s eye. And since it was just after valentine’s, everyone would automatically assume it was a love letter. In reality, it was simply a little bit of playful banter. 

You wondered if people actually knew who it was. You hoped not; it would gather way too much attention for your liking. You’d have an entire fanclub after you, and it was definitely (b/f/n)’s fault that you got into this entire mess. You had absolutely no idea if anyone saw him slip that into your shoe locker, since it had probably been there for a good hour or so before you and most of the other students got there. In any case, there was nothing you could do about people knowing things they already know, so you headed onto class. It was exam week, and you sighed; it would be a long day. 

When you arrived at homeroom, you were not-so-pleasantly surprised with what you found at your desk. You just wanted a quiet day; go to school, take the tests, and get out so you could relax at home. But no, you just had to see this and you knew there was a thing called rumors you had to deal with. Well, you could just be like “whatever” and not care, but you definitely knew who’d be after you, for real. Atsumu’s fanbase was quite scary, and definitely large- a group of people one would regret messing with. 

“Ugh- what am I going to do with this chocolate now, he gave me a lot yesterday…” 

“(y/n)! Oiiii, you got chocolate?! From who from who-”

“(b/f/n), if you say a word, you are going to be dead to me.”

“...” she looked away, but then turned to you again and whispered in your ear. “So, Miya Atsumu, who has a fanbase, likes you.” 

“I’m- no-”

“But what I’m seeing says otherwise?”

“Ugh, you’re coming to my house and you are going to pay for that dare.” 

“Oh ho ho, seems like I started something…” “Bet you did.”

Pisshead Atsumu

LMAO bet ya didn’t make the chocolate, yer terrible at lying <///3 seen this chocolate before. And like wtf you put a box of chocolate on my desk with YOUR NAME on it. Ya know that people will do a thing called assuming things, right? Smh, think before you act. Anyways, I’m counting on ya to fix up this mess.

(y/n)

When you finished class, the first thing you did was write the note. You were absolutely paranoid with this mess, and you were going to have Atsumu fix it. Yes, you did technically initiate contact first, but that was (b/f/n)’s fault and this could’ve avoided this if he hadn’t pulled off a whole stunt. 

It was already around 6 when he saw the note. A small smirk filled his expression, he was so sure that he would be able to get a good reaction out of (y/n). It was written on scrap paper, the back of a phys. ed worksheet. You wrote it in a rush, very obviously. That wasn’t really what caught his attention though; he was puzzled as to how he would fix this. Tell his fans to fuck off? Osamu would tease him for eternity.

“Oi, what’cha starin’ at?” he heard Osamu nag. “Mom’s waitin’ for us for dinner.”

“Hey, ‘Samu…  ya know how to fix this?” 

“... ARE YOU AN IDIOT- YOU ARE AN IDIOT.”

“I AM NOT! YOU ARE THE IDIOT HERE!” 

“SAYS THE ONE WHO GOT INTO A MESS LIKE THIS!” 

“Oi, ya shouldn’t be fightin’ at this hour,” the two heard Kita say, as he gave them a certain look. “... ‘m sorry…” the twins apologized.

Even after a fulfilling dinner made by their mother and a nice, hot shower, Atsumu still couldn’t think of a solution. Osamu almost snitched on him, but he decided that there was enough on their mom’s plate of problems at the moment. 

“What if ya said you were dating?” Osamu offered. 

“HAH?! ARE YA INSANE?!” Atsumu yelled at him.

“That would explain what happened at valentine’s.” 

“But there’s nothin’ between us-”

“Yer fanclub wouldn’t really believe anythin’ else.”

“Yeah…” 

(y/n),

Can we meet when practice ends at 6 on Thursday?

M. Atsumu.

“... I’m- Is he just going to apologize then run away? Tch.” you sighed. You had the idea that Miya Atsumu was overconfident and carefree, but not to this extent. The least he could do was fix this- he had power over his fandom and what people said about him, unlike you. You had to go, it wasn’t like you really had much of a choice if you wanted to talk it out and fix it. 

“Hey, (y/n) are you and Atsumu dating?” one of your classmates asked, and a bunch of others hovered around the table, waiting to hear a response. (b/f/n) had told you rumors had spread around the entire school; you figured that would’ve happened. Any topic related to the twins spread like wildfire, especially the blonde-haired one. 

“... Can you not try to pry into my private life?” you replied, which you instantly realized was exactly a wrong answer to give. This implied that you were in fact dating Atsumu secretly, and you just made your life 10x worse. You figured you should just tell everyone what had happened, then the blame would be on (b/f/n)- it should preferably be placed on Atsumu, since he started it, really. 

When you met him at 6pm, you expected no contribution from him. Instead, you were met with a solid plan for something you weren’t really happy about, but it seemed the easiest to convince the public of a story they put out. 

“(y/n)... let’s tell them that we’re dating.”

“Hmm… well, they already think that…”

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking…” “It’s fine. All we can do is move forward, I guess.”

“Yeah… ‘Samu gave me this solution; it’s all I have, I’m sorry if it’s-”

“It’s fine. Let’s go through with it. Just protect me from the crazy fangirls; that’s all I want.”

“Ya.” 

“And we’ll need to put together a coherent story; what’s yer number?” 

“Ahaha, seriously, maybe (b/f/n)’s a prophet. She told me that she was aiming for somethin’ to happen between us,” you commented, remembering what happened years and years ago. 

“Ya were just so unnecessarily worried about the fangirls,” Atsumu mentioned. 

“Oi! Yer fangirls were hella scary back then…” 

That night, you stayed up coming up with a story, which ended with the two of you breaking up so that you could go on your separate ways again. However, the story didn’t last too long, as (b/f/n)’s parent’s investigations went a little too far and spread the truth a little too much. (b/f/n) is one thing, but you had almost forgotten her parents were another, seriously. They’d been a little busy over the last few years, thus the lack of investigations of local drama, but they had been doing so for decades, what could you expect from them? 

Nothing was Atsumu’s fault to the fanclub, unless he seriously convinced them that it was. You were guilty until proven innocent. Unbeknownst to you until after, he gave them a whole (to be honest, not-so-great) speech on how he kind of went too far with the joke, but also placed the blame on everyone else for assuming things. People were absolutely ridiculous; their ideas and their insane imagination should learn that the left side of the brain exists too. 

“Funny how we met again after college, after all that time.”

“Ya… a real wonder” 

Another A/N: OMG THIS IS MY FIRST TIME WRITING FOR ‘TSUMU FORGIVE ME IF I WROTE HIM LIKE, WRONG IN THIS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

『••✎••』 Extra Info * ˚ ✦ ⇢ If you would like to read some of my other works, find them here! * ˚ ✦ ⇢ Taglist: @serowotonin​ @luna-la-ley​ // send me an ask if you would like to be added!

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 53

Whooo! that's Big Momma and Little Sister down, the Oni-chan inspired chapter. Next up is Startrain! Hope you guys like this. Also @naruwitch helped with this chapter and came up with the nickname treasure for Luka. It was fun to write but I am now tired and need rest! Enjoy the chapter!!

Edit: Forgot to do this last night because I was knackered when I uploaded this but trigger warning for scenes of violence, attempted kidnap and attempted sexual assault.

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Chapter Fifty-Three: Big Momma and Little Sister (2/2)

"Mr Couffaine!! What's like having the rock giant, Jagged as a father?!" A reporter shouted as he stepped in front of him and shoved a microphone in his face. Luka groaned in annoyance before pushing it away. He was going to school and was about come to the stairs when this guy appeared out of no where. This wasn't the first time a reporter had turned up since Bob Roth had let slip that he was Jagged's son. A number of reporters had tried to get an interview with him. It had forced Anarka to move the Liberty three times but that didn't seem to stop them. It was only when she threatened to run them through or force them to walk the plank that they had backed off from the Liberty but they had came up with different ways to try and get an interview with them. A couple of them gatecrashed his time when he was hanging out with Marinette, another had actually sneaked into the Grand Paris hotel and managed to get some photos of him having dinner with Jagged before Chloe and Fang had chased them out and a couple of them had taken to turning up on his shifts at work. Luckily, none of them had found him while he was Anatis but he was taking extra precaution with that side of his life. Instead of detransforming in alleyways, he was transforming on rooftops and just climbing down from them. After he checked to see if anyone was around of course. He was knocked out of his trail of thought as the reporter shoved the microphone back into his face. "Did you always know he was your father?! Did he abandon you when you were born?!"

 "Leave me alone," He stated, pushing it away again and trying to walk around him but the reporter moved back in front of him, making Luka sigh in annoyance. "Could you move please? I need to get to my lessons,"

 "Is it true that you were almost akumatized after accusing XY of stealing your work? Do you think that's why Bob Roth released the information of Jagged been your father? As revenge?" The reporter continued, completely ignoring Luka's request. He groaned and pinched his nose before moving again but once again, he stepped along with him. "My sources say that you're also friends with Adrien Agreste, Chloe Bourgeois and a close friend of Paris' very own hero, Anatis? Rumor is you're also very close to the young lady who designed the album artwork for Jagged's latest album Rock Giant? Do you intent to use your connections to jump start a career in the music industry? Is that why you accused XY of stealing your idea? To make your rival look bad while you rise to stardom?"

 "No! I would never do that!" Luka gasped before shaking his head as the reporter smirked. A trick question designed to make him answer. He took a deep breathe and looked at the reporter. "Look, I'm not interested in answering your questions. I just want to go to school and have a normal day so no comment for any of your questions. Now have a good day and leave me alone,"

 Before the reporter could even stop him, Luka moved around him and jumped over the edge of the stairs, rushing up them and through the front doors of the school. He let out a sigh before walking into the locker room. He glanced around and frowned a little as Marinette wasn't there yet but he imagined she was probably just having a hard time waking up again. He smiled a little before shaking his head and moving over to his locker, opening it as he put his bag in. He frowned and looked behind him as he felt like people were watching him. To his surprise, he wasn't wrong. A number of students who he hadn't really paid attention before were looking at him. He let out a sigh and continued to take out his books. Someone cleared their throat, making him look at them. A girl was stood in front of him, making him frown. She had black wavy hair and was wearing a pink long sleeved top, a dark purple skirt, black leggings and trainers. He kind of recognized her as he had seen her around the school but she had never actually tried to talk to him before.

 "Hi, you're Luka Couffaine right?" She smiled, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I'm Renée Marcel. I'm the class representative of Mr Beauregard,"

 "Um... hi?" Luka replied, confused. She giggled to herself as she continued to play with her hair.

 "So I was wondering if you wanted to sit with me and my friends at Lunch," She smiled, making him look at her in surprise and confusion. She literally had never noticed him before and while he had seen her around, he had never talked to her before today. "It would be so cool to have you sit at us with lunch,"

 "Um... Why?" He asked, making her giggle.

 "Oh, you are so funny," She replied, making him blink. She looked at him and frowned as he didn't laugh. "Wait... were you been serious?"

 "Yeah..."

 "Oh," She replied, surprised. "I thought you were just joking, like how your father does,"

 "Ah right," He replied, closing and locking his locker. So that's why she suddenly paid attention to him. It's because he's Jagged Stone's son. He let out a sigh before looking at it. "It's nice for you to invite me to join your table at lunch but I'm quite happy with the friends I usually sit with,"

 "But that's the akuma class," She gasped, causing him to look at her in surprise and annoyance. "And you're like way too cool to sit with them,"

 "Like I said thanks but no thanks," He replied, walking past her as he shook his head. Renee frowned as he walked away. He left the locker room and headed up the stairs to Mrs Mendeleiev's class. As soon as he walked in, the students that were already there kind of just stared at him, making him sigh as he walked to his usual seat. To his surprise, he noticed Marc was sat at his table, hunched over his note pad. He put down his bag and sat next to him, making Marc jump and look at him with big eyes. "Hey, Marc,"

 "O-oh, hey Luka," He muttered quietly. "I didn't realize this was your table. I can move if you want,"

 "I don't mind you sitting here," He replied, smiling. Marc gave him a shy smile back. "But I thought you were in a different class,"

 "I was," He muttered, closing his notepad before he glanced to the side. "I wasn't exactly getting on with my classmates. Like they weren't bullying me but they didn't exactly talking to me either so I asked to switch classes..."

 "I get you," Luka nodded before sighing as he noticed a lot of students were still staring. Only Aurora, Jean, Mirelle, Kagami and Felix weren't staring. Luka wasn't surprised by that. Aurora, Mirelle, Kagami and Jean were his friends in the class so they wouldn't react the same way as everyone else and Felix was... well Felix. Marc frowned and looked around before looking back at Luka.

 "Why is everyone staring at you?" He asked, making Luka hide his face in his arms and groan. "Everything ok?"

 "Honestly, it could be better," He replied, looking up at Marc. "They're staring because they learnt who my father is,"

 "Oh," Marc replied, making Luka nod. "That's true?"

 "Yeah," He sighed, sitting up. "And because of it, I'm suddenly in the spotlight,"

 "Wow. I kind of just thought it was gossip," Marc admitted, making Luka chuckle. "Why did Bob Roth reveal it? Did Jagged ask him to?"

 "No. While Jagged wanted to shout to the world that I'm his son, we both decided it would be better if we waited til we were both ready," He sighed, making Marc frown. "But apparently, Bob Roth decided to release it regardless of what we wanted. Dad... I mean Jagged... thinks that it's revenge against him for leaving Roth's label and against me for calling XY and Roth out on stealing mine and Marinette's work,"

 "Are you taking legal action?" Marc asked, concerned.

 "Yeah, we are but we haven't gone much of a case against him yet," He admitted, frowning. "Since the information isn't really harmful and we can't prove he did it on purpose yet, it's gonna be super hard to go against him,"

 "That sucks," Marc frowned, making Luka sigh as Mrs Mendeleiev walked into the class. "I hope you get it sorted out soon,"

 "Thanks, Marc," He smiled, causing Marc to give him a small smile back as she clapped her hands.

 "Ok, students, today we will be starting a home work project in pairs. You will choose a project to study and create a presentation on in two weeks time. Now when I call your names, come up to the desk and take a work sheet then sit next to your partner," She declared, making everyone groan a little. She began to call the students, causing them to grab their worksheets with their project partner. "Felix Graham de Vanilie and Luka Couffaine,"

 A number of the students stared at him again, making him groan and get up as he walked up. A couple of the other students whispered, making Mrs Mendeleiev to tell them off as he grabbed a work sheet and took a seat next to Felix as she called up Marc and Aurora next. With the pairings sorted out, Mrs Mendeleiev began to teach the class and tell them about their project.

~Lunch Time~

 "I would recommend we go to my house," Felix suggested as he, Kagami and Luka walked into the canteen. Marc was trailing behind them, hugging his note book. Aurora had gone home for lunch so had Mirelle and Jean but Nathaniel would be joining them soon. "I've have a lot of books on physics after all, which I think would help,"

 "Yeah sure," Luka nodded as Felix grabbed a tray. He sighed as he noticed a number of students staring at him again. Felix nodded and frowned as Luka took a tray for himself and began to put some food on it.

 "Is there a reason why everyone is staring at you?" He asked, making Luka sigh again. "Is that because the rumor of Jagged Stone been your father?"

 "Yes," He replied, paying for his food as Felix did the same before the two of them walked to their usual table, just as the others came in. Marinette waved at him as she walked over, causing him to wave back but she could even sit down, Lila pushed her out of the way.

 "Luka!! Hi!!" She gasped, making him frown as she sat down and latched onto his arm tightly. "I can't believe that my uncle Jagged is your father. Isn't it crazy how much we have in common?"

 "Lila, let go," He growled as he tried to pull away from her but she tightened her grip, digging her fingers into his arm. He hissed in pain a little and tried to shake her off. "Let go of my arm,"

 "Oh but Luka, I'm just trying to talk to you," She gasped, making him frown as she leaned closer. "I would hate for something to happen to Mar-"

 "Don't even finish that sentence," He growled as he finally pushed her off, causing her to gasp. "I will say this one more time, Rossi. I am not interested in been your friend. Now leave me alone and get out of Marinette's seat,"

 Lila gritted her teeth and went to say something but Felix and Kagami both glared at her, making her frown before she got up and walked away, causing Luka let out a shaky breathe as Marinette, Juleka and Rose rushed over to him. Since he had his hoodie around his waist, he could always see the marks where Lila had dug her nails in. Juleka looked at them and mumbled angrily as Marinette and Rose frowned. There were small specs of blood, showing how deep they were.

 "Are you ok?" Kagami asked, making him look at her as Marinette took out a tissue and a bottle of water from her bag. She undid the bottle and used it wet the tissue a little before gently dabbed his arm with it. He nodded, making Felix frown.

 "Does she do that often?" He asked, crossing his arms.

 "A fair bit," Luka replied, making him frown. "But I think she does it more to Adrien then me,"

 "She liked to try and leech herself onto me in class," Adrien admitted, frowning. "Though since Miss Bustier put her in the back, she can't do it and Nino stays pretty close to me as well. She won't try it around Kagami because she's scared of her. I think she thinks that Kagami will slice her in half,"

 "I will if she goes near you," She growled, making Adrien swoon.

 "I love it when you get protective other me," He grinned, making her blush a little. "But seriously, Lila doesn't know the meaning of personal space. She claims it's how Italians are,"

 "You should sue her for sexual harassment," Felix mused, making Luka sigh.

 "I don't know..." He stated, making the others frown before he turned to Marinette. "Thank you,"

 "Don't worry about it, Luka," She smiled, making him smile a little before frowning a little. "But maybe you should try and sue her. I'm sure Penny will be able to help with it,"

 "I don't want to bother her," He admitted, making her frown. "She's really busy with the whole... you know..."

 "I get it," Marinette sighed, understanding where he was coming from. Penny was doing a lot overtime to try and help him and Jagged deal the fallout of Bob Roth's interview. "But I still think you should consider it, especially if she gets worst. I'm worried,"

 "Alright... I'll look into it," He nodded, making her smile as Lila glared towards them. "But could we change the subject?"

 "Sure,"

 ~At Felix's House after School~

 "And this is where I've been staying since moving to Paris," Felix explained as he welcomed Luka to his home. It wasn't what Luka had expected at all. He had expected it to be very similar to Agreste manor but it was actually much homely then it was. He noticed some photos on the walls, causing him to look at them. One was of Felix, his mother and who Luka assumed was his father. Another showed his father again with another blonde man who resembled Felix. The last photo shown the Felix lookalike with a woman who was dressed in summer shorts and red top. She was pulling a silly face but the Felix lookalike looked very serious but he had a small smile on his face. "That's my uncle Felix senior and my aunt Bridgette and that's my father with my mother,"

 "They look happy," Luka muttered, making Felix sigh. "Sorry,"

 "No need to apologize, Couffaine," He replied, making Luka frown. "You're right. They were happy but things happen and nothing can ever last forever,"

 "You know you can call me Luka right?" He asked as they walked into the kitchen area where Felix Senior was sat in front of a laptop. He glanced up at them with a cold expression.

 "Uncle, this is my lab partner Luka Couffaine," Felix stated, gesturing towards Luka, who waved a little as Felix Senior rose an eyebrow. "We're going to be working on a science project together,"

 "Aren't you the boy in the news?" He asked, making Luka frown a little as he nodded. "Hmm. I hope you didn't bring any press with you,"

 "No, sir," Luka replied, making Felix Senior raise an eyebrow. "We didn't come across any on our way here,"

 "Good," He replied, nodding as he got up and walked over to the coffee pot. He took out a mug and poured out another drink. "Will you be staying for dinner?"

 "Um... no?" Luka asked, unsure what to say. He got the impression that the older man didn't want him to stay.  Felix Jr rolled his eyes and glared at the older man.

 "Stop questioning him, uncle," He stated before pulling Luka away from the kitchen and into his room. "Sorry about Uncle. He doesn't get out much and hates anyone that isn't his family or a cat,"

 "Oh," Luka nodded as he glanced around the room. To his surprise, Felix did have a poster of Jagged on the wall. He also had a lot of science posters and magic shows posters. "So what's our project going to be?"

 "I thought we could study Water Electrolysis," Felix suggested, making Luka nod. "No suggestions?"

 "I'm not very good with science," Luka admitted, making Felix frown. "I'm more into art and music,"

 "That seems logical given your taste in fashion," Felix replied, making Luka frown. "Not that it's a bad taste. It's just obvious that you're not into maths or science from it,"

 Luka frowned, making Felix frown as well before he sighed.

 "I'm sorry," He stated, looking at him. "I'm not very good with people or interacting with them,"

 "I get it," Luka nodded, surprising Felix. "I've only just learnt how to really interact with people without music. I still find it hard to talk to people properly,"

 "Really?" Felix mused, eyeing up as Luka nodded. "I would have never have realized. What do you mean to talk with them without music?"

 "Um... I usually have a guitar with me and if I don't know what to say I play it instead," Luka admitted, making Felix chuckle. "I hate not been allow it in school. Maybe they'll let me bring my violin?"

 "You play violin too?" Felix asked as Luka nodded.

 "I also play bass guitar, drums, a bit of the flute. I can sing a little and I can write and compose music," He muttered, making Felix look at him in surprise. "It's like the only thing I'm good at but I like drawing as well. Admittedly I can't draw to save my life but I enjoy trying,"

 "Well, you certainly seem creative," Felix replied as he picked out a book from his book shelf. "Maybe we can work that into our science project. You know what soundwaves are, right?"

 "Yes, it's the energy generated by sound," Luka frowned, making Felix chuckle. "I'm not completely dumb, you know,"

 "Never said you were," He replied, making Luka roll his eyes. "I'm thinking we create a thesis about using sound waves as a source of energy and power. Like wind power,"

 "But with sound," Luka nodded, thinking. "Well, Mrs Mendeleiev did say to think outside the box,"

 "Exactly," Felix grinned before the two of them began to discuss how it would be possible to use sound as a power source. Luka took some notes as they continued to plan and discuss but before he knew it, Felix Senior had called that dinner was ready, causing the two of them to go downstairs. This time Felix's Aunt was in the kitchen. She looked up as they walked in.

 "Hello," She smiled, making them stop. "Are you one of Felix's friends from school?"

 "We're lab partners," Felix answered. "Luka Couffaine, this is my aunt Bridgette,"

 "Hi," Luka smiled before looking at his phone as it vibrated. It was his mother asking him when he would be home. Normally, she wouldn't ask but since the whole dad reveal and the press stalking him, she had taken to doing so. He texted back at that he was just leaving Felix's and would be home soon before looking up. "Sorry, I need to get going home. See you at school, Felix?"

 "Yes," He replied, nodding as Luka waved to his family and left the house, causing Felix to lock up after him. Felix Senior looked up from the book he had started to read and glanced at him. "Something wrong, Uncle?"

 "Not at all," He replied, sipping his coffee. "I approve of your friend,"

 "What?!" Both Bridgette and Felix shouted in surprise as he went back to his book. 

 ~Meanwhile~

 Luka hummed to himself as he walked through the streets towards the metro from Felix's house. He turned down the street before stopping as he felt like he was been watched. He glanced around but saw nothing. He frowned as he turned back round and continued walking, feeling uneasy as he did. He glanced back and frowned even more as he noticed a man dressed in dark clothing stepping out from the shadows and following him at a steady pace. He didn't think it was the press as they usually didn't turn up on the night. One or two of them had but most of the time they tried during the day. He figured it was because it was easier to get a photo or to film during the day plus it was technically safer. He crossed the street and began to walk over to the entrance to the metro as Tikki poked her head out.

 "Are you ok?" She asked, making him frown.

 "Someone is following me," He replied quietly as he noticed the guy following him cross over the road towards the same metro station. He sped up a little and quickly went down the stairs. Glancing up at the time table, he bit his lip as he saw the train he needed to get was 12 minutes away. He frowned as he noticed the man walking down the stairs with his phone out as he messaged someone. He briefly looked up at Luka, making him feel even more uneasy before he began to walk over to the exit that would take him out of the metro. It was only a 30 minute walk to where the Liberty was docked and he would rather walk through the well lit city that had some tourists out and about then wait in a practically empty metro station with a guy who had followed him since he left Felix's. He also knew he was about a five minute walk from Marinette's home, which made him feel slightly better. He took out his phone and checked the time as he climbed the stairs. It had just gone 7pm meaning the bakery would still be open so if he needed to, he could go there. He locked his screen and switched it off before using it as a mirror. The man now was now on the phone and staring at him while talking to someone. Luka quickly put away his phone before climbing up the stairs and out of the metro. He pulled his hoodie up as he did and headed down the street towards the school speed walking as he did, speeding up as he heard footsteps behind him. He wanted to break into a run and was about to when he saw someone he hoped never to see again walking towards him, causing him to freeze in fear. Issac smirked as he walked over to him.

 "Hello, Luka," He stated, smirking before he roughly grabbed his shoulder. "I think it's time for me and you to have a talk, don't you?"

 "N-No," He gasped as his eyes widen in fear. When ever Issac said he wanted to talk, it never ended well for Luka. A black car suddenly pulled up, making him glance at it with fear as well. Issac smirked at his expression before grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the car as the guy who had followed Luka opened the passenger's door. Reality suddenly caught up with Luka, causing him rip his arm from Issac and run as fast as he could away from him. Issac growled and chased after him, grabbing him and trying to pull him back to the car as he struggled and fought against him. "Let me go!!"

 "Shut up, you brat!" He gasped, punching him before he grabbed him around the waist, dragging him towards the car. Luka struggled and tried to call out for help s Issac pulled him towards the car, causing him cover his mouth with his other hand. The other guy grabbed his legs to help Issac get him in the car, causing him to try and kick him. His eyes started to turn silver as he panicked. He could feel his chest tightened as a panic attack began to set it but Tikki began to hum against his chest, helping him calm down enough to try and escape. She couldn't directly help him as it would reveal his identity to Issac and his goon but she could calm him down. He suddenly sunk his teeth into Issac's hand, causing him to scream in pain before Luka managed to kick the other guy in the face, busting his nose and causing him to drop his legs. He slammed his head into Issac's face as the other guy held his nose before freeing himself again and running away as fast as he could. Issac growled and gave chase again. 

 "Luka!! The bakery!!" Tikki gasped, pointing to it. He rushed over to the door and managed to get inside, just as Issac caught up with him. Issac tried to open the door, causing Luka to grab the handle and pulling it shut, quickly turning the lock on it. Issac screamed angrily and punched the door as Luka sunk down to the floor as Sabine looked up.

 "Luka?!" She gasped as she rushed over to him. Issac growled and began to kick in the door, screaming abuse towards Luka as he did. "Tom!! Call the police!!"

 Luka curled up on himself as he began to shake and sob, covering his ears as Issac continued to scream and try to break into the bakery. Sabine kneel down next to him and held him as Tom rushed in. As soon as Issac saw Tom, he began to stop kicking the door and screaming before glaring at them and rushing off. 

 "What happened?" He gasped, causing Sabine to look up. Luka was still crying and shaking. Tom frowned as he saw him, causing him to kneel down and gently place his hand on Luka's shoulder but he flinched, causing Tom to remove it. "Son, are you ok?"

 Luka just shook his head as he tried to calm down, causing Sabine to help him to his feet.

 "Tom, watch the bakery and wait for the police," She ordered, getting a nod of him before she brought Luka through the back and up the stairs. She led him into the living room and made him sit on the sofa. He was shaking and staring at the ground with an expression of pure terror on his face. His lip was busted and a bruise was starting to form on his jaw. "Luka?"

 He flinched, making her frown as she heard the sirens of the police. 

 "Ok, I need to go talk to the police to tell them what happened so I'm gonna go and get Marinette to sit with you ok?" She stated, making him nod. She nodded back and rushed up to Marinette's room, knocking on the door before entering. She noticed that her skylight was open and Marinette wasn't in her room. "Marinette?"

 "Mama," She gasped as she climbed through the window and slid down to her. "What's going on? Why are the police here?"

 "Something just happened," She replied calmly. "Your friend Luka-"

 "Is he ok?!" She gasped, worry and panic filled her eyes.

 "He's downstairs," Sabine replied calmly. "He's pretty shaken up and scared. I was going to ask you to sit with him while I talk to the police,"

 Marinette was already grabbing a blanket from her chaise and walking towards the trap door as Sabine spoke. She smiled a little as she climbed down, following Marinette down downstairs before heading back to the bakery to talk to the police. Marinette rushed down the stairs and into the living room, stopping when she saw Luka. He was sat on the sofa, hugging his knees and had his head in them as he shook. By the sound of it, he was crying. Her heart shattered at the sound, causing her to walk over. She sat next to him and gently place her hand on his arm, making him flinch a little before he peeked up at her. She put the blanket around his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his torso as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his face into her shoulder as he shook and cried. 

 "It's ok," She whispered, stroking his hair as Sabine came back up with Office Roger and another cop who was holding a camera. Officer Roger cleared his throat. Luka slowly looked up, causing Marinette to frown as he sat up and moved his arms around his waist. Sabine instantly went over to the phone and called the Captain.

 "I need to ask you what happened," Office Roger stated, trying to keep his voice calm as he could. He could see Luka was spooked and he had a rough idea who the man was. He had dealt with a number of domestic disturbances at the Couffaines back when Anarka was married to Issac's. He was a nasty bastard back then and if it was him behind tonight's events then it was clear, he hadn't changed. Sabine walked back over and sat down next to Luka as he slowly stopped, shaking as he thought about what had happened. Sabine gently took his hand, making him look at her.

 "Your mother is on her way," She stated, making Luka nod.

 "We can wait until she's here if you want," Officer Roger suggested but Luka shook his head. He just wanted to get it over with. "Alright then.... can you tell me what happened before you came into the bakery tonight?"

 "I w-was going h-home from Fe-Felix's," He muttered in a quiet voice that wasn't normal for him. "I w-went to g-get the metro but I realized I was been followed and the s-station was r-really empty. I d-didn't feel s-safe so I left and speed up when I realized I was still been followed. I was gonna run from them but... then he blocked my path..."

 "Was it who I think it was?" Officer Roger asked, making Luka nod as he looked up at him.

 "I-Issac Fa-Farrow... m-my s-step f-father," He muttered, making Marinette cover her mouth and Officer Roger to frown. "H-He said t-that it wa-was time we talked a-and then a black car pulled up. He tried to pull me towards it but I pulled away. H-he then tried a-again and when I tried to b-break away and tell him to let go, he punched me and grabbed me ar-around my waist. W-When I tried to call for help, he covered my mouth a-and his friend grabbed m-my legs t-to h-help him g-get me into the car,"

 "He tried to kidnap you?" Officer Roger asked, frowning deeply as Luka nodded. "Can you tell me how you escape?"

 "I b-bit his hand a-and kic-kick the other guy in his face before I managed to br-break f-free then I r-ran a-and s-saw the b-bakery so I c-came inside," He replied before looking at Sabine. "I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't m-mean-"

 "It's ok, Luka," Sabine stated, frown as he wiped his eyes. He was clearly trying not to cry or freak out again. Marinette wrapped her arm around him, causing him to rest his head against her shoulder as Officer Roger spoke into his radio, ordering his men to arrest Issac if they saw him on sight before he turned to Luka. "Are you ok if my colleague take a couple of photos of your injuries?"

 He nodded, allowing the other cop to take some of his face.

 "Do you need anything else?" Sabine asked, causing Officer Roger to turn to him.

 "I'll need to take a witness statement from you and Tom,"

 "Of course," Sabine nodded, getting up before looking at Luka. "I'll send your mother up when she arrives,"

 He nodded in reply before Sabine and Officer Roger left the room. Marinette gently moved and walked into the kitchen, taking out their first aid kit before walking back over and sitting down on the sofa, next to him. She took out a bottle of Antiseptic Liquid and a cotton wall bud before putting a bit of the liquid on the cotton wall bud and gently dabbing Luka's lip, making him flinch a little at the pain.

 "Sorry," She whispered, making him shake his head.

 "It's fi-fine," He whispered, making her frown. His voice was still shaky and he still looked frightened. She finished up cleaning his lip before throwing away the cotton wall ball before checking the bruise on his face.

 "Do you want some pain killers for that?" She asked, making him nod before she took some out of the kit and got him a glass of water. He took them and drank the water as she put the kit away before she sat back on the sofa, causing him to move so he was resting his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry that he tried to hurt you and kidnap you,"

 "It's not your fault, melody," He muttered as she played with his hair. "I'm sorry I got your family involved,"

 "It's not your fault, Lu," She repeated, making him nod. "He made his choice and if he so much as breathes near you, my parents, the bakery or me, I beat the crap out of him with a rolling pin... but I'm honored that you see us as a safe place so don't ever feel like you can't come here if you need help ok?"

 He nodded as they heard someone come up the stairs. A few seconds later, Anarka burst through the door and rushed over to him, pulling him into a hug before he could even argue. Not that he did. Instead, he hugged her back for a good few minutes before she pulled away and turned to Marinette.

 "Thank you," She whispered before turning back to Luka. She frowned deeply as she noticed the bruise and cut on his lip. "What did that bastard do to you?!"

 ~Friday Lunchtime, Two Days Later~

 Marinette walked over to Juleka as soon as the bell rang to call for lunchtime. She wanted to check in on how Luka was doing after the other night. She ignored Lila's glare as she moved past her and walked over to the model. She glanced up from her bag as Marinette stopped in front of her.

 "Hey, Marinette," She muttered, putting her book away. She knew what Marinette wanted to ask. The two of them began to walk to the canteen. "He's ok. A bit shaken up still but Ma thought it would be best for him to stay home from school for a couple of days. He'll be back in school on Monday,"

 "Oh, good. I was worried when I saw you come in alone," She smiled, glad that Luka was as ok as he could be but she also wanted to check on Juleka. "Are you ok though?"

 "Me? Yeah, I'm alright," Juleka replied, nodding as she closed her bag. "Issac was never like that with me. The most he would do is shout and scream if he actually noticed me but it was rare that he did. I was basically invisible to him but Luka... he took the brunt of it. I guess it's why I'm so quiet. I realized it was better to be quiet and invisible then get hurt. I just wish I could have protected Luka like how he protected me,"

 "Juleka," Marinette muttered before suddenly hugging her, making Juleka jump a little before she returned the hug. "I'm sorry you both had to go through that,"

 "It's the past," Juleka muttered, shrugging before frowning as they took a seat at their usual table. "Or for me it is. I highly doubt Issac actually remembers me,"

 "Normally, I would say that it would be sad but I think it's probably better that he doesn't remember you," Marinette mumbled, making Juleka nod.

 "You know we're doing a movie night tonight," She mumbled, making Marinette raise an eyebrow. "I'm sure it would cheer Luka up if you came to it and stayed over,"

 "Are you sure?" Marinette gasped as Lila sat near them. "I wouldn't want to intrude,"

 "You wouldn't be intruding," Juleka mumbled as she poked at her food. "You're our friend and Ma loves you. If it helps, Rose will be there too,"

 "Really?" Marinette asked, making Juleka nod. "But I thought it would be just you, Luka and the Captain,"

 "It use to be," Juleka mumbled before she smiled a little. "But Ma basically adopted Rose as her future daughter in law and invited her to join us for it when we began dating. She pretty much has adopted you as her other future daughter in law,"

 Marinette squeaked and blushed as Juleka smirk, covering her face as she did. Neither of them had realized Lila had overheard a small part of the conversation and was gripping her plastic fork before she took a deep breathe and moved over to Alya, who was sat with Nino. Alya smiled and greeted her as Nino gave her a dirty look. Apparently, she had interrupted their lunch date. Normally they went outside for dinner or to Alya's but today they wanted to mix it up and have dinner at the school. 

 "Oh, Nino, would you mind if I borrowed Alya for a second?" She asked in her fake voice before pulling the girl up and away from him, making Alya ask her if she was ok. "I'm ok. I was just concerned about Luka. I know he's a bit shy but isn't it odd that he isn't in school?"

 "Oh, I think he must have called in sick," Alya replied, shrugging. Lila frowned a little before smiling falsely.

 "Oh poor thing," She gasped as Alya nodded. "I hate been sick but my mama makes a wonderful chicken soup that makes me feel better every time. Oh, I wish I could give his mother the recipe. I'm sure it would make him feel better but I have no idea how to send it to her,"

 "Well, you could go old school and post her a copy," Alya suggested, making Lila smile.

 "Oh, my gosh! That is a wonderful idea," She gasped, holding her hands together before she frowned. "But I don't know where they live,"

 "Oh, well... maybe you could ask pass it to Juleka then?" Alya suggested, making Lila mentally growl so she put on the waterworks. It usually worked with Alya.

 "Oh but I don't want to bother her or for her to get the wrong idea," Lila muttered, making Alya frown a little. "I know how overprotective siblings can be of each other. I don't want her to think I'm trying to steal him away from her when I just want to be his friend. Maybe I should just forget it. It was a bad idea,"

 "Oh, no. It was a really good idea," Alya reassured her but then she frowned. "But I can't give you their address. I know they're having some trouble recently with the press so I have to respect that,"

 "Oh, don't worry, Alya, I understand," Lila gasped as she hugged her. Alya smiled as she hugged back, failing to notice Lila slipping her phone out of her pocket and into hers. "You're such a sweetheart. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you,"

 "Ah don't sweat it, girl," She smiled as Lila pulled away. "You need anything else?"

 "Oh, no," She smiled, shaking her head. "Enjoy the rest of your date with Nino,"

 "I will," Alya smiled as she headed back over to him. Lila grabbed her bag before heading out of the canteen and into the Library, sitting in a corner that was the most quiet. She took out Alya phone and entered in the pass-code, smirking as she did, giving her access to her phone. Alya was so predictable. She was tempted to post a nasty message about Anatis on the Ladyblog but decided against it before she opened Alya's messages. She scrolled past Marinette's and Nino's, resisting temptation to send Marinette a very nasty message before she finally came to the message she was looking for. It was a message between Juleka and Alya. She opened it and found the part with Juleka's address on it. She took out her own phone and saved the address in her own phone before going through Alya's contacts. She saved a number of them, including Marinette's to her own phone before locking Alya's phone. Now all she had to do was pretend she found Alya's phone. She could use the library as they had been in there earlier that morning. She smirked to herself and got up, heading back to the canteen. She also needed to make sure Juleka or Marinette did leave the school on time.

 ~After School~

 Lila walked as quickly as she could, following the directions on her phone as she smirked to herself. Alya completely believed she had found her phone in the library and she had managed to delay Juleka by about fifteen minutes by using gum on her locker, causing it to get stuck. Since Marinette was going to be walking out with her, she and Rose were also delayed, trying to help her. She stopped when she came to a houseboat and heard guitar been played. She walked over and smirked as she saw Luka playing his guitar on the deck. He didn't look ill so she crossed the gangplank.

 "Luka! Hey!" She called, making him jump as he stopped playing. He quickly got up as she walked over.

 "Lila?!" He gasped, not happy to see her. "Why the hell are you here?! How do you know where I live?!"

 "Oh, I have my ways of finding out," She smiled, making him frown. "I noticed you weren't in school today or yesterday so I thought I'd come by and see if you were ok,"

 "Leave now!" He gasped, pointing to the gang plank but she didn't move. "I don't want you here so leave! You're trespassing!"

 "But Luka, I was just concerned," She gasped before taking off her bag. "I even brought you your homework. Marc was suppose to give it to you but he was too busy so I said I would bring it,"

 "You mean you stole it off him," He growled as she took it out.

 "Well, he was too busy to notice," She replied slyly before smiling falsely. "I thought we could do it together. I'm so behind on my own work I could do with the help! Oh, is that your guitar? I heard you play. You're really gifted but I guess with a father like Jagged that can be expected. Did you know I use to play guitar as well? I was considered the best of my age but had to stop playing because of my arthritis. Isn't it amazing how much we have in common?"

 "No because you're lying as usual," He stated, making her frown. "Now for the last time, get off my home!" 

 "Alright," She replied as he turned to look at her in genuine surprise. He was glad she was going to go but he didn't expect her to agree so quickly. "But how about a little souvenir photo?"

 "What?" He asked as she suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him close to her, taking her phone out as she did. He tried to pull back from her but before he could, she kissed his cheek and took a photo. His eyes widen in shock as she did before he quickly regained his senses and shoved her away harshly. "What the hell, Lila?!"

 She didn't answer. Instead, she went to touch him but he stepped back, flinching a little as she did. She had to admit she enjoyed seeing the horror and fear in his eyes. She smirked and took another step forward, trapping him between the edge and her. She stood up on her tiptoes, moving her face closer to his again to kiss him again but this time she was aiming for his lips, causing him to try and push her away again but she grabbed his arms, pinning them with surprising strength.

 "Lila, stop it!" He gasped, trying to free his arms from her. However, she didn't listen and leaned closer, causing him to panic and try to pull away from her. "I said stop!"

 "Get the hell away from my brother!!" Juleka's voice suddenly filled the area as she rushed over and grabbed Lila by her hair, causing her to cry out as Juleka literally dragged her away from him and pushed her to the floor. Lila got up and saw Juleka standing protectively in front of Luka as he sunk to the ground, trying not to have a panic attack. "I suggest you get the hell of our ship before I run you through!"

 "Oh no," She gasped, covering her mouth as Juleka growl. "I read the situation wrong, didn't I?"

 "Read it wrong?!" Juleka screamed, surprising Lila. She had no idea the girl could shout. "He told you to stop and you ignored him!! You just tried to assault him!"

 "I should go..." Lila gasped, backing away as she heard someone running up the stairs. "I hope you both feel better soon,"

 "Get off!!" Juleka screamed, causing her to rush off the boat, just as the captain came up and frowned as she saw her leave before she turned to Luka and Juleka, panicking as she saw him in clear distress and Juleka raging. Lila smirked to herself and took out her phone, opening the photo she had taken and sending it to everyone on her contact list including Marinette.

 ~Back to the Liberty~

 "Lad?" Anarka gasped as she saw Luka shaking. He looked like he was about to have a panic attack. She glanced up at Juleka, who was trying to calm him down. "What's wrong?!"

 "Lila," She growled, making her frown. She had remembered him briefly mentioning her and she was aware that the girl had it in for Marinette but that was all she really knew. "She just tried to forcefully kiss him!"

 "What?!" She growled angrily as Juleka's phone pinged. She ignored it as she got Luka to calm down and breathe before taking it out and checking the phone, making her let out a deep growl, causing Anarka to look over her sword. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she saw this Lila girl kissing Luka on the cheek despite the clear look of disgust and shock in his eyes. "I'm going to run her through,"

 "I'm gonna help," Juleka declared as Anarka grabbed one of the swords that she kept near the door. Juleka followed her over as Luka shook his head.

 "No," He gasped, making them look at him. "She's not worth the prison sentence,"

 "We can't just do nothing, Lad!" Anarka declared loudly, making him flinch as she brandished the sword about but he nodded in agreement. 

 "I know," He replied as Juleka placed her hand on her mother's to get her to lower the blade. None of them noticed the akuma or amok heading towards them. The akuma landed in the sword and the amok, landing in the ship necklace around Anarka's neck, causing them to go really quiet as they listened to Hawkmoth's voice. "I want to file a report for- Ma? Juleka?"

 He looked up to see why they had gone quiet, gasping as he noticed the butterfly mask over their eyes. He jumped up and rushed over to them.

 "Ma! Jewel!" He gasped as they listened to Hawkmoth. "Please don't listen to him!"

 "Hawkmoth, Mayura, you can count on us," They both said in union as Luka backed away from them. "We'll do everything to protect our treasure," 

 Purple smog surrounded them before a dark blue cloud appeared in the air. Luka rushed over to the stairs that led below deck but before he could get down there, an eerie green smog surrounded him and the rest of the boat, causing him to cough as he breathed in it. He rushed down the stairs but began to feel dizzy as he got to the bottom. He tried to fight it, managing to get into the living room and tried to head to his room to get Tikki. She had stayed in his room as he just wanted to play guitar alone.

 "T-Tikki!" He gasped as the room began to spin. He shook his head and pushed forward, despite his vision beginning to turn blurry. He tried to grab onto the sofa as he succumbed to whatever the green mist was, falling onto the floor. "T-Tikki..."

 His eyes dropped and his head fell to the side as he fell unconscious.

 ~Hawkmoth's Lair~

 "My, my. Such a rare emotion," Hawkmoth muttered as he felt Juleka's rage at Lila's actions against Luka and Anarka's fear about not been able to protect him. Sure, she was just as mad at Lila for hurting her son and Juleka was just as fearful for her brother. Both felt like they couldn't protect him and were righteously enraged on his behalf. Hawkmoth couldn't help but grin evilly. He had felt negative feelings coming from the Couffaine's home for the last few days but this incident had caused them to tip over the edge. "A sister angered by the mistreatment of her older brother and a mother fearful that she can't protect her son from the real horrors of the world,"

 He held out his hand, causing a white butterfly to land on it.

 "What perfect prey for my akuma," He mused before looking up. "Nathalie, I think Mayura can give this negative emotion a new dimension,"

 She smiled and walked over to him as she fixed the brooch onto her jumper before taking off her glasses as Dusuu manifested from the brooch

 "Dusuu, spread my feathers," Nathalie declared, casting her glasses aside and causing Dusuu to get sucked into the brooch. She transformed into Mayura and walked next to him as he put his hand under his arm and place his now free hand over the butterfly, turning it into an akuma before moving his hand and letting it fly off towards the window. He took his cane out from under his arm and spun it around before slamming it onto the ground.

 "Fly away, Little Akuma and evilize them!" He declared as it fluttered out of the window. Mayura plucked a feather from her fan before holding it in her hand and charging it up, transforming it into an amok before lightly blowing it off her hand. It floated towards the window as she moved her fan to the side and looked up at it.

 "Fly away, beautiful amok," She declared as it reached the window. "And enhance and hone that frustration!"

 A few minutes after they had sent them out, the connection between them and their victims opened, causing the purple mask to appear around Hawkmoth's eyes and the blue mask to appear around Mayura's.

 "Captain Hardrock, you want to protect your son hmm? And you, my dear Reflekta, want to avenge your older brother? Well, I can help you with that with some new powers," He stated, talking to the two of them. "Big Momma and Little Sister, I'm giving you both the power to track Lila Rossi and make sure she never gets closed to your loved one ever again. Young Mr Couffaine is too gentle and innocent for this cruel world and the clutches of Lila Rossi,"

 Mayura smirked as Hawkmoth finished his speech. 

 "Big Momma and Little Sister, I am Mayura," She stated as they listened. "To help you succeed in protecting your family, you will be assisted by Guard-O-War. It will be completely under your control,"

 "But of course, Lila use her silver tongue to convince Anatis and Lady Noir to stop from accomplishing your duty and protecting your family," Hawkmoth stated, smirking as the two victims got angrier. "Therefore, you must bring me their miraculous to punish them for their naivete! Do we have a deal?"

 "Hawkmoth, Mayura, you can count on us," They both said in union, causing the two super villains to smirk. "We'll do everything to protect our treasure," 

 ~At The Place des Vosges Park~

 "So when you gonna ask Luka on a real date?" Alya grinned as she walked with Marinette through the park. She had a couple of hours before the Couffaine's movie night actually started so she had decided to spend sometime with Alya. However, Alya's question caused her to blush. She went to open her mouth but both of their phones vibrated, causing her to take out hers and unlock it. She frowned as it was from a number she didn't recognize. She opened it and gasped in horror as she saw the photo of Lila kissing Luka on the cheek. She didn't feel heartbroken, like Lila wanted but she felt rage. To her, it was clear he was trying to pull away from her and looked extremely uncomfortable. "Wow, I didn't think Luka liked Lila,"

 "He doesn't," Marinette declared, making Alya look at her. "He hates her and there's no way he would let her kiss him, even on the cheek. She must off caught him off guard!"

 "You mean she forcefully kissed him?" Alya asked, frowning before looking at the photo again and stared at it. Now that she looked properly, Luka looked shocked and really uncomfortable. She felt sick that she didn't realize straight away but surely, it was a misunderstanding. Then again, how did Lila get his address? And Marinette's number? She knew for a fact Marinette herself wouldn't give it to her. She frowned and looked up at Marinette. "But... Lila wouldn't do that... right? I mean that's assault so she wouldn't do it... right?"

 "Oh god!" Marinette gasped as she realized what Alya said. She took out her phone and quickly dialed Luka's number but it went straight to voicemail. "Luka! Please call me back ASAP!"

 She hung up and jumped up, making Alya look at her.

 "I'm going to the Liberty," She gasped, causing Alya to get up as well. "What are you doing?"

 "I'm going with you," She stated before Marinette nodded and the two of them ran out of the park, heading towards the Seine. When they got there, they found the gangplank open and the Liberty hadn't been locked up. Luka's guitar was on the deck as was his amp but there was no way he would have left either of them out on their own. Marinette unplugged the amp and grabbed the guitar, going over to the stairs. She frowned as the door to them was also opened. She headed down into the living area and glanced around, frowning even more as it was eerily quiet. The quietness made alarm bells ring in her head. The Liberty was never quiet, even if it was just Luka home. He usually played his guitar or watching something on YouTube. Hell, he'll even put on the radio and when the captain was home, it was full of sound. Juleka was the quietest of the family but even she would hum when doing things. Marinette couldn't help but feel panic as her mind jumped to the worst case scenario. Issac may have kidnapped all of them.

 "Luka!!" She shouted, rushing over to his room and burst in. She hoped that he would just be in there, listening to music with his headphones on but to her horror, he wasn't. She rushed back out. "Luka! Juleka!! Captain!!"

 "Marinette!" Alya shouted, causing her to rush up the stairs as Alya stared at the sky. "What is that?!"

 "What?" Marinette gasped, looking at what she was looking at. To her surprise, high up in the sky, there was a huge, flying ship that resembled a haunted, pirate ship. It had black tattered sails and was mostly brown with purple flames painted on it and a huge creepy grin it on. It's portals and windows were glowing an eerie green and it had side sails, a tail sail and a fan, helping it fly. It had glowing green lanterns on it as well and it had a green smog around it. It's jolly roger had the skull and cross bones that Captain Hardrock wore on her scarf and it was flying towards them, making Marinette gasp. Someone climbed up the rigging before jumping down and landing in front of them, causing both Alya and Marinette to look over at her. Marinette gasped again as she realized it was Juleka but she was dressed like a pirate. Her hair was purple that faded into pink and she was wearing a corset over a loose shirt and brown leather pants. She had dark brown Cavalier boots on and a black belt with a silver buckle. Her ears had golden hoops in and her corset and boots had a gold trim. Around her neck was a jewel that resembled the one that was on her dress when she was Reflekta but it was part of a choker and her eye makeup resembled the eye jewel that contained her akuma as Reflekta. "Juleka?!"

 "I'm not Juleka anymore," She growled, making them both jump as she took out a sword and pointed at them. "I'm Little Sister and I will do anything to protect the treasure!"

 "The treasure?" Marinette asked before she shook her head. "Juleka, where is Luka and the Captain?! Are they safe?!"

 'Little Sister' suddenly glared at her, making her gulp. She thought for a second that she was about to slice her but she didn't.

 "Big Momma is fine. She is guarding the treasure," She replied before lowered her sword away and went to move past them. Alya grabbed her wrist but Little Sister suddenly threw her over his shoulder and pressed her sword to Alya's neck. She looked like she was about to stab her.

 "Juleka!" Marinette gasped but Juleka ignored her, making her panic. "Um... Parley!"

 She stopped and turned to Marinette, pointing her sword at her as she narrowed her eyes. Alya looked terrified as she looked between them.

 "Name your terms, Lass," She declared, making both Marinette and Alya to let out a sigh of relief.

 "Um... Let Alya go?" Marinette gasped, making Little Sister glance at Alya.

 "Done," She declared, turning to her. "But if you get in my way again, land lubber, I'll run you through! Savvy?"

 "Y-Yes," Alya gasped. Little Sister let her up before she walked away from them. "B-But where are you going?"

 "To find that silver tongued siren so I can run her through with my sword," She growled before jumping up to the main street and away from them.

 "Who's the silver tongued siren?" Alya asked, confused before she gasped and looked at the photo. "You don't think..."

 "She's going after Lila," Marinette replied but she didn't sound too disappointed, making Alya frown before she turned to her. "I'm going to go see if I can signal Lady Noir or Anatis!"

 "Marinette!" Alya shouted as she ran off. "I have the app on here?"

 ~Somewhere near Rue Gotlib~

 Lila smirked to herself as she walked down the street. She was certain that Marinette would be crying her eyes out at the photo of her kissing Luka. However, her smirk didn't last long as she heard a girly but creepy laugh, making her stop and look around but there wasn't anyone around. She frowned and continued to walk, moving her hands up to her chest as she glanced around nervously. She speed up and hid behind a small wall as she thought she heard someone calling her name but when she looked around, she couldn't see anyone there. She frowned and stepped out, failing to notice as Little Sister slipped down behind her. Seeing no one there, she turned around and jumped, letting out a scream as she came face to face with her before she took out her sword and pointed it at her.

 "I forbid you to go near the treasure ever again!" She growled, making Lila gasp as she realized it was Juleka. "Stay away from him and I run you through!"

 "Treasure?!" She gasped, confused. She figured Juleka was talking about Luka but she wasn't stupid enough to try and confirm it. "I don't know any treasure!"

 "Don't lie to me!" Little Sister growled as she grabbed her arm roughly, surprising Lila. She was never like this as a normal person. She was always so quiet.

 "I'm really sorry but I always get what I want," She gasped, looking at her. "It's not my fault,"

 "Well, this time you're gonna have to give in," She smirked, lifting her sword. "Otherwise, you'll really get it wherever you like it or not,"

 "Now that's not very nice," Lady Noir stated, making Little Sister glare at her. "I'm mean I get that Miss Rossi is annoying-"

 "Hey!"

 "But threatened her isn't going to make it better," She explained, making Little Sister suddenly attack her. She used her baton to block her sword as the two of them fought against each other. Seeing her chance, Lila made a run for it. Little Sister went to follow her but Lady Noir dived at her, causing her to block her attack before the two of them clashed. Lady Noir managed to get the upper hand and knock her sword out of her hand before knocking Little Sister down, smirking as she did. "I guess it's time to surrender for you,"

 "Think again, Kitty cat," She growled, causing Lady Noir to frown as she smirked.

 "Why are you smiling?" She asked, frowning.

 "Because unlike you, I didn't come alone," She replied, making Lady Noir frown before she looked over her shoulder. Lady Noir glanced behind herself and gasped as she saw the creepy looking pirate ship, flying towards her. However, she noticed a second figured standing on the hull of the ship. They pointed their own sword towards her as the ship's canons were pointed at her.

 "Oh no,"

 "Fire!!" They shouted, causing the canons to fire. Lady Noir jumped out of the way, allowing Little Sister to get up as she dropped her sword before she jumped up and climbed on board the ship as it fired more canons, creating a green smoke screen. Lady Noir covered her mouth as she cough before waving her hand to clear the air. Once she did, the ship was gone. She took out her baton and opened it, dialing Anatis' number. It went straight to voicemail.

 "Annie, where are you? We have two akumas and a sentimonster. They're after Lila Rossi," She gasped before hanging up and checking the news feed. The ship had been spotted at the Place des Vosges Park. She jumped onto the rooftops and headed there. She jumped and landed in the park, just as Little Sister roughly grabbed Lila's hand. "Hey! Pirate! Back off!!"

 She threw her baton, causing Little Sister to jump back away from Lila as she smirked. Lila ran off again as Lady Noir caught her baton.

 "Look, if Lila is involved then I get why you're angry but this is not-" She stopped as Little Sister was looking up at the sky. She glanced back up but the ship wasn't around. However, the eye jewel on her neck suddenly glowed before she disappeared in a purple glow, causing Officer Roger to take her place. Lady Noir blinked as she looked at him. "Where did she go?!"

 "Huh? How did I get here?" He asked, glancing around. "Lady Noir?"

 "Officer Roger, what happened?"

 "Well, I was just in my car, helping out a teenager who was been chased by a villain when I suddenly got a weird message and then I appeared here," He explained, making her look at him with confusion before shaking her head.

 "Ok, stay here. I'm gonna go find your car," She gasped before jumping onto a building and heading there. When she got there, she saw Little Sister was sat in the car, smirking before she suddenly disappeared again, replacing her with her mother. Lady Noir frowned and jumped across to the bakery, landing down in front of Lila as soon as she got there.

 "Oh, Lady Noir! Please help me!" She gasped, suddenly hugging her. "You're the only person who can!"

 "Um what?" She gasped before her baton vibrated, causing her to open it. It showed a skull and cross bones before it sudden began to glow before it engulfed her. She covered her face but blinked as she appeared in the bakery. "How did I get here?"

 "Lady Noire!" Tom gasped, making her rush over to him and help him up. "How did you get there?"

 "I'm not sure," She admitted before looking at her baton. The message was gone. "Your wife somehow ended up in a police car. Did she get a message before she got there?"

 "Yes!" He gasped, making her nod. "She looked at her phone then disappeared and that pirate girl replaced her but then she disappeared and you replaced her,"

 Lady Noir frowned and looked out the window, seeing Little Sister smirking but Lila was no where to be see. Literally seconds later, Little Sister glowed pink and then disappeared, replacing her with a confused person. Lady Noir gasped as she saw the man looking at his phone with confusion.

 "That's how she does it!" She gasped, making Tom look at her confused. "Sorry got to go!"

 She rushed out of the shop and down the street, leaving Tom confused.

 ~On The Guard-O-War~

 Luka groaned as he slowly waked up. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked as his vision was blurry. He slowly sat up as his vision cleared. The last thing he remembered was trying to get to Tikki then just darkness. He frowned and touched his head as he had quite the headache before glancing around the place that he was in. Immediately, he realized it wasn't his room or anywhere familiar. It appeared to be some kind of bedroom but it was themed around pirates. In fact, it resembled a captain's cabin. He jumped as someone came in, making him glance over at the woman. She had long red hair and was dressed as a pirate. She wore a baggy shirt, a black belt with a silver buckle and brown leather pants that had spikes on. She had black Cavalier boots with red flames on them and a golden trim. She was also wearing a red coat that had a gold trim and a black bandana over her head with a black choker around her neck. Her eyes were exactly the same as Captain Hardrock's.

 "M-Ma?" He asked, frowning. "What's going on?"

 "We're keeping you safe, Lad," She replied, making him frown. "That silver tongued siren or that scurvy dog won't ever hurt you again,"

 "Ma, where are we?" He asked, looking around as she glanced up before she turned back to him. "Ma?"

 "We're in the Guard-o-War, where you'll be safe," She replied, making him frown before turning on her heel and walked over to the wall, causing it to open out. "This is where you'll be safe. No one will ever hurt you again, Treasure,"

 "T-Treasure?" He asked as the wall opened, allowing her to walk through before it closed, making him pale as he realized there was no door in it. He tried to take a deep breathe and keep calm as he looked around. He would just transform and escape that way. "TIkki! Spots on!"

 He closed his eyes as he said the transformation words but snapped them open when nothing happened. He opened his hoodie and looked inside the pocket Tikki was usually in but she wasn't there.

 "Tikki?" He gasped, looking around. She didn't fly out when he called her name. "Tikki?! Where are you?!"

 Again, no answer. He quickly moved his hands to ears, still feeling the miraculous in place but without Tikki, he couldn't transform and escape. That meant he was trapped. Panic began to fill his mind as he realized he was trapped in this room with no way out. His mind briefly flashed back to when Issac forcefully locked in him a cupboard after a beating, making him feel sick. He rushed over to the wall that his mother had walked through. Maybe she would let him out of the room and he could climb off the ship that way. "Ma?!"

 She didn't answer, making him panic even more. His mother had been akumatized, he was trapped inside a sentimonster and he had no way of transforming into Anatis. He banged against the wall.

 "Ma?!" He shouted again, hitting it. "Ma!! Let me out!!"

 Again, no answer, causing him to panic even more.

 "Please! Let me out!!" He shouted, hitting the wall repeatedly until his hand began to hurt. He looked down as tears filled his eyes as he fully realized he was trapped before sinking down on the ground. "Let me out... please..."

 He curled up against the wall, hugging himself as he tried to calm himself down. Slowly, he heard other voices, making him look up. He pulled himself up and banged on the wall.

 "Hey!!" He shouted, hoping to get their attention. "Hello?!"

 "Luka?!" A voice that he recognized as Adrien answered. "Where are you?!"

 "Adrien!?" He gasped. "I'm in the cabin!"

 "There's no door!" He answered, making Luka frown. "You're not hurt, are you?"

 "No, I'm fine," He lied, not wanting to panic Adrien. "What are you doing on here?"

 "I have no idea. I was just walking home when I ran into Lila. She seemed frightened and then my phone rang and suddenly I was on here. Big Momma then pushed me down here," 

 "Big Momma?"

 "It's what the akuma is calling herself," He replied as Luka looked around. 

 "I have to get out of here," He muttered to himself before looking around the room. He noticed the window and rushed over as Adrien called out to him. He ignored him and looked out the window, making him gasp as he saw Tikki trying to keep up with the Sentimonster. "Hang on, Tikki,"

 He examined the window and smiled when he found a latch. He moved it and slammed his shoulder against the window, forcing it open. 

 "Luka?!" Adrien's voice called out, making him look back. "Are you ok? I heard a crash?"

 "I'm fine. I just found a way out!" He replied before climbing through the window and on to the window seal as he held onto the edge, looking down. They were literally hundreds of miles above Paris. In fact, all he could see were clouds. Tikki gasped as she saw him and tried to fly over to him but for some reason, she couldn't reach him. He tried to reach out to her as he did but once again, she couldn't get to him.

 "Something is stopping me from getting to you!" She gasped, making him frown. "I think it's a magical barrier,"

 "Tikki! Spots on!!" He shouted but the barrier from the ship still kept her from him. "Tikki, I need to get off the ship otherwise we can't transform!"

 "Luka, no! You'll have to jump!" She gasped as he moved against the edge and looked up at her. "Luka! Don't!!"

 "I know!" He replied, looking up at her. "Fly to me!"

 Before she could answer, he jumped off the edge, causing her to gasp and rush down towards him as he plummeted down to the earth. He carefully took out a purple macaron as he fell before throwing it to her. She dived towards it and ate it.

 "Tikki! Power up!!" He shouted as they continued to fall, causing her to glow and spin as she transformed, gaining blue wings and blue spots. She also got a little glowing star in the middle of her chest and her two antennae had two small balls on that glowed as well.

 "Star Tikki!" She declared as Luka swiped his earrings.

 "Star Tikki! Spots on!!" He declared, causing her to get absorbed into the miraculous. He transformed but like his other power ups, he had a new form. His basic suit was the same as was his hair but he had a new belt that was blue and red with a ladybug embalm as the belt buckle. His spots were glowing blue and he had a jet pack on his back. His gloves and boots resembled a galaxy and had blue trims. His mask was had blue spots instead of black and he had a helmet over his face as well that was red and blue. He continued to fall before blue beetle wings burst from his jet back. He flew straight up through the clouds, spinning as he did before glancing over to the ship. His yoyo vibrated, causing him to open it and see a message from Lady Noir. He phoned her back, causing her to answer it.

 "Anatis! Thank goodness!" She gasped before noticing his outfit. "Are you flying?"

 "Yes. Space power up," He replied, making her nod. "I'm going after the akuma and sentimonster. Want to join me?"

 "Wait, Little Sister is on there already?" She asked, making him frown. "She must have swapped with someone,"

 "I thought the akuma was called Big Momma?" He asked, making her frown before she gasped. "What is it?"

 "That must be the other pirate who attacked me early!" She gasped, making him frown. "Oh no... It's both of them!"

 "Lady Noir?"

 "The akumas! There's more then one!" She gasped, making him frown. "There's Little Sister who has been chasing and tormenting Lila Rossi through Paris. She uses people's phones to send them messages that then swaps her with them...  and there is Big Momma who must be manning the Sentimonster and helping her track Rossi. Little Sister kept on referring to a treasure though..."

 "Treasure?" He muttered, thinking back.

 "Yeah," She gasped, nodding. "I'm guessing it has something to do with them and Lila but I know who Little sister is. It's Juleka, which means Big Momma must be the captain. I think they got akumatized because of a photo Lila took. It showed her kissing Luka but he didn't comfortable at all but I don't know where he is. i checked the Liberty,"

 "Luka is the treasure," Anatis replied, making her frown. "That's what Little Sister must mean,"

 "But that means he's on the ship!" She gasped. "I'm coming to help you,"

 "No, I'll rescue Luka," He replied, making her nod. "See if you can capture Little Sister while I deal with Big Momma. Normally I'd be against but I think It will be easier to fight them separately,"

 "Alright!" She nodded. "Be safe,"

 "You too, Kitten," He replied before hanging up and flying towards the ship.

 ~Back to Paris~

 Lila ran as fast as she could do the street but Little Sister kept on replacing the people she went near. She had managed to find Adrien and tried to cling onto him but Little Sister replaced him as well. She ran past a man who was suddenly replaced with Little Sister, causing her to jump over and land in front of her as she pointed her sword at her.

 "Do you get it now?!" She growled, making Lila tremble. "I'll hunt you down wherever you go! Just give up on the treasure and I'll let you go!"

 "I don't know what the treasure is!" She gasped, making Little Sister growl and swipe her sword upwards, using it to knock back a car. 

 "My brother!" She growled, making Lila gasp. "Never go near him again and I'll stop tracking your every move!"

 "Alright," She gasped, looking down. "I'll never go near Luka again. You have my word,"

 She expected Little Sister to lower her sword and let her go but then she noticed a small black spot on her hand. It glowed and tripped in size, making her gasp as Little Sister roughly grabbed her arm.

 "The Black Spot betrays you," She smirked, pressing the sword to her neck. "Every time you lie, the black spot will grow. It will only disappear once you sincerely give up on the treasure and leave him alone!"

 "B-But how could I leave him alone? I just want to be his friend! I never meant to hurt him!" She gasped, hiding her hand behind her back as the spot grew. Little Sister growled and lifted her sword but Lila gasped and held up her hands. "Wait! There is something that might persuade me to leave him alone would be..."

 She moved closer to Little Sister.

 "If you got rid of Anatis for me," She whispered in her ear, making Little Sister looking at her with a small smirk. "Do that and I'll never go near the 'treasure' ever again,"

 "Lila!" Lady Noir gasped as she jumped down. "Are you alright?"

 "If that's what it will take to get you to leave the treasure alone then I'll do it," Little Sister declared, causing Lady Noir to give her a confused look. "But first... It's time to skin a cat,"

 "What?!" Lady Noir gasped as Little Sister charged at her, causing her to block her sword with her baton. However, Little Sister was going full force, managing to knock Lady Noir's baton out of her hand. She jumped out the way and grabbed her baton again but Little Sister knocked her back again as they battled down the street and landed on a fire truck. She ripped the hose pipe out of the engine and tried to hit Lady Noir with it like a whip. She jumped back and hit the hose with her baton, knocking it back. Little Sister growled and when to hit her again with the hose. This time Lady Noir caught it but before she could anything, Lila cried out.

 "My leg!!" She gasped, causing Lady Noir to look in her direction for a second but it was a second long enough for Little Sister to take advantage of it. She yanked the hose from Lady Noir's grip and threw it back, wrapping it around and pulling her towards her before slamming her into a lamp post and tying her to it with the hose. Lady Noir struggled against the hose as Little Sister glared at her. Lila couldn't hold back the smirk as she got up, showing her leg was clearly fine.

 "You little con artist!" She gasped, trying to get free as Little Sister turned to leave. Hawkmoth's mask appeared over her eyes as she did.

 "Relax, Hawkmoth, she's trapped and not going anywhere," She replied, jumping up in the sky as Lila stalked over to Lady Noir.

 "You! You helped her!" She gasped, struggling against that. "Why would you do that?!"

 "Me? Of course not," Lila gasped, causing the black spot on her hand to grow even bigger, making sigh. "Well, I guess that means I'm lying again,"

 "I knew it!" She gasped, struggling against the hose. "Why did you help her?!"

 "Well, I may have made a little deal with her," She smirked, making Lady Noir growl. "I'll leave alone her treasure, if she gets rid of Anatis for me."

 "You hate him that much?!" She gasped, making Lila laugh.

 "Of course, I do," She laughed, walked closer to her. "And now that you're tied up here, you can't help him... so I think I'll take that ring of yours since you won't be needing it anymore,"

 "I have one word for you," Lady Noir stated, narrowing her eyes as Lila reached for her hand.

 "Oh and what's that?" She laughed, making Lady Noir narrow her eyes.

 "Cataclysm!" She declared, charging her hand with the dark energy. Lila gasped and stepped back as Lady Noir manage to tap the hose, turning it to dust. She looked at Lila angrily, making her gulp as she stalked forward.

 "N-Now we can talk about this, Lady Noir," She gasped, holding her hand out as she saw how angry she was. "I was just trying to protect myself,"

 "By placing Annie in danger and helping Little Sister capture me so he's facing them alone?!" She growled before lifting her fist and slamming it into Lila's face, causing her to stumble back as she held her nose. "Now if you excuse me, I have spend enough time with you then I care too,"

 She jumped up, using her baton to lunch herself up to a building as her ring beeped. She hid behind the chimney before dropping her transformation and catching Plagg. She gave him a chunk of cheese before looking from behind it.

 "What's wrong, dollface?"

 "Lila tricked Little Sister into a deal. She'll leave the treasure who is Luka alone if Little Sister takes care of Anatis for her," She explained, making him almost choke as he ate his cheese. Marinette gasped and looked at him. "Are you ok?"

 "Fine!" He gasped before coughing. "We better hurry up and save bug boy then,"

 "I know," She replied, checking her phone for the location of the sentimonster. It was last spotted high above the arc de triomphe. She put her phone away before taking out a purple piece of cheese, making Plagg groan as he took it and ate it. "Plagg! Power up!"

 He spun around and glowed as he transformed before revealing himself. It wasn't much different to his usual form but he had a glowing ball on his antennae, a glowing star in the middle of his forehead and he had small bat wings that were green in color. He had a little green trim on his ears and his body looked like it was made from deep space. It was more of a very dark blue then black and it appeared he had stars all over himself. 

 "Plaggstroid!" He declared as Lady Noir held out her hand.

 "Plaggstroid! Claws out!" She declared, causing him to be sucked into her ring before she transformed into her new form. In general , her suit was the same as her normal form but instead of it been black, it resembled deep space like how Plagg looked. She had green detail across her gloves and boots and she wore a black belt with a green trim. Her belt buckle was a black circle with a green trim and a green paw print in it. On her back was a green and black jet pack with green straps. She had a helmet over her face that was green and black. Her mask and eyes were the same as were her ears but her hair had gone through the most drastic change. It was still the same style and length but instead of it been black, it was a bright but icy blue color. She ran to the edge of the building and dived off, causing green bat wings to burst from her jet pack before she flew up in the air, spinning around as she did. She stopped in the sky and looked around before taking out her baton and opening it. It showed Anatis was nearby so she flew in that direction, catching up with the Guard-O-War as she did. Just as she got there, she saw Big Momma and Little Sister had trapped Anatis with his lucky charm, which was a hose, similar to how Little Sister had trapped her but he was tied to the mast instead of a lamp post. He was trying his best to fight them off, kicking them back. Lady Noir narrowed her eyes before diving downwards back towards the earth. She flew back to where Lila had been and suddenly grabbed her, making her scream as she flew back into the sky and back to the ship. Lila screamed as she threw on the ship, just as Little Sister was about to reach for Anatis' earrings. His yoyo began to ring, causing her to stop and look at him. Big Momma rushed over to him then but Lady Noir flew over and slammed into her, knocking her to the edge. "Annie, answer it!!"

 "What?" He gasped, kicking Little Sister back before answering it, showing a skull and crossbones symbol on it. "What is with that symbol?"

 "No!" Little Sister shouted, going to reach him but he answered the phone, causing her to swap places with him. He smirked as she struggled but jumped back when Big Momma attacked him. Lady Noir flew over to Little Sister and grabbed her sword as Anatis blocked Big Momma's sword with his yoyo.

 "Annie! Catch!!" She gasped, tossing it towards him as Big Momma threw him to the ground. She rose her sword as to hit him but he caught the sword and blocked it, knocking her back as his luck vision lit up the two swords and her necklace. He kicked her back and held the sword out, causing her to grow because she charged at him, causing him to clash swords with her as Lady Noir landed on the ship. He spun around, moving his feet with skill as he blocked Big Momma's sword with his, causing Lady Noir to look on in amazement as he met her blade. In the corner of her eye, she saw Lila getting up and moving towards Anatis but she quickly grabbed some rope and threw it around, trapping her to the stairs as Anatis disarmed the captain and grabbed her necklace.

 "Lady Noir! Destroy the swords!" He shouted, tossing Little Sister's as well. She grabbed both swords before summoning her cataclysm, destroying them both. The akuma fluttered out as Little Sister and Big Momma turned back to Juleka and Anarka, causing them to look around as Anatis caught the akuma before running up to the wheel, just as Adrien came out of the lower deck. Lady Noir gave him a puzzling look before rushing over to Anatis, who looked at Adrien. "Adrien! Help the captain free Miss Couffaine!"

 "Aye, aye, Captain Anatis!" He grinned before rushing over to her and beginning to help.

 "What's the plan?" She asked as he held the necklace.

 "We need to land this thing before we catch the amok," He replied, spinning the wheel. The ship jolted forward and began to move as Anatis steered it, driving it down to the Seine. "Hold on!!"

 Everyone grabbed onto something as it crashed into the water, destroying a bridge before Anatis steered the wheel. Finally it came to a stop and a plank appeared from it, allowing everyone to climb off. Anatis ran his hand over the side of the ship, smiling a little as Lady Noir dragged Lila off the ship before she looked around.

 "Where's Luka?!" She gasped as Lila tried to get out of her grip. However, she ran straight over to Juleka, who pulled back her fist and punched her, making Lila fall to the ground as she glared at her as her nose bleed.

 "That's for my brother," She stated before looking to Anatis. "Is he safe?"

 "Yes. I got him off the ship beforehand," He replied before looking to the Sentimonster ship. He gently placed his hand on it before crushing the necklace in his hand, releasing the amok. He caught it in his yoyo before catching the lucky charm as it fell towards him. He released the butterfly and feather before throwing the hose up in the air. "Miraculous Ladybugs!"

 It burst into the cure and moved around them, fixing all the damage that been done and returning them to the Liberty before disappearing once everything was back to normal. Anatis turned to Lila, who's nose was still bleeding.

 "Why didn't your cure fix me?!" She screamed. "I was punched twice! Once by that mangy cat and then by her! The cure should have fixed it!"

 "Well, it's quite simple, Miss Rossi," He stated, making everyone turn to him. "That wasn't caused by the akuma so the cure won't fix it. Besides, you're lucky that's all they did to you. If I had Lady Noir's power, I wouldn't have hesitated to cataclysm you,"

 "I am the victim here!" She screeched, making him shake his head.

 "No, the victims here is Luka and his family," He stated, making her look at him. "That's right, Miss Rossi. I saw that picture and Luka told me about how to tried to forcefully kiss him. I advised him to take legal action against you as that is attempted assault,"

 "Not to mention that you made a deal with Little Sister to leave Luka alone if she tried to get rid of Anatis for you!" Lady Noir shouted, making everyone glare at her. 

 "I... I was afraid!" She gasped with tears in her eyes before she pointed at Juleka, who let out a little growl. "She was stalking me all over Paris! I was terrified for my life!"

 "So you sold me out?" Anatis growled, making her gulp. "I know you hate me but that's low. Even for you, Lila,"

 "I don't have to listen to this!" She gasped, turning on her heel but before she could even get off the ship, Officer Roger turned up and took her by the arm. "Hey! Get of me!!"

 "I just got a phone call that you assaulted a young man," He stated, taking her away from the ship as Anatis and Lady Noir's earrings beeped. She tried to pull away but soon she was in his car and driving off. Anatis turned to the others and gave them a salute before jumping off as Lady Noir said goodbye to everyone else. Once he found an alleyway, he detransformed and caught Tikki, handing her a cookie before helping her into his pocket and running back over to the Liberty, just as Marinette also ran towards there. 

 "Luka!" She gasped, rushing over to him and pulling him into a hug. "Oh my god! I was so worried! Are you ok?! Oh!"

 She quickly pulled away.

 "I'm so sorry!" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "I should have asked if I can hug you!"

 "Marinette, I don't mind you hugging me," He mumbled, making her blush. "I know your intentions are not bad,"

 "Of course not," She gasped. "You're my friend,"

 "And you're mine," He smiled, opening his arms. She smiled and hugged him before they pulled away from each other. "I should get back to the Liberty..."

 She nodded and the two of them walked over. Almost instantly, Juleka rushed over to him and hugged him as soon as she saw him, crying as she did. Luka hugged her back before Anarka joined in with the hug. 

 "I'm glad you're ok, Lad,"

 "I'm fine," He smiled before looking at them. "But please never get akumatized like that again,"

 "We'll try," Juleka muttered, making him nod. "But what should we do about Lila?"

 "Well... I heard you punched her..." Luka grinned, making them look at him as he shrugged. "Anatis told me when he came to let me know it was safe to come home,"

 ~The Police Station~

 "You're lucky that they're only giving you a warning, Lila!" Her mother gasped as they walked out. "That poor boy and his family must have been so upset!"

 "I didn't realize that it was unwelcome, Mama!" She gasped as they walked over to the car but to their surprise, Nathalie was waiting by it. 

 "Can we help you?" Mrs Rossi asked, looking at her.

 "I'm Nathalie Sancoeur. I work for Mr Agreste," She explained, making both of them. "He's been looking for a new model to work with his new clothing line for teenagers and he was sent your daughter's portfolio from Vincent Aza,"

 "Oh yes I remember Vincent," Mrs Rossi stated, nodding. He had worked with Lila a couple of times in Italy.

 "Mr Agreste feels Lila has exactly what he is looking for in a model and wishes to hire her,"

 "Really?" Lila gasped, surprised. "Oh that is wonderful! Mama! Please can I do it?"

 "Well..." She frowned. "What about school?"

 "It won't interfere with her school and we are willing to paid for her time," Nathalie explained, pushing up her glares. "It would be excellent for her career too,"

 "Please Mama!!"

 "Well... ok,"

 ~Back at the Couffaine's Boat~

 "Dad, I'm fine," Luka sighed as he sat on the phone to Jagged, who was panicking about him. Penny was trying to calm him down but it wasn't helping. "Dad, calm down.,"

 "You were nearly kidnapped!" He gasped, making Luka. "I'm getting you a bodyguard,"

 "Dad, I don't need one," He gasped, shaking his head. "Issac hasn't turned back up and the press are finally leaving me alone. Giving me a bodyguard will draw more attention,"

 "But that Lila girl..."

 "Will have to go through Juleka to get to me,"

 "At least have a taser!" Jagged gasped, making Luka sigh. "Or a crocodile!"

 "Dad, I don't need a crocodile or a taser," He gasped, pinching his nose before shaking his head. "But if it makes you stop going on about it, I'll invest in some pepper spray and bring that with me wherever I go ok?"

 "Alright," Jagged sighed. "But we're adding endangerment to the case again Bob Roth,"

 "Fine by me," Luka replied before looking as Juleka popped her through. "I have to go. Movie night is about to begin,"

 "Alright," Jagged replied. "Be careful,"

 "I will," Luka replied, smiling a little. "Good night, Dad,"

 "Good night, Luka,"

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

Next Chapter: Coming Soon

[bdlhchn]

extracurricular; hrj

copyright © 2020, bdlhchn. all rights reserved.

genre: slight angst, fluff, tuition classmate!renjun, 1990s!renjun, student!renjun

w/c: 1445 words

synopsis: you’ve only seen him once, but you’re willing to not skip tuition just to see his pretty face.

---------

hating tuition was an understatement, you absolutely detested it. 

you didnt see a need to go for tuition, as you had the best grades you could ever achieve in your entire life. your mom thought otherwise, sending you to enrichment and tuition classes left and right ever since you were taught to read and write.

not to mention the stuffy and uncomfortable atmosphere that was always apparent in the tuition classroom, that never failed to bring a gag to your throat. the tutor droned on and on about topics you were already familiar with, even sidetracking to how he fell in love with his wife for the 30th time.

private tutors are expensive, you thought, that was probably why your mother sent you to a group tuition class. but this was too much, having a subpar tutor with top tier students? parents are really just wasting their money.

creaking plastic chairs and scratchy wooden tables really wasn’t worth the hefty $800 fee your mother had to bear every month per subject.

but maybe someone in your class was worth procrastinating for.

and that was none other than huang renjun, the chinese national that arrived and attended tuition for the same reason your mom sent you for; to be even better than now.

you and renjun arrived at the center around the same time, with the tutor gladly welcoming the both of you with open arms(because it contributes to his KPI). you soon go to realise that he really didnt care about any of the students in class, he really just needed the quick cash to fuel his wife’s obsession with hot pink iridescent birkins.

to be honest, renjun looked a little standoff-ish when you first saw him; jet black hair nicely crowned on the top of his head. round eyes, sharp nose and rosy lips, his features melded very well together, making him look effortlessly beautiful. he could easily make it as a teen actor, you mused, as he took a seat next to you, taking out his writing supplies and notes.

“im renjun,” the boy extends a hand towards you in perfect korean, “nice to meet you.”

“im y/n.” you shook his hand timidly, “nice to meet you, too.”

“i hope you don’t talk in class because i would like to concentrate,” renjun returns his attention to his notes, already scribbling the method to the equation on the blackboard.

you scoffed, did renjun not realise that he got scammed? the tutor that does nothing but rant about his everlasting love(that will soon evaporate the moment he’s retrenched)?

“concentrate,” you muttered to yourself, “sure, i wouldn’t want to be of any disturbance to you anyway. good luck trying to solve that equation, because he himself doesn’t know the method answer to it.”

renjun pauses momentarily, then looking at you, “then why are we here?”

“to raise his kpi,” you bit your lip, spinning your pencil, “if you haven’t noticed already. you’re kinda slow-witted for a star student, renjun.”

“i never said i was a star student,” renjun gritted his teeth, his pencil lead nearly snapping at the pressure he’s putting on the pencil. “you’re the one to say, y/n.”

“your method answer is correct,” you hummed, peeking at his notes, “and by the way, the question he just put out was in my examination paper last year. and i was the only one in the school that got it right.”

renjun stares at you incredulously, snatching your paper from your grasp, eyes not believing the big red 100 inked on your examination paper.

“suit yourself, renjun,” you sighed, taking out the gameboy from your bag, “you’re better off with a private tutor than this place.”

renjun slumped into the seat in defeat, arm going limp at how you just shot him and his hopes of rising up the ranks down just with a few simple sentences. no one has ever talked to him like that before, not even the valedictorian of his school.

turning back to the equation on the blackboard, renjun grumpily solves it without fail.

—

you never saw renjun in class the next lesson.

and the next.

and the following one.

you weren’t the type of person to poke your nose into others’ business, but there was just something about renjun that made you want to care. even though you have only met and conversed with him once.

you were worried that renjun was actually hurt by your words.

you tapped your pencil impatiently on your notebook, the eraser on the top of it rubbing off on the paper surface. students were strolling in one by one, but none of them was renjun. 

what was wrong with you? you seemed to lose total interest in the lesson when renjun isnt here, and that was the very first lesson. 

well, if you couldn’t listen, you might as well skip the class, right?

as the tutor began class, you discreetly packed your materials into your bag, pretending to pay attention to the usual droning of his monotonous voice.

“sir,” you feigned pain, “i think im not feeling too well, could you excuse me from this class?”

your tutor nodded absent-mindedly, “sure, hope you feel better soon, y/n. oh, also could you give a call to renjun? he hasn’t been in class for 3 weeks.”

you stared at your tutor quizzically, and he looked back with the same look, “what?”

“i don’t have his number, sir.”

“just get it from the front desk.” he waves you off hurriedly, “tell them i asked you to.”

you nodded and left the classroom, trudging to the front desk to get renjun’s number. the front desk employee gave you a slight teasing look, writing down renjun’s number on a piece of paper. you chose to ignore it, not letting it get to you.

walking out of the center, you had no idea where to go. you only planned the escape in your head, now what? you definitely did not foresee this part of your escapade that you would make it this far. 

walking past several drugstores, none of the makeup on display caught your fancy. you sighed, walking into the neighbouring comic bookstore and looking around. you have never actually been into the store, only walking past it on several occasions. you weren’t an avid comic fan either, but you have read some of the books before, to pass time. you took another quick scan around the store, a familiar face caught your eye.

renjun.

the said boy had his head immersed in a comic, backpack and homework long abandoned on the table, finding more interest and fun in the book in his hands. he occasionally broke into a small, inaudible laugh, then flipping to the next page. not wanting to disturb him, you quietly walked towards him, settling your things gently on the seat opposite him. renjun was so engrossed in the comic, not noticing your presence until he finished the comic.

“what the hell!” renjun exclaimed, earning some glares from the neighbouring tables, “what are you doing here?”

you eyed the stack of homework beside you, “to do work, duh.”

renjun could barely believe his ears, “aren’t you supposed to be at the center?”

“look,” you closed your textbook, staring at renjun dead in the eye, “why on earth would i listen to him ranting about how he nearly copped that pink croc birkin for the 10th time? i have much better things to do.”

renjun inched his face closer to yours, making your heart skip a beat, “doing homework at a comic bookstore, really? and how did you find me here?”

biting your lip, not knowing how to answer renjun with his face that close to you, you could count the individual eyelashes on his eyes, examining the curvature of his nosebridge to his lips—

“answer me.” renjun folded his arms, stare never leaving you.

“i was just n-next door,” you pushed his face with your pencil, earning a frown from him, “and i can’t concentrate without you in class.”

“you what?” the sides of renjun’s lips lifted, a look you really like, “can’t concentrate without me in class? do you have a crush on me or what?”

your breath hitched in your throat, no way you would have a crush on a boy you just met once. sounds too fairytale-esque even for you, a hopeless romantic who learns tips from romcom dramas.

“as if,” you scoffed, “you’re getting too delusional.”

renjun eyes you wistfully, smiling to himself. he knows exactly how you feel about him, and how he feels about you too. he shakes his head, taking out his worksheets to do. maybe not today, he thought, maybe next time.

[neo-culture-mafia]

VI.

mirror masa by dathan

Damn

The waves of love came crashing down on Jeno’s head. His wish to break free from the suffocating feelings topped his head in a weighted suspense. Was he drowning from love...or high from devotional ecstasy?

“Not this. Anything but this.” He begged with his reflection in his fogged bathroom mirror. The reflective surface was cloudy with the shower steam. Yet, he could see himself clearly in the water’s trails as it cascaded down the mirror. It was one of the few times where he wasn’t high, but, his brain told him that he was anything but sober . Jeno was watching his life through his eyes like a movie.

“This isn’t real.” He muttered as he shook his head in disbelief. “you,” his words were getting trapped in his throat, “this isn’t you. You’re not real.” His hands could only grip the white marble of the countertop in hopes to ground himself to actual reality.

This was scaring him. The way he didn’t even know if his life was actually his. He didn’t love you. He couldn’t. He was incapable of love. From the hours of that sentence being shoved into his brain-- he finally believed it. However, he looked at you and knew that he was alive...and he was human. A human capable of making mistakes and finding love.

“Let’s go, Jeno. Practice started 5 minutes ago.” Jaemin knocked softly on the door. Jeno whipped the door open with a stale look on his face, “huh?” his throat was dry and felt like it was closing up by the second. The want to cry suddenly made its home in his chest. “Practice. It’s already started. We’re late.” Jaemin could only stare in confusion. Jeno hadn’t been the same for a while now and all Jaemin could do was sit back and hope he could find peace within himself.

“Oh. Yeah. Coming.” Jeno dismissed the platinum blonde boy as he grabbed his stuff and threw it in the dirty laundry bin. He grabbed his gear and was off towards the training center.

It was like his body moved on its own. He wasn’t in control-- only a passenger as he watched his life develop through eyes that didn’t seem like his own. It was if he was looking through a lens of someone else's movie-- someone else's life. His name was the only thing reassuring him that he hadn’t been switched.

Damn

When Jeno saw you, it was as if he got the moment of sanity he had been craving and itching for. “Please don’t go.” Was the only thing his autopilot flashed onto the back of his eyes.

Your skin was as soft as velvet and your embrace was nothing short of a hug from an angel. You were his personal drug. Only he could have you and he wanted it to be like that forever.

“Why do you hurt me?” Is his intimate question whenever he sees you walking away from his presence. “Please don’t leave.” He cries inside his mind, the rest of the group still surrounding him in loud and boisterous outcries of happiness as he is dying inside.

He watched you be swept away quickly by your group of friends and towards a distant adventure he wouldn’t be apart of. “Yo. Snap out of it, creep.” Jeno felt a hit to his chest and reacted seconds after the blow was laid. Renjun had his eyes trained on his far-off friend. “Sorry.” Jeno mumbled, fixing his glasses accordingly to make sure he caught one last glimpse of you.

“What’s wrong?” Renjun’s question had no appropriate answer. “I...I don’t know.” Jeno shrugged as he kicked his feet out one at a time in front of him. “You never know.” Renjun sassed as Jeno gave a cheeky smile. “I’m always here to talk. Also, on the subject of talking?” Renjun leaned in closer to whisper the next back-handed remark.

“Just talk to her. People are catching on and finding it creepy.” Renjun muttered before walking off in a lonesome daze. Jeno became more awakened and tuned in to what was happening around him. Someone caught on. The students were bustling around him and the group of teachers. It was barely noon and he was already craving the sweet release of laying in his bed alone.

The textured ceiling above his bed made perfect the kaleidoscopes for his dry and weary eyes. He made a home in his head. Where he lived with you in peace and harmony. Both of you stayed harmonious and didn’t have to experience loss anymore; happiness was a drug both of you could afford; education and a stable career were monotonous things. This life...reality didn’t exist.

“Class is about to begin. I’ll see you all later for pizza.” Hyuck was always a smooth talker and never feared a group of people. He was confident with anyone he talked with and never had a dull moment...or at least that’s what his facade portrayed. ‘See ya’s.’ were heard among the group as Hyuck grabbed Jeno and started dragging them back to their spaces.

Rockwell Hall, East Wing, Back-most Corridor. Rooms 143 and 144.

‘The Lee’s’. - the combination of teachers who worked off of each other. No one had a dull moment in the classes. It was their place. Their lives where they could manifest what they wanted. Taeyong didn’t have a say in their classrooms where the only things taught were to be real...and to live because no one was promised tomorrow.

“You okay, Jeno?” Hyuck asked as his arm was tossed over his buddy’s shoulders. “Yeah. I’m fine-” “Like,” Donghyuck raised his thumb to wipe off the bottom of his nose a couple times. “Yeah. I’m not high.” Jeno couldn’t help but chuckle at the relieved face of Hyuck. “Thank goodness. Cause I was gonna put a movie on and let my kids do whatever today. I didn’t want to have to babysit.” He laughed and Jeno could only laugh lightly.

“I need help with something.” Jeno finally blurted and the laughing had ceased entirely. “Of course. What’s going on?” Donghyuck’s arm now drooped to his side as he shoved his hand in his jean’s pocket.

“I’m in lo-” Jeno forcibly bit his tongue as he could sense Hyuck’s side eyes. He didn’t need to know how bad it is yet.

“I think I like someone.” Jeno breathed and it felt like a weight was taken off his shoulders. “Oh yeah?” Jeno’s eyes bolted around as he saw Hyuck’s feet kick tiny pebbles in their path. “Mind if I know who?” Was all that was muttered. “I’m not ready to say who yet.” The light sigh of defeat had Donghyuck knowing that this wasn’t a new problem. “Just go for it.” Was all the advice the younger boy had to offer. “What?”

The door of Rockwell Hall was opened by Hyuck as both walked into the air conditioned lobby where all the students were congregating. “Lees!” Some of the shared students waved to both of the young teachers as they made their way through the clusters of kids.

“Just go for it.” Hyuck smiled and waved to most of his students as some ran up to hand in almost-late reports and worksheets. “What do you mean by that?” Jeno was struggling to keep up with his friends thought process. “We always tell our kids that- oh hello JinHae, how are you? - that they can’t be afraid to do things.- I need to talk to you after class.” Hyuck pointed to a troubled student as they both passed. “That they can’t be afraid to do things because who knows if we’ll be here tomorrow.” Hyuck finally finished as they both walked towards the back hall.

Donghyuck had a point and Jeno hated to admit it. He needed to do it soon...or never. “And I can help you as much as you want with this mystery person.” He offered and Jeno wanted to puke at the offer. “No thanks.” He backed out of the un-agreed upon deal. They got to their rooms and stood outside of their doors. “That’s fine. But, if you ever need help-- you know where to find me, lover boy.” Hyuck winked and waltzed into his classroom in a graceful manner.

Jeno could only hang his head as he slugged into his own classroom to greet the over-achiever students. It’s as if they never left in the first place. He zoned out as he started writing some standard chemical equations on the chalk board. Students started to trickle in as Jeno’s anxiety filled his body to the brim.

The bell rang and Jeno put on the best fake smile he could as he turned around to see his students seated and eager to learn. “Good afternoon class. It’s amazing to see all of your faces once again.” The class droned on their greetings as Jeno flipped open his lesson packet. “Today’s Lesson: Ecstasy.”

I think I’m Fallin’ For You

It had been 3 weeks. 3 weeks of Jeno puking his brains out over the thought of you rejecting him. He had already said hi to you but where was he supposed to go to from here? You both had talked about mundane things that any young adult would talk about in this day and age. Jeno could feel a connection and he prayed to any higher being that you did too.

He was going to do it. He was going to confess. He just didn’t know when. But he knew that he would lose his chance if he were to wait too much longer.

Hyuck was still the only one who knew about the mystery person and was the only who was going to know for a long time. Even if it were to work out, the attention of dating on duty was too extreme. Most of the elite soldiers agreed that nothing would be revealed till the 1 year mark. Out of respect for each other, the rule has never been broken.

“Please just tell me who.” Hyuck whined as soon as the last one of Jeno’s students exited the classroom. The desperation in the man’s voice made Jeno chuckle. “Nope.” He shook his head and went back to grading the quiz he had just administered.

“I promise I won’t tell.” Jeno didn’t even acknowledge Donghyuck’s existence as he wrote a 96% on the top of the paper.

“Fine.” Hyuck came over and laid on-top of the stack of papers. “Rules, Donghyuck.” “So you confessed? And you guys are dating?” Hyuck scrambled up to start hitting Jeno’s side. “I didn’t say that.” Jeno said as he packed up his laptop and put his bag on his back.

“This is so unfair-” “It’s really not.” Jeno muttered as he looked to his friend with the grown out brown hair. “I wasn’t even supposed to tell you that I liked someone in the first place. I’m not going to willingly break a rule, excuse me, a group agreement just to gossip. If anything happens...you’ll find out eventually.” Jeno stated at the boy who had his arms crossed.

“Fine. Be stubborn. See if I care.” Hyuck started to walk out of the room and into his own classroom. Jeno thought he was home free. “Are you coming to get beers with us or not?” Jeno called out and the younger boy swung his head into the door opening. “No. I have a couple more papers to grade then I’m going to the gym.” Hyuck ran a hand through his hair. Jeno brushed it off as he was just happy to stop the before conversation.

“Also. I better be the best man at your damn wedding in 2 years-” “Out.” Jeno raised his voice. He could hear Donghyuck giggle his way into the other classroom. Jeno grabbed his stuff and headed out of the door and down the hall.

He was going to go out with his friends tonight. He was going to forget his problems and just let loose and live free. He wasn’t promised tomorrow so he was going to make sure he forgot tonight if he was alive by the morning.

The beer shelf was wiped clean by the group of elites in the on-base bar. “We need to go clubbing.” Lele said and everyone turned to him boozed up and unaware. “Lele...you’re so young,” Mark laid his hand heavily on Chenle’s right shoulder, “but you’re so smart, I’ll get Johnny to drive!” Mark said as he grabbed his phone and had a hard time getting his passcode in.

A group of cheers were heard as Mark went outside to dial the chauffeur for the night’s activities. “It’s 10 o’clock? Where the hell is the son of a bitch?” Jaemin slurred as he laid over the shoulder of his best friend.

“At the gym. I’ll go fetch him and drag him along.” Jeno who was the most sober out of the group decided that the night was incomplete without Hyuck. “You tell him that I’ll kick his ass if he doesn’t show up.” Jaemin whispered groggily into Jeno’s ear. “Will do, Jae.” Jeno laughed as he got up and shoved Jaemin down into the stool with a deep groan.

Jeno cascaded out of the bar and into the courtyard. “No. You listen to me Johnny-hyung. You drive or I drive-Stop yelling I was joking.” Mark slurred on his words. Jeno could hear Johnny through the phone. He wouldn’t be happy to take them but he still would. The fear of guilt looming over the oldest’s head.

Jeno’s feet carried him towards the gym where Hyuck was, benching the night away. For the first time he hasn’t thought about you- awe wait...he just did. He cursed out loud and slapped a hand over his mouth with a giggle. He turned to make sure no one heard and laughed himself to the gym.

He walked in the door and no one was there. No students...no Donghyuck.

“He fell asleep doing papers again.” Jeno gasped and chuckled lightly as he walked back out the door and twirled over to Rockwell Hall. “Rockwell...Rocks...Drugs...” Jeno had fun tying words together as he opened the main door to the lobby. The marble floors were free from any students or teachers.

“I’m coming to get you.” Jeno whispered as he got down and ran down the main hall. He tripped halfway and ended up rolling a couple of halls down. Jeno sang his own special effects music as he tried to do cartwheels and more flips down the hall.

His back hit the wall right around the corner of the back hall. The lights shone from Hyuck’s classroom. “All clear, kkrrkrk.” Jeno copied the sound of a walkie-talkie as he continued to roll down the hall. He stopped right infront of the open door and stood up. He looked left and right. “Cover me, I’m going in. kkrkkrk.” Jeno swooped into the lit up classroom. Jeno was ready to run towards the desk and pick up his best friend to sweep him off to a night on the town.

There he caught you and Hyuck making out in the empty classroom. You were sitting on the desk with him pushed up to you. His hands gripped your face like Jeno imagined he would. Your own delicate hands grabbed bunches of his best friend’s black t-shirt. Jeno’s best friend.

You both were too in the heat of the moment to hear the sound of Jeno’s heart cracking into a million pieces.

“Uh.” Jeno could only drone a little. It was enough to break you both up. Donghyuck stood in front of you as you tried to shield your face. But it was too late. Jeno could’ve spotted your face from a mile away. He already knew too much.

“Hey, Jeno. What’s up?” Hyuck tried to de-puff his face in the moment. Jeno’s eyes started to gather tears as if they were going to run out. The long silence made all of you get an ache in the stomach.

“10 months.” Was all Hyuck said and Jeno tried sealing up his feelings as soon as they were escaping. Jeno nodded, still too intoxicated to feel anything but numb. Donghyuck didn't steal you from him...you were never his in the first place.

He was sent into auto-pilot again. Where he was just in attendance to the premiere of his heart break. He wasn’t real. None of this was.

“I’m happy for you.” Jeno nodded and an unimaginable weight was taken off of Donghyuck’s shoulders. His shoulder dropped and a smile came onto the longer-haired boy’s face.

“Thank you.” He nodded with a genuine smile. Jeno didn’t dare look at you even though you stood behind Jeno’s best friend. You were so close but he finally realized that he would never be able to get closer.

“We were going out to the club. Jaemin said he would beat your ass if you didn’t come.” The alcohol was talking again as Jeno numbed himself to all the pain that was crashing down on him like harsh waves.

“Oh. Well.” Donghyuck seemed flustered as he looked around and finally behind him to where you stood as stiff as a board. “I’m a little busy tonight. I promise next time I’ll buy a round.” Hyuck tried to compromise with the upmost form of sincerity.

“Alright, deal.” Jeno mused and came closer to dap up his best friend.

“I’ll catch you tomorrow then at practice.” Jeno hummed as he showed himself the door. “Jeno. Wait.” Jeno turned around to look at Hyuck.

He had never seen his most confident friend riddled with so much fear.

“Please.” Was all he said and Jeno already knew what he meant.

“Don’t worry. 2 more months.” He waved Hyuck off and the confidence washed over his friend’s face once more.

As soon as Jeno turned the corner, his tears fell in hot lines.

This wasn’t real. None of this was.

He met the rest of the group near the entrance once he got rid of his tears and hurt.

“Whats wrong?” Renjun asked and Jeno sighed. “I know what’s wrong.” Jeno nodded to himself. Jeno was finally confronting his feelings. “Are you going to tell me?” Renjun asked and Jeno only shook his head no. “No.” Now that he knew what was wrong, he wasn’t going to broadcast it to the world. “Fine. I’ll just bug you tomorrow- Wait. Where’s the sober one?” Renjun asked as he realized Jeno came back alone.

“Donghyuck is stuck making lesson plans. He promised to buy us all a round next time though.” Jeno relayed the message. “I won’t kick his ass then. This time.” Jaemin sang as he dolphin dived into the van.

They all climbed in the van. Jeno was the last one in as he rested his head against the window.

He watched the city light streak as his tears rolled down. Jeno wasn’t sad. He was happy. Jeno knew that you would be happy with Hyuck. Hyuck could give you things that Jeno wished he could have. But, he’s happy knowing your happy...

...even if it hurt like hell to realize he wasn’t going to be the one you fell for...

[mirdance]

Love Will Teach Us the Way

I wasn't sure if I'd post this to tumblr since I'm just getting started on this platform, but why not! Participating in the Mysme RBB (@mysme-rbb) has been such fun. It was a pleasure to work with Rose. The lovely Ami and the story idea all belong to her! You can see both Zen and Ami staring lovingly into each others eyes in Rose's beautiful rendition of the story. The story on A03 Check out the art to this piece here: Instagram Twitter Summary: Zen plays the part of a wandering minstrel in As You Love It. Even though he isn't playing the main role, he is busier than ever as the sole provider of music for the entire play. He hasn't been able to spend much time with his beloved, even missing out on her birthday, much to her dismay. To make up for it during rehearsal season, he wanders to Ami's favorite spot on campus to serenade her an old ballad. The song Zen sings is based off a 17th century British folk song called Love will find out the Way. Original Lyrics Tune

Zen has had to wear many a unique costume for the spotlight, varying from zentai suits to bear furs to tree branches.  To gain fame in theatre, one must be willing to do the extraordinary and go beyond his comfort zone.  Aka listen to the director’s whims even if he looked absolutely ridiculous.  For William Stilspear’s As You Love It, the costuming was no different than most of his other comedies, save for the absurdly tight tights.  Sure, most bards wore tight tights, but did they have to be this tight?  Zen adjusted the band around his waist once more before buttoning up his shirt.  Even the old guy playing Fairy Number Five was starting to complain, and that dude never complained about anything.

Such was the life of the beautiful and famous.  Zen sighed and checked himself once more in the mirror.  He’d rather not present himself to his beloved in such a way, but he barely had time to visit her before dress rehearsals.  If only he were dressed as a gallant knight.  Unfortunately, for the upcoming charity play, he was one of the only performers who could sing.  This stuck him with the part of the wandering bard.  He wasn’t trying to be ungrateful, but the pants for the bard were even tighter than the other parts.  Not only that, but he’d had to practice guitar day and night.  His lovely Ami understood, but…he still felt bad, nonetheless.  How could a boyfriend miss his girlfriend’s birthday?  He was literally the worst.

He grabbed his guitar case, slung it on his back, and left the dressing room.  The show would present on Ami’s campus, and while he had initially thought it would provide them some much needed time together, he’d only had time for quick kisses before her classes.  (Much to Yoosung’s disdain, as he and Ami had a few biology classes together.  He’d been the reason Ami and Zen even met, but his complaints in messenger about their so-called ‘make out sessions’ were getting on Zen’s nerves.)  Today he knew she would be studying on her break between the Chemistry and Biology building.  The buildings were connected by a hallway that morphed into a floor to ceiling glass dome.  Inside were all kinds of artistic pieces the Fine Arts Department worked together with the science departments on.  There was an old piano no one touched in the back.  He had Yoosung make sure it was in tune a few days prior, not that Yoosung knew anything about music.  Zen had to trust the sounds he’d heard over the phone and hope for the best.

Once he arrived at the dome, he made sure to stay hidden from sight.  The area seemed rather empty of students, save for a couple yawning ones on the couches.  Good.  Not that Zen didn’t want an audience for this, but part of him also wanted the moment to be intimate.  He tip-toed around Ami’s study area.  She was heavily engrossed in the textbook laid before her, and Yoosung was busy whispering questions and showing her a worksheet.  Thank you, Yoosung.  Zen would have to make it up to him later.

Zen made it to the back of the dome without incident.  He sat at the piano and ran his fingers along the keys.  The top was dusty, but everything seemed to be in working order.  He pulled his case off his back and readied his scene.  First, he plucked the strings of his guitar, testing the sounds of the dome and the echo.  He wanted the music to fill the dome while she studied, unknown to his presence at first until she discovered something was up.  He began humming along, adding a few ooos and aaahs until he broke into his song.

Over our mountains

And over our waves

Under floods that are deepest

Which Neptune obey

Over rocks which are the sharpest

Love will teach us the way

He was quiet at first, but his voice nonetheless vibrated through the air.

Where there is no home

For the fireflies to lie

Where no one can roam

Or have freedom to fly

Where the bird dares not venture

Lest herself fast decay

But If love comes, it will enter,

And will teach us the way

Papers rustled in the distance before the clopping of shoes grew louder and louder until she reached him.  Perfect.  He winked and stood from his seat to go over to her.  She looked exhausted with her hair frizzing about her head from the recent harsh rains.  She needed to take care of herself more and sleep more, but he certainly didn’t help with his late-night texts.  He couldn’t help but be drawn to her aura.  Though she would beg to differ, he thought she looked more radiant today than ever with her backpack slung over her shoulder and a pencil in her ear.

He circled her as he sang and played until he returned and rested his foot on the piano seat.  She chuckled and crossed her arms as her cheeks slowly reddened.  She was a shy gal, probably a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention, but he loved seeing her undone and flustered.  He never wanted it to be too much, but today was special.  He wanted to make up for everything he’d been doing wrong, for not loving her enough, for not holding her enough.

You may esteem me

A boy for his might

Or you may deem me

A coward running flight

But if she, whom Love does honor,

Be hidden from the day

Set a thousand armies upon her

Love will teach us the way

He set his guitar to the side and cracked his knuckles for prep for the main crescendo: finishing the song on piano.  It wasn’t the most beautiful song, but he loved the lyrics.  He had to practice it for the play, and it just resonated with him and their situation for some reason.  Even though they were busy and couldn’t see each other, even though they’d been bickering, love would guide them and make them stronger.  He ran his fingers across the keys.

Some try to lose me

By having me confined

Some do oppose me,

Poor thing, to be blind

But ne’er can they break me

Do the best that they may

Blind Love, if so they call it,

Will teach us the way

With no where to sit, Ami dropped her things onto the floor next to him and hoisted herself up onto the piano.  Zen’s heart almost burst as she crossed her legs and leaned towards him.  It was the perfect setting for a masterpiece, and he had to tear his eyes from her chiseled legs to meet her gaze.  (She really did have killer calves, okay?  He couldn’t help himself.)  He cleared his throat and continued.

You can train a hawk

To stoop to your fist

You can train a dog

With prey coexist

The lioness, you can move her

To give her to prey

you’ll not stop the lovers,

They will find out a way.

He finished the song with his left hand and reached out with his other to caress her hand.  “They will find out a way,” he whispered to her before he enclosed his hand around hers.  He brought it to him and gently kissed her knuckles.

The air was quiet a moment as his breathing grew heavier.  She squeezed his hand and grinned as she jumped off the piano and into his lap.  He threw his arms around her, and she did the same.  No words were needed.  They could simply bask in each other’s presence for the moment and lean on each other.

“I’ve missed you.”  Zen broke the silence and grazed his lips across her neck.

“I know.  Me, too.”  She leaned her forehead into his shoulder and sighed.  “I’m sorry for getting emotional the other day.  I know we’ve got a lot going on.” He continued kissing up her ear.  “No, I’m sorry.  I should have put my foot down with the director.”

“You’re both very very sorry,” Yoosung’s voice cracked in the distance.

Ami laughed into Zen’s chest.  Zen was pissed Yoosung had ruined the moment, but he couldn’t be too mad at the guy since he’d helped so much.  Zen ran his fingers through Ami’s hair and kissed her forehead.  The bells outside rang, and Zen jolted with a groan.

“I’ve gotta get back,” he said, leaning over Ami and rummaging through the pocket of his case.  “I have a surprise for you, though.”  He placed a velvet ring box in her lap.  Her legs tensed, and Zen could hear her breath quicken.  Even though he had places to be, he gave her a moment, rubbing her back in circular motions.  She gingerly opened the box to find a stage ticket to his show and a note.

The missing part to this box can be found at my show

Will you say yes or no?

Let me have your answer tonight, princess~

Ami sat frozen with the paper between her fingers, and a grin painted her face.  “I…I…”

Zen stood, carrying his love, and placed a deep kiss on her lips.  “Now, I know how you don’t like to be placed on the spot, so I’m giving you time before you’re really placed on the spot.  Midnight has struck, and this bard has to run to rehearsals.”  He placed her on the ground and wrapped her into a hug.   “I hope I’ll see you later,” he whispered into her hair.

With that, he threw his things together and left in a hurry, leaving a dazed Ami behind with Yoosung to clean up.  Zen had other things to prepare in addition to the play itself, and he could spare no moment longer.  His heart raced into his ears as he sprinted to the theatre, and his unfortunate pants only made the run more uncomfortable.  He knew the director would have it out for him in front of everyone, but Zen didn’t care.  It was foolish, and he was stupid and young.  Yet he could only smile in anticipation for the night, and hopefully, for the ring that would grace his love’s left hand.