#will & his sister talk some more and she says alicia was the best thing to happen to him & he agrees

[mzannthropy]

Everyone knows I fucking hate this piece of garbage film (okay, I haven't watched it, but I read the book so that's how I know it's trash) but hey, a smiling shirtless Sam Claflin is still a smiling shirtless Sam Claflin.

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 25 - Marshall

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 24 -- Part 26

Pairing: Marshall x ofc (Vivienne)

Summary: The guys throw a New Years Eve party at 179th Crescent Street...

Warnings: Drinking, blood, violence (sounds like a party, right?), angst...

Word count: 2.4k

A/N: Alright! Thank you @deandoesthingstome for gently bullying me into posting this right away (I love you for that!) Here's all there is to know for now on the Marshall situation... It's not a long chapter, but still... I'm excited about this one. I hope you all like some unresolved angst!

@geralts-yenn @summersong69 @peaches1958 @fvckinghenrycavill @keanureevesisbae @livisss @sillyrabbit81 @ellethespaceunicorn @ylva-syverson @poledancingdinos

“Listen,” I snap at Mike and Dani, who have clearly decided that the hallway is a completely appropriate place to suck the skin off each other’s faces, “you’re not the only people on the planet. Get a fucking room.” 

“Marshall,” Dani answers, “go find yourself someone to suck your dick, and leave us alone.” That girl is getting way too comfortable around here. I swear to God; one more happy couple and I’m going to throw up. Of course Sherlock and Elena appear right on cue, also fairly firmly attached to each other. I can’t believe I’m actually jealous of them, actively wishing I had my arms wrapped around… her… I’ve checked the whole house twice at this point; she’s a no-show. That’s probably for the best; I have to get over her, and seeing her will only make things worse. 

Maybe Dani is right, maybe I should… I have to forget about her one way or another. It’s been over a week since it happened, and at first I thought it was just another one time thing. Now, I’m praying to every god I can think of that it was just a hookup, but the more I beg the universe to have it be exactly that, the less I believe it actually was. Thing is: I can’t actually afford to fall in love with my best friend’s sister. If Peter ever found out about this, he’d have my nuts, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. Ironically, he’s also the only person with whom I can actually talk about this shit. Except in this case, that talk isn’t going to go over well. What the fuck would I tell him? ‘Sorry, mate, I shagged your sister, and now I’m in love. With your sister.’ I might as well break my nose myself, that would save me both time and embarrassment. 

It’s time for another beer. Maybe two or three. In the living room, all of my roommates are really busy, and I just can’t help but roll my eyes.

“Not having a great night?” I recognize the voice; it’s Vivienne Chase, Marine Biology major and certified puck bunny. I’m fairly sure she’s made her way through well over half of my hockey team at this point. Not that I care. 

“Not really,” I answer. Dani’s words echo in my head, and it doesn’t help that she walks by right that second, sticking her tongue into her cheek. The whole gesture leaves very little room for interpretation. Mike notices - for a change - and nudges her in the arm while stifling a laugh. 

Vivienne stays. We drink, we talk, I even find myself laughing at some point. 

“I think it’s time to get the fuck out of here.” Great. Charles just decked Tony Bates. He had it coming - from Mike, but he was busy rolling a joint, so someone had to step up to the plate. I’d say it’s not like Charles to stand up for someone else’s girl like that, but it really is. He can be a prick, but he’s fiercely loyal to his friends, and as far as he is concerned, that includes their girlfriends. I’m almost sure he’d never actually make good on any threats he makes about going after one of them. Almost. 

“Alright, folks, nothin’ to see here, back to your business,” Sy says from another corner of the room, tearing his eyes away from Alicia Thomson. 

Tony actually leaves without making a fuss, which saves me a whole lot of trouble. I’d have hated to have to toss him out. From the corner of my eye, I look at Viv. It’s a good thing Charles was already busy talking up Dani’s roommate, because if he hadn’t been, I’m pretty sure Vivienne would have walked out on me. These hockey girls are way into a couple of guys throwing punches. I scoff at the thought. 

“Hm?” Her smile screams mischief and her eyes scream sex. This girl is throwing herself at me so glaringly obviously I’m even getting a strange look from Sy, who’s all the way across the room from me.

“Nothing,” I say, and I try to continue my conversation with her as naturally as possible. School, the holidays, hobbies, the usual. She’s clearly not planning on getting to know me - not that I’m hell bent on finding out everything about her. Or anything, even, for that matter. I know her name, which Charles would probably say is already more than I need to know, and to be completely honest, it’s plenty for me, too. At least right now.

Her hands are always on me, she’s leaning in when I talk, giggling, playing with her hair. Serving up the works, really. If this is a good idea, why am I constantly reminding myself that Lexi isn’t an option? Why can’t I get her out of my goddamn head? I vaguely register the rest of the room as they count down to midnight, and two arms snaking around my waist. Fuck, she’s close, pushing me back against the wall even further… And then she kisses me. 

Her lips are soft but extremely demanding, forcing mine apart. Before I can properly register what is happening, her tongue slides into my mouth, and I just give in. Worst case scenario, I get laid tonight and there’ll be plenty of time for pining over a girl I can’t have, later. Vivienne lets go of me only to put her glass down somewhere, and I do the same. Her lips crash against mine again, and I feel her chest press into me. Not to be insensitive, but she has an impressive rack, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about them once or twice - in a more or less naked state, that is. I stop her when she tries to slide her hands up my sweater. 

“We’re in a room full of people,” I say softly, without even opening my eyes. I can almost hear her grin. 

“How about we move to a room with less people,” she whispers in my ear before very quickly nipping at my earlobe. 

I look around the room, knowing full well there isn’t a living soul in this house right now who would care if I took this girl upstairs - except for me. A voice in my head screams at me to go for it; she’s throwing herself at me, she’s smoking hot, and I’ve got to forget about Lexi. It doesn’t help that that part of my brain is - apparently - very closely connected to my cock. Another part of me points out that I should really be making this decision with my head, but it’s just not going to happen. 

We barely make it through the door of my room before her sweater is off and her mouth is on mine again. Man, this girl is not wasting any time… Hands slip under my sweater, and before I've even pulled it over my head, her hands are already undoing my jeans. I really should be feeling differently about this. My hands are all over the most spectacular tits I've ever seen, and there's a hot girl trying to get into my pants - and succeeding… God, she works fast. Her hand wraps around my cock and for a few moments, I'm a happy man. Until I'm not. Fuck. 

"Too much to drink?" The answer is 'no', but a) I doubt she'll believe me and b) I don't think the real reason will score me any more points, and if I say no, she's going to ask… And then what am I going to say? ‘Sorry, you’re really hot, I’m just madly in love with my best friend’s sister’? Hardly seems like a good idea to me, so I decide to just shrug. Fuck if I know what to do, it's not like I have a reaction prepared for when my dick refuses service! This has never happened before. Alright, that’s not completely true, but it’s never happened before when it actually mattered.

"Too bad," Vivienne says as she puts her clothes back on, and I do the same. I knew there was nothing between us, but it hurts nonetheless to see her leave like this. My mind wanders to Lex. It never would have happened with her, I'm sure, but if it had… what would she have done? Not this.  

I shove the thought of holding her in my arms down resolutely and turn to Viv. 

"Any chance we can keep this between us?" I’m walking the line between indifferent and absolutely mortified. I honestly didn’t even know that line existed, because those two emotions don’t really feel like they’re immediately adjacent, but here we are. 

"I'm not gonna tell. This isn't exactly great for me, either." And just like that, she's gone. 

I finish getting dressed and lay on my bed until I hear noise in the hall. 

"Where is he?" I know that voice. That's Peter. "Mike, I swear, get the fuck out of my way." I can't let Mike take the heat for my mistakes, I have to get out there. My feet are heavy. I know what's going to happen, and it's not going to be good. For fuck's sake, how did I let it get to this?

"Peter, leave him alone." He's down in the hallway when I walk down the stairs, looking up at me. If looks could kill… 

"Marshall…" Mike doesn’t exactly look prepared to get out of the way, which might be a good thing. I hope to prevent this fight from taking place on the stairs, if at all possible. I’ll take a few punches, but I’d rather not break my neck.

"Mike, it's okay. He's after me, not looking for trouble. It's cool, back off." He lets me squeeze past him on the stairs, but he doesn't move. Dani is standing near the door to the kitchen, looking terrified. It's crowded in the hallway. August is there, although I don't see Ange anywhere right now. Geralt and Sol are right behind Dani. Great. An audience.

As soon as I set foot on the ground floor, I take a punch to the face. Both Mike and August look ready to lunge at Peter.

"Guys," I'm not much of a masochist, but I can't say I didn't deserve that. 

"No, sorry," August says, "what the hell is he doing?" 

"I shagged his sister," I say before a second fist hits me square in the nose. God, I hate the way it sounds when it breaks. The guys don't seem convinced to back off just yet, and I'm fairly sure the blood streaming down my face isn't helping.

"If you think that's what this is about, think again, you fucking bastard!" 

"Hold on." I don't know why I'm opening my mouth, honestly. "You're not mad I slept with Lex?" 

The door to my right opens. 

"Nothing going on here, Leon, just get back inside." There's blood all over my face, so this can't be very believable. He does take my advice, though, which I'm glad about. I don't need the guys to gang up on Peter, especially since I had this coming.

"Listen, pal." He's pissed about something, but if it's not me sleeping with Lexi, then what? "You think you can get with my sister - which I'm not not pissed about, mind you - and take off with the next skank a week later?" 

"Nothing ha-"

"Save it. She saw you two take off together. The fuck else were you doing? You got a coin collection I don't know about that you wanted to show her?" He slams me against the wall. It doesn't hurt. Not more than my face, anyway. It's a shit excuse I'm using. Because I'm fairly sure I would have seen it through, if things had… y'know, cooperated. I can see the next punch coming. Might have to close my eyes for this one, because I just know it's gonna hurt like a bitch. Then his words actually register in my brain. She saw me take off with Vivienne. That hits like a ton of bricks. It hurts me enough to bring me to tears, actually. 

"That's quite enough." Any voice that's this calm in a situation like this is usually Geralt's, but Geralt isn't a girl, and the owner of that voice very clearly is. Ange. "There's four guys in this hallway, ready to jump you. You punched him once for screwing your sister, and once for hurting her. Enough." Lo and behold; Peter actually backs off. Not that I wouldn't have, or anyone else in this house, for that matter. Anjelica can be truly terrifying. Especially because we can't exactly talk back to her; August would kill us. And she knows that.

"The whole family was rooting for you guys," Peter says as he lets go of my shoulders, "what the hell were you thinking?" It takes everything I have to stay on my feet, now that Peter isn’t practically holding me up anymore. I can hear the hurt in his voice, which forces more tears from my eyes. 

"The whole fa- What? You just said you weren't exactly thrilled that she and I…" I shake my head - carefully, because it hurts like hell - as if it’s going to clear anything about this up.

"Yeah, because you just did it to get laid.” Even though I know I deserve that - because I definitely believe why it looks that way - I can’t let it slide. Part of me feels that he should know me better after all these years, another part knows I can’t defend myself against this.

"I didn't, I-" Peter doesn’t let me finish my sentence.

"Can it, Marshall!" I do what he asks and shut up - like I probably should have done from the beginning. "There's no fixing this with me before you fix things with her." 

And in trying not to lose my best friend by staying away from the girl I love, I lost both. Happy fucking new year to me.

[fanichus]

FANfic 7

II noted that Roulette and Colt stayed at a table next to us as did two other men

*You're late, you know that, don't you?* The man signaled to the waiter and they brought a bottle of wine infused with magic I think I recognize the brand, my sisters and friends love it, for me the only thing that was interesting was the fact that the company was owned by a monster, the waiter served the four glasses and I actually didn't want it but I couldn't take my eyes off it, it looks pretty.

Demian whisper to me *Don't worry doesn't taste like alcohol* he turned to the table

*Mark, please... be grateful that you spent time alone with your fiancée, by the way, Alicia, you look beautiful*

Alicia laughed lightly *You shouldn't flirt with me with this beautiful woman on your side, by the way what is your name sweetie?*

*Scarlett, it's a pleasure to meet you* I remember that he mentioned that I shouldn't give my real name, Alicia smiled at me and Mark seemed to analyze me carefully.

*Well now that we know our names, we should let our men do their business while we talk in a more comfortable place * I look at Alicia somewhat surprised * Come on dear we don't want to delay their things* She grabbed my arm and took me to... a room with armchairs? We were still on the terrace but now we seemed to be in a mini theater...I don't know how to describe it honestly.

*Are you sure we should leave them alone?* Alicia smiled * I think you should worry more about yourself than them*

*Wait, what did you say?*

She started laughing *Girl, don't be scared, I just want to ask you some questions, you know, to pass the time*

*It's okay but... I also have some questions* She extended her hand and brought it closer to me, I took it and made a sign as if we would seal our mouths.

*To make this conversation more fluid one should ask the question, the other answer and make the next question, do you understand?* I just nodded my head. * ok me first, where did you meet Demian?*

*In a club, I don't know if you know the place, it's called Taoba* she looked like she recognized the place *It's still my turn, are you seriously his fiancée?

Alicia smiled more and said that yes, after 7 years of secret relationship they got engaged and even though he doesn't like to take her everywhere because of the danger, she follows him with great pleasure.

The conversation was interesting, she pointed out that my costume, saying that was very well put together and it seemed that I looked like that, I told him more "details" about Demian and me, saying about the club, that I was a waitress and singer there, also that he seemed very attractive to me and that I hoped that something more interesting would happen tonight, as if I were interested in that way, She understood me in several things, she told me how they met and it's very nice, apparently she worked in a cafeteria where she got very bored but one day he arrived, they were doing all the exchange of things they did not notice each other at all but when she raised her face he looked her in the eyes and they both fell in love instantly. I also mention that after that meeting nothing was the same thing again and I don't know if it was the alcohol or the feeling came over me but I also started to tell

*When I was little I had no friends, everyone treated me differently because of how I looked, but one day my dad introduced us to his best friend and it turned out that he also already had children, I was scared hiding behind my dad when my Devil... It's a nickname I call him affectionately... stood in front of me and started... talking to me and maybe it sounds very stupid but when I looked into his eyes I knew that my world was about to change*

Alicia looked like I had told her the biggest secret in history *If you felt it with that child, why are you with Demian right now?*

I was about to answer when Roulette appeared nearby and told us that we could return to the table that everything was resolved.

I had not already written why depression but I think not sleeping at night helps me write. I hope you like it @battlemaiden13

[mercerislandbooks]

Quick Takes: Recent Romance Reads

It's that time of year again! The 5th annual Bookstore Romance Day is almost upon us. Saturday, August 19th will be full of great romances and equally great giveaways and deals, both from us and from our audiobook partners at Libro.fm. You can sign up for free virtual panels featuring a variety of topics and amazing romance authors, or stop by the store for fun displays of romances of all sorts. In case you want to get a head start on some great recommendations, a few of our staff have highlighted favorite recent romance reads below!

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

Recommended by Lori

Florist Annie Walker is the youngest, sweetest sister of four. Orphaned at an early age, Annie's grown up under the protective wing of her older brother and two older sisters, not to mention the close-knit (and nosy) population of Rome, Kentucky. But now Annie would really like to find "the one," settle down, and have a family. That would fill the emptiness that nothing else seems to satisfy, right? Except Annie's social anxiety makes dating a nightmare, and when her most recent date fakes an emergency to ditch her, Annie is ready to give it all up. Enter tattooed bodyguard Will Griffin, back in town to guard Annie's future sister-in-law, pop star Amelia. Will agrees to be Annie's dating coach, just to give her tips and practice with the things that seem so hard when she's in the middle of a date. Unsurprisingly, the more time Annie and Will spend together, the closer they become, and the more Annie wonders what she's going to do when Will's assignment with Amelia is over. Annie is so delightful as a character, trying to break out of the box her siblings, and everyone in the town have put her in -- and with Will she is able to explore aspects of her personality that she hasn't shown anyone else. Will, of course, has his own past to contend with, and his own hangups to overcome. I listened to the audiobook on this one, and the dual narration really brought the novel to life. As I say in my rec card, "the most adorable small-town romance."

With Love, From Cold World by Alicia Thompson

Recommended by Lillian

Even though I think there is too much talk about tropes these days, it does work as a quick way to sum up a story. With Love, From Cold World seems like it would be easy to categorize. It's an Enemies to Lovers, workplace romance. The author ticks a few classic Rom-Com boxes - stuck in the office overnight together, beach trip sunscreen application, the setting is an almost too-quirky Winter-themed amusement park in Florida called Cold World. But hold on - there's more going on here that just that. Every layer starting with something as simple as the cover and continuing on to the emotions of the main characters is handled with a little more thought and a little less cookie-cutter storytelling. Lauren is a buttoned-up accountant, but getting her to open up and take risks for friendship and love didn't feel simple. Asa is a career Cold World employee who is not living up to his potential, but actually maybe he's doing great right where he is. There were moments I laughed, got choked up, and—of course—s​wooned. I found their getting together to be surprisingly touching. Definitely recommend for the romance reader as well as the romance-curious.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

Recommended by Becca

All Dylan Tang wants is to help keep his aunt's struggling Chinese takeout, Wok Warriors, afloat. He has a plan, too. Win the Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake competition—using his grandmother's unique blue mooncake recipe—and get Wok Warriors featured on a popular food television show. There are only two problems: 1) his aunt doesn't have the recipe, and 2) Theo Somers. After Dylan has an unfortunate run-in with Theo's best friend, Theo (wealthy, charming, and very attractive) tries to make it up to him by making a rather large donation to the takeout. Unable to refuse the needed money but not wanting to ​owe any favors, Dylan agrees to be Theo's fake date to a family wedding. But a weekend in the Hamptons surrounded by rich-people problems and having to contend with his growing attraction to Theo as they get to know each other might be more than he bargained for. Will sabotage, scandal, and stress get in the way of their budding relationship, or will Dylan learn the secret ingredients for both mooncakes and romance? Short, sweet, and a quick read, Fake Dates and Mooncakes was everything I wanted. Delicious food descriptions and a fake dating plot where they don't mess around too long saying, "Oh, it started as fake but now I have feelings for him and I can't act on them because we had an agreement!" (my least favorite part of the trope), took it over the top. Also, the cover art! I'm in love.

Long story short, next Saturday should be a lot of fun. Good vibes, good people, and good books. Come stop by and celebrate love and people who love love!

—Becca

[ilikethequiet]

The Wedding Date (Chapter 2)

Title: The Wedding Date (Chapter 2)  Summary: Dinner with the happy couple Rating: G for now, we’ll see if it changes/if there are later chapters I checked it through with Grammarly, so it sounds okay, tell me if it doesn’t 😘 Feedback/likes are so appreciated. Will also be posted to AO3. 

A few days later, on a quiet street in Go City, a former superhero and her boss stood outside staring at the home she grew up in.

“Shego, we’ve been standing out here for twenty minutes,” Drakken mentioned, her family were surely waiting for them, but she made no immediate effort to move, she looked nervous, an emotion he rarely saw her express.

“They’re just my family, right? And they want me to be here.” Shego had to keep telling herself because she didn’t believe it, she was the problem child of the family; the villain and she didn’t belong there.

“We could leave if you’d like, go wreak havoc somewhere?”  she was rather fond of havoc and Drakken didn’t believe she should participate in this farce if she didn’t want to.

She gave a little smile, that was a sweet offer, but she felt obligated to at least say hello. She took a deep breath. “We’re here, let’s do this.” Even if they just met the girl and immediately left after, at least Shego could say she put in the effort. She put on her least threatening smile and went up to the door and rang the bell, the theme song of Team Go blared, causing her to roll her eyes.  That was what Henry chose for the doorbell, this was going to be painful.

Moments later, Henry opened it with a bright smile. “Sheila! You came!” He had his doubts that she would, perhaps the animosity between them in the past was simply that, in the past. He nodded to the man standing behind her. “Drakken.” While he wasn’t a fan of the doctor, he could be civil for his sister’s sake. “Come in please, we’ll be eating soon.”

As they wandered through the house, Drakken was surprised at how expensive looking the furniture was, he didn’t realise Shego’s family came from money. It did make him question why she liked stealing so much, perhaps the thrill of the steal made it more worthwhile.  

“The boys send their apologies; they had some hero stuff to deal with.” While it killed Henry not to be there with them fighting the good fight, he had more to think about now; his new life with his fiancée, if his brothers were in dire straits, he would join them of course, but for now, he could afford to have a meal with his sister and her boss.

When they walked into the kitchen they were greeted by a woman with blonde shoulder-length hair, Shego thought she gave off a real librarian vibe. “Sheila, right? It’s so nice to meet you, I’m Alicia. Henry has told me so much about you.”

“Well, none of it is admissible in court.” Shego grinned and gestured to Drakken. “This is my boss, Dr. Drakken.” Let’s see how much Henry really did tell this girl.

She simply smiled and shook his hand. “A doctor? What is your specialty?”

“Crime and villainy mostly, I also have a degree in robotics.”

Shego snorted, here Drakken was doing his best trying to come off as normal but the fact he was here, dressed in his lab coat with his blueish skin made it anything but. She could see his answer surprised their hostess; it was the funniest thing ever. “Is there food? I’m hungry.”

“Yes, of course.”

The meal was pleasant enough, Henry delighted those gathered with stories of his heroism, including how he saved Alicia during one of Aviairus’ attacks. To anyone else, it would sound like a pure fabrication, but Alicia seemed to be eating it up, Drakken too seemed wildly interested, though Shego wasn’t sure why, either he was being polite or subtly planning a takeover of Go City. That second one would be kind of fun.

“We need more wine, coming Sheila?”

Shego nodded, she got the feeling that Alicia wanted to talk to her alone. She left the boys together and followed Alicia into the kitchen. God, she hoped this wasn’t the ‘I love your brother but you’re too weird and I’m dumping him’ speech.

“How long have you and Drakken been together?” Alicia asked as she went over to the rack to pick out some more wine, they seemed like such a curious couple and if Sheila was going to be family, she wanted to know all she could.

“We’re not together, he is my boss.” Though he did agree to accompany her to this family function, he didn’t really have to do that. “And it’s been a while maybe…” Shego counted on her fingers. “Seven years? Wow.” She really didn’t think it had been that long.

“That’s a long time, and there is nothing romantic there?” Alicia had observed Shego staring at Drakken while Henry talked, she thought there was a vibe there.

Shego laughed. “I’m not even sure he knows what romance is, his idea of fun is world domination which you know I get because we’re supervillains.”

Alicia smiled, she could see how Sheila and Henry were different sides of the same coin. “I think I’ll enjoy having you as my sister-in-law. My family is very boring, full of accountants and teachers.” They would surely liven up the wedding. With the wine in hand, Alicia ventured back out to where the boys were talking.  

“Shego, we should be getting back.” Drakken while he could be courteous had just about all he could deal with from his sidekick’s brother, the man was so noble and righteous that it took all Drakken’s willpower not to wring the boy’s neck.

Shego didn’t argue, she knew what a pain Henry could be. “Okay, sure.” She took Alicia’s hands and smiled. “It was nice meeting you, Alicia. Welcome to the family.”

“Thanks, Shego.” She nodded.

“Yes, thank you both for coming. It really means so much. I hope we’ll see you both at the wedding as well, provided we don’t have to postpone due to criminal activities and the like.” He was referring both to hers and the possibility that Go City might be attacked while its heroes were at a wedding.

“I’ll call you.” She kissed her brother on the cheek. Once outside on the street again, Shego decided to check in on her companion. “Doing okay there, Doc?”

“Your brother is a lot.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “It makes me thankful that we aren’t normal people; imagine having dinner parties every night, making small talk.” He shivered, Drakken couldn’t think of anything worse.

Shego laughed, he wasn’t wrong. If she had stayed in her old life, she could imagine herself hosting charity dinners and being a member of the Go City preservation society, no thanks. She bumped Drakken’s arm playfully. “Thanks for tonight and every other night really.” He did so much for her, more than she realised.

Drakken was a little flustered by the sentiment but managed a nod. “Alicia seems nice.”

Shego smiled. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure at first, but I like her.” Which was odd, Shego rarely liked anybody. “But that doesn’t mean she’s going to get off easy; she’s marrying into a family where one of us is a known supervillain, she has to know the wedding will be sprinkled with chaos.”

Drakken raised an eyebrow at her statement. “I do like chaos.”

Shego stared at him and smiled, in that instant he looked devilishly handsome. Maybe there was something there after all? She sucked on her lips and nodded. “Me too.”

[shadowgirl138]

Billy's Cousin

(Randy Reeks x Reader)

A/n: A fluffy fic for everyone's favorite movie nerd 🤓

Warning ⚠️: cursing, major simp vibes

Word count: 1,182

Randy couldn't take his eyes off of you the minute Billy had introduced you to the group. If he would have known Billy was hiding you over in Lakewood he would have started to be a lot nicer to him a long time ago.

You practically took his breath away when you walked up to the fountain Billy besides you holding your shoulder tightly in a way no one has seen him do before.

"So this is my cousin (y/n) she's gonna be hanging out with us. Be nice to her, ok ." Billy was straight to the point as always sitting back down near Sidney not bothering to say anything more about you. It seemed as if you were Billy's secret soft spot with how protective he was of you.

"Hi it's so nice to meet you all." You smiled, waving awkwardly. Randy could tell you weren't sure what to do with yourself so of course naturally he'd take matters into his own hands.

"Here, sit by me and make yourself at home, we don't bite I promise." Randy scooted over so that you wouldn't be stuck halfway off the fountain and so you where closest to him.

"I mean I'd only bite if you want me too." Stu flashed you his stupid shit eating grin causing Tatum to hit him in the arm.

Randy glared at Stu before turning back to you "So what brings you to the wonderfully dull town of Woodsboro."

"Oh um I'm staying with Billy and my uncle for a bit while my mom gets a few things sorted." Randy was ready to say more but got cut off by Billy standing abruptly.

"Let's go (y/n) Stu and I got things to do we'll all hang out another time." Billy walked over to you and Stu followed suit. 

"It was nice to meet you all. I hope we can hang out again soon." Randy watched in awe as you walked off with Billy and Stu.

"I think your drooling Randy." Tatum said popping a grape in her mouth as Sidney giggled.

"Yha Randy I think you might wanna wipe your chin. Billy really cares about (y/n) he looks at her like a sister so you might wanna tread lightly." Sidney said.

"For your information I wasn't drooling I was just idely admiring her beauty. And I could care less on what looney Loomis thinks." He said getting up to make his way to work.

Truthfully Randy couldn't wait to get the chance to talk to you again and lucky for him it would come sooner than he thought because here you were browsing through the movies at the video store.

"Hey (y/n) we met earlier today at the fountain. You know I'm more than happy to help if you're looking for anything in particular." He came to a screeching halt with the rental cart stopping beside you.

"Of course I remember Randy that was only like a few hours ago. I could actually use some help if you don't mind. All I got so far is Casper." You turned to him waving the tape in hand and he was more than ready to take this opportunity to the fullest.

"So judging on assumptions you strike me as a Clueless kinda girl so I'm gonna say go with the Hideaway it just came out plus it has Alicia Silverstone in it. It's not the best but it definitely makes the time go by probably better then your friendly ghost." He handed you the tape from his cart and you gladly accepted as he brushed his fingers against yours slightly.

"Hmm thanks I guess this beats me just watching Casper tonight. Billy did say you're the guy to go to for movie suggestions. Do you have anything else in mind ?" Randy couldn't help but notice the adorable way you turned your head slightly when you asked a question.

"Well I'm definitely your guy then. I'm honestly shocked Billy Loomis actually talks about me, thanks for letting me know i feel so special now." His voice was laced with sarcasm when he mentioned Billy's name.

"It's the only nice thing he says about you if I'm being honest." You giggled.

"Hm I'm definitely not surprised, we're not each other's biggest fans. I just hope he hasn't said anything too bad about me to you."

Randy was screaming on the inside hoping Billy didn't tell you that he was some type of loser virgin movie nerd. He wanted to make a good impression and the last thing he needed was Billy ruining it before he could even start anything.

"Don't worry I'll decide for myself on how I feel about you, now why don't you tell me more about Alicia Silverstone's great filmography."

Randy smiled gladly taking the opportunity to talk to you more he thought he was really charming you when you started to laugh at all his jokes but he was so distracted by looking at you that he didn't realize Stu was behind him mimicking him the whole damn time.

"Damn it Stu, how long have you been here?" Randy's face flushed as you and Stu started to laugh.

"I'm sorry Randy I should have told you but I kinda wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice Stu but when your in your rants nothing gets to you." You put your hand on his shoulder and he felt himself ease with your touch.

If he was like this with only knowing you for less than a day then he could only imagine the hold you'd have on him the more you got to know each other.

" Randy, your face is all red, are you ok man." Stu flashed a sinister smile as he rested his hands on Randy's shoulders.

"I told you (y/n), isn't he just the cutest." Stu looked over at you and before you could say anything Billy appeared besides you taking your hand in his.

"Are these clowns bothering you? I told you to watch out for freaks in Woodsboro." Billy's eyes narrowed as he looked at Randy.

"Go wait in the car i'll be right out. " You nodded starting to make your way out of the video store before turning around.

"Oh by the way Randy your right Clueless is my favorite movie maybe we can watch it together sometime." You watched as his body flushed before turning back around and giggling.

Billy took one more look at Randy before following after you most likely to scold you for your sudden act of boldness.

"Do you think I have a chance Stu." Randy said awestruck.

"Well buddy I don't know you have a good shot but I don't think our dear ole Billy boy is gonna be too happy about you dating his sweet cousin." Stu laughed, rubbing Randy's shoulders in the process as Randy groaned loudly.

If he wanted to be around you then that means he'd gave to deal with Billy and everyone knows Billy Loomis is like dealing with the devil. 

[parchmentedpetrichor]

➳april’s fool ♡

in which fred weasley is in love with y/n l/n, the girl he happens to tease and insult profusely for her attention. 

fred weasley x gryffindor!fem!reader 

word count: ±4.3k 

tw: food, fireworks, pranking, fred being a bully, tad bits of swearing

drop a follow if you wanna see more of this content!!

my masterlist:D

ft. minnie, dumbledore and severus

yeah, your grandmama probably know me 

get more bottles, these bottles are lonely

it's a moment when I show up, got 'em sayin', "wow"

april’s fool 

“tomorrow is april fools,” dumbledore sighs. 

“you know what that means...?” mcgonagall asks, her voice on edge.

“the twins,” snape replies quickly, not even bothered one bit as he sips his dark coffee.

“and their pranks,” dumbledore dramatically rolls over in his armchair.

“okay and?” 

“they’re a hazard, severus!” mcgonagall replies.

“that doesn’t stop them.”

“what will stop them?” dumbledore ponders, eyes faint with interest. 

“you still have those weird buzzy fireworks right?” snape asks. 

“of course.”

“and minnie, you have the cake mix your grandmother gave you?”

“still in my cupboard next to the biscuits.”

“excellent.”

y/n l/n listens from the other side of the door, grinning. she’s been called to mcgonagall’s lavish office for some business she hopes isn’t trouble, but the conversation the three are deeply invested in piques her interest. 

she likes fun. the type of continuous laughter and uncontrollable fits of giggles at noon. that’s why she enjoys the pranks the twins play. they’re bold, sharp and reckless and have the undoubtable trademark of fred and george on them.

one too a many times she’s been on the receiving end of them. one time the twins had charmed the library so that she and other studious students could not find any books that they wanted or needed for a whole week. 

another time, her hair had been dyed bright pink. she wasn’t a fan of it, but tried her best to rock it. it worked. y/n had received many compliments on her bubblegum pink locks. 

she laughed it off a lot. whenever something quite embarrassing happened, it was usually funny. 

even the snide remarks the older twin always cast her way.

including the time he called her a blackhead. well, multiple times. 

“oi, l/n, looking like a blackhead.”

george had rolled his eyes at his brother before adding kindly, “at least you have nice hair. your tie’s always shiny too.”

she had just laughed, “at least i’ve got the blackhead looks to pull pink hair off, weasley, you can’t even pull off ginger hair, and thanks, georgie. love ya.”

fred had looked taken aback, but y/n still scowls at the memory. she gets she isn’t pretty, but there is a line you don’t cross when trying to insult someone.

he always calls her the most awful nicknames too; body parts that align with her name and random pieces of rubbish she isn’t bothered to remember.

she shakes herself of her thoughts and draws herself up, knocking thrice on the door lightly.

“come in,” mcgonagall’s calm tone beckons.

“good afternoon professors!” she chirps, smiling at all three.

they smile back. even snape. they’re big fans of the girl, who’s studious but mischievous. albus dumbledore has always thought that y/n’s eyes always look like all she’s seen is a beautiful sunset. 

“now you must wonder why i called you here,” mcgonagall starts.

“you see, how have you punished the weasley twins when they play all those pranks on you?” dumbledore eagerly asks. 

y/n gives a light laugh, “i just prank them back. i won’t get detention for this, right?” she jokes.

they laugh, “of course you will,” snape jokes back and for a second y/n is surprised that severus snape, the ever so cold potions professor, is cracking jokes. especially to her. 

“well then, i guess i can’t tell you how i prank them back then,” she drawls dramatically.

“no, no, do tell, we’re, what do you young people say?” mcgonagall pauses, “ahh yes! we’re all ears!”

y/n bursts out laughing, “okay, i usually do something that’s subtle enough but still very noticeable. they need to be anonymous too, or that’ll start prank wars and i’m only looking for short term pleasure really. one time, i dumped a whole bunch of polyjuice potion in both their little goblets. fred became george and george became fred. they were so confused.”

mcgonagall is impressed. 

“can you bake?” dumbledore asks and y/n shakes her head for a long time. 

“can’t bake for my sanity.”

“awesome. that is what i thought too,” dumbledore answers and y/n smiles. 

a single knock sounds. it’s proper and formal. 

“come in!” mcgonagall yells.

draco malfoy in all his glory steps into the room, eyes alight with concern, ever so indifferent. 

y/n knows him from quidditch. they’ve become relatively good friends, though she thinks he is very busy with his home life. she also knows that there’s more to him than the facade he has.

“afternoon,” he nods and gives a charming smile. 

“now, draco, i understand your mother had enrolled you in baking classes,” snape says. 

draco nods. 

“you must bake a cake,” mcgonagall hands him the cake mix.

she hands y/n the box of fireworks and winks. 

“good day professors! make sure to be at breakfast tomorrow!” y/n shouts, dragging draco with her to the kitchens. 

soon draco is laughing with y/n, at her atrocious puns and lightly placed jokes, finding himself very much happy. he’s not interested in her romantically, he simply enjoys her company. he’s even sharing some funny stories of his own too.

“...and i told him, to precisely fuck off.”

“so that’s how you deal with him!”

“oh no, he didn’t stop. he kept bugging me.”

“what did you do then?”

“i cast a muffliato charm on him.”

y/n bursts into laughter as they pass the gryffindor common room, quickly hiding the box of fireworks in her cloak as she spots two red heads quietly snickering by the fat lady. 

they notice the unlikely pair scurrying down the stairs. 

“hey, google eyes!” fred shouts. 

y/n doesn’t know fred well enough to decide if that greeting is dedicated to herself, so she continues upon her way. 

“weasley,” draco states. 

“huh?” y/n fakes oblivion. 

draco jerks his head in the way of the twins, where fred is smirking handsomely, leaning against the wall in a model-like fashion. 

george is shaking his head in dismay. 

“i said googly eyes!” fred shouts again.

y/n won’t lie, she thinks fred has undoubtedly good looks and his ginger hair is cute. he’s just a terrible person. to her, at least. she knows she’s biased, she’s often seen fred comforting ginny after a bad fight with a boyfriend, and from what she’s heard from alicia and angelina and katie, he’s funny too. 

she whips out her glasses and stares deadpan at him, before rolling her eyes and running with draco down the stairs, laughing like madmen.

they finish baking late at night, and waving her wand smartly over the cake, y/n produces a charm that will make the fireworks activate as soon as the cake is cut open. 

draco smiles as he pipes purple and orange roses, writing a ‘happy bday fred and george’ in chocolate letters. 

they add lots of sprinkles, hoping to seem like avid admirers of the twins. 

“does miss l/n and misters malfoy need any assistance?” a house elf asks.

draco just about opens his mouth to snap a ‘no’ when y/n gives him a silencing look.

“thank you rosemarie, but that is not needed, you are welcome to watch and talk with us though,” y/n politely answers, giving her a grin. 

the house elf sniffles, “miss l/n is too nice! rosemarie will make some hot chocolate for her! pretty hair!”

y/n laughs, “thank you very much, rosemarie. i think mister malfoy would also like some hot chocolate, with a tiny bit of firewhiskey, if that’s alright with you,” she winks at draco who just scoffs in reply. 

when they’re finished with the cake and the hot chocolate, y/n enters the gryffindor common room. angelina takes the cake and wraps it up in a box and nice wrapping paper. she sends it flying to the twins’ usual spot on the gryffindor table. 

“thanks angie!” y/n smiles, getting up from the cozy spot near the fire in the common room. 

“why are you going? we’re staying up till midnight for the twins’ birthday; wanna join?” angelina asks. 

y/n shakes her head, “i’m not too close with them, it seems like a rather intimate ceremony,” she keeps her words fluffy and light. really, she would join any birthday celebration, but she didn’t think she could handle the constant insults and annoying comments fred always made about her. and this would have been completely acceptable if she had done something to any one of the weasleys, but she hadn’t. she even regards ginny weasley as a little sister and was invited to one of ginny’s infamous slumber parties. okay, she might have a little crush on him for his joke-ish nature, but it’s nothing she can’t get over. he’s out of her league, for sure, she thinks. and terribly rude. she doesn’t understand why she still harbours those feelings for him. maybe because that time adrian pucey was mocking her for her ‘blood purity’ he stood up for her. or that time she hurt herself at quidditch and fred stayed up with her bandaging her wound. he cared when it mattered, she guesses. 

“i’m sure they would love you there.”

“fat chance,” she scoffs, “have a good night!”

she goes to her own dormitory up the stairs. she’s well known in gryffindor house, but for different reasons than the twins may be. although she’s close with angie and alicia, she’s not close with the twins. mainly because she’s always studying, playing quidditch, and doing prefect things. 

being on a quidditch team with fred weasley is bearable. mainly because she’s the captain. 

she’s stopped by a large hand on her shoulder. the owner of the hand swivels and suddenly a grinning fred is revealed. 

“where’re you going?” fred weasley’s annoying voice pronounces. 

“the sahara desert,” she snaps back dryly, “you’re in the way of my world exploration.”

“am i, really?”

“‘course,” she reigns her attitude in, “nice night, isn’t it?”

“for you? never.”

she scowls. fred watches in utter amusement as she takes a deep breath and charmingly smiles. 

“dearest freddie, will you please allow me to get to my dorm so i can have some sleep?”

fred’s heart skips a little at the nickname but shakes his head. 

“what’s the password?”

y/n sighs. “i don’t know. y/n is a blackhead. googly eyes. whatevers.”

fred lets out a loud laugh. y/n finds herself trying hard not to laugh with him. 

she turns around, ready to find her hufflepuff friend that has a spare bed in their dormitory, knowing fred is really stubborn.

“that’s not the password.”

“well, good night.” she walks off, before intensely diving in a style harry potter himself would be proud of, onto the stairs and running up the dorms laughing. 

fred stands at the bottom of the stairs, dumbfounded, his jaw hanging open. 

“close your mouth, flies will be caught,” he heard the giggling voice of y/n.

“close yours and you’ll look better,” he insults back. 

“oh shut up. we know i’m the prettier one. and that’s saying something.”

the next morning, fred and george wake up to presents, a rowdy common room, and a nice cake sitting waiting for them on the gryffindor table. 

for the first time, y/n takes a seat opposite them, her eyes alight with the familiar mischief they always held. she steals glances at the professors, who were beaming down with interest, as if they shared an inside joke. draco malfoy has an odd smirk on his pale face. 

all eyes are on them as they cut open the cake. with a bang, fireworks come flying out of the cake in all directions, sending crumbs and icing flying in the air and leaving soot on the twin’s faces. their ginger hair is covered neatly with white icing and the fireworks continue for a calamitous five minutes. everyone’s too busy laughing and trying to dodge the flying cake to see that y/n l/n and draco malfoy are laughing quietly in a corner together, both with spells like umbrellas. 

fred’s eyes, however, are trained on y/n, who’s rolling over in laughter. he quickly casts a scourgify on himself and george, and strides casually over to her and malfoy, the usual lazy smirk on his face as he hears ‘draco ohmygosh that was the best. your cake decos are on point! d’ya think he’ll ever bully me again?’. that confirms his suspicions. she did play this prank on him. and it makes him feel fuzzy inside.

his face then contorts into a frown. she thinks he bullies her? 

“i wouldn’t say he bullies you, y/n.”

he smiles. never mind.

“but it isss! i can assure you, there is absolutely nothing nice ‘bout being called a frame!”

fred snorts at the time y/n had been gushing adorably over a picture frame that was embellished with gold and bronze flowers to angelina. he had went over and in an attempt to catch her attention, said ‘you’re a frame’.

sure, he was good at flirting, but not to the girls he really really liked. 

“that’s fucking funny,” malfoy laughs. 

“oh shut it draco, your face is funny. but yeah, i should probably ask him to start fresh.”

he decides to interrupt their conversation. 

“ask who to start fresh?” he butts in. 

y/n doesn’t even look surprised, “in fact, you, fred, because i’m not really sure if i’ve done anything wrong to you or anything, and by my memory i don’t think i have and you keep being rude and stuff. if i have, i’m really sorry for it and i’m sorry that i hurt you and all. if we can y’know, start over, and maybe be friends?” she catches the unreadable look in fred’s eyes and hesitates, “or maybe not, that’s okay, we don’t need to!” she gives a small laugh, “er, sorry for ever bringing it up?”

the earnestness of her tone and the wistful look in her eyes makes fred fall a little harder. ever since he saw her nervously fiddling with her robes in first year, he’s been smitten. 

there’s a silence. malfoy has slipped off, the sneaky bastard. 

fred simply takes y/n’s hand, giving her a look as if to ask for permission. 

she swallows and nods. 

they’re in the courtyard, which is sunny and light. flowers are blooming everywhere. 

“can i kiss you?” fred asks.

y/n’s eyebrows go up. “what?”

“can i kiss you?” fred repeats patiently. 

“as in kiss? k-i-s-s?” y/n asks, eyes wide with suspicion and curiosity.

“yep,” he chuckles, “crazy, aren’t i?”

“yeah, you’re crazy.”

“really? can i kiss you?”

“i’ve never really kissed anyone.”

“i guessed that.”

her eyebrows furrowed in hurt, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“i’ll tell you if you let me kiss you.”

“there better be a good reason because i was saving it for someone special.”

“i need a yes, love.”

she huffs, “yes.” she won’t tell him that she has a crush on him, because to be honest, she still isn’t sure if this is a prank or not.

she surprised when fred tilts her head up ever so gently, a smile on his face.

this kiss is short and sweet. he tastes like cinnamon.

when they’ve let go, fred notices the light pink dusted over her cheeks. he smirks. 

“you have to tell me why you thought i’ve never kissed anyone,” she said, eyes flashing in deep thought.

“such a beautiful person as you does not deserve kisses from anyone.”

“...” 

fred took this as a sign to go on. “the reason i’ve always teased you endlessly is because i want your attention. i didn’t think you’d give it to me any other way. if you haven’t noticed, i’m in love with you. i think you’re absolutely beautiful, both ways. i love it when you frown and get annoyed, even if you rarely do, i love it when you study so hard your face makes this really concentrated look. i love it especially when you laugh and smile and joke and play pranks. even if they’re on me.”

“...” she was studying his movements. inside her brain, a frenzy was going on. part of her brain- the ever so optimistic part, was screaming happily, and the logical part was using body language to analyse whether he was lying or not.

eyes? their honey brown colour was glistening with affection and truth, an expression so dainty on his face. 

a quaint little smile was on his lips, a small one, a genuine one. it was different to all the other smiles she’d seen him smile. 

he wasn’t acting, she decided. if he was, he should take up a job in broadway. 

“y/n?”

her brows were furrowed. she’d never been confessed to as genuinely as this before. 

if they started this type of relationship would he still be mean and insult her all the time?

“i-i need time. to figure this out.”

he doesn’t look disappointed, she thinks. instead he looks down at her with... adoration?

“of course, sweetness, anything, i’ll wait for you.”

she smiles, “thank you, freddie.” 

☆

it’s been a few days since fred’s confessed to her. she’s still unsure if he was joking or not. why?

at this moment, she’s watching him giggle with angelina johnson. it seems like he’s forgotten everything and anything. he’s gotten closer to her. maybe he’s lost feelings for y/n? she can’t blame angie, she’s a wonderful girl. if he likes her, that’s fine too. suddenly her feelings for him become very clear. she like-likes him. and it’s a bit too late.

but maybe he doesn’t like angie in that way? maybe he’s still into her? 

y/n knows molly weasley raises her children with patience. she should trust that fred’s waiting for her. 

but then again, she’s never gonna be as special as angie johnson. she’s just a ever so polite and outgoing nerd. someone who’s foolish enough to prank. angie’s smart, confident and funny and terribly patient. and effortlessly beautiful. she’s got the true gryffindor touch. and angie’s been one of fred’s best friends since day one. she’s always gonna be number 1. 

that’s ok. she’ll accept it. she likes angie anyway. it was probably a joke anyway. 

she couldn’t be jealous, just a bit dismayed that it wasn’t genuine. whatever, she thinks. we can just go back to how we were before. or not. 

and it’s relatively easy. they never really saw much of each other anyway. she’ll get over this tiny little liking. 

it’ll just be like normal. none of this happened. none of it. she grimaces bitterly, damning fred for his stupid games. should’ve known this was another of his pranks. but his acting though, certainly very good. 

she smiles to herself.

“knock it off, y/n, you’re here to learn, not to love.”

and that answer, is satisfactory. 

she gets up from her spot on the gryffindor table rather abruptly, saying goodbye to her friends, and makes her way to the kitchens. she knows she won’t be alone, she’ll talk to hansel and gretel, the twins that cook with the house elves every dinner.

they’re cleaning up as she walks in, book in hand. 

“hi hans, g!” she calls, as she rolls up the sleeves of her sweater to help them with the dishes. 

“y/n!” gretel gives her a hug with soapy arms and y/n giggles.

“how are both of you?” y/n asks. 

“good, good, potions though...” hansel trails off and they all laugh.

“potions is always like that,” y/n agrees, “it’s supposed to be really hard for newts, so you can’t really blame the subject.”

“i’m thinking of dropping divination,” gretel says.

“yeah, that’s wise, gretel buns,” hansel teases and gretel scowls. 

“divination is an easy subject, gretel, you just need to make random stuff up. i saw this weird bear thing in polly’s tea leaves, it wasn’t in the textbook. i told trelawney it was a symbol that a stranger would come and whip polly off her feet, with a whip the colour of the rarest german emeralds, leaving her absolutely smitten. i got full marks,” y/n laughs. 

they laugh too, and soon a light flowing conversation is shared over cups of hot chocolate. 

this is repeated for quite a few days and y/n even invites polly, marla and lenox, her best friends, to join. it’s a delicate, nice kind of week, one that suits her current struggles. 

when the weekends roll around, hansel and gretel suggest that they all sit at the hufflepuff table. they share jokes and quips over the food, y/n reading a book as she bites happily into apple pie.

“pfft,” her lips upturn ever so slightly at the quote that the character makes. 

fred watches her from the gryffindor table, utterly confused. y/n’s been avoiding him. he sees the flashes of hurt that run through her eyes whenever she sees him, and the quick grin that’s far too fake that follows. she’s been reading a lot more and he never sees her anymore. 

he wonders what he’s doing wrong. so as he sees her walking with her friends to hogsmeade, he calls for her. 

“y/n!”

her friends giggle as they see him, but she gives him a fleeting glance and raises her eyebrows at them, shaking her head, before profusely apologising to each one of them.

she approaches him warily, with all practicality in mind. she leads with her heart, but her head protects her. 

fool me once, shame on you.

fool me twice, shame on me.

“you’ve been avoiding me,” he states.

“what would you expect?” she snaps, “isn’t this all a good laugh for you anyway?”

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“you know what i mean, this was all a joke, wasn’t it? fooling my poor little heart which you know has a crush on you. my head simply won’t allow it. admit it, and we can both move on with our lives,” her tone is sharp and cold, her eyes burning with fury and hurt, “i may seem gullible, and i am,” she gave a short laugh, “but when i notice, don’t even try to lie.”

“this wasn’t a joke, love.”

“don’t call me that, and you and i both know it is. your acting though, absolutely superb!” 

“what makes you think this was a prank, y/n? you were the one who asked for time.”

“yes, and the time made me realise that i had feelings for you despite all the teasing AND the fact you couldn’t possibly be genuine!” y/n says exasperatedly, her fury dissolving quickly, “you looked so in place with angie and everyone that it’s so obviously some sort of fun thing you did to try to get back at me!”

“angie?”

“a-and everyone else.”

“angie?” fred’s eyes were amused.

“you know, angelina, as in johnson.”

“angie?”

y/n shrugs, “you did bring her to the yule ball last year.”

“angie??!!!” fred was full on smirking now, as if trying to receive a real response. 

“i think you like her, okay?! are we done here? i’d very much like a good book from f&b,” y/n sighs. 

“i’ll accompany you to flourish and botts. why would you think i like her? didn’t i just confess to you?”

“yeah but it seemed kinda...” y/n trails off, not wanting her insecurities to come off as compliment fishing, “kinda far-fetched.”

“meaning?” fred knows exactly what she means.

“you know!” 

“oh but i don’t,” he smiles innocently.

“well, you’re you!” 

“is that supposed to be an insult?” he asks, faking a look of hurt rather well as y/n looks alarmed. 

“no, no, as in, you’re nice to look at, and you’ve always insulted me and been so nice and cool to everyone. are you for real?”

“nice to look at?” a cocky grin is on his face now, much more noticeable than the slight blush that was creeping up his face.

“is that the only thing you could pick up?” 

“nice to look at? what’s up with me repeating myself today?”

y/n lets out an agitated sigh. he doesn’t know, he’s blunt and straightforward. she likes cushioning her words.

“y’know, handsome? good looking?”

“my middle names.” another smirk to conceal the blushing. 

y/n smiles. “of course, everyone knows it.”

it makes fred uncomfortable. her light tone is a bit menacing too. 

“only joking.”

“i’m sure everyone does know it, darling.”

y/n is too busy looking at the dog that passes by to hear him, rambling quietly to herself over the cute scottish terrier.

“sorry, what was that?”

“aren’t i cuter than the dog?”

“nup.”

“really?” fred casually slings an arm over y/n’s shoulders, having to stoop a little lower to reach her.

“i think so.”

“well i’ll tell you something love, i think you’re absolutely stunning.”

“some love potion you’re on.”

“uh huh, the love potion is called love, sweetness.”

“so you’re for real?”

“as real as you and me.”

“you’re cheesy. this isn’t a prank right?”

“not at all, i love you.”

“i-i don’t think i love you just yet, but i think it’s possible,” y/n bites her lip, anxiously awaiting his response.

she tilts her head to look at him. 

he’s beaming. he looks more handsome than ever, a sweet smile etched on his face as he looks down at her in utter adoration.

“you have a crush on me!” he pulls her into a hug and giggles like a little girl, kissing the top of her head.

she’s engulfed by the smell of burning wood and cinnamon and immediately feels safe in his strong arms. 

“how’d you say we go on a date? so i can show how sorry i am for all the times i called you googly eyes and played pranks on you.”

“i’ll check to see if the girls are okay with it,” y/n replies, turning her head to see her friends. they’re gone. 

“they are. i asked them to shoo off before i approached you. is that a yes?”

y/n nods, “of course, freddie.”

“i love you.”

she laughs, “you really are april’s fool.”

“i’m your april’s fool.” 

he buries his nose in the crook of her neck to stop her from seeing his blushing red face. 

[bitchineering]

Lets go! Day 1: Let’s learn HOW the frick to study

So this I think is the most important thing to do and really it is insane that in the United States (which is where I am from by the way) students have no idea on how to freaking study. Honestly all of this gets me incredibly frustrated because with the internet we have the ability to share information and I’ll tell you that I am one of those people who have scavenged the internet and picked apart what I could find. Here’s another big problem: not everything someone does will work for you. 

Also just the spread of dumb study information is pretty terrible. If I do counter anything I will leave a paper or my citation just because I believe in putting down sources and showing others how to research and why citing is freakin important. 

Let’s get started: I’m going to summarize everything that will be in here for a second

1. Find your method of studying, find out everything. AND I MEAN EVERYTHING. You need to write down how you study (the different types of study people) but also the classes because people study sciences different than humanities. 

2. Find out your most productive state. If this means it is you at 2 am in a suit and jacket than that means you need to leave procrastination station and be studying during that time. Now I am not totally okay with people studying in a suit for one it is uncomfortable, I think a jeans and a clean tshirt is just as good. If you can be productive in sweatpants or pjs then go for it. I know I am not and it doesn’t work when I dress for relaxation.

Okay, I’ll be going into more in depth of mainly the first one but a bit of the second.

To start off the bat, if you have time watch this lecture https://youtu.be/IlU-zDU6aQ0 by Marty Lobdell. You have probably heard the saying before and one thing that makes me so frustrated within the study community is that others use this statment without giving any real examples. I feel like Lobdell does this as well as he doesn’t describe note taking and I do believe before putting down a material, you have to take notes. (All he mentions is handwriting notes and I do believe in that. You cannot really type notes and expect to learn the material). 

Another source I would suggest is the Vark Quiz (https://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/) Learn what type you are (I’m a Kinesthetic!) and read what they give you. I’m not going to say you will perfectly match with your description but if you are starting from ground zero, this is an amazing place to see what might work for you instead of you having to come up with different technques on your own. 

I get so annoyed when people use the pomodoro method as a way to study. It is not a way to study. It is a way to schedule your study time. Also, I don’t think you can do much in 25 minutes or maybe it is just me. Usually I work for an hour or 50 minutes and then take a ten minute break. All you need to do is find out what works for you. 

Okay let’s get into classes, first there is an amazing youtuber named Nathan Wu who made this video (https://youtu.be/pdAt8JhBnMU and there is a part 2 but I’ll let you guys find it). He is a very good study youtuber that I do like to watch sometimes and I do appriciate that he is spreading correct information. I can give you guys an example of what worked for me in some of my classes (I also just wanna say I won’t be putting my grades on here nor anything really. I don’t feel comfortable being compared to others because I already have to deal with it at my own institution and peers. Please don’t compare yourself to others).

Chemistry (Wu also does include this subject in his video):

- Write notes and explanations for the love of god. Like please just write notes. 

- Also apply those notes. If you are confused in one area ask someone for help whether that be your teacher or someone else. 

-I would say to use flashcards, but I’m honestly a big quizlet user (I haven’t used Anki I’m a little weird and I get so annoyed when I use something that is popular. I sadly give off the “i’m not like other girls vibe”). When I use quizlet every time I get an answer wrong I write down the definition. I can explain this more because you can do this with notecards as well and probably Anki but I like the mobility of quizlet. 

-Labs... I do like doing some labs. I miss my older ones from Honors Chemistry, I barely do good labs in AP Chemistry, but at the same time you have to do them. This could be for any science class because knowing how to apply your information is the best way to test your knowledge that isn’t practice questions (If you need labs look up a virtual simulation. While it isn’t the same thing they are usually free and if not you can find some on youtube).

- Practice problems (this more or less goes with your grading point instead of studying. While I do believe the overall goal in studying is that you understand and can apply the topic tests are so different in many things). As stated before I have taken Honors Chemistry, so I used test prep from my teacher and was able to form questions similar to how she asked them on the quiz. In AP Chemistry I’ve been able to use the online resources from other teachers and AP Classroom. I will say AP Chemistry it is much harder to write my own questions because AP Chemistry is just really hard in general, but finding FRQ practices I believe is one of the best ways you can work on it (Honestly it may be just me but doing FRQs or written essays for answers is so much better than multiple choice because this allows you to practice giving explanations and learning where your gap of knowledge is).

Another study technique I like to do is called the Feynmann technique. This is such a great way to apply knowledge without doing test prep because you need to essentially master your subject before test prep. This method includes creating a study plan for someone else, you need to teach someone else (or something else) what you’re learning and have them ask questions. Know I know this doesn’t really work well for some people including myself because I don’t really have others to talk to when I study but talk to yourself. (sometimes I talk to a ghost or a plushie in my room. I have little trinkets on my desk of which a tiger egg and a Chick Fil A cow plushie wearing a sunflower dress. Just try it, it might seem weird but you got to). If you can’t have others ask you questions say everything you can remember (and maybe do this on a google doc with the voice chat box open, I would say record yourself but I hate hearing my own recordings). Then, once you have finished look through your notes and see what you got correct and what you got wrong. If you did use a google docs then write what you meant to say like: “I said this... but this was incorrect because of this...”

For study schedule or something related to studying I would say watch these videos: https://youtu.be/-m2Ua5Y0mzc and https://youtu.be/OYuhkaOPKcM. Both are by youtubers who I do like to watch and follow what they do. I would say to look through Alicia’s youtube a bit more if you like electronic organization AND the true studyblr (girl can do beautiful calligraphy). I believe I align more with Keo Tsang, who studies later at night rather than earlier than the morning. Tsang does get more hours of sleep than me (haha). If you are in high school please don’t do what he does though. I try to go to bed by midnight because then I’ll get six hours of sleep, and I can sleep on the bus (it takes me an hour to get to school). I also have a free first period where I can sleep if I need to or catch up on work from last night if I didn’t do it. I do like to work when there is sunlight but also coming home from school and taking a detox or a break is so much better for my mental health. I know it will be different when in university but I’d just say this to any high school student, please do a mental detox. Don’t go on social media and scroll endlessly maybe listen to some music, read a book, take a walk/run, my sister would bake after a long stressful day and her food- while not the best- got her in a good mood. 

I think this is all I’ll write today. I still need to do so much work myself haha but I am a big procrastinator and also I did have a break down a little while ago. Just know you are worth everything and in the end, every problem is going to have some type of solution even if there is no solution. Your life doesn’t need to be answered today or tomorrow so let’s work on becoming better students one step at a time :)

[apocalypseornaw]

Open My Eyes

Apocalyptic AU.

Dean gets increasingly jealous of your bond with Gadreel and things come to a head after a misunderstanding on a run

Dean had known you for years. Long before the dead started to rise and the world as it was previously known came crashing down. He knew you inside and out, you were one of his best friends. Maybe that was why it was bothering him so deeply to see you get closer with someone who was fairly new to your group. Gadreel had come in with the Banes twins. They’d gone through Bobby’s usual line of questions without missing a beat and had fit in smoothly enough with everyone else. That had been nearly six months ago which was a lifetime nowadays.

He tried to get you out of his head as he walked across the field that stretched between the outer fence and inner fence of the compound all of you now called home. It’d started life as a high school but with some hard work and a lot of blood, sweat and tears it was now a suitable place to survive the new world. Unfortunately before he could reach the sanctuary of the building where Bobby, Sam and Jody were waiting to talk about the new run that needed to happen he heard the all too familiar sound of your laugh.

He turned and found a small smile working its way onto his face when he saw you walking with Alicia and Max. You had your arm around Alicia’s shoulder and was laughing at something Max had said. He started to call your name but before he could he heard it called from a different direction and felt his mood immediately sour when you pulled your arm from Alicia to greet Gadreel as he made it to the three of you. He watched you pull the other man down to whisper something in his ear and felt anger flick at his mind. Especially when Gadreel laughed then whispered something back to you. Dean spun on his heel, he didn’t need to see any more.

------

The door to the meeting room slammed open but luckily for the three people sitting around the table it took a lot more than that to rattle their nerves. Bobby barely glanced up from the map “Nice of you to join us Dean now how about leaving the damn door on the hinges?”

Sam watched his brother drag a chair out and flop down into it. He wanted to ask what was wrong but knew that they needed to get this meeting through and that Dean was prone to shut down if asked directly what was wrong. He always did better with letting it slip through cursing whatever had soured his mood.

“From what we can figure there’s a couple veterinarian clinics along the route as well and considering the fact that people medicine isn’t actually any different than animal medicine they may have supplies there and it wouldn’t hurt to check” Jody spoke tapping a few different places on the map. Bobby nodded then cut his eyes at Dean “You and Sam up to taking a team and checking it out? We need the supplies to winterize this place once and for all, not to mention having extra medical supplies on hand wouldn’t hurt”

“Yeah we can handle it Bobby” Dean promised although it was apparent his mind was still not focused on the meeting. “All in all it’ll probably take about a week or so considering the ground you’ll have to cover so I’d pick a good team. Take Y/N with you too she hangs out with Alex and Kaia enough she can spot anything that has medicinal usage from a mile away” Jody added with a wink to Bobby before pushing away from the table to head out. She’d be gathering supplies for whatever team was picked and wanted to get it together.

Bobby watched her leave then turned back to his surrogate sons. “So I was thinking Y/N, Alicia, Max, Gadreel and Charlie would be a decent team to take. Ain’t like any of those girls can’t handle their own in a fight. Max can get through any tight spot and Gadreel is strong as a horse” Dean scoffed at that which earned him a look from Bobby “You got an issue with any of that son?”

Dean shook his head “Nope” then pushed his chair back “I’m going to gather my gear, you two can make sure everyone is up to the run” with that he walked out leaving Bobby to throw a questioning look at Sam who simply shrugged “I don’t really know what that’s about either” “Make sure he keeps a clear head. There’s a lot of dangers out there and not just the biters got it?” Sam nodded “Yes sir”

------

You were helping Jody to gather supplies for the upcoming run after she’d come out of the meeting with Bobby, Dean and Sam. “Do you know anything that could be bothering Dean?” She asked, holding out a pack of dried meat. You took it and shook your head “Not that I know of but I could always just ask him?”

She shrugged “No he’ll tell you or Sam if whatever it is gets to bothering him too much” You would hope so anyways. You always went to Dean if anything was bothering you. He’d offer advice if that’s what you were after or simply offer comfort or a place to vent. “I’m gonna grab my jacket and go bag from my room then I’ll meet everyone by the front gate” she nodded to let you know she’d heard you so you turned to head towards the living quarters.

The halls that had been transformed to be mini dorm rooms were actually quite comfortable considering. You considered yourself lucky that you’d been close with a lot of your group before that fateful day that a widespread virus was alerted in the news. You could still remember Sam’s phone call to you “Pack just what you need. Dean will be pulling up at your place any time”

You’d hastily thrown clothes and the contents of your medicine cabinet in a bag. Before you were through grabbing what you deemed necessary you heard a heavy knock on your door followed by Dean’s voice “Come on sweetheart! We gotta go!” When you opened the door your eyes widened when Dean shoved a gun into your hand. “Dean, what’s going on?” you asked and he took a deep breath “Long story short? The dead are rising. True,blue zombies. We gotta go cause shit is hitting the fan fast”

You gripped the gun noticing the one in his own hand and nodded “Lead the way Winchester. You know I trust you”

------

You shook yourself out of thoughts of the past. You needed to focus on this run completely. You grabbed your go bag from the floor checking what ammo you had and slipping a machete at your side. You glanced at your bat leaned next to the bed but decided against it. It was better the few times you’d go out solo or with just one other person. From what Jody had said there was a full team going after the winterizing supplies.

You slipped your jacket on then slid the strap of your bag across your chest. You walked back towards the doors that led outside. The electricity that the compound ran off of came from a mixture of solar panels and generators. The good part? Bobby knew enough to be able to brew enough corn liquor that the generators had fuel for years.

The only downside was that meant the few vehicles you had could only be used in moderation. Short runs horses were used for but considering this one would take about a week and would be gathering supplies for all the black panel van that was used for such runs was parked by the front gate awaiting those going.

You walked towards the gate and smiled when you spotted Dean standing with Bobby and Sam at the front of the van. They were clearly going over the mapped out areas one more time but you knew neither of them would mind you inserting yourself into the conversation. Since Dean’s back was to you and Sam noticed you first so you raised one finger to your lips. He quickly turned his attention back to the conversation so you wouldn’t be noticed.

You quietly took a few steps forward and slid your arms around Dean’s waist and leaned your head on his shoulder even if that meant you had to stand on your tip toes and still barely reach “So where are we going?” you could see the corners of his mouth tick up and knew he was fighting a smile “We’re going to a few different places sweetheart. You wanna hang off me like a spider monkey or you want to actually look at the map?” you feigned a pout “Why can’t I hang off you like a spider monkey and look at the map?” he rolled his eyes with a laugh “Get down”

You pulled your head down from his shoulder and moved your arms from around his waist to step slightly in front of him and look at the map Bobby had laid across the hood. Sam went over the stops with you, highlighting the couple where you’d be taking the lead since you knew more about what was needed for medicinal purposes. “Sounds good to me. Who’s the rest of the crew?” you could’ve sworn you saw a look be passed among the three of them before Bobby said “Alicia, Charlie, Max and Gadreel” you nodded approvingly at the choices “All good picks”

You heard a sharp whistle and turned to see Charlie walking towards the four of you trailed by the rest of the crew. “What’s up bitches? We ready to ride?” “Of course dear” You replied meeting her halfway.

------

Dean watched as you greeted the rest of the crew going on the run. Charlie was like a sister to him, Alicia and Max were cool but spending the next week in close quarters with you and Gadreel? Yeah he may look for some biters just to have an excuse to kill something.

“Alright! Everyone load up!” he barked out and you cut your eyes up at him “Depends, can I have shotgun for the first few miles at least?” He barely glanced at Gadreel before saying “Of course sweetheart” . You shot him a wink then walked around to the passenger side of the van along with everyone else who was climbing into the back.

Sam didn’t miss the look Dean threw at Gadreel or the way his brother had bristled anytime over the last few weeks when he’d see you with the other man. Was that what the attitude was about before the meeting? Was Dean jealous? He chose not to say anything for now and instead simply walked around to sit next to Gadreel on the middle seat since Charlie had taken up the backseat along with the twins.

------

Your destination was two states over. It was a contraction warehouse that had fallen early. Bobby kept an eye on the amount of biters in it versus the prospects of anyone actually getting inside.

Considering the zombies had lightened up in that area and everything needed to finish winterizing the compound and green houses could be found there it was worth the risk to go. That way you'd have running water and fresh food no matter how severe the coming winter got.

You were curled up with your feet under you watching the road whip by as Dean drove. You had a shoebox full of cassette tapes in your lap looking over them to see if any peaked your interest. You plucked one out of the box and stuck it into the player simply to see Dean's reaction when it started playing.

When the first few notes of It's My Life started playing he cut his eyes at you "Bon Jovi really?" You grinned "Hey Bon Jovi rocks...on occasion" then started singing along and couldn't help but laugh when Sam, Charlie and Max joined in.

No matter the music or the company Dean couldn't fight the smile that worked its way onto his face. You had shifted to have your legs out in front of you and were now drumming on the dash along with the music and had everyone in the van either singing or laughing along. Why had he never realized how amazing you were before? Why had it literally taken an apocalypse to open his eyes?

He watched you turn in your seat and bump Gadreel's leg as You Give Love a Bad Name started and felt that same flicker of anger. Maybe he'd waited too long to see what had been in front of him for years, maybe Gadreel had realized it a lot sooner.

The first day on the road was pretty uneventful. There were no stops to be made marked on the map so it was filled with just driving besides stopping for everyone to find a tree.

Considering the route was figured to be about three days there and three back (giving plenty of leadway for any issues that might arise) you asked Dean once the sun started going down if he was ready to pull over somewhere for the night or if he wanted you or Sam to take over driving.

He glanced in the mirror at Sam "What do you say Sammy? Wanna take the wheel for a while?" "Sure" Sam agreed so Dean stopped dead in the center of the road..not like there was a lot of traffic.

"Well I'm gonna climb in the back and get a little sleep" you announced after realizing Charlie, Max and Alicia were all knocked out. "Yeah Gadreel you wanna hop up here man? I'm pretty wiped too" Dean suggested and Gadreel replied "Sure. I already caught my few hours"

Gadreel held the side door open so you slid under his arm with a smile "Thanks '' he smiled in return. When Dean walked around he grabbed the door "I got it. Thanks" Gadreel simply nodded and climbed into the passenger seat.

You were already slid in next to the window when Dean climbed in next to you. You waited until Sam had started driving to turn so you could curl up next to Dean. He looked down at you with a raised eyebrow "What are you doing?" You grinned "Sleeping. Now hush and be a good pillow" instead of pulling away like you half expected he raised his arm slightly to pull you closer to him "I'll be a good pillow if you be a good pillow" you smiled when you felt him lean his head over on you and whispered "Deal"

"Look alive. This is the first of two vet clinics we gotta hit on this trip" Dean spoke as he pulled the van to a stop and glanced around. "Seven people so I'm thinking three teams of two and leave one person behind the wheel in case we need a fast exit?" You suggested and he winked at you "Just what I was thinking"

You slid your gun into the holster on your thigh but grabbed the machete from your floorboard as first line of defense. Guns were loud and the last thing you wanted was a herd of amped up zombies descending on the group before you could even go through the clinic. You turned and looked at everyone then nodded to yourself “Ok so Charlie you up for setting this one out?” She shrugged “Sure but I get to help clear the next one”

You shot her a smile then said “Ok Max and Alicia, Dean and Sam then Gadreel you’re with me..everyone good with that?” Everyone nodded but Dean who just walked to the back of the van to grab the canvas bags out without so much as a look in your direction. You raised an eyebrow to Sam who shrugged so you followed behind Dean keeping an eye out to make sure all of the commotion hadn’t attracted any undue attention.

You stood slightly behind him hearing him mumble to himself before he turned around and realized you were standing there “Son of a bitch Y/N. Make some noise sweetheart, the point is to not blend in with the dead” you grinned playfully “Is that your way of asking me to bite you?” he rolled his eyes but you could see just the barest hint of a smirk trying to work its way onto his face “Just be careful in there. Sure you trust him to have your back?”

You cut your eyes over to your group where they were all watching the woods line that bordered the back parking lot of the clinic “Yeah, I’ll be ok. Not gonna lie I don’t think I’ll ever trust anyone to have my back the way I trust you or well Sam but Gadreel has proved he’s good in a tight spot”

He nodded and for a second you thought he was going to say something else but he simply held out one of the bags “Remember get in, get out” you took the bag with a small smile “Aye aye” then walked back over to the group.

Dean watched you walk over to Gadreel. You said you’d never trust anyone the way you trusted him..that meant a lot didn’t it? He shook his head then walked over himself to pass Max then Sam a bag before nodding at Charlie “We’ll be out in five”

------

The clinic had three entrances. One to the side of the building, one to the back and one to the front. You and Gadreel took the back entrance, the twins took the side leaving the front to Sam and Dean.

You touched the handle of the door then looked at Gadreel “You want me to pull and you be ready or vice versa?” “Ladies choice” he replied with a laugh. You nodded then motioned to the door “In that case you pull and I’ll be ready”

He got into position but waited until you gave him a nod to open the door. You hoisted your machete but no noise came. You leaned inside and stomped your foot a few times “Hello? Anyone home?” You cut your eyes at him and he shrugged. “Maybe no one ended up here?” “We can only hope” you replied before walking further inside.

You could hear the rest of your crew checking but it appeared the clinic was well and truly empty. You picked a room and waved to Gadreel to follow you. The moment you stepped into the room you pulled your flashlight out of the pocket of your jacket and saw that from the looks of it you’d picked the operating room.

You motioned to the wall of shelves in front of you “I hate to ask but do you think you can give me a lift to the top one so I can see what’s up there?” He laughed lightly and you could feel the short jokes coming but instead he simply pointed to the machete in your hand “Lay that down so I don’t accidentally get stabbed and I’d be glad to” you laid the machete down on the silver table that was in the middle of the room then turned back to Gadreel “Better?” he nodded “Turn around so I can give you a boost then I’ll keep one hand on your back to steady you” you turned towards the shelves like he said and felt his hands around your waist a second before he lifted you into the air.

You climbed onto the highest shelf that normally would take a step ladder to reach then smiled over your shoulder at him “Thank you.Now get ready so if I find something good”

------

Dean and Sam had cleared three different cabinets. They’d found a good amount of first aid supplies ranging from suture kits to wound cleansers. “I’m gonna check on Alicia and Max” Sam said so Dean replied “I’ll check on Y/N and Gadreel”

Sam headed towards the back of the clinic where the twins were so Dean headed towards the operating room where you and Gadreel had gone into. He could hear you laughing right before he opened the door to see Gadreel putting you back down on your feet, his hands were still on your hips and you were smiling up at him with your hands against his chest.

Dean felt that same flicker of anger but this time it was mixed with more emotions than just that. He almost felt sick with just how angry he felt, not to mention the hurt. You weren’t even kissing Gadreel but he felt as if he’d walked in on a lot more intimate moment than he had. Luckily he was able to reel it in and sounded emotionless when he waved a hand towards the two of you “Didn’t know I was interrupting something. Times up, we gotta go so whatever you two are doing, stick a damn pin in it or something” then turned and walked out without saying a word.

------

Gadreel watched Dean walk out then looked back at you “What was that about? I was just helping you down..he doesn’t think we..?” you weren’t sure what to say. To anyone else Dean would’ve sounded almost bored but you knew him well enough to know when he was blocking emotions. You weren’t sure what was going on but when Dean sounded emotionless were the times that his mind was being his worst enemy “I have no clue honestly Gadreel. Don’t worry about it though, I’ll handle it” “I’d never disrespect you or any woman for that matter. I mean well don’t get me wrong you’re a beautiful woman but I thought..” he trailed off and looked again at the door when Dean had disappeared out of then shook his head “Just know if I did anything wrong I apologize” “You didn’t Gadreel. Don’t worry Dean just gets a little antsy on runs” you explained with a strained smile.

By the time you and Gadreel made it to the parking lot everyone had loaded their bags and only Sam stood outside the van. He took the bag from Gadreel then glanced at you, You followed him to the back of the van and watched as he added your bag to the bunch. After he shut the door he turned around and leaned close to you. “What happened in there?” You groaned slightly “He didn’t make a scene did he?” he shook his head “No but I know him like you know him. Now what happened?” You took a breath running your hand down your face “I think he got the wrong idea when he saw Gadreel with his hands on me. He was helping me down off a tall shelf that was it Sam I swear! You know me I wouldn’t do anything on a run and honestly? Yeah Gadreel is a good looking guy I have eyes but that doesn’t mean I’d screw him on a run for fuck’s sake we both have sleeping quarters back at the compound..I don’t know why Dean acted like that! Nice to know one of my closest friends thinks so highly of me that he thinks I’d risk anyone's life to fool around on a run”

You were starting to move past confused onto anger the more you spoke and Sam knew that so he reached out and squeezed your shoulder “Breathe, ride in the backseat with Charlie and Alicia. I’m gonna ride up front with him and Max is riding in the middle seat. I’ll try to talk to him ok?” you nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment because you were highly conflicted.

Finally you managed “Ok” then walked back around the van to climb into the backseat with Alicia and Charlie. Charlie raised an eyebrow at you not riding upfront with Dean but welcomed you into the conversation she and Alicia were having.

The third day on the road meant clearing the second vet clinic. You were going through a list of top things to look for with Alicia. All of you had stopped a few miles from the clinic to clear the road of an overturned tree. You and her were keeping an eye out for any dead that may be attracted to the noises. So far you both had killed one a piece.

“All clear ladies!” Charlie called out so you both headed back to the van. You wanted nothing more than to ask Dean why he’d acted like he had but refused to start an argument in the middle of a run. You’d push it down until all of you got safely back to the compound then you’d confront him about it.

You climbed into the backseat silently sliding between Alicia and Max. You didn’t really want to spare a word for anyone but since Bobby had been clear the clinics were more your wheelhouse everyone was looking at you as to what to grab for human use and what could be left behind.

You finally spoke as Dean was pulling into the overgrown parking lot of the clinic “I’ve went over the list with Alicia and Sam so they both know what to look for” Dean knew you were talking to him in particular and barely cut his eyes at you in the mirror before saying “I’m staying behind the wheel this time. Charlie can go in with Sam” you nodded more to yourself than in response to him. Why was he being so damn infuriating? If he’d just talk to you then...well what exactly would you say?

You climbed out and once your feet hit the dirt you turned to Gadreel “Ready?” he nodded so you looked around to everyone for their acknowledgement that they were all set.You shot one final look at Dean before falling Gadreel across the lot.

------

“Son of a bitch that damn thing came out of nowhere” you cursed kicking the now permanently dead zombie at your feet. Gadreel pulled a bandana from his pocket and held it out “You’ve got some blood smeared across your cheek” you wiped at it and gave him a small albeit appreciative smile “Thanks and again I’m sorry about how Dean acted” he shrugged “It’s ok really. It’s understandable”

You laughed harshly “Accusing us of screwing around literally on a run? That’s understandable? You’re a little too zen” he looked at you for a moment as if there was a second meaning to what he’d said but if there was you couldn’t quite grasp it. He shook his head after a moment then held a hand out “I’ll carry the bag”

------

Dean was watching the door of the clinic closely. Max and Alicia were the first duo out followed by Sam and Charlie. You and Gadreel bought up the rear.

He tried to bite his tongue but when you started to climb in considering you were the first one in the van he couldn’t stop the words before they came out “You and Gadreel didn’t get into anymore tight spots did you?” He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth but it was too late to pull them back then. He could see the shock in your eyes when you froze halfway into the back seat and slowly turned to look at him the shock quickly turning to anger “Believe me Dean if I was to fuck Gadreel I’d wait until I had longer than a few minutes to try him out” before either of you could say anything else Sam opened the front door and Charlie stepped up to climb in behind you.

Dean was still staring at you in the mirror when he heard Alicia ask if you were ok since you were balling up what looked like a bandana in your hands. “Yeah just took out a biter so Gadreel gave it to me to clean the blood off”

------

You purposely turned to stare out the window and cursed the moment you’d agreed to come on this run. You wouldn’t cry. Hell you couldn’t afford the luxury of hurt feelings these days but knowing that didn’t exactly take the sting out of Dean’s words. You looked down at your hands as you tied Gadreel’s bandana into a loose knot then untied it and repeated the process. You just had to get this run over then you could distance yourself from Dean. You’d said the first thing that had came to mind that would hopefully hurt him the same way his words had hurt you..what had exactly become of yours and Dean’s friendship over the last few months?

Day four meant the last leg of the run before the turn around to head home to the compound. You hadn’t spoken a word to Dean and hadn’t really spoken to anyone without them saying something to you first. Dean hated that his jealousy because whether he liked it not he was jealous he hated that he’d let it put a wedge between you and him,

He had no idea what he could do to even slightly make it up to you. He spotted the turn off for the construction warehouse so he cleared his throat “Charlie you wanna be a wheelman again?” she glanced up from her spot next to you and nodded “Sure!” “Then we’ll do two teams of three that good with everyone?” he was hoping you’d say something but instead of what he wanted you to say you looked up “I’ll be on the team with Alicia and Max. I have the list you said we needed. I’ll tear it in half and hand Gadreel the other half. You, him and Sam can find that stuff”

Dean didn’t attempt to argue with you and only nodded instead “Sounds like a plan” Sam cut his eyes at his brother not really being used to him being ok with someone else calling the shots but it was you after all. “You good?” he asked quietly and Dean replied “Yeah” then pulled into the parking lot of the construction warehouse.

------

You were out of the van the moment it stopped rolling. There were two zombies shambling around the lot and you took them out in tandem. You turned to look at everyone as they climbed out of the van and managed to crack a smile when Charlie teased “My oh my someone woke up on the wrong side of the apocalypse” you shrugged “Hey beats any other stress release there was pre-z”

A small chorus of laughter went through everyone and you were glad for that. You didn’t want whatever was happening between you and Dean to affect everyone else. You winked at Alicia “Grab your brother and lets go shopping” she laughed and grabbed Max by the arm then motioned to you “Lead the way”

------

Sam could practically feel the tension in the air between Dean and Gadreel. He had thought for a while Dean’s feelings for you went deeper than friendship but it hadn’t been as blaringly apparent until Gadreel came into the picture. He was a good guy, he got along well with everyone in the compound. He respected that the women helped keep everything going and always managed to pull a smile to your face over some small joke. Dean was threatened by him because up to this point there hadn’t been any other guy that garnered any of your attention away from Dean not one anyone that you would be a possible match with.

The three of them were working in silence quickly gathering what was on their half of the list. Sam was personally just hoping no fight broke out that he’d had to break up. He noticed that Dean kept cutting his eyes at Gadreel and said a prayer under his breath that just for once Dean would let it go.

He had no such luck because although Dean didn’t say anything Gadreel cleared his throat “Dean” Dean raised his eyebrows in response to the other man “Yeah?” “Just so you know nothing happened between me and Y/N. She’s a beautiful, amazing woman but...”

Dean cut Gadreel off before he could finish speaking with a shake of his head “I was in the wrong man...to snap at either of you. You’re both grown, what you do is your business and I trust the fact that neither of you would do anything on a run to risk your lives or anyone else's”

Sam watched the both of them for a moment trying to decipher if they were actually trying to get along or mutually waving the white flag for your benefit but the moment was broken by Alicia’s scream of your name. No words had to be passed amongst the three men; they all started running towards the sound.

------

You were following behind Alicia and Max trying to keep an eye out for the last couple items on your half of the list. You glanced up at a shelf that ran nearly up to the high ceiling of the warehouse and decided to check it out. Max stopped when he saw you looking and offered “Want a hand getting up there?” you shook your head with a slight smirk “Naw I think I can handle it but stay close just in case”

You made it to the halfway point and had even grabbed a few things you knew were needed when you went to step on a board and felt it crack under you. One minute you were standing the next you felt yourself falling and only barely managed to hold onto the backpack you had been storing supplies in.

You hit hard behind the shelf and heard a low growl.You pushed yourself to sit up and saw three biters shuffling towards you “Son of a bitch” you groaned trying to get to your feet. You went to push yourself up but felt a gush of blood from your left arm so you used your right to get to your feet just barely avoiding the chomping teeth of the zombie that was bearing down on you. You could hear Alicia scream your name but couldn’t spare a response. You had to show attention to the threat in front of you. You slammed your machete into the skull of the first one in front of you and cursed again when you realized that while you’d killed it your blade was stuck. You reached for the knife at your side knowing it was your only chance. You kicked the second one square in the stomach knocking it back long enough you could stab the last one in the eye.

You pulled your knife free and felt the one you’d kicked grab your jacket. You struggled to get out of it before the zombie sank it’s rotting teeth into the material. You slammed your knife into it’s skull then leaned heavily against the wall. The shelf slid away to show you an exit route. You ran towards the sunlight now streaming in and saw that Dean, Sam, Gadreel, Max and Alicia had all worked to get the shelf pulled out.

The moment Alicia saw you she looked at the guys “Turn around let me help her check herself out” the men all quickly obliged so you let her pull your shirt up and check across your back,stomach and both arms to assure you hadn’t been bit. “Didn’t you find a few suture kits at the last clinic?” She asked and you nodded then spoke loud enough the guys could hear “All clear boys. You can look now”

Dean’s eyes were glued to your left arm where the sleeve of your grey shirt was soaked with blood “Please tell me that’s a cut sweetheart” you smiled slightly “Bastard tried to bite me but only got my jacket” “Thank god” he breathed. You simply nodded and looked around “Did we get everything we need cause I’d really like to go home to the compound now. It’s been a long week” Sam laughed lightly and nodded “Yeah we got it all but first someone has to help stitch you up before we roll out”

------

Charlie had been nominated to help you stitch up your arm so you were sitting in the back of the van while she worked. Everyone else was keeping an eye out to ensure no more biters made their presence known. “So are we gonna talk about some of the weirdness?” You raised an eyebrow which made her nod in response whether at you or at herself “Ok then guess not” she tied off the last stitch and snipped it “I don’t have to tell you to keep it clean” you slid your shirt back on fully and gave her a small smile “I know aftercare instructions ma’am”

------

Dean watched you in the rearview mirror as he drove. You’d fallen asleep in the jacket Gadreel had given you to wear considering yours had been turned into a zombie chew toy. He couldn’t find it in himself to be angry that you were leaning against Gadreel asleep. He’d nearly lost you. Nothing else mattered. Why had he acted like he had towards you? Why couldn’t he just tell you he had feelings for you? Why hadn’t he realized it before Gadreel joined the compound? He let out a breath which made Sam look his way. “You good?” He nodded “Yeah be even better when we get home”

A few days had passed since all of you had made it back to the compound. You had barely spoken to Dean since getting back. You were still conflicted about the way he’d acted on the run.You were walking through one of the greenhouses checking the medicinal plants. You could hear someone walking behind you but didn’t have to look to know who it was. You’d know Dean’s footsteps anywhere.

“What’s this one?” He asked stopping at the plant furthest away from you “Echinacea, it helps for colds and flu” you replied barely looking in his direction. He walked a little closer to you and touched another plant. “What about this one?” You sighed loudly before answering “Ginger, it has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial,antiviral property and helps with nausea”

You finally turned to look fully at him “Can we not act like you actually give a damn about any of these plants? Why are you here Dean? You’ve avoided me for days, hell I’ve avoided you too so why are we talking now?” he took a few steps towards you stopping only a mere foot away “I miss you, you’re my best friend and I acted like an idiot..” “And practically accused me of being a whore that couldn’t even wait to get back to safety to fuck someone” you added and he chuckled lightly “That too”

“Why Dean? Why have you been pulling away from me for months and why did this run just cement the fact that our friendship is apparently broken beyond repair” you felt your voice break but didn’t try to hide it. You cared about Dean even if you’d resigned yourself to only being a friend to him because he’d never see you as more. Now you’d even lost that.

“Please, don’t say that Y/N. I was an asshole I’ll admit. I never should’ve acted like that towards you or Gadreel..it’s just..” he trailed off and you were too tired of beating around the bush by that point so this time you were the one to snap “Just what Dean?”

“I saw you getting close with him. I saw the way you two looked at each other then seeing his hands on you and the way you were smiling..I knew I’d lost any chance with you. It took me seeing you with him to open my eyes to just how much you mean to me” you were stunned into silence at his words. After a moment without you replying he laughed bitterly “Yeah and now I look like an idiot to add to it. Look I just wanted to say sorry and I hope you’ll forgive me”

He turned to walk out and only then did you find your voice “You are an idiot” he turned around to face you “Excuse me?” You crossed the space to stand in front of him “You’re an idiot Dean Winchester. I've had feelings for you for a long time. Yeah Gadreel is a good looking guy and a sweetheart. We’re good friends and I like spending time with him but as far as who I want? It’s been you, it’s always been you”

A smile slipped onto his face “Well does that mean we’re gonna give this a try?” you shrugged nonchalantly “I don’t know. Are you gonna be a jealous ass if I have male friends and hang out with them?” he laughed “No, I promise you my days of being a jealous asshole are over. If you’re sure you want me I know you only say what you mean” you tapped your chin in mock thought for a moment before saying “In that case why don’t we seal it with a kiss?” “Thought you’d never ask,” he replied, pulling you into his arms.

[chudleycanonficfest]

Four Little Sips

Day 28, Post #2

Title: Four Little Sips

Author: JohnMcHacker

Pairings: Harry/Bill/Charlie (platonic), Harry/Ginny (romantic), Gryffindor Quidditch Team (platonic), Fred/George/Ron (platonic), Ron/Hermione (romantic)

Prompt: In Vino Veritas

Rating: PG

Trigger Warnings: Alcoholism, Referenced death, Language

Note to admin: Thanks for organising, this is my first time submitting, sorry if I'm late or if it doesn't meet requirements. I have also posted to the AO3 collection.

* * *

You see, Harry had never really had anyone just a few years older to look up to. Alright, there was Hermione, but they were classmates and best friends and at roughly the same place in life, it wasn’t the same.

That summer of 1998, in the wake of all that pain and death and sorrow, the Weasleys pulled together and pulled him in with them. On a few occasions, this meant having a few drinks with Bill and Charlie, in various nondescript Muggle pubs in the vicinity of Ottery St Catchpole.

“Just because Kingsley cut you some slack doesn’t mean you have to take the offer,” said Charlie. “You’ve spent your whole life fighting Voldemort, one way or anoher. You deserve to take a break. Live a little. Or else, what have you been fighting for?”

Harry thought of several memorable sunlit days, and found he couldn’t really disagree.

“Or at the very least, know why you’re putting your life on the line, once again,” said Bill. “Well, alright, you were the Chosen One, you had your job to do then. But now that that’s over, you ought to think twice why you’re risking your neck on your own account.”

“Well, I think I’d be good at it,” said Harry. “And someone has to do it. The Aurors are short-handed and too many of Voldemort’s thugs are still out there.”

Bill shook his head, munching a handful of chips. “That’s not good enough. Merlin knows I’d love a crack at the bastards myself. But your neck’s not just your own now, Harry. Ginny has a say too. That’s part of what being together means.”

“Muggle birds ain’t bad,” said Charlie, nodding at a trio of pretty college-age girls gathered round a table across the pub. They caught him watching, giggled, and winked in reply. “Don’t limit yourself to witches. But if you do, don’t mess ‘em around, play fair, and come clean as soon as you can.”

“The most important part of my relationship with Fleur is trust,” said Bill. “We don’t have secrets, and she trusts that I won’t suddenly run off hunting Death Eaters or dragons or Hor... whatever. And I trust her not to do the same.”

“Family’s what it comes down to,” said Charlie, draining his glass.

“Family,” nodded Bill. “Your first responsibility.”

“My shout,” said Harry, because that was something else they had taught him was right, to stand his round, and he went to the bar to get the drinks. When he returned, they had moved on to other important matters.

“Free advice, Potter, take it or leave it,” said Charlie, tapping the side of his nose, “women; you’ll never go wrong if you please ‘em first, know what I mean?”

“Oi! That’s our sister you’re talking about!” snapped Bill, trying not to laugh.

“So what? She’s got fi... four of you looking out for her. Maybe I just want to see fair play.” Charlie winked at Harry. “Let me tell you about what I call ‘wandless magic’, and trust me, it is magic.”

“That’s it, you’re done, Perce is my new number two, it’s you that Mum and Dad should disown...”

“There’s more where that came from, Harry. You want to know how to beat Ron at chess? He can’t play gambits worth a damn. Stick with me, I’ll show you something called a Smith-Morra, aye?”

Advice, experience, honour, laughter. Maybe this was what it was like to have older brothers, thought Harry. It filled a hole in him he never even knew he had.

* * *

Oliver would never have allowed it, but Angelina Johnson was a more fun-loving kind of Quidditch Captain. She passed the word around quietly, and so the five Gryffindor players above the age of sixteen met in the changing rooms fifteen minutes before Potter and the younger Weasley were due to arrive. Of course it was the Twins who’d acquired the goods, however they managed it. Fred produced the bottle of Ogden’s from somewhere under his robes with a flourish, and George grinned toothily as he conjured shot glasses from thin air.

“Alright, I know it was my idea, but just the one, got it?” warned Angelina, pouring the drinks herself.

“Aye aye, Captain,” said Fred. George sketched a sloppy salute her way.

Katie Bell was practically trembling with excitement and nerves. “Oooh, this’ll be my first drink ever,” she said, holding up the glass of amber liquid to catch the light. “Are you sure we won’t get caught?” she asked, looking around as if expecting McGonagall to burst out of a locker at any time.

“Course we can’t be sure,” said Alicia Spinnet. “That’s part of the fun!”

Angelina looked round at each of them, and shouted “For the Cup!”

“FOR THE CUP!” they chorused, and knocked back the Firewhiskey.

Two years later, the three Chasers were standing at the bar of the Hog’s Head, but they had Oliver back now, and Angelina knew somehow that that was important, they were going to go to Hogwarts and find Fred and George and Harry and reunite the whole Team, and it meant she had to do this. She leaned over the counter, rummaged through the grimy bottles and found what she was looking for.

“You’re mad!” said Oliver incredulously.

“Probably,” said Alicia cheerfully, “but we did this every match and still won the Cup, didn’t we? Sixth-years and above only, of course, we had standards,” she said, catching Oliver’s outraged look.

“Don’t tell me you’re going into a real battle and don’t want a drink, Oliver,” said Angelina calmly as she poured, and that was that.

Alicia and Katie and Oliver looked at her expectantly. Angelina searched for the words, and found there was really only one thing suited to the occasion. “Fuck Voldemort.”

“FUCK VOLDEMORT!”

And they did.

But oh God, the price they paid.

  * * *

The Leaky was too well-known so they usually frequented a tiny hole-in-the-wall further down the street. The clientele was younger and the enchanted jukebox played muggle hits as well as the Weird Sisters, Mega Maggots, and the Bent Banshees, and that was perfect for the Twins. Perhaps half the entire current range of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes had first been dreamed up in this pub.

“Alright, alright, what about this, George? Prank greeting cards.”

“You’re crazy, Fred.”

“Cards that won’t stop singing. Howler cards. Exploding confetti cards. Exploding firework cards!”

George finished his beer and signalled to the barman for another. The barman hesitated, then poured as George slapped a handful of Sickles on the counter. “Confetti yes, fireworks, I dunno,” said George. “Cheers, Fred.”

“It’s brilliant I tell you. Mud in your eye,” said his twin brother, and they drank. Then, quietly, Fred asked: “How’s the family?”

“Same old. They’re doing well. You should see the sprogs, it’s a hoot,” snickered George. “Ron and Gin and Harry and good ol’ Hermione, sneaking around trying not to get caught shagging like rabbits. God, the sights I’ve walked in on...”

Fred chortled along with George, and he finished the pint. The bell over the door jingled and new customers came in, but the twins barely glanced that way.

“Speaking of which. About her... you should do something about it, George,” said Fred kindly. “I see all the signs and I know you do too. She’s waiting on you. Go be a gentleman, Georgey-boy, go on.”

George sighed. “Not you too. Look, I get enough of this crap from Bill and Charlie, alright?”

“You two need each other. Besides, it’s too quiet around the flat.”

All at once, George’s face crumpled. “You don’t get to say that. Not you. Not you! YOU don’t say that!”

Fred said nothing, he only smiled, and walked away. George turned his head quickly to follow him, but as always, Fred slid out the corner of his eye and was g...

And then it was another Weasley brother standing in front of him.

This time, it was Ron they’d sent. Good old Ron, lanky and solid and biting his lip in sympathy as he came to find his older brother sitting alone at the bar hunched over a half-empty glass. On the counter beside him was one untouched full pint, the frothy head long since evaporated.

“Come on, George,” said Ron gently. “There, I’ve got you. Let’s get you home.”

* * *

She was a girl made of facts and reason.

That was just the way she was wired.

“Dutch courage,” she said to herself, eyeing the glass of probably cheap plonk as if it was poison. Which technically it was.

“What’s that?” asked Ginny.

“Dutch courage,” she repeated. “It’s a muggle term, meaning the confidence gained from drinking alcohol, according to the Cambridge English Dictionary. Although,” she amended, “it’s derogatory to Dutch people and we probably shouldn’t say things like that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind in case I meet anyone from Orange Tulip Land,” said Ginny, rolling her eyes. “You certainly don’t need that sort of thing, Hermione, you’re one of the bravest people I know!”

Probably just hyperbole, thought Hermione, as that would be quite something, given that Ginny hung around with Aurors and Quidditch players and her boyfriend Harry Potter, or ‘His Excellency Most Spiffing Chosen Boy Who Lived To Kick Voldemort’s Arse’ as George called him. She picked up the glass, sipped it carefully, decided she quite liked the taste of Chateau Diagon Alley or whatever this was, and had a bigger swig.

Here’s a fun fact: it takes 6 minutes for the brain to react to alcohol.

Six minutes later, she didn’t think she felt any different. Warmer perhaps, but the New Year party was in full swing and Hermione thought maybe it was just the ambient temperature rising from all the people circulating, moving, dancing, talking, laughing.

Fun fact: drinking is ‘fun’ because alcohol lessens tension, eases social interaction, and reduces inhibitions.

Hermione sat in her corner and nursed her glass and knew she wasn’t really a social drinker, or any kind of drinker, or even at all ‘sociable’ to begin with. She envied how effortlessly Ginny and Bill and Parvati and everyone else were visibly enjoying themselves; Hermione would honestly prefer a nice book, a pot of peppermint tea, and perhaps with the company of...

Breathless from joking with Aurors and Obliviators and Patrolwizards and friends, Ron flung himself down beside her and threw an arm around her, and Hermione’s stomach fluttered pleasantly. “Alright there, Hermione?” He followed her gaze towards the wineglass. “Not poisoned, is it? Cause that’s no fun, believe me.”

Fact: I want to say I...

“That’s not funny, Ron, you could’ve died,” chided Hermione, although she couldn’t help giggling. “No, I just... it’s Dutch courage.”

“What’s that?” Hermione told him about English soldiers and gin and bravery, and the way he looked at her as he listened made her feel warm all over. “Nice. You know everything, Hermione,” Ron said admiringly.

“Not everything,” said Hermione wistfully. “I don’t know how to have fun at parties. Well, maybe that’s one more thing I do know now,” she joked lamely.

Fact: I...

Ron laughed at her probably atrocious attempt at humour, and said “Rubbish party anyway. Too many plonkers just wanting to be seen with heroes like Harry and Neville” (characteristically, Ron excluded himself from that category, Hermione observed) “and they’re only here because Kingsley said they absolutely had to be. I’d much rather have a quiet night in at home with you, Crookshanks, a nice fire, maybe a...”

No, I don’t know everything, thought Hermione. But I know this fact. “I love you, Ron Weasley.” And she grabbed him and snogged the hell out of him, ignoring the catcalls and cheers that rose all around.

Was it really the Dutch stuff, or was it all her own self, after all?

To be continued...

[awritingtree]

Burnout

Fred Weasley x reader

Summary: Y/N has been pushing herself past the limit with school work. When Fred notices her unusual behaviour, he decides to intervene. But what happens when Y/N snaps and says some things that could possibly destroy their relationship and friendship?

Words: ~2.5k

Warnings: angst, fluff?, mentions of anxiety attacks, lack of self-care

A/N: “What is this crap?” you ask. I don’t know myself 😂 this started off as one thing and ended up being something different. It really is not my best work. I don't know what I've written myself. I’m confused. Might delete it later, idk. But I hope you enjoy it xx

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

“Good morning love,” Fred Weasley greeted his girlfriend with a kiss to her cheek as she sat down at the Gryffindor table on a Friday morning at the Great Hall.

“Hi,” Y/N Y/L/N mumbled quietly without looking at him. She reached out to grab a piece of warm toast and spread some butter on it before taking a bite. She poured herself a glass of milk, gulping it down as she munched on her piece of toast as quick as she could.

Fred frowned at Y/N’s unusual behaviour. She’d usually greet him back with an enthusiastic ‘good morning’ hugging him tightly, proceeding to make a joke which would make his laughter echo through the Great Hall on a quiet morning. He shrugged off her behaviour, reckoning she must be stressed about the Transfiguration test that afternoon.

Y/N continued to gobble up her food at a speed that was not healthy.

“Slow down, Y/N. We don’t need you choking early in the morning,” joked Lee Jordan, eliciting a chuckle from the twins.

“Shove off, Jordan,” Y/N clipped back. She shoved down the remaining bits of the toast before getting up and stringing her bag over her shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Fred asked.

“I need to go talk to Professor Flitwick about the assignment he gave the other day. I’ll see you guys later,” she said, leaving in a hurry.

This made Fred concerned, wondering what was going on with his girlfriend. She left without giving him a kiss goodbye; that never happened. Before he could ponder more on the topic, George pulled his attention back to a prank they’d been discussing throughout the week.

And the topic was forgotten. For now.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Y/N sat close to the Black Lake in the company of Fred, George and Lee. Sitting cross-legged, she leaned her elbows on her knees, fingers tangled in her hair, pulling at it in frustration. Her eyes scanned the open books strewn around her, searching for something to write on the blank piece of parchment perched on her lap.

“You’re coming to Hogsmeade tomorrow, right Y/N?” asked the younger twin.

Y/N looked up, a confused look on her face. “Huh?”

“You’re coming to Hogsmeade tomorrow?” questioned George once again, dragging his words out slowly.

“Oh. Um no,” she said, her attention already back to the books in front of her.

Fred’s grin dropped into a frown, his eyebrows scrunching together. “What? You promised you’d come this time. You’ve missed out on every single Hogsmeade trip this year.”

“I have a lot of work to do,” Y/N replied, barely paying attention to the conversation she was a part of.

“You’ve been working since the beginning of the year. You need a break, love.”

“I can’t afford to take a break, Fred,” huffed Y/N, her eyes moving to look at the ginger beside her. The dark circles under her eyes looked more prominent in the evening light. The exhaustion and lack of sleep clear on her face.

“You’re being unreasonable. You can take one day off.”

“No I can’t,” snapped Y/N aggravated, “Just because you don’t care about graduating and your future, doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t either.”

Fred’s face contorted in anger, her words hitting straight home. He got up and stormed away without another word.

George and Lee looked at Y/N disappointed before leaving too, chasing after Fred. Y/N sighed before looking down at the blank parchment on her. She pulled at her hair as she let out a small scream of frustration. Tears that had started to gather in eyes began to flow down her cheeks. She tore the parchment into pieces, throwing it away. Y/N had begun to tremble as she pushed the books around her, attempting to throw them away from her. When there were no more books in close proximity, she curled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, resting her forehead against her knees as she continued to cry.

Y/N’s fingers and toes beginning to freeze but her armpits and palms were sweating, feeling as if the temperature had been turned up a few notches. The world around her blurred out; no longer comprehending her surroundings. The only sound she could hear were her sobs as she gasped for breath. She could feel her heart thumping in her ears, the sound so loud that it almost drowned out the sound of her sobbing gasps. Her chest ached from the lack of oxygen. She could taste the salty tears streaming down her face onto her lips, feel the cold tears travelling to her jaw and down her neck. Any attempt to wipe her face clean was carried out in vain; the tears she wiped were replaced with double the amount.

“Y/N?” she heard a voice call out in the distance.

“Merlin! Y/N breathe with me okay?” the voice sounded nearer, however as if underwater, “Look at me. Y/N, look at me.”

A warm, soft hand rested on Y/N’s cheek guided her face to turn and face the voice’s owner. Y/N’s eyes focused onto the brown eyes of Ginny Weasley.

“You’re okay, Y/N. I’m here. Breathe. You can do that for me right?” she questioned softly, her voice still sounding underwater.

Y/N managed to get a small nod through her panic.

“Breathe in… 1 2 3... Breathe out… 1 2 3... Breathe in… 1 2 3... Breathe out… 1 2 3...” instructed Ginny, “Yes, just like that. Breathe… 1 2 3...” Y/N concentrated on listening to Ginny’s counts, attempting to breathe along with them. Soon enough, Ginny’s voice started to sound clear; Y/N feeling that her head was finally surfacing from the water she was drowning under. After a while, her breathing had started to regulate. A few gulps of air later, Y/N turned her attention to Ginny.

“Thank you,” Y/N muttered, quietly. She glanced away from the ginger-haired girl, not being able to hold eye contact due to the situation she had been caught in.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m just glad I walked by at this time,” said Ginny with a soft smile. Y/N returned a small smile of her own.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you sure? Can I do anything?” Ginny asked, concerned for her brother’s girlfriend; someone whom she saw as her own sister.

“Yes. I’m fine now. I- I think I just need to go and rest for a while. Thank you, Ginny. I’ll see you later,” she said, gathering up her books hastily and leaving.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Things had not gotten better the past few days. If anything, they had become much worse.

Fred and Y/N had not talked, only sparing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. Though she had not mentioned what she had witnessed that day to anyone, Ginny was worried about Y/N; even more when she noticed her and Fred were currently not on speaking terms. George was concerned for both his twin and best friend; Fred was in a constant bad mood and Y/N looked worse for wear. The bags under her eyes looked darker, her skin beginning to turn sallow, her hair unkempt. George hardly saw her eating when she turned up to the Great Hall during any meal, sneaking a few bites in before leaving in a hurry. To say he was worried about her would be quite the understatement.

Y/N felt awful. She could barely get out of bed in the mornings. She was constantly tired, barely paying attention in classes. She couldn’t concentrate on anything, constantly wanting to do nothing but go back to bed. She continued to cry herself to sleep every night, like she had been for the past few weeks; the reason as to why she did not know. Her body ached all over, her head being the worst. She felt lethargic, not having any energy to even pick up a glass of water. She was falling behind on her work, her grades were slipping - they had been for quite a while.

Y/N knew she needed a break. But instead she continued to push herself, the thought of taking a break and falling even more behind or the idea that her grades would worsen not allowing her to have a moment of peace.

The fact that she was fighting with Fred, not having talked to him for a few days, was not helping. She knows she was in the wrong, she should apologize and tell him what’s going on. But for some reason, she didn’t want to admit that she was struggling. Not because she was egoistic, but because she felt she constantly had something to prove. Education was the only thing she excelled in, if she lost that she felt she would be nothing. She was embarrassed to ask for help; she did not want to appear to be a burden to him, to anyone.

“That’s enough!” said George one morning to his older brother. “You both can’t keep going on like this. You need to talk to each other, you’re both miserable.”

Fred sighed, looking away from his breakfast. “I know.”

“Well then, what are you waiting for!? She’s right there,” George said gesturing towards Y/N, sitting at the end of the table with Angelina and Alicia.

He knew he had to talk to her. Fred had noticed something was wrong for weeks now. He knew she was stressed out due to school, crumbling under the pressure and expectations she placed upon herself. But he didn’t want to force himself on her, so he’d decided to wait for her to approach him first. What she’d said had hurt him, no doubt about it, but he knew that she didn’t mean it. It was the outcome of a moment of anger. He had seen her the past few days around the castle too, struggling to carry on with her day. But he was afraid to walk up to her; afraid that she would lash out at him again. Afraid that the angry words that would follow, from both their sides, would worsen the situation.

Taking a deep breath, he walked down the table towards where she sat. Angelina sent him a small smile noticing him walk up to their small group. Fred paused for a moment, gathering up the courage to speak.

Y/N jumped at the unexpected sound of someone clearing their throat loudly behind her. She turned to see her boyfriend standing there, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked the same, a bit more troubled than she’d ever seen. He’d developed dark circles under his eyes; an indication he hadn’t been sleeping well, not that she had been either. Other than that, he still looked the same - the same boy that she’d fallen in love with.

“Can we- can we talk?” he asked nervously.

Y/N stared at him for a second before nodding. They both walked out of the Hall and through the corridor before entering an unused classroom. Fred shut the door behind him. The both of them did not speak a word, fidgeting as they gazed around the room, gazing everywhere except each other. Fred decided to take the initiative and start the conversation that was long due. But it seemed Y/N had made the same decision.

“I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time. They both chuckled, the tension in the air disappearing.

Fred moved closer to Y/N, using the few seconds to come up with what to say.

“I’m sorry. I- I shouldn’t have said what I did. It was completely out of line and I didn’t mean it. I could never mean something like that. You- you know I didn’t mean it right? I was just frustrated, and I know that still doesn’t excuse what I said but I’m sorry. I am so so so sorry,” said Y/N, tears brimming her eyes. She took a shaky breath trying to calm herself down.

Fred closed the distance between them, cupping her face in his hands.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean what you said. I understand, love. It’s okay. Don’t cry, please,” he said softly, his thumbs drawing circles on the soft skin of her cheeks.

“I really am so-” Fred leaned down, cutting her off with a kiss. Y/N’s hand moved to hold Fred’s forearms before slowly moving up his arms to rest on his shoulders. Fred broke the kiss after a while, resting his forehead against hers as his hands moved down to her hips.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I know you’ve been stressed over school; I should’ve been more supportive.”

Y/N shook her head. “No, you-” Fred cut her off with another kiss.

“How about we both stop apologizing and just agree it was no one’s fault, purely circumstantial?” he said.

Y/N hesitated before sighing and nodding knowing she would not win. “Brilliant,” said Fred, pulling her close to wrap her up in a hug. They stood there for a while, basking in the feeling of being in each other’s arms - their favourite place to be in the world - after days.

“You know you can come to me for anything, right? No matter how small or stupid you think it is, you have nothing to be embarrassed about with me. And no, you will not be burdening me. I’d be more than happy to help you,” Fred said, pulling away from the hug but still keeping Y/N at a close distance in his arms.

Fred smiled endearingly at the look of surprise that crossed Y/N’s face as she looked up at him. She really thought she’d done a better job at hiding how she felt but it seemed like Fred had seen through everything, just like he always did.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? I care about you, Y/N,” Fred said, his hand tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear gently. His hand remained there, cradling her face, “I notice every miniscule thing about you, whether you want me to or not.”

Y/N averted her eyes, ashamed of herself. How could she ever think Fred would ever judge her badly? The boy whose eyes shined with love and adoration whenever his gaze fell upon her. The boy whose face lit up with the thought or mention of her. The boy who would be ready to give up anything and everything for her, including his dream of owning a joke shop.

“Just promise me you’ll take one day off,” Fred implored. “We can do whatever you want, wherever you want. You need to take one day to relax, love. You can’t keep overworking yourself like this.”

Y/N looked up and nodded with a smile. Fred smiled back, delighted with her compliance, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead.

“I love you,” he mumbled against her skin.

“I love you.”

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

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[the-clari-net]

A Mother’s Intuition

AO3

Maddie Fenton prides herself on being a woman of science. A woman full of reasoning and logic who has spent her entire career working on showing her credibility by proving that ghosts exist; not only that, but to show the dangers that they hold to the living. After so many years of being mocked and belittled she finally got her big break with that ghost portal. Once ghosts started coming into Amity Park, she knew she had something tangible that would shake the foundations of the scientific community that have been perceived as Law. Everyone would know that there exists a space that these laws don’t apply (in more ways than one). She and Jack would finally get their brilliance recognized, and her children could finally look at their parents with pride knowing that they’re the first to discover and pioneer this new branch of science never before studied by mankind.

  With that being said, Maddie was the one who always brought a more realistic approach to the ideas Jack came up with. They made a good team like that, covering each other’s blind spots to the best of their abilities. Maddie was seen as the rational one, less emotionally swayed compared to her jovial and at times overly enthusiastic husband. That’s not a bad thing really, since it keeps Maddie grounded in not becoming too absorbed in observing at a microscopic level and he forces her to step back and relook at her project with new eyes with a wider perspective. This is all to say that Maddie is an observant person. Her profession relies on her ability to analyze and being able to report and reflect on those observations.

All this needs to be mentioned because Maddie has been feeling strange lately. Well, perhaps lately isn’t the right word. This is a feeling that has existed within her for awhile, it’s just become impossible to ignore the longer it stays. This is a blind spot that has grown too large to push aside.

Dread is one way to describe this feeling. Anxiety is another. At its worst peak, paranoia might be more applicable.

Right now Maddie is sitting at her dinner table with her family. It’s a Sunday night, she had ordered pizza earlier in the evening because the radioactive hot dogs are holding yesterday’s leftovers hostage. It’s a normal evening for the Fentons all things considered.

Except for the slightly shaky hands, which is strange for a woman who has skilled precision with a scalpel. Except for the pounding in Maddie’s chest, her pulse has been quickening the longer they’re having dinner, and she’s starting to hear that same pulse pounding behind her ears. Except for the slight chill that never leaves her despite sitting next to her husband who runs so warm he might as well be a personal heater.

There’s the tightening of her chest that leaves her struggling to breathe properly. It feels as if at any moment she may have to start gasping for breath like her sister Alicia used to as a kid before she got an inhaler to treat her asthma.

Ultimately, these are all the signs Maddie feels when she’s scared. It’s been a while since she’s felt true fear that wasn’t outweighed by adrenaline and excitement. She usually can hold her own against any human and she’s smart to never fight a ghost at close range. She can’t remember the last time she had felt helpless enough to fear like this.

As a woman who is a master at martial arts, she’s had a lot of past experience in her training going up against powerful opponents. There were certain opponents (especially in her early years of training) that made her feel like she was prey, that if she lost her focus for a moment, she would be pulverized. This is the same feeling only a thousand times worse.

Maddie has been trying to deny the connections she’s been weaving since the first prick of nervousness first reached her. She was a woman of science, she needed evidence to support her conclusion; correlation does not equal causation. However, her martial arts background has told her to trust your instincts; it’s a survival trait warning of a potential danger. The conflict of these two perspectives have been arguing in her head about the odd common thread with these spikes of anxiety.

These feelings only seem to appear whenever Danny was around.

It was such a silly observation at first, more of an offhand thought. But as time went on, and her nerves were worsening, the thought stayed with her in the back of her mind.

Maddie’s mind tries to be rational about the ordeal, trying to convince herself that these feelings of anxiety could be due to stress, or some effect of the ghost portal. The fact that something primal is screaming at her that her son –the boy who currently has a piece of pepperoni stuck to the side of his lip and is pouting at Jazz—is a threat to her livelihood is what worries her.

Could he be possessed by a ghost? No, that’s ridiculous; his eyes are blue, he can’t be possessed. They look a little brighter than normal. That’s the kitchen lighting, Danny is NOT involved in this.

It feels like it has to be ghost related. This feeling of dread is common with several of the ghosts that have appeared in Amity Park before. She’s noticed that the more powerful ones are more likely to cause this instinctual feeling compared to the little ghost blobs who only cause a shiver to your spine once physical contact is made.

“—right Mom?”, Maddie jumps a bit and looks up to realize that Jazz was looking directly at her. She notices that the pizza box is empty, and the table’s been cleared, except for her own plate. Was she out of it for that long?

“Sorry honey, I didn’t hear what you said. Could you repeat the question?”. She tried to offer a smile, but she could tell looked more like a grimace. Jack was looking at her worriedly, but he knew better than to push her to talk in front of the kids. Jazz looked back with a soft smile, but her brows were furrowed.

Maddie didn’t look in Danny’s direction.

“I was just saying I should have the leftover slice of pizza for tomorrow instead of Danny because I have seniority rights, right?”

Maddie blinked at Jazz for a moment before recollecting herself and standing up from her seat and moving to the sink to wash the dishes, forcefully ignoring the back of her mind screaming at her to run as far away as she can from here and never look back.

“Now you two, there’s no need to fight like that. Why don’t I just give you both some lunch money for tomorrow and we’ll call it even?” She smiled at Jazz, subtly angling herself so her back wasn’t facing towards Danny and kept him in her peripheral vision.

She doesn’t want to think of why she did that.

--

Later that night, Maddie couldn’t sleep. She managed to convince Jack that she was feeling better after dinner, and now she’s wide awake trying to remember why that fear felt so familiar. She recognized the unease that only comes from being in close contact with a ghost. It’s the same feeling that lingered in her system after having a ghost possess her; there’s a specific rolling in her stomach that comes from it. The feelings she got during dinner tonight felt like a specific ghost, something about it felt familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

When she finally went to sleep, she was restless with dreams of sharp bright blue eyes, looming shadows that suffocated her, and sweet awkward smiles that slowly turned into menacing and haunting grins.

--

The rest of the week had been a pretty regular one. Jack and Maddie had spent most of the week building some new weapons that could help capture Phantom once and for all. Because of this, they had been eating in their lab. If Maddie felt relief at using her work as a shield to avoid family dinner, that’s her secret to keep.

The week had been quiet with no battles or major ghost sightings until a massive ghost battle broke out between Phantom and another one of the reoccurring ghosts on Friday. Skulker was the name of the ghost if what she had overheard from her sonar dish on the family RV was correct. It was all the way across town. Jack was behind the wheel, and Maddie was checking over the new prototype they had been working on all week that would hopefully weaken a ghost’s powers. They were hoping that Phantom could be their first test subject.

As they were about halfway to the battle, Maddie suddenly got a prickly feeling in her neck. She was well acquainted with that feeling when nearing ghosts, so she dismissed it as usual. But it got worse the closer they reached their destination. Her body slowly began to tense up, more, her breaths were becoming shallower, and her mouth had suddenly run very dry.

No… it can’t be…

There they were in front of Skulker and Phantom and all Maddie could do was tense up in terror and barely stop herself from letting out a whimper. This feels too familiar, he feels like…

Phantom suddenly crashes on top of their windshield, he groans and begins to lift himself off the hood of the RV when for a brief moment, his eyes meet Maddie’s. He sends a sheepish smile and begins to fly up towards Skulker, immediately striking him down with an ectoblast.

Meanwhile, Maddie feels all the blood drain from her face and she feels her eyes begin to fill up with tears. Jack is yelling about that darn ghost damaging his RV, but she can barely focus. She recognized the feeling now. The interaction between the two of them didn’t even last a minute, yet it is staying with her all the same.

The smile Phantom gave reminded her of a black-haired boy who would get caught staying up late looking at his telescope. A boy who would give her that same smile whenever he was confronted about skipping class and missing his assignments. She sees that smile every day in her own home.

It looked so odd, having that smile come from a boy with bright white hair, and eyes that glowed toxic green. The smile was sharper, with incisors that were just short of becoming fangs. But it was still recognizable.

She can no longer deny it, Phantom and Danny are connected. Danny even leaves her with the same sense of terror and fear that only a ghost as powerful as Phantom could do. It feels more potent with Phantom; looking him in the eye for that moment almost made her scream bloody murder.

Jack was never as attuned to the emotional effects that ghosts brought on due to his natural bravery and confidence (she has a theory about his family bloodline having adopted some traits that could block out these senses of fear which leads them to being better ghost hunters). However, even Jack had once mentioned that he felt unnerved by Phantom, which says a lot about the power that child ghost must hold. But to think that powerful monster is somehow connected to her son was a situation she never would have considered. Was he possessed?

When did it happen? Was it around the time that Maddie first began feeling unnerved?

How didn’t you notice? The back of her mind whispered to her. You’re his mother, aren’t you?

The weight of her realization begins to set it. The burden of fearing her son with no tangible reason for doing so. Her own neglect and obliviousness about missing this massive part of her son’s life fills her with guilt. Suddenly the weapon in her hand, ready to be used against Phantom (Danny?) makes her nauseous.

She feels her body beginning to shut down and go into autopilot. Maddie dazedly notices that she and her husband are parked in the middle of a street, in easy range to get blasted or crushed, or incinerated or possessed by these ghosts. She is in no condition to fight.

She feels a little hysterical thinking about her own safety when her son (or some possessed version of him) is out there fighting a ghost after literally crashing into an RV with military grade protection.

“Jack, we should go home”, Maddie hoarsely interrupts her husband’s tangent.

He looks like he was about to protest until he saw his wife’s bloodshot eyes, holding back tears and white as a sheet. Without further prompting, he turned the car around and as soon as the stiffening fear had melted away from Maddie’s shoulders did she finally allow the tears to fall.

[megalony]

Teacher’s pet- Part 20

So I have about two more parts planned for this Ben Hardy series but I am going to be doing a follow-on series because I love this story and still feel I have more to write for it. I hope you will all like this part, feedback is always lovely to hear.

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Summary: (Y/n) teaches at the school Ben’s boys go to and they soon start a relationship. But they have their ups and downs with the problems Ben faces with his boys and how quickly the relationship progresses.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm gonna go and see our baby girl now, they said I can finally hold her today."

Ben's fingers slowly and methodically carded through (Y/n)'s hair, moving the strands into waves and brushing them from her face as he talked quietly in a soft voice. He didn't know if (Y/n) could hear him or not, she was sedated but he knew that some people in comas could still hear voices around them so he hoped that even though (Y/n) was asleep, she could hear his voice.

He had spent most of the morning here with (Y/n), holding her hand, brushing his fingers over her skin to try and show her he was still here and talking to her in case she was listening. But now he had to go and see their daughter before he went home to the boys.

Every time he left (Y/n) here he felt guilty and in pain because something could happen when he left and he didn't want anything to happen when he wasn't here. And if felt awful to leave (Y/n) here on her own and he didn't like being apart from her, but he had to go and be with the boys until everything settled and he could bring (Y/n) home.

"I'll be back tomorrow, baby." He pressed his lips to the top of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair as he was desperate not to let her go.

It hurt that Ben couldn't wrap his arms around (Y/n) or kiss her or even talk to her. He wanted to take her home and have everything be as it should. Ben wanted (Y/n) in his arms, he wanted her and his daughter in his arms in a hug and he wanted the boys at home with them and for them to be the family they should be. He didn't want (Y/n) to be ill and in pain and their girl to be stuck in an incubator without her family surrounding her every hour of every day.

The moment Ben got out of the room he just wanted to turn back around and go lay with (Y/n) but he knew if he did that then he wouldn't leave.

"Ben, how is she today?"

He didn't get more than two feet away from (Y/n)'s room before his eyes suddenly locked on her mother heading towards him.

The first time Ben had met Alicia was worrying for him since he had met her only a month before he and (Y/n) found out they were going to have a baby. He had no idea how she would react to her daughter being in a relationship with someone who already had three children of his own, he knew it wasn't the best kind of image or the best situation her parents would want for her. But he had been more than surprised when her parents had taken to him straight away and Alicia was very welcoming to the boys, she was practically another grandmother to them already.

It crushed Ben more than anything when he had to ring (Y/n)'s parents and explain that (Y/n) had suddenly taken a turn for the worst after he had told them she was recovering well the night before.

And it was too hard for Ben to stay with (Y/n) when her parents came to visit her. They came every day like Ben did but he made sure they had time alone with (Y/n) or else he didn't know what to say, where to sit or how to act. All he wanted to do was sit beside (Y/n) and hold her hand and suddenly make her better but he didn't feel comfortable when her parents were in the room. He couldn't cry in front of them either.

Ben was engulfed in a rather comforting but still crushing hug the moment Alicia was in front of him.

(Y/n) always told Ben that he had charmed her mother almost like he had charmed (Y/n) herself. His smile won Alicia over and his nature and just generally how he was made Alicia accept him into their family straight away.

"They're keeping her sedated, she got too distressed when she was awake with the ventilator and she's still on a lot of antibiotics... but the doctor said her heart isn't affected, so that's good." Ben scratched at the short hairs at the back of his head before he rubbed his hands over his face, trying to wake himself up a bit more.

When (Y/n) had woken up early in the morning, they had to sedate her because it was distressing for her to try and move and realise that she couldn't breathe. Feeling a tube stuck down her throat was too much for her, especially when it made her focus on her lack of breathing and she couldn't communicate without panicking. It was kinder and safer to keep her in a sleeping state, at least until she started to recover.

But the sepsis was still attacking her system and her lungs weren't working on their own. The antibiotics were treating the infection (Y/n) had gotten after labour but they couldn't control the sepsis. The only good news they had right now was that (Y/n)'s heart was still strong and wasn't effected by sepsis because if that happened, her chances would be next to none.

"Well s-she needs the rest... how's the little one doing?"

It was clear that Alicia was about ready to burst into tears but she was doing her best to push the tears back and keep her voice under control. (Y/n) was her only child, she had no other kids so (Y/n) had been her world and Alicia didn't have much other family other than her husband and her sister. If she lost (Y/n) she wouldn't have anyone around her except for Ben and her granddaughter and the boys.

Alicia had been to see her granddaughter along with (Y/n)'s dad, Jeremy, they visited the baby every day they visited (Y/n).

"They're letting me hold her today, I just can't do the birth certificate yet... (Y/n)'s supposed to be picking her name."

Ben could feel a bad headache forming behind his eyes, causing him to rub ferociously at his eyes to try and relieve the feeling. Their girl was four days old now and by this time Ben usually got the birth certificate sorted but he couldn't do that when he didn't have a name for her. He and (Y/n) had three names but they never managed to decide on one before labour happened early. Ben picked the name for all three of his boys and he said he wanted (Y/n) to be the one to pick the name for their daughter but right now she couldn't so he wasn't getting the certificate done until (Y/n) was better.

"There's plenty of time for that. I'll visit her after I sit with (Y/n) for a while, and if you want to stay here with (Y/n) at any point, you just ring me and those three boys can stay with me. You know I think of them as my own."

Alicia rubbed her hand up and down Ben's arm as a silent look of appreciation filled his eyes before they parted ways. He couldn't carry on this conversation without wanting to cry and it was very clear to see, Alicia didn't want to push either of them too far. Ben knew and appreciated that she would look after the boys whenever she could because she thought of them as her own grandkids. But Ben had to be at home with them as well as being here with (Y/n) because the boys were starting to get worried and he couldn't have that.

It was only a short trip from (Y/n)'s room down to the neonatal unit where is girl was and it was a route Ben walked three or four times a day. Switching between seeing (Y/n) and their daughter before he went home and spent the night with the boys before coming back to the hospital as early as he could.

When Ben reached the room that held four other newborns as well as his daughter, he headed straight over to his little girl and where a nurse was doing her routine checks.

"Mr Jones, are you ready to hold baby today?"

Ben nodded his head, finding a smile already on his lips just at the thought of having her in his arms. The moment she had been born she was taken out of the room to be looked after and she'd had a tube down her nose to help her breathe since she inhaled some fluids. But now she just had an IV for some nutrients and a few monitoring clips and stickers to check her vitals.

Doctor Mills had checked up on her yesterday and said she just needed the incubator for another week to make sure her lungs were developed enough to work properly on their own. So Ben could take her home in just over a week.

At least one of his girls was okay.

Ben tried to stop his leg from jittering up and down when he sat down, anxiously waiting for that strange yet intoxicating feeling of holding his baby for the first time.

When he first got to hold Carter, Ben had never felt a wave of emotions like that before. He didn't want to put Carter down, he just wanted to sit and hold him for the rest of his life. Then when he had James it was the same emotions but more intensified, he had another life depending on him and another boy he could cherish and look after. Finn was the smallest of all his boys, he felt like a little baby doll in Ben's arms, the kind he remembered playing with as a kid. Finn was so small and delicate but he had been beautiful.

After Finn, Ben had been sure that he had all his kids. He didn't think he would want or even get the chance to have another child, especially not after things between him and Lucy evolved in the worst possible way.

But here he was now, about to hold his fourth child, his first daughter.

The moment she was placed into his arms, Ben felt a shiver running down his spine and tingling throughout his body. He thought Finn had been his smallest child but his daughter was here, proving him wrong. She was four pounds and three ounces which was definitely underweight considering the average baby was supposed to be around seven pounds.

But she was perfect.

She had a tiny button nose that didn't reflect Ben's bumpy, slightly crooked nose that both Cater and James had inherited from him. Her hands were tiny but formed behind the rose pink mittens stuck on her hands so she didn't scratch her face. Her body fit along the expanse of Ben's lower arm perfectly and the way she curled up in his arm made him grin. She tucked her face into his chest and it tickled when Ben felt her nose brushing against his skin through his shirt.

"Hey, girlie. We don't have a name for you yet, but I'll talk to your mummy about that soon. She's so desperate to come see you when she's better, and the boys are all in love with you already, even Finn says your so pretty. My first girl."

Ben slowly brushed his finger across her cheek, smiling at the way it made her head lean into his touch before it seemed to tickle her. When he brought the boys to see her yesterday, all of them had been in awe of their little sister. Carter looked like he wanted to pick her straight up and cuddle her, James had reached his hand out to take hold of hers. And when Ben picked Finn up so he could see her, the first thing he said was that she was very pretty and sweet even if she was very small. They all seemed to instantly take to the thought of a sister now that she was here with them.

All they needed now was for (Y/n) to get better so she could hold her daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Buddy, come on it's past your bed time, you need to try and settle down you have school tomorrow." Ben tried his best to sound sympathetic and understanding but it was hard when he didn't have the patience or the effort left in his system.

It was half past ten, both James and Finn were fast asleep in their room and all Ben needed was for Carter to either settle down or for once, actually fall asleep. They all had school tomorrow and Ben needed to try and calm his own mind down because he had to take them to school then go to the hospital to see (Y/n) and their baby.

Ben had seen this coming. He had seen the state Carter was in after his mum dropped the boys back home, he was anxious and hyper and that was a big sign that he wouldn't settle tonight.

"No, I don't wanna." Carter shook his head with a defying look on his face before he planted himself down on the sofa.

His eyes followed Ben's movements in the same way they normally did when he tried to defy his dad. He didn't look anxious or irritated, he looked blank like he didn't know where he was or what he was doing. Carter watched what Ben did in case his dad was really riled up and to see what he could get away with doing. He watched Ben down the last bit of beer in the dark brown bottle in his hand before he got up and moved to put it in the kitchen.

But the moment Ben came back into the living room, he turned the tv off and looked at Carter expectantly. He knew well enough to know that Ben wouldn't let him sit up and watch tv all night when he had school in the morning. Even if Carter wouldn't be tired if he stayed up all night, it still wasn't good for him and would break his routine of trying to settle for the night.

"Carter, listen to me. I'm tired, okay? I'm knackered, I've been at the hospital every day for the last five days and then I'm coming home to be with you boys. I can't sleep either but I need you to keep your routine, I can't deal with you being unsettled from no routine."

If Carter didn't have a routine it unsettled him because routines helped to calm him down and give him structure. (Y/n) and the baby being away in hospital and Ben running between home and hospital definitely didn't give Carter routine or structure. So Ben had to keep that routine for Carter wherever he could and right now that was keeping him at school, bringing him home and keeping set times for getting up and going to bed.

"No, you just want to deal with mum and not let me see her. I miss her and I can't sleep, I wanna go see mum! I wanna see my mum!"

Carter stomped his foot down on the carpet as he stood to his feet, his height making him just below Ben's shoulder. Carter had trouble sleeping but he was normally fine with laying down and thinking until he fell asleep. But when he was anxious like this all he could think about was what was worrying him and that was (Y/n). He thought about her and how he hadn't seen her in over five days but Ben saw her everyday. He missed her and he was jealous and angered that he couldn't go and see her yet.

"Carter she's ill, I have to be there and make sure she's getting better you know that-"

"I wanna see my mum-"

"I wanna see her too!" The way Ben's voice rose and his words bellowed back at Carter made the eldest boy take a step back. He wasn't expecting Ben to shout at him and he certainly wasn't expecting him to say that.

Ben saw (Y/n) every day so far, he did see her whereas the boys didn't get to, Carter didn't understand what he meant by that.

"Every second I'm away from her I want to go back to her Carter because she's sick! I wanna see her wake up and look at me and talk to me and kiss me and just to hold her. But I can't because every fucking second I'm with your mum, she's asleep because she is so fucking ill she can hardly breathe. I miss her even when I'm sat next to her because it doesn't feel like she's there, do you get that? If I take you to see her you'll get upset and when I go see her I cry so no, you can't go see her and I'm fucking sick of all this shit."

The tears that fell from Ben's swollen, red eyes made Carter start to cry silently because he never saw Ben cry. It was something that hardly ever happened and it showed him just how poorly (Y/n) was and how badly it was hurting Ben.

"I want your mum home with us and I want your sister here too, she's at the hospital all alone until I can go hold her. She's my daughter and I can't look after her like I did when I had you boys and it kills me." Ben's tone softened like slowly melting butter and his voice was quieter when he realised he had scared Carter which he never meant to do.

His daughter was all alone in the hospital without her family and even though she wouldn't understand what family was, Ben knew she would have that maternal and paternal instinct and know who he and (Y/n) were. When Ben had the boys they were all home within two or three days and he was looking after them. But with his one and only girl, she was at the hospital without her family and that cut Ben up into pieces.

"I miss mum."

Those three words were the only ones Carter could think of and could manage to say. And the moment they registered in Ben's ears, he went down on his knees in front of Carter and engulfed him in his arms. It didn't and would never matter to Ben how old any of his children were, he would always want to pick them up in his arms and cuddle them like they were all still toddlers.

He picked Carter up and stood to his feet until the eleven-year-old wrapped his legs around Ben's hips and tucked his head into Ben's neck, breathing in his scent which started to calm him down.

Ben kissed the side of Carter's head, moving one of his hands so he could slowly smooth his fingers over the hair at the back of Carter's head. No words were spoken between the pair as Ben silently headed out of the living room and made his way upstairs to his room. If Carter wasn't going to sleep and Ben didn't think he was either, the best option was for them to stay together and try to settle and calm down. They both needed comforting right now.

Carter stayed clinging to Ben like a monkey even when Ben laid down on the bed with his upper body leaning up against the cushioned headboard. Carter put a bit of strain and weight onto Ben's chest as he laid on his front but it didn't bother Ben, he just wanted to hug his son.

"I... I heard the new teacher talking about mum today." Carter kept his face buried in Ben's neck as he spoke but he was clearly calmer when Ben continued to run his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, what did they say?"

"She told the class that mum had her baby but is poorly so she won't be at work for a few months."

"No, buddy she won't be at work for a few months because when a person has a baby, they get time off to be with their baby. If your mum wasn't sick she still would have time off, she has to look after your sister. She's just in the hospital still because she's poorly."

Carter clearly worried that (Y/n) was going to be in the hospital for months with what he had heard the supply teacher say but that wasn't going to be the case.

"Mum is gonna get better... isn't she?"

"Yes she is, I promise."

[lomlmarvel]

Only You Pt. V

Only You Series Part 5

Part One | Part Two | Part Three I Part Four | Part Five

Cedric Diggory x fem!reader

Word Count: 5.5k

Summary: The last two challenges. That’s all I have to say for the matter.

A/N: Also, I’m very sorry for the delay in this update :/ I hope writer’s block leaves and I can start on the finale? Please share your comments and reactions with me, I love reading them. Thank you guys so much for the support with this series! 

It had been a few weeks since the Yule Ball. Students who had left for the holidays had now returned, and classes were back in session. Y/N had been living on cloud nine since that night with Cedric. The two seemed to be almost inseparable if it wasn't for their different classes. Everyone could see the change in their behavior; it was prominent that something had happened that night of the Yule Ball. 

After Y/N had returned to her dorm, Alicia and Angelina bombarded her with questions about her getaway with Cedric. They had seen her leave the ball and walk out hand-in-hand with the older boy. The two were so excited and giggly when Y/N told them the gist of what had happened. She didn't reveal all the details, just general descriptions that she knew the girls would enjoy. After she finished talking, she encouraged the other two to talk about their dates, getting excited for them. It was a few minutes after curfew, which meant everyone should be in their respective rooms. However, someone then knocked on their door. 

Y/N walked over to the door, the two other girls setting themselves in bed just in case it was the house head. When she opened the door, Ginny stood there in her pajamas with an annoyed look on her face. 

"Is everything okay, Gin?" The older girl asked her. Ginny rolled her eyes and pointed towards the stairs.

"Fred has been shouting your name from the common room for almost 15 minutes. Get him to shut up, please!" Ginny stated before turning around and walking back to her room. Y/N turned back to look at Alicia and Angelina's confused expressions before she walked out to meet Fred. 

"Oi! You!" Fred slurred. Y/N quickly shushed him for yelling before she was attempting to drag him over to the sofa. "You abandoned me at the ball!" Y/N stopped pushing him and stopped in her tracks. She sat down on the couch and looked up at him. 

"I did, didn't I? I'm so sorry, Fred," She hadn't realized it before, and she felt terrible. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." Fred didn't reply, but instead, he threw himself on the couch and laid his head on her lap. 

"He's your boyfriend," Fred mumbled, closing his eyes.

"What?"

"He's your boyfriend," He repeated, "You don't have to feel bad for not hanging out with me. He's your boyfriend, not me," Y/N subconsciously ran her fingers through his red hair and nodded.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't hang out with you and George. You're still my best friends; that's not going to change," Y/N responded. Fred hummed in reply and opened his eyes to look at her. 

"You're beautiful; you know that?" She rolled her eyes at his flirty comment and patted his shoulder.

"Who let you drink firewhiskey?" Fred laughed and sat up. "I'm sorry for ditching you, I am. Cedric just makes me feel..." The two looked at each other.

"Like if you're the only person in the entire world?" Fred replied.

"Yes! Exactly," The two laughed together before Fred stood up.

"You can go to sleep now; I'll just bug George until I fall asleep," he stated, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Goodnight, Y/N/N"

She watched Fred walk up the stairs that led to his dormitory. He waved goodnight before disappearing into the darkness. Y/N sat in the common room, taking in her conversation with Fred. It was very much like him to call her when he was wasted, but he spent it dancing and trying to get her to party with him, not to have a short conversation. When he said about feeling like they were the only people in the room, the look on Fred's face was unique. She had never seen him like that before. He reminded her a lot of Arthur when he and Molly would share secret looks across the room. It was like if he was in love. 

But back to the spring term, the second challenge was set to be in a few days. Y/N had spent almost every day in the library, trying to find something that could help Harry. Cedric had stated that he had found a spell to help him, but Harry refused to use Cedric's idea. To no luck, she and Hermione hadn't discovered anything quite useful. The day before the challenge, Neville had found the girls in the library and stated that he had found something for Harry. He met with Harry a few minutes later, and the two dished out their plan. 

Cedric and Y/N walked hand in hand through the courtyard. They were about to head to the great hall to have lunch before the challenge started, but Professor McGonagall stopped them. 

"Oh, Miss Potter! Excuse us, Mr.Diggory, but Professor Dumbledore requires Miss Potter's presence in his office right away," She stated, signaling for Y/N to follow her. Cedric let go of her hand and smiled.

"I'll see you later?" Cedric asked her rhetorically. She nodded and then walked to Dumbledore's office. 

-

It was a few minutes before the challenge started, and Cedric looked for Y/N everywhere. Harry was looking around for his friends and his sister, too, making Cedric more anxious.

"I'm sure they're just running late," Cedric comforted Harry as the younger boy looked nervous. 

Before they had gotten on the boats that took them to the arena in the middle of the lake, Neville had told Harry that he wasn't a hundred percent sure their plan would work, something about a debate between salt and freshwater. With his missing best friends and sister, Harry was more nervous than he was when he was fighting a dragon. He wasn't sure what he would face underwater, but the lack of support from the people he needed it the most felt a little bizarre. 

Harry stood next to Cedric, along with Fleur and Viktor, on the platform. Dumbledore explained the rules to the rest of the students, as the four champions shivered in their swimsuits. The canons fired, and the four jumped into the lake's freezing water, starting the challenge. 

It didn't take long for Harry to find the seaweed maze that he was forced to swim through, finding four people floating underwater, with their legs tied by seaweed, holding them down. As he swam closer, he saw three familiar faces, sending a panic wave to his brain. His two best friends stood next to each other, while his sister was next to Fleur's sister. He quickly reached for his sister's hand and patted her cheeks to wake her up. Concluding that they were all unconscious, Harry swam down to untie his sister's feet. He was then pushed by a mermaid holding some kind of trident. She hissed at his actions, causing him to back away.

"But she's my sister!" Harry said to her. The mermaid hissed again and pointed at Ron, telling him who his 'treasure' was. Harry had no choice but to swim to Ron and began untying him. There was a commotion coming towards him, putting him on high alert. Cedric swam into view and pulled out his wand. The spell he cast cut the seaweed holding Y/N down. Cedric grabbed onto her waist before tapping his watch, telling Harry he had to hurry up. 

Harry watched as Cedric swam up with his sister and let out a sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding in. 

Y/N didn't remember much after McGonagall had dragged her away from Cedric earlier that morning. She remembered reaching Dumbledore's office and seeing Hermione and Ron. Dumbledore thanked McGonagall, leaving the Gryffindors alone with the headmaster.

"Professor, what exactly are we doing here?" Y/N questioned him. Dumbledore smiled at the oldest Potter and motioned behind him. Walking down Dumbledore's staircase led down from the collection of books, was the Minister of Magic. 

"Are we in trouble, sir?" Hermione added, switching between the minister and Dumbledore. 

"Blimey. Mum won't like it if I get in trouble again this year..." Ron whispered to the girls next to him. 

"No. No, you are not in trouble, Miss Granger," Dumbledore eased their minds. The door opened, and in walked in one of the Beauxbaton students. She was young and looked scared.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Delacour," Dumbledore greeted her. He patiently filled in the students on the next challenge, assuring them that they were safe. 

The next thing Y/N knew, she was gasping for air in the middle of the Black Lake, with Cedric's arm around her waist keeping her afloat. She searched his eyes for an answer but was pushed towards the platform where the cheering Hufflepuffs extended their arms to help the two. One of Cedric's friends pulled Y/N in and immediately handed her a towel. She wrapped herself tightly, searching for Harry. Cedric walked to her sides and helped her put on his robe.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, his teeth chattering. She nodded, but her attention was back on the water, where she knew Harry was. 

"He was right behind me," Cedric said to her. Y/N notice his uncontrollable shaking. He was just wrapped in a towel since he had given her his robe.  She wrapped her arms around him, transferring some heat to his ice-cold skin. 

Hermione and Viktor surfaced a minute after; Y/N then helped Hermione heat up. She hadn't noticed before, but Fleur stood at the edge of the platform, in a light blue robe looking distraughtly into the water. It finally clicked in her brain when she remembered that Gabrielle had been in Dumbledore's office with them earlier. It also meant that she was still underwater.

Hermione grabbed onto Y/N as the seconds counted down. Harry was meant to pop out any second. The crowd went silent when two heads shot up from the water. It was Ron and Gabrielle. The two were quickly ushered in by the Beauxbaton girls and were surrounded by dry towels in seconds. Dumbledore and the minister rushed down to the platform, a worried look on both of their faces. Cedric walked over to his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her. The chatter began among the students watching; the last few seconds were on the clock. Suddenly, Harry flew out of the water and landed right on the platform. 

Y/N ran to his side, patting him down with the towel she had on. It wasn't long before he was surrounded by Seamus, Ron, Hermione, and a few girls from Beauxbaton. They all worked together, trying to help Harry, who winced when the towels came in contact with his wounds. He had scraped along his legs and arms, a few scratches on his face and neck. 

"You saved her, even though she wasn't yours to save. My little sister!" Fleur thanked Harry with a kiss on his cheek. The young teenage boy flushed in embarrassment. 

 "Thank you! And you-- You helped!" Fleur moved onto Ron, who stood in shock when she kissed him too. 

Y/N helped Harry stand up as Dumbledore tried to grab everyone's attention. Different loud conversations were happening everywhere. The guys from Durmstrang were chanting Krum's name, even though he finished second. Cedric's friends were shouting his name since he was the first to surface with his 'treasure.' Others were wondering if Harry would be disqualified for pulling out another champion's loved one. 

"Attention! Attention!" Dumbledore shouted. Everyone shut up in a matter of milliseconds. "The winner is... Mr. Diggory!" 

The crowd went wild when Cedric's name was announced. Harry smiled at the Hufflepuff, standing right in front of him. As Cedric's friends and his house cheered for him, he reached out for his girlfriend's hand, who was immediately at his side, congratulating him. 

"The way I see it, Mr. Potter would have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley but the others as well," Dumbledore stated. Cedric looked in Harry's direction and nodded in agreement. "We've agreed to award him second place! For outstanding moral fiber." 

The Gryffindor house went wild at the information that Harry won second place. The Durmstrang school was angry that Krum was pushed to third place, but that didn't stop the cheers coming from the Hogwarts students, celebrating the two Hogwarts champions. 

It wasn't long until the Golden Trio and the Mischievous trio (Fred, George, and Y/N) were on a boat back to the main grounds. They were laughing and releasing the tension from the challenge to ease all of their minds. 

               "All that moral fiber, eh?" Fred chuckled at Harry, causing the group to laugh.

"Blimey, even when you go wrong, it turns outright," Ron commented. 

 "Well done 'moral fiber,'" George teased. The rest of the group continued walking past the Forbidden forest to Hogwarts. Y/N stayed behind with Harry as they noticed the minister waiting for Harry. 

"I'm really proud of you, Harry. I'll see you later for dinner," Y/N kissed his cheek. She greeted the minister as she walked past him. The walk back to Hogwarts was loaded with teasing coming from Fred and George, mostly towards Hermione and how she was Krum's treasure.

Later that night, after dinner, Y/N rested against Cedric's chest as he read to her a book his father had gifted him. There was a vacant classroom on the fifth floor that contained random furniture. Students usually hung out there during their free periods if their common rooms were too chaotic for them to rest or do homework. Y/N and Cedric had come to realize that the professors were a little more lenient about curfew hours with them, considering Cedric was competing in the tournament. 

Cedric ran his hand up and down her arm, creating heat friction to keep her warm. The castle walls tended to get cold in the spring. In a few weeks, summer would start, and the problem of keeping warm would no longer exist. Y/N played along with the jewelry hanging on her neck, catching Cedric's view. He paused his reading and looked down to see her playing with the necklace he had gifted her.

"Is that the necklace I gave you?" He asked her. Y/N looked up at him and smiled.

"It's our good luck charm," She replied. Cedric tossed his book to the side and flipped her over. Y/N laid on her back, with Cedric now towering over her. She couldn't retain the grin that took over her face when Cedric started kissing up her neck. Wherever his hands met her skin, she felt like a fire-heated up her skin. Their lips connected in a passionate embrace, parting slowly to allow their tongues to meet. Y/N didn't hold back the moan that escaped her lips when Cedric sucked on her sweet spot. Cedric pulled away and smiled at the delightful sounds that she let out.  

"We can't do it here, Ced. Anyone can walk in," Y/N panted, her shiny eyes stared up at Cedric. He smiled and nodded before planting another kiss on her lips. He stood up and pulled her against him. 

Y/N was confused. Was he mad that she didn't want to have sex in a random classroom on the fifth floor? It would be so embarrassing if a professor or Filch walked in on them.

Y/N started getting even more confused when he began leading her out of the room and into the dark halls of the castle. Cedric showed her in random directions, casually stopping to hear if Mrs. Norris or Filch were walking by. She didn't question his actions until they stopped in front of a dark, tall wooden door. 

"Where are we?" She whispered, leaning onto his shoulder. Cedric smiled and pulled open the door.

"It's the Room of Requirements," Cedric answered. Y/N felt the heat on her cheeks when he revealed the room they had been in before. As students in Hogwarts, it was almost impossible to get any alone time anywhere. Let alone anywhere where there was a bed. A few days after the Yule Ball, Cedric and Y/N had come across the Room of Requirements during one of their nightly getaways, finding themselves a place where they could have all the privacy they wanted.

A few hours later, Cedric slowly rocked Y/N to wake her up. Her sleeping figure was something Cedric wanted to be implanted in his memory forever. Her lips were slightly parted, and her hair was a big mess. She looked peaceful and calm. Things she usually wasn't, especially during this time of year. With the end of the year approaching, it was time for students to start focusing on their final grades. But with this year's tournament, Y/N was more worried about the last challenge. 

"Hey, darling. You need to wake up; I'm not exactly sure what time it is, but my guess is its breakfast," Cedric got no response from the brunette lying next to him. He let a few moments pass and subconsciously began tracing patterns on her bare skin. It didn't take long for Y/N to stir awake when she felt the tingling sensation on her skin. She rubbed the sleep off her eyes and smiled at the handsome boy staring down at her. 

Cedric was lying on his side, his head resting on his hand, as the other hand was still tracing shaped on her skin. He looked so happy and magical. Y/N didn't think Cedric could get even more handsome-r than he already was, and he kept proving her wrong. 

"Goodmorning, Ced,"  Y/N's faint voice cut through before she sat up to stretch. She held the white bedsheet tight to her body while she searched for her clothes. Cedric sat and admired how she so delicately ran her fingers through her hair to calm her wild hair-do. She fixed her hair into a braid when she finished dressing. She turned to see if Cedric was ready and saw the older boy fumbling with his uniform tie. 

She had no idea why they even bothered to look civil. It was Saturday, meaning that most students wouldn't even be in their uniformed robes. Their friends would know what happened if they weren't able to sneak back into their dorms without anyone noticing and changing before meeting back up in the Great Hall. 

After helping Cedric fix his tie, the two calmly opened the door to reveal that they were in the Gryffindor tower. Y/N let out a sigh of relief when she saw Alicia and Angelina walk out of the common room and down the stairs. If she were lucky, that meant everyone had already left to eat breakfast. Cedric walked her to the portrait of the Fat Lady and leaned against the wall. 

"My dad sent me a letter yesterday. He asked if you were coming for your summer break," Y/N looked at Cedric to see the sincerity behind his question. It wasn't out of the blue that he asked this question. He had been dropping hints about wanting Y/N to meet his parents since they began dating. Sure, Y/N had met his father, but they didn't really have a chance to converse; with the game and then the death eaters attacking, there wasn't much time for open conversation. Cedric already knew that his father adored Y/N, having heard many stories from Arthur and Cedric.  He knew his mother would love her; it was inevitable. Y/N had the power to make anyone enjoy her presence. Even people that ultimately disliked her; even had to admit that her attendance wasn't as bad as they wished.

"I have to ask my aunt and uncle, but I'm confident they'll say yes. They'd rather have one wizard at home than two," Y/N replied, staring down at him. He looked adorable with puffy eyes and swollen lips. She's sure the two of them didn't get enough sleep, but if they were gone for a few more hours, people would have started to notice.

"He's going to be so excited," Cedric replied, a small smile appearing on his face. 

The rest of the day was uneventful. The two decided to spend the day at Hogsmeade, having caught breakfast shortly after they changed out of their day-old clothes. Angelina, Alicia,  and a few of Cedric's friends noticed the two walk into the Great Hall and pointed out their tired faces. Cedric ignored them all and focused on eating breakfast to walk away from their playful teasing. Y/N, on the other hand, was a blushing mess. She had thankfully avoided running into her younger brother and his best friends, along with her two best friends, who would play the joke out for too long. 

After escaping their teasing, Cedric and Y/N caught the group of students heading to Hogsmeade for a few hours. Flitwick was in charge of taking the group this weekend, seeing his small figure at the front of the group. Hogwarts students, along with Beauxbaton girls and Durmstrang boys, accompanied the assemblage. 

As the seasons started to shift from Spring to Summer, more traveled to Hogsmeade and didn't worry about freezing to death on the way back to Hogwarts. Cedric and Y/N walked around the small shops, stopping to buy sweets from Honeydukes and enjoying butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. Towards the end of their trip, they invited Flitwick for a butterbeer, which he graciously accepted. 

Professor Flitwick admitted that he enjoyed having Y/N Potter as a student. He admired her patience and generosity. When he had first met her, she was just a first-year, confused and amazed by the wizarding world and her family history. Quickly, she adapted to their new world and culture and effortlessly enchanted most professors with her fast learning and determination to learn as much as she could. When she started to hang out with the Weasley twins, he was worried she would turn into them and get caught in between their reckless pranks. However, she became best friends with them and managed to influence them into getting their work done. She wasn't as successful in stopping their tricks but rather stayed far away from most of them. But unknowingly to the charms professor, she was the brain behind most. She chose the prank receivers and made sure not to target her favorite professors, leading to Filch and Snape being on the receiving end of most pranks. 

When Harry joined Hogwarts, Flitwick expected him to be more like his older sister. But mischief found Harry more than it did with her. He could see their father's mischievousness DNA in them both. Hanging out with Weasleys only added to that lifestyle. 

He was pleased and grateful to have been able to watch this incredible young witch grow into the potential he had seen in her from her first day in class. Y/N had surpassed every expectation, and with each year, she exceeded herself. It was unprofessional for Hogwarts professors to gossip about their students, but they thoroughly enjoyed talking about their drama and playing matchmakers. McGonagall and Trelawney had betted that Fred and Y/N would end up dating; however, they were all surprised when she and Cedric were seen holding hands. Sprout and Flitwick decided to place bets that Cedric and Y/N would wound up getting married after Hogwarts and being happily married. 

When the topic of them getting married was first brought up, McGonagall couldn't help but snicker and note that Lily Evans was charmed by James Potter's intelligence, mischievousness, and adventurous spirit. It was something that she noticed in Fred. Sprout brought up the fact that Y/N was already in love with Cedric, and their love was something she had never really seen in such young students. Professor Flitwick only sneered and enjoyed their conversation before changing directions to a serious matter. Professor Trelawney sat in silence, holding her cup of tea close to her chest. She felt a dark presence whenever she thought of the young couple. She wanted them to be happy, but she could see a heavy cloud in their future; something big and horrible was in their future. She was fearful and kept it to herself, but she knew she couldn't keep it to herself. 

The remaining weeks of the term were spent studying for exams and preparing the champions for the final challenge. Students were shaken with news when they found out that the minister of magic was found dead in the Forbidden Forest. Students were assured that they were safe and would get to the bottom of it, but no new information was discovered. 

It was the morning of the last challenge, and everyone was excited. After this, the champion would get crowned, and everyone would celebrate a successful tournament. Regardless of who won, the three schools had enjoyed their stay together and had made friends. Y/N had been helping Harry learn new defensive spells, teaching him dueling tricks that Flitwick had taught her and those that her godfather, Remus, had practiced with her before she knew he was her godfather. 

"McGonagall asked me to join you during the opening ceremony, is that alright?" Y/N asked her younger brother. The two hung out in the owl tower to calm Harry's nerves before the challenge. 

"That'd be great, thanks, Y/N," Harry turned to look out the massive arch. He could see almost everyone, those in the courtyard, the castle grounds, quidditch field, but what attracted him the most was Cedric and his father walking in the yard. 

He was invited to attend, to support his son. Krum and Fleur had their headmasters join them, Cedric had his father, and Harry was thankful for Y/N. He was grateful for his friends for supporting him, even those who thought he had cheated. He really hoped any of the other champions won; he didn't want or need the glory. He only wanted to make his sister and his friends proud. 

Before Harry noticed, he was on the field, his sister comfortingly grabbing his arm while sporting a matching shirt to his. Cedric and Amos stood a few feet far from them, next with Fleur and Krum with their headmasters. Dumbledore had just thanked the band for their musical support and had introduced the final challenge. 

"Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the tri-wizards cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now, as Mr. Diggory," The crowd went wild, and the Potters turned to see his blushing cheeks. Cedric looked in the direction of his girlfriend, a broad grin on his and his father's face, who proudly lifted his arm in the air. 

"And Mr. Potter tied for the first position they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum and Ms. Delacour," As students cheered for their friends and classmates, Harry tuned out. He felt off since the morning. Something about that day didn't feel right. He didn't want to bother his sister, but little did he know she felt the same way.

On her way to breakfast that morning, Professor Trelawney had asked her to join her in her office. The divinations professor led Y/N to a seat where she began to ramble and stutter on her words. 

"Professor, are you feeling well?" Y/N asked. Trelawney stopped her stuttering when the young woman grabbed her trembling hands in her own. 

"If it's about the last challenge, I can assure you; I helped train Harry. He will be fine," Y/N assured her. The Professor smiled and remembered why she enjoyed having her as a student. She was caring and gentle with others, always bringing a soothing and tender aura with her. 

"Young girl, I didn't want to alert you, but I feel a presence," this caught the younger witch's attention. "It's cold and dark. I feel death and confrontation around your future. I just had to let you know," Trelawney cut herself off as to not worry Y/N much more. Y/N nodded, and her smile faltered. 

"Thank you, Professor.  I know your best interest is in us and I am sure I'll be fine. I can't worry too much right now; the term is almost over. Maybe we can talk about this next term?" The younger woman smiled. Trelawney nodded in return and watched as she walked out of her classroom. She didn't know whether to run after her and explain that the dark presence was surrounded on that particular day. She decided to think about her decisions further and wait for the best. 

Professor Trelawney knew that the older Potter was very well aware of their famous connection with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named or how Harry and Y/N referred to him, Voldemort. It wasn't a surprise that he tried to make himself come back every few months to attack Harry. It had been a few months since the Death Eaters attacked the World Quidditch Cup, and that was the last time they had heard of anything having to do with Voldemort and his group of cowards. 

The ministry had been keeping a very close eye on dark magic and former death eaters. They knew a successful Triwizard Tournament would ease the minds of many wizarding families, and that meant that they could get back to their regular business. 

Y/N, however, felt eerie after leaving the divination classroom. Something didn't seem right about Trelawney being so worried. She usually just muttered that fate was fate, and they just had to accept it. She loved to teach her students everything she knew about the foretelling of the future, but usually, her predications were about mild things like upcoming exams and OWL's. Y/N didn't want to worry Harry or Cedric with this, so she kept it to herself. 

"Hey, there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you," Cedric had greeted his girlfriend earlier. They were making their way out of the Great Hall, where Amos had accompanied Cedric during breakfast. It had been a bit weird, but he was thankful to have his father at his side. 

"Hey, I was with Trelawney; she wanted to talk to me about something," Y/N smiled at Cedric before turning to the older Diggory, "Good morning, Mr. Diggory, it's great to see you." 

Amos smiled sweetly at his son's girlfriend. The last time he had seen her, she was being whisked away by Cedric, who wanted to spend some alone time with her at the Quidditch World Cup. 

"Hello, Y/N. Excited for today?" He asked her. Y/N smiled in return and replied. While his father and his girlfriend chatted amongst themselves, Cedric couldn't help but tune out. He knew it was premature of him to think of this, but he knew that Y/N was the love of his life. She was the one he was meant to be with forever.  He had countlessly written to his parents throughout the year about his relationship with Y/N; he confessed when she had broken up with him and told them when they got back together. 

Amos knew Cedric was in love with Y/N. He felt it when he read his letters, but he knew it when he saw his son's eyes when he spotted the young Gryffindor. His eyes lit up in milliseconds, and his entire mood had changed. He had never seen his son, so in love, and that's all it took for him to love Y/N, too. 

"I'll see you at the opening ceremony? I'm meant to meet Harry after breakfast," Y/N looked back at Cedric. He snapped out of his thoughts and just smiled in return. 

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later," He turned to look at his father, who had turned to occupy himself with one of the portraits near the Great Entrance. Cedric quickly kissed his girlfriend, blushing deeply when he noticed his father's attention had fallen back on them. 

"See you later, Mr. Diggory," Y/N excused herself before entering the Great Hall to join her friends for breakfast. 

Dumbledore gathered all the champions around him. He talked through some rules first before preparing them for the countdown. Cedric had hugged his father, and Y/N had pecked Harry on the cheek. 

"On the count of three... ONE---" Filch accidentally fired the cannon, pressuring Harry and Cedric to step into the maze. Once they stepped further into it, their entrances were closed off from the audience's eyes. After, Krum followed in with Fleur a few seconds behind. 

Mr. Diggory walked over to Y/N and invited her to sit next to him. Y/N agreed and thanked him before following him to the arena seating. She hugged Arthur Weasley, who had been patiently watching from the audience as his son's best friend and his close friend's son waited to compete against each other. 

"Exciting isn't it!" He commented, watching as the band started to play music to entertain the audience. 

Almost an hour had passed, and with each second that continued, Y/N grew even more anxious. Fleur had been the first to be rescued from the maze. Her school, along with everyone else, applauded her. It wasn't long until Krum appeared with defeat on his face, disappointed that he didn't win. Everyone waited for either Harry or Cedric to appear after him, but no one came. 

Dumbledore began to worry as well until the two teenagers apparated with the Goblet at their feet. However, Y/N was the first to leave her seat when she saw Harry clutching onto her boyfriend's shirt. 

Tag: 

@lilulo-12 @malfoys-demigod @ladyblablabla @truly-insatiablem @dottirose @lovinnholland @ziggyspurplehaze  @firefliesindaylight  @inmygardensuit  @bebana-7913 @suixdal-dreams29 @onebatch--twobatch  @degeathesaviour @sunles

[terrm9]

The Ray Women

Ethan and Chiara visit her family in San Francisco for the first time.

Set in the renovations period between Book 2 and Book 3.

This is the fourth part of the mini series The Couple & the Others. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 can be found here.

Words count: 4 200

Author’s note: The final part is here! I do not think I have much to say, other than THANK YOU to Ruby @starrystarrytrouble​ for this beautiful moodboard and for reading the last part back then!

Warnings: mention of death (it’s Chiara’s background, there is no way I could have avoided that), other than that fluff

Ethan let out a long exhale as soon as they stepped out of the airport hall and he felt the first rays of San Francisco sun on his skin.

There were several reasons why he never considered to leave Boston and its reasonable climate was most definitely big part of those reasons. Boston was... normal. Bearable. San Francisco was hot and the wind was barely there and the sun was too bright and-

He turned his head to look at Chiara and decided to snap his mouth shut before he could mutter something about the hell being colder.

Chiara, with the wide smile on her face and eyes closed, the whole face turned up to absorb as many of those annoying rays as possible, looked exactly as she should at the moment. Like she was finally home.

It was no secret that Chiara loved warm weather and complained about the one in Boston for the good part of the year („How does your ass not freeze in this damn city?“) and until this moment, Ethan didn’t really think about it. But now, the situation was reversed and only now he realized that he would most likely never agree to live in San Francisco, because he wouldn’t bear the heat.

And Chiara was undoubtedly dedicated to stay with him in Boston, even though she could hardly bear the cold.

„Why are you staring at me?“ she opened her eyes suddenly and tilted her head slightly to get a better look at Ethan.

Deciding not to get into discussion about weather and how it spoke volumes about the difference between them – especially not now, when Diana was about to come to pick them up any minute – Ethan answered with a statement that was not at all untrue.

„Because you are beautiful.“

Chiara let out an amused laugh at that and squeezed the hand she was holding, but it didn’t escape Ethan’s notice that her cheeks flushed and not from the shining sun.

The moment of silence and unspoken confessions between them was quickly interrupted by a delighted shriek coming from behind them and arms – bare arms that didn’t look bare because of the tattoo sleeves decorating them, Ethan noticed - wrapped around Chiara’s shoulders just a moment after.

„Alicia!“ Chiara screamed when she turned around and hugged her sister tightly, the moment lasting long enough for Ethan to absorb the only Ray he hasn’t yet had a chance to meet.

Chiara talked about her younger sister a lot ever since they agreed to visit San Francisco – or rather, she warned him about Alicia.

„She is wild.“

„Should that surprise me?“ Ethan didn’t even bother to look up from his medical journal. „She is your sister.“

„Oh no, you don’t get it. She is really wild. Alicia is the copy of my mother, the exact younger version of her. And she is... she is out of this world. The laws of nature do not apply to her. She is loud and gestures too much and speaks her mind too freely and she doesn’t walk, she bounces and she... she is wild, Ethan.“

And it went like this for weeks. Even the flight from Boston was filled with Chiara’s occasional „please do not be surprised“ and „it is who she is, it is nothing personal“.

Ethan met Diana once before, although the circumstances were so tense they both tried to forget it. Chiara was fighting for her life and the whole hospital was fighting to find a cure in time – and Diana flew to Boston, her voice shaking and eyes wide and she pleaded, begged Ethan to save her daughter because she wouldn’t survive losing another child.

Neither of them wanted the first meeting to be that way, but life had its own way in creating surprises and so Ethan knew that Chiara inherited her mother’s hair but not her eyes‘ color, he knew what her voice sounded like and that she loved her children more than life.

All that Diana remembered about Ethan from those three days she spent in Boston back in November was that his voice was soothing and calm while his eyes were terrified and just as pleading as her words and that he managed to save her little girl.

Chiara didn’t lie when she said that Alicia was a copy of Diana – her hair, just as Chiara’s – were the color of a summer sky seven minutes before the sun set completely, but unlike her mother’s or sister’s, hers were not falling on her shoulders in soft waves. Her hair were much longer, falling almost to her waist in dozens of dreadlocks. Several piercings on her face – her lower lip, her eyebrow and her nose – attracted attention and Ethan had to fight his sudden urge to ask her if the upper part of her body is hot and her feet are cold when he noticed her outfit, made of a tank top and high-waisted shorts combined with black leather boots.

She is barely 20, he kept telling himself, an obvious explanation of the difference in their points of view. And she is wild, as Chiara reminded him so many times.

„So you must be the famous Dr. Ramsey, huh?“ Alicia turned to Ethan so fast he almost didn’t manage to look away from her. „Nice to finally meet you... in person.“

She winked at Chiara at that, earning herself an annoyed glare from Chiara, something Ethan wasn’t used to seeing often.

„Ethan is just fine,“ Ethan nodded, shaking Alicia’s hand – as impossible as it felt, even smaller than Chiara’s. „It is very nice to meet you too, Alicia.“

Alicia didn’t even try to be subtle as she took Ethan in and he tried his best to hold her gaze, to not give her any reason to doubt him as the right person for Chiara.

Finally, Alicia sighed dramatically, the sound that startled Ethan visibly, as he had not a single clue of what that sigh was supposed to mean – did he disappoint her already?

„Mom was supposed to pick you up but she had some work to finish in the atelier, so she sent me.“

She turned on her heel at that and without sparing as much as another glance, led the couple to her car.

And saying that Ethan was nervous would be an enormous understatement.

*** *** ***

Whether Alicia set up some kind of test on Ethan and he passed or she was just trying to make him feel uncomfortable – knowing rather well that nobody else would – and it stopped being fun, Ethan didn’t know. He knew, however, that there was no trace of tension or hostility in Alicia’s behavior from the moment they stepped into the house.

By the time Diana came home and joined them, Ethan has seen the whole spectrum of Chiara’s annoyed glares, along with her embarassing teen-years photos and love letters she wrote to Milo Ventimiglia when she was eleven, believing that he would read them one day.

„She‘s always had a thing for older men,“ Alicia winked at Ethan at some point and part of him wanted to feel embarassed, but it took one look into Chiara’s diary filled with Keanu + Chiara or Chiara Reeves notes and yes, Alicia was right.

Chiara has always had a thing for older men. (And he should be glad.)

Sitting in a cosy living room, Ethan didn’t feel uncomfortable, not in the slightest. He felt welcomed and overly happy that he finally had something to tease Chiara with in return.

The room was bright and filled with so many photos, Ethan felt like in an art gallery for a moment. There were pictures on the ledge of a fireplace, on the walls and on every shelf. Pictures of babies and toddlers and kids, all with the same red hair and wide smiles; wedding pictures of Chiara’s parents; pictures of a man Ethan never got to know but recognized in an instant, the greenness in his eyes so well imprinted to Ethan’s mind, as Dorian’s oldest daughter was the only child to inherit the colour.

Pictures of a happy family, of a family Ethan so long wished to have and that was took away from him at the age of eleven. With an ache squeezing his heart, he realized that Alicia was barely thirteen when the happiness of their family was taken away from her. Just a child, just as he was all those years ago.

„Dorian would love to talk to you, if he was here,“ Diana smiled at Ethan, breaking his thoughts.

„He would?“

„I am sure,“ she nodded, the smile not – never – leaving her face. „He always missed a rational brain in this house – I am an artist with my body and my soul, my head always somewhere far away, ignoring the basic laws of this world. He would be so delighted to talk about science and medicine with you and I am sure by the end of your stay, he would just nod and nod and say „A good man, this one“, without even trying to give you the typical talk about his precious daughter deserving only the best,“ she laughed at that and Ethan tried to laugh too, but the lump in his throat made the task impossibly hard.

It has been seven years in which the Ray women had to learn to live their lives without Dorian and Liam, but the way they talked about them today, with so much love and gratitude, it made Ethan feel as if they never truly left the house.

„Yes, and I would just ask him something like Dad, aren’t you gonna fight for me?, and he would just laugh and tell me that he didn’t buy Dr. Ramsey’s book all those years ago just to scare him off now,“ Chiara chuckled.

After exchanging some more stories of Chiara’s childhood, Diana decided to start cooking a dinner and just as she was leaving the room, she said: „You kids stay here and catch up some more,“ which was an innocent statement, truly, but it left Ethan feeling rather awkward – was he supposed to leave with her or did she count him as a kid too? Considering the fact that his age was closer to Diana’s than Alicia’s, he could hardly be sure about anything.

In the end, he stayed with the sisters that seemed like they were not physically capable of not talking, the only moment of silence falling over the room when Alicia left to make them all a coffee.

But it didn’t last long and for a moment Ethan wondered if Chiara has talked that much naturally and only learned to control herself around him.

Was he changing her personality?

„I met Marc the other day,“ Alicia spoke again while handing Chiara her coffee, her tone light.

Ethan felt his jaw tense at the mention of Chiara’s ex boyfriend name and despite himself, he held his breath while waiting to see Chiara’s reaction.

„You did?“ Chiara asked with her eyebrow raised, sipping the hot beverage slowly. „How is he?“

„Handsome as always,“ Alicia smirked, sighing dramatically again. At this point, it didn’t even startle Ethan anymore. „He still looks like Harry Styles with those long hair.“

Ethan has never heard the name Harry Styles before but seeing Chiara’s amused grin and the way she just playfully bumped Alicia’s shoulder with hers – and that was the only reaction she gave away at Alicia’s description of her handsome ex – Ethan slowly, subtly took his phone out of his pocket and seeing that the Ray sisters paid him no attention, he decided to do his research on who the famous Marc resembled.

Harry Styles was... young. And rather good looking. With the dark hair and bright eyes, it would be easy to say that Chiara had a type (if Marc really look like that), but that was not enough to calm down that weirdly uncomfortable feeling that tried to raise up his throat.

Marc was as old as Chiara and it was no secret that even all those years after the break-up, the two were rather friendly. And he looked like this Harry Styles guy.

As much as Ethan hated to admit it, there was a name for that feeling, the name known to him but no, he was not-

He shouldn’t feel jealous of Chiara’s ex.

But Marc was young and handsome and did Chiara feel the need to talk less around him, less than she wanted? Did Chiara feel that need with Ethan?

This was stupid, Ethan knew. Chiara chose him and that should have been enough.

But Marc probably didn’t hate San Franciso’s weather as much as Ethan did.

Ethan became so lost in his own stupid, not at all rational thoughts, that he didn’t notice how Chiara left the room to help Diana in the kitchen. He only noticed Alicia’s intense gaze on him, amused smirk on her lips and maybe there was a trait that both Ray sisters carried proudly, maybe Alicia’s ability to observe was just as great as Chiara’s and maybe – probably – she knew exactly what was on Ethan’s mind at that moment.

*** *** ***

„So what do you say?“ Chiara couldn’t help but ask the moment she closed the door.

It was not that she wanted her mother to tease or test Ethan, but was her family really giving up on her so easily? Were they all just ready to give Ethan their blessings and wishes of luck with Chiara, without as much as making sure his intentions are pure?

It was not fair towards him, she knew. Alan has been nothing but kind and exceptionally nice to her, always. And Bryce did make Ethan sweat at the stupid brunch all those weeks ago.

Still, she just wanted to see him flush and stutter. Just once. Just for fun.

"He is as handsome as the pictures you have been sending," Diana grinned at her oldest child over her shoulder. "Maybe even more in person."

"You know that is not what I am asking," Chiara whispered, not wanting Ethan to hear the conversation. It was not that she didn't agree with her mother, but anyone could appraise Ethan's good looks. And Diana was not anyone - her opinion mattered to Chiara more than she'd like to admit.

"I know Ethan is a great man for you, darling. He makes you smile so much I can see these little wrinkles around your eyes," Diana gestured at the corner of Chiara's right eye, too close for Chiara's liking considering she was holding a knife in her hand. "For so long I have only seen dark circles around them. Anyone who can make you this happy is more than welcome in our family."

Chiara exhaled softly and watched her mom cut the vegetables, mulling over her next words in her head.

Before she could decide on what to say next, however, Diana smirked and spoke again.

"Not that I was worried. I spoke to Bryce few weeks ago. About you and Ethan. And he made it clear that your relationship is one he approves of."

„You did what?“

It shouldn’t surprise her, she knew. Bryce and Diana called each other so often at this point, Chiara was pretty sure Bryce asked Diana for an advice before his own date last time he went on one.

„Yes, he called me after that lunch you all have had back in December? Or was it January? I am not sure, but it was the first time Ethan joined you and your friends.“

That damn brunch.

„He called you to let you know that he roasted Ethan already and so that you do not need to do that?“ Chiara chuckled, putting her question as a joke.

„Exactly!“ Diana exclaimed happily and unlike her child, she was not joking.

„And you just... believe him?“

Diana shrugged, turning to Chiara wholly now, her smile only partly amused. Mostly soft and affectionate.

„You know I love Bryce as my own kid. I know you love him as your own brother. Has Bryce ever hurt you?“

Chiara shook her head without any hestitation because no, no matter how many people did hurt her – Ethan included – Bryce never did. Never.

„He wants you to be happy and he would never let you date anyone who wouldn’t make you so. And I wouldn’t either. Ethan makes you happier than I have ever seen you, Chiara, and that is all a mother needs. For her children to be happy.“

Not needing to hear more, Chiara wrapped Diana in a tight hug, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

„And he looks damn good, too,“ Diana whispered into her hair before any of them could start to cry.

*** *** ***

Ethan was standing at the desk in Chiara’s old room, smiling softly at yet another photo of a wide-eyed, smiling redhead child with a hefty book in her hand. The plan for the second day of their visit was to see all of Chiara’s favorite spots in the city.

„Uhm, Ethan?“ Chiara’s voice resounded from behind his back and it was the unfamiliar hitch in it that made Ethan turn around rapidly to face her.

„Yes?“

„I... this is stupid probably and I will totally get it when you won’t want to go but, uh,“ she took a deep breath, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides, tension around her almost visible.

„There is one place I want to go to before we start the day and it would mean so much to me if you wanted to go with me but it is probably very morbid from me to want you to go and-„ the words left her mouth at such crazy pace they almost sounded like one very long word instead.

And suddenly, it became very clear what she was trying to say, even though she didn’t know how to go on.

With two steps Ethan closed the gap between them and gently put her hair behind her ear.

„Let’s go,“ was all he whispered before taking her hand and letting Chiara lead their way.

 Chiara asked Ethan to give her a few minutes of solitude with her dad and brother and left him to stand under the huge oak tree while she sat down slowly, gently in front of the grave she used to visit every day.

For a long moment, she didn’t even know what to say, how to start. If at all.

She just kept staring at her crossed legs, letting the tears to fall freely.

How could it be that she had the privilege to have eyes to stare with and legs to stare at, while the mere privilege to be alive was taken away from them?, she wondered.

„Hi dad, Liam,“ she spoke at last, her voice just above a whisper.

Ethan didn't want to eavesdrop. It was not polite, not appropriate, it was invading Chiara's privacy.

It was also impossible not to do.

The place was small and quiet and the three he was standing under was too close to the place Chiara was sitting at and what was he supposed to do, sing? Whistle?

That would hardly be any more appropriate.

And so he heard everything Chiara said and he was sure he was not meant to hear any of that.

„Ethan is here with me,“ he heard her say. „I wanted you to finally meet him. I know the last time I was here, I was not overly happy about him, but he got back from the jungle and he is forgiven. So could you forget how I called him an utter asshole and just... be nice?“

Ethan’s whole body tensed and a regret washed over him like an icy shower. He couldn’t be anything but ashamed by the fact that Chiara already shared him at this place and that she probably hated him at the time.

„You would love him, dad. He is so smart, like, genius smart. As smart as you were. And he respects me more than anyone has ever respected me before. You always said that if the man does not respect my career, he does not deserve me, dad and if that is true, then nobody deserves me as much as Ethan.“

He heard her chuckle and there was a long moment of silence before she spoke again and with some kind of internal terror Ethan realized that he didn’t even try to stop hearing what she was saying anymore.

„And I am sure you would like him too, Liam. He is a great target of jokes and teasing.“

Another silence.

And then Chiara said something Ethan so desperately wished he hadn’t heard, something that made him hate himself for listening and even more for what he heard and he just wanted to run away, far away and hate himself in hiding.

„You know... I cannot say this to him, because he is not very keen on this kind of things and I don’t want to scare him but guys, I love him so much.“

*** *** ***

Chiara didn’t know how many times she thanked Ethan that he visited the cemetery with her, but she was sure it was not enough to express how grateful she was.

The least she could do was to make sure that their next stop would be her absolutely most favourite coffee shop in San Francisco and Ethan would get his morning coffee just the way he liked it.

Something was off, however. Ethan was extremely quiet the whole time and even though she was used to his moods at this point, it surprised her here, today. It was kind of their vacation, their free time, something they both so desperately craved.  

Chiara could see that he was lost in his thoughts, brows furrowed and his gaze pointed somewhere behind the window. And doubts started overtaking her, because of course it was too much to take him to meet her dead father and brother. It would be too much for everyone.

Before she could decide on how to apologize for dragging him there, Ethan beat her to it and spoke first, although his gaze was still pointed elsewhere.

“I must apologize.”

Only then he turned to her and her confused raised eyebrow was the push he needed to finish the thought.

“For-“ he stopped, biting his cheek, mulling over his next words and by the expression on his face, even those he speaks next are not the ones he wished to find. “For making you feel like you cannot express yourself when you are with me.”

“Oh?” Chiara shook her head slightly, her confusion growing even bigger at the odd statement.

Ethan exhaled, suddenly aware of the place being rather empty. There were no groups of teenagers, no kids, nobody that would muffle his words and his wild heartbeat.

“I overheard some of the things you said to your dad back then,” he admitted slowly, softly, quietly and he was not proud of himself for not even trying to not to overhear it.

The confusion in Chiara’s eyes was quickly replaced by comprehension and just after that, panic.

“Oh,” this time, the sigh that left her was full of understanding.

It all clicked now. It all made sense and Chiara so desperately wished it didn’t, because she loves him and he heard and now he is scared.

She tried to come up with a response that would make everything make sense, her head starting to hurt from the pressure she put on her brain to just come up with something, damnit.

Chiara opened her mouth several times without any sound leaving it and she was internally panicking and Ethan was not even looking at her.

 Until suddenly he was.

“I love you too,” he blurted out, the words a little bit slurred.

The third “oh” that left Chiara’s was so soft, had there been the teenagers or the kids, Ethan would have missed it. But he didn’t.. He heard it and it took all of the air of his lungs away, because it was almost nothing, mere two letters and yet they carried such meaning it made his throat tighten.

“You do?” she whispered at last.

“Yes, I do.”

“And it doesn’t scare you?”

“God,” Ethan laughed, pulling her closer to him and putting a long, lingering kiss on her forehead. “It scares me more than anything has ever scared me before.”

Chiara laughed softly, her warm breath tickling Ethan’s neck and she pulled away just enough to tilt her head and look at him and in her eyes, those emerald greens, so warm, so soft, so beautiful, Ethan saw more than Chiara could say at the moment, in those depths he saw that this woman, his Chiara, his light, loved him more than anyone has ever loved him before and it warmed his chest in a way he didn’t recognize and it was that moment when he knew.

There was one thing that scared him more than love. Than being loved and loving Chiara.

Losing Chiara.

And he knew it then, he knew he would fight his fears of that unknown warm feeling every day, every second of those days until it didn’t scare him anymore, because losing Chiara was not an option. Not anymore, not ever.

[a-flower-lover]

Aunt Alicia Didn’t Prevent The Apocalypse

Hello, @phandom-phriend! Here’s your Christmas Truce gift! I hope you like it :3

Word Count: 2680

Summary: When there is an explosion at the Nasty Burger, killing almost her entire family, Aunt Alicia handles it.

It took a good week for Alicia to hear the news. It took only one more for her bags to be packed, the plans laid out, and her trusty lawyer to be prepared for a call just in case. Then she was in Amity Park, for the first time in years and years, only it was not for any good reason. 

The first thing she did after checking into her hotel had been to drive herself to the funeral. 

There were so few people in attendance, it was… Stunning, to say the least. But Alicia hadn't known her sister to have many friends, and Jack even less… regardless she thought at least a few would arrive. Maybe even some family, from Jack's side of course. And the little she had talked to her nephew during the arrangement, made it seem he knew people that she hadn't, and that Jazz would have some people coming for her side of things. 

There was practically no one. No one there to comfort her nephew while she hadn't been there for him, no one to make sure he wasn't blaming himself for it all. Hell. His entire support network had been wiped out in one go. He needed people who cared. Who would share in his grief. 

Alicia was too busy during the service to do any of the comforting. She doubted she even could. She lacked the gentle touch her sister had learned when dealing with children, and she was a mite too rough to handle a kid who witnessed the death this one had. 

Poor kid. 

After the service, she made an attempt to talk to him about the custody matter. She doubted the courts would allow it, given her record, but she did want to keep an eye on him. She doubted he'd be happy in the woods she loved, but she'd be willing to move wherever he wanted within reason. She had the money. You marry a businessman, you get money. If you live off your own land, you get to keep it. She could afford whatever Danny needed, if he asked. 

She knew of a godfather existing. The dick hadn't shown up to the funeral, but she knew he existed. She was told he lived in Wisconsin, was a high n’ mighty CEO of multiple corporations. A single rich billionaire who lived in a mansion no one visited, who was more likely than not gonna be a terrible influence on a hurt kid. But he'd have more of a legal claim on Danny than her. 

She'd already lost a child, the courts were not likely to give her another. Even if she promised to move out from the woods.

But Danny's choice was all that mattered for her. If he wanted her to, she'd fight tooth and nail for him. She'd tear the world apart to help the last remaining family she had left, if he wanted her to. 

Alicia was not good at affection. She was not good at showing she cared. She was stubborn, aggressive, and she'd been hurt in her life. She was not the person Danny needed, who would be endlessly understanding and gentle. She was one of the only options he had. 

So after the service was over she asked him. Did he want to live with her, wherever he wanted to go, or did he want to go with his godfather. Originally he had been confused. He had a godfather? He had a choice? She explained what she knew, and he only seemed to grow more confused. Said he'd met the man, but hadn't known he was his godfather. Said he'd have to think on it more. 

Alicia knew it meant he wouldn't pick her. It wasn’t a surprise when she was proven right. (She was practically a stranger, to Danny. The few times they’d interacted she was sure didn’t leave any semblance of a good impression.)

The legal processes after a death were lengthy, at least when Alicia had to work with Masters. After the courts had said he'd get custody of Danny, he had "helpfully" decided to put his nose in the work Alicia was doing for the inheritance. Not that it was all too confusing for her to handle; everything was being left to Danny, if she had anything to say about it. One would think the man who'd be caring for the child would agree, but you'd be surprised. 

In addition, any time she wished to talk to her nephew she'd first have to undergo a sort of interrogation from Masters, about what she wanted to see her nephew for, or she was simply turned away from the door without another word. She had never seen the Fenton house so dark, and empty, and cold, as she had the month after their deaths. She couldn't imagine any reason Danny would want to stay cooped up in there, especially not on his own, but Masters kept her out and she had no standing if she decided she didn't like being kept out like she was. 

So if she wanted to ask if Danny wanted any of his inheritance readily accessible, or what if anything he wanted sold, or if he wanted the FentonWorks business to be given to Masters or if he wanted to shut it down, any of that sort of stuff was impossible for her to get answers for. Masters thought he could try to play a game of telephone with her, telling her what Danny wanted for Danny, often without asking, but Masters was a stupid bastard if he thought she'd let a businessman speak for her nephew. 

So between attempts to contact Danny before he moved to Wisconsin with Masters, Alicia instead focused on her own personal project. 

After learning the parents of Danny's late friends we're not planning on letting him attend their funerals, because the bastards blamed him for the deaths that day like immature pricks, Alicia had worked out a deal to allow him to attend without being harassed. If he wanted to, anyhow. That was another thing Alicia had yet to ask him. But giving him the choice was important to her. So she had agreed to the deal. 

She was going to foot the bill for a statue the Manson's had planned, to honor their dead daughter, and the Foley's were going to have their son part of the statue as well.

Of course, if they were getting their statue of their losses, Alicia was going to get a statue of hers. (She was not going to lie and say that adding the Fentons to the statue was one of the things she was doing for Danny. She was doing her best to make this loss easy on him, but she knew a lot of her best was neglecting her own grief. If she was going to be forced to commission a damn statue for his sake, she might as well kill two birds with one stone by adding in elements for her sake. The funerals were going to happen before even the statues pedestals were done, let alone the statues themselves, so if the assholes who blamed her nephew didn't like it they'd be too late to do anything about it.) 

So the project was the oversight of the clearing of the Nasty Burger explosion site, and the construction of the pedestal and base for the statues. Thanks to the richer Manson folk, and even Masters after Alicia told the bastard what she was doing the thing for, the statue's plans and location had been legally settled right in time for construction to begin. 

The first few days of it were normal. Just Alicia, the hired construction men, and the occasional terrible reminder of what they were cleaning up as a chunk of metal covered in dried brown markings passed by her eyes and was tossed into the dump truck. 

It was the eighth day, she thinks, when she started seeing the ghost. 

The ghost was familiar. She had chatted with Maddie about a ghost matching this one's description, the last anniversary of Alicia's divorce, between moments of frustration as she tried to tell her sister that leaving a man too stupid for her was a positive. (Alicia. Regretted, that. Not that Alicia was a woman who regretted many things, but. Her last memories of her sister were of getting a nice divorce anniversary party, after being what many would describe as an ass simply because Maddie loved her husband more than he was stupid. Not everything that works for Alicia works for others. Hadn't Maddie said that? At least something like it, surely.) 

Snowy white hair. Black suit. Green eyes, but she couldn't say they were glowing. If they had at one point, they didn't now. Looking incredibly familiar, a face she was reluctant to place because she didn't know what it could mean. But matching Maddie's description anyways. 

He sat, just far enough away from the site that he was out of the way, but close enough that Alicia could see the tremors wracking his body, and the slight shine on his cheeks. 

Ghost or no, that was first and foremost a kid. A kid who looked mighty like another kid Alicia knew. And even if the familiarity was only surface level and coincidental, she could use the practice. Practice comforting someone, she meant. But it took a few more days of the ghost appearing for her to actually approach, as caution overruled empathy. 

"You look a mite troubled, there." She said, hands in her pocket as she approached the figure. It didn't move, hardly acknowledging her. Perhaps it didn't think she was talking to it. "I'd ask what's wrong, but I reckon I already could guess." She crouched down, reaching out to touch the specter on the shoulder, but it was quick to scoot itself out of reach, though she took that to mean that now it acknowledged her. Good. A start. 

"Wh-?" It stopped before it could really start talking back. Alicia took that as her queue to keep going. 

"My apologies. Jus' saw a kid needin' help, but I can leave you be if you really want." She said, and the ghost started to shake it's head vigorously. "Then I'll be glad t' listen to your troubles, kiddo."

"Um, but why?" It said. "I'm not a kid. I'm a ghost."

"You sure don't look a day over twelve, ghost or no." Alicia pretended not to find the responding scowl humorous. Just another small thing, proof it was just a child.

"I'm fourteen." The ghost said. Alicia held back her response. This ghost really was familiar, wasn't it.

"Well, then. Fourteen. Certainly, much much older." Alicia snorted, shaking her head. "No, no, I wasn't here to rag on ya. What's the matter? I doubt your eyes we're shinin' cause the cleanup is so beautiful." The ghost, who had for a moment been distracted from the sight, immediately turned back to it, and a very dreary expression bloomed on its face. 

"'s my fault." The ghost mumbled, almost so quiet Alicia didn't hear. It pulled its tail up to its chest and wrapped its arms around it, resting its chin on them. Not once losing sight of the remains of the Nasty Burger. 

"Now I really doubt that." A week in the town had told Alicia that the Phantom ghostie Maddie so despised was revered as the town hero. While Alicia was of the opinion that most city folk were brainless sheep, she had never bought the idea Maddie got from Jack that all ghosts and similar sort were evil. If they were, then that meant all people were evil, because ghosts came from the dead. Alicia was pessimistic at the baseline, but she'd got nothing but kindness from the neighbors when the worst had happened to her and everyone else was blaming her for it. She couldn't believe they'd turn out any different had they died. So believing this ghost could be a town hero was nothing of a stretch. 

"I did, though." The ghost whined, a sound bordering on animalistic, a clear distress call. Alicia wondered if another ghost would come to answer. "I had a fight, here, days before the explosion. I was the one who damaged the vat, and caused it. I even-" The words broke off into another whine, louder and sadder than before. Tears ran down the ghosts face, tinted green and glowing. 

"Now you couldn't have known what would happen." Alicia said, but the ghost didn't react. "And I bet it wasn't a fight you started." The ghost still didn't respond. "Honestly, you and my nephew. Kids always blame themselves for things out of their control." She sighed, shaking her head. This got a reaction out of the ghost, a small flinch, that if Alicia hadn't been paying close attention to and trying to see she would have missed. 

"Danny’s a good kid. I don't know why he blames himself, but I know it wasn't his fault. I may not know you, but I feel it's the same for you." Alicia said, and she paused. Would it be bad to continue? The ghost was only looking more and more upset, especially now that she mentioned her nephew. 

"It's not the same for me." The ghost eventually said, after a minute of indecision. "If it's not… not your nephews fault, then it has to be mine." The ghost said. 

Alicia frowned. That was a stupid way to reason this. There was no one at fault for this, except maybe the people who decided a Nasty Burger must be prepped to self destruct at any moment. 

She would have said so, too, if the ghost hadn't've disappeared as soon as her mouth opened. 

After that, the ghost kept appearing. To watch the clearing process, and to watch Alicia. But any time she'd try to get close to talk to the other again, it'd disappear. It was a touch frustrating, but nothing to be done. She wasn't gonna go chasing ghosties. That was never and will never be her place. 

She was generally spending less time at the site after that, too, which was another factor in not talking to the ghost any more. Danny had finally started to answer the door instead of Masters, and Alicia was better able to talk to him. While he started to avoid questions any time it got around to how he was feeling, he didn't seem too off. Or, not really any more off than he would be after what happened. 

He attended his friends' funerals, and said that no one gave him a hard time. He worked out what he wanted to keep, and what he wanted to get rid of. He wanted to keep the building, and keep FentonWorks. Masters would keep track of it until Danny was older, of course, but Alicia was fine with Danny's decision. 

He came with her only once to watch the site clearing, to watch the last batch of shrapnel and debris be hauled away, leaving only the broken shell and sign of the old building. When Alicia explained that they weren't planning on rebuilding at the moment, Danny didn't seem to care. After that it was time for him to leave, to meet Masters at his new home. 

Masters had left a week before, looking troubled, but putting on a show of ease when Alicia approached to ask why he was leaving Danny behind. He had a lot to prepare, was his excuse. Bullshit. But Danny had been fine with it. Said he even asked the man to. So Alicia, though it made her unhappy a great deal, left it alone.

Alicia took one last month in Amity to settle affairs, to see the completion of the statue, and to rest flowers at each of her family's graves (yes, even Jacks). The time during which she didn't see the ghost again, to her disappointment. 

Then she left and went back to her home in Spittoon, Arkansas. Alone.