#you do not want a head injury it'll ruin your life

[thresholdbb]

Genuinely a little bothered that they're not all wearing helmets at bat in Take Me Out to the Holosuite

Quark broke his skull earlier, so maybe slap a helmet on Worf and the Ferengi idk

[nathank77]

5/9/24

1:49 a.m

Mike asked me why I haven't considered filing a malpractice lawsuit and I said, "well there is no amount of money that will ever feel just to give me back what I lost. Not being able to hear the wind in the trees or hear silence has ruined my entire quality of life and I mean even her losing her license won't give me back that but legitimately no amount of money will ever give me that back." I also said that I mean I can't afford a lawyer and he said there are lawyers that only charge you if you win.

And I've been thinking. There isn't any amount of money that will make not being able to hear silence ever again just. It won't make me feel better even her losing her license bc silence is so fucking vital to having a quality of life but I actually have a case.

And if she doesn't lose her license, then all I did was cause a small shit storm for her and then it's over... and even if i do win, I still can't hear silence.

So why shouldn't I call a few lawyers? I mean it's not about the money, I want her to feel helpless. I want her to feel her life become a shit storm. I think Kristen dew and I get traumatized. I have flashbacks... when she hears Nathan she doesn't even care.

I think I'm going to call some lawyers... I mean I told her I heard a voice. I saw mike concurrently... and my quality of life is a zero and I have 3 years to file the malpractice suit from the date of the injury.

Problem is I have to relive it to do this but- what do I have to lose? I already lost my ability to hear anything but an auditory hallucination.

I want her life to be a shit storm bc of me. Even if she loses her license, her house, her job, her money and lives in a box- having Psychosis and feeling your brain break like mine did and still is, is something that's indescribable and the trauma from it. I mean i feel like I have to do it.

I could win a million dollars and I will still have no quality of life bc I can't hear silence but at least when she hears Nathan Blanchette she will feel some trauma. But no where near the trauma of what I feel when I think of her name.

I want her to lose her license. Idc if I win money. I just want her to feel the smallest amount of comparable shit flying around her head and realize her negligence has caused a shit storm for me. And it hasn't stopped and it'll never stop.

I want her to look me in the eyes and apologize and be a human being and treat me like I'm a human being and like what she did actually mattered. Like I mattered.

[ggomos-maribat]

[47/?]

BDBWM Day 21 | Running Away

original prompt | complete masterlist

TW: Blood and injury

Marinette wakes up in the bedroom back in the manor. She winces at the pain on her abdomen, looking down to see it bandaged up perfectly, perhaps a work of Alfred's. She can't tell what time it is, but sees that it's still dark outside.

I messed up. She chokes back on her tears. Trixx . . . the fox necklace. All gone.

"Kitten." Plagg flies into her view, accompanied by a fidgeting Tikki.

"I'm a bad guardian." Marinette digs the heels of her palms at the corner of her eyes. "I messed up so bad. I lost a Miraculous. My family knows about me now and they'll hate me for lying to them. Dad won't approve of me as a hero. I'll ruin this family just like I ruin everything else---"

"Marinette! Breathe!" Tikki coaxes. Marinette sucks in lungfuls of air, clutching at her hair. Her entire body is numb, but her wound burns deep into her skin.

Slightly trembling, she hops out of bed and heads towards the Miracle Box.

"What are you doing?" Tikki asks.

"I can't---I can't face them." She shakes her head. "Not right now . . . I---I can't."

I've been careless. Too relaxed. I thought I was doing well, that I could spend every day with my family with no care. But she's wrong. There are always enemies lurking, wanting the powers for themselves. Bruce won't like that kind of life for her. He'll attempt to take over, even keep her from being guardian, because of his protective tendencies. It'll change things with her brothers too.

Marinette throws on the glasses and transforms to open up a portal despite the kwamis' protests. There's one place I can go to now. She puts a hand against her middle and steps in, staggering into the bedroom before collapsing on a rug.

Felix stares at her with wide eyes and parted mouth. A suitcase lies atop the bed.

"Marinette!" He rushes to help her up and place her on his bed as she detransforms. "Your father called and told us what happened. I was preparing to fly to Gotham."

Marinette whimpers at the pain when she attempts to reply. Felix curses under his breath and makes a mad dash towards his bathroom. "Your wound opened up. Hold on."

Her boyfriend attentively fixes the stitch and redresses the wound while pressing gentle kisses on her head every now and then. She feels an incoming nausea seeing all the blood spreading on the sheets and pillows. Finally, when Felix finishes, he brushes her hair away from her face and asks, "Why did you come here?"

Marinette sniffs. "I don't want to talk to them. I messed up Fe."

"Shh, start from the beginning, love." He takes her hand. "If you want to talk, that is."

"There was someone from the Order who came to Gotham to the Miraculouses from me." She blinks her tears away. "He was going to hurt Dick, Jay and Damian so I stopped him. My fox timer ran out and he got the ring at first but I took it back. He got the fox instead and stabbed me."

She looks up at Felix pleadingly. "Can I stay here first?"

"Of course, ma belle. Do you want me to call the others?"

She hesitates for a second before answering, ". . . Okay. They need to know too and I'll ask help for the search."

"And your family?"

"I---I don't know. I don't want to see them yet. They'll be disappointed."

Taglist:

@maribat-bdbwm@tinybrie @sinoffalsejudgement @its-maemain @kamarallil @toughluna @golden-promises @whatamoodhoney @trippingovermyfeet @m4ster0fnone @alexizlazy @plz-excuse-my-inner-gay @maybeanalien0-0 @imchaotic-dontmindme @ev-cupcake @flowers-n-fandoms @crusherccme @ji-nk-ies @depressed-bitchy-demon @duskyashe @multplelifes @authorpendragging@iloontjeboontje@thatonecroc@user00000003@paradoxaloccurance@kking13@laydeekrayzee@chaos-inperson@astol07@the-coffee-fandom@nerd-nowandforever@nightmarewasteland@certainmuffinbagelcalzone@the-hospitality-of-knives@stainedglassm@talia-scar123@trying414@starling218@buginetye@ascetic-orange@myazael@child-of-the-clouds@ladythugs@adrestar@therealkotlc@blueneko9314@kinda-craz-fan@kitsun369

[vinc3nnt]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢

summary: Xiao takes a liking to a visionless mortal who is awaiting to their trip to Fontaine!..

Setting: Wangshu Inn Time: Definitely way before the Traveler's arrival.

angst-ish?

I DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH WRITING ANGST, THIS MIGHT BE BAD LOL

Why were you so special to him? He didn't understand it himself. It's as if you stand out to him, but.. you're just a normal mortal just like the rest. What makes you so.. you?

"Good evening, Xiao." You smiled towards him, as he stored his spear away, sitting down on a table as you give him a plate of his favorite Almond Tofu.

"You're not injured today, are you?" You curiously asked, sitting down with him as he ate the almond tofu.

"Of course not. Its nothing you need to worry about, mortal." Xiao continued to eat his almond tofu, not even bothering to look into your eyes.

"I see.. are you sure?" You asked again, slouching over the chair, resting on the table.

"Adepti are immortal.. It'll heal eventually." Xiao said, finishing his almond tofu as he stood up.

"Xiao.. you need to be more careful." You said, noticing the bruise on his arm.

"I said, it's nothing you need to worry about, mortal." Xiao said, looking away from your worried expression.

"Xiao.. I'm worried for you, y'know." You took out bandages from your pocket.

"...whatever." He finally stopped resisting, and sat down to let you do your work on his arm.

"Xiao, maybe you should rest for a while.. your injuries get worse the more you fight.." You silently said, but loud enough for him to hear.

"The adepti don't need rest. I shall continue to do my job as part of the contract." Xiao simply said, not bothering to add anymore to his stupid reason.

"Everyone needs rest, Xiao. You need rest, despite that contract!" You felt quite annoyed that he kept using his contract as his only excuse to everything.

"Mortals like you shouldn't butt in with the contracts." Xiao looked away, with a visible frown.

"Just.. take a little break. Okay? My trip to Fontaine's coming soon, I hope you don't overwork yourself while I'm gone.." You said, worryingly.

Xiao's head was just whispering to him of despair.

'Are they going to leave me like the rest? Am I being too harsh? I.. I want them to stay. But.. they've been looking forward to their trip to Fontaine for months, what if I ruin their trip to Fontaine, just because of my selfishness?... I.. don't want to be alone again.' Xiao kept overthinking a little too much, despair really is coming over him.

"Xiao, are you okay?" You tapped his shoulder.

"I'm fine.. will you come back?" Xiao asked, for reassurance.

"Of course I'll come back! I'll miss you. And, count that as me checking up on you! You better take care of yourself.. don't overwork yourself, adepti!" You softly grinned, finishing up wrapping his arm with the bandages.

He slightly hissed as you tightened the knot.

"Sorry. Is it too tight?" You asked, as he shook his head a no.

"How long is it till your trip to Fontaine?" He asked, as you wiped off a little bit of sweat off your forehead.

"Hm.. I think its in a week? Why?" You said, dusting off your outfit.

"I see. Nothing.. was just wondering." Xiao stood up, and walked off to the balcony of Wangshu Inn.

"And that leaves me to.. get ready for Fontaine!" You felt excited, but also felt quite hesitant. You didn't really want to leave him.. but you've been looking forward to Fontaine for your entire life. Which one should you prioritize..

Maybe, you could just visit Fontaine, and come back to Liyue right after. Nothing can go wrong, can it?

—skip—

"When's Xiao gonna come back.. It's almost time!" You whined, pacing around back and forth, already fully dressed in your adventurer's uniform.

"Xiao comes late at night, does he not?" Verr Goldet said, watching as you walked in circles.

"Ehh! Should I just write him a letter? I'm in a hurry.." You talked to yourself, pulling out a sheet of paper.

"Dear Xiao.. blah blah.. I'm going to my trip to Fontaine today if you haven't forgotten, um.. expect me to come back in a few months or so, maybe.. I don't know, all I know is that I come back in a few months, It won't reach a year, I promise! I'll come back, just you wait!" You whispered to yourself as you wrote.

Folding the paper into a smaller rectangle, you handed it over to miss Goldet.

"Miss Verr, please give this to Xiao if he comes back, I'll be off!" You waved a goodbye towards Verr Goldet.

—slight skip—

Xiao returned back to Wangshu Inn, but.. something wasn't right.

He couldn't find you anywhere..

"Where are they. The mortal." He asked Verr Goldet, slightly desperate for your whereabouts.

"Ah, I see you've finally returned. They wanted you to read this." Verr Goldet slid it over to Xiao, as he unfolded the letter.

"..They.. left?" Xiao felt a little.. no, not a little. He felt saddened with your departure.

"They'll come back eventually."

—another skip, once the traveler reaches Fontaine.—

"Hey, Xiao." The Traveler called his name, receiving his full attention.

"This letter was commissioned for you." The Traveler handed over a letter, in a worn old envelope and with an Anemo stamp that sealed it shut.

"Dear Xiao..

If you're reading this, then I've had a bunch of luck to have someone accept the commission! I've made sure to have a bunch of rewards for it. Since, you mean a lot to me and I really need to get this across. I don't think I can come back there any time soon. I'm sorry. Really. If I find out that I can come back, I'll come back immediately, I promise! just, for now. Please forget about me. Oh, and have I told you that I'm doing somewhat well? and, I found my parents too! how have you been? oh, right.. don't bother writing back to me. I might not even answer.. Oh, stay safe for me, okay? or if its just for yourself! you don't want to feel the despair of overwork or pain, even if you adepti are immortal. Oh, and a little fun fact, Verr goldet told me your birthday! so I'm hoping this reaches you on the same date.

from yours truly!"

Xiao read, he felt a little bit.. no, not a little bit. he felt deeply saddened that you weren't coming back anymore. And you've even acknowledged his birth date. Why was he feeling this way? You were just a regular mortal with a passion for adventuring. That was all you were, but why did you feel so special for him?

Xiao stared at the letter for quite a bit, he felt saddened, but he couldn't cry.

He soon tucked the envelope away, somewhere in Verr Goldet's table.

All he could do, was wait till you could come back for him.

It.. felt like centuries, but he knows you'll come back.. right?

abt time i finished this lol

ANYWAYS ITS NOT THAT GOOD SINCE ITS MY 1ST TIME WRITING ANGST SOB

[ddejavvu]

first congrats on the milestone!! it’s amazing!! could i also request a small blurb (or whatever, the form doesn’t really matter) where reader is remus’ gf and although she’s quite small in height, she’s pretty…feisty to say the least. one time some other student dare speaking ill of remus in front of him (regarding his scars or something) and all the marauders have to physically grab her and keep her from punching the idiot in his idiotic face which lets be honest, remus finds quite endearing ;)

Celebrate my 500 follower sleepover with me!!

hi there, thank you so much sweetheart!! this request is sort of like this that I wrote a little while ago, but I'll try my best to write something new, I'm sorry if it's a bit similar to what I've written before! Also, this has mentions and the usage of knives, and there's a part where a cut/blood is mentioned. So, I've put a keep reading line, in case that's not something you want to read.

Herbology was one of your favorite classes. You could bask in natural serenity for two hours, and no was was allowed to disturb you. You were crouching beside Remus, a set of clippers in your hands as you tended to your project. You'd been experimenting on the growth of plants and how you could enchant them to grow in different climates, and the one you'd stuck in a little patch of snow-topped dirt was shaking like, well, a leaf.

"D'ya think it'll survive?" Remus peered at you from the corner of his eye, one hand snapping off one of the dead branches.

"Remus! Don't," You swatted his hands away from the plant, gesturing to the clippers in your other hand, "You gotta use these. if you just break it off it might break off some of the good parts."

Remus apologized softly, his hushed tone reminding you that you might have been a little too loud in scolding him, "Sorry, pet. Here, give me the-ah!"

Remus reached for the clippers in your hand, his finger catching the sharpened blade's tip. You dropped the tool, hands wrapping around his finger and peering closely at the bloody cut that appeared.

"Are you okay?! Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. It hurts just a bit, I guess. It'll just be a scar in a few days, seriously, don't worry."

Evidently, you had been too loud earlier, as you heard someone scoff over your shoulder.

"Yeah, what's this, number 600? I don't think you have to worry about it."

You swear you'd never turned your head so fast.

"What?"

"I mean, I can't believe there was room for one more. Remarkable that you managed to cut somewhere that wasn't already ruined, Lupin, really."

Remus was already rolling his eyes at the snide comment from the Hufflepuff behind you, but you felt your chest constrict with anger.

"You wanna talk about scars?" You snatched the clippers from where you'd discarded them earlier to tend to Remus's injury, "I'll give you a fucking scar to talk about."

You barely got up off of the ground before you felt a hand on your arm, still straining against the person's strength to wave the clippers menacingly at the hufflepuff.

"Jesus Christ, what are you doing?!" He leaned away from you, ducking behind one of the legs of the workbenches that sat beside you.

"I'm gonna cut up your stupid fucking face, and-" Another hand was on your arm, yanking the clippers from your grasp and pulling you back to stand back by Remus, "-then you can shut the fuck up the next time you see something someone can't control and decide to talk about it!"

A third pair of hands took hold of your own, spinning you around and tugging you down to sit on the floor. You finally looked up at the people around you, seeing Remus smiling softly, your shivering little plant between you. James and Sirius stood over you, making sure that Remus had a strong enough grip on you so that you couldn't escape.

"I think it's really sweet that you'd threaten someone's life for me, but if you're gonna shank someone, you can't do it in public, there can't be witnesses."

You let out a giggle in spite of your previous anger, letting Remus take the clippers from Sirius.

He grabbed your hand, setting the clippers in them and gently wrapping his own around yours, "Now, I have to make sure you don't slice anyone's face off, but we really do need to get back to our project."

[wolves-in-the-world]

[original security knife ficlet here, qwat au inspiration here]

Featuring injuries, angst, casual discussion of violence, and a much-needed nap.

[1.8k, also on Ao3]

—

"I'm not expecting you to sleep," Quinn says, like the very idea is laughable. Like they didn't just almost kill each other on their first meeting. Like he's having the time of his life getting his ribs kicked in, losing a molar (temporarily), cosying up to Eliot Spencer (remains to be seen), and betraying the most dangerous man he's likely to ever meet (potentially very permanently).

There's something very wrong with him, Eliot's almost sure. But he's hardly in a place to throw stones.

"Just saying you can lie down and rest while I listen out for trouble," Quinn continues, easy as anything. "You've been on the road for weeks now. You've got to be exhausted."

Eliot grits his teeth as he zips the duffel shut, using the motion to get a sense for how badly he's wrenched his shoulder. It'll have to do. He doesn't exactly have the option to rest it. Doesn't exactly have the option to rest at all. "I'll pass."

"C'mon, Spencer." Eliot isn't sure if the thickening of Quinn's accent is a deliberate ploy or something more unconscious. "If you're accepting my help, you're gonna have to close your eyes in front of me sooner or later."

Eliot's already made his calls. He got one old contact talking at length about the smart-mouthed young hitter who ruined her operation, another telling him that Mister Quinn still owes them thirteen dollars and forty-seven cents after losing a bet, and a solid letter of recommendation from someone Eliot would trust with his life.

Used to, at least. He's got more to risk these days.

He's beyond exhausted. He can't deny that. He's been all sharp edges and hollow adrenaline since the fight, was running on fumes before that, had a catnap in some public toilets yesterday because he needed it, almost couldn't help it, figured it was unlikely anyone would expect it of him. He stopped after the third time he jerked awake at the sound of footsteps, dizzy and queasy from the interruptions and the smells.

He needs to rest. And this guy is worse off than Eliot is—he can count the broken ribs by the way Quinn's holding himself—and Eliot would know if Moreau had him under his thumb. A one-off job, then. It's a messy form of suicide to accept a job from Moreau then refuse to complete it, but Eliot's not going to be the one to stop him.

Letting his guard down around him, though...

"You want to take down the next guy he sends, be my guest." Eliot's voice sounds hoarse to his ears, like he's coming down with a cold. Shit, he'd better not be. "But I'm not letting you keep watch while I rest."

Quinn seems to consider that, consider him. If Quinn weren't so visibly hurt from their earlier confrontation, he'd bristle under that even more. As it is, he still feels the urge to show his teeth and make sure Quinn respects him. Respect is the only thing a hitter has.

Then Quinn lets out a sigh and reaches for the back of his waistband, and Eliot's on his feet in a second because Quinn said he'd left all his weapons in the pile in the corner but Eliot's not a fool, and he's fully ready to slam his head against the bedframe and leave the mess for someone else to find when Quinn says, as calm as before, "Here."

He's flipping the knife around, offering Eliot the hilt. His eyes are steady on Eliot's but from the tension in his posture that's a little more than residual, Eliot's guessing he felt the stress of the moment too.

He keeps his voice level. "You got any more of those hidden away?"

"It's my favourite knife," Quinn says, with a shrug that isn't an apology. "I don't part with it."

Exactly why it would be his favourite, Eliot can't be sure. People get sentimental about their weapons. Superstitious, too. Eliot had a gun he favoured, before... he left. He can't be sure Quinn's telling the truth.

Except it's not the first gesture of trust he's offered. Even calling a halt like he did, slumped back against the wall with an arm wrapped around himself and glaring at Eliot without much fire to it, and Eliot had been a fool to ease back too, to think that it might be anything but a trap, but Quinn had been asking—had been listening—and Eliot hadn't wanted to kill him. That was what this entire mess had been about.

At least, he thinks so. That decision isn't one he can examine just yet. But he's sure he has to do better. Sure he has to be better.

He accepts the knife just to get a closer look at it. There's wear on the hilt like it's been handled a lot, wear on the blade like it's been sharpened often. It's very clean. It's not new. And when he glances back up to the other man's face he sees a wariness quickly tucked away in those brown eyes, like Quinn's offered more than he wanted to.

Huh.

"You gonna keep watch without any weapons?" He twirls the knife in his hand to show that he can, catches the blade between thumb and forefinger and flips it again, the hilt a reassuring thwack against his palm.

"I'll shout if trouble finds us. Don't want you missing out on the fun." There's just a hint of playfulness to his expression now, but enough that Eliot has to check himself. Quinn looks even younger when he smiles, and he has to know that. Useful skill for someone like them to have.

"If you try anything," Eliot says, pulling the blanket from the bed and dumping it on the floor in front of their shared weapons stash, "I'm finishing the job."

"I'd expect nothing less," says Quinn, because—as Eliot is quickly figuring out—he's one cheeky bastard.

Eliot doesn't intend to sleep. He can get enough rest to recharge a bit for now, and there'll be other opportunities once he's—they've—moved to a safehouse that's less easily compromised. He settles himself down, just enough composure left to keep from vocalising the pain, though Quinn must know he broke Eliot's rib too. One last glance through cracked eyelids shows Quinn's still sitting where he was before, gingerly walking his fingers over his side to check for damage. There's a boot-shaped bruise there that's going to be black in a few hours.

Eliot closes his eyes, and the spinning in his head quickly fades to nothing.

~

When he wakes his body is a scream, his head throbbing, and the quality of light in the room suggests it's been at least six hours. It's far longer than he meant to rest, and he could kick himself for it. Might, when he's feeling better.

More sleep would honestly be ideal—but even if that were an option, he has to see to himself first.

It takes a moment to register a soft, irregular sound and track it to the chair he left Quinn in. He cracks his eyes open and sees the hitter tired but still aware: cheek swollen, one eye bruised, bandages peeking out from his sleeve. He's tapping a rhythm against his knee with two fingers.

Morse, Eliot realises, after another embarrassingly long moment. (Fuck, he really needed that sleep.) He dutifully matches patterns to letters, which even more slowly shape themselves into words.

Hamlet?

If he's reached the 'translating plays to stay focused' portion of his watch, he must be getting desperate.

Eliot uncurls his fingers from the knife first, realising he's held it so tight that they've gone numb. Then he shifts his weight to lever himself up, head still swimming—but more manageable than before—and the tapping stops.

"Eliot Spencer," Quinn greets, not moving from his chair.

"Quinn," he grunts out, because a promise kept needs some acknowledgement. Not enough for a 'Mister' though. He's had enough of performative superiority for a lifetime. "You gonna be fit to travel?"

"I'm a professional." He sounds genuinely offended. Eliot allows himself a little satisfaction at that. "You need a hand with your injuries?"

Letting him keep watch while he sleeps is one thing. That's another. "I've got it," he says, picking up his duffel on the way to what barely passes for a bathroom. He'll be leaving the weapons unattended, but it's a calculated risk. He's pretty sure he'll hear if Quinn goes after them. And he has to give Quinn a chance to betray him sooner or later.

He has to stop at the door, suddenly finding himself one hand short. He's still holding Quinn's knife. He flips it around, offers it back. "Here."

It's not a thank you. It's nothing as soft as that. From the way Quinn's eyebrows shift, his face softening—the uninjured parts of it, at least—it might as well have been. He doesn't comment. At least he has some self-preservation.

Eliot undresses bit by bit to see to himself in the bathroom, not wanting to be caught entirely naked if he has to spring into action. (He learned that one the hard way.) As he takes stock of his physical hurts, he grudgingly assesses his situation.

Just one month, and his whole world changed. Some of it— he can never take back. Never even try to. Some of it, his decision, his fleeing, he's committed to now. Not for Toby, who deserved a better friend after what he did for Eliot, and not for Aimee, who's living her life without him. Not even for himself. Not the time to dwell on that now.

Just one day, and his whole situation is different. Maybe it's the actual sleep getting to him. Maybe it's someone else looking out for him in a way Eliot hasn't had, not properly, since he was in the military. Maybe he's clutching at anything that can keep him afloat and what he's apparently found is this curly-haired, soft-faced killer who seemed absurdly happy to get into a fight with him, and absurdly willing to turn around and lend a hand when Eliot told him why he wasn't going back.

Maybe it's just nice to spend a little time with someone like him. Someone who knows at least a bit of what that means.

Truth be told, he's not much better off than he was yesterday. His safehouse isn't as safe as he hoped, Quinn's handiwork is on his ribs, his abdomen, his arms, his thighs. He has another person to keep an eye on until they show their true colours—or simply get bored and leave. Eliot isn't counting anything out.

Today, though. He can plan for today, and stay as cautious as he knows how to, and accept the help that's offered him.

For today, at least, Eliot has an ally.

[robinofgothamcity]

♡ "the next time i see you, it'll be in hell" / "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me"

♡ pairing: connor kent (superboy/RotS) x fem! reader

♡ note: not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes / i was listening to 'esa hembra es mala' by gloria trevi so if you do speak spanish, that's a song rec while you read this fic. if you don't, listen to 'hermit the frog' by marina instead!

"connor please, you're giving ME a headache and it's only seven in the morning," his friend, jake, spoke as his hands covered his face, "wait, shut up, who is that?" connor asked, seeing you with a few friends.

jake sighed, "that's ( your name )," he spoke softly, "she's friends with everyone here. some like her, some can't stand her. it all depends on how she feels with you." you were schools resident 'popular' girl and had a bit of a following among your class.

"i'm gonna go talk to her," connor said. his friends eyes widened, "connor no!" jake screamed, grabbing his friend and pulling him back, "she's a complete bitch, don't do it!" jake exclaimed as he could tell that everything he was saying was going over connor's head.

you fixed the newspaper that had superboy's face plastered on the cover, "i just think that superboy could beat robin if i'm being honest. PLUS he's attractive because you can actually see his face," the day old conversation between you and your friends about who was the better sidekick struck up again and anyone who knew you knew how much you adored superboy.

"hey ladies," you turned to look at the boy, confused on who he was as you had never seen him around school. you gave him a small smile, "uh, hi?" you asked, "do i know you?"

the boy who approached you was wearing sunglasses which threw you off considering your school didn't allow anyone to wear them inside the building. you looked to his other friend, recognizing him as someone you had in your Calc class.

"just wanted to introduce myself, i'm connor," he said, giving you a sly smirk. you shook his hand, half awkwardly, "please i'm ( your name )," you replied as you saw the way connor gave jake a wink, "is there something you wanted or?" you asked again, not knowing why he was still here.

"no, just wanted to say hi to my future girlfriend," you let out a laugh, catching everyone off guard, "please, as if," you replied as you grabbed your friends and walked away, kind of taken back by the new boy.

"he was kinda cute," one of your friends said as you rolled your eyes, "uh, not really? kinda weird if you ask me," you replied, looking down at the newspaper, "well, i'm going to class, see ya," you said, walked towards your AP Lit class.

you sat down in the front, immediately talking to the friends you had in the class. it wasn't even five minutes later when connor entered the class, immediately smirking when he saw you. you growled, instantly annoyed at his expression.

"ah, so you've met the resident new boy?" you nodded as your friend giggled, "he's really nice. made more than a friends already," she said as you shrugged, "okay and? he had a lot of nerve coming up to me and telling me i'd be his future girlfriend," you replied.

she let out a belting laugh, "yeah, he told meghan from fifth period the same thing," you saw connor walking up to your desk and before he could make himself comfortable next to you, you instantly put your leg on the chair, "don't even think about it," you said, not even looking at him, "the desk in the back is available though," you smirked as you watched your teacher roll her eyes at your attitude.

connor bent down to your level, "don't gotta be so hostile, sweetheart, i know you like me," he whispered before getting up and leaving.

your friend, looked at you, laughing at disbelief at both of your attitudes. you rolled your eyes, trying to pay attention to the discussion as you could feel connor's eyes on you almost the entire time.

+

throughout the weeks and going into months, your relationship with connor didn't change. he arguably became the biggest pain your ass from the beginning of the day until the final bell rang. he managed to befriend a few of your friends which meant that you were around him at times.

you sipped your coffee as you were reading the newest article on superboy, "ah, ah, ah, what do we have here?" connor asked, taking the magazine from your hand, "superboy fan, huh?" he scanned the cover, a smug smirk coming onto his face as you snatched the magazine back.

"yeah, someone who's actually useful in life," you replied as he walked with you to your locker. he had never saw the inside of it and taken back by the amount of photos you had....of him, "aww, don't be that way, sweetheart! maybe one day superboy will actually give you a chance," he joked.

your annoyance instantly shot up as you slammed your locker and walking away, "see ya later sweetie!" he screamed. you stopped in the middle of the hall and flicked him off, "the next time i'll see you, it'll be in hell!" you yelled, storming off to class.

you walked into class, sitting down as your friend, henry, walked up to you, "hey babe," he said, a warm feeling crossing your face at the term of endearment, "hey henry, what're you up to?" you asked, seeing him looking at you, a bit nervously now.

"i was wondering if you were free-," before henry could say anything else, connor walked up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder. he had heard the conversation between the two of you and knew exactly where it was heading, "uh, she's not interested, better luck next time," connor stated, surprising henry with his sudden angry attitude.

henry knowing he didn't want to risk the chance of getting his ass kicked walked away from the conversation as you stared at connor with rage in your eyes, "what do you want?" you seethed as you saw connor's smirk playing on his face, "you weren't actually entertaining him, were you?" he asked in disbelief, "i literally hate you with every ounce of my being," you blurted, finally sick of connor's attitude.

his mouth hung open as you got up from the desk, "do me a favor and PLEASE leave me alone, that's all i ask," you stated as you walked out of class and deciding to ditch for the rest of the day.

"told you she was gonna blow up," jake informed as he sat down in his seat, connor still standing in place, taking in everything you had said. he knew he was being a bit of an ass but he didn't know you were that angry with him.

connor knew he had to make this up. he genuinely did like you and he didn't want to ruin his chances with you because of his shitty attitude. throughout the class period, he picked his brain for ideas until sirens went off in his head.

SUPERBOY.

he knew you were practically in love with his alter ego and he knew he could use superboy as a way to persuade you into giving him another chance. that is if he played his cards right.

+

you reluctantly showed up the next day, trying to avoid connor as best as you could. you were talking with a few friends, gossiping about the fight that superboy and robin had against a few low level villains in metropolis last night.

"hey, look at connor," jake whispered, seeing his friend practically beat up. you were taken back by his appearance as he had a few bruises on his arms and legs, "are you okay?" jake asked connor.

connor shook his head slowly, his body still recovering from the night before, "what were yall talking about?" he asked, trying to redirect the conversation. everyone looked to you, "someone was gushing about superboy, so please, if you'd continue," meghan said playfully.

"oh shut up, like you don't have robin posters all over your room," you retorted as you watched connor struggling to stay upright, "all i'm saying is that superboy remains the best sidekick there is. did you see the way he walked out of that fight scratchless and look at robin, he nearly died," you continued.

meghan instantly retorted as you noticed how eerily silent connor had became. you turned over to him, about to say something sarcastic towards him until he flopped on top of you, passing out completely. you looked down at him, "connor?" you whispered, "hey connor, wake up," you whispered, shaking him a bit.

"take him to the nurse!" jake yelled at you as you grabbed connor by the arm and pulling him against you, "fuck off, he's heavy as hell," you breathed, trying to steady his weight against you before walking slowly towards the nurse.

you made the walk to the nurse but by the time you made it, connor had woken up, "don't take me to the nurse, please," he whispered, "what are you talking about?" you exclaimed, "you clearly aren't okay and you don't look okay either," you added on.

he steered the two of you to the family bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit, "clean me up here, i really don't want to be questioned right now," he said, nothing cocky or playful in his voice. you sat him on the toilet, bending down to clean his face first, "hey, is everything okay....you know at home?" you asked.

he laughed, shaking his head, "these injuries aren't from my guardians if that's what you're wondering. i kinda got into a fight last night," you stared at him confused, "did you lose or something? these injuries look horrible," you replied.

"course i did, just took a nasty beating before i won," he said as he flinched at the rubbing alcohol hitting his arm. you muttered a sorry as you put a band-aid on a few of his cuts, "listen, i wanted to say sorry for acting like a prick," connor muttered a few minutes later.

you were taken back by his apology, "i knew i was being an ass but please don't take this as me joking but you're actually the best thing that's happened to me since i transferred," you remained silent, not knowing to respond as you put the last band-aid on his knee.

"and if i could have a second chance, that would be super dope, ya know?" he tried to say without sounding nervous, "you better not be joking, kent," you threatened, putting your finger on his chest and shoving him a bit.

connor flinched back in pain as you muttered a sorry, "i'm not joking, i'd really like to take you out for coffee sometime," he asked as he grabbed your hand and gave it a kiss. you agreed as you responded with a kiss on his cheek, "also, i had this lying around my room and figured you'd like it more than i would," he dug into his backpack and gave you a magazine.

your eyes widen seeing what it was. it was the magazine that superboy first appeared in and you had analyzed a few signatures of his to know that it was his signature on the front, "did superboy sign this?" you practically tried to contain your excitement as you ran your finger over the sharpie.

connor nodded, "i met him one time after he saved a few people in metropolis last year and got him to sign the magazine. i figured since you like hm a lot more than i do, you'd take care of it better than i would," overwhelmed with excitement, you grabbed connor by the neck and kissed him.

connor was taken back by the sudden kiss but awkwardly responded with another kiss as you held the magazine close to your chest, "i can't thank you enough for this connor," you whispered, your lips still on his a bit. he chuckled, "just meet me at the coffee shop near the school and that'll suffice," he replied, giving you another kiss before slowly getting up.

"now lets get to our second period before we get marked truant again," he grabbed your hand and held it as softly as possible, "you know how much shit our friends are gonna give us, right?" you said, laughing a bit. connor nodded, "nothing we can't handle," he replied as he squeezed your hand in reassurance.

[crazybutgood]

International Tea Day!

(Drarry tea blend by Ela Spearlot)

International Tea Day is celebrated on 15th Dec in many tea-producing countries since 2005. Apparently, the UN changed the date to 21 May this year and I didn’t know until recently :( Oh well, I’m still going to celebrate it today, and I thought I’d use this opportunity to do something using two of my absolute favourite things: tea and Drarry. Here are some lovely fics involving tea that will warm you up like a good, steaming cuppa <3 (special thanks to @curlyy-hair-dont-care for her great feedback and for helping me put this together, and to @sitp-recs for your helpful tips and kind words)

Bite-sized:

Tea at three by @dorthyanndrarry​ (T, ~8.9k)

Draco Malfoy is the head potion brewer for the Ministry's onsite supply. Every day at three he goes to the nearest break room which coincidentally happens to be the auror break room, where he always seems to run into Harry Potter, who might also be waiting just for him. It's most certainly not the highlight of his day and he certainly doesn't hold anything other than friendly feelings towards Potter. It's just tea. Nothing more than tea at three.

A sweet fic where these two dorks finally get together with some help from their friends. Warnings for blood and injury in one scene.

A special blend of you and me by germankitty (T, 4.5k)

Draco finds a bunch of letters in Professor Snape's effects that were written by Lily Evans to her best friend at school, Marlene McKinnon. He passes them on to Harry, who consequently starts his own correspondence with Draco. (inspired by Tea and Lost Letters: Lily to Marlene by Kikimay)

A charming epistolary fic, featuring a great selection of teas, snarky and amusing letters that become progressively less formal and more intimate, and a delightful surprise by Draco at the end.

Portkey for Tea by @lettersbyelise (T, ~1.8k)

Draco is doing a two months residency at a Wizarding hospital in San Diego. Harry misses him too much to wait for him to come back to England.

How far would you travel for a special someone a cup of tea? Lovely established relationship fic with the two missing each other and Harry doing something about it.

Red Roses and Rousing Rumours by @dracogotgame (T, ~1.4k)

Draco's taste for rose water tea puts him in hot water.

A super cute one-shot where a misunderstanding on Harry’s part leads to Draco snagging a date with him (after being asked out in the sweetest way!)

Prompts: I love you - Over a Cup of Tea by @cibeewastaken (G, 362)

(this was my ask lol) Short one-shot of soft moments and tea flowers.

Prompts: I love you - On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the late sunlight glowing in your hair by @cibeewastaken (G, 745)

Another lovely one-shot with sun tea and little Teddy trying to cheer Draco up. Featuring Teddy’s sweet innocence, shy boys in love and a confession that will warm your heart.

Why Is Our Teapot Wearing a Hat? by @ladderofyears (G, microfic, 50)

Adorable microfic based on the prompt ‘cosy’.

Rotten work by @prolix- (T, 792)

You start to cry after the war.

You tell Ron and Hermione that it's nothing, that it'll pass. You're just exhausted. It’s more than that, of course it is, but they don't question it. And you learn to hide the fact that you can still be found hunched over your kitchen sink after a party, fat tears rolling down your face, years after the war has passed.

He knows better.

Heart-achingly beautiful fic with lovely tea metaphors. Featuring sad yet tender moments between the boys, healing and hope. Warnings for implied/referenced PTSD, angst, crying and hurt/comfort)

Curl up with a cuppa to enjoy these longer fics:

Where There is Tea by @bafflinghaze (T, ~12.6k)

Somewhere in London, overlooking a garden, sits a little tea room. There, Harry finds tea, distraction, books, conversation, inspiration, himself, and Draco Malfoy.

Featuring Tea Master!Draco and Writer!Harry, this is a heartwarming story of supportive friends, coming out, self-discovery and a lovely buildup of friendship between Harry and Draco that blossoms into something more. Lots of amazing and familiar teas to look out for that you wish you were tasting along with the patrons at Draco’s tea shop.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop (E, ~70k)

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he's falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?

Draco’s stuck in a time loop until he figures out what he has to do to get out of it — learning, growing and becoming a better person with much help from his mother, Hagrid, and Harry, and conversations over tea.

Headlights in the Snow by Saras_Girl (M, ~71.6k)

What’s big and purple and smells like tea? Harry is about to find out. 

Advent fic 2016.

Harry has bizarre adventures with Knight Bus conductor Draco and the lovely passengers. A cosy Christmas advent getting-together fic featuring fun bus rides and on-board tea.

Special mention of fics that I associate with tea also kind of in order to remember them:

For the greater good by @jadepresley (E, ~62k)

When Harry and Draco discover they’ve been bonded to one another, neither one of them is prepared for the secrets they slowly begin to uncover.

Together, they learn that they can’t escape their past, or the things that have been left hidden there, and that sometimes the only way to move forward is to look back.

An accidental bonding fic that I absolutely adore

Malfoy rolls his eyes. “I’m not a monster, Potter, you arsehole. Though I do think you’re delusional if you think the whole wizarding world doesn’t love you.”

Harry shakes his head. “No. They love the idea of me. They love the stories. But they don’t… they don’t know how I take my tea in the morning, do they?”

“Excuse me?”

Harry flushes. He hadn’t meant to say that. Bloody Firewhisky. “It’s just this thing I believe. And Emmet — my ex — never knew. It’s… nevermind, you’ll think it's stupid.”

“That’s definitely possible,” Malfoy agrees seriously. “But you should tell me anyway.”

“You’re a prat, you know,” Harry tells him. Malfoy just smirks, making Harry sigh. “Fine,” he concedes. “It’s just... The way you take your tea is one of those small details about yourself that no one else would really know unless they asked. But... someone who really gives a shit about you would know — they’d ask or they’d notice — because they’d care enough to want to know. And Emmet... well, he just never cared enough about me to learn how I take my tea.”

I love that this fic uses this idea, partly also because this is something I’ve thought of too, not just for romantic relationships but relationships in general, and I was so happy to see it used in this fic.

All Our Secrets Laid Bare by @firethesound (E, ~149.5k)

Over the six years Draco Malfoy has been an Auror, four of his partners have turned up dead. Harry Potter is assigned as his newest partner to investigate just what is going on.

Discovering this fic was one of the best things ever. It’s an emotional roller coaster. Harry and Draco eventually go from polite coworkers, to tentative friends, to lovers — of course with a lot of drama and angst in between. These two bicker about so many things. One of them is how Harry never makes the tea hot enough, and it’s used throughout the fic in many important and special moments of their relationship.

Happy reading!

[medeaodair]

— medea&miller;

She whispered his name over and over again, like that would change anything, when this had been how it was always supposed to end. Someone had to hold the knife, someone had to bleed, and someone had to clean up the blood.

someone you loved; lewis capaldi

i need somebody to heal somebody to know somebody to have somebody to hold it's easy to say but it's never the same i guess i kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

—  Medea had a way of doing that, he was beginning to realise, as she took yet another step closer towards him. A way of fizzling everything out, no matter the where or the when. Miller could almost forget that she might be the one to end his life in a few days time.

the fruits; paris paloma

"angel", he calls me does he know that i'm falling? from a precipice that i tripped off long ago "you're so pure", he says does he know, i'm forsaken? the original sinner but soon you'll know for if i'm going down i guess I'll take you with me

—  Right then and there, with his arms around her, she felt the same emotion take a hold of her heart and grip it tightly. If she were to fall, he’d catch her. That much Medea was sure of. Miller’s hands might’ve been capable of murder and injury and hurt, but they’d made her feel nothing but safe so far.

malibu; miley cyrus

we watched the sun go down as we were walking i'd spend the rest of my life just standing here talking you would explain the current, as i just smile hoping i just stay the same and nothing will change and it'll be us, just for a while do we even exist?

—  A fleeting thought crossed his mind only after the waves had rolled off; Medea Odair would surely be the death of him, one way or another.

1950; king princess

did you mean it when you said i was pretty? that you didn't wanna live in a city where the people are shitty i like it when we play 1950 so bold, make 'em know that you're with me stone cold, will you miss me?

—  She wanted him, she needed him, and she thought if he ever stopped, it would feel like a small death within itself.

sing to me; missio

talking to the mirror like i've seen them somewhere before you said i look familiar did we meet the other night somebody once told me that there's two sides to life what's yours i might have accidentally let the darkness eat the light and that's why i prayed, i prayed god sent me right to voicemail it's like all day my vanity is for sale take it away my head is in my own hell sing to me i am not doing well

—  She believed him. She believed that she could let go and he’d catch her when she fell. In this moment, there was no doubt in her mind that his embrace could save her as much as it could ruin her.

[baby-the-crybaby]

Teen Angst [ Shisui x Reader ]

"𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐘 (𝐘/𝐍)?" Shisui's shaken voice was the only thing you could hear as he jumped from tree to tree.

You were suffering from a major head injury and your stomach was bleeding out as well. His hands were covered in your blood from where he was trying to stop your bleeding mid battle. Eventually he gave up and took you away and now was busy trying to get back home.

But no matter how fast he could go, your light was going faster. Your vision was blurry and was only getting worse. You were surprised that you were even still awake or even alive. Out of the blurry vision you could see Shisui's worried face. His eyebrows furrowed together and a big prominent frown on his face. Tears hanging on his eyelids, but he wouldn't allow you to see him cry.

You two were in the midst of a battle and it was going well. You had almost beat the enemy until they managed to hit you in your stomach, which explains the bleeding stomach. Shisui ran to check on you, but in doing so he got distracted and the enemy came to hit him. You pushed him out of the way and took a damaging hit to the head.

Your breathing was ragged and started to slow. You were against his chest as he held you like a bride. You could see your blood staining his vest that he wore over his uniform. You lightly touched the stain and weakly whispered, "Shisui...your vest..."

His usual upbeat persona was gone completely, "That doesn't matter, (Y/N), what matters is getting you back alive."

Your hand remained on the stain as you laid your head gently on his chest. You closed your eyes and remembered the night you confessed your love for each other only just a week ago...

"Shisui? What are you doing here?" You calmly asked as he stepped through your window.

It was way past midnight and you were sound asleep in your bed until you heard him come in. You were sitting up clutching the blanket close to your chest. Your eyes begged you to fall back asleep, but obviously your guest had other plans.

Shisui stood in front of you just taking in your features. You studied his as well. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. Shoulders tense, face scrunched, eyes with bags. He seemed stressed.

He moved and without warning and just kissed you. You made a surprised sound once you really noticed that he was kissing you. He pulled away before you had the chance to return it.

His forehead was placed on yours and now you could really stare deep into his eyes. You didn't know what was happening behind closed doors at the Uchiha compound and you weren't allowed to know as Shisui stated, but you could see it was taking a toll on him.

"I love you, (Y/N)."

His lips touched yours once more and this time you kissed back almost immediately. You placed a gentle hand on his cheek as you two passionately kissed one another. All of his stress and emotions poured into you. He crawled onto your bed so he no longer had to lean down.

When he pulled away again, he seemed more at ease. You smiled at him, "I love you too."

The next kiss you gave was sweet and short.

"Listen, (Y/N), don't ever think that I don't love you. Okay?" His hands held your face and his thumbs caressed your cheeks. "No matter what happens."

"What-"

He shut you up with another kiss and another until your lips couldn't hold each other anymore.

"I love you."

Then he left without another word.

You of course talked it out the next day and began dating in secret to avoid rude stares or gossip to spread like wildfire and ruin your reputations.

Then you were sent on this mission together and now you're here.

He leaned you up against the cold bark of a tree and started to dig around his medical pouch. He pulled out some wrap and started to frantically undo it.

"We won't make it back to the village in time before you bleed out so I'll just wrap your wound now," He was shaking and his voice was cracking. You could hear the strain of him trying not to cry.

"Shisui..." You began to slowly reach your hand out to him.

He moved forward and lifted your shirt to reveal the terrible wound that was inflicted on you, "Don't speak. It'll be okay."

You both knew it wouldn't be okay. You were still a teenager. You still had so much of a life to live, but all of that was being pulled away from you. At least you could see him for your final moment.

"Shisui-"

"Don't," Once your hand was placed on his cheek, he couldn't hold his tears back anymore. He leaned into your touch and quietly sobbed.

"Shisui, can you..." You took a breath trying to use the last of your strength to talk to him. "Can you smile for me?"

He finally looked up at you. You had a weak smile hanging against your face. He chuckled showing you the smile you wanted to see. He leaned forward and kissed your forehead.

"Is that okay?"

Both your hands were on his cheeks now and your foreheads were touching. He couldn't hold the smile for long. His face was drenched in his own tears. You tried your best to wipe them away but they kept coming down like a stormy night.

You pulled his face down to kiss his lips just like that night. He kissed back and held you close to him.

Your hands were struggling to stay on his cheeks. Your whole body wanted to shut down. You pulled away from him and tried your best to smile through this pain, "It's okay, Shisui. I'll be fine."

You saw him say something, but you couldn't hear him at all. Your whole body went limp now and you hit his body with a thud as your front fell over.

Before your eyes could close for a final rest, you muttered tenderly to him,

"I love you."

[pink-peony-princess]

Ruin

-Ellen-

I stood staring in the bathroom mirror at the large pink scar that snaked across my forehead from my left temple to just above my right eyebrow.

It had been almost three months now, and I was still in pain, some days it felt like I couldn't escape it.

I lifted my shirt to show my tummy, yet another angry looking pink scar this one jagged from where the glass had gotten me. It still pain, dull ache ever-present, the itch constant. I frowned, frustrated with how long everything was taking to heal.

"Morning baby," Shawn whispered into my neck,coming to rest his head softly on my shoulder and smiling at me in the mirror.

"Hey," I couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the corner of my lips. He was so beautiful, even first thing in the morning, dressed in an ugly washed-out green coloured pair of scrubs,ready for another day as a doctor in the local emergency department.

"What was that frown I saw before I walked in?" he asked, still watching me in the mirror.

I sighed, "Im just sick of being sore and having these ugly scars all over my body. I can't get it out of my head," I whispered, feeling the tears welling up, an all to familiar occurance these days.

"It's gonna take some time baby," he murmured, pulling me to his chest and holding me tightly.

"Yeah I know," I sighed leaning back into his hold. He really had been the best thing and he had quite literally saved my life, both physically and mentally. Our relationship had never felt forced, we'd just naturally fallen for one another, but if I was being honest I would never have imagined to be where I was today three months ago.

-Three Months Earlier-

-Third person-

"This is a trauma call for an eta of ten minutes," a voice came over the Emergency Department intercom.

"I hate trauma calls," Brian sighed as he got geared up, placing the label that declared him to be team leader onto his protective gown, before pulling a fresh pair of gloves on to replace the ones he had just used to help stitch up a little girl's head after she took a tumble.

"Is the bed all ready?" he asked, ducking his head around the curtain of the only free bay in the department. It had been one of those nights, and it was only eight, meaning that he was only two hours into a twelve-hour shift.

"Almost," his college, and fellow critical care doctor, Connor spoke as he wheeled the crash cart into place, and situated the supplies draw.

"What do we know so far?" Michael, another doctor asked, coming to stand by the other two doctors.

"Adult female, hit and run, while crossing the street." Connor spoke, while glancing down to check his watch for the time remaining before they were set to arrive.

"That sounds nasty," Michael commented, wincing slightly in sympathy. "It's a good thing the nurses decided to page Ortho I suppose, it sounds like you'll be needing my expertise," he turned to face his colleague.

"I hate to say it, but I'd have to agree," Brian replied, sharing a knowing look with the other two doctors.

All three of them knew that pedestrian hit and runs where never good, and there was a high rate of critical injuries sustained, and of course these were usually inflicted on the innocent party. They didn't speak for several minutes, each fidgeting, just wanting to start helping the poor girl already. They didn't say it, but they knew it wouldn't be pretty. This has been confirmed when they got a message via one of the nurses, saying that Shawn, one of their friends and fellow colleague, and, emergency care physician was on route to the scene of the accident after the paramedics requested his help. This was not something that happened ogten, and only when completely necessary. The hospital liked to keep Ashton there as his expertise was so useful in many of the situations that the department faced.

-Ellen-

All I could feel was pain. Pain everywhere. Every inch of my body was hurting.

I tried to piece together how I had come to be here, but was met with some unknown resistance when I tried to turn my head, and survey my surroundings. "Stay still honey. We're going to get you to the hospital shortly, but just bear with us okay," a voice spoke from somewhere above my head. It was then that I became aware of the hands touching me, and instinctively I tried to pull away. "Dave, I think It'll be best to sedate her for the time being," a different voice spoke. That was the last thing I was aware of before I woke to bright lights, and calm, but still somehow urgent, voices.

-Third Person-

When Shawn and Dave arrived on scene, it was worse then they had expected. The poor girl was laying in the middle of what would normally be a busy street, onlookers everywhere watching with baited breath. "Can we move some of these guys out of here?" Shawn asked one of the many police officers that were standing around, waiting for direction. The last thing his patient needed was an audience when they were completely defenceless.

When they finally managed to push their way through the crowd of people, and get the relevant equipment set up, it was to find that things were much more complicated and critical then they had first thought.

"What do we know?" Dave, the paramedic on the case asked.

"They've not been able to give us much, but they're saying that someone ran a red, hit her, and took off. They're trying to run the plates now, track the person down," a burly police officer spoke. " I'll leave you guys to it," he spoke, patting them both on the shoulder, before getting up and going to help the other officers control the swelling crowds,"

As they both surveyed the situation, the injuries were clear to see. The girl had dislocated her left shoulder, broken her collarbone, and from the blood soaking through her pants and the angle of her right ankle, she had a compound fracture. Perhaps more concerning though was the blood that was fishing from a open head wound above her eyebrow, and flowing from her nose. The latter was usually a sign of internal bleeding.

"Hello?" Shawn spoke, as Dave started getting the collar ready. "If you can hear me, give my hand a squeeze okay," he continued slipping his gloved hand into the girl's bloody one, and praying there was a response.

After a moment there was, and they both thanked the heavens.

"Sweetheart, my name is Shawn, I'm a doctor, and this is Dave. Can you remember your name?" Shawn asked, leaning down in the hopes of hearing the young woman's response.

"Ellen," she whispered. It was barley there, but it was still a response.

"Okay Ellen, this is going to be uncomfortable, but we need to put this collar on you so that you don't hurt your neck or back okay. And then we'll get you to the hospital," Dave reassured her, before going about fixing the hard plastic to the girl. Both the medics had had to put the collar on to experience what it was like for the patients, and it was uncomfortable to say the least. Neither one could fathom how bad it would be to have injuries on top of this.

They both felt dreadful when Ellen started trying to claw at the collar, desperately trying to get it off, tears flooding down her bloody face.

"I know sweets, it's okay," Shawn tried to comfort her once they were in the ambulance and had hooked her up to an I.V. with pain medication.

"Shawn, I think It'll be best to sedate her for the time being," he informed his partner, getting the sedative ready.

"Can you check her vitals again please?" he requested, "And get some oxygen on her for good measure," he added, before stepping out of the ambulance and heading to the driver's side. "I think she's stable enough to go," he added, before starting towards the hospital with lights and sirens on, indicating that this was a life-threatening situation.

In the back of the vehicle, Shawn was going about checking her pupil reaction, which turned out to be slow, indicating a moderate concussion. After this, he placed a mask on the girl, ensuring that the saturation levels were as high as possible, as after attaching her to the relative monitors, it was found that she was only satting a 80%.

Finally, he went about checking the heart and lungs, and by this point they were beginning to pull into the hospital, which relieved the medic immensely.

They were met with a team of people at the entrance, Shawn was glad to see this included his three colleagues, Michael, Connor and Brian.

"What do we have?" Brian asked, stepping behind the gurney to help Shawn push it now that Dave had left on a new call.

"This is Ellen, she was hit by a car side-on while crossing the road. She's got a dislocated shoulder, broken collar bone and a compound fracture to the ankle. Possible internal bleeding and concussion. The paramedic also found some swelling, possibly indicating spleen bruising. Lacerations to the head, with nasal bleeding. Her BP is low, same with heart rate, lungs sound normal, standard dose of pain medication given on route." He finished as they made it to the bay that had been set up before their arrival.

"Okay, I want a CT, scan of the head and abdomen and spine, and can someone get me an ultrasound machine, stat, and in the mean time let's get her hooked moved on the the bed so we can start preliminary examinations. On my count!" Brian commanded, directing the team in transferring her safely to the hospital bed.

-Ellen-

The first thing I was aware of when I came to be was the bright lights above me, making me want to shut my eyes again almost instantly. After this, it was an annoying tickling sensation on my face. I moved my hand to try and swipe it away, but was met with resistance.

"Leave it there, Ellen," a calm voice spoke. A young man came into view then. "My name is Brian I'm one of the doctors looking after you, do you know where you are?"

"In the hospital," I answered, beginning to feel overwhelmed at the gravity of the situation, which was only made worse when I realised I couldn't move anything apart from my arms.

"Just try to stay nice and calm for me, you'll be fine, we just need to do a few tests and then we should be able to get you out of this contraption," he smiled sympathetically.

"Shawn?" he called. Another youngish looking doctor, this time with tanned skin, dark hair curly hair and several visible tattoos came over.

"You called?" he asked, before turning to me. "Hi Ellen, my names Shawn," he introduced himself with a smile, "I'm another one of the doctors."

"I want to roll her to do a spinal check,"

"No problem, so on three, I'm going to roll you onto your side and Brian is going to check for sensation." He explained to me, seeing the confusion I was feeling.

A few minutes later, they determined that my spine was fine, and this was confirmed by scans they had done when I was out, that came back fine.

"There you go, that's got to feel better," Shawn smiled, readjusting the blankets to provide me with more modesty.

"Ellen, are you in any pain?" Brian asked, coming over and shining a small light in my eyes.

"My tummy is really sore, and my shoulder and chest area," I told him.

"Okay, I'll get the nurse to increase the hourly dosage, there's no reason you should be in pain. You'll probably still be a little sore though, you've got a bruised spleen, which given time will heal, but you'll be tender for a while. As for your chest, you broke your collar bone on impact. We've put your arm into a sling to help limit the movement and give it an opportunity to heal. You did dislocate your other shoulder though, and we're going to have to put it back into place- don't worry though, we've got Michael doing it for you, and we're going to dose you up so you won't remember a thing," he laughed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"You needed me?" yet another doctor walked in, dyed blonde hair, sitting across his face. "Sorry," he added, "There was an emergency in the pit,"

"Ellen, this is Michael, are you ready?" Shawn asked.

"Mmmmm?" I responded unsure.

"You'll be fine," he responded, going to adjust my meds.

To the say that the process was painful would be the understatement of the year, and I may have called all three of them some uncomplimentary names, but after the fact I got some immediate relief.

The rest of the night was spent getting my many cuts stitched up, with the doctors, helping to keep me distracted by talking to me about my everyday life. I ended up in tears when I was introduced to Shawn again,apparently I'd met him a few times before, but I really couldn't remember, who I was told was one of the main people who got me to the hospital. "It's okay," he had spoken, giving me a gentle hug. "It's what we do!" he smiled, grabbing a tissue and wiping the tears off my face.

"They told me you're studying vet science?" he asked, sitting down on a chair next to the bed Connor another doctor and Brian went back to stitching me up. I felt my whole face break into a smile.

"Yep, I'm already a certified carer, but I wanted to take the next step."

"I really admire that," he told me, "Hopefully we'll be able to get that ankle of yours fixed up first thing tomorrow and onto the road of recovery." he spoke, referring to the compound fracture in my ankle that Shawn had told me about not long after I woke. Admittedly, I had thrown up when he told me what a compound fracture was, and had gone into a panic when he explained it would need surgery, but he had calmed me quickly.

"You'll be fine, you've got the best Ortho in the place working on you, Michael. You won't know anything happened once he's done, and you're all healed.

The coming weeks were filled with highs and lows, the surgery went well, and there was no post op infection, something that made all the doctors very happy, however the pain was almost unbearable at times, and they had to give me multiple pep talks to get me through it. I did it though, we their help.

The experience had helped to shape me, and when it was finally time to leave, I knew that I was leaving with four new friends.

But the one person I could always count on was Shawn. He helped me through everything, physio appointments, monthly reviews but above everything else he was a shoulder to lean on, someone to cry to when things got tough. And I guess through all of that our relationship had blossomed without us even realising. But one thing was for sure...

-Present Day-

I turned smiling now, as Shawn looked down at me I uttered the five words that meant so much to me.

"You save me from Ruin."

[kezibun]

A storm of a hunt part 3

Part 1

Previous

Next

You hesitantly tell him your name, maybe he was actually just being nice?

"Huh… cool name..." He mumbles.

A waft of coldness crawls over your skin, making goose bumps rise. You can't stop the shiver that follows it.

 "Oh shoot." Papyrus sighs. "That damn heater." 

He stands up, then kicks the little heater a few times and presses the button, but nothing happens. He seems to give up on the heater and you watch him as he walks over to the box labelled torture. Your whole body is tense but you keep you're eye on him as he rummages through the box. He's looking for something that you can be sure of.

 After all this was he really going to hurt you? After what's been said? What will he find in there? What does he want? Maybe he's looking for something to tie you up with. 

 He's just playing some kind of sick game again, like everyone else in this hell hole. You shouldn't trust anyone, not even down here. You just can't especially since all you've been met with is manipulation, lies and treachery. 

Maybe now you could try to escape, slip away while his back is turned. But as you try and sit up, a sharp pain burns in your side, there is no way you're going anywhere while you're in this agony. You sit back down and instinctively hold your injuries, not that it helps. Why does everything hurt worse once you've had a minute to rest?

 Papyrus comes over with something. It looks like a big metal tin. How Is he going to hurt you with this?

He kneels on the floor, setting the tin down, he's filled it with wood and sticks. Then he snaps his fingers over it, an orange spark floats down settling on a twig, it fizzles briefly as it sets alight. The fire is slow to grow but it already feels warmer than the small space heater. The flames grow and dance as they cast an amber glow. You're mesmerised for a moment.

"Do your injuries still hurt?" His question snaps you out of it.

"Yeah, those traps did quite the number on me." You say with a nervous laugh. 

"Let me check your HP."

"Wa-"

In that second the world around goes dark, an encounter? You feel fear creep over you, this wasn't good. 

"-It…."

Damn is he going to fight you? Or just check you like he said? If this was going to be like any of the other monsters you'd encountered before? you're sure it won't be fun.

You look over to your HP. There's something weird about it, it doesn't seem right, and that makes your stomach churn with even more nerves. You don't know what's wrong but It can't be good.

 He stares at you intently for a second.

'Papyrus cheeked your stats he doesn't seem happy with what he sees.' 

It's your turn now. His name is yellow, you know what that means. You're tempted to take a peek at his stats but you really don't have the energy right now and you're pretty sure he won't appreciate it. You are definitely not up for a fight, so you choose mercy. Everything fades back to normal. That wasn't so bad.

He then just walks out, leaving you behind and alone. The only sounds that keep you company are the crackling fire in front of you and the howling wind outside. 

You sigh and huddle up by said fire, pulling the jacket around you again as you wonder what on earth he saw that he didn't like. You hope whatever it was won't get you hurt. How did you ever end up in this situation? If only you could remember.

 You feel the warmth of the fire almost wrap around you as it seeps in and you finally start to thaw. Your toes almost sting like pins and needles as the feeling starts coming back to them. 

It wasn't long though until Papyrus was back, he entered silently like he'd just appeared in the room.

He holds a brown paper bag out to you, "Eat this." 

You take the bag, inside is a donut with black icing and a purple cobweb design on top. You usually would have been suspicious of such a gift, just in case it was poisoned. But at this point you don't really care, you're just happy to get some food. All you can do now is sort of trust him right? as much as you might dislike it. What other choice do you have?

"Thanks." 

You take a bite of the donut, the first flavour you get is sugar, it's very sweet, there also seems to be a bit of a spiced flavour then you taste the weirdest thing, you're hit with a faintly meaty flavour like chicken, mixed with a slightly fishy taste? and there's a dubious crunch to it. Then following it is a sandy texture that tastes smokey, but it's all then taken over by the alcoholic aftertaste that hits next. Despite the weirdness it's actually pretty good, better than snail pie to say the least, possibly the second best thing you've eaten since falling down here, the first being that candy that kept you alive through the ruins. You finish off the whole donut.

Wait. A sudden strange feeling washes over you, you feel the urge to check your stats. Did you just level up? That's kinda mysterious but cool, why would that have happened?

He then sits in front of you.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Your wound…How's it?"

"It um... feels a little better."

"Let me check it?" He asks.

You pause and take a moment to think. "I… don't know…" Is the only reply you could conjure up.

"It's ok."

He pulls the jacket off your shoulder.

"Hey don't." You grab his wrist.

He takes your hand and moves it off his wrist with a scowl. Then he pushes your ripped top up enough to see your wound. 

You flinch as his cold phalanges brush against your skin. 

"Sorry." He mutters, but he doesn't stop what he's doing, he looks over your badly wrapped wounds.

Now that he's so close you notice how his cheekbones seem to have a faint rusty glow to them, and he's actually pretty cute. No you can't be thinking like that. He's a skeleton monster that just hunted you down in a snowstorm, and scared you half to death. Not to mention you're now in his torture shed.

"The trap had some magic that stops it healing. I'm gonna to treat it. Can I… um...?" He gestures to your injuries and you fill in the gap.

You think for a minute… Is it smart to let him treat you? Probably not. But it might be your only chance, if anything he's saying is true.

"I did a pretty shoddy job with wrapping it up didn't I? Just be careful... I'd rather not die today you know…" You mumbled. Maybe that hint was a little too obvious, you feel like you basically just yelled please don't kill me. Would it be better to just beg for your life? Would that get you anywhere? Could you let go of what little pride you have left?

"You're lucky. I... can't have you dying yet." He takes his phone out and gets a first aid kit from his inventory. "Could ya hold your shirt up?" 

You do as he asks and hold up your top, the cool air is sharp to your newly exposed skin, you can't help but shiver some more.

"You humans sure feel the cold don't ya?"

Is he trying to strike up a conversation? Or just making an oddball comment?

Either way you don't really answer him… 

And with that he quickly warms his hands over the fire before he ever so carefully unwraps your bloody makeshift bandage. You watch his every move carefully, making sure there's no foul play. He then gets out a small round pot from the first aid kit, it's white with a green symbol on the lid.

"This'll sting but it'll help."

He applies the light green cream, it has a peculiar scent that can only be described as warm and kind, but it feels like he's just rubbed nettles over your flesh, that means it's working right? For you're benefit you hope. He then wraps your wound up, it's not too tight but definitely tighter then whatever you'd managed before. He pulls his jacket back around you. 

"You should try and get some sleep." He pats your head before he sits down next to you. 

"Are you staying?" 

"Yeah. Rest. I'll stay guard."

"Why are you helping me?" You query.

"It's complicated." He huffs. "No more chit chat. Just sleep already." He pulls the hood over your face roughly.

"Ok." You yawn as you lean into the corner of the shed, the wooden wall is cold and hardly an ideal pillow but you are so tired it barely bothers you, you close your eyes and soon enough you're asleep. 

. . .

"MUTT! have you lost your mind?" 

"Hush M'lord, They're sleepin'."

"YES SLEEPING AND NOT DEAD." 

"I can't kill em." 

You open your eyes slightly, stirring awake from the commotion and loud voices. 

You see Papyrus and the other skeleton, his brother?

"Then let me at the darn human." He snaps.

"M'lord you can't." Papyrus stops his brother from getting closer.

"AND WHY NOT!?"

"I told you. I need to figure it out. Trust me."

"You're going soft, don't forget your duty Papyrus! You have a week! NO THREE DAYS! Figure out whatever the heck you need to then get rid of that pest, that rodent." He starts walking off. "If Alphys finds out, I'm dead, this will be the end of my malevolent career. The Queen will have our heads for this! YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT?" He huffs as he storms out. 

You're still so tired… your eyelids are too heavy to keep open… With this new silence you can't stay awake for even a second more.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Ruin

-Ellen-

stood staring in the bathroom mirror at the large pink scar that snaked across my forehead from my left temple to just above my right eyebrow.

It had been almost three months now, and I was still in pain, some days it felt like I couldn't escape it.

I lifted my shirt to show my tummy, yet another angry looking pink scar this one jagged from where the glass had gotten me. It still pain, dull ache ever-present, the itch constant. I frowned, frustrated with how long everything was taking to heal.

"Morning baby," Shawn whispered into my neck,coming to rest his head softly on my shoulder and smiling at me in the mirror.

"Hey," I couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the corner of my lips. He was so beautiful, even first thing in the morning, dressed in an ugly washed-out green coloured pair of scrubs,ready for another day as a doctor in the local emergency department.

"What was that frown I saw before I walked in?" he asked, still watching me in the mirror.

I sighed, "Im just sick of being sore and having these ugly scars all over my body. I can't get it out of my head," I whispered, feeling the tears welling up, an all to familiar occurance these days.

"It's gonna take some time baby," he murmured, pulling me to his chest and holding me tightly.

"Yeah I know," I sighed leaning back into his hold. He really had been the best thing and he had quite literally saved my life, both physically and mentally. Our relationship had never felt forced, we'd just naturally fallen for one another, but if I was being honest I would never have imagined to be where I was today three months ago.

-Three Months Earlier-

-Third person-

"This is a trauma call for an eta of ten minutes," a voice came over the Emergency Department intercom.

"I hate trauma calls," Brian sighed as he got geared up, placing the label that declared him to be team leader onto his protective gown, before pulling a fresh pair of gloves on to replace the ones he had just used to help stitch up a little girl's head after she took a tumble.

"Is the bed all ready?" he asked, ducking his head around the curtain of the only free bay in the department. It had been one of those nights, and it was only eight, meaning that he was only two hours into a twelve-hour shift.

"Almost," his college, and fellow critical care doctor, Connor spoke as he wheeled the crash cart into place, and situated the supplies draw.

"What do we know so far?" Michael, another doctor asked, coming to stand by the other two doctors.

"Adult female, hit and run, while crossing the street." Connor spoke, while glancing down to check his watch for the time remaining before they were set to arrive.

"That sounds nasty," Michael commented, wincing slightly in sympathy. "It's a good thing the nurses decided to page Ortho I suppose, it sounds like you'll be needing my expertise," he turned to face his colleague.

"I hate to stay it, but I'd have to agree," Brian replied, sharing a knowing look with the other two doctors.

All three of them knew that pedestrian hit and runs where never good, and there was a high rate of critical injuries sustained, and of course these were usually inflicted on the innocent party. They didn't speak for several minutes, each fidgeting, just wanting to start helping the poor girl already. They didn't say it, but they knew it wouldn't be pretty. This has been confirmed when they got a message via one of the nurses, saying that Shawn, one of their friends and fellow colleague, and, emergency care physician was on route to the scene of the accident after the paramedics requested his help. This was not something that happened ogten, and only when completely necessary. The hospital liked to keep Ashton there as his expertise was so useful in many of the situations that the department faced.

-Ellen-

All I could feel was pain. Pain everywhere. Every inch of my body was hurting.

I tried to piece together how I had come to be here, but was met with some unknown resistance when I tried to turn my head, and survey my surroundings. "Stay still honey. We're going to get you to the hospital shortly, but just bear with us okay," a voice spoke from somewhere above my head. It was then that I became aware of the hands touching me, and instinctively I tried to pull away. "Dave, I think It'll be best to sedate her for the time being," a different voice spoke. That was the last thing I was aware of before I woke to bright lights, and calm, but still somehow urgent, voices.

-Third Person-

When Shawn and Dave arrived on scene, it was worse then they had expected. The poor girl was laying in the middle of what would normally be a busy street, onlookers everywhere watching with baited breath. "Can we move some of these guys out of here?" Shawn asked one of the many police officers that were standing around, waiting for direction. The last thing his patient needed was an audience when they were completely defenceless.

When they finally managed to push their way through the crowd of people, and get the relevant equipment set up, it was to find that things were much more complicated and critical then they had first thought.

"What do we know?" Dave, the paramedic on the case asked.

"They've not been able to give us much, but they're saying that someone ran a red, hit her, and took off. They're trying to run the plates now, track the person down," a burly police officer spoke. " I'll leave you guys to it," he spoke, patting them both on the shoulder, before getting up and going to help the other officers control the swelling crowds,"

As they both surveyed the situation, the injuries were clear to see. The girl had dislocated her left shoulder, broken her collarbone, and from the blood soaking through her pants and the angle of her right ankle, she had a compound fracture. Perhaps more concerning though was the blood that was fishing from a open head wound above her eyebrow, and flowing from her nose. The latter was usually a sign of internal bleeding.

"Hello?" Shawn spoke, as Dave started getting the collar ready. "If you can hear me, give my hand a squeeze okay," he continued slipping his gloved hand into the girl's bloody one, and praying there was a response.

After a moment there was, and they both thanked the heavens.

"Sweetheart, my name is Shawn, I'm a doctor, and this is Dave. Can you remember your name?" Shawn asked, leaning down in the hopes of hearing the young woman's response.

"Ellen," she whispered. It was barley there, but it was still a response.

"Okay Ellen, this is going to be uncomfortable, but we need to put this collar on you so that you don't hurt your neck or back okay. And then we'll get you to the hospital," Dave reassured her, before going about fixing the hard plastic to the girl. Both the medics had had to put the collar on to experience what it was like for the patients, and it was uncomfortable to say the least. Neither one could fathom how bad it would be to have injuries on top of this.

They both felt dreadful when Ellen started trying to claw at the collar, desperately trying to get it off, tears flooding down her bloody face.

"I know sweets, it's okay," Shawn tried to comfort her once they were in the ambulance and had hooked her up to an I.V. with pain medication.

"Shawn, I think It'll be best to sedate her for the time being," he informed his partner, getting the sedative ready.

"Can you check her vitals again please?" he requested, "And get some oxygen on her for good measure," he added, before stepping out of the ambulance and heading to the driver's side. "I think she's stable enough to go," he added, before starting towards the hospital with lights and sirens on, indicating that this was a life-threatening situation.

In the back of the vehicle, Shawn was going about checking her pupil reaction, which turned out to be slow, indicating a moderate concussion. After this, he placed a mask on the girl, ensuring that the saturation levels were as high as possible, as after attaching her to the relative monitors, it was found that she was only satting a 80%.

Finally, he went about checking the heart and lungs, and by this point they were beginning to pull into the hospital, which relieved the medic immensely.

They were met with a team of people at the entrance, Shawn was glad to see this included his three colleagues, Michael, Connor and Brian.

"What do we have?" Brian asked, stepping behind the gurney to help Shawn push it now that Dave had left on a new call.

"This is Ellen, she was hit by a car side-on while crossing the road. She's got a dislocated shoulder, broken collar bone and a compound fracture to the ankle. Possible internal bleeding and concussion. The paramedic also found some swelling, possibly indicating spleen bruising. Lacerations to the head, with nasal bleeding. Her BP is low, same with heart rate, lungs sound normal, standard dose of pain medication given on route." He finished as they made it to the bay that had been set up before their arrival.

"Okay, I want a CT, scan of the head and abdomen and spine, and can someone get me an ultrasound machine, stat, and in the mean time let's get her hooked moved on the the bed so we can start preliminary examinations. On my count!" Brian commanded, directing the team in transferring her safely to the hospital bed.

-Ellen-

The first thing I was aware of when I came to be was the bright lights above me, making me want to shut my eyes again almost instantly. After this, it was an annoying tickling sensation on my face. I moved my hand to try and swipe it away, but was met with resistance.

"Leave it there, Ellen," a calm voice spoke. A young man came into view then. "My name is Brian I'm one of the doctors looking after you, do you know where you are?"

"In the hospital," I answered, beginning to feel overwhelmed at the gravity of the situation, which was only made worse when I realised I couldn't move anything apart from my arms.

"Just try to stay nice and calm for me, you'll be fine, we just need to do a few tests and then we should be able to get you out of this contraption," he smiled sympathetically.

"Shawn?" he called. Another youngish looking doctor, this time with tanned skin, dark hair curly hair and several visible tattoos came over.

"You called?" he asked, before turning to me. "Hi Ellen, my names Shawn," he introduced himself with a smile, "I'm another one of the doctors."

"I want to roll her to do a spinal check,"

"No problem, so on three, I'm going to roll you onto your side and Brian is going to check for sensation." He explained to me, seeing the confusion I was feeling.

A few minutes later, they determined that my spine was fine, and this was confirmed by scans they had done when I was out, that came back fine.

"There you go, that's got to feel better," Shawn smiled, readjusting the blankets to provide me with more modesty.

"Ellen, are you in any pain?" Brian asked, coming over and shining a small light in my eyes.

"My tummy is really sore, and my shoulder and chest area," I told him.

"Okay, I'll get the nurse to increase the hourly dosage, there's no reason you should be in pain. You'll probably still be a little sore though, you've got a bruised spleen, which given time will heal, but you'll be tender for a while. As for your chest, you broke your collar bone on impact. We've put your arm into a sling to help limit the movement and give it an opportunity to heal. You did dislocate your other shoulder though, and we're going to have to put it back into place- don't worry though, we've got Michael doing it for you, and we're going to dose you up so you won't remember a thing," he laughed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"You needed me?" yet another doctor walked in, dyed blonde hair, sitting across his face. "Sorry," he added, "There was an emergency in the pit,"

"Ellen, this is Michael, are you ready?" Shawn asked.

"Mmmmm?" I responded unsure.

"You'll be fine," he responded, going to adjust my meds.

To the say that the process was painful would be the understatement of the year, and I may have called all three of them some uncomplimentary names, but after the fact I got some immediate relief.

The rest of the night was spent getting my many cuts stitched up, with the doctors, helping to keep me distracted by talking to me about my everyday life. I ended up in tears when I was introduced to Shawn again,apparently I'd met him a few times before, but I really couldn't remember, who I was told was one of the main people who got me to the hospital. "It's okay," he had spoken, giving me a gentle hug. "It's what we do!" he smiled, grabbing a tissue and wiping the tears off my face.

"They told me you're studying vet science?" he asked, sitting down on a chair next to the bed Connor another doctor and Brian went back to stitching me up. I felt my whole face break into a smile.

"Yep, I'm already a certified carer, but I wanted to take the next step,"

"I really admire that," he told me, "Hopefully we'll be able to get that ankle of yours fixed up first thing tomorrow and onto the road of recovery." he spoke, referring to the compound fracture in my ankle that Shawn had told me about not long after I woke. Admittedly, I had thrown up when he told me what a compound fracture was, and had gone into a panic when he explained it would need surgery, but he had calmed me quickly.

"You'll be fine, you've got the best Ortho in the place working on you, Michael. You won't know anything happened once he's done, and you're all healed.

The coming weeks were filled with highs and lows, the surgery went well, and there was no post op infection, something that made all the doctors very happy, however the pain was almost unbearable at times, and they had to give me multiple pep talks to get me through it. I did it though, we their help.

The experience had helped to shape me, and when it was finally time to leave, I knew that I was leaving with four new friends.

But the one person I could always count on was Shawn. He helped me through everything, physio appointments, monthly reviews but above everything else he was a shoulder to lean on, someone to cry to when things got tough. And I guess through all of that our relationship had blossomed without us even realising. But one thing was for sure...

-Present Day-

I turned smiling now, as Shawn looked down at me I uttered the five words that meant so much to me.

"You save me from Ruin."

[lyrical-writings-7077]

Dark Enough- Amanda Lopiccolo

TW: Self harm, suicide

I walk into class, and there sits my best friend of eight years. She's the kind of easy-going girl who laughs at pretty much everything. In fact, I believe that's all I've ever seen her do.

She's one of the smartest girls I've ever met. She makes all As on every report card, and she always offers tutoring sessions before each test. She's not just smart though, she's also beautiful. She's tall with long, curly, ginger hair cascading down her back. She has bright emerald eyes brought out by her round glasses and massive amount of freckles. She never wears makeup either, she says it'd get ruined when she played volleyball. Above all else, however, she's kind. She always offers an ear or a shoulder to cry on if anyone needs one. She gives amazing advice, and it's usually taken in the highest regard.

She's perfect. Always happy, always sweet. I don't know how she does it everyday. I'd crack under all the pressure.

Over the course of a few weeks, I notice her eyes get duller. She still acts bright and happy, but her eyes never quite show it. Nothing has slipped through her cracks. She's still making perfect grades, she's still doing amazing at volleyball, she's still helping everyone out, so what can I really say to her?

I believe she's perfect. I wish she did, too. It's so hard to see her doubt herself. She has so many expectations. I wish I could say she was the only one.

Soon after, I see her begin to become less bright and happy. You rarely see her smile anymore. Her laughs seem forced. Jokes that used to make her light up the whole room suddenly don't amuse her as much. I notice her grades are starting to fall, but I don't say anything. She could use a break. I'm almost happy to see that she isn't trying to help everyone anymore. I just wish she was happier.

I though she was perfect, until I saw her scars. She told me they were nothing, but I worry. I'll pretend to believe her for now, if it'll make her feel better. Maybe she'll tell someone if I let her work up the courage.

A few more weeks go by, and she no longer smiles or laughs. Not only that, but she rarely talks anymore. Jokes fly past her. She usually just closes her eyes. Her grades are really dropping now, and she isn't talking to anyone. I contemplate asking her what's wrong, or at the very least telling the guidance counselor, but I know she'll do the right thing.

I guess she's not so perfect after all. I saw the cuts, the burns, the endless self inflicted injuries littering her skin. I don't want her to hurt anymore. I miss my best friend.

One morning I walk in, and there's no one at her desk. Simply a pile of notes. I sift through and find my name. As I read it, tears began streaming down my face.

'To my best friend, I'm so sorry. I wanted to talk to you, to tell you everything, but I couldn't. It doesn't matter though. To be honest, I was really messed up. No one could have saved me anyways. I'm sorry if I ever let you down. I want you to know that I love you. Please move on with your life. Don't allow my death to impact you in a detrimental way.'

When I finished, I had so many questions. How could someone so perfect feel so insecure? How does someone so loving learn to hate her own guts? Why would she scar her skin with cuts and burns and still want to hurt more?

That was the day I realized that no one is perfect. Everyone has something going on, whether you can see it or not. Even the people who seem like they have it all together can have deep scars. Maybe if I had asked her, I could have prevented this. But that begs the question, has anyone ever asked her if she was okay?

So this is to the girl in the back of the class. The girl who always has her head down, the girl who never raises her hand, the girl who never speaks up, the girl who sits alone at lunch, the girl who has random injures show up but no one to ask her about them, the girl who seemingly has no one on her side. I have a question.

How are you?