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vagrantblvrd · 5 years

Text

Burn the Stars (1/1)

Summary: Trevor meets Alfredo when he’s having one of those pesky out of mech experiences. (The kind preceded by being dropped into a combat zone as support for a Federation Militia squad who is just incompetent enough to lead them into ambush.)

Notes: This video gave me Ideas. I also borrowed elements from Titanfall 2 in this because I love that universe a lot. /o\

(Read on AO3)

Trevor meets Alfredo when he’s having one of those pesky out of mech experiences.

The kind preceded by being dropped into a combat zone as support for a Federation Militia squad who is just incompetent enough to lead them into ambush.

========

While Trevor does love a good I told you so, protecting the squishy humans under his protection comes first. He covers the squad as they retreat into the underbrush and engages in good old-fashioned fisticuffs with the other pilot who has the gall to cheat by using missiles. (Uncouth.)

The Consortium's mech he goes up against is all shiny and new, most likely just off the supply ship that arrived a few days ago.

And that’s another I told you so right there, since the Militia commander in charge on this planet hasn’t been taking their warnings seriously. Seems to think a bunch of low-life mercenaries know fuck all about war. (Ironic, really, when you think about it.)

“Well now,” Trevor says, information about the mech he’s facing flashing up on a screen for him thanks to the onboard AI. Vanquisher-class combat mech, its key weak points highlighted in red. There’s...not a lot red to speak of really, which is far from ideal. “This ought to be fun.”

========

Trevor wins, on a technicality.

The Consortium mech goes down, but his own is so badly damaged he has to abandon it. Pulls the AI datacore, and tucks it away all nice and safe in a handy pocket in his pilot suit. Waits until he’s at a safe distance before setting the self-destruct to make sure its chassis doesn’t fall into enemy hands.

From there -

Well.

They were dropped far behind enemy lines and Trevor’s armed with a pistol and a survival knife.

Also, he’s bleeding. (Just a little, because believe it or not, mech battles are brutal things.)

Still, he’s got all his limbs and while they’re a bit battered and bruised, they work well enough to get him started o his way back to base.

If he’s lucky, he’ll run into the militia squad. If not -

Well.

========

Trevor is not lucky.

Not lucky at all.

========

No, Trevor runs into a Consortium patrol instead.

Couple of ground troops perched on the shoulders of a Strider-class mech.

Lightly armored, it’s mostly used by civilian law enforcement agencies since they’re perfect for navigating city streets. The Consortium’s adapted them to support patrols on heavily forested planets like this one.

Nimble little things, really.

Terrifying when one’s coming after you, and you become so very aware of how soft and squishy you are in comparison.

Back to a cliff and the Strider looming over you with all it’s shiny weapons primed to fire, when you suddenly remember you never quite got our affairs in order. (Whoever will take care of your precious collection of leftover condiment packets from all those scrumptious MREs now?)

Trevor’s hands are in the air. He’s considering taking his chances with the drop behind him when his earpiece crackles and a voice he doesn’t know reels off a set of numbers.

Coordinates.

He has no idea what he’s supposed to do with that, when a gunshot rings out – and the Strider’s canopy spider-webs around a neat little hole just about the height where its pilot’s head should be.

There’s a moment where the Consortium troops don’t seem to know what just happened, looking around for the source of the gunshot. Haven’t realized the mech pilot is dead, that their major advantage has been taken out of the equation.

And then the sniper fires again, taking out the patrol commander and scattering the others giving Trevor the chance to escape into the forest.

========

The coordinates takes Trevor to a nice little cave where by a gently babbling brook where a group of mercenaries hold him at gunpoint until the sniper makes an appearance.

The mercenaries lose interest in Trevor when the sniper ambles over with a wide grin on his face as Trevor gives him a betrayed look.

“Yeah,” he says, looking Trevor over. “I probably should have given them a head’s up about you.”

It would have been nice, yes, but -

“I mean,” Trevor says. “You did save my life. It would make me seem ungrateful if I held that against you.”

========

Alfredo’s friends are more hospitable when they recognize the patch on Trevor’s shoulder, realize what he was doing out there. (Which squad he must have been with, what with chatter about it being all over their comms.)

“Your squad made it back to base safely,” Alfredo tells him, a little too casual and nonchalant. “No casualties.”

Booked it straight back to base, didn’t bother looking back, which is part and parcel with this whole war thing.

Stings a little bit more sometimes, though, when you’ve got your militia soldiers on one side of things and mercenaries like them on the other.

People fighting for their homes, their loved ones, all nice and noble. Honorable sorts, not like those dirty mercenaries. Cutthroat bastards with no loyalties to speak of to hear some people talk.

Come in with their guns and mechs. Their fancy little ships, and help the militia with their war out here. Thrown into the thick of things and expected to give their all, and treated like they have no stake in the outcome.

Like most of them are from colony worlds the Consortium has a stranglehold on, like their families aren’t involved. Like they don’t give a damn if the resistance falls, how many friends they lose, because at the end of the day they’re just chasing a paycheck.

“That’s good,” Trevor says, light and carefree. “I’d be annoyed if they hadn’t.”

Alfredo hums, and Trevor nudges him with his elbow as he pulls out his lucky coin and rolls it across his knuckles.

“Want to see a neat trick?”

========

Alfredo’s group gets pulled out a week later, and Trevor goes with them. Hitches a ride here and there until he gets back to his base and Geoff yells at him for being a goddamned idiot for ten minute straight. (Trevor times it.)

He’s put on medical leave – something about injuries and parasites and tap dancing all over Geoff’s last nerve.

Gets drafted to deal with Geoff’s paperwork that piled up in Trevor’s absence because Geoff was too busy trying to get answers out of the militia about his whereabouts. (Very secret, hush-hush, mission that needed a mech to them take out a weapons depot before they walked right into an ambush.)

“Trevor,” Gavin says, sidling up to him with this gleam in his eye that means trouble. “What do you thing would happen if we - “

And Trevor, who’s been eye-deep in paperwork and red tape for days now, turns to him and grabs him by the shoulders.

“I have no idea, Gavin,” he says, very much aware he sounds a bit unhinged. “But whatever it is, let’s do it.”

Gavin blinks, clearly expecting more of a fight to get Trevor to agree.

“Are you sure? You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

There is absolutely no doubt in Trevor’s mind that whatever Gavin is up to is a terrible idea.

The worst.

And yet -

“Yes!” Trevor is going to lose his mind if he has to deal with the mind-numbing tedium any longer. “Yes I am.”

“Okay then,” Gavin says, and pulls out a datapad. “We’re going to need - “

========

There’s a fire.

A tiny, one really.

Certainly not something that necessitates another bout of yelling from Geoff, but he provides it anyway because he’s a generous soul when it comes down to it.

========

Trevor gets a shiny new mech off the assembly line, and decides it looks like a Billy.

“’Billy’,” Ryan says, like he’s not sure he heard Trevor correctly, which is fair as the hangar’s always noisy the day before a mission. “You’re going to name him Billy.”

Trevor grins, sitting pretty in the cockpit of a forty-something ton Titan-class mech. Missile pods on its shoulders and sweet chainguns mounted on its forearms.

It’s not really a done thing to go around naming a mech chassis when they’ve got AI partners, but Trevor thinks it’s a little rude not to.

“Billy the Murder Robot, yeah.”

The basic AI from his previous mech has been loaded up and it’s getting a feel for the new chassis.

Running diagnostics and poking around like the new tenant it is. Smoothing all the rough edges in the coding and unnecessary redundancies. Making room pretty little bits of code and protocols the engineers back home still haven’t caught on to. (Don’t realize how vital they are no matter how many times Trevor sends a data packet back detailing the reasons why they’re so important.)

A window pops up on the screens in front of Trevor with an ASCII thumbs up.

“See? Hector approves.”

Ryan sighs, but there’s a faint smile on his face as he moves back to the catwalk and to watch Trevor finish running initial checks on Billy with Hector’s help.

========

Geoff worries, Trevor knows.

In charge of a bunch of assholes he sends into combat and wondering when one of them won’t make it back.

A hell of a position to be in, but there’s no one else any of them would trust with it.

“Geoff - “

“Look, asshole,” Geoff says, rubbing his temples and looking a hell of a lot like he'd wants to kick Trevor out of his office on his ass. “The last time I sent you on a mission, you blew your mech up. You think those things grow on trees?”

Well that’s just ridiculous.

Everyone knows that when a mommy mech loves a daddy mech very much -

“Trevor.”

Trevor looks at Geoff, who is using his Serious Voice.

“Geoff.”

Trevor is an asshole.

Geoff scowls at him, because he is very much aware of that.

“I’m cleared for duty,” Trevor says, and does a little spin to demonstrate how uninjured he is. “And you can’t keep sidelining me when you need everyone out there.”

“I know that!” Geoff snaps, but it’s less anger at Trevor and more at the entire situation, this ugly little war.

Trevor waits, because this is Geoff, and after a few moments, he sighs.

“Talk to Ryan, he’s leading the next mission.”

========

It’s a retreat, plain and simple, and Trevor and the others have been called in to back up the Militia’s forces. Protect the dropships as they ferry troops back to the forward base and various outposts.

It’s loud and chaotic, Billy’s filters and scrubbers working overtime to pump clean air into the cockpit, Trevor can still smell the smoke, taste it.

Hector sends up a warning trill before a new voice comes over the cockpit speakers.

It’s Alfredo, and he’s in trouble. Squad pinned down and there’s not much a heavy sniper can do up against the armor plating on a Harbinger-class heavy, but there he is anyway.

Trevor reaches up to tap the pair of fuzzy dice Lindsay gave him for luck, and goes to help. (He’s got a debt to repay after all.)

========

“You know,” Trevor says, when everyone is back at base. “It takes a tank to bring a Harbinger down.”

Or a Titan-class combat mech, not to toot his own horn.

Alfredo gives him a look.

“Hey, you just stick with your mech, and I’ll stick with my sniper,” he says, but there’s laughter in his voice and an easy smile on his face he does.

And to be fair, he has a point.

In a fight everyone’s focus is on the mechs in play. Tend to forget about the squishy human running around with their heavy sniper. Powerful enough to punch through the plasteel canopy of most mechs, and a small enough to go unnoticed in the thick of battle. Slip behind enemy lines unnoticed to take care of enemy commanders and high-value targets.

The base is still in a bit of an uproar, mechanics running around barking order as they race to get damaged mechs back up to fighting speed. Militia soldiers waiting to be ferried back to their own bases, and the odd displaced mercenary like Alfredo just loitering about.

“Alright,” Trevor says, and pulls out that lucky coin of his again, because they’ve got time to kill and everyone loves a good magic trick.

#alfreyco #burn the stars #mech au #vagrant fic #¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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thedazedyouth · 6 years

Text

Loyalty

It was peaceful here, maybe a little too peaceful for his liking but it’s a good thing that it isn’t for you, dumbass. The birds chirped happily in the nearby trees, the wind was nothing more than a whisper through the blades of grass and the sea was as beautiful as shining sapphires.

Nature as it should be.

That is, until the sound of a motorbike roared through the hills. It pulled up in the worn shed that seemed out of place in contrast to the estate.

Trevor turned his attention away from the countryside to greet his twin. Alfredo slid off his slick black helmet to reveal his shining chestnut eyes, grinning from ear to ear.

“Heist went that well, huh,” Trevor said, smiling in return as Alfredo slung off his backpack and tossed it to Trevor.

Trevor pulled open the zips, unveiling the stacks of cash Alfredo had stuck in there.

“Geoff wants you at the penthouse later, something about rewarding that genius, or some shit like that.” Alfredo laughed at himself, the mid-afternoon sun beaming down on his tan face, illuminating his bright smile.”

“Well,” Trevor replied as Alfredo made his way towards Trevor, “Geoff doesn’t keep me around for nothing. Somebody’s gotta plan the heists for those dumbassess.”

The boys were chuckling together as they strolled into the country house. It’s owner, Lindsay, greeted them as they entered the front lounge.

“How’d my boy do?” she asked, taking the backpack from Trevor and peered inside. Lindsay let out a short wolf whistle. Looking back up at Trevor and Alfredo as she added, “We trained him well, didn’t we?”

Trevor laughed. “We raised him like he was our own.”

Alfredo groaned, only to earn a laugh from each Lindsay and Trevor. Being the newest member to the crew seemed to warrant everyone from the Fakes to act like his parents out in the field, he thought as least here they wouldn’t be as annoying.

“How much trouble out there?” Trevor had flopped onto the nearest armchair and waited for the other two to follow.

Alfredo took the beige couch opposite Trevor, while Lindsay curled up in the ugly, brown chair she refused to throw out because it’s warm and comfy, so piss off.

“Actually, everything went without a hitch,” Alfredo claimed. “Jack was saying it was one of their easiest heist.” He paused to look around the room swiftly, before he asked, “Where’s Matt?”

“Out getting lunch.” Lindsay had began counting through the number of stacks Alfredo had brought back as she spoke.

The three sat around the lounge together, listening intently to Alfredo’s retelling of the “intense and dramatic” heist, despite his insisting that it was a breeze.

It was rare for this side of the crew to have an opportunity to act like normal people, especially when the only one missing was performing such a mundane task. It’d been some time since they had been able to sit together and just talk.

Most days either one, or all of them were out helping the Fakes. Trevor tended to hid away with Geoff and Jack to discuss the never-ending list of issues the crew had; Lindsay would take either her husband, Ryan or Jeremy out for some controlled chaos whenever they needed, which seemed to be often; Alfredo covered Gavin when he dealt with some particularly frustrating rival crew member, that it unless Gavin had already taken Matt to take out a tough firewall.

So the days they were together, just them, without the main Fakes, were cherished but not squeezed dry. In their line of work, they never thought too long about the good things, knowing how easily they can be taken away.

Alfredo and Lindsay laughed as Alfredo mentioned some stupid stunt Gavin had pulled during the heist, but Trevor had blocked them out.

His head turned to point his ear towards the window, focusing on the sounds from outside. Something was wrong, he could feel it but he just couldn’t place it.

Alfredo and Lindsay had gone silent, noticing Trevor’s change in posture.

“What is it?” Alfredo asked, already stretching out for one of the many hidden guns that were placed around the house.

Trevor didn’t answer, instead he reached under the mahogany coffee table in the center of the lounge, he slid out an automatic rifle that was strapped to the underside, Alfredo and Lindsay following suit with their own weapons.

Trevor raised from the seat, and stalked carefully with his gun raised towards the front door. He opened it slowly and peered around each corner.

“Alfredo, attic window. Watch our backs,” Trevor ordered.

Alfredo nodded, then raced upstairs. Lindsay stood next to Trevor as they scanned through the countryside on their patio. It wasn’t unusual for them to assume these positions, most times were false alarms, or some of the Fakes thinking they’re suddenly comedians. But they had worked hard to keep their names away from those in the Fakes, and they were going to keep them hidden. Anyone who got too close to finding them didn’t make it long enough to tell anyone.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Lindsay asked, never lowering her gun despite her doubts.

As Trevor begun to explain the indescribable feeling in the pit of his stomach, he was interrupted by the roaring sounds of engines.

Car after car flew into the small valley the house rested in, they landed and skidded in the surrounding land. They easily swarmed the house, cutting off all escapes. When the paused, Trevor was able to see LSPD printed on the side of one of the cars.

Trevor and Lindsay already started firing on the officers before they even got the chance to get out from the vehicles, they busted out windows and sent cars crashing into each other in the mayhem. The onslaught eased slightly as Alfredo sniped the cars before they got to reach Trevor and Lindsay.

The cops were quick to return fire, hiding in and behind their cars for cover. Trevor and Lindsay did their best to advance on the police department, they knew exactly where to hit to cause a fiery explosion. They used the moments of chaos to their advantage.

Cops were going down all around them, but for every head they shot, two more appeared. There seemed to be a never ending stream of SWAT cars, and heavily armed soldiers emerging from them.

It wasn’t an even fight.

Trevor, Alfredo and Lindsay were outnumbered almost ten to one. It was too easy to take down the crew.

They had cornered Trevor against a burning car, a dozen men with more ammo than him. He kept his rifle raised as they edged towards him, surrounding him in a closed semi-circle. Someone to his right ordered him to put his gun down but he couldn’t tell through the thick helmets they wore. When Trevor didn’t obey, the voice repeated its command.

Trevor’s mind raced. Fighting would be futile, there was no way they would all make it out alive and Trevor wasn’t about to let his crew die. Knowing Lindsay and Alfredo were keeping him in their sights, he made an effort to kneel slowly to drop his gun. Someone hurried forwards to collect it, and another person shoved him onto the dirt, cuffing his wrists behind his back.

When the man pulled Trevor from the ground he spotted Alfredo. Alfredo had left his post in the attic to snipe from the broken kitchen, and Trevor knew Alfredo had watched the whole thing. Two soldiers gripped onto Alfredo’s binded arms, pushing him down the stairs. Rage was clear on his face, but when he meet eyes with Trevor from across the way, he almost relaxed; Alfredo nodding towards his boss, but Trevor barely able to maintain eye contact for more than a moment.

Trevor was lead towards a van when he spotted Lindsay. Her gun was gone but she wasn’t going down without a fight. She headbutted the poor soul who tried to handcuff her, but another cop pressed a taser into her side and Lindsay collapsed. They heaved her up and walked her semi-conscience body away.

Trevor climbed into the back of a SWAT truck, designed to hold dangerous criminals like himself. Before the doors were closed, he got a glance at his team being sent to their own trucks.

The Swindler had failed his team.

At least Matt got out.

————————————————————

Matt stood in line to his favourite pizza joint. He was nearing the front, hoping he could get back to Lindsay’s before Alfredo got back from the heist. It had been a while since they’ve been able to just eat lunch together, and Matt wanted to make it as old-school as possible.

He had piled the pizzas into the passenger's seat of his car and was making his way back to Lindsay’s country house when a pack of cop cars raced past his convertible, they were heading towards the general direction of the others. But nothing was a coincidence in this city, so Matt gave them a moment to drive away before punching down his gas pedal, and taking a right where the cops took a life; his own personal shortcut.

Or it should have been a shortcut, but when Matt swung around a corner he was meet with a series of roadworks, blocking his way to his team. He swore under his breath and whipped his car around.

He knew before he arrived that he was too late.

No one was left at the house, they were dozens of corpses though.

Matt made sure to check none of them were Trevor or Lindsay or Alfredo.

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

The clock in Trevor’s interrogation room was unusually loud. Or maybe it was just the dead silence he’d been held in for the last forty two minutes and seventeen seconds, he had counted every single tick, tock, tick, tock of that damn clock.

“Hey, dumbasses,” he yelled to no one, “if you want me to talk then you better not let me die of boredom in here.”

Unsurprisingly he received no response.

Even if he hadn’t been placed into a soundproof room, there wasn’t anybody around to hear him. A majority of the cops in the precinct were laughing at him, and how easy it was to capture these useless criminals. Why did they ever think it would actually be challenge, but hey, that’s why they’re just a B-Team.

The few cops who were still doing their job were standing guard outside Lindsay’s holding room, just in case the vicious redhead managed to escape.

She smiled sweetly at her interrogator as he sat down in front of her.

“Sir please,” Lindsay said innocently. “There has to be some kind of mistake. I’m not whoever you think I am.

“Oh really?” the cop replied, amused with her attempts of feigned innocence. “So, you are not Lindsay Jones, alias Ruby? And you have no ties to the notorious crew named the Fakes, and I shouldn’t even go far as to say you are married to a Michael Jones, known as Mogar; who known to be a member of the Fakes?”

Lindsay shook her head. “No sir. None of that sounds familiar, sir. Although that Mogar does sound pretty hot. Got his number?”

“Cut the crap, Jones. You’re in over your head here, but I can get you out,” the cop said. “Just tell me a few pieces of information, and you’ll be on your merry way. Your record with be wiped clean, I promise.”

Lindsay pretended to muse over the cops words for a moment before responding. “What kind of information?” she asked.

“A list of all known associates of the Fakes, anyone else that plays a key role in their operations that we are not aware of. Their hideouts, safehouses, or their current location.”

“And I get full immunity? Police protection until the Fakes are brought down for good?”

The cop nodded gleefully.

Lindsay bite her lip as she glanced around the room, then lent forward and gestured best she could for the cop to follow.

When their faces were barely a few centimeters apart, Lindsay spoke.

“I want a cheeseburger, with a side of curly fries. Oh, and don’t forget a chocolate milkshake.”

The man sighed, and acted as though he didn’t hear her. “Addresses of their current locations,” he repeated.

So Lindsay did the same, even telling him exactly where to buy it, and describing the joints backstory in odd detail.

The cop stood up with a huff and left the room, knowing that was the most useful information he’d get from her.

He moved onto Alfredo, the guards moving with him.

Alfredo watched as the man slid into the metal chair, cracking his neck on either side.

“Alright listen up,” the man said. “We were able to bug your bike, and we tracked you back to that little hideout you had going on there. I know you’re a smart guy and you’re extremely good at what you do. Slip ups like that don’t just happen in your line of work. I’m willing to bet that you let us bug you on purpose. You can’t handle this life anymore, and you want an escape. Let me help you escape.”

Alfredo didn’t flinch, but struggled to maintain eye contact with the cop.

They had bugged him. Him. Alfredo “The Sauce” fucking Diaz. And he never noticed, not even thought to check because he slipped into a false sense of security. This was all his fault. They got caught when no one had ever came close to them before.

The cop smirked. “Unless. . . it was a slip up? Who woulda guessed someone like you could have been so careless. What’s gonna happen to you when the real Fakes learn about this. You’ve seen what they do to snitches. They’ll kill you,” the man hissed.

“Don’t you ever fucking me a snitch again,” Alfredo spat, leaping at the cop. If it wasn’t for the cuffs holding him back, Alfredo would have strangled the man.

Luckily the man was smart, and knew when to stop. The last two gave him nothing, so her moved on to the man in charge.

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

“These people you’ve collected are quite loyal, aren’t they? Still, their loyalty had blinded them but that wouldn’t happen to you, right, Swindler?”

Trevor peered at the man. “What stupid bullshit are you on about?”

“What I’m trying to saying is, do you really believe the Fakes are this loyal to you, as you are to them? I mean, you are the Support Crew after all. Nothing more. You’re expendable to them. The Fakes know nothing about loyalty, they only care about the irreplaceable ones. Like Kingpin, or Vagabond, or their precious Golden Boy. There’s no one like them, but you lot? A chick with anger issues, a sniper and a lonely, little pretty boy. There’s millions just like you. “I have to ask, are you willing to spend your life in prison for people who don’t give a crap about you? They don’t care if you live or die. Do you see them anywhere? Are they busting down the doors to rescue you? No. So, stop being loyal to them, and I can help you get out of this unscathed.”

Trevor laughed. Full body laughing to the point where his body shook and tears were forming in his eyes. When he finally caught his breath, he turned deadly serious

“Listen up you fuck,” he demanded. “You don’t know shit about my crew. Yes, my crew. Nothing about them is expendable. You think Mogar is bad, you think you’ve seen death and destruction after him? Ruby is the one who keeps him in check, she is everything Mogar is but worse. She could rip apart mountains with her bare hands. Ruby could burn cities to ash with one look. If you aren’t afraid of her, you’re just plain stupid.

“The Sauce is the best sniper in the world. He can make a shot a hundred feet away, in a moving vehicle and hit the target right between the eyes. And you think that’s expendable? You only know him because he’s a Fake now, but you’ve been hunting him longer than you think. And if you thought Brownman was lethal, you won’t know what hits you when when The Sauce comes running.

“And me? Just a pretty boy? I’m the son of a bitch that keeps the whole crew alive. I’m the Fakes’ eyes and ears in this city. I know everything and everyone here, nothing happens in my city without my approval. If I don’t like something, I barely have to lift a finger to shut it down, and I don’t even have to do it myself; there’s a few hundred men and women in this city who will gladly do my dirty work. But there is one thing I’ll do myself. Katie’s your wife, correct? I know she’d hate to explain to seven year old Jay why his father never came home from work.

“Does that sound expendable to you? Do you think the Fakes would give all that up? You think the Fakes only understand violence, but no, they understand loyalty, and family. Once they’ve accepted you, they will burn the world down. We are apart of the Fakes, no matter what you think.

“And one last thing, sir. . . What time is it?”

“Huh?”

“What time is it?” Trevor repeated.

Baffled, the man checked his watch. “It’s- it’s uh, ten past three.”

“Those fuckers are late.” Trevor laughed in annoyance.

The man quickly regained himself. “What are you talking about?”

“I give this giant speech about how loyal those shits are and then they’re late. What assholes.”

“Tell me- ”

The cop started to push further but was interrupted by a break out of rapid gunfire.

He glanced at Trevor before making his way towards the door. The second his back was facing Trevor, the cuffs fell off Trevor’s wrists. He was behind the cop in a second, one hand was on the back of his head and slammed it against the hard wall again and again.

The man slumped onto the floor, blood pooling around his head. Trevor knelt down after him, searching the body for a gun. Thankfully he found one hidden in the man’s waistband.

Trevor took a deep breath then kicked open the door to the room, and began firing on the first people he saw. There were only a few men standing guard, they didn’t have a chance to react before they dropped dead.

Trevor swapped his small handgun for a rifle hung around on of the guards body. Only one man ran down the white corridor towards Trevor, who was dead the moment Trevor saw him.

The gunfire was coming from outside. He estimated about two dozen different guns were involved in the fight. But he ignored it, moving on to finding the rest of his crew.

A few doors down to his room was Alfredo. When Trevor busted down the door he instinctively shot at the blue uniform, Alfredo sighed in annoyance.

“I had that, you know?”

“Sure you did,” Trevor joked, beconging Alfredo to follow him.

The cuffs around his wrists clattered onto the ground as Alfredo stood.

“Trevor, there’s something you need to know,” Alfredo said, as he jogged up to Trevor who had secured another gun, and threw it to Alfredo.

Trevor was down the corridor in search of Lindsay when he stopped and turned to face Alfredo. “Fredo, you don’t have to explain yourself,” he replied. “I already figured it out. And listen to me, it wasn’t your fault.”

“But-”

“We can talk about it later. Just me and you. But now, we need to find Lindsay and get outta here. Okay?” Trevor said softly.

“Okay,” Alfredo answered.

Trevor smiled, then turned back to kick down the final door in the hallway. It slammed open to reveal Lindsay with her back to them, and a cop on the ground laying in a heap. Lindsay’s boot was digging itself into her ribs.

Lindsay turned her head around to see her team, blowing a strand of hair from her face. “Hey, boys,” she said. “I’m just finishing up here.” She paused to give the woman one final kick. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Lindsay skipped over to the boys and after one quick trip to the stations armoury, they were all armed and ready to go.

The oak doors leading into the station were closed, but the gunfire was coming directly from outside.

Trevor counted down, then him and Alfredo kicked open the doors and they assumed fire. They didn’t receive much fight back, the precinct were busy fighting back the Fakes. Ryan and Michael were favouring their machine guns to cut the pigs down; Gavin, Jeremy, and Geoff choosing to stay behind cover and fire from afar. Jack and Matt stood further down the road, they were in front of a running cargobob.

Jack noticed the three appear from the police precinct and beckoned them towards her and Matt. They covered the trio as they ran behind the cops. They didn’t waste any time, and climbed into the chopper.

Jack yelled into her comms to Geoff. “We got ‘em. Keep the pigs off us.” Jack piled into the pilot’s seat and took off.

“I leave for ten minutes,” Matt said, a smile creeping onto his face. The other three laughed back.

“Good to see you, too,” Lindsay replied.

Jack called from other her shoulder. “Geoff wants to talk to you back at the penthouse once we get back. Better get your story straight, he wants to know everything.”

Alfredo glanced at Trevor, but quickly returned his attention back to the city beneath them. They remained in silence until Jack had landed the chopper. She stole a car for them all, drenched the cargobob in gasoline, and when they were far away enough she shot at it, blowing it to pieces. They rode back to the penthouse and waited in the lounge for the others to return.

Geoff was the last of the crew to get back, he walked into his office and shut the door behind him. Five minutes later he pulled the Support Crew in.

“I’m gonna cut to the chase,” he said

“Lovely seeing you, Geoff,” Lindsay joked.

Geoff glared at her. “You four are good. I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t think you could keep your ties to the crew hidden, you’ve done that for a few years now. But somehow the cops still found you, and I know it wasn’t because the LSPD are suddenly geniuses. So, there’s only two scenarios that are possible. First, somebody in this crew is a snitch. They ratted you out to the cops for something in return from the cops.” Geoff studied each of the crew. “I doubt it was on my side,” he added.

Trevor stood forward. “No offense but I know my crew better than you, Geoff,” Trevor said. “I trust them with my life. No one here would betray us or what we’ve all worked for. We’re loyal to the Fakes.”

Geoff nodded. “Fine,” he replied. “Then the second scenario is that one of you fucked up. You made a mistake and it blew up in you face. I have a feeling you know who you are. So I’m giving you this one opportunity to come forward.”

Silence took the room. Lindsay and Matt were eyeing each other, having no idea what Geoff was talking about. Trevor, still standing just in front of the others, could see Alfredo from the corner of his eye, start to admit his mistake.

But before he could, Trevor interjected.

“It was my fault, Geoff,” he said boldly.

“Are you sure?” Geoff asked.

Trevor nodded. “The cop who interrogated me let it slip that they tracked me back to the house. They must have bugged me during my last heist. They would have waited for the right moment in order to get us all.”

Alfredo stared wildly at Trevor, so stunned he couldn’t correct him. Trevor was taking the fall for him, for him; the newbie of the crew. He was risking everything he had for Alfredo.

Geoff sighed, disappointment clear on his face.

“You could have cost us everything today. Imagine what would have happened if the pigs got hold of any more information about us. This whole operation could have been burnt to the ground. All because of you’re stupid, idiotic behaviour. I can’t believe that of all people, you were this reckless.”

Trevor only nodded, forcing himself to meet Geoff’s death stare. Whatever punishment he was expecting, the next words from Geoff’s mouth visibly shocked him.

“Stay away from the crew for a while. Until I sort this shit out, you are to have no contact with anyone from this crew. We can’t risk them finding us. Understand?”

Trevor’s mouth was hanging open, but he quickly closed it and nodded in confirmation. With a tired wave of Geoff’s tattooed hand, the Support Crew filed out of his office.

Trevor couldn’t bare to meet any of the Fakes’ eyes as he walked straight out the penthouse front door for what might have been the last time.

#fahc #achievement hunter #fake achievement hunter crew #trevor collins #alfredo diaz #lindsay jones #matt bragg #geoff ramsey #jack pattillo #michael jones #gavin free #ryan haywood #jeremy dooley

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rhdcarts · 6 years

Note

FLASHFIC REQUEST!!!! how about Matt and Trevor and kissies in the office ;u;

this is only vaguely related to your prompt fucking whoops

“Hey, babe. ‘S Lunchtime.” Matt stepped up behind Trevor, and leaned down to wrap his arms around his torso. He hooked his chin over Trevor’s shoulder. “What’re we getting today?”

Matt could feel laughter rumble up from Trevor’s chest, so he looked away from the screen curiously.

“Oh, Goddammit.” And there was Alfredo, shit-eating grin taking up half of his fucking face. Matt flushed red, unwrapping his arms quickly and stepping back like he’d been burnt. Oh, he wasn’t going to live this down. “Not that I’m not just so fucking ecstatic to see you, but why are you in Trevor’s chair?”

Before Alfredo could answer, he was distracted by something over Matt’s shoulder. He raised his hand in a wave.

“Fredo!” And there was Trevor. Real, actual Trevor. Thank God, thought Matt, turning to watch him walk in. He smiled. Trevor flashed him his own smile, before turning his sights back on Alfredo, fixing his features in some approximation of a stern expression, but the twitching lips and bright eyes belied his act. “You tryna steal my man, again?”

On second thought, maybe Matt wasn’t super pleased to see him.

“My man, actually.” Alfredo declared, grabbing Matt up in a half hug. Trevor mocked gasped, his hand coming up to rest over his heart, and Matt scowled, ducking out from under Alfredo’s arm.

“Do you two have to wear matching clothes? Fucking really?” Matt frowned at both of them, crossing his arms.

Stepping closer, Trevor pulled Matt into his chest. Matt sighed, not entirely sure if he was disappointed with his boyfriend’s nonsense, or whether he was just happy to be in his arms. He had a sneaking suspicion it was probably closer to the latter this time.

“I’m sorry we confused you, babe.” Trevor said, sounding extremely not sorry. Matt tried to shake his head, but he wasn’t willing away from Trevor to move to do so. Trevor leaned back, looking at Matt. He smirked. “Hey, you got a little..” He trailed off, rubbing his thumb over Matt’s bottom lip, tilting his head down for a kiss.

It was probably one of the most cliche moves Trevor has pulled in a while, but damned if Matt didn’t melt into the kiss anyway.

“Why do you never kiss me like that, Matt.”

Matt made a mental note to get back at Alfredo for that, rolling his eyes and stealing one last peck, reluctantly extracting himself from Trevor’s grip.

“I most certainly didn’t have something on my face, you dick.” He poked at Trevor’s chest. “We haven’t even had lunch yet. Which, speaking of, kind of the reason I was here in the first place.”

“Well then, Good Sir,” Trevor bowed, grabbing Matt’s hand. Matt snorted. So it was going to be one of those days. “Would you do me the greatest honor of escorting me to one of the finest eating establishments around.” He made a wide sweeping gesture with his free hand. “Torchy’s, because you deserve only the best.”

By the end of his spiel, Matt’s smile grew into a full blown grin, unable to stop himself.

“Wow, Trev, way to cockblock me.” Alfredo cut in, shaking his head. “We were in the middle of something here.” He turned to Matt, mischief written all over his face. “Of course I’ll go out with you, Matt, I thought you’d never ask.”

“And, suddenly, I’ve decided I’m eating alone today.” He dropped his hand from Trevor’s grasp and started to walk away. Because, really, Matt could only take so much from The Wonder Twins, never mind the fact that he was in a happily committed relationship with one of them. He was only human.

“Fredo, you’re fired.”

Matt could hear Jeremy fake gagging, and he turned around, facing the room again.

“Do you guys wait until you’re in the office to be this gross, or are you always like this?” Jeremy asked, not even bothering to look up from his screen. Matt tilted his head, silently agreeing with him.

“Yes.” Trevor told him, answering exactly nothing and everything, and walked toward the door where Matt was waiting for him.

“C’mon, idiot.” Matt held his hand out, squeezing tight when Trevor grabbed it. “You promised me tacos.”

And, Matt absolutely didn’t think to himself how lucky he was, walking out into the parking lot with his dorky boyfriend in tow.

#braggins #ro does flashfics #my fic #this is ROUGH but tbf its been a bit since ive written #futureboy #ragehappy #almost forgot to tag that w h o o p s

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bellshellsrage · 6 years

Text

Magical Difficulties

[DISCLAIMER: I don’t own AH or HP in any way.]

Word Count: 1,312

Pairing: AH x OC

Summary:

Some spells have after-effects...

Chapter 8: Interfere

“Hey. Wake the fuck up. You sleep too long.”

I groaned and opened my eyes to see Ray hovering over my bed, an annoyed expression spread across his face. “The hell you want, ghostie?” I muttered as I rolled over.

“If I were alive, I would slap you. McGonagall wants to talk to you about the stunt you pulled.” My eyes shot open. “Yeah. Might want to get up now.”

“She’s mad, isn’t she?”

Ray shook his head. “More like… concerned and disappointed.”

I groaned again and pulled the blankets over my head. “That’s even worse! Why can’t she just be mad like a normal person?!?”

“She doesn’t roll like that.” Ray chuckled. “Come on. It’s tea time.”

After I had gotten dressed and ready, Ray escorted me to the Headmaster’s tower. I paused and glanced at the snow as it fell, then blinked at Ray. “I remember… something.”

Ray scowled. “How much do you remember?”

“It hurt…” I frowned and continued walking.

McGonagall was waiting for us with the door open when we arrived, and barely acknowledged me as I walked forward into her office. She had her back to the door, but turned her head slightly before turning back towards her desk. The room was silent and I sighed.

“This is the girl, huh? She seems… unsteady.”

“Hush, Severus. No need to be a brute to this one.”

I glanced up at the wall of portraits to see that two of them were staring at me. I recognized both of them, and bit my lip anxiously.

“Look at her, Albus. What does she have to offer?”

A soft click followed by the brush of fabric on stone made me turn to see that McGonagall was behind me. She gently placed her hand on my shoulder and glared at the stern-looking man on the wall. “This ‘unsteady’ girl performed a memory spell on herself. I for one would consider her brave.”

“I consider her scared.” He countered, making McGonagall stiffen.

“You two will never see eye to eye, will you?” The second man sighed with a shake of his head.

“Of course not. She’s on the ground and he’s hanging on the fucking wall.” Ray interjected, breaking the tension. McGonagall turned away from the wall, her hand guiding me to the seats and tea set.

A tense silence filled the air as we sipped our tea. I didn’t want to start the conversation, and she was waiting for me to, so we were locked in a stalemate. Ray floated off to the side, his eyes darting between us like he was watching a silent tennis match. Finally, a knock on the open door broke the draw.

“Headmaster? May I-”

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as Ryan’s voice filled the room. McGonagall stood and her eyes flicked towards me briefly before walking towards the door. “I will send for you later, Mr. Haywood. We can talk then.”

“No. We’re finished here.” I stood and joined then at the door, meeting the Headmaster’s eyes with a determined look. “Goodbye, Professor.”

With that, I turned and left the tower. Ray followed with a grin. “You should have seen her face! And Dumbledore is so happy! You are a badass.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t feel like sitting there not talking about why I was there. And it seemed like whatever he wanted to talk about was important.”

“He wanted to talk about you.”

I paused, then continued on my way to the Great Hall. “That doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It matters more than you think.” Ray muttered.

The hall was full of students and Ray rolled his eyes before disappearing, leaving me alone to face our group of friends. They were talking animatedly about something and didn’t notice when I sat down. I grabbed toast and dished out some eggs before tea appeared in my mug, and I ate quietly while trying to piece together what the conversation was about.

“Good luck catching up.” Kent smirked as he leaned over, greeting me.

“I’m scared and confused.” I replied. “I’m guessing either a game pissed someone off, or a class?”

He shrugged. “A little bit of both. But does it really matter at this point?”

“Not at all. Pass the fruit?”

Half an hour later, the conversation had changed and Lindsay turned to meet my eyes. “Renee! How long have you been sitting here?!?”

“Somewhere between ‘we better not have Transfiguration homework’ and ‘fuck you Gavin, your game sucks’. It was hard to follow.”

Meg laughed. “You followed well enough to pick that up.”

I shrugged and offered a slight smile. “I’ve been around all of you long enough to be able to pick out what you’re all talking about. Even without Ryan here to break up the fighting.” An odd silence fell as everyone exchanged glances with each other, and it took me a minute to notice that Ashley was giving me an apologetic and sad look. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“You… you remembered him.” Neal muttered, his eyes meeting mine slightly before staring at his hands again.

Ray appeared again, but chose to silently hover just above the floor. He stared at me with a pointed look, and I sighed. “I remembered something earlier too, but it was more of a feeling than an actual memory.”

“What did you remember?” Gavin leaned forward, fully engrossed in the story and forgetting about the in-depth conversation he was having with Michael moments ago.

“It was cold and I was numb.” I glanced at Geoff as he ducked his head. “But my heart was broken. Like someone had stepped on it.” A strand of hair fell in my face, and I frowned. “I remember that I loved this color once, but then it hurt to see it.”

Suddenly, Trevor slammed his hands on the table. “It’s a nice day. We’re going to Hogsmeade or something to get us out of this fucking castle.” He met my wide eyes. “Let the past stay in the past. Let’s have some fun.”

I nodded silently and some of the others agreed, so we departed to gather our coats before meeting back up near the large doors. When we got there, Hagrid was standing in front of the doors.

“Hello, Hagrid!” I greeted cheerfully.

He nodded curtly at me. “‘Ello. I hope you aren’t planning on going to the village.”

Alfredo nodded as he and the other Gryffindors joined us Puffs. “Yeah, that’s exactly where we were going to go.”

Hagrid shook his head. “I can’t let you out. Headmaster’s orders.”

Michael narrowed his eyes at the giant. “You can tell the Headmaster to shove her head up her-”

“Thank you, Hagrid! Do you know if we’ll be able to go tomorrow? We have some shopping to do before the holidays.” I interrupted, sending Michael a warning glance.

“They can go out tomorrow. The Headmaster doesn’t want you to leave the castle.”

Jack and Geoff grew angry now and started to argue, but I nodded and turned away. Somehow, I locked eyes with one of the portraits. It was the stern one who had called me ‘unsteady’. Severus. I maintained eye contact as I pulled out my wand.

“Renee? What’s up?” Matt called, worry in his voice.

I ignored his concern, my grip on my wand growing into a clenched fist. “He called me unsteady, and now I can’t leave the castle and he’s sitting there smug as can be.”

Hagrid heard me, and instantly stepped in my line of sight. “It wasn’t any one person’s fault. We just want you to be safe.”

I scoffed and dropped my wand before leaving the entryway. Alfredo’s voice echoed against the walls in a loud whisper.

“Yeah, because everyone knows that the best way to calm a badger is to lock her up.”

#my fics #magical difficulties #achievement hunter x reader #fics4you

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bellshellsrage · 6 years

Text

Magical Difficulties

[DISCLAIMER: I don’t own AH or HP in any way.]

Word Count: 3,110

Pairing: AH x OC

Summary:

Secrets are being told, and hearts are being shared.

Chapter 3: Mischief

September went on as it usually did; homework and new schedules, reuniting with housemates, and helping the first years so they didn’t get lost on their way to class.

I enjoyed the first few weeks, but the thought of what came at the end of the year still haunted me. One day as I walked to Potions, my mind cluttered with memories and thoughts, I passed a door that I hadn’t seen in a long time. The hall was clear as I glanced around me.

“Alright, room. What do you have to show me?” I muttered aloud as I slowly opened the door.

The room looked like any other room in the castle and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. After some time, candles lit themselves and drew my attention to the center of the room. Standing in the faint glow of the candles was a single chair facing a mirror. I glanced behind me, making sure that no one had followed me in, before slowly walking forward. As I gently placed my hand on the soft, worn fabric of the chair a voice spoke to me.

“Don’t be afraid. It won’t hurt you.”

I jumped, looked around for the source of the sound. Finding nothing, I sat in the cushion cautiously. “Who said that? Where are you?”

A figure appeared in the mirror, and my breath caught. Standing in front of me was someone I had never met, but had heard stories of and had wanted to meet, but never got the chance.

“I know what you’re thinking about.” She said, her hair changing color slightly. “You’re worried about your friends.”

I sat forward a bit, wanting to figure out how I was talking to someone who had died in the War. “How do you know that I’m worried about them?”

“Because I’ve been there. From one Hufflepuff to another, trust me when I say that it’ll be alright.”

My jaw dropped as my brain tried to form words, but nothing came out.

“Miss Renee, what are you doing in here?”

I whipped around and stood quickly to see McGonagall standing behind me, a worried yet knowing expression on her face.

“I was… She…” I stuttered as I glanced at the empty mirror. “How did she?…”

The Headmaster stepped forward and gently placed her hand on my shoulder. “That was Nymphadora Tonks, and you should have never found this room. But because you have, why don’t we go have some tea in my office? I’m sure you have many questions.”

“But I have to get to Potions.” I muttered, still trying to wrap my head around what I had seen.

McGonagall chuckled as she lead me to the door. “I’ll let your professor know where you are.”

I followed her as we passed many classrooms on the way to her office. Most of them had their doors open, and I couldn’t help but look into the rooms that I knew my friends were in. Geoff and Ryan met my eyes with worried expressions and I knew that they would have questions later. Alfredo nudged Michael’s arm and they whispered to each other as I passed. Andy paled as he saw my expression and I shook my head, telling him not to worry.

“Your friends are watching us.” McGonagall chuckled as we neared the staircase to her office.

“They’re probably wondering what I did to have to follow you to your office.” I replied, my voice low.

A faint smirk crossed her face before she ushered me into the large room. Books filled the walls and above them hung the portraits of the past headmasters. Some of them glared at me, but one offered a comforting nod of his head. The man in the next frame met my eyes with a solemn expression, as if he knew exactly why I was there.

“Please, have a seat.” I glanced over my shoulder to see that a tea set had appeared. At closer inspection, I saw that there were three cups.

“Professor? There are only two of us here.” My voice came out as a meek question, and she nodded wordlessly.

“Think again, Renee.”

I jumped as a voice echoed behind me, but rolled my eyes when I saw Ray floating in midair. He was laughing and I huffed. “That’s not funny!”

“It was slightly amusing.” I glanced at the Headmaster, who sat with a smile. “Come sit and we’ll talk about what you saw in the mirror.”

I took a deep breath as the room grew solemn again. After a few awkward moments, Ray cleared his throat. “So, the mirror huh? Who did you see?”

“Tonks. She told me not to worry about… everyone.”

Ray nodded. “That’s good ole Tonks for ya. She worried about everyone and look where it got her.”

I blinked and studied his face. “You knew her, didn’t you?”

“I knew of her. Heard stories while I was here. And then I saw her fight.” He shook his head. “Badass doesn’t even begin to describe her.”

“Yes, she was very good. She was also a member of the Order, and a Hufflepuff.”

I nodded. “She said that I should trust that everything would be okay. But how can she say that when-”

“When she’s dead?” Ray interrupted before he reached for his mug of tea. His hand went through it and he huffed in anger. “Dead people can be right, you know.”

“Or they can be a pain in the ass.” I replied with a slight smile. Ray smirked with a shrug.

McGonagall sat forward slightly. “What he means is that you should listen to the past, but only to help you in the future.”

“Careful, McG, you’re starting to sound like Dumbledore.”

McGonagall and Ray both smiled at each other, leaving me out of the loop. “Alright. It should be time for your next class by now. Go on.”

I stood and turned to the door before glancing back. McGonagall had stood, her long robes falling back into place and her hat perfectly straight on her head. Ray floated beside her and offered a slight smile, his hoodie pulled tight as he tucked his hands into the pockets. “Can we do this again? I would love to hear more about what happened.”

Ray’s smile faded. “Maybe the past should stay in the past.”

“Come whenever you need to, dear.”

I nodded and headed back to the halls, my mind more scattered than it was before. Students brushed past me and I moved easily between them. Suddenly, two hands caught my arms.

“Renee! Are you okay? Why did you have to go with McGonagall?” Ryan’s voice shook in worry and I patted his hands reassuringly.

“I’m alright. I saw something that I wasn’t meant to, so she and I had a little talk. Ray was there too.”

My explanation did little to soothe his questions, and he pestered me for answers as we continued down the hall. Geoff and Kent caught up with us, and they were adamant to know what was going on.

“I told you! It’s fine, really.” I huffed, growing annoyed.

I glanced up the hallway to see Michael, Gavin, and Alfredo coming towards us. They each had huge grins on their faces and I groaned. “Hey, troublemaker!”

Gavin squealed in excitement. “Now we can drag you into our shenanigans!”

“It wasn’t like that, you guys.” I rolled my eyes, ignoring their attempts to convince me to join them.

“Oh my god! I thought you were a goner!” Andy exclaimed as he rushed towards me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“Woah now! Calm down.” Michael growled as he pulled Andy off of me.

A large group had formed around me and some of the other students grumbled as they tried to squeeze past us. “Guys! Can we just go to class? I’ll explain everything later.”

Some of them nodded and drifted into the crowd, while Michael grabbed Andy and dragged him away. I could hear the reprimands from the older boy as they faded into the distance. Shaking my head, I kept on my way to the classroom, knowing that word would travel among the group until everyone knew about my visit to the Headmaster’s office.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, and I dreaded dinner and the thousand questions that I would surely face. When I sat down beside Matt, he smiled at me. ‘How was your day?”

I gave him a sidelong glare, refusing to answer. Geoff, Jack, and Kent joined us and I prepared myself for a flood of requests for answers, but none came. As we ate, conversation was directed elsewhere until I sighed.

“Alright, what do you want to know?”

Geoff shook his head. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”

“But we’ll listen when you’re ready.” Jack added.

I met all of their eyes individually, seeing different things in each of their expressions. “I saw Tonks. And then McG caught me and we had tea with Ray.”

Kent scowled. “Ray can’t have tea, though.”

“Out of everything she just said, you question the tea?” Geoff squawked before he turned toward me. “What did Tonks say?”

I stared at my hands as I told them everything, and when I was finished I sighed. “They said that I could go have tea with them again if I want.”

Matt shook his head. “That’s insane. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I mean… It’s not everyday that you sit down for tea with the Headmaster and a ghost, right?” We all chuckled and finished our meal before wandering out into the courtyard where the rest of our friends had gathered.

Jeremy and Trevor were talking and they both rushed forward when they saw me. “We heard what happened. Are you alright? Do you need something?”

I shook my head and patted their arms. “I’m okay, guys. Really.” Glancing over their shoulders, I met Ryan’s sharp gaze. He was watching me closely. “I’m alright.” I muttered, directing my statement towards him.

“Well, all this excitement has made me want to go to Hogsmeade. How about we go this weekend?” Meg suggested, drawing everyone’s attention away from me and toward the prospect of venturing into the wizarding town.

Lindsay appeared beside me and draped her arm over my shoulders. “We got you. Anything else weird happens, you let us girls know.”

“I will. But I have a feeling that Geoff will know before anyone else.”

She chuckled and nodded in agreement. “He’s weird like that.”

“He’s overprotective like that.” I countered.

Geoff perked up. “I heard that!”

The next day, I woke up to see Salem staring at the window.

“What’s wrong, girl?” I muttered, earning a meow in reply. She started to pace on the windowsill and I scowled as I got out of bed. “Salem? What’s out there?”

When I looked, it took a moment to comprehend. A figure was standing beside the Whomping Willow and seemed to calm it’s swinging branches. I dressed quickly and ventured into the common room to see that Geoff and Jack were sitting drinking coffee.

“Morning, Renee. How’d you sleep?”

“There’s someone by the Willow. They cast a spell on it.” I scowled deeper when they exchanged glances.

Geoff stood and walked away from me as he shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Jack shook his head at me. Frowning, I left the common room and went to the Great Hall. Some of the group was already there, sitting together at the Gryffindor table. Walking by, I ruffled Michael’s hair before sitting beside Gavin.

“Why do you have to do that?” Michael grumbled as he glared at me.

I offered him a smile before shrugging. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He rolled his eyes and Gavin laughed before a group of Gryffindors walked by. They were talking about the Quidditch match coming up and how great the team was, and Gavin frowned. I glanced at the passing group before putting my hand on my friend’s arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah. They’re just… so Gryffindor. Same with Michael and Alfredo. But me? How am I like them? Hell, you’re more of a lion than I am!”

I saw that Michael, Lindsay, and Meg were now listening in. Ryan, Larry, and Neal joined us and were shushed.

“Well, you might not be the bravest person I know, but you are courageous and stand up to others. I wouldn’t want you in any other house because you firmly belong there.” I met Michael’s eyes over his best friend’s shoulder. “And if you were in a different house, you wouldn’t have your Michael.”

They both scoffed as everyone else laughed. By that time, the rest of the group had joined us and we started eating. Jack, who was beside me, had a pile of eggs on his plate that smelled amazing.

“Hey, Jack? Mind if I take a bite of those?” Andy leaned over with his fork in his hand poised to stab at the pile.

Jack scowled and covered his plate with his hands. “Mine.”

I watched them for a moment before tapping Jack’s shoulder. When he turned with a quizzical expression, I held up my fork and peeked over his arm at the pile of eggs. He nodded and moved his arm to the side so that I could steal a bite of the fluffy food.

“Wha- What the hell?” Andy gasped as he watched us.

Jack shrugged before continuing to eat, and I gave Andy a shit-eating grin. “He likes me more.”

Chuckles floated down the table but subsided as we finished our meal. Trevor, Jeremy, Andy and I headed off to Transfiguration while the others went to their classes. When the four of us got to the room, I paused.

“Oh no.” I muttered. The guys all frowned and glanced around before they spotted what I was staring at. “Why is McG at the head of the class?”

As I spoke, McGonagall turned and flashed a smirk. “Welcome. You’re here early.”

“Yeah… we wanted to get some homework done before class started.” Trevor offered as we slowly approached our desks.

“Oh, you mean the homework that is due today?”

Jeremy glanced at me and my eyes went wide. “Not at all! We were… uh…”

“Going to get a headstart for today’s assignment!” Andy supplied too enthusiastically, knowing fully well that the boys all had plans to work on the assignment due today.

I rolled my eyes and sat down, opting out of whatever punishment she was coming up with. “Well, why don’t we double your work for tonight then, since you all seem to get through it so quickly.” The three boys exchanged glances, not knowing what to say. “I’ll take that as an agreement then, gentlemen.”

“What did they do this time?”

Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at Ray. “Didn’t do their work and lied about it.”

“Classic move. She doesn’t fall for that shit, though.”

“No I do not.” McGonagall turned, giving Ray a sharp look. “But you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Ray grinned. “You know it!” I shook my head and waited for the rest of the class to file in.

“Now, I’m sure all of you have one question; why I am here. Your professor is indisposed for the time being, so I will be taking over until they return.” A wave of hushed voices filled the room and she put her hands up to quiet us. “I am lead to believe that you all had a roll of parchment to present today?”

The rest of the class went by alright, and before I knew it, the day was finished. After dinner the group went back to our respective common rooms, and I sighed as I sank into a comfy couch. I grabbed a book and started to read when Geoff joined me. He lifted my feet and sat down in their place before gently resting my ankles on his leg. We sat in silence with our books for far longer than we should have until Geoff patted my foot.

“Time for bed, little one.”

I yawned, but didn’t move. “I’ll just finish this chapter first.” Geoff nodded before heading off. A comfortable silence fell before I say Ray appear out of the corner of my eye.

“You’re still up.” Ray muttered.

I closed my book, knowing that he was here for a reason. “Wanted to read some.”

“I see.” The room filled with tension. “So you saw Tonks. Have you seen anyone else?”

I refused to meet his gaze. “This morning I saw someone put a spell on the Whomping Willow. But I didn’t see them clear enough to tell who it was.”

“Huh. I thought that that bit was over.” Ray’s tone was reflective and I watched him.

“Ray? How did you die?” I paused as he flinched. “I’ve known you for so long, but never had the guts to ask.”

He glanced at me, his face awash in pain. “It was during the War. People were everywhere, running around and screaming and trying to save the castle while not dying at the same time.” He paused and furrowed his brow. “I ran into a group of first years. They were all huddled together and scared to death, so I helped them to safety. That went great and all, but on the way down to… to here actually… we got attacked.” He stopped and I saw tears in his eyes.

“You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to.”

Ray shook his head, determined to tell his story. “I wanted to save them. So when the wolves came, the only thing I could do was sacrifice myself until someone came. And that someone was McG herself.”

“She tried to save you?” My eyes were wide.

“And damn near died herself.” Ray nodded. “She was always my favorite, you know.”

I nodded, a slight smile on my face. “Yeah, she’s pretty great.”

We kept talking, trying not to laugh too loud. After a while, though, I felt my eyes get heavy and curled into the couch cushions more. As my eyes closed, I saw Ray go towards the boy’s dorms. A few minutes later, two arms wrapped around me.

I opened my eyes just enough to see Kent carrying me. “You… why are you?”

“Ray couldn’t get Geoff or Jack up. But I’ve got you.”

Trusting him fully, I fell back asleep. The last thing I heard was a soft, haunting voice.

“Good night, Renee. I hope your future is better than mine.”

#my fics #magical difficulties #fics4you #achievement hunter x reader

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