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pappydaddy · 4 years

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Part Two: Mr. Brightside

A/N: Here’s Part Two! I don’t know when Part Three will be out, but I’m sure it’ll be out soon, I’m almost done the part and the songs for it! Check out the playlist!! If anyone wants to make an Apple Music version, just DM me!

PLEASE TAKE A SECOND TO LOOK AT MY PINNED POST, SIGN THE PETITION AND REBLOG IT IF YOU CAN!!

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Henderson!OC

Fandom: Stranger Things

Warnings: Guns, violence, life-threatening situation, aggressive talk about Russians (evil Russians, not all Russians), belittlement, feelings of inferiority, feelings of weakness, deprecation images of oneself, SPOILERS!!!

I Wanna Be Yours Playlist (Spotify)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three - Coming Soon

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- not my gif -

Steve hid behind the plastic plant in the middle of the food court, the binoculars pressed around his eyes, surely leaving a noticeable red ring around his eyes. He was supposed to be looking for the evil Russians that the boy crouched beside him keeps rattling off about, but he couldn’t stop watching them. He really did try to pull his focus away from the two teens standing way too close, but his eyes just pulled towards them like a magnet. “See anything?” Dustin asked, poking his head up over the plant. The two stood out like sore thumbs, proving that they were shit at stake-outs.

“Uh, I guess I don’t totally know what I’m looking for.” Steve admitted, pulling his eyes away from the couple to scan over the other people occupying the mall. His mouth hung open, his eyes drifting back up to the second floor where Ophelia and Brett stood, leaning against the railing.

“Evil Russians.” Dustin told him as if it were simple.

“Yeah, exactly,” Steve exclaimed, not even trying to pull his eyes from Ophelia as she laughed. “I don’t know what an evil Russian looks like.” Steve muttered, his binoculars following Ophelia and Brett as they walked along the second floor.

“Tall? Blond? Not smiling,” Dustin listed off suggestively. Steve only hummed, squinting into the binoculars, watching as Ophelia bent down to grab a drink of water from the water fountain, paying attention to how Brett snuck a look at her butt, her dress riding up dangerously. His blood started to boil at the sight of him shamelessly eyeing her like a piece of meat. “Also, look for earpieces, camo, duffle bags, that sort of thing.” Dustin looked over at him as he hummed along, not paying attention.

“Right, okay, duffle bags,” Steve repeated, following the pair as they walked again. If looks could kill, Brett’s arm (which was wound around Ophelia’s waist) would have been killed brutally. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Steve muttered in disbelief when Brett leaned down to whisper something in Ophelia’s ear making her pull away, a blush darkening her cheeks as she giggled and hit his chest playfully. The smirk Brett wore made Steve want to knock his lights out. It was a smirk that told Steve his true intentions. He just wanted to get in her pants and he thinks he’s almost there.

“What?” Dustin asked, trying to follow the line of the binoculars to see what Steve saw, thinking he saw a Russian.

“Your sister,” Steve told him as if it was obvious. “I have no idea why she would even think about going out with a guy like Brett Morris. She can do so much better than that weasel, god-” He ranted, his top lip curling into a snarl at the sight of him pressing a kiss to her cheek, the blush coating her delicate cheeks deepening. “He’s a sleaze.” Steve grunted, looking at the tall hockey player in disgust. Dustin’s eyes snapped towards his sister, watching Brett interact with her.

“I don’t know, I don’t see anything wrong with it, they’re on a first date and he’s being nice?” Dustin shrugged, not seeing what Steve was all worked up about. Steve pulled his eyes from the binoculars, keeping them in place so he didn’t lose the couple.

“Nice? You see nothing wrong with it,” Steve asked, bewildered. “Dude! That’s your sister and he’s smirking like he’s about to bang her!” Steve nearly cried out. Dustin’s lips turned down in a disgusted frown as he fought back a gag before turning his attention back to his sister and her date who made their way down the escalators, still in each other’s arms.

Dustin watched Brett smile down at Ophelia as she gazed at all the sights, seeing what was going on. He shrugged, looking back at Steve who watched the same scene with a snarl. “Dude, he’s smiling like he likes her,” He shook his head at the older boy. “Why do you care anyway? Do you like her?” Steve pulled away from the binoculars again, furrowing his brow at the younger Henderson. Dustin twitched an eyebrow at Steve, waiting for an answer.

“I don’t like her,” He denied, his voice filtering almost like it knew something he didn’t. Of course he didn’t like Ophelia. Those were old feelings. She’s his best friend’s sister. The girl who fought demogorgons, demodogs and Billy Hargrove alongside him. The girl who always comes in and brightens his day with her smile and laugh. The girl with bright eyes that seemed to swirl with stars. She was the girl who he felt a strong need to protect, to shield away from the world that was hell-bent to destroy such a beautiful creature. The girl who kissed him in grade nine during a game of spin the bottle. Steve certainly did not like Ophelia Henderson and her certainly didn’t find himself thinking back to that quick little peck of the lips at Hannah Hanson’s party. He scoffed, looking back through the binoculars and letting panic settle into him. “Shit! Where’d they go-” He was cut off by someone snatching the binoculars away.

Both Dustin and Steve jumped, looking up at a fuming Ophelia; the binoculars grasped in her hand. Her body nearly shook with the anger coursing through her. “What are you two mouthbreathers doing? Spying on my date?” She asked, her fingers wrapped around the binoculars turning white from her grasp. Steve’s lips parted, his brown eyes looking up at her. It wasn’t like he set off to spy on her date, it just kinda happened. Dustin grabbed the binoculars back from his sister, making the angry girl shift her eyes to him.

“No-” Dustin snapped, holding the binoculars to his chest. “We were looking for evil Russians, Steve is just a horrible spy.” He told her, bringing the binoculars up to his eyes. Steve whined at the younger boy’s comment, but otherwise remained silent.

“Evil Russians? Why would you be looking for evil Russians in the food court?” Ophelia turned her nose up, looking at her brother as if he were crazy. Dustin sighed, pulling the binoculars from his eyes to give her a look. Steve furrowed his brow at her until he remembered that she had left them last night before they discovered the Russian transmission came from the mall. Heat bubbled in his chest, remembering why she had left them. His jaw clenched, his brown eyes hardening on the wall across from him, hoping that his stare could make it crumble.

“The Russians aren’t in Russia, music from the Indiana Flyer was heard in the background of the recording, blah blah blah, there you’re all caught up-” Dustin grumbled, peering through the binoculars again, leaning forward as he looked at each person mulling around suspiciously. Ophelia opened her mouth to retort, but Dustin cut her off. “Now go back to your date so that I can actually spy - unlike somebody.” Dustin shot the last part towards the older boy who sat there, stewing in his anger.

With a groan and a roll of her eyes, Ophelia turned on her heels and strutted back towards Brett who now held a pretzel and a drink in his hands. Steve watched as he greeted her with a smile, handing her the drink. His now free hand slipped along the small of her back as he guided her towards one of the empty seats. “Ugh, he doesn’t need to be so handsy.” Steve grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, his lips pouting.

“Oh my god, I don’t get why you can’t just see it, are you really that blind?” Dustin asked Steve, not taking his eyes from the binoculars. Steve looked over at the busy-haired pre-teen.

“See what?” Steve snapped, trying his hardest not to look over at Ophelia again, just knowing he would be greeted by the sickening sight of her giggling for another guy. Just the thought of another guy making her laugh like Steve does made his stomach churn. He felt like he was standing out in a field as the world around him turned cold, the blue skies swirling into a dark gray - just seconds before the cold rain poured down on top of him.

“See how you actually feel about Leah, you Dipshit,” Dustin exclaimed, growing tired of Steve’s blindness. “Everything you’re seeing with Brett being an ass is all in your thick head, fueled by your jealousy!” Dustin told him. Sure, Dustin hadn’t noticed the crush that his friend harboured for his sister, but the second that Ophelia told them about her date, Steve had changed. It had become obvious to Dustin. All the time Steve just suddenly dropped by the Henderson household with Ophelia’s favourite movies in his hands, the fact that Steve was always parked by their curb in the mornings to drive them to school.

“I feel like she’s a friend, you Dipshit,” Steve argued back, his top lip rolling up into a sneer at Dustin's suggestion. The fact that everything in his life had suddenly become a downcast blue since Brett had asked Ophelia on a date didn’t mean he liked her. Just because he felt like his heart had been struck with a hammer does not mean he liked her. “And I am not jealous, I am quite positive if I do say so myself.” Steve liked to view himself as Mr. Sunshine. Full of positive light and energy. Though, he couldn’t shake the images of them after their date. Brett’s fingers trailing along the curve of Ophelia’s side as their lips mashed together. The hockey player’s fingers slipping under her skirt, running along her thighs. The mental image hurt him so much he could have punched a wall.

“Come on Steve! You like her, why else would you be so obsessed over her going on a date with Brett?” Dustin pointed out. Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes. Why was he even fighting with Dustin on this? Dustin was a kid, he doesn’t understand the complicated world of love. He doesn’t know the arch of a heart, he doesn’t know the pining and the angst. He has no idea what he was talking about.

“Because Brett Morris is a dirty sleezeball and Ophelia shouldn’t be on a date with him!” Steve told him, his arms moving frantically even though he knew Dustin wasn’t going to pull his eyes away from the binoculars to watch him.

“Sure,” Dustin hummed, finally pulling away from the binoculars far enough to turn his head to look at Steve. “And the fact that you can only refer to Brett as Brett Morris has nothing to do with jealousy?” Dustin posed the question. Robin and Dustin all refer to him as just Brett in a nice, casual tone, but Steve always spat his first and last name as if it was venom he had just ingested, his face always screwing up as if he had just referenced his arch nemesis.

“I just don’t like him, I know his type.” Steve avoided, his head swirling from Dustin’s interrogation. Why did he not like Brett? Steve never really talked to him. Sure they were both popular, but Steve hung close to the basketball crowd while Brett spread out a little more within the high school groups. Brett and Ophelia ran in the same crowd, being involved with multiple organizations in school. Without an explanation, Steve had developed a hatred for the tall hockey player from the first time he saw him and Ophelia talking in the school hallway as they stood at her locker, why back when Nancy was in the picture.

“You like her and if you don’t figure that you soon, you’re going to have to figure out how to forget her because she’s not going to wait around for you.” Dustin shrugged, telling him how it is. Of course he knew how his sister felt, he figured out how to pick the lock on her journal two years ago. He knew everything about her, and some of it, he didn’t want to know.

“I don’t like your sister dude!” Steve gave up trying to make excuses, knowing that Dustin will just mess with his head someway, making him question if he actually did like Ophelia.

“Yes, you do.” Dustin stated pointblank.

“No.” Steve denied again. Dustin shook his head, peering through the binoculars once again.

“Yes-” Dustin sang back, pleased with knowing that he was right once again.

“No-”

“You do!” Dustin shot back. Steve glared at the younger boy.

“She’s not my type, okay? She’s too nice, too sweet, too pretty - too perfect.” Steve trailed off towards the end, not being able to find the correct reason why she wasn’t his type. When he was King Steve, he was positive that Carol and Tommy wouldn’t have any problem listing reasons why she wasn’t his type, but now he wasn’t sure. She was gorgeous, funny, insanely smart and caring. She was everyone’s type.

“What’s your type again? Girls who don’t like you?” Dustin perked an eyebrow at him when he pulled away from the binoculars once again. Steve shot him a sharp glare for the comment. Steve wasn’t sure what his type was in all honesty, but he was sure that Ophelia wasn’t it.

“Thank you,” Steve forced the corner of his lips up in a sarcastic smile before they dropped back down into a straight line. “For your information, Ophelia is still in school and that’ll be weird for me to date someone who is still in high school and she-she is nice to the weird-o’s like Robin. She’s on the prom committee and homecoming committee, and she likes hockey players apparently - hockey players are the bottom of the sports food chain.” Steve ranted, searching his mind for his next point.

Dustin looked at him once again, rolling his eyes at his reasons. “Now that you’re out of high school, which means that you’re technically an adult, don’t you think it’s time to move on from primitive constructs such as popularity - which Ophelia is popular.” Dustin suggested, trying to get Steve to see the world that’s outside of all the worrying about fitting in.

“Oh, primitive constructs? That some stupid shit you learned at Camp Know-” He paused, shaking his head, trying to come up with the name of the camp Dustin had went to this summer. “Nothing?” He settled for an insult, his defence mechanism starting up.

“Camp Know Where, actually. And no, it’s shit I learned from life,” Dustin told him. Nerds, with all that they have to put up with from the popular people, have learned things. They’ve learned that you shouldn’t focus on making other people see you as cool, instead you should focus on making yourself happy. Steve hummed, looking away from Dustin to scan over the people walking around. “Instead of dating somebody you think’s gonna make you cooler, why not date someone you actually enjoy being around,” Dustin suggested. Steve blinked, thinking about it. He did like being around Ophelia. She made his day brighter and just the thought of her made a smile stretch onto his face. “Like me and Suzie.”

“Oh, Suzie-” He mocked, bouncing his head. Dustin gave him a look, pulling the binoculars back to his eyes. “Yeah, you mean ‘hotter than Phoebe Cates”, yeah that Suzie, and, uh,” Steve paused. “Let’s actually think about it, how exactly did you score that beautiful girlfriend,” He posed the question, scratching the side of his face in faux question. “Oh yeah! With my advice,” He reminded him. “Because that’s how this works, Henderson. I give you advice and you follow through - not the other way around, all right, pea-brain?” Steve shot at him. Dustin gave him a look before resuming his search.

***

Ophelia walked towards Scoops, a dazed look on her face. The feeling of Brett’s lips on hers was still fresh. The odd feeling she felt in the bottom of her stomach returning at the memory. His lips felt odd on hers, they didn’t feel as pillowy as she imagined them to be, instead they were chapped against hers. His lips had touched her so gently, almost as if he was scared that she’d shattered under him any second. Normally, she would have found his gentleness romantic and endearing, but the kiss was almost just his lips hovering over hers, just barely brushing together like he didn’t even want to touch her. It was like that for the entire date, his fingertips just brushing against the small of her back or his arm barely touching her shoulders.

She found her mind wandering off to Steve and if he would have done the same thing. Would he have barely touched her, would his lips just skim over her’s in a short kiss? Would his fingertips ever so slightly touch her body? Maybe Brett just didn’t want to touch her? He hadn’t even mentioned a second date before he scampered off for his shift with blushing cheeks. She sighed, her heels scraping against the floor sluggishly. “Does he even like me?” She whispered to herself. She heard thudding feet running towards her, making her lift her head to see Steve and Dustin rushing out of Scoops in search of someone.

They ran towards her, Steve’s hand reaching out to grasp her small wrist in his, yanking her along with them. She let out a squeak of surprise as she was spun on her heel and pulled towards the center of the mall. She tried to ignore the tingling and the heat that crawled up her arm, spreading throughout her body at his grasp. Steve came to an abrupt stop when they arrived at Robin who stood on the bench wrapping around the center planter’s box that held an assortment of fake plants and a tree, a wide eyed look on her face as she looked down at the three of them. “Robin, what are you doing?” He asked, walking closer to the blonde, his hand still wrapped around Ophelia’s wrist.

“I cracked it.” She said, a hint of excitement in her usually monotone drawl. Ophelia furrowed her brows, glancing at Steve’s hand still on her wrist. His grip, it wasn’t just hovering over her like Brett’s was. His touch felt different from Brett’s. His touch was just something brushing against her body while Steve’s ignited warmth in her that spread throughout her body, like a fire burning under her skin.

“Cracked what?” Steve asked, prompting Robin to jump from the bench - Steve and Dustin’s eyes following her. The sound of her sneakers slapping the tiled floor made Ophelia look at her.

“I cracked the code,” She couldn’t help the smile that consumed her face. Ophelia smiled, proud of Robin for cracking the seemingly impossible code. Robin brushed past the group, glancing down at Steve’s hand encircling Ophelia’s wrist. “Oh, um, Steve?” She turned around, walking backwards with a smirk on her face.

“Yeah?” Steve asked, his eyebrows jumping up as he turned his body to look at Robin, waiting for her to ask him something. Her eyes jumped from between Ophelia and him with sparkles of amusement dancing in her vibrant blue eyes.

“I think you can let go of Ophelia’s hand now.” She beamed at the older boy. Instantly, Dustin and Steve’s eyes dropped down to see that Steve’s hand still held Ophelia’s wrist, making Dustin snort and slap his hand over his mouth to stop his chuckles while Steve nearly choked on his own spit - a blush covering his cheeks. His hand dropped Ophelia’s wrist, the warmth she felt from his fingers grasping her wrist still burning throughout her body.

“Thanks.” Ophelia smiled, walking towards Robin, leaving Steve and Dustin behind. Slipping his hand from his mouth, Dustin looked at Steve who stared at his hand, clenching it in a fist before stretching it out, feeling a weird tingling that felt like he just grabbed an electric fence. Steve’s brown eyes looked up at Ophelia who talked to Robin about how she managed to figure out the code. Her hair bounced behind her as she tried to keep up with the slightly taller girl, her heels clicking against the clean tile.

“Yeah, you definitely don’t like her.” Dustin mused, giving Steve a look as he shook his head. Steve looked over at him, still fisting and unfisting his hand.

“I don’t like her!” Steve denied making Dustin hum and walk away, joining Ophelia and Robin. Steve rolled his eyes, trudging after the group.

“So, Leah,” Dustin cut into the girl’s conversation, earning pointed glares from both of them. “How was the date, from what I saw, it went pretty good.” Dustin inquired, stealing a glance at Steve who glared at him as well. Ophelia glanced at her brother, before glancing at Steve who dropped the glare and gave her a smile instead.

“Yeah, Leah, how’d the big date with Brett go? You were so excited yesterday.” Robin easily changed the subject, knowing that she had the rest of the day to explain her thought process and the plan she was cooking up in her mind. Ophelia shrugged, glancing down at her feet.

“Uh, it was okay. We just kind of walked around after the movie, we shared a pretzel and sat by the fountain, that’s about it.” Ophelia waved them off, her tone less excited. The date was good, he made her laugh, paid for everything before Ophelia could even think about it, but she couldn’t help but let the kiss and lack of talk about a second date put her off. Steve sensed her downcast mood, his heart itching to cheer her up. He couldn’t stand to see her so down, but he also couldn’t help but to feel delighted at the thought that her date didn’t go well.

“Did he kiss you? Is there a second date?” Robin pressed, glancing at Steve from the corner of her eyes as he waited for her answer with baited breath. Ophelia shook her head, a heaving sigh leaving her lips.

“He did kiss me, but it was weird and I have no idea if there is a second date, he didn’t even talk about a second date,” Ophelia admitted, looking at Robin. Robin simply looked at her with wide, confused eyes. She was shocked, Brett seemed to actually like Ophelia. “I’m fine, really. Brett’s cute and nice, but I think we might just be better as friends.” She brushed off Robin’s sympathetic eyes.

“Still, that must suck, Leah. I know how important this date was for you.” Robin rested her hand on Ophelia’s shoulder softly, offering her support. In a private moment with Robin last night when Steve was scooping ice cream and Dustin had been in the bathroom, Robin had made Ophelia crack, admitting her feelings for Steve along with her hopes that this date would help her get over the goofy dingus. Hoping that Brett would be the antidote to the poison that was her crush flooding her veins.

“It’s no biggie, he has my number. Maybe he’ll call me, maybe he won’t - who knows,” She continued to deflect Robin’s support. They all walked into Scoops, seeing barely anyone in the store. Robin opened her mouth to talk to her, but she cut her off. “I’m just going to change into sneakers, I want out of these shoes.” The words were heavy with a lack of emotion, a huge contrast to her normally sweet voice and cheery disposition. Steve watched her as she walked sluggishly into the back room, his heart hurting. He didn’t want to see her so sad. He wanted to see her bright smile, to hear her laughter bouncing off the blue and white striped walls of the overly cheery parlor. He was snapped out of his trance by both Robin and Dustin whacking the back of his head.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?” Steve grumbled, looking at Robin and Dustin who glared back at him.

“For being an idiot.” Dustin retorted, walking around the counter, grabbing a sample spoon and skimming the top of one of the ice creams.

“I did it because I’m tired of this,” Robin threw her hands in the air, also walking behind the counter, closing the screen, but not before peeking in at Ophelia who sat at the table slowly putting her shoes on. “She is upset because she’s trying to move on.” She shook her head, speaking mostly to herself, but she wasn’t aware of Steve standing on the other side of the counter, hearing the words.

“Move on from what? She broke up with her last boyfriend back in September, she’s not still caught up on that asshole, is she?” Steve asked, making Robin whirl around in surprise, not wanting Steve to hear that. Dustin and Robin shared a look before glancing at Steve. A mix of emotions flurried around Steve’s mind like a blizzard, making him mad. Why would she still be hooked on the asshole who barely paid attention to her? Couldn’t she see that she deserved more.

“Why would that matter to you, Steve, you don’t like her.” Dustin sneered, reminding him. Steve jolted back at Dustin’s sudden aggression. Dustin felt protective over his sister. She was obviously crushed that her date didn’t go well and from what Robin just said, it wasn’t because she liked Brett.

“I care because she’s my friend. I don’t need to like her romantically to care for her,” Steve bit back making Robin groan, stomping her foot against the floor in frustration. Steve was just as thick as the layer of product in his precious hair. “What? I shouldn’t care about her?” Steve asked, his eyes wide as he tried to pinpoint their emotions based on their reactions.

“Let me ask you a question Steve,” Robin paused, placing her hands on the counter by the cash, her hard blue eyes looking up at him. “Were you upset about Ophelia going on a date with Brett?” Robin threw the question up in the air, already knowing the answer.

“I wouldn’t say upset-” Steve was cut off by Robin raising her hand at him.

“How did you feel about her going on a date with Brett?” Robin rephrased the question, her hand slapping back to the blue counter, waiting for Steve to answer. Steve blinked, thinking.

“I guess I was a little upset, I mean, Brett Morris is not good for her. She can do so much better than him.” Steve answered, growing upset at the thought of her not realizing how great she was and underestimating what she deserved.

“Okay, so what type of guy is good for her?” Robin bounced back instantly with another question, trying to get him to figure out that he liked her.

“I don’t know,” Steve muttered, thinking. With a sigh, he placed his hands on his hips. “I honestly can’t think of any guy who is good enough. They’re all shit,” Steve confessed. Robin raised her eyebrows, giving him a look. “Alright! I was upset that she was going on a date with Brett Morris, happy?” Steve exclaimed, admitting defeat.

“You hated it so much that you couldn’t stop spying on them, Steve. You were ready to kill the poor guy.” Dustin chimed in, trying to bring Robin’s point home.

“Yes, I spied on them and I might have made some comments about how much I don’t like the guy, what’s your point?” Steve asked them, kicking his leg out to the side, his tongue flicking over his bottom lip. Dustin groaned, his forehead hitting the top of the cooler.

“My point is you like her Steve and you have the power to make her feel better. I know it’s killing you to see her so upset so could you just take a second, try to let the realization penetrate that thick skull of yours and figure out that you are head over heels for her?” Robin pressed, gesturing towards the backroom where Ophelia still hid. Steve scoffed, shaking his head at their antics.

“I don’t like her, okay? I’m not even looking for a serious relationship - not after what happened with Nancy.” Steve denied. Robin and Dustin grew even more frustrated by his denial. Robin rested her elbows on the counter, leaning down as she clasped her hands together in front of her. She licked her lips, glancing down at the counter before back up at Steve.

“You’re just going to stand there and tell us that not even a tiny little part of you realizes that you like Ophelia?” Robin asked him point blank. Steve blinked at her. He thought about it. Did he really like Ophelia? The way Robin had phrased it and the way she said it made him question how he really felt. Had he been denying how he felt about Ophelia because he was scared of being hurt again? His heart did practically leap out of his chest at the sight of her. Seeing guys shamelessly flirt with her day in and day out made him feel like he was continuously running into a solid brick wall with his heart tapped to his face. Oftentimes, he would find himself imagining her smile to calm him down when he’s sad.

“I-I don’t really know,” Steve stuttered, unsure of himself. He shook his head, righting his posture. “Even if I did like her, she probably doesn’t like me. I am the furthest thing from what she deserves.” Steve argued back.

“You won’t know if she likes you if you don’t ask Steve, I know you know how you feel about her,” Robin’s tone was soft and comforting. “We know how she feels about you, but it’s not our place to tell you that. If you want to know how she feels before you realize your feelings, you’re going to miss her - she’s not going to wait around if she likes you.” She told him. Steve looked at her in confusion.

“What?” Steve blinked, not understanding what she was saying.

“I’m saying that if you don’t just figure out your feelings for her, you’re going to miss your chance with her,” Robin was handing him the answer of Ophelia’s feelings for him on a silver platter and it was up to him to figure it out. “And if you don’t figure them out fast, you’re going to mess up.” She warned.

***

Rain poured down on them as they laid on their stomachs, watching a storage room being loaded up. Ophelia rested her chin on her hands that laid on top of the concrete parapet in front of them. “Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes!” Robin instructed Dustin from beside Ophelia. She pulled her hood up over her hair, her bare legs that her dress didn’t cover becoming cold as they got soaked with rain. She could hear one of the delivery guys whistling over the pounding rain, but because of the distance, she couldn’t see anything through the pouring rain.

“They’re with that whistling guy, ten O’Clock!” Dustin exclaimed from the other-side of Steve, his binoculars once again pressed to his face. Lazily, Ophelia let her eyes move towards the direction Dustin told them, seeing a man with a yellow raincoat pushing a trolley with three boxes on it into the storage unit. She also couldn’t help but notice the two large guys dressed in black, both holding rather large guns.

“What do you think’s in there?” Steve asked, his eyes squinting as rain fell on his head. He was the only one without a proper raincoat, but that didn’t surprise Ophelia, he wouldn’t be one to own a rain jacket.

“Guns, bombs.” Dustin suggested.

“Chemical Weapons.” Robin also suggested. Steve’s eyebrows jumped as he licked his lips. He wasn’t pleased to have Ophelia with them, not wanting her mixed up with this. It was starting to get dangerous.

“Whatever it is, they’re armed to the teeth.” Dustin announced, his eyes dropping to one of the stern faced guards. Thunder clapped overhead as Steve rubbed his eyes that were irritated from the rain.

“Great,” He commented, nodding his head as he pulled his hand away. His eyes were screwed shut in hopes not to get any more water in them. “That’s great.” He grumbled, opening his eyes. Ophelia reached up to his shoulder, patting it twice before letting it rest on the concrete once again. Her eyes squinted when one of the guards started to move, trying to see what he was doing. She was so focused on what the man was doing, she jolted back in fright when the storage room doors suddenly opened.

“Hey, what’s in there?” Robin perked up, also noticing the doors opening.

“It’s just more boxes.” Dustin told them. Ophelia nodded, watching as the delivery man pushed the trolley into the now open room.

“Let me check it out.” Steve told Dustin, reaching his arm up to grab the binoculars blindly. Dustin pulled the binoculars from his eyes, his grip tightening around them.

“No! I’m still looking!” Dustin pulled back on the binoculars, trying to get Steve to let go of them. Steve simply slapped his other hand on them, trying to wrestle them away from the younger boy.

“Lemme see it.” Steve pressed, pulling harder. Ophelia scooted closer to Robin, not wanting to be hit by Steve’s flailing elbow. A flash of lightning temporarily blinded them as Dustin and Steve continued to tug on the binoculars.

“Hold on!” Dustin argued, giving a sharp tug to the binoculars just as Steve let his hands go - making Dustin hit one of the metal pipes, a loud bang sounding over the pounding rain. Ophelia and Robin jumped at the sound, their eyes jumping from Dustin before looking down at the guards.

“Shit!” Ophelia cursed when she saw the guards glancing towards their direction, their hands reaching for their large semi-automatic guns. All four gasped, fear making their blood run cold in their veins. Ophelia was almost positive that her heart had stopped beating for a second.

“Duck!” Dustin cried as they all dropped to lay down. Ophelia flopped on her back, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her head rested against the slope of the parapet uncomfortably, a dull ache already making itself present in her neck. She had barely noticed that Steve had grabbed her hand tightly in the middle of the mess until she felt the same heat crawling under her skin that she felt when he grabbed her wrist earlier. It was a welcomed contrast from the cold rain pelting her like bullets, but she couldn’t let the sensation distract her from the fact that they could very well die right then and there.

“We gotta go,” Steve whispered harshly. His mind raced, trying to figure out how they were going to get themselves out of this situation. “We can hide along that.” He pointed towards the larger structure attached to the roof entrance. He didn’t even wait for them to argue before he started to move, tugging Ophelia along with him. He hadn’t even noticed his hand in hers, he was too occupied with trying not to die. They all awkwardly ran, pressing themselves up against the tin siding of the structure.

“I hope this plan works because we don’t have a plan b.” Ophelia panted, letting her head fall back against the wall, her eyes closing. Her chest stung from the panic and running, her lungs burning as they continued to grow greedy for air. She could feel herself shaking, but she wasn’t sure if it was mostly from the cold or her pending death which was rapidly approaching.

Nobody said anything as they all tried to calm their wildly beating hearts in hopes to control their loud breathing. The faint but rapid clang of heavy boots hitting the stairs was muffled to their ears, but detectable none-the-less. The heavy door slammed against the tin making them jump. Ophelia pressed the palm of her free hand to her mouth, her heart rate picking right back up. She found herself trying to plead with every higher power there was to just let them make it out of this situation alive, even wishing on the stars she knew were hidden behind the thick black rain clouds. She hoped that the planets and stars were aligned just the right way so that they all could live another day.

Thunder clapped, overhead making Ophelia suddenly start praying to Zeus of all people, hoping her name was a good enough reason for the mythical god to help the four of them. Steve squeezed her hand tight, nearly cutting off the blood flow to her fingers, but she didn’t care, she just squeezed his hand back equally as hard. They listened carefully, trying to hear any sign of movement over the rain splattering against the concrete of the roof.

It felt like an eternity before they heard the door swing open and slam shut, followed by the sweet sound of heavy boots hitting the metal of the stairs. “We should wait here until we know for sure he’s gone.” Dustin whispered, anxiety filling him, making his mind race. For all he knew, the guard could be waiting to catch them at any second, successfully catching them in his masterplan.

“Good idea.” Steve nodded. Robin and Ophelia looked at them with hard eyes.

“Well then how do we know when to leave? It’s not like he’s standing out in the pouring rain, he can wait there for hours!” Ophelia pointed out a flaw in Dustin’s wait-it-out plan. Just as she said that, they heard the guards loudly talking to each other in Russian, their voices booming over the rain. Dustin smiled at his sister.

“That’s how we know.” He remarked, darting towards the door. She rolled her eyes as the rest of them moved after him, their hearts still racing a mile a minute. They filed into the stairwell, their panting breaths echoing off the wall along with the squishes and squeaks of their sneakers against the clean floors. They were all drenched from head to toe, their clothes a soaking mess that clung to their skin uncomfortably. Ophelia’s hair hung in clumps around her head, a few clumps sticking to the back of her neck and allowing water to trail down her dry back. For the most part, Ophelia, Dustin and Robin’s clothes were somewhat dry thanks to their raincoats protecting them; the protection of the rubber coats stopped the second the Russian guards discovered their presence, their hoods sliding off their heads, their unbuttoned jackets flopping open to expose them to the cold rain.

“Well, I think we found your Russians.” Robin declared the second they reached the back corridors that connected all the stores to the loading dock. She glanced between Steve and Dustin as they all rushed back to Scoops, wanting to be safe once again. Steve continued to hold Ophelia’s hand, tugging her along behind him as he sped walked to Scoops. Robin glanced at their intertwined hands, sharing a look with Dustin who also noticed.

***

Robin was long gone, having biked home so that she could sleep off the memory of nearly dying, something the other three had unfortunately faced twice before. Dustin retreated to Ophelia’s car, but forced her and Steve to get his Camp Know Where hat that he accidentally left behind in the backroom of Scoops. Ophelia and Steve walked in silence, Steve’s mind wrapped up in trying to figure out if he actually liked her. “So, that was kinda scary earlier, huh?” Steve asked, his voice coming out squeakier than he wanted, as he pulled the door to the outside open, the sound of raindrops hitting the wet pavement meeting their ears.

“Yeah, just a little,” Ophelia nodded. She had sensed his rigidity around her. It was like he was constantly on edge, overthinking everything he did. She felt fear settle into her chest at the thought that he had figured her feelings for her. He was probably trying to figure out how to let her down gently or how she could have possibly misread his signs of friendship for something more. “We’ve almost died a lot of times, but this is the first time we’ve almost died from guns.” She tried to carry on the conversation as if her heart wasn’t threatening to rip itself in half.

Stepping into the pouring rain, their barely dry clothes were instantly wet again, weighing down on them along with the crushing silence beating between them like a pulse. Even with the cold rain drops pelting them and thunder rolling over their heads, they still took their time walking to their respective cars. Despite the suffocating silence that bathed them, they still wanted to spend time together. “I don’t think this is a good idea - not after what happened on the roof.” Steve suddenly stopped, turning to face her. Ophelia dug her heels into the ground, whirling around to face him with furrowed brows. He didn’t know what prompted him to say that, the thought of not wanting her to get hurt pressing itself to the forefront of his brain - begging for attention.

They both ignored the raindrops rolling down their faces at high speeds and the rain beating at their faces, their eyes blinking rapidly. “What do you mean? You don’t want to figure out what they’re doing anymore?” She asked, confused. Steve was stubborn, he never gave up on anything. It wasn’t like him to back out of something.

Steve shook his head, water spraying from his hair at the action like a dog. “No, no,” He breathed out so softly Ophelia almost didn’t hear it over the rain. “No, I don’t want you to be involved in this anymore.” He told her, gesturing his hands in the small space between them. They stood so close, you could barely fit another person between them. Ophelia blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing as she processed what he had just said.

“Why not? If you haven’t noticed, I’ve dealt with things a lot scarier than Russians.” She shot back, her hands flying through the air. They had been through so much the past two years, they had been through hell and back and there was no way she was going to bow out at Russians. Last time she checked, they weren’t some unknown force from another dimension.

“Did you not see the giant semi-automatics they were holding Ophelia? That’s a lot harder to avoid than a monster,” Steve’s voice boomed, his blood pressure building. He didn’t want her to get hurt; he didn’t want her to end up with a bullet in her. He wanted her safe, far away from this. Monsters were one thing, but these monsters had guns and a ruthless urge to kill. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He admitted, his voice quieter, but scratchy - realization hitting him. He felt like he had been hit by a tonne of bricks. The world was spinning around him like he was standing on a spinning top that was spinning out of control. His stomach churned, making him want to throw up, but the dizziness made him feel like he was going to pass out. He liked her. Here he stood, in a deserted parking lot with rain pounding down on him, starting a fight with her because he liked her.

Steve watched her face, a mixture of sadness, hurt and anger perfectly blended to match the storm swirling overhead. She chuckled dryly, shaking her head as she folded her arms over her chest. Licking her lips, she set her watery, but hard eyes on Steve who seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts. “You don’t want me to get hurt,” She echoed like she couldn’t believe the words he spoke. “Do you not remember who saved you from being killed from demodogs and Billy Hargrove last year? Oh, yeah! That’s right,” Her tone picked up to fake enthusiasm. “It was me.” Her tone dropped dangerously.

“Billy was different and you ended up right next to me on that floor, Ophelia,” He reminded her, his voice raising as well, his voice strained. “I can’t do that again, I can’t see you laying there barely hanging on to consciousness again!” His body shook as he screamed into the night. He was screaming out silently, hoping that she could hear what he was trying to tell her.

“And you think I want to see you being beaten to a pulp again? No, but I’m not going to try and stop you from potentially saving the world again and you shouldn’t try to stop me!” She screamed back. She was trying to get him to hear her, to hear her true meaning in the words that she spoke.

“I can take care of myself, you-” He cut himself off, his mind stopping his mouth from talking before he put his foot in his mouth. “You-” He tried to come up with something else quickly, knowing that what he wanted to say was a complete lie. She could take care of herself. She had proven that multiple times. “You-” He tried again, but she cut him off with a stressed cry.

“I- What, Steve,” She asked, her eyes dancing with fire despite the water that pooled in them, trying desperately to smother the fire. “I can’t defend myself? I can’t take care of myself, huh,” She asked, choking back a little sob as her heart pulled itself apart slowly. She had always been undermined, nobody letting her do anything because she wasn’t strong enough, because she was just a little fragile thing that would break if the wind blew too hard. She listened to his silence, his eyes darting to the wet pavement guiltily. “God Steve! I thought that you of all people wouldn’t look at me like that, but I guess you’re just like everyone else.” She spat, tears finally breaking through the wall, sliding down her cheeks along with the rain.

Steve noticed instantly, his heart feeling like it was being held together by a single thin string that was seconds away from snapping at the sight of the tears. “No, Ophelia, that wasn’t what I wanted to say-” She cut him off once again.

“Then tell me,” She stated, sniffling slightly. “Tell me what you don’t think of me like a porcelain doll that will crack at the softest touch,” She prompted him. Silence banged like the thunder over their heads. Steve’s mouth hung open, wanting to say something, but he couldn’t, his mind blank. He really didn’t see why she couldn’t continue this with them other than the fact that he likes her and will go insane if something happened to her, but he couldn’t say that. Not yet at least. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” She muttered bitterly, wiping at her face. “Think what you want, Harrington-” She spat his name as if it were a bad taste in her mouth, sending a dagger into his heart - severing the string holding it together. “I’m doing this whether you like it or not.” She told him, turning on her heel and speed walking towards her car where Dustin sat.

Steve stood there, hair hanging in his face as he watched her. The warning Robin gave him earlier echoing through his head. “If you don’t figure them out fast, you’re going to mess up.” Steve sighed, kicking the ground and walking to his dark car. His thoughts were consumed by Ophelia, wondering how he was going to fix this and his new found feelings for her. He had always felt it, he just finally realized it. Ophelia Henderson could take anything she wanted from him, even his beating heart from his chest, and leave and Steve would just be happy to see her smile.

She was always there for him. She gave him shelter when his dad and him were fighting about College and he didn’t feel safe to be home for weeks. She held him, gave him food, cared for him when his parents wouldn’t. When he felt like he was losing everything, like he was drowning, she was the one keeping him afloat, keeping his head above water. She was the reason his head was still above the rising water levels of his life. She was the reason he was still hanging onto hope that his life will get better. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t able to protect herself (which he knew full well that she could), he’d still rather give his life for her because she’s saved his life more than once and he knows that she’d do it all over again, even if it meant giving her life for him. She was the reason he was still there, being able to be there for Dustin. She pulled him out of his darkest time, of the period of his life where he honestly couldn’t picture himself in five years because he thought he’d be dead. He didn’t understand how he couldn’t have realized his feelings sooner, how he so clearly liked her that even Dustin noticed it before him. He could have avoided doing the one thing he never wanted to do: hurt Ophelia.

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unknownauthor · 5 years

Text

Captivated

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x OC!Reader

Warnings: kidnapping, murder, violence, smut, toxic relationships, abuse, abusive childhood, trauma

Summary: Billy Hargrove is a killer, hell bent on revenge. Layla Gonzalez is a college student with a dark and cloudy past. When Layla is taken hostage and forced to work with Billy in order to survive, will they be able to get passed their differences, and see the people behind the scars? A stalker seeks to finish something Layla started a long time ago. When they come head to head, will Billy protect her? Or will he add another victim to his list?

A/N: I’ve tried this AU before and it never felt quite right. I’m hoping with Billy I may be able to pull it off because I love the idea and the potential of a good thriller. Please, please leave comments. Let me know what you think. Is this something I should continue? Also, all the younger kids in stranger things are 16 and 17 for the purpose of this fic. Thank you

Part 2

Something crawled over my skin as i left my last class for the night. It wasn’t physical, but i could feel it. Trepidation, fear, something was coming for me and I wouldn’t be able to stop it.

I usually never walked home from class, but my car was in the shop getting fixed and I only lived a couple blocks away. I decided to hoof it. Why not? It was summer, the sun was only just setting and nothing bad ever seemed to happen in my little town of Hawkins, Indiana.

Cars buzz past me, I barely pay attention, focused instead on the quiet evening I had planned at home. A night of romance novels and chocolate ice cream, maybe the Goonies if I was feeling up to it. I didn’t have any friends, with my condition, being the way it was, I couldn’t. If I got them, they would eventually give up, having only come to my aid to try and help bring me out of myself. They would give up before they even got to know me.

I didn’t notice the car trailing me. Not until it was right up beside me. The driver honked, startling me. I turned in time to see the driver roll the passenger side window down. He leaned over and flashed a friendly smile my way.

“Need a ride?” he asks me. I shake my head.

“No. I’m only a few blocks down.” he shrugs his shoulders.

“I can drop you off, it’s not a problem.” he smiles again. It’s disarming. He doesn’t look like a bad guy either. He has golden brown curls, cut in the style of a mullet, thick black eye brows and light blue eyes, framed in long dark lashes. He wore a faded denim jacket, dark red flannel, half buttoned and a silver ring on is middle finger. His baby faced looks made me feel safe. He couldn’t be that much older than me. I smile shyly and reach for the door handle, ignoring the voice in the back of my mind, screaming at me not to.

“Okay.” he grins, sitting back as I open the door and hop into his blue camaro. It’s nice inside, clean. I’m relieved to see it’s clean, germs give me panic attacks. “Thank you.” I say as I slam the door.

“Not a problem.” he says, pulling away from the curb. We drive in silence for a bit, i watch the street signs, waiting for my road to come up.

“You can turn here.” he ignores me. I turn my head to look at him. His eyes have narrowed, fists white knuckles on the steering wheel. Dread instantly pools in my belly. “You missed my turn.” I squeak quietly. He smirks, turning to meet my gaze.

“Now you knew better than to get into a car with a stranger.” I open my mouth in a silent scream as he child safety locks my door and speeds down the road. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Where are you taking me?” I ask him, my voice is quiet. I feel numb. This cannot be happening. This isn’t real.

“I need your help.” he says. “You help me and once I’m in the clear I’ll let you go.”

“What do you need my help with?” he pulls onto the bypass, taking us out of Hawkins. My nails dig into the fabric of my jeans, my anxiety beginning to rise within me. Before he can answer we see flashing lights ahead. Some sort of police checkpoint. I see him sit up out of the corner of my eye, jaw clenching, he glares at me.

“Keep your mouth shut.” he reaches over me as he slows down. He sticks his hand in the glove box, pulling a black item out of it. It only takes me a moment to realize what it is.

He makes sure the safety is clicked on as he comes to a stop. He sets the gun in his lap and puts on a pair of sunglasses. I look around, no one else is out here but us. It’s late, nobody comes into town past 9 most nights. I’m so fucked.

A short officer with a brown mustache walks over, the man? Boy? Christ, I know nothing about this dude, rolls down his window. “Evening Officer.” the cop leans down, peering into the car.

“Evening. Sorry to stop you folks, but we’re looking for a man who might be on the run.” my skin begins to crawl again, fear making its way up my body to wrap around my throat like a snake. I stay silent, watching his hand beneath the seat.

“Oh?” is all he says to the officer. The officer smiles kindly at me and turns his attention back to the man who had taken me.

“Yeah….Billy Hargrove. Say he might be responsible for some murders and a gas station robbery out this way. We’ve got all the ways out of town blocked, so we can catch him.” the man nods, taking in the officer’s words.

“I’m sure you’re all doing a fine job at that.” I can hear the sarcasm dripping from his words. I press my back into the door behind me.

“Thank you sir….Now if you don’t mind, can you remove the glasses?” the man sighs, he pushes them further up his nose, I see him reaching down to grab the gun.

“Ya know…..Ah fuck it.” His arm shoots out, he grips my wrist tightly, pulling me over his lap. He brings the gun to the back of my head, I feel the cool metal press against my scalp. The cop steps back, pulling his own weapon.

“Drop it Hargrove.” I feel the gun press into me harder.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen.” he sounds calm, almost serene as he stares down the officer. “You’re gonna let me through and pretend you never saw me. Or I’m going to shoot her and then I’m going to shoot you and be on my way. Either way I’m out of here. But it’s your choice.” There’s a few heavy moments of silence, my heart pounds in my ears, his arm over my back and his hand pressed against my scalp with that gun. Silent tears fall down my cheeks.

After what feels like forever he pushes me off, not roughly, but not with any gentle sincerity either. I watch him put the gun back beneath his seat. He salutes the officer before peeling past the check point and speeding away.

“Might want to buckle up. I like to drive fast.” I reach over and grab the seat belt, fastening it around myself.

The Camaro is loud. It sends rumbles of vibration all the way down to my bones. Like a massage after the chaos back at the check point.. I looked around, trying to find a way out. That was when i noticed, there was no handle on the inside of the passenger door. I was stuck so I stayed quiet. Out of fear. The man drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, listening to a song on the radio. The silence wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t comfortable either. "Are you going to kill me?" I asked softly, so low he might not even hear me. He stopped drumming and turned to look at me for the first time since he’d taken me.

"Wasn't planning on it." He replied. “I just needed a scapegoat once I finished my job. Taking you was the only way I would have gotten out of there alive.”

“W-why do you say that?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He cocked his eyebrow, finally taking off his glasses, his eyes were a deep brown, almost black.

“You...You don’t watch tv do you ?” I shook my head. The news gave me anxiety. The only time I left my dorm was for class or work. Necessities. I kept to myself. He chuckled and shook his head as he turned on his turn signal.

“Why do you ask?” I asked a bit louder. I watched his adam’s apple bob and his eyes scan the road, searching for the right answer.

“I uh, I’m in a business most don’t agree with.” he said.

I decided to push a little further, “what do you do?”

“I’m...I’ve killed people.” he said it solemnly. Like he wasn’t proud of it, but he had to do it. I feel the panic begin to rise again. He cleared his throat. “What’s your name?” he asked, changing the subject.

“M-my…..it’s Layla.” I said, wishing I sounded braver than she felt. “Layla Gonzalez.”

“And’ I’m Billy Hargrove.” he responded, “You know, you’re the first person I’ve met in a long time who didn’t know who I am.” he sighed, clicking his tongue, “You’re a weird girl.”

“Says the man who just admitted to murder being his occupation.” he laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, maybe we’re both just weird.” He paused and then said carefully, "I won’t hurt you."the tone of his voice is softer, calmer, and surprisingly soothing "Unless you make me." He added with emphasize on ‘make’.

“H-How many…” I trailed off, unable to finish my question. It was strange, I could never talk and be this open with just anybody. I usually just kept quiet, and stayed in my lane. I wasn’t the type of person to make waves. Not since before…..

“How many people have I killed?” Billy finished for me. I nodded, glad to have been pulled back from the darkness of my thoughts. He bit his lip, trying to think of the right answer, “If I had to count….possibly sixty.” my mouth fell open in shock.

“Oh my….” I instinctively moved further from him. I focused on my shoes, on the scuffs and the threads in the laces, anything to keep me from going crazy. We sat in silence for a long while. Billy began to twitch as it stretched, it was slight, barely noticeable. Except I saw it. "So where are you taking me?" I asked awkwardly, eyes darting to his before looking ahead again.

“I’m not sure yet.” he said, keeping his eyes on the road. “I gotta make a pit stop to some colleagues of mine, might just drop you off at a station of something. Do you got any family?”

“We aren’t close.” I say quietly. My parents barely spoke to me anymore….Ever since Lexa….They disowned me in everything but name. “No one will miss me. I’m sure.” I could feel his eyes on me, I turned my head to look out the window, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. “I’ve….I’ve never left Hawkins before.” I say, trying to lighten my own mood and look at my situation differently. If I allowed myself to fall down the rabbit hole of dread, who knew what he would do. He admitted to being a murderer. He probably wouldn’t have a problem killing me.

“Yeah?” he asks, picking up on my change in subject. “Then think of it as a mini vacation. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.” I say, still not looking at him.

“Why don’t you get some sleep. We got a bit of a drive ahead of us. I’ll wake you when we get to a place to eat or something.” his words are softer, kinder. It sends my head spinning, this cold and calculating killer, suddenly wants me to get some sleep?

He must’ve seen my text books on the floor boards, because before i could doze off he asked me.

“You in school?”

“College.” I murmured. “I wanted to be a nurse.”

“Huh.” I hear him say surprised. “Isn’t that somethin’.” He didn’t say anything else. And i feel into a fitful sleep, a dream filled with roars and screams of an engine and the face of a monster.

Third Person P.O.V

He shut the door behind himself. The dorm room was empty and he couldn’t feel her presence anymore. She was just...gone. He walked over to Layla’s desk, flipping open her sketchbook, scattering papers, he became manic, flipping over her mattress, emptying her cabinets.

Where the fuck was she? He missed her and it was time for her to come home.

Part 2?

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tsc-living · 5 years

Photo

(TRIGGER WARNING: homophobic slurs, graphic violence, coarse language)

Julian had been getting bullied for months, ever since his family moved in with their older sister and her girlfriend and he had to change schools. He was a sophomore and everyone already had their cliques and their groups, he was automatically an outsider. Already an easy target, it didn’t help that he was thin and scrawny from years of sharing what little food his family could afford with his abundance of siblings. It was only since moving in with Helen and her girlfriend who both had full time jobs that he was actually getting used to what being full felt like.

The bullying had been subtle at first, the odd mean note taped to his locker or shoved in the slats, getting shoved when someone passed him in the hallways or sending his books sprawling down across the floor, the basic beginner bullying that Julian could deal with at first. He just ignored them, tidied up his books and threw the notes out. It got worse though. They started cornering him on his way out of school grounds, sometimes dragging him through the mud, sometimes slamming him against the bricks until his shoulders bruised and his head ached. Some of the junior boys stole his clothes in gym, and other times they pushed him down in the hallway and pulled his pants to his ankles. The only light in his life was his one and only friend at the school. Emma Carstairs was tall, strong and absolutely beautiful. He wanted to paint her so badly that sometimes it made his heart ache, but he didn’t dare go near his paints. The juniors who had been picking on him had seen him with paint stained fingers and started calling him a faggot. The word had made Julian’s blood boil as he thought of his older brother and his boyfriend getting called a fag, a faggot, and other derogatory terms when they walked down the street together holding hands. He tried, just like them, to raise his chin and ignore it, but it was getting hard. It wasn’t even fair on Mark and his boyfriend, because their girlfriend always had to witness it and they always looked so guilty that she had to deal with it.

“Jules!” Emma’s strong voice pierced Julian’s foggy thoughts and he looked down the hall to see her manoeuvring her way through the crowd, elbows making short work of anyone getting in her way. She looked really happy although Julian wasn’t entirely sure why, and her blonde hair was streaming behind her like a banner.

“Hey Em,” He said, catching her arm and pulling her into the little alcove he had found out of the crowd. She nearly fell on him and his heart started racing. He let go of her awkwardly and she pushed a tendril of hair off her forehead, beaming at him.

“Guess what?” She asked and Julian shrugged, but her smile was infectious.

“I’m allowed to stay at your house tomorrow!” She nearly squealed, grabbing his arms excitedly. After his embarrassment in the halls earlier that morning, he had forgotten that he had invited Emma to stay the night at his house. It had been Helen’s idea, saying that it was perfectly fine for any of the younger Blackthorns to have friends stay over, especially since Mark had moved in with Kieran and Cristina a few blocks closer to the school so there was more room in the house.

“Oh that’s awesome!” He said in relief, relaxing like he always did around her. She gave him a big, tight hug and he laughed, patting her back awkwardly.

“Is it crazy at your house?” She asked as they joined the flood of students abandoning the school building for the day.

“Crazy? Well it’s always loud yeah. There’s seven of us who live there.” He said. Ty and Livvy, the twins, were in middle school, Dru was towards the end of elementary school and Tavvy had just begun. There was always some drama or another, and Mark, Kieran and Cristina came over at least twice a week for dinner. Some part of Julian was waiting for Helen’s girlfriend to be done with them and kick them all out, but it was clear how much she adored his older sister and he hoped she always would.

“I’m looking forward to it!” She said and then gave him another hug, said goodbye and promised to text him later before running to her dad’s car that was idling in the pick-up zone. Julian saw Mark get into Kieran’s silver seven seater car that he fondly called Windspear, and through the window he saw him lean to the front and kiss Cristina and then Kieran before buckling his seat belt and the car drove away, leaving Julian on the curb. He wish he could have gotten a ride, but on days when the three of them were staying for dinner at Helen’s and Aline’s they picked up the four youngest Blackthorns and left Julian to walk on his own. Kieran sometimes picked Julian up alongside Mark and dropped him at the elementary school, but usually Julian just walked there, rounded up the Blackthorns and they all walked home together. Julian had to walk alone today and he knew he had to walk quickly or the juniors would catch up to him and god knew what they would do to him. He turned left, gripping his bag straps and walking with his head down, hoping that he would be able to slip away unnoticed. His heart hammered, but his hope was growing the further away from the school he got.

He had let his hopes get too high. The shadow fell across his path as three boys fell into step behind him and he started to run, heart sinking and trying not to cry out in fear. They were faster than him, built for athleticism when he was built for hiding. The three juniors grabbed his back pack and threw him backwards to the ground at their feet, one of them giving him a well-aimed kick to the abdomen. He curled up, covering his head and trying to protect as much of his body as he could with his knees and arms.

“You’re freaky faggot brother left you behind today?” One of them jeered as he kicked Julian in the back. He gritted his teeth against the pain, and against the torrent of words he wanted to hurl at them.

“Not enough room for you in the car when the three of them are all going at it?” Another said and then grabbed a fistful of his hair, hauling him to his feet.

“Look at us when we are talking to you!” The third howled and jerked Julian’s arms from his face and spat a wad of spit which landed on the corner of Julian’s mouth and he resisted the urge to gag.

“Careful Seb,” The guy with his hand twisted painfully in Julian’s hair warned, “The fags like that kind of shit.” He said. Sebastian chortled and with no warning he backhanded Julian so hard the younger boy saw stars.

“Fucking pussy bitch!” He roared, “You like that? You do don’t you!” He said and using sheer force he opened Julian’s mouth and spat in it, the vile, slimy bitter texture landing on his tongue, and then he shoved his fingers down Julian’s throat and making him retch and his mouth water. Sebastian wiped the watery saliva mixture on Julian’s face, but now Julian couldn’t tell if he was crying or if his face was cold and wet from the saliva. Either way he was mortified and still retching. The boy with his fist in Julian’s hair was the only reason Julian wasn’t bending down on his hands and knees trying to throw up. He was also laughing, a loud bellowing that reminded Julian of a cow. “Here you go cock head, get some of this!” Ash bellowed, thrusting against Julian’s bottom, yanking on his hair. Julian cried out and tried to pull away, but it was no use.

“Don’t encourage the poofter; you’re letting him live his fantasies.” The third, and the leader, said. Julian couldn’t stop the whimper escaping his throat as Valentine stepped into his line of sight. “Hold him tight Ash.” He said and the boy gripping his hair stood pressed even tighter behind him and wrapped his arm around Julian’s throat. Julia couldn’t see, Ash had his head pulled all the way back, but he felt his thin black get ripped open from collar to hem and he started scrabbling, fighting, and trying to get away. He didn’t know what was coming, but he was absolutely terrified. He screamed when the blade sliced his chest. It burned with pain and he doubled his efforts to get away, but a laughing Sebastian had his arms pinned so tightly that they nearly hurt more than his chest being carved with long shallow cuts. Ash had his hand clamped over Julian’s mouth to muffle and silence his screams and panic, and he could feel blood running down his chest and stomach in rivulets.

Valentine stood back, put his pocket knife away and grinned malevolently at Julian as Ash released him. Julian sank to his knees, and it would have been painful if he hadn’t gone entirely numb. “Let’s go boys.” Valentine said and after Sebastian kicked Julian hard and sending him sprawling across the pavement, they left Julian there. After what felt like hours he rolled onto his back and looked down at his chest. Even though he was looking at it from an awkward angle he knew that Valentine had carved FAGGOT across his chest and it was sending grotesque lines of blood down his body. He rolled into the foetal position and sobbed. He knew he sounded borderline deranged and he must have looked even worse, but nobody stopped to see if he was okay.

The sun sank below the line of the houses, the sky darkened, the street lights came on, and Julian stayed curled on the pavement. He didn’t want to get up; he didn’t want to go home and have to try to hide it from his family. He didn’t want to see Emma tomorrow with that engraved on his chest or the bruises he inevitably would have. He was in shock, and he was also shivering violently, he thought that he might actually want to die. It wasn’t until the sky had turned from darkening blue to ink with polka dot stars that he heard a car stop on the side of the road and a door slam violently. He wondered if Val, Ash and Seb had come back to finish him off, that they might actually want to kill him.

“Holy shit. We’ve been looking for you everywhere.” The voice was definitely familiar and definitely not any of the three junior boys. Kieran’s hands grabbed at Julian’s shoulders and rolled him onto his back. Julian lay on his back, looking up into Kieran’s odd differently coloured eyes, and past him to the sky above. Kieran gasped in undisguised horror when the ripped shirt fell open to reveal his chest. “Fucking hell Julian…” He whispered and very gently pulled Julian into a seated position. Julian didn’t help him, but he didn’t protest either. He felt like it was happening to someone else and he was just watching.

“Yeah I got him.” Kieran said, talking into his phone. There was a pause, Kieran winced visibly and then he answered, “No Mark, he’s not okay. I’ll bring him straight home. But… it’s bad.” There was another pause and then Kieran said goodbye and pocketed his phone, crouching down in front of Julian. Kieran stood again, this time helping Julian up and when he realised Julian was making no effort to help he slung the smaller boy’s arm around his neck and half dragged the boy into the passenger side of his car and buckled him in, murmuring calm and irrelevant words. Julian, who was coming back into himself, thought that Kieran was trying to keep himself calm more than he was trying to reassure Julian. When they pulled into Helen and Aline’s driveway Julian sunk deep in the seat.

“Do you have a jacket or something I can wear so they don’t see?” He asked, his voice croaking out of him. Kieran just gave him a side eye and shrugged off his own jacket.

“You can hide from the younger ones, but not from Mark and Helen.” Kieran said firmly and Julian pulled the jacket on, zipping it shut to his chin and pulling the hood up. When he got out, he reached in to grab his back and realised that the bullies must have stolen it.

“Fuck off.” He grumbled, kicking the tyre. Kieran took his shoulders and guided him up the drive to the front door which was immediately thrown open by a distressed looking Helen. She drew him into a huge hug and his breath caught in pain.

“Take him to the bathroom away from where the younger ones will see… he needs a first aid kit.” Kieran said and Helen leant back, eyes shining with tears. She nodded and took Julian’s limp hand and lead him to the bathroom. When they passed Mark and Cristina in the door to the kitchen, she asked him to bring a first aid kit to the bathroom. Kieran heard Mark saying it was probably important for Mark to stay here with his family tonight and that he would take Cristina home. After promising to pick Mark up in the morning he heard kissing, then the bathroom door was closed behind him and his sister.

Helen didn’t ask him to take the jacket off, she just waited patiently and he slowly unzipped it. He felt ashamed, standing their bare chested as his sister covered her mouth and burst into tears. He should have tried harder, fought back or something. His family didn’t need to go through this grief. “Have a shower Julian, and when you get out I’ll help patch this up.” She whispered when the sobs eased away and then she turned the taps on for him.

When he resurfaced and gingerly dried himself, he pulled his underwear back on and perched on the sink. Moments later, Helen opened the door with Mark in tow. Helen must have warned Mark because he didn’t react like Julian had expected, but his eyes were shining with nearly unbridled rage as he stood next to his sister. He asked Julian what happened and as Helen cleaned the wound on his chest and the scrapes on his hands, he explained about the bullying and how it had climaxed to this.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Max asked and when Julian shrugged, mumbling that Mark had been so happy recently he didn’t want to be the reason his happiness was ruined, Mark hugged him fiercely. It hurt, but Julian hugged him back.

“Tomorrow you are pointing them out to me. Do you understand? They won’t bother you again.” He said and before Julian could shake his head the bathroom door flew open and Helen and Mark stood in front of Julian to hide his un-bandaged torso.

“We have to kick their asses.” Dru said savagely and Julian tried not to smirk. Livvy and Ty were standing next to her, nodding and even Tavvy looked disgruntled and unhappy standing behind Dru. Aline, who stood behind the younger Blackthorns, frowned down at her.

“I told you not to say that.” She said firmly at the same time as Helen gasped, “Language Drusilla!”

“You four are not getting involved.” Mark said and made to close the door, but Ty stuck his foot there. Mark’s words were met with stubborn, set jaws and Tavvy stamped his foot.

“We are too!” He said.

“None of you even go to our school.” Mark pointed out and Livvy and Ty exchanged knowing looks.

“We have a school tour tomorrow.” Livvy said and Aline nodded.

“They do, I signed their permission slips yesterday.” She confirmed. Julian realised a split second before Helen did that Mark was considering the possibilities.

“No!” He said and Helen followed this with, “Absolutely not.”

“Mark said he was going to stop them hurting Julian.” Dru pointed out. They must have been waiting and listening there for a while.

“There’s one of you and three of them.” Ty added, fingers twisting the stim necklace he wore under all of his clothes.

“Kieran and I can handle it.” Mark said firmly, “That makes two.”

“Two against three,” Ty said, “Is still not very good odds.” There was a pause and Ty continued, “Why did they write faggot on your chest?” He asked and Julian blanched for a moment before recovering enough to answer.

“It’s a not nice way of calling someone gay.” He said and Ty shook his head.

“I know what it means I looked it up when some of the boys started to call me it. You aren’t gay though so it just doesn’t make sense for them to call you that.” He said and all three of the older Blackthorns and Aline narrowed their eyes down at Ty who was looking at his feet.

“You are getting bullied too?” Helen asked, lip quivering.

“He was yes, but Dru and I stopped him after school one day.” Livvy said, putting her hand on Ty’s shoulder protectively.

“You did what?” Mark asked, but Julian was too busy wondering if Ty had meant it made sense for them to call him a faggot, but not Julian. Was he gay? He opened his mouth to ask, but Livvy subtly shook her head at him. Now is not that time.

“Livvy pushed Malcolm- dumb name if you ask me- against the wall and I stamped on his feet until he cried.” Dru said, looking smug.

“Then before I let him go we told him to leave Ty alone.” Livvy added, her eyes blazing with protectiveness for her family.

“It worked.” Ty added.

“You know what, I say let them go.” Mark said after a pause.

“We can’t encour-“ Helen began, but she closed her mouth when she saw that Aline, Mark and Julian all thought it was a good idea.

“Solidarity.” Julian said weakly.

“Fine.” Helen said grumpily, “If Aline stays in the car with Tavvy.” She added. Aline nodded, and when Tavvy realised that meant he was allowed to go he grinned. Mark rang Kieran and they sorted out the plan for the next day while Julian nervously forced dinner down his throat before bed.

***

Kieran and Cristina picked up Julian, Ty, Livvy and Mark the next morning and they were followed by Aline driving Helen, Dru and Tavvy. The two cars parked next to each other on the street behind the school that the three bullies walked every morning, religiously late. Julian knew this because it was the street he also walked down with Emma after they had bunked first period to get breakfast more than once. That girl is such a bad influence on me he thought and smiled down at himself.

“Hey Jules isn’t that your girlfriend?” Mark asked and Julian’s head shot up to see Emma running down the road, obviously late to school.

“Yeah- wait no! It’s Emma.” He said, blushing. Cristina stuck her head out the window and called the girl over and Julian felt panic welling inside him. He didn’t want Emma to know what was going on or what was about to happen. He didn’t want Emma to see him like this.

“Emma!” Cristina yelled and Emma stopped, saw Cristina and ran over.

“Hey Tina!” She said, kissing Cristina’s cheek.

“You know each other?” Mark asked and Tina nodded.

“I was her older buddy in elementary school.” Tina explained and Emma mock glared at her.

“Then you went to a private school all la-dee-da.” She teased, “And got yourself two boyfriends I hear!” She added, peering into the car at Kieran and Mark who waved awkwardly at her.

“I’m Mark, this is Kieran. In the back are the twins Livvy and Ty. You already know our brother Julian.” Mark said and Emma noticed Julian red faced and sunk low in his seat. She grinned at him and nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course, but we are going to be so late so like… we should go.” She said and Julian shook his head meekly.

“We are waiting for someone.” Kieran said, “For the people who have been bullying Julian.” Emma narrowed her eyes at Julian.

“I knew it! Seb, Val and Ash right?” She snapped and Julian nodded slowly, “I’ll kill them.” She said savagely.

“Killing might not be necessary, but you are welcome to back us up.” Mark said and Emma, without hesitation, threw her backpack into the backseat through the window and planted her feet.

“Absolutely.” She said and grinned. Julian knew in that moment he was irrevocably in love with her and his shame fled. If she wanted to protect him, he would let her like he was letting the rest of those he loved and who loved him.

“Is that them?” Ty asked and Julian looked down the road to see the three cumbersome bodies of his bullies walking in their direction. Valentine was a bit ahead, kicking a pebble down the pavement in front of him, Sebastian and Ash were squabbling behind him like children. Julian heard two doors slam as Helen and Dru got out of the car.

“I don’t suppose you’re going to stay here?” Kieran asked Cristina, but she was already opening the car door. Mark laughed and climbed out of the car, letting the seat down for Ty and Livvy to climb out. Ty had his headphones on and they both wore a look of steel. Julian climbed into the front seat and watched as Cristina linked arms with Emma and they joined the Blackthorns on the path, blocking the way. Ty, Livvy, Dru and Helen stood on one side of Mark; Kieran, Cristina and Emma stood on the other. Shoulder to shoulder and glaring. Mark crossed his arms and Valentine looked up from his rock when he realised Sebastian and Ash had gone silent.

“What kind of freak show is this?” Valentine asked, looking extremely stoic. Ash and Seb looked mildly uncomfortable. Mark nodded at Helen and the others and they fanned out, circling the three.

“We heard you like molesting and cutting up sophomores.” Mark said, Kieran at his side as Emma and drew closed up the circle. Seb obviously wanted to hit someone to get out, and even Ash looked ready to throw down, but they were all girls or children and they wouldn’t.

“Did the poofter come complain to you?” Val sneered and every single person in the circle narrowed their eyes at him. Seb and Ash took an involuntary step closer to Val.

“If my brothers and sisters weren’t here right now I would probably shove a branch up your ass.” Mark said and Val glared at him, challenging Mark to take him on, “But as it is, they are here so your virtue is safe.” He added.

“It will be safe for a while, no girl or guy would want to go anywhere near him to take his virtue.” Dru said, smiling sweetly. Hearing his ten year old sister call someone an ugly virgin made Julian smirk.

“You’re twelve shut up.” Seb said and Dru stood up straighter.

“I’m ten actually.” She said and without warning she run forward and kicked him in the balls, “Don’t talk to me like that.” She added as he fell to his knees. Ash made to lunge for her, but Cristina was behind him and she kicked out at the back of his knees and he fell too. She stood over him and Emma put her sneakered foot on his chest.

“That’s for being a douche bag in general.” She said and then kicked him in the side, hard, “And that is for being a douche bag to my Jules.” Dru and Livvy were pinning Seb down and Julian realised that they scared him, their devotion made them fierce. With Seb and Ash pinned by Emma, Cristina, Livvy and Dru, Helen and Ty went and stood on either side of Kieran and Mark. Kieran took a step towards him and Val swung out with a vicious snarl, but Kieran ducked and punched him hard in the stomach. Kieran had been training in boxing and martial arts his entire life and watching him moved as fast as he did was daunting. Val groaned and when he doubled over in the shock of the pain, Mark came around and elbowed him hard in the back as Kieran kicked out at the back of his legs and Val hit the ground. Ty and Helen launched themselves on him and kept him pinned with their combined weight and strength as he shrieked and tried to lash out.

“Marker?” Kieran said, handing his boyfriend the thick black permanent marker from his pocked. Mark took it, waiting patiently as Kieran proceeded to use a pocket knife to open up the back of Val’s shirt. Mark bent down and wrote on the bare skin while Kieran made light work of slashing up the shirts and jackets of all the boys and emptying the contents of their bags in the mud.

“I swear to god if you go near Julian or any of my family again I will use a blade instead of a marker. Do you understand?” Mark said menacingly, putting the pen in his pocket. When Val didn’t respond, Ty surprised everyone by forcing Val’s face harder into the concrete.

“He asked you a question.” He snarled and Julian gaped at him. Val groaned in pain and ground out that he understood. It was like a switch was flipped and everyone released their prisoners. Ash and Seb jumped up and Val did too. He looked ready to pummel Ty or Mark, but he thought better of it, only just. Julian saw what it was that Mark had written and laughed out loud.

‘I like it here. As hard as you can.’ With an arrow pointing down to the waist band of his pants.

“Now get fucked.” Mark said, stepping aside so that the three of them could pass him towards the school, “Go to school. We’ll be following to make sure you walk onto school grounds.” He added and Val swallowed loudly.

“And if you tell a teacher, we’ll kill you.” Kieran said, flicking his pocket knife open and then closed again. All of the Blackthorns and respective girlfriends knew he wasn’t serious, but Emma looked mildly alarmed. Val, Seb and Ash looked terrified. It was a satisfying look. They ran, not even bothering to pick up their things.

“Mildly excessive Kieran.” Helen said, but Mark and Cristina looked amused. He shrugged and Helen put her arm around Dru’s shoulders. “Let’s get you to school.” She said and they got in the car, Tavvy waving goodbye from the backseat.

“Need a ride to school?” Mark asked Emma who was flushed and smiling. She nodded and Julian finally got out of the car. While Ty and Livvy climbed into the backseat, and Mark in the middle row of seats, Julian hugged Emma tightly. She hugged him back and kissed the corner of his mouth softly.

“We need to talk, tonight, at yours.” She whispered and the climbed up next to Mark. Kieran drove to the school and Emma held tightly to Julian’s hand. Julian couldn’t stop smiling.

I am so sorry that it took so long!! And that it is longer than my other ones. I hope you like it @luciexblackthorn xx

#julian blackthorn #emma carstairs #emma x julian #mark blackthorn #cristina rosales #kieran kingson #dru blackthorn #tavvy blackthorrn #ty blackthorn #livvy blackthorn #tsc au #one shot #fanfic #headcanon #school au #requested

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psalexanzondria · 6 years

Text

Memories Echo - Jasper Hale x Reader

Fandom: Twilight

Pairing(s): Jasper Hale x Reader

Type: One-Shot

Warning(s): N/A

Word Count: 1,578

Summary: A thousand of lives are never enough with him.

A/N: I’m back. Sorry I took so long! I might be slow at updating and writing, but thanks for staying with me guys!

The first time she sees him, it’s hell. The Korean War, bombs are falling, people are dying, and she was sent to the front with a medic to help bandage and fix up the wounded. There’s a radio playing armed forced radio as an attempt to distract, both the doctors and the patients, from the world falling apart around them. And in he comes. Coming to a stop before herself and her doctor, a smile on his face as if he’s perfectly fine. Lacerated Femoral Artery, Perforated Viscus, and bullet wounds liter his arm, the doctor works vigilantly on the young man, before she’s sent back to her MASH unit with him on the helicopter. It’s a short trip, one where they have to land once so that she can take his vitals, and patch up a wound he tugged open with his fidgeting, before they get there. She threatens that she’ll climb into the attachment with him, if he fidgets anymore. He smiles and tells her that it wouldn’t be such a terrible fate.

They get back to the MASH unit, where she preps him for surgery for his leg, which had turned for the worst the night before. He jokes that if he loses the leg, maybe she’ll feel sorry enough to go on a date with him, she responds with the fact that he doesn’t need her to feel sorry for a date, and his grin is bigger than ever. He loses his leg. She receives her orders to return state-side. Doctors call him Whitlock, a name she quiet likes, and finds suit him. Days later she gives him a kiss on the cheek, the next morning he’s gone in his sleep. Infection. She dies on the plane ride home.

The second time she’s found him, it’s a busy city. Bustling people on their phones rush to and from work, car horns blare, birds twitter and fly around her, and she’s standing on the curb, waiting for the crossing light to change. There’s a loud shout behind her, before something slams into her, causing her to stumble into the on coming traffic. There’s a loud blaring horn before someone slams into her, knocking her back onto the curb. When she looks up, there’s a blonde sprawled across the ground, deep red blood pools around him across the ground, someone’s rushing to call for an ambulance, and the driver is standing over him in a panic, but she just sits there staring. He saved her. He seems familiar, but she can’t place where. He saved her, and by the time the ambulance gets there... he’s gone. She lives a full life, always remembering the man who saved her that day. She dies peacefully that time.

The next life, he’s not there. She’s a simple student in a boarding school, until... she’s not. The boarding school is shot up, and she throws herself on a younger student to protect them. She never gets a chance to meet him.

He’s sometimes there. He’s sometimes not. She’s starting to remember her past lives, but has yet to remember him. She’s always searching though. For something. For someone.

Life number 40, she’s a servant. He’s her master.

He hardly ever looks at her, but when he does, there’s a lingering warmth in his eyes, a softness in his smile, a gentleness in his tone. Until the night of the fire. They at least die together that night.

She’s the wife of a backwoods man, he’s her brother-in-law... There’s a muted spark between them. But then she dies of childbirth. Nothing ever happens between them.

She’s different now, older, neigh, ancient. Her skin is a green color, her ears are pointed, and she’s looking down on a world she now views as a planet full of children. She remembers everything now. She looking, search for him. She finds him. He’s happy, married, two children of his own. She watches his life, pinpoints the moment he dies, but she cannot join him. She watches as he is reborn, how he grows, how he changes, how he loves, she watches it all. It’s only three lifetimes more for him, before she can finally join him in his slumber before rebirth.

She’s softer now, petite, with eyes like the stars. That’s how he explained them. Her daddy had hired him for help on the farm, but he’d become her greatest friend instead. Her brothers scolds and threatened him, her sisters bullied and punished her. But he always came to her, his friendly smile in place. She’s watch him work, his honey blonde locks dripping with sun and sweat, his muscles bludge and build from slinging hay and training mustangs.

She gets sick with Fever one day, and he’s there to catch her as she falls from the loft, having been doing her chores of spreading the hay. He worried gaze had her smiling as he carried her to the house, her mamma worrying and clucking over her like a hen. She knew that she wasn’t gonna make it through the night. He stayed with her the entire time. He family mourning their loss. He held her hand, spoke to her, until she slipped away. She was merely sixteen when she died, but her thoughts were of finally going before him.

The next time she sees him, he’s different. Quieter, surly, with a touch and unapproachable aura around him. She doesn’t know if he remembers her, or his past lives at all, she doesn’t want to chance it. His previous lives are still obviously wearing on him, he has the same demeanor as he had in some of his previous lives, the ones where he’s a soldier, which is quiet often. He smiles at her as she walks up to the counter, book in her hands, his aura is suddenly gone, his demeanor is suddenly different, and she’s left staring with her mouth agape as he rings up her purchases for her. She returns regularly. He’s always there. They become acquainted, to say the very least. They become friends after a while. One time she almost kisses him, and he avoids her for an entire year, before she and her family moves away. She never sees him again that life.

She honest to goodness thought about asking him out first. Taking the initiative herself. But, she feels like that’s taking advantage. She’s seen too much. Knows too much. So she leaves him to come to her. Even if it hurts. But, she’s getting tired. Her soul is getting tired. She doesn’t have many ‘rebirths’ left, the end is coming. She can feel it.

This time is stranger, different. She’s gone through four lives and hasn’t found him, normally he’s there after two r three rebirths. But, she feels somethings wrong this time. This is her last ‘restart’ for sure. So, when she arrives in Forks with her sister, and sees him there, her heart beat echoes in her chest, and his eyes are instantly on hers. They’re trapped, held, and he’s only pulled away by the pixie-like girl at his side. Leaving her hurt, aching, staring at him as he smiles at her like he used to do to her. A thousand lifetimes ago. Her pain almost overwhelms her as she leaves the cafeteria, stumbling into the lockers in the halls, her hand against her chest as tears fall. She waited a thousand lives, a thousand different worlds, reborn and rebirth again and again, only for him to have inadvertently reject her in her final life, to have fallen in love with realizing that she’s waiting for him to want her.

Her name is called behind her, and she turns, her hand still gripping her chest in pain, and he’s standing there. Her Jasper. Her Whitlock. Her soldier. And he said her name. He shouldn’t even know her name yet, no matter how small this town is. Her confusion must be evident, because he smiles. The same smile as their first lifetime together. But younger, more handsome. She notices his eyes are different too. Golden ocher, instead of the gentle warm chocolate color from the past. He’s different. Not just this life. He calls her name again, fear in his voice as she crumples to the floor. When she comes too, she’s in a white room with large windows, a pale blonde man hovering over her, and her honey blonde man standing, worried, off to the side, fear in his ocher orbs. He sees her gaze, smiles, and carefully says, “I haven’t been that scared since you caught Fever on the farm.” She blinks twice, before she jolts up, and demands if he truly remembers. He answers with just a few lives, the shortest ones, and the ones with her in them. She tears up as the doctor moves out of the room, giving them privacy, and Jasper tells her everything he remembers, and how he’s different in this life. About being turned into a vampire, and his life with his new family. “I also remember wish I could be with you.” he tells her, causing a blush to encroach upon her cheeks.

She finally, finally, confesses to him, and as she speaks, he takes her hands in one of his own, then cups her cheek, and kisses her, before he speaks. “Love does not surmount to my feelings.” He speaks softly, before she smiles at him.

“A thousand lifetimes is not enough, with you.”

#jasper whitlock x reader #jasper hale x reader #jasper x reader #jasper whitlock hale #twilight oneshots #twilight saga #psalexanzondria #reincarnation fic

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ladystylestores · 4 years

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Sarah Hegazi: How one gay Egyptian woman stood up to homophobia and paid the ultimate price

Hegazi’s friends reported her death, circulated a suicide note and shared an outpouring of messages of solidarity, grief and anger. Their mourning was soon hijacked by hateful messages.

On social media, posts about Hegazi that ended with the traditional condolences, “May God Have Mercy on her,” were followed by comments saying “she is not worthy of His Mercy,” and a torrent of expletives targeting her sexuality.

By waving the flag, Hegazi became an icon for the gay community and a target for state violence.

Analysts say that Egypt’s government often enforces conservative values by imprisoning, torturing and silencing women, members of the LGBTQ community and other citizens who don’t conform to its social norms.

Earlier this year, Egypt told the UN Human Rights Council it has “vowed to safeguard human rights, ensuring equal rights and opportunities to all citizens without discrimination,” and it has “thoroughly” investigated all “individual” cases of torture.

After conservatives criticized and filed complaints against two women for posting dancing and lip synching videos on TikTok that got hundreds of thousands of views, authorities last week charged them with the vaguely worded crime of “violating family principles and values.”

“The regime uses its tools — such as the media, and mosques — to tell Egyptian society, which is understood to be ‘religious by nature’: We too protect religion and social morality, so there is no need for Islamists to compete with us!” Hegazi wrote in an article published by local independent platform Mada Masr in 2018.

The Egyptian state and the proponents of political Islam had put aside their long-running animosity, agreeing on using hate and prejudice to curb individual freedoms, she argued. Her writings weaved political critique into her struggle as an openly gay woman.

Defiance

When Hegazi and her friends raised the rainbow flag at the September 2017 concert by Mashrou’ Leila, a Lebanese band with an openly gay frontman, she was hailed by allies for “breaking many barriers of silence,” said her friend Tarek Salama.

“To see someone who publicly say they are leftist, that they are against state violence and that they are queer, made me worried about her. But I was also fascinated and humbled,” Salama told CNN.

Photos of the colorful flag fluttering under the spotlights enraged talk show hosts and newspaper columnists. Days later, Hegazi and her friends were arrested. Police ultimately detained at least 75 people in the month following the concert in what one Egyptian rights group called an “unprecedented upsurge in security crackdown targeting gay and transgender citizens or those believed to be so.”

Sixteen years prior, in 2001, a similar crackdown took place. In what was known as the Queen Boat case, police arrested dozens of men in Cairo and charged them with “habitual debauchery” — a legal term used to prosecute LGBTQ people. The men hid their faces during the public trial in fear of recognition, and reported a life ruined by the torture, shame and stigma.

What set Hegazi’s experience apart was her willingness to show her face despite the backlash.

“It was a day to mark in history as the start of the liberation of the LGBTQ community in Egypt,” Elkashif said.

Hegazi remained in detention for three months. She said she was tortured by electrocution and subjected to sexual harassment by female prisoners acting on the orders of officers “who believed she had to be punished,” she wrote on Daaarb.com, an electronic publication of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party.

Egyptian authorities have repeatedly denied claims of systematic torture in prisons and did not respond to Hegazi’s claims. The government didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

During interrogation at the state security prosecution, which usually handles terrorism and high profile political cases, Hegazi would clutch her lawyers’ arms and beg them not to let her go back to detention, her lawyer and friend Mostafa Fouad told CNN. In hours of questioning, police probed into the details of her life, she later wrote. They asked her why she took off the Islamic headscarf, which she had previously donned, and if she was a virgin.

She was charged with “promoting debauchery” and with joining an illegal organization that “threatens public and societal peace,” a charge usually leveled against Islamists and political dissidents, according to Fouad.

Hegazi was released pending trial to find that her family and her neighbors had rejected her and she was fired from her job. Society “welcomed” what happened to her, she wrote in Daaarb.com last March.

“The Egyptian middle class leans towards the socially and religiously conservative right. It supports state decisions to impose guardianship on the society … they practice social stigma [against anyone who] revolts against this oppressive patriarchal culture that is based on oppressing women, workers, and religious and sexual minorities,” Hegazi wrote.

“It is the loudest class in society, so exposing and criticizing it is a duty.”

Her words would prove prescient in explaining her life’s struggle and the unsympathetic reaction to her death. “[The middle class] laid the foundation for hate, psychological and physical violence, sexual harassment and bullying,” she added.

Exile

Hegazi traveled to Canada months after her release, but never seemed to escape what had happened.

“Sarah left Egypt two years ago, but Egypt and its trauma didn’t leave her alone,” her friend Salama wrote on Facebook.

Though asylum in Canada provided safety from prison, it was taxing in other ways. Her mother died of cancer shortly after she left and her inability to be close to her and her younger siblings at the time took a toll on her, she said.

She said she suffered from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks and loneliness. The electroconvulsive therapy she underwent in Cairo and Toronto caused memory loss, she wrote in Mada Masr in 2018. She stuttered, was terrified and attempted suicide twice.

Her writing, activism and support of friends facing depression and arrest continued. Her Instagram account includes posts urging patience with those battling PTSD, along with posts in solidarity with political causes from Black Lives Matter, to imprisoned friends in Egypt and the millions trapped by conflict in Idlib, Syria.

“She was strong, she could have survived this, but society destroyed her,” Fouad recounted from his self-exile in Turkey. “She talked me off suicide four times before,” he said, breaking down in tears.

After her death, online trolls and commenters said her advocacy for LGBTQ rights was a greater crime than her “sinful sexuality.”

“Sarah committed a crime against religion and society by supporting homosexuality and publicizing her homosexuality and atheism,” one user wrote on Facebook.

Others used expletives and derogatory terms while arguing that she would be denied God’s mercy and rot in hell. In Egypt’s Twittersphere, her name was trending along with “People of Lot,” a reference to a Quranic passage about punishment for homosexuality.

“The most humiliating and infuriating part in her death are those gloating in it,” her friend Amr Mohamed said in a video posted on Facebook. Addressing these people, he added, “She died after detention, torture and expulsion … what religion that would reward you for insulting a dead person?”

Tributes

A day before her death, Hegazi posted a picture of herself lying on green grass under a bright blue sky. “The sky is more beautiful than earth, and I want the sky, not earth,” she wrote. Hamed Sinno, Mashrou’ Leila’s lead singer, put these words to music in a video tribute.

“Her blood is on my hands as much as it is on yours. It should have been me in that prison cell. I apologize if I gave anyone hope that they’ll one day see us as human,” he wrote on Facebook, also from self-exile.

After her death, an older, familiar photo went viral — the one of Hegazi wrapped in the rainbow flag, as she was perched on a friend’s shoulders, her smile beaming over the crowd at the band’s concert in 2017.

Sinno posted the picture, writing: “Freedom to your soul.”

In the note she wrote before her death, she said: “To my siblings, I tried to survive and I failed. Forgive me. To my friends, experiences have been cruel and I’m too weak to resist. Forgive me. To the world, you have been extremely cruel, but I forgive.”

How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also can provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.

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SQW Day 3 “GRANDmothers”

Nothing made Regina happier these days than spending time with her Grandbaby. “FFUU-OWIE!” and of course her big baby Emma Swan. All she was missing was her Little Prince though with a daughter of his own she supposes that he isn’t quite that little anymore. That particular thought always brings her to tears so she quickly tries to distract herself.

“What happened, Darling?”

“Got a da-ng splinter from the bench again.” Failing at hiding her amusement from Emma’s knowing gaze leads her to let a chuckle to escape. “It’s not funny. The kid barely talks as it is, why do I gotta censor myself?”

“Children her age are like sponges, they soak up everything as Henry and I have both told you repeatedly.”

“Yeah yeah, I know but still. Out of all the words we say what’s the likelihood of her picking up on the couple bad ones I happen to mutter?”

“Couple? Mutter? Dear, you swear like a sailor and it’s always ‘loud and proud’.”

“Damn straight!”

“Emma!”

“Sorry.” The brunette sighs knowing the blonde really was trying to curb her bad habit, having already caught her more than once catching and correcting herself when alone (or at least thought to be). Her phone begins to ring and she immediately knows it's Henry, she’s nowhere near ready for their time with the baby to be over with but when her Little Prince was a baby she could never bear to part from him for long either.

She takes a deep breath and answers without even looking at the I.D. “Hello, Henry.” Out of the corner of her eye she sees Emma shake her head at her and turn to talk with their Little Princess. “We’re just about to grab some icecream,” somehow she manages not to laugh at how quick the blonde’s head whipped around to face her again at the mention of the frozen treat, “we’ll walk down to the pier to eat them so you can pick her up there if that’s no trouble.” At their son’s approval she gives her farewell and waits for him to hang-up first, just as she always has.

“I still have no idea how you do that.” Emma says, after they’ve picked themselves up and started to head over to get ice cream.

“Do what, Darling?”

“Always know when it’s Henry who's calling you, it’s not like you have any specific ringtones. I’ve witnessed you back in your busy Madam Mayor days when you’d receive at least one call from just about everyone in town and still automatically know when it was him.”

“I don’t know how I know that it’s him. I can just feel it, it’s the same way with you too.” She was too proud to say out loud, that the feeling was of home and warmth but at her lover’s “Awwwe” she knew that she understood what wasn’t said. “I can also tell when it’s your mother as i’m immediately filled with dread,” she couldn't help but smirk at Emma’s “that’s not funny” look, “it’s why I never answer when she calls.”

“Regina!”

________________________________________________________________

After they had gotten their ice cream they started towards the pier, walking and enjoying their treats. Regina with her small sized, vanilla and chocolate swirl, baby sized strawberry in a dish (“Babe, you know just cuz it’s fruit flavored doesn’t make it healthier, right?”) for their grandkid, and Emma with her extra large chocolate.

“Did you really need that much?”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“Absolutely not but I’m greatly implying that you still eat like a child.” As the blonde was about to banter back, she tripped and her dessert went flying.

“SHIT!”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah just tripped.” The ex Sheriff’s lip wobbled, looking back and forth between her ruined ice cream and her girlfriend.

“We don’t have time to go back and get you another one.” Emma pouted at the news, and reached for Regina’s cone, “Absolutely not” the brunette jerked back to protect her treat.

“Buuuuuuuut Giiiinnnnaaaaa!”

“NO!”

Emma turned towards the toddler, “Your Nana is a big meanie. Tell her sharing is caring!” Regina rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the affection she felt for her childish lover.

“Shhh” came the noise from their Little Princess.

The brunette let out a chuckle, “See, Dear? Even she wants you to be quiet.”

“Shit!” Both adults froze where they were, hoping they heard wrong. “Shit!” A tiny giggle rang out. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” The grandmothers grew incredibly pale as they couldn’t deny what they both heard repeatedly and clear as day.

“Regina, I’m so so-”

“Emma Swan I am going to kill you!”

“Shit!” Both women flinched at the expletive falling from the young girls’ mouth.

“I can fix this! No problem just gotta- Regina?” A choked sob sounded from the older woman. “Babe?”

“Shit!” The Queen couldn’t hold back her tears and began to cry as her breathing increased. Emma had learned how to help and support her lover during panic attacks she had over the years and thus grabbed onto her hands and began to breath deeply while maintaining eye contact. It took nearly ten minutes for Regina to calm her breathing as each “Shit!” knocked back her progress.

“What happened, Regina? I know it’s more than just her picking up on a swear.”

“What if he never lets us see her again?” She practically whispered her anguish.

“What?”

“Henry! What if he doesn’t let us see her because of this!”

“Shit!” both women winced.

“Uh one second.” Emma grabbed the purple sippy cup decorated with crowns, and handed it to the toddler in hopes of distracting her. The little girl took it and began happily drinking unaware of the situation and her grandmothers’ relief of her brief respite from the new addition to her vocabulary. “He wouldn't do that. He wouldn’t be happy with me but he wouldn't take her away just because of a silly mistake.”

“Silly? A silly mistake? What part of this is silly to you, Emma? Our Grandchild is on the path to delinquency and you call it ‘silly’!?”

“Sweetheart, I know you’re upset but I think that’s a bit extreme. She isn’t the first kid to pick up on a bad word and it won’t destroy her future.” The brunette took a deep breath to center herself.

“I know. I’m just so worried.” The savior cupped her girlfriend’s face, wiping the wetness away with her thumbs.

“About what?” The blonde whispered.

“Henry doesn’t need me anymore. He’s all grown up and has his own family now. He doesn’t need his mother.”

“Regina, he will always need you, that I know with all my heart. Just because he doesn’t need you to cook his meals, tuck him in, and kiss his booboos doesn’t mean he doesn’t need you. He will always love you, you will always be his mom and nothing can erase that.”

“Shit!”

“Though if it makes you feel better we can try to fix this?”

“How? Seems like she found her new favorite word.”

“We just gotta distract her and find a new word that she’ll take to and soon she’ll forget all about this one.”

“Shit!”

“Gods I hope you’re right.”

________________________________________________________________

The rest of the walk was filled with trepidation as they drew nearer to meeting up with their son to return his daughter. The ex mayor focusing on her breathing and her lover’s words of encouragement and love, while the younger woman focused on getting their granddaughter hooked on a new, “child friendly” word.

“Shit.”

“Well she doesn’t seem as enthusiastic about it as she was before so that’s something.” .

“Dear, this isn’t working. What are we gonna do?”

“The only thing we can do,” The blonde sighed out “tell him the truth.”

The last few minutes of their journey was a quiet affair other than the occasional “shit”. Looking ahead, they could make out their grown son’s profile even with his back turned to them as he overlooked the water and docks. To Regina, it felt as if she were walking towards her judgement day, the final deciding factor to see if the good she accomplished later in her life made up for the despicable acts she committed.

“Hey, Kid!” The young man turned around, a smile lighting up his face at the sight of his mothers’ and Little Princess.

“Hey, Ma! Hi, Mom!

“Hello, my Little Prince.”

“Watchya looking at, Kid?”

“Just admiring the water and the ships.”

“You’ve always loved looking at the ships.”

“Probably stemmed from my time aboard an actual pirate ship.” He chuckled.

“Ugh, don’t remind me, Kid.”

“Uh, Henry Dear there’s something that your mother and I would like to tell you.” The Queen figured it was best to just get it out of the way and have them tell him over hearing it from the source without any warning.

“What’s up, Mom?”

“Well you see, it’s a funny story actually.” Emma jumped in, seeing how it was her fault she should be the one to tell him.

“Shhhhh” ‘Oh Gods no!’ Both Grandmother’s minds yelled out.

Henry knelt down next to his little girl. “What is it baby? You got something to say?”

“Uh, well Hen you see-”

“Ship!” Once more both women were frozen, holding their breaths and praying they heard correctly. “Ship!”

“That’s right, Princess!” Henry beamed as he lifted her up and settled her on his hip. “Those are ships!” He felt so proud of her as he pointed over to the boats.

“Ship! Ship! Ship! Ship!” Emma let out the breath she had been holding as Regina promptly fainted, luckily right into her Savior’s arms.

“MOM!?”

“She’s fine, Kid. It’s just been a terribly exciting day and I think it wore your mother down. Just give her a minute.” Picking her up bridal style, she carried her passed out girlfriend to a nearby bench as their son and granddaughter continued to look over at the boats and the sea. Soon enough the brunette opened her eyes and took a moment to gather herself.

“What happened?”

“You fainted.” At Regina’s confused look she elaborated, “The Little Princess switched up her favorite word just in the nick of time and I think you just got too overwhelmed. The brunette immediately relaxed and thanked the heavens for their luck.

“Emma.”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever cuss in front of her again, I’m gonna cut out your tongue.” Emma took a few moments to process the threat then nodded her head.

“That’s fair.”

BONUS:

A few days later, saw Regina and Henry preparing dinner as the toddler sat in her highchair and munched on some tiny pieces of watermelon. Working perfectly in sync, the two brunettes practically danced around the kitchen in their element, reminiscing over memories of cooking lessons. They were laughing over all the food he had managed to burn, when it happened. Watermelon falling to the floor as the little girl became too playful with her food.

Looking over the side of her chair she said the one thing Regina had hoped she’d never hear coming from her mouth ever again. “Shit!” The Grandmother’s mouth dropped open and became completely speechless as her eyes flickered between her son and grandbaby.

Henry’s cheeks turned pink as he took on a sheepish demeanor and started rubbing the back of his neck. “Oops?”

Flabbergasted over his lack of surprise and response had her unable to say anything other than repeat his last word. “Oops?”

“Uh yeah,” He let out a nervous chuckle “about a week ago I stubbed my toe. I guess some of Ma’s bad habit wore off on me as I accidently let loose the s-word. Little miss sponge over here” tickling the little girls feet had her giggling and helped him relax a little before continuing, “soaked it up and now won’t let it go. I don’t know what to do” his shoulder’s slump in resignation “Do you think- Does this make me a bad father?”

Seeing her little boy like this, stuck her to the core. How could her wonderfully perfect boy ever think he could even possibly be a bad parent? “Of course not, Little Prince!” She spoke vehemently. “She’s not the first child to pick up on a bad word. It’ll take time but she will forget it.”

“So, I’m really not a bad father for having this happen?”

“Not at all, after all it was just a silly little mistake.”

“Thanks, Mom” He smiled knowing his mother would always be there for him.

“So uh, Henry you said this happened last week?”

“Yeah.”

“Before your other mother and I last spent some time with her, when we went for that walk?”

“Uh..yeah, why?”

“No reason.” She said quickly and spun back around to continue working on dinner.

#swanqueenweek #swan queen week #sqw 9 #swanqueen #swen

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