#and what did rich upperclassmen do when they met with their little friends? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dalamjisung · 4 years

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what you want ❋ bambam

word count: 4213

genre: angst, college!au

pairing: reader x bambam

description: people have been feeding you lies about the boy in your class. it’s time to learn the truth by yourself

Everyone knows him before he even says his name. Well, before he even says his nickname; his name is too long and too foreign for most. It starts with his clothes; all designer brands and fashion forward, with their bright colors and bedazzles. Then, the accessories come next, shinning more than the street lamps in the Main Ave. But it is mostly his attitude that confirms his identity; from his smirk and brooding eyes, to even the way he walks, going around as if he owns the place and everyone in it. He screams young and rich; and indeed he is. BamBam is probably the richest kid you know, and he is not afraid to flaunt it.

You two have been in the same college for two years now, and in the same class for about a month, since the beginning of the semester, and lo and behold, BamBam is yet to learn your name. He is everything you despise; arrogant, stupid, and inconsiderate– or at least, you heard him to be like that. You’ve never interacted with the boy with the few exceptions of homework exchange in the class group chat, and you hope to stay that way; you aren’t interested in whatever hookup tales and travel stories he has to tell, your life is hard enough as it is, trying to balance work and school, you didn’t have to feel bad about being broke, either.

The problem is that you were really good friends with Jackson, a Chinese exchange upperclassmen, and he, in turn, is really good friends with BamBam. You are also friends with Youngjae and Jinyoung, two great guys that happen to also be friends with BamBam. It made you cautious, if anything, since every time you want to vent about the stupidities of the Thai boy, you have to make sure that it isn’t to his friends, not wanting to put them in a very uncomfortable position– and that is really hard, considering the fact that BamBam is good friends with everyone.

It isn’t until the day before your Literature midterm that you lose it. The college is already in pure chaos thanks to the exams, and people are being even more inconsiderate than usual, but you don’t have it in you to complain– you are too shy to say anything. Even though you are the class’ representative, it is really hard for you to be the center of attentions; it makes you incredibly uncomfortable to have all eyes on you, and you signed up for the class rep. position as a way to challenge yourself to be more out there. It had been Jackson’s idea, and he’s helping you out ever since.

“Excuse me.”

You look up from where you are standing just to come face to face with Kim Yugyeom, aka BamBam’s best friend.

“Yes?” You ask, voice wavering a little bit. You have to admit; this boy’s height is enough to intimidate you, now adding the beauty on top of it all is just too much.

“You’re the class representative, right?” He asks with a wide smile.

“…yeah,” You nod slowly. What’s the catch? “What can I help you with, Yugyeom?”

“Oh, you even know my name,” He teases, throwing you a wink. “I just need help with the new topic in Psychology… I wasn’t in school last week and I’m afraid that if I don’t catch up now, I never will.”

“Oh,” Your eyes go wide. You never said anything to anyone, but you’ve also heard things about Kim Yugyeom, and they were the same, if not worse, them the things you’ve heard about BamBam. You wanted to say no, and just save yourself from the disaster that this is bound to turn into, but you can’t– this is your job, after all. “Sure. I-I can help you, I think…”

“Great!” He smiles even wider and for a second you think his cheeks are about to rip. “Would today at 5PM work? At the coffee shop in front of the dance building”

“Yeah,” You sigh, already throwing your plans to re-watch Friends out of the window. “I guess it does.”

“Thank you so much, class rep!” Yugyeom gives you two thumbs up and his eyes are almost disappearing under the big smile on his face. Suddenly, his face falls, and his eyes are not two squints anymore, but two huge brown orbs staring at you intently. “Ah! I forgot to ask! I have a friend who was also gone and is also struggling with the new topic… is it alright if he comes with?”

“Of course, who–“

Before you can ask, Yugyeom is already gone, running through the halls squealing in excitement. You sigh, tiredly, already knowing who to blame for this.

[y/n: how could you betray me like this?]

[jackson: idk what you’re talking about]

[y/n: fess up, heathen]

[y/n: you were the one that told yugyeom to ask me for help]

[jackson: goddammit he told you, didn’t he?]

[y/n: he didn’t have to -_-]

[y/n: yugyeom doesn’t care about school, but he does care about his hyungs]

[jackson: lol what?]

[y/n: what?]

[jackson: who told you that?]

[jackson: yugyeom is the biggest nerd I’ve ever met]

[jackson: and I’m friends with YOU]

You roll your eyes at that. Sure, you like getting good grades, and sure, you might not be the most socially active person, but you wouldn’t call yourself a nerd. And you wouldn’t call Yugyeom a nerd, either… at least not from what you’ve been told. Well, I guess people can be wrong.

Shrugging it off, you try to focus on the rest of your classes, but you can’t. If you had it wrong about Yugyeom, what else could you possibly have been misinformed? Shaking it off, you start making your way to the coffee shop, hoping to get there a little earlier than Yugyeom and his friend to collect yourself and prepare your notes.

You realize your efforts were in vain when you see the two boys through the window, with a couple of girls laughing at something they said. Your eyes didn’t miss the pile of books and notes on the table and you smile a little; maybe you were wrong about them, and maybe that is okay. Maybe the friend he brought is a nice guy, and maybe you could make new friends, and maybe– just maybe– Jackson is right; they are worth a shot.

The door jingles when you walk in and you smile when you see Mark behind the counter.

“Y/N,” He calls loudly, and you walk over just for him to give you a cup of coffee. “What’re you doing here?”

“I came over to help Yugyeom and his friend with some work they missed when they were out last week,” You shrug, and Mark eyes go wide.

“Uh, I thought you didn’t like BamBam…” Mark goes off slowly, a little confused with the situation.

“What?” You laugh. “I said Yugyeom.”

“You’re in for a surprise,” It’s all Mark says before walking away to help another customer.

Just as you are about to call him back, Yugyeom walks over to you and grabs your heavy bag.

“Over here, Y/N,” He smiles and guides you to the table you saw him before. “Girls, it was nice meeting you, but now we have to get back to studying.”

“We’ll see you guys at the party Friday,” One of them says and leaves, chuckling with her friend.

“Y/N, thank you so much for agreeing to help us out,” Yugyeom starts, as you focused on getting your books out of your bag. “This is BamBam, by the way, I’m not sure if you two ever met.”

You’re in for a surprise.

This is it; you were going to kill Mark Tuan.

“Nice to meet you,” BamBam smiles and sure, it’s adorable and innocent looking, but you aren’t about to be fooled. “I’m BamBam.”

“I know,” You say shortly, ignoring the hand. “I am sure everyone knows.”

BamBam’s brows go up high and his eyes get wide.

“Sure…” He says uncomfortably. “Should we start?”

You smile awkwardly at that and tell them to open their books. The evening goes by quickly– Yugyeom and BamBam, as much as you hate saying it, are great students. They pay attention and seem to grasp the subject quickly, even taking notes and asking questions. BamBam is not as enthusiastic as Yugyeom, but you can clearly see he is trying his best. Maybe I was wrong, you sigh in defeat, looking at the dark street as you wait for them to finish a worksheet you gave them. Maybe he is not that bad… maybe people are wrong about him.

“Finished!” BamBam announces with a bright grin. You take a quick look to find that most of his answers were correct, with the exception of a couple. He would’ve been one of the highest scores in the class had he been there on the day of the quiz.

“Well, congrats,” You smile a bit and he mirrors you. “You got it mostly right. I don’t think you need my help any further.”

“What about me?” Yugyeom hands your the worksheet and you laugh joyously as you read it over. “You got them all right,” You chuckle, honestly happy about the progress of the two boys. “You guys are good to go.”

They do a weird handshake and then look at you again. “Thank you so much for helping us, Y/N,” Yugyeom smiles. “Now we’re all caught up with the class.”

“And to celebrate,” BamBam smirks and you can feel something change; a switch in the air, per se, and suddenly there is a slight tension looming over you guys. “Why don’t you come to the party on Friday? It’s over at Jaebeom hyung’s and–“

“I’ll pass,” Your smile is gone now, and all you can think of is the huge amount of people that would certainly be there– the bodies, the loud music, the smell… all of those together are not a good combination for you. “But thanks, BamBam.”

“Why?” He laughs, and it feels a little odd, almost as if he is laughing at you. “It’ll be fun, come on!”

“Bam, I think she’s not into that kind of stuff,” Yugyeom tried to reason.

“Yeah, it’s really not for me,” You shrug. “But thanks, anyways.”

“No, don’t knock it ‘till you try it!” BamBam says a little too loudly and you wince, retreating into yourself. “I promise we’ll make it worth your while; you need to relax a little, Y/N!”

And without even knowing, BamBam crossed a line you aren’t sure he can uncross. Mark, hearing all of it as he got ready to leave, made his way over to your table in hopes of smoothing things down, but you were too wind up.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say to me?” You are seething, and any normal person could see it.

“I said you need to relax,” To top it all, BamBam rolls his eyes at you, and you have to hold back from choking him unconscious. “You know, you are always talking about school and all and I just think that if you go to the party, you’ll have fun… for once!”

“I do have fun,” You mumble through gritted teeth, and you see the exact moment BamBam noticed your clenched fists. “And it might not be your concept of fun, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Not all of us shit money and fuck everything that walks; I have things I need to worry about, unlike you. You don’t even know me, what gives you the right to judge me?”

Mark gasps from behind you, and his hands are on yours, pulling you way from BamBam, but the latter holds you by the elbow with a strong grip. You can’t quite get a good look at him because of his hair, but you could feel it; BamBam was pissed and his anger was overpowering.

“That’s very hypocritical of you,” He whispers in your ear. “Class rep.”

Mark drags you out of there before you can answer, but in all honesty, you weren’t sure you could– he was right, after all.

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The week goes by quickly and Friday approaches as if it was a very important day– and it could be, if you consider movie night with Jackson and Jinyoung a special occasion that occurs every week. What you get, though, when you arrive at their place, is not what you are expecting.

Jackson looks out of the ordinary good; he has a nice shirt on and his hair is sleeked back. Jinyoung is sitting on the couch looking like he always does, yet still looking incredible. They were clearly waiting for you, since you barely have time to put the snack bag down before your friends are pushing you out the door and inside a taxi. You squeeze in the back, confused and slightly amused, as you hear Jackson spit out the final address.

“Isn’t that Jaebeom’s address?” You mutter out loud, and just as you connect the dots, the car is moving. “Guys, no.”

“Yes.” They say in unison.

“Enough is enough, Y/N,” Jackson states. “We’ve always let you be because we know you get really anxious about parties and new people, but Mark told us what happened a few days ago. Look, it was not right for BamBam to just tell you all of that, he doesn’t know half of your story, but you need to stop this.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“You live your life studying and working– which is great! Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying for you to drop all of your responsibilities and party all the time,” Jinyoung shrugs. “But you are 21… You are living your prime days doing homework. That’s not living. We’ve always been here for you, and we will always be here for you, life goes beyond school. You have to admit, BamBam was right– it’s time to have fun.”

You groan, pained to hear those words. “I know he was right,” You mumble, looking out of the window. “I know I’m a hypocritical bitch. Anything else you want to rub in my face, Jinyoung?”

“That’s not what I meant at all,” He gasps. “What the hell did BamBam say to you?”

You shake your head in disappointment. Not at the boys; they had a point. You really needed to live beyond your dorm walls and have some fun, as much as you hated hearing that; it hurt on a level that you never wanted to reach. You were disappointed in yourself. It wasn’t always like this, and the fact that you allowed yourself to fall back into this routine killed you. You weren’t happy, you knew that, but you were content, and for a second, that seemed better than being vulnerable.

“Just some stuff,” You finally answer. “He wasn’t wrong, though.”

“But apparently we were,” Jackson sighs, worried eyes set on you. He could read you like a book. “I’m sorry, Y/N, we don’t know the full picture, and we thought this would be a good idea but–”

Well isn’t this ironic?

“We can go back if you want?” Jinyoung frowns, ready to tell the driver to go back. He could see the hurt in your face, and it killed him to see you like this. They hated that you were always cooped up in your room on the weekends, complaining about your loud neighbors and watching dramas online, but seeing you hurt is way worse. “We don’t want you to change, love; we just want to show you something new.”

You nod slowly. “Sure,” You say, taking a deep breath. “I need to go to that party, anyways…”

“You do?!” They look at each other incredulously.

“Yeah,” You sigh, closing your eyes and enjoying the cold feeling of the glass window on your forehead. “I need to apologize to someone.”

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The events that follow were expected. Jinyoung is whisked away by an excited Yugyeom, whom in return receives a slap to the head. Jackson lasts a little longer with you; holding your hand in a comforting way whenever he noticed you were getting too overwhelmed. Mark and Youngjae join you two, surprised and happy with your presence. They’ve been doing this for so long, you think. And I never knew. Your friends never talked about parties with you, and you never wondered why until today.

“We never wanted to make you uncomfortable,” Youngjae explains once you ask. “We party a lot, to be honest, and we always wanted you to come, but you made it very clear you hate things like this so…”

Your face falls at that. They always stayed in whenever you asked, and you never even gave them the chance to ask you to come out. You felt like the worst friend in the world.

“I’m sorry,” You say and his eyes go wide. “Next time I promise I’ll come with. I want to have fun with you guys, too.”

“Ya, seriously?” Youngjae smiles wide, surprised. “You can’t take it back!”

“I won’t!” You promise, laughing with your friend. “I’m sorry I’ve been a bad friend, Youngjae.”

“You were never a bad friend, Y/N,” He smiles. “We understand. Movie nights are fun in a different way; they are comfortable and cozy, and if that’s what you needed, we were happy to provide. But sometimes you need some excitement, and that’s what parties are for… we didn’t want to pressure you, so we never said anything. We just waited until you were ready– and I guess you are now.”

You nod, hugging him tight, before wandering off alone, in search of the person you went there to see. You end up in the kitchen, and you think that maybe fetching yourself a beer won’t hurt too much.

“Here,” You hear someone say from behind you, and your cheeks brighten once you realize you were noticeably lost. “You’re looking for beer, right?”

“Ah,” You turn around and smile. “Yes. Thanks, Yugyeom.”

“Didn’t think I’d see you here after what happened in the coffee shop,” He deadpans, and you can feel it once again. The tension. “You know, I always thought you were pretty cool, Y/N. The hyungs talk about you a lot, and I always saw you as this funny person, even though you don’t talk much.”

You don’t say anything. You know exactly where this is going and you allow it; you deserve it.

“I never pegged you as a judgmental person,” He chuckles. “Mainly because everyone judges you. I don’t know, I thought you’d be all that Jackson hyung told me… but I was wrong. I guess we really don’t know you, after all.”

“That’s not fair,” You chuckle. “I get what you’re saying, and I’m sorry. This is what I came here to do; apologize. But what you’re doing is not fair.”

“How so?” He smiles a bit.

“I judged unfairly, and for that I apologize,” You say, voice seeping honesty. “But you’re doing the exact same. I had a reason to react the way I did, the same way BamBam had a reason to react the way he did. You’re taking sides, Yugyeom.” “Well, of course I am,” He shrugs. “BamBam is my best friend.”

You laugh at that– a full blown laugh, with your head back and happy giggles in the end. “That does make sense. I am happy he has someone like you, Yugyeom.”

And with those words, the bright smiled boy you met before was back. “Thanks, Y/N. Now, if you must know, BamBam is in the back porch. Things got a little too much for him in here, so he went there to get some air.”

“Thanks Yugy,” You say and before you can leave, he grabs your hand.

“Once you get sorted out with BamBam,” He chuckles. “Can we be friends? Jackson hyung told me some hilarious stories about you, and I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now…”

“Of course we can,” You smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”

“Good or bad?” He shouts, surprising you. “Say good, please.”

“Bye Yugyeom!”

Finding the back porch was harder than you thought, but you manage. You see his jacket before you see him, and in your defense, you couldn’t really not see the bedazzled black jacket on the ground. BamBam is right next to it, though, laying down on the wooden floor, and you panic. Is he alright? Did he drink too much? What–

“Whoever you are,” He says, and his voice is nothing but tired. “Either come here, or leave.”

“Oh, sorry,” You mumble, and his head snaps in your direction. “Do you mind chatting for a bit?”

“Why?” He chuckles humorlessly. “So you can tell me all the things I did wrong? I don’t think so, sweetheart, now why don’t you–“

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you said that before now please–“

“No,” You stand your ground, even though you felt as if your heart was about to beat out of your chest. “I’m really sorry, BamBam. I shouldn’t have believed all of those things people told me; I was stupid and naive. And I shouldn’t have snapped at you back in the coffee shop, but I just thought that–“

“That I was a complete idiot with no purpose in life,” He says harshly. “Sounds about right?”

“Y-Yeah, but–“

“But you realized you were wrong and now you want to apologize so we can be friends.”

“How’d you know?” You ask, voice wavering more than you’d like to admit.

“You’re not the first,” He sighs, frowning. “It seems like there is always a problem with me. And don’t try to deny it– I can see you shaking your head.”

“Well,” You start carefully. “You do come off as a little bit… spoiled.”

BamBam laughs and pats the empty space next to him. Just as you sit down, you hear him talking slowly, as if he, too, needed to process it all.

“People think I’m this billionaire’s son that doesn’t care about anything but my reputation,” He starts. “But they don’t know half of it. I skip class, I party a lot, so that means I don’t care about school, right?”

“I mean–“

“I’m at the top of the Dean’s list with a full scholarship,” BamBam says curtly, his voice as sharp as a knife. “And if I’m not wrong, you are right under me.”

To say that you were surprised was an understatement.

“But how do you carry the scholarship when you are barely even on campus?” You ask.

“Who said that? Because the only time I can recall missing class was last week, when I had a business meeting, and my first semester during Freshman year, when I had to fly home for my brother’s wedding.” As BamBam explained things to you, you couldn’t help but notice his hands, fidgeting with each other; is he nervous?

“The truth is, I’ve noticed you for a while now,” He mumbles with a shy smile, his cheeks blushing, and you swear you’ve never seen such an adorable man before. “People always assume the wrong thing about you, too, so I thought that– I don’t know, I thought that you’d get me. Jackson hyung and Jinyoung hyung always tell me these great things about you, and how you never back down even when you’re struggling and I thought that maybe we could be friends… or something more.”

What?

“But then you’ve never even looked at me,” The sadness you felt from his voice was killing you. “You barely even talked to me, even when you had to talk to everyone for that one field trip… I have to admit, I was kind of hurt. The girl I was crushing on hated my guts, and I didn’t even know why.”

“BamBam,” You gasp, reaching to touch his arm, but he is quick to evade your hand. When his eyes met yours, you swear you were about to break down; the vulnerability, the hurt, the anger. You could see everything. “I’m so sorry.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” He smiles a tight closed-lip smile and you feel your heart breaking. “I’m tired of stuck up people trying to prove they are better then me. I run my own business, that is, by the way, going really well. I have amazing grades in school. I have friends that I can count as if they were my own family. I don’t need anything else.”

“You might not need it,” You say as he gets up. “But you want it. I know you do.”

“What I want clearly doesn’t matter,” He scoffs, walking to the door. “I’m going inside. You should go soon; I know you hate crowded places.”

You feel a weight on your shoulders, and then he’s gone.

When Jinyoung finds you, about an hour later, you were still crying.

When Jinyoung takes you home, with promises of a better tomorrow, you are still wearing BamBam’s jacket.

And when Jinyoung finally leaves, worried and defeated, you are already asleep, hand clutching the jacket that you refused to leave behind.

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aaaahhh my first true angst! it felt weird to leave it like that, so I will probably write a part 2! what do you all think? part 2 or nah? Let me know! Love you all and thanks for the endless support <3

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years

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05. The Rich Kids

AU Grace and Simon story. Takes place in the instance that they never got on the train, but crossed paths and became friends. Generally, these could be standalone, but this one will be sequential for the next chapter whenever I get around to posting it. 3359 Words and I will be making a masterlist when I get a chance. Previous

Simon handled the essay for his scholarship exactly how he thought he might. He was NOT okay, but he got the job done. He started with an introduction about why he wasn’t even sure of why he would be accepted into an institution like this school when his life was so ripe with problems, and honestly admitted that he was telling them all of this “for a girl.” He described the way that he met Grace and how important her friendship and being close to her was to him. He used that as a segway of WHY he needed a close friend, being brutally honest about the things that were happening in his life when they met and the things that he had gone through since. He put heavy emphasis on his relationship with his mother and how HE was now caring for her, even though he could see in her eyes that she didn’t care for him, at all.

He wanted to learn from somewhere that could help him to be great. He felt like a jack of all trades, but in a kingdom of shit. He wondered if he could get away with saying shit. He went back and edited it to censor it, but to make it known that she still meant shit. He ended it out with how he didn’t seriously expect them to pick him, even with his GPA being what it was and him having skills in these areas. “But, I have to be able to let my only friend in a lonely world know that I did what I could to stay beside her. This is my best.”

Whenever he submitted it, he spent the next couple of days holed up in his room. He needed recovery time and worked on setting up a scene for his portfolio. His portfolio was turning into something he really loved. He had written pieces - generally inspired by Grace, some artwork of her in various forms, photos of his best figures and the scenes that he would put them in, and other photos from him trying his hand in photography.

He made money by doing people’s homework assignments, and charged more for special projects. But, everybody in school knew that if you wanted a quality A+ project in a hurry, Sci Fi Si was the guy to go to. He wasn’t even teased as much as he used to be. Emphasis on “as much.” And his former bullies? They were terrified to cross him again… or rather, to cross Grace. Simon kept photos of her and the two of them together as a little reminder for that group and as his daily dosage of serotonin while he was stuck at school all day without access to her.

He still was considered a nerd, had a crappy home life that made intrapersonal relationships difficult and unhealthy, meaning he wasn’t great with people and only knew the right things to say for short periods of time, and he was pretty broody and sarcastic. A lot of people didn’t like that. He definitely talked to most people like they were stupid. (Most people were) and he was pretty unapologetic in his convictions. He was like the poster boy of “If you think you’re better than everyone was a person.” He credited Grace for that, to be honest. Whenever you have somebody like that in your world and they’re not only interested in who you are but they like who you are, the rest of these peasants could suck a toe.

Plus, he was smarter than all of them. He had written several books, though unpublished were absolutely splendid, in his opinion, and not just for his age, but period.

Oh yeah - he was cocky.

That was another thing people hated about him.

But, people didn’t matter to him. He did have a secret soft spot for kids, but the ones in his neighborhood avoided him and he’d even heard the rumors that whenever he was younger he killed his kid sister. It hurt at first. It sent him into a crying rage in which he destroyed everything in his path up until the moment his mother emerged from the bathroom to “smack some sense into him.” He avoided children after that. They made him uncomfortable. He wanted the world to be a safe place for them and wanted to protect them, but he didn’t think he was cut out for stuff like that, so steering clear of them was probably best. Besides, they were just… so weak. They were frail. You had to start toughening them up way too young in order for them to be great and he just couldn’t imagine having to be that for anybody. He couldn’t do it for his sister. If she were stronger, maybe she… He programmed himself not to think about her.

Now Grace, she was great with kids, but she wasn’t super fond of them. Like, yeah, she liked to see their smiling faces and generally was able to make them smile, but she wasn’t in a rush to meet any or have any, despite the fact that her dad made her take a course to learn about sexual reproduction and teen pregnancies before letting her go to school. She was horrified to learn about that entire process, especially considering that it had not once even CROSSED her mind!

She saw two married people who had a child every day and their life was nothing she wanted to work towards and certainly nothing she wanted to accidentally catch herself up in.

If she ever did anything like that… She’d have to go through so much getting to know and getting used to someone and that sounded like way too much work, considering she already knew somebody. She knew Simon and that by itself was a lot. Having a best friend was both everything amazing and very exhausting. Her mother told her that whenever she got ready to get married, to make sure she married her best friend, and her father had quickly interjected and corrected the woman by saying to make sure that she married somebody “equal” to her… She had a feeling from both of their moods that neither of them were that for the other. But, no worries there, because she was NEVER getting married.

She was going to dance FOR FUN, maybe open a dance school, or some kind of school, and read books in her free time and go on adventures with Simon that they currently were too stifled to go on. She was gonna be with her best friend for the rest of her life, but not in the unfortunate situation that she saw in her parents. And she knew that Simon would agree to that, because he said that they were a team.

Simon set up the camera that he wasn’t actually supposed to touch, because it was his fathers and while he was away, Simon wasn’t supposed to go into the garage, but he was away and it would be months before they would see him again. That was what he was doing when he heard the notification on his computer. He presumed it was something that Grace sent him, so he rushed to check, and it wasn’t. It was the Dean… setting up an appointment… because he was accepted… He hurried to get that squared away and then called Grace to let her know.

“Yayyy! Another adventure together! I KNEW you could do it, Simon!” She cheered.

“I couldn’t have done it without your idea,” he said.

He didn’t add, “Even if it ripped my heart out to do it that way,” and she didn’t hear it in his silence; because she replied, “I think you’ve known me long enough to know that I’ve never been wrong, ever in my life, and if I have - It. Didn’t. Happen.” He laughed a little bit. “Look forward to more outstanding quotes on a daily basis, when we’re seeing each other AT SCHOOL!” She was SO excited. She had put together as many acceptable options that fell within the dress code of the uniform but also with a little of her own flair, and she worked on getting her schedule filled. Simon had to do all of that whenever he went in. because he admitted that he didn’t really know what to do and so the administration helped him out with it.

Simon would make the trek to Grace’s every morning and ride to the school with her in the car. Four years after meeting her, he still knew her drivers better than her parents, because they either were never around or he wasn’t over when they were. She still hadn’t seen his mother at all outside of photos and every time she saw his father (a whopping 3 times in the past 4 years), he looked different. A few more tattoos, a little more or less hair on his head or face. It was still just Grace and Simon by the time they got to the academy.

The first week of school was extremely different for both of them for different reasons...

Grace found that people were apparently “naturally drawn” to her, and in an effort to not let them down, she became very popular, very quickly. She made sure that whenever she saw Simon, she made room for him though. She’d call his name and wave him over. He hated groups of people, but she had been surrounded by them since Day 1, so he had to tolerate them.

Sometimes, if he looked like he wasn’t okay, or if they talked about a current issue he was having on the ride over, she’d tell the others, “I’ll have to get with you all later. Today is a Simon day.” It always made him feel good. Warm inside and cozy and a little fluttery… Stuff that he became severely aware of. She caused reactions in him that he hadn’t previously experienced. He always thought that she was pretty and out together nicely and smelled really pleasant, but like, now…

Not just his brain but other parts were starting to respond to those characteristics. And, he became dangerously aware that a lot of the other boys noticed her like that too. Know who didn’t seem aware? About any of it?? Grace.

Whenever the Fall Festival rolled around, she was the girl that everybody wanted to take to the dance, even upperclassmen. She was the girl that the girls wondered about what kind of dress she’d wear. She was the girl that the dance teacher asked if she wanted to open up the dance with a waltz. “I don’t know how to waltz,” she had said. After all of her years of dance, the teacher was stunned. She wanted to teach her before the dance. She said that she had the perfect partner to pair her with. “Oh, no no no no… I only have one person that I would be dance partners with,” she’d said.

Simon wasn’t keen on being dragged into this, BUT it did mean that some other guy wasn’t going to be dancing with her… for now. Who knew WHO would ask her to dance at the actual dance, which he tried to convince her would be boring and that they should skip it.

She would have loved to just go to the pumpkin patch after school, pick a few pumpkins to carve and make treats and cozy up with him for a movie night… but, she had to go to this dance! There was a lot of pressure on her to go and she was fueled by pressure and the stress of letting people down. So, the compromise here was that Simon could skip it if he wanted to, and they’d do the pumpkin patch thing the next day. “Even though I’d much rather you come to the dance with me,” she said, with a pouting face.

And everything inside of him turned into mush. Before he could think, he’d said, “Okay,” and couldn’t take it back, because her entire face lit up and she threw her tender arms around his neck, her soft hair was against his cheek and her body was pressed too close to his. He could inhale the flowers and cupcake scents of her beauty supplies and lip gloss, and everything was warm. Too warm. Hot even. He squirmed out of her arms and said, “Yeah, yeah,” ignoring her confused face about him pulling away. It didn’t last long anyway. She credited his mood to hating stuff like school dances and moved on with life. He overheard her telling people, “Sorry, I’m going with Simon to the dance, but if I get a chance and your date doesn’t mind, I’ll save one dance, just for you.” He actually heard her say that three times before she was too far away for him to hear her anymore.

She was always doing that. Just telling the other kids whatever she thought that they wanted to hear. He figured it was because she couldn’t tell her parents “no” and so she was just used to reflexively saying whatever kept the peace. He was like that once. But now, the last thing he did was care about what either of his parents had to say. He was never home anyway. He was always with Grace, either stashed in her room, or somewhere in town enjoying life and causing mischief. Since school started, she hadn’t been able to get out as much. She would complain about homework, which she hardly had the attention span for and Simon would simply do hers to get it done, but now that she was in school, her parents would set up social arrangements for her and other well to do kids (mostly to rub elbows or have pissing contests with their parents).

But… he had a date with Grace, and his dad was at home on leave, so he didn’t have to worry too much about having to be at home. He did have to worry about formal wear, though. He groaned as he headed for class, taking out his phone to try to see where he might find an affordable formal and how much hustling he’d have to do to obtain it.

One thing that Simon hated about the academy that was different about his last school was that the bullies here were far more sinister and also more protected. If he got into a fight at public school, there might be a suspension and maybe some penalty for disrupting class or something.

If he got into a fight here, the zero tolerance violence policy would get him kicked out… and yet, and yet, and yet… that did not happen with those rich boys whose parents paid for wings of the building, and had statues, or replaced team equipment… the kinds of boys that resented him for being so close to Grace, and let him know that he didn’t belong there, every single day. The kinds of boys with the most powerful commodity in the world - money.

The first week of school, someone had asked him what his father did. He answered honestly, “He’s in the military.”

“Is he high ranking?”

“No. He served for a while, got out, but reenlisted a few years ago.”

“What about your mother?”

He answered less honestly, but close enough, “She’s a housewife.”

“How did they afford to send you here?” Just… right out of the gate, huh?

“I have a scholarship.”

“For which organization?”

“It’s an art scholarship. The Kissington one.”

“Oh.” the ‘Oh’ was enough for him to realize that it wasn’t a good one. But, they added, for good measure, “You’re poor.” And technically… his family wasn’t really POOR. They never were short for the bills, like some of the kids he knew. There was usually food, if he made a trip to the grocer. His mom was able to stay at home, not working, receive medication, and they had a cat. So, he wasn’t rich, at all, but he wouldn’t have considered himself poor, either.

But here, anybody who wasn’t wealthy was poor. Sure, the Laurents could afford their bills, but he was never able to do anything extra if he didn’t find odd jobs. Meanwhile, Grace sometimes couldn’t see him for a few days because her parents were hosting a politician or a royal, or she had to go overseas for a few weeks, or she just really wanted to do a spa day weekend and he simply couldn’t come along because it cost too much.

There was a group of kids that had let him know that they were “on his level.” But, he didn’t spend a lot of time around them, because he was here for Grace and he had Grace, but he was aware that everybody wanted her too. The difference was he was certain that she was just a status symbol to these people, but she was his friend.

The teachers didn’t like him very much either. They seemed to always be suspicious of him and he couldn’t tell if it was his imagination that they weren’t as lineate about objective answers as they were with some of the other kids. He knew that he was smarter than a lot of the kids who did better than him. He KNEW he was. School was less of a hell hole whenever he would worry that he might have to fight for his life. There was something so much more unnerving about fighting something that wasn’t physical, and having the disadvantage, because he simply couldn’t add up to his peers in a lot of these people’s eyes. He knew that he was more evolved than them, but all they could see was money, and he just wasn’t made up of it like these kids.

Whenever they left school, Grace would brag about all of the compliments that she got and go on about how awesome school is and wonder how it was for him. “Are you happy?” he’d ask.

“Yeah!” She’d said.

“School is great. I mean… you’re there. That makes it the best place” She’d look at him for a moment, like she didn’t know if she believed him, her eyes sad and suspicious, but she’d smile and change to subject to something that they both loved. It was true in a way. Whenever she was there, he forgot about his problems and just soaked her in and her followers were even nice to him in those moments. A few of the girls even admitted (or maybe lied) that he was cute. But, they weren’t together the entire time and most of the time, he was miserable. But… if she was happy… I mean, that’s why you came here, Simon, he’d remind himself. Maybe it would simply take a moment for things to become normal.

And a few months later, after he agreed to go to a school dance with her, he knew that whatever their normal was, they weren’t in it… or it had changed. He didn’t know for sure which one, but he knew that at the moment, he wasn’t enjoying it. The snide kids. The sneaky boys. The snobby girls. The suspicious staff. He was becoming increasingly angry, and wasn’t sure if Grace was still enough to quell that. She had so much more going on than him, these days. Maybe, she didn’t need him here at all, and she just didn’t know until now. Maybe the fact that SHE had a lot of money and HE didn’t, made him anxious. He couldn’t catch up, and even though they still had their inside jokes about being “the apex” like when they were kids… he felt like she was the apex, and he would have to work extremely hard to ever truly be powerful. He would have to do more to get and have money. Being intellectually and physically superior didn’t matter if there were enemies in place who could affect your personal trajectory!

This became clearest whenever the Fall Festival came around and he finally was able to actually meet the infamous Mrs. Monroe.

#infinity train #infinity train fanfiction #Nesha Fanfiction #AU Infinity Train #fics #If They Didn't Get on the Train #The Rich Kids

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weaselsmuses-aa · 4 years

Text

hey human hcs again because fuck it its revamp time

Ft: My muses && Some others that i just happen to have hcs for.

My muses + oc’s in collab w friends.

Topaz!!

Age: 16

Grade: Sophomore

Born in South Korea

Became something of a musical sensation back home, and is famous for her music mixing.

Became independent at 15, moved to the states a year later with the desire to see what America was like, hollywood in particular.

Lives in an apartment with Saphir, her senior classmate and good friend.

Pastel vibes

Sassy vibes (Much more sassy than gem topaz :o)

MomTM friend. She mediates and keeps the peace. Also will give great life advice.

Judges silently, but says nothing if she has nothing nice to say. (But she’ll think it.)

Currently has a job as a DJ at a local skating rink where her friends hang out. Gets them free food and games..

Hoping to make it big in the US so she can stay after she graduates.

Parents living overseas and helping pay for her life and schooling in the states.

She spends summers in Korea where she visits her family and tours, records music.

Part of the art club and spends a lot of time in the music rooms. She isn’t in Choir, Band or Orchestra, but is in music theory and guitar. Has a LOT of friends in all those programs.

Swiss (birth name: Sage)

Age: 16-17

Grade: Sophomore.

Swiss was born in Switzerland, but has also lived in South Korea for 5 years (where she met Topaz), London for 2, and now the US where she started high school.

Lives with her Father who is from Switzerland, her mom who was born in the UK, and her baby sister Kyanite

Class goofball and classic slacker but somehow still passes and knows the material.

‘ Whoops, I forgot my homework again’ type

Dye’d her hair blue at 14, pierced both her nose, lips, and several places in her ear.

Depressed and tired. Brings rockstar energy’s to class a lot.

Punk Rock vibes, but wears her uniform rather well. Her messenger bag is tricked out with a lot of music festival patches and pins though.

Her and Topaz both are those kids that have earbuds and beats headphones on all the time. She gets in trouble for listening to rock in class. Or talking.

Has a band, and is the main drummer and back up vocalist. The band was her idea, but she gives her friends a lot of freedom. Since drumming is her passion she doesn’t mind not being the lead vocalist.

Crushing on / Dating the richest girl in the school (Aquamarine ‘Marie’)

Doesn’t have a job, but thinking about getting a part time one at the record shop near her house.

Oversleeps A LOT. IS late to class a lot. Usually her detentions are from tardiness (or saying some smart ass comment to be funny and getting in trouble for it)

Very protective of her little sister, and gets along well with her in private, despite pretending that she irritates her.

No after school activities for her thanks. That stuffs lame. (Though she does wander in and hang out with the game club sometimes)

Kyanite (Ky)

Age: 14-15

Grade: 8th

One of the pretty MeanTM girls in middle school. Rather high on the social pecking order due to being an upperclassmen and being a cutie with an attitude.

Fashion sense a mix between soft grunge, a touch of punk and more flowing feminine outfits, or neat and prim /professional outfits. Whatever she decides, she likes to look good.

Very talented at doing her make up and nails, tends to have a lot of requests from other girls her age for help in that dept.

Looks up to her sister a lot more than she lets on. Lowkey wants to be involved in a lot of what she does after school. (She even begged her parents to let her dye her hair blue as well right after Swiss did (She was 12 at the time))

Love’s shopping and collecting outfits and cute little butterfly themed things for her room.

While she’s in the ‘popular’ circle of girls in her grade, shes not particularly stuck up when it comes to other kids. She can be mean, but its usually to just as entitled kids. She’s rather tame and even friendly with less popular kids in her grade. She’s very comfortable around them and enjoys not being put on a pedestal all the time

Romance obsessed. (Duh)

Wishes she could get a piercing and a tattoo like her sissy, but her parents only let her pierce her ears.

A’s in most of her classes, but struggles in History. It’s a snoozefest to her.

Currently in band and debate team. (She plays flute)

Takes FOR-E-VER to get ready to leave the house. (Hey, its not ALWAYS swiss’s fault shes’ late.)

Best friends in school are Livie and Bebe.

Spends a lot of time after school for Band practice, Debate team activities, or supporting her bestie Bebe in her cheer practice.

Really likes sneaking in the upperclassmen building. No one’s cute in her grade :/ (according to her)

Likes to fake being sick so she can go home early. way too often.

Bonus’es!

ft some of my other... (albiet co-op) oc’s / and aquamarine cus i can

Bebe

Age: 14-15

Grade: 8th

Met Kyanite in 6th grade and they instantly hit it off well.

Bubble gum pink hair, and really likes fashion. Always obsessed with wearing the cutest combo of clothes she can come up with.

Really sweet and bubbly on the surface, but she isn’t called a bubblegum bitch for nothing. She knows shes popular and will often trick the vulnerable into believing they have social status only to humiliate them when she sees fit.

A little bit bitchier than Ky. Not that she wants to be mean actively, she just kind of ......is how we say.....spoiled brat.

As long as her best friend cares about someone she does too.

When she actually does accept you, shes a very sweet and almost loyal to the point of irritation.

Crushing on Kyanite, kissed her at a party and has kind of never got over it.

Serial dater. Literally she has a new sweetie every week. its tiring.

Junior Varsity Cheer Team and Drama club are her life.

When she’s not doing those things, she’s spending her time in her Juniors bowling team. They go to tourney during summer.

Parents aren’t filthy rich but they are not hurting for money in any shape or form. Shes always got whatever she wanted.

Loves getting gifts, and will almost try and bug people into sending her stuff to homeroom during holidays. Either because she wants STUFF or for her own popularity.

Might be kind of bitchy but really does feel bad and get upset if people point that out about her. I wouldn’t say she /wants/ to be a bad person. her parents never told her no and nor how to not be self centered.

Very talkative and upbeat. Wants to inspire her friends and lift them up.

On the other end, is a big gossip and bad about spreading rumors and stirring up drama with people she isn’t a fan of.

Show her a cute animal and she’ll sob. I mean the whole 9 yards.

Marie . (Aquamarine.)

Age: 17-18

Grade: 12th

Born and raised in London for the majority of her life. She’s also lived in France for 3 years during an abroad program her parents sent her to where she met one of her closest friends (Astrid)

Her parents are filthy stinkin rich and own a foreign luxurious fashion company and a luxury car company.

Livie is her baby sister and she often tries to pretend like thats not the case. (She loves her guys i swear)

Stuck up, bratty, and just an overall bitch. She RELISHES in it. Marie KNOWS shes mean, popular and has power and she’s proud.

“you can’t sit with me, you can’t talk to me, you aren’t good enough to even know me.”

Her desire for power has her gunning for valedictorian (cue her and satoshit fighting to the death), and she’s currently the president of student government. Thats right. She’s deciding school functions and your future you little peasant fucks.

Will shove her riches and status down your THROAT oh my goooodddd

Throws HUGE parties when her parents are out of town, uses it as a tool to make the popular kids/upperclassmen love her even more and show the ‘losers’ where their place is.

Always has to look THE best in the school, and will probably murder anyone who threatens to take her places as prom queen (i kid i kid.........maybe)

Hangs out with Astrid and Mae when they’re in town.

Has a type that does not fall in line with her image (coughcough Swiss cough) and will do a LOT to keep in a secret. But....listen....she also can’t hide it well. Like...not even a little. She gay.

She’s always seen with her posse of popular girls and her two primary school friends the topazes. They’re just the schools huge UNITS of lesbian quarterbacks, their fists as big as your face, they wont squash you, promise. (look at marie wrong once bitch.)

Will die of embarrassment of her sister livie. Unfortunately is responsible for her in a lot of ways. Driving her back and forth from school, taking her to school functions and much more. (She loves her....double pinky swear) But she claims they aren’t related. (no one believes this hoe) That don’t mean she wont DESPERATELY try to pawn her off for the day. Babysitter? Butler? Anyone? SOMEONE?

Will absolutely use Livie as a means to hang out with Swiss via playdates. Oh yeah, she knows their baby sisters are besties. It’s free real estate.

Has expressed to Swiss that she wishes they could trade sisters. ( I swear marie loves livie deep down in this essay I will----)

In a wealth measuring contest with Satoshit 24/7

Is CONSTANTLY going on overseas trips. She will never stop bragging about it.

Consumed mostly by Student Government and Theatre.

#so it got longer and longer and longer #and marie stole the show #as she should #v:human #HCs #LONG post #i am so sorry but ...i had to do it to em #;hcs

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epic-summaries · 5 years

Text

British LegendsXPokemon

Robin Hood

Robyn was a prude outlaw,

Whyles he walked on grounde:

So curteyse an outlawe as he was one

Was nevere non founde.

A Gest of Robyn Hode

Theme: Thievery and archery. (I’m using a mix of modern and medieval Robin Hood as influences but honestly Disney’s version probably influenced me the most, unknowingly (or the fact that suspect it did it might not be unknowingly))

Oh wow, this is too obvious. Yeah. It’s the obvious choice for a reason. THEY EVEN HAVE THE LINCOLN GREEN HOOD! This Pokemon was made for Robin Hood. We would be upset if Robin Hood didn’t have a Decidueye.

As a young son of a yeoman, Robin was raised near the upperclassmen. He was taught that he must protect them. He must work for them. But at the same time he saw their greed and cruelty. He saw the priest who would use the poor to get themselves rich. They were not real follows of the faith of Arceus and his creation Mew (being the first Pokémon and ancestors of all life, somehow I’m making Mew is like the Jesus in this AU). He saw how the men of the manor would take more than their share from their serfs. Or how those lazy professors were making children do their work. The local professor, is the person his father works for.

The one good thing about his father working for the local professor was that Robin could spend time with the Pokémon (and his daughter might be cute). One day, the professor traded for a special Pokemon from Alola and from the moment Robin saw him, he knew this was meant to be his companion for life. It was a Rowlet. Rowlet even seemed to have chosen him. But the professor wouldn’t dare give the son of a yeoman such a special Pokémon.

So, Robin becomes the caretaker for the Pokémon alongside the professor’s daughter, Marion. Soon enough ten year old Robin starts crushing hard and Rowlet knows. Rowlet purposely spends extra time with Marion’s Bulbasaur so the two of them could met up with each other. It’s all blushes and stammering from the both of them. But soon they are able to talk to each. Marion tells Robin about how she wants to travel and be a Pokémon professor herself.

Rowlet becomes a Harry Potter esque owl and Robin uses him to send stuff to Marion, like flowers, she really likes flowers. Also he gave her an Oddish. Robin also used Rowlet to help train the other Pokémon in the lab. When Rowlet evolves into Dartrix, it was proof that in all but name Robin owned him.

With Dartrix and his dad, Robin practices with weapons, and of course mainly with a bow.

One day, Robin has the courage to give Marion a kiss. But sadly after that, Marion says that she is going to Alola to become a professor herself (they are 16 here). After she leaves the lab becomes worse and worse (or at least Robin sees it getting worse). Enough is enough, Robin couldn’t work for corrupted people and his Klefki (story is next) to steal a key and he steal Dartrix from the professor. He also made sure to grab that weird stone that came with Rowlet. (Very Silver of him.)

The three of them leave and and they start fighting THE MAN (minus the King of course, Robin still thinks of the King knew about all this he would do something about it).

Dartrix becomes a Decidueye during a Pokéfight with the Sheriff of Nottingham after the Sheriff almost caught them trying to rob from a corrupt priest (Arceus has priests in this AU). It was epic because he evolved and then used his Z move. Surprised everyone.

The moves Decidueye knows are of course his z move Spirit Shackle, Leaf Blade (also represents the fact that Robin used a sword in the early geste plus I love Leaf Blade), Brave Bird, Shadow Ball and Energy Ball (for special attack?).

They are a key thief, that’s their deal. They are very useful Pokémon for a thief.

Pokédex entry for sun: This even-tempered Pokémon has a habit of collecting keys. It will sneak into people's homes to steal their keys.

Technically speaking, this is Robin’s first Pokémon. He was out with his father practicing with his weaponry. When his father noticed he had a missing key. Which oh no, it was an important key in the lab. Robin and his father searched only to find a Klefki. Klefki didn’t want to give the keys back, so Robin caught him. Later, whenever Robin wanted to sneak out, he uses Klefki. Later on, on heist, Klefki helps get them into locked places.

Also based on the alpha sapphire Pokédex entry (It never lets go of a key that it likes, so people give it the keys to vaults and safes as a way to prevent crime.) I want to imagine that Robin’s Klefki gains the trust of the elite and then Robin uses this Klefki stereotype to his advantage and now has tons of keys for noblemen safes and manors.

The moves Klefki has is thief, play rough, flash cannon and thunder wave (I feel like that would be a useful in real life. Need to stop someone, paralyze them).

Hear me out guys. This is the giving Pokémon. What is the modern interpretation of Robin Hood? Steals from the to give to the poor! He’s a giver.

One Christmas, Robin and his two Pokémon are cold after a day of training with Little John and his Pancham. Here they go to a church being run by an actually good clergyman (Friar Tuck). While helping the friar, with his holiday charity, a Delibird walks up senses the good in them and let’s Robin catch him. Now she helps with their charity. She’s very cheerful and loves healing others and giving Robin’s loot away to the ones in need. She is always always feeding everyone.

Her moves are present, drill peck, ice beam and thief (why can the giving Pokémon learn thief? Screw it it fits the theme.)

It’s a little bandit. Of course, I gave it to the thief. Plus look at the adorableness!

Years pass, Robin is starting the make a name for himself. He’s starting the merry men (I like to think of them as a good team rocket). He even has an archenemy! Life is good, until the love of his life comes back from Alola. They met up together and she gives him this cutie pie. She said Salandit reminder her if the time he snuck into her father’s lab and “borrowed” her father’s books for her. This Salandit did something similar to her.

Robin uses Salandit and his small size to get in places where Klefki’s won’t let them.

His moves are Acid Downpour (because Marion brought the z crystal), Flamethrower, Venoshock, Leech Life (it steals HP) and Dragon Pulse.

It’s a sneaky fox. Masters of disguises. Robin Hood is a fox in Disney. Foxes are cunning thieves. And like to turn into humans. According to Black’s dex entry for Zorua: It changes into the forms of others to surprise them. Apparently, it often transforms into a silent child. Confirmed Zorua are changelings.

Anyway, back to the story.

One night after a mission Little John is very silent, too silent. After some investigations, and Little John’s Pokémon trying to attack him, they find out it’s a Zoroark! Oh no! The guy they just robbed has kidnapped Little John! So, pokéfights and archery and sword fights, they save Little John, and betrayal! Zoroark betrayed his old master and joined Robin Hood! He helped save Little John!

Robin likes to use Zoroark to screw with the Sheriff’s head.

The moves Zoroark knows are Night Slash, Taunt (because he taunts the Sheriff), Nasty Plot and Hyper Beam (He has too many dark type moves).

He represents Sherwood Forest. No more explanation then that.

Finally, the merry men make their home in Sherwood Forest. But, there are plenty of dangerous things in the forest. Some nights the they hear the eerie cries. After, months of this, they finally do something and they hunt for the sound. Decidueye, Salandit and Robin were ready for a big battle against an Ursaring or something similar… no. It was just a Phantump. She was looking for friends and has been looking for friends since she got lost in the forest a hundred years before. She finally found the friend she wanted with Salandit (her new bff) and the merry men. She later evolves protected there home in the forest. Some people were poaching Pokemon and that is not okay.

(Honestly, I could have gone way darker with this one. Way darker.)

She has Phantom Force, Will-O-Wisp, Forest's Curse and Shadow Claw.

Previous: Bedwyr

Next: Uthyr

#Okay the Rowlet line story might have been a little long #But the others are shorter #Robin hood #pokemon #pokemonxbritish legends

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idolizerp · 6 years

Photo

[ LOADING INFORMATION ON POIZN’S MAIN DANCE STEELE…. ]

DETAILS

CURRENT AGE: 28 DEBUT AGE: 20 SKILL POINTS: 15 PERFORMANCE | 05 VOCAL | 15 DANCE | 05 RAP SECONDARY SKILLS: B-boying

INTERVIEW

SHITSTARTER.

only in not in such strong terms –– it’s no secret that steele believes actions to speak louder than words. sometimes it’s as if his main mode of communication is dance. but aside from that, aside from his lifeblood and everything that’s made him who he is today, it’s glances from the background. freakishly tall ( 6’ 5” towers over heads everywhere in asia ), you’ll often find steele standing in the back. to occupy his time ( and to earn that blessed attention ), he makes faces at the camera, rolling his eyes at certain things and giving incredulous ‘ are you kidding me ? ’ expressions at unsympathetic lenses. this wordless candor is what builds him up in the early days.

steele is no - nonsense, but he can have a dry sense of humor. often times you’ll see him lifting his brows at a group member, engaging in a slight chuckle. other times he’ll poke and prod within his group and spark play - fights between members with just a look, his face holding a treasure trove of inside jokes.

so, he is wordless. but even when very little noise leaves his mouth ( and people never seem to get enough of the rich depths of his voice ), steele has a lot to say. or, at least, that’s how it was in the beginning.

over time ( after a single scandal ), though, his snarkiness becomes a detraction. critical and scathing glances are amplified. every single movement is read too far into. why did he cross his arms at that specific time ? is there some beef between them ? did he yell at that person for getting into his light too ? really, he blows up at ONE PERSON and the whole world seems to think he’s a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

the truth is, that’s the old steele. he’s almost thirty; he understands that screaming at people isn’t productive or acceptable. and he also doesn’t believe letting such anger and resentment fester within him is worth his time. the way his face sits coolly unmoving now says as much. no longer is he the funny background guy. steele is the handsome man with the big brows who doesn’t say much. who scowls, but that’s only because that’s how his face is built. forgiveness is a slow and long time coming, but 99 is convinced that keeping his mouth shut and his expressions blank is the key to resetting it all.

“ don’t comment on anything, don’t even blink in someone’s direction because it’ll be taken the wrong way. ” they don’t yank on his chain, instead leaving rather forceful suggestions, but he lets the ‘ or else what ? ’ die on his lips nevertheless. steele / jieping / everything in between knows the answer : “ or else we’ll send you packing. ” they don’t need to squish him like a bug like midas would, because they know that they can just drop him instead of offering to renew his contract, leaving him flat on his ass. and isn’t that just the single worst thing in the known universe ?

so, nowadays, it’s less. ‘ oh my god, look at steele’s face ! ’ and more ‘ who’s that really hot guy with the chin in the back ? he’s so good - looking but he doesn’t say anything. ’

and steele preens at being called hot / sexy / et cetera, et cetera. so, all in all, it’s not so bad.

BIOGRAPHY

PART ONE: PHANTOM BLOOD

keep your head down. don’t start any trouble. we’re tight on money as it is. just finish school. get a good job. help mama out with the bills.

an easy five - step plan enacted on august 17, 1990, 9 : 36 am cst after a difficult birth and an extremely large baby boy. only a mother and father are in the waiting room, waiting to take their daughter and grandson home to guangzhou. the father is a potter, the mother a seamstress, and the daughter a secretary. the not - son - in - law is nowhere to be found, and he never reappears in their lives after the grandson’s birth.

three incomes are still just barely enough to keep the grandson ( jieping, “ hero of peace ” ) fed and clothed. so the boy starts to help out where he can, bouncing to an inaudible tune on his mother’s lap as he helps her sort through letters and take down messages for her boss with shocking accuracy for a boy of seven. this intelligence is never developed further, his free time spent more on menial chores than stimulation and socialization.

at the very least, they indulge his passion for dance, scrounging around enough to send him to classes for a few years from the ages of five to eight before they run out and he has to drop out. jieping never begrudges his family for that.

he never lets what few friends he has know that he does not, in fact, own seven pairs of the same pants –– but, in fact, two that he recycles over the week. it doesn’t even matter, anyway. once he’s done with step five, he’ll have all the pants he wants.

PART TWO: BATTLE TENDENCY

have nots like jieping tend to hold a lot of resentment. bitterness. once his mother manages to wrangle enough money to ship him off to a private school in beijing, he starts to see just how much he really does not have. rolexes on the upperclassmen, his peers deciding to go out for milk tea every other day while he sits in his lonely apartment counting his monthly allowance and stretching it as thin as it can possibly go. while the others get to avoid the oppressive smog either by being driven everywhere or from the safety of their own vehicles, jieping invests in masks and filters.

he walks everywhere, even through the seedier parts of town late as night as long as they get him to his destination quicker because he knows the only place he’d really be understood is the underground dance scene. there, he’s nameless, but his talent is admired. self - taught, crew - less, he spends more time than he expected giving vague non - answers when his identity is questioned. dancing is his priority ; he’s not the type to show up to an underground club hoping to get recruited, though the interest is, at least, flattering. jieping isn’t there to make a name for himself. he’s just there to move. and if he puts on a good performance, trapped in his own world as he is, that’s just negligible.

back at school, it doesn’t improve matters that he’s something of an unkempt lad, often yelled at by administrators to start tucking his shirt into his pants and to wear a normal belt or else insert - empty - threat - here. if people look at him long enough, they’ll start to see his father in his face. if they’re malicious enough, they might even use his existence to blackmail a high ranking official who has yet pay a hefty fine for secretly siring another child. but then they see the way jieping’s thick brows draw together and his fists clench and decide that it’s better to be on the good side of a young boy who’s too tall to be only thirteen.

he has no qualms with punching out fellow students, though this only happens three times in his entire career at beijing huijia private academy. the knuckles on his left hand catch on the cheekbones of rich kids that are too proud to admit that they’ve been beaten up by a dirty commoner. the so - called ‘ charity cases ’ start to look up to jieping. their accounts of his bravery and heroism are inconsequential when antis dredge up this part of his past.

see ? he was always aggressive. what a prick.

PART THREE: STARDUST CRUSADERS

“ it’s a vacation, ” he tells his mother. “ you’re supposed to relax. ” they stand in front of her estranged elder sister’s daunting apartment complex in gangnam. he’s fifteen, scrawny with long hair and an underbite, bruises all over his arms and legs from failed attempts at b - boying. he’s learning, getting better, but he just doesn’t have the upper arm strength to hold himself up very long before crashing down. his mother thinks he’s getting into fights again instead of hanging around with underground dance crews, and, frankly, that’s a little hurtful.

jieping’s never met his aunt before, the woman leaving six years before he was born. all he knows is that she’s something of a socialite ( ex - trophy wife ), and she’s friends with lots of powerful people. when he meets her, he notes with some distaste that she doesn’t seem very fond of his mother. but when he tells her he likes to dance, her eyes light up and he’s taken off - guard.

as if his mother is a nonentity, jieping’s aunt starts interrogating him, nodding as he drops some names from the chinese underground scene that he’s sure she doesn’t know, and after an hour of probing, she eyes him, and asks, “ you know, i think you’d thrive in sopa. ” she knows people, she can get him an interview and audition and is even willing to help him take care of the costs.

jieping blinks. “ what ? ” he barely speaks korean, his elective language being english. jieping’s only experience with korean was being his friend’s study buddy, whereupon he picked up a few basic sentences. to say nothing, of course, of the fact that he wasn’t even intending to pursue a career in dance. and that … he wasn’t expecting his mother to seem so enthralled by the idea. his aunt tells him that sopa’s not planning on accepting new students just yet, but if he’d like to enroll for the next school year, he should let her know by the end of the week. seeing as they’re staying in her loft, he’s probably going to be pestered until the day they leave.

he mentions it off - handedly to his mother as they’re preparing to go to bed that night and is taken aback when she tells him to consider it. “ how do you know she’s not lying to us ? ”

didn’t he know she used to be a dancer, leaving home because their parents thought her dreams were too frivolous ? that her career came to a screeching halt when her relationship with an idol was exposed and she was ( publicly ) cast to the wayside ? she probably sees some of herself in him.

( not like that’s troubling. no, not at all. )

“ if you really like dancing, baobei, ” his mother tells him, her hand cupping his cheek, “ if you really love it like you used to when you were young, then you should take her up on it. she’s even willing to pay for everything. ” oh, and it always comes down to money.

if he stays with his aunt, his mother won’t have to send him red envelopes anymore. she can use her meager paycheck on herself. purchase some new clothes, finally fix those clunky heels. maybe even break out the hotpot all for herself. jieping chooses to think of it this way rather than acknowledging the fact that it sounds like his mother’s just trying to get him out of her hair –– or, her wallet, as it were. he makes his decision that night. it’s the day before new year’s eve. a little early to be making resolutions like this, he thinks, but it doesn’t hurt.

living with his aunt isn’t as bad as it seems at first, culture shock –– which she helps with –– aside. he thought he’d profoundly dislike her, but it turns out the woman actually gives good advice. in addition to whipping his korean into ( amorphous ) shape, she teaches him actual technique so that he doesn’t end up hurting himself, and she even takes him out to eat with a bunch of her b - boy friends when his acceptance to sopa is finalized. it sparks the start of a very close kinship, expressed by wandering into her room in the middle of the night to ask what a certain word means in this one context or by massaging his calf after a long day of practice.

when jieping actually starts to get some real instruction, he skyrockets. one of the “ best damn dancers in this school ” according to the chair of the department of practical dance, most likely to succeed, his teachers all rave about his potential. the other students grumble about the fact that a non - native –– a boy from across the yellow sea –– is their superior. his area of focus is singular, they gripe. he’s not even interested in pursuing anything else. the only reason the faculty likes him so much is because he could’ve gone to hanlim, and all they expect him to do is dance, anyway. the man can hold a tune, but that’s not exactly difficult to do. so what if he’s actually pretty steady even when dancing ? his rapping is average, and that’s mostly because his grasp of the language isn’t as strong as it could be. a singular skillset and the vestiges of natural talent in other areas aren’t worth all that attention. a lump of clay could become a beautiful vase, but jieping’s never seemed interested in metaphorical pottery. maybe the praise will actually start to seem merited when his grades in everything other than dance stop being terrible.

jieping doesn’t care much when they relentlessly mock his accent, but it does drive him into fluency if only to stop that avenue of attack so he can have his peace and quiet. it’s a pity about his looks, the frequent chin jokes tossed his way, but braces have cleaned him up quite a bit and when he cut his hair ( enough that you could finally see his eyes ) he really wasn’t too bad looking. maybe that’s why he never really gets anywhere until after graduation. in the end, it turned out all the attention he received from the faculty was only meant to keep him from transferring schools when he figured he could get a better education elsewhere. they were waiting for him to seek out companies on his own and leech off of that ( “ we knew he had what it takes ! ” and other -isms thereof ), but when he kept to himself and instead looked into jobs in teaching dance, the favoritism all but vanished in his third year. from “ one of the best ” to “ a very good dancer. ” if only they’d told him how they really felt from the get - go.

“ have you thought about what you wanted to do ? ” his aunt asks him almost a year since he’s been out of school. he helps out at her studio in the meantime, his pockets still lined with her money. it makes sense that she, too, is trying to boot him out of her life –– or, she’s just trying to get him to reach maximum potential, if he wanted to be optimistic. which he didn’t. “ i think you’d do well in the idol circuit. you’re intense. it’s fun to watch you dance, and it’d be a waste to keep it to my studio or the underground when you could have this massive audience. you’ve got that flare about you, y’know ? ”

he thinks of her old boyfriend, the one who almost ruined her life, and makes a face.

“ oh, come on. don’t tell me you didn’t think of it ! you went to school with at least a couple of trainees, didn’t you ? and they didn’t pique your interest at all ? ”

if he shook his head, he’d by lying, but … he’s also something of a realist. him and idol life probably wouldn’t mix –– though not exactly a wild card, he’s got something of an independent streak. he only plays by the rules he likes, and that’s not the most desirable thing for companies looking to hit it big with their next boy group. even the phrase boy group makes him feel a little weird.

his aunt rolls her eyes. “ i know what you’re thinking. you’re too cool or whatever for it, they’ll spend every second of every day trying to control or contain you. i mean, that’d probably be true if you were in midas or msg. but 99’s pretty lax in comparison. koala.t is a maybe. kjh is too new to be reliable, in my opinion, but you could definitely go for the two other ones i mentioned. it’s just something to think about. i can probe around to see who’s currently casting, if you’d like. ” then, as an afterthought, she compliments his shower singing, ruffles his hair, and then flounces away.

jieping scowls at the kitchen counter, sighs, and then makes his choice. he might as well shoot for the stars, right ? even if he misses, he’ll land near the moon.

PART FOUR: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE

99 gets him by chance, a coin that landed on heads leading to him attending two rounds of auditions and an interview.

being added into the company in april of 2010, in the midst of planning poizn out, doesn’t leave him a lot of room for bonding. so he doesn’t really do it. his skill as a dancer is acknowledged by the others, and he’s fine with that. his height intimidates a lot of them, and choreographers grouse about where they should put him in formations so that he doesn’t block people who are ear - height and below. his fairly average performance in rapping and singing is something of a shock, though it’s generally acknowledged among the teachers that he’s nowhere near good enough at either to be given a ‘ lead ’ anything. “ a little boring, ” the vocal teacher says. “ uninspired. but it could be something, if you tried. ” ‘ if ’ being the operative word.

all they know is that he’s a main dancer, through and through. impeccable technique, electrifying ( and just the perfect amount of terrifying ) stage presence. the name of his aunt’s studio sitting prettily at the top of his resumé definitely helps matters, as do his actual good looks once the stylists get their hands on him. he’s got the makings for poizn, they declare. he’s a little surprised. he’s not really friends with the other boys in the lineup, and he’s still something of a greenhorn in 99. to have them push him so far so soon is a little nerve - wracking, and no amount of arm pinching is waking him up from this dream.

what is he going to do when they offer him the spot ? say no ?

and so that’s that.

being an idol is an … acquired taste. he doesn’t expect everything about him to be so relentlessly marketed. his dry humor, which he’d been using to endear himself to his group mates, is suddenly now his shtick. his name ? steele ? some reference about how he’s a tough guy, unbendable, and flashy and shiny all at the same time. sturdy, holds the group’s performances together with his undeniable skill. it’s all coming up roses.

their reputation starts to take a few hits because of scandals before long ( what does 99 expect when looking for bad boys to fit the concept, anyway ? ), but jieping pays it no heed. he likes to think of himself as a good friend, offering support where the others need it, but he also manages to keep himself afloat by 1. ) staying out of trouble and 2. ) looking as if he doesn’t approve of his members’ choices in public. widened eyes as someone dodges a question about a past scandal and stretched lips that indicate a level of ‘ oh jeez ’ are enough to make him go viral for brief moments at a time. for a while, he’s the ‘ good ’ member ( if not the condescending foreigner ), even when cures realize he’s prone to somewhat malicious teasing. he does a good job of masking the slight resentment and weariness of being around constant fuck - ups.

but this good faith doesn’t last long.

2016. dumb and dumber. jacket shooting. he lets his temper get the best of him, becoming one of those rich idiots he hates the most.

( all because of a missed phone call. if he’d slept at an appropriate hour instead of practicing all night, he might’ve been able to catch his mother one last time. semi meets sedan. who’s going to win ?

the public never finds out about this. )

“ what do you think you’re doing ? ” it’s not so much of a roar as a boom. everyone freezes, even his group mates look up at the normally pleasant and quiet man with shock. “ you’re in my light, you idiot ! how is the photographer supposed to take pictures of me when i’m drenched in your shadow ? no, don’t walk that way. knowing you, you’ll just trip over the cable and take out the thing entirely. do you guys just fuckin’ hire anybody these days ? jesus christ. dumb and dumber. guess this song’s about you, huh, moron ? ”

shaky cell phone camera. shaken production assistant. jieping goes viral again. for all the wrong reasons, of course.

at least he realized he’s messed up. every comment that calls him out for his shitty treatment of this particular staff member is absolutely right. he shouldn’t have snapped like that. no matter how tired, no matter how stressed, no matter the deep grief paining his heart, nothing warranted taking it all out on someone who was just trying to do their job. it would have taken less than ten seconds to politely ask the p.a. to move. he might’ve received a smile and apology in return, rather than a young woman bursting into tears. he hates that there are cures that come to his defense. he wants to call them out, but after posting a handwritten apology on instagram, 99 strongly implies that they’d like him to keep mum, more consequences forthcoming.

this isn’t what he wanted. when he calls his aunt for advice, it’s the first time where she doesn’t know what to tell him. she’s disappointed in him, that much is clear in her voice, and he feels even shittier. “ i didn’t think you were that kind of person. ” he’s not, and he isn’t sure if she believes him. but she goes with him, hand in hand, to the funeral back in guangzhou, and it seems like all is forgiven, even if he never ended up explaining himself.

he’s only allowed to be there for two days and he’ll half to spend half of their promotion time benched. nobody recognizes him, mask covering his face, though there’s a slight murmur that maybe tall jieping grew up into this giant after all. he doesn’t make a fuss when he comes back, and 99 pretends that he never left. fans are none the wiser, though jieping’s sure the information is floating around somewhere now.

( his first reappearance on a music show is lukewarm. it doesn’t surprise him that the cheers are quieter than usual. )

poizn looks empty without their main dancer, someone says. if jieping had any amount of sense, he’d leave that empty space for brighter skies. maybe become a recluse like his aunt, teaching other young hopefuls to dance. she really did see a lot of herself in him, didn’t she ?

jieping’s mother didn’t raise a quitter, though, so that kills the thought immediately. it comes to a halt with a crunch of glass and steel.

PART FIVE: GOLDEN WIND

even though it’s two years in the past, 99 still reminds jieping to keep on his toes whenever interacting with anybody. his resting bitch face did him no favors as soon as his snark became an unfavorable mark upon him. he has to be neutral or friendly. no in between. if he can manage to work his way up to happy without looking terrifying, then that’s even better. but any ounce of negative emotion will be read for filth, so it’s in his best interest to stay away from anything pointing downward.

forgiveness comes slowly, given a slight boost when it comes out ( against jieping’s will ) that he personally apologized to the p.a. in question and even took her out to a dinner that went around six figures –– all out of his own pocket. but that’s not enough, because they’re all just waiting for him to scream at someone else.

he’s only two years away from turning thirty, so he figures he should start to act like it. and he does, stopping to think about things from an ‘ adult ’ and ‘ responsible ’ perspective as opposed to ‘ well, i’m doing just fine all on my own. ’ he sacrifices his isolationist tendencies for kindness and encouragement, wanting to show his juniors and the public alike that he’s grown up and decided to show that he really is a good person, just caught at the wrong time.

he tries to pick up where his aunt left off with her vague but pleasant advice, aiming for a wise - beyond - his - years vibe. and if all else fails, then he could at least be the calm respectful one sitting in the back. adult, jieping reminds himself. with a capital a. songs like love scenario and rubber band hinder this a little bit, at least on stage, but he finds that perseverance is the key to everything. so he’ll just keep working at it until he finds himself where he wants to be.

he doesn’t need to hole himself up in a fancy apartment in seoul, waiting for a cousin’s kid to show up and tell him that they enjoy b - boying. he doesn’t have to be a repeat of his aunt. he can claw his way back to the not - top.

it’s not like a guy who stands at 6’ 5” can afford to be scared of heights, after all.

#id.bio #id.poizn #id.99 #id.kris wu

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24hs · 7 years

Text

Ace of Hearts

summary: Luda has always been the best at volleyball, wherever she went. That’s until she meets Bona.

pairings: bonlu ; leunseo

genre: fluff (side angst)

words: 8,3 k

also readable on ao3 and asianfics

Luda has always been the best at volleyball, wherever she went.

It’s just her thing, has been since kindergarten ; when her classmates played board games or hide and seek, she was outside, dribbling an old ball the kindergarten owned by herself, throwing it against a wall to practice catching. She didn’t know the concept of volleyball yet - playing ball itself was her hobby -, but if she had, she probably would have signed up for a team as soon as possible.

And that’s what she does when she eventually enters the first year of middle school - the coach, a young man whom they referred to as Coach Dongrim, was doubting her social skills as she had zero experience in team play, but put her in his team anyway when he saw her play.

Even as a 12 year old Luda has confidence, at least about her volleyball skills, so she’s able to play with a passion no one else has.

There is someone who is close, though, very close to her own skills, and it takes Luda some hours of hard practice to notice her since she has always been hiding, supporting her team by defending rather than attacking (something Luda absolutely cannot relate to).

Her name is Son Juyeon, but everyone is calling her Eunseo, so Luda just takes that nickname over.

Eunseo is quiet, she chews on the tips of her hair when she‘s nervous, often doodles in class, and, what’s most important, she is incredibly strong. The first smash from her Luda encounters almost knocks her out of her shoes - which is bad since she had been her opponent in this certain game.

Luda decides that she doesn’t want to be Eunseo‘s opponent ever again, and with this, they’re best friends.

(Eunseo doesn’t seem to have any friends, just like her, so she doesn’t complain. The deep blush when Luda first sits down next to her in lunch tells her Eunseo might even wanted to befriend her too, but was just hesitating. After all, Luda hits the volleyball almost as hard as Eunseo does, and she also has been told she’s kind of intimidating to kids her age. And kids under her age. And kids over her age. And-

Well, Luda can just be pretty scary.)

By the time they graduate, they’re by far the best players in the team, even though Luda is better, of course, a bit quicker, a bit faster, a bit more passionate.

Luda never minded being alone, but she has to admit being with Eunseo is a lot nicer. (Playing with an actual person rather than with a brick wall is a lot nicer and a hell more convenient.)

They apply to different high schools, all more in Luda‘s area than in Eunseo‘s, but she made clear she doesn’t mind driving to school two hours a day just to attend the same school as Luda.

They spend their summer vacation together in the Son‘s holiday home in Jeju, and when they arrive, Luda notices for the first time Eunseo is insanely, obnoxiously rich. (Her parents are, Eunseo claims, and Luda just nods it off.)

They have the time of their lives, riding their bikes around the island and playing volleyball the whole day, occasionally going swimming, and watching scary movies, snuggling together, at night.

Eunseo has always been the more worrisome between the two of them, so while Luda is able to actually relax while sipping on her self made caipirinha (without alcohol!), Eunseo is frowning and biting her finger nails, thinking about whether they’re going to get accepted into one of the prestige high schools.

(Luda tells her to quit it when she can almost see Eunseo’s forehead keeping all those wrinkles, so Eunseo tries her best not to show.)

Even bigger is the joy when they actually do get into an High school called Happy, an institution training especially people who aim to become either actors, idols, or, as in Eunseo‘s and Luda‘s case, athletes.

Luda has decided over her last vacation as a middle schoolers that she wants to play volleyball for the rest of her life, and Eunseo? Eunseo told Luda she doesn’t know yet.

(Luda thinks that Eunseo can afford to buy time, unlike Luda she wouldn’t have to start working for a scholarship right now. Then Luda thinks, that’s unfair, and scolds herself mentally. Eunseo is her best friend. Eunseo deserves to be unsure. Eunseo deserves it all, and she would try to give it to her.)

The first day of High school, they are confronted with rude seniors and scary hag teachers and cafeteria food that almost makes them throw up, and Luda hates it. Eunseo doesn’t seem too bothered, at least not when she holds Luda‘s hand while they’re going to the gym where first auditions for the school‘s school teams - football, baseball and volleyball - would be held.

Of course, they play themselves into the team with their left pinkies, and their team seniors - two girls called Hyunjung and Sojung - congratulate them with smoothies. (They immediately love this team, building a crass contrast to the rest of this hell school.)

Hyunjung proudly introduces herself as the team‘s captain, and Sojung quickly claims herself the co-captain, to which Hyunjung reacts with scoffing. (“Who else could it be, we were the only ones in this team!” - “Your ego is big enough to take both positions and you know it.”)

Luda and Eunseo find out Hyunjung and Sojung have been best friends since kindergarten and have started playing two years ago, in their last year of middle school. According to Hyunjung they’re “extraordinary”, according to Sojung they were “just in a need of a hobby after the softball team of their middle school had thrown them out”.

They like them from the very beginning.

However, before they can actually start practicing, they need two more members - they hold another audition and two seniors turn up, Nayeon and Jeongyeon. It’s hard for all of them, knowing they’re going to graduate this year while trying to become a team, but, somehow, they do it. By the end of Eunseo’s and Luda’s first year, they have made four friends they hang out with around the clock, so it’s no wonder they sniffle a little when Nayeon and Jeongyeon leave, on their way to university, Nayeon majoring dance and Jeongyeon aiming a Sport Science Degree. (Okay, they pretty much bawl their eyes out. Luda makes Eunseo swear not to tell anyone.)

Luda and Eunseo have their first vacation as High schoolers, but this time, at Sojung’s, whose mother gladly allowed them to stay for some weeks. When they arrive, Hyunjung is already there. Of course. She and Sojung always stick together, are even closer than Luda and Eunseo. Luda doesn’t think much of it.

At least she doesn’t until she and Eunseo go to get snacks downside just to walk into Sojung’s room, finding them making out. (Luda clears her throat and they jump ten inches apart, looking sheepishly away from each other. Eunseo has to suppress a laugh.)

They awkwardly sit next to each other, and after a tense minute, Hyunjung speaks up. “Atmosphere’s already ruined”, she says, “might as well confess some things.”

And so they start. Hyunjung had fallen in love with Sojung last year while Sojung had fallen for Hyunjung two years ago. This year, they both confessed, and were a secret couple until now.

(“Why didn’t you tell us?”, Eunseo asks quietly, and they think about it a while. “I think I wanted Sojung for myself”, Hyunjung admits, while Sojung says, “It’s just way hotter.” While Hyunjung punches Sojung in the arm, Eunseo laughs, but Luda notices the thing Hyunjung said lingered in her mind.)

“You two”, Sojung says, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend and pointing with her ring and middle finger at Luda and Eunseo, who sit a bit straighter, alarmed by their co-captain. “Confess something. This is a team meeting. We’re getting closer.” Eunseo is visibly uncomfortable, biting on her lips, so Luda grabs her hand and squeezes it. “In kindergarten”, she begins, “I got expelled.”

It’s quiet for a second before hell breaks loose.

“What do you mean you got expelled? How can you get expelled from kindergarten?”, Hyunjung roars, Sojung looks impressed and starts clapping her hands, and Eunseo whispers, “You never told me that.” Luda squeezes her hand another time, a bit more gentle, and a Eunseo understands. She relaxes and Luda grins instantly.

“There was this girl, she always used to tease me because of- hell, I don’t know, anyway, one day I took revenge.” She pauses. “After she got up from a nap, I poured orange juice on her bed. She had to go to potty training again after that.” She grins widely. “She never found out who did it.”

“Good one, Lee Luda”, Sojung says, looking like a proud mom. “How did you get thrown out then, though?”

“A teacher saw”, Luda shrugs, “but she agreed not to tell Jiyeon. She is pretty scary if I remember her correctly.” Their upperclassmen go crazy about the story, and Eunseo’s turn is forgotten, much to her happiness.

(“Thank you, Luda”, she whispers, when they’re laying on an old mattress together in Sojung’s room and Hyunjung and Sojung are fast asleep, “for earlier. Thanks for making up that story.” “It wasn’t a complete lie, you know”, Luda mumbles, half asleep, “there was a Jiyeon who annoyed the hell out of me. Just never got my revenge.” Eunseo hums and slowly grabs her hand. “Maybe you will, one day.” “Yeah”, Luda sighs and turns around so she faces Eunseo, “maybe.”)

The weeks pass in a blink of the eye, and they return to High school, with a slight tan and golden memories, but, again, without a complete volleyball team. Hyunjung and Sojung are seniors now and more stressed than ever, so the captain and the co-captain of the team let the fresh-baked sophomores hold the auditions to catch two new team members. And they do - Jinsook and Yeonjung are freshmen, skilled and almost obnoxiously cute. Everyone loves them from second one.

While the first weeks of a new school year pass, Luda notices Eunseo has changed since they first met. (Of course she did, she scolds herself, they met in middle school. In middle school, Luda had an emo haircut and sometimes hissed at people.)

But Luda had been mean and snappy and she still is mean and snappy, while Eunseo used to be quiet and shy and she now is loud and kind of braggy, which is not exactly bad, but it doesn’t feel like Eunseo anymore.

Eunseo hangs out a lot with her underclassmen, so Luda third-wheels Hyunjung and Sojung, not without second thoughts.

(Luda stands in the empty gym, long after afternoon classes have ended, and tries to play basketball alone.

“Maybe she went through puberty.” She throws the ball, it misses.

“Or now, when she has new friends, she doesn’t need me anymore.” Another shot, also missed.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to see me right now.” Luda scores.)

“Want to grab ice cream after school?”, Luda asks and lets herself fall next to Eunseo, sitting outside on a bench. Eunseo flinches and, in the span of a small millisecond, she moves away. Luda suppresses a scoff and keeps her smile. “I just had lunch”, Eunseo mumbles.

“So did I. Come on! What’s with you lately?”, Luda asks, a frown on her face, and Eunseo bites on her lips. (Usual Eunseo behavior, Luda notes.) “It’s nothing”, Eunseo smiles and pokes her finger in Luda’s side, which both know she hates. Luda grumbles, and snuggles closer to Eunseo. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe Eunseo hasn’t changed.

Their game play, however, did. The team practices six times a week, training not only stamina but also strength and team play. They’re at their peek. (They’re fast, but Luda is faster. They’re strong, but Luda’s stronger. They’re great, but Luda’s extraordinary.)

Luda loves this team.

“We have a game this Sunday”, Hyunjung announces after an especially exhausting training, looking at her phone, “so everyone prepare and practice well.” Everyone nods, too knackered to speak, and starts changing. “Against who?”, Sojung asks.

“Moment High school.” Jinsook lets out a whistle. “What is it?”, Yeonjung wants to know, and Jinsook raises her eyebrows.

“They have a pretty good team”, she says, “my friend Dayoung is in it and she sometimes sends me videos of their practice sessions. It’s sort of impressive.” “Whatever, we are impressive”, Luda interrupts her. “We’re going to beat them.” No one dares to disagree.

Luda doesn’t bother practicing more than she already does. She’s not slacking off, though, she’s taking runs, lifting weights, playing volleyball for hours as always. She just trusts her team to win. (Trust their, trust her skills to win this game easily.)

Sunday comes and the team watches their opponents stepping out of an bus from an empty classroom. The team consists of six girls, leaded by a tall, black haired one. Luda straightens her back when she sees her. She’s gorgeous. Judging by Sojung’s tiny gasp and Yeonjung clutching her heart, the others have noticed, too. “That girl”, Eunseo says, speaking for all of them, “the captain… she could be a model.” Luda ignores the nagging feeling in her brain that she knows this girl from somewhere, has seen this pretty face some over time, and heads to the door. “Come on, girls. Easy game.”

It is, in fact, not an easy game. Twenty minutes have passed, Luda’s shirt is drenched in sweat and her bangs stick to her forehead. She has to admit that she has deadly underestimated them.

The captain of the Moment team had introduced them one by one: Mei Qi and Xuan Yi, seniors, equally stunning. There are Cheng Xiao and Soobin, sophomores, small and pretty. Their youngest, Dayoung, who is quirky, cute and a freshman. And there’s Bona, the black haired beauty they had admired earlier. Senior and team captain.

(She and Hyunjung had shaken hands. While Bona smiled, Hyunjung seemed weirdly stern. Now Luda knows why - because Hyunjung had researched way better than Luda did.)

Dawon, a referee from another near High school, watches the game closely, but both teams play fair. And, in the end, after Luda, after her team gave everything, they do win.

It’s close. Too close. 22 to 21.

Luda has poured her whole heart into this game and she won by one point.

The others are proud, chattering loudly while heading to the changing room, but Luda doesn’t follow, idly dribbling a ball in the empty gym. She slowly starts getting faster, walking along the ball, then running. She runs and runs until her already cracked stamina is all used up and then throws the ball away with all of her strength, letting out a yell through gritted teeth. She didn’t loose, but she lost.

Her chest lifts and lowers rapidly, and she runs her hand through her hair. She catches someone standing in front of the changing rooms and Luda turns around. It’s Bona. It’s Bona, and her hair is still open, and she doesn’t even look sweaty. Luda has poured her whole heart into this game and Bona wasn’t even bothered enough to put her hair in a fucking ponytail.

“What are you staring at?”, Luda spits, but, sadly, due to her fatigue, it doesn’t come out as snappy as she wanted it to be.

“You”, Bona simply says, and she dares to put a smile on her face. Luda turns around, just so she doesn’t have to see it.

“Are you always this aggressive after a game?”, Luda hears Bona asking, and she suppresses the urge to actually spit. “No”, she just answers, turning back again so she faces Bona. “Good game”, Bona calls after her when Luda squeezes herself through the door Bona’s half blocking. Luda has to force herself not to go at Bona for that comment because she has to be mocking her.

She ignores Eunseo’s worried glances when she undresses, packs her things and is the first one to leave.

Yes, Luda has always been the best at volleyball, wherever she went. That’s until she met Bona.

Suddenly, she is just second best, a thought that is pretty much unbearable for her. She also starts hearing a lot of things about her. Rumors, but also facts. Luda finds out Bona is known in her school, maybe even more than she is.

Bona is everywhere.

Apparently, she’s exes with her teammate Xuan Yi, and they’re getting along even though they have to practice together all the time. (“She must be such a good person to pull that one off!”)

She’s the head girl of her school and always on top of her classes. (“That girl is a genius, I’m telling you!”)

She has been playing all her life, since she can walk. (“And they say she is the best, that she has never had an opponent that was as perfect as her.”)

I’m perfect, Luda thinks, a bitter taste on her tongue, I’m supposed to be the perfect one.

It’s not fair, Luda thinks, Bona being better than her without any effort.

(Luda does not think about how she never bothered to practice day and night herself.)

“Is everyone free this Saturday?”, Hyunjung wants to know, this time before practice. They’re in the gym, Jinsook and Eunseo already setting up the volleyball field, and the rest are stretching. “What for?”, Luda asks because their co-captain doesn’t seem to want to. (Knowing Hyunjung and Sojung, Sojung probably already knows anyway.)

“We’re playing against the team from Moment again. Friendship game, though. And we’re going eating afterwards.”

“I don’t have time”, Luda instantly claims. God, she doesn’t need another meeting with that Bona.

“Make time, then”, Sojung scoffs before her girlfriend can answer. “They have good teamwork and we can learn a lot from them.”

Luda clenches her fists, but doesn’t start fighting with Sojung. Rather she just nods and runs another lap, even though they others are ready to start. Eunseo looks after her, with a concerned look on her face.

“If you don’t want to go, I’ll lie for you and say you got sick”, Eunseo says while critical hitting Luda’s video game character. They’re sitting on the floor in Luda’s room, playing on her ten year old Xbox.

(Little Luda had saved money for months and cried real tears when she finally got to hold it in her tiny hands.)

“No”, Luda sighs after a second of serious consideration, “Captain’s never going to believe it. Besides, you suck at lying.” It’s Luda’s way of saying “you don’t have to lie for me” and they both know it.

Eunseo hums.

“You know, I thought about asking Jinsook out.”

Luda’s character receives another hit as Luda’s head turns to Eunseo.

“Really?” She starts grinning. “Wow, congrats, Juyeon! Didn’t know you got game.”

Eunseo blushes at Luda calling her her real name and then scoffs. “I really like her. Do you think she likes me?”

Something in Eunseo’s voice is weird, but Luda can’t quite name what it is, so she decides to ignore it.

“Jinsook…”, she says slowly, to buy time (and not to die in the game), “sure. Everyone likes you. Go for it.”

“Everyone”, Eunseo mumbles. Luda punches Eunseo’s character and it’s killed.

Saturday comes quicker than expected and Luda wishes she had followed Eunseo’s suggestion.

She’s not on her best, which drives her crazy, given that even on her best she can’t reach Bona’s best.

This time, they loose, but both teams aren’t too bothered.

(“Good game”, Xuan Yi says, smiling, and Eunseo grins back. Dayoung, Jinsook and Yeonjung are bickering in the back of the gym, playfully fighting and yelling like little kids.)

They go to the pizzeria by feet since it’s a clear evening and they all need some cooling after the match. Luda is with Eunseo and all of the freshmen in the back while Hyunjung, Sojung and Bona are leading their big group. (They invited Dawon too, who is chatting with Cheng Xiao and Soobin.)

Luda stares at the back of Bona’s hair and doesn’t notice Eunseo is trying to initiate a conversation with her. (“You played well today.” - “Hmm.” - “What are you going to order?” - “Hmm.” - “By the way, I failed my history test.” - “Hmm- what?”)

They squeeze themselves onto a table for originally ten people, and in the mess Luda doesn’t notice she’s stuck between Dawon and Bona. Fuck.

Luda only opens her mouth when she’s asked something. Bona doesn’t seem to notice, or at least, she doesn’t react to it. (Why would she, Luda thinks immediately, Bona doesn’t care about her. Bona doesn’t know her at all. Which is alright, because Luda doesn’t care about Bona and doesn’t know Bona at all.)

When dessert is being served, Bona talks to her.

“Do you like strawberries, Lee Luda?”, she asks. Luda narrows her eyes.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I don’t. Want mine?”

Bona points to her strawberry ice cream.

“Why would you order that if you don’t like strawberries?”, Luda deadpans.

“Maybe I just wanted a reason to talk to you.” Bona smiles and it kind of makes Luda’s stomach drop.

“Maybe that’s the only part of this dessert I don’t like.” Bona’s smile increases and her gummy shows, her eyes narrow. Luda averts her eyes and quickly picks up a single strawberry with her spoon.

She doesn’t see Eunseo’s eyes on her.

They don’t talk anymore after that.

Luda somewhat survives the evening - besides from Bona, the team is surprisingly pleasant and likable and what not - and Luda finds herself being dragged into a heated conversation with Dayoung about overwatch. (The second Dayoung mentions she’s a Junkrat main Luda is already ready to fight her.)

Luda‘s brain kind of knows her former opponents are normal girls who don’t get all drilled to play volleyball all day, just like her team, and she can see them as friends. But she can’t seem to be able to forgive Bona. (For being all perfect effortlessly, Luda thinks. For being better than her at what she loves doing the most.)

With weeks passing, Luda develops the habit of staying after practice, playing by herself. The will to improve - to beat Bona - is there, but she doesn’t know how to do it. So she just runs more laps and does more pushups until she reaches her physical limits.

“Want me to practice with you?”, Eunseo asks when she notices Luda’s even more absent these days, but Luda shakes her head. “You don’t have time, I know that.” She gives her a scolding look. “After you failed that test.”

Eunseo ducks her head and then pouts. “I’ll always have time for you.” Luda grins and bumps her shoulder with her own.

She sees Bona again in one of her private training sessions. Luda’s throwing the ball against the wall repeatedly when Bona steps in, having a ball in her arms herself.

“Is that how you always practice?”, she calls from the end of the gym, and Luda turns on her heels.

“I’ve already finished”, she answers coolly, “Don’t worry, I’m gone in a minute.”

She quickly heads to the changing rooms, but Bona holds her back by grabbing her wrist.

“That looks painful”, she frowns, looking at the purple bruises on Luda’s arms.

“Whatever”, Luda scoffs, trying to release herself from Bona’s firm grip, failing miserably.

“You should try out another bumping technique, yours doesn’t seem to work for you.“ She thinks about it, trying to remember something. “You would also get a lot more strength in your moves and into the ball, I believe it was a flaw of yours.”

Luda’s in a rage all at once.

“I didn’t ask you about my flaws”, she snaps, pulling her arm away from Bona. “With you being here, I’m totally aware of them, thank you very much.”

Luda didn’t expect Bona to react pissed - that girl honestly can keep her temper, unlike Luda -, but she narrows her eyes and answers, “that’s not my fault.”

“It is!”, Luda can’t stop herself, she furiously pushes Bona, who tumbles back. “I didn’t ask for you to come here and- be better than me!”

Bona takes a steady breath. “You don’t practice a lot, do you?”

Luda stares at her. “What?”

“You’re angry because you’ve never been beaten before, even without lots of training. If you came to the point where you are now, but through skills and not talent, you wouldn’t be angry with me, but with yourself.”

Bona’s face turns into a grimace, and it’s the most agitated Luda has ever seen her when she says, “It’s unfair. You’ve got so much talent and you’re wasting it by playing once a week. It’s”, her shoulders fall and she turns around, mumbling the last words, “so damn unfair.”

Bona leaves from where she came from, through the changing rooms.

Luda frowns, confusion and anger mixing in her body, and she yells after her, “What the hell is your deal, Bona?”

Bona doesn’t answer.

“Hi, who is this?”

“Hi, Dayoung. Luda here. We need to meet up.”

They’re sitting in a café. Dayoung is sipping on hot chocolate. “What can you tell me about Bona?”

“Bona?”, Dayoung aks, frowning. “She’s great. Best player I’ve ever encountered. Why are you asking?”

Luda’s eye twitches. “Because”, she exhales, “she jumped at me. Said I’m wasting my talent and that it’s unfair.”

Dayoung sharply inhales.

“What did she mean?”, Luda quietly asks.

“Bona… isn’t exactly talented”, Dayoung hesitates, “don’t get me wrong, she’s brilliant, but she’s not talented. She wasn’t born with her skills.”

Dayoung balances her cup on one of its edges ; a little bit beverage spills, soaking into a napkin she had laid under it before. The once so brightly white material is now of an ugly brown.

“I don’t know how much she practices”, Dayoung admits, “or why she invests all of her time in this. We’ve talked about this, without Bona, but they don’t know anything. Well, Xuan Yi does know, but she won’t tell you. You will have to ask Bona herself for that.”

Luda doubts Bona would tell her. After all, she has never treated Bona with what she would consider kindness or even friendliness. (It was even quite the opposite.)

She wants to try, though. It’s the very single thing beside volleyball that she wants to do no matter what, and, quite like the sport, she doesn’t know why.

Luda’s getting embraced in Bona, and so far she only minds a little bit.

“Xuan Yi, I’m home”, Luda hears a voice, and she straightens her back. She’s visited Xuan Yi at home half an hour ago, hoping to catch Bona there as Dayoung told her they pretty much spend all of their time together.

(“Hi”, Xuan Yi had said, trying not to show her confusion too clearly in her face when Luda showed up on her doormat. “Um, hey”, Luda gave her a crooked smile. “Can I come in?”)

Xuan Yi rushes to the door and opens it. “Welcome home!” Luda sees Bona stepping in, shaking her head, resulting in little snowflakes falling down to the ground. Luda instinctively turns around to see through the window. Snow’s falling heavily. “You have a guest”, Xuan Yi mumbles, and when Bona takes a step to the living room, Xuan Yi quickly hushes through the door behind her and closes it after her. Luda swallows when Bona sees her.

“Hi.”

Bona blinks before she starts smirking. “Lee Luda, what are you doing here?” Luda shrugs. “I thought you could show me some techniques. You know, to get more strength into my movements and all.”

“So you did listen to my critic earlier.”

Bona sits down next to Luda, leaving an amount of appropriate space between them, and folds her hands in her lap. She looks pretty - of course, she always does - with little snowflakes in her hair and in a big scarf wrapped around her throat and shoulders.

“Of course I did.”

They sit in silence before Bona clears her throat. “It would be kind of inconvenient, practicing now”, she says, needlessly pointing to the window, “but, um, we can meet up another time…?”

“Yeah, sure”, Luda nods, then shakes her head right after. “I mean, thank you.”

Bona tilts her head, chewing on her cheek, and after a slow, slow minute Luda realizes Bona wants her gone, so she hastily speaks up before she can throw her out.

“Hey, um”, Luda says, “can I ask you something?”

Bona raises a brow. “Sure.”

“How much do you practice?”

“My team meets up every Tuesday for about one hour and half to-“

“No, Bona, how much do you practice?”

Bona stares at her before another smirk falls on her face. It looks mocking almost.

“So, who told you? Was it Xuan Yi?” She glares in the distance. “That girl doesn’t know how not to get involved.”

“No, actually, Dayoung and I met up”, Luda answered, and Bona nods, as if she had known already.

“Ah, Dayoung”, she sighs, “I assume you don’t know any details. She’s a loyal one.”

Luda sits silently, waiting for Bona to go on. She does.

“I play volleyball… at least once every day”, Bona says thoughtfully. “Sometimes before school starts, mostly in the evening, when everyone’s home and it’s quiet.

I think it has always been like that. I haven’t seen my parents for four months. They’re pretty busy, having their own hospital and all. Volleyball has always been my way to cope with hardships.”

Bona stares out of the window. Luda watches her profile, watches her eyes narrowing with low grief.

“And, I got good. Really good. I’ve had dozens of bruises on my whole body, but I had gotten really freaking good.” Bona lets out a ghost of a laugh.

“And then you came into my life, and even if you behaved like a child, you played like a god.”

Bona’s voice is almost envious, admiring, and Luda can’t even react to the hidden insult the compliment involved.

“I could tell immediately you didn’t have to put in any effort at all to get to the point I only reached after hours of practice. It was frustrating.”

Luda nods, understanding perfectly well how Bona feels. Because, didn’t she misjudge and thought all of that as well, with a bitter heart and irrational mind?

Turns out Luda is the gifted one. (Luda is the one who shouldn’t throw her talent easily away like that.)

“I guess playing volleyball is putting lots of pressure on me”, Bona goes on, “since everyone in my family is so absolutely talented. Like, my parents are famous cardiologists with their own hospital, my older brother is a pilot, and my smaller sister is studying law.”

She snorts. “Even my first girlfriend’s parents own a damn restaurant. Everyone relies on me to get a scholarship and become some volleyball playing god.”

Bona stops. “Like you are.”

Luda shifts her weight.She used to be proud of her volleyball skills, but now she feels like a fraud.

Does she even deserve it? After all what Bona has done to gain hers?

Luda watches Bona’s expression change from bitterness to solely tiredness. Bona sighs. “Sorry I snapped at you in the gym, I didn’t mean to take out my worries at you.”

“It’s alright”, Luda immediately goes, and out of an instinct she grabs Bona’s hand, squeezing it gently.

She quickly lets go after she meets Bona’s eyes, though. (Because she averts her gaze as well, she can’t see them turning soft.)

Luda enters her parents’ house, brushing off the half-melted snowflakes on her coat. “I’m home”, she calls quietly, not waiting for an answer before hushing into her room, closing the door after her.

She wants to have something that will put Bona out of her mind, so she draws, only to find herself drawing pretty stick figures with black hair and volleyball nets.

So she listens to music instead, but every song is about Bona’s struggles. (Luda turns her iPod off.)

Her mother sticks her head into Luda’s room, opening the door only a bit. “Luda, sweetie? Can you go and get some milk from the store?”

She has obvious eye bags, so Luda’s up in a second. “I’ll be back in a minute. Go and rest some.”

When Luda comes back and puts the groceries on the kitchen counter, she thinks of another way of distraction. So she tells her mother she’s out for a while and grabs her running shoes. Luda runs miles and miles, but when she comes home, she’s still doesn’t feel better.

She meets up with Dayoung once more, this time to get Bona’s phone number.“Hi”, she shortly says when calling her, and when there’s no answer at once, she adds, “it’s Luda. You know, Lee Luda. Were opponents twice. Met up some days ago?”

Bona grunts. “I know who you are, dummy, I just woke up. Cut me some slack.” Luda glances at her alarm clock - it’s almost midnight. She feels a blush creeping over her face. “Oh, sorry, I’ll just-“

“No, stay”, Bona yawns, and the words makes Luda flush harder. “Now I’m awake. What is it?”

Luda inhales. “Can you train me?”

Bona snorts, and Luda can hear the smirk in her voice when she asks, “Lee Luda, what has gotten into you?”

She scoffs, but can’t suppress a smile when she says, “must be your impact. So, can you meet up or not?”

After practicing Luda falls behind. While everyone is strolling towards the changing rooms, she stretches her fingers, does some squats and plays around with the ball.

“Aren’t you going to go home?” Eunseo is leaning against the door, already in her free time clothes. Her hair is put in a messy ponytail and her bangs are sticking to her forehead, so Luda guesses she didn’t shower.

“Nah”, Luda answers, groaning as she lets herself falling on the ground. “I’m waiting for someone.”

Eunseo looks confused. “Who?”

“Hey, Luda!”

They both turn their heads to Bona when she enters the gym with a beam on her face.

Luda grins at her and stands up again, not seeing Eunseo’s face falling. Bona’s smile increases when Luda gives her a nudge as a greeting. “Ready to practice, Luda?”

They barely notice Eunseo mumbling a goodbye and then backing off quickly, leaving them alone.

Practicing after both Luda’s and Bona’s official training becomes a habit, and even though Luda dislikes habits, she has to like this one. It contains seeing Bona, after all. And Luda’s muscles ache and cry for rest, but Luda loves it. It’s volleyball. (It’s Bona.)

Bona’s amazing.

The things she has heard about her are true - she is exes with Xuan Yi. They got into a relationship because they were one of those kindergarten friends and thought, “might as well try it out” (quoting Bona). After some months, they had mutually decided to stay on platonic terms.

(“My captain and co-captain”, Luda says, “they’re just like that. Glued together since kindergarten and have been a couple for some time now.” Bona shots her a weird look. “What?”, Luda asks, and Bona shakes her head. “Nothing.”)

She’s the head girl and always on top of her classes, but it’s nothing she’s really proud of. After all, it’s a position she has to take. (Luda still quietly admires her for it ; Bona really is smart effortlessly. She wishes Bona could see her talent just like her skills.)

Bona has been playing since she can walk.

(“My parents were kind of always absent”, Bona shrugs, “so I just picked up a ball to have something to do the whole day.”)

“Lee Luda!”, Bona grins and turns on her heels immediately, even though her practice isn’t over yet and her team’s still standing on the field. Luda quickly walks up to the audience tribunes and sits down, gesturing Bona to finish the game. Bona pouts, but gives her attention to the sport again.

(They team is already used to this. Bona’s temporary team members for this match - Mei Qi, Dayoung and Soobin - sigh, however, as they know Bona’s mind is already with Luda. “It always is”, Dayoung likes to joke, just to receive a light smack by Mei Qi.)

Luda throws her school bag onto the empty seat next to her and sits down, her eyes not leaving Bona’s tensed figure. Bona’s weekly team practice is almost over when Luda gets out of school, so it has become a costume for Luda to just drop off at Bona’s High school’s gym and watch Bona practice.

And, god, how well she does.

Luda never gets tired of seeing Bona’s play - it’s like a rehearsed dance when she soars above the field ; it’s like she’s in the boxing ring when she hits the ball with immense power, using her whole body to do so.

“Okay, let’s finish up for today”, Bona eventually says, flipping her hair and fanning her face. “Xuan Yi, Dayoung, Soobin - tidy up the field. Mei Qi and Cheng Xiao - you worked especially hard today, so you can go already if you want to.” Mei Qi and Cheng Xiao high five and disappear in the changing room while the rest grumbles.

“And you, Luda-“ Luda’s head snaps up when Bona calls her.

“Keep looking pretty like that. I’m with you in a second”, Bona grins, and Luda smirks back.

They spend a lot of time together, more than Luda and Eunseo (used to). Besides practicing volleyball, they take walks, they play video games. They enjoy their free time. They also study together ; Bona’s favorite subject is English, and even though Luda is pretty much on her level, she patiently listens to Bona blabbering about phrasal verbs and why colonel isn’t pronounced as colonel but as colonel.

Luda notices Bona quickly turns her favorite person, and she doesn’t mind at all. (She knows that that place used to be Eunseo’s, but she just has fallen so hard. She can’t catch her breath. It’s Bona.)

Eunseo has noticed, too.“You spend a lot of time with that Bona”, Eunseo says ; they’re on their way home from school. “I’m close with her, so what”, Luda shrugs, not minding Eunseo talking about Bona because she’s on mind all the time anyway.

“I think… I might be even in love with her.” Luda says it with a softness that makes her own heart beat a bit harder, but Eunseo’s reaction is more crass.

“You’re what?”

Eunseo is some steps behind, so Luda turns around when she hears the shrieking. Luda lets out a laugh, but she’s confused, clearly. “Is she so bad?” She tilts her head, waiting for an answer, and Eunseo bites her lip. “No, it’s just…”

“Then what? Can’t you be happy for me?”

Luda almost flinches at how she shoots the word rather than saying them lightly, jokingly, like she had intended to. Eunseo does flinch, however.

“I am happy for you, it’s just…” Eunseo gives an halfhearted attempt at reaching for Luda’s hand, but lets her own arm drop before she can grab it. “I don’t see you anymore. At all. I just don’t want to loose you.”

Luda turns softer, and she steps up to Eunseo and pulls her into a hug. They haven’t done that in a long time - Luda remembers when they were in middle school and she was a tad taller than Eunseo and they would always press their foreheads and noses against each other’s. Now, Eunseo can rest her chin on Luda’s head and Luda buries herself in Eunseo’s jacket, opened and wrapped around her small body.

“You’re not loosing me, dummy”, Luda mumbles, “even if I should get into a relationship with Bona.”

It’s meant to be reassuring, and Luda finds her peace in her longest friend’s arms, not seeing Eunseo’s spilling tears quietly.

Bona reaches for another slice of pizza and then snuggles into the bed’s pillows. Both teams and Dawon are at Luda’s, doing a movie night - right now they’re watching Bring It On (Soobin’s choice, highly cheered by their youngest). Luda and Bona are sitting on her bed’s top while Jinsook and Dayoung are laying on the end of it. Dawon, Soobin and Xuan Yi are cuddling on the floor, all sharing one blanket, and the rest is sitting on chairs Luda had gotten from their living room before.

Eunseo hasn’t arrived yet, having to help her parents with something, but she texted Luda that she’ll come later.

“Do you like the movie so far?”, Bona says, whispers to not disturb the others, and Luda shrugs. “I think I would have rather watched guardians of the galaxy, but this is fine too.” Bona chuckles quietly and robs closer to Luda. They watch in silence, and Luda glances at Bona, who is all into the movie, her eyes glistening.

Bona lets her hand slowly slides down her side, to Luda’s, and she entangles their fingers without missing a second of the movie. Luda squeezes it, and her heart is at ease.

“What do we watch now?”, Cheng Xiao says, yawning. “What about guardians of the galaxy?”, Bona suggests at once, pointing to the dozen of DVDs they had gathered on the floor. Luda raises an eye brow and Bona smirks at her. “Sure”, Sojung says, crawling to the recorder to change the DVD.

“I’ve got snacks and stuff in the kitchen”, Luda speaks up, “I’ll get it before the movie’s starting.” She makes a move to stand up, but Dawon and Xuan Yi stand up at once.

“Don’t worry, we’ll bring it”, Hyunjung says, also at her feet. (Sojung throws her a scoff. “We will?” - “We will”, Hyunjung scoffs back.)

“Yeah”, Jinsook says, already half out the door, “we’ll be back in a minute.”

Luda blinks, and everyone except Bona is gone.

“Okay”, she sighs, “what was that?”

Bona grins. “Maybe I asked them earlier to leave for a moment.”

Luda frowns. “Why?”

And Bona leans in, cups her cheeks and kisses Luda.

(Luda learns that Bona’s not only great at Volleyball.)

Bona slowly pulls away, but she’s still there, still in Luda’s atmosphere, with her nose almost touching hers.

“Lee Luda”, she whispers, “I’ve fallen in love with you. Please accept my confession.”

And Luda bursts out of laughing, because it’s just such a Bona thing to say, and then she steals another kiss, and another one, and one more because it feels so great and Bona loves her too.

They have dived into their own world, so neither of them sees the tall figure standing in the door.

But they hear Eunseo as the things she carried drop to the floor, clanking and clattering.

Luda jumps away from Bona’s lips to see the hurt in Eunseo’s eyes, and both Bona and her watch in shook when Eunseo mechanically turns on her heels and steps out of the room.

Luda quickly gets up and runs after her, leaving Bona on her bed.

“Eunseo!”, she calls, running down the stairs, chasing her as she’s a bit faster than her. They both ignore their friends in the kitchen, worriedly looking after them when Eunseo rips open the door and gets outside, Luda right after her.

“Eunseo, what are you doing?”, Luda yells, out of breathe when Eunseo finally stops. She can’t see her face as Eunseo’s turned her back to her, but she can see her shoulders shaking. Luda’s stomach drops. “What I’m doing?”, Eunseo mumbles, and Luda is horrified to hear that her voice trembles. In all years, Luda has never seen her like this.

“Luda, you’re kissing Bona. Bona. Someone you have known for what, five months? And you’re kissing her?”

Luda eyes her back. Eunseo hasn’t been facing her for the whole conversation.

“Juyeon, you’re being ridiculous. What’s with you?”

Eunseo finally turns around and Luda steps back. There’s tears in Eunseo’s eyes and on her cheeks and she’s a mess. And Luda realizes - way, way too late - that it’s her fault, somehow it’s Luda.

Eunseo takes a shaky breathe, and Luda gets a terrible gut feeling.

(Eunseo as a middle schooler, applying to the same High schools as Luda just so they can be together.

Eunseo blushing whenever they hug or hold hands or when they’re close.

Eunseo distancing herself from her, just to hold closer to her again.

Eunseo telling her that she’s thinking about asking Jinsook out, clearly watching her reaction.

Eunseo hating Luda’s crush with all she’s got.)

“I’m in love with you, Luda.”

They’ve all left when Luda comes home, tired and with swollen eyes.

It had turned dark next to them as they had a long, long talk.

(“Since when?”

“Remember that first vacation we took together?”

“Oh, God, Eunseo… that was years ago…”

“I know.”)

Luda has apologized a thousand times, just to get told it’s not her fault. She could see how tired Eunseo was, though, tired of loving someone who won’t love her back, and it feels like a knife turning in her stomach every time she thinks about it.

Bona hasn’t left.

She’s still sitting on Luda’s bed when Luda enters her room.

“I talked with the others”, Bona says, “they’re home.”

Luda nods, sitting down next to her.

“Is Eunseo home?”

“Yeah.” Luda fiddles with her hands, then she bursts, “She loves me. She has been loving me for years, and I didn’t know. I had no idea at all.”

Bona wraps an arm around Luda’s waist and waits. For what, Luda doesn’t know, and maybe Bona doesn’t know either because that’s how they spend the next minutes, together, in silence.

Luda closes her eyes.

Despite her suffering, a part of her heart is bright. It’s Bona.

It will always be Bona.

“Hey, Luda”, Bona mumbles, stroking her hair idly, “by the way, do you remember me from kindergarten?”

Luda turns her head, frowning in confusion. “Kindergarten?”

And the puzzle pieces come together. (Luda knew she had known Bona from somewhere.)

Luda gasps.

“You’re Kim Jiyeon. You’re the girl who annoyed me every day in freaking kindergarten.”

Bona scoffs. “That’s harsh. You weren’t quite the saint either. You always pulled my hair.”

“You did too!”, Luda complains, laughing, forgetting about her misery for a moment. “You would always steal the dolls I was playing with. It’s why I picked up a volleyball in first place.”

Bona smiles at her. “You are why I started playing. I always say you playing with it, so I wanted to try as well.”

They stay quiet, amazed by what they have find out, until Luda asks, “why didn’t you tell me?”

Bona shrugs. “I only found out some days ago. And now I figured you might needed some distraction.” Luda looks her into the eye and squeezes her hand.

“You’re not a distraction, Kim Jiyeon. You’re so much more than that.” Then, quieter, “I love you.”

Bona’s face is lightened with the brightest of a beam.

“I love you too, Lee Luda.”

Their red string of fate was knotted long time ago, just to connect them at this day.

And even if Luda still has things to make up with Eunseo, she has Bona.

Bona, who made her practice harder than ever before ; Bona who has showed her things she didn’t know existed.

It’s Bona. Luda is head over heals for Bona and she doesn’t mind a bit.

#wjsn #bonlu #leunseo #bona #luda #eunseo #kim jiyeon #son juyeon #lee luda #writing #please! support my shit!

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elle-in-hell · 7 years

Text

when the day met the night

chapter two!!

**warning** this chapter get’s a bit dark at the end for backstory purposes, so if you are in any way triggered by mentions of abusive relationships, homophobia, etc, i recommend you either read with caution or do not read at all. stay safe everybody:)

florist!eddie & tattooartist!richie

find it on ao3 here and chapter 1 here

chapter 2 - peonies (bashfulness & compassion)

“Bev! Beverly!” Richie pounded on his best friend Beverly Marsh’s door, practically jumping out of his skin with excitement. Usually he would just use his spare key, but he had left it in his bag at work in his haste to find her. Also, he would probably not scream at her to get to the door when she was sick at any other time, but still, this was an emergency in Richie’s eyes.

Beverly, however, was rudely interrupted from her sulking over being sick and contemplated pretending to be dead and just not letting her friend inside. Still, she did because she knew what would probably happen if she didn't and she didn't want to replace any more doors.

The faded green door swung open just as Richie was about to knock again and he stumbled slightly inside, to which Bev just let him fall. He scrambled to his feet, still shaking with energy and his ginger-haired friend just sighed and closed the door behind him.

“Okay, asshole, explain yourself,” she mused, flopping down onto the sofa and swinging her feet up onto the coffee table as Richie practically jumped into a nearby armchair.

“I just met the most beautiful boy in the world,” he blurted, something that would probably make Eddie Kaspbrak cry if he’d heard it. “He’s perfect Bevvie, and he works across the street and he’s just so tiny and his hair looks so soft and his eyes are really sparkly and fuck!” He pulled his hair out of its bun in frustration and let the loose strands hang wherever they pleased.

Beverly chuckled, watching the clearly lovesick boy lose his mind over some kid he’d just met.

“I need to ask him out. I need to Bev, but I don’t even know if he likes guys, for fucks sake! He probably doesn’t, knowing my luck, but he works at a goddamn florist shop so I think I just need to go for it. Wha’d’ya say?”

She quickly looked up, having lost interest and just smiled, completely unsure of anything the wild boy had said.

“Yeah, sure,” she said, hoping that made at least a little bit of sense.

And with that, Richie practically leapt out of his seat and raced for the door.

“Oh yeah! One more thing,” he called, pulling the small bouquet of flowers from his bag and handing them to the sickly girl. “He helped me pick these out. Apparently they mean like health and strength or some cheesy shit like that, but I thought you’d like them so here.”

Bev sighed, remembering why she had willingly stayed with this kid for so many years as she pulled her tall friend into a hug and kissed his cheek, sending him out the door.

“Go get ‘em, loverboy!” She called down the hallway as she retreated to her kitchen and began to fill a vase.

By the time Richie made it into his car, he had already started to freak out. Nope, Eddie wasn’t the kind of boy that dates Richie Tozier. Boys that date Richie Tozier are two of a kind. The boys that date Richie Tozier are the boys that threaten him not to tell anyone by beating him up so bad that he can’t talk. They’re boys that kick the crap out of him immediately after making out to get themselves a clean alibi with their friends. They’re older boys that stick their hands down his pants in the gym showers when no one else is around.

No, the boys that want to date Richie Tozier are the boys who know he won’t tell their petty little secret, and the boys that don’t give enough of a shit about his feelings to treat him like a real person.

He tells himself it was stupid. That he can't believe he let himself get so worked up over some kid he just met. That there's no way he could waltz back into that store and ask out this boy because he'd run away screaming the minute Richie walked in the door. He still remembered what happened that last date he went on.

Junior year, one week before the last day of school, Richie Tozier had a boyfriend. Jeffery Carroll, senior, varsity basketball captain, and grade-A asshole. At least, to everyone else Richie knew. Jeffery Carroll was the first one to claim he hooked up with Bev. He was the first one who started the chain of egging the temple Stan's family attended. He was the one leading the vandalisms of Mike's grandfather's deli. He was the one who drove to Henry Bowers' house to alert him that the Hanscom family had moved in on his street and that there was "fresh meat" for their escapades.

He was the one who would threaten to bash his boyfriend's skull in if he told anyone about their relationship. He was the one who refused to go on dates with Richie but always told him it was because he had better things to do and better people to do. Jefferey Carroll was the boy who taught Richie Tozier what real relationships were and what he should expect from a partner. He was the boy who told Richie he was his first love before his friends found them together and Jeffery shoved him into a wall, kicking the shit out of him and lying to his friends that the smaller boy had come onto him without consent.

Richie Tozier became the "homo slut" that underclassmen would run from in the halls and upperclassmen would lock him in janitors' closets for hours. His grades went from on the road to valedictorian to barely eligible to graduate simply because he could hardly go to class.

He hasn't dated anyone since.

So that’s why Beverly doesn’t lock her door after Richie leaves because she knows that whether it’s five minutes or five hours from then, he’s going to come back and she’s going to be there.

Because Beverly Marsh knows about all the guys that date Richie Tozier and none of them will let him do this. All of them have ruined him beyond the ability to be the boy that dates Eddie Kaspbrak because he doesn’t feel like he has a say anymore.

Richie hauled his ass back up to Beverly’s apartment, trying the doorknob, and opening it slowly when he discovered that it was still unlocked. He walked over to the couch where his best friend in the entire world sat wrapped up in a blanket and sat down right beside her.

“I can’t, Bevvie,” he spoke, practically whimpering. Richie felt his shoulders slouch forward as his hair covered his watering eyes. It was all one fluid movement when he began to lean into the waiting girl beside him. She guided his head onto her shoulder as she ran her thin fingers through his tangled hair.

“I know, hun. I get it, believe me, but you can’t let them ruin this one for ya’, Rich,” she mumbled, continuing to move her hands soothingly. “With everything you’ve dealt with, I’m so proud of you for even wanting to go after this kid, which must mean he’s pretty special, huh?”

Richie couldn’t help but smile.

“Eh, don’t worry about me, Bev, I’ll figure it out, but maybe a little moral support would help,” he suggested, turning his head so he was staring up at the red-headed girl.

She groaned, sarcastically lifting his head off of her and dragging herself off the couch.

“Fine. C’mon, let’s go,” she started, sticking out her hand as Richie stared at it, his eyes wide.

“O-oh you meant right now? No, I definitely wasn’t implying we go right now, that ship has kinda sailed already, girly,” Richie joked, the holes in his comedic mask revealing his still nervous tremble.

But that didn’t work at all and within five minutes Bev was behind the wheel of the tall boy’s truck and on the way to the shop. Apparently she had an idea.

In their lives together, either of the two having an idea was almost never a good thing. Richie would soon discover that he really did have someone who loved him, just maybe not the way he wanted. But still, one person was a start.

message me to be tagged!! :

@im-not-psychotic

#reddie #stenbrough #it #it 2017 #it movie #it movie 2017 #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #beverly marsh #stan uris #stanley uris #bill denbrough #mike hanlon #ben hanscom

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kingofthehearts · 7 years

Text

The crowd cheers, loud hoots and hollers sounding out as the balls soared through the air, above the stands and out of the ballpark. The smug smile stays on the boy’s lips as he prances his way to first base, then second, then third. He could practically feel the anger rolling off the pitcher, a golden-skinned boy who had been trash-talking since the first inning.

Keith, wanting to know his full effect, turns his head - just as the pitcher looks at him, with what could only be pure and complete animosity. Keith could understand it, really. He almost got a perfect game, in the Junior League championships. And he would have - If Keith hadn’t been there. The thought makes him grin broadly. He sends that cocky grin McClain’s way, watching as the boy bristles even more.

Now this was what he was talking about. His lips moved into a smirk. So much better. Now they were finally ahead. About time, too, as he watched the zero change to a four on the scoreboard. Two outs. Bottom of the fifth. No way for the other team to catch up. He felt even more smug about his run since it’d brought in the three others on base.

All of his friends came out to greet him at home base. The slaps against his butt and back had never felt more welcoming, even as he looks at the distraught boy on the mound. Damn. Keith almost felt bad. He wasn’t intending to cause the unhappy look on the other boy’s face, but it had to be done. For his team to win, at least.

Keith sits down, finally, once the others stop celebrating. He watches as the boy after him - Rolo, he thinks his name is - striking out. No biggie. They’d won, anyway.

Keith was buzzing as the thought of winning finally settles in him. They won. The smile curling at his lips was unfamiliar - after all, he tended to frown - but it felt amazing. They walk up to the middle of the field to accept their awards. He has never felt more proud, as he wears the shiny medal. The team that he grew up with, the one that had been horrid more often than not, was now at the Junior League championship game. And they won. He spots his parents in the stands, taking pictures of Keith in his red printed Texas Rangers uniform. He already knows that one of those pictures was going to be hung in the living room, if his mom had any say in it.

Keith couldn't help but feel bad for the other team, seeing as they all had on silver medals. He watched as the McClain boy silently stared off into space, standing a bit away from the other kids on his team.

----

Keith wasn’t one to have sympathy for some kid who he had barely met, much less a sour-losing child with a trash-talking mouth. But he did feel bad for the fact that everyone around him seemed to be glaring at the kid - like the end result of the game was his fault. He may be the pitcher, but the other players hadn’t exactly tried to catch fly-balls with much effort. It had seemed like Lance had been carrying the team by himself. And from the looks of it, this happened normally.

“-aptain of the Texas Rangers, Rolo Fernandez!” Keith didn’t realize that he was staring at the other boy until suddenly those blue eyes were staring back at him. Keith felt the back of his neck flush as he turned his attention towards his teammate; he was grabbing the trophy from an older man that Keith hadn’t even noticed at first. He almost felt bad.

Rolo was starting off on some speech, and Keith figures he should start listening to what his team captain (who can’t play for shit) had to say. Frowning deeply, right as he was beginning to listen in, he heard his name being saying by the other boy.

Keith walks awkwardly to the podium, wondering what the hell the other had said about him for him to really need to say something to the crowd.

“Uh. Winning this award with this team was kinda all about hard work. And, uh. It’s been great and I’m really proud of us?” He posed it as a question.

Keith did not like attention unless it’s on the playing field. He could feel himself turning red, so he just simply hands the microphone back to Rolo, and stood back in the line of the other players.

He could still feel some stares at him, but soon he felt the spotlight leave his shoulders as Rolo began talking again about whatever it was that rich kids talk about. He feels his attention slip away again, and he startlingly noticed that McClain is no longer just staring off into space, instead he is crying, silently, as he stares at Rolo on the small makeshift podium, giving some stupid speech.

Keith finds himself looking away quickly. As oft unwilling as he was to admit it, he was a sympathetic cryer. He refuses to cry when he’s the one that won in the first place! Sighing in relief when it seems as if Rolo finished talking out his ass, Keith could start to breathe again - the stupid speech is over and now he can leave!

He stays in line until they get to the locker room. Freedom at last. Keith strips out of his uniform and throws on his street clothes so that he can hurry out of the locker room before someone can ask him about the game once more. He had had enough embarrassment to last him weeks.

Rushing out of the locker room only meant that he was not looking where he was going, causing him to collide right into someone, causing them to both to fall to the ground. Keith groaned softly, scowling, before standing up again. He reaches his hand out to help the boy off of the floor. Only at this time did Keith take an actual look at the boy. His eyebrow rose. McClain.

“Wow, thanks, asshole.” McClain grumbles, but still takes the hand that was offered to him. Keith pulls the boy up, scoffing at the little attitude he received. Even though the boy had obvious tear tracks on his face, along with flush cheeks and red eyes. It seems like the attitude was built deeply into this one. Keith takes his hand away quickly once McClain is situated on his feet. Figuring he had no reason to stay, he walks past the tan boy, planning on getting to his family, finally, so that they can go get the ice cream that he’s been craving since before the game started.

But for some reason, something told him to stop, by the time he got 10 feet away. Keith turns back to look at the boy. “Hey, McClain.” Said boy turns around to glare at him. “Good game.”

Keith watches as the boy sputters for a moment, before coming out with, “You bet your ass it was! After all, you were playing me, Kogane!” Keith grins before shaking his head at the absolute ridiculousness of the McClain boy, before jogging his way out of the stadium, to where his parents were waiting.

“What took you so long?” His mom inquired as they walked to their truck; Keith keeping step with his brother and father.

“Had to talk to someone really quick.” He answers promptly.

His brother raises an eyebrow, grinning. “Oh? Mr. Anti-Social actually stopped and spoke to someone?”

“It was just the other team’s pitcher. He was good.” He answers quickly once again, far too quickly. Keith hopes his brother didn’t notice.

Of course he did.

“Keith thought the other team's pitcher was good? That’s a first.” Shiro teases, laughing at the offended look on his brother's face.

“Are you sure it was only because he was a good pitcher? I saw you staring at him during the whole ceremony!” His mom smiles subtly while his father grins openly.

Keith groans, climbing into the backseat of the truck, using that moment as an excuse as to not answer his brother, hoping he would drop the topic.

For once, his brother does.

“Braums or Cold Stone?” His father asks, from behind the steering wheel.

“Braums.” Both he and Shiro agreed, sharing a glance when their voices overlapped perfectly.

Once they get their ice cream, Keith’s mind goes back to the emotional tan boy. He hoped he got a good reward for that almost perfect game. It really looked like he deserved it.

“Mom! Keith’s smiling!”

Keith flushes, before eating his ice cream, hoping it will calm him.

Ice cream had never tasted so good.

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

- 6 months later-

Six months later, Keith and his team had been slaving away, training together over such the summer - he means to get on the varsity team in freshman year. He knows that he’s good enough for it. The only problem is that Keith has a mouth on him, and the upperclassmen tend to not like it when underclassmen call them idiots in their first meeting. However, Keith plans on keeping his mouth shut this time, because it’s high school. He wasn’t so worried about getting hurt by the upperclassmen - after all, being a first degree blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do was nothing to laugh about - but more worried about the fact that he might be kicked out of the team and miss out on a scholarship. His family wasn’t rich. He knew he was going to have to focus on academics as well as sports to get scholarships, or else he might not even be able to go to college He had dreams, and he was going to do his best to chase them.

So, he trained. Vigorously. Sometimes the team would ask his mom if he could go practice with them, other times he would just practice by himself. Shadow-batting was never bad. And he was on first name basis with the local batting cage worker, too, spending all of his allowance there.

That’s why, when he was called into the kitchen with everyone already there and it wasn’t dinner time, he thought it was weird. His brother looked tired, obviously avoiding eye contact with him, and both of his parents had guilt etched into the lines of their faces.

“What’s going on?” He inquires softly, wondering what the news has to be for everyone to look so upset over it. Keith knew it was something bad, since everyone looked so distraught about whatever it was.

Shiro looked away, avoiding eye contact with the younger boy. He stared at their mom, hoping that she would be the one to break the news to his brother. His mother seemed uncomfortable about whether or not she should be the one to tell him.

Sighing softly, she decided, from the awkward looks both her son and husband were sending her way. “Keith, sit down, will you?”

Keith felt his pulse racing, getting horribly nervous about what exactly this could be about. Did they find out I’m gay? Shit, shit, shit.

“We’re moving.” The words made him freeze.

“Huh?” He stared in shock at his mom. “What? What do you mean, we’re moving? Why?” His voice was raising in pitch, feeling uncomfortable. They couldn’t be leaving. He had lived here his whole life! His hand prints (from painting gone wrong) was scattered all over the front porch, his name was carved in the tree. This was his home. They weren’t allowed to leave!

“Keith, calm down. Let us explain.” His father began in a soft tone. “I was promoted to Department Manager, but… it’s at the Florida branch.”

#klance #baseball au #klance baseball #lance #keith #wip #cat: fanfiction #cat: voltron

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