#forgot how much i love his 2nd birthday story | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

celestialrry · 3 years

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a little jealousy never hurt anybody, right?

6.7k

HIIHIHI this was requested by the lovely @angelsuestyles (their ask is in my recent posts!) ALSOOOO THANK YOU FOR 222 BILLION FOLLOWERS (∩˃o˂∩)♡ (not really but 222 :0 !!! I love all of you guys!! thank you, it literally means so much to me <<<<<333333)

edit: I forgot to put this in here when I first posted but this IN NO WAY is hating on Camille at all (she's literally so hot PLS! she just inspired harry’s 2nd album so she worked for the story) and you guys shouldn’t hate on her either!!!

summary: Y/N and Harry are idiots.

warnings: cursing, mentions of alcohol and illusions to a boner ¨̮ ( I think that’s it...)

Y/N regrets quite a few things.

Like that time when she took her senior photo and didn’t realize the small bit of concealer she had blended under her eyes would flash back so much. Or when she was being introduced to a set of twins and even though she had been completely sober that night, accidentally ended up kissing the both of them, not realizing who was who (she didn’t even remember who she wanted to kiss in the first place). And of course, she regrets somehow being able to put a check in one of those super specific love-cliche boxes.

It really wasn’t her fault for falling for Harry. How could she not? Ever since he asked her to join him on his sophomore tour after she played some guitar for his album, she knew there was no way to crawl out of the hole that had just been dug. All thanks to her her friend Sarah, who introduced the two at her intimate birthday party, just months before Harry started producing and writing for Fine Line.

When an “Oh, shit! You’ll have t’show me sometime!” erupted from Harry after Sarah mentioned Y/N played guitar and even partnered with Mitch on a few projects of his own (that unfortunately, not even after Y/N’s begging, would never be released to the world), Y/N was sure that she would never end up showing Harry, and he was just being sweet. But when a few days later, Harry texted her explaining how he got her number from Sarah and asking if she could get together so he could hear her play, Y/N realized he had been serious, and well, the rest was history.

Harry had insisted she play for a track, then one became a few, then a few became practically the entire album, and soon Harry was talking about how “sick” it would be if she went on tour with them, and after arranging things with her uni and taking a leave from her job, she was ready.

Tour had no shortage of interesting moments, from the time Harry almost broke his ankle during rehearsal and tripping on the microphone wire (why he insisted it have a wire, Y/N had no idea) to Mitch getting really drunk after one show and blabbering on and on about British culture and how different it was from American culture, and YN was sure she’d never seen or heard him talk this much, but no one was complaining.

Y/N had found some sort of companionship in everyone on tour. Sarah had always been like a big sister to her, and the protective instinct really kicked in when they were in a different country, Y/N noticed. Charlotte was pretty new, just like Y/N was and they bonded quite fast over that, and their love for fashion they could never afford. Adam was more open and bubbly, and he took Y/N in like one of his own kids. She truly didn’t think being 23 was so different than everyone else being in their late 20′s and early 30′s but after being treated like a fragile puppy, she noticed that no one else felt the same as her-- she really wasn’t complaining though, it just meant she had all eyes looking out for her, and she kind of needed that to be honest.

Mitch practically became her older brother, and although he was a bit closed off and shy when they first met (which was a few weeks before Y/N met Harry) eventually he was joking around with just her, and teaching her new things on the electric guitar she hadn’t known before.

Finally, Harry. It would be an understatement to say Y/N and Harry got really close, really fast. He was always really good at making friends, but with Y/N it seemed they became great friends in a heartbeat. He opened up about almost everything, fame, missing home, his heartbreaks, his accomplishments, and everything in-between. Y/N did the same, told him how paying for uni was an absolute bitch (to which he offered to pay and she immediately turned him down), how her parent’s divorce impacted her own relationships (Harry had nodded in agreement with that), and about how being on this tour changed her life. By week 2 of tour, the two had become so close, even the fans had picked up on it just during their banter and contact during shows.

“They’re ‘shipping’ you guys,” Mitch had said, taking a sip of water backstage as everyone was gathered in the band’s dressing room. Harry was still getting dressed and ready, so it was everyone but him. “It’s quite cute, honestly.”

Y/N’s brow raised in confusion. “What- why? We act normal like we always do.” She pointed out, firm in her statement. A snort from Charlotte made Y/N turn her head to the strawberry-blonde and gape. “What? Do we- do we not act normal?” She asked, looking around at everyone, now flushing out of embarrassment. “You two act like you’re dating sometimes, love,” Sarah pointed out. “It’s nothing to worry about though, he’s just really affectionate, friends or partners, and we can tell you do too, so it’s inevitable that someone will mistake you guys for a couple.”

“Mistake who for a couple?” A familiar voice asked, and everyone’s gaze wandered over to the door where Harry had walked in with his billowing dress shirt, and dress pants for the night. “You and Y/N.” Adam said, and Y/N’s head had snapped towards him to give him a death stare, but before her eyes could burn into his skull, her attention was dragged away by an arm draping across her shoulders and the dip of the couch next to her. She turned to look at him, and he gave her a soft smiled before squeezing her shoulder with his hand. “Makes sense, s’like we’re practically married.”

“I’m waiting on a proposal.” Y/N said with a grin, and Harry smirked, pulling her in closer towards his body. “You’ll get one soon, pet, don’t worry.” The conversation had then shifted to Mitch and Sarah who were literally work-wife and husband, not yet anyways, but everyone knew he would ask her soon enough. Y/N always like this before shows, happy. Not that preforming and the adrenaline rush afterwards wasn’t enough, but everyone was always together, and she liked that a lot.

She also liked how Harry’s arm had slid down from her shoulders to her waist and how his fingers splayed across her hip, how they gently squeezed, and how his thumb mindlessly ran up down across her skin. It wasn’t an overstatement to say that stayed on her mind the entire night.

。:°ஐ

Harry was always positively buzzing after a show. His narcissistic side loved it when everyone’s attention was on him for hours at a time, screaming his name and shouting their declarations of love. He loved to be told how talented he was, how handsome he was, and how funny he was, it was safe to say he had a bit of a praise kink, if he’s being honest. But if it was even possible, he loved hearing it all from Y/N even more than the thousands of people in the crowd. He told himself many times that it was just because she cared about him, and he cared about her, and hearing praise from someone he knows and respects (not that he didn’t respect his fans) was just so much more fulfilling.

So after every show when he’d rush offstage with he rest of his band, his attention always went to Y/N, waiting for her praise, and he always got it. He, of course, complimented her back, and watching her smile was more than enough to keep him happy the rest of the night. This night had gone the same as all the others, an amazing show, running offstage, and hugs and kisses being thrown around like a beach ball at a rave. “That was awesome H, your whale seems to get better every time.” Y/N had commented, and he had attempted helplessly to keep his cheeks from flushing. “I’ve just got strong lungs, pet. Could never compare to your guitar playing though, the real star of the show. Don’t tell Mitch I said that.”

She waved off his compliment and laughed, pulling him into a soft hug with a soft kiss on the cheek that he was still thinking about when they made their way to a bar for the night. He couldn’t take it off of his mind, not even when there was a pretty blonde in front of him, her hand running flirtatiously over his arm and her smile as blinding as the sun had been earlier.

Of course she was pretty, there was no way to deny it, she just wasn’t as pretty as Y/N. No one was, not after he’d laid eyes on her and began using her beauty to determine everyone else’s attractiveness.

So when his attention from the woman in front of him fades, he’s looking around for the familiar face that he can’t enough of. He meets Y/N’s eyes and immediately her own dart back to Charlotte, biting the inside of her cheek and praying he didn’t catch her staring at him with envy.

Envy of the girl in front of him, who go to express her attraction towards Harry without hiding it, and not worrying about if he feels the same way or not, because of course he finds the girl in front of him attractive, who wouldn’t?

It’s then, that Y/N starts to pity herself, physically and romantically. The partners she’s had before always seemed way too good for her, and she had never been the one to end it. To say that destroyed her self-confidence in the long run would be an understatement.

It wasn’t like she needed a partner to make her confident, no, she was perfectly capable of doing that on her own, but for the first time in a long, long time, Harry made Y/N feel really good about herself. Good about her personality, her humor, everything, because if someone she looked up to that much, if a man like Harry Styles wants to be friends with her? She thinks it just meant she was doing everything right.

So Y/N, in short, was jealous. So jealous and wound up by Harry showing attraction towards that girl, that everyone else seemed to notice she was a bit off. “Y/N, you okay?” Mitch asked from across the booth, his thick brows twisted in concern. “Hm?” She looked up from the wooden table beneath her to see everyone, sans Harry, looking at her with the most pitiful eyes she had ever seen, and god, did she feel disgusted. Disgusted that she had fallen so hard for a man she could never have, that everyone around her noticed and felt bad for her.

“I’m fine, but I think m’gonna call it a night. I’m pretty tired after today’s show.” She said with a tight-lipped smile, hoping it would convince everyone that she was okay. Of course it didn’t though and Adam caught on. “Funny, I was about to say the same. I can’t stay up late like I used to anymore, wanna catch a taxi back?” He asked, and Y/N nodded with a real smile this time, albeit the fact it was small, because she really didn’t want to go back to the hotel alone, and Adam always knew what to say.

Sarah and Mitch slid out of the booth to let Adam out, and Y/N simply stood up on her side because she had the outside seat. Harry was supposed to sit next to her on the edge, but seeing as he went to the bar to grab everyone another round and then ended up talking to someone else, that didn’t happen. She slipped on her light beige coat and grabbed her purse, slinging it on her shoulder as Adam put on his jacket as well. When Y/N looked to the bar where she had last seen Harry, he was still standing there animately talking to the woman in front of him, dimples prominent in his rosy cheeks, and all she could do was hope he didn’t notice the two of them slip out as they made their way to the door.

Alas, Y/N could never be that lucky.

“Hey! Where are y’guys going?”

Y/N and Adam turned around at the sound of his voice and that was when Adam went in full protective mode, slinging his arm around Y/N’s shoulders and pulling her in closer. She made a note in her head to thank him immensely when they escaped this bar.

“Heading out for the night, we’re both pretty pooped.” Adam explained, eyes darting from Y/N to Harry who now stood in front of them, his own eyes darting from Y/N to Adam then back to the girl who was now avoiding eye contact at all costs.

“Oh, alright then. Are- Y/N are you okay?” He asked softly and only then did her eyes meet his own. “Yes, I’m fine. I feel like such a baby when I’m around you guys.” She joked, her lips curling into a small smile.

Adam chuckled at that and so did Harry, but Y/N could tell the curly headed one was still concerned. “Well we gotta catch a cab, so…” She trailed off, her thumb poking back to the door.

“O-okay,” Harry nodded. “Get back safe, yeah? Have a good night.” He said in parting and Y/N and Adam both nodded, wishing him the same before turning back around and pushing through the door. Harry watched the two of them leave, and his stomach bounced around in an odd way.

The cold air whipped across the duo’s faces, and and Adam rubbed Y/N’s shoulder comfortingly as he hailed a cab. They didn’t talk until they were settled in the back and Adam told the driver the destination. “Wanna tell me what’s up? Cause I’m not gonna bother you anymore when we get to the hotel.”

She smiled at him and scoffed a bit before trilling her lips, a soft noise releasing from her mouth at the movement. “Um,” She began, running her hands through her hair. “I’m pretty sure you already know.”

At her words, Adam just raised a brow at her. “What? You guys all looked at me like someone just killed my puppy back there!” She defended, raising her hands. “Okay, fine, fine. It won’t help if you keep all your emotions bottled in though, you know?”

“Yeah,” She sighed. “I know.”

After getting back up to her room, doing her nightly routine (which really was just her washing her face, brushing her teeth, and changing into the t-shirt Harry gave her a few weeks ago and her Spongebob decorated fluffy pajama shorts that she got in college as a joke but really ended up being her favorite item of clothing she owned, other than Harry’s shirt, of course) she slipped into bed and began scrolling on her phone.

Only what felt like 15 minutes later, a knock on her door broke Y/N out of the trance she was in and she sighed a bit, pulling the covers back and grumbling as she made her way to the door, annoyed at whoever was behind it-oh.

Harry looked at her as she swung the door open for him and he immediately grinned. “Hi, love.”She could never stay mad at him. “Hey, H.” She smiled at him, still a bit confused. “What’s up?” He ran a hand thorough his hair and retained eye contact with her, before speaking.

“Sleepover?”

She nodded and let him in, and immediately he went to her suitcase without a word, pulling out some her biggest sweatpants and stripping to his boxers, slipping the joggers on and keeping his shirt off. Y/N suddenly was reminded of all of Harry’s tattoos she knew none of the meanings behind.

Sleepovers were common with the two of them, and they always occurred in Harry’s suite, Y/N on the way too comfortable couch, and Harry guiltily on the bed even though she insisted she take the couch because “We can’t have your back hurting when you preform!” And he couldn’t say no when she also said “Please?” and looked at him with those soft eyes.

So now it was a bit different, being in her room, because 1, there was only one bed that they would both consequently end up sleeping on, and 2, Y/N and Harry’s feelings had both developed a bit further than friendly (although neither knew about the other’s).

She hesitantly crawled back into her bed and patted at the area right beside her, which Harry quickly traveled over to, lifting his side of the comforter and pulling it over the both of them while Y/N leaned over to the night-stand and grabbed the T.V. remote. She plopped back into the pillows and started scrolling through random channels, trying to find a decent movie for the two of them to fall asleep to.

All the while, Harry was attempting to look at the T.V. but the light was shining on her face in a way that just made her look so pretty, not that she wasn’t always pretty, but she seemed to always look the best when she was in her natural state, no makeup, no nice clothes, it was just all so domestic and the feeling overwhelmed him when he realized he wanted to be the one to see her like this every night.

Her eyes darted from the T.V. over to her right where Harry was curled up in the covers, and she could feel the burn of his eyes on her. Now that really didn’t help with her insecurities, and as she continued switching through the channels she found herself burying under the covers more and more. Soon, she landed on a stupid rom-com that she’s seen a few times before but she never really knows what it’s about because her attention gets easily dragged away from it.

She puts the remote back on the table and flips back around to be face to face with Harry, who was now looking at her with furrowed brows. “Why’re you burying yourself under the covers?” He asked with a frown, and she lulled her head away from him then back, biting the inside of her cheek. “M’just a bit cold.”

His brows raised because he knew full well it wasn’t cold at all in this room, in fact it was quite hot, but he didn’t want to deal with her lying and thinking she could get away with it, so he pulled the covers off of himself, which actually cooled him off a good amount and piled them all on top of her. “Hey!” She cried out, muffled by the fabric on top of her. “M’hot, so I figured you could have my covers.”

He heard a bit of grumbling and the covers were flung off of the bed entirely in a few seconds, Y/N sitting up and leaning on her arms breathing a bit heavy and turning to Harry with a stink in her eye. He just flashed his signature cheeky grin and she grabbed her pillow and hit him over the head before placing it back and pulling the sheets over her body.

“Ow! You fucker.”

。:°ஐ

Harry was sure about a lot of the things he did.

Like when One Direction split up, he didn’t remain in constant contact with the boys, and while it was difficult at first, they all needed a break, and it just made it so much better when they met up to hang out again. Or when him and Camille both decided it was for the best that they break up and they remain friends to this day. And of course, he was sure about bringing Y/N on tour.

She was possibly one of the best people he had ever worked with, and one of the best friends he’s ever had. He was sure about getting close with her, and he was sure about keeping her close. Only, now keeping her close meant keeping her arms length apart, because if he got any closer he wouldn’t be able to handle being with her any closer than a few little touches and hugs and cheek and forehead kisses, not when he couldn’t have her.

So it was safe to say when he opened his eyes the next morning with Y/N flung over him, her leg between his own, her arm wrapped around his chest with her face pressed into the junction of his shoulder and neck, and her warm soft breaths hitting his bare skin, making goosebumps pimple, he freaked out. 1, because friends did NOT cuddle like this, and 2, the close contact was making his chest clench and his lower abdomen heat up.

He let out a shaky breath and thanked his lucky stars Y/N was a deep sleeper, and slowly slid out from under her, ignoring how his arms were wrapped around her and his hands were touching her bare skin where her shirt (his shirt really, and that just made it about a billion times worse) had ridden up in the night. As he was pulling his torso from her body after getting his legs out, she let out a whine and her grip on his back tightened.

His heart beat wildly fast, so fast he wouldn’t be surprised if he looked down and saw it moving through his skin, and he stilled, terrified that she was awake. A few minutes went by, and she didn’t stir anymore, so after chalking her movements up to a dreaming Y/N, he moved a hand and gently took her soft hand off of his bare skin, letting out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

Finally he’s out of bed, and slipping on the clothes he wore the night before, folding the sweats he borrowed and putting them back in her suitcase. He grabs his phone off the other side table Y/N never used and reaches her door, making the terrible mistake of looking back. Y/N’s face is smushed into the pillow he put under her head, her lips sightly open as she slept and her arms now curled around the pillow Harry had used last night, and he would swear on his mum’s life that she was breathing in his scent if not for the fact that he was certain she didn’t like him the way he liked her, and he didn’t want to barter his mum’s life on something so uncertain.

His chest clenched for what felt like the billionth time this morning and even if he didn’t know it then, he had already decided that he couldn’t handle this anymore, whatever this was, and began to push the sleeping girl out of his mind and heart, in order to save himself from future heartbreak.

。:°ஐ

When Y/N woke up, her bed was empty, and she had never felt akin to a bed until that morning.

。:°ஐ

The last time Harry really spoke to Y/N was the night he slept over.

It had been a little over a month since then, and she was trying really hard not to let it get to her, but seeing as Harry interacted just fine with everyone else, and his problem seemed to be with just Y/N, she couldn’t help the nagging feeling that she had somehow scared him off.

A week after he slept over, the only times he spoke to her were for performances and work-related things, and her mind had been swarming with questions. Did she say something about him, or to him while she was sleeping? Sure, she had a dream about him, but it wasn’t anything dirty (although that had happened a few times before), they were just at a carnival and there was a ride in which they got to fly, it was quite fun. Did she cuddle him too much? Sure she could be really touchy when she’s tired, but so can Harry if his wandering hands (only in appropriate places) when they had movie nights were anything to go by.

So her questions went unanswered, and her attempts to speak with him were fruitfully ignored, whether that be he pretends he didn’t hear her the first time, or if he excuses himself before answering because he had to talk to someone about something.

Everyone else in the band noticed, and Y/N didn’t know it, but everyone at tried to talk to Harry about it at least once. Adam mentioned how Y/N and Harry seemed to have drifted apart and Harry only hummed in agreement, making it obvious he didn’t want to talk about it. Charlotte had asked Harry if he was doing okay, to which he responded “Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” And she didn’t feel like it was her place to tell him that Y/N had come to her crying about Harry’s actions, or lack thereof, towards her and she didn’t know what was wrong. Sarah was blunt with Harry, telling him how it was obvious Y/N and him weren’t speaking and asking what had happened to which Harry shrugged it off and told her that “people grow apart”, and it wasn’t anything personal. Mitch had tried to the same, to no avail, despite being even more blunt than everyone else.

And that led them here, 15 minutes before Harry’s second, and last night in L.A. on his tour before they head to New York. He was quite looking forward to it, excited to see the few friends who couldn’t make it the night before. It was easy, going out with people after the performance, not having to think about Y/N as he drinks the night away.

He looked in the mirror in front of him, patting the invisible dust off of his pearl adorned blazer and pants, the wife-beater under his coat so thin his tattoos could be traced. Usually after he was dressed he would pop into the band’s dressing room just to shake off the nerves beforehand, but he stopped doing that after he began to push himself away from Y/N. There would be no where else to sit but next to her, and that didn’t help his overwhelming need to hold her. So instead, he made his way to the couch in his room, relaxing for the few minutes he had.

Y/N on the other hand was sitting in the dressing room with Sarah, Mitch, Charlotte, and Adam, all conversing about how ready they were, the energy in L.A. the night before had been off the charts, and they were more than excited to feel it again. All Y/N could think about, however, was that this just meant there was one more show to play, then tour would be over, and there would be no more reason to be in Harry’s band. Not when he clearly didn’t want to be friends with her anymore, and she thinks this is the worst she’s ever felt in a long, long time.

。:°ஐ

The first part of the show goes really well. Harry is hyping up the audience, and everyone is smiling. “She” was the next song they were to play after Harry stopped interacting with the audience and Y/N was excited. It was one of her favorite songs to play, and she loved just stopping and listening when Mitch did his solo. He usually did the more detailed guitar work, while Y/N worked with the backing chords.

“Alright, the next song we’ll be playing is “She”, let’s make sure not to get Mitch’s ego too high afterwards though.” Harry had laughed into the mic, walking back to the stand and clicking the mic into place. Then, it began. It was good, it really was, until Y/N noticed that Harry had faltered a bit in the chorus, and her eyes followed his own to the blonde hair in the VIP section. It was her, Camille, the muse behind this entire album. Her heart stuttered as she noticed he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was gorgeous, prettier than all of the pictures she’s seen.

And Harry was looking only at her in the crowd. It was then, that Y/N started to go a bit haywire. He began to sing the chorus, and she guesses her fingers held the pick a bit tighter, and strummed bit harder, because after 10 seconds of playing she realized she could no longer hear his voice. Almost immediately did she soften the strumming and look up to see Harry turn to face her, confusion and anger, maybe, written all across his face. She ignores it and continues to play until the song is over. She’s not listening when the crowd cheers, but she regrets tuning in when Harry introduces the next song on the set list, how he says that it’s possibly one of his favorites, and meet’s his ex’s eyes when he starts to play Cherry.

It’s then that Y/N breaks. She keeps her eyes down, and her strumming quiet, just incase she falters (which she does about 2 times), and when her mouth moves up to sing the backing vocals she realizes that her eyes are welling up and her throat is closing in. She closes her mouth and continues to play the guitar, missing Harry’s look back at her, and the rest of the band’s attempt to conceal the fact that she had stopped singing in the middle of the verse.

The rest of the show goes on, and her tears are held back when they all wave goodbye, and when they rush offstage, and when Harry’s hand brushes her arm that she’s sure was a mistake (it wasn’t), and they continue to be held back until she bursts into the unisex restroom just a mere 20 feet away from the dressing rooms. She locks herself in a stall and sits on the closed toilet seat, shaking hands covering her face as she chokes on her sobs, knowing she would never be enough for Harry, thinking about how he want’s nothing to do with her, and how big of a mistake she made going on tour with them, because if she didn’t, then she wouldn’t have fallen in love with Harry, and she wouldn’t be feeling this way.

What feels like hours, but was actually just 15 minutes of her crying all the tears she could cry, she decided it was better to mope in her own hotel room rather than in a public place where anyone could walk in. She steps out of the stall and doesn’t bother looking in the mirror, only washes her hands, then rinses her face, patting it dry with a cheap brown paper towel. She crumples it up and tosses it in the trashcan, walking out of the restroom to see Harry outside of his dressing room, his arms wrapped around Camille in an intimate embrace.

Intruding would be a good word to describe how she felt right then, and quickly did she speed walk the other way, trying not to let any more tears fall as she opens the door to the bands dressing room to see Sarah and Mitch packing up her things. One look at her was all it took to break the dam that held her tears, and she covered her mouth with her hand, her head falling down and her other arm wrapping around her stomach, maybe it would make things better.

Sarah quickly hands Mitch Y/N’s bag that held her sweats, sweatshirt, purse, and phone she brought to the venue, and takes the girl into a much needed embrace. She cried into Sarahs chest for a bit, snotty apologies from Y/N that Sarah waved off, insisting it was okay, and that she would be okay.

After calming her down a bit and receiving a hug from Mitch, she takes her bag and walks into one of the privacy divider boxes, changing into the clothes she would wear tomorrow on the flight, and tonight to sleep in. Mitch and Sarah lead her out of the venue with all of their arms locked, and bring her to the car, the hotel, and lastly her room.

“We’re right next door, if you need anything. Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?” Sarah asked, biting her lip in anxiousness. Y/N shook her head, her puffy eyes hurting from the movement. “No, I’m gonna be okay. Thank you- um, can-can you not tell anyone? I just-”

“Of course we won’t tell anyone,” Mitch interrupts her, making sure she won’t start crying again, because if there’s something he wants least, it’s to see her cry. “We’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”

Y/N nods, and they all hug and part with declarations of love and goodnight’s.

。:°ஐ

Harry just arrived at the hotel after a quick late dinner with Camille at her flat, catching up and eating some really good Chinese take-out. It was always good seeing her, they weren’t super close anymore of course, she had a new boyfriend now, he was there too actually, a really fine lad that he thinks Camille deserves, but he enjoyed getting to see her with no bad-blood.

So the night was going good, other than Y/N’s weird guitar mishap and her faltering voice during the show, that he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Well, it was going good, until Mitch called him after Harry sent him a text talking about how he was back at the hotel, and told him that he was really stupid. Told Harry that Y/N seemed really hurt earlier, and how he thinks that Harry ignoring her caught up to her. Of course, Mitch knew it was partially untrue, but to remain loyal to Y/N he couldn’t tell Harry why she was so upset, and exactly how upset Y/N really was.

Upon hearing this, Harry’s mood deflated and he rushed to Y/N’s hotel room, knocking a few times with a soft “It’s me, Harry.” through the door. Y/N heard it, but there was no way in hell she would open the door for him, so she feigned sleep and hoped he wouldn’t attempt to wake her up. “Are you awake, love?” No answer. “Pet?” No answer. “Okay, well, I just wanted to talk to you, um, but we can do that tomorrow, I-um, I’m sorry.”

He left, after that, leaving her to curl up in her covers alone, tears leaking from her eyes.

The next morning was anything but fun, they were to wake up at 6 and catch the 7:30 AM flight from L.A. to New York. Of course, everyone one in the band and a few others got first class, while the rest of the crew rode on Harry’s rented private jet, to hold all the equipment that wasn’t provided at the venue.

So this meant that Y/N and Harry would have to be stuck in the same cabin of a plane together for about 5 and a half hours. Luckily they weren’t designated to sit next to each other, but Harry had other plans.

He switched tickets with a hesitant Charlotte and got the aisle seat, where Y/N would have the window seat. He got on first, and got settled in, biting his lip in nerves, he wasn’t really sure how he would be able to explain away all of his actions to her, but he knew that he had to, he didn’t want to loose Y/N.

Y/N stepped onto the plane, flashing a fake smile at the flight attendant who obviously noticed her puffy eyes and frowning face. Her eyes darted from the row number and seat letter to the ones on the top of the cabin, and when she found the matching pair of seats, there he was, in all his sweatpants-sweatshirt covered glory.

Her mouth opened to tell him she didn’t want to sit next to him, but when he looked up at her with a soft smile, all she could do was close her lips and sigh, squeezing past him to plop down in the seat with the window.

He didn’t try to speak to her, and she did the same, but he really wanted to. Wanted to ask her how she was, what she had been doing when they stopped talking (or when he stopped talking to her), if her Mom was still working at the job she wanted to quit or if she finally did it, if she still wanted to get a cat when tour was over, but he just couldn’t.

He had no idea where to even start, does he talk to her, then hope the conversation will lead to a place where he can apologize, or does he just apologize straight up, but have no explanation as to why he hurt her in the first place.

The internal battle lasted until they landed, when they got off the plane, traveled to the hotel, and when they went to their respective suites.

Y/N considered herself lucky that Harry had decided to not speak to her on the flight. That wouldn’t have given her an option to opt out of the conversation, and she knew he was smarter than that. She didn’t know however, that when she opened the door to her hotel room after a hasty knock, expecting another member of the band, that Harry would be standing in front of it, his eyes widened in anxiety.

“Wh-”

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out, interrupting her and walking past her into her room that she hadn’t invited him into. “I’m so sorry for ignoring you, and-and not talking to you when you tried to talk to me. You didn’t deserve it, I’m sorry.”

Her brows raised in surprise and she shut the door behind him, staying near the entrance. As her mouth opened to accept the apology, her mind raced through how she had been feeling the past month and instead she said, “It’s been a fucking month Harry, I-I thought everything was fine, and then one day you just decided to cut me out?”

“I know,” He stepped closer to her, guilt rushing through him. “I know, it was stupid of me, and I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t even know what to say. You wouldn’t even look at me on the flight and I-“

He was interrupted by her walking up and pushing her finger against his chest. “I wouldn’t talk to you?” She scoffed, tears brimming her eyes. “I-what did you expect after you pushed me away for a month, no warning, no reason-”

“Of course I had a reason!” Harry raised his voice, eyes watery as well. “I fucking love you! That’s why, and-and we were getting too close than friends should, and I couldn’t handle not being with you.”

Silence.

“Fuck, Y/N I’m so sorry-mmph!”

His apology was silenced by her lips on his, and his eyes widened as he realized what was happening. They fluttered closed, and his arms wrapped around her torso, while her hands were placed on his cheeks and wowthiswasreallyhappeningandhewasn’tdreamingwashedreamingnohewasn’t-

Y/N pulled away with a deep breath in and laughed a bit, her forehead resting against his. “If you didn’t catch on with that, I love you too.”

Harry laughed and cheekily grinned, pulling her even closer than she was before. “Really? I’m not sure I got it, can you help me understand a bit more?”

She swatted his chest and kissed him once more. “Cheeky bastard.”

#stillcantbelieveharrywonagrammy #stillsadaboutpostponedtour #itswhateverthough #harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #mitch is my favorite person

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xpeachesncream · 3 years

Text

acquainted | five

> series masterlist <

summary: the biggest goal of a grad student is to get through school in one piece - no petty drama involved, no sweating over the little things. however, that plan almost always never follows through. sometimes, you can’t help but fall into the most unthinkable, unexpected traps and learn the hard way. like, exhibit a: being unable to resist your engaged, substitute teacher, kim seokjin.

pairing: (2nd bts member to be revealed) x reader x engaged!teacher!seokjin

genre: grad school au, student life au | fluff, angst, smut (to come)

words: 4.2k

warnings: implied sexual content, cussing / mature language, relationship issues, angst, club scene, alcohol consumption, intoxication, seokjin is ready to risk it all cause reader is a huge flirt, the love triangle mess shall begin

notes: AH IM SORRY, THAT’S ALL I HAVE TO SAY?!? I TRIED to make this as fair as possible, but i..... clearly have an issue and just really wanted this to be messy lmao

tags: @laurynne5 @yiyi4657 @miinoongi @teamtardis-notdead @bluesharksandfish @photographic-girl (pls msg me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)

"Waddup bro." Namjoon steps aside to let Jin in. "Wasn't expecting you to come by since we're seeing each other tonight." Jin chuckled.

"Fuck, that's right." Joon laughs as he hands Jin a bottle of water before sitting.

"What, you forgot? You planned this for your own stepbrother."

"No, I know. Just a lot of things going on." He sips on his water, manspreading in Namjoon's loveseat in the livingroom. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes, the headache he felt earlier this morning no longer as bad, but still lingered. After getting home last night, he had tried to push you out of his mind, but failed miserably. It didn't help that he really and genuinely tried to clear the air with Grace, only for her to push him off and sleep on the far end of their bed.

"You alright? What's going on? I feel like I haven't seen you this stressed in a really long time. Last time was probably when you were planning your proposal." Jin softly chuckles, his head still tilted back.

"Yeah, it's been quite the shit show lately."

"Can't be that bad, can it? Have you and Grace been fighting?"

"A tad."

"A tad? The way you're acting right now says it's much more than a tad."

"We've been distant. Busy. We don't do things together anymore." He shortens the shpeel cause quite frankly, he's tired of repeating the story even though he hasn't told many people.

"Why don't you guys talk about it?"

"We can't communicate properly. I try, she gets even more upset and blows me off."

"It's probably just a rough patch in your relationship. I'm sure if you just give each other enough space, you could figure out how to fix things and have a serious conversation about where you both are at and what you need from each other. Remind each other that you're a team, and not working against each other." Jin's slightly shot his head up, his eyebrow raised.

"That's actually pretty solid advice coming from you."

"Shut up, you need help right?" Joon laughs.

"You're right though, it's just been hard. I feel like we've been constantly pushing each other away."

"You two are stubborn."

"Yup, that too." Jin sipped his water.

"I know that's not the only thing on your mind." If it was anyone in Jin's circle, you could count on Namjoon to figure things out before you can even say anything to him. "It's a little hard to believe you came over here to tell me this." In which, he's right. Jin never really talked about his relationship problems, let alone did he go out of his way to tell his friends what was going on. It was more of a thing that naturally came up in conversation when they were all together.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Joon shakes his head.

"Who is she?" Jin watches Namjoon's curious eyes as he leans into the palm of his hand. He was trying to come up with excuses or find ways to see himself out of his conversation, but he couldn't. Namjoon was too smart for this. If it were Yoongi or Hoseok, maybe he could get away with it. The only thing that Jin can come up with is a stupid smirk before he shakes his head and breaks eye contact. "See."

"See what?"

"That smirk. You can't tell me I don't know that smirk. I've been there before, dude. Who is she?" He repeats, causing Jin to succumb to defeat.

"She's a grad student in my creative writing class." Namjoon pauses before he bursts out in laughter.

"I need to sit back and get comfy on my couch for this." He says leaning back and crossing his arms. "She's a grad student? What's her name?" Jin nods.

"Y/N. 25 and so fucking attractive. It's frustrating." Jin groans into his hands.

"And you're telling me you see her more than just a distraction? I mean, I have to ask cause you are going through a rough patch with Grace." Although this is definitely not what Namjoon agrees with, he was only going to advise Jin on how to approach things. But execution-wise, it was up to Jin because this was his life. Namjoon was only part of it.

"She's smart, and she's fun. And.. she's refreshing."

"What did she do to make you feel this way?"

"She kissed me. In my classroom. And," Jin swallows the lump in his throat. "It happened again last night. It almost escalated into other things. But she stopped it." He quickly says because he can see Namjoon's facial expression changing. "She stopped it and she put me in my place because it just made things even more complicated. She said that we should keep our distance from each other."

"Which, she's right Jin. You really can't be doing this." Namjoon says sternly. "Please don't be stupid. This can hurt alot of people, especially since you're still engaged to Grace."

"I know, but likeeeeee--"

"No but's." Joon shook his head. Honestly, he didn't expect this behavior from Jin and it concerned him. "I can't force you on how to act, that's solely up to you. But you need to understand that it has to be one or the other, it can't be both. You either try and work things out with Grace and leave Y/N alone, or you call it quits with Grace."

"Y/N has been occupying my mind lately and it's been hard to push her out."

"Maybe that should be a sign as to what you need to do?" Joon sighs. "I don't know. I don't know her, so I can't say much, but are you really ready to throw away all these years with Grace for her? Like, is it really that serious?" Jin shrugged.

"I don't know, she doesn't want this."

"Correction - she doesn't want this because you're engaged. It's obvious that things would be different if the circumstances changed."

"I love Grace. A lot. We've been through so many things together, lots of ups and downs that taught us things."

"Yeah, and I love you both. I love Grace like a sister. But you can't stick around just because of history and because you both are comfortable, if that's what it really comes down to. It's not fair for both parties. If you find out that this is the end of your relationship with Grace, then it's the end."

"I'm just torn."

"Look, whatever you do, know that I support you no matter what and I'm always going to be here for you. But please do this right, no matter what that is. You can't have both of them."

"Yeah I know, I hear you." Joon nods.

"You're selfish, you know that?" Joon laughs. "You couldn't even introduce her to your single friends?" Jin smiled.

"Nope. Finders keepers." Joon rose his middle finger. "Just do me a favor and keep your mouth shut until I tell Yoongi and Hoseok myself."

"Sure, whatever. Not my battle anyways." He stood up and stretched. "So, where are we taking your little Jungkookie tonight?"

"The club so he can get some for his birthday."

"What a good older brother." Jin laughed.

"Is Grace in New York already?"

"Yep. I'm probably just going to head home and sleep until then. I don't remember the last time I stayed up this late, let alone the last time I went to a club."

"Yeah go home, and not to Y/N's house."

"Should I?" Jin joked, but Namjoon rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding, don't worry. Everything didn't just go in one ear and out the other."

"Yeah, please reassure me and tell me that I didn't waste time giving you advice."

"Oh my god, hurry up!" Jimin groaned loudly as he laid sloppily on your couch, getting restless while waiting for you, Ryujin and Taehyung to finish getting ready. To be fair, you all had been getting ready and fooling around for 2 hours, while Jimin sat patiently and watched whatever was on TV.

"Shut up, Jimin! I'm going to make sure I look good tonight." Ryujin yelled back.

"For who?"

"The dick I'll be getting."

"Why did I even ask?" Jimin sighed and dug his head into a pillow while you and Ryujin continued to yell and sing along loudly to every song that came through on your bluetooth speakers. "You all look good already, please, what else do you need to do?" He mumbled into the pillow. Don't get him wrong, he loves you all to death. He truly does. But it's just been such a long time since you all have gone out like this. He forgot what it was like.

"You know, she really means me." Taehyung tugged on his collar and swiped his thumb across his bottom lip.

"Okay, honestly. You two should probably fuck already. Get it out of your systems, you know?" You say as you dab lip gloss on your lips before shrugging and rolling your eyes. "Jesus Christ."

"Okay, no. You're supposed to be on my side, and that doesn't help." Ryujin's cheeks flush to a rosy tint as she pulls you aside. You knew damn well she was feeling embarrassed because it was true. She wanted to. Once Ryujin finally dusted herself off and was satisfied with her outfit, you both walked out into the living room to meet Jimin and Taehyung. Their eyes widened as they caught sight of you two, Ryujin in a pink, ruched dress with matching pink heels and you in a matching 2-piece skirt and low cut crop top.

"Oh shit, you both look good as hell." Taehyung says as he gets up and continues to eye both of you up and down. Mostly Ryujin, though. "Shall we head out?"

"Yup!" You say as you come to Jimin's side and lead the way out of your apartment. Jimin decided he'd drive tonight since he didn't feel like drinking too much, but he still wanted to go out and have fun. The crew headed to grab dinner at the Farmhouse Kitchen, which served the best Thai food in town. You all enjoyed some good grub, along with some really strong cocktails. You felt super happy that you all had time to finally do this since it's been a minute. You felt like you could finally let lose and get your mind off of things. The things that your dearest bestfriends don't even know about.

But, stories for other days. Tonight, you felt good and you looked good. You were all that and then some. Maybe tonight was the night you could meet a single, fine ass man to dance up on and act up with.

The cocktails were hitting you and Ryujin the most, already feeling tipsy before heading into the club.

"Wooooo!" Ryujin yelled before laughing out loud. "I'm ready!"

"Okay, yes, same, but please keep it together so we can at least make it inside the club." Jimin pleaded. He led your crew up to security, flashing your IDs one by one and paying for the cover fee before stepping in to the already packed nightclub. You and your friends ended up walking in a straight line, holding each other's hands to navigate through the crowd to the bottom floor. The top floor was the most crowded, being it was the house / EDM floor, while the bottom Hip Hop floor wasn't too jammed packed.

"Shots, my friends?" Taehyung asks as he swings over to the front of the bar. You follow behind him and line up against the bartender, asking for some good ol' Don Julio tequila. It wasn't your fave, but it was definitely Taehyung's go-to, and you can't lie, it got the job done quick for you. You all stick around the bar to take your shots, kicking them back to back [besides Jimin] to really get this night started.

As you waited for the final around, Taehyung is scanning the room and notices a group loudly making their way from down the steps and over to the bar. They were cheering on whoever the birthday boy was. A face in the group had looked familiar, so Taehyung squints his eyes to get a better look, and realizes its no other than Jin with his friends.

"Oh, shit! Look! Mr. Kim's here!" Taehyung laughs and says loudly, pointing towards the other end of the bar.

"Is he really?! Let's go take a shot with him and his friends!" Ryujin squeals as she sees him come into full view. You too, get a glimpse of him as they approach the bar and suddenly, you felt hot and nervous - the alcohol being of no help during this time. He looked good, and he didn't look like the already-handsome-professor you had. His hair was more natural, slightly curly, and almost like he had showered and let it messily air dry. The look was perfect on him. Not gonna lie, you were somewhat happy he was here to see how good you looked and part of you really wanted him to crave you until he couldn't take it anymore. You wanted to drive him crazy, and little did you know that you already were. It was a game you didn't mind playing, especially since you knew you couldn't have him.

You shouldn't.

"Ayeeeee! Mr. Kim!" Taehyung's ass yells with Ryujin cheering in the back. He does nothing but flash that smile of his while chuckling. His friends are all really handsome as well, one especially caught your eye with the way his wavy black hair fell down his eyes as he stood against the bar in black ripped jeans and a button up shirt. He seemed to be the youngest out of the group, but you were just assuming.

"Let's take a shot! On me!" Ryujin yells as she runs over with her loud ass. You follow behind her with Taehyung and Jimin, slightly hiding behind Jimin since you were feeling a little shy and awkward at this encounter. The events of the past days just flashed before your eyes, and you can feel Jin's eyes burning holes through you from your peripherals.

"These are your students?" You overhear as one of them looks behind at Jin and laughs.

"Yup." Is all he says, hands deep into his pockets.

"That's her isn't it?" Namjoon says in his ear, loud enough to make sure its clear over the music blasting. Jin simply looks at him without saying a word before returning his attention back on Jungkook, who he noticed was eyeing you. The look said everything to Namjoon.

"Do you know her?" Jungkook points at you and Jin nods.

"Why?"

"Why? She's gorgeous." His eyes light up, causing Namjoon to slightly choke and laugh behind Jin.

"Go for it." Is all Jin says. He's honestly livid right now, because the thought of someone else being able to get a taste of you while he hasn't fucks him up.

"Ohhh, boy." Namjoon sighs. "I hope you're truly over her or else it's going to get really fucked up, you know that right?"

"Don't worry about it." He says, dismissing him as he takes the shot from Yoongi's hand and immediately downs it.

"Hey." The black-haired cutie that caught your eye pushed his way through the group to come into full view. "I'm Jungkook."

"Y/N." You lightly shake his hand before tucking a strand behind your ear.

"I just wanted to say that you're absolutely gorgeous." He says cutely, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Aw, thank you. That's so sweet."

"I, uh—"

"It's his 23rd birthday today!" One of the guys against the bar yells, grabbing Jungkook's shoulders and playfully massaging it.

"Yeah, it's his birthday Y/N! Give the boy some love!" Ryujin winked from where she was at.

"Happy Birthday." You chuckled as he nods.

"Thanks. Maybeeeee you can bless me with a dance after this shot?" He asked shyly. Boy, was he fucking attractive. You could see his thighs poking through the rips of his jeans, his sharp collarbone poking out from the unbuttoned portion of his shirt and his arm muscles defined even in the dark.

"Yeah, I'd love to." You leaned back against the bar as he stood next to you, waiting for the round of shots to come. "Are these your friends?" He chuckled.

"More like big brothers? That's Yoongi, that's Hoseok and that's Namjoon. They're Jin's friends. Jin is my stepbrother." You swallowed the lump in your throat as you quickly glance at Jin, who's side-eyeing you as he leans against the bar. You have got to be fucking kidding me. God was truly testing you.

"Ohhhh." You respond. "That's sweet of them to take you out."

"I honestly didn't wanna do much, let alone come to the club. It's not really my thing, but I'm glad I did or else I wouldn't have met you." He smiled, his smile being just as perfect as his stepbrother's.

"I'm glad I could make your birthday a good one after all." Ryujin suddenly comes to your side and gives your arm a good squeeze.

"He's a cutie! You better hop on that since Mr.Kim is taken." She says in your ear, pulling you into a hug.

"That's his stepbrother."

"Even better!" She exclaims, making you shake your head. You all gather and take the last round of shots in honor of Jungkook's birthday and shit gets wild, quick. Your group led them to the dance floor, partying together like you had known them since forever. It didn't feel awkward at all knowing it was Jin and group of friends, but it did get awkward when you felt the tension with Jin every time you were near him. He didn't like seeing you dance all up on his stepbrother, getting all handsy and touchy-feely when just the other night, you were straddling his lap, ready to risk it all.

Hell, what was he gonna do though? He couldn't do shit. Not with his people around, especially Namjoon.

You knew this. He didn't have to say anything for you to know he wasn't a fan of it. You'd catch him looking at you throughout the night, his eyes hungry and almost dark. Let's get this straight - there's no bad blood here. You're not mad or bitter [slightly]. You're just having your fun because you're single and can do whatever the fuck you want. You know he wants you, what's wrong with a little tease?

A couple of songs have passed and Ryujin has made her way through Taehyung, Yoongi and Namjoon, and now she was back to doing her own thing on the dance floor. Jimin has had a couple of ladies welcome themselves onto his lap, and he gladly accepted. You loved seeing Jimin have fun and you especially loved when girls swooned at the sight of him because he was deserving of it and he was mighty good looking. He always worked hard and never gave himself a break.

You, on the other hand, had been stuck to the hip with Jungkook and you had brought him deeper into the dance floor, away from the group just to get a little alone time. You had danced up on him majority of the night, his muscular arms always gently bringing you back against his body. You both were feeling some type of way with the alcohol running through your veins, but you weren't complaining one bit. Alcohol or not, Jungkook was fine.

"So, are you going to let me take you out on a date?" Jungkook asks in your ear, causing you to bite onto your bottom lip.

"I'd love to go out on a date with you." You face him, his smile going from ear to ear as he nods and starts taking down your number. To be honest, you could be here all night with him, but you decided you needed a break from all this dancing and from the crowded dance floor. You quickly excuse yourself to the bathroom, suddenly needing to break the seal really badly and freshen up. As you were exiting the bathroom, Jin was also exiting the men's bathroom at the same time. You both locked eyes, with you breaking the contact with a small, toothless smile before walking off.

"Y/N." He says, gently grabbing your wrist and pulling you back towards him. His body is against the back wall, both of your groups distant and not as visible from where you're standing. He looks down at you, his hand still wrapped around your wrist.

"Jin."

"You haven't said one word to me all night."

"I'm trying to keep my distance from you, remember?"

"You know that's not necessary." His hand was now on the small of your back, fingers gently caressing your back in small circles.

"It is. You know what you do to me." You say as you look down at his lips. Truthfully.

"And so do you." You can feel his breath against your skin and it sends goosebumps down your entire body. You're trying your hardest right now to not get turned on by this man, let alone throw yourself onto him. "This isn't fair, you know?"

"I gotta get back to everyone." You say, slightly pulling back.

"Just for the record," He gently pulls you back, his other hand lifting your chin. "Jungkook might have you right now, but I know in the end you'll be coming home to me and that's all that matters." He lets go of your wrist and walks away, leaving you slightly dumbfounded at the way he stood his ground like that. Your panties felt soaked, and you wanted nothing more but to ride this man into the next dimension. He was truly testing you, and quite frankly, you could burst any minute now.

"You okay?" Jimin says, lightly squeezing your arm. "You were gone for awhile."

"Yeah, long line." You lied.

"We're thinking about heading out, you good with that?" You nod silently. You look around to see Ryujin flirting with Yoongi and Namjoon, making you shoot him a look. "Not me, all you. Go get her." He shakes his head, chuckling.

"Alright, I need to say bye to Jungkook anyways."

"Oooh, Jungkook." He wiggles his eyebrows. You make your way over to the area that Jin and his friends are occupying, prying Ryujin's drunk ass away. You give Jungkook a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, letting him know you'd be waiting for his text.

Finally, you all headed out of the club and into Jimin's car, Ryujin being the first drop off of the night. Thank God he had decided to drive, because all three of you were still pretty tipsy and in no condition to get behind the wheel.

"Y/N, listen to me. You need to hop on Jungkook because he's fine as fuck!" Ryujin's drunk ass yells in the backseat as Jimin is making his way to her house.

"Ouch, Ry, stop kicking my chair." Jimin whines.

"Y/N, did you hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Ry. Thank you." You laugh.

"And you, Jimin! I hope you grabbed a ton of numbers because there were tons of pretty ladies feeling you tonight and you need a girl!"

"Perfect, thank you for pointing out how single I am." He says, making Taehyung snorts.

"What about me?"

"Shut up, Tae. You don't need shit. Mind your own business." You and Jimin laugh in your seats.

"Also, Mr. Kim was really eyeing the hell out of you tonight, Y/N." She adds, making you sigh silently to yourself.

"Actually, I concur." Jimin chimes in. "He couldn't keep his eyes off of you."

"Mistress Y/N." Taehyung calls out, causing you to turn and pinch him on the leg. If you haven't gotten it by now, Tae loves to tease the fuck out of you by calling you a mistress. It's been his thing since you got all googly-eyed for him. And you hated it. You truly wanted to fight him every single time.

"It was nothing. He was probably just drunk."

"Sure." Jimin responds. "Call it what you want, he was definitely feeling you tonight." The ride goes silent, which, you're happy that none of them are pressing on it. You were not trying to get caught up at this moment.

Ryujin gets dropped off before Jimin makes his way to your apartment, parking in the yellow passenger/loading zone. Taehyung is knocked out in the back seat, while Jimin throws his hazards on and walks you to the front door of the lobby.

"Thanks for driving, Chim." He smiles and pulls you into a hug.

"No prob. Call me if you need me?" You nod. You walk in and get into the elevator, Jimin and his car disappearing in sight. You take a deep breath and sigh because you had been having an internal battle since the moment you stepped out of the club.

You were losing.

You stepped out of the elevator, only to step into your apartment to quickly freshen up and throw on comfier clothes. You find yourself heading back downstairs to meet your Uber. You knew exactly where you were going and you knew exactly what you were doing.

But you didn't give a fuck. You had been dying to get your needs fulfilled and the only person you wanted was a quick 25 minute Uber trip away.

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vemuabhi · 3 years

Text

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PRINCE OF ALL BLUE!

WHOLECAKE ADVENTURE

Its march 2nd aka Sanji’s birthday everyone! (IST)

Thankyou @burnthoneymint for making me take part in the event!

This is one of my piece for #sanjifest 2021 and #sanji’s prompts extravaganza

I hope you all like it!

Pairing : Sanji X Reader

Prompt : “Just jump, I’ll catch you”

A/N : I was listening to EXO Kai Mmmh album ( main song clickable) while I wrote this. You can check it out if you want. It got me the feels when I was writing this. (You won’t regret it)

You stood a few steps below, from the room of the window where Sanji was in. The journey to the whole cake island and the fights with the soldiers were exhausting. But everything… was worth it… because it was all for him. The one person who drove you crazy from a long time. The one person, who stayed in your mind rent free. The one person, with who you wanted to spend the next Valentine’s Day with. But due to some circumstances he was kidnapped to here.

Now… you were just a few steps away. You slowly jumped up making sure to not even make a small sound.

Slowly you opened the window and came into the room where Sanji was supposed to be in. ‘Where is he?’, you thought to yourself as you searched the room. Then you heard someone stormed into the room. As you didn’t know who came in, you acted on your reflexes to hide. The best you could hide was in the huge closet in his room. You placed yourself in between the highly expensive clothes. You slowly lowered yourself to the keyhole and tried to see who was coming and continued to observe.

Sanji entered the room as his red cape followed him. He was drenched. He came towards the bed and placed his hands in his pocket. He took out a box of cigarettes, only to find them completely soaked and ruined. He swiftly threw the packet across the room. He griped his robe and pulled it forcefully then dropped it on the floor. He rubbed his eyes harshly and sighed. He took quick steps towards the closet as he removed the buttons of his shirt one by one. You didn’t even have the time to think anything. The next thing you knew was he opened the door of the closet.

His eyes opened wide as he saw you in the closet between the shirts and suits. It shocked him so much to find you there, that he almost forgot how to breathe. You didn’t know what to say to him as you looked at him. All the things that you planned to say were forgotten in an instant.

“Y-Y/N?”, he managed to say. You looked at how his eyes were red and how sad he was. Your heart broke as you saw his face like that. Your body moved on its own and you hugged him with all the strength you have. You felt his hands reach your back so you burried your face more in his chest.

“Sanji, I’m here. Don’t worry. I’ll save you, we will save you.”, you said. He heard you. That was what he was waiting for to hear after hearing about all the insults and destruction planned by big mom, from none other than his so called fiancé. You could hear his heartbeat. It was becoming faster as you felt warm tears on your shoulder. His hands tightened around you and he practically squeezed you, but you didn’t complain. He placed his head on your shoulder as he let out his remaining tears on your shoulder silently. You ran your fingers through his damp blond hair in a calming way as you rubbed his back with your other hand.

After some time he stopped crying and said, “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not a good place”, but didn’t let you go. You took a step back but he shivered when you did that as if you’d disappear if he didn’t held you close. Oh you didn't want to scare him. So you stayed like that. He knew he was being selfish by not letting you go. He knew if anyone knew about you being here, would put you in more danger. But he wasn’t able to let you go now. You knew what would happen to you and him, if you stayed. But still didn't let him go.

Because of his insecurities, He felt guilty of not letting you go. So he moved back a little, enough to see your face. He loosened his grip on you giving you an option to break away from him. But you stayed. You placed one of your hand on his cheek and looked into his puffy eyes.

“Sanji, even though you are handsome, you aren’t a good actor you know. So tell me what is bothering you? Did they blackmail you?” You asked him. He gripped your clothes but didn’t answer. “What about those cold bracelets?”, you asked again. He didn’t reply.

You got a bit frustrated by his behaviour. Your hands travelled to the back of his neck and then you pulled him towards you. His eyes widened at the sudden contact of your lips. Your other hand made its way to his golden locks as you pulled him even closer. You aligned yourself to deepen the kiss even more. After a few more minutes you both pulled away as you gasped for air. His face became as red as a tomato because of you. You gently wiped the blood from his nose and placed your head on his hard chest. Then you noticed that, he wasn’t wearing his shirt properly. His abs were clearly visible to you. Then you remembered this wasn’t the time to get dirty thoughts. So you looked up at him again and said, “If you are staying here because they are blackmailing you about something, you need to trust our captain. You know he is waiting for you right?” He nodded at what you said. You smiled at him and ruffled his hair. He averted his eyes away from you and you almost had a nosebleed at how adorable he got.

“Well then, change your clothes. I already made you wait, but I don’t want you to catch a cold”, you say and stand on your toes to peck his cheek. He blushed more because of your kiss. You smirked as you patted his head.

“I’ll leave now. I hope I made myself clear”, you said as you made your way to the window. He just followed you like a puppy but didn’t say anything. You looked at him and you saw how sad his eyes were when you opened the window.

You sighed then said, “I love you, you air head. If you want to give me your answer, come back to us. I’ll be waiting for you.” His eyes widened at your sudden declaration of love. You jumped from the window silently. He looked down from the window as he placed his hands on the window sill. His damp golden hair, rose red cheeks and all blue eyes shimmered in the moon light. He looked like a prince to you. You smirked at him and said, “If you wanna come with me now, just jump, I’ll catch you”

Hearing that, he let out a small chuckle but quickly coved his mouth with his hands and looked around the place, making sure no one was there or heard him, then he again looked at you. He noticed that you didn’t stop looking at him all this time, without any fear, of what would happen to you... Your eyes, they showed only love and pure adoration.

“You smiled at last”, you said as you smiled back at him and made your way out of the place. Sanji just stood there with the reddest blush on his face and heart racing. No one ever made his heart to beat in this way. It’s the first time this happened to him. He was absolutely smitten by you and your behaviour. He already knew what to say to you when you guys meet again. He threw a new shirt on himself just like you said.

He exactly knew what you said to do next. He went to the kitchen to make food because his next destination was, his beloved captain, Luffy.

XOXOXOXO

I hope you liked it! Please forgive me for any mistakes.

Did you like the story or the song. Tell me how you feel by giving me a Like, Comment and Reblog. Thanks for Reading!

#sanjifest 2021 #sanji's prompts extravaganza #one piece #sanji x reader #sanji #one piece sanji #black leg sanji #sanji imagine #one piece x reader #one piece strawhats #Vinsmoke sanji #vinsmoke sanji x reader #kuroashi no sanji #One Piece Fanfiction #x reader

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clumsyclifford · 2 years

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2021 Writing Self-Evaluation

thank youuu @allsassnoclass i fucking LOVE this idea i am going to say SO many things rn i am so excited.

prefacing this by saying i’m only counting the stuff i posted to bellawritess because i do have a different ao3 account where i post All My Other Fic Writing but (1) i don’t use it nearly as much now that i’m so focused on the rpf stuff and (2) don’t wanna doxx myself lol. so yeah! onward.

edit after finishing this: to absolutely no one’s surprise, i was about as long-winded as humanly possible on every single question i could. so i’ll put a cut and you can read my silly little musings underneath it if you like.

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 88 fics, apparently!! that’s everything i wrote in 2021, both prompt fics and... normal fics? idk what you would call those.

2. Word count posted for the year: clocking in at a whopping 351,552 words for the year. yeesh. get a life woman.

3. Fandoms I wrote for: 5sos, all time low, and one direction.

4. Pairings: oh boy. from most to least according to ao3: jalex, malum, lashton, cake, merrikat, rilex, cashton, muke, mashton, 5sos ot4, and 1d ot5, plus also a handful of friendship fics.

5. Story with the most Kudos/Bookmarks/Comments: i really appreciate that these are all questions i can use ao3 features to find the answers for. thank you to whoever made this ask game. ANYWAY.

for kudos, unsurprisingly, you seem so damn familiar takes top spot. that one also has the most comments (quelle surprise) and the 2nd most bookmarks. most bookmarks actually goes to and it all makes sense to me, the ot5 fic!! that’s so fun i love that. also, simply because it makes me happy, i’m sharing that the 2nd most comments/comment threads i guess goes to fever dream high in the quiet of the night, aka cruel summer fic.

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): i mean, it’s hard not to say you seem so damn familiar. that’s the obvious answer, but i am hella proud of it. i mean, 40k in ten days, and look how fucking good it is!!!!!! also i did kind of forget about the ot5 fic but i’m proud of that one too because i wrote it for @mastasof-ravenkroft for his birthday but i did the stupid thing where i forgot to start writing it til like. the day before. or NIGHT before. and so i essentially just binge wrote the whole thing, but it was a fic i had wanted to write for a long time and i actually wrote it exactly how i wanted it to be, PLUS it’s a 5+1 which is maybe my favorite fic format, AND it’s an ot5 fic, which i’ve never done. and it turned out really really nice actually. so yes, very proud of that one. i don’t know if i should stop because this question only asks for one or if i should keep listing them because honestly i deserve it.

i’m really proud of the friendship fics i wrote, but probably most proud of the first one, dearly depressed and brokenhearted (i’d like to let you know that boys cry too). that was a bit of a breakthrough moment for me and adri’s review of it lives rent free in my brain. so many songfics i finally managed to get out of my brain and into words, i’m proud of all of those. omg godlight fic? the good grace of that godlight, the weird ass luke hemmings time travel thing?? that was such a strange writing undertaking, and it ended up exactly how i wanted it. basically every time i finally got words down for an idea i’d been having and they were exactly the right words to make the exact fic i wanted, i count those as the biggest victories. ahhh the jewish cake kitchen fic i wrote for meg’s birthday, it’s so simple, was another example of that, plus i LOVED getting to write more jewish cake, and i feel like i absolutely captured my love of kitchens in that fic. also i NEED to include cruel summer fic here because. to date still one of the best fics ive ever written.

wait i thought of one more jesus christ im so sorry can you tell i love my own writing?? no but seriously, taylor @squishmichael asked me for a fic based on therapy and so i wrote keeping this up could be dangerous and i really AM proud of that one, because when they asked me for that fic i thought to myself jesus christ how am i going to capture the feeling of the song therapy. and then i started writing and like. i think i actually captured it so well. and some of the metaphors in that fic are just...mmmmmmmmmm.

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): LMAO okay fine ill do this. but it’s not that i’m not proud of these just that i think if i wrote them now i would do a better job. the fic i wrote based on taxi, two punch-drunk souls all tangled in the wind, i would change a lot of that dialogue. i was really concerned with making it sound as close to what john the maine says in the song, but in retrospect that was a dumb thing to try and do, considering no one fuckin talks the way john the maine says people talk. also crazy is what i like, the one based on all my friends by tss, because...i don’t know it was just a very interesting choice of song to try and make a fic. like it has such a vivid story but i don’t think it was exactly the kind of story that should have been written by me. like i think for example anna could have probably done a more loyal job of it. and i don’t know. i sat on that fic for a while because i thought it was kind of strange. so yeah. i love both of those fics very much but yknow. asked and answered.

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: the comment adri left me on dearly depressed and brokenhearted. i think about it all the fucking time. it drives me to write more friendship fics. genuinely. honestly this is an embarrassing thing to admit but i forget the majority of the comments i receive once i’ve replied to them. it’s nice to go through comments on my fics and reread them though, because i don’t remember getting them!! hmm team @4thbrighteststar has said several times on multiple fics of mine that she would sometimes read a scene that made her want to act it out, and that landed really well with me. that always makes me happy. also every time she’d comment PSYCHHH MAJORRRR on yssdf, because yes i am.

and taylor had a really cool response to the godlight fic which maybe i’m not allowed to exactly explain what it was, but it was awesome.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: SPRING FIC EXCHANGE. YEEEEEEEEEEEEESH. so first of all i was juggling first schoolwork and then working at camp, and second of all, noah i say this with love but your fic preferences form thing was VERY contradictory and made it so hard to settle on a fic plot. or even to come up with one. essentially i was trying to write a fic that had all of the tropes of a fluffy fic, but make it angst. and also, i was not in a headspace for writing angst, cos you know how that kinda thing comes and goes, so it was twice as hard!!! and when i got to camp i’d be exhausted and working all day and then be done at like. eleven or midnight and then. have to somehow find time to write fic exchange fic. it was. difficult. i did finish it a week late and i am still sorry about that but honestly i’m surprised it was only a week. that somehow feels like a win to me considering what that fic put me through lmao

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: oh hell i feel like this happens to me so often but for some reason now that you’ve asked i am blanking on every single instance. oh! well i wrote this fic, who knew we were lightning? (i saw a spark before we heard any sound), and it was supposed to be a jack-centric fic based on jack and his relationship with guitars throughout the years or whatever. but then out of absolutely nowhere it became a jalex fic, which i guess shouldn’t surprise me but did. i didn’t hate it but it did blindside me. also, godlight fic completely surprised me mostly because it was one of those times where i thought “hey, hypothetically this song would be such an interesting fic” and then thought “nah but i’ll never actually write that” and then i wrote it that same day. another time that happened was with i can’t focus when you’re with me (i can’t sleep when i’m alone), the one that happened as a result of me having the chorus of XO stuck in my head. AND last answer: give me the worst of you (worst of you songfic). fic about a very unhealthy relationship, featuring jack barakat the toxic boyfriend. very unexpected writing venture on my part. although i’m more surprised that i posted it, tbh, because it was supposed to just be an exercise to see if i could write something like that, and i didn’t plan to post it, and then now here we are.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: okay so realistically i would just paste all 88 fics i posted in 2021 here, but obviously im. not doing that. so i’m gonna go with a piece of and it feels like i’m losing you twice, the sex (with my ex) songfic, because i got distracted in the middle of answering these questions just to reread that fic and MAN it slaps. here:

If they’ve both misunderstood the assignment then maybe they got the wrong assignment. Maybe they were never supposed to be friends. Maybe Jack’s hand on Alex’s knee and Alex’s gaze caught on Jack’s mouth is a spark that lights fireworks rather than land mines. Something beautiful rather than something destructive.

If they’re gonna explode either way, they may as well make it art.

i’m just gonna say it: that land mine metaphor KICKED ASS. i don’t know when i got to be so good at metaphors i’m pretty sure it was a super intentional effort in this fic but it paid off.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: oh man! well as previously mentioned i think i became a lot better at like...intentional metaphors and trying to vary the ones i make. also i learned the importance of a little bit of conflict in a plot and i did a lot of exploring different kinds of relationships between people, rather than just happy easy romance. that was really good for me to do. i think it helped me to write more realistic relationships than i had been. and maybe circling back to the plot thing but i sort of realized that there’s only so much you can do without conflict, cos then you just have a bunch of scenes, basically. and when there’s a driving thing in a story it means that the scenes are all leading up to something and that helps to guide the story and honestly makes writing easier a lot of the time. so those are some things!

13. How do you hope to grow next year: see #12! no actually i think i want to be better at showing and not telling. right now i’m kind of in the middle, i think i do a lot of showing AND telling, and i want to be able to trust my audience more. meghna is really good at this. i am still working on it.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): @tirednotflirting and @reveriesofawriter sam and meghna were easily my main audience for the majority of my fics. i don’t foresee that changing. i love you guys. also of course megs @igarbagecannoteven who had to literally put up with my melodramatic bitching and complaining about every single tiny problem i had with anything i ever wrote. megs you are my favorite rubber duck. yknow i was thinking earlier about how much i agonized over the title for, what was it. oh!! the title for situation overload (do it for baltimore)!!! and then in the end all the agonizing was worth it because it caused me to land on what i think is actually a perfect title for it. so thank you for dealing with my insanity so that the rest of the world can reap the benefits i guess. everyone who ever listens to me talk about my writing in any capacity, whether gushing about how good i am at it (which i do often) or complaining about how hard and annoying it is (which i also do often) has positively influenced my writing experience.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: many things, no conceivable way i can list them all. speaking of situation overload (do it for baltimore), that fic has a lot of pieces of my relationship with megs in it, specifically involving me getting her into baseball as best i could. i think ive mentioned this before but this jalex prompt fic you need a pick-me-up? (i’ll be there in twenty-five) has jack in a situation that is directly taken from something that happened to me, and yes it was absolutely fucking terrifying then. i projected my homesickness onto cashton in this prompt fic i’m a little kid and so are you (don’t you go and grow up before i do), and also the thing about lauren’s gerbils from this lashton fic for jess, you should know i’ll be there for you, is based on what happened to my younger sister’s gerbils. luke’s insecurities about his friends liking his siblings better in maybe this is just as good as it gets is straight out of a younger bella’s headspace (fortunately not something i worry about anymore now that we, yknow, go to different schools and are super different people and both adults, but ya know). to name a few.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: i am going to be brief because i got asked for writing advice earlier this year and wrote an essay basically, but it boils down to this: like what you write. if you don’t like what you’re writing, write it differently! write something new! write something no one else will read, so you don’t feel like you have to cater to anyone else! but seriously, write something that you can enjoy, because if even you don’t like the art you’re creating, you can’t expect anyone else to. if you can’t stand in front of a council and say “you will enjoy reading this because [x]” (if you can’t even say “because i liked reading it”).......you’re losing your most reliable audience member. be proud of what you create! don’t compare your successes to the successes of other writers! everyone has different goals, writes at different rates, prioritizes differently, prefers different tropes and types of fics. actually yeah i feel strongly about this. don’t compare yourself to other writers. you are your own writer doing your own thing. ask for help, take inspiration, set goals for yourself that are valuable to you, but don’t compare. if you try to become a writer that already exists, no one wins. you know that cheesy but very true oscar wilde quote? if it is even him? be yourself, everyone else is already taken? yeah. write your own stories, everyone else is already writing theirs. or something. you know what i mean. it was funny when i said i was going to be brief here. okay getting off my soapbox now. thanks for having me on tedx.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: oh!! yes!!! many!!!!!! oh what a fun question!!!!! i am still working on summer camp au but i recently picked it back up and wrote an important section of it so i’m cautiously optimistic that i can finish that sometime soon-ish and then can start posting it which would be very nice because i already miss having a chapter fic to update, and i think people are going to really like it. also there is the [redacted] fic which is SO funny and which will be finished and posted soon and i literally cannot fucking wait, i have kept this silly crack pairing a secret for so long and the fic has some of my funniest most entertaining writing but i can’t SHARE any of it without SPOILING it so i’m really looking forward to putting that into the world at long last.

beyond that there’s a jalex 5+1 that i’m hoping to finish (it is currently about halfway done), and i’m planning to write the long awaited (by me) elevator fic at some point, once i...decide what i’m going to write for it. i’ve got one more installment of tshirt jalex in the works, involving middle school band teacher alex gaskarth, and i think that one is going to be really fun once i finish it. oh oh also! this one fic from a prompt fiancee sent me (do you have time to hold on with me), it’s a lashton fic but i wrote jalex into it for funsies and i made alex nonbinary and ever since then i have just been thinking about he/they alex gaskarth forever and ever. i want to write more of them so bad. so like. maybe we will see some nb alex content sooner or later, hopefully.

and i know paige and meghna want me to write ocallakarth and ill admit im letting it sit in the back of my mind but i make no promises considering the existence of the [redacted] fic and other various factors. but it could be a fun exercise.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read. okay!! yes!! @tirednotflirting @reveriesofawriter @cringeycal @kaleidoscopeminds @igarbagecannoteven and also anyone else who sees this and wants to! if you read all the way to the bottom of this post then i feel like you deserve a tag so consider yourself tagged lmao. love you all, happy new year <3

#stuff #tag games #fic talk #if i manage to ramble in these tags ill impress even myself considering how much i just fucking rambled in the post itself #boy i sure do not shut up huh #you get me talking about my own writing and i will just talk forever #but you know what at least i follow my own advice #i love what i write! i write what i love! i can vouch for my own writing because i like it SO MUCH #in fact i consistently surprise myself which how much i love my writing #and that makes me happy #you know me. always toeing the line between confidence and arrogance :)#actually i think i cracked this one the other day when we were talking about i think luke #that i think arrogance is thinking you're better than others. like thinking you're comparatively the best #while confidence is just thinking that you are good regardless of how anyone else is #WHICH DOVETAILS NICELY INTO MY SECOND PIECE OF ADVICE wow i am KILLIN IT today #ok now im going to go proofread the thing i spontaneously wrote because i cannot tell if it's any good #but i hope it is cos i wanna post something so bad #and then i will hopefully post it and then SLEEP

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witchvspatriarchy · 4 years

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Goo Hara's story is one of the most tragic and rough in kpop history. And in light of the recent events, I'd like to share it.

It's pretty possible that most of you (ppl who weren't around for 2nd generation prime) dont know Goo Hara or her legendary group KARA. The group was among the top three girl groups nation wise, and number one in Japan.

But when KARA debuted it wasn't very popular, so when one member left, the company saw the opportunity to revamp the group and they added two new members. One of those was Goo Hara. She was introduced as main dancer and visual.

Hara's integration helped the group. Her innocent beauty in contrast to an effortless sex appeal caused men and women, children and adults, to fall in love with the idol, and this new fandom catapulted the group. Even though before debut she already had many fans, she already had antis too. A big portion of the original fandom rejected the integration of Hara. So from day one Hara had a strong individual fandom, but the group's fandom hated her.

Hara became the it girl of the moment, getting all the commercial contracts - this generated animosity from the fandom that questioned why she was the only one who was given the opportunities and why she did not participate in the commercial activities of the group. This did not weigh much on Hara at first, since she was somewhat accustomed to hate for no reason - in high school she was the victim of such extreme bullying that she had to change schools several times. She had the general public in her palms, so a portion of the fandom hating her was manageable.

But the love and support from the general public didn't last long, as netizens searched the internet to find something to destroy her and succeeded. They found Hara's teenage blog from before she was and idol, and in it they found photos of her in a hostel on her 17th birthday with her boyfriend at the time. They published them saying that Hara had had a romantic stay at the hostel and therefore she had sex while being a minor. And although the company denied it and Hara's friends said it had been a group trip, the netizens sought witnesses to support their accusations and thus began the gossip that Hara was promiscuous. This accusations gained notoriety when her relationship with Junhyun of B2ST became public. And so netizens invented her love affairs with many idols.

The situation reached a climax in Radio Star, when the MC asked KARA what topic they didn't want to talk about, to which Hara replied "dating." The three MCs started joking with Hara's promiscuity in a rather heavy way. And although it is well known that this type of image is harmful to an idol (mostly female idols) the MCs continued with the jokes. Hara tried to laugh it off but it was a comment from Kyuhyun that made her crack, being the gossip expert on the show, he said "if I said what I know, her career would be over." It was then that Hara threw him a bottle of juice playfully and then broke into tears. Hara was accused of being violent, unprofessional and disrespectful by netizens. And when one of the MCs came out in her defense and apologized for what they had done, the netizens said that "Hara's tantrums had forced him to apologize" and they hated her more.

Shortly after this, KARA disintegrated. But despite everything, Hara made a fortune as a commercial model. And there is nothing that netizens hate more than a successful, independent and wealthy woman. Especially if she achieves so despite public hate. And even more, if this successful, independent and wealthy woman is best friends with another successful, independent and wealthy woman (Sulli) that netizens also tried to destroy. And so, Goo Hara moved on with her life, even though the hate never stopped.

On September 4, 2018, Goo Hara (who is 1.64 and is so thin that she has been accused of being anorexic) was accused of beating her boyfriend. For the following week there were no signs of Hara, while the boyfriend appeared in the media several times a day giving interviews about it, and saying that she had gone crazy when he tried to end the relationship. He said he wasn't going to go public at first but when he got home he realized she had "disfigured" him and his face "is a big part of how he makes a living" (he's a hairdresser) so he decided to let everyone know the type of person she is. At some point the guy gave an interview in a hospital gown and connected to serum, despite having given interviews without these things several days before, and the hospital records shows he only had scratches. But despite being suspicious, the netizens did not need more, and cited what happened on radio star, her promiscuity and her friendship with Sulli as evidence of her violence and imbalance, and demanded jail time for Hara.

Time after that, Hara finally appeared on the media, which she had not done because she had been hospitalized due to the beating that the boyfriend (the alleged victim) gave her. Attack that damaged her internal organs to the degree of causing severe bleeding. Incidentally, there was damage to her intimate organs, so a rape is suspected, although it was never confirmed as such. And although Hara presented evidence and a witness, the netizens did not believe her, they said that she paid the witness and that, because she was promiscuous, her word had no worth. It was then that Dispatch revealed that the boyfriend had offered them the premise of the matter, then screenshots of the guy blackmailing Hara with an intimate video that he filmed against her will came to light. Just then the netizens decided to listen to her. The witness (Hara's roomie) came out to give her version of the facts: the guy had entered without permission with the access code and had woken Hara by kicking the bed. The witness and the messages proved that Hara had broke up with him and he wanted to blackmail her with the intimate video and threatened to end her career, Hara tried to take the video, and the guy beat her up. After that, he destroyed averything and anything he could find at the apartment, while Hara begged him not to publish the video. In the week that Hara was hospitalized the guy sent her threats and fragments of the video as blackmail.

For a while Hara had the empathy of the netizens, but the case was never resolved judicially, and the public eventually forgot what happened and attacked Hara again. This year Hara uploaded a photo to her social media for the first time, thanking the support she received in those difficult moments. And the netizens accused her of attention seeking, they said that if she was really hurt she shouldn't be on social media after what happened, and accused her of being unaware of the damage she caused her ex - who could no longer show his face in public. Soon she went to Japan to fulfill previous contracts and they accused her of fleeing, of indifference and said that what had happened hadn't been so serious if she was already working and she had made a big drama for nothing. Meanwhile the ex is active in social media and opened a new beauty salon, which was very successful. And as if that were not enough, the ex-boyfriend, Junghyun (B2ST) ended up entangled in the Seungri/Rising Sun scandal. And although it has been said that he was not an active participant beyond commenting on the videos that JJY sent, the netizens insisted that there were videos and intimate photos of Hara in the infamous chats.

After this, Hara uploaded a picture and netizens accused her of getting plastic surgery. Hara said that she had eyelid surgery for medical reasons and asked people to stop attacking her, but the netizens ignored and attacked her for the surgery.

May 25th 2019, Hara was found unconscious in her apartment. It was said it had been a suicide attempt. This incident, unlike others in the world of kpop, did not have a wave of positive and empathetic comments wishing her recovery, but the comments were insults, offenses and ridicule towards Hara. They even reproached her for her lack of success in committing suicide, accused her of faking it, said that the news were false to get attention and attacked her more than ever.

Soon after that Hara los her best friend.

This news were devastating but they were not a surprise, at least to me. I made a post about Sulli's passing asking people to support Hara, because I knew that she would be next. She had already tried. And she got hate for not succeeding.

A lot of the kpop fandom now wasn't around for most of the second generation mess. We had idols poisoned, attacked, and destroyed by netizens. There still are many idols victims of slave contracts and abuse but back then you saw the proof of those things regularly. With idols passing out and stuff.

Korea, specifically its treatment of celebrities is crap. Its inhuman. As international fans we should spread love for idols. And ask the companies to care for them, we should watch for their best interests as humans. What Hyuna and Edawn are doing, going on variety shows and doing photoshoots together as a couple is huge. What Mamamoo has been doing is huge. What Holland is doing is huge. Please support the idols who are actively fighting to change Koreas celebrity culture. ITS IMPORTANT.

And its important to know the stories of idols like Hara, Hangeng, T-ARA... because this idols were victims and where given nothing but hate. Hate that ended their careers or in Hara and Sulli's case, their lives. Hate kills. Haters kill. Not allowing people to live a plenty life, kills. Not allowing people to make mistakes, kills. I hope you read Hara's story and pay attention to female idols with a bad reputation, they're vulnerable in so many ways. And I hope that, in the future, when an idol survives a suicide attempt y'all wont ignore it like you did Hara.

REST IN PEACE🙏💔💔🙏

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godsporncollection · 3 years

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Saturday Morning Session

(personal commentary in italics) (sorry for how inconsistent i am at this, i’m trying new medication, so my focus comes and goes unpredictably, but i didn’t want this to take weeks)

Russel M Nelson - strengthen your testimony (?)

"I understand better what he meant when he said 'behold, i will hasten my work in this time.'"

Y'all have been strengthening your testimonies and i, and your children, thank you. did that inclusion of "your children" feel off to anyone else?

I can see the work on the temple outside my window and that makes me think about how we need to remove the old debris from our lives. I too think of the temple as 'old debris' that should be removed from my life.

"the gospel is a message of joy" I cannot roll my eyes hard enough

that was short. what was the topic? blab for a five minutes?

Dieter F. Uchdorf - god is Among Us

I had to move lots when I was a kid because there was a war on. i thought about the missionaries who came to the country of their enemies to bring us the gospel.

i was a kid in a war-torn country > missionaries > god has not forgotten us > we will be heirs of god > how could we complain when we have that? > the atonement > mistakes are okay, just gotta keep repenting.

what would jesus teach if he was among us today? the same thing he's always taught. "the savior always teaches timeless truths, to everyone, a message of hope and belonging, a testament that god has not abandoned his children that god is Among Us."

jesus says to love one another and to be full of charity towards all men. i would like to see it.

anyone else feel like these talks are just. empty? like, they're not feeling it either?

if jesus came into your home today, he would see into your heart and i'm gonna waste a couple more minutes by expanding on that. one look into his eyes and we would be forever changed by the realization that god is Among Us.

back to me, i wish i could go back and tell myself to stay on the right track because god is Among Us, so i'm gonna tell you instead. god is Among Us.

"line upon line" *gag*

god is Among Us

Joy D Jones - abuse is wrong unless you use it to teach kids about the gospel

"have you ever wondered why we call 'primary' 'primary'?" as someone who understands how language works, no.

because kids are importanter than everything else

god trusts us to be nice to our kids; that means no abuse, even if we're angry. whoever needed this reminder should be shot.

hey, maybe you can "combat the evils of abuse" by not fucking raising your kids in an abusive cult!

analogy of a kid who fell out of bed because he "didn't get far enough in" = he wasn't indoctrinated enough, with awkward collage of pics of kids for a minute.

eyring said to get 'em while they're young

love all the pics of black people that try to say "see? we don't think black people are inherently evil (anymore)!"

analogy of a soldier in boot camp. drill seargants are mean, but that was necessary because apparantly it's the only way this guy can learn how to hide. also, apparently this guy is "our friend". not my friend, thanks.

"how can we do the same for our children?" don't fucking act like a drill seargent to your kids! ffs

"wouldn't we rather have them sweat in the safe learning environment of the home than bleed on the battlefields of life?" first of all, fuck you. second, dramatic much? third, fuck you, kids shouldn't have to learn about life in a hostile environment. does this woman have kids? are they okay? fucking hell, five kids were raised by a woman with this mentality. what a bitch.

"eternity is the wrong thing to be wrong about." i got news for you. of course, if i ever spoke to this machine, that topic wouldn't be my top priority.

I need a fucking drink.

Jan Eric Newman - teaching the gospel is good, but you can't force a testimony on others

anecdote about a local old woman getting birthday gifts. she taught us some good things when we were growing up, so thanks, sister davis.

another teacher, at college, was a "master teacher." he loved me and the lord. he taught me to learn doctrine on my own and that "changed me forever."

just sayin', if you're taught how to learn on your own, but didn't exercise enough critical thought to gtfo of this cult, maybe the teacher wasn't the best.

it's good to have good teachers.

the ancient nephites and lamanites had good teachers, and "there was no contention among them!"

"how can we teach more like the savior and help others become more deeply converted?" nope, nope. nope.

1st, "learn all you can about the master teacher hismelf." so, we're sticking with the term "master teacher." cool. doesn't sound weird at all.

ask yourself questions about how he taught, then do that.

read "teaching in the savoir's way."

2nd, use bullshit stories. oh, no, it's a story about how somebody is grateful for the pandemic because her adult child read the BoM for the first time during it. she said it had made "literal miracles."

3rd, "remember that conversion must come from within." guess jan and "joy" should have compared notes before speaking.

"children inheret many things, but a testimony is not one of them. we can't give our children a testimony any more than we can make a seed grow; but we can provide a nourishing environment, with good soil, free of thorns that would choke the word."

Gary E. Stevenson - kindness

story about a study where rabbits were fed a high-fat diet, but those under the care of a loving researcher didn't gain as much weight.

only christians can intuitively understand that this means there's a reason to be kind to others.

jesus said love one another.

addressing primary kids - be kind. here's a story about a kid who stopped being a bully because the bullied kid said it hurt.

to the teens - social media makes bullying worse, clearly satan is using social media against your generation. do what you can t make these spaces safer. if you're a bully, "stop it."

to the adults- "we have a primary responsibility to set a tone and be role models of kindness (get wrecked "joy"), inclusion and civility."

from ballard- "i have never heard members of this church to be anything but loving, kind, tolerant and benevolent to our friends and neighbors of other faiths." k, but, like, you know it's not just a difference of religious belief that’s the problem, right?

i'm heartbroken to hear about prejudice against blackasianlatino people or of any other group. i love how that section was really only about race, with a blanket "any other group" thrown in as an afterthought so they can't be accused of being homophobic.

in the winter of 1838, jo smith was in prison and why do you think that happened, gary?

church members were driven from their homes and the residents of a town across the river gave them food and shelter. that generosity saved the lives of many of them.

god is a compassionate care-giver.

Gerrit W. Gong - disjointed anecdotes of human experiences, idk

i miss my dad. he was adventurous, except regarding food.

i saw a guy be mean to a lady selling ice cream. he smashed all of her cones. the image of her trying to salvage the cones haunts me to this day.

story of the good samaritan.

be like christ this easter.

"we recieve inspiration as we counsel together, listening to each person, including each sister and the spirit."

does this guy have a topic?

he’s is just giving a list of random human experiences and parables.

*displays a lack of understanding of instagram.*

he's listing something throughout this, like, he keeps counting, but i have no idea what and his voice is making my adhd medication run away, so i'm not listening to this again.

Henry B. Eyring - temple worthiness

today i'm feeling light and hope, like the first day i went to the salt lake temple

i'm an oblivious fucker who didn't notice my name being pinned on me, so i thought the woman who greeted me was an angel because she knew my name.

thought he could remember being in the temple before, but a voice that was not his own (that's how you know it's true and not something he just told himself) told him he was remembering heaven.

confused "holiness to the lord" with "this is a holy place." i know both phrases use the word 'holy', but like, those contexts mean separate things.

i also had this feeling during my wedding in the logan temple.

i think henry should get checked out, he suffers from frequent hallucinations and it's good to know how your brain works differently from others when in a leadership position.

during my wedding, i had a vision of a house and the officiant said to live in a way that you can walk away easily. a year later, my father in law bought the exact house and my wife and i lived in the guest house for ten years. then i got the call to move somewhere else on assignment from the church and we walked away easily.

scripture from jesus about temples.

if you're unworthy in the temple, you won't be "able to see, by the power of the holy ghost, the spiritual teaching of the savior that we can recieve in the temple."

"when we are worthy to recieve such teaching, there can grow, through our temple experience, hope, joy, and optimism throughout our lives. that hope, joy, and optimism are available only through accepting the ordinances performed in holy temples."

i forgot how simple a baptism is, so i'm gonna tell you how amazed (and a little concerned) i was when my youngest daughter stayed to do baptism for the dead for all of the names on the list that day. maybe i'm just super comfortable in the water, but that doesn't sound hard, actually. i used to almost enjoy doing those.

quotes the primary song 'i love to see the temple.'

remember to be worthy so you can live with your family forever.

#exmo #ex mormon #exchristian #ex christian #excult #cult stuff #exlds #ex lds #former mormon #apostake #ex religious #agnostic #mine #gc april 2021 #gc summary

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plaggs-stanky-cheese · 3 years

Text

Princess of the order; Chapter 2

Previously On the Princess Of the Order

Damian asks me a question. However, I don't hear it. All I hear is my head yelling " YOU LIED!! YOU ARE JUST LIKE SOPHIE!". I wring my hands. My head is right I am a liar just like Lady Sophie. I couldn't take this anymore. I look up to Damian (who is an inch taller than her) and say " I need to tell you something. I-I can't do this". He looks at me concerned. I drag him to the edge of the order. I spill all my secrets. Every. Single. One. I had to!! Those beautiful green eyes of his melted my heart and my life was too much for a 5-year-old!!! After I finish my rant he looks at me. I then realize what I have done. My eyes widen. What if Damian snitches?!?!?! Oh no, you messed up Marinette. " Hey, Hey! Don't worry!! Your secrets safe with me." I look up to Damian. " really?" He nods. I quickly hug him and tell I'm to meet here again same time tomorrow and just as I was about to head back to my palace Damian had grabbed my hand and gave it a chaste kiss. " Have a Good night Sahib Alsumui "

<><><><><>

From that day on they had met up at the same spot. Sometimes Marinette had to go in her royal wear, but it was a small price to pay. This went on for years until one fateful day...

----------

Damian and I had just finished exchanging gifts. Both of our 10th birthdays had just passed. I had received a necklace with angel wing charms and devil horns saying "Sahib Alsumui". That had become a nickname only Damian had used. Marinette had made a special announcement about how no one was allowed to call her that claiming she wanted to have a less formal relationship with her subjects. Damian had received a similar gift, a gold ring with dove wings, and inside the ring, a secret message was engraved. Marinette put the ring on him not letting him see the message and made him swear not to look at the message unless she said. Why? Cause the message was short and simple, yet meant a lot. It had said I love you, Dove. The two children had just released each other from their hug when Marinette had to go to Castle of Creation to meet the past ladybug. Just as she was about to go the League of Assassins drops in. Some Monks nearby grab Marinette.

" DAMIAN!!!" Marinette yells as she sees an assassin behind Damian. " NOO" she screams right before her eyesight blurs and she slumps.

I jolt up, breathing heavily. It's okay Marinette that was 6 years ago. Breathe.

Again

Tikki flies up to my face and squeaks " Are you okay Marinette?" her voice laced heavily with concern. I had been waking up very often in the middle of the night for the past month always waking up with labored breathing. Tikki had kept me notified of all my strange behaviors in the night. " Yeah, I'm okay Tikki." "Well, there is no use in sleeping now bug, there only 2 minutes till your alarm goes off so I suggest getting ready early." I give a small smile to Tikki and joke " At least my nightmares are helping me with my school schedule now". Tikki just looks at me with a lost look in her eyes before flying back into my purse. I shrug it off and get ready for school. The rest of the horrible day plays inevitably in my mind.

I wake up in a quaint room. My memories were quite fuzzy but I had a feeling that I could trust the place. I head downstairs to only find my Auntie Sabine and Uncle Tom. They rush over to me mouths moving only I wasn't listening. My memories were coming back. I.....I was to head over to my Aunt's place only in an emergency. My eyes widen. In a quavery voice, I ask

" Where is Damian?" not wanting my conclusion to be true, praying to the gods that he's alright. I look over to my Aunt and judging by the look on her face.......Damian didn't survive. I fall to my knees crying body shaking sobs as my Auntie and Uncle hug me.

My Aunt's yelling snaps me out of my trance. I finish doing my pigtails, straighten my purse and head downstairs. Wanting to be early and speak with Adrien before everyone else arrives I grab a croissant and I quickly head over to the school.

I wave over to Adrien who is sitting on the stairs smiling goofily at his phone. He's probably texting his boyfriend. "ooooh Adrien's got a crush!!" I tease while looking down at the boy lounging in the steps. He sticks out his tongue back before saying " Hah hah ha". I squish myself between him and the railing, Adrien quickly moving over for more space. Adrien quickly turns off his phone and rests his head on my shoulder.

" So, how's the Night Terrors?"

" *snort* Horrible as always"

"..."

" Look Adrien, I'm fine okay!! They're just old memories replaying in my mind, and the night before the last, I dreamt the first time I met him so that's a point!!!"

Adrien lifts his head off my shoulder and gives me a skeptical look. I shove him gently and say " okay okay enough about me, how's your mom?". Today marks the 2nd week of Hawkmoths defeat. I recall how I made up a whole team, calling upon almost all of the miraculous for the fight, but as always it ended with me and my kitty against the world...as always. I had healed Mrs. Agreste since Adrien needed a guardian. He wanted to bury his mother in peace but the law required for him to have at least one of his parents unless he wants his father's company ripped from him until he is adopted or is old enough to take charge of it. " She's okay, but still catching up on what happened during the last 5 years" Adrien stated resting his head back on my shoulder. I hum in response happy she's catching on. We sit there gazing at the beautiful city in front of us. It had been a rough 5 years for all of the Parisians but all that was in the past.

" Ya know... I'm still pissed at the JL for ignoring us, but I'm kinda grateful too??" I state. Adrien glares at me from my shoulder and says in a cold voice " Why? ". I wasn't taken back by his voice as it was understandable. If they had helped earlier then no Parisian would have to see their loved ones get murdered and resurrected in front of them. I sigh and jokingly say " well I don't think that I would be able to fight off an akumatized Batman, how bout you?". We burst out laughing.

----------

Our laughing dies down 2 minutes before Alya, Nino, and Chloe arrive. Despite all the things that happened these past 5 years Marinette and Chloe becoming friends were the craziest. Not finding out the identity of ladybug and hawkmoth but their ever-evolving friendship. Like always they ask about Marinette's night terrors and she shrugs them off saying that they were getting better. Yeah, no these were lies. Tikki had often reported to me about the terrors and I became increasingly worried. We all know about Marinette's past but I'm pretty sure what we knew was just a fraction of a bigger and more horrifying story. This Damien character was very important to her and he was her bestie in the Order. Very intriguing.....

More students enter the schoolyard and we started walking toward homeroom. We enter the room. Alya and Chloe pull me aside, with matching looks on their face. " Ninos distracting M, now spill, we know the night terrors aren't getting better." Sweat rolls down the back of my neck as they give me the look. I swallow and stammer out " I-I can't my lady trusts me so uh I like can't really t-tell you guys". Just as they are about to retaliate Mme. Bustier walks in with the biggest smile adorning her face. I signed in relief and made my way towards my seat along with the others.

" Good Morning Students!!!! Today we have a video call with Lila and then I will be handing out the summer job packages for Gotham and New york!"

Shit, I forgot today's the last Wednesday of highschool. Damn, we came far. Mme. sets up the projector with help from Markov and suddenly Lila's face pops into view. Yaaay. I cant practically feel the hate coming from the 3 girls behind me. I shiver. These girls behind me are the most terrifying in the world when they need to or want to be. I discreetly pull out my phone, zone out Lila, and text away to Jon.

~~ a Lil time skip if that's okay~~

Lila had finally ended the call claiming that she had to go the sleep bright and early to help Prince Ali. I was very excited. Jon said he is living in Gotham for the summer so I decided to surprise him. The minute I had gotten the forms for the summer jobs I had filled in the Gotham form and placed it in my knapsack. I turned around and asked the girls where they're going. Nino is honestly fine with anything so he's going with Alya.

" hmm I might go to Gotham but New York does have..." Alya mumbled to herself

" Ugh, I can't decide!! I might decide over a drink later though" Chloe had said picking her nails.

I faced my lady and she just sighed and said: " I might join ya". Alya and Nin agreed with them so I knew I was going to end up coming with them to drive their drunk asses home or at least to my place. The bell ringed for lunch since our school days had shortened ever since Hawkmoths defeat. We went to lunch chatting.

-Another time and POV skip cause this chappie has been a bit bland no?-

I ran out of school, before stopping at the edge of the sidewalk. I sat down at the ledge, my breathing more labored than it was when I snapped out of my trance. My hands meet my hair as I run my hand halfway through. I had another night terror although I wasn't asleep this time. I was fully awake and I saw a bloody Damian pop in front of me and stabbed me in the lung. Normally I wouldn't have flinched but.....this...this was different.

Breathe

inhale

exhale

I hear the doors slamming open and running. Alya and Chloe drop down beside me. " M are you okay? Nino and Adrien are grabbing our stuff." Alya says concern dripping in her tone. I sigh shakily and say " I--Im good I just really needed a breath of air". Chloe and Alya share a look.

" *sigh* okay no I'm not. I have been having night terrors of my best and only friend in the league and it breaks my heart every damn time guys. I..." my voice cracks " I can't handle this" tears stream down my face and I bury my head in my hands. My friends hung me and rub circles on my back while I sob. I can barely hear the sound of Adrien and nino dropping down next to me. they hug my back.

After a good solid 2 minutes of crying which is the most, I have done in 5 years. I get out of their grasp and wipe my eyes. I get up grab my bag and look down at them. " Wanna have a drink?"

They grin at me and I grin back. We quickly make our way towards the mayor's hotel.

~After they have 5 shots of tequila and Adrien has one shot of vodka ;) kudos if ya get it~

I take a lazy glance at the room. Adrien is on the floor balancing bottles on his stomach, Alya and Nino are making out and Chloe is well, Chloe. I blink at Chloe and point a finger at her she looks at me. " hEY wHY arEnt yOu dRunK?" she looks at me with a bored expression and says " Darling I only survive life in general because I take shots every morning. Try Me. "

I gasp. Nino and Alya stop eating each other's faces and surround me and Chloe. I glare at her as hard as I could while being wasted that is. Adrien gets up and pours each of us 5 shots of the strongest we have.

" Aight start on 3, 1...2...3!"

We start. before I can even get into the 4th shot I look over to see Chloe already done and taking selfies. Being the drunkard I am I fall out of my chair and start to chant Chloe's name while bowing down at her. I don't notice Adrien recording it though. Since we just consumed the strongest alcohol ever we decided to fill out the job forms, while we were drunk.

After a while, we all fall asleep on the floor the bottles on our stomachs shaking the slightest.

I wake up in a room full of darkness and 2 people in white jackets. I look around confused and spot a little boy who I notice is ...Damien! The last thing I remember is taking shots in front of Chloe, where......where exactly am I? Damian yells and struggles in his binds I yell out a "NO!" as he screams in pain -

I jolt up screaming. All the bottles on my stomach rolling back onto the ground. " Wass wrong? Akuma?" I hear adrien slur out of habit. I look over to him unable to stop the tears flowing from my eyes. His body structure relaxes as he realizes it wasn't an Akuma. He scooches over to me. Without saying a word he hugs me and I cry softly into his shirt as he kisses my forehead and whispers soothing words.

<><><><><><><><><><>

It's bland I know, has a bit of comedy tho. And a bit of what I guess would call angst? Meh, the next one is Damien's POV so it will be better. The reason it's so long is that I wanted to make it less bland but I Obviously failed. oh well

ADIOS FRENS

#maribat #damienette #gadrien #no salt

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nanasarea · 4 years

Text

Sucker I xiii

Prompt: Y/N attends a school for the supernatural, specifically: werewolves, witches and vampires. The school might be magic, but so is love, right? Right?

Genre: angst, fluff, slight smut

Pairing: reader x 00 line

Inspired heavily by: Legacies (and The Vampire Diaries&The Originals)

a/n: here we go again, posting this before bed....also since it’s the 23rd in other countries already: HAPPY JENO DAY! i’ll try and write or edit something for this little pup’s birthday tomorrow :)

main m.list / sucker m.list / i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii xiii xiv xv

“It’s a prophesy.” Renjun said “What?” You asked “The man kept repeating it and I searched it up. It’s a prophesy but I don’t know what some of these mean.” Renjun sighed.

You knew he didn’t like not having answers. He had to have an answer to every question, it ate him up inside. You put your hand on his shoulder as he turned his face towards you.

“Let me help you.” You said, that’s when he knew he shouldn’t have made you even more involved, but he couldn’t lie. Not to you. You were his kryptonite, his only weakness, which is why he needed to find the answers as soon as possible.

Time jump

“What’s that?” Hana asked as Jeno opened the letter he had just received “It’s a letter from my uncle Olor.” Jeno answered.

“I didn’t know you had an uncle.” Jaemin said. You were all sitting at the table at breakfast when the letter manifested into his hands.

Considering the location of the school wasn’t really open to the public, when relatives sent letters, they would just write their name and send it without an address.

Luckily, the post office had a special supernatural department, which specialized in delivering letters from mortals to the supernatural. The letters would be sent using magic to not raise any questions.

“I stayed with him during the holidays when I was here but he was very secretive, I would barely see him.” Jeno explained.

“When you were here?” Jisoo asked, causing Hana to look at her with wide eyes and motion to you.

“Yeah, I use to come to town for the holidays, to see y/n.” Jeno quietly explained.

“Oh, right, sorry. Forgot you two dated.” Jisoo apologized.

“It’s fine, sometimes I feel like you’re not the only one.” He might have mumbled the last part more to himself, but you still caught what he said and shifted in your seat, feeling guilty for having Jaemin’s arm around you.

“Wait, Olor?” Renjun asked “Yeah, why?” Jeno asked.

“Weird name.” Chenle commented.

“Indeed, what does it mean?” Jisung asked.

“It’s latin, that’s all I know.” Jeno answered as Renjun’s eyes widened before getting up.

“I have to go to the library, can one of you clean up for me? Thank you!” Renjun yelled before running towards the library.

“What’s with him?” Jisung asked.

“More importantly, what’s with Haechan? He practically lives in the library now, and last time I checked, he hated studying.” Chenle raised another question.

“Oh shush, you two.” Hana said “Let’s not worry, if something is wrong, they’d tell us.” Jisoo stated “Thank you, babe!” Hana replied, sending her a kiss, making Jisoo blush.

Jeno excused himself, cleaning up after himself as Jisung quickly told Chenle to clean up after him and that he’ll repay him later before following Jeno.

“Are you really that big of a coward?” Jisung asked.

“What am I suppose to do? Say “hey, y/n, I know you’re dating someone who has now become one of my best mates, but mind breaking his heart and running back to me?” and ruin everything?” Jeno yelled at the younger.

“He’s like a brother to me now.” Jeno added, sighing.

“But I’m still in love with her, and so is he.” he said before sitting on one fo the benches.

“A vampire and a werewolf both in love with the same girl? Twilight, much?” Jisung laughed and sat down next to Jeno.

“He probably feels bad too, you know?” Jisung said “How would you know that?” Jeno asked.

“Last time I checked, Jaemin shares a lot with Chenle, who just so happens to be my best friend?” Jisung reminded. “Does he feel bad? Why? I fucked up, we weren’t going to get back together anyway.” Jeno sighed “You don’t know that!” “Yes, I do!”.

Time jump

“Hey, brought you a cookie from the cafe! Thought you might need one after researching that man for so long.” You said, sliding the bag towards Renjun before sitting down.

Renjun just smiled at your gesture before remembering, he had to tell you what he found out.

“Now, call me crazy, but I think we need to talk to Jeno’s uncle.” Renjun said, turning to face you.

“What?” You laughed “Olor, his name is latin and it means...” he slid a book in front of you and pointed to the word “swan”.

“Does this mean we have to listen to him? What could be possibly know?” You asked “I don’t know, maybe he will.” Renjun shrugged.

“Have you read any of the books I got you? About witchcraft?” Renjun asked, changing the subject.

“Yes! I read the history of witches and I had no idea it was so interesting!” You nodded, making Renjun smile. “I’m glad.” He simply said before taking a bite of the cookie you got him.

“Hyuck, stop looking at them. Don’t feel jealous. It’s fine.” Haechan said to himself as he watched the two of you.

“They’re not even dating, she’s with Jaemin.” He whispered to himself before putting his head into his hands. “I’m really losing it.” He sighed before taking a sip from his coffee, noticing something spelled out on the top of the cup.

“Erase it.”

a/n: so Jeno’s uncle IS important, but why? Is the letter actually important or just me dropping his name in the story so Renjun can go big brain energy and figure some shit out? most likely the 2nd lol. this is more of a filler, but I do advise mental preparation for the next chapter, just saying.

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lynelovespopculture · 4 years

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THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA-CHAPTER 11: ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!

LIFE IS NOT EASY FOR GREENDALE’S HIGH PRIESTESS. HER BELOVED STEPDAUGHTER KEEPS REJECTING HER, IT’S GETTING HARDER TO RUN THE ACADEMY AND WHEN LITILH FINALLY GIVES BIRTH, THINGS GO FROM BAD TO WORSE!

She was horrified. “Here, Father?! You want to spend the night here?!”

“Yes,” came the answer, “and as I’ve been trying to explain to you, it wouldn’t be only for tonight. I live here now and as of this moment, so do you.”

“But this the Spellman house! We can’t live at the Spellman house! We hate the Spellmans! You most of all!”

“I don’t hate anyone and the Spellmans are my family now, our family.”

“Have you lost your mind, Father? The Spellmans are the enemy. They’ll silt our throats in our sleep. You taught us that!”

“I didn’t teach you anything, that’s kind of the problem,” Faustus said with desperation in his voice. “Also, for Hecate’s sake, lower your voice please.”

Yet, it was already too late. The 1 person Faustus really didn’t want to hear this conversation was hearing everything and had been for the past 10 minutes. For Zelda Spellman, clad in her nightgown could hear the voices in the kitchen perfectly from she was, on the left bottom staircase before the stairs spilt. It wasn’t Zelda’s intention to spy on anyone. She had a valid reason to come downstairs, Zelda just couldn’t remember what it was at the moment. Instead, for the last 10 minutes, Zelda found herself listening to her husband and stepdaughter’s conversation, hoping to answer her burning questions. Questions like how on earth did she manage to escape Blackwood, the insanity curse that raised her? Where was her twin, Judas? And how did she come to live with Dezmelda again, the very witch that Zelda had entrusted Letitia’s care to? However, all Zelda was learning was how much anger and hate her beloved stepdaughter had toward her, and the rest of her family. This was not at all what Zelda had in mind for Letitia’s homecoming. 4 hours ago, when she, Faustus and baby Cordelia returned from their trip and found Letitia, the girl Zelda had loved since birth and thought of every day, had come home, at last, Zelda’s 1st instinct was to give the girl a hug. It hurt a lot when Letitia shrunk away from her touch when she figured out Zelda was going to hug her. Zelda also saw the fear in the girl’s eyes when she beheld Faustus.

“I’m sorry I ran away, Father,” the girl’s voice trembled. “Please don’t punish me.”

Everyone knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Letitia would only talk to Prudence and her father, ignoring the Spellmans and refuse to speak to any of them.

4 hours later, Faustus and his daughter were still speaking in the kitchen. Hilda and Prudence had gone home, Sabrina and Ambrose were both upstairs, asleep and Zelda was only getting sadder listening to Letitia bashing the family. Giving up entirely on trying to remember what she came down for, Zelda turned and started back upstairs while still hearing yelling coming from the Spellman kitchen.

“Letitia, please calm down.”

“There it is again! My name is Judith, Father, not this Letitia you keep calling me!”

Letitia. The very name Zelda herself had given to the babe and now, only 2 years in Zelda’s timeline, but 16 to Faustus’s daughter, and she hated the name Zelda had given her. Zelda sighed as she opened the door that separated the funeral formal front from the family’s personal 2nd-floor hallway. Zelda let out another heavy breath as she leaned against her now closed bedroom door. She looked up as she heard baby noises. She crossed the room and took Cordelia out of her bassinet. It was then that Zelda finally remembered what she forgot, Cordelia’s bottle! Yet, it wasn’t that big a deal. Being a witch sometimes meant you could cut out the middle man. Once she relaxed on the bed with the baby in her arms, that bottle magically appeared.

“You won’t ever turn against Mommy, will you Cordelia?” Was it Zelda’s imagination or was her baby girl snuggling up against her?

Even after feeding her, changing her, and settling her daughter back into the bassinet, Faustus had still not come up. Zelda smoked an entire cigarette and found herself anxiously pacing up and down the room, absent mindlessly playing with her wedding ring when her husband, at last, came into the room.

“How is she?” Zelda asked the moment she saw him.

“Fine,” Faustus replied. “Letitia’s asleep now. I put a root of sage under her pillow. I put her up in the nursery on the roll away bed. I hope that’s okay?”

“Oh, of course, of course,” Zelda demised his concern quickly. “Now, please tell me all you know about Letitia. How did she escape from Blackwood? Where is Judas? Why was Letitia back living with Dezmelda again?”

“Well, it’s a long story, but it all started the night of the twins’ dark baptism.”

“Their baptism?! But that was way back in December! That was over 6 months ago!” Zelda’s eyes widened.

Faustus knew that look. After so many centuries together, Faustus was still amazed by Zelda. She had long ago perfected her cold, hard outer shell. Yet, the ones who know her best, aka her family, knew that Zelda had a big, kind heart, especially when it came to children. Zelda had not only delivered his twins as part of her duties as a midwife. She had cared for Letitia and Judas as if they were her very own. First as their night mother and then stepmother. It wasn’t only the twins. Zelda was a perfect blend of supportive friend/concerned mother that Prudence needed. Of course, other than Hilda, there was no one Sabrina loved and trusted more. Faustus also felt honored that he not only fathered Zelda’s only natural child but Zelda also chose him to raise Cordelia with. Zelda was still looking at him for an answer, so he walked over to his wife and rubbed her arm affectionally.

“Just let me change and I’ll tell you all I know.”

5 minutes later, Faustus and Zelda lay in bed, talking.

“Just as I feared, Blackwood planned to marry the twins to each other on their 16th birthday. Apparently, Judas had no problem with this, but Letitia, rightly so, didn’t want to become her brother’s bride. So, before dawn that day, before Blackwood and Judas were awake, Letitia ran away.” Faustus explained.

“Poor girl. What a horrible way to spend your 16th birthday,” Zelda shook her sadly. “I hope she wasn’t alone for long?”

Faustus saw the genuine worry on Zelda’s face and couldn’t help but smile. Was it any wonder that he absolutely adored the ground Zelda walked on? “No, not too long,” he replied. “Just for 2 days and a night. Dezmelda found her right before the 2nd sunset.”

Zelda frowned. “Well, then that begs another question if Letitia has been with her for over 6 months, why didn’t Dezmelda tell anyone?”

“Letitia told me that she begged Dezmelda not to tell anyone that she was there. Letitia was terrified of being taken back to me, er, Blackwood.”

“You did explain the insanity curse to her, didn’t you?”

Faustus sighed. “I did but I don’t think she understood. I may have to explain to her all again. I mean, it is all very complicated. I really think that all Letitia needs is some”

“Time?” Zelda offered. “We can surely give her that. I’m just so happy that she’s here under our roof where we can protect her.”

Faustus stroked Zelda’s cheek and kissed her. “My thoughts exactly. I love you.” They fell asleep shortly after.

Hours later, Zelda woke up to Cordelia’s cries and stepped from the bed to her daughter’s bassinet. After feeding the baby, Zelda realized that she had a perfect excuse to sneak into the nursery. After tiptoeing into the room and settled Cordelia in her crib, Zelda turned to look at the young girl that was asleep in the pale moonlight. Zelda longed to sit by Letitia’s side, stroke her hair, and kissed her brow. Yet she didn’t do anything like that for fear that Letitia would wake up and flinch from her as she did before.

“Sleep well, Letitia,” Zelda whispered softly. “I’m so happy that you’re finally home.”

Zelda sadly closed the door, went back to her room, and got back into bed. Zelda instantly felt a bit better when a still half-asleep Faustus wrapped an arm around her.

Despite the fact that she would have preferred to stay with Letitia, on her full 1st day home and was still tired from the trip from Rome, Zelda kissed Faustus and Cordelia goodbye the next morning before heading to the academy. Zelda froze at the front door when she heard Letitia asked her father.

“Are you really going to just stand there while that bitch steals your job?!”

“Watch your mouth, young lady! Zelda isn’t stealing anything!”

The redhead closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced herself to continue on her way.

It was during morning assembly that Zelda got to tell the whole school, students, and staff alike about her trip to Rome and how successful it was. Zelda was touched when the whole crowd burst into applause and then Zelda kept on being stopped on the way back to her office to offer their congratulations. When she finally got to her office, Zelda saw her 1st appointment was waiting.

“Hello, brother Barker.” Zelda smiled. “Please take a seat.”

The warlock sat before the desk as Zelda went to sit behind it. “So, what can I do for you today?” Zelda asked.

Barker sighed. “I hate to do this to you, Zelda. Especially when you’re just back from Rome, but I’ve thought long and hard about it and I’ve decided to retire.”

Zelda was shocked. “Retire? You? But you are the most experienced teacher at this school. You taught most of the staff, myself included.”

Barker nodded. “I know, I know. As I said, I hate to do this but I’m a whole century older than the rest of you and I just can’t keep up. Even with your sister and the young teachers in training, the student body still outnumbers us 3 to 1.”

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “So, your solution to a teacher’s shortage is to resign yourself?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t keep up this pace anymore.”

Zelda sat back in her chair, thinking. “Brother Barker,” Zelda said slowly, “if you were me, how would you solve this problem?”

The old warlock shrugged. “I don’t know. Take out an ad in the newspaper?”

Zelda laughed shortly. “Oh, that would go over well. Wanted: 2 or more experienced teachers for a secret witch’s school right in our own backyard. Oh, I can see that in the Greendale Gazette.”

Barker shook his head. “No, I didn’t mean the gazette, I actually was referring to the IWD. I’ve heard they had gone digital.”

Zelda closed her eyes. “The newspaper run by the International Witches Database, of course, that’s what you meant! Forgive me, Brother Barker, I’m afraid I’m still suffering from jet lag from the flight from Rome. Anyway, I think placing an ad in the IWD is a brilliant idea! I think as the most senior member of this academy’s staff, I think you’re the perfect person to write up the ad, or at least the 1st draft. In fact, what’s your next class?”

“Um..it’s casting 101,” Barker answered.

Zelda nodded. “I’ll handle your class so that you can get started on the ad. Please feel free to use my office. I’ll also take a look at the schedule and see if I can divide the classes more evenly between the teachers. I just need to ask you 1 favor. Until the person who is selected from the ad is picked and settled, can you stay on?”

“Are you kidding? If this leaves off enough pressure, I may not retire after all.”

Zelda smiled. “Good.”

1 crisis down, about a million more to go. Barker was right; every teacher was stressed to the limit. Of course, the fact that the headmistress had been gone for a whole week, didn’t help matters. On top of her classes, Zelda also had a mountain of paperwork to get through. Zelda was so swamped that she had to call Faustus at home to tell him not to hold supper for her. Zelda sensed something in her husband’s voice, sadness perhaps, but decided not to pursue it. By 7, Zelda was still working at her desk and was not all happy when she looked up and saw the hell minion was right before her.

Zelda sighed. “What on earth are you doing here?” She demanded of the bellhop.

“Lilith is” the minion started and Zelda, tired and cranky, cut in rather quickly.

“Is not due for another 6 weeks and her last check-up is not for another 2 weeks.”

“Be that as it may,” the minion tried again. “Lilith said that she was bleeding and to fetch you right away.”

Zelda sighed as she opened her desk drawer, took out a pad of paper, and quickly wrote a note that she quickly spelled to the dining table of the Spellman house where Faustus was sure to find it. Then Zelda stood up and held out her hand until she felt the handle of the medical bag in her palm. Then she gestured to the minion. “Lead the way.”

Hell was the last place Zelda Spellman thought she would be tonight. All she wanted to do was go home, check on the children, have something to eat, cuddle up next to Faustus, and go to sleep. Yet, duty called. The minion was walking her down a palace hallway when Zelda felt herself being grabbed and pulled into a room. The next thing Zelda knew, she was face to face with Lilith.

“Did you find it? Did you bring it?” Lilith demanded.

“Did I find or bring what?” Zelda honestly didn’t know what Lilith was talking about.

“The spell!” Lilith cried as if it was the obvious thing in the world. “The spell that pauses my pregnancy.”

Zelda made a face. “No, I bring that! The spell would be against nature. There is no magic against nature! You know that! Every witch knows that!” It was only when Lilith threw up her hands and was walking away from her, that Zelda noticed something. “You’re not bleeding, are you? You bought me down here for nothing.”

“Nothing!” Lilith turned back sharply. “I’m due in only 6 weeks! The moment after I give birth, my stay of execution will be over and Lucifer will kill me!”

“You’ve had 13 months to plan your escape,” Zelda pointed out, “why didn’t you?”

“How can I plan anything with Lucifer watching me 24/7! Besides, why should I plan anything, when it’s your fault I’m in this mess!”

Zelda was so shocked she could only blink. “My fault?!”

“Yes!” Lilith returned with a hiss. “If you hadn’t turned me away, I wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“You having a baby, I hardly call that a mess, Lilith! And for the record, I turned you away because you are untrustworthy, and as high priestess, I always have to put the safety of my family and coven first. Besides how was I to know when you left the academy, how was I to know you would run right into Lucifer’s arms!”

“I was trying to save my life!” Lilith defended herself. “As Lucifer already showed, I wasn’t in his arms. I was in your husband’s and you say I’m untrustworthy.”

“Blackwood is not my husband, Faustus is!”

Lilith waved her hand dismissingly. “Same difference.”

“There’s a lot of difference!” Zelda instantly defended. “Blackwood is a soulless, evil parasite. A curse, who we would have been rid of by now if you haven’t of given him the mark of Cain. Faustus is a real person, who has been through the darkest pain, has owned up to his mistakes and now tries harder to be better every single day, to redeem himself. That’s the difference. Lucifer hasn’t paid me in information for months. The only reason I’m still your mid-wife is to protect my coven and family, including my husband, from the dark lord.” Zelda turned to leave but then turned back. “As you said, you’re due in 6 weeks, and if I were you, I’ld start planning something.” Then Zelda left.

Although she was tired and long to go home, Zelda returned to the Academy and managed to do another hour of paperwork. Then she went home. Stopping at the kitchen’s entrance, Zelda watched Faustus cleaning the island while Letitia fluttered around him.

“I bet she’s not even a mid-wife. I think she been with her lover all night.” Suggested Letitia.

Faustus didn’t even bother to look up. “Zelda doesn’t have a lover,” His tone was completely calm, if slightly annoyed.

Letitia then lit up. “Why am I saying it like it’s a bad thing? The more time she spends with her lover, the more you can spend with your mistress. Maybe even invite her over so I can meet her. Anyone would be better than a Spellman.”

Faustus sighed. “I’ve already told you; I don’t have a mistress and Zelda doesn’t have a lover. We are faithful to each other because we’re a happily married couple. We love each other and have no need for anyone else.”

It was a sweet statement but Letitia looked horrified. “I don’t believe it. No man is happy with only 1 woman.”

Faustus shrugged. “Believe it or not, it’s true and as I’ve told you numerous times today, I’m very happy being married to Zelda, caring for Cordelia and being a house husband.”

His daughter frowned. “That’s not natural. Women should stay in the home.”

“So, you’ve said numerous times today!” Faustus forced himself to stay calm. “It’s late, Judith, maybe you should go up and get ready for bed.”

The girl left the kitchen and Faustus finished up and hung up the kitchen rag before he turned and finally noticed Zelda. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know that you had a rough 1st day.” Zelda walked over to her husband, putting her medical bag on the island and then kissed him. “Feel better?”

“Much,” Faustus smiled and put his arms around her.

Zelda smiled. “I’m glad to hear that you don’t have a mistress. If you did, you realize I would have to kill you.”

“As would be your right.” Zelda laughed and Faustus kissed her. “Listen, I only called her Judith just now is because she yelled at me all morning that her name was not Letitia.”

“There’s no need to explain,” She told him truthfully as he put an arm around Zelda’s shoulder as they left the kitchen. In the parlor, they found Sabrina bouncing the baby. Zelda lit up at the sight of her niece and her daughter.

“Cordelia! Did you miss mommy today? I sure missed you. Hello, Sabrina. How was your day?”

“It was good, aunt Z and Cordy is finished her night bottle,” Sabrina explained as she handed Zelda the baby and Faustus the bottle. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a little more homework to do before bed.”

“Goodnight,” Zelda smiled as Sabrina kissed her goodnight.

“Thank you for all your help tonight,” Faustus added.

With Sabrina gone, Zelda sat down and began to rock Cordelia. Faustus sat down on a stool, and he took Zelda’s foot out of its high heel and began to rub the foot. The pleasurable moan that escaped Zelda’s lips made Faustus smile. “Feel good?”

“Like Hecate’s palace,” Zelda’s smile was one of pure bliss.

“Funny, there’s where I thought you came from,” Faustus got up and kissed her.

A little while later, Letitia was in bed, reading, however when she heard the door opening, she stashed her book under her pillow.

“Don’t mind me,” her father said softly. “I just need to put your sister to bed.”

Letitia was confused. “She’s not my sister. You told me yourself this morning that Cordelia was Zelda’s baby.”

Faustus put the infant in her crib before turning to answer Letitia.

“Yes, Zelda is Cordelia’s mother but I’m her father. She’s a part of us both.”

Letitia’s eyes widened as she got up off her cot to face her father. “Father, are you telling me that you actually mated with a Spellman? That is so wrong!” She wore a look of utter disgust.

Faustus sighed; his mouth was a thin line. “The only thing wrong here is that statement. I married a woman I loved and we were blessed with a child. It’s that simple.”

“But a Spellman!? To dirty our bloodline like that?! Father, you can do so much better.”

“That’s enough!” Letitia opened her mouth to say something else but Faustus held up his hand. “This is not up for debate, young lady. Now get back in bed and go to sleep!” Faustus closed the door behind him and went to his own room. There he saw Zelda, in bed, her arms around her knees, in a very un-Zelda like manner. In her hand was the 2-way baby monitor. She looked up at Faustus.

“She hates me,” Zelda was on the verge of tears.

Faustus went to her and took the monitor from her. He switched it off to ensure that they could talk in private. “She doesn’t hate you,” Faustus assured her. “She doesn’t know you. She doesn’t even know me yet. All she knows is Blackwood and his warped world view. After 16 years, it’s tough to overcome. Believe me, I know. Like you said last night, it’s going to take time.”

He was right, partly. Over time, Letitia did get closer, to some people. Like her sister, Prudence, and even Sabrina, once Letitia learned she wasn’t a true blood Spellman. As for Ambrose, Hilda, and Zelda, Letitia remained ice cold, no matter how much or how hard they tried to befriend her and it was breaking Zelda’s heart.

It was a few days after Dezmelda’s funeral, that Zelda was in the middle of teaching a class when something odd happened. Zelda smelled the smoke before she actually saw it. Then the pain set in. It was only then that Zelda’s finger burst into flames. The screaming students certainly didn’t help anything. Zelda ran out of the classroom and was thankful for whoever placed the water pitcher in the hallway. Dropping her whole hand in the jug, it did stop the fire but not the pain. Only when Zelda took off the boiling hot ring and dropped it on the floor, that’s the pain started to fade. Once she caught her breath, Zelda leaned down and saw her smoking, half-melted, and now utterly unwearable wedding ring.

Faustus looked up from his cooking and smiled. “Welcome home, dearest.” He kissed her hello. “So, how was your day?”

“It was fine darling, mostly.”

Faustus arched an eyebrow. “Care to explain that mostly?”

Zelda sighed and then dug into her purse. “I was smoked,” She explained as she produced the ring.

“Is that your wedding ring?” Faustus asked and frowned when his wife nodded. “I was afraid of this.”

It was only then that Zelda noticed that Faustus’s hand was ringless as well. “What happened to you?”

“I was feeding Cordelia her bottle this morning when suddenly, out of nowhere and for no reason at all, my ring snapped in 2 and fell off. Alright, I’m going to fix this right now,” Faustus put down the wooden spoon and turned off the stove before marching out of the kitchen.

Zelda followed him. “What are you doing?”

“Going upstairs to talk to Letitia. It’s obvious that it’s her who did this. Who else would want to destroy the symbols of our marriage?”

“Faustus, no!” Zelda grabbed his arm. “We have no proof that it was her. And even if was her, I’m sure it was nothing but a childish prank to blow off steam. I’m sure the worst is over.”

How wrong Zelda was.

“So, what do you think?”

It was the following week and Zelda and Faustus were alone in their room. It was late at night and Zelda was asking her husband his opinion about Brother Barker’s newly finished teacher’s ad for the IWD’s newspaper.

“This is fine, very fine, indeed. This should attract some excellent teachers. Yet, I’m afraid that Barker forgot something very important.”

Zelda took back the paper. “Really? I could swear Barker got in all the information.”

Faustus chuckled. “I truly do trust you, dearest, I do. But I do remember that the last time you hired a teacher, it was Mambo Marie and she was wildly attracted to you. Not that I blame her. I mean, any person with eyes would be attracted and since most teachers have eyes…”

Zelda smiled. “So, you think we mention that the headmistress is not available right in the ad.”

Faustus smiled back. “How about the headmistress is married?”

“How about the headmistress is in love?” Zelda suggested.

“Madly in love?” Faustus added.

“Passionately?”

“Completely?”

“Forever.”

Zelda allowed the ad to slip through her fingers to the floor and closed her eyes as Faustus began to kiss her deeply. They were in each other’s arms as they both fell backward toward the bed. The moment their bodies touched the mattress, Zelda and Faustus were torn apart. Due to some unknown source, Faustus was flung into the left side of the room; Zelda, the right.

“Hey!”

“Ow!” After a few seconds, they got up, dusted themselves off, and looked at each other. “What the heaven was that?” Zelda asked her husband.

The next morning, after Zelda left for work, Faustus sighed as he went back upstairs, into his room and lifted up the mattress. His heart dropped as soon as he found it. There, right in the middle of the frame was a penny. One side of the penny was flat, the other side stood straight up. Frowning, Faustus took the penny and when downstairs to the kitchen was Prudence and Letitia were.

“Hello girls,” Faustus forced his tone to remain calm.

Both of his daughters looked up and smiled at him. Prudence was helping Letitia with some of her schoolwork. It was hoped that if she worked hard enough that Letitia would be ready to attend the academy next term. Prudence gestured with her pencil. “What do you have there, Father?”

Faustus kept it cool. “Oh, this? This is a bent penny. I haven’t seen 1 of these in a very long time. That’s because a bent penny is used in a specific spell that is usually used by jealous teenage witches with cheating boyfriends. Anyway, the witch would enchant this penny and put it under the boyfriend’s mattress and if the boyfriend took another lover to his bed, he and the lover would be jolted off the bed and far away from each other.”

Prudence smiled. “Well, I’ll have to remember that if Ambrose starts acting strangely,” she joked. However, Faustus was more interested in his younger daughter’s reaction. Letitia didn’t even look up from her schoolwork. However, when Faustus turned to leave, he saw in the glass above the door that Letitia wore a smile.

That smile told Faustus all he needed to know.

“I can’t believe it took a whole month for all of us to come together again.” Hilda declared as she and Zelda prewashed a few dinner dishes while Faustus and Dr. C got the cake and coffee ready.

Zelda smiled. It was true, the Spellmans had not been all together for a full 30 days, since the night Faustus and Zelda got home from Rome. That was 1 of the reasons for tonight’s get together. The adults made their way out of the kitchen and into the dining room where the kids were waiting but 1 had flown the coop.

“Where’s Letitia?” Zelda asked.

Ambrose shrugged. “She said didn’t want dessert and went upstairs.”

Zelda sighed. Be it meals together or any other family event, Letitia would get away as soon as possible or not show up at all. Zelda hoped it would change over time but it was a month now but nothing was changing. Zelda smiled at Faustus when her husband took her hand. It was to focus on telling the family the news.

“Everyone,” Zelda began, “as wonderful as tonight’s dinner has been, Faustus and I have gathered you all here for another reason. You see, we have something to tell you, something we learned in Rome. We planned to tell you all the night we came home but we got sidetracked by Letitia being found and everything.”

“Is it about the council?” Hilda asked. “Did something happen? You are still a high priestess, aren’t you?”

“What? Oh yes, Hildie, of course, I am. No, this news has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Cordelia. Do you remember what happened the night of her presenting? Her birthmark- “

“The mark of the divine,” Ambrose said, suddenly remembering a phone call he, Faustus, and Prudence had, “Did you find out what it all means?”

“Yes,” Zelda had the whole table’s attention as she told the family everything. She told them all about Maxine and the secret sisterhood. How they freaked out about Cordelia’s crescent moon birth mark-the mark of the divine. Zelda told them all about her research, about Hecate’s grandchildren, the tale of the 2 cousins, the start of the Spellman and Blackwood bloodlines, and what it meant for baby Cordelia.

It was Prudence who first broke the shocked silence. “My baby sister is fated to be the most powerful witch ever born?!”

“That is what all the prophecies I read said, yes.” Zelda nodded.

“I can’t believe it,” Prudence whispered.

“I can,” Said Hilda. “A lot of things make sense now. The reason why Cordelia has been so alert and awake since she was born. The reason the pregnancy was healthy and was able to survive even after you were shot, Zelds. It makes complete sense now. Cordelia was meant to be born.

“I didn’t even consider all that, but yes, Hildie, I believe you’re right,” Zelda nodded.

“So, what are we going to do with this information?” Asked Sabrina.

Zelda shrugged. “I don’t know if there is anything to be done. I just remember how hurt Hilda and I were that Edward didn’t tell us about going to the dark lord for a child. So, this is us telling you all about Cordy.”

Ambrose frowned. “What about Cordelia herself? When and what will you tell Cordelia about all this?”

“Faustus and I spoke about almost nothing else on the flight home and for the foreseeable future, we decided to say nothing to Cordelia. We want to give her as normal a childhood as possible.”

A couple of hours later, after the meal, after Prudence, Hilda and Dr. C went home and Sabrina and Ambrose were in their rooms. Zelda entered the nursery and smiled at her baby.

“Hello, Cordelia. Mommy going to give you a little bath and your bottle before bed. Won’t that be fun?” Zelda tried to pick up Cordelia but she just couldn’t. It was as if there an invisible wall around her daughter. “What the heaven?”

“I’d step away from the baby if I were you.”

Zelda turned to see Letitia, her arms crossed and leaning against the door. “Letitia, what have you done?”

Letitia’s frown deepened. “Firstly, my name is Judith! Secondly, if what I heard you say is true, I must protect my little sister. I can’t just let anyone come in off of the streets and take her.”

Zelda looked from Letitia and Cordelia and back again. Her heartbreaking with every glance. “But I’m not just anyone. I’m her mother.” Zelda said firmly.

Letitia made a movement of dismissal. “You’re a Spellman! I made it so no Spellman will ever be able to touch Cordelia Blackwood ever again.” As if to rub it in, Letitia took the bottle from Zelda, made a show out of taking Cordelia out of her crib, and then sat down to feed the baby.

Before a stunned Zelda could react, Faustus came into the room. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.

“Nothing, Father,” Letitia said calmly. “Just protecting your youngest from the Spellmans.”

Not quite understanding, Faustus looked to his wife.

“She cast a spell so I can’t touch Cordelia,” Zelda explained.

“It’s not just her, it applies to all the Spellmans.” Letitia seemed proud of herself.

Beyond annoyed, Faustus rolled his eyes. “Not 1 of your stupid, childish spells again! Letitia, I want you to take your spell off your sister and apologize to your mother! Right now!”

Letitia was seething. “HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS? MY NAME IS JUDITH AND SHE,” Letitia eyed Zelda upper and down in utter disgust, “IS NOT MY MOTHER!”

Faustus sighed deeply, trying desperately to keep calm as he reached out to grab Cordelia. “Please don’t scream in the baby’s ear. Now, why did you feel the need to put a spell on the baby?”

“I overheard some of the conversation that was happening downstairs. About how powerful Cordelia will be and I wanted to protect her. It’s like you always told us, it’s us or them. It’s the Spellmans or it’s the Blackwoods.”

Faustus sighed. “For the 10000th time, I didn’t tell you anything, the curse did. Also, there are no Blackwoods here. Like I’ve already told you, I’m a Spellman now, Cordelia is a Spellman and even you are a Spellman.”

“I will NEVER be a Spellman!” Letitia snapped.

“But you already are, isn’t she, Zelda? Zelda?” Faustus wasn’t sure when but Zelda had left.

After telling Letitia they’d talk more about later, Faustus went looking for Zelda. He found her across the hall, in their own bedroom. Zelda was seated at the end of their bed. Her head was buried in her hands. Faustus could tell she was crying because her shoulders were shaking violently.

“Oh, dearest,” Faustus took Zelda into his arms.

“I’m such an idiot!” Zelda declared between sobs. “I truly believed that once we found the twins, we would be 1 happy family.”

Faustus found himself rocking his wife. “We will be, my dearest, I promise you. I just need to figure out how to get through to Letitia. Maybe a little time.”

“Time? It’s been a month already. Instead of things getting better, they’re getting worse. Letitia hates me, she hates me so much that she doesn’t even want me to touch her little sister, my own baby!”

“I will never allow the spell to stand!” Faustus soothed as he rubbed Zelda’s back. “I’ve Cordelia back in your arms before you know it.”

It was easier said than done. Letitia refused to take off the spell and Faustus was having trouble finding an anti-spell. Father and daughter got into screaming matches. Faustus no longer trusted Letitia to be alone with the baby so Cordelia moved into her parents’ room. It drove Zelda absolutely crazy not being able to hold or touch her own child but Faustus made it somewhat better was when Faustus would lie Cordelia down to sleep between them and they could be near each other. It was at the most heartbreaking when Cordelia would smile at Zelda and hold out her arms, obviously wanting to be picked up by her mommy. No matter how hard she tried, Zelda couldn’t, and it wasn’t just her. Both Hilda and Ambrose tried to hold the baby and all failed. This awful tension, which grew and grew, continued for 2 weeks. The tension in the house got so bad that certain members of the household, namely Sabrina and Ambrose, went out of their way to be out of the house. She would never admit it, but even Zelda was happy that the academy needed her more and more. They were starting the summer session and the responses to the teacher’s ad were coming in and there was much more than expected. This meant a lot of late nights for Zelda. It all came to a head 1 evening.

Faustus was sitting at the table, feeding Cordelia her bottle while Zelda was at the stove, stirring the soup.

“Dinner, children!” Zelda called out. Ambrose and Sabrina presently came into the kitchen, smiling at and thanking their aunt as she handed them their bowls. A moment later, everyone heard a door slam and stomping on the stairs, Letitia came into the kitchen. Like she did for the other kids, Zelda held out the soup bowl to her stepdaughter.

However, all Letitia did was stare daggers at Zelda. “Whore!”

Hearing this, Faustus balanced the baby on his hip and went over to his wife and daughter. “Hey! What did I tell you about calling Zelda names?”

“But she is a whore!” Letitia insisted. “I was just in my room, doing a memory spell”

“You did a memory spell, all by yourself?” Zelda asked softly. She couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Yes, I wanted to see my mother and I did see her when she was pregnant with Judas and me and I found this 1,” She pointed at Zelda, “tending to her.”

Faustus shrugged. “So? I told you that Zelda was your mother’s midwife.”

“Yeah, but after the check-up, I followed her, down to the cells, where she promptly had sex with you.” Letitia turned her attention back to Zelda. “You killed her, didn’t you? You killed my mother and blamed it on childbirth?!”

“No, I didn’t.” Zelda’s voice was reassuring but also very firm.

“Yes, you did!” Letitia screamed. “It shouldn’t have been her. I wish it had been you who had died!”

Sabrina gasped as Faustus took a step forward. “That’s it! Go to your room! Now!” Faustus watched his daughter stalk out of the room and turned to his wife. “Are you alright, dearest?”

“I’m fine,” Zelda said but looked anything but as she shut off the stove. “I’ve just remembered, I’m going to be late for an appointment.”

Faustus followed Zelda into the hall where she began to gather up her things. “What about dinner?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Zelda looked across the room at Lilith and shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong. The baby’s fine and everything right on schedule.”

Lilith frowned. “I meant with you. You show up 2 hours early and that is the 1st sentence you said all the time you’ve been here. So, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Zelda cleared her throat. “It’s personal.”

“Zelda, you just finished working inside of me, I think we are beyond personal.”

Zelda sighed deeply. “Fine, if you really want to know, Letitia hates me.”

“Oh,” Lilith nodded. “Who’s Letitia?”

Zelda drew an even deeper sigh as she explained about the twins to Lilith.

Lilith was less worried. “Why should you care? She’s not even your daughter.”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Why am I even discussing this with you? You’re due soon and I don’t even think you love your own baby. I told you it was a boy months ago. Have you spent 1-second thinking of a name? Or even wanting to hold him?”

“I already told you, this baby is not for loving.”

“All babies are for loving!” Zelda snapped. “I remember when I was pregnant before finding out about the curse. I remember being terrified but ready to be kicked out my coven and disowned by my family, as long as I got to keep my baby.” And now I can’t even hold her anymore. Zelda thought to herself as she quickly wiped a tear away and went back to pack up her medical bag. Her back to Lilith.

“You know the difference between you and me?”

Zelda shrugged. “I’ve loved before and you haven’t?”

“I’ve loved. I loved Adam!”

“Adam? As I recall, you couldn’t run away from him or the garden fast enough.”

“No, another Adam.” Lilith was afraid she had said too much so she lashed out. “You know what? You’re a fool! That girl will never see you as anything but as an evil stepmother!”

Zelda said nothing; she just closed her bag and left in an annoyed huff.

“Now I know that we never talked about manners, young lady but calling your stepmother a whore, especially to her face, is certainly bad form.”

After having a quiet if slightly awkward dinner with Sabrina and Ambrose, Faustus decided to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen before he called down his daughter for a stern talking to in the living room.

“But she is a whore!” Letitia insisted, rather loudly. “She had sex, knowingly, with another woman’s husband. That’s the very definition of a whore!”

Faustus sighed. “Then what about me?” he wanted to know. “I was the 1 who was married during the affair. I’m married now and you been encouraging me to take a mistress.”

Letitia shook her head. “That’s different. You’re a man. All men enjoy sex but the only women who enjoy sex are whores.”

“That is your grandfather talking! I didn’t believe in that stupid double standard when I was 12 and I don’t believe it now.”

“Let’s leave,” she sat up straighter, “You, me, and the baby, let’s leave this house and never come back.”

“We are not going anywhere. As a minor, you will live where I live and I’m not leaving Zelda.”

“Of course, you’re not leaving Zelda, because you’re under her spell. How else would you explain enjoying being a housekeeper while she’s at work every day?”

Faustus crossed his arms. “That’s ironic. Lately, the only 1 casting spells and trying to control things is you and that has to stop, Judith.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a ringing phone. Faustus walked in the hallway to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hello, darling.”

“Zelda, my love! Thank Hecate! I’ve been worrying about you ever since you left here 4 hours ago. Where have you been?”

“I went to see Lilith for her last check-up and then I returned to the academy to do some paperwork. In fact, that’s why I’m calling. I’m afraid it’s going to be another long night, Faustus. I’m going to stay here tonight.”

Her husband was not fooled, not for a single second, “Dearest one, I know you’ll still upset about what happened with you and Letitia and you have every reason to be so, but running away is not the answer.”

“No, I’m fine,” Zelda said but the tightness in her voice told Faustus that she was anything but. “I just have a lot of work to do.”

Faustus tried again. “Alright, I get that you have work to do. But even if it’s 3, 4, or 5 in the morning, please0 feel free to come home at any time, even if it’s just for a few hours. I love you. I need you.”

“No, he doesn’t!” Faustus was horrified to hear his daughter’s voice on the phone. Then he remembered. The Spellman house was an old house and as a result, it only had 1 landline. Faustus was using the phone in the hall, Letitia’s voice sounded like it was coming from the kitchen.

“That’s right,” Letitia continued to scream at Zelda over the phone. “No one needs or wants you here! The longer you stay away, the better! In fact, I suggest you never come back, mother killer!”

“What are you doing?” Faustus growled as he came up behind his daughter, took the phone out of her hand, and covered up the mouthpiece. “You have no right to attack Zelda like that. Go upstairs, NOW!” Faustus placed the phone to his ear. “Zelda? Honey?” All he heard was a dial tone. “Damn it!”

Although Faustus waited up for her, Zelda didn’t go home that night nor did she come home the next night even though she had called several times during the day to check on the family. It was becoming clear to Faustus that if he wanted his wife to come home, he would have to go get her himself. But first thing first.

Cordelia laughed wildly as she splashed in the water, Faustus couldn’t help but laugh too. Yet this was no regular bath. Faustus was bathing Cordelia in the strongest anti-spell he had ever come across. “Thank Hecate you’re such a water baby, Cordy.” He kissed her head before Faustus looked to the ceiling. “Ambrose! Can you come here for a moment?”

A second later, Ambrose appeared at the door. “Yes? What can I-Judas Priest, what is that smell?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. It’s the anti-spell,” Faustus pointed to the sink where Cordelia sat.

Ambrose made a face. “That is foul! How can you stand it?”

“I spelled myself and Cordy before we started. I can’t smell anything right now.”

“Well, you could have warned me!”

“Sorry,” Faustus grabbed a fluffy towel and scooped up his daughter. “Anyway, you can go as soon as I figure out if the anti-spell worked. Can a Spellman hold this baby?”

Ambrose held his breath as he held his cousin.

“It worked!” Faustus took Cordelia back, kissed her, and gave her a proper bath to wash off the stench.

To avoid any more fighting, Faustus waited until nighttime to make his move. He checked that everyone was asleep before returning to his room.

“Well, Cordelia, all is quiet and well here. Shall we go visit Mommy?” Faustus watched the 5 months old squeal excitedly. Faustus smiled and picked up the basket and teleported. A moment later, Faustus was walking into his old bedroom on the top floor of the academy. Faustus felt a little uneasy about seeing it again. After all, this was his 1st time in the academy in years. After a nervous breath, Faustus focused and noticed that the bed was littered in papers. Ad responses and corrected schoolwork. Zelda was in the shower; he could hear the water running. A moment later, Zelda appeared.

“Faustus?! What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “I decided that 3 nights without my wife is much, much too long. Plus I have a surprise for you.” Faustus picked up Cordelia and held her out in front of him.

Zelda tilted her head. “Faustus, what are you doing? You know I can’t touch her.”

“But you can, my love. I broke the spell today.”

Zelda was still doubtful but came forward. Her eyes lit up as she took Cordelia in her arms. “My baby! Mommy missed you so much!” Zelda covered the infant’s face with kisses making Cordelia giggle which led to more kisses. Faustus watched the precious mother/daughter moment, put his hand on the small of Zelda’s back.

“I missed you too.” He kissed his wife and she smiled.

Since it was already brewed, they sat down and had tea while Cordelia curled up and fell asleep on Zelda’s chest. Later, when Zelda was settling Cordelia into bed, Faustus noticed the black and gold robe that didn’t quite fit her. He waited for Zelda to turn to him before Faustus tug the robe’s belt and Zelda was in his arms.

He kissed her deeply before he asked, “Isn’t this my robe?”

Zelda smiled. “Yes, it is and that 1 of the 2 reasons I’ve worn it all 3 nights I’ve been here. To remind me of you and the 1st time I wore this robe was to check on baby Judas and he gave me the cutest smile.”

As Zelda talked, Faustus kissed Zelda’s neck and untying the knot in the belt of the rope. When she mentioned Judas, he thought about when Zelda called home to check in, she never failed to ask about Letitia, no matter how badly the girl had mistreated her. The fact that she still worried and thought about the twins constantly proved that Zelda was their mother.

“I love you,” Faustus whispered against Zelda’s collarbone. “I could live a million years and never adore anyone half as I adore you.”

They undressed and made love all night long. Zelda had to leave the bed only once; to tend to the baby, but then happily returned to her husband’s embrace.

They met the dawn in each other’s arms. “I have a favor to ask of you. Come home tonight.”

Zelda sighed. “Faustus, Letitia is-“

“A 16-year-old child,” Her husband rushed to remind her, “and we’re a family. As parents, we should correct, not reward Letitia’s bad behavior. Speaking of correcting behavior,” Faustus reached down into his discarded pants pocket on the floor and took out a small velvet box. “I ordered these weeks ago but they only came in yesterday,” Faustus explained and opened the box to reveal another pair of wedding rings that Letitia’s spell had destroyed.

Faustus slid the ring onto Zelda’s finger and kissed her. “Will you come home?”

Zelda smiled and put the ring on him. “I will.”

After a few hours of sleep, Zelda hurried downstairs to attend morning assembly while Faustus and Cordelia went home. Faustus spent all day working. Be it protection spells, sealing spells, anti-spells, and more, he makes sure that every inch of the house was ready to take on his daughter’s spiteful little spells. Faustus didn’t tell Letitia that Zelda was coming home until the very last minute. He also told her, quite sternly to be nice to her stepmother and to everyone’s surprise…she was.

5 days after Zelda came home, Letitia laid out a wonderful tea service and sandwiches and then invited Zelda to join her. Touched, Zelda accepted. Meanwhile, Faustus was upstairs, putting Cordelia down for a nap. Turning away from the crib, Faustus noticed that Letitia’s cot was unmade. He made the bed, but when he grabbed the pillow up to fluff it, a book hit the floor. The book fell spine up and pages spread out. Faustus picked it up, flipping the pages, thinking nothing of it until he got to the last page, then his eyes bugged out.

“NO!” He dropped the book instantly and ran downstairs.

“A toast,” Letitia raised her teacup, “To us and a new beginning.” They clinked the cups together and Zelda was just about to take a sip when the teacup flew out of her hand and crashed against the wall. Zelda turned and saw a panicked Faustus entering the room.

“Dearest, how much tea did you drink? Do you think you can bring it back up?”

Zelda shook her head. “I haven’t had any tea.”

“Father, I can explain- “

“I’m not even ready to talk to you yet!”

“What’s going on?” Zelda asked.

“I was making up Letitia’s bed for her and under her pillow, I found a book of spells and on the last page was a cargarli spell and I thought that” Faustus waved an arm over the tray, making the tea and sandwiches vanish and then he flipped over the tray, revealing a picture of Zelda taped to the bottom of the tray, “she would try to use it on you.”

Zelda took a step back, her hand over mouth. When she looked at Letitia, her eyes filled with horror. “Is that why you been nice to me these past few days? To lull me into a false sense of trust?”

Letitia opened her mouth but it was Faustus spoke first. “No, I don’t even want to look at you now! Get upstairs!” Letitia left in a huff and Faustus took a shaken Zelda into his arms.

Meanwhile, Letitia wasn’t in her room long before she had a visitor.

“What the heaven were you trying to do down there?”

Letitia turned and saw Prudence standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. “Where did you come from?” Letitia asked.

“I was in the attic, hanging out with Ambrose. I was just leaving with I saw Father running down the stairs, I followed him and I heard the whole ugly scene. Did you really try to put Sister Zelda under a Cargarli spell?”

Letitia shrugged. “So, what if I did?”

Prudence shook her head. “That’s not good enough, this time. Your other spells were childish and annoying but a Cargarli spell is dangerous and traumatic to those who already were under it as Zelda and Father both were. As a girl, you should stay away from that spell.”

“You know, as a girl, I was raised a different way.”

“Yes, and you know it was wrong, or you wouldn’t have run away. Letitia, you have to let go of this anger and stop pushing away the ones that love you the most.”

“Judith! My name is Judith and why do you care so much about Zelda Spellman? She’s not your mother, either.”

“No, she isn’t,” Prudence agreed. “But if I had to choose my own mother, I would pick Zelda every time.”

Letitia scoffed. “I bet my mother was the better stepmother.”

“Before or after she tried to kill me?” Prudence raised her voice, disturbing Cordelia. Prudence went to the crib and patted the baby’s belly. “Sorry, Cordy, we’ll keep it down.”

Letitia, however, wanted to continue the fight. “I see, it’s wrong when my mother tries to kill you, but it’s perfectly alright when Zelda Spellman actually kills my mother?”

Prudence sighed and rolled her eyes. “For the last time, Zelda did not kill Constance.”

“How would you know?”

“I know because I helped Zelda with the delivery, the night you and Judas were born.”

Letitia looked confused. “You were there?”

“How did you not know that? You said you preformed a memory spell. What did you do, you didn’t like the 1st memory so you ended the spell early?” 1 look and Prudence knew. “Oh, Hecate, that’s exactly what happened.”

“So?”

“So, doing a memory spell for 1 memory is as foolish as reading only 1 chapter in a book and then claiming you know the whole plot. You can continue to be an angry, misinformed girl or you can do another memory spell and face reality. The choice is yours, little sister.”

A week later, Zelda awoke in the middle of the night, to the sound of crying. Since it was her turn, Zelda took extra care not to wake Faustus as she slipped out of their bed and tiptoed down the hall and into the nursery. As Zelda got nearer to the crib, the little nightlight let Zelda see that Cordelia was sound asleep. The baby was not the 1 crying in this room.

“Zelda?” The redhead turned to see Letitia in bed, tears shining all over her face.

“I’m sorry, I thought Cordelia needed me. I’m going.”

Letitia sat up and reached out to grab Zelda’s wrist. “No, please. Don’t go.”

Despite herself, Zelda’s heart jumped with hope. “You want me to stay with you?”

Letitia nodded. “Yes, but I feel like I don’t have the right to ask you to stay. In fact, you could demand that I get out of your house right now and I wouldn’t even blame you.” Letitia started to cry again as she buried her head into her hands. “I’m so ashamed!”

Zelda sat down beside her on the cot. “Slow down, child,” Zelda gently wiped away the tears. “Now, what bought all of this on?”

She told Zelda all about her fight with Prudence and how she just quit after just 1 memory.

Zelda nodded understandingly. “So, you went back and took a look at all your father’s memories.”

“Not only his but yours too. That why it took me all week long. You didn’t need to help me but you did. You didn’t need to love me but you did. And to repay you, I was an utter jerk to you.” Letitia started to cry again and Zelda took her stepdaughter in her arms. “I just don’t know how I’m ever going to make this to you.”

“You already have. You are letting me hold you, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. All the rest is water under the bridge.”

Letitia sniffed as she moved to hug Zelda around the waist. “You’re so wonderful. Why are you so wonderful?”

Zelda placed a kiss into Letitia’s raven hair. “I love you. I may have only have given birth to Cordelia but I love all you children.”

“You’re not at all what Fath, I mean the curse, said you were. But he lied a lot. He always blamed me for killing my mother but I learned quite surprisingly, that I was born first.”

They sat and talked for over an hour. Suddenly, Zelda felt a presence over them. She smiled; Faustus must have heard them over the baby monitor. Zelda looked up and her smile faded. The man before her wasn’t her husband; it was the hell minion.

“Ms. Spellman, you have to come with me. Something’s wrong with Lilith.”

“Now?! It’s the middle of the night.”

“Go,” Encouraged Letitia, “We’ll talk tomorrow.” Zelda stroked her cheek, got up, and went with the hell minion.

Lilith was lying on her side, moaning in pain when the minion led Zelda into Lilith’s bedchamber.

“What wrong with her?” the minion asked once Zelda had a chance to examine the patient.

Zelda looked up, annoyed. “Nothing. She’s just having a baby, right now.”

“No!” Lilith cried. “It’s too soon!”

“What do you mean? You’re due in less than a week.”

“I mean for me! I don’t want to die!”

Zelda sighed. Up to the bitter end, Lilith’s pregnancy was all about her. It was a long and difficult labor. In her long career as a midwife, Zelda had seen her fair share of stubborn mothers, but Lilith was the worst. She constantly screamed at Zelda to stop the labor and Zelda tried numerous times to explain that her body was preparing itself for the birth, whether Lilith liked it or not. By early evening, Lilith was delivering.

“Push!” ordered Zelda.

“No! I am not giving birth!”

“You have to! The head is already out!” Despite Lilith fighting her all the way, Zelda soon delivered the rest of the child. “It’s a boy!” She announced, “born at 5:40 pm on August 10th.”

Lilith said nothing but only took a glance from Zelda to tell that Lilith was not happy. Zelda felt sorry for the infant was she cut the cord, cleaned him up, and swaddled him in a blanket. “Come with me, sweet boy.” Zelda bounced the baby gently as she crossed the room and put the babe in Lilith’s arms. Lilith beheld her son for the very 1st first time, a strange expression on her face.

Lilith looked up at Zelda. “Get me out of here.” And it still all about her. Zelda sighed, rolled her eyes, and started to turn away but Lilith grabbed her sleeve. “Okay, forget about me. You got to get him out of here, I beg of you.” And there it was. For months and months, Zelda had tried to see any little maternal instinct in Lilith, any little sign to prove Lilith cared for the life inside of her. However, as the pregnancy progress, all Lilith did was complain about how uncomfortable she was and how her delay of execution was drawing closer. But now, she was begging Zelda to get the baby to safety, with or without her. Lilith was prepared to make a sacrifice, a mother’s sacrifice. At that moment, Zelda knew what she had to do.

“Ok, I’m going to get you both out of here. But you have to help me by doing what I say. Now, scream!”

“Scream?”

“Yes. If you scream, Lucifer will think you’re still in labor and that will buy us some extra time.”

So, Lilith screamed and Zelda ran around, readying both mother and child. She bought Lilith slippers and a robe. Then both witches grabbed the baby and teleported.

“Penny dreadful for your thoughts, my dear?”

Letitia looked up to see her father smiling down at her.

Faustus handed his daughter a mug of hot chocolate and sat across from her in the living room. “Are you okay? Aside from telling us about the memory spells and where Zelda went to, you barely said a word all day.”

Letitia smiled, “I’m fine, just thinking. The memory spells made me see that most of my life was a lie.”

“How I wish I could be there for you.”

“We’re together now, that’s what matters,” His daughter said sensibly. “Besides, what I really been thinking about is my name.”

“You name?”

She nodded. “I now understand why you all call me Letitia, I do, but after 16 years, I got used to the name Judith, but I think I’ve reached a compromise.”

Faustus raised an eyebrow. “A compromise? On your name?”

She smiled. “Yes. Father, what do you think of LJ?”

“LJ, huh? I like it. Trendy.” That made her laugh, “LJ Blackwood.”

LJ frowned. “Actually, after all, I learned about our family’s past and the curse, I would prefer LJ Spellman but considering what I put them through, I don’t think the family would agree.”

“I love it and I think the Spellmans will too.”

They both looked up as Zelda and Lilith holding her baby appeared before them. Zelda stepped forward. “Okay, something happened.” Zelda quickly explained what was going on and then the family spent the next 2 hours preparing the house for an attack. 3 hours later, Lucifer showed up.

“LILITH! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Zelda told Lilith to take the baby and go up to the nursery and look after Cordelia as well.

“Don’t worry, guys. He can’t get in here. I put the magic locks on myself.” Ambrose said proudly.

Everyone heard a loud crack and the dark lord appeared in the huge hole in what used to be the Spellmans front door.

Ambrose gulped. “Never mind.”

They tried to fend him off but they were pushed aside with a wave of Lucifer’s hand. He climbed the stairs to the nursery. When the family caught up with him, they all saw the was no sign of Lilith or her newborn.

“WHERE MY SON?!” Lucifer demanded. Before anyone could say anything, a baby’s gurgle was heard and Lucifer’s attention turned to Cordelia.

“No!!” Zelda cried. After magically throwing Zelda into a wall, Lucifer picked up Cordelia.

“She’s not my son, but she’ll do until you give me my son.” Cordelia opened her eyes and cried. Her cry was so powerful, it was like a sound wave, Lucifer dropped her immediately, was pushed across the hallway, downstairs, out the ruined door and onto the lawn. Zelda ran in and picked up her daughter. After Lucifer dropped her, Cordelia landed back in her crib, unharmed, and giggled.

Zelda hugged her baby. “Thank Hecate you’re alright.”

“Nice to know that the mark of the divine is already working,” Faustus added.

“He’s passed out,” Sabrina said as she beheld Lucifer lying on the grass. “That’s good, right? Easier to get him into a cell.”

“Yeah, cuz, but he won’t stay there long. You know, we need a body to trap him in.” Ambrose sighed and got an idea. “Blackwood would be perfect for the job. Too bad we don’t know where he is.”

From her place beside Sabrina, LJ smiled. “You might not know where he is, but I do.”

Faustus wouldn’t let LJ come with him to go get Blackwood, so they worked together to draw a detailed map, then LJ stayed behind to babysit Cordelia. Meanwhile, Zelda and the others rushed to get Lucifer into chains. They even spelled him to stay out cold longer. Zelda then went upstairs to take a nap. After all, she had been up for over 53 hours.

When Hilda woke her up, she had news. “Faustus found Blackwood.”

The sisters ran downstairs and sure enough, both were there. Everyone helped with the soul transfer and Ambrose had a bonus spell to send them to hell. Later, the family went home. Faustus said he had to go get Judas. The other Spellmans went into the kitchen, while Zelda went upstairs to check on Cordelia.

“NO!”

The others could hear Zelda’s cry and they ran upstairs only to find Zelda crying on the floor of the nursery.

Zelda looked up and held out a letter. “I found this in the crib.”

Hilda took the letter and the more she read, the whiter she got.

“What is it, Auntie?” asked Sabrina.

Hilda looked up. “Faustus never found Blackwood. He searched all over the hideout but there was no sign of Blackwood or Judas.

“But we just saw them together.”

Hilda nodded. “Faustus knew that we couldn’t hold Lucifer for long, so after looking for Blackwood, Faustus went down to the river, made a man out of mud, used a glamour spell to make it look exactly like him so the mud man could pose as Faustus so Faustus could pose as Blackwood. Saying he was going to get Judas was like code for the spell is over and I’m going back to being mud.”

Ambrose’s head was spinning. “So, the real Faustus is-“

“In hell, with Lucifer.” Sabrina finished.

“He saved us,” Hilda said.

As the others talked, Zelda got up and left the room.

“Where are you going, Zelds?”

“I’m going to hell and getting my husband back.” Zelda charged down the stairs, the others were at her heels. However, when Zelda opened the magically restored front door, someone fainted into Zelda’s arms; someone they all knew. “Elizabeth?”

“He stole my world” was all Elizabeth Tudor could say before she passed out cold.

#chilling adventures of sabrina #save caos #renew caos #part 4 my way #caoz #chapter 11 #fanfic #zelda spellman and faustus blackwood #spellwood #zelda spellman #faustus blackwood #hilda spellman #ambrose spellman #prudence night #letitia #judith blackwood #cordelia spellman #comment and reblog

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