#i just felt like adding that because he is a douche | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

g1rlken · 3 months

Text

⊹ ࣪˖Dreadful Birthdays⊹ ࣪˖

Felix catton x rich fem!reader

Word count: 3.3k

Warnings: angst, shitty father, death of a parent, hurt comfort, childhood trauma, curse words?

Summary: start of a friendship on a lie to umbrella issues with opening up, fluff?

Standing outside, away from the party in a quieter atmosphere to attend a phone call in the small of the currently empty smoking zone garden outside the pub. Wearily y/n paced around in small steps as she talked on the phone, “But why?” She asked in distressed as voice on the other line seemed to reason something. “My break’s not that long I can’t come next month! You said-“ she was cut off with a reply on the call midway.

“Why do you always do this? Why does it always have to be this way?” She argued yet a faint softness remained in her tone despite her frustration. “This is really unfair-you can’t do this to me last minute-“ the ongoing call was declined from the other like halfway through her sentence as she heard the monotone beep. She felt like throwing her phone on the ground, instead she kicked the metal vase instead. “Fucking arsehole!” She cursed to herself as a clearing of throat made her turn her head.

“Everything alright out here?” Felix asked her, he’d came out for a cigarette in the smoking zone but happened to listen the last of whatever ordeal she was going through with someone on the phone and seemed hugely upset about it.

“Oh-uh yeah.” She nodded hastily somewhat embarrassed he may have heard that and her swearing at the metal vase. Felix didn’t exactly know her, but y/n did. Like everyone’s dynamic with the ever so charming Felix.

“You’re..” he trailed off trying to remember her name because he did recognise her from some of their past meetings and he’d seen her around campus often, “Y/n? Yes y/n right? You were the TA last semester who returned assignments with stickers.” He mentioned and chuckled slightly.

“I’ve gained a reputation with the English majors?” She joked raising her brows with a small smile, surprised he remembered her.

“Rightfully so.” He nodded smiling, “I’m Felix.” He introduced himself lending out his hand for her to greet as she accepted but let out a huff.

“I know you.” She said in an obvious tone and reciprocated the smile on his face.

“So who was the fucking arsehole on the phone?” Felix inquired curiously given she didn’t seem so composed just a few moments ago.

“Oh that-“ she paused taking in a deep breath for a second, she contemplated a whole coursework worth of thoughts and stories on wether or not to tell him the truth. “It’s was my boyfriend…” she trailed off, lying. “Stupid argument.” She added feeling awfully strange what it was that came over her to outrightly lie.

“What happened?” He asked, now interested as he leaned by the table and lit a cigarette offering her the second puff.

She took him up on the offer for his cigarette as she took a moment to think through her supposed lie “It’s nothing huge really…” she said trying to downplay is so he would maybe not be interested in it.

“Come on, honour the cig.” He urged her with his charm as she took another drag and retuned his cigarette to him.

Coming up with a hastily put together story, “I’m long distance with my boyfriend currently, he’s uh studying code in Estonia and he was coming here so we could spend the summer break together” she sighed. “But he signed up on a project there and bailed on me last minute.” She briefed him feeling proud and miserable of herself for having a peculiar story like that right off the top of her head.

“What an arsehole indeed” he replied matching her frustration as he scoffed “How dare he sign up a stupid project with a girlfriend as pretty as you?” Felix gave her his chivalrous smile, knowingly flirting with her but her boyfriend was a douche so it was alright.

“How awfully kind of you.” Y/n said playfully rolling her eyes at him as their night progressed in dumb conversations of here and there it was 4 in the morning by the time the pub waiter asked them to leave. They talked until sunrise and that is how y/n befriended Felix.

Despite the lie that the actual phone conversation was with her father and not a fake boyfriend in Estonia like she told him, “Then you can fly in for the weekend after this month, we’ve got a big launch for the company and if you’re here then the PR team will want you at the inauguration and I don’t want that. I don’t want you around on big company occasions, too much trouble as it is.” Her father said sternly on the phone, the rich were shallower than it seemed.

“Why do you always do this? Why does it always have to be this way?”

“Stop being so dramatic and grow up for a second” he told her off sighing, “You are not wanted here. You can’t come home now, I don’t want you to be associated with the company whatsoever. I don’t want the ‘dad’ rep on me with you. Simple as that.” He said to her harshly as he pronounced the word you in an exaggeratedly disgusted sense. As she tried to whine more about how unfair it was to her last minute he simply declined the call not wanting to handle any more of her tantrums.

Those two weeks of her friendship with felix blossomed and proved to be rather wholesome. Y/n was genuinely glad for his company, the charm of him could never make one feel unwanted. Felix hated not having his new friend for all of summer, it took quite a lot of convincing and begging on his side to get her to come to saltburn with him. Firstly y/n was really unsure if she could do so given they had been friends for just two weeks despite the closeness of their bond. Secondly if her father found out about her rendezvous, not that he’d care whatever she was upto but he would be mad if it could somehow bring a bad light upon him. Which in itself was a rare case because as felix stated his estate was in a remote place and she felt she could live her summer on her terms.

“You are crushing my eyes!” She exclaimed giggling as felix tightly held his palm over her eyes and his other hand guiding her through the large hallway to the decorated living room, for her. It was a well planed surprise so he didn’t want her looking through the gaps of her fingers at the last moment before the whole thing.

“Just a second” He told her as y/n felt him guiding her into a room where the conversations silenced themselves when he entered with her. Finally he pulled his hand away and held her from her shoulders. “Surprise!” The entire room echoed as confetti spread across the elegant happy birthday decorations. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out if you didn’t tell me?!” He exclaimed laughing as leaned forward from behind her and wrapped his arm around her.

Y/n was overcome with emotions as everyone cheered on happy birthday and surprise, Farleigh still bursting the confetti cracker. Felix attempted to walk across the room to take the covered plate from his hands,“How’d you know?” She held his wrist to stop him and asked him, hugely struck with the surprise.

“Your TA, I-card which you wore around like a badge of honour, it had your birth date mentioned.” He told her as he laughed and gave her a side hug when Elspeth approached her. Felix paced away for a moment to get the cake from Duncan.

“Felix shall throw you a godawful themed party or so later but I wanted to cherish you in a more traditional manner.” She said warmly as she held her by her face and kissed her forehead, the traditionalism of birthdays was long lost with the children growing up into party animals however the grand hall could have used a soft and sober gathering of the occasion of a birthday. Besides she really liked y/n, amongst all of felix’s wild friends she was awfully gorgeous and tender of heart.

“Thank you-“ Was all she could reply, extremely overwhelmed at this moment. “Really-“ she added feeling her gratitude shortening but nobody in this room would realise how big this was for her. She was soon pulled away with all the birthday hugs and warm wishes, a room full of people..gathering at 12 to celebrate her? With her? This was the hardest breakdown she had ever had to fight back.

Venetia pulled her to the table where Felix rearranged the candles on her cake for the final time. The sight of the cake with her name, the hugs she was receiving. She couldn’t hold it in anymore as tears brimmed her eyes. “Hey” Felix noticed as he leaned a bit lower to look at her eyes when she looked away confirming tears welled up her eyes. He couldn’t help but laugh, it was adorable to note how sensitive she was. “Hey…come here!” He pulled her into his embrace with his arms holding her from the side.

“Come on!” Venetia laughed along as she fixed y/n’s hair “don’t cry, you want your pictures perfect.” She said trying to cheer her up.

“God I’m sorry-“ she said shaking her head and pulled away from felix’s embrace as they sat next to each other by her birthday cake and everyone around them, “I’m just—I’m really touched by this, I-I don’t think I can come up with words that could hold my gratitude right now…” she said through her tears as felix chuckled wiping them “Truly, this means the world to me-you’ve all shown me such affection and-I-“

“By the time you finish that speech we’re all going to be in dentures” Farleigh said growing impatient and received an elbow via Venetia.

“Im sorry-this is just very thoughtful of everybody…” y/n said with a chuckle as she wiped her tears yet the hurt in heart where they came from lingered alongside the joy of such experience.

“Blow the candles!” Felix encouraged as he rubbed her back. She was about to when she was urged to make a wish. Closing her eyes with a big smile on her face she did so and the celebration furthered. Just another cake cutting at saltburn was going to be the most treasured memory for y/n.

Later that night, almost two in the morning the birthday giggles hadn’t yet died down as y/n lounged with felix in her guest room. She sat legs crossed by the stone bay window as the moonlight reflected through the room. “You really love that cake don’t you?” Felix commented leaning back on the chair across her as he laughed.

“It’s my birthday cake!” She exclaimed emphasising on the word my. It was as it is her third plate of the night.

“Whatever the birthday girl wants.” Felix said chuckling and remembered “Hey has our Mr.Arsehole called yet?” He asked and leaned backwards to look at the time on the clock, as her boyfriend he should’ve called her when the clock struck midnight.

Her face fell at the mention of it, she was planning to tell him sooner or later that she made that up. But she was looking to end that facade at a better time, it had been over a month now searching for that better time. She couldn’t keep her best friend in the dark like this. “Look I have to tell you something about that…”

“You guys broke up?” He asked almost instantly as if he was hoping for it however he kept his tone neutrally curious.

“I don’t have a boyfriend who’s studying in Estonia” she breathed as she sat her plate aside “I-I made that up when we met.” Felix was dumbfounded for a second he couldn’t wrap his head around what she was trying to say. “Look…when we met I just wanted to seem like an interesting person to you I didn’t think we’d become friends like this-“

“And this whole time you didn’t think you should tell me?” He inquired sternly as a frown fell on his face. Felix felt as enraged as he did hurt, “I’d never have considered you to be a two faced person like that!” He scorned standing up from his seat to account for his frustration.

“I’m not!” Exclaiming she replied sensing the rightful hurt and anger radiating off of him, “Felix, seriously I was planning to tell you about this.”

“When? When were you planning to tell me huh?” He asked as he rested his hands on his waist demanding an answer.

She didn’t have an answer for that because she knew this conversation would lead a follow up conversation which would require her to explain about her father to him, that situation is what she was running from. “I..I am sorry felix.” She said. She felt awful not being able to say ‘hear me out.’ Because he so clearly wanted to, he wanted the rational explanation she had but couldn’t tell him.

“Sorry?” He scoffed looking away for a second, “Who was it then? On the phone that night?” He seethed and waited for her to reply, everything within him begged for her to come up with an explanation which would make his feelings for her warranted for again. He had those this entire time, he’d known her boyfriend and her would eventually break up. He was looking forward to this moment ever since he met her but this was the most unideal situation.

Y/n’s silence agitated him even more so, he couldn’t stomach he’d have to let go off his feelings for her. It had been a long while he’d felt like this for someone, this deeply and unwaveringly and he could feel his heart having to say goodbye to it all soon enough and he hated that she couldn’t even reply or meet his gaze. “You owe me an explanation y/n! Just tell me who was on the phone.”

Her gaze as fixated on the floor as she felt the world crumble around her, it felt like standing in the ruins. She created herself, the pattern wasn’t unknown to her. “It was my father.” She told him, however much she wanted to lie with something else she felt like she’d reached a dead end. “I’m not on the best terms with him” and I didn’t want you to see me as another spoilt brat that night, I didn’t want you to think I’m another awful ungrateful child, I didn’t want to open up then as I don’t now.

“And? How so” He asked, it felt like he had to push it out of her to speak but he would, with two strides he reached upto her seat and held her face in his hands, “I am not asking a lot of you am I? Why are you doing this to me? I want your hurt and your truth as raw as it is, I want it as I want all of you, fairly I deserve it. Please. Please talk to me y/n.” Tears brimmed her eyes as she held his hands in hers and pulled them away from her face. The desperation in his voice made it worse as she stood out of her seat.

“I was..I was supposed to go home, back to New York for summer. But my father cancelled it last moment.” She told him with a sigh turning slightly to the side from him, she could not say this to his face without breaking down. Opening up felt like being knifed from the inside. “And I was talking to him about it on the phone, I just didn’t want to tell you then.”

“Why did he cancel it?” He asked and moved her to face him.

By now she realise she couldn’t beat around the bush this way, he wouldn’t move past this and she couldn’t lie now “He said I’m not wanted back home.” She told him redirecting her father’s words. “He had a big launch for the company, it’s bad PR for him and he doesn’t like me around on big occasions.”

“What about your mum?” He asked softly and noticed how she felt silent to muster up proper words.

“My mum’s not—“ y/n breathed “she died giving birth to me. Labor complications at the hospital” she said as mildly as she could, this was her truth, the loss that defined her and it was strange how it hurt the same narrating it each time.

Felix was speechless as his gaze softened it took a lot in him to fathom her grief because she never looked it, “that’s why you got emotional back there, with the surprise.” He thought out loud.

“Yeah my dad forbade it…celebrating my birthday.” She mentioned, she’d grown up to digest it too. Who would deserve a celebration on the day their mother died?

“What about as a child?” He asked really shocked, he got the idea she was emotional and probably didn’t have the best birthdays but absolutely none?

“Not really, my nanny would get me cupcakes with candles till I was six and I was a sheltered kid so that was an ideal birthday to me” she said plainly “But I was-I think I turned 11, the house help with our kitchen staff organised me a small party it was on the kitchen table, balloons and chocolate cake…but my dad got home early that day, he tore down the happy birthday banner, threw the cake and the gifts, fired the staff and I was grounded, I haven’t really celebrated since.”

“At eleven?” He said taking in a sharp breath, it was more than a difficult life for a child to grow up without their mother and have a father like hers. “That’s just cruel”

“My birthday is a dreadful day for him, he loved my mum very much” she said trying to give him the reasoning she gave herself. Both of them were sitting on the floor cross legged leaning by the wall.

“You were a child. He resents your birthday’s enigma in the shadow of his grief.” Felix told her.

“He was a different man once, before me” she tried explaining it to him, despite of how resentful her father was to her how uncaring she wanted to be at the end of the day it was the only parent and only family she’d known all her life. Even her father yelling at her was the sound of her home. “The enigma of my birthday..” she repeated his words with a dejected huff “won’t change the fact that I’m the reason his wife isn’t in this world.”

Felix personally took an offence in that. Her father’s indifference had seeped that poison into her “Absolutely not.” He told her sternly and took her hands in his, “none of it was your fault. You didn’t ask to be born, but as his daughter you’re his daughter. His blood. He treats you with resentment that is a lack in his character. With the loss of his wife he also gained you…a daughter he was supposed to cherish.” He told her what she had to hear but he didn’t mean for her to cry again, opening up was difficult enough for her as it is. Enlacing his arms around her he pulled her into his lap and rubbed her back as she wept in his arms. Soothing sweet nothings he kissed the top of her head rocking her back and forth. “The world gained one of the purest souls with you.” He told her and pulled away to look at her face. Her eyes were full of tears as he wiped them again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “and if it wasn’t for you I’d have never felt this deeply for anyone.” He told her as it warmed her heart with all the pain through it and in his arms, for now, the world seemed just fine.

—

HIIII this is a new acc and English isn’t my first language also I’m a struggling stem major who writes to get over a bad test, pls be kind🙏

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND GO DRINK WATER NOW

#felix catton #felix catton x reader #felix catton x you #felix catton x y/n #Felix catton x reader fluff #felix catton angst #saltburn #saltburn x reader #jacob elordi #jacob elordi x reader #jacob elordi x you #jacob elordi x y/n

405 notes · View notes

kyojurismo · 8 months

Text

★ — deliveries !

character : katsuki bakugo

summary : who knew the delivery man was such a cute guy who also happened to be interested in you?

tags : normal au, fem!reader, 2k words, aged-up characters, mention of toxic boyfriend, pining i guess? fluff, not proofread of course bc i’m a coward.

notes : hello !! i’m so happy i was able to write a one shot for this concept, i’m truly excited to share it w the public and i hope it is alright and that it makes sense ^_^ i love soft katsuki so yeah. have fun reading this piece and thank you as always for taking the time to stop & check my works out <3

special tag : @doumadono ♡

“please, just this once!” eijiro begged his friend. “go to hell,” katsuki sounded very decisive about it. his friend was trying to set him up with someone once again, failing of course. “plus, i’m busy with work,” he added in a gruff tone. he finished putting his jacket on and sighed, noticing it was time to go to work. “that’s just an excuse, you finish working around 9,” denki received a glare as an answer and that was enough to shut him up.

working as a delivery man was a pain in the ass sometimes, the majority of people he met were all shitty customers who always complained about him being late and stuff like that, but in reality, katsuki was very dedicated anyway and delivered everything with care, as quickly as possible.

that’s basically how he found himself standing outside your apartment door. he huffed when after his third time knocking no one was coming to open the door.

katsuki was able to hear a loud voice before the door finally opened. there was a boy standing in front of him, visibly annoyed.

“how much?” he spat, already opening his wallet. “hah, sorry man. i have to delivery this to…” katsuki then glanced down at the name on the post it, calling out your name. “fine. i’m not paying for any of this shit anyway. [y/n]!” he muttered before barking out your name, making bakugo cringe at his manners.

you rushed to the door, trying to fix the t-shirt you just finished putting on. your cheeks were warmer since you felt a hint of embarrassment because of your boyfriend’s behaviour.

“hi, sorry. how much is it?” you asked in a much gentle and softer tone, offering katsuki a smile. he found himself staring at your face for a couple of seconds more, admiring your features before he blushed and looked down, trying to hide his red face. “it’s uh, 10$,” he said, glancing at your hands moving to retrieve the money. “right… here!” you payed and took the small bag and pizza from his hands, his eyes unable to leave your face.

“um, enjoy your meal,” katsuki said then, nodding at you. “thank you so much,” you smiled at him sweetly before closing the door.

the fuck just happened?

─────────────────────

your sweet smile and your eyes never left bakugo’s head. he found himself still thinking about you, and a part of him hoped he would have the possibility to deliver you something else in the near future.

the rational part of him knew that you had a boyfriend — a shitty one, if he were honest, but the egoistic part of him hoped you would break up, he was a douche anyway, right?

that wasn’t the point anyway, as long as he was able to see you that would do. for now.

his inner desire to see you again was easily satisfied around two weeks later.

he cleared his throat and knocked on your door, a strange feeling of excitement filling his guts as he waited for you to open the door.

when you finally showed up, you were wearing a sweater and a pair of shorts. he gulped down and tried to focus on only your words, as if ignoring your face would be possible.

“oh um, you’re the guy from the last time… thank you for your quick service,” your words caused his heart to flutter while katsuki quietly stared at you. “10$,” he spat, before cringing in his mind. “okay…” you rummaged through your wallet and then payed, retrieving your food from his hands.

in that moment your soft skin touched that of katsuki, who felt as if electricity just travelled through his body. his mind going blank for a moment before he realised you were talking.

“s-sorry, what was that?” he definitely blushed now and you found it adorable. “i said thank you, bakugo-san,” you pointed at the small name tag attached to his jacket on the front, making him nod then. “no problem, enjoy your meal,” he said as he always does after delivering the food. his eyes lingered on your sweet face for a moment longer before he turned around to walk away, embarrassed enough.

you chuckled while closing the door, finding bakugo adorable for some reason.

─────────────────────

you saw bakugo again, and again, and again. you always tried to make small conversations, like speaking about how it was freezing outside and he was out there working anyway for example. but bakugo always kept his words short, probably because he was busy and didn’t have the time to stay outside your door to talk.

a part of bakugo wanted to push him to ask for your number or something, but another suggested that you were just kind because he was a delivery man, delivering the food you ordered — it was the least you could do, right?

on the other hand, you found him attractive and surprisingly he didn’t seem like a jerk. you recently broke up with your now ex boyfriend, convinced by your friends that he was too toxic and that it would only become harder and harder to get out of his grasp.

after a month of trying to avoid calling and getting your food delivered, as you tried to forget bakugo and focus on your life, you found yourself putting down the phone after placing a new order. you sighed and glanced at your friends sitting on your couch, chatting lively.

“you held back from calling because you were trying to avoid the delivery man?” momo glanced at you, more in a surprising way. mina was clearly judging you though. “no, it’s just that i tried to spend less on delivered food,” you casually shrugged, avoiding their eyes. “alright, but what if he’s still working there? like, would you say something more or just pay and say bye?” kyoka asked then, making your heart skip a beat.

“w-what?! of course i would simply do that,” you felt your cheeks warming up and momo chuckled, seeing through you. “you don’t have to feel bad about finding another man interesting, y’know? it’s not cheating or anything,” she said then, her voice was soft and soothing. “momo’s right! plus, no one said you have to marry this delivery man,” mina patted your shoulder in encouragement.

your friends were right, you shouldn’t feel bad.

“i wanna see him though, can i open the door?” kyoka begged, making everyone laugh. “of course you can’t,” momo said between laughters.

you were interrupted by the doorbell and you literally jumped on your feet, an anxious feeling growing in your chest. mina noticed and pushed your wallet into your hands before rushing you to open the door.

you took a deep breath and opened it, preparing yourself to meet bakugo’s face. your growing smile suddenly fell when you met a redhead boy standing outside your door.

“oh, hello! you’re [y/n], right?” he asked in a cheerful tone, smiling. “y-yeah,” you nodded, a bit taken aback.

did bakugo really stopped working there?

“alright, then these are yours!” kirishima smiled even more. “it’s 16$, miss,” he informed you and you nodded. you gave him the money and took the pizzas from his hands, thanking him with a smile. “enjoy your meal!” kirishima waved at you before turning to leave.

“uh, wait!” you called for him, biting your lips. “is um… bakugo-san still working there?” you found the courage to ask him, pushing the feeling of embarrassment aside. “oh, kacchan? yeah! but he caught a cold, so i offered to cover him at work. a common friend owns the place, so…” he explained with a genuine smile, as a sense of relief filled your chest, your heart beating fast. “right, i see. thank you,” you smiled at the redhead, he nodded and then waved at you.

your friends heard the whole conversation and started cheering you on, promising that you would be able to see him again very soon. they also convinced you to call again in a couple of days and hope you would see this bakugo guy again.

─────────────────────

you were sitting on the couch while fidgeting with your fingers, an anxious feeling growing in your belly as you waited for your dinner to arrive. well, more like for bakugo to arrive.

you felt stupid for a moment, you were a grown up not a teenager anymore. why were you acting like a middle schooler who has to meet her crush? that’s very, very stupid of you.

what if he doesn’t like you at all?

you jumped in your seat as you heard the doorbell and basically rushed to the door to open it, almost tripping over you feet.

there he was.

bakugo turned his head to look at you and noticed how nervous you were. “h-hello,” you gripped the doorknob tightly as you swiftly checked him out, before meeting his vermilion eyes. “is everything alright?” katsuki found himself asking, tilting his head to the side as to study you. “yeah, no. i mean, yes!” you covered your face with your hands, sighing deeply as you felt like your heart was about to jump out of your chest and run away to hide. you should be the one hiding somewhere in shame.

katsuki smirked and pulled his hat lower, trying to cover the growing blush on his face. he thought you looked cute, all flustered for some reason.

“so… the usual,” he said then, gulping down. he was here to deliver you a pizza after all, not to make conversations. “uhh,” you tapped your pockets for the wallet and a fresh sense of embarrassment filled you as you realised you forgotten the wallet in the kitchen. “w-wait, okay… i’ll be right back,” you glanced at his face and then turned around, running to the kitchen.

katsuki took a deep breath and bit his lip, trying to muster some courage to ask if you wanted to go out with him sometime.

you gripped the wallet in your hands and closed your eyes, praying to stop being clumsy and embarrassing and actually succeeding in asking him for his number. you then quickly went back to the door and cleared your throat.

katsuki watched closely your every action, as his heart started beating faster and faster as the moment to leave approached.

it’s now or never.

“listen, i think that–” “can we exchange ph–”

you two stopped talking and simply stared at each other for a couple of seconds before averting your eyes, your cheeks growing hot as katsuki’s whole face turned red. katsuki mentally kicked himself and then cleared his throat.

“what was it you were tryin’ to ask?” his eyes searched for yours, even though you were too busy staring at your feet. “i thought maybe… we can exchange uh, phone numbers?” you asked timidly as your fingers tortured your old wallet due to your nervousness.

bakugo fought himself from reaching for them and stop you and simply nodded, feeling a sense of relief. “yeah, sure,” he offered you his phone and watched you saving your own contact and send yourself a message.

“alright, here’s your dinner,” he said as he retrieved his phone with a hand and giving you the pizza with the other. you nodded and then handed him the money too.

“thank you as always for your service. please take care, it’s pretty windy outside,” you timidly said, holding his gaze for a couple of seconds before looking away again. bakugo blushed and cleared his throat before nodding. “ah, ri– thanks, enjoy your meal.”

you closed the door and pushed out all the air in your lungs, as you could finally relax. you walked over the kitchen before realising he was about to say something too, but you didn’t asked to continue too.

a notification from your phone caught your attention and you reached for it, opening the messages app.

how abt friday at 7 pm ?

you smiled as you looked down at the message, feeling a warm feeling filling your body. your fingers moved quickly over the screen to type out your reply to bakugo’s message.

sounds good !

#📂 — writing !!#katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x you #katsuki bakugo x y/n #katsuki bakugo imagine #katsuki bakugo one shot #katsuki bakugo fanfic #mha bakugou #bnha bakugou #my hero academia x reader #my hero academia fanfic #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #boku no hero academia fanfic

211 notes · View notes

ladykailitha · 5 months

Text

Buckle up, there is a topic I want to rant about today. A few days ago this came across my dash and it reminded me of someone I knew from high school.

There was this kid at my high school everyone thought was a douche. He was good looking, popular, could sing, dance and play an instrument (I think it was guitar, but I don't remember it's been 20 years). He was getting lead roles in the plays as a sophomore (we didn't have freshman in our high schools out here in hick Utah where the running joke has always been we're behind the times by at 20-40 years), he got duck classes because he was getting acting jobs while in school.

We'll call him MH because those were his initials.

He was in my biology class and our science teacher had four groups of four debate creationism vs evolution (you shouldn't debate established fact but whatever). Two groups would be for creation and the other two would be for evolution.

I picked creation because I was a contrary child and wanted to debate the opposite of my actual views. (I was like thatTM) He picked evolution.

We got up and gave our arguments. Now our teacher wasn't a stupid man, stupid assignment aside. He knew his classes. He knew teenagers. He gave them two voting slips. One for who liked the best. Popularity wise. And the other for who gave the best arguments.

Now for some added context, this is Utah. Mormonville. Creation is basically hardwired into our psyche from birth. The chances of EVOLUTION winning was as likely as a pig sprouting wings.

But I was not well liked in high school, I was an epileptic, ADHD, anxiety riddled nerd. So MH's team got the votes for both the best argument and the most popular, because fuck me that's why. (And yeah, this sounds like my anxiety talking, but no these little shits told me that to my face.)

I can't remember how long exactly it was. Long enough that I got over it, but fresh enough I knew what he was talking about. But shortly after this shit show we have a fire drill. It was cold, it was miserable and I was ready to start cussing for the warmth.

MH comes up to me and the two friends I was with and tells me "Hey, I think it was crap that you lost. Your team had the better argument and was better articulated. I just wanted to let you know." And then melted back into the crowd of students.

I didn't think he knew what my name was, if I'm honest. But he came up to me and told me that I should have won. Even my friends were shocked. Now of course I was bitter about losing, because how could I not be? But the fact that the hottest guy in school came up to me and said that? I felt vindicated.

From that day on though? I was a staunch MH supporter. I was tell people that he was probably shy and very busy (you know with the whole acting jobs thing).

TL;DR: high school douche goes out of his way to tell me that I should won the on merit side of a stupid debate and I find out not a douche after all.

So why do I bring this up? Because of Steve Harrington. He has literally everyone saying he was an ass in high school. That he has to atone. But other than some instances where it was absolutely warranted we never really see Steve be a douche. Just typical teenager shit. And every time he does something "bad" he apologizes for it.

But all his friends are still giving him shit about it three years later. But not Jonathan who was an actual fucking criminal. Like he didn't have develop the sex pictures if he was looking for evidence of the thing that took his brother. I've developed film. The negative, while small gives you a pretty good indication of what would develop.

And yeah Nancy forgave him, but no one asked Steve if he forgave him. Because he was in those pictures, too. Steve was just as violated as Nancy was. And if the scene we see is any indication, Steve was probably more predominately featured than Nancy was, because he was on top. Meaning he would have covered her most of the time.

So no, I don't think Steve was a bully. No, I don't think he has anything to atone for that he hasn't already atoned for in fucking spades. I think he was always that same lovable dork he always was and Nancy had nothing to do with his "hero arc". But I have my own thoughts about Nancy that are way too long for this already massive dash stretcher.

/rant end

#my writing #stranger things #steve harrington #ladykailitha rants

118 notes · View notes

ash5monster01 · 10 months

Text

Perfect to Love

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader!PlusSize

Warnings: fluff, mentions of bullying, body image issues, fat shaming, angst, trust issues.

Summary: Beth Walker was used to living in the shadows. She had only one friend and anyone else who paid her mind usually bullied her for her size. So she learned to keep her mouth shut, her head down, and her heart closed because she had to accept the fact that she would be nothing more than the fat girl to people. That is until Robin decides Beth needs more in life and that might just include a boy who she never would’ve thought could see her for who she truly was.

word count: 1,326

→ Part 1

Masterlist

"Bertha!" chuckles from teenage boys followed the sneer that came from Colin Matterson's mouth, football captain, and all around douche. Beth recoiled into her self as heads turned to look at her and her peers chuckled. People thought they were clever adding two little letters to her name, instead they were just mean.

"Eat shit Matterson!" Robin stood and yelled to which the boy just brushed off and continued on his way to a seat in the bleachers. Beth felt her breaths coming out in heavy paces but she appreciated Robin for sticking up for her. "Don't listen to him Beth, he's an asshole"

"You know I ignore him" Beth told her, adjusting the strap to her marching band helmet. Robin took notice of how her flute trembled in her hand despite the tough facade she was putting on.

"Still Beth, people like him aren't going to matter by the end of the year" Vickie piped in. Ever since the three had been placed beside each other in the line up they had gotten to know each other. They also learned that Beth was super cool despite being silent most of the time. Things used to not be so bad until Barb Holland passed away, leaving her to be the only bigger girl left in their grade.

"I know, just hurts that he's right" both girls instantly gave offended looks, quickly muttering off how she was one of the most prettiest girls they knew but sometimes those comments didn't hold a lot of weight opposed to the mean ones. Beth knew it was wrong to not think her friends were sincere but if Colin Matterson was the one calling her beautiful things would be a bit different. Being seen at all by somebody new would be different.

"Beth nobody is perfect and you in comparison to Colin Matterson is a thousand times better and I mean it. You have more personality and good qualities in your pinky finger than he does all together" Beth offered a smile because a small part of her knew she was right. Yet after years of opposite comments there was still a small part of her that believed Robin was just saying it to make her feel better.

"Thanks Rob" but Robin knew she still didn’t get through to the girl and that thought frustrated her more than anything. Beth deserved to be seen for the amazing person she was, somebody like that shouldn’t have to hide from the world because of some stupid standard of beauty. It pissed Robin off to no end especially when she knew if Beth looked how people thought she should look she would be the most popular girl in school.

Robin kept this in mind throughout the entirety of the pep rally, walking Beth to her car, and waiting for Steve to pick her up. She was frustrated not only trying to find a way for others to see how amazing Beth was but for Beth to see herself as such. Robin knew what hating yourself could be like, it took years for her to accept being gay. Some things you can’t change and the sooner you learn to accept them the happier you’ll be. Yet since she couldn’t come up with a sure fire way she continued to be frustrated.

“What’s with you?” Robing looked up from the returns she was stacking to see Steve leaned against the counter giving her a confused look.

“What do you mean?” she asked and he quickly chuckled, a shake of his head swaying some stray hairs loose.

“You’ve barely said a word since we’ve gotten here. Normally you’re going on and on about how cute Vickie was at band practice today. You being quiet is weird” Steve told her and Robin finally sighed, falling against the counter like she had finally given up.

“It’s Beth” Steve rose his eyebrows in a suggestive way and Robin shook her head against the counter top, a sign that it wasn’t like he thought.

“Beth Walker, you remember her?” Robin asked and Steve shook his head which only caused Robin to sigh harder.

“She’s my friend and easily the sweetest girl on this planet but she gets terrorized at school, she doesn’t even know how cool she is because of how terrible to other students are to her” Robin explained and Steve suddenly felt guilty for not knowing her despite being a grade ahead.

“Why are they bullying her?” Steve asked, curious as to what reason someone would have to treat a sweet girl badly.

“She’s bigger, kinda like Barb but shorter. They call her Bertha” Steve cringed at the mean name, even he could feel the sting of it.

“That’s awful Rob” he told her and she nodded as she lifted her head from the counter.

“It is and Steve she is so great. Like the coolest chick you’d ever meet. She drives a brand new corvette and the kids still treat her like shit” Steve smiled at Robins defense for the girl, the thought comforting him to know she’d do the same for him.

“Have you tried telling her this?” Robin let out a small groan as she started to pick at a stray string on her shirt.

“All the time but I know she doesn’t listen. I can’t blame her though, when the same people keep building you up and hundreds of strangers tear you down it doesn’t do much. That’s a battle meant to be lost” Robin wished that her words could resonate with the girl but the only way they would is if someone like Colin Matterson finally came around and started saying them. Then suddenly it hit her. “You used to be a dick right?”

“Woah, what the hell?” Steve held his hands up and Robin rolled her eyes.

“You know what I mean Steve, you weren’t the best guy back in the day” Robin defended and he dropped his head.

“That’s way harsh Rob, you know I’m not like that anymore” Robin nodded and began to move around the counter to face him.

“Well yeah, you’re super cool now. But guys like Colin Matterson still think you’re King of Hawkins?” Steve thought about it before nodding, he graduated with the Mr. Popular reputation even if he still didn’t feel like he had it.

“Not that I’m proud of it but yeah, those guys all still think I’m hot shit” Steve said as he crossed his arms. “So what’re you getting at?”

“Meet Beth, hang out with her in public, if people see you with her they might realize it’s not her size that matters” Steves eyes widened, totally not seeing where this conversation was going.

“I don’t know Rob-”

“Please Steve, she’s so great. It doesn’t have to be right away, I can bring her to a movie night or something. She just deserves to be seen for who she is and I can’t help her with that but you can” Steve pressed his hand to his eyes, thinking about it for a moment before turning to her.

“One movie night, then I’ll think about it” he told her as he pointed a finger at her and she began to jump and cheer. “You’re something else”

“And you’re the best Steve Harrington, truly” Steve tried to hide his smile but he couldn’t help it as he watched Robin become so happy over the thought that she could help a friend.

If Robin had claimed this girl was so special maybe it was worth a shot. Hell he never even really thought of Barb as big, it was mainly Tommy and Carol that ever bullied people for things like that. Yet he realized he wasn’t much better never even realizing her when he knew most of her grade because of Nancy. The size didn’t matter to him, but if he didn’t like her and started bringing her around wouldn’t that be just like using her?

a/n: if this is a story you guys would be interested in plz let me know, I am also aware I have not finished my Rooster Series yet but I do have the outlines for the remaining chapters so I wanted to get a head start on this. I think the concept would be cute and I’m a sucker for the fact I think Steve Harrington would be all about plus size girls. I think this could be a cute short little series <3

let me know if you want to be added to the tag list

157 notes · View notes

jupitercomet · 1 year

Text

Douche Bag Jar Deposit: $1 and a Tube of Lip Balm

summary - After your night at the bar, Jake starts avoiding you. Maybe an encounter with a certain dog named man will help fix that.

warnings - New Girl au, fluff, angst, slowburn, language (like... a lot), very suggestive, men being the worst, violence, I added outfit links but you can imagine whatever you would like

this series is 18+, minors please do not interact

word count - 5.1k

the douche bag jar masterlist

Your body thudded against the closed door of Jake’s room, his lips swallowing your startled yelp just as quickly. Your hands were a desperate frenzy of fingers and palms, his scrambling up and down your body, torn between what part of you he wanted to explore first, and yours pulling and tugging at his hair.

You threw your head back against the door, a whimper escaping you as his lips bit and sucked at your neck. “Jake.”

“I gotta get you out of this dress, peach,” his voice was strained against your collar bone. “Or else I’m gonna fucking cum in my pants.”

Jake swore — crossed his heart and hoped to die and all that shit — that he had no ill intentions when he stayed with you at the bar. He was listening to Bradley, just trying to be a good roommate and not send you packing with his flirtatious advances. He’d brought you orange juice for fuck’s sake. What’s more innocent than orange juice?!

But then you were batting your lashes at him, and teasing him, and your eyes were so pretty. And Bradley and Natasha were scooping up a very delirious Mickey, informing you both that they were taking him home and that Bradley would walk Natasha back to her apartment and so then you were alone.

If the universe didn’t want him to sleep with you, then it shouldn’t have let you look at him like that. Besides, you kissed him first! What was he supposed to do? Say “No, we’re roommates. That’s not what roommates do”?

That was not what he did. Instead, he had you pinned against his door as he pulled your pretty, white dress over your head.

“Holy fuck.”

Either Jake had just died and gone to heaven or he was about to. Because he was not certain that he would make it out of having sex with you alive. What a way to go though.

Your grip on his hair tightened, a whine escaping your swollen lips as you tried to coax his mouth back to your body. “Please, Jake.”

He swallowed audibly, almost forgetting what to do with himself as your glazed over eyes looked up at him, your chest brushing up against his every time you breathed. Another whimper of his name was all it took to break him, snapping him out of his stupor as he crashed into your lips again and prompted you to wrap your legs around his waist.

“God, I love this ass,” he groaned, supporting it with his hands as he moved you both to his bed.

You giggled against his lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jake confirmed, dropping you on his mattress so that he could rip his belt off. All of his clothing was taking far too long to get out of — he ended up sacrificing his leisure dress shirt, letting the buttons scatter across the floor of his room in his haste to take it off.

His hands stilled suddenly when he felt yours pushing them off his belt buckle. You’d moved to sit on his bed, tucking your heels under you as you looked up at him teasingly through your lashes.

“Peach,” he warned as you slowly undid his belt. “I wasn’t joking. I will bust a nut right now.”

Your hand trailed down the front of his jeans and Jake closed his eyes at the feeling. “Do you want me to help you with that, Jakey?”

He groaned, eyes fluttering open to tell you that yes, he very much did want you to help him with that, but furrowed his brows suddenly. Because, instead of being met with your sultry gaze, he was met with his white, popcorn ceiling.

Jake shot up from his bed, looking around wildly as he pieced together the darkness of his room, his digital alarm clock laughing at him in the numbers 3:04 am, and the fact that you were not sitting on his bed in just a bra and panties.

Jake let himself fall back on his mattress, closing his eyes and trying not to scream into his pillow.

“Fuck.”

Mickey trudged out of his room with a groan, wincing at the sunlight that was filtering in through the windows. He was never drinking ever again. In fact, he would probably never do anything but lie down on the cool hardwood of the loft’s floors ever again. Yeah, that sounded like a nice idea.

“Fanboy!”

A harsh whisper registered in Mickey’s ears, his body reacting to the noise before his brain translated it. He pressed his fingers into his closed eyelids, vibrations thundering around in his skull. The reason for his new wave of dulled pain was looking at him with wide, panicked eyes.

“No way,” Mickey shook his head. “I am not going to the gym with you today, Jake. I’m so fucking hungover.”

“No. No, come on man, you can’t do this to me,” Jake begged, which Mickey would have found unusual had he not been trying to stop the jackhammer going off in his brain. “I can’t be alone with—”

“Hey guys!” You greeted the two cheerfully, cringing when you noticed Mickey’s grimace and lowering your voice apologetically. “Sorry.”

“Peach! Hi— I mean hey—” Jake leaned to balance his elbow on the wall, missing it and almost falling over in the process. He recovered frantically. “S’up… shawty.”

You looked at him in slightly uncomfortable confusion. “Okay, so that was a choice you made.”

Mickey’s eyes flitted between the two of you and he let out a scoff of disbelief. “I refuse to do this this early in the morning,” he shouldered past Jake, ignoring the look of urgent alarm on his friend’s face to instead drown his pain in french toast and an aspirin. “Goodbye.”

You sent Mickey an understanding smile, too caught up in your sympathy of his clear discomfort to fully comprehend what he was saying. With a couple of grumbles and grunts, he left you and Jake alone in the hallway. Resecuring your grip on your gym bag with a flex of your fingers, you moved your attention back to the blond.

“You ready to go?”

Jake gulped audibly. It had all started a few days ago, this offer that he was now deeply regretting.

“Ew, Bradley!” You shoved him with your foot from where you were laying on the couch. “What does that even mean?”

“I just think there’s something sexy about blenders, okay?” He defended. “Like, if I had to fuck any household appliance, it would be a blender. You’re telling me you’ve never been attracted to an inanimate object before?”

“No!” You looked at him incredulously. “How often are you finding yourself attracted to inanimate objects?”

Bradley sighed, turning away from you with a far off look. “Enough to turn Bed, Bath, and Beyond into a goddamn minefield.”

Jake exited the bathroom before you could even begin to piece apart everything wrong with the information Bradley had just shared with you and the movement caused your eyes to focus on him instead. Instantly, you wished you could go back to unpacking Bradley’s alarming fantasies.

The terry cloth towel he was using to dry his hair was blocking his gaze from you and, for that, you were grateful. You had a feeling your expression would be especially telling. It didn’t take a genius to interpret what part Jake’s low hanging sweatpants and clean-shaven face played in your dry mouth and heated cheeks.

“Gross, dude. This is a shared space, put a shirt on.”

Oh, and that too. You supposed that was also an important detail.

Jake dropped the towel, letting it rest around his neck and you blinked a few times to compose yourself. This was fine. You were fine. Who in here wasn’t fine? Not you!

Jake rolled his eyes. “You’re literally not wearing pants right now.”

“Boxers are the pants of the home, Jacob,” Bradley looked at him indignantly. “And I refuse to be shamed in my own home.”

He got up with an angry huff.

“Hold on,” Jake took a step forward, widening his eyes. “Are those mine?”

Bradley’s head snapped down to his boxer clad thighs. “No. No! I knew this blue didn’t look right!”

“It’s oxford blue, asshat, and it compliments my skin tone.”

Bradley gagged, reaching for the waistband of the oxford blue fabric. You shrieked when you realized what he was doing, slapping a hand over your eyes.

“Bradley, do not!”

“Not in front of peach, you pervert!”

Keeping your eyes squeezed shut, you waited until you could no longer hear Bradley’s heavy footsteps to tentatively remove your hand from your face. Luckily, you were not greeted with the sight of Bradley’s… intimate areas, but Jake’s bare chest and the peeking waistband of his own boxers underneath his sweats objectively might have been worse.

You kept your eyes trained on the TV. Wow, who knew that those tiny home shows were so interesting? Definitely more interesting than Jake, that’s for sure.

Jake rubbed a tired hand over his face, moving to head to his own room — and do a thorough check that all his underwear belonged to him. Your eyes darted to his back as he turned, his bare skin taught over his muscles. There were still beads of water from his shower, making him look— No! No, nope, you were not doing this.

The housing crash.

Lizards getting so scared that their tails fall off.

Global warming.

You let out a breath. Crisis averted. You were fine. Everything was fine. Jake was fine— Stop it.

“Are you doing anything Saturday?”

You head snapped up to find Jake still standing in the living room, looking at you expectantly. And almost hopefully?

You kept your eyes trained on his face. “I don’t have plans. Why?”

“You should come to the gym with me and Mickey.”

Clearly you looked hesitant because Jake laughed. “Please? Mickey always leaves me to flirt with gym girls and I never have a spotter.”

“You expect me to believe that you don’t also flirt with girls at the gym?”

Jake’s tongue darted out to trace his bottom lip. “Peach, you should know that I take my physique very seriously.”

You were well aware.

“Do you go to this gym a lot? What equipment do you use the most?” You questioned, oblivious to Jake’s inner plight at your workout attire. “Oh! Do you have, like, a gym regimen you follow?”

You kept rattling on about treadmills and weights — Jake was hardly paying attention, a little more focused on not popping a semi in the middle of the hallway — and, for a moment, he wondered what would happen if he just bolted right past you. He was definitely faster than you... probably. In any case, you’d be no match for his locked door.

“That’s actually what I’ve been meaning to tell you, peach,” Jake interrupted you suddenly. “I, um, I can’t go to the gym today.”

“What? Why not?” You pouted.

Fuck.

“Please, Jake? I really need to start working out more and I’ll never do it if someone isn’t there to hold me accountable.

“Please, Jake.”

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck—

“Boobs.” He blurted suddenly.

You closed your mouth.

“What? Did I say that?” Jake laughed nervously, his voice rising in pitch. “Jar!”

Scrambling towards the living room, he grabbed the only thing he had in his gym shorts — a tube of Burt’s Bees cucumber mint lip balm.

(Mickey had gotten him and Bradley hooked on the stuff a couple years back after a winter so dry that Bradley’s bottom lip was splitting open almost anytime he spoke. They all had their own scents too, so they wouldn’t get confused — e.g. the oxford blue underwear incident. Jake’s was cucumber mint, Mickey’s was mango, and Bradley’s holy grail had come in the form of Burt’s Bees ultra conditioning lip balm.)

Without thinking, he threw his lip balm into the “Douche Bag Jar”, almost knocking it over before turning back to face you. You were watching him in silent bewilderment.

“I’m gonna go have a long, hard think about my role in the patriarchy,” and this time Jake did bolt right past you to his room. “Bye!”

Even his Burt’s Bees cucumber mint lip balm seemed embarrassed of him.

“Do I even want to ask why you’re hiding behind my bed right now?”

Jake popped his head out from behind the red flannel sheets, sending Mickey a nervous smile. Truthfully, Mickey probably didn’t want to know why Jake was seeking refuge in his room. And Jake really didn’t want to tell him that this was the third time he’d run away as soon as he’d seen you. He was already well aware of how embarrassing it was that he couldn’t even be in the same room as you without thinking about— He looked down at his pants. Shit.

“I was just,” he made a dramatic show of dropping his eyes under Mickey’s bed. “Looking for something.”

“Like what? Your dignity?”

Jake froze. “What are you—”

Mickey smirked. “The walls are thin, bro. Thin enough that I can hear you moaning our roommates name in your sleep.”

Jake opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to find words to defend himself from Mickey’s accusations. Well, maybe not accusations. Were they accusations if he was right?

“Honestly, I always thought you’d have one about Rooster first.”

“Ew,” Jake wrinkled his nose. “And give yourself some credit, man.”

Mickey preened slightly. “Thanks, dude.”

Jake shrugged, suddenly reminded of who he’d actually dreamed about, and he let out a loud groan. “What am I gonna do? I can’t even look at her without thinking about it.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“I shouted the word ‘boobs’ at her and then ran away.”

“Okay,” Mickey let out a low whistle. “So it is that bad.”

Rolling his eyes at him, Jake moved to get up. “If this is the only insight you plan on offering, I’m just going to leave.”

“I didn’t even ask you— Do you have a fucking boner right now?!”

Jake swiped one of Mickey’s pillows quickly, covering his front with it as he defended himself, “It was an intense dream, okay?”

Mickey’s eye twitched. “Get my pillow away from your dick or so help me, I will neuter you.”

“Fanboy, this is serious,” Jake lowered the pillow — Mickey’s threat having effectively killed his mood. “It is literally the only thing I can think about. I am blue balling myself so bad right now.”

“I don’t know, you just need to, like, see her as a person or something,” Mickey suggested. “The second you realize women have emotions and require effort, you usually stop being attracted to them.”

Jake glared at him. “Thanks.”

“It’s not like I’m wrong,” Mickey scoffed. “You once told me you stopped seeing a girl because she asked you if you’d still date her if she was a worm.”

“That was not my fault,” Jake pointed at him accusingly. “She stopped seeing me. All I did was tell her that, honestly, I’d probably take her fishing and she cried. What the fuck did she want me to do with a worm?”

“I rest my case,” Mickey moved to remove his pillowcase. “You just gotta find her worm and you're golden.”

Yeah, he just had to find your worm. Jake could do that. How hard could it be?

Very hard.

Turns out finding your worm was going to be very hard for Jake.

And it shouldn’t have been. That’s what pissed Jake off the most. Almost everything you did was strange, borderline crazy, and overall not hot. You rambled and sang at inappropriate times. You were friends with Bradley and Mickey — no woman he had ever dated had enjoyed the company of those two. He once found you crying because you’d read an article about two gay penguins at the zoo adopting a chick whose mother had died.

(In fairness to you, it did make him tear up a bit and he and Bradley decided that, if they were gay penguins, Mickey would be their orphan penguin son. The night ended with the four of you tearfully watching Happy Feet.)

But that! That was what Jake was talking about. That was not something he usually found himself attracted to. And if it managed to trigger another sex dream, except you were both penguins this time, he would be fleeing the country.

Mickey found the whole thing nothing but amusing. Weirdly, he’d become Jake’s confidant through the whole ordeal, listening to his various rants and vents about how you’d managed to make putting chopsticks in your mouth like a walrus look sexy!

“This pattern you have with semi-aquatic Antarctic animals is starting to worry me.” Mickey pointed out, popping a Cheeto into his mouth.

“It is not— It is not a pattern, you freak!”

Mickey held his hands up, though not before grabbing a few more Cheetos. “Hey, I’m not the one who wants to fuck a walrus.”

“Shut up, I don’t want to fuck—”

“Jake!” You closed the front door with an unnecessarily loud bang, wincing at the sound for a moment before strengthening your resolve and moving past it. “We need to talk.”

Jake turned to Mickey with a panicked look, the other man just shrugging in response, going back to munching on his Cheetos as he watched the two of you from the couch. Jake briefly wondered if he could launch himself over the couch to escape you, but you were already standing in front of him with a stern pout before he could take the initiative.

“About— About what, peach?” He laughed nervously, the way you were looking up at him through your lashes was not helping. “I don’t think we have anything to talk about—”

“You’ve been avoiding me and we need to talk about it, so I brought you something,” you moved to riffle through your purse, before finding what you were looking for and handing it to him. “It’s a conflict resolution ball. Whatever prompt your thumb lands on, you have to answer as a way to help solve the problem. I use it with my kids all the time.”

Jake looked down at the purple and white checkered ball, lifting his thumb to read one of the prompts. Describe your initial reaction to the conflict. How was this not an immediate turn off for him?!

“Peach,” he tried to hand the ball back to you, “there isn’t a conflict between us.”

You snatched the ball from him with a glare. “Fine, I’ll start. ‘How would you like to see the conflict resolved?’ I would like for Jake to tell me what I did to upset him, so that he stops avoiding me and so that I can be more aware of it in the future and not do it again.”

“Peach—”

“Can I see the ball?” Mickey asked from the couch, dusting his hands clean of Cheeto cheese and holding them open for you to throw him the ball. “I would like to be a part of this conflict resolution.”

Jake gritted his teeth, about to smack the other man upside the head because whose side was he on? But you had already tossed the ball to Mickey.

“‘Who needs to take responsibility for what happened?’ I think Jake needs to take responsibility for this conflict. It’s unfair of him to make you play with balls just to please him.”

Jake was going to knock his face in.

“And the fact that he’s been keeping you on edge—”

“Okay, fine!” Jake interrupted loudly, grabbing the ball. “‘Describe one win/win solution to the problem.’ How about I stop being weird and we never talk about this again?”

“But Jake, you still haven’t told me why—”

“And I’ll watch whatever shitty rom com you want.”

You contemplated his offer. “You’ll come with me to get popcorn?”

Jake nodded. “I’ll come with you to get popcorn.”

“And Starbursts?”

“And Starbursts.” He confirmed.

You smiled, “Deal.”

You watched with a small smile as Bradley tried to sneak another bag of Lay’s Dill Pickle chips into your shopping cart, Jake none the wiser as he scrolled through some article about which microwavable popcorn brand had the most butter. After — what you were deeming was — the success of your conflict resolution ball, you and the guys made the trip to the nearest grocery store for the snacks that Jake promised you.

So far, the trip had resulted in Jake and Bradley arguing over every item placed in the cart and you and Mickey spitballing which romantic comedy you were going to watch for the night. The two of you were currently torn between How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Notebook, and 13 Going on 30.

“Who put pickle chips in the cart?” Jake’s tone of disgust made you turn away from the rows of microwavable popcorn, your eyes landing on the way he held the offending object in his hand.

One look at you and Mickey confirmed that you were not the culprits and he targeted his disgust at Bradley.

“They’re good!” He defended.

“Yeah? And who’s paying for them?” Jake thrust the green bag into Bradley’s chest. “Because it isn’t your bartender's salary, I can tell you that.”

“Don’t poor shame me in a grocery store, dickhead!”

In retaliation, Bradley dropped four bags of Lay’s Dill Pickle chips into the cart. Jake scoffed, taking them out only for Bradley to knock them right back in. You and Mickey shared a glance at their childish display, silently agreeing to leave the two and get the rest of the snacks yourself. There was a high likelihood that Jake and Bradley would still be arguing over pickle chips by the time you were done.

“You always act like this. Why can’t you just let me eat what I want?”

“Because, last time I let you get the groceries, you accidentally got dog treats and it took us a week of eating them to figure that out!”

“That was not my fault! They should have put a fucking dog on it if they weren’t meant to look like Girl Scout Cookies!”

“The words ‘dog treats’ was on the box!”

A sudden call of your name interrupted the two — well, it didn’t. But it startled you enough that you could no longer pay attention to them — and you froze. You knew that voice. A quick glance at your lock screen confirmed the date and you winced. What were the chances?

He was already stepping into the aisle, making it too late to pretend like you hadn’t heard him, and you forced a smile onto your face. “Hi Cooper.”

That actually did interrupt Jake and Bradley’s argument, Jake whipping around to face you the second your ex’s name left your lips. You glanced at him hesitantly, partly out of curiosity, and were almost surprised to see him glaring at Cooper with a clenched jaw.

“Hey,” Cooper took in your roommates with furrowed brows. “I’ve been calling you, but you haven’t been answering—”

“Should’ve taken the hint then, huh?” Jake mocked him coldly.

Cooper’s furrow deepened, though he still directed his attention towards you, pissing Jake off further. “Who’s this guy?”

“Um,” you shifted uncomfortably, wishing desperately that Natasha was with you. She always knew how to handle your terrible exes. “These are my roommates.”

“Roommates?” Cooper raised his eyebrows. “You can’t be serious. What the hell are you thinking?”

Bradley’s eyes narrowed, it didn’t take much for him and Mickey to piece together what was going on. “I don’t think that’s really your business anymore.”

Cooper scoffed, “And I don’t think that I was talking to you.” His eyes moved back to you. “Come on, I’m not letting you stay with these guys. Just move back in with me until you figure something out.”

There was a point in your life where you honestly thought you would marry Cooper. There were moments when you watched movies on his coach and went to uncomfortable dinner parties with his bosses that you thought that those were things you were going to do for the rest of your life. That your future would amount to flowers almost four times a year — almost always near holidays which would remind Cooper to buy you flowers, you couldn’t find any other explanation as to why you always got a bouquet on Mother’s Day.

And the worst part was that you were excited for this romance of mediocrity. When you thought about a life with this man who really only knew what you tolerated but not what you actually liked, you thought that you’d be happy. You looked at Cooper, who gave you almost nothing, and wanted to marry him.

You also knew there was a point — probably very recently — in your life where you would have accepted Cooper’s invitation to move back in with him. Where you would have forgiven him for maybe cheating on you and looked the other way when he maybe cheated on you again.

But as you stood in the chips and snacks aisle of a grocery store with three guys you’d only been living with for a short time. As you glanced at the three sharing sized bags of Starbursts in your shopping cart, when you knew that you’d only put in one. As you realized that the whole reason you were even at this grocery store was because Bradley, Jake, and Mickey were buying your favorite snacks to eat while you all watched your favorite movies — things they already knew that Cooper didn’t — it hit you that maybe you weren’t at that point in your life anymore.

“No.”

You felt four sets of eyes on you and you swallowed down your nerves.

“No. I’m happy where I am and— These guys are my friends, okay? And— And I love them. And maybe I should thank you because, if it weren’t for you, I never would have met them. But I’m not going to move back in with you.”

The words felt all too meaningful for a grocery store, but you meant them. And you were sure they could all tell you meant them, if the way they were looking at you was any indication — Bradley, Jake, and Mickey with almost awestruck appreciation and Cooper with incredulousness.

“Is this some form of Stockholm Syndrome?”

Jake rolled his eyes, taking a step closer to Cooper. “Listen man, I don’t know how many times she has to reject you before it sticks, but we have plans tonight. So maybe you could figure it out on your own time?”

The two men sized each other up — Jake was a good few inches taller than Cooper and, though he didn’t always look it in his work shirts and khakis, he was stronger than him too — before Cooper looked past him to smirk at you demeaningly.

“Oh, is that how she’s paying rent?” He nodded at you condescendingly, a switch flipping in his brain the second he realized his “nice guy” act wasn’t giving him the reaction he wanted. “If that’s the case, you don’t have to be so defensive of her. Trust me, there’s better.”

His words hadn’t even hung in the air for a second before an unsettling crunch took the place of them. In fact, it was only after you’d heard the noise that realized that Jake had punched him at all. You watched in shock as Cooper doubled over, clutching his nose as the only thing you could see of Jake’s expression was the back of his shoulders rising and falling with rage.

“Say it again,” he seethed, and one look at Mickey and Bradley showed that they were equally as angry. “I fucking dare you.”

“Ow, ow, ow!”

“Sorry,” you lifted the bag of frozen strawberries from Jake��s cheek, the inflamed bruise on his cheekbone glaring at you. “I’m sorry.”

Jake shook his head. “It’s fine. Just don’t press so hard.”

You heeded his instruction, tentatively bringing the cold pack back to his face, only relaxing when Jake sighed in relief.

“I still can’t believe you punched him,” you admitted quietly.

“Yeah, well there’s a lot of things I’d do for you, peach,” Jake chuckled, only slightly humorlessly. “Including taking a fist to the face, I guess.”

You winced. Though Jake had definitely won the fight, it wasn’t as if Cooper didn’t get in a few jabs of his own. It would be a lie to say that Jake came out of the whole incident unscathed.

“Don’t forget that you got us banned from that grocery store,” Mickey added.

“I’m sorry about that, guys. I’ll—”

“Don’t be,” Mickey interrupted. “We would have fought him too.” He gestured to Bradley to include him in the sentiment.

You were sure Bradley would have also agreed — the way he looked in the car ride back was proof of that — but currently he was passed out on the couch clutching a half empty bag of Lay’s Dill Pickle chips to his chest. So you’d just have to take Mickey’s word for it.

You bit back a smile, looking down bashfully. Even Natasha had been surprised when you texted her about the whole thing, calling you as soon as she read the message with a “Holy shit, Jake did that? Hold on, Bradley just texted me that he’s trying to get the security footage…”

Your smile faltered slightly, when the light of the TV lit up Jake’s bruised face and you lessened your pressure on the frozen strawberries. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can do? I don’t want you to be in pain, Jake.”

“You can explain what the fuck’s going on in this movie,” Jake joked, but his eyes were soft as he turned to look at you.

You nodded, scooting closer to Jake as you tried to figure out where you all were in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Jake’s arm was thrown over your shoulder, your body half on his chest as your own arm held the makeshift ice pack to his cheek — and that was the only reason the two of you were practically cuddling, so you could tend to his wound. No other reason.

“How are you confused right now?” Mickey tossed a piece of popcorn at his head. “The plot is not that hard to follow.”

“Hey!” Jake protested, looking at his friend indignantly. “Who’s the injured man who defended peach’s honor tonight? That’s right, me! You can’t throw things at me, I’m a hero.”

You laughed, shaking your head endearingly as the frozen pack of strawberries began melting in your hand. Already feeling drops of ice water drip onto the couch, you moved to switch the thawed bag out for another one.

“Thank you, Jake,” you pressed a delicate kiss to his cheekbone. “You’re my hero.”

And then you were making your way to the kitchen, quietly moving past Bradley’s snoring body.

Once you were out of hearing distance, Jake turned to Mickey excitedly. “No boner, dude. High five!”

Mickey sent him an unamused look. “Jar.”

if you would like to be added to the taglist, click here

if you would like to be notified when I post in general, follow @jupitercometgold

taglist: @sweetwizardtragedy @thelonelyumbrella @mygyn @minstens @xoxabs88xox @callsignvalley @violyn20 @babypink224221 @lilylilyyyyyy @bioodforbiood @oldnatgwenaccount @double-j @delicatevamps @junk-journal @daniellarogers @gem-fusion @everyoneslovechild @lunamoonbby @80sfeel @zbeez-outlet @morgensternsblog @ilymoonie @gcidrvsh @clockworkballerina @callsignaura @seasidh @colleendbee @lilyevanswhore @shadowolf993 @talkfastromance4 @86laura11 @lingenie @brxttybottom @averyhotchner @spideegwen @rayisthehoe @amortentiadrops @callmemana @crownofdecit @percysaidnever @thenewdaysalreadyhere @evans-dejong @lanasdelsreys @iobeyfandoms @nycbaby21 @goldeng1rl8 @witchwyfe @ysl-bby @royalestrellas @loveforaugust @secretsicanthideanymore @sam333 @spoopy-ksy @emptyloverofmine @teenwolf01 @maniacalmaximoff @realdirectionx @lovemesickly @fudgemesteveharrington @misshoneypaper @craftytrashprincess @luvrrish @ilovewhalesharks444 @luckyladycreator2 @elementress44 @suhke3 @xlostinobsessionsx @cheezit-bradshawseresin @fatherfigured @the-navistar-carol @shotgunhallelujah @hnhn18 @acatwriteshere @callsignchicken @lauenderhaze @bananablue @flawssy227 @wydmonday @blackwidownat2814 @timeofmadness @bolaurel @marsontoast @frasmotic @celestialeviereads @auroraboreallisfine @laracrofted @sophissticatedd @cierrajhill @5lutty5arah @badasspizzalover @phantompogues

#jake seresin imagine #jake seresin imagines #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin fluff #jake seresin angst #jake seresin au #hangman imagine #hangman imagines #hangman x reader #hangman fluff #hangman angst #hangman au #top gun maverick imagines #x reader #the douche bag jar #buggy's got a pen

625 notes · View notes

jadeylovesmarvelxo · 1 year

Text

The Trouble With Love

Part two

Summary; Nancy and Steve's marriage is breaking apart, you decide to go on a date with a fellow teacher. Gossip rages in the playground which Steve overhears from Vickie.

He's not prepared for how that makes him feel.

Warnings; Major Angst, Sexual Tension, arguing, Jealous Steve

Taglist; @lou-la-lou @eddiesguitarskills @heyyimmisunderstood @alycunningham @mxcheese @micheledawn1975

Lmk if you would like to be added to the tag list 🌸❤️

Eventual Steve Harrington x Reader.

❤️

🌸

Nancy came back the next day and the argument was worse than the first.

"Don't start with me Steve, just don't okay? I'm tired and I need some space to think" He shakes his head just pissed that they don't communicate now, there never seems to be communication anymore.

"We need to talk about this Nancy. I keep trying to talk to you but you keep deflecting and when we do talk its like you don't listen"

She rolls her eyes and grabs her jacket.

"And then you just walk away. I'm trying here Nance but we cant get past this if we don't talk" she sighs.

"Talk about what?" he stares at her stunned and feels his irratation growing.

"About kids Nance, you shut me down every time and I just want to know if it's even something you want?" Nancy turns away from him and there's silence for a moment.

"I don't know, she yells. I don't know if I even want kids!!" Steve swears he feels like his heart has been ripped out.

"You don't know for like now? Or forever?" she swallows and speaks softly.

"Ever. I've never wanted to be like my mother, the nuclear family. I love her but that's just not me" Steve sits down his head pounding, agony ripping through him.

"Why couldn't you tell me this before? You've known what this has meant to me for years, it's one of the first things we talked about after getting married" he asks Nancy and there are tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Steve. I have to get to work" He looked at her exasperated.

"Right. Fine". The door slams as she heads out and Steve puts his head in his hands, he just doesn't know what to do.

💕🌸

After getting lost in his thoughts too much Steve calls Robin and invites her over to have pizza here.

It will be a good distraction, take his mind of a few things.

The minute that Robin sees the expression on his face she pulls him into a hug and he explains what had happened.

"I don't know what to do Robin," he tells her feeling conflicted about what he should say to Nancy.

Anna and Vickie arrive and Anna beams.

"Hi Uncle Steve, Pizza time" she exclaims excitedly and Vickie ruffles her hair.

"Not yet. Soon baby" Anna pouts adorably so he distracts her by pulling out one of her favourite jigsaw puzzles.

Vickie gives Robin a quick kiss and looks excited about something.

"So I heard some interesting gossip on the playground today" Robin looks intrigued by this and he listens as well curious.

"Do tell" Robin urges Vickie who smirks and settles down on the couch.

"Well, a certain Hawkins preschool teacher and Hawkins elementary school teacher are going on a date" Steve's hands freeze on a piece of the jigsaw he was handing Anna.

"What? I mean she's a babe but Matt Daniels? He was such a... ( Robin chooses her words carefully because of little ears listening) meany in high school"

"He's a poo poo head" Anna giggles and Robin and Vickie exchange amused looks at Anna's very spot-on assessment.

Steve is half listening because there's a funny feeling in his stomach at the thought of you going out on a date.

He was concerned that's all. Robin is right Matt was a douche in high school, he was older than you and still a bit of a shithead if Steve was being honest.

There's no way that Steve is entertaining the intense flash of jealousy he just felt but he couldn't ignore it either when it makes him feel like there's a deep pit in his stomach.

He shouldn't be feeling this way and he immediately feels like shit but it doesn't help the burning feeling in his gut at all.

🌸❤️

You had put a plan in action to bury your feelings for Steve and you hoped to god that it worked.

It involved you on a date with Matt Daniels who was Hawkins Elementary teacher.

Matt was nice, interested in you and available.

The two of you were planning to go out to a bar in Hawkins, just grab a quick drink and chat and see if the two of you could be compatible.

It was a little nerve-wracking because you hadn't been on a date for so long and you had dressed up for the occasion.

Matt was coming to your house to pick you up for the date and when he arrives your nerves reach a crescendo.

"Hey babe. So you ready?" you nod and take his arm as he leads you outside.

"Miss Smiley" you hear a tiny, happy voice shout and you smile as you turn around and Anna is waving at you.

She's playing in the front yard with Steve, she has tea cups out, her teddies and is having a tea party all for Uncle Steve.

It's so precious and Steve is the perfect guest, so sweet with her. It makes your heart flutter.

Then his gaze meets yours and his eyes widens.

"Jesus" he whispers under his breath and it makes your legs shake a little at the way he looks at you.

"Hi, Anna. Steve" You nod and give him a little wave. Matt comes over and his arm slips over your shoulder.

"Better get moving babe" he locks eyes with Steve and smirks.

"Oh hey, King Steve Harrington, princess tea and dollies, fun times huh?" there's a mocking way in which he says it and you frown as Steve's eyes flash.

"I think it's very sweet" you murmur and the angry look on Steve's face melts away. Matt snorts and tugs on your hand.

"Come on, I need a beer" you reluctantly follow and begin to have a bad feeling about tonight.

Hopefully, you were wrong.

❤️🌸

Steve watches you and Matt go, that sick feeling in his stomach growing more and more intense.

What did you see in that jackass? You could do so much better than Matt Daniels.

"He's a big poo poo head" Anna announces suddenly and it breaks the tension that Steve is feeling and he chuckles.

"Yeah honey you're right, he is a big poo poo head"

❤️🌸

Unfortunately, your bad feelings about the date were very much spot on and it's an hour before you've had enough.

It's a relief when he takes you back home but he's still being a dick, just drunk and handy and you're growing tired of it.

You push away from Matt disgusted at his attitude and tell him" Yeah, I think this date has ended"

His eyes flash and he moved to grab your arm but there's movement and then Steve is in front of you both and he pushes away Matt.

He must have saw you come back from his house.

"Take the hint dickhead and clear off yeah?" Matt sneers.

"Hero Steve Harrington huh? Hey, how's Nancy? Saw her with Jonathan earlier looking pretty cosy if you ask me?" Steve freezes, eyes flashing in pain.

"That's enough, you snap. Get out of here Matt" he sneers then storms off.

You turn to Steve and he swallows, running his hand through his hair. He looks so lost and you want to comfort him.

"Thanks for helping me, Steve" He comes out of his reverie and softens.

"Anytime. You okay? Jesus, you're shaking" He shrugs off his jacket and places it around your shoulders.

It takes all of your willpower not to snuggle into it... Yeah cause that wouldn't look weird at all.

"Thanks, I'm sorry what he said about Nancy" Steve shrugs and looks so sad that it makes your chest ache.

"It's fine, Nance and I... We'll be fine. I think" His face scrunches up in pain and he looks so helpless that your heart hurts for him.

"She'll come around. She's very lucky, and so are you. You'll work it out" you rush out hurriedly.

"I hope we can" his tone is unsure though and you wonder what is going on, was it about Steve wanting kids? Then you realise its none of your business and keep your mouth shut.

"You look beautiful by the way, Matt's a total butthead"

Beautiful. He said you were beautiful, a giddy feeling envelops you but you know you have to fight it off as nothing good can come from this.

Very gently you kiss Steve's cheek in thanks, the air crackles around you both and you meet Steve's gaze. His hazel eyes are intense and it makes your stomach fill with butterflies.

His eyes trail to your lips and it feels like your heart is beating out of your chest. Is he going to kiss you?

It feels like the two of you are magnets, you just draw closer together. His lips are inches away from yours then they brush across them so softly.

It's a feather-light touch but it ignites every bit of want and desire in you.

But it's still wrong, very wrong and you both step away in an instant.

"We, we can't. You're married. We shouldn't" he moves further away from you.

"I'm sorry, this was a mistake, I love Nancy. This is a mistake" Hurriedly you shrug out of his jacket and hand it to him before rushing inside.

Fuck! You were so stupid! Steve's words playback in your mind on a loop and you let out a groan of frustration as tears pool down your cheeks.

You were supposed to get over Steve. Not fall even more for him. What a mess.

🌸❤️

Steve heads back into his house, his lips tingling.

When he kissed you it felt like...like fireworks, his mind is racing and Robin comes up to him she looks very distressed while holding an envelope.

"Steve, Nance must have dropped this off when we were out getting pizza" He takes it from her.

Inside is a note and Nancy's wedding ring and his stomach bottoms out as he reads the contents of the note.

Nancy told him she was going to live with her parents for a while, she needed space.

She had left him.

❤️

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington angst #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine

224 notes · View notes

steddiebang · 7 months

Text

The World Ends With You

Author: @lihhelsing l Artist: @keikei_firefly l Artist: @verdiris Posting on Thursday, November 30

After the world ended and the undead creatures were everywhere, Steve Harrington survived by isolating himself. Completely alone in a house, he barely knows what to do when someone breaks in. Injured and alone, Eddie Munson slowly wins Steve’s trust as they navigate surviving together in the middle of the Apocalypse and their relationship grows into something Steve can’t quite understand. But just as he has his share of secrets, Eddie has some of his own and this might be enough to get in the way of whatever they were building together.

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

It took a bit of time for Eddie Munson to be on his feet.

Or maybe foot was more accurate. Steve was honestly shocked Eddie had been able to stand like that, let alone walk for who knew how long.

He would definitely need to take a closer look and he already knew he was completely out of his depth. He had seen broken bones and crushed limbs on his mother’s medical books but he never saw it in real life. That was still the best shot Eddie had so it would have to do.

Steve also knew what he was about to say was a douche thing, but one could never be too careful.

“I need you to strip down,” he said and there it was again, the weird sound Eddie made when he laughed. It ringed in Steve’s ears and tingled his brain.

“Woah, Harrington. Guy’s usually pay at least for a coffee first, but I can’t say I’m opposed to the idea,” Eddie answered easily, a grin splayed across his face. Steve stared and stared and he was afraid he was blushing but the dark should still conceal his face. “Oh, you’re serious.”

“Deadly,” Steve added and let the word hang between them.

Death had taken a new meaning for Steve after everything. You didn’t just throw the word around like a joke anymore like ‘Oh I’m dying to eat chocolate muffins’. It felt especially disrespectful now that death walked the earth.

Eddie bit his lower lip like he was thinking about it.

“If you’re not going to strip I can show you the exit,”

“Harsh, man. It’s been a while since I’ve made a show of undressing in front of a guy. Gimme a minute, will you?”

When they were done Eddie did his bit cleaning everything up and they went into the living room. Eddie lay on the couch and pulled from under his pillow a hardcover book Steve had never seen before. He looked up at Steve and there was a glint in his eyes.

“I was just going to start this one and I thought I could… Nevermind, that’s stupid.” Eddie shrugged his shoulders and held the book close to his chest. He was, once again, shirtless. Steve had stayed awake too many nights watching the way Eddie’s pale skin glowed with the moonlight. He was shameless.

Steve leaned on the chair, his back already twisting in an unpleasant way.

“You could what?” He asked and Eddie pressed his lips together.

“I could read it for us. Out loud, I mean.”

Steve blinked, watching him as if Eddie had grown another head. He had never been one to read much, one of the many ways he disappointed his father. Steve found it was hard to concentrate on a book for too long but he always liked when his mother read to him.

“Forget it,” Eddie said at the same time Steve said “Ok.”

“Yeah? You really want to? You’re not saying that just so you don’t hurt my feelings?”

Steve chuckled. “No. Maybe. A story seems nice, actually. What’s the book?”

Eddie turned it in Steve’s direction and he could barely see the name printed. The Picture of Dorian Gray.

“It’s one of my favorites of all time. There are so many things he says in this book that stuck with me. There’s so much truth and hurt inside of it.”

“Sounds nice,” Steve said, because it really did. “Can I… Do you mind if I lie next to you? That way I can hear you and you don’t have to shout.”

“Be my guest, Stevie. It will be just like a slumber party,” Eddie wiggled his eyebrows and Steve rolled his eyes pretending to be annoyed. The truth was Steve’s hearing wasn’t the best, courtesy of years playing sports in high school and getting head injuries. He hadn’t admitted that to Eddie because he had never admitted it to anyone but Eddie seemed so excited about the book Steve didn’t really want to miss anything.

He put his pillow and some blankets on the floor and he lied, close enough he could touch Eddie if he just reached out his hand.

“Can I tell you one of my favorite quotes from this book?” Eddie asked and Steve just nodded. The moment felt charged as if Eddie was about to show his soul to Steve. “'Some things are more precious because they don’t last long'.”

Steve blinked. He looked up at Eddie and he wasn’t sure if that was just a nice citation or maybe a foreshadowing of them. He felt like they were living in a bubble that could burst at any moment and Steve wasn’t really ready for it. It seemed Eddie wasn’t ready either.

He had to fight the urge to argue about it. To say that some things lasted a long time and were precious and good. Instead, Steve put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He could feel Eddie was looking at him and he knew that was happening more and more, and every day they seemed to be less worried about not being caught.

Steve opened his eyes and there it was, those two brown eyes watching him curiously, as if Steve was a puzzle Eddie wanted to decipher. They held each other’s gaze for a minute before Eddie adjusted himself back on the couch and opened the book on the first line.

“The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfum of the pink-flowering thorn.”

Eddie’s voice was velvety and smooth as he dove into the book and soon Steve was deep down in the story, feeling how every word tickled his brain in a way reading a book had never managed to do to him. He fought sleep for as long as he could and when he finally lost the battle he dreamed of flower scented gardens, precious things and deep brown eyes.

Read more on November 30!

#steddiebang23 #steddiebang23 upcoming projects

53 notes · View notes

softspaceboibrian · 2 years

Text

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy || Eddie Munson || Chapter 2

Chapter 1 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Y/N Henderson || I used she/her pronouns, but there is no actual physical description, so the pronouns can be switched with whatever anyone wants or prefers!

Summary: Robin likes to play matchmaker, and loves seeing her best friend happy.

Warnings: swear words, pining, Steve being a douche. just a lot of fluff and bad writing, as always!

WC: 6650 (whaaaat!?!? i really am sorry for the length of the chapters! please, let me know if you would like them to be shorter!)

A/N: Thank you so so much to anyone that showed support and love to the first chapter! apparently, people asked if I had a taglist and, well, I have decided to make one! So, if you would like to be added, please, do let me know in the comments or write to me privately!

Taglist: @263adder @criminalyetminimal @christina-gg22 @beautyandthenovels

The next morning Y/N woke up in a particularly good mood. When she went to the kitchen to get some breakfast, she greeted her little brother with a kiss on the top of his head, her hand quickly messing with his locks – which she knew it bothered him, but she felt… chirpy. As every other day that Steve had an early shift at the Family Video, he picked up Robin and Y/N and gave them a ride to school. She quickly wished a good day to her mother, before leaving the house and running to the car. She took her seat in the back, not without leaning forward to leave a quick kiss on the cheeks of both her friends. However, that was not usual for Y/N, and as a matter of fact left the two in the front seats quite confused.

Steve looked at Robin and then turned towards the girl in the back seat. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, perfect! Why?” She smiled, her eyes moving between her friends.

Robin shook her head and turned towards her too. “Dude, you are never this happy in the morning.”

“Yeah… it’s… weird” Steve said quietly.

She didn’t really know why she was that happy, or why she felt like hugging her friends – which, should be noted, would be completely out of the ordinary for her, since she wasn’t big on hugs and touching people, especially in the morning. She wasn’t like germophobic or something like that. She just wasn’t great at showing affection to people. She tried, but a part of her always felt like people didn’t want her to hug them or say I love you and such. She usually felt like a burden to others, which was why she spent most of her time in middle school alone. But then Robin came along and things changed a bit. Robin was always asking her to hang out, to go to the movies or get ice cream, which was fun and she loved it, but a small voice in the back of her head kept whispering “She’s only doing this because she pities you!”. They were friends for a long time, and when Robin got the job at the Scoops Ahoy, she was sure that was going to be it. Instead, she met Steve. At first, the dynamic was weird, because she felt like she was the third wheel, Steve was all over Robin and, on her part, Robin enjoyed being able to make fun of him. But then the thing with the Russians beneath the Starcourt Mall happened, and that changed everything. Not only she found out that her little brother had been fighting creatures from a sort of parallel dimension for years, but that Steve was involved too, and now her and Robin were officially part of the gang. After that, after everything that happened and all they did to protect each other, she never for once doubted them and their feelings toward her again. But still, it was hard for her to show affection properly. She was working on it.

“Earth to Y/N! Are you still there?” Robin snapped her fingers in front of her face a couple of times.

Y/N shook her head and looked at the girl. “Sorry, got lost in my head for a moment.” She smiled.

“I asked you how it went with the Freak yesterday” Steve looked at her through the rear-view mirror, and only then she realised they had started driving.

Y/N’s expression changed, and her smile faded. “I would very much appreciate it if you stopped calling him like that. I get it that you’re not fond of him, but still, I would rather you call him Munson than that.” Her lips were pressed in a thin line and her eyes were deadly serious, so much that Steve felt shivers travel down his own spine.

“I don’t understand why you defend him, or why you even like him… it’s not like he’s a good person, and you know that. I mean, drugs! That’s bad enough on its own!”

Robin couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. “Dude, you literally used to smoke weed until like, a year ago!”

“Yeah, then I figured out it was bad and I stopped!” Steve replied.

“Steve, I’m not going to start doing drugs. I know better, and you know it. But still, even if I know that drugs are bad, that doesn’t mean I can’t be friends with Eddie!” Y/N crossed her arms and turned her head to the side, her eyes now following the view outside of the window. “Eddie is not as bad as he is painted. He’s kind and caring.”

Steve huffed, shaking his head slightly. “Y/N, you barely now him!”

“And still, I know him much better than 99% of people in our school!” Y/N was no longer as chirpy as she was when she entered the car, and was glad to see the familiar building appear outside the window. “If you would just stop being a whiny, prejudiced bitch, then you would realise that people may actually be different then how you painted them in your head.” As soon as the car stopped, she ran out without even saying goodbye to Steve. She just needed to get away from him.

She started making her way inside the school, and a few moments later Robin appeared on her side. They stayed quiet on the way to their lockers, neither of them unsure of what to say. It was stupid, because Robin hadn’t said anything bad to her that morning, so she shouldn’t be angry, not even grumpy with her. But luckily, she didn’t have to say anything, because the other girl spoke first. “You know, as long as you say he’s cool, I’m okay with him.”

That put the smile back on her face. She knew she could trust Robin because she knew Robin trusted her. “Thank you.” She said, bumping her shoulder against the other girl’s. They walked for a few more moments until they reached their lockers, talking about this and that, when suddenly the calm of the hallway was disturbed by someone.

“Y/N!!” Eddie’s voice echoed through the hallway, catching basically everyone’s attention. He ran, bee lining between all the other students. “Y/N!” He called out again.

“I think someone is looking for you” Said Robin sarcastically, leaning against the locker right beside Y/N’s open one.

Not that she hadn’t noticed.

“Y/N!” Eddie eventually reached them and Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her own book in his hands. “I have been looking for you!”

“I just got here.” She smiled, closing her locker and fully turning towards him.

Eddie looked at Robin and gave her a quick, awkward smile, before returning with his eyes on her. “This book. God, this book was amazing!” His smile is now bigger and more sincere.

“You mean the novella” She giggled, which caught Robin attention. Giggles? Get a grip girl!

“No, I mean the entire fucking book! I stayed up all night and read every single one of the stories because I couldn’t get enough of it!” He flipped through the pages of the book, showing her little pieces of paper with stuff written on them. “You need to recommend me something similar, please!”

Y/N had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling too much. What was Robin thinking of that? And what would Eddie think if he realised she was actually excited by that idea? Fuck, she had to keep her feeling at bay, she has to take a deep breath and calm down. “Yeah, of course. I would love to.”

“Cool” He smiled, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

The real reason Eddie had stayed up all night was, yes, because he was intrigued by the stories he was reading, but most importantly because he could not understand how someone like her, who had barely even spoken to him before yesterday, could give him such a perfect suggestion. How did she know exactly what he liked? Yes, he had told her he liked King, but this was different. Was he predictable? Or maybe he was just overthinking this and she could have just suggested him something she liked, and the fact that he liked it too was a complete coincidence, but still.

“I also wanted to ask you if you had a free period at some point today. I have to… talk to you.” Dude, that pause was so creepy! Even Robin Buckley is looking at you in a weird way. Wait, has she been listening to the conversation this all time?!

“Uhm, I have a free period at third but, me and Robin-” Y/N was abruptly cut off by Robin.

“Oh, shit! I forgot to tell you; I have to practice during third period! Sorry, but you know, with the championship final and everything… Hope it’s okay.” Robin said, looking at her friend. “But luckily, you won’t be alone, because you can meet up with Munson, right?”

Eddie looked at Robin, then Y/N, waiting impatiently for an answer. “Yeah, of course.” She smiled, a bit confused at Robin’s decision, but not mad about it. “Where should we meet?”

“Meet me at the exit that leads to the football field” He smiled, biting his lip slightly, trying to contain his excitement. However, the bell rang, interrupting their conversation. Both Y/N and Eddie sighed, looking in opposite directions, and right then and there, Robin could swear that was a scene out of a romantic comedy: the boy and the girl, a metalhead and a bookworm, two people you would have never imagined together, were very obviously head over hills for each other but completely oblivious to the other’s feelings. She wanted to say something so badly, play match maker and nudge them in the right direction, but the river of students rushing towards class ruined the moment.

“So, I’ll see you later, then” Y/N smiled, and moved slightly towards the boy. Robin really thought she was going in for a kiss or a hug, something. But instead, she stopped, and smiled awkwardly. “I have to go to class, bye!” The words rushed out of her mouth, just as fast as she took off in the direction of their first class together. Robin was so confused by that scene that she was taken completely by surprise when she felt herself being pulled away from her place. She waved goodbye to Eddie and then quickly turned in the direction they were walking in, sure she would have otherwise fallen straight to the ground.

When they finally reached the class, they took their seats in the third row, and immediately Y/N buried her face in her hands. “Dude, that wasn’t so bad!”

“I’m so embarrassing!”

“No, Y/N, don’t say that!” Robin said, letting a small laugh leave her laugh. “Yes, it was an interesting interaction, especially the final part, when you were obviously going in for a hug and-”

“A kiss”

“What?”

Y/N sighed, turning her head towards her friend. “A kiss. I was going to give him a kiss. On the cheek, obviously. But I don’t know… I blanked. And so, I ran.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Yesterday, when he was leaving my home, I gave him a kiss on a cheek, and he seemed cool about it.” You should actually specify the fact that you actually ran after him, and basically pushed yourself through his car’s window to give him said kiss. “So, I thought it could become a thing. But then something inside of me told me it was wrong and that would only embarrass him or that he would hate it. But it was too late.”

At that point Robin couldn’t help but laugh. Laugh so hard that even the two boys in varsity jackets sitting in the row before them turned around confused. “I never in my life thought I’d be witnessing you catch feelings for someone, especially someone like Eddie!” She continued laughing. “Not that there’s anything wrong with him, I just didn’t think he was your type. Even though, now that I think about it, your celebrity crush is Brian May, so that matches up perfectly.”

“I’m not catching feelings!” No, you’re not. You’re just completely unable to form a coherent thought when he looks at you with those big, puppy eyes, or you go weak in the knees when he laughs, especially if it’s because of something you said. “I’m not catching feelings.” She said again, as if she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

“Okay, fine, you’re not. I’m just saying, it’s nice. This version of you, all bubbly and giggly.” Robin got closer to her, and whispered. “Yes, I saw you giggle. It was amazing.” She laughed.

Y/N was ready to say something back, but the teacher entered the class and started the lesson, leaving her thinking to herself about Robins words: this version of you. Was she that different from how she normally was when she was with him? She noticed all of that in just a few minutes of a random conversation that she witnessed?

That morning went by so slowly. Whenever Y/N looked at the clock hanging above the blackboard, it kept showing the same time. And Robin wasn’t of any help, constantly asking her if everything was okay, or what she was thinking about. I’m fine, she kept saying. Nothing, just thoughts. Her answers were so vague that not even Robin believed her. But she couldn’t tell the truth, she couldn’t admit to Robin that she was in fact thinking of Eddie, and wanted so bad for those two classes to be over, so that she could go and meet with him, because she was electrified just at the idea of spending a bit more time with him. No, she couldn’t possibly admit any of that. Also, Eddie was most probably only using her to get a good grade, so it was stupid to even get excited to see him. And yet, she could not help but look for his familiar figure in the corridor whenever they were changing classrooms.

Eddie, on the other hand, didn’t have a Robin to support him or ask him if he was okay or what he was thinking about. He was alone most of his classes because that’s what happens when you’re held back two times. Yes, sometimes he had classes with Jeff, but it wasn’t like they talked that much about things that weren’t D&D or the band. He didn’t have a best friend. And he spent most of high school thinking he didn’t need one, that he was just as good by himself, with just a few people to share a laugh during lunch in the cafeteria. But now, now he wished he had someone that he could talk to. Not that he would have told them about Y/N and the feelings he definitely didn’t have for her, but just to have someone to spend the afternoons with, talking about this and that, watching movies and stuff. But he didn’t have anyone like that. That’s why classes were so boring to him, and that’s why he skipped most of them. Until that last semester: a part of him, the one that hated school the most, told him that he had to try if he wanted to leave that place once and for all. Another part of him, a soft voice that he kept pushing deep in the back of his head, told him that it would help him make a good impression on Y/N. Obviously, he didn’t care. But still, he started skipping fewer classes each week, until he arrived at a point where he even started moving deals to lunch break or after school so that he could attend class. If he had a best friend, they would have told him that he had changed, and maybe even that they liked this new “scholarly” version of him. But he didn’t have one.

However, that day was different. The previous evening, when he was over at the Henderson’s for dinner, Dustin insisted he tried and talk with Y/N about her writing. And he couldn’t help but be curious, because if Henderson was so fond of his sister’s writing to the point that he wanted her to write something for Hellfire, then it must have meant that she was actually really good. Nonetheless, after dinner, when they were alone in her room, he didn’t have the heart to force her to talk about it, having seen the reaction she had at the dinner table when Dustin brought it up. But maybe, if he brought it up in a completely different context, with just the two of them, then maybe, just maybe, she would be more open to talk about it. It was a stretch, he knew it. Just like he knew that could then make things very awkward between the two of them. But he wanted to get to know her better, and if she was actually so passionate about writing, then he wanted to know more about it. And that is why, for the first time in weeks, he skipped class. Yes, he obviously could have asked her to meet him after school like he did with clients. But she wasn’t a client. It was Y/N.

So, as soon as the bell that signalled the end of the second period rang, he ran towards the door to the field. A part of him hoped to see her already standing there, leaning against the wall, ankles crossed as she read from a book. At least that is how he imagined her. But when he got there, she was nowhere to be seen. It’s early, we have a few more minutes before third period starts. Maybe there were too many people in the corridor and she was still making her way there. A couple more minutes went by and he was staring at the bell on the wall on the opposite side of the corridor, begging it to wait a bit longer before ringing. But it rang nonetheless, and she still wasn’t there. She must have forgotten we were meeting, he thought to himself. Or maybe she didn’t want to meet with you in the first place and she agreed just to sound nice, but now she’s not going to show up and the next time you see each other she’s gonna give you some stupid excuse like “Sorry, turns out I had to do homework” or some other shit. But as he was completely absorbed by his own thoughts, he didn’t realise the girl had just appeared right beside him.

“Eddie? Are you okay?” She put a hand on his forearm, trying to catch his attention. However, Eddie was so lost in his thoughts that it not only caught his attention, but startled him, making him jump a bit.

“Shit, Henderson! You have to stop sneaking up on me like that!” He said loudly, bringing a hand to his heart, as if he was having a heart attack because of the scare.

Y/N smiled, and all the bad thoughts left Eddie’s head. “What if I like it? Seeing big, scary Eddie Munson get scarred by little ol’ me?” She smirked, tilting her head to the side, her arms crossed in from of her chest. Was she flirting with him?

Eddie took a step closer, taking advantage of the height difference. “Well, don’t get too comfortable, or you won’t see it coming.”

“See what coming?”

“Payback!” He replied, quickly moving his hands and reaching for her waist. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, slightly tickling her sides. That was a risky move, he knew, but he didn’t really think before acting.

Y/N started laughing, kicking the air and trying to get free from his hold. “Please, Eddie! Stop!” She screamed, unable to stop laughing. After a few more moments, he put her down. He was smiling, but at the same time he was studying her face, trying to get a reaction from her.

When her feet touched the ground, she was completely out of breath from all the laughing. “I hate you” She whispered, and Eddie froze for a moment, afraid he might have ruined it all. But when Y/N leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his chest, he felt like his heart was going to explode.

He smiled. He was sure he had never been this calm, this happy in his entire life. He moved his hands, laying one on her back, while the other reached for her head, where it began gently stroking her hair, in an attempt to help her calm down and catch her breath. “Well, now you know what payback looks like” He said quietly.

Neither Eddie nor Y/N wanted to move, both of them afraid to lose the magic of the moment. But a few moments later, a distant clicking of heels started making its way down the corridor. “Shit, we shouldn’t be here!” He whispered-screamed, quickly grabbing her hand and pulling her behind him and out of the door. “I shouldn’t be here!”

Y/N was taken by surprise by his reaction, but ran after him, nonetheless. “What do you mean you shouldn’t be here?!” But she didn’t get a response. Instead, Eddie kept running, first across the football field, then towards the woods behind it, and he didn’t stop until he reached the familiar wooden table in the small clear. Once there, he slowed down until they eventually stopped, leaning forward, his hand on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. Shit, I’m completely out of shape.

No one spoke for a few moments, both too breathless to talk. Y/N leaned against a tree, and kicked her head back, her eyes closed, as a hand moved rogue strands of hair out of her own face. “What did you mean when you said you shouldn’t be there?” She broke the silence.

Her eyes were still closed, but Eddie knew he couldn’t just not answer her. So, he took a big breath and took a seat on one of the benches. “I should be in class right now…” He said quietly, almost hoping she would not hear him. Y/N remained quiet for a moment, and Eddie was sure he had fucked up. He knew she cared about school, and attendance, and getting good grades. So, him skipping class must have been terrible in her eyes. Good job, moron! You ruined it, he thought to himself, burying his face in his hands.

“You skipped class to spend time with me?” She asked him. When he eventually looked up, his eyes met hers. She looked serious, but not mad.

He looked down, almost embarrassed. “Ehm… yes” It almost sounded like a question, as if he weren’t sure about that. But he was sure, he deliberately chose to skip third period because she had told him that she had a free period at third. He wanted to spend time with her. He needed to be with her.

“Why?” That question took him by surprise. He was ready to be scolded by her, he was 100% sure she was going to tell him that it was stupid, that he had to attend class if he wanted to graduate and so on. But she didn’t do any of that. When he looked up, he realised she had moved closer, and was now standing right in front of him. “I mean, why would you skip class to be with me? You could have just come here alone and smoked all by yourself, completely unbothered. Or you could have come here with some pretty girl to, I don’t know, make out. So, why? Why me?”

But I am here with a pretty girl. That is what he wanted to tell her. He didn’t care about anything else, or anyone else, for that matter. He just wanted to be with her, and in his head that didn’t need explanations. But she wanted them. So, he stood up from where he was sitting and moved away. He walked around the table, kicking some leaves off the ground. “You give me way too much credit if you think I could pull any pretty girl.”

“So, you don’t think I’m pretty?” She asked.

Fuck, no. I don’t think you’re pretty, actually. I think you are one of those beautiful creatures from a Tolkien story. Fuck, in my head you are what Arwen looks like. “That’s not what I said” He replied, leaning against a tree.

“Well, you said you cannot pull any pretty girl, but I’m here, so you must not think me pretty, right?” He wasn’t sure if she was flirting with him or she was just trying to challenge him in some way.

“If you really must know, I think you are much more than just pretty.” He said, looking down at his feet, his once white sneakers not completely worn out and dirty. “But I cannot go around the school saying it, because if your brother heard me talking about you like this, he would probably kill me on sight.”

“Dustin would never kill you. Especially not because of me.” She said, taking a seat at the table.

“Then you obviously don’t know your brother and how protective and jealous of you he is.” He said, a soft smile appearing on his lips, as he pushed himself off of the tree, to go sit at the table, right across from her. “I saw him almost throw a punch at Wheeler one time because he said you were hot” He laughed at the memory.

“And what do you think?” She asked, looking at him, fidgeting with her necklace.

“What?” He knew what she was asking him, but he couldn’t answer. He had already said too much. Also, he didn’t know how to tell her that he did not find her sexy. I mean, he did find her sexy, but not like that. He didn’t want to have sex with her just because she was hot, just for the sake of it. He thought she was beautiful, and he wanted to hold her hand. He wanted to stroke her hair, move strands of hair out of her face and tuck them behind her ears like they do in those stupid, sickeningly sweet romantic comedies. He wanted to pick flowers for her and listen to her read for him in the evenings. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her at her locker before class. He wanted to drive her home and kiss her goodnight. He wanted to hold her in his arm as she sat in his lap while they did their homework in the afternoons. But he couldn’t say that. Not to her face. So, instead, he played dumb and pretended not to understand what she was asking him.

“I’m sorry, it’s stupid…” Her voice was soft, and she wouldn’t raise her eyes off of the table. “I don’t even know why I’m asking you any of this. I’m ruining the mood.”

“You’re not.” He quickly replied, so firmly that she was almost startled. “You’re not ruining anything.” He added, a bit gentler this time. “I skipped class because I wanted to be with you. Not because I didn’t want to go to class, because I wanted to smoke or meet up with someone. I wanted to be with you, Y/N.” She finally looked up to meet his eyes, and Eddie felt his heart fluttered. “I want to get to know you. Like, yeah, you helping me with English is great and all, but I don’t want us to go back to strangers as soon as the project is done.”

“It wouldn’t have happened.” She almost looked hurt.

Eddie sighed, looking off into the distance. “Yeah, it would have, Y/N.” He started tapping his leg, knowing full well he was going to open up to her, and hated the idea of being vulnerable in front of people, especially someone who held so much power over him like she did. “Me and you, we don’t really move in the same circles here at school. I am the freak, and most people are disgusted by my presence. You… you’re lovely, and people smile at you when you walk down the corridor. You have friends-”

“I have one friend.”

“But people like you.”

“Most people don’t even know I exist, Eddie.” She tried to get back his attention. She wanted him to look at her in the eyes. “I’m a nerd and a brainiac. People know me as the one that knows always too much. Because that’s who I am. I have Robin and Steve, yes. But they have a job, and I cannot spend all my afternoons at the Family Video watching them rewind VHSs. So, most of the times I stay at home, I do my homework, I study, and then I read. I read so much. And I always end up absorbing information that serve no purpose to me in real life. But I absorb them and end up knowing how to make a bomb at home or knowing way too much about sword fighting.” She sighs. “Still, that doesn’t explain why you think we would have stopped talking after the English assignment was done.”

“Because, generally speaking, people don’t really want to have much to do with me.”

“And yet my brother worships you.”

“Your brother is stupid.” A soft laugh leaving his lips, as a signal that he wasn’t being serious about that comment.

“My brother is not stupid, and you know that.” She replied, reaching out for his hand. “Eddie, I think you’re a good person. A great one, even. And I like spending time with you. That’s how I know we wouldn’t have stopped hanging out.” Eddie’s hand shifted beneath Y/N’s, until he was holding her hand properly. “So, please, stop being stupid and thinking I’m like everyone else at this school. If they don’t see you for who you truly are, then it’s their loss. More Eddie for me.” She smiled, squeezing his hand tightly.

She never in her life thought she would have talked like that to someone who wasn’t her brother. Sometimes it was hard even to talk to Robin like that, and she was her best friend. But, somehow, things with Eddie came so easily. And sitting there, holding his hand, didn’t really make her feel uncomfortable like she would have expected to.

Eddie’s thumb started rubbing her knuckles as softly as possible, scared to move or to speak. He didn’t want things to change. He just wanted to sit there for hours, exactly like that, holding her hand and her smiling at him. If the Eddie of three years before saw him like that, he would have laughed so hard he would have needed to hold onto something. He probably looked pathetic, head over hills for a girl that deserved much more than him. And yet, he was there. And she was there with him. She could have chosen not to come, but she did.

“So,” Y/N broke the silence, still holding his hand. “you said you wanted to talk to me.”

Fuck, right. “Yeah, I did…”

“Was it just an excuse to get me to come spend time with you or were you for real?” She smiled, propping her head on her hand.

“I… I was for real, but now I’m thinking I shouldn’t ask you what I was gonna ask you, because I don’t want to ruin this moment.” He said sincerely, looking down at the wooden table between them.

She gave his hand a quick squeeze to try and get him to look at her again. “You can ask me anything. If I don’t feel like giving you an answer, I’ll just say so.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay… but, for real, don’t feel like you have to give me an answer. It’s just, your brother kept talking about it, and I was curious-”

“It’s about my writing.” She said. And he was ready for her to say that it wasn’t something she really felt like talking or something like that. But she didn’t. “I started doing it when I was 13, I think. At first, I did it because it helped me with my anxiety. I would invent fantastic worlds where I could run off to with my head whenever I was having a panic attack. Then it became a passion. I kept writing about fantasy lands, with elves and druids and creatures that communicated through runes, but it no longer was for my anxiety. It was for me.” He listened attentively; his head slightly tilted to the side. He never would have thought she had problems with anxiety. But, after all, he didn’t really know much about her. “One day, a couple of years ago, Dustin was having a bad day, and I wanted to help. Nothing was working, not even “The Never-Ending Story”, which is one of his favourite movies. So, I took him to my room and picked up my notebook. I started reading him my story, and ever since that day, he has always been my one and only reader. He has read every single page, he has given me notes, and even asked me to write him as a dwarf in my story.” She giggled at the memory. “I was ready to write him as a high elf, or a druid, a pirate even. But no, he wanted to be a dwarf. And so I did.” Eddie couldn’t help but smile, wanting to walk around the table to go and sit right beside her just to be closer to her. “But with the support, also came the stressing part where he kept pushing me to send my story to an editor, or to enrol in some kind of contest for teen writers. But, as you could probably imagine, I refused. So, he started begging me to write something for D&D. At first it was for his party with Mike and the others; then it was for you.”

“And did you?” She looked at him confused. “Did you write something for D&D?”

She shook her head. “I barely know anything about D&D… what would the point be?”

“I’m pretty sure you know a lot. As I understand, Dustin tells you everything about our campaign, so you should know stuff by know. And, you don’t need to know much about the rules to write a story.”

“I disagree.” She replied.

“Let me rephrase: if you were to write for Hellfire, you wouldn’t need to know the rules, because you would have me.” He smiled. “I’m not saying that you have to do it, but if you ever changed your mind, you could just write the plotline and I could take care of everything else.”

She looked at him in silence, biting the inside of her cheek. Eddie could not really decipher what she was thinking. Maybe he offended her. Did he say something? Fuck, maybe he insisted too much. He knew it, he shouldn’t have said anything about the writing in the first place. “We could try” She said.

Eddie was shocked. Did she actually agree to do it? “You don’t have to.”

“I know.” She got up from her seat, leaving Eddie with his hand open where he once was holding hers. “But, I mean, Dustin has wanted me to do it for so long, and I think it could be good for me to write something different, you know?” He kept looking at her, unsure if he should answer, if he should say something. “And, if you’re really going to help me, then yes. Why not, right?” Eddie nodded; his eyes fixed on her figure. “But I have two conditions.”

“Anything you want, princess.” Princess? Really?

She smiled, a soft tint of pink rising to her cheeks. Princess? I like it. “Number one: we’re not going to say anything to Dustin, or he’s never going to let me leave my room again until it’s done.” Eddie laughed, nodding. “And second: I want to tell the story.” Eddie looked at her confused. “I mean, I want to be there when you play it out, and I want to tell myself as much of the story as I can. You would obviously do your Dungeon Master thing, but I want to be able to tell my story.”

He smiled, finally getting up from his seat. “We can definitely do that.” He walked closer to her.

She was going to do something, she was going to hug him, maybe even kiss him like she did the previous evening, but, in the distance, she heard the school bell ring. Fuck, they both thought. “We should head back or we’re going to be late for class.” She said, obviously disappointed that third period was already over.

“Or we could skip the rest of the day…” He said, knowing full well she wasn’t going to accept the proposition.

“No skipping school on my watch, okay?” She smiled, moving a finger in front of his face.

“I was just kidding, I swear!” He smiled back.

They started making their way back to the building in silence, both unsure what they should say. Neither of them was happy to leave the other, but duty called. Once they got back inside, Eddie walked Y/N all the way to her locker, so that she could pick up her textbook, and then walked her to class. “I had fun” She said, bumping into his side to get his attention.

He smiled, walking with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Yeah, we should do it again.” She look at him, giving him the look, and he already knew what she was going to say. “I meant spend time together, not skip class!” He laughed.

She smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I would love that.” They walked for a little longer, until they reached Y/N’s class. “So… this is me.”

Eddie nodded, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her so bad.

They stayed there for a few moments, in silence, looking at each other, until Y/N took control of the situation. Fuck it, she thought to herself, before pushing herself on her tiptoes. “Meet me outside after school.” She said, before quickly pressing her lips on his cheek. It only lasted a moment, but when they moved away from each other it was impossible to tell who was blushing more. Y/N quickly bid goodbye to Eddie and ran inside the classroom, taking her seat at her usual desk.

Little did she know Robin was already sitting there and had witnessed everything. “What the hell was that?”

Y/N jumped, scared by her friend’s voice. “Shit, Robin, how long have you been here?”

“Long enough to have seen whatever that was.” She laughed. “Why did you run away?”

“It was embarrassing! I shouldn’t have done it! Fuck!” Y/N buried her face in her hands. “It’s something to do it when it’s just the two of us; but it’s completely different when I do it in front of everyone!”

“I don’t think people really care…” Robin said, trying to make her friend feel better. “Anyway, I assume it went well.”

“Yeah, we had fun” Y/N smiled, raising her head to finally meet her friend’s eyes. “How did your rehearsal go?”

“What rehearsal?”

Y/N looked at her, eyes wide open. “Didn’t you have band practice or something?”

“Nope” She replied, trying to hold back the laughter that was building inside of her.

“Robin!” She yelled, but deep down she was glad she did it, or she wouldn’t have spent all that time with him. “Thank you.” She whispered.

“Call me Cupid” She laughed.

Yes, she loved her best friend.

Thank you for reading! Love you xx

#eddie munson #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #eddie munson x henderson!reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things #st4 #softspaceboibrian #softspaceboibrian writings

497 notes · View notes

blog-name-idk · 2 years

Text

Everything Falls (Into Place) | 22

*Banner by the incredible @bangtansmauyeondan

Pairing: OT7 x Fem Reader

Genre: College!AU, Roommate!AU, Fluff, Humor, Smut

Summary: Your new roommates are unbearably nice and unbearably hot. Good thing you're an adult who is fully capable of platonic friendships with the opposite sex, right?

Word Count: 4661

Warnings: Smut

~~~~~

"NOOOO Deepti, you're way too good for him!" You cried, shaking your fist at the small computer screen while Jimin and Taehyung laughed at your dramatics. The three of you had commenced a marathon of Love is Blind, and the dating reality show was the perfect thing to hate-watch with friends.

You were screaming at a douche who tried to skirt the blind aspect of the show by asking such gems as "I like to buy clothes for girls, what size are you?" And "if we were at a music festival, would I have trouble putting you on my shoulders?" The last one had made the three of you howl in frustrated laughter. Unfortunately you - and almost every single girl you knew - had met at least one person like him. The best that could be said was that he proudly flew all of his red flags.

"God that dude is the worst," you groaned when the episode ended, falling back onto fluffy pillows. Due to the nature of the show, no one else in the house wanted to watch it and King Namjoon had exiled the three of you from the living room. Hence why you were now lounging on Taehyung's bed.

You had felt a little weird about Jin seeing you get dragged upstairs by the two boys, but he had just winked and waggled his fingers at you. He really did seem to be okay with it.

"I can't believe I've never seen this show before," Jimin complained, flopping next to you. He proceeded to wrap his arms around your middle and bury his face in your neck, and your heart gave a treacherous leap. He and Taehyung had been very cuddly lately, and it was driving your nerves haywire. As if on cue, Taehyung snuggled up on your other side.

"This is fun," he giggled, brushing some of your hair out of the way so it wouldn't tickle his face. Then he froze.

"Hm? What's wrong, Tae?" You asked, distracted by the way Jimin was rubbing his nose cutely against your cheek. This was way beyond platonic friend cuddling, wasn't it?

"What is this?" He asked in an unreadable tone, staring at your neck. Jimin disentangled himself to take a look, and raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a hickey?"

You flushed, realizing they were referring to the evidence of Jin's… enthusiasm from the previous night. You had showered before starting this marathon and forgotten to cover it up. You couldn't see it yourself, but you knew how it must look, fresh and lurid and completely obvious.

"Uh," you stammered, a little intimidated by the two sets of eyes now boring into you. "Maybe?"

"From who?" Jimin demanded, Taehyung close behind. You shrunk a little under the intensity of their gazes.

"Why?"

"Because we want to know who to be jealous of," he answered so matter-of-factly that it took you a moment to process his words. Once you did, your brain threw an error and you blinked in confusion.

"W-we?" You asked, looking between your two friends. They made eye contact and after a silent but apparently intense conversation, they each took one of your hands.

"[Y/n]," Taehyung began, stroking your skin gently with his thumb. Your skin tingled and you held your breath, not quite daring to give form to the hope starting to swell in your chest. "I really, really like you." You suddenly realized that the look in his eyes you hadn't been able to decipher for the last few weeks was yearning. How had you never noticed before?

"So do I," added Jimin, bringing the back of your hand to his lips. He was smiling, but his expression was no less intense than his friend's. You swallowed hard, floored by this double confession. Your heart pounded as you tried to figure out what to say.

"We didn't want to overwhelm you, but we need you to know," Taehyung explained quietly. "If you don't feel the same way, we understand."

In the end you realized that all you needed to say was the truth.

"I really, really like both of you too," you admitted, and watched both of their expressions break into beaming grins.

"Really?" Tae asked in amazed tones, eyes shining with hope. Instead of answering, you leaned forward to press your lips against his. He responded immediately and cupped your face with trembling hands, stroking your cheeks gently. When you finally pulled away, he had a dazed, dreamy smile on his face.

"Me next," Jimin whined, poking you to get your attention. Your laugh was cut off by plump, eager lips and you melted into him. Cradled by his arms and his familiar scent, his kiss felt like home.

"Wait, so who is that from?" Taehyung asked when you parted, and you blushed.

"It's not Dongmin, is it?" Jimin interjected with a pout. You couldn't help but grin at the scowl on his face. He was so cute. They both were.

"It was Jin," you answered, torn between embarrassment and amusement at their outraged expressions. You hoped they would be just as okay with him as they seemed to be with each other.

"What the hell? I thought he was gonna be the last one for sure," he complained, and you felt your brows knit in confusion. Taehyung slapped his friend on the head, but the damage was done.

"Wait, what do you mean?" You asked with a frown, eyeing the pair suspiciously.

"Uh, I, well," Jimin stammered, looking panicked. You remembered the amused twinkle in Jin's eyes the night before and a sinking suspicion began to eat at you.

Was this some sort of weird game they were in on? To see who could get to you the fastest? Part of you insisted that it couldn't be the case, that all the special little moments shared with them couldn't have just been a ploy.

The more insidious section of your brain tried to trample on that voice, amplifying your insecurities. It whispered that this all seemed too good to be true because it was. That you had been kidding yourself, assuming that even one of them might actually harbor real feelings for you. You had been getting an overinflated ego - they were too good for you. They always had been.

While you knew in your heart that they would never do anything so needlessly cruel, you couldn't stop your mind from mulling over the terrible possibility. You tried to shake the intrusive thoughts away, but it was futile.

If Taehyung hadn't been busy scolding Jimin at his slip, they would have noticed the way your face shuttered. Instead, they only realized something was wrong when you began to move out from between them, desperate to escape so you could break down and put yourself back together in private.

"[Y/n]? What's wrong?" Taehyung asked in alarm, grabbing your hand. The pure concern in his gaze was too much for your confused heart to handle, and you felt tears begin to leak from your eyes.

"Oh shit, please don't cry, I didn't mean to freak you out," Jimin pleaded, engulfing you in his arms from behind. You couldn't stop your body from sagging into the comfort of his familiar hold.

"W-what did you mean by l-last one?" You hiccupped, needing their reassurance. "W-was this like a c-competition or something?"

Taehyung's eyes widened in shock and he took your face in his hands.

"Of course not," he said gently, peppering your face with soft kisses as you sniffled.

"I'm sorry, that sounded really bad, didn't it?" Jimin apologized, stroking your hair while he held you. Their actions helped allay some of your panic, and you let yourself relax further into his grip.

"Ugh, Namjoon is going to be so mad," he sighed, resting his chin on your shoulder. Taehyung flicked his friend in the forehead.

"It's your own fault," he retorted, before smiling nervously at you. "[Y/n], all of us like you. That's what he meant. We just weren't supposed to speak for anyone else before they figured out what they wanted to do."

For a while all you could do was stare at them, wondering if this was just some weird dream or alternate reality.

"I think you broke her," Jimin fretted as you just sat there like a statue while you processed this information. All of them? And they knew about each other? It felt like everything was working out too perfectly, even if the others weren't necessarily sure where they stood on the situation. Could it really be this easy?

Looking at your two friends, you realized yes. Yes it could. At least when the people involved were as genuine and pure-hearted as your housemates were. You felt relief and happiness bubble up out of your chest, but to your mortification it came in the form of more tears.

"[Y/n], you don't owe us anything," Taehyung said frantically, misinterpreting the cause of your sobs. "That's why we weren't supposed to tell you, so you didn't feel pressured."

"Do you want us to leave?" Jimin asked in concern, rubbing your back in soothing motions. "We can call Mina if you don't want to be around us right now."

They were so, so sweet, putting you first even now. Unfortunately it made you cry even harder, which probably freaked them out even more. You took a shaky breath, trying to will your emotions to stop being so ridiculous.

"I've been f-freaking out for weeks because I l-like all of you," you sniffed, hiding your probably splotchy, swollen face in your hands.

"W-what?" Jimin gasped weakly, though his grip was firm when he removed your hands.

"Then why are you crying?" Taehyung asked softly, wiping your tears away with gentle thumbs.

"I-I'm just relieved," you hiccupped. "I t-think my feelings are just like… overflowing."

"Aw, you're so cute," Jimin cooed, nuzzling his nose into your hair. His warmth and Taehyung's soothing touch helped calm you, and by the time you pulled yourself together you were feeling embarrassed by the way you had broken down.

"I'm sorry for ruining the mood," you apologized, feeling guilty for making them worry. Jimin flicked your ear lightly in admonishment.

"Don't apologize for having emotions," he scolded you, pressing his lips briefly to the nape of your neck and sending a pleasant tingle down your skin. "I'm the one who put my foot in my mouth. And the important thing is that we talked it out."

"You didn't ruin anything," Taehyung reassured you, his face wide with his gorgeous smile. He leaned in to kiss you again and you reciprocated eagerly, threading your fingers through his soft hair to pull him closer.

You would have felt guilty that Jimin was still holding you if he hadn't begun to place soft kisses along your jaw and neck. Cradled between the two of them like this made you feel safe and treasured, and you let yourself melt into their embrace.

Then Jimin's kisses turned into nibbles. You couldn't suppress a gasp at the change, and Taehyung took the opportunity to slide his tongue against yours. Heat crept down your body as he licked into your mouth, and you slipped your fingers under his shirt to trace light patterns on his skin.

As if to punish you for touching his friend instead of him, Jimin sucked harshly at the crook of your neck and you moaned wantonly into Taehyung's mouth. You weren't sure how long you spent being devoured by the two boys, but by the time Taehyung pulled away you were a panting mess. His hands went to the hem of your baggy shirt and he paused, looking at you.

"Can I?"

"Please," you begged, raising your arms eagerly. In a flash, the shirt was yanked over your head and he groaned at the sight before him.

"You're so cute," he breathed, admiring the pretty pink flush on your cheeks and the way your eyes glazed over when Jimin sucked an earlobe into his mouth. You were the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen.

He reached over to squeeze your breasts and you arched shamelessly into his touch. When he sucked a nipple into his mouth, you gasped and let your head loll back onto Jimin's shoulder. Jimin wasted no time capturing your mouth with his own, swallowing the whimper you made when Taehyung gave an experimental nip.

Between the two of them, you honestly thought you were going to lose your mind. Their hot, wet mouths and exploring hands filled your senses as they drank their fill of you. The only thing you could think of to take even a modicum of control was to reach behind you to rub the bulge of Jimin's sweatpants.

His mouth broke away from yours and he groaned your name as he bucked his hips involuntarily into your touch. A small smile of satisfaction came to your face, until Taehyung's hand dipped into your shorts.

"O-oh," you moaned, hand falling away from Jimin and body turning into jelly as his fingers dragged torturously along your entrance. Taehyung stared at you, completely enraptured, and you thought you might drown in the depths of his hypnotic gaze.

"Is what you said Festa night still true?" He asked intently. The way his tongue flicked over his lips was incredibly distracting, and it took you a moment to register the question through the growing torture of his cruel, teasing fingers. You blushed and nodded, and a predatory gleam entered his eyes.

"B-but, you don't have to-" he shut you up by crashing his lips on yours and withdrawing his hand to grip the waistband of your shorts. You lifted your hips impatiently and he slid them off along with your underwear, leaving you completely bare before them. At another time you might have been self-conscious, but you were too far gone to think of anything other than the need for him to touch you.

"You're so pretty like this," Jimin whispered hotly in your ear as his hands snaked around to knead at your breasts. You couldn't respond, because Taehyung had wasted no time sinking between your legs to swipe a wet, torturous lick against your clit.

You went completely limp between them, powerless against their onslaught. Your only coherent thought was that the guys you had been with before must have been doing something wrong, because Taehyung's tongue was nothing short of heavenly as he reduced you to incoherent noises and uncontrollable tremors.

"So perfect for us," Jimin continued, giving your nipple a sharp pinch that had you bucking into Taehyung's face. He growled and dug his hands into your thighs to hold you in place, giving your inner thigh a warning bite that made you gasp into Jimin's neck.

"Oh my god," your voice became a near wail when he thrust his tongue inside of you, and Jimin groaned at the ragged hitch of your breath. You felt his erection hard against your back and reached back once more to rub at him, your other hand tangling itself in Taehyung's hair in a need to hold onto something. It was a futile attempt to ground yourself, and one of Jimin's hands trailed down to rub at your clit. Your hips jolted involuntarily at his touch, but Taehyung had your hips in an iron grip to prevent your wild writhing.

"I bet you'd look even more beautiful stretched out on my cock," Jimin panted, licking the shell of your ear, and your thighs clenched at the sweet filth spewing from his cherubic lips. Between his devilish whispers, steady caresses, and Taehyung's talented mouth you weren't nearing the edge so much as being thrown past it.

Once you looked down and met Taehyung's hot gaze between your legs, you were done for. One more curl of that wicked tongue and your vision exploded. All that existed were the galaxies in his eyes, his hot mouth, and Jimin's fingers as they continued to work your shaking body until you came back to earth. They only relented once you whined and pulled away, twitching with oversensitivity.

"Oh my god," was all you could say when you had recovered enough to push yourself up on wobby arms. It came out as more of a gasp than anything else, and Taehyung grinned at you before wiping his face on his shirt. You blushed at just how messy you had gotten, but the reminder also served to reignite the throb in your core.

"Jin-hyung missed out," he said smugly, making you snort and roll your eyes.

"Come here," you ordered, pulling him into a kiss by his shirt - which made you remember that he and Jimin were both still fully clothed. That was unacceptable.

"Off," you demanded, tugging at his clothes. He licked his lips but hesitated, looking torn.

"Are you sure? We don't have to-"

"Shut up and let me suck your dick."

His eyes went wide and you heard Jimin choke behind you, and the speed at which he removed his clothes would have been comical at any other time. When he doffed his pants it was your turn to be speechless.

Taehyung had no right being this absolutely gorgeous. And while generally speaking, dicks were funny looking and off-putting no matter how attracted to men one might be, you wanted this one in your mouth right now.

You reached out to give him an experimental stroke, and he bucked into your touch with a groan. Encouraged, you leaned forward to give the head a tentative lick before surging forward to wrap your lips around him. Taehyung cursed, digging his fingers into his rumpled sheets, and you heard a "holy shit" from behind you. It seemed that Jimin was enjoying the view. You pulled away momentarily to look at him over your shoulder with what you hoped was a seductive glance.

"Jiminie, weren't you saying something about stretching me out?" You asked innocently, giving your butt a little wiggle for effect. A part of you marveled at how comfortable you felt considering you had never been with more than one person at a time before, but the way they looked at you made it easy to be confident.

His jaw dropped for a moment before he snapped it shut, swallowing hard.

"You… you're something else," he said in a strained voice, then ripped off his clothes even faster than Taehyung. You had a moment to think it was probably because of being used to quick-changes, before your mind went blank as you stared at his sculpted body and the very prominent proof of arousal between his legs. Okay, maybe he hadn't been exaggerating with his dirty talk.

"Tae, where-"

"Top left drawer."

Jimin grinned and grabbed a foil packet from the nightstand, and you had to suppress a giggle at how even in a situation like this they seemed to be able to read each other's minds.

As much as you would've loved to stare at the naked dancer until the end of time, you turned back to Taehyung. The hunger in his gaze sent even more heat between your legs, and you gave him a chaste peck on the lips before once again engulfing him in the loving confines of your mouth.

The way he gasped your name when you swirled your tongue around his tip was quite gratifying, and when you gave his balls a gentle squeeze his hands tightened in your hair. With your other hand you began working up and down the part of his shaft not in your mouth, bobbing your head up and down to let your spit coat his length.

You met his dazed eyes with as much of a smirk as was possible with your mouth stuffed, then -

"Mmmph!"

You lurched forward with a strangled cry when Jimin's hand landed hard on your ass, almost gagging as you inadvertently took Taehyung deeper. He gave a choked "fuck," while Jimin chuckled from behind you.

"So you do like that," he crooned, sounding incredibly pleased with himself. Before you could respond, he spanked you again, and you moaned around a mouthful of dick. Taehyung gasped and gave a shallow thrust of his hips before catching himself and looking at you apologetically, but you just shook your head. Relaxing your throat as best you could, you dove deeper and felt his cock twitch as you swallowed around him.

"Fuuuuck, [y/n]," he hissed shakily, giving your hair a light yank that had you letting out another muffled moan around him.

"You're so good for us," came Jimin's voice from behind you before something very warm and wet licked at your entrance. You whimpered around Taehyung's dick as his friend lapped at you from behind, wondering if this was going to be the way you died. Well, it would certainly be a great way to go.

"Jin-hyung really did miss out," he sighed, stroking up and down your slit with deft fingers. You pressed your hips back in an attempt at more friction, but he merely pulled backwards. You removed yourself from Taehyung with a wet pop and peeked back to glare at the cause of your frustration.

"Jimin, I swear to-" Smack. You collapsed onto your elbows, "oooh god."

"Patience is a virtue," he said innocently, though you heard the telltale rip of a condom wrapper being opened. You felt yourself grow impossibly wetter with anticipation.

"What exactly is virtuous about - a-ahh!," you couldn't finish your snarky statement as he pressed his hard cock against your folds. You tried to wriggle backwards to slip him inside, but he just brought his hand back down on your ass with another echoing slap that made your aching pussy clench around nothing.

"Be a good girl and focus on Taetae, okay?" Jimin urged, stroking your abused backside lovingly as he dragged himself torturously against your entrance. You whimpered but obeyed, taking Taehyung's length back in your hands before sucking the tip back into your lips. You looked up and met eyes that were staring at you as if you were the most incredible thing he had ever seen.

"You are so sexy," he groaned reverently, captivated by the way you looked with his cock filling your mouth. The loving way his thumb stroked your cheek was at complete odds with the way you were swallowing him down your throat, especially when Jimin finally pressed into you.

You were so wet that one thrust was almost enough to bury himself to the hilt, and the drag and stretch of his thick length had you seeing stars. Like a gentleman, he tried to pause so you could adjust. Instead, you impatiently rutted your hips against him and he cursed and gave in to your silent demands.

"You feel so good," Jimin groaned as he began pumping into you in earnest. You gave a strangled moan around Taehyung's cock, giving up on any finesse and letting your throat relax so Jimin could fuck you forward instead. It was overwhelming in the best way, and you dug your nails into Taehyung's thighs, holding on for dear life.

"How do you feel this amazing?" Jimin panted, slowing down in favor of hard, deep strokes that had your toes curling. He reached around to rub roughly at your clit and you gasped and bucked back, unable to keep moans from tearing out of your throat. The vibrations around his cock made Taehyung swear desperately as he tried to pull you off of him.

"Oh god, [y/n], I'm gonna-"

You refused to move and swirled your tongue around his tip before taking him deeper. He gasped, giving your hair a final weak tug before exploding down your throat, and you swallowed the bitter liquid eagerly. When you released him, he flopped bonelessly backwards onto the bed, and Jimin used the opportunity to flip you onto your back and throw your legs over his shoulders.

He shoved himself back into you, and the new angle made you cry out and scrabble at his back. He felt so fucking good you thought you might pass out. He shifted slightly, and his next thrust rubbed against something that sent electricity jolting down your spine. Your eyes shot wide open and you arched into his body.

"R-right there," you gasped. He grinned and leaned down to give you a perfect, sloppy kiss that was zero technique and all teeth and tongue.

"Anything you want," he promised breathlessly, a slave to your lewd moans. True to his word, he proceeded to pound into you at exactly the right spot, making your vision go white. All it took was for him to grind his pelvis against your clit with each thrust and in no time you were gone, raking deep furrows down his back as you came hard on his dick.

He groaned as your walls contracted around him and sped up his pace, letting his head fall to your shoulder. Surrounded by your scent and your overwhelming heat, his thrusts grew more and more erratic until he spilled into you with a muffled curse.

His body collapsed on top of yours and you stroked his sweaty hair with noodle-like arms, feeling floaty and satiated. Jimin sighed and rubbed his nose into your neck. You stayed like that for a few moments, before he pulled back and gave you a glowing smile.

"Are you okay? Was that too much?" he asked tenderly, and your heart swelled at how sweet he was being after just giving you the pounding of your life.

"That was amazing," you said honestly, brain too mushy to come up with anything else. You leaned in to give him a soft kiss that you hoped conveyed everything you couldn't currently put into words. He sighed into your mouth, running his hands lovingly through your hair, then broke away.

"I'm gonna go… take care of this," he said with a laugh, pulling out of you and rolling off the bed to totter into the bathroom. You turned to face Taehyung, who was grinning at you, still clearly in a state of post-coital bliss.

"Hi," you whispered, suddenly a little shy now that you weren't horny out of your mind.

"Hi," he answered with sparkling eyes, stroking your cheek with soft fingers. He proceeded to kiss your nose, then rub his own against it like he had done so many nights ago. You thought your heart might explode at his cuteness.

"You're the best," you mumbled as he nuzzled your hair, so warm and comfortable that you were starting to feel drowsy. Jimin chose that moment to come out of the bathroom and wasted no time diving into bed to cuddle back into your other side.

"You're both the best," you amended with a yawn, making them both smile at your sleepy state.

"I'm gonna pee," you announced, getting up to use the bathroom despite their clingy protests. You refused to ruin the best sex of your life with a UTI, no matter how cute the boys were being.

By the time you had cleaned yourself up and come back out, the two friends were cuddling together and giggling, unbothered by the fact that they were still naked. You paused to smile at the scene. They were just so adorable, and it was compounded when they both reached out for you with grabby hands.

You obeyed, and they sandwiched you between them as soon as you rolled onto the bed. You mentally thanked whoever invented air conditioning, because the way your bodies were tangled would have been unbearable otherwise.

"You guys have to help me figure out what to do about the others," you mumbled, so cozy that your eyelids were already growing heavy.

"Of course," Taehyung promised, spooning you from behind.

"Tomorrow," Jimin added from where his head was buried into your stomach. "Sleep now."

You drifted off to sleep with a smile on your face.

~~~~~

Next | Masterlist

Tags: @singukieee @persphonesorchid @xmochiloverx @taestefully-in-luv @meavie @silscintilla @forpunishers @jnghs

#bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts ot7 x reader #kim namjoon x reader #kim seokjin x reader #park jimin x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #min yoongi x reader #kim taehyung x reader #jung hoseok x reader #vmin x reader #bts smut #bts v smut #bts jimin smut

317 notes · View notes

rina-writes · 2 years

Note

i was wondering if youd write fic based off thumbs by lucy dacus

First time hearing this song and wow, it is deep. This is going to be very angsty. I decided to let this sit in my drafts for a bit because I wanted to do it justice and it was a great challenge for me. Thank you for being patient!! ♥

How You Keep Smiling

A/N: This is going to be a bit darker than my usual writing. Please check the warnings before reading as it could be super triggering for folks. This was an exciting request from a writing perspective, but fanfic is supposed to be enjoyable. For some people, reading about their trauma and getting a “happy” ending is therapeutic. For other people, it’s not. If that’s the case for you, there’s no shame in scrolling away.

Summary: You and Jack are friends with benefits that have found the perfect balance between friendship and love making. When you tell Jack that you are going to meet with your estranged father, he demands to come with you. As he starts to realize the anger he feels towards your father, Jack begins to wonder if there should be a deeper relationship between you two as well.

Warnings: Fem!reader, FWB!Jack, smut (penetration, body fluids, spanking...), mentions of domestic abuse and violence, mentions of substance abuse, references to trauma, angst, and a bit of fluff, long-ish fic (12k+ words)

Jack let out a sigh as he sunk deeper into his couch. Although he had officially moved back home to Louisville months ago, this was the first time he was in his new place alone. It felt strange. After years of sharing quarters with his best friends, all of this open space felt wasted. But like every new chapter in his life, Jack decided to welcome this solitude with grace.

Jack opened his phone to go to his music app to start playing music from the speakers embedded in his walls. He smiled when he saw a text message from you asking if he was home. He glanced at the time. It was 10pm. You and Jack were good friends during the day, but at night, the benefits part of your friends with benefits relationship reared its head. Jack grinned. He would have plenty of opportunities for “him”-time. You initiating a booty call was a true rarity and he wasn’t going to pass it up.

Once you confirmed that you could be there in 20 minutes, Jack sprang to his feet. He looked down and realized he was still wearing his clothes from the studio. He decided to change into something a little more comfortable. Most of his stuff was still in boxes and suitcases. Luckily, his favorite clothing pieces were in easy to access places.

He entered his master bedroom to strip down and walk into the adjoined bathroom. Jack took the quickest shower he could. He skipped washing his chestnut colored curls because he didn’t want to wait for it dry. He made sure that the rest of him was squeaky clean, wanting to smell and feel good for you. He stepped out of the shower and stood in front of his bathroom mirror. Jack couldn’t help, but admire himself a little. He loved how toned he had gotten from working out more and playing basketball. He knew how much you liked grabbing on to his biceps so, he was especially pleased at how rounded they looked today. He grabbed his razor and did a bit of manscaping down below to make sure his package was well-presented. He grabbed a bottle of cologne and did a couple of strategic spritzes on his neck, the crease of his arm, and his wrist. He added a tiny one just below his belly button, just in case you were down there for long.

Jack, realizing he was running out of time, put on one of his white t-shirts, a pair of boxer briefs, and some well-fitted gray sweat pants. He figured it would be douche-y to just wait for you naked. He didn’t want to look desperate. His casual relationship with you was one of the longest, healthiest ones he had ever maintained. He didn’t want to ruin that by overstepping boundaries.

Jack hurried to clean the area around his bed and straighten his sheets. He was glad that the bedroom was the first place he set up in his new place. It was advice his father had given him as a golden rule for moving. Jack doubted his father knew he was using the advice to get laid. Or, maybe he did.

The doorbell rang and Jack straightened at the sound. He took long strides toward the door, trying to make sure his footsteps didn’t sound too eager. He opened it and smiled instantly to see you standing there. He assumed you were still wearing you outfit from earlier in the day. It was a colorful, floral sundress that cinched at your waist and reached your mid calves. You had tossed a black leather (or pleather if you’re not into that) jacket on top as the temperature had dropped a couple hours ago. The look was very youthful, especially with your slip on white sneakers, but there was still something sexy about it. Jack stretched out his arms and you ran into them to give him a tight hug.

He pulled you into his apartment, kicking the door closed without letting you go. You rested your chin against him as you looked into his clear blue eyes.. He smiled down at you and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. You let out a shy, cute noise that made him Jack chuckle. You pressed your face into his chest.

“Missed you.” You mumbled into him.

Jack nuzzled his nose in your hair as he mumbled as well, “Missed you too.”

You inhaled deeply before pulling back and looking around the apartment. You were very impressed. From watching HGTV, you knew that the adjectives that real estate agents to describe this kind of space were “spacious,” “modern,” and “light-filled.” But, seeing it in person was actually jaw-dropping. The living room had large, ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the Louisville water front. There was an open kitchen with all the newest appliances and a kitchen island with bar seats.

“Like it?” Jack’s voice was deep and startling, making you jump.

“It’s gorgeous, Jack!” You commented, moving your arms around to gesture at the space. “How many bedrooms?”

‘Two bedrooms, two bathrooms.” Jack grinned. “Thinking of making the extra bedroom an office or a studio or something. Wait till you see the master bedroom.”

You smirked at him. “Trying to get me in your bed already, Jack? I don’t even get the full tour?”

Jack snaked his arms around your waist and gave your butt a firm squeeze. “I’m in no rush, baby. You know how I am. It seems you might be the one trying to push things along, though.”

You leaned in, resting a hand on his chest as you stared intently on his lips. Jack let out a low chuckle as he started to close the distance between you. You smirked as you pulled away, walking toward, what you assumed, was the direction of the bedrooms.

“You’re right, I do want the full tour.”

Jack shook his head letting out a laugh that sounded closer to a growl this time. “You’re such a god damn tease...”

You shrugged as Jack quickened his pace to close the distance between you. He showed you the detached bathroom which featured a large standing glass shower, with a two faucet sink and lost of under sink cabinet space.

“As you can see, plenty of space for your extensive skin care routine.” Jack teased, pointing at the large counter space.

You rolled your eyes, “How many times have you used that line since moving in here?”

Jack grinned at you, “Well, you’re actually the first lady friend I’ve had over. So, I’m testing out new lines. How was that?”

“A little flat...” You teased, sticking out your tongue at him. “Especially since as your good friend, not just your lady friend, my stuff will be in the master bathroom.”

Jack pretended to look shocked, resting his hand over his mouth. “Okay, Y/n...already reserving your spot in my house.”

You coughed to stifle a laugh, knowing he was mimicking your mannerisms from when you talked with your female friends. “Shut up, Jack.”

Jack laughed, taking your hand and pulling you out of the bathroom. Across from it was the second bedroom that was large enough for a queen bed. it was currently empty and had a large closet and plenty of windows. You could definitely imagine it as an office or a studio.

“This is going to be an amazing studio, Jack.” You remarked as you gazed around. “You better keep the windows and not block them out. You’ll need natural light.”

“Ah, check this out...” Jack pulled his phone and after fiddling with it for a moment, the curtains on the window slowly rolled down and the lighting in the room became a warm yellow tone.

“Whoa...” You said in almost a whisper as the entire feel of the room morphed. It was definitely a lot sexier now, but you could also see it as a great space to work.

“I’m thinking about playing with the lights a bit more to create that dark feeling you get in the studio.” Jack explained, his eyes twinkling. “I find the studio atmosphere really helps me and so, if I can create it at home I might be here more often.”

“Oh thank goodness...” You said, feigning relief. “...I was already thinking how hard it would be to maintain this place and take care of the kids without you here.”

Jack rolled his eyes, squeezing his lips together to hide his smile. “I swear you were the first person to say “come home the kids miss you.” You know that?”

“Well, of course....I’m your neglected baby mama.” You joked.

Jack grabbed you by the hips and brought you so close you slammed against his chest. You squeaked as you looked into his dancing irises.

“Now, you’re not that neglected, are you?” He reached a hand up to grab your chin and pressed a kiss on your lips. “I guess I better hurry up and show you the last stop on this tour.”

You licked your lips, forgetting how amazing Jack kissed. He was assertive and yet gentle in the way he would capture your lips with his own. He knew where to put his hands so you would melt in his arms and be wrapped around his finger forever. You smiled at him and nodded quickly, this time you pulled him to the next room.

A few paces down was the master bedroom. It was massive. The bed was a lofted king bed in the center of the room. The view in here almost rivaled the one in the living with similar ceiling to floor windows. There was a massive walk-in closet that was as big as a studio apartment you once rented in New York City. You weren’t even sure if Jack had enough clothes to fill the place, but it was mighty pretty to look at.

The master bathroom was almost identical to the detached one except that instead of a standing shower there was a giant bath tub. It screamed luxury and you could see jacuzzi jets from where you stood as well.

“Wow, Jack....just wow.” You complimented as you gave a slow clap. “Everything looks amazing, but this closet is just...wow...”

Even though most of Jack’s stuff was still in boxes, the entire condo seemed gigantic. You could only imagine what it would look like once he finished decorating.

“I’m glad you like it, Y/n.” Jack said sincerely. “I’m really excited to make this my space, you know? Something that says this is Jack.”

You smiled as you looked around the room. “Well, I can see your mother’s influence as well.”

Jack tilted his head to the side. “How’d you know?”

“All this white?!” You said, gesturing to the all white sheets against the black bedframe. There was also a white love seat in the far end of the room resting against one of the windows. “Only your mother would have this much faith in you to keep this place clean with white.”

Jack laughed. “Are you still traumatized because you spilled juice on her white rug?”

You gasped. “We agreed to never talk about that! I still have stress nightmares.”

You shivered, making Jack laugh. “Oh my god, Y/n! That was eight years ago. You can’t seriously still be worried about that.”

“I will remember it forever. I’m pretty sure I cried when I got home.” You confessed. “It was bad, Jack.”

“It was fine. My mom wanted a new rug anyway.” Jack grinned, “And she settled for a beige one. Just in case you came back.”

“Ugh....” You mimicked getting stabbed by hitting your closed fist against your chest. “Right in the heart....”

“You’re so dramatic...” Jack teased. “I can’t believe we’ve known each other for almost a decade.”

You grinned, tucking your dress underneath you before sitting on his bed gingerly. “And all because my little brother was an OG Jack Harlow fan.”

“I know,” Jack said, sitting next to you. “Best wing man ever. Had you driving to all of my shows, looking fine as hell too.”

You and your family weren’t from Kentucky, but you lived in one of the neighboring states. You had distant relatives in Louisville who you often lived with when your mother was going through financial trouble. One of those relatives was a Jack Harlow fan and got your kid brother into it as well.

Being the oldest daughter, you often found yourself playing mom to your younger siblings. Your youngest brother was a bit of a troublemaker and you felt it was because he didn’t have enough positive male role models. When he began to look up to Jack, you made it your mission to do whatever it took to make your brother happy. Since you were early fans of Jack, you got to know Jack as a person and slowly became friends. Your brother wasn’t as much of a fan boy these days. Now, it was you who became interested in the rapper. Especially as your friendship started to include no-strings attached mind blowing sex.

You chuckled leaning in to peck Jack on the lips. “I only started dressing up when I noticed we were getting special treatment any time I showed enough cleavage.”

Jack shrugged, “I’m a simple man.” He slowly slid your jacket off your shoulders and pressed kisses onto your bare shoulders. “And you are exquisite.”

“Exquisite?” You repeated, the tease in your voice lightened by a soft moan that escaped your lips. “Someone’s swallowed a dictionary.”

Jack’s lips pressed firm kisses into your neck. Each kiss caused you to sigh as if he had memorized every sensitive spot on your neck. One of his hands massaged your side while the other hand slipped under your dress to squeeze your thigh closest to him.

“Hmm, Jack...” You cooed, leaning into him. “...right there, J.”

“You like that?” Jack said, stopping his kisses on your neck to whisper in your ear. A chill ran up your spine at his words. His voice was always so deep and buttery.

“It’s why I came...” You whispered.

Jack smirked against your skin, lowering you both on the bed. “Trust me, you’ll be coming a lot tonight.”

You groaned a little knowing you walked right into that one. But, you didn’t mind. You were excited for what was about to happen.

Clothes were pulled off and tossed on to the floor. Jack’s eyes devoured you as though he hadn’t seen your body many times before. His hands cupped you through your bra, molding your breasts in his hands as he kissed the exposed skin spilling out of the fabric.

In the meantime, your hands ran circles on his chest, shoulders, and biceps. You loved how taut is muscles felt under your fingertip, contrasting with the soft, smoothness of his pale skin.

“God, Jack, when did you get so built?” You were purposely gassing him up because he deserved it. And because he performed his best when he felt good.

Jack’s bright smug grin made your heart swell. The fact that he could be so cute and cocky at the same time should be illegal.

“You don’t have to butter me up. I was already going to eat you out.” Jack grinned giving you a peck on the lips. “But I’ll take the compliment.”

TW: Smut

You felt your cheeks heat at his words, letting out a nervous giggle. You weren’t the only one who had learned that flattery could help you get your way in bed. Jack pulled down your bra straps and you leaned forward to help him unclasp your bra. You let out a breath as soon as the tight fabric was removed and tossed across the room. Jack licked his lips before running both of his thumbs against your pebbling nipples. You squirmed and moaned under his touch, your eyes closing to focus on the sensations. Jack continued to play with your breasts, bending down to lick and suck on a nipple while tugging and lightly twisting the other. He switched back and forth between your breasts as you continued to twitch under him. Your thighs squeezed together to rub your lower lips together made Jack hum with appreciation. He could already tell you were growing wet, just from the way you moving.

Jack pulled back and looked at you. Your eyes were cracked open slightly to watch him as he pulled your panties down. He gripped your thighs and spread them wide. He loved playing with your thighs and feeling them squish his head as he ate you out. It was one of his favorite things in the world.

Jack went for it and devoured you until you came on his tongue. Your head thrashed from side to side as you gripped the sheets. Your throat was growing hoarse from moaning his name. You were shaking with your release, the tension that had been building in your all day dissipating with it. Who needed therapy when you had Jack’s tongue licking all your problems away?

It didn’t take long for Jack to remove his underwear. He pumped his cock a few times as he stared at you, ready and waiting for him.

“So, we have a situation...” Jack said after a long stretch of silence. “...I don’t think I have condoms here.”

You made an over-the-top shocked expression. “What?! Jack Harlow without condoms? Is hell freezing over as we speak?”

Jack laughed before clearing his throat to silence it. “Are you still on birth control or do I need to run to CVS?”

You grinned at him. “I got the hormonal injection, but are you sure you trust me?” You teased, “I remember someone once telling me that this could be a life or death situation.”

“I trust you with my life, Y/n.” Jack said, leaning down to stare into your eyes making your cheeks warm. “And, you’re pussy is so good I’m prepared to take this risk.”

“That’s the Jack I know,” You leaned up and kissed his lips. “Now, in an effort to preserve these sheets, we’ll have to make sure that everything stays inside, right?”

Jack stared at you for so long, you worried he short circuited. Finally, as if shaking out of his trance he asked, “Am I in heaven?” before sheathing himself inside of you.

Over the next couple of hours, you and Jack enjoyed each other. You tried out different positions and explored each other on different pieces of furniture in the bedroom. Your skin was on fire, your core was fluttering, and your face was flushed thanks to Jack’s loving on you. You both ended your love making session in missionary back on the bed, of course, as Jack always liked to end in a position where he could see your face.

“I love when you look at me like that...” Jack said, as his waist made its final snaps into yours to ride out both of your orgasms.

“Like what?” You responded, breathily, not fully there in your post-orgasmic state.

“When you cum, like really hard, you have this smile on your face that is just--” Jack leaned in and kissed you deeply, not finishing his statement.

You held him close to you as you let your tongue enter his mouth. You both stayed close, kissing each other and connected at the waist for a long time. You didn’t want to let him go. You always felt comfortable with Jack. Even when your friendship started to become sexual, you knew that you were safe with him. He would never hurt you or push you outside of your comfort zone. You knew there were other girls that Jack was entertaining and that was okay. You weren’t really a fan of committed relationships. You didn’t believe in romance and marriage. This was the closest thing you were willing to accept as love and even admitting that to Jack was scary.

“Gonna pull out...” Jack whispered against your lips after breaking the kiss. “Because at this point, I’m gonna be shooting blanks and you need to go take a leak.”

“Wow, we’re really starting the pillow talk off to a great start, aren’t we?” You joked as Jack pulled out you. You squeezed your legs shut and slowly tried to lift off the bed. Once you were standing, you took baby steps toward the master bathroom.

“Come here...” Jack said, lifting you bridal style as he walked you into the bathroom. “...we were going to be here all night if I let you go in by yourself.”

“It would be easier if you didn’t spank my ass so much.” You argued as you were lowered on to the toilet. “Not only am I trying not to mess up your white sheets, but everything below my belly hurts. My ass, my pussy, my thighs.”

TW: Smut End

“Sorry, sweetheart.” Jack said, biting his lip to hide his smile. You could tell he wasn’t sorry and neither were you.

“Can you leave while I pee?” You asked him and Jack rolled his eyes at the absurdity of your request.

“Really? After all of that? Fine, I’m going...” Jack threw his hands up in a defensive position. “...I’ll get you some pjs, would one of my shirts and boxers do? I don’t have anything else to offer at the moment.”

“It’s okay, I can head back to my Mom’s place after I’m done.” You said.

Jack’s head whipped around as he narrowed his eyes at you. “No way, it’s past midnight, Y/n. There’s no way I’m letting you leave here before morning.”

“Alright,” You shrugged, not needing much convincing. “Thanks.”

“Of course...now hurry up, I wanna pee too.”

You were laying on your back next to Jack in one of his t-shirts and boxers. Everything felt soft around you: the freshly washed clothes, the plush sheets, Jack’s smooth skin. You were in a cocoon of safety and, yet, your mind kept wandering to the event that made you seek this in the first place. As if reading your mind, Jack asked the question you had been anticipating for awhile.

Jack, who was also laying on his back in only his underwear, stared at the ceiling, “Y/n, not that I’m complaining or anything. Because I had a fun time, as always. But, you don’t usually come over so late like this. Did something happen?”

“Would you believe me if I said I couldn’t sleep because I wanted your dick so bad?” You asked him, almost biting your tongue to hold in your laugh.

“Absolutely not” Jack said quickly making you both laugh. The laughter made your chest feel a bit lighter and you decided to tell him what happened.

“My father called me. He wants to meet me in...” You leaned over and tapped your phone. “...less than 16 hours.”

Your dad has come to town He'd like to meet

Jack frowned as he sat up to look at you. “Isn’t your father a sack of sh-t?”

You sucked in a breath. “He’s my father, Jack. You can’t just call him a sack of sh-t.” You paused for a moment. “I don’t have the right to anyway. He never treated me or my siblings poorly. Even when he was at his worst, he would still soften when he saw me. He was a pile of sh-t to my mom though. But, I don’t have the right to hate him cause of what he did to her.”

“Y/n...” Jack shook his head. “...yes, you can. I know you don’t like talking about it, but he really f-cked up your life. He basically destroyed your lives and forced your mom to scramble to take care of y’all. He practically forced you into being a second mom to your siblings.”

“I know that, Jack.” You said, bitterly. “I was there.”

Jack swallowed. He messed up. He knew how touchy the subject was and in his anger he let things slip that he normally wouldn’t. Jack wanted you to open up to him. You always took the time to be there for him and Jack wanted to return the favor. The fact that you came to him because of this was huge. In the past you would have kept this to yourself. He was worried that he might lose the chance to support you, now and in the future.

“What did he want?” Jack said, laying back down.

“Well, he said he changed his life around. He said he’s doing that 12 step program. He’s on step 8 or 9, I can’t remember which.” You explained. “It’s where you have to acknowledge your wrong doings and apologize to those you hurt.”

“Whoa...” Jack responded, letting out a tuft of air. “...that’s pretty heavy, Y/n. Where are you meeting him?”

“At the Sunergos on 5th. He can’t be anywhere that serves alcohol and I wanted someone pretty public.” You gulped. “I’m so nervous about it. And I just needed you to help me relax a bit. You did, so thank you.”

Jack chewed on his lip. He definitely noticed the finality in your tone. You wanted to end the conversation, but Jack knew he had another request. He wanted to go with you. He worried about what your father would say and how he would say it. There was also part of him that still thought your father was capable of violence. Even though you were safe in a public place, Jack worried about what would happen if you father convinced you to go on a drive and hurt you somewhere else. Jack was sure that you didn’t tell your mom or siblings about the meeting. And he was also sure that all three of them would feel more comfortable if you didn’t go alone. Jack would have to move a couple things around in his schedule, but he could make it happen. He just needed to convince you to allow him to accompany you.

He ran his fingers through his short brown curls, anxiously. “I want to go with you, Y/n.”

“Jack no...”

“Please?” Jack turned so he was hovering over you. He could see the sadness in your eyes and it created a heaviness in his chest. Just fifteen minutes ago he was staring at your euphoric smile. He wanted nothing more than to bring that back, but this wasn’t the time. “It would make me feel better.”

“I can’t go into one of the most popular cafes with Jack Harlow.” You protested, turning your head to avoid his eyes. “It would make a touchy situation worse.”

Jack sighed, “I have ways of being incognito, I promise. I just want to be next to you. Helping you relax and stay grounded. You just said that I can help you do that. So, please, let me help.”

“Jack, no.” You said again, tears stinging your eyes, but you blinked quickly. “I have to do this on my own.”

“Why?” Jack asked and when he was met with silence, he grabbed your chin and forced you to look at him. He asked again, “Why?”

“I-I just have to...” You said, your voice breaking.

“You don’t have to handle all of it anymore, Y/n. You can ask for help.” Jack’s words caused tears to escape your eyes and he kissed them as he kept speaking. “I’m here for you, okay? Let’s do this together.”

You nodded and turned to bury your head in Jack’s chest. You hugged him tightly, expecting more tears to fall, but you just felt numb. You held on to Jack and he held onto you tightly and you both remained like that until you drifted to sleep.

At 5pm the next day, Jack waited with you outside the coffee shop to meet with your father. Although he was confident the night before that he could do this undetected, he was still pleasantly surprised that his claim was true. He was wearing a black sweat suit with the hoodie up and a fitted cap underneath. He went the extra mile to wear his Jordans instead of New Balances, just in case that tipped him off. If anything, more people were staring at you because you were wearing another gorgeous sundress.

Jack couldn’t help, but feel a little perturbed you were wasting a dress like this on your father. That man didn’t deserve to see you all dolled up. You looked even prettier than you did yesterday, even if there was a nervous look in your eyes. Jack rested a hand on the small of your back causing you to look at him.

“You know you don’t have to do this.” Jack reminded you. “We could turn around right now and christen the other rooms in my condo.”

I said "You don't have to see him" But for whatever reason you can't tell him no

You smiled softly. “As tempting as that sounds, I really need to see this through.” You gave him a teasing once over. “But, hopefully I take a rain check on the condo christening.”

Jack was about to lean in and kiss you when you got a text message. You looked down to see it was from the number your father was using. You couldn’t bring yourself to save the number. You didn’t know what seeing his name or, worse, the word “Dad” on caller ID would do to you every time you saw it. Instead you memorized every curve of his phone number until it had basically created the same effect.

“He’s inside.” You explained, turning on your heels to push the door. Jack reached around you to push the door with more strength. You were too focused to thank him, but Jack didn’t take offense to it. He was also looking for your father.

Jack found the other man instantly. Jack always thought you looked a lot like your mother. But now, Jack could see the resemblance between you and your father in your eyes. Those eyes that sparkled at him last night in ecstasy. Those eyes that stared at him with a sadness that ripped his heart in two short after. The eyes that Jack adored so much, belonged to your father too.

I love your eyes And he has them But you have his 'Cause he was first

Jack allowed you to lead the way. It was clear that your father took a few moments to recognize you. It made sense. For as long as Jack knew you, your father wasn’t in your life. And you two were approaching a decade of friendship. Even Jack knew how much you blossomed in that short period of time.

He hadn't seen you since the fifth grade Now you're nineteen and you're five-eight

“Hi buttercup!” Your father said, opening his arms for a hug as he stood up. You went to him awkwardly and Jack instinctively reached out to pull you back. He didn’t want you to feel obligated to hug the man, but he also knew he had no right to tell you what to do. As you completed the awkward side hug, your father stared at Jack with scrutiny.

“This your boyfriend?” Your father asked sitting down. You sat down as well and Jack sat on the right of you.

“No, he’s a good friend of mine.” You explained.

“Really?” Your father quirked a brow as he picked up his coffee. “He seemed like an awfully good of friend when you two were standing outside.”

Your face flushed, thinking about how close Jack was standing to you and wondering how much your father saw. Did he see the way Jack touched you on the back? Did he notice the comfort in which Jack leaned down to whisper in your ear? Was it so obvious that you were sleeping with him?

Your father chuckled at your embarrassment. “What? Don’t want your dear ol’ dad to talk to your little boyfriend?” Your father questioned before looking at Jack. “I’m not just going to hand my little girl over to just anybody. No siree, I’m gonna make sure the guy at the end of that aisle is good enough for her.”

“Bold of you to assume you’ll be doing such an honor.” Jack let the words slip before he could stop them.

A gasp left your lips as your nudged Jack hard with your elbow. Your father let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Bold of you to assume that you’ll be at the wedding.” Your father barked back. “Mr. Good Friend.”

Jack bit down so hard that his entire jaw clenched. He broke his staring contest with your father to look at you. He could see that you had your placating smile plastered on your lips, but your eyes were jumping sadly. Under the table, Jack tapped your knee to signal his apology. You rested your hand on top of his to tell him that you accepted it, but your hand was shaking. Jack gulped,

“I’ll get us some teas.” Jack said, standing up. “You want a chai?”

You nodded, “Thank you.”

Jack gave you a final nod before walking over to the counter. Once he was several paces away, your father began to speak.

“Did you really have to bring the bodyguard? Who is that guy?” Your father asked angrily.

“He’s just a friend.” You explained. “I had made plans with him today and he offered to walk me here.”

“You better not be giving it up to him, buttercup.” Your father warned. “These kind of guys always like to pry on girls who are weak. They enjoy not putting a label on things and stringing you along. You’re delicate like you’re mother. You need a strong, reliable man at your side.”

A sharp pain seemed to surge from the back of your head right to your tear ducts. Your nose pricked and you scrunched it to keep the tears from rushing out. These were tears of frustration as you could feel the anger welding up in your chest. How dare he? How dare he call you weak? How dare he call your mother delicate? If anything, these past few years had proven how strong you both were. That neither of you needed to be tethered to a man to be successful.

You wanted to chew him out, but no words left your lips. For years, you imagined what you would tell your father if you ever saw him again. Sometimes, you thought you would tell him how much your life sucked because he was a monster to your mother. Other times, you wanted to tell him that you were happy she dropped him because it gave you a better life. Either way, you wanted to hurt him just like he had hurt you.

Instead, you said, “Mom’s fine.” You shook your head. “She’s better than fine. She’s fantastic.”

“Fantastic?” Your father repeated incredulously. “I heard that you all are still slumming it in Kentucky. That’s why I came out here.”

When your father had asked where you were living in Kentucky, you lied and told him Louisville. He already seemed to know your mother was in the state, and you didn’t want to expose where you and your siblings were staying either. You wanted him to believe you were all together, protecting her.

Your mother was actually in Lexington and you were currently living in Chicago. It was only a five hour drive or a 90 minute plane ride so you came home often to see her. Your middle sister was in beauty school in Charlotte, North Carolina and your youngest brother was currently in trade school in Cincinnati, Ohio. Both of which were an six hour drive and one hour drive respectively. Kentucky was a convenient location for your mother since it was pretty centrally located. She had some family here and had joined the same friend circle with Jack’s mother. In fact, it was Jack’s mother that pushed your mother to start her business.

“I wouldn’t say slumming it.” You corrected. “Mom’s business is really taking off. Although she never got a chance to finish her degree in hospitality, her spa is doing very --”

“Y/n...” Your father cut you off and your throat went dry. You had forgotten that he loved to hear the sound of his own voice. He never gave anyone else a chance to speak. “...you don’t have to pretend. I know how much my absence has hurt our family. And I’m terribly sorry.”

You smiled softly. It was a nervous habit you developed. When you were uncomfortable, you would smile and laugh. It wasn’t the same smile or laugh that you showed when you felt joy, but to the untrained eye it was hard to tell the difference.

Absence. That’s how you would describe it when people asked about your father. You had an absent father. He just wasn’t in your life. You always made it sound like he walked out. That maybe he was cheating or had a secret family. In reality, your mother ran away. From your abusive father.

Jack returned with your chai teas in time to hear your father’s statement. Your father’s mouth twisted as Jack placed the cup in front of you and sat back down.

“Thank you, Jack.” You said.

“Jack?” Your father repeated. “That reminds me of that Jack Heathrow kid your brother used to be obsessed with. It was so weird that he liked that two-bit scrawny rapper. That Harthlow kid is probably some coke dealer now...”

You choked on your tea, slapping your chest in an attempt to stop it. You could feel the warm liquid about to shoot out of your nose so, you grabbed a napkin just in case. Jack patted your back gently and laughed,

“Yeah, I actually heard he’s pretty successful now. Must be in the name. Jack.” Jack flashed a bright smile.

“ Anyway, Y/n.” Your father rolled his eyes, emphasizing your name to steer the conversation. “I wanted to apologize to you for not being more active in your life. Besides the few birthday cards I sent, I didn’t really do my part as father.”

He said "Honey, you sure look great Do you get the checks I send on your birthday?"

You were still coughing from the comments made earlier about Jack. However, it was like your father’s words cut through all noise each time he spoke. The fact that your father actually considered birthday cards as part of his parental duty was sickening. He didn’t pay a cent of child support. He didn’t attend a single graduation. And you struggled to remember if you ever actually received a birthday card from him.

“But, that’s all going to change, because I’m coming back, buttercup!” Your father said enthusiastically.

“What?” You and Jack asked at the same time.

“I’m coming back!” Your father said as happily. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’m looking for a job as we speak.”

Your brain was spiraling. Had you made a mistake? Should you have not told your father that your family was in Kentucky? Was everything ruined now that he knew had confirmation of where your mother was? Was she in danger because of you?

Jack watched you sitting there like a lifeless doll. There was a faint smile on your lips, but Jack could see the vacancy in your eyes. You were panicking. He rested his hand on your knee underneath the table, finding it to be shaking as he expected. It was still jumping up and down even as his warm hand pressed it down. Jack slowly looked at your father who was still harping on about his non-existent job prospects like he was some kind of knight-in-shining armor. Jack wanted to just reach over and slap the smug smile off of his face.

I love your eyes And he has them But you have his 'Cause he was first I imagine my thumbs on the irises Pressing in until they burst

Your hand lifts and grips Jack’s thigh. Your fingernails are digging into his skin. Jack could feel the pressure, but there was a numbness from the anger building in his chest. He had never despised someone he just met as much as he despised your father.

I would kill him If you let me I would kill him Quick and easy Your nails are digging Into my knee I don't know How you keep smiling

TW: Descriptions of domestic abuse

“I thought you came here to apologize...” Your voice was low, but louder than a whisper. You stared into the space next to your father instead of directly at him. “I thought you came here to practice saying sorry for hurting my mom. For slapping her around, for using her as an ash tray, for using her body anyway you pleased. For breaking down such a strong woman and making her delicate.”

You spat the last word out and Jack gulped. This was the first time he had heard details of your mother’s abuse. Jack knew your mother had confided some of this information in his mother, but his mother would never tell a soul. Jack held your hand that was still gripping his knee. He enclosed his hand on yours and pushed your nails even deeper into his skin through the thin fabric of his sweats. If this was giving you the strength to speak up, he would endure all of it for you.

It did give you the strength to look your father in the eyes as you spoke. You narrowed your eyes at him and said, “I’m so glad I didn’t tell you where mom is really living. Until you acknowledge your wrong doings, you shouldn’t be anywhere near my family. And I don’t think you will ever be a part of it.”

TW: Descriptions end

Your father’s eyes widened. “Your family? I made that f-cking family, Y/n. I am your f-cking father.”

You scoffed. “I know that. And when you were here, you were an alright father. But you were a rotten husband. Which had a greater impact on our lives than anything else.” You swallowed. “I came here willing to forgive you. I came here willing to work with you to get Mom’s forgiveness. But now I see you have a lot more growing to do. The moment you gave up on being a good husband, you stopped being a decent father. I had told myself that if getting married meant potentially being shackled to someone like you, then I would never take those vows. But if for some reason I do decide to walk down that aisle, you will never be marching down beside me. Not in a million years.”

Your father opened and closed his mouth like fish. A sad expression twisted his face. Your little brother looked so much like your father these days. It was like he had taken all of your father’s good features and made them his own. Seeing the pain in your father’s featured reminded you of your brother which was the only thing that made you empathize with him.

The worst thing about trauma is that fond memories often intertwined with dark ones. The days following your father’s abusive attacks on your mother were filled with ice cream shops, amusement parks, and fast food restaurants. Those days were the warm days of your childhood. After your mother left your father, there were so many times where you selfishly wished to go back to those days. Even though you knew your mother was much safer away from him, things were so much harder on your own.

In that moment, you realized that because it was hard, you were able to grow. Your little brother was already twice the man your father is and he’s just going up from here. Your father needed to realize how hard change was in order to earn his spot back in your life.

Jack cleared his throat. “We should get going, Y/n. The movie will be starting in thirty minutes.”

That was the code you and Jack had settled on to leave prior to coming to the café. You had almost forgotten about it and a wave of relief crashed into you.

“At least let me drive you.” Your father insisted, as though you didn’t just make it clear you had no intentions of including him in your life going forward. “Where are you heading?”

“It’s fine.” Jack cut in. “It’s better if we walk. It’s not that far.”

I clear my throat And say we ought to get home He offers us a ride I reply "No, that's alright"

“Jack’s right. I think it’s best if we end here for now. Goodbye,” You said, standing up. “I hope the next time we meet, you’re ready to apologize.”

“Y/n...” Your father said, sadly. For once, he seemed at a loss for words. He looked at you. “You’ve grown into a beautiful, young woman.”

You nodded and smiled softly. “I’m my mother’s daughter.”

I don't know How you keep smiling I don't know How you keep smiling I don't know How you keep smiling

Jack stood up and led the way to the door. You followed him, knowing your father’s eyes were still on you. You walked closer to Jack to tell him in a low voice that you would like to take the long way home.

You feel him watching So we walk a mile in the wrong direction

Jack agreed and you walked together in silence. Every few moments he would glance at you, trying to read your expression. Jack thought he knew you better than anyone, but at this moment, you could’ve been a stranger. He wanted nothing more than to envelope you in his arms and hold you close to him. He had this urge to protect you after seeing you so raw and vulnerable in front of your father. He still wanted to turn back and beat the daylights out your father too. However, Jack realized it was more important to be here with you instead.

You two walked for almost fifteen minutes in silence before Jack decided to break it.

“Are you okay, Y/n?” Jack’s voice was gentle. “It was pretty intense back there.”

“Yes, thank you, Jack.” You smiled at him. “For being there for me. It did help.”

I don't know How you keep smiling I don't know How you keep smiling I don't know How you keep smiling

“I wish I did more. I feel like I made the situation a bit worse.” Jack shook his head before smirking. “Me being a deadbeat coke dealing boyfriend and all.”

“Oh god, Jack I’m so sorry.” You covered your face with your hands. “I can’t believe he said that! I mean has that ass even opened up a Kentucky newspaper lately? Or been on the internet?! He didn’t even say your name right.”

Jack chuckled. “Honestly, it was pretty funny. In hindsight. At the time, I was just pissed at how he was talking to you. I couldn’t care less about what he thought about me.”

“Still, I’m sorry.” You said, shaking your head as you uncovered your face. “There were points where he would re-enter our lives. Just for a day or two, usually when we were staying at our paternal grandparents place for a weekend. Those were the times Mom was really desperate.”

Your stomach twisted thinking about how much your mother sacrificed for all of you. When you were staying at a relatives house enjoying home-cooked meals, warm showers, and fresh clothes -- what was your mother doing? How was she surviving. You hugged yourself and sighed.

Today, you thought about how hard you had it for having to take care of your siblings. You had also thought about how hard your father didn’t have it based on his smug attitude. But, you had yet to acknowledge how miserable it was for your mother. She deserved every good thing in her life right now.

You pulled yourself back to the present, walking in stride with Jack along the Riverwalk near the Waterfront Park. The walk was leisurely thanks to the sun not being too hot, but bright enough that it was still a sunny day. You felt yourself drifting closer to Jack, your bare arm brushing against the sleeve of his hoodie.

“Anyway...” You continued. “...I would encourage my brother to talk to our father. I had this image in my head that he needed a father in his life. I should have known by the way my brother gushed about you that he already had a big brother figure.”

Jack smiled. He always saw your brother as his own. Your brother was a spunky kid, though quiet at first, that just seemed to be happy to be included. Although your brother had grown quite a bit since then, Jack still kept tabs on him to make sure your brother had everything he needed. You didn’t know that, though. It was a pact between men.

“Your brother saw something in me that most people didn’t. I was just a local celebrity in high school. So, to have someone driving hours to see my shows was so inspiring.” Jack reminisced, the smile on his face growing.

“I drove that distance...” You reminded Jack with a laugh.

Jack playfully nudged you by bouncing his shoulder against yours. “I am aware of that. I remember after meeting him for the first time, you were standing way in the back. I think I said to Shloob that you looked mad good or something like that. You didn’t seem like you wanted to give me the time of day.” Jack let out a his higher pitched laugh. The one that always seemed to slip out and catch him by surprise, forcing him to cover his mouth slightly with the back of his hand. One of your favorite sounds in the world.

“I had just driven for three hours!” You explained. “I felt gross and I probably looked gross too. You just couldn’t tell from that far away. I was so mad I didn’t dress up a bit more. No offense, but I wasn’t expecting the nerdy looking rapper to be so charming.”

“Offense taken.” Jack joked, bumping into you again. “Well, you really showed out the next time.”

“Please don’t say it, please don’t say it...” You chanted, closing your eyes.

“With the fishnet stockings...” Jack said, making you cringe.

“Jack, we are talking the mid-2010s, okay? It was either fishnets or jean shorts. No in-between.” You groaned. “I thought I looked like a baddie too.”

“You did.” Jack assured you, his laughter having the opposite effect of his words. You shook your head, laughing as well. You were approaching the part of the Waterfront Park that was near to Jack’s condo.

Jack checked his watch for the time. “You want to head back to my place? It’s not too far from here.”

You hesitated. It was rare for you and Jack to be alone near a bedroom and not sleep together. You knew if you didn’t want to, Jack wouldn’t force you. But, you didn’t want the temptation. You could easily see yourself succumbing to light kisses on your neck in an attempt to drown out the gnawing feeling in your chest from meeting your father. You wanted to process what was going on inside of your brain and you couldn’t do that if Jack was fogging everything up.

“I was thinking of heading to my Mom’s.” Jack said, slowing his stride to stand a bit behind you. “You’re welcome to come with or I can drop you wherever you’re staying.”

You smiled, wondering, once again, if Jack was a mind reader. “I’d like to see your mom. Thanks, Jack.”

“Of course...” Jack said, resuming his pace.

The ride to Jack’s childhood home was a comfortable silence. You were listening to the radio, the windows rolled down and enjoying the cool breeze. You were grateful that Jack hadn’t taken off the doors of his Jeep Wrangler yet. You never understood why guys thought the look was so cool. It just made it look like on those Fisher Price toy cards that toddlers would power with their little feet, Flintstone’s style.

You smiled softly at the thought. Jack, who had been taking glances at you every few moments, picked up on it.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, turning on to his childhood street.

You shook your head, not wanting to bring it up. “I’m just excited to be back here. I haven’t seen your folks in awhile.”

Jack nodded as he turned on his indicator to pull into the driveway. You sat up sharply as your immediately recognized the sedan parked outside of the house. Your mother was here. Your heart flipped in your chest, feelings of guilt and worry flashing over your face. You weren’t ready to tell her what happened yet.

“Hey,” Jack cooed, turning off the engine now that he had parked. “You’re good, alright? Everything’s all good.”

He grabbed your hand and you met his eyes. His eyebrows were knitted with concern as he searched your face for a moment. His thumb rubbed the back of your hand tenderly and let the silence linger. You could feel your cheeks heating at the prolonged eye contact. You smiled as you averted your gaze.

“All good.” You repeated, trying to put some finality in your tone.

You opened the door, letting go of Jack’s hand for you to get out the car. Jack seemed to stay in his seat an extra beat before stepping out as well. You closed the doors and walked toward the house. You hugged yourself, the wind feeling colder under the shady trees of the Harlow estate. Jack quickened his pace to intercept you before you made it to the porch.

Jack stared down at you unblinkingly as his hands came up to cup your face. His fingertips cradled your jaw while his thumbs rested lightly on the apples of your cheeks. He leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. His lips parted to capture your top lip gently. Your eyes fluttered closed as Jack’s lips massaged yours, tugging and pressing against each of your lips tenderly. Your heart swelled at the softness of the kiss, tears pricking your eyes. Your hands pressed against Jack’s chest and you ignored how they trembled with weakness.

You pulled away at the sound of a car passing by, staring at Jack with wide eyes. Of course you and Jack had kissed before. But, not like this. Your kisses with Jack were passion filled: lots of tongue, teeth clashes and groping. The feather light touches and warmth was new and a little scary.

“You’re okay, Y/n.” Jack said, smoothing his hand on the side of your head. “I’m here for you.”

You nodded slowly, but you were still stunned. Jack took your hand and pulled you toward the door. He rang the doorbell, glancing at you quickly, before turning to the opening door.

“Jack!” Jack’s mother said, opening her arms for a wide hug. Jack dashed into his mother’s arm, the most genuine smile etched on his face. They rocked each other from side to side, humming brightly through the hug. All you could see from your angle was their equally curly hair bouncing back and forth.

You stared at the ground, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and jealousy. You felt like you were intruding on a private moment. You also craved to have that same embrace with your own mother. Especially after the day that you had. You tried to subtle look past them to see if your mother was in the vicinity.

“Oh, looky!” Jack’s mother exclaimed, “Y/n’s here. Y/M/n, your daughter is here. Come in, sweetheart.”

Jack’s mother opened one of her arms for you to join in on the hug. You smiled as you watch your mother excitedly trudging toward the door. The smile on her face made you emotional and you blinked a couple of times to keep your composure. Your mother joined in the group hug, but after a few moments, you moved to just hug her tightly.

“Oh...” Your mother exclaimed softly, her hands resting tightly on your back. “...are you alright, Y/n?”

You shook your head, afraid that your voice would come out shaky. You could feel your mother’s head turning toward where Jack and his mother were standing, but you couldn’t see them. You took a deep breath to calm your shaky voice.

“I saw Dad today.” Your voice still cracked. “He wanted to see me and I went. Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not, sweetheart.” Your mother pulled away from you, only to cup your face with one hand and squeeze your arm with the other. “Are you alright? Did Jack pick you up?”

Jack stood awkwardly on the side. His mother had walked into the living room to clear space for everyone to sit. From the items tossed across the coffee table, it looked like the two businesswomen were planning a collaboration. There were signs and mockups on the couch that Jack’s mother was moving to less in the way locations. Jack knew it was better to give you privacy, but his feet felt cemented into the floor. It was like he could tell you needed him by your side.

“No, Jack went with me.” You turned and gave him a smile. Jack’s heart clenched seeing your misty gaze. He just wanted to reach out and hug you, but you knew that was your mom’s job at the moment.

Jack’s mother’s head shot up from what she was doing at your explanation. Jack met her eyes with confusion and his mother softened her own shocked expression. She gestured to the group, “Sit, sit...”

You, Jack and your mother moved as a unit towards the living room, but Jack’s mother tapped Jack on the arm gently.

“Can you help me in the kitchen, Jack?” She asked, tilting her head in the opposite direction.

Jack’s eyes darted towards you before bouncing back to his mother and giving her a quick nod. The two walked into the kitchen leaving you alone to speak one-on-one with your mother about the day’s events.

Your mother sat across from you patiently. You studied her features. You could see that her eyes had little crows feet when she smiled and she was starting to gray towards the front. But, she looked so much more radiant than from when you last saw her a few months ago. Her skin was glowing, her eyes were twinkling, and she sat up tall. She looked happy and it made her look so beautiful.

“He told me he was doing some SA thing and needed to right his wrongs.” You explained. “I thought he was changing. I was so wrong, Mom. He went on this whole tirade about how he’s going to save us.” Your voice broke at the end, the shame crashing into you. You kept wondering how you could have been so stupid, so naïve.

“Oh, Y/n....” Your mother said sadly. “I’m sorry. If I had been more open with you all about what was going on, you may have been able to prepare. I am working on getting an official divorce. Through an attorney. That’s how he knew I’m in Kentucky, I guess. That’s where my lawyer’s main office is.”

You swallowed. You didn’t realize your parents were still married. Your mother used her maiden name and she no longer wore her wedding ring. Everyone knew your family as a single parent household. You just assumed that your father was completely out of the picture.

“I didn’t tell him you live in Lex.” You told her. “But, maybe we should let your lawyer know he’s looking for you, just in case he starts asking around.”

Your mother looked relieved at your first statement and she nodded in agreement at the second. She reached out and squeezed your hands. “I’ll handle all of that later. How are you doing? You look like you’re hanging on by a thread.”

“I’m alright, now that I have you here.” You smiled, your eyes watering. Your lip started twitching as you were thinking about your father. “He kept talking about the past like it was so positive. He kept calling me buttercup, it was so weird.”

Your mother let a tuft of air pass through her nose in a half laugh. “You used to love the Powerpuff Girls. And Buttercup was your favorite.” She shook her head with a soft laugh. “All the other girls in yur class liked Blossom because she was the leader. Or Bubbles because she was the cute one. But not Y/n. No, you liked rough and tough, Buttercup. Always wearing green and saying ‘that’s for babies’ any time you didn’t want to do something.”

Your mother gave your hands a couple of squeezes as she continued speaking. “Who would have known that in our little family, you would be the fighter too? You were my right hand, Y/n. Attending all the PTA meetings, coordinating your sister’s sleepovers, taking your brother to Jack concerts...all the the things I couldn’t do.”

“Mom,” You sighed. “We know how much you did for us. I did everything you would have done if you could. And probably only half as good.”

Your mother gave a grateful smile. She looked away for a moment and then met your eyes, as if resolving to say what was on her mind. “Did you know I was a trucker?”

Your eyes widened. The woman in front of you was the epitome of a girly girl. Her hair, nails and makeup were done to perfection. Her outfit was definitely Macy’s Women’s department 50% off sale couture. You couldn’t imagine your mother in a baseball cap, driving an 18-wheeler with one of those hula dancer bobble heads on the dash.

“I thought I’d get that look.” She laughed. “That’s why you were hopping from house to house. Driving for 10 or 11 hours for 10 consecutive days at a time. It was the best way for me to make money. It pays well enough but it is so so lonely. But you always made it a tradition to call me at 9pm every day. And that was the only thing that kept me going. Your father doesn’t need to save us, Y/n. We saved our damn selves the day we left him.”

The tears poured before you could stop them. Your mother cradled you in her arms as you let out quiet sobs into her neck. She patted you on the back and let you release all of your feelings. After a few moments, you composed yourself. You sat up and let out a bashful laugh.

“Wow, that was a lot. Sorry...” You apologized, but she shook her head.

“I’m your mom. It’s what I do.” She reminded you as she handed you a tissue. “Now, on to the bigger topic of the evening...are you and Jack a thing again?”

“Again?” You echoed, shaking your head. “No, Mom. We’re just friends. Always have been.”

Your mother narrowed her eyes at you, playfully. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Y/n. I know you two have been more than friendly for some time. I’m just wondering if there’s more you can tell your mother in terms of your relationship.”

Your face flushed, unable to deny it. “No, uhm...nothing has changed.”

Your mind jumped back to the kiss outside his house. Something had definitely changed today, but you weren’t sure if you imagined it. You glanced over your shoulder towards the kitchen, hearing Jack whispering to his mother. You couldn’t help but wonder if they were discussing the same thing too.

If he could, Jack would have pressed his ear to a wall to listen in more to the conversation. He could only hear the sadness in your voice and he wanted to hold you. Jack’s mother, who was mixing the mocktails for the group, stopped her movements to look at her son. Jack was leaning against the countertop, arms folded with his hood still pulled up over his curls. His mouth was twisted to the side as he stared into space.

“Very nice of you to accompany Y/n to meet her dad.” Jack’s mother commented. “I’m sure it made her feel safer.”

Jack blinked a couple times, turning his head to look at his mother. “I don’t think she wanted me to go at first, but I couldn’t just leave her there, you know? It wouldn’t be right.”

“You have a good heart, Jack.” His mother rested a hand on his shoulder. “She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

Jack swallowed before licking his lips. “I was actually thinking today that maybe we should be more than friends.” Jack admitted. “When I saw her father...I wanted to punch him in the face. Just reach over and choke him. I had to step away just to control myself. I’ve never felt so protective over someone. I know Y/n has been precious to me, but I am starting to realize just how precious.”

His mother’s lips pressed together. She took a deep breath, her eyes dancing between her son and the floor. She let her gaze keep his when she said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jack.”

Jack could feel his shoulders tense as his eyebrows raised in surprise. He must have misheard that. Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry, what? You used to say you see her as a daughter all the time. You’re best friends with her mom. Why wouldn’t you want to make this official? Do you not think she’s good enough for your son?”

His mother’s shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh. “Perhaps the issue is that I don’t think you’re ready for her.” She rested a hand on each of his arms and looked into his eyes. “You’re both in your twenties, Jack. You’re not ready to settle down in a long term relationship and that’s okay. But, Y/n doesn’t need something flighty right now. She needs someone who is willing to commit to her. Even if it’s not forever, it needs to be longer than a couple months.”

Now Jack was really shocked. His mouth opened and then closed. He was at a complete loss for words. His mother was basically calling him a bad boyfriend and protecting someone from him. Protecting you from him.

“Have you ever noticed that Y/n doesn’t like romance movies?” Jack’s mother continued. “Not even the Disney ones. She’ll always pick a comedy or an action movie. She doesn’t even believe in the fantasy of love.”

“Lilo and Stitch.” Jack said softly, closing his eyes. “That’s her favorite Disney movie.” Of course, it was the movie about chosen family. The main storyline is not a romantic arc, but one about true friendship, loyalty, and community.

Everything Jack knew about you was starting to click together. You didn’t believe in love. You didn’t even seek it. When you and Jack first started hooking up, you never inquired if there would be more between you two one day. In fact, you didn’t even seem interested at the prospect. You didn’t have any long term boyfriends and spent all your free time visiting your mother, siblings, and extended family.

You even told your father point blank that you had no intention of getting married. Jack wondered how he could have been so blind?

“I want to fall in love, Mom.” Jack sighed. “And, I think I can fall in love with her. I just want her to want to fall in love with me too.”

Jack’s mother scrunched her face as if she wanted to say something, but was trying to stop herself. Jack waited, knowing his mother was going to say it anyway.

“Gosh, you know we have been rooting for you two since day one.” She confessed. “I always thought she would be the peanut butter to your jelly, Jack. But, once I realized how much she took on as a result of her parents’ separation, I knew that you two were not a good fit for each other.”

Jack’s shoulders slumped and she put her hand on one of them. “But, Jack, that doesn’t mean it’s forever. I’m not dumb. I know you two have a more than friendly relationship going on.”

Jack cringed at the thought of his mother thinking about his sex life. “Uhm, it just sorta happened a couple times.”

“A couple times?” Jack’s mother quirked an eyebrow. “This is not my first rodeo. I know you Harlow men can’t quit something once you find what you like.”

“Okay!” Jack’s voice came out loud. “That’s more than I need to know about any of Harlow men in this household.”

Jack’s mother laughed. “What I’m saying is that you have the physical attraction and you have a strong friendship. Those are two of the most important aspects of a relationship. It allows you to grow together and rely on each other. You don’t need to rush this, Jack. You need to let her know your intentions, but it’s important for you two to grow into this relationship.”

Jack nodded. He knew he wasn’t ready to be the boyfriend you deserved. And he knew you weren’t ready to officially settle down. But, he did seem himself at your wedding one day. Jack knew you were capable of love. He just needed to know if you wanted that person to be him.

“Come on, let’s go take these mocktails out.” Jack’s mother said, picking up a tray with two drinks. Jack picked up the other one and followed her out of the kitchen.

“Drinks!” Jack’s mother announced, causing both you and your mother to perk up. You had stopped crying and you two were laughing about old times. The good times.

“Thank you, kindly.” Your mother said taking a beverage.

You took one as well and was about to take a sip when you felt Jack looming behind you. You tilted your head back to see him staring at you like a little kid. Except taller and with a beard.

“Can I talk to you for a sec, Y/n?” Jack asked, before addressing your mother to say, “I’m just want to steal her for a couple of minutes.”

“Steal away!” Your mother said, “You interrupted our brainstorming session anyway.”

You stood up and put your drink on a coaster on the coffee table. You followed Jack through the house to the back door that led to the backyard. You two stood on the patio, staring at each other. Your skin pricked with goosebumps, but you pretended that you weren’t cold because you didn’t want Jack to feel bad.

“Y/n...” Jack’s voice was measured, but in the low lighting of the patio light, you could see how nervous he was. “I know you don’t believe in marriage, but I do believe that you’ll get married one day. And I do think I’ll be at that wedding. What I’m not sure is, what would I be. A guest? The best man? The groom?”

Your eyebrows shot up at the last one. You weren’t expecting this at all. All evening, you had thought about the kiss you shared in front of Jack’s house and wondered if he may want to be more than just casual. But, marriage? That sounded scary.

“Jack, I--”

“For the record,” Jack cut in. “I am happy with all three roles. Sure, there’s one I would prefer more than the others, but whatever you want is most important to me.”

“Which role do you want?” You asked, feeling your throat go dry.

Jack smirked. “I asked you first.”

You stared down at your feet. Your whole body felt like it was on fire. You sure weren’t feeling cold now. Deep inside of you, locked away with all your childhood dreams, probably in the same spot where Buttercup and Lilo and Stitch resided, was this image of you in a princess ball gown walking down the aisle. At the end of that aisle, you saw Jack. But next to you, you saw your father and that terrified you. At some point, your mother walked toward your father in a white dress thinking it was the start to her happily ever after. And it was a nightmare. How could you be sure that Jack wasn’t going to end up the same way?

“I want to say groom.” You confessed, shyly. “But, I just...”

Your voice trailed off. Jack walked closer to you and you could feel his eyes on you, but you wouldn’t look up at him. You could tell he was smiling though. You could tell you said the answer he wanted to hear. And that made you happy, but also scared because you couldn’t voice the second part. The second part that admitted you weren’t ready to do this. Especially, not after today.

Jack grabbed your hands and waited until you met his eyes before he spoke. “Y/n, I’m not proposing to you right now. We have a few more steps and a lot more adventures before we get there. You know how much I want to fall in love and I want to love you. I want to be loved by you. I want to do this whole thing together.”

Your eyes glossed over and you nodded. “I just need some time.”

“And you’ll get it.” Jack confirmed. “You’ll get time with me, by your side. I’ll give you as much space or as little space as you want. And if you want to take a break from all of this, then I’m happy to go at your pace. But, I’m going to really try. I have a crazy vision of how I want my life to be and I can’t think of anyone better to share it with.”

You hugged Jack tightly, overcome with emotion. You rested your chin against his chest and met his smile. He leaned in and kissed your forehead over and over again. It was like each kiss was trying to slow chip away at the ice that formed around your heart. You weren’t sure how many kisses it would take, but you new that neither of you were going to stop trying to find out any time soon.

A/N: Thank you for the opportunity to write this, anon! I do hope you liked it. This was my first time writing something that leaned more angst than romance without a clear cut happy ending.

For inspo, I re-read “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover to draw on her excellent writing. That book is pretty heavy (see trigger warnings here), but very well written.

I felt so guilty to my own father who is nothing like this as a wrote this. (Sorry, dad, but you’ll never see this so no worries xD)However, I unfortunately know many people who have parents/caregivers as how I described.

For all of you that related too much to this, I am sending you lots of love ♥ If you or someone you love is a victim of abuse, definitely check out thehotline.org.

#jack harlow #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow fanfic #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow blurb #r-writes-fic

163 notes · View notes

redcarat · 2 years

Text

𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐 : 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

summary : Mingyu convinces you to model for one of is projects and then one thing leads to another. genre : College!au , fwb to lovers , mutual pining , Smut!! , Angst pairing : fashion student!mingyu x STEM!reader warning : mentions of sex , making out , swearing A/n : so i am back from the dead ...sorry for being gone for long but now im back...hope ya'll enjoy ...MINORS DNI .. <33

Mingyu’s mornings are basically bitter coffees and scrambling through magazines to find outfit inspo for class . He , Minghao and Seokmin share an apartment together . Minghao , also a fashion major, scrolls through his phone and Seokmin plays a match on his Nintendo smash.

“Hey Seok…” mingyu muttered while sipping his black coffee mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say before he got a simple hmm for seokmin who was working through a Mario kart round with Olympian-like intensity . “ do you think y/n would model for me if I asked her ?” mingyu rushed through the question with as much obliviousness as he could muster….silence....

Now both Minghao and Seokmin turned around to face him , Seokmin’s game had stopped and Minghao almost dropped his phone . “Since when have you been into her ?” he rubs his eyes expecting some stupid excuse waiting in Mingyu's brain .

“I'm not into her…I'm just interested in her” mingyu was now shifting around in the kitchen waiting for the clock to strike 9 so he could leave this mess and run away to the comfort of his studio .

“That's what you say all the time..” Minghao said breaking the silence …”each and the next moment they end up in your bed” Seokmin added , standing up .

“She lives rights across us” mingyu started reasoning

“And that makes her qualified for modeling …?” Minghao snatched the half eaten croissant from Mingyu's hand

“I see her everyday…she's pretty hot '' Mingyu grabbed his stuff and headed towards the door.

Mingyu doesn't see it but seokmin and Minghao look at each other having a whole conversation silently and get up to prepare for a house party .

"Would you want to model for me ?" Mingyu said, Getting closer to you on the beat up couch ."i bet you'd look really hot in an outfit I made" he added on in an attempt to persuade you. You felt like a schoolgirl being recognized by her crush, and the idea alone made your stomach curl onto itself. What the hell were you even thinking about? Yeah, Mingyu was pretty hot, but he was also kind of a douche and you didn’t want to get involved with that mess of a person. Or at least that was what you were trying to convince yourself of. “I mean…” he continued, “you’re even rocking this knee-level dress right now, can’t even imagine how you’d look if—"

"I get it .Thank you ...I'll think about it" you interrupted him , because how on earth were you supposed to react when he was blatantly flirting with you ? You held on to his shoulders with the very little will power you had left in you preventing him from getting any closer . It would be a lie to say that you didn't want to pull him in , make out with him and run away in shame .

“did'ya think about it yet?” Mingyu grinned, putting his hand on yours and removing them from his shoulders . When had the two of you gotten so close? There was barely any space between your chests. “But it's totally cool if you don't want to do it , well it would ruin this vision i had and—”

"I'LL DO IT !!"....fuck.....

Terrible horrible idea…..but then again you were pretty bored and wanted to step out of your comfort zone . Obviously you won't sleep with him , you’ll just try some , pose and he’ll take a few pictures . It's for a project ; and you’re being a good friend . But you two weren't even that much of friends ; he was just a boy next doo—

“Really! Well, let's go to my room. I'll take your measurements. '' Mingyu pulls you lightly by the hand in the direction of his room . you gulped …its final

Mingyu kept running his hands all around your body , your back , your shoulders or maybe that was in your head …your heart was thumping , muscles tightening up . you wondered if he felt it too. “You're too stiff …loosen up” he said stroking your back …he did feel it . Now Mingyu was directly in front of you and you couldn't hold yourself back from looking up at him. The ambient lights of the room glimmering in your room . He was focused on his work, maybe that added to the feeling of a whirlpool forming in your stomach .

He finally looked at you, understanding the secret message you tried to tell him . “Is this position making you uncomfortable ?” “No,” you answered, crossing your arms before your chest. mingyu followed the movement and his gaze got stuck on the shape of your breasts for a second too long, making a newfound wave of heat rise up to your cheeks. “Not as much as you’re trying to make me uncomfortable right now.”

He chuckled. “You do look cute when you’re shy,” mingyu teased, taking a step towards you, and you took another one back, pretending you were just going to lean against the table. You sat on it in a weird diagonal position, with one leg still on the ground and the other dangling over the edge. Mingyu was so close that, when he spoke again, voice just above a whisper, you could feel his breath on your skin. “If you don’t want me here, just ask me to go and I’ll go.” You opened your mouth to respond, but no words came out. The atmosphere was filled with electricity, your body drowning in the warmth of his presence, the sharp seriousness in his dark eyes, and you could not bring yourself to say anything. Did you want him to leave? No, you realized in a rush of adrenaline, you didn’t want him to leave at all.

Mingyu raised one of his eyebrows. “Hmm? Nothing?” He smirked, placing himself between your legs. Every nerve of your body was screaming for you to touch him, to just wrap his mouth with yours, and you simply could not respond to any of its commands. “I want you to tell me if you want me to stop or not ….no hard feeling …promise “ he came even closer to you if that was even possible This time, you spoke out and the firmness and certainty in your voice surprised even yourself. “I don’t want you to stop.”

“No?” His voice sounded like honey, so deep and melodic even through the thick layers of his sarcasm. You had never heard him get so serious, so focused, and the thought that it was all for you was igniting a fire inside your guts. He smiled at you knocking your breath out and proceeded to give you the most impatient , sloppy kiss ...it was all teeth and spit .

Mingyu picked you up without breaking away for a second and placed you on his bed, pausing to look at you “you’re just full of surprises aren't you..”

tagging : @bekah931215215 , @hwaluvx , @haogyuslut , @miniaturegardenerkingdom , @gaebestie , @kwonranghae , @dkseokmin-blog , @sivabonn , @ceebunnyy

#mingyu smut #mingyu imagine #seventeen smut #mingyu fluff #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen #mingyu x reader #seventeen college!au #mingyu college!au #windows-redcarat #cece writings

89 notes · View notes

poorlittleyaoyao · 1 year

Note

I saw your post about being shocked that CQL!JGY being unsympathetic and have to say that…I agree??? Like, JGY is my second-favorite and I felt so bad for him the whole time even if he was doing the bad stuffs.

Yeah!! Don't get me wrong, JGY's got plenty of fully valid potential dealbreakers, but those things are true in the novel, too. (The exception, IMO, is Qin Su's situation; it's a mess in both canons, but his show self makes it actively worse.)

Even the change in his relationship with NMJ I'm not super pressed about, because Novel!NMJ sounds like a violent asshole whose main purpose is to be a dismembered plot device, whereas the one in CQL is an actual character. My sympathizing with NMJ doesn't prevent me from also sympathizing with JGY, or even taking JGY's side in the divorce! Sympathizing with both of them just makes me more invested in their conflict, because I can see why each feels the other's betrayal so keenly. The novel dynamic just has me looking at NMJ and going "lmao deserve," which is much less enjoyable because neither the narrative nor the other characters agree.

CQL seems to generally downplay or outright eliminate the political or social elements of the overarching conflicts. JGY's one of the characters hardest-hit by this, for obvious reasons, but it harms everyone else too. JC and WWX's sacrifices don't hit as hard without an understanding of the special status cultivation conveys and the elitism within the jianghu. If JGS is just a douche and not a powerful threat after Sunshot, the other young sect leaders (NMJ included!) appear spineless in their failure to oppose him.

What it attempts to do instead is replace the political conflicts with personal ones, and since this is a fantasy world rather than historical fiction, it largely works for me. I don't think anyone who watched JGY and his big wide woobie eyes get punted down the stairs, keep a straight face while being bullied, limp his way politely out of the Unlean Realm, be told he's unfit to hold his baby nephew, and generally experience life as one long customer service shift from hell and STILL not feel bad for him is gonna change their tune with context. Like, nobody's out there like "well, I thought he was the irredeemable worst, but then I found out about his exemplary public infrastructure projects, so now I think he's swell!" The exemplary public infrastructure projects (and the added details from his tragic backstory, especially him being #1 Mama's Boy) are there as VINDICATION for those of us who got won over by the sad woobie eyes.

28 notes · View notes

sparkles-oflight · 8 months

Text

Have I ever told you, you are like Dopamin? - CHAPTER 2 - Plastika

Master Post | Chapter 1

Author's note: Hello, hello! Welcome to chapter two 🙃 I hope you enjoy this one!

Word count (according to Word): 5334 words

✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡

It’s 11 am. I am well rested, I’ve drunk my coffee, and I’ve done everything I needed to do – well at least according to my to-do list. I’m just so glad the meeting wasn’t early like yesterday. I hate to wake up early in the morning and I hate every and any interaction when I’m in a “half-sleep” state.

I walk up to the studio and notice it’s already open. Nace must have arrived earlier to open it.

Or so I thought.

I placed my stuff in the meeting room, and as I walking up to the recording room, I hear guitars, bass, drums, and even voices.

- “Waiting for the rain to wash away” – I heard Francisca’s voice – “Everything the shadow dancers say”.

They seemed to be singing “Carpe Diem”, so I entered the room where Todd was listening to them sing.

- “As we light up with the fall of dusk”.

- “We'll play our love against your hate” – Bojan kept it going while also playing the guitar - “Don't you count on us to let you win today”.

I saw her slowly waving at me.

- “Let me hear you say”!

- “We'll dance and play until the stars fade”. – both sang together.

- Ah-ah – Jan would try to sing my back vocals.

- “Across the sky, we're writing our names”.

- Ah-ah. – I also sang along, but they couldn’t hear me.

- “Got no regrets, we want it all”. – Bojan sang solo this time.

- “Got no regrets, we want it all”. – and she followed right after.

- “Won't count the hours 'til the sunrise”.

- “Got no regrets, we want it all”. – they truly sounded like a powerful duo with their voice and pitch matching so well.

- “Let's leave a mark before our goodbyes” – and they joined their voices together once more – “Because we're only fully alive this moment in time”. – and I just sang along with them from where I was - “No mountain we can't climb”.

- “We danced and played until the sun came” – and once more, it was just Bojan’s voice as the instruments quieted down – “Writing a story using our names”.

And slowly I saw him turning his head towards Francisca. He held her hand, smiling.

- “About a generation not afraid to seize the day”… - and it was all quiet.

When their eyes met, it truly felt like the song, from Bojan’s perspective, meant more than just a “party like crazy” song. From my perspective…it was different. The truth is that Bojan doesn’t sound the same when he sings in English…there’s something lacking there. And I think Francisca does bring up that something. Both their voices are very similar, and she does have a weaker control over it, sure. However, she excels in interpretation, especially in English…

- Nice. – Nace grabbed a bottle of water – I need to have a break.

- Kris! – she said putting her headphones down.

I walked into the room they were in. She was smiling at first, but quickly that smile vanished as she remembered our past interactions…

- Hey everyone! I can’t believe everyone actually got here early.

- Actually, you are the only one late. – Maček said while picking up his lighter.

- Wait, what?

- We started two hours ago… - she said.

- Why am I the only one who doesn’t know about this? Again?

- Wait, you are telling me you are not in the group chat? – the cat boy said.

- I am… Did you kick me out of the SSF group chat!?

- No, I mean the Joker Out group chat on WhatsApp.

- We have a WhatsApp group now?

And at that moment I heard a notification from my pocket. I looked at my phone and saw: “Douch bag from TikTok has added you to ‘Collab’ group”.

- I might have forgotten to add you – said the Douch Bag, Bojan.

- Very funny…

- Oh, so that’s why I couldn’t save your number. – Francisca said – I just assumed you had me blocked. – I sure as hell can block her now.

- What were you guys doing? – I asked Nace since both Jure and Jan seemed to be out of the room.

- We were trying to figure out her singing key and rhythm.

- We don’t need to change a lot since her voice pitch is very similar to Bojan’s. They both seem to sing in similar keys.

- We were experimenting with Carpe Diem since it’s a song that she can sing well pretty much with no problems. – Nace was back to speaking Slovenian to me, so I looked at the couple who seemed to not be paying attention to what had been said – It’s just easier to experiment this way. You can play now. Bojan was just filling in for your position.

I walked up to those two and grabbed Bojan’s guitar.

- This is mine now.

- What?

- I’ll have it now. – I smiled at him – I’m the guitarist, after all.

- Oh, yeah. Sure, man. – he gave me the guitar and went towards Nace – I’m going outside. Wanna join?

- Yeah, no problem.

- And you? – he asked Francisca.

- I’m fine. I would rather not have to inhale the smell of smoke right now.

Both of them laughed as they left.

I was fidgeting with my rings and hands, and every time I played a cord, the sound just wouldn’t come out…

- So… - she said as she sat down.

But then she stopped. She started rocking in her chair with no idea of what to say. I tried to get the guitar the way I wanted but instead, I only got more nervous because nothing was going how I wanted. Eventually, I actually let a grunt out. That is the second time it has happened when I was next to her. Her stare alone can be pretty annoying.

She looked nervous as if she wanted to say something.

- What?

- I didn’t want to say anything…because you surely know more than I do…but…

- But what?

- Your guitar is unplugged. – I looked at it and I saw it – When you grabbed the guitar, the cord fell.

- Are you shitting me? – I sighed.

- That’s why, no matter how much you raised the volume, it was not working as it should.

- Thanks…I got that. - I resigned.

- No problem… and…

I looked at her.

- Nothing…

- What?

- It’s really none of my business but… you really have beautiful hands…

- And?

- As someone with small hands, I really like them. Also, I like to draw! And hands really do provide some of the best shapes in art.

- You draw?

- Yeah…I could draw you someday…

- I see you two get along. – Matej’s voice entered the room.

- Well, do we now? – She turned to me.

- I wouldn’t say that. – I said sitting down as well.

- I know Bojan is kinda “taking care” of her, but you know you are the boss in this band.

- I’m not exactly the “boss”. Nobody is.

- And I’m not exactly being “taken care of”. – she cringed at the thought of it – I’m my own person and adult. I would rather not be taken as a baby just for being slightly younger, thanks.

- Sorry about that. – he apologized to her - I’m going to call the rest of the boys. – and just like that he was gone.

- Ah, sorry. I was rude again. – she told me as she took a sip of her water.

- You weren’t exactly rude, just stating what you think.

- Yeah, but I never know when to shut up…honestly. I don’t understand much about social cues…

That seems funny. I thought she had this strong character and knew exactly what she was doing. So…she is just winging it? I guess that makes sense, putting a character on should be easier for her…But it also makes it harder for me to understand and connect with her…because I don’t know who she is. And I don’t know if I’m ready to go through something like that again. Knowing someone who doesn’t want to be honest, but instead prefer to act and put on layers of masks…

- Do you… - but before I could ask anything, I was cut off by the sound of the loud but short guy we all know and love.

- Are we ready for more!? – he said enthusiastically.

✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤✦♤

I had Fran next to me…we were both looking for some inspiration, but it’s not easy if no one actually has any idea of what to do…

- I have an idea! – Fran broke the ice after a while of being stuck coming up with a concept.

- I’m all ears. – I told her.

- We want a love story, right?

- Yeah.

- Why don’t we spin a wheel?

- What?

- We spin a wheel with different options on what we want to do for the song’s concept and then we decide what to do.

- Where do you intend to get a wheel? – Kris asked her.

- Online, duh. – she smiled as she got her cell phone from her pocket – There are some templates where you just fill in what are your options, press “spin”, et voilà: you get a randomized answer.

- Let’s do that then! – I told her.

- First, “girl meets boy” or “boy meets girl”?

She wrote both options down and I placed my arm around her comfortably.

- Girl meets boy! – she announced.

- Oh my god, it’s us. – I bopped her nose and she smiled.

- Next, who falls first and the hardest?

The wheel spun once more, and the answer was clear:

- Holy shit, you like me? – I told her.

- Apparently, yes! – she said with a smile and with her hand on her chest.

- But where am I from? North, South, West, or East and central Europe?

- You are…

The answer was convenient:

- East and Central Europe. – I slapped my knee and, ironically, I said:

- Oh, what a coincidence. I know a guy like that!

- I’ll let you decide which country he’s from then.

I stretched my arms because of how offended I was by that question. He’s obviously from:

- Slovenia! – I told her, and she laughed.

- Okay, and the girl is from…- and the wheel spun.

- Ah, if it isn’t my favorite part of Europe: southern Europe. I personally believe she should be from Portugal, the capital of Spain.

- Shush! – she hit me lightly – You are this close to Slovenia becoming the capital of Croatia. – she said showing me her two fingers close to each other.

- That’s pretty and all, but uh… - Jan interjected – what about the actual story?

- Wait, I’ll write a bunch of tropes and see which one gets selected.

She copied and pasted the most popular music tropes onto the wheel.

- “Soulmates” … - Kris read the result out loud.

- Good or bad ending? – she said with a trickster smile.

- “Good ending”.

- That’s settled! – I announced by getting up and stretching! - It’s the beautiful story of a girl… - I ask for her hand, which she gives it – who came from a country bathed by the sun and the ocean to a beautiful country that borders the Mediterranean Sea.

- Slovenia has barely any coastline.

- A beautiful country nonetheless. – I help her get up like she was a lady – She meets a boy – I held her by the waist with one hand and with the other, I took her hand – who’s her soulmate and they fall in love.

She doesn’t directly look at me. Instead, she looked at the other members, in embarrassment, and held onto me as well. And after a dramatic pause, I finally let go of her hand and release a bit of her waist.

- I like the idea! – I said with assertiveness and in a funny tone. She laughed and hugged me sideways.

- Well, that was certainly dramatic. – she sat down again.

- Well, that’s what I live for! Drama! – I did some jazz hands which got her doing the same as me.

- Okay this is good, for you guys – Kris muttered – but lyrics aren’t really what is important right now.

- No… - she said – But now that we have a theme going on, we can research the topic. As a matter of fact…- she looked at me.

- Throughout the past months, the two of us have been talking a lot… and we have both shared songs that remind us of our cultures.

- So, we might have an inspiration for what the vibes of the characters are.

- So… - Kris noted – everything just fell into its place very nicely?

- It’s cool, isn’t it? – I showed some enthusiasm to that gloomy face of his.

But it seemed not to be enough. He has been like this since yesterday. He looks annoyed at how things seem to be going smoothly with Fran’s integration and possibly how quickly they are moving…. And he clearly wanted some time and space alone.

So, I did what any normal person would do.

I jumped on top of him and tickled him until he started hitting me with a pillow and we eventually fell on the drums’ cymbals.

- I HATE YOU! – Kris yelled as he laughed his ass off.

- I LOVE YOU TOO! – I was still on top of him. He tried to fight me off with his hands, which I grabbed and kissed him on the forehead.

I smiled and let my tongue out to mock him.

- ENOUGH! – Matej finally shouted at us. – Do you want to pay for damaged materials?

We looked around us as we sat on the floor, and we saw what we had just done. Everyone was very quiet after our storm… But not for too long… Nace and Fran were looking at each other, red as tomatoes, and they were trying to see who would burst out laughing first.

However, it was Maček the first who snorted. It was loud enough to break those two poker faces.

- “I LOVE YOU TOO” – Nace mimicked me – That was too good! - And the younger had already lost her shit and was laughing on the sofa.

Jan, on the other hand, was covering his face so that we wouldn’t see his expression, but I bet it was priceless. I smiled at Kris.

- Not my fault you have such a kissable face. – I told him in Slovenia since Fran was clearly busier trying to breathe.

I got up and Kris lightly slapped me in the butt as I walked towards the sofa. He barely managed to hit me - he was still gasping for air.

Matej and the whole crew were already fed up with us. So fed up that they had to call in lunch early so we decided to go out for a smoke break outside… It’s starting to get cold though and we’ll have to find an alternative to smoking in the studio since Fran is so sensible to the smell…

- Where do we go to eat today? – Juček asked after he let the smoke of the cigarette out of his lungs.

- Honestly, I’m not sure. – I told him, doing the same thing.

- Cya everyone! – Fran said rushing away from us.

- Where are you going?

- Having lunch with my friend! – she only stopped after reaching a safe distance from our “smoke corner”.

- Do you come back in the afternoon!?

- Obviously, you dumb-dumb ¡Nos vemos!

- What did she say? – Juček wondered.

- She said uh, that she’ll see us, in Spanish, right? – Jan waited for my confirmation.

- Yup.

✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡✦♡

The five of us walked up again to that tiny room we were in this morning. We would have to, once again, deal with being stuck and! With a small creature claiming to be a singer, also known as Francisca.

- I can’t believe you brought me to a sandwich place… - Nace complained

- But there were gluten-free options. – Bojan told him.

- Yeah, but gluten-free bread is *not* the same.

- You are a big boy! – the small annoyance told him, in English, and hugged Nace’s arm – You need carbs!

- “You are a small boy! You need soup!” That’s what my grandma would have said. – and of course, the only one who would say that would be her, Francisca, who walked in.

Bojan immediately hugged her and, this time, he even went for two kisses on the cheeks.

- Two kisses? – I asked.

- Last time Bojan tried to go for three kisses we ended up kissing on the lips. – she pointed it out very casually.

- Do you just kiss twice in Portugal?

- Yup. – she shrugged – So officially, Bojan was the first person to ever kiss me. Even if accidentally.

- Also, she’s so bad at kissing people on the cheek – he mocked her.

- Hey!

- It’s true! You don’t know how to kiss on the cheek, and I find it hilarious. She’s like a child!

- You see why we don’t do it. – she looked at me and pointed at him.

She ended up sharing the playlist both of them had worked on. And after some back and forth, we even start coming out with some sounds. We even decided to incorporate one extra instrument that Bojan knows how to play: the accordion. Apparently, it was a common sound found in both folklore songs that they had compiled. I personally don’t think the sound of the accordion fits our music style, and we still want to be very truthful to our music style. The problem is, Francisca is not attached to a specific music style, and she likes music experimentation so we also should incorporate that part, but we are struggling a bit with it.

- I have an idea… - she said – my “character” comes to Slovenia, right? What if she brought a sound with her? It doesn’t have to be an instrument.

- Go on… - Bojan told her.

- For example, there’s stuff that reminds me of Portugal, certain sounds such as the guitar, like I told you. – she looked at Jan that nodded back at her – now imagine the sound of her footsteps when she meets the boy. In Portugal, we have this thing called “Portuguese Calçada”.

She pulled up her phone to show how the pavement of some sidewalks is done in Portuguese culture. Different black and white rock squares composed the shapes and drawings on the floor.

- It’s very pretty. – Jan told her.

- Yes, but it’s an endangered art. It’s too dangerous for people that aren’t used to walking on them and don’t expect holes in the floor. Or when it’s raining! This rock is super slippery. Now, see this.

She showed us some shoes with flower patterns sewn onto them.

- These are some shoes we use in typical folklore, there are different types of shoes and materials, but the traditional ones were in wood.

- So, what you are saying is…? – Jan was nearly asleep from the long explanation.

- Imagine the “wind” brings the sound of these shoes hitting the mosaic on the floor. It would be a really good repercussion sound.

- Took you that long just to sa- I was going to make a snarky comment, but I was stopped by our loud “leader”.

- ¡Maravilloso! – Bojan told her.

- ¡Muchas gracias, Bojan!

- Aren’t you Portuguese? – I told her – shouldn’t you refrain from speaking in Spanish?

- You aren’t the only ones allowed to speak multiple languages, obrigado.

We kept listing a bunch of noises and possibilities, Bojan and Francisca thought too much alike…even behaved similarly, she was just a bit shyer. When one cracked a joke, the other one had the perfect quote to complement it. When one was stuck, so was the other, and whenever one needed a break, so did the other. These two morons share a brain cell.

I thought that was just too funny. So, I let out a little snort and everyone looked at me.

- Are you okay? – Bojan asked as a grin formed on his face – What’s so funny?

I noticed the staring and decided to compose myself.

- I was sneezing. – I ahem to get my voice back to being firm - But I agree, a break sounds nice.

- Are you okay?

- Yeah, sure, man. – and I coughed some more – I’ll just not go outside right now. It’s a bit cold.

- Do you have a cold? – I noticed everyone starting to talk to me in Slovenian, as I tried my best to stay in English.

- No, I am fine. Just need to eat something.

- Me too. – Jan put down the guitar - I’m starving.

Everyone got up and we all went towards the vending machine to get some snacks. Nace had to stick to the ones he brought from home. Afterward, the guys left to smoke, and it was just me and Francisca in the room, once again.

We didn’t talk for a solid minute. She had her earphones plugged in – as if we hadn’t already listened to enough music and sounds in the past couple of hours – and wrote a lot on her cellphone. Even so, from time to time, I would catch her looking at me. Eventually, I asked.

- Okay, who are you texting?

- What? – she said with a confused face as she unplugged her earphones.

- Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. You are probably texting someone you like, and you don’t want me to tell Bojan that you are seeing someone else.

- What are you talking about? – she still had that same expression of pretending that she doesn’t know what I’m talking about.

- Come on, at this point, everyone knows you two have been dating in the past couple of months. If you are cheating on him, you can tell me, and I’ll make sure to tell him for you. I just don’t want you out there breaking my friend's heart like that.

- What!?

- Come on…You wouldn’t talk so casually about an “accidental” kiss, or even behave so alike if you two do if you weren’t dating. You might not realize this because you never had a relationship before, but cheating hurts. Either that or you are just a big “pick me” and are making everything possible to be the perfect partner for Bojan, which, if you are here for that, you might as well have not come. We don’t need an actor playing a character, we need someone focused, and right now you are just slowing us down!

- Comes merda às colheres ou nasceste assim? – she said it with her hand in her head seriously getting angry at me.

- What?

- It means “Do you eat shit with spoons or were you born like that!?”

- Didn’t you say you like people telling you what they are thinking!? Why are you so rude?

- YOU ARE BEING RUDE! I am not dating Bojan! Bojan is helping me out every step of the way. And you? Ever since I stepped foot here yesterday, you have been throwing me shade with snarky comments, side-eying me, and constantly tearing me down and sometimes straight up excluding me. If you want this done in time, be a fucking professional and grow up!

Wait…They are not dating…? And I’m the one being rude? I’m the one excluding her? I don’t think I had realized that…If anything I thought I was the one being excluded. Her bright personality seemed to be shining on top of everyone else’s, and her “narcissistic gentleness” seemed more like an act than her own feelings…but if that’s so…why do I see truth in her eyes right now…?

I had no idea she felt that way. She felt the same as me.

- I’m sorry…

- Well, you better be! – she sighed - I’ve been trying to get along with everyone. And it’s frustrating that no matter what I do, you still treat me like this…

She went silent for a moment...

- Sorry for bursting onto you like that… - she said plugging her earphones again – I understand that I’m hard to deal with, and I understand two days is too long for anyone to put up with my BS, let alone two months. I should have regulated a bit more my emotions. I’m sorry…

Silence again… but this time, I’m the one bringing in the sound.

- Do you need help with something…?

She looked at me…as if I finally said the right words…

- I… - she stopped and messed around with her hair – I’m just texting my friend…I’ll be fine…

- I apologize for making so much drama with you and Bojan… - I looked at the floor and fidgeted with the rings in my hand.

- No, it’s fine… - she said, also looking at the floor.

- I’m sorry I’m acting like a child. I’m an adult… - I sighed as I looked up to avoid a tear to get away from my eyes – I should know better by now that I shouldn’t mess around with other people’s lives and not make assumptions…

- It’s fine… - she kept saying, not actually listening.

- And I was rude…I’m sorry. – she was not listening to a single word of what I was saying. She was just disassociating.

I approached her and kneeled down to see her expression. Her eyes were red from holding back her tears and she started biting on her nails, which was hurting her…

- Hey… - I said as I grabbed both her shaking hands – What do you need?

She took a deep breath and finally let out a single tear. With her voice sulking she finally asked for what she needed.

- So, uh…my manager is going back to Portugal after this week. And I also only have a reservation for a couple of days at the hotel. I was hoping I would find an apartment to rent until January easily here, but I guess it’s just as hard as in my country.

- Can’t you stay longer at the hotel?

- Nope, every single one is booked in Ljubljana until after Christmas, and it’s super expensive either way. Sorry, I don’t make that much money. – she laughed, as more stray tears left her eyes.

- That’s why you were texting your friend?

- Yup. She – she breathed in a little bit, and she was starting to get calmer – she says I can stay at her home for a bit, but personally, I would feel bad because her parents don’t speak a word of English. – she smiled – Do you have a tissue?

I touched my pockets, but I couldn't find the ones I thought I had with me.

- Sorry, already took them away from you. – she said smiling and showing me the package.

- What!? How!?

- You probably have a hole in your pocket. That’s how. – she finished cleaning up her nose and face.

- Oh god, I really do have a hole in my pockets! – I said as I found the motherfucker.

- Let me see. – she said putting the tissues in my pockets.

- They are not just gonna fall out like that.

- I mean… if you move around, they probably will fall.

- Let me just- I was about to get up but before I could process it, a couple of arms were hugging me.

They were of a small person with a long green and white sleeve shirt. They had puffy short hair and the most beautiful brown eyes you could ever picture. That was brave of her…How come she hug someone with whom she was just angry at? Who mistreated her? I understand the whole “forgive and forget thing” …but she should really learn how to have some self-respect.

I wanted to say that…but it did feel nice to have her around me for once…

- Fran… - she let go of me and smiled directly making eye contact with me.

- Nice to meet you. – she told me, extending her hand – My name is Francisca, but you can call me Fran, like you just did.

I was hesitant at first, but I took her hand.

- You must be Kris, right? I really enjoy your music. I’m very glad I got the chance to talk and work with you.

I laughed awkwardly and then I finally accepted it: this is the true way we first met. Eye to eye, no pretending to care about each other, no bickering…

- Yes, I’m Kris. And I hope this collaboration sails smoothly.

She smiled a lot. She was for once looking at me brightly. She was looking at me as someone who actually took her into consideration. She was looking at me as someone meaningful in her life. I hope I’m looking at her in the same way…

From the entrance, I heard some claps. We both looked at the door, and everyone had already returned.

- Whoaw, that was beautiful. – the author of the claps, Nace, said – Bojan is crying.

- No, I’m not. – he tried to wipe away a couple of tears that were running out of his eyes – it’s the cold!

- Think fast! – I told him.

I threw at him the tissue packet, only for it to hit his face and then land on his hands.

- You deserved that for eavesdropping.

- We weren’t here for too long actually. – Juček said as he was doing pull-ups in the doorframe.

- We came in when she was already crying. – Jan walked towards his guitar – So, uh, you need a place to stay?

- Well, I’ll have to find something, yes. – she said still cleaning her face.

- Bojan – Jan called for him – Don’t you have a spare room in your house?

- Yeah, I do. – then Bojan redirected his attention to Francisca – You could totally sleep there, if you are okay with it. I live with Martin, but he’s studying most time. – he crossed his arms – If I sleep on the sofa, my room should be available. Free of charge.

- But I could never do that! – she protested – If I were to go live with you guys, first you’d have to ask Martin. Second, I’m not using your room! It’s yours! I would sleep on the sofa. And third, I can’t stay there free!

- If you insist a lot, I might make you do my laundry.

- Yes, me messing around with a washing machine in Slovenian makes a lot of sense. – she looked at him with a tired look.

The lovebirds debated back in forth for a while before settling on Francisca staying at Bojan’s house until the end of this journey.

And once again, I had that annoying feeling in the back of my head. About this whole collaboration, about Bojan and Francisca’s relationship…why do I despise her? Or do I? I don’t think that’s it… I think I just don’t like all the attention she gets.

Honestly, I would think as an adult I would already have my emotions all sorted out, but, man, I’m a wreck.

WHATSAPP: “+351 XXX XXX XXX sent you 2 messages”

Unknown: Hello hii, it’s Francisca :)

Just wanted to tell you that I arrived at the hotel safely :D

This is your sign to save my number *finger guns*

Unknown: Anyways,

Keep calling me Fran :D

I like it <3

DO YOU WANT TO ADD THIS CONTACT OR BLOCK?

ADD

SAVE AS: “Fran-chica”

♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫

After note: I actually hate to write Kris 😅 at least bitchy Kris like in these first two chapters. Maybe because he's the one I can predict the least out of all the boys. It's hard for me to read that boy (cough cough I just have a crush on him lol Cough cough).

Btw! Franciscas are usually called by Chica or (more recently) by Kika, not Fran. Anyways, in Spanish, "Chica" means "girl". Just thought you'd like to not that info :)

Chapter 3

#joker out #fanfictions #fan fiction #fanfic #fanfics #Have I ever told you you are like Dopamin?#joker out fanfiction #joker out fanfic

6 notes · View notes