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rkvriki · 9 months

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PAIRING ! rich jock!jake x mechanic!reader

SYNOPSIS ! Always having had this passion for cars and fixing them, you found the perfect summer job as a mechanic! Working in a mechanic shop where everyone that worked there was friends with each other was perfect until the friend that didn't work there showed up to get his car fixed.

WARNINGS ! i don't understand a single thing abiut cars or how to fix them it was all googled; jake has daddy-ish? issues; horrendously written angst; reader and jake get pretty heart broken but i cant write angst so its awful; reader thinks jake cheated yikes; curse words; drinking alcohol; reader and jake both have anxiety; reader talks about her past and not having many friends; slighlty suggestive talk but minor friendly! i think it's all, warn me if otherwise!!

word count : 18.9k lol PLEASE READ! so i want to warn everyone that reads this that this story is not my best. I wrote this during a huge writers block and I've never written something as long as this. I know there are flaws and things that could be better, so I'm all open to tips and advice on how to be better at this kind of stories. I would love to write more of this lenght fics even if my blog was not created for that but its a path i would like for it to take. I really apologize if this story doesn't reach your expectations, but I'm only starting so please be nice patient with me. i hope you enjoy this at least a little bit !

Summer jobs were a student’s worst enemy. The desperation of wanting money to go on a trip with friends led anyone to get the first job they could get their hands on. That’s how you end up at your friend's boyfriend's mechanic shop. Sohee told you about his shop when she found out you were looking for summer jobs to get money for your long-planned trip and knew her boyfriend was looking for employees. Everyone who knew you well enough knew you had a special love for cars and were good at fixing some car-related problems. Ever since you were a little child you were always running behind your father when he did some fixing around his car and as you grew up you learned a few things, enough to have friends call you occasionally to fix their cars. You were a little hesitant to accept this job, you had never fixed any big thing in a car and this job looked like it required more knowledge than you had, still after considering how much you needed the money you accepted your friend’s offer.

Sohee explained that only a few people were working around and they were all her boyfriend’s, Heeseung, friends. Heeseung, who ran the shop, does any kind of job around and fixes business and partnership offers, Jungwon worked during the weekends in class months and worked full time during summer break and usually worked in simple things like changing tires and cleaning the cars, Sunghoon who polishes the cars along with Sunoo who also paints and wraps them, Jay worked with changing heavy car pieces and finally, Ni-ki who was friends with all of them and the youngest amongst them all, was also doing this as a summer job and he was in charge of painting costume designs in cars. The 6 of them formed a friend circle along with another one, Jake – who didn’t seem to be working here since he most likely didn’t need to, seeing that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has always been more privileged than the rest of them in Sohee’s words.

Putting on your jacket and grabbing your keys you made your way out. The weather was hot and you were already regretting putting a jacket on as soon as you entered your car and felt how hot it was inside. You started the car, turned the ac on, waited until you could breathe properly, and felt like you wouldn’t melt in the car seat. You grabbed your phone and pasted the mechanic shop address in the GPS app. It wasn’t too far from your house, which you were grateful for since it meant you didn’t need to wake up extra early to reach the shop in time. The drive was quiet, the traffic was low, and deep down you wished it was high just so you could have time to calm your nerves. The app indicated that you were a minute away so you looked around the street until you spotted a sign that read Gearbox Garage. You made a turn and pulled into the small driveway the shop had to park cars. You turned your car off and took a deep breath as you pulled your keys out and got out of the car. You walked to the front of the shop and it looked empty, making you think that maybe you should’ve given Heeseung a call before coming. Looking at the time on your phone, it marked 2:30 pm meaning they could be on lunch break. You walked into the shop and looked around, the shop was well organised for a mechanic shop, it wasn’t as dirty as you expected it to be but small oil puddles and thrown cloths could be seen here and there. There were only a few cars, not that you expected more since the place wasn’t the biggest. Taking one more look around, you saw a door with a sign that said staff only, you walked towards it and knocked, hoping somebody would open it and it would be Heeseung. You waited a few seconds until a tall man opened it with a sandwich in his hand and sauce and bread crumbs in the sides of his mouth. He looked at you with a confused expression as he leaned in the doorway.

“Um I’m here to talk with Heeseung, I’m friends with his girlfriend and she told me he’s looking for one more person to work here so-” you were cut off as the man walked away and shouted, “Heeseung hyung, there’s someone for you!” a faint coming could be heard in the distance as another figure started approaching the door. Said Heeseung appears in front of you. “So you must be the y/n Sohee’s always talking about?” he said looking at you with an extended hand, waiting for you to shake it. You took his hand in yours as you shook it, hoping he didn’t notice how sweaty it was from your nerves. “Ah yeah, that’s me! I’m assuming she told you how I wanted the job, right?” “Oh yes, she did tell me about it and I just need you to answer a few questions to know whether you can get the job is that ok?” Shit, smile and nod y/n. You quickly nodded at his words, hoping he wouldn’t ask if you knew how to do complex things. “I just need to know what kind of things you can fix or have done.” “Oh! I have done quite a few things, I’ve changed oils, fixed engine chains, changed batteries, changed tires and other small fixes.” you nodded and fiddled nervously with your fingers, silently hoping this was enough to have him accept you to this job. Heeseung nodded and slightly smiled at your words and extended his hand again. You looked at his hands and then at him and he laughed at your confusion. “Seems like you’re our newest employee, welcome!” you let out a breath of relief and shook his hand again. “Oh my god, thank you so much! I promise I'll try my best.” you said firmly as you offered him a smile. “No need to thank me. We really need one or two more employees so you’re big help right now. Anyways, you can start maybe tomorrow at 9 am?” “Oh sure, I can, see you tomorrow then!” Heeseung nodded at you and went back to the staff room as you made your way out to your car.

As soon as you sat in your car you immediately texted Sohee, thanking her for having such a nice boyfriend. You put your phone down and sigh happily. You got the job now, what could go wrong? Now you just need to focus on working hard and getting that money to go on that trip.

The sound of your alarm made you stir awake. You groaned as you stretched out and let your arms fall limp in bed with a loud thump. You closed your eyes as you let out a sigh, getting mentally ready for your first day at work. Getting out of bed, you made your way to the bathroom to take your morning shower. You turned the water on and let it warm a little bit before you went in. The warm water felt relaxing against your skin, an almost therapeutic feeling. As you washed yourself you started thinking about how would your first day at work, hoping you wouldn’t embarrass yourself in front of the rest of the boys and could get along with them. Now, it wasn’t like you had a hard time making friends, quite the opposite. Still, you were always a little awkward when you first met people, all thanks to your constant overthinking, never knowing if people enjoyed talking to you or not. You could say you had a pretty vast friend group but you weren’t as close with anyone as you were with Sohee. She has been your best friend for as long as you can remember. She’s been there for you anytime you needed and you for her. Sohee was the one who helped you come out of your comfort zone and try new things. Without her, you wouldn’t enjoy your teenage years as much as you did, hell, if it wasn’t for her you wouldn’t even dream of going on the damn trip.

You got out of the shower and stepped in front of the mirror, wiping some of the steam off of it. You started doing your normal skincare routine that, normally, would be a relaxing moment for you, but now you were only thinking about how you could be getting ready to head to the beach with your friends and drink a cocktail while tanning, and now you were only harshly rubbing the products on your face with irritation. Taking a deep breath you moved to your room to finish getting ready so you could leave the house as soon as you could. You looked in the mirror, taking in your appearance one last time before leaving the house, not that the way you looked right now mattered because you were more than sure that sooner or later you would be covered in oil and car fluids so you opted for your old overalls with an old shirt underneath.

The drive downtown was quiet and easy-going, still, there was some traffic since everyone started their work around the same time. The car’s clock indicated that it was 8:50, making you relieved that you weren’t gonna be late on your first day of work. Making the already familiar last turn, you reached the shop, parking in the lot it had inside. You got out of the car and instantly felt the slight summer breeze that ran through the morning air. Walking inside the shop, you could already hear some shuffling going on around the shop. As you got in further, you saw Heeseung who probably hasn’t noticed your presence yet from his crouched position, cleaning up some tools and putting them in a separate box.

“Good morning, Hee!” you greeted, startling him. He got up and turned to face you with a surprised expression. “Oh hey, y/n! Wasn’t expecting you to be this early, though.” He said, chuckling as he wiped his hands with a cloth. “Well, you know, didn’t wanna be too late on my first day of work, I guess,” you said, swinging yourself back and forth, avoiding his gaze, feeling kinda awkward with yourself for worrying so much about being on time. “Usually the other boys come super late since they come all together so you shouldn’t worry about being on time here. Also, we’re supposed to be all friends here, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself about working here, it’s all chill here!” Heeseung said, trying to reassure and comfort you. “I guess it’s just a matter of time for me to get used to it.” you clapped your hands behind your back as you finished talking. “Anyways, should I start working?” you suggested. “Oh, yeah. Actually, there’s a car that needs an oil change, so maybe you could start by doing that.” Heeseung said, pointing to a red car that was already up in the hydraulic lift. “Sure thing!”

You put on some gloves that Heeseung gave you and started getting to work. Changing oil was something you did quite a lot, it was one of the first things your dad taught you, something that was so hard for you back then is now a piece of cake for you. Having a passion for cars made learning things way easier for you. Obviously, this old passion of yours wasn’t seen as a good thing for some people. Some would tell you girls shouldn’t be working with cars as it was the role for the boys or that you should be playing with your dolls instead of getting in your dad’s way while he was fixing his car. Of course, your little kid self felt awful hearing such things, but your parents would always reassure you that it didn’t matter what they said and that it was okay to want to learn those things. As time went by, people stopped commenting less and less. As you grew up you learned how to stand up for yourself and you wouldn’t leave those people without a response, and with time they learned how to mind their own business.

As you waited for the oil to fully drain, you heard a car pull up in the parking lot and the rest of the five boys arrived together, just as Heeseung had mentioned previously. You got up from your kneeling position and turned to look at them as they all got in and greeted Heeseung. Their loud voices quickly filled the place that was once only filled by the quiet tunes from Heeseung’s playlist and the occasional clanking of tools hitting the floor. You went back to work as they all talked with each other and started getting ready to work. You heard steps coming in your direction, making you look back to where it came from, seeing Jungwon walking towards you with his dimples on display.

“Good morning, y/n! You know it’s weird seeing someone who’s not Heeseung working here this early.” Jungwon said as he walked towards you, chuckling to himself. Stopping what you were doing, you turned all your attention to him. “Guess someone needed to give him some company, no?” you said putting your hands on your hips. “Keep going like that and he might give you the “employee of the month” title,” he said, making you laugh at him. “Anyways, what are you doing?” he asked, nodding at the car above you on the lift. “Oh, changing some oil, was about to put a new filter on.” you said as you pointed at the car’s oil pan, “Shouldn’t you get to work as well?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at him, making him scowl at you. “Don’t remind me, Heeseung gave me a shit ton of cars to clean, got work for a whole week,” he said rolling his eyes. Jungwon walked away to start working on his cleaning duty and you put your focus back on the oil filter.

Soon enough, it was lunchtime and the seven of you were all gathered in the staff room. You were all talking about multiple things and something that came to conversation was how they had never seen you around campus.

“I mean, I guess I’m not necessarily a social butterfly and we might not even have classes in the same place, so that might explain why we never crossed paths.” you explained as you ate some of your tuna-mayo wrap you brought from home, they all hummed in agreement. “What are you majoring in, though?” Sunghoon asked you as he looked up from his lunchbox. “Oh, I study computer science!” “Oh really? Then you must know Jake? Jake Sim? He shares a few classes with comp sci students” Heeseung asked, surprised to know you were in the same major as his best friend. You hummed in thought as the name sounded familiar. “It does ring a bell but I’m not really adding a face to the name though.” You said slightly tilting your head to the side as you tried your best to remember who the hell was Jake Sim. “Yeah, let’s just say his attendance isn’t exactly the highest…” Heeseung said as he hissed quietly. “Oh… yeah that must explain why I don’t remember him then.” You said chuckling. “Don’t misunderstand it. It’s not like he doesn’t care about classes, I mean he kinda doesn’t, but he is much more focused on football.” Heeseung paused as if he was in deep thought. “Jake knows if anything school-related goes wrong for him he can just take over his dad’s business, which most likely will happen.” You hummed, understanding what he meant.

It wasn’t rare for jocks like Jake to skip classes and ignore the fact that they need to graduate. Still, some of them were lucky to have successful family businesses, like Jake was. His father was one of the most prestigious CEOs and businessmen of Seoul and even the whole of South Korea. He led one of the most famous costume software development companies around, starting in a small office in Seoul that, over the years, grew all over the country’s most famous districts. Jake obviously was following his father’s steps, deciding to follow the computer science field so one day he could take over his father’s business. Was this his dream? No. Did he really wanna be a future CEO? Also no. He was doing this solely because he knew his dad would never approve of his younger son pursuing a football career. His older brother, Jaewoo, was already following the business field and Jake was just expected to do the same as him and since the older sibling decided not to work in his father’s company, he was the last hope to keep the business going so he felt like he had no other option. He felt suffocated knowing that everyone had high expectations for him, having people constantly asking him if he was happy to know he would take over the oh-so successful business, to which he obviously smiled and nodded but deep down he felt mad, almost furious, that people only expected him to do that. No one ever asked him about football, even though everyone knew he was good and even the best in the team and could grow so much more in that field if it weren’t for people like them who only cared about status and money. That’s not who Jake wants to become, selfish and greedy.

The day came to an end, the sky had a pink and orange hue to it, creating a beautiful painting, pleasing and conforming to gaze at. You started organizing all the tools you had used, placing them in their respective place in the toolbox Heeseung had lent you. Distant chattering could be heard from the other boys playing around as they had also finished their work for the day. You were walking towards the bathroom to wash your hands when you heard someone call your name.

“Hey, y/n!” You looked back to see Sunghoon, who called you, and the rest of the guys looking at you. “Come out for dinner with us, we’re going to the barbeque place downtown.” “Um, I don’t know guys, it’s gonna get late and we have work again tomorrow…” You said, scratching the back of your neck, suddenly feeling shy, not being used to going out with people you barely knew. “Oh come on, to celebrate your first day being one of us! It’s on Heeseung tonight!” Ni-ki said patting the older man on the back, who was about to complain but quickly agreed with the younger one as he felt him pinching him. “Yeah, y/n, don’t even worry about coming late tomorrow.” Your eyes flickered between all of them until you decided to agree with them, realizing that maybe you need to loosen up a little and stop being such a pussy. You sighed, nodding your head at them “Ok, fine! But I’m not paying!” You said raising your hands. The boys cheered dramatically, making you roll your eyes but laugh nonetheless. “Anyways, I’m going home to get ready, just text me later with the address.” Everyone bid their goodbyes and you made your way back to your car, ready to go home.

As you entered your house, your mom came to greet you, kissing your cheek in the process. “Hey, dear. How was your first day at work?” she asked you, grabbing your jacket and putting it into the coat hanger at your entrance. “Oh, it actually went really well. Wasn’t expecting to work as much as I did, but I’m proud that I could do that much.” “Ah, you must be so tired, honey! Was the lunch I made enough? Oh, maybe I should’ve-” “Mom,” you said laughing “It was more than enough, don’t worry about it, ok?” you reassured her, rubbing her arms that rested on her side as she looked tense. “Anyways, they all invited me to dinner so I’m gonna shower and get ready.” You kissed her cheek and ran upstairs towards your room.

Dinner yesterday went smoothly. All your worries about not being able to get along with them were quickly thrown away when you found yourself talking with them like you’ve known them for ages. The night was filled with laughter, maybe because of the funny stories being shared or maybe it was the alcohol that everyone- except Ni-ki- had consumed. You were glad you were able to let yourself loose and enjoy the night to the max, you couldn’t remember the last time you had that much fun since you were always so busy with college and finals were kicking your ass. The last thing you remember doing that night was texting Sohee that you had gotten home safely and you had enjoyed the night.

Now you were waking up with the buzz of your alarm, opening your eyes only to close them right away when the bright sun rays hit your face. You sat up on the bed, feeling your head pound making you hiss at the strong feeling. You got up and walked to the bathroom scolding yourself to never drink on a work night again.

Driving to work today was painful, no matter how strong the medicine you took was or how much orange juice you drank, the pounding headache you got was not going away and the dark circles under your eyes also weren’t a very pleasant sight to see so you opted to wear a pair of sunglasses. You looked at the time and it marked 9:40 am, definitely not on time but no one could really blame you for being extra slow today and your mom also made sure to take a few more minutes from your time to scold you about being late out and drinking when you had work the next day.

Arriving at the shop, you saw everyone already there making you sigh, hating yourself for being the last one arriving at work. Walking inside you saw that no one was working, instead, they were all sitting at a table near the entrance, some of them laying their head down on the table and others drinking energy drinks to be able to go on with their day. “I don’t even know if it’s safe to say good morning.” you said sitting down next to them, plopping down on the chair, hissing at the quick movement that made the pounding sensation in your head stronger. No one was able to say anything so you were all sitting down in silence, looking at the cars driving by the shop. Any passer-by would think you had nothing to do when in fact there was way too much to do than any of you could.

“Remind me to never do this again, please.” Jungwon said referring to going out until late, making everyone hum in agreement. Suddenly, Heeseung gets up, clapping his hands and then rubbing them together “Let’s get to work. These cars aren’t gonna fix themselves.” Everyone groaned at the older man’s words, some complaining, saying it would be fair to take a day one, only receiving Heeseung’s glare in return. “Anyways, y/n, I know you just got here, but I really need you to do me a favour,” Heeseung said, turning to you. You stared at him through your glasses in response “Pretty please?” He said lacing his hands together, making you sigh and roll your eyes. “Oh my god, fine! What is it then?” You said putting your hand on your hip with a sigh. “I need you to go downtown to pick up a parcel at the post. It has some pieces that I need for the car I'm fixing.” You said nothing in return aside from an I’ll be back soon as you entered the car.

The drive back to the shop was awful, you were stuck in traffic for almost an hour and about to burst in anger. “If it wasn’t for Heeseung and his stupid parcel…” you said, talking to yourself. When you arrived back at the shop you were more than ready to throw hands at Heeseung, if the parcel weren’t so heavy you would be running in his direction. “I swear to God, Heeseung, if you ever, but ever make me go through all this traffic again, man, I swear on my life I won’t-” You stopped in your tracks when you saw what was in front of you. “Oh my good God, what in the good earth, I- oh my goodness.” you dropped the parcel on the floor as you approached Sunghoon who was near the entrance. “Hoon, please tell me I’m not seeing things and my eyes aren’t deceiving me.” You exclaimed, your eyes never moving away from the car in front of you. Sunghoon swore he never saw your eyes shining so brightly “Hoon, is this a freaking Ford Mustang from ‘69?” you said in a high-pitched voice as your hands made their way to your face, cupping your cheeks. It wasn’t until you heard a deep chuckle that you noticed a figure next to Sunghoon. You looked in the person’s direction and you were met with a beautiful, almost ethereal, face that was already looking at you, sporting a smirk, making you feel nervous under his strong gaze. Your eyes looked him up and down, noticing he was dressed in designer head to toe. His face was familiar to you but you couldn’t grasp any memory with his face on it.

“You like it?” he asked, nodding his head towards the car before you. You nodded at him with a hum, words suddenly stuck in your throat and you didn’t even dare to try and speak, fearing your voice would fail you. He chuckled at you, finding amusement in your shy behaviour. “You wanna touch it?” he asked raising his brow as his smirk turned into a beautiful grin. You felt your cheeks grow hotter than before and Sunghoon decided to intervene before Jake could keep going, sensing his suggestive undertone. “Ok, that’s enough for you two, geez!” he said rolling his eyes, before speaking again “Anyways, you can leave the car here and Heeseung or anyone will take care of it, you already know you’re in good hands here so no need to worry.” “Alright then, just call me when it’s done, yeah?” Jake said as he and Sunghoon dapped each other up before he left, not forgetting to wink and wave at you, to which you gave a small wave back. “Kids these days.” Sunghoon said sighing and shaking his head at you, making you frown at him. “Shut up!” you said slapping his arm as you walked past him to pick up the parcel you left on the floor.

You walked back inside the shop, finding Heeseung crouched on the floor as he cleaned some rims he just fixed. “Hey Hee, got your parcel here. Do you want me to put it somewhere or should I just leave it here?” you said as you approached his figure “Oh, you can just leave it in that chair, I’m gonna need that in a while.” he said getting up as he wiped his forehead with his arm. “By the way, Jake’s car, the one in the entrance, needs to get the left view mirror changed, he broke it while parking somewhere. So, since I'm working on this car and it’s gonna take me a while, you’re going to be the one fixing it.” Oh! That was definitely interesting and caught your attention. “Oh, sure, no problem. It shouldn’t take too long.” This was only great. Not only were you fixing one of your dream and favourite cars but you were fixing a hot guy's car.

Later that day you arrived home with a happy sigh. Even though you were feeling extra tired from the hangover and work altogether, you could only think about your new acquaintance, a hot one. It has been a long time since you’ve felt like this for someone or especially for a boy. After your most recent ex-boyfriend, you tried to focus more on yourself and your friends since he hadn’t allowed you to do so. Those were times that were long gone and you wanted to erase them from your memory as you moved on.

You had dinner with your parents and went upstairs to get ready to go to bed earlier than usual to recover those lost hours of sleep. You showered and did your usual night routine, being extra careful and allowing yourself to relax. As you sat in bed, you grabbed your phone, seeing multiple notifications, since you don’t use your phone during work, from texts from your friends and social media ones, but there was one that caught your attention. For a moment you thought you were having delusional visions, but as you clicked on it it took you directly to Jake’s Instagram profile and the top showed the Accept and Decline button. He had found his way to your profile and it had you giggling silently, making you feel like you were in high school all over again. It had been about 3 hours since he sent the request so it was safe to accept without looking like a creep. Taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you proceeded to answer your texts and update Sohee on the tea, so you called her.

“Sohee, I kid you not, he is so attractive, I can’t!” you heard her sigh for the nth time on the phone, feeling her eye roll through the screen. “Y/n, I’ve seen him plenty of times, and trust me, I know he is, but be careful, I heard some things about him, though.” “Don’t worry about that, it’s just a silly crush. I’ll be over it sooner or later.” Sohee sighed again and you could hear her moving around in her bed sheets. “Yeah, whatever. We’ll talk later. Heeseung is calling me.” After talking with Sohee you were left alone with your thoughts as you scrolled on your phone but you weren’t really paying any attention to any of the posts, as you were thinking about Sohee’s warning. You decided to put your phone down and go to sleep to calm the thoughts running through your mind. As you were feeling yourself fall into a slumber, you heard your phone buzz but you chose to ignore it. You turn to the other side, getting comfortable to fall asleep again but again, your phone buzzes making you sit up and grab it aggressively. You turned it on, the bright light making you squint your eyes as you turned the brightness down. You unlocked it, checking who was texting at this hour. You felt your heart pound, getting nervous, as you saw Jake had dmed you. You click on his text, not caring if it had only been seconds from his last text.

simjaeyun_: hey :) 11:37pm

simjaeyun_: ignoring me now mnh? 11:46 pm

youruser: stalking me now huh? 11:47 pm

youruser: didn’t take for the stalker type tbh 11:47 pm

Your heart started beating quicker when you saw how fast he started typing an answer.

simjaeyun_: then what type do you take me to be? 11:48 pm

youruser: well 11:48 pm

youruser: definitely the one who makes other people stalk you not the other way around. 11:48 pm

simjaeyun_: maybe you just caught my attention like that ;) 11:48 pm

youruser: oh? did i now? 11:49 pm

simjaeyun_: maybe, find it out yourself :) 11:49 pm

You looked at the texts, feeling a soft blush creeping on your cheeks as you hugged your knees to your chest. You decided to leave him on read, not really having an answer to his text but Jake himself wasn’t expecting to get one back. You looked at the ceiling, having lost all your sleep by now. You closed your eyes and sighed as you slid down your bed until you were laying down. You turned to the side, watching the moon from your window, which you usually left open since it helped you wake up. You closed your eyes, trying to sleep, as the image of the texts kept appearing in your head, keeping you awake for a while.

The next day you woke up, remembering last night's events, making you clutch your sheets closer to your chest. You sat up on the edge of the bed, as you sighed and rubbed your face with your hands, making your way to the bathroom to do your routine and maybe it would help you keep your thoughts away from him. You looked in the mirror as you brushed your teeth, glad to see your dark circles were already gone. You did your usual skincare routine and headed down to the kitchen to have breakfast, seeing your mom had made you some pancakes and a black coffee, which were placed neatly on the table where she was already eating.

“Good morning mom!” you greeted her with a smile as you sat in front of her. “Good morning, dear! Did you sleep well?” “Oh yeah, I did! I went to sleep earlier to recover from the hangover…” She sighed at your words as she gave you a warning look, reminding you of her scolding. “Is there a special occasion for you to make me breakfast?” You asked as you took a bite of pancakes. “Not really, can’t I be sweet for my daughter once in a while?” She answered and you squinted at her, knowing there was a reason behind it, she wasn’t one to do these things just because. “You came home smilier than usual. Anything special happened at work?” She asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as she could. You stopped your movement for less than a second but enough time for her to notice. “Um, not really, was just happy.” You said after taking a sip from your coffee and putting the mug down. “Are you sure it was just that?” She propped her elbows on the table with her hands intertwined, looking as if she was questioning you for a crime you did. “Yes, mom. I’m pretty sure.” She hummed, taking a sip from her tea. “Is that why you were squealing with Sohee on the phone last night?” You gasped at her words. “Mom! Were you eavesdropping on me?” You asked her shocked that she had heard you talking with Sohee. “Oh no, dear. You know I’m not one to do that. I just happened to be walking past your room and heard you all excited about a certain- oh what was the name?” She stopped, trying to remember “Oh! Jake! Yes, Jake. Now, you wanna tell me about that?” You blushed at her words as if you were caught doing something bad or she heard a secret of yours. “Mom! No!” You said getting up from your chair, leaving a small bit of pancake on your plate. “I’m leaving. I need to go to work. Bye, love you!” You started walking faster, rushing to the door after picking up your house and car keys.

You entered the car, thinking about the conversation with your mom, reminding yourself to be more careful when talking with Sohee on the phone. You reached the shop just on time, parking your car in your usual place, which by now, you claimed as yours. You walked inside, seeing Heeseung and Ni-ki talking about something about a car.

“Good morning guys!” you greeted as you put your lunch bag down. They both looked back at you, seeming relieved you were finally there. “Oh thank God you’re here.” Ni-ki sighed. “Yeah, what’s up?” You asked, intrigued as to what they needed you for. “So, we were discussing car designs for me to do in the car Heeseung is taking care of, but the problem is that we can’t agree on one design.” He started explaining as Heeseunf put his hands on his hips, rolling his eyes at the younger male. “So tell me. in between these which one is better?” He finished, showing pictures of different designs. You hummed in thought as you looked carefully at the pictures and the car behind them. “I think for this car these two thick stripes would fit the best, but that’s my opinion!” “See! I told you! You won’t listen to me. Y/n, he won’t agree with me, please help me.” Ni-ki said as he put his hands together in a plea. “Sorry, Hee. Gotta agree with him in this one.” Heeseung looked at you with a dumbfounded expression. “Don’t fire me?” You said shrugging your shoulders at him. The older man rolled his eyes, sighing as he finally gave in. “Fine, but only because it's two against one.” “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say hyung.” Ni-ki said leaving the area, you looked at him shrugging at him, “Kids these days.” he said under his breath in a mumble.

You grabbed your stuff from where you had previously put it and took it into the staff room. Coming back to the area, you grabbed some gloves and put them on, ready to start working on Jake’s car. Heeseung had already put it in a space for you to fix it and besides it was a box with the side view mirror to replace to broken one. You’ve never changed a mirror before, but you remember one time when your dad did when your mom hit it on the wall while she was parking the car in the garage. It wasn’t much of a hassle, it was easy and simple. You opened the car’s door and you were met with the beautiful interior, which Jake had most likely renovated into a more modern one, but still had a vintage touch to it. The car smelled like a man’s perfume, probably his own, mixed with a leathery scent that came from the beautiful black leather seats with red details. Snapping out of your daze with the car’s interior you went back to work. You started by carefully taking out the mirror’s trim cover and removing the screws that were hidden.

As you were taking out the screws and putting them in a spare box, you felt a presence coming up behind you. Looking up, you found Sunghoon looking at you as he leaned on the car door. “Hey there!” you said as you kept doing your work. “Enjoying yourself, huh?” He said with a smug smirk adorning his face, making you roll your eyes. “Go away Sunghoon.” You said but still, you had a smile on your face. “It’s nothing special.” you finished. “You can’t be saying that when you acted how you did yesterday when you saw the car, practically fangirling over it. I mean, not to mention how you were fangirling over Ja-” “Shut up!” you said looking at him. “I wasn’t, you were seeing things.” Sunghoon laughed at your behaviour. “C’mon, no need to act shy now.” He started “You know, he texted me yesterday.” “Ok? And why should i care?” You said raising a brow at him. “He was asking me, or better, begging me to give him your Instagram.” You looked away from him as you felt your cheeks heat up. “I don’t know why he would do that!” You said, pretending to be interested in those screws. “Eh, you’ll eventually find out, I guess.” He said making you look back at him. “What is that supposed to mean.” You asked suddenly interested in what he had to say. He started walking away, his back turned to you “Nothing you should worry your pretty head about.” He answered, making you tilt your head, confused at his words. You sighed as you went back to working on that mirror.

It wasn’t too long after your conversation with Sunghoon that little by little everyone started gathering in front of the staff-only door to eat lunch. You got up and joined Jungwon and Sunoo, who was engrossed in a conversation about the latest tea about someone on campus. You were so focused on observing and listening to them talk that you didn’t notice an extra someone entering the shop until Jay mentioned it.

“Jake? What are you doing here man?” That made your ears perk up, but you pretended to still be listening to the gossip you were previously listening to. “Your mirror still isn’t fixed, so no luck for you today.” Heeseung said also greeting him with the handshake their group shared. You looked at them at the mention of the mirror, so it wouldn’t look as suspicious. “Yeah, I figured. Just wanted to join you guys for lunch.” He said raising his take-out bag. You heard someone gasp, looking you saw Ni-ki looking with heart eyes at the take-out bag. “Is that for us?” He said with his boxy smile. Everyone looked at Jake with hopeful eyes. “What? No, it’s mine! And no way in hell I’m sharing this with you guys.” Jake said in a warning tone. Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes at him “You’re literally no fun.” Sunoo said giving him a judging look. Jake simply shrugged as he looked around the room until his eyes met yours, making him bite back a smirk. Sunghoon, who was watching carefully and aware of the situation, nudged you slightly when Jake looked away, making you mouth a what? at him which he only answered with a smirk.

You all moved inside the staff room, sitting around the round table. Jake was sitting across from you and you were sitting in between Sunghoon and Ni-ki. Every time you looked up you would be met with Jake’s eyes staring into you shamelessly, making you bounce your feet nervously. Your eyes drifted towards Sunghoon and you were able to see the smirk he was hiding with food while looking between you and Jake until he finally noticed you looking at him, making him raise his eyebrows at you to which you answered with a shrug as you looked back to your food. You wondered if Jake was going to talk to you anytime today. Since he arrived today he hadn’t even spoken a word to you, not even a simple Hi, making you wonder if he was only the all-talk type through social media or if he just didn’t have the guts to talk to you personally, but still, he had no problem flirting and teasing you when you guys first met.

Lunch was over and you got back to work. Jake hadn’t gone away yet, lingering around the shop, mainly around Heeseung as they talked about things you couldn’t listen to. The sudden realization that you were working on his car hit and you wondered if he was gonna approach you in a way. Snapping out of your thoughts, you went back to finish fixing the mirror, already more than halfway done. You were putting everything back in place, with the mirror already replaced, when you saw Jake walking towards you from your peripheral vision. You felt your breath hitch as your shoulders tensed the closer he got.

“I see you finally got to touch it, huh?” He said, putting his hands in his pockets. “Oh! Yeah, I did.” You answered with an awkward laugh, feeling your palms getting sweaty. “Like what you felt, sweetheart?” Your eyes widen at that, suddenly feeling at a loss for words. You were more than sure if any other man would’ve said that to you, you would’ve cringed right away, but not when said man looked like Jake did. “I- well-” Jake started laughing, making you feel somewhat embarrassed. “I’m just playing around. You’re not that shy through texting.” He said reminding you of how confident you may have sounded through texts. “Well, I guess it’s not the same as talking face-to-face, right?” You stated, looking up at him in the eyes. His mouth opened to say something but closed right away. “Yeah, you’re right.” He took a breath in as he straightened his posture. “Anyways, is the mirror any close to being done?” He wondered. “Oh yeah, actually I just need to test it and it’s all ready for you to take it home!” You said while smiling at him, proud that you were able to do something new quickly yet carefully. “Oh really? You were pretty quick. Can’t say I’m not impressed, though, in a positive way, of course.” You giggled at him. “Thanks, Jake. I appreciate that.” He smiled warmly at you, nodding your way as he walked away from you, leaving you alone to finish your work.

It was almost time to go home when Jake and Heeseung approached you next to Jake’s car, where you were slightly bent over, as you were touching up some scratches near the mirror area with touch-up black paint. You finished the work, smiling proudly at yourself, as you turned around to face the two boys who were watching you silently as you worked. You sighed happily at them, adjusting the oversized overalls that you wore for work. “I’m officially done!” You exclaimed as you stretched an arm towards the car. Heeseung patted Jake in the back signaling him to get him and his car home. “You can pay me later.” Heeseung said walking away, knowing if he stayed Jake would insist on paying. Jake sighed as he looked at you. “Thank you for doing this, by the way.“ He said with a smile, making you shrug. “You’re welcome, Jake. After all, it’s my job.” You answered, looking down as you kicked non-existent rocks. Jake gave you a wide grin, watching your face, appreciating the way your lashes touched your cheeks when you blinked and how you bit your lip when you were nervous. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he walked towards his car. “Tomorrow?” You tilted your head to the side but you got no response as he got in his car. The engine purred as he drove out of the garage, leaving you standing dumbfounded. “Will I ever figure him out?”

Jake got home with only one thing, or rather someone, going through his mind. As cliché as it felt for him, he couldn’t understand what was in you that made him want to stay glued to you forever. He wanted to get to know you, know what you liked and disliked, and what were your hobbies. Did you have a pet? You didn’t really look like you had one. As soon as he entered his penthouse, he made his way to his room, falling into his bed with a thud, sighing as he felt his head make contact with his fluffy pillows. He still could feel his heart thumping in his chest, quicker than it ever beat. It felt weird, a good weird. He liked the feeling. One he only ever felt with his high school crush who had rejected him in his junior year. Jake groaned out loud as his arm fell to his face, covering his eyes. “What have you done to me?”

The past week was full of work. Everyone barely interacted, focused on getting everyone’s car fixed since it’s vacation season and everyone needed their car as soon as possible. Still, one thing everyone found weird was how Jake came to visit almost every day, something that never really happened through all these years everyone had worked there. Sunghoon always made sure to point out to you that Jake was always lingering close to you, making you give him annoyed remarks. Deep down you were glad he stood close to you as you got time to know him better and to your surprise he was more interesting than you ever thought a jock would be, no offence. You two would laugh with each other for hours until Heeseung needed to scold you to go back to work, hiding his smile as he watched you two playfully fight each other. His presence made work hours go by quicker and you started enjoying his presence a little bit too much, noticing the way your heart would beat a tad bit faster when you heard him laugh at something you said.

When you were done with work Jake would take you out and grab convenience store food for you two to eat in the park. It was in those moments that you both got vulnerable with each other, sharing all of your life stories, good and bad ones. Every night you call Sohee and rant about how scared you are of catching feelings for him, even though you knew you were already in deep, and she always reassured you that you shouldn’t feel like that as it’s only natural and what has to happen, will happen. Whatever you were feeling with Jake, is something you never felt with anyone before, as cliché as it can be, but your past dating history left a huge mark on you and you had a tendency to shut people out when they got too close, until now. The boys noticed a subtle shift in the way you and Jake interacted, but still, they only observed from afar, never intruding on whatever was happening between you two. It felt kind of weird for them to see Jake behaving that way around someone who wasn’t part of his friend group or more specifically with a girl, but deep down they felt happy seeing their friend finally letting himself loosen up.

The day at the shop was going smoothly, it was a bad day of work for Heeseung. There were no clients coming up and everyone except him was sitting around playing cards or just talking to each other as he finished fixing one car. You were sat at a table with Sunoo and Sunghoon, your hands covering your ears as they kept asking questions you didn’t wanna hear and less likely answer. “Come on, y/n!” Sunoo said pulling your hands out of your ears, making you roll your eyes. “I don’t like him, ok?” You sighed, “I literally met him, like, not even two weeks ago. I don’t even know him like that.” “y/n, you know damn well it’s not like that.” Sunghoon said leaning back in his chair. “Just admit you like him!” “Like who?” The three of you looked back to find Jake walking towards you with his hands in his pockets. “No one, I don’t like anyone.” You said closing your eyes as you propped your head in your hand. Jake looked at Sunghoon, as the latter smirked at him, making you glare not-so discreetly at him. Jake sat in a free chair next to you and the two other men thought it was a good idea to stand up and walk away, leaving you two alone.

“Bad work day?” He started. “Yeah, something like that.” You sighed, playing with a paper cup in front of you. “It’s just the end of the month and most people are on vacation by now so it was expected.” Jake hummed, an idea coming up to him. “So you have nothing to do, right?” You looked at him wondering why he was asking that. “Uh, yeah, I don’t.” You answered nodding at him. He got up, extending a hand to you. “Come.” He said as he smiled and nodded his head towards his way. You hesitated in grabbing his hand and getting up as he dragged you to his car. “But, the other we need to tell-” “Don’t worry ‘bout that. We’ll be quick.” Jake said as he opened his car door for you. You looked at the car and then at him, making him nod at you, urging you to get in. Jake sat in the driver's seat with a happy sigh. He looked at him, watching as you admired his car, gently touching the leather seats, feeling the wealth in your touch. You looked around the car in awe, making him giggle at your antics. You turned to look at him with a blush and a small smile, feeling shy he caught you as you admired his expensive car. He turned the keys, making the engine purr as you felt the seats vibrate with the loud sound. “Wow!” You said with a gasp “It feels so different when you’re actually inside the car.” You looked at him as he drove out of the shop’s driveway. “Yeah, I felt that too when I first drove it.” He said with a chuckle. “Where are you taking me?” You asked curiously. “You’ll see, princess. Enjoy the ride for now.” He answered as he chose a song to play for the ride.

You looked out of your window, seeing the sun almost setting, making the sky turn into an orange explosion. The ride was silent, a comfortable silence, and you found yourselves in an empty road, no words needed to be spoken as you admired the view ahead of you. You rolled your window down, laying your head on the edge of the door. Jake looked at you, admiring your hair that flew freely with the wind and how your eyes were shining in awe and you wore a smile. He looked back to the front and he bit a smile back, failing to do so as the corners of his lips curled upwards. Jake was now driving towards a kind of abyss. He stopped the car, turning off the engine. “Is this it?” You asked making him nod at you with a smile. You both walked out of the car and sat in its hood. You gasped at the view in front of you. You could see the whole city from above. All the tall skyscrapers looked tiny and the street lights were only small dots on a canvas. The sky above showed a pink and orange painting, and the sun had almost fully set.

“Jake” he looked at you, admiring your side profile “This is beautiful.” You finished, looking at him with a big grin, making him mirror your actions. You looked back ahead as you scooted closer to him in the hood of the car, feeling your shoulder touch his. Jake smiled to himself, not daring to look your way to avoid doing something he would regret. “Thank you.” You said looking at him, seeing how his eyes slightly widened. He looked down at his feet, feeling his ears get hotter “It’s nothing really.” “How did you even find this place?” You wondered. “This is gorgeous!” Jake finally looked at you, examining your face, sensing you were asking a genuine question and not just a rhetorical one. “Well,” He started with a sigh. “I usually come here to kind of unwind a little.” He said kicking some rocks on the floor. “It just tunes me out the rest of the world. I feel the best when I’m here.”

He felt the urge to keep talking as he felt you still looking at the side of his head. “Normally when I have a big argument with my dad I just come here and let everything out. No one comes here since it’s far from the city so now it’s my comfort place and I’ve never brought anyone here except for you.” He stopped talking, looking at you, seeing you with empathetic eyes. “Thank you for sharing that with me Jake.” You rubbed his back in a comforting way “I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me all that, I know it’s not easy to deal with those kinds of problems, even if I never went through them myself. I hope you know I’m a shoulder you can lean on when you need one. You shouldn’t keep those thoughts to yourself.” Jake felt his eyes getting teary as he heard you talk. “I really appreciate that, y/n. I just feel like you give me so much of you and I never really shared something really intimate, so I thought this would feel just right.” He said holding his tears. You smiled at him, pulling his arm, grabbing it as you leaned your head on his shoulder, looking back to the view as a comfortable silence fell over you two. Jake’s head leaned in yours and he felt a soft bubble form in his chest, making him close his eyes and take a deep breath in of the fresh air that danced around both of your hairs.

The sun fully set after a while. Stars started appearing in the dark sky. “Look,” You said pointing to the sky “The first star of the night. Make a wish!” You finished as you looked at Jake. “A wish?” You nodded “Alright if you say so.” Both of you closed your eyes and put your hands together as you made your wishes. Jake opened his eyes to look at you, seeing you with your eyes closed and a giddy smile on your lips. You opened your eyes, looking at Jake only to find him already looking down at you, the summer breeze made his hair move beautifully. “What did you wish for?” he asked “Can’t tell you, it won’t come true if I do.” Jake chuckled at your answer, making you do the same. You both stared into each other eyes, not daring to look away as if you were in some trance with each other's eyes, giving you time to appreciate each other’s features. You couldn’t understand how people could view Jake as a bad being. Since the moment you both started getting closer, he was nothing but a sweetheart to you and besides that, you saw how he treated the other boys as well, always being caring with them, giving them food when one of them didn’t have enough or going as far as secretly ordering take out for Ni-ki when he had forgotten to pack his own lunch. They didn’t know him in reality. If they had seen him with your eyes they would know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone or anything purposely. They couldn’t see the sparkle in his eyes when he saw dogs playing in the park or the way his tongue would slightly poke his pouty lips when he focused on something. If only they could see him the way you do.

Your phone suddenly buzzed in your pocket, making you break the intense eye contact that seemed to last an eternity. You looked at the contact ID seeing it was your mom calling you, making you silently curse under your breath. “Hey, mom.” You turned to Jake, mouthing him a Sorry which he dismissed with a shake of his head. “Uh…” Your eyes started moving around nervously “I, uh, I’m with Jake, Mom.” You hissed, scratching the back of your neck. Your mom started going off excitedly about how she was right about him, making you roll your eyes, hoping the said man couldn’t hear what she was saying. “Um, Mom, I don’t- okay wait.” You turned to Jake with a sigh “You wanna come over for dinner?” You asked him, making him still for a moment. “Uh, sure, I mean, why not.” He answered shrugging, something you weren’t really expecting, but deep down you were kind of glad he had accepted. “Okay, he’s coming. Yeah, see you, bye Mom.” You hung up, standing up and looking at Jake. He only looked at you, not knowing what to say. “C’mon.” You pulled him off the hood “We got dinner waiting for us.”

You were driving back to the city, immersed in a conversation about various topics. “Also, I’m gonna warn you about my mom, she can be a little too much sometimes, so sorry in advance.” Jake laughed at your words. “Don’t say that. I’m pretty sure she means well.” He said looking at you. “If that makes you feel better about meeting her, then sure Jake, whatever you say.” Shortly after, Jake was pulling into your house’s driveway, making you feel nervous, the fact that he was meeting your parents finally sinking in. You don’t know why you felt like this, you two weren’t even dating. You walked to your front door and searched for the keys that were somewhere lost in your bag. Suddenly the door burst open, making you squeal in surprise as you almost tripped and if it weren’t for Jake you would’ve fallen on your butt. “Oh, what gentleman he is!” The door was fully open, revealing your mom who was now cooing at Jake. “Mom, don't.” you said in a warning tone, making her wave her hand at you dismissingly. “Oh, you must be Jake.” She said grabbing him by the arms “Come in you two.” She invited, making space for you to enter the house. “How was day, dear?” Your mom asked, making you break the mad face you were making at her with a small smile. “It was okay. We didn’t have any clients today which is not good for the shop.” “Oh, that must be really frustrating for you guys.” She said furrowing her brows in a worried way. “Anyways, let’s get to the kitchen. The food’s getting cold.” She smiled warmly at you two as she dragged you both to the kitchen. “Is dad not home?” You said with a small pout. “Oh no, he’s out for that company dinner he had. You know it.” You nodded at her letting out an Oh as you remember your father talking about it.

Jake tried to hide it, but as small as this interaction was, it was still a very domestic one. Those were the interactions he longed for but they never came to him. He felt a pang in his chest but your mom’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Give me your plate, dear. I’ll serve you.” She said smiling warmly at him, making him mirror her expression. Your mom seemed so sweet and he genuinely wanted to enjoy this small moment.

The three of you talked comfortably throughout the night. Jake was able to get those negative thoughts out of his head for a while as he interacted with you both. He loved watching you talk with your mom, seeing the way your eyes light up when she says something that makes you laugh. Just watching that made him smile, which didn’t go unnoticed by your mom. Jake saw his phone light up on the table with a text from his dad asking him where he was and another from a contact he promised himself to never answer again. This made his whole good mood disappear and he just felt like going home. He felt guilty to do this but felt the need to be alone and forget about those texts.

“Everything alright?” you asked with a worried expression, just then he noticed he had his brows pressed tightly together. “Oh um, yeah, just my dad texting me.” He said smiling at you, guilt eating him up, but deep down he wasn’t lying, just not telling the whale truth, which made him feel shitty. “It’s getting late so maybe I should go. Thank you for the meal, it was really good!” He got up, grabbing his jacket from the chair. You got up as well and followed him to your front door as your mom stayed in the kitchen cleaning up. “Hey,” You said grabbing his attention “Are you sure you’re alright? You looked pretty tense back there.” You asked in a worried tone. He sighed, nodding at you. “Yes, princess. Don’t worry about it. I’ll text you when I get home, yeah?” You nodded at him and you bid your goodbyes. Before he could leave, you grabbed his wrist. “Thank you for today, really.” You smiled widely at him, making him chuckle at you “You’re welcome, princess. Good night.” You let his hand go as you waved at him before closing the door. You turned around to see your mom leaning on the kitchen door. You held your hand up “Don’t even start, ok?” you said not wanting to have that conversation. “Dind’t day a word, honey.” She said smiling at you. “Whatever. Goodnight, Mom.” “Goodnight, dear.”

You let yourself fall into the comfort of your bed with a sigh. You grabbed your phone, seeing a notification from Jake, making you quickly tap on it.

jake <3: thank you for tonight, princess :)

jake <3: sorry for leaving so suddenly. my dad texted me and you know how it is…

you: jake you don’t need to thank me

you: we were both glad to have you eat with us and dont worry about that i totally understand

you: im gonna head to sleep now. goodnight jake :)

jake <3: goodnight princess:)

The next day at work you felt kind of uneasy. The way Jake left your house yesterday left you with an unsettling feeling. You didn’t know what his dad had texted him and you surely weren’t gonna ask him, you were in no place to do that. It was already 5:30 pm and Jake still hadn’t stopped by the shop, something unusual since he always comes by lunchtime. You didn’t want to think too much of it and tried to convince yourself that he was just busy. As you were cleaning up a car you just finished fixing, you heard footsteps coming towards you, making you look to see Heeseung and Sunghoon. “Lover boy didn’t come today, huh?” Sunghoon said making you roll your eyes before turning to look at them, now standing up from your crouching position. “He’s not my lover and you know that damn well.” you said propping your hand on your hip. “Yet!” Heeseung says with a stupid grin on his face.

“Anyways, we’re going to this party tonight and we wanted to invite you so you better be there.” the older male said. “Uh, I don’t know, guys. I’m not really-” “Not in the mood, yeah we know. Same story and it’s not working today. You are going today, no excuses.” Sunghoon paused for a while “You know, Jake’s gonna be there.” he said with a smirk. You lightly tapped your foot on the floor, knowing you didn’t really have a choice other than going and if you ended up going you would see Jake. Not that you missed him, maybe just a little bit though. “Fine, I guess I can go.” you sighed, crossing your arms “Where and when?” Heeseung gave you the details about the party, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with Jake there. Even if you were still kind of sour about him not coming, you were sure he had a good reason not to, right?

You walked up to your mirror, checking yourself out one last time before leaving. You lightly rubbed your finger under your lips, cleaning a lipstick smudge. You looked at your outfit, a simple lace, black corset-like top paired with some black leather pants and black heels. The top felt a little too revealing for you, but you decided to come out of your comfort zone for once and try new things. You felt pretty. Your hair was just right, your makeup looked flawless and your outfit was tight just in the right places, flattering your silhouette. Tonight was the night and you were going to enjoy it to the fullest. Sohee had previously texted you, informing you she would also be there with Heeseung, which made you less stressed about this party. You drove to the address Heeseung had texted you, the clock showed 11:45, a reminder that you were 15 minutes late. “Typical y/n, am I right?” you mumbled to yourself when you stopped at a red light. Taking one last turn, you saw a sign with the name of the bar Hee had told you. You parked your car and walked towards the entrance, feeling the biting wind hit your skin, making you regret not taking a small coat with you. You entered the bar and it was already almost full since it was almost midnight. You passed and pushed through the crowd of people Excuses me’s and Sorry’s leaving your lips as you did so. Finally, you were able to spot a tall ash blond who could only be Heeseung and walked towards him.

“Hey and before you scold me, yes I know I’m late.” you said as you and Sohee hugged before taking a seat next to Jay. “Wouldn’t expect any different from you.” Sunghoon said making you let out Shup up to him. You looked around and saw everyone there except for one person. “Where’s Jake?” you asked still looking around, failing to notice the exchange of looks between the four of them. “He’s- Well, he is with some guys from the soccer team, yeah.” Sungoon said, a nervous smile dancing on his lips, making you tilt your head at him “Weird.” you thought out loud. “But don’t worry!” Sunoo said, making you look at him “He’ll probably be here… soon.” “Okay?” you answered, looking at Sohee who was just as confused as you were. There was an unfamiliar tension in the booth and before you could think further about it Heeseung spoke up “No more talking. Let’s get the night started and get drinks!” Everyone got up, greedy to finally get some alcohol in their systems, maybe that’s what you needed. You reached the counter and Heeseung ordered tequila shots for everyone. The shots were gone as quickly as they came and everyone was thirsting for more so Sunghoon ordered six more of the same.

You and Sohee made your way towards the dance floor full of sweating bodies. You were buzzing inside with the little alcohol in your system and the lights were making you dazed in the best way possible. It had been a long time since you and Sohee hung out like this and you were enjoying this just as much as she was. You had your arms thrown over her shoulders as she hugged your waist and you both swayed to whatever music was playing. The boys were looking at you with pure amusement on their faces, never having seen you like this but they were glad you were enjoying this night so far. Your body felt hot from the heat radiating from everyone around you. You saw couples kissing and grinding against each other and it made your mind wander to Jake and wonder if you and he were ever gonna dance like that like it was just the two of you in the room with no one to interrupt you both. You and your best friend went back to the counter to order drinks for yourselves while the boys went back to the booth.

“Can I get two Pink Whitneys with Sprite, please?” the bartender nodded at you before leaving to prepare the drinks. “Was wondering if you could still party, y/n” Sohee told you laughing. “Oh, shut up. It hasn’t been that long.” You both turned back to the counter when you heard the bartender speak. “For the pretty ladies.” He said putting the drinks in front of you, both of you mumbling Thanks in return. You closed your eyes as you savoured the drink you hadn’t tasted in a long time. “God, I forgot how much I love this.” You said taking a big sip of the pink drink. “Brings back old memories doesn’t it?” Sohee said leaning back as if she was having a flashback. Even though you were a stay-at-home person, back in the first years of college you went partying almost every night since Sohee was a social butterfly and always made sure to bring you along to whatever party she was invited to. Every time Heeseung would host a party, he made sure to have a hidden bottle of Pink Whitney in a small fridge that only he and the boys knew of for you and Sohee. You laughed at her as you tilted the cup towards her for a toast. “For old time’s sake.” She clinked her glass with yours “For old time’s sake!” she said before finishing her drink in one big gulp as she did the same.

You two got up, making your way to the booth the guys were at. Your vision was starting to blur from all the drinks you had. Only had your low alcohol tolerance to blame. You were trying to walk through the crowd when you spotted a familiar brunette in the middle of it. “Look! Jake’s there, let’s say hi!” you said pushing Sohee towards his way. The grin you had on your face started to slowly fade as your steps got slower. The closer you got to Jake the stronger the pang in your chest grew. You squeezed Sohee’s hand trying to get her attention but she had already seen enough. You two stood there watching as a girl eagerly kissed Jake’s neck, his face was hidden since he was looking opposite from where you were. “Jake?” You felt a pull on your heartstrings and a whimper left your quivering lips when Jake turned his head to the side and made eye contact with you. His face wasn’t showing any emotions previously, quickly contorted with shock as a gasp left his lips, making him immediately push the girl away. Still, Sohee was quicker to pull you away from where you were standing. She was letting out some curses on her way to the booth, something that you couldn’t hear.

When you finally reached the other boys they all were looking at you with worried expressions. Their eyes flickered between each other and you were finally able to catch on what was happening when you arrived. “You guys knew?” you said with a choked sob. None of them were saying a word, making your blood boil when you got your answer. “You all fucking knew this whole time.” you screamed, pointing your finger at them accusingly. “How long has it been going on?” Jay was quick to speak up. “It was just today.” he started. “We didn’t know she was gonna be here and I don’t think Jake knew either.” You were starting to get even more confused “What do you mean she?” you asked shaking your head. They all looked at each other not knowing what to say. “Heeseung, did you know about this?” Sohee asked her boyfriend, and he quickly shook his head no. “No, i swear. None of us knew and as he said it was probably a not-so-pleasant surprise for Jake as well.” Knowing that everyone knew who she was and they weren’t explaining it to you was leaving you irritated and you just wanted to leave. “Sohee can we just go home.” you quietly asked and she ran a hand down your back in a soothing manner. “Yeah, give me your car keys, I’ll drive.” You both turned to leave, no words were exchanged apart from a Drive safely from Heeseung.

When you sat in your car you felt like something exploded inside you as you started sobbing uncontrollably. You hid your face in your hands as you started sobbing. Sohee reached for you, holding you in her embrace. “I don’t even know why I’m crying it’s not like we had something.” you said trying to wipe your tears but they just kept coming. “Y/n, it wouldn’t take a genius to see that something was going on between you two. I can’t honestly understand why Jake would be with someone else, especially her.” “Will anyone ever tell me who she is?” you said in an annoyed tone. Sohee sighed as she sat back in the driver’s seat. “That girl was Aerin. Jake and her were in a weird situationship, kind of friends with benefits but not quite that. They had that going on for almost a year but he eventually broke it off because he finally opened his eyes and realized how much of a bitch she was, even though we were warning him since the beginning.” she paused with a sigh. “She didn’t take it very well since she had always been possessive with him but we thought she finally had gotten over it, it’s been, like, a year and something?” she turned to look at you, seeing you with your head propped in your knees. She raised her hand to cup your cheek, brushing it softly with her thumb.

“I just don’t understand why he would do this, after all that we’ve been through.” You said feeling tears coming back, pooling in your eyes. “Sohee, I let all of my guard down for him, I told him my everything and this feels like history is repeating itself, you know?” You told her as memories from your history with your ex brought you a sour feeling “Y/n, whatever happened between you and Jeno is long behind, I thought we had already talked about this.” “I am over it, Sohee! But seeing Jake do this is just bringing all those feelings back. Six months right after I opened up to Jeno I find out he was cheating on me with the girl I shouldn’t worry about and now when I finally feel like I can commit to someone again, I see Jake like that, how is that fair to me?” you said turning into a sobbing mess again. Your whole body was shaking and Sohee felt her heart shatter seeing her best friend like this.

“Y/n, I know this really isn’t the right time to say this but I’ve known Jake for as long as I’ve been dating Heeseung and I can’t understand why he is doing this. This really isn’t like him, at all.” She rubbed your back “I’m more than sure he will explain himself to you soon. This just doesn't sit right with me.” You wiped your eyes as you sniffed “I don’t want to see him anytime soon, Sohee.” She smiled sadly at you. “I know, honey, But you know it will eventually happen right? It’s inevitable.” You nodded at her, knowing she was right. “Let’s go home yeah? You can stay at mine today. Don’t want you dealing with this alone.”

Sohee drove off as you stared out the window. Millions of thoughts were running through your head and you felt like it was about to explode. Eventually, you fell asleep during the ride and only woke up when Sohee softly shook you when you arrived. You both entered her apartment, being immediately greeted by her cat who was rubbing herself in your legs. You crouched down to her level, rubbing behind her fluffy white ears, making her purr. Oh to be a cat. Sohee gave you one of her pyjamas for you to sleep in and some makeup wipes, knowing you probably wouldn’t even bother to take it off. You both slipped into her bed, sleeping together like you two would back in the day. You laid back against the headboard as she texted Heeseung to update him. Your own phone buzzed on the bedside table. You grabbed it and saw a notification that normally you would be excited to answer, but not today. You read the texts Jake had sent you.

jake <3: y/n please

jake <3: i know what it looks like but it isn’t like that

jake <3: let me explain please

jake <3: you know id never hurt you.

You dropped your phone in your lap as you rubbed your eyes with your hands, starting to sniff again. You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to stop the tears as you sighed and leaned back against the headboard. Sohee looked at your phone and then at you, making her sigh. “Where did i go wrong? I must’ve done something really bad in my past life to deserve this.” “Y/n, cut the nonsense, you don’t deserve this, ok?” she said grabbing your arms and turning to look at her. “You’re gonna get through this with me and when you’re ready you’re gonna go back to work and maybe talk with Jake, yeah?” You took a deep breath before nodding at her. “Good. Now you’re gonna rest and tomorrow we’ll see what’s gonna happen.” She grabbed your phone and turned it off, putting it on her bedside table. She turned the light off and you let your head fall into the pillow with a sigh. You stared at the ceiling, trying to shake off all the thoughts going through your head until you felt your eyes closing on their own.

The weekend had gone by slowly. You had texted your mom after everything happened to tell her you were gonna stay at Sohee’s for a few days. All you did was mop around the house and lay in your friend’s bed all day, only getting up when you really needed to. You were sure you were sleeping more than 12 hours a day and still felt like the energy was drowning out of you. Sohee tried to get you to go out and encourage you to go to work to help you forget things but the anxiety you felt at the possibility of encountering Jake was keeping you from doing so. You knew that staying home all day and doing nothing until Sohee came back from work wasn’t gonna help you in any way and you honestly wanted to do something about it but you had no energy to do anything. You walked to the kitchen for nth time that day, placing your cereal bowl on the sink with an accidental loud thud, making you hiss. You sighed as you looked at the mess of plates and cutlery you had accumulated in the sink within just a day. “God, what am I doing.” You said talking to yourself. You stared into nothingness as you got in deep thought. Being like this wasn’t gonna take you anywhere and avoiding situations where you might meet Jake won’t either. So, you made the final decision that you were going to work tomorrow, no matter what. You looked at the clock on the kitchen’s wall and saw it was already 6:30 pm, so without any more self pity you walked to the bathroom to take a shower, determined to get back to your usual work routine. You stared at your figure in the mirror and almost apologized to yourself as you took in your messy and unkempt appearance. You entered the shower and let the warm water fall on your tense shoulders. Sighing, you let your head lean into the shower wall as your body shook with a sob when Jake filled your mind again. Had he tried texting you anymore after that night? You couldn’t really know since you had blocked him on your social media. Was he hurting the way you did? What had really happened? Maybe you were overreacting all this. You should’ve let him explain himself. Dumb y/n, so dumb.

Jake felt horrible. You really had to come near him at the wrong moment and see something that really wasn’t what it looked like. But he should’ve known the moment she texted him the night he was at your house she was serious. Why couldn’t Aerin just get over the fact they weren’t together anymore, as if they were ever actually together. In his head, it was starting to be too good to be true. As if he was ever gonna get lucky with someone like you. Of course, he had to fuck it up in any way. It’s all your fault, Jake. This was all you. Those words kept repeating themselves in his head as he laid in his bed as his whole body was filled with piercing anxiety. He didn’t know what else to do. He called Heeseung and said you still hadn’t gone to work that week.

The boys knew about the situation and Jake always tried to explain himself while he cried on the phone with any of the guys, even if they reassured him they believed him every day. He should’ve known better than to get involved with Aerin in the first place. He had always been warned about it so why did he still do it? Why couldn’t he just do anything right. The past few days were spent with Jake lying in his bed as he cried and cried for as long as he could. All the feelings he bottled up for so long left his body, making his whole self shake. When he finally was able to open up fully to you, he had it all taken away, knowing you had let your whole guard down for him. He knew you weren’t doing any better than him and that hurt him even more. Knowing he couldn’t be the one to hold you and comfort you was killing. Jake knew he couldn’t stay like this forever and all he wanted to do nothing more than reach out to you and tell you his truth but he knew he had to give you space. So he waits for as long as he needs to because he is not letting you go because of her, he wasn’t letting that happen.

You woke up at the same time as Sohee. The moment you opened your eyes you instantly felt a pang in your chest, knowing you had to go to work today. You threw your arm over your eyes as you sighed. Sohee looked at you as she rubbed her eyes to wake herself up. “Good morning.” she told you to which you only answered with a grumble making her chuckle at you. She got out of bed, opening her curtains, making you squint at the bright light invading the room. “C’mon, get up. You need to get ready.” You sighed again at her words before sitting up on the bed. After you both got ready for work, you sat down at the table as you had breakfast together. “So,” Sohee said mid-chew “are you ready for today?” You looked at her as you sipped on your coffee. “I mean, no. But as you said I can’t keep avoiding him and it’s better if we talk already than not.” You answered as your fork played with the blueberries on your plate. “You got this, yeah?” Sohee reached for your hand across the table. You inhaled as you felt your eyes water but you held yourself back. You nodded at her as you whispered a Yeah in response to her.

You left around 10 am which was the time Sohee usually left for work. As you made your way to the shop, anxiety started bubbling up in your chest, making you take deep breaths to try and keep yourself together. There’s nothing to worry about. If Jake ended up showing up at the shop you guys were just gonna talk, or maybe not. Maybe he will explain to you and assure you it was not what it looked like or maybe he wasn’t and it was exactly what it looked like. “Well, shit.” you said to yourself as you arrived at the shop. You parked your car, seeing everyone already there. You stepped out of the car, taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air breeze around you. You walked inside and there stood Heeseung and Sunghoon staring at you with warm smiles. “Hey guys!” you greeted. You walked towards them and Sunghoon pulled you into a hug, making you let out a shaky breath. “How’ve you been, dummy?” He asked, letting you go of his arms. “Well, y’know, not good. But! I’m here to change that and yes I’m going to avoid that conversation, if you don’t mind.” They nodded their heads at you, Right and Of course! were their only answers before you asked Heeseung if there was any work for you to which he assigned you to check a car’s engine and gasket.

You got right to work and you were glad you could distract yourself for most of the time. The car needed to get his gasket changed and it wasn’t an easy task so you needed to have your full focus on it. Working made the day go by faster and you barely had time to lunch as you were so immersed in the task you were assigned to do. Sometimes Ni-ki would linger around you, mostly joking around as you worked, keeping you company, which you were glad he did. If anyone had told you you would’ve ended up getting a summer job at a mechanic shop and befriending the six workers you wouldn’t believe it. But you couldn’t be more glad that you did, you had quickly made six precious friendships with six boys who were all you could ask for in a friend. As someone who never found befriending people easy, you were quite proud of yourself as you had found six treasures in only a lifetime. You knew you could always rely on them, and despite the age gap between the two younger ones, you still would trust them with your life nonetheless.

You felt sweat dripping down your forehead as you worked, making you get up from your bent-over position to wipe the sweat with your forearm, adjusting the strap from your overall that was slipping off your shoulder. “God.” You sighed loudly. Heeseung slid from underneath a car to check on you, “Everything ok?” he asked sitting up. “I guess. Just this thing is harder than I thought it would be.” You said putting your hands on your hips as you stared at the engine in thought. You knew this was gonna be hard, but one wrong move you would need to do it all over. Heeseung got up and walked to where you stood staring at the car. “I think you’re going on the right path. Nothing is looking wrong or weird so keep going.” He said patting your back “You’re doing well, you always do.” You chuckled at his words “You flatter me, Lee.” He laughed at your words “All for the best of my wor-”

His words were cut off by the roar of an engine. A familiar Ford Mustang pulled up in the driveway. Your breath stopped for a while until you felt Heeseung get his hand off your back. “I think I should go somewhere else…” You nodded at him, fully understanding why he was doing it. You pretended to go back to work, trying to convince yourself that Jake wouldn’t come over to you if you did that. You heard footsteps getting closer to you and you felt your breath pick up its pace. You got this. “Hey…” You heard the deep yet soft voice say. You looked up to see Jake smiling softly at you and you almost teared up at that. You tried to reciprocate the smile but you were sure it came out shaky. “Hi, Jake.” You said nodding at him. Your gaze drifted from his figure, trying to look at anything but him, as you fiddled with your fingers. “Nice patch!” He said chuckling, making you blush as you stared at the Care Bears patch placed upon your knee. “There was ripped so my mom put it on for me.” You said still not looking at him, making him mutter a Cute under his breath, which you almost missed. “Why are you here?” You asked, looking at his face, but you knew damn well why he was here. Jake took a shaky breath in as he leaned against the wall behind him, his own gaze now avoiding yours.

“I guess- No, I know and I need to explain myself to you.” He started, gulping his anxiety away. “What you saw that night wasn’t something anyone would expect that would happen. I mean, I should’ve had to be honest. The night I went to have dinner with you and your mother I told you I had received a text from my father. Which isn’t a lie, because I did, but you also deserved to know that Aerin had also texted me.” His eyes finally met yours with an apologetic gaze. Your face was contorted in confusion and you waited for him to explain it further. “She somehow found out that you and I had been hanging out and that there was something between us and she texted me some nonsense about knowing I still wanted and was using you as a rebound.” You stared at the ground hearing those words. “Was I a rebound to you Jake?” You asked quietly “No!” He answered with no hesitation “Of course not! And I hope you never felt that way because all I did for you was genuine.” his hand twitched, Jake wanted to reach out to you but he knew he still had further explaining to do. “Going on. That night I was supposed to go out with guys from my soccer team as well as the guys here but Aerin somehow was involved with some of the guys in the team and joined as well. The moment you started approaching me she threw herself at me and started doing whatever she was doing and before I could react and push her away you had already seen it.” His voice became shaky as he played that moment back in his head. “And I would and never will blame you for reacting the way you did. If I was in that position I would do the same, most likely.” Tears started falling from your eyes as you heard him talk.

Your chest was tight with guilt. You felt bad for what you did to him. He didn’t deserve to go through what you made him go through. You sniffed as you tried to wipe the stubborn tears that kept falling. Jake took a step closer to you, feeling his own eyes water at the sight of your miserable state. “Baby, please don’t cry.” The pet name left his lips before he could think about it but you didn’t seem to have heard it or mind it. “Jake I’m so sorry.” You said between hiccups of sobs “Please, please forgive me. I probably made you go through hell when you didn’t even do anything. I was so selfish.” Your cries got louder as you spoke and you didn’t even care if the boys could hear you. “Y/n, no! Stop apologizing. It was not your fault, ok? You aren’t the one to blame. You weren’t the one causing this, Aering was.” He said pulling you into his embrace. The knot on your chest broke as you finally felt his comforting touch and scent that you loved so much. “I would forgive you in a heartbeat if you had anything to apologize for, but you don't, you hear me?” You looked up at him, sniffling softly as you nodded at him. Jake cupped your face to wipe your tears as he smiled softly at you. “I’m sorry I made you go through all of this.” You saw the tears pooling in his eyes, making you cup his cheek.

“Are we ok now?” He asked, worry still lingering in his tone. You smiled widely at him as you furiously nodded your head “Yes! God, Jake, of course!” You said chuckling between sniffs. He laughed along with you as he stared into your eyes endearingly. Your breath calmed down as you both stared into each other eyes. None of you making a move to look away. Your eyes drifted from his eyes to his lips and you caught a glimpse of him doing the same. You don’t know who was the first to move but suddenly your lips were on his as you two share a long-awaited kiss. Your arms went around his neck as his hands were still cupping your cheeks. You leaned your head to the side to deepen the kiss. Jake let out a happy sigh into the kiss, making you smile against his lips. You both pulled away and you let your eyes look around the room to avoid his gaze. Jake laughed at you and you buried your face into his neck to hide the crimson red spreading on your cheeks. Jake pulled you off of him and held your hand as he started pushing you outside. “Let’s go.” He said nodding towards his car. “Jake I can’t I have to finish-” “Don’t worry about that. I’m pretty sure Heeseung won’t mind.” You were hesitant but still let him drag you to his car. “Ok- wait. Slow down, oh my God. Isn’t this kidnapping? Geez!” You said scowling lightly at him at the eagerness he was pushing you with. “Stop talking nonsense, silly.”

The boys finally gathered around the entrance as they heard Jake’s car leave with you both inside it. “Well, it was kinda awkward.” Jungwon said breaking the silence. Sunoo rolled his eyes, slapping the boy's arm. “What? It’s true!” He said raising his hands in surrender. Silene took over again as everyone tried to process what had just happened. “If all it takes to leave work early is to argue with my girlfriend then I’m down.” “Ni-ki, shut the fuck up.”

You were anxious for today. Even though Jake has been countless times at your house and had dinner with your parents just as much, you’ve never been at his house, let alone met his parents. But it would change today, Jake had called you today, inviting you to have dinner with his parents at his house. As much as you wanted to refuse, you knew you couldn’t, you couldn’t delay this moment any longer, sooner or later it was gonna happen and it was happening today. You didn’t know how to really feel about it. From what Jake told you, you knew his dad wasn’t the best person but you didn’t know much about his mom. You felt anxiety creeping up your body as you got ready for the night. You tried to look the most presentable you could for Jake’s parents, not wanting to leave a bad first impression.

Your phone buzzed in your bed, you picked it up and saw Jake’s text telling you he was outside. You looked at your reflection one last time before grabbing your purse and leaving. When you got outside you were met with the breathtaking sight of Jake leaning against his car, looking like he just came from a cliché teenage movie. His skin was glowing with the bright sunshine, complementing his skin colour to perfection. His full black outfit was hugging in all the right places, making him look like a runway model. Jake noticed your staring, making him laugh silently. “You know you can take a closer look, right?” His words made you roll your eyes, despite feeling your cheeks grow hot. “You’re so cocky, Jake.” You said as you walked towards him, stopping in front of him as you leaned in for a peck. Jake hummed against your lips, holding your face to kiss you deeper. You tapped his cheek and pulled away, eyeing him with a warning stare. “We have places to be, young man.” Jake sighed at your words and you both got in the car.

Throughout the car ride, Jake noticed your fidgeting hands and he knew you were nervous. He put his hand on top of yours, still looking at the road ahead of him. “There’s nothing to be worried about, y/n” He said in a quiet voice, making you look at him at the sudden words. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, looking back to the road. “I know. It’s just- I don’t even know why I’m nervous.” You answered chuckling humorlessly. Jake gave your hand a squeeze, giving you a silent reassurance. “I know that from what I say about my dad he sounds scary but he can be nice sometimes and I’m sure he will be pretty okay with you, so don’t think too much about it, yeah? Besides my mom’s gonna be there so it won’t be as bad.” You nodded and smiled at him, leaning on the center console to peck his cheek, making him smile.

Soon enough, you both reached his parent’s house. You felt your heart starting to race as soon as you stepped out of the car. Jake walked beside you, grabbing your hand, holding it tightly against his. Something in him was telling you he was nervous as well and it made you look at him with worried eyes. You both stopped at the front door, looking at each other. Jake smiled at you, nodding his head towards the door, making you take a deep breath as you nodded back at him. He rang the doorbell, the sound echoing in the loud silence as you both waited impatiently.

The door finally opened, revealing a beautiful woman. She didn’t look any older than 45, her skin was smooth with barely any wrinkles adorning it, only faint ones that marked her joyful smile. Her hair had a chestnut tone to it and the perfectly styled curls reached her shoulders. “Jake, my love.” She said as she pulled the said man into her embrace. “I’ve missed you so much!” Jake smiled as he looked at her with a grin. “Missed you too, mom.” He said lovingly pecking her forehead. “Oh, goodness. You must be y/n, I’m Sooyoung! So glad to meet you dear!” She said pulling you in a hug, making you smile at her as you felt the nerves slowly leaving your body. “Yes, I am! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” You told her, as she held your hands in her’s. “You know, Jake sounded so excited to finally introduce you to us, he would always talk about you when he called.” You heard Jake groan beside you. “Mom!” “What? I’m just saying!” She said laughing at his son “Anyways, come inside. Dinner is almost ready!” She leads you both inside the house. “Do you need help with anything?” You asked her “Oh no, dear! Don’t worry, everything’s almost done. You both wait in the leaving room while I finish it.”

Jake took you to the living room, where his father sat on the couch as he watched whatever news channel was playing. He cleared his throat, making his father loom at you both. “Hey, dad. This is y/n, my girlfriend.” Jake said introducing you to the older man. “Hi, sir. It’s nice to meet you!” You said bowing slightly at him, wiping your sweaty hands in the back of your pants. Jake’s father got up, walking towards the both of you. His straight lips formed a slight smile as he pulled you into a hug, making you let out a surprised sound. “It’s nice to see the girl my son can’t shut up about. Can’t say I’m not surprised to see my son could keep up with a girl like you.” You felt shy at his words, not really knowing what to say. “Ah, I’m sure it’s not like that.” You said rubbing your arm anxiously. He then walked to Jake, shaking hands with his son, giving him a tight-lipped smile. “Hope you’ve been behaving well, son.” He said patting his son’s head. “Dad..” Jake said rolling his eyes. The three of you sat on the couch, Jake's dad’s eyes were on the TV but his focus was somewhere else.

“So,” He started. “Where did you two meet?” He asked, turning to look at you two. You looked at Jake and then at his father “We met at my workplace.” You said nodding at him. “You work?” He asked curiously. “Well, it’s a summer job, but yeah I do. Been there for about two and half months maybe?” You smiled at him, rubbing your hands back in forth on your thighs as you tried to ease the nerves. He hummed “And what do you do, may I ask?” “Dad, it’s enough questions.” Jake said but you stopped “It’s okay, Jake.” You said smiling at him. “I’m working at a mechanic shop, which I know it’s not usual as a summer job, but I enjoy it a lot.” His dad opened his mouth to speak but before he could do so, Sooyoung called everyone to the table.

You were all sat at the table peacefully, immersed in a casual conversation. “We should totally book a dinner with your parents y/n, Jake talks about how nice they are when he stays at your house. “ Jake’s mother suggested. “Yeah, I think that would be really nice. They would love it!” You told her, smiling at her as you went back to eating. You noticed Jake had been quiet most of the night, only talking when you were the topic of the conversation. It made you worried that he was behaving this way. You noticed the way his hands were trembling and you wanted nothing more than to comfort him right there and then. You put your utensils down when you finished the meal and one of your hands went to his tigh to rub it in a comforting manner. Jake’s movements faltered when he felt it. His free hand went down to where your hand was placed in his thigh and squeezed it in appreciation. You interlocked your fingers with his and his thumb started rubbing the back of your hand. Jake felt his heart warming up at your actions, looking at you as you spoke with his mother. He smiled, looking down at his empty plate as he tried to hide it.

Jake’s mom got up and walked towards the fridge. “If everyone’s finished, I made dessert!” She said as she put a homemade ice cream bowl on the table. She sat back down and the conversation went on. “y/n I almost forgot to ask! What are you studying?” Sooyung asked as she looked at you. her elbow propped on the table. “Oh, I’m majoring in computer science actually!” You answered with a smile. “I actually share a few classes with Jake.” You said looking at him with a smile, seeing him already looking at you. “Oh really! What a coincidence, isn’t it!” His mother beamed at you. Jake’s father scoffed beside his mother making you snap your head in his direction. “I’m surprised he actually attends classes.” He said looking down at his desert. Jake’s hand tightened almost painfully in your grip.

The tension in the room was thick and if you wanted you could cut it with a knife. Jake’s mother scolded him silently for speaking about it when you were present, but the man couldn’t care less. “Soccer, soccer, soccer. It’s all that goes through that head of his.” He said, finally looking up at his son, who stared at him with a stoic expression. “I work hard every day to give him a stable future and yet he doesn’t even think about pursuing that.” He said with an expression that could be read as disappointment. “Look at his brother. Working a high-paying job, a stable one, and yet, you can’t take it as an example to look up to. Do you really think soccer’s gonna take you anywhere in life?” He asked but he wasn’t really looking for an answer. Your heart felt like it could jump out of your chest with how quick it was beating. Jake’s face was emotionless but his hands were shaking as the force of his own father’s words hit him like rocks. It hurt you to see him take all this and you just couldn’t keep yourself quiet any longer

“You know,” You started “Jake’s really good at what he does best, even if it’s at soccer.” You gulped your nerves down as you continued. “If there’s something my parents never did was interfere in my future. They never once told me I should follow this or that, never. Because nothing was more important than them seeing me do something that makes me happy. If soccer is what he loves doing, then why not let him do that? I don’t know a thing about soccer or sports but if he’s known in almost every national university’s soccer team then he must be damn good at what he does. So why not support him in that? Even if it goes bad for him, which I must say I doubt, he’s going to graduate so there’s always a plan b. Have you ever considered your son’s happiness? I genuinely don’t intend to be disrespectful to you or your company, but is your business more important than your son? You have a son working in that field so why not make him take over it instead of Jake, who clearly doesn’t want to do it?”

You looked at Jake, seeing him look at you with tears pooling in his eyes, making your own eyes water. “Jake deserves nothing but to be happy. If you only could see how much he’s done then maybe you would love him a bit more.” You got up from your chair, the scraping sound made you slightly hiss. Jake understood what you were doing and did the same. “I’m so sorry about this, but I just can’t stand you seeing talk so low of your son. I hope you can reflect a little bit. Again, I’m sorry.” You turned to leave, Jake following behind you.

When the front door shut close, Jake instantly broke down, throwing himself in your embrace. His body shook with broken cries, making you screw your eyes shut as you tried to stop your tears. You held him tightly, rubbing his back in a soothing manner. “It’s alright now.” you said in a whisper, your hand coming up to tangle itself in his hair. When his cries died out Jake pulled out of your arms, looking at you. His hands cradled your face, as his eyes scanned your features. He smiled at you, making you mirror his expression. He leaned down as he pecked your lips and your hands came up to hold his that were holding your face. “I’m sorry for, you know, causing all that. I just couldn’t not do anything.” You said looking down. “Hey, don’t apologize. Thank you for that, really.” he said letting out a breath. “It’s better you saying that than me having another screaming match with my father.” He smiled sadly.

“I didn’t know you liked me that much, though.” He joked trying to lighten the mood. “Oh, c’mon Jake, seriously.” You said groaning at him, feeling your cheeks heat up. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He said laughing. “Y’know, I like you that much too.” You felt shy under his gaze, suddenly not able to look in his eyes. “Do you really?” You asked as you kicked tiny rocks on the floor. “Yes, silly. Of course I do…” Jake tensed “Even more than liking, actually.” You looked up at him when he said that, seeing him biting his lips nervously. “What?” You asked, surprised as you felt your heart race. “I- sorry I shouldn’t-” “Jake.” You cut him off, laughing at him. He stared at you wide-eyed, his cheeks flushed and his ears red.

You threw your arms over his shoulder, making a slight force to pull him closer. You smiled up at him. “I love you.” Jake almost choked in his own spit, not expecting to hear those words coming out of your mouth. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something. He took a deep breath and put his hands on your waist, suddenly feeling like he was in high school again, about to have his first kiss. He leaned in to kiss you, moving his head to the side to deepen it. Both of your lips moving on their own as you shared a passionate kiss. Jake pulled away before he could go further, his forehead resting against yours as he giggled, making you laugh at his behaviour. “I love you too princess.” He finally said, “So much.” He pecked your lips again, and again, and again until you pushed his chest as you laughed at him. He grinned at you, as he grabbed your hand in his. “Let’s go?” He asked and you nodded at him. You both got in the car, ready to go home as some soft tunes played from to radio.

Jake had been trying to make his house a home for a long time, but maybe home was where you were.

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naoyaslut · 2 years

Text

Conflict of Interest

pairings: ran haitani x femreader+18

synopsis: Weeks after a one-night stand, you have the privilege run into the same man in the middle of a courtroom.

warnings: creampie, vfingering, reader smokes a cigar, alcohol mention, one night stands, ran throws reader under the bus.

Minors do not Interact! ageless/minimal blogs will be blocked.

wordcount: 4,444

a/n: just trying to post something since I have not been posting at all.

Part II

The wedding was nice. Your childhood friend finally got married to the love of her life, why was he the love of her life? You couldn’t begin to fathom. All your close friends opted to get married to their childhood sweethearts, whereas you couldn’t keep a normal relationship even if you had tried.

Your boyfriend in high school. It didn’t work out, because he wanted to smother you, coddle you, and although at times the attention was nice. You didn’t like to be smothered.

College, your boyfriend at the time didn’t want you to pursue a career in criminal law. Immediate red flag. The men you dated over the years seemed to have some sort of superiority complex. They were often intimidated when they found out that you were a lawyer, so dating long-term never worked out in your favor.

“You know it's customary for the maid of honor and the best man to hook up after the wedding, right?” Noburu Genki. He went to high school with the bride and groom, he was apparently the best man of the groom, and you couldn’t wait to get as far as possible from this idiot.

Even in high school, you didn’t care for him, you were surprised he had any close friends.

Scowling in his direction, you pulled the crystal champagne glass away from your lips before taking a sip. You had more than your share of champagne for the evening. It didn’t help that there was an open bar available.

“Aren’t you married, Nobu?” you asked, more out of necessity than curiosity. You saw the news a few years ago about his engagement, he also married his high school sweetheart. But from the rumors of their separation came about cheating rumors. Noburu just couldn’t keep his hands off the ladies. He was a dog right down to his very core.

“Divorced, actually,” Noburu replied, pulling his black tuxedo jacket over his shoulder. Nobu had always been a looker. He was a jock; he got a scholarship to go to college to play basketball. But it wasn’t like his family wasn’t already well off, his parents did exceptionally well for themselves so in the end, he didn’t have to work very hard for anything.

“Yeah, I can see why,” finishing your drink, you sat it down on a nearby table, patting him on the shoulder before excusing yourself. “Excuse me, it was nice seeing you.”

After saying your goodbyes and departing from the reception you made your way back to the hotel you’d booked in advance before returning home the following day. To say the least, you were buzzed, and you were curious enough about the Cuban cigar that was offered as a party favor from the groom.

You didn’t smoke. Staring at the cigar, in mild disgust from your spot at the luxury hotel bar. Aside from the crystal champagne glass stamped with Mr. and Mrs. Wang, this was the only other party favor you received. How are you even supposed to smoke this thing?

Placing the cigar between glossed lips, you held it firmly before retrieving it to roll it between your index and thumb.

“You’re supposed to cut the end of those before smoking it,”

A rather pleasant male voice from beside you snapped you out of your observation of your gift, earning a brief glance from you in return.

You were still dressed in the navy-blue chiffon gown you wore to the wedding reception; it was embroidered classically in silver along the front.

Resting your cheek against the palm of your hand against the bar top, you gave the stranger your complete attention before looking him over from head to toe. He stood a little too close for comfort, had you been sober and paying attention you would have asked him to move away, or just move further down the bar.

He was tall, dressed exceptionally well in a dark grey matching suit complete with silver cufflinks. His eyes, a bright almost florescent colored wisteria gazing intently into your own. One of his large hands held out a silver cigar cutter in his hand, index and thumbs looped through both of its edges.

“Did I look that confused?” you asked, a slight smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

“You don’t look like the type to smoke cigars, but I can assist if you’d like,” the stranger’s free hand ran through his dark-colored hair from what you could decipher was a dark purple and black.

Sitting up straight on the barstool, you held the cigar out in front of you to examine it once more.

“It was a gift; I just didn’t want it to go to waste.”

A bartender from behind the bar brought a short glass filled with dark liquor over and sat it in front of the man who had begun to make conversation with you before disappearing further down the bar to assist other patrons.

“You smoke?” he asked, picking up his glass to take a drink from it. “Usually the pretty ones never do,”

Snickering under your breath, you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth. He was a smooth talker, and he wasn’t bad looking either. He was extremely well groomed, and though his hair was a bit eccentric it appeared he had his appearance meticulously cared for. You were just noticing his eyebrows were the same dull color purple as his hair and they were waxed perfectly.

“It’s a Columbian cigar, I had to at least try it before I throw it in the trash,”

Things were hazy, but not that hazy. You knew a good-looking man when you saw one, and you knew when one was flirting with you too.

“Test it out, see if you like it.” He suggested, taking the cigar from your grasp he pulled a nearby ashtray over and clipped off the end of the cigar. “Go ahead, put the head in your mouth”

You noticed the grin painting his sharp features after he held it toward you, which only got him a pointed glare from you in return.

Chuckling under his breath, voice like gravel he went on to explain.

“That’s what the tip of the cigar is called, the head,” his grin widening. “Anatomy of a cigar 101.”

You rolled your eyes at the explanation and placed the cigar between your lips once more, watching as he began to dig inside the pocket of his jacket to retrieve a lighter.

“I wasn’t being, vulgar,” the handsome stranger remarked, smiling while holding the burning flame of his lighter to the end of your cigar. “Unless you’re into that,”

Taking a few tentative puffs of the cigar, you pulled it from your lips allowing the thick opaque smoke to seep from the corner of your mouth. You paused, and then promptly proceeded to stub it out in the shared ashtray between you and Mr. tall dark and handsome.

The heavy taste of tobacco flooded your pallet, and, in all honesty, you wanted to retch. It wasn’t for you.

You could hear that silky smooth chuckle once again as the man beside you picked up his drink once more to indulge in the dark substance in his cup.

“Not your cup of tea, huh?” he asked, eyes narrowing in faint interest at your expression.

Though you managed to keep a straight face, it was obvious that you were disgusted by the heady taste of the cigar.

“Not a fan of the taste, I’m afraid.” Picking up your glass that was nearby, you nearly guzzled down the glass of water you had that was ordered with the intent to sober you up. “Have at it, if you’d like.”

By now, your nameless friend was finished with his drink, but he still lingered beside you at the bar. That gave you the inclination that he was more interested than he seemed.

“I’m afraid if the lady doesn’t like the taste, it's against my interests to indulge.”

Attempting to hide the smile creeping up on your face, you decided to take your leave.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, thank you for the cigar anatomy lesson.” Slipping off the barstool, you realize just how tall this man was in comparison to yourself. Giving him a lingering gaze, you smiled before you turned to leave. “Have a nice night,”

Grabbing the small Michael Kors clutch purse off the bar top you began to walk toward the lobby of the hotel until your handsome companion fell in step with you as you sauntered along.

“I could give you another anatomy lesson, if you’re interested” The man added rather nonchalantly, shoving both of his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

Your mouth almost, almost dropped agape at his brazenness and what you felt he was insinuating. Stopping in front of the elevator you pressed the call button before giving him a sly glance out of the corner of your eye.

“If you’re offering me sex, I’m going to need you to be more specific.”

The elevator doors opened, and you stepped into the elevator to get a full view of the magnificent specimen in front of you, who had been rendered speechless. He was staring at you wide-eyed outside of the elevator stiffly as if he had been frozen in time.

He only moved when the doors began to close putting his arm out before stumbling inside the elevator car the doors closing behind him.

“More specific, huh?” he asked, leaning against the elevator wall beside you.

You could have sworn you saw his eyebrows wiggle in your direction, and it only caused you to laugh out loud before lifting a finger to press the 11th-floor button, where your room was located.

Instead of replying further, he grasped ahold of your hand and moved your finger to push the button for the 20th floor.

Eyeing the button on the elevator, you arched a brow before the elevator began to move again. He had a suite on the top floor, and now that was interesting enough. The top floors of these hotels were usually off-limits to those who could only afford them. The rooms would range from thousands of dollars per night.

The elevator ride up was intense, the handsome stranger hovering over you seemingly committing every single one of your features to memory. He wore a sly grin the entire time as if he had just won the biggest trophy in a contest.

When the elevator finally stopped, you followed him out the sound of your stilettos clicking in the distance. It had been a while since you’d had the company of the opposite sex and no, you didn’t do one-night stands very often.

But this one, he seemed to know what he wanted albeit it was you. You certainly didn’t mind it was a nice change to get it from someone you were attracted to. And then once you two were done, you could ride off into the sunset without ever seeing him again. You didn’t feel like you were lost in this situation.

“After you,”

Your new friend had opened his room door and pushed it open, displaying a seemingly endless suite on the inside. There was a personal bar visible on the opposite side of the room near the balcony, the whole front room reminded you something of a penthouse. It was clean and nicely decorated and it had a lot of space.

Sitting your clutch down on one of the glass tables, you leaned down to remove your heels placing them neatly by the door. You could hear the door shut behind you and the rustling of fabric, the dark-haired stranger removing his suit jacket before draping it over one of his arms.

“Make yourself comfortable,” the words were expressed smoothly as he walked past you to hang his jacket on the backs of one of the chairs.

Pursing your lips in amusement, you stepped further into the living room raising a hand to unlatch the button to your dress located at the base of your nape. You’d need assistance with the zipper since it was conveniently placed dead center of your back.

The bright-eyed stranger turned around to give you a glance and he was met with you giving him your back and a sultry glance over your shoulder.

“Can you help me with this?” You asked, waiting for him to take action.

He stepped toward you took hold of the zipper and began to pull it down while you turned to face him while shimmying out of your gown.

“Are we making introductions?” He asked hastily.

Stepping out of the fabric that had pooled around your feet, you stepped into his arms resting a hand idly on his abdomen. You stood before him in a black lace lingerie set that you had bought a good while ago. It was never worn due to your boyfriend at the time preferring to argue with you all the time rather than touch you.

“You didn’t offer to give me an introduction, you offered an anatomy lesson.” Curling your fingers into the waist of the band of his slacks you tugged him closer. Even though he was much larger and stronger than you he came willingly craning his neck down toward you.

The next moments were a blur. All that you could fathom was that you were now splayed out underneath your new acquaintance, now naked and out of breath.

The brief second that he pulled his tongue out of your mouth you inhaled abruptly, whimpering at the bruising grip he presented at your hips.

“D-do you have a condom?” You crooned, as those long dexterous fingers of his curled inside you causing your legs to shake.

Your body was humming with electricity, it felt like he was touching you anywhere and everywhere all at once.

“P-please tell me you have a condom,” regaining your breath, you whimpered at the sudden emptiness of his fingers leaving the wetness between your legs.

His hips bumped against yours momentarily, his swelling girth nudging itself into the warmth of your cunt almost agonizingly slow.

“Ah, come on pretty thing, live a little” his words were hoarse, strained until he had buried himself at the hilt and he was quick to cover your lips with his own once more before he set an almost brutal pace inside of you.

Each time his pelvis met the apex of your thighs with a wet slap you released an involuntary squeak that was swallowed down just as quickly.

You weren’t sure how much time had gone by. All that you knew was that you were completely focused on the man underneath you who had probably known your body better than you did at this point. The time spent consisted of the constant melding of your body and his own for what seemed like hours.

Your body was still sensitive to the touch and covered in a thin film of perspiration. Your thighs burned, muscles ached, and the noises you made while rolling your hips on top of him were akin to a songbird.

Dropping your eyes from his, they ventured further down to where your bodies were connected. A faint happy trail of platinum blonde hair disappeared underneath the flat of his large palm, the pad of his thumb rubbing languid circles on your puffy swollen clit.

“That’s right,” his voice was soothing, a silky-smooth timbre that caused you to tremble in response. “Fuck, you feel so good, keep going,”

You were well on the verge of your third orgasm of the night, a scalding tingling settling itself at the base of your spine. The praising was appreciated, inducing a curling warmth in the depths of your belly causing your insides to constrict around his girth in near desperation.

Before your eyes began to roll to the back of your skill the subtle things about this man began to scream at you, and loudly. The solitary tattoo at the base of his throat, in comparison with the black ink, etched over the front of his chest.

It screamed Yakuza gang member, but you didn’t care too distracted and desperate for the impending release that was more near than you anticipated.

Moaning pathetically, you threw your head lolled backward eyes pinching shut while you bucked your hips against his vehemently. The wet sounds of skin against skin filled the room while you chased after the sweet release that was so close, it was practically lodged down your throat.

“I-I’m gonna’ to c-c-um,” he must have been close too, the fingers tucked into the soft fat of your hips tightened almost painfully as he drove his hips up into you to match your motions.

You could feel his abs flexing underneath your fingertips before he sat upright throwing both of his arms around your waist to wrench you tight against him.

He continued to pound into you, the wet friction between your legs plus the tip of his dick thrusting into you triggering that drawn-out orgasm to finally explode within you.

“O-oh, m-my god,” you wailed, obnoxiously loud your body convulsing in his hold.

Your cunt spasmed and constricted against his girth, the warmth of his cum seeping out of your abused hole.

You were spent. Sluggishly you leaned into his arms, listening to the erratic beating of his heart humming in your ear. This was… probably the best lay you’ve had ever in your life, maybe you were okay with not using a condom.

You gasped in surprise when he fell back against the sheets of the bed (taking you with him), allowing both of his hands to unravel from around you before falling flat against the mattress.

It seemed as if he were trying to catch his breath, and regain his demeanor, while you lay limply against his chest in earnest trying to do the same.

“Are you okay?” you asked, humor light in your voice while managing to roll off him successfully, but not before pulling his softening manhood from out of you.

The warmth of his seed spilling on the sheets caused you to wince faintly, desperately wanting a bath to clean yourself up. But you could barely move.

“Fine,” he replied, lavender hues heavily lidded and now staring up at the ceiling.

Groaning painfully, you pushed yourself up to swing both of your legs off the side of the bed.

“I should get going-”

A thick bicep around your waist, elicited a surprised yelp as he pulled you back into his arms pressing your back firmly against his chest. You were both a sticky, sweaty mess.

“Stay, I might have to fuck again before I leave in the morning,”

Surprisingly, more so to yourself than anyone else. You stayed. You booked a whole-ass hotel room for yourself to sleep in and you stayed and slept with a man who you had no intention of getting to know. You supposed that’s what made it okay.

But when dawn came and he was still snoozing away beside you, utterly exhausted. You made your way for the exit. Even when you crept out of bed to get dressed to head back to your room, he was still deep in the throws of his slumber. You didn’t bother him, you left it as it was. A hook-up, and you checked out of the hotel, to get back home.

You were running a few minutes late to the court hearing. Your client was already seated down in front once you passed through the double wooden doors.

“It’s nice of you to join us Counselor L/N,” the judge presiding over the case, announced your arrival so abruptly, that it caused every head in the courtroom to turn to watch you make your way to wear the client was sitting.

Adjusting the black pencil skirt so that it fell back into place over your knees, you smiled faintly nodding in acknowledgment. You literally walked in 2 minutes after the scheduled start time.

“I apologize for the tardiness your honor; I had some trouble getting into the courtroom. It seems as if the bailiff was under the assumption that Mr. Baez would not have counsel today.”

Mr. Baez was your client. Beforehand someone else was representing him, but you picked up his case last minute. It seemed cut and dry. Tapping the tip of your heels against the tile of the courtroom, you turned to your client who had attempted to get your attention.

He was speaking quietly, his hands nervously rubbing together.

“I want to drop the charges,” he admitted.

Blinking slowly, your brows pinched together tightly in a knot while tossing a gaze over toward the defendant’s table. They were whispering to one another as well, the counselor’s eyebrows going up in surprise as he locked eyes with you.

His client, who was obscured by his attorney had disclosed something to him, and apparently, he thought it was very interesting.

Turning back to Baez, you sighed under your breath before chewing on your bottom lip.

“Are you sure? Why? What aren’t you telling me?”

Something was off.

“Counselors, approach the bench.” Judge Kyo requested the presence of both you and the other attorney, whose name you hadn’t caught as of yet.

Tearing your gaze away from your client, you smoothed out the wrinkles in the cream button-down shirt you were wearing walking into the aisle to head towards the bench.

On the way out, you locked eyes with a set of bright purple iris’ that had haunted your dreams for the past two weeks. The man they belonged to, yep. It was the same one you met a few weeks ago, an amused smile on his face while he eyed you with keen interest.

This was bad. This was really, really bad. Cursing under your breath, you met with the judge and the other counselor waiting for the judge to start speaking.

“What do you have to say that couldn’t wait until we actually started, Mr. Tanaka?” Kyo was obviously annoyed, he ran a hand over his forehead to wipe at the perspiration and pushed a few grey strands of hair out of his face.

Tanaka smiled smugly before acknowledging the judge and turned his attention to you instead before looking you over in entirety. Eyes going over every single inch of you before resting on your face. It seemed very inappropriate.

“Ms. L/N, it’s nice to meet you formally.” He quipped, turning back to the judge. “I just wanted to inform you, that I have just come across some interesting information for the court that is certainly a conflict of interest for Ms. L/N, representing Mr. Baez.”

Fuck.

Your heart sank into the pit of your stomach. Sighing in annoyance, you glanced down at the floor almost convinced that it may have fallen right out of your ass to land between your feet on the floor.

“And that is?” Kyo pressed, his patience obviously wearing thin.

“I think it would be better discussed in your chambers your honor; we really don’t want anyone else getting wind of this. It’s a bit personal.”

“Son of a bitch,” you cursed under your breath while walking out of the now-empty courtroom.

You were mortified, embarrassed, and on the verge of tears as you forced your way through the wooden doors toward the lobby. You were grateful, it was vaguely empty. There were patrons here and there, but no one was paying you any mind.

Mr. Baez would be required to find other venues for council. You couldn’t represent him, because of the accusation that came from the “defendant”.

Tanaka insisted that you tried to seduce his client, to gain leverage in the case against him versus Mr. Baez.

Ran Haitani. You didn’t find out his name until you were able to sit down and look over the complaint. Apparently, he was a thug. A gang member as you suspected. You fucked a gang member, before going to defend a client who had a complaint filed against him.

You whimpered under your breath, the all-consuming misery now swallowing you whole. Hastily pressing the key fob to unlock your black 2022 Lexus RX.

Oh, how you wished the earth would just open up and consume you. Things really had a way of always screwing you over in the end, this was probably one of the top ten ridiculous events in your life you have ever had to deal with.

Grasping the door handle, you yanked it open turning your head in the direction of a familiar voice behind you.

“Nice, ride.”

There he was, Ran Haitani in all his glory standing a few feet away from you. You wanted to scream at him, it wouldn’t have hurt to throw a few punches either.

With a hand still on the door handle of your car, your bleary eyes widened in shock while your emotions began to get the better of you.

“You need to get the fuck away from me,” you demanded, pride still wounded from being embarrassed in court.

Ran held both of his hands up in defense, tucking his bottom lip into his mouth. He looked like he was holding back a very amused grin.

“I’m sorry, I had to do that to you up there.” He let out a chuckle before taking a tentative step forward. “How was I supposed to know that the best fuck of my life was going to be defending the guy trying to send me to jail,”

Releasing the door handle you pressed yourself against the side of your car, utterly flabbergasted. Looking around the underground parking lot, you made sure there was no one in earshot to hear this man blab about his sexual encounters so nonchalantly.

“Let me make it up to you, I promise to make it worth your while.”

Was this really happening? What on God’s green earth did you do as a person to end up in whatever sort of situation this was? God was testing you; he was testing you, right?

You could lose your license to practice for an accusation like this, this man was out of his fucking mind.

“I could lose my fucking job for this you asshole!” you screeched, your eyes brimming heavily with tears. “This isn’t a fucking game; you stay away from me Mr. Haitani.”

Ran cooed in amusement, shoving one of his hands in the pocket of his slacks.

“Listen baby, you lose your job at whatever firm you’re working for. You can come work for me,” Raising both eyebrows he grinned before choking out a hearty laugh. “And I promise I’ll take care of you.”

#ran haitani x femreader!#tokyo revengers smut #lawyer reader

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tumblasha · 6 months

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why was i like that (tl;dr in tags)

today i clicked on sgc's ig profile and saw that they use they/them pronouns now. and it makes me want to cry.

bc even tho we Literally went to high school together-ish (they were 3yrs after me?) we had such different experiences.

i was a Girl who hung out with guys who didn't respect me, went out with a boyfriend who was nice to me, and was too shy / awkward / busy being that shy nerd stereotype [1] that i had no "deep friendship". you could ask anyone anything about me and they wouldn't know the answer! and i wouldn't know anything about them!! [2] bc we were a small class (169) and everyone in town was a mix of neighbor and cousin, i got my invites to parties and dances, but i overall felt like i was on autopilot. i don't remember my life until i was ~16 [3]!! why!!!

i think a lot about how dr uju anya had a whole husband and child but over time realized she was a lesbian. not to parasocialize too much with this academic weapon, but i feel like i also had this experience (to a much smaller / younger degree). and i feel so sad thinking about how i could've saved so much pain in high school if i had just known i wasn't wired to like guys like that [4].

and i remember lindie [5], someone who's ~30 now and has been with her now-husband since she was ~13. one day we had a good phone call (post-hs-graduation) and she told me that for literally everyone else she could possibly see romantically / sexually, she's a lesbian. but she and her husband have literally Grown Up together. her love for him is something that goes beyond platonic / romantic / sexual attraction. it's a life partnership in every sense of the term.

this phone conversation lit a lightbulb in my summer 2019 brain. i knew that this high school bf of mine could be a life partner. we started dating when i was 11 or 12 and !!! we both saw each other grow up (at least to some degree). but something in the pit of my stomach told me i couldn't live a lie like that. it wouldn't be fair to him for me to have this self-discovery and just .. continue as if it didn't happen?

and so when someone said that dr. uju's pre-lesbian marriage was "sad" bc she didn't know she was a lesbian, i got (in my head) defensive. bc "it's totally possible to be happy and ignore this part of yourself!" (it's not).

for the longest time i told myself that being bisexual was the easiest sexuality to have bc i knew i liked women and i could always just end up with a guy to make my family happy, if i had to, ya know? i got mentally defensive when ppl online said that "invisibility is not a privilege" and "biphobia is real" bc i was subconsciously using this label as a way to hide the fact that the mere thought of a life with a man made me anxious / nauseous / scared.

and boy did that fear kick into overdrive anytime i was around a guy. if he even smiled at me, i'd go a little silly. it didn't even matter if he was straight, bi, ace, gay, or anything, i'd just latch onto the fact that it was a Man talking to me and i couldn't stop thinking about them and any comment they made that made them seem bored / annoyed at me made me spiral about my self-worth. but if there was ever a case that i Thought they even Maybe had an interest in me, i'd get nauseous again. to this day i feel like i still put guys up on a pedestal so i just have ... no guy friends [6].

this novel is a silly way of saying the following things.

the label "lesbian" is a vibe rn

heartstopper is a painful show for me to watch

sorry if ur a guy i met before i turned 20 that i was weird around : ( /nbh

sgc looks so happy. they're out and they look so happy. why couldn't that be me.

why was i like that.

---

[1] i had a goofy jock bf tho so was it really so bad?

[2] and to a certain degree this continues today? i don't know how to hold a conversation, i don't know how to ask questions, i don't have good memory of the conversations i Do manage to hold, my #1 fear is playing the newlyweds game with literally anybody. i once described making friends as 'learning a person's scripts / common conversation topics' and the other person in the room just kinda said 'haha yeah...' and i continued to pset :skull:

[3] and 16-17 was my sad era where i cried basically any time my bf and i were alone together. that man was so patient w me lmao

[4] why do i always say no? why can't i just calm down? why is it weird to describe us as 'friends but we also make out'?

[5] one of the coolest ppl i know. (death + suicide mentioned in this footnote) she was the french teacher that replaced my old french teacher after she died, and lindie really suffered for us. bc it was a catholic school, she was forced to cover up her tattoos, and she had to wear longer clothes (admin always told her to cover up even when she was wearing Long Clothes). she went through so much (miscarriage, lost here sense of self, etc.) and was literally suicidal but she still showed up for us. one of my fav teachers and an inspiration to this day.

[6] except for the two dudes (that might be) reading this, y'all are cool and literally the best. afaik i've been Normal around y'all so yay! growth!!

#tl;dr: if it wasn't obvious i used to be a pick-me LMAO but now i'm better (nonbinary lesbian? that seems good for now)#/nbh = nobody here (tone tag)#this is a jumbled mess #pls don't feel pressured to read this #just hit that like button and keep scrolling wahfioejwa #dash rambles #coming out #sorta

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earnestly-endlessly · 2 years

Note

Hello!! I was wondering if you know of any human Charles x mutant Erik fics? That you!!

Hi anon, thanks for your ask. There are several Human Charles x Mutant Erik fics out there. I hope you enjoy this list

Human Charles x Mutant Erik Fics

Everyday Love in Stockholm – tahariel

Summary: Magneto is the ruler of the posthuman world. His only secret? Charles Xavier, the human he's kept locked in his bedroom ever since his right-hand woman, Mystique, came to him pleading for mercy for her stepbrother, who accepted her mutant form and protected her as a child. The human he started fucking after Mystique was killed in battle, despite the guilt he feels at contaminating even this last promise to the woman who was integral to his life's work and happiness.

Humane Society – smilebackwards

Summary: Once Erik finally allows himself to decide that Charles is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread, he spends the next week being incredibly bitter that he's Charles' cat and not his boyfriend.

Hip to Be Square – seutedeern

Summary: The year is 1985. Humans and mutants have lived together for a hundred years and now co-exist peacefully.

That is, outside of high school. Charles Xavier happens to be an ordinary human being, but that's not the worst of his troubles. He's a true geek, with so few friends he could count them on two fingers, and he also happens to be the school's favourite victim.

Erik has always looked down upon humans without any powers, thinking he is superior to them.

Naturally, he's not pleased at all when for some unknown reason, Charles latches onto him after only one lesson of group work as though they were the best of friends.

Spätzünder – InsertSthMeaningful

Summary: Erik doesn’t like Charles Xavier. Not one bit. Not his impeccable mannerisms, not his spotless clothes, not his winning smile. Or how the human likes to curry favor with literally every mutant or other member of oppressed minorities he encounters.

Still, there is something about his fellow college student that intrigues Erik. Makes him want to push the boy, tear down his arguments, and, just to shut him up, kiss his cherry red-

Oh….Maybe falling for a human isn’t that bad. Certainly worth a try. Especially since Xavier doesn’t seem to be averse to the idea himself.

But months later, things change. Or rather, a certain someone does. And nothing is ever going to be the same.

Late Bloomer – so_shhy

Summary: Erik is a mutant jock with ISSUES. Charles is a geeky transfer student and totally human... (or is he?)

Imprint – PoorMedea

Summary: Charles/Erik Unwanted sub: There are stories where Charles is Erik’s sub and they are both happy, but what about some more angsty theme? AU where mutants and humans live together but mutants think themselves more important and often treat humans like dirt. Sub/Dom pairs are created by imprinting. Mutants generally imprint on mutants and Erik who is the most powerful among them thinks that he will have equally powerful sub. Turns out that he imprints on Charles – a brilliant yet entirely human Professor.

Flawed timing – orphan_account

Summary: Charles has been living his life as a baseline, unbonded man for years. He didn’t need a soulmate or a mutation. However, an unexpected encounter forces him to recall and confront his painful past, in more ways than one.

Note: Unfinished

A Quiet Night in Hell – Fantine_Black

Summary: It's like Herr Doktor - King Shaw! - has always said: they are children of the atom, and the nuclear holocaust only made them stronger. Some humans survive, true, some even fight back, but soon they, too, will be conquered.

In the meantime, as Shaw's best lieutenant, Erik enjoys his privileges - and his lovely human slave, named Charles.

in time to change your mind – dizzy faced

Summary: It took a bit of nudging from Raven, who had told Magneto that her brother is not like other humans, he’s totally different and he is so so kind, and Erik come on—he could clean the base for us?And Charles had said, oh yes, in fact I could cook and do everyone’s laundry, please let me stay with my sister?And Magneto, who could not have been any older than twenty-one at that time, had considered what a hassle it was to clean after a bunch of mutants, and said: Yes, sure. He can stay.(Or: how a mutant falls in love with his human housekeeper.)

Kingdom Come – orphan_account

Summary: At the age of 16, Charles departs for Genosha to become the King's bed boy.

Love Sprouts and Grows – Rangerskirt

Summary: After fleeing America back to Poland Erik starts drinking himself away. One evening he meets a young human named Charles who offers to let him crash on his couch. In the morning he discovers Charles had a young baby daughter and is in need of quite a bit of help taking care of her, enter the great Magneto to become part-time babysitter and housekeeper while simultaneously trying to distance himself from falling in love with both the baby girl and her father.

-----

Or the one where Charles and Magda switch places from the movie-verse. Charles is a young and recently single father of Nina who by chance meets Magneto and is too desperate for help to care about his past. At first he just thinks it will help to have a mutant around to help him figure out his daughter, but love seems to worm its way between them.

#cherik #cherik fic recs #fic recs #asks #earnestly answers #human charles

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bruhstories · 2 years

Text

hopeless

summary: you're oblivious, he's an idiot. match made in hell.

pairing: porco galliard x fem!reader (modern au)

warning & content: alcohol, unprotected sex, oral sex (male and female receiving), fingering, swearing

word count: 6.9k

a/n: attack on titan killed me and brought me back to life, and this is how this one-shot was born

Hopeless. Hopeless is, perhaps, the best word that could describe you. Not a hopeless romantic, but hopelessly oblivious to any flirt, wink, compliment or gift you could receive from a man. You’re in your early twenties, yet you barely had a lasting relationship, not because you couldn’t, but because you didn’t find the right person yet. Someone funny, yet highly intelligent, with an elegant demeanour, but who is not afraid to get their hands dirty, perhaps someone very well-educated, who will certainly have a great career, who is family-oriented and can provide, but who will also let you have your own career, independence and you-time.

Ugh, the more you think about it, the more that person feels impossible to exist. Maybe Sasha is right, maybe you should lower your standards. But the problem with you is that you do not grasp the concept of moderation. You either eat too much, or forget to eat, sleep for fifteen hours or not sleep for two days, love or hate. And in this case, you wouldn’t just lower your standards, you would wipe the floor with them, stomp them, spit on them, throw them in the bin and set the bin on fire. And while you have a lengthy list of what you want from your significant other, the truth is, you need someone who can put up with your shit. Your hopelessly incorrigible shit.

Because you’re so oblivious to the environment, you, of course, didn’t even notice the way Porco’s eyes light up whenever he spots you. He’s a different kind of hopeless — hopelessly stupid. A textbook jock, Porco is arrogant, mean, disgusting and egotistical. But not because he wants to, no. See, the thing with Porco is that he wants to belong — belong to a clique, in this case, but he craves the feeling of being accepted for who he really is, and because he’s viewed as Marley Uni’s boy-toy-eye-candy-himbo hybrid, he also needs to conform to those standards and stereotypes shoved down his throat the moment he joined the hockey team. He knows for a fact he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is by no means an idiot. Sure, he might not be as smart as Armin, Annie or Mikasa, but he is definitely way above average, and Porco likes to keep it that way. It’s easier, and because of his athlete scholarship, he doesn’t have to work that hard mentally, only physically.

Unlike you, his polar opposite. You also nailed a scholarship for outstanding marks throughout high school and final exams, but all your life you’ve been buried in books, from morning until night time. You didn’t have the privilege of partying, drinking and fucking your way through high school, and you certainly didn’t want to start doing it now, in your final uni year, with an entire film soundtrack to compose as your dissertation project.

Ding! One (1) new message from Sasha:

⋆ Wanna hangout? ⋆

You quickly type ‘no can do’ but before you press send, your thumb hovers over the blue button. Yes, you can do, but your stuck-up attitude is what has stopped you from having more than one friend and no boyfriend. Is this the right time to change that? Probably not. Should you go out? Also probably not.

Will you go out? Maybe.

You chew on your bottom lip before deleting the entire message and rewriting it. ‘Depends on what we’re doing and where we’re doing it ;) Also, you could just knock and ask?’ There, much better. Now you don’t seem like there’s a branch shoved up your ass, and you’ve worked so hard in the past two years, you deserve a break. Hell, your project is only due in a little under a year, you’ve got the time. It will be fine.

Ding! One (1) new message from Sasha:

⋆ Can’t be assed to move, but I do feel like dancing. Girls’ night out with, well, the girls? ⋆

Ouch, this hits you in the social anxiety. You’ve probably been to a club twice in your life, and you’re not even sure your clothes are appropriate for clubbing. Sliding the closet door open, you judge everything in it. Shirts, jeans, pencil skirts? Jesus, since when are you such a prude?

‘I don’t think I have the right outfits for that, Sash.’ Aaaand sent.

The offer is very tempting. You’re genuinely craving going out, and especially dancing. There is a reason why you’re studying music, and that is escapism. To you, music was a coping mechanism, a drug, a dream, a fantasy, and to be able to unwind on the dance floor sounds so sweet right now. Perhaps you could borrow some clothes from Sasha? Your body types are pretty similar, after all, and she definitely wouldn’t mind. Speak of the devil, she’s already knocking at your bedroom door, grinning from ear to ear with a bunch on clothes draped over her forearm. Oh, boy, what have you gotten yourself into?

“You won’t regret this, Y/N.” Sasha hands you the goods, but you instantly set your eyes on the viridian bodycon dress. It’s simple, and you like the fact that it has sheer sleeves, it gives it that oomph. “I see you’re a woman of taste.” She hands you the dress, visibly proud of your choice and expecting you to try it on.

“D’you mind turning around?”

“Bitch, please, show me a titty.”

You shake your head — this girl is something else, but you’re glad she’s your friend. If not for Sasha, you’d be a hermit, locked inside your room and only going out for the lectures, which is nota healthy mindset. At least you’re glad you could find something to wear before she would start experimenting on you. When it came to makeup, you didn’t let Sasha anywhere near your face. She has good intentions, and while you’re not necessarily interested in hooking up, you don’t want to look like a clown. Sasha was great with clothes, but makeup was your area of expertise.

The club is packed with students rubbing their sweaty bodies onto each other, and in all honesty it kind of makes you gag. You think this, but your envious eyes happen to land on some guy’s hand on some girl’s waist, and it makes you frustrated that you can’t enjoy that because of your shitty standards. Sure, you don’t want a creepy guy like Floch Forster, who you’re pretty sure is a registered sex offender, to hit on you, but you sure as hell wouldn’t mind the attention from someone more… stable, for lack of a better word. And now you’re thinking just how many shots would you need to let a man near your personal space. Not that you would even be able to pick up on the signals, you’re hopelessly oblivious, remember?

But you are lucky that the hopeless idiot is here, and when he walks in the club, proudly sporting his team’s jersey jacket, cocky grin on his lips, your eyes lock with his. In the split second that his eyes met yours, you felt adrenaline rush through your veins, and your heart skip a beat.

What the fuckis this feeling?

You almost get whiplash from turning your head in a different direction, desperately searching for Sasha, or Annie, or anyone for that matter, but they’re either busy dancing, busy kissing, or, in Ymir’s case, busy drinking, and you really need someone to keep you busy, because right now, you’re terrified of the idea of approaching Porco, or worse, him approaching you.

One deep breath in, one out, and you calm yourself down. Thinking rationally, he wouldn’t have a reason to approach you, right? Maybe he just happened to look in your direction and you seemed creepy staring at him. Yes, clearly that is what happened. But the way your heart is trying to escape from your chest does not make it any better, so you decide to grab yourself a drink. Maybe some poor soul would ask you to dance, even if the music isn’t exactly what you normally dance to alone in your room. You get to the bar, order two shots of tequila and down them like water. Bad idea, horrible idea. Anxiety, insecurities and alcohol are a recipe for disaster, but then again, moderation isn’t your middle name.

“I’ll have another one.” You tell the bartender, and he reluctantly slides another shot to you. You pucker up your lips after slurping the slice of lime and slam the glass back on the countertop. Now you’re feeling better. You grab Sasha, who in turn grabs Connie, who ends up grabbing Jean, and drag the chain of humans to the dance floor. It’s not perfect, in fact you probably made a fool of yourself, but it’s fun, they’re fun, and you’re actually feeling good! Sasha was right, you don’t regret going out.

“Y/N, do you want to dance?” Porco practically yells in your ear and you freeze, slowly turning to look at him.

“You know my name?” You yell back, cheeks hot from the alcohol and effort, eyes narrowed at him.

He feels a bit stupid now, because of course he knows your name, he’s been trying to talk to you since year one, but his shitty teammates always teased him about going for a prude like you, and his stupid ass gave in to that pressure. Tonight, however, he said fuck it — fuck what others think, he would risk it, risk seeming like a jackass in front of you, at least he’ll shoot his shot.

“You’re friends with Pieck, I’m friends with Pieck.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, yeah, I’d love to dance!” You flash him your pearls, and he’s hypnotised by your smile. Even if the lights are dim, he sees you perfectly, because he memorised your face from day one. God, if his teammates found out how sappy he actually is, he'd be the laughing stock of the entire Marley U. And so what if they would laugh at him? He's still the best hockey player, and the only one with a scholarship. So, fuck what other people say.

You don't take long to fall into his arms when some asshole bumps into you, causing you to lose balance, but Porco catches you quickly, one hand on your elbow, the other on your shoulder blade, your head bumping into his chest.

"You okay?"

"Yes, sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen." You laugh it off, but he's serious, too serious.

“Want me to beat him?"

"What? No!" You shake your head, fingers ghosting over his very muscular arm, down to his wrist. You grab it, and drag him to the dance floor. "It was an accident, don't worry about it! Don't let it stop you from having fun." You shout, music too loud to hear your own thoughts. Oh, but the alcohol is going to your head, and finally you begin to let loose when one of your favourite songs begins to play.

He's dancing with you, but all he can think about is just how incredible you look in that dress, how you close your eyes when the song hits that sweet spot in your heart, and the way your perfectly luscious lips sing the lyrics, even if he can't exactly hear your voice. Porco loves seeing you like this, in your natural habitat. He knew from Pieck that you always restrain yourself and focus on your studies, but to see you enjoying yourself is a different kind of sight for his eyes.

He'd sometimes spot you by a window in the library, nose buried in a book and eagerly taking notes, and he always waved but you never noticed him. On other occasions, he'd bump into you in the campus coffee shop, but you were always in a hurry, never having time to talk, and that only made you more intriguing and mysterious. He really wants to know you, you just don't give him the chance to do it because of your hopeless oblivion.

And now he's dancing with you, he's so close to you, but it's still not enough for him. Porco wants you all to himself, and he'll be damned if he doesn't get what he wants.

"I'm going to get a drink." You lean closer and tell him when the song changes to a slow dance. It's not the time for that.

"Mind if I join you?" He tries his luck.

"Not at all. My friends are pretty busy anyway." You giggle, mind hazy, heart dazed. You didn't just get a drink, you got more than you should've, and for someone who doesn't party a lot, you're handling the liquor impressively well. Neither of you are saying anything, you just sit down and enjoy the music, but you're embarrassed to admit that you would like to spend this time with Porco alone.

"Hey, do you wanna get out if here?" As if reading your thoughts, Porco finishes his drink and so do you.

"Actually, yeah. But don't get any ideas, mister."

"I just wanted to grab some food but if you're feeling frisky-"

"I am starving! Let me find Sasha and tell her I'm leaving. Meet you outside?"

He nods, and in no less than 5 minutes and a few winks from your friend, you're walking by his side. He can see how cold you are, and without a word, he takes his jacket off and wraps it around your shoulders.

"What about you?"

"I've been told I'm a portable radiator. Besides, I'm okay, don't worry about me." Oh, hearing that makes you want him to hug you, but you know that's inappropriate. "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't know, how about a pizza?"

"You psychic or something? I know the perfect place." Porco takes your hand in his and and your cheeks are burning. If anyone were to take your temperature right now, they would have to send you to ER.

"Only takeaway." The man behind the counter states. "No seats left."

"Bummer." You pout, but Porco doesn't seem upset.

"We could grab one and go to my place? I live close by."

"Are you trying to get in my pants?"

"You're wearing a dress." He grins, and you would slap that stupid smile off his face. "I'm just hungry. And the pizza here is really good. Your choice."

You weigh the options you have, and again you think about how you didn't live the best years of your life, only studied. Fuck it, you only live once.

"This better be a damn good pizza then."

"Atta girl!" He playfully slaps your shoulder.

"F-fuck, you're strong." You cough at the impact, gasping for air.

"Sorry, bad habits."

Typical boys only house, with muddy shoes, posters, video games and empty pizza boxes. You're terrified to even think how Porco's room looks like, but to your surprise, it's pristine. Everything is organised, no piles of clothes or dirty socks, no putrid smells — it looks good.

"Damn, Porco, is this how you live?" You poke fun at him, setting the pizza box on his desk. "Please, I've been trying to find a studio but they’re so fucking expensive and I can't stand living with these pigs anymore. It's cheap, though."

You're pleasantly surprised by him. Here you thought he'd be the typical jock, but he's actually not that bad. Guess you shouldn't judge a book by its cover after all.

"You want anything to drink?"

"Yes, please. What do you have?"

"Beer." He shrugs.

"Classy. Anything else?"

"Different types of beer?"

"Mind if I snoop in your fridge?" You're already out the door and down the stairs, and he’s cutting in front of you, pushing away anything that resembles a booby trap. Fucking men.

You find a lonely can of premixed gin and tonic and decide to have that, even if you know too well not to drink any more alcohol. No going back now.

Back upstairs, you grab a slice of pizza and, holy shit, Porco was right, this is the best you've ever had! Not too thin, but not too fluffy, the crust is as crispy as you like it, the topping is amazing.

"Ten out of ten!" You praise it, sat on his bedroom floor, skirt moving up your thighs inch by inch. If you weren’t too drunk, or too hungry, you’d probably notice just how pink his cheeks are. He’s trying very hard not to look, props to him for that, but it’s hard when the woman he’s been crushing on for two years is in his bedroom, eating pizza recommended by him, in a very tight dress and who is also piss-drunk.

He wants to fuck you.

Jesus Christ Almighty, he wants to fuck you then and there, see you wriggle and writhe under him, chanting hisname like a prayer.

In Porco’s defence, he didn’t want to do it. Well, he did, he always did, even when he was watching porn and jacking off, it was still your face plastered on his retina. But tonight, he only wanted to dance with you, maybe take you out on a date the next day, because you seem like the kind of girl that doesn’t do one-night stands. But he is afraid that if he doesn’t do it now, he’ll never be this close to you again. Yet the other part of him doesn’t want to fuck this up, the other part wants to take it slowly. But what if it doesn’t work out? What if he breaks your heart? What if you just don’t like him that way? The wave of questions, insecurities and anxieties makes it hard for him to breathe and — is this what a panic attack feels like?

“Pokko?” You blink at him, concern taking over your beautiful features. “Porco, hey!” You snap your fingers in front of his face and he comes back to earth. “Are you alright?”

“Sorry, yeah, I zoned out.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache taking over his temples. He’s going to have a terrible hangover tomorrow morning. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

The pepperoni slice is stuck in your throat and you finish the can of gin to help it slide down your oesophagus while also trying not to die of asphyxiation. What the fuck?

“What?!”

“I’ll admit, that was blunt-“

“Why are you asking me this?” You put the rest of the slice back in its box and wipe your lips with the back of your hand.

“Um, isn’t it obvious?” He quirks a brow, shifting on the floor in a more comfortable position.

“No? I’m sorry, I don’t usually pick up on flirts and advances from people. You were very blunt, but I appreciate that, actually, since I’m too oblivious.”

Porco bites his lower lip, one hand rubbing the back of his head. You still didn’t answer his question, and now he’s a lot more confused than he was five minutes ago. Were all women this complicated?

“I’m trying to date you.” He’s blunt again, and again it takes you aback.

“Date… me?” You tilt your head like a dog, eyes focused on him. “Me?” You repeat, the pitch in your voice betraying your insecurities.

“You.” Porco scoots closer to you, thumb wiping the tomato sauce off the corner of your lips. He brings the finger to his lips and gives it one long lick, his eyes glued to you.

Fuck, that’s hot, probably hotter than your fucking pizza, and you swallow the saliva that’s been pooling into your mouth.

Alright, despite how oblivious you were to everything around you, you couldn’t deny that you noticed how handsome Porco was since you bumped into him during your fresher’s week. And sure, your mind sometimes wandered into uncharted territory, you sometimes found yourself thinking about him in the most random moments, but you never, ever expected him to want to date you. You were bloody opposites, that’s what you were. He was brash and aggressive, you were calm and well-mannered, but tonight, it was as if your personalities switched. You’re the one sprawled on his floor, marinara sauce on your chin, he’s gentle, attentive and… nice.

Now you’re wondering if it’s the way he licked that stupid sauce, the alcohol, or the fact that you haven’t had sex in a really long time, but you really wouldn’t mind getting more… personal with him. It’s probably the only opportunity like this that you will ever get. So why not take the chance? Sasha would definitely enable this chaotic and ridiculous idea, so why not do it? If he wants to date you, he wants to fuck you, right?

Right.

Porco’s mind has already gone haywire, all he is waiting is for you to make the first move, because if you do, he is not holding back.

You don’t exactly know what to do or say, it’s been a while since you’ve done this and you have to admit, you’ve gotten rusty, but you know it’s like riding a bike — once you start doing it, it comes naturally. And with that thought in your mind, you just kiss him. It’s not gentle by any means, you’re hungry for his attention and touch, so the kiss turns out harsh and rough, but he likes it, you can feel his grin against your lips. It's bad, but in such a good way.

One of his hands forcefully removes his jersey jacket from your small frame while your foot pushes the pizza boxes out of the way — you don’t want to stain his carpet, nor your (Sasha’s) dress. It’s not like any of you cares anymore, all you want is to feel him, skin to skin, heart to heart, but you’re still trying to maintain your good-girl reputation. He sees right through it. He always has.

“Fuck the carpet.” Porco mumbles between kisses, and you hum a muffled ‘mhm,’ eyes closed and fingers toying with the buttons of his shirt. You’re taking your sweet time, and that both pleases and annoys him. He loves it that you want this to last longer, but at the same time, he really, really wants to rearrange your guts. And there’s no denying that you want the same. To this, you are notoblivious.

“Careful with the-“ You hear the zipper rip. “-dress.” Sasha’s going to kill you.

“I’ll buy you a new one.” Porco lifts you up and not-so-gently slams your body against the mattress. The shock has you gasping, chest rising and slowly falling, and you peer your glossy eyes at him. He wastes no time taking his shirt off, and holy fucking god, he looks better than you wished. Did Zeus himself sculpt this man? “Like what you see?” Porco sneers at you and you roll your eyes, smile on your lips.

“You’re a cocky idiot. I like it.” You pull the dress over your head, all your insecurities gone when you catch him looking at your body like he’s never seen a woman before. And he has seen women before. Plenty of them, you know that for a fact. This means he must really like you, unless he’s looking at every woman in that way. Shit, fuck, balls, now is not the time to have low self-esteem. But it feels like Porco knows you for a lifetime, and he instantly picks up on your shift in gestures. You don’t seem as eager as you did a minute ago.

“Do you want me to stop?” He asks, halfway unzipping his jeans.

“N-no, it’s just that… fuck, I don’t usually do one-night stands, I get attached. Perhaps too attached, and I know this isn’t going to mean a thing to you tomorrow, but it’ll leave a mark on me.” Crap, where is this coming from? He’s supposed to fuck you, not be your therapist. You expect him to rage like a manchild, throw you out of the house or try to fuck you anyway, but instead he sits next to you, fingers lifting your chin.

“How drunk are you?”

“Excuse me?” You purse your lips. “Very, why?”

“Did you completely forget the part when I said I want to date you? Listen, I don’t mind if you want to stop and try this some other time, although I hate having blue balls, but I like you, Y/N. I don’t want to fuck this up, so if you want me to stop, I’ll stop.”

“How can you like me if you don’t know me? For all you know I could be a murderer.”

“Not gonna lie, that sounds hot, as long as you’re not murdering me.”

“Wow, Pieck is right, you are a dumbass.” You chuckle, fingers covering your mouth in timidity. “I like you too, though.”

Porco’s eyes light up like fairy lights, and it’s cute, cheesy and wholesome at the same time to see someone like him, a himbo, be so sappy and adorable. And you’re eager to explore this side of him, but right now, you want to get railed. With no warning, loop an arm around his neck and straddle him, planting kisses on his lips, on his chin and down his neck.

“I don’t want to leave you with blue balls.” You shrug when you notice his perplexed expression, and he takes it as a sign to carry on. You didn’t think you were into spanking until you felt his hand leave an imprint on your ass. It stings, and you absolutely love it, your back arching enough for him to bury his face between your tits.

“This is how I want to die.” He mumbles into your skin and his breath tickles you.

“So, you’re a tits man? I always thought you were an ass man.” Your fingers play with his hair while he’s skilfully unclasping your bra.

“I’m an ass in general, it’s only natural I prefer tits.” He tells you before pinching your nipples.

“Ow!”

“Oh, sorry, does princessnot like getting manhandled?”

Wow, he’s disgusting. Absolutely filthy. And damn if that doesn’t turn you on more. How can he be so nice yet so aggressive at the same time?

“Princess,” you lift his chin up to look into your eyes and not at your tits, “has never been manhandled, whatever that is.”

“Should’ve known you were vanilla. Don’t worry, I’ll make a slut out of you.”

A threat or a promise, it doesn’t matter, it’s hot, and it gets you worked up because you practically pull his head back in-between your breasts. You’re not exactly sure what he’s doing — licking, sucking or nibbling — but whatever he is doing, it makes you tingle, makes you crave more, and it’s only now that you notice exactly how hard he is, when his cock is just begging to be released and shoved down any of your holes. You’ve never considered anal but with Porco? Fuck it, you’ll take it anywhere for him.

“Is it bad that I really wanna suck your dick?” You admit, head slightly turned to the side, because you cannot look him in the eye after saying that.

“Very bad. It’s atrocious, Y/N, immoral.” He makes fun of you, and that only embarrasses you further. “Now be a dear and get on your knees.”

For fuck’s sake, you’ve never taken orders from anyone, but when he said it, it’s like your body decided to develop a mind of its own and completely ignore your brain, because you slide onto your knees, between his legs, mouth only slightly open. Jesus, you’re eager.

“Who knew you’d be so obedient.” Porco slides his boxers down, and you’re pretty sure you’ve never seen a cock so big. Now, it wasn’t a fucking anaconda in his pants, but it was way above average, and you’ve never had above average. This is gonna hurt.

“Big.” You murmur, eyes widened at the length and girth.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re nice and wet for it.”

Can this man be any more disgusting? Probably. Do you mind it? Not at all. You don’t even wait for him to give you any further instructions, you just open your mouth, stick your tongue out and look up at him with doe eyes. And he revels in the sight. He’s had girls throw themselves at his feet, girls who played hard to get, girls who straight up rejected him, but he’s never had you. You’re the perfect mix of eager and steady, naughty and nice, and the fact that you were inexperienced only made it more entertaining for the both of you.

You can’t take it anymore, as much as you like foreplay, you just want him to fill that empty whole in your heart, so you tentatively drag your tongue up his shaft, painstakingly slowly licking the precum dripping down the tip of his cock. God, he tastes so good, and it makes you ashamed to admit just how much you like it. Like a drug, it makes you want more, so you take the tip into his mouth, because right now that’s how much you can take. You’re so fixated on trying to fit him all in your mouth that you don’t even notice the look of pure bliss on his face. This man is in heaven, absolutely basking in how you struggle, and the gurgling sounds coming out of your mouth are like music to his ears. He can already feel just how tight you’ll be around his cock.

Bobbing your head up and down, you have to stop for air. Sure, you want to choke on his dick, but not now, you still have plenty of reasons to live, and that includes spending time with Porco. He is making you feel all kinds of things you never knew existed, and you’re beginning to like this side of yourself. You certainly do not regret going out now, not with your lipstick smeared and spit dripping down your chin.

“Shit, you’re even prettier like this.” Porco helps you up on the bed.

“I’m not done yet.” Your fingers ghost over his shaft and he snorts.

“I don’t want you to unhinge your fucking jaw, Y/N.” He kisses you, and this stuns you more than anything. Absolutely no guy ever wanted to kiss you after you just sucked their cock, but Porco? He ravages your lips. Green flag, for sure. You lay on your back, and he hovers over you, his fingers digging at the hem of your panties, and you expect him to go to town. But no, he wants to return the favour. He wants to eat you out and you’re impressed, so impressed that you prop yourself on your elbows to take a better look.

“What?” He spits on your cunt and you have to squeeze your eyes shut and not break his head with your thighs because, fuck, that was so disgusting and hot.

“I’ve…”

“What? Don’t tell me you’ve never been eaten out.” He is completely appalled by this.

“Nope.” You shake your head, a clueless look plastered on your face, and with curious eyes, you watch his every move.

“Right, not to brag, babe, but hold on tight. It’s gonna be a wild ride.” Porco grins, before dipping his head between your thighs.

“Oh, come on, how good can it b-“

It is sogood. It feels electric, like tiny lighting bolts shooting through your body, and at first it silences you, because your brain stops working, and you’re only left with a single functioning braincell.

But then? Oh, God, then you understand what he was talking about. It is a wild ride, having him lap at your cunt like a starving dog makes your knees weak, and your elbows give in, it was futile trying to prop yourself onto them when he pushes a finger between your folds. As if possessed by the Devil himself, you arch your back and roll your eyes in the pure ecstasy that takes over your brain. And Porco just won’t stop. He's certain you’d kill him if he stopped.

“Fuck fuck fuck! Oh fuck, God, shit, balls!”

It makes him burst into laughter the way you blurt out words, because clearly this means he’s doing a good job, and he loves doing a good job. What he doesn’t realise is that the vibrations from his laughter completely demolish you, and instinctively, you close your thighs together.

“Oh. My. God! Oh, God, Porco, I- what the fuck was that?” You finally relax your legs and he can actually breathe. “Shit, I’m so sorry-“

“Don’t be, that was thrilling.” His shit-eating grin makes you feel more at ease. But he’s right, it was thrilling, it was sheer ecstasy that you felt, with waves of adrenaline rushing through your veins. But he’s not done yet, and despite not being sure if you can handle anymore, you still want to feel him, and be filled by him. “You need a break?”

“No, no, I’m ready for round two.” You put on your most innocent facial expression. “Unless youneed a break.”

Ah, he sees what you’re trying to do, and it works, it riles him up so much that he just flips you over like you’re a ragdoll, and intuitively, you perk your ass up. Just what are you tuning into?

“Look at you, a minute ago you didn’t even know how to suck my cock and now you’re ready to get fucked.” Porco gives your ass a firm slap, earning a moan out of you. “Told you I’ll make a slut out of you.”

You’re not drunk anymore, not on alcohol anyway, but you’re not sober by any means. Whoever said sex is a drug was right and they need to send you a formal apology letter, because you know this will distract you from your dissertation project. But you can’t be bothered about that, not right now when you’re not-so-patiently waiting for him.

“You’re taking your time.” You scoff at Porco, but his response is to lean closer, hand snaking around your neck. He brings you closer to him, and you can feel his breath fanning over your hair.

“I’m not lifting up a finger until you ask nicely.” He whispers into your ear and your heart skips a beat. You never liked being humiliated, not in school, not in university, and not in the bedroom. God, but you’re so needy and greed that you make it easier for him to humiliate you. And you know that if you try hard enough, he’s going to fuck you without having to degrade yourself. But do you really want that? Or do you want to be put down and walked over? At this point, you’re asking yourself if the humiliation kink is for him to feel good, or for you. Because, God, it makes you feel good to just do what you’re told, and you’re almost sure he knows that, too. Fuck it, you want to be degraded, might as well just go with the flow, especially when his grip around your neck tightens.

“P-please fuck me! I’ve been a good girl, I deserve it!”

“You don’t deserve shit.” Porco releases your neck to focus on digging his fingers into the plush of your hips. “You could barely suck my cock, how is that deserving?”

Well, he’s not wrong, he pretty much did all the work, but this game is fun to play, and you should probably let him rest.

“You’re right, I’m sorry!” You turn around and cup his face in your hands, planting a kiss on his lips. “Can I make it up to you?” Your hand moves down, lightly scratching his skin before you delicately wrap your fingers around his shaft. “Please?” You whisper, hand working back and forth and he slowly lays on his back. He doesn’t need to utter a word to know that you have his approval to just do whatever the fuck you want, he just takes this moment to relax, and you’re back to how it all began, straddling him and slowly inching his cock into your cunt. It hurts like a bitch, both because of his size, and the position, but this only makes it more exciting. He’s at a loss for words — he figured out you were tight, but not this tight, and he’s pretty sure he won’t last long considering just how good you feel around him. Porco can see the pain on your face, and he would feel sorry if not for your moans echoing in his head.

You chaotically roll your hips, because nothing makes sense anymore, agony replaced with euphoria, pain replaced with pleasure, and hopelessness replaced with hope.

“Y/N, you’re so beautiful.” Porco mutters when he watches the little beads of sweat roll down your forehead, your dishevelled hair, your smudged makeup, your chest rise and fall, and the way your face light up when you call out his name. That alone is enough to have him closer to the proverbial edge. “Fuck, I’m close-“ He stops you from moving, because he’s not ready to be a father, and because of all the commotion, rush, adrenaline and pleasure, the man shoots his load on your hair. Your precious, pretty hair.

He fucked up.

“I am so sorry.” Porco pleads, but you’re unfazed.

“Don’t be, I’ll just wash it off. If you don’t mind me using your shower, that is.” You shrug, taking apart strands of your hair that are glued by the milky white viscous liquid. “Well, I can cross this one off my bucket list.”

“You’re not mad?” He helps you off the bed and guides you to the bathroom.

“Eh, I mean, if I wash it before it dries up it’ll be fine. I think. Never had cum in my hair before.”

“Jeez, here I was, getting ready for the wrath of God. Let me bring you some clean clothes.”

“Hey, do you mind showering with me?” You grab his wrist but quickly retract your hand, not wanting to seem too clingy. “Sorry, that’s a silly thing to ask.”

But his stupid smile says the contrary.

“I’d like that. Maybe we can even go for round three.” Porco winks and you snort.

“I would like to still be able to walk, thank you very much.”

“That’s fair.”

God, the hot water hitting your skin feels incredible right now. Never in your life have you been so grateful for a shower, and by the looks of it, so is Porco. He makes sure to help you wash your hair because he feels like an idiot for not aiming better, and it gives you a comforting feeling to take a shower with him.

“I meant everything I said, Y/N, I want to date you.” He abruptly breaks the silence. “I know you probably think I’m nothing more than a meathead, but I can’t get you out of my head. Fuck, I even tried to have Pieck set you up on a date with me but you turned that down.”

“You were supposed to be my blind date last year? Damn, she should’ve just said it was you.” Now you were kind of pissed at your friend for not telling you, but knowing you, you probably would’ve turned it down anyway. “How about we say tonight was our first date? We did go out, have a drink and dance.”

He ponders your question for some time and he looks so ridiculous when he tries to think. But in the end, he nods.

“I’ll take that. But I seriously want a proper date, maybe go to the movies, have a nice fancy dinner or whatever you girls like.”

“I think it was a very fancy dinner that we had on your bedroom floor.” You turn the tap off and wrap the towel around your body. “Maybe light up a candle next time. If we’re really going to start dating, I wanna come to your games. I’m not much into sports, but I’ll be damned if I don’t cheer for you.”

“Deal, but only if I can come to your recitals.”

“Haha, no.”

“Why not?” He pouts and you actually feel bad for saying that.

“I mean, you don’t seem like the kind of guy that’s interested in classical music. No offense.”

“None taken, but I’ll have you know, I like my women how I like my Tchaikovsky. Nutcracking.”

“I- this was the worstpun I’ve ever heard. I love it.” You get up on your toes and press a kiss on his cheek. “You absolute hopeless dummy.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Touché, Galliard.”

He loops an arm around your shoulder and you feel safe, even if you’re just starting to date him, and with you in his arms, Porco feels like he belongs. You don’t judge him, you actually want to go to his games, and your presence just makes him feel like himself. And so, when you eventually fall asleep in his bed, in his arms, with your head on his chest, it just feels right, like you’re not hopeless anymore.

“Sasha’s dress!” You wake him up from his sleep when you jolt up and he’s in fight or flight mode. “Oh, no, she’s going to delete me off the face of the earth.”

“I’ll delete you off the face of the earth if you don’t go to sleep.”

You lean back into his arms. Surely Sasha will forgive you after telling her everything that happened, right? Right??

#porco galliard #porco galliard smut #porco x reader #porco x y/n #porco smut #porco x you #fem!reader

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cc-tinslebee · 3 years

Text

Okay, so, about a month ago, my brain just conjured up probably the most random au possible: Legally Blonde Adam Banks/banksway au.

Believe me, it's as chaotic as it sounds, but lowkey, I'm kind of in love with it.

Adam never joins the Ducks because there aren't any Ducks to join. Bombay never had to do community service with District Five so there was no one to realise that Adam was on the wrong team all along. He continues to play for the Hawks and, eventually, the Eden Hall Warriors, never getting the chance to become the well-rounded individual we know him as because he's never known anything other than his rich privilege and the "win at all costs" mentality. He ends up going to college on a hockey scholarship and not straight to the NHL or the AHL (shocking, I know). While he's unsure of his major and where his life is heading, he finds solace in the fraternity he joins, which, by some sheer twist of fate, Jesse and Guy have also miraculously joined.

And his life is perfect for a while. He's the star player on yet another school's hockey team, all of his fraternity brothers adore him (though, it took a bit for Jesse to warm up to him), and his secret, not-really-official thing with his former teammate is going swimmingly. (Not to slander my boy, but I was picturing Larson for the role of Warner, purely because the alternative seems to be Rick Riley and that's kind of an unsettling image-- though, maybe that's the point?)

But then his secret boyfriend breaks up with him because, with his high aspirations in life, he needs to be "more serious." And dating Adam Banks, a guy in a stereotypical fraternity who only really knows hockey, in 2001 isn't exactly the white-picket-fence life he's looking for if he's going to be a politician.

And since this non-Duck Adam clearly doesn't have the braincells that canon Adam does, in his devastation, he decides it's a brilliant idea to prove that he is serious by applying to Harvard Law. His parents try to talk him out of it, since they want him to pursue his dreams of hockey, but being a lawyer is a respectable career so they can't exactly argue with him.

He gets accepted thanks to Jesse, Guy, and the rest of his fraternity helping him study for the LSAT and keeping him on track. He's trying his darndest when he gets to Harvard, but (despite his struggle not being as significant as Elle Woods'), not a lot of people take him seriously as an aspiring lawyer, considering him a meathead jock who only got in because of daddy's money.

And that's about the time he meets Linda, who he vaguely remembers from his time at Eden Hall. What he doesn't remember is her being so competitive, because she's deliberately beating him at every turn, just trying (and kind of succeeding) at making him look like a fool. To make matters worse, all of the sudden, she's engaged to his ex-boyfriend, who is very adamant about never telling anyone that he and Adam were more than friends (because, you know, early 2000s homophobia and such).

But things get a little brighter for Adam when he meets Charlie, an undergrad teacher's assistant who gives him all sorts of advice about surviving the school. He introduces him to Professor Bombay, who Charlie claims is the only reason he survived his first year and quickly becomes Adam's favourite teacher, and Charlie's childhood friend Connie, who aspires to be a state senator one day. Charlie's charismatic and even if he's not the most well-liked person at Harvard, Adam feels a weight lifted off his shoulders once he becomes friends with him and Connie. Things become a little easier.

Just before he and Charlie start getting really close, Adam meets Casey at a local diner on a day he's feeling particularly upset and alone, and the two start bonding almost immediately. (He bullshits his way into scaring an ex-husband of hers with legal repercussions he has no idea about and she basically adopts him in return.) It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to realise that it's not just a coincidence that Casey and Charlie share the same last name, which results in poor Adam feeling extremely embarrassed for not connecting the dots sooner while Charlie's having the time of his life teasing him for it. Eventually, when the dust of that settles, Charlie and Adam join forces to set Casey and Bombay up, their schemes borderline ridiculous at times, but they'rere not exactly failing.

And after realising he isn't the Warriors moron she thought he was for going on five years, Linda starts warming up to Adam, which is surprisingly nice? She figures out on her own that there used to be something between him and her fiancé, and is more understanding of Adam than she is mad. Linda actually spills to him the lengths Adam's ex had to go through to actually get into Harvard, aligning more with the rumours about Adam's acceptance being bought than having the aptitude for the law that Linda and Adam share. (This may be me saying Linda and Adam friendship rights, what of it-- /lh)

To make things all the better, Bombay chooses Adam, Linda, Connie, Charlie, and Adam's ex to be on his legal team for a murder case he's responsible for (and while he knows about Adam and Charlie's ploys to hook him up with Charlie's mom, they're his favourites, so he doesn't say anything).

And this is just so much better than anything he had before. After all the initial unpleasantness, Linda and Connie become some of the most genuine friends he's ever had. He misses Guy and Jesse, of course, and he'd never take them for granted, but back when he was with them at the fraternity, a part of him was still being as superficial as he had been in middle and high school. Being authentic for once in his life is liberating.

And Charlie's just about the most considerate person Adam's ever met. Adam doesn't even mind when Charlie teases him over his absurd and juvenile insults because he's just this source of light for Adam, supporting him and always pushing him to be the best version of himself. His ex hardly even exists when Charlie's around because his energy is just so contagious that Adam starts falling for him long before he even realises it. (And when Jesse and Guy come to visit, there's a moment where it all clicks and the four of them realise their history together, however brief. I strongly maintain that they'd be that Starkid meme: "Fucking Hawks? We hated you guys!" "We hated ourselves!" But it does make Adam realise how much better off he would've been if he had Charlie and his team when he was little instead of the Hawks, and it just further makes him understand that people like Larson and Rick Riley just aren't worth it.)

But there's also another revelation Adam goes through. Between helping Casey, his rigorous studies, and his position working with/for Bombay, something just clicks for Adam. He likes being able to help people, fighting for the good guys who may not have the resources they need to be properly defended. Practicing law calls to him in the same way hockey did; it's the feeling of knowing this is what he's meant to do. He still loves hockey, he always will, but it helps him finally grasp that there's a world for him outside of it; when hockey ends for him, there's something equally as rewarding that he can pursue, which was something he never thought he would have.

I haven't a single coherent thought about this au past that point except for these little inklings of an ending--

There's absolutely no SA scene like the movie had; Bombay's just Adam and Charlie's favourite teacher and those are his boys, so he's going to make sure they succeed as if his life depends on it.

With that said, Bombay believes in them both enough to let them finish the case because with their joined determination/stubbornness (and Adam's in with the defendant), Adam and Charlie are a force to be reckoned with and he knows it.

After a handful of comedic failures, they do end up succeeding at their attempts to set Casey and Bombay up, and they start living together sometime during the kids' Junior year :) (All I'm asking is for one (1) story with a Casey/Gordon endgame-- I just think they're neat--)

Linda dumps her fiancé (as she should) and goes on to live her best wlw life as a successful lawyer. (If I'm not mistaken, Linda's actress actually is a lawyer, which is a pretty cool fun fact!!)

Adam and Linda's ex gets the Warner ending because, man, screw that guy /lh (rip to Larson if this is him, I'm sure you'll get a nice endgame in some other universe, king)

Honorary mention for Connie, who was going long distance with Guy this entire time to everyone but Jesse's shock, and they get their Game Changers endgame of State Senator Connie Moreau and stay-at-home dad Guy Germaine with their seven -- sorry, three -- children :)

Adam's an absolute bundle of nerves after graduation, which definitely concerns Charlie. So, when he asks if he's okay, Adam starts nervously monologuing about their time together until he runs out of breath. He ends it by proposing to him, and Charlie smiles so surely at him when he says yes. They both become damn good public defenders and stay engaged until the point they can legally get married, but they're practically husbands long before that happens.

Also, if I did my math right (which I should’ve, it’s my entire basis for my Share Your Address series), the Ducks’ would have the same graduating class year as Elle Woods anyway (2004), which is pretty neat!

Thank you once again for listening to me ramble :)

#i just think they're neat that's all--#full disclosure: i have not listened to/seen the musical yet but I have heard very good things about it #adam banks #charlie conway #gordon bombay #linda the mighty ducks #connie moreau #banksway #charlie x adam #the mighty ducks #casey x gordon

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yikesharringrove · 4 years

Text

“Salutatorian.”

Nancy slammed her backpack down onto the floor, moving to slide her way onto the counter.

“I’m, sorry?” Jonathan just shook his head at Steve.

They both had been coming to hang out with him and Robin at Family Video most days after school, shooting the shit until Keith showed up and found something to ell at Steve about.

“I got class salutatorian.”

“Is that like, Spanish for something?” She rolled her eyes at Steve.

“It means, that I’m not the valedictorian. Somebody else has a higher academic ranking than I do.”

“Oh.” Steve had barely graduated, just about scraped by. “So, the saluda-the one you are, that’s like, the second smartest person in the school?”

“I just want to know who it is,” she kept plowing on, ignoring Steve.

Robin pushed her way out of the back, holding a box of tapes for shelving. Nancy’s eyes lit up.

“Is it you?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Are you valedictorian?”

“Oh, I got myself into the top 10% and stayed put.” Steve took the box from her arms.

He didn’t really wanna talk about this.

Everyone in his life is way smarter than he is.

It’s not like, hard to see, Billy makes the same clever references as the little genius kids do, Jonathan gets high and goes off for hours about philosophy and ethics of anarchy, but Nancy coming in here, all mad about only being ranked number 2 in their class, well, Steve’s class rank still haunts him.

He whacked the tapes back into their spots, trying to tune out all the noise around him.

So he didn’t hear when the bell above the door jingled the sound of a new customer.

There were just thick arms around him, and a nose buried in his neck.

“You smell good.” He relaxed into Billy’s arms, turning his head to awkwardly press a kiss to his temple.

“Thanks, I took a shower today.”

“Yeah? Tell me about it.” Steve rolled his eyes as Billy pulled back, leaning against the shelf. “What’s got Little Miss Perfect all riled up? Usually she just kinda ignores me, but she like, actually glared at me when I came in.”

Nancy was not Billy’s biggest fan.

He thought it was hilarious and would flirt with her mom right in front of her.

“She’s pissed ‘cause she’s only the second smartest person in the whole world. She was informed today that she’s the salutationarian. Or whatever the fuck it is.”

A sharp grin spread slowly over Billy’s face.

“She’s salutatorian?”

“Yeah, and apparently she’s been banking on being, the other one. She’s trying to figure out who beat her to it.” Billy followed Steve back to the counter when he had finished restocking the tapes.

“You got any plans tonight, Stever?” Steve just looked blankly at Billy where he was leaning over the counter, his elbows propped up and his fingers laced together, his chin resting on top. Friday night was their night, they always did something. “I’m thinkin’ you and me go to the city. Celebrate a little.”

“Oh, yeah? What are we celebrating?”

“Well, I had a nice chat with the principle today.” He spread his arms, pushing out his chest. “You’re looking at the Hawkins Highs class of ‘86 valedictorian.”

Nancy looked like she’d swallowed a lemon.

“You’re valedictorian?” He winked at her. “No way. There’s no way.”

“Yeah? Why not?”

“You can’t have better grades than I do.”

“Six out of eight of my classes are advanced placement. And I’m a straight-A student. Have been since the sixth grade.” Nancy’s face was steadily going red. “Plus, they take into account extracurriculars and shit. I’m on two teams and the poli-sci club.”

The “political science club” was started by a few theater kids Steve’s sophomore year. Robin and Billy were both in it, and apparently it was a thinly veiled queer club.

“We have a political science club?”

“It’s not what you think it is,” Robin added quickly. Nancy wasn’t paying attention, just looked like she was gonna explode.

“I can’t believe this. I work my whole life for this, and you-”

“You think I didn’t work hard? You think this was a fluke?”

“Frankly, yes, I do.”

“Say that to my near-perfect S.A.T. scores, then. The ones I got without a tutor or a fucking class.” Nancy slid off the counter, grabbing her backpack from the floor.

“Well, I got into Yale.”

“And I got into Harvard.”

She snarled. Billy had only applied on a whim, told Steve I wanted to see if I could get in. And then he did. It made Steve equal parts proud of Billy and ashamed of himself.

But Billy had always had his heart set on Cal Poly, and had gotten a full-ride.

He had asked Steve to come with him.

They were leaving in August.

Steve still hadn’t figured out how to tell everyone.

“You’re a douchebag,” Nancy said through gritted teeth.

“Doesn’t make me any less smarter than you.”

Steve opened his mouth, ready to de-escalate whatever was about to happen next. He wouldn’t put it past Nancy to throw a punch or two.

But it didn’t matter, because Nancy was grumbling under her breath, muttering the words meathead asshole and piece of shit jock and valedictorian? More like valeDICK under her breath.

She slammed open the door on her way out, Jonathan trailing after her.

Billy smiled brightly at Steve.

“You know, I was planning on not accepting. They’ll make me speak at graduation and I wasn’t even gonna go to that. But now, I gotta.”

“Honestly, it’d make her more mad if you refused it, because then she would probably be given the role, but she’d hate it because she’d know she only got it because you refused.”

“Harrington, you devious little fucker.” Billy smiled at him for a moment, his face slipping a bit. “Just, you know, fuck her for thinking I don’t work hard. You know how difficult it is to study while you’re trying to distract me?”

Whenever Billy was studying at his house, Steve usually got bored real quick of not having Billy’s attention.

So typically, he would get naked and wait until Billy did something about it.

“You get to look at me naked almost daily. People would kill for that privilege.”

“Don’t tempt me, Harrington. I’d absolutely slaughter for that ass a’ yours.” Billy grinned deviously at Steve. Steve winked back.

Robin had her lips pursed as Billy leaned back over the counter, getting as close as he could to Steve without just climbing right on it.

“Whadaya say, Harrington? We celebratin’?”

Steve leaned in as well, nearly pressing nose to nose with Billy.

“Oh, I’ve got some ideas. After all, gotta really treat my super smart boyfriend.” He pecked Billy once on the cheek, swooping back up to standing. “Be back at eight?”

“That when you get off?”

“You too, if you’re lucky.”

Robin wretched while Billy’s eyes went bright. He knocked once on the counter, beginning to walk backwards out the door.

“See you then, Sugar.”

“See you then, Valedictorian.”

#yikes writes #steve harrington #billy hargrove #harringrove

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fandomcelery · 3 years

Text

Feelings are complicated, aren't they?

Pairing: Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce

Word Count: 2107

Rating: Teens and Up

Tags: Sexuality Crisis, Internalized Homophobia, Pining

Beta: @useless-fanfictions helped me out a lot on this fic, especially since I'm just starting out writing, so a big thanks to them!

Summary: Walking next to Brittany felt normal and right, but at that moment it felt slightly wrong. A bunch of questions were running through her mind. Was she acting differently? Was it obvious that something was off? Oh god, does everyone think that she’s gay?

Or, the one where Santana realizes she might have feelings for Brittany and panics over it.

Read it on Ao3

For the Glee Character "This-or-That" Challenge: @gleethisorthatchallenge

Prompt: Sharing a bed or Sexuality Crisis

The way Santana feels around Brittany is normal, right? Sure, she’s never felt it for any other person—not even any of her previous boyfriends—but it’s a completely normal feeling. And yeah, okay, she also defends Brittany all the time when people insult or make fun of her, and when Brittany sticks up for her and is always by her side, she can never stop smiling. She always feels warm whenever she compliments her about literally anything that she’s wearing, or how her hair looks that day, or really anything that makes Santana feel pretty.

There’s also the fact that they have sex regularly even though they’re in relationships with guys who would willingly have sex with them as well, but that’s different. It must be different, because if it’s not—

No, it’s not an option for it to not be anything but platonic. It’s got to be, it just has to be.

Even though Santana hates when people flirt with Brittany and will usually try to scare them off when others aren’t looking. Or when they get into fights or arguments, big or small, she feels like shit when she can’t talk to Brittany, and then that means they can’t have their sweet lady kisses that make Santana feel like they are the only two people left on the entire planet.

Feelings are complicated, aren’t they?

As long as she always stands her ground, keeping their relationship just friends, and convincing Brittany—and a little bit of herself—that even though they’re in relationships they can have sex and it’s not cheating because they’re both girls, she will be fine. She just has to keep telling herself that their relationship isn’t anything, that they’re strictly friends and that she doesn’t have feelings for her best friend, because if she did then she wouldn’t know what she would do with herself.

She’s not homophobic, and just because Kurt freaking Hummel struts around with his gay flag waving in the air doesn’t mean that everyone can or has to. And even if they do, they’ll get bullied and harassed, just like him. It’s the way that everything goes, the straight popular kids are on top, and the gays are at the bottom, even though that’s ridiculous, it’s the way it goes.

She’ll just keep it to herself—even though there’s nothing there, obviously—and everything will be fine. She hopes that if she keeps telling herself that then maybe it will be.

***

Of course, that’s not what happens. The following Monday, after the weekend Santana had realized that something is different, it seemed like everyone has been staring at the two of them differently, but it might just be her paranoia talking.

Walking next to Brittany felt normal and right, but at that moment it felt slightly wrong. A bunch of questions were running through her mind. Was she acting differently? Was it obvious that something was off? Oh god, does everyone think that she’s gay? She is suddenly on the defensive side, glaring at the people who she thought were looking at her and Brittany weirdly. Maybe people always looked at them this way and neither of them ever noticed or cared; except now she did.

She knows the route they take to get to their next classes by heart because they always walk together, even though their schedules don’t really line up. Most people think that all the Cheerios just walk to class together in groups because the outfits look good together—which they do, she thinks conceitedly—and because of the cheerleading cliques. For a while that’s why Quinn, Brittany, and Santana would walk together, but then they actually got kind of close because of Glee Club, and now Quinn walks with Finn to her classes and Santana walks with Brittany.

During her fourth period that she has alone she can’t stop thinking about Brittany. How when she walks to class she hugs her binder to her chest, or how during class she always fidgets with her pencil when she’s in between writing, or how even if she doesn’t care about what people are talking about, she’ll listen to them anyway (like this one time a few days ago when they had arrived early to glee club and Rachel had come up to Brittany and her to ask for dance lessons, going on and on about something that had to do with her being a star and needing to know how to dance better, and Santana had only been paying attention to Brittany and ignored Rachel’s harping), Santana admires the way Brittany exists, and how it seems like nothing really bothers her. She doesn’t know why all of the sudden it’s hitting her, especially since she’s been friends with her for so long, and no, she doesn’t have feelings for her, they’re just friends.

***

They walk to their usual seats during lunch together, every now and again bumping shoulders with how close they are while they’re talking. Santana sits down across from Brittany, as she doesn’t miss a beat from what she’s saying to sit down.

“And I swear that Lord Tubbington has a gambling addiction, but he won’t stop—” she takes a bite of her food, “—and I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you just take away his laptop privileges?” Santana suggests, also taking a bite of her own food. It’s not bad, however, it’s not good. Then again, it’s the school’s food. When she looks up at Brittany, she looks quizzical, like she hasn’t thought of doing that.

“That probably would work,” Brittany responds, and continues eating.

Santana’s focused on something else. That something else is Brittany’s physical appearance, everything about her: to her flashing smile, to her thin and perfect eyebrows. her slim waist, long legs, and her torso—which she shouldn’t be staring at in the middle of school, and yet she is. She is stunning to Santana, with her lean appearance and bright golden colored hair pulled perfectly back into a ponytail. Her blue eyes seem to twinkle all the time.

“Santana?” Brittany asks after she’s been staring for a moment or two.

“Huh, what? Sorry, I was just, thinking,” she responds quickly and looks away to other tables where other kids are sitting, she lets go of her lip that she must have been biting on.

“About what?” Brittany takes another bite of her food, almost finished, whereas Santana has barely touched hers.

“Nothing important,” she mumbles, taking a drink from her water bottle. The answer seems to satisfy Brittany and they go back to normal and easy conversation like Santana hadn’t been just staring at her best friend’s boobs.

***

Glee Club isn’t that different. Rachel and Mercedes are fighting for a solo that Mr. Schue handed out, he doesn’t know how to handle it, and so they’re trying to argue over one another. Finn, Puck, Matt, and Mike are making bets about something in football. Kurt, Tina, and Artie are talking about something—she can’t hear their conversation, and honestly doesn’t care—and so it’s Quinn, Brittany and her talking about the Cheerios like they always are.

“Sue’s been on our asses about winning at Nationals,” Quinn comments as she sits down next to Brittany.

“She’s just concerned about staying on top,” Santana remarks, looking around the choir room. She looks up at the two who are arguing over one another and laughs a little bit. Everyone knows that Rachel’s going to get the solo, she usually does. Mercedes probably knows that, too, and yet she’s still going to fight for it.

“And her paycheck,” Quinn adds.

Eventually Mr. Schue stood in front of the class, apparently they had sorted it out where Rachel got this solo and Mercedes would get the next one.

This Glee practice they were going to focus on their choreography added with singing, and it wasn’t that big of an issue for the three cheerleaders (and it was mostly for the jocks to practice anyway, since they were the ones having problems, other than Mike, surprisingly).

Afterwards everyone was tired and sore, they had to start over a bunch of times because someone kept messing up (Finn). Slowly the choir room emptied, and Brittany and Santana walked to their next class together. They were going to walk with Quinn, but she had muttered something about a “troll trying to steal her boyfriend” and went off to walk with Finn. They separated at their different classrooms, and the three of them were going to meet up for Cheerios practice that was after school, which was their usual plan.

***

After practice Santana was even more exhausted than when she left Glee rehearsal. She grabs her water bottle that she had placed in her locker when she first got there. She gulps down a quarter of the bottle before putting it back.

There are many girls around her, yet the only one she’s focused on is Brittany.

Ever since they walked into the locker room, Brittany, and another cheerleader—Hailey was her name—were talking nonstop to one another. It’s not like Santana was eavesdropping, but it’s not her fault they were standing so close and speaking so God damn loudly.

“One time she made a girl cry just because she talked back,” Hailey continues while she brushes her hair in the mirror.

“I know, I was there,” Brittany responds, leaning up against the lockers next to Hailey’s that no one’s using. “Sue can be a bitch sometimes.”

Hailey wraps her hair in a ponytail and starts to put the hair tie around it. “Don’t let her hear you say that she might move you down the pyramid,” she jokes, which gets a laugh out of Brittany. “However, she is the best cheerleading coach McKinley can offer, so I guess we’ll have to put up with it,” Hailey states.

They all know that that’s true, no other teacher will coach the Cheerios, and she’s the only one that’s gotten them to Nationals and gets a pretty big paycheck put towards the cheerleading team.

And listen, Santana doesn’t do jealous, okay? And she’s not. She just doesn’t like Brittany hanging out with another person so closely. And it’s because no one understands her like Santana does is all. And sure, Brittany has other friends, but usually they go through Santana to talk to her, so she knows them, or they’re all in the conversation. This is an entire new person, and they’re jokingtogether, which Brittany can do on her own, of course, but-

“Stop pining and either go talk with them or leave already,” Quinn mutters behind her.

Santana whips around and glares at her, and Quinn smirks.

“Oh, come on, don’t think I didn’t notice.” She walks past Santana to get to her locker, and Santana decides to do what Quinn suggested.

She grabs her water bottle from her locker and makes sure all of her things are put away before she leaves to head home.

***

She can’t be in love with her best friend, right? Sure, she and Brittany are close, and they do practically everything together, and Santana loves everything about Brittany, but that doesn’t mean she’s in love with Brittany.

Those thoughts are how Santana finds herself pacing in her room, not for the first time in the last few days, lost in thought. She looks over at the photos that she has on her walls of all of the Cheerios, but there are a few of either her, Brittany, and Quinn, or just the two of them.

She walks over and picks one up to look at it. She gets the same feeling that she’s been getting every time she thinks about Brittany, yet she’s been ignoring it for a while now. Except this time, she doesn’t. She feels butterflies in her stomach and doesn’t even realize she is smiling at Brittany’s picture. She sets down the photo when she does catch herself, and goes to lay down on her bed.

Even if she was gay, how would she know? Would having feelings that aren’t actually feelings enough to be considered gay? And what would everyone else think? Maybe she should turn to the internet, she thinks. She sits up and grabs her laptop that she keeps on her bedside table and loads it up.

A few searches later she realizes that maybe terms like bisexual or even lesbian fit her. Some more questions pop up in her head after that realization, but at least one thing’s certain.

Santana is in love with her best friend, and she has no idea what she’s going to do about it.

#gleecharactertot2021 #gleetotchallenge2021 #glee #santana lopez #brittany pierce #brittana #sexuality crisis #elliry writes #uefnajnfvedhbfhrsyuhebgveahj

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zaine-m · 3 years

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Nina Salazar-Roberts is an Bad Character

“[Nini] is just amazing, she’s meant for greatness” but is she? All of the characters in HSMTMTS fawn over Nini, but should the viewers like her as much as they are told they should? Nina Salazar-Roberts is the main character in seasons 1 and 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. But she is not a good main character because she is supposed to be the underdog but is not, gets away with her mistakes, and is a bad friend in comparison to the other drama kids.

HSMTMTS tries to do the typical underdog story in the beginning of season 1 and succeeds… with Ricky and EJ. But they fail when it comes to Nini and Gina because her insecurities come from something unrealistic, the rest of her life is amazing, and Gina overcomes much more than her. The reason Nini is supposed to be insecure is not something that should make someone especially insecure. Her insecurities are supposed to stem from getting an ensemble role the first time she auditioned for a musical. She was in grade 10 at the time with 2 grades ahead of her that would be more talented because of their age and it was her first time auditioning. When you look at the big picture it is completely normal that she got an ensemble role. Not to mention the fact that she could have not gotten a role in the musical at all. Her insecurities could stem from elsewhere but when you look at the rest of her life, it is amazing. When we are shown her grandmother she encourages Nini to follow her dreams in the only scene she is in. And her 2 mothers are so kind that when Nini’s ex-boyfriend, Ricky is having family troubles he goes to their house to sleep over. Her best friend, Kourtney spends most of her time supporting her and her boyfriend, EJ is a popular jock who sees her as a star and would do anything for her. Lastly, the old drama teacher gave her an ensemble role in beauty and the beast without Nini auditioning. This all adds up to Nini having amazing support systems and no reason to be insecure more than the average teenager. This would not be that much of an issue if Gina had not overcome so many obstacles that Nini did not have to face. Gina is a transfer student who has a single mother that works for FEMA causing her to not have any long lasting friendships. And when she mentions her mother in the first few episodes her mother sounds like she puts too much pressure on the girl. She would have to overcome her mother not being able to pay for good lessons and constantly feeling out of place and lonely. She would also have to deal with the amount of pressure her mother puts on her. Despite the fact that she is supposed to be the underdog Nini comes off as privileged because the root of her insecurities is unrealistic, she has an amazing support system, and Gina has many more struggles than her.

Having main characters be flawed is very important to a series but Nini gets away with all her mistakes. Nini is not punished for hurting others, does not take responsibility for her mistakes and gets things she does not earn. When Nini jumps to conclusions and overreacts she is not punished and is immediately forgiven. In the beginning of season 1 after Nini’s phone goes missing she thinks that Gina took it. Without any evidence or talking to Gina or an adult she takes her shoes and water bottle, Kourtney also steals Gina’s scarves, jewelry, laptop, and more. When Nini finally returns them to her Gina tells her that she never had her phone and Nini still does not apologize. Later in the series when it is brought up again it is revealed that she was forgiven for returning them. Stealing is serious and she should have been taught a lesson in that episode about overreacting, but she was forgiven just because she returned the things. When Nini treats people badly in relationships she blames them for how they react. When she was dating Ricky she made it as hard for him to adjust to her changes as possible. Then got upset when he could not handle it and broke up with him. Then she pins all the blame on him and says that he is not being supportive of her changing. This is very clearly both of their faults and she could have learnt to be a better girlfriend and friend but instead Ricky never even gets mad at her about this behavior. Nini also always gets what she wants even if she did not earn it. During the opening night of their musical when the dean of an acting school is in the audience Nini makes many mistakes and goes off script to sing with the boy she likes. Then the dean says that she has a voice to share and offers her a spot in the school. Nini also got a part in the fall musical made for her even though she did not audition. She could have had to practice to become a better actress or auditioned late but instead she just always gets what she wants. Overall Nini never has to learn from her mistakes because she gets away with hurting others, her mistakes are blamed on others, and gets things even if she did not work for them.

When you look at everything Nini does for the other drama kids she is a comparatively bad friend. Nini will center herself when talking to her friends, not do any favours for her friends, not thank her friends for what they do for her, and only see things from her point of view. Nini does not care as much about her friends' issues as hers. When EJ tries to talk to her about not getting into Duke she changes the topic to her not liking the Youth Actors Conservatory. When Kourtney tried to talk to her about someone who was shutting down her ideas, Nini instead assumed she was talking about Gina, who Nini was mad at. Nini did not think about what these people were dealing with and instead made the conversation about her. Nini does not do as much for her friends as the other characters do. All of the other Drama kids have done favours for each other such as Ashlyn letting Gina stay at her house and Seb and Gina planning a Quincea��ero for Carlos with Nini being on the receiving end for many of these. But the most Nini has ever done for someone else is try to give them confidence, something that the other drama kids do on a daily basis. This makes her friendships seem like they only go one way and like she is taking advantage of them. After her friends do big favours for her she never tells them that she is thankful or even that she appreciated them trying to help her like that. Kourtney got the Dean of the Youth Actors Conservatory to come to the opening night of their musical so she could be offered a spot and Ricky convinced Miss Jenn to give her a part in the musical. Also, Carlos posted her song on Instagram so it could blow up and Gina gave Nini a music producer’s phone number so she could make music professionally. But we never see Nini thank any of them despite enjoying how they all helped her. It seems like this is supposed to make her seem less insecure, like she knows that she is worth it. But, it just makes her seem like a bad friend who just expects people to do big things like this for her. Nini also does not try to think about other people’s perspective. She breaks up with EJ because she felt that he thought she needed to be saved. She also got upset with Ricky for not handling her changing well when he was already having issues with his home life changing and she was dumping it all on him at once. She never tried to understand that EJ just likes doing favours for people he loves or that there was just too much change for Ricky to handle in his life. Nini is a bad friend because she does not care about issues other than her own, never does anything big for her friends, does not thank them, and is not empathetic.

In conclusion, Nini fails as an underdog, is never punished, and is a bad friend which is why she is unlikeable. Nini seems to not understand how privileged she is because she is supposed to be an underdog but is not. Because of how good her friends are to her, her treating them so badly makes her seem so much worse. And her never being punished for everything she does wrong also adds to her seeming very privileged. When you look at the issues with her character the overarching theme is that you would love to be in her position. Like many main characters you are supposed to see yourself as her and when you do not her character breaks apart revealing all the issues. So I will leave you with the question, what effect does indulging ourselves in the fantasy of being praised for beating people who are struggling more than you, never being punished, and people loving you even when you treat them badly have on us as a society?

#yes i wrote an argumentative essay about hsmtmts for fun #i know i'm so dramatic #i'm a dramatic nerd #i dont know why i did this i dont even like english class #hsmtmts #hsmtmts analysis #nini salazar roberts #anti nini #argumentative essay #character analysis

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heathers-wig · 3 years

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come & find me - heathney hanahaki au part one

synopsis:

“Who’re the flowers for?” Eva interjects.

The question dances around in Heather’s head and leaks out of the others’ imploring glances, but Heather finds herself faltering as she struggles to answer.

“I don’t…” Heather frowns, thinking of the flowers welling up in her lungs that she’s sure will snuff out her life. Her frown melts into a scowl when she thinks of whoever her enamored was, and how they doubled as her soon-to-be inevitable murderer, along with how she didn’t even get the privilege to know their identity. “I don’t know.”

❁

Or: Heather contracts the Hanahaki Disease. Other than the fact that she’s quite literally slowly but surely dying due to flowers rooted to her lungs, she has a problem; she doesn’t know who exactly her unrequited love is for, or how to prevent the disease from worsening. Can she figure out who her “beloved” is and snuff out the floral illness before it claims her for once and for all?

pairings: heathney (heather x courtney), BG gweoff (gwen x geoff), BG izva (izzy x eva)

word count: 15,226

warnings: suicidal thoughts implications + descriptions of coughing/vomiting

A/N: there are two endings, happy and sad! feel free to choose which you deem as the true ending :) thank you for reading!

READ IT ON AO3 HERE!

i. daffodils & gardenias; unrequited and secret love

It starts with a petal. Well, if Heather were to be honest, it had started far beyond the first initial petal, but all the pieces fell into place when the very first petal fluttered from her lips.

Her science teacher was going on and on about the instructions for their next lab — something about carefully dissecting a pufferfish that had long since died, but Heather paid no mind to it.

Instead, she observes.

One of her favorite things to do was observe those around her. It was like dissecting them, similar to how her science teacher was now demonstrating on one of the pufferfish, and their internal thoughts and behaviors. Who they unconsciously drifted to, who they repelled and fought with — or, to be more precise, where the weak links in her class were located. With this frequent and diligent studying, she knew exactly how to break certain students and their allegedly tight-knit friend groups.

Take Bridgette, Geoff, and Alejandro, for instance; all Heather had done was slightly insinuate to the gullible, blonde girl that Alejandro liked her, and she was putty in her hands. Of course, Heather noticed Bridgette stare and stare at Alejandro nearly around the clock, but Geoff, Bridgette's actual boyfriend, hadn’t. She did him a favor, really — all it took was her to mastermind him walking in on Bridgette and Alejandro during a Halloween party, and Heather was satisfied.

Currently, Geoff and Bridgette were sitting awkwardly and stiffly next to one another — a huge mistake on their parts, in Heather’s opinion, to choose to sit next to one another after only beginning to date during the summer, but Heather had never had the patience for high school romances. Bridgette had tried to slide apology notes to Geoff’s direction, but for once, his eyes were glued to the board and the notes went unnoticed.

Heather noticed them, though, and she had to stifle a laugh.

The rest of the class is more or less the same. Some were pointedly looking away from the experiment their teacher was performing, and some were sketching in their notebooks, like Gwen.

There had to be three people genuinely paying attention — Geoff, for obvious reasons, Beth, because she currently had a B in the course and thought it was the end of her small-minded world, and Courtney, because she was, well, Courtney.

It’s when Heather’s eyes stay on Courtney’s head of hair that didn’t have a single strand out of place that it happens.

A scratch in the back of her throat digs into her, but Heather swallows it down instead of clearing her throat. If she did it too loudly over something so mediocre and unimportant, her classmates would just assume she was trying to stir something seeing as how it was the end of the last period of the day and, while Heather loved the occasional entertainment at the spite of her peers, she wasn’t in the mood that day.

And so, Heather waits and makes stray sketches in her notebook — repeatedly writing her name in cursive, drawing hideous illustrations of her peers, anything to pass the time until the bell rings. When the bell finally sounded off, punctuating the end of the day, students unceremoniously gathered their lump of notebooks and textbooks and scoop them in their arms, leaving the classroom in a cluttered, chatty, and hurried mess.

The first one out the door is Geoff, followed by Bridgette on his heels, Heather notes, but she can’t bring herself to follow and eavesdrop and what would possibly be one of the most interesting breakups Wawanakwa High had seen since Courtney and Duncan’s infamous split. She’d probably overhear the details of the split from somebody else, anyway.

The devil seemed to have spawned at the initial thought, as a prickly voice accompanied with a light tap on Heather’s shoulder made with the eraser end of a pencil is what tears Heather’s eyes away from the door. She has half the mind to berate whoever it was for pestering her at the end of the day, but falters when her eyes meet the other’s.

Courtney’s narrowed dark brown eyes are unamused. When Heather rises from her seat, Courtney tilts her head up to meet her gaze — Heather was taller than Courtney, even with the pair of wedges the brunette had on that day.

“I expect you were paying attention,” Courtney’s tone is sickeningly sweet and mocking, the specific one she uses around people she thinks are below her in terms of intelligence, or just in general. She has seen Courtney use it around the young kids she tutors, Duncan, jocks, Heather herself, and practically any student in their school who has managed to sour her mood, which was mostly everyone. “We are partnered for the lab, after all —”

“We are?” Heather questions dryly. She had expected Courtney to pick up on her sarcasm — Courtney had made it her job to scribble Lab with Courtney on every available space in her planner on the days leading up to the experiment, after all — but judging by the brunette’s eyes narrowing further, she either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care.

“Yes,” She hisses through clenched teeth, before frowning. “Whatever, I actually paid attention —”

“And I thank you for your service,” Heather remarks just as dryly as before, sauntering out the door.

“Wha — hey, where are you going?”

Heather snorted softly. “Come and find me,” she chastised sardonically. She had figured the answer to be obvious, but Courtney never failed to surprise her in one way or another.

Courtney scoffs and follows her, falling into place next to Heather. She fixed the headband on her head that matched her clothes as she rolled her eyes so far back Heather couldn’t help but wonder if they saw the back of her head.

“Haha, very funny,” The brunette doesn’t laugh, which makes Heather crack a smile in satisfaction. Winning with Courtney was always exhilarating and thrilling. “See you tomorrow, Heather,”

Heather hummed, waving a lazy and half-hearted hand over her shoulder, already bolting in the direction of the student parking lot. “See you,”

When Heather is finally in the solitude of her sleek, black car — her parents wasted no expense when it came to spoiling her, despite neither being the affectionate or loving type — the thing building up in the back of her throat is finally released into the palm of her hand, and all Heather can do is stare at it.

She’s coughed up bile and phlegm before, and she’s heard of blood being coughed up as well, but the tiny, dainty and crumpled thing laying in her hands was unheard of and felt unreal as it rested in her palms. She was suddenly aware of how dry her hands were as she felt the thinness of the soaked object, given that it had been resting in her throat.

Rifling it in her hands, Heather scoffs when she realizes just how ridiculous it was to believe she had just coughed up a flower in the school parking lot. However, she blinks harshly and firmly, and when she opens her eyes, the yellow petal is still there.

A foreign feeling of confusion and uneasiness settles over her like a blanket, but she instead scoffs once more and crumpled the petal, wrapping a tissue around it to keep it from dirtying her leather seats, and rolls out of the parking lot, avoiding any acknowledgment of the flower petal she’s convinced she imagined coughing up.

(On the ride home, she coughs up two more additional petals, too — one white and curved to perfection, looking much too angelic and innocent for having just been lodged up in her throat just moments prior, and the other the same shade of yellow as the first. Heather ignores both, and tosses them out the window to sink further in denial, similar to how she felt her stomach sink as she watched the petals flutter aimlessly to the ground, destined to be run over or stepped on.)

❀

That night, after finishing both her math homework and leftovers for dinner, Heather switched off the lights and settled into her bed before impulsively flicking open her laptop. It was for school purposes, her parents insisted, and was to never be used at night when she should be asleep, but quite frankly, Heather hadn’t cared much for her parents’ opinion of her considering their clear distaste for her.

Her fingers mindlessly fly across the keyboard, the same feeling of dread from when she was stunned upon the initial discovery of the petals resurfacing.

why am i coughing up weird shit

Healthline - Signs of Lung Illness

If any of the following symptoms apply to you, be sure to contact your health agent and schedule an appointment to discuss your symptoms and possible diagnosis. If you experience a burning, aching, or squeezing sensation in your chest, illnesses such as Lung Cancer, Pleuritis, etc. may be at play.

why am i coughing up petals and how do i stop it

Derrit - r/AskDerrit, in an old manga I read today, the Hanahaki disease was a plotline. Is it real? I can’t find any research indicating an answer.

BlaineleysBitch: no. the entire premise of the disease doesn’t even make sense. it’s not real.

Mr.CocoNutty: tbfh i haven’t heard anything about it? i’m sure if it were real there would be some coverage abt it considering how unbelievable it sounds

KittyKat16: yea, i don’t think it’s real, but it would be really cool if it was!!

what’s the hanahaki disease

Wikiresource - List of fictional diseases

Hanahaki Disease (花吐き病 (Japanese); 하나하키병 (Korean); 花吐病 (Chinese)) is a fictional disease where the victim of unrequited or one-sided love begins to vomit or cough up the petals and flowers of a flowering plant growing in their lungs, which will eventually grow large enough to render breathing impossible if left untreated. The flowers in particular symbolize the specific love and relationship the patient has for the enamored, as told through flower language. Hanahaki can be cured through the confession of the victim's feelings. The response of the enamored is unimportant. The victim may also develop Hanahaki Disease if they believe the love to be one-sided but once the enamored returns the feelings, they will be cured.

how to get rid of hanahaki disease without having to confess shit

Making sure to groan inaudibly — her parents were under the impression she was asleep, after all — Heather pressed her finger down on the backspace key with a familiar scowl on her face, her finger remaining in place atop the key long after the words had been removed. The feeling of resentment and annoyance was familiar, but the overwhelming confusion and petals she felt building up in her throat were not.

Sighing, Heather rubbed her eyes gently yet urgently. Mindlessly, she resorted back to her idle habit: observing.

Assuming she had the disease that was supposed to be fictional, somebody had swooped Heather off of her heeled feet without her even realizing it. That had to be impossible, as Heather wasn’t dense enough to not realize something as obvious as feelings for another. After all, she read people and their infatuation with others as easily as one read magazines — who was to say she couldn’t do the same for herself?

Recalling the wiki page, Heather sighed as she began to re-type. The article had said that the flowers she had coughed up symbolized her love for whoever her crush was in flower language, and seeing as how it was her only lead on whoever her supposed enamored was, Heather wanted to crack down who it was exactly and quickly exterminate any and all contact with them to execute any possible feelings.

how do you identify a flower

PlantCapture - What Flower Is This? How to Instantly Identify Flowers

If you already have a photo of a flower saved on your phone, you can also instantly identify it by uploading the photo to PlantCapture. Once you've instantly identified a flower, PlantCapture stores it in your library. You can easily go back to see how many flowers you've identified.

Heather whipped out her phone with another sigh as she begrudgingly began downloading the app. Watching the small icon load, she scowled even deeper. Even the smallest inconvenience in the entire situation was enough to dampen her mood even further, despite the fact her own alleged feelings brought this on herself.

Remembering she had tossed out her only petals, Heather just barely resisted another groan before a familiar scratchiness formed at the back of her throat. Being sure to cough quietly, Heather slipped the petal out of her mouth as she winced at the taste of copper rolling down her tongue. The article hadn’t mentioned anything about blood, Heather bitterly notes, before shaking her head at her own stupidity. Of course there wasn’t a full list of symptoms for a disease that was believed to be fictional.

Switching flash on, Heather got the results of her flowers instantaneously as promised: the yellow and white flowers she had been hacking up all day were daffodils and gardenias, respectively.

Heather’s fingers flew to her keyboard once more automatically. With bated breath, she hoped that the results would be specific enough that she could put an end to the investigation that night and stomp out whatever ties she had with her “enamored”.

But, as noted from Heather’s luck that day, things rarely went her way.

what do daffodils mean

FlowerDictionary - Flower Meanings: Flowers A-K

Daffodil symbolizes regard and chivalry. It is indicative of rebirth, new beginnings and eternal life. It also symbolizes unrequited love.

what do gardenias mean

Flower Dictionary - Flower Meanings: Flowers A-K

The gardenia is a flower that symbolizes purity and gentleness. However, this symbolism often depends on the color of the gardenia. ... Another symbol of the gardenia is secret love between two people and also joy.

Upon quickly searching them up, the results did little to ease the dread pooling in her. The test was definitely correct, as it seemed, but was entirely unhelpful when it came to figuring out the identity of whoever it was that Heather had unknowingly developed an unreturned love for.

Slamming her laptop closed — a bit too loud for her liking, but beats pass and she doesn’t hear the annoying patter of her mother’s footsteps reach her room, so she assumes she’s in the clear — Heather grunts one final time, unceremoniously moving her laptop back on her desk. Raising the petal to her line of vision, Heather has to squint to make out some of the details. This one was white, identifiable even in the dark. It was a bit crumpled from having been clutched so tightly, and still wet from her own coppery blood.

A gardenia, Heather recalls with another scowl that was deeper and more ferocious than the last were. Meant to symbolize a “secret love”... so much for a clue.

She wonders, her last coherent thought before succumbing to sleep, how big of a secret her love must be for it to have left Heather herself in the dark on who her loved one was.

At the thought, Heather wrapped her blankets tighter around herself, lulling herself to an uneasy sleep of blood, thorns, beautiful but deadly flowers, and a figure in the distance who looks so comforting and familiar whose name is on the tip of Heather’s tongue, but can’t be reached.

❀

ii. amaryllises & white chrysanthemums; pride & loyalty

Despite Heather’s praying to a God she didn’t believe in, the flowers didn’t disappear overnight. Instead, they bloomed rapidly in her lungs, and at times when she felt the familiar tickle in the back of her throat, flowers in full-bloom were coughed up.

They would be beautiful, if not for her own blood staining them, a grim reminder of what would become of her if she did not find a fix, and soon.

Still, Heather was nothing if not quick on her feet. She managed to keep her illness under the wraps — of course, her second in command was Lindsay, so it wasn’t difficult to conceal her bloody bundles of flowers as just “feeling under the weather”; any other person would be suspicious of the foreign scratchiness and hoarseness her voice now had, the way she would breathe shakily as if her lungs were rattling and about to give out, or the way she barely restrained the flowers from being coughed up after a gym class, but since it’s Lindsay, Heather can get away with her lie.

When Lindsay sweetly wishes for her to feel better, even dropping off a bowl of badly homemade chicken noodle soup, Heather couldn’t help but scoff as she shook her head at the feeling of guilt lingering in the back of her head, and the feeling of bloody flowers in the back of her throat.

❀

With every fistful of the flowers beginning to stain her clothes, Heather took responsibility for her own laundry, for the first time in her life. Her parents put on a spectacle of overexaggerated joy and relief when she announced it, saying that, oh, thank goodness their darling was beginning to take responsibility instead of pooching off of them; Heather had just forcefully smiled and nodded, as she always did now, and excused herself to hurriedly put in the first load.

Her clothes were stained red in her own blood. Some petals began to stick onto her clothes, as well, and the last thing Heather wanted was the intrusion of her parents and their nosiness as she deciphered just who she was coughing flowers for.

Interestingly, the flowers she was now coughing up were different. Amaryllises and chrysanthemums, as she had identified — the red flower was the former of the two and symbolized pride. The white chrysanthemums, wide with many intricate petals, symbolized loyalty and the truth. Thankfully, they were more of a clue than the daffodils and gardenias with their meanings of unrequited and secret love.

That still didn’t mean that Heather had any clue of who they were for, though — she just knew that they had to be high-maintenance, and part of her refused to believe she would unconsciously fall for someone who had to be so pretentious, but seeing as how the thought sent her into another bout of coughing sloppily disguised, it had to have been the truth.

Heather was beginning to hate the sensation that arose when she felt a coughing spur coming on. She hated how she could feel a crumpled lump form in the back of her throat, squirming its way up her throat and nearly out her mouth. It feels hot, sticky, and suffocating, and when the flowers come up, Heather hates them too, and especially whoever her beloved is. However, the disease doesn’t cease even just a little, and so Heather finds herself heaving, coughing, and puking chrysanthemums and amaryllises in the middle of the night as she ponders on who it is she’s supposed to be loving.

Still, she manages to keep herself from hacking during class in front of her peers, and that’s all that matters to her, even when the flowers she chokes on splinter into her like thorns in her side.

❀

It’s here that Heather messes up. Well, to be fair, she messed up as soon as she began feeling things for whoever it was that had captured her sight unknowingly, in Heather’s opinion, but that was irrefutable and couldn’t be helped.

This, however, could have been helped.

Like many things, it started at school. Like the first petal that had been coughed up weeks ago, it started during science class, when she felt the feeling of hot bile, blood, and petals rising in her throat as Courtney bent over their lab report. She didn’t notice Heather’s discomfort, as her eyes were fixed on the report, her brows scrunched together in concentration.

At least, that’s what Heather thought, until Courtney suddenly looked up from the report and eyed her curiously. “Are you feeling alright?”

Heather barely contained her surprise at the sudden inquiry. The only person to ask that was Lindsay, not even her own parents, let alone her (unofficial) rival and (official) lab partner.

Upon seeing her confusion — had she done that bad at a job of hiding it? — Courtney sighed and looked back to their work. “To be honest, you’re quieter than normal and you look kind of sick — you look like you’re going to pass out at any time now.”

“Thanks,” Heather mutters coarsely, finding her voice. Despite her calm exterior, she could feel her heart racing, and the flowers itching their way up her throat.

Courtney squawked indignantly. “Hey! I’m just being honest!”

“Mhmm,” Heather hums absentmindedly as she rises from her seat. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

She barely hears Courtney’s grumpy and hesitant “Fine,” before stalking out the room, grabbing a hall pass on her way out. As soon as the door swung shut behind her, out of sight from her peers, Heather dashed as quickly as she could to the solitude of the nearest bathroom. She slams the stall door closest to her open noisily, thankful there was nobody around, and heaves into the toilet as the blood and flowers bloom from her mouth.

They hurt more than the daffodils and gardenias, now that they’re coming out as full flowers accompanied with a few stray petals rather than just petals, but Heather shoves the thought to the side in favor of pulling her hair away from her face. The toilet bowl is filled with a hideous mixture of blood and petals, and Heather feels like a decaying corpse as the energy leaves her, crumbling to the ground as she heaved from the aftermath of the coughing fit.

Picking petals from her backmost molars, Heather spits once more, the remaining drops of blood falling into the sink. Her chin is wet and sticky with her own blood, and she’s sure her teeth are stained red as well; Heather half-heartedly debates asking her parents to pick her up as she flushes the toilet, whisking away most of the evidence excluding the blood dribbling down her chin from her mouth and a few stray petals, before deciding she’d rather vomit flowers rooted to her lungs for the rest of the day than be with her family.

As she rinsed water from the sink in her mouth, Heather nearly spits it out in surprise when she notices a bathroom stall crack open from the mirror. Then she actually spits the stained water from her mouth, whirling around to threaten whoever it was to secrecy. When her eyes meet a head of blue hair, she falters slightly, and that’s all it takes for the other to take control.

“You too?” Is all Gwen asks, having recovered from her initial surprise. She doesn’t look grossed out by the blood, and instead joins Heather by the sinks.

Narrowing her eyes, Heather recoils to what she knows best around Gwen: defense. “Excuse me?”

Gwen laughs, sardonically and self-deprecatingly, with a hint of amusement. It’s the most Heather’s seen her laugh to her since, well, ever. Then, still in astonishment, Heather felt herself stagger back and her eyes widened when pale pink roses, white carnations, and yellow coreopsis flowers fell from Gwen’s blue-lipsticked lips, gracefully fluttering to the tiled floor.

Suddenly, Heather understands, but Gwen still unnecessarily elaborates. “The flowers. You too?”

Heather only hesitates for a split second before sighing and staring down at the sink bowl. “Yeah,”

“Didn’t expect it from you of all people,” Gwen chuckled humorlessly. “Didn’t think the Queen Bee Heather knew what emotion was, let alone be stuck in unrequited love,” she mocked bitterly. She turns to Heather, gaze softening. “So, who is it?”

Heather blinked. “What do you mean?”

Gwen snorted and gestured to the petals and trail of blood on the tiled floor. “The flowers, honors student,”

Ignoring the sarcastic remark, Heather paused before admitting, “I don’t know,”

Gwen grunted disbelievingly. “Come on, I know you don’t like or trust me, but really, who am I going to tell?”

“Hey, I’m actually being honest here!” Heather snapped, glaring at the goth. Of course, I’m told I’m lying when I’m actually being honest… she thinks with a scoff as her scowl returns.

“Whatever, have you tried…” Gwen trails off, frowning as her brows scrunch together. “I don’t know, I just knew who mine was for—”

“Who?” Heather asks curiously, having not picked up on Gwen displaying any of the usual symptoms of a horrid teenage crush. No staring, attention-seeking, stuttering, or blushing — it was the same behavior for everyone with Gwen.

The goth hesitates only for a split moment before sighing and giving one name: “Geoff,”

Heather hums, unsure what to say. Gwen narrows her eyes, seeming to just remember who she was talking to.

“Seeing as how we’re one and the same right now, if I catch you telling anyone, I will spread the news of your diagnosis, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Weird Goth Girl, your secret is safe with me,” Heather promises, the corners of her lips twitching up at the use of the old nickname. “Just help me clean up all this before someone walks in,”

Gwen nods once, before bending over the sink and coughing a few more flowers and petals in the sink, blood spilling from her mouth. Awkwardly, Heather pats her back, unsure what to do, before realizing she should probably hold her hair back.

“Thanks,” Gwen murmurs, her voice even more hoarse and tired than normal. Heather just gives her a nod before crouching down to pick up the flowers trailing the ground; Gwen hurries to grab a mop from the back closet to clean the blood.

It’s when Heather comes across the petals of the pale pink roses, white carnations, and yellow coreopsis flowers that a pang of empathy spurs in her. She turns to Gwen.

“Those type of roses specifically mean joy, the white carnations mean purity and loveliness, and the yellow coreopsis means cheerfulness.”

Gwen looks up from her work and blinks, taken aback, before smiling slowly and softly. “That fits him,”

Wordlessly, the two set off to finish the cleanup of their shared death sentence in the form of flowers and blood, when the bathroom door flies open once more. Both Heather and Gwen look up, eyes wide in surprise. Before either can communicate, a thunderous voice and a ticked-off Eva enter the area.

“Get back to class, we have to clean up —” she gets cut off from her own demand, faltering at the sight of Heather and Gwen bent over the floor, cleaning blood, flowers, and bloody flowers. Her eyes flit back to the duo who are too frozen and flabbergasted to speak. “What happened?”

Heather opens her mouth to bullshit her way into an explanation as she always did when Eva’s eyes suddenly narrow dangerously, intercepting the unsaid lie. She spits out one last order before turning on her heel, leaving the bathroom.

“Meet me in the library after school. Come alone, and hurry up and get back to class so no one else walks in on you.”

After her departure, all Heather and Gwen could do was stare at one another, wide-eyed and depleted of the fluttery itchiness of their lungs and throats, for once, before resolving to hurriedly finish garnering the crumpled flowers and washing the blood down the sink.

Heather goes back to class for the remaining minutes of the day, her mind elsewhere even as Courtney berates her for the long bathroom break. Her mind drifts to Gwen’s sardonic laugh, the goth's utter defeat after finishing hacking, and the way her eyes are avoiding Geoff’s direction, instead fixated on a pink charm bracelet Heather had noticed her fiddling with on multiple occasions before.

The image of Gwen choking on her own blood and petals momentarily and the sound of her warbled snort had been seared in Heather’s memory, and all she could do was wonder. Wonder if, in due time, her own condition would mirror Gwen’s when she inevitably lost to the disease that was slowly but surely suffocating her.

❀

When Eva had instructed her and Gwen to meet with her alone, Heather had assumed that that applied to Eva as well.

What she had not expected, however, was for her and Gwen to be seated with Eva and two of the most arbitrary (personality-wise, that was) redheads Heather ever had the pleasure (?) of meeting.

She scowled. With herself, Gwen, Eva, Izzy, and Harold, they had practically formed their own little Losers Club. Brilliant.

Harold awkwardly coughed, having declared himself the unofficial leader.

Gwen scoffed, leaning back into her seat. She leaned her chair, balancing it on two legs at a dangerous angle. “What is this, Hanahaki Club?” Gwen mockingly questioned, mirroring Heather’s thoughts.

Harold guiltily smiles. “Well, no. See, Eva here —” Eva glared at the boy, scowling. Harold faltered for the fifth time that meeting, gulping — “had Hanahaki awhile ago. Last year, I think. She confessed to Izzy, and the rest is history.”

Izzy nodded enthusiastically. She grabbed Eva’s hand, making the latter blush furiously at the unprompted gesture. “Yup! Our getting together was actually like this one Romanian film —”

“Anyway,” Harold interrupted. “I noticed Eva’s symptoms and helped her, which we intend to do with you two. Now,” he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, casting a pensive look to Heather and Gwen, who exchanged glances. “Which one of you has Hanahaki?”

Before Heather can think to lie and save her own skin, Gwen answers truthfully. “Both of us,”

“Gwen!” Heather hissed. The mentioned shrugs.

“What, you think you’ll be able to resist coughing up flowers during this?” At Gwen’s words, Heather felt her face twist as she felt an itching in her throat. Satisfied, Gwen nods and turns to the others. “Thought so.”

“I’m going to be honest,” Eva begins. Her tone is softer than before, but just as commanding. “Hanahaki… it’s hell. But just ease your suffering by confessing. I didn’t want to risk my life when a few words could save it.”

At Eva’s words, Heather can’t help but feel a surge of jealousy at her words, her sureness. At how she and Gwen just knew who their flowers were for, and how Eva had the mind and courage to confess.

If she did know who the amaryllises and chrysanthemums that were rooted in her lungs were for, would Heather confess? She wasn’t sure, and she hated the uncertainty.

“Yeah, but, he just broke up with his girlfriend,” Gwen murmured, tracing a finger on the table as she spoke in a low voice. She seemed fascinated with the intricate design of the wood, now, refusing to meet the eyes of her peers that were softened with sympathy. “And… he just sees me as a friend. ‘One of the guys', you know?”

A beat passes before Harold frowns, a hand on his chin like some wannabe Sherlock, Heather notes, face expectedly contorted in pensiveness. “Is it Geoff?”

“Bingo,” Gwen says dryly.

Izzy turns to Heather, the hyperactivity from before dulled as she looks serious for what had to be one of the few times in her life. “And you?”

“What about me?” Heather sighs, though she knows that they know she knows what’s being insinuated.

“Who’re the flowers for?” Eva interjects.

The question dances around in Heather’s head and leaks out of the others’ imploring glances, but Heather finds herself faltering as she struggles to answer.

“You don’t know?” Eva echoes. Her face is not contorted in anger, like Heather assumed it would, but rather thoughtfulness. Neither is her voice thunderous or disbelieving — Eva seemed to seriously be contemplating the likelihood of it. She turns to Harold. “Is that even possible?”

The redhead looks just as lost in thought as Eva. He shrugs. “Maybe…” He shifts his attention back to Heather, who is beginning to feel as if she were being prodded at, dissected, and inspected by her peers. “Have you tried thinking about it?”

“Excuse me?” Heather asks, taken aback. Her scowl diminished momentarily in her surprise, before it fell back into place, more intense than before. “What do you think I’ve been doing? Analyzing the flowers and flower language like I’ve gone insane —”

“I mean,” Harold interrupts, “have you tried… I dunno, fantasizing about the people in your life? Like, placing yourself in your ideal date with them to see if the flowers spur in your throat? It worked in this one manga —”

Heather droned out the rest of his rant, frowning to herself. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

“Anyway,” Eva cut Harold off with a silencing glare. The boy in question audibly gulps, shifting in his seat and indiscreetly glancing away to the opposite direction. “What do your flowers mean?” She looked to Gwen and Heather.

“The first round were marigolds,” Gwen admits carefully. “They mean jealousy. The second had mistletoe and yellow tulips — they mean affection and longing, and the tulips meant good friendship, or something like that. Now, I have pale pink roses, which mean joy, white carnations, which mean purity and loveliness, and yellow coreopsis flowers, which mean cheerfulness.”

“My first flowers were daffodils and gardenias.” Heather found no reason to lie now. “They mean unrequited and secret love. Way to spell it out,” she chuckled dryly, and humorlessly, and pretending to not notice the varying amounts of sympathy from the group. Her throat stings. “The ones I have now — amaryllises and chrysanthemums — mean pride and loyalty.”

Eva raises her eyebrows. “High-maintenance? Wouldn’t have expected that from you,”

Heather grunted. “Shut up,” Her throat hurt too much for a better rebuttal.

“You know, it’s probably Courtney,” Izzy hums half-jokingly with a grin. Gwen barely stifles a laugh.

Feeling her face flush and a lump form in her throat, Heather opens her mouth to argue, but is silenced when Harold shoots her a look.

“So, to recap,” Harold draws their attention back in, “The flowers represent who you love and/or your dynamic with them. Heather, try finding some privacy and think of your ideal date with people you know who are prideful and loyal, okay? We’ll meet up here on Monday. Hopefully you’ll have figured it out by then.”

“Fine,” Heather agrees, clumsily gathering her things. Her throat is burning, along with her chest and she’s sure her eyes are stinging, and she desperately wants to cough, but not now, and certainly not here with this audience. “See you Monday, Hanahaki Club,” she mutters sarcastically.

Half-hearted laughs register in Heather’s ears, but she’s already out of the library and dashing to the second nearest bathroom, not wanting to be walked in on. Her focus had been shifted from her illness momentarily, but now that it had been remembered, it was all it took for her to cough up the familiar flowers to the bathroom floor, unleashing a familiar strangled and warbled choking noise, accompanied by foreign tears.

❀

At night, when Heather’s parents and siblings are fast asleep, Heather lies wide awake in bed, tossing and turning. Whoever her beloved was was causing her to be unable to sleep at night, and when she was awake, she would cough on petals and blood, and she just craved to sleep.

Part of her wondered if it was possible for her to choke on the flowers in her sleep, before concluding that it didn’t matter. She was going to die, anyway.

Her mind wanders back to the secret meeting in the library, and of Harold’s advice. She had never wanted to date any of her classmates, but seeing as how she had the disease, it was a waste of time groveling in defeat. Instead, she shuts her eyes, and thinks of her fantasy.

Intimacy is what comes to mind first. She doesn’t like intimacy with her family or friends, but maybe she’s a sucker for looking into someone’s eyes and holding hands and telling someone I love you and meaning it. It doesn’t make her a sap; it just means that her needs are impossible to fulfill.

Eyes still shut, the image of her perfect date materializes in Heather’s head. Limbs entangled around one another as she and her mysterious person cuddled on a couch while watching an arbitrary film. Sharing a cup of hot chocolate and blankets as the chilling air from outdoors was kept out from inside by the heater. Talking animatedly about their interests and such over the movie, gazing into one another’s eyes; no judgment was to be found in either. It was peaceful and isolated, and perfect to Heather. Her parents never showed affection, and couples in high school never lasted — that type of love wasn’t real, but Heather allowed herself to fantasize, still, for the sake of finding who her enamored was.

Thinking it was best to start with the girls Heather was acquainted with that fit the bill, Heather sighs before imagining the ambiguous person as her classmates.

Leshawna. She’s the most faithful person Heather knows of, and she’s certainly proud. The flowers remain still and unmoving in her lungs, and so, she decides to move on.

Gwen. Unsurprisingly, the flowers don’t itch. The goth was more of someone Heather could respect, anyway.

Eva. Still, no reaction. Part of her is grateful, as she didn’t want to face the wrath of Izzy ever.

Dakota. One of the least likely, but it was possible, Heather supposed. They had some things in common, after all.

Court—

Her dark brown eyes were the only thing that had materialized in her mind when the flowers came out roughly and swiftly. Her blood is hot and thick in her throat as she tries in a daze to not suffocate on it, but still, she chokes on it. She can feel tears springing in her eyes and the sweat piling on her back and under her armpits; she can feel her chest burning in indescribable pain that was unlike any of the other coughing fits. It’s worse than anything she’s ever endured which is, granted, not quite the resume, but nevertheless, Heather feels as if her body is tearing and ripping itself apart while simultaneously hastily stitching itself back together by the amount of pain unleashed from her floral disease.

She scrambles to the sink of the bathroom attached to her bedroom, retching into the basin. The blood and flowers look like an artful arrangement, though Heather barely registers its appearance through both the pain and the unwavering amount of hatred coursing through her at the thought of Courtney unknowingly inflicting this upon her. Somewhere, she’s sleeping peacefully, while Heather is choking on her own blood and the flowers rooted to her lungs from just the mere thought of Courtney’s eyes.

Finally, mercifully, after a few minutes, the coughing fit ceases, but all that’s left is Heather’s heavy heaves as she attempts to retain her breath. Her vision flickers as black dances across her vision, and all she can smell is an overwhelming smell of metal and cleaning supplies. Her sink looks like the delicately painted masterpiece of an artistic sacrificial seance scene with all the blood and flowers. With a sigh, Heather strips of her bloodstained clothes, tossing them in her hamper to wash in the morning. After changing into a new acceptable and clean pair that Heather is sure will be ruined in a few hours, she brings out the cleaning supplies from under her sink and begins to clean at a feverish pace in a dazed state.

Ah, Heather thinks bitterly with a crazed and forced smile on her face, scrubbing extra hard on the sink as the thought flits in her mind, I get it now.

❀

“It’s Courtney,” Heather admitted to the group with a scowl present on her face. None had to ask her to elaborate, and none mention her scowl or her cough at the name. Heather’s scowl deepens further when she notices Gwen and Harold sighing in unison, sliding money to Izzy and Eva, who gladly accept them, with defeated sighs. “Wha —! Did you guys seriously bet on this? I’m literally dying over here!”

The words silence the group before Gwen snorts, and with that, the rest join her and laugh. Heather has half the mind to tell them that they’re in a library, but realizes she sounds freakishly like Courtney. Plus, for once, Gwen is choking on her laughter rather than flowers, so Heather allows it just for once with her own small smile and laugh.

“You know,” Harold manages to choke out, eyebrows raised in either surprise or amusement, “I didn’t take Courtney as your type.”

“Me neither,” Heather mutters. “Who did you think my type was?”

He shrugs. “Alejandro was my main suspect. I thought Justin was Eva’s crush, at first, to be honest.”

The laughter dies down momentarily as the group stares at Harold in confusion. Gwen, cracking another smile, mutters, “Harold, they’re lesbians,” before collapsing in another fit of laughter.

This time, Heather joins in more easily, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world. The flowers momentarily disappear, along with Courtney and thoughts of her love.

❀

END OF PART ONE

#total drama #td heather #td courtney #td gwen #td eva #td izzy #td harold #heathney #gweoff #izva #evzy #my writing #heathney hanahaki au #hanahaki #part 1/3

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