#if someone was harassing me and I told em to go drown.
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I know that, for me, when some guy yells "show me your tits!!" out the window of his car, and the girl he yelled at pipes back "fuck off and die!" I RUN up to the girl and I'm like WHOA THAT WAS FUCKED UP, and when she goes "I know. assholes" I'm like no, the thing YOU said!! That is NOT appropriate language. What if one of those guys was sad! He might drive off a cliff now!
#:)?#or is this only reserved for people you see online and not something you'd say to my face#if someone was harassing me and I told em to go drown.#tbh. trying too hard. just say you care less what actually happens and more about the language used#would it make you feel better if I said Unalive? Or Go Step On A Lego Grrr
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Hi! Could you do a oneshot where the reader (male) is thrown to the ocean by some people because he looks like a girl due to his shoulder length hair, the reader doesn't know how to swim but Pyke saves the reader, teaches him how to swim, becomes his friend and he protects him? Have a nice day!
I'm really sorry this plot isn't specifically what you requested! Your request just gave me an amazing plot idea and it sort of took a life of it's own, I hope the final product is still okay with you!
Pyke x Reader: To the Depths
Word Count: 1806
Warning: Physical and verbal harassment based on gender stereotypes (feminine), violence, drowning and swearing. Please read with caution.
Only when you felt the salty wind against your cheek did you fully register where you were. Hauled up to deck by your own mates, their hands everywhere on your body, their grip strangling all your limbs. They laughed as you thrashed against their hold, trying to stand up but they forced your knees onto the splintered timber.
You should've known this was going to happen. You could do your duties as efficiently and quietly as possible, avoid conflict with everyone on this godforsaken ship, and they'll still find a way to make you bait if they wanted to. Pirates were pirates after all, they thrived off destruction, stooping lower than the low for some short-term gain.
“C'mon, won't you give me some attention, lass?” A pirate asked, twirling a lock of your hair. When you jerked your head away he immediately spat in your face in retaliation. Multiple pirates pinned you down.
“We'll take 'em to the depths, aye?” Another suggested to the crew and they cheered in agreement. A pirate searched through your pockets, searching for any valuables and you squirmed. Through teary eyes, you managed to see a figure passing in the distance, a small sliver of hope.
“Captain!” You screamed. The crew stopped. The captain stopped in his tracks and started walking towards you. Looking down at your pitiful form, he regarded the rest of the pirates.
“What's this, then?” The captain looked at one of the pirates leading the harassment. In response, he hesitated, stuttering to explain himself. The captain tutted and you started to wiggle free from some of the hands that were on you.
The captain smirked, his expression darkening.
“You've got t' send the princess off properly!”
The crew cheered as the captain retrieved a ball and chain and your heart dropped. Panic rose within you, making you feel nauseous as you tried harder to run but all hands were on you, pushing your back into the ground. Your limbs were pinned to the floor as the captain approached you, attaching the chained cannonball to your ankle. Through your tears of fear, there were tears of rage. You screamed not only for your innocence but also at the world for your unfair treatment. You screamed at the crew who had wronged you. All of them you damned to hell as they threw you overboard.
You sunk deeper into the sea. You weren't able to get a proper breath of air before entering the waters, your throat was already burning. Reaching down, you pushed at the chain, hoping it'll slip off of your leg and let you swim free. Eyes stinging at the salt, you could see brief lights and movement all around you. The seas of Bilgewater were known for its thriving creatures that attacked and ate many. Hopefully one would take pity on you and feast on you before you ran out of oxygen. It'd be quicker anyway.
But you continued to sink, deeper into the abyss. The waters so dark you couldn't see ahead, the pressure making every limb hurt. Your head was pounding, your pulse was slowing, white spots were fielding your vision. As numbness started to prick at your extremities and spread further up your limbs, you gave up and let your consciousness fade.
You were certain you were on the way to meet your maker. The weight on your ankle had disappeared, you felt a pressure on your chest, lifting you up. Water rushing around you, the pressure of the sea was starting to alleviate, you sensed the world was becoming lighter as you faded further into darkness.
The next sensation you ever felt was a pounding on your chest. Not the pounding of your heartbeat but hands on your ribs, forcing a pulse back into you. A rush of water exited your lungs and you choked it out, turning to your side to cough as you gasped for air. Yet when you finally opened your eyes, you weren't at an unfamiliar looking spirit realm, instead you were back at the all-too familiar docks of Bilgewater.
Looking up, you noticed a man sitting cross-legged, watching you with glowing blue eyes. His lower face obscured by a red bandana, yet when he spoke his voice didn't sound muffled at all. Instead it was deep and gurgling, encompassing you, as if you were back in the abyss.
“Thought you'd never wake,” he stated and you stared at him.
“Did you-” you choked as your voice came out raspy. You coughed up some more water but the man seemed patient enough, waiting for you. “Did you save me?”
He nodded.
“Why?”
“The depths ain't a place for the livin',” he responded.
“I'm only living thanks to you,” you admitted. Not knowing what else to do, you held out your hand to him. “(Y/N).”
The man took your hand, shaking it firmly but he didn't reply and looked out to the docks. It was fully night, the line where the sky ended and the sea begun had blurred. You frowned as you went through what you thought would be your final memories. How you were engulfed in darkness, warmth absent and the pressure crushing.
“How did you save me?”
There was a low, rumbling chuckle in response. He took his time, calculating his answer. The man seemed nonchalant but you noticed his eyes cautiously dart to you occasionally.
“I didn't do any savin', I just put you back where you belonged, with the livin'.”
“But how?” You tried to pry. “You only have your harpoon, possibly a hunters knife. How did you reach me in time?”
“I was already in the depths.”
Your head tilted in confusion trying to piece together his ambiguous answers. Was he implying he wasn't even alive? A human just like you? But you looked at his scarred face, how his eyes glowed. How the very essence of the abyss seemed to emanate around him. Perhaps he wasn't so human after all.
Sighing, you stood up, trying to shake off your nerves. You thanked him for his aid, checking your pockets to possibly give him some gold out of thanks. But it was only then you realised, everything you owned was back on that cursed ship. Any change of clothes, the few valuables you had, were all in the quarters you shared with the crew. Without a doubt they would have raided all your belongings and taken everything.
By now the shock had started to leave your body. The cold of the depths had left you and now you were only burning with rage. You didn't deserve any of this. Only a day ago you were living a tolerable life. You thought you had the respect of the crew and captain, rations were decent and the work wasn't so strenuous. Now you had nothing.
“I'll make them pay.”
“Hm?” Your rescuer looked at you with raised eyebrows. You hadn't even noticed that the words escaped your lips, but you looked at him with pure intent. All these years you tried to take the peaceful, high moral ground. Your unfortunate social standing meant you had no choice but to take a life aboard a ship but you tried to maintain a moral code, you tried to give those who wronged you the benefit of the doubt. No more.
“My crew,” you spat out the words. “I did everything by the damn book. I helped them out, I did my part.”
“You a pirate?” he asked. The tone in his voice changed, cautious, a hint of hostility.
“In the loosest sense of the word,” you huffed. “I was on a pirate ship, I helped a crew and worked for a captain but don't group me up with those bastards.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “They wronged you?”
“Who do you think threw me overboard?” You seethed.
“You want them dead?”
The simple question made you hesitate. You had never condemned someone to such a fate before, let alone multiple. The word “dead” held such a strong grip on you, especially now you had such a close experience to it. But you remembered how you were dragged out onto the decks, the jeering faces of the entire ship as they wanted to see you gone. How they strung you along for so many months, using your aid until they deemed it more entertaining to throw you overboard. They used you.
“Yes.”
Like a judge that had slammed down the gavel, you made your verdict and decided the sentence.
“I see,” the man stood up. “And what're you willin' to give for that?”
“Everything,” you replied. Admittedly, you had nothing left to give right now, but you were determined to build yourself back up. For the entire ship to feel just a fraction of the pain you felt. For them to pay for their crime against you and all the crimes they've committed before.
The man looked out thoughtfully. He took out one of the many daggers strapped to him, offering the handle out to you.
“The name's Pyke.”
You felt the name had a special importance, since he was reluctant to tell you before. You almost felt proud that he told you, it was a symbol of trust. You reached to take the knife, fingers curling around the handle.
“A tavern down the docks takes payment in work. You can stay with 'em, they're good people,” Pyke instructed. “I'll find you in the morning. You've got a lot to learn.”
“Thank you,” your were stunned. “But why?”
“Why?”
“Why're you helping me?”
“They've got a debt to pay. All of 'em” Pyke replied. “You're a rare one. Good people ain't easy to come by, even less willin' to do what I do, I'll take 'em when I can.”
“Who are you?” You asked.
“You know me as Pyke.”
“No, more than that. Who – or what – are you?”
“You'll figure out soon enough,” he chuckled, his glowing eyes turning into crescents as he grinned through the bandana. He jerked his head towards his dagger that was still in your hands. “You'll need to learn how to use that well.”
“I already know a couple of tricks,” you admitted. Pyke sent an approving look as you attached the blade to your belt. “And just how exactly do you plan to eliminate an entire crew and their captain?”
Even though you could only see half his face, you could tell how his smile changed. How it became sadistic, wild, his eyes shining with the green light you thought you only saw in the monsters of the sea.
“We drag 'em to the depths.”
#fanfic#fanfiction#imagine#oneshot#lol#league of legends#league of legends imagine#league of legends x reader#lol x reader#pyke#league of legends pyke#pyke league of legends#pyke x reader#x reader#self insert#y/n#drama#shurelyasreverie
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Octavio Is Live: And Drunk ||Octane On Loss||
||Welcome, Octavio Silva, you are now streaming. Say hello!||
The cheery words had Octane seething as he fixed his camera, dropping back into his super plush beanbag chair, grinning up at the camera and giving his signature rock sign.
“What’s uuup. Another drunken stream! Whoo!” he threw his hands up, yelping as some beer got on him with the motion, whining as he wiped it off.
Prior to the stream, he had three shots of tequila, this being his sort of way of tracking his thoughts. He could do holo logs or a diary, but he liked to be transparent, even if it hurt like a bitch.
He knew his experiences helped people, so why not give them this chance to see him with all his guards down, mask and goggles at his neck, looking like he just touched down from his recent solo win.
And he looked like hell.
“So! First question is the hot topic for this stream, choose wisely, amigos!” he grinned, because that was all he knew to do, to hide and protect himself.
The computer registered the first line of text with a little question mark beside it, and his heart sank instantly as he bit his lip, taking a long swig of his beer then sighed.
“Way to hit home, amigo, I’m sorry.” he sounded pained as he shifted, smile wavering.
“Miroctaneluver101 says; Hey, good game. I’m sorry, I hope this doesn’t get the top, but I’m honestly kinda feeling down in the dumps. I just lost my grandfather and I’m honestly feeling like life isn’t worth it. He was everything, the one thing to hold me up, to make me proud. The only person in my family to understand me. Have you dealt with loss, and if so, what do you do to cope?” his voice was shattering as he read the message, cursing as he rubbed at his face, ridding himself of the tears as he stood, walking off camera with a tiny sound of pain.
He kicked something, watched it burst across the stream and into the other side, off screen, to clatter against the wall. He returned with a tall glass of scotch this time, dropping into his seat with a sigh. He could see a billion messages of support to the person and worried comments to him, to which he took a swig and licked his lips.
“Where to get started, huh? First of all, please don’t kill yourself. You have so much to live for! Your life has just begun!” he set the drink down, leaning forward into his ‘Serious Papi Octavio’ mode, twin coloured eyes hard as they looked right into the camera.
“You are amazing as you are. I am sure your abuelo would be so proud of you.” he felt the tears and blinked them away, firm and sharp in his resolve. “If anyone says otherwise, tries to tell you to change, that you’re not worth it, fuck ‘em! They aren’t worth your time, your breath, your attention nor your life. Get rid of them, right away.” he flopped back, fetching his drink on the way down, with a huff, sinking into the plush embrace.
“As for loss? Not talking games here for a lightening effect, but... My great grandfather, Fuego Silva.... The only Silva I cared for... He was... Everything to me.” he looked to his glass, turning it over as he swallowed hard.
“Growing up... Well, you’ve seen what I could show you, the first camera, the first vlog? Was because of Fuego.” he smiled now, taking a swig of the amber liquid. “He loved it. Loved getting to see me as much as he could, even when he was away... He used to fight, god, it feels like an eternity now.” he laughed as he remembered back to the past.
“I told him I wanted to be a star, and he gave me this rinky dinky little thing, shit focus, terrible memory and even worse pixelage. Like we are talking using a potato for a camera would be better!” he chuckled, grinning into the glass. “But Fuego always loved it, would send it to him on the fringes of space in his vessel, so he’d have something to wake up to, something to pump him up.” he ran a hand through his hair as he laid back, splayed out for his fans to see.
“Mr and Mrs Silva were always... They weren’t great. It’s why I was taken into the Diablo Del Alma’s so early on in life. I remember the day I broke the camera. I was doing a dumb stunt, jumping off a roof, something small. I landed on it, and it broke rather than my arm. Fuego was grateful I wasn’t hurt, but my heart was broken. That was my camera, and a gift from him.” he felt the tears itch at his eyes, so he just closed them, lifting his head to take a long swig before returning to his slumped position.
“I remember the whole crew pitched in to get me a top of the line model, fit with different lens options and even slow motion at the flick of your eyes. It even had a high quality stabiliser built in that could be turned off. They almost didn’t make it, but Fuego pitched in the last hundred and said ‘to my rising star’, even engraved it on a panel on it himself.” he jolted, snapping up and scrambling around, finding the camera and returned, holding the piece up to show his fans, the intricate designs around the words written in both English and Spanish.
He then dropped into the chair with his camera in hand, tracing the words.
“He was there from day one... Even when he was out fighting... Everytime he came home, we livestreamed, made videos, we did everything together. He was practically my padre.” he smiled and sighed, hugging the camera as he laid back. “He would always say, ‘Octavio Silva. Siempre debes recordar esta frase. Nunca te rindas y nunca te rindas.‘ Always remember this phrase, never give up and never give in.” he closed his eyes again, living in the memories, even as they brought tears to his eyes.
“He used to tell me if I dreamed it I could do it. Pushed me beyond my limits. Even gave me my first tattoo!” he flapped his arm, a bright grin on his face. “I was so scared, but he said the words as he started, and it’s been my mantra. It’s why I never give up, no matter how helpless it is.” he sat up suddenly, looking to the camera in his lap.
“Fuego... He.... He got sick. Like real sick. The last few years, he was in the hospital. I would stream, you guys know this, with him still. He pushed for me to break the record. I knew his time was short, so... I improvised.” he laughed, something hollow this time. “I’m told he died with a proud smile on his face.” the tears were falling now, the pain lancing through him, but he shook his head firmly, wiping them away.
“My last talk, I told him of the Apex Games, of how I longed to be in them, of how it was my dream to have a banner of me! I told him there was no way I’d be able to, and he turned me to him. He told me those words again. I laughed and said ‘maybe after I break this record’. I woke with no legs, and no Fuego. I thought my life was ruined.” he slumped down, then slapped his leg with a huff, running fingers over the intricate metal.
“Ajay Che, she and I go way back. Beautiful woman, but not my type. Too.... Well, you all know I’m a trans gay guy, so... Yeah.” he smiled shyly and idly brushed the engravings. “She heard about everything, asking my Diablo Del Alma Padre what happened recently. When she found me, I was in a wheelchair craddling the helmet he wore, staring at a gravestone in the rain.” his throat threatened to close and he swallowed, taking a shaky breath.
“I still say I guilted her. I just started talking and talking, about the dreams, about my promise to Fuego that nothing would stop me, and now here I was, completely in lockdown.” he wiped his face again with a growl of frustration.
“But the second I got those legs, I was off, even if I fell over at first. I wasn’t going to give up. I had been harassing the nurses with zooming around in the wheelchair.” he laughed at the memory, remembering the laughter in their voices. “So, do I know loss? Yeah, I do. I experience it every time I go into the ring and watch my friends die. I know they are safe, some wicked tech they have in the background, allowing us a second chance... As long as we have something for them to fix.” he laughed and shrugged.
“As for coping? Reach out. You have a whole community here who will hear you out. Go out, and do something for yourself. Write, draw, paint, sing, dance, run, swim, anything, the world is your playground, so play. Hell, I know someone who was tricked into eating a whole cake in one sitting by a personality in their head. They were vomiting for hours, but they chose to live if only to ensure he never got cake again.” he laughed and shook his head.
“It’s hard. Trust me, the first few months are the worst. Then it’s the first couple anniversaries. I take a drink for Fuego on the day he moved up to better things. His favourite. Doing something like that to honour them is never bad. Take pride in your joys, and do them. I know a writer, the same one about the cake thing actually. He suffers from... A lot. Suicide is almost always on his mind, constantly itching at him, making him want to just say ‘fuck it’ and be done. But he finds a keyboard or a pen and paper, and writes instead. It’s messy and all over the place, but he is proud, because he’s survived the wave.” he shifted to look at the camera, tears clear, now done with hiding it.
“And that’s what it is, its waves. And sometimes you need everyone to hold you up over it all, and it’s terrifying to do that. Fuck, I don’t even do it. I usually drink and drown in all the things I shouldn’t do, stand on cliffs, half kicking my landing gear off before I even know what I’m doing. And it fucking sucks because all I want is a fucking hug, to be craddled close, to have my hair smoothed and to be told it’ll be alright.” he tugged at his hair before sighing, smoothing it back.
“But I’m scared to trust, because trust means people can stab you in the back, trust means investing yourself in someone, which means their life is my world. I don’t think I could survive another Fuego.” he took a shaky breath and smiled, something so worn out and tired as he pulled up a holoscreen, swiping through things.
“Believe me. It does get better. Not by much, but it becomes bearable. You find ways to live each day in honour of those we’ve lost, who can’t witness the day. dont beat yourself into the ground and ruin yourself like I have in the past. Remember, you are worth it. And if no one else is gonna say it, then listen to me right now.” he looked to the camera, eyes alight with a fire as he stood up, leaning close so they could see him in the whole monitor.
“I am proud of you. You are amazing and perfect as you are. Non terre plus ultra, and never give up, never give in. You have got this!” he fist pumped the air before sticking his tongue out and giving his signature hand sign.
Then, he dropped back into his seat.
“Go check out the song I’m about to share to the stream. It’s a big pick me up that I use. That and Ska, but that’s a little out there for this moment.” he laughed as he threw up the songs.
“It’ll play in a sec. After it, we are doing never have I ever!” he grinned and threw back a swig of the amber liquid, bouncing up to get more booze.
||Octavio Silva Has Shared A Song.... Playing now....||
||The Stream Will Return Shortly....||
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Don’t Touch Her - An Arthur Shelby Imagine
Requested: yes
Pairings: Arthur Shelby x Reader
Description: You get bored of waiting for Arthur at the garrison, so you start to walk home, not knowing who would try to stop you.
Warnings: Threats, violence, and foul language ( sums up peaky blinders doesn’t it) kinda sexual harassment ?
(Gif: @awhoreslies) (Mate where are all the Arthur gifs)
{50,57&58 Arthur Shelby please xx - Anon}
This is my first time writing for sweet ol’ Arthur, so I hope you don’t hate it too much! X 💕
You were currently sat in the garrison, not necessarily alone- but you weren’t exactly with anyone.
You started your night with every intention of spending time with Arthur, something you haven’t done much of lately, and you thought he did too. But as you downed your third drink, your eyes meeting Arthur’s across the room only for him to frown slightly and turn back to his ‘meeting’, you realised he clearly didn’t.
So you placed your empty glass back down onto the smooth wood of the bar, and waited for Arthur’s back to face you before pushing yourself off of the stool and heading to the door.
You didn’t notice John catch the movement, you didn’t notice him whisper something to his brothers, and you certainly didn’t notice the man get up from his seat and follow you out the door.
It was a lot colder than you had expected, and the hairs on your arms instantly stood on end, alerting you to the temperature.
You rubbed your hands over your skin, the friction doing little to alter your state. So you ignored the light winds and continued to walk down the street, the sounds of your heels clicking against the cobbled pathways drowning out the chattering of your teeth, and the footsteps behind you.
Despite the chill, the darkness, and the silence- you found it rather peaceful.
You had always loved going for a walk, especially at night and especially with Arthur. He would always grumble about the temperature and fuss about making sure you were warm, but eventually he would calm down; the two of you walking hand in hand through the streets of Birmingham.
Talking about anything and everything in your little moment of privacy and normality.
Your fingers curled into your palm, seeking the feel of Arthur’s skin but coming up empty.
You began to notice something, an off beat noise. Out of time and rhythm with your own footsteps were heavy thumps, someone else was out here.
The rational side of your brain was trying to tell you that it was just a man on a walk, but the other half was reminding you that you were an idiot.
So you rounded a corner, weaving through the streets in an attempt to lose your shadow.
He was still there.
“Oi Love” the voice slurred.
You turned to get a look at him, the dim lights of the streets allowing you to see his face.
You recognised him, he was in the the bar a lot but You didn’t know anything else.
“I think you should get yourself home sir” you smiled, turning away from him and going back to your walking, this time with a bit more speed.
“Or you could take me” He was following you closer, his footsteps mimicking yours.
“I’m alright thanks” you turned your nose up, your heartbeat beginning to quicken.
“Wasn’t exactly a question hun” his voice made your skin crawl, his tone was empty but threatening, a lot darker than the streets around you.
You turned to look down the street and instead were met with his looming figure.
He was behind you, cornering you, until your back was up against the cool stone of a wall.
“Well I don’t like being told what to do” you scowled, the darkness hiding your expression anyway, head pressing harder against the wall to get as far away from him as you could.
“You’ve got some fucking nerve” he stumbled forward, his hand finding your neck and his fingers squeezing the skin.
You sucked in a breath, as he continuously made that action harder.
You should probably be a bit more terrified than you were. But this man was drunk, and you had been taught enough self defence from the Shelby’s to take a drunk slob.
Besides, once the peaky blinders caught wind of how he had laid his hands on you- he would definitely be taken care of.
However, just before you could shift you leg to kick him. He moved closer, pining the majority of your body the the wall.
Well fuck.
Now you were getting terrified.
“Get off” You hissed, wincing at the weight on top of you.
Just as his hand began to wander another voice spoke through the darkness, a voice you would recognise anywhere.
“I’d fuckin listen to ‘er”
It was Arthur.
You turned your head as much as you could, making out the three blurry figures of the Shelby brothers.
They must have followed you, any other time you’d feel as though your privacy had been invaded, but right now you couldn’t find it in you to care.
“Fuck off” the man in front of you growled at Arthur, loosening his grip on you just enough for you to kick your leg at him and wriggle yourself free.
You ran towards the Shelby’s, Arthur quickly grabbing you; placing his hands on your cheeks to check that you were okay.
His hands shook slightly as he brought your face closer to his, pressing his lips against your forehead.
“You alright?” He asked you, running a hand over your shoulder.
You nodded, smiling lightly.
He nodded, features twitching with relief before settling back to anger.
“Go with John Yeah-“
“Arthur” you interrupted, frowning.
But he wasn’t looking at you, his eyes trained on the man Tommy had pinned to the wall.
“Just go Y/n, please”
It wasn’t often Arthur begged, so you gave John your arm, flashing him a small smile and letting him lead you away from the scene.
The pair of you wincing at Arthur’s yelling of “No one touches my girl “ followed by the rather distinct sound of a fist hitting skin.
You frowned, you and Arthur had been together for quite a while, and while you had come to terms with the violence, you weren’t always enthusiastic about it.
John met your eyes, his expression one of pure awkwardness as he moved to cast his gaze to the floor.
“You might wanna hum or somin’” he spoke around the chews of his toothpick, attempting a smile.
“Think I’d eventually run out of songs”
The pair of you laughed, now having walked far enough that only the man’s cries were audible.
“John?”
“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow
“Is he gonna kill him?” You asked
“.. probably not, just make him wish he was dead won’t he”
Before you could even think it over, Arthur was approaching you.
Wiping his bloodied hands on his coat and slipping his cap back on his head.
“Darlin’“ He greeted you, standing beside you and wrapping an arm around your waist.
“How did you know?” You asked the brothers eventually, Arthur in particular as you melted into his grip- tilting your head up to look him. He met your gaze, his lips twitching and hands tightening around your waist.
“John saw yer, and then saw him. So we followed the both of yer’s.”
You nodded, tilting to try and see down the dark street.
“Is he dead?”
“No,” he didn’t seem happy about it “But Don’t worry love, he won’t touch you anymore….the fucker has no hands”
He grinned, flinching away from your light slap to his chest, his arms going around you as you turned in his grip until you were standing with your chests pressed together.
“Kidding Love, he just won’t be able to use ‘em for a while“
You laughed, leaning up to press your lips to his.
“Don’t be mad, any fucker that has the nerve to lay his hands on you, deserves to loose them”
Arthur Shelby, forever the romantic.
“I’m not mad,” you smiled kissing him again and pulling away much too soon for Arthur’s liking “You’re kinda cute when you’re angry“
“Must be cute all the fuckin’ time then” John mumbled, from where he and a Tommy were awkwardly stood to the side of you.
“Fuck off John”
Arthur grinned at his brother, before pressing his smile to yours.
#Peaky blinders#peaky blinders imagine#peaky blinders imagines#Arthur Shelby#Arthur Shelby imagine#arthur shelby x reader#tommy shelby#john shelby#Michael gray#Finn Shelby#Polly gray#blinderblood
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Save Me. (Yoongi x Reader) PART 8.
“It swallowed me, this lunatic. Please save me tonight. Within this childish madness, you will save me tonight.” - [“Save Me” - BTS]
Summary: It was an unprecedented love that bloomed within the halls of your high school, until secret words were overheard, and shattered the budding romance. It changed your life forever, leading you down a path you had never thought you would be on– training to become a secret agent. You chose it to escape Yoongi and the results of how things ended between you two, but as fate would have it, that very same choice ended up leading you right back to him. Will you be able to save your clients and solve mysteries together despite your history? Will you be able to save each other? Will you able to save yourself…from yourself?
Yoongi x Reader (ft. Jin & all the other BTS members)
Secret Agent AU
Mystery, Action, Angst, & Fluff (contains some violence, mentions of murder, death, harassment, and bullying)
PARTS: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 (Finale) | Bonus: The Letter
A/N: I must confess that this story is coming to an end soon (1-2 parts), so I am both excited and nervous about sharing the rest of it with everyone :) I apologize for releasing this when BigHit released the comeback trailer too -- I promise we’re not in cahoots :3 haha all kidding aside, I hope you all enjoy this update! :DD
"Y/N." Yoongi called out as he pulled your covers.
But you didn't budge from your blanket fort.
"Y/N. Let me see you."
"No." You sniffled.
"Y/N." he softened as he sat beside your form. "It's not your fault."
"I should've kept an eye on her. I should've..." You wept.
"We thought she was one of the culprits, Y/N. We didn't know she would be a target." Yoongi finally pried the blankets off of you.
While he had changed out of his dress and wig, you remained in your dress. He slipped beside you gently.
"A lot of things happened, and it was beyond our control. We didn't know they had students as accomplices."
"I should've known." You lifted your head up, and Yoongi threw a tissue at you.
"How would you have known?"
"The previous victim was a baseball player." You wiped your face messily. "And those students that attacked us and broke the window did so with his baseball bat. I should've put two and two together then."
Yoongi took the tissue from you and started wiping your face with much more finesse than you did. "And even if we knew that beforehand, how would we have known that Braids would be a victim?"
"I don't know." You exhaled as you sat up to face him fully. "Maybe come up with a different plan?"
"You're a mess." he smiled gently as he wiped the tear stains off your cheeks with his fingers.
"Shut up." You pouted.
"Who would think you were a secret agent, hm?"
"She was the first person who was nice to me here." You frowned. "Even before I was 'cool'."
"And what about me?"
You looked down, "Yoongi. I was never cool back then."
His lips curled up, "You were to me."
You glanced up at him, "No I wasn't."
Yoongi studied your face lovingly. "Please don't beat yourself up over this, alright?"
You looked down at your hands guiltily. Yoongi tilted your chin up, forcing you to look at him straightly. "Hm?"
"I have to solve this, Yoongi." You confessed.
He nodded. "I know."
"Will you help me?" You whispered.
He grinned, "What're partners for?"
"Will you trust me?"
Yoongi gazed at you worriedly. You grabbed his hand on your face and squeezed it.
"Will you?"
He nodded. "I will."
"I trust you." You admitted. "That's why I can be so fearless in trying to solve this case."
Yoongi chuckled, "Yet why am I the one getting fearful because you're so fearless?"
"Cause you don't trust me." You giggled.
He shook his head. "No. I just don't trust myself as much as you trust me."
You smiled and cupped his cheek. "But I know you'll save me."
"Y/N." Yoongi sighed. "Please don't put yourself in a situation that needs saving."
"Would you believe me if I told you that I have a feeling that I'm too deep into this already that I'm going to be involved eventually?" You looked at him sadly.
"Yes." he chuckled as he fixed your hair. "Cause I've had the same feeling for a long time."
"Yoongi. I really think I can solve this. I need you to let me." You urged.
He stared at you. "I don't know if I have a choice in this."
"You don't." You grinned. "But I wanted you to know ahead of time."
"Well I guess...I'll just have to keep a close eye on you as usual. Since you're such a troublemaker."
You exhaled, satisfied with his answer, and then changed the subject. "Would you judge me if I slept in this dress?"
Yoongi snorted, "I mean...you should probably remove the weapons first."
"Nah." You pulled a blow dart from your chest playfully. "You never know what'll happen."
"Don't ever do that in front of any other guy." He scolded. "Unless they're enemies. Then you can, and shoot 'em before they can oggle at you."
You cracked up. "You are crazy."
"Says the one sleeping in a formal dress." he rolled his eyes.
You shoved him. "If you're judging, get off."
Yoongi raised an eyebrow, "So if I don't judge, you'll let me stay here? I didn't know you were so easy."
"You want me to stun you?" You threatened.
"I'm just as skilled as you, Ms. #1." he smirked.
You were about to retort when suddenly, there was a knock at your dorm door. You two stilled.
You pressed your earpiece. "Jimin."
"Hm?"
"Someone's in front of our dorm..."
"It's Jin." he replied shortly.
You and Yoongi glanced at each other, surprised.
"Get under the blankets." You told Yoongi. "He can't see you...well, as you."
"But --"
You glared at him and he sighed, following your instructions obediently. Hurriedly, you marched to your door, and opened it slightly.
"Jin?"
"I'm sorry. I know it's so late." Jin frowned. "I just feel like this might be the safest place right now."
"Safest place?"
"Can I...come in?"
"Um sure." You stepped back hesitantly.
"I'm sorry. I'm just...a little...shaken? I guess?"
You glanced down to see Jin's hands were shaking despite him trying to be still.
"Would you like some tea?" You offered.
"Please." he smiled weakly. "I know it's inappropriate to come into a student's dorm...but after I saw your skills earlier, I feel safest with you at the moment."
You chuckled. "Doesn't it make you feel bad that you're using a girl to protect yourself?"
"Why would that make me feel bad?" he argued. "You have talents to protect someone and I like being protected! What's wrong with that?"
You giggled.
"Are you okay though?" Jin glanced over. "I know you and Braids were fairly close...."
You handed him tea, "I'd be lying if I said I was okay."
"Then I'll be straight with you Y/N." Jin sipped his tea then winced.
You fought back your laughter. "It's still hot, Jin."
"I forgot." he coughed.
You handed him a paper towel. "So you were being straight with me?"
He wiped his mouth. "Things are going to be hard from now on for you. Since Braids was particularly close to you."
"But why?"
"People begin to look for a scapegoat in times of helplessness. They begin to lose their reason, and they latch onto the thing that doesn't fit in." Jin explained. "And in this matter, it's you."
"Me? Why?"
"You're popular, but don't act like it. Nor are you part of 'the group'. You're clearly erm...desired by the Student Council President, and that makes you an object of envy on top of everything."
"But why would that make me the target?"
"Because they want you to have a fatal flaw, and they want these killings to stop. And they will want nothing more than to have these two coincidentally related. It's the easiest. They will begin morphing their mentalities so that everything you do appears guilty and suspicious."
"So the bullying will start again?"
"Most probably." Jin exhaled. "I overheard a lot as I was ushering students back. I felt unsettled so I decided to come here to warn you...plus talking to you always seems to put me at ease."
You studied Jin curiously, lounging around in his sweats, sipping tea in your kitchen.
"Do you normally visit students' dorms?" You questioned.
He chuckled. "No, you'd be the first."
"Because it was urgent?"
"Yeah. And cause I wanted to check up on you. I didn't want you drowning in worries and doubts over the events that happened." he stated. "There are a lot of things that are out of our control in this world...as much as we try to maintain tight reins."
You looked at him surprised. How did he still have you down to a tee?
"And where is Yoonji? For some reason, I expected her to be the one opening the door and yelling at me that this was an invasion of privacy." Jin laughed.
"So you are aware that this is odd behavior for a teacher." Yoongi stepped out, his wig back on, looking peeved.
"There she is." Jin grinned.
"You don't have to worry about Y/N. I'll take care of her as usual."
Jin snorted.
Yoongi glared, "Something funny?"
"Yoonji." You scolded.
Jin shook his head. "Sorry. I was just wondering how all this happened when you were taking care of her."
"It's my fault." You stepped between them. "I attract misfortune is all."
Jin's and Yoongi's eyes never left each other.
"So it seems." Jin's lips curled up, backing off first. "Just be careful, Y/N. I'll try my best to contain the bullying inside the classroom, but out of the classroom, will be difficult for me."
"I really appreciate your visit, Jin." You smiled. "Are you alright too? I'm sure this all has been shocking to come back to after vacation."
"To be honest, there's always an unsettling feeling in my stomach nowadays." he studied you intently. "And I'm always worried."
"Well, you should stop giving us tests so you could be at ease." Yoongi sassed.
"Thank you, Jin. I'll try to heed your warning." You cut in.
"Well, I shall take my leave now." Jin grinned as he finished his tea. "Thanks for the drink!"
"Anytime." You waved.
"No, not any time." Yoongi intervened.
Jin laughed, "Don't worry. I won't make too many unexpected visits."
"Don't make any..." Yoongi mumbled and you nudged him.
"Only expected visits then? Wow." Jin teased. "I didn't know you liked me so much."
"Please leave." Yoongi bluntly stated, but Jin hardly seemed fazed.
"Oh and you look lovely in that dress by the way." Jin patted your head gently, before making his exit. You blushed at his sincere compliment.
Yoongi turned to you, his arms crossed.
"I can't believe you just let him in here."
"And what was I supposed to do, hm?" You chuckled. "It was nice of him to come warn me."
"But how did he know?"
"You heard that he heard the students talking." You shrugged.
"Still suspicious." Yoongi shook his head.
"You'll have your suspicions and I'll have mine."
"You don't seem to have any at the moment." Yoongi rolled his eyes.
"Because I need facts, Yoongi. Having a set suspect will make me force all evidence to fit that mold to incriminate that person I want it to be. And I don't want that."
Yoongi fell silent, and you nudged him.
"Let's go. We need to keep our wits about us from now on. We can't be exhausted."
He snorted, "Well, I'm always exhausted, but I still always have my wits about me."
"Then don't sleep." You hissed as you shut the bedroom door on his face.
He grinned as he followed after you.
"Oh. Y/N, the Counselor asked you to see him in his office before homeroom starts." Jin smiled as you entered the classroom a few days later.
"Oh? But we just saw him stepping out of the campus?" You hummed.
"What? He just came here and told me to let you know." Jin raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he needed to get something out of his car."
You glanced at Yoongi, who gestured for you to go anyway.
"I'll be back then, Mr. Kim." You bowed.
Jin waved happily.
On your way, you were so absorbed in your thoughts that you accidentally bumped into someone and caused them to stumble back.
"I'm sorry!" You gushed.
"I-i-it's okay."
You fought back a gasp as you took in the sight of the Science Teacher in front of you. His condition was obviously not good; his skin was pale, his eyes sunken in, and although he had always been lean, he was now frail and brittle.
"Science Teacher..." You called worriedly.
"Ah Y/N. Hello." he gave you a worn-out smile.
"Are you um...alright?"
"Uh yeah. It seems like I caught something." he coughed. "Not to worry."
"You should probably see Nurse Park...would you like me to take you?" You offered.
"Hm...that sounds like a good idea. Would you mind?" Science Teacher nodded.
You hurried to wrap an arm around his waist, worried that he would blow over if he took a step on his own.
"Your skin is cold, Science Teacher." Your heart thumped in your chest.
"Well, yes." he sighed. "I am terribly under the weather."
"Nurse Park!" You called out, knowing either Jungkook or Hoseok would contact him.
"Y/N." The Counselor appeared. "There you are!"
"Um hi." You couldn't turn around to face him without whipping the Science Teacher around. "I'll be back Counselor. Let me just take him to Nurse Park. He really doesn't look well."
"I'm afraid I have a limited time here today. I have a seminar to attend to."
"It's alright. I can go on my--" Science Teacher began.
"Oh? What's going on here?" Librarian showed up. "Oh hey! I was just looking for --"
"Ah, perfect. Librarian, would you mind taking Science Teacher to the Nurses' Office?"
"Oh dear. Of course." she hurriedly held onto him.
"Come, Y/N." Counselor called.
"Y/N." Librarian smiled.
"Yes?"
"I'll see you later?"
You nodded, flashing her a grin. "Yes, of course."
She nodded and began slowly making her way down the hall with Science Teacher. You looked back worriedly before turning your attention to the Counselor.
"Are you okay?" You wondered as you looked at his furrowed brow and tense demeanor.
"Yeah." he smiled. "Just...so much happened recently, and you know, my head..."
You glanced up to see his bandaged wound. "Does it still hurt?"
"A little headache here and there, but manageable." he chuckled. "I'm more concerned about you. I wanted to see you before the day started."
"Why is that?" You mumbled.
"Well, Braids, I've noticed, was one of your only friends. She recently spoke to me about a dilemma...have you heard of it?"
You shook your head.
"She asked me whether she should follow her heart or head when it comes to making really tough decisions." Counselor gestured for you to take a seat, once you two entered his office. "Which would you have advised her?"
"I would do nothing until they both agreed with each other." You answered. "If you go with simply logic, your heart will lose a piece of itself. But if you go with your heart, you could be hurting yourself."
"And if you were being forced to make a quick decision?"
You stared at him curiously. "Was someone forcing her to do something?"
Counselor sighed. "It just sounded to me, from the way she was trying to get a straight answer from me hurriedly, that she had a deadline for this decision. But I told her I'm here to offer counsel, not make decisions for her."
"Do you know what she was debating on doing?"
"Sadly no." he shook his head. "I was hoping you would have. I thought she might've confided in you."
"She didn't." You frowned. "We hadn't been talking too much lately."
"Oh how unfortunate. And how about the Student Council President?"
"What about him?" You blinked.
"Well he was another victim...and someone else you were particularly close to. Did he speak with you about anything beforehand or afterwards?"
"No, nothing in particular." You lied.
"Will you be visiting him in the hospital?"
"If I can spare time." You answered hesitantly, finding the whole interrogation a little odd. "Sorry, did you need to ask me anything about myself? Or will you be asking me about the victims? Because if it's latter, I can assure you I didn't have any peculiar conversations with any of them."
"I'm sorry." The Counselor smiled sadly. "I just really want to get to the bottom of this. There are just no leads. Don't you think?"
"Of course everyone wants the killings to stop." You hummed. "But this is the work for adults...not for kids."
"Very true. It's our duty to protect the wonderful students of this school as adults." He nodded. "Well, enough of that, I mainly just wanted to let you know that my doors are always open for you. Don't be shy about talking to me about anything."
"Of course. Thank you." You bowed.
"Oh and Y/N." Counselor glanced up at you. "I hear you're particularly skilled at martial arts."
"Oh um...well I studied when I was younger." You smiled weakly. "I'm not that skilled."
He chuckled. "I hope you stay as wonderful as you are."
You bowed your head once again gratefully and stepped out of the office. With continued confusion, you hurried to your homeroom. All eyes immediately latched onto you with malicious intent and judgment as you entered, and you knew for sure now, that Jin was right.
You were once again the victim.
"Have the bodies all been kept in the Science Teacher's room?"
"Why haven't they arrested him for being an aid to murder?"
"I can't even look at him the same now."
"He gives me the creeps."
"Look at him acting sick to get our sympathy. He thinks that'll distract us from the truth."
You scribbled in your notebook intently as the Science Teacher did his best to continue teaching despite the audible gossip taunting him. Your patience was thinning with the extraneous noise of those who knew nothing. But right when you were about to say something, Yoongi slammed his hand down onto his desk, causing everyone to flinch.
"If ya'll got something to say, stop being pussies and say it to his face!" he growled. "I can't concentrate with snakes hissing around me."
You fought back a giggle at his comment, but it worked, because the rest of the class was held in silence.
"Thank you Y/N for earlier. And thank you too, Yoonji." Science Teacher smiled weakly as the class cleared out quickly, and you two were left with him.
"Did you find Nurse Park alright?" You asked.
"Yes. He took a few samples of my blood to examine. He also gave me special medication, so I feel a little better."
You nodded, "I'm glad. Please stay well."
"Well you shouldn't hang around me too much or you'll get caught up in bad rumors." he flustered and ushered you two out.
"Too late." You mumbled under your breath as you stepped into the hallway.
Yoongi smiled and placed a hand on your shoulder reassuringly.
"As much as I like your support, no you still can't come with me to the hospital." You chuckled.
Yoongi groaned. "WHY?"
"Stop being needy." You stuck your tongue out. "You said you'd trust me."
"I do. I don't trust him."
You rolled your eyes. "Bye Yoonji."
"Oh good! You're here." Librarian beamed as you found Prez's hospital room. "He's been excited to see you!"
You blushed and stepped in. "Is he sleeping?"
"Not at all. He's doing something or other with his computer. Go in." Librarian waved. "Thank you for agreeing to come."
"No problem. I was going to ask you if you hadn't asked me first." You smiled.
She urged you in happily.
"Knock, knock." You called out.
"Y/N!" Prez was beaming as you moved closer to his bedside. He put away his iPad, and pulled up his blankets to cover up his thin night gown.
"You look good for someone who got stabbed and lost a lot of blood." You laughed. "Here, I got you a fruit basket. It was the number 1 suggestion for a get well gift."
"Why, thank you." he chuckled.
"Anddd..." You pulled his book out of your bag. "I kept this safe for you, as promised."
He grabbed the book and stroked the pages fondly.
"It's precious to you, isn't it? Because of her?" You smiled warmly.
His lips curled up. "Yeah. Did you see what was written in it?"
You nodded.
"That was the last thing she wrote I think."
"But...it was a bunch of numbers? And the sentence, 'Think simply, but look deeply'?"
"Have a seat." Prez gestured.
You settled down comfortably in the chair beside him.
"Y/N." he sighed, and stared at you wearily. "My VP seemed to know who the culprit was. This was the book she was supposedly going back to get the night that she died...but she had put it into my backpack earlier that same day. And she's not one to forget things easily."
"So..." You put the pieces together. "You think she knew she was going to be killed?"
He nodded. "It eats me up every day knowing that she knew, but didn't confide in me or in anyone. She dealt with it herself."
"But why didn't she just stay in her room??" You furrowed your brows.
"I wish I knew." he smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, we might never know. Did you make a copy of the numbers by the way? Two heads are better than one."
"Yeah...I thought it was page numbers but nothing..."
"Me too." he sighed.
After a few seconds of silence, you spoke. "How did you know Librarian was going to be a target?"
"I didn't." he smiled. "I'm just always constantly protecting her is all."
"Why?"
"I wonder." he chuckled as he glanced out the window.
You looked at him curiously, sensing that he wanted to end the topic there. Of course there are things both of you would rather keep to yourself, so you remained silent.
"Aren't you nervous I'm the killer?" he looked back at you.
"Aren't you nervous I am?" You retorted. "Why do you trust me with your findings?"
He laughed, "Because I know you, Y/N."
"What?"
"I know you're trustworthy. And you've proved it countless of times already." he wagged his finger. "You can't force me to run away from you now."
"Don't you ever wish VP just gave you a direct clue?" You mumbled.
"All the time." he stretched. "But I think that she was protecting me."
You looked at him sadly.
"That's how she was. Always a few steps ahead of me, but still always supporting me from behind."
"Did you love her?" You grinned.
He stared at you for a bit. "We never thought about things like that I guess."
"How mature."
"We were never in a position for romance." he shrugged. "But I guess I did. She was my best friend."
"I know what you mean." You empathized, but decided now to pry any further at a clearly sensitive topic. "So when will you be returning to school?"
"Why? You miss me already?" he teased.
You rolled your eyes. "Please."
"They said maybe another week if I'm good. I'll be back to play with you soon enough."
You nodded. "I'll look forward to it."
"Y/N. Please stay safe." he gazed at you intently. "And please...protect the Librarian too."
"I can only promise the Librarian will be safe." You smiled wryly.
He exhaled. "Fair enough."
"I'll see you soon, Prez."
"See you soon, Y/N."
And so you returned to the drawing board.
It was when you were at another dead end in your research a few days later that help came in the most unexpected form.
Your phone rang and Hoseok's sister's face appeared on your screen.
"Hello?" You picked up curiously.
"Y/N, hi!"
"How are you?" You smiled.
"I'm busy-busy as always. I'm so sorry that I haven't reached out to you after the dress incident. But now that I have time to breathe, I finally looked into it." she started. "We went through our cameras, and found the culprit who ripped up your dress."
"Who was it?" You asked. You had honestly forgotten about it entirely, what with everything that had happened afterwards.
"That girl with the braids."
Your mind blanked out.
"The one who was acting like you were best friends or something. When no one was looking, she took your dress to the back and ripped it up then put it back in the suit bag. I fired those girls for their carelessness. Half of my store could've been stolen with that kind of half-assed vigilance. Hello? Y/N? You still there?" Dawon rambled.
You coughed, "Uh yes. Wow...I didn't expect that."
"Yeah, well. Just wanted to let you know. We're not going to press charges 'cause it was your dress at that point, not the store's. But if you want to, you can."
"I uh--" You couldn't tell her that there was no point of pressing charges because Braids was dead, so you commented. "Yeah, I'll think about it. Thanks for working so hard to find the culprit."
"No problem."
"Dawon." You called out.
"Hm?"
"Was there anyone else suspicious in the store at that same time? Or even outside? Or was there some sort of computer bug?"
"Not that I know of ...but I'll check. Why?"
"Is it possible that someone else witnessed what she did?"
"Hmm...not unless they had another camera on the girl or planted another one in the dressing room? I mean I guess it's possible to secretly hack the camera system. But they would have to know that she was going to do that at that exact time, wouldn't they? I'll ask my workers if they remember anyone suspicious. We'll also check the footage again."
"Thanks."
"No problem. I'm not sure what exactly is happening, Y/N. But please be careful." Dawon sighed.
"You're an angel. Thank you for everything." You grinned.
"I know." she giggled. "I'll be in touch."
"Bye."
You held your phone tightly and stared at your notes. Thanks to Hoseok's sister, you had just found a different angle to look at, and things were starting to clip together.
You activated your silencer and then pressed your earpiece, "Guys. Can we find footage of the victims a few days before their disappearances?"
"Wow...that's a lot of footage to go through...what exactly are we looking for?" Tae questioned.
Your gears were turning. "Any sort of evil act...if you can...maybe...look at what they were doing in the spot their bodies were found in?"
"What?"
"Like..." You looked through your notes. "I'm going off a limb here...what if the spots they were placed in...weren't random at all? What if they were --"
"-- the spots they committed a sin in." Namjoon finished. "Y/N, that's brilliant!"
You smiled shyly. "It's just a conjecture."
"It makes sense. It may seem random, but only because they were so intricately planned. No two places have been used yet." Namjoon gushed. "It also explains why they had to preserve the bodies and wait for the right time to be able to get the bodies to that specific location to be seen. How did you figure it out?"
"Dawon just called me, and told me Braids was the one that tore up my dress. The Counselor the other day also told me she had come to him with a dilemma that was eating her up."
"Do you think she was torn between being your friend and being part of the popular group she hung out with?" Jimin questioned.
"We heard them badmouthing you the other day." Tae claimed.
"It...probably has something to do with that..." You mumbled.
"Where are you, Y/N?" Yoongi's voice came through.
"Library. Why?"
"I'll come pick you up. People are getting antsy during break, and it doesn't feel right. The atmosphere."
"Are they still thinking it's me?" You sighed.
"They think it's related to you, so if they get rid of you...then..." Yoongi trailed.
"Let's meet halfway. They might follow you to where I am. I don't want you to get involved."
"We'll take care of the footage on our end. You take care of narrowing suspects in the meanwhile. Any luck with the clues left behind by the VP?" Namjoon asked.
"None. The numbers are throwing me off." You exhaled.
"It'll come to you." Jimin encouraged. "You're the only one with the same print edition of the book, so it might not work with the ones we have."
"I'll keep at it. Thanks everyone. Yoongi, I'll come to you."
"I'll be waiting. Don't make me come get you."
You glanced around to make sure the coast was clear before tiptoeing out of the library. But as soon as you turned the corner, you were met with a crowd of students.
"See? Told you she would come this way." One of the girls in your class smirked. "She's always trying to seduce Prez by visiting him in the library."
"Except you know...he's not even there right now." You snorted.
"Shut up bitch. We all know you're behind the killings!"
"How could it be me if I transferred in the middle of all this mess?"
You raised your head up confidently this time as you were surrounded by fellow students, a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar faces. You weren't going to cower anymore. Because you knew that being "popular" didn't mean true acceptance like you had always imagined. Being embraced for who you truly were was something much better than a title. And you knew that well now.
"Look at her trying to act tough. Let's see how she likes it when she's the one getting beaten up like she did to the victims!"
Someone pulled your hair, but before you could twist their arm, their grip was pulled off.
"That is enough. All of you. To class. Now." Jin's stern voice shocked everyone, and they guiltily dispersed into their classroom.
He glanced down at you exasperatedly. "I can't do this anymore."
You looked at him curiously, but instead of answering, he grabbed your wrist tightly and led you to a secluded hallway.
"Mr. Kim..." You called as he looked around carefully before stepping in closer proximity to you.
"I know it's you...Y/N."
You glanced around trying to play it cool. "Um yes, Mr. Kim. It's me, Y/N. Why --"
"No." Jin sighed. "It's been years, yes. But I would be stupid not to recognize you. Y/N. Both you and Yoonji."
You fell silent, your heart beating wildly. So he knew...
"This whole time?" You whispered, astounded.
"Yes." he stated with a sad smile. "This whole time."
"Then why?" You glanced at him, confused. Why had he kept up with this facade then?
"There is a reason why you're here that I'm not supposed to ask about, isn't there?" he furrowed his brow. "To be honest though, more surprising than seeing you here was seeing you here with him."
You averted your eyes knowingly. "But that doesn't tell me why you hid it?"
"It's not my place to. And you're my friend." Jin smiled. "Friends don't sell each other out."
"And why are you coming clean now?" Your eyes traveled to his face, so close to yours to ensure no one else would overhear.
"Because I can't stand watching from the sidelines anymore." he gritted his teeth. "I can't take watching you from afar and not being able to do anything again."
"And how does you acknowledging me change that?"
"Because now I can protect you openly and you won't confuse my intentions." He shifted closer.
You felt your back hit the wall as you tried to step back, only to find that you were cornered. You inhaled sharply, hyperaware of how your bodies were almost touching. "Wh-what are your intentions? Why are you always protecting me?"
"Was it never obvious? Or were you just not looking at me long enough to notice?" he whispered.
"What?"
"Please. Y/N. If there is a way for you to transfer out, to leave this place, can you do it? There's no telling how far they'll go to hurt you." he pleaded.
"You're asking me to leave everything behind again?" You spoke softly. "Even after years have passed, you want me to run away and let them dictate my life again?"
"Y/N..."
"No, Jin. Not anymore." Your eyes started watering. "Do you know how much it hurt to sit in fear every day? To see my parents get the brutal retaliation when they tried to protect me? To see people I have never talked to in my life, trash my house and call me names when they didn't even know me? Do you know how hard it was to live in constant fear that every single person I met would be just the same?"
Jin frowned.
"But you know what hurt the most?"
"What..." Jin breathed, already knowing the answer.
You glanced up at him as tears began falling. "I didn't have anyone to turn to. You left me too, Jin. It was so lonely."
"Y/N. I'm so sorry. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't regret how I handled our friendship." He shakily reached out to wipe your tears. "I'm so sorry that I left you alone."
"Y/N?"
You and Jin stilled at the sound of the all-too familiar voice.
Yoonji stepped into the hallway looking intensely serious. Hurriedly, you wiped away your tears and gazed at Jin.
"Don't tell Yoongi you know." You stated. "He already doesn't have a good feeling about you."
"Well the feeling is mutual." Jin stuffed his hands in his pocket.
You were surprised. You had never heard Jin admitting that he disliked someone. Before you could ask, Yoongi grabbed onto your wrist.
"Mr. Kim. People would get highly suspicious of you taking a female student to a secluded hallway." Yoongi warned.
"Thank you for your concern, Ms. Yoonji." Jin smirked. "I'll leave her in your care...for now."
Yoongi blinked as Jin walked past him nonchalantly.
"What happened?" he turned to you.
"Just bullying stuff." You chuckled.
"And you're crying because of that?" Yoongi questioned.
"No, of course not." You smiled. "I just...I had something in my eye."
Yoongi snorted and shook his head. "They didn't touch you though right?"
"Jin stopped them before they could. My hair got pulled a little and I was about to rip their arm off so he actually saved them per se." You grinned.
Yoongi ruffled your hair. "Don't push yourself, okay? If it gets hard, tell me."
You nodded.
"I swear. I get a heart attack every time you take too long to meet me." he grumbled. "Let's go."
You smiled as you let him lead you back to the classroom.
As promised, the Student Council President returned after a week and a half. His status was pushed further to the title of "hero" for his action of sacrificing himself to protect someone else.
You chuckled from afar as he was mobbed upon his entrance. He glanced up at you and warmly smiled in your direction, mouthing "Hi". Simply, you nodded in acknowledgement before making your way to your classroom.
But before you could make it to your room, once again, a bloodcurdling shriek resounded throughout the hallway. Instinctively, your feet raced to the origin of the sound with other students and teachers beside you.
"What happened?" the Principal was the first to arrive.
"I-I have morning duty and I saw that he was in...but when I went to say my greetings, he didn't say anything so I shook him but then, but then..." the student cried.
The Principal swallowed as he approached the ever still body of the Science Teacher. You covered your mouth in shock. Why? Didn't the killer need him to frame?
"I'll do it, Principal." Jimin stepped out of the crowd and felt for a pulse with a frown.
Glancing at the Principal, he shook his head.
"He's gone."
"But what happened...?" Principal exhaled as he looked around the room. "There's no quote, no blood."
Jimin glanced around and found an open medicine container with no pills left. "Do you think...?"
Everyone murmured at the possibility.
"Was it overdose?" Principal questioned.
"He was taking those questionable sleeping pills." Jin walked to the front lines. "Who knows what could have been in them?"
Everyone fell silent, mulling over the questionable death. It wasn't flashy, and there was no "X". It seemed different, yet no one could be sure.
Slicing through the stillness, the English Teacher suddenly ran into the room, yelling. "Principal! This is horrible! This is absolutely horrible!"
"What is it?" the Principal asked.
The English Teacher was pale as she held up her phone, showing the morning news.
"They found the Gym Teacher's body in the middle of the road...it looked like he was run over multiple times...his body is barely recognizable. And the reporters confirmed there was an 'X' found slashed around his inner thighs."
"Oh dear." Secretary breathed.
The English Teacher screamed as she realized the presence of the Science Teacher's body, and everyone tried to calm her down from her hysterics. In the midst of the chaos, you felt someone slip beside you.
"What was the quote with Braids body?" Prez whispered to you.
“Be sure thy sin will find thee out.” You replied, expecting his question already.
"Y/N." Namjoon spoke into your earpiece.
You coughed to clarify that you were listening.
"The Gym Teacher...his body was in the same exact place where his wife was run over."
You felt a shiver crawl up your entire body, and you flinched when you felt Yoongi's hand slide accidentally against yours.
"And the quote on his body is...' But it does come! The blessed relief when you know that you’ve done with it all—that you haven’t got to carry the burden any longer ...' and one more..."
"One more?" You whispered.
"Another note was found on his person saying 'Ten Little Indians'."
You swallowed thickly, knowing that that confirmed your suspicions that there was indeed going to be 10 victims from this school. Were there two notes because there were two deaths? And the fact that there were still notes on the body like the previous murders meant that the Gym Teacher's death was made public purposely and strategically, so did that mean there was a larger plan than calculated killing sprees? They pulled off two deaths in one day, most probably at the same time to ensure that no one would be able to catch them in the act. But you were still at a loss with how...
You glanced at the pills at the table and recalled the Science Teacher's gaunt physique just days prior. It dawned on you. Months ago, you had first encountered the power of the "sleeping pills" that someone had given Science Teacher. But what if they weren't just sleeping pills? And what if they were made to be so powerful that someone would be able to drag in dead bodies to store in his freezers without him flinching an inch for hours?
If your theory was correct that the places where their bodies were found were the exact locations where they committed their sins, the fact that the Gym Teacher was found in the same place his wife died meant...
"Did they ever catch the person who had hit the Gym Teacher's late wife?" You softly asked Prez as you pressed your earpiece twice to let the others listen in.
He looked at you curiously. "No...supposedly it was a hit-and-run, and no cameras, no black boxes from nearby cars had picked up the accident. They didn't have any leads, and no one else but the victim was in the car."
You frowned.
"What're you thinking?"
"I'm not sure yet." You sighed. "But I feel like I'm possibly onto something."
"We'll get on researching that death." Tae stated through the earpiece.
You glanced at Yoongi then at the Prez. "Keep an eye on who you're protecting."
Prez nodded knowingly and glanced at you intently, "Although there are two of them now."
You smiled shyly.
"Mr. Kim, Mr. Park...would you mind staying with the Science Teacher until the officers come?" Principal coughed. "It seems I'm going to have to start gathering our media and social media connections."
Jimin and Jin looked at each other and nodded.
"Prez, would you mind taking my homeroom to their class and keeping an eye on them?" Jin questioned. "Sorry to ask this of you when you just returned."
"No problem." Prez ruffled your hair. "I don't mind keep a close eye on these troublemakers. Ms. Librarian has to come with me though, because we need adult supervision."
"Where is she?" Jin questioned.
"Back of the crowd." Prez gestured, and you saw her jumping up and down, trying to see what was happening.
"The Science Teacher's homeroom, join my class." Jin instructed. "Wait patiently in the classrooms until further instructions."
Your lips curled up, admiring the way Jin was taking charge more than the others. And of course, the students all valued and respected him, so without complaints, they moseyed back to their classrooms.
So you spent the time quietly, with your eyes closed in deep thought. You mulled over the facts while they were still fresh and your theories while they were beginning to piece together.
If the locations the bodies are being placed are connected to sins that they've done, that meant the Gym Teacher had something to do with his wife's death. But why was Braids found in the freezer? Had the killers not expected the interference that your team pulled through that night? Had they wanted to attack the Counselor and the Librarian as decoys so they could successfully place the body in the freezer? But when that fell through, they wanted her to be found? Did your team somehow alter the plan? But you did notice that the way her body was mangled and her clothes tattered, resembled the very state your dress had been at the shop. If you hadn't interfered, would her body have been placed in the Meijiwoo store?
The first victim, Queen Bee, was found trampled/stomped in the hallway, which is highly likely where she would show off her power and authority to bully others. The second VP, who supposedly knew she was going to die, was found in the gym locker room. What had she seen or heard there? What did she do?
You scratched your head frustrated. There were still too many holes in your knowledge to make a legitimate connection.
The male student who was sexually harassing people was found in the dumpster, which is where he usually did the deed. The Science Teacher...
You looked up to where the Librarian and Prez were chatting in front of the classroom. What if his involvement in human experiment wasn't unrelated to his daughter's death?
So far, a good amount of the victims had done some sort of evil act that they had gotten away with. Was that it? Was that the criteria to become a victim?
You gasped at the realization.
The original Nurse...had she not cheated on the Gym Teacher? Could it have been under the cherry blossom tree she was found hanging from?
So...your eyes widened. What sins did the Counselor and Librarian do? They were clearly being targeted, so did that mean they were the last two victims in the list of ten?
You looked outside your window, intensely focused. Did Prez know what the Librarian committed? Why was he constantly protecting her?
Suddenly, a crumpled piece of paper was chucked at the back of your head, pulling you out of your train of thought. You turned around to find Yoongi ripping another piece of paper out of his notebook with a mischievous grin behind you.
"What?" You rolled your eyes.
"I thought you had gone to sleep with your eyes open." he teased as he chucked another balled up scrap paper at your face.
"Haha." You sassed.
"Don't think too hard." he poked your forehead.
"Thinking is my middle name." You stuck your tongue out.
"Your mom has interesting taste in middle names then." he snorted. "Oh, right."
"Hm?"
"I got invited to a party this weeked and they asked me to bring you along." he yawned.
"A party?"
"Yeah, supposedly a surprise 'Welcome Back Prez' party. They said you had to be there to complete the surprise." he flicked a few pieces of eraser remains off of his desk with a slightly pout forming on his lips.
"Hmm..." you pondered. "Sure. I'll go."
There couldn't have been a more perfect time. It was in that moment, you decided to test your theory on the day of the party. Just how far could these killers' see? Just how much were they going to know? If you betrayed the person who had supported and was close to you this whole time, would you become a victim too?
So, for the next few days, you thought about how to execute it and what exactly to do. You weren't sure exactly how drastic your sin had to be to get their radar on you. But regardless, whoever was watching, you wanted to convince them. The spot you chose to carry the plan out was right in front of your dorm room, so in the event that things do go as planned and worst comes to worst, the killers would have no choice but to put you in that spot to continue their trend. Little would they know that secret cameras had been installed there by your team, so they would know who they were and would capture them as soon they even tried to put you there.
The entire week, when no one was around, you playfully pretended to be talking to old friends from high school. You made it convincing that Jungkook had asked you out, and that you were now a taken person. If Jungkook and Hoseok overheard while they were watching you, they didn't question you in the least. They must've known you were up to something related to the mission.
The day of the party arrived, and you had lied to Yoongi, forcing him to head out first to the party. You needed time to fully prepare your ammunition. You dressed up in a tight, short black dress, and threw on your seductively maroon lipstick. Mission start.
You stepped out of your dorm, once again playing pretend on your phone.
"Yeah, I'm heading out to a big party. No, I didn't tell my boyfriend. He doesn't have to know! Yeah, I'm wearing that black dress you recommended. You know, trying to get some action now that I've become popular. Oh it's fine. Jungkook won't find out. Yoonji? Pfft. She's just someone I hang out with to make myself look good. Like with her crabby personality, won't I look like the better option? Like he would believe her if she ratted me out." You cackled. "Well, I'm heading out. I'll catch you later."
Nervously, you shut your phone. The stage was set. Now, you had to put it into action.
You arrived to the party, right before they were getting ready for the big surprise. Yoongi gaped at you from afar, as he was sitting by a group of guys, babysitting a beer. You smirked at him, knowing that he was going to scold you for your attire, but you didn't care. You had a purpose. Although, being oggled at by those in attendance, was a lovely bonus.
"Wow...Y/N." one of the girls marveled. "You look so good. I love that lipstick!"
"You want to try some?" You flashed a warm smile and showed it to her.
"Really?" she beamed as she swiped a finger over the color to add it to her own.
"Yeah, it really stays on even after a long make out session." You commented with a wink.
She seemed surprised by your unexpected statement.
"Ooo! A drink!" Your eyes lit up as you grabbed a shot glass on a tray that was passing by. You downed it to calm your nerves.
As expected, you found a hand at your waist.
"What the hell, Y/N?" Yoongi hissed in your ear.
"What?" You smiled, and grabbed the beer can from his hand, chugging it down.
He glared at you. "What are you wearing? And what are you doing?"
"Living a little." You shrugged as you glanced down the loose blouse and skirt Yoongi was wearing. "It's not every day I can flaunt myself."
He exhaled and grabbed your wrist. "We're going home."
"No." You firmly pulled away. "I'm getting another drink."
"Y/N, tell me what's going on."
"Stop being needy, Yoonji. Gosh." You whined as you grabbed another shot from a nearby table.
"Y/N --"
"He's coming! Hide!" The lookout whispered excitedly.
The lights turned off and everyone hid behind furniture. The door creaked open, and when the lights flickered back on, you all jumped out yelling, "SURPRISE!!"
Prez blinked, stunned at the unexpected gathering. His eyes found you amongst the crowd immediately and lingered. You brought the cup to your lips with a shy smile and averted your eyes flirtatiously.
"Wow, I-- what's the occasion?" he seemed to regain his composure and asked good-naturedly.
"Silly Prez! It's your welcome back party!" his roommates chimed. "We asked our sunbae here, to lead you to his house, so we can celebrate! Now let's drink!"
He chuckled, "Normally I wouldn't condone this as Student Council President. Most of us are under-age."
Everyone laughed at his feigned scolding. Prez soon joined the crowd, gratefully taking the drinks that were being passed onto him.
In the meanwhile, you were a couple of shots in and holding a cup of a mixed drink, which you were chugging at a fast speed. The alcohol drumming into your system allowed your body to move to the music that started playing. Thankfully it was loud enough to drown out Yoongi's protests to your behavior. You needed him to trust you, but you also couldn't clue him into the plan. The man only had limited acting skills, and you needed this to be as realistic and convincing as possible.
"Didn't think I'd see you at one of these."
Your lips curled up. Let the game begin.
Prez's hands settled at your waist as the two of you began dancing together. You turned yourself around so you could answer him.
"Well, I figured letting myself go once in awhile shouldn't be too bad." You whispered into his ear so he heard you clearly through the music.
He smiled as he spun you around playfully then once again danced in close proximity to your body.
"I'm glad you're here though. It makes the party more bearable." he softly spoke into the shell of your ear.
Luckily, he couldn't see your face because you were sure you had turned a shade of red at his genuine compliment.
A little later into the party, everyone gathered around for a few drinking games, which left you, needless to say, pretty out of sorts. But your plan was working regardless, because Prez never left your side the entire night. However, Yoongi was right there as well, being your Black Knight, knowing your tolerance was dwindling.
"Y/N, maybe we should go..." he worriedly grabbed your hand, as your eyes were spinning and your voice getting louder, your actions getting more wild.
"Spin the bottle! Let's go!" One of the students called out.
"I'M IN!" You yelled and giggled. You swayed in the spot you were sitting on on the floor, and immediately, Yoongi's and Prez's hands were on either side of you to steady your body. "Whoa. Did you guys feel that earthquake?!"
Prez glanced at Yoongi, amused. "She doesn't drink much, huh?"
"Oh. She had a lot to drink before you arrived." He groaned as he propped you back up.
"The bottle points to...." Everyone drummed on their thighs.
Yoongi forced down a profanity as it landed straight at you.
"Y/N!" Everyone cheered. "Y/N has to kiss someone!"
"Me?" You blushed and smiled brightly. "Kiss someone? I don't know who to kiss!"
"Since it's his party, kiss Prez!"
"Oh, I think she has a boyf-- I --" Prez flustered and waved his hands.
"It's okay." You giggled as you leaned closer to him. "It's a game, right?"
You noticed the way he glanced down at your darkly, alluring lips, and gulped. However, the alcohol seemed to have also lowered his inhibitions and his sense of chivalry and justice, because his face began moving closer to yours as well. You shut your eyes, ready to feel his lips on yours.
But suddenly, your body was turned around roughly, and before you could protest, your lips were hungrily captured by someone else's.
"Shit!" Everyone screamed enthusiastically, and cameras were heard taking pictures and most probably recording.
You couldn't process what was happening, but you knew your body enjoyed the way this person was kissing you, passionately yet gently. Their hands pulling you closer, to get sucked into you deeper. You reciprocated the intensity. All logic and reasoning disappearing as you let your body just do whatever the hell it felt like doing. You gripped at their shirt then wrapped your arms around their neck. Whoever was kissing you...it was a familiar yet novel feeling. It excited you, yet it felt comfortable, like home. You wanted more. It was addicting. You gasped for air, and the kiss was broken. Your vision blurred as you tried to focus on the person in front of you, but then you felt the world tilting.
And it all became dark.
Yoongi caught your body before it hit the ground, and pulled you to his chest, heaving from the lack of oxygen. He didn't care that your maroon lipstick was smudged on his lips. He didn't care that everyone had recorded you two making out, being that you were two girls in their eyes. His mind was reeling with the intensity that you returned his kiss with, and he was shy to admit he had almost lost himself in it. He had almost forgotten about the mission, and where you two were. Picking up your limp body, he stood up.
"I'll be taking her home now." he glanced at the Prez, who also seemed to be in shock like everyone else. "I hope you have a good rest of the night."
"I uh--" Prez scrambled up. "I'll call you two a cab."
"No, need. We have a ride." Yoongi tried to smile non-chalantly, but his heart was racing feverishly.
"Alright." Prez nodded, dejectedly. "Please get her back safely."
Yoongi nodded and headed towards the door. Luckily, he had called Hoseok to come and serve as their escape vehicle a little while ago, so his best friend was waiting outside in the car.
"What happened?" Hoseok blinked as he helped get you to his backseat. "And why do you have....ohhh..."
Hoseok glanced at your lips and Yoongi's, piecing the events together. He smirked, "Ohhhh ~"
"Shut up." Yoongi grumbled. "She was acting so out of it today. What was she thinking?"
Hoseok's lips curled up gently, as he jumped into the driver's seat. "I'm not sure. But she's been carrying out some sort of plan all week."
"Has she?"
Hoseok nodded. "We don't go into your dorm cause it's the safest place, but we do watch outside. And all the time, she steps out, pretending to have a conversation with someone."
Yoongi raised an eyebrow. "What does she say?"
"Well for one, she was claiming her and Jungkook are now boyfriend and girlfriend. Then it was odd because before she left, she like dissed you...." Hoseok frowned.
"Dissed me?"
"Maybe she had alcohol in her system already?"
"Seriously, what is this girl up to?" Yoongi sighed as he glanced back at your figure, sleeping soundly.
"So...how was the kiss?" Hoseok grinned.
Yoongi shoved him. "Shut up."
"That good, huh?" he smirked.
"I told you to shut up." Yoongi grumbled but had to turn away to hide his smile. He couldn't help but hope that you returning his kiss this time meant that you felt something for him. But another part of him, also was trying not to get his hopes up, and kept yelling that it was just the alcohol or maybe you had thought he was the Prez.
He groaned and ruffled his hair, as Hoseok smiled sadly at his friend's visible frustration.
"Yoongi, she has a plan, so trust her."
"I know." Yoongi snapped. "That's why I left her alone at the party and just kept watch. But there's only so much I can handle her doing in front of me."
Hoseok chuckled. "That's why I told you to just tell her how you feel."
"You know I can't do that." Yoongi exhaled.
Hoseok sighed and shook his head. "Keeping it in won't get you anywhere."
"I don't want to go anywhere. Right here is good." Yoongi replied sourly.
"Sure. Sure it is." Hoseok hummed.
"We tried to go somewhere before, and look how that ended up." he mumbled.
You groaned as you woke up; your head felt like a ton of bricks, and everything was too intensely bright for your eyes. You stuffed your head under your pillows, trying to figure out why the hell you felt so horrible.
"How's Miss Hangover?" Yoongi closed the curtains to block off the sunlight.
"Hangover?" You croaked, finding your throat was extremely dry.
"I made you hangover soup. Can you sit up?"
You felt the bed dip beside you, and the pillow over your head disappeared.
"What happened?" You willed yourself up, and with Yoongi's help, you were able to sit, leaning your back against your headboard. "I haven't felt like this since college."
He chuckled. "Eat something. You don't have anything in you right now."
"I can't remember much...did I do something embarrassing?" You sipped the soup, and smiled. "I remember this."
His lips curled up. "Do you?"
"You made me this when I first tried alcohol with you and your family. We played a game and I had such a low tolerance." You laughed at the recollection.
"You still seem to have a low tolerance." he teased.
"I just drank way too fast." You sighed.
"You think you'll be able to make it to class?" Yoongi questioned.
"I'll let you know after I finish this soup." You continued to ingest it in little sips.
"Well, I'm going to shower then. I still smell like yesterday's party. Eat up, and drink that entire glass of water."
You nodded. "Thanks for this. And thanks for getting me back home in one piece."
"What're partners for?" Yoongi threw a towel over his shoulder with a warm smile before disappearing to the bathroom.
As soon as you heard the shower turn on, you scrambled for your phone. While you two had been conversing, bits and pieces of memories from last night began flooding in. But you had to maintain your cool and not panic as much as you wanted to outwardly. You could recall dancing and flirting with the Prez successfully, and you remembered starting "Spin the Bottle", people calling for you and Prez to kiss, but...did you do it?
Touching your lips, you felt the feeling lingering, although your mind seemed hazy. Your body could recall the intensity and the way it craved for more from the person, but who had it been?
You gulped as you found that your video had been posted on social media, as well as sent to you by Jimin with a smirk. Nervously, you pressed play and hurriedly covered your mouth to stop yourself from screaming as you watched yourself make out with Yoongi.
"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." You stopped the video and chucked your phone away, as if that would make the evidence disappear.
How did...why did...? Your entire body turned warm with the realization. He had turned you around to stop you from kissing the Prez, and you would be lying if the hope hadn't crossed your mind that he would interfere. But it had only been very wishful thinking and certainly something you never thought would happen.
You got light headed and your heart raced. You certainly felt worse than when you had woken up. How were you to face Yoongi? And the entire school?
"Ugh." You curled back up in your blankets. You were exhausted.
"Y/N?" Yoongi came out freshly showered, and you peeked out from your huddle, your eyes immediately landing on his lips. You fought back a squeal by retracting back into your fort. This certainly wasn't the time to be conscious of him. "You okay?"
"I'm not feeling too good still." You mumbled.
"You want to stay in then?" he sighed.
"Yeah. I think I just need to rest."
He patted your head lightly. "Alright. You've been working hard. Take today off."
You nodded.
"Let me get you some medicine. It's strong so it'll make you sleep, but it really makes you feel better once you wake up." he padded his way out of the room.
You watched his figure disappear. He hardly ever took care of people so openly, so it warmed your heart to see him tend to you so unabashedly. But before you could hide your face again, he returned to the room.
"You're all red." He blinked worriedly. "Should I take your temperature?"
"I-it's alright. It's probably just the soup and being under the blankets..." You muttered.
"Here. Take this before you sleep." he urged. "I'll feel better leaving you in this state after you take it. Sadly, we can't both be absent when the mission is still in full swing."
You smiled as you emerged from your cocoon. He handed you a pill and a cup of water, which you took gratefully.
"You'll be alright? Should I call someone to watch you?" Yoongi asked.
You chuckled, "I don't need a babysitter."
He studied you intently before complying. "Alright. Rest up, Y/N."
"Have a good day, Yoongi." You smiled sleepily.
Yoongi seemed hesitant on leaving your side. You looked at him expectantly, wondering if he would bring up last night or if you were both going to pretend it never happened.
"Shower and get dressed comfortably." he rubbed your arm. "And I'd feel better if you rested with some weapons on you...if that's not weird."
You laughed. "I will. Just for you."
He grinned. "Thank you."
You squeezed his hand. "I'll be fine. Go. You'll be late."
He nodded. "I'll come back here for lunch."
"Mhm. I'll be here." You yawned. "I'll just shower and head to sleep."
Three classes into the school day, Prez interrupted Jin's class with a panicked expression.
"Can I help you, Prez?" Jin furrowed his brow, worriedly.
"Can I see Yoonji? It's urgent."
"Um... sure..." Jin's eyes wandered to Yoongi, who stood up and walked out of the class.
"Y/N..." Prez breathed. "I saw the roster. She's absent?"
"She wasn't feeling well after yesterday's fiasco so she stayed in today." Yoongi replied. "Why is that any of your concern?"
"Take me to your dorm. Now."
Yoongi furrowed his brow. "No. Why would I--"
"She might be the next victim!"
"What-- why?" Yoongi questioned with wide eyes.
"Think about how she acted last night. That's not her. It bothered me, and now that I've thought about it with a sober mind, I think she was trying to test something." he whispered. "Didn't you notice?"
At the realization, Yoongi's legs started sprinting without hesitation, and Prez was right on his trail. Nervously, he fumbled to open the room.
"Please be there. Please be there." he chanted as he flung the door open, and raced to the bedroom.
Only to find it empty.
Hurriedly, he searched the bathroom, but everything in the dorm was left untouched, save your bed, where your blankets and pillow were now residing on the floor. Angrily, he lunged at the Prez.
"WHO ARE YOU?" he hissed, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. "How did you know that she would be next?!"
"Yoonji? Prez?" Jin's voice was heard at the entrance. "How's Y/N?"
He crept to the bedroom cautiously, only to find the two staring each other down, and you nowhere to be found. The color drained from his face as the situation dawned on him.
"Is she...is she..."
Yoongi shoved Prez away and kicked your bed frustratedly.
"She's gone. Shit."
"Maybe she's in the library?" Jin questioned.
"I checked before coming to your class." Prez shook his head. "When she wouldn't answer my calls or texts, I had a bad feeling."
"Shouldn't we alert someone? Should we call the police?" Jin suggested worriedly.
"No." Yoongi exhaled. "We don't do anything."
"What?" Jin gasped.
"For now." Yoongi grabbed your cellphone, which remained at your nightstand. "We'll wait for nightfall, and stop them from moving her around the school."
"But what if she's...what if they..." Jin breathed.
Yoongi glared at him as he checked your drawers, which thankfully were empty. You had been armed when you were taken. "She won't be."
"What do we do now?" Prez questioned.
"We act normal. We act ignorant." Yoongi exhaled. "I still don't trust you two. But...I do trust that you care for Y/N in your own ways. So only this once will I trust you to help me. We'll meet back here when the skies darken."
The two nodded in understanding.
"Oh, and Mr. Kim." Yoongi scanned the rest of the room with a vigilant eye.
"Yes?"
"I'll be taking the rest of the day off as well." he stated seriously.
Jin nodded. "Very well."
"Don't let it show to anyone that there's a problem. Please."
"We won't." Prez confidently spoke.
"It's what I've been doing for years so it shouldn't be hard." Jin tried to lighten the situation, but the other two weren't amused. "Sorry...bad habit. But I know we'll get her back, for sure."
Yoongi nodded, already in deep contemplation, so the other two slipped out of the room without another word. As soon as the door shut, Yoongi pressed his earpiece and spoke solemnly.
"Y/N's been captured. All hands on deck for pending rescue mission."
When you came to, your body immediately sprung into high alert. It was pitch black and your hands and legs were tied tightly. What had happened? You were sleeping soundly. Furrowing your brows, you tried to remember the bits and pieces of your hazy slumber. You did remember hearing your door being opened, but had assumed it was Yoongi. Sleep had still been pulling you in thanks to the strong effects of the medication, and your body felt too heavy to move at the time. You exhaled, wondering how you hadn't foreseen this. This was what you had hoped would happen to confirm your theory in the first place.
"No, you carry her! Getting her here was already so hard! We have to get her to our master's hideout tonight while everyone's asleep!"
You heard whispers echoing from afar. Young voices. Most probably the students who had somehow become accomplices.
"The others will make sure we get the victim out safely. The boss is a bit angry because someone's been ruining the plans."
You furrowed your brow. The others?
Wriggling around, you found that the knife you had stored in your back pocket was still there.
You could escape.
Your hands worked expertly, as your training had done, to loosen the ropes on your wrists and ankles. You placed your night vision contacts on, and stealthily, began moving about the room.
"We need to split up." Yoongi instructed as he pulled a mask over his mouth. "Mr. Kim, come with me. Prez, someone will be in the shadows searching with you."
"The shadows?" Jin blinked as he covered his face as well. "What?"
"There's no time to lose." Prez nodded curtly.
"Let's go." Yoongi chucked an earpiece to Jin and one to Prez. "Put this on so we can communicate."
Jin fumbled to put it into his ear as they ran.
"Yoongi, her radar is back!" Tae stated.
"Which way?" Yoongi's heart leapt out of his chest. You were still alive.
You ran at full force as soon as you found a way to escape that secret room within the school. Once you recognized the surroundings, you breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't stop running. You weren't sure where you could go or who was coming after you, but you knew you needed to gain more distance.
You had handled the students that stood in your way delicately, and simply knocked them unconscious using pressure points. But unfortunately, there were other accomplices apart from the students, and those men were far more dangerous. They were well-built and their aura alone distinguished them as skilled killers. You had fought your way out to get back to the main part of school, knowing that Yoongi and the others would be somewhere waiting to rescue you. Glancing down at your hands, you counted and took note that you hardly had any weapons left. You had to be careful and use them wisely.
You were about to press your earpiece, when you screeched to a halt. Up ahead, another group of men were waiting for you. Biting your lip, you displayed your dagger, poised for battle.
"She's close, Mr. Kim!" Yoongi was in hand-to-hand combat with a group of men as well. "Run ahead! Go to her!"
Jin punched and kicked a few of the men down with sheer strength.
"But Yoon--"
"Go!" Yoongi yelled as he sliced down enemy. "I'll be right behind you!"
Jin clenched his fists and sprinted down the hall as fast he could.
You wiped your sweat as you glanced around at the unconscious bodies that lay around you. Where could the others be? Hopefully, they weren't having a difficult time, and you wished they could find you sooner. You smiled, feeling accomplished at all the people you had defeated on your own.
But your body stilled as you heard an all too familiar click from behind you.
A gun.
Immediately, you prayed that your body would be found and the killer captured. All the regrets, all the things you wish you had said, the things you haven't said or done yet, rushed to your mind in that moment. Your body turned cold at the impending attack, and subsequently, you heard them fire the shot without hesitation.
"Y/N!"
A familiar voice called out, and you gasped as you felt a presence come up behind you, protecting you.
"No!" You screamed.
But it was too late.
You watched as his body began to descend, slowly in your eyes, and you reached out to hold him in your arms. Your eyes began watering.
"Y/N! Shit!" Yoongi threw a knife at the gunman and managed to knock the gun out of his hands. Once he was weaponless, the man made a run for it. Yoongi cursed again and dashed after the enemy.
"J-jin. Jin..." You shook him then began applying pressure against the wound to try to stop the bleeding. The bullet was lodged inside his chest. "Jin...please. Why're you even here? You shouldn't be here!"
You cried as your hands were being stained by his blood. He coughed, and gave a weak smile.
"I told you..." he breathed. "I couldn't stand...watching you get hurt...from afar anymore..."
You sobbed. "Not like this though. Why did you do this?"
He chuckled. "I've always wondered how it would feel like to get shot. I saw the chance...and took it...to my chest apparently."
"This is not the time for your puns." You whined.
"Jungkook." Yoongi called.
"I've got the target." Jungkook spoke.
"I'm going to go back to make sure no one else gets to Y/N." he explained.
"We're on our way too." Hoseok spoke. "Prez heard your message and has been making his way."
Yoongi rushed back and found you weeping over Jin's body. His heart panged. Why did he think sending Jin ahead was a good idea? He clenched his fists, annoyed at himself.
"Namjoon." he called.
"On it. They ambulance is on its way." Namjoon replied.
"Y/N..." Jin smiled. "I'm glad we found you."
"Shhh..." You shook your head. "Don't talk like that. You're going to be okay."
"I'm okay now."
"No, no you're not. Don't say something cheesy like you can rest in peace now that you've found me or I'll kill you myself."
Jin laughed. "I thought this wasn't the time for wit."
"The ambulance is on their way." Yoongi placed a hand on your shoulder reassuringly.
You looked up at him helplessly, tears pooling in your eyes.
"He'll be fine. Everything will be alright." Yoongi tried his best to sound confident and convincing, but his voice wavered.
Jin sighed. "Y/N."
"Hm?"
"Can you..." he coughed. "hold my hand?"
You immediately took it, and his lips curled up, his face filled with satisfaction and content. But it only lasted a few seconds before his face began relaxing, becoming devoid of any emotion. You were losing him.
"Jin. Stay with us. Stay awake." You called out.
"Y/N...I'm sorry..." he whispered as his eyes languidly shut and his grip on your hand loosened.
"Jin!!"
.
.
.
.
PART 9
#dundundun#gasp#T_T#nuuu#im sorry#yoongi#min yoongi#min suga#suga#min yoonji#yoonji#suga x reader#yoongi x reader#yoonji x reader#bts fanfic#bts fanfiction#bangtan fanfic#bangtan fanfiction#bangtan#bts#bangtan boys#bangtan sonyeondan#park jimin#jimin#kim namjoon#namjoon#kim taehyung#taehyung#tae#v
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The Siren
The Siren | Once, a long, long time ago, Phil had heard a story – a strange story, so fantastical he hadn’t known whether or not to laugh, eyes wide and terrified amidst it all, - about a mermaid, a siren, who supposedly stole away the sailors of the sea to the bottom of the ocean, never to be seen again. | Phan | Teen and Up | Siren!Dan, Asexual!Phil | 3811 words
Happy birthday my dear Rachel, @phansdick <3 Sorry I suck at surprises and decided to spend all day teasing you about your birthday fic. I’m really, really glad I was able to pull this together for you, though, as I didn’t think I was going to make it, and low and behold, you ended up getting it early! I love you a lot, even if some times I really, really suck at showing it and disappear for days on end, and you’re the best friend anyone could ask for. You are truly one of a kind, perfect, amazing, and so incredibly strong. Thank you for always being there for me, and I hope that I can always be there for you as well. I sincrerely hope you enjoy this, because I think I legitimately took a turn with his most people probably won’t be expecting.
Based on that tumblr post asking for an asexual sailor to run into a siren.
(Ao3 Link)
**
Once, a long, long time ago, Phil had heard a story – a strange story, so fantastical he hadn’t known whether or not to laugh, eyes wide and terrified amidst it all. He’d been about thirteen at the time, just coming into puberty and all that that supposedly entailed, and staring in absolute disbelief at the father of a friend who swore up and down that he’d seen it – a mermaid, a siren, the deadliest of the kind.
It was the first time Phil had come over for a visit, walking over the docks of his little town’s shipping yard towards the boat of his new found girlfriend Myla that she’d lived on for her entire life, their hands swinging together between them, and some kind of notion of sex flashing through Phil’s mind.
(He didn’t actually know what sex was yet, and he was in for a nasty surprise.)
Myla’s family were sailors – well, kind of. Myla’s father was a sailor, and he’d been teaching Myla all her life, but she wasn’t really into it. In fact, she only really tolerated the lessons as some sort of penance for being the reason her mother had died – child birth – on the rough and tumble seas that they’d both loved so much, but she told anyone who would listen that she was never ever going to be a sailor like her father before her.
(Eventually, the boat would be passed down to her, and she’d hand it off to Phil, a lifelong companion of hers after the fateful and awkward events of that afternoon.)
They’d walked up together a little shy and bereft, aware that Myla’s father would be leaving soon for some kind of shipping conference up in the middle of town, but also aware that they wouldn’t be able to avoid him all together.
Myla had introduced Phil to him, and they’d thought that will be that.
But it wasn’t.
No; instead, Myla’s father had practically ignored them, staring out across the sea towards a little island that most of their town knew to avoid. The weather was almost always torrential out there, making it near impossible to even approach the shores, and those who’d bothered to try were never heard from again.
Whether or not they’d been stranded on the island had yet to be seen.
(They hadn’t.)
Phil had thought it strange, then, for a man to be so captivated by a storm raging over the tiny mound of rocks on the sea, and he’d squeezed his fingers around Myla’s with the full intent to swing her around and let her lead them back to her rooms.
They didn’t get very far before Myla’s father turned around with eyes so wide and horrified that Phil had thought, just for a second, that he must have seen a ghost.
“I’s seen it, lass,” he’d said, not even looking at Phil. “The beast that’s taken all ‘em sailors.”
Phil hadn’t known what he’d meant at the time, but Myla clearly had, and she’d rolled her eyes at her father like she’d heard his drunken rambles one to many times before.
“What are you on about now, da?” she’d shot back, tossing Phil an amused grin. It had relaxed the terrified set of is shoulders for just a moment, and then Myla’s father had turned his gaze onto him.
There had been something haunted in those steel grey eyes that Phil would never forget, even to this day.
“The siren that’s been stealin’ all ‘em, the mermaid. I’s seen it, boy, I’s seen it take ‘em all away.”
**
Myla had taken Phil to her bedroom not long after the strange encounter, and she’d kissed him soft and sweetly on the mouth. It had been nice, drawing forth some kind of fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but then she’d started doing other things – strange things, like touching Phil in places he never wanted to be touched again, and drawing Phil’s own hands up to cup her breasts.
He hadn’t liked that, he hadn’t like that at all, and when Myla had asked Phil what he’d thought sex was, all he’d been able to offer up in reply to her was not this.
(Phil would have a few boyfriends and girlfriends in the interim of figuring it all out, but they never lasted very long after Phil refused to do much more than kiss them.)
**
Years later, Phil would follow in the footsteps of nearly ever male boy over the age of sixteen in town in joining the shipping industry, loading himself up on a sailboat on his off days for a little extra cash helping fisherman catch or sell fish across the way to another little town known as Hasten. It was quite a bit further out, not even visible from the docks of Phil’s own town, Miligan, but they were a trading post, and rarely went about retrieving their own goods despite the water’s edge being so close.
It was a good job, a fun job, but it all it really did was nurture a deep desire within him to become a sailor himself. It wasn’t the fishing that he’d enjoyed, or the unloading and haggling, it wasn’t even so much the sea; it was the beasts hidden inside of it, and the islands Phil was constantly catching sight off on each and every outing he so badly wanted to stop and explore.
(There was one island in particular that Phil wanted to see, but there wasn’t a boat in Hasten or Miligan that would venture anywhere near it, not, at least, on purpose. The tall tale Phil had heard so many years ago from Myla’s father constantly swirled through his head, and he thought one day… one day.)
**
Consequently, despite their awkward first “date”, Myla ending up being Phil’s only friend, and while she gave up sailing the second she was old enough to get a job and move out on her own, she entertained Phil’s private notions of wanting to pick it up with short lessons of her own and old school books her father had piled upon her.
(Phil had never been so grateful for his ex-girlfriend in his life, except for the time she sent him a link at two in the morning outlining the terms asexual and revulsion and he’d cried for six hours because he was finally not alone.)
**
Sailing wasn’t Phil’s only passion, though, and while he spent most of his time studying sailing and the proper ways to navigate a boat, he sometimes indulged himself in a little light reading - deep creatures of the sea: mermaids; sirens: what to expect; how to avoid the sweet call of song; alluring and beautiful, these creatures will kill you.
Mind plagued with the memory of that long ago story, Phil hadn’t ever really let it go. He was fascinated, had even harassed Myla for days – after she’d forgiven him for “breaking her heart,” and “not being sexually interested in her” – to let him talk to her father again, find out more about this elusive mermaid and what sailors it was stealing away into the depths of the sea.
Myla had never really let him have his go, angry at him anew for even suggesting that he might entertain her drunkard of a father, but still, Phil had never forgotten.
In fact, one could argue that he was obsessed, and he didn’t even really know all that much about the strange creature other than the fact that their song could lure anyone to their death – so deeply attracted would the person be to the monster, they’d chuck themselves overboard just to be in their arms for the rest of their lives.
The sirens, meanwhile, wanted nothing more than a quick meal, by all definitions, asexual.
(And there was that word again, that word that rang so deep in Phil’s chest it tugged and and tugged the same way the islands called…)
But there was rumor, too, rumor that sirens existed solely with the purpose of finding their one true love, and that they haunted the oceans in search of their mate in the hopes that one day they could be truly happy. Their song lured only the unfaithful, the sexual, and their fangs killed only the unholy, and they drowned their victims not for vindictive enjoyment, but to protect those back home who could never know of their partners misdeeds, and one day, one day, they’d find their own perfect partners and -
Well, they were only rumors.
( - rumors that a siren waited for the one unaffected by their call, waited for someone to join them with needs that matched their own; rumors that circulated the internet like a joke, but which Phil heard like a call of his own name.)
**
When Phil turned twenty-three, Myla’s father passed away – liver cancer.
He attended the funeral, helped pay through some of the costs, and sat with Myla for three whole weeks while she worked to get over the devastation of it all.
The day she sent him home, she handed over the keys to her father’s fishing boat, and made Phil promise to be careful.
(It was a promise he wanted so desperately to keep.)
**
The island had been calling his name for years by then, so was it really any surprise the day he finally packed up to leave?
**
Once, a long, long time ago, Phil had heard a story – a strange story, so fantastical he hadn’t known whether or not to laugh, eyes wide and terrified amidst it all, - about a mermaid, a siren, who supposedly stole away the sailors of the sea to the bottom of the ocean, never to be seen again.
Once, a long, long time ago, Phil heard a story about a creature so powerful, its song was enough to lure any sailor to its death.
Now, nearly ten years later, Phil would stumble across said creature of his own accord, curious and tempted far beyond their song.
**
The storm rages fast and strong, stronger than Phil had ever anticipated, has ever experienced out here on his own. His sails whip about starboard from the colossal winds, and his boat surges upon the water with every pelt of the angry sea below him. He’s freezing cold, his hair plastered to his forehead, clothes soaked through with the salty brine of the ocean below him, but his hands remain firm on the steering wheel of his boat, and his eyes remain trained on the island before him. It’s so close, Phil can practically feel it.
He’s been at this for hours now, struggling against the wind and the rain, fighting for control over something he knows he’ll never quite be able to hold onto, and all for what? To reach the shore of an island he’s been told over and over and over again swallows up sailors like its own personal victims?
No, no, not quite.
He doesn’t care about the island, even as its shores call his name, even as he stares at it through the thick veil of dark storm clouds that practically hide it from sight.
No, it’s not the island he’s here for, but the rumors of the creature that’s made it its home.
The siren.
Phil’s heart is racing in his chest. He’s been battling these winds for hours now, literal hours, but he refuses to give up just yet. He’s heard rumor that most sailors never even make it this far, heard rumor that most hear the call on the outskirts of the storm, and turn their boats into the middle of it all only to die before they can make it past the first fifteen feet towards the island, but he knows that he isn’t wrong to keep moving forward, to fight past the wind and the rain towards a shore he’s starting to see clear as day – a shore where the rain doesn’t touch, and the sands sparkle under the same dull sun as his own little town thousands of feet from where he is now.
He knows that there’s something waiting for him there, and when he finally breaks through the rain to the other side, a mere few feet from the shoreline – there, a song so beautiful and sad that Phil stops short to turn and find where it’s coming from; just beyond the line of the storm sits a mermaid so beautiful Phil nearly feels his heart stop, sat just upon mossy and green rock protruding from the sea as if it were an island all its own.
His boat, his fishing boat decorated with years of use and muck that Phil’s never learned how to clean, scrawled across in the ugliest shade of green with the words the st. mary, crashes into the far shore, but Phil doesn’t care to even look.
His gaze remains fixated on the mermaid sat before him, their smile so cunning and sharp that Phil thinks amazing.
They’re singing, a dark head of brown curls fluttering in the wind, their eyes nearly as sharp as their eyes, and their fingers dancing about the air in a come hither motion that Phil hasn’t seen in years.
Revulsion sears through him, but he ignores it, fascinated, captivated by their song, by the red-black of their long, glossy tail, and he closes his eyes for the briefest of brief moments just to take it all in.
The moment he does so, the singing stops, and he hears a splash.
When he opens his eyes once more, the mermaid, the siren, is sat bobbing along in the water below him with that same sinister, all knowing smile gracing their too beautiful features.
“That was beautiful,” Phil says, and offers them a gentle smile.
Slowly, slowly, the siren’s grin fades, and they stare up at Phil with eyes so dark, he feels like he’s staring into nothing. They don’t even have any whites to their eyes, and their teeth are bared, sharp and terrifying.
Some deep part of Phil can’t quite believe that this is real.
“Will you sing for me again?” he asks when the silence wears on far too long.
The siren’s grin slowly comes back.
“Of course, my love,” they say, their voice a deep baritone that soothes over Phil’s soul, calming his racing heart beat and the aches of his soul, and they haven’t even started singing yet.
“But only if you were to join me down here?” they offer, hands snaking out of the water once more to return to making that same come hither motion from before.
The easy grin Phil had been wearing moments before fades as the revulsion surges through him once more, and he finds himself shaking his head, almost tempted to turn away from the siren bobbing along in the water before him, but terrified of what they might do to him then if he does.
“I’d – rather not,” Phil disagrees, and feels his heart lodge in his throat. The rumors he’s clung to for years swirl about his head, but he doesn’t act on them, doesn’t trust them enough to lay them quite to that kind of test. “But I’d still really like to hear you sing again. Your voice is beautiful,” he says.
The siren stills below him, staring up at Phil with eyes dark and piercing, almost sinister looking for how black they are. He feels his heart thump anew in his chest, but the oddest sensation of safety suddenly over takes him until he’s able to grin once more.
“Please?” he requests, and watches as the siren slowly opens their mouth and starts to sing once more.
The song brushes over Phil like a cool wind, soothing and calm, and the longing he’s felt for years suddenly comes to an end. He can feel it, that strange pull that had been driving him for years, withering away into nothing but content. He has no wish to dive into the waters below like the books always said, has no desire to leap into the siren’s arms, but he does feel something close to – close to – home.
He listens with one eye open, not quite trusting, not quite believing, as the siren sings their song to him in the most beautiful and captivating voice that Phil has ever heard. The song is soleful and soft, but there’s that same tone of mourning Phil had heard before that breaks his heart.
Before he knows what he’s doing, he’s singing too – soft and breathless, the words caught in his throat.
The siren stops.
“Who are you?” they demand, throwing their body backwards in the water until their pale chest glistens up at Phil, and he feels another surge of deep revulsion surge through him at the same time as their tail beats at the sea, propelling them backwards against the fair rock from before.
Phil doesn’t know quite how to respond, but he does his best.
“I’m Phil Lester, uhm… a sailor from Hasten,” he says.
The siren bares their teeth at him once more, sharp and pointed just as legend had said, but Phil does not recoil.
“Why do you know that song? Why do you not fling yourself before me? Do you not want me, not desire me? No mortal before you has ever resisted my allure,” the say, and their words are heavy with anger and frustration, fear.
There’s something there in those deep, intent eyes that Phil wishes he could get to the bottom too.
“What do you mean? I know the song from you – I was just… mimicking you,” Phil tries to explain, a little shaken, the calm that had overtaken him mere moments ago rescinding until he suddenly feels like this was a mistake.
(It wasn’t.)
The siren hisses, and then cries out, the beautiful song they had been singing mere moments ago belting from their tongue in a long, hideous shriek of irreversible pain, and Phil cringes away, pressing his hands to his ears to block out the sound while his heart twists painfully in his chest. He’s panting before he knows it, crying, the tears dripping down his cheeks in a long stream of agony and pain, and the siren just looks at him, never stopping, tears of their own dripping down their cheeks.
Phil can’t bear to see their pain, but he’s frozen in place, and it wouldn’t matter if he wanted to leave right then and there or not, because he can see now that he’s shipwrecked, his boat sunk deep in the sand of the island, and the rest being pushed further and further in as the moments pass, until Phil is certain that he can never go home.
“Please, please stop!” he begs, but the sound doesn’t end, and Phil falls to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut in agony.
When he passes out, he thinks this is it.
(It’s not.)
**
When he comes too, he’s on the shore, and the water laps at his legs like an old friend. He sits up, disoriented, only to come face to face with a pair of black eyes and a head of curly brown hair, just like before, staring at him from the depths of the ocean. A storm rages in the distance behind them, a backdrop to the already menacing image.
Slowly, Phil draws his legs to his chest, and holds.
“Who are you?” the siren asks again, the words a dark hiss of agony.
Phil merely shrugs.
“Just a man,” he says, and leaves it at that.
**
Once upon a time, Phil believed in a set of rumors that said that a siren wanted nothing more than to find their mate.
Once upon a time, Phil found that to be true.
**
It’s not until nightfall that the siren approaches, surging out of the water like a monster of the deep, only Phil knows better. He holds himself back from the water, merely letting it lick at his skin, but never take him, and watches the sirens slow approach, their tail thrusting them up the shore and passed Phil’s long destroyed boat – and when did that happen, while he was out cold? – until their body is hunching forward over the sand.
The red and black of their tail glistens under the moonlight, and Phil feel his breath stolen from his once more.
“Please,” the siren pleads. “Tell me who you are.”
“I’m Phil,” Phil repeats once more, “And you are?”
“Dan,” they say, with a little pained incline of their head. Their sorrow echoes over the island unlike anything else, and it hurts Phil on such a deep level that he starts to sing.
The siren only stares, and stares, and stares, uncomphrending of how Phil could not only know the words, but understand the pain.
**
They sit there together in silence as the night wears on, but Phil doesn’t mind. The terror, the agony, the pain has gone, and now that the creature isn’t trying to seduce him, so is the revulsion. He stares at them the way an admirer would, and he knows it confuses them.
“I can’t hurt you,” they say.
Phil smiles, and inclines his head.
“You’re pure,” they tack on, slinking further along the shore, closer, closer still, and Phil merely nods.
He’s long since let go of his legs, resting the palms of his hands behind him against the somehow still warm sand, and he’s stretched out his legs in front of him.
He’s waiting, suddenly, with a certainty he’d never known he’d have.
“I can’t even seduce you with my song.”
Phil shrugs, and offers them a hand.
“No, you can’t,” he agrees, and waits for the warmth of them to touch him.
They scream, then, grabbing onto him and dragging their wet body towards him, completely naked, and yet the lack of sexual desire wafting off of them prevents the usual revulsion from taking him over.
Their fangs close in on his face, their eyes dark and wild, but there is no fear, and Phil does not flinch away.
The siren, Dan, freezes, inches from his face, their warm body poised like a threat over Phil, and their tail transforms into a pair of legs and a torso, but there are no sexual body parts, and they stare at Phil like this, at least this should work.
But it doesn’t, and they stare at him in awe until their fangs recede and they say, “I can’t even seduce you with my body,” and then… they succumb.
They succumb, and they sink into Phil’s embrace, and Phil feels home.
**
Their song is even more beautiful when they sing it together, and for the first time in both of their lives, they feel like they belong.
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This War We Fought Chapter One (Not edited, title undecided).
“The weather these past few days has been irriguous. Showers happen nightly, but the sun shines in the morning. Overall, it has been warmer than that back in Xeno, but not uncomfortably so. The meeting has not started yet, as we are still waiting for those from Scherzo and Ashen to get here. The other six Associations are accounted for.
“All we know so far about the Overviewer is that he plans to get rid of us, somehow. We have not gotten any lead on how, when, or why, and the information otherwise is the same as the last meeting. I hear Scherzo is in the middle of a drought, but this is only a rumour and is yet to be confirmed.
“Please, if you will, let everyone know that things are well over here and make sure that they behave. Thanks a lot, Aimeric Kanaan,” Aimeric took a deep breath, holding it for a second and then releasing it. “Did you get all of that, Ezra?” the young, newly appointed Scribe nodded slowly, his eyebrows scrunching together. His lips moved as he silently proof read what he wrote. Aimeric smiled.
“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch which Associations weren’t accounted for. You said Scherzo and- which one?” Ezra bit the end of his pen, looking up at Aimeric through his mop of brown hair. Aimeric glanced down at the boy’s writing.
“Ashen. Scherzo and Ashen,” Aimeric said.
“Actually, Aim, it’s just Scherzo now,” Lea, in freckled glory, corrected as she strode into the large, lifeless room. A grin spread across Aimeric’s face as he saw her, and he welcomed her into his arms.
“Nice to see you again, Lea. Have you heard any word from Lorenzo and his troops?” he asked. Lea shrugged, pulling away from the hug.
“No, actually. Since his last Scribe died, he has been silent,” she said solemnly. Aimeric frowned.
“His last Scribe? Since when has he ever used a Scribe?” Aimeric demanded. All the warmth that had been in his voice previously was replaced by confusion. Lea grimaced and looked at the ground.
“Well, I don’t know, actually. That is what he told everyone, though; his Scribe died and he wouldn’t be able to communicate with us all for a while,” she pressed her lips. Her words lingered in the air. Ezra broke the near-awkward silence.
“Ashen and Scherzo are pretty close, right?” he asked. Aimeric and Lea looked at him in an almost shocked way, as if they had forgotten he was there. Ezra’s face heated up as the attention was suddenly converted over to him.
“Yes, they are. Why do you ask?” Aimeric tilted his head as he talked.
“Well, I just thought that since they are close, maybe Lorenzo would be here within a day or two of you, Lea. Is that usually how it happens?” the two Advisors considered that, glancing at each other and then back at Ezra.
“Yes, that is. Maybe he just left late this time” Aimeric started, “as he is usually here before Lea. In fact, usually everyone is here before Lea. I’m surprised she hasn’t missed a meeting yet,” he nudged her gently. Lea fake laughed and elbowed Aimeric in the gut.
“Hilarious, my friend,” she rolled her eyes. “Where is everyone else? I want to talk with them before we have all the business to do.”
“They went to the bazaar to get Rin everything needed for supper,” Aimeric said, glancing at Ezra. “Why don’t you go and see if they need anything, eh?” he winked at the young Scribe. In response, Ezra’s face lit up.
“I don’t have a crush on Rin! I just met them!” Ezra’s voice cracked, only making his face catch on fire. Aimeric laughed and Lea elbowed him again.
“Stop teasing the boy. You remember how it was like at that age; hormones and shit, y’know?” she winked at Ezra. “But, if you want, go get ‘em, tiger.”
Ezra buried his face in his hands and groaned. “I hate you both,” he mumbled, the words muffled. Aimeric and Lea laughed a bit.
“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you repeat what you said? Was it, ‘I love Rin’? That’s what I heard. What do you think, Lea?” Aimeric said, a mocking tone in his voice.
“I think y’all should stop teasing the kid,” came a low voice with a mild southern drawl. The slim figure strode over and placed a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. Ezra flinched, uncovering his face to look up.
“Thanks, Rin,” he squeaked. Rin smiled down at him, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
“Aw, you guys would be cute together,” Lea teased, mocking the accent. Rin shook their head, closing their eyes as they let out a breathy laugh and tucked their hair behind their ear.
“You guys would be cute drowning,” they replied. Aimeric laughed and Lea gasped, faux offended. She placed a hand on her heart.
“Well, I never,” she said, continuing to mock their accent. Rin rolled their eyes.
“Oh pah-leez,” they started, really exaggerating their accent. “I do not sound like that!” Ezra gave a small giggle, then turned even more red. Aimeric laughed even harder once he saw Ezra’s face, now closely resembling a ripe tomato. Rin reached over and slapped the man with his long, elegant hand.
“I don’t think that would help him stop laughing,” Lea said. Rin shook their head.
“I think that just made it worse, honestly,” Rin sighed. They took their hand off of Ezra’s shoulder, leaving a cold spot. Rin started away for the door, and Ezra felt a flood of panic. He didn't want to be left alone with these two idiots, but he also didn’t want to go with Rin, fearing of more teasing.
“Wait, Rin!” he shouted. The three others in the room turned to him, looking shocked, but he thought he surprised himself the most. Ezra’s face turned red again and Aimeric and Lea exchanged glanced. Rin looked amused, but they turned and stopped.
“Yes, Ezra?” they purred. Was there a hint of mockery in their voice? Ezra couldn’t tell. His face was back to the bright shade of tomato it had been before.
“Uh, do you need any help? In the kitchen or otherwise. I mean, I’d be happy to help you anywhere. If you want me to, that is,” he mumbled, stuttering and tripping over his words. His tongue suddenly felt like a fish in his mouth, flopping around uselessly. Rin smiled at him.
“Your help would be greatly appreciated, actually. I would love if you joined me,” they beckoned him over and Ezra, feeling more like he was floating, walked over. He glanced back at Aimeric and Lea, who were trying to stifle their laughter. He looked at the ground to hide his blushing cheeks. He saw Rin’s hand go up and heard Aimeric snort loudly. Only for a moment did he care to know what Rin did, but then they had rested their hand on his back and was leading him out of the room.
The touch sent electricity through his spine, and when they took their hand off, it left him feeling empty again. The two then silently made their way to the kitchen.
“Well, since they won’t be here for a while still, we have some time to talk without those two assholes harassing you,” Rin said as they hopped up onto the counter. Ezra leaned against the wall, still not meeting the other’s eyes. “Ezra, are you okay? They were only joking, yeah? It didn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that it’s still awkward, I guess,” he said with a shrug. Rin laughed a bit.
“I gotcha. You don’t actually like me, though, right? ‘Cause, I’m way too old for you,” they said jokingly. Ezra laughed nervously.
“You aren’t that much older than me. You’re only, like, seventeen.”
“Actually, I just turned eighteen. You, at the tender age of 16, are practically a fetus,” Rin said. They hopped from the counter and walked a few paces back and forth. A few seconds of silence passed before they talked again. “You don’t actually like me, right?”
Ezra huffed, blowing his hair from his face. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never liked someone before. I got nothin’ to compare it to!”
He knew he was being illogical, but it was getting frustrating. For the past three days since the young Crypt Advisor had arrived, Aimeric had been teasing him relentlessly for having a crush. Tears pricked his eyes and threatened to spill over. He quickly wiped them away. Rin frowned and walked towards him.
“Hey, kid, it’s okay if you do. I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t. Us Advisors, we usually get bombarded with a bunch of serious work. These meetings are when we can goof off a lot so we go hard. Lorenzo hasn’t gotten here yet, but he usually brings fine wines from Scherzo- the entire town is a vineyard, pretty much,” Rin laughed a bit. “Reese, Advisor of Omni, and Hecate, Advisor of Incendium, usually get it on every time they see each other. They say their relationship is purely physical, but the rest of us think that there is definately something else going on between them. I mean, it sucks, my room is right between both of them. It doesn’t matter which room they go to, I always hear it. I even had to invest in earplugs-”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” Ezra cut his androgynous friend off. Rin blinked a bit, then flushed peach.
“I was trying to cheer you up and got off topic. I don’t even remember what I started with, honestly. Sorry,” they laughed. Rin scratched the top of their head, disrupting the dark curtain of hair that fell around their face. A strand of dark hair fell into their almond shaped eyes and, without thinking, Ezra brushed it out of the way. Rin blinked in surprise and Ezra’s eyes widened. He quickly pulled his hand away.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” he said, rushing over his words. He put his hands behind him and leaned on them so they wouldn’t be able to do anything else. Rin laughed a bit, taking a few steps back.
“No, it’s fine. Thanks, actually. You saved me the effort,” they stared at him for a few moments, eyes narrowing a bit. “But maybe you should leave for now. Go back to the Scribe’s corners and talk to them,” Rin turned away from him and walked over to a drawer and got out a chef’s knife. Ezra’s blood ran cold and he nodded, offering a small bow before hurrying out of the kitchen.
He nearly ran Aimeric over on his way out, only muttering a small ‘sorry’ before hurrying on, ignoring Aimeric’s talking. He went into his assigned bed in the Scribe’s corners, ignoring the other Scribes as well. They wouldn’t have talked to him, anyway. In the few days that he had been here, the other Scribes and him barely found anything in common. Regardless, he didn’t feel uncomfortable with them. They were just like distant family, in a way. All the same, he didn’t want to listen to them gossip. He covered his ears with the pillow and covered himself in the blanket so he wasn’t noticeable. Then, he let himself drift to sleep, hoping he wouldn’t dream of his embarrassment.
A while later, Ezra was woken up by a sudden dip in his mattress. He refused to acknowledge his sudden awakening, and instead squeezed his eyes tighter.
“Hey, kid, wake up,” His blurry vision wouldn’t focus, but based on the dark skin and long hair, he came to the conclusion that Aimeric had woken him.
“Dinner is ready, kiddo,” Aimeric said softly. Ezra shook his head, groaning a bit and turning back over. He covered his head with his blanket. Aimeric chuckled a bit. “Please wake up. There is someone I want you to meet.”
“Why?” Ezra complained, yawning as he spoke. Aimeric groaned.
“You are terribly hard to wake up. You know that, right?” he huffed. Ezra shrugged a bit. He covered his eyes with his arms.
“My brother would tell me the same thing nearly everyday,” he smiled a bit at the memory; back when he was in school and had to be woken up at the crack of dawn and Rhys would be rushing both him and Apollo out the door.
“Well, since your brother isn’t here currently, it seems that the job has been transfered to me. Now come on- get your ass out of bed,” Aimeric gently slapped Ezra’s stomach, making the younger boy wrap his arms around himself and groan.
Eventually, Ezra sat up and backhanded Aimeric on the arm.
“I’m only doing this because I’m curious now,” he said. Aimeric laughed and shook his head. The elder led him out of the room and they walked together to the Main Room.
Everyone was seated there. The oak chairs and table were filled up with only two seats remaining- one for Ezra, one for Aimeric. One right next to Rin and the other next to someone whom he had never seen before. The table was set nicely, filled with enough food to last them for a few days.
“Welcome back to the real world, Ezra. Did you enjoy your break?” Rin asked with a grin spreading across their face. Their arms opened wide in a welcoming gesture. Rin’s face was flushed and their eyes were mildly bloodshot. Ezra rolled his eyes, ignoring them and taking the seat next to them. Rin sat as well. Ezra noticed that, when he pulled his chair in, he scooted it slightly closer to Ezra. His face flushed slightly.
Aimeric took the chair next to him. He leaned forward and grabbed the pitcher of water, pouring some into both of their cups. Ezra muttered a thanks and took a sip.
“Ezra, I take it you know most of these people, but you haven’t met Lorenzo yet,” Aimeric scooted back in his chair so Ezra could see the man next to him. He was young, about Rin’s age, and had short, brown curls on his head, slicked back and tucked behind his ears. He was dangerously pale had dark circles under his eyes. His cheeks and collarbones were very hollow and he seemed fragile. “This is the Advisor of Scherzo. Lorenzo, this is Ezra, my Scribe. Speaking of Scribes, you have some explaining to do.”
“Do I?” Lorenzo asked, his voice raspy. A hint of amusement played into his words. Aimeric back-handed his arm, earning a wince from the smaller man.
“Yeah. Since when have you had a Scribe, and since when has he died?” Aimeric demanded. Rin whistled.
“Okay, while those two argue, Imma tell y’all what’s for dinner,” Rin said, standing up. They stumbled as they stood.
“Skip dinner, what’s for dessert?” Jazzabelle, Advisor of Jade, asked. It was clear that they had broken into the booze already. Rin winked at her.
“For dinner, we have a nice turkey, some grain salad tossed with olive oil and herbs, tomatoes with mozzarella, herbs, and vinegar, a garden salad, and some mashed sweet potatoes. Please enjoy,” they said, taking a bow and sitting back down. The frenzy of starving people took their share of food. Ezra was too shocked to move, so Aimeric made the plate for him, patting him on the head as he gave it to him.
“Thanks, Aimeric. I didn’t know people could move that fast,” he muttered. Aimeric chuckled a bit.
“This is the first real meal any of us have eaten for so long,” he spoke louder now, and around him, everyone quieted down. “We have Rin to thank for making this excellent meal!”
Cheers and clapping sounded for a few short moments, soon replaced by the sound of forks and spoons scraping plates. Ezra didn’t know where to start on his meal, overwhelmed by the options. Everything was so colourful and pretty, he almost didn’t want to ruin it. He looked over at Rin, who was sitting on their hands and rocking themself back and forth. He noticed that they didn’t have food on their plate.
“Hey, Rin, why aren’t you eating?” he asked, keeping his voice down. Rin glanced at him, then at their plate. Their lips formed a small “o” shape.
“I barely even realized. I was waiting to see what others thought first. Is it good?” they asked, turning in their chair to face Ezra.
“I don’t know. It was too pretty for me to eat. My brother was an awful cook, so these foods are all new to me.”
Ezra chuckled a bit. They turned on their chair to face him, resting one foot under the crook of their knee. “I like the tomatoes the best, so try those.”
Ezra picked up a tomato and took a bite of it. The tomato juices wet his hand, but he managed to get it into his mouth without too much of a mess. Rin grabbed a napkin from the center of the table and handed it to Ezra.
“Thanks,” Ezra said, wiping his hands off. Rin shrugged, turning back to face forwards in his seat. He stood up again and leaned on the table, using one of his hands to motion to Lorenzo.
“Hey guys, should Loren bring out the wine?” he called. A fury of cheers echoed throughout the house. Lorenzo whispered something to Aimeric, who nodded and stood up. He tapped Ezra and two other Scribes on the shoulder and beckoned to them as he walked across the room. The three followed; the girl, dark skin with long, straight hair, glanced at him. Ezra shrugged. The child seemed unbothered, however, chatting up a storm with Aimeric, who tried his best to seem interested.
“Since you guys are too young to drink, Lea and I decided to bring out some board games and let you guys play in the living room. Once everyone who doesn’t like to drink finishes their supper, they’ll come in here to keep an eye on you guys and to make sure none of our drunk asses come in and annoy you,” Aimeric said with amusement saturating his words. “Ezra, in translation, I won’t need you until tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully you won’t see me until then either.”
Ezra let out a small, awkward laugh, but he didn’t want Aimeric to leave him. Once they were settled in the living room, though, Aimeric left without so much as a wave. Clearly, he didn’t share Ezra’s concerns.
The two teens sat in silence as they watched the young child play with a wooden toy beast. The child made roaring noises and crashing sounds to accompany his playing. Ezra would have thought it was cute if he weren’t feeling so awkward; he knew these two were Scribes, but he hadn’t talked to these two very much yet.
“So, you’re Ezra?” the girl asked, poising herself to face him. Ezra took a deep breath and nodded.
“Yeah. What’s your name?” he asked as he turned to face her. Proudly, she stuck out her hand.
“Elizabeth Wolfe of Dracon” she said, “but you can just call me Eliza,” she added as an afterthought.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. What’s Dracon like?”
“It is pretty cold usually. Which sucks, because I packed for cold weather and guess what? It’s freaking hot here. So now, I have a lot of coats and stuff that I don’t even need and they are just dead weight. But I have to take them back to Dracon anyway, so it just means more backbreaking work for our poor donkeys,” she talked fast. Ezra wasn’t even sure if she took a breath between any of her words. “And what about Xeno?”
It took him a moment to process that she had asked a question, but finally he got it replying. “It’s a little bit cooler than here, and a lot drier. I’m definitely not used to all this rain,” he said with a laugh. She nodded a bit.
“We get about the same amount of precipitation, but usually as snow,” Eliza looked at the small kid. “What’s your name, kiddo?” she asked. The child looked at her; his short, brown hair was messed up and his cheeks were rosy.
“I’m Ancel!” he said. “I am four years old,” He said proudly, holding up four fingers into Eliza’s face. Then he showed his fingers to Ezra, who offered a small smile to the kid. He couldn’t say his “r”s very well. Eliza’s face was lit up. Her smile spread from ear to ear.
“So Ancel, you are from Scherzo, right?” She asked. Ancel nodded. “Can you tell us what it’s like there?”
“Uh, hot. Like fire,” he then went on to make some side effects, featuring his wooden beast, to show the two how hot it was. Eliza glanced at Ezra, laughing a bit. She covered her mouth when she laughed. Ezra laughed a bit too. The kid was kind of cute.
“Ah, fuck!” someone shouted. A loud crash followed.
“Aimeric! Go up to bed,” after a pause, the voice added, “No, go up, now. You don’t need more wine. There is plenty more for tomorrow. Bed.”
Two figures walked into sight. Ezra instantly recognised Lorenzo to be the unnamed figure and his drunk Advisor was leaning heavily on the smaller man. Ezra instantly got up to help.
“Hang on, kid, I just have to help him up these stairs,” Lorenzo said without glancing at Ezra.
“Noooo, I can do it by myself. Why don’t you have faith in me?” Aimeric whined. Lorenzo huffed.
“You already fell once in the hallway. I don’t want you to fall down these stairs, you stupid drunk giant,” Lorenzo herded the bigger man up in the stairs, standing behind him and literally pushing him up. After a few moments, he came back downstairs.
“Is he okay?” Ezra asked. Lorenzo snorted.
“Yeah, he’s fine. He just drank too much, as per usual. Sorry you had to see that,” he said, but his attention diverted as he looked over Ezra’s head and into the living room. “Is Ancel doing good?” He asked, walking past Ezra and not waiting for a reply.
“Lor!” the child cried and hugged the curly-haired man’s legs. Lorenzo patted his head.
“You wanna sleep with me or with the other Scribes tonight?” he asked, kneeling down to be eye level with the kid. His voice had kind of an edge to it, though, as if he didn’t trust either of the options.
“Scribes!” the kid practically shouted. Lorenzo forced a smile, grabbing another one of the child’s wooden toys from off of the ground and handing it to him.
“Are you getting tired yet?” he asked. Ezra glanced at Eliza, but she was too busy watching the other’s conversation to notice.
“No!” Ancel shouted again. Lorenzo scowled and pouted a bit.
“Are you sure? Because I think it’s past your bedtime, kiddo,” he said, picking the child up and spinning him a bit.
“I don’t want to!”
“How about I take you up and I read you a bedtime story?” Lorenzo suggested. Ancel scowled.
“Which one?” the child asked, seemingly intrigued.
“Well, we can see what we have. Sound good?” Lorenzo bounced the kid and adjusted his grasp. Ancel thought for a moment.
“Okay,” the kid said. “but only if we can find one on pirates!” Lorenzo laughed, a sound like bells ringing. It carried throughout the room.
“Pirates? I might have to search for a while to find one about those, kiddo,” he swung the kid around, then set him down. “Why don’t you say goodnight to Eliza and Ezra, okay?” Lorenzo gave a gentle, encouraging nudge towards the two teens.
“Okay!” Ancel ran towards them and hugged and kissed them both, saying goodnight to each of them. Then, without prompting, the kid raced to the steps and ran upstairs. Lorenzo shook his head, letting out a sigh. The corners of his lips tugged upwards.
Looking back at Ezra and Eliza, he dropped down to his knees and dropped his voice to a whisper.
“It would be advisable to sleep with your advisors tonight. Ezra, since Aimeric and Rin are both three sheets to the wind, you can sleep in my room with me. Jessie probably won’t get too drunk, Eliza, but otherwise, Jaz probably won’t mind having you. I just don’t trust Lea’s Scribe.” Lorenzo opined. Eliza and Ezra nodded simultaneously.
“Since I don’t want to wake Ancel up once he falls asleep, would you come down to get me?” Ezra asked slowly. Lorenzo pressed his lips and scowled.
“Yes, probably. Thank you for mentioning that.”
“Lorenzo, are you being a buzzkill again?” Jessamine Caceres, the Advisor of Dracon, said as she slapped Lorenzo on the back. Lorenzo winced a bit, scowling at her.
“How much wine did you drink?” he asked, huffing once more.
“Oh, I dunno, not much. Not like the others. I’m still pretty sober compared to them. I just left because it was growing to vulgar,” she wrinkled her nose. “Would you be a dear and shoo Reese and Hecate out of the dining area?”
Lorenzo paled. “I don’t know what they are doing, but I don’t want to see it, thanks. Since you are “sober”, why don’t you take your Scribe up to sleep in your room? I don’t want any of the children to see anything. I hate to leave so fast, but I have a child waiting for me,” he said, glancing behind him several times throughout the sentence.
Jessamine arched one of her fine, over-plucked eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound dodgy at all,” she snorted. Lorenzo rolled his eyes, not responding to her comment as he turned and walked the other way.
“Just saying, watch what you say!” she called after him. He ran up the stairs. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Men, ammiright?” she joked. Eliza snorted and nodded. Ezra pressed his lips together awkwardly and slowly nodded. Jessamine jokingly punched Ezra in the arm. “Sorry, pal, forgot you were here.”
Ezra smiled a bit.
“So where are the others?” Eliza asked, looking around the room. “Or are you and Lorenzo the only relatively sober ones?” Jessamine snorted.
“It’s pretty much just him and I, yeah. Rin was nodding off last time I checked. Lea and Jazz were cheering on Reese and Hecate. The Scribes, bless them, went down to their corners once things got too rowdy.”
Ezra scowled slightly. “Is Rin alright? Shouldn’t someone take them up to bed or something? The are the one who cooks around here,” Jessamine looked thoughtful for a second.
“That is a good point. C’mon, let’s go get them,” she said, walking out of the room. Eliza and Ezra glanced at each other before quickly scrambling to follow.
To say that the dining room was a mess was an understatement. There were dishes broken on the ground. Chairs were knocked over. Food was everywhere. Ezra heard Eliza groan next to him. He felt the same way; tomorrow, bright and early, they’d have to clean the mess up.
Reese and Hecate were having a food fight against Lea and Jezabelle. In the middle of it all was Rin, fast asleep. Jessamine screamed, which got everyone’s attention. They all looked at her. Rin fell off of their hand and hit their head off of the table. Ultimately, that woke them up. They looked around, confused.
“Okay, everyone, bedtime,” Jessamine shouted. There was a collective amount of sighs and groans and protests, but Jessamine ignored them and pointed, glaring at everything and silently challenging those who would dare disobey.
Slowly, everyone but Rin filtered out of the room and went upstairs. Rin blinked at us several times, mouth agape.
“Well? Aren’t you going, Rin?” Jessamine demanded. Rin blinked again and then vomited. Jessamine rolled her eyes. “I’m banning you from all alcohol, you dead weight.”
She helped Rin up and helped them walk into the living room area. Once they were sat down, she turned to Eliza and Ezra.
“Ezra, go to bed now. Eliza, stay with me. It may take a while for Rin to sober up, and I want to keep them awake until that happens. In the meantime, go get me some water, please.”
The two went off to do as she said; they split into different directions and Ezra slowly went up the stairs. He had never been up here before, not even to wake Aimeric up. He didn’t know which room was Lorenzo’s, so he stood there and waited for Lorenzo to come out and get him. Luckily, it didn’t take long. The frail looking man slowly and quietly opened his door. He wore striped boxers and a large, black tee-shirt.
“It’s a bit packed on the Bocelli bed, but it’ll be fine,” he whispered, opening the door to let Ezra in. He quietly shut the door behind them. “If you want to get into better sleeping clothing, I have some in my drawer that you can borrow. I have shorts and tee-shirts. Otherwise, you can just wear what’s comfortable.” Lorenzo said softly. Ezra took off his linen pants and folded them, setting them down where he stood. He felt his way over to where Lorenzo’s bed was.
“How many people are you housing in here?” he asked quietly. He felt the bed sag next to him when Lorenzo sat down.
“Three, including you. I bet you can guess who the other two are, though,” he laughed a bit. “You can be on the edge. Aimeric reeks grossley of alcohol. I have a cot, but Ancel sleeps in it on a nightly bases, and sometimes during the day when he needs to nap.”
Lorenzo pulled his feet onto the bed and laid down. Once he was comfortable underneath the covers, he pulled at Ezra to let him know. Slowly and carefully, Ezra laid down. He pulled the covers on over him, but quickly became too hot. He stuck a leg out from the covers.
“Does Aimeric sleep in here often, too?” Ezra asked quietly. Lorenzo let out a hard breath.
“Well, no, preferably not. I don’t particularly like people in the same bed as I am, believe it or not. I don’t particularly like people, though, so that could be an influencing factor.”
“Then why are you letting us sleep with you?” he asked.
“I’m worried about all of you, of course. Aimeric may be an idiot, but he is usually pretty nice to me and knows when to shut up,” Lorenzo’s speech was slowing down now.
“And one more thing; you said he was pretty nice to you, as if other people aren’t.”
“And? Not everyone likes me. Someone spread nasty rumours about me and the others believed it. Goodnight now, Ezra,” Lorenzo huffed, turning around and ending the conversation. Ezra sighed silently. He could feel Lorenzo’s stiff back against his side. Ezra turned so that he was facing the outside of the bed.
Somehow, he had managed to fall asleep.
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