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maxineswritingcenter · 3 years

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You Saved Me - Derek Hale x fem!reader part 25

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2005

It was the semi-finales for girl’s lacrosse. Miraculously, I was made captain as a freshman. Which meant, for some reason, people were offended and thought that I should be picked on more. Fact of the matter is that lacrosse is a game of strategy. Together; with the help of my teammates, we would play to win. Being captain wasn’t a choice, Finstock made me captain and the role was a big shoe to fill. But here we are, semi-finales.

As we made our way out to the play, I looked at the stands. Mom, Dad, Uncle Noah, Stiles, Scott on one end. Laura and Derek on the other side.

There were fifteen minutes left in the game, the score was tied. We needed to make one more goal to win and get to the finales. For this next play, I was face to face with the other team captain, waiting for the pearl to be thrown.

“You don’t deserve to be captain.” The girl glared, her eyes looked like they wanted to melt through my helmet and into my brain.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I worked my ass off for four years to be captain. What makes you so special?”

I blinked at her, a little confused as to where this hostility was coming from, “I’m just playing a game.”

“A real captain knows the lacrosse is more than a game.” She smirked, “When we win this, I’m getting a scholarship to So Cal, so why don’t you just do what freshman do best and lose.” On one hand I felt bad for her. She probably had parents that pushed and pushed for her to be the best. And I also felt bad because I knew we were gonna win.

The ref blew the whistle starting play. And everything was going according to plan. That was until I was passed the pearl. I ran with it, tossing it to another player. Meaning that it was completely unnecessary for me to be tackled and would be considered aggressive. But that didn’t stop the other captain from using her entire body to slam me into the ground. One minute I was standing and the next I had was on the ground. My chest felt tight, like I was straining to breathe. When I opened my eyes, I saw her face over mine, smirking down at me.

“HEY!” I heard Finstock’s booming voice, “Ref! Aren’t you gonna call that?!” No whistle, either the ref hadn’t seen it or he was allowing it. But Derek wasn’t allowing it. I heard multiple shouts and then watched the player who stood above me get shoved away, Derek replaced her. He knelt down, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Derek, what are you doing?” I groaned.

“Can you get up?” He asked, trying to help me sit up. I hissed at the movement.

Derek turned back to the bench, “Get a medic!” And only then did the whistle blow. The girl had given plenty of excuses, but they still gave her team a three minute penalty that made them lose the game. Looks like I had been right.

I was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a concussion but I would be fine just in time for the finales. The whole time in the waiting room, in the room itself, and even when we got home, Derek had been right beside me, holding my hand.

I had grown to hate hospitals and everything about them since the last time I had been to one I had been stabbed. The gowns with the open backs that were way too open to the public. That smell that was a cross between cleaner and the latex and rubber of gloves. The beds that were as hard as a rock and were covered in paper that would crinkle and make noise even if you weren't moving. That apprehensiveness that would build up in your stomach every time you heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

Thankfully, I didn't have to go through any of that. Since I was a pregnant werewolf, going to the hospital in Beacon Hills was a definite no-no, so the next best option is Dr. Deaton, a veterinarian and a makeshift supernatural doctor. Not to mention a full blown druid in this day and age. But from what I've learned in the past couple years, old magic was very much alive.

I was sitting on the metal table used for the animals, swinging my legs back and forth, waiting for Deaton to come back from getting my medical records emailed to him by Melissa. He could have gotten them himself, he just figured it would be less illegal if he got them from a nurse.

Thoughts were racing through my head for no rhyme or reason. Since I became a werewolf, every scar or scratch on my body had become only a memory. My stab wound, the acid burns on my legs, the cuts on my face from being tortured all those months ago which really felt more like a lifetime. It had been a different life, a life fabricated through magic and spells. A life that almost didn't feel like mine anymore.

"Sorry, for the wait, (Y/N)." Deaton walked into the room, his eyes scanning over the stack of papers in his hands.

"You're alright, Doc." I smiled, leaning back on my hands, "So how am I looking?"

“Very pregnant.”

"Nothing gets past you, huh?” I smirked. To be fair, I was approaching the three and a half month mark. Deaton smiled, taking my vitals and a vial of blood.

“So I’ve been made aware that Mr. Hale is the father.” He said, pressing a cotton ball to my skin after removing the needle, “How's that going?"

“About as well as you can imagine.”

“So not at all?” He asked. I nodded, shrugging my shoulders.

"Everything looks normal," He smiled as he wrote everything down on his clipboard, "Just need to get a look at the little guy." He looked up, "You said it was a boy, right?" He asked, moving over to get the sonographer that I’m sure had never been used on a human before.

“Unless the baby’s sprouting a third arm. That'd be cool." I smiled, “But yeah, that’s what the ultrasound tech in Scotland said.”

He chuckled and shook his head, "Alright, lay back and lift your shirt up." I laid back on the table, lifting my shirt up. The jelly he put on my stomach was cold and reminded me of the goo that had encased Jackson when he was a lizard person. He moved the sensor over my stomach and looked into the monitor. Ultrasounds were usually a little hard to see anyway, just like a fancy warschak paintings. And the fetus? Kinda like a funky jellybean.

“There we are.” He grinned, “Little werewolf.”

Craning my neck, I looked up at him, "You can tell he's a werewolf?"

"No.” He took the monitor off, handing me a paper towel so I could wipe off my stomach, “But odds are since his parents are both werewolves, it would make sense that the child would be also. However, you had the dormant gene, maybe your child will too." He turned off the sonographer.

“Have any names picked out?”

"I have a few... I liked Jacob, which Derek hated because it was too ‘Twilight’. Then there's one other but I don't know about it." The name that Derek loved more than anything for some reason, "Nicholas." And damn was it good.

"What about Nicholas Jacob? Just use both of them."

"Or I could name him after Stiles" I smirked to myself, "Mieczyslaw Nicholas.”

"Maybe that would be a little too much."

“Stiles is a little too much.” I smiled to myself

"So Nicholas?" Sheriff looked at me from across the table, a cup of coffee in his hand. I hummed and nodded, sipping my hot cocoa.

"Nicholas?” He asked again.

"Mieczyslaw?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

He raised his eyebrows, "It was his mother's father's name."

“I remember Grandpa Mitch, trust me." I smiled, holding my mug in both hands, “I was thinking maybe Nicholas Noah.” I avoided looking in his eyes. Emotional talks were never really his strong suit, especially after Aunt Claudia. I wanted to honor him somehow.

He smiled, blinking a few times, “Sounds pretty good to me.” After a moment he asked: "What are you going to do now?"

I finished my drink and stood up to put it in the sink, "My plan, right now at least, is that I'm going to stay here to have the baby... Then...” I washed out the mug, “Then I'm not sure. I don't know if I want to go back to Scotland or stay here." He stood up as well and pulled me into his arms for a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him, blinking my own tears away.

Uncle Noah stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head, "Whatever your decision, I'll be there for you. Whenever you need me. I'll always, always be there for you."

My pajamas had taken a turn for the worst. No more t-shirts and shorts, it’s moo moos and nightgowns from now on. I pulled my night gown over my head, smoothing out the skirt. Did I look like I had raided a grandmother’s closet? Absolutely. I looked down at my stomach, rubbing my hand over my bump.

"Are you a little alien?" I smiled after a moment, listening deeply to his little heartbeat, “Nice.” I glanced over at my desk, then pulled back my blankets to get into bed. I stopped, my head snapping back towards the window where there were red eyes staring back at me.

Now, if this was two years ago I would be losing my mind over the fact that there were red eyes staring at me. But since I've gone through emotional Hell, I was feeling rather annoyed by some alpha that just thought they could mosey around my house, around my window, and around my goddamn personal space. I stalked over to the window and slammed it open.

"Listen, pal, you have about five seconds to get out my yard or I swear by all that is damnable, I will put you through so much pain that your great-grandchildren will be sore."

The eyes came closer, revealing a familiar crooked jaw, "Nice to see you too."

"You could have just come through the front door, ya know? If Stiles can make a spare key to your house, then he can make you one for his." Scott only looked at me seriously. It was like the kid from three months ago was gone and all there was left was a battle hardened man.

"Can I please come in?" I stepped away from the window, watching him crawl inside and stand up.

"I've been great, Scott, I've only been in Scotland for months, crying and wondering why none of my friends or family were contacting me. How have you been?" Was it petty? Absolutely, but the hormones were raging. Even if Derek told everyone to stop talking to me, what hold did he have over anyone when Scott was around?

"I'm sorry about that, I really am. But I came to-"

I cut him off, after finally connecting, "Who did you kill?"

“What?”

"To become an alpha, who did you take it from?"

"I didn't kill anyone!” He said in an exasperated voice, “Why does everyone ask that? Not killing people has been my thing since Peter bit me." He ran his hand through his shorter hair, it suit him.

It then dawned on me. The one thing that had little to no documentation of. Even the Lunar Circle had just the basics. It was the stuff of legend, a hear say. I didn't think it was possible.

"A true alpha." He stared at me for a second and blinked a couple times.

"You're a true alpha." I grinned, "Oh my god, Scott, this is unbelievable." I grabbed his shoulders and gave them a slight squeeze, "Tell me everything. I wanna know how it happened and what situation you were in. How were you feeling? Were you hurt? Was your body under so much stress that it just happened?”

Scott grabbed my hands and placed them by my sides, "(Y/N), maybe another time I came here for a reason."

"Oh, right, of course." Probably looking ridiculous, “What’s on your mind?”

"I really don't think it's safe for you here."

"Here we go agai-"

"Will you just listen to me before you start whining?" He growled. That certainly shut me up. I raised my eyebrows at him, but I guess I should hear him out. I motioned for him to continue.

"I'm not so much worried about you.” He said, “I know you can take care of yourself. I'm worried about..." He paused, "Uh..."

“Nicholas.”

"Yeah, I'm worried about Nicholas." He sat in my computer chair and leaned forward, "The pack we're facing don't care who they kill or why, all they want is to hurt us. You're my friend, (Y/N). I don't want anything to happen to you. And I don't want anything to happen to your kid. Please." He rolled forward and took my hands in his, "Please, go back to Scotland. I promise you, you won't be in the dark. You don't deserve to be left out. I'll call myself, and if not me, Stiles will. It's not safe for you.” I looked down, gnawing on my lip. Scott was right, he was completely right. It wasn't safe. I couldn't be a tough alpha when I had so much to live for. Keeping this kid safe is my top priority. As much as I wanted to stay home, it wasn’t safe.

"You'll tell me when it's safe to come back?"

"You have my word."

I sighed, looking up at him with a half-smile, "I may be stubborn as hell, but that doesn't mean I can't admit when someone's right. And you're right, Scott. I'll go."

He closed his eyes, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He dropped my hands and rolled back, "I'm so glad you agreed with my first speech, if you hadn't I would have been improvising for my life." He chuckled.

Shaking my head, I grinned at him, “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too.”

"So you're going back?" Uncle Noah looked over his coffee with tired eyes, spying my luggage that had only been unpacked for two days. It was a new day and another plane ride.

"It's not safe for me. It's not safe for any of you." I rested my head on his shoulder, "But I know that will never stop you from helping the ones you care about."

A small smile pulled at his lips, "You're way too good at reading me."

"Well, I've only known you my whole life."

He set down his coffee and hugged me tight, like this was the last time he would see me. I know he was worried about me and Stiles, it was in his nature. This was the best option for me. As much as I wanted to stay and fight. I couldn't fight if my child was kidnapped and hell knows what would happen to him.

Giving him one last squeeze, I pulled away, the honking outside meant that Stiles had pulled in and was ready to drop me off at the airport.

"I'll call you when I land. Or text you. Depends on the time." I kissed his cheek, "Bye Uncle Noah."

“Goodbye, sweetheart. Stay safe." I kissed his cheek. My head held high, I grabbed my bag and my rolling luggage and went out the door. Stiles grabbed my bags, opening the back of Roscoe to throw my luggage in. That was until a familiar black Camero pulled into the driveway, blocking Stiles in.

"God. Dammit." I muttered to myself. My life was just going swell, wasn't it? I looked down at my stomach and sighed. I felt the burn of acid reflux in my throat, my child showing obvious discomfort as well. Me too, little man. Me too.

There was no way around it, I couldn’t leave without talking with him. Not that I should have to begin with. I sucked.

Derek got out of the car, coming around quickly and standing in front of me.

“Derek, I don’t think you should be here.” Stiles stepped forward. Very sweet, but realistically Stiles wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing against Derek. They stared each other down, the air just filled with masculinity.

“Stiles...” I said, grabbing my bags, “If he wants to take me to the airport, let him.”

Stiles eyes widened, “You’re really giving him the time of day? Really?”

Sighing, I pulled Stiles into my arms and hugged him tightly. He hesitated, but hugged me back.

“I know that this seems like a bad idea, and most of my ideas are bad, but I got this. Trust me.” I smiled and kissed his cheek, “I love you.” He pulled away, looking between Derek and I.

“I love you too. Scott and I will let you know when it’s safe to come back.”

“You better.” I turned back to Derek, trying to keep up the attitude I had to keep Stiles at ease. I held out my bags. He took them without a word and we both started the trip to the airport. It was hard to get a read on him at the moment. He emotions were dull, nothing that stood out. He still looked as tense as ever. His brows were knitted together and his piercing green eyes looked hard.

“So...” He said after a while, “What are you going to do about...” He trailed off.

“Him?” I looked down at my stomach, “I’m just preparing and getting ready for him. I picked a name too. Nicholas.”

A small smile pulled at his lips, but he hid it, “Hmm.”

“Derek....” Now or never, “I just need to know why?”

He inhaled deeply, “I wish I could tell you. I don’t even remember it happening. Like I was under a spell and I couldn’t break out of it.” So he had experienced what I had when I was under Matt’s control. In this situation, in Beacon Hills, there was no reason not to believe him. His heart told me it was true.

“I’m sorry that I hit you.”

“I don’t blame you.” He glanced over at me, “If I felt the same thing you did, I would probably lose control too.”

“I’m tired of people taking advantage of you. If I see that bitch-” I hadn’t realized that my eyes had turned red.

“(Y/N)...” He reached over his right hand, placing it on my knee, “Calm down.” I took a deep breath and leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes. Just the simplest touch could calm me down and it was something that I missed.

“Nicholas, huh? I like it.”

Happiness welled up in my chest, “I sure hope so since you picked it.”

“I didn’t think you liked it.”

I sat back up and opened my eyes, “What are you talking about? I’ve always liked that name.”

“Riiiiight.”

By the time the conversation ended, we were at the airport. I reached for the handle to open the door when he reached over to stop me.

“I let you leave alone last time, I’m walking you in."

We got inside and checked in, the only thing left was for me to board. Maybe it was a good thing that he didn't take me to the airport last time, because now that he was here, I didn't want to leave him.

"How selfish would it be for me to ask you to drop your life here and come with me?" I leaned on his arm.

"Very. Trust me, the thought crossed my mind. I'm needed here. I have to be here for Cora."

I smiled slightly, "We're gonna get through this. Soon we'll be together again and we can have that big happy family that you deserve. That we deserve."

Derek sighed, resting his head on top of mine, "Is it cliche to hope that this all ends tomorrow?"

My smile faltered, "Don't believe in miracles, Derek."

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#derek hale x reader #teen wolf fic #teen wolf x reader #derek hale fic

30 notes · View notes

johnnys-coors · 3 years

Note

Could you do one we’re tommy has a crush on the reader and so Johnny helps tommy by giving the reader 10 leaders (1 a day) and he like saying in the letter like how much they like the reader and some stuff abt them so facts etc. so when the last lettter came he tells the reader to meet him at the beach and soooo he standing there and stuff soooo then tommy asks the read out to like a diner and they end up going to a diner just of them and then they end up dating

Letters Made of Hand

Castles Made of Sand -Jimi Hendrix

Characters: Tommy, Johnny, and Y/N

Contains: fluff, kissing, and feelings

Y/N speeds up her walking, she is going to be late to Geometry. Passing by a row of lockers, she narrows her eyes to see '047D'. She rushes to her gray locker, hurriedly calculating her combination. “Ah, shit!” The lock has stopped moving, it's jammed. A few passerby's stares are felt on Y/N's back. The frustrated teenager’s cheeks grow red from the sudden attention. She glances at the clock right above a classroom next to her. Y/N has two minutes.

A raspy voice asks, "Do you need help?" Y/N whips her head to the right in surprise. Fluffy platinum hair reflects the fluorescent school lights hanging from above. The corners of his light blue eyes crinkle in a laugh, as Johnny finds Y/N’s distress hilarious. “Oh, shut up.” Y/N scoffs, frustrated with combination of her lock and the clock quickly running her out of time.

“Say less.” Johnny ushers Y/N out of the way and pulls down on the stuck lock. The shiny metal unlatches with a snap. The boy grins, proud of his accomplishment. “Wow, you’re better than any janitor!” Y/N faux swoons, receiving a snort from her friend. She faces the locker and swings open its thin metal door. A white piece of paper floats down onto the beige tiling. Muttering a ‘What the..’, Y/N leans down to grab the note. Johnny notices this occurrence, becoming intrigued. “Is it a secret admirer?”

Opening the folded material, the letter is a page long. Y/N wouldn’t have enough time to read it now. She folds up the paper while grabbing her math supplies. Shoving two Anatomy books into her unorganized shelf, she slams her locker shut. “I gotta get to class, I’ll let you know what it’s about,” Johnny goes to protest, stating she has plenty of time. “See ya!” Y/N shouts over her shoulder, running to her Geometry class, leaving the tall boy behind.

As soon as Y/N is inside the math class’ doorway, the bell rings. Sighing in relief, Y/N made it! The teacher looks over in disapproval, always expecting her students to be early and ready to learn. Ignoring the glare, Y/N bounces over to her seat, getting a few laughs from her classmates. Elated, and also flattered from a potential love interest, she giggles. Dutch, an aggressive blonde, elbows his desk neighbor. His bushy eyebrows furrow as he tries to keep his voice down. “Don’t tell me Johnny gave you my stash.”

Jimmy grabs a hold of the broken lock at Y/N’s locker. “What’s this?” His tanned hands cradle the metal as he's kneeled on the ground. “Let’s just say I saved the day, Jim,” Johnny gloats, puffing out his chest. A familiar cocky smirk plays on the boy’s face while everyone rolls their eyes. Y/N lightly shoves the teenager, barely budging from his heroic stance. Bobby and Tommy smile playfully at their group of friends. “Let’s get some lunch.”

Cobra Kai saunters into the loud cafeteria. The typical cliques are in their usual spots. The Cheerleaders and Jocks in the center, the Goths in a corner near a large bulletin, the Nerds by the lunch line, and Cobra Kai next to the water fountains. Now don’t get the group wrong, they’re still studs even if they don’t mingle with the Jocks. Tommy just had to get one swing at the football team’s quarterback.

Johnny leads them to the lunch line, reaching forward to snatch a plastic tray for himself. Y/N grabs one along with a shiny spoon and fork. The smell of pizza meets Y/N’s nose. Her stomach grumbles, a hunger rippling through her. “Pizza or salad?” The lunch man grumbles, he'd rather be doing anything else than serving food to rude high schoolers. “Uh, pizza, please.” Y/N requests, waiting for the oven-hot rectangular flatbread to slide onto her tray. And it does, nearly staining the fabric of her white shirt.

Moving her tray to the end of the line, Y/N takes a cup of mandarin oranges and sets it down on her tray. She starts to walk to her seat while her friends pass by her on both sides. The white and gray tiles stick to her shoes as God knows what's been on the floor. Placing down her food, she opens her water bottle she snagged from her locker. The Cobras talk among themselves, laughing about a prank they pulled. Y/N twists her left wrist to open the blue bottle cap. She leans back and begins to take a sip. Cool water hits her parched mouth.

"Y/N, why don't you show us what you found in your locker today?" Johnny questions, more demanding than suggestive. She nearly chokes on her water in excitement. Placing the plastic cap back on, she sets the bottle back down onto the red table. "Sure thing." Y/N reaches her index and middle fingers into her front jean pocket. Her eyes flick up to watch her friend's reactions.

Johnny's eyes glow in anticipation, seemingly more blue then before. Bobby nods her on, his long wispy hair framing his olive complexion. Jimmy leans on Dutch, who could care less, while a small smile is in the making. Tommy fixates on his food, sawing off his pizza with a metal knife. The utensil shines as it reflects the school’s overhead lights. He seems off, really off. Squinting, Y/N makes out a slight hue of pink on the loudmouth's cheeks. He's blushing?

"Are you gonna let us see?" Dutch quips, impatient as ever. Finally pulling out the folded paper, it crinkles as Y/N smoothes it out with her palm. Clearing her throat, she begins to read the letter aloud. "'Dear Y/N, I hope I don't come across as a stalker when I write this. Here goes nothing: You may be surprised when you figure out the person behind this handwriting, maybe even shocked. But let me just say that you are the only person that makes me feel like doing a roundhouse kick to the moon and back'," Tommy laughs, saying how bad ass the scenario sounds. This earns a shove from Bobby to quiet him down.

Y/N continues, "'Yes, I'm that thrilled about you. I guess your smile adds to the feeling. No, I think it's your laugh. I remember when we were at the same showing for a movie and hearing your giggle. What I would do to hear it again! Signing off, Hendrix.'" Silence carries through the group, letting the love letter sink into their minds. Bobby breaks the quietness. "What do they mean by 'Hendrix'?" His forehead creases in thought. "I think it's code." Jimmy pipes, the only Cobra with a decent GPA.

"Well, Jimi Hendrix was a rock artist." Tommy suggests, after being quiet for so long. "Right, but who listens to him anymore? I only have cassettes of Boston and Motley Crue." Johnny's hand comes up to comb through his floppy hair. His mouth full of pizza, Dutch grumbles, "MJ is all the rage now." He imitates Michael Jackson, singing an off key 'Billie Jean'. "Okay, I think we get it," Y/N laughs, as an idea pops into her head. "Does anyone have the last name 'Hendrix' in our school?"

In the library for study hall, Jimmy and Bobby help Y/N flip through yearbooks. A stack of them lay off to the right of the wooden table's edge, about to crash to ground. Her eyes scan the names of people, as her eyes become tired from staring. She closes the book's black cover from 1982, giving up. "I found him!" Jimmy exclaims, as Bobby and Y/N crane their necks to see. The librarian hushes the teenagers, adjusting her glasses that sat on her nose. The fuzzy black and white picture showed an attractive Matthew Hendrix. The glossy page reflected dark hair and a white smile.

"I know this kid! He's by my locker." Y/N pieces together, the puzzle falling into place. Bobby glances up at her yearbook in her hands. "Is he in our grade?" He asks. The teenager doesn't want a guy older than the Cobras, he'll just mess around with them. "No Hendrix is in our grade, he does football." At the mention of the ill-fated sport, Jimmy quickly inquires, "Wait, it's not the guy Tommy punched, right?" Y/N shook her head in confusion. Everyone was either too drunk or high to remember who was in the party's fight.

The next day's events were rather quite interesting. Y/N got another letter from this 'Hendrix'. She opened the note hurriedly. It would be embarrassing for her if any of her friends found out. This second paper gave more details about how much they liked Y/N, but they also gave a reference she picked up on. It mentioned going to a summer camp in '83. Y/N went with the Cobra Kais, but other guys tagged along too.

So far, none of her friends had waltzed up to her, pressing more about the topic. Dutch definitely wouldn't, he scoffs at the slightest mention of romance. It's a wonder that he even dated, let alone lost his virginity. Johnny and Tommy have been far too quiet about these occurrences. Jimmy and Bobby have been the only ones willing to help Y/N find more about this secret lover.

The note only fueled a desire for Y/N to ask Matthew if he was writing her letters. She waits, leaning on her locker, awaiting the moment the said boy would roll around. The beginning of the school hours always dragged slow, as if in mud. Y/N hopes this event would bring her some newfound excitement. The first bell rang, signaling to students they had five minutes till class. A breeze blew on her shoulders as a tall figure slowed down their pace. Matthew slung a dark bag over his right bicep, shoving it into his locker.

"Hey, Matthew, is it?" Y/N's voice inquires, raising in pitch with giddiness. The teenager’s brown hazel eyes sweep over her figure, deciding if he should pick up the conversation. With a light sigh, Matthew nods his head. “Yeah, whatcha want?” Y/N holds up the notes that were slipped into her locker from the past two days. “Have you been writing these to me?” She extends the papers for Matthew to take. A look of curiosity takes over the boy as he accepts the letters. His eyes move back and forth as he scanned the writings.

“I didn’t write these,” Y/N’s heart sank as this encounter did not go as planned. “But the handwriting looks familiar.” Matthew swears he saw this specific printing before, maybe written on his car in red spray paint? Reliving the memory, the red warning scribbled out a ‘NO MERCY’ on his beloved Dodge Turbo’s side. The faraway look in Matthew’s eyes causes Y/N to wave her hand in front of his line of vision. Coming back to his senses, Matthew shakes his head in disbelief.

“Here are your papers.” Matthew presses the letters back to Y/N. She's positive that she nibbled onto the bait of this fishhook. She goes to ask him more questions, but he slammed his locker abruptly. Grumbling something about getting payback, Matthew heads down the hallway, turning the corner. He deserts Y/N, who's left with more questions than answers.

For the next few days, each note gave more and more hints about the writer. So far, with the help of Jimmy and Bobby, she figured out that they like soccer and enjoy running on the beach. It’s not a grand discovery, but Jimmy assured her that every clue counted. Besides, the final note would be delivered today. Y/N is thrilled, she hopes the anonymous lover would reveal who they are.

The Cobra Kai boys have been drifting in and out the letter drama, scrapping up details here and there. She walks into the lunch line by herself, as she chooses a salad today. Y/N decides to walk alone, she's packed with a lot of tests and doesn't have time to wait for the others. “Heya, Y/N.” Johnny greets, changing out his cassette tape in his Walkman. Tommy’s bruised hand covers one of the cassettes nearest to him, its taped title unable to be seen.

“What’re you doing?” Y/N asks, as the boy seems to be moving the tape closer to himself. Caught in the act, Tommy stops moving the cassette. He lifts his head to meet his friend’s eyes. A nasty shiner around his right eye stands out against his smooth skin. The boy mentioned he fell down a flight of stairs at a party and tried to catch himself. Hence his purple knuckles.

“Oh, I was just helping Johnny change out his Walkman.” Tommy comes up with, flipping the cassette so it was standing upright, the tape side away from Y/N. Her narrowed eyes dart between Johnny, who fakes a shit eating smile, and Tommy, who doesn't dare move until Y/N lets go of the subject. She sits down, letting the topic dissipate on its own. Her brain's tired enough as is.

“Do you have the final note?” Bobby leans in, his long hair tickling Y/N’s cheek as he questions her. Y/N reaches into her trapper keeper, laying the letter between her and Bobby, reading silently. ‘Meet me at the beach after school, around eight. Bring your swimsuit!’ She almost jumped out of her seat at the butterflies overtaking her stomach. Bobby pats the back of Y/N, lightly laughing. “Well, there you have it. You’ll meet them after all!”

The purr of the Firebird rumbles Y/N’s passenger side seat. The smell of the seawater fills her nose with her window cracked open. Johnny’s bright headlights gives way that they're traveling down the dark road. The whistle of the wind and the thumping of REO Speedwagon hum her ears. It's surprising that she didn’t bribe Johnny to take her, he usually would grumble about it for a while. This time he acted almost glad to take Y/N.

Johnny pulls the car forward and parks it in the beach’s parking lot. She scans her surroundings ahead of her through the glass. The silhouette of a figure is down in the sand, facing the waves. “I think that’s my person. Thanks, Johnny.” Y/N unbuckles her seatbelt, ready to open the door and greet her writer. A tan arm swung out in front of her, holding a piece of paper. This stops her from continuing her motions. “What’s this?” Grabbing the note, she opens it.

The infamous handwriting is there but another one is visible. A more hurried, scratchy one. ‘You weren’t expecting another letter? Calm your tits, it’s just a note from your letter carrier: Make sure kick ass when you meet ‘Hendrix’. He’s really an amazing dude.’ Johnny laughs, slapping his large hands together in amusement. Y/N mouth drops, the charade coming to a close in front of her eyes.

“Wait, so you were the one dropping off the letters in my locker?” Y/N asked, her eyes shining in amusement. Johnny nods frantically, his hair reflecting the moonlight coming in on the dashboard. “Hey, it wasn’t hard to put superglue on the lock. It was pretty sick!” Laughing, she opens the car door, leaving the paper on her seat. “You jerk!” Y/N slams the door shut, leaving an emphasis on her words.

The grainy white sand slows her walking as she approaches the figure. “Hello?” She calls, anticipating rising. Everything has came to this moment, it better be worth it. Brunette hair gently moves in the breeze, as goosebumps rise on her arms. No answer is given. The person’s ears are covered by a certain black foam, connected with wire. Sighing, she nears even closer.

As if expecting the visitor, or listening intensely, an index finger presses pause on their Walkman. Turning their head, Y/N’s eyes widen and she covers her mouth in surprise. A set of brown eyes watch her reaction while they remove their Walkman, setting it down on their blue towel. A smile forms the longer the person watches Y/N. “It’s me.” The voice was bubbly and unapologetically loud.

“Tommy? Oh my god.” Y/N’s face pales as she sets herself down next to the writer. The male leans over to the left and makes a show of taking out his cassette tape. ‘Jimi Hendrix- Electric Ladyland’ is written on the brown Scotch tape. “I’m ‘Hendrix’, Y/N.” She blushes, her face turning a shade of pink. “I figured that out by now, doofus.” Tommy quietly laughs, turning towards her. Silence commences.

Y/N’s heartbeat bangs loudly against her ribcage as she leans in. She pauses, just short of kissing him. Y/N wants to make sure he is okay with going further. Fortunately, hesitation is not in Tommy’s vocabulary. Her eyes close once she feels his lips on her own. His warm hand cusps her face, gently stroking his thumb on her cheek. His abs contract as he rests his back on his towel, his left arm propping up his head.

She lays to left of him, her face creating contact with his. Her hair falls over to the side, moving slightly with the ocean wind. Tommy’s hand rests on the small of Y/N’s back, as the warmth of his body pulls her in further. Running her hands through his hair, she gently pulls. A small groan is released from Tommy throat, rumbling Y/N’s chest. An innocent gesture but not so innocent reaction.

Tommy smiles warmly when the kisses end, fireworks going off in his stomach. Y/N pulls herself up and sits facing the black waves, turning shy with the shared intimate moment. “Come on, let’s go for a swim.” Tommy proposes, rising to his feet and pulling off his gray sweatshirt. His toned stomach pales in moonlight, his crucifix necklace dangling down over his chest. His orange swim trunks are loosely draped over his prominent hip bones.

“Like what you see?” Tommy teases, flexing his biceps. “As if, loverboy.” Y/N retorts with faux annoyance. She grips the bottom hem of her black top as she reveals her swimsuit, shedding her pants. It’s now Tommy’s turn to gawk. He stands like a little kid, with his hands relaxed at his side, his jaw slack. Y/N takes this as an opportunity to rush into the waves, splashing Tommy with the lukewarm water.

“Hey! Come here!” Y/N giggles as he rushes over to lift her up off the ground. He spins her around once, laughing. Her eyes widen in thrill as he lifts her up even higher, getting ready to toss her into the water. Her legs kick in excitement as she grips onto his shoulders. “Ah, Tommy!” She giggles, not wanting him to let go of her. Her eyes lock with his own once again.

Her laughter fades as they gaze at each other. Tommy’s adam apple bobs when he swallows thickly. He’s nervous. She feels herself being let down by the taller. Y/N stands now confused by the change in mood. “Y/N,” Tommy calls, more declarative than interrogative. “Can you be mine?” The water around her ankles feel colder than before.

She nods, gradually getting faster with her confidence. “Yes, yes, yes,” Wrapping her hands around Tommy’s waist she pulls him in for a quick peck. “A thousand times yes.” She turns to exit the water and put her clothes back on. Her boyfriend follows, now noticing the Firebird that’s been there for over an hour. “Are you kidding me? Johnny’s here?” He whines, falling to his knees, his fists pounding the soft sand.

Y/N giggles, amused by his dramatic ways. “Hey, let’s get some fries downtown? Johnny can take us.” Tommy gets up off the ground, grabbing his towel and Walkman. “Fine, it’s a deal. Race you to the car!”

#fanfic #tommy karate kid #johnny lawrence #cobra kai

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illlumiseven · 4 years

Text

Don’t Ever Scare me Like that Again.

Joel Miller x Reader

Pt : 1/2

Warnings: Light Angst, fluff(if you squint), swearing

Summary: You’re Tess’ slightly younger sister and you tag along with Joel and Ellie even though Joel insisted you go with Tommy to Jackson.

Word Count: 1.7k

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Autumn

Autumn rolled around pretty fast.

We had separated with Tommy almost a month ago now and you could really feel the cold beginning to seep in.

Joel had been particularly quiet this journey barly even scolding Ellie, which to you was unbelievably confusing.

You stared at the back of Joel’s head as he lead the three of you into a new town.

Ellie had decided to give him a break and ride with you for a change.

You didn’t mind, it was comforting with Ellie so close to you she was like a personal heater.

“Hey what was Tess like ?” She asked you loud enough so you could hear her but Joel couldn’t.

You drew in a shakey breath as memories came flooding in from your childhood.

“Tess was great, she was this cheerful, kind of peppy girl, especially when we were in school,” you smiled at the thought.

“See Tess was the popular girl and in turn everyone knew who I was. I was only a year behind her in school,” you explained to the girl.

You glanced back at Ellie and noticed she had a small smile on her face.

“Did she like the attention ?”

This made you laugh slightly which had Joel’s head turning around slightly to peer at the two of you.

“Liked it! She fucking loved it,” you said, your laughter dying out.

“I have no clue why though,” a small smile still eteched on your face.

Ellie smiled proud of the fact she got you to show some emotions that weren’t sadness or anger.

Ellie had noticed from the day Tess died that you had been kind of like a shell of a person and she felt guilty.

She had a feeling that you and her would get along but she just needed to break through the walls you put up.

Ellie was about to ask you another question about life before the infection, when Joel suddenly pulled his horse to a stop.

“Stop with your chit chat and go look for supplies,” he said in a short and clipped tone.

You noticed Ellie roll her eyes and mock salute him as she hopped off the horse. You quickly followed after her, after you handed Joel the reigns of your horse.

Ellie ran into a bookstore while you went into the supermarket next to it.

You quickly picked up anything you found that could be useful.

Your head whipped round when you heard Ellie call your name from the bookshop.

“Yeah?” You replied as you finished putting some food into your rucksack.

“Look,” she said as she held out a copy of a book.

You couldn’t make out the title from where you stood but when you moved forward and saw it you drew in a small breath beofore a smile spread over your face.

“Grimms’ Fairytales!” You said as you took the book out of her hands and inspected what kind of condition it was in.

“How’d you know ?” You asked her as you looked up from what was practically your childhood.

“It looked old just like you,” she said in a joking tone.

You feigned a look of hurt before smiling and looking back down at the book.

“What is it about ?” You heard Ellie ask.

You looked up and opened your mouth to answer but changed your mind halfway.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll read you this book when we take breaks, and then you’ll find out what it’s about.”

You looked over and Ellie had the biggest smile on her face and it warmed your heart.

A sudden thought passed through your mind and it made a small smile appear.

‘ This must be what having a kid feels like’

That thought ran through your head for the next couple of days on your journey when you and Ellie would talk constantly while riding.

She would speculate what was going to happen next in the first story you started with from the collection.

Cinderella.

Joel was still very quiet but you noticed that some days he looked a bit happier than he was most.

You also noticed the amused smile that would appear briefly on his face when Ellie would make a ridiculous assumption about what would happen next.

Over the coming weeks it began to get progressively colder and you all began to search for warmer clothes when you’d stop in old QZ’s or towns.

Everything was smooth sailing until you ran into another group of hunters.

You had finally made it to Colorado and you were honestly a bit upset about the fact you’d be parting with Ellie so soon, but you hid that from her and Joel.

Walking through the science building made you feel uneasy.

That feeling only grew when you heard something on the floor above you.

“What if it’s hunters,” you said to which Joel scoffed.

“The place still looks inhabited,” you tried to argue.

He had simply brushed you off saying whoever lived there probably moved on, which in all honesty confused you because he knows hunters don’t move on from places once they settle.

So here you were shooting two guys in the face as Ellie pulled Joel up off of the rusted metal spike that had impaled his stomach.

Joel was a mess.

He could barely stand and would stumble every couple of metres before you eventually forced him to lean on you as you told Ellie to cover you both.

When you finally made it back outside you helped Joel over to his horse before he insisted he was fine.

You told Ellie to stick with Joel this time and with that the three of you took off out of Colorado and the rest was a blur to you.

You had made it a good bit away from the university and you were coming up to the outskirts of a smaller town before Joel keeled over, off of his horse.

Your mind went fuzzy and you felt yourself breathing heavily as you jumped off your horse and down beside him.

Ellie snapped you back to reality as she picked up Joel’s left arm and slung it around her own before telling you to ‘hurry the fuck up and get his right side.’

With that you snapped into action and and helped put him on the horse before walking the horse to an abandoned cabin.

You helped Ellie a good bit. While she took Joel down off the horse you went upstairs to check for infected. There were two clickers in a the kitchen that you easily took care of.

You went back down to the basement and noticed Ellie had found a mattress and pulled it down for Joel to lie on.

You stared at the man you had known since you were 34 a nauseating feeling spreading throughout you as you did. Joel was always ready to fight, but now just looked so weak and fragile and it scared you like nothing else ever had.

Winter

About a week had passed since you had arrived at the cabin and winter was now in full swing where the cabin was located anyways.

To say you hated being stationed in one place for too long, was an understatement.

You despised it.

You felt like a sitting duck waiting to be eaten by clickers or killed by hunters.

You had been going out on supply runs constantly refusing to let Ellie accompany you or go herself.

Which pissed her off to say the least.

But you knew better.

Joel would have your head if he found out you let her out alone.

You were doing everything in your power to protect the two of them.

Making sure Ellie had food in the morning and evening and making sure Joel got some form of medicine everyday.

It was incredibly difficult to come by but you found a couple of abandoned lodges that had some Penicillin in them.

While you were were on your way back you bumped into a small group of hunters.

You easily picked them off silently before you headed back.

Once you got back you went straight for the basement and injected the antibiotics into Joel’s stitched up wound.

Joel seemed to be better the next morning and that put your mind at ease. You were expecting to be back on the road soon enough.

But what you didn’t anticipate was the fact that you were tracked.

You told Ellie to stay with Joel, that you’d get rid of them and you’d be back soon.

But when you never came back Ellie got worried and followed after your tracks only to find Callus dead.

So instead she just followed after the trail of dead bodies you left behind.

You couldn’t really remember much.

You were taking out one guy and then you somehow ended up battered and bruised on the floor, in a place you didn’t recognise.

You didn’t know how long you were there or when the man with the baseball bat finally stopped hitting you and disappeared.

Voices barely registered in your mind. You thought you heard Ellie but you could’ve just been hallucinating due to the concussion.

What you did recognise though was Joel’s voice.

You swore you heard him yell your name but it was too hard to tell since you were in and out of consciousness.

You felt a pair of warm arms embrace you. You tried to focus on something, anything when you could faintly hear Joel.

“C’mon darlin stay with me,” his voice sounded far away but you knew it belonged to the person holding you.

You forced your eyes open much to the begrudgement of the rest of your body.You realised your right eye was swollen and could barely open but through your left you could see the face belonging to a worried Joel hovering above you.

“You’re okay,” you mustered up as you looked at the man above you.

Joel’s expression softened and he chuckled, “don’t you be worryin’ bout me darlin,” he said softly.

You smiled before turning your head towards his body and closing your eyes.

He let out a breath of relief before picking you up and getting Ellie before walking out of wherever you were.

Before you faded out of consciousness, the last thing you heard was Joel’s voice.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

Authors Note: Hey hoped you enjoyed this for now it’s a two shot but I don’t know how I’m leaving the second chapter so there could be a part 3. But again hoped you enjoyed ❣️

#joel miller #the last of us #joel miller x reader #joel the last of us #twoshot #the last of us imagine #joel miller imagine #angst #slight fluff #i mean i tried #joel miller deserves love and affection #violence #death mention

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

Text

Ain’t No Grave... (Favored Ones, Part 22.)

Series description: Many things were surely fucked up in the year 2038, but no-one ever told anyone how all of it went down. What happened before a group of people left for Seattle to handle personal matters? Why did one girl refuse to leave all of it be? And why there were so many dead in the end?

Quote for the chapter: “ Well, meet me Jesus, meet me. Meet me in the middle of the air.” - Johnny Cash

Part summary: There was nothing more to do than to talk - and as you talked, there were more and more things coming to your mind, which ended up in a terrible fight.

A/N: This was... A tough one to write, guys. I am not feeling the best about this chapter, but Ellie had to adress the elephant in the room.

Warnings: Gore, blood, murder, infected, guns, shooting, angst.

Word count: 5.2 K

Tagging: @nemodoren @xxgoldenhour @missdictatorme @peakymarvels @davnwillcome @pickleriiick @jodiereedus22 @gladiosamicitias @tamkashi @eternallyvenus @avengerssstuff @fangirl-inthe-us @avery-miller @mikah-writes @mad-hatter-98 @sadiaafrin99 @flavorishy

Series master list: H E R E

Joel Miller’s playlist for the bonfire occasions: H E R E

Youtube playlists: JACKSON DAYS | SEATTLE DAYS

Seattle, day one - afternoon / Seattle, day two:

It took you a while before getting your breath back as you got up from the ground. The infected were trying to bring the fending between you and then down, but thanks for the love of God, the Seattle subway infrastructure could endure a lot.

There was this thing about Ellie and Joel. Until that very morning, you thought you know them both - how were they like, what did they like, what was their past like. But as the day progressed, you learned a new piece of information every hour. Joel was a cold-hearted murderer and torturer about which you had zero ideas. Ellie, who you didn't know was immune suddenly could breathe spores. And she breathed so much of them it would kill a few big guys. What the fuck was going on? Did you even know these people? Or were their Jackson personas just masks?

Nonetheless, you walked up to Dina, smoothing her back as she vomited again. Jesus wasn't fine in the slightest. Ellie was standing beside you the whole time, but the didn't dare to touch her girlfriend for the whole time because she knew she's in a knee-deep shit.

"You'll do better if you'll go ahead and find a place we can spend the night at. I'll take of her, okay?" - You whispered to Ellie, slowly holding her upper arm in your fingers. The girl was fidgeting her fingers, nervously looking at the both of you. Joel, who was standing in the back, didn't look any better. For the first time, you could see the fear in that man's face.

Why? He realized that as soon as you find a place to stay, it will give you some space to talk about all the stuff that happened. Which, honestly, he was terrified of. If he had to be honest, he cared for you. A lot. Ever since you arrived in Seattle, your survival and well-being was his priority. But... What if that just wasn't enough?

Every time Joel mentioned he's a fucked up person, you've told him 'I know'. But now he was sure that knowing doesn't mean realizing something. And the realization hit you when you entered Seattle. Now, there was no turning back, because there were only two outcomes if you both survive Seattle - the first was that you will stay together even though what happened or he won't ever see you again once you reach Jackson again.

In the end, Ellie nodded and motioned for to Joel to follow her. While you were nursing Dina, they started to chatter about something as they made sure the path in front of you is clear as a sunny day.

"You good there, babe?" - You asked Dina, smoothing wet strands of her out of her face. She took in one feel breath and straightened up, trying to relax. She was holding her belly because of the pain. - "Come here, lean into me. Attagirl." - A whisper came out of your lips as you put your hand on her hip and her arm around your shoulder, leading her out of the subway.

"What a day, eh?" - Dina asked ironically, having tears in her eyes. At that, you snickered too. Just as you left the infrastructure, you've noticed it started to rain. And it wasn't just some small spring rain. It was a fucking storm outside.

"One wouldn't have suspected how quickly can everything go to shit." - You answered, helping her down from a hill. Joel and Ellie decided to reside in the movie theater just opposite the street and they were already breaking their way in.

"Don't worry, the best news of the days still didn't come out." - The girl chuckled dryly, having you confused at that statement. Jesus fucking Christ. Just five peaceful minutes were what you were asking for. Was that too much? It seemed so.

Once you were all in and the door were barricaded, you took a good look around the theatre. Tug on Joel's jacket made him notice you're trying to lead him away from the girls because they needed to talk. Since you were right at the moment, he gave into the touch, letting you take his palm to yours as you walked around the entrance hall.

Dina and Ellie were more or less arguing about something as you looked around the place, leaving your mouth shut. The place was quiet and in good condition as well, which indicated that there were no infected inside the building.

"How you're holding up?" - You asked silently, turning to Joel when you were out of sight. Gently, you put both your palms on his bearded jaws, taking in a long breath.

Sure, you were disgusted by the things you got to know about Joel, but at the moment, you were focusing on him being alive and well. And you were also too tired to care about that stuff at the moment. The man nodded, hugging you tightly as he rocked you both gently.

"Better now. What 'bout you?" - He hummed to your hair, trying to get the blood off your face. There was this small, sad smile on your face when you nodded to him back. - "I love you." - You whispered, making the man's heartthrob at these words.

It felt nice to know that he didn't lose the fight for you just yet. Instead of telling you back, he just pressed his lips to your forehead, closing his eyes at that.

Honestly, you almost freaked out when Ellie stormed around you, running to stairs to your right. As you watched her back, both you and Joel got the same idea - going after her. But in Joel's case, it wasn't the best one, so you held his palm for a bit longer as you made the first step back.

"Stay here with Dina and try to find out what's wrong. I can deal with Williams. I think... Dina's sick. So find a place to sleep at, maybe?" - You asked with a nervous smile, letting the man go. Joel, no matter how much he wanted to go after his daughter, had to nod. It was probably for the better if he'd look after the other girl for a while, letting all the emotions you all gathered throughout the day settle down a bit.

It wasn't hard to make out where Ellie went. All you had to do was to follow loud cusses and bangs. She was in a radio room of sorts, holding a desk of the table in her palms, rocking back and forth. - "Hey there." - You leaned into the door, making Ellie turn her head at you for a second.

"Hey." - The girl muttered, watching you coming next to her, looking at an old radio in front of her. - "Whatcha got there?" - You sighed and looked at it. This could be useful... You didn't know how you could use it, but it could be useful somehow. Your eyes traveled along a yellow cable leading out of the room, so you nudged Ellie's side. She was clearly out of her mind, thinking about her stuff.

"I bet that when we'll follow this buddy, we'll find some generator which, if we'll be lucky, will power the whole building." - Your elbow nudged her side as your eyes followed the cable outside the room. With a long sigh, Ellie followed you through a short corridor, looking at how you were fighting with opening up the window. - "Excuse me?" - You asked when you heard the girl mumble something behind your back. You were both standing in front of the opened window, looking at each other.

"I can't believe Dina didn't tell me she's pregnant." - Ellie recapitulated for you, surprising you so much you had to lean your palm into the glass of the window. Gently, you put your palm on the upper part of your chest, trying to wrap your head around what Ellie had just said. Dina, your Dina, the one you knew for years, she was with a child? She was pregnant? Those were some news, just as the girl told you previously. That was just crazy.

"Woah, don't pass out on me." - Ellie mumbled and caught both your shoulders, making sure you were standing straight. - "Holy fuck, I mean, this shit is fucking crazy." - You answered with a heartrate blasting through the roof. Seattle was unraveling itself like one huge mistake. Everything you thought you knew about each other was starting to come across as fake. Bunch of lied and misleading, that was what it seemed like. Jesus fucking Christ, it will be a fucking miracle if you'll be able to look each other in the eyes once you'll be back.

"That's exactly what I thought when she told me." - Ellie agreed with an expression full of panic. - "But you and I need to talk too, you realize that, Williams?" - You asked when you put her palms down from you, jumping on a platform outside the window into the ice-cold rainstorm. In sync, you both pulled your hoodies up to cover from the cold wind. Damn, you couldn't wait to cuddle into your sleeping bag and rest for a bit. - "I do realize that, yea. It was a shocker." - Ellie mumbled, making sure you won't fall from the wet and cold metal of the ladder.

"A shocker? Are you fucking kidding me?" - You snickered ironically, offering her your hand as she climbed behind you. Now, you were on the rooftop of the theatre, having a lookout on the city neither of you cared about. Seattle was fucking disgusting in your eyes at the moment. - "I... We should leave this topic until where somewhere where it's warm and dry a bit." - With this statement, Ellie knew that the discussion will be somehow uncomfortable for her as soon as you'll have the time to talk through the topic. With two pairs of eyes, you found the generator room pretty quick, turning the engines back on. And as God said - let there be light.

Quickly, you ran back to the building because the weather was still getting worse and worse over the last few minutes. As you closed the window again, Ellie walked back to the radio room - the lights were on, but the radio was still deadly silent. The girl tried to make it work, but just as usual, she wasn't exactly known for her patience - soon, her palm banged the old piece of technology as she mouthed some curse words. But to both your surprises, this violent act revealed keys that were pushed under the radio. - "Bingo." - You giggled and looked at the keys. - "Should we explore around a bit for now?" - An answer rang through the completely silent room. This probably was the best idea, if Ellie had heard one.

When you walked around, trying to make out which key goes where - Joel was nursing Dina in a small room on the left side of the entrance hall. It was a staff room as it seemed, at least back in the day. You caught a glimpse of his gaze, having you sending him a small grin. At that moment, Ellie opened a big door. And what was behind it simply made you lose your breath. It was a big theatre you had there - full of red velvet seats, blue walls covered in gold ornaments and with those big, heavy curtains on the front side of the hall. - "This is fucking something." - You hummed, taken away by the detailing of the ornaments. - "Joel will shit himself when he sees this." - Ellie chuckled, having this sweet smile on her lips.

In there, your ways had parted for a small moment - while you walked into the backstage, looking at the theatrical coulisses, Ellie got stuck at the instruments. Your hunt was successful - hidden in one of the cabinets, you found an old bottle of vodka. Which was left there for more than twenty fucking years? Hell yeah. Ellie's hunt was also successful - she found an old guitar with a-ok strings. Which could serve as a way to make you both giving on the same wave. With a sigh, you sat on the edge of the stage, looking at Ellie who sat in the first row of the auditorium. With another grunt, you finally took the soaked wet jacket off you, leaving it next to your backpack.

"I feel so extraordinary... Something's got a hold on me..." - Ellie started humming as she started to tune the guitar. It took her a moment before she was done. - "Do you want to have the honor?" - Ellie asked you and watched as you poured the first generous shot of the alcohol down your throat. Immediately, you started to cough, because the vodka surely turned into pure alcohol over the twenty years of just sitting there.

"True Faith?" - You asked, wiping the alcohol off your face with the back of your palm. - "True Faith." - Ellie nodded and straightened up, plucking the first chords of the song. It was a slow and pretty uncanny song, but you liked it. Your eyes registered every small movement of her fingers, each small brush over the strings, the instrument playing the known melody. Just when the lyrics were about to start, you sighed, looking at Ellie. - "I feel so extraordinary... Something's got a hold on me. I've got this feeling I'm in motion, a sudden sense of liberty. And I don't care, cause I'm not there, and I don't care if I'm here tomorrow. Again and again, I've taken too much of the things that cost you too much," - Quickly, you leaned your feet into the edge of the stage, bringing your knees under your chin as you sang the songs and understanding those words for the first time.

"I used to think that the day would never come, I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun. My morning sun is the drug that takes me near. To the childhood I lost replaced by fear." - You continued with the main chorus, but just when the second verse was about to start, you took another huge fucking swing of the alcohol, grinning at the taste inside your mouth. - "Why didn't you tell me? You told me all about the Fireflies, about your and Joel, about the vaccine... But you never mentioned you were immune." - And there you go. Ellie played for a little more before taking in a long breath, looking away from you.

"You were a Firefly, so I supposed you knew about me being immune." - The girl told you honestly. Yeah, sure, that was a valid fucking point. You indeed were a former Firefly and Fireflies were the guys who made a big thing out of Ellie's condition. But you weren't there at the time Ellie got bitten - and to make it better, you were already gone for at least two to three years when it all happened. You weren't a part of the Fireflies at the time. There was a lot of weird illnesses ever since the world went to shit and Ellie could have a code to defeat inside of her for basically any of the diseases. You didn't even think about Ellie being immune to the fungus.

"How in the... Ellie..." - An exclamation left you before you grunted loudly, rolling your eyes. - "Immunity against the fungus is a big fucking thing and now, I am not realizing if my brain even realizes what do those words mean. That's a... A miracle. Nothing but a miracle. And I swear that it doesn't change the way I feel about you. You're my fucking best friend... But... Look at this from my point of view. I fell as if you lied to me the whole time we knew each other." - This was a valid point to say out loud. It wasn't a groundbreaking betrayal Ellie pulled at you, but it was still kind of wild. - "Did you even told me the truth about what happened in Salt Lake?"

"Depends on what you know. No-one knows for real what happened in the hospital - only Joel and I know that." - Ellie looked you straight in your face with a slight furrow. Your palm motioned for her to continue with what she was saying. For a moment, she was watching her nails playing with her jeans - but in the end, she decided to tell you the truth about Salt Lake.

"I've known the leader, Marlene, who you knew as well. And... She was a friend of my mom. And she sent me to a boarding school in Boston. There was this girl, Riley, and she was... So fucking fierce, man, I swear." - Ellie sighed, smiling at the happy memory of Riley. - "Over time, she became a Firefly and she was about to leave to a different city. Honestly, I didn't want to let Riley go, because I was so fucking much in love with her. One night, we went to an empty shopping mall... Or we thought it was empty. Until this moment, I remember how crazy I felt when I kissed her. Man, you'd laughing upon seeing me going for that kiss." - Ellie mumbled, looking at you with a wicked grin. You grinned back at her, swinging her feet around. You didn't know how the fuck did this connect to the fact that Ellie is immune or with the Salt Lake, but you just let Ellie talk.

"But the mall wasn't empty. It was pretty much full of infected. And... Riley and I, we ran. We had a good chance of getting away at the start, but I stumbled. And Riley had to save me. And we both got bitten." - Ellie smiled sadly and took off the jacket, running her fingers on the chemical burn she had on her arm. Jesus fuck. Did she try to cover the biting? - "And because we were young and dumb, we wanted to die there together because we wanted to be... You know... Poetic and shit. We sat there for hours, waiting for our turns. And Riley turned after some time - but I? I didn't turn into a Runner. And when Marlene got to know that, holy shit, she didn't believe for a while, but when the doctors ran some tests, it was confirmed. I had fungus flowing in my bloodstream. I was infected too, but I never had my turn." - And suddenly, you felt that the story is about to take some turn because as Ellie looked at the chemical burn, her tongue was bumping into the inner side of the chin as she thought about what to tell you next. - "And that was how I met Joel and Tess."

"Who's that?" - A question made Ellie stop for a second as she turned her face at you, thinking about what to tell next. Tess? Yeah, that was a good question - who even was she? Joel's friend who made him take Ellie through the whole country? How should Ellie describe the woman? - "She was... Joel's friend. I think maybe a bit more than that, but I'm not sure. Tess and Joel were the ones who Marlene chose to smuggle me out of Boston - first, we were just going to a building inside New York - in and out the job, right? But the Fireflies who were supposed to wait for us there were dead by the time we arrived there. And Tess revealed she was bitten and somehow talked Joel down into delivering me to the Fireflies.

Next on the program, there was a trip to Jackson, where Tommy was living at the time. He was a former Firefly, which meant that he would know where to take me. At that time, Joel wanted to get rid of me and make Tommy take me there - but things don't always go as planned and soon enough, we were driving a university in Colorado. Where Joel almost died, but, that's not a story for today. And the last stop of our USA tour was Salt Lake City hospital in Utah, where you sure as hell were. And we got there." - The girl nodded, taking in another deep breath as she tried to contain her feelings inside.

"We got there and Marlene told Joel what she and her team want to do with me. The fungus grows out of your spinal cord and brain, which meant..." - "That you'd die if they would take the brain out to do further research. And when he got to know that they'll kill me, he did what he knew the best - he killed every last one of them. Even Marlene." - You finished instead of the girl and Ellie smiled at you. It wasn't a happy smile at all she was on the verge of crying. So you stared at her with your lips pushed together.

"We could make a cure, Y/N. We could save... So... Many lives." - The redhead breathed out, but you just scoffed at what she told you. With another swing, you decided to tell her what did you found the funniest.

"What makes you think this? I mean... I was a Firefly for some fucking time. They let me in their group ever after my parents were shot like a pair of dogs. And if I know something for sure, it's the fact that they would never fucking ever give to cure to anyone. Marlene was a bitch," - "Come on, don't you start to shit on her name now." - "She wanted to send a group of teens to attack something in a big city consciously knowing they would die. She was willing to send us on a suicidal mission without the slightest fucking remorse. And you think..." - You scoffed coldly, sliding down on your feet to walk around as you spoke.

"You think that this woman would supply civilians, military, and other factions with a vaccine? No. I knew her better than that." - You finished, but Ellie had some more things to say. Melancholy in her eyes was slowly turning into hatred as she watched every move you made. And suddenly, the bomb just went off. - "This isn't about Marlene! This is about Joel stealing my right to choose by killing the only man who could make the fucking vaccine!" - She jumped on her feet, pointing a finger to your face. - "He stole the meaning of it."

"And do you think you'd save anyone? Can you fucking stop see yourself as some fucking Messiah? This choice didn't matter - he saved your fucking life!" - You screamed back angrily. Jesus, this situation was bad. You went from zero to a hundred quickly.

"He saved my life by making me own it to him! He's selfish and that's something you need to see. Open your fucking eyes because you have your head stuck up to your ass!" - The girl yelled at her with the entirety of her voice, already being on the edge.

"So you're saying you're better than him?" - You scoffed, taking another swing, nodding ironically at Ellie's remark. - "Whining about what happened back there for the last fucking four years, you're saying that he... Stole your chance to have a beautiful suicide and of course, he's the bad guy. You know what, Ellie? Listen to this: we are fucked up people. One by one and all of us." - With tears in your face. - "Joel fucked you over, I see that. But you fucked all of us over as well. You're not a fucking saint so, for the fucking love of God, don't present yourself as one."

"How did I fucked you over, hm? How did I fucked Joel over? And what about Dina?" - She looked at you and all she got from you was an uncertain look to the side. Did you have to answer that question or could you stay silent? - "Y/N, remind me, why are we here?" - Ellie looked you in the face.

"Because of what Abby had done to me and Tommy." - "Right, and why did she do the things to you? Hm?" - The girl scoffed with a knowing face as you realized what she wanted to hear as an answer. And it was the right answer, to be honest. - "That's right. Because of what Joel had done way back in the day. And why? Because he's a selfish man who solves everything with violence. That's what is going on here." - The girl walked straight to you, staying in a way that should make you intimidated by her. But all you did was that you scoffed pitifully and started to walk away from the girl, leaving her all alone in the theatre on your way to Joel. While you were at it, you could fuck all of your relationships, couldn't you? This was an ideal day to do that.

He was sitting in the same place where Dina was sitting previously. His ears heard every word you and Ellie yelled at each other, and he knew what was that about. But you scoffed in his direction too and waved at him. The more-than-twenty-year-old alcohol got into your blood flow way quicker than it should normally. - "Well, hello there." - You sat next to him, giving him the bottle as well. And surprisingly, he took a long fucking swing.

"Hey." - His raspy voice answered quietly, as he toyed around with his palms. Both of you were silent for a while before you just figured out it will be better to tell him straight off the bat.

"You know that we have to start all over now, right?" - Your whisper filled the air as you leaned into his shoulder, taking in a deep breath. - "This has shaken me to the fucking core, Joel. I knew you've some wild things behind. But this surpassed every expectation I had in store." - You mumbled, still thinking about going back to Ellie to talk the things moreover than to just to blatantly yell stuff at each other.

"I mean, kiddo's rite." - Joel answered after a moment. - "I am a selfish and possessive man. And I stole her chance to decide what she wants to do." - Oh, dear Lord, this fucking day started to be a lot more than you hoped it would fucking be. You just wanted to be back in Jackson, to dance around to music, and to go for dumb patrols. This was hurting you more than it should.

"We were just... Yelling at each other. Joel, it was nothing, trust me." - You whispered, feeling your stomach turning upside down. It wasn't just a fight and you both knew that. Ellie was right - he was selfish, possessive, and brutal... And their whole life in Jackson was built on a lie, after all. Why was this topic so fucking hard to talk about? Why was it hard to understand? Sure, you should be disgusted by everything you got to know, but you still felt the same about the man. You were in love. Very much in love. Yet it was quite hard to get your head wrapped around everything so fast.

"Just... Let's not jump to conclusion too fast, yeah? I'm not thinking straight since we arrived here and facts, let alone realizations, aren't hitting the spots they should. I'm not exactly me. Once we get to Jackson, I need time to settle down everything inside my heart." - You scooped closer and gently held his palm just like when you watched the hind together. - "Ellie and I... We are the same. We needed to release the energy, yell some stuff out, be angry for a sec. I'll talk to her later and apologize, okay?" - Swiftly, you licked your lips and kissed his shoulder. - "But we need to get through Seattle together to take a moment to reconsider everything that happened here. 'kay?" - "You should go to sleep now, come on." - Joel got up suddenly, leading you to the small room where Dina was asleep as well.

You fell asleep laying on your chest pretty quick. His hand was smoothing your hair as he was humming some song to your ear, making sure you're asleep. Soon after, he fell asleep as well, being awake by Dina puking into the bucket again. He looked at her, but the just shook her head, pointing her finger at you to keep you asleep. Then, Joel watched as the girl left you alone in the room, walking upstairs.

A few hours later, Ellie walked out of the theatre hall dressed only in her shirt holding a strap of her backpack inside her palm. Now, Joel gently put you down into the warmed up, soft sleeping bags. Ellie almost freaked out and Joel could tell that she has just woken up. With a sigh, she waited until Joel caught up with her and gave him a small, crooked smile. She felt bad about saying what she said... But... She felt so relieved after telling all of that stuff out loud, even for the cost of arguing with you. You've put up with almost all of her shit - and hopefully, you could go through this too.

"Hey." - She nodded at the man who was just stretching his back. - "Howdy." - Joel smirked and both of them slowly started to climb the stairs up. - "Um... About the thing earlier... Was she upset about it?" - Ellie asked with ane expression full of guilt.

"No. Even though she was drunk, there were no unnecessary extempores," - Joel whispered and Ellie knew that Joel must've heard something. And the guilt got even bigger. - "I didn't mean any of it. I was just angry, like," - "'s okay, kiddo. Trust me. 's all 'kay." - Joel answered with a stiffened expression. It wasn't okay, but truth be told, he needed someone who would tell him all the things Ellie and you yelled at each other. It was the first sign of their relationship moving somewhere.

"Fine. Um... I wanna talk to Dina now, so, I'll see you later, okay?" - The girl stopped in front of the door leading into the radio door. The man nodded, and nervously stepped away, setting on his way back to you. And truly, you were still dead asleep. So Joel sat down on the sofa, just looking at his palms. He wished for this Seattle thing to be ended already. Ellie didn't spend too much time with Dina out there, she was walking to the door in the next minute, basically running to it.

"I think we have Tommy on out radar, so I'm going after him. He might know something more about Abby." - She told Joel with a big smile, finally feeling at least a bit better than before. When she saw Joel's expression, she shook her head violently. - "No, you're not going anywhere. Listen to me, goddamnit. Dina and Y/N need you to protect them, you hear me?" - Ellie whispered and put both her palms on his shoulders. - "I trust you with my life because I know you'll do anything in the world to protect them and no-one else would do it better than you, okay?" - She whispered and hugged the man, letting out a quick sigh as she let him go again. - "Now, you'll barricade the door behind me. Let's go."

#ellie williams #ellie the last of us #ellie williams the last of us #dina x ellie #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller x y/n #joel miller the last of us #the last of us #the last of us part 2 #tlou #tlou2 #nora the last of us #abby anderson #abby anderson the last of us

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fangirlfiction · 5 years

Text

Three of Hearts

Pairing: Stucky x reader (spicy)

Word count: 1.7k

Warnings: SPICY MOMENTS! Language, fighting/training.

Prompt: This came from a prompt requested by @cosicas-cuquis for my Fanfic Anniversary Celebration, which was “You can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen, cause guess what? It did!”

Summary: When do one night stands ever become more than that?

a/n: hahahahaha ANOTHER short prompt that turned into A WHOLE ASS DRABBLE. I can’t be stopped, I’m sorry. Let me know what you think, because I haven’t written smut in a hot minute. As always, I love you all a lot a lot, and I love hearing from you!

You’re not sure what wakes you up first: the pounding in your head, or the overwhelming heat coming from the two bodies you’re squished between. You blink your eyes open slowly, wincing at the pain in your head. It only takes 2 seconds for you to realize where you are and who you’re with. Only problem is, you don’t remember how you got here.

You turn slowly to your left and your eyes land on a dark haired man with a chiseled jaw. You turn to your right and see a light haired man with long lashes and perfect cheekbones.

Shit.

You slowly slide towards the end of the bed, hoping your small movements will not wake the two super soldiers. When you reach the end, you stand on uncertain feet as you look around for your clothes, nearly groaning when you find none. Steve’s discarded flannel is on the floor near your feet, and you scoop it up quickly, before grabbing a pair of Bucky’s sweats from a chair near the door and scrambling from the room. Your shoes are near the door on the way out, and you grab them before slipping into the hallway quietly. Afraid to confront the reality of what happened, you run down the stairs and down the street for two blocks before calling a cab to take you home.

Avoiding them is difficult, given your position as team liaison, and things are only made worse by the flash of memories.

It starts the day after you run from their apartment, standing in the middle of aisle 10, trying to decide between Lucky Charms and Cocoa Pebbles. You give up and finally toss both in your basket and turn to leave the aisle, when a man reaches out and touches your wrist.

Bucky grabs your wrist and pulls you backwards, closer to him. His lips ghost over your neck as Steve watches with hungry eyes. You suppress a groan as Bucky dips his tongue into the hollow of your collarbone.

“Miss?”

You lock eyes with the nondescript man and grab the chapstick he’s extending towards you. “Uh, thanks.”

You run into your Monday afternoon meeting, breathless and nearly late, before plopping down into a chair beside the tech guys. Brad lets out a groan as he looks at Tim, “Thanks for lunch man, but I ate way too much. I think I need to loosen up my pants a little.”

Tim laughs as Brad loosens his belt, the buckle clinking as it hits the metal button of his pants.

You lock eyes with Steve as Bucky feels you up from behind, his eyes full of lust as he palms himself over his pants. When Bucky reaches up your dress and touches you, you let out a moan that nearly causes Steve to burst. He quickly undoes his buckle, the metal clinking as his pants hit the floor, before shoving a hand past the waistband of his underwear to touch himself.

Tim’s laugh pulls you out of your head and you immediately lock eyes with Bucky, who sees the flush on your skin and smirks. You stand from the table and make a beeline for the door, brushing past Steve as he walks in. He calls your name with worry and you yell back, “I’m not feeling well, start without me.”

“Alpha team, sweep the bottom level of the house. Beta team, you’re upstairs with me.”

“Copy.”

Your back slides along the wall of the stairwell as you ascend slowly, sweeping left and right, checking for people. When you reach the landing, you motion for your team to stop behind you, while you check around the corner. Seeing no one, you motion your team forward as you hang back to ensure the stairwell stays clear. Your team advances towards the door at the end of the hall, and you hear Jackson, the second in command, sound off. “Breaching in 3…2…1… Go, go, go!”

The door splinters from the frame and bounces off the wall as the team surges inside, clearing the room.

You are pressed between both men’s bodies as you rub against each other, chasing friction. Bucky’s bare chest is warm against your back, and Steve’s lips roam across the front of your body. He pulls back just enough to groan out, “Bedroom.”

You and Bucky nod and follow Steve as he walks backwards to the bedroom, still leaving marks on your skin. He reaches the closed door of the bedroom and kicks, causing the door to splinter slightly and bounce back on the wall behind it. You pull back as they lead you to the bed and you giggle out, “Damn, Steve.”

Steve huffs out a laugh, “Might’ve put a little too much force behind it.”

Bucky mumbles against your skin, “That’s the third one this month.”

You quirk a brow at Steve. “Serum?”

He pulls you in for a bruising kiss and whispers against your lips, “Just hungry.”

“Do you copy? I repeat: Team Leader, do you copy?”

You lock eyes with a newbie from Human Resources, just as Jackson descends upon you. “What the hell was that? You just lost us the training exercise!”

You pull off your helmet and glance at Jackson briefly before muttering, “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

The hallways of the main annex are empty this time of night, silent of any laughter or talking or activity. You bask in the quiet of the building, letting your sock covered feet guide you back to your office, boots long forgotten underneath your desk. You glance down at the to do list taped to your stack of files, reciting it to memory. Training report, coordinate with Austrian authorities, research the Austrian mission, schedule-

You look up when you hear quiet laughter, familiar laughter. You hear the whispers of a hushed conversation, unable to make out the words before things go quiet again, quickly replaced with the soft sounds of kissing. You creep down the hallway slowly, scanning the corridors for the couple. You see the glint of light off Bucky’s arm first, and you take a step back quickly, worried they might see you. Realizing that no one noticed your presence, you move forward again, slowly, quietly, until you see all of Bucky’s profile, and a glimpse of Steve’s.

Steve’s fingers are tangled into Bucky’s hair, twisting and tugging, causing Bucky to let out soft moans. You can see their tongues fighting for dominance, watching as Bucky tugs lightly on Steve’s bottom lip with his teeth. Steve pulls him back in again, using his leverage on his hair to pull Bucky’s head back, giving him access to his throat. Bucky closes his eyes and lets his head rest on the wall as Steve leaves love bites on his skin, and you feel desire heat up in your belly.

When you look up at Bucky’s face again, you realize that he’s watching you, eyes locked with yours, satisfied smirk on his face. You jump in surprise and back away slowly, before running down the hall and taking the long way back to your office.

“I need finalized plans on my desk by Monday, got it?”

Candace gives you a smile and a quick nod. “Got it. I won’t let you down.”

You smile at her in return, “I know you won’t, you never do.”

You turn and leave her office, stopping to grab your keys and bag from yours before heading to the elevator. You roll your shoulders and try to release some of the tension in your body as you wait for the elevator, sighing in relief when it finally arrives. The doors slide open and you step inside, pressing the button for the lobby before standing back to lean against the wall. The doors are sliding closed when you hear someone yell, “Wait!”

A hand slides between the doors right before they close, causing them to slide open again and reveal two smiling super soldiers. You suppress a groan and think about bolting, only to watch the doors slide closed, taking your chance of freedom with it. Steve and Bucky stand in front of you, facing each other and watching you from the corner of their vision. Steve finally turns to face you and mutters your name, and you hold up a hand and beg, “Please, don’t.”

Bucky spins towards you quickly, upset. “You can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen, cause guess what? It did!”

“Bucky, please.”

Steve shakes his head. “No, Bucky’s right. You’ve been avoiding us all week. We have to talk about it.”

You glare at him, anger beginning to rise within you. “Talk about what? You’re Steve and Bucky, America’s Favorite Couple! I’m just the team liaison who somehow charmed the two most charming men into bed for a one night stand. I know what it was. I know what it meant.”

Bucky lets out a short laugh and exchanges a look with Steve. “Apparently, you don’t.”

Your brows pull together. “Don’t what?”

“Know what it meant.” Steve’s eyes soften. “What you mean.”

You give each of them a confused look, and Bucky clarifies. “We like you.” He runs his fingers through his hair and shrugs. “Both of us.”

You look between them both, anger flashing over your features. “If this is a joke…”

Steve shakes his head, “No, no, no. It’s not.”

The elevator dings and the door slides open, still a few floors from the lobby. A group of agents step on, and you, Steve, and Bucky move closer to the wall, nodding to the ones that greet you.

The elevator continues to the lobby in heavy silence, everyone able to sense the tension between you and the boys. When the elevator reaches the bottom, the agents file out quickly, leaving you all standing there, looking lost. You step off first, motioning for them to follow you, and say, “So, uh, I guess we have a lot to talk about.”

“I guess so.”

You bite your lip and release it quickly, “Do you want to head back to my place?”

Steve and Bucky exchange a look before turning and giving you a smile. They reply in unison, “Yes.”

You nod, “Okay then, let’s go.”

#stucky x reader #stucky x reader angst #spicy stucky x reader #steve rogers x bucky barnes x reader #steve x bucky x reader

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ghostbustermelanieking · 5 years

Text

praescitum chapter fifteen

chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven, chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter ten, chapter eleven pt 1, chapter eleven pt 2, chapter twelve, chapter thirteen, chapter fourteen

casefile, season 10, season 11, 11x05 ghouli. part of my series that i write as i rewatch the x files.

Summary: As Mulder and Scully adjust to their reassignment to the X-Files and working together in the wake of their separation, they find themselves investigating a small town and a ghost that apparently warns people of bad things to come.

note: i took the portion at the beginning of this chapter from ghouli.net, aka the coolest promotion this show has ever done. i mentioned things from various entries, but the quote at the end comes from the This Screaming Skull entry.

once again, i am so so sorry for the length of this chapter.

---

fifteen.

november, 2017

Scully can't sleep after they leave Jackson's house. Even with Mulder wrapped around her, sleeping restlessly in her arms, even with the exhaustion settled into her bones, she can't sleep. The mess of images running through her mind is too strong. (Her baby on a cold metal table. Pictures of her son growing up, smiling happily into the camera, all the moments she wanted to experience with him. Her son with a bloody wound in his head. Her son calling out to her in dreams, her son sneaking out of the hospital to find her. He's alive out there. She's more sure of it than she's been in a long time. She's seen something just like this before, and she's willing to believe in miracles again.)

She can't sleep, and so she grabs her phone from the bedside table and pulls up ghouli.net. She wants to know her son, and this feels like the best way to do that.

Scrolling through the blog, she figures out quickly that the user Rever is Jackson. The more she reads, the more obvious it becomes: he talks of snow globes, of the apocalypse, of a period as a child where he stayed in a hospital with doctors who isolated him, took his stem cells, used some sort of gas on him. (That part makes her a little nauseous, makes fury rise in her throat like bile. She has no way of knowing whether or not it's true, but she has no reason to doubt it. And the idea of it makes her furious, guilty, sick to her stomach. It makes her want to hurt the people who have done these horrible things to her son.) She reads an account of a dream just like the one she had the other night, an account from childhood where he refers to himself (she doesn't know if it's him, but it must be him, it has to be him) as Billy, where he describes displaying some sort of clairvoyant ability. And the recurring part of a large section of these entries seems to be her.

She used to think something like this was wishful thinking, was silly and too hopeful and self-indulgent, but it's here, it's all here. He knows her. Her son knows her, even if it's just a little. He saw her as a child, during a clairvoyant episode. He describes her in the dream similar to her own recent sleep paralysis dream that led her here: red hair, crucifix. He describes her on the same bridge she saw in her visions of the end of the world. He describes seeing her when he seizes, wonders if they share the same scars. He writes, I want her to hear me, but I don’t want her to hurt, not because of my uncontrollable screaming skull.

Her eyes flood with tears; it's all too much, it's too overwhelming, and yet it's the thing she's wanted to hear for years and years. She sniffles loudly, wiping her eyes, her nose, unable to take her eyes off of the phone screen.

Beside her, Mulder stirs. “Scully?” he murmurs, and she sniffles again. He rises up beside her, wipes her cheeks and wraps his arms tight around her. “Are you okay?” he murmurs, concerned. “D-did you have a bad dream?” His own voice is full of weariness and pain, the weight of everything they have endured.

Scully gasps a little on a sob, shifts in his arms and smiles waterily. “Mulder, look,” she whispers, handing him the phone.

She watches him take it, watches his face shift as he reads. He looks up from the screen with astonishment. “Scully,” he whispers in quiet reverence.

She shuts her eyes, presses a hand to the side of his face as a tear slides out from under her eyelids. “I guess… I never knew we were connected like this,” she whispers. “Even after those visions from a couple years ago. But, Mulder… he knows who I am. He's seen me, all this time.” She makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

Mulder seems as overwhelmed as she is. He wraps his arms tight around her, rests his chin on her shoulder, rocking her back and forth. She holds him tight, her fingers digging into his shirt. He's alive, she reminds herself. Their son is alive, and he's out there somewhere. He knows who they are. He wants them to find him.

“We have to find him,” she whispers.

---

At breakfast, they try to get in touch with Detective Costa, to see if there's any news, but the intrusion of the DOD has the guy spooked and he won't talk to them. It's more or less to be expected. Neither of them are very deterred by it—especially not Scully. She takes the lead, suggests they split up and talk to some people about Jackson. “Try to learn more about who he is, try to see if we can figure out where he'd go, or why any of this happened,” she says. “If you'll drop me by the rental car place, I bet I can grab one for the day. We can cover more ground if we go separately.”

Mulder agrees, of course. As much as he doesn't like the idea of splitting up, it makes sense. And he doesn't think he could deny Scully anything right now. He takes her to the rental car place from the hotel, makes her promise to call him immediately if anything happens. She promises, leans across the console to kiss his cheek before climbing out

He's jittery and panicked as he drives away, weariness mixed with anticipation mixed with fear mixed with hope, and it seems appropriate when he realizes he forgot his coffee at the hotel. Cursing under his breath, he decides to stop by the coffee shop that he and Scully visited the day before and pick something up.

Skinner calls while Mulder is at the coffee shop—pissed, of course. Apparently the DOD and the DOJ have complained about him. Mulder isn't surprised, but he isn't focused on that at all. He's thinking about his son, where he could be, if Scully will find him first. If this coffee shop is a place his son liked, if he'll come here, if he's safe out there, if they can save him. Skinner tells him that he needs to come back, and Mulder insists that Skinner needs to come out there instead. He feigns a bad connection for an excuse to hang up, grabs his cappuccino and leaves.

He meets with Brianna and Sarah's parents, separately, and then with some various other people—teachers, Jackson's boss from his job at a grocery store—to discuss Jackson. Scully is doing the same with some family friends she was able to get in touch with, and she has an appointment with Jackson's therapist later in the day. He gets something of varied reports: Jackson's boss and some of his teachers have good things to say, other teachers say that Jackson was a smartass and a troublemaker. (Mulder can't say that he was much different in high school aside from the two girlfriends thing, but he hasn't had the cleanest dating record anyway, so who is he to talk.) Brianna's parents apparently thought Jackson and Brianna were just friends; the father seems angry and disapproving, in light of what apparently happened the day before, and the mother seems somewhat confused as to how Jackson could get tangled up in this mess. He's such a sweet kid, she says, I can't believe he'd do this. Sarah's parents are less willing to talk to Mulder, and he can't gauge much of their opinion on Jackson. None of them seem to know where he would go, the fact of which seems darkened by the fact that they all believe he is dead. (Why the hell are you chasing a dead kid, Agent? Brianna's father snaps. Mulder guesses that they didn't tell the press about the missing body. He pretends that his chest doesn't ache when he says dead.)

When Mulder is finished with the meetings, he ends up back at the hotel with takeout and a copy of the forensics report from the Van de Kamps. (He drops by the police station on his way back, purposefully finding an officer he didn't recognize to ask for a copy.) He wants to know for sure if his son killed his parents—and the more he looks over the case, the clearer it seems that he didn't. Aside from the evidence he's noted since last night—the cold soda, the open door—the pattern of blood splattering suggests that there couldn't have been only one shooter.

It seems too convenient: the accident with the girls, the Van de Kamps's death, Jackson's seeming suicide. He thinks it was done that way on purpose, fabricated. He's seen it a million times before.

At that moment, his phone buzzes on the bedside table with a text from Skinner. He's in Norfolk, it says, and he wants to meet at the crime scene. Mulder drives out to the old ferry immediately. Just like in the coffee shop, it's impossible not to take in the scenery and wonder. That girl, Sarah, said kids come out here to get high; was Jackson (is Jackson) one of those kids? Did he like being out on the river? Did he like growing up near the coast? Does he love the ocean, like his mother?

Skinner is waiting for him with the typical warning: drop the investigation. He explains Project Crossroads as a eugenics program based around hybrid DNA and alien technology, began by a Dr. Masao Matsumoto. Mulder already knows some of this story: it was unpredictable enough that it was eventually shut down. Skinner confirms it: Matsumoto got rid of the files, and then vanished. Jackson is one of the subjects of the project.

When Mulder explains their relationship to Jackson, the astonishment passing over Skinner's face is simultaneously comforting and entirely uncomforting. Mulder can't handle it. He thanks Skinner for his warning and leaves, commenting that it came too late as he goes.

By the time he gets back to his car, he's exhausted, nose stinging with the potential onslaught of tears. He doesn't want to consider it, any of it: what they did to Scully, what they did to his son. On Scully's recommendation, he read through Jackson's blog earlier today, and the entries there are both cathartic and painful. All these years, their son has seen Scully, and Mulder will admit that he's grateful for that. He's spent a lot of time desperately wanting their son to know his mother. But the darker entries, the ones with hospitals and shady doctors and painful seizures, just make him sad, make him angry and protective. They couldn't protect their son, but neither could anyone else. Was it inevitable, all of this? Could they ever stop these people from finding him? Is he really still alive, out there somewhere, and how is that possible? Why has their son only ever seen Scully, and not him?

Mulder spends a long time sitting in the car, his forehead pressed awkwardly to the steering wheel, until his phone buzzes in the cupholder. It's Scully; she's out of the meeting with the therapist, and she thinks they should talk. It's probably not the smartest idea to meet in public, but they're already probably being watched. Mulder texts back to meet him at the coffee shop; he's exhausted, he needs the caffeine.

When he gets to the coffee shop, Scully is standing by the front counter, her head dipped down and her hair hiding her face. She looks exhausted, too, shoulders tense and body slumping. But she smiles at him when he enters the store, touches his hand softly as he comes to stand beside her. They put in their orders and retreat to a counter near the window to wait.

Mulder gives a brief summary of his conversations with Jackson's acquaintances, his encounters with Skinner. In turn, Scully shares her own experience, talking to Jackson's friends and his therapist. “She more or less confirmed that Jackson had the same vision as I did, of the end of the world,” she says, tapping her fingers absently on the counter. “Our… shared vision. We really did share it.”

Mulder is about to speak, but the barista calls his name at that moment—or the fake name he used yesterday, that he doesn't want to explain is fake at this point. “I'll be right back,” he says, and gets up to retrieve the coffee. When he returns, she is staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts. “So, you think a shared vision means that it's more likely to come true?” he asks, sitting down beside her.

“What if I didn't get a glimpse of the future? she asks. “What if I was just a receptacle for his message to me? Just like my dream to come here.”

The barista from yesterday passes by, tossing out a, “Hey, Bob,” as he goes. The fake name he's been using. Mulder jabs a finger at his own chest, jokingly.

“It's an alternate reality,” Scully says with amusement. “Fox doesn't exist in coffee shops.”

“No,” Mulder says in slow realization. It makes sense, suddenly, the fabricated crime scene. “It's a false reality, Scully. Just like everything we've seen so far. I've been going over the forensics of the case. The police think that Jackson killed his parents, then himself, but the spatter pattern tells me different. It tells me there were two shooters. Her body was moved after she was shot to make it look like there was one shooter.” Scully's listening intently, her face serious, and so he keeps going, trying his best to be gentle. “Scully, I believe that, through the Smoking Man, you were an unwitting participant in a eugenics program called Project Crossroads,” he says softly. “It was spearheaded by Dr. Masao Matsumoto. He disappeared two years after William was born. I believe our son was one of his test subjects.”

Scully's expression shifts, to one of distress, but not of surprise. They've suspected something like this for years; he's heard her accounts of unusual activity when William was a baby, mobiles spinning on their own. But she says nothing.

He keeps going, piecing together what he's been considering since last night. Brianna and Sarah's claims of a monster and of not seeing each other, the impossible disappearance of Jackson's body. The impossible abilities he had as a baby, that could've continued into adolescence. “Jackson knew he was being hunted,” he says, “so he hid the only way he knew how. He created an alternate reality playing dead.”

“So he made us hear the shot,” says Scully, instantly understanding. Instantly unquestioning. “And see the hole in his head.”

“Yes, and those two girls thought they saw a monster.” It all makes sense now, every piece of this confusing puzzle. His son is alive, and he's not a murderer. But he is in danger.

“And so, Mulder?” Scully says, prodding a little. He sighs. “Where is he now?”

He sighs again, rubbing tiredly at his forehead. “I don't know, Scully. I wish that I did. H-he could be anywhere by now.”

“It's possible he's still in Norfolk,” she notes, thoughtfully. Looking down at her coffee cup. “Or… he could be long gone by now.”

“I don't think he's gone,” says Mulder. He has absolutely no idea why he would think he knows that, but he does. “After everything that's happened here… I don't think he's left. I think he's still here somewhere. He's trying to figure out his next move.”

Scully rubs a hand over the side of her coffee mug before reaching for his, holding it in both of hers. “Do you really think we're going to find him?” she whispers, her voice small and vulnerable. She'd sounded so sure the night before, and now she sounds so unsure. She holds onto his hand tightly, his knuckles against her chest.

He reaches up with his free hand to push hair behind her ear. “I do,” he says softly. “I really do.” He rubs a thumb soothingly over her cheek. “He's spent so much time wondering about you, Scully, if the things on that blog are true… if he heard the things you said to him in the morgue… I don't know how he couldn't want you to find him.” She chuckles under her breath, nervous and grateful, and he leans in to kiss her forehead. “You're going to see him again,” he says softly, and she squeezes his hand. “You are.”

---

Ryan has a broken ankle and a couple of cracked ribs. The doctor splints his ankle, advises him to stay off his feet and to ice the sore spots, and gives him some crutches.

Annie hovers the entire time, clearly worried. She admits with shame to the doctor that she wasn't home to see the accident, sounding a bit disgusted with herself. Ryan tells the doctor and Annie that he fell down the stairs; it's the truth. He's not going to detail why, or how, but he did fall down the stairs.

Annie wants to know what really happened. She asks him several times. He doesn't know how to tell her. He doesn't know if she'd believe him. When he was a little kid, and he used to tell her about the things he saw, curled up on her lap and wiping his face on her shirt, he'd ask, Do you believe me? and she'd say, Yes, Ry, of course I do. But he doesn't know if she ever did, really. At least, he doesn't know if she ever believed in the ghost part. (He knows she believes he was seeing things.) And even if Annie believes in the ghost, that doesn't necessarily mean she believes in the Specter's power.

She didn't believe Jared, when he tried to tell her. Why the hell would she believe him?

A nurse wheels him out in a wheelchair, just like in the movies. Annie follows behind them with his crutches and thanks the nurse profusely. Towards the exit, she helps Ryan out of the wheelchair and into a regular one, clarifying, “I need to go and get the car.” As the nurse leaves, Annie sits down beside him and tousles his hair. “How are you feeling?” she asks softly, clearly tired.

Ryan works his jaw back and forth, just as tired. Fear still wedged under his skin. “Not amazing,” he mutters. “Not particularly great.”

“Oh, buddy.” She tousles his hair again, like he's a little kid. “I'm so sorry. I should've been with you. I don't… how long were you there before I got home?”

He shrugs. He doesn't know; he honestly can't remember. Passing out will do that to you.

Annie looks concerned, chewing at her lower lip. “What you were saying…” she starts, tentatively. “... Before we left the house…”

Ryan sighs almost automatically, rolling his eyes. “Come on, Aunt Annie…”

“I want to know,” she says, a little stern. “You said we couldn't leave the house, or something would hurt us. What was it?”

“I told you, it was nothing. Nothing. I was in a lot of pain, I was talking nonsense,” he says, but he's thinking of something else. Of what happened just before he pulled her inside. He's suspected possession for years, maybe even got proof of it, but he's never seen it. And he's scared shitless. It could've hurt her, it could've taken her the way it took his parents. It can hurt anyone like that, and the only chance they have of avoiding it is in the house. “I just want to go home, okay?” he adds, nearly pleading. They'll be safe there.

Annie bites her lower lip. Squeezes his shoulder comfortingly. “Was it the Willoughby Specter?” she asks in a hushed voice. She's talking to him like he's a child, like he needs to be fucking comforted. “Was that what you were scared of?”

Irritated, Ryan is ready to blurt, No! but something stops him. He doesn't want to up and tell her the truth, but he doesn't want her to think that there's no danger from the Specter. Doesn't want her to be caught off guard. “It doesn't matter,” he snaps instead, too harshly. He just wants to close his eyes until it’s all over, like he really is a child.

Annie squeezes his shoulder again, prodding. “Is… is this because of your uncle?” she says, and her tone is serious this time, full of regret and hesitance, like she doesn't want to talk about this. And she doesn't. She doesn't; she's told him so many times that she doesn't want to. But she continues: “B-because he's getting out of prison?”

Something stronger than irritation rushes through Ryan: disgust, he thinks. “What the hell, Aunt Annie?” he growls, yanking away from her so harshly he bangs his ankle against the left of the chair. He yelps with pain.

“Oh, honey,” Annie yelps right along with him, leaning over to touch his shoulder again.

He waves her hand away, glaring. “What the hell,” he whispers, and the pain has tears welling in his eyes. “You're gonna be like everyone else in this town, huh? Blame everything on Uncle Jared and my parents?” She looks apologetic, but he doesn't care, he doesn't care. “I thought you knew me better than that,” he hisses. “I thought you thought I was better than that.”

He shifts in his seat, pressing a hand to a spot just above his boot. “Ryan…” Annie starts, but he won't look at her. He wipes his eyes, wishes for some different reality. One where his parents lived, and his aunt and uncle like each other, and he's never, ever seen a ghost.

Annie sighs, exhausted. “I'm sorry, Ry. I'm sorry. I'm going to go and get the car, okay? We're gonna go home and get some sleep.”

She pats his back a couple times, an attempt at comfort, and then she gets up and walks towards the door. Ryan looks away. Shifts in his seat and stares straight ahead until the tears are gone.

He spends a few minutes watching the bustle of the hospital. The announcements over the intercom. The people clustered in the waiting area. The man who comes charging into the hospital and runs straight for the front desk. “My wife, I need to see my wife,” he blurts. “Someone called me and told me she was awake.”

The man is tall, with a full, neatly-cut beard and round glasses, and Ryan feels like he recognizes him from somewhere. “What's your wife's name?” the woman at the desk asks, infinitely patient.

“J-Joy Seers,” the man nearly stammers, and Ryan recognizes him in a second. That's Mrs. Seers's husband.

“Mrs. Seers is awake?” he says immediately, without thinking. Mr. Seers whirls towards him in confusion, and he clarifies quickly, “I was her student.”

He nods quickly, eagerly. “She's awake, they told me, and I want to see her,” he says, turning back towards the nurse.

The nurse taps on the keyboard for a second before informing Mr. Seers, “Third floor. Room 26.” He nods, frantic, and moves for the elevator.

Ryan watches him go, his own mix of frantic emotions surfacing. Mrs. Seers is awake? He's relieved, of course, but he has no idea how to interpret this news. He knows that the Specter was involved in her accident, and a part of him probably figured that she wouldn't wake up. But now that she has… he has no idea what that means. If there's been some kind of supernatural interference, or if it's just an everyday kind of miracle.

“Ry?” His aunt's voice is soft and gentle, apologetic, as she reaches out to touch his shoulder, but he jumps anyway. “Are you ready to go?” she asks gently.

Ryan nods, his eyes darting back and forth to the elevator. “Mrs. Seers just woke up,” he says. When Annie raises her eyebrows at him questioningly, he adds, “Mr. Seers just came through and asked to see her. He said she was awake.”

“Oh,” says Annie, clearly surprised. “Well… that's good news, isn't it?” She grunts with the effort as she helps him up, balances him on the crutches. “That's excellent news.”

Ryan's watching the elevator, nerves rising, heart pounding. He's thinking of the morning after last Halloween, when he got the news about Mrs. Seers, when he'd realized he hadn't been able to save her, to stop the Specter. “I hope so,” he says softly. “I really do.”

---

Mulder and Scully spend a few more hours at the coffee shop, combing through evidence—the forensic reports from both crime scenes, and Jackson's blog. (Reading fully through Rever's entries leaves a sizable lump in Mulder's throat, and he can hear Scully sniffling at intervals; it's incredible, remarkable, remarkably painful. It's the most connection he has with his son, and he clings to it, clings to the visions of Scully, ignores the small voice at the back of his head: Why hasn't he ever seen you?) They're there for long enough that it's dark the next time Mulder looks up, that he can hear Scully's stomach rumbling next to him. “Scully,” he says, and she doesn't look up. He repeats her name, and she doesn't seem to hear, doesn't look up until he nudges her shoulder, her eyes wide and questioning. “Have you eaten anything since breakfast?” he asks gently, ignoring the fact that he himself hasn't eaten today; she's much worse off than he is, she needs to eat.

She bites her lower lip and shakes her head.

He nudges her shoulder again, motioning her towards the door as he stands. “C'mon. It's been a long day, and we both need to eat something. We can go back to the hotel, order a pizza or something.”

Her jaw works back and forth, as if she's thinking, and then she nods, almost reluctantly. “I'm going to keep looking, though,” she says, her voice soft and determined.

“Honey…” he starts, squeezing her arm soothingly.

“I can't stop, Mulder. Not until he's safe. That is the most important thing right now, okay?” she replies. Not accusatory, not angrily. Just firm enough that there isn't any room for argument. She meets his eyes with hers, silently willing him to understand.

And he does. Of course he does. If it were anything else, he might push a little harder, but it's their son. “Okay,” he says. “We'll keep looking for a little while longer.”

Her eyes are grateful; she rises on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek briefly before walking with him to the door.

Mulder fully intends to keep his promise—he’s considering suggesting that they take turns, that he can keep looking while she rests a little and he'll let her know if he finds any leads—but they never make it back to the hotel. They're passing the hospital from the night before, the one Jackson vanished from, when they see the flash of blue and red lights in the parking lot.

“Mulder…” Scully says in a gaspy, breathless voice, grabbing his arm hard.

“I see, I see,” he says, and he turns into the parking lot too hard, pulling up to where the cars are clustered. They are both thinking the same thing: he's in there.

Neither of them are sure, of course, but Detective Costa confirms it almost immediately, by confirming that they don't have Jackson in custody, but that they have the exits covered. He shows them a picture that he received, of William (whole and okay and alive) sitting on Brianna's bed, and their breaths simultaneously catch in their throats. “Detective, I'd like to ask you to keep your officers outside so that we can be the first to go in,” says Scully, her voice full of emotion—anticipation, fear.

“Agents from the Department of Defense are already inside,” says Costa.

Mulder has to bite back angry words, the furious things he'd like to say. He and Scully exchange a glance, and he knows: they're thinking the same thing. “Excuse me,” he says, and they push past Costa.

The hospital looks normal when they enter: nurses bustling around, people in the waiting room. No sign of Jackson, or of the DOD agents, but they both know Jackson can manipulate his appearance. Scully is breathing shallowly, nervously, as she scans the faces in the rooms, and the two of them keep moving until they hear the echoes of multiple gunshots, somewhere above him. “Evacuate the floor!” Mulder calls, largely on instinct.

As people around them begin to panic, to run for the exits, he looks over at Scully. Her eyes are wide. She jerks her chin towards a stairwell, and the two of them begin to push towards it.

An alarm begins to blare. They move together through a mass of people running down the stairs. More gunshots in the distance, which Mulder finds both terrifying and shockingly comforting; if they're still shooting, than they probably haven't hit him yet. His son might still be alive. Someone slams hard into him and he swears, pushes through in an attempt to keep up with Scully.

They get into a hallway and run through a set of double doors; he veers right, and Scully veers left. He keeps running, even as he hears Scully shout, “FBI! Put your weapon down!” He hears the voice of a DOD agent, although he can't hear what he's saying, but he doesn't hear any gunshots, so he keeps going. He rounds the corners of the hallway, scanning the rooms for Jackson, when he nearly runs into Scully as she rounds a corner. They both freeze at the sounds of multiple gunshots, at the sound of two thuds somewhere down the hall.

Mulder meets Scully's eyes briefly before moving towards the sound, quicker than her. Relief courses through him when he gets close enough to see it; it's not Jackson. It's not Jackson. It's the DOD agents, bloody and lifeless on the ground. “They shot each other,” he informs Scully as she catches up to him.”

“Well, who were they shooting at?” she replies.

Her voice is soft, vulnerable, and he understands what she is saying in a split second. “He's here,” he says, and shouts immediately, “Jackson! It's safe. It's over.”

“Jackson, we just want to talk to you,” Scully calls out, scanning the room right along with him. “Make sure you're okay.” Her voice has that same vulnerable quality, and something else he recognizes, something he hasn't heard in years. The voice she used with Emily, with William. The voice of a mother.

They're surveying the room, and Mulder hears a sudden rustle behind them. They turn in time to see a frightened nurse scurry to her feet and run out of the room. Frustrated, Mulder sets out to keep looking, Scully right on his tail.

They search the whole floor, finding another body, and then the stairwell, the parking garage, the parking lot. If Mulder knows anything about his son, he knows that Jackson is trying to run, to get to safety. He's hoping to catch him before he gets too far. But it's no use; he's probably long gone, and he has the advantage of being able to make people see things that aren't there. For the first time, the idea occurs to Mulder: they may not be able to find him.

The parking lot is crowded, so crowded it'd be hard to find anyone, but Scully catches up to him near the car. “Anything?” she calls in a soft voice that's somewhere between hopeful and defeated. Like she, too, knows they won't find him.

“No,” he says, shaking his head. He feels as defeated as she does, feels so fucking stupid. After all these years, he still can't protect his own son. He's a pathetic excuse for a father. “He's disappeared.”

Scully sighs a little, devastated. He reaches for her and she comes, leaning hard into his chest, wrapping one arm around his back and her other hand around his elbow. He rests his chin on top of her head, rocking her back and forth in the crowded parking lot. He holds her tight and, over her head, continues scanning the crowd for William's face.

---

They go back to the hotel. They crawl into bed together, wrapped around each other, his hand heavy over her stomach, his cheek pressed against her shoulder. He kisses the soft spot under her chin, rubs his nose against her jaw. “I'm so sorry,” he whispers, and she crumbles, tears welling in her eyes. She stifles a sob with her palm. He thumbs a tear away from the corner of her eye, sniffling from behind her. “I'm so sorry, honey,” he chokes out.

She reaches for his hand and holds it tight, pulls it to her mouth and kisses his knuckles, the base of his thumb. “He's alive,” she whispers, and she can feel him trembling against her. “He's alive,” she says, holding his hand against her cheek. “Our son is alive, Mulder.”

He kisses the nape of her neck, the top of her shoulder, kisses her like he can kiss the pain away. She can feel his tears wet and cold against her skin, rolling down her collarbone. She quivers in his arms, and he bundles her closer. She thinks of a night, sixteen years ago, where they lay together in a bed like this holding their baby boy between them.

---

In the morning, they agree they should go home. It's one of the hardest decisions Scully has ever made, but she doesn't see much point in staying. They have no idea where to find him, and he's probably long gone by now. He must be running. He must be so scared.

They go home. They eat breakfast—Scully is anything but hungry, but she hasn't eaten for a full twenty-four hours and she doubts Mulder has, either—and they leave. The car is still packed up. Scully tucks the broken snow globe and the vial with the strand of Jackson's hair that they tested into her purse. Mulder bundles the files, the printouts of Jackson's blog into the glove compartment. They climb into the car and leave, driving out of town in near silence. Past the ocean, past the bay. Scully lets her forehead hit the window, watches the town where her baby grew up vanish behind her. She wonders what his life was like. She wishes she could have been there for it, every step of the way.

As they get further away from the city, she retrieves the glass with his hair, cradling it in her palms. It's silly, very silly, but it's all she has left of him. She remembers William as a baby, the soft chubby weight in her arms, his first haircut. She'd taped the strand of baby-soft hair in a scrapbook the way her mother had done with all of her children, a scrapbook that is probably buried somewhere deep in Mulder's office. This is all she has left.

She looks up absently at one point, and her eyes fall on a little rural gas station, one with a windmill in front of it. A windmill like the one in the snow globe, the snow globe she saw in her dream.

On an impulse, she asks, “Do we need gas?”

Thoughtfully, Mulder says, “I could use a bathroom,” and guides the car off of the road.

He parks next to a tank and goes into the store to use the bathroom. Scully pays and begins to fill the tank. The door chimes, behind her; she stretches a bit, craning her neck to relieve the tension. Ignores the store until she hears a familiar voice. “Were you following me?”

She turns to see the man from the hospital a couple nights ago, the one who ran into her when she dropped the snow globe, the one who told her not to give up on the bigger picture. “Hey,” she says, much more cheerful than she feels. “Didn't I see you at the hospital?”

“It must be kismet,” the man says with a chuckle, shrugging. “But I doubt we'll be seeing each other again. I'm driving cross country.”

“Oh. A-Anywhere in particular?” she asks politely.

“No, I just want to see the world,” the guy says, almost wistfully. He meets her eyes and says, in the same serious, knowing way as the other night, “Things are about to change.”

He starts to walk away, but Scully's curiosity is peaked. This can't be a coincidence, between the windmill and the things that this man keeps saying. She remembers something that Mulder told her the day before, about the man who disappeared after Project Crossroads. “Hey,” she says, and he turns towards her. “Are you Dr. Masao Matsumoto?” It's possible, she thinks, that Matsumoto would come looking for his patient if he was in danger, if the details of Project Crossroads were being unearthed again.

But that doesn't seem to be the case. “A doctor?” the guy says, chuckling again and shaking his head. “No, I never finished high school.” He pauses for a second before adding, “You seem like a nice person. I wish I could know you better.”

His voice is sincere, and despite the strangeness of both of their interactions, Scully can't bring herself to dismiss him for some reason. “Well,” she says, “safe travels.”

He nods, turns around and heads for his car. She turns back to her car and hears his car door open before she hears his voice again. ��If you don't stand for something…” he starts, and she whirls around to look at him. “... you'll fall for anything,” he finishes.

Speechless, Scully watches him as he climbs into his car and starts it. She's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't hear Mulder until he's right beside her. “Who's that?” he asks.

“Just a friendly old guy,” she says, watching his car pull out of the parking lot. “But he seems so familiar.” It dawns on her, suddenly, and she gasps a little. “The Pick Up Artist,” she says, wonder in her voice.

“What are you talking about?”

“That book in Jackson's room,” she says. “I think he's the author.”

“What'd he say?” Mulder asks.

“He gave me a piece of advice,” says Scully. “He said… he said, ‘If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.’”

Recognition flickers over his face like a flame. "That's a Malcolm X quote, Scully,” he says.

Their eyes meet in a brief, mutual understanding, and they move together towards the road. Scully scans the road, her eyes moving up and down it as she shifts around Mulder, but there is no sign of him, and she's about to voice something—a protest, a thanksgiving, a plea—when Mulder says, “Scully,” and points to a surveillance camera near their car.

They move towards the store now, nearly running. Mulder gets there first, flashing his badge, and nearly commanding, “We need to see your surveillance video. Now.” The clerk nods, wordless.

The footage is on a shitty TV on the wall, and the guy rewinds it for them until Scully stops him. “Right there,” she says, and he stops, and there is her son. Standing right there in front of her, William, her baby.

Are you Dr. Masao Matsumoto? the version of her on the tape asks, and her son says, A doctor? No, I-I never finished high school. The words of the friendly old man, but in her son's voice. This is their son's voice. Her mouth drops open, emotions bubbling inside her; Mulder's hands drop to her shoulders and squeeze. Holding her there, grounding her.

You seem like a nice person, says her son. I wish I could know you better.

She reaches back for Mulder's hand, holding it tight. A smile breaks out over her face as she watches herself wish her son safe travels. “He found us,” she whispers, her voice raspy. She squeezes Mulder's hand hard. “Mulder, he found us.”

---

Jared Caruthers has always communicated with his nephew through alternating letters and emails: letters mostly, but Ryan always sends emails when it's something urgent, and he needs a faster response. One day in November, he receives an email from Ryan that practically screams urgent; Call me, it reads, as soon as you get a chance. I need to talk to you. And then it includes a number, a number Jared actually recognizes; it's the landline at his parents’ old house, the one he knows Annie moved in to when she adopted Ryan.

The next time he gets a chance to use the phone, he calls Ryan immediately. No question. If Ryan needs to actually talk to him, instead of explaining things in an email, then he doesn't want to wait around and find out why. The fact that he's calling a landline, though, since he has to call collect and can't call cell phones, isn't helping his anxiety. He listens to the rings, discordant in his ear, counts them absently the way he did when he was a kid. He's prepared for hearing Ryan's voice that he's startled out of his wits when a woman picks up and says, “Caruthers residence, this is Annie speaking.”

Jared freezes, his mouth hanging open as he realizes. This isn't some random woman, this is his baby sister. He hasn't heard her voice in years. She hasn't wanted to talk to him.

As Annie prods, “Hello?” he considers just hanging up and forgetting the whole thing. But he remembers the crypticness of Ryan's email, the seeming urgency. That, mixed with the fact that Ryan is telling FBI agents that Jared was possessed that night, feels like enough motivation to speak up.

Just as Annie starts to threaten to hang up, Jared clears his throat and speaks. “Annie, it's Jared.”

She gasps on the other end, stunned. He can hear it, plain and simple, over the clatteriness of the phone line. He doesn't say anything else as she recovers, as she demands, “Why are you calling here, Jared?”

He tries to embed his voice with apology. He tries to explain: “R-Ryan asked me to call here.”

“Why?” Annie snaps, almost begging, and Jared recognizes that voice from their childhood. They used to fight over toys, and she would use that voice: This is mine! His little sister is all grown up now, but all he's picturing is the little girl with chubby cheeks and pigtails.

“I don't know,” says Jared, trying his best to sound level headed. Trying his best not to cry. “Annie, if you're uncomfortable…”

“Aunt Annie—” He can hear Ryan in the background, calling from a distance. “Aunt Annie, I need to—”

There's a rustle on the other end, and Annie's voice comes back, angry and dark. “Look, Jared, I've tried not to discourage your relationship with Ryan—tried not to discourage any way he wants to cope with this horrible, fucked up mess—but he is getting himself in trouble with the whole Willoughby Specter debacle. He is getting himself hurt.”

Jared's mouth drops open in instinctual shock; it's the kind of thing he's always suspected, always feared, would happen. Ever since Ian and Marion and Holly. But somehow he still can't believe it. “I-i-is he okay?” he stammers dumbly.

“Aunt Annie!” Ryan shouts on the other end, and he sounds just like Ian when he didn't get his way. Jared has a school picture of his nephew from a couple years ago that he keeps tucked inside a book; Ryan looks just like Marion, but he sounds just like Ian.

Annie sighs. “Yes. He's fine,” she says curtly. “He sprained his ankle falling down the stairs, and cracked a couple ribs. When I came home, he was hysterical, insisting we couldn't leave the house. I think he was trying some kind of banishment spell or something? There's salt lines around all the doors that he won't let me touch, and the whole house reeked of sage.”

A different kind of fear fills Jared, a furious one he probably doesn't have any right to. “Wow,” he chokes out, voice rough. It's the most he can manage at the moment.

“Let me talk to him, Aunt Annie!”

Annie sighs again, clearly put out. “I'm going to put you on. But Jesus, Jared, please don't encourage this stuff.”

There's a clatter on the other end, and then Ryan's voice comes through, stiff and annoyed. It's clear he's heard everything Annie has said. “Look, Uncle Jared—”

“Ryan, what the hell?” Jared snaps, probably harsher than he should. He can feel the guards watching him. The call's being recorded, of course, but it's probably not a good idea to get overexcited anyway. He lowers his voice and mutters, “I told you that you couldn't try anything like that, didn't I? It's too dangerous! I've told you a thousand times…”

(When Ryan had first contacted him, it'd been about the ghost. He'd written him a letter two years ago and said, I've been seeing the Willoughby Specter all his life. I don't think you murdered my parents. I think the ghost used you to get revenge because you were trying to get rid of it. He'd apparently found the police report somehow and figured out what they had been doing before the murders took place. He wanted Jared's help getting rid of the ghost forever. And Jared had been so scared of something like this happening—of getting Ian's son killed by the same being that killed him—but he'd been unable to ignore his nephew's letters. His whole life, he'd been tortured, and it was probably Jared's fault. And a part of him couldn't turn away a connection with a member of his family. That little kid in the crib.)

(But look. Look what happened. Jared can't shake the feeling that he's about to fuck up his family all over again.)

“What else was I supposed to do?” Ryan hisses, furious. “You don't understand, Uncle Jared, it's been getting stronger!” His voice softens in tone, like he's trying to whisper, but it doesn't soften in fury. “It's getting stronger, I thought it was gonna hurt Aunt Annie! And it tried to, it possessed her! I didn't know what else to, what else was I supposed to do?” His voice breaks off in what is nearly a whimper, muffled like he has a hand pressed over his mouth, like he is trying to stifle tears.

Jared sighs, balling his hands wearily in his hair. His nose is burning like he is going to cry any minute. “I don't know, Ryan, I don't fucking know. But you can't be fucking around with this stuff anymore. If you try to get rid of it… you just need to leave it alone, okay? Just leave it alone, and it'll…. it'll…” He falters. He doesn't know if he can say the end of that sentence. He can't promise that it'll leave Ryan alone. He can't promise a goddamn thing, but he can't risk his nephew being hurt. He can't.

Ryan laughs, bitterly. “You really don't get it, Uncle Jared,” he says sadly. “It's too late for any of that.”

And then he hangs up with a sharp click, leaving a startling emptiness echoing in Jared's ear

---

Scully wakes up in bed (in her bed, the one that she and Mulder picked out together), too warm, tangled up in quilts and sheets, her hand tangled in the chain of her cross and her thumb hooked in the loop of her ring. The first thing she sees is frost gathered on the windows, and her first thought is, Jesus Christ, I hope William is warm. And then she reminds herself, Jackson, in the firmest voice she can muster. Jackson, her wayward, intelligent, dumbass kid. She once told Mulder that their son looks just like him, and he does. Tears well in her eyes, and she wipes them quickly, takes a deep, shaky breath. He's alive, she reminds herself. He's alive.

The second thing she notices is that she's alone in bed, the sheets rumpled and cold. She sits up tentatively, the ring slipping off of the tip of her thumb, and calls out softly, “Mulder?” There's no answer, no sign he's in the bathroom. She tucks some wayward hair behind her ears before climbing out of bed. The floorboards are freezing under her feet and she shivers, padding out into the hall.

Mulder isn't upstairs; she has no idea where he is until she starts downstairs and hears it. The muffled, miserable sobs coming from the living room.

Her chest clenches, her heart pounding against her ribs, and she hurries the rest of the way down. Mulder is on the couch, curled smaller than she ever would've guessed, his eyes screwed shut, and he's muffling his sobs behind his palm.

Sudden guilt rises in her throat, and she whispers, “Mulder,” her stomach twisting.

He looks up, startled, his face wet. “Oh, Scully…” he mumbles, as if embarrassed, wiping his cheeks frantically. “I-I'm sorry… I didn't want you to…”

She drops on the couch beside him without another word and wraps herself around him, hauling him into her arms. He whimpers a little, his face pressing into her collarbone. “I didn't want you to see me like this,” he croaks ashamedly, and she squeezes him tighter, kisses the top of his head. Shakes her head with her lips to his hair. She doesn't want him to feel like he has to hide his feelings to protect her. She never wants that.

He breaks down slowly, his fists gripping her t-shirt. She rocks him back and forth the way that she did after his mother died, whispering soothing things into his scalp. “I thought he was dead,” he gasps out, and she grips him tighter, murmurs, Shhh. It's okay. You're okay, honey. It's okay.

They collapse in a tangle of limbs against the arm of the couch, Mulder mostly on top of her. She welcomes the weight, his cheek against her sternum and his hiccuping sobs into her shirt. Her own eyes are filling with tears. She holds onto Mulder like a lifeline, and they ground each other to the earth.

---

Later, back in bed, she curls around his back the same way he did for her on a shitty couch bed, palm splayed across his ribs. He holds her hands in his, and on his fourth finger on his left hand, she feels a slip of metal she hasn't noticed in years.

She rests her chin on his shoulder, kisses the side of his neck gently. “Are you okay,” she whispers.

He hmms in response, kisses the back of her left hand. “I don't know,” he murmurs. “I… I can't tell you how relieved I am that he's alive. That he's… okay… but going through that… it felt real.”

“I know,” she says. She knows better than anyone. She doesn't think she'll ever forget the sight of her baby on a morgue slab. She presses her cheek against his back and bites back a shudder.

He holds her hand tightly against his chest. “I just… I always thought I would… get to talk to him,” he whispers. “Or that he might… I-I know it's selfish, but…”

“It's not selfish,” she says immediately, hugging him tight. “He's your son, Mulder. It's okay to have… regrets.”

He sniffles, quivering in her arms. “I just… I love him so much, Scully.” He squeezes her hand. “I want to know that he's okay.”

“I know.” She scoots up a bit to kiss his cheek, the spot behind his ear, wipes her eyes and leans her forehead against his neck. “I do, too. I do, too.”

He kisses her knuckles, the inside of her wrist. She can feel his ring between her fingers; she shivers. “I'm so glad you got to talk to him,” he mumbles, and she sniffles. He turns in her arms and pulls her against him, kisses her forehead gently, kisses the spot where a tear drips down her cheek. “I'm so glad he found you.”

---

Scully has another dream, the first one she's had in days that doesn't begin with sleep paralysis. She's lying in bed, and then she sits up, and she sees the dark figure standing in the doorway. She can't make out the face, but it feels so familiar. It feels like the dark figure in her first dream from Jackson.

Initially, in the midst of that first dream, Scully had thought it was another recurrence of that strange, Willoughby-induced fear that's been following her along with that silly case. A recurrence of all the things she's been seeing. But she couldn't explain why she felt compelled to follow the figure, why the dream had felt so significant. That was primarily the reason she'd actually told Mulder about that dream; she'd found herself unable to ignore it, dismiss it as another fearful hallucination or the like.

The dark figure hulks in the doorway; Scully whispers, “William?” and can hear the pleading desperation in her own voice. Is this another message? she wants to ask. What are you trying to tell me? She wants it, very badly, to be him; she wants to talk to her son again.

The figure raises a gesturing hand, as if to say, Come with me. And then it turns in the doorway and walks off, out into the hall.

Scully climbs out of bed and follows. She doesn't think she has a choice. The last time she followed a dark figure like this, it led her to her son. Maybe this dream is meant to help her find him again.

The hallway is dark, darker than it usually is; she can barely see the figure in front of us. She follows him warily, her hands quivering. They walk for longer than what would make sense, considering the layout of the hallway, and the figure doesn't say a word, just leads her further and further into the darkness.

Scully clenches her hands into fists and calls out, “Jackson?” But he doesn't answer. She bites her lower lip, prods, “Are you trying to send me a message, honey?” But still no answer comes. The figure just keeps walking. And as they go, the figure seems to look less and less like her son.

A sudden wave of frustration and fear washes over her, and she surges forward to reach for the figure. But her fingers land on nothing, they're grasping at thin air.

The hulking shape before her freezes in place, as if startled. And then it begins to turn, slow enough to be considered ominous. Scully tries to stumble away but she's frozen, she cannot move. The figure lifts something in its hand, and there is a scratch, like the striking of a match, there is a sudden flickering of firelight.

Scully jerks awake, biting back a startled yelp. Her hands pressed flat into the mattress, her body tense and drawn as a live wire. She can feel Mulder behind her, sitting up in bed and playing absently with her hair, and he lifts a hand to stroke her scalp at the sudden movement. “You okay?” he asks softly, concerned.

She swallows, turns in bed and pulls herself into a sitting position before nestling under his arm. He willingly tucks her into his side. “Yeah,” she says quietly, cheek against his collarbone. “Bad dream.” He looks down at her with curiousness, maybe even hopeful astonishment, and she clarifies quickly, “Not that kind of dream, not… from him.” She knows for sure now that it wasn't—that’s why she didn't have any sleep paralysis—and she's annoyed that she's stuck on the fucking Willoughby Specter again. She doesn't know why it's affected her so deeply, doesn't know why she keeps seeing things.

Mulder kisses the top of her head, rubs a hand up and down her arm. “I'm sorry, honey.”

She shrugs, trying to dismiss the dream and the fear it brought. Her heart is still pounding too hard against her ribs. She pulls the covers tighter around them—it’s still freezing, what looks like an icy rain falling outside—and that's when she notices the phone in Mulder's lap, opened to an email. “Who's that?” she asks, shifting a bit to face him. “Skinner? Detective Costa?”

“N-no, nothing like that,” Mulder says quickly, and Scully knows what he means. Nothing about him. “It's, uh, it's actually from Willoughby,” he adds.

Scully bites back her surprise. Clenches her jaw and forces herself to nod calmly. “From Ryan?” she asks, a little grimly; she's in no mood to dig into this case again, for several reasons.

“No, actually, it's from Deputy Jacobs,” says Mulder. “He wanted to let us know that Joy Seers woke up from her coma. They think she's going to be okay.”

“Oh.” Scully's honestly surprised by the news—after not hearing about any changes in Joy's condition for over a year, she'd doubted whether or not Joy would ever wake up—but it's not a bad surprise. She'd always liked Joy. Having had her own experiences with a coma, she'd been understandably horrified when she found out that Joy was in one. And as much as she doesn't want to think about Willoughby right now—because she doesn't want to think about brutally murdered parents, or wayward delinquent kids, or this nonexistent apparition that she apparently can't stop thinking about—this news is very welcome. If she has to have news from Willoughby, Virginia, she's glad it's good.

“That's excellent news,” she says, to voice her feelings out loud, and rests her head on Mulder's shoulder. “Excellent.”

“It is,” he agrees, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “Her husband must the overjoyed.” There's a familiar inflection in his voice, the inflection of, I know what this is like. I've gone through this before. Scully bites her lower lip and nods. She understands.

Mulder laughs, a little bitterly. “I'll admit, Willoughby has kind of been in the back of my mind these past couple days, even with everything,” he says. “D-do you remember when I called you the night before we went to Norfolk, and I told you I had a dream about the Specter?”

She'd admittedly forgotten until this moment, but she does remember. It scared her half to death, to wake from the mysterious dream and hear Mulder in a panic on the other end. “Yeah,” she murmurs. “I remember.”

Mulder swallows hard, a gulp, and shifts restlessly. “In the, uh, dream,” he continues uneasily, “I was shown a body bag.” Scully stiffens instinctively, and she can feel Mulder's own tension, but he keeps going. He says, “And I-I thought it was you. That's why I called you like that. But… I don't think it was. I think it was some kind of warning. About… what was going to happen to Jackson.”

Her heart is pounding again, too hard. She sits up in bed and shifts to face him. But he's not looking at her, his head is bowed. His voice cracks as he speaks again, quivering: “A-and the whole time we were there at that hospital, I couldn't stop thinking…” He takes a trembling breath, wipes his eyes. “... t-that I could've stopped it… I could've saved him if I'd just…”

She can't take anymore. She moves towards him in one fluid motion and wraps her arms as he chokes out a soft sob. “It’s okay,” she whispers, ignoring her thudding heartbeats, her fear and her anger, everything but this man in her arms. Her hand tangled in his hair. “Honey, it's okay. It's okay.”

They hold each other in the dim-lit room, sleet falling outside, and they do not speak of the Willoughby Specter again that night.

---

Ryan goes back to school a few days after his return from the hospital. The pain’s become more or less manageable, and besides, he doesn't exactly like hanging around the house, with all this new tension between him and Annie. (He doesn't exactly like leaving the house, either—it’s more or less become a sanctuary for him—but Annie leaves it every day, and he knows he can't go without leaving the house forever. And so he goes back to school.)

His friends, and some of the nicer students, want to know what happened. He gives the generic answer of I fell down the stairs, and wishes that would be the end of it. He's tired of talking about it. He doesn't want to have to explain why it happened, or how it really happened, that he was pushed down the stairs by a fucking ghost.

More people want to tell him what he already knows: Mrs. Seers woke up. Apparently a group of people is planning to go and visit her after school. One of his friends invites him along, and he agrees, mostly because he feels like he owes it to Mrs. Seers. After all, it was probably his fault she got into the accident in the first place. But Annie is wary to let him go; apparently, she doesn't exactly trust him right now. Ryan grits his teeth and curses under his breath and argues the best he can, until Annie gives in just a bit and agrees to drive him herself. It's not ideal, but it's something.

By the time they get there, the group from school is already leaving. Annie shoots Ryan an apologetic look and he does his best to ignore it; he's not in the mood. They ride the elevator up in silence.

Mrs. Seers still looks sick: pale and thin, with her hair having grown long. But she's sitting up in bed, and she smiles when Ryan comes in. “I was wondering if you would come by,” she says, straightening a bundle of flowers and setting them in a vase beside her bed. “The other students told me you had been hurt.”

“Yeah, Ry took a bit of a spill,” says Annie, squeezing his shoulder. “But we were so happy to hear that you had woken up, Joy, and we thought we should come by.” She grins. Ryan always forgets that his aunt and Mrs. Seers know each other; he thinks that they have a mutual friend or something.

Mrs. Seers addresses Ryan, her voice polite and sympathetic. “Does it hurt?” she asks.

Ryan shrugs. “Not too bad.” He shifts his weight, trying to take it off of his ankle. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Seers?”

“All right.” She shrugs. “All of this lost time… it is strange.”

“I can't imagine,” Annie says in a soft voice. She squeezes Ryan's shoulder again before stepping back. “Listen, I wanted to run downstairs and have a word with Ryan's doctor while we're here. This kid doesn't want to use the crutches half the time…” She chuckles, and Ryan rolls his eyes. “I'll give you two a minute to talk, okay?”

Mrs. Seers nods.

Ryan almost wants to ask her not to leave—he hates awkward situations, and this is definitely a taker. But he's not a little kid, and he doesn't feel particularly companionable with his aunt right now, anyway. So he says nothing and she walks out of the room and leaves them in silence.

Ryan shifts back and forth awkwardly. Mrs. Seers is just watching him, silently, and his first thought is that she is resentful. He blurts, “Mrs. Seers, I'm really sorry.”

She says nothing. Her hands are folded in her lap, and she's still watching him.

Ryan moves a little closer, his crutches squeaking on the floor. “I'm really sorry,” he repeats, in a softer voice. “I… I didn't want anyone to get hurt… because of what was happening in the classroom… with the Specter…” The words sound ridiculous, coming out of his mouth, but he keeps going. He can't help it. Aside from Jared and Robbie, and maybe from that male FBI agent, Mrs. Seers has always been the most open to the idea that the ghost is real, is behind these things. And if she understands what happened last Halloween, than she will understand the apologize and it's a well-deserved apology. “I felt really bad,” he says, gripping the bars or his crutches, the metal lukewarm between his fingers. “Hotrible. I'm… I'm really sor—”

“Did you think it was over?” Mrs. Seers says abruptly.

Ryan blinks in a shocked stupor. For a second, he thinks he imagined it. “Um… what?” he asks, with a little laugh.

Mrs. Seers nods, as if confirming she spoke. “It is not over,” she continues frankly. “You are a fool if you think that.” She lifts her chin to meet his eyes, and he suddenly understands. He understands everything.

Ryan gulps, his hands quivering. He doesn't say anything else. The words are solidly lodged in his throat. He turns, without another word, and begins to make his way out of the room. He can hear Mrs. Seers's voice behind him, calling his name, but he ignores it. He just keeps moving, crutches scraping, hands shaking, just a bit. He keeps going until he finds a set of chairs down the hallway, and it's not as safe as he'd like, but it's better than nothing, it's not like he can do anything else.

He lowers himself into a chair and sits there, nervously, until a hand comes down on his shoulder and he jolts.

“Sorry!” Annie says immediately, holding her hands up in apology and moving into his line of view. “Did I scare you?”

“Startled,” he mutters, although it isn't the truth.

Annie shoots him a look, and he can't tell if it's a confused look or an accusing look. “Why are you out here?” she asks. “What happened with Mrs. Seers?”

Ryan picks at a cuticle, avoiding looking at her. He wants to go home. He'd like very much to go home. “Oh, she said she was tired and she wanted to rest,” he mumbles.

“Oh.” Annie looks surprised, but she shrugs. She reaches down to help Ryan up, hooking his arm around her shoulders. “Well. It's good to see her up and about like that, huh? A real relief.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Ryan mutters. His eyes are on the end of the hall, on Mrs. Seers's room. He's trying to avoid the fact that won't stop poking at him, the thing that became obvious a few minutes ago in that room: that wasn't Mrs. Seers.

---

note: i did research for the phone conversation at the end (i.e., how do inmates make phone calls) here.

#xf rewatch #xf fanfic #i wrote this

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sailorjupitersworld · 6 years

Text

I’ve Got You

To previous readers of the story who might be coming back to re-read, I did some editing and rewrote a few things. Not much is different, but spelling mistakes have been fixed and grammatically incorrect sentences have been take care of. (I hope I got them all at least.)

Plot/Summary- There’s a string of murders involving young women in San Antonio, Texas. (Y/n) has a connection to the case, but does she realize that in time?

Warnings- Mentions of rape, abuse, abusive ex-boyfriend, swearing, blood.

Pairings- Spencer Reid x Reader

a/n- First time writing first person. I apologize if it’s horrible!

----

“It seems this unsub is going after young women in their mid to late 20′s. Typically women with (h/c) hair, (e/c) eyes, (s/t) skin and are recently out of a relationship. We think this is a man of in his late 20′s to early 30′s. He seems to be acting out some kind of fantasy,” Hotch started.

“He’s a confident, charming, and kind man. He has the ability to lure his victim’s to a place where there is a lack of people. He knows how to get them alone.” Prentiss followed.

“And he has access to chloroform, to knock his victim out and drag them to where he’s keeping them.” (Y/n) finished.

The group of policemen nodded, dispersing to their set locations.

“Alright guys, we need to find who’s doing this and fast. 7 victims in two weeks. We’ve gotta stop this man before he kills again.” Emily stated, a look of worry etched into her features.

“Prentiss and Morgan, I want you two to head down to the bar the last victim was scene. Ask around and see what you can get. (L/n), Reid and I will head to the crime scene and see if there’s anything that may be different from the last. JJ, I want you to talk to the family, see if there may be anything that connects her with the last few victims.” Hotch ordered.

---(First Person)---

The three of us exited the SUV, gloves already equipped.

Something about this case left a sinking feeling in my stomach. It wasn’t unusual for a case to make me a bit queasy, but I’ve never felt like this before. Something was wrong. I just didn’t know what.

“Hey Hotch, (Y/n), check this out.” Spencer waived you over, a piece of paper in his hands.

“What is it?” Hotch questioned,

I grabbed the paper and began reading aloud.

“Hello there agents. You think you’re close because you have a profile? Because you think you know me? You don’t. Though, maybe one of your team members do. Have fun!

-DJ.”

“Who does he know?” Spencer asked, confused.

My heart dropped, (e/c) eyes widening the size of dinner plates.

“(L/n), what’s wrong?” Hotch questioned.

“I need to make a phone call. I’ll be right back.”

“(N/n)!” Spencer called after me, but I didn’t stop. There wasn’t any time.

“I said I’ll be right back!” I shouted, causing the police officers on scene to give me a confused look.

I rushed out of the building and turned into the alleyway, quickly dialing the number. “C’mon, pick up!” I muttered.

“Why would I pick up, when I’m right here?” A gravelly voice came from behind me and I felt my heart rate speed up.

“Damian.” I hissed.

The blonde haired man grinned at me, an evil glint in his eyes. “Shut up, bitch.” A fist came towards me, and before I knew it, everything was black.

----

“Officer, have you seen the other agent that came in with us?” Hotch asked hurriedly.

They haven’t seen you in over 20 minutes, and it seemed that nobody else on the scene had either.

The woman nodded and pointed to the ally. “She was just over there. She went down that way.” The ally was dark and dreary.

Spencer and Hotch walked quickly, flashlights in hand.

“There’s nobody here.”

“Hotch, look, her phone.” Spencer said, he could only fear the worst for you. You fit the victimology, he knew you shouldn’t have been working this case. He didn’t say anything and he knew.

“Get it to Garcia, and have her trace the last call. We need to find (Y/n) quickly, before she ends up like the rest.” Hotch felt the same panic and urgency as Spencer. You were like a daughter to him, and he couldn’t lose you.

---

“Son of a bitch.” I rasped. My throat burned and my head pounded.

I tugged at my hands, but I couldn’t move them. Looking up, I realized they were bound to a pipe... No, not a pipe. A pole.

It was damp, dark, and a musty smell filled the air. I must be in a basement.

A large metal clang was heard in the distance. His footsteps could be heard.

“Good, you’re awake.” Damian grinned.

“Let me go.” I croaked.

He crouched in front of me, “Oh honey, after what you did to me, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” Pulling out a knife, he dragged it across my cheek.

“Now it’s time you paid.” He growled. Slicing my shirt down the center, he made several shallow cuts along the skin of my chest and stomach.

I didn’t let out a sound, closing my eyes in pain.

“Aww, not gonna make a sound? Well, maybe this’ll help.” He flipped me and I heard what sounded like a belt buckle.

“No.. No, please don’t” I whimpered, writhing and attempted to free myself from the binds, rubbing my wrists raw in the process.

“Too late!” He clawed at your pants, undoing the buttons.

I knew exactly what was going to happen, and there was no way for me to stop this.

---

“Damian Jackson! He was put away for domestic violence, sexual and physical abuse, and attempted rape. His girlfriend filed 4 years ago. Oh my god...”

“What is it Garcia?”

“H-his ex! (Y/n) (L/n), born (birthday). That’s our (Y/n)!”

Everyone exchanged surprised glances, not once had you mentioned this. Not a word. They had know you for almost three years, and none of your behavior showed signs of past abuse. Spencer wracked his brain. “How could I not know? I should have know!”

Prentiss’ voice interrupted his thoughts, “Garcia, when did Jackson get out of prison?”

“He got out two weeks ago,”

“When the killings started,” Morgan interrupted.

“Where can we find him?” Rossi rushed.

“78451 Swan Drive!”

“Baby, I love you.” Derek said thankfully.

“Whatever you say hot stuff, just bring her back to us.”

Hotch and Reid were already on the move, “All units, head to 78451 Swan Drive. Bring an ambulence!” Hotch shouted.

---

I sobbed quietly, blood gushed from my nose, my chest was covered in red, not a single piece of (s/c) skin in sight. My hips throbbed with bruises and my wrists were bleeding. My pants were in tatters and strewn across the room. The only thing keeping myself not exposed were the black shorts I wore underneath and a bra. “At least he was courteous enough to leave those on.”

“They’re not coming, don’t you get it?” He growled, kicking my side once more.

I groaned in pain, “No, they’re coming. They’re going to arrest you, and put you away for life. Maybe they’ll put you on death row.” I spat.

He grabbed my hair and pulled me up to face him. “You fucking bitch! You have no idea what you’re talking about!” He screamed, spit flying in my face.

A loud crash was heard from upstairs, followed by voices.

��Get up, slut.” He cut the rope from around my wrists and pulled my body up.

My legs were weak, and I couldn’t help but stumble.

“I said GET UP!”

The metal door was opened in seconds and I let out a breath of relief when I saw the people who stood before me. Morgan, Hotch and Reid stood before me. Their guns were raised and they were clad in vests.

“Spencer...” I rasped.

“Shut it!” Damian screamed once more, pressing the cold metal against my neck. “You move and I’ll cut her throat open!”

“Put the knife down Damian.” Aaron growled. His face was etched with anger, but his eyes were full of fear.

“You don’t have to do this Damian, we can get you help.” Spencer attempted to reason.

“I don’t want help,” He began to drag the blade along your neck, “I want this fucking bitch dead!”

I felt a sharp pain in my side and Damian let go. I fell to the ground with a thud and I gasped for air.

“No!” Everyone yelled.

I watched through spotty vision as Damian was tackled to the ground. Hotch and Spencer quickly made their way over. Spencer was quick to pack the wound with the remnants of my shirt.”

“I need a medic! Federal Agent down!” Hotch yelled into his ear piece.

Spencer grabbed your head and looked you in the eyes, “(Y/n)? (Y/n), it’s okay. We got you. You’re going to be just fine.” He assured.

“I’m sorry. I should have said something. I should’ve known it was him. I’m so sorry.” I cried. (h/c) hair stuck to my face, the blood and sweat serving as the adhesive.

“Shush, you’re gonna be okay. Save your strength.” Hotch grasped my hand.

“Gentlemen, I’m going to need you to move.” The EMT said.

They quickly moved you, and soon you were being carried to the ambulance.

“Spencer, I love you. Aaron, thank you for being there for me,” I choked out. “If I don’t make it-”

“No, stop talking like that. You’re going to be just fine.” Spencer whispered shakily, tears streaked down his cheeks.

Black spots began to cloud my eyes, and the voices around me became muffled.

"I love you too.” Was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

------

Everyone sat in the lobby of the hospital, tears filled their eyes. Waiting for news on your condition. Morgan paced, Prentiss bit her nails, JJ munched on cheetos with a solemn look, Rossi twiddled his fingers and Garcia was wiping at the constant flow of tears. Hotch frequently made his way to the front desk, asking for new, yet receiving none. He was almost frantic. He’s lost too many and he couldn’t bear to lose another one. Spencer tapped his foot, trying to keep his breathing under control. The brunette wanted scream. It was agony not knowing. For someone like Spencer, not knowing was rare, and he hated it. The sound of the door opening and closing caused everyone to bolt up from their current positions.

“How is she?” Emily cried.

“Is she alright?” JJ gasped.

The surgeon and his nurse smiled, “It was a tough battle, but luckily the knife just missed any vital organs. She lost a lot of blood, but she’ll be fine if you give her time to heal.”

“Can we see her?” Spencer choked out. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks stained with tears.

The nurse nodded, “You may, but be careful. Not only will she be dealing with physical scars, she’s going to be going through a mass emotional trauma. She’s been swabbed for DNA and cleaned up as requested by the Bureau. But be warned, experiences like this... they don’t leave the brain easily. Please be cautious and try not upset her. She’s in room 241, down the hall and third door on the left.”

Aaron let out a shaky breath and nodded, “Thank you.”

Everyone made their way down the hall quickly, and there you sat, eyes wide open.

“Hey guys.” I croaked.

---

Everyone chatted with you for about 20 minutes before deciding you needed rest. Hotch and Spencer stayed however.

Hotch needed to ask you just one question, “(Y/n),”

“What is it?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It didn’t seem important. It’s apart of my past I don’t particularly like living through, but I will admit that it made me stronger. I knew who it was when we found that note. I should have said something, but I just couldn’t until I knew for sure.” I looked down at my hands, avoiding their gazes.

“I understand (Y/n). But if you keep information from us again, I’ll have to write you up. You endangered yourself and others.” He scolded.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” I looked down at my hands, avoiding their gazes.

“Oh, and (Y/n)?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” I gave him a soft smile, before he turned and left the room. I waited until he left before turning to Spencer, who had taken a seat next to me.

“I meant what I said. I love you.” I smiled, meeting his beautiful hazel eyes. Much to

“I love you too, (Y/n). But none of this was your fault. You couldn’t have known, and you couldn’t have been sure,” He grasped my hand, much to my surprise. Spencer wasn’t exactly one for physical contact.

I grasped his cheek gently pulling him in for a soft kiss. I pulled away with a gasp of terror, startled by the image of Damian forcing himself upon you.

“(Y/n), what’s wrong?

“I saw him... What he did to me. I’m never going to be able to forget him am I? He’s always going to show up in the corner of my mind.” I cried.

“(Y/n), breathe. It’s alright, he can’t hurt you anymore. I’ll never let anything like this happen you again, none of us will.” He hugged you to him, cautious to not hurt you more.

“Thank you.” I sobbed over and over.

“It’s alright I’ve got you.” He hushed, your cries died down and your body relaxed in his arms. You had fallen asleep. He set you down gently and placed a kiss upon your forehead. “Whatever happens (Y/n), no one will hurt you ever again.” He whispered to your sleeping form.

“Nobody..” he heard you mutter.

He smiled, “Nobody.”

---

It had been a year since the incident. It had been a long recovery, the memories of what happened that day were not forgotten. But here you sat cuddled up to Spencer at a Christmas party that Penelope had decided to throw, enjoying the people you love and cherish.

You looked up at him, a smile on your features,

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” Spencer chuckled at you.

“I was just thinking... The shittiest things have happened to all of us,”

“Very true,”

“But we all have each other. Some people aren’t that lucky.”

“What are you trying to say (Y/n)?”

“I never had a family, people to fall back on, and now I do. I guess I’m just saying I’m lucky is all.” I stated thoughtfully.

I was truly lucky to have every single one of the people who sat before me.

“Marry me.” Spencer blurted out.

“What?”

“I know we haven’t been together long, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Are you sure?” I stared at him, looking for any signs of regret that he may be having right now. I couldn’t find any, all I could see was a man who loved me with his heart and soul.

“Yes, I’m completely sure.” He nodded.

“Yes! Yes I’ll marry you!” Pressing an excited kiss to his lips,

“Wait,” Emily interrupted

“Who’s getting married?” Derek cut her off.

“We are.” I said nervously.

“OH MY GOD!!! FINALLY!!!” Penelope squealed.

“Do you know when?” JJ asked.

Spencer shook his head, “No, not yet. Maybe in April.”

“Congratulations!” Will said, giving you a hug. Everyone else doing the same.

I stopped at Aaron and Jack who was super excited. “There are two things I know for sure though,”

“What’s that?” asked Kevin.

I kneeled down to meet Jack’s eye level, “Jack Hotchner, would you do me the honor of being the ring bearer?”

He looked at his dad excitedly, “Can I daddy?”

Aaron chuckled, “I don’t see why not.”

“Yay!” Jack exclaimed excitedly, “Can my dad help me?”

“Well, I have another job for your daddy,” I grinned and stood, “Aaron Hotchner, you have been for me more than my parents ever have or ever will. You’ve helped me through situations that I couldn’t confide in anybody else with. Not even Spence. After Haley’s death, I wasn’t sure if you’d ever be the same, but you never stopped being there. You have always been a shoulder I and everyone else could cry on. That being said, would you do me the honor of walking me down the aisle?”

Aaron stared in shock, tears pooling in his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but he pulled you in for a tight hug. “Yes (Y/n),” He whispered.

“Why are you upset daddy?”

“I’m not upset Jack,” Aaron said, seperating from the hug to look at his son with a smile. “(Y/n) just made me very happy. That’s all.”

Jack giggled, “Good job (Y/n)!!!” He cheered.

Spencer came over and put his hand on your lower back.

“I love you guys, all of you. You’re the best Christmas present a girl could ask for.”

Through the rest of the night, nothing but laughter and love were in the air. New memories were created, ones of love and laughter.

And you knew you’d soon be creating ones of lust when you arrived home with Spencer. It truly was a night that you’d never be able to forget.

---

That’s it! Sorry it’s so sloppy and kind of all over the place when it comes to POV’s. And sorry it’s super super long! I just couldn’t stop writing. Hope you enjoy!

#criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds imagines #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid one shot #aaron hotchner x reader #platonic #aaron hotchner imagine #father figure

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bamby0304 · 6 years

Text

She Howls II: Pack

Summary: The Argents know about Scott and Angela. Derek betrayed them. Secrets keep growing. Things just aren’t working in their favour. To make things worse, more lines are crossed and drawn as new dangers and threats fall on Beacon Hills. But out of everything Angela and her friends have to face, she never thought the thing that could hurt her the most was something inside her…

Bamby’s Masterlist

She Howls Masterlist

She Howls II: Pack Masterlist

Chapter Eleven: Spiked

Warnings: Drama, spiked punch, angst, fluff, a Stiles kiss...

Bamby

Walking through the ground floor of the rail-road depot I could hear the others downstairs. It was Spring Break, which meant no school. No school meant free time. I had thought I was going to spend it working or moping around the house cleaning. But since the other night with Derek, I felt drawn here.

"What is that?" Isaac asked, speaking of something I obviously couldn't see.

"It's a triskele," Boyd answered. I could feel the surprise from the others at his response. "Spirals mean different things. Past, present future. Mother, father, child."

"You know what it means to me?" Derek asked, thinking he wouldn't know.

"Alpha, Beta, Omega?" Boyd answered correctly again.

"That's right," Derek told them. "It's a spiral. Reminds us that we can all rise to one or fall to another. Betas can become Alphas, but Alphas can also fall to Betas or even Omegas."

"What? Like Scott and Angela?" Isaac commented

"Scott's with us," Derek noted- though I didn't miss the fact he didn't mention me.

"Really?" Isaac asked. "Then where is he now?"

Opening the door, I started down the stairs. "He's looking for Jackson." All eyes turned to me as I continued down. "Unlike you guys, Scott and I have some semblance of control during the full moon."

Isaac rolled his eyes at my comment as Erica smiled in my direction. It was weird, after the other night we were kinda, sort of… friends. But as weird as it was, it was nice, too. I liked having a friendship that didn't start because of Scott- like Stiles and Allison.

Moving still, I headed towards Derek, our eyes locking. Both of us stayed neutral, saying nothing, but we didn't have to. We were naturally drawn to each other.

He stood by a box of chains and restraints. All heavy, metal and probably painful. But all were necessary as well. The others were new, and had minimal control. With the full moon rising tonight Derek needed to make sure he could keep them from hurting anyone.

Once I stood by his side, Derek looked to the others. "Don't worry, Scott and Angela aren't going to have it easy tonight either. None of us will." He reached into the box and grabbed some chains. "There's a price you pay for this kind of power. You have the ability to heal. But tonight, you're gonna want to kill anything you can find."

"Good thing I had my period last week, then." Erica grinned from where she stood in the doorway of the wrecked train carriage.

"Well, this one's for you." Derek reached into the box and grabbed something else.

Turning to her, he lifted the device, revealing some kind of metal ring that had spikes going into the circle. I wasn't sure what it was but I knew one thing… it was going to hurt.

"Okay…" I started, easing the tension in the air. "Look, I just came over to return this… again." I handed Derek's leather jacket over.

After Mrs Argent stabbed- and almost killed- me the other night, my dress had practically been ruined. Derek had put his leather jacket on me to cover the blood and ripped dress, and to keep me warm.

Once Scott had woken up I called Stiles, who then took us home. I actually managed to sleep in my room soundlessly that night. In fact, I'd slept in my room every night since.

I hadn't seen Derek in the days between now and then, so I hadn't had the chance to give him his leather jacket back. But today I was free, and I knew he'd be here helping the others, so I felt now was as good a time as any.

"Thanks." He nodded, taking it from me.

"No problem." I shrugged. "So, uh… I'm gonna go now. But if you need me, just call, okay?"

Grabbing my arm, Derek stopped me from walking away. "You think you could come over tonight? Help me with these three?" He gestured over his shoulder to the others.

"Can't. I've gotta go to Lydia's party. Promised Stiles," I reminded him. "But I'll come by after." I smiled, leaning over to press a quick kiss to his cheek.

…

"So, you're going to Lydia Martin's birthday party?" mum asked as she leaned against the frame of my door, dressed in her work clothes.

I was looking through my wardrobe, looking for something to wear. "Yeah." I nodded. "Stiles wants me to go."

"But you've never even spoken to the girl… have you?"

"A few times." I shrugged.

"Were you invited?"

"Open party."

"Is your friend Erica going to be there."

Uh, yes, Erica. Mum and I hadn't really talked about her, but I could tell mum was surprised to find out I had a new friend. She was probably even more surprised by the fact she was a girl and not friends with Scott.

"No." I shook my head. "She's got other plans."

"And what about the guy I saw you talking with the other night?"

Pausing, I pulled out of my wardrobe to give her a confused look. "What guy?"

"The one you were talking to before we went to the police station after your brother got a restraining order put on him." She gave me a pointed look.

I swallowed hard, realising who she was referring to. Derek.

"He's the guy, isn't he? The one who broke your heart?" she asked. But I didn't respond. I couldn't. "Honey… do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." I offered a strained and forced smile. "There isn't much to talk about."

"Well, we can talk about the fact that he looks older than you. He doesn't go to school, does he? How old is he?"

I wasn't actually sure how old Derek was. But he had to be around twenty-four years old. Maybe twenty-five. It didn't matter though. No matter what I said, it would be too old.

"Look mum, I would love to talk to you about all of this, but I have to get ready for the party," I told her, dodging the conversation.

"Fine. We'll talk about this tomorrow." She nodded, pushing off the door frame. "Just… I need you to be careful, Angela."

"I will mum. Promise." I smiled lightly before turning back to my wardrobe… though I still couldn't find anything. "How can I have nothing to wear, when I bought new clothes like, a month ago?"

"Here." Coming over, mum stood next to me and looked into my wardrobe in the hopes of helping me. It didn't take long for her to find something. "What about this?" She reached in and pulled out a dress.

It was a nice summer dress. White and simple. It hugged my torso nicely, while the skirt flowed. Falling just above the knee, with spaghetti straps, it was cute and sweet. It was nice.

"This with your cardigan..." she suggested. "You don't have to dress up. It's just a birthday party."

She was wrong though.

This wasn't just a party. It was Lydia's party. The most important party a teenager could go to in this town. Plus, I was seeing Derek afterwards. Looking nice wasn't going to cut it… but it seemed it's all I had going for me tonight.

"And these." She reached in and grabbed a pair of black heels from my floor. "Just pin some hair out of your face, let the rest fall in their natural waves, put a little makeup on." She smiled, handing me the shoes. "Trust me. You'll look nice."

"Thanks mum." I smiled back, taking the dress from her. Even though I wanted to look more than nice, I was still thankful for her help.

…

"Have you seen Jackson anywhere?" Stiles asked us as we found him walking around Lydia's party.

"No." Scott shook his head. "Seen Allison?"

"No, but we should probably tell her what we found," Stiles noted.

He'd told us about the discovery he and his father had made earlier on today. Everyone who had been killed so far was either on the swim team, or- in Isaac's father's case- coached it.

Scott looked confused. "I'm still kind of not sure what we found."

"I figured out it has something to do with water," Stiles explained. "You know, the fact that all the victims were on the swim team, the way the Kanima reacted around the pool."

"So, whoever's controlling the Kanima hates the swim team?" Scott asked.

"Hated," I corrected. "They were on the 2006 swim team."

Stiles nodded. "So it could be another teacher. Maybe like a student back then. I mean, who are we missing? What haven't we thought of?" he asked as we walked through the back doors, coming to a stop by the pool.

Allison walked over to us then. She gave a small smile, but it was partially forced, and did nothing the ease the tension between her and Scott.

The night of the rave had put a dent in their relationship. Not because of her mother- I was pretty sure Allison didn't know about that- but because of the fact she'd gone on a date, with Matt, to the rave.

That not only had almost ruined our plans- though our plans hadn't worked out anyway, so it made no difference- but it also meant Scott was forced to be there… like an awkward, uninvited third wheel, who is secretly dating one of the other wheels…

"Uh, Jackson's not here," she told us.

"Yeah, no one's here," Stiles noted, looking out to the empty backyard.

The party had started almost an hour ago… and not much had happened yet. The place was looking pretty dead. Besides the four of us and Lydia, there were maybe three other people. But they were inside, doing their own thing, probably contemplating whether they should stay or not.

"Maybe it's just early," Scott suggested naively.

I sighed. "No. Nobody's coming because of Lydia."

"They think she's turned into the town whack job," Stiles added.

Allison shrugged. "Well, we have to do something, because we've completely ignored her for. The past two weeks."

"She's completely ignored Stiles the past ten years," Scott countered.

Stiles turned to my brother, trying not to look offended. "I prefer to think of it as me not having been on her radar yet."

"We don't owe her a party," Scott insisted.

I shook my head, disagreeing. "We might not owe her a party, but we owe her." When he looked to me confused I explained myself, "Peter attacked her because we wouldn't join his pack. He attacked her because we wouldn't help him. He attacked her because we left her in the dark, even though she was in potential danger."

Allison nodded. "She wouldn't be the town whack job if it wasn't for us."

Sighing, Scott shrugged. "I guess I could use my co-captain status to get the lacrosse team here."

"Yeah, I also know some people who can get this thing going," Stiles offered. "Like, really going."

"Who?" Allison asked.

"I met them the other night," He told her. "Let's just say they know how to party."

"Well, I have nothing to offer. The only other people I hang out with are currently chained up… and not for fun. But I am all for moral support." I beamed- only partially faking it.

Allison relaxed a little then, returning the smile. "And we appreciate it."

…

Standing beside the pool, off to the side with Scott and Stiles, I watched as the party grew and grew. The place was alive now, practically full of people. It was a drastic change from how it had been less than an hour ago.

"Are you gonna apologise to Allison or what?" Stiles asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over us.

I looked across the pool to see Allison standing by herself, glancing over at Scott every now and then.

"Why should I apologise?" Scott asked, genuinely wondering why.

"Because you're the guy." Stiles shrugged. "It's what we do."

"But I didn't do anything wrong," Scott told him, making me laugh lightly. "What?"

"She's laughing because any time a guy thinks he hasn't done anything wrong, it means he's definitely done something wrong," Stiles explained. "So you should definitely apologise."

"He's not wrong," I noted.

But Scott wasn't giving in. "I'm not apologising."

"Is that the full moon talking, buddy?"

"Probably," Scott admitted. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"Because, Scott, something's gotta go right here. I mean, we're getting our asses royally kicked, if you haven't noticed," Stiles started. "People are dying. I got my dad fired. You're gonna be held back in school. I'm in love with a nut job. And if on top of all that, I gotta watch you lose Allison to a stalker like Matt, I'm gonna stab myself in the face."

Suddenly Scott pushed off the wall he was leaning on. "Don't stab yourself in the face."

"Why not?"

"Because Jackson's here."

Stiles and I turned to see Jackson walking through the back doors. A moment later Lydia handed him a glass of punch. As he took a sip, he looked over the crowd until his eyes landed on ours.

Something told me tonight was going to get interesting.

…

"Refill?" Stiles offered me a second glass of punch.

I looked down at it, wondering if it was such a good idea. I'd had the first one and sipped it slowly, hoping if I could control my drinking I'd still be able to control myself during the full moon- not that alcohol affected werewolves, according to Scott. But I wasn't too sure anymore. I felt different.

I was itchy, and hot. I felt like I was missing something. Like I needed something. The feeling was small, but it was growing gradually. It was like a warning before a fever broke out…

"You feeling okay?" Stiles asked, leaning over slightly so he could look me in the eyes.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Drunk?"

"We don't get drunk," I reminded him.

"Moon?"

I shook my head. "No, this is different."

"Oh, okay. Here." He put the glass down and pressed his hand on the small of my back before leading me over to a bench we could sit on.

His hand on my back actually felt nice. Like it dulled the barely there aching inside me. I wanted to lean into it a little more. Luckily, he didn't pull away or remove his hand. In fact, he moved a little closer.

"Better?"

"Yeah." I nodded, turning to give him a small smile.

He returned the smile. "I don't think I said this before, but you look really nice tonight."

Blushing, I looked away, chuckling lightly. "Thanks."

"No, seriously. You look really, really beautiful."

Surprised, I slowly looked up at him again. He searched my eyes for a second and then, before I realised what was happening, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.

At first, I let it happen. The strange feeling inside me buzzed, satisfied and happy with the contact. It was like the aching had been for this. Not necessarily with Stiles, but with anyone. I was craving something.

But then my brain caught up to what was actually happen. Stiles was kissing me. I was kissing Stiles. We were kissing.

Oh, my God.

I pulled away from him, and slid across the bench quickly, putting distance between us. "Stiles…"

The moment we were no longer touching it Stiles realised what had just happened.

"Oh, my God. Angela… oh, my God. I am so sorry." He shook his head, starting to freak out. "I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," I assured him as I got to my feet. "I think I'm just gonna head inside and get a glass of water."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Even as he asked it, I could see the confusion in his face, as if he wasn't sure what was coming over him.

"You should… you should stay here," I suggested.

Sliding into the bench more, he nodded. "Good idea."

Before either of us did anything else, I turned on my heels and walked away. But with each step I could feel the ache inside me grow. My cravings were growing.

...

I was standing by the sink in Lydia's kitchen. Everyone else was outside, so the room was empty. It gave me the chance to take a breath and try to cool myself down- literally.

The itching and fever I could feel coming wasn't too far away now. I had no idea what was happening to me, but the worse it got the closer I got to freaking out. I was even considering calling Derek to see if he could help me, or just come get me.

"Angela?"

Frowning, recognising that voice, I turned to see my mum standing in the kitchen with me. She looked at me with fear in her eyes. She looked like she was going to run away.

"Mum?" I went to take a step towards her.

She stepped away, shaking her head. In fact, all of her was shaking. "Stay away!"

"Mum, what's-" I cut myself off as soon as I saw my hand… my claws. My head snapped towards her again. "Mum, it's okay. I can explain."

"What are you?" She was on the verge of tears, pure fear radiating off her.

"It's me. It's Angela, your daughter."

"You're not my daughter." She shook her head, backing up more until she was pressed against the wall. "You're a monster."

"You don't mean that, mum." I was trying not to cry as I took another step towards her.

As I got closer, she quickly shoved me away. "No!"

I stumbled back from the force of her push, but fell to the ground from the force of her fear and hate. I crumbled, feeling my heart break as I realised this was it. She now knew the truth and my own fears were coming true. She was scared of me. My own mother was scared of me.

Unable to pull myself up, I stayed there on the ground, and began to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

All I was met with was silence.

Despite my fears, I slowly lifted my head to look her in the eyes. But as my head rose I found myself looking at the kitchen wall. My mum was gone…

"Angela?" Scott rushed into the kitchen, coming to kneel on the floor beside me quickly. "Angela? You okay?"

I shook my head. "She hates me."

"Who? What did you see?"

"Mum." A tear rolled down my cheek. "She hates me."

"Hey, no. It wasn't real. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real," he tried to tell me, but I didn't believe it.

She'd looked so real. It felt so real.

"Angela!" He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "It's the punch. Somebody spiked the punch, now Lydia's missing and everyone is freaking out. Angela, I need your help. Please."

"Punch?" I frowned, confusion rising above my heartache.

"Yes." Scott nodded, sounding a little relived that he seemed to be getting through to me. "The punch. Someone put something in it. It looks like wolfsbane."

"Wolfsbane?" I shook my head slowly. "Someone spiked the punch with wolfsbane?" My brain was slowly catching up.

"And now everyone is going crazy and Lydia is gone."

"What about Stiles?"

"I haven't found him yet."

That's all it took. Knowing people were freaking out, and people were missing. Knowing Stiles might be in trouble, and Scott needed me.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Scott looked unsure. "You're okay?"

"I'm okay," I assured him.

"Okay, good." He stood before offering me a hand. "Let's go find Stiles."

…

We found Stiles. He was sitting by the spa, leaning against a brick pillar, in a state I assumed was a lot like the one I'd been in when Scott found me in the kitchen. Though unlike me, Stiles wasn't recovering from whatever was happening to everyone.

"Stiles, look at me. Drink the water." Scott held a water bottle in front of Stiles. "Stiles, drink it. Something's happening, and we need you to sober up right now. Come on, Stiles."

"What do you think you are doing?" a girl asked as she came over to us. "You want to sober him up fast, that's not the way to do it."

I turned to her. "How then?"

Without a word, she crouched own by Stiles, grabbed his shirt, and quickly dunked him into the spa before pulling him out.

Stiles gasped as he leaned against the wall again, blinking and shaking his head.

"How do you feel?" the girl asked him.

"Like I might have to revisit my policy on hitting a girl," he answered.

She nodded, looking to Scott and me. "He's sober."

…

Stiles, Scott and I split up to look for Lydia. We'd searched the whole house- hell, the whole property- but there was no sign of her. When there was nowhere else to look, I met up with the guys by the pool again.

"Hey, I can't find her. And, dude, anyone who drank that crap, they're freaking out," Stiles noted, gesturing to the people around us.

They were acting like animals. Like drunk, out of their minds and out of control, animals.

"I can see that," Scott noted.

"What are we gonna do?"

Before either Scott or I could answer Stiles- not that we had an actual answer to give- the sound of someone yelling caught our attention.

"I can't swim! No, no, no, no, stop, guys!" Matt called as two guys carried him from inside the house and towards the pool. "I can't swim!" he tried to tell them. "I can't swim! I can't-"

Ignoring him, they threw him into the pool.

Matt struggled to stay up, frantically waving and moving about, trying to do whatever he could to save himself.

"I can't-" he tried to call out again, but couldn't keep himself up.

Suddenly someone broke through the crowd, hurrying over to help pull Matt out of the water. Once he was up the person turned to the rest of us, pissed.

It was Jackson.

Dripping wet, embarrassed, and more pissed than Jackson, Matt looked to the now quiet crowd. "What are you looking at?"

As if on cue, sirens began to ring in the distance then.

"The cops are here."

"Party's over!"

"Run!"

Everyone scattered like rats then, rushing off in different directions, getting the hell out of there. In the chaos of the situation we lost Matt.

Knowing we had to get out before the cops came, Stiles, Scott and I made a break for it as well. We were running down the drive way, headed for Stiles' Jeep, almost on the road, when we found Matt.

He stood in the middle of the road, raging, dripping, looking directly at the three of us… as the Kanima crouched by his side protectively.

People were still running around, moving all over the place. It only took a few seconds before we lost Matt again, but we'd seen him. We knew now. He was the master.

Bamby

#derek hale fanfiction #derek hale fic #derek hale x oc #scott mccall fanfiction #scott mccall fic #stiles stilinski fanfiction #stiles stilinski fic #angela mccall #she howls #she howls ii: pack

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kaijuzilla · 6 years

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MOD Review: Kong Skull Island

“What is a King...

(!WARNING! It contain spoilers if you haven’t seen it or play it don’t read!)

This is a good Kong movie which Peter Jackson King Kong film is one my favorite which I also have the game too. When they announce this movie I was confuse on the title and got not interested in it but when shown again I’m now interest! Kong now is more bigger and cooler too. From this type of movie I sometimes guess who’s gonna die in the movie and some I got it right like somehow I usually do these things in Jurassic Park movies but in Kong Skull Island is kind of easy to see. We the guy who see Kong as the enemy, some random soldiers leaving some to live, the guy with the camera, the one guy who is news reporter maybe, the blonde girl, and 3 random people who is with the camera guy but we also bring in in this movie the old guy who was there during world war with Japan that crash her and stuck on island with the natives for many years. Also this is really different from previous Kong movies which this one doesn’t have like dinosaurs or stuff in the movie just some animals that live there that are dangerous and gentle giants but still keep the Kong stuff in the movie which is still good. I even got to read that Skull Island comic and it goes along with the movie which is good.

It starts off with a war going on in 1944 (midst WW II)with the American and Japanese who crash on the island which Kong is like “Ok which one of you fuckers just crash their metal birds and blew up during my nap.”

Which skip to 1973 with a tracking excerpt with Monarch to go and search a mysterious island that was found in the satellites to see whats on it along side with some military soldiers, Samuel L Jackson, Some dude with the briefcase, and 2 random people who just suddenly join in this project to go to the island.

As they get to the Island with alot of helicopters they just started to bomb the island with napalm bombs but one of them get hit by a tree like a javelin like HOLY SHIT! which arise from the cool sun scene is Kong who just go and destroying, stomping, and ate one soldiers and helicopters which Jackson sees him as a threat to mankind and angry cause he kill his men. The gang got separated trying to find each other which Jackson ask “Where are we and don’t dare say What to me” to the camera man who said that they’re on an island filled with monsters meaning there are dangerous more here.

(One of the soldier who friend with the photographer is lost in wood where he see kong fighting and ate a giant squid, a wood log mantis thing but also die from a skull crawler.) Along the way Gang 1 find skull island native and the surviving soldier from the beginning of this film who learn that these people build this wall too keep out predators from killing them and threats which Kong fights. They see Kong Protector of Skull Island and god too which he protect the native from Skull Crawlers which are replacement for the usual carnivore dinosaur rival but they’re more dangerous and the Kong family been at war with them over many years and Kong is the last and youngest of his kind and was born during the war as his parents die in it. So after all that the blonde girl go out and see a giant buffalo trap under the crash helicopter and she try to push it off but Kong from out of nowhere came and pick up the chopper and stares down at her then leaves.

The Gang began to leave the village waving goodbye till along the way the briefcase guy got taken away by some flying bird creature with some knife head crest using it to cut limbs off of him in the air which is just wow. Meanwhile Gang 2 got caught in some spider leg thing which brutally kill one soldier and almost ate one but they kill it. But they regroup with them at Kong parent resting place meaning graveyard where they fight the bird things and Skullcrawlers that ate the camera man by blowing it up.

Night time Jackson have plan to lure Kong to the lake which is covered in some liquid thing that can set the whole lake on fire to burn Kong down when it’s bonding with the blonde girl. He said “I have it with these mother fucking monkey on this monkey Friday island!!!” But soldiers said he’s crazy and tells him to stop cause doing that can unleashed a bigger Skullcrawler. This then kill Jackson before he can blew up Kong when Kong slam his fist down on him but pin down by the Skullcrawler. So the Skullcrawler chases them down Kong comes in and fight it then humans back him up and Kong fight more on the big serpent kaiju which is the coolest fight scene I seen in any Kong movie. He use a whole tree as a baseball bat and the propeller of the boat as a mace like weapon and use that to cut it’s throat which is so badass!!!

But that didn’t kill it when Kong accidentally hurt the girl and the Skullcrawler got her in his hand so he like “know what fuck this!” and just pull it’s tounges and guts out which is now 100% dead! Oh and also the girl still alive in Kong hand too somehow. After that they finally escape Skull Island and the old man finally return home to his family which he can get his baseball game, hot dogs, and beer for the longest time...

But before we say it’s over The two monarch agent show the girl and photo guy that Kong isn’t the only King which bring us the sequel to King of the Monsters!

So the movie is really great and good too. The year it take place in is very interesting cause to tell you guys Kong is still young and he still growing meaning till 2020 he will fight Godzilla in the next movie after King of the Monsters. Kong has amazing design and thing so weird in the movie is that he comes in like a full on ninja like how does no one feel the ground shake when he walk like how? But the final fight scene takes the cake too. The actors are good and easy to remember too. We got to know some stuff about Skull Island more too. I bet they just have fun thinking of the fight scene or something cause that’s just so good! Though some part still weird place like some characters are interesting and they just get kill in the movie when we thought they’re gonna live the whole movie I’ll give this movie..

8/10

#King Kong #kong skull island #kaiju #mod review #review

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ellanainthetardis · 7 years

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Hello, friends, I have come back from the war! I am full of The 100 feels lately so you get the fruits of a very cracky talk I had with @akachankami regarding jealousy and Jaha. This is taking place post S4 in the bunker, it’s mostly a mix of fluff and crack so… don’t take it too seriously!

[FF] or [AO3]

Doomed

Marcus was laughing so hard tears were pooling in his eyes.

He had been laughing for almost ten minutes straight by that point and Abby was starting to get concerned about possible strokes. It was hard to blame him for it though. She had had troubles controlling her own chuckles when she had told him the story the first time and, if she had been shaking her head at him all the while when she had repeated it for the second time, her lips had still been twitching with the smile she was fighting.

“Tell me again.” he demanded between two gasps of breath. “What did he say?”

“That I shouldn’t feel bad that our relationship didn’t work out because it was doomed from the start.” she said, her amusement clouded with a touch of irritation. If it hadn’t been so ridiculous, she might have been angrier with Jaha.

“Doomed.” Marcus chuckled, wiping his eyes.

She wasn’t even surprised when he flopped on his back on their bed and covered his face with his hands, lost to his hilarity.

She perched herself on the table that doubled as a desk, careful not to disturb the files and papers they both left lying around, and folded her arms across her chest, watching him with her head tilted to the side. It was good to see him like that, she decided, and, to be honest, it was good to laugh so much. In the three months since the bunker doors had closed, there hadn’t been a lot of fun to have around – which might explain why they were both finding the situation so hysterical, it was nerves.

Still…

Jaha making an ass of himself was amusing.

“I can’t believe he finally made a move on you.” Marcus insisted, calming down enough to lift his head and look at her. “Do you know how long he’s been staring at you when he thinks nobody’s watching him? It used to creep me out.”

“And now?” she challenged.

A soft smile stretched his lips and he gave her a tiny shrug. “Now you’re with me so I just feel sorry for him.”

He wasn’t even jealous and she didn’t know if she was pleased or annoyed by that. Pleased, she supposed, because he had no reason to be and she would have hated it if he had made a scene about something she hadn’t even asked for in the first place. Annoyed because… Well, it was good to be desired, probably.

“Don’t be so confident.” she teased. “Apparently, we’re doomed.”

The word, so ridiculous to apply to their relationship given everything their people had been through, sent him back into guffaws and she shook her head at him, no longer fighting her own smile, watching his chest spasm on that bed with every new round of laughter.

“You know, I should really be mad at him…” he said after a few seconds, his voice still unsteady from all the laughing. “What kind of man tries to steal his friend’s partner right after they broke up?”

“We didn’t break up.” she reminded him. “We just had a fight in front of the whole bunker for the fifth time in a week.”

Making sure the bunker had a system that would work for five years and keeping to it was complicated. In a lot of ways, it felt like being back on the Ark and the limitation on the amount of meds doctors and healers were allowed to give to one person was part of the new regulations they were trying to implement.

She had been fighting him tooth and nails about those numbers and it had resulted in several explosive arguments, two of which had been in the dining hall, two in the corridors and, finally, that morning, right in front of the main office – Octavia’s office – on the metal walkway that overlooked the gathering room.

He had been right and she had known it, which had only infuriated her even more so she had eventually stormed off after calling him a jerk – shouting at him that he was a jerk, really – and swearing for everyone to hear that she was done with him – like old times, as Jackson had teased later on in Medical. What she had meant, though, was that she was done talking to him about it, not that she was done with him.

They tried – and often failed – to keep the bunker’s problems outside of their room, to make the distinction between Chancellor/Octavia’s advisor and Head of Medical and Marcus and Abby. They might be on opposite sides of policies again out there but they were very much on the same page when it came to their relationship.

Her words and the numerous arguments must have been misinterpreted though because, later that day, she had found herself cornered in the stockroom where she had been making another quick inventory – just to make sure one last time she couldn’t pull the numbers Marcus demanded to be convinced. Jaha had always been a sort of mentor when it came to politics, she had respected him as a Chancellor, and he had always been a close family friend. Did she have a hint that he had some interest in her? Yes. Was she ready for him to offer himself as a shoulder to cry on about her break up with Marcus? Not really. Especially when he had suggested maybe they could try something before she could set the record straight. That was Thelonious’ problem. He talked, certain he was right, and rarely paused to listen.

“We had a disagreement.” he corrected.

“I called you a jerk. I’m pretty sure that qualifies as a fight.” she snorted.

“You called me a jerk across the Council’s table a dozen times and I always called that disagreements.” he pointed out, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“How politically correct of you.” she deadpanned, amused despite herself.

He grinned and outstretched a hand in an invitation she was only too happy to accept. It had been a long day and, as far as she was concerned, nights were the best part of her everyday life. At least when she didn’t have a shift and Marcus wasn’t working on something or other.

She straddled his hips and leaned in for a kiss, smiling against his lips when he brushed her braided hair back behind her shoulder.

“Doomed.” he whispered ominously and started laughing again.

She rolled her eyes, whacking his shoulder.

“We are going to be doomed if you don’t focus on me right now.” she warned. “Maybe I should have a date with Jaha after all…”

She yelped in surprise before bursting into laughter when he suddenly flipped them over, just as happy to be trapped under his strong body as she had been to straddle it.

“Are you trying to make me jealous?” he joked, his lips retracing the line of her jaw.

“Maybe.” she admitted in the middle of chuckles because his beard was tickling her.

She ran her fingers in his hair with a soft sigh, giving herself completely to what his mouth was doing on her neck. Really, she didn’t know how Jaha could be confused about what was going on between the two of them when she had been walking around with a hickey on the collarbone regularly poking out of her shirt when she moved.

“I’m not.” he breathed out, slipping his hand under her shirt, prompting her to arch her back to push her breast into his hand. “I trust you. I trust us.” He drew back long enough to slip his own shirt over his head, mirth dancing in his eye. “Doomed as we are.”

She couldn’t help herself. She laughed again, remembering the exact know-it-all tone in which Thelonious had said that, and distractedly ran her palm over the familiar planes of his torso.

“Doomed as we are, I would still pick you.” she promised.

“Which is why I’m not really jealous of a guy who thinks we’re breaking up because you called me a jerk.” he snorted. “As if you never called me worse in front of him.”

“Well…” she drawled out innocently. “I believe that when you’re behaving like an ass, someone should let you know, Chancellor Kane.”

“I see. You’re only doing your civic duty.” he mocked.

“Exactly.” she grinned, unbuckling his belt. “I did vote for you after all.”

“I should make sure you’re satisfied, then.” he teased, his own fingers fumbling with her pants. “It’s important for me to satisfy my people, you know.”

Laughter boomed again when he pulled them off her in one swift move that would have been more impressive if he had remembered to take her boots off first.

Doomed indeed.

But in the best sweetest way.

#marcus kane #abby griffin #kabby #the 100 #kabby fic #salvation my ass stories

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imsarabum · 7 years

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Pure Panic // Jackson Wang

Pairing: Jackson x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Drama, slight Angst

Summary; Jackson receives confusing, devastating news that you’ve been severely injured, so he gets on the next flight back to Korea to try and find you.

Reminder; (Y/F/N) = Your Full Name

Reminder; (Y/L/N) = Your Last Name

After jumping into a taxi outside your apartment block and telling the driver the address of the hair salon you were going to, you searched through your bag - only to realise that in your haste to leave as quickly as possible; you completely forgot to bring your battery pack to charge your phone that was currently on 3%.

“Damn it!” you screamed to yourself, not being able to believe how stupid you were. Just then, a text from Jackson popped up; your battery now going from 3% to 2% upon receiving it.

FROM: Jacks ^_^

Are you in the taxi now babe? We’re just finished with the show and now we’re chilling watching TV in JB’s suite”

“Ah...he has free time now and I won’t be able to talk to him...” you winced, feeling all the more sorry for yourself seeing as Jackson was still in Japan at one of GOT7’s fanmeets. They were all due to come home in two days from now, but you still missed him with all your heart with every second that passed. Knowing that your phone was about to die at any given moment, you quickly text him back.

TO: Jacks ^_^

Yes I’m in the taxi now. Phone is about to die, I left my charger at home T-T I’ll text you when I get back! Love you”

No sooner had you pressed send and saw the little ‘Read’ sign next to your message, your phone decided to rest in peace altogether. “At least I got to tell him” you let out a heavy sigh as the taxi made a left turn on to one of the busiest intersections in Gangnam.

“Looks like there’s a lot of traffic today Miss – are you in a hurry?” the taxi driver informed you, making you look forward to see the long line of cars slowly inching along the road.

“It’s okay – I’ve got loads of time anyways, it’s just a hair appointment” you replied cheerily. Just as the driver was about to continue having friendly small talk with you, you received the biggest shock of your life in the form of another car ramming into the back of the taxi you were currently in. You let out a scream, hearing the sound of clashing metal and feeling a strong impact on your right shoulder and arm from the crushed trunk that was now in beside you in the back seat. The taxi driver screamed and shouted too; as the whole car jolted forward to hit the next car in front – causing a long line of a domino effect to the car in front of you, and so on.

“Miss! Are you okay? Miss?” the taxi driver turned round in his seat once the shaking and movement stopped to see you as white as a ghost – your eyes glancing backwards and forwards as you felt a cold sweat of sheer terror cover you from head to toe.

“Y-yes I think so...” you muttered, feeling a horrible, dull ache present throughout your entire right arm. As far as you could tell, it wasn’t broken and the rest of you was completely fine. “Are you okay Sir?” you asked back, seeing him nod at you in turn.

Not even 10 minutes later, a series of ambulances and police cars rolled up on to the scene to treat any injuries and to find out who caused the now massive pile up and how it happened. Your wonderful taxi driver managed to help you get out of the banged up car with ease – letting you lean on him for support as you noticed the beginnings of what appeared to be you having a panic attack.

You tried to reassure the paramedic attending to you that you were okay and that your hyperventilation was just due to the shock of the whole situation – but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Please Miss, it would be best to go to the hospital and get checked out. Your shoulder and arm definitely need to be treated. Your blood pressure is sky high and your breathing is very erratic; you must come in the ambulance” she instructed you in a more than authoritative tone. No sooner had her words left her mouth; you began feeling sick and dizzy. You knew in your heart of hearts that it was just because of everything happening all at once, but it just caused the paramedic more concern. In less than a minute, another paramedic joined her; and they had you strapped into a stretcher on wheels with an oxygen mask over your mouth. And before you knew it, you were being taken to the hospital in the back of an ambulance; the only thought in your mind being “Shit! My phone is dead...how will I get in contact with Jackson?!”

“Isn’t there a Korean channel on this thing? I can’t understand anything they’re saying...” BamBam whined as he lay on the couch next to Mark and Yugyeom.

“Learn Japanese then!” Jaebum whined back to him jokingly, with Jinyoung and Youngjae lying comfortably on either side of him on his king-size hotel bed.

“I’ll learn Japanese when you start speaking English, hyung~” BamBam retorted playfully, the rest of the boys all making O shapes with their mouth and letting a series of ‘Oooo’s’ into the atmosphere.

“Watch it BamBam – hyung will smother you with a pillow in your sleep if you keep being that cocky” Jackson – who had just returned from the bathroom, spoke in a comedic tone as he made his way over to the empty chair on the other side of the room. As all of the boys laughed and began joking about with each other, Jackson couldn’t help but check his phone for any messages from you. Even though he knew your phone was dead, it had become second nature for him to always see if you were trying to reach him.

“Alright, I’ll put on the Korean channel. But – I think it’s just the KBS news channel” Jaebum hummed as he flicked through the T.V listings. “Ah! I was right. But at least everyone will understand” he chuckled to himself before lying back down in between Jinyoung and Youngjae.

Everyone continued to idly watch the news channel – everyone that was, except Jackson.

“Ugh...why do I miss her so badly today?” he pined to himself as he flicked through the many selfies he had of you saved to his phone. Jackson was the type of boyfriend to miss you every single second of every single day he had to spend without you – but for some reason or other, today seemed like it was worse. Completely engrossed in his phone and his many pictures of you, Jackson completely blocked out the several news headlines that the anchorwoman was reading out.

“...and we have some breaking-news here for the residents of Gangnam-ku in Seoul. There has been widespread panic across one of the biggest and busiest intersections in the city as a car who failed to brake in time caused a massive pile-up to happen along the main road. So far, it appears that no one has died, but there have been 18 accounts of mild to serious injuries. We go live now to our reporter, Pak Songju on the scene. Please be advised that some viewers may find this footage upsetting...”

Six out of seven boys watched on in horror as the camera panned high above the mile long road of cars, bikes, trucks and lorries that littered the entire scene. “Oh my god...” Yugyeom mouthed in silence.

“Wow...I hope everyone’s okay” Jinyoung said with a lump in his throat as the camera moved to a different shot of live, on the scene footage of people being treated by paramedics and passerby’s helping people out of cars and making sure no one was left behind in the debris. As they continued to watch – and as Jackson continued to smile at your adorable face on his screen, the other six boys suddenly widened their eyes; not believing what they were seeing.

“Oh my god...that’s (Y/N)!” Youngjae shouted as he pointed to the screen,

“Jackson – look!” Mark threw a pillow over towards Jackson to catch his attention.

“Huh? What?” Jackson lifted his head, being met by their horrified faces as they all screamed at him to look at the T.V.

Jackson felt like every ounce of blood in his body had turned deathly cold at the sight of you being lifted into the back of an ambulance. He could just about make out your face that was covered by a huge oxygen mask. In that moment, he didn’t know what to do; for there was nothing he could do except sit like a deer caught in headlights and watch as they closed the ambulance doors behind you.

“(Y/N)...” Jackson whispered as his eyes widened to their full capacity. “Oh my god – (Y/N)! What happened? What was that?!” Jackson stood up immediately before running over towards the T.V, trying to catch the tail end of the writing on the screen.

“There was a huge accident at the intersection in Gangnam...if that’s (Y/N)...then...” BamBam trailed off, every single one of their hearts feeling like they had stopped beating.

“Did (Y/N) tell you she was going anywhere? Call her and find out!” Jinyoung bolted up in the bed along with the other boys who were now all sitting up straight.

Jackson reached for his phone – before letting out a panicked, frustrated sigh. “She text me like half an hour ago to let me know she was on her way in a taxi to a salon and that her phone was about to die...” he spoke quickly, feeling like his soul was about to leave his body at the image of you on a stretcher burned into the back of his mind. Without needing another moment to think, Jackson had already fully decided what he was going to do.

“Guys – I have to go. I have to get a flight back to Korea right now. I’m sorry, but I have to” he spoke quickly, his mouth going dry and his mind going into overdrive with the thought of you being severely injured without him being there to be by your side. Jaebum quickly took to his feet, standing up to come to the same level as Jackson.

“Go – don’t worry about anything else and get a hold of manager-hyung so he can take you to the airport. We’ll sort everything else out. Just get to her and make sure she’s okay, alright?” Jaebum walked out of his suite with Jackson, following him into his shared room with BamBam and Mark to help him pack the bare minimal essentials.

“Hyung...what if she’s hurt? What if she d-“

“Don’t Jackson – don’t jump to conclusions. If she’s on her way to the hospital, she’s in good hands. They’ll take care of her, I promise you” Jaebum’s leader instinct had already fully kicked in as he began gathering Jackson’s passport and throwing a few items of clothing and chargers into Jackson’s hand-luggage bag.

“I don’t even know what hospital they’ve taken her to! What do I do JB?!” Jackson held back tears of pure fear as Jaebum handed him his bag and took out his own phone to begin calling their manager.

“All you can do is start by calling all of the hospitals near that intersection. One of them has her – so keep trying until you find her. Then, when you land – if you still haven’t found which one, keep going until you do. Tell them you’re her boyfriend and leave your name and number for them to get in contact with you if they hear anything” Jaebum put his hand on Jackson’s shoulder as a gesture of comfort, letting him know with his eyes that he understood how scared he was.

Around forty-five minutes later, Jackson and his manager arrived at Tokyo Haneda airport. After buying their tickets to fly back to Incheon, Jackson continued to go through a list of hospitals situated in Seoul that were sorted alphabetically on a web-page he had found. He had also tried calling your friends and people you knew – but all of them just replied in shock to find out that you had seemingly been involved in a serious accident. During the whole two hours he had to wait for his flight to board, and even right up until the air-hostess instructed Jackson to switch his phone to flight-mode, he kept calling hospitals in the hope of one of them being able to put his mind at rest. Unfortunately, none of the hospitals he had called were able to locate you on their system; leaving Jackson to sit and completely lose his mind during the entire two and a half hours it took from Haneda airport, back to Incheon in Seoul.

It had been a little over four hours since you arrived at the hospital – having to go through check after check to make sure that you weren’t in any serious danger of having a concussion or internal bleeding. After a few scans and x-rays, your attending doctor told you that you were perfectly fine - with just a nasty sprain to your arm and to look forward to a lovely bruise on your right shoulder; thanks to the impact of the car that rammed you from behind. As you were waiting for the last of your IV fluids to finish, a nurse came round with a sling for you to place your arm in.

“Come back for a check-up appointment in 4 weeks time, and don’t hesitate to come back before then if you feel that your condition is getting worse” he smiled at you as he removed the needle from your arm and put a band-aid in its place.

“Thank you for taking good care of me. By the way, where do I go to sort out my medical bill and insurance?” you asked him as you took to your feet, patting down the hospital bed behind you as you prepared to leave the day ward you had been placed in.

“After you sign your discharge papers – you can head down to the first floor to settle that! Don’t worry, it’s well sign posted and you can’t miss it!” he politely informed you as you grabbed your belongings and clutched your poorly arm in close to your body – supported by the sling.

As soon as Jackson arrived in Incheon, he didn’t waste any time in turning his phone back on as he continued where he left off on the list in Japan. He had just arrived into central Seoul via taxi, when he dialled the number for a University hospital – ready to give the same spiel he had been giving to every single person that answered the phone.

“Good afternoon, Gangnam University hospital – how can I help you?”

“Hello, I was wondering if you could tell me if a (Y/F/N) was admitted to this hospital today? I’m her boyfriend – Jackson Wang, and I know she was involved in the intersection pile up but I have no idea which hospital she was taken to or if she’s even okay...” he spewed all in one breath – not giving up hope of finding you just yet.

“One moment please, Sir” the assistant on the line replied. Jackson waited patiently as he heard the tapping of keyboard keys in the background, before the assistant addressed him once more.

“I’m going to put you through to the female day-ward – please hold the line, Sir”

Jackson’s heart jump-started in his chest as he stared out the window of his taxi, not paying attention to anything outside – rather, he just stared into the distance; hoping with all his heart you were there, and that you were okay.

“Hello, you’re through to female medical day-ward – how can I help you?”

Jackson repeated the same thing he had just repeated to the previous voice on the phone, slightly out of breath this time as he grew more and more impatient with all the handling about that was being done with no clear answers being given to him.

“Ah, yes! (Y/N) was admitted to our ward earlier on today. But –“

“Thank you very much, I’m on my way!” Jackson cut her off before she could say anything else, before hanging up the phone and telling the driver to take him to the University hospital as quickly as possible. He felt slightly bad for just rudely hanging up on the ward-nurse, but all he could think about was getting to you and making sure you’re okay. Alas, he was thankful that finally, he knew where you were and he could have you in his arms sooner – rather than later.

“Thank you very much Miss (Y/L/N) and we hope you recover soon. Please take care on your way home!”

You had just finished sorting out your medical insurance that paid for your treatment and pain medication fee’s after you signed the discharge papers back up at the ward. You returned the hospital staff’s kind goodbye, before putting your purse back in your bag.

“Ahh...okay. Let’s go to the store and pick up some food before going home and charging this damn phone” you said to yourself as you gathered up your bag and began walking in the direction of the busy front exit. You couldn’t help but think about how much you personally disliked hospitals – always thinking they were so lonely and sterile; but you were thankful that every member of staff you encountered seemed so kind and friendly towards you.

“Shit – do I have enough money to get a taxi?” you thought as you continued to walk towards the exit while simultaneously rummaging through your bag to try and find some loose change at the bottom. However, while you had your head hung between your shoulders in search of money; you didn’t even see Jackson as he dodged through the crowd of people at the main entrance – running straight past you to make his way to the ward you had just came from.

Jackson ran up the escalator – excusing himself for being a nuisance to other people as he carefully barged through them while following the signs that lead him to female medical. Upon arrival to the ward, Jackson rushed up to the front desk – his chest heaving from the amount of running he had just put himself through.

“Are you okay, Sir?” the same nurse who had just gotten you to sign your discharge papers asked upon seeing Jackson almost doubled over and out of breath.

“My girlfriend – (Y/F/N) was admitted to this ward earlier on today – I came as soon as I found out which hospital she was taken to by the ambulance” he barely managed to utter as he ran his hand through his brown locks to sweep his bangs off his slightly perspired forehead.

“I’m sorry, Sir...(Y/N) was discharged...well – not even ten minutes ago. You must have missed her on her way out! She may still be down settling her medical fee’s – perhaps you can get her there?” the nurse apologised to him, seeing ten levels of woe painting Jackson’s face.

“Discharged? You mean – she’s okay? She’s not hurt?” Jackson asked worriedly.

“I’m sorry, Sir. Under the strict confidentiality act this hospital runs under, I’m afraid I’m not in a position to disclose (Y/N)’s medical details with you – even if you say you are her boyfriend. I hope you can understand” the nurse stood up to get ready to do another set of rounds on other patients on the ward. Jackson clicked his tongue in annoyance, while he thought “Wow – what an asshole”

“Yeah, I understand...thanks for nothing” Jackson muttered under his breath, before turning on his heel and sprinting back in the direction he just came from.

Since locating enough spare change from the bottom of your bag, you managed to flag down a taxi – thankful that this time; you weren’t involved in another pile up. After getting dropped off at your local convenience store around 20 minutes later, you decided to go for some lazy cuisine since you didn’t have full use of your arm to make anything more impressive – other than cup ramen. You also decided to pick up some sweets and crisps; justifying your unhealthy meal in your mind with thoughts such as “I’m poorly – I deserve to pig out!”

Once you had paid for your items, you began walking the 3 minute walk back to your apartment block; taking your time as you dawdled along the footpath with your handbag and convenience store bag around your good arm. Upon walking inside your building, you strode straight up to the elevator and pressed the button – not even looking to see which floor it was on as you began trying to pull out your key from your pocket.

“Agh! Life with only one arm is so difficult...” you became more and more frustrated as you looked down to your pocket – the weight of the bags hanging off your elbow digging into your skin; before you finally grabbed a hold of your keys. At that moment, you heard the elevator doors open in front of you – and without raising your head to walk forward, you began to take a step inside; only to find that you had just walked straight into someone who had just rode the elevator to the ground floor.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I –“ you raised your head, seeing none other than your boyfriend – Jackson, standing in front of you; looking like he had just come home from war.

“Jackson?! What are...why aren’t you in Japan? What’s going on?!” you were almost at a loss for words as you couldn’t believe he was actually standing right in front of you.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Why are you carrying all these bags? Why did you leave the hospital? Why didn’t you go straight home? Where did you go? Why didn’t you wait for me to come and get you?!” Jackson let question after question fall from his mouth at a rapid-fire rate as he took all your bags off you and placed them on the floor.

“They discharged me because nothing was wrong! How could I have waited for you when I didn’t even know you were looking for me?! How did you even know where I was?!” you shouted back at him – completely dumbfounded and spellbound at his sudden appearance. Jackson let out a massive, relieved sigh – his emotions almost getting the best of him as he reached out and pulled you straight into his embrace; only to hear you yelp in his ear.

“Ow! JACKSON! My arm!” you squealed.

“Fuck! Sorry – I forgot, I’m so sorry (Y/N)...I just...I needed to see you and make sure you were okay I –“ he paused, cupping your cheeks with his hands as he looked down into your confused face – noticing your arm in the sling that made his heart clench even tighter. “I saw the accident on the news and there was a shot of you being taken away in an ambulance and I didn’t know if you were alive or dead or if you were okay...so I got on the next flight back home and rang every single hospital I could find...you scared the living shit out of me (Y/N)...” Jackson closed his eyes as he pressed his lips to your forehead.

“...you saw me on the news? Agh...” you sighed, feeling more than humiliated now with the knowledge that millions of people probably watched you being carried off to the hospital. “You...you came all the way back from Japan...for me?” you stepped back slightly, looking up to his face and noticing that his expression had gone from pure panic, to somewhat more relaxed and relieved.

Carefully, Jackson put his arm around your left shoulder – being careful not to hurt you again as he pulled you in gently to his body. “Of course I came back...I didn’t know what the hell happened to you and I couldn’t get in contact with anyone who could help” his voice dropped as his free hand latched on to your waist. “I’ve...I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. I was so far away and there wasn’t anything I could do so – of course I came back. I had to find you...I had to make sure you were okay, (Y/N)” he whispered coarsely, and you could clearly see evidence of him obviously having cried before bumping into you that was staining his cheeks.

“I made my way to your apartment after finding out you got discharged...and I was banging on your door for ages. I thought that...I thought – I don’t know what I thought. I just –“

“Shh, it’s okay – I’m here, right? I’m here and I’m safe and I’m with you and everything’s okay, see?” you quickly pressed your lips to his to silence his unsettled babbling – standing on your tip-toes slightly to reach him as he returned your sweet kisses. In a matter of moments, you parted your lips further as Jackson deepened the kiss – and you could feel all of his pent up stress and emotions in the way his mouth moulded with yours with both of you still standing in front of the elevator.

“I seriously...can’t believe you got on a bloody plane to come and make sure I was okay” you finally chuckled into his face once the heat of the moment smouldered and simmered down.

Jackson gave you a faint side-smile, dropping his head in embarrassed defeat while giggling to himself. “I would do anything to make sure you’re safe. You seriously have no idea how worried I was – I just got up and left. The boys are still in Japan” he chuckled along with you as you shook your head in playful disbelief.

“Well...at least we can have two days to ourselves without any interruptions then – yes?” you donned a cute smile with somewhat of a twinkle present in your eye as Jackson reached down to pick up your bags, before pressing the button to open the elevator doors.

“Exactly – and Nurse Wang is gonna take good care of you the entire time. Because – you know why?” he ushered you into the elevator with his arm still around you – pressing your floor number before the doors closed behind you both.

“Why?” you asked – but you already knew what he was going to say.

“Because I would literally hop on a plane and fly all around the world to see you if you asked me to. I’ve proven it now, right?” he paused, listening to you cackle at his cheesiness as he pressed his lips to your forehead once more.

“And because, I love you – with all that I am; and all I ever hope to be, (Y/N)”

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