#or when he stands up for liam and gets him into that private school | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wordsarelife · 11 months

Text

CLOSURE (possible ending 2)

pairing: Anthony Lockwood x reader, Henry Rotwell x reader

summary: "yes I got your letter, yes I'm doing better. I know that it's over, I don't need your closure"

warning: a bit of angst but a happy end for both of our main characters!!

-> back to part three

"y/n?" a tender voice called from across the room. you turned around to notice that the speaker had already come closer and was now standing right behind you.

"Anthony" you breathed. you hadn't seen him in a long time. not in real life at least. you had kept up with his work through the newspaper, collecting every article that mentioned him and strolling down portland row any time you were in England.

"it's nice to see you" he breathed and looked down at the girl that was tightly gripping your hand. he bend down "and who are you?" he asked softly

"that's Gracie" you answered on behalf of your daughter "she's really shy"

"oh, that's alright" Anthony smiled "I'm Anthony"

"it's good to see you as well, Anthony" the man looked up to you and got back onto his feet. "how are you doing, y/n?"

the years had gone by in a brief, you could barely make out the ten years of life that had passed on his face. today he was as successful as ever, building a big agency that had gotten more and more successful over the years, without ever losing an agent or producing bad headlines.

you had finished school and got married to Henry two months after. you had went to college, after Henry had talked your father into it. Henry had kept every promise he had ever made and you couldn't ask for a better husband. you loved him endlessly and he always expressed his gratitude to you for gifting him your three beautiful children: two boys and a girl: Liam, Noah and Gracie.

being married to Henry had been way more beautiful than you had ever expected it to be. he was patient, loving and a great father. he never left you alone when you needed him most and he made everything possible that your father had kept you from for so long. being married to Henry hadn't been a limitation but more freedom than you had ever been able to enjoy before.

of course there were times where you wondered, how your life had been if you had ended up with Anthony. it wasn't that you weren't happy how your life was, but everyone tend to wonder, right?

before you and Henry had gotten married, you had sent Anthony at least a thousand letters, you wanted to make sure that he really didn't want you. you never received an answer, not until two years ago. you had never opened his letter, scared of what he was gonna write.

you had matured a lot, at that point it had been more than nine years to your last letter, the night before you got married. and back then you would’ve probably thrown yourself down a cliff for that letter, but at the time it came, you had been pregnant with Gracie and very much happy with how your life turned out, so happy indeed that you decided that you didn't need a single world from him to leave him behind you and that everything was good as it was.

Henry entered your field of vision and you send Gracie off to her father, so that you could talk to Anthony in private.

"did you get my letter? you didn't answer, so I wasn't sure if I got the right address"

"you really have some nerves"

"what are you talking about?"

"I send you literally a thousand of them and you never replied to any, alright fine for me, but don't expect that i read whatever you had to say to me"

"I'm sorry that I didn't answer you sooner, it took me years until I was able to read them, and then I replied"

"you know what? it's alright Anthony, I left that anger behind me long ago"

"I know, I just-" he paused, searching for the right words "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am, for what I did to you. back then I thought I was doing the right thing by letting you go, but after I read your letter.. it just, it destroyed me, especially because in my memory, you were still this sixteen year old girl I had left and let down. and it killed me to know that it was me who you trusted most in this world.. these letters, they were brutal, y/n"

"then you can imagine how I must've felt" you shook your head "I'm happy now, and maybe some day I can read what you wrote, but no just yet, okay?"

"you kept it"

"of course"

"I thought you had thrown it away by how you reacted just now"

"I don't want to be angry anymore, I was sad for such a long time and then so bitter and angry, that was unfair, especially for Henry. but you were a child back then as well and I shouldn't have expected for you to handle this mess"

"oh, y/n"

you smiled softly and he felt liked he was about to cry at you words "I loved you back then, you were my whole world, but Henry? he means even more to me. back then I wouldn't have thought that to be possible, but it was. I think there will always be a part of me who loves you, but that’s just the sentimental little girl who used to wish for familiarity, and now, I think she's finally gone, because you aren't familiar to me anymore"

he nodded at your words "I understand" he stepped back "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about everything"

"I appreciate that, I'm sorry as well, I shouldn't have been angry at you. like I said before, it wasn't your responsibility to save me in any way. we were so young, weren't we?"

"yeah" he laughed "young and in love" the guilt brushed over his face "sorry for mentioning it, but I just wanted you to know"

"I knew, Anthony" he raised his eyebrows "that's why you let me go, because you did love me, I just didn't understand that back then, so thank you" you paused "and to answer your earlier question: I'm doing better, amazing actually and from what I heard, you're doing more than good yourself"

he nodded, still stunned that you had known all this time "y-yeah" he stuttered "I have been able to expand the agency"

"that's good to hear"

"yeah"

"I don't know if I ever will open you letter, but just so you know, we're on good terms, okay? we grew up and moved on, but I will always care about your wellbeing and happiness, I just don't think I can be there all the time, but do give me a call once in a while, yeah?"

"I can only say the same" he smiled "I promise that I'll call once in a while"

"thank you" he turned to walk away, but you called his name one last time "just- I always thought I needed to see you again, or receive a letter back to finally get over you. I know now that I didn't need that, but thank you for talking with me"

"always" he smiled, taped his invisible hat and walked away

your eyes stayed on the man for a few more seconds. the man you had once thought hung the moon, it took a lot in you to realise that he had only been human too and you had expected far too much from him.

you watched as he exited the halls of your family's manor, in which he had broken your heart all these years ago. you noticed the familiarity in his walk, the way he moved his arms and of course his smile and the glistening in his eyes. but now it seemed to you like those little things had always been excuses to escape into your daydreams.

you had actually loved him. but love wasn't an individual case and all his familiarity had at one time turned foreign to you. the way he brushed past the people, how he looked so grown and how his eyes didn't seem to think you were the most beautiful thing in the world anymore.

and it was okay, outgrowing him meant that your relationship had at one time been so special, that you had never thought it would be possible.

but here you were, realising that it wasn't him, that you needed to get over everything, in your mind it was just yourself, holding onto a boy you had known such a long time ago. the man from moments ago was proof enough that it was time to say goodbye to the boy that had occupied your memories far too long.

"everything alright, sweetheart?" Henry was suddenly next to you and handed you Gracie, who was outstretching her little arms to finally be in her mummy's hold again.

you send one final look to the door "everything is just fine" you replied before you followed your family back to your table.

you actually never opened his letter, even if you had kept it in a little box from your youth, like a sentiment you would always have to need, you never actually did though.

Anthony called from time to time and you always spent at least a few minutes catching up.

it always made you happy to speak with him, tell him how your kids were doing and the newest painting you had drawn, he told you about George and Lucy, about the agency and how he loved what he was doing.

you were happy and you didn't miss him. you once needed him, but you didn't anymore, it seemed like it was the same for him. all along you thought that it was him who would be able to give you the conclusion you so deeply longed for, but you had been wrong, you didn't need him for that, you could do it on your own.

and the moment you realised that, was the moment you finally gained closure.

#lockwood and co #anthony lockwood x reader #lucy carlyle #anthony lockwood #netflix #george karim #cameron chapman #ali hadji heshmati #ghost hunting #ruby stokes #lockwoodandco #anthony lockwood imagine #illicit affairs #illicitaffairsseries

26 notes · View notes

angelasscribbles · 2 years

Text

Savage Love Chapter 17: Oh, Father

Series: Savage Love

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Liam, Riley x Drake

Rating: R

Warnings: Mature themes

Word Count: 3,590

My other stuff: Master List.

Liam ushered me into the small, private sitting room located in the wing that housed the royal family and I regarded the man I had been summoned for with annoyance, “What are you doing here?”

He opened his arms wide as if for a hug and asked, “Is that anyway to talk to your father?”

“Yes!” I snapped at him, “Didn’t they send an agent to brief you?”

He sighed, dropping his arms, “They did. Don’t worry, none of us are going to blow your cover. I just wanted to see my daughter, is that so bad?”

“That depends.” I narrowed my eyes, “Why are you really here?”

“To see you! That’s the truth. Because I haven’t seen you in over two years, Riley! I don’t know where you might go off to after this assignment is over. Are you ever planning to come visit? Are you ever going to come home?” He sounded actually hurt.

I felt most of the annoyance leave me as guilt flooded in instead. “I’m sorry. I should visit more. I promise, after this is over, I’ll take some time out and come visit.”

“I would be more than happy to escort you home, Riley. I would love to meet your family.” Liam spoke up.

My father’s face positively lit up at that suggestion, “Oh, we would love to have you, Your Majesty!”

“We’ll see.” I said, and that was the closest I’d come to a commitment of any sort, outside of professional ones, in years.

That’s not a no and I’m going to take it as encouragement.” Liam smiled happily at me.

I shook my head as I clamped down on the grin that threatened to give away how adorable I found his persistence. Instead, I asked, “Liam, could you give us a little privacy, please?”

“Of course!” He embraced me and kissed my cheek, then turned and shook my fathers’ hand before exiting the room.

My father watched him leave, then turned to me with that look. The one that always meant he knew something I didn’t want him to know.

“What?” I ask warily.

“I was just thinking….” He glanced toward the door Liam had just exited through then back at me, “this assignment might be just what you need to remind you of what’s important.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…this job could be your out.”

“I don’t want an out,” I informed him, “but even if I did, I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean….” He paused for dramatic effect, “you could actually marry the prince, assure your future, cement relations between Monterisso and Cordonia-“

I cut him off, “I am not interested in Leo in that way, nor he in me.”

“I wasn’t talking about Leo. You know, a prince is a prince, he doesn’t have to be king. A king’s younger brother is still a pretty good-“

“Father! Stop! Are you really trying to pimp me out right now?”

He shook his head, “I’d never ask you to marry against your will, but I know what I saw just now, kitten. That young man is completely smitten with you, and you are at least interested in him.”

I rolled my eyes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and with all the confidence in the world said, “Come on, now. Have I ever been wrong about you liking a boy?”

He was really irritating me. “Ok, first of all, Liam’s not a boy, he’s a grown man and when have you ever been right about who I liked?”

“Um…always.”

“Like when?” I demanded.

“That boy in junior high that you couldn’t stand? Kevin?”

“Because he annoyed the crap out of me, he pulled my hair, and he was obnoxious and-“

“And who was your first kiss?”

I sighed, crossing my arms, “Kevin.”

“Yes, and at that outrageously expensive prep school you begged to go to, the boy you swore was just your best friend?”

“David?”

“Yes, David! And who did you lose your virginity to?”

“DAD! Oh my god! Why? Just…just no!” I shook my head emphatically; this conversation was not happening!

“But it was David, wasn’t it?” He asked smugly.

“Fuck!” He wasn’t going to stop so I might as well admit it to get him to move on because I so did not want to be having this conversation with him, “Yes. But-“

“And your first year of college, the boy you said was pretentious and a snob? What was his name? Harold?”

I sighed in annoyance, “You know damn good and well that was Prince Harry, father.”

“Right. And who took you to the end of the year Freshman mixer?”

“Harry.”

“Uh huh.” He was just gloating at this point, “And junior year, the boy you competed with for captain of the debate team? The one you said thought he knew everything, and you couldn’t stand to breath the same air as him?”

“Daniel.” I said in defeat.

“Yes, Daniel. How could I forget? He went on our family vacations with us for two years.”

I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation, “What’s your point?”

“My point, kitten, is that I’m your father and I know you. Deny it all you want, you like him.” He rocked back on his heels in satisfaction, as if he’d just proven something.

“Oh my God! I like him, ok? Is that you want to hear?”

“Yes!” He crowed gleefully, “Was that so hard?”

“You don’t understand. It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it for me.”

“Ugh! I like him, ok? But I also like someone else and-“

“Oohhhh! Who’s the other-“ He sounded far too happy about it.

“It doesn’t matter, ok? Because there is no future with either one of them!”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” I rolled my eyes again, harder this time, “Did you forget what I do for a living?”

“But…” His face crumpled into a confused frown, “You don’t have to do that! You have plenty of money, you don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to!”

I sighed, he was never going to understand, “I don’t do it for the money, father, it’s about more than-“

“I know you wanted to feel fulfilled or whatever. I never tried to stop you from pursuing your dreams, but….”

“But what?”

“But I thought you’d have whatever it is out of your system by now-“

“Whatever it is? You know what I do is important, I help protect the world from-“

“Yes. Important and dangerous! You do understand that governing is also important, right? And much less likely to get you killed!”

I had a scathing retort on the tip of my tongue, but it died there, my fury abating as I registered the falter in his voice. He was afraid for me. And while the ‘please quit your job, I’m scared for you’ bullshit was a big reason I had stopped dating, it struck an entirely different chord coming from my father.

I couldn’t be mad at him for it. I did put myself in harm’s way on the daily and I did go for months at a time without checking in. I suddenly felt like a terrible daughter.

“Ok, I’m sorry,” I said, taking him by the arm, “come on, we can spend the morning together and have lunch. Then I have to get ready for a work related dinner. How long are you staying?”

“I’m just passing through on my way to Auvernal. I would love to spend the morning with you.”

There was a knock on the door and Liam stuck his head back in, “I’m so sorry, I don’t want to disturb you, but I was wondering if I could talk the two of you into lunch later.”

“Oh, I don’t think-“ I started to turn him down, but my father interrupted me.

“Splendid! We would love to! Right, kitten?” He beamed at me, “In fact, Riley was just about to show me around a little. We would love for you to join us for that too!”

I narrowed my eyes at him, I knew exactly what he was trying to do. But Liam looked so hopeful as his eyes found mine that I didn’t have the heart to say no.

Fortunately for me, Liam and my father hit it off like a house on fire, relieving me of the pressure of trying to find topics of conversation with my father that weren’t fraught with family drama. Unfortunately for me, my father decided to regale Liam with tales from my childhood. By lunchtime I think Liam knew every embarrassing thing I’d ever done between the ages for four and seventeen.

“No, she did not!” Liam was looking at me in astonished amusement as my father recounted the time I jumped from the roof in an attempt to test out the angel wings I’d gotten for Christmas.

“She did! The only thing that saved her was her brother’s good sense to drag a mattress out into the yard for her to land on.”

“It was false advertising. The picture on the package showed the girl wearing them flying.” I said by way of explanation.

“Well, if anyone could have made them actually work, I have no doubt it would be you.” Liam said with such undisguised adoration that my head snapped up to see if my father had caught it. Judging by the gloating expression his face, he had. I sighed and stabbed my salad harder than was absolutely necessary.

I love my father, I do, but I’ll admit that I was relieved when he finally left. I slumped against the palace door after it closed behind him. “That was exhausting!”

“I’m sorry, I could see that was difficult for you. Do you mind if I ask why?”

“That obvious, huh?” I asked.

Liam cocked his head to one side as he watched me, “Yes. I found him delightful. I hope it doesn’t bother you that he told me stories about your childhood. I can assure you that I found all of them as charming and intriguing as you.”

“He just wants different things for me than what I want for myself.” I replied vaguely.

“What do you want for yourself?” He asked it like he really wanted to know the answer.

“What?” I was stunned by the question. I shouldn’t have been, it was such a Liam thing to do, ask me something deep and personal about myself and actually be interested in the answer. I wasn’t used to it though. Men never asked me what I wanted. They were generally only interested in what they wanted.

“What do you want, out of life?”

“I…don’t know.” I answered honestly. “To be happy, I guess.”

“And what makes you happy, Riley?”

I stared at him as I blew out a breath of frustration. This shouldn’t be a hard question. I finally settled on, “Helping people makes me happy.”

“Is that why you became an agent?”

“Partly.”

“What’s the other part?”

“I think a part of me just wanted out from under my family. What better way to do that than pretend to be someone else and disappear for months at a time?” I was joking, but not really.

“Do you think you could be happy doing anything else? As long as it was helping people and kept you out from under your family?”

I sat with that question for a while. “I think so. I do want to make a difference in the world. A real one. And I value my independence. I love my family, my parents mean well, but they do tend to want to micromanage my life. If I hadn’t left home, I have no doubt I’d have been pressured into a marriage of their arranging years ago, I’d currently be spending my days attending tea parties and whatever charities my mother picked out for me to represent. I’d probably have two kids by now.” I shuddered at the thought.

“You don’t want kids?”

“I might want kids, but I want them if and when I want them, not when someone else prescribes them for me. I mean, look at Leo. Has anyone asked him if he’s ready for marriage and fatherhood? No. But he has to do it because it’s expected.”

“I get that.” Liam nodded thoughtfully, “You know they want me to pick a wife at next year’s social season.”

“So soon?” I asked in surprise.

“Oh yes. Just in case, my father said, because I’m the spare. What if something were to happen to Leo or he isn’t able to have children? A million things could occur that would thrust me into his shoes, blah, blah, blah. I mean, that’s ridiculous, right?”

I’d never heard him sound so vulnerable, outside of the day we discussed his mother’s death. I asked, “Are you worried about that? Does the thought of taking over for Leo scare you?”

“A little.” He confessed, “But mostly I hate the idea of anything bad happening to Leo and it bothers me to think that people are making contingency plans for it.”

“Of course that bothers you.” I said, taking his hand, “You’re a good person and you love your brother.” I didn’t add that it was also necessary considering that leaders of any variety were always at risk of assassination attempts and coups. I didn’t have to. He knew it as well as I did. Better, all things considered.

“It is what it is.” He said with a sigh, “Meanwhile, you chose an even higher risk occupation.”

I responded with, “At least this one comes with training in hand to hand combat and an arsenal of weapons.”

“I have an armory full of weapons and an entire military at my command.”

I had to laugh at that, “That’s true.”

“Have you ever thought about what you’d do if you weren’t an agent?” He asked.

“Changing the subject?” I countered.

“Maybe. But have you?”

“Not really.”

“Never? At all?”

“Ok, maybe I’ve considered opening a bookstore.”

“A bookstore?” His mouth fell open.

“What? I like to read!”

“It just seems so….sedate.”

“Unlike me?”

“Unlike you.” He agreed.

“What about you? What would you be if you weren’t a prince?”

“I’d be a writer, and I’d go around to bookstores doing readings and autographing books. Then I’d meet a beautiful and smart bookstore owner and decide to settle down in her town so I could pursue her.”

“That sounds like….not a real answer.” I pushed him gently on the shoulder.

“Oh, it is, I assure you!” He pulled me closer to him, “She’d see how charming and sincere I was, and we’d fall in love and get married.”

“I can see you’ve thought about this a lot.”

“Oh, absolutely! That’s been my dream for a very long time.” He wrapped his arms me and drew me into a kiss.

I melted into his embrace for a moment, then pushed him away, “Come on, we have a meeting to get to.”

“Right.” He sighed as I pulled away.

If he thought I was pushing him away so I could avoid discussion about anything emotional, he was right. But we did have a meeting to get to and I did have a dinner party to prepare for. Leo, Drake, Max, Jason and Jared were likely already there, they all tended to run early, and Liam and I would be barely on time.

The room we were in was right down the hall from the room where the meeting was taking place, so we walked together. I didn’t resist when he slipped his hand into mine. But I wasn’t going to walk through the door for a business meeting holding his hand, so when we arrived at the door, I gave him an apologetic smile and pulled my hand away.

“Talk to me about Lorelai Lee.” I snapped into professional mode the moment we were through the door of the conference room.

Jared grabbed a dossier off the table in front of him and tossed it to me as he spoke, “Lorelai seems clean. She’s barely left Shanghai in years and we can find no contact with any known or suspected Via Imperii members.”

“So, she’s either not a member after all or she left.” I mused.

“Or at least went inactive.” Drake agreed.

“That, or she’s deep cover, waiting to be activated.” Jared shrugged.

I considered all the possibilities, “Either way, I think it’s safe to clear Hana Lee as a suspect.”

“Are you sure about that?” Drake asked me.

I turned to give him a perplexed look, “Yes, I’m sure.”

“And it’s not just because you like her?”

The corners of my lips twitched up.

Drake’s brows pulled together at my reaction, “What?”

I looked at Jared and jerked my head in Drake’s direction, “Jared, tell him my nickname. The one the other agents came up with.”

Jared’s eyes darted between us. He smirked as he responded, “Agent Iceberg.”

“And why is that my nickname?”

“Because you’re cold as ice. Everyone knows you can cozy up to a suspect, even have, um, intimate relations with them, and turn around and slap cuffs on them without batting an eyelash. That’s fucking colder than cold, man. It’s glacial.”

I looked back at Drake, tipping my head to the side to give him a look, “Well?”

He bit back a smile as he held his hands up in front of him, “I stand corrected, ma’am. I apologize.”

“And?”

“And I should have known better.” He conceded, “Literally nothing gets in the way of you doing your job.”

Did I detect a note of bitterness in that last statement? I decided to ignore it. “Nope. And stop calling me ma’am.”

That put the grin back on his face. He didn’t respond to it, he just shook his head and turned back to Max, “So are you ready for this dinner party?”

“Yep!” Max answered him, “I’m a little nervous because my work for the crown usually consists of hacking.”

“You’ll be fine.” I told him, “Just pretend to be stuck up and pretentious and like you think you’re better than commoners.”

“So, channel my brother, got it.”

I snickered. I had only met Bertrand a few times, but that characterization seemed accurate.

I turned to Leo, “Once I find out where these dinner parties are being held, maybe Jared can find a way in as a staff member.”

Jared nodded, “Right. I’ll ask around about opportunities for making some extra money on the side.”

I directed my next question to Jason, “Any progress on finding connections to Hidar?”

“Yes, actually, several people on our suspect list have made trips there in the last year. Many of them at the same time.”

“Who?” I demanded.

“Emmeline Ebrim, all three Amaranth’s, Tariq Lambros, Cedric Vescovi, and your boy Neville VanCoeur.” Jason responded.

“Ok, so there’s a least a base there.” I conjected.

“Seems at least likely.” Jared replied.

“Ok, can you make sure I get a copy of those findings so I can look them over later?” I asked.

“I’ll bring a copy by your room tonight after you get back from the dinner party.” Drake offered.

Liam’s arms crossed over his chest, but he didn’t otherwise react to the thought of Drake in my bedroom late at night. I just nodded, “Thank you.”

I was fitted with a pendant containing a camera and Max and I both had a pocketful of bugs to plant.

“I’d still feel better if we could send a detachment of guards to follow you.” Drake said.

I shook my head, “Too risky, they could be spotted. Besides, it’s a dinner party. At best, it’s an interview to see if they trust me before issuing an official invitation to join them. I can’t risk anything jeopardizing my way in.”

Max glanced at his watch, “When is our car arriving?”

“Six.” I replied, “So I’ll go get dressed and meet you out front at six.”

“I’ll walk you back.” Liam offered.

My eyes went straight to Drake. His jaw tightened, but that was it. We held eye contact for a moment then he nodded curtly, “I’ll see later tonight, Brooks.” He strode over to clamp a hand down on Maxwell’s shoulder and leaned in to say something to him that I couldn’t hear.

Max and Drake were deep in conversation when Liam and I left the room.

“You know I can find my way back on my own.” I told him.

“I know.” He said, “I just like spending time with you.”

When we made it back to the panel outside my room, he pulled me around to face him, “Please, just be careful tonight. I couldn’t take it if anything happened to you.”

“I’ll be fine, Detroit. It’s a dinner party and I’m a highly trained agent.”

“I know. Just….” He trailed off as his fingers picked at a loose thread on my shirt.

“Hey,” I reached up and cupped his cheek, “I’ll be careful. Promise.”

“Ok, that’s all I’m asking. I’m not trying to stop you from being you. I hope you don’t think-“

“Liam.” I cut him off, “You’re fine. Thanks for helping me out with my dad today.”

“That was nothing, really.”

“It was something to me.”

His lips turned up as he shook his head softly.

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t think you understand.”

“Understand what?” I asked.

“That I’d do anything for you.” He said earnestly. Then he kissed me.

49 notes · View notes

write-nerdy-to-me · 2 years

Note

For someone first getting into the ship, what would you say your favorite captain swan fanfics are? I guess I'm asking you because I've read the tags on some of the captain swan posts you've reblogged, and what seems to draw you to them as a couple hits me too. I lay myself at the mercy of your taste 🙏

oh gosh, i'm honored. captain swan have held a special place in my heart for years, and i'm delighted to hear that you've boarded the ship. but to be honest with you, i only started reading ouat fics semi-recently, so my rec list will be small. even at the mercy of my taste, if you don't vibe with any of these that is totally okay. (i know i am a picky bitch, which may or may not play into why the list is short.)

thank you for the ask, anon! 💜

(fics listed in no particular order below the cut)

something suspiciously like hope | rated G The moment Captain Hook opens himself up to the possibility of love (Season 2, Episode 9)

all love is time travel | rated T Killian has long been a captain, and so he does not show weakness or indecision unless he wishes to. Still, the desire to vouch for their chances of success is difficult to balance with the pressing need to school those uninformed of Neverland’s horrors as to the dangers that lie ahead. All this, under the sneer of Cora’s daughter and the reptile stare of his greatest enemy. All this, before Emma Swan.

wait for the morning (i'll be waiting for you) | rated T When Emma still feels like danger is just around the corner, even after Pan’s curse is averted, she takes to wandering Storybrooke’s streets at night. She’s not the only one. Differences in timing and circumstance can change everything - but some things are inevitable.

keep your heart beating | rated G A short missing/extended scene of Emma returning Killian's heart. A little angst, a little fluff. For anyone who watched that scene and needed it to be a million times longer.

learning how to breathe | rated G Set soon after Dark Hollow at some nebulous point. Emma confronts her parents about Neal, and it leads to a heart-to-heart with a certain pirate.

it would kill me (if you didn't know) | rated M (Blatant disregard of canon to follow--don't make me rewatch the show, please) They saved Henry but all got separated in the process, and when they finally made it back to the ship, Emma realized that they were down a man. She's just gonna have to save him. This features some pretty awesome Emma/David bonding, too. This is a classic 'Killian's been taken while saving them and now he's being tortured and Emma isn't gonna stand for it' fic. I've read them all, and I just needed more. POV switches 3rd person between Killian and the others.

killian, persuaded | rated T AU — Storybrooke — When a stunning betrayal forces Killian Jones to reevaluate his life, he finds himself unexpectedly rescued by his estranged brother. Traveling to Maine to meet the family he didn’t know existed, he immediately comes face-to-face with the woman he pushed away a decade before. This time around he’s determined to be a better man and, if he’s lucky, win back the only woman he ever loved. Basically a Hallmark movie with OUAT characters. (The Romance One)

in the offing | rated M AU - Storybrooke - Emma Swan is drafted to help Liam Jones clear his brother’s name in the disappearance of a former flame. As she digs deeper into the rash of missing person cases, she risks losing more than just her heart as she uncovers the truth. (The Mystery One)

a drowning soul will clutch at any straw | rated T Though this is far from Killian Jones' first encounter with a mermaid, he's never met any quite like this blonde siren. Together, can they break a cruel curse?

sea-foam eyes and a salt-water smile | rated T Killian Jones has seen a lot of things in his job as a private investigator for supernatural beings - but the selkie who walks into his office asking for help is something new and mesmerizing.

#anonymous #captain swan #fic recs #captain swan fic #thank you anon <3 you're so sweet #as always please be mindful of the tags and warnings #(ngl going through my bookmarks made me realize maybe i should make notes about what the fics are bc i lichrally forgot them lmao)#(it's been a hot minute)#nerdy replies

11 notes · View notes

madaboutmunson · 2 years

Text

Don't Stand So Close To Me - Part 10 - Poison Arrow

Part 9 | Part 11 | Chapter list | Eddie Munson Fanfiction Masterlist

Warnings: Swearing, crude humour, romance, angst, bullying

Summary: Eddie’s very recent discovery of his feelings towards Lyra causes further awkwardness between the two of them. A trip to the mall forces Lyra to confront her past.

Word Count: 7.5K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lyra sits in Algebra, waiting for the last bell to ring. She was looking forward to spending time with Clara and Eddie but did have concerns about the mall.

It was a place out of her comfort zone. It was unpredictably loud, busy and overwhelming in many other ways. She hadn't been back since everything went down at her last school. Even then, she didn't go that often due to the anxious fear her parents had drilled into her about kids going missing and how they or Phil could get things for her, or they knew a much nicer place to take her shopping.

They didn't understand that though it was just a giant structure full of consumerism, it was, in some ways, a modern right of passage. It was just something you would do with your friends, often and mix with other people your age. Shop at stores geared explicitly to your demographic and not just a shop that sells the kind of thing you'd wear in a family portrait.

Maybe this time, they thought the friends she was hanging out with would be a bit more streetwise, so she'd be safer? Or would Phil be keeping track of her from afar?

Either way, she'd be out of this torture device of an undergarment as soon as she had something new to wear.

The bell rings, and she gathers up her arm full of things and totters out of class. Some people even let her go ahead of them, which was a courtesy she wasn't accustomed to at Hawkins High School, that's for sure.

As she walks through the door, Eddie falls into step beside her, a little out of breath, "Hey! Sorry, I thought you had Chemistry and was in the wrong place."

Lyra notes that it's the first time today Eddie hasn't reached for her hand or arm as they walk. It wasn't a bad thing. She should feel relieved, really, shouldn't she?

"Oh, was the schedule hard to read? Sometimes my cursive can be a bit scrawly," she smiles.

"No, nothing like that. Liam, who I was in my last class with, said you two had chemistry together..." Eddie trails off, looking like he's just realised something important, "Son of a..."

"The British guy?" Lyra, a little confused, notes the annoyance on Eddie's face, "Everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, I'll have a word with him tomorrow about it." Then Eddie falls silent, which is unusual for him. He was humming, singing, or fiddling with something even when he wasn't talking.

When they eventually get to Lyra's locker and pause, she asks again, "Are you sure you're feeling ok? We can do this another time, you know?" Lyra reaches out the back of her hand to feel his forehead, and Eddie, much to her surprise, steps backwards away from her. She'd say he flinched away if she didn't know any better.

"Oh no, we need to find you something new to wear for tomorrow. Like as soon as possible, really," Eddie says, looking over her outfit until he meets her gaze again, and quickly turns to the side and starts examining the locker next to his head, "You know, because you said you were uncomfortable, right? And we don't want that, right??!" He says with a weak laugh.

Lyra feels more than a bit concerned about Eddie's behaviour right now. She was sure something was troubling him, but it didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. Maybe she'd ask in a more private setting. "I couldn't agree more. It is deeply uncomfortable now," She says, opening her locker with the key and this time, when she hits her locker with a thump, it makes that satisfying pop sound. She looks around at Eddie in excitement, but his thoughts seem elsewhere.

There are a few more notes in the locker, so Lyra scoops them onto a book and tosses them in the trash.

"You aren't gonna read any of those?" Eddie asks, his voice gentle and calm. His eyes were soft and maybe a little sad. Nothing like the awkward tone moments ago when he couldn't face her.

Lyra looks at him confused, "Eddie...it's a prank, like you said earlier, remember? Why would I read them?" She searches his eyes for comprehension, but they look a little glassy like he might be ill.

Lyra decides she will have to be a bit pushier about this. Something was definitely wrong here. Examining his face a bit more, his pupils were large, and he kept swallowing, probably dehydrated from illness, or wait, maybe he was high? "We should raincheck the mall. I don't think you are well at all. I can call-" Lyra starts reorganising before Eddie stops her.

"No! We are going. Nothing is wrong with me." Eddie says urgently and then thoughtfully says, "Well, at least nothing that can stop me going to the mall anyway. Oh shit! Clara! Wait here", he says before running off to presumably find her.

Lyra gathers the things she needs to take home and waits by her locker for Eddie and Clara to turn up.

Whilst she's waiting, Liam walks over, "Hey, sorry to bother you, luv, but could you do me a massive favour?"

"Erm, I guess it depends. I'm waiting for someone to get back." Lyra says, looking around for Eddie and Clara.

"Oh, it's easy peasy. Won't take a minute. I'm trying to impress someone, and I just thought if it looks like I'm making you laugh, they might, I dunno, actually notice me." He says, leaning the locker next to Lyra's, propping himself up with his arm.

"Is this about noticing you, or are you trying to make someone jealous? Because I want no part in that." Lyra gestures to the words on her locker, "As you can see, I'm already in someone's bad books."

"Well, looks like you're in trouble anyway but, Nah, not at all. It's definitely about being noticed. Like, if you just laughed whilst I'm talking to you, that would work lovely jubbly. I dunno, maybe if I...." He starts, but Lyra is already laughing, covering her mouth.

"What did you just say? Lovely jubbly?" Lyra doesn't think she's ever heard anything so bizarre outside of nonsense poetry.

"Wha? Lovely Jubbly?" He has a massive smile on his face and starts laughing, too, "Sounds funny when you say it."

Lyra remembers sitting outside with Eddie discussing the word haberdashery, how he said it, that she and it might be included in one of his beloved games. Her heart flutters thinking about his smile in the dusk, how his eyes went wide and sparkled when he was learning something new. A giant grin erupts across Lyra's face, lost in memory.

"Wow, ok, thanks. That'll do it. I think they'll definitely notice that performance," Liam says, looking down the hallway, then moves his confident lean closer to her.

"Wait? What? No...I wasn't ready. I was thinking about someone-something else," she stumbles over her words.

"Someone, eh? Interestin'! Well, I hope they feel very lucky to make a lady such as yourself react like that." Liam looks Lyra over, "Do they even know?" He asks quietly.

Lyra starts looking up and down the hall for rescue, "I don't think I know what you mean, Liam. I was just thinking about something funny."

"Yeah, course you were. Something so funny you completely zoned out, sighed and hugged your books. Come on, who is it? Or shall I start guessin'? " Liam says, smiling at her.

"Liam, I think you're really reading too much into this", Lyra tried to put on a front, but she could feel his eyes boring into her. She'd messed up. No one could find out about this.

"Hmmm, well, I can sadly rule meself out, cus I'm already 'ere. How about...Jason Carver?"

"Look, stop this stupid game, Liam. There is no one," Lyra snaps, she doesn't mean to start getting annoyed, but she wants him to leave her space and stop snooping around. She could feel herself tensing up and building up those walls again.

Liam was unfortunately not getting the hint and was moving around her, trying to look at her eyes, and moving again when she turned away as he reeled off a bunch of names.

"Adam? Chad? Jesse? Carl? Pete? Fred?" No matter where she turned, he was looking at her, determined to find the answer.

"Ready to go?" Eddie's voice sounds out next to Lyra. She finally relaxes her shoulders and could just turn around and squeeze him with thanks, "Liam." Eddie nods at him in greeting, but his stare is weird. His fingers are twisted up in the chain on his cuff, squeezing it tightly, his jaw tensed.

Clara soon falls in beside Eddie, a little out of breath, "Jesus Christ! You could have warned me that running was gonna be involved, Eddie."

Liam raises his eyebrows at Lyra with a small smile and then redirects it at Eddie and slaps him on the shoulder, "Eddie! What a surprise!" Liam says with a smirk looking between the two of them.

Lyra is struggling to read this situation. It was clear Liam had annoyed Eddie today somehow. That may be why Eddie was acting differently.

She looks to Clara for assistance, who smiles and says, "Come on, let's go trade this hellscape for another", and links Lyra's arm, walking her out to the parking lot towards the van. Eddie follows a little behind most of the way but then jogs ahead when they get to the van to slide the door open for them.

Clara holds out her hand to help Lyra get in the back seat and bundles in after her. Eddie slides the door shut and gets into the driver's seat, "Alright, let's get outta here!"

He fires up the engine, and the stereo blares out some loud, aggressive music as the van screeches out of the parking lot and trundles its way to the mall.

Lyra takes a look around the van. The ride was a little bumpy sometimes, but it didn't look all that bad. In the back were a few cardboard boxes, some fabric hanging up against its walls, and a few posters.

She cranes her neck a little further to look at the van floor, which she almost immediately regrets. Cut-offs of carpet adorn the floor, and propped up against the side is a small mattress doused in blankets and cushions.

Lyra's mind races about why it was there, she tries to convince herself it might be for camping purposes, or maybe he got kicked out of his house, but her imagination has other ideas, making her look over at Eddie thoughtfully, perhaps for too long.

She wonders how many people he's had back here if any. If the rumours were true, there were too many to count. Lyra tries to shake it out of her mind, but she can't help but wonder what it would be like to be so charming you could convince someone to hop in the back of their van with them.

This time she decides to look away entirely to try to empty her mind of these inappropriate thoughts and start a conversation with Clara, as Eddie was frowning at the road.

"So what kind of places do you like to go to at the mall? I haven't been in a long time. I'm kinda nervous," Lyra confesses, twisting the cuff of her lace gloves with her other hand.

"Nervous about the mall?" Clara peers over the top of her book at Lyra.

"Er yeah, I guess that's totally lame, right? I just haven't been back to it since I got expelled. I was worried about bumping into people," Lyra says, worry lacing her voice.

Lyra leans over to whisper to Clara in the hope that the music and general van noise would prevent Eddie from hearing, "Also, Eddie seems mad, sick or both. I tried a few times to bail, but he was adamant we go today."

Clara looks at Eddie and then Lyra, "I think he'll be ok. He seemed fine at lunch. Probably just eager to get away from school."

Looking at Clara, Lyra thinks she detects a little deceptiveness from her but figures it's not a huge thing to worry about. Maybe Clara didn't know what was wrong with Eddie, or perhaps she was protecting him.

"Hey, no whispering in the van, ok?" Eddie finally speaks.

Lyra looks at him in the mirror, "Well are you gonna let us know what's going on? You seem upset."

"Jesus H Christ! I am fine! Let's just go to the mall and get this over with," Eddie snaps back.

Lyra slumps back in her seat and looks down at the floor.

"Eddie! Geez," Clara disappointedly says, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just...this afternoon has done a number on me, ok?" Eddie says much more gently, "I just got frustrated with being asked if I'm ok, and it's not something I wanna talk about right now. It wasn't fair to snipe at you like that."

Eddie pulls into a parking space and turns around to Lyra and Clara, "Slushies on me?" He asks with a cautious smile.

Lyra was kind of taken aback at how quickly he had recognised his behaviour, expressed himself and apologised.

She finally looks up at him, "Sorry for asking the same thing over and over. I know first-hand how testing that can be." she forces a laugh, "I just misread you."

The expression she receives in return feels complex, but she doesn't push it again. A half-hearted but appreciative smile on his lips, his brow pushed together in a sort of apologetic regret. His eyes are cast down as soon their gazes meet, and he hurries out of the van to open the door for them.

Lyra is trying to take Eddie at his word, but her instinct is that something is very wrong here, but she can't figure it out. He may need some space.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eddie opens the van door and braces himself to help Lyra and Clara from the van.

He could do this. He would have done this anyway. It's just courtesy. Everything is fine and normal. Just relax, Eddie. He coaches himself as he extends a hand out for Lyra to use, but instead, she uses the handle. Clara, however, does take it and eyes Lyra curiously as she drops down.

Eddie wonders if this is what Lyra felt like all those times she snapped at him. How crushing it feels to be standoffish or mean to the last person on the planet you want to be mean to just so you can create space between you both, whether for your sake, theirs, or both.

Eddie sighs and tries to think logically. Whatever thoughts he has does not mean he has to act them; they certainly aren't Lyra's fault. He just felt unbelievably frustrated with himself. For months he'd been trying to get her to the safety of Hellfire, and the day he finally achieved it, his brain and hormones decided to betray him.

Do you know whose fault this was? Liam's, he'd been fine before he'd spoken to him, right? Well, nothing to be done about that now. He just needed to focus on what this all was about. Helping Lyra. Getting her out of those clothes...Fuck! Stop thinking like that. What he meant was finding her a new wardrobe for school, so she could be more comfortable and maybe so would he.

It hadn't helped his mood that not only was his body betraying him, but also maybe he'd finally pushed his luck too far with his recklessness with himself. The stench when he last went to the bathroom was disgusting. Potentially a clinic visit was in order. Probably some sort of UTI, well, at least that's what he'd been hoping.

"Ok, I don't know what's going on with you two, but can we at least talk? Waiting in silence looks really weird." Clara breaks the silence.

"Sorry, Clara, just feeling nervous, is all", Lyra says, looking up at the vast building.

Eddie can see the girl from earlier today is a million miles away from the girl in front of him now. The mall's lights reflect on her widened, fearful eyes, and she swallows nervously. He thinks back to the jacket. No more playing a part. Be Eddie.

He steels himself and flanks Lyra. He looks across at her. In her heels, they were roughly the same height. "Hey, you've got nothing to worry about, ok? We're just gonna go in, get some outfits, get some food, and get outta here, alright?" He asks with a gentle tone and smile.

Lyra back at him, right in his eyes and smiles back weakly, "You're right, and I'll probably feel much better once I have something else to walk around in."

Eddie looks away, "Yeah, exactly," he says as positively as he can muster as they enter through the main doors.

"Oh! I almost forgot!!" Lyra rushes up to the first drinks machine she sees, hurries back with a bottle of water each, and hands them out with a big smile.

"Erm...thanks?" Clara says, a little perplexed.

"Is this an indication that this shopping trip will be thirsty work?" Eddie smiles.

Lyra looks confused, "Um, it's for the asparagus. I got so caught up in being weird about what I was eating I didn't warn you both. It can make your pee smell, which can be very alarming if you aren't expecting it. The sooner you flush your system of it, the better. Apologies if that's a bit too much information, but you should know."

Eddie's legs nearly give way. He is so relieved and surprised to see a sigh of relief from Clara, too, as they both chug their water bottles. Then look at one another and laugh heartily.

"Jesus! I thought I was rotting from the inside! Please warn me in advance next time," Clara says between laughs.

The laughter eases the tension between them all.

"So where is the best place to get an entire outfit. You know, just to walk around in?" Lyra asks.

"Well, Merry Go Round has a bit of everything," Clara advised.

"Oh yeah, that's the one with the Slade song on the advert, right? I prefer the Quiet Riot version myself," Eddie says, only to be met with two blank faces, "I swear a new rule of Hellfire is going to be music education at least once a month. It's shameful you're so uncultured" he adds in earnest.

They get to the store, and Eddie can see Lyra's eyes darting around the store, not just at the clothing but also at the people and the decor. She looked like she wanted to move towards things but was hesitating. She almost didn't know which way to go first.

That's when Eddie notices how people are looking at her. It was similar to what happened at school but more worrisome, like predatory. Eddie was used to funny looks around Hawkins, mostly disdain, fear, and maybe aggression, but this was something else. Were they going to rob her or pounce on her, or both?

Eddie sidles up to Lyra, "So maybe try focusing on one thing, and the other stuff will just fall into place" he looks to his left and picks up a hanger, "Like a pair of jeans, right? Pick some and do your clothing magic around it."

"Or a feature piece like a leather jacket?" Clara offers, holding up a dark blue biker-looking leather jacket with a black diamond embroidered in strips on the back.

"I mean, is that gonna help me fade into the background or am I gonna stand out?" Lyra asks, looking over the jacket.

"The colours are pretty dark, almost like a signature thing. You can tell it's Eddie across the room because of the giant Dio patch, or you can tell it's me because of my long duster jacket, but it's an outer layer you can remove and underneath it, just normal." Clara advises.

"Oh, ok, I get it. Ok then, sure, the jacket," she takes the jacket from Clara, "and jeans," she takes the jeans from Eddie "right, so I need..." And that was it. Lyra buzzed around the store like a little worker bee, picking up clothing instead of pollen, and then went to the fitting room. Bitterly disappointed, she couldn't take everything in at once, and it made Eddie smile. He wonders if this is what he looks like to people when he's in his special interest environment.

Sometimes it felt like Lyra was from a completely different planet. Whether it was her food, clothes, opinions and how she analysed things for information, like a robot, she'd churn it all up and produce something else. She was...different.

After a few minutes, she bundles back out again and puts back the jeans and jacket they gave her to try. Lyra smiles at each of them sheepishly, "Sorry they just didn't feel very me, but thank you," and then bustles over to the counter, arms laden with clothing items.

Whilst Lyra is engaged with the sales assistant, Clara takes this opportunity to engage with Eddie, "Hey man, please don't bite my head off, but is everything ok?

"To be quite honest with you, Clara, no, it's not, but at least I know I don't have a fuckin' STD. So there's that positive, at least." Eddie sighs.

"Can I be frank with you?" Clara asks, lowering her voice and stepping a bit closer.

"As long as I can still be Eddie, Frank," Eddie smirks.

Clara rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips, "Look, you like..like-like her, ok? It's pretty loud to me, Eddie. What's the problem? Why have you been blaring that out of you for the past few days and half of today? But this afternoon, you just shut down? Just turn on your usual charm and go get her. I highly, highly doubt she'll turn you down, dude."

Eddie is a little alarmed at Clara's forthrightness and feels exposed. He looks at Clara, shakes his head and then over at Lyra and, in his sigh, admits defeat in several ways. "I just wanted to be her friend, you know? I didn't want any of that other stuff. She doesn't need it. Not with my reputation and how people have labelled her already. I just wanted to keep her safe. Honestly! And then Liam said something, and I thought maybe I did like her that way, and I panicked, alright? I worried I was gonna fuck this all up just as we got to a good place." Just saying it out loud made the weight a bit lighter for Eddie.

Generally speaking, Eddie would speak his mind, but when it came to his own complex feelings, he'd bottle it up until it became a problem, like today, Tuesday night, and countless other times.

"It's not about being turned down. It's about doing the right thing." Eddie tries to explain, and this is a half-truth. He did want to do the right thing and lean into the hero rather than the villain, but he also couldn't ignore the voice that told him he'd never be enough.

Shit. If he wasn't enough for someone like Tabatha purely based on looks, how could he ever be enough for someone with a lifestyle like Lyra? Their lives were polar opposites, yet he often recognised himself in her. He wished one of these elements could be different to give him an even footing, but there were too many insecurities at play.

"What if...now hear me out...what if she felt the same as you? would that change your mind?" Clara asks slowly, Eddie can detect the caution in her voice, and his heart begins to race.

What did Clara mean? Did she know something? Could someone like Lyra feel like that about him? He thinks back to her apology for touching him without permission earlier. What if pushing him away wasn't just to stop rumours about her, but Lyra thought she was trying to protect Eddie, of all people, from having something else to be tarnished with too? No, that was ridiculous. He needed clarity.

"What do you mean felt the same way as me?" Eddie asks nervously as he brings his hands together to twiddle his rings around a few times.

Clara reaches out and turns Eddie away from looking at Lyra at the counter to face herself. "Eddie, my dear friend. What if Lyra liked you more than just this but was afraid of fucking up too? What if she has her own frustrations because someone showed her kindness, and that's all she wanted, but now it's more, and confusing too? What then?"

Eddie gives Clara a small smile, "I appreciate what you're doing, but there is just no way. I'd know. I'd be able to tell. I know how to tell if someone is into me, Clara."

"You didn't answer my question. What if she felt the same as you? What would you say to that?" Clara repeats encouragingly

Eddie blinks quickly and feels awkward. He drops into a more confident stance to rise above it with a hand on his hip and stands up to his full height, "I guess I would...well...you know...um...I'd say ok," He manages.

"Ok?? That's it? Ok?! What does that even mean?" Clara erupts loudly, gesticulating wildly, sending Eddie reeling backwards in alarm. Yes, it was a vague term, but honestly, that's all he had. He would be ok with it, but he needed to figure out where to go from there. How do you even navigate that space of I like you, but I'm worried I'll ruin your life?

"Um, is everything alright?" Lyra's voice rings out beside him.

He turns and smiles, "Everything is fine. We were just talking about the game tomorrow, right, Clara?" He looks over at Clara with a little forced smile.

"Yeah. Anyway, how did you get on?" Clara quickly changes the subject looking at Lyra's change of clothing and hat, plus the many bags hanging from her hands.

"Well, I think I have enough mix-and-match items plus accessories. Do you think it's ok to have got it all from one place? Will it be like the whole catalogue thing again? Or can we go get something to eat now? Since I can breathe again, I've realised there is, in fact, room for food," Lyra asks, sounding genuinely worried.

"I think you'll be fine", Clara advises kindly, "and if not, you know you can always pick up something another time?"

"Right," Lyra says, very relieved, "So where to? We can go anywhere you like, and you can have as much as you want. It's my treat."

Clara and Eddie look at one another with a smile and say in unison, "Scoops!"

"Ok, sure, lead the way."

Even though Eddie isn't a massive fan of the mall, it was generally overcrowded and full of judgemental assholes. He still helps Clara with the tour guiding on the way to the ice cream parlour. Pointing out some other places that might pique Lyra's interest, specifically Sam Goody's.

When they finally get to Scoops, they all get in line together and talk away as usual. Maybe it was the outfit, Eddie thinks. This is much more relaxed.

"Um, tell you what. Why don't you both grab that last booth over there, and I'll order what you want and bring it over" Lyra says quickly, "Whatever you want." Lyra smiles over at them quickly, offering Eddie the shopping bags.

"Oh, U.S.S Butterscotch, please," Clara says excitedly.

"Hell yeah! Mint choc chip for me," Eddie agrees wholeheartedly.

"Tutti Frutti for me," Clara says with a big smile.

"Ok, cool. I got it," Lyra says, grabbing a baseball cap from one of the shopping bags Eddie was now holding and putting it on her head.

Eddie thinks it's odd behaviour but writes it off as she's eager to try out some of her new clothes.

He places the bags between himself and Lyra as they shuffle into the booth.

"Who's that?" Clara juts her chin at the small group of girls talking to Lyra.

Eddie looks over. He doesn't recall seeing them at school, "Dunno, maybe they are from her old school?"

Eddie watches the girls wave goodbye to Lyra and walk out of the store, whispering and giggling to one another and occasionally looking back at Lyra and laughing louder. He sees Lyra's shoulders slump, and his heart just breaks for her. Whoever these people were, she'd tried to hide from them and failed.

He watches Lyra approach the counter, and like a switch, she's smiling and joking with the girl behind the counter, who had started off less than impressed but seemed happier as their conversation continued.

Lyra turns back towards them, and Eddie quickly grabs a menu to read it over. Lyra sits down empty-handed and puts her hat on the seat beside her.

"Lyra," Clara says, trying not to laugh, "Where is the sundae?"

"Oh, yeah, I placed the order, and the sales assistant said she'd bring them over. So I gave her a tip for her trouble." Lyra plays with the new rubber bracelets on her wrist.

"Them?" Eddie asks, "What do you mean them? We're gonna split one of those boat things, right?"

"Erm...Oh...I think I misunderstood..." Lyra starts to say when the uniformed sales assistant walks over three glass-bowled, banana-hulled ice cream boats with waffle sails, drowning in sauce and whipped cream.

"Tutti Frutti and two mint choc chip," the Sales assistant says as the desserts and spoons are placed on the table.

Lyra looks disheartened, "I'm sorry, I should have looked at the picture and used my brain."

"Are you kidding me? This is amazing!! I don't have to share???" Eddie reassures her. He can't stand to see her face look like that. The face of repeatedly getting things wrong.

"Really?" Lyra says with a weak smile that lasts for a split second. Eddie kicks Clara under the table.

"Oh yeah, we could have been clearer about how we were gonna share," Clara adds, putting down her book, picking up her spoon, and tucking it into her sundae.

For a minute or two, there is almost silence at the table because of eating. Eddie eating at lightning speed, only pausing to narrowly avoid brain freeze. Clara eating normally, eyes still partially on her book. Lyra poking at her sundae, seemingly just moving it around. Eddie hasn't been watching her the whole time, but he doesn't think he's seen her eat any of it. She must feel him looking, and her eyes quickly flash up to his, and she eats a spoonful and forces a smile back.

Eddie is about to engage her in conversation when he hears a little commotion at the door. The same girls are back, but in tow with them is an older preppy-looking short-haired blonde guy, and he's heading towards their table.

"Hey! Beverley said you were here. I didn't believe it. I had to come and see with my own eyes. You disappeared on me, baby. Not a phone call. You didn't even RSVP to the party at the croquet club, which broke my heart. After everything, we've been through. Are you even listening to me?" the man lectures at Lyra, who hasn't even lifted her head to look at him. The guy hasn't even acknowledged the existence of Eddie or Clara.

"I have nothing to say to you, Curt," Lyra says quietly.

Who the fuck is this guy? Could this be THE Guy?

Curt bends down next to the table to get eye-level with Lyra.

"Look, Lyra. I had to say all that in front of my mom, you understand, right? My job was on the line. You weren't aiming for ivy league anyway, were you, baby? You know, I had a path mapped out. I was on my last chance. You could do your little costumes from anywhere. I miss you so much. I've missed you so much. I just couldn't call, you know, because if my mom found out? You understand, baby, right? "

Eddie's insides feel like they are beginning to coil around one another. This was the guy. This was that fucking asshole. He was excusing his fucking cowardice and then shitting on her dreams. Every pet name he used on her levelled up Eddie's brand new hatred towards this fool.

"I'd really like it if you just left, ok?" Lyra says quietly. Eddie can see her spoon trembling in her hand.

"You don't mean that, honey. I know you missed me too," The man says, reaching for Lyra's face.

Eddie slides over in his seat, puts his arm around Lyra, and hits Curt's hand with the back of his spoon, "Ah-ah-ah buddy. The lady said she'd like you to leave. So why don't you just turn around, regroup your minions and go away, alright?"

Eddie can feel how tense Lyra is with his arm around her shoulders. He feels that tremble against himself and wonders if she's shaking with fear or pure rage.

Curt looks at Eddie and then back to Lyra, "Baby, we've got nothing to stop us now we aren't at the same establishment. Come on, honey. You know you're my number one girl, right?" Curt tries to shift closer to Lyra, and Eddie takes the spoon and hits him with the back of it, firmly in the middle of his forehead.

"Are you hard of hearing? She asked you to leave. So leave." Eddie says sternly. He knows enough to not get violent with this guy. Not because he couldn't take him but because this guy was richer and more well-connected than Eddie, and though Eddie enjoyed pushing boundaries, he was not looking to wind up in jail. So these playful antics though harmless, finally got his attention on Eddie.

"Who the fuck are you?" Curt gets to his feet and sneers at Eddie, who sends back a satisfied smile, but before he can do anything else, Lyra stands up.

"You are harassing my friends and I. The whole store can see you. Isn't it enough you ruined my life? Please leave me alone." Lyra says this loud enough for other people in the area to turn and face Curt.

Curt stares down Lyra, "Is this what you've become? Some fat whore for trailer trash?" Gesturing at Eddie and herself.

Eddie stands up, "You wanna watch your mouth, asshole," he says through gritted teeth, trying to push past Lyra to get to Curt, but Lyra reaches for Eddie's hand. It's a sudden movement, but her touch is gentle, and her fingers intertwine with his. It's enough to surprise and stop Eddie in his tracks as she pushes back between them.

Curt shakes his head at Lyra, "Have you lost all of your self-respect? My mother was right about you. You are a disgusting slut, hopping from one guy to the next. Is this loser why you haven't called?" Curt looms over Lyra, trying to intimidate her.

Eddie hears those words and lunges forward, only to be blocked by Lyra again. Who was this prick thinking he was to speak to her like that? He doesn't let it show, but the insult aimed at him crushes his spirit a little. Reaffirming what his inner voice had been trying to tell him all afternoon. That he wasn't good enough, not for Lyra, not for anyone.

He feels Lyra's grip on his hand tighten, and she stands up straighter and looks this guy dead in the eyes. She has Curt's full attention and says quietly, "Go ahead, say whatever about me, say whatever makes you feel better for what you did. Running to your Mom with your tail between your legs" she steps forward and loosens her grip on Eddie's hand, he doesn't know what possesses him to do so, but he instinctively squeezes her hand back into his.

Lyra gets inches from this guy's face, her jaw tensed, teeth gritted, "But you don't get to say shit about him. He's a hundred times the man you'll ever be in your wildest dreams. Now, why don't you fuck off before I make a phone call to your mommy."

Eddie's breath gets stolen clean out of himself at her words. Could she mean that, or was it just to belittle this guy? His eyes go to Lyra and then back to Curt, who is looking between Lyra's eyes in disbelief. Then Curt's eyes land on Eddie angrily, then back to Lyra, "You're making a huge mistake here. You know we're meant to be, baby. What we had was something special. This guy, he's just a rebound."

"I've had to speak to many people about 'what we had', Curt, and I learned about what you did to me. You took advantage of someone young and naive to meet your own controlling needs because anyone your age thought you a loser. A young girl who didn't know anything about anything was perfectly mouldable for you, but you dropped me like a bad habit when you got caught. Because that's what I was, a disgusting habit you shouldn't have indulged in. I see you're up to your old tricks again, befriending girls younger than you. Who's next on your list, Curt, or are they not dumb enough to be manipulated like I was?" Though she's keeping her voice down, Eddie can hear Lyra annunciate every word, she wants them to hit this guy like a machine gun, but he can also hear her voice starting to break. Eddie tightens his grip on Lyra's hand to say without words he is here. She wasn't alone anymore.

"You. Disgust. Me." Curt prods into Lyra's chest. Something snaps in Eddie. He picks up Lyra with all his might and forces his way past her, so he's between them both.

Eddie clenches his fists and shifts his weight, "Do that to me. I fuckin' dare ya," Eddie growls in Curt's face, staring intensely into his eyes with pure rage.

To Eddie's surprise, without Lyra between them, this guy looks like he might piss himself through fear.

"Hey, that's enough machismo. Thank you. It's time you left, blondie," the sales assistant chimes in, "Or do I need to call the cops?"

Curt looks at her with a sour look on his face, then to Lyra, "We are not done", and then he storms out, pushing through the group of girls waiting in the doorway, glaring back at Lyra occasionally.

Once he's out of sight, Eddie finally sits down. Clara is just looking at Lyra wide-eyed, and as soon as Eddie sits down, Clara exchanges a concerned look with him.

Lyra is sat down, her head hung low, and she's muttering something repeatedly.

He reaches out to touch her arm, but just before contact, she flinches away and suddenly draws in a sharp breath as if it stung her.

"Hey," Eddie says quietly and gently, "You want me to take you home? We can go whenever you want. We're done here anyway."

It looks to him like Lyra is trying to make eye contact with him but can't bring herself to do it and just nods.

"Ok, let's grab all our stuff and get out of here." Eddie knows how it feels to be hit with unexpected trauma, and just tries to move slowly around her and overexplains everything, "We're gonna gather up our stuff, go back to the van, we'll drop Clara off because she's on the way and then straight to yours, ok? That's the plan. Do you want hot cocoa or some ice, Lyra?" Eddie is trying to remember all the things he can think of that help him when he crashes like this.

She shakes her head in a no. Eddie shoots a concerned look back at Clara.

"Ok, let me carry those, ok, and we'll be right next to you" Eddie gathers the bags in his hands and shuffles out of the booth waiting for Lyra and Clara.

They speedwalk out of there toward the exit and hurry into the van.

Eddie puts the keys in the ignition but turns around to face Clara and Lyra, "You're safe now, ok. It's just us three in the van." Clara clicks in Lyra's seat belt for her.

Lyra tucks her knees up to her chest, squeezes them against herself and mumbles "I'm sorry" into her new jeans. Her shoulders shake, and Eddie can tell, although inaudible she's crying. Clara goes to reach her hand to Lyra's back, and Eddie stops her and shakes his head silently.

He turns back in his seat to start driving and clearly and loudly says, "Ok, like I said, we're gonna drop Clara off at her house. Then straight to yours. Nothing is gonna hurt you in here, ok. She's a hallowed sanctuary." He says, tapping the roof of the van above him.

Eddie thinks for a moment. He knows he'd be exposing himself doing this, but what the hell. Eddie ejects his current cassette and puts in a different one. It's just the sound of the ocean. The tide rushing in and out. He always used it for himself on particularly bad days. He must have at least 5 copies of this tape dotted around his life in case he couldn't find one in a panic.

They get to Clara's house, and she frantically scribbles something in her notebook and puts the paper in one of Lyra's shopping bags, "In case you wanna talk later, Lyra. Thanks for the ice cream. See you both tomorrow."

"See you, Clara. Thanks for coming" Eddie smiles warmly as Clara exits and turn back to Lyra.

"Hey, sweetheart, you wanna sit up front, or you wanna stay there?" He gets no response, so he returns to the road and starts driving.

He's guessing where she might live, but he'll have to ask eventually. Finally, after a while, he asks, "Um, Lyra, can you give me some direction, so I can get you home?"

There is no answer, so Eddie continues to drive, and then without warning, he's wrapped in a hug from behind. Lyra's arms squeeze around him with intensity. He can feel her face leaning against his back, dampening the back of his hair and neck. He takes one hand off the steering wheel and puts it where her hands are clasped together.

"It's gonna be ok," he says softly, "You're safe here". He feels her nod against his back.

"Thank you, Eddie. I'm sorry." She mumbles as her voice stutters the words out.

"You don't need to apologise. You've done nothing wrong ok?" He strokes the back of her hand with his, and he doesn't think he's ever felt something so soft. She gives him another, lighter squeeze. He knows it's inappropriate to think about it, but being wrapped in her arms feels so good he says nothing for a while.

"We do need to get you home, though, Lyra." He feels her grip around him loosen, and he clings tightly to her hands. He feels his heart thump in his chest and tries to breathe slowly and deeply to calm it down.

He wracks his brain for things he's wanted to hear. "I'm not trying to get away. I'm not weirded out. What he did in there was not ok. Your feelings are totally valid, ok? I just want you to be in your safe place. I won't leave you until you want me to. I swear." He clasps his hand around hers and taps them against his chest, "I'm right here. Just let me know where I need to go."

"Ok", she mumbles into the back of his neck. As her breath moistens against his skin, it sends a shiver right down his spine. Fuck! That felt insane. He just wanted to help her and be kind. Finally, he manages to wrangle his thoughts back to a safe place.

Lyra moves her head, so her chin is resting on Eddie's left shoulder, still embracing him with one arm around his chest, which Eddie still has hold of when he can, whilst she uses her other arm to point out the turnings as she directs him audibly.

Eddie doesn't think he's been this close to Lyra for this long before. Her voice is quiet and gentle, like a songbird in his ear. The warmth from her body that the seat wasn't obscuring felt so comforting and safe. Even though it had been he that needed to provide her with that.

They finally hit a long gravel drive lined with trees on either side.

The drive spreads into a driveway wide enough for five of Eddie's vans. At the end of it was a gigantic house. It was primarily wooden siding apart from the bottom clad in stone, with two garage doors and a balcony above that. Eddie glances to the right and sees almost another house again attached to it.

"Ho-ly fuck", he whispers. He doesn't mean to say it out loud, but it just falls out of his mouth.

"Bit weird, huh?" Lyra says nervously and releases Eddie as the van rolls to a stop.

"A little, yeah," he says, still in awe of everything, before getting out and walking around to help Lyra with all her bags.

"Successful shopping trip?" a Scottish voice booms out of the intercom. The surprise of which nearly makes Eddie fall to the floor in shock. Instead, he clutches at his chest, "Jesus Christ."

They get to the door, and Lyra takes out her keys to unlock it, "Um...did you wanna come in? You don't have to. You've done more than enough today, honestly."

Part of Eddie feels very inadequate standing at the door. Part of him wants to say he's got somewhere to be. But part of him wonders if he leaves now if the step forward in the van (that he hadn't even instigated) would be forgotten tomorrow. He wanted to know if Clara was right. What if Lyra did feel the same? Though pushing her for any answers or anything else today would be a pretty shitty thing to do.

"It kinda would be a shame to come all this way and not get a grand tour, right?" he gives her a gentle smile and looks at her hopefully.

#eddie munson #stranger things #eddiemunson #eddie stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson oc #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson angst #eddie munson imagine

6 notes · View notes

ao719 · 2 years

Text

Vancross

Vancross - There’s a World Out There Just Waiting (Chapter 2)

Most of the characters belong to Pixelberry.

Summary: A group of friends embark on their final year at Vancross Institute with the hopes of making it their best year yet. When a new face with a complicated family plagued by secrets and rumors arrives on campus, new friendships are formed, a new relationship blossoms, and threatening challenges arise.

Title inspiration: Human Way - Declan J Donovan

A/N: Multiple crossover series. There will be random sprinkles of canon throughout this story, but for the most part, it’s pretty much out the window. Thank you to @burnsoslow for prereading. Please excuse any errors.

Warnings: This series will contain nsfw material, language, alcohol and drug use, and is not suitable for minors. If you read, you acknowledge you are 18+

Catch up here

Perma Tags (if you’d like to be added or removed for this story, please let me know): @zaffrenotes @cocomaxley @emichelle @sweetest-marbear @indiacater @gibbles82 @classylady1234 @texaskitten30 @the-soot-sprite @ladyangel70 @esmckenzie @dcbbw @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @txemrn @charlotteg234 @kat-tia801 @neotericthemis @foreverethereal123 @choiceskatie @sirbeepsalot @debramcg1106 @gnatbrain @ofpixelsandscribbles @openheart12 @sincerelyella @superharriet @queenrileyrose @alyssalauren @aestheticartsx @forthebrokenheartedthings @kingliam2019 @indiana-jr @bascmve01 @rainbowsinthestorm @emkay512 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @forallthatitsworth @walker7519 @hopelessromanticmonie @iaminlovewithtrr @amandablink @mainstreetreader @mom2000aggie @princessleac1 @21-wishes @appleone @tessa-liam @pixelatedpassion

Alia slung her arm over the shoulder of her suitemate with a grin. “Ready for your first Vancross party?”

Croía glanced nervously around the room. All of the whispers and eyes that kept shifting in her direction were why she had been reluctant to come that night when Alia invited her along, but she came anyway. “Yeah,” she said quietly.

“Good,” Alia grinned. “There’s everyone I told you about over there. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She grabbed Croía’s hand and guided her across the room towards her group of friends who were standing near the bar. “Hi, baby,” she smiled as she approached Blaine; she looped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Hey yourself, gorgeous,” Blaine grinned when they parted.

Alia stepped back next to Croía and smiled. “Guys, this is Croía, my new suitemate. Croía, this is everyone. We have Henri and Alexei, the hosts tonight. Olivia, Simon, Zaira, and Evelyn,” Alia pointed to each. “Simon and Zaira are our resident pranksters, so just keep your eye on them,” Alia chuckled. “Then we have Peter and Dionne, and Kennedy.”

“Hi, there!” Dionne grinned as Peter gave a polite bow.

Kennedy smiled with a wave. “Hi.”

“This is --”

“The most handsome guy here,” Blaine interrupted as he rubbed his chin with a playful grin.

“My boyfriend, Blaine,” Alia giggled, shaking her head. “And last but not least, his suitemate, Liam.”

Liam nodded in silent acknowledgment as Croía looked at him; he had briefly met her gaze at a distance in their class earlier, but he found himself momentarily drawn into the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen.

“Are you in your final year too?” Blaine asked her.

“Yes … I’ve always taken private courses back home, but they accepted my credits and transcripts my tutors sent in.”

“So this is the first university you’ve attended?” Dionne questioned.

“Yes,” Croía nodded. “The first school ever, actually. I’ve always been privately tutored.”

“Damn,” Simon said. “This must be a bit of a shell shock to you then, yeah?”

“It’s been a little overwhelming,” Croía smiled sheepishly.

“Well, let’s get you a drink and break you in properly,” Simon grinned before walking around the bar. “What’ll you have?”

“Oh, uh … I’m fine with whatever.”

Blaine walked around the bar. “Maybe I should make your first drink,” he quipped as he playfully shoved Simon out of the way. “Who knows what that one would put in it. How about a Paddock’s Cup? It’s my specialty,” he grinned.

“Sure. Thanks.”

Alia slung her arm over Croía’s shoulders. “See?” she whispered with a grin. “I told you they were great.”

Blaine slid Croía’s drink toward her. “Thank you,” she smiled as she took it.

“There’s a table outside set up with tower pong that has our names on it,” Henri said to Blaine and Liam.

“Yeah. It’s time for us to kick your asses,” Alexei added.

Blaine and Liam shared a look. “They’ll never learn, will they?” Liam said.

“It appears not,” Blaine shook his head. “Come on.” They turned and headed for the sliding doors that led to a small fenced-in area as all the others trailed behind them.

Alia leaned down to Croía. “Those four are very competitive over absolutely everything,” she chuckled.

“Everything?” Croía questioned.

“Everything,” Dionne answered.

“Grades, parties, tower pong … if you can name it, they’re competing over it,” Kennedy laughed.

“But all in good fun, of course,” Simon interjected.

“Yeah, they like each other most of the time,” Olivia quipped with a grin.

Liam and Blaine stood on one side of the table with Henri and Alexei on the other. As they started their game, the others stood around the table and talked with Croía, trying to get to know her. They were all dying to ask about her brother, but no one wanted to be rude, so they stuck to more basic questions that wouldn’t force her to bring up her family unless she wanted to.

“So, what’s it like in Drakovia?” Dionne asked. “I’ve ventured on many trips with my parents to different kingdoms, but that’s one place I’ve never been.”

“I’ve heard that it often gets compared to Lythikos,” Olivia stated. “So, I would imagine it’s positively wonderful,” she smirked.

Dionne gave Olivia a side-eye before looking back to Croía. “It’s not a large kingdom, but not really small either. It doesn’t surprise me that you’ve never been. My parents don’t tend to host a lot of outside kingdoms.”

“I’m just surprised we’ve never crossed paths before,” Dionne said. “I had met most of these guys--” she gestured around to the group “--before coming to Vancross from attending different events and whatnot.”

“My family tends to keep to themselves for the most part … both in public and behind closed doors. We’re not really the close-knit kind,” she halfheartedly smiled, almost as if she were disappointed by her words. “And on the very rare occasion my parents have attended outside events … I’ve never accompanied them. The only … the only place I’ve ever been outside of Drakovia is New York.”

“Oh? What were you in New York for?” Olivia asked a little too excitedly, and her question earned a subtle glare from Alia. They were all aware from the gossip over the years that that was where her brother had been exiled to.

“Visiting my sister,” Croía answered, noticing the way their eyes lingered on her with curiosity. “She’s an ambassador there.”

“Oh,” Dionne sat back, finding herself slightly disappointed; she couldn’t help but feel curious about the exiled prince.

“Wait,” Simon said with wide eyes. “Other than New York, you’ve never been anywhere outside of Drakovia?”

A blush tinted Croía’s cheeks as she shook her head. “Well, I guess we can add Vancross to that list now, but other than that … no. My parents have kept me out of the public eye as much as possible.”

“Huh,” Simon nodded.

Croía noticed the way their eyes all lingered on her, obviously curious and wanting to know more … but she didn’t have much else to say. “I, uh … I’m going to get a refill,” she said as she held up her empty glass. She stood and walked across the lawn, disappearing inside.

Alia snapped her gaze over to Olivia. “Really, Liv?”

“What?” Olivia shrugged. “It was a genuine question.”

“No,” Alia shook her head. “You were hoping she would say something about her brother.”

“I think we all were, Alia,” Kennedy chuckled.

“I definitely was,” Simon added.

“I just don’t want her to be uncomfortable. I spent an entire day trying to get to know her when she arrived and home and family, in general, seem to be touchy subjects for her, so I’m trying not to push her to talk about them unless she wants to. You should understand that better than anyone,” she said, fixing Olivia with a pointed look. “You don’t like talking about yours either.”

“Ok,” Olivia held up her hands defensively. “Fair enough. No more questions about them unless she brings them up.”

“Thank you,” Alia smiled.

****

When Croía returned, she noticed everyone in different conversations. Kennedy was talking to who she assumed to be her guard, Alia and Dionne were talking with Liam and Blaine while they continued playing their game against Henri and Alexei, and Simon and Zaira were chatting it up with Olivia. Not wanting to interrupt any of them, she took a seat on a small bench. She could use a breather anyway.

That day had been overwhelming for Croía as it was; she wasn’t used to being around so many people. And she knew choosing to come with Alia that night would more than likely be met with curiosity in regards to the rumors and gossip surrounding her brother or the enigma of her family and country in general.

As Croía casually sipped her drink, a cluster of snickering behind her pulled her attention; she subtly glanced over her shoulder to see a small group of others staring at her before they looked away when she met their gazes. When she turned back, she couldn’t help but overhear them as they talked; they weren’t exactly trying to be quiet.

“Wonder who her brother threatened to kill for them to let her in here.”

“Do you think he really did it?”

“Of course he did. And then mommy sent him away to cover up for him.”

“How is she allowed here? Her brother is a murderer that’s walking free. Isn’t that like … bad juju for the school?”

Croía closed her eyes for a moment before tossing back the rest of her drink and rising from her seat; she walked up to Alia, who was standing behind Blaine and Liam with Dionne and Kennedy. “Hey, um … I think I’m going to head back to the suite.”

Liam happened to glance over his shoulder at her words, and Alia furrowed her brows with a pout. “Already? But the night’s just getting started! Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just … I’m really tired. The first day of classes seemed to wipe me out,” Croía shrugged with a halfhearted smile, and Liam could tell it was fake by the way it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Well, I’ll go back with you,” Alia said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“No, that’s ok,” Croía shook her head. “Stay and enjoy yourself. I’m just going to go to bed anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you in the morning.” Alia glanced around at the group around her. “It was nice meeting you all.”

“You too,” Kennedy smiled.

“Whoa, whoa, you’re leaving already?” Blaine asked as he whirled around, finally joining the conversation.

“She’s tired, baby,” Alia chuckled.

“We gotta work on your night owl skills,” Blaine smiled; next to him, Liam stared at Croía curiously, not believing that she was leaving because she was tired. Blaine smacked Liam’s stomach with the back of his hand. “Your shot.” Liam turned his attention back to the table after throwing out a casual goodbye wave.

“It was a pleasure, Croía,” Dionne grinned. “And I hope we’ll be seeing a lot more of you.”

Croía nodded. “I’d like that.” She gave a small wave and bid goodnight before turning and heading for the doors.

When she walked by the same group she had overheard talking about her brother, they laughed again, which caught Liam’s attention this time as he finished taking his first shot. He looked over and saw them staring and pointing at Croía as she disappeared inside the house. At that moment, he was sure he knew why she left.

“What’s so funny?” Liam called out across the lawn, and they glanced over at him, staying silent and sharing side glances when they realized his question was directed at them. “Well?” he asked again, raising his brows in question, but still, they didn’t respond. “That’s what I thought. Grow the fuck up,” he spat.

“You good?” Blaine questioned.

“I’m fine. They’re just being dicks.”

Blaine chuckled and glanced at Alia. “Imagine the next King of Cordonia inciting a war, and when asked why, he says, ‘they were being dicks,’” he mocked before a snort escaped him.

“Shut up,” Liam laughed as he grabbed the ball for his next shot. He closed one eye and his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. He tossed the ball in the air like he was shooting a three-point shot in basketball; it landed in the goblet at the top of the tower. “And I believe that’s game, gentlemen,” he smirked.

****

As Croía made her way outside of Henri and Alexei’s suite, she passed by a group of guards who were conversing with one another; her guard was not among them. He hadn’t even asked to escort her out that night. She didn’t need but one guess as to why.

As she stepped outside and started back towards her building, Croía thought about what she overheard that group say. She had been getting looks all day and watched as others held secret conversations while staring at her, so she knew it was only a matter of time before she heard portions of the whispers. She didn’t think it would be so soon, however. Going to that party, she should have expected it, and she had been wary when Alia invited her along, but she needed to at least try to break out of her shell.

Alia told Croía that her group of friends were fun, lighthearted, and down-to-earth, and she said that they would make her feel right at home. She didn’t seem to be wrong; in the very short time she had spent with them, they appeared to be just as described. But making her feel ‘at home’ was another story.

Croía didn’t have friends like that back home. She didn’t have any friends at all.

The last born Princess of Drakovia led a much different life compared to those around her. She associated with only those her parents would allow her to, which was not many at all. She had been sheltered from most of the outside world. Where the others had all met in passing prior to coming to Vancross, Croía couldn’t say the same; other than attending Vancross, she’d left her country only once before.

Things hadn’t always been that way, at least not so extreme, but eight years ago everything changed.

Drakovia wasn’t known as being very social or friendly when it came to other kingdoms. No one on the outside really knew anything about their country or its royal family, which is exactly how her parents wanted it to be. Or, at least, they had … until one day, they decided Croía would be allowed to attend Vancross for her final year of studies. Experiencing anything outside of the gates of the palace was something Croía had wanted for so long, so despite the many questions she had as to why they suddenly changed their minds, she kept quiet.

As she continued towards her building, a phone chimed from inside Croía’s purse; recognizing the ringtone, she dug it out. “Hello,” Croía answered.

“Hey, kid,” the voice replied.

“I take it I have you to thank for my lack of a babysitter this evening?”

“Did you go somewhere that would require you to need this said babysitter?” they teased.

“I went to a party, but--”

“A party?” they interrupted, and she could hear them grinning. “Do tell!”

“Not until you tell me about my guard.”

“It’s not a big deal. I knew Lydea would send someone seasoned with you, one with experience and hopefully who I knew. It was pure luck that it happened to be one that liked me so damn much,” they chuckled. “So, I may have taken it upon myself to call and offer Jonas a hefty monthly side bonus to give you some breathing room while at school, and to cover for you if Lydea or Mother were to call.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to. It’s the only way for you to have any real chance to enjoy your time there.”

Croía smiled. “Thanks, Trystan.”

“No problem. Now, tell me about this party!”

“It … was just a party,” she said. “I didn’t stay long.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Croía’s voice dropped. “Just tired, I guess.”

Trystan sighed on the other end of the phone. “People were talking about me … weren’t they?”

Croía chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. “Yeah,” she whispered.

“Croía, I told you that was probably going to happen. I also told you not to let it bother you.”

“It’s hard not to let it bother me when they don’t even know what they’re talking about. And I just … knew going probably wasn’t a good idea.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve been stared at all day like I’m some kind of oddity.”

“Well, I hate to say it, kid, but you kind of are.”

“I just …” Croía trailed off. “I thought going anywhere outside of Drakovia was what I wanted … but now I’m not so sure.”

“Listen to me. Going to Vancross is probably the best thing to happen to you,” Trystan said. “You just have to give it some time, Croía, and let the shock of your presence settle. Right now, you’re the shiny new face on campus with a mysterious family, but it will get better. I promise.”

“Ok …” Croía sighed.

“So, who did you go to this party with?”

“My suitemate. She was going to meet up with her friends and wanted me to meet them.”

“I want all of the details.” Croía chuckled at the enthusiasm in his tone before telling him about her short-lived night out.

Croía had just turned 13 when her eldest brother was exiled and sent away to New York. She was devastated. Despite their nine-year age difference, Trystan was her best friend, and the only family member other than her older sister Marguerite whom she had any kind of relationship with. Croía was the baby of the family and often left in the shadows of her much older siblings, but Trystan and Marguerite were the two people who were always there for her.

With Trystan gone and Marguerite splitting her time every few months between the palace and her mother -- the woman her father had an affair with over a decade earlier -- Croía felt completely alone.

After the death of Trystan’s fiancée, due to the scrutiny it caused, her parents -- more so her mother -- kept Croía under a heavy lock and key. They didn’t want any more bad press, and if any of her siblings even tiptoed out of line, they were sent away just like Trystan was. She rarely left the palace grounds unless it was of extreme importance; typically, she was only seen at balls or events hosted by the royal family.

When Croía was 15, Marguerite, then 18, decided to move to New York. She wanted to jumpstart her fashion career in the City of Dreams, but more than that, she wanted to be near Trystan because he had nobody else; he had been cut off from his entire family and turned away without a second thought. Marguerite was the only one who could keep in constant contact with him.

A couple of months after her move, Croía accompanied her father on a trip to see Marguerite while her mother was away on a business trip of her own; she was surprised he opted to take her along, but she didn’t ask questions.

While there, her father left Croía at their hotel to attend a private lunch meeting with Marguerite to discuss her taking on the position of Drakovian Ambassador in New York. Unbeknownst to Croía, Marguerite had her own ulterior motives for the lunch; she purposely occupied their father longer than needed and had the hotel staff distract the guard so Trystan could sneak in.

Croía finally saw her brother for the first time in two years in what could only be described as an emotional reunion. At the end of their visit, he had given her a phone with only one number programmed in it: His. It was the only way she could keep in contact with him without her parents knowing.

That was the last time Croía saw Trystan in person, but over the last six years, while being extra cautious so as to not get caught, she was able to video chat and call him whenever she needed. It was better than nothing. And despite their physical distance, Trystan and Marguerite remained the two most important and closest people in her life.

“Shortly after they started playing tower pong … that’s when I left …”

“Well, it sounds like you could have had a great night if you just ignored those people.”

“It’s fine. I have class tomorrow anyway, so I don’t need to be out too late.” Croía entered her building. When she got to the door, she unlocked it and pushed it open, stepping inside her suite. “So … I was thinking …”

“Uh oh,” Trystan teased.

“Do you think … since I’m here and away from home … that you might be able to come visit?”

“Uh … I don’t know if that would be such a good idea,” Trystan sighed. “I may have your guard in my back pocket, but if anyone was to see me there and it got back to mother … you know how she is, Croía.”

“Oh … yeah, you’re probably right,” Croía quietly replied.

Trystan could hear the disappointment in her voice. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go. He did. He would give anything to see her. “Hey … we’ll wait a little bit, let you get settled into somewhat of a routine, and we’ll play it by ear and go from there. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“Hey, Thorne! We gotta go!” Croía heard the voice of an unfamiliar woman in the background.

“No need to yell, Rose,” Trystan playfully scoffed.

“Who’s Rose?”

“Remember that secret thing I told you I was working on?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, Rose is a PI, and I was helping her out with a pretty important case,” Trystan explained. “You should have seen me, Croía. I was like one of those … what do they call them here … ghostbusters?”

“Not even close,” the woman laughed in the background.

“Anyway, the case is over now, but she couldn’t seem to get enough of my irresistible charm and stifling good looks--” Trystan laughed when he was smacked with something on the other end “--so she made me her unofficial crime-busting partner. Her name is Cameron, though. Her last name is Rose. We have this ‘let’s call each other by our last names to make us sound more legit’ thing going on,” he teased. “But Rose suits her; she is like a beautiful flower,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, and you’re the Thorne in my side,” the woman responded.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to come out with that joke,” Trystan laughed, and Croía smiled; it had been a long time since she heard her brother sound so genuinely happy. “Alright, I better get going.”

“Ok,” Croía said. “Tell Mags I said hi and that I’ll call her soon.”

“Will do. And remember … enjoy yourself. Live a little.”

“I’ll try.”

“I love ya, kid.”

“I love you, too.”

*******

A couple of days after the party, Liam stepped into the library after his last class of the day, planning to get a jumpstart on one of several papers. He walked to an empty table and set his bag down before taking a seat; he pulled out his laptop and opened it up.

Liam brought up tabs of research he had saved the day before and began looking them over. A few moments into reading, his eyes happened to flicker up from his screen, and that’s when he noticed her. Sitting alone and two tables away from him was Croía. He hadn’t seen her since the night of the party; the few classes they did have together the first day were only held twice a week, and they didn’t have them again until tomorrow. She was sitting alone with an opened book to her side and a laptop in front of her. Liam found himself curious about her, and not because of who she was related to and the mystery that surrounded that situation. She just seemed … different. She seemed quiet and from what he had heard Alia tell the others the night of the party, she was a tad reticent about her personal and family life.

Suddenly, he watched her gaze flicker up and he dropped his back to his screen.

Croía happened to glance up from her book to see Liam sitting a couple of tables away from her, staring at his laptop screen. The night of the party, she remembered seeing him in a few of her classes earlier that day, but it wasn’t until she was standing directly in front of him to be introduced that she recognized him from the news reports over the summer regarding him becoming the new Crown Prince. She would think having that kind of weight and responsibility suddenly dropped on one’s shoulders would be difficult, but he appeared to have a pretty carefree attitude considering his new circumstances. Either that, or he was just really good at the game of stoicism.

When she saw Liam lift his head, Croía quickly dropped her gaze back to her book.

The next 20 minutes passed with Liam and Croía narrowly missing each other’s curious, lingering stares as they sat in the silent library. Then, they finally glanced up at the same time. They stared at one another, both feeling caught, until Liam mouthed “hi” with a subtle grin. Croía returned her own small smile, mouthing “hi” back to him.

They held each other’s gaze for another moment before Croía’s eyes slowly dropped back down to her book. Liam could still see the faint smile she was wearing as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

*******

Friday afternoon, Liam and Blaine walked into their suite after their last class, both feeling the effects the first week had on them.

“Are we doing anything tonight?” Liam asked.

“Alia is coming up to hang out later.”

“I can see what Simon and Rashad are up to.”

Blaine shook his head. “Not necessary. We were just planning to relax and watch a movie. You can third-wheel it,” he chuckled.

Liam placed his hand on his chest and his expression twisted with feigned hurt. “Ouch.”

“I kid,” Blaine laughed. “But really, you don’t have to make other plans. Stay and hang out with us.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

****

Alia and Croía stepped into their suite; Alia dropped her bag on the floor and fell back against the sofa with a sigh. “Thank god the weekend is here. I knew the final year would be way more work, but this first week wiped me out. There’s no way I could go out tonight.”

“Were you supposed to?” Croía asked as she curled up in the chair.

“We always go out on Fridays. Sometimes to the bar, sometimes to dinner, sometimes down to the beach for bonfires … we usually do something. But everyone’s so damn tired,” Alia giggled. “So I’m just going to hang out with Blaine at his suite tonight.” After a moment of silence, Alia tilted her head back with a grin. “You should come with me.”

“Oh … I wouldn’t want to impose,” Croía shook her head. “It’s your time with Blaine.”

“You’re not imposing,” Alia said as she sat up. “Promise. We’re just going to watch a movie or whatever … order some food. Liam will probably be there too, and neither would mind if you came.” She could see Croía thinking it over, and she grinned. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

****

That evening, Liam sat on the sofa with the heels of his feet propped on the table; one arm was tucked behind his head and he held the remote in his other hand, scrolling through the movie options.

“I don’t even remember what staying in on Friday night is like,” Blaine sighed as he flopped down on the other end of the sectional.

“I guess we’re getting old,” Liam chuckled.

Blaine turned his head to look at him. “How dare you,” he playfully chided.

Liam laughed, then glanced down at his phone beside him when it rang. “Here,” he said before tossing Blaine the remote. He slid his thumb across the screen to answer the call before raising the phone to his ear. “I was wondering when you would call,” he smiled.

“Well, you could always call me in your free time,” the other jested.

“I know, it’s just been a crazy week.”

“I’m only teasing,” they chuckled. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Sitting here trying to find a movie to watch.”

“I’m surprised you’re staying in,” they quipped.

“Yeah, Blaine’s just as surprised. I just offended him when I told him we were getting old,” Liam chuckled. “How’s everything back home?”

“Good. I’ve just been preparing for a few upcoming events. How was your first week of class?”

“Not bad. Masako threw a thesis paper at us already, I’ve got a paper for Political Theory, and some big project coming next week in International Diplomacy.”

“Sounds like the library is where you’ll be spending most of your time,” they chuckled.

“You’re probably right,” Liam sighed.

“Everything else is ok? Are you staying out of trouble?”

“Of course I’m staying out of trouble,” Liam replied. Blaine snapped his gaze over to him with a snort as he got up to grab a drink, and Liam quietly laughed. “But yeah, everything else is good.”

There was a momentary pause on the other end before they hesitantly spoke. “How are … other things going?”

“Other things as in?”

“As in … with Kennedy? I’m not trying to pry, I promise. I just know that you weren’t sure how things were going to be when you got back there.”

“Things are fine,” Liam chuckled. “We talked and we both still want to be friends and … that’s it. I think just friends is where we’re better off anyway.”

“Well, that’s good. So … have you met anyone else?”

“I thought you said you weren’t prying,” Liam chuckled, and a broad grin broke out when he heard them laugh. “No, I haven’t.” Then, his smile faltered. “Wait, you’re not …” Liam trailed off, furrowing his brows as he ran his fingers through his hair; his new role had left him wary. “You’re not asking me all of this because you’re planning a Social Season or something like that when I’m done with school, are you?”

“I just wanted to know how you were doing with the situation. There’s no season being planned …not yet, anyway.”

“Yet?” Liam asked, his voice rising an octave.

“I’m kidding, calm down,” they chuckled. “You’re still young, and you know we still want to give you an opportunity to find that for yourself.”

Liam breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, I appreciate that because I really don’t want to have to go through a season. But …” he trailed off.

“But what?”

Liam lowered his voice when he responded. “I don’t know. With my new title, I guess I’m not really sure if finding something … genuine is even possible for me anymore.”

“It is possible,” they replied confidently. “Someone is going to walk into your life one day, Liam, and you will eventually understand why it never worked out with anyone else.”

Liam quietly chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll see about that,” he replied, his tone full of doubt.

At his reply, there was a knock on the door; Blaine walked from the kitchen to answer it. When Liam heard the door open, he glanced over his shoulder to see Alia step inside.

A moment later, Croía walked inside behind her.

“Hey, uh … I gotta go. We’re going to start that movie in a few.”

“Ok. We’ll talk soon,” they said. “I love you, Liam.”

Liam smiled. “Love you too, Mom.”

185 notes · View notes

y0itsbri · 3 years

Text

🎃s1 shameless halloween headcanons🎃

by @halcyonlauren and i because the fact that there isn't a halloween episode in s1 especially is a crime! 👻💀🦇 (if anyone is inspired by any of this, feel free to add/create anything!)

scary movies as a fam! lip and ian cringing at the horror (because as much as they act tough, they still have weak stomachs). debbie pretending she's a witch afterwards. fiona thinks debbie actually thinks she has powers. she's only a little concerned when she hears debbie chanting around some circle of odd shaped objects.

diy-ing their own costumes the southside way! fiona would have them put in their costume requests at the beginning of the month. you miss the deadline? you're a ghost.

killer carl carving a pumpkin and messing with the pumpkin guts. he's very excited because this is the one time he's actually handed a knife. fiona regrets her choices.

liam dressing a baby bumble bee. everyone buzzing and flying him around the kitchen. lots of baby giggles.

fiona dressing up all slutty and handing out candy until she goes out with v. v has a white mini dress with angel wings and a halo. fiona has a red mini dress with black bat wings and a devil horn headpiece.

lip going to some high school party. karen says she's going whether he wants to or not. he's whipped so of course he goes. he scams local idiots in true gallagher fashion.

mandy and ian doing couples costumes! they couldn't decide on cowboys or vampires, mandy thinking vampires are sexier and ian thinking cowboys are where it was at. so they mashed their ideas together. ian has the western shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots, but he has the vampire look with fake blood and fangs, a bit of smudged eyshadow, and a black cape. mandy is dressed like a vampire with her usual s1 goth aesthetic but she has on cowgirl boots, a diy cropped denim jacket, and a cowgirl hat.

they also end up at the party, meeting up with lip and karen.

the milkovich brothers deciding to swing by after getting their halloween vandalism in early, red paint smudged on their clothes and faces.

iggy and colin mooching off the alcohol they can grab. them trying to steal a tv and failing. the grandfather clock incident from s3 was not a stand-alone event.

s1 puppy love ian trying not to be obvious that he's following grimy little mickey around the halloween party but it's ian. he's a little obvious.

but who cares, almost everyone is in costume and no one's really paying attention to them.

mickey discreetly gets ian to follow him upstairs to a more private room... for well over an hour.

mandy is chilling with lip and karen, but she's annoyed at ian because who the hell could he have found to hook up with when they'd only been at the party for less than thirty minutes before he disappeared? meanwhile no guys have flirted with her the entire night, which was kind of the point of the matching costumes, to be fair, but mandy's too annoyed to think about that.

while karen and mandy head to the kitchen to get more food, lip asks ian who he was with and ian gives him the old "i can't tell you." and lip's response is a nonchalant "well whoever this guy is he must be a real slut for you to ditch your fake girlfriend in the middle of a party for him." and ian just goes "yeah 🥰"

ian smirks at mickey from across the room, hair slightly mussed. mickey flips him off but he can still see a hint of his smile. he feels like he's glowing.

195 notes · View notes

astranva · 3 years

Text

Falling Duet

Word Count: 2.4k

Category: Fluff but it’s so 🥺

Warning: Nothing

Request: harry dating singer!reader: he has to perform at some awards and he invites her to sing with him but no one else knows? love your writing🤧❤

Summary: You and Harry sing an unreleased version of Falling at an award show.

The lyrics used are of “Falling (other POV)” by THE cutie, Ally Naso 🤍

// masterlist //

**reposted bc tumblr is messing up the tags & nobody can view it. sigh.

It all started when a friend of yours had recorded you singing in your school’s bathroom during senior year.

7 years ago, you wouldn’t have believed it if somebody told you that you would be a 13-time Grammy nominated artist, as well as having 6 of that very award sitting on your shelf at your childhood home – one for Best Artist, and one for Album of the year.

You would have laughed even.

But it wasn’t a joke nor was it a dream you wished to never wake up from; it was as real as life could be.

You were successful in the industry and if any of your fans were asked, they would say that it was because of your immense talent and unproblematic, empathetic, kind character.

It was one of the many reasons why so many people on the internet had shipped you with a certain English man, him having been only 20 when you went viral and got signed.

A year into the industry, it was one day when you remember your Twitter notifications going crazy;

“HARRY STYLES JUST SAID HE LOVES YOUR MUSIC AND THINKS YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL”

“omg pls tell us you watched 1d’s interview with jimmy kimmel”

“IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING! CAN YOU PLEASE BE TOGETHER ALREADY???”

Looking back at that memory, you remember how you were a shaking and overwhelmed mess as you had clicked on the link everybody was sending you.

The video had begun with the audience cheering as the camera was on Jimmy and the 5 men near him.

And there he sat; in a black suit with a white shirt underneath, medium-length hair looking like he had run his fingers through many times, his hands clasped as he looked at Jimmy.

“Who’s most likely to let a woman split the band?” Jimmy had asked.

They had looked at each other, not answering for a moment before Niall chimed in with a laugh as he pointed at Harry, “Harry would let his celebrity crush do that.”

Harry rolled his eyes jokingly as his bandmates agreed and laughed, slapping his hands against his thighs in feigned annoyance.

“Who is that? Who’s your celebrity crush?”

“Just this talented person.” He had tried to smile his way through the question, but no one was having it.

“You know Y/N Y/L/N? She’s an amazing singer,” Louis told Jimmy.

“Y/N!” Jimmy beamed, “We had her on the show two weeks ago.”

“Yeah, he watched that.” Liam had gestured towards Harry.

Hiding his face in his hands for a moment, the audience cheered as his friends continued to laugh.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Jimmy asked Harry in a teasing manner.

Having had decided to get it over with, Harry nodded as he clasped his hands together again, “She’s very talented and beautiful.”

“Lovie, can you help me with the necklace? My nails are still drying.”

You looked up from your place on the couch, sitting in your long dress looking so beautiful that Harry had lost track of time of getting into his own suit because he was too busy giving you a photoshoot on his phone.

Standing up, you reached and clasped his necklace for him, dusting his shoulders to signal that you were done.

Turning, you were met with your boyfriend of 4 years beaming at you before he leaned to press his lips against yours.

“You look so good.” You smiled up at him, “So beautiful.”

“Have to try to catch up with how you look tonight,” he replied with a wide smile, “Nervous?”

“Not really.” You admitted.

Amusingly and completely and utterly in love, Harry tilted his head slightly, “Any reason why you’re not? You usually hate those.”

It was true. You didn’t really like award shows because of how tiresome all the process was; hair, makeup, dressing up, walking only to pause every second, the repeated questions you have been answering for years, how more judgmental the world was on nights like these.

But it was always when Harry was able to be by your side that you liked the night, and the tall man knew it, but he had always loved hearing you say it.

To feed his ego, you wrapped your arms around his neck, “Because you’ll be there.”

“Music to my ears.” He joked, shaking his head slightly.

“Just feeding that already overfed ego of yours, baby.”

“Excuse you.” He pecked your lips, “Let me add food for Evie then we can leave.”

“I’ll do it, don’t mess up your nails.” You patted his chest before moving away to attend to your cat.

The fans and reporters all had anticipated the moment of yours and boyfriend’s arrival, and the both of you knew it.

You were fairly private with your relationship. While everyone knew you were together, the both of you didn’t always post about one another but when you did, it went viral – something you and Harry, shamelessly, enjoyed.

It was why during moments like this, everyone was eager. Reporters were hungry for content, all having different intentions, but you spend enough time in the industry and you sort of begin knowing what to say and how to say it.

Harry was scheduled to perform, something everyone knew of, but it was the fact that you were joining him not on the red carpet, but on stage that they didn’t.

Getting out of the car together, the screams and flashing lights were then doubled.

Harry closed the door behind you with a polite smile to the security standing. Bending a little, he adjusted your dress’s short train for you as you looked back at it before you looked up at him.

As if they weren’t snapping pictures like crazy yet, you reached and fixed Harry’s hair at the front, his eyes looking up with a smile as you did so.

“Thanks, love.”

With that, Harry placed his arm around your waist as you walked to the first spot on the red carpet.

“When was the last time we appeared together? They’re going mad.” You whispered, looking at Harry as he smiled to the cameras.

He chuckled, looking at you, “I think we deprive them too much.”

“Let’s give them enough content to last a year.”

Nobody but the both of you knew what you meant, and it was why the flashing lights and camera shutter sounds were then tripled the moment Harry’s lips were on yours in a soft kiss.

“Can we sign stuff?” You asked a woman standing on the sides, “Can we see the fans?”

When she nodded at you, you and Harry ignored posing for a few minutes to converse and meet fans.

“I love you and Harry so much!” One fan said shakily as you signed a paper for him.

“Thank yo- Hey! I saw you in Amsterdam last year, right?” You grinned.

And that was another thing not only your fans loved about you, but Harry, too.

You were no stranger to connections. You were no stranger to making people feel seen and treating them in a way that no fan expected to be treated – a friend, and you remember friends.

“Harry, do you think Y/N will win Songwriter of the Year?” A fan asked.

Harry shrugged with a smile, “I hope so but we all know she is anyway.” He waved his hand with a joking manner, making the closest fans laugh.

“What about you? Do you think you’ll win Artist of the Year?”

“I don’t know,” he smiled, “There are so many amazing artists. I wish them all the best.”

“He’s a humble man,” you teased, patting his shoulder, “We all know he is anyway.”

You were confused as they, Harry included, laughed in shock. “What?”

“He literally has just said the same thing about you.”

You laughed, looking at Harry, “Shut up, no way!”

“The both of you have been doing that for years.” One fan commented with a grin, “It’s adorable. It’s like telepathy or something.”

“Oh yeah, we are telepathic,” Harry nodded, “It gets a little scary sometimes.”

“Heeey!” You laughed, “It’s actually helpful. One of us would be just walking at home and we’d look at each other and know that the other just means something like “feed Evie” or “take out the trash””

“This is so cute!”

“Harry, what are you performing tonight?”

“You’ll find out in a bit.” He pointed.

Shortly, you and Harry had to take more pictures and do interviews before you were escorted inside.

It was the little moments that fans also lived for; how Harry held your hand as you sat so discreetly, how the both of you chatted and giggled among one another and those around you, how Harry fist-bumped the air the moment your name was called to receive your award of Songwriter of the Year before kissing you. It was how they knew this was real – how love wasn’t something you only listen people sing about or write novels for.

It was in how Harry’s eyes didn’t move from you as you gave your speech, a wide smile on his face and eyes resembling twinkling stars for crying out loud.

It was in how you ended your speech with: “This is to the man who has inspired and pushed me forward to write every single day. I love you.”

It was in how you looked more nervous than Harry himself when his category was called before you were the first to get out of your seat with a happy “yes!” once they announced that he won.

It was in how Harry cupped your face that moment to kiss you before walking to receive his award.

It was in how you remained standing, those behind you only smiling instead of being annoyed, with your hands clutched together against your heart, tearful eyes, and the brightest smile in the room.

“You’re going to tell me this is cheesy,” Harry chuckled slightly, giving a shrug as he looked at you, “But I wouldn’t be standing here, holding this, if it weren’t for you. I love you, too.”

But then Harry was about to perform and you weren’t in your seat.

The award show had decided to make a skit of it, the host being Miley had held her microphone as she stood in the empty isle beside yours and Harry’s empty seats.

“We know Harry Styles is performing in minutes,” she said, looking at the camera with a playful smile, “But where is Y/N Y/L/N? We know, we know,” she nodded, “Probably backstage for some extra good luck but-” people laughed, causing Miley to pause and chuckle, “But seriously, guys. There’s a show and it must go on.”

“It’s going on.” Harry said from backstage into his mic before the stage went dark.

It wasn’t until piano tunes sounded that the arena grew dim, a spotlight on the piano at the center of the stage where you sat, your fingers gentle against the keys as you played the beginning notes of Falling.

“I'm in my bed,

And you're not here

And there's no one to blame

But the drink in my wandering hands.” Harry sang as he came on stage, holding the mic in his hand before taking a seat beside you.

Everyone had expected him to sing the next verse, but it wasn’t his voice that they then heard.

“I'm in my bed

Instead of yours

Cried to sleep turned off all of lights and locked all of the doors.” You sang, eyes on the piano keys.

“Forget what I said

It's not what I meant

And I can't take it back

I can't unpack the baggage you left.” His eyes were on you, body turned slightly towards you as he felt like the both of you were in your living room in front of your white piano.

“I replay what you said

Don’t know if it’s true

Left with two broken hearts and there’s nothing that we could undo.” You sang, closing your eyes as you got ready for the chorus.

“What am I now? What am I now?

What if I'm someone I don't want around?

I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”

“What am I now? What am I now?

Don’t want to cry ‘cause I can’t stand the sound

I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”

The both of you sang together, your voice being softer and quieter than Harry’s.

“What if I'm down?

What if I'm out?

What if I'm someone you won't talk about?

I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”

“What if I'm down? What if I'm out?

What if you’re someone I can’t live without?

I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling.”

It was a version nobody had heard before, and it was why everyone was quiet, the only sound coming from you, Harry, and your lone instrument.

It was something you had written together following a rough patch of your relationship, and everyone knew that it was more personal with the way the both of you sang.

When his eyes weren’t closed, Harry sang as he looked at you, and he knew that performing this song meant more to the both of you than anyone could imagine. One look at your face and Harry knew you were reliving the night of when the both of you had written this; eyes a little red from crying, bodies hot, Harry wearing a hoodie of yours while you sat in your underwear with his purple fluffy robe on.

“Can I do this alone without ever needing you again?”

“And I get the feeling that you'll never need me again.”

You both sang the bridge together, yours being shorter than Harry’s note as you carried a softer tone, closing your eyes as you played the piano, feeling your throat close up before gulping.

He knew.

It was why the final chorus was sung softer and quieter, Harry’s forehead resting against your temple for a moment as the both of you sang.

“I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling.” Harry finished, putting his mic down as he stared at you with a small smile, watching you in your element as you played.

Managing to look at him as you played single soft notes, you sang, “I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling.”

You played the end single notes, looking at Harry with tearful eyes and a bashful smile.

It was like you were unaware to the erupted cheer and round of applause, you threw your arms around Harry, feeling his arms wrap around you instantly.

Crying from the overwhelming emotions, you were thankful your mascara was waterproof. You called it.

“I love you,” Harry whispered in your ear, “I love you so much.”

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles one shot

1K notes · View notes

selfignitingimagines · 3 years

Text

Liam- Badass

A/N: This one has been in my ask box for a really long time, but I hope you guys enjoy it! I’ve been rewatching season 6, and Liam has grown on me a lot as a character!

Request: Hi can you plz do a review where (based in season 6 episode 14 where everyone Is judging Liam and all that) and the reader is trying to be nice to him and be his friend when no one else will but Nolan has a crush on her and that is another reason he wants Liam to change so she can she the “monster” he is thx❤️❤️😘

“Find anything interesting?”

You jumped. The voice had startled you as it came from behind a library shelf. When you turned, a pair of blue eyes caught yours through an empty space between books.

“Sorry,” Nolan Holloway apologized, smiling sheepishly as he came around to your aisle. “I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

“It’s fine,” you told him. “I was just trying to find another copy of the bio textbook for Liam. He forgot his.”

Nolan glanced back toward the collection of tables in the middle of the school library. One was occupied by Liam, Mason and Corey, with a single empty seat waiting for you.

“Study group?” he asked.

“Sort of,” you told him. “It was kind of spontaneous.”

He nodded. “You know, I don’t really get why you hang out with those guys. Mason and Corey, I sort of understand, but Liam? He just seems like he’s hiding something.”

You raised your eyebrows. It wasn’t the first time someone had questioned your friendship with Liam because of his temper, but Nolan seemed to be talking about something else entirely. “What do you mean?”

“You have to notice all the weird stuff that goes on around here, right?”

“I think everyone does.”

“Yeah, so haven’t you noticed that they’re always at the center of it all?”

“Not really, no,” you told him. “You sure you’re not imagining things? The bio exam is coming up and I don’t think anyone is getting much sleep…”

You trailed off as you noticed he was still staring at your friends. You were about to just back up and leave when he turned to you.

“I’m not sleep-deprived. I just pay attention. I pay attention to you too, you know.”

He had this strange, intense look in his eyes, and you were suddenly uncomfortable.

“Okay,” you agreed, struggling to keep a polite smile on your face. “Well, I’ve gotta get back to studying so…”

You trailed off and turned, quickly walking back to your table.

“There aren’t any more books,” you told Liam.

“That’s fine. We can just share...hey, are you okay?”

Liam had seen Nolan getting a little too close to you over by the bookshelves. He knew he had a tendency to be a little overprotective, and, as Mason had also pointed out, a little too jealous. Maybe he didn’t have a right to be, but there were many times that he couldn’t help it. He had heard the way the other lacrosse players talked about you in the locker room.

Nolan himself had said a few disgusting things when he didn’t think Liam had heard him. Though he couldn’t confront his teammate outright, he made sure to check him extra hard at practice.

Maybe that was why he had been so suspicious as he watched Nolan breathe down your neck while you searched for an extra textbook. Maybe it also had something to do with how much Liam cared for you, and the fact that Nolan seemed to be up to something worse than getting into your pants.

You nodded as you sat down at the table. “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s just...I don’t know. Do you ever get the feeling like something bad is about to happen?”

Corey and Mason shared a concerned look, but Liam tilted his head.

“Like what? We might fail the test? Cause I don’t think I need a feeling to tell me that.”

“Shut up,” you complained, feeling the worry roll off your shoulders. “We’re going to make sure you don’t.”

You scooted your chair closer to him and opened up the textbook you had left on the table. “Let’s start with Chapter Nine.”

He leaned in to read next to you and flashed you a grateful smile. You were just about to turn the page when a couple of books slammed onto the table. You flinched at the noise, instinctively moving closer to Liam.

Nolan was standing at the edge of the table, smiling at the four of you. “Hey guys.”

“Hey, Nolan,” Mason said politely.

“Mind if I sit?” Nolan asked.

Liam opened his mouth to protest, but Nolan was already pulling a fifth chair up to the table.

Corey glanced over and met your eyes. He had seen you talking to Nolan in the stacks, and by the way his eyebrows were raised you knew he was wondering if you had invited him over. You shook your head.

Mason cleared his throat. “Studying for the bio test?”

“Trying,” Nolan said with a strange grin, sitting down next to you. “Trying to understand how organisms evolve and change.”

“I don’t think this is on the test,” Corey said hesitantly.

Nolan’s lips twitched, and he clicked the pen in his hands, over and over. He glanced around the table. “Do you think DNA changes?”

“If it’s damaged,” Mason told him.

“I wonder if any of us have changed,” Nolan wondered aloud. “And if we did...would there be any way to tell?”

“Like a DNA test?”.

Nolan smiled as he turned the pen over in his hands. “I was thinking a different type of test.”

Liam stood up suddenly.

“You know what, Nolan? This is a private study group. Get lost.”

Nolan nodded, seeming to understand. He pushed himself up from the table, flashing you a warm smile. For a second, it seemed like he was going to leave. Then, looking right into your eyes, he stabbed his pen into Corey’s hand.

You let out a shriek, and Corey cried out as blood splashed onto the table. Now it was glistening on the wood and your textbook.

“What the hell is your problem?” Mason demanded, but Nolan wasn’t phased.

He reached forward, jerking Corey’s hand up and holding it high for everyone in the library to see. The hole that should have been there was gone, like it had completely healed.

“Look at him!” he snarled at you. “Look at him!”

The entire library was staring. Kids looked up from their textbooks and phones to find a sight that confused and terrified them. What they didn’t know, and what you didn’t know, was that this was only the beginning.

In seconds, Liam had shoved Nolan off of Corey, knocking him to the floor of the library. “Get the hell away from us. Now.”

Nolan glared at Liam, shoving himself up from the ground. He snatched his books from the table and glanced toward you. “See what I’m talking about?”

Then he stormed off, shoving the library doors open and disappearing into the darkened hallway.

When you looked back, Corey, Liam, and Mason were all eyeing you carefully, as if you were an animal that might bite. You glanced at Corey’s completely healed hand, and you made a decision that would define everything that came after that night.

“Nolan is nuts,” you said firmly. “Let’s go study at my house.”

Their shoulders seemed to slump in relief, and Liam reached out to squeeze your hand.

You met his baby blue eyes, and a look of understanding passed between the two of you. What you had seen didn’t matter. These were your friends, and nothing could scare you away from them.

-----

It only took a few days for things to escalate to the unthinkable. Suddenly everyone was afraid of your friends.

You didn’t understand it. There had only been about ten other people in the library that night. Word shouldn’t have traveled that fast, and even if it had, what was there to be afraid of?

If Corey could suddenly heal from his injuries, that should have been a miracle. Unfortunately, not everyone thought that.

When the three of you had walked into school that Monday, all people had done was stare or shy away from you and your friends. You couldn’t hear the whispers, but Liam seemed to be able to. He looked pained as you stood in front of your lockers.

“Just block it out,” Mason assured him.

“They know,” Liam whispered nervously.

“It’s just rumors. They don’t know anything.”

You looked between the two of them. You didn’t know anything either, but you could at least tell that Liam and Corey were different. For some people, that was enough to be upset about.

Before you could interject, someone else did.

“They know everything,” Corey told them, coming up from the hallway behind you. “Two sophomores on the lacrosse team were there last night.”

Mason shook his head, still trying to convince Liam, and maybe himself, that things were okay. “Yeah, but it was late. It was pitch-black out, and there was fog on the road.”

Corey frowned. “It was a clear night, a full moon, and a well lit intersection.”

“Look, I have to get out of here,” Liam hissed.

“No,” Mason insisted. “If you leave, these rumors never stop. You gotta just convince them that you’re a regular kid.”

“I’m not a regular kid.”

You blinked, looking between them. “Wait, what happened last night?”

The three of them shared a glance. No one said anything.

“Look, you can tell me. I already saw what happened in the library. I don’t care.”

Liam and Corey hesitated, but Mason spoke up. “Okay, I’ll tell you.”

“Mason,” Corey hissed.

“Come on, she already has all the pieces. She just hasn’t put them together yet. It’s safer for her to know the whole story.”

Corey didn’t look convinced. He was eyeing you carefully with his arms crossed over his chest. Defensive.

“You’re right,” Liam told Mason, but when you looked into his eyes, he looked scared.

“Can you come with us?” Mason asked you.

You nodded and they led you away from the main hallway. You followed them into a quiet chemistry lab, where they locked the door behind them. There, they explained everything.

Finding out that Liam and Corey were both supernatural creatures was a lot to take in. If there was nothing else going on, you might have needed more time to process everything. However, the news that a group of werewolf hunters was targeting and killing your friends seemed to override the shock.

They explained that wasn’t their only problem, because after Liam had shifted in front of half the town last night, everyone, including the kids at your high school, seemed to know that he wasn’t human.

“So,” you finally said. “What do we do?”

“Good question,” Liam said. “Cause I have no idea.”

“Remember what Scott said?” Mason asked him.

Scott was the assistant coach for the lacrosse team, but he was only a couple years older than you. He hung out with you guys a lot, and he always seemed like a sweet, caring guy. You guessed he was probably in on the secret too.

“He said ‘Be like Clark Kent’.”

Liam looked exasperated. “Clark Kent turns into a guy with a red and blue outfit and a cape. I turn into a monster with claws and fangs.”

“Then just get through the day without shifting,” Corey told him.

“Liam,” Mason said softly. “People are saying that Brett and Lori died in a car accident. We know the truth. They didn’t just die.”

You sucked in a breath. “They were murdered?”

Liam’s face softened. “The people who are after us are dangerous, Y/n. They’ll kill us, and anyone else that gets in the way. That means you too.”

“I don’t care,” you insisted. “You guys are my best friends. I’m not just gonna run and hide, especially if I can help.”

You reached out to grab his hand and squeeze it. His lips turned up at the corners, if only for a moment.

“Then you’re with us now.”

You all agreed that Liam would try to keep cool. The rest of you would try to listen out for anything that might suggest someone was coming after him. Mason and Corey left the chemistry lab to head to their first period classes, leaving you and Liam alone together.

You were both supposed to head to your own classes, but you lingered for a moment.

“So...you’re not afraid?” he asked sheepishly.

You shook your head. “Liam, I know who you are. Having claws and fangs doesn’t change that, even if it’s a little weird.”

He smiled. “A little?”

“Okay, maybe a lot,” you admitted with a grin. “But that just means you can eat the people that piss me off on a full moon.”

Liam frowned. “Werewolves don’t eat people on full moons.”

“So what do they do?”

“Exactly what we’ve been doing every full moon for the past two years. Eating junk food and playing video games.”

You thought for a moment. “And you have super reflexes?”

He nodded. “Yeah, basically.

“So why do you suck so bad at COD then?”

Liam rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. He was relieved you were still treating him the way you always had. Telling you about the supernatural was always something he had wanted to do. You were one of his best friends, and he had always felt wrong hiding it from you.

He had thought about admitting his secret countless times before, but something had always stopped him. What you didn’t know was that Liam had always thought of you as more than a friend. He was pretty sure you felt the same way, but he had never asked you out.

Scott had questioned him about it once on the way home from a pack movie night. They had dropped you off at home, and as he pulled away from the curb in his mom’s sedan, he was looking at Liam with a smile on his face.

“What?” Liam had asked.

“Why don’t you ask her out?”

Liam flushed. Scott grinned at him. “I haven’t seen you look at anyone like that since Hayden.”

“I don’t know,” Liam said.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “She likes you too. You can’t tell?”

“I know she does. It’s just...with everything going on, I don’t want to drag her into this.”

Scott nodded. “I get it...but you can’t spend your whole life doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Sacrificing your happiness to keep people safe. Even when you do that, they’re never really safe.”

“I don’t know,” Liam mumbled, glancing out the window into the darkness.

“I had to learn that the hard way,” Scott had told him. “But maybe you do too.”

Now, as he stood across from you, he didn’t want to leave the chemistry lab. He wanted to hide in there with you for as long as he could and tell you everything, including how he felt about you. Before he could get the chance, you spoke.

“Come on,” you said, nodding toward the hallway. “Let’s make sure you stay alive so I can beat your ass again this weekend.”

He had missed his moment, but he smiled at you anyway. “Can I walk you to class?”

“Duh.”

You looped your arm through his and headed out into the hall, ignoring the stares and fearful looks the entire way.

------

You met up again in biology class, which you all had together. When you sat down at the table next to Liam, he pulled you close to whisper in your ear.

Your heart skipped when he placed his hand on your arm, but he was too agitated to notice.

“Nolan and Gabe are going to try to force me to shift. Corey said they’re going to block all the exits.”

You frowned. “Then we have to find a way to sneak you out.”

You glanced behind you, where Corey and Mason were sharing a table.

“We’ve got a plan for that."

Mason explained that Corey could make himself and Liam invisible. They would sneak out down the halls and hopefully find an exit that wasn’t guarded by lacrosse players.

When the bell finally rang, the four of you headed out of class. Corey and Liam slipped behind a pillar and disappeared into thin air. You and Mason led the way as they shuffled behind you, completely unseen.

The four of you hurried through the school, but every exit you passed was blocked by an angry-looking lacrosse player.

“What do we do?” you muttered to Mason.

“Just keep going.”

You turned down another hallway, only to run right into Nolan. He was standing in the middle of the hallway with a few other lacrosse players. Gabe was right behind him. You and Mason stopped short at the sight.

“Hey guys,” Nolan said. His tone was casual, but there was no friendliness in his eyes.

Before you could attempt to go around him or the others, he stepped in front of you. His hands were curled tightly into fists.

“What are you doing?” you asked him.

“You should leave, Y/n. You shouldn’t get in the middle of all this. You’ll get hurt.”

You frowned. “Nolan, please.”

His gaze softened. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but then he simply opened his hand and blew a handful of white powder at you. The smell of flour drifted through the air as you and Mason were dusted. You felt terror grip you as you realized that Corey and Liam were covered too, making them suddenly visible.

You turned in horror, but before you could make a move, Gabe darted forward and threw Liam to the floor. Both Gabe and Nolan hauled him up, dragging him down the empty hall and into a deserted classroom. The other lacrosse players didn’t bother to grab you or Mason. Instead, they flooded into the classroom behind the others.

Some students passing by followed suit, eager to watch the fight they sensed was about to happen.

“Wait here,” Mason told you, darting after them.

He shoved his way into the classroom, ready to come to Liam’s rescue, but he was immediately grabbed by two lacrosse players. You frantically looked around for Corey, but he had disappeared again. You only hoped he was hiding somewhere safe, just in case they were planning on coming for him next.

With Corey nowhere to be found, you shouldered your way into the classroom, but you were trapped behind the sea of kids trying to catch the action.

You watched in horror as Nolan landed a punch to Liam’s face, causing blood to run from his nose. They shoved him to the ground, kicking and punching him. Every time Liam seemed to be close to snapping, he seemed to hold himself back. You were relieved, but you also weren’t sure how long he could keep that up.

“You’re fighting it!” you heard Nolan snap.

Your blood boiled. You were sick to your stomach with both rage and terror. Liam was getting his ass handed to him. He couldn’t even fight back.

You watched as Gabe snatched a tuft of Liam’s brown hair. He yanked him up from the classroom floor, only to slam his knee into Liam’s face. You flinched.

“What is going on here?!”

Suddenly the clicking of heels sounded from down the hallway. Mrs Finch was striding over, and the crowd of kids parted for her. Instead of looking angry, she just seemed scared as she realized what was happening.

“Do something!” Mason pleaded, but Mrs. Finch just held up her hands, as if she were surrendering.

“Sometimes it’s best to let them work things out on their own,” she told him, before turning back down the hall.

Kids stared in shock, dumbfounded at her response. You took the opportunity to shove your way into the space she had left in the crowd. As you got closer, you saw that Liam was lying on his back. Blood was streaming from his nose, his mouth, and various other cuts on his face.

Gabe was kneeling over him, punching him over and over. He raised his arm to land another blow, and that was when you moved forward. You had no idea what had gotten into you, but you couldn’t watch another second of Liam’s suffering.

Gabe grunted in surprise as you knocked him to the ground. The two of you spilled onto the tiled floor, but he quickly recovered. He yanked your head back by your hair, causing you to cry out.

Before you could register what was happening, pain was shooting through your skull. He had punched you so hard that it left you lying on the floor, dazed and seeing white for a few seconds.

“Gabe-” Nolan began to say, but he was cut off. “Is this what’s gonna do it, Liam?” Gabe demanded, pulling you off the floor by your hair. “Maybe you won’t change if we beat your ass, but what about hers?”

Tears were streaming down your face, blurring your vision. You could still see Liam's eyes glowing yellow though. As much as it hurt, you weren’t willing to be the reason he shifted in front of everyone.

“Liam,” you begged. “Don’t.”

You could taste your own blood on your lips. Judging by the look on Liam’s face, you probably looked terrible, even from the single punch. You knew they were going to do much worse.

Gabe balled his hand into a fist once more, and you closed your eyes, bracing for the next punch.

“What the hell is going on?! Back off!”

Suddenly, Gabe was ripped off of you by the back of his shirt. His fingers uncurled from your hair, and you dropped to the ground on your hands and knees.

“Get to the Principal's office now!” Coach Finstock was screaming.

He had Gabe and Nolan by their shirts, and he practically tossed them out the door and into the hallway. He looked absolutely livid. You had never seen Coach so angry. He gazed out at the crowd of students around you.

“What the hell is this?” He demanded. “Get out, all of you! I can’t stand to look at your faces!”

The crowd dispersed, and Mason was let go. You scrambled over to Liam, who was still on his back. He was taking short, gasping breaths and his face was covered in his own blood, but he looked relieved. He coughed as the four of you, including Corey, who had reappeared, helped him off the ground. One of his arms was slung over your shoulder, and the other was slung over Mason’s.

Mason stared at him in awe. “I can’t believe you did that...and Y/n, I can’t believe you just tackled Gabe. That was insane.”

Liam nodded, looking between the three of you. “Clark Kent, right?” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Mason breathed. “Clark Kent.”

Liam glanced over at you. He felt a lump in his throat when he saw the state of your face. There was a small gash on your cheek from where Gabe had punched you. A trickle of blood was making its way down to your jaw, and your lip was split open. The worst part was the bruising. The blood could be cleaned up, but the bruise that was beginning to form would be there for a while. That side of your face was also beginning to swell.

His blood was boiling. He wanted to tear Gabe and Nolan apart. In that moment, he didn’t care who saw. Then you spoke.

“Liam,” you said softly. “I’m okay. I promise.”

You squeezed his hand. The feel of your fingers wrapped around his seemed to ground him. The tension melted from his shoulders.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”

------

“God, I have no idea how I’m going to explain what happened to your parents.”

You looked over at Liam from the passenger seat of his Toyota. He had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. You raised your eyebrows.

“Why do you have to explain?”

“Because I’m your best friend. I’m supposed to protect you...and everything that happened is my fault anyway.”

You lifted the bag of frozen peas that Coach had given you off your cheek. He had assured you it would bring down the swelling, but you were skeptical. You pulled down the visor in front of you and glanced at your wounded face in the mirror.

Mason had cleaned the blood off with the lacrosse team first aid kit, but there was a visible gash where Gabe’s knuckles had connected with your cheekbone. The bruise, now a deep blue-ish purple, spread out across your cheek. Your lip was also busted and there was no way you’d be able to hide it.

“It’s not your fault. I’ll just tell my parents the truth. Someone was getting their ass kicked and I stepped in to stop them. Well, I tried anyway.”

“Okay, now you’re kind of making me sound like a little bitch.”

You shrugged, and you and Liam both burst out laughing. The movement in your face caused you to wince and Liam’s expression darkened.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to keep saying that.”

“I feel like I do.”

“You don’t,” you assured him. “Liam, none of this was your fault. It’s the hunters and Nolan, and that fucking psycho Gabe. Plus, I’m the one who tackled him…”

He didn’t answer right away. He was anxiously chewing on his lip, staring out the windshield.

“Liam?”

“I think you need to leave town.”

You balked at him. “What? No way!”

“Gabe could have done a lot worse to you. Now he knows you’re involved. Staying here could get you killed. You and Mason both.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” you demanded. “Just run away?”

“Yeah. That’s exactly what you should do. I can’t protect you, Y/n. I can’t protect anyone.”

“I can protect myself-”

“No you can’t!” he snapped. “Look at your face!”

You flinched back at his sharp tone. Wordlessly, you turned away, slouching down in your seat to stare out the window. Maybe he was right, but his words had touched a nerve.

Liam wasn’t trying to hurt you, but he was terrified. If he couldn’t even protect you from Gabe, how was he supposed to protect you from trained hunters?

“Y/n...I’m sorry. I’m not saying you’re not strong. I just…I can’t lose you.”

You felt a flutter in your chest. Taking a deep breath, you looked back over at him.

“Even if you can’t protect me, why would I leave you? If someone’s trying to kill you, I want to help. Even if it means getting hurt...even if it means dying. I can’t just leave.”

“I can’t be the reason something happens to you,” Liam protested.

“You wouldn’t be,” you pointed out. “If these people are coming after you, that’s them. Not you.”

He shook his head and you could tell he was trying to work something out inside his head. He was about to turn down the street to Scott’s neighborhood, but he hesitated for a moment. You were both supposed to be at a pack meeting, but now he was having second thoughts about bringing you.

“Maybe I should just take you home. I promise I’ll come and get you as soon as this is over,” he swore.

“I can’t just leave you.”

“You can,” he insisted, pulling up to the nearest curb. Scott’s house was still a few blocks away.

“If you want me to leave you, you’re gonna have to pick me up and carry me kicking and screaming out of town,” you told him stubbornly.

“Fine,” he said with a shrug. “Then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll throw you over my shoulder. I don’t care.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re not serious.”

“I am!” he shouted. “You don’t realize how much danger you’re in.”

“You’re Clark Kent, right?” you demanded. “What if I’m Lois Lane then? I don’t remember her ever running away.”

He opened his mouth to protest. This wasn’t a comic book. It was real life, and you could die. But as you stared at him defiantly, he realized you already knew that.

Asking you to leave him would have been like asking him to leave Scott and the others.

“Fine,” he said.

He put the car back into drive and pulled away from the curb. You drove in silence for a couple minutes, until he pulled into a driveway you presumed was Scott’s. There were several other cars out front. You recognized Stiles’ rickety, blue jeep right away, along with Lydia’s Martin’s Toyota and Scott’s motorcycle.

“Promise me you’ll just think about leaving?” he asked. “Just think about it.”

“Fine,” you told him.

Liam eyed you. “You’re lying.”

“So you can read minds now too?” you demanded.

“Your heart skips when you lie. I can hear it.”

He slammed the door behind him, but came around to open yours for you nonetheless. You could tell he was pissed at you for saying you wouldn’t leave, but he would do the exact same thing and you knew it.

As you followed Liam into the house, you saw a group of people clustered around the coffee table, examining a map. You recognized Scott, his mom, Malia, Lydia and two other men you didn’t know. One was tall with dark hair, and he was wearing a suit. There was an FBI badge hanging from his neck. The other was shorter, with piercing blue eyes.

“...no one can leave,” the taller one was saying. “Gerard’s distributed all of his weapons throughout Beacon Hills, to anyone who wants them.”

The shorter one looked grim. “He’s arming his army.”

You turned toward Liam, wanting to ask what they were talking about. Before they could, Lydia, who had been staring vacantly out the window, yelled “Get down!”

She pulled Mason to the floor just as two arrows flew through the glass windows at the front of the house, shattering them. A bright flash spread across the room, blinding you just after you saw Malia shove Scott down. Liam tackled you to the floor, covering his body with yours.

Gunfire echoed across the room, and you felt a sharp, stinging pain in your side. You cried out, and Liam pressed himself harder on top of you. You closed your eyes, terrified of what would happen next.

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. You glanced up, and saw the taller man, who you now realized bore a striking resemblance to Scott, stand up. He must have been his father, you realized, as he drew his weapon from a holster on his side.

Liam pushed himself up, but when he did, he realized there was blood soaking through his t-shirt. When he felt for a wound, he realized it wasn’t his blood, but yours.

You were lying below him, and a pool of dark, red blood was staining your right side, soaking into your shirt and your jeans.

“Liam, what happened?” you whispered. Your voice was soft and scared.

“No!” he shouted, looking around frantically for the others.

But Mason and Melissa were both unconscious on the floor, lying in their own pools of blood, which were slowly widening on the floor. Lydia was bleeding, but awake, and she was using a hand to prop herself up using the coffee table. Scott’s dad was groaning in pain, one hand holding pressure over his bloody arm.

Everyone was hurt. Everyone needed help.

When Liam looked back down at you, your eyes were closed. Your breathing was growing shallow, and he resisted the urge to scream. He reached down, frantically pressing both hands over your bleeding side.

“Scott!” he cried. “What do we do?”

The alpha, riddled with bullet holes himself, struggled to his feet.

“I don’t know.”

------

“You doing okay?”

Liam looked up at the sound of Scott’s voice. The older boy was looking down at him sympathetically, and Liam felt a twinge of annoyance.

“Not really.”

“Mind if I sit?” Scott asked.

“Sure,” Liam said, looking back down at the floor.

The flimsy chair next to him groaned as Scott sat down. He had two plastic-wrapped breakfast bagels in his hands, one of which he held out to Liam.

“No thanks.”

“Come on, you haven’t eaten since last night.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Okay.” He set the bagels on the side table next to them. “You know the nurse said she was awake. You don’t wanna go see her?”

Liam was silent. His mouth was pressed into a grim line.

“Liam,” Scott said softly. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”

“I brought her to your house,” he grumbled. “I was trying to get her to leave town, but she wouldn’t. So I agreed that I wouldn’t make her.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “God, I should have just dragged her out of town myself.”

“She’ll be okay,” Scott reminded him. “The bullet didn’t hit anything important.”

“Yeah, and it’s a miracle it didn’t. I could have gotten her killed, Scott.”

Scott reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Liam, look at me.”

Finally, he did. His blue eyes met Scott’s brown ones, and he felt himself tearing up, though he hated himself for it. He had forced himself not to cry all night, afraid that once he did, he would completely break down.

But now, as the tears slipped down his cheeks, he couldn’t stop them. “It’s my fault she got hurt, Scott. This is what I was afraid of, and it happened.”

“None of this is your fault.”

Scott leaned over and brought Liam into a tight hug. “Remember when I told you that sacrificing your happiness doesn’t always keep people safe?”

Liam nodded.

“You couldn’t have stopped this. Whoever was shooting at us was going to do it regardless. Who’s to say they wouldn’t have gone after her when you weren’t with her?”

“I could have made her leave town though.”

“No you couldn’t have. Making her leave you would have been like making you leave us. You never would have done it.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Scott smiled and pulled away from the younger boy. “I know I’m right. I’ve been doing this for a while, remember? I know you feel like you’re responsible, but you’re not. She made her choice, and it was the exact same one you would have made.”

Liam nodded.

“I think you’re perfect for each other, actually,” Scott continued. “You’re both stubborn as hell.”

“Yeah,” Liam said with a soft laugh. “We are.”

“Go see her. I’m sure you guys have a lot to talk about.”

Liam nodded and rose to his feet. “Thanks.”

Scott smiled in response, and Liam headed down the hall to your room. The nurse had given him the number a few hours ago, but he was afraid to visit you. He knew you wouldn’t be mad at him, but it was his own guilt he hadn’t been able to get past. Now he knew he couldn’t control what happened to you, and it wasn’t fair to punish you by staying away.

He knocked on the wooden door, and heard your soft voice say “Come in.”

When he pushed it open, you were lying there, propped up against the pillows. You smiled when he entered, and he felt relief rush through him. Even in a hospital gown, you still looked beautiful.

He strode forward and leaned in, wrapping his arms around you. You buried your face in his shoulder, hugging him back.

“I was worried you weren’t going to show,” you admitted.

Liam flushed. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if I should come.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” you told him. “I knew you’d feel like it was. That’s why I told Scott to go talk to you.”

He balked at you. “You...you told Scott to come talk to me?”

You nodded. “He came in to check on me once my parents left to eat. When you weren’t with him, I figured you’d be beating yourself up about it.”

Scott had been right. You really were perfect for each other.

“You’re still in this mess because of me.”

“Yeah, but I made the choice to stay. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You’re telling me you wouldn’t do the exact same thing?”

He sighed and lowered himself down into the chair next to your bed. “No, I would’ve.”

“Look, there’s something I need to tell you,” you admitted. “I could never have left you, Liam. I know you wanted me to go, but if I’m gonna die, I’d rather do it with you. I love you too much to run away.”

He reached out, placing his hand over yours. “It wasn’t like I wanted to be away from you. I just thought that you would be safer. I was afraid of...well, this.”

He gestured to you, lying in the hospital bed.

“Oh come on,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “I’m fine. Plus, I’m gonna have a kickass scar. It’ll be just like a video game.”

You reached down and pulled up your hospital gown, revealing the gauze over your side. “I’m gonna look like a total badass.”

Liam grinned. “You already are a total badass.”

You smiled up at him, and he felt his heart skip. Without hesitating any longer, he leaned in, cupping your face with his hands and pressing a soft kiss to your lips. Being gentle wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but your bottom lip was still busted from when Gabe had punched you.

“I love you,” he murmured, pulling back to look down at your face. “And whatever happens, I want you by my side.”

You nodded. “Me too.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, and you shifted to the other side of the hospital bed. You patted the space beside you.

“Are we allowed to do that?” he asked.

“I just got shot,” you complained. “I should be able to do whatever I want.”

Without another thought, Liam crawled up beside you. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you close so that your side was pressed against his. You snuggled into him, and for the first time in months, he felt like everything would be okay.

#teen wolf #teen wolf imagines #Teen Wolf Ships #liam dunbar #liam dunbar imagines #selfignitingimagines

153 notes · View notes

statticscribbles · 2 years

Text

Leopard

Summary: Liam Dunbar/Reader, one shot, Reader and Liam are dating, Liam finds out reader is a wereleopard

“He’d hate me, I know it!” You mumble and huff at your reflection. You sigh it was pointless to have this argument with yourself again. Liam knew you were supernatural in some way. He was a werewolf, he could practically smell it off you. You hadn’t told him anything and he never asked, despite you dating for five months. It was easy to use his werewolf shifting as an excuse to avoid each other around the full moon. You knew he’d never hurt you, and you hated lying to him. But you knew your form, a were leopard would cause concern.

Kate Argent was the only were-feline any of the pack members had any sort of contact with and you knew from the way Scott and Allison talked about it, that it wasn’t a good thing.

You’d managed to keep it hidden, no one had asked and you came to realize that the pack seemed to be much more relaxed about shifting than you thought, you’d expected them all to shift together, but it was more like whenever someone wanted to they would go off on their own, and barring them getting hurt, it was allowed as if they were just going out for a walk.

”Liam, noooo stoopppppp…” You laugh when he pounces on you and pins you to the floor.

“Come on Y/N, you’re the one who wanted to learn to fight! I can’t teach you anything if you don’t actually participate.” You know training so close to the full moon is pushing your limits, let alone Liam’s, you can see his eyes flashing in the right light, and he seems to be avoiding smiling with his teeth showing.

You know you’re probably changing as well, but your spots always seem to start on your back and then spread down your limbs. You’re thankful you’re wearing long sleeves and leggings for training. You know it won’t be long until it creeps up to the more visual spots on your skin. You chuckle a little and your own inner monologue and then sigh when Liam lets go from trying to tug you up.

“You finally get bored of trying to force me to fight?” “A little, plus we’re supposed to have a pack meeting.”

“Oh?” You nod standing up.

“No, only actual members, Derek’s trying to catch that werecat he’s convinced is running around Beacon Hills.”

“Haha, are y’all fighting like cats and dogs.” You’re trying not to let the panic creep in your voice.

“Y/N it’s nothing like that, Derek wants to bring her into the pack, he’s worried she’ll end up with the wrong crowd, he’s determined to go full after school special on her about the dangers of the supernatural world… Which is kind of ironic considering we’re all part of it, but that’s not my call.”

“I thought you were with Scott and his group?”

“Well all merged, usually do when there are threats. It just makes life easier for everyone, and makes sure we don’t die. Not that this mission is anything serious! It’s okay Y/N, don’t freak out, I can hear your heartbeat speeding up!”

”Scott I don’t think… FUCK!” Liam jerks backwards and you try not to move, you can hear his heart pounding and you almost want to joke about it, but instead you just swallow and wait for the rest of the team.

“Okay so some sort of werejaguar? Like Kate?”

“Those look like leopard spots.” Scott tilts his head and you nod a little.

“Oh you can understand us! Great! My name is Scott McCall and-”

“I Know Scott, I was wondering if I could talk to Liam, privately…”

“Holy fuck, yeah, course Y/N…” Scott nods and Liam steps forward both of you stepping closer to the other edge of the street.

“You didn’t tell any of us!”

“I couldn’t! You were always talking about how awful and cruel Kate was!”

“Cause she’s a fucking ARGENT!!!! No offense Allison, but seriously!!!! She’s psycho!!!!”

“And?”

“You’re my girlfriend! Everyone here knows you’re not crazy!!!”

“But I’m…”

“Yeah you’re a werecat, uh leopard? Jaguar?” He offers and you shrug a little, you were never sure what the doctors had made you from, just that they had said big cat anytime they asked. Liam grins, clearly pleased that you’re not hiding anything else from him.

“So about our date tomorrow, rain check?” He grins exposing his fangs and you do the same; finally able to show him the real you.

Support My Writing?

#liam dunbar #liam dunbar x reader #liam dunbar reader insert #liam dunbar x you #liam dunbar x y/n #teen wolf #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf request #teen wolf reader insert #teen wolf headcanons #written #stattic

90 notes · View notes

endgametike · 3 years

Text

Deja vu

Liam Dunbar x reader

Y/n- your name

Y/m/n- your middle name

“She’s real !” Liam insisted “I know she is, it wasn’t a dream, okay ? She felt real...”

“Liam, I think I would know if I had a sister.”

“Exactly, I think I would know if Scott had a sister. Besides, you can’t even give us a name.” Stiles added

“okay, I might not know her name....yet. But I promise you guys, she exists. And I’m gonna prove it to you.” Liam walked away frustrated. He knew you were real, he felt it. But he couldn’t remember your face, your name, anything about you. It was driving him crazy.

“Y/n! That’s her name.”

“Who’s name, Liam?”

“Your sister ! I remember her name. It’s Y/n. We need to find her. Scott, I think I loved her...”

“I believe you.” To everyone’s surprise, it was Derek who spoke. “I found a drawing in my bedroom... none of you can draw. It was signed y/n/f/l.” Scott nodded.

“Liam, you’re going to travel through your mind.” Lydia said, looking at the beta.

“So, how exactly does this work?” Malia questioned.

“Liam just needs to follow every step I say.” Lydia said, preparing everything she needed to use.

“Are you sure it is going to work?”

“No. But that’s our best chance.”

“As you relaxe, imagine you’re sitting in front of a Tv”

Liam looked around, as he recognized the place. He was at the school. Lydia continued guiding him through the process . Some memories of you and him started playing. He walked out off the classroom, walking to his locker. As he opened it, he started remembering you.

“Liam, right ? I’m y/n McCall, I’m so sorry about my brother. But what he did yesterday, he was just protecting you.”

“He kidnapped me and now he says I’m his brother or something. I think your brother is crazy.”

You chuckled. “That’s debatable. Tonight is a full moon, just be careful.”

Suddenly that memory became a blur and turned into another.

“Liam calm down, you can do it.”

Liam roared at you as you stepped back.

“Liam, you’re a good person. Focus on that. Damn it, focus on my voice. I know you don’t wanna hurt me.

Liam transformed back into his human form, crying.

“Did I- did I hurt you?” Liam asked, looking at the floor, while tears fell down his face.

“You didn’t Liam! You fought it. I’m so proud of you...” Liam hugged you while you told him it was going to be alright.

“hey, can we speak in private ?”

“sure.” Liam lead you to an empty classroom. “So...I wanted to ask you something. And you can say no, obviously. It’s your choice. I just feel like we are connected somehow and I wonder if you would like to go on a date with me? Again, you don’t have to accept, I get it if you don’t want to. It was a stupid idea and”

“Liam.” You interrupted him “I would love to go on a date with you.”

“Oh great. Awesome. Perfect. Huh, 9 pm?”

“Make it 8.” You smiled and kissed Liam on the cheek.

“It was a great date Liam. And thank you for bringing me home.”

“Of course. We should do it again.”

“Definitely.” You smiled.

“So, bye I guess.” Liam started walking away back to his car.

“Liam wait! Are you seriously gonna leave without kissing me?”

“Oh god, I was hoping you’d say that.” Liam turned around and ran to you, kissing you.

“I’ll go get it Scott!” You went downstairs and opened the door. “Liam hey! What are you doing here at 7 pm? With flowers? And chocolates? Scott’s birthday is only 4 weeks from now.”

“I- actually- these are for you. But I need to talk to Scott first.” Liam came in and and called Scott. Scott walked downstairs to where you were.

“Liam, what are you doing here? With flowers and chocolates ? I told you my birthday is only in a month.”

“Yea, that’s not why I’m here. Here goes nothing. I wanna date your sister.” Scott looked confused at Liam. “I mean... I like your sister. She’s such a good person, she’s beautiful and smart and an absolute badass. I love being around her and I wanna protect her from everything bad on the world. I want her to be my girlfriend, I wanna be able to walk hand in hand with her on the street. I wanna cuddle her and see movies with her. I’m asking for your permission...” Liam looked at Scott with hope in his eyes.

“Alright buddy, but treat her well or else I’ll kill you.”

Liam laughed but then looked at Scott who didn’t look like he was joking. “Oh, you weren’t kidding.” Liam then looked at you and kissed you.

“Liam I think you’re forgetting something...”

“No, I’m pretty sure I remembered everything I wanted to say.”

You laughed. “You forgot to ask me if I wanted to date you.”

“Oh of course. Y/n Y/m/n McCall, do you wanna be my girlfriend?”

“No.” You said simply, trying not to laugh.

“No? Well this is embarrassing, I guess I’m gonna go then...”

“Liam. I’m kidding. Nothing would make me more happy than to be your girlfriend.” You kissed Liam.

“Ok, I think that’s enough. Save that for when I’m not in the same room as you.”

“Of course. I should go, but I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” Liam kissed your cheek and started leaving.

“Liam ! Leave the flowers and the chocolates!”

“hey y/n, are you ready for the ga-“

“What? Do I have something on my face ?”

“No, it’s just, you’re wearing my shirt.”

“Oh yea, I thought you’d like me using it for the game, to support you. But I can wear something mine, if it bothers you...”

“No, no, I absolutely love it. You look gorgeous.” Liam kissed you and you fell on the bed, laughing.

“We’re gonna be late!”

“I don’t care.” Liam kissed you again smiling.

“Liam, I can see them. They’re here, they’re gonna take me.”

“Only if I let them.”

“Liam, there’s nothing you can do. You have to let me go.”

“I’m not leaving you! Stay behind me. Where are they?”

“Liam you need to go!”

“I said I’m not leaving you, it’s not up for discussion.”

“Liam, I love you. I love you so much. You made me the happiest girl in the world this past few year. And I’m so proud of the person you’ve become.”

“No! Y/n, this isn’t a goodbye.”

“It’s a see you later. Remember me Liam. Remember how I much I love you and how much I know you love me.” You got taken away by the ghost riders, leaving Liam alone with tears falling from his eyes.

“I love you too.”

Liam came back to reality. “I didn’t love her.”

“What ? What do you mean Liam?”

“I didn’t love your sister... I was in love with her. We have to get her back. Now! We need to do something, we can’t just leave her there! Why are you all just standing there? Do something ! She needs us! She needs her friends, she needs her brother, she needs me! She’s counting on me and I- I forgot her. I forgot her... How did I forgot her? Please don’t let me forget her again!” Scott hugged Liam.

“Liam, we didn’t tell you because we didn’t want to get your hopes up, but when you were remembering Y/n, some kind of portal opened up and we saw her...but it closed straight up after it opened. So, we think that if more people remember her, then the portal might be open long enough for her to pass through it and come back. We think this might help us, Malia, Mason and Liam are distracting the ghost riders while we do this. We don’t have much time. We’ll start with me and we’ll use Scott as a last resort. We need him strong if we need to fight the ghost riders.”

“Let’s do it.”

After Lydia tried nothing happened, she remembered you, but not enough. Then it was Stiles’ turn.

“Still nothing.” Liam said. “It won’t work.”

“It’s my turn now. Don’t take me out until the portal opens.”

“What if it doesn’t open at all?”

“It will.”

“Guys, Scott is staring to freeze, we need to get him out of there.”

“No! The portal hasn’t opened yet!”

“Liam, he’s gonna die !”

“I said no!” Liam roared at Lydia.

“Guys, look ! It is working. Scott just needs to hold on a little more! C’mon buddy.” After a minute you were finally able to walk through the portal. Liam ran to you and kissed you, while Lydia and Stiles helped Scott.

“You remembered me!”

“I should have remembered you way sooner. I’m so sorry. I’m never letting you go again. I love you.”

“Y/n ?” Scott ran to you and embraced you tightly in a hug.

“Scott ! I missed you so much! Are you an idiot! You could have died inside that thing!”

“I would gladly die if it meant bringing you home.”

You hugged Stiles and Lydia.

“Guys, not to ruin the moment but the ghost riders are here. We held them back as long as we could.” Malia said as she entered the room.

“Let’s fight then.” You said.

“Hm not you. You’re gonna hide and rest.” Scott said.

“I’m with Scott one this one.” Liam agreed with him.

“It’s so cute you actually think I’m going to hide.”

“Yup, that’s definitely the girl I fell in love with.”

#liam dunbar #liam dunbar x reader #liam dunbar x y/n #teen wolf #teen wolf x you #teen wolf x y/n #scott mccall #stiles x lydia #fanfic #theo raeken #lydia martin #liam dunbar imagine #dylan sprayberry

234 notes · View notes

blouisparadise · 3 years

Photo

Upon request, here is a rec list of fics where Louis or Harry are obvlious, often to each others’ feelings. We hope you enjoy these amazing fics! If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog to spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Signed, No Name | Mature | 4647 words

Harry doesn’t know Blue, he just knows that he leaves random notes in the corners of the books he checks out, and he’s head over heels for him.

2) Have A Little Bit Of Pride | Mature | 5906 words

Harry is Louis' really hot boyfriend who keeps getting flirted with at pride, so Louis confronts Harry. Sex ensues.

3) If I Was Your Vampire | Not Rated | 6890 words

His neck was exposed, and it was pretty clear Louis was waiting for Harry to claim the naked skin as his.

When there was no reaction, however, Louis opened his eyes and looked up at Harry from a somewhat awkward angle. The wide, downright hungry stare he was receiving from Harry who seemed like he was in an entire other universe kind of scared him, and when he didn’t see Harry blink for several following seconds but his tongue continued to wet his lips, Louis, now growing afraid, asked, “Harry? Are – are you okay?”

4) I'm At Your Mercy Now (And I'm Ready To Begin) | Teen & Up | 10552 words

Louis' soulmark was leaked, Harry keeps his private. They're both famous popstars. Louis is waiting for his soulmate, Harry has a feeling it's him but Louis is completely oblivious.

5) What's Stopping You? | Mature | 14511 words

The one where Harry wants to get over his crush on Louis, so he makes a Grindr account to find someone new. Of course, Louis messages him, not realizing H's real identity. It only takes a few days for them to figure it out.

6) The Future Is Now | Explicit | 16281 words

Louis has a great life, really, he does. He studies hard, has great friends, a boring but decent job at the carnival, and of course, he has Harry, the best flatmate anyone could ask for. All that’s missing is someone to love. But when a strange new fortune-telling machine appears at the carnival, Louis’ life takes an unexpected turn. Could this be his chance to finally find love and will it be where he least expects it?

7) Practice In Pencil, Seal It In Pen | Explicit | 16486 words

Harry is in love with Louis but he doesn’t know.

8) Oblivious | Explicit | 19095 words

Where Louis gets a little crush on Luke and for some reason Harry starts acting weird.

9) Runnin' Like You Did | Explicit | 20061 words

A college AU where Louis knows how to hold a grudge and is definitely not in love with Harry Styles.

10) The Dream That You Wish | Explicit | 21543 words

Disneyland!AU where the park's Peter Pan is rumoured to be fooling around with Prince Charming in the castle. There's also Baymax desperately trying to capture the heart of Pooh Bear while shift manager boyfriends Niall and Shawn are tired of watching it all go down in the happiest place on Earth.

11) Listen To Your Heart | Explicit | 35019 words

Louis has always been comfortable being Harry’s one and only. When Harry starts to branch out, Louis has a hard time letting him go.

Harry is very lucky to have someone who listens to what he has to say, despite the fact that he’s deaf. He’s finally feeling like he’s coming into himself, but Louis seems bothered by his newfound confidence.

12) The Sidelines | Explicit | 47078 words

Harry and Louis play hockey for Penn state and can't stand one another, since they can't keep their hatred off the ice their coach and team do what they can to keep their hard earned spot in the playoffs and their two star players from killing each other.

13) The Way You Make Me Feel | Explicit | 47353 words

The one where Louis is forced to go to Jazzercise, and Harry is the hot, English instructor.

14) A Silent Whisper (That’s Left Unsaid) | Explicit | 50842 words

A Fake Relationship & Exes to Lovers AU ft a failed proposal ten years ago, an oblivious Harry, an overworked Louis, Zayn as the protective best friend, a meddling aunt and a lot of talks about weddings and rings.

15) Never Let Me Go | Explicit | 55949 words

Harry and Louis have been friends forever, but they couldn't be more different. One night, with a little too much alcohol, they make a pact to marry in ten years if they're both still single.

Now, one month before the deadline, Louis is willing to do whatever it takes to avoid ending up with his best friend. But is he, really?

16) Quite On The Contrary | Explicit | 63818 words

Neighbors x High School AU where it all started with Harry moving next door to the Tomlinsons, a balcony break in, mixed feelings, a poorly thought-out initiation, several missing sweaters and a lot of non-platonic activities.

17) You're Supposed To Be Smart. | Teen & Up | 83318 words

Louis is an oblivious idiot who gets high scores in exam and will probably graduate with flying colors and Harry Styles is a right idiot who swore to always protect Louis but can't ask him out on a date.

18) Don't Let It (Me) Break | Explicit | 168580 words

The one where Harry is oblivious, Louis is broken, Zayn and Liam are in love, Gemma and Lottie are lovely, and Niall is just waiting for everyone to get their shit together.

And it's all Malcolm's fault.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#bottom louis #top harry #larry #oblivious louis #oblivious harry #blp #blp fic recs

185 notes · View notes

gaawachan · 3 years

Text

Discord Convo: Yasha, Essek, Culture, Shadowgast Ramblings

Me: Man I wish Essek and Yasha could have - nvm I'll finish that thought later.

Sibling: I KNOW. I ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY AND I WISH YASHA HAD BEEN MORE PRESENT IN THE STORY

Me: Stop doing the hive mind thing. it's invasive. i feel violated.

Sibling: I can't help it.

Me: But yeah Essek and Yasha. I find it very interesting because there's actually a lot of crossover in their temperaments, but in terms of physical presentation, they couldn't be more different. They both came from completely different sub-cultures in Xhorhas, and it's like... that temperament among the Rosohna Drow. It makes me think that they learned how to like... Okay hang on this is hard to put into words... Right so from a meta perspective, it reads like Matt took Yasha's basic temperament and applied it to other people of Xhorhas. Like Yasha was a broader expression of typical mannerisms of Xhorhas (except that Yasha was no longer bound by the modesty of the cultures there, and having been exposed to Molly, was freer with her sexuality after it was stifled in the Wastes in her youth). Right? So with that thought in mind, look at Essek. Essek doesn't have the same trauma Yasha has so he doesn't have the same sort of dysfunctions, but when you first meet Yasha, she does display a casual arrogance/confidence about her power, and Essek has the temperament, but what he lacks is the freedom from modesty. He's extremely withdrawn.

Sibling: Are you saying he's going to become an e-boy? Because there's no promises that under that cloak, he isn't already one lmaoooo

Me: Well, I think it's interesting because this is actually one underrated area where I think Caleb would actually be really good for him and vice versa. It also says a lot about the odd intersections of culture in Xhorhas, because in old drow society, sex was uh... you know, let's not go into that.

Sibling: Just all of the nasty tags from AO3

Me: but my point is that it makes sense that the Kryn dynasty would be heavily influenced by and adopt a lot of the mannerisms and cultural relations from the people of Xhorhas because... they would be trying to distance themselves from the violence of their past by integrating stuff from the cultures they colonized. It makes sense that maybe the nomads of the wastes would impact their mannerisms and dynamics, though you can see echos of old drow culture in the dynasty, of course, with the dens and all.

Sibling: They're doing what the pirates from Wind Waker did once they found New Hyrule lol. "Yes, oh yes. We love technology"

Me: Yeah. So anyway, Yasha and Essek would have been interesting to have more interactions with.

Sibling: I mean, both are good characters? They just didn't have a lot of screentime, and it didn't really seem like Ashley was super interested in exploring her past. It doesn't help that Yasha was essentially silent for all major character interactions lol.

Me: They are both socially awkward, with casual confidence in their skills, and somewhat similar mannerisms, but Essek is very modest but manipulative, and Yasha is very upfront/blunt, and both of them have the guilt thing going on. Going back to Essek and Caleb. I think that their immediate positive effects on each other are obvious, but on this topic specifically... Caleb's only ever hesitant with his affection because of his trauma, really. You get the distinct impression that he used to be a lot more touchy feely (just look at his early game dynamic with Nott), and while he is usually very polite, he has no problem with being blunt about his sexuality when he thinks he can get away with it. At the same time, Caleb's history with sex and relationships is really twisted and complicated, so he needs a partner who is respectful of boundaries and willing to check what is going on at any given time. In other words, he needs someone who is not like Molly (no offense to widomauk shippers).

Sibling: I mean, that was the primary problem with Molly. They had no sense of boundaries and that was good for someone like Yasha. Not so much for people with trauma related to lack of boundaries.

Me: (text dump) No, Molly DID have a sense of boundaries; they deliberately crossed them in order to make people uncomfortable. THAT was my biggest problem with Molly. Molly knew exactly what they were doing. Taliesin said as much. It's why I never shipped widomauk, because it’s yet another relationship where casual disregard for Caleb's comfort is present. It's why if I had shipped Caleb with anyone other than Essek, it would have been Fjord or Caduceus (but he's a disinterested ace and I respect that) or Yasha (but she's gay and I respect that) simply because they were clearly the ones who appeared most cognizant of Caleb's social comfort levels and such (so basically widofjord is what I'm saying, lol). This isn’t a widomauk hate thing; it’s just not to my taste because I relate too much to hating having my personal boundaries deliberately treated with disrespect. That's going off on a tangent, though.

Essek, in contrast, needs someone who he can let his hair down with comfortably. Essek seems to only really feel that way around Caleb and Jester. Caleb's the only one Essek really initiates touch with. Caleb's the one who gets Essek to swear for the first time, like Caleb swearing gave Essek permission to do the same just for the hell of it. Caleb and Jester, more than the others, made it clear that he's allowed to be goofy when he's with them. The two of them joking around with Immovable Object (and Caleb openly participating in that clownery with Seeming and such when he and Essek have so much in common) makes Essek feel comfortable with exploring not having a stick up his ass 24/7, which is exactly what a clearly extremely repressed person like Essek could benefit from in a partner, a person who he can relax around and vent with, because he's very obviously never had that before, or at least not consistently. And how did he get to that point?

It's from a thing about Caleb that is extremely underrated. Caleb, be it from his natural personality or that coupled with his training, knows the value of being openly vulnerable. It's very clearly NOT something that Trent specifically taught him. Caleb recognizes that the best way to manipulate people is to be sweet and earnest and awkward and TRUTHFUL about his beliefs and vulnerabilities, but this pays off in ways unintended. Caleb expects it to just be transactional, but people end up genuinely forming bonds with him because of it, and what's more, that he does that with such regularity results in other people responding in kind (which is the goal). Someone as reserved as Essek could only stand to be vulnerable BECAUSE Caleb made HIMSELF vulnerable first. I think the best thing Liam ever did for Shadowgast was make it clear that everything he said to Essek may have been manipulative... but every word of it was also true, because Essek is clever enough to recognize that honesty.

The most underrated line in Essek's growth as a person doesn't even come from Essek, and it doesn't come from Caleb talking to Essek. I think people forget about this, but during the final conversation with the scourger, which Essek was present for... the scourger asks Caleb why he's bothering with her. And Caleb says (paraphrasing) "I think that I hoped if I could see one hint of change from you, I could believe that we aren't both damned." Imagine being Essek and hearing that. It recontextualizes everything about Essek's growth. The rapid change between the boat scene and Aeor isn't just because Essek wants to be a better person. It's because he wants to prove to Caleb that Caleb isn't damned, because no one has ever done that for Caleb. Caleb is so obviously drowning in his past during the Aeor arc. That sort of hope is something he desperately needed. It's one of the few things about the Aeor arc that isn't botched by the rush to end the series; Essek's consistent determination to be a positive influence on Caleb, for Caleb, was gold from start to finish. Remember too that by the time of the boat scene, Caleb had already met with Astrid and had that disheartening conversation. Essek's efforts to become a better person feel like he's trying to almost unknowingly undo the damage that the recent interactions with Astrid and Trent had done to Caleb's psyche.

... tldr, Caleb is going to teach Essek how to be a manslut... in private... jk but not really.

Sibling: I SAID THAT EBOY ESSEK LOL! Ugh... that final epilogue screwing over my favorite MLM ship... It's not canon. They went and made their own school, and lived forever in disguises to keep the scourgers coming after them.

*That was the end of this part of the conversation. On reflection, I ought to have noted that Essek’s modesty might not be so much a cultural thing as it is an “Essek trying to keep people away from him like a prickly porcupine” thing, but you never know. If it is cultural, that may be the result of the dynasty trying to distance themselves to the practices of those who worship Lolth, but I don’t know that Exandria lore has ever said anything about this? And if it is a cultural thing, is it limited to the nobility, like Essek? One could also argue that the cultural practices of Yasha’s people, with the arranged marriages and such, may have influenced the dynasty’s own cultural formation, but I feel like I didn’t make that clear enough? Anyway, that’s why it’s a ramble.

#critical role #critrole #critical role spoilers #critrole spoilers #shadowgast #essek thelyss #yasha nydoorin #caleb widogast

36 notes · View notes

callivich · 3 years

Text

A sort of sequel, that nobody asked for, to my headcanon about Lip walking in on Ian and Mickey. Adults only please!

Lip woke with a start, flushed and sweating, his dick hard. “Shit.” He ran his hand through his hair, his mind racing due to the very vivid dream he had just had. Tami was asleep beside him, but she didn’t stir. He slipped out of bed and crept to the bathroom.

As he stood in the shower, he tried to calm down. What the fuck was that dream?! He couldn’t stop replaying it - he’d been fucking Mickey. Mickey. Not just that, but in the dream it felt good. Hot. In it he could see Mickey underneath him, could hear him moaning, could feel the build up to - he shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the dream. His dick seemed to have other ideas though, and he knew he needed to take care of that.

He thought of Tami, beautiful, sexy, Tami. Yes, he thought, as he began to stroke, Tami. But as he was about to come, his traitorous brain suddenly shifted back to the dream and those vivid images of Mickey, and then it was too late and he’d....oh fuck, Lip thought. Jacking off to Mickey Milkovich was not how he wanted to start the day, or any day as a matter of fact. Especially when they had a family dinner that night and Lip would have to see Mickey in person. Fuck.

———

Logically, Lip knew that the dream was just some fucked up, random thing that he happened to dream about because he accidentally walked in on Mickey and Ian the other day. He knew he wasn’t secretly lusting after Mickey. He knew that. But, still, he felt so weird. And he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He was dreading this dinner.

Everyone was in the kitchen when they made their way into the house, Tami carrying Freddie. She immediately launched into a conversation with Debbie, leaving Lip hovering by the counter, alone with his thoughts. Ian greeted Lip with a casual hello, before quickly making his way over to Tami and Freddie, eager for a hug with the baby.

Lip glanced around, relaxing a bit in the usual Gallagher chaos. Liam and Sandy stood by the stove, stirring various things, as Liam related some story about school. The weird feeling Lip had been experiencing all day was fading.

At least it was until someone appeared next to him, slouching against the counter. Mickey. He muttered a brief ‘hey’ as he scrolled through his phone. Lip just nodded, despite the fact Mickey wasn’t looking at him. The weird feeling returned in full force.

“You want a drink?” Ian asked, thankfully interrupting Lip’s thoughts which were rapidly returning to that dream.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Lip accepted the can of Coke from his brother, opening it to take a sip.

“Mick? Beer?” Ian held a can out to his husband.

“Fuck yes.” Mickey grinned happily. Lip choked slightly on his coke, moving quickly away from Mickey, feeling his face flush. That ‘fuck yes’ had sounded kinda similar to the ‘fuck yes’ that Mickey had moaned in his dream. Not exactly the same, not as sensual, but close enough that Lip’s mind immediately went back to that image of Mickey from his dream - his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open, a sheen of sweat on his chest.

“You alright?” Ian asked, frowning, his voice pulling Lip back to reality.

“Uh-huh. Going for a smoke.” Lip hurried out of the kitchen and on to the back porch, lighting up as he sat on one of the steps.

Apparently dinner wasn’t even close to being ready as he managed to sit outside by himself for around 15 minutes, smoking and trying to focus on anything that wasn’t Mickey fucking Milkovich.

“You gonna tell me what’s wrong?” Ian questioned, sitting down next to Lip. He hadn’t even heard him come out.

“Tired.”

“Sure that’s all it is?” Ian was using that gentle tone that he usually reserved for the kids. “You don’t....uh...want a drink do you?”

“No.” Lip shook his head. Fuck, he didn’t want Ian to worry. And he knew if he didn’t tell him something, he’d be getting looks from him for the rest of the evening. “You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone. Especially Mickey. Promise.”

“You’re kinda freaking me out here, are you in trouble?”

“No. It’s just embarrassing. Ok? So, promise.”

Ian rolled his eyes, “I promise.”

Lip took another drag of his cigarette, but stayed silent, prompting Ian to nudge him with his elbow, “You gonna tell me or do I have to guess?”

“I had a dream.” Lip sighed heavily. “About Mickey.”

Ian looked at him blankly, “So?”

Jesus, he didn’t want to actually say it. “A...y’know....dream.” He emphasised the word and raised his eyebrows.

Ian looked confused for a second, but then his eyes widened. “A sex dream?!” And now Lip wished he had said it because it sounded ten times worse when Ian did.

“Keep your fucking voice down.” He glanced over his shoulder, relieved to see there was no-one near the door.

“Sorry, I just...” Ian grabbed Lip’s cigarette and took a drag. He handed it back and Lip could tell he was desperately trying to keep a straight face. “You really dreamt about Mickey?”

“Yeah.” Lip’s face felt like it was on fire.

“What happened? We’re you fucking....or....?”

Lip cleared his throat, and looked away from Ian. “Yup. Yeah. I was.....and he was underneath me and we were....”

“Jesus.” Ian had given up any attempt to be serious and had a stupid smirk on his face. “And now you feel weird.”

“Yes. Fuck.” Lip groaned. “I swear to god, Ian, if you tell him....”

“He is my husband, I don’t think I should keep secrets from him.”

“Ian!”

“Calm down, I’m not gonna tell him. I’m just fucking with you. Although, you’d probably prefer it if Mickey was fucking with you....”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Ian laughed. “So, how long have you had the hots for Mickey?”

“I don’t.” Lip gave his brother a not-so-light punch on the shoulder. “It probably only happened because I walked in on you guys the other day. I’m not attracted to him.”

“Whatever you say.” Ian teased. “What set you off in the kitchen?”

Lip sighed, “We’re done with this conversation.”

“Come on, tell me.”

He rolled his eyes, “When he said ‘fuck yes’ to that beer. I dunno, it just reminded me of the dream.”

And....there was the laughter again. Lip didn’t know if Ian was going to be able to make it through dinner at this rate.

“Should....should I be jealous?” Ian asked, his voice teasing. “I mean, sort of sounds like Mickey was having a very good time.”

“I hate you.”

“I know. It’s Mickey you love.”

Lip waved his hand, “Ok. Ok, get all the jokes out. I don’t want you giggling like an idiot in there and everyone getting suspicious.”

“I think...I’m done, but if I think of anymore, I will let you know.”

It was then that Debbie shouted from the kitchen that dinner was ready, and there was the usual mad scramble as everyone went to sit down. Lip found himself standing next to the last available chair, next to Mickey. He grimaced, accidentally catching Ian’s eye. Apparently, this was hilarious to Ian, who attempted, but failed, to turn his laughter into a cough. Thankfully, everyone was so hungry that they ignored Ian’s strange behaviour. Dinner was awkward, and Lip had never been so glad to go home. He dreaded going to sleep that night, but there were no more sexy dreams, just blissful sleep. After a few days, the weirdness had gone and he no longer felt awkward around Mickey. Whether Ian would ever stop teasing him in private about it was another matter. Lip was just grateful he’d managed to keep his mouth shut.

#gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #lip gallagher #shameless #headcanon #as always please feel free to continue this or share other headcanons!#I know there’s other headcanon requests people have sent #I haven’t forgotten them #as soon as I feel inspired I’ll do them

114 notes · View notes

ao719 · 3 years

Text

Walked Through Hell

Characters belong to Pixelberry

A/N: This was a request from @emkay512 to see Liam and Charlotte’s year apart from Liam’s POV. Thank you to @dccbw, @the-soot-sprite, and @burnsoslow for reading in part and whole. This is part of my Full Disclosure series.

Title Inspiration: Walked Through Hell - Anson Seabra

Warnings: Lots of angst, language, alcohol use.

•One Month•

When his bedroom curtains are ripped open, bright sunlight fills the King’s usually dark chambers; it startles him awake, causing him to let out a growl of disapproval. “What the hell are you doing? Close the goddamn curtains!” Liam barks as he turns onto his stomach and pulls the covers over his head. He’s unsure who he’s even speaking to; if it’s staff, they can kiss their job goodbye.

“Get up,” a familiar voice says firmly.

Liam squints his eyes as he slowly peels the blanket away from his face; blinded by the bright light, he can only make out a silhouette standing in front of the window. “Seriously, Leo, what the hell?”

“I know you want to sleep off that hangover for a few more hours, especially since it’s your day off, but you need to get up. You’re having breakfast with me.”

“I do not want to get up, nor do I want to have breakfast. Get out.” Liam curls his arms around his pillow and buries his face into it. Leo grabs the blanket and gives it a hard yank, tearing it off his brother. “Leo!”

“I said, get up,” Leo says calmly. “I’ll give you five minutes to meet me on the terrace. Otherwise, I’ll come back in here and drag your ass out there myself.”

Liam rolls to his back and tenses his jaw; he presses his thumb and forefinger into his eyes as he listens to Leo’s footsteps fade from his room. His arms then flop onto the mattress, and he lets out a slow breath, struggling to keep his eyes open. He begrudgingly sits up on the edge of the bed, feeling the effects of the bottle he had consumed the night before.

Liam staggers his way from his bedroom to the terrace; Leo glances at the King, taking in his brother’s appearance. Liam’s hair is tousled, he has bags under his slightly bloodshot eyes, and seeing him shirtless in a pair of sweatpants, Leo can tell that he’s lost a bit of weight.

“You smell like a distillery,” Leo scoffs as he hands Liam a cup of coffee. Liam doesn’t respond but accepts the mug as he sits down. There’s a breakfast platter on the table with eggs, bacon, fruit, and bread with apple butter.

Liam pushes the empty plate in front of him out of his way as he stares at the palace grounds. “So what do I owe the pleasure of this unwelcome wake-up call?”

“I wanted to check in on you, see how you were doing … but I can see just fine. Clearly, not well,” Leo responds as he looks him up and down.

“I’m fine.” Liam takes a sip of the hot coffee, hoping it will diminish the pounding in his head. He knows why Leo came. “Let me guess, Regina called you.”

“She’s worried about you, Liam. And so is father.”

“Again, I’m fine.”

“They said you haven’t been the same since you returned from New York last month.”

“Don’t talk to me about New York,” Liam spits out. “And their worry stems from there not being a wedding yet. Nothing more.”

“I don’t think lack of a wedding has everything to do with it. I mean, look at you,” Leo says, flinging his arm out towards him. “You look like hell, Liam. The press will start asking questions about why you haven’t been seen in public in a month and why you haven’t set a date for the wedding since your return from the Engagement Tour. You’re slacking in the duty and responsibility department.”

Liam’s already heard enough; he pushes his chair back from the table and stands. “You’re the last person I should hear anything about duty and responsibility from, big brother. The whole reason I’m even in this position is because of you and your own slacking. I don’t need anyone to check up on me. I’m fine. You can see yourself out.” Without another word, Liam turns and walks back inside.

It’s been a month since Liam said goodbye to Charlotte. He left New York to fly home the morning after she walked away from him, leaving her and the future they had once planned behind.

Liam was able to push back setting a wedding date with Madeleine once he returned to Cordonia due to Constantine’s treatments; they started to get the better of him and appeared to be doing more harm than good. For the last month, the King Father was in and out of the hospital. Liam used his father’s diagnosis to his advantage to halt any wedding plans and to stay out of the public spotlight.

Last week, however, to everyone’s surprise, including his doctors, Constantine began responding positively to the treatments. Liam felt another wave of guilt when his first thought was that he wouldn’t be able to stall setting a wedding date much longer. Although Constantine was the entire reason Liam was in this predicament in the first place, he was still his father.

Over the past month, Liam has found comfort in being alone. He’s avoided seeing anyone and everyone, including his closest friends: Drake, Maxwell, and Olivia. The only person he saw daily was Bastien until he dismissed him from his detail two weeks ago. Liam found it hard to see him and not think about Charlotte and the role he played in setting her up. He found it hard not to question the what-ifs, feeling as though all of this could have been avoided had Bastien just told him the truth. Now Bastien was stuck on paperwork duty until further notice.

In the last month, Liam has also found comfort in the bottle; it has been the only thing that numbs the pain. It doesn’t help take his mind off of Charlotte, though; she’s all he thinks about, all of the time. He constantly wonders what she’s doing. He wonders how she is and hopes like hell that she’s nowhere near as miserable as he is, because he wants her to be happy.

He needs her to be happy, because if she’s not, then their goodbye was for nothing. He thinks about calling her; every night for the past month he’s had to talk himself out of it. He keeps telling himself that it won’t help matters for either of them.

Liam spends his day off hidden in his quarters, assuring that he’s left alone. And that night, a bottle of scotch sits on his coffee table; he holds a half-finished glass in one hand as he stares at his phone, contemplating making that call.

———————

•Two Months•

“I don’t understand why you think Regina needs company on this duchy tour,” Madeleine spits out. She’s staring at Liam, who stands on the balcony off of the main dining hall; he’s on his fourth glass of scotch since dinner.

“Do you not think you need the experience touring the duchies with the Queen Mother, Madeleine? Is that somehow beneath you?” he scoffs.

“I think we both know I don’t need the experience, Liam! I’ve been groomed my whole life for this goddamn role. Hell, I was engaged to your brother for three months before the abdication. I’ve done all of this already!”

“I don’t care how much you’ve been groomed. I think you should go.” Liam doesn’t even look at her when he responds; he stares into his glass as he drains the last of the amber liquid, and the only thing on his mind is a refill.

“It’s a month-long tour, Liam!” He knows this. “We have other things we could be doing in that time, like, I don’t know, finally setting our wedding date!” And that’s why he’s sending her: to buy himself more time. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is for me when the press asks about a date, and I have absolutely nothing to give them for an answer?”

“Your King is telling you to go on the tour, Madeleine.” With that, Liam turns and walks back inside, ignoring Madeleine’s huff; he refills his glass at the bar cart before heading up to his quarters.

Liam walks down the corridors, finishing glass number five before he reaches his quarters. Now that he’s alone with his thoughts, his mind is on two things: another refill and Charlotte. Once inside his quarters, he gets another drink before heading to his bedroom.

Three weeks ago, Liam made his first public appearance since arriving back from the Engagement Tour; he attended the opening ceremony of a new school with Regina. His appearance was brief; he gave a statement and answered none of the questions, most of which swirled around the wedding date.

The Cordonian people are anxious for a royal wedding, but their King is in a downward spiral. And he knows he is. He simply doesn’t care; he has neither the energy nor the heart to.

Even two months after their goodbye, Charlotte is still on Liam’s mind, more so now than she was before. He thought time was going to make it easier, but it’s only gotten worse. When he tries to work, she’s there. When he’s alone, she’s there.

Even when he sleeps, she’s there.

In his depression, Liam began dreaming about her. He found that the few nights he went to sleep with nothing to drink, the dream didn’t occur. So now he makes sure to drink just so he can see her. And it’s the same dream every night.

Liam sits in the dark of his chambers. After staring at his phone for 30 minutes and once again talking himself out of calling her, he empties his glass and sets it on the nightstand before he slips beneath the covers. It doesn’t take him long to fade off into an alcohol-induced sleep, and he can see her.

Liam stands on the empty private beach as a soft breeze washes over him; a midnight velvet sky littered with bright stars reflects off the water.

“Liam,” her soft voice echos.

Liam turns, and his eyes find her bare feet and travel up the flowing pale pink chiffon gown; his breath hitches when he sees her face. She’s smiling at him, and her eyes sparkle in the moonlight. “Charlotte?” he breathes, and his face twists with relief as he takes a step toward her.

Charlotte laughs, and then she turns and disappears between the trees down the pathway that leads to the Forgotten Falls; without hesitation, Liam runs after her.

When Liam makes it into the pathway, it’s illuminated by the moon. He sees the swish of her gown rounding a bend. “Charlotte, wait!”

Her laughter echoes as Liam whips past the trees after her; his chest is aching, and he doesn’t know if it’s the burning in his lungs from running or his heart fracturing with each beat as he tries to get to her. Panic courses through him as he pushes himself to catch her, and he can feel the sting in his eyes from the tears that start to form from his desperation.

As he rounds another bend on the dirt path, Liam skids to a stop when he sees Charlotte standing at the other end, smiling at him. “Liam … you have to let me go.”

Liam attempts to blink away the tears that start to blur his vision, but they fall anyway as he shakes his head. “I don’t want to let you go.” He starts to walk towards her; she turns and continues down the path. “Wait!” he shouts as he takes off after her once more.

Liam starts to gain on her as they near the clearing of the falls; he keeps hearing her repeat the same heartbreaking mantra: “Let me go, Liam.” And the closer he comes to reaching her, somehow, her whisper of a voice fades more and more with each word.

Liam reaches for her as he barrels into the clearing just behind her; he stops at the edge of the plunge pool that sits at the bottom of the falls and looks around.

It’s silent, and he’s alone. Charlotte’s gone.

———————

•Three Months•

Liam sits in his study; his brows knit as he reads over the papers in front of him. He shakes his head as he pushes them back and looks up to meet Constantine’s gaze. “This is absurd! I’m not agreeing to this.”

“What are they asking for?”

“Both Auvernal and Monterisso want a betrothal agreement. One of their heirs with my nonexistent one.”

“When you were young, Auvernal wanted to make an alliance with us. They believed we would do it without hesitation simply because your mother was from there. I refused,” Constantine explains. “But Monterisso might be worth looking into more.”

“I’m not arranging the marriage of any future children I may have! They both are asking for that. It’s not happening.”

“See what else Queen Amalas is willing to offer,” Constantine suggests. “They both want the financial stability our country can give them. So negotiations will be in your favor.”

“I’m just going to hold off on doing anything for now. If they want an alliance that badly, they’ll wait until I’m ready to make a decision.”

“Liam-”

“It’s late. You can go.”

Liam walks his father to the door, shutting it behind him. He grabs his empty glass off his desk and goes to the bar cart and pours himself another scotch; he stares out of the window as he takes a large sip. He has no intentions of agreeing to an alliance, even if they took the betrothal off the table.

Liam managed to find another way to stall wedding planning when neighboring Kingdoms began pressing him for an alliance. He is biding his time, using the negotiations that are being tossed around as a way to hold off on setting a date. When they first came to him, he jumped at the opportunity to use it as an excuse. He said with the terms they were trying to negotiate, there should be no reason to rush into the marriage if it was going to be for Auvernal or Monterisso’s benefit. To his surprise, Madeleine agreed.

Liam stares at his already-empty glass before pouring another; he takes his refill and leaves his study for the night. As he walks the corridors with his drink in hand, Charlotte is at the forefront of his mind, where she always is.

Once inside his quarters, he sits on his terrace with yet another drink as he stares at his phone on the table. With the liquid courage coursing through his veins every night, talking himself out of calling Charlotte has become more difficult over the last month, but he still manages to refrain from doing it. But god, how he wishes he could hear her voice.

And over the last month, he’s found that his patience with everyone is wearing thin. He feels angry all of the time. Drake, Maxwell, and Olivia have all tried to talk to him; they came to him and expressed their worry for the way he’s been lately. He dismissed their concerns and told them he was fine. Leo also returned, stating his worries as well; Liam told him to mind his own damn business.

After draining the rest of his glass, Liam goes to his bedroom, changes, and slips into bed. He’s fast asleep before long, and like clockwork, the dream comes.

Liam stands on the empty private beach as a soft breeze washes over him; a midnight velvet sky littered with bright stars reflects off the water.

“Liam,” her soft voice echos.

———————

•Four Months•

Liam glances down at Drake, and a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. “So who made you dress up as a noble for the costume gala?”

“Fucking Maxwell,” Drake scoffs. “We were playing cards, and he upped the ante and said whoever won got to pick the other’s costume for tonight. I swear, he cheated.” Drake looks at Liam appraisingly. “And who are you supposed to be?”

“King Fabian,” Liam answers.

“The naked guy down in the square?”

“That’s the one.”

Drake sees Bastien across the ballroom, talking with Leo. “I see Bas is back on your detail.”

“He is.”

“Have you talked to him about everything?”

“I told him it would take some time for him to gain my trust back completely …”

Drake watches Liam grab another drink from a passing waiter’s tray; he knows it’s at least his fourth since the gala started. He hesitates for a moment before asking his next question. “So, how have you been doing? You feeling ok?”

“I’m fine,” Liam replies, raising the glass to his lips.

“Li, you know if you need to talk or just vent … I’m here.”

“I don’t need to talk or vent. I’m fine.”

“Well, as your friend, I’m going to be real honest with you … you’re full of shit. It’s been four months, and you are far from fine.”

Liam’s jaw tenses, and he turns to look at Drake. “I appreciate the concern, but I don’t need a lecture. I told you, I am fi-”

Liam’s words are cut off by a loud explosion and the instant panic that ensues inside the ballroom. Bastien and a few other guards are at his side within moments, attempting to usher the King from the pandemonium, but Liam shoves them away when he sees Leo and Regina crouched on the floor across the room. He rushes towards them, and the color drains from his face when he sees his father lying lifeless under a pile of rubble.

****

In the early morning hours after the attack, Liam arrives back from the hospital once the palace is cleared. Having just lost his father mere hours ago, the longing to call Charlotte is stronger than ever. He sits on the terrace of his quarters in the dark with a bottle of scotch in one hand and his phone in the other.

For months now he’s been able to convince himself that reaching out to her wouldn’t do either of them any good, and each time he wanted to call, he had talked himself out of it. But at that moment, the stress of everything he’s been dealing with now paired with his father’s death brings it all to a head. He needs someone to talk to. He needs someone to open up to. He needs someone who knows him -- the real him. He needs someone who understands him.

He needs her.

Liam takes a deep breath, taps his finger to the screen, and puts the phone to his ear. He’s met with not a ring and her voice but a tone followed by an automated intercept message. “We're sorry; the number you have reached has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

Liam’s vision blurs from the stinging tears in his eyes. He stares straight ahead as he lowers the phone from his ear and raises the bottle to his lips.

Later, Liam slips into a coma-like sleep, and he sees her.

As he rounds another bend on the dirt path, Liam skids to a stop when he sees Charlotte standing at the other end, smiling at him. “Liam … you have to let me go.”

*******

A week after the attack, Liam sits in a plush booth inside of a club located in the Capitol’s downtown area. He is in the VIP section and sips a scotch as his eyes scan the room. Constantine’s funeral was the day before, and Leo convinced Liam to come out with him that night instead of being in his quarters alone. Drake, Maxwell, and Rashad are with them, and Leo uses his repertoire with women to bring some to their corner of the club.

Liam feels numb, but it’s not only from the alcohol and the loss of his father. Ever since making that phone call to Charlotte, he feels like she is truly gone, never to return. But the loud music drowns out his thoughts as he finishes off another drink and motions for more. He watches the others, who are all deep in conversation with the women gathered around them. When the waitress brings the King another drink, he nods in thanks as he takes it.

Just as he raises the glass to his lips, he feels the sofa shift as someone sits next to him. “Hi,” a soft voice says.

Liam slowly looks over; he blinks to rid his slight double vision, bringing a blonde woman into focus. She smiles, and he can’t help but see something familiar in it. “Hi, yourself.”

****

Liam squeezes his eyes shut as he moves in the bed and groans; by the way his head is spinning before he even opens his eyes, he’s sure that he’s still drunk. He feels movement next to him, and it causes his eyes to fly open; he’s momentarily blinded by early morning light coming in through the window. He turns his head and sees a woman’s bare back and her blonde hair splayed on the pillow; a sheet covers her lower half.

Liam abruptly sits up and too fast. A wave of nausea hits him, but he’s too focused on what’s going on, so he ignores it. He looks around; he’s not in his room but a guest room of the palace. Then his eyes land on the scattered clothes on the floor. He looks back at the sleeping form next to him before looking down at himself; he’s naked, covered by the white sheet. He closes his eyes, cursing himself senseless before he quietly slips out of bed.

As he pulls on his boxer briefs and pants, he tries to piece together the events of the night before. He remembers the club and the woman sitting next to him. They talked. They kissed. And then he left with her. He remembers Drake stopping him on his way out the door, asking him what he’s doing. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Li?” And before he could answer, the woman took his hand and pulled him towards the waiting SUV. He remembers getting back to the palace, the two of them stumbling up the stairs and leading her to the guest wing. He remembers entering a room and her pushing him up against the door once it’s closed. His lips on her, her hands on him.

“Fuck!” he grumbles through a clenched jaw, then snaps his gaze up when his voice causes the woman to stir. But she doesn’t wake.

Liam grabs his shirt from the floor, not even bothering to put it on before he turns towards the door; he opens it and slips out of the room, closing it quietly. When he turns, he sees Bastien, who’s standing just down the hall. Embarrassment and shame twist Liam’s features as the two men stare at one another.

“Sir …” Bastien says quietly. He has that look on his face, silently asking the King what he wants him to do. Liam’s not sure. This is a first for him.

“Can you, uh …” Liam’s voice trembles before he trails off. He knows he fucked up. Sure, plenty of people do things like this all the time, but he’s not just anybody. And he’s not this type of person either; he’s not someone who has random one-night stands and then sneaks out in the morning. It was the alcohol and grief, but he knows there is no excuse. “Can you handle that situation … discreetly?”

Liam knows the process, having seen Leo do this plenty of times. “Of course, sir. I’ll find you to give an update once she’s signed the NDA.”

“Thank you.” With that, Liam walks away down the guest wing corridor.

Back in his quarters, Liam stands in the shower; his palms are pressed against the tile as he leans forward, letting the hot water run over his body. He’s trying to wash away the night before, and the shame and guilt he feels as the downward spiral he’s been in finally catches up with him. He doesn’t even recognize who he is anymore. Everything in that moment seems to crash down on him at once: his heartache over Charlotte, how he’s been behaving, the heavy drinking, the stress of doing anything and everything to stall the wedding, his father’s death. He turns, leans back against the tile, and slides to the ground; his knees are bent with his elbows resting on top of them as he hangs his head and laces his fingers behind his neck.

As the water continues to run over him, Liam completely breaks down.

———————

•Five Months•

Liam sits in his study one evening with Rashad, looking over paperwork as they prepare for the upcoming summit in Italy. “You actually seem to be looking forward to the summit,” Rashad teases.

“Honestly … I am. I’m looking forward to getting away for a bit.”

“Away from the incessant nagging over the wedding?”

Liam glances up from the papers in front of him, meeting his old friend’s gaze. “Yes, that’s part of it.”

“As one of your most trusted advisors, I should be telling you to stop pushing the date back and get on with it.”

“Yes, you should be.” Liam stares at him expectantly but chuckles with a shake of his head when Rashad offers a smirk and shrugs his shoulders.

Since the attack at the Costume Gala, Liam has actually had a plausible reason for pushing back the wedding while they worked to find the people behind it. They knew the ones taking responsibility were members of a faction known as Sons of Earth, but they had yet to bring anyone into custody. Neither Madeleine nor the press gave him a hard time about halting the nuptials when it came to the group responsible for killing his father. They didn’t dare question him about it.

Rashad rises from his seat and walks to the bar cart, pouring himself a drink. “Can I get you one?” he asks Liam.

Liam glances over his shoulder to see him holding up a bottle of scotch in question. “Uh … no, I’m alright. Thank you, though.”

In the time since Liam’s private breakdown after his one-night stand, he’s stopped drinking for the time being. He threw himself into work while attempting to get his life back in order. Luckily for him, the woman he woke up next to that morning didn’t remember a damn thing. She had asked Bastien who she even ended up at the palace with; it was a question Bastien didn’t answer. She signed the NDA, and that was the last Liam had heard of the incident.

The temptation to down a few drinks is hard to ignore, however. Since he stopped drinking, Liam hasn’t had the dream of Charlotte. It’s the only way he can see her, and he’s tempted only for that reason, but he manages to overcome the urges. He doesn’t want to end up back in that hole he just crawled out of.

———————

•Six Months•

Liam, Drake, and Maxwell sit in the great room of the Beaumont Estate after playing cards that evening. “I can’t believe tomorrow is the start of the Social Season already,” Maxwell says. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been a year.”

“It doesn’t,” Liam agrees. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that very same thing all week, and how a year ago, his life completely changed. The Social Season’s arrival comes as a reprieve for Liam, however; it’s bought him three uninterrupted months of not having to worry about the wedding. He feels a slight weight lifted off his shoulders because of it.

“Nothing will top last year’s Social Season,” Maxwell chuckles.

Liam knows exactly what Maxwell is referring to. It had been a year since Charlotte first came into his life and showed up in Cordonia for his Social Season, taking it by storm. And to his own surprise, Liam can’t help but smile, thinking back on it; it was the most fun he can ever remember having.

A memory causes Liam to start laughing, and Drake and Maxwell both give him a questioning look. “Last year at the Masquerade Ball … I took Charlotte down to the garden maze that night. I had told her earlier about maze-tag, and she gets this idea to play, right? So we’re running through the maze, and we near the center, and instead of going around the bushes to get to the tree, she attempts to hurdle them.” As he says it through a laugh, both Drake and Maxwell begin to laugh as well, knowing Charlotte and how this more than likely ended for her. “She flipped over the bush and landed upside down on the other side,” Liam chuckles.

“Remember when she told you at the derby that it was an American tradition not to watch horse races while wearing shoes because it’s bad luck, but really, she flung her shoes out of the tent because she stepped in horse shit?” Drake snorts, and Liam starts to laugh even harder as he nods his head.

“She set fire to the hot tub in Lythikos,” Liam’s voice shakes.

“Nothing beats her falling off the boat at the regatta,” Maxwell grins.

“Yeah, and then she tells your dad she decided to become one with the boat,” Drake laughs, and Maxwell doubles forward as Liam throws his head back, his face red and his body shaking.

A few moments later, after composing himself, Maxwell glances at Liam to see him staring off; he clears his throat to get Drake’s attention, but he’s already noticed it too. “Ah, hell, sorry, Li.”

“No … it’s ok,” Liam shakes his head. “I needed that. I guess … I’m finally starting to come to terms with it. It’s still not easy …” A silence falls between the three of them as Liam chews the inside of his cheek; this is the first time Drake and Maxwell have heard him talk about Charlotte since returning from New York six months ago. “I just miss her,” he whispers.

“I know you do, Li, but you can’t dwell on the past,” Drake says.

“She said she wanted me to be happy.”

“What?” Maxwell questions.

“In New York, the night she told me she was staying … she told me she wanted me to be happy. And I … I don’t know if I can be … not without her.”

“You have to try, Li.”

Liam looked at Drake. He could try. It’s what any normal, sane person would do: accept what is, take the loss, and attempt to move on. But the thing is … he doesn’t want to.

———————

•Nine Months•

“Other things have taken precedence, Madeleine!” Liam’s voice is raised inside his study; he’s locked in a heated discussion with Madeleine. “There are more important things going on than making sure you secure your precious crown!”

“It’s been NINE MONTHS! And you continue to find every damn excuse you can to keep pushing it back!” Madeleine shouts. “And now THIS is starting!” She tosses down the latest issue of the Cordonia Tribune. On the cover is a photograph of Liam and Madeleine. The text beneath their photo: Cordonia Still Waiting For Royal Wedding.

The article lists every time Liam has stalled the nuptials and his reasoning for doing so. It goes on to point out that no details have even been given regarding the wedding and questions whether or not Cordonia will even see it take place that year or if he’ll continue to push back the date.

“So what?” Liam scoffs. “They’ve taken notice that there hasn’t been a wedding yet. Stop acting as though it’s the worst thing in the world!”

“This is just the start of it, Liam! You and I both know that these articles are only going to get worse from here forward! We need to set a date and announce it!”

“What? You’re afraid they might catch on that this is the last thing that I want? You want to marry me as much as I want to marry you, which isn’t at all! The only reason you’re pushing for it is because you actually get something out of it!”

A knock on the door interrupts them; Liam calls for them to enter, and Rashad opens the door. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re not interrupting anything,” Liam says, and his tone makes it clear that he’s thankful for the intrusion. He grabs a stack of papers from his desk and looks at Madeleine. “I have a summit planning meeting to get to. You can see yourself out.”

———————

•10 Months•

Countess Madeleine Says Wedding Is In The Works: The queen-to-be was every bit of a blushing bride when finally speaking about the royal wedding Cordonia is waiting for.

“Why are you lying to them?” Liam growls, throwing the latest issue of Trend magazine onto the table in the great room. “There are no plans in the works! The summit is coming up, and nothing has been planned at all!”

“I have to tell them something, Liam! It’s been 10 months of SILENCE!”

Liam tenses his jaw and turns to the bar cart; he pours himself a finger of scotch. He’s been able to control it, having only a glass here and there; it’s generally during moments like this when he and Madeleine argue. And in the past month, the arguments have escalated.

“You don’t need to tell them anything! It’s simple! You say NO COMMENT!”

“And give them more ammunition for further speculation?”

“Yes! I don’t give a damn about their assumptions!”

“Well, I do! I know you don’t give a damn about my reputation, but I do!”

“Like your reputation will be tarnished over lack of wedding details. Give me a fucking break!”

“10 months, Liam! 10. Months! We could have produced an heir already!”

Liam lets out a wry laugh. “Believe me, the last thing on my mind is heirs. Especially with you.” He shakes his head as he turns towards the fireplace and takes a sip of his drink.

“Your disrespect is completely uncalled for!”

“Maybe, but it’s the truth.”

“How the hell would you know what the truth is? You’ve spent the last 10 months avoiding it!”

At her words, Liam turns, and his eyes narrow. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re holding onto this flicker of hope that she’s suddenly going to come back for you, and she’s not!”

“What did you just say?”

“Charlotte!” Madeleine hisses. “That’s what all of this stalling is about! She stayed behind in New York -- where she belongs -- and she’s not coming back, Liam! And it’s time you come to terms with that and face fucking reality so that we can move forward!”

“Get out.”

“I’m not leave-”

“GET. OUT!” Liam’s deep booming voice reverberates around the room. Madeleine calmly stands, seemingly unfazed by his tone; she smoothes down the front of her dress before she turns and exits the room.

Liam turns, and with a growl, he chucks his glass into the fire; the alcohol causes the flames to rise. He leans against the mantle and closes his eyes, trying to calm himself down. The thing is … he knows Madeleine is right. He has been avoiding the truth, and he has to come to terms with reality.

Charlotte is gone, no longer a part of his life.

———————

•11 Months•

Drake weaves his way through the crowd on the grounds of the Valtoria estate; he watches as people light their lanterns and lift them into the sky.

The court arrived in Valtoria earlier that day for the annual Lantern Festival, and Drake noticed that Liam seemed to be off from the moment they got there. It started when they first exited the SUV, and Liam stared at the outside of the estate, clearly a million miles away. He’s been relatively scarce ever since.

As Drake nears the lake next to the estate, he spots Liam standing at the edge, alone, holding his lantern still. He makes his way down the embankment towards him. “What are you doing down here?”

“Oh, hey … uh, nothing really. About to light this.” He motions to the lantern he’s holding.

Drake stuffs his hands into his pockets as he looks across the lake that the moon reflects off of. “You seemed to have something on your mind today …”

Liam nods with a wry laugh; Drake can read him like a book. “I, uh … I was going to give Charlotte this place after we cleared her name …”

Drake’s brows furrow. “What?”

“There’s an old Cordonian law that states a Queen must hold her own lands prior to ascending the throne. Valtoria is an unclaimed duchy. And it was the one I chose to give to her once we cleared her name … when I proposed …”

Liam’s behavior that day suddenly makes perfect sense. “I see …” Drake has kept quiet over the past 11 months when it came to Liam and his personal business. He knows his best friend has a responsibility, and the man is nothing if not dutiful. But tonight, Drake can’t seem to bite his tongue. “Look, Li … I know you have a responsibility as King to marry … and I know I’m just a commoner, and most would say that I have no business throwing my opinion about courtly matters out there, but … do you really want a lifelong commitment to misery?” Liam looks at Drake; he doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t have to. “Maybe you should think about calling it off. Because no one deserves to be this unhappy. You always put everyone else first, but maybe you need to think of yourself for once.”

It’s nothing Liam hasn’t already thought about. The idea of saying to hell with it and calling of his engagement crosses his mind more times than he can count. But he’s a King with responsibilities, expectations, and a duty to fulfill.

———————

•12 Months•

Inside the palace ballroom, guests dance and mingle during a charity gala hosted by the Queen Mother.

Outside the palace, Liam stands in the center of the garden maze, having stepped out to get some much needed fresh air. Some press members are in attendance, and instead of focusing on the reason they’re all gathered there that evening, they instead chose to ask Liam questions about the wedding and the articles that continue to come out week after week about his choice to keep pushing it back. He doesn’t answer them.

Liam’s been thinking more and more about calling the whole thing off, but there’s something that’s holding him back, and he can’t quite figure out exactly what it is.

As he stands in the center of the maze with his hands in his pockets, he looks around the dimly lit area. He feels his mother’s presence as he always did when he would come there; it was her place, after all.

Liam lets out a soft breath as he looks up at the night sky. “I don’t know what to do, Mother,” he whispers. He finds talking to her cathartic, even though there’s no response. “I know I have a duty … ” Liam looks down to the ground, speaking over the lump in his throat. “I want to be a good King … but I want to be happy too. I want to be as happy as I was when I was with her … but I don’t think I ever will be.” Liam lets out another breath. “I feel like if you were here, you would tell me that duty wasn’t everything. That I should follow what my heart is telling me. But then again … that could just be what I hope you would say.” As he looks back up at the night sky, he chews the inside of his cheek for a moment before asking for something he knows isn’t possible. “I just need a sign … can you give me that? Something. Anything.”

****

That night Liam falls asleep, and without a drop of alcohol, his thought to be forgotten dream comes.

Liam stands on the empty private beach as a soft breeze washes over him; a midnight velvet sky littered with bright stars reflects off the water.

“Liam,” her soft voice echos.

Charlotte laughs, and then she turns and disappears between the trees down the pathway that leads to the Forgotten Falls; without hesitation, Liam runs after her.

When Liam makes it into the pathway, it’s illuminated by the moon. He sees the swish of her gown rounding a bend. “Charlotte, wait!”

Liam starts to gain on her as they near the clearing of the falls. He reaches for her as he barrels into the clearing just behind her … and his arm wraps around her waist. She twists in his embrace to face him, and her eyes meet his as she smiles. “Hi.”

Liam’s eyes don’t leave her, afraid if he even blinks, she’ll be gone. “Hi …”

“Liam, you can’t give up.”

Liam searches her eyes. “Give up on what?”

“On me.”

Liam’s eyes snap open as he shoots straight up in bed; he turns his head towards the sounding alarm on his nightstand and reaches over to shut it off. He slumps back against the pillows and lets out a heavy breath as he rubs his tired eyes and remembers the dream. It just happened on its own, not brought on by anything like the times before. But it was different this time; Liam caught her in the end, and she told him not to give up. And he’s not sure what to make of it or what it’s supposed to mean.

Liam’s brows furrow as he thinks about it. Is this the sign I asked for? But he quickly shakes the thought. It’s absurd and ridiculous, and frankly, it’s impossible; he’s not sure what even made him bring that up the night before. Signs don’t really exist.

****

Later that afternoon, Liam sits in his study, going over a proposal from the council. He glances over at yesterday morning’s issue of the Cordonia Tribune; his picture is on the cover next to large lettering. Trouble In Almost Paradise? King Liam continues to push back royal wedding to Countess Madeleine.

Liam rolls his eyes. It’s far from paradise.

There’s a knock on his door, and before he can call for them to enter, it swings open; Bastien and Rashad barrel inside. “Good afternoon,” he says tentatively as he stares at them.

“Sir … we may have a problem …” Bastien says.

“What is it?”

Rashad gives him a nervous glance. “I have an informant at the Tribune who gives me a heads up with certain matters. He gave me a copy of tomorrow’s issue …”

“What now? More trouble in hell?” Liam scoffs.

“No … it’s … it might be worse …” Rashad outstretches his hand and gives the copy of the issue to Liam.

Liam takes it, and his eyes widen. There on the cover is a picture of Charlotte; next to her image is a headline: The Truth Exposed?

As he reads the article, he relives every single moment of the past year and a half: meeting Charlotte in New York, the Social Season, the Engagement Tour, their goodbye, his spiral … all of it.

When Liam finishes reading, he’s irritated, and a little pissed about how this came out, but he feels a small spark of something that he hasn’t in a year: hope. “Prepare the jet. Now.”

“Of course, sir. Where exactly are we headed?”

“New York.”

**********************************

Perma Tags: @leelee10898 @zaffrenotes @cocomaxley @gardeningourmet @blackcoffee85 @gibbles82 @annekebbphotography @sweetest-marbear @indiacater @liamxs-world @classylady1234 @texaskitten30 @thequeenofcronuts @custaroonie @moneyfordiamonds @the-soot-sprite @ladyangel70 @kate-mckenzie @emichelle @dcbbw @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @sirbeepsalot @choiceslife @debramcg1106 @gnatbrain @ofpixelsandscribbles @openheart12 @rigatonireid @callmeellabella @superharriet @seriouslybadchoices @aestheticartsx @forthebrokenheartedthings @kingliam2019 @indiana-jr @bascmve01 @rainbowsinthestorm @badchoicesposts @darley1101 @blackcatkita @charlotteg234 @alyssalauren @txemrn @neotericthemis @queenrileyrose @emkay512 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @choiceskatie

#trr #choices trr #the royal romance #choices the royal romance #trr liam #trr mc #liam x mc #trr liam x mc #choices liam x mc #king liam #trr fanfic #trr fan fic #trr fanfiction #choices trr fanfic #choices fanfic #tw: alcohol use

190 notes · View notes

bebepac · 3 years

Text

Pop’s 🌎 World

This is a very special Mia’s 🌎 World. It’s kind of a stand alone, as you could have not read the previous series and know what’s going on here. It’s about a father’s love for his daughter. But if you are curious to go on a binge read:

Book One: Pop’s Place

Book Two: Mia’s World

I’m also participating in @wackydrabbles prompt # 91 picked by @ofpixelsandscribbles “I’m worried about you.” which will appear in bold.

Original Post Date: 04/20/21 at 7:03PM EST.

The Book: TRR (this is typically a crossover, but none of the crossover characters appear in this chapter)

Pairing: Mia x Jaiden (TRR MC x M!OC)

Word Count: 1976

Warnings: Pops laying on all kinds of Daddy Fluff. Brief mention of pregnancy complications, with no specific or graphic detail.

Summary: A glimpse into the past, present and future of Pops. We will be getting to know, the softer side of Pops Jones.

A/N: Writing is truly one of the ways that I have dealt with a lot of unsettling feelings I’ve had over the years, and this one is very cathartic for me. I never had the best home life growing up. Pops is the personification of the father figure I wish that I had growing up in those more formative years. He does remind me a bit of my Grandfather, but he passed away when I was young. So I write my Mia having the strong base that I wish I had. And maybe some things would have turned out differently.

A/N2: I don’t own the rights to the poem “I Trust You’ll Treat Her Well” by Dan Valentine which the words will be bold and italic throughout this episode. I did modify a few words to make it representative to Mia and her family, as Mia does not have blue eyes and light brown hair.

Song Inspiration for this Episode: I Loved Her First by Heartland

I don’t own the rights to the music.

Jaiden and Mia were staring at each other in awe as if they were in their own little private universe.

Tears welled in Pop's eyes as he watched Mia.

Pops never thought he was super sensitive until that moment. But seeing Mia, his baby girl, slow dance with Jaiden in her wedding dress, tore his heart to pieces, in a good way. Together Gloria and Pops had raised a beautiful, intelligent, strong young woman, who had found the love of her life.

Their very first dance together as husband and wife was breathtaking, and the newly married couple had nothing but smiles and a few tears for each other, and whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears.

Maybe not so sweet.... as whatever Mia had whispered caused Jaiden's cheeks and ears to flush a rosy pink, as he gently tugged at his collar a bit. 🍋🍋

"She picked a good one, Pops. He'll take care of her. He always has." Gloria whispered in Pops ear.

"I know. It doesn't make it easier. I loved her first."

Pops stood before them with a smile. Since they were done with the formal pictures, Pop's tie was completely gone, and the first few buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned. Pops was a simple man. But his feelings about that day were anything but simplistic. Pop's soul was a storm of emotions inside his heart: happy, melancholic, and bittersweet, because not only had he given his daughter away to be married, but he was also gaining a son, whom he loved dearly.

His eyes met with Mia's from across the room. She smiled at him, but as he refocused on her, he saw the little girl that loved to play dress up in Mommy's clothes and makeup.

Clearing his throat, Pops began to recite the poem that he picked for today. His confident voice was already shaking as he gazed across the room at his little MJ, his eyes already beginning to tear up.

"Dear World,

I bequeath to you today one little girl… in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes… and a happy laugh that ripples all day long...and a flash of black hair that bounces in the sun when she runs. I trust you'll treat her well."

He never knew the person who would completely change his whole entire world, his heart was a little bouncing baby girl that weighed seven pounds and twelve ounces when she was born.

When he found out Gloria was pregnant, Kelvin wanted a boy. That's all he thought about. Someone to play ball with, and fish with. He got the shock of his life when he heard those three words. It's a girl.

Mia was born a week before Christmas. Gloria went into labor while they were at a Christmas party neither one wanted to attend. Labor was a fitting excuse for the pair to leave early. The one time in Mia’s life she showed up early to benefit her parents.

Gloria’s due date was Christmas Day.

When he first saw Mia's big brown inquisitive eyes, he knew she would be special. And Mia was, and she was the light of his world.

Mia’s first word was Pop. The reason everyone called Kelvin “Pops” was because of Mia. When Mia started talking she said it repeatedly. And it stuck with EVERYONE!

Mia was definitely a Daddy’s girl.

Mia took her very first steps following behind Pops. He had walked into the kitchen to make Mia a snack, when he glanced up from the counter seeing her toddling towards him.

"Pops!" Mia exclaimed enthusiastically as she took her slow and deliberate steps towards him.

Pops immediately knelt, opening his arms smiling brightly at her.

"Come to Pop Pops."

Mia made it to his arms. He picked her up and spun her around planting kisses, and raspberries on her cheeks and tummy.

He wanted his little MJ to stop growing.

Even though he loved Mia dearly, Pops thought about the possibility of them having another child. He thought then having one of each would be perfect.

But sadly the lightning never struck again for them.

Gloria sat on the side of the bed in tears.

“We weren’t even trying when we got Mia, and now that we are…. Why isn’t it happening?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we just got it perfect on the first try, my beautiful Morning Glory.”

“I know you want a boy Pops.”

“I wanted our child Gloria. Mia is our baby. I wouldn’t trade a thousand little boys for our Mia.”

He wiped Gloria’s tears.

“I’m worried about you.”

“I feel like I'm failing you.”

“You’re not, you gave me Mia. She’s more than we could have ever asked for.”

Mia had asked several times for a baby brother or sister. Until a sweet family with a little dark haired boy moved next door.

Daniel and Mia were inseparable.

“Prim and proud she’ll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say “Good bye” and walk with little lady steps into the school house.”

It was Pops that cried the first day of school when he waited with her at the bus stop. They had always had a very special close relationship.

“For five full years now I’ve been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and father and friend...”

Mia had her “Mommy time” with Gloria but as Mia aged, she liked to fish with Pops. She enjoyed being in the kitchen with him. At age ten Mia called out her first order to Pops that day taking the first step of creating ‘their special language' they talked to each other to this very day in the kitchen. Mia sat at the table with her book watching the waitress in front of her, listening closely to the order.

She called out the order to Pops loud and proud.

Pops glanced down at the order that Ginny handed him, as Mia recited in her own language what the customers wanted. He smiled at her, it made sense to her, and to him.

“I’m on it, MJ!” His voice boisterous. Little Mia learned the menu and started calling out all the orders to Pops.

His mind drifted to Kyle. Mia’s first serious boyfriend. The one he had basically thought he was so proud of Mia for finding. Kyle appeared to have it all. He came from a good family, and he appeared like he loved Mia.

Pops mentally took off his rose colored glasses and looked at his daughter’s relationship with him.

Pops saw all the warning signs he had been oblivious to the first time around. The sadness in his daughter’s eyes, she was trying to hide. The crash dieting. Mia wasn’t insecure before, but he now saw all the hints of it. And he had been afraid to ask. Why did he not ask her what was wrong? When he had such a good relationship with his MJ.

“Today she’ll learn for the first time not all who smile at her are her friends….”

Mia found the courage in herself to end that relationship.

And with the ending of that relationship ended another one. Daniel’s father was transferred to North Carolina. Mia was devastated with her friend moving away. But, it was very short lived, as Daniel’s father Jonathan let Pops know of a restaurant that was for sale in their area, that would give Pops the chance to branch out completely on his own and have his very own place.

Pops took a chance and packed up his family and moved to North Carolina and bought that little restaurant that the community now fondly known as Pop’s Place.

He remembered the first time he saw Mia interact with Jaiden. The two were very friendly with each other talking and laughing. Jason Brooks elbowed him.

“There is something special blooming between those two.”

Pops laughed looking at the two of them again.

“I doubt it seriously.”

Mia’s dance card was full, between Drake Walker, but Pops had his money on Liam Rys walking away with Mia’s heart.

“Twenty bucks says they’ll be dating before the end of summer.”

“You’re on Brooks.”

Pops lost that bet.

Watching the love blossom between his daughter and Jaiden made him feel young again. The love and the heartache.

The sweet little gestures of love and understanding.

*^*^*^*^*^*^* Fast Forward a year after the wedding *^*^*^*^*^*

"I think I finally got it right now. Hi MJ, hey Jaiden. Can you all hear me now?”

"We can hear you now fine Hey Pops, where's Mom?"

"I'm here, I had to take dinner out of the oven."

They talked for a few minutes.

"MJ you look like the cat that ate the canary. What's going on?"

"So we didn't agree on how to do this. We both wanted to tell you face to face but we didn't want to wait until Thanksgiving."

She looked at Jaiden. He smiled nodding.

"Mom, Pops…..”

Pops saw the tears in Mia's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

She held up a single picture.

Both her parents screamed in joy.

“It’s a boy!!!”

“We wanted to tell you sooner.”

Jaiden’s eyes filled with tears, as Mia leaned into him. His grip tightened around her.

“We had to wait a little bit, because we had some complications. I had to take some time off work. But we’re okay now. All three of us.”

“This is the best news I’ve ever heard!!!!” Pops was laughing and crying at the same time.

“You can't tell anyone yet. We’re telling Jaiden’s parents a little later on this evening.”

"We understand."

“So that means Pops, when we have the baby you’re getting on a plane and flying out here. Mom’s not going to let you drive cross country.”

“It will be fun, we could rent an RV like we did that summer.”

“NO Pops. NO!!!” Gloria and Mia exclaimed in unison.

“That summer was a nightmare, Jaiden.”

For MJ, when it was time, he got on that plane. The simple man who lived between North and South Carolina his whole life, had raised a girl that loved adventure, and was living her life now in California as a fashion designer with her successful architect husband, and about to give birth to their first child.

Jaiden walked out of the delivery room with a proud smile on his face.

“He’s here. Six pounds and two ounces and twenty one inches long. He’s perfect in every way.”

Jason went to hug his son.

Later that evening, Pops and Gloria went in to see the baby.

Mia had been in labor for over twelve hours, but you couldn’t tell it from the serene smile that was on her face, as she held their first child in her arms.

Jaiden took the baby from her arms.

“Pops, meet your grandson. His name is Kaiden…. Kaiden Riley Brooks.”

(Author’s Note: yeah…. I know, I said Riley Brooks would never exist in a place where my MC is not named Riley…. But you know…. I had to mix things up. Technically this is NOT your Riley Brooks.)

Pops held Kaiden in his arms. The little baby opened his eyes to look at him. And in that moment Pop’s life was changed again by another little baby, this time, weighing six pounds and two ounces.

He kissed the top of his head gently rubbing Kaiden’s head full of dark brown curls.

“We finally got our boy Pops.” Gloria whispered as Pops rocked Kaiden in his arms.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Fast Forward *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Time flies as time always does. Pops and Gloria were visiting during the first week of school.

Pops grip on Mia’s hand tightened as she held her youngest child Luna on her hip, watching little Kaiden walk down the driveway to the bus.

Mia softly gasped as Kaiden stopped, turning around to her, and waved goodbye to her, and his little sister, and his Poppy; Mia was holding back tears.

“I know how you feel.”

“Does it get easier Pops?”

“You’ll always see him….them the way you do now. They will always be your babies. It’s how I see you. I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become Mia.”

“Thank you Pops.”

“So, world, I bequeath to you today, one little boy… in a little blue and gold uniform…. With two hazel eyes and a flash of curly brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when he runs.

I trust you’ll treat him well.”

Tags in the comments!!!!

#bebepac writes #mia's world #pops place #pops place part 2 #jaiden x mia #trr fanfic #trr fandom #what the fluff?#wacky drabbles #choices fic writers creations #fic of the week #tw pregnancy complications mention

54 notes · View notes