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imaginesbymk · 3 years

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“Find Me Under The Giant Rabbit.”

Reservoir Dogs/Pulp Fiction One Shot

SUMMARY: I read a Reddit fan theory that Mr. Pink survived, escaped the cops, got arrested and was then put on parole - leaving behind his old life and lying low as a waiter at Jack Rabbit Slims. What happens when you show up to the restaurant one night?

PAIRING: Mr. Pink/Buddy Holly waiter x Reader

TAGS: swearing, smoking + mentions of basically everything that happened in reservoir dogs which is the heist, violence, etc

NON REQUESTED

WORD COUNT: 2,870 (it’s long i’m sorry)

AUTHOR’S NOTE: this is probably the cheesiest thing i’ve ever written, and it’s nothing tarantino would ever put in his films, also there’s no way PF and RS can legitimately tie in together 100% even though there are some factors to support otherwise, but i wanted to write this and see something lol :( leave a like/reblog + feedback!!!

[gif credit]

YOU put your car in park, shutting off the engine, and observed it from afar. It was one hell of a big restaurant, almost a bit too cartoon-like. There was a giant anthropomorphic rabbit on top, and the lights claiming the name were glowing a bright red and yellow. Mind you, this was in Los Angeles, so who wouldn’t blame you if you took one look at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, and mistake it for a restaurant at Six Flags?

Dozens of bikers came in with their motorcycles, yet their engines couldn’t even overpower the chatter coming from newcomers left and right. You ignored a heavy tattooed biker dressed in all leather and denim catcalling you from afar, and you reached the front desk.

A man dressed in uniform, most definitely in character, tipped his hat at you and led you to a table with only two chairs. You weren’t expecting anyone to join you in the other seat across. So what if you went for dinner by yourself? You didn’t bother asking anyone to join you for that matter. Not anyone you could think of at the top of your head would be any less boring.

You began tracing your fingers around the rim of the ketchup bottle when not even five seconds after sitting down, a lady approached your table with ruby red lips.

Of course, you thought. Servers were dressed up as icons from the 50s era.

“Marilyn,” you say in awe.

“Close enough,” Instead of being seated in the Marilyn Monroe section being served by a Marilyn Monroe-looking Marilyn Monroe, you were greeted with a tall Mamie Van Doren, who is just as breathtaking as Marilyn refilling everyone’s coffee mugs from the other side of the restaurant. “How about I get you started with drinks?”

Ricky Nelson’s performance on stage came to an end when Mamie arrived with your food. You looked around the place while eating. People weren’t eating by themselves. Families, friends, dates, all of them occupied their seats. Now that you’ve noticed, you sort of wished you brought someone with you, otherwise the seat across from you is used as a footrest.

So there, you propped your feet on top, and relaxed… then you sat upright. Your eyes fixated on the waiter in his section, which were the cars back in the 50s used as booths. You watch him walk towards one of them. The couple was a young woman in a blunt bob cut with bangs, and a man wearing a black suit with long black hair tied back.

You squint your eyes. It couldn’t be...

“Hi, I’m Buddy. What can I get ya?”

You blinked, dropping the half bitten French fry from your mouth. Holy fucking shit.

It was all coming back to you. The news broke out about the heist going wrong at the wholesale, all dead except for one, a cop who laid dead on the ramp inside the rendezvous was identified as Mr. Orange. Since he wasn’t supposed to know where you were from, Mr. Pink never turned up to your door as an emergency hideout, or to drag you with him on his getaway because he never had one. You never heard of him ever since.

Here he was, Mr. Pink, alive and well, wearing glasses. What the hell happened? How long has he been working here? Is he supposed to be Buddy Holly?

“How do you want that cooked? Burnt to a crisp or bloody as hell?” you hear him ask the man in the suit who ordered a steak.

“Bloody as hell, and oh, yeah, look at this- vanilla coke.”

You noticed the irony. He left you in a black suit - and he comes back in white. Like he’d ever want to be caught dead in white, or pink.

“What about you, Peggy Sue?” he asks the woman, jotting in his notepad. You recognized the pun.

“I’ll have the Durwood Kirby burger, bloody. And… the five dollar shake.”

Were you about to laugh? Call out his name? That was enough for you to get antsy in your seat, but you didn’t want to draw attention. You saw him again while finishing up half of your meal, giving the couple their drinks and disappearing back into the kitchen. He was doing his job, but it wasn’t like he was giving his one hundred percent. For someone who preached to the Gods about professionalism, Mr. Pink sure lacked work ethic. Every employee was on point with their character impersonations as if you had travelled back in time. Meanwhile, he acted like himself and seemed bored while wearing an emotionless face, as if he hated his job and epitome of his existence. It was never a dull moment for him whenever he was with you, though.

You got up to use the restroom.

“We’re lucky we got anything at all. I don’t think Buddy Holly’s much of a waiter,” you heard the man at the booth tell the woman as you walk past them, spotting their food from the corner of your eye. It’s no surprise hearing that. Mr. Pink never looked like the type to work at a job like this.

You sat back down and soon, Mr. Pink reappeared, standing over to the side and watched the announcement of the twisting contest, smoking a cigarette. You see him eyeing two pretty blonde women walking past him, and he looked back his way, now in your direction.

He finally did what you wanted him to do, and he stares at you for nearly a solid minute.

You waved awkwardly.

Mr. Pink tosses the cigarette in a random person’s ashtray and disappears behind the door once again. You darted out of your chair, and marched your way to where he headed, just as the couple he served got up on stage to participate in the twisting contest.

A Zorro waiter jumps in front of you. “Stop right there, mi amor!” his eyes darted at you through the cheap black mask he was wearing. “I believe the bathroom’s on the other side of the bar.”

“Where’s Buddy?” you ask Zorro.

“I’m afraid Mr. Holly is taking a quick break from unenthusiastically serving love birds in their cars.”

“Can you tell him I’m looking for him?”

“Once I see him.” Zorro then took out his sword and pointed it at you, a grin plastered on his face. “Now, shall I escort you back to your dining spot?”

Although you were aware this guy was only in character, you didn’t wanna risk getting kicked out, or having a realistic looking sword ripped through your body. You sighed and turned around, heading back. You noticed at your table a folded napkin beside your empty plate. Mamie Van Doren was last seen there, her back facing you with her heels clicking away on the tiles.

“Excuse me!” you called after the waitress. She ignores you, smiling down at new customers at an umbrella table.

Cocking an eyebrow, you used your finger to flatten the crease and read the note in bold handwriting.

FIND ME UNDER THE GIANT RABBIT. - BUDDY

You threw the door open and ran outside, precisely under the giant rabbit of the Jack Rabbit Slim’s sign, just like he said on the napkin. You felt like an idiot checking every direction to find no one. Not a lot of the bikers were seen riding or hanging out around the parking lot, some people were coming and going, but you couldn’t find Buddy Holly.

Defeated, you turn to walk back inside.

Mr. Pink rushed out the door and caught his breath. It looked like he was chasing you down before you could take off. A song used for the twisting contest kept playing from inside.

You didn’t run up to him and jumped in his arms or anything dramatic in that matter. You both stared at each other.

A few days before the heist you two stood across each other waiting for Mr. Brown and Mr. White inside the hideout. It was a quiet moment, not an awkward one. He just took that opportunity to study you, as you did him. It took him that moment to realize he was warming up to you.

“Well hello there, Buddy,” you smile smugly.

YOU and Pink loitered at the side of the eatery, where the back door to the kitchen was located. He had taken off his fake glasses, showing his full frame.

“Okay,” you watch him lean against the wall, lighting his cigarette. “Talk to me. What happened to you?”

“What the hell do you think? Cops tagged me when I tried driving away. I was put behind bars, and by some fucking miracle this place took me in when I needed money.”

“You didn’t know any other crime bosses looking for a lanky dude?” Pink rolls his eyes at your joke. “I know the heist went terribly wrong, I saw the news. Everyone’s dead as Dillinger.”

“That briefcase had a shit load of two million dollars worth of stones,” Pink blew smoke out. “I swear, if that asshole undercover cop was never sent to set us up, I could have been enjoying a cocktail in Santorini. You’re lucky you called in sick that day.”

You shuddered, remembering how god-awful the illness was. “Never again. I felt like I was being hot glued to a sauna.”

You remembered the day of the heist. In fact, you mentally prepared yourself for something that you’ve never done before. You braced for what was supposed to go smoothly as Joe promised. Instead, you were woken up by the worst case scenario above 38 degrees. You were thankful Joe took it easy on you and promised another job next time.

“All right, your turn. What did you do after that shit show went down?” Pink asks you.

“Just did my own thing. I wasn’t there so the cops never searched for me.” Pink took a slow drag, staring at nothing. He didn’t really look the same as before. Still lanky, except his hair was a bit more darkened and styled in curls, possibly because Buddy Holly had it permed that way. But his face read that he had been through a lot. Normally you felt zero pity for assholes like him, but you managed to blurt out, “I missed you.”

Pink, blowing out smoke in the air, eyed you up and down and furrowed his brows. “Likewise.”

Not only did it suck not being able to make money, you also couldn’t do it with Mr. Pink. As much as he kept his professionalism to a T, he squeezed in time to get along with you. It was no wonder Joe hired you - you were different than the guys, you moved differently and never felt small. Mr. Pink was drawn to that.

Maybe that was just an understatement. He grew intimidated by something he expected to experience the least from in the job, and of course, straight out of a fairytale, you had to stop and ask yourself if you felt the same way, and if what you felt was right. Neither of you had any idea. It was against the rules to give out personal information to each other, and Mr. Pink took those rules very seriously, even if it was just one job that he most likely wouldn’t come back to unless a higher pay was involved and Joe Cabot liked him enough to recruit him again.

If Mr. Pink grew too attached, if he let his guard down for one second, God forbid something would have happened to you. Without a doubt, he would have heavily blamed himself and walked away from the job without saying another word.

His options were to wait until after the robbery to make a move, or do his job, get paid and leave. Whether or not it was out of selfishness was out of the question. Mr. Pink is already selfish in an intuitive kind of way, he’d rather avoid spiraling into a wave of emotions for one person - so he chose the latter.

“What?” Pink looked at you, feeling a bit tense. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Huh? No. It’s nothing,” you blinked, realizing you were staring at him longer than you should have. You shook your head, most likely shaking off the intrusive thoughts. Maybe this wasn’t a good time to tell him what’s on your mind.

If anything, he’s most likely sleeping with the Marilyn Monroe waitress. “It’s just… you shaved the goatee.”

Pink nodded, looking a bit annoyed that there was no facial hair left on his chin to rub. “Buddy Holly had a clean face. For the record, the only advantage of this job is that I’m under disguise. Other than that, this place is a circus. I’m zooming back in time whenever I clock in.”

“It’s a 50s themed restaurant,” you state. “Working here sounds like fun. At least you get to dress up and experience pop culture.”

He scoffs. “No, fuck the 50s. Shit was all I Love Lucy and those puffy ass dresses.”

“They’re called poodle skirts, Pink.”

“Like I give a fuck what they’re called.”

“You know Buddy Holly smiled. He was a singer and a guitarist. If you keep up the attitude, no one’s gonna tip you. Nice Guy Eddie told me about your rant on tipping.”

“Ha! And? You will never find me up on that stage performing That’ll Be The Day, moving like a fucking animatronic.” Halfway finished, Pink tossed his cigarette aside and looked at you. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

You felt your cheeks flushing. Fuck. “I am?”

He nodded, putting his Buddy Holly glasses back on his face. “Yeah. It’s a breath of fresh air seeing you here.” He stares down at his wristwatch for a moment.

“Your break’s done?”

“It’s been done,” he says. “Fifteen minutes ago.”

You shook your head, chuckling. “You’re so fired.”

“This isn’t the first time I stopped caring, so my boss isn’t gonna bat an eye.” He had his hand wrapped around the back door which was supported by a wooden block to keep it open. “Look, I’ll see ya arou-”

“Pink?” Your heart rose up to your throat.

He turned back to you. “Hm?”

You just had to do it. You reached up and kissed him softly. Pink didn’t shove or curse at you. His features softened, pulling you close to him and kissed you deeply. Even when you two pulled away, his arms didn’t unwrap from your waist. His forehead was pressed against yours now.

“My name’s Y/N,” you tell him.

He stares at you, no snarky, sarcastic comment left for him to give.

“I know you’re not willing to give your name up just yet, you can’t fully trust me, and I get that, but I won’t tell anyone what happened. You got lucky, I think… but I’m really glad you’re okay.”

“You don’t have to-”

“I’m serious.”

“Y/N,” he says your name for the first time. “You don’t have to go all sappy for me. Karma came in hot. Jesus Christ, I mean, I left you.”

“Not really. You didn’t know me. The cops had the place staked out the entire day, there was nothing you could do.”

He looked down at his shoes. “All right. But still, I feel shitty. Can I at least make it up to you?”

“How?”

Pink shrugs. “I get paid tomorrow.”

“Good for you,” you reply. “Save it like you’re gonna lose it.”

“I’ve had this job for a while now, I got enough to last. But once I win the lottery, I’m gone.”

“To Santorini?”

“With a cocktail in my hand. But that’s besides the point, right now I got enough to take you out on a date… if you’re down.”

“Where would you plan on taking me? Here?” you laugh.

“You’re funny. How about the movies? Overruled, I’m taking you to see a movie. I gotta know where you live first. It’s okay to know now.”

You nodded, you couldn't argue with that. Besides, you two would just be making out in the dark the entire time.

His hand was back on the handle of the back door. Pink pulled it open, looked back at you and smiled for the first time tonight. That warmed your heart, and you were certain it warmed his. He watched you stuff something inside his pocket square as you told him your address. He went back inside, shutting the door on you. You walked back to the front of the restaurant to pay for the bill, and went straight home.

Mr. Pink shuffles past the chefs in the kitchen, feeling through his suit pocket to pull out his notepad and whatever you stuffed inside just moments ago.

I didn’t even serve them. Is this supposed to be for Mamie Van Doren? He stares down at the dollar bill crumpled in his hand. His frown suddenly transitions to a small but genuine smile.

Fuck it. Nothing could stop him now. He definitely owes you a date night. He quickly stuffs the tip back in his pocket square, and comes out the sliding door.

THE END

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TAGLIST: @locke-writes @aryn-the-bearheart

#reservoir dogs x reader #reservoir dogs fic #reservoir dogs fanfic #mr pink x reader #mr pink #reservoir dogs imagine #reservoir dogs #mr pink one shot #reader insert #reservoir dogs one shot #one shot #imagine #mk's faves

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just-jordie-things · 4 years

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Unspoken Thing - JJ Maybank

word count: 2671 warnings: swearing summary: JJ and (y/n) have been in love since they were kids, yet never acted on their feelings. But as they get older jealousy starts to seep into their ‘perfect’ friendship request: @sarcastic-space-weirdo: oooh can i please have jealous y/n thinking jj likes kiara and not her (she's oNe Of tHE bOyZz of course way more than kiara) but it was actually his intention just to divert(??)from the fact that he actually REAAAALLLY likes ₕᵤₕ ₕᵤₘ ₗₒᵥₑₛ y/n and doesn't want her to know or he's just dumb and a simp and doesn't know how to deal with his feelings?? so he frEAKING AVOIDS THE GIRL CAUSE IT'S TOO FREAKING MUCH AND MY BOY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING ᵢₜ'ₛ ₗₒᵥₑ (also pls some angsty people crying) (a/n): its not as angsty as it could have been but it’s still there lol ___

It wasn’t really a secret that (y/n) had a thing for JJ. From day one it had been fairly obvious, to the Pogues and most of the island, really.

The pair had been inseparable since they’d met in grade school. She’d met him their first day of kindergarden. Some Kook kid was picking on him, and she thought it was mean.

So she’d marched up to the kid and smacked him on top of the head, before telling him to back off. And just like that, her and JJ were attached at the hip.

They were fiercely protective of each other, so much so that all common sense went out the window when one of them was in any trouble. But that’s how it always was.

Sometime in high school things changed. (y/n) couldn’t quite pinpoint when it was, she just remembered that one day they were best friends who surfed together and smoked together, and the next they were best friends who shared a bed most nights and some of those nights she’d wake up and be in his arms.

Over time, they both became more affectionate. Casual touches began to linger, normal nicknames turned flirty, and eventually neither of them could sleep well if they weren’t together.

(y/n) was certain that JJ didn’t know when things changed either, but it never really mattered. There was always an unspoken understanding that there was something more than friendship between them. They weren’t in a relationship, he wasn’t her boyfriend, but there was still something there.

Clearly, she should have clarified what they were before blindly assuming that he felt the same unspoken thing she did.

Because it really sucked to see him flirt with Kiara.

John B’s arm nudged into her ribcage, drawing her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

The Pogues had gone down to the beach to hang out. The tides weren’t great today so surfing was pretty much out of the question, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t picnic and smoke still.

Kiara had been wading around in the water, admiring the little fish and the shells she’d find, and JJ had all-too-excitedly followed her to help.

(y/n) hadn’t cared- of course she didn’t care, they were friends, and she was not the jealous type. Jealousy could get toxic, and JJ wasn’t hers in the first place, so there were no grounds for her to be upset.

John B still noticed.

“What?” She asked, turning to look at him.

She wasn’t as appreciative of his knowing look as he thought she’d be.

“What, John B?” She asked, slightly annoyed.

His eyes wandered out to where JJ and Kiara were standing, a bit too close. Just a bit.

(y/n) followed his line of sight, but quickly shut her mouth and stared back down at her feet.

Her and John B had been lying around, soaking up the sun and just enjoying the silence between them. But now he’d gone and ruined the good vibe.

“Come on, (y/n/n)” He said, nudging her ribs again.

She swatted his hand away.

“I don’t know what your problem is” She mumbled, pretending to be oblivious.

John B rolled his eyes.

He’d been friends with both (y/n) and JJ for a long time now, almost as long as they’d been friends with each other. So he knew well enough how stubborn the pair were when it came to admitting their feelings.

“Why don’t you guys just call it what it is?” He asked, but (y/n) didn’t respond. She just sat and stared at her lap. “You both obviously don’t want to see other people-”

“Obvious, huh?” She retorted, glancing back at where JJ and Kiara were laughing and kicking water at each other.

Cute.

(y/n) grimaced.

She turned back at John B, a helpless look in her eyes. He frowned at her.

“You know JJ doesn’t like Kie-”

“Do I? Do I know that?” She asked. She wasn’t trying to annoy him, but she was just so frustrated with herself that she ended up taking it out on him. “I’m sorry, it’s just- it sucks. Cause I- I just thought…”

She trailed off, not wanting to admit what she thought to him. It was embarrassing, thinking someone was all yours when in reality that wasn’t true at all.

“It doesn’t matter,” She mumbled. “He’s not mine, and I’m not his”

John B’s frown deepened, and he slid a little closer to her. She looked back at him, a bit confused, but when he held his hand out to her, she melted, and gave in.

She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes so that she didn’t have to watch Kiara and JJ having a blast.

“He’s just being stupid,” John B reassured quietly. “He doesn’t even know it, that’s how stupid he is”

(y/n) giggled, squeezing his hand gently.

“He is pretty stupid, huh?” She mumbled back.

“Very much so. But you know how much he cares about you, it’s clear that he’s, yaknow, in love with you,”

She didn’t say anything, but John B knew that she understood him.

“He doesn’t know how to say it, that’s all. JJ’s not good with his words, you know that”

“Yeah, I know” (y/n) whispered, starting to feel tired from being in the sun all day and now half-laying on John B.

“You better know, you’re the one who trained him” John B teased.

She laughed, properly now, lifting her head to smack him gently in the chest. He hit her back, starting a small fight, before eventually she gave in and surrendered.

It was getting late in the day, and with all the pining and the heat, she was just ready to go back to the Chateau, have a big meal, and then pass out on the sofa. That way she wouldn’t have to wake up to JJ crawling into bed with her. She’s not sure she can spend the night with him tonight.

“I think I’m gonna head out,” She said with a small yawn. “I bet Pope’s made something for dinner and I wanna get back before it’s cold”

“Alright,” John B said, watching her stand up and grab her towel and backpack. “Would you rather go to The Wreck?” He asked as an afterthought.

“Right now?” She asked him, following his eyes as he stood up with her.

“Sure, we can get some food and then head home” He shrugged.

“Aright” (y/n) shrugged back.

She liked calling John B’s place home, because that’s what it was. Since his Uncle T pretty much moved out, it’s just been him, her and JJ, and it’s been great. She hated staying at home where her parents were always preoccupied with anything that wasn’t her, and JJ would probably never stay at home again, so it was perfect.

Her and John B left the beach together, deciding to just walk into town so they could talk more. It wasn’t often that they got one on one time, and he was probably her best friend, so it was nice.

Plus, she hadn’t been able to talk about her feelings for JJ this much before, and he really helped her figure out what to do about their little situation.

There were some tears, some laughter, as she tried her best to explain what she’d been feeling, but John B was there to hug her tight and remind her that her feelings for JJ were definitely reciprocated, even if he was a dumbass sometimes.

Maybe some of his advice was… boy-ish, but it was advice nonetheless. And she didn’t get it anywhere else. ___

When JJ went back to the Chateau, he couldn’t deny that a small part of him was pretty fucking pissed off with John B.

Alright, it was a large part of him. He was just about fuming when he went inside, ready to fight his best friend if he had to. He didn’t want to, but he felt he was left with no other choice after the stunt he’d pulled.

What he found when he barged into the house instead, was (y/n).

She was curled up on the sofa, in her bikini and one of JJ’s shirts she’d stolen so long ago it was pretty much hers now. If he asked her about it, she probably wouldn’t even remember that it was his first.

The sight made him soften for a moment, and for a moment, he completely forgot about his anger. She looked so peaceful, like a little armadillo, it made him smile.

He wandered into the living room to grab one of John B’s throw blankets, so that she’d keep warm as she napped. But as soon as he’d grabbed the blanket, John B himself came into the room, and JJ’s anger came back again.

“You son of a bitch-!” He yelled, but was just as quickly shushed by John B, who pointed at (y/n’s) sleeping self.

“Let’s go outside” John B said, already walking out to the porch, JJ right on his heel.

As soon as the door opened, he was yelling again.

“You knew I liked her, you knew I-”

“Hold on-” John B put a hand up, his brows furrowed in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about dude?”

“(y/n), obviously!” JJ said, smacking John B upside the head.

“Hey-”

“What the fuck were you thinking? Flirting with her like that-”

“Okay, jesus, calm down,” John B groaned. “I wasn’t flirting with her, for one, we were hanging out, because we’re friends. And secondly, you were off all day with Kiara!”

JJ frowned at the accusation, even though it was a fair one.

“And if you had even an ounce of common sense, you would have realized how upset you made (y/n) today, but how could you notice when you were the one flirting with another girl?”

That hit him hard, he didn’t even know what to say.

But all of the jealousy fades away when he realizes what John B was telling him. He’d made her jealous today, while he was trying to avoid his feelings all together.

“So what were you thinking?” John B asked. “You know she’s in love with you man, and I know you love her too, so why would you-”

“I didn’t know what to do,” JJ answered lamely, before John B could even finish. “I know that we’re something, but I don’t know what, and I don’t know what to do about it and… and I thought maybe it’d just be best if she didn’t like me anymore…”

“What the fuck?”

Both boys jumped, not having heard (y/n) approach, but there she was on the other side of the screen door. She’d wrapped the blanket JJ had dropped on her around her shoulders, and she was staring at the blonde boy with a hurt expression.

John B cringed, opening the door to let her out on the porch, but she stayed on the doorstep.

“Why would you think that?” She murmured.

“I…” JJ opened his mouth to speak, but no real words came out. He ended up gaping like a fish out of water.

“I’m gonna give you guys some space” John B said, quickly sliding past (y/n) in an attempt to get out of the awkward moment as fast as possible.

(y/n) stepped outside, shutting the door behind her as she stared at JJ.

“I can’t do this anymore,” She admitted before she could chicken out. “I can’t do this whole ‘what are we’ game anymore, I didn’t care before but- but I do now,” Her eyes meet his, on the verge of tears in fear that he’s going to end this before it could even begin. “And I guess how you really feel about me,”

She blinks the tears out of her eyes as best as she can, her hands holding tighter to the blanket around her, and she hopes- no- prays that he doesn’t end it.

“What are we, JJ?” She whispers out.

He looks at her, really looks at her, and he feels heartbroken, because she looks heartbroken. It hits him how badly he fucked up today, and how he really let her down. But this is his chance to fix it, and finally decide what they meant to each other.

And he took that chance.

He stepped forward, closing the space between them and taking her face in his hands.

Her eyes blow wide as she looks up at him, surprised by the action. It had been years of playing this game, of dancing this dance, and finally, he’d made a move.

“You’re mine” He said softly, surely. It was the one fact they’d both known their whole lives.

She smiled back at him, before leaning up on the tips of her toes to meet him halfway in a sweet kiss.

His lips were warm, and chapped, but soft, and everything she’d always expected them to feel like. It hardly felt like a first kiss, it felt like she’d been kissing him all this time.

And she sure wished she had been, because damn she was missing out.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, the blanket she’d been wearing like a cape fell from her shoulders, landing in a pile on the porch.

They were oblivious to their friends in the window, gawking at them, and exchanging money from bets they’d made years ago.

When they parted, JJ caught sight of them, but with a quick glare and a shooing motion, they were out of sight.

(y/n) turned to see what he’d been looking at, but his hands reached for her waist, bringing her attention back to him as soon as his hands met her bare skin.

She grinned at him, hands sliding around his neck before smoothing over his shoulders.

“No more flirting with John B, alright?” He asked, and (y/n) chuckled.

“I don’t recall ever flirting with John B,” She told him. “I do recall you ditching me all day…”

She was only messing with him, but the smirk on her face was intoxicating.

“Make a deal with me?” He asked, holding his hand out towards her.

She grinned back at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Not ignore what’s between us anymore?” He asked, quietly, like he was nervous, but it made her smile even wider, and placed her hand in his.

“Deal, Maybank,” She murmured, before grabbing her blanket from the ground. “Now come on, I’m tired, let’s go to bed”

Like a dog, he beamed as he followed close behind her into the Chateau.

“Bed huh?” He asked, a little too eager.

“Calm down, blondie,” (y/n) giggled as he excitedly shut the guest room door behind them. “I’m exhausted, we’re going to sleep”

She crawled into bed, not caring that she hadn’t changed into pajamas. It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more than to doze off in his arms.

“That’s fine, I love sleeping,” JJ replied, following her into bed, and quickly hastily pulling her into his arms. She giggled again as he caged her in tightly against his chest. “Sleeping is the best, it’s one of my favorite things to do-”

“Alright, hon, I get it” She said, wiggling out of his firm clutch to rest more comfortably.

Her head rested against his chest as her arms wound around his torso. JJ let his hands wander a little further down her back than usual, but no one was complaining.

“You wanna go on a date tomorrow?” He mumbled into her hair, already feeling tired just from her holding him.

Her hand fisted into the material of the back of his tee shirt as she nodded.

“Where d’you wanna go?”

“I dunno. The Wreck?”

“Hm,” She hummed. “Or we can just go smoke on the beach”

“Fuck, I’m so in love with you, you’re my dream girl”

___

xoxo ~ jordie

#outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank scenario #jj maybank fanfiction

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arcadianstuff · 4 years

Text

“School rivals”

Douxie and (y/n) have hated each other since the moment they met for reasons unknown to the other. Now your arch nemesis has entered your school and you want to find out why.

——————————-

“So (y/n) can I catch a ride to school ?” Your younger brother Jim asked you giving you a pleading look.

In response you let out a short laugh before stopping and giving him a cold stare.

“Um no.”

With a swish of your hair you turned around and headed out the door calling up to your mum Barbara that you’d be home late after soccer practice. Annoyed at you, Jim through a pillow at your head as you made your way out of the door, only marginally missing you.

“Only six months till the end of senior year and I’m out of this place.” Swinging your leg over the side of your motorcycle you grumbled to yourself, envisioning the freedom you’d have once you left the confines of the tiny town you’d always lived in.

A dreamer and adventurer at heart, you’d always dreamed of leaving your hometown for something bigger and better; an adventure awaited you, you could feel it.

On your motorcycle it only took like ten minutes to get to school and the sight of Arcadia Oaks High only dampened your mood. Sure you had good friends, were captain of the girls soccer team and had been Spring Fling Queen back in the day but you had a serious case of Senioritis.

At least you had your motorcycle to bring some excitement into your life. Yes your mum had a heart attack when she sure you riding it back home from the dealership you’d bought it from, but after much persuasion and a presentation showing how safe it was, stastitsics etc your mum caved. Only on the condition that you wore the most expensive and protective helmet that you could find.

“Yay....school....” Grumbling more, you locked your motorcycle up in front, ignoring the flirty looks you got from Steve, a boy in your brothers year at school who had a bit of a puppy crush on you.

“Looking good (y/n). Sweet ride.” With a wink Steve whistled your way only causing you to roll your eyed at his childish flirting.

“Morning to you to Steve.” With a stale good morning you marched past him, helmet in hand as you entered the busy school.

“Morning Señor Uhl.” You greeted your Spanish teacher as he walked past you down the hall, who in return smiled and said:

“Buenas días miss (l/n). You did very well on your Spanish mid term, A*. If only your younger brother good do as well.” Your Spanish teacher praised, before walking down the corridor again, shooting a glare at your brother who’d just entered the school woth Toby and Claire flanking him.

“Pshh (y/n) this and (y/n) that. Can’t catch a break.” A frown passed his face as he mumbled to himself having heard Señor Uhl’s comment.

Jim watched as you walked away, smiling at your friends who greeted you. People in this school treated you like royalty. With perfect grades, a talent for soccer and overall a nice fun personality you were beloved here. Yet nobody knew how much you wanted to leave, how unhappy you really were in your tiny town.

“Cheer up Jimbo. At least you aren’t sick like Claire.” Beside him Toby tried to cheer his best friend up, who smiled begrudgingly before turning his attention back onto Claire, who looked very pale and ill.

Outside in the sunlight the courtyard looked quite pretty, light filtering through the trees and splashing across the ground. As you made your way over to your locker you couldn’t help but notice the commotion coming from a group of girls, who were huddled in a semi circle around something....or someone ?

“Huh wonder what’s going on...” Curious and a bit bored you grabbed your books from your locker, swinging it shut before walking over.

You weren’t the only one who’d noticed, Jim and Toby too were also watching the swarm of girls, Jim specifically was staring at Claire who’d been dragged over by Mary. Unlike the lot of girls who were giggling and talking excitedly, you were less than impressed to see the one and only Douxie Casperan standing among them.

“Oh brother....” you thought to yourself as Claire dropped her books by accident in front of Douxie who lent down to pick them up, flirting then ensuing.

“C bomb is it ? Consider me blown away because you are nuclear.” With a flirtatious look, Douxie continued to make Claire giggle at his flirting who in turn turned a rosy pink.

“Very original Casperan.” You’re snarky comment broke their little moment, drawing Douxie’s attention to you.

“Oh it’s you (y/n) nice to see your as lovely as ever darling.” He winked at the end of his comment, pleased with the way the expression on your face soured with annoyance.

“Sad to say I can’t say the same for you. What are you doing here ? You don’t go to our school.” Your time was harsher now, colder and the girls around you could sense the growing tension, deciding it was safer to back up. Except for Mary of course who was living the drama unfolding before her.

Your brother, both annoyed at Douxie for flirting with his girlfriend and worried about you starting a fight made his way over slinging his arm around Claire protectively.

“I would also like to know what brings you to our humble school ? And what it will take to send you back.” Jim pushed a little at Douxie’s chest just a warning but enough to get the message across that he wasn’t welcome here.

Ignroning you now, Douxie paid attention to your brother and Claire, chatting about some band competition he wanted more people to enter and about his amazing band what was it called ? Astrol Dispersal pattern ? The hell type of name is that.

“Pshhh sure sounds lame. Always trying to impress the girls with your music.” Your comment brought Douxie’s and the others attention back onto you.

Raising an eyebrow in both amusement and slight annoyance Douxie smirked down at you, enjoying the way you looked when you were being defiant and sasssy.

“If I remember correctly love, you used to be one of those girls.” His comment sent a chorus of ‘ooooooo’s through the crowd of girls around you, who quickly scattered upon seeing you glaring at them. People at the school knew not to mess with you when you got mad.

“Please like I’d ever be caught listening to your music. You’ve got nothing on Papa Skull.”

The two of you were squaring up now, standing a little bit closer and entering into an intense glaring match. Claire and Jim watched, a little worried now about what may unfold. Jim especially did not like the way Douxie was flirting with his older sister.

Unaware of the tense situation, Darcie, another girl in your brothers year, rushed over to you guys. Giggling excitedly at Claire.

“Claire we should totally enter !” In excitement she shook Claire slightly, joined by Mary who also exclaimed:

“Yeah we could be a cover band. Call ourselves umm... mama skull !!”

The girls shrieked and giggled, the prospect of performing and playing covers of one of their favourite bands exciting them. It made you smile to see them happy about it, remembering the good old days of being in sophmore year.

However Jim’s obvious jealousy dampened the mood and it made you smile more to see that your brother too shared a distaste for Douxie Casperan.

“Yeah I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean it’s the end of the school year and we are already pretty overbooked.” Placing emphasis on the word “overbooked” Jim snatched away the band battle pamphlet from Claire, hoping to discourage the girls.

In retaliation howeverClaire just snatched the flyer back, smiling excitedly and saying

“Well a friend of mine said I needed a little extra balance in my life. We’ll do it.”

You raised an eyebrow at the strange way the pair were talking, clearly they were hiding something and being very vague about what the said. You’d known something was up with brother since the beginning of the school year, but had never been able to place your finger on it. Besides you were busy with choosing a college, a major and your last year of soccer as team captain.

“Well I hope to see you there soon. Fair Claire.” Douxie’s flirtatious nickname for Claire made you roll your eyes and also internally barf a little.

Whilst the sophomores walked away, Jim sending one last glare to Douxie and not particularly liking how close he was standing to you, you remained in the courtyard with Douxie as it started to quietened down as students made their way to home room.

“She’d like sixteen dude. And also has a boyfriend.” Grossed out a little you pointed a finger at Douxie as you spoke, who only chuckled in return.

“It’s just some harmless flirting I swear. Anyways another girls caught my eye.” Again he winked at you and to your horror you felt your cheeks turning pink.

‘Fudgeknuckles’ you thought to yourself as you suddnetly became aware of how close the pair of you were standing to each other.

“Uhuh well send my condolences to the unlucky girl.” Sassing back, you laughed a little at the scowl that crossed his features, enjoying his annoyance thoroughly.

“I’ve gotten how much of a pain in the ass you can be.” He face palmed recalling how annoying you’d been upon past interactions, like working together in the cafe or running into each other in town.

“Well I’ve enjoyed the peace and quiet not having to see your ugly punk face everyday.” The pair of you now were only a mere inches apart, glaring at each other with a mixture of hatred and something else....

It was a shame the two of you didn’t get along but it was only natural really. Considering what you truly were it was no wonder he hated you, you on the other hand had no clue why he was so aggressive towards you. One day you’d met after a soccer match against Aracadia Oaks Academy. It was your first game and you’d won so you were riding a high of happiness and adrenaline which had quickly come crashing down when you’d quite literally crashed into the wizard on your way out of the changing rooms.

He’d sensed it from the moment he’d met you. The dark magic that flooded your veins. It reminded him of a sorceress he wished he could forget, somebody who’d ruined so much for him and hurt people he held close. Morgana La Fay. However you on the other hand didn’t seem to sense a thing, it was like you didn’t know you were magic. And quite quickly he’d realised you didn’t have a clue, and that naivety annoyed him. It also annoyed him that he found you beautiful and funny and smart. At first he’d chalked it up to a spell or curse but quickly realised sadly it was teenage hormones. Perks of being stuck at the age of 19 for hundreds of years.

“(L/n) !! You have soccer practice first period ! What are you doing with that boy?!” The thunderous tells of coach Lawrence sent you flying in the air out of shock and fear. Both you and Douxie quickly jumped apart, fear on both your faces as Coach Lawrence yelled at you from the doorway to the languages block.

“Umm nothing Coach. He was ummm...ummm here about a match between Arcadia Oaks high and Arcadia Oaks Academy..yeah umm he says we should play a friendly next Monday !” You quickly yelled back, fearing coach Lawrence would see through your lie.

However you appeared to be in the clear, as a relived look crossed the Coach’s face.

“Oh well okay then.....But shouldn’t you be practicing on the field then !” Just as you thought we calm he started yelling again and you quickly scampered away, running towards coach to head to the field.

Behind you Douxie finally snapped out of his fearful state, having been spooked by Coach’s sudden appearance. He watched you run back into your school, not missing the wink and small wave you sent his way as you disappeared behind the door.

“She’s really something...” A love struck expression made its way across Douxie’s face as thought about how close the two of you had been, the smell of your perfume and the cute way your nose crinkled when you got angry.

Regardless of the magic coursing through your veins and the hatred the pair of you shared for each other it was clear there was something more between the two of you.

#toa douxie #toa wizards #toa #troll hunters #trollhunters #douxie x reader #douxie #hisirdoux casperan x reader #hisirdoux casperan

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kbstories · 4 years

Text

impression//expression

“It’s not like Kirishima had come all this way to U.A. to immediately break the promise he made to himself upon arrival.

It’s just that Bakugou is as feral as they come, and the moment Kirishima recognizes it’s fear he felt crawling up his spine that day, he makes it his personal mission to face it head-on until it’s gone.”

(Or: Being friends with Bakugou Katsuki is anything but a linear experience. Kirishima Eijirou would have it no other way.)

Tags: Kirishima POV, Developing Friendships, First Impressions, Slice of Life, Character Study

No additional content warnings apply. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9.

***

Kirishima Eijirou had stared at the grin on Bakugou’s face when he pulled the pin in his gauntlet and thought: Holy shit, this guy is insane.

Over multiple screens, a good chunk of Ground β went up in a blast so strong the floor trembled with its aftershocks even here, miles away. Concrete and steel and glass were incinerated in a gust of fire and debris until all that was left was Midoriya’s crumpled form amidst plumes of smoke and Bakugou standing tall in the ruins.

The cameras shorted out once, twice before the image stabilized; the transmission remained silent. There was no sound needed to see how Bakugou’s grin got an edge sharper in the wake of the explosion.

Insane and absolutely deadly.

It wasn’t Kirishima’s first impression of him, per se. Certainly he’d had some sort of reaction to the only name ranked above his own after the Entrance Exams and the total sum of zero rescue points listed beside it. He can even remember the twinge of something in his chest after seeing that infamous quirk in action on day one – be it awe or envy or plain curiosity, that innocent question of How does it work, though? that accompanies most encounters with a new power.

Still: In those first few days, when Kirishima thinks of Bakugou Katsuki, he thinks of the mad glint in his eyes as he went above and beyond in his attempt to murder their classmate (or seriously maim him, at the very least).

In hindsight, having him play the villain was perhaps less coincidence and more fate, given the optics of what could reasonably be described as a shitshow. And, okay, Kirishima knows it’s not exactly fair to judge someone based solely on fleeting observations. His parents taught him better than that. Crimson Riot showed him better than that. It’s not like Kirishima had come all this way to U.A. to immediately break the promise he made to himself upon arrival.

It’s just that Bakugou is as feral as they come, and the moment Kirishima recognizes it’s fear he felt crawling up his spine that day he makes it his personal mission to face it head-on until it’s gone.

Endure and overcome, just like any other obstacle looming over the difficult path ahead. Kirishima smiles around the pencil he’s chewing on as Aizawa drones on, eyes trained on the uniquely tense set of shoulders across the room.

Yeah. Bakugou won’t even stand a chance.

It takes many cold shoulders, rebuffed lunch invitations and countless glares – and a villainous intervention Kirishima could’ve honestly lived without – for a rough voice to say:

“You there. Shark Teeth.”

The sun is starting to peek into the room as it hangs low and lazy in the sky. Class 1-A has just been released into a well-deserved weekend: Kirishima is very much aware his mothers want him home as fast as possible after what happened at U.S.J., and he’s throwing his things into his bag at peak velocity. Only after a tap on his shoulder and a subtle nod from Sero does he register it’s him Bakugou is talking to.

Perhaps ‘growling at’ would be a better description, but… semantics. Kirishima throws the guy a look and a smile over his shoulder either way, “Hey! What’s up, man?”, and given Bakugou’s eyes only narrow a little, he’s about 70% sure he’s not done something to land on his shit list.

Yet.

All Bakugou does is direct a decidedly less neutral look towards Sero, who jolts and stumbles over a quick “Um. Gotta– Yup, okay, bye!” before he books it out the classroom. Kirishima watches him go with some bemusement and a muttered “Dude”, not that Bakugou reacts to it in any way.

“Spar with me”, Bakugou says instead – demands, really – and Kirishima feels his brows tick upwards before he can stop himself, hands pausing in his quest to cram his notepad next to his books without wrinkling its cover page too badly.

“Uh. Like, right now? ‘Cause I can’t. Well, I could but I’m about to miss my train as is and I’d have to tell my–”

A slow blink, and even that is threatening when it’s coming from Bakugou. “No, asshole. This weekend, or something. I don’t care.”

Oh. Kirishima blinks. Something about Bakugou approaching him out of his own free will must be causing a substantial lag between different areas of his brain because– Oh.

“Wait. You wanna hang out?”

Maybe he could’ve hidden the clear surprise in his voice a bit better, that emphasis on you that sort of slipped in there without him really wanting it to. Kirishima’s heart sinks at the twitch to Bakugou’s brow that pretty much guarantees whatever he actually meant to say is forever lost to the ire perpetually simmering in that red gaze.

Well, it was nice knowing what going to U.A. is like. At least none of his classmates are present to see Kirishima’s inevitable – if incredibly untimely – demise.

Then Bakugou… rolls his eyes, exhales a harsh tch for good measure. “Whatever.” He shoves his bag further up his shoulder and, without a glance back, walks out the room–

Oh no, you don’t.

Out of all foolish thoughts it’s that one that shoots through Kirishima’s head before he grabs his stuff and goes after him. Bakugou somehow manages to maintain that no-fucks-given air to his gait despite how fast he walks, and Kirishima falls into a light jog to close the gap.

“It’s a great idea, man. Can’t have us going soft over the weekend! Plus Ultra, just like All Might said, right?”

Bakugou gives him a withering glance of a side-eye for his trouble. Kirishima notes the distinct lack of explode-y manslaughter, though, and allows himself to settle right into Bakugou’s pace.

“Besides, it’s been like a week and we’re already having villains crashing our lessons. I mean, we showed ‘em what’s what and all, but still! Some extra training can’t hurt.”

It’s not like Kirishima minds being the one to carry a conversation yet the fact that he hasn’t been told to shut up is… something? Not enough for Kirishima to point out, it’s just a thing he notices, just something, so he keeps talking. Past U.A.’s gates, down the stairs and onto the busy sidewalk they go, and Bakugou’s hands never leave the pockets of his pants as he marches past clusters of people in an unflinching line.

Head held high, eyes dead ahead. Cutting through the crowd with his presence alone, and in his wake Kirishima follows.

The afternoon light is hitting that glow-y hue that paints even the most mundane of things in shades of gold when Kirishima realizes they’re headed to the train station. He draws up short, slows his step in the split-second it takes to ask himself if the other even takes the train home or–

Bakugou’s eyes are on him, “What?”, that one word barked so impatiently Kirishima throws the thought right out the metaphorical window and keeps walking.

“Nothing!” A flash of his home screen proves: Five minutes left. They’re making good time. Which, actually– “So what time were you thinking for our sparring sesh? I’m good whenever, unless it’s super late at night. Overprotective parents, you know how it is.”

That gets a huff out of Bakugou. That, and a gesture that’s sort of a grab, sort of a wave that has Kirishima a little stumped until Bakugou sighs gruffly. “Your phone, dumbass.”

“Oh, sure! Here.”

The device changes hands. Kirishima contemplates feeling embarrassed about the obvious crack that takes up half the screen; he’d designed his hero costume without his delicate tech in mind, and with the whirlwind of starting and then surviving week one of the new school year, he hasn’t been able to spare a minute to get neither the phone fixed nor the costume amended.

Bakugou doesn’t comment on it – in fact, he pulls his sleeve down to hold the thing as if to cushion it, and when he taps the screen it’s with his knuckles. Before Kirishima can ask, the pre-installed voice control AI chirps its distinct jingle and Bakugou tells it to make a new contact, rattling off a long string of numbers.

Even before the AI has confirmed the input, Kirishima is catching the phone chucked rather carelessly at his head. “There”, Bakugou says, starting to climb the stairs to the tracks two steps at a time.

Kirishima doesn’t have much time to process any of that before the telltale rattling of an incoming train sounds above them. “Oh shit”, he breathes, hurrying onto the platform and to the closest door just in time to see the last passenger get out. Once inside, he pumps his fist.

“Hell yeah! Dude, we–”

The person next to him, who is not Bakugou, looks rather startled. What the…? Kirishima turns a full 360 degrees before a knock just inches from his face startles him and he meets Bakugou’s smirk, firmly on the other side of the window.

Not a moment later, the train starts pulling away. Kirishima presses close to the thick, faintly scratched glass to watch Bakugou turn and walk right back where they came from. His hand is raised, the light catching white and glinting on something in his hand.

A phone. Oh, right!

Kirishima swipes across an image of Crimson Riot’s iconic pose to unlock and reads Bakugou Katsuki, having left the tab open in his haste. First things first: With a soft snort and a few swift taps, the name is changed before Kirishima hits the speech bubble icon next to it.

Baku💣💥

bro what the hell (sent 17:14)

but thanks (sent 17:14)

it’s kirishima btw (sent 17:15)

just text me the details whenever 💪🏻 (sent 17:15)

He watches the tick next to his messages turn blue almost immediately and waits. One station passes, then two. By the third Kirishima is sure he’s been left on read and laughs, shaking his head. Of course.

The rest of his way home is spent assuring Sero he has not, in fact, exited life in a flurry of explosions as well as letting his moms know he’ll be home in a few. The next time Kirishima checks his phone is between brushing his teeth and climbing into bed, two unread messages waiting for him.

Baku💣💥

[link] (received 19:35)

6AM tomorrow, don’t be fucking late (received 19:35)

The link leads to a location which his phone matches to a quirk-friendly gym pretty close to the U.A. grounds. Kirishima scrolls through a few images of the facilities with some interest before his brain registers–

6AM. On a Saturday.

Baku💣💥

/dude/ (sent 22:08)

srsly?? (sent 22:09)

😩😩 (sent 22:19)

f @ my sleep schedule but ok (sent 22:25)

Minutes later, Kirishima stares at the near-painful sight of an alarm set to 5AM before he sighs and flops face-down into his pillow. The things he does in the name of friendship.

>>Chapter 2

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha #mha #kiribaku #kirishima eijirou #bakugou katsuki #bnha fanfiction #this is just kiri and baku existing inbetween canon events tbh #this fic is also on AO3!!#my stuff

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taeswurld · 3 years

Text

Ace X [Door Handle]

pairing: bakugo x fem!reader

genre: humor, romance

TW: violence, cursing, angst, fluff

Summary:

Shifting into My Hero was a total mistake, all those tiktoks you watched on a daily about shifting somehow convinced your brain to take part. Now the question is how to wake up, and most importantly, DON’T GET ATTACHED TO STUPID DRAWINGS!

A/N:

I’M LATE, LIKE A WEEK LATE, BUT I DID IT :D

ENJOY HOTTIES

{ACE MASTERLIST

You wake to the sound of Hiro drenching your face in doggy drool.

“Ugh, gross!” You yell, trying to push him off you.

As you push your covers off your body, you keep your eyes closed, scared for the outcome.

Honestly, you were feeling a bit conflicted. As much as you wanted to go home, you couldn't say you would be completely bummed out of spending another day at U.A. Especially with your new friends, and whatever Bakugou was.

Ah, Bakugou. You couldn't say your thoughts of him have cleared up, considering you:

1. Find him extremely attractive.

2. You probably dated before you lost your memories of anything that happened in this dimension.

and 3. He’s so fucking irritating but so hot at the same time.

You as you take a deep breathe, you slowly open one eye at a time, scared at what you were going to see. But honestly, you didn’t see much.

You were stuck in a white room, wearing the same clothes as last night, and with absolute silence, except for the sound of Hiro panting and the occasional whine.

“What the fuck?” You wondered.

Standing from the bed, you make your way to the door, but before you can grab the handle, the door completely disappears.

Okay, you are for sure going fucking crazy at this point, but then again, what else is new? But then you notice, the door didn't disappear, instead it was moved to the opposite wall, completely on the other side of the room. But as you job to grab the handle once more, the door, moves once again to the other wall.

As you groan at frustration, you increase your speed to hopefully catch the door.

But nope, no success.

“Ah! This shit is getting old! Stop transporting you stupid door!” You yell.

Just inches before you are able to grab the handle, the door moves to the ceiling.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” You yell in anger.

Frustrated, you feel a familiar tug at your belly, and your entire body radiates in energy, but your mind is too occupied at trying to catch the door handle.

Jumping up, you force an energy to push you to the ceiling, frantic to grab the door handle, but you fail once more, with the door moving to the floor.

Scowling, you force the energy around you to bend to your will, and put you on the floor.

Staring down at the door handle, determined to grab it, you push energy out of your hands to make you fly quick to grab the door handle before it could disappear. But just as you were graze the handle, the door zips to the other side.

Okay, now you were pissed.

You felt another tug at your stomach, this time stronger than ever.

As the energy and anger oozed out of you, everything in the room started levitating, including yourself. You felt heat at the back of your eyeballs, and feeling your hands pulsating with power.

And just as you’re about to lose your shit, Hiro springs into action.

You see him zoom past you, and pushing against the floor with great power, he jumps up at the door before grabbing it with his teeth.

Feeling yourself calm down, you run to Hiro before he lets go of the handle.

“Hiro! Good job boy! Keep hanging on!” You praise.

Snapping his fingers to release the handle, you quickly grab it before it has another chance to disappear.

“Fucking finally!” You say, turning the handle to leave the stupid white room.

Opening the handle, to enter another room to see Mr. Aizawa, Bakugou, Todoroki, Midoriya, and another skinny blonde guy all arguing.

While Midoriya looked like he was trying his best to diffuse the situation, Bakugou was having a screaming match with Mr. Aizawa, and Todoroki butting in every now and then to give his points, not exactly making things better seeing as everyone was yelling at each other.

The blonde skinny man quickly took notice and walked out of the argument to greet you.

“Ah young Y/N. How are you feeling?” He said with a soft, reassuring smile on his face.

“I’m good, my head kind of hurts, and I’m still a little pissed at that stupid door, but I’m fine.” You respond holding your head.

“Woof!”

“Ah yes, young Hiro. And how are you feeling?” He asks your dog.

“Woof!” He responds back.

“Ah, that’s good to hear,” he responds. You turn your head to the side, confused at why this small dude can understand your dog.

“You can understand what he says?” You ask.

“Yes, Hiro is a very advanced dog, with a quirk of telepathy and beta status. He’s pretty powerful, if I do say so myself.” He smiles back.

“Beta? Then if his quirk is being a beta, who’s his alpha?” You wonder aloud.

“Well,” He sighs, “You.”

Throwing him a confused look, he explains his reasoning further.

“You see young Y/N, Hiro is a pretty strong number two. He is second in command, so everyone he comes to come in contact with can understand his orders. But, with that being said, he acknowledges power, and therefore bends to his alpha. You have a strong quirk, and have built a relationship with Hiro with love and affection for one another, just as you love him as a pet, he loves your as his alpha. This relationship can prove to be a great ally to you in the future, just as he helped you catch the handle of the door to escape the white room” He explains.

Perking up at the white room, you feel your anger and confusion going back to you.

“Speaking of which, why the fuck was I in that stupid room anyways!” You yell.

As if everyone felt the presence of your anger, all the boys turned to look at you, finally acknowledging you.

“Y/N!” They all yell simultaneously.

As they all push to run towards you, they get held back by Aizawa’s scarf.

“Hey! What did I just say!” He yells.

“Listen, sir, with the least respect, you had no reason to put her in there!” Bakugou yells.

“She was fine. As much I try, I cannot see your reasoning at testing her powers when there’s only so much she could take at this level!” Todoroki says, with his eyebrows pushed together in a scowl.

“Guys! They know what they’re doing! We should trust U.A. to protect Y/N as best as they see fit possible. But, maybe this wasn't the best way to go about it.” Midoriya says, trying to calm everyone down.

“As I told you brats once, we couldn’t have another situation like two days ago, or yesterday at Gym Gamma happening again. We all know her powers a little too powerful to try to understand and tame, therefore we need all the research we could get.” He says, his eyes glowing red in irritation.

“Hey! I’m right here!” You say marching your way to Aizawa. Standing in front of him pushing your face in between Bakugou and Todoroki, you scowl your features to express your irritation.

As if noticing your close proximity, the two boys turn their heads opposite of you with a red blush taking over their faces.

“If you wanted to test me, you could've just asked! You didn't have to stick me into a white room as if I’m a fucking psychopath!” You growl.

“We need to test your frustration and anger, and this was the best way to do it. You seem to have control of your quirk, and we need to find out which emotions are safe to express, and which emotions we need to find ways to control. And as short as your temper is,” He said glaring straight into you, “you seem to have control over it. Therefore anger is not a big problem” He finishes, letting the three boys fall to the floor.

“Ouch! A warning would be nice!” Bakugou scowls.

“Problem children who yell at their teachers don’t deserve a warning!” He says sternly before his eyes flash red.

Taglist:

lanaxians-2

soft-levi-girl-blog

ladymidnight77

11 notes · View notes

pilot-boi · 4 years

Text

Coffee Cup Woes

Jaune's history tutor is really pretty. Like REALLY pretty. Like way out of his league pretty. And he liked her, a lot. Liked her liked her. Head over heels for her. Pyrrha's history student was a delight. His smile lit up her darkest days, and he was sweet and kinder than anyone she'd ever met. She liked him, a lot.

They were perfect for each other, but sadly, both of them were idiots, and were too scared to make the first move.

Sometimes people needed a little push. Luckily their friends were more than up for the job.

Sometimes complementary mini muffins are the only comfort in this cold dark world.

AO3 LINK

“But what if she doesn’t like me?” Jaune lamented, stopping and sitting at their table instead of working like he should have been.

“Don’t worry, she likes you,” Ren reassured him, jotting down something from his text book.

“But how do you know that?”

“I read her diary,” Nora shrugged, popping one of the complementary mini muffins into her mouth.

“You what?!” Jaune squaked, and winced when his tone drew the curious stares of nearby patrons. “You what?” he repeated, in an outraged whisper. “Why?”

“Well, she left it on her dresser when she went to track practice,” Nora explained to Jaune’s dumbfounded expression. “And Ren wasn’t around to stop me.” She said this like that explained everything, but it mostly just left Jaune gaping like a fish out of water.

“I am about ninety percent of Nora’s impulse control,” Ren reminded him, and plucked a mini muffin out of her hands without looking up from his book. “And no more muffins unless you don’t want to get pancakes for dinner.”

“Yes, Ren,” Nora sighed on reflex.”

“Nora, you can’t just read your roommate’s diary!” Jaune spluttered, flapping his arms about in an excellent impression of a drowning goose.

“In my defense, I didn’t know it was her diary at first. I thought it was just a very formal handwritten book.”

“The words “Dear Diary” didn’t clue you in at all?” Jaune asked, making quotes in the air with his fingers.

“She didn’t write “Dear Diary,” Nora retorted, copying his quotes with exaggerated gestures, “she just wrote the date. Besides, I don’t think she’ll get mad about me reading it.”

“Of course she won’t!” Jaune seethed as loudly as he could without drawing stares again. “She’s like the nicest, sweetest, forgivingest person who ever existed! You could pour boiling hot soup in her lap and she’d probably apologize.”

He slumped down in his chair and put his face in his arms. “I’ve really got it bad, don’t I?” he mumbled.

“You sure do, Jauney!” Nora said happily, ruffling his hair fondly.

“Shut up, Nora,” he grumbled, beating away her hands and fixing his unruly hair as best he could.

“I don’t think “forgivingest” is a word,” Ren commented.

“You also shut up,” Jaune muttered, his voice muffled behind his arms. “You aren’t helping.”

“But anyway, the morality of diary read aside, she definitely likes you,” Nora concluded, eyeing the mini muffins and wondering if the threat of no pancakes was worth the risk.

“But does she really?” Jaune asked, rolling his head to the side so he could gaze up at her with a truly pathetic expression on his face. “Like, girls don’t like me, Nora,” he explained, straightening up.

“What about Ruby?”

“She’s different,” Jaune said, waving away Ren’s comment. “I’ve known Ruby since forever, she’s like my sister.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you really need more of those,” Nora muttered, rolling her eyes.

Jaune plowed on like he hadn’t even heard her, and with how tunnel-visioned he was, maybe he really hadn’t heard her.

“No like, like me like me, ya know?” Jaune clarified, but not really. “I barely even get to the friend stage with most people, let alone with girls. I don’t think a girl has ever has a crush on me in all eighteen years of my life.”

He was running out of momentum, which was good, because she’d known him to rant for hours if you let him get a full head of steam. “So I need you to be totally, absolutely sure,” he was saying when she checked back into the conversation, “because I really like her, and just...ya know...I hope she likes me,” he concluded rather lamely, stealing one of the mini muffins Nora had been eyeing and stuffing it in his mouth.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Ren asked, glancing up at his friend.

“Shush, I’m on break or something,” Jaune mumbled around a mouthful of muffin. “Neptune’ll cover for me.”

“I don’t know how many times we have to tell you before you get it,” Nora grumbled. “She’s into you! Why don’t you see it?!” she fumed, miming strangling him.

“But does-?”

“Yes! Yes she does!” Nora interrupted him, throwing her hands up in the air. “I read what she said about you, and if I have to read one more sentence about your cute butt and floofy hair, I think I might vomit.”

“You didn’t have to read the original sentences, to be fair,” Ren pointed out, pulling a different, and somehow larger, reference book out of his bag.

“Shush you.”

“She thinks it’s floofy?” Jaune asked, touching the messy curls and blushing with delight. “That- that’s a good thing, right?” he asked, looking unsure.

“I give up,” Nora announced, “You’re hopeless, and I give up.” Then she stood and marched dramatically away, already texting furiously to somebody.

“You think she’s serious about that?” Jaune asked his friend out of the corner of his mouth as he watched the red head push her way through the throng of exhausted students.

“I’ve never known Nora to be serious about anything,” Ren assured him, checking his phone when it buzzed with texts, undoubtedly from Nora. “She’ll be back soon enough, once you stop acting like an idiot.”

“Hey!” That’s not fair,” Jaune pouted.

“It’s true though, you’re being an idiot about this,” Ren argued, glancing in the direction of the door when the bell indicated that someone new entered the already crowded coffee shop.

“Now come on, that’s not even remotely true,” Jaune scoffed, and deflated a little under Ren’s skeptical look. “Okay, it’s not entirely true, but-”

Ren fixed him with a piercing look from through his glasses. Jaune could only hold his intense gaze for a few moments before he was forced to look away. “Jaune,” Ren started, face and voice softening, “Why is it so hard for you to believe that she cares for you?”

Jaune looked like he was trying to collapse in on himself. “Because...she’s just so fantastic,” he mumbled, not meeting Ren’s gaze, “And I’m just sort of...not, ya know?”

“Have we ever lied to you before?” Ren asked, closing his books.

“I- what?” Jaune looked more taken aback by the sudden topic change than anything else.

“Answer the question, please.”

“I mean, no I don’t think you have,” Jaune answered, looking confused. “But why are you asking?”

“I’m asking, because if we haven’t lied to you before, then why would we start now?” Ren explained, glancing up at someone over Jaune’s shoulder and waving them over.

“So believe us when we say that she does like you,” Ren reassured him, standing and packing up his things. He patted Jaune on the shoulder, breaking him out of his shock.

“I’ve got to go and make sure Nora hasn’t decided to break anything in the five minutes I wasn’t there to stop her,” Ren said, beckoning the same person over again. “Besides, I believe there’s something you need to talk about.”

“Talk about with who?” Jaune asked, turning around and blushing right to the roots of his hair at the sight of the person Ren was talking with. “Oh hey, Pyrrha!” he said in a much higher pitched tone of voice.

“I assume you got Nora’s text?” Ren asked, a little too knowingly.

“I- yes,” she said, glancing at Jaune before focusing on Ren. “She said you needed to speak with me?”

“Actually, it’s Jaune who need to speak with you,” Ren clarified, glancing at his phone. “You can take my seat, I’m leaving anyway.” Hopefully Jaune could handle this by himself.

Jaune could not handle this by himself.

His face was bright red, and he knew it. Curse you Ren and Nora for obviously setting him up with this impromptu and definitely not-casual meeting. He had to tell her, he was going to tell her. But as soon as she sat down, Pyrrha flicked her long ponytail over her shoulder, and smiled shyly just at him. And he forgot how to speak in complete sentences.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, smiling softly. Her eyes were twinkling like emeralds, and she was actually sitting there and speaking to him. Pyrrha Nikos was sitting and talking to him over coffee.

Sure they’d spoken before in class, but this was different. They weren’t talking about history and the social implications of whatever, they were talking about potential emotions and stuff.

Or at least they would be if Jaune could stop staring at her.

Thunderstruck: so are they talking??!?

Dad: I did my part. They’re at least sitting at the table together.

Thunderstruck: mission “get these two idiots to make out” is a go!

Literal Child: Ice Queen, are you in position?

Mom: I don’t understand why I have to be the one to do this.

Goldilocks: because youre the only one of us who drinks that much coffee while you study

Mr. Kitty Cat Meow Face: She’s right you know

Goldilocks: thanks babe <3

Mom: And what is the point of code names if they are only getting typed in a group text?

Literal Child: LESS TEXTING MORE WATCHING!!

Literal Child: And it’s not a real mission without code names!!

Ocean Man: Remind me why Jaune gets to take off work but I don’t

Monkey King: because youre the only one we could get who could cover for lover boy during this whole schtick

Ocean Man: Thanks dude I always knew you’d have my back

Mr. Kitty Cat Meow Face: Shouldn't you be working and not texting us

Ocean Man: Shut

“Jaune?” Pyrrha prompted, now looking concerned by his silence.

He couldn’t say anything. It was like he’d swallowed a golf ball. Why couldn’t he say anything?!

Mom: Oh no.

Thunderstruck: what? WHAT??!

Mom: That blonde dolt is too love struck to speak.

Literal Child: you’re kidding

Literal Child: you’re kidding right??

Ocean Man: Nah, I can confirm that he’s just sitting there

Goldilocks: oh come on lover boy pull it together

Dad: We did think that this was a possibility. He does have a tendency to freeze up.

Mr. Kitty Cat Meow Face: Wait if we saw this coming then why did we leave this up to Jaune

Monkey King: it was basically the only option

Thunderstruck: believe me, she’s not much better than him

Mom: Wait hold on, shut up, I think they’re saying something.

“Are you feeling okay, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked, concern clearly rising in her face.

Come on, pull yourself together. You have to say something. Can’t just keep sitting here silence! Say something, anything! Anything but just sitting there staring at her like an idiot. And it was this thought that finally had Jaune creaking open his jaw and blurting out the first words that came to mind.

“Nora read your diary,” he all but yelled, still sitting as straight as a board, and bright red in the face.

Mom: Oh for fuck’s sake, you idiot.

Ocean Man: Mission failed, we’ll get ‘em next time

Literal Child: Ice Queen report!! what happened??

Mom: He just told her that Nora read her diary.

Thunderstruck: new mission operative: don’t let him die from embarrassment

Thunderstruck: i want to kill him first

#rwby #mine #my writing #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #lie ren #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #sun wukong #neptune vasilias #arkos #coffee shop rwby

168 notes · View notes

andrewmoocow · 3 years

Text

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 10: Prickly Pair (originally posted on March 22, 2021)

AN: We're getting close to shit gettin' down here! As Steven tries out a new hobby, we learn pretty quickly he refuses to move on from anything while his hobby begins to turn on him. Wow, that's a sentence I never thought I would say.

Synopsis: Steven takes up gardening and grows a sentient cactus that repeats everything he says.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Cactus Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

One afternoon in Beach City, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were helping Steven carry large bags of dirt to his conservatory above the beach house. A few days had passed since the Little Homeschool graduation, and Steven had decided what he wanted to do next.

"We got your dirt, dude!" Amethyst exclaimed as she helped the other Gems with carrying the dirt to the conservatory.

"Thanks, guys," Steven replied gratefully while opening the door to the conservatory. "come on in."

Inside, the Gems discovered a beautiful garden of flowers awaiting them. "How many of these did your magic spit grow?" Amethyst asked.

"None." Steven answered with a chuckle. "I grew all these the old-fashioned way."

"So this is what you've been up to since leaving Little Homeschool." Garnet realized.

"Yeah, teaching was great and all, but I dunno if that was my calling in life." Steven said. "Besides, it was really bittersweet seeing the Off-Colors leave."

"Well, I think this is a wonderful way to spend some you time." Pearl praised Steven's new hobby.

"Me time? I'm hardly alone here." Steven snickered before he knelt and gazed at a bluebell flower. "I call this little smartie Connie." Then, he got back up to examine an onion. "And this onion I call, well, Onion." Next, Steven gestured to some perennials. "And these perennials will never leave!" He began to point to a few of them in particular. "That one's Sadie, and this is her band Daisy Clover and the Shrub-Spects." Finally, he walked over to a pink flower in a blue pot with a star on it. "I named this one Lars." Steven revealed before he started talking to it. "You're stuck in the ground, aren't you?" he said in baby-talk. "Not going to zip into space and leave everyone behind. No you won't, no you won't."

Garnet and Pearl just stared at Steven with concerned looks on their faces, but Amethyst was too busy snacking on dirt to look the same.

"Uh, Steven?" Amethyst said, chewing on some of the soil.

"This might not be the healthiest approach to your new hobby." Garnet admitted bluntly.

"Besides, Onion ain't ever leading anytime soon!" Amethyst added. "Unfortunately!" she coughed.

"I'm just having fun, that's all!" Steven fibbed. "You all should take it easy. They're just plants!"

"In that case, we'll leave you to it." Pearl declared while the three Gems left the conservatory.

"Have fun, dude!" Amethyst called while the door closed behind them. After a bit, the door reopened.

"You should probably keep an eye on your plants, though." Garnet warned, peeking her head through the door before leaving again.

As soon as the Gems departed, Steven turned to discover a lonely, decaying cactus sitting on a wooden table behind him. "Huh?" he muttered while walking over to check up on the prickly plant. "What am I doing?" Steven mused to himself. "Is this really my thing now, plants?"

Steven then picked up a knife and began using it to cut off the top of the cactus. "Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl aren't even impressed." He continued monologuing to himself. "I guess gardening just isn't as awesome as saving the universe."

Steven then moved the cactus cutting away from the cactus he cut it from while filling a new pot with dirt. "Okay, little guy, welcome to your new-OUCH!" he yelped in pain from pricking himself on the cactus top, before sticking his injured finger in his mouth. When Steven popped his finger out, the saliva gathered began to sparkle as he placed the cutting in the pot. "Probably should've worn gloves."

Just then, Steven's tummy began to rumble. "Whoa, guess it must be lunchtime." He said to himself before turning to the cactus. "I'll be back for you soon, little guy."

As Steven left the cactus in the conservatory, something about the succulent began to change slowly.

"Yo, you think something is up with Steven?" Amethyst asked Garnet and Pearl down at the beach house. "I mean, I'm sure we can all agree it's weird he's naming the plants after people who already parted ways with him."

"Yes, very strange indeed." Garnet agreed. "Perhaps we should talk to him about it."

"Or, maybe we could just leave him alone." Amethyst suggested. "I mean, I'm sure it's a very touchy subject for him."

"That reminds me." Pearl interjected, plucking her phone from her gem. "Childcare book author George Ikari is holding a signing in a week, and I plan on going." She showed Garnet and Pearl a picture of a bearded man with glasses ominously clasping his fingers together while on the cover of a book titled "What to Do When Your Child Feels Directionless."

"That cover doesn't look menacing at all." Amethyst declared sarcastically.

"I'm going to have to side with Pearl for this, Amethyst." Garnet stated. "Maybe this book could be helpful."

Just then, Steven came walking downstairs from the conservatory. "Hey guys, what are you talking about?"

"We were just discussing this author Pearl wants to see some time." Garnet said. "So, how are things going with your plants?"

"I just pricked my finger on a cactus, no big." Steven laughed nervously.

"Oh my, best get that looked at!" Pearl yelped. "Who knows how long till it gets infected?"

"Relax Pearl, I'm fine." Steven replied. "Nothing some healing spit can't fix."

The following day, Steven went back up to the conservatory with a watering can in hand to take care of his cactus when he made a startling discovery.

The cactus had grown! Not just bigger and healthier, but it had also grown a face, and was barking like a dog at him.

"Whoa!" Steven exclaimed as he threw the watering can away and raced to the now living cactus. "Oh my gosh, did I make my cactus come to life? I have got to tell the Gems about this!"

Downstairs, Amethyst was taking a group selfie with Garnet and Pearl when Steven came to them with his latest discovery.

"Hey guys, look what I made!" Steven proudly presented his plant, which continued barking. "Look at the little guy!"

"I thought you weren't using your spit on your plants?" Amethyst wondered while putting the phone away.

"No, I think I may have accidentally made it come alive with my spit." Steven replied. "I think it may have been after I pricked myself yesterday."

"A likely story!" Amethyst declared, squinting at Steven suspiciously.

"That cactus really bounced back." Garnet remarked, thinking back to how decayed it was yesterday.

"A real survivor, much like you." Pearl added proudly.

"Aww, and he's got a little lumpy head like you!" Amethyst cooed to the cactus. "Hey, why don't we call it Cactus Steven?"

"Cactus Steven, eh?" the real Steven asked. "Call me conceited, but I kinda like it."

Cactus Steven began cooing at the Gems, though in a way that made Pearl concerned. "Is he okay?"

"I think he just wants some sunlight." Steven realized, turning the pot so that his cactus lookalike faced him. "Maybe I could use some too."

Throughout the rest of the day, Steven took his little cactus around Beach City and Little Homeworld, showing him to all his friends and introducing the succulent to all the things he liked to do.

As the day rolled to a close, the two Stevens took this moment to just sit down on the beach and watch the sunset together.

"This beach, it just never changes." Steven mused to his new cactus friend. "I mean, a lot has changed. I'm trying to be cool about it, but everything just feels so weird now. Everybody's moving on with their lives, and I should be too. I gave up running the school, but I still don't know what comes next." He then turned to Cactus Steven. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

As a cactus that only came to life not too long ago, Cactus Steven turned to his Gem/human counterpart with an expression that one would make when saying, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's probably better that I'm not running Little Homeschool anymore!" Steven continued, even though Cactus Steven probably isn't able to make a concrete reply. "But who am I to decide what's best for everyone anymore?" Steven then got up and began to walk away from Cactus Steven. "Those Gems are better off learning from Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, Peridot, Bismuth, everyone!" He started getting more stressed with each word. "Why do I need to be needed?! Come on Steven, what's wrong with you?!"

Cactus Steven turned his little head sideways, or as sideways as he could in his pot, with a sad look Steven's way.

"Sorry I had to dump this all on you, Mini-Me." Steven chuckled apologetically to his plant.

"Eeee!" Cactus Steven squeaked in comfort.

"Okay, let's go home." Steven obliged in understanding, and the pair began making their way back to the temple.

Another day passed, and Steven was once again tending to his plants in the conservatory. "Good morning Ronaldo, good morning Nanafua!" he said to his flowers as he watered them. "And a very special good morning-" Steven suddenly tripped over in alarm as he discovered something about Cactus Steven has changed. "-to you. Wow, you really grew overnight!"

"Good morning to you!" croaked Cactus Steven, who now began taking the shape of Steven's head.

"Whoa, did you just speak?!" Steven cried in amazement.

"Whoa, did you just speak?!" Cactus Steven replied.

"This is too much!" Steven shouted. "I've got to tell the Gems about this!"

Amethyst was looking at a tablet while Pearl was drawing in a notepad and Garnet reviewed her art downstairs on the couch. "Oh, hello Steven." Pearl greeted Steven as he came downstairs with Cactus Steven in his hand. "Hello Cactus Steven."

"Hey Pearl, you have to see this." Steven said while presenting his cactus counterpart to the Gems.

"Hey Pearl." Cactus Steven mimicked to their amazement.

"That's so freakin' cute!" Amethyst cried.

"He's growing to become quite the talker." Garnet added.

"And he said my name too!" Pearl stated. "You think he might be copying you?"

"I think so." Steven agreed with a shrug.

"Hi Pearl!" Cactus Steven continued. At first it seemed cute, but then the little guy kept talking. "But who am I to decide what's best for everyone anymore?" he began parroting Steven's pensive moment from yesterday. "Everybody's moving on with their lives, and I should be too."

"Uh, this isn't what it sounds like, I swear." Steven said defensively.

"Is it me, or is your cactus real good at self-deprecating?" Amethyst remarked.

"Sorry I had to dump this all o-" Cactus Steven tried to continue before the regular Steven tried to make it shut up by covering his mouth, but that only resulted in more cactus spines on his hand. "Come on Steven, what's wrong with you?!"

"Is something the matter Steven?" Pearl inquired, tilting her head with concern.

Steven refused to answer and instead raced back upstairs while the cactus continued talking. "Why do I need to be needed?! Why do I need to be needed?!"

"See what I told you the other day?" Amethyst said to Garnet and Pearl. "Something's definitely up!"

"Seems like Steven's got some problems he doesn't want our help with." Garnet adjusted her glasses in contemplation. "I suggest we find a way to help him without getting him too wound up."

"Still, it seems like Steven's letting a lot of issues just bottle up inside him." Pearl began worrying. "This is definitely not healthy. I think George Ikari might've said that in one of his books."

Back at the conservatory, Steven sat Cactus Steven on the table to give him a firm talking-to. "What was all that for?!" he yelled angrily. "I wanted that stuff to be private, but here you go just spouting out words that'll make everyone freak out about me!"

"What was all that for?!" Cactus Steven copied his master.

"Because I thought you'd be nice to talk to!" Steven complained as he began pacing around the conservatory. "I can't tell Pearl how I feel, cause then she'd get super depressed and start blaming herself like she always does! Meanwhile, Garnet would probably give me advice while sounding all high and mighty, Amethyst would try to look mature, and no one else would understand me!"

"No one else would understand me!" Cactus Steven aped Steven's words.

"I know, right? I mean, get over yourself already." Steven scoffed. "Please don't tell anyone I said that."

"I thought you'd be nice to talk to!" Cactus Steven continued impersonating his fleshy counterpart before Steven covered him up with a box. "What was all that for?!"

"Oh you know what." Steven coldly declared as he exited the conservatory. "I can't let anyone find out about this." He sighed heavily just as he found Amethyst standing nearby.

"Find out about what?" Amethyst asked Steven.

"Oh oh oh, it's nothing Amethyst, honest!" Steven began fibbing while his pupils began shifting around. "I mean, why do you ask?"

"Just wanted to check up on you, brah." Amethyst replied with a comforting hand on Steven's arm. "Look, if you need help, just say the word, and we'll be there."

"Okay then." Steven moaned. "That reminds me, is Peridot doing anything at the moment?"

"So, you are saying this cactus has begun to imitate everything you say?" Peridot asked Steven as she examined Cactus Steven under a magnifying glass at her greenhouse.

"Yeah, and it's starting to freak me out a little too." Steven answered.

"Get over yourself already!" Cactus Steven yelled, his voice beginning to sound a little clearer to their pair's alarm.

"Is there anything you can do to stop this?" Steven asked Peridot hopefully.

"I must apologize, Steven, but I don't think I can be of any assistance." Peridot replied morosely.

"No one else would understand me!" Cactus Steven continued imitating, seemingly agreeing with Peridot.

"See what I mean?" the little green Gem remarked with a thumb to Cactus Steven. The Steven she knew just buried his face in his hands and tried his hardest not to yell in frustration.

Outside the greenhouse, a small, black spy camera watched the greenhouse as Steven left with Cactus Steven in hand. But the moment Peridot turned around, it suddenly activated a camouflage feature.

That night, Steven had decided to close the conservatory to watch Cactus Steven, posting a sign on the door saying that the little cactus needed rest.

"Now all the Gems are worried about me, and Peridot wasn't any help either." Steven moaned in defeat while sitting near Cactus Steven. Just then, he heard some muffled yelling coming from the box he hid the living succulent in. "Hm?"

Walking over to the box, Steven picked it up to discover that Cactus Steven had grown some more, and had even sprouted an arm from the soil.

"Oh my gosh! Cactus Steven, what's wrong with you?!" Steven began panicking.

"What's wrong with you?" Cactus Steven repeated, earning his bigger self's ire.

"What's wrong is that you keep making me look stupid and helpless in front of everyone!" Steven cried furiously as he picked up the pot.

"Stupid!" Cactus Steven mocked Steven and pointed his newly grown arm at him. "Helpless!"

"I wish you wouldn't talk!" Steven argued before he began to glow pink.

"I wish YOU wouldn't talk!" Cactus Steven replied just as angrily.

"STOP IT!" Steven fully glowed pink, but then abruptly stopped when he heard Pearl's voice.

"Steven, time for dinner!" Pearl called for him from downstairs.

"Coming Pearl, just give me a second!" Steven replied to Pearl, and then turned back to Cactus Steven with an angry glare. "Not. Another. Word."

As Steven left the conservatory, Cactus Steven once again began to grow. "Not. Another. Word."

Early the next morning, Steven was asleep in his bed when suddenly, he was awakened by the sound of breaking glass. He raced up to the conservatory, where it was in total disarray, and a large hole was made in the glass wall.

"Uh, Cactus Steven?" Steven called for the living cactus while following a trail of needles leading back to his room. "If you're mad about yesterday, I get it, but I'm just going through some things right now."

Steven looked around with nervousness and curiosity, while a massive lump revealed itself on his bed. Cactus Steven slowly rose from under the blanket, revealing that he was now around Steven's height with a foot still stuck in his pot. "STEEEEVEEEEEN!"

"Whoa!" Steven yelled in terror, causing him to fall down the stairs and onto the table. Cactus Steven tumbled after the boy and was prepared to crush him before Steven rolled out of the way. "Cactus Steven, you need to go back to your home!"

"Go back to your home!" Cactus Steven croaked in reply.

"This is my home!" Steven shrieked while trying to push the cactus beast away from him, only to be covered in cactus needles. "AGH!" he yelled in agony while trying to shake some of the needles off. Cactus Steven did the same, which made more needles fly around the room.

"Just cut it out!" Steven yelled.

"Just get out!" Cactus Steven yelled back, charging at his doppelganger like an angry predator.

"Don't come any closer!" Steven summoned his shield to protect himself from any more needles.

"STEEEEEVEEEEEN!" Cactus Steven roared, just as Steven thrust his shield into his succulent counterpart's torso.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Steven frantically apologized.

Cactus Steven, however, didn't feel any pain, except for a large gash created by the shield thrown into his shoulder. After dislodging the shield, Cactus Steven threw the weapon back at Steven. "This is my home!"

"He's gone berserk!" Steven yelled fearfully before he found three figures approaching the front door. "The Gems!"

"The Gems don't need me anymore!" Cactus Steven said.

"Those are my private thoughts, and you should know it!" Steven scolded the cactus. "I can't let them hear about this!"

"What an all-nighter, am I right?!" Amethyst quipped as she, Garnet and Pearl returned to the beach house.

"Those Gems did need to get some extra studying in." Garnet replied.

"Plus, there was that strange camera thing that kept following us around." Pearl added. "I could've sworn it's leading up to something bigger, but it shut down before I could question it."

Before Pearl could say anymore, Steven came barging out the front door. "Oh, hey guys!" he laughed nervously. "Uhh, everything's fine and totally normal, nothing to see here! Hey, you think maybe you could wait a couple of hours? I've got things to do, okay, BYE!"

The Gems turned to the window as Steven fought against Cactus Steven with his shield, cluing them in on what was going on.

"Man, someone's been hittin' the photosynthesis!" Amethyst quipped before the Crystal Gems summoned their weapons and headed inside.

"We're here to help Steven!" Pearl declared protectively.

"I can't tell Pearl how I feel, cause then she'd get super depressed and start blaming herself like she always does!" Cactus Steven said in response to Pearl, making her drop her guard.

"What?" Pearl muttered in shock.

"I have no idea what he's talking about!" Steven continued to fib.

"But it's not inaccurate!" Amethyst snarked.

"JUST, GET, OUT!" Cactus Steven bellowed as he charged at the Gems, but Garnet punched his arm off, and it was sent flying at the fridge. However, it soon quickly got back up and grew tendrils from its stump to stand on.

"Whoa, that's kicka-" Amethyst began before she was kicked in the face by Cactus Steven's foot, breaking the pot and making shards fly everywhere. As Cactus Steven started to get up, Garnet punched the rest of him towards the sink, breaking it and dousing him in water.

Meanwhile, the arm launched itself at Pearl and was impaled on her spear, but then it exploded in her face and covered her in needles. "Eugh-ga-hahahaha!" Pearl groaned from the needles covering her.

As for Cactus Steven, he began to absorb the water from the sink and grow even larger, sprouting more limbs along with more Steven faces all over his body, all of them repeating Steven's venting just like the main head.

"The Gems don't need me!" Cactus Steven's heads yelled in unison while causing the house to fall apart by stomping around. "I thought you'd be nice to talk to!"

"Okay, Pinoke, that's even being a puppet!" Amethyst declared while wrapping her whip around the cactus monster's leg. Cactus Steven grabbed onto a rafter to keep himself from falling, but it was no help, and the rafter was split in two.

"Cut it out!" the cactus creature yelled while wrapping Amethyst in his roots and slamming her into the ceiling before Garnet and Pearl tried to rescue her. Unfortunately, Pearl found her spear getting stuck in the monster's thick & fleshy skin.

"Why is this thing so durable?!" Pearl complained while Cactus Steven tried to get her off.

"The cactus is Earth's most durable plant!" Garnet declared before she gave the cactus's leg a strong punch, making more spines fly everywhere and once again pricking Pearl.

"Garnet!" Pearl stuttered for her de-facto leader before her spear was freed from the cactus's body, and she fell down.

"Give up; you can't win this fight, you giant succulent!" Garnet declared.

"Garnet would probably give me advice while sounding all high and mighty!" Cactus Steven complained, catching the fusion by surprise.

"I'm sorry, what?" Garnet asked as she was punched away. Amethyst scaled the ceiling with her whip in her mouth, and she dropped down onto Cactus Steven's back to attack.

"Sneak attack!" Amethyst cried.

"Amethyst would try to look mature!" Cactus Steven babbled, much to the defective Quartz's confusion.

"Why's he so oddly specific in complaining about us?" Amethyst asked before both halves of Cactus Steven clamped shut on her. She was dumped on the ground while covered in cactus spines, followed by all three Crystal Gems being pinned against the temple entrance wall.

"I think I got it!" Steven realized while the Gems screamed in terror. "He's repeating me, he's repeating all my private thoughts!" Then, he got an idea. "Wait, he can copy me! Girls, I got a plan!" Steven bravely marched up to his cactus with shield in hand, ready to put his plan into action. "Hey Cactus Steven, have some of this!"

But instead of attacking, Steven de-summoned his shield. "I'm sorry I mistreated you." Steven apologized to Cactus Steven. "I know you didn't want to hurt anyone, because you're copying the only role model you got: me."

While Steven apologized, Cactus Steven stopped attacking while the Crystal Gems popped out of the wall at last. "I should've given you the love and kindness you deserved." Steven declared, and then spread out his arms. "Now, you want a hug?"

"Huh?" Cactus Steven muttered quizzically as the real Steven began to hug his massive leg. In response to this act of kindness, one more change began to occur.

"Dudes, look!" Amethyst pointed out that pink flowers were now blooming all over Cactus Steven's body as he returned Steven's hug.

"I'm sorry." Cactus Steven apologized back.

"Okay, come on, big guy." Steven broke the hug, now covered in spikes himself. "Let's get you back to the dome."

"No!" Cactus Steven yelled before he began to walk away from the four he had been fighting moments ago.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Steven exclaimed as he raced after Cactus Steven. "I'll fix up the dome real nice, all for you!"

Cactus Steven gave no words. Instead, he plucked one of the flowers off his body and gave it to Steven before he broke through the front wall and began walking away.

"Uh, Steven?" Pearl called while picking spikes off her body.

"Anything you'd like to say to us?" Garnet asked the boy, who just stared down at the flower in his hands, and let out a heavy sigh.

"I think I've said enough." Steven said wearily.

Later that day, Cactus Steven continued its sojourn away from the Crystal Temple and eventually Beach City, now making his way into the woods nearby. And he kept mimicking Steven all the way.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone, so I copied the only role model I got." Cactus Steven muttered to himself. "But Steven still gave me the love and kindness I deser-"

Before Cactus Steven could finish, he felt something stabbing him straight through the torso. "WHAAAT?!" he yelled before he was cut to pieces by a sword with a black grip & guard bearing a white diamond symbol.

Once she had finished reducing Cactus Steven to chunks of cactus, Black Rutile gazed down at one of the flowers that once adorned her victim's body and heartlessly crushed it beneath her foot without a second thought. She then changed her tune into something more relaxed and less sadistic as she began to round up whatever pieces of Cactus Steven remained and collect them all in a bubble.

One of the Cactus Steven remains turned into a little Steven head that let out a tiny roar, prompting Black Rutile to smile and stroke her chin in deep contemplation.

Aw jeepers, it's Black Rutile again! What has she got planned for Cactus Steven? Just another question that'll be answered when this part is reaching it's end. But next time, we get to see Peridot take the stage again as we look into Steven's dreams! Keep an eye out folks.

#steven universe #steven universe futurue #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #garnet #amethyst #pearl #cactus steven

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zambie-trashart · 4 years

Text

Flirting With Disaster pt3

Phanfic Masterlist

“Ugh, I’m in last,” Reggie said looking at Alex across the room who was sleeping peacefully again, one would think that he would have learned from last time. Reggie crept up on his friend, if Alex was up when Luke and Willie showed up then that wouldn’t be Reggie’s fault. Reggie grabbed Alex’s sides tickling under his ribs making the blonde scream almost kicking Reggie in the face. That’s three right there.

“Reggie, what the hell man?” Alex asked sitting up.

“It’s eight, you should be up so I figured that I’d wake you up,” Reggie said and Alex tried not to be too upset with him. Reggie could see Alex’s inner struggle and it was hilarious, Alex didn’t think that Reggie could be that smart as to try and rack up points while the others weren’t there.

“Thanks Reg, I’ve got to go talk to Julie,” Alex said and Reggie grabbed his shoulder.

“Julie’s at school, how about we hang out, we never do anything just the two of us anymore,” Reggie said with hurt in his eyes and Alex felt bad, is anything Reggie was probably roped into this.

“Sure, what did you want to do?” Alex asked sitting back down.

“We could watch a movie or something,” Reggie said, hiding his smile. Alex was falling for it.

“A movie sounds fine,” Alex said and Reggie grabbed the t.v. remote and turned on a mindless musical sitting down close to Alex. Alex looked at Reggie who’s thigh was pressed against his own.

The opening number started and Reggie stretched his arm up and over Alex’s shoulders. Alex should have given Reggie more credit but he’s not giving him any more points if anything, he’s going to get the points out of this. Alex put his head on Reggie’s shoulder making the other shift a little coughing into his fist.

“So why did you want to spend time with me today?” Alex asked looking up at Reggie from under his eyelashes making Reggie squeak a little turning red. Did Alex know about the game or did Reggie just never notice how hot Alex is? Alex smiled a little counting that as an embarrassed noise which he heard the boys talking about adding for one point. Reggie didn’t seem to be giving up easily.

“Why wouldn’t I want to spend time with one of my best friends?” Reggie asked hugging Alex closer to him placing his head on top of Alex’s which was still on Reggie’s shoulder. Alex blinked fast face turning pink. Reggie four, Alex two, this wasn’t going as planned. The studio door swung open and Luke stood in the doorway trying not to frown at Reggie cuddling Alex on the couch.

“What’s this little cozy scene here?” Luke asked going to sit on the other side of Alex throwing his other arm around Alex. This really wasn’t going as planned.

“Oh, Reggie and I were just watching a movie together, did you want to join us?” Alex asked shifting so his head was in Reggie’s lap and his legs swung over Luke’s lap, Reggie lit up like a christmas tree moving and poofing out of the room and Luke just stared down at his friend with wide eyes coughing high pitched into his arm before walking out.

“That’s more like it,” Alex said clapping his hands once before getting up to tally his points for the morning. “That’s eight more for me,” Alex said to himself smiling and doing a little happy dance before someone tapped him his shoulder making him jump squeaking and looking at Willie who just laughed a little at Alex’s anguish.

“How’s it going hotdog?” Willie asked and Alex flushed at the nickname.

“Fine, Reggie and Luke were acting weird this morning, Reggie tickled me awake and Luke freaked out when he saw Reggie and I watching a movie together, I think something might be wrong with them,” Alex said with fake concern and Willie laughed.

“You have nothing to worry about Alex, I’m sure they’ll get over whatever this is,” Willie said putting a hand at the nape of Alex’s neck turning his face pink smiling at Willie who just smiled back and the two stood there just looking at each other. Honestly, who cares about a game when Willie could just kiss him right then and Luke and Reggie would never even have to know.

Luke and Reggie watched Willie flirt with Alex from outside the studio. Luke shook his head at Alex who was falling for all of Willie’s advances, he poofed in the room and grabbed Alex from behind picking him up making the blonde scream and poof out of the room.

“That wasn’t fair, I was having a moment with Alex,” Willie said glaring at Luke who just shrugged.

“This is a game, you have to play dirty Willie otherwise you’re not going to get anywhere,” Luke said patting Willie’s shoulder before poofing back out smirking. Luke was starting to realize what was on the line in this competition. If Reggie won, he might have to witness more scenes like this morning, Luke felt his stomach churn it was a new feeling like when Luke thought about Alex spending too much time with Willie. Reggie stomped around the corner.

“Dude, you know that wasn’t fair, I get that we’re trying to beat him but Alex looks like he really likes him and as much as that might hurt it’s Alex’s choice,” Reggie said arms crossed.

“You’re really going to give up that easily?” Luke asked and Reggie sighed.

“No, but no more ruining moments, the one Alex and I had this morning was nice until you plopped in and… you get it,” Reggie said not wanting to talk about what had happened moments prior to Luke ruining Alex and Willie’s moment.

“Yeah, sure man,” Luke said shaking his hand.

Alex marched around Julie’s room angrily. He just gave Luke seven points. Seven points! Alex drew lines next to the proper initials. Julie walked into her room seeing Alex draw a sixth point next to Luke’s name and Flynn and Carrie weren’t that far behind.

“What happened to you today?” Flynn asked and Alex ran a hand through his hair sighing.

“I got tickled awake, flirted with, and picked up from behind, it’s a long story but I’m still winning!” Alex said pointing to the board happy with that at least.

“Yeah, that’s good,” Julie said trying to stay positive, the boys were catching up and that could not happen, they needed a solid combo.

“We need something that will make them all quiver in their horrific 90’s jeans,” Carrie said and Alex raised his hand.

“Um, right here if you’re going to insult my pants at least don’t do it in front of me,” Alex said and Carrie just covered a laugh.

“We need something that will make them blush for days and every time that they think about it they’ll literally die all over again,” Flynn said rubbing her hands together.

“Hey, as much as I hate that they’re having a competition at my expense I really don’t want to kill my friends,” Alex said and the girls just ignored him thinking to themselves. “Yeah, ok.” Alex poofed out of the room and the girls didn’t even notice.

“Your dance, the dance that you did at the cafe!” Julie said snapping her fingers and Carrie looked up curious.

“What about it?”

“You need to teach him the dance and have him do it, the boys will be there I’ll just say that we’re performing there and we won’t actually but once they see him dance like really dance, they’ll lose their minds!” Julie said and Flynn nodded along.

“He does have nice hips but how are you sure this will work?” Carrie asked standing up.

“Cause at the last performance that you did at that cafe Alex danced on stage with you and I swear, they were bright red,” Julie said and Carrie sighed knowing that this was pretty much the only way that they were going to win by a long shot.

“I’ll teach him and we perform tonight, get all three of them there or none at all,” Carrie said strutting out of the room flipping her hair. Alex was downstairs sitting on the kitchen counter and there were voices.

“So then I told Luke that there’s no way that he could possibly beat me in a push ups competition and he said bet and then we both set off doing a bunch of push ups, wanna feel?” Reggie asked holding up his arms moving between Alex’s legs. Carrie crossed her arms, high pitched noise, probably a blush, and there he goes.

“Nice play Reggie,” Carrie said clapping for him before her eyes turned dark and cold toward him. “Now stop messing with him, I need him for something tonight that you better not mess up, Julie said that she needs you and Luke upstairs for a meeting or something,” Carrie said and Reggie backed up hands in the air poofing out. Alex peeked through the window outside.

“How did he get me?” Alex asked as Carrie walked next to him motioning for him to follow.

“You’re not confident enough yet, you also just gave him a leg up in the competition, he’s got six more points out of you just by showing you some muscle and standing between your legs, get a grip Alex,” Carrie said getting into her car patting the seat next to her. “Julie wants you to learn a dance for tonight, we’re performing,” Carrie explained and Alex sat down sighing. “Cheer up Casper, there’s no way we’re going to lose.”

“Yeah, no way.”

#carrie&alex #willie x alex #Alex (Julie and the Phantoms)#carrie wilson #julie and the phantoms #julie molina #willie (Julie and the Phantoms)#Reggie (Julie and the Phantoms)#alex x reggie #alex x luke #Luke Patterson (Julie and the Phantoms)#who can fluster alex #who will win

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baroquebucky · 5 years

Text

chemistry

part 1

A/N: okay so this is the first real part of my new series :D let me know what you guys think <3 it’s kinda slow but i promise it’ll get better !!!! also i know there’s like not much about the schools programs in the movie but just imagine that they have a vet program lmao thank u :-)

You shuffled around your backpack looking for your dialectical journal, quickly scribbling your name on it and handing it to your AP lang teacher with a smile as she collected them.

“i hope you enjoy midtown tech ms. Parks” she smiled at you and you gave her a soft thank you as the bell rang. You gathered your things and swung your backpack over your shoulder, heading to the area sami had pointed for you to wait for her earlier that morning.

As you looked over the sea of people you saw the unfamiliar yet familiar curly brown hair you had set your eyes on earlier, you glanced at his face and quickly checked him out as he walked through the halls, weaving through the many teens talking and crowding the halls. Before you could fall head over heels for the stranger you saw sami walking quickly your way, eager to see what you had thought so far.

“i mean yeah it’s pretty good so far, nothing much has happened” you smiled biting into your pizza, half paying attention to what your friend was saying and half glancing to see if the curly stranger had A lunch too.

“okay either you’re thinking about something much more important or suddenly you think my analysis of parks and rec is boring” sami spoke, looking at you with such seriousness you let out a small laugh.

“you know i love your episode by episode review sam” you smiled, sipping your water and hoping to avoid the subject of a crush with sami, because once she envisioned a pair of people together, not even the national guard could stop her.

“I know you do, so why weren’t you paying attention to it” she spoke, quirking her eyebrow out as you leaned your head back and groaned at her persistence. “I just saw this cute boy and i just can’t get him off my mind it’s nothing” you shrugged, shoving a spoonful of your fruit cup in your mouth.

“oh my god y/n finally i can get some work done!” She shouted causing you to choke at her sudden outburst. You swapped the fruit quickly and began coughing, immediately downing water and starting to laugh.

“jesus christ sami i almost choked calm down” you laughed as she pulled her phone out and went to Instagram. “What’s his name?” She asked not even looking up at you and you rolled your eyes.

“I don’t know i just saw him for like three seconds before you blocked my view of him” you smirked at her, knowing he dreams of playing matchmaker were gone. “I’ll find him, what kind of hair did he have? What was he wearing?” She asked quickly.

“uh curly hair, brown curly hair and brown eyes, a grey jacket i think” you shrugged finishing your lunch before throwing it away and sitting back down. Sami groaned as you gave her your vague answers. “I’ll find him” she mumbled as you both walked out of the cafeteria.

You looked at your wrinkled paper, searching the halls for your 4th period, art. You found the art room after taking two wrong turns and having to walk the entirety of the second floor because you were too scared to turn around.

“For your first art project of the year i want you guys to draw or paint a place you like, it can be your home, a safe space or just somewhere in the world” the teacher spoke, explaining the project that would ease you into the year.

As the bell rang once more you headed to an outside building for your small animal management class, then you headed back inside for your pre calculus class. You sighed walking through the halls, pulling out your wrinkled schedule once more and walking downstrairs again to look for your AP chemistry class.

You scanned the walls for the matching room number and you were met with your new chemistry teacher as you approached the door.

“hi what’s your name?” She smiled at you holding out a clipboard. “Y/N parks” you smiled at her, fiddling with your lanyard. “Ah yes, go ahead and sit wherever you’d like, i don’t have a seating chart yet” you thanked her and took a seat near the middle of the class.

You watched as more kids pounded into the room, your eyes searching for Sami, you were giddy just thinking about having a class with her. You smiled widely as she walked into the room, taking a seat beside you.

You were so engrossed in your conversation you didn’t see the boy with the brown curls walk in. The teacher closed the door and smiled at the class, welcoming you all and giving you a syllabus. That’s when you saw him.

Four columns over and two seats ahead of you, sat the cute boy with the curly hair you had been thinking of all day. “That’s him!” You whispered to sami as you unsubtly pointed in the boys direction as you took out an empty spiral notebook. “Oh my god that’s peter parker! You have a crush on him?” Sami laughed a little and you blushed.

“I mean look at him he’s so cute! And he must be smart, i mean AP chem isn’t for everyone” you smiled, wanting to get sami off your case. She only shrugged and put the syllabus you handed her into her binder. As the class ended you and sami both walked out, heading to your final class which you had together as well, orchestra.

It didn’t take you long to realize that peter and his friend, Ned, were walking behind you two, talking about something in Star Wars. “sami hes behind us holy shit” you whispered, smiling widely at your friend, following her to the orchestra room.

“Oh yeah i forgot to mention he’s in band!” She scoffed, mumbling under her breath a little. “hey bands not so bad! they’re pretty good and guard is amazing” You huffed, furrowing your eyebrows and pushing your friend slightly.

“look just because you almost did color guard your freshman year doesn’t mean you have to defend marching band” she laughed as you rolled your eyes.

“it’s fun okay!” You defended yourself laughing at her mock annoyance of you.

As you walked down the strairs you noticed how peter and Ned took the elevator down, you shrugged it off and continued your way into the orchestra room. You told the teacher you played bass, she quickly assigned an instrument for school and one to take home and got you the music you were missing.

The final bell of the day rang and you packed your stuff up. Getting ready to call your best friend back home and tell her all that had happened today.

You and sami walked out of school, waving bye to her as she entered her moms car. “You sure you don’t want a ride?” She asked for the fifth time and you laughed.

“Yes I’m sure, I’ll take the train I’ll be fine” you smiled and said goodbye one last time, hopping on the train and quickly finding a seat, texting your best friends back home of today’s events.

“Ned she was so pretty! Like oh my god, her hair! and during class she said ‘that’s him!’ Oh my god she’s so cute” peter spoke to his best friend, an extra bounce in his step as they made their way to the train station.

“you know it’s unfair you use your senses to find out who likes you but you call it cheating when i want you to see if the girl from 5th period likes me, or that girl in the tuba section!” Ned scoffed throwing his hands up as peter ugly laughed softly.

“listen dude, i just think i might have a real shot with her, i just have to find a way to talk to her you know?” Peter spoke, hopping on the train with his friend, ending the conversation about girls and starting the one about building the new LEGO set he got over the weekend.

As he got down from the train with Ned it didn’t take him long to spot you, his heart racing a little faster as he saw you talking on the phone, a smile on your face.

“wait Ned shut up!” Peter spoke quickly, rushing to move closer to you. He focused his senses to hear your voice amongst the crowded train station.

“i mean yeah it’s pretty nice here, i have to take the train so that’s pretty fun, also there’s this really cute guy i saw, i have chemistry with him- no dumbass the class” you laughed.

Peters heart rate sped up as he heard you talking, were you talking about him? I mean that one football player was sitting next to him, maybe you were pointing at him. He focused once more to see if maybe, just maybe you would drop another hint.

“- yeah no way bro, i think he does sports” you spoke, going up the stairs. Peters small smile fell from his face and Ned watched intently.

“what did she say?” He quickly asked, peter sighed. “I think she was talking about charles, she said she thought he did sports, we both know I’m not the sport type” peter spoke, clutching the strap of his backpack tightly as the two headed to his apartment.

Ned put his hand reassuringly on peter shoulder, “dont man, I’m sure if it’s meant to be, fate will pull you two together” he smiled and peter looked at him.

“dude that was so wise” he smiled, Ned only winked at him in return, causing both of them to burst out laughing.

The next day came quickly for you, and before you knew it you were walking into AP chemistry again, heart racing as you anticipated the new seating chart.

“please for the love of any higher force put me next to the cute peter kid” you whispered, taking the seat you sat in the day before. Sami soon walked in with a smirk on her face, that immediately set off alarms in your mind.

“oh god what did you do” you spoke worried.

“oh no not me, fate” she winked before turning to face the front, peter rushing in as the bell rang and taking a seat.

“okay as you know we will have a seating chart so if you will all please line up,” Ms. Patrick spoke, naming off kids, it wasn’t until 9 kids in that you realized he was going alphabetically.

“Mr. Parker you’ll be behind Jamie” she spoke, peter stumbled as he made his way to the seat and you smiled softly at his awkwardness.

“Ms. Parks you’ll be next to peter” the teacher spoke, continuing to name out the list. You however, cough as you choke on your spit, walking to your seat with a flushed face, not wanting to look at the boy next to you.

You quickly gulped down your water, not wanting attention drawn to yourself, even though yesterday you would’ve pounced on the boy sitting next to you.

“are- are you okay?” He whispered, causing your face to turn a deeper red.

“me? Yeah I’m fine I’m really good why?” You spoke quickly, fiddling with your pencil as the teacher gave instructions on how to set the notebook up.

“you just look really nervous, don’t worry, i don’t bite” he smiled at you and you felt your heart skip a beat, Jesus his smile is so cute.

You returned his smile and quickly looked down at your notebook, cutting the small slips of paper and gluing then into the first page.

“okay write your names on the front of the notebook and then I’ll hand out your homework” the teacher spoke, handing out sharpies.

You looked at peter, seeing how his brow furrowed just a bit when he was taking notes. He glanced up and you quickly looked forward, heart racing at the thought of him knowing you snuck glances at him.

“y/n?” He asked and you looked at him quickly, face slightly red, scared he had caught you staring. “the sharpie” he spoke and you laughed, facepalming yourself mentally.

“oh yeah- uh thanks” you spoke clearing your throat, then you realized, your front cover is black.

“where the hell do i write my name” you whispered, looking to see if there was another colored sharpie.

“you can- you could write it on the inside” peter spoke, leaning over to flip your notebook cover. He smiled brightly at you and you returned it.

“oh yeah, duh, you’re smart” you smiled, chuckling softly as you write your name before handing the sharpie to the girl infront of you.

Peter watched as you wrote your name down, falling in love with the way you wrote your name, how would it look if you wrote his name down? He smiled at the way you looked taking notes, thinking the way you bit your bottom lip slightly made you look cute.

Peter blushed when he felt your eyes on him, he knew exactly how fast your heart rate became when he looked up and you thought he had caught you. Technically, he knew so you were caught, but you didn’t know that, and the way you smiled at him when he wasn’t looking made him swear he wouldn’t let you know he knew.

Suddenly, AP chemistry became your favorite class, and not because of the subject.

Peter realized that AP chemistry was all he looked forward to, because the pretty girl somehow ended up next to him. And then he smiled at himself as he swung through the streets of Queens, maybe it was fate.

part 2

#peter parker #peter parker imagine #peter parker one shot #peter parker x reader #peter parker series #peter parker fluff #peter parker smut #peter parker angst #soft!peter parker #flirty!peter parker #chemistry #baroquebucky

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pi-cat000 · 5 years

Text

MSA time travel idea (part 21)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV.2

Part 22: here

“We’ll be fine,” Vivi reassures Arthur for a third time, spinning to face him, backing up past the assortment of haphazardly constructed ‘keep out’ and ‘danger!’ signage. Behind her looms the cave’s gaping entrance.

“We’ve been through a ton of caves. The worst thing that could happen? We, maybe, get swarmed by some bats,” She continues upon seeing Arthur’s continued hesitation.

“Ah, how about a cave in?” He points out leerily, eyeing jagged stone formations framing the entryway.

“No seismic activity in the area, I checked,” Vivi declares, whirling to march forward, glancing back to call, “You boys coming or what.”

Mystery bounds off after Vivi, leaving him to shoot an apprehensive glance at Lewis. The larger man shrugs, putting a comforting hand across Arthur's shoulder blades, “If this has you really worried we can always wait out here while Vivi takes her supernatural readings.”

Arthur sighs, tempted to take him up on offer, “No. It’s fine. Probably best not to let Vivi go spelunking with only Mystery as back up.”

“Probably,” Lewis laughs, patting his shoulder once then stepping forward, “Just stick behind me. I’m sure this will be just as boring as all the other caves we’ve walked through.”

“Yeah. ‘Boring’…Sure. That’s not the word I’d use but, whatever, let’s go with boring,” Arthur grumbles, shadowing Lewis up to the entrance. The ground underfoot transitions sharply from spotted green to dead twigs and dusty rock.

“Creepy,” Arthur eyes the unnaturally straight line, cutting the cave off from its surroundings. Lewis snorts, amused by his muttering-at least someone is having a good time-walking into the dark like this isn’t the most unnerving place they’ve been to so far.

Just inside the dimly lit opening, he spots Vivi, who’s wrestling with a wrought iron canister holding what appeared to be old-style wooden torches.

“Hey guys, check these out! Mood lighting! ” She calls with apparent gusto. Better make that two people having a good time.

“Lewis. You still have those matches on you, right? I think there’s still oil on these.”

Lewis trades his box of matches for the wooden torch, holding it out while Vivi grapples around attempting to light it. Arthur is surprised the old torch has lasted this long. They can’t have been the only ones dumb enough to explore a ‘haunted’ cave at night. Surely, some other idiot would have used them up before now.

“Can’t we just use the flashlights?” Arthur comments in conjunction with Vivi’s resounding "YES" of triumph. The stone walls around them come to life with a flickering orange glow. High, arched ceilings, almost two stories tall, provide an abundance of space. Arthur can now see several meters down a long tunnel before darkness overtakes it again. He shivers, peering at the many cracks and holes dotting the roof and walls. Everything is coated in a thin layer of green moss which catches the torchlight, giving a green tint. In other words, it looks freaky and unnatural.

“Well, this just went up several points on the Creepy-O-Meter,” He laments, resigning himself to an evening of jumping at pebbles coming loose from the ceiling, gusts of wind, and his own shadow.

“I know! It’s great isn’t it?” Vivi twists, grinning ridiculously, now holding a torch in each hand.

“Watch where you wave those Viv,” Lewis dodges back and avoids a face full of fire, reaching out and plucking the nearest torch from Vivi, “You almost got my hair with that one.”

“Whoops sorry,” A sheepish Vivi shoots Lewis an apologetic glance before carefully lifting her remaining torch to get a better look at the cavernous structures around them. A few seconds of fascinated gawking pass, while both his friends take in their strange new environment.

“You have to admit, this is a lot cooler than a graveyard or an old house,” Vivi voices in awe, moving deeper into the tunnel. She’s got an energetic spring to her step mirrored by Mystery trotting at her heels. No attention is afforded to the spooky shadows, shrinking away from the torchlight, rushing to close in behind them. It’s admirable.

“Maybe there’ll be an actual ghost this time and not a dude playing dress up?” Lewis adds, glancing about, holding his torch higher, “Definitely has the ambience for it.”

Arthur shuffles closer to Vivi, so he’s sandwiched between the two of them. This way he’ll have plenty of warning when the freaky cave monster leaps out to get them.

“One can only hope,” Vivi laments loudly. Her voice echoes, bouncing along the slimy green walls until it’s swallowed up by the dark. Arthur shudders. Is it just him or does it feel like the cave is listening?

“Ah. Objection,” He interjects, lowering his voice, so it doesn’t jump around like Vivi’s, “A dude in a sheet is plenty scary, thanks. No need for anything esle.”

Lewis laughs from behind, also lowering his voice to a whisper, “Like weird-scary or scary-scary?”

Arthur throws a half-serious glare over his shoulder, retorting, “Both.”

Further conversation is put on pause when they hit a fork in the otherwise straightforward tunnel. The two passageways are significantly smaller, a foot higher than Lewis, and narrower, twisting away from the central shaft. Both are equally uninviting, ghostly, glowing a poisonous green in the torchlight. His shadowed silhouette, elongated in the firelight, appears to shift unnaturally, skittering away into the gloom. Arthur blinks, focusing attention on the spot. There’s nothing there but ordinary rock.

“Let’s split up,” Vivi’s announcement draws Arthur’s concentration away from studying the walls for shadow creatures.

“What?”

Lewis is nodding along, considering both passageways seriously.

“No way,” Arthur waves his arms to catch their attention, wincing at his own volume, then whispering, “Splitting up is a terrible idea. When has splitting up ever worked well for anyone.”

“If we split up we’ll cover more ground and get through the cave system faster,” Vivi points out, already searching through her small rucksack.

“Just remember to take lots of photos. Here have my spare EMF meter,” She shoves the ‘totally legit’ ghost detection devise, an audio recorder, and notepad into Lewis’s free hand, “Don’t forget to actually press record this time when stuff happens, and write a note, so we know to cross check it later.”

"Sure," Lewis pockets the equipment with a laugh,

Arthur slaps a hand over his eyes, groaning. Why are his friends a pair of walking clichés?

“Lewis. You go with Arthur. He’ll need the moral support more than I will.”

“Hey,” His protest is half-hearted.

“I’ll take Mystery down that tunnel. Let’s meet up in, say, an hour and report our findings.”

Vivi walks purposefully forward before pausing to add, “Oh and if it gets too maze-like come back here, so you don’t get lost,” Another step, “And don’t fall down any holes.”

“We’ll be fine,” Lewis reassures, amused, slinging an arm out and catching Arthur before he can duck away, “Arthur’s got my back.”

Arthur suffers the semi-headlock with crossed arms and a stony expression. It’s not that he really believes they’ll run into trouble it’s more a matter of principle at this point. All it does is make Vivi snort in good humour then hide a grin behind her hand.

“See you boys in an hour,” A cheery wave and Vivi marches away, looking for all the world like a person having the time of their life.

“You okay there Arthur,” Lewis loosens his arm, glancing down. There is genuine concern in his tone now, eyes scanning Arthur for signs of discomfort. Arthur forcibly shelves his exasperation. No need to bring down the mood. Not when this is the first time in weeks he’s been exclusively in either Lewis or Vivi’s company.

A long exhale, and he ducks to disentangle himself from the larger man’s arm, “Yeah. Come on. Let’s go poke around a dark, damp, tunnel some more.” He injects as much enthusiasm as he can muster, but it ends up more sarcastic.

Lewis hits him with a knowing smile, offering, “Here I’ll go first.”

His friend takes a confident step forward, holding the torch high to provide them with maximum visibility. Arthur follows close behind, trying not to get too freaked out at the way the cave walls seem to shift unnaturally in the uneven light. It’s just his overactive mind seeing familiar patterns where there were none. That was all.

Down the gloomy stone tunnel, they go, flickering fire illuminating Lewis’s silhouette and the narrow walls enclosing them. Nervously, Arthur picks up his pace, tailing as close to Lewis’s back as he can get. Occasionally, he bumps into the other man when Lewis stops abruptly to examine part to the scenery. Lewis doesn’t appear to mind, being more interested in sporadic wooden support beams which arise from time to time. Everything is pretty much identical until the narrow tunnel opens suddenly to reveal a spacious cavern.

It’s huge. Dotted with wicked sharp stalagmites and stalactites which both hang from the ceiling and raise up from the ground like clawed fingers, it dwarfs them both.

Lewis immediately steps out of the tunnel onto a narrow ledge extending into empty space, transfixed by the stunning view. Arthur makes to follow. Distracted, he stumbles, hand brushing against the cave walls for support. Pain shoots through the limb, and Arthur stops, staring at the appendage, confused. Had he cut himself? He doesn’t appear to be injured.

“Hey, Arthur! Come check out this view!”

Lewis is now standing near the end of the wedge-shaped platform, peering down at the steep drop. Cautiously, Arthur inches out after him, eyeing the pointed rock formations far below. The way they catch and reflect the torchlight is almost menacing.

Would be such a shame if someone were to fall.

His left leg twitches, and he almost stumbles right into Lewis. Arthur finds himself unfocussed, and he hesitates behind the larger man. What is he doing again? Why is Lewis so close all of a sudden?

His arm is completely numb. It’s tuned an unnatural sickly green colour. The same colour as the walls. That's not normal. A twitch. Arthur watches, confused when his limb jerks up. A second too late he realises that he’s not the one moving it. In an action almost too quick to follow the arm lashes out.

“Lew…” The words of warning are choked off. Lewis turns, too slow to prevent the shove but quick enough that Arthur sees his shocked, betrayed expression. Lewis tumbles backward, face frozen in confusion.

A surprised yell.

Gravity rips Lewis from where he seems to hover mid-air, dragging him down.

He drops.

His friend’s panicked horror is the last of him Arthur sees. A wet thump. The yell is cut abruptly.

Silence.

“Ouch. Right through the chest. That’s never fun,” The foreign words vibrate in Arthur's chest, accompanied by an unpleasant laugh.

Down, far below on the cavern floor, is Lewis. Unmoving. Arthur wants to scream. He needs to scream, but his jaw is locked shut. Part of his vision goes dark. With his remaining good eye, he can see his arm moving, squirming about like it’s got a mind of its own.

No. No. No. This isn’t him. IT’S NOT HIM!!!

A jaw filled with rows of shiny white teeth clamps down on the writhing appendage. A flash of bright red. His arm is twisting, being ripped away. The force of the impact spins him around, putting him face-to-face with a giant canine creature. Red. There’s lots of red. His vision is failing. A warm haze gathers over his thoughts, mercifully pulling him from reality.

“Ah Shit,” He hears himself swear over the oppressive throbbing in his head and the growls of the monster above.

“...And STOP...”

The world freezes. Arthur freezes. It’s like someone’s hit the pause button on reality. Suspended, frozen halfway between falling to his knees and standing, Arthur hangs in place. Vaguely, he recognises Mystery looming over him, also frozen, green-hued arm between his teeth. Arthur’s disembodied arm.

“Sloppy. Very sloppy.”

The voice doesn’t echo like sound should in this stone, cavernous environment. It’s detached. Footsteps dull and artificial, mismatched on the rock floor, draw closer. A shadowed figure walks around from behind. Arthur, still immobile, tracks the progress of a lanky man, sporting spiked yellow hair, a familiar orange vest and flat running shoes. Aside from the sickly, off green, skin tone, it looks like him. Another him.

The doppelganger moves up to examine Mystery and the arm dangling from his jaws, shaking its head in disappointment, “Should have known there was something weird about the dog. It’s always the pets.”

Arthur doesn’t care for whatever this creature is saying because, down below, just behind him, is Lewis body. He’d just pushed Lewis off the cliff.

“To think, that could have been me, stuck in some rotting limb. Ugh. Gross.”

He killed Lewis.

NOTE: It’s the obligatory flashback episode. It only took 30 000 + words, but Arthur finally remembers. Hope I did The Cave scene justice.

Part 22: here

#MSA #mystery skulls animated #fanfiction #fanfic #arthur kingsmen #the demon #graphic descriptions of violence #possible disturbing imagery #mind control #posession #dark #coarse language #flashback #canon character death #angst #yeah arthur's definitely in trouble

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littlecrookedheart · 5 years

Text

Shadows

Pairing : Clove and Elliot | Tom x Clove

Rating : Fluff, M for language

Word Count : 6,080

Author’s Note : Please take caution reading this if you are sensitive to sexual harassment (in the family of cat calling / staring.) Please take caution reading if you struggle with grief / death discussion.

Disclaimer : I do not own these characters. I’ve added a bit of a flare to them for the sake of this piece, but they do not belong to me.

Clove grabbed her phone from the bedside table, jumping up as she saw the time and Elliot’s missed messages, quickly typing back a reply. She swiped a sweater and black jeggings from her bag, running her fingers through her hair like a comb and leaving Tom with a note and a kiss on the cheek.

She pulled up to the driveway, sending her text before seeing Elliot already running up to the car, a wide smile on his face.

“You look sunny today.”

“I've been up for awhile.”

“Nope, Scooter, not what I meant. You look happy.”

Elliot shyly grinned, playing with his sleeves as she drove off down the road.

“I um...I may have asked Robbie to a dance.”

“Whaaat!”

“I know I'm not going to school with him this year but he should still go, right?”

“For sure. How'd you do it?”

“It was so dumb. I wrote it on the inside of a box of breadsticks.”

“Carbs are never dumb, first of all. Second, that's really cute!”

“You think? They're his favorite, you know the ones from that pizza place that has the best bread?”

“Yeah, the one by the spice market?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, critical question. Does he dip them in ranch, garlic sauce, or marinara?”

“How is that a critical question?”

“He's practically my brother in law-”

“Clove!”

“It matters!”

Elliot rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Garlic.”

“Ah, see? That wasn't so hard. And now he has an extra stamp of approval from your favorite me!”

“You're my least favorite you.”

“Elliot, you know how much I love you, but I will dump you out of this car.”

“Right here? Nah. We’re by that diaper place.”

“You lost me.”

“This whole area smells like a diaper.”

“No way?” Clove rolled her window down, immediately making a face and closing it. “Wow. It really does smell like a diaper.”

He chuckled, turning away to stifle the sound, “Like massive diaper.”

“I've considered it and I think that this would be the perfect Elliot dumping zone.”

“Welcome! Just the two of you?” The hostess perked, smiling from behind a couple of menus. Before either of them could reply, she gestured for them to follow her, leaving the menus at the table. “Your server will be over in just a moment.”

“Sit next to me, Scoot. Miss you.”

Elliot rolled his eyes and slid in the booth next to her, immediately flipping to a place in the menu full of waffles and pancakes.

A few moments later, a server came to take their order quickly dropping off drinks and a basket of toast.

“This is what I live for.”

“Toast in a basket?”

“Carbs!” Clove spread butter and jam on two pieces of toast, stacking them before taking a big bite. “I could literally just have this and I'd be content.”

“What are you gonna get?”

“I don't know! What do you think I should?”

“We've been sitting here for like ten minutes and you haven't decided what you want? I'm getting the supreme pancake thing.”

“Oh! Do they still have those birthday cake pancakes?”

“We have the birthday cake waffles,” the server said as he reappeared, pulling out his notepad. “Your birthday?”

“Nah, they just taste like dessert and I like dessert.”

“I haven't tried them but they do look delicious…” He gave her a long, full bodied once over, “Those cakes.”

Elliot looked to her with a scowl, confused.

“Not even trying to hide it, huh?”

The server moved his eyes along her curves, obviously staring at her chest. She pretended not to be bothered, zipping her jacket up higher.

“I need a sec. Scoot, go first.”

“Um...okay...I want the pancake supreme breakfast.”

“Sausage or bacon?”

“Both?”

“Okay. And for you, sweetcheeks?”

Clove started cracking up, holding a finger up to signify that she needed a moment. She stood up, facing him straight on.

“You think I'm hot, right? Do you always creepy stare at hot girls?”

“I'm not supposed to flirt on the job, sweetie-”

“'Sweetie,' my foot in your ass. I hope you like the unemployment line.”

She marched up to the front desk, pounding her fist on the wooden counter. The server quickly followed over, murmuring under his breath.

“Hi! I'd really like to see the manager. Like, head honcho. Who is in charge?”

“Ma’am, if you'll please-”

“I'm ma'am now? Twenty seconds ago I was, ‘sweet cheeks.’”

Elliot grabbed his phone to record her, a man with a large beard approaching her at the counter.

“Hello, I'm Peter. I'm the manager, what can I help you with?”

“I came here for a breakfast with my kid brother. He's right over there,” she nodded toward him, “Instead, I'm being sexually harassed by the guy that's meant to be my server.”

“Are we sure this wasn't a misunderstanding?”

“Right, I suppose I misunderstood him staring at my tits and making a comment about my ‘cakes,’ along with calling me, ‘sweet cheeks.’”

Peter's face turned a deep shade of red as he whipped around to face the server, who stood with his hands up in surrender.

“Didn't mean anything by it! If she didn't have those things out in the open like that-”

“I'm wearing a sweater, asshole. I could walk in here completely naked and you being a creep would still not be okay!” She used her hands to talk, keeping her volume cool and collected despite the rage in her eyes, “Clothes don't determine consent! Having breasts does not mean I'm dying for you to talk to me like that! You need to take a few lessons on common fucking courtesy, because my dude, you are lacking.”

“My office, Clancy. Now.”

Peter turned back to face her, shaking his head, “I am so sorry. He will be dealt with and your meal today will be free of charge.”

“Thanks, but listen, Peter. First of all, don't doubt someone when they say they're being sexually harassed. Second, he doesn't need to be, ‘dealt with,’ he needs to be fired. Keeping him employed here poses a risk to every single female patron that walks through that door with your seal of approval. That isn't an establishment most people want to support.”

As she turned away, Elliot began to clap, attracting the attention of a few other customers who joined in. She did a little twirl and bow, elbowing him as she got back in the booth.

“Tom thinks you're a badass.”

“Did you record me?”

“Yeah, because you're a badass. So I sent it to Tom.”

“Don't ever be like that guy, Scoot. You're so much better than that.”

“I'm not gonna objectify someone's body. I know how bad that is.”

“You're right. And you're smart for remembering.”

“You sure you're okay? That guy was a creep.”

“I'm fine! No scratches. Plus, I felt pretty brave doing what I did.”

“Yeah..you were.”

She wiped her mouth, grinning at him, “So...why do you think that area smells like diaper?”

“Dunno,” he shoved a huge bite of pancakes in his mouth, “But it didn't smell like that until after the flood.”

“Something wicked in those waters.”

Elliot glared at her, pouring more syrup over his food.

“Sorry, jeez. Something more wicked. Like poop.”

He snorted, covering his nose and mouth, “Goober, don't say, ‘poop,’ at the table.”

“Okay, dad. I forgot we can't say any of the gross words.”

Elliot’s face went slack, a weak smile slowly curling on his lips. “Dad hated that.”

“He did! He was the only one who was allowed to talk about poop while we ate.”

“I don't know why that made me really sad.”

“It’s okay, Scooter. We’re allowed to miss them.”

At the front of the restaurant, a small girl sat beside her mother, looking up as she watched her reapply her lipstick after their meal. Elliot’s gaze locked on them, his fake smile beginning to become genuine. Clove turned her head and watched them for a moment before saying, “That’s adorable.”

“I remember you used to do that with mom.”

“You do?”

“I remember when we were younger and you’d sit on the hamper in the bathroom and watch mom do her makeup. She always said, ‘Clove, draw your eyebrows as high as your hopes will take you-’”

“And when you dream, aim higher,” she joined him in unison, putting her arm around him. “I miss her.”

“Me too.”

“Remember when she’d sing to you when you were little? You’d hum along but never sing. She told you that your lungs were made to belt it out and you were doing the world and injustice by keeping it in.”

“I really can’t sing, either. She was the one doing the world and injustice by wanting me to belt it out.”

“Nah, Scoot. She just loves you.”

“Do…you believe in heaven?”

“I’ve seen enough of it to know it’s out there.”

“I don’t know if I do…but if it’s real, mom’s there. Dad too, but…mom is like the queen of the angels.”

“You know something? It might sound crazy, but-”

“Can you feel her, too?”

“Yeah. Right now, sitting across the table,” she pointed her fork to the empty spot, “Telling you that this hair looks so nice since it’s grown out.”

“She’d like Tom, I think.”

Clove’s eyes welled with tears, picturing a world in which her mother may have known him.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just bittersweet.”

She wrapped her arms around him, feeling him sniffle against her.

“Mom would love Robbie. God, Scooter. She’d be so proud of you. I know she is, wherever she is. They both are.”

“Do you think..” Elliot poked at his breakfast, choosing his words. “Do you think they’d care? Y’know…about me…liking guys?”

“I don’t have to think, I know they’d be happy to know that you were being true to yourself. I know they’d care, but only about your happiness. They’d never treat you differently.”

“Yeah…but how can you know that? It’s not like I ever got close to saying anything.”

“Because I know they didn’t mind. You know, one time I told mom that I liked girls.”

“You like girls?”

Clove shrugged, finishing off her drink, “Yeah. Not super often, but if I met a girl and I got feelings for her, I wouldn’t think any differently. One time when I was younger than you, though? I had a crush on our old neighbor. Remember Mia?”

“The girl with short hair? She was so much older than you!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t care. It was just a harmless crush, anyway. I told mom, ‘I think Mia is really hot.’ and she just laughed and said, ‘I don’t blame you.’”

“She really said that?”

“Why would I make that up?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I feel bad that we’ve mostly talked about mom.”

“Dad was great, but Scooter, me and you were always glued to mom’s hip. Of course we’re gonna have these times where we just talk about her, but we will have those times about dad, too.”

“My favorite thing about dad was his Saturday morning speech.”

“Oh, God. Kill me now.”

Elliot cleared his throat and began to do an impression. “Today is Saturday and I am going to sit right here-”

“In my pj’s-”

“And no kid or wife-”

“Is going to make me put on real pants!”

“-So if you need anything today…”

“Ask your mother or call a delivery service.”

They both stared at one another for a moment before doubling over in laughter.

“There is no question where we get our humor from.”

“Hey, Clove? I know we can��t visit their gravestones…not today, at least. But could we do something for them?”

“Whatcha have in mind?”

“Maybe we could write notes and burn them or something.”

“Huh. Okay. You ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

Clove pulled her jacket on, slipping a twenty dollar bill to Elliot.

“What’s that for?”

“Being you. But can you run up and get grandpa’s to go? It’s free like the rest of this meal, thanks to Clancy.“

He made his way to the counter to grab the order while Clove pulled out her phone, swiping through a photo album she had complied of she and Elliot with their parents through the years. He met her back at the table and slid the change under his glass for a tip, looking over her shoulder.

“Come on, Goob. Let’s go.”

“Just up that hill.”

Elliot pointed ahead to a pathway of trees, dead and barren from Winter’s wrath, the surrounding woods plush with evergreens. Atop the hill sat a dead patch of grass, remnants of a bonfire still smoking at a makeshift fire pit.

“Someone had fun here last night,” Clove smiled, “I love bonfires.”

“Actually…that was me. I came up here to think.”

A look of concern crossed her face as she sat on the ground next to him, bumping his knee with her own.

“You’re not just playing with fire…right?”

“No, I swear. I just got the idea from the fire last night. Watching the branches and sticks curl up and basically just become ash? It..it was like..why can’t bad memories do that, too?”

“Because memories are a part of us.”

“I wish not all of them were.”

“Tom told me something once that helped me a lot. Can I share it with you?”

Elliot nodded, pulling his beanie off. He stretched it in his hands, looking into the distance.

“We are the people we are. Our grandpa is the guy who was involved with the cult. Our parents..were murdered by that cult. We can’t run from it, but we have to remember that it doesn’t define us.”

“I don’t know if I know what you mean.”

“When you look at me, do you see any of that?”

“No.”

“What do you see?”

“My sister. That’s it.”

“Exactly, Scooter. Because we aren’t our past. Nobody should ever look at you and see those things, especially yourself. You were amazing before, during, and now, after all of that. You aren’t, ‘Elliot, kid who almost died however many times.’ You’re Elliot, my baby brother. You’re smart, you’ve got a great head on your shoulders. You’re a big sweetie-”

“Don’t push it.”

“…Even though you don’t believe it.”

“Thanks, Clove. I guess you’re right. I don’t think Robbie is anything like his dad or something..that’s kind of similar, right?”

“Yeah, it’s similar.”

Elliot laid back, folding his arms under his head. Clove joined him, watching the overcast sky as the clouds drifted along. She thought of the moments in between the sadness, taking her brother’s hand in her own.

“We made it.”

“Yeah, we did, didn’t we?”

“And we’re gonna keep on making it. Somewhere up there in all of those clouds, mom and dad are there. They’re looking at us now and they’re proud, I can feel it in my heart.” She placed a hand to her chest, choking back tears, “One day in a couple years, you’re gonna graduate high school, and you’re gonna look in the seats and wish they were there. It’s gonna feel like acid in your heart, but I need you to know something.”

She turned to him, wiping her eyes with her other hand, “I swear to you, no matter what you feel, they will be there. I will be there. You still have a family, okay?”

Elliot dove forward, embracing her tightly.

“Why did they have to leave, Clove?”

She squeezed her eyes, desperate to hold back her emotions as he sobbed in her arms. Be strong. Be strong.

“I don’t know, Scooter. They are right here with us, right now,” she wiped his tears, pressing her hand over his, aligning it at his heart, “You can’t tell me you don’t feel that.”

“I’m so scared..I-” he buried his face in his hands, “It’s been this long and I’m still so scared to lose you, too.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You hear me? I’m not leaving.” Clove’s arms wrapped around him, rocking back and forth as she began to hum, her touch maternal against his heartache. “We’re okay, Elliot. Breathe with me,” she said, her voice soft. She inhaled deeply, waiting for him to mirror her, slowing down his sobs one breath at a time.

Once he’d gone quiet, her humming the only sound against the blowing wind, she kissed the crown of his head and tightened her embrace.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” He sat up, using his sleeves to wipe his face.

“Still wanna burn a note?”

“Yeah.”

She dug through her purse, taking out a miniature journal and a pen. She scribbled something of her own and handed him the items, digging a book of matches from her things.

“Do you want me to read it?” Elliot asked, pulling his hat back on.

“Only if you want to. I didn’t think you would.”

“Um…Doctor Ripley…wants me to be more open with you.”

Their therapist, a kind, plump man with thinning hair and very large, square glasses, had been working with Elliot twice weekly over the past year and a half. Clove joined him in seeing a therapist, sometimes the same, sometimes a tall woman with a harsh smokers rasp and eyes like a river. Always helpful, regardless - and she was delighted to see that Elliot, too, was having a good experience.

“Okay.”

He took a shaky breath and cleared his throat before starting, “Mom and Dad…I’m not mad anymore. I’m sorry that I was. I didn’t know how to..how to think about you actually not being here anymore. I kept..thinking about you, hoping we could go home again. I think it took me this long to let you go..and I just want to. I want to let you go. I love you so much…but you deserve to be free.”

Clove swiped the matchstick along the panel, placing the flame along the edge of his note. He dropped it, watching as it blew to the blackened pile of sticks. Once it dissipated, it was nothing but a clipping the size of a snowflake, and it floated off with the breeze.

“I’ll go now.”

She dug the tip of her boot into the dirt, doing her best to keep her eyes from flooding.

“Mom…Dad..”

Elliot placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling her body tremble beneath his touch. “You don’t have to, Goob.”

“It’s okay. Mom, Dad…you taught me love for so long I never actually realized that one day, I wouldn’t feel yours anymore. I just want to say thank you for Elliot…”

He looked to her, his brows bent in confusion.

“Thank you for Elliot because when I look at him, your love is everywhere. All around me. And I don’t think I could live without him for one second.”

She lit a new match, placing her note on the embers.

“I didn’t write this..but I want to add something. Grandma Josephine…wherever you are, thank you for my mom. Because she has always been an angel, and me and Elliot miss her so much. I wish I could have met you before you were hurt. But all of you…Elliot’s right. We have to let you go. You have to be free.” Clove reached for her brother’s hand, looking to the sky. “We’ll always love you.”

“Always.”

Their hands linked as they looked to the sky, taking in the crisp air. Elliot reached to hug her again, his eyes going wide as he broke away, “Grandpa’s breakfast!”

“Oh, shit! Okay, ready? I’m ready.”

She waved goodbye as Elliot ran inside, dodging many beginning drops of rain. She pulled up Tom’s contact and called him, leaning her head back against the seat rest.

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Hey. You busy?”

“Nope. Did Elliot tell you he sent me a video of you absolutely slaying that-”

“Tommy?”

Her voice was breaking, chest riddled in emotion and a heavy sound of tears.

“What’s wrong, angel?”

“I just really need you right now.”

“Okay, I’m here. Want me to meet you anywhere?”

“Are you home?”

“Yeah. Come over.”

“I’m gonna take a minute to myself and I’ll be on my way.”

“I’ll come pick you up if you need me to. Can you drive?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“It’s gonna be okay, my love. See you when you get here.”

Tom hung up the phone, scrubbing his face with his palm before sending Elliot a text.

He grabbed his keys and ran outside, speeding to the farmers market down the street before Clove arrived. Nearly slipping on the slick sidewalk, he pummeled through the door, running into an elderly woman who was sweeping the floor. The air smelled of fresh produce and rain, his eyes scanning around for plants and flowers.

“You okay there, son?”

“Yeah! Sorry, I slipped.”

“You’re in a real hurry.”

“The love of my life is on her way over and she’s bawling her eyes out. I need flowers. Can you point me-”

“What kind?”

Tom pulled his phone out to verify the texts from Elliot.

“Red carnations and white daisies.”

“You want the mini carnations?”

“What looks better?”

“The mini ones.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

The woman gathered a bundle of flowers and wrapped them in newspaper, tying a ribbon around the base.

“Wait, what are those tiny tiny white little things that come with flowers? On green branches?”

“Baby’s breath. I’ll add some.”

“Thank you!” He pulled out his wallet, but she shooed him away.

“You came in here and nearly bowled me over. I asked if you were okay and you didn’t say, ‘a girl I like,’ or, ‘my girlfriend,’ you said the love of your life.”

“Yeah?”

“Young people finding that is something special. On the house.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Yeah, yeah, now you go on.”

Tom smiled and ran out the door, jumping in the car.

When he pulled up to his apartment, sheets of rain blanketed the sky, Clove’s car nowhere to be seen. Safe, he thought, darting from the car to the front door, pushing it open to see her already sitting on the couch, her hair and sweater soaking wet.

He set the bouquet down along with his keys and grabbed a towel from the hall closet, pulling the throw blanket off the back of the couch.

Her eyes were rimmed in red, face puffy from her tears. He pulled her into an embrace, holding her tight as she collapsed in his arms, crying with all of her might.

“I’m here, I’m here.”

Once her crying slowed, he unfolded the towel, scrunching her curls within it to dry them. Lifting her sweater over her head, he dried her skin, draping the blanket around her shoulders.

“Don’t go anywhere. I’m gonna get you a top.”

She nodded, sniffling, using her sweater to wipe her face.

Tom shuffled through his drawers, finding an oversized t-shirt and a washcloth, stopping by the bathroom to warm up the cloth before heading back to her spot on the couch.

“Okay. Hand me that towel?”

He took it from her, drying the top of her back and spots on her hair he’d missed as he stood behind her, unhooking her bra before handing her the shirt. He smoothed his hands over her shoulders, running his fingers along the imprint of her bra straps, noting the indentation across her back where the band rested.

She pulled the top on, kicking off her jeans as she nestled into the corner of the couch, Tom squeezing his way next to her. He wiped her face with the washcloth and kissed her cheek, pulling her into his embrace.

“You know..when I was little before Elliot was born, sometimes my mom and I would order pizza and have a girls night. She’d bake cookies and play with my hair…”

Tom zoned out for a second, her hair in his hands as she told this story, her voice aching in grief. And back to reality, he took her hand, kissing the top of it.

“…It was just…everything.”

“Missing them extra today?”

“Yeah. Elliot and I talked about them and it was so nice but just..I can’t help but be heartbroken when I think about some things.”

“Do you want to tell me about those things?”

“Graduation. I know it was just a sheet of paper, but I did it, you know? They weren’t there. They won’t be there when I open my store. They…”

She choked on her words, tears spilling from her eyes again. Tom’s own eyes began to water as he wrapped her in his arms even tighter, easing her through the moment.

“If I ever get married, I- I always dreamed of them being there. And I know I have Elliot, I just…it’s not the same. I dreamt of it my whole life, Tommy. They’ll never be there. They won’t see me fall in love with you every single day. They won’t see it if I…what if we have a baby one day? How can I explain to my kids how amazing they were, but ‘sorry, you’ll never meet them?’ It’s just…it’s not fair. And I’m angry!” Her voice grew louder, “I’m so mad and I’m so fucking upset because I deserved them to be there. I deserved them holding my hands as I walked down the aisle. I’m angry and I’m sad and I feel like my chest is caving in.”

Tom rubbed her back, gently holding her to his chest.

“It’s not fair. You’re right. It’s the opposite of fair. But you know what you’re forgetting? They see you, Clove. You know they do.”

“Seeing me from another plane doesn’t make me feel less alone.”

“It’s know, baby. I wish I could mend your heart a million times over. Let me see those eyes.”

She looked to him and gave him a small, sad smile.

“They’re so fucking proud of you. Look at you, you’re a powerhouse. Not only are you a total badass, you’re an amazing artist. You have the best heart. The best head on your shoulders. You’re everything, Clove. And if for one second you ever feel alone, remember that you will always, always have my heart and soul. Plus, you know what? You can be pissed off. Throw something, kick a wall in, punch me in the face! It’s justified. You are allowed to be angry!”

She blinked a few times in a deadpan stare, “Did you just yell at me to punch you in the face?”

“Yes. Punch me, baby. If you feel better after beating the shit out of someone, I’ll volunteer.”

She giggled, his laughter joining hers.

“I’d never hurt you. I just…I’m so..”

“You don’t have to explain. I’m gonna be here every step of the way, even if that means making you laugh at me.”

“Why are you so good to me?”

“Because you’re the love of my life. Oh! Speaking of.”

He hopped up and grabbed the flowers, handing her the bouquet.

“Tommy…”

“Do you like them?”

He kneeled on the floor next to her, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“They’re perfect. My mom…you..you remembered?”

“Elliot helped me out, but yeah. I remembered the story where she put them in every window on your birthday. You said that’s where you got that from…and if you have kids, you’ll do the same for them.”

She held them to her chest and kissed him, his lips like feathers against her own, the warmth of his love radiating from where he knelt.

“I’m gonna love you forever.”

“I’m gonna love you for even longer. And so do they. Their love for you is limitless, angel. They see you. They’re proud of you. They love you.”

“I’m wish they could have met you.”

“Me too.”

Late in the evening, Tom stood in the open doorway, listening to the birds sing after the storm. Clove sat curled up on the couch, streaming YouTube videos on Tom’s laptop as she munched on Doritos.

“Do you mind if I ask Elliot over to stay the night with us? I just really want him here.”

“Absolutely. I’ll text him and pick him up.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s cool. We can get dinner on the way back.”

He sent the text, stepping inside to put his shoes on.

“Your hair looks nice like that.”

“What, like wild? You just like it down.”

“I do. You can’t blame me, you look like some fancy poet.”

“Now, that’s a compliment I’ll take. Elliot says he’ll be ready in fifteen. I should head over. What do you want food wise?”

“Can I say…junk? I want junk.”

“I can do that. Toppings?”

“You know me so well. Just a bunch of cheese…and some of that garlic bread?”

“Say no more, my lady. I’ll tell him to text when we’re on the way.”

“Tommy?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, angel.”

After picking up Elliot and a massive order of pizza, Tom pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store, taking the key from the ignition.

“Ice cream?”

“Hell yeah!”

Tom chuckled, raising his eyebrows. “Okay, what kind?”

“Anything chocolate.”

“You…really, really are Clove’s brother.”

“What of it?! Can you get me some tea? I have mone-”

“Shut up, dork. I don’t want your money. Do you also have a weird flavored tea addiction? I’m grabbing raspberry while I’m in here anyway.”

“I might like it.”

“I might dump it on you when I get back then. Put that money away.”

Elliot stuffed the bill back in his pocket, trying not to grin as widely as he was.

At Tom’s return, he grabbed the grocery bags, sifting through them to eye the items inside.

“You’re like, a really good boyfriend.”

“What do you say that for?”

“Clove is lucky to have you. She had a bad day and you went like,” he gestured with his hands, “Massively all out. People don’t usually do that.”

“I’m in love with her. That’s what you do when someone you love is hurting.”

“Thanks for being there for her. I know she loves you like that, too.”

“Can I…Elliot, I really want to tell you something. But it can’t make it back to Clove.”

“Okay?”

“Um..I have been thinking and I just-”

“Watch out!”

Tom slammed on the brake just in time to avoid a loose dog sprinting down the road, owners chasing behind.

“Who does that!”

“This town isn’t ever boring, huh?”

“I feel like I almost shit my heart out.”

“Same.”

They parked in Tom’s parking spot, unhooking their seat belts simultaneously.

“I’ll get the bags if you get the boxes?” Elliot smiled, reaching behind him to grab the few grocery bags they’d gotten.

“So wait, your mom was this jack of every trade, and your dad sold cars?”

“He said he’d been selling cars since he was seventeen.” Elliot chimed, slurping what was left of his ice cream.

“It sounds so boring!”

“Mom was the magic, dad was…the stage?”

“Scooter, what does that even mean?”

“Like, mom was all lights and colors, ya know? But dad was just stable. And he always would support her.”

“That…was a great metaphor. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“You should be.”

“Oh! Another time, mom came in from being out all morning and called a family meeting-”

“Oh my god.”

“You remember, Scoot? Oh yeah. She came in with this old, hideous, weird beaded wedding dress from the thrift shop. She said she needed to work her magic and it would be as good as new.”

“Was it?”

Clove and Elliot looked to each other and said, “No!”

Elliot laughed, “She made it big enough for the neighbors dog. That’s it! Mia, right Clove? Her first girl crush.”

“I’ve heard of Mia.”

“What? You have?”

“He’s my boyfriend, Elliot, what did you expect? He just had no idea?”

“Maaaybe?”

“Nah, she told me about Mia the same day I told her about-”

“Ben Park.”

“The comic guy?”

“Yeah, and Tom’s first guy crush.”

“You like guys?”

“I don’t really have a preference. I’d be into anyone who made the world light up, but I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

He kissed Clove sweetly, pulling away quickly as not to annoy Elliot.

“Wow. This is actually really cool to know. I guess..I guess more people get it than I thought.”

“You’re never alone, man. Even if it feels like it.”

“You guys are cooler than I give you credit for. Can we do this again sometime? Maybe Robbie could have dinner with us.”

“We can do this any time. My place is open to both of you whenever.”

“Oh…speaking of. Scooter, what do you think about me moving a town over?”

“Why?”

“We’ve just been thinking about finding somewhere-”

“Like you guys living together? That’d be cool. We could do this more. Plus, you could give me my dresser back that you took to your studio.”

“If we can, we’ll get a place big enough for you to have your own room for when you’re over. And close enough to not really make a difference, like less than an hour.”

“Really?” Elliot laid back against the couch, “Cool.”

Tom pulled an array of blankets from the closet, tossing them behind him.

“What are you doing, baby?”

“Fort time.”

“Oh my god! For real? Scooter, when was the last time we built a fort?!”

“Like your birthday that one year?”

“Oh boy. I love forts.”

They spent the next thirty minutes layering blankets over the furniture, tossing them over one another, laughing until their sides hurt. Finally, after many slips and fumbles, the three of them settled in beneath the fort, television streaming old Adam Sandler comedies.

“Elliot’s out officially,” Tom whispered, “We had fun tonight, didn’t we?”

“So much fun.”

“It’s kinda funny, when I was talking to him in the car before we got the food, he had much of the same sentiments as you regarding your parents. Like…different experiences, but still saw them the same way.”

He climbed behind her, holding her close.

“Elliot and I wrote them notes and burned them today. But we read them out loud and it…was nice.”

“If I could say one thing to them, I’d thank them for giving the world someone like you.”

“My mom would cry.”

“That’s where you got that from.”

“Hey! You love that about me.”

“I do. I love every piece of you.”

“Thank you for being here for me..for loving me. For loving him,” she nodded to her snoring brother, “He needs people like you in his life.”

“He’s a part of you. Of course I love him. I’ll always be here for him, too.”

“You’re amazing.”

She kissed him, sweet pecks, silently pulling beautiful affections from within him. Tom held her into the night, gently singing to her as she fell asleep. He grabbed his phone, going to her social media and scrolling down to find photos of them that she’d posted.

He felt his chest swell with emotion, blinking away fresh mist. He closed the app and looked toward the ceiling, imagining their faces as happy as they were in the photo. With a voice as low as a whisper, he said, “I’ll never be able to thank you for everything you’ve given me. I want to…I love her more than anything. I want to marry her so badly. I hope that if she says yes…if she says yes, I hope you’d approve. I hope I can make her as happy as she deserves. And I’ll be anything I can to Elliot. I swear to you, he has my heart, too. I’ll help him. I’ll guide him. Whatever I can do. Thank you…from the bottom of my heart…for these two. They’re my family.”

And he dozed away, his cheek resting in a bed of Clove’s hair, their fingers laced together. This night was full of quiet love, happy, happy love - the light of the moon dancing across the walls, much like the slow fade of two lingering silhouettes watching over them.

#it lives beneath #elliot vance #tom sato #tom x clove #write things

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ambivalentangst · 5 years

Text

Maybe Next Time

I’m so pleased to finally present my @voltronsecretsanta2k18 gift for @langstexmachina, who requested a klance soulmate au! Featuring Keith/Lance working at varying retail chains for the aesthetic, reincarnation, and a whole lot of dumbassery—I hope you like it!

Lance moseys on down his aisle, shoulders hunched because he still has his vest on from work. He has to run errands and forgot to ditch it in the car after getting off, so not only is Lance slinking through a public area in something entirely not-flattering, he’s slinking around Target in his Walmart uniform.

Lance at least thanks his lucky stars that blue is his color, and furthermore, that he’s just picking up a few odds and ends. However, his eyes, mismatched and not entirely his own, are burning. Lance sighs, setting his eggs next to his shaving cream. He must’ve gotten something in them, and he rubs at it as he waits for the cashier to finish up with the person in front of him. He’s not a very chatty guy, granted, but Lance isn’t looking for a conversationalist as much as quick service.

Really, he can’t believe himself. He hopes the workers aren’t too peeved. Lance knows he’d already have complained to Pidge about it multiple times if it happened to him.

Lance hears his cashier move the stick thingy dividing his stuff from the next person’s, but he has to tamp down his embarrassment to make eye contact. After a second, he looks up and smiles. Lance knows exactly how much crabby customers suck and doesn’t intend to be one himself, even if he is currently dressed as a disgrace.

His cashier doesn’t return the action, reaching for the eggs. Lance spares a moment to read his name tag, inverted though it is.

Keith.

Lance looks the rest of him up and down while he struggles to find the barcode and decides that Keith is simultaneously very, very cute and hot as hell. Unfortunately, looks don’t help him out much, and he’s growing irritated by the sounds of his sighing. Lance wouldn’t normally interfere, but it’s kind of taking a long time. Besides, how else is going to get his number if they don’t start talking?

“Uh, I think it’s over here—”

Lance goes to point as Keith’s head snaps up, dark eyebrows furrowed.

The words die on his lips, his gaze locking on the color of the eyes staring back at him. It’s all Lance can focus on, the blue and grey that borders on amethyst, expanding until Target and the conveyor belt blurs into grassy fields, a looming palace, and rolling waves all at once.

Lance smells rain, smoke, soap—crisp and clear like any other memory could never hope to replicate. On his tongue is roast duck, homemade bread, and berries he’s never tasted before. It’s like he’s living it, though Lance has never spent a week outside some city or another and therefore never had the opportunity to experience any of the assault on his senses crashing through his mind. Keith’s smile appears before him, and Lance knows instinctively that he’s the one who put it on his gorgeous face, no less beautiful through the eons it’s kept popping up.

A thousand realities—lives—flash through Lance’s mind, tales of princes and servants, warriors in battle appearing and streaking past at a breakneck speed that he can barely keep up with.

Lance sees himself whisper a thousand I love yous, share a million more barely-there touches that meant so much more to him—to them—than what met the eye. There are goodbyes, tears drying on each of their faces, but more often than not, they manage.

Coming back to himself to stare at a very unsettled Target employee, he has the visions to remind him why that makes him so ridiculously happy. Keith has a white-knuckled grip on the eggs he’s supposed to be bagging, and Lance jumps as he hears a crack from within the container.

“Dude,” Lance whispers because hot damn.

“What the hell?” Keith—his soulmate, Keith—growls, slamming the eggs down onto the scanner. Lance hears the sound of more eggs breaking and is granted a vision of them from ages ago, helping hands on a farm to bring in money for their families. Keith has a habit of being rough with products. Lance realizes it probably isn’t the thing to be noticing right now, but as Keith leans over the belt dividing them, his shirt stretches and it’s obvious that he’s, like, built. “What are you doing?”

Lance takes a step back, hands raised defensively. “What, you think I’m responsible for that whole hallucination mumbo-jumbo? You’re half of the problem, mister.” Lance’s finger points aggressively at his face, showcasing the evidence there to prove his point.

“Why are you in my line?”

Their voices are raising, drawing attention. Other customers are starting to leave Keith’s lane, eyes wide as they run from the disaster unfolding before their eyes.

Lance stares at him incredulously. “Because I wanted, like, three things, dude. Cool it!”

“I am your soulmate, not a dude.”

“Well forgive me if I’m not sure what to call the guy I met a grand total of three seconds ago, who I then shared some kind of flashback, montage-y thing with. Why are you yelling at me about this?”

“I’m not yelling!” Keith yells.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance sees somebody fast approaching, a blur of red and khaki. That does very little to slow his roll, getting up close to the person the universe decided he was fated to be with in multiple lifetimes. “You know, I originally wasn’t sure about why I shoved you into the River Thames, but I’m starting to get it.”

The visions might’ve been rose-colored, but there was a lot of questionable courses of action thrown into their relationships thrown over the years.

“I cannot believe I am stuck—”

“Is everything alright here?” a new voice interjects—Shiro, the manager.

Both Keith and Lance spin to face the interrupter, mismatched eyes flashing dangerously. “We’re fine,” they seethe, twisting back around to face each other just as soon as the words are spat out.

Lance glares at Keith, hating himself for lingering on the image of his flushed cheeks, which kinda’ make his rat’s nest of a hairstyle work. Unbeknownst to Lance, Keith struggles to cope with the freckles dotting his bronzed skin.

There is a long, drawn-out pause between the two of them. Lance cracks first. “You know, blue doesn’t look half bad on you.”

Keith fights down a blush. It isn’t even that great of a compliment, he’s just weak. His awareness of the matter pisses him off a little bit, he isn’t going to lie. Rather than letting himself get worked up again, he raises a brow in disbelief. “Really?”

Lance nods, looking a little offended that Keith would question his judgement. “Yeah, really. Your eyes and brows are really striking —you’re welcome for that by the way, that’s half me—which works good as the focal point of your face.”

Keith tries harder not to let his cheeks go pink.

While he’s trying to think of what to say, Lance seizes his opportunity. It’s probably destiny, really, that Lance wanted to land a date with Keith from the first moment he saw him. “Your shirt though, that really completes the look. Course, it’s made of the good stuff.”

Keith’s pretty baffled. The piece of clothing that Lance is going on about is a red tee that he picked up from Michael’s on his first day because all of his clothes were black. He goes to find the tag, trying to figure out what it is that’s drawn Lance’s eye. In retrospect, he really did leave himself open.

Lance’s shit-eating grin is sharp as a knife as he delivers his punch-line. “Boyfriend material. Speaking of which, are you free tonight?”

Keith blinks.

At the end of the lane, Shiro snickers into his hand. Keith guesses that he’s probably used the same one on Adam before, the idiot.

Keith’s face is stony. “No,” he tells him frankly. “Not for that line. I work again tomorrow. Seven to five. Try again. Shiro,” he fixes him with a glare, “I’m going on break.”

Keith marches off, and Lance watches him go. If it were anyone else, he’d be crestfallen. As is, he’s smitten. His grin softens but doesn’t fade in the slightest.

Shiro watches the two morons go their separate ways and, knowing Lance will be back the next day, decides not to tell him he forgot his groceries.

#keith #klance #lance #voltronsecretsanta2k18 #ambivalentlangst #ambi exchanges

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xxkellsvixen19xx · 5 years

Text

Forget Me Not Jim Mason x Reader 50 First Dates AU Pt 5

@michael-langdon-appreciation

Y/N figured it out.

Jim was determined to drive her crazy. Either that or he’d been taken over by aliens, and the body snatchers had forgotten to program the clone for sex.

No, that wasn’t right. She was still getting orgasms, lots of them, delivered in a timely and most enthusiastic fashion on a regular basis. The man's tongue should be enshrined- when it came to going down on her, he was talented and thorough enough she couldn't walk afterward.

Actual sex was the issue. Sex hadn't yet happened, and after three weeks of exploring lots of other pleasurable activities, Y/N was more than eager.

On the nonsexual side, her unsatisfied libido had her directing frustrated energy into a variety of art projects. She couldn’t seem to stop herself. The fight with numbers had turned into an addiction with creativity. As the baby growing inside started to make itself more apparent, her interest in things she had never tried before continued. Her brothers had been thrilled at the suggestion of getting her gift cards from craft shops for Christmas.

The doorbell rang, and Y/N turned to answer it. She peeked outside to discover Jim waiting for her.

She pulled the door open for Jim. How the man managed to make a jean jacket look sexy was damn unfair. "Hi."

He straightened from his easy slouch. "Hi. Can I come in?"

Y/N shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She turned back to her project, pretending to ignore him, but she knew he was there, all right. Just was tired of his bossy ass. Silence loomed until she finally peeked over her shoulder.

Jim shrugged. "It's a nice day. I wanted to go for a walk." For some reason his wording only upset her more.

"Fine. Have a nice time." She turned her back and ripped a page violently from the magazine, examining it for the best section to add to her mosaic.

Cold fabric wrapped around her as he leaned against her back. "You mad at me?"

"I thought you were walking."

"With you, Y/N. I want to go for a walk with you."

"That’s not what you said,” she pointed out snarkily. "And far be it for me to insert myself into your plans."

Jim lifted her from the chair and forced her chin up. "Okay, point taken. Will you come with me? It’s pretty outside, and we should take advantage of the nice weather."

Like some damn yo-yo, her mood rose instantly. Y/N couldn’t hold on to her anger. "I'd love to go for a walk. Give me a minute to change."

Thirty minutes later they were strolling through the birch trees at the edge of the town park. The cool January air burned her throat slightly as she breathed, but it was still refreshing. Flowers blooming on the branches against the shockingly blue sky.

Jim had her hand in his, fingers not interlocked but connected just the same. "You look like you’re having a ton of fun with the crafts. And sewing. And painting."

"Post-concussion syndrome. Doctor finally gave me a name."

"Really? That's cool."

"Yeah. I suppose. The brain’s a neat thing. I damaged part of it, so now the pathways or whatever shifted in new directions and poor, I'm an arteeeest:"

"Creativity everywhere."

His comment hit the wrong way.

"I know my house is a mess," Y/N snapped, then instantly felt guilty.

He squeezed her fingers. "I didn’t say anything about the house. Don't jump to conclusions."

"But it is a mess, and that’s not like me, but dammit ..." Y/N jerked her hand free and paced to the edge of the trail, staring at the sky as she attempted to find her sense of peace. "My God, this is insane."

He had the guts to laugh softly. “Y/N, I’m not judging you. Or expecting anything from you-"

"Yeah? Well maybe you should."

That dangerous grin of his widened. "Oh?"

Ass. "Is there something wrong with my body, Jim? You afraid of hurting the baby if we have sex? I mean, you can't be afraid that I’ll get pregnant, because, hello, that ship has already sailed." Jumping from arts and crafts to sex in under a minute. Go, Y/N!

"You're not happy with our sex life?" Jim asked.

A growl escaped her. She marched across the short distance between them to get in his face. "We don't have a sex life. We have you deciding when to turn off the heat, and I'm getting tired of it."

"Agreed."

His instant response pierced her bubble and deflated part of her anger. "You agree? Then why are you being such a pain in the butt?"

Jim let go of her hand and cupped his warm palm to her cheek. "You know how you wanted to be invited along on the walk? Not just me assuming that you would come?"

"Yeah?" Where was this going?

He stroked a thumb over her cheek. "You have changed since the accident, and I like the new Y/N. I like how she's bolder, and more outspoken. I think it's fascinating that you've suddenly got this artistic side, but there’s one thing you're not doing."

She nuzzled against his hand, placated a little. "And what's that, bossy pants?"

A low rumble of amusement escaped him. "You're still not deciding what you want then going for it."

There was a twist she hadn’t expected. "I thought you said I was bolder?"

"You are ...and you aren't." Jim enclosed her in his arms. "You're bold as brass for a moment then you cut back like your response is a bad thing. It’s not, Y/N. If you want something, take it. If you don't want something, stop beating around the bush."

Y/N slipped her hands around his neck. "Well, if you insist, I can think of something I'd really like to do."

"Hmm." Jim stroked her cheek. "Go on, Angeleyes, boss me around and get some practice."

They couldn't get back to the house fast enough. But when they arrived, Y/N didn't simply demand he take her into the bedroom. No matter how daring she felt that was one step further than she could take right now. There was something else she could do... "Take off your clothes," she ordered.

He lifted one brow, but his hands went to his buttons. "I like how this is starting."

She grabbed her drawing pad and a set of charcoal pencils, and his expression fell. A laugh escaped her. "You should see your face right now."

His shirt was open, sliding from his shoulders. "This is your call, Y/N. Take what you want."

Oh, she had every intention of it.

She rotated the easy chair, sitting to enjoy the view as Jim continued to strip. No fancy dance moves, just honest- to-goodness, solidly built and one-hundred-percent-naked male being revealed in her living room.

She stared at the curve of muscles across his shoulders. The flare of his biceps and lovely firm chest. He stood with his arms crossed, seemingly at ease in spite of being naked. Well- defined stomach muscles, that V-line muscle framing his lower abdomen. His cock nestled in a thatch of dark hair.

Y/N's fingers flew over the page, her gaze darting back and forth between the picture and her model. She was going to be drooling in about thirty seconds if she wasn't careful.

It took an amazingly short time to put on the page the sex-on-legs that was Jim.

"Out of curiosity, you putting a fig leaf over my cock?" he asked.

"No." Although, she wasn’t sure how to draw that part of his anatomy. It had most definitely changed appearance since he’d stripped, rising to a length she longed to explore more closely. "You're making it tough, dude. When I said nothing moves, you didn't listen very well, did you now?"

A burst of laughter escaped him. "I guess not."

Y/N abandoned the drawing materials behind her and rose to her feet. "I need to get hands-on for this next part."

Jim smiled, but said nothing.

It was like being in a candy store for grown-ups. She slid her hands over his arms and across his chest, savoring the warmth. The scratch of hair on his limbs against her palms. The rapid beat of his heart under her fingers as she explored his chest, pressing a kiss to the center of his torso.

"I think you should get naked as well," Jim suggested, his voice low and husky.

She thought about it for a second. "I'd like that."

He was over her in a second, helping her strip. Pulling off clothes and touching her everywhere and this was what she'd longed for. Both of them involved, kisses pressed over heated skin, hands touching intimately.

She wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked, loving the softness of his skin in contrast to the hardness beneath. Jim covered her hand with his and increased the pressure, guiding her as his torso tightened, moans of pleasure escaping his lips.

A slow bend brought her close enough to lick the head of his cock, her tongue tracing the slit, teasing him. He let her play, one hand holding his shaft so she could access the head, wetting him briefly before covering him with her mouth and sucking lightly.

"You’ve got about ten seconds before I blow,” Jim warned.

Y/N pulled back with a pop as she released him. "Hair trigger?"

"It's been a while."

The realization it had been months since he said they'd had sex hit in a rush. "You've been abstaining for too long."

He went willingly with her into the bedroom. One firm push on his chest toppled him to the bed, and she crawled on top.

The pregnancy had begun to affect her body, but she loved the changes so far. Better skin, more sensitive breasts, just the trace of rounding to her belly.

Jim ran his hands over her as she straddled his hips, obviously enjoying the changes as well. "Whatever you want. I'm yours."

Y/N rocked herself over his cock, pressing the hard ridge against her clit repetitively. Smooth strokes that slowly brought up her pleasure and seemed to please Jim as well. He held on to her hips and helped her move, his eyes pinned to her chest as her breasts swayed.

Then she couldn’t wait any longer. Y/N lifted her hips and directed him into her core. Her hand brushed Jim’s as he held his cock upright, and their fingers connected as she slowly eased herself down. One rock after another as she opened around him, taking his thick shaft into her body.

"Sweet mercy, Y/N. So good."

She paused, filled completely, squeezing lightly to enjoy the sensation. Testing for pain, or anything that worried her, but all that registered was pleasure.

Connection.

An itch to be scratched ...now.

She shifted over him. Rose and fell with increasing tempo until she was at the edge of exploding. Jim cupped her breasts, lightly pinching her nipples, and she gasped at the streak of ecstasy that washed through her system.

Jim caught her by the hips and raised her slightly. "Stay there," he ordered, waiting for her to get into position. As soon as she obeyed, he thrust upward, increasing the pressure, the speed. One hand slipped down to touch her clit, thumb firmly in position over the sensitive point. He rocked his cock in and out of her body until she shattered.

Waves rolled her from the inside out, heavy and lingering from having been so long in the making. Anticipation had nothing on the reality, as he continued to fuck her through her orgasm, finally clamping down on her hips as she caught her breath. He jerked upright, his cock deep as he came. Another set of aftershocks rocked her core, leaving her head spinning and body swaying with pleasure.

He curled up and caught her against his chest, kissing her face, running his fingers over her back. They sat there for a long time, intimately connected, until their breathing got back to something near normal.

Jim stroked her cheek. "Was that what you were hoping for?"

"Hmm." Y/N rested her head on his shoulder, kissing his neck lightly. "I think so. We might have to try it again later, just to make sure."

"If that’s what you want."

They laughed together, slowly coming down off the high. Y/N felt different inside. Not the sex, but in taking another step forward. She might have lost some of her memories, but she was making new ones. She might have lost some of herself, but the new her wasn't that bad of a person.

And the guy currently is touching her like she was beautiful, precious and amazing? He wasn’t hard to accept as a part of the new life she was facing.

Credit to @carolthors

#jim mason #tribes of palos verdes #fan fiction

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ladyseaheart1668 · 6 years

Text

Endless Summer Fan Novel (Book 2, Chapter 14)

We stand together in heavy, stunned silence, looking out over the fiery hellscape.

“Oh, god...” Diego whispers. “You're saying this is...”

“...Yeah.” Sean's voice is hoarse, his expression twisted with agony. “...It's Hartfeld.”

“No,” Raj growls through gritted teeth. “Nah, man. No way!”

“Yeah, last I remember, there wasn't a freakin' volcano in the middle of Frat Row!” Craig declares angrily.

“I don't understand!” Quinn whimpers. “What happened?”

“Surely this is the distant future,” Aleister says uncertainly. “It must be...”

I dare to turn slowly. The lava stretches as far as I can see.

“What the hell are we supposed to do here?” Michelle cries.

“...We have to figure out what happened,” I murmur.

“Good point,” Zahra agrees. “We have no idea how to stop this if we don't know what it is.”

Sean wheels on me, his eyes flashing. “There could be people out there right now, suffering!” he snarls. “Don't you care?!”

“We do, Sean,” Michelle says gently. “We're just trying to save everyone instead of however few have lived this long.”

One by one, we make our way down the building's creaking fire escape to the street level. Magma bubbles up from cracks in the asphalt, but there is miraculously enough room to walk.

“Let's look around a little, see what we can find. But everyone be careful.”

We spread out, carefully picking our way through the dead, burning streets.

“Hey, guys!” Diego calls. “Come check this out! There's something stuck in the lava over here!”

We make our way over to join him and Grace at the edge of a lava pool near the foot of the fire escape. Something is gleaming golden in the red light.

“Is that...armor?” I dare to look a little closer. “It is! It's a cuirass!”

“Cuirass?” Craig repeats.

“Yeah. Chestplate. This one also has a backplate attached.”

“I am impressed that you know that word,” Aleister allows. I roll my eyes.

“As I keep telling everyone, I'm a history major. I know things about history.”

“This armor looks ancient,” Diego observes. “Look at the engravings. Must be from a museum or something.”

“How in heaven's name is it intact?” Aleister wonders. “The lava should have melted the gold instantly.”

“I don't think it's gold,” Quinn answers. “I think it's amber.”

The armor shimmers enticingly, drawing me in like a magnetic force. Acting on pure instinct, I squat down and reach out to touch the gleaming surface.

“Allie, don't!”

“What on earth are you doing?!” Aleister cries.

“It's...it's cold!” I gasp. “It's not hot at all! Feel it!”

Diego gingerly brushes the armor with one fingertip. When it doesn't burn him, his eyes widen.

“...Okay, that's not normal.”

“Sadi Carnot is rolling in his grave,” Aleister mutters.

Gripping it by the cool, exposed edge, I draw the chestplate out of the lava pool. Molten rock drips off it like water off a duck's back.

“What's the engraving on the back, Alodia?” Grace asks. I trail my fingers over an intricate engraving running down the spine of the armor.

“It looks like a DNA helix...that...turns into a chain...” I swallow hard. Andromeda. But...how can the sign of the chained woman find me so far from La Huerta?

“There's a blue crystal at the nape of the neck,” Diego observes, frowing. “What could that be for?”

There are a few more pieces of armor sticking out of the lava pool. I gingerly fish out faulds, pauldrons, spaulders, gauntlets, cuisses, tassets, and greaves. They're all cool to the touch, not retaining any heat from the lava. Zahra snorts, shaking her head.

“Man, Alodia. You've got a serious death wish for touching those things.”

I open my mouth to respond. On the edges of my vision, I am suddenly aware of vague, fuzzy auras hovering around each of my friends, pulsing in unearthly colors.

“Some risks are necessary,” I answer.

Even before he does it, I hear Craig laughing appreciatively. “Man, you're more of a daredevil than me!”

I can almost mouth Michelle's reprimand along with her: “Why are you saying that like it's a good thing?”

I look down at the amber armor, my fingers still lingering on the engraving. ...Was it the armor? Is that how I knew what they would say? This armor that somehow bears the sign of Andromeda, even though I was supposed to have left La Huerta behind?

“It looks about your size,” Jake remarks. “Made for a tiny knight. You wanna try it on?”

With Jake and Diego's help, I fasten on the amber pieces. They feel crafted for my body, which somehow does not surprise me. Grace shakes her head in dismay.

“I do not understand how you are alive right now.”

“It's...actually pretty breatheable,” I remark.

Diego steps back to look me over and smiles. “Nice. Legendary armor unlocked.”

“You look like an ancient hero,” Quinn agrees.

“It is certainly a handsome set,” Aleister concedes, “but none of this explains how it came to be sitting here!”

A sudden shriek from Grace makes us all jump. Her hand flies to her mouth, and she points with a trembling finger. I follow her gaze to an ash-covered pile of debris.

“Grace? What's wrong? It's just...” I trail off as I step closer and I realize what the pile is really made of. It's not debris. ...It's bones. “...Oh, my god...”

“Oh, man...” Zahra says softly. “That is not a good way to go.”

I hear Raj retching behind me. Everyone backs away from the skeletons. Everyone except for Michelle, who pokes around the pile.

“There's gotta be a dozen of them,” she murmurs.

“Those poor people,” Quinn whispers, choking on a sob. “They were probably classmates. Hartfeld students just like us.”

“Did they die quick and painless, at least?” Raj asks weakly, not bothering to hide his tears.

“Quick, yes,” Michelle answers grimly. “Painless...no.”

“...Let's leave 'em be,” Sean says flatly. “And make sure we don't join 'em.”

We pick our way through the streets of our college town, climbing over hills of smoldering wreckage. The world is dead silent, save for the distant, sustained rumble of the mega-volcano.

“There's the coffee shop I would always code at,” Zahra observes distantly. “Everything looks pretty much the same. Except, ya know, on fire.”

“How far in the future are we?” Diego wonders.

“Do you think most people evacuated in time?” Grace asks.

“Evacuated to where?” There is a note of helpless frustration in Estela's question. “Looks like this goes all the way to the horizon.”

No one answers. There is nothing to say to that. She is terribly, horribly right. We all press a little closer together.

“This cannot be,” Aleister whispers finally. “We did everything, everything we were supposed to.”

“Dude, look.” Raj gestures ahead of us. “This was Andrews Field. Used to play Ultimate out there every weekend.”

“And there's Greene Library,” Grace adds. “That was like my second dorm room.”

Quinn sobs softly beside me. “No...” she whimpers. “No...”

“There's gotta be a way to prevent this from happening,” Michelle says. I can't tell if the conviction in her voice is real or if it's just desperation. “There just has to.”

“I thought I was numb to death,” Estela says ruefully. “But this? This is just...”

“I can't believe this,” I whisper. I feel Jake's hand on my shoulder. I cover his hand with mine.

“Can't imagine how hard this is for you,” he says softly. “To see your home like this.”

“I don't even recognize it anymore...”

“Craig?” Diego calls. “You comin'?”

I look back. Craig is lingering behind, staring up at a huge billboard. I can still make out some of the text advertising season tickets...and pieces of the two men photographed side-by-side, the numbers 5 and 68 emblazoned on their jerseys. I grip Jake's hand a little tighter, feeling my dread grow.

“...Yeah,” Craig says. “I'm comin'.”

We move on. “...Hey, Diego,” I murmur. “Remember when we saw The Avengers at Movies on the Quad last year?”

He grins at me. “Barely. I drank way too much moscato that night. But I remember it was fun.” His smile slips, gesturing in the direction of the quad. “It was right over there. And now it's...it's just gone...”

“It's not gone,” I say softly. “We remember it.”

“Hey,” Estela says gently but firmly. “Come on. You're lagging behind.”

“Sorry.” We pick up our pace a bit. Sean suddenly stops walking. I look over and see him swallowing hard. “...Sean?”

He doesn't acknowledge me. He breaks off from the group, marching forward across the crumbling street.

“Where is he going?” Michelle asks.

“I don't know,” I murmur. “I'll follow him. Make sure he's okay.”

I break off and hurry after him, stepping carefully on the disintegrating street. I follow him into a half-collapsed building, up a charred staircase to a second floor apartment. I find him standing in the middle of soot-covered living room.

“Sean? What are we doing here?”

“...This is my mom's place,” he whispers. “Was. Was my mom's place.”

“Oh, god...Sean...” I come up beside him to wind a comforting arm around his waist. He puts an arm over my shoulders.

“After we finally managed to get away from my dad, she wanted to stay close to me. And I wanted her close. She got this apartment when I was a freshman. Closest building to Hartfeld Stadium.”

He withdraws from my embrace and walks up to a cracked photo frame barely clinging to the wall. He wipes away the soot on the glass. Beneath it is a faded photo of a boy in a peewee football uniform. The smile is unmistakeably Sean's. On either side of him are his parents, proud and smiling.

“...I always hated that she kept this photo up,” he mutters. “She still loved him. After everything. After everything that bastard did to us, she still loved him. At least...she loved the old him. But that man was dead.”

“...Love is weird,” I mumur.

Sean lifts the picture from its hook and slumps down against the wall, staring at it. He blinks, and a few tears slip down his cheeks. I come to sit down beside him.

“...I wasn't here, Alodia. I told her I'd always protect her, and I wasn't here...”

I put an arm around him. “It's not your fault, Sean.”

“...That's all I was ever good at, you know? Taking the punishment so someone I care about doesn't have to. And for my mom, for the person that mattered most...I couldn't even do that.”

“We'll fix this. That's a promise.”

“You say that with such certainty. I don't know how you do it.” He looks at me and laughs, ruffling my hair. “Only you could make me look at the end of the world and think, 'Yeah, this is fixable.' It seems completely nuts. But I look at you...and I believe it.”

“I believe in us. All of us.” I chuckle a little to disguise the sob that bubbles up in my chest. “I don't even really have anyone out here to be worried about. You eleven...you're the most important people in the world to me. I haven't known any of you except Diego for very long, I know. ...But you don't go through what we've gone through without forming bonds.”

“Not usually,” he concedes.

“...We'll fix this. I promise we'll fix it. And you know I'll keep that promise, because I'm making it for you and all our friends. And I would crawl through hell for any one of you.”

“...Yeah. I believe you would. ...And every one of us would stand behind you.”

I stand and offer him a hand up. “Come on then, Heisman. World needs saving.” He takes my hand with a feeble smile and stands. Together, we head back down the street.

We return to the group to find them arguing amongst themselves.

“That's total conjecture!” Michelle protests. “You don't know that!”

“Since when are you the authority on what's possible on Loco Island?” Craig retorts.

“Guys, please! Let's not fight!” Grace pleads.

“Listen to Grace, you imbeciles!” Aleister snaps. “We must do whatever we can to prevent this future from happening.”

“Yeah...” Raj says. “...Uh...one problem. I don't think we're in the future.” He points with a trembling finger across the street to the entrance sign for Hartfeld University. In faded marquee letters, it reads: '2017 Summer Session begins this Monday, June 5th!'

“June fifth of this year?!” Zahra whispers.

“Oh, my god...that means this eruption would've happened around the day we...” Quinn trails off, gulping.

“The day we flew to La Huerta,” Michelle finishes.

“We're not in the future.” Sean lays it out in front of us, his voice low and quivering. “Distant or otherwise. We're in the present.”

“...The world ended six months ago,” Zahra says. “...We just got the memo.”

“But...how?”

I think back to the transmissions we heard at the observatory, to what Rourke said in the jungle as we marched towards Elyys'tel: “I strongly suspect that was an echo from our planet's likely future. Right now, we are in a bubble of time, safe for the moment. But an eruption of Mount Atropo risks plunging the planet itself into a prehistoric time, when all the world was lava. Civilization would immediately be engulfed in the fire of a bygone era.”

“The storm.” Jake's voice draws me back to the present. The dead, hellish present.

“You mean, all that turbulence on the way in?” Raj asks, his voice shaking. “The sudden dark clouds and the lightning?”

“Holy crap!” Diego runs his fingers through his dark hair. “That was Mount Atropo erupting. We flew straight through it into some...time bubble or something!”

“The island alone stayed safe,” Estela says grimly. “While the rest of the world burned.”

“Hold on!” Jake exclaims. “How does one volcano thousands of miles away do this?”

“All we know is Atropo's no ordinary volcano,” Grace answers. “It was a massive build-up of energy that tore space-time. Honestly, what this Earth reminds me of most...is when it was first forming. Before the crust cooled.”

“You're saying that the eruption somehow sent the planet back into...”

“...The Hadean Eon,” Aleister finishes.

“And everything and everyone was suddenly living on a molten rock,” Sean adds.

Quinn shudders. “That's...so horrible...”

“Worst game of 'The Floor is Lava' ever,” Diego declares without a hint of mirth.

Sean's head drops, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “Okay then. There's no one left. There's nothing we can do here.”

Raj looks sharply at him, eyes going wide. “Aw, don't say it,” he moans. “Don't say it, dude--”

But Sean says it. “We have to go back.”

Raj shakes his head wildly. Throwing up his hands, he stalks away, muttering to himself. “This can't be happening! It can't be happening! It's a nightmare! I can't deal with this! I can't!”

“Guys, I think we finally broke Raj,” Zahra deadpans.

I cautiously approach Raj, who is gripping fistfuls of his hair, tears streaming down his cheeks. I keep my steps gentle, as if he were a particularly skittish horse. As soon as I'm close enough, I leap at him, throwing my arms around his neck. He stops pacing, stunned. I hang there, my feet not even touching the ground, dwarfed as I am by him, feeling him tremble in my embrace.

“We're here, Raj. We're here with you,” I murmur.

He lets out a shuddering breath and finally grips me back. “...Okay. I'm okay. I'm good now. Thanks, Alodia.” He snuggles me against him, and my breath comes out in an inelegant honk. “You're a good hugger, by the way.”

“You too, big guy.” Hearing the strain in my voice, he sets me down and ruffles my hair.

“Good hugger, but teeny tiny.”

Together, we head back towards the dorms. Just shy of the fire escape we climbed down, Diego stops and squints.

“What's up?”

“So, this might sound weird, but...does the horizon look...closer?”

We all stop and look out, following Diego's gaze.

“...That ain't right,” Jake says lowly.

“That's not the horizon,” Zahra exclaims. “That's a tsunami!”

“You know what? Hot take here, but a giant wave of water sounds pretty refreshing right now. I think the whole planet could use some--”

“It's a tsunami of lava, Craig!”

“Oh! Okay, yeah, that's bad.”

“Run!” Estela cries. “Up to the roof! Go!”

We scramble up the fire escape as the molten tsunami oozes toward us from a mile away, its progress slow but unrelenting.

“The Gate!” Quinn cries. “It's gone!”

“How the hell do we get it back open?!” Zahra shrieks.

I turn and see the wave of lava cresting, a churning wall of molten rock consuming everything in its path.

“Varyyn!” Diego cries. “He must've taken the Island's Heart out of the machine to get back to Elyys'tel!”

“So we're totally screwed then!” Michelle moans. “Great!”

“No!” I snap. “We're not! Not yet! Everyone shut up for a second!”

I close my eyes, desperately searching for Varyyn's presence in my consciousness. Varyyn! I call silently. Can you hear me?

I open my eyes and find myself back at MASADA, seeing through the elyyshar's eyes. He presses himself against a wall, concealing himself from patroling Arachnid soldiers. He checks the Heart in his satchel, secure among the eleven idols. He watches a patrol pass by and prepares to make his move forward. Suddenly, he freezes. He senses my presence, though he can't yet quite identify me. I wrap mental fingers around his presence, reaching back into my own body at Hartfeld and opening my eyes.

“I can reach him...I think...” I say, my voice strained with the mental effort. Diego clasps my hands and looks into my eyes.

“Help me, Varyyn,” he says, squeezing my hands. He can't seem to resist adding, “You're my only hope.”

I feel my consciousness pulled back into Varyyn's body. ...He hears Diego's call. Not in words, but the message gets through. Through our psychic link, through Diego, who is the link between our hearts.

“...Diego,” Varyyn whispers. “He's in danger...”

He whips around to go back the way he came, only to run straight into two Arachnid mercenaries. They raise their weapons.

“Freeze!”

Varyyn's hand shoots forward and clasps the nearest guard's throat in his powerful grip. With a low growl, he lifts the guard clean off the floor and slams him like a doll into the other guard. They both crumple and lie still. Varyyn sprints back to Theoretical Prismatics, not looking back. I hear the desperate prayer echoing in his mind. Diego...please be all right...please be safe...

He digs the Heart out of the satchel and places it delicately between the electrodes. Nothing happens.

“...No...” he whispers. “No!”

The wave of lava is surging ever closer. It will be on top of us in five minutes at most. Diego shrinks, staring at it. “Oh, holy mother of...”

“Something's wrong with the Gate!” I cry. “The Heart's in, but it's not turning on!”

“I...I think I can help,” Quinn says softly. “Maybe. I don't know what I can do from so far away, but I'll try...”

She closes her eyes, focusing. Scraps of debris start to swirl around her, lifting into the air.

“Here we go again,” Craig murmurs.

Quinn opens her eyes. They burn unearthly green, but her expression is grim. “No...I don't sense it...” Then she gasps. “Wait...There!”

I feel Varyyn desperately tapping keys on the command panel. Suddenly, he leaps back as the Heart begins to radiate a blinding light. The sphere splinters open, revealing the portal within.

“It's open!” Michelle cries.

I dare to detatch from Varyyn, teetering a little with the strain as a sphere of purple light materializes on the rooftop. The lava tsunami's shadow darkens the sky, towering over us.

“Go!” I scream. Everyone runs for the portal, leaping through one by one. Behind me, Grace stumbles, falling hard to the deck. An eroded crossbeam falls across her ankle, pinning her down.

“Grace!” Aleister cries

“Go!” Sean orders. “I've got her!”

He runs back and heaves the crossbeam off of Grace. Lifting her easily into his arms, he runs back to the portal, diving through. Diego grabs my hand.

“Allie, come on!” He pulls me through the portal just as the wave descends onto the rooftop. It leaves a blast of heat in its wake that follows me into the portal. The world flashes white, and suddenly I faceplant into cold, rusted steel. For a moment, I lay flat against it, relief flooding through me at the blessed coolness. I'm not the only one.

“Oh, thank you, thank you!” Craig cries. I'm not sure who he's thanking, but he's kissing the floor.

“...Considering how many pairs of feet have probably walked across this floor, that's a little disgusting,” I say wryly.

“Totally don't care!” he retorts.

I slowly push myself upright, counting my friends off as I see them. Craig, Zahra, Jake, Sean, Estela, Raj, Michelle...Aleister is cradling Grace...

“Quinn? Are you--”

“I'm okay,” she assures me. “And I'm me.”

Diego picks himself up and runs into Varyyn's waiting arms. Varyyn holds Diego tightly, kissing his hair.

“You are all right,” he whispers, a quiver in his voice. “I-I came as quickly as I could...”

“Did ya miss me?” Diego quips.

Varyyn pulls back just a little, cupping Diego's cheek and searching his face. “Why did you come back? What did you see?”

Together, haltingly, we fill Varyyn in on the details. He frowns deeply. “...This does not make sense. Perhaps Uqzhaal will have answers. We must return to Elyys'tel.”

“The gondola,” Quinn says. “We can get out that way, if we hurry. Security's still scrambled, right? Maybe we can get across before they realize what's happening.”

“Agreed. That's the plan, then. Find our way back to the gondola, get back to Elyys'tel and regroup--”

“No. No, enough!”

Everyone falls silent, looking over at Aleister where he sits cradling Grace on his lap. For the first time, I realize that there is smoke rising from her singed hair. Her face is flushed, her breathing shallow.

“Aleister...”

“Enough plans! Enough adventures! Enough!”

Jake comes to put a hand on his shoulder. “Easy, Malfoy, just--” Aleister swats his hand away sharply.

“No!” he snarls. “We almost lost Grace! Do you fail to realize that?! She almost died just now! And we all could have joined her! Why? We are fighting against something we cannot possibly understand, and we will all die!”

“...We'll be all right, bro,” Craig says gently.

“Aleister, I promise you. I won't let anything happen--”

Aleister wheels on Sean. “Ah, of course! And you've never failed to keep a promise, is that right, Sean?” Sean recoils as if stung.

“Hey!” I bark. “That was totally uncalled for!”

Aleister turns his wrath on me. “Don't you understand?! He can't promise that! No one can promise anything anymore! The world is gone! The future is gone! We've lost! It's over! It's all over!”

I meet his furious gaze with my own, but around me, everyone is silent, looking uncomfortably at the floor.

“...What are you thinking, Allie?” Diego asks softly.

“All I know is that I'm not quitting,” I say fiercely. “As long as any of us are alive, I'll give my last breath to keep it that way, if that's what it takes.”

“I couldn't imagine anything less from you,” Sean says with a weak smile.

“You're a damned fool, Alodia Chandler,” Aleister declares flatly. Grace's moans a little, her eyes fluttering. She still looks flushed, but she has managed to catch her breath. She focuses on Aleister above her.

“Aleister...” she croaks. “I know it looks bad...unfathomably bad...But there's always hope. There has to be.”

Aleister's lips quiver. “I wish I could believe that...”

“Okay, so are we making a run for the gondola or not?” Zahra asks. “Clock's ticking.”

“It always is,” Aleister mutters. But he helps Grace to her feet. “...Let's go, then.”

Varyyn returns my backpack to me, still containing the Heart and the idols. I slip it on, but after a moment, I pass the Heart back to him.

“Hang onto this. It belongs to your people.”

He regards me thoughtfully for a moment, and then nods, slipping the Heart into his own satchel. We make our move, carefully avoiding the patrols as we scurry through the corridors of the MASADA complex. To my relief, the Andromeda armor doesn't seem to make a lot of noise. Almost none, in fact. If I were less distracted, I might wonder about that. But right now, all we can focus on is getting out.

“I think we're almost there,” Zahra whispers as we near the entrance. Beside me, Quinn walks with a stoic expression on her face.

“Quinn? You holding up okay?”

“Hmm? Oh...I think so.”

“You saved us back there. Somehow you were able to connect with the Island's Heart, even from thousands of miles away. So...thank you. I know it's scary to let that...that thing take over.”

“Not as scary as losing you guys. ...I know this is serious. Each time I do it, I feel it lingering more and more. But in a way, I'm used to it. I'm used to knowing something in my body will eventually destroy me.”

“The same goes for all of us,” I say softly, taking her hand and squeezing it. “All of us are temporary. Every last one of us is a physical thing that weathers away...killed by the very thing we were trying to keep alive. It's unfair that you're facing this so young. But I don't want you to feel like you're alone in this. Because you're not.”

“I guess you're right. This is a part of life. And my time is now.” She sighs. “So nothing's changed from before I came here. If my own body is still going to erase me, then I'm going to do all the good I can with the time I have.”

“Good for you. And in the meantime, you have a damned fool like me who's going to fight tooth and nail to keep you all alive for as long as humanly possible.”

She manages to crack a smile. A clattering from up above catches our attention. Aleister has tripped over a pristine white trash can, spilling its contents to the floor.

“Are you trying to attract attention?!” Estela hisses.

“Oh, gross!” Raj exclaims. “Get away from that, yo! That bin says 'Biohazard Disposal' on it! That means poop! Or blood! Or blood poop!”

“Nasty, dude,” Craig says with a shudder. “Please don't use those words together.”

Aleister and the others continue walking, but I pause by the overturned bin. I don't see anything gross in there. Just some crumpled paper and...

“Oh, shit!” I hiss.

Lying among the discarded balls of paper is a small amber statue of a man in priestly robes, bearing the head of a cobra. This is it...the final idol...

“A catalyst idol!” Quinn gasps. “Are you gonna take it?”

I delicately pick up the idol with two fingers and lift it out of the garbage pile. I close my eyes, bracing myself for visions. But nothing happens.

“...Are you okay, Alodia?” Quinn asks. “You're making a funny face.”

I open my eyes. ...Right. Aleister and I both need to be touching the idol to invite the visions. I glance at Aleister, walking ahead with the rest of the group.

“...Yeah. I'm fine. Just...distracted.”

“Come on. Let's catch up with the others.” I slip the idol into my bag with the others and follow Quinn down the hall.

“What was something so important doing in a trash bin of all places?” Quinn muses. “And why a biohazard one?”

“Maybe someone was trying to hide it?” I suggest. “Rourke was so keen on getting these. I can't believe he'd just throw one out.”

Up ahead, Jake reaches a closed automatic doorway and hits the touch panel. It beeps and flashes.

“Access denied. Crap. Looks like we hit a dead end.”

“Let me try,” Aleister says softly. “I was able to activate my father's computer at The Celestial...” He presses his hand to the panel. It flashes green and the door slides open.

“Nicely done! I knew you'd come in handy.” Jake pauses for a reaction, but Aleister just stares at him. “...I'll stop.”

“Puns aren't really your strong suit, Top Gun,” I quip. “Stick with giving out silly nicknames.”

He rolls his eyes and sighs dramatically. “Your wish is my command, Princess.”

We continue through the winding halls of MASADA. Presently, a set of video monitors along the wall flickers to life. On every screen, Everett Rourke smiles serenely.

“Hello, Aleister.”

“Dammit,” Estela hisses. “He's onto us.”

“I received an alert that my DNA signature was being used to access restricted areas,” Rourke explains. “Finding this curious, as you are to be in custody, I reviewed my security systems, only to find a very subtle worm manipulating its data. No doubt the work of Zahra Namazi. My dear guests, you are every bit as resourceful as I could have hoped.”

“Ignore him,” I murmur. “Keep moving.”

We pick up the pace, threading faster through the halls. But around every bend is another monitor showing Rourke's unnatural grin.

“Oh, Junior, how your recent cleverness makes me regret all the time we spent apart. Perhaps you would've been a worthy successor after all.”

“Does this guy ever shut up?” Michelle growls. I see Aleister slowing down slightly.

“He's messing with you, Aleister,” I remind him.

“Sure, tell him he's his father's puppet,” Estela mutters. “That'll help.”

“No, Alodia is right,” Aleister says flatly. “My father manipulates everyone around him.”

“Aleister, look!” Grace exclaims.

Straight ahead is another hallway connecting two wards of the complex, with sealed hatches at each end.

“The security station is here. I'll try to override using my father's ID.”

“I must admit I was wrong about you,” Rourke continues on the monitor. “The way you've handled yourself. The way you've defied overwhelming odds. After all this time, you've come into your own. You remind me...of myself.”

“The cretin thinks I'll fall for this,” Aleister growls through clenched teeth. He taps through several screens, then presses his hand down. The first door slides open, and we run inside.

“We're in! Just one more hatch and we're through, Aleister!”

“On it.”

“I handled this all wrong,” Rourke confesses on the screen. “I discarded you, and now you will be my undoing. But that is not what breaks my heart. What breaks my heart is knowing how this will end. Knowing that I drove you to this. Knowing that I drove you to get your friends killed.”

Aleister hesitates a moment. “...What...?”

“You're more like me than either of us ever wished to admit. Too stubborn to admit when we're in over our heads. All I can do is think about what we could have accomplished together. Together, we could have restored the world. We could have undone the harm of the terrible eruption. How we could have built a paradise for us...for your friends...For Grace...” Aleister freezes. “We could have even saved your mother. And now, because of what I've done to drive you away...my son, you're going to erase the only chance we had at bringing her back.”

I watch Aleister's expression settle into a cold, emotionless mask and I feel my blood run cold.

“Wait!” I scream. “Aleister! Don't!”

He meets my eyes for just an instant. “...I'm sorry.”

His hand moves. I rush towards him. The first hatch slams shut in front of me, trapping us all inside. I throw myself against the door, pounding it with my fists. “No! Aleister!”

“What the hell?!”

“He locked us in!”

“Aleister!” Grace cries pleadingly. “What are you doing?! Let us through!”

Aleister steps up to the small porthole in the hatch. His voice is only slightly muffled through it. “This is for your own good. I know you'll see that one day.”

“You slimy son-of-a-bitch!” Jake roars. “You've got five seconds to rethink this!”

“Open the hatch!” Estela snarls. “Now!”

Grace steps up to the glass, just inches from Aleister. “How could you...?”

“Don't you understand? My father's right. He's always been right.” He shakes his head mournfully. “If we keep running, we'll all be killed. We'll be as dead as those skeletons back in Hartfeld. Jake? Sean? Estela? They can't protect you. Not from this. So if they won't keep you from getting killed, Grace...I will.”

“By selling us out to your father?!” she cries, tears shimmering in her eyes.

“He's a genius. He built this facility. Built that Gate. If there's anyone who can fix this...anyone who can protect us...it's him.”

“Dude, he's evil!” Diego protests.

“You don't think I know that? But right now, he's our only chance. You'll thank me one day. You'll live to thank me. That's what counts.”

The doors behind Aleister open, and several Arachnid troops surge through. I slump against the wall, barely keeping upright for the despair flooding through me.

“...You're wrong, Aleister,” I growl. “You're so, so goddamn wrong.”

“I'm not stupid, Alodia. I don't expect you to understand this yet. You will.”

“Oh, but you are stupid, Aleister,” Estela says flatly. “You just signed your death warrant.”

“Stay back!” an Arachnid soldier barks.

Aleister turns away, letting the troops close in. When they have us covered from every angle, they open the hatch.

“Out! Slowly! Hands in the air!”

We raise our hands, cautiously stepping out into the control room. A dozen submachine guns are aimed point-blank at us.

“Any great ideas about now, Cap?” Jake murmurs to Sean.

“I've got nothin',” Sean admits.

The soldiers part to allow Rourke through, followed by Lundgren and Lila. Rourke smirks at us.

“I must say, I'm getting quite the sense of deja vu at the moment,” he drawls. “Then again, we all know how this place plays tricks with time.”

“That's the last time you make me chase you, Wolf,” Lundgren growls, pinning Jake with a hateful gaze.

“Gettin' tired?” Jake spits. “I could do this all day, you mechanized sack of--”

Rourke holds up a hand. He looks over at me, Zahra, Sean, and Craig. “So. You four entered disguised. Quite brilliant. Was this your plan, Alodia?”

“We're a team,” I answer flatly.

“How delightfully humble. Now then...” He steps up to Varyyn, who is barely being restrained by three soldiers. Ignoring the struggle, he reaches into the satchel at Varyyn's waist and withdraws the Island's Heart.

“No!” Varyyn snarls as Rourke turns the shimmering orb over in his hands, marveling at it.

“It's beautiful, isn't it, Lila?”

“Yes, Mr. Rourke. It is.”

“So much energy in such a small thing. It seems I've never been more wrong in my life.”

“You talking about the day you picked out that suit?” Jake sneers.

Rourke ignores him. “For years, I believed that the eleven of you would lead me to the Endless. That you were the key to unlocking its secrets. But all this time, your destiny was to lead me to this.”

“Father? I don't understand.”

“I no longer have use for the Endless. I no longer have use for any of you. I must thank you, frankly.”

“So you'll keep them safe?” Aleister asks anxiously. “As you said. You will not harm them?”

Rourke raises an eyebrow at his son. “Are you kidding? Of course I won't harm them. I've no reason to.”

“Tell that to your rabid dog,” Estela growls.

“Easy, pipsqueak,” Lundgren snaps.

“I'm talking about her, dumbass!” Lila shrinks under Estela's furious gaze.

“I've no reason to harm them at all,” Rourke repeats. “Provided they don't give me one.”

Aleister looks from his father to me, stepping close to me. “Well?” There is a plea in his eyes and his voice. “Will you let me keep you safe? Will you surrender peaceably?”

I look around at my friends, one by one. I see Varyyn straining to reach the Island's Heart, Lundgren looking at Jake like he's a meal. I see Estela glaring at Lila, and the vision of the Draco idol flashes in my mind, her helpless rage as Rourke pressed the barrel of his pistol to her forehead. I feel my heart sinking. More of the terrifying visions granted by the idols flash through my mind. So many of them seem destined to die at MASADA. Craig, killed by Tetra covering our escape. Diego, gunned down by Iris trying to free Varyyn. Jake and I seem to spend five years imprisoned here, he in a cell and me in a stasis pod, both of us powerless to save anyone. Zahra will free Jake in time, but she'll be murdered by Rourke in the end. And Jake will free me, only to be gunned down in front of me.

...Will I even be burying bodies in that cave? Will my friends keep burying each other until I can complete the task, the last one left alive?

Eleven graves. Only one left alive. Alone. ...And it all begins with Aleister. I feel rage bubble up in me, and I glare up at Aleister. I gave him my trust. I gave him my care and my friendship. And he spat on it. I spit back, directly into his face. He flinches, wiping away the glob.

“Boom!” Craig snickers. “Got 'im!”

“My turn next!” Zahra declares.

Aleister sighs. “Making this easy on yourselves, I see.”

I lock my gaze with his. “Did you expect anything else from me?”

He regards me angrily, but I can see the desperation behind his eyes. “...You're a damned fool, Alodia Chandler.”

“Well, well,” Rourke murmurs. “Perhaps they are still a problem.”

Aleister wheels to face his father. “No! They're not! They can't do anything! Just lock them up until this is over!” His hands ball into fists. “Father, please...”

Rourke regards his son for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Very well,” he says at last. “We shall imprison you in moderate comfort until the conclusion of this...experiment.”

“We had a deal, Rourke,” Lundgren growls.

“And I will keep my bargain, as I said, at the conclusion.”

“Better hope you do.”

Jake laughs bitterly. “Look at you taking orders, Lundgren. I see a spot on Rourke's shoes that could use a licking.”

“Your time's comin', Wolf,” Lundgren sneers. “Sooner than ya think.” He turns on his heel and marches out.

“Relieve them of their belongings, then take them below,” Rourke orders.

Aleister grabs for my bag, but I hold fast to it, pulling sharply back on it. The snake-headed idol, sitting on top, tumbles out, clinking on the floor. We both reach for it at once, and our fingers brush it at the same time. MASADA dissolves around me before I have a moment to prepare.

I'm in an unfamiliar auditorium. Men and women in expensive business attire fill the seats, regarding the speaker with serious expressions. On the stage, pacing back and forth in the frame of a bold white spotlight is Everett Rourke.

“...Which brings us to my final point,” he is saying. “That, in the end, for all our technology, for all our progress, we are still collectively bound to the same wheel as our ancestors were, ten thousand years ago. We are born. We age. Sometimes, we breed. And then, we die. For all our acheivements, all our victories and defeats, all our moments of joy and sorrow, we end up nothing but dust. We have shattered the atom, set foot on the moon, built networks that instantly connect the whole world. And yet, we are still slaves to time. This, then, is the true final frontier. Not space. Not life. But time. And Rourke International, as always, will lead the way.”

The audience bursts into applause. But Aleister, seated in the audience, keeps his arms crossed, his expression skeptical.

The conference ends and Rourke makes his way off the stage as the audience begins to disperse. He shakes hands with a few colleagues, but as he steps out back, Aleister is ready to meet him.

“Father.”

Rourke raises an eyebrow. “Aleister. This is an unexpected surprise. What are you doing at RourkeCon?”

“I was in town for an interview, and I thought I would stop by. ...Had to buy my own ticket, of course.”

“Invitations are for Rourke Employees.” Rourke makes a show of looking over the front of Aleister's shirt. “...And I don't see your badge.”

“You know damn well I don't work for you,” Aleister snaps.

Rourke shrugs. “I only hire the very best.”

“And I...” Aleister trails off, taking a deep breath to collect himself. “...I thought you should know. I've been accepted into a Master's program. It's at the Hoffman-Conahan School for Business. The most prestigious business program in the country. They've offered me a full scholarship.”

“Hm. Is that all?”

Aleister visibly deflates. “Well, I...I just thought you should...”

“By the time I was your age, I'd built a prototype jetpack with my bare hands. I'd climbed Kilimanjaro. I'd made myself a millionaire. And you expect me to...what? Pat you on the back because my name got you into some fancy little grad program?”

“It wasn't your name!” Aleister protests. “I did it! I earned it!”

“Tell yourself whatever you want, son. Come to me when you've actually done something worth praising. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe I have a jet to catch.”

Rourke does not wait to be excused before turning on his heel and striding away from his fuming son. Aleister grits his teeth, curling his hands into fists.

“I'll prove you wrong, you bastard,” he growls under his breath. “I'll make it all on my own. ...I don't need you.” …

… The auditorium washes away and I find myself in the master bedroom of the Elysian Resort. Aleister sits alone on the bed, gazing out the window at the snow-covered mountains. Shadows underneath his haunted eyes stand out starkly against his pale skin.

“Well, well,” he murmurs. “So it's come to this.”

There's a knock at the door. Aleister rises, steadying himself with the help of a polished wooden cane, and turns toward the door.

“Come in.”

An Arachnid soldier enters, holding a report. “Sir.”

“Well?” Aleister asks impatiently. “Don't dilly-dally. How bad is it?”

“Namazi's Killswitch virus has decimated our operation, sir. MASADA, the Observatory, the Daedalus station...they're all gone. Our force is down to less than a dozen men. We're on the ropes.”

“...The Celestial?”

“Still ours. But the Hostiles are on the march. They'll retake it by sunrise.”

“And...my father?”

“I'm sorry, sir. He's dead. Namazi shot him.”

“I see...So what did you add up to, old man? What did you end up in the end? Nothing but dust.” He turns to the window and stares out at the snowy landscape, and the towering columns of smoke reaching up from all over the island. “...Gaze upon my works, ye mighty, and despair. ...But enough self-pity. Time to work.”

He turns back towards the door, but the soldier isn't there anymore. He's lying on the floor with a knife in his back. I realize that I am looking straight at Aleister now. I look down and see the soldier lying at my feet. There is blood on my hands. On my clothes. I look back up at Aleister.

“You. Traitor.” My voice is somewhere between a hiss and a snarl.

“Alodia!” Aleister staggers back, pressing against the glass. “H...how are you...you're supposed to be...”

I pace towards him, trembling hands clenched into fists. Furious tears clog my throat, making my voice into something inhuman.“You lied to us, you bastard. You sold us out. To Rourke! And for what? A seat at his table? A pat on the back?”

“I did what I had to do. I don't regret it.”

With a wild cry, I charge across the room, cornering him against the glass, pinning him with a forearm against his throat.

“They're all dead, you son-of-a-bitch!” I scream. “Everyone I love in the world, and they're all gone! Because of your father! Because of you!”

“You can't blame me for every single thing that went wrong on this island!” he protests.

“I can blame your father! And instead of standing up to him, you took his side. You chose him over us.” I name my losses out loud, punctuating each name by slamming him against the glass, which starts to crack with the force of my fury. “Over Raj! And Michelle! Over Zahra! And Craig! And Diego! Over Jake! And Estela! And Sean! And Quinn! Over Grace!”

Each blow makes Aleister grunt through clenched teeth, but at the last name, his eyes soften, filling with tears. He takes a deep breath. “...Whatever you're going to do, Alodia, do it. Otherwise, you're just wasting time. And time is all we have.”

“...In another life, Aleister, I think you could've been a good person,” I say softly. “...But not this one.”

I shove him hard with both hands. He falls backwards, the window shattering behind him. He screams as he plummets, only silencing when he finally smashes into cold, hard earth below...

… Back in MASADA, Aleister tears the idol from my grip and stuffs it back into my bag.

“Stop,” he says firmly. “It's over, Alodia.”

I meet his eyes, glaring at him. All I can see is the shocked look on his face as he fell, dead by my hand.

“...Not yet it's not.” For a moment, I could swear he looks afraid of me. Then he joins the guards in piling our things in the corner. Rourke smiles approvingly.

“Good work, my boy. Meet me in my office.”

“Wait! I...I don't want Grace to be imprisoned.” Aleister moves towards Grace, holding his arms out to her. “I'll make sure you're treated well and--”

The crack of her palm against his cheek rings out like a gunshot. Aleister recoils, clutching the stinging red mark on the side of his face.

“Don't you speak to me ever again!” she screams, tears streaming from her eyes.

Aleister regards her for a moment, without anger or surprise. He simply nods. As he goes, he pauses. “...I still want her kept in her own residence. Not a cell.”

“Very well,” Rourke agrees. He snaps his fingers at a mercenary, who grabs a weeping Grace and drags her off after Aleister. The rest of us are left alone with Rourke, Lila, and enough Arachnid troops to keep us all restrained. They grab us by the arms, holding us still.

“So are we back to the Ghostbusters part now?” Diego asks.

“You mean the containment pods?” Rourke asks. “Oh, no, no, no. That's no longer necessary. Lila?”

Lila steps forward. “Yes, Mr. Rourke?”

Rourke smirks at us, and turns his gaze to Lila. “Kill them all.”

#play choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry choices #Endless Summer #Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto #jake mckenzie #sean gayle #estela montoya #quinn kelly #raj bhandarkar #craig hsiao #aleister rourke #michelle nguyen #zahra namazi #grace hall

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thisishomenicktoonsau · 6 years

Text

Just A Typical Morning

Sophie is just the typical 10-year-old girl. Except for her family life where she grows up in a foster home with a mom, a dad, 15 older siblings, six younger siblings, and several pets. Yup. Definitely typical.

Hi, whoever is reading this. My name is Sophie Hathaway and this is my life. I am 10 years old and just moved to a new school. I’m not like other kids my age. I mean I go to school, hang out with my friends after school, I draw for competitions, I like soccer and video games but I also like stuffed animals and musicals. So I would say that I’m mostly normal.

Sophie was looking in a mirror getting ready for school in her tiny closet bedroom. She was dressed in a white tank top, a red plaid flannel shirt, jean leggings, and black converse. She tied her long curly ebony hair in a ponytail before putting her signature dark blue messenger hat on and turned to her white Maine Coon cat. “Well, Lion? What do you think?” Lion responded by lazily sprawling out on one of her shirts. Sophie rolled her midnight blue eyes and said “Thanks for the input Lion. Seriously that helps so much.” The moment Lion started to chew on the shirt she yanked it out from under him. Lion started to meow loudly in annoyance. Sophie smirked and said, “Yeah love you too bud.” She ruffled his fur and left her room her door ajar so Lion could wander in and out.

The only way I’m not normal is family wise. I live in a foster home with several other kids. I’ve lived here since I was six years old and grew up in the younger half of the family. Lion came with me because he’s been my cat since I was five though he was my original mother’s cat. I kind of have learned to thrive in chaotic situations after living here for so long.

Sophie was looking for her backpack for school. She didn’t know why it wasn’t in her room with all her other things but she could chalk that up to it getting mixed up with some other moving boxes. She looked in the closest room to her own bedroom, being her brothers Timmy and Snap’s room, and saw a familiar bag strap sticking out from under the blue bed while Timmy’s Golden Retriever puppy, Sparky, was lying on the bed. She grabbed it and pulled it out from under the bed. “Timmy Turner! Can you please explain what MY backpack was doing under YOUR bed?!” Sophie yelled.

A brown haired, blue eyed, buck-toothed boy poked his head into the room. “I needed crayons for my comic book and you have the best crayons in the house,” Timmy explained like it was obvious.

This is Timothy Turner or “Timmy” for short. He’s older than me by a few months and has been here longer than any of us. See when he was two, our foster parents moved next door and noticed something not so good. His real parents were neglecting him and Timmy had a caretaker that was abusing him. So Cosmo and Wanda, who are our parents, did what was best and called social services on them. Cosmo and Wanda eventually adopted Timmy as their son and the rest is pretty much history. The weird thing about this story though is that we think Timmy may have had a twin sibling. Keyword: Think. There were two cribs in the house although since there wasn’t any record of Timmy’s birth and no other evidence that there was another baby in the house, it’s just theory for now. Sparky was Timmy’s tenth birthday present. Mom and Dad got him in March so he’s just a puppy.

Timmy acts like what you think a “typical” ten-year-old boy is. He likes gross things like dead frogs and literally has no idea how girls work to point I’m pretty sure he thinks females have a whole different language. He can be a selfish jerk sometimes but he can be a good brother too. We play video games together a lot and he once told I’m the sister he didn’t know he could wish for.

“Dude. Stop stealing my crayons!” Sophie said rolling her eyes.

“Then buy me some fancy ones like yours.”

“Right. Like I have my own money. We are literally both 10.” Sophie said deadpanned. Sophie was checking her box for missing crayons. Okay, everything seemed in order except. Hang on. Something was wrong with her blues. “Slate, Sky, Navy, Indigo, Cobalt, Teal, Ocean, Peacock, Azure, Cerulean, Lapis, Spruce, Stone, Aegean, Berry, Denim, Admiral, Sapphire, Arctic…. Hey. Where’s my blue crayon? I have all my other blues but not the normal blue one.” Sophie said looking up from her crayon box after counting them.

“Oh yeah! Nerd-tron borrowed it for his science junk notes,” Timmy said getting his own backpack for school.

“Ugh, you gotta be kidding me with this!” Sophie groaned as she stomped to the room next door and knocked.

“Jimmy! I need my crayon! You know I hate having an incomplete box!” Sophie waited for a few minutes before Jimmy opened the door and Jimmy’s mechanical dog Goddard suddenly ran by her legs.

“Oh hey, Sophie. What did you need again?” Jimmy asked.

“My blue crayon. You stole it from Tim who stole it from me.” Sophie explained.

“Oh, that was your crayon! No wonder it was such high quality!” Jimmy said.

“Yeah, so can I have it back?” Sophie asked.

“Of course! Let me get it for you.” Jimmy said as he started to search his desk area. Sophie followed him into his and ZIM’s shared room.

That’s James Neutron or “Jimmy” for short. He’s older than me by about a year and came here shortly after Timmy did. Nobody's quite sure what happened to his parents but Mom and Dad found him just wandering in traffic and took him to CPS. They did find some of his relatives on his father’s side but nobody took him because he’s apparently some sort of “bad omen” or something, so mom and dad took him in. It was then they were like “Well we already got the two kids, why not open up a foster home for more?” So he kinda started the whole Vanguard Home for Wayward Children in a way. He built Goddard when he was around six so it was a year before I got there.

Jimmy is super smart, probably the smartest of all of us entirely being skilled in several different fields of science already. Though this can be annoying when he acts like a know it all and won’t admit when he makes a clear mistake. He stays mostly serious and doesn’t really play too much with us. Mostly because of Timmy. Timmy annoys him. However, he acts like a leader to us and takes care of us so that’s pretty good.

“Ah! Here it is!” Jimmy said holding up the crayon.

“Thanks, Jim. You’re a peach!” Sophie said as she put it in her bag.

“No problem. See you downstairs.” Jimmy said as he grabbed his bag and headed out. Sophie also started to head out starting to recount her crayons until she bumped into a teenage boy with black hair and ice blue eyes.

“Ow sorry, Danny…” Sophie said grinning sheepishly. Danny rubbed his head as he stood up with his Bulldog, Cujo’s leash in hand.

“It’s cool Soph I was just gonna take Cujo out real quick. Hold on. You got a smudge on your face.” Danny said trying to wipe it off.

“Mom c’mon stop!” Sophie whined as she tried to squirm out his grasp.

Danny groaned and said “Sophie. If you just hold still this would be over in a second.”

A high-pitched male voice called to them interrupting the squabble. “Danny! Sophie! What type of eggs do you want for breakfast?”

“Scrambled, please! And can I have hot chocolate to drink SB?” Sophie asked politely as she rushed to the banister to get away from Danny, making him sigh shaking his head.

“Of course sweetheart! Danny! What about you?” SB called back from the kitchen.

“I’ll take sunny side up SB!” Danny said as he and Cujo walked down the stairs. Sophie watched SB’s elderly cat Gary go downstairs followed by Lion and Sparky.

Those were two of my older brothers Daniel Fenton/”Danny” for short and Spencer Bob Sawyer-Patterson or “SB” for short. They both came here not too long after Timmy and Jimmy.

Danny is 14 and a freshman in high school. His parents were great scientists but died tragically in a lab accident when he was around four-ish. While his sister’s Jazz and Dani went to an all girls home Danny was not allowed to follow them making him end up here. Soon after he got here Mom and Dad got him a bulldog named Cujo to help him cope.

Danny is a really kind older brother. He’s kind of one of our parents second in command. So much so we actually call him mom because he always scolding us for doing the stupid things we do and wiping crap from our faces like you just saw. Danny always groans when we call him that even though he tells groan-worthy puns in return. Though we all know he secretly likes us calling him that as a term of endearment.

SB is 20 and currently going to culinary school while he lives here at home with us. Like Jimmy, we don’t actually know what happened to his parents. Every time he’s asked about it SB just bawls his eyes out. So we just stopped asking. All we know about his parents is that they are the ones that took SB to get his cat Gary, who has lived so long none of us know how old he is. Not even SB who got him as a full grown cat. Timmy swears he’s immortal while I’m just hoping we don’t come home from school one day and find him under a sofa “sleeping”.

SB is super sweet to all of us though he can be a little clueless and super innocent at times. Though I think he knows that strangely enough. Mom and Dad let him cook the meals for all of us cause he’s just such a good cook. He even makes all our lunches for school which takes so long he actually gets up at 4:00 AM to take his time making them. He’s definitely more of an early bird than any of us.

“Danny! Hurry up! We gotta leave in 30 minutes!” a black haired and violet-eyed teenage goth girl called from downstairs. Danny got to the bottom of the stairs with Cujo in hand and Sophie followed close behind.

“I know Sam. I just gotta take Cujo out to pee.” Danny said as he kissed her cheek before going outside.

“Morning dad,” Sophie said as she passed Sam to get to the kitchen.

“Good morning to you too son,” Sam said as she bumped the back of Sophie’s head.

Sophie went into the kitchen where she saw her brother SB with his curly dyed bright yellow hair with his original ginger hair peeking out and bright blue-eyes putting food down in front of her other older brother with dyed pink hair and dark brown eyes named Patrick. Jimmy and Timmy were already in the kitchen racing each other in an egg eating race. “Morning SB. Morning Pat-Pat.” Sophie said as she kissed both of their cheeks.

“Morning Soph-a-Loaf! Your breakfast is almost ready!” SB said cheerfully as he put down a fruit salad down for Sam who just walked in with her spider-shaped bag.

“Thanks, SB,” Sophie said sitting down next to Patrick who was scarfing down his food loudly which went along so nicely with Timmy and Jimmy’s muffled yelling. Sophie giggled as Sam pinched the bridge of her nose.

SB put a hand on her shoulder and asked “Tea?” Sam nodded quickly as SB poured her a cup of earl gray tea.

That is my sister Samantha Manson or “Sam” for short and my brother Patrick Star. They both came here about a few months after Danny and SB. Both have connections to Danny and SB too. Sam has been Danny’s best friend since kindergarten and now she is his girlfriend. Patrick has also been SB’s best friend since kindergarten.

Sam is the same age and grade as Danny. Her parents tried to force her into a life of fame and fortune that she frankly never wanted. So much so she ran away from her parents and ended up here. She and Danny just kind of clicked and got together by the end of middle school. Mom and Dad were pretty accepting of this. They just ask Danny and Sam make sure if and when they do something they are either out of the house, the entire family but them is out of the house, or lock the door which I’m still not sure what they mean by that. Do they mean kiss? Cause they’ve kissed in front of us before. Like more than once.

While we call Danny “Mom” we call Sam “Dad” a lot as an inside joke between all us. If Danny mothers us by taking care of our injuries and wiping stuff off our faces then Sam fathers us by punishing us when we do something wrong. Like when one of my older brothers, Manny, “wandered” into a Victoria Secret to see girls. Even Danny knew that he was a dead man when Sam went to fish him out. I do still look up to her as one of my female role models. I mean she so strong-willed and passionate that I kinda wanna be like her when I’m older.

Patrick is 22 and currently going through community college though he’s not that great at it. Not that he’s stupid, he’s just a little slow. His parents have been out of the picture for a while so his older sister was taking care of him. A few years later he said his sister got “lost in the tide”. Whatever that means. He also has a pet a rock named Rocky that he randomly just found in the park one day and took it home with him.

Patrick’s such a sweetheart and really tries hard for us despite his faults like him being slow and kinda lazy too. Seriously he like sleeps a lot. I think I tend to pick up habits from my siblings cause I swear I have fallen asleep in some weird places just like him. Mom and Dad depend on him to feed the pets while SB feeds us.

Patrick got up and started putting down the food bowls for the pets after scarfing down his breakfast. He put down a bowl of nuts and bolts for Goddard, three bowls of big dog for Sparky, Boodles, and Perrito, a bowl of medium dog food for Cujo, two bowls of cat food for Gary and Lion, he put some sprinkles on Rocky, put out a muffin for Minimoose, and he put out a bowl of clams for Grudge. Goddard, Sparky, Gary, and Lion were already eating. Danny came in with Cujo and Cujo made a dash for his bowl as SB put down Danny’s and Sophie’s eggs. As SB poured Sophie’s hot chocolate into a mug, a tan boy with messy brown hair and green eyes rubbing his eyes sleepily came into the kitchen.

“Morning Tak!” Sophie said chipperly.

“Subah mere pyaare parivaar.” (Translation: ‘Morning my lovely family.’ {Hindi}) Tak said obviously not being too terribly awake as he made his way to the toaster. He spent a minute staring at it before he started to hit it. “Why. Won’t. This. Cursed. Machine. Work!”

Danny promptly went and stopped Tak from hitting it. “Tak. Leave the toaster alone. If you want toast so much then just sit next to Sophie and I’ll make it for you but Tak... the toaster isn’t even on.” Danny calmly explained.

“Oh…” Tak mumbled blushing as he sat next to Sophie. Sophie giggled and kissed his cheek.

That’s my brother Tak Pupanunu. He’s 13 and came here about a year after Danny, SB, Sam, and Patrick. He was the first one of us to come from a different country which he was raised in India. As far as we know his parents gave him up at one of the shrines and was adopted by his Uncle Jibolba and his adopted older brother Lok. However, Jibolba started to get sick and had to stay in the hospital most of the time. They moved to America so Jibolba could get better care. With Lok already being of age and Tak wasn’t it was inevitable he would be put into foster care. Tak is still allowed to visit Jibolba and Lok so it’s all good.

Tak’s gotten a good grasp on English though he still isn’t used to the technology. He��s a lot more mature than people give him credit for though he has been dragged into the childish side of the family by me, Timmy, and Snap before too. I was really scared when I first got here but Tak really helped me and actually treated me like a person unlike most of the legal people I had to go through to get here.

Now, this is where stuff gets kind of complicated so listen up. There was a very short pause between when Tak came and when the next kid came. Like maybe a month or so. Then Mom and Dad got five kids in a month. Like no joke. The first week were my brothers ZIM and GIR, the second week was my brother Manny, the third week was my sister Jenny, and the fourth week was my brother Blik. All of that in a row. It’s kind of insane how it happened.

“Good Morning my HORRIBLE family!” said a boy with light green skin, lavender eyes, and black hair strolled into the kitchen.

Sam rolled her eyes as she handed Tak his toast. “Morning ZIM. Did you take your meds this morning?” ZIM paused before shaking his head no.

“Zion Issac Martinez! You are supposed to take those every day.” Danny scolded.

ZIM looked down kicking the floor and mumbled out an apology. Danny sighed as he got him the right amount of pills and a cup of juice. ZIM took them without any protest.

Sophie then realized something. “Hey ZIM? Where’s GIR?”

ZIM looked at Sophie and said, “Well I did think he was following me down the stairs.” Suddenly everyone heard a loud squeaking noise. Sophie suddenly went to the stairs and caught a little five-year-old with bright blue eyes and long curly black hair.

“Hi, mama!” GIR chipperly said. Sophie sighed as a plush moose started floating around her.

“Thanks, Minimoose. Your muffin is on the counter.” Minimoose squee-ed happily as he flew into the kitchen. Sophie carried GIR into the kitchen with her.

“ZIM! You need to watch your baby brother better!” Sophie said as he put GIR in one of three booster seats and getting a bowl of Cheerios for him to eat.

“Not my fault he can’t walk downstairs.” ZIM shot back as Minimoose somehow ate that muffin in one swift motion.

Those are my brothers Zion Issac Martinez or “ZIM” for short, Greggory Ian Ramirez/“GIR” for short, and their robot Minimoose. ZIM is 12 while GIR is only five. GIR actually came here when he was pretty much a newborn. Oh, where to begin with these two. See ZIM was born to his mom as a really sick baby and he still is kind of sick but it’s better than when he was a toddler. I think it’s a sickness that affects his stomach and his liver so he can’t eat right and makes his skin this sickish greenish hue I call ‘I’m about to puke.’ green.

Anyway, their mom died shortly after GIR was born and with no father in the picture ZIM & GIR’s cousins took custody of them. They were abusive towards ZIM and didn’t take care for GIR. Eventually they just kinda got bored of toying with ZIM and listening to GIR’s cries that they just dropped them off here and didn’t look back. ZIM soon built Minimoose to care for both of them with daily reminders for ZIM to take his meds and keeping an eye on GIR.

ZIM is a bit… much? Oh, how do I even describe him? He’s brash, overconfident, and arrogant literally thinking he’s better than every one of us and better than anyone that he’ll ever meet. I have a theory that it’s because of him being bullied for being this sickly that he just ended up like this. He’s also really smart like Jimmy he just can’t really focus on a project for too long. I think mom once said after bringing him home from his doctor that he has ADHD or something like that. ZIM is a good guy. Really he is. It's just really, really, REALLY hard to find the good in him. He does have his moments though. As for GIR well… I can literally describe him using two words. Sunshine and Sugar. Make of that what you will.

“We should probably teach GIR how to properly walk downstairs at some point,” Jimmy pointed out.

“We could probably cut his hair and he would be fine.” Timmy also pointed out as Sophie got out a brush and gasped.

“Absolutely not! His hair is a gift to society and should never be cut!” She started to brush GIR’s hair and tie it back into pigtails as GIR happily ate his Cheerios.

“So are you gonna brush his hair every single day?” Tak asked teasingly.

“I will if it means preserving his beauty!” Sophie said confidently.

“What are we talking about?” a boy with tan skin, chocolate brown eyes with a scar over one of them, and curly chocolate black hair walked in with his bag.

SB handed him a plate with a sausage smothered in hot sauce. “Soph-a-Loaf got offended by the idea of cutting GIR-Bear’s hair.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is? It’s just a haircut to make him look shiny and clean!” Patrick said clapping.

“Of course it’s a big deal! How else is GIR gonna get all the ladies in his kindergarten class? He’s stinking handsome with his hair.” The boy said ruffling up GIR’s hair as GIR giggled and the boy took a bite of his sausage.

“Thank you, Manny for seeing my point,” Sophie said.

“Anytime Mi Amor,” Manny said winking at Sophie. Sophie groaned and rolled her eyes.

That’s my brother Manuel Pablo Gutierrez O’Brian Equihua Rivera or “Manny” for short. He’s 13 years old and actually is the second one of us to come from a different country. That being Mexico. His parents got divorced when he was really little and lived with his father and grandfather. However, it was deemed an unsafe living environment for Manny to live in so he was sent here. Both his parents and grandfather do still have visiting rights so that’s good at least.

Like Tak, he adapted to speaking English pretty fast and unfortunately has developed quite a habit of flirting like I mentioned with the whole Victoria Secret incident. Also, he just likes rebelling against authority just for the fun of it. Don’t get me wrong he’s just as protective as all my other brothers but he can be a bit obnoxious sometimes.

“What? Can’t handle my charm huh?” Manny said wiggling his eyebrows.

“Yeah, something like that…” Sophie mumbled.

Manny narrowed his eyes and squeezed her sides as he said “¡Ataque sorpresa!” (Translation: ‘Surprise Attack!’ {Spanish})

Sophie let out an inhuman noise and bumped her knee on the table. “You little ffff,” Sophie growled blushing.

“Sophia. Language. Little ears are listening.” Danny said pointing to GIR.

“...fluffer.” Sophie finished with a bite in her voice. Manny laughed along with Timmy and ZIM as he high-fived them. “Why do I suffer this type of abuse in this household?” Sophie grumbled.

“Boys leave your sister alone. Just cause she’s younger than you doesn’t give you the right to pick on her just at random. At least be consistent if you are gonna tease her,” a teenage girl with red hair, blue eyes, and a robotic brace on her right arm and leg scolded as she walked into the kitchen. The boys rolled their eyes and each mumbled out an apology.

Sophie smiled and said “Thanks, Jenny.”

“Anytime Soph. Say, Jim? Can you loosen up the brace on my arm? I think it’s too stiff and I can’t really move it around that well.” Jenny explained.

“Sure thing Jen!” Jimmy said getting out a screwdriver from his backpack.

“You keep a screwdriver in your bag?” Sam asked raising an eyebrow. Jimmy just shrugged and got to work.

That’s my one of my other older sisters Jennifer Wakeman or “Jenny” for short. She’s 16 and is the oldest of us girls besides Mom. Jenny and her mom got into a really bad car crash that left Jenny’s mom paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. Jenny wasn’t hurt nearly as bad but it left her right arm and leg paralyzed and unusable without special braces. Jenny can still visit her mom who now lives in an assisted living facility. She lived in all girls home before being transferred here.

Despite the trauma she’s been through, Jenny is a super sweet and upbeat person if not a little naive at times too. She’s usually the one who takes all of us shopping for clothes whenever we need it. She’s super into fashion and literally spends hours on the computer researching the latest trends so she can be a designer when she’s an adult.

“Finished!” Jimmy said as he pulled the screwdriver away and put it back in his bag. Jenny flexed her arm and sighed happily grabbing a granola bar to eat.

“Much better. Thanks, Jimmy!”

“No problem Jen.”

“By the way after school, we need to go to the mall for some new summer clothes,” Jenny stated munching on the granola bar.

“And who’s exactly paying for this?” a man with brown skin, black hair tied back in a man bun, and goldish eyes asked as he walked into the kitchen with a newspaper under his arm.

“Good Morning Blik!” Jenny said cheerily as she hugged his arm. “I was kinda hoping you would?” Jenny asked batting her eyes at him. Blik side eyed Jenny and it was then decided by Sophie that her sister needed help.

Sophie tugged at Blik’s pants and said in a cutesy voice “Pwease Bliky? We are growing children. We need new clothes.”

Blik blushed at the nickname, sighed, and picked Sophie up placing her on his hip. “Alright fine. I will pay for the clothes.”

That is our oldest brother Blik Cramdilly. He’s 25 and just finished college this year but moved back to help Mom and Dad take care of us all. His father ditched him and his mom after he and his brothers were born. Unfortunately, their mother passed away when they were kids and their grandmother passed away when they were teenagers. This led to them being unable to inherit their massive fortune and while his brothers, Waffle and Gordon, had family members to take care of them due to both their father's side of the family, Blik did not. This is how he ended up in foster care. Six months later he did inherit his fortune along with his two brothers before they went off to college. However, Blik remained loyal to our strange family and would come back to visit us until he graduated. He then came back home to help raise us and help with the finances.

Blik can be a real grump sometimes. And loud. Very loud too. He likes buying things for himself so he can seem very powerful to those who try to cross our family. Even though he acts like it’s the worst thing in the world I think that he secretly likes buying us things. I don’t know, he just seems like he’s in good mood after seeing me with the tablet he bought me for drawing or when SB thanks him for the new set of pots and pans Blik got for him. He also is the one who keeps track of our doctor visits and allergies surprisingly enough. I think that shows he’s at least somewhat concerned for our wellbeings.

“Ugh, do we have to go clothes shopping AGAIN? We already have okay clothes.” Tak complained.

Jenny sighed and booped Tak’s nose. “Someday dear brother you will understand the importance of fashion.”

Blik put Sophie down and said, “Alright does everyone have their backpacks?” He was met with a chorus of Yes’s, Yeah’s, Yup’s, and Duh’s.

“Alright then. SB give everyone their lunches.”

“Okey Dokey!” SB said cheerfully as he handed everyone a personalized lunch box.

The lunch boxes were hanging up on a rack in the kitchen. Each lunch box was a different color to tell who’s was who’s. Blue for Jimmy, Pink for Timmy, Green for Danny, Violet for Sam, Yellow for SB, Lime for Patrick, Orange for Tak, Magenta for ZIM, Teal for GIR, Brown for Manny, Bright Blue for Jenny, and Light Pink for Sophie.

“By the way, your sushi is in the fridge whenever you eat your lunch today,” SB said looking back at Blik who was getting coffee.

“Thanks, SB.” Blik said taking a long sip of that coffee from a ‘Nope.’ mug.

A frazzled looking woman with pink curly hair and wearing a yellow blouse came into the kitchen. “Okay! It is almost time for school! Is everyone in the kitchen? Let me get a headcount,” she said as she started silently started to count.

That’s our mom Wanda Cosma. Her dad runs a successful garbage company and she’s the heiress so we get funds from her dad. It’s pretty cool. She may run the company if she ever gets sick of being a stay at home mom which I don’t think is happening anytime soon.

She’s pretty much our responsible parent. You know the usual stuff. Stopping us from doing stupid things and making sure we don’t go to the hospital more than once a month each. That kind of stuff. She tends to play bad cop in actually disciplining us instead of letting us run wild and free. She’s actually really great at balancing all of us and making sure we get the attention we deserve and/or crave.

“Wait there is only 13 of you and Poof is upstairs with your father so which nine are we missing?” Wanda asked.

Blik looked at what lunch boxes are left. “Indigo, Aqua, Fuschia, Bubblegum Pink, Red, Gray, Bright Green, Powder Blue, and Moss Green.”

Wanda was trying to connect the colors to the kids as Sophie spoke up. “Snap isn’t down here.”

“And Boodles didn’t come in for breakfast…. so Bunsen isn’t up yet either.” Jimmy deduced.

“Neither did Perrito so Dora isn’t up,” Jenny added.

“Meaning Marinette and Tikki aren’t up either,” Sam concluded.

“Now that you mention it… I don’t remember seeing Adrien or Plagg get up either.” Danny said.

“Well, I know Vendetta and Charlotte are up,” Manny said shrugging.

“Where are they then?” Wanda asked with her hands on her hips.

“In the backyard with Grudge doing… something? I don’t know. Vendetta is a weird kid.” Manny said throwing his arms up like ‘what do you want me to do about it?’

Wanda sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer. “Snap White! Bunsen Knai’livac! Dora Marquez! Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Tikki Dupain-Cheng! Adrien Agreste! Plagg Agreste! Charlotte Winfrey! Vendetta Mortcheva! It is time for school! Come to the kitchen!” Wanda waited for a moment before she heard feet running from the downstairs bathroom and down the stairs.

From the downstairs bathroom was a pale teenage girl with blueish-black short pigtails blue eyes, and freckles carrying a five-year-old girl with fair skin, short dark red hair, and matching blue eyes. The two coming down the stairs was a very lightly tanned teenage boy with blond hair and green eyes carrying a five-year-old boy with dark brown skin, messy black hair, and matching green eyes.

The two teens nearly crashed into each other as they both said with a slight French accent: “Sorry mom!”

Wanda shook her head. “What were you doing that took you so long? Marinette? Adrien?”

“Tikki’s hair was a real mess so I’ve been messing with it so it stays flat for the day,” Marinette said as she let Tikki down to get a poptart from SB. Wanda nodded to Marinette before looking at Adrien and Plagg for their excuse.

“Plagg was being a butt and whining about going to school so he was not being cooperative this morning,” Adrien said bluntly.

“SCHOOL IS BORING!” Plagg yelled from Adrien’s arms.

“Plagg sweetie. If GIR and Tikki have to go to kindergarten then so do you. As much as you want it to be so, Adrien can’t carry everywhere.” Wanda explained calmly.

Plagg pouted and said “Fine but there better be Camembert in my lunch.”

Wanda nodded and looked at SB who was giving the Bubblegum Pink and Red lunch boxes to Marinette and Tikki. “Oh right!” SB said as he grabbed the Gray and Bright Green lunch boxes and walking over to Adrien and Plagg. He handed Adrien the Gray lunch box before kneeling down to Plagg’s height giving him the Bright Green lunch box.

“And I put extra Camembert so you can be an extra good boy today!” SB smiled.

Plagg grinned hopping up and down. “Cool! Thanks, SB!”

If you couldn’t tell the girls are Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her little sister Tikki while the boys are Adrien Agreste and his little brother Plagg. Adrien is 15, Marinette is 14, and Tikki and Plagg are both five years old just like GIR. All four of them are originally from France actually and came around the same time about a few months before Poof was born so it was a little stressful for mom but dad handled it really well. Marinette and Adrien are also dating too and follow the same rules as Danny and Sam.

Marinette and Tikki’s parents tragically died in a car crash on a really rainy night while Marinette was babysitting Tikki. Her parents always dreamed of moving to America with their daughters to start a franchise of bakeries so that’s what Marinette told her grandmother, who really was too busy traveling to take care of her granddaughters. So she came over to America with them and dropped them both off here and they stayed here ever since.

Adrien and Plagg’s story is a bit more troubling. See shortly after Plagg was born Adrien’s mother went missing and Adrien’s father became more and more closed off towards his sons. His father wanted the Agreste name to be absolutely perfect with no smudges what so ever. So he forced Adrien to be a model and controlled what Adrien did, where he would go, who he would talk to, and even what he ate. Plagg though wasn’t as treated as “nice” as Adrien was. Their father didn’t see Plagg as his son due to his skin color and locked him away in a back bedroom. Adrien was the only one allowed to care for him and this caused Plagg to become inseparable with Adrien. After Adrien’s bold move of divorcing his father, he and Plagg were moved to be closer to their mother’s friends, the Bourgeois’, who lived in America leading them to come here.

Marinette is a lot like Jenny actually. She’s sweet, outgoing, and very into fashion. She’ll be the one most likely to help Jenny shop for clothes for us. This is because the boys don’t care except for Adrien, all Sam knows is Hot Topic, I get distracted by the simplest things, Dora is still new to this “teenage girl” thing, and Tikki, Vendetta, and Charlotte are way too young to understand. Though her differences from Jenny, Marinette is a bit more awkward in social situations and way clumsier than any of us. She has her moments of confidence though. Especially when she’s sticking up for Tikki or any of us for that matter.

Tikki is the polar opposite of both GIR and Plagg oddly enough. For a five-year-old, she is incredibly calm and quiet. Like to strange level. Of course, she’s extremely kind and loving towards us. Sometimes though she just quietly follows us around. She does this for cookies. We give her a cookie and she goes away to follow someone else. We know we shouldn’t be feeding her habit but that’s literally all we can do. She won’t accept anything else. The only one that doesn’t seem to mind is Marinette because she’s used to this. Tikki is a really sweet girl though.

Adrien is definitely a people person during parties but he’s actually much of an introvert due to his father’s “brainwashing”. We’ve been helping him get more freedom though. This has turned him into a more fun loving person. Oh sure he’s still kinda serious but he’s getting better. Unfortunately, Danny has gotten him into saying puns and it’s gotten kind of annoying. Still, Adrien is an extremely kind person despite what his father has done to him over the years and is being a big help to us with the smaller kids.

Plagg apparently used to be a very silent and obedient child under his father’s rule according to Adrien. Yeah... I don’t buy it for a second. To me at his best Plagg is carefree and sarcastic, at his worst he’s a lazy and sour little kid. He has become Timmy, Manny, and Snap’s protege when it comes to pranks. It sucks but it makes him happy so why not? Plagg is also an extremely picky eater. He will not eat anything unless we give him Camembert cheese with it. It’s kinda weird.

“By the way Mari? Tikki? Where’s Dora? Don’t tell me she’s still asleep.” Wanda said.

“Oh no. Perrito was whining earlier this morning so Dora took him out earlier than she usually does.” Marinette said as she bit into a banana.

Adrien came and wrapped an arm around Mari. “I think it was like six o’clock when she left cause I was in the bathroom with Plagg.”

“Well do you know when she’ll be back?” Wanda asked. Marinette tried to remember as Tikki tugged on her foster mother’s pant leg. “Yes, Tikki? What is it?”

Tikki starred at Wanda chewing on her poptart until she finally said: “Dora said she would be back before school.” Just as Tikki said that in walked a 12-year-old girl with tanned skin, long chocolate brown hair, and brown eyes holding a leash with a chocolate lab at the end of it.

“Lo Siento mama. Perrito really had to go to the bathroom,” (Translation: ‘Sorry mom.’ {Spanish}) the girl said.

Wanda sighed and said “It’s alright Dora. Just remember to take your phone with you next time you go out with Perrito. Okay?”

“Si, mama.” (Translation: ‘Yes, mom.’) Dora said letting Perrito off the leash to get his food. “By the way Patrick, could I have one of those little cookies for Perrito? He had a hard time going outside.” Dora asked. Patrick nodded as he got a special biscuit for Perrito and put it in Perrito’s food.

“Dora! Here’s your lunch box.” SB said handing the Fuschia lunch box to her.

Dora grinned and said “Gracias SB!” (Translation: ‘Thanks, SB!’)

That’s Dora Marquez. She’s 12 years old and roughly came here about a few months after I did. Like Manny, she came here from Mexico and moved to the states when she was around eight years old with her parents, her little brother and sister, her grandmother, and Perrito. When she turned nine her parents had to go back on an expedition of the rainforest to help some injured animals so while her grandmother and siblings stayed in the city, Dora and Perrito moved in with us.

Dora is a super kind person. Like to the point that it’s almost sickly sweet and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her get angry at like anything. She is kind of a tomboy like me so I look up to her a lot and like to go on adventures with her. Though lately she’s been getting more and more girly. I mean I don’t mind it so much it’s just that I either have to go with my sisters who are girlier than I am or with the boys who can be very, very annoying. Otherwise, though Dora is probably the nicest sister I could ask for.

“Dora? Did you see Bunsen or Snap get up for school?” Blik asked as Dora turned to him.

“Well I did see Bunsen’s door closed but I’m not sure about Snap,” Dora said shaking her head.

“Oh. Snap is still asleep. At least he was when I left our room.” Timmy said casually.

Wanda and Blik both facepalmed. “Sport, if he was still asleep why didn’t you wake him up?” Wanda asked.

“I dunno. I’m not his keeper!” Timmy argued.

Blik mumbled an ‘Oh my god.’ as Wanda asked: “Can one of you please go and remind your brothers that you can’t sleep in on a school day?”

“I’ll do it!” Sophie said raising her hand and then running upstairs.

“Thank you, sweetie!” Wanda called after her.

I guess it’s my turn to tell you about me huh? Like I said at the beginning my name is Sophie Hathaway and I’m 10 years old. I used to live in Hawaii with my biological family and we were all pretty happy. That was until my mother died when I was three then our family just started to drift apart. By the time I was six years old everyone was kinda placed where they needed to be and while I was supposed to go with my uncle, he was traveling too much to take care of me. So that’s how I ended up here a few years after Blik came but before Dora, Marinette, Tikki, Adrien, and Plagg. I still see some of my older siblings often enough and my dad comes to visit us once a month with my siblings Skylar, Silas, Liv, Nate, and Stef so it’s okay I guess.

I was really scared of everyone when I first got here though. The smells and sounds were all different and while I was used to having a big family these people were basically strangers to me. Also, I spoke Hawaiian primarily in my old house and now I am forced into English daily now which six-year-old me did not approve of at all. However, they were understanding knowing I needed time and over that time I learned to trust them which was very hard for me to do. Now I couldn’t imagine my life without them.

Sophie finally made it upstairs and was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the bathroom faucet running.

“Maybe Snap or Bunsen is already up?” Sophie thought as she knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, is someone in here?” A few seconds later a man with neatly combed green hair holding a little baby boy with a tuft of curly purple hair and purple pajamas came out of the bathroom. “Morning Dad! Morning Poof!” Sophie cooed at her little brother.

“Morning Muncha-Bunch,” Cosmo said kissing the top of her head.

That’s our dad Cosmo Cosma. He eloped with our mom! His mom never did forgive him for that but it’s fine. She stopped being mad at our mom when we came into the picture. She’s like the super cool grandma that brings us gifts like all the time.

Cosmo is our fun parent that likes to take us on trips and out to eat a lot. Though Wanda seems to rain him in when he goes too far because he can be a little careless at times but he definitely loves us. Like I said he’s the good cop to Wanda’s bad cop. He usually sneaks us dessert when Wanda scolds us too hard.

And that little baby he’s holding is our baby brother Poof. Poof is Mom and Dad’s only biological kid but despite that, they still love us equal. Poof is only like a year old so he’s the youngest of all of us

He is literally the sweetest thing. We all take turns looking after him. Except for Vendetta, Charlotte, GIR, Tikki, and Plagg. Four out the five of them should never be trusted with babies. I mean Tikki is arguably okay but everyone else is a disaster waiting to happen so just trust me on this. Don’t.

“So what are you doing upstairs? I thought you guys were ready for school?” Cosmo asked bouncing a gurgling Poof.

“Well most of us are but Snap, Bunsen, Charlotte, and Vendetta aren’t. They didn’t come downstairs.” Sophie explained.

“Well, I saw Snap was still in bed with his door open and your sisters are outside but not sure about Bunsen,” Cosmo said tapping his chin.

“Thanks, Dad! I’m gonna go figure this out.” Sophie said.

“Okay. Get your brothers up though. We are on the clock!” Cosmo said patting her head before heading downstairs with Poof gurgling.

“I will!” Sophie called back.

She made her way to Timmy and Snap’s room to see her light blond brother hugging his pillow dreaming. Sophie sat down on his bed and started to gently shake his shoulder. “Snap. C’mon you gotta get up. We gotta go to school.”

Snap groaned and gripped his pillow tighter. “Mmmm five more minutes Buckette…” He said in his thick Bronx accent.

“No, you need to get up like right now,” Sophie said sensing the urgency of the situation. “We leave in literally 15 minutes.” Snap snored loudly to indicate the conversation was over. Sophie narrowed her eyes and said, “You leave me no choice dear brother.” Sophie pulled back her covers, slipped her hands under Snap’s light blue t-shirt, and tasered his sides.

Snap flipped the heck out and made a girlish squeal before falling out of bed. “What the heck Buckette?!” Snap yelled his bright blue eyes glaring at her.

“Told you I was left no other choice.” Sophie shrugged sticking out her tongue.

That’s one of my younger older brothers, Snap White. He’s 10 like me and Timmy though he’s a few months older than Timmy. He came here about six months after Poof was born. He originally came from a foster home in Greenland before moving to the states. Specifically the Bronx part of New York City which is where he gained his accent. So his speaking is a mix of West Greenlandic and English. He didn’t really enjoy being moved again so he acted out a lot which concerned my parents. He got super mad at a teacher for telling him his superhero clothes were ridiculous and put glue on their chair which Mom and Dad were not happy about. Then one day he saw me drawing and asked me if I was an artist. I said yes and suddenly he’s super cuddled up to me. Cut to a day later and we are basically best friends. He tells me that his cape is actually his old baby blanket and it’s the only thing that makes him feel secure. I told Mom and Dad and they took care of it. Since then Snap has been one of my closest brothers.

Snap can be really stubborn about things he thinks he’s entitled to like you just saw with the sleep problem. He’s always looking for ways to get out of boring things like adult parties or school and tries dragging us along with him. He is super clingy though like in a physical sense. He’ll cling to your arm, random hugs, hold your hand, etc. I think he may have abandonment issues but I don’t really wanna say anything to him since he’s just gonna deny them to be a “real man”.

“Þú ert að borga fyrir þetta.” (Translation: ‘You are going to pay for this.’ {West Greenlandic}) Snap glared as he put on his mask and cape.

Sophie laughed and shot back in Hawaiian, “Inā 'oe makemake i wale loaʻa i loko o ka wahi mua au makemake ole i kūpono ai i loko o ka hoʻokolokoloʻiaʻana” (Translation: ‘If you would have just gotten up in the first place I wouldn’t have resulted in the torture.’)

“I’m just saying when you walk through that door this afternoon you are dead,” Snap said as he put on his gloves and boots before walking out the door. Sophie just responded by blowing a raspberry at him. Now she was going towards Bunsen’s room.

Sophie noticed the door was closed so she knocked on it. “Bunsen? You up? We gotta get to school.” After waiting for a minute Sophie quietly opened the door to see Bunsen’s St. Bernard puppy, Boodles, sitting at the door waiting to be let out for breakfast. “Okay, Boodles go get breakfast,” Sophie said pointing downstairs. Boodles barked and ran downstairs. Sophie quietly went into Bunsen’s room and shook his shoulder while he slept. “Bunsen we gotta go to school. Wake up.” Bunsen slowly woke up and grabbed his glasses rubbing his eyes.

“Sophie? What’s wrong? Why are you rushing me?”

“We need to go to school in like 15 minutes,” Sophie stated.

“WHAT?!” Bunsen screamed as he rushed out of bed and to put his school clothes on.

That’s one of the newest members of this family Bunsen Knai’livac. He’s 12 years old and originally came from Taiwan because his parents thought more opportunities would arise here. He’s still getting used to being with us and speaking English mostly instead of Chinese. He got here about two months ago but he’s made progress at least. The first thing he connected with was Boodles in a pet store so naturally, Mom and Dad got Boodles to give him some stability. He still does have panic attacks about breaking the rules cause he grew up in such a strict household. We’ve been getting really good at calming him down and he’s even joined theater at school!

People who don’t really know Bunsen would describe him very loud and excitable which I mean is true to a certain degree. However, to us, we know him better than some strangers. He has the anxiety of letting his parents down constantly on his shoulders that he wouldn’t be a real functioning member of society. He can be a total theater nerd sometimes but for the most part, he’s pretty quiet and nice with the occasional bits of snark here and there.

“Ó, wǒ de shàngdì. Wǒmen yào chídàole wǒmen de lǎoshī huì shēngqì, māmā hé bàba huì shēngqì. Nàme tāmen bù zài xūyào wǒle!” (Translation: Oh my god. We are going to be late! Our teachers are going to be mad and Mom and Dad are going to be mad. Then they won't want me anymore! {Chinese}) Bunsen ranted off quickly as he got dressed.

Sophie sighed and put her hands on his shoulders to calm him down. “Bunsen it’s okay. You made a mistake. Nobody is gonna send you away for that Bunsie Boo.” Sophie kissed his nose to drive her point home.

Bunsen smiled a little and kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Soph.”

“You’re welcome. Now finish getting ready and get downstairs.” Sophie said going out of the room.

Sophie made her way downstairs with Snap close behind. She didn’t think much of it until Snap’s hands found his way to her sides and Sophie squealed and started laughing. “Snap! What are you doing?!”

“Hefnd er mín!” (Translation: Vengeance is mine! {West Greenlandic}) Snap shouted. Bunsen passed them giving his siblings a weird look as Snap tickled their sister and Sophie laughed like a doofus and clung to the stair railing.

“Jenny! Snap is trying to kill Sophie again!” Bunsen yelled as he entered the kitchen.

Jenny poked her head out and glared at Snap. “Snap! Leave your sister alone! Look at her! She’s dying!”

Snap groaned and rolled his eyes complying with his older sister’s request. “Fine!”

Snap continued to walk down the stairs smirking as Sophie panted and clung to the railing. “Oh thank the gods he stopped.”

Suddenly a knock came from the front door. “I’ll get it!~” SB called as he opened the front door.

A 10-year-old boy with poofy blond hair, hazel eyes, and wearing a dark brown aviator jacket with a glow stick bracelet is on his left wrist was standing there with a smile.

“Oh hello, Xavier! You here to go to school with us?”

“Yup! Managed to escape my stick in the mud parents. Is Sophie around?”

“Hey, Xavier!” Sophie waved as she laid on the stairs.

“What are you doing lying on the stairs?” Xavier asked before sitting next to her.

“Snap nearly killed me!” Sophie yelled loud enough for Snap to hear.

“Not my fault you are so sensitive!” Snap laughed from the kitchen.

“I mean he’s not wrong.” Xavier shrugged sheepishly as he sat next to her on the stairs. Sophie playfully hit his arm in response.

That’s my best friend Xavier. He’s 10 years old like me and is a week older than me. While he isn’t part of the family he might as well be. His parents are kind of overbearing so he likes coming over here more. I met him when his family was vacationing in Hawaii. Since then we’ve been inseparable. He was the one who helped me with my English and helped me to adjust to mainland America. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine living without him. He’s just always there for me and gets along with the family well. He’s kind of like the unofficial kid of the family where he’s part of the family but “legally” we aren’t responsible for him. So that’s pretty cool.

He’s super intelligent in the book smart kind of way. I remember when his family visited Hawaii and we became friends, he would read on the beach and I would just listen to him. Sometimes I would even fall asleep to him reading. Xavier is also 87% of my impulse control. Like if I didn’t have him, I’d probably would've died by now from a stupid decision.

“What? I’m just saying you are and there is nothing wrong that.” Xavier said putting up his hands in a defensive position.

“Ugh, you’ve spent too much time with this family. I swear to the gods. You are starting to sound like most of my brothers. You better not start selling me out to them.” Sophie scolded. “BLIK does that enough!”

“Hey! I have never done that in the four years you’ve lived here.” Blik argued as he walked into the room

“Yesterday you sold me out for a root beer to Danny!” Sophie argued.

“That wasn’t a sellout that was a trade. Very different. Now can you please get our sisters from the backyard so we can leave?” Blik smirked.

As Xavier said “Yup” Sophie let out a less enthusiastic, mumbled “Yeah.”

Blik grinned and said “Oh Timothy!~ Sophie needs-”

Sophie immediately hit his arm. “No. Shut up. I’m fine.”

Blik chuckled ruffling up her hair. “Fine then.”

“C’mon let’s go get them,” Sophie said getting off the stairs and heading towards the backyard with Xavier in tow. They walked into a pretty big backyard which has an above ground pool, a trampoline, a small playground, some swings hanging from trees, a sandbox, and a playpen for Poof to keep himself from roaming anywhere he pleases. It also has quite a lot of trees as well. Sophie spotted two girls around eight years old huddled in a corner doing… something? Sophie and Xavier both couldn’t tell what they were doing. They could only see the backs of the short, curly blonde hair of the peach skinned girl and the long, brown hair styled in messy pigtails of the much paler girl who seemed to be holding something.

“Um, Vendetta? Charlotte? Mom says to get inside. It’s time for school and Grudge still hasn’t eaten.” Sophie said pointing her thumb to the back door.

Both girls turned their heads around revealing the blonde girl’s bright blue eyes and the brunette girl’s dimmed green eyes.

“Okay Sophie!” the blonde girl said chipperly as she skipped over to hug Sophie’s waist. “Grudge made a new friend and me and Vendetta watched it!” Charlotte said bouncing up and down happily.

“What do you mean new frien- oh my god!” Xavier shouted as Vendetta came over holding her pet raccoon, Grudge, who had a snake in his mouth. A dead snake in his mouth. Lovely.

Sophie put her face into her hands and groaned. “Vendetta. You know what mom and dad have said about Grudge… erm… “making friends” with wild snakes,” Sophie censoring herself for the sake of Charlotte.

“Stupid Raccoon wanted to make a fiend.” Vendetta stated simply in her thick Bulgarian accent. “That is not mine or Charlotte’s fault.”

“Don’t you mean friend?” Xavier asked curiously.

“I said what I said.” Vendetta shot back rather rudely.

Xavier gave a look to Sophie as Sophie sighed, “Look. I’m your big sister now so tell Grudge to drop his snake friend or fiend or whatever and get in the house so we can go to school.”

“Fine. Stupid Raccoon. Drop.” Vendetta commanded as Grudge spat out the snake.

“Yay! Time for school! Come on Vendetta!” Charlotte cheered as she grabbed Vendetta’s hand skipping into the house.

“Do not touch me you stupid blue girl!” Vendetta yelled as they both disappeared into the house.

Xavier turned his face back to Sophie and said: “I’m sorry but what the heck is wrong with your new sister?”

“Oh, so many things…” Sophie sighed shaking her head.

So like you just saw those are our new additions to the family Charlotte Winfrey, Vendetta Mortcheva, and Vendetta’s pet raccoon… yes, raccoon… Grudge. Charlotte and Vendetta are only eight years old and just got transferred here last month. They got transferred here from their old foster home in a place called Clamberg because the foster home was terrified of Vendetta and her and Charlotte are a package deal.

I’ll explain Charlotte first because really. She’s a lot easier to understand than Vendetta is.

Charlotte got put into the foster care system when she was super young. Both her parents died while attending a music festival outside of Vermont in a mass shooting, unfortunately. This caused Charlotte to be placed in Clamberg with her only known living relative, her grandmother Charlene. The sad thing is that Charlotte still doesn’t know her parents died. Charlene told her that they were both astronauts living up in a space station. Nobody has had the heart to tell her yet. Charlene got too sick to raise Charlotte so when she was six years old Charlotte was placed in the foster care system.

Charlotte is a super sweet girl. Like probably the sweetest you’ll ever meet. She loves everything in the world and everyone in it. Probably if you take her to Disney World she would be smiling the whole time and say hi to all the characters. Even the villains! She is a little… “slow”… sometimes though. She doesn’t quite understand what's happening most of the time unless someone, usually Vendetta, tells her.

Speaking of Vendetta, let's talk about her because oh boy. There’s a lot to talk about.

So as you noticed by her accent Vendetta is from Bulgaria. She moved to America when she was a toddler with both of her parents, her older sister Vasilika, and her twin sister Joanna. Soon after her parents had three more children. Vendetta’s younger twin brothers, Darian & Valko, and her baby sister Rosica. However starting after Darian and Valko were born, Vendetta’s father started to get more...abusive towards his wife and older daughters. Well, TWO of his older daughters. He never laid a hand on Joanna or any of his younger children. He did frequently hurt his wife Violetta and Vasilika but it was Vendetta who got the raw end of the deal. Vendetta’s father, if you can even call him that now, considered Vendetta his child from hell. It wasn’t just physical abuse either. When Vendetta was finally admitted to the foster after the incident (which I’ll get to in a minute) she was malnourished and was so dirty that initial reports had Vendetta’s skin and hair color way darker than it actually was.

About the incident. One night Vendetta’s “father” had been drinking quite a lot. Violetta tried to get him to stop for the children’s sake but that just made him angrier. He ended up shouting so loud he had woken up Vasilika, Vendetta, and Joanna and in a moment of panic, Vasilika grabbed the family gun. When the girls got downstairs that had found their father had just finished strangling their mother to death. When he saw his three daughters standing there witnessing him kill his wife. He was enraged and started moving towards Vasilika first and she ended up shooting him once in the head. He fell dead on the floor inches from his now dead wife. Joanna had broken down into tears. Vasilika had no idea what she had just done and just stood there in shock. But Vendetta… oh, Vendetta. She was furious. She began yelling at Vasilika for not doing that sooner. That they all could have been freed earlier if she would have thought of this. She yelled at Joanna to stop crying and blamed her for being the “perfect” one. She yelled at the corpses of her parents. Her mother for not being stronger and her father for being a complete asshole to his own wife and children. She even yelled at herself for being a ‘devil child.’ The only people she didn’t blame for this was her younger brothers and baby sister since they had nothing to do with this. Later in the early morning, Vasilika called the police and all six of them were put in the custody of CPS. Three of them scarred for life and three of them too young to understand what was happening.

After that Vendetta essentially disowned her sisters and refuses to talk to or about them. She doesn’t talk about her parents either. She still visits her younger siblings as long as Vasilika and Joanna aren’t there. When she got to the foster home in Clamberg she never played with the other kids and spent nights alone in the backyard. The entire staff and all of the children were terrified of her. Accidents started happening around the home and they blamed Vendetta but none of them could prove it. She even one night came back with a raccoon which was Grudge. He was trained to essentially be a house cat. This confused the staff for two reasons. One: Raccoons are not native to Clamberg. So where did she find this raccoon? Two: How did she even train this creature? The staff had no idea on either of these questions and they weren’t about to question Vendetta of all people so they let her keep Grudge. It was just the two of them for two years until Charlotte got there. She was the only person that wasn’t afraid of Vendetta and that struck a nerve with Vendetta. So Vendetta became Charlotte’s soul defender even though she still insulted Charlotte from time to time, though Charlotte clearly doesn’t mind.

Cut to a month ago where the Clamberg foster home had enough of Vendetta’s reign and sent her here far away from Clamberg. Charlotte just came with cause they are now a package deal.

Vendetta doesn't seem that bad as her previous foster home made her out to be. Sure she’s dark, sarcastic, weird, sometimes super mean, and cusses in Bulgarian thinking we can’t hear her when we can. She’s also super bright though and probably the smartest girl in the house. We just wish she would relax a little bit and realize we won’t let her get hurt here but we also realize she needs time and we will give her that.

...What? I told you Vendetta is a complicated creature with a complicated history.

“Let’s just go so we can finally get to school. Max is gonna chew the two of us out if we are late again.” Sophie said tiredly. Xavier nodded and followed her back into the house and into the kitchen. They stood next to Charlotte and Vendetta who was letting Grudge eat his clams from the palm of her hand. The two of them just watched the chaos conduct in the large kitchen as everybody was shouting over each other.

“Alright, kids! Listen up!” Cosmo clapped loudly as all his children proceeded to quiet down. “Okay everybody go upstairs one last time. If you have a pet put them up in your room or if the pet is in a cage in your room feed them. Double check you have everything and then proceed to the van as planned. Ready? Go!” Cosmo yelled.

Sophie picked up Lion and motioned for Xavier to follow her. She was followed up the stairs by Jimmy carrying Goddard, Timmy carrying Sparky, Danny carrying Cujo, SB carrying Gary, Patrick carrying Rocky, ZIM leading Minimoose, Bunsen carrying Boodles, Dora leading Perrito, and Vendetta carrying Grudge. The other siblings followed up the stairs to double check their rooms to not forget anything. All except Blik whose room was the garage and Poof who was safe in his mother’s arms.

Sophie lead Xavier into her room and closed the door behind them.It was a small bedroom with a tiny closet, a small bed, and a small bookshelf. When they move Sophie requested she get her own room since she was a growing young lady now and thought it be better if she didn't share a room with Timmy and Snap. Xavier flopped down on Sophie’s bed as Sophie put Lion in his cat carrier. Lion meowed in protest as Sophie answered back “I know Lion you don’t like it but it’s only for the morning.”

“Do you think he can really understand you?” Xavier asked.

“Mmm, I like to think he does.” Sophie answered as she went to her closet and pulled out a box labeled ‘Special Things.’ She rummaged through it and pulled out two books. One was was a glittery sketchbook while the other was a scrapbook with the title of ‘Family is Forever.’ She hugged them close to her chest before stuffing them into her backpack. “Okay, we can go now,” Sophie said smiling.

“Finally. You know Max is gonna kick us out of the group if we keep showing up late.” Xavier said getting up from her bed.

“No, he can’t,” Sophie said as she opened up her door and turned her light off. “First off he would have to find a new second to replace me. Second, I basically own his soul at this point. So even if wanted too he couldn’t kick us out.”

“Fair enough,” Xavier shrugged.

Sophie went to each room to check everybody was out and essentially take roll for their mother as one of her chores.

Timmy had put up Sparky in his crate as Snap fed his hamster Musty and his pet frog Wiggums. For two fifth grade boys, they could sure make a mess of everything. Sophie was glad she moved out of there.

Jimmy and ZIM put Goddard and Minimoose on chargers and left their neat bedroom. It was neat because they both pretty much spent all their time in the basement lab with Vendetta.

Danny put up Cujo in his crate as Adrien put on his mother’s ring to wear on his right hand and Plagg grabbed his black cat plush from the top bunk of his and Adrien’s bunk beds. Plagg refused to sleep with GIR and Poof in fear of losing Adrien.

SB had put Gary in his cat carrier and grabbed his clean uniform while Patrick carefully put Rocky on the side table on his side of the room. The two had shared a room every since Patrick got there and they decided to never ever switch.

Tak had fed Navis, his and his best friend Jeera’s shared guinea pig, as Manny grabbed his soccer uniform for the day. Tak wanted the room with the biggest window and Manny just wanted a huge bed so they ended up with the biggest room on the floor.

GIR had grabbed his green dog plush and Poof’s baby bag from their room as a favor for Wanda and Cosmo. ZIM didn't even want to be near GIR as he slept. GIR had his own room until Poof was born.

Finally, on the boy's side of the hall, Bunsen had put Boodles in his crate and grabbed his script for play rehearsal. Bunsen just had his own room for now until another boy showed up at the foster home.

Meanwhile, on the girl’s side of the hall, Sam had grabbed an umbrella, since it was supposed to be bright that day, and Jenny grabbed some fashion magazines for her and her best friend who was a girl, Misty, to share at lunch. Their room consisted of a lot of black, pink, and purple. The color scheme was a compromise.

While Dora had put Perrito in his crate, Marinette grabbed her late mother’s earrings to wear that day and Tikki grabbed her ladybug plush from the bottom bunk of her’s and Marinette’s shared bunk beds. As the only little girl in the house, Tikki ended up sleeping with her sister and Dora didn’t mind the extra roommate.

Finally, Vendetta set down Grudge down on her gothic styled bed, since she refused to put him in any confinements, and Charlotte fed her hamster Buttons and her bird Buttons 2 before grabbing her brightly colored girl scout uniform along with Vendetta’s black girl scout uniform. Their room was like night and day. Vendetta’s side was green and black the only decoration being her striped blanket… which was also green and black. Charlotte’s side, on the other hand, was bright blues and pinks with posters and frilly things just thrown everywhere.

Sophie counted each of her siblings going down the stairs before yelling down to her parents. “We are all ready to go, mom and dad!”

“Finally! Let’s go already!” Blik groaned as everyone went outside and piled into the large van.

“Okay, Pacific Grove High School, Summerfield Jr. High, Sunnyside Elementary, Blue River Kindergarten, Grandview School for the Culinary Arts, Seaside Community College, and then the bank. Got it dear?” Wanda asked. “Got it and away we go!” Cosmo announced as he drove away from the house.

Cosmo was driving while Wanda sat in the passenger seat. Jimmy and Timmy were arguing about something stupid again while Danny tried to break them up with Sam chuckling at the three. SB was going over some new recipes he’s learned while Patrick drooled at all of them. Tak was messing with his seatbelt as ZIM was ranting about this kid named Dib. GIR, Tikki, and Plagg were playing with Poof happily. Manny was checking himself in the mirror, Jenny and Marinette were checking their Amazon account for new deals as Adrien listened, and Blik was reading the paper. Snap was telling Sophie something cool while she listened writing in her journal, Xavier read a book, and Bunsen was going over his lines once more as Dora giggled while Charlotte talked to her with Vendetta rolling her eyes in disgust at the two.

So yeah that’s my insane family except for my brother who's in college right now. You’ll meet him later! Anyway, it’s a miracle I’ve survived this long. I’m glad I’m here though. I feel loved where I am and I know that I will always have a place with them even if it seems like nowhere will let me fit in.

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