Terrible plans paved with good intentions (Mal x Reader)

Request: R and mal are secretly dating so one of the other youngins hits on R all the time and we get to see a jealous mal?

Authors note: This one was like uber fun to write, so i really hope you enjoy it. Also, Reader is used to lots of physical contact and affection from the youngins. Anyway, Enjoy! hit me up with requests, questions or if you just wanna say hi!

The youngins were concerned. Very concerned. You and Mal were acting strangely. The two of you were always together, and the young forward seemed to be the only person in the team with the ability to get you to crack a smile. It was obvious from the way that the two of you interacted that you liked each other. The problem was that both of you seemed to be too chicken to do anything about it. 

Hell, Emily had even asked you point blank if you were dating Mal, to which you had snorted and walked away. They just wanted you guys to be happy, and the one thing that would make you and Mal the happiest would be if you were dating. So it seemed that the only option was for them to meddle to get the two of you together. 

“Y/n and Mal are either blind or oblivious”

“Or both,” Emily snorted, as she watched you chase Mal around the field, trying to steal back the ball you had been messing around with.

“She lets her borrow her snapbacks and everything,” Lindsey smirked as you tackled Mal to the ground, and she grabbed your signature hat off your head. You just smiled down at the girl, placing a kiss on her forehead before standing and going back to juggling the soccer ball. 

“Are you three thinking what I’m thinking?” Emily smiled at Lindsey, Sam, and Rose wiggling her eyebrows. This was the perfect opportunity to meddle. The perfect opportunity to both prank the two of you and get you to finally admit your feelings. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, I want nothing to do with it. Last time we messed with Y/n she almost ripped our heads off,” Sam said raising her hands. She wanted nothing to do with whatever scheme Emily’s diabolical mind thought up, she still had mental scars from how scary you were when you were angry. How you had taken every opportunity you could to make practice the next day horrible for all of them. 

“That’s because we ruined her favorite shirt,” Lindsey rolled her eyes. This wouldn’t end up like that, as you would be extremely happy about your newfound relationship. 

“So now you just wanna ruin her friendship with Mal,” Rose laughed, quirking an eye up at team blond. She was pretty sure you would rather have Mal as a friend than nothing at all, and she knew Mal felt the same. You were both terrified of losing your friend, and getting over that wasn’t something that could (or should) be rushed. 

“No, we wanna make them more than friends,” Emily wined, waving her arms wildly. You both felt the same so why should you have to wait?

“I’m out,” Sam said firmly, seconded by Rose’s “Me too!”. They would rather watch you dance around your feelings than suffer the wrath of a pissed off you and Mal. 

“Losers,” Lindsey called after them as they jogged away. She and Em didn’t need their help anyway. So, the plan to get the star forwards together began. What they didn’t know was that you and Mal were much more than friends...

****

You panted on the field, walking as a cool down from the intense scrimmage you had just participated in. You had been against Emily, Kelley, and Becky, and it was a fucking nightmare. And with JJ in their midfield, you had spent a lot of time trying to out-maneuver the women. 

In ninth-two degree heat, trying to score had taken a lot out of you. It also had sweat dripping down your forehead, which you were dabbing with the bottom of your tank top. 

“Hey hot stuff, you look like a fucking rockstar today,” Emily jogged up beside you, winking and swatting at your exposed abs. You instantly dropped your tank top.

“Thanks, Em, you looked pretty good too,” You laughed at the defender, patting her head, before returning your gaze to the forward that had stolen your heart. 

You made to jog off but were stopped by Emily’s hand in your arm, subtly squeezing your bicep. 

“It’s kinda warm out here isn’t it?” She asked, fluttering her eyelashes at you. 

You glanced down at were her fingers were testing your muscles, a light sheen of red covering your cheeks from being blatantly hit on. Your mind raced for a way to let her down easy, and hopefully not ruin your friendship or the team dynamic. 

“Um, I guess,” You started, your tongue feeling like lead in your mouth. You carefully pulled your arm away to rub the back of your neck, sending help me eyes to your girlfriend from across the field. 

When you turned back around, Emily had managed to pull her tank top clean off and wrap it like a towel around her neck. Your eyes widened and your mouth went dry and you purposefully stared at her in the eyes. “whoa, why are you taking your shirt off,” you covered your face with your hands, much like a two-year-old playing hide and seek. 

“Cause I’m hot, don’t you agree?” Emily smirked at you, nearly giggling at how adorable you were (and not missing the glare that Mal was sending her way). It was also kinda cute how you refused to look anywhere but towards Mal, the ground, or her eyes. 

“That-, um-, I-, uh,” you stuttered, turning completely away from the woman. Yes, you were in love with Mal, but you also had eyes, and the women on the national team were very attractive. You felt like you were in high school talking to a pretty cheerleader and not one of your best friends. 

“Relax Y/n,” She murmured, her eyebrows furrowing at how flustered you were. She didn’t think that something this simple would turn you into a stuttering, blushing mess. You had a reputation as a flirt, so she was surprised by your reaction. 

“I’m gonna go,” you muttered softly, nearly sprinting towards where Lindsey was standing with Mal, wrapping the smaller girl up in your arms. 

It was interesting the way that Mal’s fingers ran through your hair, and you just melted into her. How the fuck could you not realize that you were in love with her. 

**** 

After your very strange encounter with Emily on the pitch, you had hoped that the weight session would be uneventful. You had gotten to cuddle with Mal on the bus ride and you were supposed to be paired with her for the workout. What you didn’t know was that it’s was Lindsey’s turn to try out Emily’s plan.

Sure, Mal had glared at them, and you two had been a little too touchy-feely in the ride over, but you still hadn’t confessed your feelings for one another. At least that’s what team blond thought.

So here you were, standing in front of the squat rack, sending confused eyes to Mal in the mirror, your tongue lolling out the side to get her to giggle. You were so busy making faces at Mal that you didn’t notice Lindsey approach you. 

“Hey sexy, need a spot?” She whispered into your ear, her lips caressing the shell as she wrapped her arms around your waist. 

You jumped at the feeling, an unpleasant shiver running down your back. “Shit,”

“Whoa there,” She murmured, kissing your cheek as she steadied the two of you. Your cheeks flushed when you realized just how close to you she was, and you immediately pulled away. 

“Umm, I, thought you were paired with Emily,” You mumbled, scratching the back of your neck. 

“I switched with Mal,” Lindsey smirked at you, not missing how you looked longingly over her shoulder at the said woman. 

“So, need a spot?” Lindsey asked, gesturing towards the squat rack. 

“Yeah, I guess,” You sighed, wincing slightly at Mal’s glare. You were in trouble with her and you knew it. But it really wasn’t your fault that people were hitting on you, you weren’t the one who didn’t wanna tell all your friends you were dating.

You grabbed the bar, positioning it on your shoulders, and Lindsey stepped into position behind you. Except instead of the normal spot, she wrapped her hands around your waist, her fingers playing with the hem at the front of your workout shirt. 

“Hey Lindsey, you don’t have to grab my waist, I got it,” You stuttered our, your pink cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red. 

“I know, but I like being close to you,” She hummed into your ear, placing a kiss on the back of your neck. You thanked God that she was standing there because you dropped the bar at the action. You scrubbed your hands over your eyes, barely able to get the “I-, um-, I-I think I’m done,” out of your mouth before you escaped. 

Across the gym, Mal watched the interaction with disdain. Her grip on the dumbbell tightening incremental with every move Lindsey made. How could you stand there and blush while Lindsey was making a move on you? 

Mal knew that you held no romantic feelings for Lindsey or Emily, but it didn’t make her feel any less jealous when they were practically throwing themselves at you. 

“If you grip that bar any harder Mal Pal, you’re going to pull a muscle,” Emily snickered, shivering slightly at Mal’s deadly glare. 

“Shut up Sonnett,” She snapped. 

“Whoa there, careful or someone might think you’re jealous,” The blond smirked, eyeing the way Mal was sharing glances with your very wide eyes in the mirror. She never knew that you were so easy to fluster. 

“Whatever,” Mal scoffed, dropping the weight and heading towards the locker room, and Sonnett wasn’t even surprised when you followed mere seconds after. 

*****

Emily and Lindsey waited exactly 10 minutes before heading to the locker room, hoping that maybe you had pulled your head out of your ass and asked out Mal. 

They carefully crept into the locker room, but instead of being met with the preferable sight of You mad Mal cuddled up together, they were met with you sitting on the bench with your head in your hands and Mal pacing like there was no tomorrow. If the scowl on her face meant anything, you two weren’t having a good conversation. 

“That’s not my fault Mal,” You said far too calmly, scrubbing your eyes with your hands in frustration. 

“Well you sure as hell didn’t try and stop them,” Mal growled back, running her hands through her hair and pulling angrily at the strands. Who gave Lindsey and Emily the right to hit on you? To touch you?

“Yeah, because my repeated attempts to get your attention weren’t a sign that I needed help,” You nearly yelled one exasperation, standing and blocking her path, hands placed firmly in your hips. 

“Well maybe if you weren’t such a gay mess around our teammates everything would have been fine. You practically let them grope you,” She grumbled, waving her hands in dramatically. Yes, your red cheeks and stuttering were adorable, but only when it was happening with her. Sonnett and Lindsey shouldn’t get to experience that. 

You sighed. It wasn’t like you could tell the women to hit the road without telling them that you were dating. And you didn’t want to be rude to them, they were your friends. 

“What do you exp-..” You started softly, only to be cut off by her soft lips claiming your own. You melted into her, letting her tongue explore your mouth with ease. 

She pulled away suddenly, keeping her forehead on your own. “You’re mine Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n got it,” 

“Mm yes ma’am,” You mumbled, connecting your lips again. They were like your drug, you just couldn’t get enough. 

“When the fuck did this happen?” Lindsey exclaimed, and you and Mal jumped apart, a bright red blush coloring your cheeks. 

“Like 6 months ago,” Mal stated fondly, grabbing your hand and pulling you back into her embrace. You immediately relaxed against her. 

“Holy shit,” Lindsey said breathlessly, staring at you with wide eyes. 

“See, my plan worked,” Emily smirked, nudging her bond counterpart with her shoulder. Lindsey rolled her eyes at the woman. You had clearly not appreciated their advances on you. 

“No your plan made them fight, they were already together,” Lindsey snarked back, glaring at the other woman, and sending you a sorry smile. 

“So that’s why you guys were turning my baby into a gay mess?” Mal asked, crossing her arms and staring at Lindsey and Emily expectantly, while you shrunk behind her. You loved Mal and no one hitting on you was gonna change that, plus she was hot when she was agitated (as long as it wasn’t with you). 

Birthday Girl-ImAllexx

“Can u do an Alex imagine where it’s reader’s birthday so Alex throws a party in the flat and in the midst of it all her and Alex sneak off to his room where he gives her his present and it’s all cute until things escalate and he eats her out as a birthday treat”

Pairing: ImAllexx x Reader

Word Count: 1.7k+

A/N: Reposted for a friend, not continuing smut :)

WARNING: SMUT

_________

“Alex, I swear if you threw a party too-” “Oh, c'mon Y/n. You know I would never.” Alex and Y/n had been walking back to their flat, they had already made it to their floor level. Y/n’s boyfriend had taken her out for dinner, it wasn’t anything fancy, but it was her favorite restaurant. Luckily the restaurant wasn’t too fancy, Alex had worn his usual outfit of a hoodie, a snapback, and a few rings to dinner. “Alex, you’ve already done so much for me today, a surprise party would be too much.” This morning Alex had shown up at Y/n’s door with a boutique of roses, they had gone out shopping for Y/n. Anything she picked out, he had bought for her without hesitation. A few fans had bumped into them as well, of course they took a moment to take photos together. As soon as they had gotten to their front door, Y/n opened the door, only to have the lights flick on automatically along with people yelling ‘surprise!’ Out of nowhere, Alex and Y/n’s square-headed friend had run up to them, unleashing a confetti popper at them. Y/n couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “But seriously though, happy birthday, Y/n,” Will grinned, taking a step back from his friends. “Thanks, Will,” Y/n to a moment to give Will a brief hug before pulling away. Finally, she looked around and noticed the familiar faces that had agreed with Alex to throw a party. It honestly seemed like everyone was there. George, James, Gee, Mia, Angelika, Aria, Fraser, Lewis, Ciaran, Becky, Callum, Ethan, Stephen, Chris,. “I few people are late,” Alex whispered, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend from behind her. “I’m sorry.” “Are you joking?” Y/n glanced at her boyfriend, “This is amazing Alex.” “You like it?” “Absolutely,” turning to face her boyfriend, she continued to speak. “Bubba, this is amazing. I love it, thank you.” “Anything for you, Y/n.” The party was going great, music had been turned on and people were chatting. Alcohol had been set up in the kitchen, Alex had left Y/n be to go make her a drink. The h/c girl hadn’t got a chance to find out her friends had brought presents for her, the gifts had been placed in Alex’s bedroom. A while later, Y/n was in the middle of a conversation with Chris, Chloe, George, and Angelika. Alex had brought Y/n her drink and was getting his own. The group had been talking about when they were in high school and their different experiences.  Just Y/n had gone to speak again, a hand wrapped around hers. Glancing over, Y/n found herself looking over at her boyfriend. “Do you mind if I steal my girlfriend away from you guys?” “Go ahead,” George grinned as he wrapped an arm around Angelika. With that, Alex began to pull Y/n away from the crowd, heading down the hallway. Reaching Alex’s bedroom, the brunette had closed the door behind them, locking it to make sure no one could interrupt their moment. Walking over to the edge of the bed, Y/n took a seat. “Are those for me?” her gaze had been stolen by a pile of gifts sitting in the corner of the room. “Yeah, we were gonna wait for later tonight to show you your gifts, but I forgot they were in here,” her boyfriend replied as he walked over the nightstand that stood to the right of the bed. Pulling the bottom drawer open, he began to rummage around for something important. “What are you looking for?” Finally, his eyes had set on it. A small black box that had been placed at the bottom of his drawer. He had gotten it a while ago and didn’t want there to be any chance of Y/n stumbling across it one day. “This,” Alex smiled, pulling out the box as he moved to shit by Y/n. “I know I bought all that stuff for you today, but this came in a few weeks ago.” He opened the box, revealing a beautiful aquamarine stone that sat on top of a silver band ring. Six accent stones sat on the ring, complimenting the aquamarine stone. Y/n let out a gasp at the sight of it. “Alex… I can’t accept this, you’ve already given me so much.” “Y/n, please take it. There’s no reason I’m gonna wear this.” It took a moment before Y/n gave a nod, continuing to stare at the ring. Taking the silver band out of the box, Alex slipping it onto his girlfriend’s ring finger, watching her reaction to it. The ring had fit like a glove, it was absolutely perfect. “Oh my god, I love it,” Y/n cooed, keeping her eyes on the ring, afraid that if she just glanced away from it for a second, it’d magically disappear. “And I love you.” “I love you, Alex.” Gently, Alex placed two of his fingers under Y/n’s chin, lifting her face to make eye contact with him. As soon as their eyes had met, Alex’s lips collided with hers. The kiss had created a passionate moment between them, which only lead to Alex hovering over Y/n, his snapback being tossed off by his girlfriend. Y/n’s fingers dragged through Alex’s hair, making it become a bit messy. Once the kiss had ended, Alex had moved down to her neck, beginning to kiss, nip, or bite anywhere that could get a reaction on of Y/n.  Finally, Y/n let a breathy moan out as Alex bit gently on the right of her neck. “You gotta be quiet, Y/n,” Alex hushed her. “We don’t want anyone finding out what we’re doing.” Y/n only gave a small hum as a response. She was used to being quite vocal in the bedroom, so if this was going to go any farther, she’d have a challenge to face. While Alex had worked on making his mark on her neck, his free hand had moved down her waist slowly. As soon as Alex’s hand had touched the edge of Y/n’s pants, his hand had somehow found its way underneath the fabric. Biting her lip, Y/n had fought back a moan as her grip on Alex’s hair had tightened. The brunette let a chuckle out from her tensed state. His hand had traveled even deeper, his fingers pressing against her entrance. “Please, Alex… don’t tease.” Hearing those words leave Y/n’s lips had ignited something inside of Alex. He wanted to get her to whine and fight back moans. Alex slid two fingers in, beginning to move his hand back and forth. Of course his fingering had been at its best with Y/n’s pants in the way. At this point Y/n was gripping onto the sheets, fearing if she made one noise their friends would hear them. Pulling his hand out of Y/n, Alex had begun to work on unbuttoning his girlfriend’s pants, only for her to take over as Alex moved to take her shoes off. Once Y/n was able to wiggle off her pants she laid back down, excited for what was to come next. Two of Alex’s fingers had slid back into Y/n, beginning to move fast. A small low moan had escaped the h/c girl’s lips as she leaned her head back. “Fuck, Y/n… you’re so wet.” Just hearing those words leave Alex’s lips, had only made Y/n feel butterflies appear in her stomach. Alex had added a third finger, beginning to curl his fingers when he’d thrust his fingers in. “Oh my god,” Y/n panted, at this point she could barely talk. It seemed like every time her and Alex would have an intimate moment in bed, she’d forget how well he was with his hands. Slowly, she could feel herself coming closer and closer to her edge. Just as Y/n had felt herself clench around her boyfriend’s fingers, Alex had pulled his fingers away from Y/n’s entrance. Immediately from the lost of contact, Y/n let out a whine. “Don’t worry, Y/n,” her boyfriend let out a chuckle as he positioned himself between her legs. “You’ll get to come.” Alex had buried his head in between her legs. His tongue moving from side to side, in and out. Y/n let out small moans as her hands could be found gripping onto Alex’s hair once again. “You taste amazing,” Alex muttered against her pussy, causing vibrations of his voice against her clit. If Y/n wasn’t in heaven already, she certainly was now. Giving a tug at Alex’s hair, Y/n bit her lip as she fought back a moan. Just from feeling Y/n tug at his hair, Alex let out a soft groan. Once again, the familiar feeling of herself getting closer and closer had been created. Right as she had come to the edge, Alex had switched what he was doing. He had begun to suck on her clit only to have the h/c girl cover her mouth, muffling a loud moan. And just like that, she had come. Sitting up, Alex looked down at the mess his girlfriend had become. Y/n had been panting to catch her breath after that amazing orgasm, a tint of blush had appeared on her cheeks. Just from the sight of the state Y/n was in had caused Alex to place a proud smirk on his face because he was the one to make his girlfriend end up this way. Licking his lips, Alex gave a wink before standing up, trying to relocate where his snapback had gone. After a moment of catching her breath, Y/n had gotten up from the bed, putting her underwear and pants on after she had found them tossed in the corner of the room. There was a moment of silence between the couple as they recollected themselves. They took turns standing by the mirror to fix their hair and tidy up their clothes. As soon as they had finished, Alex unlocked the bedroom door. “You ready to get back to your party?” “Yeah,” Y/n grinned taking her boyfriend’s hand in hers. Once they stepped out of the room, Alex leaned in, whispering something to his girlfriend. “Did you enjoy your present, birthday girl?”

Catch These Hands, The Motherfuckers (Rose Lavelle x Reader)

   AN: TW, for pretty strong cursing, a panic attack, and homophobia/ abuse

I walk out of the airport, my luggage trailing behind me. It’s my first day in Tampa and I have to get to the hotel that all of the team is staying in. I’m nervous, being one of the youngest people there, tied with Mallory at 21. On the brightside, at least I’ll know one person.

I went to college with Mal at the University of California, and played with her for the school. We roomed together at UoC and got closer. She’s offered to introduce me and help me get settled in with the team for the camp, which I’m super grateful for. I try to hail a taxi, giving the driver the address of the hotel after I’ve put my luggage in the trunk. We get to the hotel in maybe 10 minutes, the man pulling up and helping me with my bag after I’ve paid my share. I roll the bag up to the doors and pull out my phone to text Mal.

  Y/N: Hey, I’m here, didn’t know if you wanted to meet up for lunch after I’m done unpacking and meeting the roomie?’’

Mal the Pal: Yeah, sure man! Ay, you’re rooming with Rose btw… I can introduce you? I’ll come meet ya real quick.

  Mal comes down as I’m heading into the lobby, pulling Rose Lavelle behind her. I set down my bag as Mal charges me.

   “Y/N! It feels like I haven’t seen you in years,”

    “Mal, it’s been what, 3 weeks? I missed you too though,”

We chat for a second about what I’ve been doing in the time that we’ve been graduated. I turn to Rose and put out my hand for a fist bump.

  “I’m Y/N, and unless Mal is lying, which she’s done a couple of times, I’ll be rooming with you for camp,”

She chuckles and gently bumps my fist.

  “Nah, Mal isn’t lying… this time. We’re roomies, it looks like. I don’t know about you, but I tend to stay up pretty late at camp, so I apologize in advance,”

I shake my head and laugh.

   “Eh, no problem, I mean, Mal can attest, I do my fair share of staying up late, especially before big games and stuff so I’m sure we’re probably in the same boat,”

We all go up to our room and I start to unpack my stuff while Mal and Rose sit on the bed Rose has claimed and talk.

     “So, Rosie, after Y/N finishes unpacking the entirety of her closet, we were thinking of grabbing something to eat, I kinda wanted to head down to the little bakery-coffee place, you wanna come? Help Y/N pick what nasty espresso crap she’s gonna ingest?”

    “Sure! I’ll make sure to pick something good, Y/N,”

I nod and put my last pair of sweats in the drawer, grabbing my room key and wallet before checking my snapback in the mirror.

   “Alright, I think I’m good, show the way to the coffee, Mal,”

I groan as Rose’s alarm blares. I roll over and out of bed, shrugging on a sweatshirt and putting a hat on the mess that is my hair, sliding my feet into my tennis shoes and joining Rose at the door, patting my sweat pockets for my wallet. We both head down to the lobby of the hotel where Sonnett and Mal are waiting to walk to the little breakfast place the hotel has. We all four trudge down to the cafeteria and laugh as we see Ashlyn, Ali, and Pinoe all sitting with cups of coffee. We go over to their table and plop down.

“So, youngins, how’s the morning going so far?”

I shrug and they chuckle as I go to get my breakfast and coffee, taking a mug off of the stand and filling it with black coffee. I grab an apple, some granola, and some yogurt before heading back to the table. Ali turns to me and smiles.

“Y/N, how are the parents dealing with you not being at home for the camp?”

Ashlyn scoots over and puts her arm around my shoulder. I shudder slightly and a tense smile stretches across my face.

“Yeah, I bet they’re sending lots of texts, trying to get used to having you out of the house,”

Mal walks up and hears the tale end of Ali’s question and grimaces. My stomach lurches and I scoot my chair out, trying to get up and out of the room before I freak out or throw up in front of the whole team. Ash drops her arm and I beeline towards the door leading to a smaller hallway. I take a seat against the wall a little ways from the door and try to control my erratic breathing. I grab my hat and throw it against the opposite wall, clenching my teeth and digging my short nails into my scalp. I hear the door open and look up, expecting to see Mal, but instead catching sight of Ali. She sees me and I duck my head again, still trying to control the shaking in my hands and the hammering of my heart.  Ali kneels in front of me and gently grabs my hands, taking them from my head and grabbing them tightly.

“Is it okay if I hug you?”

I let out a shaky breath and nod slightly, letting her wrap me in a warm embrace.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out… My parents are more than happy I’m out of the house, they kicked me out right after I graduated.. There are no texts,”

She lets out a breath, squeezing me tighter.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why’d they kick you out?”

I let out a bitter laugh, trying not to cry.

“I’m sure you and Ashlyn know plenty about how much people hate people like us. I guess me having a girl over and them catching me was enough. I knew they were going to react badly, and I still did it, god,”

She runs her hand through my hair and sits beside me, keeping an arm around my shoulders.

“Yeah, I guess we do. But Y/N, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong, or that you should be ashamed, or kicked out. We’re just trying to love who we love. Ash wasn’t trying to bring up bad stuff, she was just trying to make you feel comfortable, get you to talk about something,”

I nod.

“I know, and I appreciate it. You can tell her what I told you, give her reasoning behind why I flipped out. I just- I thought that they were supposed to be there, to love me no matter what, ya know, and now it’s just me. My grandparents won’t talk to me, and the whole family knows, and I haven’t gotten one text, not a ‘sorry, that sucks’ or anything,”

I’m pretty heavily crying and she just hugs me, and waits until I’m finished before helping me up and using her sleeve to wipe at my cheeks.

“All you can do is keep moving, build your own family, and show them what they’re missing. A pretty awesome kid who just so happens to prefer to kiss girls,”

I shrug.

“I guess. We better get in there, I still need to eat and get ready.”

I grab my hat and jam it back onto my head. We both head in the room and Ash and Rose give me a pitying look. I look at Mal and she shrugs. I give her a weak smile and nod. I quietly eat my food while everyone talks about the upcoming day, and what they think Vlatko has in store for us.  As soon as I finish my apple and my second cup of coffee Rose, Emily, Mal, and I go up to our rooms. I quickly change and then sit on my phone while Rose finishes up. We take our bags and things and walk down to the elevator to meet Mal and Emily. Rose touches my arm about 10 feet away and pulls me into a hug. 

“I guess they just don’t know what they’re missing, cause you seem like a pretty awesome person, and a super chill roomie,”

I laugh and try and shake off the stress that the conversation brought. The only thing I can focus on is going out onto the field and showing Vlatko and the rest of the team what I’ve got.

The first day of camp was a success. We did mostly team building drills and bonding centered stuff, to help everyone get to know each other. Ashlyn and Ali both seemed to watch out for me, which I appreciated. I got to know some of the other midfielders better, and hung out around Rose, goofing off when we were allowed to not focus as much. I meet Lindsey, who’s rooming with Emily, and get to meet Mal’s roomate, Megan Rapinoe, who I can only describe as the coolest gay aunt that I’ve never had. It’s obvious that Ali or Ash told her about my little meltdown in the hallway, she keeps calling me ‘kid’ and pretty much treating me like one, which I don’t entirely hate. The whole team is walking back to the locker rooms to change and I’m walking beside Mal, Lindsey and Sonny in front of us slightly, when someone comes up behind me and hip checks me. I fall into a bush framing the sidewalk and let out a groan when twigs and leaves end up in my mouth.

“Whoever just checked me needs to be prepared to get dunked on. I swear to god, me and Mal act like the oldest ones here,”

Rose laughs and I turn around, charging at her and lifting her up, and tossing her into the aforementioned devil-bush.

“That, Rosie, is why we don’t mess with defenders, isn’t that right Kelley?”

Kelley just smiles and quickly schools her face, solemnly nodding when Rose looks at her. I offer the spirit player my hand and she tries to pull me back into the bush.

“Ma’am, please don’t, that’s my emotional support limb, I need that,”

She snorts and loosens her hold, allowing me to pull her out of the bush. The whole team is slightly snickering, except for Carli, who just looks oddly disappointed. (AN: I swear this is no shade to Carlos, she’s super chill and I aspire to have the motivation that she does.) We both continue to walk and as soon as we get in the locker room, I quickly go about changing, trying to avoid any unnecessary skin exposure. I guess I’m not fast enough to pull on my clothes after my quick shower, as I hear a couple of the girls gasp. I sigh, not bothering to pull on my shirt, turning around to see most of the team staring at me. Ash stomps forward.

“Y/N, what the hell happened to you?”

I laugh bitterly and wave off her concern, trying to ignore the urge to cover the scars that mar my legs, back, and chest, given to me by my mother and father.

“My parents weren’t too happy when they found out about the girl, and let’s just say that I didn’t like how they treated me. My dad wanted to ‘beat the queer out of me’ and I fought back. Didn’t do that again, let me tell ya,”

The whole team crowds me and I take a step back. Ashlyn looks ready to throw down, Ali and Pinoe too, for that matter. Sam and Becky look sad, Sonnett and Lindsey look pissed, and Mal and Rose just look upset.

“Y/N, does anyone else know about this, like authorities, or relatives? Anyone?”

That comes from Julie and I laugh.

“Oh yeah, I went to the cops in my hometown, ya know what they said? ‘Sounds like you deserved everything you got, queer,’. After that I pretty much just gave up, and a few days later my dad woke me up, threw all my stuff out in the yard, smacked me around a bit, and told me not to come back, so yeah, people know, they just don’t give a shit,”

I turn around with tears in my eyes and roughly pull my shirt on,grab my bag, and walk out to the bus. Rose stops me and grabs me in a tight hug. A small shiver goes down my spine and I force the feeling out of my mind.

“I’m so sorry Y/N. You didn’t deserve that, no one does, and we all stand with you, regardless of who you like, or what you’ve been through, we’re all a family here, and that includes you,”

I sniffle and grin.

“I know, and I’m really thankful, y’all have made it easier to adjust to, that’s for sure, besides, if they don’t want me, why should I waste my time crying over them?”

 She hangs on for a few more seconds before taking my hand and tugging me onto the bus, pushing me into a seat beside Sonnett and Mal and taking a seat next to me. We spend the relatively short ride to the hotel looking at pictures of WIlma and Bagel, and I feel slightly better by the time we reach the hotel, all except the fluttering in my chest and the deep, bone tiredness my small meltdown caused.

Okay, Rose is acting weird. I’ve just been focusing on training, proving to Vlatko I belong, and trying to get to know the team. I’ve hung out with Kelley a few times, going on coffee runs and taking her advice on trying to play a more defensive game in my midfield position. The whole team is taking a gym day, and I’m with Kelley at the cardio/core station, Sonny and Sam also there. I’m finishing a 4 minute plank and some crunches when Rose huffs from the arm station. Ash is grinning broadly.

“Y/N, looking pretty hot there, kid! Come over, you too Kell, I wanna see short stuff show off,”

I grin and come over to the bench press, straddling it and letting Ash start me off with something light. She adds the weights and laughs.

“Lets see you do 70, kid, then I’ll let you increase it,”

I take the bar down and quickly pound out 10 reps, slotting the bar back into place. I nod to Kelley.

“How about we do about 135? 140?”

Rose’s eyes bug out and I laugh. Ash and Kelley quickly load up the weight onto the bar and I once again, pretty easily do another 10 reps. Even Ash looks slightly surprised at my nonchalance. What the team doesn’t know is that I set the record for female bench press at UoC with 514 pounds, and have been keeping up with weight lifting. I shrug and grin.

“Okay, let’s start getting a little difficult. Go up to 260?”

Mal just grins from the core station while Kelley looks down at me.

“You sure, y/n, that’s like more than Uncle can lift, and she’s the strongest here,”

I nod.

“Oh yeah, I got this, easy lifting, we can go on up to 300,”

They look skeptical and I just nod. They load up the 300 pounds and I lay back down, winking at Kelley and doing 10 reps. They all look amazed and I stand up, quickly putting enough weights to get me up to 520. The weight is slightly over my school record, but I’ve been doing high weight training since I set that. Ash looks down at me and smiles.

“Okay, if you can do ten-no, five reps of 520, I’ll let you pick where we go out tonight, no questions asked,”

I laugh and nod, laying back down. Kelley gets behind me, but shakes her head.

“Who am I kidding, I can’t catch this if your dumb ass drops it, Uncle! Come on, Y/N is being crazy stupid and lifting more than two of us, I need you to spot her!”

Alyssa comes over, sees the weights, and shakes her head.

“Kel, we better both spot, I can’t even lift that much, kid is crazy, or stupid,”

I laugh and slowly lift it once. I take a deep breath and do two more, some of the rest of the team coming over. I see Mal nodding her head and do one more, acting like I’m going to put the bar up.

“Kid, that’s four, I don’t have to give up my dinner choice!”

I laugh and do six more reps, my arms shaking. I put the slightly bent bar back, and cheer.

“Take that Ash, 10 reps, looks like we’re going to sushi tonight bitches!”

She just looks amazed, and the team all groans, vocalizing how unhappy they are.

I go to cool down and Kelley follows me, whispering in my ear.

“Dude, Rosie Posie was totally staring at you the WHOLE time you were being he-man! I also wanna know how in the Hell you did that, you’re like 90 pounds, kid!”

I blush and stammer, regretting telling Kelley about the small crush I have on Rose Lavelle. Which slipped out when I got a little tipsy at a team outing. 

“Kell! No she wasn’t, she was probably surprised I could lift any of that!”

She smirks, pulling me off into the hallway.

“Ma’am, she was practically trying to decapitate me with her mind when I just told you that, I’m pretty sure she’s jealous,”

I just shake my head. There’s no way, no way! She’s Rose frickin Lavelle, I’m just y/f/n y/l/n. 

Training has been going well. I’m keeping up with everyone, and Vlatko has definitely been paying attention to me. The team has been acting kind of weird today, but overall everything is fine. It’s time for a team bonding night in Alyssa and Carli’s room, and I’m in some sweats and a muscle shirt, walking in the hallway towards their room when I’m suddenly shoved into a small towel closet. I pound on the door.

“Hey! Whoever the fuck put me in here better be ready to catch some fuckin’ hands! Let me out, I’m legit dead serious!”

I hear muffled talking outside, recognizing Sonny and Ash.

“Em, Ash, let me the fuck out!”

They keep talking, but slowly walk away. I drop to the floor and try to control my breathing. I stare at the wall and focus on staying calm. 

It doesn’t work. It’s not 5 minutes before I’m hyperventilating and trying not to cry. The door to the closet opens for a split second and someone is shoved in. I try and get to the door, but whoever shoved someone in here is already gone. 

“God, seriously, Emily, Ash! Not cool!”

Of course it’s Rose. Who better to see me lose my shit? I sit down and bury my face in my hands.

“I’ve gotta get out of here, I can’t do this!”

Rose turns to me.

“Y/N? Of course. I’m going to kill Emily and Ash!”

I try to laugh but it comes out sounding strangled. I start to panic again, being forced to remember the night my parents found out. I can still feel the bite of my father’s hand, and the rough feel of our coat closet floor beneath me. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,”

I sob and grab my legs, slightly rocking back and forth as I shiver. My breath comes in tiny gasps and Rose scooches over to me, grabbing my face gently.

“Hey, you’re okay, we’ll get out of here, we just need to stay calm. I have my phone, we’ll call them okay?”

I nod quickly and she pulls out her phone, quickly putting it on speaker and setting it down. No one picks up and she curses.

“Fine, they want to ignore us, I’ll call Ali, she’s gonna have Ash’s ass for this, I can already feel it,”

I laugh slightly, still grasping my hair. She calls Ali and puts it on speaker.

“Hey Rose, where are you, and have you seen y/n? Ash said you both were tired and stayed back,”

Rose scoffs.

“Well currently I’m stuck in a towel closet, so is y/n, we need you to come get us, Ash and Sonnett locked us in here, Y/N isn’t doing too well,”

I laugh hysterically.

“Can you give the phone to Ash, Al? I need to tell her that she and Sonny better be ready to catch some hands, the motherfuckers,”

Rose gently rubs my back and I try and match my breathing to hers, failing.

“Y/N, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

I once again laugh, this time the sound sounding watery and panicked.

“Well, your jackass of a wife fucking locked me in a closet! You know what that does to someone who got the hell beat out of them and then locked in a closet after their parents screamed at them for an hour after they were outed?”

She sighs and we hear her yelling at who I’m assuming are Ash and Emily. There’s a lot of rustling and muffled talking, before Ali comes back on.

“Okay, the whole team is coming, let me tell you, everyone is either pissed or trying to save their asses. I’m sorry guys, she’s stepped over a line this time, haven’t you, Ashlyn?”

We hear a muffled apology, and then the door cracks open. I launch myself out of the room and lean against the wall of the hallway, avoiding the eyes of the team. I crumble and Ali comes and hugs me, yanking Ash down with her.

“Now, Ash, what do you think you should say?”

I scoff and look at Ash.

“It’s fine, y’all were just being dumbassses, as usual, you didn’t know, I just wish you would’ve let me out when I yelled at you,”

She looks at me and apologizes. I nod.

“Just, think, maybe, before you lock someone in the closet? I spent enough time in one, man,”

She laughs and helps me up, putting her arm around my shoulders and leading me back to the hotel room. Before I go inside she looks at me.

“Me and Em did it to try and get you and Rose to man up and get together already, just so you know why we did it,”

I blush and nod. She smiles and gives me a tight hug, leaving with a wink. I go inside and see Rose standing there, waiting for me. I go to get some clothes to change into and she roughly grabs me, pulling me in for a massive hug.

“I’m sorry they did it, it’s sorta my fault,”

My eyebrows raise and I give her a small smile.

“I may have told Emily that I liked you, and then she told Ash, and that’s why they did it, oh god, you just had a panic attack and now I’m spilling, I’m so sorry, oh god,”

She covers her eyes with her hands and I grab them, pulling them from her face.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m sure Kelley had something to do with it. I uh- I told her I liked you when I got a little tipsy and I’m pretty sure she was plotting with them. On a completely unrelated note, would you like to go out with me sometime this camp, or after? I’m coming up to Cincinnati in a few weeks to visit some college friends?”

She laughs and nods.

“I think I’d like that very much, y/n,”

I grin and gently grab her chin, tilting her head up and gently pressing her lips to mine. We stay like that for a moment, no rush, no crazy teammates, no one to interrupt.

Until Ali comes into the room, immediately laughing.

“Well I was coming to check on Y/N, but I think you’ve got it under control Rose, sorry y’all, I’ll leave,”

We both laugh and go about getting ready for bed, turning the lights off, wordlessly agreeing to an early night in. I try to sleep for around 45 minutes, unable to get my mind and body to relax. Rose must hear me shifting around and huffing, because I hear her get up and come over to my bed.

“Can I sleep here for tonight, I can’t sleep, and it sounds like you can’t either?”

I blush slightly and grab her hand.

“Yeah, sure, maybe it’ll help to share the bed,”

We both keep a small amount of space between us for a few minutes, before I sigh and grab her hand, pulling her closer, pressing her front to my back.

“Night, Rosie Posie, I’m kinda glad I got locked in another closet tonight,”

She grins against my neck.

“Well, I’m glad I got locked in with you,”

Here it is! Chapter 2 of the Baysha band AU that was inspired by @iceicesheamy​ . Should start being more on top of my fanfics and I’m sorry I’m slow! Been writing a lot of things with Baysha and Charlynch. Maybe will write more? Who knows! <3

Feel free to check out the new chapter and also read below if you wish! Comments, likes, reblogs are lovely as usual! Thank you!

-Kani

               Bayley let out a breath as the interviewer had finished asking her about their first day of tour. Running a hand through her hair and popping her snapback back on her head, she got up and took a break. She walked down the hallway once leaving her interviewing room and she could hear Sasha laughing. It made her grin and she poked her head in. She slowly snuck in and was behind the cameraman. Once she made eye contact with her wife, she smiled and gave a little wave. Just hearing the side Sasha knew of them falling in love and getting to know each other made her smile and nod in agreement. They were everything to each other in high school. Sasha was everything to her in high school. It was only then she was acknowledged by the interviewer and she smiled at the woman as Sasha had continued speaking. The she heard the question from the interviewer.

“You were saying that one thing you loved was how great a lover Bayley is?”

A cheeky smirk was on her face and caused her to laugh very quietly. Just hearing the words from Sasha just made her grin. Her wife was someone she loved so much and man, was she in love.

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               Bayley groaned softly and she opened one eye to realize the time of what her phone said.

8:30am.

Bayley let out a breath and she moved her body slowly from Sasha’s grasp, which was clinging a lot on her. She pressed a kiss on the purple haired woman’s forehead before she managed to get out of the bed. The tour bus was still going, her ears picking up to the sound of some passing cars before she moved to check the windows. Seeing the cars and the sun up, she grinned softly. She moved to the bathroom to use it and wash her face.

Once she walked out, she could see Sasha up and the blanket wrapped around her body. “Hey.”

Sasha looked over and smiled warmly. “Hey beautiful. Did you sleep okay?”

“Perfect.” Bayley sat next to her wife. “Did you sleep okay? You surprisingly didn’t move so there was no weird stress dreams.”

Sasha rolled her eyes a little. “it was fine. No stress dreams and only dreams of you and us playing in front of a crowd like every other time we actually do tours.” She heard Bayley chuckle and she pecked Bayley’s lips softly. “I love you, Bay.”

“I love me too.” Bayley gave a cheeky smile and Sasha nudged her. “I’m kidding, I love you too babe.”

“You better. You said yes to me and the “‘Til Death Do Us Part” and all that.” Sasha moved to lay back on the bed, Bayley following afterwards. Sasha rested her head on Bayley’s shoulder and she shut her eyes. “I was thinking of altering our new song last night after I kicked your ass.”

Bayley rolled her eyes. “Stop rubbing it in.” She whined and then she grinned a little. “How did you think of altering it?”

“The tune. We scale the sound lower and play it at a different key.”

“So we’re giving it a better tone.” Bayley smiled warmly. “I do like that idea. Can give a different change with the song. Maybe we’ll stop buy a studio after talking to our producer about changing up the tune. I’ll just have to work on the notes for the guitar, huh?”

Sasha hummed in approval and let out a breath. “Yeah, you do. Shouldn’t be that difficult, right?”

Bayley eventually got up and moved to check their little closet full of some of their casual clothes and she shrugged. “Shouldn’t be. I just drop the chords maybe to see how it sounds and if it doesn’t sound great with that, raise them above the original.”

“How about we keep the main and use this one as an alternative version?”

“Whatever you want, babe.”

“Whatever we want, Bay.” Sasha sighed and watched as Bayley was getting dressed. “Am I being too commanding again?”

               Sasha was known as “The Boss” for a reason. She was commanding at times, bossing people around to make sure things were perfect, making sure the music was just right, and even making sure the song list was top quality for the fans. So, anything Bayley had to say? It was overpowered by Sasha sometimes. Well, most of the time. Bayley knew how to handle it though after being with Sasha for so long.

“No, you’re not.” Bayley slipped on her red shirt and looked at her wife. “You usually are the one that makes the song list on our albums and they always turn out amazing, so who am I to ruin that?”

“My wife and player two for this band.” Sasha crossed her arms. “You never challenge against me on anything I do like this.”

“Most times you’re spot on with what we need.”

“I feel like you’re avoiding the confrontation if you disagree and we both get upset, especially me.”

Bayley shook her head. “Nope. I actually like the ideas you hand out. The alternative version to Next Year’s Up would be really great because then we can do an extended album like we’re always wanted with our own songs.” Bayley saw the look Sasha was giving her and she sighed. “Babe, I’m serious. I’m not avoiding confrontation. You and I practically fight all the time.”

“That’s play fighting. There’s a difference.” Bayley sighed and moved in the tour bus to the mini fridge and Sasha got up, grabbing shorts and a tank top to quickly cover herself as she spoke. “You’re making me feel like I push you around and you just bend to whatever I say.”

“You mean outside of pillow talk?”

“Bayley Rose Martinez.”

“I’m joking!” Bayley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “What do you expect me to say, babe? No, I don’t like fighting with you. Yes, I think your ideas are amazing because you have such a commanding force I wish I had. You’re the one that had to talk to the company to even sign us because I had no words leaving my lips! They were pushing me around and you told them to back off and explained why we are great. You have been creating our albums since day one while I made the titles and the instrumental parts of it.” She walked closer to Sasha and put a hand on her cheek, almost falling when the tour bus had hit a little pothole but Sasha had her other arm around her waist. “You aren’t pushing me around. My Boss wife is the leader and driving force that keeps this band together. If there is any problem, I promise to tell you but we’re good now. Okay?” Sasha lowered her gaze and nodded and Bayley nudged her. “Okay?”

“Yeah… Yeah, okay.”

“Good. Now to the subject at hand: I’m good with the idea of having an alternative version of the song. It could work and with the new tune sound to it, we could play it for certain places when we tour once that song releases.” Bayley grinned softly.

“Right.”

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               The two women walked down out of the bus and into the hotel, hearing fans screaming and yelling their name and they waved at them all. It really was so surreal to Bayley, how their life changed from being a high school band to a hit sensation their sophomore year of college. Things were so different except their relationship. It only got deeper and closer, but they were still the two girls who fell in love with their music and then each other.

As they walked into their big suite, Bayley first jumped onto the bed and groaned and smiled softly.

“Comfy?” She heard Sasha say with a laugh.

“Mhm. Very.” She felt a hand run up her back and she groaned softly and then she moved to sit up. “So, what is on the agenda today?”

Sasha opened her calendar on her phone and looked at today’s date. “We have an interview in a few hours to talk about the tour, lunch with our openers here in town… Oh and then we gotta talk to Becky and Charlotte.” She heard the little squeal of excitement and smiled as she looked up at her wife. “I see you’re happy to talk to them.”

“Of course!” Bayley grinned happily. “I miss them! They’re off acting and we’re off doing music and they’re taking the acting world by storm.”

“You remember how they met?”

Bayley chuckled. “Yeah, they did the tv show together when we were in college and they both were acting majors at the school and they got on a big tv show that they ended up being on screen lovers and ended up being real lovers.”

Sasha grinned. “Yeah, that was pretty great, huh? Remember how heart eyes Charlotte was about Becky?”

“Yeah it was like how you were with me.”

“Oh shut up.” Sasha hit Bayley with a pillow and she heard a little laugh. “I was not!”

“Oh no? “Oh my God. You are just so cute”. You don’t remember that?”

“Shut it.”

“You are such a fangirl of your wife.” Bayley grinned a little and Sasha hit her with the pillow again and she whined. “Stop hitting me. It hurts me.”

“It hurts your soul?” Bayley pouted and nodded. “You are ridiculous and I never said that.”

“You said it in our backstage interview for Download Fest, babe. It’s there. You said it.” Bayley saw Sasha roll her eyes and she grinned cheekily.

“Alright, you know what… Come here!” Bayley laughed as Sasha tackled her into the bed and they did their usual of play fighting. The sound of laughter, hands moving to tickle someone, and all the moments of them being playful coming from the two filled the room. This how they always were:

They were serious when they needed to be.

They were playful any other time.

@warriorsmade #takesarms / continued from x.

eyes followed becky’s down to her chest, breath catching in her throat at becky’s change of attitude --- she should’ve been accustomed to it, should’ve expected it, but she wasn’t. she’d handed her heart to the orange haired woman and in return, she’d only gotten heartbreak. she still couldn’t wrap her head around how nik/ki be/lla destroyed her relationship --- some woman who meant nothing to either of them, ruining everything carmella had built with the woman standing before her. 

throwing her briefcase to the ground in frustration and anger, at herself, at becky, at james fucking ellsworth, at nikki. ❛ is this what you want from me ?? ❜ kicking the briefcase away from them, ripping the gold snapback from her head, and tearing the shirt from her back --- leaving her in a black bra in front of the irish woman. throwing everything away from her, desperation clear as brown eyes watched becky and waited --- for some sign that she’d forgive her, one day, for everything she’d done --- even if she wasn’t sorry for any of her actions. ❛ i never hurt you, becks. i never would have, i was never going to --- ❜

[WP] Schools finally out and you have so many plans for the summer. Well you had plans. But that was before you got stuck babysitting an actual demon for the entire summer break.

Original post here. 

More than normal teenagers, Becky hated her family. She'd had all kinds of summer plans that involved bathing suits and a cute lifeguard. Now, the most she could look forward to was a kiddie pool and a halfway decent redneck in a snapback.

Becky's family had sent her to her aunt's that summer. Her aunt had started a new job in Louisiana and needed someone to look after her ten year old son, Mike. While Aunt Judy could have hired a nanny, everyone thought this would be a great opportunity for her to see their family roots.

She disagreed that she needed to spend an entire summer on an old plantation with barely functional air conditioning in order to appreciate her family history. Part of her itinerary for the summer was busing the little kid around to various museums. Apparently, Mike was a dork.

Aunt Judy picked her up at the airport, gave her a big hug, and then practically ran off to go to work with Becky's mamal in tow. Mike came out to wave at them leaving and Becky blinked down at the kid.

Race wasn't really an issue for Becky, but she'd expected him to be at least half-black. Yet, he was a blonde blue-eyed white kid. "Uh, hi Mike. I'm your cousin, Becky," she leaned down and held out her hand at him. It wasn't his fault her family had sent her here and she wasn't going to act like it.

He took her hand and shook it lightly. "Hi," his voice sounded shy and he withdrew his hand to put it back around the book he was holding.

"Were you reading that with mamal while your ma picked me up from the airport?" She picked up her suitcases and started to head inside while Mike held the door open for her. He nodded. "She's good at funny voices, huh?"

Mike laughed, "She makes Huck Finn sound like my friend Gabe who lives in the bayou." Becky grinned, not surprised Mike was growing up on Huck Finn like she did when mamal and papal had moved to California to help her parents out. Now that Becky thought about it, she was glad she would be near mamal all summer. She could try to teach Mike all the stuff papal wasn't around to teach him.

"Say, you got any BB guns?" She asked, setting her suitcase down in the room with a cute, hand-made sign with her name on the door. It was a pink floral room with a nice canopy bed that looked out on the swamp.

"Uhm. Papal left us a bunch, but ma said I'm not allowed to play with them without anyone around," he scratched at his ear and looked away. Becky noticed a little nick on his ear.

"Well, I'm around. Why don't we go shoot some cans before it gets too hot and mamal gets back with your ma? She hates the noise, used to cuss at papal about it," she laughed and started to head back downstairs. She noticed the gun safe towards the back and dialed in the numbers her papal had used for everything, opening with a snap.

Mike followed after her and set the book on a table, "I can't imagine mamal swearing, she washed my mouth out with soap because I said 'hell' once," he frowned at Becky in disbelief. She took out two little BB guns and closed the safe back up, there were real guns in there too.

"Well, I guess it wasn't so much as cussing, but you know, cussing for mamal. Like, 'bless your sweet tender heart, Matthew Smith' or 'may God bless you with some sense, Matthew Smith'," she headed out the back with a plastic tub of the can recycling. She headed over to the fence that separated the swamp from the rest of the yard and set the cans along it.

Mike stayed farther up in the yard with the BB guns as she walked past. She looked around and found some ear muffs, putting one on Mike and then herself. He held out the gun in a way that said he knew how to shoot. She gestured for him to go first and readied herself.

After a couple of shots, he managed to send the can tumbling and Becky shot it out of the air. She grinned down at Mike's shocked, but impressed face. "Papal taught me how to do that," she nodded.

They spent the rest of the afternoon shooting cans and Becky teaching Mike trick shots to impress his friends. She'd be lying to say she hadn't had fun. As dusk started to sweep away the sun, she and Mike headed down to the fence to put the cans back into the recycling bin. "Nice shooting, Tex," she motioned to the cans that had been shot to pieces.

"Thanks. Becky, do you think ma is on her way--?" Mike started to ask before something grabbed his ankle. His question devolved into a scream as he tried to tug it free. Becky reacted before she'd processed what was grabbing him, jerking him free and away from the fence. They tumbled backwards and Becky grunted as her back hit the ground. Mike tried to curl away from her and just ended up knocking the wind out of her with a knee.

"Ow, ow!" She complained, looking over to what had grabbed him. She didn't quite understand why there was a severed hand laying there. Then, she realized the hand was coming out of the ground and, whatever it was, was starting to dig itself out. She scrambled to get up and hauled Mike with her towards the house. She slammed and locked it behind herself. "Mike, call your ma right now!" She shouted and practically threw her cell phone at him.

He caught it and frantically dialed the number, walking away as Becky turned to look at whatever was coming out of the yard. A creature with long limbs and winglike appendages. Becky got a gun from the safe and waited to see what it'd do. She heard Mike calling again, having reached the voice mail.

"Re-ebec-ca," the creature cried as it shambled up the yard. Becky had heard enough stories of swamp monsters and hodigs to keep the gun aimed and steady as she cracked the door open.

"Get off my property, you demon! You are not welcome here," she snarled.

It kept coming, taking in a deep wheezing sigh, "Do-o not b-e fright-en-ed, my ch-ild. I am an an-gel of the Lo-ord," it sounded like every syllable hurt it to speak, but it was starting to glow.

Becky cocked her gun, "I have never heard of no angel coming out of somebody's yard."

It gave another, deep wheezing sigh, "As-sk the ch-ild mo-ons-ter." Becky gave it a speculative eye.

"Mike!" She shouted, not turning around and keeping the gun aimed. "Let's humor it. Do you know what in the hell this thing is?"

She felt Mike stepping up behind her and hesitating. "Uhm. Yeah," he sounded nervous, "She's an angel. I think she said her name was Lailah once." At this, Becky paused.

"What do you want with us if you're an angel?" Becky asked. She'd still kept her gun on it, not sure if this thing was lying yet.

"The ch-ild mo-ons-ter," it atoned.

"I'm not giving you my little cousin," she said firmly.

"Pl-ea-se. He is-s wha-at yo-our ki-ind ca-all ru-ga-roo," it went on with its wheezing. "Yo-our ki-ind-red wi-ill le-et him gro-ow," it groaned.

Becky thought for a minute and then she shot it in what she assumed was its head, the kick knocking her back into Mike who gave a little "oomph". She wasn't actually sure if bullets worked on angels. The creature cried and collapsed in on itself, turning into a ball of something that looked slimy. "Mike, go to your room," she turned around and he looked heart-broken.

"Please! Ma was going to tell you! I'm good, I'm not hurting no one," he was starting to cry.

Becky sighed, looking at the ceiling, and wondered if she asked for the Lord's mercy, he would still deliver after she shot one of his angels. "I just wanna think and ask your ma some stuff. Just go to bed, okay?"

He opened his mouth to argue, but Becky cut him off, "If I'm going to be babysitting you, you listen to me, boy." He started crying and fled to his room. Becky deflated a little and almost started to put the gun away, but decided not to. She sat on the porch with it in her lap until Aunt Judy's car came up the drive.

Her Aunt Judy emerged with bags of fast food with mamal on the other side, grinning at Becky until she saw the gun. She dropped the bags and ran up while Becky heard her mamal complain and start picking it up.

"What happened?! Becky, where's Mike?!" Aunt Judy's voice was frantic, she put her hands on both of Becky's shoulders and squeezed.

"I sent him to bed after I put a bullet in one of Lord God's angels. Aunt Judy, why the hell did you take in a rugarou?" Becky glared up at her aunt, refusing to be intimidated.

Her aunt's face collapsed into gratitude. "Oh thank God, oh thank God," she murmured.

Her mamal snorted as she came up behind Aunt judy, still holding all the bags of food, setting them inside the porch and closing the screen door to keep the bugs out. "Girl, you should be thanking the devil instead if it's about your child," her mamal said evenly. Becky held back a laugh at her aunt's expense as she wilted onto the porch swing next to Becky, hand to her forward.

"Aunt Judy, please answer my question," Becky said quietly, "If I don't know, I'll tell my ma."

Her Aunt Judy looked off to the side, at the swamp. "We shoot his kind all the time out here. Dumb things that crawl around the swamp water. Don't kill 'em, ain't worth killing 'em. You shoot at 'em and they get back," she sighed. "I kind of feel for them, ya know? They don't really hurt nothin'. One day, this rugarou witch came up out of the swamp and didn't get back when I shot at her. She pulled this little baby out from her moss cloak and handed it over to me. She said she'd be back and pointed to the swamp and made gun noises."

Aunt Judy paused and looked over at Becky. "You get redneck boys who go out there and shoot a bunch just for laughs. At least scare them up so the angels find them and eat them," she sighed. "His real mama never came back, so I just had this baby I was taking care of. He was exactly like a human baby and..." She trailed off.

"I told your mamal and she shouted at me, then she said it might be alright if we get him baptized. Since he was still young, I went down to the hospital and said I'd had him at home. They were skeptical because he's white, but things happen. We got him baptized next Sunday after we explained it to the priest. He said no creature is born evil, but we might be pushin' it." She laughed and Becky did, too.

Her mamal headed inside with dinner and Becky could hear her yelling at Mike to come downstairs and eat. "He's a sweet kid. He knows he's a rugarou and I seen him make moss move around by just thinking about it, but he's not some monster, Becky. He's my son and this is the only life he's ever known," her voice had turned pleading and she took Becky's hands, "I wanted you and my sister to meet him first, know what a good kid he was before I told you."

Becky sighed. "Alright, alright, I get it. I won't tell ma. But," she held up a finger, "You buy me and Mike a pass to the pool so I can meet a lifeguard and give me a couple nights to go on dates. You don't tell my ma, I won't tell my ma."

Aunt Judy agreed. Becky's summer wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it might be.

Media A2 Research Investigation

‘An investigation into the conventions of the pop punk genre specifically focusing on Fall Out Boy, As It Is and My Chemical Romance

 ‘Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings) and/or form (including structure or style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.’(Daniel Chandler). I will show how conventions are used in a certain genre to attract an audience using popular pop punk bands. The investigation I am looking at isn’t definitive and there are exceptions. Another reason for this is I have happened to choose all male pop punk bands as apposed to bands such as Paramore, We Are the In Crowd etc. and I have done this because these bands make videos that conform strongly to the genre. Genre is the way media texts are categorised and genres vary depending on the media text itself. Common music genres are pop, indie, rock, pop punk, R&B and others. Luke Cutforth AKA Lukeisnotsexy is a British youtuber who made the video ‘HOW TO BE POP PUNK’[i] with a pop punk band member, Walters explains how to be pop punk as a character from the clothing to the lyrics to the instruments themselves and connotes this in their joint music video A Song about a Girl, which collates everything Cutforth learns from Walters. Walters says, ‘we need to put a snapback on’ as if it is a necessity in pop punk culture to do so. Common conventions of the songs themselves include, girls, drugs, your hometown and friends. The videos also include these aspects using obscure settings and narratives. They also usually include segments of live performance. Dark clothing is also usually worn which patty Walters explains clothing at 1:40. Using this source as a starting point, I chose the music videos for: Fall Out Boy’s ‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (light 'em up)[ii]’; As It Is’ ‘Cheap Shots & Setbacks’ [iii]and My Chemical Romance’s ‘Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)’[iv] all based on comic series written by Gerard way the true lives of the fabulous killjoys released in 2013.

 Pop punk is short for popular punk, which is basically a new hybrid genre. The definition of punk is that it is a form of rock music that developed in the UK and USA starting in the early 1970s reaching a height of popularity towards the end of the 1970s in which songs were ‘short and loud using basic instrumentals’ (see reference ‘v’) �� drums, guitar and vocals – to portray outsiders in their songs. The term ‘punk’ actually deriving from an out-dated US prisons slang word meaning homosexual. Popular music is defined as that ‘music that is popular in having an appeal to a large number of people’. Therefore pop punk is a popular form of rock music that is derived from short, loud and basic (instrumentally) songs in which all my examples fit this statement.[v]

 In order to conduct my investigation, I carried out contextual research. The songs created by these artists are for the teenagers that feel like they don’t fit in and the mainstream media is constraining them. Videos that interpret this mass media constraint include the popular British YouTube series ‘Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared’ in which the mass media (the learning characters) are influencing the impressionable learners (red guy, yellow guy and duck). Even though these videos aren’t pop punk music videos, they do have some connecting themes; the obscure settings, the use of colour, an interesting antagonist etc. also they follow some surrealistic dark themes.[vi] In reference to Andrew Godwin's theory, the star image - musicians using their videos to promote themselves – this is very visible in the pop punk genre where performances segments are generally used in music videos of this kind live. Other videos, such as my My Chemical Romance example, subvert the general production of this by not including live performance but still creating a star image of the ‘killjoy’ and therefore reinforce it because of this.

 First of all I am going to look at my chosen Fall Out Boy music video. To create an obscure atmosphere, the music video uses darkness as an advantage in order to produce an enigmatic atmosphere. This is seen in a shot close to the beginning of the video in which a silhouette of a tall figure is walking past a newly lit bonfire. This silhouette contrasts even more so due to the dark clothing worn by the mysterious character in which we find later in the video is the antagonist. the fog is the only light in the video which could connote the line between justice and morality is blurred and ‘fogged as such’. All of this components can reinforce my point in being enigma and darkness can create the obscure setting used frequently in pop punk videos to emphasise the originality and conform to the general pop punk conventions.

  This shot on the left denoting a woman throwing band instruments into the bonfire (referenced in the previous analysis) refers to the paradigm of the pop punk genre which is live performance sectors of their music videos. However because the band are tied up in the back of a van – this is seen at the end of the music video – they aren’t playing their instruments in order to keep to the album’s narrative. To put some context behind this, Fall Out Boy used their album ‘Save rock and roll’ in which this song is featured on, to create the young blood chronicles which is an eleven part narrative made out of eleven music videos for the songs on this particular album. Back to the shot, the burning of the instruments connotes the burning of the band itself and everything they have worked for which reinforces the position of the antagonist. Furthermore, the instruments denoted in the scene are that of which punk music is derived from – the basic loud instrumentals that create meaning – therefore conforming to the genre conventions of pop punk.

 Secondly, I am going to be looking at my As It Is’ pop punk music video - for cheap shots & setbacks - in which another obscure setting is used being in a world ruled by machines and human activity – especially love – is forbidden.

This scene introduces the regularly used obscure setting in which the video takes place. The high key lighting connotes the slightly unsettling normality of the situation which is similar to that of MCR’s Na Na Na video in which the ‘normality’ is a clean, black and white city led by better living industries (Blind for short) and like the opening shot for the FOB music video I chose, this shot sets the narrative. However – even though the robot heads are white-grey and the lighting is high key – the clothing is still dark therefore fitting in with these genre conventions.  

  This shot on the left is a key part of the music video, there are multiple shots in the video like this shot that denote band performance. This shots are a paradigm of the pop punk genre and the rock genre overall. This connotes the conformation of this band to the genre even if the whole genre is about being the outsider, the one who doesn’t fit in.

   Finally, I am going to be looking at MCR’s Na Na Na video in which star theory can definitely be applied here. The shot denotes a definite protagonist in which is played in the video by the band’s front man Gerard way. This image creates a feel for the genre’s morals and values connoting that it’s okay to be the outside person. The high key lighting creates a very different atmosphere to that of the fall out boy video but creates more of a lively vibe instead of an enigmatic one. This shot focussing on the map of where the video is set can connote the futuristic, obscure setting (once again) used in many pop punk videos. This connotes the ideas relating to the narrative from the song to the video. This narrative, like fall out boy, has been extended across a couple of music videos and in their ‘true lives of the fabulous killjoys’ six part comic book series (need to add reference)[vii]. In which the morals and values of this blossoming genre are exaggerated through a futuristic action packed comic book series, which sheds light on many of the hidden narratives in the music video.

  To Conclude, the pop punk genre is a newer hybrid genre of music that has many niche conventions in which many pop punk music videos conform to (not all of them because they wouldn’t be interesting). This creates a genre of music for an audience that can relate to the lyrics and underlying narratives whilst keeping the videos fairly parallel to the songs they are representing.

 Bibliography

  [i] Cutforth, L. (2014). HOW TO BE POP PUNK! Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=321umpSzBck. Last accessed 23rd June 2016.

 [ii] Fall Out Boy. (2013). My songs know what you did in the dark. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkIWmsP3c_s. Last accessed 5th Jul. 2016.

 [iii] As It Is. (2015). Cheap shots and setbacks. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ve-o7POkc. Last accessed 5th Jul. 2016.

 [iv] My Chemical Romance. (2010). Na Na Na. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egG7fiE89IU. Last accessed 5th Jul. 2016.

 [v] NICHOLAS ABERCROMBIE (2007). Dictionary of media studies. Suffolk: PENGUIN BOOKS. P274-291.

 [vi] Becky Sloan & Joseph Pelling. (2016). Don’t hug me I’m scared. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbL-NSkXnl8. Last accessed 28th June 2016.

[vii] Gerard way and Becky Cloonan (2014). The true lives of the fabulous killjoys. Dark Horse Comics