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rose-tinted-glasses671 · 10 months

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Let The Light In pt. 2

Simon "Ghost Riley" x fem reader

word count: 3757

read pt. 1

a/n: yayyyyy! pt. 2 is finally out. After a lot of editing, i'm pretty happy with the final result, and I hope you guys are too. happy reading :)

The smoke from the cigarette billowed out of in front of him, Simon’s nerves relaxing as the nicotine coursed through his veins. This was his one vice that you didn’t like, and especially with the baby on the way, he tried to limit himself as much as he could.

But it was hard sometimes. Most of the time.

The sun peeked up from the horizon and the smell of morning dew wafted over Simon as he took another drag of the cigarette before grinding it out on the ash tray he brought outside.

You looked through the kitchen window, seeing Simon’s broad back to you. He had abruptly woken up while you were getting ready for work and was out of the room before you could ask what was wrong.

You suspected he’d had another nightmare, so you were giving him his space to process it before you went to him. You understood when he needed time to himself, and you didn’t want to smother him. He’d let it be known when he needed you.

Simon stared out at the beautiful array of colors in the sky, contemplating his dream. He had frequent nightmares thanks to his PTSD, but this one was particularly rough. He’d seen visions of Harper, visions he would never wish upon his worst enemy.

Blood, so much blood. Red, red, red. On the walls, on the floor, on his hands. Tears streaking down his face. His little girl’s pleas for help. But he couldn’t do anything. He was utterly helpless.

Simon’s breath grew shaky as he tried to keep his emotions at bay.

He had woken up in a panic at 4:30 am, the visceral nightmare making his breathing choppy. He’d immediately went and checked on Harper, seeing her peacefully asleep in her bed, her chest rising and falling with her soft breaths. His heart calmed at the sight of her safe, but the visions continued to haunt him. Hence the cigarette.

As you gathered your stuff to head to the hospital, Simon walked in through the back door. He looked at you with sleepy yet alert eyes, his hair disheveled from sleep. He walked toward you and you met him halfway, wrapping your arms around his torso in a hug the best you could with your eight months pregnant belly in the way.

“Nightmare?” you questioned, feeling him nod his head as his arms came around you too.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not yet,” Simon replied, his voice gruff. He wasn’t ready to rehash the details.

You reluctantly let go of him, running a soothing hand down his arm.

“I can call in and stay with you,” you offered, wanting to be there in case he needed you. “I have a good excuse since my due date’s coming up.”

But Simon shook his head no, giving you a small, reassuring smile.

“Okay, but you’ll call if you need me?”

“Of course,” he said, appreciating that you didn’t press him on the matter.

You and Simon made your way to the door, kissing goodbye before you left on your forty-five-minute drive to work. You lived on a relatively secluded farmhouse in the British countryside, and the nearest town was a good drive away. You didn’t mind, though, as the sights made it worth it.

After your departure, Simon went about his day, preparing for Harper’s teacher to come at 9. She was still getting accustomed to life, so you and Simon had decided to have Harper homeschooled for the time being. You would eventually transition her to a nearby school when she was ready.

It was discovered that Harper was an orphan, her birth parents having died when she was just a baby. When Simon found this out, you and he had a lengthy conversation about the options. Obviously, she would go up for adoption, but Harper was already doing so well with you guys, and you didn’t want to disrupt her life even more by having her put in foster care. So, you decided to adopt her.

The process was still ongoing, even after four months, but you were excited at the prospect of her officially being your daughter—not that you didn’t already think she was. She was, by all means, your child.

Simon turned on the TV, attempting to ease his nerves by catching up on last night’s Manchester United that he had missed. A steaming cup of his favorite tea sat on the coffee table as he tried to shift his focus to the game highlights, but his mind continued to wander to the nightmare.

At fifteen past seven, he heard little footsteps coming down the stairs. Harper walked over to where Simon was seated on the couch, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her hair was a mess and her PJ’s were askew, signaling that she’d had a good night’s rest.

It was something she struggled with when she first started living with you and Simon, but months of therapy was putting her on the right track, and she was having less and less episodes with each passing week.

“Good morning, my sweet girl,” Simon said as Harper approached him, holding his arms open. She crawled into his lap and found a comfortable position before relaxing into him, her cheek resting against his chest in a way that still gave her a view of the TV. She rather enjoyed watching football with her dad, laughing every time Simon groaned at a bad play and cheering with him for every goal.

“Sleep good?” Simon questioned, to which she nodded her head. Harper still had trouble speaking, her therapist telling you she suffered from selective mutism. Your heart ached at the thought of all the trauma she had been through to get to this point, but you were relieved that she was making good progress.

After twenty minutes of mindless TV, Harper looked up at Simon, patting her belly.

“All right then,” Simon said, letting Harper get down before he got to his feet. “Let’s get some food in ya.”

At the hospital, you clocked in for your shift and got about to business, tidying up your desk, which was often scattered with papers and pens due to the craziness of the ER. You chatted with nurses, looked over patient files, treated those in need, and took frequent breaks due to sore feet and a weak bladder.

The day was going by normally, the ER a little quiet today, thankfully. Well, it was going normally until about 1:23 pm. You were heading back to the nurses’ station after checking in on a patient when all of a sudden you were assaulted by a searing pain in your abdomen and lower back. You breathed through it, huffing out short breaths in an attempt to relieve the pressure.

“You okay, Dr. Riley?” Amanda, the head ER nurse, asked at the look of pain on your face.

“Oh yeah, nothing of concern,” you reassured, but just as quickly as the pain had subsided, it resurfaced. This time you were left hunched over and feeling nauseous, and not even a minute later, you felt wetness seep through your scrub pants, fluid gathering in a pool underneath you.

You looked at the pool of fluid, dazed and confused. But only for a second, because you quickly realized what was happening.

“Um, actually, Amanda, if you wouldn’t mind bringing me that wheelchair?” you pointed to the corner where the contraption sat. “I think my water just broke.”

Simon was sitting at the kitchen counter, catching up on reports while Harper and her teacher went about their lesson at the dining table, when his phone rang. Your name flashed across the screen.

“It’s time,” your pained voice reverberated across the phone. “The baby’s coming.”

In an instant, Simon was out of his chair. “Right now?”

“Yes, Simon. Right now,” you wailed, before the line went dead.

“Shit,” he muttered, making his way to the dining room.

“We have to go,” he grunted out to the teacher before getting down on a knee in front of Harper. “Mommy’s having the baby now, so we have to go to the hospital.”

You and Simon had sat Harper down a couple weeks ago to let her know how things would go when her sibling was arriving. It helped reduce her anxiety about the situation, and really, it was just good to be prepared.

As Harper’s teacher made her way out of the house, Simon frantically ran around gathering up the go-bags, his excitement and fear skyrocketing through the roof.

It’s time, your voice echoed through his head. His heart beat at a concerning pace, but he busied himself with tasks to keep the panic at bay. He dialed your sister’s number to let her know in case you hadn’t gotten the chance to call her.

“I’m on my way to the hospital right now,” your sister said in lieu of a greeting, understanding how overwhelmed he probably felt right now. She lived in town so she’d get there sooner than he would and would be able to help while Simon drove there.

He blew out a quick breath of relief.

“Thank you.” And then he was out of the house with Harper.

Like a bat out of hell, Simon sped—reasonably—down the winding roads and onto the main highway that would take him to his destination.

He sporadically checked on Harper, only to see her peaceful gaze on the views outside the window. At least she wasn’t panicking. He’d take any win he could get at this point.

Once at the hospital, Simon zoomed into a parking spot and jumped out the vehicle, almost forgetting to turn it off. He grabbed Harper and the bags, and they both ran inside, stopping to a halt at the front desk.

“Maternity ward,” Simon said, more as a demand than a question. The lady at the desk jumped at the sudden intrusion, but let Simon know the floor.

At the ward, Simon inquired about your room with the head nurse, letting her know he was your husband, then went to find your sister.

“Lily!” he practically yelled at the sight of her dark hair in the waiting room, catching her attention.

“Hey,” she replied, frantically approaching the bedraggled duo, holding her daughter’s hand. “I’ll take Harper, you go. It’s room-”

“I know. Thank you.” Simon then turned his attention to his daughter, getting down to her eye level. “Hey, baby girl. Dad’s gonna go look after mum now, okay. You think you can stay with your aunt and cousin for now?” he asked, making sure Harper felt comfortable with her new surroundings. But she barely listened to him as she absentmindedly nodded her head, engrossed in what her cousin Nina was showing her on her iPad.

Simon gave a Harper a quick kiss before turning around and sprinting in the opposite direction.

2408…2410…2412…2414. This is the one.

Although the hallway was in no way quiet, Simon particularly homed in on your pained howls echoing through the closed door. He noticed his hand shaking as he went to open the door, reminding himself to take a deep breath to steady his nerves.

As soon as he entered the hospital room, he was met with the sight of you lying in bed, your face red and in agony. His eyes instantly met yours, as they often did. You could be in a room with a million other people, and somehow, he’d always notice you first.

At the sight of your husband, you broke down. You were so instantly calmed by his presence that it overwhelmed you.

“Are you the dad?” the OB asked sweetly, to which Simon nodded his head. “Perfect! Mom over here was very distressed at your absence.”

He scurried by your side, and as soon as he was in reaching distance, you leaned up a little and wrapped your arms around him. No words were able to leave you, not just because of the pain but also at the relief of him finally being here.

“I got you, my love,” Simon whispered into your ear, slowly easing you back into the bed.

“Okay, so it looks like your about 5 cm dilated right now,” the OB said. “I’ll be back to check on you, but at this rate, you should be able to deliver soon.”

The next hour was a whirlwind, nurses traipsing in and out, Simon’s surroundings a blur of wires and beeps and huffing breaths. When it came time for you to finally deliver, you felt your anxiety coming to a head.

“I’m scared,” you cried, gripping onto Simon’s hand like a lifeline.

“I know, my love. I know,” he cooed, keeping his tone a lot more relaxed than he actually felt. “This is scary for me too. But, hey, it’s gonna be over soon, and then we’ll have a little bugger to take home with us.”

You tried to laugh, tried to let the picture of your little baby in your arms calm you down, but the panic overtaking you didn’t allow that. Deep breaths weren’t going to cut it this time.

Simon noticed this, seeing the fear still glowing in your eyes. He pressed a reassuring kiss to your forehead, that sweet smell of vanilla that always seemed to follow you overtaking his senses. He had to make sure you were okay.

“I am with you every step of the way,” Simon said. “You wanna scream? Scream. You wanna squeeze my hand ‘till it breaks…well, you can try,” he joked with a teasing smirk. “Whatever you need, I will give it you. I’ll take care of you.”

You nodded your head, knowing that every word Simon just said was true. He had never once let you down, and he was a man of his words. Your anxiety wouldn’t fade right away, but you’d let your husband’s comfort overtake you until it did. It’s the most you could hope for.

And after an amount of time neither you nor Simon could gauge, you’d finally given birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. You had cried with the unending happiness and love when you finally got to hold your daughter, Simon right alongside you as he gazed at his daughter’s beautiful face, and then at yours.

When the nurse had taken her away and told you her weight, you and Simon had laughed. At 4.2 kilograms, she was a little bigger than normal, and the irony wasn’t lost on you. She was, after all, Simon Riley’s daughter.

Back in the recovery room, Simon brought Harper in to meet her sister and was pleasantly surprised at how easily she took to her. You let Harper sit on your bed as you cradled your baby, letting her play with her and take in the new addition to the family.

Harper was beyond excited, if not a little nervous, about her baby sister. But she was gentle and immediately took on a big sister role, much to your delight.

This moment was one for the books. For the longest time, you were Simon’s only family, the only one he could trust and confide in. But now, he had more than he ever imagined he could have.

“Baby cousin!” Nina’s shriek echoed through the room, none of you noticing that her and Lily had come in.

“Okay, now. Be gentle. She’s sleeping,” Lily said to her daughter, following after her. At the sight of your newborn baby, Lily let out an adoring sigh, looking at you with tear filled eyes. “She’s so perfect, bee,” she said, using your childhood nickname.

“I know,” you replied, getting just as emotional as her. “I can’t stop looking at her.”

The baby had blonde hair just like Simon’s, and her small button nose and chubby cheeks were the most adorable thing you’d ever seen in your life.

“Takes after Simon, doesn’t she?” Lily remarked.

“Cheeky,” he said, but secretly loving the fact.

“Sure does,” you stated, secretly loving the fact too. She was a perfect little piece of you and Simon, a testament to your love and commitment to each other.

Much of the day passed with family and friends trickling in and out, sharing in this happy moment with you. And although Simon tried not to let any negativity seep into this joyous moment, he couldn’t help but feel the stinging pain of loss at the absence of his own family.

It was often a hard pill to swallow, the fact that his mother, brother, even his nephew, were gone. That they’d never be able to share happy moments with him again.

But when his baby girl had opened her eyes for the first time, they were hazel. A striking, mesmerizing hazel that were so familiar to him, it almost brought him to his knees. Neither you nor Simon had hazel eyes, but obviously it had skipped a generation.

It was like his mother had sent a piece of her down to him, something for him to take solace in and to know that she would always be with him. That was also the moment you had known what you were going to name your daughter.

That night, when darkness kissed the sky and crickets chirped outside the open window, you broached the subject with Simon.

“What if we named her Margaret?” you asked him as he held the baby to his chest, taking in that newborn scent.

Simon paused in his pacing to look at you, seeing the sincerity on your face. His heart burst like a dam, the emotions he had been holding back flooding to the surface.

And you knew the answer just by the sheen in his eyes.

***

Later that night, when you and the baby were fast asleep, Simon didn’t dare to close his eyes. He gazed at your serene face, a little jealous of how your dreams never tormented you, but at the same time relieved that you didn’t have to go through what he did. Visions of his nightmare mixed with the memory of his daughter’s birth and the liveliness of the room as people came to see her.

His tired eyes drooped, and he was happy. He was so goddamn happy, but he was also restless. And scared.

Would he be able to protect all of you? Would he ever feel normal? Would his trauma continue to burden him, and inadvertently put that burden on you?

What Simon didn’t realize was that you were restless too, your anxiety from before morphing into something else. Anxiety about the future, about raising your daughters, about…everything, it felt like.

You opened your eyes, ready to accept that fact that you wouldn’t sleep tonight, when you noticed Simon sitting up on the couch to your right.

“Si?” You sat up in bed, reaching your hand out to call him over. He complied, coming over to you. He sat at the edge of your bed, a hesitant look on his face. “You okay?”

Simon considered lying. Considered telling you he wasn’t plagued with so many negative emotions so close to the miracle that happened today, because they weren’t supposed to. Right?

“No.” He settled on the truth instead. “I mean, yes. But also no, in many ways.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” you said, reaching up to cup his cheek. You ran your thumb across it, the feeling of his slight stubble something you’d never stop loving.

He smiled, leaning down to place a soft kiss on your lips.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, straightening himself. “I feel like I should be happier. I am happy, don’t get me wrong. I’m so happy. But I can’t stop thinking about the nightmare.” He described what he saw to you, how he felt helpless. “I’ll never be enough. Nothing I do will ever be a 100% guarantee that you and Harper and Margaret are safe.”

You stared into Simon’s eyes, feeling the anguish radiating off of him.

“Simon, you are enough. You’re more than enough. You are so much more than your ability to keep us safe. A loving husband, a doting father, and most of all, a human being. You have to give yourself a break.” You slid over on the bed, indicating for him to sit beside you. He did so, maneuvering himself to give you ample space.

You rested your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes and breathing in the subtle scent of his cologne. “It’s okay to feel doubt. God knows I do. It feels like I go through everyday not knowing what the fuck I’m doing. Every moment I spend with Harper is a moment that’s tainted with the fear that I’m doing her more harm than good.”

“You’re amazing with her,” Simon interjected. “You’re exactly the kind of patient and adoring presence she needs.”

“And so are you, Si. Don’t think for a second that you’re not just as patient with her.” You looked up at him to see him already looking at you. “Who’s been the one to guide Harper through her panic attacks, or plan her lessons with her teacher, or take care of her when I’m not home? It’s all been you. You care about her so much, and she sees that. She loves you.”

Simon contemplated, thinking back to a couple weeks ago when Harper had woken up in the middle of night screaming. Both your hearts had stopped, thinking something horrible was happening. As it was, Harper had had a bad dream, not unlike the ones Simon himself experienced. She was shaking like a leaf and refused to let either of you touch her, and Simon had been the one to help her through the panic attack and calm her down.

“A lot of things are out of our control. But what is in our control is what we do and what we say. It’s a lot of faith to put in ourselves, but that’s what we gotta do,” you shrugged. “Everything else is arbitrary.”

Simon relaxed into you, taking in your words. You were right, you rarely ever weren’t.

When Margaret started crying, he brought her to you, and gazed in wonder as you fed and comforted her. You whispered sweet words to her and held her close, and when she finally went back to sleep, Simon decided he would take this newfound joy he felt because of his family and pocket it. Relive that feeling when nothing else made sense. And he would never stop trying his hardest.

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asteroidzzzn · 10 months

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dance, baby! | part 2

pairing: dancer!reader x soccer!ellie

warnings: cursing, reader is still delulu and very anxious

word count: 1.9k

a/n: hi here is part 2 yayyyyy! im rlly excited i think this is cute :')

summary: ellie williams showed up to the nutcracker to watch you, which caused you to get distracted and fall. unfortunately for you, she's decided to make a habit of getting you flustered on stage.

༊*·˚

"would it be weird to invite her though?"

"dude, you know she's gonna go anyways. she's like, obsessed with you."

"ugh, i don't know..."

you sat on your bed with jade, who was annoyed with your overthinking, convinced that ellie liked you back, while you were debating whether or not to invite ellie to your upcoming dance show.

you had told jade about the small crush you formed shortly after you realized what you felt. it didn't take long for you to fall for her. she was so funny and kind, and your heartbeat never failed to quicken when she would ramble about something she was interested in with a massive grin.

since she went to see the nutcracker back in december, the two of you spent nearly every day together, especially during winter break. in february, you told her you were accepted to choreograph your very own piece for the upcoming spring showcase, which prompted her to hug you tightly, telling you how you would do amazing.

that was one of the many things you loved about her. she knew just what to say all time to ease your nerves before you ever told her you were nervous. she could see right through you.

one thing you wished she didn't see, though, were the fleeting glances and rosy cheeks from each time her hand grazed yours for a moment too long.

you fell back on your bed, face in your hands.

"i mean, i think my dance is good. it's just... she's gonna watch it knowing that i made it.

jade blinked. "what's so bad about that?"

you let out an exasperated sigh. "it's like asking someone to read your essay. actually, asking a whole class. it's so nerve racking. everyone in the room will have an opinion on something i choreographed."

"oh, how dare people perceive you."

you chuckled. "yeah, how dare they. you know what? i'll just do it."

you typed out a message to ellie inviting her to the spring showcase in a moment of short-lived boldness.

jade had to click send for you.

on the day of the show, you sat in the dressing room applying makeup for the first piece you danced in. you wore a beautiful pink flowing dress which looked like rose petals, and you put gold glitter on your eyelids.

the dance was about how love can come unexpectedly. your favorite part was when each dancer ran across the stage, searching for their parter. once the partners were all together, the music crescendoed, and you performed a beautiful partnering section. your instructor made it for her wife and named the piece love is love.

the dance you choreographed was also heavily focused on partnering. you were given five dancers to work with, so one was left without a partner. they reached into nothing, while the people with partners disregarded each other, taking what they had for granted.

it ended with the lone dancer falling to her knees, with a spotlight shining on her, and the partners walking away in the darkness.

jade was the only person you trusted to watch the dance before it went to the stage. she loved it, but, no matter how much praise she gave you, nausea still washed over you as you made your way backstage to talk to your dancers one final time before your piece became known to the world.

you gathered the five and huddled together in the wings.

"ok guys, you're gonna do great. i've loved working with you, and thank you for making my vision come to life," you giggled softly as the girls hugged you, whispering promises to perform their best for you.

you sat and watched the dance, occasionally peeking at the audience to see their reactions. it was difficult to read most people in the room, but you could obviously tell ellie loved it, from the way she was attentively watching. she knew it was yours, because there was large text projected on the screen behind the stage stating your name and the title of your dance before the lights faded in.

you found yourself smiling wider than you would like to admit at the fact she was sitting in the front row, again.

once the dance concluded, the audience gave a large applause. everything went perfectly. you couldn't stop showering your dancers with praise for their performance.

shortly after, it was time for love is love. you met up with your partner you entered stage with backstage. you took multiple deep breaths with your eyes closed, clearing your mind.

your partner squeezed your hand. she could sense your anxiety from the way your hand trembled in hers. you were worried you would fall from the lift the two of you always struggled with.

you weren't sure you'd survive the embarrassment of falling in front of ellie (and a massive crowd, but they didn't matter as much) again.

"we got this," your partner whispered, and you flashed her a quick apprehensive smile. you entered stage during the blackout and sat down as the audience cheered in anticipation.

against your better judgement, once your head rose, your eyes found ellie's. next time you would have to tell her to sit in the back of the house. wear glasses, perhaps. she was too pretty for her own good.

you quickly turned away, and your partner guided you up. she gripped your arm and waist, pulling you onto her shoulder. you held your breath. wobbled slightly.

but you stayed.

you swiftly rolled off of her back and landed, taking her hand and running off for the next partner to enter. there was slight applause for the stunt, and quite a loud wooo! stood out from the front row.

you reentered the stage to complete the exhausting group section, eventually falling to the floor in a clump with the others, breathing heavily, holding each other close.

your gaze shifted to the audience a final time before exiting. ellie and the two people on either side of her had slipped away. you chose to push that to the back of your mind for now. you walked out during the blackout, panting as you made your way to the dressing room to grab water.

jade's yellow dress flowed as she ran up behind you, gripping your shoulders and almost tipping you over. you let out a slight squeal as she laughed, wrapping her arms around your neck.

"that was the best run we've ever done, oh my god! and your lift with marcie was so good!"

you giggled, "i know right! now get off of me, you're so sticky and sweaty, and i really need to get some water."

jade gripped your arm so you couldn't escape her hold. "actually, let's go outside to get some fresh air real quick."

"can i at least get my water first?"

"uh, no this is really important," she ushered you to the back door to enter the parking lot.

your eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "we could've gone out the side door, why are we all the way back..." your words fell short at the sight in front of you.

you recognized dina and jesse as ellie's friends, who stood giggling behind a very red ellie williams, holding out pink flowers to you. matching your costume, again. it was sickeningly sweet.

you approached her as she began speaking with a very noticeable quiver in her words.

"uh, ignore them," she gestured to dina and jesse, "i couldn't bribe them out of not being here."

you chuckled nervously, glancing back at jade. she threw up a thumbs-up with a giddy smile.

ellie cleared her throat before speaking again. "i was wondering if you... wanted to... go out with me? sometime? y'know, like a date...? we, uh, thought it would be kinda fitting to ask after a dance called love is love, cause, yeah. by the way, you were beautiful, it was so-"

you cut her adorable rambling short by wrapping your arms around her, whispering, "yesyesyes," into her neck.

she hugged you in return, nearly lifting you off the ground with how tight she was pulling you in. when you separated, the both of you wore beaming expressions.

jade suddenly punched your shoulder. "i literally told you she liked you back!"

dina folded her arms behind ellie, lifting a smug eyebrow. "yeah, so did i."

you and ellie flushed at the revelation you had been hopelessly pining over each other. despite that, words couldn't describe how ecstatic you felt that ellie reciprocated your feelings. you were over the moon.

she handed you the bouquet. "i should go, i don't wanna miss more of the show."

"yeah, i'll see you later," you pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, leaving her with a small mark from your red lipstick. once you reached the dressing room inside you immediately grabbed jade, pulling her into a hug and jumping up and down.

"oh my god oh my godohmygod!"

jade indulged your giddiness, jumping along with you as you squeeled. little did you know, ellie was doing the same exact thing, just outside the door.

༊*·˚

near the beginning of may, ellie had a huge game coming up. and what good of a girlfriend would you be if you didn't try your absolute hardest to embarrass her?

ellie situated herself into her position on the field, where she was a midfielder, whatever that was.

was this how clueless she felt while watching you dance? she joked around about how she could never understand the silly dance terminology, and she insisted you were submitting yourself to torture when you told her you're actually standing on your toes in pointe shoes.

you watched the girls run around the field, cheering when the crowd did, even though you had no idea what had just happened.

after a few minutes, your team got a goal.

"hell yeah! let's go!" you whooped among the crowd, catching the attention of ellie. you waved at her, smiling. she seemed surprised you were there, attempting to mouth something at you, but she was rudely interrupted by a girl from the opposite team shoving her out of the way.

you snorted at the way she stumbled, catching your eyes one more time before running after the girl.

you hadn't told you you'd be showing up since you had a dress rehearsal for the upcoming competition, but you wouldn't miss any of her games for the world.

she caught up to the girl, swerving expertly around her and directing the ball to the opposite side, taking a risk and kicking it as hard as she could, and she scored.

"that's my girl!" you shouted loudly, clapping for her as her teammates ran up to her, high-fiving and celebrating.

despite all the attention she was getting from her team, her eyes were glued to you, her biggest cheerleader.

nothing in the world could compare to the way she looked at you once she found you in the bleachers after the game.

"hi," you giggled into her hair as she rushed up and pulled you into a hug, spinning you around. "you were amazing!"

"you're amazing," she muttered before kissing you. after a few moments she pulled away, still out of breath from the game. "i thought you had a dress rehearsal to be at right now?"

you pushed a piece of her hair that had stuck to her forehead away from her eyes. "well yeah, but you're more important than a dress rehearsal, i already know my dances like the back of my hand. and i told mrs. morgan i was gonna show up late anyways," you glanced over her shoulder to see her team beckoning her to come over.

you pressed your hands on her chest, pushing away slightly. "your team wants you over there, and i should head out now."

"ok," she pecked your lips and began backing away. "have fun at dance, baby! love you!" she called from over her shoulder.

"i love you, too els," you grinned brightly.

you were the luckiest girl in the world.

༊*·˚

a/n: yayy im so happy with how this turned out!! (*^▽^*) btw i know nothing about soccer besides the things i've seen my little sister do when she plays so,,,,,, apologizes if i said something dumb ikik. again feedback is rlly appreciated bc im kinda sorta new to writing, anything helps! tysm for reading!! hope u enjoyed this :)

tags: @ximtiredx

#ellie williams #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams fluff #tlou game #the last of us #tlou 2 #wlw

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ghoul-bonez · 11 months

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~You Bare Your Soul to Me, so I Show You Mine~

Chapter 2: I Will Take that Role

(Lo’ak x Fem! Na’vi! Reader)

Summary: You were somewhat looking forward to tonight, a night to welcome in the strangers, and let the people of your clan know everything will be okay. You would have a chance to study the Sullys, see what they’re like, but what you didn’t expect was to make a friend.

Word count: 1.7k

Author’s note: Chapter two yayyyyy!

Last - Next

~Series Masterlist~

~Main Masterlist~

I Will Take that Role

It was peaceful in your kelku as your family sat together quietly, a rare occurrence as your family was usually quite noisy. You and Tse'wey had already gotten dressed in your traditional clothes, and were washing up now while your mom helped your mother with fastening her top.

Tonight would be an important night, a night to welcome in the strangers from another clan. To show peace between everyone, and let the people know everything will be okay. This meal would signify the unity between the new people and the clan.

As you were finishing washing your hands your mom spoke up, “I have invited JakeSully and his family to sit with us at meal time. I expect everyone to be civil.” She shot a look towards Seykxel.

“I can not make any promises.” Seykxel retorts, but it was meant in a more playful way, and you couldn’t help but giggle as your mom smiled at her.

Your mother may be the opposite of excited, and your mom neutral, but you certainly were. You weren’t quite sure why, the hatred you had for the outsiders still bubbling in your gut, yet for some reason you had already planned to find a reason to sneak off and meet the kids who were around your age, but now it seemed you wouldn’t have to come up with some poor excuse to sit with them. It was an odd juxtaposition of feelings that had settled in your gut.

You were practically buzzing with anticipation and Tse'wey laughed at you, poking you in the side, “You the one who told mom they had demon blood, yes? It did not seem you wanted anything to do with them earlier, so why are you now so excited to see them?”

You shrugged, “I am not excited to see them. I still do not like them, I do not trust them, but I want to see what they are like. I want to judge whether they are too tawtute or not.” You weren’t lying about your distrust, but you were lying about not wanting to see them, but she didn’t need to know that.

Something about having new people around gave you a buzz. Maybe because this wasn’t the usual, or maybe it was because they seemed so different, and you wanted to know everything about them.

When mealtime came around, your family was the first to sit, the first to get food, and once you were settled the chaos of the communal meal time. People bustled around, picking whatever food they wanted and placing it onto their plates, then finding a spot to sit and eat with their family and friends.

As everyone else was getting food the Sullys stood awkwardly to the side, unmoving, waiting. For what you weren’t sure, but you felt bad for them, and you sent your mom a look, nodding your head towards them, and up until now she hadn’t noticed. She smiled at you, excusing herself from her and your mother’s conversation before wandering over to them.

You supposed she was explaining how meal time worked, but you didn’t care about the strangers enough to go and help. Instead you stayed where you were, engaging in simple conversation with Tse'wey.

When the Sullys joined your family by the fire, the confidence you had hyped up in yourself earlier disappeared. Instead it was overtaken by fear, now you wanted to be as far away from them as you could be. What if they were dangerous?

The adults chatted, being peaceful, or as peaceful as your mother can be. They spoke about what the Sullys would have to do, the rolls they would fill in the clan. Sadly your sister was one of the adults in the conversation, which left you all alone.

Instead of joining anyone you sat alone, with nobody to talk to, listening in on the Sully kids as they spoke. They had a weird way of speaking, it sounded strange to your ears as they created singular words out of two, and occasionally used words you did not understand at all.

You were coping well with your loneliness, or you were trying to convince yourself of that, but you still felt bored as your ears twitched from conversation to conversation.

You weren’t paying attention, and that gave the younger Sully boy a chance to swoop in. Without excusing himself from his siblings he got up and sat in front of you, taking his chance of talking to the girl who he may or may not think was very cute, even though you had called out his “demon blood”.

“So what is there to do around here?” He asked, a smug smile on his face. He was hoping you would be like him, up for some adventure, maybe run away for a while and talk some more, just the two of you.

He startled you, and you looked at him with wide eyes at first, your fear of the outsiders showing, before you pulled yourself together, a frown then etched on your face, “I could not tell you.” He laughed at you and you couldn’t stop the offended look from coming to your face as you felt your frustration grow as he laughed in your face.

“Sorry.” He apologized, calming down from his laughter. Once he was calmed down he asked, “Why’s that though? You're the leader’s daughter, I expected you to know some fun secrets or something.”

You sighed, he had to know you were Tsakarem, or he would be finding out sooner rather than later, so you replied, “My mother does not like me going places alone, and I am usually busy doing Tsakarem things.” You wished you weren’t, but that was the reality of your role, and your sometimes overprotective mother.

He looked surprised, humming in thought before he said, “You’re Tsakarem? Shouldn’t that be your older sister?” What a dumb question, you thought. Shouldn’t he know you get a choice?

You rolled your eyes, annoyance making an appearance on your face, “Clearly you are stupid.” You scoffed at him, but he didn’t take offense, being called that plenty of times by his siblings, “She does not want to be Tsahík, I do. It is as simple as that.”

“Ah, okay.” Was all he said back. You expected more from him, for him to at least address your insult, maybe call you one back, but he just ignored it instead.

You scowled, he was not what you expected. He was far from what you expected. As the son of Toruk Makto you expected him to be polite, but he had laughed in your face. You expected him to be a great warrior, but he looked nothing but the opposite. You expected him to follow the rules, but it seemed he was already looking for somewhere to run off to.

You refused to allow him to see into you, not wanting to open up, but you still wanted adventure like him, you wanted to have some cool place to tell him about, so you let the words fall from your mouth, “I wish I could go out more. I want to explore and see the world. I want to find new places, and fly my ikran until I can’t anymore, but my mother is very…” You searched for the right word, settling on, “Protective.”

He laughed at you, again, and you felt yourself shrink back, maybe you shouldn’t have opened up at all, before he spoke, “I could help you with that.” He smirked. Whatever he meant by that you did not want to know. You had no wishes to go against your mother.

However, shock overtook you once again, your eyes wide, but still you felt yourself bend towards him, like you were a plant, and he was the sun. You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a little giggle, “I am sure you could, but I do not wish to get in trouble with my mother. I will stick to going out with my mom.”

“If you ever change your mind, feel free to come to me.” He puffed up his chest, and winked at you dramatically.

It was like he took pride in breaking the rules, in running away. Maybe that was exactly the type of person you needed in your life. Maybe you needed someone to foster the little bit of rebellious spirit you had deep down inside your heart.

You hummed, thinking, maybe he wasn’t so bad, maybe they all weren’t so bad. You supposed it might not hurt to befriend him, to gather more information being the reason in your mind, but to do that you need to know his name, “What is your name? I am (Y/n).”

“Lo’ak.” He replied simply. It was a fine name, not much standing out about it, but for some reason you really liked it.

You found yourself repeating it to yourself, “Lo’ak.” He just nodded, a smile on his face causing you to crack a small one too.

“So-” He began talking but was quickly cut off when you held your hand up.

When you heard your mom clear her throat you silenced Lo’ak, your head spinning towards her, “(Y/n), it looks like you are making a friend over there, yes? How would you like to be his mentor? Kitsa and Kiä will be their main teachers, but you can help him meet new people. Show him how our clan works. ”

You were unsure about the offer, but felt excitement bubble, “I suppose I can, but I am sure they know what they are doing? It could not have been too much different in the forest.” You thought about it, there were a lot of similar animals and plants in the mountains as in the forest, but you supposed there would also be differences as you didn’t know a whole lot about the forest.

Then your mother spoke up, “You will need to show him our traditions. Our rites of passage.” Even if they had passed their own clan’s rites, they would have to do all of yours, minus taming an ikran which they had already done.

Your mom smiled, “You will need to show him the land.” She winked at you, but made sure Seykxel didn’t see it. Maybe with him you would get the chance to explore, possibly cause a little bit of chaos like you were sure he intended to do.

You took a deep breath in, deciding, “Okay, I can do that. I will take that role.”

Word Bank:

Kelku (Forest Na’vi homes)

Tawtute (Sky people, humans)

Tsakarem (Tsahík in training)

Tsahík (Spiritual leader)

Toruk Makto (Rider of Last Shadow)

Ikran (Mountain Banshee)

@ok-boke - @heart-an0n

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silentwillowwhisperer · 10 months

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We have a birthday!!

Yesterday was the wonderful @deadboywalking227's birthday!!!

Yayyyyy!!! Have some Klance!

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

Keith doesn’t know how ended up here.

Oh wait, yes he does.

He had been sitting peacefully in the dark confines of his room when a certain blue paladin came banging at his door.

The second his door had slid open, Lance grabbed his hand and dragged him to the kitchen with surprising strength, rambling something about Keith being his test subject (victim).

And so now Keith finds himself sitting in the kitchen, watching Lance bustle around and being teased by a wonderful smell.

It goes through his nose and straight down to his stomach.

His eyes dart around at the various pots and pans steaming on every available surface.

Lance walks over to the now hungry red paladin and shoves a spoon in his face. Lance has a bright flush splattered across his cheeks and he ducks his head to the side avoid Keith’s eyes.

“Don’t- don’t uh- make this weird, okay? I need you taste test this and tell me if it has the right amount of spice in it.”

Keith can barely even hear the muttered words. Is this one of those things where only people who actually know how to handle social interaction will understand? He cocks his head to the side and stares at the blushing paladin in front of him with curious eyes.

“Why would I be weird? We both know that’s your job.”

Keith desperately hopes that the teasing jab will get Lance to stop doing whatever this is, but instead the redness in his face spread further down his neck.

While Lance is spluttering and trying (failing) to respond, Keith leans forward to take the offered bite that Lance is still holding up for him.

The second it meets his taste buds, he’s in some kind of heaven. Can you eat in heaven? Never mind, this is better thank heaven. His eyes slip shut as he hums with satisfaction. When he opens them again, he sees Lance staring at him wide-eyed and gaping like a fish.

“O-okay then. T-that’s a g-good thing, I-I think.”

Lance paces quickly back over to whatever he has cooking. Keith sees his shoulders rise slowly and then fall twice as fast, like he’s taking a deep breath.

When he turns, the redness is gone and he has that crooked smirk on his face.

“You know, my mama says that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! Well, she says that to my sisters, but the thought’s what counts, right?”

Five seconds later he places a plate stacked high with piping hot tamales down in front of Keith.

“Is that the food you’re drooling for, or me?”

Keith pointedly ignores Lance in favor of the food.

Lance keeps up a steady chatter as Keith eats, a mix of pick up lines, teasing compliments, and ramblings about his family and memories of Earth.

Sadly, the meal is gone in the blink of an eye. Keith places his chin down on the table and gazes sadly at the plate of crumbs in front of him.

When Lance sees him, he lets out a startled laugh.

“Wha- Keith, what are you doing? Why does he looks so fricking cute? Are you alright?”

Keith turns his deep gaze to Lance.

“Thanks. For.. food. It was good.”

Keith winces at his own awkward speaking.

Lance returns the look just as strongly.

“ Hmm… just as awkward as usual, huh? Well.. maybe you can thank me in another way.”

Keith may be oblivious, but he catches on as soon as Lance meets him at the lips.

————————————————-

Once again, I wish you a very happy birthday. I hope you enjoyed this, KJ <3

#vld #voltron legendary defender #keith kogane #voltron #lance mcclain #klance #keith vld #vld keith #lance vld #tawny post #KJ tag #ali tag

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caramelmochacrow · 7 months

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the d4 yaoi yuri explanation post time yayyyyy!!!! this post and this poll will explain why this is happening btw.

there are heavy spoilers for persona 2, revue starlight, revue of souls (thing from the movie), roselia's 1st band story as well as semi-general spoilers for the side nova, side origin of rondo, rondo's 1st unit story and a little bit of d4dj first mix!)

before you say anything, yaoi and yuri are not based on gender, even though the examples im using are two boy couples and two girl couples. the word count is also 2,081 words so if u genuinely are curious, please continue reading!

im doing yaoi first to make my life easier, then yuri, yuriyaoi, and then yaoiyuri.

my example for yaoi is not the more popular one (sasu.naru/naru.sasu) but these two!

these two ^ are kyo (one on the left) and iori (one on the right looking gay rlly gay) from the kof franchise!

theyre fated to be rivals because of their clans, but they fight for their own personal reasons. iori is obsessed w kyo, you see. to the point that when he could stop having fire powers that are connected to his curse -- a curse that will make him die very young and every woman of the clan upon giving birth will die-- he decided to not do that and keep it so he can kill kyo. iori doesnt like violence, but when it comes to kyo? he has exceptions.

kyo is also semi not normal about iori. iori almost died twice, and during those two times, kyo brought him back to life with his flames in the manga and manhwa even though he says it's a pain. iori has many nightmares about kyo, most of which involves him being friends with kyo.

also there's this:

everyone in the game, even the newcomers, notice how obsessed kyo and iori are with each other. even characters that haven't been in the game for a while.

this is why neosophi is like these two (at the beginning. the obsession, the want of wanting the other to live because you cant live without them (sophia) and the fact that the other wants to be friends with the other deep down (neo).

thanks to the latest abyssmare event in en, theyre starting to lean to yuri rather than yaoi, but they still have many things to work out, so im keeping this. the real yaoi relationship in d4 is actually weronika and neo but w these 4 ships the most yaoi one has to be neosophi, sorry.

now, onto the yuri !!

the examples i could be using are so many, but i decided to go with these two.

^ yukina (left) and lisa (right) from bandori!!

some of you probably know their relationship but for the people who don't know, lisa and yukina are childhood friends. yukina is the leader, composer and vocalist of roselia, while lisa is the bassist. the both of them understand each other so well yet they have difficulty opening up to each other at the beginning. nowadays, they have good communication and can tell when the other is upset or struggling with something, lisa makes sure that yukina is okay and yukina does the same for her.

yet again, theyre childhood friends so their fates feel almost intertwined, like they were always meant to be together. yukina has even said once that she feels that lisa was fated to be part of roselia, even though lisa quit bass at first.

hayakoko is very much like them (from what we know abt their relationship the moment), they both understand each other like no one else because out of everyone in their group they know each other the most and got closer (and was almost separated) because of music. they make sure the other is okay and feels safe.

now that i've explained how yaoi and yuri are (to me), it's time for yuriyaoi and yaoiyuri!

first, the difference! yuriyaoi is when there are more yuri elements than yaoi elements, while yaoiyuri is when there are more yaoi elements than yuri. both of them NEED to have elements of both for you to classify it as either! but sometimes if the relationship has an equal amount of yuri and yaoi elements, then it's okay to use them interchangeably, it just needs to specifically have the same amount of yuri and yaoi elements in the relationship.

something i have changed from that post is that i made tsubaoi yuriyaoi rather than kyoshino, which is because they both have the same amount of elements of yuri and yaoi. (and are most alike compared to neosophi and hayakoko)

so, enough stalling, first up is yuriyaoi!

my example for yuriyaoi is actually these two guys from the persona series! (i could make an actual post of just them and it hurts that im condensing so much of their relationship, so if you would like to know more about these two, just play the game.)

^ their names are tatsuya (silly w the brown hair) and jun (the one w the bangs and is smiling so nicely)

jun and tatsuya are childhood friends that lost contact with each other because of events in the game. they are both literal parallels to each other in that they are "shadows" to each other, look similar to each other and their stories are similar (they have papa issues). but they are also opposites. jun is very soft, gentle and emotive while tatsuya is rough-looking, intense and because he is the protag for p2 he is a silent protagonist.

even with tatsuya's rough exterior he is very kind, is a bit awkward when interacting with people, and is willing to do anything for his friends. jun is good with science and astrology, while tatsuya is good at physical education (specifically sprinting). they also both exchanged treasures to each other. jun gave tatsuya his father's lighter, while tatsuya gave jun the watch his father gifted him. there was this one part in the game, where one of the characters pointed out how they are alike which made jun embarrassed but happy about it.

at the near end of the game, if you know the persona lore, there are things called shadows -- a side of someone that they dislike about themselves -- and main characters needed to fight that version of themselves. when they faced tatsuya's shadow, he taunted tatsuya and said that he hated jun. there is a choice to say if you hate jun or not, but canonically tatsuya doesnt hate jun, which is evident in eternal punishment (the other persona 2 game). it's the same as well for jun. they hate the side of themselves that tells them that they should hate the other, which causes some sort of conflict between them that is resolved based on what you say when one of the characters asked tatsuya which one of them that he likes.

if u choose jun, they will be lovers, but even if the relationship status was 'best friends', the dialogue in their contact (the first image) for them would be the same even when they are lovers. it shows that tatsuya and jun are very passionate for each other no matter their relationship, lovers or not.

now. how this kind of yuriyaoi is like tsubaki and aoi. both tsubaki and aoi have parallels to each other. tsubaki is a girl that struggles with how she sees herself and her worth like aoi, but instead of her looks it's with her singing. both tsubaki and aoi are good at singing and djing respectively, the other noticing and loving that fact about each other, but singing and djing are opposites in a way (like w jun and his love of science and tatsuya with his skill with sprinting). because with singing, all the attention is focused on you, while for djing you are almost invisible to those around.

they are, too, opposites in terms of personality, aoi is very kind, gentle and patient. while for tsubaki, she can be quite intense and brash sometimes, but is simply just awkward and has difficulty with talking to people. tsubaki can be very kind to those that she trusts and keeps her friends close to her heart and aoi does as well. tsubaki and aoi did not exchange treasures like tatsu.jun, but they did exchange words that are like it. in side origin rondo, at the part with aoi talking to a "shadow" of herself, that side of herself tells her that tsubaki, hiiro and nagisa dont care about her anymore and that she should too (similar to jun and tatsuya's shadows telling them to hate each other) before tsubaki reaches out and saying otherwise. at the first rondo unit story, aoi did the same for tsubaki as well, that reaching out being the entire reasoning rondo is rondo.

and so! before i start making this post about tsubaoi and tsubaoi only, onto yaoiyuri!

my yaoiyuri example was difficult to get because it required that it had more yaoi elements than yuri and it was not another male couple (it also had to be similar to kyoshino), but after a few seconds of thinking, i came to the conclusion to use these two:

this ^ is tendo maya (brunette) and saijou claudine (blonde) from revue starlight!

im sure some of you have heard of these two idiots, but i'll explain to those who are unaware, maya and claudine are rivals. claudine is an ex-child actress while maya comes from a family of famous actors. both of them are in the same class (both top students) and are partners in everything theater pretty much. now you must ask, where is the rivalry aspect? well, claudine keeps on challenging maya all the time in some way. in eating (who gets to eat first), in acting (look at the quote for the first image) in the underground fight club for stage girls and many more!

the reason for this rivalry was that claudine didn't really know how amazing maya was properly at first until she got humbled by maya's abilities in the audition to their school and decided that she needed to be on the same level as her, causing claudine to be the only one out of the entire class to be around the same level as maya. claudine always challenges maya and the other does not mind it, in fact, she loves it. every single time claudine challenges her, maya returns with the same amount of passion for it, causing the both of them to become better as stage girls because they keep pushing each other to their limits.

in the movie, there is these revues (search up the definition pls--) for certain pairs, one of them being these two. their revue is about claudine being a devil making a deal with maya, who is a "vessel of god", to show her a performance no one has ever seen before. during the entire revue for these two, maya says that she is perfection and that she is not a human, but at the middle point, claudine points out how prideful and arrogant maya is, showing that she is human. because of this, this causes maya to get angry at claudine and let their true battle begin. cue the homoerotic sword fighting, the faces being milimeters away from each other and really gay lines that are questionable at best. near the end, they say this:

and maya loses and says that claudine is beautiful, implying that the beautiful performance that no one has ever seen before is claudine because people focus on maya so much they dont notice claudine's accomplishments. their revue ends with the both of them promising each other to keep on being rivals until the end.

so, how does this flavor of yaoiyuri fit kyoshino? well -- it's a bit obvious -- but kyoko and shinobu are rivals as well. both of them are admirers of each other because of how skilled they are in music (like how maya and claudine admire each other for their skills in acting). both of them (shinobu and maya) are arrogant w their abilities to the point that if they do something they are unfamiliar with they get flustered easily. when the other (kyoko and claudine) first met them, they thought they were on the same level until the other (shinobu and maya) humbled them which started their rivalry.

shinobu and kyoko both challenge each other in song-making and songwriting to better each other because theyre the only ones who are on the same level as them in those abilities. they also just, yk, challenge each other in general i think.

so, this is the end of the d4dj yaoi/yuri post explanation! i hope u all enjoyed reading until the very end! i would like to thank all of those yuki.lisa posts i read in my free time that opened me to how crazy those girls were, my older sibling playing p2 and going insane over tatsu.jun, my older sibling playing fighting games and me checking out those stage girls!

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jasmariswonderland · 1 year

Text

Shining Hearts Chapter 16 ~ The True Fairest One

Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15

Chapter Summary: The Vocal and Dance Championship finally comes to a conclusion and the winners are announced. With plenty of heartache along with triumph. Be sure to read the A/N at the end of the chapter.

Word Count: 15843

A/N: Thank you all for your patience with me as I originally posted this chapter last week but decided to delete it and rework several passages. I am SO MUCH HAPPIER with how this chapter is now, even if the content is still hella angsty. 😭

⚠General Warning For Chapters 12-17⚠: First off, thank you for sticking around with this fic for this long. As we inch closer to the moment of the overblot and it’s aftermath, be forewarned, the final chapters of this fic are gonna get…kind of intense. And may or may not include the following: Vil being mean, Rook being tactless, canon typical violence, language, sex*al harassment, misogyny, near de*th experiences, suic*dal thoughts and very, VERY HEAVY angst.

Warnings Specific To This Chapter: IMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRY

~~~

“Winning the girls’ division of this year’s Vocal and Dance Championship, by a RECORD BREAKING landslide is…”

A loud and suspenseful drumroll held everyone’s breath, followed by a few seconds of silence before the announcer declared the winners. Danica briefly closed her eyes and held onto Taima and Ione’s hands. Across from them, Lilianne and Minette held onto each other, hearts racing as they all silently prayed for the same outcome.

Please let them win, that’s all I want! Let Dani win!

Please, please, pleeeeaaassee! Let us be victorious.

“…NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE!!!”

A thunderous roar of applause followed that was momentarily deafening. Danica was still holding her breath. When she finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was their school emblem along with her face, and those of her teammates, illuminating the jumbo screens of the coliseum. She still hadn’t comprehend what was happening and it was only when Taima and Iman threw their arms around her that it all began to sink in.

I…we…we won? We really won?!

“WE DID IT!!!” Taima cried. “YES! WE DID IT! WE REALLY DID IT!!!”

More golden confetti rained down upon them and Danica watched their reflections on the jumbo screens, tears streaming down their eyes as they were all seized with excitement and joy. Jumping up and down and holding each other as the audience cheered and shared in their euphoria.

“Night Raven Colleges girls unit, the Black Swan Quintet, is led by the phenomenal Miss Danica Ledelle,” the announcer continued. “Their powerful vocals and incredible dancing made for an amazing performance! They left the entire audience spellbound, myself included!”

“YAYYYYY!!!!” Kalim smiled and clapped his hands wildly. “Go Black Swans! You brought home the gold for NRC!”

“C'est beaute!” Rook smiled as well. “Congratulations, ladies!”

“If the Black Swans won, that makes me confident for us too!” Deuce grinned.

“It’s so awesome, they really deserve it!” Epel added. “Especially you, Danica! You’re extra-awesome! A badass black swan!”

“Thank you, Epel! Ohhh…it’s…unreal…we really won!” Danica cried happily. “I can’t believe it!”

“Believe it, Missy!” Iman smiled through joyful tears. “And don’t look so shocked, we won by a landslide!”

“The first real victory over RSA in decades,” Taima grinned. “And we did this!”

“It’s like a dream!” Vidaria added.

“The most wonderful, beautiful dream!” Ione wept happily. “One I never want to wake from!”

“Black Swan Quintet, please step forward to claim your prize!!”

Two shimmering silver trophies stood at the center podium, the announcer picked one up and handed it to Danica graciously. Several blinding camera clicks went off as she accepted the award and her teammates each took turns holding up the trophy for the eager press photographers. Danica held it a little longer than the rest of them, looking reverently at the full fruit of all of her labor. And not just hers, in her hand she held the result of all their determination and drive. Ione’s developing self esteem, Taima’s constant loyalty, Iman and Vidaria’s softening personalities, and most of all, Danica’s leadership.

Through the ups and downs, successes and setbacks, the Black Swan Quintet had conquered all that was thrown their way. And now, together, each of them would be a stronger person because of it.

“This trophy is as much yours as it is mine,” said Danica, holding it up to her teammates, tears falling down her face. “We all earned this. Thank you, you guys, for helping make this happen!”

“Yes, and thank you, Danica,” Vidaria smiled. “Thank you for putting up with us, and leading us to this amazing victory.”

The girls turned their heads to the NRC Tribe who were clapping with genuine joy for their female counterparts. And for a brief moment, Vil and Danica locked glances, his smile told her everything she needed to know and she returned it wholeheartedly.

Well done, my little potato. You’ve earned this moment, I hope you are proud of yourself.

I finally kept my promise, Vil-san! I know this wasn’t what you had in mind, but I hope you’re still pleased.

From the other side of the stage, Lilianne watched the Black Swan Quintet with not even the smallest measurement of sadness at her defeat. For her, Danica’s victory was as much hers and a much needed relief after weeks of distress. She never wanted to compete against her friends in the first place and finally, it was all over. With the victory of the NRC girls came half of her bet with Neige settled, she would not have to kiss him after all and, very soon, he would leave her alone completely.

“Thank you, girls,” Lilianne smiled at her teammates. “We put on the best show we could and thanks to Dani’s help it wasn’t a complete mess. You should all be proud.”

“But also, thank you for voting for the Black Swan Quintet,” Minette added. “I’m sure that was difficult but it was needed for Lili’s sake.”

“It wasn’t difficult at all!” said Ivy. “Their performance was amazing, my eyes were glued to them every moment they were on stage! I still would have voted for them if I were in the audience!”

“Those girls got skill,” Nadia added. “The boys too. They earned our votes, each and every one of them.”

“And it was the least we could do after Danica helped us with our routine!” Ayse smiled.

“Now, the NRC Tribe needs to win and everything will finally be right with the world!” Isabel said. “And then we can celebrate with the NRC ladies!”

The RSA Diva’s accepted their defeat with all the grace and nobility befitting their school’s mission statement, clapping and feeling a genuine sense of happiness for their rivals only in name. Meanwhile, not too far from them, Neige and his dwarf friends clapped for the Black Swan Quintet as well. Grum, one of the dwarves, softly grumbled about how they weren’t as good as the RSA Diva’s but Neige secretly disagreed. He smiled, but inside, a sharpness seized his stomach.

As disappointing as it was that he now wouldn’t be able to kiss Lilianne, he had to admit that the NRC ladies had incredible stage presence. Considering that Danica was Vil’s protégé, it only made sense as he was another that Neige felt was a performer above all others. Their victory was well deserved, he felt, but it also made him once again fearful about how he and his friends would fare.

And considering that Neige chose to vote for both NRC teams, it wouldn’t surprise him if RSA ended up fully in second place for the first time in decades. He watched Lilianne and the other RSA Divas approach the Black Swan Quintet, Lilianne shook Danica’s hand and then threw her arms around her in a public display of goodwill and friendship. It warmed his heart, but also sank it at the same time.

She looks so happy, and she’ll probably be happier when Vil wins. I wonder, if we win, will she be happy too? Will she…

“Hey, Neige!” Grum snapped at him, yanking on his sleeve. “Get your head out the clouds, will ya?! They’re about to announce the boy winners!”

Neige quickly shook himself out of his thoughts as the announcer took the mic again to continue announcing the other winners.

“Let’s hear it one more time for the Black Swan Quintet!” he said, to the continued applause of the audience. “And now, it’s the moment of truth for the boy’s! First place in the boy’s division of this year's Vocal and Dance Championship is…”

Neige, the dwarves, and the NRC Tribe all held their breaths, hearts racing as the announcer unfolded opened another envelope with the winner’s of the boys’ division folded inside. Another suspenseful drumroll preceded the fateful announcement.

“…ROYAL SWORD ACADEMY!!!”

W…WHAT?!

“The entire audience was captivated with their fairy tale performance! They warmed the hearts of everyone in the coliseum!”

The calm, kind look Vil wore as Danica and her team accepted their victory immediately melted into horror. At first, he thought he might have misheard, but as the seconds passed, he felt his hands tremble and his eyes began to burn as the realization of his worst nightmare. A nightmare originating years ago, tormenting him throughout his professional life and wreaking havoc all throughout the VDC training camp. A nightmare, a curse, that he now understood he would never be free of.

No…no…and after all we…I’ve done and it still wasn’t…no…

He had failed. Once again second best to Neige Leblanche. And worst of all, he had brought this defeat upon himself. In his unsightly display of ugliness he nearly cursed Neige and doomed his teammates. And his paranoia and cruelty to Danica forced her to become a black swan, destroying the one hope they had for victory even if everything else went up in smoke. Now once again, the world was enamored by the infantile charms of Vil’s rival, leaving him with no place except as the clear villain in this story. And in the end, villains never won, and they certainly never stood upon the stage until the end.

It didn’t matter how hard he worked, how determined he was or even that he refused to ever take the easy way out. Villains were never rewarded in real life, so why should this be any different?

At that moment, Vil wanted so badly to retreat back into the coliseum, lock himself in his dressing room and cry and lament all that was once again lost. But though this was the most recent in a string of losses to his adorable rival, it was one brought upon by his own actions. For that reason alone, Vil knew he had no right to feel anything but anger at himself. He had done this, and he had no one else but himself to blame. And yet…

Even if I momentarily contemplated the unthinkable. Even if we weren’t at our best. We were outdone by a children's song! How could we be outdone by a children's song, coupled with such lackluster stage presence? What did we do wrong? What did I do…no…no…

Neige Leblanche was the true fairest one. He always was, and he always would be regardless of whatever Vil did. This was a reality Vil accepted a long time ago. And yet…and yet…

It's always been this way! Why can’t they see?! Why won’t anyone ever acknowledge how hard I work?! I’m not a nepotism baby! I don’t coast on my looks! So why can’t they see for once everything I do to…no…no…

“Night Raven College comes in second place. They lost out to first place by only a single vote, but their vocals and moves were a tour de force! Let’s give them a round of applause as well!”

A…SINGLE VOTE?! Really?!

Danica and her teammates immediately went over to their defeated boys, each girl trying to fix her face in one befitting sympathy, but their mutual shock betrayed them. That their boys, their talented and determined boys, could really be upstaged by a performance so childish it would barely be suitable for kindergarteners. That Vil, with all of his incredible talent and drive, was still considered second best to Neige after it was clear as day how much work he put into his performance. That Neige would be rewarded for something so clearly inferior without even putting in half the work if Lilianne’s words were to be believed. And all by a single vote no less, to their mind, it should have easily been another landslide victory.

And in Vil’s eyes, Danica once again saw all the anguish and loss she had seen when she was confronted by his overblotted form. It was beyond heartbreaking, so much so that for a few frantic moments, she honestly worried that he might suffer the same affliction a second time right there on the stage. She began to open her arms, looking as if she were about to embrace him, but Vil sharply shook his head, silently telling her not to dare or even think about it. Even if his eyes begged for the tenderness she was offering.

“Oh…oh my gosh! We really got the top spot? Really?!”

“No…no…NONONONONONO!!! It can’t be!”

From the leaders of both RSA teams, came two vastly different responses to Neige’s victory. Lilianne suddenly found herself short of breath as her teammates quickly went to console her. She had been so close, so very close, all they needed was one more vote and she would finally be free. But even if she no longer had to kiss Neige, a promise was still a promise and she would be compelled to go out with him immediately after the VDC was over.

Neige was unlikely to waste any time after pressuring her for this for weeks and so it also went unsaid that her team’s plans with the Black Swan Quintet were now canceled. And Neige was unlikely to end his pursuit of Lilianne now that they were about to spend more time together.

Why?! Why did I make this bargain with him?! I was so sure Vil would win but…it’s all over now!

The one who gave Neige the winning vote, whoever they were, would never know the devastation their decision would cause Lilianne. On the other hand, they would also never realize that their decision allowed for Neige’s greatest wish to finally come true. He almost didn’t care about the prize money or even the acclaim his victory would bring to his career. For Neige, the greatest thing was that now, Lilianne would keep her end of their bargain and go out with him. Whatever fears he previously had about losing, were now nonexistent. He had wished, dreamed, hoped, and now his hopes were answered.

And surely, in time, Lilianne would come around and he would see her smile once again, at him. After all, like the fairytale princesses from the storybooks he grew up with as a child, Neige and Lilianne were brought together by song. Surely that meant she was destined to be his one true love. All he had to do now was be a little more patient and true love’s kiss was sure to follow.

She…looks kind of sad, maybe because Vi-kun lost. But it’s okay, we’ll have ice cream together soon and that will make her happy again!

“We won!” Neige beamed. “We really won!”

“Oh, pick your jaw up off the floor, Neige!” Grum snapped, but he was smiling. “Let’s go get that trophy!”

He, Neige and the six other dwarves scurried over to the podium as the announcer handed them a glittering trophy identical to the one given to Danica. Neige graciously accepted this holding the trophy in much the same way Danica held hers, with reverence and disbelief. He smiled as several photographers took pictures of Neige with his prize but Grum soon snatched it from him, wanting to hold it for himself. Another of the dwarves snatched it from Grum and soon enough they were all loudly squabbling among themselves over who could hold the trophy next. Neige tried to calm them down but they wouldn’t listen and ended up dropping the trophy in the process.

The audience seemed enamoured by this but the NRC performers watched with equal parts astoundment and disgust. They couldn’t even accept their victory with integrity.

The winning teams were then called to give an encore performance of their songs, Danica and her teammates began to step forward but in their excitement, the dwarves all began singing over them. The audience’s response to this was once again endearing and the cheerful melody of their song began to play. Neige took the mic and began singing with them, completely ignoring that Danica had also won and was called to sing as well.

But his obliviousness was just as well as in truth, neither Danica nor any of the Black Swans were up to singing after watching their boys get robbed, as they felt it to be. As Neige and his friends continued to sing, the RSA Divas approached the NRC performers, with Danica wrapping her arms around Lilianne again as the latter tried her best to hold back her tears.

“It’s not fair!” Lilianne whimpered, her voice breaking. “Their song sucked! I don’t want to date him!”

“I know, I know, Lili. It’s alright,” Danica tried to comfort her, despite feeling quite the opposite. “I know you’re disappointed, so am I, but keep your head up,”

“PLEASE tell me we’re being trolled!” Taima shook her head. “Someone say sike right now cause this ain’t funny!”

“How the hell could this happen?!” Vidaria snapped. “This is an outrage!”

“I would be inclined to agree with you, Your Highness,” Ayse sighed. “This is pretty cruddy.”

“Maaaaaaan, just one vote!” Ace sulked. “We were so close!”

“RIGHT?!” Iman gritted her teeth. “To think! Some idiot really saw Jamil’s moves and thought ‘no, lemme give it to Neige and his seven little clowns, I trust them!’ I demand a recount!”

“Yeah a recount might be in order, methinks,” replied Taima.

“No, guys. Rule 445 of the Queen of Hearts states that all votes are final once the people have spoken,” Ione sighed. “Regardless of how idiotic their opinions are.”

“If it’s any consolation, we all voted for you guys,” said Isabel.

“And after we worked so hard,” Epel sighed, a few tears running down his face.

“Nooooooo,” tears formed in Kalim’s eyes that he tried to repress, but his intense disappointment was too much for him and he loudly began weeping. “I’m trying to hold back but… it buuurrrnsss…it burns so baaaadddd…”

“Oh, Kalim…” Seeing her normally jovial clubmate so forlorn was enough for Danica to temporarily forget herself as she was also betrayed to tears. “I know it burns…it…you guys were so good, I’m so sorry!”

“ENOUGH OF THIS!” Vil barked. “You’re all still on stage, stop with this pitiful display at once! Especially you, Danica! Your team was victorious so act accordingly!”

“Vil-san…but…”

“No buts! As for you boys, stand tall and don’t forget to give our rivals a sporting round of applause.”

“Y…yes, Sir…”

Danica had to commend Vil for his ability to remain calm and poised in such a painful moment. She realized at once that she had underestimated him to think he might now overblot again and managed to smile at him in spite of what they were both surely feeling at that moment. Yet he appeared as he always did, not giving even the slightest hint at his anger, though she was certain she saw tears in his eyes.

“It’s not fair, but he’s so calm,” Lilianne whispered to her. “And this is why I admire him so much.”

“He is pretty calm, almost too calm,” Danica replied, and then said to Vil, “It couldn’t be me, but I guess you’re used to this by now. Right, Vil-san?”

“Heh, heh. Calm? Used to it?” Vil chuckled, but there was no laughter in his tone nor gaze. More tears formed at the corner of his eyes that he quickly blinked away. Replaced with fiery rage. “OF COURSE I’M NOT!”

“Vil-san!”

“I want to walk over there and kick all those boys right off the stage!”

At this, Vil’s fellow NRC performers stared at him and he took a deep breath as he felt the tears burn past his eyes. His sorrow was as shocking to him as it was for them but he couldn’t do this. Villains had no right to cry, he knew this, knew it all too well. But he couldn’t help it, regardless of everything else, their performance was still so poor. How could this happen?

“Someone knock me out before I unleash a tirade of verbal abuse that will mince them to shreds!”

Danica bit back a small giggle. As unprofessional as such would be, at that moment, she couldn’t help but want to see something like that more than anything in the world.

“Ah Roi du Poison, I hope you can forgive me,” Rook sighed. “But I’m afraid the one more deserving of your ire is me.”

“What?” Vil momentarily forgot his anger long enough to look curiously at Rook. “What do you mean? You’re the one most deserving of my ire?”

“Rook…” Danica looked at him as well. “What do you…you didn’t, did you…surely…”

Sadly for her, Rook then held up his phone to them, confirming the worst. On the screen was his VDC vote for the best boys’ team, a vote for Royal Sword Academy. Rook had given the deciding vote and in doing so, had betrayed not only Vil but his teammates as well. Rook gave a wistful smile but Vil was speechless and whatever resolve he had to remain calm quickly vanished.

“N…no…Rook…”

Vil’s tears now flowed freely down his face, coupled with very visible shaking in his hands. A whirlwind of emotions all seized him at once but, interestingly enough, none of them were rage. Rather than feeling angry at his faithless dorm leader, Vil felt devastated.

“How…how could you?!”

“Whoa! Vil, hold it together!” Kalim and Jamil quickly went to hold Vil up as he appeared close to collapsing. Both of them were as baffled as he.

“ROOK ARE YOU NUTS?!” shouted Ace. “Why would you vote for RSA?!”

“NRC Tribe could have won if you had voted for them!” Danica cried. “Why, Rook?! WHY?!”

“Wh…what?!”

Ace and Danica’s voices were loud enough to be in the hearing range of the RSA Divas. Minette and Isabel saw as Vil’s face crumbled and then looked at the source of that anguish. The very same who accosted them earlier, the reason why none of them felt safe in the coliseum. It wasn’t enough for him to make unwelcome advances on them, Rook had now doomed their team leader to a date she didn’t want to go on and probably months of continued advances she would be hard pressed to refuse. They both glared at him with poison that could rival any crafted by Vil.

“WHAT?!” Ayse shouted. “Vil-san lost because of him?! And now Lili has to go on that date because of HIM?!”

“Why?! WHY?! What could possibly be his reasoning?!” added Athena.

Rook then went into an impassioned speech regarding his vote. Despite all that he and his teammates had gone through, he felt that Neige and his friends sang with all their hearts and believed in themselves. For that reason alone, he found their performance superior to Vil’s. Rook believed Vil lacked the confidence to give a truly beautiful performance, and his lack of confidence made Neige superior by comparison.

He said this, but would never know how Neige’s heart raced with worry as he beheld theirs, prompting him to give NRC Tribe his own vote.

“Rook, you honestly felt they outperformed you and the rest of NRC Tribe?!” Danica asked, biting back more tears. “You really think that?!”

“Oui!” Rook smiled. “Seeing them together on stage, they struck me as powerful. The fairest of all in that moment!”

“Powerful…” Danica quickly found herself becoming dizzy, so much so that Taima and Ione went to her in case she also needed to be kept upright. “Powerful…but…we were powerful too. Why…what power could you see when…”

“Rook…” Vil sniffed, looking more defeated than ever. “Rook…”

“Vil, nobody should believe in your beauty more than yourself,” said Rook. “It is most becoming, the way you maintain such self restraint while polishing yourself over your rival. But no amount of validation from the rest of the world will ever leave you fulfilled.” He smiled again. “At this moment you are truly the fairest one of all.”

“But…no…I’m…not…”

“Roi du Poison, fairest Vil, I implore you to believe in yourself more. The strength and pride to believe in yourself is what marks the true fairest one of all.”

“No…”

For once, Vil was at a loss for words, his head hung with sorrow as tried to comprehend what Rook was saying to him. But he couldn’t for the life of him. He was confident in his performance, he had believed in himself and they had all done their best. But it still wasn’t enough in the end, even for Rook. Why should Vil feel any confidence when it would always be this way? When he would always be seen as something he wasn’t? When he couldn’t even convince the one closest to him of his beauty?

Any confidence in that case would only be considered arrogance. It was easier for Vil to concede that he would never be the fairest one of all. He knew it, Danica knew it, the entire world knew it, and it was now clear Rook knew it as well.

“Poor Vil,” the RSA Divas were still watching this exchange but the longer they stood there listening, the more incensed they all became. Minette in particular couldn’t believe what she was hearing and before she knew it, a tight fist was forming in her hand. “But Vil…his team…they were so…UGHHH WHAT IS HIS DEAL?!”

“Hell no, I ain’t going for this,” Isabel began walking over to Rook with Minette following behind her. “Screw being nice, retribution is called for!”

“Stop it, you guys!” Lilianne placed herself in front of her teammates before they could do anything unwise, though her eyes remained on Rook. “I won’t have either of you starting something you can’t finish!”

“I don’t start fights Lili, I finish them!” Minette sharply replied. “You know that!”

“I won’t have you finishing anything either!” Lilianne pushed a little harder upon her teammates. “Neither of you are getting in trouble because of him! Calm down, you and Isabel are both better than this!”

“But Lili…”

“You both are better than this…but…” she pushed her friends back, rage burning in her eyes. “BUT I’M NOT! LET ME DO IT!”

“No! You stop too!" Despite all the feelings crushing upon Danica’s heart, she could see her friend was close to doing something she would regret. She hugged Lilianne even as Lilianne began to cry and struggled against her.“Lili, I know you’re hurt, but please think! You don’t want to do this!”

“YES I DO!” She continued pushing violently against Danica, thrashing and crying and wanting nothing more than to tear Rook apart. “Let me go, Dani! It’s not right and you know it!”

“I know it’s not fair, trust me I know!” Danica gently pushed her back once she stopped struggling and she was sure she wouldn’t go after Rook. “None of this is fair, but life often isn’t fair…” She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth through more tears. “Life isn’t fair, that’s…something Vil-san has always said to me.

“Dani…”

“Everyone is still watching us so you’ve gotta calm down, Lili. And you’ve gotta smile. We all have to.”

Danica said this, and she did indeed smile for good measure, even if it galled her to do so. The other Black Swans smiled as well to be sure. It was all too much for Lilianne and she returned Danica’s embrace, burying her face in her neck as she continued crying. Danica gently rubbed her back, soothing her and managing to forget her own devastation long enough to be a comfort to her friend. Giving her the comfort she couldn’t give to Vil. Taima soon joined in on the hug and Minette did as well. Meanwhile Vil and the rest of NRC Tribe continued to stare at their traitorous teammate, who in turn continued watching Neige and his friends sing without a care in the world. Completely oblivious to the turmoil he had caused.

When the song was over, Neige waved to the enchanted audience and then went over to the other side of the stage where the other performers were standing. It was his intention to congratulate the Black Swan Quintet and show his trophy to Lilianne, a symbol of their developing romance in his mind. But he was immediately caught off guard at the sight of Vil.

“Vi!” he gasped. “I’ve…never seen you cry outside of an acting role before…”

“Well, you caught me at a bad time,” Vil replied amiably. “Heh, I’m…always second best to you…”

Even with tears in his eyes, Vil managed to smile at Neige. His rival and the catalyst for everything wrong and cruel in his world, a symbol of everything he wasn’t and never would be. He smiled as though his heart wasn’t shattered in the slightest. A testament to his professionalism, Danica thought.

“Maybe that’s what the numbers said,” Neige smiled. “But your group is number one in the hearts of everybody who voted for you.” And mine…you were number one in my heart too…

“Roi des Neiges is right,” Rook chuckled. “Your smile is far more becoming than your tears, Vil.”

“Yeah! So smile, Vi-kun! You still gave a performance no one else could pull off!”

That’s easy for you to say, you’ll always be number one! Danica bit down on her tongue, hard enough to draw blood. She glared at Neige and Taima took her hand in case she were to do something impulsive. But just when they thought things were terrible enough, things were about to take another turn in the worst way imaginable.

“Hey, you’re the one who hailed me down earlier!” Neige said to Rook, a large smile blooming on his face. “You’re ‘R’ aren’t you? The one who comes to all of my fan meets and writes all me all of those letters?”

“Ah…pardon?!”

“What?!” Danica and Vil looked at Rook with sudden shock and Danica added, “Rook! Do you…know Neige Leblanche?”

Before Rook could say anything further, Neige continued, exposing his devoted fan to his bewildered teammates.

“There’s only one fan of mine who writes me letters addressing me as Roi des Neiges. And I knew R buys each of my photos at fan events and composes poems to share their impression of each picture…”

“FAN EVENTS?!” Ace gasped.

“And…PHOTOS?!” added Epel. “Rook is a fan of Neige Leblanche?!”

“OHHH SO THAT’S WHY YOU WENT ROGUE!” Iman scoffed.

“Wait a minute, what about that heavy photo album you brought with you to the training camp,” Jamil thought aloud before his face was also betrayed into shock. “Wait…was that ENTIRE album nothing but photos of Neige Leblanche?!”

“The photo album he didn’t want any of us looking at?! So…that means…

Taima’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped, not just with surprise but also guilt. She was so convinced that the album was full of photos of Danica, a thought she had led Danica to believe. But just like her belief of Rook’s feelings for her, turned out not to be the case. The other boys suggested Rook approach Neige for an autograph, which he did with some surprising hesitation before he actually began weeping, to the further bewilderment of his teammates.

“Heh, feeling awkward aren’t we, Rook?” Vil smirked, allowing himself to take back a small amount of power in this situation.

Rook did not hear him, he was too busy addressing Neige in the way he wished he could earlier when he stopped him from coming under Vil’s poisoned curse. A vision of tender perfection set against Vil’s intense regality. Not only was Rook a fan of Neige Leblanche, he was apparently also a member of his fan club and had a membership number in the single digits, meaning he had to have been following Neige’s work for a very long time. Long before coming to NRC and long before meeting Vil.

But for Danica, none of this mattered. What was most heartbreaking to her wasn’t that Rook had betrayed Vil or even that he was a fan of Neige. It was the way Rook looked at Neige as he was shaking his hand. And the words Rook spoke to him that hit a little too close to home for her.

“Roi des Neiges, Neige Leblanche, your work has shone a light upon my life and allowed me to live with hope in my heart,” Rook smiled through his tears. “You truly are an angel walking among mortals and your work holds a very special place in my heart, stirring it in ways I cannot describe.”

She saw in Rook’s eyes the very same he often had when gazing at her, whenever they were alone. It was a look she had seen him give to Athena earlier that day, to Minette when he cornered her and Isabel in the hallway, and now a look he was giving to Vil’s the source of all Vil’s anguish. Did Rook even realize what he was saying? How he had used these exact words with Danica and how much they meant to her? She doubted it more than ever.

You stir my heart in a way I cannot describe…you are an angel walking among mortals, cherie…you are very special to me…

Rook…why…this is a nightmare…I thought…no…THIS IS A NIGHTMARE AND I CAN’T WAKE UP!!!

“To add to everything else, he’s also a Neige-stan!” Now it was Lilianne’s turn to comfort Danica as she and the other RSA Divas crowded around her, shielding her from view so none could see her cry. “Are you SURE I can’t beat his ass?!”

“No, Lili!” Athena shook her head. “You know you can’t, regardless of how deserving he is of such.”

“That horrid beast!” Vidaria murmured, taking Danica’s hand while Taima held the other. “Danica, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Taima whispered. “I was so sure…so sure that…”

“So was I…” Danica replied, lowering her head with sadness. “So was I, but that goes to show what an idiot I was to believe he really liked me. After all,” she sighed. “A black swan can never stand by the side of a prince.”

“That might make sense,” said Ione. “IF Rook was ACTUALLY a prince!”

“Both he and Vil hurt you,” Iman added. “But at least we won in the end despite Vil’s bitching! Rook on the other hand…ugh!!!”

The girls from both teams stood together in mutual comfort of the heartbroken Danica and somehow, Danica managed to dry her eyes long enough to remember that the world was still watching and she had to put on a fitting face. And it was just as well because a member of the press soon approached them, looking to take a picture of both winning team leaders with their trophies. Danica quickly fixed her face with help from her teammates and reluctantly stood beside Neige as they were both photographed.

“You were so great, Dani-chan!” Neige smiled at her. “Congratulations!”

“I told you to call me Danica!” Danica sharply replied, though the smile she wore gave no indication of her contempt. Her smile was such that it even fooled Vil and Rook gently nudged his arm.

“Lovely, aren’t they?” he smiled. “Roi de Neiges and our parfait petit cygne. A storybook prince and his très élégant princesse. Such a beautiful image they make together. Don’t you think so, Vil?”

Vil didn’t respond with words, but nodded sadly. He was trying both to dissociate and remain alert at the same time, but seeing Danica at Neige’s side wasn’t helping. Rook was correct, they were lovely together. From the commercial they shot for Danica’s family to now, they were the perfect image of fairy tale perfection. Far more an ideal than any farce he attempted to create with her. And such a beautiful jewel was worthy only of the fairest one of all, the complete opposite of all that Vil was.

But as soon as the photos were taken, Danica made a point of turning her back on Neige and running back to her teammates. Unfortunately for her, this nightmare wasn’t yet over as Neige then suggested that they all sing together. Of course they wouldn’t be singing Guilty Heart. He and his dwarf friends began singing and Vil gave them all a look that told them that they should join in.

And from the way Vil sang, one would never guess how much he was dying inside. Clearly Rook didn’t either as he loudly mused about how beautiful it was to see Vil and Neige together. Neige then grabbed Lilianne’s arm and encouraged her to sing along with them. For the sake of peace, she did so, but she made a point of yanking her arm away from Neige to sing at Epel’s side instead. Ace, Deuce and Jamil sang awkwardly, and even Kalim found it difficult to sound cheerful. Rook on the other hand was enjoying every moment of this.

Danica and her teammates sang along as well, with joyful smiles on their faces that gave not a single inkling to how they were truly feeling. They had won after all, the first victory against RSA in decades and the beginning of what would surely be a bright future for them. Danica and Taima had often thought about reviving their idol club at NRC, bringing on new talent and developing their talent to better fit this new stage in their lives. And considering this victory, and the fact that each of the girls was likely to give their portion of the prize money back to the school as charity, Crowley was sure to grant them this.

All things considered, they had every reason to be happy. And yet all Danica could think of as she sang this childish song was the look in her dorm leader’s eyes. The tears in the corner of his eyes juxtaposed by his cheerful smile. Vil truly was an incredible actor, more than ready to be a hero. And Rook’s kindness had given Danica the confidence to persevere even when Vil was being critical to her. He would never realize how much his actions that day had hurt not just Vil but her as well. Making everything sting all the more.

~~~

Before leaving the coliseum and the training camp for the last time, Vil made it clear to the girls that he didn’t want them spreading any gossip about the VDC results. To his mind, he was wholly responsible for Rook’s decision and his lack of beauty was the reason Rook chose to do what he did. He did not want to see his vice dorm leader come under fire for something that was his fault, even if Vil had nothing to do with how Rook had led Danica on.

And as expected, Neige wasted no time asking Lilianne out on their ice cream date. She had no choice but to accept this but that also meant that she wouldn’t be hanging out with Taima and their family after all, nor would there be any celebration at Ramshackle. Instead, all of the NRC performers returned to their own dorm that evening, each with varying emotions.

Despite Vil ordering the Black Swan Quintet not to bring up the VDC results to others, Danica considered Rook’s betrayal a Pomefiore affair and saw no issue in telling others in their dorm. She took it upon herself to release all of her pinned up frustrations and rage in a magicam group chat which was reserved only for Pomefiore students sans the dorm leaders. By the time she, Vil, Epel and Rook returned to the dorm that evening, several Pomefiore students were already aware of why NRC were once again second best to RSA, resulting in some rather awkward tension as those sitting in the lounge both applauded Danica’s victory but stared at Vil and Rook with great uneasiness.

Vil went off down the hallway by himself, Epel decided he needed time alone and went to his room. But Danica and Rook stayed behind for a few moments. Sidonie was actually sitting in the lounge and was the first to greet Danica when she walked in. This was the first time either girl had seen each other since the older one left the training camp and despite all that happened, Danica was glad to see her.

“You were wonderful, my dear!” Sidonie smiled, hugging her tight. “Farron, Savvy, Maxim and I were watching from the front and we loved every minute of it!”

“Thank you, Sidonie,” Danica returned her hug. “And we won too! I just wish…” hesitantly, “I wish you could have stayed with us until the end.”

“I know, I know, but I’m so proud of you, Danica. You stuck to your beliefs even when it meant defying our dorm leader,” Sidonie pulled back from the embrace to smile at her. “I hope you’re proud of yourself too, because you were amazing.”

“Yes, she was,” Rook came up behind them. He smiled, though his voice lacked its usual jovial tone. “Even as a black swan, our petit cygne is indeed amazing.”

Danica turned to glare at him, not at all taken with his flattery, if that was even what it was. Sidonie found his statement somewhat uncalled for but she didn’t say anything just yet. She realized that Danica’s eyes were puffy and red.

“Did…something happen?”

This was a question not exactly directed at either of them as she already was aware of most that had transpired in the coliseum, minus Vil’s overblot. Sidonie was hoping that Danica would confide more to her now that the VDC was over as her messages in their group chat contained more anger than actual information. She was even half hoping Rook might admit to more of what happened. But he remained behind them with silence that was strangely out of character for him.

“Dani, what’s wrong?” Sidonie asked again. “You won. Shouldn’t you be…”

“I’m sorry…” Danica pulled away from Sidonie before her tears could overtake her again in front of others. “I…it’s just been a long day. And I…I need some time to decompress. I’m going to my room, excuse me, Sidonie-san…”

~~~

Danica ran down the hallway, not realizing that Rook and Sidonie both took it upon themselves to follow behind her. Initially it was her intention to go back to her room for some much needed rest and to think about the events of that day in a quiet place. But as she made her way down the hall, she saw Vil, standing outside the entrance to the ballroom. He was not aware of Danica watching him and slowly opened the door and went in. Immediately she thought about following behind him, there were so many things she needed to talk to him about, and now back in their dorm, without the rest of the world watching, she could finally do so.

“Danica, Mademoiselle Chanteuse, please wait up!”

She clenched her teeth at the sound of Rook’s voice behind her, the last person in all Twisted Wonderland that she wanted to see at that moment. Vil disappeared into the ballroom, shutting the door and leaving Danica alone in the hallway with Rook approaching her and Sidonie following behind him. His smile told her that he was still completely oblivious to the hurt he had caused everyone, especially to her. In fact, he seemed somewhat confused by her dejected expression, expecting her to still be on cloud nine after winning the VDC despite going against what both he and Vil thought was best for her. She should have been happy, and with that thought, Rook felt it was time to finally get an answer to something he had been wondering for several hours now.

“What is it, Rook-san?” Danica asked blankly. “I’m very tired, I want to rest.”

“I understand your exhaustion, cherie,” he replied. “But before you retire…”

“Do you really understand?!” She turned around, letting him fully see the angry face. “If you understood, you’d leave me alone! I don’t want to talk now!”

“Very well, but please, will you allow me one question before you return to your room?”

She turned herself fully around to face him, giving an exasperated sigh. “Fine! Just one question! What do you want to ask me.”

Rook hesitated before allowing himself to take a few steps closer to Danica, not noticing at all how she took one step back for every step he made towards her. He reached his hand out to her but she recoiled, a gesture that made a mockery of tenderness and a reminder of how terribly he had deceived her.

“Do you recall what we were discussing?” he asked. “Right before everything happened.”

“Hmm?”

Danica thought for a moment. In truth, everything before she lost consciousness was something of a blur to her. She closed her eyes but for a while all she could recall was confronting Vil before his overblot. Danica tried searching her mind for anything beyond that, and that’s when it hit her. She and Rook were indeed discussing something, and the recollection of that conversation was the last thing she needed at that moment for her state of mind. She scoffed at Rook and began to turn around before he moved closer to her.

“I remember!” she snapped. “I remember everything! And to answer your question, well, you’ve answered it yourself already!”

“What do you mean?”

“I asked what it would mean if we became lovers, and you answered me the entire fucking day with your behaviour!” Her heart ached with every painful memory of that day, returning to her in swift succession as she spoke. “The way you were flirting with Athena, the way you assaulted Minette, and the way you put Neige above both me and Vil!” She lowered her head as she felt her face becoming hot with her rage, fists formed in both of her hands and she had to turn her back to Rook again, biting on them. “HOW CAN I STILL WANT SUCH A PERSON AS MY LOVER?!”

“What?”

Sidonie had caught up to them just in time to hear the last part of Danica’s brief tirade. At this her mind returned to that day back during the training camp when she came across Rook’s secret album. And later that day when Danica messaged her about what happened to cause NRC Tribe to lose. Even if she was well aware of the album for weeks prior, something in Sidonie still wanted to believe that Rook wouldn’t be so careless to go against their school, their dorm, and her friend in such a way. But the heartbroken look in Danica’s eyes told her all she needed to know.

“Rook! How…could you?!”

“I do not understand, mademoiselle,” Rook shook her head. “I put no one above you or Vil! My adoration for Neige is something different entirely! And even if I did, why should it matter?”

“Why should it matter? WHY SHOULD IT MATTER?!” Danica banged her fists against the wall. “Rook! For all you claim to know about Vil-san, for all you pay attention to regarding him, you really have no idea how much winning the VDC would have meant to him, do you?! How much it would have meant to all of us! And for all your adoration of me, do you honestly think I’d still want to kiss a man who grabbed my best friends’ tail?! How can you be so dense?!”

“I’m sorry, WHAT?!” Sidonie’s eyes widened. “What the hell has been happening since I dropped out the training camp?!”

“Oh, I could write a book about it all, Sidonie-san!” Danica sharply replied.

“What is there to be dense about?” Rook asked in an infuriatingly calm manner. “I chose to vote for Neige and his team not because of some prior preference I have for him over Vil, but because I felt his performance was far more beautiful than ours!”

“That doesn’t make any sense! Make it make sense to me, Rook! Cause I really do want to understand your logic!” Danica bit back more tears. “After…all you’ve told me about beauty, what makes someone beautiful…I want to understand. I don’t want to believe you were just…just…”

Were you being insincere to me the entire time? Do I really mean so little to you?

“Mademoiselle, even with their errors, their song, their movements, came from a place of purity and not caring about anything but making the audience happy,” Rook smiled. “That is where their power lay. That is why I gave them my vote.”

“Power…”

Danica murmured, looking down at the sleek black stage costume she was still wearing, something that she always felt gave her power as well. Though clearly what she felt was different from what Rook was describing. The power she felt indeed came from her desire to captivate her audience, but there was always something deeper to what she felt and she knew it. Rook knew it too and in that moment, she began to wrap her arms around herself, shielding herself from the shame she could feel brewing in her chest.

“And…what about…us? And what about the other boys? Do you honestly think we lacked the power to win?”

Rook sighed. “I’m afraid so, cherie. In my humble opinion, neither NRC team could match the pure wholesomeness of Neige Leblanche or the RSA Divas. And because of that, Vil couldn’t possibly have the confidence to…”

“WELL HOW THE HELL COULD HE BE WHEN HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE CONFIDENCE OF HIS RIGHT HAND MAN?! HOW CAN ANY OF US HAVE CONFIDENCE WHEN YOURE SO FUCKING FICKLE THAT…”

“Danica!” Sidonie gasped, having never seen her friend like this. “I know you’re upset, but could you please…”

“NO! NO I WON’T I WON’T LOWER MY VOICE!” Danica cried. “I’VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR TOO LONG AND FOR WHAT?! IF SHOUTING IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE HEARD THEN SO BE IT!”

Sidonie sighed, she was certainly right about not feeling heard. Perhaps Danica’s rage was as much her frustration at all Vil had subjected her to over the last month as it was heartbreak where Rook was concerned. And perhaps after she allowed herself to fully give herself over to her anger, could she finally know peace.

“Maybe approval from the rest of the world won’t give long lasting validation,” Danica went on. “But sometimes, when people are confused and hurt, they need to be told that they are enough. They need to know they are loved and that they are beautiful!” Tears now streamed freely down her eyes. “We all saw first hand how deep Vil’s anguish lies and you had the perfect moment to validate him and what did you do?! After hearing Vil scream and cry about how hideous he is, you humiliated him in front of his rival and then want to wonder why he isn’t more confident!”

“Enough, mademoiselle!” Rook had taken all of this with calm understanding for the most part. But the longer Danica spoke, the more he felt himself being given over to emotions he neither wanted nor felt he could handle. “Vil’s turmoil is his alone and it’s not my place to believe I could help pull him out of it. I chose to vote for Neige as my way of showing Vil the direction he needs to be upon if he wishes to succeed in the future.”

“That may be so, but it also wasn’t your place to teach him that lesson, Rook,’ replied Danica. “You can’t say it’s not your place to step in to help Vil but then decide it is your place to teach him a lesson he probably already knew!”

“That…does seem a tad hypocritical,” Sidonie admitted.

“Well who is to say we would have still lost had Vil not…”

“ROOK!” Danica snapped, Sidonie was still standing with them and she did not yet want her to know about Vil’s overblot. Rook seemed to understand this at least, even if he still did not understand everything else. He sighed, perhaps a more personal approach would help her understand his perspective and why he felt it to be the right one.

“In the end, mademoiselle, Vil’s pursuit of beauty led him down the path of madness and his inability to be confident in his performance is why I voted for Neige,” Rook said. “It is a lesson you yourself could stand to learn as well, Danica.”

“What do you mean by that?!”

“If you had more confidence in yourself, it wouldn’t matter if your family continues to compare you to your sister. And your anguish at trying to live up to her legacy would not be so severe. After all, do you think a dancer as radiant as Fiona Ledelle had any care about what the world thought of her?”

“You…you…”

“Rook…what the…why would you say…”

Even Sidonie was taken aback by this and placed a comforting hand on Danica’s shoulder. But Danica did not feel it or take notice of anything after Rook’s words. No, he didn’t understand, and he never would. And the mention of Fiona was enough to have Danica seeing red.

That he could make such a careless comment spoke volumes of how little he understood about the girl he claimed to adore. And how little he cared about how deeply such a comment would hurt her. Even as Danica closed her eyes, the entire room was spinning with an array of dark thoughts and emotions assaulting her mind at once. And when she opened them, there she saw the source of them all. The one she had foolishly given her heart to. Only to have it thrown back into her face with his fickle apathy. Sidonie tried to get her attention one more time but she was blind to her, and blind to everything else besides her anger at Rook. Everything else went black.

“You…you know nothing…” she muttered. “And don’t you dare…”

“Pardon?”

“DON’T YOU DARE BRING UP FIONA!!!”

From his place in the ballroom, Vil had heard everything that led up to that moment. Despite finding Danica’s volume grating, he did not have it in him at that moment to go out to the hallway to stop her. He knew she was upset and unlike him, Danica was allowed to be upset at Rook. Vil was tired, he was frustrated, and he knew she was likely frustrated as well as he had been anything but easy on her. A part of him was still upset with Rook himself even if he knew it wasn’t his right. For those reasons alone he was willing to allow Danica to release her anger while he sat alone in the ballroom, his own dark thoughts barely managing to drown out all the screaming.

But the proceeding loud cracking sound followed by a high pitched shriek from Sidonie was enough to fully catch Vil’s attention. Both sounds loudly echoed throughout the hallways and half out of curiosity and half out of annoyance, he finally, very reluctantly, left his solitude. And what Vil came upon when he found Rook, Danica and Sidonie together shocked him even more than the initial argument. He actually gasped out and stopped short of making himself known.

Did…she…just…?

Sidonie’s response was what immediately brought Danica back to reality and the first thing she saw was the large red wilt she had harshly imprinted on Rook’s face. He stared blankly at her, so completely baffled that there was no room in his heart to be angry or even to feel hurt as his cheek stung from the force of the smack.

Rook only stared at Danica, heavily breathing with a fire in her eyes he never expected to see in one normally so docile and serene. It was as though the girl in front of him now wasn’t Danica at all, not the Danica he was enraptured with, but someone else entirely. Someone vicious, someone intense, with passion beyond her years. He found it strangely enchanting but, more than anything, he found it terrifying.

“Danica…what…what has happened to you?” was all he could ask, and even then, Rook was unsure what else to say to her, or even if anything he could say could possibly get through to her. “This isn't you. What happened to our parfait petit cygne? What happened to the sweet girl that we all…”

“Sweet girl?! SWEET GIRL?!” Danica began laughing frantically. “First of all, keep my sister’s name out of this! Second of all, nothing has happened! That sweet girl? SHE’S GONE! She’s never coming back and it’s all your fault! And lastly, for all your talk about beauty, you really don’t seem to understand it as well as you think!”

She stepped forward and for the first time since knowing her, Rook found himself stepping back from her. Retreating from the black swan that had taken over the girl he adored. Vil on the other hand, continued to watch from a corner in the hallway, intrigued by this new side of Danica previously unknown to him.

He certainly felt her anger was uncalled for, and far from befitting a Pomefiore student. But at the same time, Vil felt that Rook had no business bringing up Fiona and there was something almost riveting in the way Danica expressed her rage. And all in defense of him no less.

I don’t need you to defend me. And I certainly don’t need you sticking up for such an inferior performance. I hurt you and Neige still did better than us. So why…why…?

Besides his father, he had never once known someone to advocate so fiercely for him and it was enough for Vil to find himself strangely taken with her at that moment and, stranger still, curious as to what she would say next.

“You think Vil’s performance wasn’t as beautiful as Neige’s, well do you want to know what I think is beautiful? That in spite of all the agony he has gone through, despite going through probably the darkest moment of his life, Vil was still able to stand upon the stage until the end and give the best performance he could! Perseverance against all odds, against a world that hates him!”

“Oh, Danica,” Sidonie went over to Danica, trying to comfort her but she wouldn’t have it. She actually pushed Sidonie away as she continued her tirade.

“THAT is what truly makes Vil the fairest one of all! THAT IS WHAT MAKES HIM MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN NEIGE!”

No…oh no…she’s…right…no…

Vil was afraid of something like this and soon felt his heart begin to race. Danica had made a perfectly valid point and it was enough to make Vil briefly resent his vice dorm leader if a freshman could see what he clearly couldn’t. He quickly pinched himself, reminding himself that what he was feeling was objectively wrong. And yet…and yet…

“Even if he wasn’t feeling confident, he was still able to set all of that aside for the good of his team!” Danica went on. “It’s easy to be beautiful when everything is going right in your world, but if you ask me, being able to present yourself to the world with a smile on your face even when it's not easy, even when you're struggling and your heart is breaking, is the most beautiful thing someone can do!”

No…no…SHE’S RIGHT! Vil gritted his teeth. I worked so hard on Absolutely Beautiful, even composed the music myself as well as the lyrics! We all worked hard and stood on the stage together, and for what?! To be outplayed by such childish tactics!

Vil was wrong for briefly giving himself over to his frustration, and he was wrong in his desire to use Danica to manipulate the audience. But in the end, Vil remained true to his principles and for the most part, he never once considered taking the easy way out. Neige would never know what it was like to have the world have preconceived notions of him before ever knowing him. He would never know the anguish of being a villain and knowing people hated him for no other reason besides being beautiful and remarkable. And Neige would certainly never know the lewd objectification Danica had been subjected to.

It’s always been this way! Since we were children! I was never adored! Never given a chance! WHEN WILL MY CHANCE COME?!

Even if the world was an unfair place, it didn’t mean Vil had to accept it. He was swiftly beginning to see Rook in a different light and he didn’t know whether to respect Danica for her insight or hate her for it.

“Do you want to know what your problem is, Rook? Your ideas of beauty are based upon fantasy, upon everything being perfect and pure despite reality being the complete opposite. You were so caught up in how wholesome Neige was on stage you couldn't see how thoroughly inferior they were! And for what?! What struggles has Neige ever had, huh?! Really?!”

“Neige HAS had his own struggles!” Rook responded, rather sharply. “Vil knows that as well as anyone who pays attention to him on a deeper level! You are clouded by your resentment of him that YOU can’t see all the hard work he put in and the obstacles he had to overcome! Both you and Vil were born with many blessings Neige was not afforded so…”

“So Neige deserved to win because he came from a less fortunate background?” asked Danica. “Not because he’s more talented than Vil, but because…”

“And yet despite all his struggles, Neige continues to strive to be the best version of himself, greeting everyone he encounters with a smile.” Rook folded his arms and, still unaware of Vil’s presence, continued, “That is why he is able to move others in a way Vil cannot. What about Vil? He couldn’t even handle that there might be one fairer than he, and you see what happened…”

You see what happened…

This statement hit Vil like a truck because of course, it was true. After seeing how well received Neige was, he couldn’t handle that NRC Tribe was likely to lose. He couldn’t handle it and in a moment of blind rage, nearly cursed him with the aftermath nearly costing Danica’s life.

A poison derived from an obsession with beauty bordering on madness…

YOU KILLED HER! YOU’LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH SHE CARED ABOUT YOU! SHE LOVED YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY HER?!

“Vil obsession with defeating Neige drove him to madness. He couldn’t handle the madness and that’s why I chose to vote against him.”

Once again, Rook was holding up a mirror, revealing the monster Vil truly was. No. It didn’t matter how hard he worked, it didn’t matter if Neige’s performance was objectively worse. At least Neige’s heart was pure, and it remained pure in spite of all of his aforementioned hardships. He would never think to poison a rival performer and he would never behave in such an undignified manner when things weren’t going his way.

“How can anyone be so mean? He must be pretty messed up.”

“He’s probably just as twisted in his private life.”

“He can never pull off being a hero.”

No. Danica was wrong, she was naive and couldn’t see Vil for the monster he truly was. He had heard enough, he could no longer stand by and listen to how she wrongfully berated his vice dorm leader. When all Rook was ever guilty of was seeing beauty in everything, almost to a fault, and being the only person in Vil’s life willing to be honest with him. He left his corner, walking over to the three as Danica began crying again.

“You still don’t understand, I don’t know why I’m wasting my breath!” she said. “You know nothing about beauty and nothing about..”

“THAT’S ENOUGH DANICA!”

Vil walked over to Danica, appearing as he had just walked in on this terrible scene and hadn’t been watching for several minutes. He took one look at Rook’s red face and roughly grabbed her arm, regarding her coldly.

“I saw everything and I know you know better!” he said. “Putting your hands on your own vice dorm leader, I could have you sent to Crowley for expulsion right now!”

“But Vil-san!” Danica cried. “It’s not right and…”

“No buts! You should be ashamed!” He released her arm with equal roughness. “Such crass behavior is something I wouldn’t even expect from Epel! What has gotten into you?!”

Danica took several steps back from Vil, catching her breath as the realization of what she had done came to her. She didn’t know what had come over to her yet at the same time, a part of her really didn’t care either. Rook was in the wrong here and the mention of her sister was the final straw. But it was Vil’s response that was really confusing her.

“Rook has every right to vote for who he wants to and it’s NOT your place to question it!” Vil went on. He turned to Rook, locking eyes with him as they both shared a silent, hurtful understanding. “Rook is not bound to loyalty, even if his actions hurt, they come from a good place. You’re just too naive to understand that!”

“Naive?!” Sidonie pulled Danica away from both Rook and Vil. “You’re both naive if you think…”

“Stop this!” Rook shouted. He was willing to accept Danica’s rejection, accept her rage, and even accept her hands. But he would not accept his devotion to beauty coming into question. He addressed Danica. “I do not regret my decision and nothing you say will change that! I only regret that my decision has clearly caused you pain.”

“Do not apologize Rook,” said Vil, glaring at Danica. “Danica, you apologize to Rook for smacking him. You had no right to and you ought to be happy in any case. After all, you won the VDC with your seductive wiles and became the black swan you always wanted to be!”

“I…I…”

“What? Do you honestly think people voted for you because of your talent and skill? Spare me!” Vil turned his back to Danica, meant as a sign of contempt but in truth so she wouldn’t see his own tears as he continued tearing into her. And saying things far from what he actually thought. “You seduced the crowd like the black swan seduced the prince! Seducing the audience and dooming the RSA Divas to defeat! Whatever tactics Neige used to get the crowd’s attention, you’re just as guilty! Hell, you’re even worse!”

“No…no…YOU DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THAT!” Danica cried. “I refuse to believe that! Not after you said…”

“You’re just jealous you didn’t win!” snapped Sidonie. “But don’t take it out on Danica, she did nothing wrong and you know it!”

“Believe whatever you want, Little Potato! The truth still remains regardless!” Vil didn’t even bother acknowledging Sidonie’s statement, as this all was painful enough. “Now, I won’t ask you again, apologize to Rook!”

Danica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stared at both her dorm leaders, feeling short of breath as she struggled to find her words. Far be it from her to apologize to Rook but at the same time, there was one thing she still wished to know.

“Rook-san…” she began, “Will you at least answer me this: which girls’ team did you vote for? Did you at least…”

Rook wasted no words, once again confirming the worst. “Your performance was quite intense, just as you’re acting right now. You and your black swans were incredibly stunning, but also frightening. The performance you gave came from a place of anger, just as you are right now,” he shook his head. “Indeed, you are not the same person you once were, and I couldn’t vote for you in good conscience, Danica. I am sorry.”

At this, Danica couldn’t take it anymore. She wouldn’t dare apologize to someone who clearly knew so little about her and thought so little of what he did know.

“I HATE YOU! NEVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN!!!”

Wholly overwhelmed, she pressed her hands in her face, screaming loudly as she ran past her dorm leaders and didn’t look back. In the distance, the loud sound of a slamming door echoed down the hallway and the three upperclassmen knew Danica was back in her room. They stared down the hallway in silence for several moments before Sidonie shook her head.

“Swans are beautiful, but they are not fragile,” she said. “Do you remember when I said that to you, Rook?”

Rook turned to her, slowly nodding but not saying anything else. Vil scoffed.

“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked.

“Swans are beautiful, but when they’re provoked, when they’re hurt, they fight back,” she glared at both of her dorm leaders. “All Danica wanted was support but both of you only saw her as an object! A pretty white swan to love and adore and not the actual fucking human that she is!”

“Your language!” Vil snapped. “And what do you mean by that?!”

“Just what I said! You and Rook only saw Danica as a pure white swan and your mistake was thinking she would just be that way forever! But now our swan is realizing her power and because neither of you could value her as she is, she’s biting back! So don’t you dare, either of you, look down on her now when she’s only responding to how badly you’ve both treated her!”

Sidonie ran off to her own room and neither Vil nor Rook tried to stop her. Both of them were rendered speechless by every emotion they were feeling. And both of them, too overwhelmed to even try to comprehend them.

~~~

Pomefiore Dorm ~ Danica’s Room

Finally back in her own room, her sanctuary and reprieve from everything, Danica collapsed face first on her bed. Taking in the familiar scent and soaking the blankets with her tears. Her throat was hoarse from all the screaming and her limbs were sore, but even then, that wasn’t even the worst of her pain.

Whatever Vil had done, at the very least, Danica could understand his motives even if she did not agree with them. Rook’s actions on the other hand left Danica completely confused and even more hurt. Her mind returned to winter break and the time they spent together the day before the masquerade. At that time, Danica was convinced by Rook’s actions that he only had eyes for her, which made her feelings for Vil all the more confusing. Those moments stayed with her all throughout the training camp and was why she still wished to believe his feelings were true in spite of all she had seen today.

But unlike Vil, who only wished for her to perform the role of a pure white swan, Rook on the other hand expected Danica to be a pure white swan. And when she could not maintain that role in good conscience, he turned his back on her. It was inexcusable, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized how cruel Rook had been to treat her so kindly when he was still capable of such things. At least whenever Vil was critical, he meant it from a place of kindness.

There was nothing kind about what Rook had done to her or Vil. And Danica knew that if she continued caring for him, she would always only ever be second in his eyes. She would always be second to girls prettier or more charming, second to the intriguing beastmen that always caught his attention, and she would always be second to Neige Leblanche. A person Rook didn’t even really know, someone he only admired from afar and probably saw as just another adoring fan.

But Neige Leblanche was the exact kind of perfect swan that Rook desired and as she had been reminded of for weeks, a black swan couldn’t stand by the side of a prince.

I’m such an idiot! I’m an idiot! I’M AN IDIOT!

Outside the door, Sidonie could hear the loud, hoarse sobbing coming from within. She didn’t even bother to knock and thankfully, the door was still unlocked. Sidonie entered Danica’s room, gently closing the door and locking it before going over to Danica, who was laying face first on the bed and took no notice of her at first. Sidonie watched her for several moments with a heavy heart, before noticing the music box on the nightstand. She took it and wound it up, the soft melody finally catching Danica’s attention and momentarily putting a stop to her tears.

“It’s a wonder you still have tears left to cry, my dear,” Sidonie sighed, tenderly stroking the younger girls’ hair. “After all that you’ve endured.”

“It hurts, it hurts so bad…” Danica replied, her voice muffled by the pillows. “I can’t stop crying, I try but I can’t, it just hurts but crying hurts too…”

“I know, I know, it’s okay,” Sidonie softly shushed her, coaxing Danica to turn around to face her. She smiled. “I don’t know what has happened between you and Rook, but I know they hurt you and I cannot forgive that. Especially when you've done nothing wrong.”

“B…but I have…” Danica whimpered, turning her face back to the pillows. “Even if we won, I still became a black swan! Vil is right! And now Rook no longer cares about me! It’s all my fault!”

“Hush!” Sidonie gave the pillow a firm tap. “None of this is your fault! If Rook’s love for you was dependent on you remaining innocent and sweet forever, then he never loved you to begin with! He only loved an idea of you that was never real!”

“But Neige Leblanche is real! He’s innocent and sweet and exactly what Vil and Rook wanted me to be,” she sighed. “And because I couldn’t…”

“No, stop right there. We’ve talked about this once already,” said Sidonie. “At the time I didn’t really understand it but I do now. Danica, do you want to know what innocence really is?” Danica glanced up at her, nodding as she wiped her face with her hand. “Innocence is the absence of knowledge, and in your case, to remain innocent would be to remain ignorant of the incredible power you have as a performer. It’s easy to fall under the spell of innocence but it is still a contempt meant for children, at some point we all lose it but that’s not a bad thing! It has to happen to become an adult!”

“Sidonie-san…”

“What Vil wanted was for you to hide your brilliance away, and Rook said your performance frightened him because Rook couldn’t handle it. But you don’t deserve to be ignorant of your gifts, you deserve to wield them as you see fit.”

Sidonie pulled Danica into a tender embrace, holding her and allowing her to cry into her chest. She gave her hand a gentle squeeze, softly rocking back and forth to calm her down.

“I know it hurts, but you aren’t to blame. Fuck Vil for trying to repress you. Fuck Rook for his unwillingness to accept you, and fuck the rest of the world for how they resent people as incredible as you. But you never did anything wrong, and the fact that you won as a black swan is proof of it!”

With teary eyes, Danica gazed up at Sidonie and for the first time in weeks, saw the kindness and support she felt herself lacking for so ong. She couldn’t describe it, but something about the gentle way Sidonie treated her always reminded her of Fiona. She had been Danica’s greatest support when she was alive and her death left Danica all the more lonely and unsure of herself. But in Sidonie, she felt the same unconditional love and support she could always rely on from her sister and, for the briefest moments, it was enough for her to soothe her.

“You’re the only one who understands,” she sniffed.

“I only want what's best for you, Danica,” replied Sidonie. “Even if they mean well, our dorm leaders really dropped the ball regarding how they’ve treated you.”

And that is why I want to replace Vil. This is why I want to be Pomefiore’s dorm leader.

“You will always be enough, if you continue to strive to be the best performer you can be and compromise yourself for no one.

“Thank you, Onee…I mean, Sidonie-san…”

“Try to get some rest. Everything will look better and brighter with fresh eyes unsullied by tears.” Sidonie smiled. “I will stay here with you for as long as you need,”

Soon enough, the weight of all Danica was feeling finally became too much for her and mercifully allowed her to finally drift off to sleep. True to her word, Sidonie remained by her side and did not leave for a long time.

As Danica slept, Sionie sat on the bed beside her. On the nightstand next to the music box sat the Pomefiore rosette Farron had crafted for Danica, a commission from a secret admirer. Though Farron was sworn to secrecy, Sidonie was already aware of which of their dorm leaders had requested the gift, as he had let the secret casually drop during a Science Club meeting some weeks prior.

She shook her head, even though she knew, it really was a beautiful accessory and Farron had done a beautiful job crafting it. For that reason, along with how lovely Danica was when she wore it with her dorm uniform, she resolved that she would never tell her that Rook was the one who commissioned it. If she could help it, it would forever remain a mystery to her.

~~~

Sometime During Winter Break…

How did I end up in this predicament?

Danica silently asked herself this as she tried to focus her mind on remaining silent and still and away from the pervasive itch crawling up her back. She was doing so well remaining hidden and her pride wouldn’t allow her to give up now. He would surely hear the movement and she would be found faster than the time it would take to soothe the itch and reposition herself in her hiding place.

Yet at the same time, a strange feeling stirred within her that secretly made her want to be discovered. This was such an odd game. Danica hadn’t played hide and seek since she was a child and she imagined the next time she’d play would be with her own children several years down the road. Not with Rook Hunt of all people and not in his family villa. But that was exactly what she was doing.

To distract herself from her increasing desire to move around, Danica thought about the events that led up to this and how she found herself here in the first place. Soon after Christmas, her parents had allowed her to take a solo trip to Sunset Savanna to visit Taima, Lilianne and their family. They spent the last few days of the year working on music Danica would present to Vil when she returned to school and on the last day of her stay, visited the marketplace together.

While exploring on her own, Danica was surprised to run into Rook and was even more surprised when he told her he was spending his winter break there with his family, she had always figured he was from Shaftlands like her and Vil. After chatting for a bit, Rook invited Danica to spend some time with him and Taima and Lilianne convinced her that she should. She required little convincing though she began to feel nervous when they arrived at his home and she realized they were completely alone. Cut to a few hours later and somehow he had convinced her to play this impromptu game with him, tempting her with the idea that the many empty rooms would provide ample places to hide.

“No corner of this house is off limits to you, not that you will be able to elude me for very long, ma cherie,” he told her with a teasing little grin. “It’s not a matter of if I will find you, but when.”

The closet of an empty bedroom was where she decided to hide from Rook. She even made a point of not turning on any lights and closing the closet door so this room would appear completely untouched. But as the minutes ticked away, her heart began to race at the idea that she could be discovered at any moment. Rook was strangely very good at finding things, especially people, something Danica knew firsthand. The outcome of this was inevitable, and as she felt the need to move grow stronger by the second, she wondered if preserving her pride was really worth this discomfort. Especially when she secretly was looking forward to what would happen when Pomefiore’s dashing hunter inevitably discovered her.

Through the closet keyhole, Danica could see the faintest sliver of light from the hallway, trickling into the room. Her heart stopped and the itch on her back was temporarily replaced with a strangely pleasant tingling sensation as the light became brighter. Rook walked in and turned on the light, and the fact that he hadn’t left right away could only mean one thing. But she remained still and as silent as the grave, maybe Rook wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and move on to another room. If such happened, she would finally leave her hiding spot, having bested him. Looking through the keyhole, Danica eagerly watched as Rook quietly walked around and, strangely enough, placed the photo frames on the nightstand face down. His head turned to the closet and she held her breath, even closing her eyes so as to not catch any of the light in the room. A minute passed, followed by a few, and Rook’s movements went silent.

“It appears mon petit cygne is nowhere to be found in this room,” he mused aloud, turning his head from the closet. “I must search another room, it seems.”

The way he sounded, Danica couldn’t decipher if he was truly talking to himself or trying to lure her out. Either way, she resolved to remain silent. Completely forgetting her discomfort for the time being as she listened to his footsteps approach the door, before stopping once again.

“Ah, what a lovely fragrance. Soft and sweet, like mon petit cygne.”

Rook’s footsteps were picking up again and Danica pressed her hands to her lips. Her cheeks burned with the realization that he likely smelled the perfume she was wearing, a fragrance she had crafted herself that she frequently wore at school. She silently damned herself for wearing it but at the same time, how was she to know that she would be playing this game today? Rook continued to muse about the scent, deliberately stopping right at the door of the closet as Danica tried to quietly move back further into her hiding place. She felt her back hit the wall, making a soft thump sound that she was certain that if she heard, Rook did as well. A soft chuckle all but stopped her heart.

“I wonder, were I to follow this lovely scent…” The doorknob turned and on instinct, Danica squeezed her eyes shut even as light poured in and Rook entered the closet, his quarry within his grasp. “…will it lead me to mon petit cygne?”

“Rook-san!”

His name spoken in a high pitched gasp was all she could muster before she found herself cornered by her charming vice dorm leader. Rook wasted no time wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her out of the closet with him. Danica put up a half-hearted struggle against him but his embrace tightened and quickly conceded defeat, both of them laughing the entire time.

“To think, twice now I’ve had the privilege to hunt such an enchanting creature,” he whispered against her hair.

“Oh…Rook…” Against his chest, Danica felt the heat rising in her chest and undoubtedly showing on her face. She took in his scent and with it, a powerful desire for Rook to never let her go. Without realizing it, she nuzzled against him. “You knew I was there the entire time, didn’t you?”

“Oui,” he confirmed. “And not just by your perfume, the way you shifted in the closet, your footsteps that I heard from downstairs, and the subtle way your breath hitched as I came to this room and turned on the light. All pointed to me discovering you here.”

“Hmmm, I guess I should have known better to think I could hide from you for long,” a soft chuckle rumbled against her chest followed by a gentle hand running down her back. She gazed up at him before quickly lowering her head. His smile made her blush. “But what do you mean by twice? We’ve…never done anything like this before at school.”

“Ah but we have, cherie,” he gently pulled away from her, lifting her chin up so her eyes could once again meet him. “Even if you do not realize, from the moment we met, I have always had my hunter’s gaze upon you.”

Danica closed her eyes as she pondered his words. She recalled their first meeting, how Rook came across her trying to hurry back to Pomefiore after sneaking off after orientation. She couldn’t help but wonder how long he was watching her walk down the dark empty halls of the school before finally making himself known to her. At the time, her primary concern was returning to her dorm as fast as she could before she could incur Vil’s wrath, but did Rook also consider this a part of their game?

“How could a hunter like myself not desire to chase something so beautiful?” he asked, pressing her closer and bringing his lips to her ear before continuing with, “and how could I ever allow her to escape me now that she is finally in my arms?”

“Rook-san…what do you mean by…haaaaaa…!!”

In a quick and sudden gesture, Rook swept Danica off the ground. A loud shriek escaped her lips before she could finish her question, surprised by his ability to lift her so easily and thrilled by his strength in doing so. She giggled, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as he spun her around, kicking her feet in the air like an excited child.

“I don’t think I could ever escape you, Rook-san,” she blushed. “Even if I wanted to. But could you at least put me down?”

Rook laughed, carrying her over to the bed and placing her back on her feet before taking a seat on the edge of the bed and beckoning her to join him there. She sat beside him, lowering her gaze as he moved closer and placed an arm around her. He was so warm, and she felt a strangely tender sensation being so close to him. It was the same feeling she got whenever she and Vil were alone; tender, comforting, oddly addictive but extremely confusing. Why did her heart have to be so indecisive?

“You were kind enough to indulge me in one of my deepest desires, ma cherie,” Rook smiled at her. “And for that, merci. Will you now allow me to grant you a desire of your own?”

“I…really?” She felt the heat return to her face. “If…all you wanted was to play this game with me, I think we could have arranged it sooner. I wouldn’t have minded, maybe not in the dorm though so Vil-san wouldn’t scold us.”

He laughed again, lifting her gaze to his. He murmured something to her in French that Danica didn’t fully pick up, but she did understand the words “adorable” and “my precious heart”. Her own heart began to race; Rook was often flirtatious with her, but never like this.

The words he was using, how close he was now, the fact they were alone, everything about their dynamic was quickly taking on a whole new meaning the longer she spent in his presence. There was a strong sense of intimacy in the way he regarded her though they were not even touching. Her heart was confused but he continued in this manner, she wondered if she might finally find the answer she was looking for.

“You…want to grant me one of my desires…?” she softly asked. “I’m afraid I have many, and I’m not sure where to begin.”

“Ahhh, and I would grant every last one if given the opportunity,” he replied, slightly narrowing his gaze towards her face, and leaning into her lips. “But for now, allow me to give you this…”

For the last few hours, Danica sat with Rook and felt as his words slowly began to take on a more intimate feel. She looked into his eyes and felt her heart pounding every time he would smile or compliment her. She agreed to play hide and seek with him and while she tried to make an effort to find a decent hiding place, secretly looked forward to having him find her.

Looking around her, she had the feeling that they were now in his room as the bed she sat upon had a comforting scent that was strangely familiar. And now, he was closer than ever. She watched how his face leaned into hers. And felt how his fingertips softly brushed against her cheek and pulled her face closer to his. But somehow, Danica could not believe that such a thing could happen. Something out of a fairy tale or like the saccharine sweet song lyrics she wrote in middle school. Something so perfectly in alignment with her deepest, most secret desires. This had to be a dream.

But it wasn’t. And as Danica continued pondering such, Rook finally closed the distance between their lips. A soft, hesitant kiss, if testing the waters, seeking a response before going deeper. A thousand jolts of electricity went off in her body at once but the warmth of his lips against hers quickly melted away any anxiety in her heart, replaced with glowing realization and a burning desire for more. She responded eagerly at first, kissing him back, but when she felt a hand run down her leg, she pulled away.

“Rook-san!” Danica gasped, her face a bright, hot apple red. “Why…you…”

“What’s wrong, cherie?” Rook asked, “I haven’t made you uncomfortable, have I?”

“N…no…” she took several deep breaths, working up the courage to look up and meet his gaze. “I’m not uncomfortable, just…surprised. I never thought…I never imagined that you…that you actually wanted…”

“As I’ve said before, cherie, it is not in my nature to ignore something so beautiful when it is right in front of me.” he gently placed both his hands on either side of her face. “It is my greatest desire that you will allow me to pay tribute to your radiance.”

“Rook…”

She placed her hands on top of his and wanted to move them away, but found she couldn’t. But soon enough, he removed them himself, replaced with his arms fully enfolding her as he pushed them back onto the bed.

“Rook…please…”

“You are an angel walking amongst mortals, cherie, and I see in your eyes what your lips hesitate to say.” Rook kissed her again, and again, and again, not leaving a single inch of her face untouched by his lips. “You want this don’t you? So why do you deny your heart what it so earnestly desires?”

Danica didn’t realize that her eyes were closed and when she finally opened them again, she felt her face go ablaze at the way Rook was looking at her. Kindness and desire illuminated in his emerald gaze. She was at a loss for words but knew she had to find them soon before she allowed him to do something she feared she might regret.

After all, it would be so much easier if Rook was the only person preoccupying her heart. But he wasn’t. And until she could finally make a decision and cease being so fickle, Rook did not deserve to give his heart to someone who was only half-sure of him. With all the strength she possessed, she forced her body forward, removing herself from his warmth, a very difficult task indeed.

“You’re…right, I do want this,” she sighed. “I want this more than anything in the world right now.”

“Ah, then allow me to grant you your desire, mon petit cygne,” Rook held her again against his chest, peppering her cheek with soft little kisses as she trembled in his embrace. “There’s no need to be nervous, I'm going to cherish you in the way lovers do.”

“But that’s just it,” Danica summoned further courage to further pull away. “I…this is a lot…I’ve never felt this way before. No one has ever made me feel so…” she blushed. “…special…I…I need time to think about this…I don’t…ahhh…” He appeared as though he were about to kiss her again and she moved further away. “You want us to be lovers, but, will you allow me some time to think about this?”

“You are very special to me, Danica.” Rook smiled. “You stir my heart in ways I cannot describe.” He reached out to her and pulled away a lock of her dark hair, placing a tender kiss on her forehead. “But I understand what I ask is not to be taken lightly and far be it from me to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m sorry,” Danica sighed as she rose to her feet. “I’m sorry I’m like this, but…”

“Please don’t apologize, cherie. I will give you all the time you need to consider my proposal. And when you are ready to give me your answer, let me know. I am looking forward to the day you will allow me to shower you with all my adoration.”

He stood up as well, pulling her into one final embrace. It didn’t occur to him at all to feel disappointed by her answer. Rather, he saw her response merely as extending the game between them. There was nothing wrong with a little resistance, it made the hunt all the more intriguing, and all the more delightful when Danica finally allowed Rook to have her.

“Just like the prince who adored the white swan, I plan to cherish you in the exact same manner.”

~~~

With the sound of her music box playing in the darkness, Danica began to rise from her sleep. Bitter memories of sweeter times long gone haunting her dreams, reminding her of the cruelty of her reality and not allowing her to rest. And when she finally opened her eyes again she realized it was already night time.

Sidonie was long gone, but it didn’t bother her much as she looked at her phone and saw it was past midnight. And she also saw a single text from Iman.

Call me or Taima when you get a chance, and don’t look at magicam until you do.

~~~

(A/N: I really hope you all like this chapter, because it really was a labor to complete it and everytime I came back to it, I was also coming back to some extremely painful memories that I’d rather bury in my past forever.

I’m not going to get into this again but for those who know me, know that I have very deep and personal feelings about all of Book 5 but especially the ending. It’s because of how Book 5 ended is why I ended up throwing out what I originally planned for this story and honestly while I think this fic is much better than what I originally planned, writing it has been quite an emotional journey and not always in a good way. It’s rather remarkable, but also frustrating, how many feelings this anime mickey mouse bishie mobile game can give me but maybe that’s just a testament to the writing.

But now we are almost to the end. The final chapter of this fic will come out a week from today and the remaining VDC dress vignettes will be uploaded within that time. Please look forward to it. And as always, thank you for reading and feedback is appreciated! ❤️)

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #oc: danica #twst vil #twst rook #vil x oc #rook x oc #twst fic #twst writing #things i write #shining hearts ~ melodies and melancholy

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theprocrastinatingnovel · 2 years

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The Weekly Writing Update #9

10.01.22

Ohmigod I’ve been so swamped with work I almost forgot to write this.

Ok so here's the biz: I did almost get to 3k words, but then I had a new idea for chapter three that threw all that sideways, so i've spent all morning deleting the now-irrelevant info and rewriting the new chapter plot. Tbh, this new one is so much better than 'he accidentally finds out who she is and she just decides~ to stick with him'. Now her decision to stay makes sense according to her character and all is good. ish. :)

However, I am now set back a few hundred words. I know the word count shouldn't matter but its bothering me so I'm going to spend the rest of the day before I have to go to work reworking this plot chart. yayyyyy.

⇨ Other than my mess of a plot chart, I got a really cool idea for a villain for book two! and I already figured out a way to make them signifigant in book 1!! God I'm gonna make this villain so sexy

#🍊#the weekly writing update #writerblr #original writing #writing #writers community #first draft #wip #the prince the prodigy & the seeing eye

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noctilucous-sunni · 2 years

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AKSJDHDHHDGSSGK

I GOT NINGGUANG?? ON THE STANDARD BANNER??? WITH A RANDOM SINGLE PULL AND WAS LIKE AH IF I DO THIS I WILL HAVE LIKE *counts* 78 PRIMOS LEFT 😭😭 “LETS DO IT ANYWAY BECAUSE I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL” AND I DO NOT REGRET

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

damn i dont even have a good weapon for her bc i gave heizou my best catalyst weapon (which is NOT the widsith to my complete & utter pained disappointment)

anyways yayyyyy

shes so damn pretty

#sunni rambles #technical talk #ok damn i should sleep #genshin impact

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its-me-im-coraline · 3 years

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Baby // Headcannons

words //

warnings // non really, this is teeth rotting fluff, any deisre for children after this is not my fault, blame Måneskin 😂

pairing // Måneskin members x GN!Reader

author's note // lol i decided to use these photos cause it looks more aesthetically pleasing. anyways i hope you enjoy the headcannons also don't forget the "sleepover" on sunday yayyyyy...

request // yes here

summary // Måneskin as parents

Damiano David

damiano as a father would be the absolute sweetest

the man looks intimidating in photos but the moment he opens his mouth is the sweetest

thus the conclusion that he’d be the softest father in existence

will be extremely hands on raising your kid the whole time

he refuses to not do his absolute best to be there as much as possible for your guys’ child

will never complain about having to change diapers

for some reason I imagine damiano to be the type of father that would take baths with his child

“look, look at daddy’s hair”

while he has some kind of ‘intricate’ hairstyle with tons of foam all around it

will literally cry for pretty much every milestone of the child

“di-did they just laugh? Y/N, our child just laughed, stop laughing at me!”

meanwhile he is borderline sobbing

i can also imagine him if not crying just laughing in excitement at something they do

like say your guys’ child has taken up some kind of sport or martial art, they will show the most recent thing they learned to damiano and he will start giggling in pleasant surprise

“Dio mio, amore, that was fucking awsome!”

will have a hard time not cursing in front of the child sometimes

but he’s working on it

will take tons of walks around the city, in parks and stuff, together

can just imagine him in nature, holding hands with this tiny little human being

ahuaifjn my heart dudes

will be supportive of them no matter what

be it the child’s sexuality, gender identity, career and hobbies

as long as they can be safe he doesn’t mind at all

will try not to cry when his kid will move away

if they move somewhere close by rest assured he will never not be at their house

“you know dad, you have a house of your own, don’t you like it better?”

“nah, the sun hits this place really nicely, i enjoy it”

will def take you and the kid along when traveling, when possible of course

I can also just imagine him having his kid on stage at a show and just kind of playing around and singing and awwwwwwwwwwwww

Why do I want this? i don't even want kids!!!!!!

Thomas Raggi

Thomas is a similar case to Damiano but of course with his differences

instead of taking walks around he just takes naps with them

you can not even count the times you have come home, calling for thomas and your kid and neither responds

so you get worried a bit but then you see them napping on the couch

will nap with your kid in the weirdest places

can and will fall asleep together on a chair in the balcony/yard

I feel like he would spoil them a bit?

especially if he’s been away for long, he will return home baring gifts

from a cute shirt, to something pretty expensive that reminded him of them

will always bring snacks from different countries, like chocolates for belgium or nougat from greece (yes it is kind of a traditional candy in some greek islands especially)

might not take baths with them like damiano but i can see thomas just playing around with the hose outside in the yard

“Dad, no it’s cold! stoooop it!”

“Oh come on, it's burning out here! don’t you love the little cooling effect?”

will know when not to throw water at your kid of course, it is always done in good fun when they’ve gone outside with the solemn reason of playing with the water

dance parties at the most random moments

like a song they both like plays at a store

they will start dancing in the middle of the store

sometimes you act like you dont know them

others you join it

how sweet

ok but like picknics at the park

you just lay in a blanket, thomas and your child are non stop playing around until they get tired

and when thomas sits down the kid is still all over him and they are being so cuddly with each other

will always remind them of their jacket

Victoria De Angelis

victoria would feel a little awkward at first

idk but although i'm sure she is the sweetest with children i feel that she will not be sure how to act at first

maybe she would view your baby as very very fragile at first and be very afraid of her movements as to not do anything to hurt them

i can not stop thinking of victoria when her child is sick or feels down

she will immediately go mama bear at them

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Does your head hurt?”

“Do you feel cold?”

why do i feel she would get into superstitions sometimes

“i should call your mum, Y/N (if you're from a culture that believes in that). someone gave them the evil eye. of course they did, you're amazing!”

feels very proud of the outfits she gives your kids i swear

“this is perfect! Y/N look how cute they look!! You have the matching shirt, right?”

will go above and beyond for them

doesn’t care what time it is, if her baby needs her she’s there

tickle fights are a must in your household

she will always laugh hysterically even if your kid doesn’t actually tickle her

the cutest thing is them two just sleeping together in the car when going somewhere

poor chilli now has to endure to children bothering her lol

victoria would be extremely protective of your child, not only if they got hurt but even with the idea that they could

will always be proud mama™

"they are amazing, how can i not be proud"

Ethan Torchio

Remember how I said Victoria would feel kind of scared of doing something wrong and hurting your kid?

ethan is even more worried

idk, i see this man as an absolute gentle giant

i can see him just staring at the baby the first time he sees them with so much adoration, as if in a trance

now…

out of all of them ethan is the “strictest”

i feel like you would be the one to try to sneak desert before dinner and ethan would just scold both you and your child

“Y/N, I told them no before! Come on!”

just like them all he is willing to go to the end of the world for that kid

will not hesitate to bring them the moon if he could, no questions asked

i feel like he would be the one your child confides in the most

like i can imagine your teenager sneaking out, something going wrong and calling ethan first!

he will die from the worry when he gets the call but as i said will go to the ends of the world for them

ethan will never even once yell at them

scold them a few times? sure

but yell? not even once!

now imagine this man with a little child wearing his shirt at the beach, walking around and showing them the beach

“You see those lights over there? They are windmills. They collect energy from the wind. how cool is that”

very close to my grandmother pointing out the windmills she’s seeing every summer for the past 20 years lol

he is so wholesome, will turn everything into a learning opportunity

i feel like he would be the father that is so embarrassing to the child because of how wholesome he is some times

but both them and their friends would confide in him

will literally father their friends if they need it omg

he is the type to see you holding them for the first time, or just holding them and doing something and just getting horny

“come on amore, let’s have one more!”

“ethan no”

he’s like telepathically communicate with them

it gets creepy but he does that to you two

he just knows when you need anything

tag list: @bieberhoodforever @tabi-toast

#måneskin x reader #måneskin fanfic #måneskin imagine #thomas raggi imagine #thomas raggi #ethan torchio imagine #ethan torchio #victoria de angelis imagine #victoria de angelis #damiano david imagine #damiano david #maneskin imagine #maneskin fanfiction

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caribbean-ace · 2 years

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It’s later than expected but i am back! Another week and another episode, this time Legends of Tomorrow 7x11. As usual spoilers ahead:

Messy as usual and in old legends fashion things ended up going south

My baby Ava🥺 do not touch my child!

Behrad we’re counting on you!

“You’re clearly overcompensating” best line so far😂

Protective Astra is everything to me, Gideon is her child, she claimed her

“Don’t be stupid i am not her mom” yes you are come on, that’s your child

Oh boy this is baaaaad + the epic music while they fight lol

Tala has to be hands down the best performer of this show + she’s so pissed off + Gidget™️ + my esperastra hopes died :’) + Gwyn is amazing

Don’t wear it! + WHAT!? + what are you gonna do to my avalance!?

Gideon is the best! + yayyyyy i love themmmm + the thanks mom was so sweet

WHAT THE FUCK

Oh my god that was such an unexpected ending! I hope they don’t kill my baby Gideon or else!

Such a fun episode, now it’s time to catch up with the latest but Legends never disappoint!

#dc legends of tomorrow #legends of tomorrow #sara lance #ava sharpe #zari tarazi #astra logue #behrad tarazi #spooner cruz #nate heywood #gwyn davies #gideon #gary green #ale watches legends of tomorrow

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violet-t-9 · 3 years

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Check in on my (not very realistic) wish list for episode 138

1. Nobody dies in the battle against Cree, even temporarily (looking at you, squishy wizards). Everybody survives and defeats her relatively easily.

Ayyye I mean Cree was one vs. 6 basically and of course it was easy enough, I expected this. Bye Cree, I won’t really miss you... WAIT she got controlled after death?? Well, the actual Cree fight was still easy so I’m counting this. The flesh monster version also took less than like, 20 seconds in-game time to beat lol.

2. Caleb or Beau’s eye power come into play whether for them or against them during the combat (telepathy also counts).

Heyyyy Caleb and Beau could pick up on the radio! That is helpful- oh he turned Cree into a flesh monster using the eyes... oh NO everyone has eyes now except Jester and Yasha. Group telepathy could be useful?? I guess??

3. Beau and Caleb discover the third function of their eyes if there is one (besides true sight and telepathy).

Nope I have no idea. I’m assuming that seeing through illusions and dark vision are separate at this point. That’s fine considering the huge twist that almost all of them have eyes now, like hello?? Caleb also wondered if he has a fourth power now, which we still don’t know about.

4. The party gets some much needed rest, even a short one, after defeating Cree (Bonus: heroes’ feast).

Hey the time shunt thing worked! PERFECTLY! With a 30 and a 24! I love two wizards, my absolute beloved. THANKS ESSEK (and Caleb, but Essek mostly).

5. This is a long shot but still hoping for any mention/sighting of Yussa.

Thanks Caleb for mentioning Yussa! Also Beau was able to try to connect to Yussa thanks to the eyes too! What a cool moment. Also thanks everybody for agreeing to help him lol. Caleb banished him! They saved him! Yayyyyy.

6. More nightmarish body horror and screaming from the cognouza citizens (look, listen, I loved last episode okay, Matt is awesome, horror is my jam).

Yes for the intestine corridor and flesh puddles, also for Cree transformation, also for the threshold crest vault mouth opening thing and for literally everything else in this episode need I explain? As a student of science I am very much enjoying the weird physiology connections with the Cognouza.

7. They meet another member of the Somnovem who offers more information.

Jester’s Calm emotion what a queen, they did meet a Somnovem. Wow I never thought I’d find eternal love so creepy but thanks Gaudius. Gaudius is apparently against Fastidan and Culpasi, nice. Good to know that the Somnovem Omega still does not get along lol.

8. Beau and Yasha’s PDA or power couple moments (bonus: they talk about mind control, the eyes, or feelings).

OH WOW Yasha has IDEAS about Beau wearing a red cape does she now lol, not subtle at all as expected. Get a room you guys! Not much talking can be done at this point, but nice.

9. Fjord and Jester’s conversation or domesticity (bonus: they talk about hope for the future).

“All we care about is love and unity” LMAO JESTER taking your chance to smooch as much as possible. I’m counting this moment you cannot convince me otherwise.

10. Artagan/Sprinkle comes into play/is mentioned and interaction with Jester.

Yep, they both talked (well, hissed in one case) with Jester. Artagan thought about them going to the feywild too! Fun.

11. Obligatory wish for Essek’s fancy dunamancy or magical items (Bonus: we get to see more high-damage AOE offensive spells).

Magic missile again! At least that will never miss. Sad that he can’t do AOE ever with the party around lol. ALSO THE TIME SHUNT BY THE TWO WIZARDS! The 30 from Essek (dunamancy master indeed!) and the dirty 24 from Caleb, NICE.

12. Obligatory wish for Caleb’s polymorph spell on himself or a party member.

Jester’s polymorph spell was cool too! Jestape? Japester?? I like Japester. Polymorph! Jester’s interactions are also my beloved. It’s not Caleb’s spell, so I’m not counting this one.

13. The party tracks down Lucien and tries to reach him by mentioning Molly.

Well, they attempted to track down Lucien, but really it’s the other way around.

14. Obligatory wish for Essek’s room in the tower (it will stay until it happens).

Nope, as expected.

15. Obligatory wish for Cad being a MVP in and out of combat also for him to use decompose more on the city, I’m curious to see what happens.

That path to the grave, what a MVP move Cad. TWO TIMES! TWO TIMES! For the HDYWTDT from Veth too! I knew it, Cad is a combat genius. Also nice blight on the fleshy ceiling. Also plane shift to the fire plane! Also that curse word speech what a king.

16. Veth one-on-one RP interaction with any other party member - we had some good tag teams recently, like Veth and Beau, Veth and Yasha, Veth and Essek... I want to see more!

We don’t really have time for RP because this episode was super action-packed but we did have a bunch of nice short moments!

17. Yasha or Fjord being absolutely freaked out/creeped out by the city.

Well to be fair EVERYBODY was super creeped out, so...

18. The empire siblings don’t get another red eye (well, hopefully this will happen if they won’t get a full rest).

Well ironically, Beau and Caleb DID NOT get another red eye during the whole party members gaining red eyes scene- Nope, Caleb got one more. Honestly, pretty excited and anxious at the same time.

19. Somebody check in on Essek’s mental/physical state because for a newbie adventurer he is doing suspiciously well - I wonder if he is just desensitized at this point.

Poor Essek was very physically hurt and also shook shook by Cree being transformed... so not entirely desensitized. He even failed the wisdom saving throw OH NO HE IS GETTING EYES ISN’T HE CALLING IT RN READ IN BOOKS I know what book is kinda associated with a wisdom save. Update: I KNEW IT, and I don’t care that nobody will believe me that I called it. Still sad that nobody really got to role play much, but I’m enjoying the action.

20. Caleb uses more fire or his customized spells (last episode’s awesome Widogast’s web of fire got me missing all his unique spells).

Disintegrate followed by CAT’S IRE HYPE and the clutch immovable object used for the first time what’s sexier than wizards NOTHING.

21. Fjord being the leader of the group in any way or just does something very impressive (go Fjord Tough).

Nice hexblade curse and triple Eldritch Blasts Fjord! Warlock powers let’s go! Also, nice counterspell! That divine smite + crit star razor oof that’s such a beautiful 80 damage. VERY impressive indeed.

22. We get to see new spells/abilities/features gained by their level-up! That will probably not come into play until a long rest, but one can hope.

MIND BLANK AT 8TH LEVEL what a perfect spell for Caleb. They got a long rest thanks to the mini Beacon! I love it. Jester and Cad showed off some spells as well!

23. Lucien physically reacting to the party’s attempts to bring up Molly’s memories/moments and showing confusion/hesitation.

Well they didn’t get to try anything really, Lucien spent most of the time doing his cool, dramatic and drawn-out villain monologue thing, also his maniac laughter scared me way more than the scream from last episode.

24. Obligatory wish for everyone to remain relatively happy and alive by the end of the episode except Cree (I have a feeling that Lucien ain’t dying this episode), and the episode ends on a terrifying cliffhanger as always.

Rip Cree, and what do you know, cliffhanger! Gosh I love this show.

Bonus:

Nice dimension door Jester, she is SO on task and such a key player in these crucial moments!! What a queen, it’s thanks to her (and Caleb, but it’s her idea first!) that they got to the crest so quickly and got rid of it. I repeat, QUEEN.

Veth’s first shot AND the final shot were awesome in terms of damage, rogues am I right?

Wow what a confrontation. I thought Lucien was all for the Somnovem but apparently he is... just super chaotic?? And wants to rule them all?? What was that all about? Lucien just gets more and more complex and I’m conflicted because now they might need to fight him, the city, or both. This is getting super complicated and I can’t wait for the next episode.

Well guys, this session made me scream in joy and also feel what it’s like to be high on adrenaline. The episodes just keep getting better and better. I literally could not care less if this is the final arc - if it is, it’s a damn good one. I love the cast so much, I love critical role so much. I wish it could be Thursday every day of the week!

#cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #c2e138 #the mighty nein #manifest list #cr liveblog #critical role #campaign 2

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takemebacktowheniwassane · 3 years

Conversation

Incorrect Total Drama

Cody: I've done a lot of dumb stuff.

Gwen: I witnessed the dumb stuff.

Noah: I recorded the dumb stuff.

Harold: I joined in on the dumb stuff.

Courtney: I TRIED TO STOP YOU FROM DOING THE DUMB STUFF!!!

Beth: What if the person who made Walkie Talkies named everything?

Lindsay: Pregnancy tests are Maybe Babies

Cody: Socks are Feetie Heaties

Harold: Forks are Stabby Grabbies

Duncan: Defibrillators are Heartie Starties

Gwen: Nightmares are Dreamy Screamies

Justin: Stamps are Lickie Stickies

Noah, annoyed: You are all disappointments.

Chef: Nothing in life is free.

Sierra: Love is free!!

Owen: Adventure is free!

Noah: Knowledge is free.

Duncan: Anything is free if you take it without paying.

Courtney: Are we really going to let Sierra keep Cody?

Gwen: We kept Duncan.

Sierra: Bye, Courtney! Bye, Gwen! Bye Cody! Bye Duncan! Bye Noah! Bye Cody!

Gwen: You said bye to Cody twice.

Sierra: I like Cody.

Gwen: Goodmorning.

Cody: Goodmorning.

Justin: Goodmorning.

Izzy: You all sound like robots! Try spicing it up a little bit!

Noah: Morning motherfuckers.

Eva: So my question is, my girlfriend keeps going into the pantry and grabbing handfuls of uncooked fettuccine-

DJ: I would hope that their not grabbing handfuls of cooked fettuccine!

Courtney: In the pantry!

Eva: She keeps eating them raw and calling them chips, how do I make her stop.

DJ: Is your girlfriend here?

Eva, motioning to Izzy: Yeah.

Courtney: You're a MONSTER! Words MEAN things! >:(

Cody: Does anybody remember- I haven't been to Olive Garden in many moons- but they do have, like, a fettuccine bottle that you can just grab out of- and chew-

Cody: NO, WAIT WAS THIS A PRANK YOU GUYS PULLED ON ME WHEN WE USED TO GO TO OLIVE GARDEN AS KIDS??

Cody: NO, STOP, EVERYBODY SHUT UP. DO THEY GIVE YOU RAW FETTUCCINE IN THE LOBBY AT OLIVE GARDEN-

Noah, walking past this insanity: No.

Cody, turning to DJ and Courtney: YOU FUCKIN' BASTARDS

DJ, trying to ignore that: YAYYYYY

Courtney, about Olive Garden: THE ~PRESTIGE~

Gwen: Favourite horror movie?

Duncan: IT.

Izzy: Saw!

Courtney: Annabelle.

Noah: High school Musical. After I watched it, I spent the rest of my middle school years thinking everyone would break out in song, and I'd be the only one who didn't know the lyrics.

Courtney: You really came all this way to see me? How did you even get here so fast?

Duncan: Several traffic violations.

Cody: Three counts of resisting arrest.

Noah: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drinks.

Gwen: Also, that isn't our car.

Harold: What's something you guys are better than Cody at?

Noah: Mario Kart.

Cody: Yeah. He beats me at video games a lot.

Owen: Emotional vulnerability.

We need more dark Noah moments.

Sierra: What does 'take out' mean?

Owen: Food.

Cody: Dating.

Noah: Murder.

Duncan: IT CAN MEAN ALL THREE IF YOUR NOT A COWARD.

Cody: Why isn't that statue smirking at me?

Noah: It isn't smirking at anyone, their all just imagining it.

Cody: Three of them saw it, Noah, how do you explain that?

Noah: *Points at Gwen* Sleep deprivation. *Points at Trent* Paranoia. *Points at Duncan* Delusional personality disorder.

Courtney: Where are Trent and Gwen?

Duncan: Their off playing hide and seek.

Courtney: Where?

Duncan: I don't think you understand how this game works.

Chris: I am an idiot.

Lindsay:

Heather:

Courtney:

Duncan:

Cody:

Chef:

Beth:

Noah: If your waiting for us to disagree, it's going to be a long day.

#totaldramaisland totaldramaworldtour tdi tdwt

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luvreyn · 3 years

Text

My Manhwa List (2020) Part 14

I dont know about you but I’m feeling 22! I have two things to celebrate, first is that one and second, ATHY IS COMING BACK ON NOV 30!!!! YAYYYYY So on to the list

The Lady I Served Became a Master

Summary

When Sua wakes up inside the world of her favorite novel as the character of Blair, she is determined to help the female protagonist, Chloe, get through the darkest period of her life. For years, Chloe has had to endure discrimination and abuse for being an illegitimate child. Blair becomes her maid and confidante, and the two form a special friendship. But Chloe turns out to be quite a different character than the one described in the book. She wields black magic, sends Blair to fetch her mysterious potions, and seems totally uninterested in any of the male lead candidates. Then one day, a handsome man who looks an awful lot like Chloe shows up at Blair’s doorstep. Could it be…the lady she used to serve?! All bets are off as plot twist after plot twist unravels in this unpredictable tale of love and redemption. Based on the hit novel.

THOUGHTS AND WHY READ THIS

- plot = 4/5

- art = 4/5

- comedy lmao

- all the male leads are handsomeee (dibs on the magician)

- i wish there was more updates huhu

- the ml is a blushing tomato lmao

- ^ he’s so whipped

- oblivious but understandably cute mc

- isekai

- conclusion: entertaining read!!

I am the Real One

Summary:

A prophecy foretold that the Grand Duke would only have one water elementalist born from him. Though she lacks her father’s affection, Keira knows she’s destined for those powers. But after years of doing what was right and proper of a noble, she’s executed after the conniving Cosette appears, claiming to be the Grand Duke’s real daughter. But then—Keira wakes up with newfound purpose: make changes, allies, and even friends before it’s too late. Will it be enough before Cosette hatches her plot?

THOUGHTS AND WHY READ THIS

- art = 5/5 i luv

- plot = 5/5 i’m giving it a five cause i saw spoilers and yas!!

- MC is so pretty drunk, innocent and so cute

- adorable mc!!

- idk who ml is and idc

- in this story, we dont tolerate jerk abusive fathers

- back to the past theme

- verdit, recommended!

Am I Your Daughter?

Summary:

Adopted by the abusive Count Zackary, Hailynn is imprisoned for over a decade but a tragedy sets her back in time and she’s now eight years old again! Eager to escape the horrors of her previous life, Hailynn runs away and crosses paths with a brave boy and the protective Duke Callisto. When a magical potion reveals she belongs to the powerful Callisto bloodline, the chaste Duke swears she can't be his! What is the secret behind Hailynn’s birth? And will she ever find a family that’ll love her?

THOUGHTS AND WHY READ THIS

- plot = 3/5

- art = 3/5

- mc is kinda boring tbh idk why

- staying for the familial love that i miss (come back soon baby athy)

- back to the past theme

- verdict, an okay read

Crown of the Deep Green

Summary:

I was a normal grad student until I woke up in a world right out of a novel I wrote as a teen. But danger’s on the horizon—the character I became was originally destined to die AND people are out to get me! Even though this character’s past was full of villainy, I’m using my insider knowledge to survive the flame of the Azure Ring, settle debts, and make things right for the House of Latia! Can I earn the trust of the hero and get ahead in this world? Are there secrets that even I don’t know?

THOUGHTS AND WHY READ THIS

- DOOOODDD OMG

- art = 5/5 i just love it good-tier art

- plot = 4/5

- i love the ml!!

- idk what to do with the knowledge that they’re step sibs even though they’re not blood related so i’m just gonna.... idk

- cute cute

- i s e k a i

- we will see how it goes but i’m enjoying rn cause of the art

- verdict, i wanna read more!

My Sister Picked Up the Male Lead

Summary:

My name is Amy. I'm glad to have been reborn as the main character's little sister in a novel from my past life but... On the morning I turned sixteen, my sister said she prepared something special for me and had picked up a man from the woods?!!

THOUGHTS AND WHY READ THIS

- idk if i already put this on a previous list?? but oh well

- art = 4/5

- plot = 4/5

- isekai

- one thing i just couldnt overlook abt this is that he’s forcing her to stay (spoilers) but we will see

- protective older sis that i luv

- magic!!!

- capable mc so hooray

- verdict, i absolutely need more!!

#My Sister Picked Up the Male Lead #The Viridescent Crown #manhwa #isekai #Am I the Daughter?#manhwa recommendation #The Young Lady I Served Became a Master #I am the real one #am I your daughter #crown of the deep green #reynlist #reyn.manhwarecs

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shadowhunter221 · 4 years

Text

“Your hair is getting long”

A/N: Hey y’all, sorry that I’ve been inactive for quite a few months now, I honestly completely forgot about this account because I just made it for fun to write about my favorite characters :) Sorry to those of you who sent in requests, I hope that I can get to them eventually. Anyways, here’s a cute Spencer Reid imagine for you!

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!

Check my bio for the characters I write for!!!

@s0urdrop Hey, I really love your imagines & I kinda have an idea for one! Reader & Spencer are together & she cuts his hair sometimes if it gets too long & fluff ensues. Once again, LOVE your work ❤

A/N: Thank you so much!! I hope you like it ❤

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 487

Warnings: None, just tons of fluff

It was a quiet day so far at the apartment that you and Spencer shared. You both had gotten the day off from work and were excited to spend the day just taking a break since your jobs at the BAU were stressful at times. All you had done all day was cuddle with Spence on the couch and watch your favorite movies together. You loved the feeling of his arms around you and you felt so safe. It was pure bliss. You looked up at him from your comfy position on his chest and smiled.

You reached up and gently touched his hair. “Your hair is getting long,” you murmured, still smiling.

Spence looked down at you fondly. He knew that you loved to cut his hair. He pretended that he hated it but he actually found it very relaxing when you brushed it and massaged his scalp. “Aw man, again? But what if I like it longer?” he said with puppy eyes.

You giggled and went to go get the scissors from the bathroom. “C’mon, can I please cut it? You know you love me,” you said jokingly with a grin on your face.

He pretended to be exasperated and rolled his eyes. “Ughh fine I guess you can.”

“Yayyyyy!!” you said as you laughed. Spence laughed at your adorable face and sat down at the vanity. You put a cloth over the sink to catch all of the hair so you didn't make a mess and gently started to brush his hair out. It was so smooth and silky between your fingers and you would often spend way too much time brushing it just because you loved the way it felt. Eventually, though, you grabbed the scissors and started to make careful cuts, being extremely careful not to mess up. Spencer looked at you in the mirror, smiling to himself at the concentrated look on your face. He thought that you took this too seriously, since he didn’t really care how he looked all that much, but he let you continue because he knew how much you loved it.

Eventually, you were satisfied with how his hair looked. Spence had to admit that it looked much better after you were done and he really had been needing a trim for a while.

“Okay, go take a shower really quick. I don’t want hair all over the floor again like last time.”

He smiled down at you and kissed you gently, cupping your face in his hands. “Only if you say you love me.”

You smiled. “I love youuuu.”

“I love you too.” He gave you one last peck on the lips before he excused himself to take a shower and you smiled to yourself as you cleaned up. You loved him with all your heart and you were so glad that you got to spend so much time with the love of your life.

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imagine-that-100 · 4 years

Text

Holiday | Part 14 |

Description of Part 1: Alex Turner x Reader (Female) | You’ve been friends with Alex Turner and the other boys from Arctic Monkeys since you were 13. You never for a second thought that Alex would release a song about you though. From late night phone calls and almost constant texting and teasing, you’ve managed to stay close with him over the years. When a pact is established and a holiday is arranged, life seems to be treating you very well. But a month in LA will either make or break you.

Word Count: 13.7K

A/N: Yayyyyy we have another part of Holiday! Sorry it’s slightly later today. Been a long day and I couldn’t really focus when editing it so I’m sorry about the inevitable mistakes. Really hope you all enjoy though! (Note: I’m sure Rita Ora is lovely really. Don’t come for me please) Taglists are always open. Thank you for reading x

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| MASTERLIST IN BIO |

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Flying back to LA was an emotional experience. On one hand you were devastated because you were leaving your comfortable life and your family, but at the same time you were excited to go back and start a life with Alex.

At the airport you were emotional because Y/B/F dropped you off. You said goodbye to your precious car, which was an emotional experience in itself. But obviously saying goodbye to your best friend hurt a hell of a lot more.

You probably hugged each other with tears falling down your face saying you loved each other over and over again for like 5 minutes. For on lookers you both probably looked crazy but to you two it wasn’t long enough.

You found it funny though when you both released each other to wipe your faces and she gave Alex a hug goodbye too.

She started crying on him too which was funny to see as you could tell that they had actually bonded in the time together in your flat. But you felt a little bad as she was now losing two friends instead of one.

Alex tried his best to calm her down and he did pretty well. But her tears stopped completely when he distracted her with information. He tried to sooth her by saying that you’d both be back before she knew it, as you were both coming back home for Christmas.

It seemed to settle her a bit and she was over the moon when Alex told her that he’d already booked her plane ticket for the following summer so she could come and stay with you both for a month.

He also told her that as soon as she knew when her school’s Easter Holidays were, to let him know so he could get the ticket booked so that she could come then too.

So, it was needless to say that you definitely be seeing her a lot and there was no way she’d be forgotten.

After she’d thanked him for all of that, she kissed him which made Alex pause but you laugh at his reaction. It was only a peck on his lips, but you could tell that she was just completely overjoyed that she just needed to thank him.

It was just funny that Alex wasn’t expecting it.

She then gave him the talk that a father would usually give his daughter’s boyfriend, which was extremely comical. She told him that he better take care of you, or he would have her to deal with and she would not hesitate to batter him despite him being a part of her favourite bands.

Alex didn’t doubt her for a second. But he had no intention of ever hurting you, so he was glad he would never have to feel her wrath.

Because he knew she was being deadly serious.

So that was emotional but the night before was on another scale completely. Saying goodbye to your family was really hard.

It was foolish of you to think beforehand that you could handle saying goodbye to your family. It was really difficult, and you wish you hadn’t put eyeliner on beforehand.

But you didn’t want to look like a tramp when you went to say goodbye to Alex’s Mum and Dad before you went to see your family. So that ended in you looking like a raccoon when you inevitably cried.

Thankfully your Mum had some make up wipes and you sorted yourself out before your face got out of hand. Thankfully your sister hadn’t shown up to dinner, so you didn’t have her to say goodbye to.

You’d happily never see her for the rest of your life. You were glad you’d be halfway around the world from her.

But saying goodbye to Zoe was a heartbreaker.

She’d seen you get upset when you gave your brother a hug goodbye which made her a bit upset to whilst she was giving Alex a cuddle. She started tearing up on Alex’s lap which for the first few minutes you didn’t even notice because Alex was handling it so well.

It was only when Alex waved you over when he needed you to confirm for her that the both of you wouldn’t be gone forever. You held back your own tears when you saw the tears in her eyes.

She said that she didn’t want you to go which broke your heart, but you told her that she could FaceTime you whenever she wanted. That you’d be back for Christmas and that you’d promised to take her to the cinema when you got back so you could both see the new Disney films.

It made her really happy when Alex said that she could come and see the both of you in the school holidays at some point next year. Alex suggested that everyone in your family (Not your sister) could come over at the end of summer which you’d spoken to him about a few days before.

And you were pretty excited for it because he suggested that his Mum and Dad could come over too and have a week overlap which you thought would be a great idea. You knew both your Mum’s got on because there had been multiple times in school where the both of you had parent’s evenings and they would chat for ages.

Something which you and Alex never minded about because it meant that you could chill out with each other for a while longer. From what you could remember both your Dad’s got on well too, so you think that a summer holiday where everyone came over would be a great idea.

It wasn’t like the house wasn’t big enough for you all to coexist peacefully.

Thankfully Zoe was happy again by the time that you were leaving to go back to the flat. You said your goodbyes to your Mum and Dad at the door and let a few more tears fall but you hid them away from Zoe.

You wanted to leave with everyone having a smile on their face. And thankfully everyone did, it was just that you had tears in your eyes.

Your Mum and Dad were excited for you and that made you really happy.

So, when both you and Alex got into the car and got waved off by your family you felt a bit better. Still emotional but who wouldn’t be in the same situation.

Alex was the best too he was there any time you needed a hug or any sort of comfort so that was definitely a bonus.

Alex had elected to drive back home because he didn’t want you driving upset which you thanked him for. As you both made your way back to your flat, you had to pass his parent’s house again and you also had to pass the park that once upon a time you used to spend every evening you could at.

So, as you started to approach the gates of the park, you asked Alex, “I know it’s really weird, but can we walk around the park?”

The sun was just setting so you thought it was a beautiful time to have a little walk. Clear your mind after your emotional afternoon.

“Yeah course” Alex says and so he pulls to the side of the road and parks up. Back in high school the unspoken rule was that after you finished school at 3:15pm, all of your friendship group would reconvene at this park for 4:30 or 5 at the latest, before you all moved on to another spot further into the park.

Then you would all sit and chat the night away until your groups started dissipating because people had to venture home to have their dinner. Thinking about it, that was probably the reason why you and Alex liked having dinner late now.

That being because your subgroup of friend tried their best to stay out later so you could be in each other’s company for longer. That was the only reason you didn’t like going to your Mum’s for Sunday roasts now, because she serves the food at like 5 and you were used to eating around 7 or 8.

Both you and Alex got out of the car and made your way into the park hand in hand and you couldn’t help but smile, seeing everything was exactly the same as you remembered.

“We going to our spot?” Alex asked you and you nodded.

“Where else?” You grinned.

You both remembered the way to where your group used to spend their spare time surprisingly well. They were some of the best days of your life, some shit too but you did love being around all your mates.

As you walked, Alex asked you a question that took you by surprise.

“Are you sure you wanna come back to LA?”

You looked at him immediately your eyes wide. He just had a sad smile on his lips.

Shocked by his question you tell him quickly, “Yeah. God yeah. If you want me there anyway”

“Course I do, I just understand if you don’t want to leave your family” Alex told you truthfully.

He felt bad that it was basically his fault that you’d been upset all afternoon. He just didn’t want to anyway force you to do something that you’d regret.

You smile at him, “Well I always knew it was going to be difficult, but I definitely want to go.

“I just don’t want you to feel like you have to because I asked you too. Like I don’t want you to come because you feel like you have to” Alex tries and explains to you.

You smile at him and give his hand a squeeze before telling him, “No I promise I do. I’m ready for that another adventure… And I wanna be wherever you are”

“Why’s that?” Alex asked you with a cheeky grin on his face.

He felt a little better knowing that you did actually want to move.

You rolled your eyes knowing that he was only asking because he wanted to hear you say it again.

“That would be because I love you” You say with a grin.

“I love you too” Alex chuckled, before he dipped his head, so his lips caught yours.

You kissed him back for a second before you had to pull away because you were both still walking towards the hidden field you spent most of your youth in. It wasn’t a long walk to the field that was mostly surrounded by trees, but it was a fair few minutes, so you just spoke your mind as you walked.

“I’m so glad that you’re not leaving before me and that we’re on the same flight” You told him.

Alex looked at you curiously and asks, “Why?”

“I don’t like it when you leave here” You say as stop for a second to zip up your coat.

“How come?” He wonders.

“Reminds me of a bad day” You say as you link Alex’s arm this time as you begin to walk again.

He looks at you slightly confused, not really remembering a bad say on this park.

You continue to explain, “The day you were all going down to London and then you secretly told me that you’d be heading to New York”

Alex remembered that day. It was after the Whatever People Say I Am tour.

You’d all come home, and he remembered telling you that him and the lads were only having another month back home before moving down to London. So, you all decided that the day before they were going to leave, you were going to do everything that you all usually did.

At that point though, the group had just dwindled down to you, the boys and Andy too, because he was still mates with them, despite leaving the band.

“But the last day here we all spent it together. Did everything we usually did but just said our proper goodbyes at the end. And then I walked you back home like I usually did” Alex asked you, double checking he remembered correctly.

“Yeah” You nodded. “But that day was up there with the worst ones of my life”

Alex looked confused at that revelation. He remembered it being a really good day, so he didn’t know what had happened to make you think that.

“But I thought that w-“ Alex started but you thought it was best to interrupt and explain.

“I was losing all my friends… I was losing you” You tell him.

Both of you then turn onto the path that isn’t really a path that will take you to your field.

You continue on as you do so, “And I know I couldn’t have been with you like we are now, because you were with Alexa, but that was still a hard day for me”

You smile as the field opens up in front of you both. It was like it hadn’t changed at all.

The only difference was that it wasn’t full of teenagers anymore.

“But I swear you said how much of a good day you had?” Alex said sceptically with furrowed eyebrows.

“Yeah, the day was good, but in the evening, I wanted to cry for most of it... As we were all messing about all I could think is that I wasn’t going to get this ever again” You tell him as you both sit down on the grass where you used to.

And you weren’t wrong. That was the last time you’d come to this field.

“You don’t know how much effort I put in to keep smiling that day” You smile down at the grass and pick at a few strands of it with your free hand.

Alex grabs your attention again and says, “Y/N, you’re too strong for your own good. You were allowed to be upset. God knows we all were. Do you not remember Matt’s mini breakdown?”

You smile and look at him when you say, “Yeah but I had to be more positive after that. He wouldn’t have gone easily if I had a breakdown, would he?”

“Probably not but that doesn’t mean it should have been down to you to stay happy for us all” Alex throws his arm around your shoulders as you say that.

“Al, I think I would have cried the whole day away. I was so proud of myself after I hugged you goodbye at my door that I’d actually got through the day without slipping…” You tell him as you lean into him and look up to the sky that’s turning a deeper shade of orange.

“Because god knows I cried when I got inside” You smiled at the embarrassing memory.

“Noooo” Alex looked round at you.

“Oh yeah. Like cried myself to sleep sort of crying” You laughed at yourself a little bit as you looked into Alex’s brown eyes.

“Come here” He says and practically pulls you into him to give him a sideways hug.

“I’m sorry” Alex murmured before kissing the top of your head.

“Don’t be sorry” You say as you release him from the hug. “I was happy for you all, like so unbelievably thrilled that you’d made it. I was so happy for you”

“But you were still upset” He pouts which makes you smile.

He was so cute feeling bad for something that had happened years before. You’d never resented him at all for it at all.

He was doing what he needed to do to be successful and you were happy it all paid off for him in the end.

“Well yeah. Isn’t everyone when their world changes completely?” You say looking at the pretty man beside you.

“You’re making me feel worse” Alex says as he runs a hand through his hair.

“Stop feeling bad” You chuckle before nudging him with your shoulder. “You were living your life. God knows if I had the money coming in that you’d all had; I would have moved too”

Alex grabs your hand again and gives it a squeeze, “But that can’t have been nice for you”

“It wasn’t but it was for the best in the end. I ended up not being obsessed with you anymore and found a decent job to get me through Uni and I got myself a boyfriend” You smile at the memories of what once was.

It was mad how things changed over time. Yeah, you’d always fancied Alex but not for a second did you ever think that you would end up with him.

“Mad how we both fancied each other but kept it to ourselves for so long, ain’t it?” Alex has a little chuckle before looking at ever changing colourful sky too.

“Not like we could have aired it at certain points” You can’t help but smile.

Alex chuckles at what you said too, “Nah, I think our other halves would have been a bit annoyed to say the least”

“I’m so glad we drunkenly arranged that holiday” You say as you look back around at him.

He’s already smiling at you when you turn to him. You grin when he says, “Literally the best decision either of us has ever made”

“I’m so glad Matt got Bre preggers too, or I’d have been at Matt’s” You say as you lean your head onto his shoulder.

You feel him shrug his shoulders just before he says, “I think Matt would have wing-manned me and got you to stay at mine anyway… He was literally trying to get us together the whole time you were over”

That was a revelation to you.

You hadn’t picked up on that at all.

You asked with furrowed eyebrows, “Wait Matt knew before anything happened?”

“Yeah” Alex says like it was obvious, so you pick your head up to look at him as he spilled the truth.

“Y/N I’ve been on the phone to you almost every night for the last two years. Everyone knew” Alex tells you with a smile as he tucks your head behind your ear.

You needed a full second to process that.

You thought back through the entirety of your holiday and still didn’t quite see Matt wing-manning him. But it definitely made Miles’ actions a bit more understandable.

The constant innuendos, the trying to get you to reveal things that you definitely didn’t want to. Even him silently suggesting you kiss Alex at the bar.

“I guess Miles’ jokes make a bit more sense now” You shake your head with a smile on your lips.

“Yeah, he was trying to get under my skin, not yours. Especially when we watched Fifty Shades” Alex nudged you with his shoulder and you laughed.

“Well I got the best outcome, so I’d go through it again” You tell him with a grin.

Alex looked from your beautiful eyes down to your lips as he said, “So would I” before he kissed you.

How was it that you still felt nervous kissing him after all this time? You’d definitely had your fair share of kisses at this point but the way he made you feel when he took over your lips with his was like nothing else.

When Alex pulled away you lent your head down on his shoulder for a few minutes in silence. You both savoured the feeling of being home for a while longer.

You liked that you were sat in one of the places that you both felt most free. Other than your friends, there were no prying eyes to the shenanigans that you all got up to.

And you were all always so happy here.

Well maybe except for one time.

“Want to know something funny?” You ask your boyfriend as your head still rests on his shoulder.

“Go on” Alex says as he kisses your head.

“Last day of high school, I had a meltdown right there…” You say pointing just to the left of you, to a spot about 5 meters of so from you.

You continue, “Because I saw you and Jennifer get off like just in front of me”

Jennifer was just some pretty girl in school. You didn’t mind her usually but after you saw that interaction, you went right off her.

“You’re joking?” He says and you can hear the shock in his voice.

“No. I so upset” You smile at your childishness as you pick your head up to look back at Alex. “Millie had to pull me to the side and make sure I was okay”

Alex asked you, “I’m assuming Millie knew you liked me?”

Millie was your best friend throughout the whole of high school. You both told each other everything back then.

You were gutted when her parents moved down to London after she’d finished high school.

You still spoke to her sometimes. Always messaged each other on birthdays and sent each other little presents.

The last time she’d messaged you was when you announced that you and Alex were official on your Instagram. You’d had a good catch up with her that night and you were happy that she was happy for the two of you.

“Yeah” You confirm, “And I remember that she’d been telling me all that night that you’d been looking over at me, so she reckoned you liked me too… But then I saw you get off with Jennifer and I was gutted”

“Aw Y/N/N” Alex smiles at you and gives your hand a squeeze.

“It’s alright though because I joined in that game of spin the bottle and got my first kiss with Max” You grin a little proud of that.

Not everyone could say that they had their first proper kiss with the fittest guy in their school year. It certainly made you feel better that night.

“That was your first kiss?” Alex asks you and you nod at him with a smile on your face.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows at you followed up with, “Why are you grinning?”

“Because he was fit at the time” You admit.

Alex scoffs at that which makes you laugh. He starts chuckling too, only faking disappointment in you, until something clicks in his head which makes him stop laughing.

“Wait, so your telling me you had your first kiss to spite me?” Alex asks you.

You press your lips together having been caught out, “You know I’m petty like that”

“I can’t believe you got off with my mate because you were fuming at me” Alex shakes his head at you.

The faking disappointment may have worked better for him if he didn’t have the smile creeping onto his face.

You just shrug and giggle a little bit. Alex then throws his arm back around your shoulder and you think he’s going to kiss your head again but your surprised when he starts speaking.

“Just as good that I kissed Jennifer to make you jealous then, wasn’t it?” He whispered in your ear and your gasped the loudest you ever had.

“You didn’t” You look at him completely shocked.

You could see on his face that it was true.

He nods and tells you, “Matt suggested that to see if you liked me at all to kiss someone else to see if you’d be jealous or not afterwards”

Well that was a fucking stupid idea. You didn’t get jealous though, so that was a stupid idea.

“Well that was pointless. You could tell if I liked you or not by you kissing me and see if I kissed you back”

“Same could be said for you” Alex fairly points out.

You go a bit shy on him when you admit, “I was never that brave”

He then smirks at you, “So, something changed in fifteen years then? Because you had no trouble doing it at that bar”

“Yes Al, it’s called growing up” You giggle.

At that though, Alex stands up and offers you his hands so he can help you stand up too. You grab his hands and he pulls you up with a big grin on his lips.

“What are we doing?” You question.

“We’re doing what we should have done back then” Alex says as he drags you over to the spot where you had your meltdown years ago.

“Stay there for a second” Alex says patting your shoulders before walking into the field a few meters.

“I think I was somewhere over here, right?” Alex estimates and spins himself back round so you can confirm it for him.

You chuckle and nod at him.

“You’ve got to be your old self. You can’t be cocky mister confident even when we’re messing about” You tell him.

Alex raises his hands in an innocent way which makes you giggle. You then watch as he sits himself down onto the grass and gets himself into a relaxed position.

He acts for a minute and looks around the field and pretends he’s chatting to people. You hold back your laughter as you watch him. After a few seconds of that he looks over to you and a smile immediately makes its way to his face.

“Y/N/N come over here?” He calls.

You see that he’s literally got all his defences down as you see the cheeky grin that he used to have on his face all the time is back. Just how you remembered him in school.

You press your lips together to hold back the smile on your face and walk over. Once you reach him you sit down in the same way that he was sat but so you were facing him instead.

Your faces were about a foot away from each other and you smiled at him innocently, waiting for the little sketch to carry on.

“Why aren’t you playing spin the bottle?” Alex asks you, nodding to somewhere behind you as if there actually was people playing it.

You shrug your shoulders. You think what you back then would have said and end up coming up with, “Because I don’t want to kiss any of them”

“Not even Max?” Alex asks you with a smile sneaking onto his face.

You let out a little giggle before you regain your composure and shake your head, “No, not even Max”

“That’s a shame” Alex says before brushing off his jeans but not making any attempt to move away from you.

“Why’s that?”

Alex says as he looks down to the little bit of grass that was between you as he says, “Because maybe I could have kissed you if we played”

Smooth fucker.

You doubted he’d say that to you back then, but you went with it anyway. When his dark eyes flicked back up to meet yours, you held back most of your smile, so you weren’t grinning like an idiot.

“Well, there’s nothing stopping us right now?” You say as innocently as you can.

And then Alex proceeded to lean forward and kiss you sweetly for a few seconds before it progressed into something more heated. Which you were sure would have made you completely obsessed with him back then.

“That was fun” You say just after you took a deep breath.

“Yeah it was…” He says before looking back to you with a full smile now. You know he’s leaving the charade behind when he says, “Maybe we could do it again sometime?”

“Yeah… Maybe in a pub in LA thirteen years later” You offer with a grin.

“That’s a bit too long” Alex says before he grabs your face and pulls you back in for round 2.

~*~*~*~

You’d been back in America for just over a month now and you’d settled in nicely just like you did when you originally went. You settled into a routine over there which was pretty fun to get used to but there wasn’t really much difference from your holiday.

So, in the free time that you had before you had to start work you got used to driving over there. You would need to be comfortable heading into the city for work in just over a month’s time, so Alex was coming out on little drives with you.

He definitely helped you out as you were initially nervous about everything being the opposite way around. But you seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly.

You even ended up dipping into some of your savings so you could get yourself a car as you definitely did not want to be driving Alex’s fancy ones around all the time. He initially was against it saying you could just use one of his because he obviously couldn’t use them all at one.

However, you twisted his arm and made him take you to the Mini garage and you got yourself a Mini with a convertible roof. Because if you were going to live in a country where it was sunny most of the time you may as well make the most of it.

You loved your little car and you loved your first month living with your boyfriend. And you were having the best time.

For the moment you were all hanging out together in each other’s houses because Alex and Miles had pretty much finished their album. Matt was going in and helping them on occasion to do backing vocals and Breana was resting herself as she was getting close to her due date.

So, for the first 4 weeks you were over there, it was all very relaxed, and you were enjoying it. You’d spent a lot of time with Breana who you really loved, and she was already becoming a really close friend.

You both gossiped with each other a hell of a lot which was always fun. And you both had serious chats as well which was good because you knew you could trust her with anything that you’d say, and you could tell her in confidence.

Most of the time though you were listening to her worries about the baby, but you had every faith in her, and you knew that she was going to be the best Mum. If she could take care of Matt, she could definitely handle a baby.

It was about a week into October when you and Breana were having a day to yourselves whilst the lads were in the studio adding some extras into their songs. Matt was with them to add more backing vocals, so you and Breana were making the most of their absence and glamming each other up.

You had lazily driven down the long road to Matt and Breana’s with your makeup bag and a bag of nail polishes. You ended up trying out different eyeshadow looks on each other which was really fun.

You’d given her a really cute pink look that she seemed to love. And she’d given you a darker look but with a pop of colour under your eye.

After you’d done each other’s nails and make up, you both just have a relaxing afternoon. You watch some shitty TV that the boys would never let you watch without complaining the whole way through and you gossip a lot too.

Breana had just gone out of the room you were both set up in when you heard her shout you. You thought nothing of it and got yourself up heading just into the other room where you saw that she was stood.

“Yeah?” You said.

She turned to look at you and her eyes were completely wide.

“My waters just went… I’m gunna have my baby Y/N/N” Breana smiles at you, shock clear on her face but also happiness was radiating from her.

“You are” You giggle before you give her a hug because you can see that she was excited as well as being nervous.

“Right come on. Let’s get you to the hospital” You say and take her hand and lead her towards her front door.

“Wait I need to get the bag I prepped that’s in the nursery” She says pulling back a second.

“You get in my car I’ll run up and get it” You say before fishing your keys out of your pocket and hand them to her.

Once you were running up the stairs to grab the bag for her, you were also immediately calling Matt. You called him about 3 times before you made it to your car after getting the bag and locking up their house and there was no answer.

So, at that point you tried to call Alex as Breana was next to you trying to phone Matt. You were both getting annoyed as the ringing carried on for ages and you were going to bollock them about having their phones on silent when you saw them.

In the car Breana also had her first contraction, so you also had to keep an eye on the time to see how long they lasted for and how fast they were occurring. So needless to say, it was the most stressful car journey that you’d ever experienced.

After you’d called Alex another 10 times you decided he was useless and decided to give Miles a call instead. And thank god he answered his phone the second time you called it.

“Hello” You hear the Scouse accent come through your car speakers.

At that point both you and Breana released a sigh of relief that you’d got through to them.

“Miles, thank fuck. Tell your fucking mates to answer their fucking phones” You say absolutely fuming.

“What’s up? Is everything okay?” He questions hearing how frustrated you sounded.

You nod even though he couldn’t see you and start to explain, “Yeah everything’s okay but we’re on our way to the hospital. Bre’s waters have gone. The baby on the way, so get your arses to the hospital now”

Miles stupidly then asked you in shock, “Are you being serious?”

“Why would you think I was joking, you melt!? Get in your cars now!” You almost shout over the phone.

You knew Alex had picked Matt up this morning and you also knew Miles would have driven himself like usual.

There is no hesitation when you hear Miles sternly tells your boyfriend, “Al get your car keys now”

“Why what?” You hear him say through the phone.

Miles ignores him though telling the soon to be father, “Matt you’re having your baby mate”

“What? Is that Bre? Is she okay?” You can both here the panic in his voice.

“It’s Y/N but Bre’s with her. Her waters have gone” Miles calmly tells him as you turn into the car park for the hospital.

Matt can be heard panicking saying, “Let me speak to her”

“Bre, baby, are you okay?” Matt’s voice then becomes clear on the phone

“I’m okay Matt. I need you” Breana tells him.

By the looks of her, you think she was just relieved to hear his voice.

He’s a little flustered when he says, “I’m coming, we’re just leaving”

“Okay well were at the hospital now. Get here quick” She instructs him.

“I’m on my way” Matt tells her reassuringly.

Breana asks him, “Call my Mom and Dad for me Matt please” as you park up the car in a spot.

“I’ll do it now. I love you Bre”

“Love you too” She tells him, and in your peripherals, you can see her smile.

Once she’s finished her declaration of love, you interrupt with, “Right Matt I’m taking her in now. Tell Al to hurry the fuck up”

“Keep her safe for me Y/N/N” Matt tells you and you smile.

“Always. Now hurry up” You say before you end the call and get the both of you out of the car.

The longest half an hour of probably all of your lives then took place whilst you waited for them to get to the hospital. You try and keep Breana as calm as you can though throughout her contractions.

Thankfully they were still pretty far apart so she definitely wasn’t going to be giving birth just yet, so Matt had time. But of course, she would want him here over you.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t make the most of you being with her.

“You know Y/N, I thought I was going to be coming into this hospital looking like a pig when this baby was coming but thanks to you, I feel pretty glam. Or I did before I was put in this gown” She had a little giggle which you joined in with.

You tell her honestly giving her hand a quick squeeze, “Bre you could have walked in here with your hair in a messy bun, no make-up or nail polish or anything and you would still have looked beautiful”

“Wow can I marry you instead of Matt?” She jokes with a smile.

You just giggled. But then you see someone run past the window and you both could tell that it was Matt.

“I think he’s excited Bre” You giggle to her as you stand up.

“Thank you for getting me here Y/N/N” Breana says as she gives your hand a squeeze.

You smile at her before you lean down to give her a hug. “It was my pleasure. You’re going to do amazing Bre. And I can’t wait to meet little Helders soon”

“Neither can I” She giggles as you pull away.

“Right, I’m going to go slap our men and tell them to never put their phones on silent ever again before I send him into you” You joke with her as you make your way to the door.

She laughs at that and says that she’ll do the same once her little boy or girl has made an appearance.

“Love you Breana” You look back to her as say with a big smile.

“Love you too Y/N” She tells you and just before you leave the room you smile at her and blow her a kiss.

You find Matt and Alex a minute later where Matt traps you in a quick hug thanking you loads of times. You tell him that everything fine and explain what’s happened which in truth wasn’t a lot, but you were all thankful for that because at least Matt was here for her now.

You and Alex then go to the private waiting room as you were in the private section of the hospital and you both wait there for further news. Matt asked if you would both wait, which you of course would do for him.

In that time, you and Alex were in contact with Matt’s parents and Breana’s parents making sure they could both get here okay. Alex had booked Matt’s Mum and Dad them tickets to get on the next plane over here so they could come and meet their grandchild.

Breana’s Mum and Dad were in a different state so they were driving over as quickly as they could. They said they would be with you in about 3 hours or so.

When you and Alex sorted all of that stuff out there wasn’t much left to do but sit and wait. And as you did that you’d got chatting.

He informed you that on their way to the hospital Miles got a puncture in the tire of his car, so he’d had to stop and wait for breakdown to come and get him. So, it was it was lucky that they both went in separate cars after all.

Then you got chatting whilst you were both waiting. The conversation went from you jokingly telling Alex to never but his phone on silent again which made him laugh but also apologise.

He then commented that you looked very nice and gestured to your eyes which made you laugh. You forgot that Breana had given you like a smoky eye shadow look but then added a touch of teal under your eye which made your Y/E/C stand out.

The teal also matched your nail polish which you applauded Breana for coming up with. You weren’t that observant usually, but you really liked the vibe.

After she’d done your make up to match your nails, you ended up doing her make up to match her nails too. She’d chosen a baby pink nail polish so that was what you’d gone for with her eyeshadow. You did a soft pink look on her which came out really well.

After you explained that you were doing each other’s make-up just before Breana’s waters had broken, different topics of conversation arose. And unsurprisingly you chatted about the situation you were both currently in came up.

You both started talking about the both of you waiting and how important it was that they both had the two of you there as support if they needed it. Especially considering none of their other support networks were around them.

“Yeah definitely, I’d want him to be here if it was the other way around” Alex tells you with a smile, even though he knows you couldn’t see his face because you were resting your head on his shoulder.

He continues, “Makes me happy thinking about the possibility of us going through this at some point”

“You want kids?” You ask him, picking your head up off his shoulder to look at him.

“Well not right away, but yeah I definitely do” Alex tells you and that was a relief to you.

The one thing that you wanted in life was to be a Mum. So, him saying that made you so happy.

You ask, not being able a keep the smile off your face, “Really?”

“Yeah” Alex nodded and asked, “Is it that hard to believe I wanna have kids with you?”

You’re beaming at that, “No. I’m just happy that you actually do”

The grin that breaks out on Alex’s face was like nothing you’d seen before. “We can wait a while though, right? I want a bit more than just the three months alone with you”

You giggle but nod, “Yeah. I want another album out of you at the very least before we even think about it”

“Well the next Puppets album gets released next year” Alex grins at you.

You laugh at his efforts. Absolutely not.

You shake your head, “Nope I want a Monkeys one. You’re not just leaving me with AM. I know you’ve got songs in that head of yours already written for it”

“Okay okay” Alex laughs.

“But yeah I’ll have your kids Alex. It’s a cross I’ll be willing to bare” You joke, and he chuckles before kissing you quickly.

You kiss him back and the grin at him stupidly for a moment. “Oh my god. Jamie’s, Nick’s, Matt’s and our kids will be called the Little Monkeys. Oh my god. Call Domino now” You joke.

“I hate you” Alex laughs shaking his head at your sense of humour. You’re so easily impressed it never fails to make him laugh.

“But you want my little monkeys?” You furrow your eyebrows at him playfully.

Alex nods chuckling, “I really do”

After that you and Alex just sit in a peaceful silence for a few seconds just grinning like idiots as you look around the room.

After staring into space for a solid minute Alex turns back to you and asks, “Can we continue practicing trying for kids though?”

You burst into giggles and nod.

“Yeah we can practice all you like” You laugh before kissing his cheek and resting your head on his shoulder again as you intertwine your hands.

About two hours later Matt walks into your private waiting room and he has the cutest smile and the glossiest eyes. You’ve never seen Matt close to tears before, but you can tell they are happy tears.

“I’ve got a baby girl Al” Matt says as soon as he makes eye contact with Alex and you both stand up.

Alex is over to Matt in mere seconds and you watched as they gave each other the biggest hug. And because of this emotional day you started tearing up just at that, if you got to see the baby today you didn’t even want to imagine your reaction.

“Are they both okay?” Alex asks him as they still hug each other.

“Yeah they’re amazing” Matt is smiling, and you can see the tears running down his face.

“She came about fifteen minutes ago…” Matt starts explaining that she was healthy and that she came quickly once it was time and how much she weighed.

You were just getting emotional hearing that both Breana and their baby girl were okay and from watching as both men just looked at each other with massive smiles on their faces.

You can hear Alex��s smile as he gives Matt another hug telling him, “I’m so happy for you mate”

“Thank you” Matt gives him a tight squeeze before letting him go when he makes eye contact with you.

Matt smiles at you, telling you, “Don’t you cry, you’ll set me off even more” as he wipes away his own tears.

“They’re both okay?” You double check with tears still brimming your eyes.

“They’re great” Matt nods and he pulls you into a hug.

“I’m so happy for you” You say into his shoulder.

Matt chuckles and says, “Thanks Y/N/N”

He hugs Alex again once he’s lets go of you, and it’s like he’s clinging to him for dear life. They were such fucking cute best mates.

“I’ll come and get you when you can see her” Matt says sort of excitedly.

“Okay” Alex says as Matt heads back to the door but then he remembers to ask.

“You heard anything from Bre’s Mum?” He asks you.

You inform him on the conversation you had with her about 20 minutes ago, “They are stuck in traffic. The motorway is at a standstill, but they are on their way”

“I’ll get someone to tell you if they show up. And you’re Mum and Dad are on a flight over too” Alex tells him.

Matt nods and says, “Thank you” and has a second to himself where he looks like he doesn’t know if he should stick around here a bit longer or go back.

So, you make the decision for him.

“Go and see your baby” You tell him as he’s hovering.

“Okay” Matt smiles at the both of you, “Love you guys… Thanks for staying”

“We love you too, now go” Alex says as Matt’s obviously itching to get back.

You turn and hug Alex and let out a breath as his arms go around you. You were so relieved everything was alright.

You ended up meeting the gorgeous baby girl that was Amelia Helders about 40 minutes later. She was gorgeous just like her Mum and Dad.

Both you and Alex got a little cuddle of her which was amazing. You don’t think that you’d ever been the fourth person to hold someone’s new-born baby before.

As Alex held her before you did, you chatted to Breana telling her how amazing she was and even playfully scorned her for looking just as beautiful after childbirth as she had beforehand. She had done absolutely amazing.

You were holding little Amelia in the chair just next to Breana’s bed, Matt was on a chair just in front of you and Alex was on the chair to the side of you. It was like you were all forming a protective circle for the little angel that had just graced you all with her appearance.

As you were looking down at the beautiful little girl, Matt took up your attention by asking his best mate, “Al, how would you like to be her godfather?”

“Really?” Alex asked, completely taken aback.

“Yeah we were talking about it the past few months and think you’d spoil her rotten like a good Uncle should” Matt grinned at him.

Alex’s smile literally couldn’t get any bigger when he said, “I’d be honoured”

You watched with a massive smile as he gave Matt another hug and then gave Breana a kiss on the cheek. She smiled at him before she then said, “Right so her Uncle Alex is going to spoil her rotten, so I think that her Aunt Y/N/N should be the more responsible godparent”

“Are you?” You had to double check looking between the both of them that you weren’t reading into anything, but Breana started nodding at you.

“Are you sure?” You ask completely shocked.

Never for a second would you have thought that you would have been asked to be their baby’s godmother.

“Y/N/N the amount you’ve helped me over the last few months was enough for me to know that you’re going to love her just as much as me and Matt” Breana speaks honestly.

She adds on the end in jest, “And as long as you promise to tell me if she comes to you to asking for condoms when she’s a wild teenager then you’re definitely the perfect candidate”

She had you laughing at that. It was funny as well when Matt almost gasped saying, “Don’t want to think about that just yet, thanks Bre”

That makes all of you have a little giggle, but you start welling up again. God you didn’t think you were this emotional.

“Stop or I’m going to cry on your little girl” You say tilting your head back, so no tears fell.

The whole room had a good little giggle at that, and you handed Breana her beautiful little Amelia back.

~*~*~*~*~*~

After that day, life seemed to get a bit more hectic for everyone. You were prepping for work in the week that followed and also going around to see Matt, Breana, and Amelia when you could. However, you did want to give them some space because they did have a house full of people as both Matt’s and Breana’s parents were staying there.

Eventually the time came for you to start work and you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t excited. Because you really really were.

Literally the only productive things you’d done the past month was arrange your wardrobe how you wanted it, get your own car, and shag Alex. And whilst all that was fun, especially the latter, you were really excited for getting creative again.

And even after your successful first week in work you got to be just as creative on the Saturday following it because it was Halloween. Alex had arranged your costumes and as it turns out you were all going as DC characters.

Alex was being The Riddler which you never thought you would find attractive but as soon as he put that suit on you were extremely turned on. Especially when he asked you to put on his eyeliner for him.

Alex had got you a full-blown Cat Woman outfit, which was skin-tight for a start, but you had to say he chose well because it made you look good. You had on leather heeled boots and leather gloves too, along with the eye mask, ears and the utility belt.

Needless to say, when you walked out in its Alex’s jaw dropped to the ground.

It was definitely the sexiest you’d ever felt on Halloween but also at the same time you were in an expensive costume for it, so you didn’t think that you were being a slut. Your suit was zipped all the way to the top and it would be staying that way until Alex unzipped it for you when you got back home.

You’d done dark eyeshadow for it with a winged eyeliner to add to the overall look and you’d also straightened your hair and styled it back like Anne Hathaway’s was in the film.

Miles had come round dressed as Heath Ledger’s Joker which was fun, and you had a little giggle at. Both suits looked really good on them.

Matt was meant to be going as Superman and Breana was meant to be going as Poison Ivy but of course they had Amelia to look after now and she was only two weeks old, so you didn’t blame them skipping the party.

You ended up having a really fun night. It was even amusing when Miles kept handing you joker cards all night thinking he was funny and Alex telling people, but mostly you, riddles all night.

Some of the riddles Alex was telling you were mostly innocent ones that you hated yourself that you didn’t get. But you put it down to you drinking doubles all night.

You did pick up on a few of his riddles though, some which you were pretty proud of. Others you wish you didn’t get as they were whispered to you because you knew the answer was suggestive.

“I have four legs and a head but can’t walk, what am I?”

Bed.

“Tell me the place where we confirmed we were going out. It’s a place where the lights are sometimes turned out”

Bedroom.

“Some people prefer being on top, other prefer being on the bottom and it always involves a bed. What am I?”

Bunk bed.

But then he was teasing you to a new extreme when he started with the dirtier ones.

You were stood at the bar with Alex’s hand around your waist watching as the bartender who was dressed as a zombie poured your drinks. You were paying attention to the guy serving your drinks instead of Alex which made him pull you into his side unexpectedly.

You weren’t exactly shocked by what he did, but you also weren’t expecting it which made you turn to look at him. You could already see the mischief in his eyes before he lent towards you and whispered into your ear, “Riddle me this love… What’s long and hard and has cum in it?”

Immediately something comes to mind and you look to him with your eyebrows raised suggestively. Alex runs his tongue over his bottom lip which you later realised was a ploy to make you look at his lips which you really fell for.

You see his lips twitch into a half smirk before you look back up at his dark eyes which looked even darker because of the eyeliner you’d done earlier. You were practically drooling for him at this point and picturing how you were going to undress him later on.

“Darling, the answers cucumber. Don’t look at me like that” Alex tells you and the smirk on his face gets bigger.

You shake your head at that and pay the bartender before only grabbing your own drink off before you go and dance with Miles on the dance floor. You made sure that you strutted away in a way that would make him look at your arse.

If he was going to tease you, you would tease him right back.

The next time he does it was about two hours later, so you weren’t expecting it again. You were watching him smoke his cigarette as you were hoping to cool down.

You were leant back against the wall of the building, willing the coolness of the bricks to seep through the material you were wearing. As you did that, you were looking at that beautiful suit he was wearing and shamelessly looking at his arse.

It wasn’t your fault though it just looked so good. Whoever had fitted him for that suit needed a medal because wow.

“Hey” Alex caught you looking at him which made you press your lips together coyly.

“You know I never thought I would be attracted to the Riddler. But here I am?” You say with a smile as he stubs his cigarette out and walks towards you.

His hands run up your body like he’s tracing the outline of it before they eventually rest on your hips. He stands that close to you now that your forced into the wall which made your smirk get bigger.

You brought your hands up to wrap them around his neck and as you did, you fixed his hair as a few strands were coming loose which you knew he would hate. As you did that for him, he told you in a low voice, “Well you know, when I watched Anne Hathaway as Cat Woman, I didn’t expect the character to get any better but here you are proving me wrong”

It was at that point that you laced your fingers in the back of his hair and pulled in towards you because you needed your boyfriends’ lips on your own. And like you expected he wasn’t holding anything back. He was fully taking on the role of a villain and he was torturing you by pressing you into the wall, tightly gripping your hips and biting down on your lip until a quiet moan slipped from your mouth.

It was like you both forgot that other people surrounded you. But you both didn’t seem to care at all.

Especially when he broke away from your lips and started kissing down your neck. You made an effort to keep silent when he started doing that because he knew exactly what to do to make noises slip from your lips when he started attacking your neck.

He started nipping at it your skin and you tried to distract yourself by saying between ragged breaths, “Shouldn’t it be me biting your neck? You should be telling me a riddle”

“I can do both love” Alex says before he looks back up at you taking your breath away once more when he attaches his lips back to yours.

He doesn’t keep them there for long though as he then kisses down your jaw until he’s teasing the other side of your neck. You almost miss his riddle as you were struggling to hear him over the sound of your heart thudding in your ears.

“What four letter word begins with F and ends in K, and when someone can’t get one, they use their hands instead?” Alex says in a suggestive voice before he kisses just underneath your ear in that way that he knows you love.

“Something we’ll be doing later?” You hope.

You can feel him smile against your skin before he pulls away and you get to see that smirk again. He cups your jaw and tilts your head up, so you’d be looking into his eyes.

He was such a tease though because his were staring at was your lips.

“Such a dirty mind love” Alex shakes his head as his thumb runs over your bottom lip. “The answers a fork” He tells you looking from your lips back up to your gorgeous eyes.

“You’re a prick” You say as you catch your breath back.

Alex cockily says back to you, “You love me”

“I do” You smile because you couldn’t lie about that at all.

“I love you too” Alex gives your lips one last kiss before you’re both shouted back inside.

You hoped that the previous riddle would have been his last, but you were incorrect about that. He decided to throw you one more when you’re practically pressed together on the dancefloor.

Alex grins at you when you turn around to face him and he says into your ear, “I go in hard but come out soft and I never mind if you want to blow me. What am I?“

You were taken aback by what he said but before you even get a chance to guess he puts a finger over your lips, “Before you answer if you get it right, I’ll give it you”

You looked at him fairly innocently, but Alex could feel you trace the top of the waistband of his trousers and he smirked at you again. He had you exactly where he wanted you.

“No, my love” Alex said before kissing you quickly.

You kiss him back but when you try and carry it on, he pulls away. He shakes his head at you before he dips his hand into inside his blazer pocket and pulls out a packet of chewing gum.

Fuck. That was the answer. Chewing gum.

He takes one out of the packet and puts it in his mouth that is again smirking at you with the most mischievous look you’d ever seen on his face. He then proceeded to wink at you before he innocently went off and started laughing with Miles and a few others.

You end up doing shots at the bar and dancing with Lana Del Rey who had come as Morticia Adams. She looked amazing like usual and you ended up having a really good night with her and her friends.

When Alex stole your attention again about an hour later you decided to tease him back and make his mind dirty just like he’d been doing to you. This time he was getting your drinks at the bar and you stood close to him taking up his attention.

“I have a riddle for you” You say as you pull him closer by the lapels of his blazer.

“‘M listening” Alex responds to you confidently smiling at you.

You ask him, “What’s the difference between sin and shame?”

He thought about it for a second, but he ended up shaking his head at you, having no idea.

You smirked and kissed just under his ear before telling him, “It’s a sin to put it in, but it’s a shame to pull it out”

When you move back to look at him then, his eyes had turned darker in lust and you saw that he wasn’t playing anymore. The smirk on your face stayed as you picked up your drink that had just been served to you.

You don’t give him a second thought as you move out of his grip and head back over to your new friends.

About an hour later you’ve gone back outside with Alex and Miles so they could have another cigarette where Miles was teasing him because he couldn’t think of anymore riddles.

You smiled at the pair before saying, “I’ve got one for the both of you”

“Let’s hear it then” Miles smiles at you as you take a sip of your drink.

Once you swallow the strong liquid in your mouth you tell them, “Why is air a lot like sex?”

Miles immediately smiles at the topic of riddle, but you again see that Alex narrows his eyes at you. You just smile knowingly at him because you were giving everything right back to him.

“Erm” You hear Miles wonders out loud, but you’re just focused on your man in his green suit, watching as he puts his cigarette between his lips. You had no idea how such a bad habit like smoking could look so fucking good when he was doing it.

It made you want to be a cigarette.

“I’ve got no idea Y/N/N” Miles tells you, drawing you back to the real world. “Al, you got any ideas?”

He shakes his perfect head and says in a voice that sounds disinterested, “Nah, why don’t you enlighten us Y/N” but he couldn’t take his eyes off your lips, so you knew all his attention was on you.

“Air is like sex because it’s no big deal unless you’re not getting any” You say, and Alex’s face then holds the cockiest smirk you’d ever seen.

“Suddenly I’m jealous of Alex” Miles laughs giving you a cheeky grin.

You decide to wipe that smirk right off Alex’s face by walking up to Miles saying, “Just because he’s in a relationship with me Miles, doesn’t mean he’s getting any”

“Oh” Miles smirked at you and you smiled back before kissing his cheek.

You then didn’t give Alex a second glance when you started to walk away, and you could immediately hear Miles start teasing his best mate.

Miles knew you were joking but he was all for getting Alex worked up.

2 hours later was when you told Alex your third and final riddle of the day. Since you’d said he wasn’t getting any when you got back home, he’d done his best to tease the fuck out of you and succeeded.

You were sat on Alex’s lap in a booth full of people around 3am and the party was still going on. You’d just about had enough though because you were too warm in what you were wearing and really wanted it off.

So, you lent down and gave Alex your last riddle, “What’s the difference between light and hard?”

“Riddle?” He asks you and you can see that his eyes are getting to that drunk tired stage. Yet they still looked as beautiful as ever.

You nod at him keeping your cool just running your fingers through the hair on the back of his head. After a minute of thought Alex gives up and tells you as your kissing his neck that he didn’t know.

“You can sleep with the light on” You tell him the answer and you feel his hands grip your hip and thigh tighter.

You were pleased that he understood that it was a dirty riddle and you gave him a little hint as to what you were after.

You playfully bite his earlobe before seductively saying, “Take that as a warning unless you take me home in the next ten minutes”

It was needless to say that when he saw you were stone cold serious about what you’d just said, he immediately started saying bye to those around him. And that night you were both awake till daylight fooling around.

And Alex made it very clear who was in charge.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Everything was going amazingly well in LA over the next few months. It felt like you were meant to be over there.

Everything seemed to be slotting itself very neatly into place and life was really really good.

The Helders household was doing amazingly well. Both Matt and Breana were giving little Amelia the best welcome to the world a little baby could ask for.

She was being spoilt rotten left, right, and centre, as every baby should be. She had so many toys and clothes now, thanks to all of her family, that their house was slowly being taken over.

Matt was doing an amazing job as being a Dad. You never imagined him so relaxed doing everything, but he’d taken to his new role extremely well which you think was amazing because it definitely gave Breana a chance to relax when she needed it.

You knew her pregnancy had been a difficult one from a lot of morning sickness to a whole load of other pregnancy related issues later on. Nothing which she didn’t handle expertly though.

You could just tell that she was thankful her beautiful little Amelia was here now, so all her struggles had been worth it.

You and Alex definitely spoiled her rotten too. You got her loads of toys and clothes and your favourite item of clothing that you gave them was a pink top that read ‘Little Monkey’.

Alex laughed when you showed him that you’d bought that, and Breana and Matt had the same reaction too. Nothing better than a little music humour when you were mates with the people in the band.

Life seemed completely perfect with no complications or upsets at all. You were loving work over there as even though you were doing the same job, everything was exciting and new.

You were on your little adventure and you were loving it.

The only thing that marginally ruined your time in LA in the first 5 months of your relationship was when you both had an unexpected visitor knocking at the front door.

You were fast asleep in your spot on the settee when Alex heard knocking start. Alex got himself up quietly from the other sofa as you were stretched across the one you normally shared.

Before heading to the door though, he kissed your head on his way past which he absolutely adored doing every chance he could. God, he loved you so much.

Alex made his way to the door where there were now endless knocks, so he moved a little faster so they wouldn’t wake you up. But when he opened it and saw who was there, Alex wished he’d ignored it completely.

The door opened to reveal a face that he could have happily gone the rest of his life without looking at again.

“Hey” Rita Ora said cheerfully as she moved around Alex, so she was stood in the foyer.

It was needless to say she did not get the welcome she was expecting.

Alex’s reply was, “What are you doing here?” And it wasn’t in a pleasant tone.

She just smiles and ignores his question though and talks about what’s on her own agenda.

“You didn’t say bye the night of my party” She says as she takes off her jacket and throws it over her arm.

The coat revealed that she was wearing baggy ripped jeans and an extremely low cut V-neck top that was obviously meant to be eye catching.

“Yeah there’s a reason for that. Get out” Alex instructs, still holding the door open.

Rita looks back at him extremely confused and says, “What? Why?”

“Are you having a fucking laugh?” Alex says, now getting annoyed.

Who the fuck did she think she was turning up to his house after saying all that shit about him?

“Oh Alex, what’s got you all agitated?” Rita asked sweetly seeing how annoyed he seemed.

“You being here” Alex says outright as he gestures towards her being stood in his house.

“I’m only here to see why you didn’t come to mine last week. You missed my birthday” She pouts at him.

Alex had to process what he was hearing for a second.

Had she actually drove all the way here to ask why he didn’t attend her home on her birthday as if she hadn’t said all those nasty things?

“Why for a second would you think I’d come to that?” Alec asked her.

His brown eyes showing no remorse for his tone of voice. He was getting angrier by the second.

“Because were good friends” Rita says like it was obviously common knowledge.

Alex just chuckles to himself before shaking his head saying, “No were not. That friendship ended the night of your party”

“What? Why?” She asks him, her expression showing she was hurt by what he said.

“Because I don’t associate myself with backstabbing people. I don’t have time for it” Alex tells her completely seriously.

Rita again looks hurt by what he was telling her, and she asks Alex in an innocent voice, “What have I done?”

“You really think that I wouldn’t find out what you’d said?” Alex asks in a challenging way.

He actually wanted her to lie to his face now. Just so she wouldn’t have a leg to stand on when he revealed the truth.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“Oh, you know, all the shit you spouted about me basically fucking around” Alex says, and she can see the anger bubbling on his face.

So, Rita again innocently asks, whilst faking confusion, “What?”

Alex just ends up scoffing and asking, “Did you really think that your conversation with Y/N would just stay between the two of you?”

“Oh don’t listen to whatever shit she’s telling you” Rita shakes her head sounding annoyed.

She then pointedly says, “You know I wouldn’t say anything like that…”

Rita concluded her mini rant with the statement, “She’s just jealous of our close friendship”

‘Wow. She’s deluded’ was all Alex could think.

“So, what you’re calling my girlfriend a liar?”

“Yes, because you know I wouldn’t say something like that” She again lies like it’s second nature.

“Get the fuck out of my house” Alex says absolutely fuming now.

He let the door stay half open and just moves away from it as he begins to pace back and forth.

“What why?” He hears Rita ask again as if it wasn’t fucking obvious at this point.

“You’re lying straight to my face, and even worse you’re lying about my girlfriend” Alex says as he points to himself.

“Girlfriend Alex… Really?” Rita then asks pulling a face at him. “Are you seriously that attached after a few fucks?”

Alex was ready to blow after that.

An infuriated Alex then tell her in a firm voice, “She is not just some fuck! How dare you even say that, I love her”

“Love, really?” Rita laughs as is he’d just told her a joke.

“Yes” Alex states. “I don’t know whether it’s a concept that you don’t grasp but I love her, and you need to go right now”

She just completely disregards him telling her to leave though and asks him with raised eyebrows, “How can you love her? You don’t even know her”

“Are you fucking real?” Alex laughs as he rubs his temples. “I’ve known her since we were twelve and like she told you on the fucking night Rita, she’s been my best friend for half my life”

“You don’t need to lower yourself to the standards of a nobody” She came back with.

“She isn’t a nobody! She’s everything. She’s my girlfriend, my best friend and she also wouldn’t ever say the shit what you said about me, even if she was jealous like you are” Alex ends up calling her out.

Rita just rolls her eyes and calmly says, “Whatever she’s told you I said was a lie”

“I fucking heard you say it” Alex snaps and shouts at her.

Rita just scoffs and laughs, “How has she tricked you into believing that we were there when we chatted?”

“All we chatted about down by the pond was if she’d enjoyed the party” She continued on.

“You are a fucking piece of work” Alex says before taking a deep breath.

He wasn’t a violent person but right now he wanted to go upstairs and beat the shit out of the punching bag in his gym.

“Why? I’m telling you the truth”

“You’re telling me the truth?” He asks her.

Rita nods, “Yes”

“Swear on your life” Alex says, wanting to see how long she’d lie for.

“Yes, Alex I swear. I’ve literally got nothing against her, I don’t know why you’re this angry”

“Nothing to say about me cheating then?” Alex asks with his arms folded, ignoring what she’d said.

“Alex I would never say that about you. I don’t know what she’s been saying but you know me, I would never say that…” She says looking straight into his eyes.

Rita continues on to paint you in a bad light when she says, “I honestly can’t believe she’d even made that up. You know if someone could make that up then that usual means they believe it, so I would watch your back if you keep her around for any longer Alex”

“You’re actually a horrible person” Alex blankly states.

“I can’t believe you’ve just lied to my face like that” Alex shakes his head absolutely seething, “Maybe you should just stick to being an actress”

She starts, “Alex I don’t und-“ But Alex very quickly interrupts her.

“I was on the phone to her. When you said all that shit, I was on the phone to her” Alex reveals the truth and he watches as her hard face slowly falls away.

“Yeah got nothing to say for yourself now have you” Alex says almost triumphantly.

“Fuck off and don’t come back here” Alex says before pointing towards the door. Rita goes to move towards the door that was still wide open when they both hear you in the kitchen.

“Hey Al, is everyt-“ Your words die in your throat when you see who’s stood in you in your doorway.

You just woken up from your nap feeling a little bit cold as the weather was slightly cooler than you were now used to over here. But it was early December, so you weren’t completely surprised by it.

You’d sat up from your position on the sofa and when you tuned back into real life, you were certain you could hear voices coming through the house. And they sounded like they were coming from the front door.

You didn’t know you were expecting any guests, so you got up so you could politely say hello to your visitor. As you got closer to your front door though, you could hear that the voices you were hearing seemed to be in a very heated conversation.

Which was why you started to ask before you’d even turned the corner to the foyer if everything was okay. You could clearly see that it wasn’t though.

Alex looked fuming, like he could tear his hair out at any given second. Rita looks like she was about to cry until she saw you walking towards Alex.

“Oh, so the whores still here?” Rita says, her expression now holding one that screamed that she was appalled to see you here.

“Call me that again” You dare her and change who you were walking over to.

You headed straight towards her instead. She could say that to your face now.

If you were willing to cut ties with your sister for calling you shit like that then you would sure as hell make someone else that you despised look into your eyes and say it to your face.

“Y/N/N” Alex catches you by your waist so you can’t get any closer to her. He was quite literally holding you back.

You try once to get out of Alex’s grip, but it proves useless as he just holds you back tightly with one arm.

“No come on, call me that again” You egg her on because you were ready for a scrap at this point.

“What are you going to do?” Rita asks you smugly as if she held the upper hand.

“Whatever I fucking like because you’re in our house and there’s no cameras watching our every move here” You say absolutely fuming that she had the nerve to come to where you both lived and call you that.

“‘Our house’?” Rita asks you. She obviously wasn’t expecting that one

“Oh, so your ears do work, good to know…” You sarcastically smile at her.

You continue to say, “So you can hear me when I tell you to get the fuck out”

Her ears must have just magically lost their ability to pick up audio as she doesn’t move at all. She just looks from you to Alex, who was still holding you from behind.

“Are you joking?” She asks him. “You’re really going to let her scrounge off you after being with her, what, five months?”

“Rita, just fuck off” You hear Alex tell her and you can hear the anger in his voice. You didn’t even want to imagine the expression on his face.

“No Alex, are you actually deluded?” Rita shakes her head at him.

“No Hun, that would be you” You interrupt.

She sends you an evil glare as she says, “Can you just fuck off. I didn’t come here to speak to you”

“No evidently not. You came here to try and get with my boyfriend” You call her out on it.

“But from the way he’s told you to fuck off numerous times it seems like he’s not really that into you, is he? So, I’ll do him a favour, so he won’t have to tell you again” You say, and you break through Alex’s grip on you and walk towards her.

Something which seemed to surprise both him and Rita and she took a few steps back towards the door with wide eyes, as you walked towards her.

“So out you go” You say watching as she turned around and made her way out of the door.

You encourage her to keep going through, “Yeah that it, just a little bit more so the door doesn’t hit you on your way out”

You hear Alex chuckle a little from behind you then. You hadn’t even done it for humour purposes though. You were literally just seeing red.

“Oh Rita, forgot to tell you something” You call her just before she steps off the entrance to the house.

She turns back to look at you expectantly which makes you smirk because you know that she’ll regret doing it completely.

“Just to make you aware, after this door closes, I’m going to do something you’ve never done and never will” You tell her.

She glares at you again before saying, “What’s that? Finding someone else to beg and steal from?”

“Oh no, I’m sure you’ve already done that. I mean something you won’t ever do…” You say as you hold the side of the door so you can close it when you want to.

She looks to you expectantly at that point then. You’re surprised she wasn’t tapping her designer heels, waiting for you to speak.

“I’m going to fuck Alex Turner” You say victoriously.

And just as she’s about to say something else, you slam the door in her face.

You’re fucking raging when you grab Alex’s hand and drag him back through the house.

“I fucking hate that witch” You say as you practically speed walk through the kitchen to get to the lounge. Alex hot on your heels.

“Where are we going?” You hear him ask you.

“You’re going right there” You say before you push him down, so he’s sat in your usual seat on the settee.

“Y/N” Alex says as you straddle him. He helped you down onto him where he knew you were usually comfortable, but he could see how worked up you were.

“Alex, I’m gunna fuck you right now, so would you like to undress yourself or let me rip your clothes off like I want to” You told him and you felt him grip your hips that bit tighter so you knew he wanted this too.

You saw his Adams apple bob before he just nodded at you. You then attached your lips to his and start to shed off items of clothing.

After you had the most possessive shag of your entire life, you felt completely satisfied. Making Alex tells you that he was yours and halfway through, when he got his brain back into gear and flipped the both of you over, he was making you tell him that you were his.

Something which neither of you would ever forget and the fact that the sex ended with ‘I love you’ kisses just made everything better.

You loved him with everything you had, and you were glad even someone toxic like that could never come between you.

You knew you were endgame, and nothing made you happier.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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Other parts in Masterlist in bio x

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