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femlesbianbarbie · 10 months
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Van Palmer x reader where reader gets a very mild injury during soccer practice and van goes overboard with worry and care and it’s so sweet of her but Vanessa please
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Pairing: Van Palmer x Fem Reader
Tags: Rolled Ankle, Fluff,
Scrimmages always got a little aggressive. It was no surprise that Taissa Had been up in your grill the entire practice. Her feet darting between yours until you eventually tripped up and fell. "My god" You groan bringing your ankle to your chest. "Time out" Tai shouts kneeling down by your side.
"Fuck I am sorry," Taissa mumbles as the rest of the team gathers around you. "I know It doesn't even hurt that bad" You lie. "Oh my god" You sigh as Van shoves herself through all the girls until she can kneel at your side. "How bad is it" Van Looks like she is about to Puke.
"It's Fine It doesn't even hurt that bad. I just need some ice" You promise. "What's going on over here" Coach Martinez shouts using his way through the girls huddled around you. "I twisted my ankle Van is going to help me get inside and get ice. You can keep playing I will be fine" You sit up and bite the inside of your cheek to distract from the pain in your ankle.
"Okay. I want you to rest don't come back too early. Make sure to stretch" He orders as you stand heavily leaning on Van. "You got it coach." You shout as you limp off the field.
"Van It isn't a big deal. People roll their ankles all the time" You promise as she holds the ice against your ankle. "It's different when it's you. You know that" Her face is tinged green and she looks near to crying. "It's going to be fine. I have the best nurse in the world taking care of me" You set your hand on her shoulder giving her a gentle squeeze.
She snorts and rolls her eyes. "I am not lying you take the best care of me". "That's because I love your dumb ass". "That's so sweet I love you too" You press a kiss on her cheek. "Could you drive me home." You pouted hoping she will take the bait. "Ya, You want to stop for a milkshake on the way". "Always"
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sunshinebarbie · 9 months
Text
only love can hurt like this
pairing: Bang Chan x Female Reader x Changbin warnings: mild language, angst, sad bang chan (because yes that needs a warning), heartfelt moments, mentions of physical abuse (it isn't done but it's like implied?), oh and inaccurate wording possibly... words: 5,719 parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | FINAL taglist:@q1sng, @sp00ky-spr1te, @yumiblogs, @muddy-waters, @ilysunki, @qtieskz, @axel-skz-main, @skz-codeeee, @danielle-peaches, @morningstardada, @lizzetmv, @txa-r a/n: it's the final part! i didn't win no Pulitzer prize for this series so idk why i am so emotional! i posted this series' part 1 a while back trying to transition from fictional characters to real people. I honestly didn't know where it would go, would anyone like it? Would it even be good? so many questions clouded my mind but i posted it anyway. The amount of love, hearts, reblogs, comments and requests to be tagged made me feel...idk, i can't even find a word to describe it!! all i know is i felt like i had little purple hearts popping around my head with every notification i got for this series. I really hope this final is worth the build up for the past 5 parts. Thank you all for reading and for enjoying this crazy rollercoaster of a series. I hope to make more including all our favorite Stray Kids. ENJOY!
“are you still viewing?” the TV asked as you wrapped your lips around another spoonful of ice cream. You grabbed the remote and pressed the center button and snuggled deeper into the mound of blankets that covered your legs and tummy. The next episode of the random drama you decided to watch started where it left off in the previous episode. 
You could feel your phone buzzing somewhere under the maze of blankets, your hand dug around trying to find the smooth surface of your phone case or at least where the buzzing was coming from. 
After finding your device you saw it was Felix calling, you tapped the green button and pressed your phone to your ear. “hello?” you mumbled trying to pause your show. “hey, whatcha doing right now?” Felix asked nervously. 
“watching dramas.” you replied and pushed your spoon back into the carton. “what’s up?” you sighed and pressed the pause option. “well, we ordered some sushi for our game night tonight and wanted you to join us.” Felix replied calmly. “uhm-” you looked around at the table covered with candy wrappers and three ice cream cartons. “maybe another time Lix” you smiled against the phone. “I just-” you sighed. “please.” you could hear the facial expression he was likely making on the other side.  
“fine, but I better get at least three of the Tai Sushi” you grumbled and pulled the blankets off your legs. “i’ll be over in about 30 minutes” you promised and hung up. 
“so much for forgetting about them” you thought to yourself as you pulled out some clean sweatpants and a shirt. “maybe I'll just tell them tonight that I think it’s best we go our separate ways” you mumbled to yourself as you pulled your shoes on. “and give them back their phone.” you looked at your default phone screen.  
You called a cab and headed over to the dorms. It looked pretty quiet for a “game night”. You walked into the building and headed straight to the dorms. You knocked the door and waited for a minute. You knocked again and waited with still no answer. You grabbed your phone to check the text message Han sent you about where they were, “we’re at the dorms, just knock” the text instructed. You knocked again and with the sound of the seal to the lock breaking the door opened.  
Chan’s face appeared out of the darkness of the room. “oh-uhm” you stepped back and swallowed the dry lump in your throat. “I was looking for uhmm-the guys” you stammered. “i think I got the wrong place.” you lied and turned to leave.  
“y/n,” Chan called out to you stopping you in your tracks. You felt your heart swell, it was the first time in a long time since you heard him call your name. It still sounded so sweet coming from his lips. You turned to him and saw him more out of the door like he was ready to follow you if you didn’t stop.  
“I don’t know if you are but-” he looked down at the floor of the hallway, “-I'm ready to talk if you are.” he gulped down his nerves. “another time Chan” you frowned and turned away, you took a few steps but stopped again. 
Chan turned to go back inside when you turned back around, “actually” you called out. Chan stopped and looked back at you. “we can talk.” 
Chan opened the door wider for you and let you inside the dorm. You found a spot on the couch, and watched as Chan locked the door behind him. “you want a water or something?” he asked as he entered the living room. “no, I'm okay” you declined. 
Chan sat down across from you on the recliner couch, it was quiet at first, making you feel like this was a mistake. “i’m sorry, for the quiet” Chan spoke up breaking the awkward silence. “i really don’t know how to approach this.” he cleared his throat.  
“it’s okay” you replied. “how are the new songs coming along?” you shifted in your seat. “i don’t want to talk about that.” Chan replied honestly you bit your lip and nodded in understanding. “let me start off by saying-I'm sorry.” his voice cracked a little bit. “for my actions that caused the chain of events that happened since that night.” he sighed.  
“it’s not an excuse for being an asshole, but you know what happens when I get into the music.” Chan added. “yeah.” you nodded. “it wasn’t an issue the previous times, and I guess I'm trying to wrap my mind around why it was a big deal this time?” he sat up straight.  
“because the previous times I wasn’t around to see that angry side of you.” you replied honestly. “i know I seen you upset before and-” “so you jump straight into leaving?” Chan interrupted. You sat in silence thinking over both rational and irrational versions of ways you could have handled it.  
“you really hurt me y/n” Chan admitted. “we used to talk our problems out, no matter how small or how bad.” he reminded you. “i know but-” you sniffled “if you knew then why did you leave? Just walk out?” he interrupted with his eyes now full of tears daring to break free. You stood up and walked over to the window. 
“i’m sorry.” you wiped your eyes. “i was scared. Like I said that was a side of you I never experienced, so I panicked” you added. “then you threw your headphones with a full force and I just kept thinking-” you gulped. “do I have to worry about something being thrown at me?” the tears rolled down your face rapidly that they began to hit the floor. 
Chan’s eyes widened and then the tears began to roll down his cheeks. “i would never physically hurt you y/n you know that right?” his lower lip trembled.  
“i know, but-” you nodded, your face swelling up from the tears that were streaming down your face. You choked out another sob, immediately Chan ran to you and for the first time in weeks, he wrapped his arms around you in a safe and protective way. 
He rested his lips into the crook of your neck, you could feel his soft lips touching your skin as he pressed a gentle kiss, like he was trying to kiss the pain away to make it better, similar to someone kissing your paper cut to make it stop hurting. 
The both of you held each other closely, turning into a sobbing mess from the weeks of bitterness just melting away. Neither of you noticed that the dorm door was open and a figure stood against the frame watching the both of you. Changbin stood by the door silently, he looked down at his shoes and kicked at the specks of lint on the floor. He looked up again and felt he was about to cry too, instead he pushed his feelings down and walked away not trying to ruin whatever was going on here. 
Chan pulled away from the embrace first, his eyes were swollen with tears, as were yours. You both looked at each other before bursting into giggles while wiping your faces with the sleeves of your shirts. “i’m sorry Chan” you looked down at your feet. “for everything I caused.”  
Chan nodded and smiled “it’s going to take some time honestly. to get everything back to what it was.” he looked at the door that was opened suddenly. “but-I'm tired of fighting. I'm willing to move on, if you are.” he looked back at you. “move on?” you looked at him sorrowfully. “yeah.” Chan nodded. “move on.” he confirmed. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t hurt you a bit and that it squished any hope of rekindling but you nodded in agreement. “to moving on” you lifted your fist. Chan smiled and broke out into a soft chuckle as he shook his head. “to moving on” he bumped his fist into yours.  
You loosened your fist and Chan did too, instinctively you both laced your fingers together, you took a deep breath and flashed him a weak smile. Chan cleared his throat and pulled his hand away, immediately shoving it into his pocket.  
“well” you sighed and stepped back, “i think I'm all cried out” you joked. “same” Chan teased back. “since there is no sushi party here, I'm going to go and get my own sushi and continue packing” you laughed. 
“packing?” Chan furrowed his eyebrows. “we finally are on good terms and now you’re leaving?” he teased but with a worry in his tone. “don’t worry.” you laughed. “i am moving out of my friend’s apartment, I found a place of my own.” you replied. “it’s time to start piecing my life back together.”  
Chan nodded in agreement, “i think we all need to do that.” he replied. “maybe if you’re not busy tomorrow you can help me move to my new place? I have a lot of stuff and no vehicle” you added. “of course.” Chan replied “i’ll ask the boys to help out too, after our recording session though” he added. “of course, the music must always come first” you shrugged earning a weird look from Chan. “sorry that sounded bitchy” you squeezed your eyes tightly in embarrassment. “yeah, you did.” Chan joked. “but you’re right, the music will always come first.” he teased. “so tomorrow?” you turned to face Chan as you both approached the opened door. “tomorrow.” he confirmed. You quickly gave him your friend’s address and told him if he forgets Felix knew where to go. “okay, got it.” he assured you and leaned against the open door. “Chan?” you looked up at him through your eye lashes. “hmmm?” he hummed acknowledging you. “i’m glad to be back in your life.” you smiled weakly. “same” he replied. 
“well. see you tomorrow.” you mumbled softly and stepped out. This would have been the time when Chan would pull you into his body and press never ending kisses to your face, telling you how he doesn’t want you to go and that he isn’t going to breathe until you’re with him again. Instead, you were sent off with a smile and wave followed by the door closing.  
The next day, Chan was in the recording studio setting up for the group to start recording their tracks. Han and Lee Know were playing some kind of game that required slapping one another’s hands and the rest of the group hadn’t arrived yet. Changbin walked in and dropped his bag on the floor loudly earning the looks of Chan, and the two on the couch. 
Chan looked back at his laptop and continued what he was doing. Changbin walked over to the couch and asked the two if they could step out for a minute and not let anyone else inside. “maybe I should stay, for-reasons" Lee Know looked over at Chan not knowing what tension was built up between these two and if it would come to blows. 
“fine” Changbin agreed, “but only you” he looked at Han who sighed and got up to leave the studio. Changbin walked over to Chan and stood behind him, trying to figure out how to get his attention. Chan must have felt his stares and looked up and turned around making eye contact with him.  
“Hyung, can I talk to you?” Changbin cleared his throat, easing the tension by using a less threatening way to call Chan. “sure.” Chan put the headphones he was holding down on the table gently, giving Changbin his full attention. 
“uhm-so you and y/n?” he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. Chan sighed in annoyance. “we are good-just friends but good.” he replied. “is that all?” he picked up the headphones again. “Chan-” Changbin touched his hand to stop him from putting on the headphones which would end this entire conversation. Lee Know immediately tensed up, ready to step in if needed.  
“what?” Chan asked again displaying his annoyance. “you want my permission to date her now?” Chan asked dropping the headphones again on the table. “no” Changbin replied innocently. “then bring the rest of the guys in so we can finish this.” Chan replied and turned away. “There is something I am trying to say can you just listen?” Changbin snapped back. Chan sighed and turned to face him fully. 
“then say it, I'm listening.” Chan gestured. Changbin broke the eye contact and looked at Lee Know before taking a deep breath. “you’re my brother Chan” Changbin looked at him with sympathetic eyes, “you know i would never do anything to hurt you intentionally or unintentionally.” he added. “yes, for a moment, I did have feelings for y/n, but I would gladly throw those feelings away if it means we can get back what we had. I-I miss my Hyung.”  
Chan could feel his face soften and his cold exterior melt away, no longer was he looking at Changbin as the guy who was trying to date his ex-girlfriend, but he was looking at Changbin the younger boy who he befriended immediately when he was putting together the group. He remembered the highs and lows that Changbin stuck through with him, the Changbin that was his little brother, who he picked for this group because he loved and cared about him so much and he knew he would contribute massively to their success. Changbin who helped produce songs to help Chan so he wouldn’t overwork himself. Chan looked away to keep from crying and looked at Changbin and nodded in response he shot Changbin a quick smile. “we never lost what we had.” he assured him. “like you said, we’re brothers. Of course, we are going to fight.” he chuckled to keep his voice from cracking. “even when we do, that doesn’t mean I am going to stop loving you.” he assured him. 
Changbin smiled “i missed my namdongsaeng” Chan opened his arms, Changbin stepped forward with his arms expanded, the two wrapped each other in an embrace and squeezed tightly. “i love you Changbin” Chan patted his back and pressed a firm kiss against the side of his head. “i am glad you are here with all of us, and for what it’s worth, choosing you to be in this group was the best decision of my life” “ah-I love you too” Changbin squeezed him tighter. “I wouldn’t want to be in any other group.” he laughed, he could feel the tears of happiness fall from his cheek and he wiped his face on Chan’s shirt. “let’s never do this again.” Chan pat his head and smiled. 
“now that we are all in love with each other again, can we record this new song?” Lee Know interrupted. The rest of the boys walked in just in time and laughed feeling all the tension in the room clear up, the room was now filled with nothing but pure love for one another. They all gathered closely while encasing Lee Know in one big group hug, pressing him into Changbin and Bang Chan’s embrace. 
After perfecting the recording Bang Chan exited, and headed straight to your friend’s apartment. He walked up the flight of stairs and knocked the door. You were reboxing everything in the next room that you almost missed his heavy knocks.  
“hi, love” Bang Chan smiled as you opened the door to your friend’s apartment. “hey,” you smiled and leaned in to hug him. “so, what did you all need taken?” he asked looking around the living room. “Everything in the second bedroom” you smiled mischievously. “it’s a lot of stuff isn’t it?” Bang Chan sighed. “you’re the one to pout? We moved this stuff already.” Lee Know walked in griping.  
You both rolled your eyes and shook your head, then exchanged smiles. “he doesn’t mean it.” Bang Chan shrugged. “i know” you replied with a smile. “i hope it’s okay, I asked them to follow me to help out.” “you know, I will never say no to them.” you replied “maybe you should one day.” Lee Know shrugged. “just go grab a box please” you playfully pushed him towards the second room. 
The boys worked diligently and quickly clearing out that second room in an instant. Felix carried out the last box, you held the door open and watched him head down the stairs. You turned and took one last look at your friend’s apartment, for a few weeks it was your sanctuary, you cried here, got blacked out drunk here, and spent your worst hangovers here. Now it was time you made a place of your own to do all these things. You texted your friend and thanked her, letting her know she could pick up her key when she returned then locked the door. Locking away a part of your life you didn’t care to revisit. 
You arrived to your new apartment with Bang Chan and Lee Know. The three of you walked up to the door, you looked for your keys and pressed them into the locks, breaking the seal to give you access.  
“wait before you go in” Chan smiled and covered your eyes. “oh you know how much I hate stuff like this” you groaned. “shut up and just follow along” Lee Know replied as he opened the door letting Chan guide you inside. “3-2-1.” Chan uncovered your eyes revealing your newly refurnished apartment. “surprise!” the boys shouted.  
“you’re kidding” you looked around in amazement. “well you can put your junk we brought over, where ever you want but this is from us all.” Lee Know replied. “we’re also not giving you the second key back” Han announced. 
“I have an idea.” you looked at the boys. “we should have game night here.” The boys all agreed enthusiastically and went over who was going to buy what and what time everyone should meet back up at the house. Also, who was going to get Changbin, who for obvious reasons wasn’t there. Hyunjin, Lee Know, and I.N went to get snacks, Seungmin went to get some pizza, Felix and Han went to get Changbin and you and Bang Chan prepared the games.  
“I think we should play monopoly first because Felix and Lee Know will get bored of it when they start losing and we can end it early” you suggested. “but if Lee Know starts winning we will be playing this all night” Chan replied.  
“or” you grabbed the game and slid it under the couch. “we can say we don’t have the game” you shrugged. Chan smiled and shook his head. “okay, and I never seen it.” he added making you laugh.  
“do you think they can convince him to come?” you looked at Chan. Chan shrugged in response. “did he not show up because of a me reason or an us reason?” you asked Chan. “it’s a-you reason” he replied honestly. “figured” you replied and put the rest of the games you were holding on the table. “what about you? Has he talked to you yet?” you asked and sat on the couch.  
“Binnie is my brother” Chan replied. “i’m always going to care for him, I love the guy” he replied and put the rest of his games on table before finding a seat. “so I'm guessing you two made up?” you asked. “like I said, he’s my brother-I can’t picture a life without him.” he added. 
You nodded and looked around at your apartment that was decorated with love by the boys. “can I ask you a question? And can you be 100% honest with me?” Chan sat up straight. You looked at him worried before agreeing. “were you in love with Changbin?” he asked with puppy dog eyes. You felt a light gasp escape your lips, this was the question you were unprepared for answering. “I mean, like before I first asked you out on a date, during the time we were dating, and during our break up...and now?” He shifted in his seat. 
“I-I don’t think it’s best for me to answer” you chuckled nervously and pulled at the ends of your shirt. “so you did?” Chan replied. “Chan.” you sighed. You looked at him seeing he was just as nervous for you to answer. “Fine.” you sighed. “Before you ever asked me out, No. During the time we were dating? Of course not, I only had eyes for you.” you added earning a smile from Chan. “during the break up? Yes, but I didn’t understand if it was because I was mad at you or because he was just there when I needed him most.” you looked down at your feet. “that’s pretty shitty right?” you looked at Chan. “calling it love when it sounds like I was just using him?” 
“as shitty as that is.” Chan replied. “we are our most vulnerable during times like that, but I said I wanted your 100% honesty.” He continued. “did you love Changbin? As more than a friend?” he bit the inside of his cheek. You could feel the heaviness in your heart as you shook your head back and forth with a no. The room was dead silent, just the hum from the fridge in the kitchen. “i loved him, because he was there, but I can’t say I was in love with him to where I could see him and I having what we did” you replied honestly. Chan nodded in understanding and let out a deep breath. “and now?” he looked at you. “no” you whispered and shook your head. “but I do miss my best friend.” you added with a weak smile. 
Just then Felix opened the door using the spare key, Han followed behind Changbin. The look he gave you made you feel like you could shrink into the couch and disappear. “the rest of the guys aren’t back yet?” Felix asked. “not yet.” Chan replied and embraced Changbin by the door. “you excited for game night?” he asked. “sure.” Changbin nervously replied before walking into the living room. Han grabbed the game Uno and talked to Felix about how he was getting better at the game.  
Changbin stood by the door, almost like he would bolt the second someone opened it back up. Seungmin opened the door and left it opened for the rest of the boys who all appeared with their snacks in hand. “i’ll get the kitchen set up, and everyone else pick a game.” Chan announced as he took some of the bags from the boys' hands. 
“Sit down” Hyunjin guided Changbin to the Livingroom to the empty seat next to you. So much was happening, from I.N and Seungmin arguing over which pizza topping was the better choice, and Han and Lee Know fighting over who gets to shuffle the Uno deck, you looked over to Changbin. He stood silently against the wall, ignoring your glances.  
“Binnie?” you spoke up earning looks from everyone except him. “wanna help me pass out some drinks?” you asked nervously. Changbin looked at you with disgust before shaking his head and walking out to the balcony.  
Chan walked back into the livingroom and saw you sitting on the couch in disbelief. “do you want me to talk to him?” Chan offered, looking at you seeing how visibly upset you were. “no.” you replied and stood up. “this was caused by me, I have to fix it myself.” you smiled and touched his cheek gently.  
You walked towards the sliding door and inhaled a deep breath before tapping the glass gently. Changbin was sitting outside on the patio chair looking over the city. “mind if I join?” you stepped out and closed the door behind you. Changbin looked at you, he gestured to the empty chair across from him. 
You sat down and sighed, feeling your breathing get shaky. “Binnie?” your voice innocently called for him. He sat silently still for a good few seconds, eventually he bit the inside of his cheek and finally answered you. “what?”. 
“are we ever going to talk again?” you asked. “we’re talking now.” he replied coldly. “i mean, in more than three worded responses.” you added. 
Changbin shrugged and looked back at the city as the night was consuming the sky. You looked over at the city’s horizon and back at Changbin. “do you remember that night of the TWICE album release party?” you looked up at him from the corner of your eye. 
Changbin shifted his seat, that’s how you knew he knew what you were talking about. “We were about to-uhm-” you cleared your throat. “what’s your point?” Changbin replied annoyed. “well, we ended up not-”you cleared your throat “and do you remember what you said to me when I was half naked crying in your bed?” You looked at him fully catching his focus. He just looked away instantly. “you said Chan was lucky, because he and I had aejeong.”  
Changbin didn’t speak, he just continued to look ahead. “Binnie.” you scooted closer to him. “well, I got curious one night as to what you meant, and I realized something after hours of research.” Changbin looked at you finally. “we always have Jeong.” you forced a weak and unsure smile. “we might not have it anymore but we always had wojeong.” you felt the tears roll down your cheek. “i ruined that because I was mistaking it for something more, when all you were trying to do was be kind to me.”  
“I’m sorry Binn- Changbin.” you started to twist your fingers nervously. “i was so wrong to use your kindness and lead you to believe that I wanted something more.” Changbin scoffed and shook his head. “I want you to know something.” you touched his arm softly, Changbin looked at you his face softening against your touch. “and I am telling you this because I have never been more certain than anything else in my life, and that is I love you Changbin. You're my best friend, and I shouldn’t have tried to be anything more with the intentions of not pulling through with it, that wasn’t fair to you.”  
Changbin stayed silent, you took that as a sign that the wojeong you had once shared was now replaced with miunjeong. “anyway, uhm-that’s all I wanted to say.” you stood up and hid your tears well. You walked back into the apartment building and rejoined the rest of the group. 
Changbin walked back in and joined everyone a few minutes later. Game night continued, everyone enjoyed being whole again, no drama, no heavy drinking and mostly no arguing, apart from Han accusing Felix of cheating in UNO. 
As the clock turned to almost 2am you stood by the door and waved off Hyunjin and Lee Know, you closed the door and sighed at the mess that was in the living room. You started to clean up by grabbing the glass bottles and taking them to the recycling bin. You started running the water for the dishes and turned to start gathering the dirty plates when you gasped in fright as Changbin stood by the entryway to the small kitchen. 
“i thought you left with Felix?” you sighed feeling relief that it was just Changbin. “Felix decided he was going to jump in with Han, Seungmin and I.N.” he replied and started to gather up the dirty plates for you. “he just left me his keys and told me not to crash it.” “you don’t have to help” you assured him as he handed you the stack of plates. 
“i want to.” he replied and started to reseal the snacks that were open. The silence was excruciating, but you didn’t want to push it. You walked over to the speaker and pressed play on your last playlist you were listening to, to fill the silence of the kitchen.  
The song ended since it was only one minute left, when the next one began to play. Hold On by Chord Overstreet slowly began to fill the quiet space. “let me just change the song” you put the plate you were scrubbing back into the pool of soapy water. You pressed the button and Sasha Alex Sloan’s Dancing With Your Ghost started to play next. “uhm-” you nervously picked up the phone again.  
“It’s okay.” Changbin chuckled. You nodded and turned back to the sink. You were rinsing the plate and turned to grab the next one when Changbin’s hand grabbed yours pulling you into his body. Your eyes widen, “wh-what are you doing?” you stammered.  
“finishing the dance we didn’t get to finish at the release party” he smiled softly and twirled you outward, you slowly rolled back into his body, your back to his chest. You let out a shaky breath as you turned back to him, your arms wrapped around his body as you leaned against his chest. “why are you doing this?” you asked with your eyes closed.  
“aren’t we just repeating history?” you looked at him. Changbin shook his head before leaning his cheek against your cheek. “this is my apology,” he mumbled into your ear and stepped away from you. “i don’t want to lose our friendship, our wojeong.” he stopped dancing enough for the song to finally end. “tonight, I realized that you have jeong with not just me, but with Felix, Han, Hyunjin, Seungmin, I.N and even Lee Know.” he chuckled making you smile for a second. “and I realized it wasn’t fair to hate you for having a stronger version of Jeong with Bang Chan even after everything we all went through.” he stopped dancing with you for a moment, the both of you stood still in one place. “I couldn’t hate you for having it for him when I was wanting that version of it from you.”  
“you’re my best friend, and I really miss my best friend.” he dug in his pocket and pulled out your end of the matching necklace you both had. “you left this in the bathroom that night.” he showed it to you. “When I seen it on the counter, that’s when I knew, my real biggest mistake was pushing you and Bang Chan away.” you looked at the necklace and smiled remembering the day you both seen them at the mall and bought them immediately. “i would really love it if all of my best friends were in my life” he unclasped it a silent gesture of his invisible white flag.  
You stepped towards him and turned around, you pulled your hair to the side and watched as the necklace lowered down in front of you, and turned back to face Changbin as soon as he clasped it shut again. “i missed you too,” you sniffled, you fell into his embrace, you let out a shaky breath as he squeezed you tighter. You opened your eyes and seen Bang Chan standing by the kitchen table looking at the both of you. 
Changbin looked towards him too and stepped away. Fade Into You by Mazzy Star filled the awkward silence of the three of you in the kitchen alone. You turned back to the dishes and started to scrub them again. You could hear Changbin whispering something to Bang Chan, but you just wanted to avoid any eye contact if it would get ugly again.  
Suddenly you felt a light tap on your shoulder. You turned to see Chan standing awkwardly behind you. “uhm-” he cleared his throat. You blushed at his nervousness, and immediately knew what he wanted to ask. You wiped your hands with the dry towel and pulled him to the middle of the kitchen. You draped your arms around his neck and let him put his hands on your waist.  
Changbin nodded in satisfaction and left quietly, leaving the two of you alone in the kitchen.  
You let out a shaky breath and leaned into Chan’s shoulder as he tighten his embrace around your body. You squeezed out a soft whimper trying to hold back any sob you felt building up behind your closed eyes. Chan didn’t dare say anything, instead he just held you closer, looking out at the skyline of the city to distract himself from crying along with you. “can I just stay here?” he chuckled while rubbing his hand up and down your back. 
You chuckled and sniffled pulling away to wipe away any fresh tears that slipped down your cheek. “you’re always welcome to stay here.” you assured him and tousled his hair. This time he leaned in and pressed his forehead into the fabric of your shirt, cradling his face into your neck. “i mean forever.” he smiled against the warmth of your skin making you shake your head and chuckle. Chan straighten his neck back and looked at you, this time the sparkles in his eyes were made not from lights, alcohol or tears but from pure love he had in his heart for the people in his life.  
You looked away because it was enough to tear you up again and you didn’t want him to worry. 
You could feel his thumb and finger pinch your chin gently as he tilted your face up, slowly he leaned in and pressed a soft and gentle kiss to your lips. Your eyes were closed, the music was drowned out by a light hum. You could feel him pull away, he wet his lips again with his tongue and pressed his forehead to yours. The song changed one last time, Lord Huron’s The Night We Met softly blurted out the speakers. The both of you closed your eyes and slowly moved to the song, Chan’s arms on your waist pulling you closer and yours still wrapped around his neck. It wasn’t a confirmation but yet it wasn’t a rejection either, maybe it was a sign of hope.  
All you knew was being there in his arms again, nothing else mattered because no matter which side the coin landed on, you knew that as long as you were in his arms, there would be a way the two of you would end up together...one day. 
77 notes · View notes
callsigndragon · 1 year
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The Christmas Date | Chapter 12: Merry Christmas (I don't wanna fight tonight)
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Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Fem!Kerner!Reader
(Ron Kerner is Slider, Iceman’s backseater)
Wordcount: 2.8k
Summary: Y/n “Athena” Kerner and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw hate each other. Everybody knows. What happens when they have to fake date for a whole week to avoid Iceman and Slider’s matchmaking plans?
(there won’t be smut in this series)
Warnings: fluff, angst. mentions of rape and abuse. solo appears in this chapter, y'all. BLOOD. physical violence. fluff in the end to make it up for the rest
A/N: okay so this chapter got bloody but it's what we all wanted, let's be real. we all want to be rooster on this one. I just wanted to give y'all a small christmas gift with a new chapter.
Taglist: @ducks118 @milestellerwife @craftymoonchaos @littlebadariell @xoxabs88xox @alexxavicry @tayrae515  @shrimping-for-all   @mak-32 @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @harper1666 @purplevortexx @abaker74 @ssprayberrythings @melllinaa @loveless-simp @k-k0129 @mygyn @castle-bookworms-world @chaoticversion @one-sweet-gubler  @loveforaugust
@taytaylala12 @benhardysdrumstick @green-intervention @waatermelon-sugaar @smells-like-perfect-senses @interstellarloneliness @tay-bluey @diggorycullen @dhwanishah09 @inky-sun @luckyladycreator2 @nograce-nomercy @witchybabel @omfg-its-tay @macysorbit @little-wiseone
(Tag list is closed, y'all. There's a lot of you and it's giving me so many problems lately...)
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Thena falls asleep after managing to eat a warm waffle that Sarah prepares for her. She was scared to close her eyes, afraid that the monster would follow her in her dreams. Jesse offered his Marshall plushie and even said he would sleep with her, because he wanted to protect her auntie. 
Now they’re both napping on the sofa in front of the fireplace. 
The rest of the family is in the kitchen, looking at each other with several questions in their minds and pain in their hearts. 
“You mean to tell me,” mumbles Slider, an exhausted expression in his eyes, “that you knew what my little girl went through and you didn’t share it with me? Her fucking father? Rooster, I expected more of you” 
“Ron, I learned about this a few days ago. Iceman was the one who knew.” Rooster argues, not wanting to be the object of Slider’s fury. 
“We shouldn’t be focusing on that, guys. We need to do something.” Nick sits down next to Becca, who’s been painfully quiet since she saw Thena in the shower. 
“She doesn’t want to report him” 
“What?” Sarah yells, rolling her eyes when her husband shushes her. 
“Thena’s not gonna be able to sit down and tell the story to the officers” Rooster clarifies, looking down. 
“That doesn’t mean we can allow that horrible man to get away with it” Sarah states. 
“We can go to the shop and ask for the security footage. If I remember correctly, there’s one in the corridor” Becca offers, breaking her silence. 
“That’s a good idea” Mav concedes. 
“I know where he lives” 
Iceman’s words make everyone in the kitchen turn in his direction. There’s a meaning behind his words. It doesn’t take a genius to understand what he’s implying. Go to his house, beat the shit out of him, make him pay for all the pain that he’s caused to a beautiful soul like Thena’s. 
“Tell me where,” urges Rooster, darting to the door to grab his car keys. 
“Bradley,” Maverick goes after him, grabbing his arm to stop him, “you can’t do that” 
“Mav, that man tried to,” Rooster winces, the word feels like a bullet to the heart, “rape her. Twice. I’m not letting Solo walk out of this without a scratch.” 
“I’m going with you,” Slider says, patting Rooster’s back. “I’m not letting you get in trouble.” 
Rooster turns, keys in hand, a determined expression on his face. “I’m gonna teach him a lesson, Slider. Nobody messes with my girl and gets away with it.” 
“Just answer to one question, son” 
“Ask away.” 
“What are your plans with my daughter?” 
Rooster looks at Thena’s sleeping form on the sofa, a soft smile on her face. That’s how he wants to see her. Relaxed, calm, happy. “I want to spend my life with her, Ron.” 
“Is that true?” 
Bradley pats his jacket, looking for a tiny box he has been carrying around since yesterday because he doesn’t know where to hide it. He finally finds the small black velvet box and opens it. 
“Is that my mother’s ring? Where did you find it?” Slider asks, grabbing the box with shaky hands. 
"Thena had been looking at every pawn show and antique shop in the vicinity for ten years. Somewhere along the way, I started doing the same. I found it yesterday, and I thought it would be an excellent gift for her." 
"You pulled her name," Rooster nods, remembering how nervous and excited he was to see Thena's name in the little paper at the Secret Santa sorting. Lucky for him, he found the perfect present. 
"I'm not asking her to marry me. Not now, Slider. It's too soon, and she needs time and help to overcome this. There's so much I can do to help." Rooster confesses, knowing that his words made his intentions clear. He wants the whole package. Marriage, house, kids. Everything. 
Slider hugs him, patting his back. "I always knew that your old man was right."
"About what?" 
"Not important now. I'm gonna ask Ice where this piece of shit lives and then we're leaving." Slider disappears in the kitchen, leaving a 6 ft man standing in the door, confused and curious. 
Shaking his head, Rooster walks slowly to the sofa. He hates having to wake her up, but leaving without an explanation could scare her when she wakes up. He kneels down in front of the black sofa, kissing her forehead and softly running his fingers through her hair. 
She stirs in her sleep, blinking a few times before her eyes focus on him, then she smiles. Gosh, that smile. He could burn the whole word to make you smile like that. 
"Hey" he whispers, caressing your cheek. 
"Did I sleep too much?" 
"Oh, no. I'm going to buy some things with your father and didn't want you to wake up not knowing why I was gone." 
"You're too sweet, Roos." 
"Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation" she giggles, his heart warming up at the sound. "Try to sleep a bit more. I'll be here soon." 
"Kiss?" She puckers her lips and closes her eyes, waiting for him to lean in. 
"You're a spoiled girl, you know?" He says, but he kisses her with all he has, he wants to prove that he loves her with every kiss. "I love you." 
"I know." 
"Quoting Star Wars, Fanboy is disappointed with you." He mocks, her eyes growing bigger. 
"Don't tell him, Mickey will cut my fingers and feed them to his dog." 
"What do I get in exchange for my silence?" 
She puckers her lips again, making him chuckle. "You're planning on winning every argument with kisses?" 
"Are you gonna argue with me?" 
They look at each other for a few seconds, and Bradley sighs in defeat. "Like I could argue with you anymore." 
"That's my pretty boy." 
Rooster can feel his entire face heating up. He's been called many things. Handsome. Attractive. Hot. Sexy. Pretty boy, however, is a new one. And he likes it. He really likes it.  
"S-say what again?" 
"Pretty boy." She smirks, looking at him. "You're blushing." 
"Shut up." 
"Make me." 
He shakes his head, kisses her slowly and gets up. "Sleep a bit more" 
She nods, closing her eyes and kissing Jesse's head, who had been there, not moving an inch. He's a heavy sleeper. 
Rooster is ready to walk away when the image in front of him sinks into his soul, and he almost has to lean against something to not fall. That scene is his future. Thena sleeping with a kid in his arms. His kid. 
That's his new dream. 
And he's going to make sure that no one interferes in it. 
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Solo lives in a small white house on the outskirts of town, with a broken fence that has seen better days. The car is parked outside; it's a black sports car that looks quite new. Rooster sees Slider walking up to him with a folding knife in his hand. 
"Easy, son. It's for you to get that car a new set of flat tires," Slider explains, handing the knife to Rooster. 
He looks around, carefully checking that there are no neighbors peeping from their windows. He circles the car, stabbing the tires one at a time. Once he's finished, he throws the knife inside his own car, not trusting himself enough to enter that house with such a dangerous weapon in his pocket. 
The two men go to the door, listening for a few seconds. They can hear two muffled voices, one male and one female. Fuck, Mandy’s here? 
"There's a girl." 
"I think it's my ex." Rooster explains, looking around to see if there's a spare key. Maybe under the doormat.
"He's fucking your ex and obsessed with your girlfriend? Son, is he trying to be you?" 
The key almost falls from his hand when Slider's words register in his brain. Bradley had been trying to understand why Solo was so obsessed with Thena. He recalls that when they first met, Solo said that she was "an average girl," but here he is, doing the absolute worst to her. Why? 
And then he remembers a conversation at a bar, many years ago—innocent words soaked in alcohol that Bradley would have never thought he’d reminisce about again. 
You’re so cool, Rooster. I wish I was more like you
One month later, he attacked Thena for the first time. When he couldn’t get what he wanted, and Thena was deployed while he stayed behind for his disgusting behavior, he went after the only thing Bradley had left behind: Mandy. 
The answer had been there the whole time. He wasn’t obsessed with Thena just because. He was obsessed with her because Solo knew how important she was to Bradley. 
Bradley takes the key from under the doormat and opens the door. 
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Turns out Mandy isn’t in the house; it’s just an old video recorded when Rooster, Thena, and Solo were in the same station that the monster likes to keep playing over and over again, analyzing every movement Rooster made. How he spoke, how he smiled. Bradley didn’t have a stache, he decided to grow one out two years ago. Bradley notices the shadow of a mustache growing in Solo's upper lip when he enters the house and sees him sitting on his sofa, looking at the video on the screen. 
It was the next step in his attempt to look like him. 
Rooster’s reaction when Solo notices his presence is the one that anyone could have expected. In an instant, his fist collides with the other man's face, sending Solo back into the sofa with a bleeding nose. 
“What the fuck are you doing?!” he yells, pinching his nose between two fingers to stop the bleeding. 
“I'm making you pay for all the fucking things you’ve done to my girl.” Rooster spits, his fury and anger burning his skin. 
“I’ve done nothing,” the man retorts with a smirk, standing up and walking to the kitchen. He seems not to have noticed Slider’s figure at the door of the living room, preventing him from escaping. “Who the fuck are you?” 
“The father of the girl you tried to hurt. Slider explains calmly, crashing his knuckles one at a time. 
“I told you, I’ve done-” Slider grabs his face and smashes it against the wall, blood staining the white paint. 
Solo falls to the floor, grabbing his face while agonizing howls leave his body. He sounds like an animal. 
“So you’ve been trying to be like me all these years, Solo?” Rooster says as he grabs a chair and sits in front of him, arms resting on his knees and leaning forward in a commanding posture. 
“You’re so full of yourself that you think everyone wants to be like you?” Solo chuckles before coughing, choking with his own blood. “I need to go to the hospital” 
“Oh, you need to go to the hospital? Poor little thing. You know Thena could never go to the hospital? Because she didn’t have any physical wound” 
“Because I didn’t touch her!” 
“You don’t need to touch someone to hurt them! You watched her run around the house while she cried and screamed, asking for help because she didn’t want to have sex with you.” Rooster grabs Solo by the hair, forcing his head to move back so he can look him in the eye. “You’re lucky I can’t kill you” 
“Like you would do that,” Solo mocks. 
“You’re walkin’ on thin ice, asshole,” Slider singsongs. 
“Hurt my girl once, and I will break your face. Hurt her twice, and you’re dead.” 
“I didn’t touch her this time” 
“You have a short memory, buddy. Allow me to remember you what you did” 
With the powerful strength of the adrenaline and the rage in his body, Rooster grabs Solo by the neck, and navigates the house until he finds the bedroom, leaving a trail of blood under his feet. He enters, and Solo stumbles with his feet and falls down. Slider is quickly pulling him up, and that’s when he notices the small built-in closet. 
The same size as the changing room. 
“No. No, please don’t do that. I don’t like closed spaces.” Solo whimpers, trying to free himself from Slider’s grip. 
“It’s not so funny when you’re on the receiving end, right?” Slider whispers in Solo’s ear, handing him to Rooster. 
He pushes the man inside the closet, closing the door. And as if the world wanted Rooster to follow this plan, he notices a small lock on the handle. He flips it around, leaving the man inside. 
“So, this is the deal. You're in the same situation as Thena was yesterday. It took me three minutes to reach the shop, and then you left before I even got the chance to get in.” Rooster explains, taking his phone out of his pocket and setting an alarm. “Now you’re gonna be in there for three minutes, hoping that the door stays closed, because if this door falls down, the next thing I’m breaking are your legs.”
“LET ME OUT, CRAZY PSYCHOPATH,” 
“Oh, am I the psychopath now? I’m not the one going around trying to abuse a girl because I need to be just like his fucking boyfriend!” 
“You got everything you wanted; I just wanted the same things you had.” 
"You thought abusing her would make her love you?" 
“I just wanted to be one step ahead of you and have a taste of something you’ve never had” 
Rooster presses the button that starts the countdown and takes a deep breath before letting his rage take the worst of him. He punches the door, kicks it, and tries to open it by force. Just like he did with Thena. 
He prays for the door to endure the three minutes. The thought of this monster touching her makes him sick. Bradley knows that if this door breaks from its hinges, he will cause him so much pain. 
A tiny, dangerous part of him wants the door to fall like a leaf. 
Lucky for Solo, the three minutes pass and the door remains in place. Rooster unlocks the door, opening it to see the man curled up the floor like a scared kid, face covered in tears and blood smudged in his hands. 
Rooster kneels down, jaw clenched, and shaky hands grab him by the throat. “Listen to me, buddy. My family is going down to the shop to get the security footage. You’re not getting out of this one. The sheriff is an old friend, and he’s not gonna ask when he sees your face like that. You better stay here and don’t run away because I swear on my mother’s grave that I will find you and I won’t be so nice the next time.” 
Solo doesn’t say anything, and Rooster applies more pressure, his hand closing dangerously against Solo’s throat. “Is that clear?” 
“Yes, sir.” 
“Let’s get out of here,” Slider says, giving Rooster a towel from the bathroom so he can clean his hands. “I don’t want to be around this piece of shit.” 
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Both men leave the house, with Slider grabbing the keys from Rooster’s jacket because he knows that the younger one shouldn't be driving. Slider speaks up as they near Iceman's house. 
“Thank you, Rooster.” 
“For what?” 
“For always loving and protecting my girl when her father didn’t.” Slider’s voice breaks a bit. Rooster looks out the window, allowing the man some privacy in such a small place. 
“You’re there for her now, Ron. That’s what matters.” 
“I hope she knows that.” 
“She knows. She’s understanding now that she doesn’t need to be brave all the time. She can be scared, she can be sad, and she can be tired of the world. But she’ll always have a hand ready to help her.” 
“Bradley, you know she’s gonna be scared and traumatized after this, right?” 
Bradley sighs, looking at Slider. “I know. And I also know how to handle it. I’ve had my share of panic attacks. I know how to stop them” 
“I couldn’t wish for anyone better to be with my daughter” 
Bradley lets a small smile appear on his face. 
“You can call me dad from now on” 
And those words make Bradley cry like he did when he lost his mother. Thena gave him a reason to fight. Now she’s giving him a family. 
He’s glad he decided to stay all those years ago. He gets to love her—his true love. He gets a father, the one who raised him when his own couldn’t. 
A family. With Thena. 
That’s more than he could ever have asked for. 
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slayerkitty · 8 months
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Thai QL Favorites Game
Tagged by @lurkingshan. Thank you for tagging me! I’m really, really gonna try to not make this an Until We Meet Again lovefest. No promises, lol,.
Favorite Thai QL: It’s Until We Meet Again, lol. (Shhhhh, I get this one) While not the first BL I watched, it was one of the first that truly blew me away with it’s plot, characterization, and acting. The choices in directing, costuming and props (including product placement that felt integral to character personalities) are so meticulous. Add in the fact I literally cried at least once an episode for 17 episodes - I am never getting over it. While a couple of other BL’s have come close to the kind of emotions UWMA gave me (Bad Buddy, La Pluie) none of have managed quite to that extent. I wish I could un-watch UWMA so I could watch it again for the first time. 
Favorite Pairing: Ahh, okay. So, yes, the Thai QL branded pairing system is problematic and needs to change but *whispers* I just really love ZeeNunew. I CAN’T HELP IT. They appear to enjoy their pairing and are entertaining to watch onscreen and off. Also Nunew is adorable. 
Most Underrated Actor: Hmmmm. Maybe Mike, from GMMtv. He’s one of those that’s in almost everything but hasn’t gotten to be a main in his own show. I think he could do it. 
Favorite Main Character: Oh no, this is difficult, lol. I narrowed my choices by looking at shows I gave 10′s to on MDL and then reviewed the mains of those shows. It’s definitely Pharm from Until We Meet Again. There’s just something about him that I fell in love with when watching. He loves cooking, he’s an amazing friend, boyfriend, sibling, son, etc. Even when he’s not perfect, I still love him. 
Favorite Side Character: Originally I was going to say Manow from Until We Meet Again, but actually, I think I’m gonna go with Li Ming from Moonlight Chicken. Watching him grow into himself and find love and achieve his dreams was just so fulfilling. It’s one of the things that made Moonlight Chicken a joy to watch (and angsty lol). 
Favorite Scene in QL: Pharm's breakdown in episode 17. Fluke absolutely nailed it. I sob every time.
Favorite Line in a QL: Oh wow. Um. *mumbles* I will not pick a line from UWMA, I will not pick a line from UWMA. *ahem* I was also really close to picking that one line from 2gether (you know the line, I don’t even have to say it lol). I think it might actually be Tai from La Pluie, when he screamed “I don’t want this destiny anymore” (or some variation of it). It happens at this high stakes moment where Patts and Lomfon are fighting and no one is listening to him (the one time he tries to say something) so he screams at the universe and the universe listens. 
Most Anticipated QL: The Next Prince. I love royalty AUs. I love ZeeNunew. If the trailer is anything to go off of, we are in for at least a visual treat. 
Healthiest Relationship in QL: I thought a lot about this, looked through MDL at all the shows I’ve watched and I think I landed on one. Win and Team from Between Us. They started as a mutually agreed on one night stand, turned into a mutually agreed situationship where they became friends along the way to falling in love. They took care of each other without complaint; even their misunderstanding (*glares at episode 10*) was more about not wanting to push the other one for more if they weren’t ready or didn’t feel the same. I have never seen a BL couple practice such enthusiastic consent either. Their relationship is a joy to watch.
Most Toxic Relationship in a QL: Um. TharnType. Presented without comment. 
Guilty Pleasure Series: Love in the Air. I have watched it so many times, lol. 
Most Underrated Series: La Pluie. Not enough people watched or raved about this show. It takes everything you could want about the soulmate AU trope and subverts it in amazing and unexpected ways. Even the things that may have been predictable were still handled or presented in unpredictable ways. There was a tension that ran through the whole show because you never could feel quite settled or sure if the characters would get a HEA, but the fact that they *spoiler* do, feels earned and filled me as the viewer with such joy.  Also, it features a GL third pairing, which is always a plus in my book.
Oh my goodness, this was fun but kind of difficult, lol. 
Tagging @unproductivepeanut, @jessicamdawn, @dribs-and-drabbles, @fiction-is-queer, @respectthepetty if any of you feel like it. 
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aerodaltonimperial · 1 year
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Prompt: Sometime before Vegas. Danhausen infers that he's a good kisser, idk, maybe he's judging a scene in a movie they're watching (OR JUDGING SAMMY VOMITVOMITVOMIT) or something. And Hook rolls his eyes like, yeah, okay, sure Jan. Only Danhausen doubles down and offers Hook a live demonstration. CUE THE BI PANIC
(how dare you make me think about sammy EVER; content warning for Sammy’s tongue)
Okay. There are lines, and there are lines, and Hook's pretty sure that turning a corner in the staging area and nearly running into Sammy with his entire tongue down Tay's throat is one of the latter. Like, okay, but why? And also he has to stumble backwards to avoid smacking into them, nearly taking Danhausen, who'd been half a step behind, down with him.
"What the hell," Hook mumbles, because the two don't even notice. How do they not notice? And, wow, okay, that's just so much tongue. So, so much tongue. No kiss should ever require that much tongue. Is it even considered a kiss if it's just Sammy sort of shoving his tongue in and—oh god, Hook can't even finish the thought. Watching it is already too much. He gives them a wide berth with both hands in the air, an obvious sign of surrender, because please. Stop.
"Some people," he mutters, when they finally get to the locker room. He sort of didn't even check to see that Danhausen was still following him, as turning around would have meant having to see that display of bizarre tongue dance ritual Sammy and Tay had embarked upon. Ugh.
He finally glances to the side to find Danhausen wearing a strangely contemplative expression. After a moment, Danhausen notices Hook's eyes on him and blinks a little, brow furrowing. "That technique was terrible."
"What?" Hook asks, confused.
"Sammy," Danhausen clarifies, as though speaking about the tongue atrocity they just witnessed isn't threatening to bring Hook's breakfast up. "Danhausen is somewhat appalled by how little finesse he has."
Are they seriously talking about this? Is this what his tag team future looks like—debating Sammy's kissing techniques? Christ. Hook wants to shove Danhausen into a locker, except he's curious, and fuck, he hates that he's curious about where this train of conversation is going to go. "Are you some kind of expert?"
"An expert? No." Danhausen laughs a little, mouth curved up in mirth. "But certainly better than that." Then his features smooth over a little as his gaze sharpens, eyes narrowing as they flicker over Hook's features. "Does Hook want a demonstration?"
"What?" Hook repeats, this time with a twinge of panic accompanying it.
"A demonstration," Danhausen repeats, like Hook hadn't heard him the first time.
No? Why would—except Danhausen is sort of getting closer, and uh—fuck, Hook's brain is short-circuiting here. He really needs to say something and shove the guy away, and his arms sort of aren't obeying any of his commands, and maybe that's because he's still stuck on the idea in the first place.
And then Danhausen grabs his sweatshirt by the front, pushing him back against the lockers, and okay, Hook hadn't expected that, hadn't anticipated the way it knocked all the air out of his lungs in a rush, the way it's got his toes curling against the inside of his sneakers.
Danhausen leans closer, fingers still fisted in the hoodie fabric, and murmurs, "Isn't this how Hook usually starts these things?"
Is he...is he implying what Hook thinks he's implying? He needs to say no, obviously, because this hadn't been what he'd been angling at when they were backstage that day, right? And he needs to say no, like, of course, no, except the only syllable he can push out past his teeth is a mangled, "uh."
His eyes drift down to Danhausen's mouth of their own accord, a betrayal, because he doesn't—he isn't—
The black of Danhausen's paint twists up again, a little lopsided. "Hook can always push Danhausen away, can't he?"
Yeah, except Hook's arms aren't working; he can't get them to move, and the problem is he's not entirely sure he wants to, which is—oh, fuck, this is a big problem. A fucking huge problem. A problem that is most definitely aware of the internal war being waged as he gets close enough to brush the tips of their noses together, close enough that Hook can feel the puff of his exhale against his lips.
Oh fuck, this is definitely happening.
Okay, okay, Hook just—he will push Danhausen away, he will, once the guy gets this out of his system. He doesn’t fight when Danhausen bridges the space remaining between them to press his mouth lightly against Hook’s, and it’s not...it’s not what Hook anticipated. It’s gentle, maddeningly so; it’s one feather light kiss, and then another. Another. It’s like rain against his face, almost, except it’s more of a search, a call and response: a radar signal sent out into the depths to see if one returns.
And Hook can’t do anything but send it back. His eyes flutter closed when he leans in just a little, enough to match it, to meet Danhausen halfway. It’s—it’s nice. It’s different being able to feel the squareness of Danhausen’s jaw and then, after Hook slides his hands up into the man’s hair, the way the short strands slide through Hook’s fingers and end sooner than he’s used to.
His active participation in the kiss must spur Danhausen into action more, because the pressure strengthens, more push, more force, as Danhausen crowds closer in, aligning them shoulders to hips. And it sort of surprises Hook enough that he inhales sharply, mouth opening—the sort of invitation that Danhausen doesn’t seem to have any issue with answering. Danhausen licks his way between Hook’s teeth, gentle slides of his tongue, and yeah, this is so much better, this is fucking awesome. Hook could lose himself in this, the way Danhausen groans against his lips and how it reverberates through his skin, the feel of Danhausen’s face beneath his palms as he tightens his grip, the way the man smells like soap and aftershave, a distinctly sharp scent. Hook’s caught in the sway of moving together, of mapping out the taste of him, of—
Footsteps sound on the other side of the locker room door. Danhausen slides away, abrupt, and Hook nearly careens over trying to follow him back before they disengage. He has approximately one second of Danhausen grinning at him, paint smudged beyond repair, before the door opens. Danhausen slips past the figure entering with more speed than Hook would have guessed, leaving Hook sort of uselessly slumped against the lockers, chest heaving and fingers trembling.
He’s about to pull up all his normal gruffness to attempt to salvage the situation, play it off all, oh god, Hook, be cool, but Ricky just stares at him, incredulous, and after a few seconds, lifts his index finger to his face and drags two circles in the air. “Dude,” he says.
Fuck. Fuck. Hook’s undoubtedly got black paint smeared all over his fucking mouth. He drags his thumb across his bottom lip, and the digit comes away fairly well coated with it.
Ricky laughs, loud and high. “Well fuck me, kid. Or, maybe that’s the wrong turn of phrase?”
“Fuck off,” Hook groans, face aflame. “Don’t even say it. Don’t you dare.”
And Ricky just laughs again, leaving Hook to bolt towards the restroom in the back, to splash his face with water in a rushed attempt to rid his skin of the evidence, all while his brain stutters and catches on the thought that yeah, Danhausen has much better technique.
Shit. Hook’s so fucking screwed.
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rosemaidenvixen · 1 year
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Dig your eight graves
Part 1
Ao3
Big thank you to @avirxy they were a huge help with this story and it absolutely wouldn't have gotten off the ground without them.
Strong content warning: this story includes gore and graphic, onscreen deaths. Please take note of the rating and look over the tags carefully before you read to make sure this story is ok for you.
That being said, pleasant reading and Happy Halloween
---
“Come on Pepperjack, everyone knows Halloween was invented by the candy companies,”
“It was not! It’s based on the Celtic festival of Samhain!”
Claire rolled her eyes and went back to reclining against the large stone. It was a lovely day and she had a lovely view; perfect fall weather halfway between warm and crisp, the trees around her rustling with autumnal colors; red and orange and gold. Even Steve and Eli’s squabbling couldn’t ruin it.
“Saw-een? You’re making that up,”
Eli bristled “I am not! Samhain was their harvest celebration and when the ancient Celts believed that that gate to the afterlife was–”
“Dude if I wanted a boring history lesson I would have gone straight to the museum with Mr. Strickler, you totally made sew…in or whatever is up, just like you made up seeing those monsters,”
“I did see monsters! Last month I saw two of them fighting under the canal bridge before one crawled into a drainage pipe and escaped,”
“Pics or it didn’t happen, and since there’s no pics, it didn’t happen,”
Eli’s face turned lobster red, but before he could get another word out Shannon spoke up.
“Ignore him Eli,” she said cooly “He’s just baiting you,”
Eli snapped his mouth shut and glared at Steve, who smirked back at him, before folding his arms and staring daggers down at the ground with an indignant pout on his face “Why are we even here again?”
“Steve wanted to show us where his grandpa smoked pot,” Mary said cheekily.
The smug look dropped off of Steve’s face “He did not,”
“Yes he did,” Toby piped up “Source, my Nana came out here to smoke pot with her buddies in the woods back in the seventies,”
“He did not! Grandpa just found this place while he was hiking, and he came up here to commune with nature and become one with the universe and stuff,”
“That’s secret code for smoking pot,” Jim mumbled.
“Either way it doesn’t look like anyone’s been up here for a while,” Darci nervously eyed a rusty beer can.
Claire was inclined to agree. The clearing was only about twenty feet across in any given direction and nestled deep in the woods. The trail leading to it so overgrown that it would be almost impossible to find unless you knew it was here. 
The border was ringed by medium sized rocks, possibly put in place by bored and/or stoned hippies, and there was a fire pit in the middle slightly sunken and surrounded by smaller stones. Little traces of human presence were here; a candy wrapper by that boulder faded beyond recognition, rusty beer cans scattered everywhere, grass poking through the mound of ash in the fire pit, along with the tops of several beer cans. 
People had definitely been here before, but not for a long time.
“Yeah Nana says that when they opened the planetarium in the eighties all the stoners started going there instead,”
Shannon leaned forward “I heard there was a bunch of cult activity in Arcadia back in the twenties,” her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper “They used the woods to perform their rituals, and police had to bust them up again and again before the cults were eventually forced to leave town,”
“Cults?” Darci’s voice was tight and small.
Mary waved her off “That was forever ago,"
"Yeah," Toby said with a shrug "Cults, hippies, po-tay-to, pa-tah-to, and they both smoke pot,”
“Grandpa didn’t just come here to smoke pot!” Steve’s face was nearly as red as Eli’s had been, voice a hair away from a shout.
“Then why did he come up here Steve?” Toby fired back.
“Well just…it’s a really cool place,” Steve spread his arms, gesturing all around them “My grandpa always said he felt like this place was special, he took my mom here a bunch of times, and then she took me, and I…I wanted to show you guys,”
The surprising amount of vulnerability in Steve’s voice gave Claire pause. For as long as she’d known him Steve had basically been a huge jerk. But this year had been different, he didn’t shove Eli in his locker anymore, he actually pulled his weight on group projects, and it was times like this that she saw just how hard he was trying.
She leaned back against the stone and looked around. And besides this place did feel…special. 
The clearing was just rocks and trees and grass, nothing that they couldn’t find in the rest of the woods surrounding town. But there was a peaceful stillness to this clearing, even though she knew that the town was close by, here Claire felt worlds apart.
“You’re right Steve, this place is special,”
Steve practically glowed at the praise.
Darci shifted uncomfortably “Can we head back now, this feels too much like the start of a horror movie for my comfort,”
Mary just shrugged “Nah, we’re fine for a little longer,”
“I mean a group of teenagers alone in the woods on Halloween, talking about cults and–”
“Yeah,” Steve chuckled “Then the chainsaw wielding maniac comes in and starts randomly picking us off one by one,”
Toby rolled his eyes “Get your facts straight Steve, it wouldn’t be random, the ones who sneak off and make out would be killed first, and then there’d be one final girl at the end,”
“So Lake and Nuñez are definitely going first–”
“Go bite a tree Steve,” Jim said with a scowl.
“So who would be the final girl?”
Toby tapped his chin, looking around the clearing at the rest of them “What do you think ladies, who’d be the last woman standing?”
Mary made a big show of thinking it over, then turned over towards Toby with a wide cheshire grin on her face “We’re all getting out and leaving you boys to die,”
He hissed “Ouch, harsh Mare,”
“Except for Claire, she and Jimmy Jam definitely die first,”
Claire glared at her “Hey–”
“Sorry C-Bomb, but since the two of you started dating you’ve had tunnel vision, you’d be so busy making goo goo eyes at each other you wouldn’t see Mr. Chainsaw until he’s already hacking you apart,”
Despite herself Claire felt her cheeks start to burn “I could be a final girl,”
Mary just flashed an infuriating smirk at her.
Shannon shrugged “All I know is I’d definitely survive, I clawed my way to the treasure’s seat, I could take out one dude with a chainsaw,”
Eli cupped his chin thoughtfully “Yeah you’ve got powerful final girl–”
Mary cleared her throat.
“Or girls, energy, you’d survive for sure, at least until dying in the first ten minutes of the se–”
“Can we please go back now,” a desperate pleading, almost a whine, entered Darci’s voice.
Steve held up his hands “Hey we’re just discussing classic horror tropes,”
“Yeah, like the one about how characters that look like me don't live very long!” she spat bitterly, eyes brimming.
Just like that the upbeat mood was gone.
“Sorry,” Mary mumbled.
Claire got to her feet “Let’s head back, it’s about time anyways,”
They all stood and started heading towards the faint trail at the edge of the cleaning. All of a sudden Eli froze and whipped his head around “Did you guys hear that?”
The look Mary shot at him was murderous “Dude that is so not funny,”
“No really I–” 
The loud snap of a twig echoed from the woods in front of them, all of them instantly going dead silent.
Claire felt her heartbeat kick up a notch, there was no way all of them imagined that, so what was–
“There you are!”
They all shrieked and staggered back.
Coach Lawrence stepped out from behind a tree, nostrils flaring “I let you out for a five minute potty break, and you all sneak off to try and get acquainted with your good friend Mary Jane!?”
“Why does everyone think that…” Steve mumbled.
“We weren’t smoking pot Coach!” Eli piped up defensively.
“Nice try,” Coach folded his arms, still glaring at them “But I know exactly what a stoner hang out spot looks like,”
“How do you know that Coach?”
“I– you– Never mind how I know! Now I want to see all your butts in the van on the double!” 
They trooped along the faint trail back towards the main road and the van parked alongside it, Coach Lawrence muttering to himself the entire time. After they all took their seats and buckled in, crammed elbow to elbow, Coach Lawrence settled into the driver’s seat before turning to face them.
“Now I know you all volunteered to help Mr. Fier with his Fall Fair, but that doesn’t mean you can just run wild. I want all of you on your best behavior; no tricks, no hijinks, no nothing. One whiff of shenanigans from any of you and I will turn this van around! You hear me?”
They all nodded enthusiastically at that, Toby making a zipping motion over his lips. 
Coach gave a soft grunt before turning back and pulling out onto the main road. Claire tugged at the edge of her jacket. The idea of sitting silently in the car for another twenty minutes was unbearable, they were already way out of cellphone range, and bringing up horror movies again seemed like a bad idea, but maybe…
“So what do you guys know about this Mr. Fier?”
“Nothing except for the fact he’s doing this Fall Fair,” Shannon replied.
“I think he also does the Christmas market,” Toby leaned forward “And the 4th of July parade,”
“I know a bit more about him. He sets up this Santa’s Village at the hospital every year, my mom’s talked to him a few times,”
They all turned to look at Jim, he squirmed slightly at the attention but continued “He’s super old, and he owns almost all the buildings downtown, all the trendy restaurants and shops and stuff, he inherited them from his dad who got them from his dad, and I think if you go way way back his great great grandpa or something was one of the original town founders,”
“I read about him!” Eli stretched back from the passenger’s seat, seatbelt straining “Solomon Fier, he was part of the first group of settlers who founded the town in 1875. And he was the one who started the city’s anniversary festival, he hosted the very first one to celebrate the town’s first anniversary,”
“So his family has been hosting these fairs and festivals for over a hundred years?” Darci spoke with genuine interest, her anxiety from minutes ago gone “That’s pretty cool,”
“Well you can ask him all about it yourself,” Coach Lawrence’s voice cut in “Because we’re here,”
Claire scooted to the side and craned her head to see out the window. The van had emerged from the tunnel of trees into a large clearing, absolutely massive compared to the one Steve showed them. The gravel road led up to a large red barn, with several smaller buildings and a white clapboard farmhouse set behind it. And on the far side of the clearing there was a squat yellow structure, which as they got closer, Claire realized was a hay maze.
On the opposite side of the road from the barn were two small fenced in areas. Nothing was inside them, but signs posted outside them read ‘Future pony ride’ and ‘Future petting zoo’.
A couple of large wooden posts stood on either side of the road just a little ways away from the main barn and the fences, where an old gate or sign used to be if Claire had to guess. But instead of a huge sign an old rocking chair had been placed in front of one of the posts, sitting in it was a smiling scarecrow wearing overalls and green flannel with a wide straw hat, holding up a wooden sign that read ‘Welcome to Fier Fall Festival’.
Driving past the scarecrow, Coach pulled the van to a stop and killed the engine, turning and fixing them with his trademark stare as they filed out of the van.
“Alright listen up, let’s go over the game plan one more time. We’re here because Mr. Fier wants your feedback on what he has set up so far, and that’s what we’re going to do; no tricks, no monkey business. And once we’re done you’re all getting back in the van to go to the Pumpkin Ball at the museum, understand?”
They all sounded off with ‘Yes Coach’ although Claire caught Toby, Steve, and Mary rolling their eyes.
Shannon glanced around “Wasn’t Mr. Fier supposed to meet us out here?”
For the first time this afternoon Coach Lawrence’s steely expression flickered into uncertainty “Oh, uh…yes he was. I’m not sure why he’s not here yet,”
Eli wave a hand in the air “You should check your phone Coach,”
Coach grumbled but nevertheless pulled out his phone “Pepperjack we’re in a dead zone, if Mr. Fier had texted me it would have to have been nearly an hour agoooo…”
His eyes practically bugged out as he stared at his phone, gaze shooting back up at them with a sheepish look on his face “New plan. Mr. Fier’s car broke down, so I’ll head back into town, pick him up, and come back here,” he scrambled back into the driver’s seat “And because I can’t fit him and you all in the van, you all will wait here until we get back,”
Abruptly his gaze turned narrow again “You kids will wait right here,” he pointed sharply down at the ground just outside the van “You will stay together at all times, and will not touch anything while I’m gone, you got that?”
‘Yes Coach,’ they chimed again.
Coach gave a tight nod, shooting them one more ‘I’m watching you’ with two fingers before shutting the door and heading the van back the way it came.
They all stood there watching as the van vanished into the tunnel of trees, leaving them standing alone in front of the barn. No one said anything.
For about ten seconds.
“Welp, you buttsnacks stay here if you want,” Steve turned on his heel and started walking into the farm “I’m going to check this place out,” 
“Count me in,”
“I’m in to,”
Toby and Mary broke off from the rest and sped up to join him.
Eli’s jaw dropped, eyes going huge behind his glasses “B– but Coach said we have to stay here!”
“I’m not standing in the parking lot for an hour,” Mary waved him off “And what Coach doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” 
“Yeah,” Steve chuckled “We have this whole place to ourselves, might as well enjoy it,”
Claire, Jim, Darci, and Shannon all glanced at each other, matching giddy looks slowly spreading across their faces, before following after them, leaving Eli gaping in the parking lot.
“Buh– but–”
“Eli it’ll be fine,” Jim called back after him “We’ll just have a look around and be back way before Coach gets back. Besides, sticking together’s the most important thing, right?”
Eli shut his mouth, glancing back and forth between the road where the van disappeared and the rest of them, then dashed to catch up with them.
Jim then turned towards Claire, a shy smile on his face “And maybe before Coach gets back we can have some time to ourselves?”
Claire smiled back at him, reaching out to grasp his hand with her own, feeling a thrill of excitement when his cheeks turned pink as she did.
“I’d like that,”
---
Lawrence let out a sigh of relief as the dirt underneath the van turned to coarse pavement. Then, after quickly checking to make sure he was the only car around, pulled out his phone and dialed.
The other end picked up after just two rings.
“Hello?”
“Hello Mr. Fier, this is Coach Lawrence with Arcadia Oaks,” the words all came out in a rush “I’m so sorry I missed your call earlier, I just dropped the kids off at the farm and I am on my way to pick you up. But don’t worry, they will not touch anythi–”
The voice on the other side of the line let out a hearty laugh ”Oh please don’t worry yourself, let the kids have fun, and my daughter’s in town so don’t worry about keeping me waiting,”
Lawrence held the phone away from his face so his sigh of relief wouldn’t be heard “Really Mr. Fier I can’t thank you enough for being so understanding,”
More laughter “No, thank you, and please call me Sam,”
“Oh, ok…Sam,”
“Really it’s you and the kids doing me a favor, I already have a good idea what the little kids like, but I want to make sure the fair is fun for older kids to. Having your students walk through my trial run and give me their honest feedback is invaluable. I grew up going to harvest festivals all across the east coast, and I want the children of Arcadia Oaks to have the same. And once I get your students’ feedback and make the necessary changes, I can start planning and the Fier Fall Festival will be open to the public next year,”
Lawrence slowly relaxed into his seat, easing up on the gas as the road became twisty, a sure sign that the highway was close “Well I’ll be over as soon as I can to pick you up, and then we can get back out here and get started,”
“Like I said, no reason to break your neck getting here, and the kids can have fun exploring the place by themselves, maybe they’ll even find the surprise I left for them,”
“Surprise?” Lawrence shot up ramrod straight “What kind of surprise?”
The voice on the other end of the phone took on a mischievous lilt “Well if I told you it wouldn’t be much of a surprise now would it?”
He settled back into his seat, keeping his eyes locked on the road. Had to be careful now, there were several sharp turns along some steep inclines here. And with all the trees he couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead at a time “Oh…ok then, I’ll be there soon,”
“See you then,” 
Lawrence hung up the phone, letting out another sigh of relief, turning his focus back to the road. It was really good that Mr. Fier wasn’t upset about Lawrence missing his text, or about the kids having free run of the place for a bit. He might not be on the school board, but it wouldn’t be good to piss off the guy who owned half the town.
Now all he had to do was pick up Fier as quick as he could and head back to where the kids were–
As he rounded a sharp corner he came face to face with a large deer in the road only feet away from him. Lawrence jerked in panic and cranked the wheel hard, he swerved, missing the deer by inches, but sending the van over the side of the road. Lawrence fought to regain control as half the tires went into the dirt, but he’d gone too far off the road and the ground underneath him was too loose. 
The van violently rocked from side to side as it fishtailed along the edge of the road. Leaning far to the side as the tires lost traction against the dirt. 
Abruptly the land on the side of the road dropped off into a steep incline, tires losing purchase and center of gravity giving way, sending the van toppling over the edge of the cliff.
Its momentum shot it forward and down, rolling down the steep hill, rocks and trees tearing at the metal frame, crashing to a stop as it collided with a large tree near the bottom of the embankment in a deafening bang of metal against wood. 
The vehicle lay there crumpled between the hill and the tree, four tires spinning in the air, Lawrence hanging limply from his seat, suspended by his seatbelt, blood dripping from his forehead down onto the windshield. 
Back up on the road the deer hadn’t moved so much as an inch, not even twitching at the near miss from the vehicle.
For a moment things were still, the only movement the slowly rotating tires of the van. Then a figure stepped out of the trees on the opposite side of the road. They walked across the street to the deer, leather boots soft against the pavement, slinging it over their shoulder before turning and going back the way they came. Walking a few yards into the woods, they came to a large black truck and threw the deer shaped archery target in the bed before climbing into the driver's seat. 
Pulling the truck out onto the road from the hidden side street, the driver only spared a brief glance down the embankment before speeding away. Heading back up the road without turning once towards the upturned van, the last of its spinning tires slowly coming to a stop.
---
Claire flicked the switch on the electric tea light, setting it onto the shelf with the others “You know…I don’t think that dog has been house trained,”
“Really?” Jim set down his own candle and stepped over to her “You should report them to the humane society,”
She looked up from the snarling wolf animatronic, stationary without a power source, smirking “You know, I think I will,”
They’d just finished going through the farmhouse, set up as a haunted house. Turning on all the electric candles and giving a running commentary as they went.
Moving towards the door Claire stepped out onto the back porch and into the glow of autumn sunlight, Jim just behind her.
“Let’s go check out the pumpkin canon,” he spoke up “I know Toby said he wanted to figure out how it work,”
“Sounds great,”
They stepped down onto the grass and started walking towards the back of the main barn. As they got closer Claire heard the hiss of compressed air and the ‘thwump’ of it releasing.
She felt a smile slowly stretching across her face “I think he succeeded,” 
Rounding the corner, they came to the main space of the fair. A large clear space ringed with rocks  was slightly off from the center, plastic sign by it reading ‘Future bonfire pit’, directly behind the main barn a massive throne of sorts had been constructed out of hay bales, pumpkins scattered on and around it. Mary occupied the seat, posing and taking selfies with the small pumpkin on her lap. And then on the far edge of the clearing was the pumpkin canon, motor humming, with Darci and Toby standing by it. 
“Pull!” Darci shouted.
Toby yanked a lever, a pumpkin shooting out of the barrel with a ‘fwoom’ arcing over the stretch of clearing before landing with a dull thumb in the distance.
“Hey Tobes, you had enough of tormenting innocent squash?”
“Not even close,”
Mary clutched her pumpkin protectively “You’re prying Penelope out of my cold, dead hands,”
“Hey girls,” Claire smiled at Darci and Mary in turn “You know where everyone else is?”
Darci jerked a thumb behind her towards the double wide trailer “Eli and Shannon are checking out the escape rooms, and Steve’s over at the haunted house,”
“We just came from there, I didn’t see him,”
“Oh,”
“So Shannon and Eli are in the escape room,” Toby called out from where he and Jim were struggling to load a large pumpkin “And none of us have any idea where Steve is,”
“Tobes I don’t think this pumpkin is physically capable of fitting inside the canon,”
“Not with that attitude,”
Mary perched back on her pumpkin throne “Having a good time ladies?”
“Yep,”
“You know it,” Darci glanced towards the front entrance uneasily “But shouldn’t Coach have been back by now?”
That gave Claire pause, a quick glance at her phone told her it had been just over an hour since Coach had left, he should be getting here pretty soon…
Mary waved them off “He probably just stopped to trim his nose hairs or som–”
“Jackpot!”
Claire jumped at the sudden sound of Steve’s voice. Turning to see him walking over dragging a large cooler behind him.
Toby abandoned the large pumpkin, Jim looking all too happy to do so, and walked over to them “What are you talking about?”
“I was checking out some of the concession stands when I found this!” he opened the cooler with a flourish.
Curious, Claire stepped closer to see what was inside.
It looked like a bunch of snacks, which she’d sort of expected with it being a cooler, but this was a lot more than just goldfish and juice boxes. 
Full size candy bars, caramel covered apples, cupcakes, shrink wrapped packages of fudge, even a gallon of apple cider.
 “Yeah I thought about keeping this all to myself,” Steve leaned against the cooler with exaggerated casualness “But this is too much, even more the Palchuk, so I figured why not spread the wealth,”
Darci bounced up and down with barely restrained glee, giddy smile stretched out over her face as she hurried over to kneel in front of the open cooler “Steve you are the best!”
“Totally dude!” Toby joined Darci kneeling in front of the cooler “I take back everything I ever said about you!”
“No big deal I– wait what?” Steve’s smugness flickered as they all gathered in.
Claire rolled her eyes “Thank you Steve, this was really sweet,”
Steve’s smug grin slid back into place.
Jim picked up the gallon of cider out “I’m going to see if I can find some way to heat this up,”
“I’ll go get Eli and Shannon,” Claire and Jim turned and each walked off in opposite directions. Coming up to the double wide, she went around to the side door and gave it a soft knock.
“Shannon, Eli, you in there?”
“Don’t open the door!” Eli’s voice piped up “We have to find our way out ourselves, escape room code!”
“We found fudge and candy apples,”
“....please open the door,”
Claire complied, letting the two of them out, all three of them heading back to where Mary, Darci, and Toby were already divvying up the snacks with Steve standing by.
“I’ll take the white chocolate candy apple,” 
“Ooh gimmie one of the cupcakes with chocolate frosting!”
“Hey save some peanut butter fudge for the rest of us!”
As the three of them came up towards the cooler, Claire saw Jim approaching with his arms full and a big grin on his face.
“Cups, a kettle, and a battery operated hot plate. We have cider,”
Claire settled on the ground as they finished distributing the snacks between all eight of them, Jim getting the cider set up.
Soon they were all sitting on the ground and assorted hay bales, no sounds except for their munching on snacks and occasional sips of cider.
Wiping the fudge crumbs carefully off her face, Mary selected a shiny red candy apple and leaned back to take a selfie with it.
Darci gave her an unimpressed look “Do you have to do that every time we eat out?” 
“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,”
Toby looked between the two of them, then pulled out his own phone, slung an arm around Jim’s shoulder, and flashed a gigantic smile.
“Smile for the camera,” Toby said while raising phone and his cider in a cheer “Here’s to our best Halloween ever,”
Jim started for a moment before raising his own cup and flashing a smile as Toby clicked a picture of the two of them.
Claire felt her own lips twitch, grinning and holding her cupcake up to her cheek while she snapped her own picture.
Darci threw her head back and let out an aggravated groan “You guys are literally the worst,”
Mary smirked at her while she took a picture of Steve and Eli ‘dueling’ with their candy apples “Jealous?”
Toby nodded sagely “She’s totally jealous,”
“Ugghhh!”
Shannon smiled and reached into her own pocket, but the second her hand went in the smile dropped off her face.
“Shoot, I lost my phone,”
All of them turned towards her.
“Where’d you see it last?” Eli asked.
Abruptly Shannon sat up bolt upright “I had it in the hay maze, and I took out to take pictures,” she got to her feet “I’ll check for it there,”
Claire set aside her cupcake “Want us to come help you look?”
Shannon waved her off “I got it, the maze wasn’t too hard so I should be quick,”
She turned and jogged off towards the hay maze, the others watching her go until she vanished around the side of the barn.
Coming to a stop at the entrance of the maze, Shannon paused to pull in a deep breath and headed in. She took the maze slow and steady. Keeping a hand on the left wall, surveying the various rows and glancing down corridors on either side of her for any trace of her phone. 
Ten minutes of careful searching passed without any trace of her phone, but she refused to let that worry her.
This maze was big and twisty, and she’d only covered a third of it, she still had a lot left to search before her missing phone became panic worthy.
Shannon glanced left and right as she passed by the different hay aisles.
No phone, no phone, no phone, no pho–
There!
She skidded to a stop, backtracking two steps. Down the aisle to her right there was a small black rectangle that could only be her phone, sitting on a large ‘chair’ of hay bales less than twenty feet away. A small sigh of relief escaped her, Shannon did not want to have to go to her parents about another lost phone, as she turned and headed towards it.
Approaching the hay chair, Shannon leaned down and picked up her phone, and looking closer it was indeed her phone, sliding it back into her pocket with no small amount of satisfaction. 
She raised a foot to turn and go back to the others, when she heard a soft snap from behind her. Shannon gave a little start, foot still poised halfway off the ground. Did one of the other kids follow he–
Something flew in front of her face, crushing pressure enveloping her throat.
Her body reacted faster than her brain. Limbs flailing a blind panic, clawing at her neck and kicking out at anything her feet could reach.
Blood pounded in her ears, lungs burning for air, the unyielding pressure wrapping around her neck tighter and tighter not letting so much as a gasp escape.
Even in her frenzied haze she could see the shadow of a person standing behind her, two hands pulling the cord tighter around her throat.
I’m being strangled, someone’s strangling me–
Shannon fought to regain her bearings even while her body was still in panic mode. Trying to direct her kicks and punches towards the figure behind her. An elbow to the gut, a kick to the shins.
Anything to get them to loosen their grip.
It felt like her head was going to explode, bright spots of light burning in her eyes, lungs aching for air. 
She might as well be fighting back against stone. The person behind her didn’t move, unflinching against her blows, pulling the cord around her neck tighter and tighter.
The pressure in her skull was nearly unbearable, the blazing spots swallowing up all her vision. Any lucidity she had left was burned away in animalistic terror, clawing madly at her neck, desperate to make this stop–
The blinding lights in her eyes began fading away into darkness. Panic flared at what that meant only to be instantly sucked away into the blackness that was claiming all sensation. Shannon was vaguely aware of her hands falling limply away from her neck, legs going slack, static in her ears. 
One final thought bubbled to the surface before her mind was completely consumed by oblivion.
I’m going to die here.
---
Claire bit her lip, amber sunlight filtering through the trees. 
“Maybe we should try calling hi–”
“We’ve tried calling him!” Mary’s voice was a shrill snap, barely masking her panic “In case you’ve forgotten we’re in a dead zone!”
Coach should have been back over an hour ago. The sun was well and truly setting, filtered into a dusky glow by the forest, and Shannon had been gone for a long time. 
She knew in the pit of her gut that something had gone wrong, definitely with Coach,  and maybe Shannon to.
The jovial mood from earlier was gone, stark tension taking its place. Being alone here wasn’t fun anymore. And Claire couldn’t help but wonder if she was the only one whose mind kept cycling back to their talk of horror movies.
Either way no one was cracking jokes anymore. All flickering their gazes back and forth between the road Coach was supposed to drive up on, and the steadily setting sun. Waiting for something to happen.
Then Jim stood up. 
“Shannon’s been gone too long, we need to go look for her,” 
Mary shot to her feet alongside him, looking relieved at the chance to do something “Agreed,”
Claire was standing next to them less than a second later.
“We should all go together,” Toby added “I don’t think we should be splitting up right now,”
The others all got to their feet and joined them, except for Eli. 
He shot a stubborn glare up at them, folding both arms across his chest and firmly settling into his seat on the hay bale.
“I’m staying right here,”
Claire looked over at the others, the same uncomfortable look bouncing across the six of them. Darci broke away and took half a step towards him “Eli…I really don’t think we should split up like this,”
“Well tough, I’m not going anywhere, so if you guys don’t want to split up, stay here.”
“Shannon could be hurt or stuck somewhere,” Toby fired back, narrowing his gaze at him “And you’re more worried about getting in trouble than helping her?”
“You can tell Coach we made you come with us,” Jim added “But we shouldn’t leave you or Shannon all alone out here,”
Eli’s expression wavered, a shadow of uncertainty passing over his face, before hardening “It’s bad enough I let you guys convince me to wander off in the first palace, and eat the snacks Steve stole. I’m sure Shannon just got lost in the maze, and Coach is going to be back any minute, you guys do what you want, but I’m not going to move from this spot until he gets here!”
By the end Eli was practically shouting at them, all of them staggering back a little. Stunned at the normally meek Eli losing his cool.
Claire was torn, she knew deliberately leaving Eli by himself wasn’t right. But Shannon could be in desperate need of help, while Eli was just being stubborn.
“We’re going to go look for Shannon,” Claire said at last “Wait here and we’ll be right back,”
Her words seemed to give everyone the permission they were waiting for. Turning and heading towards the hay maze, all of them shooting tentative glances back at Eli as they went. But not slowing down.
Eli kept his mouth fixed into a firm frown, glaring at their retreating backs until he disappeared as they went around the barn.
“Yo Shannon, are you in here!” Toby shouted as they came up to the maze.
No reply.
“Well uh…looks like we’re doing this the old fashioned way,” Steve let out a nervous chuckle.
“Let’s stick together in here,” Darci said, tone forcibly light “If we split up things will just get even more confused,”
“Sounds good,”
“Works for me,”
“Definitely,”
“Let’s do it,”
Claire nodded her head, the six of them heading down their first turn into the maze.
They searched the corn maze as methodically as they could, someone going to examine every twist and dead end, without ever leaving the sight of the group, constantly calling out Shannon’s name, but even after almost ten minutes of searching there was no sight or sound of Shannon.  
Steve lingered by a group of haybales stacked into the shape of a chair “You guys think she’s mad at us, she has to, like, just be ignoring us….right?”
Claire tried to tamp down her steadily rising nerves. In theory it was possible that Shannon had slipped out of the maze without them seeing, but where would she go without telling them? And this farm was big but not that big so why wasn’t she answering when they called? 
Mary walked back to the group from the short dead end she was exploring “Let’s go to the beginning, try taking a different tu–”
An ear splitting shriek cut through the air, all of them involuntarily whirling towards the source of the sound.
Steve was scrambling backwards from the hay chair, face deathly pale and trembling all over.
Claire hurried over to him “What is it, what’s wrong?”
Steve didn’t say anything, jaw working up and down, skin chalky, raising a shaking finger to point at the hay chair. Claire stepped over to it to try see what had Steve so–
Her heart stopped.
Steve hadn’t been pointing at the chair, he’d been pointing at what was behind it.
From behind her she heard the others scream and stagger back, Claire herself couldn’t move, paralyzed by the sight in front of her.
Laying crumpled in a heap behind the hay bales was Shannon. Her eyes were blood red, staring sightlessly up at the sky. Deep claw marks had been gouged into her neck, from where she must have tried to tear away at the electrical cord still wrapped tightly around her throat.
“Is she– is she, dead?” Toby squeaked.
Mary shoved Jim forward “Your mom’s a doctor– check her pulse or something!”
Jim stumbled towards Shannon, he hesitated in front of her for a few seconds, before bending down to press two fingers against her neck. He looked up, face grave, and gave a single shake of the head.
That small action set the group a buzz with chatter, voices rising in pitch and intensity.
They all washed over Claire in a haze of noise, eyes still focused on Shannon–
Her dead body
In front of her. Heart pumping icy cold blood through her body with each drum-like beat.
Shannon couldn’t really be dead. This had to be a trick, or a prank or something. She’d been snacking and chatting with them just half an hour ago.
Before she even realized what was doing Claire was stepping around the hay chair to kneel in the dirt right next to Shannon.
This had to be a prank, a hoax, she knew Jim wouldn’t joke like that but he probably just made a mistake. Just because his mom was a doctor didn’t mean he knew exactly how to check for a pulse.
“Shannon?” Claire leaned in close “Get up this isn’t funny any more,”
Shannon didn’t so much as twitch.
The chill beneath her skin dropping a dozen degrees, Claire reached out to grab her wrist.
“C’mon Sha–”
The words shriveled and died in Claire’s throat.
Shannon’s wrist hung limp and lifeless, dead weight in her hand. Her skin cool, far too cool, to the touch.
There wasn’t any way she could be faking this.
Shannon was dead.
She scrambled back from the corpse–
That’s what she was now a corpse
The voices around her come back into focus with a pop.
“There aren’t even any mental hospitals around here!”
“Which is why I’m saying this has to be the guy who owned the farm!”
“But why the fuck would he want to kill us!? What did we do!?”
Claire all but stomped to her feet and whirled on the others “It doesn’t matter!”
They all jerked back, stunned into silence by Claire’s sudden outburst.
“It doesn’t matter who killed Shannon or why. What matters is that they’re here, they killed her, and now we’re all in danger. So what are we going to do about it?”
Everyone glanced around at each other uncertainly.
“We need to find somewhere secure to hunker down,” Darci said at last “Barricade ourselves in one of the buildings until Coach comes back,”
“No, what we need to do is get out of here, now.” Toby said with no small amount of force “The longer we hang around the more chances we have of this psycho finding us,”
“Agreed,” Mary added “We’re close to the woods right here, so I say we tear through the haybales towards the edge and then book it into the forest and head towards town,”
“What!?” Steve squeaked out ”There’s a psycho murderer here and you want to run into the dark spooky woods!?”
“It’s not like we’ve got a lot of options here!” Toby snapped.
“I’m with Steve one hundred percent,” Darci folded her arms “Running off to stumble through miles of dark woods doesn’t seem like a good idea,”
“And waiting here like sitting ducks is!?” Mary spat, face red.
“So your answer is to take us into the woods to get picked off one by one!?” Steve shot back.
“Oh like you–”
“Enough!” Claire shouted the word with enough force that everyone fell silent again.
She shut her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. Running through the different options in her mind “Toby and Mary are right, we need to get into the woods ASAP,”
“But–”
“I know it’s dangerous,” Claire cut Daric off “But staying would be worse. Coach should have been here over an hour ago, something went wrong and we can’t count on anyone coming to help us. Staying here just means that Shannon’s killer knows exactly where we are, and bottom line there’s no where here we can hunker down that the killer couldn’t set on fire,”
Darci shut her mouth, skin going ashy.
“I don’t want to run around the woods in the dark any more than you do, but at least whoever did this will have a harder time finding us there. And I’d rather deal with maybe a murderer in the woods than definately a murderer here,”
Dead silence settled over the six of them, tension crackling in the air.
“You’re right,” Darci’s voice cracked “We need to–”
“Oh my god,” Jim spoke up in a hushed whisper, eyes going wide “Eli!”
A fresh wave of shock rippled through the group.
Darci scrambled towards him, both of them whirling on the rest of them “He’s all alone,” her voice was shrill with panic “We have to go back for him!”
No one moved, Mary and Toby sharing a look.
Jim glanced back and forth between the two of them, clearly picking up on some nonverbal cue “Guys, what are you–”
“I think we need to make a break for it,” Mary said at last “Without Eli,”
Four jaws simultaneously fell open.
“Chances are Eli’s dead already,” Mary said stonily “And if we go back for him we’ll just get killed to,”
“What!?” Darci all but shrieked “We can’t just leave him behind!”
Toby shifted from foot to foot, gaze pointed down at the ground “If there’s a killer on the loose who’s picking us off one by one when we go off alone then Eli’s probably–”
“You don’t know that!” Jim fired back “If there’s a chance that Eli’s hurt and scared and we can still help him we have to try!” 
No one moved, a tense standoff forming, Darci and Jim on one side and Toby and Mary on the other. Steve whipped his head from side to side at each of them, jaw gaping open and shut with no sound coming out.
Claire looked back and forth between the two groups, weighing the decision in her mind, going back and forth before making her choice..
She moved to stand by Jim and Darci “If there’s a chance we can still save Eli we have to try,” she met Mary and Toby’s eyes in turn “We’d do the same for either of you,”
Toby and Mary wavered, glancing at each other.
“Ok…” Mary said softly “We’ll go back for him,”
“But no messing around in the maze,” Toby added “We knock the hay bales over and make straight for the entrance,”
“But….what about Shannon?” Steve’s gaze flickered back over behind the hay chair, face turning green and staggering back “We can’t just…leave her like this?”
“We can’t carry her Steve,” Mary’s voice was hollow “And I didn’t know Shannon too well, but I know she was pragmatic, she wouldn’t want us to risk our necks when she’s already beyond saving,”
Claire couldn’t help but flinch at that.
“But…” Steve eyed the chair again, expression pained.
“I– I got it,” Jim stepped around the stack of hay, reached down, and unwound the electrical cord from her neck, throwing it to the far end of the aisle. He pulled off his jacket, gently laying it over Shannon’s face and torso before standing back upright, face pale and hands shaking “Let’s go,”
Claire nodded at him before looking over to the rest of them “Toby and I will take point, Jim Mary, do you mind bringing up the rear and keeping an eye on our backs?”
“Got it,”
“Can do,”
“Great, Steve Darci, you stay in the middle and be ready for anything,”
Steve managed to squeak out an ‘ok’ while Darci’s only response was a tense nod.
They cut through the hay maze, Claire and Toby tearing bales aside to clear a straight line towards the entrance, Jim and Mary followed in last, constantly looking behind them and occasionally pulling some hay bales aside to cover their trail, with Steve and Darci nestled in the center.
Soon, far too soon, they stood at the entrance of the maze, lingering. The maze wasn’t safe, they’d just proven anyone could knock down the walls, and there was a good chance Shannon’s killer could still be lingering inside. But nothing bad had happened to them in the maze, now there was a sense of security to it, however irrational. No one wanted to leave to pseudosecurity of the maze to face the unknown.
But Eli was out there.
Claire swallowed.
The only way out is forward, dragging your feet is just going to put everyone in more danger. You have to keep going. 
“It’s just a straight shot and then one turn to the front of the barn. We’ll keep the same formation; Toby and I up front, Mary and Jim watching our backs and Steve and Darci keeping an eye on our sides,”
She forced herself to take a step outside the maze, a distance of less than two feet that felt like a thousand miles, then turned back to the others “We go in, grab Eli, and then book it straight into the woods,”
No one moved, all of their faces were pinched with various levels of panic and terror. Then Darci pulled in a deep breath and took a step after her. The others followed.
They moved quickly, a tight knot of people hustling towards the barn constantly surveying their surroundings in every direction. Searching the rapidly growing shadows of the deserted farm for any sign of a threat. It was less than a five minute walk to the front, but it seemed to stretch so much longer. Every step closer to their destination ratcheting Claire’s heartbeat up another notch.
Towards the fire pit, past the pumpkin throne, around the other side of the barn to where it faced the parking lo–
They stopped in their tracks, Claire’s stomach dropping, from behind she heard several soft gasps.
Eli wasn’t here, the hay bale he’d been sitting on, all the hay bales heaped in front of the barn were empty.
“Pepperjack?” Steve called out hesitantly “You here?”
They spread out among the bales, scanning all around them for any sign or trace of Eli.
“Come on out dude,” Toby this time “If you’re trying to get back at us you totally did it,”
Claire fought to keep her breathing under control, even while she couldn’t stop her mind from bracing itself for another sight like Shannon in the maze.
The only reason Eli wouldn’t be here was if something happened. They left him alone and the same person who got Shannon got him and–
She bit the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood.
Stop working herself up and assuming the worst, Eli probably just stepped out to go to the bathroom. They were going to find him and then they would all get out of he–
“Oh– oh god–” Darci let out a strangled sob.
Claire snapped her gaze over towards her, seeing Darci with both hands pressed against her mouth with an expression of abject terror, and followed her line of sight to–
Her heart stopped for the second time today.
Ten feet inside the barn there was a steel tub, despite the thicker shadows inside she could see the glimmer of water filling the tub to the brim. Hanging over the side, face down and completely motionless in the water was Eli. Even through the dusky gloom she could see water dripping from his limp fingertips to land soundlessly on the dirt floor.
All around her the others screamed and shrieked with distress. Claire herself couldn’t make a sound if she wanted to, pulled by some nameless forced to step closer to Eli–
His corpse, another corpse.
She stared down at him, a dull roaring in her ears.
How long ago did this happen, did the killer pounce on him the second we left, could we have saved him if we were just a little faster.
Ears filling with static, she reached out to pull Eli from the tub. Maybe it wasn’t too late to save him, maybe they could still do CPR or something and bring him around. And even if he was dead they couldn’t just leave him like thi–
“Claire look out!”
She snapped her head up, whirling around towards–
The breath was knocked from her lungs.
A figure lurked near the wall of the barn, maybe they’d been there this whole time, with their all black outfit they blended seamlessly into the shadows. Long sleeved black shirt, black jeans tucked into black black boots. Even a pair of black leather gloves. The only color on them was the rubber clown mask they wore, white latex, a rubber fanged grin with a tuft of red polyester hair sticking straight up.
And the shining silver butcher knife they held in their hand. 
Claire knew, knew all the way down to her bones, even while the rest of her mind was screaming in panic, that this was the person who’d killed Shannon and Eli.
And they were going to kill her to.
Clown face stepped towards her, knife raised and ready to be brought down with lethal intent.
Claire couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, frozen in place even while her instincts were screaming at her to run–
Toby didn’t have that problem.
He let out a primal cry of rage, charging the clown face with a large rock in his hand.
Clown face whirled and stabbed down at him, Toby sidestepped at the last second and tackled clown face to the ground, not wasting a second and bringing the rock down hard against the clown’s temple, again and again. 
Seeing Toby rushing in broke the spell and spurred the rest of them into action. 
Jim tackled clown face’s other arm, pinning them completely to the ground while Claire kicked the knife away. Mary ran up and stomped on clown face’s groin as hard as she could again and again, her and Toby pummeling them from either end. Steve and Darci stepped in closer, but otherwise hung back and watched them go to town.
After what seemed like an eternity, Toby stopped pounding at clown face with the rock, the hand holding it still raised and ready to bring down again, panting.
Clown face lay there on the ground unmoving, Toby had been bashing him so hard with the rock that maybe…
Mary took a step back “Is he…”
“I…I think so,” Toby got off of him with shaky steps “But just to be safe let’s find some rope and– hnk”
Something hot and wet hit Claire in the face, hand going to her cheek involuntarily, it came away red.
She spun to the side only to see Toby sinking to the ground, a gaping hole in his neck.
Another clown face was standing behind him, same black pants and shirt, three tufts of green hair and blue diamonds over their rubber eyes.
And a bloody scythe in their hand.
The whites of Jim’s eyes bulged inside of his blood spattered face.
“Toby!”
Claire grabbed Jim by the arm and yanked him back to where the others were clustering up together.
On the ground the first clown face slowly rose to his feet, reaching over to retrieve his knife– 
He was getting up, how was he possibly getting up, even if he wasn’t dead Toby and Mary had beaten him so much he had to be at least a little injured, how could he possibly just get back up?
They’d been so focused on the killer clown in front of them that they hadn’t noticed another one sneaking up behind them. Claire had thought only one person was doing this but she was wrong, there wasn’t just one killer, there were at least two, maybe even–
She whirled around frantically, trying to see if there were any–
There, another clown face outside, fringe of blue hair and a wide red grin on his mask, steadily approaching the barn entrance.
A machete in hand.
Three killers– at the least, maybe even more, laying in wait, boxing them in from all sides. 
This wasn’t a spree, it was a hunt.
“Run,” Claire whispered.
They booked it, Claire pushing her way to the front, dragging the sobbing Jim behind her. Leading them all away from the macheted clown before they could be surrounded “Follow me guys, I’ve got a plan,”
Did she, did she really? Was this really a plan or just a flimsy, half baked idea thrown together with adrenaline and desperation?
But she needed to do something–
Inaction would only get them all killed.
Whether because they believed her or she was the only one giving orders, or maybe they were just acting on instinct now, they followed Claire as she ran towards the haunted farmhouse. Running up the porch steps, tearing open the door, and shoving Jim inside, the rest of them rushing in after. As soon as they were all inside she stepped in and slammed the door shut behind her, grabbing the coat rack and a chair and an end table– throwing whatever she could in front of the door to barricade it. At some point she noticed that Steve had joined her, grabbing the heaviest objects he could and piling them up to try and bar the door. Behind her she was vaguely aware of the sound of Darci consoling Jim.
“Toby would have wanted you to live, you’ve gotta keep going for his sake,”
The image of Toby with his throat slashed open flashed in her mind, a phantom spray of blood on her cheek. The real blood now dry and tacky against her skin.
It had been bad enough, more than bad, terrifying, horrific, to stumble across Shannon and Eli dead. But to actually see Toby being…
A wave of nausea hit her, but instead of crashing it rose higher and higher.
Just a little while ago they’d all been hanging together chatting and laughing, now three of them were de–
The manic fear crescendoed, Claire’s body could barely contain it. 
Who are these people, why are the doing this to us, why are they doing this why are theydoingthiswhyaretheydo
Claire squeezed her eyes shut, studs digging into her palms as she threw the end table against the door. Forcing the panic deep down past her stomach, all the way to the bottoms of her feet, putting herself on top of it.
It didn’t matter who these people were or why they were doing this.
They were here. They were killing them.
That was all that mattered.
As she grounded herself the sounds of the others around her came back into focus.
Steve huffing and puffing as he labored alongside her, Jim and Darci’s sniffles, and Mary’s quiet shushing.
Just like that there was nothing left to throw at the door, Claire and Steve stopped and stepped back. Claire allowing herself one more deep breath.
Claire needed to get it together. Running around in a panic like frightened rabbits was the worst thing to do right now. If they were going to survive she needed to keep a clear head. Calm, controlled, rational. 
Their survival depended on it.
“That’s not going to hold them for long…” Steve said slowly.
“It doesn’t have to, just long enough to slow them down,”
“Uh Claire, I hate to poke holes in your master plan,” the sarcasm Mary’s voice barely masking her terror “But there are only two ways in or out of here, all the killer clowns have to do is have one of them stand outside the exit and we’re trapped,”
“Not exactly,” Claire turned to face them “There’s a root cellar in the basement, saw it from the outside, I think we can get into it through the kitchen, if we can get there we can escape out the basement and book it to the woods before the clowns ever spot us,”
None of them said anything to that, and how could they really. It didn’t matter if it was a good or bad plan, it was their only option.
“Let’s go,” Jim said, cheeks and voice wet “I know the way,”
They moved to the next room, Jim in the lead and Claire right behind him. The first room off the front entrance was the dining room, the majority of the space taken up by a long wooden table, half a dozen chairs set up around it. The table had been set up with props for the ‘food’. Dishes of eyeballs and severed fingers, a bowl of rotting fruit and a severed head on a tray. All made more haunting by the light of the electric candles.
The chairs were occupied by dummies. Most looking like farmers with gruesome injuries, a bashed in skull, a saw blade sticking out of a chest, but there were a few skeletons and zombies mixed in.
But thankfully no clowns.
They crept around the table, keeping their backs to the wall as they edged around the room.
Everything they were looking at was plastic and latex, Claire knew that, she’d seen all of this earlier when she and Jim had gone through the house.. But in the wake of everything that had happened, there was a new sinister edge to the display in front of them.
Worst of all was the chair at the head of the table. Seat empty, pulled out to face them, hanging from the top was a sign written in jagged, sloppy letters.
‘Room for one more’
Her guts gave a painful twist.
They all skirted past the final chair silently, creeping into the next room, Claire forcing herself to turn her back to the dining room and face what was aheaad. 
The next room was the living room. Wine colored couches and chairs, fake cobwebs stretched over every surface, upside down crosses and pentagrams on the walls, tall flickering candles on the tables and mantle, and a portrait of a pale, dour faced man in a black robe hanging over the fireplace.
Just through this room, down the hall, then into the kitchen. From the kitchen they should be able to find a way into the cellar. Then from the cellar they should be able to slip out past the clown faces. Then all they had to do was lose them in the woods, and the–
“Did you guys hear that?”
Everyone stopped dead in their tracks.
“I just…” Darci glanced nervously from side to side “I thought I heard a creak or something,”
No one moved. Completely still and dead silent standing in the gruesome parlor. 
Nothing but silence radiated through the house, not even their breathing, all standing completely still and waiting for something to happen.
After a few more moments of dead quiet Jim hesitantly took half a step forward “I think that was probably just the house set–”
In a blur of motion a figure jumped out from behind the couch, charging towards Jim with a flash of silver. 
Claire’s ears and throat burned as they all screamed, Jim staggering back, both hands pressed to his belly, blood spilling out between his fingers. Clown face charged forward, raising the bloody butcher knife, but before he could bring it down again Steve slammed his shoulder into the clown’s chest and knocked him to the ground.
The two of them wrestled on the ground, Steve kicking the knife away and trying to pin him to the floor “Go!” he shouted, struggling against the squirming clown “I’ll be right behind you!”
Darci and Mary pulled Jim back and slung an arm over each of their shoulders, dragging him with them through the room to the exit. Claire was right on their heels, lingering by the doorway even as the three made their way down the hall. Fingers gripping the edge of the frame, watching Steve struggle against the clown “Come on Steve let’s go!”
He twisted and thrashed, each of them fighting to gain leverage over the other. Then in a surge of strength Steve bodily shoved the clown off of him and staggered to his feet, charging towards Claire.
He sprinted towards the door, but before he could reach her clown face grabbed his ankle and yanked him back with all his might, leaving Claire to helplessly watch in horror as Steve toppled towards the fireplace.
The fireplace was old and cold, there hadn’t been an actual fire in it for over sixty years, maybe even longer.
But the cast iron grate was still there, and the spikes were still very sharp.
Steve’s back hit the grate with a wet, sickening crack. Bent over it at an unnatural angle with two spikes piercing through his chest, blood soaking into the fabric around them. 
“Steve!”
Claire stood there, frozen in horror, Steve twitching on the grate.
A faint groan came from off to the side. She whirled to see clown face slowly but surely getting to his feet. 
She needed to get Steve out of here, take the whole grate if she had to–
But could she carry that much, even just Steve on his own? And even if she could, was Claire capable of moving both of them fast enough?
And even if she could carry him, moving him would make his injury worse, and with a wound like that would he even live long enough to get to a hospital? 
She needed to leave him. 
Steve was dead already.
But she couldn’t just abandon him, this wasn’t like the others. Steve was right here, he was alive and moving, Claire couldn’t just–
From across the room the two locked eyes. Steve coughed, a trickle of blood coming out, then his mouth soundlessly formed the shape of a word.
‘Go’ 
Claire didn't move, jaw working open and shut. She couldn’t– wouldn't leave Steve behind, they’d already lost Shannon and Eli and Toby–
Clown face was on his feet, stepping over to retrieve his knife.
Steve spasmed, hacking up more blood, his expression turned pleading ‘Go’.
Claire’s vision blurred, eyes brimming. 
One way or another Steve was already dead. Leaving him behind was the only option. He knew that and he was telling her it was ok.
But it still tore her up inside.
With a sob Claire turned and sprinted down the hallway after Mary and Darci, leaving Steve to his fate.
---
Steve watched Claire vanish through the door. Relief washing over him, but not enough to drown out the agony. 
His whole chest was a blaze of pain, more stabbing through him with every heartbeat, lungs burning, every little twitch and motion sending fresh bolts of agony through him. But just in his chest, he didn’t feel anything below that. Not just ‘no pain’, nothing, not his feet, not his legs, nothing. He tried to wiggle his toes but nothing happened.
They said that’s how you knew you were hurt really bad.
His body gave another painful spasm, mouth filling with a coppery taste he knew had to be blood.
Steve didn’t want to die, he didn’t want it to be game over at fifteen. There was so much he still hadn’t seen, so much he wanted to do. 
But at least in the end he hadn’t been useless.
The second things had gotten bad, no– his whole life, Steve had just been dead weight for everyone.
He hadn’t done anything to stop Shannon and Eli from going off alone and getting killed. And he’d been a coward and wanted to ditch Eli and make a break for it, Darci and Jim were the ones who made them go back for Eli.
Claire was the one who came up with the ultimate escape plan. The rest of them jumping into action to follow her lead without hesitation while Steve just stood there like a useless lump.
Toby had charged the killer without wasting a second, getting killed because Steve was too stupid to watch their backs….
He heard rather than saw, moving his neck right now or even moving at all, wasn’t going to happen, the killer clown walking over to him. Staring down at Steve with an utterly blank stare, or maybe not, that was a mask, not his actual face.
At least in the end he was able to help the others get away, at least he’d gone out doing something useful and hadn’t dragged anyone else down with him.
He might be a goner, but the others would be ok, they were going to get out of here. That was something, right?
The killer grabbed a fire poker and raised it high above his head.
Steve felt his eyes brimming, even as more blood filled his mouth.
He didn’t want to die.
The poker came down hard against his skull.
---
Claire sprinted down the hallway, choking on her tears, rushing into the kitchen through the entryway.
The others were already here, Mary and Darci were tearing the room apart, shoving aside dummies and props and ripping away faux bloodstained sheets. In contrast Jim was still, leaning against the counter with one hand pressed to his abdomen, face pale and t-shirt stained with red. 
They whirled at Claire rushing into the kitchen, marginally relaxing when they saw it was her.
“Where’s Steve?” Darci asked.
The only sound Claire could manage was a strangled sob.
All three of their faces turned grim as the realization sank in.
Mary shuddered once and then it was back to business “We think that the entrance to the cellar’s in the floor, help us lift up this rug,”
Claire got down on her knees next to Darci and Mary, lifting the thin, stiff carpet to expose shriveled wooden floorboards. They rolled the carpet away, an injured Jim watching from the side, exposing more and more floor, and finally–
“Here,” Darci pushed aside a section of carpet, revealing a wooden square cut into the floor, fixed with a large brass ring.
She and Claire grabbed the ring and pulled. The door opened with an ear splitting creak, a puff of stale, musty air filling the room, below was a rickety ladder propped against the side, descending into the darkness beyond.
Mary grasped Jim’s shoulder and gently tugged him towards the trapdoor “Let’s go,” Claire watched the three of them descend into the cellar one at a time, and once Jim disappeared from her line of sight she followed. Climbing down the ladder and shutting the trapdoor behind her, descending into the darkness below.
She didn’t see any of the clown faces on their immediate heels, but she couldn't assume they weren’t following.
They still had a chance to take them by surprise and give them the slip, but their window was slim and getting narrower by the second. They needed to move fast and get out of here.
She caught a glimpse of Jim, both hands locked against his bleeding belly, her stomach pinching dangerously at the sight.
And get Jim to a hospital.
Unlike the rest of the house the basement was old and decrepit and dusty in an authentic and not intentional way. And because she and Jim hadn’t come through earlier and turned on the electric candles, the only light came from Mary and Darci’s phone flashlights.
Claire pulled her own phone out and turned on the light. Bouncing it around the dark space until she spotted the cellar doors.
“There’s the exit, we may have to bust it open so let’s be ready to–”
“Claire, wait,”
They all turned towards Darci, who was eyeing the cellar doors suspiciously “One of those guys was already in here waiting for us, what if they set up another ambush outside?”
Ice water crashed over Claire, now eyeing the door like she would a nest of poisonous snakes, imagining one of the clowns waiting just on the other side.
“Then…what do we do?” Jim croaked out.
Heartbeat in her throat, Claire frantically bounced her light around the small space. There had to be another way out, a third option, something she just wasn't seeing, there had to–
She froze as her light caught something shiny, and when she realized what it was, hope surged.
“Over there!” Claire pointed towards a small door set high on the wall, metal slide leading up to it “I think it’s an old coal chute, that’s our way out,”
Mary rushed forward to join Claire at the shut, Darci letting Jim lean on her as they stepped up themselves. The light of their phones flashing on the metal as they pointed it up towards the door.
“Darc, C-bomb, you guys head out first so you can pull Jim up while I give him a boost, I’ll follow behind him,”
“I– I can–” Jim spat up a mouthful of blood.
Something cold and heavy sank in Claire’s gut “You just take it easy Jim, we’ll get you to the hospital in no time,”
Jim’s only response was a tight nod.
Claire opened her mouth to ask if Darci wanted to head out first–
What if they set up another ambush outside?
The words shriveled and died in her throat.
“Wh– why don’t I go first,”
Darci’s eyebrows raised, sharing a quizzical look with Mary “Oh…ok,”
Claire knew if she dragged this out she was never going to do it so she got down on her belly and started shimmying up the chute without wasting another second.
She pushed open the metal door, wincing at the load creak, and peeked out. In the brief time they’d been inside the daylight had faded away to almost nothing. But even through the dusk she could see that the area behind the farmhouse was vacant.
“All clear guys,” Claire pulled herself up and out through the metal door, bellycrawling onto the grass, as soon as she was clear she turned and reopened it, extending a hand down “Come on, I’ll pull you up,”
Darci’s ascent was fast, crawling up the chute and out the door to join Claire on the grass in less than ten seconds. 
Through the cracked door Claire could hear Mary’s voice wafting up from the basement.
“Come on Jimmy Jam you’re up,”
Claire and Darci flanked the door, holding it wide open and each of them extending a hand down as far as they could reach. From below Mary helped Jim climb onto the shute, boosting him up to them by a foot, bringing him high enough for Darci and Claire to each grab a hand and pull. 
Something inside her twisted when she spotted Jim’s face. Expression pinched, skin pale and clammy, practically sweating in pain, and maybe she was imagining it but the dark red spot on his belly seemed even bigger.
Claire bit her lip and fought to keep her breathing under control as they pulled him out onto the grass. Jim would be fine, he was still alive and moving, they were almost home free, they were going to get out of here and get Jim to a hospital.
He was going to be fine, they all were.
Jim collapsed onto the ground, she moved to help him up, but he held up a hand.
“I’m….fine….” he pushed the word out past gritted teeth “Get…Mary…out”
She crawled back over to rejoin Darci at the door, reaching a hand down to where Mary was already shimmying up the slide to pull her up through the door.
Now that they were out they needed to get into the woods ASAP, the closest way would be back the way they came, but Claire really didn’t want to be funneled between the barn and the hay maze again. They could go through the empty booths set up behind the house, but with all those little buildings their could easily be another amb–
Something ripped Mary out of her hands.
Mary caught herself on the edge of the edge of the door by her fingertips, face a picture of shock.
Glimpsing past her down into the cellar Claire’s breath caught in her throat.
Down in the basement two figures had grabbed Mary by the ankles. 
Both of them wearing clown masks.
Turning and peeking behind her, the whites of Mary’s eyes bulged.
“Pull me up!” 
Claire and Darci surged forward, grabbing Mary’s forearms and yanking with all their might.
The pull on the other end was unyielding but they didn’t give up, they didn’t dare.
Mary gritted her teeth, her whole body pulled taut “Don’t stop,” she forced out “Keep going,”
She couldn’t let Mary go, not when she was so close, not when they were so close. They’d lost so many, half of them were dead. They couldn’t lose anyone else.
She wouldn’t let that happen.
Claire dug in her heels, tightened her fingers around the flesh of Mary’s hand and forearm, and pulled.
Finally, finally, there was some give. Slowly but steadily Claire and Darci pulled Mary through the door. Tugging and tugging until her shoulders were out, then her waist. 
Buzzing euphoria shot through Claire
They were going to do it, they were going to pull Mary free and book it towards the woods and then–
Out of nowhere the pull dragging Mary back into the basement suddenly became much stronger, before Claire could react Mary was ripped out of their arms, dragged screaming down back into the cellar.
With the killers.
Claire immediately dropped to her knees, scrambling at the small door. Tearing it open, through the basement gloom she saw Mary crumpled on the ground in front of the chute. Behind her stood the two clown faces, one of them had his arm raised. He was holding something shiny, it was too big to be a knife, so what could it–
The machete.
“Mary!”
He swung the machete down hard, landing in Mary’s shoulder with a sickening squelch of blade meeting flesh and a spray of blood, an agonized howl ripping out of Mary’s throat. 
Then he did it again, over and over, more blood spraying out, spattering the metal shute and the pasty clown masks, Mary thrashing on the ground under the relentless hacks of the machete, her cries of pain getting louder and sharper, stretching out into something so pained and twisted that it barely sounded human.
She had to do something, help her, save her, she couldn’t just leave Mary to die–
Something ripped her away from the barn, the sight vanishing but wails of pain and sounds of blade meeting meat persisting. Claire yanked one arm free, spinning around to shove away the force pulling on her other shoulder.
Only to stop dead when she saw it was Jim tugging on her. Face waxy but expression resolute. From off to the side Darci recovered from the harsh shove “C’mon Claire we’ve gotta go,”
“We need to go back for Mary!”
“Claire we…we…” Darci choked up “We can’t help her…”
“So what, we just leave her behind!?” 
“We can’t help Mary without getting ourselves killed…” Darci moved to grab Claire’s shoulder again but Claire shook her off, something breaking in Darci’s expression as she did “Claire we’ve got to go, we’ve got to–”
A blur of motion cut past them, a low grunt escaping Jim. Claire and Darci snapped around, Jim was staggering, the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Fresh panic spiking through her, Claire whirled her gaze upwards. There was another clown face standing on the roof of the farmhouse, staring down at them through the sights of a crossbow.
“Run!” Darci screamed. 
They each grabbed one of Jim’s arms and ran.
They booked it around the side of the house. This wasn’t the fastest way to the woods, in fact there was a large stretch of empty field between the woods and them this way. But an open area meant less opportunities for ambush, and they’d be able to see anyone com–
As they cleared the farmhouse and sprinted towards the clearing, Claire glanced to their side–
The pumpkin canon, which earlier had been pointed down towards the open field, was now aimed directly at them, with a clown standing by it.
Claire staggered to a stop, pulling Darci and Jim to a halt with her.
The tell-tale hiss of compressed air crept across the clearing.
Darci stumbled “Claire wha–”
“Back the other way,”
“What ar–”
“Back the other way!”
Darci’s gaze landed on the pumpkin canon, confusion smoothing out into terrified realization. 
They scrambled back the way they came, pulling a staggering Jim after them. There was a loud whoosh and a rush of air, a large pumpkin shooting past where they’d been standing just seconds ago to splatter against the side of one of the booths.
Claire and Darci rushed back past the haunted house. Couldn’t go through the field, couldn’t go past the booths, their only shot was the gap between the barn and the maze that cut straight up against the woods.
The three of them charged, Claire’s heart threatening to beat out of her chest. The narrow passage to the trees seeming miles away.
Almost there, they were almost there, the woods and the meager protection they offered were right in front of them. They were so close, they just had to make it past the barn and then the–
There was a deafening crash and Claire was knocked to the ground.
Head spinning, Claire pushed herself upright, struggling to regain her bearings. Blinking her vision back into clarity, Claire found herself staring at a large chunk of concrete sitting on the ground in front of her. Jim was off to the side, groaning and pushing smaller chunks of concrete off himself. Darci was–
Her mouth went dry.
Darci wheezed, trying and failing to squirm. While Claire and Jim had just gotten glancing blows from the debris, from the chest down Darci was pinned underneath a gigantic pile of concrete and rebar. 
She looked up, eyes bleary and unfocused, but still softening when they landed on her “Claire….”
Hearing Darci sound so frail shot Claire into action. She scrambled over on her hands and knees, tearing chunks of concrete off of Darci as fast as she could “It’s going to be ok Darc, I’m gonna get you out of here,”
Darci’s only response was a strangled moan.
Blood was rushing in her ears, Claire’s hands were shaking. The concrete was so heavy, some pieces she could barely lift, and there were so many on top of Darci, crushing her, killing her. Claire needed to get her free and get them out of–
In a tremendous crash more concrete rained down on top of them, Claire jerking her arms up to shield her face and Darci letting out a shrill cry as more piled on top of her.
As soon as the hail of concrete ceased Claire’s gaze shot up. Another clown face was standing on the roof of the barn next to them, staring down at them through their mask, holding an empty wheelbarrow.
Claire forced herself to rip her gaze away from the clown, going back to frantically tearing at the pile of concrete on Darci. Her hands were worn raw, blood oozing from her palms, but she didn’t slow down, she didn’t dare.
Darci whimpered, twitching under the concrete.
“I’ve got you Darci, I’ve got–”
Another deafening rain of stone and concrete, sharps chunks bruising and cutting Claire’s face and arms as they descented. And when it finally ended only one of Darci’s hands was visible.
Claire’s galloping heart gave a painful clench. There was no way she could dig her out of this in time, she’d given it her all and barely made a dent, and that clown kept throwing more and more–
Desperate, Claire grabbed the hand sticking out of the concrete and pulled, Darci’s finger’s feebly gripping her own “Come on Darci, I’ve got you, I’ve got you, I–”
Glancing off to the side, her blood went cold, frozen with Darci’s hand in her grip, two clown faces steadily approaching them.
Nerves screaming, Claire’s pulling intensified, even while Darci’s grip weakened “I’ve got you I’ve got you I’ve go–”
Another relentless hail of concrete and stone, but this time Claire didn’t let go of Darci’s hand, even all jagged chunks of concrete ripped at her face and arms.
She glared up at the clown on the roof through her tears.
"Leave us alone!"
Darci’s hand barely had any strength left in it, but Claire didn't stop pulling. 
Can't leave her behind, have to get her out of here, have to get all of them out of he–
Jim groaned from behind her, off to the side the clowns were getting closer, butcher knife and bloody machete held at the ready.
And no matter how much she pulled Darci wasn’t budging.
Her hand a limp, heavy thing in Claire’s grip. 
Claire let out a howling sob, dropped Darci’s hand, heart ripping in two, pulled Jim up by the shoulder, and ran.
She sprinted with all her might towards the woods, Jim stumbling beside her with one arm slung over her shoulder, not daring to look behind her. Even when they reached the treeline she didn’t slow down. Stumbling over roots and brambles charging deep into the dark forest with all her might.
---
From atop the roof of the old farmhouse, the lone figure kept their gaze trained and crossbow aimed at the two smaller figures in the distance as they ran towards the forest, barely visible in the dying sunlight. 
The figure held steady, even as the two on the ground vanished into the trees. For a second they continued holding the crossbow up, then slowly lowered it. Unloading and un-notching it. Crossbow lowered, they pulled a small object from their hip and raised it to their face.
"I just spotted the last two heading into the forest by the barn," 
The device crackled in their grip, the static clearing into another voice. 
"Leave them, the last thing we want is to be playing hide and seek in the woods, and the six we already got will be more than enough,"
They reholstered the radio, not bothering to reply, and headed towards the edge of the roof, climbing down the same ladder they’d used to get up.
On the ground near the bottom of the house others in similar garb waited for them.
The figure from the roof looked over them for a moment, all of them standing there silently, then reached up and pulled off her mask.
---
Claire didn’t know how long they’d been running, the woods were pitch black, she had no idea where they were going, they'd nearly tripped countless times in their breakneck sprint over rocks and tree roots. 
But she didn’t dare slow down, for all she knew the clowns could be right behind them. Claire could see it so clearly in her mind, the clowns chasing after them, right on their heels with blades in hand, ready to carve her and Jim apart in an instant. 
So she kept on running, even as her legs and lungs ached, heart threatening to burst, keeping a steely grip on Jim’s arm slung over the back of her neck.
By now she was practically dragging him.
The whole time they’d been running Jim had been getting slower and slower, putting more and more weight on her. Claire struggling to keep up her speed while practically carrying him. 
And while the front of her mind was ablaze with panic, deep down dark worry of what that meant for Jim swirled. 
Claire gritted her teeth, hauled Jim up higher against her shoulder, and pressed on. Emptying her mind of all thoughts except putting one foot in front of the other. 
She had to keep going, no matter how far away it was their only hope was forward, behind them was certain death. Had to press on, couldn’t slow down, their lives depended on it. 
Just keep runni–
Her foot caught against a rock, gravity took control before she could right herself and their momentum turned against them. 
Claire and Jim hurtled towards the ground, dirt and bark tearing into her arms and legs as she tried to break her fall, and landed hard. The air knocked from her already burning lungs and sudden brightness popping into her vision.
Shocked at how bright it was, Claire scrambled upright, ignoring the stinging in her palms and knees, and glanced around. They had stumbled into a clear space in the woods, the moon wasn’t full full but it was pretty big, and now that it wasn’t blocked by the trees it gave her just enough light to see by.
Shaking off the surprise, Claire frantically crawled over to where Jim lay sprawled out on the forest floor. Fortunately he’d fallen on his front, so the bolt hadn’t been forced in deeper. Her fingers twitched, tempted to yank it out, but she knew that would only make the bleeding worse. She grabbed one of his arms and pulled him onto his side.
“C’mon Jim we gotta keep going we gotta–”
Jim spasmed, head jerking to the side, a horrible hacking sound escaping him, blood coming out with it.
Knives twisted in her gut “Jim we have to keep going, we have to get you to the hospital, we–”
“Can’t–” he coughed, more blood flecking on his lips “C– Can’t…”
“Jim you have to, we–”
Claire happened to look down, the chill already racing beneath her skin getting even colder. The front of his shirt was completely soaked with blood, ink black under the moonlight.
She gritted her teeth, if Jim couldn’t walk she would carry him herself. Claire put her feet underneath her and pushed herself upright, only to get knocked back to the ground by a wave of exhaustion. She tried to get up again but her muscles were jello.
Stopping had been a mistake, now the adrenaline that had been keeping her going was gone and she could barely move.
Jim needed a hospital, but neither of them could stand right now, let alone run. She needed to try to slow the bleeding down herself.
Shaking, Claire sank back onto her knees and pulled Jim into her lap, taking care to avoid the bolt. And even while the idea of what she was about to do made her nauseous, Claire put her hand over where the blood was thickest on Jim’s stomach and pressed down. Bile rose in her throat, gagging as warm sticky blood oozed between her fingers and a pained hiss escaped Jim’s teeth “It’s ok, I’ve got you I’ve got you…”
Claire kept pressing down, even as more blood welled up around her hand, stomach pinching dangerously, forcing back the urge to vomit. She didn’t dare let up on the pressure, but if she kept looking she was going to puke.
Tearing her gaze away, Claire forced herself to focus on the far side of the clearing to try and clear her–
An unexpected pop of color stood out against the forest floor. It took a few seconds for her to realize what it was.
A rusty beer can.  
She swept her gaze around the clearing, taking scope of their surroundings. A clearing in the forest surrounded by stones, littered with decades old debris, and a small fire pit full of empty beer cans in the middle. They’d been here, all of them, just a few hours ago. The rock she’d tripped on had been the same one Darci had sat on.
Jim coughed again, Claire’s focus snapping back to him, a low mumble escaping him.
“Don’t try to talk, just hang in there and I–”
“I…I made you slow,” he wheezed “If I hadn’t…then Darci…and Mary…and Steve wouldn’t have had to…” he was cut off by another spasm, shaking him from deep within.
“Don’t talk like that!” Claire snapped, harsher than she intended “It’s not your fault, you didn’t do anything wrong, you couldn’t have…”
Jim’s bloody lips twisted in a grimace, he opened his mouth again, only to have it come out as a wheeze that turned into another bloody cough.
Claire’s heart twisted in on itself, squeezing his shoulder as tight as she could, pressing on his stomach as hard as she dared. Her eyes never leaving his.
“It’s gonna be ok Jim, I’ve got you,”
Jim’s shoulders slumped back into her grip, blood pouring out from between his lips, looking up at her with a pained gaze.
“It’s going to be fine, we’re going to get you the the hospital and–”
Jim shuddered again, a low rasp of air escaping him, the back of his head slumping into her arm as his entire body went limp.
The pain in his eyes fading away into an awful emptiness.
“....Ji….Jim?”
He didn’t move, a heaviness to his body that hadn’t been there seconds ago. Face slack, trickle of blood running out of his open mouth, blue eyes staring sightlessly into her own.
She jerked her bloody hand away from his stomach, the world around her spinning to a stop.
Jim was gone, she was holding him right here in her arms, staring into his eyes, but he was gone.
A deep hollowness settled into her gut, even as her ribs constricted around her chest.
She’d pulled him from that basement, dragged him halfway through the woods, and now he was gone.
No it was just her, all alone, clinging to Jim’s dead body.
Everyone was gone. Jim, Mary and Darci, Steve, Toby, Shannon and Eli.
They were all dead, all but her.
Claire couldn’t move, breath picking up faster and faster, pinned in place by the shock and horror of it all, hysteria rising.
Even though she was covered in their blood it almost didn’t feel real. Things like this were only supposed to happen in movies, not in real life, not to them.
Just a few hours ago, it felt like a lifetime, all of them had been sitting here without a care in the world, laughing and joking together.
Then those sick bastards had killed them all.
Leaving just her standing among all the bodies.
I could be a final girl.
Despite everything the edges of her mouth involuntarily curled upwards, panting breaths twisting into a hysterical laugh.
That’s how stories like this were supposed to end right? With one final sole survivor. 
The last woman standing. 
The final girl.
Left alive to walk triumphantly into the sunrise as the end credits rolled. 
Just as quickly as it had come the manic laughter trailed off into gut wrenching sobs.
What a sick fucking joke.
She didn’t feel anything like a survivor. All her friends were dead slaughtered in front of her eyes. She couldn’t save a single one of them, their lives ripped away in front of her eyes.
Weak.
How could she go on after letting all their lives slip through her fingers? 
Useless. 
And the worst part was deep down she knew their killers would never be punished.
By the time Claire made it out of the woods, called the police, and got cops out to the farm, the killers would be long gone.
Her eyes burned, tears running down her cheeks, as she stared into Jim’s sightless ones, more sobs gushing out of her. They’d only been dating for a month, but he was sweet and caring and she loved the time they’d shared together. Now every future kiss, every future dance, every moment they’d never had was stolen from them.
A keening sound escaped the back of her throat as more tears fell.
Mary and Darci, her two best friends, they’d known each other for over a decade. Made plans for senior year and college and adulthood together. Now all that was gone, their lives ripped out of her hands.
More sobs came, rocking her whole body with their force.
And Steve, for almost all the time Claire knew him he’d been a jerk, but he’d been trying so hard to be better, and now he never would.
She’d only known Toby through being Jim’s best friend, but she liked him, he was sweet and funny, and he’d charged at the killer without a second thought. And now he was gone.
Eli hadn’t deserved what had happened to him, dying alone and abandoned.
Even Shannon, someone she barely knew, and now never would.
Claire was barely aware of  Jim’s weight in her arms, an ocean of grief surging through her. Countless emotions crashing into her at once, pinning her in place on the ground while her body quaked with the force of the sobs shaking it.
People she loved, people she knew, people she wanted to know. All gone.
You failed them.
And every time she shut her eyes she saw them dying all over again.
The storm inside her surging to a peak, Claire pulled Jim as tight to her chest as she could, threw back her head, and screamed.
Screamed with grief for what she’d lost, screamed with anguish for what she would never have, and screamed with helpless rage at the killers who would never be punished. 
Claire screamed and screamed until there was no air left inside her, trailing off into a hoarse croak, no emotions left to empty out into the empty forest, absolute silence filling the clearing. 
Sitting there on her knees, panting and trembling, Jim still sprawled across her lap, body too weak to move but still burning with–
A concussive wave blasted through the clearing. 
Wobbling, Claire braced herself on the ground with one hand, the other protectively clutching Jim’s shoulder. Grief eclipsed by fresh panic.
What was that?
The sensation had reminded her of the boom of especially loud bass at concerts, but even that wasn’t quite right, and that sensation had always been more like a push, this had been a pull tugging her towards–
Claire glanced towards the center of the clearing only to stop dead. The firepit was gone. The circle of small stones was still there, but the inside was gone, everything inside the ring of stone a solid void of pitch black. She kept looking and looking and waiting for her eyes to adjust and give her a peek at one of the beer cans inside it, but it remained a bottomless black.
A chill swept over her that had nothing to do with the autumn night or the horrors she had just endured. Hadn’t it been normal when she’d stumbled into this clearing a few minutes ago? She hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to her surroundings, but a pitch black pit like surely would have grabbed her attention so when–
The stones bled.
Claire jerked backwards reflexively, dragging Jim with her, the oily redness around the pit rapidly spreading outwards. Grass and plants withered as the redness touched them, shriveling into burned looking husks. Rusty looking flakes peeling off of them falling–
Claire’s mouth went dry.
Up, they were falling up. Filling the air like flakes of bloody snow ascending to the sky.
For a moment she was so stunned she forgot to be afraid, it was only when the redness was about to touch them did she remember her fear.
She fumbled backwards, trying to get Jim and herself clear, but the redness swept under them, leaving them untouched, continuing its progress along the clearing, only halting when it reached the larger stones at the edge.
Claire just stayed there kneeling in the dirt, swiveling around at the inexplicable scene unfolding around her. So caught up in the sight of the rusty stuff rising from the ground she nearly missed the little flicker of motion.
She stopped and stared, surely she’d just imagi– 
Something moved inside the bottomless blackness of the pit.
Claire froze, breath caught inside her chest. More shadows shifting inside the dark pit, before something emerged. 
It was long and narrow, the top tapered to a sharp point, several more just like it following shortly after all connected to a–
An icy chill crept up her spine.
Those were fingers, that was a hand.
The hand slowly reached over the circle of stones and pressed against the ground, joints cracking as it did. The wrist bent at a sharp angle, releasing more cracking sounds as it did, the hand pushing against the ground to raise a long long arm connected to it out of the pit. Then a second hand emerged with another long arm behind it.
Claire could only watch, heart pounding in her throat, as whatever was in the pit pulled itself free.
A round head emerged first, facing away from her, followed by a spindly neck connected to broad, angular shoulders tapering to a narrow, almost emaciated chest. The…the thing sank low to the ground, crawling the rest of the way out of the pit. Its waist impossibly thin, almost wasp-like over sharp, jutting hip bones, legs just as long and gangly as its arms trailing along after it. 
For a moment it stayed there crouched on its hands and feet on the ground, then it snapped its head straight back, in a move that should have broken its neck, piercing Claire with its gaze.
A sharp gasp of breath escaped her, pinned in place under the thing’s stare. Its head was smooth and featureless; no mouth or nose, not even ears, just eyes. The thing's eyes were solid silver, the only part of its body that wasn’t dark, no pupil or sclera to speak of, staring back at her like twin, gleaming coins. 
Without moving its head, the creature slowly stood and rose to its full height, body snapping and contorting to face her without its eyes ever once leaving her. It was tall, head nearly even with the tree trops, long fingered hands hanging down to its knees. There was something vaguely skeletal about it, the suggestion of hip and shoulder bones in the sharp angles of its waist and shoulders, rib-like ridges lining its chest. Under the moonlight the thing had looked black at first, but now she could see it was actually a dark, almost wet looking red, giving the overall appearance of something that had been skinned. Shining silver gaze still locked onto Claire. 
Her instincts were screaming at her to run, but exhaustion pressing down on her too heavily.
They stared at each other in silence, red ash falling up all around them. 
“Who are you who has summoned me?” 
A voice boomed out, not overly loud, but unfathomably deep, echoing across the clearing.
Claire jerked back out of reflex, was that the–
“You who have called me to this plane,” the thing took a step towards her, speaking somehow despite having no mouth “What would you have of me?”
Her jaw gaped open and shut, struggling to get words out of her petrified throat "Wh– who are you?"
The creature didn't so much as twitch “I have been known by many names across the eons, but the ones who first pulled me through these stones knew me as the crooked one, the god of the bloody mound, Crom Cruach,”
“Cr– Crom Cruach…” 
For the first time the thing’s gaze left her own, going down to Jim in her arms.
“So that is what called to me, your loss,”
Claire scrabbled backwards against the ground, sneakers kicking up dirt, sending more red flakes up in a flurry, dragging Jim away from it “Do– don’t you touch him!” 
She tried to make her voice sound angry, but what came out was a desperate whine.
It– he? Crom, lifted his gaze back up towards her “Tell me child,” he took another step towards her, Claire scooting further back “What would you do, to have your lover returned to you?”
Claire’s jaw dropped open, blinking in surprise.
Did he….did he mean….
Crom slowly raised a long, dagger sharp finger, pointing it down at Jim in her arms
“Ask it of me, and you may hold him, whole and sound, in your arms again this night,”
Her teeth ground together so hard they hurt, fresh burning surging behind her eyes. 
A big scary monster rising out of the ground and offering to bring her dead boyfriend back to life?
Yeah, fuck that.
“No thanks,” she growled.
Crom crooked his head to the side with a painful sounding crack “You speak of denial, but even now I can taste your sorrow, why try to deceive me and yourself when I can grant your deepest wish?” 
All the emotion from the past several hours; rage, grief, fear, exhaustion, surged, boiled over, overriding ever ounce of self preservation in her body “You think I’m stupid!?” she snapped “You say you’ll bring him back, but you're probably just full of it! And even if you could bring Jim back it’d just be as a– a– a zombie or something!”
He cocked his head even further, so far that it almost looked like its neck was broken “Zom…bie?”
Claire pulled a lip up in a growl “A walking corpse! A sick, rotting fake! You say you can bring him back, but I don’t believe you!”
She sat there panting, heart pounding, Crom staring at her with his liquid metal gaze. For a moment Claire was sure he would rip her head off with a single swipe of his hands, then he stepped forward, closing the distance between them in a single breath.
“Lies are a human art,” he bent down towards her in a series of jerking motions “The wolf does not deceive as it slaughters the lamb, nor does the flame as it consumes the forest, so child…” 
His face was only inches away from her now “Look into my eyes, and tell me if you think I am speaking false,”
Alarm bells were screaming in Claire’s head, clutching Jim protectively to her chest–
But there’s nothing to protect, he’s just a corpse now, you’re clinging to a dead lump of meat.
Despite every instinct in her body wailing at her to get away– she couldn’t contain her burning curiosity…and the faint flicker of hope.
Claire squeezed her eyes shut, raised her head until she knew she was facing Crom dead on, and then opened them.
Twin pits of liquid silver started back at her, glowing with unearthly light. As she stared, she found that she was able to pick little flecks out of what she had thought had been solid.
Glimmers, flickers, sparks.
Hundreds of thousands of white hot metal sparks swam in his eyes, burning in an infinite, silver inferno, the head of them heat searing into her eyes.
Brighter, hotter, than anything she’d seen before.
Than anything that had a right to exist.
Claire wanted to look away but found herself mesmerized, even as the horror grew.
These weren’t eyes, they were gates, pits leading down into that merciless white hell, burning and burning.
This fire wasn’t something that deceived, squeezed itself into a different shape and pretended to be something it wasn’t. It would only tear and burn and consume everything that it touched.
Claire finally forced herself to rip her gaze away, staring at the ground, panting with fear, blood rushing in her ears, hearing the creaks as Crom stood back up straight.
She didn’t know what this thing in front of her– Crom, was, but he wasn’t lying, that much she was sure of, but still…
“It can’t be that easy…” she whispered, still looking down at the rusty, peeling ground, Jim clutched protectively against her chest “If bringing people back to life was easy everyone would do it…”
Crom snapped his head up straight “There is truth in what you say. Death takes a tithe that even I cannot deny. Your love’s human life has ended, but I can summon his soul from the otherworld into a new life,”
Claire peeked up at him “You…make it sound like he wouldn’t be human,”
“He would not,”
Her gaze lowering until her eyes met Jim’s sightless ones, heart pounding “If he wouldn’t be human…what would he be?”
“A beast of old, a being of magic reflected from his own essence. But though his flesh will no longer be human, his soul will be untarnished, his memories intact, and his mind his own,” 
Despite herself Claire felt her breathing start to pick up, it sounded too good to be true. But it had to be, whatever he was Crom wouldn’t– couldn’t lie, and Jim wouldn’t be human but he would still be Jim, and tha–
“Then, there is the matter of my payment,”
The glimmer of hope flickered.
There it was, the horrible catch, he’d bring back Jim, but only if Claire paid some kind of terrible price. She knew this was coming, Crom might not be a liar but she knew he was dangerous. If she was smart she’d tell him to go back to whatever hell he crawled out of, but….
She looked down at Jim again, his eyes, once so full of warmth and kindness, now cold and empty, his entire front slick with rapidly cooling blood, the sight twisting a knife in her heart–
Darci and Mary’s fingers wrapped tight around her own, the sickening crack as Steve's spine hit the iron grate, Toby’s blood splattering on her face, water dripping from Eli’s clammy fingertips, Shannon’s crumpled body lying there behind the hay–
She’d failed them, she’d let them all die. But now she had a chance to save them, all of them, and she wouldn’t let that slip through her fingers.
No matter how much it cost her.
“I’ll do it,” her voice was diamond hard “But I want to bring all of my friends back, not just Jim, all seven of them,”
If Crom was pleased or displeased by this he gave no sign “The payment for seven souls will be greater than for one,”
“I don’t care!” Claire snapped “I want them back, All of them!”
Crom stared at her for a moment, studying her with his molten silver gaze, before raising a hand, large enough to wrap around a tree trunk, and holding it out towards her “Very well, now my price,”
Claire swallowed hard but nodded her head.
“You shall serve as my priestess, blessed with unrivaled power and the collective knowledge of all my past shamans, and–”
“No.”
Crom stopped, his stare burning into her.
Claire swallowed but held her ground “I don’t want power, I don’t want revenge, I just want my friends back,”
A shudder rippled across Crom’s body, claw-like fingers curling together over his palm.
Claire shrunk back.
For the first time since she’d seen him, Crom was…displeased.
“There are forces and tithes in these worlds that even I cannot deny,” his voice was no louder than it was before, but now had a jagged edge to it “In order to work my miracles on this plane I need an anchor for my power,”
He raised his other hand, a single sharp finger pointing down at her “A priestess, and I have no use for a weak emissary, the power and knowledge I would give you is not something to be bargained for, but tied to your priestesshood. What you do with that power is entirely your own choice,”
Claire felt herself start to shake but nodded her head “Ok, I– I’ll be your priestess, but you said you needed a priestess just to bring them back, what else do you need?”
Crom’s head twisted to the side with a sharp snap “There is a balance to the worlds that cannot be disrupted, in order to summon seven souls from the otherworld I need seven more to cast down. To give your life new power I need a life to consign to the flame. For the seven souls returned and your own flesh reborn I require eight souls before the sun rises, eight for eight,”
“So…to bring my friends back…you need me to be your priestess to give you an anchor, and you need…you need to…take…eight people, before sunrise, to keep the balance?” 
“Correct, on this night while the veil is thin, all souls may exist on this plane, but if you do not bring me the eight before the sun rises, your power will fade and the souls of your companions will be pulled back to the otherworld.”
“If…if that’s just what you need, then….” Claire’s voice dropped to a low whisper “Then what’s the payment?”
---
Crom kept his hand outstretched towards her “Do we have a bargain?”
Claire bit her lip. This was it, she was so close to bringing them back, all of them, and yet…
“What happens to people whose lives you claim? Do their souls go to…to hell or…”
Crom crooked his head again, by now Claire knew that was the way he showed surprise or curiosity, but for her sake, not his own.
“Just as this world has mountains and deserts, so to does the otherworld have many peaks and valleys. The souls of those who depart this world dwell there, as do I. I can call souls forth or cast them down but I cannot control where they fall,”
Claire’s teeth dug so hard into her skin she tasted blood. That was…still unclear, but it was probably the best she was going to get from him, and it didn’t sound like souls he claimed were instantly condemned to hell. That was good right?
But still, what he wanted in return…
“So child,” Crom again offered her his upturned hand “Do you accept the terms of our compact?”
Claire didn’t answer him, again looking down at Jim’s bloody, dead-eyed body in her arms. Even though the thought of what she was about to do, what she was agreeing to, sickened her, Claire didn’t let herself stop. She reached behind him, grabbed that shaft of the bolt, and yanked it out of his shoulder with a sickening squelch, throwing it to the other side of the clearing. Now free of the protrusion, she gently lowered him to lie flat on the ground, and then forced her own feet underneath her.
This was going to be bad, just the bare minimum of what he needed was almost too much. And then the actual price…
Claire swallowed back her nerves, forcing her trembling arms and legs to steady.
But all the people she failed, her friends, they would be back, all of them. And maybe they wouldn’t be human, but they’d be themselves and they’d be alive. And Claire would be the only one to pay the price, not them. 
She raised her chin, meeting Crom’s gaze without flinching “I do,”
Crom stepped even closer, Claire forcing herself to hold her ground as he approached.
Only a foot away from her now, Crom held out his upturned palm, which as she watched, welled up with oily red fluid. It reminded her a little of blood, but blood wasn’t this dark, or this thick.
“Then accept it,”
Even though every instinct in her body was screaming at her to get away Claire lifted her own hand.
She was going to get them back, all of them. She would save them the way she couldn’t before.
She eyed the dark fluid in his hand, belly churning with dread. Crom remained still the entire time, liquid metal gaze watching her every move.
Then before she could stop herself, Claire plunged her hand into the middle of his. It sank up the wrist, the fluid surrounding it thick and tacky, almost like tar. Even as more dread flooded into her Claire shoved her hand deeper and de–
The fluid clamped around her hand, thousands of needles stabbing into every inch of skin it touched. Lightning shooting up her arm until it hit her spine, crackling through her entire body, every cell wailing in agony. She tried to jerk her hand away but the nerves wouldn’t respond, her entire body spasming as electricity raced through her, hand crushed inside a thousand teeth.
Then, through the agony spotting her vision, Claire saw Crom raising his other hand, lifting a single finger to tap her in the center of her forehead.
Bright light exploded in her vision, head threatening to crack in two even as every inch of her body blazed with pain.
The ground rushed up to meet her, Claire barely noticed hitting the dirt, getting a flash of black veins shooting up her arm as she fell. She lay there helpless, spasming on the ground. Wave after wave of agonizing energy coursing through her, tearing into every inch of her body. From the skin on her fingertips down to her toes all the way into the marrow of her bones, not one part of her escaped, every speck of her flesh searing with pain. 
Her teeth clacked together as she continued to convulse. Lightning crackling through her skull, the white hot stars flashing behind her eyes morphing into images.
A wild storm over an ocean of raging garnet colored waves.
People standing in a circle inside this same stone ring, raising blank, wooden masks to their faces.
Squalling babies thrown into a dark pit.
Countless gaping mouths full of gnashing teeth.
Claire was barely aware of the foam spilling out the corners of her mouth, writhing on the ground as unrelenting waves of pain crashed over again and again. In between the flashes of visions she could see Crom still see Crom’s shining silver eyes watching her.
Men with cords wrapped around their necks and blades stuck in their chests shoved into swamps.
Blood pouring from a slit throat.
Shriveled grains turning green and plump.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, that her body would rip apart under the strain, there was a shift.
The caustic energy shooting through her didn’t abate, but it started to settle. The pain simultaneously getting worse and better as the flesh that had rebelled so violently to the energy’s presence slowly started to let it in.
A man with a white beard down to his feet, raising his hands to the sky as rain fell around him.
People dressed in furs dancing around a massive bonfire, heads thrown back in joyful laughter, lips smeared with milk and honey.
The pain started to drain away as her body hummed with energy, a storm captured beneath her skin..
A woman painted in red from head to toe, only the whites of her eyes visible. Monsters of all shape and size, teeth and claws and fangs, all ran, but not towards her, from her. Fear flashing in their yellow eyes.
The last of the pain faded away, sensation slowly creeping back into Claire’s limbs, feeling the power that thrummed through them.
The storm wasn’t trapped inside her it was her. It swam in her blood, crackled in her nerves, sang in her bones. Buzzing along the contours of her flesh. 
That’s what she was now, a storm in the shape of a girl.
Claire rose to her feet, wiping her mouth with the back of her arm, the crippling agony from moments ago a faded memory. She squared her shoulders and looked Crom dead in the eye. He hadn't moved the entire time, hand still outstretched, palm welling with fluid, watching her expectantly. Without breaking eye contact she flicked her wrist, the storm inside her surging.
Flames burst to life around the edge of the clearing. Circling them in a ring of fire.
Crom let out a satisfied hiss, the flames illuminating the blizzard of red around them, his meat-like skin glistening in the light.
The fluid in his hand bubbled and seethed, threatening to spill over the edge of his palm.
“Our compact is made,” Crom turned and took two steps towards Jim.
Claire watched as he raised his hand over Jim and tilted it, letting some of the deep red fluid dribble on to his face.
“Now let the fallen return,”
She kept her eyes locked on Jim, on the fluid that had landed on his cheek. For a second it sat there stagnant, before sinking into his skin, draining away like water into parched earth until it vanished entirely.
Claire didn’t move, her eyes still locked onto Jim’s blue ones as they stared blankly towards her.
Then Jim blinked.
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qah-naarin · 2 years
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thank youuu for the snippet tags @friend-of-giants @lookathooves and @vilkas!! am v late to the party but woo here we go !! i think everyones been tagged alr and im late so if u see this but haven’t been tagged PLS tag me !!
so now we’re actually at snippet THURSDAY lmao but here we go !! 
“Argh,” he mumbles, still blinking the sun away, spots dancing in his vision, and in a fit of frustration, he pulls his mask up to press the heel of his palms into his eyes. “I’ve forgotten it does that.”
“I can tell,” Arpina replies dryly, but she sounds slow and unsure for a second. 
Miraak then realizes that he’s never taken his mask off in front of her. Not once in four hundred and five time loops. Embarrassed, he lowers it over his face again. 
“So, you’ve seen the sky more than the sun?” Arpina says, interrupting the increasingly embarrassed thoughts running through his head. 
He’s taken aback at the sudden shift, and takes a second to gather himself before replying, “Yes.”
“I haven’t seen the South’s sky clear up once since I’ve been here.”
“You’ve been here a week.”
“Well,” Arpina muses. “Po-tay-toe, to-mah-toe. It’s beautiful though, isn’t it?” She looks up, shielding her eyes with her hand, smiling as she does.
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suculentt · 6 years
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tagged by @plyma thank you so much for thinking of me!!!! yes time to appreciate some girls
rules: write your 10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people.
this is in no particular order
blue sargent (the raven cycle)
allura (voltron legendary defender)
amy santiago (brooklyn 99)
uraraka ochako (my hero acadamia)
inej ghafa (six of crows)
eleanor douglas (eleanor and park)
marceline (adventure time)
mabel (gravity falls,,  although I haven’t watched the show in years so I’m not caught up I still love her)
hazel levesque (the heroes of olympus)
annabeth chase (percy jackson and the olympians,,, okay yeah we’re gonna pretend that this is a different fandom than the heroes of olympus because annabeth deserves recognition)
nikita aka ellen (the half bad trilogy,, okay so this fandom is tiny and no one knows who she is but I love her okay)
I’m tagging @shaywlw @bronyplaxum @traaashyaaash @romellea @vldyke @v-spacegays @legendarlee @phoxxess @periwithglasses @galaxy-garrisson
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sapphicwhxre · 3 years
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ASTERIA'S 2.5K FOLLOWER FIC REC LIST
i read fics just as much as i write them so here are some of my favourites. tysmsm for this milestone, i love you all <3 quick note: i didn't re-tag anyone if i recommended more than one of your works because of the tag limit.
───────── girls ─────────
hermione granger
tuesdays - @stupxfy
probably one of my all time favs for hermione. it's just so well written and adorable and fluffy and yes.
if i could tell her - @hellounicorn
pining, pining, PINING. the way these emotions and hermione's described is just... art. perfection. there's a happy ending and it is so worth the build up.
darling dearest - @dracolvr
fluffy goodness. read to be hopelessly in love with hermione ─ which, let's be real, we all are.
november rain - @pansydaisy
uhm i love this one sm. it's so simple but amazing ─ everyone has their days like this and having hermione to cure them? it's what everyone needs.
i need more - @15-dogs
i sobbed the first time i read this. it'll break your heart but it's so amazingly written that it's worth the sadness. actual gut wrenching / mindblowing writing.
how the potter girls react to you in lingerie - @pottersanime
the title. need i say more?
honeyed eyes - @minty-malfoy
HEAVEN. being hermione's first kiss as friend? but both of you idiots liking each other? oh my god, sign me up.
hugging her from behind - @pastanest
again, the title. read to feel 🥺💙
grey days - @pepperimps01
PANSMIONE 😌😌 it's angsty with a happy ending and i love it sm. this does such a perfect job of capturing pansy and hermione's relationship growing and having its ups and downs with just a few paragraphs. honestly so good
grenade - @hellounicorn
another one that'll make your heart shatter. but in the best way. these are the fics i live for where the you can't help but feel like it's really happening to you and hermione and god it's so fucking powerful. underrated writing right here in general. and also pansmione is the loml so it hurts in that way.
honeybees - @pansydaisy
fluffy aesthetic heaven.
lead the way - @teacup-tai
more pansmione but this is pure filthy thinking and satisfies all the sexual tension dreams pansmione shippers have.
two queens in a king sized bed - @shysneeze
domestic christmas morning with hermione and it's angelic.
would you still love me if i turned into a worm? - @minty-malfoy
one of those blurbs i never imagined i'd read or love so much. not to mention it's spot on and adorable.
pansy parkinson
right and wrong - @starrkidmalfoy
a first kiss and the overdone trope that i will never get sick of, the bitch who's soft only for you. the descriptions in this are perfection and the writing is beautiful <3
messed up - @writseo
toxic, messed up love fics will be the death of me. insane how well you captured it all and i just yes damn fucking props.
pansy parkinson imagine - @moonlight-imagines
*screams* THE BEST FRIEND BANTER + THE ENDING OH MY GOD OH MY GOD ─ I SCREAMED WHEN I FIRST READ THIS. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.
dating pansy would include - @lotsoffandomimagines
ABSOLUTE POWER COUPLE SHIT and to this day, pansy saying "jealous much?" when being scolded for pda remains iconic.
grey days - @pepperimps01
as i said before: PANSMIONE 😌😌 it's angsty with a happy ending and i love it sm. this does such a perfect job of capturing pansy and hermione's relationship growing and having its ups and downs with just a few paragraphs. honestly so good
new rules - @silversslytherin
excuse me this is immaculate ─ pansy is the best friend and the second you see that she's also the best s/o, you're done for. perfection.
study "dates" - @turning-dreams-into-chaos
the title is self explanatory and this whole thing is fluffy heaven <3
how the potter girls react to you in lingerie - @pottersanime
read the title, thank me later.
lead the way - @teacup-tai
more pansmione but this is pure filthy thinking and satisfies all the sexual tension dreams pansmione shippers have.
traitor - @hufflepuff-writings
a masterpiece where pansy chooses the wrong side in the battle of hogwarts. this ties up so well and the writing is so powerful.
back alley love potions - @a-simple-imagine
this actually hurts but in a beautiful way. watching pansy give draco a love potion is such a fucking concept and this is executed incredibly.
my little bunny - @emmamarie7708
pansy making you do this is so dirty yet she's slightly sweet and i am a sucker for it. god is a woman and her name is pansy fucking parkinson.
pansy parkinson imagine - @moonlight-imagines
i'll let pansy beat people up for me all day. they put me in madame pomfrey's, feel my girlfriend's wrath.
ginny weasley
blissful - @enyastasia
fluffy ginny goodness. the friends to lovers? the amazing kiss? 🥺🥺🥺💞💞 this fic lives in my heart <3
bubble pop electric - @hunnypot-imagines
this is hotter than a lot of actual smut and the chemistry is so... wow. ginny weasley owns me.
dear ginny - @alyssamalfoy
how does this short ass letter manage to make me feel so much. it's sorcery but i don't even care, it's beautiful.
wildflower - @pansydaisy
will i ever get tired of cheeky i love yous? not when loves like ginny weasley and ayli's so so pretty writing exist.
all i want - @hellounicorn
ouch. fuck you harry :) quite possibly the best ginny fic i have ever read. insanely talented writing, i genuinely feel every touch of emotion you put down and you need to know how amazing that is. keep breaking my heart.
linny hcs - @bluebirdlinginthenest
who doesn't need good linny content in their life?
how the potter girls react to you in lingerie - @pottersanime
sexy bitch, fuck me up.
willow - @padmeamiala
ginny is the loml. her brothers can cry about it.
bellatrix lestrange
attempting to bake with bellatrix - @carters-coffee
MY FAVOURITE BELLA FIC ─ there's not enough bellatrix fluff out there but this makes up for the lack of. heaven.
bellatrix prompt - @carters-coffee
this gives me chills. she knows she's a bad bitch and that's what we love about her.
change of plans - @dumb-sbian
why THE FUCK have i not had a rainy morning with bellatrix? she can sleep and mumble something just like this and i'm still head over heels for her.
being tortured as bellatrix's girlfriend - @writings-of-a-british-fangirl
definitely a concept BUT this makes me feel some type of way and i recommend giving it a minute of your time 😌
bellatrix finding out you're a muggleborn - @carters-coffee
the beauty, the nuance omg. this is art.
bellatrix prompt - @carters-coffee
yep jealous bella. trust me, im all yours mommy <3
sex with bellatrix would include - @onegayastronaut
so short but... sign. me. up.
luna lovegood
never leave - @/deactivated
luna smut is hard asf to come by and this is my favourite. it's so luna and the pain over her not knowing, not getting that closure about how you feel until this is an amazing rollercoaster.
she - @hunnypot-imagines
the beauty of falling in love with luna, through this majorly talented writing. ten out of fucking ten. i will not elaborate but there's also majorly good association in this imo.
silver berries and flickering fireflies - @duskgrangers
i love this fic so much. she's so herself and that is why we ✨ simp ✨ and the scene set just sounds so prettyy
how the potter girls react to you in lingerie - @pottersanime
luna + this title? yes please, ma'am i am simping.
would you still love me if i turned into a worm? - @minty-malfoy
put me in your pocket luna. im begging you.
dancing in the rain with luna - @/deactivated
only luna would get you a dress to go dancing in the rain and this is the stuff of blissful, fluffy dreams.
hugging her from behind - @pastanest
short and cute, do me a favour and read it :)
dating luna lovegood would go like - @glossymalfoy
life is NOT worth it if you don't read these cute little headcanons and imagine dating ravenclaw's baddest bitch.
linny hc - @bluebirdlinginthenest
like i said, who doesn't need good linny content?
cho chang
strawberry kisses - @pansydaisy
the only cho fic i've been able to find and it's SO WORTH IT. the cutest, it flows so well, and i absolutely love it. i need this with cho tbh.
fleur delacour
toutes les etoiles - @coffee--writes
im in love with fleur and this amazing writing. and for the first time since i started high school, my three years of taking french feel good for something.
being best friends with fleur would include - @harrypotter-imaginess
not romantic but actually so sweet pls. i want this friendship in my life so bad.
nymphadora tonks
dating nymphadora tonks would include - @imaginesforgirls
dating her + that warm little feeling of bliss that only HCs can give you
taking care of her after the war - @random-imagines-blog
this kind of hurts in that good ass way and i lovee it. they're simple hcs but i feel for tonks so much and then there's that warm lil feeling when you're the one to put her back together aand now my primary life goal is to help this woman heal.
───────── boys ─────────
harry potter
phosphenes - @minty-malfoy
ok shakespeare, the fuck?? this fic will never not get me right in the heart. the angst, holy fuck. and for once, the reader doesn't hurt harry and let draco walk all over them and it's just done so well. the transition from a toxic relationship to a sweet, loving one PLEASE. it's beautiful.
happy memories - @15-dogs
how does this manage to be so. smutty and fluffy at the same time? this is one of those short ones that has lived in my head, rent-free since i read it. and tbh any fic that includes expecto patronum is guaranteed to be good.
come back to me - @wondernimbus
right from the beginning, it's a mess of emotions both good and bad. that kind of good ass writing that hits you in the heart <3
making out with harry potter would include - @badfvith
read this title. done? now thank me later.
harry prompt - @thoseofgreatambition
harry x a sarcastic swooning bitch is an elite trope idc. short and sweet, i'm marrying this fic.
keep your eyes on the prize - @rowema-ravenclaw
first of all, showing harry up and second, pure fluff (and a little steam) right after. i also love how she writes harry in general because he's totally safe/in love with the relationship but still has that awkward lovable shyness and i just... *sighs*
always - @pansydaisy
uhm i will always love him and always reread this a thousand times so its a fit title + a good read.
late night studying - @lumosandnoxwriting
fuck studying, let his hand stay in my shirt. once again recommending fluffy bliss in the form of a short read that makes me feel things <3
would you still love me if i turned into a worm? - @minty-malfoy
he's so stupid. but he still loves you + this is from our resident perfectly talented writer so its a win.
cuddling after a rough quidditch practice - @badfvith
harry james potter is : b a b y
gryffindor's victory - @rowema-ravenclaw
make me gryffindors fucking cheerleader because HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. AND THE WRITING IS IMMACULATE PLEASE. just read it, you won't regret it.
draco malfoy
silent treatment - @slytherinwh0re
andy's mad talented and this is just... insert a cheesy chefs kiss. unbelievably adorable but so fucking hot and an actually good smut plot (which is rare lmfao). remind me to give draco the silent treatment every time im upset.
rewards - @malfoysstilinski
so hot PLS. hype him up for the match and get your reward, bye. so good.
reading between the lines - @minty-malfoy
i've said this a thousand times but that's what happens when you've got a mad talented mutual BLESSING everyone with beauty like this. butterflies and warm feelings all around when i read this 💓
point of view - @draconisxcaput
its angst for hermione and fluff for you but overall ethereal writing. i am never going to recover from the pure talent that this is.
im not kidding im dying - @malfoysmatrioshka
i hate being sick with a passion but this... this would make it worth it.
hogwarts express - @/deactivated
draco fucking you because he knows harry's watching. the shit of legends and god is it hot.
draco laughing at you because you can't walk after sex - @glossymalfoy
*motions to the title* fluff with this loser 😌
the cheeseburger - @slytherinwh0re
really short read but this is one of those things i just. didn't know i needed. you're missing out and haven't even realised it if you haven't read about introducing him to cheeseburgers. and that ending is so funny/in character to me i fucking love it.
four am - @malfoysstilinski
domestic draco 🥺 but also sad draco 🥺 and then fluffy draco 🥺
hugging him from behind - @pastanest
real short and it'll brighten your day <3
would you still love me if i turned into a worm? - @minty-malfoy
how is it that this is so stupidly adorable. i love it 💘
ron weasley
heather - @hellounicorn
always making me cry with your fics i swearrr. this is a must-read. having someone but them not really being yours is a beautiful trope and this fic absolutely does it wonderful, poetic justice. your angst is addicting.
apple pie - @pregnant-piggy
ABSOLUTE DOMESTIC BLISS I AM IN LOVE. i don't even like kids or baking that much but this made me so soft. the whole cozy, heavenly vibes from this fic yes yes yes.
jealousy - @writeroutoftime
cliché jealousy turns friends to lovers and i am a sucker for it all over again <3
shaking and trembling - @ronsbadidea
if ron doesn't finger fuck me and then make a cheeky comment about it in class later then WHAT IS THE POINT :(
mixed signals - @iamthecabbage
i've always figured ron is this awkward idiot cutie with a crush and yea, this is it.
fred and george weasley
i love you, but you don't - @george-fabian-weasley
fred's a character i really don't read for often but goddamn. it's the saddest, most beautiful mix of rejection and pain and fred desperately caring but not in the way you want him to ─ an angsty masterpiece.
cockwarming george - @roonilwazlibimagines
because of this filthy gem, i one hundred thousand percent believe that he could make me cum without even fucking me and this is just... it's a good fucking read.
would you still love me if i turned into a worm? - @minty-malfoy
their responses are so wonderfully chaotic and adorable and GOD you're missing out if you haven't read these lil blurbs.
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dreampathic · 3 years
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❥chapter 02-beefy strong arms
❥masterlist
❥warnings: suggestive themes, sexual jokes, cursing
❥a/n: there’s a written portion 😉😉😉 also my best friend @katiea03​ helped me out a ton with this chapter so please check her stuff out!
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-written portion-
Iwa walks through the front door, running a hand through his hair. He sees Makki and Mattsun on the couch watching a shitty 1980s horror movie.
“Hey,” He nods.
Makki takes a handful of popcorn and turns to Iwa, “Hey baby daddy.” He bites his lip jokingly.
Mattsun turns his head, “Bringing your sugar babies back some money?” Iwa walks up to the couch and slaps both of them on the heads.
“Stop calling me daddy you fucking dumbasses!”
Makki rubs the back of his head, “I know you can hit harder daddy.” Giving a devilish smirk to him.
Iwa grabs the throw pillow next to Mattsun and chucks it at Makki’s face.
“Shut the fuck up.”
Mattsun starts cackling with laughter, but abruptly stops once Iwa takes another pillow to hit him. “OKAY OKAY WE’LL STOP WE’LL STOP!” Iwa throws the pillow next to him, “Fuck you guys.”
He walks away, heading to your room. Your door is wide open, you’re sat on your hardwood floor wearing sport shorts and a black tank top fanning yourself with the dresser instructions.
All of the parts of the dresser are out of the bags, separated in two piles. One with the screws and bolts, and one with all of the wooden parts.
“What the fuck?!” Iwa looks at the unbuilt dresser in disbelief. You look up at him, “huh? what?” He gestures his hands to the floor, “Why is everything out of the bags??”
“The bags were taking up too much space.”
Iwa couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He tried his best to hold in his anger, “YOU DUMBASS WE NEEDED THOSE!” It didn’t work out.
“Why??”
“IF YOU READ THE INSTRUCTIONS YOU WOULD KNOW EVERYTHINGS NUMBERED”
You open the instructions for the first time, read a section, and look back up at him, “Ohhh I thought it was saying how many bags there are.”
Iwa rubs the back of his neck, “I never thought I would say this but YOU’RE WORSE THAN OIKAWA.”
You gave him a look of disgust and stood up from the floor. “How DARE you say I’m worst than Oikawa!”
Iwa rolls his eyes, “I’M NOT WRONG!”
You furrow your eyebrows and grab your phone from your bed, “Don’t make me call him on his date. I’ll do it.” You threaten.
He crosses arms and smirks, “Do it I dare you.” He wanted you to call Oikawa because he knew it would piss him off for you being a cockblock.
“FINE! I WILL!” You scroll for Oikawa’s contact and hit ‘audio call’. Waiting for him to answer, you stare at Iwa with one hand on your hip. When Oikawa picks up he is clearly agitated, “What the fuck do you want? I’m tryna get laid.”
“Iwa-Chan is being mean to me!”
“The fuck you want me to do about that? He’s been bullying me my entire life.”
You frown, “He likes you the best.” Iwa lets out a loud laugh that makes you punch him in the arm. He looks at you with a taken back look because no one ever tries to punch him, because he always punches back harder. But you’re the exception.
“Since when?” Oikawa asks, there is no way he’s the favorite.
You throw your free arm up in frustration, “Since ever!”
Oikawa sighs on the other end, annoyed at his roommate calling him for something so unimportant, “So you’re telling me, you interrupted my chances of getting pussy for THIS?”
Iwa howls of laughter, holding his stomach. You roll your eyes, “Do my feelings not matter?”
“NO not right now!” All Oikawa wants to do is hang up and go back to his date.
“Oikawa-” You try to make him stay on the phone but he cuts you off, “BYE!” He hangs up, leaving you with your mouth agape.
Iwa can’t stop laughing but you punch him again, “Shut up! Help me please!” He sighs, “Fine, I’ll help.”
You give him a wide smile, clapping your hands together, “Thank you Iwa!”
“Yeah yeah whatever,” He mumbled as he took off his work shirt, revealing him in his white tank top showing off his biceps. Of course you always joke around with him about his beefy arms but, wow. You wouldn’t be lying if you said you didn’t imagine those arms wrapping around your-
“Where’s the L screw?” Iwa says, pulling you out of your trance.
“Uhh,” you scratch your head, a bit flustered. “What’s that?”
He sits down, opening the instructions. “You know the metal piece that looks like an L?”
“Oh…” You fucked up.
“Where is it?” He asks, concerned.
“I threw it out.”
This man prayed.
---
Eight hours later, Iwa has been screwing everything in with a knife, almost cutting himself twice. You’re half asleep, leaning on his bicep. You yawn and Iwa looks down to you, “go to bed I got it from here.”
You shake your head, eyes closed, “noooo im helping,”
“you’re not doing anything.”
You open your eyes, looking up at him, “i'm here for moral support!”
Iwa rolls his eyes, glad you can’t see the blush forming on his cheeks. “Just go to sleep”
“No I can't.” You felt bad leaving him to fix your dresser without any company.
He sighs, “It’s fine, just go to sleep.”
You groan, leaning closer into him. “Your biceps are so nice though.”
He really hated the effect you had on him. Making him blush over sleepy confessions, he felt like an idiot getting flustered over you, no matter how much he wanted you to touch him again. “Shut up.” He mumbles.
“It’s a complement!”
“Go to sleep.” He demands.
“Hmph! Fine.” You get up, holding onto his arm for support and plop on your bed, mumbling some nonsense then instantly falling asleep.
Iwa looks over and grins, he wouldn’t have minded your company for a bit longer.
When Iwa finishes up the dark oak dresser, he admires the work he’s done and looks over to your bed, he gives a small smile and leaves your room.
He yawns as he takes off his tank top, throwing it near his hamper and plops onto his bed. He shuts his eyes. Before drifting off into sleep he hears Mattsun from his doorway say, “you’re a fucking simp.”
---
You wake up around the afternoon, first thing you see is your finished dresser. You jolt out of bed smiling wide. You run out of your bedroom and go across the hall into Iwa’s, jumping on top of him yelling, “IWA THANK YOU SO MUCH!”
He opens his eyes right away, “GET THE-” He was about to pry you right off of him, thinking you were one of his other idiot roommates. But he just stood still, cheeks flushing red as your boobs are against his bare chest, trying his hardest not to get a boner.
“THANK YOU THANK YOU! YOU’RE THE BEST!” You shout over and over again pulling him closer to you. He wanted to hug you back, but that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.
“LEAVE” He shouts. You don’t budge, “WHY.” You could stay like that forever, but you knew at one point you would have to actually leave. “BECAUSE I SAID LEAVE” “YOUR BED IS COMFY”
Mattsun walks by, half-asleep and grumpily says, “simp.” Makki walks behind him scratching his head saying, “you’re just mad you don’t have a hot girl jumping on top of you in the morning.”
Mattsun punches him in the shoulder, “Ow man!”
Oikawa struts in the apartment, hair disheveled, hickies on his neck with a cocky grin on his face, “Guess who got laaaaiid” He announces going straight to the ‘ACTION BOARD,’ erasing ‘2 weeks’ next to his name and writing ‘0’.
“Nobody cares,” Makki exclaims from the hallway. Oikawa quickly turns to Makki and Mattsun, surprised they’re awake at this hour. They usually sleep in till 3pm.
He takes his jacket off and puts it on the rack, “why are you guys up?”
“Y/n is screaming, we’re all up,” Mattsun yawns.
“Especially Iwa,” Makki snickers.
This instantly sparked Oikawa’s attention. No one ever has the balls to wake Iwa up, they know it’s a deathwish.
“She woke up Iwa-Chan??”
“yep” Mattsun nods.
“where's the blood?”
“the only blood around here is in Iwa’s dick.” Makki laughs.
Oikawa instantly runs into Iwa’s room, being the nosey bitch he is. “Aww Iwa you finally have a girl in your bed!” He cheekily says.
As soon as Iwa heard his voice, his blood started to boil and pried you off of him and pushed you out of his room, “LEAVE ME ALONE!” He shuts the door in all of your faces.
You pout, “Why didn’t he want me in his room?”
All of the guys look at each other, knowing the real reason Iwa didn’t want you in his room. Yet all they could tell you without ruining your innocent gesture was, “don’t worry about it.”
---
❥fun facts: 
-they have a ‘sex board’ (well they call it an action board) in their house where they write down how many days they went out without sex on a white board
-Oikawa is NOT Iwa’s favorite
-Mattsun wants a hot girl to jump on him in the morning
❥tags: @pockyxx @cece-lives-here @psychedelicwh0r3 @elianetsantana @elephantloser @reina-de-tay @agaashesmilktea @navymacaroons @victor-criss-bish @langalvr @bakugouswh0r3 @killlerqween @tsukkiswifeey (send an ask to be added to the taglist!)
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Nowhere to Run--Ch. 39
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Chapter 39
           I sank against the wall, my body aching from crouching for so long. My head felt like it had been put in a vice. Tears slipped down my face, burning along my cheeks hotter with every passing second. It had been so easy to think that I had faced down the hole Jack’s absence had left in my life. But now that we were back in the middle of it all, I couldn’t believe how much I’d fooled myself.
           As much as I hated the way that he thought he could tell me who I could and couldn’t love, I missed Jack more than I could honestly put into words. He’d been such a huge part of my life—even if just for a little while—that there was this sense of disequilibrium knowing that something so monumental was happening and we weren’t together. We weren’t celebrating this moment in the way we’d always planned.
           He’d worked so hard to get here… to get a belt that he’d earned a hundred times over. Rachel and Sophie would be there to see him have that moment. They would get to be ringside and hug him and celebrate with him. They would get to talk about Luke and how proud he would be for Jack’s big moment.
           I didn’t have that chance. Because I was in love with Chris Jericho, I wouldn’t get to sit beside that ring and watch him have that moment. His first championship, and I would miss it.
           The door thumped behind me with heavy knocking. I sucked in an aching, terrified breath as a voice thundered at me from the other side. “Hey,” Santana’s voice called. “Come out here. We need to talk.”
           I wailed, even though I wasn’t sure why. The sound of Santana’s voice made his words from earlier echo in my head. Reminded me that I’d lost my best friend in more ways than I could ever have imagined possible. And that the only way that I would ever be able to get him back again was to give up the one man that I loved the most in the world.
           “Mamí, open the door and talk to me.” Santana thumped on the door again, his voice mumbling through the wood. “Seriously. Open the door, please? Don’t make me come in there.”
           “Go away,” I shouted back at him. “Just go. I want to be alone.”
           I leaned back against the door, hoping that my weight would keep him from pushing into the room. Part of me knew it wouldn’t work. If Santana wanted into the room, he would get in. A locked door and a woman with barely a hundred and fifty pounds wasn’t going to stop him.
           “Alright, I’m coming in, mamí,” he called.
***
           Santana looked up and down the hallway, not sure exactly how he was going to get into the ladies’ room. He pushed on the door, unsurprised to find that it was not only locked but blocked. Kat must have been sitting against it. He knew he could find someone to unlock it but he didn’t want to hurt Kat by shoving the door open.
           “Fuck,” he swore. He’d been stupid when he started running his mouth about Jack Perry and Austin getting the tag title win. It certainly hadn’t been the best time or way to tell her about it. And maybe he shouldn’t have said anything at all. It wasn’t his place after all.
           There wasn’t anything to it. He knew that he would pay for it—literally and figuratively—but he took a few steps back with every intention of slamming into the door and busting it completely open. Hopefully Kat would just skid out of the way without much damage.
           “Move out of the way, mamí,” Santana shouted. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
           He took a deep breath and smacked his shoulder.
           “What do you think you’re doing?” Santana turned around to see Tay Conti walking down the hallway.
           Santana pointed at the door. “Kat’s locked herself inside and won’t come out. I was stupid and I need to fix it.”
           Tay rolled her eyes. “And you thought you’d break down the door? Move.”
***
           “Kat?” Tay Conti’s voice filtered through the cracks around the door. “Can I come in?”
           I propped my chin on my knees as I tried to decide if I was going to let her in. I knew that I couldn’t keep myself locked in the bathroom all night, least of all because I still had work to do. Part of me wanted to go home and hide. At least there I wouldn’t have to worry about running into Jack. But I’d meant it when I told Jericho that I didn’t want whatever this mess was with Jack to ruin my love for working with AEW.
           My heart climbed into my throat as I stood up and unlocked the door. I took a few steps out of the way and wrapped my arms around my middle as Tay pushed into the room. Unsurprisingly, Santana followed her in with his hand over his eyes.
           “Come on, mamí,” he said with a whine in his voice. “Let’s go back to the locker room and talk. Please?”
           Tay reached up and slapped him in the arm. “Stop acting like a child. Nobody’s naked.” I let out a faint laugh at that. She reached out and put her hands on my biceps. “What’s the matter, honey?”
           “My big mouth,” Santana said. Even though he’d put his hand down, he still had his eyes squeezed tight. “Can we please go back to the locker room? I can’t be in here right now.”
           “Would you shut up?” Tay insisted without looking away from me. “Come on, honey.”
           She led me over to the counter and leaned against it. My chest ached as I took in a heavy breath. Santana stayed by the door with his foot propping it open. I couldn’t tell which made him more uncomfortable, what he’d said or the fact that he was standing in the ladies’ room.
           “What did this idiot do?”
           “Hey, I’m right here, Conti.”
           “I know,” she shot back, a grin on her face. “Now what happened?”
           “He didn’t mean it,” I insisted, looking over Tay’s shoulder to meet Santana’s dark gaze. “He was just telling me about the change in the tag titles. I’ve been gone for so long, so I didn’t know.”
           Santana finally crossed the room and carefully nudged Tay to the side. She huffed, but didn’t fight him. “I’m sorry, mamí. You know I get stupid sometimes and my mouth runs away with me. I didn’t mean to. I swear.”
           I sighed and leaned forward to wrap my arms around Santana’s waist. “I know.”
           “I love you, Kat, but can we please get out of here?”
***
           Jericho stood against the wall with a faint smile as Kat and Santana came back down the hallway. He saw the remains of tears on her cheeks and felt his heart clench in his chest. There was something sad in her expression. She leaned a little toward Santana, as if she couldn’t quite keep herself upright.
           He met them right outside the Inner Circle dressing room. “Are you okay?” he asked as he reached out for her. She stepped into his arms and tucked her head beneath his chin. He hugged her tight, his lips pressed against her forehead.
           Kat was quiet for a long while. Then she looked up at him with her wide green eyes that were so beautifully innocent. He was reminded again how she held such a complete and desperate sway over him.
           “I know he probably doesn’t want me there, but I can’t not be there when this happens.” She pressed her hands against his chest and looked at him as if he could move Heaven and Hell. “I can’t be at ringside, but I don’t want to watch on a monitor in the back. Please, help me get out there to watch him?”
           Jericho brushed his fingertips along her jaw. His thumb stroked along her cheekbone, sweeping away the remnants of her tears. He loved her so many things about her, and one of them was the way she loved so completely and so loyally. It didn’t matter to her that Jack Perry had given up on their friendship. Kat would be there for his big moment. Even if the little jerk never knew about it.
           “I’ll make it happen, sweetheart” Jericho said firmly. He settled his hands on each side of her face and met her gaze. “Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure you’re there.”
           She smiled, her eyes lighting up. He wasn’t sure how he was going to do it, but he knew that he would. If only because she asked him to.
***
           I raced to keep up with Jericho and Santana’s long strides as we followed along behind security. I knew that Rachel and Sophie were already in the building and at ringside. My chest ached with a desperate wish to be down there with them. To celebrate this moment with them and with Jack. But I knew this was as good as I was going to get. Fans were seated on the floor and in the lower decks. Some in the upper decks.
           I didn’t know how he’d done it, but Jericho had arranged for a section of the upper deck to be cleared out of fans. Security had moved them higher in the decks or over into another section. There was entire upper deck section, right at the railing, available for the three of us. It wasn’t directly behind the hard camera, and it wasn’t beneath any of the section lights. With any luck, Jack wouldn’t ever see me.
           Anxiety rippled through me as I walked between Jericho and Santana, conscious of every eye that was on the three of us. I’d changed out of my Inner Circle t-shirt and into my black AEW polo. The moment we’d slipped out of the backstage area, I’d been hyper-aware of how I looked and every move that I made.
           When we got to the section set aside for us, Jericho and Santana took seats in the row right at the railing. Security sat two rows behind. I moved to sit next to him, but Jericho leaned back over the seat and gestured me forward with two fingers. My heart slammed against my ribs as I climbed over to take a seat that was somewhere between the two of them.
           Santana put his arm over the back of the chair next to him, his fingertips barely brushing my shoulders. Jericho did the same, and I leaned toward him unconsciously. He sat that way for a moment before dropping his arm down into the seat that separated us. I waited a moment before I reached down and locked our fingers together. My heart beat too quickly in my chest at the thought that someone might see us and say something.
           Before I could follow that thought too far, the ring lights went up, the screens played the Jurassic Express video, and Tarzan Boy echoed through the night. Jericho squeezed my fingers as Jack and Luchasaurus walked to the ring. Santana tapped me on the shoulder, a faint touch in solidarity.
***
           Jericho didn’t bother watching the match. He knew that it was going to be a classic. He knew that Jurassic Express and the Lucha Brothers would put on a show that would go down in the record books as one of the best tag team matches in AEW history. If he really wanted to see it, he could catch it later.
           No… he was watching Kat. She’d wanted to be out here to see this. To be some part of this moment with Jack, even if she hadn’t been invited. It didn’t matter that they weren’t talking, Kat still wanted to support Jack. She still cared about him. She was still proud of everything he’d accomplished.
           She watched the match with wide eyes and a half smile, leaning forward toward the railing. Her face was an open book, practically screaming her love, pride, and the undercurrent of heartbreak because she had to watch this moment from so far away. Kat pressed her free hand to her mouth as the match moved toward its end.
***
           The bell rang as Jack picked up the pin over Penta. Christian rolled into the ring with the tag belts. My vision blurred as I watched him put one of the belts in Jack’s arms. I watched my friend as he looked up at Christian, his mouth forming words I could see from a distance. Really? Jack grinned and leaned against Christian’s shoulder as the older man dropped a proud kiss on his hair. The air caught in my lungs as the camera showed Rachel and Sophie at ringside, both of them holding onto one another and crying.
           Jericho’s fingers tightened on mine as Jack climbed one of the turnbuckles. He held the belt out in his arms, head tilted up toward the sky. I miss you. My chest tightened as I watched him, wishing that Luke could be here to see this moment. I could only imagine how proud he would be. I knew how proud I was.
           “Are you okay?” Jericho asked, leaning across the seat. He waited for half a moment before he moved into the seat right next to me, our entwined hands resting on his thigh. “Sweetheart?”
           I sniffled, using my free hand to wipe at the tears that slipped down my cheeks. My heart felt too big with a mix of pride and sadness. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” His hand tightened on mine, drawing my attention. His blue eyes were so full of worry. “Chris, I promise.”
           “I wish you could have been down there, Kat,” he whispered. He was so close to me, leaning over the armrest between us. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”
           My lips quirked up just a little. “You have nothing to be sore-ry about.”
           Jericho smiled and some of the tension bled out of him. “We’ll talk about that later.” He sat forward, looking out over the ring where Jack and Austin were still celebrating with Christian. I wondered what he was thinking.
           A moment later, he turned and drew my hand up to his lips. I panicked and jerked my fingers from his grasp. “Newspaper!”
            “I don’t give a damn anymore, sweetheart,” he said firmly. “But if you do, then I promise to keep my hands to myself.”
           I squeezed my eyes shut, saved from having to respond by the security guard standing and gesturing that it was time for us to go. The crowd had thinned out considerably, and I fell into step beside Jericho, Santana just a few feet ahead with the security guy coming along behind us. Jericho was close enough that our fingers brushed together as we walked.
***
           Jericho watched Kat from the corner of his eye as they walked back toward the backstage area. There were still fans milling around, taking selfies with the ring and screens behind them. The ring had emptied long before after Tony Khan came out to wish everyone goodnight. Jericho settled his hand on the base of Kat’s spine as they climbed the steps toward the tunnels.
           He heard them before they were in sight. Jack Perry and Luchasaurus were standing in production with Tony, talking excitedly about their first title defense and the need to go take new photographs. Kat tensed beneath his hand as she realized that Jack was just a few feet away. Jericho felt her take a deep breath before she took a few steps away from him toward the new tag champs. He hung back, letting her do what she needed to do.
           “Congratulations, Jack,” Kat said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ears nervously. Jericho itched to stand behind her, support her. But he knew he would only make it worse.
           Jack Perry looked up from the belt in his hands. His eyes looked her up and down, almost as if they were strangers. They were shrouded in quiet for a long while. The two of them watched one another. Jericho could feel the anxiety and terror radiating off Kat’s body, and he hated that he couldn’t help her.
           It happened in half a second. Jack Perry’s mouth turned into an angry sneer just before he turned his back on Kat. He’d barely acknowledged that she existed.
           Kat’s entire body crumpled. Jericho lurched forward as her knees gave out. Santana was closer, and he caught her before she could hit the floor and crack her head open. He looked back at Jericho as he hefted Kat up into his arms. Her face was pale, green eyes glassy.
           “Take her back,” Jericho said gruffly. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
           Jericho took two steps forward and grabbed Jack Perry by the shoulder, spinning him around until they were face-to-face. “I get it if you don’t like me. Hell, I don’t really like you either right now.” He locked eyes with the younger man. “But Kat is suffering. She wanted to be there for you tonight, but she had to watch it from the fucking rafters because you didn’t want her any closer. You’re breaking her heart. Hate me, kid. But don’t take it out on her.”
           Jack handed the belt off to Christian, who tried to pull the younger man back. He shrugged it off and stood toe-to-toe with Jericho, just as he had when the two of them had squared off in the ring almost a year ago.
           “Whoever that girl is,” Jack spat, pointing off toward the direction where Santana had taken Kat, “I don’t know her. And I don’t really give a fuck about you, or her, or whatever this creepy little sugar daddy slut arrangement you’ve got going on here.”
Tag List
@lilred91​
@mariejr88-blog​
@thenerdybaker523​
@mrsmatt​
@not-that-kinda-gurl08​
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@rdhester1987​
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al3x1ss · 3 years
Text
Just a Friend to You
Chapter 32: Blueberry Eyes
“I’m home!” Akaashi calls out, taking his keys out from the door and closing it. He slips off his shoes on the tray, and walks to the living room.
Y/N slightly stretches, smiling at his standing form, mumbling “hi angel.”
He smiles at her in return, leaning over her laying form and kissing her forehead. Standing up, he begins to back away.
“2 seconds, let me go change then I’ll come.”
She nods in response, snuggling back into the blanket whilst waiting. A few minutes later, Akaashi joins her, pushing the glasses up on his face with a smile.
The girl opens the blanket, a signal for him to join her as he leans down and gets comfortable.
“Hi angel.”
“Hi darling.”
His arms wrap around her tightly, giving soft kisses to her forehead as she giggles. She snuggled into his neck, kissing any skin she could reach as her breathing slows, sending her into a slumber.
Akaashi sighs in contentment, grabbing the remote from the coffee table next to the couch and turning off the tv. He kisses her forehead once more, mumbling out “Alexa, play the sleepy times playlist.”
He smiles, squeezing the girl once more before resting his chin above her head, keeping her warm under the blanket as he also begins to drift off.
“Now playing: Just a Friend to You, by Meghan Trainor”
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The Dealer has run out of cards! Wanna play again?
WRITTEN BY: Al3x1ss
ALL SHIT DONE BY: Al3x1ss
RANT TEAM: Nene, Coco
END DATE: 2/21/21
I want to thank you all for supporting this series. Whether it’s the first chapter you are reading, or the 32nd, it warms my heart that this story was supported. This is my first time writing a story in 3 years, and I didn’t expect it to get this far. Thank you to those who have liked, reblogged, commented, anything. And to my friends, especially those on the rant team, I am so sorry for constantly talking your ear off. Anyway, I’m so proud of this story, both how it begun and ended, and I hope that you all stay for more to come. <3
THE MASTERLIST FOR ‘WORLDWIDE’ WILL BE COMING OUT 3/7/21
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Back to Masterlist
C. 31 <- C. 32
Tagging: @winunk @kurushiisaboss @babymattsun @haikyuu-appreciation-club @pumpkiethepie @mint-mai @writingfreakk @tendousfingertape5 @bbyouamazin @navymacaroons @helloalex80 @heavenini @tchalameme @foxxtrot-116 @kageyamasgirl @noya-sleftankle @mariachiii @rory-cakes @sailorstrawberi @iidanotlida @animeflower26 @anngelllla @kyorinkun @reina-de-tay @ish-scribbles @javj @little-dark-empress @athenarosaline @sugawaras-simpsquad @elianetsantana @peteunderoos @thatswhatmakesyoumiserable @ntimacy @thatrandom-bitch @420-uwu @halesandy @immxnty @yamayoomi @ohmsjedi @tazzi-baby @marissaraeblr @briidge @bongofrito @prettyinblack231 @admiringlove @kashhask @uchan-s @putmeinyourdeathnote @ilauvcoldpizza @simpywara
If you enjoy, please reblog! They help a lot 🖤
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callsigndragon · 1 year
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The Christmas Date | Chapter 13: Christmas will break your heart
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Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Fem!Kerner!Reader
(Ron Kerner is Slider, Iceman’s backseater)
Wordcount: 3.1k
Summary: Y/n “Athena” Kerner and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw hate each other. Everybody knows. What happens when they have to fake date for a whole week to avoid Iceman and Slider’s matchmaking plans?
(there won’t be smut in this series)
Warnings: fluff, rooster feeling guilty, lots of fluff... before the crash and burn.
A/N: so am... i'm really sorry for making this to all of you dear readers. you're so gonna hate me after this.
Taglist: @ducks118 @milestellerwife @craftymoonchaos @littlebadariell @xoxabs88xox @alexxavicry @tayrae515  @shrimping-for-all  @mak-32 @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @harper1666  @purplevortexx @abaker74 @ssprayberrythings @melllinaa @loveless-simp @k-k0129 @mygyn @castle-bookworms-world @chaoticversion @one-sweet-gubler  @loveforaugust
@taytaylala12 @benhardysdrumstick @green-intervention @waatermelon-sugaar @smells-like-perfect-senses @interstellarloneliness @tay-bluey @diggorycullen @dhwanishah09 @inky-sun @luckyladycreator2 @nograce-nomercy @witchybabel @omfg-its-tay @macysorbit @little-wiseone @mxdi0
(TAG LIST CLOSED)
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You can't fall asleep again once Rooster leaves the house. There's just something preventing you from closing your eyes and resting. You slowly get up, knowing there's no reason to stay on the sofa. Jesse is stirring and turning around, but not waking up. You can see the little smile on his face. He seems to be having a good dream. You kiss his forehead before moving upstairs. You still need to wrap Bradley's gift. 
On your way to your room, you see Nick pacing around Becca’s, the woman sitting on her bed, biting her nails. You approach him, curious about their behavior. "Guys, you seem nervous" 
Nick almost yells when you talk, too immersed in his own thoughts to notice your presence. "Why are you up?" 
"Cause I couldn't sleep anymore." You shrug, his comment making you believe that they want you to be awake. Not yet. 
"Makes sense. We just hoped you wouldn't be awake when Rooster came back." 
"Nick!"
He gasps. "Oh shit."
You look at them, not understanding a thing. "Am I not supposed to see what he's buying?" 
"Did he tell you he went to buy something?" 
"Nicholas!” Becca groans, covering her face in embarrassment. 
"You know what, fuck it. He knows where Solo lives and he went there with you father" 
"What?" 
"You're so dead, Nick" 
The thought of Rooster and Solo in the same room scares you. Not because Solo could hurt him, but because you know Rooster’s strength and how guilty he would feel afterwards if he inflicted pain on another person. 
"Can any of you go buy something for me? I don't want to leave the house"
Becca points at Nick. "He'll go. Payment for spilling the beans" 
Nick sighs, but accepts. "What do you need?" 
"A Polaroid album" 
“Cool. Speaking of Polaroids, there’s a box in the attic. Maybe you want to see it.” He says leaving the room. 
Polaroids, huh? The only one around here that used them was Goose. It might be good to take a look. 
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Rooster comes back soon after Nick leaves. He's been crying, you can see it in his puffy, red eyes. Fear installs itself in your stomach, afraid that he has done something horrible to Solo and that he's now regretting it. He hugs your dad, whispering something to him and smiling a bit before walking towards you, who are now seated in the kitchen eating some Christmas cookies. 
"You know where I was, right?" He asks, seeing the answer in your eyes. "Thena, I'm sorry I had to."
"Please, just tell me that he can still walk," you mumble. 
"Yes, he can. He has a broken nose and was trapped in his closet for three minutes" 
"You…treated him like he did with me?" 
"An eye for an eye." 
"...Good. He deserves it" You open your arms for him, seeing a new wave of sadness extinguish the light in his eyes. Not again, he was so happy lately. "Roos, what is it?" 
"Everything is my fault" 
"Nugget, you can't blame yourself for this. Not again."
"No, Thena, you don't understand. He was… obsessed with me, and therefore with you"
"What?"
He explains to you what he saw in his house, how your dad's comment unlocked a long-forgotten conversation. Oh no. You thought he would stop blaming himself for your scar at last, and now this. 
Why can't you two have a normal relationship without trauma and drama? 
"Bradley Bradshaw, look at me. You are not to blame. It's not your fault if you're just really cool and people want to be like you. I mean, Jesse wants to be like you and he doesn't go around traumatizing me" 
"I know, but…"
"You're not taking the blame for this one, you hear me?" 
"Would you ever be able to look at me and not remember what Solo did?" 
The mention of his name makes your whole body shiver, an instant reaction that you’re sure will fade away with time. 
You circle the kitchen table, grabbing his face between your hands. He tilts his head to one side, kissing the palm of your hand. “The only thing I see when I look at you, Bradley Bradshaw, is a lot of lost time that I hope we can make up for.” 
A side-smile adorns his face when he looks at you. “It’s snowing” 
“Really?” You look out the window and see white snowflakes falling. The snow from when you arrived here had completely melted with the warm temperatures of the last couple days. “Woah, look at that.” 
“It’s been snowing all morning. Wanna go out and play?” Rooster says while running his fingers through your hair. 
You nod quickly, running upstairs to put on warmer clothes. 
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“What are we gonna do when we come back?” you ask, resting in the snow after covering the backyard in snow angels with Rooster’s help. 
“Gotta be a bit more specific, love.” 
“Work, relationship, friends... I sent a message to Nat this morning, but I think she’s deployed or something. She didn't respond."
Rooster groans, rolling in the snow until he’s laying on top of you, his head pressing against your belly. You can still feel the warmth of his body through all the layers of clothing. “Too many things.” 
“I know, pretty nugget, but tomorrow is Christmas eve, we’re getting on a flight back home on Christmas day... In three days, we’re gonna be working again.” 
That only makes Rooster groan louder. You chuckle, patting his back. 
“I’m not worried about work. Remember when Phoenix was dating a member of the squad?” he says, bringing memories back. 
“Gotta be a bit more specific, love” you mock him, making him put a cold hand in your face. “Rooster is fucking cold!” 
“Serves you right. Anyway, I was referring to White Queen," he clarifies. 
“Oh, she was the sweetest girl. It was a pity that she was transferred to another station a few months into the relationship. I loved those two together.” 
“Yeah, but long-distance relationships were hard for her… Can’t blame her.” He mumbles the final words, tightening his embrace to emphasize the significance of his words. 
“I don’t think I could, either. I mean, I can't imagine a day without you in it. We’ve been together since we got out of Top Gun. Every. Single. Day. It’s hard to imagine the base without you.” 
“Oh, so you liked me before all this?” 
You grab a handful of snow, slowly moving it towards his face. “Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll like you after this.” 
You let the snow fall in his face, moving from below Rooster’s body to run away from him. He’s up on his feet in no time, making a big ball of snow with his bare hands. “Oh, you little-” 
“No, no, no. Don’t throw that at me.” 
“And why should I stop?” he asks, a smirk appearing on his face as he moves dangerously close, the snow crunching beneath his feet. 
“‘Cause you love me?” 
“True, but not enough.” He throws the ball straight to your face, almost throwing you to the floor. 
“Rooster,” you pout, getting the snow out of your face and clothes. 
He closes the distance and helps you, using his scarf to clean your face. “Grouchy, this is as simple as you want it to be. You want to tell our friends?” 
“Yes. I want them to know how much I love my nugget.” 
He lets out a giggle. “Stop, I feel like a teenager.” 
“We kinda are, Roos. We’ve been pushing back our feelings since we were teenagers.” 
He looks at the floor, thinking about your words for a second, slowly nodding while coming out of his thoughts. “Well, yes. You’re right. Does that mean that we can do crazy things?” 
“We said we loved each other already, and we’ve been dating for less than 72 hours.” 
“But we’ve known each other since you were born. It’s not as if I met you three days ago. I’ve been growing up with you by my side, loving you a bit more each day, even though I've been an asshole sometimes with you.” 
You grab his hands, ignoring the cold. “Okay, lover boy. What are you trying to say with this rant?” 
“Maybe we can move in together?” 
That wasn’t what you were expecting. “Roos, don’t you think it’s too soon to be sharing a house? I know we're doing the same thing here, but... we’re surrounded by family, and it's a little different."
“Hey, you got me all wrong. I’m not asking you to buy a house, share one bedroom, and all that. I’m talking about sharing an apartment but each one has their own room” 
“Please, elaborate.”
“So, we move to an apartment with two bedrooms. We spend a lot of time together whenever we’re not deployed, and, you know, we do things together: watch TV, cuddle on the sofa, eat takeout for dinner, play video games, you name it.” 
"I like that," you say, your mind racing with images of all the things you could do together if you shared an apartment. 
“I know. But the best thing is that, whenever one of us wants some time alone, we have separate rooms. If one day everything is too overwhelming for you, you can go to your own bed, or kick me out of yours, and enjoy some precious alone time.” 
“I can do that in my own apartment.” 
“But you won’t be able to have cuddles whenever you want,” he counters. 
“Yes, I can. It’s called a cuddle call.” You explain, seeing that there’s something else he’s not saying. The real reason why he doesn’t want you to have your own apartment. “Roos, just say it.” 
He inhales deeply. “What are you gonna do when someone knocks at your door?” 
You surely haven’t thought about that yet. Just the idea makes you breathe quickly. It wouldn't be the first time a neighbor came knocking in the middle of the night. What will you do? Pain and fear will become bearable in the future. You’ll be able to live a normal life without having to feel the claws of fear closing tightly around your throat, cutting off your breathing. Someday you’ll look back and think of this as a memory. 
It would take time, though. 
For now, you’re accepting Rooster’s offer. You know he’s not implying that you need him. He’s just offering to be there in case you want someone to help you in a bad moment. 
Building a relationship based on need is the biggest mistake you can make. And he knows, too.
“Okay, let’s move in together,” you whisper, having so many feelings at the moment that you’re not sure you can identify them. 
Maybe this is a complete mistake. Maybe it’s too soon to even think about living in the same place. Maybe it’s just the right thing to do. 
But the smile on his face and how he tackles you to the ground in the biggest hug ever known in history makes you believe that maybe it’s not a bad idea after all. 
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Christmas Eve goes by with you almost being kicked out of the kitchen. You didn't realize what day it was until Sarah and Becca began to cook all types of Christmassy meals, including some of your favorites. 
This week has been an absolute mess. It started with you and Rooster being forced to share a bed. Now he's asking you to share a house with him. A home. A simple yet effective way of beginning a life together. Even though this life began years ago, after the car accident. You're just been too blind to realize that the love you were looking for was not in front of you, but at your side, at the F-18 that always flies with you. He's always been there. 
Rooster's playing with Jesse next to the fireplace, holding a tiny figurine of Chase, the police pup, in his big hands. You take a picture with your phone, looking at his fond smile and loving eyes. He's going to be an amazing dad, like Goose was. He might not have been there long enough for Rooster to remember him or for you to meet him, but you two know him. 
Iceman, Slider, and Maverick had made sure to tell you the type of man he was. He was loving, not only with his wife and his son but also with his friends. He loved them as a family. Maverick was a brother to him. That's why he’s Rooster's godfather. Goose was also attentive, caring, funny, and brave.
He was the type of person you don't meet often. The type that goes too early, leaving an empty space too big to fill, even harder to ignore. 
You've never met him, but you know him. 
And you know that he's looking at his son right now, knowing that he would be a better father than he was.��
You set the picture as your lock screen, admiring the pure love embodied in one single picture. 
Then the phone rings. A video call from Phoenix. 
"Love of my life, there you are!" You smile when you see her tired face. Tired means the mission was a success, and she's safe. 
"Look at that face. You're literally glowing. Have you fu-"
"There's a kid here, Nat!" You whine, Rooster whispering something in Jesse's ear, the kid is leaving the room in a second. 
"The kid has been secured," Rooster says, sitting next to you on the sofa, his arm resting on your shoulders while he waves at your friend. "Hey, Nat" 
"Goodness gracious, great balls of fire, you two are in love. With capital letters." 
You look at each other, his shy smile making you giggle. "Well… maybe a bit" 
"I talked to you a few days ago, how can this be real?" 
"Well… A lot of shit happened with Solo," you mutter, shivering when his name slips from your lips. Rooster hugs you closer, kissing your temple. 
"Does he know?" Phoenix inquires, her eyes wide as she realizes you're referring to the monster in front of Bradley. 
You nod, looking at Bradley's hand. His fingertips are drawing small circles in your arm, a comforting, grounding touch you are grateful for. "A lot has happened. I'll tell you someday" 
She looks worried. "Is she okay?" She's asking that question directly to Bradley, not you. 
"She'll be okay. Just needs a bit of time." Rooster reassures you both. 
"Is this why you're asking to change stations, Bradshaw?" 
Rooster freezes when Phoenix’s words register in his brain. The fingers that are caressing your arm stop moving. A change of station? 
"You're doing what?" You don't look at him. It's almost unbearable. 
"Let me explain, Thena," he says, kneeling on the floor in front of you, his eyes searching for yours, even though they're lost. 
"So it's true," you whisper, the phone falling from your hands into your lap. Nat silently hangs up, a guilty expression on her face. "You want to change stations. You asked me to live together this morning, and now you're probably moving across the country." 
There are tears in your eyes, so many of them that Rooster is just a blur. You blink, teardrops on your cheeks, as his hand approaches your face. You flinch away. 
"Don't touch me." 
He has been giving you reasons to believe that he is going to be with you… forever, if he can. 
You're the only person I want to fly with. 
The only way you're getting rid of me is when you say you don't love me anymore. 
Was that real? Was any of it real? 
"No, no, no, love, look at me. Please, look at me, it's not what you think." He begs, tears of his own falling silently. 
His hands cup your face. His touch, a warmth so welcome a few seconds ago, now burns; it suffocates you. Have you become Icarus in this timeline? Have you tried to be so close to your personal sun that now it ignites your skin? Melting it. Hurting in the most painful yet delicious way. His calloused hands, the physical depiction of his so-called love and respect for you, now leave aching goosebumps in your skin. It brings comfort and grief at the same time. These are the hands you want to be held in—the same hands that have betrayed you. 
It's too much. 
"I said don't touch me!" 
Rooster backs away from you, his hands open and held in the air as if he were surrendering to the enemy. The rational part of your brain wants you to stop and listen to whatever he has to say. He had never given you a reason not to trust him, right? 
Well, he tried to pull your papers.  
He knew that you loved him. He heard your confession. 
He didn't say anything about it; he made you believe that he didn't hear you, that he didn't love you. 
He had been acting like a dick ever since. 
He came up with the fake dating idea knowing that you loved him. 
He asked you to share a home with him.
And now, as if nothing that has happened between the two of you matters, he's asking to leave. 
Asking to leave you. 
Who's the enemy here? You, for running upstairs and locking yourself in the bedroom? Or him, for lying and betraying the little trust you had left in him? 
He's at the other side of the door, your name falling from his lips as a litany. You know he’s trying his best not to knock on the door. You thank him for that, but it only makes you pack your things faster. 
"Thena, please. Talk to me." 
You tune him out. If you don't hear him, he's not there. He can't hurt you. Not anymore. 
You've been broken too many times this week. But this? This is the final blow. You are packing your things, as if every cloth were a piece of your broken heart, collecting them in hopes that, with patience and lots of work, every single piece will fall into place. 
The Uber should be here at any time. You take a few breaths before opening the door. You look at the floor, however. You can't look at his face. 
"You're gonna move and let me go. You're not gonna look for me or ask about me. And if someone asks where I am or why I am gone," you raise your eyes, making eye contact in an ephemeral moment of bravery, "Tell them how you've been lying to them for a whole week and how you ended up lying to me, too." 
You leave him standing in that hallway before running downstairs, leaving the house with tears in your eyes and a little boy crying out for you to come back home.
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pixelwisp-archive · 3 years
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Itadakimasu!! | Part 10: I Was A Dick (Written Portion Included)
word count: 1.1k 
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“Are you gonna keep staring, or are you gonna buy something?”
Osamu whipped his head toward the voice, meeting Kuguri’s cocked brow and knowing smile. He stared, unmoving, eyes comically wide, and he was sure he looked liked a deer caught in headlights. Kuguri's smile widened slightly as Osamu sputtered hopeless excuses.
"I was just - ah - passing by...was just on m' way to the market," he mumbled as he looked down, eyes landing on the real reason he was loitering next to Paradis' Bakery's pop up stand.
The bite-size spheres were packaged two to a pack - the obnoxious, frilly label sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the other bakery goods (whose labels were minimalistic and much more professional, he noted). His eyes flitted over the various berry fillings you had absurdly coated with custard and sweet sushi rice. Quite frankly, it sounded gross - 'deconstructed rice pudding' was not something he ever found himself craving before you made it a thing, and he certainly wasn't craving it now. Osamu scrunched his nose at them and let out an involuntary huff as he brought his arms up to cross over his chest.
"The market is the other way," Kuguri pointed out. Osamu cleared his throat and muttered a dejected 'right'  before he tore his eyes away from the stupid, dumb, little balls of spite and turned to walk in the direction of the market he most definitely doesn't need to go to.
"You know," Kuguri called to him, "if it makes you feel any better - they aren't selling." Osamu stopped, his feet firmly planted to the sidewalk as people ushered past him, hardly sparing a glance toward his frozen frame.
"They aren't selling?"
"Not really. We've had a couple people buy, but to be honest, she ends up taking whatever doesn't sell at the end of the day to the animal shelter down the road," he explained as he dealt with a customer, tossing the gentleman a polite smile and an expertly wrapped loaf of pound cake. Osamu felt his heart squeeze. The small, petty part of him felt smug satisfaction at your own show of pettiness failing - but the bigger part of him, the part that begrudgingly cared, left him with a furrowed brow and the corners of his mouth tugged downward. 
He hadn't known Kuguri for very long, but anyone could tell that the smug look on his face meant he could tell Osamu, for whatever reason, didn't like the idea of you not doing well, financially or otherwise.
"I haven' apologized." Osamu muttered, more to himself than to Kuguri. Kuguri hummed in response.
"I know."
"I should, shouldn' I?"
"I think that would be wise."
Osamu would be lying if he said he hadn't felt some semblance of guilt ever since the curry incident. He often found himself staring at your contact, deft fingers drafting various versions of excuses and insecurities, each draft ending with an 'I'm sorry', before he ultimately deleted it with a sigh. Truth was, he dug his heels into the dirt, and you dug right back, and now it just felt too weird to apologize. He knows the ball's in his court, and he knew that apologizing was the right play, but how he should go about apologizing, he didn't know.
Kuguri noticed this too, he guessed, because he pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Osamu - a note with an address and a phone number scrawled along the top. Osamu threw a questioning glance toward the Kuguri as he turned back to the line of customers.
"It's a place nearby that sells a wine she loves. Tendou told me to tell you to buy her a bottle if you want her to forgive you with no fuss. He also said to give you his number in case you had questions." Osamu didn't dwell on the fact that it seemed almost as if Kuguri (and Tendou, a man he's never met) were expecting him to come for advice. He didn't like feeling so predictable, it made him feel a little too open. With the note clutched in his hand, he shot a wave to Kuguri with a brief nod of thanks, and turned on his heel to head to the aforementioned liquor store.
If he was going to apologize, he was going to do it right.
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The last thing you were expecting when you opened the door was a gift basket, neatly wrapped with a bow and a fresh bouquet of violets beside it. You looked it over suspiciously, but when you caught sight of your favorite wine, you assumed it was a congratulatory basket from Tendou and the rest of Paradis Tokyo. You hummed as you grabbed both the basket and the flowers, the small note inside the vibrant blooms catching your eye as you brought your foot up to kick the door closed behind you. You placed both gifts onto the table as you gingerly reached for the card that had been neatly tucked into the beautiful purple bouquet.
'I truly cherish the Small Bliss that is your Sincerity. - S.K'
Your mind drifted back to the peach blossoms that had made their home here just a couple weeks prior, and you beamed at the violets that you've now realized is another gift for Kuguri, from Kita. A grin broke out across your face and you cooed as you situated them in the same place the peach blossoms once stood, card placed delicately in front of the beautiful purple display. You let out a small, content sigh as you turned your attention toward the awaiting gift basket.
The first thing you noticed was the wine, placed in the center, surrounded by your favorite candy. Other, miscellaneous snacks that you love were strewn about, and at the bottom you found an apron - brand new and free of curry stains - in your favorite color. You ran your fingers across the small ruffled pockets and sighed at how soft it felt beneath your skin. Your fingers grazed underneath the pocket of the apron and brushed against what felt like a card. Confused, nimble fingers gripped at the card and softly tugged it from its hiding place, flipping it over so you could get a better look at the front. The cardstock was plain and inconspicuous, and for a moment you thought it was just a placeholder rather than a message, but your nail caught in between and it flipped open to reveal messy scrawl, short and to the point.
'I'm bad at apologies, but I hope this might help it go smoother.'
Your smile fell as recognition struck you. Osamu bought you a gift basket to apologize? How the hell did he get everything you liked, right down to your favorite color? You dropped the card as if it had burned you, wide eyes trained on the ink as it fell back onto the table.
Osamu Miya wants to apologize?
You've got to be kidding me.
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Fun Facts - 
Believe it or not, Osamu *is* a good boy
Kita needs to stop being a shy boi and give Kuguri his flowers in person already ffs
Kuguri, Tendou, and Kita are manning the Osamu x y/n ship and they are willing to make it everyone’s problem 
A/n - finally got chapter 10 out!! I’m SO sorry for the wait. I literally wrote this chapter three different ways before finally settling on this one, so I hope you guys enjoy! Are we finally veering out of enemy territory? lets hope, for my sanity lmao
Taglist - (If you are bold, I can’t tag you! Sorry!)
@larkspyrr @oikawaandkuroostan @fucktheworlddude @doctorspencereid @keiarma @cherriechurros @halesandy @k3nma-fairy @jewlmin @tabipleats @kaleidoscopekai @confusedturtle @vintagexparker @hoeevern @syaziahvg @hallothankmas @lilith412426 @aurorahoneybuns @oikawakuns @reina-de-tay @prettyinblack231 @snowyseungs​ @darlingkuroo
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inkandpen22 · 3 years
Text
Young Hearts Divided (8/?)
Pairing: Sirius Black x Female!Reader / James Potter x Female!Reader 
Warnings: fighting, angst, fluff
Word Count: 1.3k
Part Summary: Y/N and Sirius spend the rest of Hogsmeade day in the Gryffindor Common Room. Then, when everyone gets back things get messy. 
Masterlist
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Sirius and I sit curled up on the couch of the Common Room. We've been here for the remainder of the afternoon. Once we got back to Hogwarts, all we did was talk. It's as if we haven't seen each other in years and had to rehash everything we've experienced since last we talked. First, we started out on opposite ends of the couch facing one another. Since then, we've moved to lay on the couch with my head on his chest. His warmth and sweet scent engulf me, bringing ease to my mind.
“Have you been able to talk to your parents?” He asks as he runs his fingertips up and down my spine.
“Not since that night in dumbledores office and that was only a letter.” I sigh, “I just don’t know how much more I can take on.”
“I’ll help you through this," he states with utmost certainty. "I will get you through this.”
“There’s no getting through it, only existing," I determine solemnly.
“Then I’ll simply exist with you,” he doesn't hesitate to reply.
Usually, someone would say 'oh don't say such things,' as Lily would. Yet, Sirius simply goes with it. He understands me.
“I would want nothing more." I lift my head to peer up at him. His jet black eyes meet mine with a grin. "To simply be with you is enough happiness to last me a lifetime."
He brushes strands of my hair behind my ear as his eyes scan my face admiringly. “I never believed life with you as possible. I had hoped, but never in my wildest dreams.”
I wrap my arms around him and give Sirius a comforting squeeze. I never wish to let him go.
“You know sometimes I love you so much it hurts. I find myself looking at you and my eyes get glassy," I confess, still in awe of his natural beauty.
“After we graduate we’ll get far away from here, just you and me!” He describes heaven.
“I’m listening,” I encourage him to go.
“You and me. A studio or loft of some sort. It’ll be safe, secure, us.”
I purr, it all sounds so lovely. “We’ll wake up beside each other each morning with the warm sun pouring in. The windows will be cracked and a spring breeze with drape us," I add.
“You have to promise me one thing,” he insinuates with a smirk.
My brow rises, “and what’s that?”
“You won’t go out of your way to defy You-Know-Who," he whispers the last bit hesitantly. "I understand why your family did it, but I can’t risk losing you.”
As much as I love his affection and appreciate his worry, he can't stop the war from affecting me. I've already been touched by it, my brother is missing. Neither of us wants this war to be happening, but it is happening and we can't ignore it.
“Sirius, you can’t expect me not to fight. Besides, I know you plan on joining and so must I," I reason as I gently caress his cheek.
“That’s different!" He huffs. "I can’t lose you!”
“You won’t lose me," I assure him. "Even in death I would be with you and love you.”
He shakes his head, removing my hand from his cheek as he rises up from the couch. “Don’t talk like that. A world without you in it is a world I don’t want to be a part of.”
I watch as he stands to his feet. "Don't you want to help guarantee a right and just world for the future? I can't sit by mindlessly while all of this happens around us!"
"Of course I do," Sirius whines as he paces in front of the fireplace. "But not at the risk of losing you!"
There's an ounce of evident distress in his voice and even that mere amount is a lot from Sirius. I can't imagine losing Sirius. He's my best friend and now with where we are I don't want to risk that.
"I understand," I nod calmly. "But Sirius we have to be realistic."
He stops his pacing and peers at me with awareness. He knows what I'm going to say, likely having thought about it himself.
I state it gently, "you and I have no control over what can happen. I hate it too. I wish I knew that our future will happen, but we don't know for certain. All we can do is live in the moment and hope for the best."
Sirius crosses the room to me and kneels on the rug before me. As he rests his head in my lap, I brush my fingers through his hair.
"I hate this," he mumbles.
"Me too," I reply softly. "But at least we have each other now."
He lifts his head to look at me. His eyes are glassy again. They're so pretty, yet I hate seeing him so broken. Now, I see how much this has been bothering him for some time.
"I've always had you," he remarks with a faint smirk. "It was only a matter of time before you realized it too."
I laugh, playfully swatting his arm. Sirius chuckles and lowers his head into my lap again. We rest like this for some time, him on the floor with his head in my lap and me combing through his shoulder-length hair. I lean down plant a kiss on his head. If every day can be just like this, just the two of us. I would be content. If only the world couldn't touch us. ___________________________________ Once dinner time rolls around, Sirius and I decide to just stay in the Common Room, not feeling up to see everyone. Sirius never exactly told me how the others took the news of us leaving Hogsmeade early. He was more focused on getting me back to the castle in a timely manner. So when James and everyone returns, takes me a bit by surprise. He enters the tower like a bat out of Hell and when he sees Sirius resting with his head in my lap, his face changes.
"What's this?!" He gestures to us.
Sirius sighs, slowly rising to his feet.
I switch my gaze between the two in confusion. "James, I-"
"You've got to be kidding me!" James cuts me off to yell at his best friend who's not standing before him.
"Me?" Sirius defends. "What about you?!"
"Guys! Enough!" I fly up from the couch.
Lily, Marlene, and the boys simply watch wide-eyed at the duo shouting at each other. It's exceedingly rare to see Sirius and James fight, but whenever they do it's intense.
"Y/N's right," Sirius states calmly. "Just go away, I'm not going to part of this." He turns to escort me upstairs. "Come on, leads go-"
"No," James grabs Sirius's shoulder and makes him face him. "You made yourself a part of it after you went after my girlfriend!"
"Okay, was never your girlfriend," I interject which goes unnoticed by both of them.
"She loves me, Mate," Sirius smiles at James mockingly. "Always has and always will."
"Oh, so now you speak for her?" James steps forward into Sirius's space.
"Y/N can speak for herself, alright! If only you would listen to her for two seconds!" Sirius shouts, pressing a hand to get his friend to back off.
"I listen to her!" James defends.
"Oh yeah? What's her brother's name?" Sirius challenges.
"D...B..." James stammers. "Why does that matter?!"
“Seriously?” I snicker under my breath. 
"How does it not?!" Sirius laughs in disbelief. "Where have you been the last few days?! Oh right, you've been trying to distract yourself from the fact that Lily still isn't in love with you!"
"Fuck off, Black!" James shoves Sirius and he stumbles into me accidentally.
Remus and Peter step forward to intervene but before they can reach the two, Sirius charges at James.
"Go fuck yourself, Potter!"
I watch as everything moves in slow motion. The two best friends fall to the rug, Sirius on top of James. They start to wrestle, clawing and punch.
"Boys! Stop it!" I shout.
________________
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tinyboxxtink · 3 years
Text
"Clueless" *Part 3*
Okay so my dog ended up being totally fine, and luckily I had most of this written beforehand. <3
PS- REALLY shouldn't have watched the actual movie while writing this...lulz. Count how many actual lines from the movie you catch.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Tag List:
@lolliepopsicle
@chasingeverybreakingwave
@wanniiieeee
@milkshqke
@gibbs274
@aprildecker-blog
@objection-argumentative
@word-scribbless
@stars-in-the-skies-world
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-----
He drove back up the Beach House, but you and Ariel had abandoned it for a loft in the city, no forwarding address. He asked himself why he was putting so much effort just to get back in contact with you. He couldn’t explain it, it was like something against logic.
He dialed Ariel’s number.
IGNORE.
Redial.
IGNORE.
Text: “Answer your phone!!!”
Redial.
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk to Y/N,”
“Well she doesn't want to talk to you,”
“What did you tell her, Ariel?”
“The truth,”
“I don’t...I can’t even begin to imagine what that means in your language,”
“Oh whatever Raf, what does it matter what I told her? She’s MY friend, not yours!”
“You don’t OWN her Ariel,”
“Don’t I?” She smirked. “I feed her, I clothe her, I give her a roof to sleep under. I even gave her a cute necklace with her name on it, like a collar,” she smirked.
"You're evil," he sneered.
“I’m a saint,” She scoffed. “Do you know where that girl would be without me? Do you know the years it would take in a therapist's office to heal the emotional trauma I so selflessly saved her from? Her life will be enriched and better because of me, how many girls can say that about you?"
“Oh right, like helping her hasn’t served you any purpose?”
“What purpose could it possibly have?”
“Please, if I ever saw you do anything less than 90% selfish I’d die of shock,”
“Oh that would be reason enough for me,”
“Look, I get it. You've never had a mother so you're treating her like your personal Barbie doll,"
“And what, you wanna be her Prince Ken? Or, lawyer Ken,”
“She’s NOT a Barbie doll!”
“You’re right, she’s not. So I’m not going to let you play with her emotions,”
“What does that even mean? For fuck’s sake Ariel, I just want to be her mentor,”
“Really?” Rafael could hear her rolling her eyes through the phone. “You’re trying THIS hard to mentor some girl you met less than 24 hours ago? REALLY,” She chuckled.
“I may not be ‘Harvard’ smart BRO, but I’m not stupid. I know when a guy has let’s say, less than moral intentions with a girl,”
“It’s not like that,” He growled. “She’s a sweet girl, Ariel. And I’m not going to let you try and change her into your clone,”
“Wha--my clone? Please, Raf she could NEVER reach my level. Believe me, I’ve tried for four years. She’s a good sidekick,”
“This isn’t over,”
“Isn’t it? You have ZERO idea where we are,”
“Please, there’s maybe 5 places in Manhattan you’ll go, and they’re all on the Upper East Side. It’s not hard,”
“Well then, I guess we’ll see who’s better at hide and seek!”
CLICK.
------
Ariel rolled her eyes with a smile just as you walked in the living room.
“Who was that?” You asked, toweling your hair from the shower you had just exited.
“Mom,” She rolled her eyes. “She wanted to make sure we weren’t tearing this place up,”
“Oh?” You asked, suddenly hopeful. “Was she going to ask Rafael to check?”
“What? NO,” Ariel shut down that thought quickly. “I assured her she didn’t need to send that dog over here to sniff around you anymore,”
“Ariel,” You rolled your eyes with a sigh. “I’m a big girl,”
“I know sweetie,” She walked over and scrunched your face. “Such a big girl,”
“Whatever,” You rolled your eyes again walking back to the bedroom.
“Hey…” Ariel grabbed the TV remote. “Do you wanna watch Clueless?”
“What? ….Why?”
“I don’t know, you mentioned it yesterday and now I can’t stop thinking about a young Paul Rudd,”
“....Who looks exactly like present Paul Rudd,” You laughed.
“I know right? I want the magic face cream he must use,” She giggled as you both sat down on the couch to watch the movie.
----
“See, Cher isn’t a bad person, right? She saved Tai,” Ariel gestured to the TV.
“Am I Tai in this situation?” You eyed her.
“Well, yeah,” She shrugged. “Duh,”
“I’ll take it, I love Brittany Murphy,” You shrugged.
“RIP,” Ariel made a sign of the cross with a kiss looking up to heaven. “We should pour one out for her,”
“On your mom’s thousand dollar rug?”
“Okay, so maybe just pour one for us,”
Her phone vibrated wildly; it vibrated so hard it fell off the coffee table onto the floor. You picked it up to put it back, but you happened to glance at the screen.
BHOLE BARBA: You can’t keep her from me forever, Ariel
Wha….keep who from him? You? Did...was he...did Ariel….?
“Alright, who’s ready for mimosas?!” Ariel said in a singsongy voice as she returned with two flutes of champagne.
“What is this?” You held the phone up to her. She read it, her eyes grew wide.
“I...He’s talking about the Adele CD I borrowed from him forever ago, he’s weirdly possessive about ‘her’,”
“Ariel,” You interrupted her with a stern face.
“What?” She played dumb.
“...How could you do this to me?” You asked with a hurt expression.
“Do what?” She rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Protect you from my loser ex brother?”
“You--! Oh my god,” You couldn’t believe it. Your own best friend was trying to mess with your happiness?
“Oh come on Y/N, it’s not that big of a--” She rolled her eyes with a laugh, pissing you off even more.
“It IS a big deal!” Tears stung your eyes, you hated that you started crying when you got angry. How pathetic was that?
“Why? You can’t possibly be in love with him or something,” She scoffed.
“NO! Of course not,” You crossed your arms. “But he could help me with school, with my career! Don’t you want me to get a good job, eventually move out of here?”
“Maybe I don’t!” She yelled suddenly.
“...What?” You asked in disbelief.
“Look, Y/N,” She sighed. “I...you...we both know under normal circumstances, we would never be friends,”
“...I mean, I guess…” You shrugged.
“Oh come on,” She gave you a look. “You’d have to explain every sentence you spoke to me,” She had crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Oh come on Ariel,” You sighed and sat next to her. “You’re NOT stupid,”
“I’m stupider than you!” She cried.
“...More stupid,” You corrected her.
“See?” She sniffled.
“Okay, but-- still,” You took her hand. "You're my best friend. Do you think that if I don't have to live with you anymore, I won't be your friend?"
"Maybe…" She looked at the floor.
"Ariel!" You cried. "Really? Come on,"
"You come on!" She was actually getting upset now. "Look, Y/N. I don't have...friends,"
"What?" You snorted. "You have the biggest social circle I know!"
"Yeah but--" she tried to find the right words. "They're not like….friends, friends ya know? They're more like…. followers, or leeches, of--"
"Sycophants," you chuckled. She did surround herself with as many people who would tell her she was amazing as possible.
"I don't know what that means but probably, yes," She nodded. “You’re the only one who I can actually talk to, you’re like my little sister,”
“....Right, so…? You think I’ll just give all that up if I move out? If I don’t need you financially anymore?”
“Maybe…” She mumbled. “But ALSO, if that stupid asshole gets into your head about me!”
“Oh God…” You put a hand over your head. “Ariel,” You took both of her hands and looked at her very seriously.
“You are my absolute best friend in this entire world, no…’boy’ could change that! I’ve known you so long, I know you completely. Nothing he could tell me would make me turn on you, I swear it,”
“Really?” She raised an eyebrow at you.
“Really! You held a hand up like an oath. “AND, even if-- WHEN, I get financially stable and can live on my own two feet, I will ALWAYS be your friend,” You used the oath hand and placed it in hers again. “I swear it,”
“....Okay, but absolutely ZERO sleepovers here,”
“Oh, my god, ARIEL,” You gasped. “I JUST want to talk to him about law stuff!”
“Yeah, that’s what he said too,” She rolled her eyes, not believing either of you.
“He did?” You felt your face fall.
“Ah HA! See? Disappointment!”
“Shut up,” You hit her. “I don’t care, we should just be professional anyway,”
“Uh huh,” She nodded sarcastically.
“Are you going to give me his number or not?” You gave her a look.
“No,”
“ARIEL,” You crossed your arms.
“No, then you’re going to immediately call him and give him ALL the power,” She wagged a finger at you. “I’m going to give him YOUR number, and if he calls you, he calls you,”
“Ariel…” You gave her another look.
“What? You don’t believe me?” She feigned offense.
“I really don’t,” You shook your head.
“Alright FINE,” She pulled out her phone and opened her texts with Rafael, typed in your number and hit SEND.
“Happy?” She showed you her phone.
“....Maybe,” You hid the giddiness that was building in your stomach.
Almost IMMEDIATELY after sending the text, your phone lit up wildly.
“Good god I’m gonna get out of here before the nerdy phone sex starts,” She ran out of the room with her mimosa in tow.
“Shut up!” You hissed, mentally preparing yourself for this phone call. The phone call you’d been waiting for for days, even when you thought he was a “player”. You took a deep breath and hit ANSWER:
“Hello?”
“Y/N?”
“Yeah who’s this?” You asked coyly.
“It’s...Rafael, Barba…”
“I’m sorry, who?” You teased.
“Ariel’s….brother?” He skipped the asterisk that went along with “Brother”.
“Ohhhh right right right,” You nodded, keeping him nervous. “Yeah, Ariel told me all about you,”
“I knew it,” He growled thinking about Ariel and her lies. “Whatever she said, she’s lying,”
“Oh so you don’t want to be my mentor?”
“Wha--?” He was shocked. Did Ariel actually change her mind? Or dare he think...a change of heart?
“Yes! I mean, I do! I absolutely do!” He may have said that a little too overzealous, so he dialed it back. “I mean, if I have some time I’d be up for it, if that’s okay with you,”
“I might, maybe…” You were twirling your hair in your fingers. “When do you think you might have time?”
“Well you know I was thinking--” He started, but there was a knock at the door.
“Oh sorry, one second,” You got up and walked over to the door and swung it open to reveal Rafael standing there, right in front of you. He was dressed in a black suit with a pink tie. As amazing as he looked in street clothes, you thought you might mount him right there in that suit.
“I have some time right now,” He smiled, acting as if he was still on the phone. You couldn’t help yourself, you leapt into his arms and kissed him, HARD.
-------
“Hello? Y/N?”
You snapped back to reality, Rafael was talking to you on the phone.
“Oh! Um, Yeah, sorry what?”
“I said I have some time right now, if you wanna meet for coffee or something,” He half laughed, still enchanted by your awkwardness.
“Yes! Sure! I...let me just get dressed, just text me the address, I’ll meet you in a few,” You were so glad he couldn’t see how beet red you were from that little fantasy you had just been in.
“Sounds good,” You could hear him smile; even through the phone it made you weak in the knees.
You hung up and ran to Ariel’s room, hoping she’d help you get dressed.
What could you wear to impress him?
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