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redrobin-detective · 3 years

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The late Daniel Fenton

It was shaping up to be a beautiful if chilly December day and Casper High, as always, was bustling. It was 7:49 and class was about to start. The teacher watched the last few kids stumbling in at various levels of wakefulness. He already knew who would be the ones to rush in after the bell but that was alright. Life was too short to stress about being a few minutes late to class, especially in Amity Park of all places.

He looked up to see Madison, one of his shyer students walk in before making a beeline for his desk. She was biting her lip and nervously rubbing her hand down her skirt. “Hey,” she began quietly.

“Good morning. What’s up, Mads?” He asked casually. She looked upset, he could probably put on a video for the class if she needed to talk. They really needed a permanent counselor but the constant ghost attacks ran off most of them so he’d taken up the unofficial mantle. It felt good to help his students like that, make up for past wrongs.

“Are we um, expecting any new students?” She asked, her eyes darting over to the door she’d just come through. “Any transfers, exchange students or anything like that?”

“No,” the teacher frowned. “Amity isn’t the kind of place people transfer into. Why?”

“There’s a kid in the hallway,” she mumbled. “I don’t recognize him, he’s got a backpack and everything but he’s... I don’t know he doesn’t feel right.”

“Oh you’re talking about that weird dark haired kid,” Kyle said as he entered and sat down with a slouch. But even the class slacker looked unusually tense. “Dude’s creepy, can’t put my finger on why but he definitely doesn’t belong.”

“Oh,” was all the teacher had to say. Suddenly he realized how cold the classroom had become, the uncomfortable feeling that was pressing ever so slightly down on them. “I suppose it makes sense, the ghosts have been quiet lately with the Truce and all. He probably got bored.”

“Sir?” Madison said.

“Shannon,” he said instead, looking over at the frizzy haired girl hunched over her sketchbook furiously at work. “Would you do me a favor and move to the vacant seat in the second row? Just for today.”

“What? Why?” the girl whined even as she gathered up her various arts supplies and got ready to move.

“That’s Mr. Fenton’s seat,” he said taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes in preparation for what he was about to see. Danny would come here, of course he would. This was Lancer’s old classroom and Danny had him for first period English Lit. He and Dash both did.

“Mr. Baxter? What’s going on, is it a ghost?” Malik asked from the back row while Shannon shuffled to her new temporary seat.

“Yes but you don’t need to be scared,” he said softly, evenly. “He won’t hurt you.” The bell rang but Dash didn’t start the lesson. Instead, he waited. Danny had never been on time to class the entire time Dash had known him, of course death wouldn’t change that.

“Sorry, I’m late Mr. Lancer,” Dash gripped his desk so he didn’t jump when Danny Fenton simply appeared in front of his desk instead of walking through the door like any other student. “My folks couldn’t drive me, they’re still working on their stupid ghost portal.” A quick glance over at this class showed varying levels of fear, shock and curiosity but they were Amity kids through and through. The cold, powerful energy radiating off Fenton told them it was best to play along with whatever the ghost wanted.

“Perfectly alright Mr. Fenton,” Dash said softly, searching the 14 year old’s perpetually young face. He hadn’t changed a bit since Dash last saw him their second week of freshman year. It seemed unreal seeing how the years had taken their toll on Casper’s favorite son, Dash Baxter. God had they really been that young once? “Take a seat and we’ll get started.”

Danny shrugged and walked over to the seat Shannon had just vacated. He sat just the same, one leg stretched out and the other propped up against the leg of the desk. As soon as he took off the backpack and put it around the chair, it disappeared. He didn’t say anything else, just sat as stared at Dash with piercing blue eyes like he could see right through him.

“We had been talking about the lead up to the Civil War but let’s table that for today,” Dash said, proud his voice only wavered a little. He knew other people had seen Fenton around town. Lina saw him standing outside the Nasty Burger maybe five or so years ago. Dale, who used to live near Fenton Works swore he sometimes saw someone moving through the windows of the long abandoned house. He’d always secretly dreaded the thought of seeing Danny Fenton again, afraid he’d finally get was coming to him.

“Instead, we’re going to talk about local history,” he continued, not daring to take his eyes off the undead teen. Every other living student was tense, afraid. He wished he could assure them that the ghost wouldn’t lay a hand on them. In the event Fenton decided to ditch the hero schtick, it would be Dash and Dash alone he’d come after. “Amity Park has long had rumors of being haunted dating all the way back to the 1600s. It wasn’t until the last century that scientists determined that Amity Park is located on top of a thin spot between our world and the ghost realm. Natural portals form here all the time allowing spirits to pass through.”

No one spoke and barely anyone breathed except for Danny would wasn’t breathing at all. He just sat and stared at Dash with steady, unblinking eyes.

“Jack and Maddie Fenton were the scientists who discovered the weak point in reality in Amity. They devoted their entire life to the study of ghosts and made remarkable advancements in our knowledge of ectobiology and culture, the first being,” he paused as Danny cocked his head in confusion, squinting his eyes suspiciously at Dash. “The first being their manmade portal to the ghost zone. The portal remained active for almost two decades for research purposes but was shut down following their deaths.”

“You’re not Mr. Lancer,” Danny said suddenly, his eyes shifting from baby blue to an ectoplasmic green. Marty, who was sitting to the left of Danny, swallowed a squeak of fear and squeezed his eyes shut.

“No,” Dash sighed, “Lancer died almost thirty years ago now. Best teacher I ever had, he gave me his blessing when he passed on the job to me.”

“I,” the ghost ran his hand through his hair which was starting to lose its color. Seeing Fenton looking so scared and confused made him ache. It reminded him of old times. Dash had spent most of his life making sure he helped hurt kids if only to make up for the one he’d never been able to make it up to. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay, Danny,” he soothed. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“The portal, it wasn’t working at first,” Danny justified, his aura glowing a little more. “Sam and Tuck, they were curious. They wanted to look but I told them it wasn’t allowed, Sam, Sam she dared me to go in. I put on the hazmat suit and went inside and found the on button inside. I accidentally hit it and-” he paused midsentence and looked down at his hands. They weren’t pale flesh anymore but covered in white gloves. The black was completely bleached from his hair. A few of the students gasped as they saw the strange would be student melt into Phantom, the ghostly hero who’d been protecting their town since their parents were young. “I died.”

So much time had gone by. People were born and people were buried and the truth became distorted until it was just a legend passed jokingly around cafeteria lunch tables. Amity’s youth had forgotten their town’s history until it was sitting in a desk, trying once more to be one of them.

“You did,” Dash said sadly. He remembered hearing the news of Fenton's death. An assembly had been called the morning after the accident. Lancer had cried at the podium, Manson and Foley hadn’t returned to school for a week and had never been the same again. Dash hadn’t known what to think at the time, only that the kid he’d beat up for the crime of being different would never show up to school again. Or so he’d thought. “It was a tragedy, you were mourned by a lot of people.”

“I know you, don’t I?” Danny said quietly before he sat up straighter. “Dash?”

“In the flesh,” Dash grinned shakily.

“But you’re so old,” Danny said, once more distressed. “Your hair is grey and there’s wrinkles on your face and-and you’re a teacher now?” The last line was said with incredulity, his eyes flaring again. “You used to push me down the stone steps of the school and shove me into my locker and call me names.”

“Yeah, I did,” he sighed, feeling every one of his years. He was pushing 70 but he didn’t think he’d ever stop feeling like a stupid 14 year old who took out his frustrations on the ones who didn’t deserve it. “But you were the last; I never touched another kid again. I’m married now, four kids. I’m vice principal now, teach History and coach the school’s football team. It’s,” his voice caught again, still unable to process how young and stupid Fenton looked sitting there like no time had passed at all. It made Dash feel like all his accomplishments and attempts to be better would never amount to anything so long as his last victim roamed the earth unable to find peace. “It doesn’t fix what I did back then but I make damn sure that there won’t be any bullying at Casper so long as I’m here.”

“Huh,” Danny said, slouching once more in his seat but it looked less like his earlier teenage laziness and more weary. He and Dash were the same age after all, just because only one of them got old doesn’t mean time didn’t still affect them. “You did change, a lot of things did.” Danny looked down at the desk, “how long has it been?”

“Almost 50 years,” Dash sighed. “My wife wants me to retire but I guess I always find more things to do.” He paused then decided it was now or never. “I’m sorry Danny, for hurting you back then. I wish I'd gotten to know you better.”

For just a moment, Danny was perfectly clear. Even half floating out of his chair and looking like the local celebrity, his eyes were so painfully human. A boy killed before he ever got a chance to get started. Who’s will to protect was so strong it lasted half a century. It haunted him late at night to think of the glory and power of Phantom overshadowing just how incredible Danny Fenton had been. Not that anyone had seen it at the time. Soon there wouldn’t be anyone left to remember that quiet, kind teenager and then Danny Fenton really would be dead. Kill him just as thoroughly as that portal had.

The moment was broken by a breath of cold leaking out of the ghost’s lips and, just like that, his highschool classmate was gone and Phantom was left in his stead. He looked curiously around the classroom as if he didn’t know how he’d gotten there.

“There’s a ghost, stay here and don’t leave unless the fighting gets too close. I’ll get it though, don’t worry. No kids are dying today.” Maybe it was Dash’s imagination but he thought he saw Phantom’s eyes linger on him for an extra moment, trying to place where he knew the teacher from. Dash just smiled.

“Our lives are in your hands. Good luck, Phantom,” the ghost teen saluted before fading away entirely. Dash let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, suddenly exhausted but also lighter at the same time. It wasn’t every day you got to look your mistakes in the face and apologize. “Shannon, you can move back now.”

“No, I’m okay here,” Shannon said as she flipped to a new page in her sketchbook and looked intently at the spot where Fenton had once sat. “It’s like you said, that’s Danny’s seat.”

“I had no idea, Phantom’s been around for like, ever,” Freddie mumbled, pushing up his glasses. “But he used to be just like us.” And still was, Dash thought sadly. Danny would never grow old, never go to space like he’d always dreamed or marry Manson like he’d probably intended to. He was stuck, in more ways than one for who knows how long.

“Yes, that’s why it’s important to know your history. The Civil War and my other lessons are important but we can’t forget these smaller, more intimate histories. If we lose these lessons to time then we risk repeating the same mistakes over again.” He looked his students in the eyes, holding their attention.

“So we’ll continue today with the local history. Before he was ghost butt kicking superhero, Phantom was Danny Fenton, son of the local ghost hunters and a bit of an outcast in town. The Daniel Fenton Foundation was founded about a year after his death and was-”

#danny phantom #dead danny au #if bitch fartman won't redeem dash then I guess it up to me #god can you imagine growing up and growing old only to look at your past victim in the eye and see nothing has changed for him?#i could go on and on about what other characters got up to #but this is about the tragedy of the loss of Danny Fenton #not only his life but his memory #time moves on and Fenton got lost in the mix #once Dash's generation dies then Fenton will just be a cautionary tale #a ghost story #No one will remember that their hero was one long before he got his powers #god Im fuckign sad now #eat up and enjoy your angst

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falloutjay · 3 years

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Eric x careless/troublemaker reader, reader was always a crazy kid, she felt no one really understood her, and her only real friend was Esther Stoley, Annie Knitts and Nicole. But Reader has always admired Eric and never gotten why everyone hated him (she finds both Kyle and Wendy very annoying). One day, she finds him and Butters making their next scheme, and she wants in. After an effective day of pranking, they (well Eric but reader likes Butters's company) take her under their wing. They generally start hanging out and starts to be the 'girl' of the main group (she thinks of Stan, Butters and Kenny has her brothers) and she finds Eric and Kyle's banter hilarious. It gets better (for her at least): she always defends him now (be it irrationally, rationally, verbally or physically) like: Heidi tried to warn Reader about Eric...but the poor girl leaves with a broken nose or Wendy was just upset how someone so awful, could have someone advocate for them and starts to plan to tell her about the breast cancer incident when Bebe would tell that it's Y/n and if anything, what she did to him would just make her stay more, making Wendy stop. She was also a big fan of the Coon and would just gush about how cool he was (she does like Wonder Tweek, Mosquito and Toolshed but she loves Coon the best). Everyone was pretty divsive, some people thought it was funny and teased him on it (like: Craig, Stan and Kenny), some people shipped it (like: Clyde, Butters and weirdly Nicole/Tweek), but some people were afraid of those two becoming a couple (Kyle, Heidi and Wendy). Eric is strangely 'no comment'y about all this until one day, Eric is just about to be turned into the principal when suddenly Reader in a elorate plan, knocks out the witness and pins the blame on someone else. After that's over, Reader can't take it anymore and happily asks him to be her partner/boyfriend and Eric proudly accepts and the two go on to create to create anarchy. May others pray for their safety.

Hey guys! It's me! I'm back! :D

I'm still stressed AF, but after my day was really nice, I felt super motivated to finally continue this lovely prompt, so I did.

I'm currently still in the process of moving and my exams are still not over, but I'm trying!

So I hope I can publish the next request soon and I love all you guys, thank you for all the likes, reblogs, follows and most importantly your patience! <3

____________________________________

Eric Cartman x careless!troublemaker!female!Reader

“Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme Eric?” Butters asked, eyebrow raised as he listened to Erics new pranking plan. “No, it’s not at all, “eXtRemE”.” Eric retorted and shook his head.

They didn’t notice that someone approached them, listening to their plan. “W-well if you say so, I trust you, Eric.” As the fatter one of the two heard a twig snap, his head turned immediately and look at a kid from their class. What was her name again? “Who are you?” Eric asked unimpressed. “Y/N.” She answered dryly.

Butters kept looking between the two, moving his head, whenever someone said something. “What do you want?” “I want in on your plan.” “What makes you think I want someone like you in this? You normally play with the girls.”

“What does that have to do with anything. Just because I hang out with Esther, Annie and Nicole…That changes nothing about the fact that I love what you’re planning here, and I want in.” Eric seemed to think about the proposition for a second.

“Okay. I think I need one more person around here. Butters can barely do one fucking job.” So, he explained the plan to you in big detail. And in your humble opinion, it was brilliant. Once Eric had finished explaining, he looked at you with a sly smile.

“So, what do you think?” You pretended to think for a second, before an evil grin appeared on your face. “Why stop there? We can also pull a prank on the teachers and the school buses if we put in a little more effort.” “Never thought about that one before. I like your way of thinking, Y/N.”

The two looked into each other’s eyes, clearly seeing that mischievous spark in each pair of eyes. Butters watched you in horror, afraid of what he had just now witnessed. “Ohhh hamburgers.”

Y/N became a regular in Stans gang rather fast. Kenny and Stan love her to bits, just like she does. They love hanging out with her and to Kenny she’s like Karen. One thing that Y/N really enjoys is listening to Kyle and Eric's bickering. No matter the topic and no matter how loud or extreme the two get, she just sits there like it’s a cinema and the two are the newest marvel movie. Speaking of superhero movies, South Parks very own heroes are a topic ever so often too. And to Cartman’s delight, his trusted friend loves talking about The Coon. His super-secret hero identity. She would also gush about Wonder Storm, Mosquito and Toolshed but she would always praise The Coon, which is a melody in Cartman’s ears. Another thing Cartman loves about his only female friend is how she loves defending him to anyone. Be it teachers, her fellow girl friends, or anyone else. When Heidi tried to warn her that Eric means bad news, she had to visit the nurse afterwards. Y/N had detention for breaking the poor girl’s nose, but she sure as hell didn’t regret her decision. Even when she was shunned by the girls from there on.

“I just can’t believe her. Maybe she will change her mind when I tell her about the whole Breast cancer thing? You know… It could affect her too, maybe that’s wha-Wendy…” Bebe interrupted her and sighted. “You remember how Heidi was? How every time we said something mean about Cartman, she would only try harder to prove us wrong?” “Of course, I remember. How could I forget.” Wendy mumbled and stabbed her fork through her salad. “If you try to reason with her, she will just hit you with the whole “He isn’t like that”-schtick. You can’t change her mind, okay?” Bebe eyed their classmate who was happily chatting with Eric and Kenny a few tables away. “I guess.” Wendy said defeated and closed her eyes, asking herself how Eric could even make a girl interested in him.

On another table across the cafeteria, Craig and those guys were seated. Oddly enough, their topic was similar. Y/N L/N and Eric Cartman. “I don’t know why but they’d make quite a cute couple you know?” Clyde said with a smile before biting into his burger. “I know, right?” Nicole agreed and to everyone’s surprise, even Tweek nodded along. “I don’t think they’d become a thing though.” Craig mumbled lazily. “Why?” Clyde asked, obviously interested in the gossip.

“Well, Kenny, Stan and I teased him about it in History class, but he keeps saying he doesn’t like her that way.” “Aww, come on Craig, you know very well that he would never admit it just like that. Guys don’t just admit they have a crush. I’m sure he likes her. I mean, she the only one who can stand him for longer than a day.” Nicole commented, a sly smile spread across her face. “I just think the anti-Cartman fraction would rather die than see those two become a thing.” Token commented and his eyes darted across the room, looking at Kyle, Heidi and Wendy. “Well, I guess we will have some funerals to visit sometime soon.” Nicole replied and everyone at their table had to involuntarily smile.

“That’s it. ERIC. To the Principal. Now.” Mister Garrisons voice thundered through the hallways and a confused Y/N closed her locker. She let out a deep sigh, knowing something must have gone wrong with his new plan.

“Guess I gotta bust him out again.”

Knowing the way to the principal by heart she made her way there, only catching a glimpse of the in pink paint and glitter covered Mister Garrison, who kept cursing like crazy.

Y/N happily skipped past the not-occupied secretary desk and took a seat next to Eric. “I already wondered where you are.” Cartman commented unimpressed. “Sorry, I had to look at Garrison for a second. So what went wrong?” “This stupid asshole over there saw me set up the paint bomb in Garrisons locker thing.” The brown-haired whispered and pointed at the kid that was sitting across from them. “Thanks to that asshat, I will probably be suspended for some days or some shit.”

“Okay, I’ll handle it.” The h/c-haired said and got up to go over. She hovered over the boy who was looking up to her. “What?” He asked annoyed. “You’re Jonas Miller, right?” Y/N asked with the sweetest voice she could manage. “Yeah, what makes you care?” He asked, before a fist connected with his face. Surprised by her own strength, he seemed to be dazed and fell onto the other chairs.

“Y/N, what the fuck?” Cartman cried out confused. “Fast, hit me!” She said, not fazed at all. “What? Why?” “God, just do it!” Trusting his mischievous partner Erics fist landed on Y/N pretty face and he even felt a hint of remorse. “Good punch Eric. Now the other side.” Once again, trusting his opposite, he did what was asked. Despite now feeling rather woozy, Y/N grabbed Jonas and laid him down in a different position. She then made Eric kneel next to her and hold her.

“If you ever tell anyone I cried, I will tell everyone about your dirty little secrets, yeah?” Eric nodded, somewhat intimidated, and impressed, watched her do her best to cry heavily.

Hearing the blood-curdling scream, Mister Mackey and the secretary came running, looking at the scene before them. Mister Mackey immediately made sure that everyone was okay, before asking the roughed-up Y/N what happened. With a trembling voice, she answered: “J-Jonas over there did the prank on Mister Garrison and-and tried to pin it on-on Eric. So, I c-came here t-t-to tell everyone t-that Eric was with me t-the whole time. When Jonas n-noticed that, he hit m-m-me and Eric punched him, to-to help me.” The now fully awake again Jonas looked at the girl in horror. “N-No! That’s not the story! I- I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT, M'KAY?!” Mister Mackey interrupted him. “Hitting an innocent girl?! Jonas Miller, you will have to face the consequences!” Y/N still held up her best puppy eyes and Mister Mackey finally turned to the two troublemakers. “Eric, will you bring Y/n to the nurse, please. I will bring Jonas to PC Principal personally, m'kay.” Eric nodded, somewhat petrified, and guided Y/N along the corridors. He felt shocked. He didn’t know why. He never felt this scared before.

Once in the nurse’s office and after Y/N was handed an icepack, she was the first one to speak, once the nurse left them alone.

“You’re so quiet.” She commented dryly. “Thank you.” “For what?” “Getting me out of there. I never- It’s fine, okay? Don’t worry.” Silence fell over the two once more. Y/N just enjoyed the cooling ice on her burning skin and Eric still felt thankful for what she did for him. For him. And no one else. She would have never done this for Kyle. Not for Kenny. She did it for him.

“Hey Eric?” The boy next to her nodded. “You know I wouldn’t have done this for anyone else right?” Eric nodded once more. “Can I ask you for something?” “Of course.”

“You know, I like you a lot. So, would you maybe like to be my boyfriend?”

Bonus:

Eric gave no answer. He just slowly intertwined his fingers with hers and that was answer enough. “Are your cheeks red from blushing or is it from me hitting you?” “Maybe a bit of both.” She laughed and to Eric, it was the most beautiful sound he ever listened to. His girlfriend’s laugh.

Kyle was doing his math homework and started to get annoyed with the harder and harder becoming questions. A vibration ripped him out of his thoughts. He fished for his iPhone without taking his eyes off the paper and unlocked it. The contact read “FATASS” and it was a picture. Kyle's eyes widened in horror as his eyes scanned the picture. It was a picture of a list with dozens of prank ideas. The caption was what truly terrified him. “Me and my GIRLFRIEND brainstormed a bit, hope you’re ready Kahl <3”

Kyle felt like crying. Not only because of his math homework but also because his worst nightmare became a reality. Cartman has a Girlfriend. And it was no other than the infamous Y/N L/N.

#south park x reader #south park fanfiction #eric cartman x reader

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spaceskam · 4 years

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prompt from anon: I know you requested kylex, but I am a slut for your Malex college AUs sooo can I request prompt 1 for Malex??? I feel like Kyle could absolutely be involved 😁 01. I’m getting progressively more annoyed at the people you bring back to our apartment and it’s not until a friend jokingly asks if I’m jealous that I realize I’ve developed feelings for you college au prompts

ao3

The door of the apartment swing open and Alex stumbled in with a parasite clung to his lips and ripping his shirt off.

Michael had to stop mid-bite through his dinner cereal as he watched his roommate and his roommate's face-eater stumbled to his room, the door slamming behind them. Alex's laugh rang out loud enough that he could hear it and it quickly made him lose his appetite.

With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and put his bowl in the sink. Michael grabbed Alex's shirt off the floor and folded it, placing it on the table out of the pathetic-ness of his heart. A moan that was distinctly from Alex's body could be heard on the other side of his bedroom door and Michael took that as his cue to sit outside until the succubus left.

In high school, he and Alex had been the best of friends. They were both chronic outcasts and got detention more than a few times together freshman year which was really how they met. Well, that, and they both stood against the Loner Wall during lunch. Turns out, loners could be loners together.

By the time junior year rolled around, they were inseparable. Where one of them was, the other was sure to be close by. It was just how they were. Alex eventually built the courage to come out and Michael had no problem with it which really only made them closer. Once they knew they were going to the same college, the only logical decision was to get an apartment together.

In theory, it was great. In execution...

"I am a horrible, horrible person," Michael groaned, pulling his knees up to his chest as he held the phone to his ear.

"What did you do?" Isobel asked dryly. Michael rested his chin on his knees and let his eyes drift to the concrete floor of the balcony. It was stained with paint from when Alex had drunkenly done an art project completely naked at 3 in the morning to celebrate the end of their first semester of college.

"I didn't do anything," he told her, "I just... Can someone become homophobic over time?"

"What?"

"When Alex came out, I was fine. Happy for him, even," Michael grumbled, picking at a string on his basketball shorts, "Now every time he brings a guy over, I want to throw up."

"Michael..."

"I know, I'm a piece of shit."

The first year of college had been great. He and Alex were closer than ever, they spent every goddamn moment together. Then sophomore year rolled around and Alex started getting more comfortable with his sexuality. Which was fine.

But then nights like these happened.

Before, in high school, when Alex told him about boys, he didn't really care. He remembered being happy for him and excited for him. Now, though, he just wanted to throw up every goddamn time Alex and a new boy stumbled through the door and headed to his bedroom. He didn't know why he hated it so much, but he did. He really, really did.

"Alex went through a lot to get here. You need to be a good friend and support his hoe season," Isobel lectured. Michael sucked in a long breath, tilting his head back in irritation.

"I'm trying," Michael said, "It's just annoying. And you know we don't even study together anymore?"

"You don't have any of the same classes anymore," Isobel pointed out. Michael rolled his eyes.

"So? I feel like... I don't know what I feel like, I'm just tired of him fucking guys and running me out of my apartment," Michael grumbled.

"Oh, come on, Michael, he is not running you out of your apartment."

"You think I wanna listen to him plow some guy for an hour?"

"An hour? Jeez, that–"

"That is not what you were meant to respond to."

Isobel let out a laugh that slowly died out when Michael didn't say anything.

"Honestly, Michael, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were just mad the person he's fucking isn't you."

"What the fuck, Isobel? No. No, that is not what's happening. Why the fuck would you say that? No, I'm not fucking pining for him, he's my friend. End of," Michael told her. She laughed in response.

"Awfully defensive for a guy who definitely is not jealous," she hummed. Michael felt like his face was on fire and his stomach tied in knots.

"Shut up."

Isobel was damn near cackling. "Listen, baby brother, call me back after you've had your epiphany because that closet of yours is made of glass, okay?"

"I am n–"

"I love you, talk to Alex about how you feel and maybe things will click," she said, making a loud kissy noise before she hung up to avoid any more protesting.

Michael found himself letting his blood light on fire for what felt like an eternity, waiting for Alex to get done with his meal. The more he thought about Isobel's words, the more it pissed him off. There was no way he wanted Alex like that. He had never even kind of looked at Alex like that.

Well, there was that dream that one time... Okay, that happened more than once. But that was normal when you spent every day with someone, right? Besides, he never thought about it while he was awake. That summer they went swimming and Michael got so burnt that Alex, while at all states of undress, kept touching him just to leave handprints on his red skin, typically his bare thighs, absolutely did not count.

"Call me?" Alex's pitstop said, stealing Michael out of the train of thought that was only getting worse. Was there a reason he always remembered so much whenever they got drunk and Alex impulsively got naked?

"Um," Alex said, "Sure, maybe. Bye."

Michael slowly slid the door of the balcony more than the crack it already was, pushing himself inside so he could have a talk with Alex.

"Oh, hey, didn't know you were home," Alex said when he came in, flashing that warm smile of his. He was in nothing but his briefs which was normal enough. They'd always been comfortable around each other like that. Now, though, Michael wanted to crawl out of his skin.

"Yeah, how could you? You were a little busy fucking some strange guy," Michael said casually, a little bit more venom than was really warranted. Alex's eyebrows tugged together in confusion.

"I mean, he's not that strange. He's in my stats class," Alex said, eyeing him slightly, "What crawled up your ass?"

"Nothing, sorry," Michael said, looking away as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He focused on what Isobel said about talking to him about it being bothersome. "But, uh, can we talk?"

"What's up?" Alex asked, still staring all skeptically. Michael looked back at him.

"I don't like when you bring guys over all the time. I feel like I'm being kicked out of my own house just so you can get laid by some guy with no standards,” Michael told him. He watched hurt settle into Alex’s pretty features and he wanted to take whatever he said that caused it back, but he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to. He did want Alex to stop being so ridiculous with the people he brought over.

“No standards, huh?” Alex asked.

“Is that all you got from what I said?” Michael scoffed, shaking his head, “Look, I’m just tired of seeing you with guys, Alex.”

“You’ve made out with girls in front of me,” Alex shot back, “Like, if I remember correctly, that was half of high school. Why can’t I have fun?”

“You can, I’m not saying you can, I just don’t want to see or hear it,” Michael said. Alex stared at him for a few seconds too long all the way up until tears started brimming his eyes and he looked away.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll stop,” Alex said, quickly walking towards his room.

Before Michael could even think about what he was doing, he reached out and grabbed Alex’s arm to keep him from going to hide.

“Why are you upset? I’m just asking for you to be considerate that you don’t live alone,” Michael told him. Alex turned to face him, anger etched onto his eyebrows.

“You know what I’m hearing? I’m hearing you say that you’re fine with me being gay as long as you don’t have to see it, the same fucking bullshit homophobes say. I thought you were my friend.”

“I am your friend, doesn’t mean I wanna hear you sleeping with someone else!”

Alex scoffed, “Someone else? What do you mean, someone else? What, you’re cool with hearing me having sex as long as it’s with myself? That’s fucking weird, Guerin.”

“No!” he groaned, pulling his hands to himself and pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. Again, he was forced to think about the other part of Isobel’s statement. He could hear her voice, hear her mocking him about his stupid fucking Freudian slip. “I-I’m confused.”

Alex stayed for a long moment, giving Michael ample time to explain himself. Except he didn’t fucking know how. He didn't know anything.

"Confused about what?" Alex asked softly. Michael sucked in a deep breath as he thought about it. What was he jealous of?

"Isobel said I sounded jealous," Michael admitted. Again, silence.

Silence.

"Jealous of what?" he asked. Michael breathed, keeping it as controlled as humanly possible. "Jealous of what, Guerin?"

“I don’t know! She just told me a few minutes ago!” Michael said, his words coming out a sheer whine. He managed to pull his hands away from his eyes just to see Alex staring at him like he was fragile. He wasn’t. Was he? “I don’t know. I just know I hate seeing you with guys and I didn’t used to hate it. I used to be happy for you. Now... I feel sick.”

Alex gulped so hard Michael could see it. Then he looked at Michael, really looked at him, fixing him with a simple look.

“Okay. I think we should both sleep on this new information and then talk about it tomorrow. You need to at least get somewhere on your own that I can work with. I can’t... I can’t, like, force you to know what you’re feeling. You need to find a way to articulate it, okay?” Alex told him. Michael nodded.

Alex took a step forward, giving him a hug goodnight before slipping back into his bedroom. Michael went to his own room, feeling more drained than ever as he crawled into bed.

He laid there for hours, tossing and turning and thinking. By the time morning came, he was exhausted even more, but he knew one thing.

He was absolutely in love with Alex Manes.

#malex #malex fic #michael guerin #alex manes #roswell new mexico #my fic #prompts #college au prompts

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jeserai · 5 years

Text

devotion

Catra hesitates, then comes closer again to press their foreheads together again. For a moment, Adora lets herself be selfish, breathes in Catra’s warmth and closeness, lets herself feel weak.

Sometimes, Catra and Adora like to sneak out to where the big kids are. It’s passed curfew for everyone, but the big kids don’t care: they gather in a big, loose circle to tell scary stories. Most of them are about princesses, and some are about Lord Hordak and Shadow Weaver, fewer still are about Beast Island. Catra’s favorites all involve princesses (her eyes shine bright when one of the big kids tells about a group of undead princesses on the attack, about how he defeated them, but not without getting a chunk taken out of him), and Adora...doesn’t have any favorites.

She doesn’t like scary things, doesn’t like that when she sees Shadow Weaver now, she thinks back to the story of how what’s hidden under her mask had been caused by a princess. She doesn’t like hearing strange noises at night and wondering if a horrific beast is coming to get her. She doesn’t like that Catra likes the scary stories so much, because that means that she has to hear them too.

Catra likes to take the scariest stories back to their team—they all crowd around two bunks after curfew and listen to Catra retell them, and somehow, in the dark with only the rumblings of machines for background noise, the stories sound even scarier. It’s funny sometimes: Kyle always jumps at the smallest noise, which makes Lonnie shove him, and even though she claims she’s not scared, Catra always tenses and leans into Adora like it’s instinct, like she knows that together, they’ll be fine. But it’s mostly scary, and Adora hates the scary stories most when she’s curled up small and still in bed, trying to lie absolutely still and silent, because if she does, the scary monsters and princesses won’t hear her. Maybe they’ll eat Kyle, and she and Catra can run away while the monsters are distracted.

In the distance comes a loud clank followed by a thud, and Adora curls herself even smaller. Maybe if she takes up less space, they won’t see her, and—

“Hey, Adora?”

Adora nearly jumps a foot in the air, fear coursing through her veins even though it’s just Catra. “Yeah?” she whispers back. She blindly sticks out a hand and Catra easily catches it, squeezing her hand tight to ground the both of them.

“Can I—can I come down there?”

“Sure,” Adora reluctantly lets go of Catra’s hand and scoots over, making room for her just as she vaults over and into the newly created spot. She lands a little on Adora’s hand, immediately whispering an apology when it makes Adora make a little noise of pain. In retaliation, Adora nudges her, giggling a little when Catra flops down as if shoved hard. Adora lays down next to her, scooting over until they’re pressed together and wrapped snug under her blanket.

“Why’d you come down? Were you scared?” Adora whispers once they’re settled. Catra makes an offended noise and pushes her.

“No way. I’m not scared of anything , dummy. I could tell you were scared, so I came down to make sure you didn’t cry or something.”

Another clanking noise, louder and closer this time, and if Adora wasn’t so scared, she’d laugh at the way Catra’s hair stands up on end. “Thought you weren’t scared,” she says between giggles.

“I’m not! ” Catra insists. “I was just trying to protect you, dumbass! Next time I’ll let it get you—” as she speaks, someone (Lonnie, probably) shushes them, and Catra grumbles under her breath before laying back down again.

“Next time, I hope it gets her, ” she mumbles, and even though it’s mean, Adora laughs, clapping both hands over her mouth as Lonnie shushes them again.

“You tired?” she whispers when she makes herself comfortable again, searching for Catra’s hand and squeezing when she finds it. Despite the lingering fear, she isn’t really scared anymore, not like before; she’s sure it’s because Catra is here now, warm and safe.

Catra nods—or shakes her head, it’s too dark to tell—and then whispers, “No, but you can sleep if you want. I’ll protect you while you sleep.”

Adora pouts, eyelids suddenly heavy. She wants to say that she can stay up, that she’s not tired, but she knows that Catra will know she’s lying. So she sits up and feels around in the dark for Catra’s cheeks, presses their foreheads together so that Catra knows she’s promising. “Fine, but wake me up when you’re tired, and I’ll protect you too, okay?”

“Okay, Adora, promise I will.”

It doesn’t surprise anyone—not even their instructor—that Catra ends up skipping training. Again.

She’d been curled up in bed when Adora woke up, but by the time she came back from her morning jog, Catra had been gone, the foot of the bed cold. Unusual, but Adora didn’t think anything of it until she gets to training, and Catra isn’t there. She’s a bit worried, but she boxes the feeling away when the simulation starts, resigned to agonize over Catra’s whereabouts after training.

The team does better than usual (Adora is sure to work extra hard to cover for Catra’s absence) and when they are finally dismissed, Adora runs back to the dorm, hoping and half expecting to find Catra lying stretched out in bed, or facing the door with a shit-eating grin and a taunting remark on her lips. But all she finds is an empty room and a still cold bed. No one in their team has seen her all day, and there’s no way she’s going to ask Shadow Weaver, so Adora sighs and spins on her heel, determined to find her friend before dinner.

The Fright Zone isn’t that big of a place, but there are plenty of places small enough for Catra to hide in: vents and empty closets, forgotten hallways and ladders that for some reason, lead to tiny platforms and nothing else. When they’re playing, Catra doesn’t go anywhere that Adora can’t, even if she always rolls her eyes and sighs because those places are always the most fun. But she still reaches for Adora’s hand to hold so that they can find some other place to play in.

But now, she’s alone, and Adora just knows that Catra won’t make it easy to find her. So she skips passed all of the usual places that they play in, heading straight for where she knows Catra is. Whenever Catra’s really upset, she likes to go someplace high, leaving even Adora behind as she somehow leaps and climbs higher and higher—

Adora’s lips automatically pull down into a pout as she reaches the ladder. She’s an okay climber, but she always feels like she’s awful at it whenever she watches Catra. Because Catra doesn’t even look like she’s climbing, she looks like she’s flying. That’s what Adora focuses on as she climbs: Catra, and how free she looks when she’s climbing, and the joy on her lips and in her eyes because this, this is one thing that no one else has, that no one can take away from her. She focuses on how proud Catra always looks whenever Adora clumsily follows her, on the way they sit close together at the top, how they talk about ruling the world someday. She focuses on the quiet rumbling purrs she earns by playing with the soft fur of Catra’s tail, and the way they lean into each other even though it’s not cold, even though Catra hates touching. She focuses on Catra, and that keeps her going, rung after rung after rung.

And when she finally reaches Catra, she’s not huffing and puffing the way she used to, but she’s still tired, collapsing by her friend’s side and grunting out a greeting as she stares up at the sky.

“Wow, Adora. Look at that, you climbed on your own.”

“Wow, Catra. Look at that, you skipped training.” Adora retorts immediately. The words are harsh but there’s a grin tugging at the corners of her lips, and Catra scowls before letting herself fall on top of her, pushing out all the air from her lungs in one easy movement.

“Yeah, well. It’s not like anyone missed me,” she mutters.

I missed you, Adora wants to say, but instead, she reaches out and runs her fingers through Catra’s hair. And then, as Catra relaxes into her, something in Adora’s heart stutters, and without her brain’s permission, her mouth says, “ I missed you.”

“Oh,” Catra sounds genuinely surprised, “well. That doesn’t count, and besides, you just saw me this morning, dumbass.”

“I know, I just—forget it.”

Being best friends for so long means that they know each other, and more than just the easy stuff. Adora knows when to back away and when to prod, Catra knows when Adora is trying her best not to cry when they’re supposed to be asleep and when she’s about to explode in a fit of emotion. They know how to read each other’s bodies, even the most subtle tells, and somewhere along the line, they’ve even learned how to have full conversations with just their eyes.

So Adora knows that despite what she says, Catra is going to prod—and she does. She sits up, twisting around to stare Adora down, and before she can even think about escaping, Catra throws one of her legs over Adora’s, sitting on top of her to keep her in place. “Tell me,” she demands, and Adora frowns.

“I really don’t know, I just...missed you. I like training with you—I like winning with you. It’s always best like that.”

Something in Catra’s face softens, and she gives Adora the smile that is reserved for her (soft, gentle, sweet) before she shakes her head and says, as if the very idea pains her, “I guess I’ll stop skipping then…”

“Why do you? Skip, I mean.”

At that, Catra sighs and lays down, rolling over so she’s curled up against Adora’s side, her head pillowed by Adora’s now outstretched arm and her tail wrapped around Adora’s waist. “I don’t know. It’s always the same thing every day, and I...”

“You?”

Catra heaves a sigh, and Adora obediently goes quiet. She suddenly gets the urge to roll over, to watch her friend even though all she’s doing is looking at the sky. If Catra catches her staring, she’ll never hear the end of it, but somehow, Adora doesn’t really mind. So she takes a breath, and looks over at Catra—only to find her looking back.

There’s an unusually soft grin on her lips, though Catra quickly wipes it away once she sees Adora looking; she elbows Adora in the side but doesn’t pull away as she asks, “What are you looking at?”

“A dumbass,” is Adora’s immediate response, and Catra squeaks in indignation, elbowing Adora again, harder this time. “What are you looking at?”

Catra falls quiet and still, and Adora can tell by the tapping of her nails that she’s trying to decide what to say. “My best friend,” is what she settles on, and for the second time that day, Adora loses all the air in her lungs.

“You dork, ” she tries to say, but it comes out quiet, soft enough that one of Catra’s ears twitches forward to hear.

“Yeah, well.” Catra shrugs, and Adora giggles because she’s definitely flustered, and poorly trying to hide it. She presses her face into the curve of Catra’s neck, breathing her in and trying to move as close as possible. Another reason Catra likes it so much up here is that no one ever comes up here, so it’s almost like their private place, so be weak and shed tears or to touch. Adora loves the way Catra touches her, gentle and hesitant, loves that up here, in secret, Catra’s calloused hands are whisper-soft as they glide over her shoulders and down her arm to grasp at her own hands. She loves that even though she knows how rough and sharp and clawing her hands can be, that when it’s just them, Catra touches her like she’s the best thing in the world.

She hopes that Catra feels the same way.

“Hey, Adora?” Catra’s voice comes out slow and uncertain, like she’s testing out the words as she speaks them. When Adora peeks up at her, she finds her friend still looking up at the sky, brushes away a single tear that threatens to glide down her cheek.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think—do you think we’ll ever get out of here? See the world, do whatever we want?”

“Sure,” Adora frowns, sitting up and taking Catra with her. “Doesn’t matter if we’re cadets, Force Captains, or if we run away—we’ll see the rest of the world outside the Fright Zone. We’re gonna be together, and that’s all that matters, right?”

Catra takes in a deep, shuddering breath before nodding. Another tear slips down her cheek and Adora watches it fall, frowns at the way Catra glares up at the sky—she’s trying to keep from crying, but Adora knows her well enough to know that that’ll just make it worse. So she lays down, stretching out her arm again as she looks back to the sky. “You can cry if you want, no one else is here.”

After a moment, Catra lays back down as well, curling fully into Adora so she can press her silent tears into her shirt.

(They end up missing dinner, “But that’s okay, because we’re together,” Catra reminds Adora as they get ready to go back to their room, “and nothing really bad can happen if we’re together.”

Adora nods in agreement and presses her forehead to Catra’s. “Promise we’ll always stay together?”

“Promise.”)

Adora falls to her knees, She-Ra slipping away from her as she shakes on her hands and knees. Her sword is barely even a foot away from her, but she can’t even reach out for it without her vision blurring and spinning. All the while, the war rages on around her, and a selfish part of her wants to give into her body’s screaming urge to collapse and let the darkness of unconsciousness take her. The princesses are relying on her, she knows, she can’t let them down. Because if she—the strongest, the leader, She-Ra— falls, the Rebellion will fall, and the Horde will win, and Etheria will be destroyed, and it will be all her fault, because she wasn’t strong enough—

“ Hey , Adora!”

Adora’s heart thuds hard at the familiar voice, and she whips around, heart in her throat as her gaze meets Catra’s for the first time in months. She barely has the strength to stand, let alone speak, but she’s sure Catra doesn’t quite care by the broad grin on her lips and the lashing of her tail. Before she can muster the strength to reach for her sword, Catra calls out, “ Wow , looks like even the mighty She-Ra needs help.”

Somehow, between heaving breaths, Adora manages to laugh, ignoring the blood dripping down her cheek and the throbbing pain racing up and down her left arm as she stares Catra down. She’s flanked by people that have the same ears and tail as her; if they weren’t in the middle of a war, Adora would tease Catra about it (“god, now there are more of you”), and as if reading her mind, Catra scowls down at her.

“Princess C’yra!” one of the people behind Catra calls out, and Adora’s mind goes blank, because Catra, a princess? Catra must see the look on her face, because she laughs, pretty and light and joyful despite the battle raging on around them.

“Come on, Adora, keep up,” she drawls, coming closer all the while, “and because I can practically hear you trying to piece everything together: yes, I’m a stupid princess, no, I’m not joining your stupid rebellion, but yes—I’m on your side.”

As Catra reaches her, she holds out a hand, one that Adora takes without even thinking, and once Catra helps pull her up, Adora leans fully into her, pressing her forehead to Catra’s as she shakes with fatigue and gratitude and fear. “Catra, I—”

“Go help with defense,” Catra interrupts her, stern but quiet, “everyone knows that you’re the heaviest hitter, but that doesn’t mean you need to be fighting all by yourself. My warriors will take care of the front lines, you…” Catra pulls away from the embrace, ears flat on her head and lips pulled down as she studies Adora, taking in all of her wounds. After a moment, she pushes away completely. “Go help your princess friends, they need you.”

But what about you, Adora wants to say, you’re my friend too, I don’t want to see you get hurt, I don’t want you to be hurt because of me, I can take it, I’m stronger, this is my destiny— “Technically, you’re my princess friend too,” she starts to say, breathing out a laugh—and wincing as it sets off a searing pain in her ribs—at the look Catra gives her , unimpressed and almost scathing.

“Don’t make me change my mind, Adora. I’ve got better things to do than rescue you, princess.”

And, no. That’s not entirely true. “You’ve got my back.”

That earns her a wry grin and a roll of Catra’s eyes—but she nods too. “And you’ve got mine. Now let me do what I came here to do, princess.”

“And after? What will you do then?”

Catra hesitates, then comes closer again to press their foreheads together again. For a moment, Adora lets herself be selfish, breathes in Catra’s warmth and closeness, lets herself feel weak. “I go back to Half Moon. My people need me, I need…” Catra takes a breath and lets it out, prolonging their embrace for another selfish moment. “I’ll come back.” There’s an unspoken to you in her promise, and Adora latches onto it before reluctantly stepping back.

“I’ll wait for you.” And before the tears that are beginning to well up can begin to fall, Adora reaches down for her sword and turns away, her battlecry on her lips.

(Catra and her people are long gone by the time Adora has finished helping get the injured to the infirmary, but for once, Catra’s disappearance has left her feeling hopeful. She’s coming back, and this time, this time, they’ll be together again.)

It’s later than late when Adora gets back to her room after another long day, and she’s so tired that she sinks into bed without even taking her jacket and shoes off. She’s asleep almost immediately, and when she wakes, it’s still dark, but there is something warm and soft and achingly familiar pressed against her back. Adora rolls over, reaching out hesitantly and tracing the shape of Catra’s face as her heart races in her chest. Eight months, and Adora’s still this far gone for Catra.

“Catra?”

One blue eye opens, then the other gold. Catra yawns and her tail winds around Adora’s waist, an unspoken demand for her to move closer. “Hey, Adora.”

It feels surreal to be sitting next to Catra like this; the expression on her face is cold, but there is a new confidence that is nothing short of regal in her posture and in the way she speaks that leaves Adora breathless and in awe. But somehow, it's still the same Catra: the tip of her tail lashes against Adora's thigh under the table every so often, betraying her annoyance at having to sit quiet and still for so long, and Adora catches it and rubs the silky fur between her fingers, both to calm Catra and to distract herself, just like when they were kids. Adora half expects Catra to glare, or hiss, or snatch her tail away, but all she does is glance sidelong at Adora, lips pulled into a soft, amused grin.

Across from Adora, Glimmer clears her throat, and Adora startles, tearing her gaze away from Catra so it looks like she's at least trying to pay attention. Catra, on the other hand—"What now , Sparkles?"

Even after so many years, Catra's teasing jabs still makes Glimmer throw up her hands and say, "It's Glimmer! Queen Glimmer!"

Before Catra can retort—because Adora just knows she's going to—Adora stands to divert everyone's attention to her. "Y'know—I think that's enough for now! Why don't we take a break to eat and come back later! I'm sure all of us are very hungry, " she says, eyeing Bow until he gasps and stands too.

"You're so right! Let's get some lunch and meet back in an hour, everyone?"

Glimmer stands too, grumbling something under her breath that Adora can't hear (but by the way Catra's ear twitches and the smug grin flirting with her lips, she has, and it probably isn’t anything kind) and after she exits with Bow at her side, the rest of the princesses follow her lead, talking amongst themselves. Catra waits for everyone else to leave the room before she stands, her tail finally uncurling from around Adora's hand as she does so.

"You coming?" she asks, and Adora stands as if compelled, following Catra out and into the hall. There are so many things that she wants to say, but all she can think about is that Catra is by her side again, and that even with the cape, the armored boots, and the cool regality, it’s still the same Catra. It’s still her Catra.

“You’re staring at me,” Catra says without looking at her, and the way she says it is both a question and a demand. “Why?”

“I was just thinking...you look so different, but it’s still the same you. The you that I’ve always known.”

Catra’s ears draw back in embarrassment, and to hide it, she scoffs. “Yeah, well. Finding out you’re the famous lost Magicat princess and subsequently taking over the Horde does a lot to a girl.”

“You mean like finding a magic sword that says you’re a reincarnation of a mythical goddess, and that you’re from a different planet? Gee, wonder how that feels.”

Another scoff, but this time it’s accompanied by a laugh, soft and genuine. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

Relief unclenches the worried knot in Adora’s stomach; this is the most they’ve spoken, the most familiar they’ve been in a long time. They’re on the same side of things now, of course, but Catra has been swamped with so much recently: keeping the New Horde in order and turning it from a vicious military regime to an army that fights for Bright Moon and its allies, learning about the past that was stolen from her and her new duties as a princess, and proving herself over and over as an ally of Bright Moon, the leader of the New Horde, and the ruler of the Magicats. It’s a lot, and they don’t quite have the luxury of free time or true peace yet, so stolen words, quick touches and lingering glances have been the most they’ve shared.

Until now.

“You know,” Adora whispers, cheeks burning, “I really missed you.”

“Yeah, well. I guess I missed you too.” Catra leads them outside, blinking into the bright sun as Adora stands by her side. They don’t hold hands, but the tip of Catra’s tail finds itself wrapped around Adora’s wrist again as they walk through the palace grounds, walking side by side until they reach the edge of the woods.

Catra doesn’t even have to say it; she glances at Adora, wicked playfulness in her eyes, and Adora laughs. “We’re skipping the rest of the meeting, aren’t we?”

“Well, would you rather stay in that stuffy room for hours listening to them talk for ages about nothing? ” Gone is every bit of poise befitting a princess and leader: this is the Catra that Adora knows, petulant and mischievous, cheeky and impulsive. She doesn’t even wait for an answer, that’s how well she knows Adora; she forces Adora to meet her gaze with both hands on Adora’s shoulders. With the boots, she’s got an extra few inches on Adora, which, Adora realizes belatedly, was probably on purpose.

“You have got to learn how to be selfish, Adora. Seriously.” And though the words toe the line between teasing and scathing, Catra is serious when she looks Adora in the eye. “I get that you’re She-Ra, but the world hasn’t needed She-Ra in so long now.”

“I know that, it’s just...I have to be strong, and—”

“And at this rate,” Catra interrupts, “you’re going to run yourself into the ground trying to please everyone. I know you, Adora. You always want to play the hero, and that’s fine, but you get to be selfish too.”

Adora bites her lip and looks away, and Catra sighs and lets go of her. “Forget it, let’s go.”

“I’ll try—” Adora blurts out, “I just...might need some help.”

Something in Catra’s gaze softens, and she nods, reaching out to twine her fingers with Adora, claws retracted, vulnerable. All of her walls are down like this: alone together, just the two of them, in the private safety of the Whispering Woods. And after everything, that’s…

Adora’s heart thuds in her chest, and she squeezes Catra’s hand tight. (Catra squeezes back.)

After so many years of being together and then apart and somehow joined together again, there is no need to fill the silence with words; the quiet is easy and familiar, just like the warmth of their joined hands and the brush of their shoulders as they walk. Neither of them have a destination in mind, and honestly, skipping the meeting aside, Adora likes this.

“You know, I really like this. There’s no pressure, no pretenses, just... us. ”

Catra breathes out a quiet laugh, but she nods in quiet agreement, stopping abruptly and facing Adora. She doesn’t say anything: she just stares at Adora like she’s seeing her for the first time, like she’s committing Adora’s face to memory, and one hand comes up to brush over the faded scars on her cheek, a silent apology, one of many. “Hey, Adora?” she murmurs, so quiet that Adora almost thinks it wasn’t meant to be heard.

“Yeah?”

Catra purses her lips, eyeing Adora again. She reaches up to wrap her arms around Adora’s shoulders and steps in close close close, then presses their foreheads together. When she pulls back, she says again, “Hey, Adora?”

And Adora knows what’s coming, knows that this moment has been building and building for years, knows that she is just as scared as Catra looks, and—“Yeah?”

Catra rolls her eyes, takes a breath, and kisses her.

When Adora wakes up, she immediately realizes that two things are wrong: the sun is high in the sky, and Catra is gone. The Horde hasn’t done many things right, but the one thing that Adora misses is the strict, unwavering schedule; she’s used to waking up early, and even now, after years of defecting, her body still tends to wake her up far too early. Most times, it’s Catra that keeps her in bed; she prefers her mornings to be spent lazing about in their bed—which has, over time, suspiciously migrated to a spot under the huge window, so that the sunlight streams in and warms them until noon.

Today though, what wakes Adora isn’t her own internal clock, or Catra’s purring and absent kneading, but a dream, distorted memories of Catra slipping from her grasp over and over again. It’s almost worse than one of Light Hope’s simulations, because she knows it’s both real and not. And now, Catra is gone, and some stupid, panicked part of her mind wonders if Catra has decided to leave her again, maybe for good.

Her side of the bed is cold, and when Adora goes out in the halls, every guard that she passes says that they haven’t seen her. And actually, that makes sense, because if she were Catra, and she were trying to leave for whatever reason, she wouldn’t leave through the door. Adora forces the panic away and returns back to their room, looking out the window and squinting into the late morning light. It’s still not an easy climb for her after all this time, but for Catra, it’d been laughably easy from the beginning. The question then, is where would she go—and as Adora’s gaze passes over the Whispering Woods, she knows that’s where Catra is. What better place to hide than a forest that is constantly shifting?

After grabbing her shoes, jacket and the knife from under her pillow, Adora climbs out the window, carefully climbing down the wall with the rope Bow left ages ago. Once on the ground, it’s an easy hike to the woods. She realizes, belatedly, that she’s not like Catra, that she doesn’t have a sensitive nose to track scents, that she can’t climb and leap through the trees; she has no way of finding Catra, and aside from that, if the woods don’t want her to find Catra, then she won’t, simple as that.

Thankfully, the trees block out most of the hot summer sun: Adora wanders through the woods for what feels like hours, looking out for any sign of brown or blue and gold. Catra likes to be high up, likes to balance on branches that look like they’ll snap in a heartbeat, so Adora keeps her gaze up, hoping to catch sight of her, or to hear a drawled greeting or a fond jab. But there’s nothing to be seen except for the trees and the sky, and finally—a tiny figure sitting hunched over a boulder. Catra is sitting so still that Adora almost passes her by; she’s not facing Adora, and she gives no indication that she’s heard her approach but for the languid wave of her tail back and forth. “Catra?”

One of Catra’s ears flicks in response but she doesn’t answer, and she still doesn’t move when Adora approaches, so Adora sits down next to her, close enough to touch if she leaned over just a little bit. She doesn’t, and neither does Catra.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Just thinking,” Catra sighs. She glances over, quickly looks away. “How’d you find me?”

That’s easy, at least. “I know you, Catra. I figured you’d come out here since you weren’t in our room.”

“I meant how’d you find me? It’s not exactly a walk in the park here, princess.”

“Oh. I just...walked? I knew I’d find you eventually, even if it took a while.” Adora nudges Catra, grinning. “What, did you doubt me? I’d always find you, dummy.”

Catra scoffs, but she scoots over so that they touch firmly from shoulder to thigh. “You’re stupid,” she mumbles, and Adora shrugs.

“Maybe, but I did mean it. I’ll always find you, no matter how long it takes.” That earns her is a quiet rumble of a purr, and Adora can’t help smiling at the familiar sound. Catra soon falls quiet though, and Adora follows her lead, leaning her head against Catra’s shoulder—it isn’t much, but any bit closer she can get, she’ll take. Adora doesn’t know how long they stay sitting together, but eventually, Catra shrugs her shoulder to get Adora’s attention.

“Hey, Adora?”

“Yeah?” Adora sits up fully, stomach turning over as Catra shifts to face her fully. She looks unusually serious, and for a moment, Adora is sure that she’s going to say something horrible, something awful, that she’s leaving or that she’s sick of being together—

“Do you...like this? Us, like this?”

And, oh. “Sure I do. What’s not to like?”

Catra’s ears flatten as she narrows her eyes, after a moment, she rolls her eyes and reaches out to jab a finger at Adora’s forehead. “Somehow, I always forget how stupid you can be. I mean, do you like us? Sparkles and Bow are attached at the hip and they don’t even do some of the things that we do. They don’t share a bed, they don’t—” Catra’s cheeks go pink as she looks away, “anyway, they’re that close, and they don’t do half of the stuff that we do.”

“Well, yeah, they’re just friends.”

“ Yes, ” Catra says it very slowly and very patiently, like she’s explaining something to a child, “that’s why I’m asking—do you like what we do?”

“...Yes?”

“Oh my god, Adora! Are you kidding around or are you really that dumb?”

Adora crosses her arms and tries her best to glare at Catra, fails. “Just spit it out!”

Instead of doing so, Catra scowls before leaning in to kiss Adora, clumsy and soft and gentle. “Do you get it now? ” she asks petulantly when she pulls back. One of Adora’s hands comes up to touch her lip, the other reaches out to breach the gap between them and tug Catra closer.

“I get it,” she responds, and loses herself in the press of Catra’s pleased grin against hers.

In Adora’s life, very few things have remained constant. Training, bruises, cuts and tasteless ration bars fill her childhood; the smooth grip of her sword, those five words a battlecry, a call to greatness her teenage years, and now—peace. Peace is something that Adora is still trying to get used to. Most days are fine, but other days the guilt and paranoia consume her, and so she falls back on what she knows. Training with a sword that she has not used in battle for years, calling out the words that she has not needed in so long, running through drills over and over and over.

For as long as Adora can remember, the only thing that she has carried with her all her life is Catra. She remembers running through the Fright Zone together, and sneaking out together, and sharing everything— their bed, secrets, food. The fury in Catra’s eyes, the sting of her claws, the longing for what they used to share.

The endless apologies for everything, the nights spent together silently crying, holding hands under the table at breakfast, reminiscing. (Not sparring, never again. The first time they’d tried, Catra had frozen up, and tears sprang to Adora’s eyes almost immediately, her mind and body unconsciously remembering . Without even having to discuss it, they decided that they would never spar again.)

They’re nowhere near perfect, Adora knows, but this, what they have now, is so much more than good enough. Which is why—

“And what are you thinking about so hard?”

Adora jumps at Catra’s voice next to her ear, her cheeks flushing as Catra laughs. “God, Adora, shouldn’t you be used to this by now?”

“Shut up, ” Adora groans, “I was thinking. Anyway, what are you doing back so early? I thought you would be gone for at least a week.”

“Aww, Adora ,” Catra coos, “did you actually miss me?”

“No! Absolutely not, I—pfft. Who’d miss you?”

“You would. And did.” Catra sounds extremely smug, and Adora huffs even as her heart stutters. Even after two years, the simplest things still make her realize and re-realize just why Catra holds her heart. Her laugh, the wicked look in her eye when she wants something, the way her tail reaches out to brush against Adora’s wrist or thigh after they argue. All the subtle ways she shows that she cares, their playful banter, how warm and safe and familiar her body is when they settle down to sleep.

“Fine, maybe I did miss you, just a little.” And before Catra can tease her for that, Adora reaches around and tugs Catra down with her, easily holding her by the waist. “Did you want to rest or…?”

“ God, no. Let’s get out of here.”

And for what is probably the millionth time, Adora realizes that she really is in love with Catra. “Hey,” she says, tightening her hold before Catra can slip away. When Catra stills, Adora cups her cheek with a hand and then leans up just enough to press her lips to her cheek in a soft, chaste kiss. As usual, Catra flushes, her ears tilted slightly forward as she leans into Adora’s touch. They’re still learning how to do the whole gentle affection thing, still learning how to be vulnerable and soft with each other, but Adora thinks they’re finally starting to get the hang of it.

For a long few minutes, they stay like that; Catra curled up in Adora’s lap on the edge of her bed, and it’s nice like this—Adora’s hand keeping Catra in place, Catra’s tail wrapped around Adora’s wrist, just breathing each other in—and when Catra finally pulls away, even the way she rolls her eyes does nothing to mask the tenderness written all over her face.

“Where did you want to go?”

Adora shrugs, letting her hand fall back to Catra’s waist. “I don’t know, I just know how you get, especially after diplomatic missions. And there’s supposed to be a feast tonight to celebrate... something. I figured you’d want to have dinner on the roof.”

“Why, Adora , you want to have dinner alone together?” Adora watches the cheshire grin slowly bloom on Catra’s lips; she sounds unbelievably smug as she says, “That almost sounds like a date. ”

Months and years ago, Adora would have gone pink, would have fumbled for a response, but now she just leans even closer into Catra’s personal space and says, not trying to hide her smugness, “Maybe it is.”

And like she predicted, it’s Catra that gets flustered, her ears perking up and flicking back in surprise. “Touché. I take it you got the food already?”

“You know me best. You go on up, I’ll meet you in a minute.” And if Catra is suspicious, she doesn’t show it aside from the way she squints. But then she rolls her eyes and slips from Adora’s lap, turning back when she reaches the window to give Adora a look that says hurry up.

And then she’s gone.

Adora waits for a few moments to be safe, then rushes over to the bottom dresser and pulls out the ornate box Glimmer had gotten her years ago, and—the ring. It’s still safe inside, and Adora breathes a sigh of relief before slipping it into her pocket and following Catra out the window.

For once, Catra doesn’t tease her about her being slow; she’s looking out at all of Bright Moon, quiet and still. Her ears twitch when she sees Adora, but other than that, she makes no movement, and Adora watches her before sitting next to her and looking out too. Now that the sun is beginning to set, people have started to flock towards the castle for the feast; Adora twists around to look at their own dinner. She’d gone to the kitchens earlier and with Glimmer’s help, brought up a bit of everything that’d been there.

“Do you remember,” Catra starts then, slow and quiet, “years ago, when I said what we’d do after you became Force Captain? I said we’d see the world, and conquer it. And…” she waves a hand out at everything spread before them. The people celebrating, free of the Horde, the warm glow of the sun, the peace. “This is better.”

And Adora had planned to wait, until they finished dinner, until the fireworks started, until everything was perfect, but—”Hey, Catra?”

When Catra looks over, Adora fishes the ring from her pocket. “I was going to wait, but—”

“ Seriously, Adora?”

Adora looks up, startled, and she can’t help the startled huff of laughter that tears from her throat, because Catra is holding a ring too. “You copied me.”

“ Excuse me? I was planning this for months. You just upstaged me—”

“Fine, you can do it how you wanted to. After you let me finish.”

Catra purses her lips in a failed attempt to hide her smile; she reaches out for the ring and puts it on her finger before Adora can even speak. “I like it.” And the tiny bit of worry in Adora’s stomach unclenches; she and Catra both like simple things, and while the ring isn’t gaudy by far, it’s definitely not something Catra would’ve chosen on her own.

“It’s a garnet,” Adora says, “it’s my birthstone—I asked Spinnerella and she said I should do something personal, so...I guess I just wanted you to always carry a little piece of me.”

“Just so you know, I did plan my proposal before you. You know that, right? You copied me. ”

“What, did you do the same thing as me?” Adora holds out her hand and lets Catra slide the ring on her finger. Catra huffs as she does so, but she nods.

“Yeah, you did the same thing as me. I just...when we were kids, we promised to look out for each other, and I want that forever. With you.”

“Forever is pretty long, you know. You promise you’ll stay that long?”

“I promise.”

(And if they both end up crying together after that, their foreheads pressed together in a silent promise, well, no one needs to know.)

#she ra #shera #catradora #my writing #this was supposed to be a five times fic but like it sounds weird to be like #five times catra said hey adora n one time..one time what?? one time adora said hey catra?? idk man #so it is about the forehead touch...it is about the silent promise...they are together n that is what matters

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faefictions · 5 years

Text

The World is Black

Pairing: roommate!Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Prompt: “we can’t go back in time, so stop trying to reverse what you said.” (with a slight alteration to the wording to make it fit better. oops)

Warnings: cussing and angst

Word Count: 4,254

A/N: this is part of @h-osterfield ’s 5k writing Challenge! Also yes, my dumb ass named this after a Good Charlotte song, but it was playing when I was writing and like the lyrics fit. So SNS.

Tears were streaming down her face as she stood outside her apartment that night. Suddenly it didn’t feel as much of a home as it did just hours earlier.

Y/n had spent that Saturday morning with her best friends and roommates, Harrison and Tom. They usually went out to get coffee on Saturday mornings, but Tom was feeling under the weather so she decided to make them all tea at home instead.

Their busy schedules kept them from seeing much of each other on weekdays, even though they all lived in the same apartment. Y/n worked varying shifts, sometimes getting off by 3pm and sometimes working graveyard. Tom and Harrison each had different exhausting filming schedules. The only thing the three had in common, work wise, was their shared day off: Saturday.

This meant that they usually spent all day Saturday catching up. They talked about their work weeks and personal lives, anything that hadn’t been apparent during the few times they would see each other within the confines of their apartment during the week.

This Saturday, y/n was quieter than usual. Both of the boys noticed, but neither of them wanted to say anything. Eventually, she piped up, but they could sense her nerves.

“So I know we usually spend Saturdays together, so please don’t hate me, but I may have maybe made plans, maybe.”

“With who?” Tom teased, knowing her well enough to see that this was the cause of her nerves.

“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered, hoping they would leave it. But the boys were nothing if they weren’t persistent, a characteristic that could both be endearing and infuriating.

“Oh come on, if you’re going to ditch us, you have to at least tell us who’s lucky enough to be stealing you away,” Harrison pestered.

After a few minutes of them insisting, she finally gave in, telling them she was going on a date with a co-worker, Kyle, who she had told them about plenty of times before. Nothing she had said had been very good though, so the mention of his name made both of their faces fall.

“Isn’t that the asshole who tried to touch your ass a couple months ago?”

“And that’s why I didn’t want to tell you guys.”

“Y/n, you can’t be fucking serious. The guys a prick, why would you be going on a date with him?”

“Believe it or not, I’m a big girl. I’m capable of making my own decisions.”

“Apparently not. Give us one good reason why going on a date with him is a good idea,” Tom asked, giving her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and got off of the couch, taking the three tea cups into the kitchen with her to wash.

“I really don’t need to explain myself to you guys. But he’s taking me to an early dinner. So I’ll be leaving around 5. I should be back in time to watch a movie with you guys, though.”

They boys shared an annoyed look with each other. She had endless stories about this guy, each one with the same theme. He didn’t know how to treat women. He had made so many inappropriate comments to y/n and her female co-workers. He had gotten away with every count of sexual harassment. His silver tongue could talk his way out of anything, but it helped that their boss was a 55 year old widow who thought he was just adorable.

Y/n left the room before they could protest. It was only noon, which meant she had 5 hours before Kyle was supposed to pick her up and take her to her favorite restaurant. She didn’t want to avoid her roommates for that long, but she felt like it was her only option. Being around them was just going to result in them harassing her about the date, and she didn’t want to talk about it with them.

She really didn’t want to go on the date anyway, but this was about the hundredth time Kyle had asked her, and each time she had said no he backed off for only about a day before he would ask again. Every time she would tell the boys about it, they would be on her side, calling him a prick or an asshole. But her mother was another story. She was the kind of woman to ask for grandchildren once her children turned 18. When she found out that her daughter was moving in with two boys, she was certainly hopeful there was a marriage hidden somewhere in her future with one of them. And y/n would be lying if she had said that she hadn’t have hoped for the same thing.

She had met Tom at a party in the summer after high school. He was charming, sure, but she wasn’t attracted to him in that way, and he loved that about her right off the bat. Of course they flirted from time to time, but it was always teasing and platonic. But the second he had introduced her to Harrison, she felt her heart explode. His eyes were like nothing she had ever seen and she had the sudden urge to run her hand through his hair.

6 years later, at the age of 23, she still couldn’t admit to anyone that she felt that way about him. She told Harrison and Tom everything, except for the fact that every time Harrison did so much as look at her she thought she would die. 6 years of friendship and the fireworks she felt every time he would hug her hadn’t died out. But the fear of losing both him and Tom was too real. She didn’t want him to be weirded out and not want to be around her, and of course him and Tom had more history than she had with either of them, so Tom would obviously choose him over her. And now that she was living with them, that would have meant either having to move back home or finding a new roommate. Neither option was desirable, so she chose to live with the fact that she was hopelessly in love with one of her best friends.

Which only gave her more reason to go on this date. She had to get over Harrison at some point, and no one else was volunteering to take one for the team and let her date them, so she caved. If it meant it could get her mother off her back and get rid of the guilt of loving Harrison, she was for it, despite her hatred for the boy.

A knock sounded at y/n’s bedroom door an hour later. She was watching something on her laptop, but paused it as she called for the person to enter.

Harrison came in with her favorite mug, filled with a delicious smelling soup.

“Hey, I made lunch, figured you’d want some.”

She nodded excitedly, reaching her hands for the mug. He chuckled and brought it to her, sitting next to her on the bed as she took it.

“We didn’t mean to upset you. You’re not mad are you?”

“Not anymore,” she joked, gesturing to the soup, causing him to chuckle. He had a strange nervous energy to him, something she hadn’t seen in him often.

“We really want you to come sit with us again. We’ll shut up about the date, promise. This is just the only chance we get to see you during the week.”

The thought of him wanting to spend more time with her made her heart swell, so she agreed to go join them again.

“You know, you guys don’t have to baby me. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Harrison frowned as he did his best to hold back every hurtful comment he had about Kyle. He just didn’t understand how she thought that going out with him was a good idea.

When y/n had told him and Tom about Kyle trying to grab her inappropriately, an anger bubbled up inside of him, an anger that resurfaced with every mention of him from there out. Hearing that she was going to be alone a date with him made Harrison extremely nervous. He wanted nothing more than to ask her to just cancel, to just stay in with him and Tom like every other Saturday. But Kyle’s personality wasn’t the only reason he didn’t want her to go. He was hurt that she would choose someone like Kyle over him, although he refused to accept that his jealousy was because of his budding feelings for her.

Just like her, he didn’t want to complicate things. So each time he had the urge to lean in and kiss her, he would instead replace his emotions with a sense of frustration. He had had a few outbursts with both her and Tom because of this. He just couldn’t control the stupid things that came out of his mouth in an anger caused by his frustrated heart. But he couldn’t rid himself of the butterflies he felt when she smiled.

“We just want what’s best for you, love.”

“Who says this isn’t what’s best for me,” she mumbled, hoping he didn’t hear her. But he did, and it stung. Just knowing that she could possibly think Kyle was better than him was a punch to the gut.

He got up and headed towards the door waiting for her to follow. As she approached him, standing in the doorway, he paused. His heart was screaming at him to say something, but his denial of his feelings stopped him from saying what he should.

“Just promise me one thing,” he said instead.

“What?”

“If anything goes down tonight, anything you don’t like, you call me and Tom. And we will take care of it.”

“Ok, dad,” she laughed. He was rarely this protective, but she definitely wasn’t hating it.

“I’m serious,” he chuckled with her, the crinkles under his eyes making her heart flutter.

“Ok, I’ll call you if anything happens. But it won’t.”

They returned to the couch with Tom who immediately began to whine that his common cold was going to be the death of him.

When y/n eventually got up to get ready, she felt bad for leaving the two on the couch, but there was no way she was going to cancel last minute. Her manners were too good.

So she got up and put on her favorite dress, with earrings to match. She curled her hair and put on an amount of makeup that she hoped was acceptable. She called a goodbye to the boys as she went out the door, receiving some less than excited farewells from her roommates.

Harrison immediately got up and got some beers from the fridge after she left. The feeling in his chest seeing her in that dress, the admiration of how beautiful she looked and jealousy that it wasn’t for him, wasn’t going to go away on its own.

Kyle was waiting outside, standing on the sidewalk with a bouquet of flowers, a good sign right off the bat. But those flowers were no indication of how terrible her date was going to go. He played terrible music in the car there, which wasn’t anything she would have complained about later on, but it was just the beginning of her misery. Once they sat down for dinner, Kyle barely paused for breath between boring stories about himself. None of them were cute anecdotes, they were all just opportunities for him to brag about himself. It was made obvious within the first five minutes that he had no intention to get to know her. She assumed that this was how all dates went with him, and although she had worked it up in her head that she needed to get back out there and start dating, she was now sure that Kyle was not the guy to do that with.

In the middle of one of his stories, y/n’s phone went off, lighting up with Tom’s name. Her anxious nature couldn’t let her skip a call from her sick roommate, and it wasn’t like she was exactly invested in the conversation anyway. So she excused herself from the table, telling him it was an important call and that she would be right back.

Once in the open air in front of the restaurant, she answered the call with a “This better be good” but was met with no response. She could just hear some muffled talking, and some bottles clinking. She immediately knew that Tom had just butt-dialed her. The boy could barely use his phone with his fingers, but his pockets made up for it. He made over 10 accidental calls a week, most of them to either her or Harrison, so this was nothing new.

She was about to hang up, but she heard her name come from one of the muffled voices.

“I just can’t believe she’s being so dumb.”

“That’s a bit harsh, Haz.”

“No, it’s not, she’s fucking idiotic. Who goes on a date with someone like that?”

“Harrison!”

“You’ve heard the same stories that I have! The guy is a terrible human being, but here she is, whoring herself out to him.”

The voices kept going, but y/n wasn’t listening anymore. She pressed the end call button as her arm dropped to her side. Tears were threatening to fall, and she didn’t want Kyle to see her like this, so she texted him to let him know that an emergency came up and she had to leave. Of course, he never replied to the text, but she didn’t care how rude leaving halfway through a date was at that point. Harrison was right about one thing, Kyle was a dick, but as far as she was concerned, Harrison was on the same level after those comments.

Their apartment was only 5 blocks away, and y/n was thankful that she had decided to not wear heels on her date. She spent the walk trying to think of how she could deal with the situation at hand. She felt weird telling them that she had eavesdropped in on them after Tom accidentally called her, it felt wrong. But there was no way she could just pretend like she wasn’t hurt by Harrison’s words.

If only she had continued to listen in on their conversation, she would have heard Tom call him out for his hateful words.

“Mate, not cool. Don’t talk about her like that!”

After a few seconds of careful consideration, Harrison mumbled out that he didn’t mean it.

“This is like the seventh time you’ve said something like that. It’s almost like it only happens when she shows interest in another guy. What’s up with that?”

Harrison didn’t reply, just tried to avoid eye contact with his best friend. What could he say? He loved her? He couldn’t even admit it to himself.

“Oh my god, I’m an idiot. How did I not fucking see it before?”

“See what?”

“You love her don’t you?”

“Shut up.”

“No, yeah, that’s why you get all angry every time something like this comes up. I’m a fucking idiot for not connecting that, holy shit…”

“Tom, shut up!” Harrison exploded, a blush creeping up his neck and over his cheeks.

“Haz, don’t deny it. And you better not be an ass when she gets back. You should tell her how you feel! I mean, we both know nothing is coming from a date with a guy like that.”

“You really are an idiot.”

“You pushing your little crush aside isn’t going to help anything. You need to tell her.”

“I can’t, Tom.”

“And why not?”

“Because… I can’t lose her.”

The pain was evident in his voice, making Tom’s heart constrict. He didn’t know how y/n felt, but he knew the kind of person she was, so he knew that even if she didn’t feel the same way, she would never be cruel about it. They would remain best friends, because no matter what, she loved him at least that much.

They continued to go back and forth on the topic until they heard y/n’s keys in the front door.

When she got to the apartment, it was evident that she was upset. Despite her best efforts, a few tears had slipped down her cheeks, and walking home in the cold didn’t really help her mood. When she reached their front door, she took a deep breath and decided to just rush to her room and try to avoid the boys. It wasn’t like she was going to have to talk to them until next Saturday anyway.

She opened the door, ignoring the looks she received from the boys on the couch. She slammed the front door, something she did not mean to do.

“Hey, how did it go?” Tom called from the couch. Harrison sat quietly, hoping her response wouldn’t hurt him too much. But she didn’t respond. They both looked at her to see the small lines of mascara running down her face as she hung her keys up by the door.

Both of the boys called her name as she headed for her room. She prayed that they would leave her be, that they would just shrug it off and go back to their stupid conversations, but the worry grew in both of them. They worried what could have happened on the date with Kyle that could have gotten this kind of reaction out of her. They both got up from the couch, rushing down the hall to her. Harrison got to her first, grabbing her wrist before she could close the door in their face.

“Hey, love, what happened.”

She jerked her hand away from him, growling at him not to touch her. Both of the boys looked at her in shock. She never acted like this towards them. Even when she was upset with other people, she never took it out on them. Their minds were racing as to what could have broken her nice exterior.

“What did he do?” Harrison asked, receiving a scoff from her.

“Believe it or not, he was a perfect gentleman. Even brought me flowers, even though I was just, you know, whoring myself out to him,” she spat, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

Her words rang through Harrison’s head, instantly sending a rush of guilt through him. She went to slam her bedroom door, but Tom stopped it from closing.

“What are you talking about?”

“You butt dialed me, Holland.”

He cursed under his breath, trying to vouch for Harrison immediately, telling her he didn’t mean it, but she didn’t want to hear it. She should have known Tom would be on Harrison’s side.

“Tom, please shut up. I just…. I’m going to go spend the night at Allison’s. I’ll let you know if I’m coming back.”

Her coworker Allison had spent the night with her after countless heartbreaks, so it was only natural for her to go there to avoid the boys. She had no intention of actually not coming back, she had no idea why she said it, but it made both the boys panic.

“Y/n, please don’t be ridiculous,” Tom begged, praying that Harrison would take over any second and try to make his mistake better.

“I really don’t think I’m being ridiculous, Thomas. Your best mate just called me a whore. I think I have every right to be upset.”

“Y/n….” Harrison began.

“No, I don’t want to hear any more from you. I think you’ve said enough.”

“Please, I-I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Harrison, believe it or not, we can’t go back in time, so don’t try to reverse what you said. You said it, you’re gonna deal with the consequences.”

Tears were streaming freely down her face at that point, but her voice never faltered. She grabbed a bag from her closet and began to throw items in it so she could leave. Tom left the room, giving Harrison a stern look on the way out.

“Y/n, please, stop packing.”

“You know, you were so worried about Kyle hurting me tonight. Really made me feel like you cared about me. You really got me fooled there. It’s like poetic justice that you were the jerk to hurt me in the end.”

Her words cut him, but he knew he was deserving. What he said was terrible, and he regretted it. He could be a real idiot at times. But there was no way he was going to give up on her.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Your intentions didn’t matter. Just because you didn’t want me to hear what you were saying doesn’t make it ok. You still fucking hurt me.”

“I didn’t mean it how I said it though.”

He expected her to spit another hurtful line at him, but her silence was somehow more painful.

“I-I’m sorry. But in my defense, you were going out with a complete dick. He didn’t deserve you, and I just don’t fucking understand why you would go out with him.”

He hated himself for defending his insult, but the words were falling from his mouth and he couldn’t stop himself.

“I mean you knew he was a prick, you complain about him all the time, but here you were suddenly defending him. Even after how he’s treated you, it just makes no fucking sense.”

As his temper grew, she stopped packing, just stood staring at the wall. He could see her holding her words back from him, physically straining from the pain of keeping the tidal wave of hurt inside. It took all of her to reserve her words.

“Well why the fuck did you go out with him anyway?”

“Because he asked!” She exploded, finally filling her angry silence.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean… no one else was asking. And I’m not getting any younger. And according to my mother, an asshole is better than nothing. So, I’m sorry that he didn’t meet your standards, but I was doing what I thought was best for my future.”

“You thought you had a future with him?” he scoffed. The question came out as cruel, but that wasn’t his intent. He just couldn’t say anything right. She didn’t make an effort to hide her offense as she began to pack the bag again.

“No, fuck, I didn’t mean it like that,” he reached out and grabbed her arm, hoping she wouldn’t jerk away, “I just meant… well he’s not good enough for you. The guys a dick.”

“So are you,” she whispered, making him chuckle sadly.

“I’m a fucking idiot.”

Her heart was swelling with too many emotions, both positive and negative. Her head was anything but clear and everything felt overwhelming. She sighed and rested her back on the wall previously in front of her. She slid down, resting her forehead on her knees, trying her best to not scream to her hearts content. She just wanted to not feel anything for a minute. She wanted to put all emotions aside and just figure out what she was supposed to do. Harrison had just called her something she found unforgivable, but here she was, feeling the crush just as much as usual.

His heart broke as she dropped down to the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. Her sniffles echoed in his ears, amplifying the guilt he felt. Of course he didn’t mean what he said. He had never viewed her as anything less than perfect, but his jealousy got the best of him. It made him say stupid things on multiple occasions, but this was the worst he had done, the worst he had felt.

He cautiously kneeled down next to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. If she had pulled away from him, he wouldn’t have tried to touch her again, but he wanted to comfort her. She welcomed the touch, but she didn’t look up at him.

“Love, you need to believe that I didn’t mean what I said. I was being a div. I am so sorry. Please, tell me what I can do to make it better.”

She finally looked up at him.

“If you didn’t mean it, why would you say it?”

They looked into each other’s eyes, a tension building between them. This time it wasn’t angry or hostile, just curiosity and nerves.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Harrison, I know you wouldn’t say something like that just because. There was something behind it. I just… I don’t know if I can forgive you for that.”

And he understood. He wanted to beg, but it wasn’t getting him anywhere, so he decided to give it up. The guilt finally consumed him and tears began to stream down his face. He never imagined that he could hurt her to the point of no return. Of course he wanted her. He wanted to tell her that he was just jealous, although that was no excuse. But he couldn’t. So he decided that letting her be angry at him was deserved, and that he was going to accept his consequence.

He watched as she got up and packed a few more things into her bag. Her eyes looked vacant went she turned and glanced at him on her floor, before passing him and closing the front door.

A/N: My sorry ass couldn’t leave it like this, so keep an eye out for part two, coming to a theatre near you

Taglist: @smilexcaptainx @castawayparker @rose-marys-love @chonisberonica @5sos-wdw @chloe-geoghegan1 @spiderlingsweb @johnsambrosemcclaren

#hosterfields5kwc #harrison #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfeild imagine #harrison osterfeild x reader #harrison osterfield angst #harrison osterfield x y/n #angst #haz #haz osterfield #the world is black #can't believe this is the title i went with but whatever #couldn't think of anything better

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salty-star-child · 5 years

Text

Punks Don’t Dance

[hi, yes, here’s another very late Michael Guerin week story. the Pre-Canon/Lost Decade fic is one of the prompts that ran away with me and sent me on a wild goose chase of an adventure while writing and (attempted) editing. enjoy]

read on ao3

Michael remembered very clearly when he first met Alex Manes. He’d just been moved into the new foster family’s home in Roswell and had run off immediately after having finished unpacking his limited possessions. He wanted to find his…siblings? Were the three of them siblings? They must be siblings, he needed them to be his siblings. Why else would they have been put in that cave together? Why else would they be connected like this?

He didn’t know where in Roswell the Evans family lived, which meant that Michael wandered for the most part. He took random turns, looking at houses and trying to see if he felt a pull from their connection. He just knew he’d know the house when he saw it. Which is why he is so confused.

This is most definitely not the Evans’s house.

Not only was it not the Evans’s house, there was still something pulling Michael to it.

Curious and confused (and maybe just a little bit hopeful that this meant that there were more people like him on this strange world), he came around to the front of the house. He peaked around the corner to see a boy around his age wearing some protective gear and trying to balance on a beat-up skateboard. Just as it seemed the boy had achieved balance, he pushed forward and the front wheel caught in a crack in the cement driveway and sent the boy flying forward.

Startled, Michael didn’t even register he’d reached out with his powers to soften the landing at all until he heard a mocking laugh off to the side where Michael couldn’t see.

“I told you! Told you you’d eat shit and break your nose!”

The boy pushed up from the ground, face red and eyes narrowed. But his nose wasn’t broken or anything, so Michael had no idea what the voice was talking about.

“Shut up, Flint! I’m not even hurt so you didn’t tell me shit!” the boy yelled back.

“You’re, like, five, you’re not allowed to swear.”

“I’m not five! I’m eleven and a half and you know that!”

“Well, you cry like you’re five, so I don’t see a difference.”

“I do not! Shut up!”

“Alex Manes!” another voice—louder, deeper, angrier, scarier—yelled from the same direction Flint had been talking from. “You do not tell your older brother to shut up. Ever. Do you understand me?”

Michael watched the boy—Alex—avert his eyes to the ground, head lowered and shoulders starting to shake. He mumbled something but Michael couldn’t hear. Apparently, neither could the others.

“Speak up, soldier! And look at me when I talk to you! Look me in the eye and tell me you understand.”

“I-I underst-stand,” Alex stuttered, voice growing thick and shaking more noticeably. Michael could feel the air around him grow cold.

“I said, look me in the eye,” the older voice growled. Alex’s head raised faster than Michael could blink.

“I-I understand, sir!” Alex called back, rehearsed and militaristic but with more control over himself. The other voices didn’t say anything else but there was a door slamming shut and Alex curled in on himself on the ground, tears spilling over and breathing coming in gasps and body shaking. Michael knew that feeling too well, and he knew this one too.

He wasn’t being pulled to this house. He was being pulled to Alex.

He waited until Alex’s breathing started to even out and he wasn’t shaking as much before letting his presence be known. Michael stepped around the corner and just said the first thing that came to mind.

“That sounded rough.”

Alex turned to look at him, face bright red in patches and hands wiping at his face.

“Yeah, well, dads and brothers just suck, I guess,” he grumbled. He didn’t move to stand, so Michael approached slow enough so the other could tell him to scram if he wanted. “Who’re you?”

“Michael,” he introduced himself as he sat down on the ground across from Alex. They stared at each other unblinking in a not-quite-comfortable silence for a couple of minutes until Alex’s eyes are no longer watery and only slightly red.

“You’ve got nice eyes,” Alex said, voice quiet. Michael tilted his head to the left, eyebrows scrunching and cheeks warming.

“Nice…eyes?”

“Yeah,” Alex shrugged, “you’ve got nice eyes. They’re…pretty. The—The color, I mean.”

“Oh. Thanks…yours are nice too.”

“No, they aren’t. Mine are boring.”

Michael leaned forward into the other boy’s space, knocking their foreheads together. Alex’s eyes widened in surprise, but he otherwise didn’t move as Michael stared.

“Don’t look all that boring to me,” Michael muttered. “Reminds me of the sky at night. And the sky is just what we can see of the universe, and the universe holds everything. So, not boring.”

He leaned back out of the other’s personal space and gave him a small smile. It was while he leaned back that he felt the insistent tugging on his consciousness to get closer, the same pull that had brought him to this house in the first place. Well, it didn’t bring him to the house—it brought him to Alex.

--//--

They’re fifteen when the whispers start. Michael doesn’t pay much attention to them at first. Not until they’re in the boys’ locker room and no one will say anything, but he notices Kyle Valenti is clearly staring at Alex while he whispers something to his friend. Then that friend whispers to the boy next to him, and the boy next to him, and the boy next to him, until Michael’s neighbor has started to turn to tell him too. Michael cuts him off with a sharp look, too irritated to be interested in whatever gossip Valenti is spreading that’s clearly about Alex.

He still feels that strange pull to the other boy; it’s so like the connection he has with Max and Isobel, only just different enough to be distinctly unique from it. There’s a sharp tug on that connection, and Michael glances over at Alex just in time to see him slam the door of his gym locker closed.

Alex turned to the rest, narrowed eyes focused on Valenti, and flipped the bird. Michael startled a laugh which drew Alex’s gaze. Eyes so like the night sky, harsh and confused, softened ever so slightly before hardening again. Michael watched as Alex walked out of the locker room, eyes trained on the door as it closed, and the other boys stopped keeping their words quiet.

“Geez, I can’t believe they let him change in here with us,” Valenti said, loud and disgusted. “This is basically a living wet dream for him or something.”

Michael’s temper flared as the guys around Valenti laughed uncomfortably.

“Sounds like you’re just pissed he didn’t wanna suck your dick, Valenti,” Michael said, voice disinterested with a sharp edge. The laughter quieted to a couple muffled snorts. It was the anger and embarrassment clear on Kyle’s face that satisfied him though.

“That faggot wishes,” Valenti hissed. Michael slammed his own locker door shut and leaned against it with arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “But it looks like Manes has got himself a boyfriend to protect him.”

“Now you’re just sounding jealous,” Michael tsked. “Really not helping your case here, man.”

Michael noted the shaking shoulders of contained laughter amongst Kyle’s cronies and the way Kyle seemed lost for a response. He shook his head with a biting smile and left the locker room. When Coach Newman picked him to be one of the captains for dodgeball, he made sure Alex was his first pick. It earned more whispers among the boys who’d been in the locker room earlier, but Michael didn’t care.

All Michael cared about was the happy surprise on Alex’s face.

--//--

They’re seventeen and ‘promposal’ season had just started.

Michael wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for Isobel complaining about the clichés and terrible puns, or for the fact that Alex had started sulking more than usual. In the two years between the initial locker incident, Alex had cut his hair and darkened his wardrobe, evolving from skater to emo punk. Sulking had become a typical setting for the boy to be found in. No one would really notice if it was happening more than usual.

No one except Michael, anyway. He was particularly attuned to Alex’s moods and mannerisms. He was a curious being by nature, and the strange connection he had with the human boy was the one riddle he had yet to crack; as such, he’d spent quite enough time observing the other to tell when he was off.

It became rather obvious at lunch that day. Kyle had rounded up his football buddies at lunch to help him perform an off-key musical number to some cheesy pop song to ask Liz Ortecho to prom. And, since they were at lunch and Liz was one Alex’s best friends, Alex had been trapped at the table right alongside Liz and Maria. By this point, Alex’s being gay was an open secret amongst the student population, and, while Alex didn’t like to admit it, the boy enjoyed going to school dances and hanging out with friends. Michael remembered the way he would smile and laugh at middle school dances while Maria and Liz dragged him to the center of the gymnasium to actually dance.

Now, though, it was likely that Alex believed he wouldn’t be asked to prom—at least, not by someone he’d want to go with as a date. The unfortunate consequence of being the only semi-out gay kid in a small-town high school.

Isobel scoffed in the seat next to him.

“Could this be anymore embarrassing? Please tell me neither of you are planning to ever do something like…that,” she said, eyeing a forlorn looking Max more so than Michael. Max sighed and shook his head, pushing around the food on his tray and clearly upset about Liz going to prom with Kyle.

Michael, however, avoided eye contact and weighed his options.

“Actually, I, uh,” Michael cleared his throat and lowered his voice, “I was wondering if you two could help me ask Alex Manes to prom?”

His siblings’ eyes grew wide and jaws dropped in their shock. Isobel recovered faster than Max, their brother still gaping like a fish and struggling to string words together.

“You want to ask…Alex Manes…to prom? As in, like, a date?” Isobel asked. Michael nodded his confirmation and bit his lower lip. He’d already come to the realization that he was bisexual, but he’d never said it aloud before and he wasn’t sure he could get the words out without shouting them.

“Whoa,” Max finally wheezed out. “You’re…?”

“Uh, sort of?” Michael shrugged, not quite ready to shout the words, not yet, but maybe he could write it down or whisper them or make them understand through their connection to each other.

“What do you mean by sort of?”

“Just means that I’m not, you know…straight? But I’m not, like, gay either. Just somewhere in between them.”

Max still looked confused and like he wanted to ask more questions, but Isobel got that look on her face that made it clear they were communicating telepathically, and he’d closed his mouth and nodded instead.

“Obviously we’ll be talking about this later,” she said firmly. “We’ll talk about it after school, while we help you figure out how you want to ask him.”

Isobel smiled wide and Michael pulled her into the tightest hug he could while sat at cafeteria lunch tables. Across from them, Max gave his own unsure-but-trying-to-be-supportive smile and Michael supposed that was all he could really ask for. He could help his brother understand after school.

--//--

The benefit of living in his truck, he supposed, would be that he could park it in the high school parking lot for the night and no one really cared. Which meant that he was always there before any of the other students and being there before any of the other students—specifically, Alex—was crucial to the plan he’d put together with Isobel’s help.

Michael stood anxiously, fingers tapping against his arm. He was leaned up against the locker across from Alex’s, watching people slow and stare and whisper at Michael’s handiwork. But none of them were the boy he was waiting for. Their opinions didn’t matter. The only opinion that mattered was—

There he was, flanked by Liz Ortecho and Maria DeLuca. Hair spiked, diamond stud earrings and silver septum piercing glinting, dark eyes expertly outlined with black eyeliner, even a silver chain attached to tight ripped black jeans—he was a vision of punk sexiness, in Michael’s completely biased opinion. The students in their path seemed to part, either because of Maria’s flailing arms as she recanted some story or because of the decorations on Alex’s locker. Michael’s heart was in his throat by the time the trio finally stalled at the locker to read: I know you’re gay / so I wanted to say hey / and bi the way / would you be my prom date.

“Is—Is this some kind of joke?” Alex’s voice shook as he spoke, hesitant and pre-emptively angry. Liz’s hand gripped his elbow, and Michael’s blood ran cold. This…had started to go sideways already.

Michael pushed off the wall and cleared his throat.

“Not a joke,” he said, hand rubbing the back of his neck. Alex whipped around, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. Liz and Maria exchanged looks that weren’t entirely surprised and more than amused. “So?”

Alex’s eyes darted from Michael, to his friends, to the small crowd around them whispering and some even taking pictures. Eventually his eyes came back to Michael’s, his never having left the other’s face. Michael can see a maelstrom of emotions in those eyes and he feels their connection spark and burn in a way it never had before.

“You…want to go to prom…with me?”

“Correction: I really want to go to prom with you.”

One corner of Alex’s lips twitched upwards, though his expression was still doubtful.

“Like, a real date?”

“Exactly like a real date,” Michael said clearly and concisely.

He couldn’t fault Alex for wanting complete clarity, not when homophobic jerks like Kyle Valenti and his football cronies were around and making his high school life hell. That’s not even mentioning the rumors Michael has heard about the patriarch of the Manes family. According to Isobel, who heard from her mother, word on the housewife scene shone Jesse Manes in a fairly abusive and manipulative light. Not that Michael was surprised.

Alex searched his face, looking for any hint of deceit, but, when he didn’t find any, he smiled. Alex Manes smiled in the middle of a Roswell High School hallway—and it was because of Michael.

Liz and Maria giggled beside Alex, pulling them both out of their staring contest. Maria nudged him.

“Come on, Manes, don’t leave the boy in suspense,” Maria teased. Alex rolled his eyes.

“I’d like that,” Alex said.

The rest of that day, Michael was followed by whispers and strange looks and the occasional slur thrown his way. He couldn’t bring himself to care. Not even when Valenti tried to shove him into the lockers between classes and Isobel had smacked him so hard across the face that there was a bright red handprint on his cheek.

--//--

They met up at the dance. Alex didn’t have a car of his own and refused to ask to borrow his father’s car for the night. He’d also turned down Michael’s offer to pick him up, telling him he’d rather spare Michael the torture of having to meet his dad.

He, Max, and Isobel are in the middle of posing for pictures together, so he misses Alex’s arrival. But it also means that the photographer captures the exact moment Alex taps him on the shoulder and Michael sees his date for the first time. His sister heaved a sigh and grabbed Max by the elbow, dragging him into the decorated gymnasium. Once at the door, she threw a wink over her shoulder at them.

“Hey,” Michael said. “You look amazing.”

“Oh, he’d better,” a voice behind Alex huffed. Looking over the other’s shoulder, he spotted Maria DeLuca with a fond but exasperated smile. “He spent literal hours trying to look perfect.”

“You sayin’ he doesn’t just wake up this handsome every day?” Michael teased, face flushed, and chest warmed with pleasure that Alex wanted to impress. Sure, it was prom, but he’s found that there’s a difference between getting dressed up and putting an effort into trying to look good. Maria snorted and gave Alex a pointed look with meaning behind it that he hoped meant something good.

Maria walked past them, saying she was off to steal Liz for a dance. As she passed Michael, she placed a hand to the back of his shoulder and pushed him towards Alex. He stumbled into his date, whose hands darted out to grip his waist to steady him.

Oh. They were close…a lot closer than Michael had realized until they were suddenly nose-to-nose. They just stand there and stare. He even forgot other people were around. Sound didn’t reach his ears while he stared, entranced by the way Alex’s eyes echoed his own. The illusion is ruined when someone—one of Valenti’s friends, no doubt—shoulder-checked Alex and caused their foreheads to smack together painfully.

Alex scowled and turned to focus on the asshole who’d shoved him. Michael, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and grabbed his date’s hand, pulling gently towards the gymnasium doors.

“Ignore him,” Michael murmured. “The best revenge’ll be having a great time tonight.”

Alex squeezed his hand, looking him directly in the eye as he twined their fingers together. Michael squeezed back, just as tight. It had them both smiling, sour instance forgotten.

The gymnasium is dimmed, lit only by colored lights, and a DJ is set up on the far end of the gym. A handful of tables are set up near the punch and various cookies and fruit for anyone wanting off their feet. Michael is, admittedly, underwhelmed after the way Isobel had talked it up the past two weeks. Even so, he’s no less excited to be there with Alex on his arm.

So What by Pink is just ending, flowing right into Burnin’ Up by the Jonas Brothers, as they weaved through the people to get to where Alex had spotted Maria and Liz. Alex groaned as one of the Jonas Brothers crooned and Michael couldn’t help but laugh. Because of course his emo punk date would be staunchly against the pop songs destined to play instead of an alt rock playlist (maybe Michael would make a request, just for him; he’ll have to remember to ask what his favorite song is).

They hang out with Maria and Liz for a while, chatting about whatever—inside jokes, Maria and Liz cross-examining Michael, wondering when the Cha-Cha Slide will inevitably come on. When it does inevitably make an appearance, Kyle appears and grabs Liz, who grabs Maria, who grabs Alex, who’s still holding Michael’s hand. The entourage merged with the rest of the student body on the dance floor, going through the dance moves as they’re called. Michael tripped up a little during the actual cha-cha part, but Isobel somehow ends up next to him now that they’ve shifted direction and Alex is behind him and helped keep him upright.

After they’ve been cha-cha’d out, Isobel took him and Max off the dance floor and over to the punch bowl. As Iz pulled him past Alex, he gestured to the punch and tried to ask if he wanted some. The gym was loud though and Michael didn’t think he heard him. Alex’s head is tilted to the side like a puppy’s, confused and a little concerned. His sightline is promptly blocked by a cluster of giggling friends filling in the gaps on the dance floor.

“Having a good time?” Isobel asked coyly as she ladled herself a glass of punch.

“I was actually, but then my sister dragged me away from my date,” Michael said. “Any advice for dealing with nosy siblings?”

“Yes, don’t be psychically linked to them.”

“That’s too bad, we kinda hatched that way.”

“Guys,” Max admonished while looking around the crowded gymnasium. The punch table was empty except for them, and no one is paying them any real attention.

In fact, the large cluster of people closest to them cheered as the song changed to The Pussycat Dolls’ song When I Grow Up.

“Alright, well, I’m gonna get back to my date now, if you don’t mind,” Michael said. Isobel shifted, rare uncertainty clearly displayed on her face. He smiled. “You guys can hang out with us too you know. I mean, we’re hanging with Maria and Liz anyway.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer. He turned and tried to make his way back to where Alex was, knowing his siblings were trailing behind him. The scene they arrived to was tense, Valenti staring down Alex with a smirk and Maria between the two with her arms crossed. Liz is stood behind Alex, frozen with eyes wide and jaw slack.

“We got a problem?” He asked tersely, glancing between Valenti and Alex. Valenti scowled at him.

“Always to the rescue, Guerin. A real knight in rusted armor.”

“Clever. Hope you didn’t hurt yourself, thinking that one up,” Michael rolled his eyes and held a hand out to Alex. “Wanna ditch the douchebag and dance?”

Alex answered by grabbing his hand. He grinned and started to lead them anywhere Valenti wasn’t. They hadn’t gone far enough by the time Valenti pulled himself together because they still caught the slur he said next.

“I’d say go suck a dick, but you faggots would actually enjoy it,” Valenti sneered. Alex yanked them to a stop, turned with a fist clenched, but before a fist could be thrown, Liz’s hand made contact.

The sound of skin smacking skin was sharp but eaten by the pounding music and laughing teenagers moving to its beat. Only the people in the immediate vicinity had heard, turning to stare. It was as if time slowed around them, the music fading to leave only the silence between the shocked group.

Liz’s eyes watered, hand still raised in the air, and her bottom lip trembled. Instead of tears falling from her eyes, a storm of Spanish swears fell from her lips. Keeping up with it was as difficult as standing still directly in front of a tornado.

“Liz, what are you saying,” Valenti asked, still stunned.

“I’m saying, I’m breaking up with you, you asshole!”

Michael looked to Alex, who looked back at him, wide eyes meeting as they lost all sense of composure. They both devolved into barely contained laughter as Liz swiped at her eyes and turned to a dumbfounded Max who seemed only able to communicate in different pitched grunts. She’d grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor. Michael was convinced his brother might spontaneously combust when she directed his hands to her waist as a slower song came over the speakers.

A tug on his own hand reminded him that his watching brother’s flailing wasn’t the only thing to be doing. He let Alex bring him to a spot near Liz and Max before hesitating.

“Do you—”

“Should I—”

They huffed a nervous laugh at having talked over each other. Michael placed one hand on Alex’s waist, pleased at the stutter in his breathing and filling him with confidence. Alex’s hands went to his shoulders then slowly slid around his neck, one hand giving a teasing pull to his curls.

“I have to ask,” Alex whispered, “why did you ask me to prom?”

“It’s senior prom; you deserve to get asked by someone who actually likes you. And I, uh,” Michael licked his lips and forced himself to maintain eye contact, to let Alex see the honesty. “I’ve never liked anyone as much as I like you.”

He’s never seen Alex smile so wide before. Even in junior high, that beautiful smile had been contained, never quite taking over to brighten his entire face the way it did now. It was a sight he was sure was now engraved into his soul. He doesn’t think he’s seen anything quite so beautiful before in his life—on par with the single piece of glass that clearly didn’t come from this world. They even share the same pull that first brought him to where the piece had been.

Alex Manes had his own gravitational field and he felt lucky to have been caught in it.

They continue to sway, even as the song changes to something faster, preferring to stay wrapped up in each other and the small bubble of happiness stood in. When the dance began to wrap up, the DJ announcing the final song, he walked out of the gym with Alex and his friends. They trailed behind the girls as they walked to Maria’s car.

Maria unlocked her car to let Liz into the passenger seat and turned to the boys.

“I can give you guys a minute, but then we really gotta head out if you want to get home before the Master Sergeant’s curfew,” she said, glancing between them with a sly smile. Alex rolled his eyes but nodded.

“Thanks Maria,” he told her.

She winked and got in the car. The car stuttered loudly as it struggled to life, eventually turning over just as Michael started to doubt it would. Alex looked so fond, rough edges softened by amusement, and handsome features highlighted by moonlight. Oh man, he really wanted to kiss him.

His eyes flick to Alex’s mouth as the boy’s tongue wets chapped lips. He can feel the heavy gaze focused on his face, and he knows that Alex knows what he’s thinking.

“Can I—?”

Alex only nodded, already leaning toward him when he surged forward. Michael has kissed people before, but it had never felt like it this before. It was intoxicating and made him lightheaded. If he hadn’t been sure about what the connection between them meant, this kiss wiped any uncertainty away. They’d been connected since they met, and this had to be why; it felt right in a way nothing ever had before.

They pull apart slowly while keeping their foreheads together. Alex’s eyes are still closed, giddy smile pulling at his cheeks.

“Best. Dance. Ever,” he said against Michael’s lips.

A wolf-whistle from the car causes them to jolt apart. Liz and Maria sit in the car quite obviously watching them. Reluctantly, they back away from each other.

“I’ll see you later?” Michael asked, hopeful and cheeky, as Alex opened the car door.

“Count on it,” he answered. He got in the car with a wave, and Michael could still hear the girls giggling and teasing while Alex told them to shut up.

He isn’t sure how long he stood outside, watching the direction they left in, but Max found him without any trouble when he and Isobel are ready to leave. When he falls asleep that night, all he can think about is the dance, the kiss, Alex. His last conscious thought echoed Alex’s own words:

Best. Dance. Ever.

#mgweek19 #mgweek #malex #malex fic #michael guerin #alex manes #canon divergent au #I just wanted them to be prom dates #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #rnm #starchild writes #michael x alex

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lemonadegarden · 6 years

Note

Can we have a little batcat where selina is with the family and the fam seems to like her for their own reasons plz? Also happy bday!!!♡

Hey Anon, I figured that if I wrote a story about Selina and all the Batkids it would become incredibly long, so you can always check out a fic I wrote a while back called We, So Much Older which is precisely that! I focused on one batkid, though, who has, imo the most interesting dynamic with Selina. Enjoy!

Damian woke up in the dead of the night. He was breathing hard. A nightmare.

This happened, sometimes.

No matter. He would simply go to Father’s room and sleep there. He got off the bed, stepping over a snoring Titus, and padded out of the room, and into the vast hallways of Wayne Manor.

Usually when Damian had nightmares, Father took him to the library, or downstairs to the cave. Sometimes when Father was tired, they’d just lie in his bed and Father would tell him stories of Batman in the old days in a quiet voice, one arm around Damian’s shoulders.

Damian secretly liked those times the best.

He cracked open the door to Father’s room.

And then stopped, when he saw two people sleeping in Father’s bed.

Oh, right. He had forgotten that Kyle slept here, now.

He hesitated for a moment, hovering at the doorway. The room was dark, and both of them were asleep. Usually he’d just crawl into bed and wake Father up, but now– he paused, thinking.

In the end, he decided to go back to his own bed.

He didn’t sleep the whole night. Not because he was a baby, and the nightmare had scared him too much or any such nonsense like that. It was just– it was strange. He felt this odd sick feeling in his gut.

Earlier, Father would have put an arm around him and told him stories and given him those stupid hugs that Damian hated. And now he was too busy to do that with Damian. And he’d probably do it with Kyle instead. And then Kyle would eventually have a baby and Father would do all of those things with the other baby. A child that Father actually wanted.

Damian frowned. It wasn’t as though he needed stories and hugs. He was much too old for that sort of nonsense, anyway. He stared at Titus sleeping.

The sick feeling in his gut was getting worse.

Father got married on a Wednesday. It was in the manor, and then after that, there was a reception in the ballroom. Damian ate his prawn starters while Superman gave a speech. Only, Superman was in a suit and glasses, and smiling too wide to look particularly heroic. After it was done, everyone clapped. Damian ate more prawn starters.

“God, look at how cute they look,” Brown was saying to Cass, drinking champagne even though Father had definitely told her not to. Brown never listened to Father.

He turned to look at the main table. Father and Kyle were sitting right at the middle, laughing and talking. They were holding hands.

Even as he watched, Father bent his head and kissed Kyle. He had never seen him do that with his mother.

He felt that sick feeling in his stomach again. Probably too many prawns. He got up quickly, going to the bathroom.

He didn’t throw up though. He just stood there, in front of the toilet. And then he started to cry.

It was very odd. He didn’t know why he was crying. It wasn’t as though he was feeling upset about Father getting married. It wasn’t that at all.

It wasn’t that he cared about being replaced by some other son, some perfect child who never got angry and never got into any fights and didn’t take in any strays, and never ruined the hedges with his Katana. Some child who was wanted and loved, and not just dumped on Father’s lap because his mother didn’t want him anymore.

He put down the lid of the toilet seat and sat on it and cried harder. The sick feeling was all over his body now. It was in his chest. In his very core.The air in the room was suffocating.

He pulled off the stupid suit jacket that Alfred had made him wear, and he accidentally ripped the lining of one of the sleeves. Great. Just great.

Someone knocked on the door, and he wiped at his eyes quickly, standing back up.

“What is it?” He said, in his most normal sounding voice.

“Can I come in?” A voice said.

Damian scowled. “No.”

The door opened anyway. Damian sniffled, trying to look aloof.

It was Kyle. She was in her wedding dress still, with her gloves and veil and all.

“Oh, shit,” She said, when she saw Damian’s face.

Damian wiped at his eyes again. “What is it, Kyle?” he snapped.

Kyle bit her lip. “I saw that your seat was empty.” She said.

“Well, go away,” Damian said, pointedly. “You’re invading my privacy.”

Kyle ignored him. Instead, she leaned against the wall. “I want you to know something, Damian,” She said.

“I know, I know. You’re not going to replace my mother, and nothing’s going to ever change, and I don’t have to call you Mom, and if you have a child we’ll get along like two peas in a pod. Spare me the speech.”

“It’s not that,” Kyle said. She was still leaning against the bathroom wall. She was pulling her gloves off, one by one. “I don’t know if things will be okay between us. And I know that I don’t like your mother, and she probably doesn’t like me. And I really don’t like dogs.”

Damian glared at her. “What’s your point.”

“The point is, I know that I love Bruce. And that you do too. And the point is that I care about him enough that I want to try and make things work with his children. Even the ones that don’t particularly like me. Let me see that sleeve.”

“What?” Damian said.

“The sleeve. The one that’s torn,” Selina said, pointing to his suit jacket.

Confused, Damian gave it to her.

Wordlessly, Selina stuffed one of her gloves into the lining, so that it still looked black.

“From a distance, no one’s going to notice,” Selina said. “There. Now run along, and go finish eating your dinner.”

Damian glared, even as he took the jacket back from her and put it on. “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mother.”

“No,” Selina said, amused, “I guess I’m not. Alright. I have a plan.”

Five minutes later, and they were in the kitchens, being jostled and pushed around by the wait staff.

“Are you quite sure no one’s going to be looking for us?” Damian shouted, over the noise of the dinner rush.

“It’s a wedding,” Selina said, “Everyone’s too drunk and happy to notice.”

“What about Father?”

Selina shrugged. “Oh, I give him about three minutes before he finds us. Better make it quick.”

Damian looked around warily. “What if someone notices?”

Selina smiled. “What are they going to do? Yell at the bride?”

Damian shrugged, and went for the wedding cake. It was supposed to be wheeled out later, but Selina had reasoned that if they ate around it, and not the actual insides of the cake, no one would notice. It was a fancy cake, with several tiers. It came almost up to Damian’s height. No one was going to notice a few missing fondue flowers.

He bit into an edible sunflower.

“This is… pretty good,” Damian said, surprised.

Selina looked smug. “It’s called Vanilla Rose. I picked it.”

“Rose is not a flavour,” Damian said, eating a fondue flower petal.

Selina ate a stick of chocolate that was supposed to be a part of a tree in a garden, on tier three. “That’s exactly what your Father said.”

Damian beamed. He ate another flower.

“What,” Father said from behind them, “are the two of you doing.”

Selina ate the rest of her chocolate stick. She was holding it between her fingers, like a cigarette holder. She smiled, slow and catlike. “I estimated three minutes. You’re late, darling.”

A month after that, he had another nightmare.

He woke up, rubbing at his eyes. Got out of bed, stepped over Titus. Stepped into the vast hallways of Wayne manor.

He went to his Father and Selina’s room, and crawled into bed, between the two of them.

“I had a bad dream,” He mumbled, and Selina lifted the covers so he could get in under them.

Father shifted a little, gathering Damian up in his arms. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep.

Damian shook his head. “I want a story,” he said.

“From Bruce? He has the most boring stories,” Selina said. She sounded half-asleep too. “They’re all about how truth and justice prevails in the end, and how he puts Kiteman away, or something dumb like that.”

Damian giggled a little, and Selina smiled. Father sighed.

“Fine,” he said, “you tell the story. I’m going back to sleep.”

“Fine,” Selina said tartly. For all their arguing, Damian noticed that they were holding hands over him. He snuggled into his little nook between them a little deeper.

“Damian, I’m going to tell you about the time I went to Paris with the lead singer of the Clash, and stole a Maserati by the banks of the river Seine.” Selina said.

Father snorted.

Selina narrowed her eyes. “I thought you were going back to sleep, Bat.”

“The lead singer of the Clash has been dead for sixteen years, Selina.”

“Maybe this happened sixteen years ago, Bruce. You never know.”

“When you were nineteen? Sure.”

“Go back to sleep, Bruce.”

“Oh no, Selina. Now you’ve drawn me in. What can I say, I’m simply riveted.”

Damian grinned. Father telling him stories while they were both half asleep had been nice, but this– this bickering and cuddling was kind of nice too.

He settled into his Father’s and Selina’s arms, and waited for the inevitable, far-fetched story.

#selina kyle #bruce wayne #damian wayne #batcat #batfamily #prompts #my writing

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wavemaker9 · 6 years

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Something else I remembered that’s still very good in AUs like family au is when people meet austin and are like okay this fucking entitled asshole is here, cool. But then meet his parents and are like wait hold on??? ????? what’s the catch?????????? Until realizing no june and oliver are actually pretty chill and friendly? Weird! But i also like how austin is with them being something that throws people off, too. Like not only is it strange that oliver and june don’t act so distant and annoyed and cold like austin does, but when they visit, austin doesn’t act so much like that either. He’s not super cheerful and friendly all of a sudden, but it’s clear he’s a bit more warm and relaxed than he normally is. You can catch a slight smile on his lips more, even if other times he’s shooting his dad unamused frowns because i’ve immediately fallen in love with the idea of oliver trying his hand at dad jokes sometimes to try and get a laugh out of austin and them only working like 1% of hte time and the rest of the time austin is just like internally ugh about it like yeah haha super funny dad T_T. There’s also that 1% though! Austin seems like he doesn’t have a sense of humor the rest of the time but sometimes his dad gets him to crack a laugh, or starts some inside joke they’ve had since austin was 10 and austin rolls his eyes but he still finishes the joke with a smh-type chuckle and he’s still gentle and doesn’t mention about how tired the joke has gotten over the years. His parents try to take care with touching him out of the blue because they know he’s not comfortable about touches, but it’s clear he’s way more comfortable with a hug from them or sitting on a couch so their arms are touching than he is with other people. I touched on that with the swap superpower/family au talk, how they may have had fights and austin may sometimes tire of how his parents are, but at the end of the day, he loves them so much, and he respects them and cares about them, more than any other person he knows. And that’s gotta be such a weird thing for anyone seeing it the first time, especially upon realizing oh that’s not him faking it like how he’ll usually fake being polite???? He just genuinely is comfortable around them.

Also, GTA au, Austin’s parents visiting one time and them having no clue he’s doing criminal shit so him having to be very secretive and very careful about their visit. Very good bonus to that is at some point while austin and kyle are at austin’s house talking to austin’s parents, ivan coming over to see kyle and austin trying very hard to get rid of ivan until the parents notice and question who it is before “Oh /you’re/ Ivan! Austin, don’t be rude; come in, please, we’re so glad we get the chance to meet you!” Because I think kyle somewhat keeps in touch with them, since they were like secondary parents who were nicer and cared about him and he super values that. Austin probably calls his parents once every week or two, it’s a scheduled thing, he’d do it much less often if it didn’t placate them on his living so far away and make it so that they are okay with only visiting rarely. Kyle calls them probably around as frequently but not as standardly; just calls them every couple weeks or so to catch up when something important happens instead of just ‘oh this is the time to do it’. let them know that he and austin are still doing good, yes that wasn’t just austin lying so they wouldn’t worry, no they’re really doing good! He def calls them more than he calls his own parents, 100%. So he’d have probably told them when he started dating someone more seriously, vaguely says they met at work and moves on to how fucking great this guy Ivan is, he really likes him! So them actually being aware ivan exists and means something to kyle and very excited to see who he is and -judge if he’s a good choice for kyle- get to know him. And i’d imagine ivan is super polite upon kyle introducing them as his aunt and uncle, “/basically/ honorary mum and dad”. once he figures out they don’t know about the crime thing, pretty respectful of that, too, though i do like ivan also playing the game of how much can i vaguely allude to their son being a criminal to freak austin out without actually revealing it and making kyle upset at my being rude and possibly outing him as a criminal too. Ivan please, austin’s never asked anything of you except that you just completely leave him and his cousin alone; be reasonable here.

Also i think this being another thing where it makes it obvious that even if he’s very distant on surface level from family, it’s still one of the few points he gets stubborn on, because even if it’s a 3 or 4 on the scale of importance to him, his scale usually only goes up to 5 anyway compared to everyone else being 1-10. Again, if you watch him with his parents, it’s clear he’s a little tired of them but he still loves them very much and appreciates them genuinely in a way he doesn’t with most people. He does care about them, it’s just muted compared to others, especially compared to kyle. I think it took them a little while to get that too and for a while during his teen years when he first started getting like this, they just kind of assumed okay so maybe our son hates us??? I’m not sure why since we’re trying to be super nice to him but our nephew expresses more love for us than our own son so like. Maybe he jsut doesn’t like us anymore, oh no. and that was also partially because austin was most exhausted with his parents during his teen years when he was trying to pull away and they were pulling him closer in an attempt to keep from losing him, but eventually enough time around him + finally talking it out a couple times helped them see like no, he still loves them the most, it’s just his most is not as high or visible as would be expected. Anyway, back to point, up until now the only thing that could get austin to really make any attempt at a stand against ivan was kyle. And even then, it’s not austin threatening ivan to keep kyle safe, he’s not a fool. He probably tries to talk to ivan once, but it’s not a threat thing, just hey. At this point he gets he can’t break them up. He couldn’t tell kyle what to do if he tried, and he frequently does, and if he can’t get kyle to do something he doesn’t want to, of course he couldn’t get ivan to. But he wants to make sure ivan knows that like, sure, austin can’t come kick his ass if kyle dies thanks to ivan, but austin won’t just let it slide if ivan gets kyle killed and he can find other ways to make it less worth it to ivan than if he’d just kept kyle alive. Also i like ivan, a little amused because thank god /you’re/ trying to intimidate /me/ to keep /my/ boyfriend alive, asking austin flat out if he’s threatening him, but austin just dismissing it with a simple, “of course not” as kyle comes back into the room. And that being mirrored after the meeting with his parents (i keep wanting to call them oliver and june here but they’re not named that in this au because oliver’s already jaws breakers crew ugh) and ivan. Ivan and kyle planning to leave and austin excusing himself from the room as well, saying he’ll see the two out, be right back mum and dad. Makes an additional excuse for kyle to go ahead to the car, maybe insisting he just had something related to an upcoming job to discuss with ivan, which kyle doesn’t know for sure isn’t true but ivan does because he’s not doing any jobs with anyone in oliver’s crew right now. So once everyone’s out of earshot, austin actually thanking ivan for playing nice and keeping the secret with his parents. He could have done without the occasional ‘oops, almost let the cat out of the bag’ jokes, but ultimately he appreciates it. /that being said though/, he wants to make it crystal clear his parents are off limits. And when he says that, it’s with a firmness he didn’t even have when talking about kyle. Because kyle’s a wreck, but he makes his own decisions to live in this life that puts him at risk and honestly, there’s just as much of a chance he gets himself killed as ivan gets him killed, probably more so. But his parents are outside of this world, they did not agree to be put in danger by it and he won’t have them put at risk just because kyle can’t keep his mouth shut for five seconds or because ivan has the worst timing in the world. Basically like. If this makes any sense, austin would avenge kyle, but defend his parents, y’know? And again, austin isn’t normally threatening in appearance, but he steps close to ivan as if he somehow has as much intimidation power as the other blond. And he makes it clear this isn’t about not letting things slide or whatever. He’d be upset if kyle died, sure. He’d be frustrated, he’d even be mad to a point. But if either of his parents were hurt, he wouldn’t /just/ be upset or frustrated or mad. He’d be /furious/. He doesn’t let himself get /truly furious/ very often and there’s a reason for that, one that he’d really rather not have to come up between them, so he wants to ask ivan very nicely to leave things at this. They had a nice meeting, ivan got to talk to kyle’s family, got to even impress them. austin knows his parents and they weren’t lying when they said it was a pleasure to meet him as ivan started to leave. But that’s it. He doesn’t go near them or even look at them again, and once they leave the city, he forgets they even exist. And again, ivan tilts his head with a wide grin, asking to confirm if austin’s trying to threaten him here? And austin, making the most direct eye contact he’s probably ever made with ivan, says of course not. But this time, he follows that up to instead insist he’s /promising/ ivan. And admitting he gets how this goes, he’s sure this means nothing to ivan. That ivan is probably inwardly laughing at austin right, so austin hopes ivan will at least listen to the fact that kyle would be angry if either his aunt or uncle got hurt while visiting, too, since kyle keeps trying to reassure austin that ivan wouldn’t do anything to make kyle upset. But he just… he feels it’s only right that he make it clear that upsetting kyle really isn’t the thing to worry about this time around. That’s all. Thanks ivan again for being pleasant enough as kyle pulls the car up, inwardly a little relieved so that kyle being there makes it less likely for ivan to try pushing back so much on austin after that.

God the worst fucking part is like, yeah, again, ivan probably takes this threat with a grain of salt, very amused if not offended after he was already /so polite/, how rude can you /be/, austin? But also we’ve touched with toni and mads that they both became interesting to ivan when he saw first hand that edge in them. Mads had a bad day and got violent, and suddenly she’s fun despite her not wanting to be to him. Toni accidentally shows ivan he’s way into knife and blood play underneath that mask of his and ivan wants to crack it so he can see what else toni’s hiding under there. Again, I think ivan wouldn’t be that impressed with austin’s threat, he knows whatever happens, he can break austin in two when it comes down to it, but there’d probably have to be something intriguing of austin telling him ‘i don’t let myself get exceptionally mad for a reason’ because oh??? Hey austin, what’s that reason??? Hey austin tell me what hte reason is. I assume it’s you think you’re more dangerous/violent past a point you’re comfortable with but how far past that point are we talking here??? Hey, hey austin~?

Like he probably still won’t hurt the two i’d suspect? Austin’s not wrong that kyle’d also be upset if they were hurt, Ivan could tell during the convo how much kyle cares about them and there were a number of stories of either of the two looking out for kyle in a way his own parents never did which is nice. + i imagine ivan leaving that convo really liking the boys’ family as people and like they’re not exceptionally special to him but they were nice and friendly and he probably would have left them alone on his own even if austin hadn’t said anything, he likes fucking with austin but he’s not as just randomly dangerous as austin seems to think he is, he’d probably want a reason beyond ‘it’ll fuck with austin’ before just killing a couple innocent people that mean something to kyle. And ivan still can’t totally touch austin because kyle will be mad if ivan hurts or kills austin and again, ivan doesn’t want kyle to be mad. He’s willing to let doug keep living to keep kyle from getting too upset, so obvi austin’s pretty much off limits unless it becomes way more worth it in the end. But him trying to figure out okay what could i get at that would poke at austin enough to really set him off without crossing a line that sets /kyle/ off. Which prolly just puts him into testing grounds and man ivan is good at stress testing people. Austin elects himself as the new toy so ivan can figure out how legit his warning of making him mad is, whoops!

On a brighter note tho, speaking of family visiting, blake visiting during breaks in school and meeting ivan. at first iffy but eventually warming up to ivan well enough. Ivan probably at least somewhat amused by the time he spends with them, too; didn’t realize so much sass could fit into such a short person but they pull it off and it’s spectacular. Ivan telling blake stories of times he fucked with austin and blake loving it and giving approval of ivan at that point. Wants to keep you alive and keep austin on his toes? I like him! Also, ivan starting to lie about the crime stuff to blake when tehy first meet and kyle stepping in oh no no no they know i’m a crime guy and ivan like oh good, hi i’m a crime guy as well, nice to meet you.

#ignore this #the thief kid #the suit kid #amusing muse musings #crossovers! unlimited crossovers!#crossovers gta edition

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wrestling-fangirl93 · 6 years

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Welcome To The Undisputed Era ~ Part 2

Tagging: @thebutterflygirl16 @jerseygirl1290

Mentions of Abuse, Alcohol, Self harm, Kyle being a dick

To say i didn’t sleep well would be an understatement. i kept waking up cold all night. like no matter how hard i tried to warm myself up, it just wouldn’t work. Adam must have noticed, because he woke me up and made me lay in the bed with him. Don’t get me wrong, as attractive as a shirtless Adam is, i was still terrified to be in such close proximity to him. but strangely when he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest, everything felt right. i wasn’t afraid.

“good morning sleeping beauty” he says as my eyes start to open

“good morning” i say quietly

“you okay?” he asks

“yeah, i just didn’t sleep well” i say

“we still have a few hours if you want to go back to sleep” he says

“no its okay” i say trying to sit up

“can i ask you something?” he asks

“yeah” i say

“why are you so shy around us?” he asks

“i’m always shy around new people” i say

“but why do you almost seem afraid?” he asks

“i guess because I've never had the greatest men in my life. i grew up with an alcoholic father who was abusive, and a brother who turned out to be the same way. even dating wise it’s never been good. my last boyfriend a few years ago was extremely abusive. to the point where i almost took my own life” i say. i could feel the tears start rolling down my cheeks.

Adam wraps me in the tightest hug imaginable. “none of us will ever hurt you” he says

“please don’t say anything to the others” i say

“i won’t” he says

There was a loud knock on the door, which made me jump. Adam gets up to answer it. within seconds the guys are all standing in our room.

“good morning” Kyle says a little too happily for my liking

“it’s too early” i say

“i agree with her” Adam says

“well too bad, get up, we’re going to get food” Kyle says

“i’m not even hungry” i say laying back down

“suit yourself, you coming Adam?” Kyle asks

“yeah give me a few minutes to get ready” Adam says.

Thankfully the guys walked out, leaving Adam and I alone. “you sure you don’t want to eat?” he asks

“yeah, i can’t eat when i first wake up. i usually have to wait a while” i say

he looks at me worriedly

“i promise i’ll eat later” i say.

“i just don’t want you to starve yourself” he says

“i won’t i promise” i say

he reluctantly agrees to get dressed and ready. i decide to pack and get ready to leave, knowing once the guys returned from breakfast that we would be leaving to head to the arena. we had a mid afternoon show before a 6 hour drive to the next city.

After Adam left the room, i decided now was my opportunity to get ready. i took a quick shower, and put on a pair of jeans, and my hoodie. i slip on my shoes before sitting in bed. somehow i ended up falling back asleep because i woke up to Adam shaking me awake.

“y/n wake up, we’re leaving” he says

i slowly get out of bed and grab my bags. wheeling them out to the car. Adam being the gentlemen he is puts my bags in the back for me while i slide into the middle seat next to Bobby. once the trunk closes, Adam takes his seat next to me.

Kyle starts driving us to the arena.

“alright y/n tonight your job is easy. Keep Nikki Cross out of our match with Sanity” Roddy says

“but be careful, that girl is crazy” Adam warns

“i’m guessing someone knows first hand” i say teasingly

“just distract her somehow” Kyle says

“any ideas?” i ask

“i don’t know pull out something shiny for all i care. just do your job” Roddy says rudely

i look down at my feet, and don’t say another word. i knew it was a mistake the moment i entered the locker room with them last night. Adam is the only one who seems to like me. but he could be lying for all i know. Adam could sense that i was starting to get upset, he grabbed my hand and lightly squeezed it letting me know he was there.

It was a long drive to the arena. in reality only about 15 minutes, but it felt like so much longer. Once we arrived, i walked with the guys to our locker room, and waited as they got ready for the night.

“you alright” Adam asks

i shake my head

“wanna go to catering?” he asks

“sure” i say quietly

we walked out of the room, and down the hall to where catering was set up. Adam and I sat at a table in the back

“don’t listen to him. Roddy is a dick sometimes” Adam says

“i noticed” i say

“they just aren’t used to you yet. give them some time” he says

“i know they probably never will like me. so it’s okay i’m used to it” i say

“that’s not true, it just takes Roddy and Kyle longer to come around to new people” he says

“what about you?” i ask

“what do you mean?” he asks

“why were you so nice to me like instantly?” i ask

“well, i’m not a bad guy, i try to make friends with everyone. and when you see a beautiful girl that two of your friends are picking on, you kinda want to show them that not everyone is a complete dick” he says

“you’re the first guys who has ever been legitimately nice to me” i say

“and i’m honored to have that title. its not something i take lightly” he says

for the first time in a while i’m genuinely happy. there’s just something about Adam that makes me feel safe.

“you going to eat anything?” he asks

i shake my head

“you need to eat love” he says

“i probably won’t get hungry for a few hours” i say

“you need to eat something before going out, even if its just an apple or something” he says

“you aren’t going to give up are you?” i ask

“nope” he says

“fine” i say getting up and grabbing a bottle of water and an apple before rejoining him at the table. i slowly eat. i hate forcing myself to eat when i’m not hungry. but i knew he was right. not eating before i went out would be a bad idea

“happy now” i say as i finish the last little bit of food i had

“yep” he says

“i hate to say it but you were right. i shouldn’t go out without eating” i say

he smiles. “don’t you know i’m always right?” he says

“i wouldn’t go that far” i say which makes him laugh

“there you two are” Bobby says walking over to us

“hey Bobby” Adam says

“Kyle and Roddy said your match is in 20 minutes and for you to get ready” Bobby says looking at me

“oh great” i say

“don’t worry i’ll punch Roddy if he says something else smart ass” Bobby says

“I've beaten them before and i’ll do it again” Adam says

we walk back to the locker room where they are sitting waiting for me

“about fucking time you show up” Roddy says

“watch it” Bobby warns

“hurry up and get dressed” Kyle says looking pissed off

“you realize all i have to do is put on my shirt right” i say

“i don’t fucking care, get ready” Kyle says

Adam grabs him and shoves him against the wall

“what the fuck is your problem” Adam says

“that little slut is my problem” Kyle says

“ever since she showed up yesterday, our whole team dynamic has changed” Roddy says

“you call her a slut again i will punch you in the throat so hard you won’t be able to talk for a fucking week” Adam says

Bobby attempts to pull Adam off of Kyle, but with him being injured it was harder for him to do.

“alright we’ve got 5 minutes lets go” Roddy says which makes Adam release Kyle

i walk slowly behind them. waiting for us to make our entrance. not wanting to get cornered by them alone. afraid of what they might do. our music hits and they walk out as cocky and confident as ever. i have to act the same cocky and confident. something I've never been.

They were right about one thing though, Nikki Cross is crazy she and I traded punches on the outside of the ring for a while, before Eric pulled her off of me. i saw that as my opportunity to tackle him and beat the hell out of her once again until referees were attempting to separate us. This distraction led to Kyle being able to roll up Eric and get the victory.

“damn she got you good” Adam says looking at my busted lip

“I've learned to take a beating over the years” i say

“what do you mean” Bobby asks

i look worried, not knowing Bobby was in close enough proxiemity to hear what i said. i sigh before beginning to tell him the same story i told Adam this morning.

“i don’t know how someone could do something like that to you” he says hugging me tightly

“i’m just used to it, so it really doesn’t phase me as much anymore” i say

“you shouldn’t be though” Bobby says

“i agree” Adam says

“you don’t have to worry anymore, we will protect you” Bobby says

“please don’t tell anyone” i say to Bobby

“i won’t, i promise” he says

“hey good job kid” Roddy says smacking my back which makes me wince

“hey easy” Bobby says

“sorry” Roddy says

“come on lets get you checked out by the medical staff” Adam says

thankfully it wasn’t anything serious, and i didn’t need stitches. i don’t know what i would have done had i needed stitches. i’m terrified of needles. we walked back to the locker room where Kyle and Roddy were already dressed and ready to go

“we’re gonna head out soon” Bobby says

“give me 5 minutes and i’ll be ready” i say taking my clothes into the bathroom. when i walk out of the bathroom Adam was waiting for me, the others had already gone to the car

“why are you wearing a hoodie when its 80 degrees outside?” Adam asks

“because i’ll be cold in the car” i say

he looks at me worriedly “you don’t self harm do you?” he asks

i slowly nod my head showing him my stomach and wrists.

“please stop” he says wrapping me in a tight hug

“i’ll try” i say quietly

“you ready?” he asks

“yeah” i say throwing my clothes in my suitcase and zipping it up. Adam grabs our bags and wheels them to the car. i once again climb into the middle seat next to Bobby.

“aren’t you hot, its 90 degrees in the car” Bobby asks

“a little, but once the air gets going i’ll freeze” i say hoping he buys it. thankfully he does

Adam slides into the seat next to me, and Roddy starts the 6 hour drive to the next city.

About half way through the drive, all the guys start complaining they’re hungry. so we decide to stop for dinner

“what do you guys want?” Kyle asks

“i don’t care” i say

“well i didn’t ask you” Kyle says

“and i don’t care” i say firing back

we decide on going to Cracker Barrel after heavy persuasion from Adam. Thankfully i end up sitting next to Adam and Bobby and as far away from Kyle as possible.

“what are you getting?” Adam asks

“i’m not sure, i’m not super hungry” i say

“how can you not be hungry? you haven’t eaten today” Bobby asks

“i had an apple earlier before going out with them” i say defensively

“oh wow an apple” Kyle says sarcastically

“some of the medications i’m on keep me from eating a lot” i say

“what kind of medications are you on?” Adam asks

“anxiety, depression, and there’s another one that i don’t want to talk about” i say

“oh cry me a river” Kyle says

“Kyle don’t be a dick” Adam warns

“why are you on so many different medications for depression and anxiety? you’re so young” Roddy asks

“its not something i feel comfortable talking about” i say

Adam and Bobby knew the reasoning. but i was afraid to open up to Roddy.

i end up ordering a burger and fries, basically to shut them up. knowing i’d only eat maybe half of it. of course they all order 10 course meals, and end up eating their food before i was halfway done with mine.

“dang you eat slow” Adam says

“i told you i’m not hungry” i say

“she’s just doing it for attention” Kyle says

“dude will you back off” Bobby says

“drop the tough guy act” Roddy says

i finish eating and let the guys eat what i didn’t finish

“finally, i want to get to the hotel” Kyle says

“i mean we could let you walk the rest of the way” Adam says

“yeah, i’m fine with driving” Roddy says

“guys be nice” i say

“why, he isn’t nice to you, so why should we not just leave his ass” Bobby says

“dude if i weren’t nice to the people who were mean to me i’d literally be a bigger dick than him” i say

“that’s impossible” Roddy says

“trust me, i could be the meanest person ever, but I've chose to be nice to those who have hurt me” i say

“you’re a much better person that i could ever be” Roddy says as we get up and start walking out to the car.

“whose driving?” Kyle asks

“i will” Roddy says

“you wanna switch seats” Adam asks

“no i’m okay” i say

“you sure?” he asks

“yeah, i don’t mind the middle, i’m small enough to fit” i say

“i mean you are a whole 5 feet tall and a hundred pounds soaking wet” he teases

“i am not, i’m 5′1 thank you very much and 130 pounds” i say teasing him

“oh wow a whole inch” he says

“sorry i’m short i can’t help that” i say

“i’m just teasing” he says

“oh i know, short people rule. i’m the greatest at hide and seek” i say which makes them laugh

“are you 5″ Kyle asks

“nope i’m 12 remember?” i say which makes them laugh harder

“how old are you actually?” Roddy asks

“how old do i look? and don’t say 12 or i will smack you” i say

“like 23?” Roddy says

“22″ Bobby says

“24″ Adam says

“damn, i’m older than you guys think, i’m 25″ i say

“still not old by any means though” Bobby says

“i know” i say

“i don’t believe you’re 25″ Kyle says

“July 6, 1992. so i’m almost 26″ i say

“dude my birthday is July 5″ Adam says

“i still don’t believe you” Kyle says

“maybe you guys were right. we should have left his ass” i say

“told you” Adam says

the rest of the ride was pretty quiet, Adam decided to room with me again and i was thankful, as long as i’m with him or Bobby i’m okay. i’m still not exactly trusting of Roddy yet. and Kyle is a dick. This time out room had 2 beds, but i really wanted to cuddle with Adam again. it was the only time today i felt safe.

“which bed do you want?” he asks

“um can we share a bed again? i felt safe with you last night” i say shyly

“of course, i was hoping you'd say that” he says

Adam gets goes into the bathroom while i quickly change into sweatpants, once he comes out i go into brush my teeth and wash my face.

I never knew how safe you could feel being in someone’s arms. Adam made me feel special, loved, he made sure i was okay and comfortable. I've also never fallen asleep faster than i did tonight laying in his arms. it was simply perfect

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matt-n-keith · 7 years

Text

A Spark Is All We Need

Fandom: VLD. Pairing: Katt / Rebel Fire. Rating: G

Alternate Universe: Magic.

[READ ON AO3]

"Pidge, I need your help."

Pidge froze for a moment, and then let out an aggravated, deep sigh.

"What trouble have you gotten into this time?" She rubbed her eyes and then turned to look at her brother, who smiled sheepishly at her and lifted up a small black kitten. She frowned. "That's a cat."

Matt nodded, but the way in which he pressed his lips together alerted her that, in fact, there was more to the picture than what it appeared at first glance. She narrowed her eyes and then groaned.

"Please, please tell me that it's just a stray cat you decided you want to adopt."

Matt held the kitten with one hand and with the other scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly.

Pidge sighed and took off her glasses, then put her hands together as if in prayer, in front of her mouth, and regarded Matt with a piercing stare.

"What." She took a deep breath and took on the kitten's overall stressed demeanor. "What did you do?"

Matt shifted his weight from foot to foot and carefully tried to pet the small ball of fluff, but the cat was obviously not up to that, if its hissing and batting away with tiny little claws was anything to go by.

"I might have, ah, been trying to cast a new spell and accidentally turned someone into a cat."

Pidge closed her eyes and let her face fall into her hands. Why, why did she always have to deal with this kind of stuff?

"What the fuck, Matt. You know that transfiguration is not something I'm very adept at. Heck, if it doesn't have to do with either computers or plants, I'm not good at magic, full stop. And that's a kitten. I don't see wires anywhere, and it doesn't look too leafy to me, does it?"

"He."

Pidge stared. "What?"

"He. Um. The cat is a boy."

Pidge felt like pulling at her hair. "Okay, he. That's perfect. Do you know who this person is, at least? Maybe he'll have some magical relative who knows what to... of course you don't. Of course," she lamented as she took in Matt's contrite expression.

"Ah, sorry," he said, and then hissed when the kitten successfully scratched his hand in a way that let him escape and take refuge beneath the couch. "I panicked, okay? I wasn't expecting anyone to be there! And suddenly... 'poof'." Matt made a broad gesture with his hands, and then quickly healed the one the kitten had scratched. "I really should stick to healing magic."

“You should.” Pidge sighed and rubbed her face. She bit her lip, considering, and absently drummed a rhythm on her knee with her fingers.

Meanwhile, Matt got on his hands and knees and peered beneath the couch, trying to entice the boy-turned-cat to come out. There was a hiss that clearly stated that the cat didn’t particularly want to.

“C’mon, kitty, kitty, kitty. C’mon, come ‘ere. I’ll give you something nice. Uh. Fish? Do we have fish? Or… milk?”

“Don’t you dare give him milk. It’ll upset his stomach,” Pidge scolded automatically. She sighed again, uncrossed her legs, and then stood up before making her way towards her brother. “Does he know he’s human?” she asked as she crouched beside him, peering into the darkness. The cat’s black fur hid him nicely—she couldn’t see him at all.

“Uh?” Matt yelped and snapped his hand back. The fingertips were bloody. He pouted, glared at the perpetrator in the shadows, and then put the fingers to his lips. When he took them away, they were healed. “What?”

“I asked if he remembers he’s human. I know that if I were the one who was suddenly turned into a cat by a stranger, I’d be pissed. And if I still remembered being human while said stranger treats me like a real cat, I’d be more than pissed. And humiliated.”

Matt paled. “Oh, no. Pidge, I think I might’ve fucked up.”

Pidge fought off the need to pinch the bridge of her nose, and instead turned to the angry—and probably very afraid—stranger-turned-cat. “Hey, dude. I’m sorry about my brother. He can be an idiot sometimes,” she said, ignoring Matt’s wounded look. The hissing stopped. Encouraged, she continued, “but he’s quite resourceful, too. I’m sure that if you come out we can help you go back to normal. I promise we won’t treat you like a cat anymore.”

They had to wait a couple of minutes after that, and Pidge could practically feel her brother vibrating with tension at her side. Then, slowly, a small paw tentatively took a step out of the darkness, and there followed the whole dark body of the boy-turned-cat. His eyes were wary and very, very human even though the pupil was slitted. Pidge smiled at him, but didn’t try to touch him. Matt’s hand twitched, but he resisted, too.

After a moment of quiet tension, the boy-turned-cat seemed to deem them trustworthy enough because his body language relaxed. Not completely, but enough.

“Hi. I’m Katie Holt, but everyone calls me Pidge. And this idiot here is my brother, Matt. I’m sorry we don’t know your name, but—”

The boy-turned-cat meowed. Pidge stopped and frowned. “Are you trying to tell me something?” A long, drawn-out meow. “I’ll take that as a yes. So, what is it? Um. We don’t know your name?” A hiss. “No? We do?” Another hiss. “I do?” A long meow.

“Since when do you speak cat, Pidge?”

“So I do know you?” A hiss. Pidge frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Maybe you know of him?” Matt offered. A long meow. “You know someone that knows him, too!” A long meow. It almost sounded approving. Matt’s eyes widened. “Wait, do I know of you, too?” Instead of a hiss or a meow, the cat-boy did a weirdly cute huffing noise. “What’s that?” Matt asked, completely bewildered.

“Maybe he isn’t sure.” Pidge shrugged. “Okay, but for sure we know that one of my friends must know him, so let’s go with that—wait. Where did you say you were practicing?”

“I didn’t, actually. But, uh. It was at the College’s library.”

“So you go to the Galaxy Garrison?” A long meow. “Well, that makes it easier. Do you know Ethan?” A hiss. “Kyle? No? Hunk? Lance?” A long meow. “Lance?” Another long meow, accompanied by what seemed to be an unconscious pat with his paw. Pidge got excited with him, until she remembered that Lance had gone back to his family’s for the break. “Uh, sorry, buddy. Lance’s not here.” The ears drooped and Pidge’s heart melted a little. That was adorable. “Do you know Hunk? Shiro?” The drooped ears snapped to attention and Pidge found herself subjected to the most intense stare she’d ever been on the end-tail of.

“You know Shiro?” Matt asked in surprise. The cat-boy turned to look at him and meowed loudly. “That’s great! I can totally take you… or… call him here, yeah, I can do that, too, don’t glare at me, please.” Matt laughed awkwardly. “Shiro’s very good at magic, and I’m sure he can undo this without a problem. Especially since, you know, he knows you.”

The cat-boy took two steps forward and nuzzled Matt’s shin before retreating again, and meowing. Matt laughed, half-startled, half-delighted.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll call him now. By the way, I’m really sorry I caused you all this trouble. Once you can speak again, please tell me what I can do to compensate you.” He stood and left the room, probably in search of his smartphone.

Pidge shook her head and smiled at the cat-boy in amusement. “Try not to be too hard on him, he’s harmless, really.”

The cat-boy huffed, and Pidge would bet he was trying to laugh.

“So, let me get this straight.”

“You’re not straight, Shiro, so that’s a moot point.”

“... You just turned someone into a cat, and this someone knows me, and so you need me to go to your house to turn them back to normal?”

“Uh, yeah. Pretty much.”

There was a crackle on the other side of the line, and then Shiro sighed. “Be there in fifteen. Just—No, nothing. Fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks, man.”

The line went dead, and Matt let his arm drop. He went back to Pidge’s room to share the news, and found the poor guy he’d turned into a cat perched on Pidge’s shoulder while she typed away on her computer. He looked strangely fascinated.

Matt blinked and, before they could notice him, quickly snapped up a picture. They were too cute not to. He put his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and then cleared his throat. Little sister and boy-cat turned to him at once.

“I talked to him, he told me he’d be here in fifteen.” He grinned and clapped his hands once. Pidge beamed at the boy-cat and carefully lifted him from her shoulder to put him back on the floor.

“That’s great! You’ll be back to normal in no time!”

The boy-can let out a pleased meow and his whiskers twitched. Matt had to clench his fists tightly to avoid giving into temptation and picking him up again. He didn’t want to commit the same mistake he’d made before.

“Okay! What about we show you around or something until he comes?”

“You do that,” Pidge said. “I really need to finish this today, so I can’t be distracted anymore. I’ll let Shiro in.”

“‘Kay. Thanks, Pidge.” He turned to the boy-cat and hesitated. “Uh, do you want me to carry you, or would you rather follow me?”

Big gray-blue eyes studied him for a moment before the boy-cat jumped and, using tiny claws and incredible dexterity, climbed up Matt’s clothes until he was perched on his shoulder. Matt chuckled. “Right. That settles it, then.”

It was fifteen minutes on the dot later when the bell rang.

“Shiro’s here!” Pidge hollered from down the stairs, and Matt rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I could say,” he muttered, grinning to the boy-cat that had left his shoulder to wander on his own. Matt thought he looked vaguely amused. “Let’s go get you back to normal.”

Before he could start for the stairs, however, Shiro appeared. His hair was in disarray and he had dark circles under his eyes, not to mention the shadow of stubble on his chin. Matt flinched.

“Bad week?” he asked sympathetically. He knew that look very well. It screamed: ‘MIDTERMS ARE HERE. I'M IN HELL.’

There was a worried meow, and the cat-boy rushed towards Shiro’s legs.

Shiro shrugged, smiling lopsidedly with a hint of ruefulness, but his attention was immediately on the little ball of fluff. “You weren’t kidding,” he said, a mix of exasperation and tired amusement. He crouched down and studied the boy-cat closely. “Hello, buddy. Who are you?”

The boy-cat meowed again and glared at Shiro. And then Shiro’s eyes grew wide, his mouth hung open. He blinked.

“Oh my God. Keith? Is that you?” The long, almost happy meow that followed couldn’t be mistaken for anything but clear confirmation. Shiro’s mouth twitched, and suddenly he was falling on his ass, laughing in a way Matt hadn’t seen in a good while. “Sorry, sorry,” he said after a moment, though he hadn't stopped chuckling. The boy-cat hissed angrily at him and then scurried off to sit behind Matt’s legs. “C’mon, don’t be like that. Get here so I can change you back.”

After a bit of negotiation and a promise not to laugh again, Shiro finally got to reverse the transfiguration.

And then Matt died. And ascended into heaven. Were those angels, singing?

“—to Matt, Earth to Matt. Do you copy?” Shiro was saying, but Matt wasn’t listening to him. He was too busy staring at the really—like, really—pretty boy that was now standing on two black jeans-covered legs in the middle of Matt's bedroom.

He was just a bit shorter than Matt and had dark, shaggy hair up in a ponytail and beautiful eyes. Matt felt that he could cry.

“You… you are so beautiful! So beautiful! I’m so sorry I turned you into a cat, but I’m really not sorry at the same time because maybe I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t and that would've been a tragedy, but I did and now I feel blessed by all the gods—would you go out on a date with me?”

Shiro was laughing again, but Matt ignored him. He was focused on Keith and his rather bewildered expression.

“Matt, you’re embarrassing,” Pidge said dryly from her spot on the doorway. And since when was she there? “Feel free to ignore the fool,” she added, this time talking to Keith. Who was now blushing. Well, would you look at that?

“No, actually,” Keith said, and he had a pleasant voice, and really, Matt was blessed. He looked sideways at Matt and then smiled, a bit shy. “I think a date would be… uh, what did you call it? A good compensation. For being turned into a cat, and all.”

Matt grinned. The angels chorused.

#voltron #katt #meith #rebel fire #matt x keith #my writing #fanfic #I'M STILL WORKING ON YOUR PROMPTS I SWEAR #but I had this started #and I finally got the inspiration to finish it #and it's silly and cliché and ridiculous #but I had a lot of fun #hope you enjoy! :D #pidge #shiro

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redditnosleep · 7 years

Text

The Terrifying Note Addressed To My Six-year-old Son

by Creeping_dread

This story has a free audiobook available!

There’s a certain terror in knowing your life is on a totally different path than the one you intended and there isn’t a damn thing you can do to stop it. Four days ago I could have looked out over the next 2-3, even 5 years, and said I pretty much know how things are gonna go. Well, not anymore. Even though every day is a living nightmare, it’s not knowing what tomorrow may bring that scares me so much.

Carrie and I started speaking to each other yesterday afternoon sometime. Just short conversations here and there, but it’s a start. My heart still feels broken, but my worry for her well-being is starting to trump my own feelings. She’s barely eating, for one. And if it’s possible to lose significant weight in the span of a couple days, she has. She was already thin enough to begin with. When she looks at me, I can almost read her thoughts through those puffy eyes: I wish I could take it all back. But I can’t.

There’s something else I’ve been considering: it’s entirely possible that Carrie was drugged. Cheating on me with a stranger in his car doesn’t seem like the Carrie I know. It just feels wrong. If the person who left those fucked up notes/took Andrew and the person who took Carrie down to the river are the same person, the idea that she was roofied is that much more plausible.

And I can’t help thinking Carrie saved her own life when she blocked “Ray’s” number from her phone. She may not have survived a second meeting.

Still, that stupid, smirking, voice is always there, whispering in the background. You’re so gullible, Dean. She CHEATED. And if what she says IS true, WHY did she hide it from you? Why, indeed. Shame, obviously. Or maybe she just didn’t want to get caught? It’s hard to ignore that voice, but I��m trying.

Detective Carr dropped by to interview Carrie around 4 yesterday. He thought she’d be more open about her experience with “Ray” if she didn’t have to talk about it in front of me, so I sat outside on the porch while they talked, that jealous little voice badgering me the entire time. When they were done, Carrie left the house to run an errand and Carr and I talked in the living room.

Of course, the police department had gotten dozens of calls after the radio show, which had sent our little town into a tailspin. I guess giving a name and a persona to this psychopath—whether correct or not—had really touched a nerve. People were reporting every single little “suspicious” thing they saw, which left a lot of work for Carr and his team. Every person that wore a hoodie, acted strangely, or was in an area they wouldn’t normally have been in was reported. The mall canceled its Easter Bunny pictures, which were supposed to take place each day of the week leading up to Easter. I’d gotten a text from Kyle’s coach explaining Kyle’s tee-ball season was canceled, too. Temporarily, at least. No one wanted to be responsible for another child being taken.

Leads needed to be followed, no matter how small, Carr said, but he knew he’d be lucky if any of them amounted to anything.

Before he left, I asked Carr bout what was going on at 3 Orange Circle. Had they found anything? He said the construction crew had finished breaking up the concrete floor and hauling it out just after lunch. He was waiting on the forensics guys—he laughed when he said it, it was really just two police officers with some special training in collecting evidence—to get over there and start digging. Even though he’d already refused to share it with me, I pressed him again about the evidence he’d found. He looked like he was mulling it over in his mind, then told me he could show me one thing. He retrieved his phone from his pocket, flipped through some pictures, and held the phone up to my face.

The picture on the screen showed a polaroid photograph laying on a scuffed wooden floor. The lighting was dim, so it was a little hard to see. For a split second, I thought it was a picture of Carrie. The blonde hair, pulled back tightly like a cheerleader’s, was almost identical. Then I realized who it was.

Suzanne Kerrington, Carr offered. Then, when he saw my face, Yes, I see the similarity. When I asked whether he thought this was all about Carrie the entire time, he shrugged. I’m not sure about that, yet. It’s an odd coincidence, if not. I thought he may agree to show me what else he’d found, but he demurred, glancing at his watch. I’ve been here too long as it is. Every minute is precious when you have a child missing.

A little after he left, I got a text message. It was from Ryan, a friend of mine whose son played on Kyle’s tee ball team. I’d kept him up to date on what was happening. Thought you might want to see this, the text read.

Below the message was a screen shot of a text message Ryan had received from Andrew’s dad. It said: What the fuck does this mean?. A picture of a note was attached below it.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet

before things get too scary.

If you want to know why

I chose Andrew to die,

you better ask Dean and Carrie.

I felt like throwing up. Who did this sick fuck think he was? It wasn’t enough to terrorize us—now he wanted to turn the entire community against us!

I had no idea why he chose Andrew! The only thing I did know—or THINK I knew, especially after seeing the picture of Suzanne that looked identical to Carrie—was that this was never about Kyle. Or Andrew. Not really. It seemed like he was targeting Carrie the entire time.

Actually, one other thing was certain: he wanted to destroy our reputation in the community. That’s why he had left that note for Andrew’s dad. I knew the picture would make the rounds, and Carrie’s and my name would be dragged through the mud. No doubt. But then, that voice was at it again. Gullible. Sucker. What if it’s more than that?

When Carrie got back from her errand, I showed her the picture.

Me: Any idea what this means? Is there something you’re not telling me?

Carrie: (Eyes wide and pleading) No Dean, I swear to God. I have no idea what this means. (She grabbed my phone and read the note again.) He’s sick. That’s what it is. He’s sick and he’s trying to destroy us.

Me: Well, he was telling the truth in the last note. Why lie in this one?

Carrie: (She grabbed my arm. It was the first time we’d touched since the day before). I have a lot of groveling to do. I get that. But please, if you’re ever trusted me—if you have any love for me left, any single solitary little bit—believe me now. Please. Believe me. I don’t know what this means.

She held my eyes with hers, and in that moment, I believed her. The little voice was silent.

I dropped the phone in frustration.

Me: What are we going to do?

Carrie: I don’t know, Dean. I just hope Andrew is okay. Do you think they’ll find him?

Me: (That reminded me of something). Oh, tomorrow at church will you ask Glenda in the front office if you can look at the church’s membership records? I assume Detective Carr will be by there, now that he’s talked to you, but maybe we can get a head start on it. I want to see if there’s a Ray listed anywhere.

Carrie: Okay. Are you going with me?

Me: I don’t think so. I don’t feel very close to God right now.

She looked like the words hurt her, but she also looked like she understood.

This morning, Carrie went to Union Street and met Glenda before Sunday school. The church didn’t keep any digital membership records, but Glenda did find a box with all of the membership bulletins for the last ten years. The kind with each member’s picture and their name underneath. When Carrie called, her words were dripping with disappointment. She couldn’t find anyone named Ray or Raymond. She asked Glenda to make a copy of each of them for Detective Carr and said he’d probably be by later to pick them up.

While Carrie was at church, I got a call from Ryan. Apparently, a lot of the dads are upset that the entire tee ball season was canceled. I know some of these guys, and you probably know some guys just like them. They have big trucks and guns, and they feel like they could protect their sons just fine if they were allowed to continue the season. I sort of agree with them, deep down, but I also understand its better to be cautious. Andrew was taken right out from under his dad’s nose, after all.

Ryan isn’t as bad as some of them, but he also agrees that this psychopath wouldn’t make a move out in the open like that.

So,they were supposed to have a “practice” game today at 1:00. Just to get some of the kids together at the field and let them feel like they’re actually getting to play. Full dress, scoreboard, ref, all that. The problem was, none of the dads could get in touch with the head ref. Some of the dads had been texting and calling him since the season was cancelled, but they hadn’t gotten a response. That's what Ryan had called about. To bitch about the refs.

The call was breaking up, but I thought Ryan said Ray’s usually here whenever we need him. He loves doing these games. He’s out here every chance he can get.

Me: Wait a minute. Say that again.

Ryan: I said Jay’s usually out here. But he won’t answer his phone.

Me: Shit, you just about gave me a heart attack. Jay who? Do I know him?

Ryan: Jayson Fisher. He’s been the head ref for a while.

Me: Who’s his kid?

Ryan: Doesn’t have any kids of his own. Just likes tee ball, I guess.

When he said it, something went off in my brain. Like a bell tinkling.

Me: How old is Jay?

Ryan: Uh, I don’t know, close to our age. Forties.

My heart started to thump in my chest.

Me: And you haven’t talked to him in a couple days? Any idea why?

Ryan: No, like I said, he usually texts back. He’s the one who assigns the other refs when he can’t make it. I guess I’ll need to track down someone else’s phone number.

Me: Keep trying to reach him, Ryan. And listen: if you get him, do you mind letting me know?

Ryan: Yeah, why?

Me: I don’t know, maybe I’ll bring Kyle out there.

Ryan: Really, I thought you said….

Me: Just let me know. Okay?

Ryan: Will do.

Me: I gotta run. Talk to you later.

My hands were clammy as I texted Carrie’s phone. Emergency. Please call me back.

About two minutes later, Carrie called, almost hyperventilating.

Carrie: What’s wrong? What happened?

Me: Nothing. Everything’s fine here. I’m sorry I scared you. (She breathed a sigh of relief). I need you to do something for me. Right now. Can you go back to the office? I want you to look for another name. I’ll stay on the phone.

Carrie: Another name? Okay, hold on. (I could hear the phone rustling as she hurried down front steps of the church and around to the side door that led into the office area). Okay, I’m here. The copies Glenda left out for the detective are on the desk.

Me: Carrie, look for a Jayson Fisher. Start in the one farthest back. 2007?

Carrie: Yes, 07. Jayson Fisher? Okay, let me see.

I waited. She was breathing heavily and I could hear her rustling through the pages.

Then, she gasped. When she spoke again, her voice had taken on a new quality. Like that of a frightened animal.

Carrie: Oh God, Dean. Oh God.

Me: What?

Carrie: It’s him, Dean. It’s him! It wasn’t Ray, it was Jay!

Me: Are you sure?

Carrie: Yes, I’m sure. I don’t remember a lot, but I’ll never forget those eyes.

Me: He’s a tee ball ref, Carrie. He took Andrew! I know it.

Carrie: No! Oh my God. I missed Kyle's first game, but I was there for the second. Why didn’t I recognize him?

Me: I don’t know. But I actually spoke to him! During Kyle’s first game, he hit a grounder to the short stop and the ref called him out at first when he was clearly safe. It was a bad call. Everyone said so. And I let him know that. God. That’s why he said I was rude!

Carrie: It’s not your fault, Dean…..

Me: I gotta call Carr. I love you. Bye.

I hung up before she responded, then dialed Carr’s phone. As it rang, I thought: Hold on Andrew. Just a little longer.

#creepy #horror story #stalker #series #author: Creeping_dread #terrifying notes series

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thestylesproject · 7 years

Text

#46 What Have I Done? (Harry Styles)

SINCE YOU LOVE MY ANGST.

Hello! I am back from Greece so you can expect a lot more work coming up so, if you have any requests from my precious work that you want me to complete, please tell me!

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“Remember we can walk out any time you want,” I told Patrick as we climbed down the steps of the hall where people were dancing to loud music, with a band playing old songs and everyone with a glass of some kind of alcohol in it. It was the best of the parties this town sees about two times every year at the Styles mansion. His mother’s house was clearly smaller than his, and he had to open the doors a few times to validate the house of its existence. “Remember that we are not wanted here by the host, I’m sure. And, he will be anything but nice to me so, we rather just leave as fast as possible.”

“Why are we here if this is the case? Is it because everyone you know is here? Because I was fine with going for the movie tonight as well, you know that. I don’t need this party to enjoy my time here with you,” Patrick was my new best friend. He and I met at our Uni and one single joke and have been strong ever since. I brought here, to my hometown. Well, the place I spent 6 years of my teenage years at least in, and I couldn’t avoid this party as much as I wanted.

“We are here because his mother invited us. And, it wasn’t a single call invite. It was a 4-5 times confirmation of ‘I hope you’re coming,’ ‘we will see you at the party,’ ‘you have to come,’ that you can’t avoid. Plus, this family is really close to mine and, just because my parents have shifted, I can’t be in town and not show up.”

“But, he hates you! That is what you said? He hates you and has been horrible to you, and this is his party!” Patrick was absolutely confused why I was here. Heck, I was confused as well. I just couldn’t say no to his mother. They had helped me a lot when my parents left for work in my final year, and I don’t think I could have coped if she and his sister weren’t there.

“Let’s just show our face and leave in a while, okay?” I showed him my puppy eyes, and he smiled.

“Whatever you want, and you look pretty awesome so, maybe there is a little less hatred tonight,” He laughed.

“Yeah yeah, praise your own handiwork,” I hit him on his arm and walk down to the bar trying to find people. Everyone from high school was here. Did people make it to town just for his party?

“You know I always thought he was such an angel? Like the nicest guy on the planet, polite to everyone,” Patrick’s view on him was as good as anybody who didn’t know him.

“Yeah, he mostly is. I just tick something off in him. Maybe it’s my face, I’ll never know,” I tell him.

“So he is a horrible person?” He asks.

“To me…to everyone else, he is the perfect man. There’s Anne, let’s go say hi and then, we can leave!” I said, pulling his arm towards her.

“Anne!” I greeted her, and she hugged me back as tightly as she could.

“Oh god, you look so beautiful and so grown up! Robin, look who is here!” Her smile always made my day.

“Oh love!” Robin hugged me. “How is your work going? You, girl, got placed at an excellent place!” he said, and I agreed.

“This is Patrick, my friend from Uni and work, I’m showing him the town here,” The greeting took place as I scanned the crowd for other familiar faces. There were so many. “Is Gemma here?” I asked in hope.

“Yes, she must be around, wait let me bring her here!” Robin said, as he went and looked for her before I could protest. Anne left to play host in a few more minutes, and we turned around and walked towards the balcony to not interact with any more people than required.

“So, don’t they know how their son treats you?” He asked.

“Well, earlier in high school, it was just in person, and then it turned to among his friends. When I last came back from Uni for a few days, Anne asked me to live with her and, it was then, in front of them. I, usually don’t come back here. Nor is he ever here, not like he always hated me. We used to be friends, you know. Then he left, and when he came back, it got weird.”

“Left for X factor?”

“Yeah, anyway, let’s not indulge in this anymore, it’s a waste of time. It’ll be great if we can leave here as fast as possible as well,” I turned around, leaning against the railing, scanning the crowd again. There he was, in white this time. This man could carry off anything given to him to wear. I tried noting the changes in him, as fast as I could. “You know when I was young, and the first time, he was really cruel to me, I was told, maybe it’s because he liked me, secretly and umm, he just couldn’t tell me. Stupid things we are fed as children.”

“Who told you this?” Patrick laughed.

“Gemma…I had gone asking her what I did wrong, and that was her explanation. She should have just told me simply, that he doesn’t like you and she doesn’t know the reason. If a guy likes you, he’ll make it happen. Not be vicious to you instead, and ruin your high school experience. He had three girlfriends that year. Such patriarchal assumptions to let the guy go scot free,” I shook my head, turning around.

“And you still don’t know why?” I laughed and said no. “I just don’t see anybody hating you like that? It’s just so strange, like remember that case with Ashley or Kyle? They both love you now, and they didn’t earlier because they thought you didn’t like talking to them because of your initial phase of being quiet and…hey! Can that be the reason? That he thinks you don’t like him?” Patrick jumped.

“What shitty novel have you been reading? No! He used to be my friend. Like a good one! And, I used to talk to him plenty!”

“Well, there he is. He does look exquisite though, like really good,” Patrick commented.

“Control your hormones. You’re supposed to be on my side if anything happens! And you have your boyfriend, might I add!”

“No trouble in appreciating beauty! He is beautiful though, you have to agree!”

“He is,” I smiled looking away.

“You never had a crush on him? Like even, when you were said, friends?”He asked.

“Umm…I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I was pretty oblivious to the said feelings. I had a lot more going on with my parents leaving and school pressure, and he became well…before I could actually harbour any such emotions.”

“How sad, I’d like to kiss him.”

“I’m already losing the battle, and he has not even noticed us,” I groaned.

“No? He has been staring this side, every few seconds,” Patrick observed.

“What? Well, don’t stare back!” I hit him.

“I’m not, look at these frames! They are pretty misleading. I can look at you, and you’ll never surely know.”

“Let’s not give him that doubt, either.” I gulped my remaining drink and looked for Gemma. It had been 30 minutes already. 30 more, and I could disappear.

“Too late, he is walking towards us!” Patrick elbowed me, and I stood up. Taking a deep breath, I ran a hand through my hair and turned around. I swear his eyes grew colder when they looked at me.

“Addison Bailey,” His voice was so much deeper.

“Harry Styles,” I nodded. “How are you? This is my friend, Patrick,” I smiled. He nodded and gave a small smile in his direction.

“I hope you’re having a nice time.”

“Yes, all great!” Patrick responded.

“I didn’t know you were in town,” He looked at me. I could hear the controlled voice. So could Patrick, as I saw his eyebrows raise. “I found out this morning.”

“Oh, umm I have been here for a few days. It was nice for Anne to invite me,” I kept my cool.

“Yeah, of course, it was. You must be ecstatic,” he smirked.

Whatever that meant, “Yes, of course. She is family.”

“Like that means anything to you,” He spoke.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I didn’t say anything, and I knew this would lead to this.

“Excuse me, I am going to get a glass of water,” Patrick said and walked away. A few steps later, he gave me a direction to leave.

“I’m going to get myself a glass, as well,” I said.

“Running away again,” He laughed viscously.

“Yes, I have better things to do than being insulted by you, every time you meet me,” I said, and a few people turned to look in our direction and then talked within themselves. I could see him get angry.

“You should leave,” He said.

“What?” I said, shocked.

“Leave. Now.” He said again, just louder so, the people around us could hear it. I could hear my cheeks turn red, as a tear fell down.

“What did I do to you?” I whispered.

“Addison!” I heard Gemma yell, as she came to the balcony. She stopped when she looked at me and then, Harry.

“What did you do, Harry?” She asked him.

“Nothing, it’s my house, my party,” saying that he walked away.

Gemma turned to me, as I wiped my tear, “Hey, it’s okay. What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m going to leave. Thank you so much for inviting me. It was lovely seeing you again,” I hugged her and walked away. Taking Patrick’s hand, we both left the party as the voice of Gemma calling my name died with the sound of the music.

---

“I’ll go meet her for an hour and then, come back. Will you be fine?” I asked Patrick.

“Yes, I am a man, I can take care of myself,” He nodded.

“My God, such declarations!” I laughed. Gemma wanted me to meet her once for coffee. She repeatedly asked me, apologising for the party and I wanted to meet her as well. I walked to their house and rang the bell. “Oh my god,” I turned around as Harry opened the door.

“Addison!” Gemma rushed and hugged me. Pulling me inside, I saw coffee brewing on the stove and two glasses out.

“What’s happening Gem, you told me-“ I was cut before that.

“Yes, I know what I told you. And I know what I told you as well, Harry. But, what happened at the party was not acceptable, and I want you guys to talk and clear it out. You guys used to be friends, and as far as I know, and as far is this girl knows, we don’t know what happened Harry, and you need to stop being like this. I know you’ll say it means nothing to you, but it does to mum, and it upsets her so, do it for her,” she kept taking back a step towards the door.

“You have no right-“Harry started.

“Yes, but what are you going to do about that? The back door is closed, and this door will be locked so, you pretty much are stuck. Bye!” and before we both could say anything, she locked the door from outside and left.

“What the hell,” it happened so fast that I didn’t have time to respond. I looked for my phone to call a cab and leave, but I couldn’t find it. Meanwhile, Harry did the same, but couldn’t find any of his either.

“She took my phone as well!” He yelled, and I flinched.

I took a deep breath and just sat back, while he cursed and moved back and forth the hallway. After many ‘how could she do this,’ and ‘where am I stuck,’ he tired himself out and sat down. “I’m getting the coffee,” I said and two hot cups of coffee and placed them on the table.

“You know this is all because of you, right?” He said.

“Yes Harry, I figured you’ll start insulting me for however long we are stuck here the first minute that door closed. So carry on,” I shrugged and sat back with my coffee. He looked at me shocked and in anger. I never responded like this. In a second, he thrashed the cup of coffee, and it fell all over the floor, breaking the cup. I sunk in the sofa cushions, trying to hide myself from whatever he was about to do next. It was an hour until he calmed down. The floor was clean now, he did that fifteen minutes before and now sat with a fresh cup in his hands.

“How could you do that to me?” He said, and I looked up frowning. What have I done that is so bad?

“I mean, I know you’re an opportunist. How do I know that? Cause I am one too! But, I was your best friend. You sent me to X factor, convinced my entire family to let me go and there when I waited for you to show up, you didn’t because you got the internship? And, all this time while I kept thinking that you were such a great friend, it was just so you could remove my name from the list and put yours?” He looked at me, his eyes wet.

“Harry…”

“Did you for one second think that if this audition didn’t work out, you would be stealing the best opportunity I would have ever had to get into college in one go. Did you even think about me? And, if this wasn’t enough, you threatened Carla to break up with me. How sick could you get? And it seems so petty now that I am still holding onto this, but I can’t pretend to hug you and love you when you completely betrayed me. After all my family did for you, you just kicked me back,” he pointed his finger at me.

I took a deep breath, realising his reasons for hating me, realising how misunderstood everything was, “Alright, first of all, Carla was cheating on you. With Marcus that too, all I threatened her with was that I will tell you first, so I don’t know why you are angry because, if you would have liked to find them at it and then break up, than her telling you and breaking up first then, it’s my bad, I’m sorry, but I was looking out for you.” I kept my coffee cup down.

“That is not what Carla told me,” Harry, now shocked, accused me again.

“Well then, obviously, you believe Carla more than me, so this conversation is redundant. And what did she even tell you? Why would I ask her to break up with you? And why would she in the world listen to me? A junior who has nothing to do with her?”

Harry was quite shocked. He was thinking about everything over again. I took off my shoes and climbed closer to him, but still holding on to my pillow. “She told me you loved me and were making up lied about her and other people and that she couldn’t bear it anymore.” He said, in a softer voice.

“Loved you?” He looked up at me.

“Ye-yeah.”

“So, instead of asking me about these said feelings that made me do such a thing and break your six-month relationship, you just became horrible to me?”

“What was I supposed to do? What would you do when you find out your best friend is an absolute bitch?”

“An absolute bitch who loves you?” I raised my eyebrow, clearing out all the complications in his words. “You ask her about it, nor she isn’t your best friend, which I clearly wasn’t now, that we realise.”

“Don’t put this blame on me!” He shouted.

“Don’t raise your voice! You’re accusing me of something I never did because your cheating girlfriend said so! Stop being and idiot and be so emotionally involved that everything around you blinds you! And as far as the internship is concerned, I didn’t write my name, it was offered to me.”

“Offered to you?” He laughed.

“Why you think I was not capable? You didn’t even tell me you got the internship, in the place where I wanted to work for the longest time. I didn’t know it was yours. I convinced you for X-factor because I knew you were miserable going for anything else. And prayed it worked out for you every moment,” I had my own tears leaking out, now. “I worked shit hard, and you know it. With everything going on, I was considered even though I was a year junior. I was the second to your name which I found out after they offered me the internship.”

He looked at me, taking it all in, “what did you want me to say to them? Oh wait, let Harry come back from this excellent opportunity he has at X Factor, and if there it doesn’t work out for him, and if he plans to come back, and if he does not choose this dream internship of mine, I will take it? Who the fuck do you think you are? You have everything Harry. A family that has supported you throughout, a good career, so much, and I had my parents leave me here, to go on world tour. They didn’t pay for my education, the company did. They gave me a scholarship, so I am sorry, I am not apologising for taking an opportunity which could help me when you had something better going on for you in every way.”

I sat back, and took a sip of my coffee, “and if this is the reason that you have insulted me repeatedly, again and again, while I have kept my heart in front of you, ruined prom, made me feel absolutely worthless cause why will Harry Styles hate you, if you aren’t actually horrible, then I am glad that, I am not your friend. Because you’re not worth it. You are absolutely sick, and I hate you.”

“Oh my god! You guys are talking!” Gemma walked through the door and kept the phones on the table, “I’m so glad!”

I took a moment to wear my shoes halfway, pick my bag up and phone from the counter and walk out. “Addison,” Harry held my arm, as I turned around to see him crying.

“Fuck you, Harry.”

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relationshipsattherefinnest · 7 years

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This is my story of a beautiful relationship gone horribly wrong.

CHAPTER 1 HOW IT ALL STARTED So I was going into my junior year of high school and I realized that I was ready to have something real with someone worth it but I didn't have any young men in mind. also, I wanted to stay on top o my grades because the most important thing to me at this point in my life is being something and making my parents proud. Then I was in my Homeroom the next couple weeks after the first day of school and I was watching our morning announcements and I saw this handsome young man that I had noticed from previous years because he had this unique hairstyle that always caught my attention. So at this point, I really wanted to talk to him and get to know him because he seemed like a fun chilled guy that I could really relate to. I was really horrified to just walk up to him and say hi to him. for weeks I was going around school trying not to make eye contact but take the closet look as possible. So then I went to New York city with my cousin Danny for her sweet 16th birthday and New York is such an amazing place and it really got me thinking and I realized that is was time for me to be my own person and stand up and say what I wanted and make it known no more hiding how I feel. And I made a promise to my cousin my little sister mary and my friend June he would be mind. mary told me not to waste my time she knew because he lived in her neighborhood and for some reason, she thought he was weird. Most people do because how he's so introverted he is, it's kinda upsetting how bad he is about that. But, anyways then one of my friends that I called “my wife” her name is jewel She was fun and cool crazy girl she was a senior at the time and she was one of my closest friends at the time and she was somewhat friends with the young man she kept saying his name was Kyle so I was running around talking about how I think kyle is so cute. So then I go to my other friend named sean. Sean was that guy friend that you have known for years then you fell off but you never stopped loving him. Anyways, He told me there was no guy by the description I was giving the guy But there was a guy named joe that he was friends with and balled with from time to time in gym class that I was probably talking about so the next class I came to class with a picture of the kyle/joe on my phone and he started laughing so hard and was like yeah his name is joe he a senior you think he cute? I told him yes very do u think you could help me get to know him he said I don't know he not really looking for anything right now but I will try and see what I can do. so a week or so went by nothing had come back from sam he just said “hey I showed him a picture of you, he thinks your cute so that's a good sign right?’ in my head I just thought he probably lied or thinks I'm a catfish because he kept telling sean that he never see’s me at school. Let me tell you a little something about me. I never ever really try to be cute when going to school once I became upper classmen I had given upon being cute for school. there was no one left for me to get cute for anymore. I'm a yoga pants hoodie type of girl with a sloppy bun to top it off. When I went out with my friends or went to church on the weekend I would do me makeup and get super cute because my mom always told me you never know who you might run into in the street. I really felt like I had nothing to prove to anyone in my school so why to try every day they can see my beauty every once in a while just in case they forget. Never sleep on the hoodie and sweatpants girl. So then another few days went by I thought enough is enough I'm just texting this boy and be bold. so I made a group chat with a few of my friends at the time Sean, Jewel, Jessica, Kayla and RJ and I told them hey you guys who ever gets me some type of contact information for Joe first gets a 10.00 chipotle gift card. so I swear to you, not within 10 minutes Jewel had come up with his kik. KIK was a personal messenger app that we used a lot back in the day before everyone had iPhones just because it was a free app and we could group chat. Anyways it took me a while to come up with the right message that I would want to say to him to start off the conversation without seeming like a weirdo. CHAPTER 2 MAKING IT HAPPEN So finally got my message together and I said “ hey I'm Kristin the girl sam has been telling you about and I just thought I should text you and stop being a creep around school because I find you very attractive and I didn't know how to approach you……so yea. So he responded hey thank you but I'm not really looking for anything serious right now so can we just be friends for the time being I told him it was fine so we began our friendship talking every day we found out we had a few things in common. Like we were born literally a day apart from each other His birthday was November 12, my birthday was November 13 the same exact year we had the same favorite colors we both had a deep love of music tv and movies. We both liked J. cole drake school boy Q and a lot more. We first starting talking in September if I wanted to be exact I would have to say the 14 because I got my iPhone 10 days later and he was the first person I ever faced timed. So first real bonding then we had I went to a lock in at my ex-best friends church and I got there and one of my exes’s were there and this girl that hates my cousin but it was a pretty big church so I was fine but at first I was freaking out and I texted him the whole time he claimed me down he even talked to me on the phone promising everything would be ok. I knew that he cared and he was a keeper just from that night alone. Then within those ten days I had to stay after school to work on a commercial for yearbook and I asked him if he wanted to stay after school to help with it, of course, he said sure so I met up with him at the lockers that day and went to the yearbook room no one was there which was very strange, but he didn't feel well anyway so he ended up laying on my chest as I played with his hair and looked out the window and held him and kissed all over his face thinking about life also took some pictures together I would do anything to go back to that day but can't reverse time. so in the evenings We would be on face time listening to music singing together and I mine like the cutest songs my favorite song to sing with him was Mine Feat drake by Beyonce it was so cute. But I never told him this but I planned on singing that song to him on our wedding day if we made it there while I walked down the aisle. All of that but the crazy thing is we just loved talking to each other so much we would stay up till like 5 am just talking knowing we had to get up at 6 Am for school but neither of us wanted to hang it just felt so good to wake up to his voice. He was a great person to tell my problems to and express how I was feeling. We would face time every day and we would always talk about our days and anything really exciting that happen that day. We would even gossip together about stuff that we heard about other people. I had no problem ever telling him anything because one thing I can tell you about joe is he would never tell your secrets or anything too crazy. He keeps to himself a lot anyways so it wasn't hard but any how He really became my right hand my best friend because of my best friend at that the time was one of the most negative people you could ever meet. She did have my back in a lot of cases but she ended up stabbing me right in it. He was the only person I wanted to talk to at night. A day without talking to him felt like a decade. I know that truly was in loved with him but by the end of this story I realized he didn't deserve all my love.By November we were closer than you could ever imagine we both felt like we had known each other for years.

CHAPTER 3 THE BIRTHDAYS So for his birthday I did something I thought he would like a lot. I made a picture collage with pictures of me and him and our longest face time we had ever done which was like 11 hours and some change that was a great weekend I had a yearbook deadline coming up and I was in charged of senior ads so I was up very very very late that night pushing to get a certain amount done for this first deadline and I also had to hope on a few other people pages and finish up stuff so we could meet the deadline. Deadlines are super important in yearbook world for one if a page is late it costs us money every day that it's late the more money we put out on late stuff the less food we get and less likely we are to get food in yearbook and I love free food who doesn't but I also have I love for yearbook I don't know why but I do. But, I put that picture collage on his locker day of his birthday so everyone could see. At first, I thought he wasn't going to it or he was going take it down but he left it up all day and it made me so very happy. Also, I went and bought him a pair of graphic socks but I put a twist to it. I bought a pack of individual skittle packs put a song quote on each pack of skittles and stuffed them in the socks because he loved skittles and he said all he wanted for his birthday was some graphic socks. But if you know me I don't just do regular gifts I have to make it deep and sentimental. So I put the skittles in the socks also gave him card wrote a nice message about how grateful I was to meet a guy like him and that we would forever be friends I also mention that he was definitely brought into my life for a reason and not a damn season. The man was I wrong or what but we get to that latter. Then I went and got him a chance the rapper phone case because he has he-man crush on that guy. When I tell you he has the biggest man crush on that man that you could ever imagine he really does he would do anything for that man. The phone case thing happens I hated the fact that he had a pink phone case. Like, let me give you an example you have a nice somewhat sexy picture from your boo and then they have a rainbow cast because they sprained their hand playing basketball and then the other hand their holding pink phone case so not sexy. So I thought he would like this. so he took the bag and just looked in and was like “Omg you got me socks thanks”. I was just yeah no problem. Then I had to stay after school for the yearbook that day so he faces timed me while I was still there like omg I didn't know all this was inside the socks and the phone case thank you so much I really appreciate this. what really touched me is when he told me no one had ever done anything like this for him before so I felt special.Then he showed his parents what did for him while I was still on the phone with him so I could hear all their nice comments it was so nice. But I kinda felt bad because the skittles were going down in his cast but that's not really my fault he sprained his hand after I had already got his gift together. he's somewhat aggressive when he plays basketball so feel like somehow it was his fault when he first did it I was worried sick. I was just sitting in my math class then I get a text saying I'm at the hospital didn't find out for hours why he was there. When he told me I could have killed him I was worried for what a thumb.

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