#the way I glanced and IMMEDIATELY heard luke singing in my brain | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

n0wornever · 3 years

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Healing - Luke Patterson x Reader

i love your writing so so so much, it literally makes my day a lot better when i see you have post a new imagine:)♡♡ could you do maybe one with luke (if you feel comfortable of course, if you don’t its 100% okay:) ) where the reader is plus size?? thank you so much!!

Omg I love you, thank you so much sweet thing! I have a difficult time with these storylines bc as a plus sized girl myself, I feel like they can be too corny if done wrong. I hope I did your request justice.

Also, hank you to purple anon for the nudge on this idea! 💜(lyrics are from Who You Are by Jessie J)

“Y/N, you finally wore that top we picked out!” Julie said, flashing her friend a smile as she walked toward her locker.

The girl nodded. It had taken a moment in the mirror this morning for her to fully wrap her mind around the idea of wearing the garment out of the safety of her home. The little yellow crop top was dainty and frilly, everything she loved but it fell a little higher than most of the shirts she owned. She never really exposed her stomach like this, even a few inches of skin, but after she curled her hair and pulled on her favorite pair of jeans... she knew as she admired the full outfit in the mirror that she’d regret it if she didn’t take the leap.

“Yeah, I’m actually feeling pretty good about it.”

Julie’s smile widened as Y/N closed her locker and fell to her side. As they walked down the hallway, Julie jabbed her friend’s side with her elbow to get her attention again.

“Are you ready for today’s performance?”

Y/N nodded, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Today was the day that they performed their songwriting final in front of the whole class. She had worked really hard on her piece over the past few weeks. Y/N paused as the reached the door, fidgeting with her hands. Julie gaze dropped to her fingers for a moment before returning to her face. She paused the movements by grabbing the girl’s hands into hers.

“You’re going to kill it okay?” Julie reminded her, swaying their hands side to side.

Y/N let a small grin slide onto her cheek as she looked at the curly-haired girl. A hint of pink caught her eye as Carrie walked through the music room door. Her shoulders immediately deflating as their eyes met and the girl’s eyes fell down her body. Raquel held a smirk on the right side of her face before strolling the rest of the way in. Julie squeezed on Y/N’s hands, pulling her focus back to her.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s going to be too obsessed with perfecting her own routine to try to do anything to you today,” Julie responded with narrow eyes.

Her gaze softened as she smiled at something behind Y/N. The girl gave her a puzzled look with her brows pulled to the middle of her forehead. Julie let go of her hands and took a step back.

“Plus, your lover boy looks like he’s happy with your outfit choice today too.”

Y/N tilted her head to the side, eyes following Julie as she walked into the classroom. That frustrated glance disappeared as a familiar hold wrapped around her waist. She shivered as a kiss was placed on her neck before he whispered in her ear.

“Is it my birthday?” He said softly, a giggle falling from his lips.

She let a small smile form on her face as she turned around in his arms. Her hands reached out to his cheeks, cupping them. She let her thumbs rub along the skin as she took in his chiseled features. She let her hands slid around his neck as she relaxed into the embrace.

“What?” She finally responded, shaking her head slightly.

“Because I really don’t deserve this treat on a normal day.”

His eyes fell to her torso, and she followed his gaze. She tapped at the nap of his neck, bringing his eyes back up to hers. She rolled her eyes as the red appeared across his cheeks. His hands gripped around her waist a bit tighter as her eyes grilled him.

“Do not stare me like a piece of meat, Patterson.”

“I’M NOT I SWEAR I JUST,” He said in frustration, diverting his gaze to the ceiling. “You just look really good today,” He said, biting down on his lower lip.

“Well thank you, baby,” She said as she beamed up at him, batting her eyelashes.

He let go of his lip, letting it hang from his mouth in a pout. She let her eyes fall them for a moment before she leaned in and placed a soft his on his lips. He pulled her closer, but her arms fell from their place on his neck to break apart hands at her waist. She heard him sigh but continued her way toward the door with a smile on her face.

The bell rang as she entered the classroom, Luke hot on her trail. She looked over to the empty chair next to Julie and sped in her direction. Her boyfriend followed closely behind, taking a spot in the chair behind her so that his arms could drape around her shoulders as they waited for the teacher to begin. The sound of heels clanking on the tile floor brought the loud discussions to a few light murmurs.

“You all know that today is the day class,” Mrs. Harrison announced, taking her place at the front of the classroom. “I’m looking forward to hearing all of your final pieces.”

Mrs. Harrison’s eyes fell on Y/N’s for a moment, giving her a warm smile as she clasped her hands at her chest. She had already known that she had chosen the first spot on the performance sheet over a month ago, but her brain hadn’t let her really understand what that meant until this moment. The teacher nodded toward the piano before addressing her verbally.

“Y/N, I believe you are our first performer today. Are you ready?”

The girl nodded, her hands grabbed the sheet music underneath her. Before she had the chance to lift herself up off the chair, she saw a hand raised in the corner of her eye. Mrs. Harrison’s gaze drifted for a moment as she pointed at the awaiting student.

“Mrs. Harrison, don’t you think that Y/N’s outfit may be...I don’t know, a bit distracting during the performance?”

Y/N let her gaze shift behind her as she finally landed on her feet. Raquel’s ridiculously performative frown turned to a smirk as their eyes met.

The girl looked left to right seemingly in search of something as she held the classroom’s attention. “I know we have a dress code handbook around here somewhere.”

Y/N crossed her hands at her waist, letting her papers crinkle under her grip. She heard the chair behind her start to move, and her gaze slipped over to her boyfriend’s pinched expression.

As he started rise out of his chair, Y/N moved her right arm to hold a hand out toward his face. Luke sank back into his seat as he watched the altercation unfold in front of him. Mrs. Harrison said something Y/N couldn’t hear, all of her senses focused on the poised pale girl with her hands resting on her lap. Y/N licked her bottom lip, letting out a short, angry laugh before addressing her.

“Raquel, I’ll be behind a piano. I think you’ll live.” She rose an eyebrow as the whispers around her went quiet. “Can I please do my performance now? We have very little time for intermissions.”

She heard Luke let out a giggle behind her, a few kids around him joining in. The now flustered girl shooed away her gaze with her hand, bringing her left leg up to cross over her right and bringing her attention to Nick next to her. Y/N turned back around, nodding at her teacher, who gave her a knowing smile, before walking toward the piano.

She placed the now slightly rippled paper on the stand before sitting down on the bench. She flexed her fingers a few times before setting her hands onto their placements on the black and white keys. She let her face turn toward the mic next to the instrument, eyes making their way back to Raquel.

“This one is actually for you Kell,” The other girl leaned back in her chair as she listened. “I hope you like it.”

Y/N’s hands glided down the keys. As the music began to pick up, her eyes softly closed. Her hands paused for a moment as her lips pressed forward toward the mic again.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror Why am I doing this to myself? Losing my mind on a tiny error I nearly left the real me on the shelf

Her voice felt a little shaky, her heart thumbing into her fingertips as the moved from key to key. As she took that first exhale, she let her shoulders relax a bit and sat up straighter in her place. That’s when her fingers gained a mind of their own, running freely without waiting for her mind to catch up. Her forehead scrunched as she shook her head at the next lines.

Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay

She felt tears start to bubble at the surface of her eyes, but she took a quick sharp breath before starting to sing again. The pull against her chest gaining strength as she sang from her gritty chest voice.

Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising Just be true to who you are

She let her voice fade for a moment, the soft light accompaniment perfectly playing off of the bitter, somber tone in her voice as she hummed softly, her eyes facing the ceiling as she played. Her face lifted toward the center of the room, opening her eyes to find the girl across from her staring back with a wide gaze. Y/N let her left lip raise for a second before her voice took off again.

Brushing my hair, do I look perfect? I forgot what to do to fit the mold, yeah The more I try the less it's working, yeah, yeah 'Cause everything inside me screams, no, no, no, no, , no, yeah

She felt lyrics overtake her, her fingers pressing harder into the keys below them as she nodded along, eyes finally following her hands on their journey left to right. She could feel the warmth rising to her cheeks, but she couldn’t stop herself to focus on their appearance. She let the room shift to black again, her eyes shut as she repeated the chorus.

Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart But tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising There's nothing wrong with who you are

As her eyelids fluttered back open once more, she made it her mission to sing the last lines to her now puzzled enemy. Her hands fell into their placements a bit harsher, an aggressive tone ringing to match the intensity in her vocals.

Yes, no's, egos, fake shows, like whoa Just go, and leave me alone Real talk, real life, good love, goodnight With a smile, that's my home That's my home, no

Raquel’s smart smirk fell for a moment, her hands relaxing on her thighs as the two stared at each other.

Y/N was ready to bring the song home, the repetitive lines already on the tip of her fingers made their way to the left side of the piano. She lightly touched the keys a few times before letting them hover over them silently. Y/N smiled to herself as she let her lips fall toward the microphone for the final time.

Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising Just be true to who you are

She played herself out, the delicate movements dancing off of her fingertips for a few seconds before she drew back. She kept her eyes on the keyboard for a moment as she let the impact of her words finally resonate within her. She began to hear clapping rise around her. As her eyes finally made their way to the rows of seat in front of her, she saw some of her classmates standing and smiling at her as the pressed their hands together.

She pushed the bench out a bit, rising to bow toward the crowd. She heard a whistle sound in the crowd, looking over at her boyfriend whose smile was wide as he shook his head slowly at her. She slipped a wink in his direction before returning to the music stand to collect her sheet music.

As she sat down in her chair, her eyes made their way to the other side of the room one more time. Raquel’s eyes refused to meet hers, her gaze fixated on her nails outstretched in front of her. Y/N sighed, bringing her focus back to her lap. After a moment of silence, she felt a hand rest on her lap. She looked over to Julie smiling in her direction.

“If we ever need Racket to shut up again, I’m giving you every single song in my notebook,” Julie’s gaze moved from her to the girl across the room and back. “Because man, did those vocals make her go silent.”

Y/N felt her cheeks burn again under her friend’s gaze. She laughed off her nerves from the attention and set her hand on top of Julie’s. As she finally let herself breathe, a set of hands placed themselves on her shoulders, squeezing them on impact. She let her eyes fall behind her, meeting her boyfriend’s bright hazel eyes.

“I’m in awe of you baby,” He said quietly.

She scrunched her nose at him as he pressed his lips quickly to her head before letting go of her. As she turned back around in her seat, she couldn’t get the smile off her face. She tried to focus on her classmate’s guitar solo, but her brain kept going back to the words on the page.

As the final performance ended and the bell rang, announcing the end of the class period, Y/N rose to her feet again. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and walked toward the door with Julie. As the duo entered the hallway, Y/N was pulled from Julie’s side by her forearm. The girl gasping at the sudden contact, but relief quickly washed over her as she realized who had stolen her away.

Luke led her down the hallway, toward an empty stairwell. As they stood in the silent space, he released his hand from hers and pulled her in by her waist. Her smile spread across her face before she even had a chance to fight it, letting her hands rest on his chest.

“I just wanted a moment alone with you,” He said, leaning his forehead against hers. “Are you okay?”

She let her teeth run across her bottom lip a few times before nodding. He returned the nod, leaning in and pressing his lips against hers. As they parted, his smile fell to a smart smirk as he took her in.

“I guess I really don’t need to save you, huh?”

“No, I can handle my own battles,” She said confidently, tapping on his chest.

She let her eyes fall back down to his lips, his eyes trailing after hers. “But I do need you to kiss me though..”

He chuckled, bringing one of his hands up to her neck and pulling her in once more.

Tag list: @xplrreylo @lovesanimals , @anythingandeverythingfandom , @crybabyddl @themaddies-obx , @lukeys-giggle , @bumbleberry-pie @kiss-themoongoodbye @marinettepotterandplagg , @lolychu , @bathtimejish , @dasexydevitt13 @musicconversedance , @txrii @bestdressedandstressed @daisiesforlacey @epikskool @bookfrog247 @carleywhittaker @princessvader15 @rudysbay @spooky-season-bitch @kcd15 @meangirlsx @itz-jas @parkeret @writerinlearning @calamitykaty @whatever-happens-imma-stand-tall @teenwaywardasgardian @dream-a-little-bigger-x @tenaciousperfectionunknown @thesweetestsinner @kinda-really-lost

#luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson imagine #luke patterson fanfiction #jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatp imagines

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missmitchieg · 3 years

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The first time Julie has a nightmare that the guys are gone gone, a week after The Almost Forever Goodbye, she panics. She wakes up with tears in her eyes, her whole body shaking in horror at the horrendous images her brain had been conjuring up for the last half hour. The guys- the guys were just gone. They were destroyed. Removed from existence. To be remembered or cared about by Julie and Julie alone.

Julie sobs softly as she puts on her glasses and her monster paw slippers, running out of her room to get to the stairs. She trips over her feet and nearly falls a few times, still somewhat blinded by her tears. She manages to get all the way down safely and runs outside to the studio doors. She yanks the doors open and flips the light switch on, tears still streaming down her face and lungs still working on overdrive.

She gasps out little sobs as the boys look up and run to her from the couch, frantically touching any part of her boys she can reach, their shoulders, their hair, their hands, their cheeks, anything, just to make sure that they’re there and they’re fine and they’re safe and it’s not a hallucination, they’re really still there. As her panicked, sad mind starts to understand that her boys are there and they’re fine and they’re safe, she starts to calm down but still keeps a tight hold on Reggie’s shoulder and Luke’s arm.

“Hey. Hey.“ She hears Luke whisper, his voice gentle and soft. “Hey. What’s wrong?“ He asks, desperate to make it ok and make Julie feel better. He places a hand over hers on his arm, raising his other hand to tuck a curl behind Julie’s ear as her breathing slowly returns to normal.

Julie shudders and whimpers out that she had a nightmare, her cheeks turning a little red as she realized what a baby she must have looked like. Running to them crying about a bad dream. She sniffles and starts to let go of Reggie’s shoulder, her hands still shaking slightly. “You we- You were gone.“ She sobs out and grabs hold of Reggie again on instinct, looking up at them.

She whines as she sees the moment her boys’ ghost hearts break in their eyes, lowering her gaze to the floor. “I just- I needed to know you were still here. Still with me.“ She hiccuped, blinking her tears away.

“We’re here. We’re right here, Julie.” Reggie whispers quickly from her left side and wraps his arm around her waist gently, rubbing small circles with his thumb, tears in his own eyes at seeing the girl he saw as his sister so distressed.

“We’re here and we’re ok.“ Alex promises quietly from the right of his favorite lifer, pressing his forehead against her temple. His lips turned down in a frown, blinking tears away quickly.

“We’ll always be here, Julie. We’ll never leave you.“ Luke promises, squeezing her hand gently. “What can we do?“ He asks, the hand that was previously in Julie’s curls now cradling her cheek like he had just the week before.

“Just- Can you hold me? Please?“ She begs them softly, sighing in relief as her boys surrounded her in a hug, burying her face into Luke’s shoulder. She slowly felt her frantic anxiety and desperate sadness melt away as she stood their surrounded by the boys and their love, maybe for a few minutes and maybe an hour. She slowly pulled away with a small, slightly embarrassed smile, adjusting her glasses on her nose. “Thanks, guys.“ She said softly, clasping her hands.

“Anything for you, Julie.“ Luke promised and Alex and Reggie nodded instantly, making Julie’s smile grow.

“I love you guys.“ She tells them, genuinely meaning it.

“We love you, too, Jules.“ Reggie smiled. “You should get back to bed. It’s late.“

“Oh, right.“ Julie nodded and glanced at the doors behind her, looking back to the boys with big puppy eyes. “Walk me there?“

The ghost boys laughed fondly and nodded, Julie turning the lights off, Reggie taking her hand in his, Alex linking his pinkie in with hers and Luke wrapping his arms around Julie’s neck from behind, clumsily but cautiously walking out of the studio. They walked back into the house and up to Julie’s bedroom, Alex and Reggie sitting on the floor while Luke sits in bed in front of Julie.

Julie smiled as she kicked off her monster slippers and set her glasses down, getting comfortable under the covers.

“We’re not going until you fall asleep.” Luke promises with a smile.

“Yeah, we’ll stay right here.“ Reggie tells her and Alex nods, chuckling when Luke summoned his acoustic guitar and started to play quietly, singing a tune he hadn’t heard to Julie.

Darling, it looks like fate is on our side Yeah, the planets and the sparkling stars are all aligned Two hearts and souls all intertwined And I love the way that your hand fits just right in mine

Think it could’ve been destiny That brought you to me All I know is I want you to be Right here with me

Yeah, it must’ve been destiny That brought you to me All I know is I want you to stay Stay here with me

Dearest, we were just kids sitting by the lake Skipping on stepping stones and playing pat-a-cake Making angels with tongues covered in snowflakes And it felt like we could really stay that way all day

Think it could’ve been destiny That brought you to me All I know is I want you to be Right here with me

Yeah, it must’ve been destiny That brought you to me All I know is I want you to stay Stay here with me

Lover, remember the promises we made When we met on that September day A sacred vow that we would never stray And that we might even wed some special day

Think it could’ve been destiny That brought you to me All I know is I want you to be Right here with me

Yeah, it must’ve been destiny That brought you to me All I know is I want you to stay Stay here with me

All I know is that I’ll always stay Stay here with you

Luke finished the song with a smile, scratching the back of his neck shyly as he looked at Julie. “So, um, did you like my lullaby?“ He asked in a whisper, making Julie giggle.

“I loved it, Luke. But when did you write that song?” She asked.

“Um, just now, as I was singing it.“ He admitted, making Julie laugh again.

“Well, it was adorable, Luke.“ She said and yawned, her nose crinkling.

“Looks like it worked.“ Alex whispered as Julie finally fell back asleep and stood up slowly, giving Luke a look that said ‘the three of us are talking about that song‘ before poofing out.

Reggie bit his lip to keep from smirking and poofed out, leaving Luke alone with Julie.

“Sweet dreams, superstar.“ He whispered before he slowly started to walk out, deciding to leave that way just in case Julie had another nightmare or just got scared so he could get back to her quickly. He glanced at her one last time and smiled at her sleeping peacefully before heading to the studio to get his ear talked off about his lullaby and how he clearly belonged with her.

When he did show up in the studio with a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes, Alex and Reggie immediately bombarding him with questions about the song and insisting that he and Julie were indeed soulmates like the kids in his song, he didn’t disagree.

#julie and the phantoms #julie molina #reggie molina #alex molina #luke patterson #jatp headcanons #jatp fanfic

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bb-tings · 4 years

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campfires & kegs

rudy pankow

requested by: @ampanonyg

summary: y/n and rudy go on their annual camping trip and meet up with their friends.

taglist: @ampanonyg @ims0golden @jjsmentalpolaroids @stargazingstarkey @letsgofullkook @jjmbanks @maybanksbaby @1-800-jjslut @simpforstarkey @jellyfishbeansontoast @ilovejjmaybank @royalpogue

(i have people who have requested to be on the taglist and then i have some friends who i would like nice criticism from, but if you want off i completely understand.)

______

The couple was so excited when they finally pulled up to the campgrounds. The time for their annual camping trip had finally come around and they couldn’t wait. When they hopped out of the car and looked around to see a few of their friends that they had made from the many camping trips in the past, the pair’s smiles grew even wider. They knew that if their camp buddies were around too then there would be a campfire party that night.

Rudy and Y/n began getting everything out of the car and setting the tent up. Y/n swat at the mosquitoes that attacked her skin, trying to get to the red substance beneath. As much as she loved these trips with her boyfriend, she was over the little bugs as soon as they arrived on the camping grounds. She turned to Rudy who was getting things out of the car.

“Roo, did you get the OFF,” Y/n questioned her blonde boyfriend as they put their things inside the tent.

“No...was I supposed to?” When she didn’t respond he turned around to see her standing with her hands on her hips with an emotionless look.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Rudy, did you at least get the bag of snacks that we packed?”

When the blonde didn’t respond she let out a frustrated sigh and walked away from him to put the blankets and sheets on the air mattress they had brought. Rudy felt really guilty, he knew that he could be really absent-minded at times. But he was just so eager to camp with his gorgeous girlfriend that everything else just escaped his brain.

Rudy walked into the tent and pulled the blanket away from Y/n, throwing it on the bed. He grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the tent and he sat on the bench in their camp area. Rudy reached out and pulled her hips towards him, and wrapped his arms around her. Y/n’s hands landed on the blonde’s shoulders. She then slowly made her way to the back of his neck and played with his hair.

“I’m sorry.” Y/n heard his words, but she avoided his eyes. She had long forgiven him, but she liked it when Rudy fought for her. In any way, whether he was fighting someone else or fighting himself, as he was doing now. She kept her eyes locked on his lips. When Rudy noticed that he launched forward and gave her a quick peck. Returning to his original position=, he noticed the small smile on her face and her wide eyes.

“What was that for?”

“I felt like you were assaulting me with your eyes. So I put a stop to it,” the young actor responded with a smirk.

“Oh. I was assaulting you, was I? I’m sorry, am I making you feel uncomfortable? ‘Cause I’ll leave.” She sported a big smile as she tried to pull away from the boy, but let out a squeal when he tugged her to stand in between his knees again.

“Nah, I’m not uncomfortable. I’m good. But I am really sorry for being so forgetful.” He looked up at the girl with sad blue eyes and poked his bottom lip out for effect.

“I know baby,” Y/n let out a sigh. “But now we have to add bug spray and snacks to the list of things we need from Walmart. This was supposed to be a cheap trip, remember!.” The girl made a silly angry face and made her voice deeper.

‘It’s alright baby. I think my bank account can take a hit of about $40 dollars. I don’t know if you know this but I’m a famous actor. I work for Netflix.” the boy smirked up at the girl.

“Yeah, I remember. You never let me forget,” Y/n started to pull away from Rudy and grabbed his keys from his pocket. “Come on, Mr. Big Shot, Walmart waits for nobody.”

“Alright, wait for me in the car. I’m gonna go tell Luke and Annie to watch our stuff.”

Y/n watched as he walked the 10 foot distance between their tent and the biggest RV on the grounds. Anne Johnson and her husband, Luke Johnson, were the famous when it came to the specific campgrounds. They had been there the first time the pair had gone camping. The four of them hit it off immediately, being the same age but somehow all in different stages of their lives.

The married couple was known for their campfire parties they threw. Renting out the biggest camp spot, they would buy 2 keggers, find logs, build a fire, play music, and then drive around on their 4 wheeler, inviting everyone on the campgrounds. Just strangers, hanging out by a fire, listening to music, and having the time of their lives.

When Rudy mentioned their much-needed trip to Walmart, the couple didn’t hesitate to agree to watch their stuff. When Rudy said bye and turned around walking back to his car, Y/n saw Annie and Luke waving towards her. She smiled a big small and waved back, excited for the inevitable drinks the group would share later that night.

“Tonights gonna be so fun baby.”

“Rudy we don’t need 3 packs of hotdogs, we’re here for 3 nights. Not a week,” Y/n scolded her boyfriend.

“Well, last time we ran out of food. And you know I get hangry,” the boy pouted next to his girlfriend as they made their way to check out.

“Well, that’s because last time, somebody forgot to pack the right stuff, and instead packed the year-old weenies. OH and trust me, I know.”

“You still love me though,” Rudy smiled as he wrapped his arms around the girl as she tried to put the groceries on the conveyor belt. “Unfortunately.”

Y/n allowed her jaw to drop as she stared unbelievingly at her boyfriend. They had left the store and drove back to the camp. Rudy then walked over to help Luke build the fire, while Y/n helped Annie make some fruity alcoholic beverages inside the RV. They had been there for about 3 hours now, and to say the pair was slightly drunk would be an understatement.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Roo,” Y/n looked towards her boyfriend as he looked genuinely confused. “That bitch was all over you.”

When the words left her mouth, she heard Annie and some other people they had met throughout their night, start laughing. She wished the girls had been at the grocery store with them, knowing that they would have been on her side, had they seen the girl, who apparently had a death wish, giving Rudy sexual glances.

“Babe, she was doing her job,” Rudy slurred as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, smothering the girl with his hoodie-clad chest.

“Yeah, while simultaneously giving you bedroom eyes.”

“Ok! Before this turns into a full out brawl, Luke is about to get his guitar out. It’s c-a-m-p-f-i-r-e-s-o-n-g time,” as Annie spelled out the famous lyrics from SpongeBob, Y/n pulled Rudy towards the benches around the orange and red flames. She made sure to grab the spots right next to the young boy with the guitar, wanting to get the best experience.

While Luke and Annie were talking around getting suggestions and requests for music, Y/n snuggled her way into Rudy. She was sitting beside him with her legs thrown over his through.

When Rudy turned his head to the left, Y/n took the time to kiss his neck. When her lips made contact with his smooth, freckled skin, she felt Rudy tense and squeeze her knee harder. “What’s wrong, bubba,” she questioned innocently.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be able to sit through this if you keep doing that.”

“What are you talking about Roo? I’m not doing anything wrong-”

“Alright! Kid rock it is!” Luke yelled to everyone and started playing his guitar.

Rudy looked at his girlfriend and glared into her eyes. “We’ll finish later.”

“And we were trying different things, and we were smoking funny things!”

When Y/n loudly sang the next lyrics she made eye contact with Rudy. “Making love out by the lake to our favorite song.”

She felt bad for everybody who wasn’t there. Strangers sitting around a fire, roasting marshmallows and hotdogs, getting drunk, singing their lungs out. This was her favorite thing to do with Rudy. Before he met him, she had never gone camping but she was glad that he brought her along with that one year, because now she couldn’t think of another place she would rather be or other people she would rather be within that exact moment.

Rudy picked up their last bags and waved goodbye to the Johnsons. He stuffed the bags in the backseat of the car, knowing that if he opened the trunk things would fall out, and then hopped into the driver’s seat. He looked towards Y/n to make sure she had all her electronics and chargers for the drive home and saw the sad look she was sporting.

“What’s wrong baby?”

“I don’t wanna leave,” she responded with a pout. To this, the blonde boy let out a chuckle. He put his hand on the shoulder of her seat and looked behind him as he backed out of the spot, onto the main road.

“I know baby, but there’s always next year,” he suggested this as he shifted into drive, then grabbed Y/n’s hand and placed a kiss on it.

“That’s so far away, though.”

“Well, then you better start counting.”

“Ugh! I’m taking a nap,” Y/n reached down between her seat and the door and relaxed as the chair slowly started to incline, while simultaneously letting out a yawn.

“Ok baby. Dream of me.”

“I won’t.”

When Rudy looked over towards the sleeping girl, he reminded himself how lucky he was. Watching her, he smiled to himself, thinking that she was so cute. He loved the girl so much and he hoped he got to do just that for as long as she would let him. He just wanted to make her happy, then he too would find his happiness.

#rudy pankow #rudy pankow imagine #outer banks fluff #outerbanks cast #cast #camping #campfire #obx requests #please request #my ask box is open #i'm realy proud of this

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vmheadquarters · 4 years

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We’re still playing our game of written hot potato! Dozens of your favorite authors are taking turns to tell a Veronica Mars mystery story. Each writer crafts their chapter and then “tosses” the story to the next person to continue the tale. No one knows what will happen, so expect the unexpected!

Follow the “vmhq presents” and “murder we wrote” tags for all the installments, or read the story as it develops on AO3. --Chapter Twenty-Four of MURDER, WE WROTE is written by @livinginsunnyhell. And stayed tuned next week for Ch.25 from @kmd0107 - tag, you’re it!

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR by @livinginsunnyhell

Carrie Bishop was pissed off that she was in this situation. Not only had she been about to make it big in her singing career (her manager had just booked her the music spot on SNL), but she’d started seeing a hot new male model who found her both charming and talented. He’d invited her to spend the weekend with him down in Palm Springs at a little villa he’d splurged on, but instead she was here, being hunted by some psycho killer.

Thanks Susan, again.

She turned to look around the room and spied Dick who was mixing another round of Godiva chocolate martinis. God, she was sick of those things. All they were doing was adding to her anxiety about the situation.

And giving her bad gas. She kept having to go to the bathroom to relieve herself. Right on cue, her stomach cramped in pain and she scowled as Dick asked the room who else wanted some chocolate martinis.

“Susan, I have to go to the bathroom,” Carrie announced pointedly raising her eyebrows at her friend who was chatting with Kimmy and Cole.

Susan frowned, “Carrie, can’t you take Dick or someone? What use would I be fighting off some killer?”

Carrie sighed and rolled her eyes, “Remember how in high school I told everyone I slept with that creepy weirdo teacher to cover for you? Remember that! Well now, I’m asking you to come with me to the freakin toilet! Is that so hard?”

When Susan just stared at her, Carrie huffed and stood up.

“God, Susan, can you be more self-involved?”

With that, she left the three 09ers and walked toward Dick who was shaking the martini mixer vigorously and shaking his hips. She doubted he even realized they were being hunted and taken out one by one.

“Dick, come with me to the bathroom,” she demanded.

“Seriously? I’m busy here, Carrie. Ask someone else, like Casey or Luke,” Dick said pouring the martinis out and handing her one.

She waved it away and looked around the room to find someone to escort her to the bathroom. Watching her old classmates lazing around, flirting with each other, she decided what the hell and grabbed a fire poker as a weapon.

Anything was better than listening to Cole drone on about life at some small school in Rhode Island or Luke try to convince people he didn’t have same sex tendencies or Gia’s obsession with her shoes.

Exiting the room, she advanced into the mansion looking around for the bathroom. Every time she left that room, it seemed further and further away.

She used her phone as a flashlight to light the way and nearly screamed when she ran into Veronica and Logan coming from the kitchen.

“What are you guys doing?” she snapped.

“Snacking, thinking, trying to figure out the mystery of who is trying to kill us,” Veronica said eyeing the poker in her hand.

“Where are you going?” Logan asked, tightening his hold on Veronica who was leaning into him to keep her weight off her ankle.

“Bathroom, Susan wouldn’t come with me,” Carrie said rolling her eyes.

Veronica and Logan traded looks and looked at Carrie with concern.

“We’ll come with you,” They said in unison.

Carrie rolled her eyes and muttered a ‘whatever’ before moving forward and going toward the bathroom. She glanced behind her to see Veronica and Logan waiting right where she’d run into them. Giving them an uncharacteristically grateful look, she stepped into the bathroom.

It was dark and she wasn’t sure where the lights were. No matter how many times she’d been in here since this whole thing started, she couldn’t remember if the switch was on the right or left hand side.

Stumbling further into the bathroom, her hand felt something mushy. Suddenly, something was falling on her and a warm liquid dripped down her front. “What the--” she began, her hand finally finding the switch.

Light filled the bathroom and her eyes landed on the dead body of a woman who she’d never seen before. Her neck had been sliced and blood had flowed down the front of her body, covering her clothes in dark liquid. She screamed alerting Logan and Veronica, who raced over and peered over her shoulder.

“Who is that?” Veronica asked as Carrie hurried forward to the sink and began to wash the blood that had gotten onto her clothes.

She screamed again when it didn’t come immediately off. “That’s all you have to say? She could’ve attacked me!” Carrie howled in anger.

By now, the rest of the partygoers had made their way toward the screams and were peering into the bathroom.

“Bummer, Carrie,” Dick said, drinking his martini and eyeing the woman on the floor. “Coulda just waited for Casey or I to go with you.”

“Does anyone recognize her?” Veronica asked, staring down at the bloody woman.

She frowned as she noticed the weird lopsidedness of her hair, her eyes were wide open in shock, and while her makeup may have been impeccably done before, now it was smudged from what Veronica could only assume were tears.

“Why’s she wearing a wig?” Logan asked and reached forward to remove the blonde wig.

Veronica moved to stop him so his hand prints wouldn’t be on anything and then grabbed a towel and removed it herself. “Don’t want your fingerprints on it,” Veronica muttered, removing the wig.

“What about my fingerprints?” Carrie whined as she finally got the blood off.

Veronica glanced at her, but chose not to respond. Instead, she stared at the ratty blonde wig and then back down at the dead woman. “Anyone recognize her now?”

“No, but winged eyeliner is so passe,” Kimmy said. Rolling her eyes, she stepped out of the bathroom. Carrie followed after her, not wanting to look at the body that had basically molested her.

That left only four people in the restroom, not including the body.

“Wallace? Mac?” Veronica asked as her two trusted friends advanced forward to look at the woman.

“That’s Della Pugh!” Wallace said upon closer inspection.

“Who?” Veronica asked, confused.

“You know, she was that one girl who was in the talent show when we were Juniors, I think. Everyone laughed at her when she tried to do a cover of some song...it was really bad,” Wallace said, frowning as he remembered how mean the 09ers had been. He shot Dick and Gia an accusatory glare as they giggled together, not in the least concerned about the dead body of an ex-classmate.

“I don’t remember this at all. What talent show? And what was she doing here?” Veronica asked, bewildered.

“And why is she dead?” Logan added.

They shared another look and then glanced at the rest of the 09ers who seemed to have lost interest since it wasn’t one of their own. Veronica watched as the last stragglers headed back toward the large room they had turned into their main headquarters.

“Should we check to see if she has anything in her pockets?” Mac added, looking at Veronica nervously.

“Maybe she was a guest?” Wallace said, bending down.

Veronica bent down as best as she could with her ankle and used the towel to touch the body, she couldn’t find any pockets or anything out of order, except for the blonde wig. However as Veronica continued to jostle Della’s blood soaked clothes, there was a soft clink of glass on the tile floor.

“Maybe she’s the one who has been watching us,” Logan suggested right as Veronica exclaimed out in triumph.

“What is it, bobcat?”

“I’m not sure, it’s a small vial of...something. I don’t think we’ll find out what unless we get it into a lab. Wait, there’s a label, it’s faded but I think that says…’arsenic?’” Veronica muttered squinting at it and then looked at the other three of them in alarm.

“She had arsenic in her pocket?” Logan asked, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer.

Staring down at the body, all four of them felt panic begin to rise and a question burned in their brains: Why had the woman had arsenic on her?

“So she wasn’t a guest...but the killer? But then who killed her? And why?” Logan asked.

“Maybe someone didn’t like that ratty ass wig,” Wallace muttered.

Veronica nodded. “Do you think she was watching us?”

The four of them shared a look, unease clouding their faces.

“Veronica and I were thinking that maybe--”

“Veronica! Come quick!” Kimmy shouted, darting back into the bathroom. She grabbed Veronica’s arm and yanked her forward causing her to stumble. Logan yelled and grabbed Veronica’s waist to stop her from falling and then glared at Kimmy.

“What’s wrong?” Logan asked, batting Kimmy’s hands away from Veronica’s arm.

“Cole! Cole! He’s gone!” Kimmy shrieked, tugging on her arm again to come back into the main room.

Veronica groaned and the five of them hobbled back into the room to find everyone looking agitated.

“We came back in here and Cole was gone! No one has seen him since we heard Carrie’s scream!” Kimmy yelled in a panic.

Veronica frowned as she looked around the room to see who else was missing. “Duncan’s gone too,” she said, turning to Logan who looked down at her.

“Do you think--”

“I don’t know,” Veronica whispered.

“We should go look for them!” Kimmy exclaimed, looking around the room.

“Nope, I’m staying here. Finding one dead body was enough for me,” Carrie said, rolling her eyes. She glared down at the offered chocolate martini from Dick and moved across the room to settle next to Susan.

Dick began to hand out martinis, until he came to Veronica and Logan. “Dude, you want one? I know your girl is working, but you can partake,” Dick waved the martini glass.

“I’m not sure if we should be drinking anything at all, we found arsenic in Della’s pocket,” Veronica said, glaring at Dick.

She didn’t really think that there was any arsenic in anything, whoever killed Della had obviously stopped her before she did anything since the liquid was still in the bottle. But she was tired of Dick’s comments and his drinking, so scaring him a bit was probably best for all of them.

His face blanched and he stared at her in shock. “You really think this is poisoned?”

Veronica shrugged, returning her focus to see if anyone else was missing from the room.

“We need to find Cole!” Kimmy kept shrieking again and again.

“And Duncan,” Logan added, as everyone looked at each other nervously.

“We shouldn’t split up, though, right?” Casey asked.

“Probably not, but we can’t just leave them out there,” Wallace said looking at Veronica.

Veronica nodded and leaned against Logan. “We could split into two groups. The injured stay here and a group of four go and look?”

“I’ll go,” Kimmy said.

“I guess, I will,” Luke said. “Better than sitting around here and waiting to die.”

“Casey, Alexis, come with me,” Kimmy whined.

Casey rolled his eyes, but got up anyway and Alexis followed. The four of them looked around for a weapon, Kimmy took Carrie’s fire poker and then they left.

Veronica watched them go and then began to search the room for clues. With the help of Logan, who was supporting her weight to keep it off her bad leg, she moved around the room tentatively.

“What’s that?” Logan asked, bending down as he saw a slip of paper. It was half hidden under one of the couches, the very one Duncan had been sitting on earlier.

“What does it say?” Veronica asked.

Logan frowned. “It’s one of those character descriptions. It says… ‘Campbell Scott ex-boyfriend of Enid Curtis. Broke up when she found out he’d drugged and taken advantage of her at a party. Best friends with Mason, but stopped being friends when Mason stole Enid away from Campbell. Campbell is attending the weekend to convince Enid they should get back together and take out Mason. He plans on doing this by--”

“By what?” Veronica asked wide eyed.

“Paper’s ripped.” Logan said, handing it to her.

Veronica scanned the piece of paper again, unsure what to make of it. She looked up at Logan who was staring out the window. She frowned thinking that he should be more concerned that Duncan’s sole reason for being here was to get her back...but then she reminded herself it was initially just a game, right?

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I think I see someone outside,” he said causing the remaining people in the room to come over to them.

Veronica squinted through the darkness searching for some figure in the storm that had picked up again and sure enough, she saw a large figure moving in the distance.

“Do you think it’s Duncan or Cole?” Wallace asked quietly.

“Or someone else entirely?” Logan added.

Looking up at him, Veronica could see he thought something worse was headed their way.

#veronica mars #veronica mars fanfic #vm fanfic #vmhq presents #murder we wrote #round robin

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jflashandclash · 6 years

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Attrition of Peace

Thirty-Four: Ajax

Still Not the Creepiest Way I’ve Been Hit On

Getting hit by a car wasn’t originally on Pax’s bucket list, but he decided to add it and a happy checkmark on his mental record.[1]

He had run away from the fight, leaving the steam, flames, and storm behind. Percy and Leo were too enraptured to notice him. Well, Percy probably noticed, but whole flaming taco torpedoes deal was a bit distracting for him.

Flaming Taco Torpedoes: a great name for a band, and a great name for both the best food experience and worst bathroom experience of your life.

That’s when the Paxmobile sidelined him, taking him off his feet and onto the pavement. Breaks squeaked. A familiar voice shouted, “Cho!” from an open window. [2]

Pax wanted to wallow in misery and whine, “Ow!” loud enough for Croesus’s son to hear, but got a half a second of wallowing before almost getting stomped.[3] Pax rolled to the side to avoid a golden hoof. He found himself between the Paxmobile’s front and a distressed automaton donkey’s rear. One definitely ready to kick.

“Holy Titans—Ajax! Help!” a voice called beside him. Jack was trying—unsuccessfully—to scoot away from the hooves using his jaw.

For an instance, Pax didn’t feel like he could move again. Weirdly, hit by a vehicle wasn’t in his repertoire of things he was mentally prepared to handle. He snatched Jack’s head by his hair and rolled them away from Luke the Donkey’s shuffling feet, hearing a pancake-smashing pang from where his head had been.

Pax stayed crouched on the ground panting as Jack blathered, “—barely hit us. How am I supposed to write a sonnet about that?”

The driver’s side door slammed shut and Axel took two long strides to them.

“Ajax—that—that is you,” he said.

Axel knelt beside Pax and cautiously ruffled his hair, which showed a strange amount of resistance. Pax didn’t understand Axel’s confusion until the caramel locks fell all over his arms and shoulders.

He was still Calypso.

Pax opened his mouth to speak but felt like his words were made of too many marshmallows—normally an awesome problem if he wasn’t struggling to express himself. Finally, he managed, “I think I look like a pretty princess.”

“Yea,” Jack complained, “And like someone I used to bang. It’s weird and uncomfortable for everyone.”

Pax tried to laugh that off. He knew he should change back, but the thought of it made him tremble. How easy would it be someone else forever? To walk away and create a new identity, complete with a cool back story and costume change.

A chilly breeze wafted the scent of flames to him. Trees had collapsed. Windows on nearby houses had shattered. Panels had ripped off. Shingles were aflame. Pax hoped their cab driver had gotten out of here okay and wasn’t a sizzling pile of demigod collateral.

“I wish I could make rainbows appear,” Pax said. He stared through Axel’s firm expression. He thought about the tears that spilled down Leo’s cheeks, the ones that evaporated immediately into the night air, about how Leo had screamed in pain. “Or be really awesome at weaving. Or make people want to party. I—I h—hate being… I hate being able—”

Axel pulled Pax into his shoulder with one arm.

Pax choked on a sob and clutched at his brother. As he wailed, he felt the hair along his shoulders recede, becoming lighter until his normal jagged length returned. The cute work jacket morphed into a sweater and bronze breastplate. He was him again. Just a stupid, horrible godly thing that… that was meant to…

To hurt those I love the most.

No wonder Axel was going to play pin-the-dagger-in-the-demigod with Pax’s hand.

“Aw, my boys just need to hug it out. Axel, Ajax, pull me up against your shoulders to simulate cuddling,” their decapitated friend requested.

“Nope, we’re good,” Axel answered.

Pax had to agree. As desperate as he was, he just found his line on where he’d go for affection: corpses or undead things.

Axel withdrew, making Pax want to cry more. He ruffled Pax’s hair again, puffed up his cheeks, and popped them.

“Why did you hit me with your car? Was it because of the Reyna-condom thing?” Pax asked. As far as he was concerned right now, there were plenty of other reasons to hit him with a car, but he figured that’s the most likely one for Axel. After all, Axel was too awesome a driver to do so on accident without some major distractions.

Pax glanced over Axel’s shoulder towards the van, noticing how a stalk of corn had sprouted through the open driver door.

“Euna—” Axel started uncertainly, apparently willing to overlook the Reyna-condom thing in Pax’s current pathetic state.

“—turned into corn,” Pax finished for him.

“Something is wrong with her,” he said.

“I’d be upset too if I were turned into corn. That would be like reverse engineering for our people.”

Axel scolded. Before Pax could dodge, Axel snagged his ear and twisted it.

“Aye! Okay! No mercy for the sacrilegious!” Pax whined. His voice almost sounded normal again, only cracking once with physical pain instead of emotional.

“We need to get out of here to meet up with Calex and Merry—before others come for us,” Axel said, “It shouldn’t take too long to get to camp since we can use… donkey travel.” Axel looked annoyed at having to say it.

Although Pax knew Axel was trying to distract him, he wondered how often Axel said stuff like that to distract himself.

Not that someone like Axel would ever need to pretend everything was okay since he could warp reality with his sheer awesomeness… but in a universe where Axel was less perfect, Pax wondered how often Axel kept a poker face when he felt like the world was crumbling.

Axel shifted like he was going to throw Pax over his shoulder. From the way Axel’s arms shuddered, Pax had a strange feeling Axel would struggle to lift a kitten right now due to battle exhaustion.

“Don’t try to pick us up. You’ll kill all three—“ Pax paused to stare at Jack. “Two of us? Jack, are you dead? Should I consider you dead again?”[4]

“I don’t know,” Jack admitted, then proceeded to use that grating gurgle of a voice to sing the lyrics to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. If Jack had shoulders, Pax knew he’d have shrugged.

The Pax brothers helped each other stand up. Pax felt sore from the car hit, but not Hercules-punched-me-sore. It was more like a little car love tap. Something Pax felt like Hephaestus would do to Aphrodite if he could.

Axel hesitated, then picked up Jack by his dirt-smeared red hair.

They needed to build Jack a carry case. Or at least a towel. Pax could imagine it now. “Nice pet carrier. Is that a cat inside?”

At least they’d have the best Halloween prop ever.

They shuffled towards the back of the van, listening to Jack as he supplied some entrance music.

Before Axel opened the doors, Pax could hear Euna’s icily tight voice, “—to wear off by now. It won’t stop though. It’s so loud—it’s too loud—”

When Pax saw the inside, he gasped.

The far corner of the interior, behind Axel’s driver seat, looked beautiful, or as beautiful as a beat up utility van’s interior could look. The carpeting near Euna’s feet was covered in mosses, ferns, and flowers. Vines had wrapped wildly about her legs, torso, and Backbiter’s scabbard, like nymphs had given her a makeover. Pax couldn’t tell that Euna was sitting on a bench until she slammed her fist into the frame with a solid crunch. Some of her moss indented to show where she’d damaged metal structure under the cushions and plants.

Her legs were pulled up against her chest. Her other hand covered her ear. There were pieces of bent precious metal littering the moss in a circle around her. Her black hair trembled with each of her twitches.

Kally was in midstep towards her, one hand clutched tight to her chest, like Euna had tried to bite it when Kally reached out.

The look on Alabaster’s face said he’d slap Kally if she tried to pet another rabid demigod. Well, he would, if his hands weren’t decorated in the world’s most expensive blocks.

Relief washed over his and Kally’s faces when they saw Pax, making Pax feel the tiniest bit fuzzy and less dead on the inside.

“Ajax, rouge satchel. Vial seven,” Alabaster instructed before the fuzziness could fully settle.

Pax’s muscle memory kicked in before his brain did. As he hopped into the van, he could envision the Witch Boy’s ingredient cabinets at Camp Othrys. All the powders, preserved skins, miscellaneous liquids, and bones had been color and shape coordinated since his little half-Mayan lab assistant could barely write his own name let alone read Latin nomenclature. Back when Pax had a place in life, had a full family, and all he had to worry about was how he and Matthias were going to prank Prometheus when the Titan kept predicting every whoopee cushion and paint bucket that they set up.

When Pax regained focus of the present, he had his hand in one of the satchels around Alabaster’s neck, and was withdrawing a rounded vial with two dots and a bar along the side.

A vial of pills.

Pax stepped towards the trembling daughter of Demeter. “Euna, these will make you feel better.” He paused. “Or kill you.” Pax glanced back at Alabaster. “These are going to make her feel better, right?”

“Ajax,” Alabaster growled.

“Right, question after potential crisis.”

A vine snaked from Euna’s leg to snatch the vial away from Pax. Apparently, she was on the act now, think later train with whatever was “too loud.”

The vine squeezed the vial until it shattered into her palm. She caught some of the raining pills.

“Only take two,” Alabaster snapped.

Pax hoped she’d heard before she tossed her head back. No water necessary.

The pills worked fast.

Euna went rigid for a moment. Then her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed back into the plant-filled bench, her black hair spilling across her face. Her skin seemed to glow dimly in the van’s yellow light.

Kally hesitantly took a step closer to Euna, putting a hand up to Euna’s forehead.

At Kally’s worried glance, Alabaster said, “They’re a derivative of the formula I use for Ajax’s sleep darts. I’ve been using them for my studies on the effect of lucid dreaming on prophetic dreams, so I can immediately plunge into uninterrupted REM sleep for an hour. Think demigod-powered Nyquil.”

“So, this is the best time to draw on her face?” Pax asked, knowing this was an opportunity he should not take lightly.

“Ajax,” Axel snapped from outside. With a much more inclusive and less chastising tone, he added, “We need to leave. Everyone settle in.”

Pax wanted to ask about the urgency, but he could hear what Axel meant. The steam, flames, and hurricane had stopped behind Alabaster’s house. Everything had gone quiet.

“Vroom vroom,” Jack agreed. Although he couldn’t turn to see, his eyes darted in the direction. “I call shotgun.”

As Axel slammed the back door shut, Kally stared after them. She took a seat on the tiny part of the bench still poking out of Euna’s plants. Her movements were slow, like she’d tried to carrying a grizzly bear before realizing grizzly bears weren’t for bench pressing.

“Why is he still with us?” she asked softly. She bent down to pull something out of her messenger bag. From the slow movement, Pax guessed she’d gotten the coolest injury someone could get from a battle: a pulled back muscle.

When Kally withdrew a medical kit that Will must have given her, her eyes watered. “I saw what he did to Annabeth and Piper when I dragged Frank and Jason over—“

The driver’s door shut. From over the seats, Pax watched Axel set Jack’s head in the passenger seat, then paused to debate on a seatbelt.

“Please, it was only mono for Annabeth,” Jack said from the other side of the seat. “It looked like you’ve been healing people though. So you are one of my siblings—”

“Jack,” Axel growled, deciding against the seatbelt.

Although Axel feigned mild irritation, Pax knew how scary Jack’s awareness was. It made Pax want to hug Kally and make her a safety bubble of teddy bears and a soundproof safe room.[5] That was probably the only thing the Fates had left to dangle in Pax’s face. Please don’t hurt my not-girlfriend, Pax thought. She was the only one remotely adjusted in the group and they needed someone who was properly freaked out by a talking head.

“I can behave myself. She’s a friend or a lover or something, right?” Jack asked.

“Flash,” Alabaster said softly, “If you do anything to her, I’ll bring your punishment from Tartarus here.”

Jack made a choking sound.

As though Alabaster hadn’t threatened him with whatever his eternal nightmare was, he continued, “Kally, you said Euna had droplets that invoke godly powers?” Alabaster went from looking like he wanted to strangle Jack to his I’m-fascinated-at-the-expense-of-my-life face. Pax loved that face. It meant he could get away with stupid stuff. “I’m impressed how her mind and body can handle that. I wonder if she’s acclimating.”

�� “Acclimating?” Kally echoed, eyes widening with alarm. She withdrew ambrosia squares from her messenger bag and some unicorn draught from New Rome, handing a cube to Pax and painfully leaning forward to give one to Axel. She pointedly ignored Jack, who was now humming Hysteria.

“She said it wore off faster last time,” Alabaster said with a shrug. His hands and feet were still encased in metal. His shoulders were slumped with exhaustion and—although Alabaster tried to hide it—confusion. Pax knew Alabaster well enough to see that he hadn’t had enough time to process everything, from the Pax brothers being alive, to why Jack wasn’t dying, to going towards Camp Half-Blood… which Alabaster probably didn’t realize yet.

Pax was very willing to not point out their destination. As the van began to accelerate, Pax flopped down onto the bench beside Alabaster, aware Alabaster would be too tired to move away when Pax nudged him with his knee.

Pax set Nietz’s cage on the ground and opened it, hoping the weasel would frolic out. Instead, Baller scrambled over, evoking a soft call of delight from Pax.

The weasel hopped around Pax’s feet once, then dove after Nietz, nipping and biting at his unconscious brother’s ear to no avail.

“Nietzsche…” Alabaster frowned in concern.

When it became clear that Nietz was nonreactive, Baller bit him and dragged him across the van floor towards Pax and Axel’s trunk by the front seat. Beside it, Pax could see Axel’s surplus army jacket was on the floor, with Hunnie curled in the center. Baller deposited Nietz next to the other unconscious sibling.

“I don’t have enough energy to help them…” Alabaster muttered.

Kally’s teary eyes were scanning all of them, either taking inventory of who was the most injured, or trying to figure out which of the Triple A Chimera was the hottest. Clearly Axel.

“You’re doing that thing,” she said, examining him, “You… Pax?”

Pax jumped. The end of that first sentence was, “where you stare really seriously.” He couldn’t have people taking him seriously. He’d start crying. His cheeks would puff up and he wouldn’t look nearly as adorable.

“So, you evaporated Hazel. That was cool,” he said to Alabaster, keeping his voice even. Ways to distract both of them!

“I banished new shadows from appearing on or near my property. She needed to either fight us without feet, or she had to completely shadow travel away,” he explained robotically, “I almost performed a similar spell to keep Lamia’s essence from reforming, so I already had the mechanics of the incantation worked out.”

Kally paused when she went to hand Alabaster an ambrosia square and realized he didn’t have mobile fingers to take it from her. Alabaster glanced over at the movement and saw the problem. Kally blushed; Alabaster looked puzzled.

Pax thought about the two of them sitting at a café in some fancy European town, sipping tea while Alabaster circled mistakes in a scientific journal and Kally hashed out the details of a chapter.

Pax reached out for Kally’s wrist and pulled her carefully into his lap.

Old people¸ he thought while trying to work around her injured back.

“Pax—” Kally protested. Her blush intensified when she was unable to catch her balance.

“What are you doing?” Alabaster asked, annoyed at the invasion of personal space on the bench.

Once Pax had Kally comfortably against him, he nuzzled into Alabaster’s shoulder. “It’s called sharing,” he said. All he’d wanted all night was a hug from someone that didn’t try to kill him in dream land. This would suffice. “Didn’t either of you go to kindergarten? Besides, at this rate, you’ll both scream in horror the first time you accidentally hold hands. And it will be an accident. It’ll be worse than that time I told Morpheus to give Axel a sex dream with Reyna.”

They were entering a highway. Axel missed a gear shift, the van jerked, and Pax could smell burnt clutch from the back. “You asked him to do that?!” he demanded.

“Yep,” Pax said, trying to sound proud instead of numb. “For your birthday.”

“Wow—Axel,” Jack piped up, “Alabaster’s dream was right? Ramirez? And you never told me? Have you two—”

“No,” Axel snapped, scowling at Pax in the rearview mirror. Pax forced as much of an impish smile as he could manage. “We’re not talking about this, and you’re never to talk about Reyna like that, and it doesn’t matter anyway because it’s over.”

Jack laughed. “All that time of you rejecting girls, boys, monsters, and gods I sent your way? Na-uh. Our chaste warrior falls to the sweet blessing of Eros’ kiss, and you think I’m going to but bite mine tongue at such a celebration?”

“Jack, I’ll throw your head out the window.”

“No, you won’t. You missed me too much.”

“I’ll find Matthias’ playlist and play dubstep the entire way back to camp.”

“You wouldn’t dare, foul demon.”

While the two in the front argued, Alabaster had leaned down and bit the ambrosia square out of Kally’s fingers. If Pax had to guess, purely to spite him.[6]

In an attempt not to evolve the art of embarrassment into a new, more powerful emotion, Kally went to work cutting Alabaster’s sleeve off so she could attend to his wound. Although Pax’s presence made the process slower, they worked around him without complaint. Whether from exhaustion or kindness, Pax was happy for the proximity.

Pax waited patiently to see which of them would break first.

It was Alabaster. Pax could see him become conscious of how close he was sitting to Kally and Pax before he asked, “Wait—mono? You had the opportunity to kill Annabeth, and you gave her the kissing disease?” He looked at the seemingly empty passenger seat for distraction.

Instead of singing to heal where Hazel had slashed Alabaster’s arm, Kally very pointed started to stitch him up. Not gently either.

Yea, their whole group needed some real talk time about the whole killing Percy and Annabeth thing.

“I’m not gonna kill Luke’s creepy crush,” Jack chastised, “Besides, it’s like a two for one deal. A few months from now, Percy will be obnoxiously exhausted and sick. And—if recent Tartarus fanfiction is correct—so will Jason.”

“Oh, Percy and Jason are not a thing.” Pax felt bad ruining Jack’s plan, but he figured Jack ought to know now. “I once smacked Percy’s ass when I’d morphed into Jason and you could tell he wasn’t into it.”

“Ajax—why—” Alabaster started to ask. He shook his head in disgust. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It did make sense at the time,” Kally meekly assured, finishing up the stitch. She put some gauze and medical tape over the wound. “I’ll sing over what’s left once I’ve attended to everyone else and rested a little from healing…”

She trailed off. Pax knew she was going to say Frank and Jason. The thought of her trying to ignore Frank’s nudity should have brought cupcakes and happiness to Pax’s heart.

Kally glanced down at Pax, frowning.

Pax forced himself to give that devilish smile and wink. “I can take off my clothes if you need to do a full body exam.”

Kally blushed, probably thinking about the time he streaked through New York, then shook her head. “Will everyone be okay?” she asked, standing up from Pax’s lap.

Reluctantly, he let her get to her feet. Kally stretched, wincing.

The pain Pax and Leo shared kept threatening to resurface. That kid of Hephaestus deserved a medal, not a child of Strife rooting around in his head. “Does ‘okay’ include future therapy, hours of hug sessions, and a lifetime of regression on self confidence? Because if it does, then maybe. With 65% in the positive direction,” Pax said, puffing up his cheeks and popping them.

Quieter, she asked, “Are you okay?”

He knew she wasn’t asking if he was injured.

If they were alone, Pax would have burst into tears right there, curled up in her lap—an impressive feat considering their current placement—and begged her to hold him. He was pretty sure he’d never screwed up more than he had tonight.

But he didn’t want Alabaster to claim he was faking it, and he didn’t want to explain to Jack why he’d rather curl up with Kally—a hot chick that wasn’t a decapitated corpse—and he didn’t deserve to have Kally touch him.

Alabaster saved him from turning into a puffer fish of sobs. “Why did you leave the protective barrier around the house?” Alabaster asked. The tone wasn’t angry. More the I’m not mad, I just want to know how you did it, that he used when Matthias and Pax broke into the laboratory for prank supplies. “Does it have to do with that mark on your neck?”

Mark? Pax followed Alabaster’s glance and touched the bruise on his neck. Whatever it was hadn’t healed yet, even with his extra godly blood.

Icy fingers slipped over his.

Pax almost screamed, thinking the abominable snowman had somehow snuck up on a moving vehicle and bust through the wall in the stealthiest explosion possible.

Then he felt the warmth of a blanket settle over his legs, one composed of newspaper articles about world catastrophes. The article on his left knee showed a picture of a dead baby panda at some zoo.

Pax felt like someone had scooped out his heart and crushed it. Well, the tiny reserve of his heart that hadn’t been crushed by the rest of the night. He opened and closed his mouth.

Alabaster yelped in alarm when something slipped between him and Pax.

“Have you heard about how Zeus hung Hera over the pit of Khaos, when he learned of her attempted treachery? Even the gods fear the abyss of nothingness and nonexistence,” a familiar voice cooed like a lullaby.

Pax choked on his own breath—a stupid feat, but impressive within the world of stupidity.

A girl leaned forward off their bench, one hand stretched back along Pax’s shoulder and one to Alabaster’s, so she wouldn’t fall forward, though it looked more like she was suspended by two chains. Those black locks—streaked with white, red, and purple—were shorter and jagged again, twisting back in chaotic spirals. She wore a leather jacket. A crowbar and a sledge hammer appeared at her feet.

Atë ignored both of them, her face angled at the slumbering form of Euna.

Euna mumbled in her sleep. The vines wrapped around her legs unraveled and lifted, hovering like charmed snakes between the daughter of Demeter and the Goddess of Mischief and Ruin.

“Atë,” Kally hissed. She snatched one of Axel’s throwing sticks off the wall and aimed it at the goddess. “What do you want?”

“Wow—Kally, put the stick down,” Pax said, his voice coming out a whisper. “Axel will hurt you way more than Atë ever could if you break that thing.”

Atë shrugged listlessly and tugged Pax’s hand so she could sit upright. Alabaster flinched and scowled as she did the same to him. Smoke still curled off her from her little appearing trick. “Euna asked a question while she was sleeping. It would have been rude not to answer.”

“I can’t see!” Jack complained, “Is the intruder hot?”

“It’s Atë,” Axel growled, glaring at her in the rearview mirror.

“That didn’t answer the question,” Jack grumbled.

Atë released Pax’s hand and shoulder, sliding her fingers down his bronze breastplate and under the blanket. She dug her nails into his knee. “Don’t go to Camp Half-Blood,” she said, “Lapis sent me. She said you and Axel shouldn’t go back. A chicken lizard told her—”

“Kukulkan,” Axel snapped.[7]

Pax wasn’t sure what to expect from Atë. Maybe a, “Sorry for using you to kill Will, cause massive chaos, and trap Nico. Here’s a Reese’s Stick.” That would have been nice. He hadn’t expected her to act as a convoy for his siblings.

“So, Lapis gave you a stickynote, a high five, and you poofed? No strings or massive chains attached?” Pax asked. “Just out of the goodness of your… whatever organs you have?”

Atë turned to Pax and stared at him with those blank, red eyes. If she hadn’t… acted how she had earlier, he might have thought he’d stunned her into silence. “She traded the favor for information,” she said.

Pax was scared of what kind of information Lapis would have that Atë might want, other than Axel’s workout schedule. She could get a lot of money for that from the nymphs at Camp Half-Blood.

“Let me take a guess: your mom doesn’t want any of us to go back to Camp Half-Blood?” Kally asked. She took a step back towards Euna, and Pax saw her glance at Backbiter’s scabbard. She was probably debating if she could get it to use Atë’s choker as a cut here line.

“No.” Atë tilted her head to one side and Pax could feel some of her hair tickle his ear. Part of him really wanted to shove her off the bench. Part of him wanted to cry and whine a, I thought you liked me! and knew pushing a goddess was a bad idea.

Pax went to shove her off the bench.

Atë caught his hand. Without revealing any strain, she continued, “Python would be disappointed if you weren’t there, Kally. Euna needs to come to camp. If rumor is correct, she’ll find the answers to some of her questions at Hera’s temple. Jack can come. You can roll his head into Cabin Seven and see who sings the last note. But… Alabaster…”

She turned towards him. “Are you excited to sit outside the camp that has banned you for having thoughts and for wanting to teach others how to have thoughts?”

Although Pax couldn’t see Alabaster with Atë between them, he could envision his friend tensing. Atë leaned forward to tap her nails in a walking motion along Alabaster’s restrains. As the goddess’s fingers left the metal, the material tarnished, cracked, and fell away.

She continued, “You and the rest of Chimera could go on a play date while you’re waiting. I’m sure there are some nymphs you can hunt down to gather ingredients.”

“The Association Against Sorceral Subjugation banned nymph poaching in the 1980’s,” Alabaster said evenly. Pax could see Alabaster flex his freed fingers.

“As they should have,” Axel said sternly from the front.

Pax would rather fall on another nail than hear that argument again.

“Now, Atë, I want you out of my car,” Axel growled.

She kicked her feet out, letting her ankles crack against the base of the bench on the backswing. “You are almost at camp. I should leave. After all, children of Strife always hurt those we love the most, especially the more we’re around them.” She frowned and stared at the floor.

Pax wanted to ask her if she wanted some polish and a rag to rub it in more. He already knew how much he’d hurt his friends.

Instead, she leaned over and kissed Pax where she’d bit him previously. When Pax gasped, he found himself inhaling her smoke as she poofed away.

In her place, there was a small box wrapped in her newspaper blanket. It rattled with something inside.

They sat in stunned silence for a moment, the van’s interior feeling too exposed. Pax wished he had a magical poof ability to avoid unwanted, inevitable questions. Kinda like those trap doors evil villains always kept in offices.

“Um, Pax, isn’t she your sister?” Kally asked. She set Axel’s throwing stick back on the wall. Her tone was too careful.

“She’s only my half-sister,” Pax mumbled, pulling at the sides of the newspaper blanket. Maybe he could hide under it.

“We’re only half-siblings,” Axel said, giving him a concerned glance in the thin slit of the mirror.

Pax sighed. “I want to wink at you so desperately as a joke, but it just feels too weird.”

“Ajax, I consider myself a very patient and understanding man when you consider our upbringing,” Axel said, “But, if you ever wink at me in that context, I will beat the incest out of you.”

“You didn’t—” Alabaster started.

“Nope. I said nope,” Pax said quickly, opening the box to keep from looking at everyone. “I was a good little boy and told her she had no manners since she hadn’t brought me—”

Inside, there were pastry sweets. Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them: they were from his Chiich’s pastry shop. He’d recognize the smell anywhere. Beside them were a bundle of black orchids, the flower his father used to keep all over the club as a reminder of their home country. Lastly, there was a tiny ball of poof staring up at him with panicked, beady eyes. The furry black thing dashed out of the box, fumbling onto the floor.

Baller’s head popped up from his nest. He dashed after the new intruder.

They bolted around the van.

“What is that?!” Kally demanded, scrambling back onto the bench beside Euna.

“It’s a chinchilla,” Pax explained numbly, “She even gave me a live one.”

Alabaster pulled his knees up to sit pretzel style on the bench beside him. Cautiously, he withdrew a note from inside. “That’s a low bar, Ajax,” he pointed out before opening the card.

A voice recording played of Atë saying, “Lo siento muchísimo.”[8]

Pax flinched at the apology. He reached over and opened and shut the front a few times, making it go, “Lo s-L-L-Lo sient—”

Alabaster batted him away. He made a face and went to shut the card.

“What does it say?” Pax asked.

Alabaster frowned, glanced at Axel’s seat, then back at the card. He bit his lip. “I wanted to stitch the recorder inside the chinchilla, like one of those Build-A-Bear toys, but Lapis said you would like this more.” He swallowed. “Now you can open this each time I hurt you. And… and it has a heart with her name beside it.”

Pax tried to respond. He wanted to get excited about naming the chinchilla something awesome or about having a tasty piece of home to eat and visualize the way his Chiich would scold them for swiping sweets from her stand.

But he felt too nauseous to eat.

All he could do was pull his legs up against his chest. He thought about how easily Atë restrained his hand when he tried to push her off the bench. He clutched at the sweater under his armor, the one depicting weasels eating humans.

Maybe Atë was once like him. But everything kept going wrong, over and over, and she stopped feeling like she was made out of cuteness and fluff and forgot how to give others her cuteness and fluff.

Maybe he deserved to be with someone like her.

Warmth encased his side.

Pax wanted to squeal until he smelled the smallest hint of eucalyptus and mint—Kally’s shampoo. She squeezed onto the bench beside him and wrapped her arms around him. Although she was trying to be sneaky, Pax felt her other hand slip along his back to tug on what was left of Alabaster’s sleeve.

Pax could feel her tears when she nuzzled into him.

Alabaster’s fist crushed around the card. Pax wanted to yip in protest—that had been a gift. But the crumbled paper was already on the ground, giving another obstacle for the weasel and chinchilla to dart around.

Pax really hoped Baller was trying to say, hi and not nice night for a snack.

Alabaster shoved the box down afterwards, shaking up the flower and pastry arrangement. “Hades damn it all,” he grumbled. When he leaned forward, putting an arm around Pax and Kally and his chin on Pax’s head, Pax could feel how he fumed and trembled with anger.

“You know you can’t kill the chinchilla, right?” Pax squeaked. “It’s not Harvey’s fault that Atë chose it for a gift.”

“We can get one of the satyrs to give it a nature’s blessing to assure it returns home safely,” Kally suggested.

“Most animals raised in captivity will die in the wild,” Alabaster pointed out.

“I’m sure some younger cabin members will take care of… Harvey,” Kally said.

Listening to them talk around him eased some of the tension in Pax’s stomach. He didn’t realize how tightly he’d clenched into a ball, but tried to become less ball-like by snuggling more into them. After a moment, he managed a smile and said, “You know, Atë gave me the sweater I’m wearing too. Are you going to undress me with the power of teamwork?”

The van decelerated to a stop. At first, Pax thought Axel was parking to hop in the back and yank his ear off.

Instead, Axel opened his door and paused. Pax could hear him sniff the chilly early morning air as it drifted into the car. Then he popped his cheeks.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

Alabaster and Kally sat up. Even Euna stirred.

Axel inhaled deeply and sighed. When he glanced over the seat rest, Pax could see how exhausted he looked. “It’s Reyna. She’s here. And so are the Romans.”

Thanks for reading guys! At least you now know Pax survived >>’’ We’ll get to Percy and Leo’s side a little later.

Also! Excitement on this front! For those of you who aren’t on a website that says how many chapters there are: I’m writing the last one this weekend! :D There will be 43 in Attrition of Peace, though I’m hoping to keep the word count below Blood of a Mayan. (It’s already too long T.T) Once that’s done and I finish some school application stuff (*cries* real life), I’m going to hash out some of my writing requests (don’t think I forgot you Calex-meets-his-awesome-step-mother-request :D)! Thanks for sticking with me so far guys!

Footnotes:

[1] The original start for this chapter was in Axel’s point of view with, When they slid into the Paxmobile, Axel still wasn’t sure they’d made the right choice.

When a talking head and demigod slammed into the hood of the car, he knew, regardless of the rightness of the choice, at least it didn’t result in Pax’s death.

[2] I am so tired of doing exposition and character building scenes in the Paxmobile. That’s why it disappeared for a full book. I’m straight up going to blow the damn thing up soon. Say goodbye to your home weasels! MUAHAHHA!

[3] His most famous son is deaf.

[4] A question I often get from friends and family when I get into writing moods.

[5] “Preferably covered in pictures of scantily clad Alabaster and Pax boys. You know. In case she gets bored.”

[6] Jokes on Alabaster. You know Pax has no problems with polygamy.

[7] This is hinted at in the second book. Lapis is the only Pax other than Ajax that can call upon the Vision Serpent. More on this—in proper mythological context—in the Pax family’s standalone story.

[8] I’m so sorry.

#The Attrition of Peace #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #Heroes of Olympus #fanfiction #PJO #HOO #Pax #Axel #Jack #Alabaster #Euna #Kally #creeeeepy flirting #One day I'll write characters with functional relationships....#It will trigger the end of days....

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sgfgsarah · 5 years

Text

With You // Calum Hood Pt. 5

summary - basically you and calum grow up together and fall in love

word count - 1900+

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

March 9th, 2011

15 years old

Calum fidgeted hesitantly in his seat, his teeth hitched onto his lower lip as he intently watched Evie's facial expressions. Evie's eyes were glued to the screen — glued to Luke Hemmings — as she watched the younger boy strumming away on his guitar.

Michael had shown Calum the video, and they both talked to Luke about doing covers together. Luke immediately agreed, but Calum hadn't told Evie about it yet.

The video came to a close and Evie continued looking at the black screen, eyebrows furrowed in thought. Calum grew impatient very quickly.

"So what to you think?" he blurted out, catching Evie's attention once more.

A small smile crept onto Evie's face as she nodded.

"Yea, sure. I'll be your camera girl."

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

"Ready?" Evie asked the three boys, standing on the other side of the camera. Luke nodded shyly, Michael and Calum both mumbling their acceptance.

Luke definitely noticed how undeniably beautiful Evie was. Her unruly light brown waves framed her face perfectly, and her kind hazel eyes always dazzled when she smiled. It wouldn't be hard for anyone to notice, but it went deeper than that. She was also kind and funny, too. Everyone loved Evie.

Luke also noticed the way she'd look at Calum a little longer than she should, and the way Calum would rest his hand on her lower thigh when they were sitting next to each other. He noticed the quiet conversations they'd share apart from the group, and how naturally it came to them.

Luke knew he would never have a chance with Evie, for she was already taken. But that knowledge didn't stifle the extremely minor crush he had developed on her. He just had to keep his feelings hidden, and wait for the next girl to come around.

But as much as Luke noticed about Evie, Calum noticed more. Everyone thought Evie was the sweetest little thing. She had gotten quite good at shoving down her impatience and distaste of being talked to by most people. She saved all of her real personality for Calum, and that was exactly how he liked it. Besides a few girlfriends of hers, he was the only one that knew about her raging crush on Harry Styles. He was the only one that knew about the things she wrote online (the dirty, dirty things), and that she danced around her room in an oversized t shirt and booty shorts to One Direction almost every night.

It was the little things that made Calum love Evie. The things that made her her. Calum loved her stupid jokes and even found her crazy thing with One Direction adorable (mainly because it was so cute to see her get all excited).

"Okay guys, go!" Evie clicked the button on her semi-fancy camera that she had graciously allowed the boys to use for their youtube channel, giving them the greenlight to start talking.

Michael whispered a joke into Luke's ear, causing all three boys to burst out into happy giggles before Luke introduced themselves and the song.

They had officially started a band, calling it 5 Seconds of Summer. Even though they were a little sloppy at times, Evie thought they were very good. All they needed was a drummer, and they'd be complete.

Michael said he had FaceBook messaged a drummer a couple schools over, and he had agreed to play a gig with them in a few weeks. Nobody knew the boy, but through mutual friends, they were reassured that he was very good.

None of them thought their little band was going anywhere. It was only for fun.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Their gig had went very well, and they all liked the new drummer, inviting him over to film videos with them.

"Hi, I'm Evie," Evie had introduced herself to the drummer.

"I'm Ashton. It's nice to meet you," he said, a giggle bubbling out of his throat as he shook her hand. Evie giggled back at him, unsure of why either of them were laughing.

A look of realization crossed over Ashton's face as the sound of Evie's laugh clicked in his brain.

"Do you film their covers?" he asked, his head tilted slightly to the side.

Evie nodded, "yeah. They're using my camera, and I wouldn't trust any of those three goons with it. How'd you know?"

Ashton giggled once more, "you laugh all the time in their videos, and it doesn't sound like a guy laugh, so you can tell you're there. Ashton leaned in closer to her, his voice getting serious, "I think Calum might like you. Like, a lot. He's always singing straight behind the camera. Straight at you."

Evie gasped in a quick breath, shaking her head. She felt the blush creeping up on her cheeks, trying her best to push it back.

"No he doesn't. We're just best friends."

Ashton nodded, a smirk toying on his lips, "of course you are."

Evie decided not to question what he meant. It was much better not to ask. As much as she'd love to believe that, he seemed to have his eyes on a different girl from their school, and Evie was happy for him. Of course she wished he wouldn't like her like that, but she couldn't stop her best friend from being happy.

"So Ashton," Michael intervened, "are you excited to join the band?"

Ashton nodded, a wide grin still on his face. Evie tuned out their conversation as her eyes wandered across the little pub the boys had just played at to a booth where Luke and Calum were talking in hushed tones.

Calum flicked his eyes up towards Evie, noticed that she was looking at him, smiling lightly at her and looked back down at the table.

"Calum are you even still listening to me?" Luke groaned. Calum nodded.

"Of course I am!" Calum argued.

"It doesn't matter anymore. You went all Evie on me."

Calum furrowed his eyebrows together. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Luke sighed. "It's when your eyes go all big and you don't listen to anything else. I fucking swear she likes you back, mate! Just go for it!"

Calum knew better than to think Evie liked him back. Sure she wasn't interested in any other guys at their school, but Calum knew she'd never feel the same. There was no point trying to get her for himself when there was such a high risk of losing her forever. Above all, Evie was his best friend. Who else would he sit on his bed and watch The Office with? Who else would he go to when he really needed a hug?

"You really need to just tell her. Even if she doesn't like you back, she'll still be your friend. You mean just as much to her as she does to you. Cal, this really isn't healthy for you," Luke said sternly.

Calum sighed.

"I don't care, Luke. Losing her isn't worth any risk. She's my best friend, and I can't fuck that up."

"Can't fuck what up?" Evie said, sliding into the booth next to Calum. The bench had a lot of room on it, but she chose to slide up right by Calum.

Calum tensed, "what? Nothing."

Luke rolled his eyes, "we were just talking about how i missed a chord during the gig. No need to stick up for me, it's fine if she knows."

Evie furrowed her brow. She knew Luke didn't miss a chord, but she didn't want to push Calum. If he didn't want to tell her what he was talking about, it was fine. It's not like he was obligated to tell her everything.

Evie rested her hand on Calum's thigh, and he relaxed under her touch.

"It's all right Luke," she smiled sweetly at the blonde boy, "I'm sure you won't miss it next time."

Luke nodded, smiling back at her, "thanks Eves."

Calum rested his hand on top of Evie's, making Evie smile down at them. She didn't even process that Calum and Luke continued their conversation. She rested her head on Calum's shoulder, and tuned out the world except for his steady breath. She closed her eyes, quickly falling into an easy slumber.

Michael and Ashton both slid into Luke's side of the booth, joining Luke and Calum's chat about who even knows what. Calum looked down at Evie to see that she had dozed off on his shoulder, and he couldn't help but smile at her peaceful looking figure.

He looked back up at the boys to see they had halted their conversation and were all looking at him.

"What?" Calum asked as the boys all exchanged glances.

"Nothing," muttered Michael, a smirk on his lips as he continued getting to know Ashton.

Calum knew exactly what Michael meant and rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Luke, silently intertwining his fingers with Evie's.

Luke's phone buzzed, and he picked it up to see that his mother had texted them.

"My mum got caught up watching her show, and Cal's mum is going to come pick us up."

Ashton scoffed, "you know I could just drive you guys home, right?"

The boys all exchanged glances, "next time," Michael said, "Cal's mum is already on the way."

Calum's mum, as promised, walked into the small restaurant.

"Are you boys ready?" She asked, only glancing at the table. Her eyes shot back up to her son as he watched him look down at a sleeping Evie with a small smile on his face. Mrs. Hood smirked. She always knew this would happen. Her and Mrs. Carson had been dreaming of it for years, but they'd never tell their children that.

Ashton said his goodbyes and drove off while Michael and Luke slid out of the booth. Calum squeezed Evie's hand lightly. "Eves, baby, we've got to go. My mum's here to pick us up," he whispered in her ear.

The moment he realized what he had called her, panic shot through him, but Evie's eyes fluttered open, and it didn't seem to Calum that she cared.

Evie cared a lot. A cage of butterflies had been released in her stomach as she opened her eyes and started to move out of the booth, Calum's hand still intertwined in her own.

Baby.

They walked towards Mrs. Hood's car.

Baby.

Calum released Evie's hand to go sit in the front seat, and Evie buckled herself in next to Michael in the back.

Baby.

"Close your mouth, baby, you're gonna catch flies," Michael whispered to Evie. Luke giggles at Michael's joke, luckily for him, Calum hadn't heard it.

Evie rolled her eyes, shoving Michael, "piss off, Clifford."

Michael and Luke both continued laughing, mainly at how utterly in shock both Calum and Evie still looked after the encounter. Calum looked embarrassed that he had let himself slip, while Evie looked as if she were trying to analyze literature that didn't make sense.

Baby.

Calum hadn't meant it like that, had he?

Baby.

He couldn't have.

Baby.

It was just a pet name. He didn't mean anything of it.

Baby.

But oh, did Evie want him to call her baby again.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

part 6

#calum hood #calum 5sos #calum 5 seconds of summer #calum #bestfriend!calum #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #michael clifford #5 seconds of summer #best friend 5sos #bestfriend!au

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sileancastle · 5 years

Text

Silean Castle [Chapter One]

As Mrs Williams rattled on about the history of Uphonia, a boy in the classroom was reviewing his notes.

Complaceny - a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.

Force = Mass * Acceleration

The Harlem family is the owners of the famous Rickadie Crown, who hasn't chosen a new owner since Sir Callem Rickadie the forth.

Of course, all that wasn't on his small piece of paper. It was just one word for each of the answers. Complaceny, Fma, Rickadie.

Jake was relying on his memory to remember the longer answers to these words, and hoping his brain would fail him like it did every so often.

"Mr Day." Mrs Williams said in a pause of her lecture. "Who was the last wearers of the Rickadie Crown?"

Jake glanced at his notes, which didn't give the answers he needed. "Sir Callem Rickadie the forth," he racked his brain. "And his younger sister Zinnia, who died when Callem was 9."

"What's that piece of paper?" The teacher asked, standing in front of his desk.

Jake wordlessly handed his notes to his teacher, who gave it back after glancing at it. "Good job."

"Mr. Piercy, please refrain from using magic in my classroom without permission." Mrs Williams said on her way to the front of the classroom. Jake's friend Luke jumped as a floating pencil taking notes dropped onto his desk. "Sorry Mrs Williams."

"Hmm," she said. "Miss Buhrman. What was the cause of Zinnia Rickadie's death?"

I look over to my friend Kelly, as did everyone else. Asleep on her desk, she didn't react to Mrs Williams till she slapped the front of Kelly's desk with a ruler.

"Fire!" Kelly shouted as she jerked her head up, her silver tiara caught midway down her midneck length of brown knots.

"Correct!" Mrs Williams said surprised as the rest of the class snickered. "Zinnia died from a house fire at age 4, shortly after the Rickadie Crown chose her. That death was soon to be followed with more as her father waged war on the neighboring Leige, for he thought that the fire was a work of arson. It wasn't until the current leader George Sirean stepped in that the great Rickadie Lang war ended."

As she lectured about the war, a folded up piece of paper got tossed onto Jake's desk. Putting his notes in his pocket, he unfolded the passed note.

"Meet at Day with Vader in the usual spot" it said in Kelly's usual scrawl. Catching his friend's gaze he nodded, then passed the note to Luke.

He didn't react to it immediately, as Mrs Williams was facing the class. As she asked Jessie Gumb to explain one part of the war, Luke looked at the note, and caught Kelly's eyes, frowning.

Jake averted his attention away from his two friends' staring contests to pay attention to the lesson.

After the lesson, the trio met up at a table outside of their school.

"Why'd you want to meet up?" Jake asked Kelly.

"Cause I don't want to fail the submission test!" Kelly cried, flopping onto the table, face planted on the metal top.

"Calm down Kelly." Luke said, moving some notes away from the flopped figure. "You won't fail."

"Yeah I will!" She said, lifting her head. "Silean only accepts the best! And I'm not!"

"You think we are?" Jake asked.

"Luke is straight up smart, and your notes are crazy good!"

"No they're not." Jake said.

"She's right." Luke said. "You always know ahead of time what the questions are, and write the answers in a way that only you get."

"Okay, first, it doesn't always work like that." Jake insisted. "And second, let's stop talking about this!"

"Alright." Luke said, adjusting his gold circlet with green spots of emerald. "But do you know what the test is going to be focusing on?"

"Probably history." Jake guessed, ignoring Kelly's groan. "The headmaster is the son of the last Duchess."

"Why history!" Kelly moaned. "Why can't it be easy like math!"

"Cause the Silean family is rich in history." Luke said. "And it won't be the common knowledge that would be on the test."

"If only," Kelly cried. "I can easily tell you the last Duchess is Emily Silean!"

"That's cause it's preschool stuff." Jake said. "The test would probably focus on other kinds of history, like the genology of the Sileans, or how they came into power, or the last dynasty before them, or where the Silean crown was seen last."

Jake stopped as he noticed a floating pencil near Luke writing down what he said. "Come on, I'm just guessing."

"Your guessed are close to accurate." Luke said, pointing to him.

"Fine!" Jake said. "Study that stuff if you want! I'm not the end all be all."

Leaving Luke to tutor Kelly, Jake stood up to give himself a breather. He walked around the school grounds, taking in his last day at primary school. That afternoon would be tests for the final grade. Most students on Jake's grade would take these tests. His trio wanted to get into the Silean academy, one of the best secondary schools out there. Well, the guys wanted to get in. Kelly just wanted to stay with her friends.

He walked through a garden, bursting with flowers and crops. Free to take one, Jake strolled to a cherry tree near a pond and took one. Popping it in his mouth, he spit the pit into a trash can he was passing.

As he made his way to the exit, he heard beautiful singing.

He turrned a corner and saw a girl with long black hair in a braid singing in a foreign language. Eyes closed, she swayed to the slow beat, her face filled with emotions.

Jake stood there, though he didn't know how long, listening to the beautiful music.

When the girl ended her song, she opened her blue eyes, and gave a start when she saw Jake.

"You startled me!" She said, in a strange accent.

"Sorry. Your song was beautiful." Jake complemented.

"Hmm," she said, "You are a student here?"

"Yeah, last year. The name's Jake Day."

"Hmm," the girl said again. "I grant you my name. Serine Yarrlock, originating from the southern coast, come to take one submission test."

"Glad you could come, Serine." Jake said. "What secondary school are you testing for?"

"My father wishes me to attend Silean academy."

"Oh, that's what I'm testing for. Just a heads up, the test might be of politics and crown magic."

"Ah, thank you for the assistance. But why do you think that?"

Jake shrugged. "It's a little querk I have."

Off in the distance, an old fashion bell rang, followed by a voice on the intercom. "Can all eighth graders testing please proceed to room 11c?"

"Well, we better go," Jake said, turning back to Serine. But the bench she was on was empty.

"Huh, must be a teleporter." Jake muttered as he made his way out of the garden, and to the school entrance.

As he entered room 11c with some other students, he was stopped at a table right near the door.

"What school are you testing for?" A man at the table asked.

"Silean academy." Jake replied.

"Here you go." The man said, taking a packet from one of many piles. "The table you're sitting at is on the front."

Glancing at the front, he made his way to table 13, passing Kelly in an already filled table.

Jake sat down at the table with two other students, and started flipping through the magically blank packet.

Looking around the filling room, Jake spotted Luke four tables away, and the foreign girl, Serine, at a table by the door.

Soon enough, the stream of students stopped, and the man who gave them their packets closed the door, but not before the headmistress of the school came in.

"Welcome kids!" Ms Rudolph said. "To my students, I hope you had a good time here, and to visitors coming just for the tests, I hope you like your short time here.

"Now, before we get started, let me just say a few things.

"No magic is nessesary for the written portion of the exam. The pencils that will be given to you will allow you to see your test. So there will be no cheating."

"Now then!" Ms Rudolph clapped her hands. "Let us begin!"

Twitching her fingers in a follow me motion, a stream of pencils flowed from a box the man pulled out, and each one floated to an individual student.

Jake grabbed the one floating in front of him and opened the packet to the first page.

"What was the last dynasty that used the title 'King' 'Queen'"

Jake quickly wrote down the written answer and went on to the next question.

"Discribe two ways a crown may choose a wearer, and at approximately what age?"

Jake smiled. He was one of the people that got chosen by a crown, instead of given it.

'At around 6-7 will a crown usually chose it's wearer. Two examples is the crown glowing as the crown is presented to the child, or as the crown appearing by the child's bed.'

As Jake went on to the next question, he found himself atomatically answering as his mind wandered.

He remembered the morning his crown choose him. The morning of his seventh birthday, he woke up with a rusty elaborate crown sitting next to his alarm clock. He thought his mom put it there as a birthday surprise, but she never saw it before.

As Jake finished the last question, his mind flicked to his crown in general. He didn't wear it often, cause when other students had elaborate crowns, he always found it distracting.

He stood up, and brought his test to the door. He put the packet on a pile already made and handed in his pencil.

"Thank you, Mr Day." Ms Rudolph said. "We'll call you back for your practical exam."

Meeting up with Luke, they stood nervously, waiting for Kelly to come out.

"Luke Piercy?" Said Mr Arnold from room 10c. "Time for your practical exam."

Jake patted Luke's shoulder as he walked to the classroom.

Jake stood there, waiting. After Luke was done with his practical exam, he entered the crowded hallway.

"They told me to go to the cafeteria." He told Jake. "I'll see you after you're done."

"See ya." Jake said, absent mindedly.

Thoughts started to flick through his head. He didn't have any magic. Neither did Kelly. Would that cause them to not get in? That would devistate Kel. And Jake? He didn't know how he would react.

After the current person left room 10c, Mr Arnold called his name. "Jake Day?"

Jake made his way through the hallway to the room, where there was a table in the middle of the room, seated which was a lady garbed in scarves and gypsy attire.

"Sit down." Mr Arnold said. Sitting across from the lady, Jake's nerves racked up to an eleven.

"Calm, my son." The lady said. "This test is merely to see if your magic abilities will surface if they have not done so.

"Not being well in magic will not hinder you in your dream."

Jake relaxed at the last part. "What do I have to do?"

"Take my hand, and I will determine your magic level."

Jake put his hand in the darker hand, weighed with rings.

"Ah yes. Some, not all of, your magic has surfaced. Tell me. Have you had premonitions or accurate thoughts of the future?"

"Well, sometimes I can guess questions that are random, like when a teacher calls you out to answer something."

"Ah, you have some seer in you." The lady giggled. "Less than I, but nevertheless, you have great potential in your future of magic."

She nodded to Mr Arnold. "He is done. Call in the next."

Jake stood up, and left the room. The student who was next was Serine. She gave Jake a smile as she passes, and the door closed behind her.

Jake left the crowded hallway and made his way to the cafeteria, where students were already chatting together. Jake sat down next to Luke, who was nervously pulling at his red hair, his crown on the table.

"Hey, you'll definitely get in." He said, patting Luke's back in a comforting way.

"It's not me I'm worried about." He said, staring at the table.

An hour went by before Kelly came into the cafeteria. She sat down next to the two boys. "I ran out of time in the written portion! I don't know if I did it right!"

"It'll be fine." Jake said, giving her a quick hug. "Doesn't matter if you don't get in."

"You were the last one, right?" Luke asked.

"No, second to last."

"Look, there's Ms Rudolph." Jake said, turning to the stage that took the place of one wall.

She put on her head piece, elaborate with feathers, and cleared her throat into a microphone. "Hello again students!"

Jake spotted some younger kids peek into the cafeteria, reminding him of when he used to do that every year.

"In just a moment, we will give you your graded papers with the secondary schools you can choose from. I know all of you did your best. I know your future will be bright."

With that, she did the same gesture with the pencils, and papers fluttered from a pile her assistant brought out, and landed in front of each student.

Flicking through the papers, Jake noticed he only got two answers wrong. On the last page it listed the secondary schools he could go to. "I got in!" He said, spotting Silean academy in the list.

"Me too," Luke said. "Kelly?"

Jake glanced at her, seeing her crestfallen face. "You didn't get in?"

She slowly nodded, until she flipped her paper around and pointed at the school. "Nope! Totally did!"

"Stop messing with us!" Luke said. Giggling, Kelly pulled her papers back and circled the school.

"Can't wait!" She said, beaming.

#SileanCastle #chapter 1 #literature #original creation #don't know what else to out here

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