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mooniefics · 3 years

Text

in the grand scheme of things [ 3 ]

pairings : zeke jaeger / reader, referenced eren jaeger / reader

word count : 5.5k

tags : unhealthy relationships, relationship discussions, implied cheating, drinking, break ups, mutual infidelity, dubious morality, love triangles

warning : descriptions of alcohol and drug use

summary : you and eren hadn't been doing the best these past few months, and no one that you knew seemed to have any answers for you, or pointers in the right direction. who better to offer you some sound, insightful relationship advice than his older brother. or so you thought.

— originally posted 1 / 28 / 21 on ao3 —

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sasha 3:47 pm hey u down to party tonight?? jean told connie he could get us into another one of the azo parties again

you sighed at the sight of the notifications on your phone from its place on the passenger's seat, pensively drumming your fingers on your steering wheel. the most recent party of the most popular fraternity chapter on your campus you'd attended had been the last party you'd subjected yourself to attending—the halloween party where you'd gotten ditched out and subsequently cheated on. though you could admit that it had been fun in the moment, especially when you had caught the struggle between sasha and historia when she saw your roommate snap a picture of her kissing the standoffish sophomore that always helped her with her english lit homework, ymir, rather than the fraternity guy she was meant to be with.

the memory of that night, at least the time before you'd realized your boyfriend and his annoyingly attractive best friend were nowhere to be found, made you consider. classes did start back up next week, and the most eventful thing you'd done over the break was your quaint little family get-together for new year's eve—and your two rendezvous with zeke, meetings that you were slowly beginning to feel more and more skeptical about as time went on—and you were sure that your second semester would drown you in work just as much—if not more—than you'd had in your first semester. so as soon as you came to a stop at a red light, you picked your phone up to shoot her back a message, laughing to yourself when she replied instantly.

you 3:51 pm party on a wednesday? really?

sasha 3:51 pm come onnnn please??? i heard nikos gonna be there! ur rlly gonna make me go all alone??

so that was why she wanted to go, to see the foreign culinary major that somehow always managed to send her back to the dorm with a large plate of food and a blinding smile plastered on her face for at least the next hour. you were honestly surprised that they hadn't gotten together yet, considering how many common interests they'd shared.

a pleasant thought suddenly popped into your head, the thought that she was probably asking you because mikasa had already declined, meaning that she wouldn't be in attendance. armin was out in turkey with eren, ensuring his absence. that fact made you feel a bit less anxious about accepting sasha's invitation. you could catch up with the friends you'd been unable to see while you were off-campus—or too swamped with work to be able to reach out to—let loose one last time before you were trapped back in the monotonous cycle of working, sleeping, crying, and eating for the next couple months until spring break. your mind had been made up.

you 3:52 pm fine. i'll go as moral support. but no promises u won't have to babysit after you've had ur fun with nikolo this break has been rough for me lol

sasha 3:53 pm oh god my i loveyou so much already picking out our outfits

you chuckled to yourself, slipping your phone into the cupholder as the brake lights of the car in front of you flashed off and you eased your foot onto the gas. you made it back to the dorm relatively quickly, sasha more than elated to see you even though you didn't have any food to bring back for her. and just as her text message had read, she'd already laid out one of your nicer dresses and a set of heels that didn't absolutely kill your feet by the end of the night by your bed, digging through the closet with a pile of discarded clothes growing on the floor.

"thanks sash," you giggled, "but don't you think it's a little to be getting ready? what time's the party?"

"connie told me seven-thirty, but jean said for us to come an hour later so we aren't the only ones there." she spoke over her shoulder, huffing as she tossed another piece of clothing aside, "but i wanna look good! i'm gonna hop in the shower as soon as i find the right thing to wear."

holding out your dress before you, you frowned. it was simple, black and made of a sheer, clingy material with lace accents decorating the low neckline, thin straps that bared the entirety of your shoulders and a modest amount of cleavage. it was one of your favorites, but the half-healed bruises scattered across the skin that would be exposed by it wasn't ideal.

"oh, don't forget to take a cheap coat that you don't mind forgetting. it's kinda chilly out, and i always end up losing track of mine during the night."

you let out a breath of relief, remembering that covering up a bit more would be weather appropriate. "yeah, i'll wear a long-sleeved undershirt and something light on top." perfect.

you waited until sasha had gathered her toiletries and scurried off to the nearest bathroom to change clothes, feeling your face heat up at the thought of zeke, the initial deep pigmentation having faded out over the last two days but still a very visible shade of faint red. you were fully dressed upon your roommate's return, earning an excited slew of compliments from her as she wrapped up her hair in a towel and settled down beside you to get started on her makeup.

you were actually grateful for how early she'd insisted on getting ready considering how long she'd agonized over her eyeliner, or how many times she'd applied and removed her lashes, complaining that "something was off" or "it just didn't look right". your suggested time of arrival came in no time at all, and by then sasha was more than eager to start rushing you despite the pace she'd been moving at earlier.

"hurry!! if niko brings food, i don't wanna get there by the time it's all gone!" she whined, jiggling the doorknob to your room impatiently, "for the thanksgiving party, he brought a charcuterie board with all these nice cheeses on it and it was so good, he looked so happy watching me eat it, it was so cute!"

you chuckled softly at her enthusiasm, shoving the last of your things into your clutch, zipping up your phone in the small inner pocket to insure that you didn't drop it and forget on the floor of someone's house this time. "i'm sure that even if we got there late, he'd set aside plenty of food for you."

the walk to the fraternity's designated house was made much shorter by sasha's insistence, practically dragging you along by the wrist the whole way at a near jog. you couldn't deny that you were feeling a bit nervous about the whole ordeal, knowing that you would have sasha, connie, and jean at the very least, but unaware as to what you would really do besides mill around. at the halloween party, you'd been able to play the variety of drinking games that had been set out for the guests with eren and his friends, but now you weren't entirely sure who to stick to for the majority of the night.

you didn't want to bother jean or connie after they'd gotten secured you an invite, and you were sure that sasha was expecting to be able to spend some time alone with the guy she'd came to see in the first place, meaning you'd have to spend a majority of the night alone, or the unfavorable option of mingling with unfamiliar people. but you realized that was a pill you'd have to swallow as you approached the steps of the house, nearly tripping up over your feet from the speed that sasha was hauling you along at, watching her furiously knock at the door.

there were people wandering about in the yard, some on their phones, most likely waiting for their own friends to arrive, and a smoky stench of something that definitely wasn't just tobacco wafting from the group of men camped out on the porch murmuring amongst each other. you could hear the volume of the music inside the house, almost able to feel it thrumming across the floor if you focused enough.

"thomas!" she exclaimed at the sight of a younger-looking blonde boy when the door opened, whose existence you honestly had no idea about until just now, grinning so broadly it made your own cheeks hurt for her, "jean invited us!"

"oh, come right in." he beamed right back, calling loudly over his shoulder, "yo, jean, your friends are here!"

the inside of the house looked just as you expected, already crowded to max capacity, jean having to maneuver past the throng of people gathered near the front to approach the two of you. "damn, i feel like i haven't seen you in forever." he did his best to speak over the music, wrapping you up in a friendly squeeze, "glad to see you could finally make it." he turned to sasha. "niko's already in the kitchen, by the way. asked when you were coming just a few minutes ago."

sasha's face lit up with glee, turning to you, silently asking for permission to go off on her own as if you could ever deny her and her overly-eager expression. "go get 'em, tiger." you smiled, giving her a few pats on her shoulder to send her off on her way, watching her disappear into the crowd in record time.

but before apprehension of her absence could set in, you felt jean's arm sling around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. "c'mon, you didn't think i was gonna ditch out and let you hang alone all night?" you giggled, turning your head up to look at him properly for the first time.

you'd first met jean in your statistics class, an unfortunate requirement for your major of choice, and initially bonded over your mutual connection through sasha. they'd been good friends in high school, and you'd just moved into a room for at least the next year with her, so you figured it'd do you well to have someone who could get you in her good graces in the event that you two didn't get along. but, thankfully, you two were just fine on your own, and sasha and jean became your first friends outside of the small group you and eren shared.

the only real conflict of interest between the two of you seemed to be your aforementioned boyfriend, and you couldn't really be upset at him for that. eren could be difficult to get along with even at the best of times, he wasn't a terrible person—at least before he'd cheated—but he wasn't exactly the most friendly either.

"is this piercing new?" you asked, reaching up to brush your thumb over the small earring hugging the shell of jean's ear.

"yeah, got it for new year's. pretty hot, right?" you snorted, earning a grin from him, "by the way, if you need to use the bathroom just tell me, the one on the main floor is fucking filthy. and also probably has no toilet paper."

"will do." you could feel the tension ebbing away in his company, at least when you ignored the annoyed glances other girls were sending your way when they noticed his arm around you, "so, what's on the menu for tonight?"

"well, we probably have every kind of alcohol known to man," he said, leaning down to speak into your ear as he began to guide you through the crowded first floor, "beer kegs are out back, junk food and all the inexpensive shit is in the kitchen." he stopped at the opening to a hallway, smile evident in his voice. "but i'm feeling pretty generous tonight, so if you want some of the good stuff we have stashed, just say the word."

"wow, such a gentleman. do you say that to every girl that comes in?" you playfully replied, thankfully far enough away from the music now that you didn't have to talk at nearly a shout.

"only the ones i like." he added a terribly over-exaggerated wink, earning another small laugh from you, "so, what'll it be? vodka, tequila, or triple sec?"

you blinked up at him. "that's it? when you said 'good stuff', i imagined a little more variety."

"beggars can't be choosers, sweetheart. and anyways we're a frat, not a restaurant, so either take your pick or go enjoy some cheap wine while you watch nikolo and sasha drool over each other."

you rolled your eyes, feigning anger in the face of his attitude, huffing out your answer. "surprise me then, frat boy."

"good answer." he said with a grin, "wait here."

he disappeared down the hall, leaving you to stare in silence at the wall before you and listen to the barely muffled sounds of the party going on just a few meters away. you opened up your clutch to fish out your phone, opening it to find your text conversation still open, catching a glimpse of connie's name. you felt a little guilty that you'd almost forgotten about his expected presence, seeing as he had messaged you and you hadn't heard anything from sasha or jean yet. you decided to shoot him a quick text letting him know that you and sasha had arrived, not surprised when he didn't respond as quickly as he usually did, knowing that he was already wrapped up in getting high out of his mind somewhere here or doing so elsewhere.

you opted to kill time tapping through your feed, making it a point to quickly scroll past any posts with armin's handle attached to them. the thought of eren having fun halfway across the world was both pleasant and disheartening at the same time. you felt stupid for still clinging on to the second thoughts about ending things the second he got back. sure, all the dots connected suspiciously well to create a picture that led to the clear conclusion of cheating, but eren wasn't good at hiding things. you remembered the time in your junior year when he'd barely been able to keep your surprise party that your friends had organized you a secret before one of them slipped up about it and exonerated him from blame, and you couldn't help but ask yourself if he was really capable of hiding such a terrible deed when he couldn't even conceal the harmless types of secrets from you.

the more confrontational part of you said that that was ages ago, that both you and him had changed so much since your time in high school, and maybe one of those changes was what made him put so much distance between the two of you these last months rather than hang around you and risk airing out his dirty laundry. you knew you should be angry with him, you would be more than right to be angry with him, but you force yourself to stop clinging to the simpler times, the days when he'd look at you like you'd put the stars in the sky and said all he ever wanted to do was be around you. you couldn't believe how much had changed in so little time.

"ta-da!" jean's voice interrupted your self-pity, a tall plastic cup suddenly occupying your vision, "long island iced tea for the lady. with a straw."

"christ, jean, are you trying to kill me?" you guffawed, taking the cup from him anyways, "my first real party in months and this is what you start me off with?"

"at least give it a try! after i took all that time to make it for you.." he furrowed his brows at you, only relaxing after you took a tentative sip. it was surprisingly not as strong as you thought it would be, a little on the sweeter side, but it served as a good distraction for the burn of five different alcohols sliding down your throat. "pretty good, isn't it?"

"meh. five out of ten." you snarked, giggling around the straw between your lips.

"typical," he lamented, clutching his hands over his heart, "all you and sasha ever do is use me."

"don't lie to yourself, jean. you love us."

you didn't know if it was the dim lighting casting a shadow over his face, but you could swear that you saw his cheeks flush at your assertion. "anyways.. speaking of love, you still dating that asshole? eric?"

"eren." you corrected, laughing at the error, "and, well, it's complicated."

"complicated? then i'm assuming he fucked up big time, considering he's not even here with you this time around."

you took a long sip of your drink, fiddling with the bendy part of your straw, the thought of his infidelity weighing heavily on your heart. "well he'd probably be here if he wasn't out of town, he's been planning to take his trip for a while now.."

jean shot you a displeased look. "i seriously don't know how you put up with that guy, you're selling yourself short honestly. planning on breaking up with him anytime soon?"

you cast your gaze to the floor, thankful that the warmth of the alcohol in your stomach was helping to ease the cool hollowness settling deep into your chest. "oh hush. you don't even know the whole story, jean."

"well i know enough. if you're in the market for any new guys, i'll scout out someone nice for you." you scoffed at his offer, but didn't outright deny it either, unable to help smiling along with him when he smirked and nodded over to the party in the other room, "now, come play me in beer pong, then you'll really have something to complain about."

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zeke could confidently say that his night had been utterly unremarkable.

another quiet day spent working at the library, where he'd actually glanced at the door more times than he was willing to admit with the hope that it would be you walking in. he'd actually been quite tempted to message you, to ask what you were doing, if you had anywhere between two and three so that maybe he could see you, but he'd ultimately decided against it. he couldn't quite figure out the exact cause of his newly-found infatuation with you, but the rationality of it didn't concern him as much as it probably should've, he was simply pleased to relive the very recent memories of your encounters together and anticipate your next meeting—at least until his younger brother returned.

eren had attempted to goad a reaction out of him with an assortment of unsavory texts calling him just about every name in the book, a constant stream of questions asking why he did it, or what he'd done to deserve such a thing, and even a few desperate pleas begging him to say that it wasn't really you. of course, he'd ignored all of them, and he wondered if eren was trying to contact you as well, knowing that you wouldn't be able to see the messages even if that was the case, though still curious nonetheless.

but for the moment, he was lounging at his usual downtown bar, seated in a booth beside reiner and across from porco at their rescheduled night out, since both marcel and porco were unable to make it yesterday, the latter sulking after his noisy attempt to flag down the waitress ended in failure.

"is marcel actually gonna make it tonight?" reiner asked, plucking a stick of celery from the appetizer platter in the middle of the table.

"no clue." porco replied, sipping his mojito, "said he got caught up at work again, so either the let down text is gonna come any minute now, or he's gonna show up for an hour and then disappear."

zeke chuckled. "post-marriage life sure is tough, i guess."

"you can say that again. he's always calling me, freaking about the idea of kids and his mortgage and stuff that i didn't even think about until he complained about it, scary shit."

"you say that like you're not two years away from being his age."

porco began what was sure to be one of his smart-ass replies, but the waitress had finally approached their booth, hiding her annoyance with his friend with a forced smile as she took the orders for their entrées. zeke pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans when he felt it buzz, feeling the slightest hint of disappointment by the fact that it wasn't you.

"who is it? your new girlfriend?" reiner grumbled, smirking when porco shot up in his seat.

"girlfriend?!" he exclaimed far too loudly.

"yup. zeke didn't tell you he's dating a high-schooler?"

so much for "your business", zeke thought to himself. "oh, fuck off. she's in college." he frowned at his roommate, only met with another tired expression of disappointment.

"just barely." reiner turned back to the man across the table, "it's one of his brother's ex-girlfriends too."

porco stared at him incredulously, eyes wide and judgmental, falling back against the cushion of the seat with a low whistle. "shit zeke.. that's kinda fucked up, don't you think?" he seemed uncomfortable by the unexpected revelation, "you're almost thirty and you're screwing around with someone who's probably not even twenty? is this an afraid-of-getting-old thing? mid-life crisis??"

"she's an adult, she can make her own choices." zeke didn't appreciate the sudden scrutiny, finishing off his old fashioned in the hopes that the bourbon would wash away the self-conscious feeling settling unpleasantly in his gut, "not my fault that her choice happens to be wanting to be around me rather than the guys her age."

"what ever happened to you and pieck? she's hot—"

"and actually over the legal drinking age."

both porco and zeke pointedly ignored reiner's interaction as the former continued. "—i thought it was working out between you two.. what happened?"

zeke shrugged. "just wasn't the right fit for me. but you liked her, didn't you? before we had our thing." he looked up at his friend, forcing a casual grin, "maybe you could give that shot now."

he felt a bit more at ease seeing porco's ears and cheeks flush red, now fiddling with the lime garnish on the rim of his glass. "we still talk here and there.. i don't really know much about what she's up to these days."

before he could answer with more words of encouragement that detracted from the previous, morally-incriminating topic, his phone began to vibrate, and he felt his heart leap into his throat at the sight of your name on the screen. "sorry, gotta take this."

he tugged on his jacket and slid out of the booth, ignoring reiner's chastising glance and porco's bewildered look, passing the waitress who was now carrying a platter with their food and refills on his way out. the cool night breeze was refreshing in comparison to the awkward, almost cramped atmosphere that had developed over their discussion, his breath coming is foggy puffs in the chilled, january air as he pressed the answer button. immediately upon raising the phone to his ear, he was met with a blurred assortment of background noise, able to discern the muffled sound of music and the sound of footsteps outside of whatever room you were in.

"hello?"

"oh, zeke, you answered!!" he could hear in your voice that you were clearly intoxicated, much more than you had been when you were at his house, words stringing together and ending syllables unnecessarily drawn out.

he felt uncharacteristically worried at the realization that you were at a party, one that sounded quite large and crowded, most likely crawling with unsavory individuals that he knew prowled around those sorts of events when he himself was in college. "are you alright? where are you right now? do you need me to pick you up?"

zeke was already digging around in his coat pocket to check if he had his keys, more than prepared to take off without his meal or saying goodbye to his friends inside. "'m at a party on campus, 's okay. in the bathroom. just thinking."

zeke didn't feel eased at all at the sound of loud knocking coming from somewhere, hearing you becoming distant for a moment as you presumably pulled the phone away from your ear to call out that the bathroom was occupied. there was shuffling on the other line, then silence for a short moment. "can i ask you something?"

zeke frowned. the idea of not being able to know who was monitoring you in this state wasn't sitting well with him. "go ahead."

"but don't call me stupid, ok? i already know it's a stupid question, but i still wanna ask it."

"there's no such thing as stupid questions." he assured you, ignoring the buzz of a text notification, most likely porco or reiner telling him to come back in before the burger he ordered got cold.

"do i really have to break up with eren?"

zeke felt something odd flicker in his chest, that unfamiliar feeling he'd felt when he caught you staring at you and his brother's one-sided chat logs, but yet the affirmative answer he thought he would be able to give with no problem sat on the tip of his tongue, undelivered. he thought back to that face reiner had made when he told him who you were, and porco's hesitant words trying to rationalize his actions but ultimately failing to do so.

zeke didn't understand why he felt so conflicted all of a sudden. this was meant to be a simple ordeal, one where he got what he needed to teach eren a lesson and moved on with his life. but now here he was, concerned about your whereabouts, focusing hard enough on your muddled words that he managed to catch the wobble in your voice that betrayed your own state of emotional unrest. he realized a moment too late that he hadn't said anything, hearing a small sniffle on your end before we began speaking.

"god, i can't believe i said that out loud, you must really think i'm dumb r'now, but.. i just can't let go of what we had." he was sure that you were crying now. "i keep thinking about what you said, an' you're right. he's been an ass to me, he practically ignored me for, like, three months, probably fuckin' cheated on me with his hot best friend, so i can't understand why i just wanna keep trying to fix things... and its so confusing 'cause everyone just keeps telling me to enjoy myself an' have fun, but i have no idea what i even want anymore, and i don't even know what we are right now and i can't fuckin' believe i cheated on my boyfriend with his fuckin' older brother and i don't know what i'd ever do if he found out."

by the end of it, you were letting out small, hiccuped sobs, breath fast and uneven just as it had been the night he'd invited you over. he honestly didn't know what to say, listening to you cry, staring at the steam of his breath as it dissipated out into the night. you were a good person, someone who was undeserving of such treatment from either him or eren, but it was simply an unfortunate coincidence that you had been caught in the fray.

he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts, preparing to deliver an affirmation similar to the one he'd given you a few days ago when you first laid all your relationship troubles out on the table, but there was a rapid, more insistent knocking at the bathroom door on your end. he could hear a female voice calling out your name, and the jiggling of the door knob.

"hold on," you paused, sniffling, "it's my roommate."

you steadied yourself enough to say that, tossing the phone somewhere before he heard the sound of the door unlocking. "there you are!! are you seriously wasted already? it's only, like, eleven?! why are you crying???" your roommate sounded tipsy, but nowhere near as intoxicated as you currently were, which eased zeke's initial worry, "jean! can you c'mere for a sec! wait, were you calling someone?"

there was a brief pause, and zeke could practically see your tiny nod and teary eyes in his head, then heels clicking over tile and the sound of the phone being lifted, followed by a hurried, "hey, this is her roommate! she's fine, gotta go!"

then silence, just him and the faint noise coming from inside the bar behind him. he didn't know what to think. from the sounds of it, it seemed like your friends were taking care of you for the time being, friends who names he vaguely remembered you speaking of when you'd been detailing your time at the halloween party—people that were unfamiliar to him, people he wasn't sure that he could trust. and a small part of him, a tiny voice at the back of his head, scoffed at his flimsy mask of worry that barely hid the true emotion, his possessive nature, driving his desire to go pick you up and bring you back to the apartment to take care of so you'd have to be there with him another morning with your thankful gazes and blunt, half-awake words.

he knew he was in no place to begin laying judgement at these unknown people in your life considering what he'd done, but it was an innate sort of feeling, the thought that always clouded his mind when he laid eyes on people that were younger than him, that he knew more than them, that somehow he would always be above them in an invisible hierarchy. that same feeling that he felt when he found himself looking down at you.

"zeke?" a warm, friendly voice broke him out of his thoughts, his eyes turning up from the ground to find a tired-looking marcel standing before him, "what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"smoke break." the lie slipped between his lips before he even thought of the fact that there was no cigarette between his fingers, no scent of smoke in the air or clinging to his clothes, "glad you could make it, everyone's inside. pretty sure porco already ordered you something."

but instead of immediately heading inside for zeke to come after him, marcel stood for a moment, lips drawing back and eyebrows knitting into a concerned expression. "is everything okay?"

zeke thought for a moment, giving a non-committal shrug in response.

"still having family troubles?"

despite having been quite fixated on his negative feelings revolving his own younger brother for the last few days, zeke had almost pushed out a majority of the sordid details of the entire situation out of his head, which now seemed to all flood back with such a short, simple question.

"you could say that." zeke scratched the back of his neck, now wishing he'd actually had a cigarette to take his mind off of all these turbulent thoughts, "all the arguing and shit subsided already, but..."

"anything from your dad?" marcel's voice was almost tentative asking that, frowning when zeke said nothing, "sorry.. didn't mean to be insensitive about it."

"it's not insensitive. just," he swallowed, tucking his phone back into his pocket and reaching out to push open the bar door, a silent, less embarrassing way to signal that he no longer wanted to talk about it anymore, "just kind of fresh. that's all."

they both stood in silence for a moment, marcel's eyes wandering his face, features expressing a clear concern, but thankfully, he didn't push the issue any further, simply following him inside like zeke wished he would've done minutes earlier to save him the trouble, proceeding to the booth housing their friends. the conversation didn't wander back to the topic of him and his morally dubious relations nor his current familial situation, much to his relief, making it much easier for him to just allow the conversation to flow around him, finding himself not having much of an appetite or desire to speak much with so much on his mind.

for a moment, zeke wondered to himself if this was a punishment from the universe, feeling so downtrodden on what was usually one of his more enjoyable nights in the week. not to say that they were always amazing to be around, but spending time with porco, reiner, marcel, and sometimes bertholdt made up most of the meaningful social interactions he had, and to have lost out on it today of all days just seemed like some odd form of karmic justice as a result of him behaving so selfishly.

but he held out for the rest of the evening anyways, going through more drinks that he probably should've, finding easier to tune in to porco and reiner's usual bickering, marcel's attempts to quell them, the ambient sound of bustling waiters and clinking glasses and plates to bury down any thought of you or his family or what was to come at the end of the week, the consequences with much more magnitude in his life than an just an unpleasant night out.

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previous chapter⥽

#zeke yeager #zeke jaeger #zeke yeager x reader #zeke jaeger x reader #zeke yeager x you #snk zeke #snk x reader #snk x you #snk x reader smut #aot x reader #aot x you #aot x reader smut #shingeki no kyoujin x reader #shingeki no kyojin fanfiction #m.nsfw

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sooghostwriter · 4 years

Text

The Bee and the Fly

Pairings: Do Kyung Soo x OC

Genre: Mature, Romance, AU, childhood friends, fluff, a tiny bit of angst because being a teenager is hard.

Summary: Kyung Soo and Eunji have been friends since always. Growing up together, finding themselves, following their dreams.

Part 2: Life, second cut.

He was only one year older.

Then why one year felt like a decade with him leaving and she staying there. And the closer the date was, the slower the days went by.

The day she was accepted, Kyung Soo called her at night, hurt because she didn’t give him the good news and he had to find out through his mom. She could barely speak, so his hurt faded away easily “I’m very proud of you Eunji, and I’m so glad you will be coming here, I miss you”

“Same”

“Are you happy?”

“Very” He giggled.

“You can barely speak, I’m going to leave you then, and Eunji…I’m sorry if I disappear for some days, even a week…I noticed that in this environment when is just me, I tend to obsess over my work and I forget about everything, I’m sorry”

“I can understand that, don’t worry, Am I going to see you soon? or I have to wait until summer?”

“Stop talking, you little Fly! Your voice! I’m planning on going for new year’s” She cursed, or tried to.

“I’m going to Taipei to visit my grandmother” Their conversation that night left them both with their spirits on the floor. Kyung Soo was going back to Seoul the same day she arrived back from Taipei. He wasn’t going to come back during the summer, because he had work to do at the institute, and he needed to work to make money. Eunji was planning on moving to Seoul a couple of weeks before the beginning of classes. At least they would meet before being consumed by work.

A week before her move, Kyung Soo called Eunji telling her that he wasn’t going to be there for her arrival. He had to go to Busan with his classmates and one of his teachers for a workshop. She played it cool, but when he hung up, the rage brought some tears to her eyes. Why was it so hard to see him? She just wanted to see him, hug him and maybe if she was brave enough, daring enough, she would caress his face. She missed him like crazy, they were finally going to live in the same city, and the day she could see him again kept moving farther and farther away.

New years went by too slow. She had a lot of fun in Taipei. She went to all the night markets, visited several towns around the city and soaked into the suffocating heat of the city. No complaints. But all the time, upsetting her, at the back of her head was the thought of Kyung Soo at his house. Finally, at home. And she wasn’t there.

Summer wasn’t very different from the rest of the year for Kyung Soo. He was as busy as before. Between his part-time job, assisting some of his teachers at their studio, and working in his own art. His texts were few. Maybe one per week. But the day before she had to leave, he video called her from the train station on his way to Bussan wishing her a safe trip and promising that they would meet as soon as he arrived in Seoul.

She couldn’t sleep the night before. There was so much going on in her head, so many things were about to happen the next day. And in a couple of weeks, a new part of her life was going to start.

Starting university, new people to meet, new responsibilities, finding out more things about herself. It was terrifying. Thinking about meeting Kyung Soo kept some of her fear away. But not enough.

Her dad paid for the plane ticket for her and her mom to Seoul. As they were passing through security her mind kept repeating the words “I want to go home”. Because the closer she was to start this change, the more she wanted to stop all this from happening and just stay where she was. The anxiety that all this caused her settled on her chest, frightening her. She had to meet new people. After years of school, now she had to go through the same, but harder. To top all that she was going to be away from her mom for the first time, living by herself in a student residence.

She didn’t want to do any of this. She just wanted to stay at home, writing. Kyung Soo be damned.

It was too late now.

But a light of hope began shining on her fear spiral. This wasn’t unfamiliar. This fear and insecurity weren’t new to her. She had had it before, this initial fear. And she walked past it to then look back at it and realize how stupid it was. How nothing is never that terrible.

This couldn’t be the exception. And she kept repeating that for the rest of the flight.

Her mom helped her settle for a couple of days. Doing some paperwork at the Institute and at the residence, walking around the neighborhood with her to check how safe it was, etc. Just mom things that were done more for her comfort and calm than for Eunji’s. She didn’t complain. For sure this was harder for her mom. She wasn’t crying like Kyung Soo’s mom, her mom wasn’t like that, but when she went back home, she gave Eunji the longest and tightest hug she had ever given her. Then she kissed her on the cheek, holding her face and caressing her cheeks as if she was a little child.

Kyung Soo called one morning when she was reading in her room.

“I’m at the train station, I just arrived, but I’m exhausted, can we meet tomorrow?” She said yes, eagerly. Why hide it when Kyung Soo sounded as eager as she was?

Kyung Soo’s residence was very close to hers, just two stations apart, so they arranged a meeting at a park that was close to their respective houses, just in the middle. Kyung Soo said to meet him at 12 o’clock at the fountain of the park, so she arrived there at 11 o’clock. It was a bit crowded since there was a food fair in the park, so she sat down on the edge of the fountain and searched for him. She probably looked like a meerkat.

Her phone vibrated with a message from Kyung Soo telling her that he was there. She lifted her head and combed the place until she saw him. His face, his round, and balanced face. His warm skin, smooth to the eyes and touch. His forehead, now bigger in appearance due to his shaved head. His thick eyebrows crowning his big dark eyes, his full lips, marvelously shaped. Her mouth whispered his name, and then shouted in desperation, wanting his attention.

“Kyung Soo!” He saw her and the smile he gave her made her eyes water. She wanted to run to him, but Kyung Soo was quicker, and he was already there. Eunji received him in her arms and hugged him tightly. The realization that they could be close again fell on her like warm water. She couldn’t control her shaking arms, nor could she explain her sudden loss of voice, or how she couldn’t move, just hug him. He was quiet too. His warm cheek pressed against hers and his breathing close to her ear. His hug, as always, was so warm and comforting.

“Are you alright? Did you settle in your room? You like it?” She answered yes to all the questions.

“Were you too scared of coming here?” Why lie and try to act though with him? She nodded and Kyung Soo’s arms held her tighter.

“Coming here is terrifying, I know, you could need some help sometime, you have me here, just ask ok?”

“Thank you” He took a deep breath and let go of her, but kept holding her hands.

“You like where you are staying?”

“Yeah, a lot, it’s big and cute and very close to the campus” His eyes grew with the sudden realization.

“Is the big one in the corner right?” She asked him how he knew it.

“A classmate lives there” She felt something like the touch of a needle on her chest. The first sprout of jealousy in her life.

“I don’t think you have met her, she was with me at Busan, I’m going to text her to tell her about you” She was quick to hold his hand so he couldn’t reach for his phone.

“Do that later, let’s go somewhere” Her voice was back, but she could hear some bitterness in it. A year was a lot of time. A long year where he could meet so many people. Man and woman.

“Ok, but it would be great if you met her, her girlfriend studies creative writing like you, but in another university” The needle fell with a deaf sound to the ground. No more jealousy.

Kyung Soo invited her to a dumpling shop just in front of the park. He said he was paying, as a welcome gift.

“I have more money now, so I’m going to take you out a lot, only happy meals though” They laughed together at a small table at the back of the packed restaurant.

Despite the number of calls, messages and video-calls, there was still so much that he had to tell her, so in front of her was a very talkative Kyung Soo. So much that he choked a couple of times. She felt like Kyung Soo was someone who went on a long trip and now was back with new secrets to tell from faraway lands. Parties, art fairs, classmates and teachers, small and big scandals around the campus. And as Kyung Soo felt like the traveler, she was the newbie who was about to board this train.

“I knew you were going to make a lot of friends Kyung Soo” She told him after he shared some stories about his new friends and roommates “You always connect with everybody” He nodded absentmindedly, still not good in the art of receiving small compliments.

“I’m planning on doing the same, connect, be a bit more open in university, be more social” That was in her to-do list, just under becoming a writer. She knew there was nothing wrong with being an introvert, but her fear of meeting people, and sometimes the laziness and cynicism involved in meeting someone kept her from potential great experiences.

“Your work and mine are very lonely, which I think we both enjoy, and you see those two sides at uni, the artist, the designers, and the writers by themselves, and the dancers and the actors in big groups…but of course, it feels more like a community, for the welcoming of the new students they are organizing a lot of great things, all together” Multitudes, yikes.

“Eunji, you always struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by groups, and we all search for the place where we fit, you find it at school, and then you press reset and have to do the same here, but I feel like more important than that is to own yourself, so you are not scared of not fitting in”

“Kyung Soo…I think I grabbed half of what you said” He giggled and took a couple of seconds to organize.

“I’m trying to say that you will get both here, you are going to be very lonely, but also you are going to meet your second generation of friends, and is nothing to be afraid or insecure about…because I know how you get, I bet every night you wonder how much you would screw up if you went back home right now” He dared to finish with a half-smile as if reading her mind and sensing her biggest insecurities was a laughing matter. She made him stop and change the subject. She wanted to hear more from him. And he fed her with that. She heard so much about some of his friends that she wanted to meet them already. And if those friends brought that smile to his face, it meant they were good people.

After their lunch date they walked together to the station and took opposite directions to their respective houses. Before leaving, Kyung Soo grabbed her hand and made a promise.

“I’m going to be there with you on the first day, ok? Just like when we were kids”

“Ok, thank you, but don’t go and check on me every thirty minutes, I am an adult now” He lowered his head, hiding his shy laugh.

“I did that” He said between laughs “I thought you didn’t know, ok, I’m not going to do it”

He said goodbye, still laughing in embarrassment.

That night, she left the book she was reading on the nightstand unable to focus on it. After leaving him she couldn’t stop smiling, as cliché as it sounded. Even the girls at the house made her notice it. And she wasn’t ashamed of it. There were so many reasons to be happy. The most important one was meeting him again, of course. But there was so much more. Now they had four years ahead of sharing this together, without periods of loneliness and disconnection. She was also so incredibly happy that she met the same man that left. He was the same person she missed.

The same peaceful voice with careful thoughts.

++++

She was only able to sleep the night before her first day of class because she took an antihistaminic, and those always shut her down.

She woke up at 7 am the next day, completely rested and ready.

Kyung Soo offered to go and picked her up so they could go together, but she said no, she was an adult now. She did accept when he offered to wait for her at the entrance of the campus though. She was only three-fourths of an adult.

The first day went by very quickly. That year’s generation of students of creative writing was a group of 40 people, separated into two groups of 20 for most of the classes. It was a diverse group, although the majority were men. Most of them were the same age and most of them were just like her, people of few words, avid readers and with a clear bias for individual work. She got to talk with a lot of them, noticing quite quickly how easy it was. And although she mostly relied on the conversation of the people around her, she felt like she could express herself clearly, and also could hear and analyze everything that everyone was saying with ease.

The week was short but very entertaining. She noticed with a lot of glee that the program was just what she expected and needed. People who would help her polish her writing, who would tell her how to write, but not what to write about.

By Friday she was asking for some rest. But rest will come on Saturday because that Friday was the welcoming event for all new students and the celebration of the beginning of the year. Kyung Soo went to pick her up at her only class of that day so they could enjoy the festivities together.

“You are not doing anything?” She asked him since this was a gift from the older students to the new students.

“No, I did a lot for the anniversary of the Institute, so I’m free” They went to the Greek-style theater so they could listen to the words of the president of the institution and the respective deans, followed by an amazing performance by the second year dance group.

A staggering performance with music from Vangelis with references to the man on the moon. The main dancer, a tall man, with long legs and a lean body moved around simulating the lack of gravity, jumping high and falling lightly, flying around the stage with the help of the other dancers. But his face showed the fear and loneliness of the space. He danced with every muscle of his body, including the muscles of his face.

“These people are really from second year? Not ex alumni?” He chuckled and confirmed what the dean had said.

“They are from second year, I’m friends with some of them, I’m going to introduce them to you later” He didn’t say more. He didn’t say that he was best friends with the main dancer, she would have to find out about it later that night.

The people from the film department, Korean music, applied music, and theatre also performed and by the time that this huge festival celebrating arts was done, it was time for dinner and drinks. The entire campus turned into a food market, dance floor and bar. She was never a person that enjoyed parting. Mostly because the idea of going out with her classmates and friends was ‘Let’s find a way to get drunk` and ‘Let’s get into clubs where there’s probably a lot of people doing drugs`. All those settings caused her horror, so she refrained from them. And yes, there were already some people drunk at the party, but there were also people singing, dancing and even doing some art performances. Everything felt very safe. Even when there were close to a thousand people there. She shared a beer with Kyung Soo, toasting for the obvious and then they went in search of food. In their way, he introduced her to some of his friends and classmates, and her first impressions were quite good. They had just finished their serving of fried chicken when some of her classmates came to her and invited her to get together with the rest. She looked at Kyung Soo and without words he told her to go ahead.

The get together lasted about an hour, and she had a great time. But the night was still young, and she wanted to keep enjoying it with her friend. She called him to know about his whereabouts and he told her to meet him at the theater because the dancers were doing something. She walked for ten minutes before she noticed that she had no idea where the theater was. She kept walking, to not look lost and pulled out the GPS of her phone. Which didn’t help a lot, since she wasn’t sure where she was either.

“You need help?” A rather loud voice spoke to her, and when she turned around to look at the person asking, she only met a chest, she had to look up to meet his face. It was the dancer from before.

“I need to go to the theater, but I forgot which way is”

“Oh, first year! I am heading there, wanna come with me?” It was crowded enough to not fear for her life, so she accepted his help.

“I’m Jongin by the way” She introduced herself, getting a pout in response.

“Your name sounds familiar…from where?” He pondered for a while until he gave up and asked her the second obvious question.

“What are you studying?”

“Creative writing” His cheer surprise didn’t sound fake.

“That’s cool, I’m studying dance, second year”

“I know, I saw you today, it was so beautiful” She could swear she saw him jump a little bit with her compliment and made sure to thank her profusely. The noise coming from the theater sounded closer, and she could see the lights now. He asked her if she was meeting someone and she said yes, her friend Kyung Soo.

“Do Kyung Soo? From second year?” She nodded.

“Me too! We are friends, oh my god, now I remember, you are that Eunji! His friend, I can’t believe I’m meeting you! You are finally here, he must be happy” He elongated the last sound of his sentences and giggled like a child. Who was this approachable, innocent young adult that looked so godlike some hours ago on stage? She was tempted to ask if he had some kind of split personality, but that was rude. It was easy to spot Kyung Soo in the small crowd that was watching the dance performance on stage. As soon as they reached their friend, Jongin began patting his back.

“She is here, she is here, we met by accident, can you believe it?” Kyung Soo introduced them again, just to be polite and then their focus went to the traditional dance performance on stage. After that, they watched another two performances and agreed to go for food somewhere else.

They took her to their favorite place “We go there when we stay until late at the campus working, always after dancing I feel very hungry” The place was small but warm and the smell lingering in the air was a strong predictor of how good the food was.

The conversation was easy with the two of them. With Kyung Soo for obvious reasons, but Jongin drenched every question with so much curiosity that she felt compelled to answer clearly and lengthy.

“Why writing?” Jongin asked her, giving her time to answer.

“I write…in hopes to dig something with language, I’m not sure what I am digging but I believe in the power of language and words, which is express”

“Get something out there,” He added.

“Yes, exactly”

“I don’t read, it takes time and also, you can’t dance when reading” He sounded apologetical, but Eunji appreciated the honest confession, risking sounding stupid or ignorant. Kyung Soo laughed and patted his arm.

“When Jongin is not sleeping, he is dancing or eating”

“I’m not judging you, actually it makes sense” She told him, so he wouldn’t get self-conscious.

“I watch movies though, Kyung Soo takes me to the movies often, so whatever book you have read, I watched the movie for sure… It, for example! Did you read it?”

“Yeah, when I was 12” His eyes went big and round and his mouth fell open.

“12?! How?! It is terrifying!” Kyung Soo told her how Jongin had a hard time sleeping after watching the movie, but Eunji didn’t remember being scared watching the movie. She told this to Jongin, and he looked scandalized.

When they were ready to leave Kyung Soo went to the bathroom and they waited for him outside. Staying alone with people she had just met always made her uncomfortable. There was a silence that was supposed to be filled, and she always felt the pressure to do it, but never did.

“You remind me a lot of him” Jongin said, grinning at her “I can’t tell what you guys are thinking, but I would trust you both with my life” She laughed nervously and was quite surprised by his comment.

After Jongin went back home and Kyung Soo walked her to her dorm, the words of her new friend came back to her, and slowly they began to make sense. As they walked in comfortable silence, at the same speed, she began contemplating a beautiful idea in her head. She and Kyung Soo were from the same species. She felt equal to him. She understood his language, all of them. And he understood hers. Even when they lived different lives, she knew there was something in their brains, heart, and blood that was the same. They seeked silence and solitude. Their minds were slow-paced. And yes, they developed in different contexts, they had different survival skills, but the base was the same in both of them.

They were old souls. An old and cliché concept that now was the most accurate for her to describe them.

++++

The first month of classes was fast, messy and hard.

Getting accustomed to all the new things wasn’t hard for her. In fact, it was something that she secretly craved. The freedom, compared with high school, that university gave you was like a big gulp of water in the desert. You knew that at some point you were going to die, but that instant satisfaction of finally having something you wanted was good enough.

She had something on her side though. There was a lot of reading during the first month. A lot of ‘Learn this style, analyze this writer, you haven’t read Chejov? How could you?’.

Well, she had read Chejov, quite recently. She even had her notes about all his tales. That was a gift from the Eunji from the past that meant less work for the Eunji of the present.

“See how being a bookworm and a nerd paid off for you” Kyung Soo said, messing with her.

“Oh Kyung Soo, I always knew it would pay off, I already read seven out of the ten books they asked us to read this first trimester” She asked him how things were looking for him.

“This first semester for us is mostly about learning whatever technique they are teaching us, as we work on our final project” Kyung Soo’s project from the past year gave him reasonable popularity at the Institute. It consisted of a set of hyper-realistic paintings of wild herbivores in ferocious positions.

“It’s something like the rebellion of the weak one” He explained to her. She didn’t like it a lot, it was a bit grotesque for her taste, but the execution was amazing. When he showed the paintings to her, he immediately could tell what she was thinking “You don’t like it” He said calmly, smiling.

“Is not my cup of tea, I’m a bit scared of that deer”

“I know” He answered between laughs. She was glad he didn’t get offended.

++++

Eunji never thought her university life could be so good. In her first three months, she spent two nights without sleeping because of a short story about politics she had to submit, and she knew nothing about politics.

She ended up at the infirmary one time she skipped breakfast, and lunch and any kind of food for about 20 hrs. She got her first bad grade, which ended in a small breakdown in front of Kyung Soo and Jongin. She got a part-time job at a coffee shop that belonged to Jongin’s sister, she had to serve customers, which wasn’t her favorite thing to do, but the pay was good, and the food better. All these things sounded kind of terrible, but for her, it was part of the experience. And she felt how she was growing, slowly, but steadily. She faced things that she never had to face before, and she was able to overcome them. And there were all kinds of things, with different difficulty levels, from using the subway without getting lost, to settling a disagreement with a girl from her dorm.

One new thing that happened to her, and wasn’t her favorite, in fact, she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to repeat it, was getting drunk.

It happened at a small gathering with her classmates to celebrate the end of their first round of exams. This was her first time drinking, she informed her friends about it, and they didn’t force her to drink or anything. But they didn’t stop her either. After two bottles of soju, she was gone to the world. It surprised her that her drunkenness expressed as non-stop giggling, a bit of somnolence and a desire to drink more. Her closest classmate almost friend, Jongdae, stopped her from doing it “Tell me the name of that bald guy who’s always with you so he can come and pick you up”

“You take me home, you are my friend” He laughed loudly, grabbing her right index finger to unlock her phone.

“No no, I’m going to drink a bit more and then head to my girlfriends home, your boyfriend has the responsibility of picking you up”

“He is not my boyfriend!” She hit the table and pouted at him.

“Oh, look at you being so cute, ok, tell me the name of your friend so I can call him” She mumbled his name and went back to giggle about the very fun shape of the shrimp in front of her. She could hear Jongdae talking next to her, but couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“Kyung Soo says that he is going to be here in 20 minutes, so we are going to eat and not drink until he comes here ok?” She quite liked the fatherly tone he used with her, it made her feel at peace.

“Ok dad…no more soju for me, hey! Dad! You are not Jongdae, you are Jongdady!” She saw Jongdae trying to hide his laugh as he flicked her forehead, but it was too late, everybody heard it and now it was his new nickname “You are going to pay for this Eunji”

As promised, Kyung Soo arrived 20 minutes later and dashed to her table. He introduced himself to the people seated around her and then sat behind her. Eunji was resting her head on her hand, drowsing for a bit.

“Is she really drunk?” Kyung Soo asked Jongdae.

“Yes, we stopped her as soon as she began showing signs of drunkenness, since this is her first time” Kyung Soo patted her back, she turned around and smiled brightly at him, mumbling his name as she held his cold hands.

“I thought it was a good idea to call her boyfriend since she can’t leave like this by herself” Eunji heard the words of betrayal from Jongdae and felt like Julius Cesar.

“Jongdady?!” She asked in astonishment, trying to attack back. Everybody around them laughed except her and Jongdae. Kyung Soo looked as if he wasn’t paying attention to it and just helped her get up. Everybody said goodbye, loudly and lovingly and she left by his arm. Walking wasn’t really hard, but she was now very tired, and her head felt somehow bloated. Kyung Soo walked in silence, but smiling.

“What are you thinking Bee?” Kyung Soo snapped his head, looking at her with surprise.

“You haven’t called me that in years Eunji, I thought you have forgotten about it”

“It's just that you are not a bee anymore, you are a bumblebee now” She shared the joke that she told herself a while ago. Kyung Soo laughed, that goofy laugh she liked so much, and brought her closer to him to cross the street.

“Why a bumblebee?”

“You are not small anymore, now you are big and manly, although I wouldn’t say that bumblebees are manly, they are still very cute, and you are very cute too, so bumblebee it is” This time his laugh was a shy one, and he mumbled something, but it was probably only for himself to hear because she couldn’t grab what he was saying.

“So if I’m not a bee anymore, what are you?” Eunji took a while to answer thinking about what insect she had evolve into.

“I don’t know enough about insects to answer that Kyung Soo, but I will say I’m just a bigger fly now, my eyes are still very big, I’m still hearing what everybody says without being noticed and as a fly I’m insistent, I’m still here with you, buzzing in your ear, I’m still here even if you batted me away”

“I never batted you away” She shrugged, holding onto him strongly since they were walking down the stairs.

“I know, I was just building some drama, I am a writer, Bee” He patted her hand laughing softly. He sat her at one of the seats in the platform and texted someone over the phone.

“I’m going to take you to your dorm ok?” She nodded, resting her head on the wall.

“You think they would let me in?”

“Sure, you are harmless” He mumbled again, but this time she could understand him.

“I hope so” He said, but her drunk brain decided to keep quiet and not comment on that. The train ride made her feel very dizzy, and all her strength went to not vomit. Kyung Soo rubbed her back and helped her breathe better so she could subdue the nausea. The voice over the speaker announced her station and she got out immediately. Quickly, Kyung Soo stood next to her and grabbed her hand for support. The fresh air outside the station made the nausea disappear, but not the drunkenness.

“Kyung Soo, as a thank you for bringing me here, I’m going to write another character based on you”

“Another?” She huffed, waving her hand.

“Bee, you are in every single story I have written”

“I am? Why?” Eunji shrugged dismissively.

“In that way I missed you a bit less”

“You missed me a lot?” Eunji could only release a long sight, if she voiced her feelings, she could end up crying. And she didn’t want to be the crying drunk girl. Kyung Soo apologized, but she didn’t need an apology, there was no reason to apologize.

They arrived at her residence and Kyung Soo had to take care of opening the door, since she was trying to do so with a pencil. Since it was a Friday night, the place was empty. She told him where to take her and finally, after what felt like an eternity, she could lay on her bed. She rolled over it until she found a comfortable position as Kyung Soo went to her bathroom. He appeared with a glass of water and helped her sit up so she could drink it. She wasn’t thirsty, but either way, she drank the entire glass.

“Tomorrow morning drink some more water ok? And take some medicine if you need it” He got up, ready to leave, and Eunji felt desperation crawling up her chest.

“Don’t leave, why are you leaving? Stay” She reached for his hand but couldn’t grab it.

“I can’t stay here”

“Says who?” He didn’t answer.

“Are you sure Eunji?” She nodded and moved her body to the edge of the bed against the wall.

“Come here” She patted the spot next to her and in the darkness, she could see his wavering stare. She insisted, pouting and complaining a bit because she was drunk and drunk people were allowed to act spoiled. To that Kyung Soo gave up and landed on her bed with a thud, smiling softly.

“How are you feeling?” He asked in a whisper.

“Good, hey, tomorrow I’m going to feel like crap, right?”

“Maybe not, your friend Jongdae said you didn’t drink a lot, so you are probably going to be ok”

“I am a good drunk people? person, a good drunk person?” He laughed brushing her hair away from her face.

“You are a very good drunk person, it was my pleasure to take care of you”

“Thank you Bee”

“Call me whenever you need me ok, I’m here now, you don’t have to miss me anymore, use me”

“I don’t miss you, no, I get to see you every day, it’s like a dream”

“You like seeing me?” She nodded, feeling a bit drowsy, Kyung Soo was talking a bit too much, asking so many questions.

“Remember the last time we shared a bed Eunji?”

“Yes, for my birthday, best birthday ever”

“I enjoyed it a lot too” She really wanted to sleep, but Kyung Soo had another question left.

“Eunji, are you going to allow me to read your stories where I’m a character?” Her response was absolute.

“Never, or maybe someday, maybe after our wedding” Kyung Soo didn’t speak again, and if he did, she didn’t hear him because sleep decided to take over at that exact moment.

++++

There were some things in life that you hear about in movies, books and on TV. One of them was the myth that you don’t remember anything that happened during a moment of drunkenness.

Everybody was right. It wasn’t a myth, at least not for her.

Eunji woke up to a sleeping Kyung Soo, in her room, on her bed. Right off the bat, she couldn’t remember why he was there. Not that she was worried, but a bit of explanation was always great. She remembered going for drinks last night…then getting drunk…and well, on the bright side, she was fully clothed.

It has been a while since she got to see him like this. Since her birthday actually. Kyung Soo’s features looked a bit harsh, with lines forming on his brow, whatever he was dreaming, it wasn’t calming. But he didn’t look mad, he looked focused on something. Poor thing was probably working on his sleep. Her arms were touching his, and she could feel his warmth. Eunji wanted nothing more than to curl up into his chest, cover themselves under the blanket and just cuddle for the rest of the morning. Kyung Soo was still a brick. The only movement was the slow rise and fall of his chest. His lips were slightly open, making him look adorable. She kept looking at his face for a while. She always did her best to not do that. Her rule was to look at Kyung Soo only when they were talking. But now he was dead to the world and he wouldn’t notice an innocent stare.

Or maybe not so innocent. She focused so hard on his lips that now she wanted to kiss him. Kiss him until losing her breath and even after that just keep kissing him.

It surprised her a little bit noticing that this was the first time she had a thought like this. Even when she has been pining for him for so long, her thoughts lacked carnal passion and relayed only in some kind of dramatic romanticism.

Now she felt both.

If she was very careful maybe she could touch him. Cares his lips with the tip of her fingers, draw the line of his eyebrows, if she was daring enough, she could pass her hand over his freshly shaved head.

She could move a bit closer and maybe hide her head under his chin, move just a bit closer so she could rest against his chest and get more of his warmth. And if he woke up, she could always say that she was asleep. Maybe she was still a tiny bit drunk from last night because convincing herself to move and get what she wanted took her a second. She wiggled closer to his side and sunk her head under his chin, her nose resting against his collarbone. His arms were on her way, and she really didn’t know what to do with hers, but it was good enough. Kyung Soo stirred in his sleep, stretching and sliding one of his arms around her waist. She tensed, already acting up as if she was in deep sleep.

“Eunji?”

“Huh?” Damn it. She cursed a million times in her head. So much for her acting.

“How’s your hangover?”

“It’s ok I guess, I feel ok”

“Good, then let’s sleep some more” He brought her closer to his chest and after a long deep yawn, he went back to sleep.

She couldn’t.

++++

As her world opened during the last four months, some habits changed on her.

Her eating habits, her social habits, her sleeping habits. And her writing habits weren’t an exception. She used to lock herself in her room and write non-stop for an entire afternoon. No breaks in between.

Now she liked to move. One week she would write at the library of the campus or a coffee shop. Sometimes when creativity, and mostly will, were out of duty. There were two places that inspired her the most. Kyung Soo’s shared studio and Jongin’s rehearsal room. Sometimes Kyung Soo would go with her to Jongin’s rehearsal room and sketch, or sometimes Jongin would go to Kyung Soo’s studio with her and watch videos to study for his performance. It was mandatory to keep your artistic flow moving and everybody there did what they could to do so.

It was Friday morning and she only had one class on Fridays. After that, she went to Kyung Soo’s studio with Jongin and they hung out together until Kyung Soo’s next class. This time Kyung Soo wanted to change plans.

“I don’t want to be here, I spent most of the morning here trying to do something with that lump of clay and nothing came, I’m incredibly frustrated, can we go somewhere else?”

“I need to rehearse for next week, want to come with me?” Jongin offered and they both nodded.

Jongin closed the curtains of the room, winter was showing its arrival and the cold slipped past the glass of the room. Eunji and Kyung Soo settled on a mat on one corner of the room and immediately she pulled out her computer to finish editing Jongdae’s story. They helped each other proofreading their assignments. Kyung Soo on the other side pulled out his camera and asked Jongin if he could take some pictures of him dancing.

“What for?” Asked Eunji after Jongin agreed.

“I have something in mind for my final project” She asked more questions, what, why, who.

“I have been doing some research in human sculpture…and all I find are mythological creatures, biblical characters or european people, I want to make sculptures with Asian people as models, I began working with clay, and I have been studying human form”

“Why clay?” She asked in complete ignorance.

“I think is the best product for a poor student like me, rock or marble are too expensive and require a knowledge of the technique that I don’t have, and can’t learn by the end of the year, also renaissance isn’t a thing anymore, so sculpting in stone is for crazy people”

“And you want to use Jongin as your model” He nodded, grinning at her.

“I haven’t asked him yet, I’m not sure what I want from him as a model” She supported his idea commenting on how gorgeous he was. Kyung Soo agreed.

“Not for nothing his nickname is god”

“He totally embraced that name,” Kyung Soo agreed, giggling.

“You became very close to him, I’m glad, also you come here often to write” He said, and she knew that he was trying to talk with her, he was in that mood probably, so she closed her computer to give him all her attention.

“Yeah, he is the sweetest, and coming here to write helps me focus, as I write I can hear the music, his sneakers scratching the floor and his loud breathing, is like white noise, if I lost my line of thought it helps me to go back in track, he is always so focused, it’s like trying to follow his rhythm, he as a very positive energy too…it’s very easy to talk to him and just be around him, I trust him” Kyung Soo smiled, looking at her in silence for a while and she had to ask him what was he thinking.

“You don’t show it and you think I can’t see it, but you always feel so strongly about everyone, I think that’s why you allow only a few people in your life and I’m glad Jongin is one of them, he deserves our love and everybody needs someone like him around” Sometimes it terrified her how much he knew her. How easy it was for him to read into her behavior and how understanding he was. It was discouraging to know that someone like Kyung Soo was like a comet that passed through our atmosphere once every fifty years.

“My first two months here were rough, there were so many new people and it was so weird to think about them as future collages because I met some of them and they are crap Kyung Soo, and to think that maybe some of them will share some success is so…crappy” He chuckled at the word she chose but understood her.

“I imagine it must have been hard to share so much time with so many new people, I didn’t ask you anything because you didn’t say anything to me, but…you know” She chuckled bitterly.

“I meet a lot of people and a first sight everything was fine but after a couple of weeks I began feeling like such an outsider, which I don’t think I am, but my brain was sending all these signals”

“You can’t pretend to fit immediately”

“No, of course not, but after a while I saw myself and I noticed that I didn’t need to fit because of none of us does, I just needed to adapt temporarily, in certain situations and with certain people, and then back to my own self…I just like that all of us are studying in an environment of respect and camaraderie, that’s enough for me…and for friends, I have Jongdae, and is more than enough” Her stomach hurt after speaking so much about herself, not like the pain of a stomach ache, but more like the pain of running without breathing properly. She was tense and spoke too fast when it came about talking about herself. And there was always that moment after finishing a long rant about herself when she imagined the other person acting indifferent. Even Kyung Soo.

In fact, imagining him acting indifferent was her biggest fear. But he only looked into her eyes, and she saw how he knew. He knew and understood, and he was interested, he was listening. Through his eyes, he saw and understood how she felt, maybe even before she could say anything.

“Hey you two, you are only there chatting, what about me? Look at me so you can give me feedback”

“We are so sorry, take off your t-shirt so I can take better pictures” Kyung Soo told him, making Eunji giggle nervously. Jongin complained a little bit but did as told. He danced again, with their attention on him, and when he was done, of course perfectly, Kyung Soo whispered to her.

“I think I’m sculpting one of these shirtless pictures”

“I think you should, your hands are tied Kyung Soo” They fist bump and Jongin came to them, grumpily telling them how he felt left out.

++++

She didn’t see Kyung Soo for almost a week. He apologized saying that he was developing his final project and he had to show the first proposal to his teacher. She felt a bit self-conscious. He was already working on that, should she start working on hers?

“No, he is like this because they evaluate the entire process, and also he normally develops a small collection of pieces, so it takes time” Jongin tried to calm her down.

They were done with their classes and she had to study but she didn’t feel like doing so.

“Want me to distract you even more?” He asked excitedly as they left the campus behind. She accepted his vage proposal.

“We haven’t had the chance to go out together, let’s go for an early dinner and chat a little bit” Eunji liked the idea.

And he was right. They became friends through Kyung Soo, but they never shared much time by themselves, only when she went to his rehearsals, but they barely spoke during those situations.

He took her to a tent bar close to the subway station. The sky was getting darker and the cold was perfect for a shared bottle of soju and a couple of spicy dishes. Jongin led the conversation, fortunately, and it went from how their day was, to gossiping and somehow it moved to Kyung Soo and what was going on between them.

“We are friends” She answered on autopilot. Jongin giggled, batting his hand adorably.

“That is not true”

“It is, we are friends”

“Yes, but not just friends” She didn’t answer “You know, when I meet him we hit very quickly, and he got along with a lot of people, he was and still is very popular, I saw him reject a lot of people, and he never paid attention to anyone, I mean, he never showed interest in anyone, I thought he was asexual or something, until he began to share more about his life, and about you, and I thought, oh, he is not asexual, he is just in love” Eunji rolled her eyes and tried to hide behind her bowl or ramen.

“Shut up” Jongin giggled again.

“But it's true! And it was so much clearer after you came” If she was going to talk about this with someone, she could do it with Jongin, she thought. She never shared anything with anyone, especially the matter related to Kyung Soo. She never had the need to do it, but maybe an opinion, a view from the outside could be good.

“You think?”

“Don’t you?” He raised an eyebrow, mocking her a tiny bit.

“I don’t dare to think about that”

“I asked him about this a couple of times and he said nothing, the third time I asked he pinch me here and it left a bruise, now that I think about it, it was quite wise because look at me now, talking about him with you” He was right, he could have told her what Kyung Soo trusted to him. Maybe he could tell Kyung Soo what she would share with him.

“Of course I’m not telling him anything you share with me” Eunji jolted thinking he had read her mind. Jongin’s phone rang, taking his attention away from her.

“It’s him!” He shouted before picking up. After a call that lasted a couple of minutes he hung up and looked at her with mischievous eyes.

“He said that I shouldn’t let you drink more than a bottle of soju and if you did, I have to call him so he can come and pick you up, he is sorry that he can join us but he is working” He held her stare, waiting for her to say something, moving her eyebrows up at down, up and down.

“Stop it Jongin”

“Eunji!” He whined “He loves so much is stupid”

“We have known each other for such a long time, of course he would take care of me”

“Yes, that’s true, but let’s not talk about how he feels, how do you feel? Would you call me just to end up talking about him?”

“That’s what we are doing now”

“You know what I mean” Eunji took a deep breath and ate the last spoon of soup weighing this situation. It was unknown to her why he was asking so much about her relationship with Kyung Soo. Could be innocent curiosity, maybe he wanted to be part of it, to make a connection between her and Kyung Soo. But if she was going to talk about this with someone, why not Jongin. There wasn’t a single hair of evil in his body, so for sure he could only have good intentions with all this.

“If you are asking me if I care about him, of course I do”

“I feel like you are part of who he is by now” He commented not giving too much importance to what he was saying. So probably he didn’t know how his words sounded in her head. Because if Jongin was right, she could understand that, it was the same for her.

“He has influenced me so much, he as conquer me in the most precious way, I don’t feel possessive towards him, I don’t feel selfishness, I just want to be like him, to learn from him how to be peaceful, loving, respectful, I want to be a great person like him, and not just because I want to be good for him, it’s because he taught me that’s how I want to be treated and how everybody should be treated”

“And it has been like that since you guys were kids”

“He taught me all this when we were just kids”

“You love him since then?”

“I don’t think so… I mean, I have loved him always, but in different ways, the love I have for him now is different from the one I felt as a child” After that ping pong session of questions, Jongin kept quiet, a soft smile on his lips.

“Were you checking if I was good enough for Kyung Soo?”

“Maybe, look, we are all very protective of him, I think you can understand that?”

“I punched some faces in preschool because of him, so yeah, I understand” Jongin held his hand in front of her, waiting for a high five, to which she answered reluctantly. His phone ringed again with a message.

“He is asking if we are still here”

“Tell him I left, this was too much for me, it’s going to be weird” She was thankful that he didn’t insist. She paid for her food and left Jongin there.

She decided to walk home, it was dark, but the streets were still busy, and it only was a 30-minute walk. She needed some time to relax, to digest all the things she said and all the things she heard and then go to sleep.

What Jongin told her didn’t surprise her. Of course, she wasn’t going to bet all she had on his suspicions about how Kyung Soo felt. But she could have some hope.

Just a bit of hope.

++++

She was in the middle of her first class that morning when she got a text from Kyung Soo. He wanted to talk with her. She still had an hour left of class so he told her to go to his studio once she was done.

She didn’t have the chance to think about it because she had to present an assignment. As soon as she was done with her class, she walked to the two-floor building where the art studios were and searched for Kyung Soo’s.

He was sitting next to the window carving a bust. She knocked and he waved at her telling her to come in.

“Is that Jongin?” She asked, recognizing his cheekbones.

“Yeah, it's just a study though, you like it?”

“Looks just like him, you are planning on making a sculpture of his whole body, right?” He showed her his sketches of Jongin standing gracefully in the midst of doing a spin. She could imagine how majestic the sculpture would look.

“And he agreed to do it?”

“Yeah, he was a bit unsure, when he is not dancing he tends to be a bit shy, but he said yes… actually, I asked you to come here for something related to this” Eunji felt something on her knees and back. A bad feeling maybe.

“I have to present the final proposal for my art project to our teachers’ tomorrow, and I need to ask you something?”

“What is it?” Kyung Soo doubted for a couple of seconds. Looking at his knees, finding a place where he could hide his stare. Eunji became a bit anxious. She suspected what he could need, but also she wasn’t prepared for that suspicion.

“I find this project very intimate for me, is something I always craved to do, to work with clay and to represent the human body, and I would love to…I would be so glad and honored if you could model for me, for one of my sculptures” She repeated his last four words, shocked, for lack of a better word. Kyung Soo asked her again.

“Could you model for me, so I can make a sculpture of you?”

“Why me?” He was still nervous, a nervous Kyung Soo wasn’t a sight that she saw very often.

“It is a mixture of people that I care about, people I find beautiful and people who inspire me”

“Which one am I?” Her question was daring, and she felt slightly brave by asking it. Those were the important things for her at that moment.

“All of the above” He answered, meeting her stare.

“You find me beautiful?”

“I do, you are gorgeous” Eunji had never felt beautiful, let alone gorgeous. Cute maybe. Not bad under the right lighting and with a bit of make-up. But beautiful, never. No one ever told her she was. Her mom always compared her with other girls, so she was never beautiful enough. She avoided mirrors most of the time, just to avoid the disappointment and the waterfall of insecurity.

She avoided mirrors when in reality she should have watched herself in his eyes.

With time and care, she learned to read Kyung Soo. She knew all his gestures, she understood him by the tone of his voice. She knew beforehand when he needed silence or a distraction. She was sure about those. But his gestures of love were the ones that were still a mystery for her. But not because they were hard to read. She didn’t want to read them. It was like learning a language without considering the culture behind that language. It was robotic almost. Kyung Soo was around her because they have always been friends. Period.

But he was now opening a window because he cared about her, he found her beautiful and was inspired by her. A friend could find you beautiful and be inspired by you, of course, but maybe he loved her. The way he looked at her and the way he touched her was more than a habit.

She couldn’t read his mind to be completely sure about his feelings, of course.

But she could read hers.

She could easily know how she felt. And she loved him. Romantically. Very romantically. She wanted everything from him and wanted to give everything to him.

She wanted him to see her.

In life, we only have three choices: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Yesterday is yesterday, the only thing that belongs to us it’s the memory of yesterday. The today is only real when it becomes past, so we are left with only one option, the future.

In the past, she let Kyung Soo go. In the present she never reached hard enough for him, so he was almost a memory. But in the future, Kyung Soo could be hers. Or not. But at least in the future, the possibility was real, and she was going to take it.

“I will, I will model for you, I would love to do it” He grabbed her hand and pressed his forehead against it, sighing loudly. He thanked her and his words were overfilled with gratitude.

Eunji made a pact with herself to show him how she loved him. How she had been loving him long before she had the guts to let him know.

TBC

#exosnet #kyung soo #do kyung soo #kyungsoo fic #d.o fanfic #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #d.o exo #Kyungsoo #kyung soo fanfic #d.o

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dixielis · 4 years

Text

An Interesting Turn of Events [2/?]

Pairing: Jotaro Kujo x Noriaki Kakyoin Summary: There were three things Jotaro Joestar was completely certain about: One. 80’s rock was the be-all end-all of music. Two. The movie Jaws wrongly portrayed sharks as evil and blood-thirsty, and he did not stand for it at all. Three. Being an alpha while also part of the Joestar-lineage was an absolute curse. Warnings: Omegaverse with omega!Kakyoin and alpha!Jotaro Dio is in this and he’s pretty creepy A/N: Chapter 2! weep woop

Read on Ao3 here: LINK

He did partially blame all the moving around on why he didn’t end up having any friends at any of these schools. Sometimes other kids would try to make small talk with him or invite him over to play with them. Kakyoin would however always turn them down. What would even be the point? He would eventually have to move away anyways. And if he didn’t get attached to anyone it was always a lot less painful to do so.

Today was his first day of his latest high school. This had to be the fourth or fifth one he would be attending. He had honestly lost count at this point.

Kakyoin went about his first day as he had done many times before. Go to the principal’s office, collect his schedule and a map over the school grounds, head over to homeroom and introduce himself to the rest of the class. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before.

His first day, thankfully, passed uneventfully. Aside from a few questioning glances nobody tried approaching him. Kakyoin instead spent the day homing in on the conversations going on around him, trying to learn as much about his school as possible. About what was currently going on, and most importantly, about who to avoid.

At his lunch break he decided to sit close to a group of mostly omega girls who were chatting loudly with each other. He always found that these sorts of groups seemed to have all the latest news and gossip, and that they would discuss it loudly enough for anyone to hear.

“We should all make a pact. About who we will ask to the dance”

“That is still four months away”

“You can never get started too quickly. I call Jojo!” The other girls let out noises of clear distress at this.

“Not fair! You can’t just call somebody like that”

“Well, I just did!”

“Jojo as in the tequila-smuggling one?”

“Yes!”

“Then I want the other one!”

“Not if I ask him first”

Kakyoin realized that he had quickly lost track of their conversation. Not that it seemed to be very interesting for what he was after in the first place. Whoever were considered the hottest alpha’s on campus wasn’t really anything he needed to know. It wasn’t like he was searching for one anyways.

“I was already asked to the dance actually” one of the girls exclaimed proudly.

“No way! Who was it?”

“That weird French beta. You know, the one with the weird hair?”

“Oh, what did you say?”

“I told him no. I don’t really want to go to the dance with a beta”

“You probably only did it because he has bigger boobs than you”

“He does not! I said no because I’m going to ask Dio”

“But I was going to ask Dio!”

“You can take the Frenchie instead since you seem to like his boobs so much!”

Kakyoin decided that it was time to officially zone out from their chattering. He felt like he has heard enough unrelated gossip to last him for the rest of the month.

The next couple days continued in a similar fashion. Kakyoin simply kept his head down and tried to avoid attracting any unnecessary attention. Whenever somebody spoke to him he would act polite, but always try to keep himself unmemorable. He wanted to be practically invisible.

This worked surprisingly well until his fourth day. The unexpected groupwork in biology class did however end up breaking his lucky streak. Since he doesn’t know anybody in the entire school he has no choice but to let faith decide who he will partner up with.

And faith apparently decided that he deserved to suffer that day. Because of course his first official group member had to be the kind of douchey alpha that he would prefer to avoid at all costs. And of course said alpha had to start making inappropriate suggestions at him as soon as he sat down.

Kakyoin was too busy refreshing his memory of every ancient torture method he could think of to even notice the other two people taking their seats nearby. It wasn’t before Mia decided to cut of the alpha in the middle of one of his especially lewd comments that Kakyoin noticed that they were no longer alone.

The beta would then continue talking, pretending as if nothing had been going on. Kakyoin felt himself spacing out as he took a proper look around at his designated group members. Mia seemed alright, at least. The two other alphas on the other hand gave off very different vibes. Kakyoin could almost taste the tension between them in his throat. The blonde one still had an underlying scent of disgusting want coming off him. Kakyoin could see him still trying to make eye contact with him, and opted for observing the dark-haired alpha instead.

The majority of his face, his eyes included, were obscured by the brim of the cap he is wearing. His arms were crossed over his quite well-defined chest. Kakyoin silently curses himself out for even noticing the others build.

The alpha definitely gives off an intimidating aura. He is everything an ideal alpha should be after all, at least look-wise. But he also seems to be calm and secure, the exact opposite of the light-haired alpha seated in front of him.

Kakyoin’s thoughts are suddenly interrupted as the dark-haired alpha suddenly speaks up. Apparently they are now splitting up into pairs, which Kakyoin embarrassedly realizes he had completely missed while he was busy eyeing up the man in front of him.

Kakyoin gave a quick prayer to any gods that may be listening that he would end up working with the beta. But as usual, faith has other plans. Plans that end up with him forcing to pick which of the alphas he would rather work with. Which in and on itself is a very easy choice. The alpha known as Trent has returned his hands to Kakyoin’s desk, one of his fingers stroking up his wrist slowly.

God, he can’t wait to get those hands away from in.

His mind races to make up an excuse to not have to work with Trent. Lying about his father’s job might not be the smartest idea, but at least it gets the job done. Trent immediately let’s up on him, a strong sour scent now coming off him in waves. Kakyoin can’t help but smirk slightly to himself at the others change in mood.

Then Mia and Trent end up leaving, and he is all alone with the alpha who is apparently known as Jojo. Kakyoin silently cursed Trent out from under his breath. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief washing over him as he watches him walk out of his line of sight.

He turned his eyes towards the remaining alpha and suggests that they should get going as well. He only received a grunt in reply, and Jojo immediately stands up and starts heading off as well. Kakyoin quickly shoved his things back into his bag and hurried after him.

He could feel the burning hatred and jealousy coming off a group of omegas as they pass them. Their attention is clearly pointed towards him. Kakyoin only shoots them a dirty look in response. It wasn’t his fault that he ended up being partners with Mr. tall and handsome, like they clearly all yearned after so badly. Kakyoin still remembers the conversation he overheard a few days earlier, which lets him know that the alpha he is currently following is quite sought after by a large chunk of the local omega population.

They soon ended up alone in one of the spare rooms just down the hallway. Kakyoin quickly learned that the alpha doesn’t seem to say a lot, neither with his words or with his expressions. His eyes are still hidden underneath that godforsaken hat of his, making him even harder to read.

Kakyoin almost started to regret his decision of pairing up with him when he notices the dolphins covering one of the alpha’s notebooks. He bites back a smile at the revelation. A bad guy wouldn’t have sparkly, bright blue dolphins doodled on his notebook, would he?

As they start talking Kakyoin quickly realizes that Jotaro is not what he thought he would be. He doesn’t seem to mind Kakyoin’s teasing and his apparent interest in starfish is quite endearing.

When they eventually get properly started with their assignment Kakyoin finally gets the chance to take a proper look at the alpha in front of him. His hat has been angled away from his face and Kakyoin can now properly see his eyes.

They are a striking emerald green colour, and Kakyoin can immediately feel himself drowning in them. His long eyelashes and thick, slightly furrowed brows also don’t help one bit. Kakyoin immediately understands the other omegas’ reactions towards him.

Kakyoin silently curses himself out as he feels his own cheeks heat up. This was not according to the plan at all. He tried to calm his now rapid heartbeat.

He refused to fall for an alpha he had known for a total of twenty minutes.

Kakyoin jumped slightly as the bell suddenly rang, signalling the end of class. Jotaro looked up from his books and their eyes met for a split second. Kakyoin can feel his heart start racing again.

Fucking omega biology.

He quickly made up an excuse about his next class being on the other side of campus and hurried off. Hopefully Jotaro hadn’t noticed how stirred up he had become. He could feel his heartbeat returning to normal as he hastily made his way down the corridor.

He was fine. None of that necessarily had to mean anything.

He quickly checked over his schedule. Art was going to be his next and final class for the day. He let out a breath of relief at this. In art class he could hopefully just take a seat in a corner and ignore everyone around him. People wouldn’t even think there was anything strange about it, and would hopefully just believe that he was just another passionate art student.

Kakyoin arrived at the classroom a good few minutes before the class is about to start. The room consists of a number of larger tables, that they are obviously supposed to share.

Great. Not even here he could be alone.

Kakyoin silently scanned through the people already seated. He knows that people from all years are mixed together, so he is even unsure of which students are in his grade.

Most tables are already seemingly full, people chatting loudly among each other. He noticed that one of the tables however still had just one occupant. An omega who was already bent over a sketchbook, doing quick confident strokes over the pages. He seemed to be completely engulfed in his drawing and doesn’t even look up as Kakyoin takes the seat opposite him. Kakyoin however doesn’t mind this one bit, enjoying the few moments of silence before the rest of the seats around the table inevitably end up occupied as well.

Just as he predicted, a few more people are soon seated as his table. Luckily none of them are paying him any mind either.

“You mind if I sit here?”

Kakyoin turned his head and looked up at a blonde beta dressed in an interesting mix of sky blue and bright pink. He had a polite smile on his face as he gestured to the seat next to Kakyoin.

“Oh. Sure, no problem” Kakyoin replied, shifting slightly to the side as the beta sits down next to him.

“You new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before?” the beta asked as he looked him up down.

“Yeah, I just transferred here a few days ago. Name’s Kakyoin”

“I’m Caesar, nice to meet you” the other boy offered, holding out his hand, smiling brightly at Kakyoin as he shook it. Caesar then starts making small talk with him, telling him stories about various things that has happened around campus.

“Could you please keep it down, some people are trying to work here” an unfamiliar voice hissed out. The boy across from them who had previously been caught up in his sketching was now glaring straight at them.

“Shut it, we’re not in a fucking church” Caesar replied curtly, like he they had this conversation several times before.

“Doesn’t mean that you have to shout!”

“You’re the only one shouting here, you know”

“Shut up!”

Caesar let out a snort at the others clear irritation. He then turned back towards Kakyoin.

“That’s Rohan, don’t mind him he’s just a fucking gremlin”

“Stop calling me that you fucking bottle of mediocre dressing-” Rohan was suddenly interrupted by a new voice being added to the mix.

“Gentlemen, there’s no need to fight” the voice was almost alarmingly calm and practically dripping with the semblance of alpha. Kakyoin quickly turned his head over his shoulder to regard the newcomer, who is standing right behind him.

His hair was a similar shade to Caesar’s, but that seems to be the only thing they have in common. This man is a lot broader, and taller, and immediately gives of a strong aura of alpha. Kakyoin’s eyes snap up to look at the others face, only to find that he is already looking straight at him. His head is slightly cocked to the side, a clear look of interest hidden somewhere deep in his yellow eyes.

The alpha breaks their eye contact to sit down in the vacant seat next to Kakyoin.

“Nobody said that you could sit down” Caesar said coolly, clearly not happy about the alpha joining them. The alpha however ignored him, instead choosing to keep all his attention fixed on Kakyoin.

“So, what’s your name?” he asked, his eyes not leaving Kakyoin’s for even a second.

“It’s Kakyoin. I’m a new transfer student”

The alpha hummed in approval, the sound low in his throat. He reached his hand out towards Kakyoin’s ear. Kakyoin felt himself freeze up as Dio gently poked at his earring.

“Kakyoin, huh. It suits you”

Kakyoin immediately decided that he did not like the way his name sounded coming from those lips. Not one bit.

“I’m Dio Brando, a pleasure to make your acquaintance”

Kakyoin recalls the discussion that the omega girls were having a few days earlier. Dio had been one of the names thrown around in their conversation. So he was clearly someone that most people knew of. Kakyoin was not very surprised at this, as he understood why Dio would seem desirable to an omega. At least to those that didn’t spend a lot of their waking time actively trying to avoid such people, like Kakyoin himself did.

But before Kakyoin had time to come up with a reply their teacher had entered the room. Kakyoin felt as relief washed over him. There was a certain coldness in Dio’s eyes that he didn’t like. And Caesar’s reaction toward him joining them worried him as well.

The assignment of the day was to do some simple sketches of different types of landscapes. The room was quickly filled with a low buzz of voices as people begun talking among each other while getting to work.

Kakyoin and Caesar immediately hit it off, discussing which upcoming games they planned on purchasing. Kakyoin found him to be surprisingly easy to talk to. Every now and then Rohan would throw in a word about how annoying they were, but Kakyoin quickly learned to simply disregard it.

“Favourite final fantasy game in three, two, one”

“Seven”

“Ten”

“But seven is so good!”

“Have you even played the tenth one?”

“I have but it comes nowhere close to-“ Caesar suddenly trailed off as a splatter of paint without warning come flying straight at him, coating him in the dark green substance.

“Rohan, what the fuck?!”

“I told you to shut up” Rohan replied calmly, giving Caesar a slight smirk before turning his attention back to his sketchpad. Caesar cursed him out from under his breath.

“An important lesson to learn, Kakyoin, is to never wear your best clothes to art class. Because Rohan will undoubtedly fuck them up because he can’t stand people talking like normal human beings” Caesar let out an irritated huff at the end of his rant.

“I’ll be right back, I just have to get this shit out of my clothes before it stains” Caesar then quickly walked off towards the closest bathroom.

Kakyoin looked over at Rohan, who shot him another sharp glare, clearly warning him that he would be next if he didn’t lower his voice. Kakyoin only let out a snort at this, and went back to sketching at his current drawing of a desert, adding in a few palm trees.

“You’re pretty good”

Kakyoin nearly jumped out of his seat as Dio’s voice sounded directly into his ear. He could feel the warmth from his breath ghosting over his neck. Kakyoin felt a sense of uneasiness wash over him.

“Oh, thank you, Dio” He replied, deciding that he should probably at least attempt to stay polite with the alpha. Dio hummed slightly.

“Any particular locations that inspired it?”

“Well, I went to Egypt with my parents a few years back” Kakyoin disclosed, and tried to ignore the feeling of Dio’s breathing against his neck as he kept on drawing.

“Beautiful place” Dio agreed, leaning forward a bit. “I lived there for a few months a while back”

“I see” Kakyoin replied curtly, unsure of what to say. He simply continued to draw, while discreetly watching Dio from the corner of his eye. He noticed that Dio had given up on watching him sketch and was now looking directly at him again. But he didn’t say or do anything. He simply sat there, almost hovering over him but never actually touching him.

“Shouldn’t you be working on your own piece, Brando?”

Kakyoin turned his head towards Caesar, who had seemingly just returned from the washroom. He glared down at Dio with slightly narrowed eyes.

“I was simply admiring Kakyoin’s work” Dio replied sweetly, but backed off none the less. Kakyoin looked between the two men as Caesar took his seat again. The tension between them felt so strong you could cut it with a knife.

And in the blink of an eye everything seemed to turn back to normal again.

“Guess who managed to save his shirt” Caesar clapped his hands together excitedly as he smiled brightly at Kakyoin. “In your face, Rohan”

Caesar and Kakyoin quickly got back on track of their previous discussion. They did however try to keep their voices down, so they wouldn’t warrant any more hissing noises from Rohan. Before Kakyoin knew it the bell had rung, signalling the end of the school day. People around him started to pack up and head out off the classroom, and Kakyoin did the same. Just as he was about to stand up, Caesar grabbed hold of his shoulder.

“Hey, you wanna swap numbers real quick? I want to send you the video of that speed-run I told you about earlier”

“Eh, sure” Kakyoin said hesitantly. “Let me just grab my phone”

He started to rummage through his bag, finally finding it at the very bottom of it, hidden underneath a whole days’ worth of textbooks. He fished it up and turned towards Caesar, whose earlier carefree expression had turned sour. Kakyoin quickly looked around and noticed that they were now left alone in the room.

“Listen, Kakyoin” Caesar begun, and Kakyoin turned his attention back towards him.

“You should watch out around Dio. He may seem charming eunough, but it is all an act. He is absolutely ruthless when things don’t go his way”

“Why?” Kakyoin asked wearily. “What has he done?”

Caesar let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It’s a long and complicated story, but he has these really sick ways of seeking revenge on the people that he feels have wronged him. One of my friends are one of those people, he actually ended up getting stabbed because Dio couldn’t handle not being the best at everything”

Kakyoin’s eyes widened at this.

“Is he okay?” Caesar just nodded in response.

“He’s fine. But there’s been lots of other rumours of things he’s done going around. But his family are all lawyers, so they usually succeed in keeping it on the down low. That’s why you’ll probably only hear people around here praising him” Caesar fell silent.

“I see” Kakyoin replied, an unnerving feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. “Thank you, Caesar. I’ll keep that in mind”

Caesar gives him a slight smile. They stand in silence for a few moments.

“Right! Could I still have your phone number? I wasn’t kidding about that speed-run”

Kakyoin happily agrees and they quickly swap numbers. Caesar then picks up all of his stuff and heads towards the door.

He hesitates just as he is about to walk out of the room, and turns back to face Kakyoin again.

“Please do be careful around Dio. I’ve hears rumours about the… things he has done to omegas’ in particular”

“I’ll be careful. Promise”

“Good. I guess I’ll see you later then” Caesar lifted his hand in a wordless goodbye and walked out the door. Just as Kakyoin was about to pick up his stuff his head poked around the doorframe again.

“And if he tries anything always punch for the throat” Kakyoin let’s out a quick laugh at this.

“I know how to fight, Caesar”

“Just making sure. Bye then!”

And then his head once again disappears, and Kakyoin can hear his footsteps moving away down the hall. Kakyoin throws his bag over his shoulder and follows out into the hallway. The school is almost entirely empty by now. Which wasn’t very surprising, very few people enjoyed being in school enough to actually stick around after the day had ended.

Kakyoin made his way towards the main entrance, and out into the slightly cool afternoon air. The sky had begun to darken ever so slightly. He should probably get a move on if he wanted to make it home before it turned completely dark. He started digging through his pockets for his headphones, as he began walking, turning down onto the road toward his house.

“Kakyoin”

He instantly froze in place.

That was without a doubt Dio’s voice. Kakyoin turned his head slightly as he watched Dio confidently march up to him, both hands deep in his pockets.

“What took you so long, I was beginning to think that you had gotten lost somewhere” Dio smiles at him.

“Ah, Caesar just wanted to show me something before we left” Kakyoin fiddled with his thumbs nervously. “Why are you still here, Dio?”

“I was hoping to get some company on my walk home. Luckily it seems we both live down the same road” Dio flashed him another smile. His eyes however still looked as cold as they had been back in the classroom.

Kakyoin could feel his mind spinning as he tried to come up with an excuse that would keep him as far away from Dio as possible.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you, you must be pretty tired-“

“Nonsense, you are far from being a bother, Kakyoin” Dio paused as he looked Kakyoin up and down. “Shall we?” He nodded slightly, signalling for Kakyoin to keep walking. Kakyoin’s mind is at a blank, and he simply does as suggested. Dio picks up his own pace as well, walking close by his side.

“Besides” Dio continued “It would be unfortunate if you were to walk home all alone and run into someone, troublesome”

At the last few words he looked straight into Kakyoin’s eyes. Kakyoin could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“I know how to take care of myself, just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I’m helpless” he countered. His words would hopefully be enough to make Dio back off.

Dio raised his hands in defeat and let out a slight chuckle.

“I’m sure you can, but it is always better to be safe than sorry, isn’t it?”

Kakyoin just stayed quiet. But Dio didn’t seem to mind his silence. Instead he started telling Kakyoin about his studies, every now and then asking Kakyoin a question, which he in return replied to as curly as possible.

Dio however did not let this faze him, as he kept on talking until Kakyoin could finally spot his own house appearing in the distance as they turn a corner.

He let out a slight sigh of relief as he stopped to a halt in front of the gate. Dio abruptly cuts off in the middle of his sentence.

“Oh, this is where you live?” he asked, his eyes still refusing to leave Kakyoin’s form.

“Yep. Bye then” Kakyoin replied dismissively as he turned to walk up to the gate. Dio’s arm quickly shot out in front of him, stopping him from moving away.

“I live just a few blocks down the road, we’re practically neighbours” Dio smiled at him.

“That’s nice, but I really should get inside-“

Kakyoin is once again cut off as Dio shifted to stand right in front of him, effectively blocking Kakyoin’s view of the front door. One of his hands comes to rest at the slight curve of Kakyoin’s waist, and Dio leans forward slightly.

Kakyoin stood frozen in shock.

Dio’s other hand moved up to tuck his wavy bang behind his ear, before lightly grabbing a hold of his chin. Kakyoin could feel Dio’s breath on him as he leaned downwards slightly. His stomach turned.

“I wouldn’t mind if you were to come over to my place for a bit, Kakyoin” Dio’s voice is nothing more than a whisper.

Kakyoin’s mind suddenly goes clear and he springs into action, giving Dio a sharp push, resulting in him taking a few staggering steps backwards.

“I’d rather not” Kakyoin said coldly, hoping that his voice won’t betray him as he can feel a slight tremble in his hands.

Dio looked taken aback for a moment, before he quickly slipped back into his previous confident smirk.

“I see-”

“And I would prefer it if you were to back off from now on”

They stand in silence for a few moments, Kakyoin only focused on keeping his breathing even.

“I’ll head off then, it was nice meeting you, Kakyoin” Dio said in an indifferent was, bowing his head slightly. He gave Kakyoin a final short glance, his expression unreadable, before he turned around and continued on down the road.

Kakyoin watched him until he finally turns a corner and is out of his sight. He willed his heart to calm down as he quickly opened the gate and slipped in through the front door. He immediately made a beeline for his room and threw himself down on the bed.

All he had wanted was a quiet, uneventful day.

But he had gotten anything but.

Faith had apparently decided that it was time to introduce a series of new assholes into his life. First that douchebag Trent, and then that absolute creep Dio who made his skin crawl. He felt thankful towards Caesar for at least warning him about the guy. At least he had been kind towards him today. Maybe they were even close to becoming friends. They had exchanged numbers after all.

And then there was Jotaro. The past hour of activity had been quite effective in keeping him off his mind. But now that he is back home and safe in his own room his thoughts started floating back to those bright green eyes of. That were almost tender, and were missing that aura of coldness that Dio’s emitted.

Kakyoin let his eyes shut for a moment. His brain too tired from the day’s events to do anything more productive. He slowly felt himself be lulled to sleep, dreaming of emerald green eyes and dark, messy hair.

#Jotaro x Kakyoin #jotakak #JJBA #fanfiction #omegaverse #my fics #AITOE

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abreuofcoffee · 5 years

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We Bloom Until We Ache

— Word Count: 2k

— Genre: Hanahaki AU, Angst, Fluff and Light Comedy if you squint very hard enough

Ch. 1 | 2

It was a dark gloomy night, streetlights illuminating the avenue and cars wandering around the city. She stood in front of her apartment building, mindlessly wondering where it all had gone wrong. She thought there was something between them for the past years with him. She did love him very much. But him ? It was all a lie. Recalling what happened just moments ago entered her mind. It was in the midst of their bickering when she asked, “So all of that was, what, just an illusion?”, she asked and looked into his eyes, hoping for something -- anything. “I don’t have anything left to say. You should go” was the only thing he said, voice dull and emotionless. Gathering up all her courage and preventing herself from cracking her voice she said, “I let you get this far with your lies, but I know you well enough, and I think it’s about time we put an end to it.” and she did, she went to their room, packed her bags and left. It was thirty minutes ago when she had broken things up and moved out. Now, she waits for a taxi to pick her up and distract her from her wandering thoughts.

Inside the taxi where she hoped to be distracted from her recent break up, his words still ring and sting through her heart. “Celestine, I don’t want to be with you anymore. I think it’s about time to tell you, i’ve been seeing someone new.”. And that was it, her breaking point. Celestine broke down in a backseat of an old cab, heartbroken and homeless.

Half a month later, she found and moved in her apartment. Filled with hope for a new beginning, she wished to focus on herself and try to forget the things that happened. “Let’s forget the past and move on to the present”. A line that causally became her motto as time went by. The past weeks and days were nothing but hell to her. It was hard getting over someone you’ve loved and known for years. While fixing her things in her new apartment, she saw a photo album. Inside were numerous photos of him -- of them. And suddenly, she laughs. Anyone who can see her state right now would say she’s out of her mind. Her laughs turned to soft whimpers and some tears even escaped her eyes. Soon enough, those whimpers and tears turned to a total breakdown in the middle of her flat. She felt so stupid to believe that they would be able get married someday but the certain turn of events proved her otherwise. Loud sobbing and screams surround her flat as she continues to bawl her eyes out and break down.

There came a knock on her door, not knowing who interrupted her breakdown session, she went to peep who the person was but she became too lazy to tiptoe and peep. “Who would even knock on my door at 3 am?” she murmur. “Who would even does a heavy mental breakdown in the middle of the night? At three 3 am?” said in a tone of both disbelief and worry by the unknown weird person on the other side of the door. With furrowed brows and a confused face plastered on her face, she opened her door and can’t help but ogle at tall good-looking man standing in front of her door, wearing what it seems of a black hoodie and pajamas. Sleep, worry and something else she can’t quite decipher written all over his face. “Are you seriously staring at my face right now? We have other issues, woman!” disbelief laced in his tone as he barged into the said apartment. “I.. uhh.. umm… well… WHAT THE? WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU BARGING INTO MY FLAT?” she exclaimed, angrily following the man into her flat. She gasped when she sees him holding a plastic bag holding two large buckets of ice cream. “My name’s Keith and I live next door to you by the way and the reason i’m inside your apartment because apparently I heard someone crying over….. perhaps her ex ? I don’t know for sure but that definitely came into my concern so here we are! I don’t want to see nor hear anyone having a hard time, people should have someone or anyone in that matter to comfort them.”-- having to be raised by a rather tight family, Keith’s used to being a child loved by everyone and he vowed to himself that he will help anyone who is need when he once saw his little sister crying and didn’t know what to do, he felt so helpless that day and that vow to himself was made. “Seeing that you have no one, I gladly accept that position!” he says cheerfully for a person at 3 in the godforsaken morning while removing the ice cream from the plastic bag. “I don’t need anyone to comfort me. I am comfortable by myself and ok as far as i'm concerned, thank you very much.. Keith.” Celestine isn’t really a person who would let someone just barge into her home and tell them her deepest emotions. She thinks it utterly impossible to have someone do that anyway but well, that proved her otherwise tonight. “Oh trust me, you do, darling. And it’s okay, we can go slow and take our time, we have all night anyway. Or perhaps, the whole day?” he chuckled, and Celestine never knew someone’s chuckle could be that cute. Anyways, going back to this weird attractive guy, Celestine is actually thinking through this. What more could she lose, right? And the boy actually seems very trustworthy anyway. Speaking of the devil, he interrupted her thoughts just in time. “What flavor do you want? Mint Chocolate or Cookie Batter?” “The cookie one” she grabbed the cold ice cream with both hands and wrapped a towel around it, to prevent her hands from getting cold. Whilst scooping from her ice cream, she started to open up to this strange neighbor, “Well I used to have this boyfriend for how many years and…”. The night was spent like that, Celestine opened up and Keith dropped few remarks here and there on how awful the break up was and soon after, their conversation moved to other things like how they have mutual interest on contemporary art, Durant, their insights in the latest episode of How To Get Away With Murder and how Keith almost had a criminal offense of vandalising in their college campus’ pristine white walls near the dean’s office and rather in front of the whole football field, showing it on display for the whole campus to see. That night became from one depressing evening of Celestine to somewhere between having a new friend and achieving happiness after a whole month of crying over someone who hurt her.

Few weeks past, bearing with the break up became much more easier with Keith around. He helped her get over him with their Friday movie nights --usually alternating on whose place they will hang out and their ice cream shenanigans in an ice cream shop just a block away from their apartment building. She’s slowly recovering, becoming more of herself and is finally trying to focus and love herself.

During one of their Friday movie nights in her place, Keith noticed something. While she was boringly scrolling through the featured section of Netflix, the television’s light illuminating her face, her hair softly falling from the its previous place behind her ear and her soft grunts and constant complaints of, “I don’t know what to choose! All these movies are all either about love-sick couples or a dumb person trying to escape a haunted house” with a stupefied expression, Keith stayed motionless in his position. He’s suddenly attracted to this beautiful girl sitting next to her. His thoughts surround the fact that it can be possible and it’s not morally right since she just had a quite awful breakup just months ago.“But it can’t be. I’m probably just joking myself. I don’t like her, I just care for her. It’s what i’m here for and what she needs right now, right?” -- he always believed that people sometimes get attracted to chaotic, untimely things and he thinks this is just one of those.

Celestine’s life is actually pretty normal. Being an aspiring writer that hardly gets any acknowledgements on her stories, novels and poems, she had to work in another field for a secured source of income to support herself. That work being said is just being an average corporate staff working eight hours a day. She works as a journalist in one of the most famous magazine and entertainment company that mainly focuses on celebrity news and drama -- the so called “tea” as the millennials and Gen Z people would say. After a tiring day of work, well tiring is actually an understatement. A co-journalist got fired, one A-list celebrity became the most talked about because of their magazine’s latest scoop of the celebrity’s scandal and a famous fashion designer was murdered in front of his house that day, resulting her and the team hurriedly going to the scene for the latest scoop of the happening and to inform the eager netizens about it. All that could be said was she has had enough of that day and just wanna relax in a warm bubble bath with her favorite bath bomb, smelling the relaxing aroma of lavender oil and listening to her favorite R&B playlist. Needless to say, she was met unexpectedly by Keith’s car in front of her company’s building. The car was nice -- more than nice actually, it was a sleek gray SUV with rich and class written all over it. “Do you mind if we catch dinner together and go home?” Keith asked her through the window of the passenger’s seat. “Yeah, why not? I would die for some god-tier food right now” while approaching the vehicle, she noticed pink and red flower petals, daffodil to be exact, scattered along the floor of the car but she just paid no mind to it. On the ride going to the restaurant Keith picked, he kept on talking about this one music artist he just found out recently and how one of that artist’s cover art is of Icarus and he then went on and on talking about greek gods and goddesses and how problematic they are. In that sudden moment due to Keith’s non stop blabbering about greek mythology, Celestine was vastly inspired to write a story that she think would really be acknowledged by the public. Her story would then be about the reincarnations of greek gods and goddesses in the present time, here in 21st century. She hurriedly got her phone out of her pocket and started typing out ideas and the plot of her upcoming story. Little does she know those daffodil petals hold a huge meaning.

It was two weeks after that Friday night where Keith denied himself of falling in love with his neighbor that he started to weirdly cough up flowers. Weird. He thought, “Ah! Maybe I accidentally swallowed some at the flower shop earlier.”. But then, it didn’t stop there. It occurred frequently, especially when Celestine enters his mind or whenever he tries to see her (but he fails anyway, because of his current situation of coughing flowers). And so, he went to a doctor to find out what is happening to him. He found out that he is having a condition called Hanahaki Disease and it is quite deadly. The root cause of this disease is unrequited love, the person who has Hanahaki definitely is experiencing unrequited love. Flowers bloom in the patient’s lungs and the harder the patient falls in an unrequited love with someone, the more it congests in the lungs and making the patient cough it up. If it gets worse, the congestion of the flowers blooming will cause the death of the patient. This disease entails unrequited love and will be the inevitable cause of the person’s death. Knowing his condition, he continues to be by Celestine’s side -- as a friend who needs him and as someone who loves her secretly.

#text #text au #scenario #imagine #freeform #spilled writing #word vomit #spilled ink #love letter #love #writes #writing #free write #asl writes

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yuniesan · 6 years

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Girl Meets Season 6 - Episode Thirteen – Girl Meets Winter Break

Synopsis: The Journey from High School and into College will test everything Riley knew about her life, her friendships and her love. What life lessons will she learn in her first year of college?

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

A/N: Originally this chapter had only been about 4K, and was only supposed to cover Christmas week.... that changed as I wrote it and then got angry at it and rewrote it and now it's over 7K because of course I wrote the whole freaking break. I'm really trying to update faster, but I had 2 job interviews this week and of course I had my girl problem (because of the stress) and it made it harder to write, only for my internet to stop working... my life is such a clusterfuck I swear.

Episode Thirteen – Girl Meets Winter Break

Week One

Riley had been home for two days before everything went to hell, and that was only because she had forgotten to call Maya the day after they had gotten back from school. Riley knew that no matter how many emails she had sent, how many times she had seen Maya, eventually something would happen between the two of them. The semester had been four months, they had been leading separate lives for the most part because Riley was in one department and Maya was in another. Their dorms were far away from one another, and they both had boyfriends. But the day after they had returned, Riley had been so tired that she ended up sleeping twelve hours and by the time she had woken up, it had been three in the morning, and that was not the time to be texting or calling, especially since Maya normally fell asleep around one and sometimes slept well into late morning.

“Of course, you didn’t call,” Maya had said the moment they had entered Riley’s room. “You spent six and a half weeks without me, hanging out with your new friends. You never called me once during that time, you don’t even need me, so I don’t know why I bother, you should go out and be with your new friends.”

“Maya they’re your friends too you know,” Riley had said as she sat down at the bay window, watching Maya pace back and forth in front of her, ranting to her even though Riley had tried constantly to be there for her best friend. Apparently making new ones wasn’t an option.

“No, Zay and Huckleberry are my friends, your roommate and Charlie aren’t,” Maya said before stopping and turning to face her. “Are you trying to replace me?”

“No Maya, I just know how busy you were, and I thought hey Maya’s actually liking school for once, so I wrote the emails because I wanted you to know I was thinking about you,” she said and felt like slamming her head into the window. She knew that this was going to be a conversation they would end up having over and over again until Maya was comfortable being around new people, even if one of those people she had known in middle school.

“But you didn’t come find me, you didn’t look for me,” Maya yelled back at her, before grabbing on of the pillows on the edge of Riley’s bed and throwing it towards the headboard.

“I did you big dummy,” Riley yelled back, she needed to get the tension out as much as Maya did, Maya didn’t know what had happened during those weeks. It wasn’t just up to Riley to seek her out, Maya should have tried as well. “And every time I did you weren’t in your room, and then I’d get a message from Josh telling me where you were. So, don’t go blaming this only on me when you could have come to my room and found me.”

“But you went out and got new friends,” Maya yelled out as if she was ignoring what Riley had said and at this point Riley couldn’t understand why they were yelling, but she was certain that Maya needed to get through this and yell it out just to get it out of her system. “You got new friends and you didn’t care about me anymore.”

“Maya, damn it I never stopped caring, but we were going to live separate lives at some time, we’re not attached at the hip, I’m allowed to make more friends,” Riley said to her, realizing that the main problem in all of this was that Maya was afraid of being abandoned except, in the end of all of this the one who had been abandoned was Riley. She tried her best, but sometimes, a lot of the time lately, her best with Maya wasn’t possible.

“But it wasn’t supposed to happen now?” Riley could hear the hurt in her best friend’s voice, and she knew that at some point she was going to have to work on making sure that Maya would be alright without her, even when Riley was right next to her.

“And when did you think it was going to happen huh? When we’re fifty and you live in some commune and I move to some far-off place?” she said without thinking, she was angry that Maya could even think that she hadn’t been trying, their relationship had been based on Riley always being there, they barely had fights. Maybe it was inevitable that this one would happen.

“No,” Maya said back before sitting down on the bench next to Riley. “I just didn’t expect it, and then yesterday you didn’t call, and I guess I felt like you didn’t need me anymore.” Maya looked deflated, Riley felt awful, they were a pair of angsty teenagers trying to figure out how to survive college, how to survive the last of their teenage years.

“Aww Peaches,” Riley put her arms around her best friend and held her close. “This was bound to happen, but in the end you’re still my best friend in all of the world. We just grew in different ways,” she said knowing that there were going to have to have this conversation a couple of times before Maya realized that Riley wasn’t going anywhere even if they didn’t see each other for a few days. “And I didn’t call yesterday because I actually slept the day away and didn’t wake up until late at night, and I know how much you love to sleep.”

“I do like sleeping,” Maya said wiping tears off her face, Riley never mentions them falling, she knows that Maya hates it when people see her cry at any point in her life. “Do you like Sam more than me?”

“No,” Riley answers automatically, she’s still getting to know her roommate, and they have a shared history with the same bully in their lives, but the relationship is still new. “I mean I do like her, but you’re my sister Peaches, no one else compares. It’s just that Sam is a new friend and I’m still getting to know her, and I think that you need to get to know her too, I mean you two have a lot in common you know.”

“Yeah right, what could I have in common with her, she went to Einstein Academy,” Riley watched as Maya rolled her eyes at the thought of her having anything in common with someone who’s smart.

“Well, you both like really bad horror movies, she’s becoming a doctor, but she sometimes likes to make videos, like those gory videos you watch on YouTube when you think no one is watching, and you’d like them, heck you could probably help her with them.”

“Well I do like watching them,” Maya said staring out into Riley’s room. “What kind does she like to make? There’s whole genres of gore to watch, especially in horror movies.”

“Well,” Riley said smiling, knowing that if she found something that would get them together it would be a step forward, and maybe it would mean that Maya would have a new friend. “She joined some club on campus that’s making a horror movie in the tunnels under the buildings around the quad, she works with them to make sure everything is realistic, maybe if you joined her you could help them with set design and things like that.”

“I do like mixing art and horror,” Maya said smiling at the thought, which only made Riley shiver. Somehow, she knew that this was a bad idea, and whatever the two of them got around to making, well Riley would never watch it because it would give her nightmares.

“Now I’m just afraid of the two of you getting together,” she said feeling squeamish just thinking about it.

“Your fault,” Maya yelled out before laughing. “What’s up with soufflé?”

“Charlie, Maya, his name is CHARLIE,” Riley sounded out his name on purpose, because she didn’t want Maya to hurt the guy’s feelings.

“Whatever,” Maya said but then her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine what is up with Charlie?”

“Nothing, I think he likes having friends that have known him for a while, he came here without anyone he knew from high school. Plus, him and Zay both went through break ups so they’re dealing with it together.” Thinking about Zay made Riley’s heart hurt even more, because while Maya knew about the breakup she didn’t know about the extent of Zay’s pain over the last few months, and Riley wasn’t going to break his confidence by telling someone about what had happened either.

“And you and Lucas?” Maya asked pulling Riley out of her thoughts.

“Um, well,” she started but she wasn’t sure if she should talk about it because he parents were in the house and she knew that her father would have one of his freak out moments if he knew anything was happening between her and Lucas even if it was something innocent.

“Spill,” Maya said before holding out her right hand, pointing at her ring for the first time since she had walked into Riley’s room.

Riley groaned to herself before getting up and closing her door, she didn’t want the chance of her father listening in on anything in regards to Lucas because he would never let her boyfriend in the house ever again.

“This must be good if you’re closing the door,” Maya said watching as Riley moved to make sure that the door was secure, putting towels on the floor in front of the door.

“It’s nothing scandalous, it’s just that I think whenever I’m home my dad can hear everything, and I don’t want Lucas to get kicked out forever,” Riley took a deep breath before confessing to her best friend about her relationship’s recent developments. “Most nights, I sleep over at Lucas’s dorm or he sleeps over at mine, it’s innocent, all we do is cuddle… and sometimes we make out, but nothing more than that.”

“That’s more than I would have thought, I would swear that you would never get to any step pass handholding with him.”

“We make out, we’re a normal couple and everything,” Riley said defending her relationship with Lucas, yes they’ve been together for years, and while most couples have moved onto more physical parts of their relationships, like Farkle and Smackle, Riley just wasn’t ready for that, she was happy with the little bubble that she had created with Lucas.

“Yes, yes you are sweetie, but your father has severely stunted your relationship from the beginning, but I’m glad that you two are happy.”

“Thanks,” Riley smiled. “How about you and Josh?” she asked knowing that Josh had told her a lot already, but there were things that only Maya could tell her.

“Riles, you talk to Josh all of the time, you probably know more about my relationship than my own parents do,” Maya said to her and Riley knew that her best friend was wrong about that.

“I know a lot of things about your relationship yes, but I guess we should still talk about it, because while I know about it, I only know Josh’s part of the relationship.”

“You just want me to talk about my feelings,” Maya huffed before leaning against the windows. “Fine I’ll talk about my feelings, I love him okay, he’s nice and kind, and he’s my boing,” Maya said in a rush, but Riley could see something more in her best friend’s eyes, on the rising blush on her face.

“Awww,” Riley said as she held her hands against her chest, smiling at her best friend. “That’s what I like to hear, it’s still weird because I don’t want you to be my aunt, because it creepy and weird, but you’re happy… have you told him that yet? That you know you love him?”

“No,” Maya choked out, as if tell Josh was the biggest no no in the world. “Actually, I haven’t said that much,” her voice got quiet and Riley thought it was cute to see Maya acting all flustered about her relationship. “But I want to do it at New Years, so that we can start the new years on a happy note.”

“Awwwww,” Riley threw her arms around her best friend already planning New Year’s on the roof, with her friends and family.

The two of them spent the rest of the day catching up with one another, planning New Year’s, planning their trip, and trying to find ways for the two of them to hang out more. They spent the week leading up to Christmas at each other’s houses, Riley trying to find ways to get Maya to tell Josh she loves him, without waiting for New Years, while Maya planned her perfect New Years kiss with her boyfriend.

They were sitting at Topanga’s in their favorite seats, the day before Christmas, as Riley pulled out the secret Santa box. Sam and Charlie had joined them, their group clustered together. As Riley put the box at the center of the table before sitting on Lucas’s lap and giving him a quick kiss. The sound of a cup breaking made her jump until she was sitting in between him and Maya. One look at the counter and she saw her dad with a look on his face, that reminded Riley that she wasn’t at school, and any form of public displays weren’t allowed anymore.

“You know he’s crazy,” Maya said looking over at Riley’s dad before laughing. “You’re eighteen years old, he can’t do anything.”

“Yeah but it’s a reflex at this point,” Lucas said before taking the box and shaking it only to notice that it was empty. “Didn’t you put the names in?”

“No,” Riley said with a smile. “We’re not going to do secret Santa this year, instead I’m inviting everyone over for Christmas, we’re going to watch Christmas movies and talk, because that’s what we need to do this year. That way some of us can get to know our new friends and reconnect with those we’ve known for years. It’s the best present of all.”

“Where is this happening?” Sam asked since she the newest of her friends.

“My house,” Riley said with a smile. “My parents are going to Philly after we open presents, and I asked if I could stay here, since Josh is staying too, they said yes.”

“You’re not visiting your parents?” Maya said looking over at her boyfriend. “But you always visit them.”

“They’re coming up for New Years, and I’m working the day after, so the drive would make it impossible for me to stay awake,” he said before kissing Maya on the head and walking back to the counter to get their drinks.

“He’s staying because he wants to spend the holiday with his girl,” Zay said smiling, it was genuine, which meant that he was happy, and Riley was glad that he had found his peace.

That’s how the nine of them found themselves in Riley’s living room watching A Christmas Story with bags and bags of candy, popcorn, and somehow a bucket of fried chicken in front of them. Maya and Sam were plotting some crazy thing for the movie Sam was working on, that now had Maya as a set designer, while Josh put in his two cents in on whenever the two had gone off the deep end. Lucas was talking with Farkle and Smackle, they were catching up on what they had all missed out on. Riley kept going back and forth to the kitchen, she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing until Lucas handed her a bag of her favorite gummy bears, and some popcorn with chocolate in it.

It had taken all night just for her to settle in, but after a while when they were all quiet and watching the movie, even when Maya threw popcorn at the screen whenever there was something that she hated, usually something dumb. Riley had noticed something happening between Zay and Charlie, they were having a hushed conversation, or they were poking fun at something. Riley wondered if maybe they liked each other as more than friends, but she didn’t want to meddle, she wanted them to find it for themselves.

Week Two

When New Year’s Eve, came rolling around, Riley found herself working on the roof, hoping that the heaters worked properly so that no one would have to wear more than a sweater while they watched the fireworks happen as the ball dropped. Farkle had helped her get them, and helped her set them up, both of them quiet while they worked. It wasn’t until they had put the tables together and set up the drink station that she turned to him.

“You’ve been… quiet,” she said wondering if anything was wrong. “I hope this isn’t going to end up like the fight I had with Maya.” She didn’t want another fight, she just wanted everyone to be happy and healthy, no drama, just friends, except they had this weird thing hanging over their heads and they needed to get through it.

“No,” he said to her, and she could almost feel herself sigh in relief before Farkle started talking again. “Nothing like that really, it’s just I feel awful.”

“No,” she said putting her hand out to stop him from saying anything else, she doesn’t want anyone to feel bad for anything, they all lived and moved on from feeling bad. “It happened, we’ll survive, please I don’t think I can handle another person freaking out.” She really couldn’t not after the fight with Maya the week before. It was heartbreaking and sad, and while it helped out their relationship, Riley really hated fighting with people.

“But Riley, I didn’t say or do anything, I let myself get caught up in all of my classes, classes that by the way were up to par with everything I’ve been studying my whole life,” he said trying to reason with her, but she knew it was better for him to feel happy with where his life was going.

“Yes, and that’s good, plus according to Josh and Maya, you took Smackle out all of the time, all that matters is that we all find our way back to one another,” she said smiling at him hoping that it would take the strain off what her genius best friend was feeling.

Farkle nodded at her before sitting down on one of the nearby chairs. “Zay told me about what happened,” he said before looking up at her with sadness in his eyes. She knew that Zay telling anyone other than Riley and Lucas was a big step for him, but the fact that Farkle had to learn about it after the fact was probably hurting the genius. “He told me about how you and Lucas, and Charlie, and even Sam helped pull him out of where his head was taking him.”

She sighed before walking over to where he had sat down and kneeled in front of him. “It’s not your fault, it’s not any of our fault, it happened and it’s over.” It wasn’t anyone’s fault, people go through things, she knew this more than most because she had lived through a lot of hard moments, some she had help from her friends to getting over them, while others she still lived with, because her insecurities weren’t going to go away overnight.

“But that’s the thing, I wasn’t there for him either, he’s one of my best friends in the whole world and I felt like I abandoned him.”

“Farkle, honestly you didn’t, the same way that Maya and I will always come back to one another, because we’re all family, but anyway, things happen. I know what happened with Zay was just too much for anyone to handle, but honestly, he’s actually happier now. He had therapy once a week at school, he’s raising hell with Sam and Charlie, and maybe one day he’ll move on from what had happened with Cassie.” It was all the truth, Zay was getting better, and him talking to Farkle about it was a part of that.

“But,” he started but Riley put her hand on his mouth.

“No buts, it happened it’s over and all you need to do is be there for him, be his friend again, and don’t blow anything up.”

Farkle sighed before nodding, he looked defeated for a moment, by his inability to help when his friend needed him the most. “I feel like I missed so much,” he said his voice just above a whisper. She knew she needed to get him to understand that even though he missed it there’s still so much more that will happen in the future and all that mattered was that they were there for one another.

“Hey just think about it this way,” she said as the idea took root in her mind. “The day you and Smackle win the Nobel, we’ll be there for you guys, just like when Lucas gets his license to be a Vet, or Maya has an opening at some huge gallery, or Zay finally gets to be a detective, or wherever I’ll be.” All of it was the truth about their lives, that while they went through things on their own, they will always find a way to celebrate to good moments together.

“Probably wherever Lucas is,” he said with a smile.

“Yes, but knowing Lucas he’s going to make sure we never leave New York fearing the wrath of my father if he even thinks of taking me away,” she told him with a smile. Lucas knew that she would probably never leave the city she had grown up in, even though she wouldn’t mind going somewhere different.

“I hope you get to go somewhere amazing Riley Matthews.”

“I hope so too, but honestly I would love to stay here, it’s my home and it’s where we’ll always find each other, our little stitched up family” she said with a smile. “Now let’s finish setting up and get this party started, and please no more heart to heart talks, at least until next year.”

They finished the set up in time for Charlie and Zay to bring up all of the food, most of which had been made by Zay who had learned to love cooking after spending one too many weekends at cooking classes with Riley. Lucas and Josh brought up the drinks as Smackle stood by setting up the plates and cups. Riley was waiting for the moment where Smackle would say something, would bring up the weeks of not talking. It hadn’t happened yet, the genius had been waiting until Riley was alone in the kitchen wrapping up the last of the platters before walking up to her and giving her a hug.

It was awkward, and it reminded Riley of the hugs Smackle used to give her years ago before she became comfortable with being her friend. But Riley wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world because it felt right.

“I know everyone is apologizing for something that naturally happened,” Smackle said once she had separated from Riley. “I on the other hand want to thank you, I know that you were the one who suggested all of the dates and all of the things that your Uncle Boing took us out too, and I also read all of the emails you sent and found them encouraging.”

“Only the best for my best friends,” Riley said with a smile.

“I needed them Riley,” Smackle said looking up at her, the awkwardness gone from her eyes. “I didn’t tell this to Farkle in the beginning, but I felt lost for a while there, I mean I could understand my classes and my new life, but there was always this fear that I wouldn’t measure up, and your emails encouraged me to try anyway. Just like how the outings helped me feel slightly more normal in my relationship, it grounded me and I’m glad for them. I hope you can continue to write them for me, even if we’re always standing next to one another.”

Riley pulled Smackle back into a tight hug, and the genius hugged her back with all of her heart, “Isadora you are a diamond in a sea of coal, and I will write you as many emails as you want if it means that you never change who you are.”

“Thank you,” Smackle whispered into Riley’s hair. They hugged for a little longer before separating, a smile on each of their faces, because Riley knew that as long as she’s helping her friends, they would always be happy, even if they’re not next to one another.

While at the party hours later, Riley realized that she hadn’t seen her boyfriend at all, only ever in passing, as their friends from high school and middle school surrounded them. Constantly pulling them in one direction or another, everyone was happy, which only made Riley happy to be there with them.

The only time Riley had stopped to look around was when she had seen Maya standing awkwardly next to Josh. Riley watched as her best friend told her boyfriend that she loved him, and that the new year would be better than ever because they were together. It was cute and adorable to watch them, because they both deserved the best in the world. The two of them were glowing, in their own little bubble and as much as the whole aunt thing weirded Riley out, she wouldn’t begrudge them their moments. They had been tip toeing over this moment for such a long time, and in the end it was the best possible outcome to watch them find their place in each other’s hearts.

That was how Lucas found her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, “Hey there princess,” Lucas whispered in her ear, making her shiver, even though it was impossible with the heaters and all of the people they knew around them. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she said as she turned around to face him. This was the closest they had been to one another since they had gotten back from school. They were always looking out for her father now, because Riley was sure he would pop up and ruin the moment. That’s how she found herself looking around to see where her parents were.

“Don’t worry, your mom is keeping him distracted,” Lucas said before wrapping his arms around her waist and slowly dancing with her, as everyone around them jumped to the music. Lucas pulled her towards the area behind the doorway where no one could actually see them before he kissed her. The world around them counting down to midnight, while Riley was safely in his arms. They didn’t separate until the fireworks had stopped and everyone was cheering around them.

“Happy New Year,” she said to him before kissing him again.

Riley wasn’t sure how it had happened, all that she remembered was someone yanking her away from Lucas, and of course the moment she saw her father chasing her boyfriend, she knew that her life would never really change, even if she didn’t speak to her friends for weeks. They always had a way of making it back to one another. Just like how her father was going to keep chasing Lucas away because it was the only way to protect his daughter’s virtue.

“You know it’s nice to know that somethings don’t change around here,” Maya said standing next to Riley while they watched Riley’s father chase Lucas around for daring to kiss his daughter in front of him, or even try to hide the kiss at all.

“Why is this my life,” Riley groaned before covering her face in her best friend’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, one day your dad would old and slow and he wouldn’t have the ability to chase after Lucas,” Maya said with glee in her voice.

“Lies,” Riley said as she pulled away from Maya’s shoulder. “He’ll get one of those motorized scooters and chase him down the street with it, screaming about kids these days.”

That was the start of her new year, sadly it was the same as any other, and it left Riley hoping for the day when her father would stop chasing Lucas and let them be a couple without the worry.

Week Three

The first weekend after New Year’s, found the group of nine in two cars driving almost six hours to East Bethany, because Riley had made the mistake of letting everyone else pick where they were going to do the ghost tour, and of course it was after Sam, Zay, and Maya had watched the episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved on Rolling Hills Asylum. The three of them wanted to meet Roy, the seven-foot-tall inmate of the asylum. Riley regretted her decision to do this after that, because while she could act like she was strong, she was everything but strong when it came to the scary creepy things.

So, Riley and Lucas, along with Farkle and Smackle were in Lucas’s car, while Maya, Charlie, Zay, and Sam were driving with Josh in his car. The reason why they had decided on this set up for the journey all had to do with Riley trying to avoid any talk about blood, gore, and anything creepy. She wanted to enjoy the drive up, considering how long it was, especially since the Asylum was close to Niagara Falls. Riley wanted to get her friends to go there instead, but since Farkle’s dad helped them arrange the overnight trip, Riley was trapped in a scary nightmare of her own making.

“There it is,” Farkle said to Lucas before they had missed the turn off and fulfilling Riley’s dream of not having to do this haunted disaster.

Maya was honking Josh’s horn as they drove up the driveway towards their destination, the group in the other car excited about the trip.

“Don’t worry,” Lucas said once Smackle and Farkle had left the car. “I’ve got you.”

Riley couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend, especially since she still had nightmares about them getting separated in a place like the one they were about to go into. She could be strong, they wouldn’t stop her from trying would they. Somewhere deep inside of her heart she wished that one of them had said that she didn’t have to go. But she had been dumb enough to trying and defend herself to the group and now her heart was pounding and she felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin.

“Okay,” Smackle said as they all gathered up in front of the cars. “Farkle and I are going to be conducting an experiment while we’re here, so you all have to wear these monitors. As well as these body cameras, because Maya and Sam want footage of what we do for what I don’t know, and I don’t really care.”

Smackle and Farkle handed out a few containers, one for each of them, and inside were everything they were going to need, including a spirt box, because Maya had wanted to see if she would be able to talk to ghost, even though she was skeptical about them existing, she just wanted her chance.

“Everyone, grab your sleeping bags, and let’s go meet with the caretaker,” Farkle said to the group.

Riley stood at the back with Lucas holding her hand, she knew that he could feel the sweat accumulating from her hand and she was embarrassed about it. Several times she tried and failed to pull away, the last time she tried he pulled her close and put her hand near his heart.

“I’ve got you,” he said as they walked forward.

That night had been a restless sleepless disaster for Riley, one that she honestly couldn’t remember much of, and what she did remember was stuck in her nightmares for the days after. There had been a moment where Maya and Sam and jumped out of a dark corner, scaring Riley so bad that she had tripped and fallen into a dark hallway, where she could swear she heard someone screaming. There was also a time in the middle of the night when Lucas had gone to the bathroom leaving Riley alone, which freaked her out even more when she heard moaning coming from somewhere, only to run screaming into the hallway and finding Maya and Josh furiously making out.

Instead of going back to sleep after that, Lucas took her for a walk to try and calm her down, only for a bat to come flying out of some dark corner, freaking her out so much that she had pulled a piece of wood from the floor and flung it across the room, while she ran the other way. The problem with that was that she had accidentally hit Lucas instead of the bat and left him behind. He found her down the hallway five minutes later crying because the zombies were going to get her, and she didn’t want that to happen.

By morning she was a complete wreck and she hadn’t slept at all, so of course when they were walking towards the car she tripped and fell down, spraining her ankle on the way to the ground. Lucas drove them to the nearby hospital and for what felt like the millionth time in her life, her foot was in a boot and she was told to keep off of it for two weeks.

So, of course this meant having her friends play the video of Riley’s journey through the asylum when they got back, laughing when she had wacked Lucas with the two by four.

“It’s not funny you guys,” Riley said moping in her bed while everyone else sat around her. Lucas was rubbing her arms and kissing her head until she felt safe enough to fall asleep again.

Even though she hadn’t really liked the trip she was glad that everyone had had a fun time, because they had done it together, and it felt normal for them. It wasn’t until she had seen the statistics of Smackle and Farkle’s study, that Riley had realized that she hadn’t been the only one who had been scared that night. Lucas’s heart freaked out whenever there was a rat around, because as much as he loves animals he doesn’t like rats. The footage of Zay showed him walking around with Charlie, both of them holding out water guns, that Riley later found out had been filled with holy water. Maya had been immune to it, her heart had only jumped when she had been making out with Josh, which to Riley meant that they had been way too into their make out session, since they had been in a haunted asylum. Smackle and Farkle had been too into their research that they hadn’t registered anything that had happened. And Sam had been filming a million things, so she hadn’t really thought about what had been happening, she had just wanted extra material for the movie she was filming.

It was nice to know that her friends had had fun, even she hadn’t, and it had only gone and cemented their friendships more because it had been an experience they had had together.

Week Four

Riley had been stuck at home for the last two weeks of her winter break, Lucas visited until he had to go on vacation with his parents to Texas, leaving her alone without him. Maya and Josh had been planning a date slash birthday celebration for Maya’s 19th birthday, because Josh had wanted to take her out on a special dinner. The only one who visited her was Zay because he had been trying to find his center in all of the madness. Smackle and Farkle had finally gotten a date night that they had planned, with Riley’s help, to celebrate Smackle getting the unsolvable problem solved, earning the genius a hefty prize.

“I miss Lucas,” Riley had told Zay as they started watching The Notebook, it was one of Zay’s favorite movies, and while Riley loved a good romance, she didn’t have the heart to watch it at the moment.

“I know sugar, but don’t worry he’ll be back,” Zay said as he used her nail polish on her toes. He had grabbed every color and painted each toe a different one, it was something he did with his mother, and he had wanted to cheer Riley up so he did it for her too.

“I know,” she said sigh to herself before she remembered the looks that Charlie and Zay had been sending one another. “By the way, is there anyone you like right now?”

“Riley,” he said looking up at her. “I don’t know if I want to be in a relationship right now.”

“I didn’t say that, it’s just that sometimes it’s good to have a crush on someone, to find a way of moving on from what had happened,” she said looking down at her hands because she was afraid of meddling again.

“Yeah, but it might be breaking the bro code,” he mumbled, and Riley’s head shot up looking at him.

“I’m not getting involved,” she said to him before changing the subject to safer topics. Zay had to go through this on his own, and Riley couldn’t get involved, she was only wishing for his happiness and that’s all that mattered to her.

Zay finished her toes, and out of boredom let her paint his, but she only painted them one color, which surprisingly cheered him up a bit. They talked, and her father checked in on her every once and a while, he was fine with Zay being there, or Farkle but if it had been Lucas forget it.

When she woke up the next day she thanked Zay for keeping her company, and then wrote that the bro code doesn’t exist between them. She didn’t elaborate, she didn’t hint at whether she knew who Zay liked, she kept it simple. She got an ‘Ok’ as a reply and went about her day once again, only to be pulled towards the bay window by Maya two hours later.

“Well something happened on your date with Josh,” Riley said smiling at her best friend, who for some reason was all smiles and blushes. “Oh god I don’t want to know.” Riley did her best to cover her ears because honestly, she didn’t want to hear about where this conversation was about to go, except Maya held out her hand.

“Ring power to the tenth degree,” Maya said forcing Riley to uncover her ears. “You promised me if we ever went to that next step we would talk about it.”

“Maya that had been before seventh grade, we had talked about that before you and Josh got together, we talked about what it would be like to find someone we loved, but this… this maybe too much,” Riley said thinking back to those preteen years, when she had wanted to be like Maya, only to find herself and be happy.

“Well it happened, and I need my best friend to talk about it with,” Maya said looking at her, giving Riley a pleading look.

“Fine, but the day it happens to me I’m locking myself away and never telling you,” Riley said leaning back against the bay window before turning and putting her foot on Maya’s lap. “Now spill.”

“You’re going to tell me, I already know you are because we share our experiences with each other,” Maya said before tickling Riley’s toes. “Nice paint job by the way.”

“Yeah well Zay was bored so I let him, now spill.”

Maya went into detail about how special the night had been, and how they had ended up back at Josh’s place, he was a total gentleman, and they had only decided on making out.

“But I told him that I was ready, and even brought a condom and everything, because a girl has to be prepared, and he had been my first for a lot of things, and it felt perfect, so of course he lit some candles,” Maya said with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Oh god I’m not ready for this conversation,” Riley said wanting to cover her ears, only to have Maya continue her story. “How do you feel?” Riley asked once her best friend was done.

“A little sore, he was so sweet to me the whole time, and then he said he was scared too because it was his first time, which surprise the hell out of me.”

“Maya you two have been together for almost two years now, he never really dated anyone other than you, I should know because he used to talk about you all of the time. I mean he’s kissed other girls, and tried to be a normal guy, but it had always been you who he had gravitated towards.”

“That’s sweet,” Maya said to her. “I always wondered about what it would have felt like the first time around.”

“Did it live up to your expectations?”

“Yes and no,” Maya said leaning back onto the window, “I mean it felt perfect, but I hadn’t expected the pain, which means you have to expect it too.”

“Nope, I swear my wedding night is going to be the only time that happens, well not the only time, but the first time.”

“You want to walk down that road? Not trying before then?”

“Yes, plus it gives my father less ammunition against Lucas,” Riley said before she could yawn. “I think we need to celebrate this moment, and I say we do it by eating pancakes and watching some teen movie where the same thing happens to the couple.”

“I hear you,” Maya said standing up and pulling out her phone, they ordered breakfast from the only place nearby that delivers, making sure to order pancakes and sausage, because Maya thought there should be sausages as a euphemism, adding an omelet and bacon for them to split while they watched a random movie that had nothing to do with the moment, but it felt nice to just do something just the two of them.

Week Five

When the last week of their break came around Riley was exhausted because of everything that had happened with everyone that she hid in her room, curtains closed and slept for two days, only to find out later that she had caught a cold and that’s why she had been so tired. Lucas had shown up with a cup of soup and a warm fleece blanket that he had gotten her from Texas, tucking her in and feeding her soup.

“Don’t worry too much,” he had said to her before the medication had lulled her to sleep.

The cold had lasted until the day she had her boot taken off which was the day before she had to go back to school. She was fully rested and happy, because her friends were there with her, her dad was still the same, and her boyfriend, while not perfect, was still the one who helped hold her together.

#girl meets season 6 #rucas fanfic #rucas #riley matthews #lucas friar #joshaya #maya hart #josh matthews #smarkle #isadora smackle #farkle minkus #zay babineaux #charlie gardner

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naniewithane · 6 years

Text

Inverted

This is a repost. I’m bringing my stories to this profile. Previously posted on @nowadaysprincesses

This idea came to me when Zig's makeover was released and someone said that "if he was first presented like that I'd choose him as my LI" or something like that I'll check it later. So I thought "What if Zig was the group mom and mc the new barista?" and here we are. So I hope you enjoy my little Zig x MC (here called Jay) fanfic, and I'll post more chapters soon. This will follows the interactions between them in The Freshman 3, at least for now.

xo, Nanie.

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in·vert

verb past tense: inverted; past participle: inverted

put upside down or in the opposite position, order, or arrangement.

Chapter 1 - Brand new barista

“Mom, have you seen my sneakers?” Jay said, looking under her bed.

“Jay, use the black heels or you’re gonna be late. Oh, and don’t forget to put some make up!” Her mother said, catching an apple from the kitchen table and leaving to work.

“Mama, I’m going to work, not to a party!” Jay said to the door closing. Her mother put her head inside. “Just today, baby! You need to make a good impression on your first day!” She said, winking, and closed the door.

Jay tried for a couple minutes to find the sneakers. Soon giving up, she put the heels, a little make up and went out.

Arriving at the Northbridge train station a moment too late, she runned unsuccessfully to get into the train. Sadly she watched the door closing in front of her. Dammit, late at the first day. This is so great, Jay.

An hour later, Jay arrived at work. Coming into the coffee shop, she looked at the counter and calmed down: Her boss was nowhere on sight. The only person behind it was Brandon, the guy that was about to leave - and she was the one designed to take his place.

“Hey Brandon, hope I’m not too late! I lost the train.” Jay said, making a sad face. “It’s ok, at least for now your shift will be at night, today is just for training. Grab your apron and let me teach you how this stuff works.” He pointed around to the whole place. “Hope you come to like this place as much as I do.”

“I hope so.” Jay said, smiling.

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As the days passed by, Jay got more and more used to working as a barista. It was good that she started at the school break, so the shop wasn’t crowded and she had the chance to learn the place’s routine without people bursting in every second.

Also, the friendship between Jay and Brandon grew fast. Since he was the one that was training her, he becomes a constant person in her life, and soon he was her friend. She wasn’t used to have friends anymore. People normally don’t like to be friends with a time bomb like her. Eventually she turned the friendships a huge mess. But Brandon saw past it. They used to talk about almost everything, and even having just a couple things in common at the surface, deep down both were good friends to each other.

Unfortunatelly for her, Brandon left to Peru. The day he left she went to the airport to say goodbye. There, she finally met Zack, Brandon’s boyfriend. They were such cuties together! Zack cried like a little child, and even hugged Jay after saying the last goodbye to Brandon at the gate. Jay didn’t kept contact with him, but Zack seemed to be a good guy too.

————————————

A few days later the spring quarter started. She was still adapting with the sudden movement of these days. Since the job hadn’t a dress code, she always dressed up as the rocker she was, but tried to be as collected as possible when dealing with the customers. That was mostly to not lose her temper (and keeping the job). Because of that ‘cold’ attitude, some students started to call her Ice Jay. It didn’t matter to her, truly. At least they seemed to know who they were dealing with.

Every day people were scheduling activities at the coffee shop. That day was a small gig from a punk band. Finally something interesting, she though, although a coffee shop wasn’t exactly a matching place to this kind of music.

Jay was cleaning the counter as a group of students walked into the shop. One of them was Zack, Brandon’s boyfriend. She gave him one of her rare smiles and looked to his friends.

Her eyes stopped at a really handsome guy. Black hair, bright brown eyes and a little lazy and provocative smile at the corner of his mouth. He looked at her and Jay knew she had to meet the guy. Nice thing that I kept using those heels to work, she though. He was so tall. Unfortunately, he broke eye contact, talking again with his friends.

“Hey Dany, do you know who’s the McDreamy over there?” Jay asked to the other barista, making a small motion to point the direction.

Dany studied the group. “Which one? Because all of them are snacks to me.” Jay looked at them, half of the group choosing a table near the windows and the other moving to wait in line to be attended. “Tall, black hair, tan skin and 100% perfection”, Jay said. Dany focused on him. “Oh, that’s Zig. The only thing I know about him is that he lives with Zack and Kaitlyn, so I suppose that he’s also a freshman. I’ve seen him here a couple times, but always at the morning shift.”

Jay listened, still looking at him. Dany gave a small laugh. “Girl, you’re almost drooling all over the place.”

“Look, I’m not gonna marry the guy. I’m just wondering what’s going on under that shirt. Besides…”

“It’s pretty hard not to notice her. She’s beautiful.” At the other side of the shop, Zig looked again at the infamous new barista that Kaitlyn pointed. She was still looking at him, and as soon as he looked at her, she gave him a smirk.

Abbie sighed. “Wow, what is with this place and photogenic baristas?” Tyler made a strange face. “I don’t know, she seems like trouble to me.” Kait laughed of them. “Well, she may be trouble, but I can bet that she’s head over heels for you Zig. She’s totally checking you, all this time!” Kaitlyn said, still smiling.

Zig thought he remembered her face from somewhere, but wasn’t sure. “She seems to be an interesting girl.” The girl had a mysterious aura around her. She had a curly black hair in a loose ponytail, a bandana tied as a tiara and she was also using a dark makeup, maybe because of the gig. She kept looking at him, while talking with the other barista. Maybe he was the subject of their conversation? No, probably not, Zig thought.

Zack saw her and give her a nod. Then started speaking and Zig turned his attention to him. “That’s Jay. I’ve met her at the airport when Brandon left. She’s cool. Kinda creepy, but cool.”

“I guess I’ll try to talk to her later.” Zig said, and they changed subject.

Zig had to admit that coming to Natasha’s gig wasn’t exactly in his plans, but Kaitlyn insisted. Well, he was starting to think that maybe going to the coffee shop that hour of the day was a good thing.

————————————

The biggest problem Jay had with the customers was learn how to deal with some spoiled brats that used to appear now and then. Most of them thinking that Jay was their own employee, and not from the coffee shop. Some of the students was literally testing her patience.

Well, and the most annoying just entered the shop. He spoke loud, trying to caught the attention of the part of Zack’s group waiting in line. With this, he caught the attention of most of the people inside the shop too.

“Well, if it isn’t Hartfeld’s premiere group of ragtag misfits. I hope I’m not interrupting.” Sebastian said, a maleficent smug on his face. Zack and his friends turned to him.

The girl - Kaitlyn, as Dany told her - answered him, exasperated. “This guy again?” Jay already could see them bringing a discussion to life. She prepared herself to intervene if needed. But soon they calmed down and started to discuss in a moderated tone. She decided to attend the customers, but keeping attention to act at the first sign of trouble.

For a couple minutes everything went well. The group became close of her in line and she eavesdropped what they were discussing. Sebastian said something about having nothing to do with an accident. As they came a step closer, she could listen exactly what they were saying. “So even with all the trouble you created last year, Chris is still stuck with you.” Zig said.

Sebastian smirked. They kept talking and Jay set the conversation aside for a couple minutes to complete an order for her current customer. It was the time necessary for them turn the line into a grenade without a pin, waiting to explode.

Kaitlyn was then facing Sebastian, all of her friends around her. “As long as I remember, you lost pretty hard.” Sebastian was about to lose his temper. “Watch what you say next, girl.” He took a step towards her, and Jay excused herself from the counter and prepared to stop the discussion.

“Whoa, the hell are you thinking, Sebastian?” Zig said, positioning himself between Sebastian and Kaitlyn. He towered over Sebastian, which scared him, making him took a step back. “Look, as much as we enjoy having the pleasure of talking with you, I believe that this discussion is pointless. If you excuse me, I have a couple drinks to buy for me and my friends, and I think you should mind your own business.” He said to Sebastian, with tons of sarcasm.

As Zig motioned to his friends to follow him and walked to the counter, Sebastian sticked out his foot and the other tripped on him, falling to the floor. Jay hurried to them. As Zig’s friends helped him to get up, Jay focused on Sebastian. “Hey, what the hell are you doing, Sebastian? Do you think that this is your playground?” She said, approaching Sebastian from behind, poking his shoulder.

He turned and looked at her, his eyes wild. “Look, one more broken kid to your team, Christopher. Do you guys are auditioning or what?” He said, a smirk slowly creeping up on his face.

“You know very well that I work here, you stupid brat. For now, I must ask you to leave, Sebastian, or I’ll have to call the campus security.” Jay said, one hand on her waist and the other pointing to the front door.

Too much fast to anyone have a proper reaction, he took a step closer to Jay and held her arm tight. “Listen very carefully Jay, I come and go as I please, and not even all the black makeup in the world will make me feel threatened by you!” Sebastian cornered Jay in the nearest table. As someone screamed for Sebastian to left her, Jay acted fast. Groping the table and finding a cup, she threw it’s content in Sebastian’s face. A good old Espresso flowed down his face and chest. “My cashmere sweater!” He screamed, pushing her.

As Sebastian pushed her, Jay knocked off at the table, losing her balance. She tried to regain it but fell to the floor beside it anyway, spraining her wrist in the process. As soon as it happened, Zig and his gang were already beside her, helping her to get up. “You’ll pay for this damage, you crazy girl!” Sebastian said, stomping out of the coffee shop.

“Are you okay?” Zig asked, helping her to plant her feet at the floor. Even with all that happening, Jay couldn’t stop herself of thinking how handsome he was. “Yeah, I guess. Uhhhh!” She felt a sting in her wrist. “My hand! I’m gonna kill that son of a-”

“Jane, come here! We need you behind the counter!” Her boss called from the kitchen’s door. The crazy look in her eyes turned into a polite one. “Excuse-me, I must go. Thank you all for the help, and I hope that Sebastian doesn’t cause you trouble anymore.” She said to them as she left.

————————————

As the group settled by a table, they started chatting about all that happened. But Zig’s mind wandered, thinking how curious that woman was. Stepping up into a fight like that, that wasn’t even hers? That demands courage. His eyes wandered to her again, and he saw her talking with the shop’s manager. He seemed to be angry. Soon she was alone again, looking at her hand.

“Guys, I’m gonna check on her.” Zig said, not waiting for a response. As he approached the counter, she looked at him and gave a weak smile. He took that as a good signal. “So, is my knight in shiny armor hurt?” He asked, a playful smile on his lips.

She scoffed, but couldn’t stop herself from smile. “Yeah, seems like I broke my sword hand.” She said, raising her left hand. He stopped smiling as soon as he saw how swollen her pulse was. “Do you mind if I take a look?” He offered, his voice full of concern. She eyed him suspiciously, but extended her arm over the counter. He touched it slightly, but she winced and he retreated. Right after she extended her arm again, without taking it back. “It isn’t broke, just sprained. You need to put some ice on it and it would be good to use a wrist splint also.” He told her, resuming the improvised exam.

“I should ask you how do you know so much about broken wrists, but better not, right?” She said as she started to put some ice over a towel, clumsily. “Actually I already broke mine twice. Do you wanna help with it?” He asked, pointing the towel while getting behind the counter. “You know what? I need.” She gave him space to finish the improvised ice bag. Then he put it over the inside of her wrist, holding her arm cautiously and settled her arm over the counter, letting the ice bag weight over it.

“So, I think I must say thank you, Mr…” She said, extending her right hand to him. “Zigmund, but you can call me Zig.” He said, shaking hands with her. She smiled. “I’m Jane, But everyone knows me as Jay.”

The conversation extended for a while. He discovered that Jay wasn’t a Hartfeld student and also explained to her about the trouble with Sebastian the previous quarter. Every second in front of Jay made Zig yearn to know more and more about her. As he was leaving back to the table, he remembered. “Hey, can you give me your number?” He asked. “Of course. Give me your phone so I can put it.” While she wrote, she asked for his number too, giving her phone to him.

He saved his number with a heart beside his name, and took a selfie to put as contact image. As she saw it, she laughed. “Aren’t you a flirt, Mr. Zig?” He smirked, leaning against the counter, getting closer to her. “And I’ve been told I’m damn good at it. Is it working?” She laughed again. Getting closer to him, she whispered. “I’m still here, right?” And he whispered back. “Glad to see that I’m not losing my touch, then.”

She took advantage of the proximity and kissed his cheek “Bye, Zig. See you around.” She said, going back to the counter and talking to a customer. “Good evening, how can I help you?” The regal barista was back on her post. Zig made his way back to the table, but his mind was still over that counter.

That girl was poison, and Zig couldn’t wait to taste a little more of it.

#zigmund ortega #zig ortega #zig x mc #choices #pixelberry #the freshman #the sophomore #the junior #tf/ts/tj

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derangedangel · 6 years

Text

Distraction (Part 1) - Theo Raeken

Summary: Based off the song Distraction by Kehlani. You’re stressed with all your college activities but Theo turns out to be the distraction you need to get through it. This will be a three part series.

Word Count: 2,555

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of sex

Author’s Note: I’m a little late with this song but I love it so much. Obviously it fit Theo. Also, I’m not one to endorse casual sex but do whatever floats your boat. Just make sure you wrap it up.

Masterlist

College. A way to get away from all the drama in Beacon Hills. You did the research and hadn’t heard about any “mysterious animal attacks” near your school. After the previous year you had, you wanted to be far away from all supernatural issues. You were human, so it shouldn’t be too hard get away from the werewolf drama. Of course, if the pack needed you, you would be there. With Ms. Monroe making an army of hunters, they needed all the help they could get. They seemed to have things pretty well handled when you left. It was almost like when Argent was hunting wolves. Except Monroe didn’t follow any particular code like he did.

It was the second week of school and you were already stressed. You had a plan for college which consisted of you getting as involved as possible and making straight A’s. During high school, you were pretty busy helping save the town and spending time with your boyfriend. The days of running for your life were over, and there was no boyfriend occupying your free time.

There was a pep rally on campus for the game on Saturday, and you and your roommate were watching all the players get called on stage.

“Who knew there were so many hot guys at this school,” Camila asked clapping her hands as the coach introduced another player. Her eyes were ogling the players on stage so she didn’t see you roll your eyes. “Where were all these guys when I toured the campus?”

“Probably hiding because they knew you were coming,” you replied laughing.

“Oh shut up,” she turned and smiled at you. “There’s gotta be one guy up there you find good-looking.”

“I’ll admit they look good, but I’m not here for that.”

“Then what the heck are you here for,” Camila asked, slightly confused by your response.

“To get an education. You know, the whole reason college was invited in the first place,” you nodded explaining to your friend.

“I guess,” she said turning to look back at the players. “You gotta have a little fun though.”

“I don’t need a guy to have fun, Cami. I’ve got plans. And getting distracted by some college boy isn’t going to help me achieve them.”

“Yeah, but you know what they say. All work and no play makes Y/N a dull girl.”

“What’s not fun about world domination,” you shrugged and giggled.

“And now,” you heard the coach announce on the microphone, “Our second-string players. First up, the freshman star all the way from Beacon Hills, Theo Raeken.”

“What,” you shouted with a baffled and somewhat irritated expression on your face.

Theo came jogging up on stage waving to the cheering crowd. It felt like slow motion to you. His brown hair bounced with each step he took. His bluish green eyes shined bring in the stadium lights.

“Oh, fuck,” you whispered under your breath, but Camila still heard you.

“What? What’s going on?”

“I know him,” you said very annoyed.

“You know him,” Camila said astonished. You nodded but she wanted you to clarify. “Him,” she asked again pointing.

“Yeah, we went to school together.”

“You’ve gotta give me more details girl. He’s smoking. Do you mean know him like ‘we had a few classes together but never spoke’ or ‘he actually acknowledged my presence and his gorgeous lips formed words that were only designed for me’?”

You raised your eyebrow at your over the top friend. “I wouldn’t say it exactly like that, but the second one. We were almost friends.”

“You were almost friends with that Greek God,” she asked a little too loudly for your liking. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t want to get into too much detail, but he wasn’t the nicest guy back then. He was in the grade above me, but he had some…” you looked for the right words to say before you spoke, “family issues come up and he had to leave suddenly.” Your mouth turned up at the little joke you made that you knew Camila wouldn’t understand. “He came back the next year and finished. We graduated together but I had no idea he was going to college let alone go here of all places.”

“Well thank God for second chances because I’m gonna climb him like a tree,” Cami said readjusting her boobs in her top.

You shook your head at Camila and brought your attention back to the coach. The pep rally lasted five more minutes then you made your way over to the free snacks provided by the school. Cami walked off somewhere to flirt with one of the players. You said you would meet up in ten minutes to walk back to your dorm together.

“I had family issues huh,” a deep voice said from behind you. You didn’t need to turn around to recognize who said it. You sighed before you turned around regretting even coming out tonight.

Theo was smirking at the remark he was eavesdropping in on earlier. “What was I supposed to say? Your sister popped out of the ground like a jack-in-the-box and dragged you to hell? She would have reported me and had me admitted into the psych ward.”

“I doubt she would have cared since I’m a, oh what was it, a Greek God.”

You rolled your eyes. Theo was already cocky. The last thing you needed was your roommate’s comments stroking his ego. “Whatever, quarterback. Oh wait, second string quarterback. What are you doing here anyway,” you asked crossing your arms over your chest.

“The same thing you’re probably here for. To get an education.”

The line moved, so you took a few steps so you wouldn’t lose your place. “Oh bullshit. Why would you want an education?”

“Well some of us don’t have mommy and daddy to take care of them. It was either getting a full ride scholarship or keep living out of my truck. And I thought actually doing something with my life and having a place to live was better than being a sitting target for one of Monroe’s hunters.”

The scowl on your face slowly softened as Theo spoke. Even though he started off annoying with that mommy and daddy remark, you felt bad he had to live out of his truck. Killing Scott had put him on your permeant hate list, but he did help with the Ghost Riders and keeping Liam safe. And maybe karma had its way with Theo when he got dragged to hell by his sister. That may have been punishment enough.

“Fine. Just don’t get in my way here. I’m trying to make something of myself and I don’t need my supernatural past coming back to haunt me.”

Theo raised his hands up in defense. “I wouldn’t dream of it, babygirl.”

You looked at him disgusted. “And don’t call me babygirl.”

It had been a month since the pep rally and you tried to keep your distance from Theo. You didn’t even want to bring up his name, which is why the pack didn’t know he was at the same college as you.

“How do I look,” Camila asked stepping out of your shared bathroom in a red dress.

“You look great. Where are you going,” you asked looking up from your homework.

“Elliot is taking me out to a fancy restaurant.” Camila went over to her mirror to put on the finishing touches.

“Date number 3. Are things getting serious?”

“Oh God no. We’re just having fun. I mean, I do like him, but we’re young. I’m not trying to rush into anything,” she spoke as she sprayed her perfume in the air and walked into the cloud of smoke. “Don’t tell me you’re staying in here to study on a Saturday night.”

“I won’t then,” you said. You turned back around in your computer chair to face your desk.

“You’re not staying in here on another weekend.”

“Yes I am.”

“No. You. Are. Not,” she spoke emphasizing each word as she typed on her phone. “I just texted the girls and they’ll be here in 30 minutes to pick you up for the party.”

“Roommate say what now,” you asked turning back towards your friend.

“There’s a house party tonight. Molly, Candice, and Raven are going and so are you.”

“But I don’t want to go to a party. I’ve got so much crap on my plate. I’ve got a test next week, a paper to write, I’m working out the details for the project committee I’m on in my club, and I’m trying to get secure my spot as an RA next year. All that takes work.”

Camila’s head was down snoring then she suddenly jumped up shaking her head. “I fell asleep just listening to you. You’ve got too much going on and it’s not even midterms yet. You need a distraction from your boring, stressful life.”

“My life isn’t boring,” you responded defending yourself.

“Prove it,” Cami said crossing her arms over her chest.

“Ughhh, fine. I’ll go. I can be fun.” You got up from your chair and went to your closet to find something to wear to the party. Sweatpants and school t-shirt weren’t appropriate for any party.

An early 2000’s song roared through the speakers. You stuffed another chip in your mouth as you watched everybody dance. A couple came through the kitchen door holding hands. The guy pushed the girl against the wall watching her giggle. She ran her manicured figures in his black hair and stared into his eyes. You rolled your eyes and grabbed another chip from the bowl

Couples always annoyed you. You weren’t always so cynical, but being in love and having your heart ripped out of your chest will do that to you. Brett and you used to be that annoyingly cute. He was your whole world. It sounds pretty cliché, falling in love in high school, but Brett loved you to the moon and back. The two of you talked about going to college together and eventually getting married. You were young, but you knew Brett was it for you.

When Monroe killed Brett, it was like a piece of died with him. It was a year ago, but the pain still hurt. You swore one day you would get your revenge on Ms. Monroe. Scott would disapprove, but you didn’t care. Camila though you were weird for not being interested in any guys at school, but you just weren’t ready. You were focused on your studies and clubs. Guys would just take your attention away from that. You did miss getting affection and attention though. There was no rush for a relationship, but it would be nice to have someone around.

“Having fun,” a voice asked from behind you.

“Tons. This party is so much fun,” you answered sarcastically turning around to face Theo. Theo had grown a bit of beard since the last time you saw him. You would hate to admit it out loud, but he looked real good with facial hair. You began to wonder why he didn’t grow a beard sooner.

Theo smirked hearing your heartbeat quicken for just a moment. “I’m having a blast too,” he smiled coping your sarcasm. He popped a chip in his mouth and you admired the way light hit eyes making them twinkle. “Did your friends drag you here like mines?”

“Yeah, my roommate thinks I’m boring for spending Saturday night in our dorm doing homework.”

“You are boring for spending Saturday night in your dorm doing homework,” Theo smiled repeating you.

“Oh shut up,” you spoke smacking Theo on the arm.

Theo laughed before he spoke. “I see you on campus Y/N. Your nose is always stuck in some book or you’re speed walking to class.”

“Well I’ve got a lot going on.”

“I see that,” Theo nodded giving you a once over. “You have to learn to relax sometimes. Take a break. Don’t be so stressed all the time.”

“And how do you propose I do that,” you questioned staring into Theo’s gorgeous eyes.

“For starters you can dance with me,” Theo said stretching his hand out to yours.

You squinted at Theo questioningly not sure of what to do.

“It’s just a dance Y/N, I won’t bite.” You reluctantly grabbed Theo’s handing thinking what’s the worst that could happen. Theo led you to the living room and though the music was loud, you still heard him say “hard” in reference to him biting you.

Theo started moving to the beat pulling you closer to him. You stood there awkward. Just a month ago you wanted nothing to do with Theo Raeken, but now here you were next to him. Theo dipped down, his lips ghosting over your ear so you could hear him over the music. “It’s just a dance Y/N.”

Rolling your eyes, you began to dance with Theo. One dance wouldn’t hurt anything. Theo’s hand grabbed your hip as you swayed to the music. You felt his fingers on the skin in between your jeans and the bottom hem of your shirt. Your skin was on fire at his touch, but you just chalked it up to not being this close to a guy since Brett.

The beat changed a little and you turned around so your back was facing Theo. He wrapped his arm tighter around your waist and you pulled closer into him. You flipped your hair throwing over your shoulder and felt Theo’s warm breath fan against your neck.

One song turned into two and two songs turned into three. It had been a long time since you danced with a guy. A small part of you felt bad. Like you shouldn’t be dancing so close with Theo. Then you thought about how you sulked around for the last year over Brett. You were just dancing, not starting a relationship with him. And besides, everyone needed a bit of human contact every now and again.

You ran your hands through Theo’s hair watching as he bit his lip. Brett was your first and only. You never even thought about having sex with another guy until now.

“I just thought of another way you can help me relax,” you said in a low tone.

“And how’s that,” Theo asked tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

You placed your hands on Theo’s checks and pulled him in for a kiss. His soft, warm lips moved gently over yours. It was obvious he was just as attracted to you as you were to him.

You pulled back gazing into his eyes. You didn’t care that there was a room full of people around you watching you kiss the quarterback. “You were right. My life is stressful. I’ve got a lot going on. So maybe you could be my distraction from all that.”

“I’m listening,” Theo said gripping your hips as you kept moving to the music.

“This will be purely physical. No relationship. No strings attached. I can’t have anyone or anything take my attention away from school. But when things get to hectic and I need break-“

“I’ll be your distraction,” Theo finished for you.

“Exactly. So do we have an agreement?”

Theo smiled showing all his beautiful white teeth. “I’m down.”

#Theo Raeken x Reader #Theo Raeken Imagine #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf x reader #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fan fiction

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freedom-shamrock · 6 years

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A Little Secret - Chapter 5

Also on AO3

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Amazing art created by @soundofez pg 1 pg 2 pg 3

When Making a Whole Cheese

"Hey, Marinette," Adrien called as his petite friend entered the classroom well before the bell. "I've got hot jasmine tea for you." They both had literature final period, and had partnered up early in the year. He'd had a mid-afternoon shoot, and managed to swing by the coffee shop before returning to school.

"Oh thank you, thank you," she murmured, wrapping her hands around the hot cardboard cup with a sigh. "Oh god this is perfect."

She'd been a lot of fun to work with, but she'd seemed so sleepy the last couple of weeks, and it worried him. He wasn't quite sure if his concern was independent of, or partially fuelled by his similar worry for Ladybug. "I've got something else to warm you up, too," he said with a grin. Last year, Alya told him that she suspected Mari had seasonal affective disorder or some form of anemia. That had been the start of their group's warm-up-Mari efforts, and he had to admit, he liked the close contact. Taking care of her in both his forms made him so happy and it gave him all sorts of ideas for how to best help Ladybug.

"What?" she asked, sliding into her seat beside him.

He shrugged off the coat he'd been wearing, but didn't need. "Here you go. Pre-warmed."

Her eyes went huge, and for a brief moment he was reminded of their early interactions, when she couldn't seem to string three words together around him. "I love you," she blurted, snatching the jacket out of his hands and shoving her arms into the sleeves. "Ooooh," she moaned, hugging the fabric to her. "Sooo warm."

He couldn't hold back the chuckle, and didn't want to anyway. "I run a little hot."

"A little?" she teased.

Shaking his head, he continued. "It's my high metabolism or something, and I'm happy to share." He reached out and zipped the front for her, allowing her keep her fingers tucked in the over-long sleeves as long as possible. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you." Her smile made his chest feel tight, not with sorrow or hurt, but so full of happiness it was stretching.

"Alya said you've entered something in my father's latest contest," he said, nudging her with an elbow. To be more accurate, he'd asked Alya about it so he could claim to have talked to her about it. Chat was fully in the know, though he'd unfortunately not been able to stop by to see the finished piece before she turned it in. The photos she'd taken were good, but he suspected they paled compared to her vision.

Marinette nodded. "Yeah." She glanced up at him and grinned. "I kinda took the suit coat theme to an extreme." She'd included elements of Victorian men's tailcoats, corset lacing, and angel sleeves for something incredibly striking, yet adjustable.

"Yeah, why did my father pick suit coats?" he asked, shaking his head. "They're a freaking plague in my closet."

"We hates them, my precious," Marinette said, pulling off a pretty passable Gollum imitation before switching back to her regular voice. "The official word is that he wants to see what we can do with something we see every day. How do we embrace the mundane?" she said dramatically.

"I personally prefer to embrace them with a torch," Adrien suggested. "Foom! Bye bye poly-blend."

"Oh my god Adrien." She reached out and rested a hand on his arm, her face concerned. "Who is dressing you in poly-blends? You can tell me." Her sleeve-covered hand patted him gently. "What they're doing is wrong, and I can help you."

He let out a strangled giggle. "You going to protect me from my father, then, are you?"

She sat up straighter, suddenly radiating a fierceness that should not have fit in the tiny sweet package known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. "If that's what you need, then yes." The look she gave him was suddenly far too serious and pointed for the joking they'd started with.

He looked down at her hand on his arm, her fingertips just peeking out of the oversize jacket. "Thanks Mari."

Her hand gave him one little squeeze before withdrawing so she could pull out her tablet. "Anytime Adrien."

"Can you tell me about your design?" he asked. "You've got me all curious now."

"You hate suit coats," she pointed out. Her eyes went wide. "Oh no! You're going to have to model the winning design... and you hate them." She sighed. "I hope I lose."

"Why?" he demanded, surprised. "I'm going to have to model one anyway."

"I don't want you tortured by my design," she said. "Do you think I can pull out of the contest?"

Adrien shook his head. "No. And even if you could, I wouldn't want you to." She'd taken first place in five of the last seven contests, only being beaten by university students enrolled in design programs. He was hoping she could bump the odds up a bit more with this one. He liked what he'd seen of her design, practically designed with him in mind, and he really wanted the opportunity to wear it.

"But…"

"No, Mari," he said firmly. "I have to wear one anyway. It may as well be yours. After all, at least it won't be a poly-blend." He grinned and settled back in his chair. "Tell me about it?" Their teacher walked in and the bell rang.

"If you have time after school, why don't you stop over," she suggested. "I've got photos and fabric swatches."

"Princess?" Chat leaned down and tapped on Marinette's skylight. It was odd for her to not be in at this time of evening, and he couldn't help the stupid alarm bells going off in the back of his head. He was probably over-reacting. She was probably with Alya. But it couldn't hurt to check, right? The skylight lifted easily, always a sign that he was welcome, and he dropped into her darkened room. He listened for a moment before descending the stairs. He'd nearly been caught early on when he was still stupidly excited to be so welcome and Marinette or her parents had company. He picked up Tom and Sabine's voices, and the obvious sounds of food preparation.

"Evening Chat," Tom said, waving from the kitchen, where he stood over a deep silver kettle. "Did you bring Maricake back?"

Chat shook his head. "She wasn't in, and…" he caught himself before he could confess his stupid groundless fear. "There was something I wanted to talk to her about." He didn't like the frown that appeared on Tom's face. "Umm. Where is she?"

"She went to the library directly after school," Sabine said, pulling out her cell phone.

He didn't remember her saying she needed to go study, but then, he'd noticed she tended to not tell him what her plans were when he was scheduled for fencing and Mandarin, because he'd just miss out. "Which one did she go to?"

"François-Mitterrand," Sabine said, holding the phone to her ear. She waited a moment, then shook her head. "She's not picking up."

Chat felt the rush of adrenaline, as her words seemed to reinforce the strange feeling he'd gotten that something was wrong.

"She might just be unable to pick up," Tom cautioned, though his voice was tight.

"Yeah," Chat said with a nod. "But I'm not going to bank on that." He pulled out his baton. He flipped up the communicator and scrolled to Tom and Sabine's contacts, sending them each a message so they could reach him easily. "I'm going to go find her. Message me if you hear from her."

"We will," Sabine promised, her eyes on her phone. "I'm going to check in with her other friends in case any of them have seen her."

"Good plan. Text me what you learn." He didn't even wait for a response, and just darted up the steps to her room.

François-Mitterrand was far enough that she would have taken the train. He ducked in and out of the stop near her house, before taking to the rooftops to get there faster. He forced himself to check the train station near the library before heading to the main desk. As a well-known superhero, he was greeted with enthusiasm and immediate support from the library staff. Each floor and section was quickly checked by librarians and clerks who reported their findings to the head of security while Chat watched the surveillance footage for the main entrance. The clerk from the textile and fashion collection called in to report that three books had been checked out by Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng forty minutes earlier. Chat forwarded the video to times closer to that record.

"Ah!" He pointed, pausing the playback. "There she is."

The head of security tapped the corner of the monitor. "Twenty-two minutes ago." He resumed the video. "And she headed south-east."

Chat scowled at the screen. That was the wrong direction for her to catch the train. "Thank you so much for the help." He lurched to his feet and dashed from the room. When he got to the sidewalk on Avenue de France, he pulled out his communicator and tapped Sabine's contact info.

"Hello, Chat?" she answered.

"Yeah," he replied. "She left the library about twenty-five minutes ago."

"I just got a text from her," Sabine said quickly. "She said she was cold, so she went to L'Arobase Cafe on Rue du Chevaleret, and she'd be leaving any minute."

Chat closed his eyes and let out a sigh as his concern was abruptly abated. It wasn't completely gone, but he could breathe now. His focus was suddenly less narrow and frantic. "She couldn't have gone to one of the three cafes on the library campus?" he wanted to know.

Sabine chuckled. "Apparently they all have less than stellar reviews for a reason."

"I'm going to go meet her," he said. "I'm already here and…" Would he sound controlling and creepy if he mentioned he was still worried?

"I was going to ask you to," Sabine said happily. "She's been having so much trouble with the cold this year, we can't help but worry," she admitted. "And if it fits into your schedule, we'd love to have you stay for dinner."

His fingers slid over the screen to glance at his schedule. "Yeah. That would be great." He never turned down the opportunity to feel like he was part of a family.

Once he'd hung up, he took the quick route to the cafe. He was getting close when his extra sensitive ears caught the sound of a mighty pissed off Princess.

"I have already declined, and I'm not sure why you're having such a hard time understanding that I've said no," Marinette snapped. "Are you stupid?"

Chat really disliked the sound of that, but he slowed his movements to creep up on the situation from above. Marinette stood on the sidewalk a few doors down from the cafe. A young man with light brown hair and a red jacket stood directly in her path.

"I just can't help but feel like we have a connection," he said, his tone wheedling and reasonable, though his words and body language were anything but. "If you give me a chance, I'm sure you'll feel it too."

Chat couldn't quite see her glare, given the angle, but he knew it was there and he grinned. Mari wasn't someone to mess with, and could definitely handle herself in normal conditions. It would only irritate her if he interfered. He'd have no qualms jumping in if she needed it, and given her problems with the cold, it seemed sensible to be ready to intervene.

"The only thing I feel right now," Marinette said, "is a strong urge to bust your kneecaps and kick in your teeth."

"See, I knew you were feisty," the man said, as if this justified his earlier argument. He reached out to touch her chin. "You're beautiful when you play at being dominant, princess."

The growl hadn't even left Chat's throat when she reacted, and she was wicked fast. In mere seconds, the man's hand was twisted up between his shoulder blades while his face was pressed into the nearby brick wall. It was a move his Lady was partial to, and she was probably the only person he'd ever seen do it faster.

"Only one person is allowed to call me Princess," she snarled. "And you are not him."

That sounded as good as any entrance cue. "While it looks like you have this well under control," he said, slowly twirling down his staff. " Is there any chance I could lend a paw?"

She beamed up at him. "Chat Noir, what a delightful surprise. It's fabulous how you're always exactly where you're needed."

"Aww, shucks." Her praise felt genuine so of course his cheeks went hot. "Just doing my job." He embraced the opportunity to look at his communicator for police dispatch, hoping the blush would fade before she noticed. "Hello, this is Chat Noir. I'm at Rue du Chevaleret near L'Arobase Cafe, and we have a harasser for you to pick up."

"It wasn't like that," the man objected, his voice muffled a bit by the wall.

"Hmm," Chat growled. "It looked rather a lot like that, actually. I was watching for a bit, you see. I recognize that some ladies are quite prepared to handle men like you." He allowed his disgust to feed into the last three words. The nerve of the guy. How dare he touch Princess without her consent, and after she'd told him to back off? "And miss, may I congratulate you on your very fine skills? My Lady is fond of that particular defense." Did he imagine that her eyes went wide at that statement? The sudden pink tinge to her cheeks had nothing to do with the weather.

"Oh!" She turned away, seeming quite focused on checking her hand placement, which was still perfect. "Yeah. I've… uh seen Ladybug use it in videos, and I really liked it. So I've practiced it with a friend of mine."

Chat nodded. Had she tried it out on Alya or Nino, or someone else entirely? "Smart of you and your friend."

He stayed with Marinette until the police arrived, and added his witness report to the record, knowing it would hold enough weight that she wouldn't have to be bothered with this mess again. As the young man was being tucked into the back of the car, he approached the door. "A moment, please." He leaned in, leveling the man with a glare that had been quite effective on others. "I realize things didn't go as planned, and you're probably quite upset just now. But I advise against making friends with any purple butterflies, because I will not feel inclined to restrain myself if I have to fight you in akuma form. And Ladybug's miraculous cure doesn't entirely fix those injuries."

Marinette was looking at him oddly when he rejoined her at the sidewalk. "Chat," she said quietly. "Did you threaten that man?"

He shot her low-level kitten eyes, the ones he used to imply innocence that didn't exist. "Why Princess, I would never." He shook his head. "I just recommended against getting akumatized over this incident."

Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile. "Oh. That would be inconvenient."

He nodded. "I've been invited to dinner, and I'd hate to miss it." He held out a hand. "Might I escort you home? Your parents were worried about you."

" Just my parents?" she asked as she slipped her much smaller hand into his.

He shrugged. "My Princess can take care of herself," he noted. "But I don't like it when you have to." He pulled her close to his side, the way he preferred to carry passengers for optimal mobility and safety. "Um… I'm pretty sure you would’ve told me by now, but watching you deal with that jerk just makes me want to be clear on something."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Is it okay that I call you Princess?" He'd hate to give up the nickname, it had come to mean so much more than the word itself. But if it made her uncomfortable, he wouldn't hesitate to stop. Well, try to stop. It would probably take a few weeks to retrain himself if necessary.

"You heard what I said, right?" she asked, leaning forward to look into his face. "I was talking about you. Only you get to call me that."

He spontaneously hugged her, something he didn't usually do. "Thank you Princess." Why did this make him so ridiculously happy? "Let's get you home. Mama Cheng has dinner ready.

Chapter title - "Making a whole cheese" is a French idiom equivalent to "tempest in a teacup."

Chapter artwork by @soundofez, posted with permission, can be found here.

Huge thanks to my betas: Karnival and @chatbug-jk

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Big Bang #fanfic #my writing #soundofez #art #A Little Secret

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sunnysidewrites · 7 years

Text

The Dove and the Peacock | Joshua vs Junhui

Genre: fluff/angst, meta (abstract concept), a little bit of everything its just a wild ride

Pairing: Reader x Joshua vs Junhui

Word count: 8.4k (this is the longest fully written scenario I’ve ever written omg)

Synopsis: All she had to do was choose between the dove or the peacock. Easy enough, right?

A/N: This was originally written for the same friend I did ZA!Hwiyoung for!! This is written in a completely different writing style than what I usually do (I wanted to try something new), but it still has “me” elements, if that makes sense LOL. This concept is a little abstract and difficult to understand, but I hope you still enjoy reading and pls give me feedback! THIS IS SO LONG I CANT BELIEVE ITS FREAKING 8.4K HOLY CRAP SLKFFL IT SUCKS IM SORRY BUT HAPPY READING FROM YOUR FAV MOM!!!!

Just choose one.

Blank, empty walls surrounded her body, if one would even call it that. She floated around mindlessly, a soul having left her body. She didn’t feel tied down as she did earlier, a weight having lifted off of her. Her limbs freely moved as much as her thoughts wildly ran. Her eyes glazed over the sight in front of her with serenity that would expectedly send one into hysteria.

A hundred – that’s how many birds occupied the empty space, particularly doves and peacocks.

“There’s far too many,” she whispered. She took in every corner of the room, every feather, every color. Where would she even start?

As if reading her mind, the voice cried out again.

You’ll know.

“I’m not so sure about this,” your voice was laced with concern and anxiety. “Relax, Y/N!” your friend countered with her optimism. “What better way to dress up this nice than tonight? You have gorgeous clothes, and it’s time to finally put them to use!”

Your university held its annual ball at the end of the year to celebrate completing finals, and of course it just had to be masquerade-themed. Your fingers fiddled with the hem of your white lace dress that hit mid-thigh with a neckline that would be way too low if it were to plunge an inch or two more. The silver necklace stood out on your chest in contrast to your dark waves cascading down your back pinned back into a half updo with a cream bow. Your other hand grasped the matching glittery black half face mask with a design intricately highlighting your eyes, bolding your eyeliner and mascara, courtesy of your friend’s talent. “I look ridiculous.”

You saw your friend’s hands land on your shoulders through the mirror with her face almost align to yours. “You look amazing, and you’ll do more than just turn heads,” she cheekily winked before giggling. She gestured to her oppositely colored outfit coordination, “We both look hot! You need to let loose after hitting those books for months. You just finished your last final a few days ago and haven’t been doing anything fun,” she emphasized her last word. “Our graduation is just around the corner, Y/N, and this is the first and last time you will be able to attend this ball.”

You sighed, “You already know I’m not a party person.” You shook your head. “But since you were so nice asking me to go, I’ll do it for you,” you jokingly rolled your eyes as your friend tugged on your arm from delight. She looked at the clock you shared in the apartment and gasped. “We’re going to be late! Let’s go now,” she pushed you out the door and grabbed her bag before securely locking the door behind her.

Upbeat melodies and pumping beats filled every inch of your body once you entered the venue. The dance was already in full-swing despite only having the doors opened fifteen minutes ago. “So much for not going to prom,” you muttered under your breath as you took in the dimly lit room that was quickly tightening due to the amount of attendees arriving. Neutrally colored balloons decorated the ceiling, and some were taped to the inner balconies that upheld couples and their intense makeout sessions. You tore your eyes away and focused on finding the one thing you really came for: the food.

Making a beeline to the mini buffet, you steadily stacked your plate and headed towards to an empty table. You lost your friend long ago when some of her peers stopped her to squeal about how fabulous they both looked on the dance floor, but that wasn’t on your mind as you pleasantly stuffed your mouth with the delicacies. You were midway through finishing your plate when someone’s voice rang out above the music and the chattering.

“Y/N?”

You froze, half of the dessert you were chowing down remaining in your mouth. You’re kidding me, you mentally slapped yourself and tried gulping down the food as a familiar face hidden behind a similar mask appeared from behind you. “It is you! Didn’t think I’d find you here out of all places,” he laughed. You weakly smiled, hurriedly wiping your mouth with a napkin and reaching for your glass. “I could say the same for you, Mr. I-Prefer-Video-Games.”

His sweet laugh sent blood rushing up to your cheeks. “Alright, point taken. Peer pressure?” he asked, casually stuffing his hands in his slacks.

“Peer pressure,” you confirmed with a nod, your lips spreading into a smile with him returning the gesture. “Mind if I join?” Your heart started beating erratically, and you attempted to imperceptibly wipe your sweaty palms on your dress. “S-sure.”

To both of your surprises, a conversation filled with lame jokes and belly laughs occupied the rest of your night. You both revisited the food table countless times, your overstacked empty plates evidently on the table. Your newest dishes were long finished and your conversation had hit a dull end but was replaced with the inevitable slow ballads. You broke your gaze from him and looked at the mountain of plates seemingly about to fall. He awkwardly cleared his throat and uttered words you wouldn’t have imagined hearing in a million years:

“Would you like to dance?”

You abruptly whipped your head back up to meet his hopeful gaze, his hand slightly outstretched. When you didn’t give an immediate response and in return intently stared at his hand, he slowly withdrew it. “I-I’m sorry, I thought you were comfor–”

You quickly grabbed his hand, his mouth slightly agape and eyes widened. “N-no! I… would like to dance with you,” you stammered out, scanning the ground to avoid his gaze (and hide your flushed face). He broke out into a toothy grin, his eyes crinkling into crescents. He swiftly stood up, angling his arm for you to take. “Shall we?” You tried to hold back a smile as your hand slowly touched the crook of his elbow.

“We shall.” You slowly made your way through the dance floor.

“Then what happened?!” your friend practically shouted in your ear despite being on the opposite bed. You covered both sides of your head and winced, “Easy, Y/F/N! I’m getting there!” She let out an exasperated sigh and frustratingly ran her fingers through her hair. “This is what happens when you leave me the second we stepped foot in the dance,” you teased. She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “They practically dragged me! And I probably would have been a third wheel anyways.”

You laughed. “I kid, I kid,” you shifted on the bed, pulling your pillow closer to your body. “My arms were around his neck, and his were around my waist. We just… danced,” you dreamily sighed, reminiscing the past events. The way your head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck, the light sensation of his breath on your cheek, the smoothness of your steps, the –

Your friend edged you on, “And?!” You snapped out of last night’s memories and hid the bottom half of your face behind your pillow. “That’s – that’s it,” you shyly mumbled from behind your pillow. Your friend groaned, “That’s it? Girl, you were left alone with the Joshua Hong, adored by essentially every female on campus, and that’s… it?” She straightened her back. “We’re scoring you on a date.”

Your jaw went slack. “A date? This joke is almost as good as convincing me Mingyu and Wonwoo were a thing.”

“Well, doesn’t it seem like it?” She shrugged, “and oh, please! He’s totally into you!” She leaned over. “Joshua Hong whose nose is constantly buried in books when he’s studying and immersed in video games when he’s not, was dancing. With you. You can’t tell me otherwise, Y/N,” she crossed her arms and smirked. You rolled your eyes, “We only bonded because some,” you gestured to your friend, “people pressured us into going. That’s it,” you concluded, letting out a small sigh almost inaudible that your friend might have heard if only she was focused. You tried to ignore the disappointment and dull throb in your chest. That was only the reason why, right?

She already threw open your closet doors and started rummaging for an appropriate outfit. “Oh, hush. My friend is having a small outing this weekend, and guess who’s coming along?” You stared incredulously at her hunched back. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, right?”

“I was told I could bring a friend if I want.” She stopped midway and turned around to face you. “You in?”

You sighed, closing your eyes and leaning your head back on the wall. There was just no way of talking her out of this. “Get the skirt out.”

Saturday came rolling around; it was already a full week after that fated night. You and your friend were technically already running late, but since a big number was involved, you still ended up waiting for a few more to show up. Your eyes casually scanned the enlarging group.

“Try to hide your disappointment,” your friend laughed from beside you. You flushed and glared at her. “Don’t give me away!” you angrily whispered. Her teasing gaze soon melted as her eyes went past you. “One o’clock,” she subtly jutted out her jaw.

You turned around and reflexively adjusted your hair and outfit. He was with his own group of friends but his aura stood out the most with his center placement. The light breeze gently pushed back his light brown bangs, revealing more of his flawless skin and nicely shaped eyebrows that shaped his catlike chocolate eyes you could still recall from the dance. He was only wearing a simple white and light blue striped button-up paired with blue skinny jeans and sneakers, but he always managed to make everything look like it was created for him.

“Wow,” you breathed, starstruck and oblivious to your friend’s knowing look. She nudged your shoulder. “You’re boring a hole through him. Take it easy,” she playfully grinned. “Hey guys,” one of Joshua’s friends waved once they joined the group. “Great, everyone’s here! Let’s start heading to the amusement park,” your friend’s friend announced, who you assumed was the one who organized the get-together.

You along with at least fourteen other people began walking to the bus stop, having ten minutes to spare. You were in the middle of conversing with your friend when you felt a figure sidle up next to you. Someone lightly tapped you on your shoulder.

“Hey,” you met Joshua’s smile once you turned your head to the left. Don’t freak out, don’t freak out, don’t freak out, don’t –

You felt a nudge on your right. “H-hi!” He chuckled, taking in the sight of the subtle pink tint on your cheeks. “I haven’t seen you since last week.”

I wonder why. You cleared your throat and looked up at him, “Yeah, funny how we meet again here.” You heard a small snicker on your right and side-eyed your friend who was covering her mouth with her hand.

“Yeah, what a coincidence!” He laughed unknowingly. “Do you like going to amusement parks?” You nodded, deep in thought. “I’m such a homebody,” you gave a small laugh, “but when I’m in the mood to go out, I like going to fun places.” He raised an eyebrow. “Fun? What’s your definition of fun?”

You leaned against the bus stop construction. “Well, for starters,” you began. You and Joshua had once again launched into a lighthearted conversation even after you had arrived at the amusement park. While getting off, you tried to ignore your friend throwing you cheeky looks as her eyes constantly went back and forth between the both of you standing together. Your bodies were closely confined on the packed bus, so much that you couldn’t help but duck your head in embarrassment if having made eye contact with him for more than three full seconds. Your faces were close enough you could see every long lash each time he blinked or gave you his side profile. You gulped and glanced back at your friend who was too immersed in texting someone. Once Joshua found a new topic to bring up, you silently cursed at your friend and turned back to him and relaxed your facial features.

Now, as the group waited in line for tickets, you stood with Joshua, your friend not too far ahead. Once you made your purchase, you started making your way to her, assuming that he would do the same. You walked a few steps only to have a hand on your arm stop you. You found a slightly bashful Joshua, his other free hand awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you… wanna go on the rides together?” his voice slightly wavered.

Wide-eyed, you gaped at him, hastily throwing your head back to look for your friend. Her mouth was open but quickly closed it and gave you a thumbs-up while nodding frantically. You looked at the ground before slowly turning back to him. “I’d love that,” you smiled. He beamed, slowly letting go of your arm. With arms brushing, you both made your way to the park with smiles on your faces.

Joshua made every wait in line bearable and every ride enjoyable. For the first time in forever, you couldn’t stop talking about – well, anything. The topics ranged from what your plans after college were to a joke your professor made the other day. The sun rays weren’t the only things making you feel warm; you felt it in your chest every time you and Joshua shared a good laugh, and you tried to soak in every detail about him, from the little crinkles of his eyes to the way he excitedly pointed out more thrilling rides for you to go on. When it would get too crowded and you would be occasionally pushed by strangers, you stumbled back into Joshua who was always readily to catch you by the shoulders. “Easy there,” he would always say with a light chuckle, “You okay?” Your faces would be too close for comfort, resulting in you withdrawing from him and glancing at the ground. “I’m fine,” you would always mumble.

In between all the rides, you would grab some food and eventually sat down for a proper lunch at some point. Due to the ridiculous overpriced food and beverages, you shared a fish and chips but each got a separate water bottle. Whenever you stumbled upon a game Joshua found interesting, he would drag you to one and declare he would win a prize for you. In all the games you went to, he was only able to win at a basketball shooting game and gifted you with an adorable white baby seal. You couldn’t help but to break out into a wide grin the rest of the day every time you looked down at the stuffed animal in your hands. You were too captivated by the cuteness of the seal and the memories behind that you failed to catch Joshua’s soft smile and endearing gaze.

Once the group had gotten off at the bus stop, it was already sunset. Most of the group had already dispersed with everyone going in their own direction – all but you, your friend, Joshua, and his friends. You and Joshua reluctantly turned to each other and bid each other goodbye. Before you could turn away to walk back to your friend, he quickly embraced you. You froze in shock for a second before wrapping your arms around him. He pulled away and you both gave each other a smile before turning the opposite way.

The moment he was out of earshot, your friend wiggled her eyebrows, “Ooooh, I saw your little touchy interaction.” You laughed to cover your burning cheeks, “Stop that! It was just a friendly hug.” “Don’t lie to me! I saw the both of you whispering. What did he say?” she bounced on her toes.

You smiled. “Oh, nothing. He just said today was fun.” Your friend pouted. “Whatever. Let’s head home – my feet are killing me. You’re gonna have to catch me up on everything, missy.”

I can’t wait to do this again, his voice still rang in your ears, I keep missing you.

Then come and find me.

“And here we have the Temple of Emerald Buddha!” Your tour guide gestured to the scenery. A burst of “oohs” and “ahhs” filled the hall with a series of shutters and snaps from flashing cameras.

You joined the camera snapping and soon drifted your camera focus to the tour guide. He was practically a work of art himself; a jawline like that wasn’t given to just anyone. You subtly snapped a photo and dropped your camera clinging on to your neck. There was no need to embarrass you further in a foreign country, not to mention in an arm’s length of a cute boy.

The tour continued with frequent meal and restroom breaks accompanied by the relentless clicking of camera shutters and bright flashes. You (and all the other females concentrated on the tour bus) quickly caught on to the tour guide’s all-too-natural flirtiness, i.e., greasy lines that were always similar to “this monument is timelessly beautiful but not comparable to the ladies here, right?” followed by a wink and a chorus of dreamlike “ahhs.” He even tried directly sending you one but you wouldn’t even bat an eyelash; after all, he gets paid to be appealing to the crowd, and who knows how many girls he’s had?

The tour bus soon slowed down in front of the morning location of the check-in near your hotel. There was only a matter of time before the sun would completely disappear below the horizon, and the only thing on your mind was hitting the shower and deep, deep sleep. You and the passengers were filing out and heading back to their respective rooms when someone abruptly tugged on your arm.

I swear, can’t I just get some peace? Irritated, you huffed and turned to tell the person off when you were met with a cheery smile. “What is it?” You snapped, “I need to get ready for tomorrow.” His smile wavered but he still managed to keep it upright. “I think you might have left this on the bus, right?” he inquired with a chuckle, holding out a camera. Your eyes widened and you considered bolting. The first words you uttered to this extremely attractive boy had almost scared him off when he was only trying to help. You reluctantly reached out for his outstretched hand. “…Thanks,” you muttered, avoiding eye contact and hurried off to the hotel. He watched as you go with a slight smirk. What an odd girl.

“Okay, everyone!” The same enthusiastic voice cheered after breakfast was served. “You’re probably sick of being around these same people by now,” he said, earning a round of laughter. “You’ll be encountering more mammals today – many, many,” he breathed out, “many elephants,” another round of laughter, “at Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park! But not just elephants – there are plenty of other exotic species waiting for you to explore. Let’s start filing on the bus,” he gestured.

As you were waiting for the long queue to shorten, you waited to get him alone and hesitantly approached him. He was in the midst of checking for any passengers left behind and was nothing short of surprised to see you beside him. “Hey,” you started shyly, still feeling the leftover embarrassment, “I’m sorry about last night. I was a little cranky from fatigue and all that,” you genuinely admitted and looked in his eyes. “I really do appreciate you returning my camera back though.” His mouth slightly opened before he broke out into a grin, “Ahh, that? Don’t worry about it!” He waved his hand. “It happens to the best of us. I hope you don’t mind I went through your photos to confirm you were the owner.” He suddenly bent down to whisper in your ear, “There was a lot of nice scenery on it. But you know, if you wanted models, no need to be shy with me.” You could practically hear his infamous smirk lodged in his words. Your face furiously flushed red, knowing too well he was referring to that one picture. “I-I was just checking to see if my camera worked!” You defensively crossed your arms. “The button sometimes acts up,” you huffed and turned around to scatter up the stairs but nearly tripped over your feet. You failed to catch the grin he did to himself as he watched you disappear up the stairs.

This will be interesting, you both thought.

Disappointingly enough, the week long tour was drawing to an end, and there was an air of bitter-sweetness among the passengers. The tour guide sadly smiled, “I hope you enjoyed your time at Thailand, everyone. It was a great pleasure serving you,” he deeply bowed while the passengers clapped. “I hope you enjoyed your stay at Thailand. Please do not hesitate to return!” He squeezed in his final words before the bus slowed down to a stop and opened the doors. You felt a tug in your chest, but all you could do was focus on the back of someone’s head as you made your way down the stairs. Your hotel building now seemed to be looming over your head. Dejected, you sighed and threw away all your short-lived regrets in the foreign country.

You arrived in front of the two heavy doors. Once you entered, you knew whatever hopes and romanticized dreams would not travel with you back home.

There was no choice but to choose the –

“Wait!” Your ears twitched. Your head swiveled around, but you didn’t see anyone. Great, you thought. I’m becoming more delusional the longer I stay here. You raised your right arm, hovering over the door handles when you heard it again, this time much clearer and apparent than the last. “Wait, don’t go yet!” You fully turned your body in the direction of the voice.

“The tour guide?” You whispered in disbelief as the distance between you two rapidly closed. His hands rested on his knees, his head bent down, his chest heaving. Needless to say, he was a hot mess.

“I,” he started between gasps, “I was wondering if you were free later today or tomorrow?” He glanced up, his face contorted from the unexpected exercise. You stared at him. Today? The sun had long set. Tomorrow? You were only hours away from departing from the country. There was simply no time, and as much as you wanted to hit yourself for turning down your one shot at romance, you knew there was no way it would have worked out to begin with. As if he was sensing your concerns, he asked, “When do you go back?”

You hesitated before admitting, “Ten.”

“We have plenty of time! We could go to–”

“In the morning.”

“…”

“Oh. Well, that’s no time at all.”

He pulled out his phone and squinted at the screen. “Well, it’s nine now so… we would only have thirteen hours before your flight.” His eyes twinkled as the seemingly permanent smirk returned. “How about we hit a night market in the capital?”

UH, HELLO, YES, LET’S GO Y/N, your heart was pounding.

Girl, you have to be insane to be going out this late at night. You need rest; it’s a long trip back, your brain countered.

You’re about to go on a once-in-a-lifetime date with the hottest guy here. You deserve to live a little!

You need to call it a night already! You’re about to leave this guy and this place in just a bit over half a day.

“You… still there?” He waved his hand in front of your face. You snapped back and mentally facepalmed yourself. You lost count of how many times you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of him. “D-don’t you have a job to get back to?” He shrugged, “I was booked this entire week exclusively for this tour. As far as my schedule shows, I’m not needed until mid-afternoon tomorrow.” He looked down at you with a playful grin. “Any more excuses I need to battle?”

“Shouldn’t you be going over your future tours?”

“Orientation,” he air quoted with his fingers, “isn’t until an hour or so beforehand, which isn’t until 1 PM at the earliest, doll.”

“Don’t you need to check in with your boss?”

“What’s there to check in with? I’m still technically booked with your tour as of right now, and as long as I show up to my next orientation to my appointment, I’m still doing my job.”

“Don’t you–”

“Babe, please, enough with these questions,” he laughed, your face burning at the mention of the pet name he casually threw out. “Are you in?” He held out his palm.

How deja vu. Your eyes flickered between his relaxed features and his hand.

“I… don’t even know your name.”

His eyes softened with his smile. “Junhui. Wen Junhui.”

Well… how often do you get to go on a date with a cute foreign boy?

You took a deep breath and squared your shoulders. “Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s start heading there now,” you smiled and grasped his hand.

One hectic taxi ride later, you and Junhui were jumping stall to stall, exploring all of Thailand’s unique and different foods. You and Junhui also got closer, both physically and emotionally. The crowded streets left no room for you have a personal bubble. Meanwhile, Junhui used up the excuse of the crowd as much as he could to justify his proximity to you, his hand tugging on your waist. You would be lying if you said you minded the close contact; his scent was too intoxicating. Between all of the stall-hopping, you had managed to snag countless dishes to bring back home all while trying to inhale the food Junhui was feeding you and vice versa. His arm consistently took turns around your shoulders and waist (and him still claiming it was because he didn’t want to lose you in the crowd). You couldn’t even remember the last time you went on a date, but anything you couldn’t recall was what Junhui so proudly reminded you about (and the fact that he kept taking selfies with you so you wouldn’t forget anything). The light feeling in your chest whenever you both shared a laugh and how your hands would tightly intertwine when he would get tired of holding up his arm suddenly carried a heavier weight when the night drew closer to an end. You knew you would have to resume your normal life once you returned to your room, and even moreso once you entered the gates.

Junhui looked down at you worriedly, noticing you had gone quiet. He lightly squeezed your hand. “Something on your mind?” You shook your head, smiling sadly. “Are you sure?” You raised your head to meet his anxious eyes. “No, just… I had a good time today. Thanks for that getaway,” you squeezed his hand back. Sensing the underlying reason of your forlornness, he slowed down in his tracks and stepped in front of you. You quizzically tilted your head while he sighed and for the first time that night, dropped his gaze to the floor.

“There are probably – no, there are many things that we don’t know about each other,” he stated. You held your breath; he looked utterly serious and conflicted yet determined from the look of his eyebrows narrowing. “And I know what kind of image you had of me before tonight.” You opened up your mouth to protest but he snapped his head back up to you to silence whatever words that were now caught in your throat. “I know you thought of me as just a playboy, someone who doesn’t know how to commit.” You anxiously wrung your hands as he continued.

“I’ve never kissed anyone.” You almost took a step back from the shock. “What?”

He laughed dryly. “I never even held hands before – well,” he held up your intertwined fingers. “I never dated, I never asked anyone out, I never even called anyone ‘babe’ or ‘baby,’” he shyly rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks dangerously warming. There was still something you were unsure about. “So why?” Your eyebrows furrowed together. “Why what?” “Why do all of this tonight on me… a girl you’re probably never meeting again?”

He gaped at you before chuckling and merely doing his light hearted shrug. “Life is short, right? I knew from the moment I took on this job that I wouldn’t have the time to have a girlfriend. No matter how many winks I send, it’s all just for show, part of the charismatic tour guide I’m expected to be.” You nodded understandingly. You were curious as to why he chose this particular path, but before you got to ask, he commented, “And why would I pass up getting to know a beautiful girl like you?” You winced and hit him on the shoulder laughing. “Okay, easy on the grease, Mr. Smooth Talker. Well, you’re right about life being too short. I would know that better than anyone else,” you gazed at the glowing city. Completely oblivious to Junhui’s stare, you murmured, “Let’s head back to the hotel. It’s nearly midnight.” You tugged on his arm and started taking a few steps but you were suddenly pulled back and landed straight in a warm embrace.

A million thoughts buzzed in your head. What was he doing? Why was he hugging you? Do you hug back? Do you do nothing? He stroked your hair comfortingly, as if he somehow knew the unspoken secrets that escaped into the night. You didn’t know why, but tears prickled the back of your eyes, and you found yourself wrapping your arms around his torso. No words were exchanged, but you seemed to already know everything about him, and he about you. The walk back was only in comfortable silence with your arms lazily swinging.

You checked out of your hotel the next morning and began heading to the airport with your carry-on in one hand. You stopped and turned back to face the building one last time. The building where so little yet so much had happened – you were about to leave. You chuckled to yourself in astonishment and shook your head, thinking how this one-week trip had just so badly affected you. You smiled bitterly at the hotel and headed to your destination again for good.

You were waiting in line for security check, and once you were through, you would have to force yourself to part with this beautiful country. You still had a decent amount of people before you, but you were critically nearing the front of the line.

“Y/N!”

You froze. Did he seriously…

You turned your head in the opposite direction, and your eyes widened. Junhui was racing down the airport from practically the other end. He’s out of his mind. You began moving up the line as the proximity between you and him decreased. “Junhui! What are you doing here?” He only grasped your forearm and maintained eye contact stronger than ever. “Are we really just leaving things off like this?”

You were only a person away now. “Junhui, please, we both knew this wasn’t really going to work out!” You pleaded with your eyes. “Y/N, you and I both know you’re lying,” his voice cracked. “Next in line,” the security guard called. “I need to go,” you grabbed your carry-on and made your way down to the metal detector. “I’m going to the States soon! Where can I catch you?” Junhui desperately moved down to follow your figure.

He caught one last glimpse of you, a defeated smile hanging on your lips. “San Diego,” you uttered before disappearing.

The moment you stepped foot on familiar ground, you were already getting bombarded with text messages and messages on social media. You sighed and put away your phone, a reminder of how much time had passed. You were greeted by your family and friends and launched into a narrative of just how crazy things were (excluding a certain brown-haired boy).

Despite having only been gone for a week, you found it more difficult to adjust back than you would like to admit. A day had passed, then a month, and it now has been over two months since your enchanting experience. You were in the middle of completing your education program to get your teacher credentials and had happily stumbled upon Joshua along the way. You both were planning on becoming kindergarten teachers and made an additional goal to even co-teach someday. You couldn’t deny the lingering feelings you harbored for him for years, but your mind always lingered back to the foreign boy at the end of the day. You shook your head to erase such thoughts so often to the point where Joshua thought you were feeling a little under the weather.

Your friends from college were also slowly transitioning into their new careers, a crucial stepping stone in their professional lives. If it weren’t for Joshua’s company, you wouldn’t be much social, if at all. You and Joshua had gotten significantly closer, and it seemed like every hangout was more than what the name let on.

You two were at your regular weekly cafe “hangout” to help destress in a change of pace from life. You visited the shop so often the staff knew you two by names (and indirectly as a couple). From the way your latte art was always some form of a heart or how you and Joshua coincidentally seemed to have similar fashion tastes, there was always something to tease the both of you about. You secretly just wanted to stop denying it, but the way Joshua coolly deflected the cooing and playful banter made you feel just a little hopeless. For now, you only settled on being coworkers.

“Mingyu was back at it again,” you shared, shaking your head as you blew on your drink. “For a giant, he’s so clumsy.” Joshua’s eyes crinkled as he laughed, making your heart skip a beat. “He’s got the biggest heart out of all of us, that’s for sure.” Conversations like this with Joshua were always a part of your coffee talks, ranging from what you saw Mingyu knocking something over to later weekend plans. It was a nice time to relax and take a breather, and Joshua was more than enough to provide that for you. After spending approximately an hour chatting your troubles away, you and Joshua got up and discarded your plastic cups.

“It’s getting a little late,” Joshua glanced at the setting sun. “I can walk you home.” You furiously blushed, hoping you would play it off as just irritation from the wind. “I’m alright; I’m only a block away the opposite direction from you!”

“No no, it’s ok, I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“Joshua, it’s literally a five-minute walk.”

“Y/N, I insist.”

“Joshua, no.”

“Joshua, yes.”

“Joshua! I’ll be fine,” you shook your head and laughed, hitting his shoulder playfully. “Okay, okay!” He smiled, rubbing his arm. You exchanged a hug that you wished could last longer and turned to be on your way when he suddenly grabbed your arm. You looked back to see him hesitantly clearing his throat. “Do… do you wanna go for another hangout?”

You stared at him. “Well, we just did, didn’t we?” He shook his head. “No, I mean, not just for coffee. Do you,” he slowly chose his words, “want to make this into dates?”

You could only gape at him. Your crush for who knows how long had just asked you out. You expected to be overwhelmingly ecstatic, but all you felt was conflicted and confused. “Joshua, I–”

“Y/N!”

Both of your heads turned to the source of the familiar voice. You did a double take; were you seeing what you thought you were seeing?

Standing in a ten-feet radius from you was the same foreign boy you were so certain you had left along with your heart. A white tee peeked out from underneath his open blue and green plaid button up with interlaced specks of yellow. The rough light blue denim hugged his legs a little too well. Junhui was a walking image of a model constantly on the runway in contrast to Joshua’s more reserved lighter tones in exchange. Joshua’s baby pink sweater and white jeans reflected his calming demeanor. Perhaps the only thing they had in common were how they opted for sneakers to finish off their unique styles of casual, and well…

They were both vying for your attention at the same place and time.

“J-Junhui?” You stuttered as he advanced towards the two of you. He offered you a smile and curiously sized up the opposing male. “Who is this?”

Joshua looked baffled to say the least, but nonetheless he released your arm and politely introduced himself. “Well, I suppose I should be asking you that, but I’m Joshua. And you are?”

“Junhui.” They stiffly shook hands. Your eyes flickered between the two men, a strange heavy air replacing the once light atmosphere. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be–” Junhui cut you off, “I said I was going to catch you, didn’t I?” He flashed his signature smirk. Joshua, who was witnessing this strange ordeal unfold, awkwardly cleared his throat. “Sorry… Junhui, but I need to speak to her alone.”

Junhui’s eyes never left yours. “It took me some time to get settled down here, but well, here I am.” Your head started to throb, and to make matters worse (or better?), Joshua’s hand landed on your arm once more. “Y/N, you don’t look so good. Here, I’ll walk you home.” He started to guide you to your apartment, but Junhui grabbed a hold of your other elbow. “I just saw her for the first time after being away for two months. Can you give us some alone time?”

Joshua narrowed his eyes. “Can’t you see she’s not feeling well? She’s as pale as ice! She needs to rest right now.” He tugged on your arm. Junhui tugged back. “I don’t think you have the right to be saying what Y/N needs and doesn’t need.” He turned to you. “Y/N, who do you want to talk to?” “Yeah, who?”

You could only gape, dumbfounded at the strange outcome. “I… I just need to go home.” Joshua reached out a hand to you. “Alone.” Before they could grab a hold of you and say “wait,” you were already briskly crossing the street.

“No. Way!”

“I can’t believe it either!” You groaned in your pillow. “How did this even happen? And in one day?”

“Honey, you’re a total babe magnet!” Your friend sat on the other side of the bed facing you. “The Joshua Hong and a cute foreign boy both want you! I thought this only happens in the movies.” You threw your pillow at her. “Now is not the time! I don’t want this to happen at all! I thought it was absolutely final once I returned here that I would cast away everything that happened in that country. I was finally able to progress further with my relationship with Joshua, and now…”

“You can’t get over someone who never left,” she pointed out. “I know you, Y/N. He’s been on your mind since day one.” You sighed, not wanting to admit she was right. “I don’t know what to do.”

She leaned back on the headboard. “Look, maybe you just need to take a break and think about it. Who really has been there for you? Who makes you feel more… you? Those are the real questions here. You obviously like both of them, so now take a step back and really reflect on who truly is the one.” You placed your head on her shoulder and heaved a sigh again. Comparing Joshua and Junhui was nothing different to comparing apples and oranges; they were just too different.

“I’ll just sleep on it. I’m turning off the lights,” you mumbled. Several minutes had passed after and you heard a soft whisper.

“Hey, Y/N?

“Yes?”

“You’re an amazing girl. And if they fail to see that, then neither of them are worth your time.”

You smiled. “Goodnight, Y/F/N.”

“Sweet dreams.”

A week had passed, and you managed to avoid both Junhui and Joshua, the latter being more difficult since you saw him practically every day. You knew you had to face the music someday, but you still had feelings to sort out. You always timed yourself to leave a lot earlier than Joshua who was miraculously held back to do other errands at times. It had worked fine — until today.

“Y/N, wait up!” You only quickened your pace but he was quick to catch up to you. “We need to talk.” “Joshua, what is there to even talk about?” You gazed intently at the concrete. “Things have been crazy, and I’m just not ready.” “Y/N, look at me.” Nothing. “Y/N.”

He gently but firmly held your chin and turned your head to face him. “I don’t know what happened with you and that guy, but I do know that I want to be with you. I always have ever since college. I was a fool to wait this long to ask you, but now that I have, I can’t just back down now.” You opened your mouth to say something, but you heard a voice that wasn’t your own.

“Y/N.”

Why do we keep meeting like this? You shook your head and heard footsteps nearing you from behind. “Joshua.” “Junhui.”

“Guys, I just need more time. You can’t expect me to give a straight response after dumping this on me.” You pulled yourself out of Joshua’s grasp and started backing away. “Y/N, I don’t mean to rush you, I really don’t, but I don’t have much time here left.” Junhui stepped closer to you. “What do you mean?” He sighed. “I’m returning to Thailand tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!”

He held up his hands. “I know, I know! It’s sudden, but so was this visit,” he sheepishly admitted. “My boss let me go for this week, but no more than that. I’m leaving tomorrow night.” Joshua piped up, “Don’t just force her to be quick with this. These things take time!” Junhui coldly shot back, “Stay out of this, Jello Boy. You act so soft around her, but we all know your motives.” Joshua’s jaw hardened. “At least I don’t show up spontaneously and suddenly expect her to willingly follow me around!” “Listen, Pretty Boy, I actually knew her longer–”

“Stop! Both of you!” You raised your voice, ceasing their argument. “If you both truly liked me, you would respect my decision and just stop with this pettiness. I’m not your toy you can keep tugging on and not expecting it to fall apart.” Your vision started to blur. From what, you had no idea. Was it your tears? Were you about to faint?

You took too long.

“Y/N. Y/N!” Their voices became more distant. Your body felt heavy yet light. Was this how death was? You could only see darkness invading your vision and let it consume you as your eyelids drooped.

“Y/N. Y/N, can you hear me?”

You slowly started to regain your senses and felt immobile. Your chest felt as heavy as a weight, your throat was in desperate need of a drink, and your head was throbbing. Your eyes fluttered open to see your friend.

“Thank god you’re alright!” She buried your head in her chest. “I was so worried!” You lazily looked around the room, careful to not strain your neck. “What happened? Where is this?” She withdrew from the hug. “We’re in the local hospital. You fainted from fatigue and stress. The doctor told me to have you take it easy for the next several days in order for you to regain your strength. Don’t worry; it’s nothing major. A proper diet and rest should be just the trick.”

Your thoughts fumbled over. There was something you were forgetting, but you couldn’t recall. You could only shrug it off and felt your eyelids closing again.

You were finally discharged and plopped yourself on your welcoming sofa. “I’m never leaving here again.” Your friend giggled, “That may be a good idea. You need to take care of yourself better, Y/N. I know finals have been a little hectic lately, but–”

Finals. You saw flashbacks of a black dress and mask. Your friend stopped mid-sentence when she saw your alarmed expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I know this sounds a little weird, but do I happen to own a mask?” She stared at you. “Honey, I think you need to go back to that hospital.” “Y/F/N, I’m serious. Do I?” She tilted her head, chin in her hand. “You would think I would see you own one. Why?”

“Oh, nothing. I passed by a shop and thought it looked nice.” She got up and shook her head. “You probably need more rest. I’ll prepare some soup for you. Need me to get anything from the market?” You shook your head. “You have cash on you?” She jokingly stretched out her palm.

You got another flashback, but this time it was at a dark crowded area. Someone fed you, hugged you, and carried your bag. And they were all the same person.

She put down her hand. “I was just joking, dude. You really need to get more rest; you’re not looking too hot.” She was in the middle of putting on her shoes before you called out, “Wait! I’ll just go. I need some fresh air.” She gave you a look. “I’m not sure if I trust you being out in this state of mind. You seem to be pretty out of it.” “I’m fine! I need to clear up my mind. I might as well run some errands along the way.” She sighed before moving out of the way. “If you don’t come back in an hour and a half, I’m calling the cops.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you shouted over your shoulder as you shut the door.

You passed by the local cafe, but your feet naturally slowed down. What am I doing here? Hm, I suppose it looks nice. I’ll check it out another day. You were about to head further down the street when you abruptly collided into someone.

“Sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

You looked up to see familiar cat eyes. “Oh, it’s…. Fine. I wasn’t – I was just–” Why did he look so familiar?

He laughed at your words. “You weren’t either, I’m guessing?” You blushed. “Yes, that.” He briefly nodded, a grin ghosting his lips. “Well, sorry about that again. I’ll be on my way.” He resumed walking when you grabbed his arm on impulse. He glanced at your arm, bewildered, your action surprising the both of you. “Sorry, but… Have I seen you around before?”

He sweetly laughed before teasingly said, “Is that a pick-up line?” Your cheeks flamed, making him laugh even more. “I’m joking. I don’t think we’ve ever met. I would remember a face like yours. Let’s say your pick-up line worked though.” He mysteriously smiled and scribbled something on his napkin before handing it to you and stalking off.

You shook your head. You were clearly not in the right state of mind today. Everything seemed to be in a constant loop of major deja vu. You turned to resume your supermarket trip but you couldn’t help but to notice a figure leaning on the side of a building. The way his leg was casually rested on the wall as he sipped his coffee cup screamed “model.”

His eyes landed on yours and you felt a tug in your chest. Why am I acting like this? I don’t even know these people… He smirked, and with that came a stronger tug. “Babe, if you’re staring me down like that, you might as well ask me what you came here for,” he chuckled. You reeled back in confusion. Babe?

“Well, if you’re not gonna ask, then I probably should. Do you wanna hit the open market?” You hesitated. “I don’t even know your name.”

His smile softened. “Junhui. Wen Junhui.”

You held up a hand. “I have to let my friend know first.” You quickly sent her a message and tucked your phone back in.

“You still live with her?” You froze. How does he…

“I was in your Chemistry class. I always heard the two of you talking. I was also in the same high school as you, surprise surprise.” He peeked at your face to find any signs of you remembering.

You racked your brain, looking for a face like his in your memories. However, he cut your train of thought. “Are you in?” You took a hold of his hand. “Let’s go.”

He unlocked his phone to check the time. What you didn’t catch was the familiar scene of two people at a night market on his lockscreen.

All the doves and peacocks soon started to disappear. Before she knew it, only one dove and one peacock stood in front of her. She took in each bird carefully.

The dove. Elegant and calm, very predictable. She felt a sense of serenity wash over her. She felt safe and stable.

The peacock. The flashy colors drew her attention, as well as the puff in its chest. Wild, charismatic. She felt a rush of adrenaline, something to always keep on her on her toes. “They’re both lovely.”

Choose before it’s too late.

A looming clock started its countdown. 20… 19… 18…

With every predictable thing, there’s always a tiny possibility of the unexpected.

10… 9… 8…

With every wild and confident thing, there’s always a tiny possibility of tameness and insecurity.

Make your decision now.

She reached her hand out slowly, using up every bit of her last seconds. She was just about to touch the bird when the room flashed a brilliant white. Her time was up.

A single blue, green, and yellow feather floated down.

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