#I was even more upset because he agreed with her that he was toxic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

antxlss · 1 year

Text

convenient

pairing: xavier thorpe x reader

summary: your best friend xavier only talks to you when it’s convenient, and you’ve always been okay with that. but he’s really pushed it this time.

warnings: suggestive, toxic friendship, daddy issues

a/n: i really like this one! but i need you guys to come through with the requests, i’m not creative at all. comment them below!

-—————————⋆｡‧˚ʚɞ˚‧｡⋆—————————-

the boy’s dorm (3rd person):

it was a friday night in ajax’s room. all the boys were there. kent, ajax (obviously), rowan, xavier, and a few other boys were all in a meaningless discussion about girls. what else would a group of hormonal teenage boys be talking about?

“you guys get no bitches. i literally pulled the hottest werewolf chick in the school.” ajax said confidently. he was talking about enid, the girl he had just taken out on a date earlier that evening.

of course all the boys went into an uproar about how they can pull more “bitches” than the other.

“what about xavier? he has the most popular girl in school. bianca barclay?” one of the boys added.

“xavier has two chicks” ajax explained. “y/n l/n is all over you 24/7”

“that’s not funny, man. y/n is my best friend.” xavier said sounding almost upset.

“so you’re telling me you wouldn’t bang her if you had the chance, because i definitely would.” kent said smirking.

that comment caused all the boy to erupt into a fit of laughter. xavier wasn’t amused as he angrily left the room slamming the door behind him.

in the girls’ dorm (2nd person):

you were in enid’s dorm with enid, yoko, and a few other girls from ophelia hall, just painting each other’s nails and talking about whatever came to mind. when suddenly you brought up the elephant in the room. enid had went out with ajax, her long time crush, earlier that evening, and all of you were dying to hear about it.

“okay e, spill it. how was your date?” you said.

“oh, it was magical! we went on a picnic by the lake! he even offered to take insta pics for me! he’s so perfect.” she rambled with lovestruck eyes. “okay. enough about me. i’m not the only one who’s going to be hammered with questions about their crush tonight.” enid continued. “y/n, when are you going to admit that you are in love with xavier?”

“i’m not in love with xavier.” you scoffed.

you were so in love with xavier. you had been best friends with him since before freshman year at nevermore. you both attended the same middle school. you guys just stuck together when you were sent to nevermore. you both joined the archery club which caused you to spend more time together, and now you guys are practically inseparable. having known each other for so long, you know about his rocky relationship with his father. in fact you are probably the only one who knows all the details. that’s why he always comes to you to talk and trauma dump.

being as close as you guys were, made it impossible for you to not catch feelings. but when he started dating bianca barclay earlier this year, you knew he didn’t feel the same way towards you. so, you have just continued being his best friend and the girl he runs to only when it’s convenient. but that’s enough for you.

“i’m tired” you yawned. “i think i’m going to head back to my dorm.”

“yeah, it’s getting late you guys.” yoko agreed.

and with that you all wrapped everything up and headed your separate ways.

[time skip]

it was saturday, which meant all the nevermore students were aloud to go to jericho. all of your friends already had plans with their boyfriends or their other friends, so you had planned a day out by yourself. you weren’t actually that mad about it. you could use a day alone.

you got up and got ready putting on a cute, but comfy outfit. you did some light makeup, grabbed your bag and headed out.

you decided to walk to town, a little exercise wouldn’t kill you. once you arrived, you headed to the local library to trade out some of the books you had borrowed last weekend. you could use the school’s library, but the selection there was very limited, and you have a very vast selection of books. basically the school library isn’t cutting it, so you find all your novels here.

you walked in the library returning your old books and heading to the shelves to find three more books to hold you over until your next trip to jericho. you found some books that interested you and you checked them out. you shopped around at a few more stores until you went to your last stop. the weathervane.

you walked in and ordered your usual, an iced matcha latte, and headed to your usual booth. you pulled out your laptop and worked on some homework that was due on monday while you sipped on your drink. you were working peacefully for a few minutes when what sounded like arguing snapped you out of your homework.

two tables across from you sat xavier and bianca. they seemed to be arguing about something. xavier looked really upset. you tried your best to make out what they were saying, but it was nearly impossible. they kept at it for a few more seconds before xavier got up and stormed out. bianca put her head in her hands and trailed behind him. part of you wanted to get up, follow your best friend and ask him what was going on, but you knew better. you didn’t want to overstep. if he wanted to to talk to you he would text you. so, you left it alone and continued with your day.

[time skip]

it was 10:00 p.m. that night. you were reading one of the books you had picked up earlier that day. you had your phone on do not disturb mode so you could focus on your book. it never did cross your mind that someone would try to get a hold of you. that is until you heard frantic knocks against your door. you knew exactly who it was. xavier. luckily you had a scored a single dorm this school year, so it wasn’t unusual for xavier to sneak in and hang in your room. but considering what you saw happen today, this wasn’t just a hang.

you quickly hopped off of your bed, shutting your book and taking out your airpods. as soon as you opened the door xavier rushed in and you shut the door behind him.

“why weren’t you answering me?” he asked sort of angrily.

“i was reading and my phone was on do not disturb mode” you replied. “why are you so upset?”

“i found out that bianca was using her siren song on me. god i knew i couldn’t trust her.” he scoffed while running his hand through his long hair.

“i’m so sorry xavier. did you break up with her?” you asked in a settling tone.

“yeah. today at the weathervane.”

of course you already knew that, you watched the whole thing go down. “just know i’m always here for you.” you comforted him as you put you hand on his upper arm.

“i know.” he said as he inched closer to you. he grabbed your chin and pulled your face towards his. your noses were almost touching. his lips lingering over yours. he moved his other hand to the back of your neck and pushed your lips together.

the kiss was hungry, desperate, angry, and full of desire. you wanted more. this is what you’ve always wanted. but why is he doing this. he’s never shown any romantic interest in you. that’s when it hit you.

you pull away.

“w-what’s wrong?” xavier stutters out of breath.

“no. don’t do that. you can’t just come in here and take advantage of me. you can’t just come here and fuck me just because you’re heartbroken.” you say holding back tears.

“do you really think that low of me y/n?” he yells.

“yeah. i do.” you yell back. “this is how it’s always been in the four years that i’ve known you. you only come to me when you’re desperate. like that time in sixth grade when all your other friends had already planned to go to the movies and it was too late for you to join so i was the only one left to hang out with. or that time last year, everyone else already had a date to the rave’n and all the other girls you asked rejected you, so i was your last resort.” you screamed back tears falling down your face.

“i’m sorry y/n.” xavier tried to get out, but you cut him off.

“or like right now. you have blown me off every single time i have tried to talk to you since you got with bianca and you finally talk to when you can’t run to her anymore. not to mention the only time you talk to me is when you need a therapist.” you were now full on bawling.

“i’m really-“ he started.

“now you’re playing with my feelings. can’t you see i’ve been in love with you ever since i’d met you? even when you treat me like crap. no. you only want me when i’m convenient.” you finish.

“y/n, please.” he begged.

“no get out. now.” you cried.

“but-”

“right now. please.” you were desperate for him to leave. you couldn’t even look at him.

with that he got up and walked out and you were left alone with your thoughts. it felt good to get that off your chest after four years.

part 2

#xavier #xavier thorpe drabble #xavier thorpe imagine #xavier thorpe wednesday #xavier thorpe x you #xavier thorpe #xavier thorpe x reader #xavier thorpe smut #xavier thorpe fluff #wednesday imagine #wednesday netflix

3K notes · View notes

deeply-unserious-fellow · 20 days

Text

Something I don't like about a lot of Vox takes I see is that they tend to portray Vox as someone who's unpleasant to work with and has weird ideas about what partnership means when really... he's not? He's not and he doesn't. It's just that two of the most prominent interactions we've seen him have are with Valentino(who is a fucking NIGHTMARE to work with) and Alastor(a man he has undisclosed, deeply emotional history with). But everyone seems to discount his OTHER important relationship: Velvette. Which by all accounts, is INCREDIBLY normal.

Like, yeah, their first interaction opens with her yelling at him, but that's less about Vox himself and more about Valentino. As they keep talking throughout the first bit of the episode, she starts calming down, and they just seem to genuinely get along? She has every right to look upset during Stayed Gone because Vox is being really weird and she's nOT THE ONE WHO ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED HIM TO DO THIS SHIT(staring directly at Val rn), but even then during the meeting after Stayed Gone she does actually. Participate. Unlike s o m e people. Despite being on her phone the whole time(which is literally her job-), she actually pays attention and contributes real ideas! Which tbh she didn't have to do at ALL like she did not have to put up w/ Vox's bs in RKtVS the way she did. There's also their phone call during the overlord meeting which, while I definitely think Vel was playing it up to annoy Carmilla, still sounded like a conversation between two ppl who genuinely like and respect eachother!

No matter what you think their relationship is(romantic, platonic, etc...), Vox and Velvette seem to get along REALLY well(outside of Alastor-related incidents). Like, better than either of them do with literally anybody else in the show. Vox & Val do LIKE eachother, but I find whatever the fuck is going on beneath the after the battles & masterless cattles to be DEEPLY upsetting to think about for too long(ex; any of my other posts abt their relationship), and the only other interactions we've seen either Vox or Vel have are Stayed Gone & Respectless, which are literally just song battles. Both of their only interactions outside of the Vees have been song battles. Aw fuck I'm getting off topic... BACK TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP AS COLLEAGUES- okay uh basically, I don't think they would get along this well if Vox was a terrible person to work with(note I said WORK WITH. Hate that I need to specify this but I don't think Vox is a good person overall, just a good business partner). I think Velvette is generally a good bench mark for both Vox & Valentino's relationships with other characters because she's their equal, their friend, and isn't in a weird toxic relationship with either of them. Their interactions with her provide a window into how they just generally interact with people. And based off of their interactions, Vox seems to be actually pretty decent to work with when he isn't being Actively Provoked for shits and giggles or trying to sooth the tantrum of a man child. Also when he views you as an equal and doesn't own your soul that helps too.

Edit: Hiiiiiiii just here to say that now, in the light of day, I don't really agree with everything I've said in this post? I wrote it at midnight while like half asleep so my ability to consider the fact that. We barely know anything about either Vox or Velvette at this point in time. Was kind of impaired I think. Cuz we really don't. I do stand by everything I said about their relationship to EACHOTHER, and I stand by the idea that we should take that dynamic into consideration for character analysis more often, but everything else I'm a little iffy on and I just woke up like an hour ago so my brains still a little fuzzy & I can't explain exactly WHY I'm iffy on it, but just know that I think the conclusion I drew is a bit of a leap in logic at the very least and I recognize that now lol

#Idk I just think their dynamic is vastly underrated and should be used for character analysis more often #vox has a lot more layers then I think the fandom tends to give him credit for #because it's more fun to make Alastor body pillow jokes #which tbh I cant even be particularly mad at bcuz if ur doing it for the laughs then there's rlly no harm in the long run lol #also I just want more Velvette character analysis she's fun #hazbin hotel #hazbin vox #hazbin hotel vox #vox hazbin hotel #hazbin velvette #hazbin hotel velvette #velvette hazbin hotel #gonna tag this as ship but platonic readings are welcome too tbh idrc #voxvel #velvox #staticdoll #late night ramblings #gal overanalyzes random shit

61 notes · View notes

yannaryartside · 9 months

Text

WHIT SIDNEY, THERE IS NO OTHER SHOE

WHY DO THE BERZATTO SIBLINGS CHOOSE THEIR PARTNERS?

I will kick off this thesis with the belief that Sidney and Pete are Carmy's and Natalie's respective otps. They are destined, romantic partners. This seems to be what the show is pointing at.

I was reading "Sana tus heridas en pareja" by Anamar Oihuela, which explores the possibility of healing your inner child's wounds in a romantic relationship. I do not want to circle around why people select their romantic partners (that shit is quite complex), but the childhood wounds that we have that make us feel attracted to certain personalities or look for love in a certain way, with a particular shape. What are the Berzatto siblings really looking for, that will be healing for them?

THE WOUND

The Berzatto sibling grew up in a toxic environment, filled with the addition of their parents (drugs and gambling) and whatever strain those would create between the couple. The mother (the most present parent, apparently) was also emotionally immature. She would use insults and threats of harm or self-harm whenever she felt abandoned. Hence, the siblings grew up hypervigilant and afraid of upsetting her in any way . Most people seem to agree that Carmy has Complex PTSD, created during his early childhood but aggravated by his time as a chef. "I have to remind myself that the sky is not falling, not waiting for the other shoe (...) there is always another shoe." I am sure the CPTS can be applied to Nat as well. They never formed a secure attachment to their parents, which requires trust, the knowledge of the parent of the child's emotions, guiding them, and making them feel valued, loved, and secure. The kid can develop because he/she knows their needs will be met. That was impossible in such a dangerous (for a child) and unpredictable environment. Unpredictable and insecure are attributes I want to focus on.

WHY PETE?

I love this man, and the show seems to be putting a lot of effort into making him look, talk, and behave in the most opposite to anybody in the Berzatto family; he doesn't get along (or is approved) with anybody at the beginning, and Carmy only likes him after Pete stood up for Carmy's career. Sometimes, even Nat seems to think he may be too passive or compliant. Like in the finale, it kinda bothered me that he was trying to give her his admiration, support, and approval (which she never received from her family, including Carmy in some instances). She is too busy dreaming about her mother coming in and giving her all exactly what Peter is giving her. It's pretty poetic. She chooses to marry this man for a reason; she loves him for a reason, which is more evident when Pete is crying, and she actually pays attention to him, admiring his transparency and sensibility, again, things that she never could expect of a parental figure. She may sometimes think he is "too passive" or predictable and takes him for granted; because she grew up surrounded by loud men who acted confident even if they were shit, part of her subconscious might be attracted to that reckless behavior. Still, she finds sensibility more attractive in the end because it is too rare for her. She knows that relationships with men like his father and his brother Mickey end up with her feeling like the emotional regulator that she wanted to be for her mom. Ultimately, the keys to her heart are predictability and transparency because they form trust, a secure attachment. And it is funny because those are precisely the same keys to Carmy's heart, but he sees them in a different context.

WHY SIDNEY?

Added to the context of his childhood, the wound that Carmy seems to feel the most is, no surprise, created by his relationship with Mickey. As pointed out by some excellent analysis, Mickey is the father figure in Carmy's life, the closest thing to a secure attachment he could ever have. He describes Mickey in his AA monologue "I thought I was my brother's best friend." Mickey was the person he thought he could always rely on, the one he knew well, and Mickey knew him too. Even though he felt hurt by Mickey cutting him out, when he comes back for Christmas, you can see Carmy hold to the hope that whenever is the time, he could come back, and his brother will be waiting for him. And then, Mickey dies. Carmy didn't know he used drugs or was depressed, the perfect image of his strong, funny, almighty brother crumbling before him. The questions pop out: Why he didn't reach out to me? He didn't see me as a confidant? Why did he lie to me all those times? All that trust was based on a lie. It is not a surprise that Carmy didn't go to the funeral. It could have literally sent in on a shutdown. Later in the show, we hear Mickey's voice echoing in Carmy's mind, "I am right here" "I got you." That is what he thought his brother was: his ultimate support. But he wasn't, not at the end; Mickey lied about how he was feeling, hiding from him the aspect of his life that would eventually vanish Mickey from Carmy's life without warning.

Mickey's suicide was that shoe he was afraid of, the worst possible, the one that made him believe there is always another shoe.

What does this have to do with Sidney?: predictability and transparency. Sidney is the most transparent and constant person Carmy knows now, the one that he actually thinks he knows. When asked to do something, she gives her honest opinion of why she thinks ais a good or bad idea. She also organized, analytical, hopeful, and eager to serve others. She is the one that offers help when Mickey (it seems) didn't accept any form of it. She develops a detailed plan to save his brother's restaurant because anybody in their family is too dysfunctional to do so. A person with actual answers. But most of all, she is transparent, at least to a reasonable extent, usually only forced upon feeling frustrated. She asks him for open and honest communication. She communicates her needs, feelings, and expectations consistently, even when he doesn't want to listen. He gets frustrated because he is too wired but always realizes that she is leading him in the right direction. Christ, she even managed to express her feeling about Claire being in his life (and the impact it had on the restaurant and their partnership) and even gave him commitment advice without revealing that the root of it all was her feelings for him. With her, there is no other shoe because every single thing that has gone wrong between them is something that she previously has warned him about. Sidney always reaches out. She has made mistakes because she is green in season one. Still, in season two, when she has her shit together, Sidney keeps asking him to be his partner and communicating her needs, but Carmy fails anyway. Still, he can't say that she hid things from him that were important to their relationship like Mickey did.

I am not saying that if they get together, Sidney will be able to predict their problems because that's impossible. She has relationship issues, too (I am talking about that tattoo, damn, I can't wait for season 3), but so far, he knows she intends to tell him her needs; that's who she really is. I think he recognized that nature of her early on in season one and then developed a hyper-awareness of Sidney's demeanor, too afraid of losing his most solid connection, and this time, is not based on a lie. I think that when, in the future, he starts to feel her hiding things from him (possibly about her past), he going to be really mortified, like, "You got me, and I got you, so why are you not letting me know the things I need to know so I can get you" type of thing.

THE FIGHT THAT IS COMING

But this has a dark side. Carmy thinks she is solid and trustworthy and that whatever he asks of her, she will find a way to do, so he relies on her to have the space to deal with his mental turmoil. Carmy is not there for her when she solves problems or confronts the mobs in the front. He is dealing with the chaos in his mind and his family. I am not saying that is bad; teamwork is power. Still, like, dude, he had known her for 3 whole weeks and decided to go to an overdue AA meeting in "Brigade," leaving her to deal with the consequences of the job environment created by Mickey. In that whole speech, "I hold you to a higher standard", I know he meant that in the context of work because they both have been in that environment of strict efficiency, but the standard could also be personal, "I think you are solid and trustworthy so I need you to be" is probably what Carmy is thinking. Didn't somebody else notice this tendency to show Carmy taking breaks after he knows Sidney is handling shit?

In "Brigade," right after seeing her in control of the kitchen for the first time and hiring her, he goes to take a smoke break, and in "Sheridan," when she has set up this fantastic set for cooking and selling outside, he also goes to take a smoke break and give Marcus a pep talk, like seriously...they were saying something here. Trusting Sidney, because she has proven efficiency in every imaginable circumstance has given him (a break) a space to feel his feelings. You don't have that when you grow up in a toxic household. This is also the reason thinking of her calms his panic attacks. And the reason he gave himself a chance with Claire (lol, your trust in your future wife is the reason you can get a girlfriend).

Managing a business like this is difficult with a sound mind. It requires discipline and clarity. And Carmy has too much emotional baggage that was going to try to escape any other way. He looks for healthy spaces for it to do so but has yet to learn the core of his issues. He is applying medicine without closing the wound (THERAPHY). That's why he says, "I wouldn't even want to do it without you; you make me better at this." No joke, Sidney is his walking stick, emotionally and in the workplace, the whole reason he was able to go this far.

He praises her for her efforts, usually afterwards, when everything is calm. She likes that because she admires him (and has a crush on him). But damn, man, a million things could have gone wrong even in season one, and I wouldn't have blamed Sidney. And the dude exploded because she made a computer error in the to-goes? You had it coming. And then, season two happens. Carmy is a ghost in the restaurant, again, dealing with the chaos of his mind, emotions, and a fucking childhood crush. And what Sidney does? She handles it, she lets him wonder and solve his shit, and the restaurant is saved for her, with the help of everyone, the redemption of Richie, and the leadership of Nat. Carmy puts her in the second most powerful position, something she has never done before, without almost no support of guides, not about detecting good staff or creating a menu from scratch. She takes her motivation from Coach K and "adapts on a dime" because "she has to," in her own words. Again, that's her journey, being able to trust herself and believe in her potential. But what would happen when she cannot be his walking stick anymore? He already knows he failed, but what if Sidney has her own baggage to deal with in season 3, something she feels so ashamed of that she doesn't communicate with him? Would the need to be her support force him to look at his self-sabotage, so he can be someone predictable and transparent for her? Man, I LOVE THIS SHOW. That was a long one. Thank you for reading.

#sydcarmy #jeremy allen white #ayo edebiri #the bear fx #carmy the bear #carmy berzatto #natalie berzatto #my otp #michael berzatto #there is no other shoe

282 notes · View notes

mikachacha · 6 months

Text

𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚃𝚘𝚘 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕 (𝙱𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝙻𝚎𝚎 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛) 𝙿𝚝. 2

Synopsis: Your relationship with Bada is starting to get rocky, especially after that encounter with Howl.

Warnings: manipulation, gas lighting, love bombing, toxic relationships and behaviours, angst, some light fluff

(A/N: So yeahhh this'll be one hell of a rollercoaster ride)

Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

You sat opposite Bada, the silence is deafening as you waited for her to explain what the hell just happened and why she didn't mention Howl to you. She sighs and drummed her fingers on the table as she could feel your gaze on her, waiting for her to speak up. Bada met your gaze, reaching to hold your hands and placing kisses on them.

"Baby.. You know that I love you, right? You know that I'm just so set on protecting you and your feelings and the thing with Howl.. I didn't tell you because I thought it wasn't too important. He's nothing, he was just a summer time thing. We dated a bit before I moved to the states but that was it. I cut all my contacts with him, didn't talk to him and didn't even see him until now.. Please don't be mad at me and forget him.. He's no one important." you looked at Bada, you wanted to obey her when she said to forget about Howl but then Bada has been acting really strange ever since you got to Korea. She's been weird and all the things that happened made it hard for you to process your emotions, her words. Everything overwhelmed you.

"I'm tired.. Can we just go home? I wanted to sleep." you told her and she nodded, calling over the waiter to order food to take out so she could take you home.

"I'm sorry baby.. This is all my fault. I promise I'll make it up to you, yeah? I'll make things better. How about we go home, watch some movies while eating the foods I ordered until you fall asleep? I'll even give you a massage so you can relax. We'll be watching your favorite movies or that series you told me about a few days ago. Anything for my baby to make up for everything that happened today and because she deserves it." Bada really knew to say the right words whenever you're upset. Knew how to push all the right buttons to sway you to her. She knew she succeeded when she saw that faint smile ghosting your lips and the excited nod you gave.

When the food arrived, she immediately paid for it before she stood up, wrapping her scarf around your neck as she said she didn't want you catching a cold from the cold autumn air. She grabbed the bag full of food and held your hand with the other before leading you outside and to her car. She opened the door for you before placing the bag at the backseat. She made sure that you're comfortable in your seat before she got on the driver's side and began driving back to her parents' house. It felt like everything was normal again, you and her singing along to the song playing as she drove, laughing along to some jokes and just having a good time trapped in your own little world.

Bada did everything she said she was gonna do with you. The moment you set foot inside her room, she immediately got to work on making the bed comfortable for you, she even grabbed some drinks and a few snacks from the kitchen before playing the series you were really looking forward to watching with her. She'd feed you food, place random kisses on your cheek and your lips when she found it too boring that got you giggling as you snuggle to her side some more. You felt like you're the luckiest girl in the world to have a sweet and very caring girlfriend. Bada even joined you on your skincare routine before you went to sleep just to make you feel so special since you've been practically begging her to do skincare with you.

The next morning, you were up early. You wandered to the kitchen and saw that Bada's mom was cooking breakfast. You asked if you could help her and she agreed which made you feel really happy. It was a bit of a struggle since you don't know Korean that well and she doesn't know English that much but the both of you had a great time talking and cooking together. After everything was done, you helped her set the table and knowing Bada won't be up for another 30 minutes, her mom took out the photo albums and showed you childhood pictures of Bada, even telling you some embarrassing and silly stories from your girlfriend's childhood.

"What are you guys looking at?" Bada asked when she walked in the kitchen and found you with her mom, looking through the photo albums. You just looked at her, a playful grin on your face as you mouthed 'baby pictures' to her. Her cheeks turned red upon realizing and tried to get her mom to stop showing you her childhood pictures but it was too late. You laughed and patted her back, telling her she was a very adorable kid.

Breakfast went by smoothly, you and Bada's mom got along really well. She even asked if you and her could bond over cooking meals which you happily agreed to. It's one way to reconnect to your roots and maybe if she likes you enough, she'd accept you as Bada's girlfriend. Bada told you to get ready for the day as she's meeting with some old friends and that she wants to bring you along. You were pretty excited and got ready after helping Bada's mom clean up after breakfast.

You put on the best casual outfit you could pull off and Bada couldn't help but snap some pictures of you together with you looking so pretty so she can send it to her group chat with her friends. You headed out together and she met with her friends at some restaurant downtown. They were very nice to you, especially Lusher and Tatter. There were some guys as well but you couldn't really remember their names.

It was good at first, all of you laughing together and just enjoying it but then they switched to speaking Korean. You could understand a little but it was hard for you to keep up so you just sat there awkwardly. You held Bada's hand under the table but she quickly took her hand back and went back to talking to her friends. You did your best to not cry there and just stayed quiet the whole time. You felt alone even though you're there with a lot of people. You barely knew them and your girlfriend could care less about you, she couldn't be bothered to check if you're okay or include you in some conversations.

You couldn't take it any longer so you excused yourself, saying you're not feeling well and told Bada you'll just wait in the car. You hurriedly got out of the restaurant and went to the parking lot to just sit in the car. It was much better than being inside there with them but no one is talking to you nor acknowledging your existence. Not five minutes later, you saw Bada storming towards the car and she didn't look too pleased.

"What the fuck was that for?! That was so embarrassing Y/N!" Bada blew off and you were taken aback. You were expecting her to check on you, see if you're okay but you were proven wrong. She's yelling at you for embarrassing her in front of her friends. You couldn't take it any longer, your tears fell as you got out of the car to face her.

"Oh yeah?! That was embarrassing?! You know what, fuck you! I don't know what your purpose is for bringing me here with you. I don't know why you thought it was a damn good idea bringing me with you to see your friends if you're just gonna discard me! I felt so alone there! I was sitting with people who are practically strangers to me and you didn't even give a shit if I'm okay, if I'm doing good or if I'm still comfortable while I sat there in silence not knowing what to do and you let go of my hand as you chatted with them!" you yelled back at her and Bada was a bit shocked when you raised your voice at her. It was like she was snapped back to reality before pulling you in a tight embrace. You tried to get away from her but you were too weak. You just cried and sobbed in her arms, her whispering sorry to you. You begged her to drive you back to her house to which she did.

The whole drive back was filled with silence except for your sobs and sniffles here and there. You feel like shit, you wanted to go back to the states and pretend nothing happened but you also didn't want to leave Bada. Even though your whole relationship is in shambles right now, you couldn't bring yourself to leave her. So with a shaky breath, you placed your hand above hers on the steering wheel which made her look at you for a moment.

"I'm sorry.." you told her, your voice a bit hoarse from all the crying and for yelling at her earlier.

"It's okay, baby.. I love you.." was her response. Not 'sorry' which you wanted to hear but at least she still loves you, right?

#bada lee #swf2 #swf2 x reader #bada lee x reader #bada x reader #lee bada #bada lee imagine #bada imagine #bada fanfic

105 notes · View notes

mixelation · 7 months

Note

One of my favorite things about the Tori/Itachi fake->real relationship arc is the reactions you've mentioned for everyone else. Deidara particularly who is just constantly suffering from whatever random thing Itachi has done this week.

deidara would never have been able to predict this development, but now that it's happening it seems like he should have. he should have sat down and gone "what is the worst thing my teammates could do to me?" and then reverse engineer this. alas, he didn't, and somehow he got convinced to take their engagement photos?

anyway the rest of this post is about shisui. im haven't developed his relationship with tori uch so this is still rotating/could change

so in this au shisui loves itachi dearly and vice versa, but also shisui is acutely aware that itachi is a weird paranoid little freak. he does not know he's a time traveler. he does know itachi was very upset for years that danzo would Ruin Everything, especially sasuke somehow and also konoha, and then danzo suddenly died under mysterious circumstances. shisui has his suspicions about what happened but he is keeping his mouth SHUT

(shisui agreed danzo is Shady but minato has more of a leash on him than hiruzen, so shisui never felt the danger was like.... real?)

anyway tori and shisui just like... don't really get along. but by the time the whole danzo incident is resolved, tori is really firmly itachi's close friend. they can't avoid each other. awkward smiles all around.

so when itachi is like "i'm going to try and date tori," shisui isn't, like, surprised? but also his advice is "if you date her just to be dating someone, and not because you actually like her, you'll risk ruining your friendship and you only have like three friends." it doesn't occur to him that tori isn't in on the relationship

but then shisui goes to like their book club or something and sees them actually interacting, and he immediately realizes his mistake, which was assuming itachi isn't a catastrophic moron. so he's like "oh NO little cousin" and assumes that eventually tori will kill him. RIP, itachi, you did this to yourself

and then she doesn't kill him, and shisui feels an intense wave of fear wash over him. he's like 82% sure she helped/enabled him to kill Major Village Leader Danzo. tori doesn't even blink when itachi randomly genjust-brainwashes people. he has never once questioned the multitude of insane claims she makes. they can't go forward like this. people WILL suffer

at the same time mikoto comes to shisui like WHY HASN'T ONE OF THEM CALLED IT OFF YET?" because she KNOWS itachi is only dating her to make mikoto stop throwing girls at him, and she doesn't dislike tori but she doesn't really like her either, and also SHE wants to pick her daughter-in-law even though she promised itachi she'd back off if he found someone himself. help her.

and listen. shisui doesn't like tori, he doesn't think this weird relationship move is a good idea, he DEFINITELY doesn't think she'll ever agree to marry into the family, but also he is itachi's brother. his ride or die.

shisui is forced to look mikoto in the eyes and be like, "idk, auntie, i think they're really, truly in love"

then they ACTUALLY get engaged and shisui has another wave of intense fear like no other

shisui: okay, but you DO understand that she'd BE AN UCHIHA, right? and have actual power over the clan?

itachi: it's fine tori thrives in toxic environments

shisui: you are talking about our FAMILY

#reborn au

118 notes · View notes

kirain · 3 months

Note

People who say Gale “isn't over his ex” or just him even speaking of his ex and having that be a red flag is… first of all HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN EX? Second of all Mystra is A GODDESS. LITERALLY.

It’s just really strange that people want to hate on Gale for talking about his ex. OR for even claiming to have complicated feelings towards her. (He says that in-game) It’s normal to have complicated feelings towards a past partner. They were a part of your life. Gale acknowledges his feelings and then makes it clear that he doesn’t love Mystra. IDK what more people want.

His ex happens to be a goddess and that makes things ten times more complicated. I know that puts some people off his romance and that's fine I just get bothered when they label Gale as toxic or even manipulative/evil because of it.

I couldn't agree more. Plus, he's been alone for over a year, and his only thoughts during that time consisted of Mystra and dying. He feels bad for letting her down, which he tells you, and he still blames himself for everything. In Act 1, he hasn't yet realised his relationship was abusive, with an unfair power dynamic, and he's still lamenting everything he lost, holding out hope that Mystra will save him.

I also don't understand why people get upset when he projects Mystra's image in camp. At that point, you're not in a relationship. He doesn’t even know you like him. He's genuinely surprised and caught off guard when you show interest. That entire scene is, in fact, utterly platonic. You're the one who can turn it romantic, just like with the magic lesson, which is now separate after the patches. You literally have to click the "it's a good night for intimacy" option.

Later on, when you are in a relationship, and if you specifically ask him about Mystra, he admits his feelings for her are complicated, but only in the sense that he isn't sure if he should hate her, blame her, or disregard her completely. He makes sure to emphasise there's "no love lost between us", because he realises she never truly loved him. As you pointed out, anon, this is perfectly normal for anyone who's been through an abusive relationship. This is the equivalent of getting mad at a child who still loves their abusive parents. It's difficult for them, and you need to be patient while they learn the truth.

Moreover, I've noticed a lot of people have this "I want to be their first" mentality, but that's very unlikely, especially nowadays. Most people have been with at least one partner before finding the right one, and I don't know why that should be different for fantasy characters. The fact that Gale prefers you over a goddess (and straight up tells you you're better in bed) is nothing short of endearing. All that power and experience and Mystra has nothing on you. 😏

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #bg3 tav

59 notes · View notes

h2llish · 5 months

Text

【╰ヾ❝ ONLINE ✧„

LEVIATHAN ━━ he's falling in love with a human ♡ fluff, mutual pining, male reader, lowercase intended, online friends-to-lovers, mc is levi's bestie and goes by they/them, mentions toxic gamers (fucking losers)

fem aligned dni (she/they, she/her, etc)

part of the love in chance series

leviathan isn't quite sure how it happened, but he found himself with an online friend crush. and this person isn't even from the devildom, but rather, from the human world.

it was a coincidental meet.

mc gifted him a human world game that they thought he might like, and suggested they could play it together, and if he didn't like it, they could always take it back. he quite enjoyed it after a few games playing with mc. then they suggested they tried playing with other players, and he, maybe a bit hesitantly, agreed.

he immediately regretted it after he found himself with a woman on their team who was quickly insulted for even playing. he couldn't understand the comments of "go back to the kitchen", and "why don't you go make me a sandwich", and when he asked his human friend, they told him it was normal for women to receive such comments in the gaming community. he pitied the woman and contemplated ditching the game and going back to the devildom games he already had.

but then someone whose gamertag was quite ridiculous suddenly cut in between all the comments. he found it funny how you quickly shut down the comments with your own; "imagine having such fragile masculinity you're upset a woman plays better", and, "i'm against body shaming but small dick energy much?", and mc's personal favorite, "that's rich coming from a motherfucker who probably peeps on his neighbors". it shut up most of the people interrupting the game and let the woman play a lot easier. mc even decided to thank the odd username owner for shutting the others up.

levi learned the woman was actually friends with you and asked you to come online with her because she wasn't exactly the confrontational type. and it was pretty obvious as she mostly just awkwardly laughed at all the men's comments (levi totally understood that).

mc was the one who encouraged levi to friend you. if it wasn't for mc, he wouldn't have realized how much in common the two of you had (as much as a demon and a human could). like how you cosplayed and enjoyed human world anime. or how you liked to play games of all types. and although you weren't as much of a shut-in as he was, you were pretty introverted.

he found himself playing the game often just to talk to you, and when you began to suggest different games for him to play, he'd quickly turn to mc, who had no problem helping him find them, and then you guys would play those games together. eventually, your conversations moved outside of gaming, spent late into the night on human world terms, where you guys would just talk. you learned a few things about him (things he could disclose that wasn't him being a demon), like how he had six brothers and was the third among them. he learned stuff about you too, like how you worked at a record store, and how you weren't on speaking terms with your parents because they didn't accept that you were gay.

the more comfortable you two became, he realized, the flirtier you were. mc found it hilarious when levi would send them screenshots of your recent conversations, to which they always suggested that maybe you were becoming interested in him. he doubted that but mc was sure of it.

finally, you messaged him one day, requesting to see his face, which caused the poor demon to panic so much he had to call mc over.

yo face reveals? i want to make sure i'm not flirting with a 70 yr old man

(it was ironic, mc said upon seeing the message, because of levi's real age.)

with enough encouragement from the human exchange student, he finally managed to respond with a simple ok and a picture of himself. your response was instant, and it caused mc to hold back laughter as they comforted a flustered levi.

oh shit that's you? you're really hot

and then you sent your own picture and mc had to comfort levi again. how can you call him hot when you look like that? you're way more attractive, he had told mc, and they only sighed; he was hopeless.

that's what led to the calls and the facetimes (as much as he could with his brothers). he enjoyed talking to you, even when he found himself flustered during the many times you would flirt and compliment him. mc even met you (they introduced themselves as a friend), and the two of you got along well. mc even made the comment of approving if you ever asked out levi, which caused the demon to go red as you immediately thanked them and said you'd keep that in mind.

his brothers noticed his rather giddy mood change throughout the months of speaking, and when they tried to ask, levi bristled and brushed them off. they turned to mc, but they only giggled and shrugged.

mc knew levi had come to gain feelings for his online human friend and they were ecstatic at the thought. they were supportive and constantly brushing off levi's negative thoughts of how you didn't like him back (he does, mc huffed, he definitely does).

and then the day levi hadn't been expecting (yet hoped for) came; you wanted to meet him in person.

"levi, it's okay!" mc sighed, trying to coax the demon from out of his bathtub, but to no avail.

the demon was mumbling to himself, things mc couldn't quite catch from his position curled up in the odd choice of a bed. they briefly heard what sounded like "what if he doesn't like me" or "he's not gonna talk to me again after".

"levi," mc approached the tub, leaning over it to poke at the demon's side, "he's already seen what you look like, and he obviously enjoys talking to you. i don't think meeting in person will change that."

"you don't know that.'" levi argued in return.

mc rolled their eyes, deciding to half-ass whatever they could come up with to get him out of the tub, "are you gonna take a human's word or a demon's thoughts? you're meeting another human levi, i think i do." that seemed to cause levi to pause, and mc mentally patted themselves on the back when he slowly climbed out of the tub to face them.

"what if he finds out i'm a demon?"

"then we can deal with that. but i know everything will be fine. okay?"

"...okay."

the human world was cold, but levi remained unaffected as it couldn't possibly amount to the winters in the devildom. he anxiously played with the ends of jacket, glancing around the park he was in, sat waiting on a bench. mc had sent him off with words of encouragement, promising to keep his brother's from asking questions. and when he was no longer in the devildom they sent him texts just to make sure he remained somewhat confident in his meetup with the human he had come to like in more ways than just platonic.

he glanced down at the sidewalk and sighed, only to quickly snap his head back up when he heard someone call his name.

"levi?"

he searched for the voice, finally spotting you jogging towards him, wearing clothes befitting of the weather with your hair pinned back and out of your face. he felt his face heat up the closer you became, until you were standing in front of him, staring down at him with wide eyes. his nerves picked up and he tried to refrain from shrinking away under your gaze, avoiding looking at your face.

finally, you spoke; "wow," you said, sounding out of breath, and he couldn't tell if it was because you jogged over to him or the cold (although, really, it was neither), "you're even prettier in person."

levi froze, face going hot as he sputtered over words in reply. the cold that nipped at his skin did nothing to calm the heat that spread over his body, words jumbled and incoherent while you remained standing, only staring at him with that same wide-eyed look. it didn't help his case when you decided your first comment just wasn't enough.

"you're so cute, levi." you sighed, bringing a hand to clench at the clothes covering your chest, almost whining your next words, "it's so unfair what you do to my heart, ya know?"

he'd argue with those words; it's unfair what you do to him.

he couldn't tell if your words were serious; although mc tried to give him more confidence that you returned his feelings, he'd struggled to tell whether your flirty comments were just jokes or your true feelings.

you suddenly grinned, and levi eyed you from between his fingers, hoping to hide the red of his face. "say, i think i'll do it now."

"what?" levi slowly lowered his hands, giving you a questioning look.

you leaned forward and grabbed his hands in yours, quickly sending another wave of heat across his face. you tilted your head and smiled, genuine, "levi?"

levi stuttered, "ye-yes?"

"would it be okay if we made this a date?"

oh, the poor thing might as well pass out with how flustered he was the more this carried out, yelping in repeat of your question, "a date?!"

"yup!" you hummed happily, "i meant to ask after we'd already met up for the first time but you're just so cute!" (you really liked calling him that; him, a demon, cute? would you still think that after?) "so? what do you say?"

the many times mc tried to get him to realize how you returned his feelings replayed in his head. they were right? of course they were.

"o-okay."

your smile somehow brightened, and you pulled away to cheer to yourself. a flustered levi watched, unable to cool the burning in his face at how happy you looked the moment he agreed. you already had him so bound to you, yet you remained completely unaware.

you turned back to him, a proud smile on your face, "next time, i'll make you my boyfriend!"

thought i'd start with my fav loser /affectionate <3

do not repost, translate, copy or run my writing through an ai

#obey me!#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me leviathan #leviathan #x male reader #obey me x male reader #leviathan x male reader #obey me leviathan x male reader #obey me x reader #leviathan x reader #𓂃 ࣪ ˖ 【 ✉ LOVE IN CHANCE #𓂃 ࣪ ˖ ✧ fluff

147 notes · View notes

chaoscriess · 1 year

Note

hi, i've getting into euphoria recently and i was wondering if you could write some poly!maddie and cassie with a fem!reader? it could be some time after season 2 with them liking the same girl, because y'know we love a trainwreck. reader is pretty normal, sort of like a background character but she's pretty charming and playful and just has no idea about any drama at school. she only knows these 2 as those girls who fought each other in lexi's play, poor girl has no idea what's going on. in truth, i just wanna see a trainwreck with maddie and cassie with a completely oblivious reader. sorry if it's a little long ;-;

I absolutely love this idea it literally temporarily got rid of my writers block tysm.

poly!maddie and cassie x reader

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒! none

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒! swearing, might not be exactly what was requested, I was feeling a bit too fluffy.. oops..

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒! on mobile, format might be weird. lowercase intended, unedited, double periods intended

two months ago, you didn't have a clue what was going on between maddy perez and cassie howard. as far as you were concerned, they were just two ex best friends who both happened to like you. however, it was much more than that. you knew about nate jacobs, and the fact that he has been on-and-off with maddy, but you had no clue that cassie had been with him too.

you had your own little circle, consisting of stoners who never payed any attention to anything, and people who genuinely didn't care about their education, who hardly ever went to class. so when you asked your friends what had happened, they were clueless as well.

you'd never truly tried to find out what had happened between the girls though, or why they fought, even though you were friends with lexi. in all honesty, you thought it would be better if you stayed oblivious. why? because you knew that finding out could change the way you viewed them, and you weren't ready for that.

lexi had told you about a week ago that they liked you, and you had been thinking about what to do ever since. neither of the girls had ever been in a poly relationship, and you were certain that they never would be. you hadn't been in one either, the closest you had gotten was being in a open relationship.

however, when you got word from lexi that she had talked to cassie for you, your view on the situation changed.

"wait.. so, you like y/n, right?" cassie looked over at lexi, panicking and trying to figure out how she knew. "um, what? no, why would you even think that? that's like, so gross.. like who even is she?!" lexi laughed at her sisters behavior and rolled her eyes. "yeah, okay. you know maddy likes her too, right?" cassie sighed and looked away, now upset. "yes obviously I know, lexi." lexi muttered an 'ookay..' and thought about what to say next. she wanted to get cassie to be open to at least the idea of being in a relationship with y/n and maddy, she thought that maybe it would help it actually happen. of course, she didn't think this was the greatest idea, but she would do anything for y/n, even if it meant getting her sister into a potentially toxic relationship.

"so... would you ever like, be in a relationship with her and maddy? like if you were both dating y/n... separately? I don't know if that makes sense so.." cassie cut her off by yelling 'no!' and she turned to face the wall. "well.. I guess maybe, but I'm tired of sharing everyone with maddy. I guess if y/n really wanted it then yeah.." lexi smiled and got up, mumbling a quick thanks before leaving cassies room, leaving her to yell after her in a panicked voice. "wait you're not going to tell her, are you?... lexi?!"

yeah, she told you. you were really happy, you pretty much just got cassie to agree to a poly relationship with you and maddy. both of the girls would be dating you but not eachother, you didn't see a problem. you didn't know about their past with nate, so you didn't worry about them getting jealous of one another. all you had to do now was get someone to ask maddy if she would, and then ask them both yourself.

it wasn't as easy as it sounded.

you spent days asking around, trying to get someone who talked to maddy to talk to you. finally, you had settled on rue. even though you and rue didn't know eachother very much, she found your situation amusing, and wanted to help. so, she did the same thing lexi did, and asked her if she would ever date you while cassie did as well.

maddy was more adamant about not wanting to do it, but a few days later, you had got a message from her in the middle of the night, asking to meet up at a local 24-hour diner.

when you arrived, you found maddy sitting at a booth in the back. she stood up when she saw you walking towards her, and motioned for you to follow her back outside, behind the diner, where you found cassie waiting. it was cold and raining, but the three of you stood far apart from eachother in silence until cassie spoke up. "maddy, why the fuck are we here?" maddy sighed and stomped lightly, mud splashing onto her legs. she tried to speak a few times, but only ended up blubbering like a fish. she felt pathetic. "I just.. well I wanted to.. um.. well.. y/n can I talk to you alone?" you nodded and walked around the side of the building, until you were just out of earshot of cassie. or so you thought. cassie heard everything the two of you said.

"okay, fuck. I like you. kind of, like a lot.. and I want to be with you. and I know that cassie likes you too so I just want you to pick one of us and move on. please." you stared at her for a moment, but in your head you were bouncing off the walls and running in circles. maddy just told you that she likes you. holy shit on a stick. that was not something you were expecting to hear.

you opened your mouth to speak, but stopped when cassie came around the corner with her arms crossed and a baffled look on her face. "are you fucking kidding me? you brought her here to make her choose between us?" maddy sighed as cassie walked towards the two of you. "listen, its not going to work out if we do it any other way, I just figured we could get it over with." you stood there in silence as the two went back and forth, praying to god they wouldn't break out into a fight.

you backed up a few feet as the girls started to get closer to each other, and they noticed immediately. the two of them turned to you and stopped with their argument, before stepping away from eachother. cassie licked her lips and took a deep breath before gathering her courage to speak. "can't we just.. both date her?" maddy looked at her with wide eyes and her mind immediately went to rue. "wait, did rue talk to you too?!" cassie looked at her with a confused frown on her face. "..what? no, lexi di- nevermind."

you tried to hide the smile that was forming on your face. cassie actually just suggested that you be in a poly relationship. maddy sighed and looked around for a minute, before crossing her arms and speaking. "well.. I guess we could.."

and so, after a few weeks, you all got comfortable. it took maddy and cassie a bit more time than you, but you eventually made it work, even if you still have your ups and downs. now, you couldn't be happier.

#chaos calling!#chaos' army #cassie howard x maddy perez #cassie howard x reader #cassie x reader #cassie howard #maddy x cassie #maddy x reader #maddy perez x reader #maddy perez #euphoria #euphoria x reader

726 notes · View notes

vivithefolle · 1 month

Note

You seem to be really against Hermione for the bird incident, but don’t seem to care much about Harry sending Hedwig to claw at Ron and Hermione during the summer preceding fifth year, why is that?(/gen) You also seem to ship Ronarry. Is it just because she’s the canon love interest that you’re so upset? I know Harry regretted telling Hedwig to do what she did afterwards, but I don’t remember him ever apologizing to Ron and Hermione. How can we know that Hermione didn’t apologize to Ron after he came back in Deathly Hallows but before the battle of hogwarts?(I agree with your opinions on Hermione in general, I’m just curious.)

If you don't know, I've made some jokes about how Harmony shippers are right about Harry and Hermione having something in common, which is that they both sent birds to attack Ron.

Harry doesn't interest me nearly as much as Hermione because to be frank he's pretty much just... the most boring character in the series to me. I like him for his Ron-loving potential which is pretty off the charts when Rowling isn't actively using Ron as a stepping stone for Harry and Hermione to look better.

I'm actually a pretty big Romione shipper even if I myself get confused about what I'm mad about sometimes. Honestly, it's just that I've kinda had it with people constantly writing Ron fucking up and having to make it up to Hermione, I want her to be fucking up and making it up to him and it not being considered a Crime Against Women Everywhere because yeah, women fuck up and hurt men too, men also get abused or shat on by women, it happens. Hermione as she is has a pretty toxic mentality, what with her often using violence completely casually (her first "big heroic moment" in the series is to set a man on fire) coupled with that shitty tendency of Rowling to use "Hermione on the verge of tears" as a kind of sedative to make the average reader go "who cares what Hermione did before, she's crying NOW and that's UNFORGIVABLE, PROTECT HER".

But, Harry himself also has a system like that, by virtue of being Our Poor Orphan Protagonist. Honestly, I hate to say it but Potterheads read another book because yes, Harry is nothing new, when an author wants you to root for their protagonist they give them a backstory that makes you want good things for them, yes Harry's suffering is just all destined to make you attached to him and meant to make you think everything that ever happens to HIM personally is automatically The Most Horrible Thing Ever To Happen To Anyone Ever and I'm kinda done with that as a whole because of fandom experience. I can only tell people to pay attention to what Ron goes through only to be rebuked by a "but look how hard Harry had it, in comparison Ron is a baby" so many times before I get completely soured and decide that the character they feel so sad for doesn't need any more people to feel sorry for.

... I don't know if I'm being clear. But yeah I function mostly through pure spite nowadays.

I know Harry regretted telling Hedwig to do what she did afterwards, but I don’t remember him ever apologizing to Ron and Hermione.

He did say a token sorry to Ron specifically:

He showed Harry the index finger of his right hand, which sported a half-healed but clearly deep cut. ‘Oh, yeah,’ Harry said. ‘Sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know –’

(I say "token" because yeah it's not really an apology given how it's immediately followed by a justification.)

Hermione however?

‘He seemed to think it was best,’ said Hermione rather breathlessly. ‘Dumbledore, I mean.’ ‘Right,’ said Harry. He noticed that her hands, too, bore the marks of Hedwig’s beak and found that he was not at all sorry.

WOOP WOOP FEEL THE HARMONY YET

How can we know that Hermione didn’t apologize to Ron after he came back in Deathly Hallows but before the battle of hogwarts?

Honestly she can have apologized anytime, I'd just like it to be shown to me, and I'd like it to mean something.

While for example @divagonzo believes that after Malfoy Manor Hermione realizes her own mortality and blunts her sharper edges, I still remember the scene where Ron isn't sure they can trust Griphook and Hermione immediately insult him for being racist. Yeah, if that's blunting her sharp edges then I sure hope she's got other ways to do it otherwise she's gonna need a lot more Malfoy Manors.

As it stands, Harry and Hermione are really underdeveloped and bare-bones. If Harry has a character arc then I've missed it entirely because while he does realize that Snape has reasons and shit he's still kinda hating on him all through OOTP, HBP and DH until the Epilogue pulls the rug from beneath our feet. Hermione has moments indicating there's some things happening - her arc with Luna in OOTP is neat, in DH she finally learned to thank Ron for complimenting her - but aside from that she never is confronted to actual failure, to actual dilemnas, to actual problems without a true "I'm right you're wrong" solution - we only see her "being right" without anything exploring what she COULD be beyond "being right".

Which leaves Ron to shoulder the burden of having to do character development for two static characters that amount to "male role model" and "female role model". Ron IS confronted with failure, with actual dilemnas to which there's no easy answer or solution, Ron IS confronted with his personal character flaws... in pretty much every book, he's kept in a loop of "complete character arc" -> "oh no JKR needs drama to happen and she can't have Role Model 1 & 2 do it because they're supposed to be Above Mere Mortals" -> "backtrack on Ron's character arc so he can cause the drama so she doesn't have to strain her brain too hard", which is pretty obviously a disservice to Ron's character. And sadly, the fandom picks up on it but takes the wrong message from it: instead of realizing "wait, Rowling is violating the rules of good storytelling by constantly backtracking on her one good and complex character's development all so she doesn't have to risk Harry and Hermione's popularity by using their character flaws to create conflict", the fandom instead goes "ugh Ron is always causing messes while Harry and Hermione always have their hearts in the right place and always want what's best and anyway if they ever did something bad it's because they were forced by the situation".

It's... upsetting.

#ron weasley #harry potter #hermione granger #ron weasley defense squad #ron weasley defence squad #hp meta #anti jk rowling #vivi answers

43 notes · View notes

sharptoothed-gaze · 2 months

Note

o//

So after watching vods and bads stream and clips:

When things calm down or they get a moment.. I NEED for qTubbo and Sunny to actually sit/chill with qPhil Chayanne and Tallulah and TALK. Okay?

I am so sad/upset.. concerned of things in seen within the chats and stream. And I make this clear every character is valid their own feelings and pov but we as the audience are able to see more than one pov. And when we CHOOSE to ignore other povs or closed minded things can/have gotten a bit toxic.

"..you have phil chayanne and tallulah.."

Tubbo chat: they don't care...

Hallo?? Qphil cares for Sunny!!! Her God sibblings including tallulah cares!! Just like any other egg. Yes lullah was worried in the beginning but anyone paying attention can actually see they are closer than they were. They are children and sometimes things need time. Happens. Lullah adore her God father, she was there for his bday and talks to him when can. But just like sunny she can choose who she wants to talk and be around. She has a comfort level just as sunny has one. Chill. When tubbo died it was not clear to Phil, even chat was confused but once Creation came up, he understood it was real. He even apologized because seriously didn't know it was real.

On top of having to deal with his friends death he has to assure his kids have cookies. And at that point the cookies were expensive and he could not afford them. Chayanne had to assure him things would be okay. Fast forward this week he has more than enough and can help any egg if need be. Since Tubbos death qphil has had to assure the kids theyvwould get tubbo back and to not worry of sunny because they will make sure she is taken care of. But note he will not force Sunny to hang around, she is free to what she needs to thrive for now.

The miscommunication between these characters is strong. On purpose or not. Story wise I love it but as viewer I don't know... concerned now?

I just want everyone to be better and happier than the day before on the island. And the audiences to be more understanding and open minded of the ccs/characters and admins

Sorry for the novel. Sorry OP

Please never be afraid to send a long ask! I promise that it’s not a bother, and I genuinely enjoy reading people’s analysis/thoughts on both characters and the fandom.

But yeah, I totally agree with you that miscommunication and unintended pov bias are at the core of the issue here! It really sucks to see people who legitimately think that Philza hates Sunny when it just isn’t supported by canon.

Sunny might /feel/ hated or disliked, which makes sense for her pov, but that doesn’t mean qPhilza actually hates her. He’s given no indication that he hates her being around him, his children, or his home. (His only concern about her hanging out has always been the potential safety issue of 1 adult watching 3 eggs.)

So far, qPhilza has always been very direct with his language, so I don’t think there is a reason to assume Philza is secretly lying when he tells Sunny she can stay over or ask for help whenever. He might be stressed about his own capacity to protect and care for three kids, but that doesn’t mean he wants her to be alone.

Everything in canon says that Philza wants the eggs to be safe and happy just like everyone else on the island. Nothing has contradicted that. He might prioritize his own kids the most and sometimes fail to understand some social/emotional situations, but the eggs’ safety is everything to him.

Plus, canon shows again and again that qTubbo trusts qPhilza and loves his godchildren dearly. Tubbo knows that if Sunny really needed help, Philza would do everything in his power to do so. Even if all he can do is direct her to someone more capable of getting resources like bbh. That’s him thinking of and trusting the island’s collective parenting to ensure that the kids have everything they need. Considering he logs on the server an avg of 3 times a week I think that’s fair enough.

I don’t mind conflict between characters, but yeah, fans claiming things that canon doesn’t support can annoy me. Canon pretty much says that Philza /does/ care, but he can do a shit job of showing it. He’s not meeting Sunny’s emotional needs, and I think that can be worked on with communication. There’s truly no reason to assume that qPhilza is maliciously harming Sunny.

#qsmp #qsmp discourse #qsmp fandom neg #qsmp text post #Someone asked Sharp!

31 notes · View notes

youcouldmakealife · 5 months

Text

LBTE: Jared (136-137)

I love it when a plan comes together. Especially when, as in this case, the plan has been in motion for years (on my part, at least. More of a day-to-day thing on theirs)

If you want to follow along, you can here.

136. Hostage Negotiations

Fans howling or not: he’s a star player and you do not hand a star player to your divisional rival. You just don’t. Unless you’re like, the Leafs back in the day, but Lapointe had a bad season before that, and Jared suspects that deal was made on the winged feet of homophobia. The former GM of the Leafs and Deslauriers are probably poker buddies or something.

I like to picture the Old Boy’s Club as a real thing sometimes. It’s at a golf course, naturally. The only women are decorative. Scotch and cigars and toxic masculinity and white privilege and unearned cockiness. Random deer skulls because they like to mount their trophies. Etc.

“I mean, I hope I’m staying in the West,” Bryce says. “Calgary’s probably going to start reaching out, seeing who’s interested, ship me off before the NTC kicks in.

That would certainly be the clever thing to do, considering how few options they’ll have come July 1st. But then, when have the Flames done the clever thing in this universe?

The Senators beat the Scouts in a massive upset.

Scratch and Money become ScratchnMoney. And a Cup for Dan and the boys!

Greg goes back and forth with the Canucks. They ask for 5.5, even though Jared would have been content with the initial 4.5 offer, told him that, Greg exasperated with him on the other side of the phone. The Canucks agree to 5. He knows the two years combined are less than Bryce makes in a single year, but it’s — huge to him. They send him the papers, and Jared doesn’t know whether to sign them or not.

That’s 2.5 AAV on a two year deal, which is pretty fair as far as bridge deals go for a middle-sixer you use heavily on special teams. Jared could have, but didn’t want to sign for longer, with no idea where Bryce was going to be in two months, let alone two years.

“Still,” Jared says. “Foster’s like — he seems like a genuinely nice guy, maybe he’d—”

“He’s a GM, babe,” Bryce says. “He’s not going to just let you like, go because of love or whatever. It’s a business.”

If any GM would…

Jared signs everywhere he’s supposed to sign it, and that’s it. He’s a Canuck for two more years. Bryce has two more years on his contract, so — maybe in two years they’ll figure it out, manage to get to the same place together. It’s hard to be happy about that when two years sounds like, well, two years, when Bryce is already frayed close to snapping.

Obviously the situation is vastly improved very shortly, but I think Bryce going just about anywhere would have probably improved his mental state, though being in the East would be undoubtedly hard on them as a couple.

They crack open a nice bottle of wine, eat good dad cooking, and Jared gets his hair ruffled by his parents like, a billion times, like being a millionaire means they get to treat him like a kid again.

Jared gets so huffy when people fuck with his hair. Which of course both parents are aware of. Gotta keep him humble. (They’re also, you know, proud of their boy!)

“You were already a millionaire,” Erin says, her hand outstretched. Jared eyes it.

“What was your signing bonus, Jared?” Erin asks sweetly.

“Nothing,” Jared says. “Not a cent.”

“Jared,” Erin says, hand still outstretched. “The internet exists. It is literally public knowledge.”

Money please.

It was a quarter of a million dollars of his contract up front and Jared isn’t going to give her any of it. He already offered his parents a cheque and was rebuked and then offered again, citing financial support being the reason he had a hockey career, and had it very grudgingly accepted.

They both have well-paying middle-class jobs and aren’t hurting for money, but they are currently paying for Erin’s schooling and expenses, so it is eventually accepted (very grudgingly).

“Am I boring?” Jared says.

“You are the most exciting person in the world,” Bryce tells him, all earnestness, and takes his hand at the next red light.

Jared squeezes, then lets go. “Both hands on the wheel, babe,” he says.

“You can sometimes be a little boring,” Bryce says.

I mean —

Free-agency comes Bryce is still a Flame, which means all the leverage is his now.

Dropped a punctuation mark and/or word, whoops.

“Who’re your three?” Jared asks that night, fingers running through Bryce’s hair as Bryce drowses beside him.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Bryce says. “Like, I’m going to put Vancouver on it, obviously, but it’s just going to be a flat out no from them.”

“I know,” Jared says.

“If they gave in they’d ask Vancouver for way too much in return and they’d say no,” Bryce says.

“I know,” Jared repeats.

Bryce blows out a breath. “I wanna go so bad,” he says. “I just—”

The scheming is underway.

“I trust you in absolutely everything,” Bryce says solemnly, which automatically puts Jared on guard.

“Except?” Jared says.

“Be patient with me during the negotiations?” Bryce says.

Dave’s now involved in the scheming.

“Are you going to be booed the next time you play in the Saddledome?” Jared says.

Bryce smiles, and Jared doesn’t care if that means Bryce is playing further from him, that they may give up the apartment that’s felt like home since Jared was seventeen. He doesn’t care. Bryce smiled.

Jared really would light the Saddledome on fire for him. And not figuratively speaking.

137. Culmination

It’s all of twenty four hours after Summers comes to town that Bryce literally comes jogging in the door, yelling, “J?” like Jared isn’t sitting on the couch ten feet away from him half-watching the news. One nice thing about living in Vancouver is he doesn’t have to listen to the fucking UCP. “J, turn off your phone.”

He ran the entire way home. It was not a long run — partly due to distance, partly due to speed. He wanted Jared to hear it from him, especially if the ‘Bryce Marcus to Tampa’ came separate from the follow up ‘and then to Vancouver’.

“Your phone was about to go crazy and I need to tell you this before someone else does,” Bryce says, kneeling in front of him like he did last night, clean pressed suit and earnest eyes. “I’ve gotta sign papers still but—”

Practically a proposal, which is fitting because Bryce just did everything in his power to be where Jared was. And yes, it’s his hometown, and his childhood team, and his mom’s there, but he would have done it wherever Jared was (would have been easier to swing, in fact, were they not divisional opponents)

“Please tell me it’s a Western Conference team,” Jared says.

“It is,” Bryce says.

“If it’s Edmonton I’m going to be—” Jared says.

Bryce kisses him. “Shut up for a second,” he says.

Jared scowls, but does.

He knows your proposal derailing ways, Matheson.

“Three teams on my list,” Bryce says. “They picked one of them.”

“They would have to if you’ve been traded, unless you waived your NTC,” Jared says. “You know I know all of this, stop being all weird and cryptic and—”

Jared let him explain his and Dave’s plan to you, he wants you to be proud of his scheming!!!

“Tampa’s over the cap,” Bryce says. “And they were desperate to shed salary so they could re-sign Tanner before someone bit and offer-sheeted him and they gave Calgary Schlitz and Barbieri and a second for me.”

Dear RL NHL GMs: use more offer sheets, you utter cowards!!!

So, deal wise, Tampa comes out of this very nicely. They get cap space they needed, they shed good but too expensive players, and they trade a second for a first (from Vancouver when they flip Bryce), and a goalie prospect when they don’t have anyone particularly promising in the prospect pool.

Calgary gets a decent if not terrific haul from Tampa, and it looks like an okay if not great deal for them, but understandable given the short trade list. Until, well. The second flip. Then they look like dupes.

“Tampa can’t afford to keep me,” Bryce says. “Which is why Vancouver offered Tampa a first, a third, and a goalie prospect because Summers told Foster, strictly off the record, I’d re-sign in a heartbeat when my term was up and I’d give them a significant hometown discount when I did as long as my husband was still in the Canucks line-up when that time came. Do not fucking tell anyone that last part, not even your parents or my mom.”

Obviously Vancouver is over the moon about getting Bryce. Hometown hero, on a sweetheart deal for two more years, going to sign for cheap as long as Jared’s by his side.

Dave Summers was in violation of NHL rules and ethics for conveying that message to Vancouver and we should all tsk and shake our heads. (But we’re not gonna)

Jared beams at Bryce.

Bryce beams back.

This is what we’re doing instead.

“I can’t believe I made you this Machiavellian,” Jared says.

He’s so proud.

He IS so proud of your scheming, Bryce!

“They weren’t really — big on moving me at first,” Bryce says. “Like, even with the media shit and all, I’m on a deal that was pretty normal then but cheap now and they figured my play was back on track so like, may as well wait, see if they could get more for me next season at the trade deadline or throw me at someone before I was a UFA. So I maybe like, held out until my NTC kicked in and then mentioned that my trade value was higher right now because I hadn’t come out yet and I was considering it.”

This isn’t technically against rules or ethics because ‘player wants to come out’ is legally protected, at least in Canada, but you know, it's probably not morally in the clear. But I think weaponizing your sexuality against bosses who have been absolute shits about it falls under ‘they have it coming’ branch of ethics, ie: karma’s a bitch and so am I.

“You’re not considering it,” Jared says. If Bryce was even remotely considering it, Jared would have caught on.

Bryce shakes his head. “Not to media,” he says.

Famous last words, though that shoe won’t drop for a year and a half.

They're both smiling too hard for the kiss to be any good but Jared doesn't give a fuck, he hauls him in, tastes Bryce’s smile against his own, feeling like he can breathe easily for the first time in months.

All of Jared’s favourite kisses with Bryce are objectively bad because they all involve them both beaming their faces off and I love that, especially since Jared isn’t much of a grinner. (Bryce increasingly is, especially after moving to Vancouver, but Jared mentions Bryce grinning so much you’d think he has a perma-grin — he doesn’t, except around Jared.)

As much as ‘actually on the same team now’ calls for some terrific celebratory sex, it’s going to have to wait. Bryce has papers to sign. They have people to talk to. They are grown ass adults who cannot have celebratory sex.

Maturity is so boring.

“Foster wants to talk to you?” Bryce says.

Jared takes the phone.

“Hi Jared,” Foster says.

There’s a bit of a laugh in Brian’s voice right there because he’s been gleefully laughing to himself all day. He did absolutely nothing to earn this deal that makes him look like a genius except be a stand up guy and I am delighted for him.

“You tell Bryce he has the biggest brass balls I’ve ever seen,” his dad says.

This is the most Don has ever liked Bryce. And really the moment Don puts down the Flames fandom. He doesn’t know what was involved, but he suspected it was complicated, and that Bryce did some shit, and that he did that shit so he could be with his son, and Don can’t not admire that. (Also the brass balls.)

“How’d he keep this a secret?” Elaine says, now sounding completely incredulous.

Bryce is way better at keeping secrets than Jared or Elaine. But only if he considers the secrets GOOD secrets. Like ‘I want to marry you, I bought a ring’ — hidden for months. ‘I have been setting up a charity’ — four months of steady work before he felt confident letting Jared know about it. And some of that is Jared being oblivious, but Bryce is perfectly good at hiding something he considers a surprise rather than a secret.

He’s got a next text when he gets off the phone with her, Stephen has not stopped laughing since we found out. Legit is going to make himself puke. Imagine you’re slammed right now but give us a call when you get a minute?

Stephen is DELIGHTED by this. Gabe’s a little concerned honestly, the dude is puce coloured at this point.

“They’re going to boo you,” Jared says.

“I know,” Bryce says.

“Not just the first time,” Jared says. “They’re probably going to do it for years. They might do it for the rest of your career.”

Bryce shrugs. “I know.”

A lot of Bryce’s complete and utter exhaustion in the run up to this deal involved him coming to terms with and making peace with that fact; that he was going to leave Calgary on poor terms, that he was going to get a boo from the crowd rather than a tribute video and a standing ovation. And this was going to happen no matter where he went, but yes, going to Vancouver significantly upped the chances of that happening for the rest of his career.

Bryce shrugs again. “It’s going to suck,” he says. “I’m probably going to feel like shit. But like. I get to play for my hometown team, and live with you all year round, and be near my mom and my grandparents and it’s like — it’s worth it, so. Whatever I have to deal with, I’ll deal with. Plus like, it’s nice knowing going in that it won’t be a shitty room. Because if it was a shitty room you would have bitched about it. Hell, you bitched about the Oilers’ room being nice.”

How dare Darryl Rogers exist, being friendly and supportive to rookies.

“Well,” Jared says. Fair. Stupid Darryl Rogers being a nice guy and welcoming him kindly.

Literally Jared, tho.

“Dmitry—”

“Sounds like a totally normal dude, you just hate everyone,” Bryce says.

This is also probably fair.

“He pied my face,” Jared says. “Twice.”

“On your birthday,” Bryce says. “With shaving cream. Which is a tradition.”

“He pied my face,” Jared mutters.

God I love Jared.

“Want to rail me in your Canucks jersey?” Bryce asks.

I would suggest against this for purely Pavlovian reasons, but you do you boys.

Canucks blue really brings out Bryce’s eyes. It’s like, stunning, how beautiful they look.

“Less talk about my eyes, more getting your dick in me,” Bryce says.

The ONE time Jared tries to be romantic.

“Look at me?” Jared says, and when Bryce does, his eyes are so fucking blue.

“Vancouver,” Jared says, and tastes the grin that spills across Bryce’s face in response.

They did it!!! Took 137 parts, but they made it to the same place!

#liveblogging the end

45 notes · View notes

yesimwriting · 2 years

Text

Final Girl (part 4)

(the scenes in this is what inspired the series so ig technically could be read as a stand alone and still make sense but the previous chapters obviously add context lol) Part 4 to - Final Girl Series Masterlist (currently updated parts 1 - 9 and extras)

A/n fun fact there are two alternate versions of part 4 in my drafts, if anyone wants a bonus scene of Billy and Stu having a full conversation with Gloria, and/or a short scene of Y/n and Gloria getting ready together (which shows. a little bit more of their dynamic) it’s basically done and would only need a little bit of editing lol

also!! thinking about doing a lil billy & stu blurb night or sleepover thing,, any thoughts on that lol (prob saturday afternoon, when i’ll be tipsy 😭,, tipsy writing is fun)

my favorite thing about this chapter is how they’re all cute for 3 minutes and then get violently toxic 😭 duality ig??

Warning: i broke and put the first touch of smut into this 😭 everything before the switch in POV is pretty PG (very toxic vibes tho!!), so if you don’t want to read anything sexual just skip over the part at the end that’s in narrator’s POV!! (pls be nice, writing smut scares me, i’ve had very few sexual experiences and have enjoyed none of them lmao)

Series Summary: Y/n can’t believe that she has to leave the only home she’s ever known just because her mom’s latest boyfriend has a house in some town in California. Just as she’s starting to think that Woodsboro might not be that bad, something life altering happens after she agrees to sleep over at the Becker’s house. Now her name is practically synonymous with Ghostface’s.

Chapter Summary: Due to a family emergency, Y/n is left home alone for the first time since what happened to Casey. Luckily, her good friends Billy and Stu show up to surprise her just as she’s starting to feel paranoid.

----

You’d think that someone that grew up with one parent would be used to being alone, but I have very few memories of total solitude. The few times my mom hasn’t been around, there’s always been someone.

Tonight, though, it’s just me. And I’m not alone in my childhood home--I’m alone in Wells’ house. My mom says that I don’t need to think too much about the fact that we moved into his family’s home, but sometimes I still feel like a stranger here. A guest.

Ugh, I shake the thought off with a roll of my shoulders. I’m freaking myself out for no reason, and I promised my mom I’d be fine.

She didn’t want to leave me, and I can’t blame her for her hesitance, but a family emergency is a family emergency.

I would have gone with her in a heartbeat, but I had the SAT this morning. My mom offered to have Wells stay behind, but honestly, the thought of being alone with her boyfriend for days made me more uncomfortable than the thought of being alone. At least it did at the time. But now that it’s dark out, I’m starting to think it might have been a bad idea to send away the trained police officer.

I could always call Sidney or Tatum. My mom said I could have people over, or maybe even sleepover at someone’s house. She actually wanted me to stay with a friend, but after my last sleepover, the thought of spending the night at someone’s house turns my stomach.

Now I’m alone, and it’s almost 9:00, and I’m really upset that most of my comfort movies are horror. The last thing I need is to make myself more para--

The sound of the home phone ringing snaps me out of my thoughts. It could be my mom, but we had just talked. She called me right before I got into the shower to give me an update. I guess it wouldn’t be that weird for her to call me again. She’s nervous about leaving me alone.

“Hi?”

There are no words, just soft breathing. “Hey, squirt.”

Nerves and embarrassing excitement roll in my stomach. I’m so shocked I almost forget that I’m on the phone and I need to reply. “H-hi, dad.” I sit up a little straighter. “It’s you, you’re calling.”

“Yep,” he breathes, popping the ‘p’ and breezing past my awkwardness, “Just checking in. I just heard what happened. Your mom called, but I’m in Europe on business, and because of the timezone difference it went to voicemail. My secretary somehow missed it. I am so sorry I didn’t call sooner, are you okay?”

My lips part, a strange amount of emotions twisting in my stomach, “I uh--I’m doing better. I wasn’t the one that was really hurt.” The thought of Casey strikes me in the chest. I cross my legs beneath me. “I-um--I missed some school because I had a concussion. A friend of mine had to convince me to go to the doctor, actually.”

He laughs lightly, “That sounds like you.” After a second, he continues, “You still want to do the whole Princeton thing?”

“Yeah, I-I’d like to. I’m trying to. Even took the SAT for the first time today.”

I can hear him shuffling. “Wow, squirt, the S-A-T,” he hums each letter, “You and Charlotte are really growing up.”

When I was at that age where kids are obsessed with princesses, I used to imagine that Charlotte was my evil step sister. She was the perfect girl in front of our parents, but there was something about the way she treated me that I couldn’t support. Her and her mother, Alice, always made it clear that my mother and I weren’t the real members of the family.

My mom was more open about my step sister than I was, and I can imagine how hard that was. She waited around for my dad for years, and he didn’t get his life together until grandfather told him to. She stood by him through addiction and through scandal, but once grandfather said dad had to grow up, he listened. He went to Princeton for undergrad and Yale for his masters and he married the woman Grandfather set him up with.

My dad’s only defense is that my mom sent him away. What he never seems to mention is that my mom’s breaking point was him leaving me alone at some dealer’s house when I was a baby.

“Charlotte,” I repeat, trying to hide the way the name stings, “How is she?”

“Oh, she’s good, she just heard back from Princeton because of their rolling admission policy, she’s in.”

Oh. Charlotte is one year older than me, so I knew that it was possible that I’d have to hear about her getting into dream schools soon. What I didn’t expect was to hear that she got into Princeton, and I didn’t expect it now. “That’s really great, dad.”

“Yeah, she’ll get the lay of the land, and once you’re in, she’ll be able to show you around.”

“Yeah,” I mumble, “That’d be nice.”

Another voice steals my dad’s attention. Likely his secretary. “Hey, squirt, I gotta go. Meeting.”

“Oh, y-yeah, dad. Talk to you later.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure to call soon.” He pauses before tacking on, “Oh, I sent you a get well soon present this morning. It might take a few days, but I hope you like it.”

My nails dig into the palm of my hand, “Oh, thanks, dad. Bye.”

With that the line goes flat. I place the phone back on my bedside table before grabbing a pillow that’s by my side. Settling the pillow onto my lap, I drop my face into it. “Ugh.” The groan is strangled and dramatic, but I don’t care.

I cannot wait to call my mom and tell her about how little miss perfect Charlotte is going to Princeton. Princeton is mine, it’s been mine my entire life. There’s a freaking poster of it in my room.

“You’re in a good mood.”

The words make me jump out of my skin. In a second, i’m on my feet, my hands reaching for the first thing I can find. It happens to be my bedside lamp. I blink, eyes wide as my head snaps towards my window. There’s a large figure sitting on the window sill.

“Billy! Stu!” Adrenaline is still running through me. “I could--I could have hurt you guys!”

Billy leans against my window’s frame comfortably, lips turning upwards. “With your fuzzy lamp?”

“Do not make fun of me.”

“He’s not,” Stu says, “You’re super threatening. I’m shaking so much I might fall off this ledge.”

I roll my eyes, shifting awkwardly. It’s not like Stu and I haven’t talked since my little blow up in the hallway, but things haven’t been the same. I don’t know if he’s waiting for something from me or if most of it is in my head because I feel a little bad. I never thought I’d miss Stu regularly jokingly hitting on me, but I think I’m starting to.

“Haha,” I mumble after a second too long of silence. Because I need an excuse to not look at them, I turn to set my lamp back down. “What are you guys doing here anyway?”

Billy shrugs, twisting to place his feet on the floor of my room. “Stu talked me into renting The Craft.” He stands, giving Stu the space he needs to also come into my room. “It made us think of you.”

“You two watched The Craft?”

“We got halfway through,” Stu admits, reaching into the black backpack he came in with, “Not my best pick.” He walks into my room casually, like climbing in through my second floor window is a regular Saturday night occurrence. “Seems like the kind of thing you’d like, though. Brought it in case you wanted something to do later.”

He tosses the tape casually onto my bed. I stare at it for a long second, hating the fact that he knows me so well. I remember seeing trailers for The Craft and wanting to watch it. Some joke about how he’s implying that he thinks I have bad taste tries to come out, but I can’t seem to form the words.

I don’t know if it’s the casual gesture or the fact that they showed up when I didn’t want to be alone, but an emotion I don’t really get threatens to overwhelm me. Maybe this reaction is the result of the phone call with my dad.

Stu must notice my stillness because he asks, “You okay?”

I take large steps, moving around my bed in order to reach him. My hug must surprise him, but Stu doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around me. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“Tuesday,” I mumble, “I was moody and defensive and things have felt kinda weird since then and I just want things to be normal again.” This might be a total mistake, it feels like revealing an open wound. “You’re like one of my best friends.”

He squeezes me tighter, “One of?”

Tilting my head up to look at him, I reply, “Don’t get greedy.”

“Fine,” Stu mumbles after a second of pretend contemplation.

I should pull away now, but there’s something comforting about the position we’re in. Stu’s hugs are underrated, but his ego is big enough without me telling him that. “Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

“Mm...” He hums for a long second. “Nope, not really.” Well, getting along with him was nice while it lasted. I pull away sharply, shoving his chest when he reaches out to me. “I’m kidding,” Stu laughs, “Kidding.” I glare, trying to escape his hold. “I’m sorry, angel. I should have known that you were moody because of your head.”

The nickname takes me by surprise. I remember it from my hazy night at the hospital. I didn’t think twice of it then. Should I think about it now? It’s not particularly weirder than any other of the other nicknames Stu’s always calling me, and they’re all the same level of flirty except maybe bug, which is only really used when he wants his way.

“My head’s hurting a lot less.” I straighten slightly, arms dropping casually as I take a step back. Stu lets me. “I even took the SAT this morning. Totally not ideal with a concussion by the way, if my scores come back and they’re bad I’m so blaming the killer.”

“I remember your reaction at the doctor’s office.”

I turn towards Billy, who’s casually sitting on my bed like he lives here. “Yeah, not my best moment.” I scratch the back of my arm. “Thank you for making me go to the doctor, by the way. The first thing my mom said when I got home was that you must be some kind of saint to have put up with me like that. She’s always telling me that I’m a total monster when I’m sick in any capacity.”

Billy almost smiles, “So your mom likes me now?”

“You’re making progress.” Basically a lie. My mom won’t like any boys I’m friends with until I’m a college graduate. It’s shocking enough that she tolerates them.

“Really?”

I shrug, slightly unsure. Stu moves to sit across from me. “You can tell your mom I’m willing to do whatever to get in her good graces.”

Cringing, I grab a pillow from behind me and throw it at Stu. He barely manages to block it with his forearm. “She’s my mom!”

“And she’s a total babe.”

“You’re getting kicked out.”

Stu holds his hands up in defense, “Don’t worry, you’re still my girl.”

I roll my eyes, pulling my legs beneath me. “Mhm, I’ll mention that to Tatum next time she calls.”

Stu props the backpack up against the side of my bed. The way he dramatically falls across my bed is almost enough to get me to break character. He places a hand on his chest like he’s wounded. “Don’t turn this into something ugly. You know I love you both, just in different ways.”

“I’m glad you two felt the need to sneak in through my window to tell me that.” The comment makes me think about something that they practically made me forget about. “Why did you guys come here through the window anyway?”

“We missed you,” Billy answers with no hesitation. His tone is just a little too sweet to be genuine. When I give him a look, he tilts his head before actually answering the question, “We wanted to check in. It had been a few days, and you didn’t come back to school. You stopped answering calls. Sid told me the last two times she called you, your mom picked up and said you weren’t up for conversation.”

Normally, the thought of people looking out for me makes me nervous. Especially when it’s a guy. I know that past friendships and family issues aren’t the kinds of things I should push onto them. They’ve been good friends. Maybe it’s okay to let people in a little more than I have in the past. Besides, they’re just worried about their high strung friend that was attacked by a murderer and then had a melt down at school, it’s not like they’re crazy for being concerned.

“That’s nice of you guys. I’m doing better, I’ve just been...kinda disconnected lately. And honestly, I’ve been spending a lot more time doing makeup work than I’d like to admit.” My posture relaxes slightly. “You don’t need to worry.”

“There’s also a killer on the loose, and you don’t lock your window.”

Billy has a tiny bit of a point. In scary movies, I always get frustrated when characters are dumb. It’s the small, careless things that distinguish those that die and those that make it to the sequel. “My room’s on the second floor, I thought that’d count for something.”

“Not when the world’s easiest to climb tree is in your backyard,” Stu adds, “I thought you’d think twice about things like that.” He turns his head so that he’s staring straight up at the ceiling. “You’re always reading mystery books and the only thing you care about in movies is that there’s a final girl.”

Great, now Stu’s right, too. “That’s not the only thing I care about.” He’s quiet, watching me with a strange level of focus. He’s weirdly calm...almost dazed. I blink, gaze shifting to watch Billy from the corner of my eye. He’s also seems a little weird. “Are you guys drunk or something?”

Stu lets out a mock gasp. “Wow. You think that little of us?”

My eyes narrow, focusing on the backpack I so quickly dismissed earlier. “I think that if I opened that bag I’d find beer.”

With a wounded sigh, Stu sits up. He grabs his backpack, unzipping it casually. He reaches into it before pulling out a tall bottle. The liquid inside of it is as clear as the glass containing it. “Not exactly.” Stu unscrews the lid, taking an easy sip. He doesn’t wince as the liquid goes down his throat. “Here.” Billy shifts, reaching forward to take the bottle. “Ah--c’mon, Billy boy, let her have some. We’re being rude.”

“It’s okay,” I interrupt quickly, “I’m good.”

Stu frowns, extending his arm a little more. “Come on, angel, just a tiny sip. Less than a shot.” I don’t move, but my attention does shift to the bottle that’s hanging just a little too loosely from his fingers. “I won’t even tell on you to your mom.”

I roll my eyes at what he’s so clearly implying. “I think she’d be more focused on the fact that you chose to come in through the window.” Scratching the back of my wrist, I admit, “Plus, she’s not downstairs, so you can’t tattle on me anyways.” I watch him take in the words, a part of me regretting bringing that up. “Why’d you guys come in this way anyways? I would’ve come to the door.”

“You’ve been ignoring everyone’s calls.” Stu props his head up on his elbow.

I look at him and then at Billy. “So this is an ambush.”

Billy drops one of his bent legs just enough to bump his knee into mine. “A wellness check in.”

Tamping down a grin, I roll my eyes. “Right. Silly of me not to realize.”

“If your mom’s not here, where is she?”

Stu’s blatant nosiness should have been expected. “Why? You actually here for her?”

“Jealous?”

Pressing my back into a pillow, I fake gag.”She’s my mom, Stu.”

He rolls his eyes at my theatrics before laying back down. I know that they must have noticed the way I ignored the question, but telling them that my mom’s not home and that she’s not going to be home for days feels a little like tempting fate now that I know they’re at least tipsy.

Billy lazily reaches for the bottle again. Stu lets him take it this time.

“She’s in Texas, anyways.” Please tell me my voice sounds casual and not at all nervous. “That must be so sad for you.”

I’m waiting for some kind of joke about blue balls or being heartbroken. Instead, Stu props his head up again. “So she’s not here not here?”

The distinction sends nerves straight to my stomach and I’m not sure why. My confusion is more uncomfortable than what I’m feeling. “Yeah,” I mumble, sitting up a little straighter, “Family emergency thing. My godmother is like super pregnant with twins and just got put on bed rest. Her husband’s out of town for work this weekend, so my mom flew there to take care of her.”

Billy’s head turns in my direction, “So it’s just you and good old step dad.”

His lips turn upwards at my glare. “No, Wells is with her.” I shift uncomfortably at the thought of being alone with Wells with no buffer for that long. “I would’ve gone with them, but I already had the SAT scheduled and their flight was early.”

Stu breaks the unexpected silence, “So they left you alone with a killer on the loose?”

Shrugging, I drop my gaze to the floral pattern of my bedsheets. “It’s not like that. My godmother’s miscarried before, she’s freaked out.” My pointer finger traces the dainty pink petals sewn into the fabric. “And I just calmed myself down, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring that stuff up.”

“Relax, angel,” Stu mumbles absentmindedly, “You can stay at my place if you want. My parents aren’t home either, so it’s just me and Billy tonight.” `

Yeah, I’ve done a lot of pathetic things recently, and I don’t need to add crashing Billy and Stu’s sleepover to the list. Plus I don’t think I need to know what goes on at boys sleepovers. Living with a grown man for the first time was enough of a culture shock. “I appreciate the offer, but last time I stayed over at someone’s house kind of...”

“We could stay here.” Stu’s offer comes out so casual, so without a second thought, I nearly get whiplash. I stare at him, waiting for him to grin or do anything that indicates that he’s joking. He does neither, instead he just looks at Billy like he’s asking him if they’re staying here. Not me.

Billy tilts the bottle in my direction, silently offering it to me. “We could hang out, make sure you fall asleep okay.” He relaxes enough to let his free hand fall. His fingertips ghost my forearm. “Pretend all you want, but I know that staying by yourself has to be bothering you a little.”

Ugh. I hate when he’s right. Maybe a drink isn’t the worst idea right now. It might give me the confidence I need to seem okay with being home alone. I take the bottle, cautiously bringing it up to my lips with the intention of only taking a sip. The bottle tilts upwards with no warning. The unexpected amount of extra alcohol leaves me nearly sputtering. I’m forced to down two large mouthfuls to avoid spilling it all over my bed.

When I finally get the bottle away from me, the sound of laughter and the rush of straight vodka leave me flushed. “Stu!” I’m trying to yell at him, but his name is barely sputtered out between coughs.

“What? This isn’t even 40 proof.”

Billy glares in Stu’s direction before he sits up a little more. I let him tilt my chin up softly. His touch is feather light as he wipes excess liquid up my chin and across my bottom lip. The motion is slow, the nail of his thumb pressing into the edge of my lip, pulling it just enough for me to notice. He’s looking at me with such deliberation my stomach drops.

Wow, I really cannot handle my alcohol. I pull away, hand gripping the side of my bed as cautiously as possible. “You suck, you know how I get when I drink.”

I’ve only been drunk in front of them once. The entire group was together and after my first beer, I spent the rest of the night holding Tatum’s hand and whining whenever Stu tried to steal her away. He was starting to actually get annoyed with me, but I ended up getting super nauseous before he could actually get mad. The next day, he teased me to no end about being an extremely touchy lightweight.

“You weren’t that bad,” Stu lies, hand casually reaching forward to catch my ankle. “Just touchy. Thought you and Tay were getting ready to put on a show.”

“Shut up.”

He yanks my foot towards him, placing my calf on his lap. “Make me.”

I roll my eyes, nerves that I don’t understand rising up my chest at the silence that follows. I could laugh, but he doesn’t need that kind of encouragement, so instead I kick the foot he pulled towards him. The movement is light, more of an attempt to shake him off than anything else. Stu doesn’t take it that way. His hand moves up past my calf, fingers harshly pressing into my skin.

I’m reminded of that night in the hospital. The way Stu gripped my thigh. Small bruises that I thought about more than I’d ever admit lingered there for days. He was joking then, and he’s joking now, but his touch feels different. More (or maybe less?) restrained. There’s also something about the way he’s looking at me.

My head turns in Billy’s direction. “Think I could take him?”

Billy looks at Stu and then at me. “You’d kick his ass.”

I grin openly, glad for the break from tension. Stu’s hold on my leg loosens. He’s no longer gripping onto me, but his touch is persistent as he draws patterns against my skin. The change doesn’t exactly ease me, but I’m worried trying to pull away will make things worse. Something tells me he won’t take it seriously, he’ll think I’m challenging him as a joke or something.

“You wanna kick my ass?” Stu drags his fingers up my leg, stopping at my knee before slowly moving back down.

I shrug, “Not sure yet.”

Stu rolls his eyes before extending the hand holding the bottle. “Decide after another sip.” When I dramatically glare at him, Stu smiles slightly. “I promise not to do anything this time. I’m still not convinced, and it doesn’t entirely have to do with Stu. I’m not sure I want to drink anymore, I’m already finding it hard to focus. “Tell her, Billy.”

“I can’t help that she’s not an idiot.”

Billy’s response isn’t even that funny, but I laugh freely anyways. Stu pouts at my reaction, pulling the bottle back towards him. “Fine, don’t trust me.”

I’ve dealt with Stu’s coldness for days and he’s just starting to act normal again. The last thing I want is for there to be another fight, even if it’s just a petty one. With a roll of my eyes, I lean forward and grab the bottle. “Don’t be so dramatic,” I bring the bottle to my lips and take a quick drink. The liquid burns as it goes down. “See, I trust you.”

Stu doesn’t relax. He just stares at me. Are his eyes darker than they were earlier or is the alcohol starting to get to me? I need an excuse to break eye contact. I raise the bottle again, taking another sip.

Billy’s touch on my back is easing, which is nice because the buzz is starting to kick in a lot stronger than I expected it to. There’s no way Stu was telling the truth when he said that the vodka’s less than 40 proof. “Have you had anything to eat?” He’s moving his hand in circles like he did when he found me in the bathroom. It’s more soothing than it should be. “Last time you didn’t you got sick.”

His words are so calm I find myself giggling. “That’s very motherly of you.” Billy throws me a slightly irritated look. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, it’s nice.” My head tilts forward, the motion more drastic than I intended it to be. Billy places a hand on my cheek, stabilizing me. “I um--I ate. Ordered Pizza earlier. There’s still some in the kitchen if you guys are hungry. Or I could--could get you something to drink. My mom would be mad if she knew you guys were here, but she’d kill me if she knew I had people over and didn’t offer then anything to eat.”

Billy tilts his head downwards, a strand of hair falling forward. The urge to push it back into place leaves my fingers itching. “Does that mean you’re letting us stay?”

What does that mean? They’ve been staying. It takes me a second to realize that he’s asking me if they’re staying the night. “It’s--”

“Come on,” his voice is soft, his breath warm against my jaw, “We just want to help.”

My thoughts are mush, and I’m not sure that’s just because of the alcohol. I lean back in hopes of creating some distance. “You guys can hang out,” I mumble, “But I don’t think you should stay too late. I’m kind of spacey and a little tipsy and tired. Think it’d be good for me to stay by myself tonight.” The answer feels awkward, maybe even a little risky. My eyes focus on the Princeton banner in the corner of the room. His silence is beginning to crawl under my skin. “Billy?”

When I finally find the courage to look at him again, there’s something eerie about the blankness in his expression. His hand drops from my face. “It is getting late.” He glances at Stu, nodding his head once in the direction of the window. “Wouldn’t want to overstay our welcome.”

I settle the bottle in my lap before wiping at my face with both hands. I should have known better. He takes things like that more personally than one would expect. Memories of the time Billy asked me if I wanted to study for our History test together after school leave me frozen in place. I had already promised to help Randy study for a math test. Billy was cold towards me for a week.

“Billy.” He doesn’t look back at me. I scoot to the edge of my bed, placing the bottle on my nightstand. “Stu.” Stu glances at me, but says nothing. “Don’t go.” I can’t look at them. My nails dig into my bedsheets. “Come on, I-I need you guys.”

God, I’m never drinking again. The admission is so embarrassing I can feel blood rush to my face. I don’t look up until fingers press in to the skin beneath my chin. My head is tilted upwards before I can make any kind of decision.

“Need us?” Billy’s voice is low and unbearably patient.

I blink up at him, unsure on how to proceed. I learned early on in our friendship that it takes little to trigger some kind of power trip in them, and that that tends to lead to meanness. But every part of that’s lost to the buzzed feeling of the alcohol doesn’t care. I nod slowly.

I’d consider the slight uptilt of the corner of his mouth a smile if it wasn’t for the strange look behind his eye. He’s so hard to read sometimes and that just makes me resent the fact that I’ve always been an open book. He knew about my concussion before I did. “A little bit of alcohol is all it takes with you, huh?”

His tone is so patronizing I’d pull away if I was any less fuzzy. “More than a little.”

Billy lets out a partially amused breath. “To you.”

“Remember how you got after two beers?” Stu sits next to me, so close our knees touch.

I shift back, forcing my eyes to stay on my lap. “That’s why I didn’t want to drink a lot, but some asshole tilted the bottle with no warning.”

“Mean of them,” Stu agrees, shockingly amicable as he takes my hand from my lap. I watch as he messes with my fingers, curling and uncurling them like a child would with a toy. “Let us stay, bug. We’ll have fun, watch movies, I’ll go downstairs for you if you get thirsty in the middle of the night.”

The specificness of that last part leaves me confused. I tilt my head in his direction, but Stu pays no mind to it. Billy half huffs, “I’d get you the water, Stu’s too selfish when he’s tired.”

“Fuck you,” Stu protests, squeezing my hand once, “Maybe I’d do for it Y/n. Maybe I like her more than I like you.”

Billy barely justifies that response with a look in Stu’s direction. He then turns towards me, eyes softening slightly as he shakes his head once. Despite myself, I smile fondly. “It’s not that I don’t want you guys to stay, it’s that I don’t know if it’s okay.”

Of course Stu’s the one to ask, “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

Even in my state, I know he knows exactly what I’m implying. He’s fighting a grin, enjoying the prospect of me having to say it a little too much. For once, I can’t use my mom as an excuse. There’s literally zero possibility of her finding out, she won’t be in the same state as us until Tuesday. The only way she’d find out is if I tell her and if I admit that I’m scared of letting it slip out, the mommy’s girl jokes will never end.

“You know why,” I begin, watching Stu trace the line of my palms. “Don’t think Sid and Tatum would love the idea of their boyfriends...” He’s really going to make me say it. I resist the urge to pull my hand back into my lap and curl into myself. “...Having sleepovers with me.”

The words are barely out of my mouth before Stu laughs. “You and Tay get up to a lot at your sleepovers?”

The alcohol’s really getting to me because it takes me a second to understand the joke. My delayed eye roll is definitely noticed. “That’s not--it’s--” I pull my hand away, crossing my arms over my chest. “You know what I mean. It’s different.”

“Why’s it so different?”

That’s the kind of question I expect from Stu, but from Billy, it’s not as easy to dismiss with an eye roll and halfhearted shove. “It’d-it’d seem weird,” I whisper, “Tate and Sid--”

“Would be happy that we’re keeping you safe. They love you.” Billy places a hand on my shoulder, his thumb brushing against the strap of my tank top. I was too distracted before to think about what I’m wearing, but now I can’t help noticing that this is the skimpiest I’ve ever worn in front of them.

It’s not like I’m naked--but my old, elastic pajama shorts are the kind of thing I can’t wear around Wells. My tank top isn’t scandalous, but I’m too aware of the fact that I’m not wearing a bra. I also don’t love being seen in clothes like this. Two different types of insecurity strike at the same time.

“Sid would kill me if I let anything happen to you,” Billy continues, his thumb moving up and down my skin. “C’mon.”

This was always a losing fight. It’s kind of hard to put your foot down when it comes to something that you don’t really want. I know that my points are valid, or at least, I think they’re valid.

Maybe I am being a little dramatic. It’s not like we’re doing anything bad. Even if they didn’t have girlfriends, I really doubt either of them would see me like that. And is it so bad that I don’t want to be completely alone in this house? We’re friends, friends have sleepovers. Plus it is nighttime and they’ve been drinking, sending them to walk home could lead to something happening to them.

“Okay,” I give in, “But best behavior. My mom will kill me if she thinks you guys stayed over.”

“Aw,” Stu says, moving to rest his head on my shoulder, “Willing to keep a secret from your mom for us.”

Instead of shaking Stu off, I rest my head against his. “Guess I like you guys.”

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.”

I frown, “I’m not sleepy.”

“Then let’s go watch a movie.” I pout when Stu moves away, “Come on, I brought options.”

Moving to sit closer to the edge of the bed, I wipe my eyes with the back of my palm tiredly. Stu brought more movies? For a spontaneous, tipsy visit, Stu seems remarkably prepared. He grabs the bottle off of my nightstand. The implications of that makes me sigh loudly.

Billy reaches forward, grabbing my hand. “It’s easier to go along with it.” I let him help me to my feet. When I sway, Billy’s hand is quick to find my hip. “I’ll help you down the stairs.”

I don’t protest. It’s probably for the best, anyways. Tipsy me isn’t exactly known for her coordination.

True to his word, Billy’s hand stays on my hip as as we walk to the living room. Once we’re down the stairs, Billy’s hold on me doesn’t loosen. Stu’s already messing with the VCR by the time I’m sitting on the couch. I consider offering him some help, but decide against it. I’m comfortable, and probably too out of it to be useful.

Watching a movie feels like a good thing. Knowing them, it’s probably something scary, and they take their horror movies seriously. It’ll consume their attention, which means I’ll be able to recover from the alcohol in peace.

Stu must figure out the VCR because he stands up and walks towards us. He sits down next to me, stretching an arm over the back of the couch. “What’d you put on?”

"The Shining.”

“Finished the book recently.”

“Hm,” Stu hums in acknowledgement, already turning his full attention to the movie.

The movie playing lets me relax. There’s no need to worry about doing anything stupid or embarrassing because the two of them are going to be immersed in what’s on the screen.

Only a few minutes into the movie, Stu takes a sip from the bottle of alcohol. I almost forgot he brought that down with him. He then offers it to me without looking away from the TV. My hand wraps around the neck of the bottle. After a few sips, Billy takes it from me. He ignores the way I look at him, opting to drink even less than Stu did before setting the bottle down on the coffee table.

I’ve watched The Shining before, and I’ve been meaning to rewatch it since finishing the book, but focusing isn’t coming easily to me right now. At least I know enough about to plot to not be confused as my thoughts tune in and out.

My head ends up on Billy’s shoulder. I don’t remember making the conscious choice to do so, but I’m comfortable and Billy doesn’t shake me off, he just brushes his knuckles up and down my leg absentmindedly.

The longer the movie continues, the harder I find it to understand what’s going on. Maybe it’s because I’m tired, maybe it’s because the bottle somehow keeps making its way back to me.

I blink hard, trying to figure out what point of the movie we’re at. We’re not near the end, Jack Torrence hasn’t fully snapped yet, but his writer’s block is getting bad. A confident touch to my left knee snaps me out of my analysis. My head turns against Billy’s shoulder. Stu’s eyes are still trained on the movie, but his hand is on my leg, and not in a casual, mindless way, either.

He squeezes my knee as the little boy rides his tricycle past room 237. “Stu.” His fingertips trail up my inner thigh slowly, lingering where my shorts end. I shift, unintentionally pressing myself more into Billy. Stu presses his hand down in order to keep my leg in place. “Stu.” What’s meant to be a scolding comes out too sleepy and slurred. It practically sounds like a whine. “’M serious.”

Stu’s nails drag up my skin. My breath catches in my throat oddly, a tiny sound slipping out. “Serious about what?” My lips part, but no words are ready to come out. “You’re okay,” he whispers, “Just watch the movie, angel.” I’m too buzzed to do anything but nod. “Want more to drink?”

“She’s done,” Billy squeezes my forearm, “Anymore and she’ll get sick.”

The thought of drinking anymore does twist my stomach. Sometimes the way Billy reads people is a tiny bit eerie. I nod against his arm, squeezing his hand. Stu shrugs, turning back to the movie without moving his hand from my thigh.

By the time the movie’s ending, the fact that I’m aware of anything is a miracle. I only fell asleep once and woke up to the feeling of Stu squeezing my thigh. The fact that my initial reaction wasn’t to try to get him to knock it off, but to pretend to still be asleep scared me so much I didn’t let myself relax for the rest of the movie.

"She asleep?” Stu’s voice is barely louder than the sound of still rolling credits.

I shift against Billy in a sad attempt to sit up fully with no support. “Still awake,” my voice is too drowsy, I try a little harder to sit up before wiping my eyes. “’M up.”

Billy keeps a hand on my arm in an attempt to help stabilize me. “Clearly.” I try throwing a sarcastic look in his direction, but it feels kind of pathetic. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Stu grabs my hand, pulling on my arm before I can respond. They help me stand and stay up. They’re attentive as we move up the stairs, pausing and holding me a little tighter each time I threaten to sway or stumble. I’m barely there by the time we get to my room.

The second I see my bed, I abandon them both in favor of finding my mattress. I stumble, pulling back my sheets before laying down. Billy sits down on the other side of the bed. I roll onto my stomach in order to reach for him. My hand falls short, but Billy moves to compensate for my lethargy.

I can barely lift my head off of the mattress, “Hi.”

His hand is on my back, moving in small circles. “Hi,” he echoes. I smile at nothing in particular as I try to keep my eyes open. “You need sleep.”

With a laugh, I turn onto my back. Billy moves his hand away, looking at me sternly as I continue to giggle. “Astute observation.” I lazily try to wipe the sleep from my eyes. “Weird word, huh?” Using the last of my energy to sit up, I laugh again. The sound gets cut short by a yawn. “Never really thought about it before the SAT.”

“Uh-huh,” Stu starts, placing a hand on my shoulder, “You spent who knows how long with your nose in an SAT prep book, we get it. Now go to sleep.”

My head lulls to the side, mainly subconscious protest must be visible on my face because Stu pushes against my shoulder and that’s all it takes for my back to fall flat against my bed. My eyes go wide in surprise. I shift like I want to sit up, but then decide to just roll onto my side. “That wasn’t nice.”

He sits next to me, “I’ll make it up to you in the morning.” My eyes are now shut but I can hear his movements. The feel of a hand brushing against my side should alarm me more. I open my eyes just enough to see Stu lying next to me. “Promise.”

I hum vaguely in agreement, nodding my head more into my sheets than anything else. I’m so close to sleep I barely register the feeling of Billy’s hand against my back, moving in the same circular motions as before.

The last thing I register before falling fully asleep is the light getting turned off and long fingers brushing against my neck. I’m in a state that’s more dream than reality when something oddly sharp--but not painful--quickly brushes against my neck. Before I can think about it, I’m pulled under.

----

Narrator’s POV

Stu can’t help it. He’s been trying to keep it together all night, trying to pace himself and hold onto the way he’s supposed to act, but it’s been getting increasingly harder around you. Especially tonight.

The urge to break character, in a sense, isn’t his fault. Not really. How is he supposed to focus and play best friend’s boyfriend when you’re everywhere? The postures and pictures on your wall, the overflowing, well loved bookshelf in the corner, and your sheets. The dainty floral pattern, the softness of the cotton, and the way that they smell so much like you. He can’t stop imagining what it’d feel like to press your face into them as you took him from behind.

He thought being in your room would be easy. It’s not like he’s never checked it out before, but only while you weren’t home. But being here with you? A drunk, touchy, needy you? Almost impossible. He’s been trying to hide how hard he is all night.

But now you’re asleep, and the alcohol he kept getting you to drink is guaranteed to keep you that way until late morning. His hands have been all over you since he first realized that your breathing evened out. He moves one hand to palm himself over his pants. His free hand trails down your side, squeezing your hip.

“Go to sleep.” Billy’s voice isn’t tired, just a little flat, and maybe a tiny bit annoyed.

Stu recognizes the lack of demand in Billy’s tone and decides that his words are more of a ‘knock it off’ than a serious ‘stop’. “Like you’re not hard.” Stu’s fingers brush against the hem of your shorts. “Y/n said she needed us and then spent two and a half hours basically laying on top of you.” Stu slips his hand beneath the waistband of his pajama pants, knowing that with a few more words he could finally get some release. “Remember yesterday?” Stu groans, his hand moving down his length. “You came to the thought of that.”

Billy stays still, ignoring a feeling he’s been in control of since early in the night. “It’s too soon.” He glances at you, so tired and so needy. “We push anymore tonight and we won’t be able to blame it on drinking.” Your breath flutters slightly, your chest expanding a bit more than usual. “If she thinks anything’s up she won’t talk to us anymore. She’s still too close to Sidney and Tatum.”

“Relax,” Stu sighs, his hand moving a little bit faster, “Sh-she drank enough to keep her knocked out until tomorrow. Fuck.” Stu turns his head at the sound of Billy moving. He frowns dramatically when he realizes that the movement was just Billy brushing his knuckles over your cheek in order to sooth you and make sure you’re still sleeping comfortably. “You’re babying her, we should just talk her into it already.” Stu likes the thought of that more than he can put into words. The three of you, like it should be. “Should’ve felt her when my hand was on her thigh. She--fuck--she was shaking, pretending to be asleep.”

Billy lets out a breath, reaching over for Stu lazily. You don’t even shift at the motion. “You think I’m babying her, but she’s the one that has you wrapped around her finger.”

Stu parts his lips to protest, but Billy pushes his hand beneath the waistband of Stu’s pants before he can get the words out. “Shit,” Stu’s breath hitches, “Fuck you, Y/n lets me do whatever I wan-want.” Billy moves his hand at a pace that’s agonizing. “She wouldn’t stop me if I-”

Stu cuts himself off with a groan. Billy finishes the sentence for him, “If you spread her legs apart, pulled those tiny shorts to the side, and ate her out until she’s crying.” With each word, Billy picks up his pace, indifferent to Stu’s whines. “You want to do that?”

“Yes,” Stu doesn’t hesitate, “Fuck, yes.”

“She’d squirm under you like before.” God, Stu’s practically seeing stars. “She’d let us fuck her like a whore.”

Stu bites his tongue to suppress a whine, his fingertips digging into your hip. “Shit, I’m close.”

Billy moves his hand up, pulling it away from Stu slowly. He ignores Stu’s whine. “Go to sleep.”

----

Taglist: @cole22ann @womenarecannibals @fand0mskullfa1ry @princessleah129

#scream #scream x reader #scream 1996 #billy loomis #billy loomis x reader #stu macher #stu macher x reader #ghostface #ghostface x reader #poly!ghostface #poly! ghost face x reader #x reader #final girl fic

805 notes · View notes