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shintorikhazumi · 3 years

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Honey

A/N: Clearly, based on Kehlani’s song. Also, One, I did not try to learn the song on guitar just for this fic… Two, this may or may not be an advertisement to the Pole Dancing! AU I’m planning once I’ve completed A Warm Diana. That pole dancing au is completely separate from that one-shot I released, “Dance For Me.”, though it’s possible that a chapter may be named as such. Been a while since I did a songfic so… woot. The events here probably won’t happen in the final AU tho, but the world details are shared~. Not as much pole dancing as the last, sorry

Dedicated to @kagarikhylev, thank you! I said last, last weekend but I got swamped by college starting up again, all the LWA reposts to ao3 since I’m behind, and just generally… being distracted by a lot of things, so deepest apologies.

This fic may or may not be good. I am screwed because I have a 7am quiz and it’s 9:48pm, and I did not study a thing. Priorities, amiright? My concentration is busted.

Also. Diana is an idiot.

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

Honey

“I like my girls just like I like my honey, sweet

A little selfish…”

She walks through the halls, following the echoing of unfamiliar lyrics against the empty corridor. The clock ticks just that bit closer to five in the afternoon, and the east wing is relatively empty, save for the presence of a voice carrying that pleasant tune, and words that pique her interest. At the moment, she should be on her usual search for her friend who has been avoiding her like a pandemic these past few days, but her body is keen on taking a detour, her ears the leader that guides her whole way. Eventually, she finds herself standing in front of the sliding door to one of the dance course’s practice rooms. She expects that to be here, seeing as the music programs featuring vocal and instrumental courses held their classes on the opposite side of the large building, according to the map posted down the hall.

What she isn’t expecting is the singing present in the air. Because why would singing come from here? From a dance major?

While singing might not be solely reserved for the ones actually studying it, it is a rarity for occasions such as this to happen in a school that had students ready to ridicule anyone not up to par with their personal standard of skill. This holds especially true for those majoring in classical music as they often have their heads lifted high, considering their genre to be ‘superior’ to the rest.

So, she understands why theater children stick to theater, why dance majors stick to moving their bodies to the beat, and why people aiming to get into Philharmonic- much like her- only stick to performing and doing what they do best, in-and-out of class hours.

Here, in this institution, resides a slightly toxic, competitive atmosphere that forces you to give your all for your craft, and not insult others by dabbling in their own specialties half-heartedly. There is no encouragement, there is no beautiful rivalry.

Or at least, that’s what she’s known since entering both vocal and instrumental programs. As a flutist, in particular, there remains quite a bit of competition for seats in their prestigious school’s main touring orchestra, so auditions that may as well be full-blown battles were common. The dance majors always look so friendly from afar, though; maybe they are different.

And maybe that’s why they remain the school’s outcasts.

Breathing out her thoughts into a puff of air to clear her mind, she peeks through the small window of the room’s door. Her eyes widen in surprise, but pink lips tip into a fond smile as she spots a familiar tuft of brunette hair in that signature hairstyle she knew all too well. The one she’s been looking for.

‘What a treat.’

She leans heavier on the glass, pressing her ear against the door, believing it might allow her to hear this secret serenade better.

“I like my women like I like my money, green

A little jealous-“

In the light of the late afternoon sun, the singer is enchanting, magical. Reflected through ocean blues, she always has been. Ever since they first met. But something’s changed. There is a different kind of blossoming taking place in the musician’s heart. She doesn’t understand it. But she wants to. However, she wants to understand it with that particular girl- singing with abandon on the floor, antique guitar in her lap- by her side, but being avoided doesn’t make her need any easier to satisfy.

She doesn’t understand it at all. Why she can’t solve it on her own. She doesn’t understand why she’d being avoided either.

Hums ease the creases that have subconsciously formed on her forehead, the gentle voice tickling her ears pleasantly. It eases a weight off her soul, and she relishes in the ambience of the present hour.

She would have loved to listen for much longer had she not accidentally placed her full weight on the door at the wrong angle, sliding it open with a very audible screech. And the next thing she knows, she’s falling forward, and the floor comes up, about to give her a kiss she won’t forget, and it’s not the one she would have preferred.

But no, that should not happen. If her moniker of ‘Miss Perfect’ was anything to go by, she is sure she can do anything. Including catching herself against the now stuck door, leaving her bent in an awkward posture, face hovering inches off the floor. The sudden chain of actions has her heart jump up to her throat, all the calm air in her lungs stolen by shock. She remains in an awkward position for a while longer, gathering her bearings, and thankful she didn’t injure herself with what had just occurred. The room’s occupant is just as surprised as she is, apparently.

Shaking away her initial wide-eyed expression and donning an appreciative smile, she poses a casual statement, trying to brush off the awkward situation as she stands up to her full height, brushing imaginary dust off her jacket at the same time.

“I didn’t know you could play the guitar.”

There’s a curious pause, wine-red eyes stunned at the brash intrusion to her solo afternoon world. The perpetrator feels her toes clench in nerves, hidden behind closed shoes. She’s hoping her companion wouldn’t just… stare. She’s certain those eyes have a million questions running amok in her pretty little head, but she is beginning to feel the heat rising its steady course up her face, and is unsure she could handle this atmospheric pressure any longer.

By some deity’s saving grace, there’s a blink to reboot the mind of those same questioning eyes, the room’s initial occupant finally managing a response. “It’s a little hobby… I almost didn’t hear you come in.” Stood by the door, the newcomer wonders if that was meant to be a joking or a literal statement.

“And you never said you could sing.”

“I don’t.” The guitar is kept to the side, in a place hidden from the immediate view of anyone casually visiting the room. “I dance, is what I do.”

“I know.” The flutist replies as casually as she strives to look in these strange moments; she hopes to keep the conversation flowing, to keep the person in front of her from leaving her side again. “I watch you.”

“Of course, you do.”

//-//-//-//-//

She wonders what the song is all week. It replays over and over in her head in class. It haunts her dreams at night, and plagues her in the waking hours. She even unconsciously hums it while doing her homework in the library. This leaves her friend, Hannah, wide-eyed.

And she appears to be wide-eyed as well.

“Diana!” Is the harsh whisper in her ear. She doesn’t like the feeling of hot air there, but her astonishment at the fact that this song has now consumed her renders her the tiniest bit numb.

“What.” Diana replies just as quiet, but softer in delivery.

“Why are you singing that?” The brunette queries, voice no longer a whisper, and away from Diana’s ear, but low enough to not be overheard by anyone else in the vicinity. She doesn’t look mad, nor is she upset. Diana takes note of this. She’s merely… very, very befuddled.

“Is something the matter? I think I like the tune.”

“…”

“Hannah?”

“Do you really not know what that song is about?” Is the bewildered reply. “I mean… I know you aren’t that straight, m’lady…or at all…” The last part, she whispers under her breath. “but… like… I didn’t think you would expose yourself like this?”

With the faintest flush on her cheeks, Diana responds in confusion. “What are you saying? Am I not supposed to like this song?”

The shorter girl is taken aback slightly. “N-no, you can like… it. Just… your voice professor would have a heart attack if she hears you sing that and knows the song, so let’s not. Okay? Not in public, at least. Especially with your status.” She huffs, then whips her head back up, recalling something. “Don’t play it on you flute either. I see Barbara wasn’t lying when she freaked out earlier at lunch telling me about this.”

“I still fail to understand the problem?” Diana states, impatient as her foot taps on the wooden floorboards.

“Of course. Because you’re dense.” Is the offensive reply she gets. Before she can retort, or pose further question, Hannah takes her by the hand, clearing up all their stuff single-handedly with the other, showcasing surprising efficiency; and she drags her friend right out of the area.

As they turn into a relatively empty hall, the heiress’ hand is released, and she walks side-by-side with her friend who releases a snort that is succeeded by a fit of giggles that are quickly replaced with bouts of laughter. The brunette bends over, hitting her knees, tears at the corners of her eyes.

“Diana, you utter idiot.”

“Wha-“

All too quickly, the laughs dissipate and a serious Hannah slaps her hand on Diana’s shoulders in a firm grip.

“I would have hoped you’d look up the lyrics if you recalled them, but then again, you’re hopeless with technology. Or if you only heard the tune… well, I guess that’s understandable too.” The brunette patted her cheek fondly.

“It’s called Honey.” And Hannah finally tells her the title she’s been seeking; feeling grateful she hugs her friend.

“Wh-what’s happening?! Will I die tomorrow?”

“You overreact.” Diana rolls her eyes, but smiles nonetheless. “Thank you.”

“Don’t listen to it too much that you become addicted. Don’t want to catch you at the head of even more rumors than you already are.” Her shorter friend teases, picking up the materials she dropped earlier as she made a grab at Diana. “I’m serious.”

“Do you doubt my self-control?”

“After meeting her, what I do doubt is if you have much left.”

Diana splutters, chasing after the fleeing imp sticking her tongue out at her.

She’ll get back at her.

Hannah is rarely right over her, after all.

//-//-//-//-//

Hannah is right, after all.

Immediately after reaching her room, Diana had looked it up; her barely cooperating fingers carefully typing in five simple letters… that soon became nine with a space between the previous ones and new ones as she clearly knows that she’s not looking to view videos of bees and liquid gold in glass jars.

And after the first click, she’s defeated. She listens to it over and over.

And over.

And over again.

//-//-//-//-//

[“'Cause I'm a beautiful wreck

A colorful mess, but I'm funny”]

The video plays on her phone for the thirtieth time that day. Considering that it is barely noon, with classes in between this time and the moment she woke up, that’s probably a lot of repeats. It isn’t unhealthy yet. Right?

And she likes the song. It plays well in the background as she does her homework. She’s too distracted for the lyrics to register properly in her mind anyway.

So a woman was singing about her companion who she seemed to be very loyal to. Just as Diana was to her new best friend. The singer also appeared to be bragging about their charm… and their preferences on women’s attitudes? Or visuals? Did this person like green-skinned ladies?? Who happened to be jealous and tasted sweet? Diana always thought the skin had a more… salty flavor to it.

Maybe she should ask what her new friend, Akko, thinks about this. She has been slowly sharing bits and pieces of her world to the unknowing prodigy, and she always likes hearing the brunette’s opinion on various subjects. Akko’s opinion.

Ah, yes. Akko. Right.

And Diana goes back to that afternoon with Akko and the guitar. The catalyst for this strange addiction to Honey. Not the food, she added to herself. The song.

The song, yes, now entering the thirty-first cycle. As the words came to play with the dancing melodies, Diana muses that the lyrics certainly suit the girl who had introduced this wonderful song to her.

[“'Cause I'm a beautiful wreck

A colorful mess, but I'm funny”]

And she reaches this part once more, still thinking of the one named Kagari Atsuko. The dance major, and her newest best friend. Friend. Yes, that’s what her other friends had said. She's been spending far too much time; sparing too much attention on her… friend, so they were a little lonely.

She digresses.

Anyway. Akko. Yes. She may not be much of a wreck– scratch that, maybe she was. Diana chuckles. Nevertheless, as the lyrics preach over and over, she was a beautiful one. Incredibly so.

She is all the vivid colors of the world, incredibly funny. Diana is not one for comedy, but Akko pulls laughs out of her with fabulous ease.

She closes her eyes, seeing that loveable face blinding her with the brightness of the sun, encompassing her with its warmth, and inspiring her each day. What an amazing friend.

As blues are revealed to the world behind the fluttering of thick lashes, she takes in the vast rehearsal room designed for the practices and assessments of the dance majors for ballroom. It houses a piano and a few of the larger percussion instruments for the live accompaniment of collaborating music majors. It also serves as the general area of practice for when the school would prepare for their showcases and events. Or well, this room used to be all of that. Now, it simply remains as a spare practice and storage room.

After the students had fallen into an unfixable dispute due to their hardheadedness towards their differences, collaborations seldom happen. When they do occur, they are looked down upon by the rest of the body. It was a shameful ordeal, supposedly.

It is a shame, Diana agrees. That they would sacrifice the beauty of performance for pride.

Only the people who come to utilize all this free space clean it before and after using. That is rare as well. Anyone who reserves this room becomes the target of rumors to want to unify a broken crowd.

And nobody wants that. That’s what the populace says.

The poor unused floorboards, the scarcely maintained instruments and tools… and here she sits at the aforementioned sad piano, lid sliding open, fingers splaying across ivory keys. She punches a note. And another, and the tune that has been imprisoned in her mind- or has it imprisoned her mind- is now escaping into the air, into the theme that fills her senses. She first tests it out with just the melody on one hand, but then her left comes to join in the only dance she really knows how to do.

This moment is hers alone. No one can come to break it.

Hannah can’t complain if she goes against her advice and performs the song for no one anyway.

A beautiful song for a beautiful no one.

She caresses it like a ballad, hands deftly sweeping over the keys, light and gentle.

Piano used to be her first love. Her mother loved it more. After she passed, Diana had lost many competitions, and she was forbidden from touching one ever again.

Only in secret could she stroke her lover’s keys, that beautiful ivory, that shimmering black. Only in secret could she kiss the melodies with all her affection, press down with the right pressure to allow the instrument to voice its beautiful moan of music.

Only in secret would could she play this song on repeat; only in secret could she play it herself; only in secret could she think on the lyrics well; only in secret would she link every syllable to one girl.

Only in secret could she wish she were here.

Only in secret could she realize and admit,

“I love you… Akko…”

A clanging sound, loud, metallic.

There’s a pole rolling on the floor, and the sound of shuffling, a figure scrambling to gather her belongings now scattered everywhere.

“…Akko.”

“Diana. Hi.” Rubies flit about, landing temporarily on anything not Diana. “You… were practicing… a thing?” Her voice is choked, its timbre pitched higher than the usual. “I guess I should leave you-“

“NO!” She doesn’t mean to yell, but her desperation has the better of her. She only has so little time to stop the girl from escaping her again. “S-stay. I… I mean… stay? Please stay? Please Stay.” She says the same words in different ways and tones, unsure. “Don’t… leave me.”

A nod is the only movement the frozen body can manage. There’s this stillness between them before Diana pushes out words from her frenzied mind.

“C-come here?” She pats the bench beside her awkwardly, not knowing if her invitation was a welcome one. She breathes a sigh of relief when Akko places her things to the side, neatly against the wall before walking up to her, standing by the bench, staring at the hand still covering the seat.

She hesitates.

“Sit?”

She does. She leaves a hand’s-width of space between them.

And it’s a painful silence.

One Diana tries to break.

“Hi.” She seeks her eyes.

“Hi.” They don’t seek hers. “What did you call me here for?” Akko asks nervously, feet shuffling against the floor.

Think fast, Diana. Anything to make her stay longer.

And it’s only honey on her mind once more. Her saving grace. “C-Could you sing that song for me once more?” Akko looks like she’s having difficulty recalling. “The one I walked in on...”

Akko bites her lip nervously as she contemplates that, and Dear mother of Cavendish Diana finds that so attractive.

“I don’t… think I know what you’re talking about.” The dancer plays dumb.

But Diana wants her plan of… whatever she’s trying to do… to work. So, her mind, as helpful as it is, hides the memory of the title she’s replayed over and over. She tries to tell her the song anyway. As best she can.

“It’s… it’s the one about loyal friendship.”

“F-friendship?” If Akko had been playing dumb earlier, she no longer was. She doesn’t recall singing a song about friendship…

“And the singer boasting of their charm… and their… preferences for women, I suppose? Or maybe it’s not friendship. Companionship? Partnership? The one where… something about jealousy and sweetness and colors, and flying- and dear Beatrix, I deeply apologize for my incompetence, Akko…” Diana covers her face in a shame that’s burning the blonde alive.

Silence.

“Pffft- what the hell Diana, ahahahaha.” Akko finally loosens all that tension she imposes on Diana, relenting. Diana was just too irresistible. Knocking lightly against the music major’s head, she makes known the song’s name once more. “It’s called Honey.”

She doesn’t understand this sudden change in mood, in mind, but Diana now has the opportunity to play it cool, her plan of keeping Akko there, having Akko want to stay there is working. So despite not understanding, she welcomes this in comparison with the cold she’s received as of late.

“O-Oh? I didn’t know that.” But of course, Diana does. Clearly.

“Well, you do suck at using your phone. And your laptop. And the internet.”

“Akko!”

And there’s that pretty pink flush on her face once more, annoying her.

“Fine.” Akko says.

“Huh?”

“I’ll sing it.”

“Y-you will?!” Diana finds herself standing excitedly, hands clutching Akko’s.

“Wow, you really must want to hear that song.”

“I… I’ve been a little curious…”

Akko smiles that gorgeous, honest smile. “I can see that.” She gets up as well, facing Diana, but then remembering something. “Ah! But… what time is it… I was supposed to be practicing for the show at the bar later, and I have class in-” The time read two pm, on the dot. “Shit, I only have an hour, and I have to leave for my job right after the lesson…”

That explains the pole she had with her.

It was no secret to Diana that Akko had gone to school here at Luna Nova against her parents wishes. Akko also worked a night job, pole dancing in secret. It was- is her passion. Not to entice people into desiring her body, by any means, but to tell a story of grace, honor, sensuality, and honesty through her dance.

And the medium Akko chooses is the pole.

“Oh, I know!” The brunette interrupts her reverie. “How ‘bout you play the song again, and I’ll practice to it. The music I was going to use has roughly the same tempo, I think.”

“…are you going to sing while dancing?” Diana speaks to the retreating back that moves to prepare her set-up, Akko loosening a secret portion of wood on the floor away to reveal a hole that would snuggly hold her practice pole in place.

“Eh, why not?” She shrugs, nonchalantly and Diana is amazed by her as always. “Two birds with one pole, or something.”

“Stone.”

“Same thing.”

Finishing her little stage, Akko smiles in triumph, chucking her jacket and jogging pants to the side without a care. Not even for Diana who pries her eyes away from toned muscle.

“Ready when you are.”

Diana isn’t, but she plays for Akko’s sake anyway. Her hands traverse the keys on instinct, eyes on the slender figure that begins its preliminary moves in grace and desire.

Red meets blue and the show starts.

“I like my girls just like I like my honey, sweet~

A little selfish”

It’s a simple twirl about the pole, with a wink thrown in, but Diana thinks it’s the most spectacular motion already.

“I like my women like I like my money, green

A little jealous”

And there’s the pleasant laugh she adores.

“'Cause I'm a beautiful wreck

A colorful mess, but I'm funny”

Akko sings in that strong voice, as she runs her hands through her hair, shaking the strands loose as she prances around the metal shaft before clutching onto it, allowing herself to fly through the air. By the next line, she’s sliding down painfully slow, body pressed against the reflective equipment in the room, eyes locked with Diana’s. A hand clutches the thin fabric barely covering her chest, the other reaching out to pull Diana in, only strong legs keeping her up.

“Oh, I'm a heartbreak vet

With a stone-cold neck, yeah, I'm charmin'”

‘You truly are…’ Diana says to herself, her heart starting to physically hurt with the desire to touch, and to hold in her arms. That smile shot at her was simply unfair.

“All the pretty girls in the world

But I'm in this space with you”

For a second, Diana feels as though Akko were speaking these words to her for real. That idea makes it that much tighter in her chest. There was no way. That Akko finds her appealing like that, that she would choose to stay with Diana here… Diana… hadn’t forced her to do this little thing they were having at the moment, right?

“Colored out the lines

I came to find, my fire was fate with you”

‘Fate…’ Her sight turns bleary, but she doesn’t understand why. Warmth traces after the wetness that rolls down one cheek. And that hand surprises her, cupping her cheek, prompting her to look up into emotional pools of red that are very, very close. Their proximity is far too close. “Wha-“ When had Akko…

“Heartache would stay with you

Fly great escapes with you, oh…”

-are the murmured lyrics, breaths ragged puffs of air brushing against her parted lips. A hand rested over her own that had now crumpled the cloth of her shirt over her chest, fist gripped tightly.

“You… stopped…hah… playing… Diana.” Akko gets out, breathing uneven the sudden change of her moving body to its stationary state.

Ah. She has. Her other hand is simply resting on the keys, motionless. She feels kind of bad now, to have cut Akko’s practice performance short; but she can’t even work a reply out. Her lips tremble, facial muscles feel wobbly.

“Hmm… that’s no good. I can’t complete your request without your help.” Akko muses, taking a deep breath of air as she pulls away from the shaken heiress. Index finger of her free hand tapping against her cheek, her eyes lit up in realization. “I know!”

“H-huh…?”

“Diana.” At the call of her name, she offers her attention. “Come dance with me.”

“W-wait, I can’t-“

But it’s too late for that, and she’s easily dragged by the overwhelming force of Akko’s strength built from the foundation of dancing and every other physical activity she must have done to mold her body into the shape that it is now. Striking, alluring, lean, and every bit the exquisite art that Diana sees it as.

And now said art presses against her back, pushing her against the cold metal Akko clings on to on a regular basis. Hands guide her own to grasp the bar, and soon they slowly spin. A soft voice hums into her ear, those sounds turning into the lyrics she’s far past memorizing now.

They are engraved in her very heart.

“I countdown to the clock, saw you awake

Don't walk away, or would you wait for me?”

How ironic that Akko should sing this for her. When Diana has been the one pleading for her to stay day by day- maybe not in words, but in her gestures, in her eyes, in her sighs. How hurtful she was being, when Diana has been the one seeking after her. When Diana is already the one waiting.

How cruel, Akko.

“I go out to the bar, fuck hangin' with the stars

Don't even have a car, but you would wait for me, mm-hmm”

A shiver crawls up her neck, tiny hairs upright as Akko’s lips vibrate against the skin there as she hums the end of the line. The touch is ghostly, barely there, but Diana knows. She knows.

It was painful.

So, so painful for Diana.

Akko feels that pain as it drips onto the arm she has wrapped around Diana’s waist, the girl curling into herself as she bites her lip to keep her sobs trapped within.

“I-I’m sorry, I… I don’t know what’s come over me, I should just!” She wants to escape. Just escape and run from the confusion that hangs in shadows over her clarity.

But Akko doesn’t let her.

Quickly, she’s in a tighter hold, a gentler hold; the scent of strawberries and sweat permeating the bubble of air they are locked in. Her eyes see black as a hand goes over to cover them; she feels Akko’s movements through the back of her shirt.

They make another twirl.

Everything in her heart stirs along with the motion; it aches.

“All, all, all…”

Diana waits for those familiar lyrics to go on, each word digging painfully into her, because, in the end, that’s all they are. Lyrics. Lyrics that make her realize just what it is that draws her like a moth to the everlasting brightness that is Kagari Atsuko.

What it is that keeps her listening, if only to fuel her imagination when all these lines point to the same girl, painting pictures in her dreams of them walking aimlessly on a street, Akko smiling at her, laughing with her. So beautifully.

“…all the pretty girls in the world…”

She braces herself for the same old lines, ones that mean nothing but the words to catchy music.

“But they don’t compare to you.”

And they don’t come. The change of words had her whip her head up, craning her neck to look behind her, puzzled; Akko had already hidden herself against Diana’s nape. Those… That’s… not… how she remembered the song…

“You’re the color of my life

I’d battle fate if it meant I’d stay with you”

“That’s…”

“My heart aches; it longs for you”

“That isn’t…”

…

“…I know I’m in love with you.”

And Akko releases her, stepping away from the pole, and from her. It’s all cold again, freezing the blood that pumps through her veins after the bombardment to her senses.

“I’m sorry.” There are tears in Akko’s eyes now. And she just stops singing altogether. “I’m sorry.” Her voice loses that melody, now replaced by sobs. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s…”

“You must have realized, right? What I’m feeling.” She smiles grimly. “Ugly, dirty… wrong feelings… for someone like my best friend… and… I’m sorry I made you cry. You must have felt creeped out and harassed, huh? You must have been scared because I wouldn’t let you go…”

“That isn’t, that’s-“

“I’m sorry, forcing myself onto you after being so cold. I… I didn’t mean to avoid you, I just-“ She meets the confusion that clouds the sky in Diana’s eyes. “I didn’t want you to know if by chance you didn’t feel the same way.”

“That’s…”

“I… when I came into the room, I thought I’d heard wrong. What you said… the… c-confession…” Akko clenches her eyes shut, willing the tears away. “But then you said the song was about friends, so I probably have the wrong idea, and you might have just meant that you… l-love me as a friend.” She sniffles. “So, I’m sorry. I just…” I sob rips its way past the barriers of her lips, and more tears spill down apple-red cheeks. “I didn’t want you to find out like this… but I’ve… for so long…”

A beat passes, and Akko’s teary hiccups, and the pair’s mismatched breathing are the only sounds that remain in the room.

“You… You can reject me now, or something. Please don’t be this quiet, Diana.” Akko laughs bitterly, saltiness escaping sealed eyes. “I guess, I just couldn’t help it any more. Ran out of options, had nothing else I wanted to do here but tell you I love you.”

Another beat. There’s a breeze that rustles the leaves outside closed windows. Breaths calm, and the only noise that remains is the occasional sniff.

“Please just say something so I can leave.” Akko whispers, only for them to hear.

“That’s… that’s wrong.” Diana finally manages to complete her sentence.

“Loving you? Yeah. I know.”

“No.”

“Oh, leaving after telling you something so imposing like that-?”

“No, what’s wrong is… That… That’s not…”

“That’s not what, Diana?” Akko asks, a little high-strung from everything. “You’ve been repeating those words a while now.”

“That’s…”

“Hmm?”

“That’s not how the lyrics go…”

“…”

“…Diana, you dense little- mrrnngghhh!” Akko reaches forward, hands almost touching Diana’s cheeks before they pinch the air, shaking with whatever feeling fueled her strength to have her hands trembling like that. “I cannot believe you. I just… I just confessed to you, poured my heart and soul out, and all you remember, all you can say about that WHOLE thing, was that I got my lyrics wrong?!”

Akko fumes, red in the face with frustration, or sadness, or confusion, or maybe all of those combined.

“… yes?”

“Well, ain’t that great, then?” Akko sarcastically utters. “You seem relatively unaffected by all of this. Guess I should have only worried about unrequited feelings.” She begins trudging toward her water bottle by the window, donning her jacket after taking a few sips.

She is just about ready to leave.

“What next? You at least want to stay friends now? I can stay friends if you give me… space for the next couple of days to get over you-“

“Why would you have to do that? Can’t we be friends at the same time?”

“Huh?”

The pair blinks synchronously in their shared confusion.

“I mean... Don’t we feel the same way? I know dating follows after these kinds of events… and then we become l-lovers… but I believe that being best friends on top of that is even more wonderful-“

“Waitwaitwaitwait, hold it! Hold it right there!” Akko waves her arms frantically in front of her.

“I- what do I hold… exactly?”

Slapping a hand over her face, Akko lets all this information sink in, processing it with her brain that has definitely shrunk from all the stupidity taking place in one room. Is it her? Or is it Diana? The one who is misunderstanding things? Or are they both not coming to an understanding? Do they just not understand each other?

“So let me get this straight…” Akko pinches the bridge of her nose, a migraine coming on.

“Of course.”

“We’re both not straight.”

“… ah.”

Akko looks to her companion curiously at the weird sound.

“That’s what Hannah meant.” Diana says with an audible snap of her fingers, face looking very enlightened, a smile decorating her features.

“…”

“Eh- Akko? Where are we going? Akko?!”

“I could kill you right now, but it’s almost time for my class. You are coming with me to work, and we will talk about this afterwards.”

“Understood.”

“Finally! One of us understands.” She drags Diana behind her, marching towards her classroom.

“Then, why must I accompany you to your class?”

“…”

“Akko?”

Diana feels a tingle in her heart at the sight of red-tipped ears, at the feeling of a heated hand holding hers, and words that are the lyrics to the best song she’ll ever hear in her lifetime.

“I love you, and I just found out you love me too… so I wanted to kiss you…”

Diana’s smile grows wider, now a stupid grin on her face. “But?”

“I’m late for class, so staring at you will have to suffice.” The blonde is pleased to know they both have their priorities set. Though she wouldn’t have minded straying from time-to-time.

“Understood.”

“You’re beginning to understand a lot of things now, it seems.”

“Naturally. I’m a fast learner.” Diana boasts. Akko simply rolls her eyes at that. “Am I allowed to stay with you in your class? What is your next class, anyway?”

“I think it’s the required language class?”

“Oh, I have that now too... Wait- we share that class, don’t we?” Diana realizes, her steps speeding up and now she’s the one dragging Akko.

“Oh, right~, wait- Diana?”

“We have a quiz in that subject.”

“…”

“Fucking run, Diana! Remember stuff like that and tell me sooner! You idiot best friend!”

“I’m your lover now too!”

“JUST. RUN.”

“I love you too, Akko.”

“I love you most.”

//-//-//-//-//

“I (I), I like my girls just like I like my honey, sweet

A little selfish… huh”

“You’re selfish”

Akko pauses in her guitar playing to slap the blonde’s hand.

“I like my women like I like my money, green” Both chuckle at the joke only they share; Diana rolling her eyes, sporting a blush, her minty strands fluttering in the wind. “A little jealous”

“Am not.”

“Are too.” Akko teases, kissing red cheeks.

“Oh, I'm a beautiful wreck

A colorful mess, but I'm funny”

“You are.”

“Oh, I'm a heartbreak vet (oh)

With a stone-cold neck, I'm so charmin', oh, oh”

Shifting to a position behind Akko on the little hill they’ve chosen for their first date, Diana wraps her arms around the slender waist, planting a kiss to Akko’s shoulder blade before resting her head on the girl’s shoulder, positioned in a way that she could just watch the expressions on her girlfriend’s face.

“I love you.”

Akko gives her a wink as she continues her song, everything she is- her tone, her warmth, her body language- exclaiming that she loves Diana back in the way words can’t.

“La-la-la-la-la-la-la

Do-do-do do-do

Ooh

Do-do-do do-do

Da-da-da da-da

Isn't love all we need? Is it love?

Do-do-do do-do

To be the same prophesy? Is it love?

Do-do-do do-do

Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti, is it love?

Do-do-do do-do

Love (ooh), do-do-do do-do”

It’s a sweet kiss. Gentle, intense, with all the colors of the rainbow, and the passion of the burning sun.

Just like Honey.

“It’s love.”

A/N: If you’re wondering what Diana typed, it was “Honey song” because she doesn’t know the artist. Aren’t we glad Diana is such a smart lass?

Also, this was not supposed to be this long and frustrating. Sorry for the mess and bad plot?

Comments, kudos, reblogs, any feedback is always welcomed!

~Shintori Khazumi

#honey #kagarikhylev #lwa #Little Witch Academia #fanfic #songfic #dianakko #diakko #diana cavendish #akko kagari #hannah england #diana x akko

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beardycarrot · 3 years

Text

I, lying awake in bed because that’s how it always is the day before you have something important to do... am going to try to guess what the plot of Bioshock Infinite is, based on what I’ve seen in the first few hours and with knowledge of the other two (and a half?) games. Spoilers for the entire Bioshock series, except maybe Infinite, but I intend to knock it out of the park.

So. The first Bioshock is set in a futuristic (by 1950’s standards) city at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, created by a hardcore libertarian named Andrew Ryan as a way to once and for all live in a society free of government regulation. I won’t get into all the “sea slugs that produce a gene-altering wonder drug” and “child slaves brainwashed to drink corpse blood” stuff; very interesting, very important to the plot, but if I tried to explain the world of Bioshock I’d be lying here typing on my phone until the sun comes up. That stuff aside, the major plot points are that you’re not actually a guy who just happened to crash-land near the entrance to the city but are, in fact, Andrew Ryan’s son, and the guy who’s been guiding you through the city was actually using a Manchurian Candidate-style activation phrase to manipulate you into doing whatever he wanted. It’s a big, mind-blowing reveal (as is the realization that your character is actually about four years old... science fiction, man).

Bioshock 2 didn’t really have any big plot twists... or plot, for that matter ...but it was developed by an entirely different team, while the original’s team also did Infinite, so I’m expecting a return to form. Just as an aside, Bioshock 2 had a short DLC campaign called Minerva’s Den, which had a fantastic story, and a twist that the player can figure out on their own if they’re paying attention. Your goal is to get a very smart computer (for 1968) out of the underwater city and back to the surface so you can use it to cure all the victims of the slug-borne gene manipulation, and you’re guided over radio by the computer’s creator. At the end, you learn that the one guiding you was actually the computer itself, and that you’re its creator, slowly recovering from brainwashing. For the record, the endings to all three of these have made me cry.

So! With those kinds of twists in mind, what am I expecting from Bioshock Infinite? Well, I went into the game only knowing the names of the protagonists, that rather than underwater it was set in a floating sky city, and that there was some kind of religious theming but also a lot of old-timey Americana. As it turns out, the people of this city worship— no, have DEIFIED the founding fathers, and are lead by a man called Father Comstock. I’m pretty sure that name is a reference to the Comstock Act, similar to Andrew Ryan being named after Ayn Rand... but he could actually be called Father Cornstalk and I just haven’t been paying attention.

Anyway. Just a few minutes into the game, I noticed that a statue of Comstock looked suspiciously similar to my character... before deciding that I didn’t actually have that clear of a mental image of my character, they wouldn’t pull the “secret son” thing twice, and as much as I love it there probably isn’t going to be any time travel. Le sigh.

UNTIL!

So, your goal is to get a girl named Elizabeth out of the city, and there is some legitimately weird stuff going on with her prison. Like, they have some of her personal possessions from various points in her life in containment: a teddy bear, a diary, and a bloody cloth labeled “menarche”. Gross. Why would you keep that. Well, when an electric current (or something visually similar) is applied, the bear and diary change color, and the blood disappears from the cloth. The reason I’m not sure if it’s electricity is that there’s some kind of siphon system set up, it looks like a bunch of subwoofers, and it’s absorbing... something? When she sings, maybe? Is the energy being siphoned what changed the quantum states of those objects, or whatever was happening? There was also a chart showing that when she hit puberty... something, really spiked, which is what forced them to build the siphon. I can’t claim to know what’s happening here, but when I finally saw her she was day dreaming about Paris, and.. I guess opened some kind of portal, TO Paris? But then a bus or something barreled towards her, so she quickly closed it. In the couple seconds that the portal was open, I saw the marquee on a movie theater that... well, was in French, but I’M PRETTY SURE said “Return of the Jedi”. I should probably mention that this game is set in 1912. That smells like time travel to me, baby!

So, this is where it gets interesting, and confusing, and complicated. I think Elizabeth is Comstock’s daughter, from various signs and posters about Comstock’s seed being their salvation, and The Lamb of God being locked in the tower, and such... and signs about a “false shepherd” who would try to take her away (again, lots of weird divergent Christian sect stuff). One sign showered the false shepherd’s hand as having the initials AD branded on the back, which the protagonist Booker does indeed have. Before rescuing Elizabeth, Comstock confronts you, and seems to know all about Booker’s past, including his wife Anna (who died in childbirth), and claims to know his future as well. Being a prophet and such. Thing is, the way it’s presented, that whole thing could’ve all been in Booker’s head...? Shortly after rescuing Elizabeth, you run into someone who mistakes her for someone named Annabelle. Hmm HMMM. I’ve also run into a diary by someone named Rosalind Lutece (I think she’s one of the creepy twins who keep popping up everywhere) talking about physics and what sounded like the concept of quantum superpositioning, as well as a little informational kiosk in which she claims quantum mechanics are what enable the city to float. There were also a couple diaries that seemed to imply Elizabeth came from... somewhere else, and a part of her might still be there, or something?

SO. Finally, we get to the part where I theorize on what’s going on. In short... iunno.

Okay, well, I feel like my idea should be obvious by now. I think Comstock might be a future, or ALTERNATE REALITY FUTURE, version of Booker, and Elizabeth is... either a past version of his wife, before she went back in time and married him, or an alternate-reality version of his daughter? But then who is the Annabelle that the girl thought Elizabeth was? Did Booker’s child not die along with his wife, and was secretly wisked away to skytown? Comstock’s wife is consistently referred to as Lady Comstock, but what if her name is Annabelle too? Maybe it’s the same concept as the Heinlein story By His Bootstraps, with the protagonist only realizing that he IS now the old man from the beginning, and has to get his younger self into this weird time loop in order to live the life he’s lead?

I might be going a little off the rails; I mean, I’m pretty sure that the statue of Comstock I saw earlier actually reminded me of Handsome Jack, a character from another game I haven’t played who happens to wear an outfit similar to Booker’s. That said, there’s DEFINITELY some kind of time travel or dimension-hopping shenanigans going on here. There are good writers on this game, and I refuse to believe the Annabelle/Anna thing is a Batman v Superman-level coincidence.

The weird part is that in the tower where they were keeping Elizabeth, they have documentation of her dating back to one year old, so she was clearly exhibiting... something, unusual, even as a baby. The game also has yet to explain Vigors, its versions of the Plasmids from the first two Bioshock games, which were basically superpowers granted by the substance produced by those sea slugs. If I had to guess, Vigors are... a result of some kind of quantum something-or-other, which they made from whatever it is they were siphoning off of Elizabeth? Maybe it’s a Scarlet Witch kind of thing... you don’t actually change yourself, you just find yourself in an alternate reality where everything else is 100% the same, except you’re a version of yourself who can shoot crows out of your hands.

Right, so. My... official theory is... that... I have no idea what’s going on. Yeah, sorry, something in that mess up there is bound to be close, but when you get into time travel and/or dimension-hopping, all bets are off the table. Or all bets, a literally infinite number of bets, are on the table. Which is a lot to try to comprehend.

#bioshock #bioshock infinite #bioshock spoilers

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starshine583 · 4 years

Text

Le Paon Part 12

(Hey guys! Here’s chapter 12 of the Le Paon AU. I hope you all enjoy!)

Part 1 / Part 11 / Part 13

Felix stumbled through the storage door, still reeling from shock. Adrien..his little brother.. The perfect ray of sunshine between them.. was Chat Noir. When did this happen? How did this happen? How long had they been on opposing sides and he had no idea?

He absently climbed the mansion stairs and walked to his and Adrien’s bedroom door. Talking could be heard on the other side, mostly Adrien, but also a voice that Felix didn’t recognize.

Felix pushed open the bedroom door, and a blur of black flicked across the room, the same blur he’d seen a few weeks ago. It makes more sense now.

“Oh, Felix, you’re back. I was wondering where you went.” Adrien said casually, leaning back in his rolling chair with a smile.

Felix only stared at first. A part of him still didn’t want to believe- didn’t want to accept -that Adrien could be Chat Noir. The universe couldn’t possibly be that cruel.

And yet, Adrien looked all too nervous as Felix asked, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” Adrien replied, shifting ever so slightly in his seat.

“That black blur.” Felix muttered, idly glancing around the room despite knowing- deep down -what it really was.

“O-Oh, um-” Adrien fumbled for words, the same way he’d occasionally faltered for the last few months. Felix never thought much of it. Why hadn’t he thought much of it?

“I-I didn’t see anything.” Adrien finally said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe it was just a trick of the mind? You know, you think the lights black out for a second, but really it’s your eyes?”

Again, Felix could only stare. How long had Adrien been hiding this? How long had he been lying straight to Felix’s face? Granted, Felix wasn’t guiltless either, but he thought he knew his little brother better than this. He should have seen the signs, should have known something was up.

“Yes, you’re probably right.” Felix mumbled, turning to the TV simply because he couldn’t look at Adrien anymore. What would Mother say if she could see them now?

What was Father going to say?

Felix sucked in a breath.

Adrien was Chat Noir, one of the two people keeping their Father- keeping Hawk Moth -away from the wish, the wish that they needed to get Mother back.

This whole ordeal was supposed to be about bringing their family back together, but now, family was the very thing standing in the way.

So, Felix supposed as he got ready for bed that night, the new revelation of Adrien’s alternate identity left one, major question: Exactly how far was Father willing to go to get that wish?

~~~~~~

Felix felt his breath hitch as he stopped in front of their Father’s office doors. After a restless night of worrying and thinking and internal screaming, he’d decided to tell the truth about Adrien’s secret identity. Father had to know, right? Everything needed to be out in the open if they were going to get Mother back.

“Felix, are you coming? School’s going to start soon.”

Felix glanced at Adrien, who was staring at him expectantly from the front door.

“...you go on ahead. I’ll be out in a moment.”

Adrien shrugged and continued outside to the awaiting car, while Felix turned back to the office door.

It’s now or never.

Tentatively, he knocked on the door. When a faint hum came from the other side, Felix lightly pushed open the door and walked inside.

Gabriel stood at his computer as usual, completely disinterested in everything around him. He didn’t even pause his work until Felix cleared his throat.

“Yes, what is it?” Gabriel asked impatiently, not bothering to look up.

Felix faltered. “I.. Well.. It has come to my attention that..”

Gabriel rose a brow at him.

Felix swallowed.

"Never mind." He said, shifting his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry for interrupting."

Telling Father about Adrien would only cause more unnecessary conflict amongst them. First he’ll get Ladybug’s miraculous, then he’ll try to convince Adrien to give up his.

~~~~~~

Marinette fiddled with her jacket nervously as she glanced at Alya, who was hiding with her in a corner of the hall. “Alya, I’m not sure about this.”

Alya merely waved a hand at her as she scanned the halls. “Oh, stop worrying. It’ll be fine.”

“But I still need to work on my dress for homecoming next week.” Marinette countered.

“You can work on it later. It’s practically finished anyway.” Alya replied, still staring at the other students. “Oh, there he is!”

“Alya-” Marinette yelped as Alya grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the hall. Felix and Adrien had just arrived, and her best friend seemed adamant about putting her “matchmaking plan” into action, so Marinette did her best to give a casual smile as they intercepted the Agreste brothers.

“Felix! Just the guy I wanted to see.” Alya greets, tugging Marinette to her side as they come to a stop.

Annoyance flicked across Felix’s expression, until his eyes landed on Marinette. She felt her heart skip a bit as the annoyance on his face immediately faded, replaced with something softer, and something else she couldn’t quite catch.

“Marinette and I are going to the movies tonight with some friends.” Alya continued, slinging her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “Would you like to join us? Adrien’s invited too, of course.”

Heat bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks. She’d actually forgotten that Adrien was standing there.

“Sounds like fun! What do you think, Fe?” Adrien asked, slinging his arm around Felix’s shoulders.

Felix’s gaze flicked between them with suspicion, before pausing on Marinette. She felt her breath hitch, her insides curling with anticipation.

“I think we can find time in our schedule.” He answered.

Adrien and Alya both grinned.

“Great!” Alya cheered. “Meet us at Le Brady, seven o’clock sharp.”

“We’ll be there.” Adrien assured.

Marinette gave a small, shy smile, suddenly much more excited about the movies.

~~~~~~

Adrien stared at his brother’s reflection in the car window with a smug smirk. Felix looked a bit stiffer than usual, or even- dare he say it -nervous. His older brother never got nervous. Then again, he’d probably never fallen in love before. (And Felix was definitely in love with Marinette, of that Adrien was sure.)

“So, how did you get Father to agree to the movies?” Adrien asked, turning to face Felix fully. “I thought he said that Marinette was a bad influence.”

“He did. That’s why we’re going to the movies with Allegra. Father can’t refuse us an evening with the diplomat’s daughter.” Felix replied coolly.

Adrien hummed. “Lying to Father now, huh? That’s a pretty desperate attempt to see Marinette, Fe.”

Felix scoffed and shot him a look. “I’ve lied to him for you before.”

“Yeah, but not for anyone else.” Adrien countered.

“I’ve never had to lie for anyone else.”

“But would you?”

Felix narrowed his eyes.

Adrien smirked. “Case in point.”

The car rolled to a stop in front of the movie theater, and Adrien hopped out before Felix could retort anything. Whatever movie they were going to see, Adrien knew it wouldn’t be half as entertaining as watching Felix hang out with Marinette that evening.

~~~~~~

Marinette fixed the light pink flower pin that had been clipped into the left side of her hair for the third time since they entered the movie theater. She’d told Alya that dressing up wasn’t necessary, but all of the girls insisted that she looked nice for her “date”.

“It’s not a date!” Marinette had argued.

“Well, it might as well be.” Alya had retorted. “He obviously likes you.”

Marinette was still blushing from that comment. Especially now, when the boy in question was sitting right beside her. Alya fought tooth and nail to have them sit together (to no one’s surprise). She even went so far as to separate the rest of the group’s seats so that Felix and Marinette were on the other side of the theater, alone.

She stole a small glance at Felix, who was calmly watching the previews ahead of them. He had to know what Alya was trying to do at this point, right? Was he okay with the relentless matchmaking, or did it make him uncomfortable? How does he feel about it all?

How does she feel about it all?

“This is my first time in a movie theater.”

Marinette blinked, her flurry of thoughts dissipating at Felix’s comment. This was his first time in a movie theater? For some reason, that didn’t shock her as much as it probably should have.

“Oh really? Why’s that?” She asked politely.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he shrugged. “It was always too much of a hassle. By the time we got to the theater room, Adrien would be crowded with fans.”

Marinette nodded. That made sense. “How did you escape the paparazzi tonight?”

A mischievous gleam came to his silver eyes. “Adrien posted a picture of himself at a cafe half way across Paris. No one will be bothering us for a while.”

Marinette chuckled, wondering how they were able to pull that off. It sounded like quite a feat. “Well, I’m glad you guys were able to make it.”

“So am I.”

The previews finally subsided about five minutes later, and the movie started playing on the big screen. Marinette watched it for the first twenty minutes, but the more she watched, the more she disliked. The actors were constantly staring straight at the camera, and the plot was a mess. How do movies like these make it to theaters?

“Who authorized the release for this?” Felix mumbled next to her, causing Marinette to perk up.

“I know right? It’s like they picked a few people off the street and threw them into a shaky storyline.” She whispered, slumping into her seat slightly. Was Alya watching the movie too, or was she too focused on Nino?

Felix sat up slightly and glanced towards the back of the theater, where the rest of the group was. “Why don’t we skip? Surely, there’s something more entertaining we can do.”

Marinette’s eyes widened with surprise. She’d always assumed that Felix would be a stickler for the rules. “What would we do?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth in thought. “We could go get ice cream? I didn’t get to accompany you and the others yesterday.”

A bashful smile found its way onto her lips. The fact that he was inviting her to go get ice cream despite not liking sweets warmed her from the inside out. “Are you sure you don’t want to get something else?”

“I’ll be fine.” He said with a slight wave of his hand. “Are we going then?”

Marinette’s gaze flicked to the back where Alya and the others were sitting. They were all engrossed in the movie, except for Adrien, who seemed to be looking in their direction with some sort of smile. (Though it could be the lighting.)

“Yeah. Let’s go.” She decided, quietly slipping her purse back on.

Felix nodded, and they carefully crept out of the auditorium together, both hoping their respective “chaperones” didn’t notice their disappearance.

Thankfully, no one did- to their knowledge -and Felix and Marinette got to stroll right out of the movie theater.

“Is there a specific ice cream parlor you’d like to visit?” Felix asked as they walked outside.

Marinette shook her head, taking in a deep breath as the night air hit her face. It was a warm evening, save for the occasional cool breezes that passed by. The sun had just dipped down into the horizon, so a bit of light remained in the sky, but that didn’t stop the Paris street lights from brightening the blocks as well. Marinette didn’t mind, though. She rather liked the soft glow that the street lights provided.

“I saw a post a while ago about Andre being around here. Maybe he’s still in the area?” She suggested, turning right.

Felix followed. “Who’s Andre?”

Marinette gasped. “You don’t know who Andre is?”

“..I don’t get out often.” Felix muttered, flicking his gaze to the road.

A small chuckled passed her lips. “It’s not a bad thing, I’m just surprised. But now we have to go see him.” She grabbed his hand with a grin and started tugging him along. “We might have to run, though.”

Felix didn’t respond, prompting Marinette to look back at him. He was staring at their joined hands, a deep blush shrouding his cheeks.

Marinette flushed at the sight. She had gotten excited and didn’t think about the fact that she was grabbing Felix Agreste’s hand. Now they were holding hands, and her heart was pounding in her chest, and worst- best? -of all, she didn’t want to let go.

“I-If you want to, that is.” She added, forcing herself to loosen her grip on his hand.

Her stomach flipped when he squeezed her hand in retaliation.

“Uh- no. No, I don’t mind.” Felix finally said. “Lead the way.”

Marinette, not trusting herself to speak lest she fall into a stuttering mess, nodded and pulled out her phone with her free hand to find Andre’s current location. It was harder to find at night time, but as luck would have it, someone posted a picture with Andre near the Pontes De Arts.

They wandered around the streets in that direction, and Marinette tried not to focus on Felix’s touch, or how electrifying it was. She’d held onto him like this before, once at the ice rink and once at the mansion, but this time was different somehow. Instead of nervousness or hesitance, she felt this giddy excitement that buzzed in her chest and coiled through her stomach. The way his hand shifted in hers to intertwine their fingers together gave her a rush of ecstasy, and Marinette found it positively addicting. She couldn’t help wondering how she would feel if they were just a little bit closer. How much would this strange ecstasy spread within her if Felix were to pull her against him, run his fingers through her hair, and-

“Is that him?”

Marinette jumped, a harsh blush exploding across her cheeks as reality set back in again. “S-Sorry?”

“Andre.” Felix elaborated, pointing towards the end of the street. “Is that him?”

Marinette followed his finger to a man at the end of the block who was pushing along an ice cream cart and joyfully whistling to himself. “O-Oh, um, yes. That’s him.”

Felix smiled. “Do we just walk up to him?”

Marinette returned his smile. “Yep! He gives everyone special ice creams for free.”

“That’s not a very sound business practice.” Felix commented. “Wait, special? Special how?”

“Well..” Marinette twirled one of her pigtails on her finger. “He claims to hand out ice creams that represent your true love, and I have to admit, he’s accurate more often than not.”

Felix hummed. “That’s something I’d like to see.”

Marinette chuckled, and they made their way over to Andre, catching him at the end of the block.

“Ah! Such a lovely couple on a nightly stroll! I shall fix you a tasty ice cream to enjoy while you’re out!” Andre beamed, moving to get some blue raspberry ice cream.

“Oh no-” Marinette sheepishly interrupted “-We’re- We’re not a couple.”

Andre paused, a slight frown tugging at the corner of his lips. “Not a couple? But I can see you two are bursting with love for each other! You’re even holding hands.”

Felix and Marinette immediately pulled their hands away from each other, their cheeks flushing a deep scarlet.

“J-Just one ice cream please.” Marinette said, her voice anything but leveled.

Andre sighed, but gave her a cone of cotton candy and banana ice cream.

“Thank you.” She mumbled as she took the cone.

“Some for you as well?” Andre inquired, turning to Felix.

He shook his head. “No, thank you. I don’t fancy sweets. I’m only here for her.”

For some reason, the comment resonated with Marinette, and she stared up at him, starstruck. Felix had come all this way just for her, and though it may seem like a small gesture, it was one of many. He’s taught her how to paint, given her support in her passions, and offered to help with school projects without ever asking for anything in return.

And Marinette, as she’s watching Felix talk with Andre, was struck with a sudden, yet painfully obvious realization:

She liked Felix. She really, really liked him.

“Well, I’m off to spread more love and joy around Paris! Have a wonderful evening lovebirds!” Andre called as he walked off.

“We’re not..” Felix started to correct, before shaking his head and deciding it wasn’t worth it. He then turned back to Marinette. “How’s the ice cream?”

Marinette, being the eloquent girl she is, only stared at him. She was simply mesmerized. By his slight, contented smile, by the gentle sway of his bangs in the evening breeze, by the specks of blue she hadn’t noticed in his shining, silver eyes until the street lights hit them just right, by him. Just standing next to him was enough to take her breath away. How had she been so blind to him before?

Marinette’s thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt realization that he’d asked her a question, and she scrambled to remember what it was. “Uh- s-sorry -the ice cream? It’s- um-”

“Oh, your flower.” Felix spoke up, graciously cutting her off.

“M-My flower?” Marinette echoed, absently reaching up to touch the hair piece.

He nodded. “Yes, it’s crooked. Here, let me..”

Marinette’s breath hitched as he took a step towards her, but remained still. Felix unclipped the flower, causing some of her bangs to fall across her face, and clipped it again in a tighter position.

“There.” He murmured, brushing a bit of her bangs aside. “Good as new.”

Marinette opened her mouth to say “Thank you”, but of course, nothing came out.

Everything in her froze as his eyes trailed down to meet hers. They were mere inches apart now, so close that she could smell the faint scent of books from his time in the library.

Felix’s hand brushed against her cheek, and she leaned into his touch.

“Marinette.” His whisper sent shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes, reveling in everything that was him.

Felix leaned forward- she could feel his chest press closer against her -but before their lips met, a rumbling shook the ground beneath them.

The two tensed, and Marinette’s eyes snapped open.

“Any chance that’s just an earthquake tremor?” She mumbled, scanning the Parisian streets.

“Probably not.” Felix replied, glancing around as well.

Another rumble shook the streets, this time larger. Then, an ear piercing roar split the sky.

Marinette sighed. “I didn’t think so.”

Of course an akuma would come right now. When else would an akuma come? Surely not when she actually had time to fight it. That would be ridiculous.

“You should go.” She said, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Get to safety.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Felix replied firmly.

Marinette held back a grimace. She had a feeling he’d say that. “Someone needs to go warn the others.”

Felix tisked and scanned the block again. “Alright, you go find shelter in there. I’ll go warn them.”

Marinette wanted to argue, but splitting up was the best option if she was going to transform. “Be careful.”

His eyes settled on hers. “You too.”

Then they ran.

~~~~~~

Le Paon jumped across the rooftops towards the akuma, harshly cursing his luck. He’d gotten this close to kissing Marinette! Their lips were practically touching when that- that thing came onto the scene!

And what a thing it was. He’d honestly thought that the akuma was a building at first. It towered over the streets, breaking apart everything in its path. The deep purple tint of the creature even blended perfectly with the night sky. It’s beading, glowing blue eyes, however, did not.

How am I supposed to get the miraculous with this monstrosity? Le Paon thought, briefly pausing on a rooftop to catch his breath. Its ginormous claws could barely pick up a car let alone snatch a pair of earrings or a ring.

He started running again, dearly wishing this rip-off Godzilla would start taking baby steps. It was clearing two to four blocks in one stride, and Le Paon just couldn’t keep pace. When was Father going to start thinking these akumas through?

In his haste to keep up with his impromptu partner, Le Paon didn’t notice the staff extending to the middle of his current rooftop. He hit the staff full force and cried out in pain as he skidded across the ground.

“Oh~ that’s a nasty fall if ever I saw one.” Chat Noir mused behind him. “You might want to get some tweet-ment for that.”

Le Paon groaned, but not from the pain. Throwing the hero’s looks and voice aside, Felix should have recognized Chat Noir as Adrien sooner simply because they shared the same, horrible sense of humor.

Le Paon pushed himself to his feet, holding back a wince, and flicked his wrists to have his fans slide into his hands. He didn’t want to fight Adrien, but if he didn’t keep up appearances, Father would become suspicious. Felix needed to keep Adrien’s miraculous a secret, or rather, keep the fact that Felix knew about Adrien’s miraculous a secret. Adrien seemed to be keeping the secret of his miraculous just fine.

“Let’s just get this over with fast.” Le Paon said, spreading out his fans.

Chat Noir shifted into a fighting stance. “My pleasure.”

So, to recap, Le Paon has to attempt to get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous while also trying to communicate with the monster behind him to do so, and while trying to avoid hitting Chat Noir- the guard dog -as much as possible.

That should be easy.

~~~~~

Felix slumped against a building wall as the magic from his miraculous melted off of his body. That was officially the worst akuma attack he’d ever been involved in. The darn thing didn’t even serve its intended purpose. Felix spent more time avoiding the thing’s enormous, swinging arms than actually working with it. He didn’t even keep the heroes contained! Felix assumed that the monster would be able to help somehow, but it just kept hitting Ladybug and Chat Noir away from him!

Needless to say, Ladybug’s identity was still a mystery. Perhaps if Father started choosing more subtle or precise akumas, they would actually start getting somewhere.

Felix begrudgingly moved from the building wall to poke his head out of the alleyway he’d landed in. if the Miraculous Cure did its job properly- and it always did -Marinette and the others should be back at the movie theater. Well, Marinette might still be running to the theaters, but Felix should get there right when she does.

After seeing the empty street, Felix started his walk back to the theaters. He would have run, but his legs already burned from how much jumping he did as Le Paon. Nevertheless, he was determined to get back to Marinette and make sure she was alright.

That is, until he heard it.

The sound was faint at first, but as Felix neared the end of the block, it grew louder. A moaning, old and rattling, was coming from one of the other alleyways.

His footsteps lulled a moment as he curiously glanced down the different alleyways on the street. One, in particular, stuck out to Felix.

It was hard to catch at first, due to the street lamps being his only source of light, but Felix saw a man lying face down in the alleyway. The man was reaching for something and groaning quiet pleas for help.

“Sir?” Felix called, cautiously approaching the man. “Are you alright?”

“H...Help..me..” The man groaned. “My.. my staff.. They threw it..”

Felix looked around the alleyway and found a cane near the entrance. He quickly scooped it up and brought it back to the old man.

“Who threw it?” He asked as he helped the man to his feet.

“The muggers.” The old man rasped, gripping Felix’s shirt tightly to pull himself up. “They took everything I have, and now I can’t get home.”

The old man slipped and fell against Felix, but Felix managed to catch him in time.

“All right, where do you live? I’ll call my driver to take you there.”

The old man looked up at him. “You will?”

Felix nodded. So much for getting back to Marinette.

“Oh, thank you. I am forever in your debt.” The old man said.

Felix waved a hand. “Not at all. I’ll have to tell Father about this though. What’s your name?”

The old man smiled. “You can call me ‘Fu’.”

Tag List: @im-here-for-the-content @novicevoice @mewwitch@minightrose @frostymoon11 @multishipper1needshalp@unabashedbookworm @unholykrow @trubel43@kaydenth3gayden @stardustrevoutionx @legendaryneckjudgestudent @aurordraws @crazylittlemunchkin @uwuteamleader @chocolatecustarddanish @iambi-thilla-meena @corabeth11 @asainfrustration13 @chrismarium @agumon1123 @luciferge @yue-caelum @persephonebutkore @constancetruggle @fanficaddict4ever @johnlockfeelz @imfreakingmagical @tinybrie @procrastinatingrightnow @bee-wrecker @dontcallmecedge @shadowhex99 @daminette-is-life @thethirdwheelfriend @myazael @sizzling-fairy-oil @sparkle9510 @chaosace @the-navistar-carol @sannsibarr @grumpy-vixen-kitten @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @utcaro @more-or-less-human-i-guess @mlbutatbspofsalt @dawn-the-rithmatist @artcart0n @mermaidreject @dreamykitty25

#Le Paon AU #Felinette #Marinette #Felix Agreste #sorry if there are some typos #I'm too tired to edit properly lol

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mjjicons · 3 years

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apparently i’m an attorney right now

hey guys

this bitch right here

@deborahdeshoftim5779 i can’t even write her username without copying and pasting it but there we go

she’s trying you guyssss she’s really trying to come for michael

maybe inside her basement......no bathing for days... we know quarantine right.. people get crazy

so here i am responding to the “EVIDENCE THAT MICHAEL JACKSON MOLESTED CHILDREN” because.... i don’t know why tho

but this bitch challenged me and virgos love a challenge

we do love a challenge.. so

RESPONDING TO DEBORAH BLAH BLAH BLAH ABOUT HER BULLSHIT AND MICHAEL JACKSON OBSESSION

Michael Jackson slept in bed with other people’s children. Everyone, including @mjjicons, knows this is inappropriate and unacceptable. The majority of sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson have stemmed from the fact that he slept in bed with other people’s children. This is one of the clear reasons why parents do not allow their children to sleep in bed with adult strangers, and @mjjicons knows this very well.

this one is actually so shitty that i can’t even lol i highlighted the most important part on this.. this is actually not true

with a simple google search we can type in like “michael jackson accusations timeline” (i don’t have to do that because i actually know every single one of them but for proof purposes)

safechuck said he met michael in 1986 in a pepsi commercial set and of course, he said that michael asked him to sleep with him as seen in here:

alright! let’s do some research then

1986... what a year you guys! what a year!

here we have a great year review on the detail. (a youtube channel that i love so so so so so so so so much). and as we all know, 1986 was really important for michael jackson’s career overall, because that was the year when he wrote his (amazing) record called BAD!! kinda reclused. and of course he had the time to be the humanitarian he was:

also i can refute your “evidence number two” that michael only cared about pre-pubescent boys.. here’s our girl donna having a blast with my baby and bubbles.

also, safechuck said that he gave him the thriller jacket in the meeting.......but that’s actually a lie

because that jacket is with..... lady gaga! because it never was in safechuck’s hands. it was sold for her in a auction.

let’s go forward, shall we?

back to 86. allegations say that michael asked safechuck to sleep with him in the same bed in a trip to hawaii! of course if michael jackson was in hawaii in 1986 we would have some candids.

let’s do our research once again. he was never in hawaii in 86.... 87... no... here we go, 88, with safechuck and his family:

this was in february 1, 1988, at the kahala hilton hotel - hawaii. found it. also, this was the day of “moonwalk - the autobiography” release!

here he is with everyone! and our buddy alan light actually met him at the time:

as alan said, his team was with him too, of course. digging more information we can see it was a business trip and he brought his “friends” with him (fake bitchessss) as always. the first accusations, however, were made to the LAPD in 1993. james was with his whole family in there, fans around, team around, everyone. the only evidence is safechuck’s word, that as we saw before we can’t trust that much. i will explain why in a bit. michael had no time to bullshit in 1988, because this was the year of his american leg of the bad tour, and of course, shooting every single video from the bad era. iconic! he was in japan also in january-february as seen on his year review.

unfortunately i don’t have his hotel files from this time to see how many rooms he booked, but as a fan i can say that when michael did stay in hotels, it was common for him to book the whole hallway. (please read j. randy taraborrelli’s book if interested). same bed huh.......i don’t think so too

michael was diagnosed with vitiligo at the time, and his self-esteem wasn’t 100% (for his whole life actually) so i doubt he would let anyone in his room. also, his addiction to medication was also at the beggining. he was working so much as you can see. wait a minute. i have to eat my breakfast.

back at it.

about sleeping with children in the same bed in other occasions:

with the allegations made firstly in 1993, michael had to explain himself about every situation envolving himself and kids around him. he wasn’t a men of interviews, but on the topic, michael always said he never was alone with little boys in a bedroom. there always was someone when he did watch movies with his friends, including liz taylor, in any room (neverland had a whole movie theater there) and if falling asleep was the case, he mostly laid down on the floor. and he didn’t sleep a lot either. he couldn’t.

about sharing a bed tho, it happened! i’m not saying this never happened, brett barnes said it happened, in opposite sides, no touching. it happened, yes, and this is something not common between you and someone that isn’t your own kid. but it doesn’t mean that michael took off his clothes and had sex with a minor. not only a minor, but small boys. when someone is accused of pedophilia this is obviously a red flag, but those red flags were investigated by the FBI and local police (LAPD). if michael did it with a little boy, his DNA, sperm, skin would be all over them. the abuse would be clear. a kid doesn’t have body structure to handle abuse and heal fast enough. those are little kids. the brain development and body development aren’t enough to hide such a thing. if michael did it, he would be arrested FOR LIFE. oh yes he would. because no one besides his fans were there for him when shit got bad. people wanted his head in a plate with a tomato in his mouth.

on a side note i don’t know why people think michael was someone that always had time to keep little boys around him and sleeping around with them...........he worked his ass off EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF HIS ACTIVE CAREER LIFE. years and years on tour, no privacy, no free time, no real friends, no real family, no one.........

2. The vast majority of “special friends” were pre-pubescent boys, who Jackson dumped once they hit puberty. Joy Robson testified to this in 2005, saying that she told June Chandler this would happen to her son as well. Joy Robson admitted in court that the dumping had a serious mental effect on the boys, as they were no longer the favourite.

this is the biggest lie ever. i can’t even. about “the vast majority of michael’s friends being pre-pubescent boys” i won’t even post pictures of him and little girls because this is actually.........sick.............you are just a google search away... don’t be a lazy bitch.

this dumping thing is so sad to read because it portraits kids as literal objects. and this is actually a lie too. michael mantained contact with people for years, like macaulay, the cascio family (including all the kids), omer, his nephews, tata vega..... so many people, so many children. the female-chandler had jordan and his sister as kids, and in the years that michael related with them he was at family barbecues with the chandlers (and the press even called them his new family) because he was always around EVERYONE.

the 2005 trial was the only one actually dumped in all of this because there was no evidence against michael. and 2005 is actually a really important year for all of us, because it was the year of the innocent veredict. and wade robson was a witness in this trial. ON MICHAEL’S FAVOUR. if joy robson warned june about this in this trial WHY WOULD HER KID TESTIFY IN A ALLEGED PEDOPHILE’S SIDE??????????

this makes no sense. and also, the clownery was way too much. in the book “untouchable” by randall sullivan (i do not know if this is the english title because i am brazilian and here this is the title for the book, i just translated it. but you can find it everywhere) the author describes how the prosecution tried too hard to accuse michael. they were always catching “witnesses” - even a man that said michael molested him in the 80′s, but when asked about the dates, time, what happened, the court found michael wasn’t even in the place the man said he was at the time. but they demanded michael to testify on court anyway - to talk about a child he never met in a day he was at a event - with pictures and shit. a solid alibi. it was ignored. the witch hunt was big and they were ready to put michael in handcuffs WHENEVER THEY COULD. they just needed something. and this something never came.

if you are good enough to get all “your evidence” together, don’t be lazy to check facts. as i said before, it’s a google search away.

about joy robson, this bitch is bipolar or.. idk. because she was thriving in 2013 liking posts about michael and how good he was.

2013 was also the year wade filled his allegations against michael. because wade realized that michael actually did the wrong to him in 2012. before that, as a grown ass man, in the ‘05 trial, he didn’t. but in 2012 oh boy we are here just realizing things.

in 2009, michael’s passing, the estate released the michael jackson opus, a big book of memories and good stuff. wade was there too and made a beautiful statement, as follows:

“Michael Jackson changed the world and, more personally, my life forever. He is the reason I dance, the reason I make music, and one of the main reasons I believe in the pure goodness of human kind.”

and after that, wade wanted to be on charge of all the tributes related to michael in tv shows and awards. that’s pretty big right......to work in the name of your “abuser”.......

now you answer me: how did joy robson warned june chandler about anything if she, herself, said that wade didn’t show a single sign that he was abused by michael? she even said michael coached him to be “a master of deception” and that “wade should have won an oscar for lying that good for her” on court (2013) and that she was lied to so good that she never believed anything.... but warned chandler’s mom about “dumping”? what dumping?

if wade was dumped and really sad about it.....why would he want to lead shit about michael after he died? if your molester died....you should cheer up....

just a side note: joy said in leaving neverland that when michael died she was so relieved and danced around BUT HOW IF HER SON JUST WROTE A WHOLE LOVE LETTER TO MICHAEL JACKSON IN HIS MEMORIAL

is it crack? is it? what you smoke? following up..

3. Michael Jackson’s “special friends” include: Emmanuel Lewis (Brooke Shields said in 1984 that it looked like the pop star was dating the boy, rather than her), Jonathan Spence (Jackson owned a naked photograph of him), James Safechuck, Brett Barnes (Jackson is on video pretending this boy is his cousin), Macaulay Culkin, Wade Robson, Jordan Chandler, Jason Francia, Arnold Schleiter, Sean Lennon (Mark Ronson said that Jackson watched pornography with both of them in a hotel room), Omer Bhatti (whom Jackson met in a Tunisian hotel, and pretended the boy was his son), David Martinez, Gavin Arvizo, Michael Jacobshagen, and his nephews (whom the police suspected him of molesting, and with whom he took an inappropriate photo shoot for Star Magazine).

“brooke shields said in 1984 that blahblagabal” when where WHERE bitch where

i think people don’t actually answer your allegations because it is so DUMB that no one wants to waste their time with you. like......why am i doing this

i am just on #3 and i’m so tired because THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT IT are you wade robson in a fake account? just take off your mask

just

why

if you have this brooke shields line please show me???? i would like to see it

michael didn’t meet omer in a tunisian hotel, he actually met him because he was in a contest for michael jackson impersonators.......and he loves him, and pia, his mom, is so grateful for everything michael done for their family WHY AM I RESPONDING TO THIS i am so frustrated

4. Joy Robson also testified in 2005 that Jackson had called her up in the middle of the night in December 1993, asking that Wade Robson be brought to his bedroom. She admitted that she went back home, after leaving her son with Jackson. For context, Jackson was under investigation for child sexual abuse of Jordan Chandler at the time

she actually didn’t because she wasn’t a witness on court at the time. wade was. she wasn’t. as i showed before. next.

actually i’m tired because all of this is so dumb and i am wasting my time........ let’s just jump to the final shit.

We have good reason to believe that Jackson molested other boys not named above. For example, who was the boy whose semi-nude photograph was found inside Jackson’s bedroom in August 1993?

they never found anything in ‘93 because if they did michael would be arrested...............

Who filed a Restraining Order against Jackson back in the 80′s, and who reported this to the FBI?

no one filed a restraining order against michael back in 80′s. there is no such evidence. the fbi files are public and you can access them and read everything.

Who were the two Mexican boys that Jackson was accused of molesting back in 1985-1986?

michael didn’t have contact with any mexican people between ‘85 and ‘86 as i said before, in his year review, and in ‘85 he was never seen with any mexican boys because he was working in USA for africa, we are the world and captain EO. nothing michael did was away from the public eye.

Who were the other boys that slept in Jackson’s bedroom, according to a security guard? Who were the boys/men whose DNA was found in semen stains on Jackson’s mattress in November 2003? Who was the “Rhonda” who sent Jackson a picture book of naked boys, because she said Jackson might like them? What did Norma Staikos know about Jackson’s predilection for pre-pubescent boys? Who was the boy that Darlene Craviotto saw Jackson alone with in 1991 (reported in her book)?

norma staikos was his personal assistant at the time and wade said she knew about “what was going on” and was someone that arranged all the “sexual meetings” as said on court right here, but this meeting mentioned by wade on court was actually arranged BY HIS OWN MOTHER!

and the book by darlene craviotto never mentioned anything sexual between michael and boys, actually it’s a kind book about how michael helped her with her agoraphobia................

WOW THAT WAS LONG AND I FEEL SO DUMB RIGHT NOW

the rest of your evidence isn’t worth the read or the research because i’m not the one who should be doing this, debora, it should be you. just google it. or show something more credible, maybe actual proof? pictures? videos? audiotapes? where are they?

why am i here tho?

fuck you bitch

#michael jackson #michael #jackson #mjinnocent

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shypotato-translations · 3 years

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QTVW Chapter 22

Showbiz* Sexy Queen (IX)

The director gave the crew a day off to prepare their luggage and by midday on the third day, the crew chartered a plane to Kunlun Mountain.

After a series of plane rides, car rides, truck rides and cattle rides, the crew finally arrived at the location chosen by the director in a state of disarray.

The director chose a location relatively close to the mountains because the setting of the novel 《The Burial Man》is in the mountains of Kunlun, after all, the safety of the crew had to be taken into consideration and they could not really go into the deep forest.

After considering the cost and time it would take to build a place to live, the director chose to go to a nearby village of a thousand people and share a house with the villagers.

However, for various reasons, such as safety, number of people and emotions, it is necessary to share a house with several people so that they can take care of each other.

After the director told the crew about the decision, Mei Mu Lan immediately looked at him with glowing eyes and raised her chin to point at Ling Yi Yao who was standing with her back to them.

Then she turned her head, her eyes locked firmly on his, the look so long and intriguing that the director shivered, practically shuddering.

These days, after months of living together, the director has long recognized Mei Mu Lan's nature, and even though he still sees her with a charming and lovely face, he just can't feel the slightest bit of aesthetic appeal.

Instead, he immediately recalled that when Mei Mu Lan was looking at Ling Yi Yao, her wolf-like eyes were green and oozing with power.

And Ling Yi Yao is Ling Tianye's niece, the director and Ling Tianye are childhood friends growing up together, they have a very good relationship.

He also has a big brother-like care and closeness to the delicate and tiny little Ling Yi Yao.

The director said in his heart: A dead friend is not a poor friend, Ling Yi Yao, this is the peach blossom you have attracted, go and enjoy yourself!

It is said that if you get in the way of a relationship, you will be kicked by a donkey, and for the sake of his own life, the director said in a serious and very solemn manner,

“At the village headman's house, the people staying together are me and the photographer, and the people staying in the second are ......

The nineteenth family, the people that will stay together are Ling Yi Yao and Mei Mu Lan, ah, this villager's room is smaller and can't squeeze more people in, so it's just you two sharing a room.

OK, the next family, is ......”

The director finished reading out his arrangement with a sweaty face, feeling like his back was about to be pierced by Ling Yi Yao's stern gaze.

He ignored the hot and condensed eyes behind him and quickly disappeared at the end of the crowd, gloating as he thought: I can't handle Yao Yao, but there's always someone who can handle you now, right?

Seeing that the stare was ineffective and that the outcome was already decided, Ling Yi Yao did not struggle any more and went to the villager's house at the end of the village, carrying her luggage with her.

Mei Mu Lan immediately followed, her face smiling brightly, almost blinding passers-by.

Mei Mu Lan said,

“Ling Yi Yao, we're actually moving in together, ow, I feel my heart beating violently, what about you what about you? Don't worry, I will treat you well and I will be gentle.”

Ling Yi Yao's habitual woodenness: “……”

I don't want to know why it sounds so strange and colorful coming from you when we are just living together.

The two settled into a room in the villagers' house. Ling Yi Yao refused to share a bed with Mei Mu Lan and slept on the sofa.

She also performed her standard of wood chopping in front of Mei Mu Lan when she was admonished.

Mei Mu Lan looked at the neatly arranged firewood of exactly the same length and size, and suddenly felt pain all over her body.

She swallowed and consoled herself by thinking: After all, we're under the same roof, so we just need to brush up on Ling Yiyao's goodwill.

It's not quite working yet, but it's a good idea.

After more than three months of filming in the Kunlun Mountains, the crew of 《The Burial Man》had only completed about half of their shooting tasks, which was much slower than the director's expectation of completing them in four months.

The weather here is really bad, like a child's temper, sometimes it's windy and sometimes it rains, sometimes it's windy and sunny one minute, the next minute it's cloudy and overcast, this makes it impossible for the crew to shoot normally, so they have to take the time to shoot when the weather is good, and when it turns cloudy, the whole crew takes a break.

Because of this, filming has slowed down.

And whenever it was a cloudy day when the crew took a break, Ling Yi Yao would leave Mei Mu Lan's sight and go and stay somewhere else.

But it didn't really work, because no matter where she went, Mei Mu Lan would eventually find her and look at her with a smile and arched eyebrows, a little haughty expression, like a child who had gotten away with a prank, with all her emotions showing straight on her face.

Ling Yi Yao noticed that Mei Mu Lan's eyes were beautiful, round and narrow, clear and spiritual, and when she saw her, her eyes would immediately open wide in surprise, full of her.

Ling Yi Yao had a dangerous feeling every time she saw her eyes, she had a feeling that this person would affect her, and these unstable emotions were unnecessary for her true self.

She always had a bad feeling that her life would be changed by this woman. And she doesn't want to change now, so she distances herself from her, away from her. Although the result was not to her liking.

Just like now, she left the set once again and went to the Kunlun Mountain range outside the village, she climbed up the mountain and reached a natural flat spot on the mountain, she stood still and her eyes went over the distant mountain clouds and saw the azure sky.

As she looked at this natural picture of the mountains in the sky, an indescribable feeling of loneliness arose in her heart.

She felt like the mountains and clouds, existing between heaven and earth for an unknown number of years, seeing the sea change and the stars shift.

Everything is changing, but what remains the same is not only the change, but also the silent spectator herself.

And at that very moment, a pair of hands suddenly attacked her, wrapped around her waist and carried her down to the ground, and then a familiar stammering voice rang in her ears, the soft and elegant voice of Mei Mu Lan.

She said in a rush,

“Hey, don't kill yourself, I haven't played with you yet? If you have any problems, tell me, I will help you to find a solution. Jumping off a cliff is a tragic and unattractive way to die, you know? Come on, take a deep breath. Come on, calm down,”

Ling Yi Yao: “……”

With a blank face, she grabbed her hand, squeezed her wrist area and disengaged her hold.

Then she stood up, patted the mud on her body, got low/down and pulled Mei Mu Lan, who was still lying on the ground, up and said,

“I am…… thinking about the plot, how did you find your way here without killing yourself?”

Mei Mu Lan deflated and said,

“You were standing on the edge of the cliff, and I was scared. It's a good thing you didn't try to kill yourself, otherwise I'd be a widow. If you dare to jump, I will jump with you, youjump, ijump.”

Ling Yi Yao: “……”

Suddenly I feel so tired, this kind of speechless mood, who can understand?

Mei Mu Lan suddenly remembered that Ling Yi Yao had asked a question and replied,

“Oh yes, I followed you here, I grew up studying theater, my family taught me some ancient martial arts moves in order to make my body agile, I didn't expect it would come in handy today.”

She arches her eyebrows and smiles.

Ling Yi Yao had gotten used to her nonsense, and in any case, they had been together for most of the year, and she was beginning to understand her.

This Mei Mu Lan, apart from being a bit of a collector, weird and in a strange state of mind, is actually a nice person.

It is said that she has never played a film role before, but in her first scene in the set, she was able to portray the woman in the cabaret, who was so beautiful and amorous that she seemed to be ruthless, without ng, in a single line, which made the director applaud and exclaim that she was a natural talent for acting.

And she was able to establish friendly relations with everyone except her, so she seems to have a good personality and emotional intelligence.

As Ling Yi Yao was lost in thought, a hand appeared under her eyes and she blinked to see Mei Mu Lan looking at her with a worried expression.

She asked,

“Tell me what you're thinking about, and I'll help you with it, as three people are better than a wise man, there are more ideas than one, and maybe you can find the answer in my ideas.”

Ling Yi Yao's gaze came into contact with her sincere and pure eyes, and she immediately averted her gaze and walked to the edge of the cliff, saying,

“It's the final scene in the plot where the female undertaker jump off the cliff.”

Mei Mu Lan also walked to the edge of the cliff, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes again, her original leisurely and lazy aura changed immediately.

At this moment, she was like the undertaker who was about to jump off the cliff, her body exuding emptiness and desolation.

Her deep, dark eyes were seemingly emotionless, like a delicate human doll, devoid of any semblance of human emotion.

Then she softly hummed a song, the old nursery rhyme in a soft voice, resounding** between the cliffs, and the doll-like figure began to be tinged with the fireworks of the world, her eyes interpreting the vicissitudes of change over the years, from childhood innocence, joy, freedom and tenderness to emptiness, desolation, pain and despair, a thousand emotions flashed by.

Then she hooked her lips into a light smile, a few hints of lingering despondency, a few wisps of nostalgic bewilderment, a murmured song, etched with a thousand years of time, between shifts of light and shadow, she shifted from complexity to simplicity, and finally, with a touch of relief, she opened her arms slightly and jumped.

Of course, someone tugged behind her, and Mei Mu Lan, returning from the plot and once again being the chirpy, always-talking Mei Mu Lan, said excitedly,

“How was it? How was it? Did I do a good job? Gee, it feels okay but it's just a little short, you know what's missing?”

She asked with a troubled and puzzled face.

Ling Yi Yao looked down the cliff and she said,

“She didn't really want to jump, I think, and it was clear from the way she sang the songs of her childhood that she didn't want to die. An intelligent woman like her, who had dominated everything and played the various elites of modern society, would not have given up her life if she didn't have a choice.

She should have been unable to help herself, but there was something unbearable about her. Humans are the most complex creatures, and there are a thousand Hamlets for thousand of people. The real meaning is only to be expressed implicitly, the rest is left to the audience to understand.”

At this point, Ling Yi Yao changed her tone to a lighter one and said,

“Thank you so much this time, your interpretation was great and helped me a lot, thank you.”

Mei Mu Lan smiled narrowly and said shyly,

“Oh, don't say that, how embarrassing, how annoying, my whole body is yours. Just come to my ** tonight and I'll accept your love for me in return.”

Ling Yi Yao: “……”

She turned around and left without a moment's hesitation.

Mei Mu Lan pointed her finger and shouted at her back,

“Can't I give my life to you then? Hey, wait for me!”

Ling Yi Yao: “……”

Nothing is left to chance, ignore it.

Another three months passed quickly, and at the moment when Ling Yiyao, the 《Burial Man》, jumped off the cliff, the director shouted in a loud voice,

“Cut! End of the film!”

Everyone in the cast exhaled, relaxed and said,

“Finally finished filming.”

That's the end of the film, it's not about the actors, it's about the post-production team.

The crew quickly packed their bags and returned to the city the next day.

The film, which was shot over nine months, was officially closed and the day after the group returned to the city, they went to the hotel together to celebrate.

The director, who has always been stingy and cheap, was finally generous at the end of the day, saying in a small, weak voice,

“It's been a lot of hard work, so I'm treating you all to a celebration party, so don't steal it from me, but……” I wouldn't mind if someone paid for me.

But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the cheers of the crowd.

Photographer A,

"Shit, the stingy director wants to treat, it's a once-in-a-century event, I'll order the most expensive one!"

Director's assistant B,

"The director's treat? Let me see the menu ah, come, waiter, I order shark's fin, bird's nest, bear's paw ......"

Mei Mu Lan's eyes glowed,

"Ah, I'll have the full Han Chinese banquet, is there one? No, then a Buddha jumping wall, a roast suckling pig and a ......"

The director stood silently behind them and lifted the flat glasses on the bridge of his nose, a shiny white light flashed and a "ding" was heard around them.

Then an eerie, dark aura spread out and covered the whole room, and everyone present was overwhelmed and shivering by this aura.

Photographer A,

"It's a bit cold all of a sudden, what's going on?"

Director's Assistant B,

"I had a bad feeling, like the director didn't bring any money or something."

Mei Mu Lan's eyes glowed,

"It's okay, we can mortgage the director here and be the boss's wife's pressed husband."

Director: "......" fist pumping.

Other onlooking crew: "Huh!" Light the candles!

The director held up his glasses, smiled evilly and carried these three people downstairs, booked a small private room separately, then ordered a few bowls of beef noodles and said,

"Well, this is the appetizer, after you finish this, then meet us in the private room upstairs. Remember what I said, it's all eaten up O."

With that he opened the door to the room, locked the three of them in and returned to the upstairs room himself.

Other crew: "......"

The director walked in and said,

"Come on, come on, don't be polite to me, order whatever you want, don't be polite."

The crowd: "......" lol!

#yuri #transmigration #world hopping #shypotato #QTVW22

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your-angle-of-music · 3 years

Text

Anyone want my playlist for my dream cast version of The Phantom of the Opera?

Coming right up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGFe3xKBIJQ&list=PLyXOfYb8cpfkWW_8EO-XHO2MIBFLMevmn

To my knowledge, this has all the songs that count as songs, but as always, I welcome other people’s additions or suggestions!

Check out under the cut for the list of songs and actors, and my notes and explanations for each of them. Enjoy!

1. Prologue/Overture - Barry Clark as the Auctioneer, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Rosemary Ashe as Carlotta (Original Broadway)

To be honest, I was never too fond of this long prologue, which is never relevant again and reveals very little about the characters’ future. Clark’s Auctioneer does create a properly grand feel, and Barton’s Raoul does sound heartbroken, but what I’m really here for is that epic, bombastic, beautiful overture. No matter how many times I hear it, it will never stop being exhilarating. This track also features the Hannibal opera part. Ashe’s Carlotta sounds deliciously dramatic and her high note on “Rome” treads that line between impressive and annoying perfectly.

2. Think of Me - Katie Hall as Christine Daae, Angela Caesar as Carlotta, Simon Bailey as Raoul de Chagny (UK Tour)

God, I love Caesar’s Carlotta. She takes her time with all her lines, to excellent effect, and her “spare a thought for me” is both genuinely pretty and utterly distinct from Hall’s Christine’s. I also adore the alternating weepiness and shoutiness she puts into her “these things do happen” tirade, and you can hear her clapping during “all the time!”. And then her “this thing does not happen!” is gloriously over-the-top. Meanwhile, Hall’s Christine’s voice is so lovely here. I appreciate how quietly she starts out, barely audible, and then how sweet her voice is once she gets more confident on “that oh so distant day.” She sounds pure and innocent but yet still clearly classically trained, and damn, she can project. I love the way she sings “think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned” especially. And then that final “think of me” cadenza is perfect. She makes the high notes seem effortless and they’re buttery smooth. Bailey’s Raoul also makes an excellent first impression.

3. Angel of Music - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Janet Devenish as Meg Giry, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

We start of strong with Crawford’s Phantom’s absolutely haunting “bravi, bravi, bravissimi.” And then I adore Devenish’s Meg — she has such a pure, clear, young voice that sounds perfect for her role. Devenish makes this the best version of this song in my opinion, even though I prefer the new lyric ““I watched your face from the shadows / distant through all the applause. / I hear your voice in the darkness, / yet the words aren’t yours” to the one that Devenish’s Meg sings here, “Christine, you must have been dreaming, / stories like this can’t come true. / Christine, you’re talking in riddles, / and it’s not like you” (because come on now, talking in riddles is one of Christine’s defining personality traits). Brightman’s Christine sounds gorgeous on the high notes, especially when she sings softly, and I love her on her “father once spoke of an angel” part.

4. Little Lotte/The Mirror - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

Barton’s Raoul will always be my favorite. There’s a sweetness and a warmth to his voice that makes him always seem likable, when other musical Raouls seem patronizing or boring or manipulative or dumb. I like the mischievous, flirtatious note in Brightman’s Christine’s “you remember that too.” And most of all, I like Crawford’s Phantom’s powerful “insolent boy!” that manages to sound both scary and strangely far-off and echoey — I’d believe he was an angel too. And then the gentleness in his “flattering child, you shall know me” seems more book accurate and likable to me. Crawford has a unique quality to his voice that makes me love his rendition of the “angel of music” motif the best of any actor’s. I am a little sorry that the end of Barton’s cry of “angel” gets cut off in this recording, though.

5. The Phantom of the Opera - Michael Crawford as the Phantom, Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae (Original Broadway)

Brightman’s Christine might not be the strongest, acting-wise, but vocally? She has the range, darlings. She sings the soft, low beginning of this song and the piercing, high end of it with the same facility — I mean, just listen to that last high E. It sounds effortless. And everything in between is good too; her first “the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind” has a breathtakingly haunting quality. Crawford’s Phantom is also very good with the high notes. I just love the way he sings the words “my power over you grows stronger yet” and “in all your fantasies, you always knew” almost too airily, and of course every time he sings “phantom,” it’s powerful enough to give me chills. And I love how soft he is on his first few rounds of “sing for me.”

6. The Music of the Night - Earl Carpenter as the Phantom (London 2006)

This is one of the few tracks on here that I have video for, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Everything about Carpenter’s Phantom’s body language really makes this song for me, in addition to his positively angelic voice. Carpenter embodies the version of the Phantom that I know from the novel, hesitant and gentle even though he’s...Like That, and he manages to make “The Music of the Night” really seem like a love song. I appreciate that he remains so quiet for so much of the beginning, almost inaudible with your computer’s volume turned up less than a third, and the sweetness he puts into the phrase “night unfurls its splendor.” Also that little hand block he does on “tremulous and tender” and the way he never quite touches Christine during “turn your face away from the garish light of day” makes me Feel Things. The crescendo fakeout he does on “close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams” is masterful, as is his high note on “soar” and the way he turns his masked side away from Christine’s hand on “the darkness of the music of the night” and...oh God, we’re only three minutes in. But he’s not just soft and sweet; his “let your soul take you where you long to be” is strong and powerful. I really, really like how he keeps his distance even when he has his arm around her, and the way he stops her hand during “savor each sensation.” Christine’s faint looks weird, because it always does, because it’s really dumb, but I appreciate that Carpenter actually catches her — and looks a small bit panicked about it. And then when he strokes her hair and sings that last “night” the softest and purest of all...perfection.

7. I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It - John Owen-Jones as the Phantom, Rachel Barrell as Christine Daae (London 2005)

Another one with video! And oh boy, what a video. First of all, Barrell’s Christine has a very cool and interesting voice, and I love the way she sings “on the lake there was a boat, and in the boat there was a man,” delicate and unsure, before you can hear her steeling her courage on “who was that shape in the shadows?” I’m equally happy with the way JOJ’s Phantom snarls out that “you little lying Delilah! you little viper!” while still making it sound good, and that over-the-top, extremely JOJ final “damn you! curse you!” that ends in a sob ‘n growl, because if there’s ever a show to be melodramatic in, it’s Phantom. And then his hissed out “stranger than you dreamt it” and the fact that he keeps his hand over his face the entire time makes it perfect. His wounded-animal-style crawling starting on “fear can turn to love” and the roughness and pain and prettiness in his voice reminds me a lot of Erik’s characterization in the novel, as is his sobbed “oh, Christine!” right afterwards, and his “those two fools who run my theater will be missing you!” is believably scary.

8. Magical Lasso - Janos Kurucz as Joseph Buquet, Mary Millar as Madame Giry (Original Broadway)

It’s such a small song, but I really love the unique quality to Kurucz’s Buquet’s voice, as well as the anxiety in Millar’s Madame Giry’s “heat of his eyes.”

9. Notes/Prima Donna - Rosemary Ashe as Carlotta, John Savident as Monsieur Firmin, David Firth as Monsieur Andre, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Mary Millar as Madame Giry, Janet Devenish as Meg Giry, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

This song is way more of a bop than it has any right to be. I absolutely adore Savident’s Firmin and Firth’s Andre, with their humor and their bluster and their old married husbands vibes. I love that overpowering “damnable!” and that long-suffering sigh on “Wrote. Written.” All the indignant drama that Ashe’s Carlotta brings is delightful in every way, especially on her high Italian parts and that “it’s no use trying to appease me, you’re only saying this to please me.” Crawford’s Phantom’s “one last chance” is chilling, and I like how pretty his sound is here — it’s way creepier than growly anger. The “Prima Donna” section is just such a gorgeous melody, really, and Savident and Firth have such rich, lovely voices. And Barton’s Raoul is also amazing; his “is this her angel of music” especially is so gorgeous. I do wish I could hear Millar’s Madame Giry a little bit more clearly, but I love her voice. And Ashe’s last “once more” high note is really quite breathtaking, as is Crawford’s “a disaster beyond your imagination will occur.“ This recording also features a section of Il Muto that will overlap a little bit with the next track — sorry about that.

10. Il Muto - Kim Stengel as Carlotta, Elizabeth Loyacano as Christine Daae, Howard McGillin as the Phantom (Broadway 2008)

There’s some video for this one, which is good, because all the actors are hilarious. This Raoul...sounds like a bit of an asshole, but to be fair, the script shoves him pretty firmly into that role. I can’t find the name of the actor who plays the Count anywhere, but he is perfect. I love the way he holds that “observe her” note, and his hammy self-awareness in doing so. The real MVP here is Stengel’s Carlotta, with all her imperiousness and her high notes and her dramatic nervous laughter and the way she bosses around Christine and the conductor. And her croaking. The croaking is perfect, especially when she does it offstage. Loyacano’s Christine doesn’t have too much to do in this scene, but her kissing in time is amazing. Same for McGillin’s Phantom, although I like how quiet and genuinely amused he is on his “perhaps it is you who are the toad” as well as his maniacal laughter when he kills Buquet. Actually, the whole ballet section is perfectly executed (although I’m not much of an expert on dancing).

11. Why Have You Brought Us Here/All I Ask of You - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

Brightman’s Christine is wonderful here, sounding properly hysterical on “and in this labyrinth, where night is blind” and “Raoul, I’ve been there” and beautiful and sad on the “yet in his eyes, all the sadness of the world” bit. And did I mention that I love Barton’s Raoul? Because I do. I really, really do. The beginning of this song can make Raoul look. Really bad. But this one manages to pull it off, sounding so concerned and so utterly in love. When he sings “no more talk of darkness” and “let me be your shelter, let me be your light” his voice sounds so soft and warm and gentle and my God, you can hear the smile and the hug, and then his “then say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime” is urgent and soaring and lovely. Brightman matches his energy, and she has a lovely, delicate voice that balances perfectly with his. Her “say the word and I will follow you” sounds so tender and there’s a gorgeous intensity in her “say you love me.” Their last “love me, that’s all I ask of you” is sweet and soft, and I love the lightness in Brightman’s “I must go” and of course the warm solidity in Barton’s “Christine, I love you” that sets up the contrast that will absolutely make me cry later. Crawford’s Phantom is perfect too, right from that first haunting, echoing “Christine” at the beginning. He sounds vulnerable and almost disbelieving and on “I gave you my music” and the last repetitions of “Christine,” and that “Go!” is TERRIFYING.

12. Entr’acte - John Savident as Monsieur Firmin, David Firth as Monsieur Andre (Original Broadway)

I don’t have that many feelings about which orchestra in particular preforms this, but I definitely want to include it. I do adore Webber’s score and the switches between the different melody motifs are pretty awesome. Fair warning, though, that it does include the very beginning of “Masquerade” but cuts off in the middle of “I must say, all the same, that it’s a shame that Phantom fellow isn’t here,” which frustrates me to no end.

13. Masquerade - Anna O’Byrne as Christine Daae, Alexander Lewis(???) as Raoul de Chagny (Australia 2009)

Another song with video! And it’s good quality too, highlighting the colorfulness of this scene. O’Byrne’s Christine and Lewis’ Raoul enter at “who can name the face,” and they’re graceful dancers, and everyone reflects the high energy of the scene, especially on the quiet verse. O’Byrne’s Christine sounds young here, but in a good way, and quite scared on “you promised me,” and Lewis lets his Raoul be exasperated on “it’s an engagement, not a crime” — it feels like they’ve had this argument many times before. The part where Christine and Raoul get separated feels genuinely suspenseful, and I really love the lighting just before the Phantom’s entrance.

14. Why So Silent? - Earl Carpenter as the Phantom (London 2005 - 2007)

I do love Carpenter’s Phantom because he’s sweet, but sometimes I love him because he’s really, really scary. There’s video for this bit so we can all admire his Red Death costume and the lighting to match. He stays creepily quiet for the beginning, so that his “remember there are worse things than a shattered chandelier” and his “your chains are still mine! you will sing for me!” are all the more powerful.

15. Notes/Twisted Every Way - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, John Savident as Monsieur Firmin, David Firth as Monsieur Andre, Mary Millar as Madame Giry, Rosemary Ashe as Carlotta (Original Broadway)

Honestly, Ashe’s Christine is one of the best parts of this song. The way she sings “outrage!” and “ha! here’s our little flower” and the way she absolutely snarls “she’s the one behind this, Christine Daae!” is perfection. She’s also brilliant in the “Don Juan Triumphant” rehearsal. Savident’s Firmin and Firth’s Andre are wonderful as usual, and Barton’s Raoul manages to sound gentle and good in a script that is not kind to the character here — his “you don’t have to, they can’t make you” and “you said yourself, he was nothing but a man” and “every hope and every prayer rests on you now“ are lovely. Millar’s Madame Giry sounds frail and scared and determined (I love her “monsieur, be careful, we have seen him kill”) and she reminds me a lot of her characterization in the novel, and Crawford’s Phantom is deliciously creepy in his letter, and I adore his almost sighing sound on phrases like “an office not the arts” and “her teacher.” His “your obedient friend” gives me chills. Brightman’s Christine also shines here. I actually like the quiet almost-shrillness in her “how dare you” because it sounds like she’s been trying to do what she’s supposed to all along but she’s beginning to snap under the stress, and same goes for her “I’ll go mad!” which sounds genuine and spontaneous. Her “twisted every way” section is haunting and haunted and ethereally beautiful and I could listen to it all day. This recording also includes the beginning of “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” so heads up about that.

16. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again - Leila Benn Harris as Christine Daae (London 2008)

There’s some video for this one, but the quality isn’t great — sorry about that. Harris’ Christine, however, is extremely great. Her voice contains sweetness and sadness and trauma and anger all at once and her dynamics are just perfection. The way she sings “that voice which calls to me and speaks my name” provokes instant goosebumps every time, and then the softness in her “Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing” is brilliant. The fierce anger in her “sculpted angels, cold and monumental” is what really made me fall in love with Harris’ rendition. And that strength and power in her “why can’t the past just die” and then the softness and clearness in “help me say goodbye” with the last ringing, gorgeous high note. God, she is perfect, isn’t she.

17. Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur - Michael Crawford as the Phantom, Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny (Original Broadway)

Hands down, this song, at least the first half, is my favorite in the show, and these three singers’ voices pull it off perfectly. Brightman’s Christine has such a delicate voice that sounds so lovely with the two lower ones, and she puts so much gentleness and sadness into that “angel or father, friend or phantom, who is it there staring?” and she sounds beautiful and tortured on that “Angel of Music, I denied you, turning from true beauty.” Her acting on “oh, Raoul!” and “Raoul, come back!” is...not the best, but her singing makes it well worth it to me. And Crawford’s Phantom sounds, well, like an angel. There’s such a strangeness and sadness and beauty in his voice. The way he sings “have you forgotten your angel?” is lovely and soft, and I just love how he says “far from my far-reaching gaze” (and I also love the lyric itself; I think it’s really creepy when later Phantoms change it to “fathering gaze”). And his “turning from true beauty” and “come to your strange angel” are powerful and perfect in every way. His “I am your Angel of Music, come to me, Angel of Music” is properly hypnotic, and I like the steadiness of it amidst Christine’s and Raoul’s panic. And speaking of Raoul, Barton kills it with all of his harmonies, and there’s genuine worry in his deliciously soft “once again she is his, once again she returns” and in his loud and long and powerful “luring her back from the grave.” Crawford’s and Barton’s “bravo, monsieur” exchange sounds properly scary, and I almost like how over-the-top Crawford is being compared to Barton’s relative calmness — they are just on such different pages, emotionally, and are assessing the situation in completely different ways. This recording also gets into the beginning of “The Point of No Return,” or rather “Don Juan Triumphant,” and it sounds...demonic is the best word I can think of, honestly, but that is definitely a good thing. I’m not too fond of Brightman’s Christine or Crawford’s Phantom in this part, but I do appreciate their excellent voices as always.

18. The Point of No Return - Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Christine Daae (25th Anniversary)

Unpopular opinion, perhaps bordering on life-threatening: I’m generally not that into Karimloo’s portrayal of the Phantom. His voice is just a bit too smooth for me, too glamorous and sexy, not an eerie Crawford or an angelic Carpenter or a tortured JOJ, and his acting usually reflects that side of him a bit too much for the Phantom I know. But in this song? It works. Holy everloving fuck, it works. I love the way he says “no backward glances” and “what warm unspoken secrets will we learn” Boggess’ Christine is absolutely mesmerizing here too — her high notes on “you have brought me” and her vibrato on “our passion play has now at last begun” and the huskiness of her “past the point of right or wrong” are brilliant in every way. I’m especially glad that I have video for this song, because these two really make it with their body language. The way Boggess’ Christine springs up and bolts away just before her “you have brought me” line and, of course, Karimloo’s Phantom’s shaking hands on “until we’re one” are perfect. And then, after Boggess’ Christine’s realization that it’s the Phantom she’s singing with at “consume us,” their dynamic is perfect, with Karimloo’s growling determination and Boggess’ anger and fear, both expressed perfectly in their “so stand and watch it burn.” I love the way their “return”s are out of sync after Boggess’ Christine reveals the Phantom’s mask, and the way Karimloo spits out his “-turn” like a challenge. And then the tenor sweetness and intensity of his “say you’ll share with me” can just about break me every time, yet it also sounds properly distinct from Raoul’s earlier version, like with the fiercely desperate edge to his “one lifetime,” and his “anywhere you go let me go too” almost has a different melody. And then I think his snarling and “no”ing when Christine unmasks him at the end is...a little much, but still very on-brand. Oh, and there’s like ten seconds of silence at the end of this recording, just to warn you.

19. Down Once More/The Final Lair - John Owen-Jones as the Phantom, Katie Hall as Christine Daae, Simon Bailey as Raoul de Chagny (UK Tour)

I love this production so, so much, and I wish I had video for it, because nothing exemplifies its understanding of the characters like the staging of The Kiss — instead of the standard staging, in which Christine kisses the Phantom, then hugs him, then kisses him again with more enthusiasm, in this production, Hall’s Christine kisses JOJ’s Phantom once, and then he falls to his knees and she hugs him as he sinks into her and then pushes her away. But I’m here for the audio, too. We start of strong with JOJ’s Phantom’s “into darkness deep as hell!” which he holds for an amazingly long time in this voice of beautiful despair, followed by a properly tortured “why, you ask, was I bound and chained” section. His “a mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing” is heartwrenching, and his “monsieur, I bid you welcome” section is chilling. Despite his awesomeness, I might still need to hand the MVP award to Hall’s Christine, who carries an anger and defiance into this scene that I rarely see in other Christines that you can hear in her “am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh” and her “it’s in your soul that the true distortion lies” and of course her iconic “tears of hate.” And Bailey’s Raoul is compelling, and his “free her!” and “I did it all for you and all for nothing” are wonderfully delivered. In the frantic part where all three characters sing at the same time, their voices are balanced perfectly. I absolutely adore JOJ’s Phantom’s “for either way you choose you cannot win” and Bailey’s Raoul’s “why make her lie to you to save me” and Hall’s Christine’s “Angel of Music, you deceived me.” JOJ’s Phantom’s “you try my patience, make your choice!” is scary but not deafening, and then comes the tender perfection of Hall’s Christine’s “pitiful creature of darkness” (although I wish there was a slightly longer pause before it” and her angelic “alone” and God, I love them all. Hall’s little “no please” when she sees the Phantom approaching Raoul is an excellent detail, and JOJ’s “angel in hell” sounds desperate and almost childlike. I wish his “go now and leave me” wasn’t quite so loud — my throat hurts just thinking about it, but then his “Christine, I love you.” Oh my God, that “Christine, I love you.” I think stabbing me in the heart would be less painful. And I love the lightness and gentleness of Hall’s and Bailey’s final “All I Ask of You” reprise. Yeah. I adore this production, and I adore this show.

Thank you for stopping by! I’d be happy to talk about these choices or Phantom in general with anyone, any time :)

#poto #the phantom of the opera #phantom of the opera #phantom #angle o speak

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yourdeepestfathoms · 4 years

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A Little Piece Of Heaven (part one)

[Tour!verse]

TW: Surprisingly not many...I guess mockery of religion, specifically Christianity and anything in that branch. Very minor mentions of self harm (like one time- if you blink you’ll miss it). But mainly this fic is just psychological.

———————

Lord of The Flies

Let’s get something clear really quickly: Joan Meutas was not religious. Did she used to be? Unfortunately, yes, but after seeing the world for what it really was, after getting an axe to her vagina from her beloved husband, she has realized that there was no merciful God who would save lost souls. It was all a hoax by crazy old folk from wherever Jerusalem was to herd people into one belief, thinking that it may make them more humane and friendly. But religion has done more harm than good- Christianity damns all non CIS heterosexuals to hell, Jews got murdered by the thousands, that one branch literally won’t eat anything besides fucking grain or some shit, Catholics are just rude as all hell, those fasting things literally cause people to STARVE TO DEATH, and for what? To appease some higher being? Do they truly think they will be saved? If God was so merciful and wonderful and kindhearted, why would he make things like murder and cancer and rape and torture?

Joan even once heard that the Bible stated that when a woman was on her period she had to leave her village and wasn’t allowed to come back UNLESS she had a turtle dove. She’s never read the Good Book before, so she doesn’t know if that was true or not, but it doesn’t sound unlikely given all the stupid rules she’s heard about.

So, no, Joan was not religious.

It’s strange, she thinks, how offended people get when she says it or simply hints at it. Their eyes will practically bug out of their skull and they probably pray for her “lost soul”, maybe even do that weird cross gesture on their chest when they think she isn’t looking. They look at her as if she was actually a demon spy loosed from hell and not just someone who has enough common sense to realize that an “all powerful father” was complete and utter bullshit.

That’s the thing- it’s like the word “atheist” was purposely made to seem like the most evil string of letters to ever be created. You know the words- those synonyms that just sound much worse than the actual root phrase (molest, slaughter, moist). Atheist just has this dark shade to it. Or so religious people say.

But enough of that! There’s a reason why such a taboo subject is being brought up.

Joan was going to contact Death.

As they say, desperate times calls for desperate measures. And desperate Joan was.

You see, her queen- Jane Seymour- used to be quite the woman. Sharp, beautiful, powerful, but also warm behind the closed court doors. Joan was very lucky to see this side of her as her youngest lady in waiting, often getting called gentle pet names and sometimes pats on her head if she was particularly lucky that day. As a touch-starved orphan servant, this was like a pot of gold to Joan- love and affection is something she’s craved long before reincarnation in the modern world. And, speaking of the resurrection, Joan thought she would get even more of Jane’s “Mum Treatment” since they had more time on their hands, but she was very, very wrong.

Jane...Jane was different. She changed. No longer was she the motherly, caring, strong woman from the past, but instead coming back as some reduced version of herself- slightly younger (24, 25, maybe even 23), more awkward and timid, and much less maternal. The way she now looked at Joan wasn’t with compassion, rather...plain curiosity, sometimes even aversion. Her memory of her young lady in waiting has waned- it was as if she didn’t remember that Joan had been at her side the whole time when she was bedridden after giving birth to Edward! Like she couldn’t conjure up the remembrance of a teenager literally watching her rot away and slowly die for days!

To say the least, Joan was not happy. Add in trauma, insomnia, hate on social media, constant stress and pressure from her profession, and a severe lack of friends and you can probably see why Joan was going to such extreme measures.

Now, she knew about the stories. She’s read The Monkey’s Paw. She knows about the consequences of one’s actions. Joan wasn’t going into this completely stupid- have some faith, will you?

Gambling with Death was a risk. A huge risk that could very well end with her soul being ripped out of her mouth or her flesh being worn by a supernatural being that then goes on to commit atrocities under her identity. And not only was it a massive risk to take, it was also very, very stupid.

If I have to spell it out for you, listen closely: Death knows things. A lot of things. They don’t call him the “Lord of The Flies” for nothing. Which is why he loves to play games for those desperate enough to contact him because he knows he is much smarter than whatever pathetic, miserable piece of useless garbage comes clawing at a mirror, begging him to reveal himself. And unless you have every secret of the universe, you’re probably going to get ass-blasted back to Tuesday.

Oh, what am I saying? You won’t get a second chance.

You’ll be long gone by then.

And whatever state the cops find your body in the next morning depends on whatever mood the beast was in.

However, in Joan’s case here, she is desperate and stupid enough to take the risk. In her eyes, she doesn’t have much to live for. She’s a slave to SIX- day and night she’s working endlessly over musical paperwork and the same songs over and over and OVER again. It doesn’t help that she isn’t the closest to the rest of the cast and is often left alone when everyone else goes out and has fun. The scars on her wrists are evident of how many nights she’s been alone.

Without Jane, she has nothing to live for. She needed her.

And that’s exactly why she was sitting on the floor in front of a mirror propped against the wall in the dark theater surrounded by candles and a semicircle of salt.

Joan has done a lot of studying up to this point. She knows she has everything correctly, now she just has to get Death to appear...and hope he doesn’t immediately pull her small intestines out from her throat for bothering him.

Joan stares into the mirror as hard as she can, closes her eyes, then counted to ten. Her eyelids lingered shut for longer than she would like to admit after she hit the number one, but she eventually pried them open.

It was not her reflection staring back at her.

To be honest, Joan wasn’t exactly sure of what she was expecting to see. Some parts of her believed nothing would happen, other parts convinced itself that a grim reaper-like figure or a horned, goat-legged demon would be kneeling on the other side of the glass wielding a scythe or pitchfork. However, a suit-wearing young man was not really something that crossed her mind in her theories.

If Joan wasn’t a lesbian, she might have found him attractive, but he definitely was at a straight woman’s perspective. Perfect smile, the most amazing cheekbone structure, unflawed olive skin, neatly combed brown-blonde hair, a broad chest, phenomenal shape- if it weren’t for his yellow eyes with slit pupils, he might have been the perfect lady’s man (although, knowing straight women, they probably wouldn’t care for his demon eyes- after all, you don’t need to see someone’s peepers to suck cock!).

Joan sat completely bewildered, all of her confidence draining and being replaced with dread that drenches her like a thick, dark oil spill. She can feel her hands, which are lying in her lap, starting to tremble and clenching her fingers doesn’t help at all. The ability to form a coherent sentence slips from her mind, so Death speaks first.

“Hello, Joan Meutas.”

This guy is the real deal. He pronounced her last name correctly!

Joan opens and closes her mouth like a fish out of water and Death is thoroughly amused by her sardine impression. He watches her through the glass, waiting patiently for her to learn how to enunciate again.

“H-h-hello-”

“Yes, yes, h-h-hello to you to,” Death laughed. He wasn’t directly trying to be cruel, but Joan’s self esteem was far enough into the ground to hear his jibe as a mockery of her understanding of the English language. “If I let you speak the whole time we are going to get nowhere! Pull yourself together, kid. You should see the look on your face! You look like you just got caught making out with the family goat!”

Joan’s expression remained one of fright.

“What? Didn’t you own a goat back in- god, what year were you born? 1517 or 1525? Historians paint it as both! But I thought a family farm animal was the big rave back then! I apologize- I need to catch up on the modern slang. Say, would you be considered a ‘boomer’? Because I have been DYING to use that phrase on someone who contacts me. Could you imagine it?” He warps his voice into one of a pruny old woman, “‘I wish for great fortune!’ ‘Okay Boomer.’” Death bursts into fits of maniacal laughter that sounded as if a thousand lost souls were chortling together at once.

Joan is still silent, but during Death’s monologue she was able to wire her brain back to functionality. She sits up a little bit straighter and Death notices, so he containers himself instantly, also fixing his posture.

“Ready to talk now?” He asked.

“Yes.” Joan answered.

“Wonderful,” There’s a glint in his piercing yellow eyes, “What is it that you desire of me?”

Joan gathers up all her courage, sits up a little taller, and says, “I desire to challenge you to a game of question-and-answer.”

The glint flares into a blaze of confidence. If Joan stares hard enough, she swore she could almost see the fires of Hell burning in his eyes.

“How fun,” The words ooze out from Death’s pale lips, soaked in liquid menace. “Shall I go over the rules?”

Joan nodded. She knew them, she knew she did, but it would be good to hear them one last time.

“Very well,” Death said. He cleared his throat and began speaking as if he were reading off of a manual, “Death’s Gambit: A two-player game between the Lord of The Flies himself and a human. After being conjured- just gonna skip over that process, you’ve clearly got it down, kid- and initiating the game, both parties will have sixty-six minutes and six seconds to answer as many questions correctly as possible. Anything can be asked- trivia, personal inquiries, riddles, even dares, as long as the salt circle is not exited. The catch of the whole thing is this: The Prince of Darkness is obligated to tell the truth only if the human answers correctly to his question or does a requested dare or the human manages to stump him. However, if he answers correctly or the human answers incorrectly to HIS question, he may lie about whichever question he wants. The score will not be revealed until the very end once the time is over. If the human wins, the Keeper of Souls MUST grant any one wish they have. If He-Who-Lies wins, the human will be the victim to whatever losing punishment he comes up with. Remaining rules include: The salt circle cannot be left- you may find yourself no longer in your dimension-, the game cannot be quit until the time is over, items like watches or phones are not permitted to be used to look up answers or keep track of the time. Good luck and Beelzebub be with you.”

Despite knowing this all already, hearing it out loud, spoken by the beast himself, made it all hit home for Joan. She was really doing this; she was gambling with Death.

She had to be the stupidest fuck to ever grace God’s green earth.

“Are you ready to begin?” Death asked.

Joan took a deep death and answered, “Yes.”

A wicked smile curled on Death’s lips. The candles around Joan blaze.

“The game is on.”

A dark feeling weighed down on Joan after that was spoken. The air around her seemed to shift. Her gut was screaming at her to run away, to hide, to do something other than just sit there, but she couldn’t move. Not from fear, but from sheer will. She couldn’t be stupid. Who knows what lurked outside her thin salt circle....

As he usually did, Death initiates the game and asked his first question.

“What was the name of Catherine Parr’s true love?”

Like that, a cold stone drops deep into the pit of Joan’s stomach. Of all the questions she expected him to start off with, Tudor history was not one of them. It startles her, takes her by surprise, and she realizes very quickly that that’s exactly why Death asked it. He’s trying to disorientate her right off the bat and weaken her before she has the chance to get some points in.

She could not let that happen.

It’s just that- she didn’t know Tudor history outside of knowledge on her queen and whatever is said in the show. The others certainly did talk about their past lives, but Joan- she-

It stung, to say the least, when she realized that Death knew about her nonexistence friendships with the queens. And that he was targeting that.

“Thomas Seymour.” Joan finally said.

She was pretty sure that was the right answer...but not completely positive. And, because of that, her worried mind began to scream doubts inside of her brain.

Was that a trick question? He’s supposed to be the embodiment of pure evil- wouldn’t he think Henry is Parr’s true love? Was Henry the right answer?

“Your turn.” Death said, not reacting to Joan’s answer, which scares her even more.

“What’s- why did you choose to show up in that body?”

“Oooh, you’re starting with a personal inquiry!” Death said, laughing, “How fun! And I hope you’re not flattering yourself, Joan- I don’t look like this to make your pussy wet. Trust me, I could look way more attractive, but I know you.” Those three words slither into Joan’s ears and made her shudder. “Isn’t the whole point of being a lesbian to not be attracted to men?” Death laughed again, “But I look like this because I want to. I can take whatever shape I want! Remember that one time I was a snake? That was weird. Although, peeping at a naked chick was pretty damn fun. As a lesbian, you could probably appreciate the sight.”

For just a moment, the image of Death disappears, the mirror hazes to white, and Eve appears. Not the paintings you always see- THE Eve, bare breasts and vagina and all, and if Joan weren’t also asexual, her own genitals may have been burning with desperate pleasure.

“She was a sight.” Death said, returning to view. He chuckles, then immediately goes to his next question, “What was the exact height of Mount Everest in the year 1666?”

Joan’s heart just about stopped.

How in the holy hell was she supposed to know that? Then again, that was probably the point of asking such a thing.

“Three...hundred feet?” It came out as a question, but it’s taken as an answer and Death doesn’t react except for a slight twitch of his nose. “What...is the hardest piece to learn on the piano?”

“Liszt.” Death answered smoothly. “What animal can see the most amount of colors?”

“A...dolphin.” Joan physically cringed at her answer. “Who wrote Liszt?”

Is this what she was going to be doing the whole time? Asking the King of Hell fucking piano trivia?

“La Campanella.” Death once again answered perfectly. “What is the full chemical name for the antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication, Zoloft?”

Wasn’t that the medicine Joan was supposed to take for her anxiety?

“I- I don’t know.”

Death just hummed and awaited his next question. He didn’t laugh at her like she expected him to, which slightly lightened the blow of her stupidity.

“What’s my favorite song in SIX?”

“None of them. Why did you stop taking your Zoloft pills?”

The answer followed by such a question felt like Joan was just punched in the stomach with a spiked gauntlet. She swore she was winded by some unseen force (probably shock). Her breath hitched in her throat and she seemed like a little kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“I-” She hunched her shoulders around her neck. Death is giving her a curious look, which was at least better than worry or concern. “They- they weren’t helping me...so I didn’t think there was a point taking them if they weren’t going to fix me.”

Death hummed once more, this time louder and more enthusiastic. He clearly liked her answer.

“Interesting,” He mused, then quiets himself for the next question.

“What’s standing behind me?”

Ever since the game began, Joan picked up on the presence of something staring at the back of her head. She could feel their eyes burning into her skull, sometimes even breathing on the back of her neck.

Death smiled. “See for yourself.”

Joan saw nothing in the reflection, just darkness beyond the candles and Death, and she was not about to go and look away. She was scared about what would happen if she turned her gaze away from the mirror for even a second.

When Death realized Joan wasn’t going to fall for his tricks that easily, he quirked an impressed eyebrow and moved on.

“Will you greet the worker who just came in?”

Joan glanced fearfully to the corner of the room. A figure is hunched there. The glow from the candles just barely licks at their claws.

“What was their name? Terrance?” Death said, “Doesn’t he work in lightning?”

“That’s not Terrance,” Joan murmured.

Death took it as an answer, it seems. He leans in close to the glass and when he whispers, his hushed tone is right at the back of Joan’s ear.

“You don’t want to know what he really is.”

Joan can feel a panic attack rising in her chest. Death is trying to scare her, stray her from answering coherently or correctly and get her to waste time by freaking out. She had to steer the game back into calmness.

Or, rather, however calm a Devil game could get.

“What do I have in my pocket right now?”

Death seems a little bothered that the cryptic theme was interrupted, but he gets over it.

“One black pen that’s almost out of ink, a granola bar you promised yourself you would eat, and a rosary you stole from Aragon.” He said, “Oh and, by the way, that isn’t going to protect you from me. So return it as soon as possible or Aragon is gonna be PISSED!” He laughed, imagining the storm the golden queen would cause if she caught Joan with such a precious belonging.

Joan swallowed thickly. She didn’t want to check her pockets. She didn’t want to know that he was right.

“What is the color of the sky?”

It seemed like an easy enough question, but Joan, believe it or not, knew better than to fall for such a simple trick. She wracked her brain for a moment, then answered, “Black.”

Death doesn’t react aside from licking over his dried lips. His tongue is too pointy. Joan moves on.

“Does Jane care about me?”

Honestly, the question kind of surprised her. It bubbled up from her throat from out of nowhere- yes, she had been wanting to ask it so badly, but she didn’t actually expect it to come out.

“Yes.” Says Death.

For a moment, joy bursts through Joan, but the metaphorical, celebratory confetti is sucked up by the vacuum of doubt.

Is he lying? Is he giving me false hope? Or is he telling the truth?

“What’s your blood type?” Death asked.

“A...AB.”

Like Joan fucking knew that.

“What’s my favorite color?”

“Blue.” Death smiled, “Because the blue sky would always remind you of opportunities for a better life.”

A shiver runs down Joan’s spine. She didn’t like how he knew that.

“What’s something that you can’t eat for lunch or dinner?”

He’s asking a riddle. Joan bit the inside of her cheek, thinking.

It couldn’t be a food. That was too easy.

Think, Joan, think!

“...Breakfast.”

Death chuckles. Joan doesn’t know what to think of that.

Twenty minutes pass by in a blur. Cold sweat soaks Joan’s brow, dripping down her face, but she’s too scared to move from her stiff position. Her back muscles hurt from sitting like a statue for so long- how the hell does Death look so relaxed? Then again, he doesn’t really have much to worry about.

He doesn’t have to worry about the possibility of being mutilated or dragged to Hell or that that figure in the corner has been getting closer and closer as the minutes passed by.

“Do you think every human deserves to live?”

The question came out of nowhere, really. Death had been asking mostly trivia up until that point. He tittered at Joan’s stunned expression, then raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Well?”

“No.”

Joan didn’t hesitate because she knew it was the truth. Not everyone deserved to live. Rapists, pedophiles, serial killers, racists, homophobes, terrorists, abusers- they didn’t deserve life. People like them deserved to die.

And anyone who doesn’t believe that is a fucking idiot.

“Do YOU think every human deserves to live?”

Death scoffed. “Of course not.” He peered at Joan, really analyzing her for the first time. His yellow slit eyes raked over the girl, making her feel uncomfortable and violated. “You know, you and I think a lot alike. Not many humans give ‘no’ as their answer. They think optimism will make them seem like a good person. It’s pathetic.”

Joan just nodded silently.

“Now...where were we? Oh, yes.” Death leaned in, “Which queen suffered the most?”

Joan furrowed her eyebrows. The whole point of the show was to not compare, especially traumas, but...

“Katherine Howard.”

Come on- clearly K Howard had it the worst. The girl was violated by four different men before she was an adult! None of the other five stories combined could possibly rank to the fifth queen’s suffering.

“Honestly, I think the same!” Death said, “I mean- what is UP with the whole ‘one of a kind, no category’ gimmick? How stupid! Last time I checked, being a victim of sexual abuse doesn’t make you ‘one of a kind.’ Why would you even think of it that way?“

Joan nodded slowly.

“I agree,” She said, “Um- here’s my next question: Is this question false?”

Death raised his eyebrows and cooed in obvious interest.

“True.” He said, smirking. “My turn. Do you resent the queens?”

Joan actually recoils. Death laughed.

“I-”

Did she? Did she resent the queens? Surely she didn’t... She couldn’t! The queens were perfect! How could anyone ever hate them?

“No.”

Death almost looks disappointed.

“What’s worse than death?”

“You’re living it.”

Cold sweat drips down Joan’s face. It stings her eyes and is salty on her tongue. She hears noises all around her, but doesn’t dare to look. She already knows “Terrance” is on his knees beside the salt circle and his leaning his face in right next to hers. She can smell the rot on him.

“Have you ever wanted to hurt the queens?”

Death’s questions are definitely ramping up in darkness. Was the time close to ending? Is that why he’s getting deeper?

Joan shut her eyes tightly for a moment, but opened them quickly when the fear of losing sight of Death nagged at the back of her mind. Before her, on the other side of the mirror, the being is waiting patiently, eagerly for her answer.

“Sometimes,” Joan breathed, “Yes.”

Death smiles a wicked smile.

“How interesting,” He purred, then gestured for Joan to ask her question.

“Does God exist?”

“Unfortunately.” Death groaned, then laughed. He inspected Joan again. “How would you hurt the queens?”

Joan felt her stomach ache. She didn’t like that question. She didn’t want to think about actually hurting the queens, even if she’s considered it one or two times before.

“I- I haven’t really given it any thought.” She answered, then quickly sputtered out her next question before Death could comment, “Does the Bible speak the truth?”

“Of course not.” Death said. “My next question is this: If I were to give you a task, would you do it?”

“Depends,” Joan said, “What would the task be?”

Death held up both arms in a shrugging motion. “I don’t know! Pick up my dry cleaning? It depends! Don’t put me on the spot like that!” He then laughed that horrible laugh again. Once he contains himself, he says, “Time is ticking. The game is almost over. I want to switch things up before we end. I have a dare for you.”

Joan nods.

“Stab yourself in the hand.”

That flush of icy cold dread floods through Joan’s system again. Every part of her being screamed at her to refuse, there will be other offers or questions she could make up for, but she knew that was just false hope. Like Death said: time was almost up. She couldn’t risk refusing and docking more points (if she isn’t in the negatives already, that is).

“Fine.” She forced out through her teeth.

She reached for the pen in her pocket, but Death held up a hand.

“Don’t use that inky thing,” He said. “It won’t get the job done. Please- allow me.”

He flicked his wrist and a large carving knife appears out of thin air and clatters to the floor in front of Joan. She stares at it for a moment, then picked it up, setting her left hand down in its place. She took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut, and plunged the blade down.

Joan couldn’t choke back the scream that burst from her lips. She cried at the pain, sobbing in horror when she looked down to see the knife practically pinning her hand to the floor. Dark red blood pools around her fingers, gushing and spurting like spigot from the wound when she pulls the blade free. She cradled her wounded hand close to her chest, weeping weakly.

“Very good,” Death cooed, clapping.

Joan raised her eyes slowly and Death smirked at how lit up they were, almost like hot coals.

“I have a dare for you.” Joan growled, her voice low and dangerous.

“I accept.”

“Change your eye color to blue.”

For a moment, Joan swore she saw the slightly twitch on Death’s features. She watched him close his eyes, sit their silently for a moment, then open them again.

They were still yellow and slit.

“I cannot.” He said. However, he wasn’t angry or irritated at being stumped, rather amused. “Next...what is the flying speed of a swallow?”

Joan ripped off of a strip of her shirt and wrapped it around her bloody hand, hoping it would be a good enough substitute for real bandages for now.

“African or European?”

Death grinned. And that grin only grew wider as the candles around Joan went out until only the one behind her remained lit.

"̸̡̢̢̣͓͚͖̪̼̪͑͊̈́͋̀́̾͗͘ͅT̷̼̺͈̮̜͔̙͂̋̉͋͛̈̿̀̕͜͠͝i̸̢̹̙̼̠͓͚̖̗͔̮̔̌͂̓̐̊̈́̔̃̕m̸̡̱̤̱͙͎̦̱͙̪̻̓̅͌̉̀̈́̐̄͒̌̕͘͝e̸̟̳͒'̸̗͎̞̙̋̎̓́́͑̉͐͑̈́s̷̰̬̙͖̲̩͚̥͈̝̩̻̻̮̭͂̀̐̓̑̓͌̓̀́̐̐ ̷̡̳͍̗͉̝͔̃̑͛̀͊͌͆̌̒̃̔͘̚͠ͅû̵̞̠̣͉̻̖̅̓̄̏͝p̷̛͖͎̮̖͇̬̮͉̥̲͈̟͊̃́̃̏̇̇͛͗̅̕͘,̷̢̧̧̹͈̗̝͙̪͉̖̆̈́ͅ ̸̲̩̥̇͂̓͌̀̋͗̀͛̚J̵̼̣̋ö̴̡͕̺̪̠͓̹͔̂͝ą̶̡̜̭̤͖̭̫̝̘̆̂̾̐͊̾̒̂̏n̶̛̛̬̦̥̠̮̐̓̃̋̍̒̂͐̂̽ͅ.̴̪̰̩̀͊̑̐́̂͗̍̐̈́̚"̴͍͆͛́̈́̈́̍͆̀͗͘͝͝

It was almost impossible to breathe. Joan can barely hold herself together- the tears are flowing freely and she can’t get them to stop. She would say a prayer for her damned soul if it weren’t for the whole atheist thing, and she worried that Death would get angry at her for it, even if it was said in her mind, which he couldn’t possible read (or, at least, she hoped he couldn’t).

Still, she bowed at the waist and thanked Death for the game.

“Let’s tally up the score, shall we?”

Joan first saw blood start to spread across Death’s midsection, then a sharp sting struck her in the stomach. She hissed in pain and lifted her shirt slightly, as did Death, and they both saw tally marks upon their flesh.

Death had twenty-three.

And Joan watched in shock as a twenty-fourth tally carved down through her skin right before her eyes.

“Congratulations, Joan Meutas,” Death says, “You’ve won. What is it that you wish for?”

#six the musical #six the musical tour #six uk tour #six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six fanfiction #six fanfic #six fic #six ff #tour jane seymour #jane seymour #tour joan on the keys #joan on the keys #tw: religion

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spidxysense · 5 years

Text

Back to You | 07

Summary: He broke your heart, but you’d always love him. Two souls that not even the universe could tear apart, even if you wanted it to at times.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader x Timothee Chalamet

A/N: This is for all of you beautiful people who were patient enough with me to wait for chapter 6! and this especially goes out to all of you who have been leaving asks!!!! I love you guys!!!! Team Timmy or Team Tom?

Word count: 3,678

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

A few months later

You standing by the doorway to your room while looking at the couch, deciding whether you'd sit there or not, it was a Saturday and Luca had made it a rule to not film on the weekend to keep some of your senses intact unless absolutely necessary, so everyone at the villa was just hanging around. Timothee was sprawled on the couch, a bag pistachios by his lap as he cracked them open and ate them while he watched some foreign movie in French without subtitles. Armie was sat at the table, trying to eat a salad as he answered some business emails as well. You lift your eyebrows, intrigued.

"Timothee."

His eyes snap to you, wide and unknowing you'd been looking at him, "What?" He starts to play innocent.

Armie glances every now and then at you two but keeps his focus on his phone.

You give him an 'I know what you did' look, but he doesn't budge, "Timmy… come on." You try to persuade him.

He shrugs dramatically, "What?!"

By this time, Armie's attention was on the two of you before he realizes what you were talking about, "Oh come on!" He stands up from the table, "Really Timothee?" He crosses his arms in front of his chest, "Right in front of my salad?"

Timothee is sheepish but still unrelenting, "Man, I don't know what the two of your are on about!"

"Timothee…" Armie approaches him with intent, "You just stuffed your hand that's full of pistachio shells in between the couch cushions!"

Timothee busts out laughing, "At least your couch is gonna smell like pistachios!"

Armie taps his foot impatiently looking like a fed up father, "Dude, that is disgusting. That's gonna smell like you breath."

He grabs his phone from the table and the salad and scoffs before letting it fall into the sink, "I'm going out. Maybe grab a burger instead. I can't be within proximity of you right now" he points at Timothee before grabbing his keys, walking towards the door, "Do you want to come along?"

You start to move your mouth to speak but Timothee beats you to it, "Nah, we'll stay here." He dismisses Armie.

Armie rolls his eyes at Timothee, before slamming the door. Timothee has a dopey smile on his face before he scoots over, patting the seat next to him, calling you over. You shrug, noticing he was patting a space very close to him, so you walk over and sit a little over an arm's length away from him. Within a 5 minute window, he seems restless, looking from his seat to the tv over to you before he sighed and just falls over, his head landing exactly on your lap as he gets comfortable in his lying position, his eyes glued back to the television.

"Timothee." you call out.

He hums in acknowledgement that he heard you and you find your fingers playing with the wisps of his hair, "What are you even watching?" The television was showing some girl dancing in cabaret.

His eyes are still on the television, "It's called Lola" he crosses his arms, his eyes never leaving the television, "And she's this Cabaret dancer. She's still in love with her ex lover, Michel and along comes this guy, Roland who's completely in love with her."

You snort, "I never took you for an old movies kind of guy. I always thought you're like more of a 21 Jump Street kind of movie fan."

He shrugs, "I am. I'm just watching this for future reference." He smirks.

You stiffen, was he trying to say this was a reflection of your life?

You clear your throat, "Who does she end up with?"

You feel your heart beat faster, this wasn't a movie, this was real life, but a part of you also didn't want to know who she ended up with.

He sighs, looking up at you, his eyes seemingly changing color every time you look into them, "That jackass Michel. It should have been Roland. Michel already fucked her over."

You wanted to stay quiet, to let him watch the movie in peace but, "Well, why not Michel?"

He scoffs, "Y/N, why the heck would anyone go back to what broke them?"

And his words hit you all too much, "Sometimes, love is worth getting hurt over." You say so calmly and quietly that you wonder if he even heard you at all.

He ponders this over for some time, he shrugs, "Good point. Roland better try harder then." His grin is boyish and charming and before you can give a witty retort he cuts you off, "Let's go out tonight."

You pause, the gears turning in your head, "Sure! Armie probably won't be pissed at you by that time."

He chuckles nervously, "I thought maybe we could watch a movie or something."

You laugh aloud, "That's what we're doing now though?"

"Everything's better in the actual theater though… and I want popcorn."

Things between you two get quiet when your mind drifts of to Tom, you take a deep breath, "Maybe next time-"

"He hasn't called you since?" He sounded worried but he couldn't hide the giddiness in his voice.

You shrug, "Well I did kind of tell him that he had no say in my life anymore. He might just be giving me space."

"I mean I guess." Timothee shrugs, placing his hands at the back of his hand and suddenly all you can think about is the back of his fingers grazing your thighs, "Or he could be mad, maybe he doesn't want to talk to you."

You blink a few times, "It could be." Now you felt bad, did Tom not want anything to do with you anymore? Not even as friends?

You snap your head in the direction of your phone ringing on the table and you jump up and run over to it, it wasn't the yodel ringtone set for Tom, but who knows, it could have been Harrison, it could be Tom with a different number, you quickly answer it not bothering with looking at the caller ID.

"Heeeeeeey bitch!"

You sigh, your shoulders dropping in defeat, "How are you up at 6 in the morning, Troye?"

He laughs on the other end, "My walk of shames aren't the same without you here, boo. Which is why I called you."

You rub your neck sheepishly, "Sorry I hadn't called in over a month, I was really busy."

"With Timothee's tongue down your throat maybe?"

You scoff, looking over at Timothee who turned his attention back to the tv as you walked to your room, shutting the door behind you, "You wish."

You practically hear him nodding on the other end, "Actually I do. You need to get dick-"

"Oh god, please don't reference my friend's dick."

"I saw your lousy ex at the party I was at last night." He laughs probably thinking about it, "He looked miserable."Did you by any chance have anything to do with that?"

You plop down on your bed, "I did, actually. At least I probably did. I ended up telling him that he had no say in my life anymore and he hasn't called me since."

He takes a sharp intake of breath, "Well, that just sounds like you're waiting for him to call."

"He's also my friend you know."

Troye laughs humorlessly on the other end, "Y/N, you and Tom will and could never be just friends. Trust me."

A knock at the door gets your attention as Timothee's head pops into your room, "Hey, I'm gonna go shower and then we can go, Armie said he'd meet us there."

You nod, "Sure, just tell me when you're done so I can get ready too."

"ARE YOU GOING OUT TONIGHT?" Troye's voice is filled with assumptions and pride, "WITH TIMOTHEE CHALAMET? ON A DATE?" He emphasizes the word date.

You laugh, "We're going with Armie and his wife-"

"Oooh, a double date? How domestic of you, Y/N."

"As friends!" You laugh into the phone, "You're salivating over my love life like a cartoon hobo and a pie on the window sill."

Troye sighs, "Clearly, being in a relationship for 3 years is a complete bore, seeing you this oblivious. Honey, I'll tell you how this ends alright? Armie and his wife are gonna end up having to go home earlier and Timothee is gonna pull some major classic cliche moves and you two will kiss tonight. Preferably over spaghetti, Lady and the Tramp style."

You sigh, "Troye-"

Timmy pops back into your doorway, already in pants, without a shirt, "Hey, I'm done. So you can go ahead and use it." He shuts the door behind him.

Your mouth is agape, "What just happened?! Y/N?" Troye sounds frantic.

You take a big gulp, "Troye… Timothee has abs." You hang up, grabbing your towel and running over to the bathroom.

--------------------------

You walk out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, as you laugh at Troye's texts.

"DO NOT HANG UP ON ME. WAIT NO HANG UP AND FACETIME ME I WANT TO SEE."

"Alright, just take a picture."

"Y/N if you come back here without having licked his abs you'd have failed as my best friend."

But right before you open your door, you hear a quiet melody through the hallway and you follow it to Timmy's room. Without knocking, you open his door to find him at the piano playing a melody that seemed like you'd been looking for for a long time now.

"Did you make that?" You touch his bare back softly as to not surprise him, but he jumps anyway.

He takes one look at you and becomes a stuttering mess, "I mean, yeah, I uh, I mean, it's just something I've been playing with."

You nod in understanding, "I like it. I really do." You back out of his room and the music comes back, over and over he plays that melody.

---------------------

You’re standing a few blocks from the cinema with Timothee near an alleyway as the two of you waited for Armie and his wife, you look at your watch, “What time was the movie again?”

Timothee coughs, looking nervous, “It’s in like 5 minutes.”

You frown, “Oh no! I wanted to watch the previews. We might not make it anymore.” Your frown turns into a pout that has Timothee grinning from ear to ear.

“Jesus, if only there were paparazzi here, they’d think you were in love with Y/N the way you were staring at her.” You snap your head in Armie’s direction, not noticing the redness on Timothee’s cheeks when he was caught staring at you, Armie approached the two of you, his wife in tow, “wuh-pshhh!” Armie imitates the crack of a whip before laughing at Timothee.

You raise your arms in exasperations, “Armie, we missed the previews!”

He shoots you a sympathetic smile, “You’re gonna really hate me after this then.” He gives Timothee this unreadable look before continuing, “We’re gonna have to head back, I’ve had a little too much to drink to even be in public-”

You grab hold of Armie’s neck in your arms as you catch him in a headlock, “I missed the previews just to hear you say we could have gone in already?!”

Armie’s laughing his ass off at this point as Timothee points a camera in your direction while Armie’s wife pointed her phone to catch the three of you.

You get off of Armie, dusting your clothes off, “You’re lucky that we need you for a few more weeks, or else I would have ended you.” You joke with him.

You notice the sudden click of a camera going off from Timothee’s direction and you raise an eyebrow at him.

Timothee trivia #9: Timothee was always taking your pictures. If he took your pictures more than others was very debatable.

You follow Timothee to the entrance of the old time looking theater, with the ticket booth at the front, “Armie didn’t look drunk, I thought Armie couldn’t even get drunk.” You follow him past the ticket booth but you stop, “Aren’t we supposed to pay for the tickets?”

Timothee just looks behind at you, shrugging, “You tell me.” He jumps over the counter at the snack bar, grabbing whatever he wanted and what he thought you’d like, and you watch him in awe.

“What’s happening?” You stare at him confused while following him to the Cinema.

He leans down near your already reddening face and winks, “Well, you’re not gonna miss the previews is what’s happening.” He pushes past the doors, sitting down wherever he wanted while you stood frozen at the aisle.

“Timothee…”

He’s already sat down in the middle of the theater, “I thought there would be a lot of people and you can never risk people seeing us, so I rented the whole theater.” he looks at his watch, “For about, like 5 hours.” He shrugs.

You let out a small laugh, “Timmy, I’m pretty sure this town doesn’t know us.” You look around, “Let alone go the the movie theater.” You remember all the instances you saw anybody around, all the people here seemingly forty years old and above.

He scratches his head while laughing, “Yeah, I guess I kind of forgot that part… but at least we’ll be able to watch the previews!” He pops an m&m in his mouth, you sit in the seat next to him, he turns to you, “How do you feel about The Dark Knight series?”

You look back at him, “Christopher Nolan is a genius.” You say simply, Timothee looking like he had stars in his eyes as he stared at you. He put some popcorn in his mouth, wordlessly turning to the screen, grinning to himself.

------------------------------------------------

“This pizza is the best.” You munch on the slice in your hand while Timothee sat across from you, poking his slice, looking over at you every now and then.

“Is it the biggest cliche that I took you to a pizza joint in Italy?” He laughs.

Instantly, you shook your head, “No way! I love pizza. Thanks for this. I owe you one. I had no idea that we were gonna eat so I didn’t even bring money since I thought we were gonna guilt Armie into paying for us.” You snicker to yourself.

He shrugs nonchalantly, taking his knife and poking the slice with it, “It’s fine, you can pay for the next date.” He smiles to himself coyly and looks back at his pizza slice when he sees you stopped chewing all together.

You clear your throat, trying to ignore the fact that he literally just referred to this as a date without actually telling you that this was a date, “You know… Troye had the craziest theory about this.” You gesture between the two of you.

You’re shocked when he gives you this serious look, like he was drawing you in and he leans forward, his elbows on the table, and his hands held together in front of his face, his voice deep, “Enlighten me, Y/N.”

You gulp, what happened to the giddy Timothee you had been with moments ago? This was a different side of Timothee that you weren’t familiar with, you laugh nervously, “Troye thought this whole thing was planned out, he even told me Armie would bail last minute, that you’d pull some kind of romantic move and we’d end the night by having a meal and… that’s it.” You decide to shut up about Troye telling you that you two would kiss by the end of the night.

Timothee crosses his arms in front of his chest, lifting the two front legs of his chair from the floor and leaning, “I mean… It makes sense.” He chuckles, “If I’m being completely honest, it is.”

Timothee Trivia # 10: Not only was he cheeky, he was witty.

-----------------------------------

You two walk inside him following you to your door as you laugh to yourself, he was making this seem like an actual first date that two normal people would go on, “Thanks for the date… even though I didn’t know that it was a date.” You smile at the floor, “And I’m sorry I dressed like this for a date.”

He looks at you, “I think it’s great.” He gives you a thumbs up, “It’s you and that was the person I wanted to be with today.” He shuffles in his pockets, pulling out a sheet of paper folded into a tiny square, “I thought this might make up for the whole not telling you it was a date thing.”

You open up the folded paper to find sheet music, “It was that piece you heard me playing earlier.... I’ll play it for you tomorrow, if you want.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets as you smile at the sheet music.

You open your door wider, “You can play it for me now, if you want.”

He practically trips over his feet, and rushes inside, he finds the piano and sits on the bench, you following closely behind, you set the sheet music on the stand, even though he probably didn’t need it and you sit next to him, he tenses up but begins playing anyway. As he finishes the song, he plays it one more time, “I want to hear you sing.” He says softly.

You look at his long fingers, playing the piano, like sift gusts of wind and you start singing

Dirty tissues, trust issues

Glasses on the sink, they didn't fix you

Lonely pillows in a stranger's bed

Little voices in my head

Secret keeping, stop the bleeding

Lost a little weight because I wasn't eating

All the songs that I can't listen to, to tell the truth

Loving you was young, and wild, and free

Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet

Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound

A steady place to let down my defenses

But loving you had consequences

You would always remember better times with Tom, how being on top with him during your relationship made you feel like you could handle anything and everything as long as he was with you, how he made everything better. Your mind drifts to the warmth that Tom just had around himself, how you both found yourselves in each other. When you were together, it was just the two of you, nobody and nothing else mattered.

Hesitation, awkward conversation

Running on low expectation

Every siren that I was ignoring

I'm payin' for it

But good times always end, they started small. Small arguments here and there about not being able to see each other, or how one or the other never had any time for the other, just small spats you found normal that would just as fast as they started. Until it was like I ruined my life and I shut myself in just to make his life with me perfect.

Loving you was young, and wild, and free

Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet

Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound

A steady place to let down my defenses

But loving you had consequences

No, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Said, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Hey, no ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Loving you was dumb, dark and cheap

Loving you will still take shots at me

Found loving you was sunshine, but then it poured

And I lost so much more than my senses

'Cause loving you had consequences

Loving you

You don’t even realize you were crying until Timothee stops playing and is already wiping your cheek. He looks at you with a sadness in his eyes that you’ve only ever seen in Tom’s eyes. Like he was feeling the pain you were feeling in the moment. You start sobbing, finally coming to terms with your truth, as he embraces you.

“He never called me.” You cry into his shoulder, “And I feel like it’s my fault because I pushed him away so much.” You hiccup, “But the more we’re together the more we hurt each other… We just never paid any attention to it because it was like the be all, end all, like we made all the good so good that it was as if all the bad was worth it, and now I don’t know if I can just live a life without him in it.”

He’s rubbing your back when you feel the vibrations from his chest. He grabs you by the shoulders and pulls you back, staring straight into your eyes, “He’s an idiot if he’d rather live a life without you in it, because life without you is just no good, Y/N.” He sighs, letting his arms fall to his sides, “Nobody could ever compare to you. Not when you smile, not when you laugh, not when you’re being you, not even when you cry.” He wipes your cheeks from your tears again, “And everybody in this whole goddamn world knows it, Y/N. There’s nobody like you around. Tom is a fucking idiot for thinking he could ever treat you like this.” There’s a light in his eyes when he talks about you.

You feel a tug at the corner of your lips and you bring you hand to his hair, patting it gently, “Thanks Timmy, you’re a great friend...or guy.” you giggle.

But he isn’t laughing, not even smiling. He’s just looking down at the bench as he shook his head, “I don’t just want to be some guy, Y/N. Not even you’re friend, I don’t want to be any of those things. Fuck that, I like you too much to ever want to be just a friend to you.”

Your eyes widen, not expecting him to tell you that he liked you and before you can even get a word in, he’s already leaning down.

Timothee Trivia #11: He has very soft kissable lips.

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nbcreepere · 5 years

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Beauty and the Stinky Boi (Remus x Reader) FULL BOOK

CHAPTER 1 I met Thomas a while back when he ran into me at a park. He was recording some sort of video and was walking backwards colliding into me. After that we decided to hang out. I found out he was a creative person who couldn’t help but love Disney and theater. He was also a great singer. After a few months of being his friend he showed me his sides. When I had watched the videos on them it was… well weird. I knew there was a creative, feelings, logic, anxiety, and lying side, so when he said he wanted me to meet them, I was confused. Weren’t they just him in costumes but with different voices? I went inside his house and he asked if i was thirsty. I politely denied hoping he wouldn’t be upset. He walked to the living room and had me sit down. “Ok so, are you ready to meet the others?” He asked with a smile. I can’t lie, I was scared and was hoping he wasn’t crazy. “Yes I am…” I tell him. Soon the people from his videos rose up and were right in front of me. There was the prince, the anxiety, the dad, the teacher, and the snake dude. That’s was the only way to describe them. The dad dude was the first to talk.“Hiya Thomas! What’s new!” His voice was filled with happiness. “Well, Patton,” I caught the name of the dad and did my best to remember it, “I brought my friend (y/n) and wanted to introduce you guys!” Thomas exclaimed in a happy manner. Patton looked over as though a puppy had done something adorable and waved,“Hi (y/n), I’m Patton!” He gave this big smile and I was still shocked that they were real. I soon stuttered out a hi. “The name is Logan.” The teacher told me. His hand was extended for a hand shake and I excepted. The prince came over and gave a slight bow.“I am Roman.” He said in a royalty tone. The one in a hoodie just stayed on the stairs and told me his name.“It’s nice to meet you Virgil…” I went ignored as he popped in some head phones. The snake dude and Thomas were arguing but I didn’t mind. “Just say ‘Hi I’m Deceit’ and you can finish it off with how you want.” Thomas’ words would only come to me slowly and piece by piece, leaving some words out. Soon the snake dude came over to me. “Hello, I am NOT Deceit, I WILL talk to you more so please, DON’T leave me alone.” He said. I was confused by this and then Thomas explained it. “Well, that makes more since now.” I giggled. "Now listen (y/n), there is some one else… but, you wouldn’t like him.“ Thomas tells me. I look at him with my eyes filled with confusion. "What do you mean?” I asked. Roman joined in. “Trust me he is a horrible man, the Duke that is. You wouldn’t like him… None of us do…” He snarled. “I might like him…” Roman, Thomas, and the others looked at me in shock. “You like him?” Roman asked with venom in his voice. “Well yeah, everyone deserves a chance to be liked… no matter who they are…” I looked down some what knowing how it felt to be not liked. Roman slightly scoffed at me. “Fine, I won’t say I told you so.” I nod at his words of a some what warning.“I’m ready to meet the Duke.” I say with confidence… CHAPTER 2 "But who will take you? I sure wont.“ Roman said turning away. Deceit grunted and walked over."I’m NOT going there so you may NOT come with.” He told me. I stood up and nodded. “Just remember (Y/N), if you need or want us to come get you just walk out of his room and call one of us, I’ll even come to get you and I’m scared of that place.” Patton said. “I will, but I will also try to know Duke before I judge.” Virgil has turned around and wont look at me, Roman is obviously angry, Patton is scared for me, and Logan just looked at me saying,“He can’t harm you unless you let him, and he’s not even that scary.” Patton calmed down at Logan’s words. I nodded and told Deceit I was ready to go. He grabbed my wrist a little too hard, but soon we were in what I believe is the mind palace. “This is the dark sides part of the palace, that is why it is NOT complacently dark and gloomy.” He says. He then points to the end of a hall on my right. “The very last door is his… I’d say knock and step back… he’s- well, we aren’t use to company.” I started to walk off and down the hall. I was filled with dread and a seance that i should run away, but I still went on words. The deeper I went into the hall the messier and grosser it got. The smell of it all burned my nose and I wanted to vomit. I put my shirt over my nose to some what block the stench. I finally reached the door and did the normal three knocks to get the persons attention and then took a step back. In a minute the smell went away and I was able to take my shirt off my nose. The door swung open and revealed a man with a mustache and a gray/grey (It’s spelled both ways and don’t know what one to put so sorry!) streak of hair. “What do you want Dubb-” He stopped realizing that I wasn’t who he thought I was. “Who are you?” He asked. “You are the Duke right? I’m (Y/N). I came to meet you.” He looked at me up and down trying to find something. “Yes, I am the Duke… who sent you and why? Is it pity? Did they do it out of pity?” He asked becoming upset. I shook my head,“ No, I wanted to meet you and get to know you. They actually told me that I shouldn’t and wouldn’t like you, but I thought I should give you a chance…” The feelings I had before were slowly getting worst until he grabbed my wrist and dragged me into his room. I was now standing at a desk and staring at papers and different things that were crafted by hand. I picked up a few papers and looked at them. They were crudely drawn and were a little disturbing. I put them down and switched it out for the stitched creepy animals. “This is a lot of my works! Some things need more blood, some more violence.” He said. I looked at him putting the idem down.“What side are you, exactly?” I asked. He looked up and I could tell he was hiding his sadness because only a hint of it showed. “I’m creativity! Well, I’m the dark twisted thoughts and well, you’ve seen some of them.” He said trying to sound confident. I looked down at the drawings again and it all came together. “Why don’t the others like you?” He some what walked off and he still answered the question.“They don’t like me because I’m not a good thing. It’s why I was alone for so many years, and why I decided to have a sudden out burst.” I nodded my head knowing how it had felt. “I understand where you’re coming from.” He looked at me shocked but had tried to hide it fast.“How?” He asked. CHAPTER 3 I looked at him and debated on weather or not to tell him. “I… I’m sorry I haven’t even told Thomas yet… I’m not fully comfortable with it…” I said apologetically. I could tell he was looking at me just dying to know. It was quiet for few minutes then he spoke up. “What’s you’re most disturbing thought?” He asked. “Well…” I stared to go on and on with it and he would jump in and give better ways of doing it. I could tell he got comfort from talking about dark things and he relaxed a lot more. He started talking about ideas he had and wanted Thomas too do, but was shut down each time. “I’ve seen you’ve drawn some and made others. I think they are… well…” I started thinking of a good word to say without hurting his feelings. “Terrible, horrific, nightmare educing…” He started. I cut in again to finish.“No, I would say I find them interesting. This right here,” I got up and went over to the table picking up a drawing I saw earlier. It was of a zombie unicorn. I showed him it and finished.“I really like it.” He smiled and I thought his face would crack in half with how big it was. We talked for a few hours and I noticed the time. “I hate to leave, but I have to get home for dinner. How about we hang out more?” I asked.“That would be fun! I’ve never had a friend to hang out with besides D and Emo, but Emo doesn’t visit any more.” He said. “Ok then how about… Monday’s and Friday’s?” I asked. He looked at what I think was a scheduled and set it aflame. “Yeah! My schedule’s cleared for everyday now!” I giggled at his joke. “Ok then. I’m gonna go hang with the others tomorrow if you want to join.” I told him and he was fast to reply.“I’m not allowed to… but I’ll try for you.” I gave a smile and said bye. Once I was out the door I called for one of the sides. Patton came down gave me a bear hug and got me out. He pushed me back when we were in front of the others. “Are you ok? Did he hurt you? Did he hold you captive? D-” I stopped the worried Patton an told him I was fine. “All we did was talk and get to know each other. We decided to hang on Monday’s and Friday’s, and I can hang with you guys any other days.” Roman was shocked, and Thomas was scared but had a scene of hope. “If everything goes well he might leave me alone without all those thoughts… I’m fine with you two hanging on those days, but if he does anything then Roman can handle it.” Thomas said. “Yes I will!” Roman stated loudly. Logan rolled his eyes.“(y/n) will be fine. Remus has a new friend and wont bother losing said friend because he doesn’t have any.” I was about to correct him, but my alarm went off. “I’m sorry Thomas I have to go. My roomie just finished dinner and if I want it warm I have to go now. See ya tomorrow?” I asked. “Yeah, tomorrow will be fine! See ya!” He said leading me to the door. Once I was out he said bye one more time and I walked off. My house wasn’t that far from his. It was four blocks away and I honestly liked the walk back to my house. CHAPTER 4 I woke up ate and headed to Thomas’. Once I was let in I saw there was a big fight. Remus was clutching something in his hands and Virgil and Roman were yelling at him. “What’s going on?” I asked Thomas. “Well… Remus came and wouldn’t tell us why he was here, so Roman and Virgil started yelling at him to leave and now are in a big fight.” He looked over at the three. I went over to stop them. “Ladies, ladies, you’re all pretty! Please stop fighting now!” I say loud enough for them to hear. “He is here and we don’t want him here!” Roman and Virgil said in union. “You should let him stay and give him a chance.” I calmly say. They started arguing again and Remus told them to stop.“I’ll leave…” He then turned to me and I was honestly confused. “but I need to give (Y/N) back the rose key chain she dropped in my room.” He said handing it to me. I looked at it baffled. I had gotten it from my mom, who got it from her mom, and it went far down the line. We called it the Rose of love because It always fell off when our forever lover was near and they always picked it up and gave it back. It happened to all of them and now it was happening to me. Soon Remus left and I sat on the couch pondering if what just happened was real. “Uh, (Y/N)? You seem out of it… is something wrong?” I looked up and wanted to tell Thomas so bad, but… the others I didn’t want to tell just yet.“I-I…” I was somewhat shaking and was having trouble. I soon pulled out my phone and texted him saying I would tell him, but wasn’t ready to tell the others. After he received it he nodded and asked the others to leave for a few minutes. Once they left he sat down and asked again. I told him the whole story.“This key chain has been in my family for years… my mom gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. She then told me the stories and gave me the book that had everyone’s story. The stories usually start with the Rose falling off of the lady. After it falls off the forever lover, as we call them, picks it up and finds us. For my mom, hers fell of in a public place and my dad only found her by a gut feeling. She knew it was hers because of the engraved words on the back 'The Rose of Love’ and the fact it had the last name of its first holder in my family.” Thomas sat there and continued to listen. "I just have a sliver of trust in their stories and never thought it to be true. I have looked over how the Roes could fall off and had great explanations, but… yesterday I had it stuck on to my belt loop. It’s been stuck on it for a year. It fell off in his room… It was a mess and I would have though I would have noticed it gone. It was in his room and he brought it back to me.“ I finished. He looked at me somewhat questioningly and asked,"So do you think Remus… is you’re true love?” I looked up knowing I wasn’t ready for real love, I was only twenty-six. Yeah everyone else was ready but not me. “I…I don’t know…” He gave me a reassuring hug and let me stay like that for a while. “I don’t know what will happen if it’s a true story… and if it’s not true… I would have fallen for the hoax of my family.” I said in a slight whisper. “Well… what do you want to do about the others? Do you want me to tell them, do you, and if you do fall for him and he hurts you I’m here, I’ll always be here for you.” His words were calming and I felt safe. I pulled back and told him,“I know what they think of him… I’d rather not let them know, but thank you.” CHAPTER 5 "The others may come back now." I say to Thomas and he nods, but he doesn't call them back. "I'd say you should get home and read up on all those stories, see how they play out, cus if this is like a real fairy tale then something might happen and you seem like the one to want to be prepared." He told me. I nodded heading out. "Thank you again, Thomas." He only smiled and waved. After shutting the door I ran back to the house and opened the door short of breath. (B/f/n) Best friends name or friends name looked at me. "Oh you're back early-" They started. They looked at me with worry noticing I'm out of breath." What's wrong?" They rushed over. I could hardly talk and was having trouble standing. All I did was hold up the key chain. (B/f/n) knew what the story was and believed in it more then me. "It... fell off?" They asked. I slowly nodded and their mouth opened wide as if to say something, but nothing came out. My breath started to come back so I placed the Roes key chain and my phone on the counter and then I went to my room. I searched the book shelf for the journal and (b/f/n) leaned in on the door way. I found the book and pulled it out. (B/f/n) sat next to me on my bed and I started reading. Hours had passed and (b/f/n) fell asleep on my bed. I would have just crashed too but they took up all of the bed, well all but the spot I was sitting in. I went out to the living room and saw my phone had been going off. I went over and picked it up. Almost all of them were from Thomas. I texted back telling him what happened and what I learned. He asked some questions and I told him I'd bring the book over now if that was fine. He said it was so I headed over there. It was dark out when I walked over there. I looked at the time, nine thirty-seven. I left his house around noon so I was shocked that I was reading that book for at least nine hours. I knocked on his door and he answered. "Come in." He said opening it more so I could enter. I plummeted onto the couch and opened the book for him to read. He soon sat down next to me and got to reading it. My eyes grew heavier and heavier as minutes passed. Soon I passed out. I woke up the next morning on the couch and with a blanket over me. Thomas was up reading the book as he ate. I sat up and looked at him letting my eyes adjust to the room. He soon looked over and saw I was awake. "Oh good morning! Here's a recap. Last night you came over and after you sat down and I started reading the stories you brought you fell asleep so I stayed up reading and before going to bed I put you fully on the couch and put a blanket on you. After I woke up I came down to read some more and told the sides not to be loud so they stayed in the Mind Palace." He explained. I nodded and joined him after a good stretch. "What day is it?" I asked. "Friday." He said. I remembered I told Remus I'd hang with him on Friday's and Monday's. I wasn't going to break a promise because of some silly stories. "Think I could get a ride to hang with Remus?" I asked. Thomas had a big smile on his face and he nodded. "Hey Dec-" He couldn't finish before the one being called upon showed up. "You want to see Remus don't you?" He asked. "Y-yeah...ho-" I was now cut off by him. "He's NOT a big mess and you WON'T make him feel better." He warned. "What's wrong with him? Is he hurt?" I asked. 9/11/19 CHAPTER 6 "Well... You must NOT see..." He said. "Please take me to him." I said and then in a second I was in the Mind Palace. I raced to Remus' door and knocked. I listened in on him hoping to find out if he was in there. I heard soft sobbing and I knocked again. It stopped for a moment, and in that moment he pipped up. "Go away!" I could tell there was so much pain in his voice. I didn't have any words to say to him, I mean what could I say? So I knocked again. This time he stomped over to his door swinging it open and was ready to yell. "I SAID GO-" He then noticed who it was. "I...I'm sorry..." He said fighting back tears. "What's wrong?" I asked. He only looked up, his eye make-up was running down his face that was obviously from crying. "I-I'm fine." He lied. I looked around and seeing no one around I pushed him into his room and closed the door. I knew people could take it the wrong way but I know he needs to talk to someone right now. I sat him down on his couch and sat down next to him. "Now I'll ask again and please don't lie, you don't have to lie to me." He looked up and bit his lips. A few tears slid down his check disappearing in his mustache and down his chin. He finally spoke. "After you left yesterday Roman came to me. I was exited to see him. I mean my brother never visits me but... he told me... you hated me and didn't want to be rude. He said you were disgusted by me and the reason you quit talking and spaced out was because of me... I...I was so scared it was true... normally this stuff doesn't bather me,but... you wanted to meet me, and give me a chance. You actually like my ideas... He said you weren't coming back to hang out with me and that it was better for me to stay here..." He was trying not to cry. " I'm here now aren't I?" I asked. He nodded."I really like you, as a friend and all. I honestly think Roman is trying to be protective because he knows if I want to hang with someone I like I'll do it. I guess he thought chasing you away was the only way." I tried to comfort him. "Just know I will always come back and I'm always here for you." I told him in a calming voice. He put me into his tight embrace and cried a little more. I held him back and rubbed his back. I said a few calming words and he pulled back. "Thank you for being my only friend... and please don't tell the others about me crying." He gave a tiny smile. "As you wish." I smiled back. "Now How about we hang out?" He gave a quick nod and wiped the tears away and somehow fixed his make-up. "Well what do you want to do?" I asked. "Well... I know I like to do, but what do you like to do?" I started to think. "Well, do you like the outside?" I asked. I wasn't too much of a fan but I liked to go on walks, mostly threw the woods or in secluded areas. It gave me a scene of peace. "I've never really been outside." He told me. I looked at him saying,"I like to walk, I like horror movies, and another thing I like is (Hobby)." His eyes lit up. "Could we go on a walk?" He asked. "Well..." I started." Can you leave the house?" I asked. He shrugged."I don't know, plus I would have to see if I can leave." At the last part he pouted. "If you can get me to Thomas I can ask." In a mere second I was next to Thomas and Remus next to me. Thomas jumped almost falling."Hey, (y/n). Is something wrong?" He asked. "No, do you think Remus and I can go on a walk in some woods?" I asked. "Yeah that would be fine!" He told us. I smiled and whispered to him that he can continue with the book and he smiled and waved us off. "Don't get in to trouble!" He joked. We soon left and went towards the nears patch off woods. 9/12/19 CHAPTER 7 We soon entered the woods and looked around. He was running to each tree and looked at plants. He's pick up mushrooms and eat them right in front of me. "Why do you keep eating the mushrooms? Some of them are deadly!" I said as he put a red toadstool in his mouth. "I know they are deadly! Some of them could even make me high!" He said cheerfully. I went over too him and took the rest of the mushrooms out of his hand."How about we not try to kill our selves with mushrooms, or get high." I said both seriously but joking. He gave a small pout, but I started walking off. He soon caught up and was looking off the path. "Can we go over there?" He asked tugging on my arm. I sighed and started to say sure but I was dragged over too it. He stopped and looked at the opossum. "Is it dead?" I asked knowing these creatures to fake their deaths. He poked it and It was alive, but he couldn't tell. He soon picked it up and was checking it out. "R-Remus I wouldn't do that...." I was some what scared of what it might do. "Oh it's fi-" He was cut off by the opossum attacking him. After a few minutes of the attack he finally got it off of him. "Can we keep him?" He asked with the biggest smile on his face. I texted Thomas to see what he had to say. "Thomas said only if you can fully tame it in a minute." I said starting a timer. Remus started to try and tame it but was getting nowhere. All he was really getting was hisses, bite marks, and scratches. Soon the time ran out. "Come on, the time is out and you didn't tame it so you can't keep it. I'm sorry." He put the animal down and walked off. There was blood coming out of all the cuts and bite marks and he had bruises all over him. "So after this should I help with fixing you up? You have blood all over you." I said gently pushing him. "Only if you'll be my doctor." He some what purred. I rolled my eyes and started heading back. "Then come on. I'll doctor you up, ya big buffoon." I giggled at the last part and he did too. When we walked in Thomas went in to question mode. "What happened?" He asked. "A opossum attacked him. I'm gonna help him clean up then we will probably do more before I come back." I tell him with a smile. As Thomas gave a nod Remus took me back to his room. I fell onto the couch because I was still not use to going back and forth. I got up and got a rag that looked clean and went to what I assumed was his bathroom and ran it under the sink water. I saw a few things opened that had bite marks in them. I picked up the deodorant I found and it had a big bite mark out of it. I set it down and went back to Remus. I gently wiped away the blood and cleaned up his face and arms. "You should be more careful you know." I said without looking up. "I must ask, why would you care so much about my health? I know we are friends, but so is me and Deceit, and he could care less, so why do you care?" He asked. "Well I care because..." How could I tell him about the Rose? 9/15/19 CHAPTER 8 "Well, I find you as a really great person and I worry about my friends." I said. There was a little voice in the back of my head that was calling me a lair and weak for not telling him. Was I really falling for him? I won't, but my mind will continue with the fake rose story, or maybe real story. "Well, thanks (y/n). You are also... a really great friend." He sounded sad at the last part but I didn't want to pry it out of him. "Hey, do you think you could take me to Roman's room? I have to talk to him before I go?" I asked. "Yeah, I can do that. Would you also need me to be ready if you need to leave?" I nodded and he lead the way. "Why do you need to talk to my brother?" He asked. "Oh just..." I started but he cut me off. "You don't have to tell me... I can tell you are making up stuff because you don't want to hurt my feelings... Just... can I have the truth on one thing?" He asked. "You can have all the truths after this but I'll allow you to ask away." I said trying not to sound rude. "Do you hate me?" He asked not looking up from where he was walking. I stopped him and grabbed both his shoulders making him look at me. "You are my friend, I could never hate you and that's a fact." I told him as I waited for a smile. Once I saw the smile I pulled him into a hug and went into Roman's room waving bye. "Oh hey there (y/n)! I wasn't expecting you!" He was cheery with his great, but I couldn't help but think about the crying Remus earlier. He had made Remus cry and put those thoughts that I wouldn't come back. "Question." I simply say. Roman get's up from his little dressing room for his looks and sits on a couch, and soon enough he patted at the seat next to him. I sat on a chair opposite of him. "Oooooo, serious I see! So what's the question?" He asked. I was doing my best not to let it all over flow."Why did you tell Remus that I hated him or that I wouldn't come back?" His eyes grew ten times the size they should have. "How do you know about that? He could have lied!" He was trying not to shout, I could tell. "You made him cry and from what I've seen you and the others want me to stay away from him. He deserves a friend to care about him, so don't expect me to quite seeing him!" I some what yelled. It made him mad and he started the real yelling."WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT HIM? HE'S NOT GOOD FOR ANYONE!" He swung his hands up and I flinched and went to cover myself. He didn't notice out of anger."BECAUSE I SEE THE GOOD IN HIM AND LIKE HIM OK!" I yelled back. I started tearing up but tried to hold it in. Before he could say or do anything else I walked out telling him not to bather me the rest of the day. After shutting the door I ran to Remus' room and sat down by his door. I curled up and cried not wanting him to know I was, but as I was crying the door opened and I was picked up. Soon enough I was placed on the couch and Remus tilted my head up. "What happened?" He asked in a calming voice. "I-I wanted to confront him about what he did to you... and I somewhat y-yelled and then he yelled at me and I yelled back and left..." I told him. I left out the part of where I was scared of being hit, but the rest he knew. He just pulled me into a hug as I had done for him not that long ago, only a few hours ago. I hugged back and smiled. Slowly the tears started to stop and we were laughing. "I think I'm ready to head back to Thomas if you are ok with that." I said with a smile. "I am indeed ready if you are." He smiled. Soon I was back in the house with Thomas but he was in the kitchen and Remus and I was in the living room. Before Remus left he kissed my cheek and left. What the hell is this feeling? 9/16/19 CHAPTER 9 He kissed my cheek. I placed my hand where he kissed me, it was a little wet but, to be honest I didn't care. I went in to Thomas' kitchen and wiped my hand on my pants. "Oh hey (y/n)! How did it go?" He asked. "I...He..." I couldn't form proper sentences. Thomas stood up worried and gently grabbed my shoulders. "(Y/N), what happened?" I finally gained my voice and told him."He kissed me..." Thomas put both his hands to his mouth in surprise. "On the cheek of course..." I added. He pulled his hands down and smiled. "That's amazing! I mean him falling for you, but not... well who he is, was he forceful?" He asked finally. "He was surprisingly genital, and his kiss left a little saliva but... it was sweet." A light blush dusted my face. "I see someone is forming a crush on him." He joked. "Oh shut it!" I joked. Both of us laughed he soon went to the book and sat back down."So I read up and found that the rose falls off, of course you know the first part, but it seem the third thing that happens is the two start to slowly fall in love because of small romantic jesters, after a while of falling in love comes the first kiss, then the dates, and well... marriage and a happy life." He said smiling. I smiled back."Thanks. Oh I should tell you... I might have gotten into a fight with Roman." He looked at me surprised. "What happened? Roman doesn't usually fight unless it's..." He stopped remembering how earlier Deceit told them how Remus was doing and the fact Roman hated his brother. "I see... how was Remus?" He asked. "I went to his room, and he was crying. He told me what Roman had told him, that I wouldn't come to see him and I thought he was disgusting to the point I didn't want to be his friend. I calmed him down and he quite crying, then we hung out as you saw us leave. Once we got back and I patched him up I went to talk to Roman. When I did I asked him why he said those things. I might have raised my voice and he rose his and when he did he raised his hands, I did panic because well... anyways I left crying and sat outside his door crying before going in. He picked me up, took me in, and helped me quit crying." I smiled. "Well I'm happy to hear that!" he says. I felt a buzzing sensation in my pocket and pulled out my phone. It was a text from (b/f/n).I looked at it and told Thomas I had to go in a rush."Ok, but wait you forgot your b-" I couldn't here him as I rushed out and ran back to the house. I had done a lot of running in just that one day, but it was all worth it. I opened the door and ran to (B/f/n). "What's wrong?" I asked. "You and me need to talk." They said. That's always something I found scary when someone started with it. "W-what?" I was scared now. "I've been trying to be nice, but I can't have you staying here and not doing anything. I've given you a choice that we agreed on and for the past week you haven't done any cleaning! The deal was I work you clean and cook without paying rent or both of us work and we split the cleaning." They started to raise their voice. They knew what happened to me, they knew it all. "I'm sorry if you want I c-" I was soon interrupted."No, I've already done it all!" In the past they have gotten mad at me, but it only lasted an hour or so, and they tried to keep their anger issues to a minimum. This time, they were going all out, but I know what they did was out of love but I was still scared."Get out and find some place to stay tonight because you aren't staying here!" They yelled. I packed a bag of cloths and a few other things then ran out crying. 9/17/19 CHAPTER 10 I ran out of the house crying with my bag on my back. Soon enough I ran into some one. "I-I'm sorry..." I stuttered while crying. I looked up and saw it was Thomas."Hey, hey, no it's ok..." He said reassuring me. "W-what are you doing h-here?" I asked in between tears. "I was heading to your place because you left your book... what happened?" He looked me up and down. "(B/F/N) k-kicked me out for t-the night." I knew I would tell him the whole story when I calmed down. "You're staying with me tonight then." He said leading me back to his house. I knew there was no point in fighting it so I didn't. Once he brought me inside we both sat down. "You can bunk with anyone you want, or I can sleep on the couch and you can have my bed tonight." He said so I would somewhat forget about and calm down from it. "N-no... I would rather sleep on the couch." I told him calming down. "Please, take the bed..." He wasn't going to push me about this. "Thomas, I-I love you like a brother, but I'm taking the couch, you need your sleep more then you think." This time he knew I wasn't giving up. After telling him the whole story he made dinner. It wasn't that bad. We laughed and played some games. It was fun, but soon night came and I changes into my pj's in his bathroom. A little later he told me goodnight and went to bed. He lent me a pillow and blanket, but I knew I'd have trouble sleeping. I lied there wide awake messing with the blankets and trying my best to fall asleep but it ended with nothing. I soon sat up and put my hands on my head. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" A voice whispered in my ear causing me to jump. I turned to see Remus giggling at what just happened. "I can't sleep..." I say. He looks at me, questions were obviously filling his mind. "Would it help if I offered my bed? It's big enough for five people." he said. "I'd have to tell Tho-" He interrupted me."I did by going into his dream!" A moment later a groggily Thomas yelled from upstairs."Ok Remus, and don't enter my dreams again!" Remus reached for my hand and I took his. We were soon in his room and he cleared off a side for me."Here you can have this side and I'll have this side." He told me. I nodded and slid under the covers. In a few minutes he was out and I was still up. I turned over and he was closer to me then before. I went to move to give him more space, but he wrapped his arms around me and was cuddling me. It was nice and thank's to him I fell asleep. I later woke up to go to the bathroom, but Remus still had a hold of me. "Could you please let me go for a moment? I'll be back." I whispered, but nothing happened. "Please, I just have to go to the bathroom." I finally said, and his grip on me was lose to the point I could go. When I came back he was lying on his back asleep so I slid right next to him on his arm. I expected him to turn over to hold me, but he turned me over so I was now lying on his chest. I was blushing,but I wouldn't tell him ever. His heart beat was like music to my ears, his breathing was rocking me back and forth in a soothing manner, his arms were gently placed around me. I knew I was falling for him, but did he like me back, or was he using me? I was to tiered to care and fell asleep right there on him. Perfect and warm. 9/17/19 CHAPTER 11 I woke up to a still sleeping Remus and I just lied there in his arms. I wouldn't admit it, I was falling for him. He soon woke up and quietly whispered things to me, thinking I was asleep of course. I just listened. "I'm sorry I grabbed you last night. I should have warned you I'm a cuddly person. I know you are asleep so I'll let you sleep. I'm also sorry for kissing you yesterday... I know you can't like me like that, but hey it was worth a shot. I mean, I do really like you... oh... that's absurd isn't it?"He went on and after he was done and it was a good five or so minutes I pretended to wake up. "Oh, morning (y/n)." He smiled. I faked a yawn and said it back. "Sorry that I fell asleep on top of you... you pulled me in and well... I passed out." I said. "It's fine, I'm sorry for grabbing you. That was on me." He let out a slight laugh. "It's fine." I said. I soon got up from him and sat at the side of the bed. "Are you hungry?" Remus asked getting up. "Yeah, a little." I looked back at him and stood up almost falling from my legs still being asleep. "Well, what I like to eat is different from what you like, so I'll take you back to Thomas." Remus took my hand and we were there. "Morning (y/n)! Morning Remus!" Thomas greeted us. "You guy's hungry?" He asked. "Yeah that's why I brought (y/n) here." Remus told Thomas. Thomas turned around and put another pancake on a plate. "Ok the others will be here to eat soon, Remus are you gonna join us?" Thomas asked with a smile. It seemed that Thomas was having less problems with Remus and wanted him to hang out. "I...uh, I can't." Remus sounded off. "The other's don't like me, plus I hate Pancakes." He said. "Anyways I'm gonna go back to my room." He finished with a smile. I went over and hugged him before he left. Thomas did a tiny giggle just as Remus left. "Awwwww.... So how did your guys' sleepover go?" He ask. I blushed at the question and remembered what happened. "It was good. I was able to sleep well." I didn't want to bring up what fully happened. "I'm glad to hear that!" Thomas sat down the plates and put pancakes on each plate. Each side came and sat at different seats. Patton took the seat next to me and smiled poring syrup all over the pancake . "Hiya kiddo!" He smiled then took a bite of his breakfast. I smiled back too him."Hey dad." I said without thinking. "I-I'm sorry, it slipped out. I didn't mean to call you dad, Patton." I was panicking now. He only smiled."It's fine! You can call me dad all you want! I don't mind having two wonderful kids!" I smiled and nodded. I looked at the others and saw that Logan only had coffee and was reading. It was the Sherlock series. Roman was cutting his pancake and making it into a dragon before adding some butter. Virgil just started eating his. Thomas sat down next to me and added what he wanted on his. I took a bite and realized how good it was. I almost shoved it in my face right then and there, but didn't want to be rude. I soon got a text saying I could come back, so after some talking and playing around I went back and things turned out better then I would have thought. 9/19/19 CHAPTER 12 After a month or so we all go along. Remus would avoid the others but other then that it was fine. There were night's I'd hang with Remus and we'd crash on the floor or even on the bed. After we would separate he'd either kiss my hand or my cheek. It would always leave a wet spot where he kissed me, but I didn't mind. Roman quit talking bad about Remus after I confronted him and the other's avoided talking about him. I didn't mind because Remus and I wouldn't talk about them unless they had upset me. It was all going well until one day Roman broke. "I don't want you seeing him!" He let out. "Why? Because you don't like the fact I can be friends with someone like him?" I asked. "No because he will hurt you! He will trick you and steal from you and do much worse! HE IS A MONSTER!" Roman yelled. I flinched and backed away which made Thomas try to intervene. "Roman you need to c-" Roman used his powers to lift Thomas' left arm to shut him up."Stay out of this Thomas! You are going in to unknown waters and you're gonna drown!" He yelled. I was backing up and fell on the couch. I got up and moved away."I FORBID YOU FROM SEEING HIM!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. It was rare for him to do this. Patton was scared and ran over to Logan who held him. Virgil ran to his room because he started panicking. I was now in the corner with only a few feet separating us, and with the last bit of courage I had I yelled at him. "YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM SEEING THE PERSON I LOVE!" I had tears filling my eyes. He paused before getting even more mad. He reached his hand up in the air and I flinched. I heard the slap of his hand on skin, but I felt nothing. I was in a defensive position and had my eyes close, so when I opened them I din't expect to see Remus rising up from taking the blow. There was a hand print on his face and he was mad, not as mad as Roman, but still mad. "Don't ever touch her again." He said venom in his voice. Roman stepped back. Remus pulled out his mace and went towards his brother. I grabbed his arm and he looked back at me. His eyes softened as he looked into my eyes. He put his mace away and looked back at Roman. "You ever and I mean EVER hurt (y/n), and so help me, words can't describe what I'll do too you!" Roman said nothing as Remus walked back to me. "Are you alright?" He asked softly. "I am now...thank you." I said looking up at him. Roman sunk down and left."I only did what I had to too protect the one I...what's that word? Love? Ah, yes the one I love." He said smiling. I had a slight blush on my face."Y-you love me?" I asked. He only smiled and pulled me into a sweet kiss. It had been a while since I was kissed like how he kissed me, and I didn't want it to end. He pulled back. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself... I understand you won't like me like that, but this is how I feel." He said to me. Thomas was finally able to speak and went in to his question."You haven't told him... have you?" I shook my head. "I-I'll tell you all you need to know. The Rose key chain I dropped has the biggest backstory to it..." I then told him everything about the Rose. 9/21/19 CHAPTER 13 Warning: There will be references to having sex, but no smut. I don't do smut. There may also be miner cussing and violence. Like no one get's a tiny hand print on them, it's a little worse. Sorry in advance. A few days after he had kissed me and saved me from being hit by Roman we hung out. We loved just hanging out, it was because we loved seeing each other and even just being funny or weird. That first real kiss was the last one he gave me. I was to scared to kiss him or fully tell him how I felt towards him. Today we were in his room and decided to just stay there to not run into one of the others. We watched some movies for the first part of the day. We went back and forth with Disney movies and horror movies. He would chose horror movies that would be gory and disturbing, but if I was scared by any part he would let me hold him, so I just held him during each one of his movies. During his he would say what they could have done to get away or how fake some stuff was. I chose all my favorite Disney movies, and I got to chose the last movie. I thought of a good Disney movie and soon turned on Beauty and the Beast. We watched it and he was actually enjoying it. He was watching it as if it was one of the, what he called, great parts in a horror movie. After the movie ended he wanted to hear me sing my favorite part. I told him I wouldn't because I'm not one to sing for others. He gave me puppy eyes and a frown. "Fine, but you have to sing your favorite song from it." He only smiled and nodded. I soon song the song and he applaud. I was flustered but he started singing Tale as Old as Time. He wasn't bad at singing as it was soothing to the point I could sleep. He finished with a long ending and sat down. "You sound... amazing!" I told him. He smiled saying,"Thanks,(y/n). You aren't bad yourself!" I smiled at him. We started on the next thing. We were drawing and being creative, him a little more disturbing, but it was alright. I was just doing some random sketches as he drew actual pictures. When he would finish he'd go and show me being very proud of it. "I love it!" I would say giving a loving smile. After a few hours of drawing we played board games. He would fail to understand the rules and would try setting the board on fire. We set that aside and decided to make a game. "Ok so the game could be we have to change something about us slowly, whether it was cloths or adding make up, and wait till the other person notices. If they catch you in the process of doing something of changing your appearance you lose." He said loving his idea. "Yes! I love it! Let's start it now!" I exclaimed. I would keep a very close eye on Remus so I could try to win. We did a few other things and ended up lying down on his bed. Our feet were dangling off and we were on different sides of the bed. We were just talking and it had been about an hour since we created the game and he had done nothing yet. I guessed he forgot so as I got him talking about one of his ideas I slipped off my jeans and slipped on something close by that was his. I was unlucky and had grabbed a pair of boxers. I hoped they were clean as I slipped them on and waited. Just a while after we were moving around and playing games. He hadn't noticed that I was wearing his stuff at all so I was winning the game so far. We sat down and started playing truth or dare. "Is it true that you love me as the mighty hero?" He asked to my truth. "Why yes it is my brave knight." I joked. "Truth or dare?" I asked. He didn't have to think about it as he said dare. I thought for a second of what the dare should be." I dare you to act a lot more clean minded for ten minutes!" He almost went pale."Fine! Truth or-" He stopped, I guess he was waiting or thinking of something."dare?" He finished. "Truth!" I smiled. "Are those my boxers that you are wearing?" He asked. I looked down and remembered our game and how I just won. "Yes they are, and I jus-" He cut me off by pulling me into a kiss like the one the day he saved me. I kissed back and when we finished he asked me if I liked him like that. "You fool, I love you." I said kissing him. He soon stood up and picked me up with him. My legs were wrapped around his waist as we kissed. He sat down on his bed and pulled apart from me. "How far may I go?" He asked looking me up and down. I paused and waited for a minute."The ten minutes are up so let your mind lose on me." I didn't care any more, I trusted him, loved him, and he is my forever love. After I told him that he did let his mind lose. I woke up the next morning lying next to Remus. Our cloths were in different places and I could't see some of them. Hickey's were all over me and I didn't care because it was amazing. I snuggled up to his warm body and closed my eyes. He hugged me back and opened his eyes. "Good morning beautiful." He whispered to me. "Morning. Can it just be night again?" I asked jokingly which made him laugh a little. "Was it that good?" He asked. "Better." He gasped at my response, but I could feel him smiling. "Are you hungry?" I asked him. "Only for you."He purred. "No you dork, for actual food." I giggled. "Calling me a whale dick now aren't we? Well, I'm not, but if you are I can take you to Thomas' to eat." He said kissing my forehead. I nodded."That would be lovely." I got up and got dressed. I couldn't find my shirt so I just put on a big hoodie. He slipped something on and gave me another kiss. He took me back, but we were in a closet. Before he left he put my hand on the doorknob so I could open it. I opened the door and there Thomas was placing some food on the table. "Hey, (y/n)! You cam just in time! Breakfast is ready! Have a seat." He said cheery. The others came down and I did my best to hide the hickey's that they might see. After breakfast we all sat down to talk. Roman was distant and tried not to talk to me, but I would catch him staring at me. While me and Logan were talking Roman came over to me. "What's that on your neck?" He asked rudely. I was a little scared. I was sore from the night before and was in no position to fight. "Are those...hickey's?" He asked. "W-what? Roman just leave m-" Before I could finish he took the hoodie off me. I did my best to cover up because my top was not covered (if girl then you had a bra on or binder). He looked at me and took my left wrist with a tight grip. Thomas wanted to intervene but I told him to take the others out. Roman's grip tightened and I felt a sharp pain come from my wrist. "I told you not to see him, didn't I?" He asked with an angry tone. I was to shaken to say anything. "DIDN'T I?"He yelled. I panicked and tried to punch him, but he dogged it. "You're a pathetic slut to go for someone like him!" He yelled throwing me on the floor. my back hurt like hell, but I managed to get up and slip the hoodie back on. Thomas rushed down and hugged me."I'm so sorry... I don't know what's gotten into him. We all decided that with how you are lowering Remus' thoughts he gives me we will support and protect you two." Thomas told me."Thank you guy's..."I said in between tears. Thomas called for Deceit to take me back to Remus. While walking Deceit asked what happened. I explained how Roman freaked out because of Remus and me doing what we did. Deceit looked at me saying that he might know what's happening."There are times when a side can get a bug, it does NOT mess with how they act. I know there is NOT a cure for it, so I WON'T look for it." He told me leading me to Remus' door. I thanked him and went in. I told Remus what had happened and he was mad. He pulled out a mace and started storming towards the door. I stopped him. "Remus please, don't. You can worry about him later, but I think he broke my wrist, or fractured it." I told him. He stopped and gently grabbed my wrist examining it. "That asshole of a brother fractured your wrist." He said leading me to his bathroom. He started looking in cabinets and pointed to the toilet so I sat down on it. He pulled out a wrap and came over to me. He gently started wrapping my arm and looked at me. "After this, you know I'm going to kill him right?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Remus, please don't. Just... stay with me, please." I bagged him. "Give me a good reason why." He said. "Because, I need you to check my back and I don't want to be alone..." I said. Remus lifted up the hoodie and looking at my back. "That's bigger then my dick..." He said. "You have a large bruise on your back." He was angry. He carried me to the bed and let me borrow some cloths for pj's. I sunk into his bed and as he tried to walk off I grabbed his wrist. "Aren't you gonna stay with me?" I asked. I didn't want him to hurt Roman with the new info I had gotten. "I'm just going to change, hot cakes." He said. Once he got back he climbed into the bed and held me by my waits as to not hurt my back and touch the bruise. He made sure to be very gentle with my fragile body. "I'm sorry about my brother." He whispered to me. "It's not your fault, so please don't be sorry." I said looking him in his gorgeous eyes. He looked back into mine and kissed me. "Someone has to be sorry for him." He said. I shook my head and tried to move. I had trouble and let a small moan of pain out as my wrist some what bent. "Normally I'd say that your moan is cute, but it's not right now." He said turning onto his back and then putting me on top of him. It was just like when we first slept together. I loved it. "Are...are we a thing now?" I asked him. He took a minute to think about it. "I marked you as mine so yes. I guess you could say our love is the beauty and the beast." He said with a smile. I smiled back and kissed him saying,"More like beauty and the stinky boi." I joked before falling asleep. 9/22/19 published on 9/29/19 It's my birthday! Yaaaay... 15 years of living is not my idea of fun. Oh well! I give you guy's this 5 page, 1996 word, rollercoaster of a chapter! I hope you enjoy it and honestly, I love reading why you guys comment on the book, I always reply unless I don't know what to say. I love you guy's and have a lovely night! CHAPTER 14 I woke up with my whole body feeling bruised and I really didn't want to move. Remus was snoring, but I paid no mind to it. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. "Hey, you're gonna have to let me go to answer the door, I'll be right back." I whispered to Remus. He let go of me and I got up. The person had started knocking again. I opened the door and there stood Deceit. "I DIDN'T find the cure for his bug. We MUSTN'T go now to give it to him." Deceit told me. I nodded. "Where is Roman?" I asked. "The others AREN'T trying to talk to him." I froze. "Then we must go now." I said rushing Deceit to take me to them. Deceit and I were in the living room and Roman was yelling. "What do we have to do?" I asked Deceit. "We have to get him to drink it, but with the fact that it's NOT the colour he WOULD drink it will be hard." I took the concoction and looked at it. It was a green colour. "Can you mix it with other things?" I asked him. He gave me a nod so I went in to the kitchen and pulled out some lemonade. I pored the cure into the cup first and added lemonade to fill the rest of it. I mixed it around and when over to Roman, taking a deep breath. "Here Roman. I just wanted to say, I ditched Remus and made you some lemonade as an apologize..." I lied. Roman took the cup and the others were shocked at what I said. "If my throat didn't hurt from yelling at morons I wouldn't drink it, but I forgive you." He said chugging the whole drink, and next thing I knew he was on the ground. "ROMAN!" Patton yelled out in panic. "He WON'T be fine. I knew what was wrong with him so I made the cure and (y/n) got him to drink it." Deceit stepped in. "And how can we trust you?" Virgil asked. "Because I trust him." I said. Roman started waking up and everyone looked at him. "What happened?" He asked. "Let's just say either way you're all better." I told him. I soon sat down and told him everything. He looked away and felt ashamed, from what I could tell, of what he did. "(Y/N) I'm so sorry... I-I would never hurt a woman, let alone a friend!" He told me with sorrow in his voice. I gently hugged him and told him I forgave him. He hugged back and told me I need to go back to Remus. "I can feel him beginning to worry about you... You should go..." He said. I wiped a tear away and holding out my pinky. "Friends?" I asked. He took my pinky with his."Friends." He said. Deceit soon took my arm and told me we had to go before Remus flipped. "I'm so UPSET that it worked..." He said. "Me too..." I soon got to Remus' door and opened it. I was tackled into a hug and was left in pain. "Ow, babe please, I'm still bruised." I told him. He got off of me and picked me up. "I'm sorry... I was just so worried! Where were you?" He asked. "Well Deceit knocked on the door and took me to the others... Roman won't ever act the way he did again and even apologized." I said giving a bright smile. "Good!" He said. "That means no hurting Roman ok?" I asked. Remus pouted. "Fine..." He took me over to the couch and started watching movies. 9/29/19 CHAPTER 15 Remus and I was watching movies on the couch when a knock on the door could be heard. "Remus..." I started, but couldn't finish due to him already getting up to answer it. "I'll get it." He told me with a smile. After he opened the door I heard yelling. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU MISERABLE SACK OF S-" He started but I cut in. "Remus who is it?" I asked. He looked back at me and started to slowly smile. "It's my brother..." He sounded calm for a man who was just yelling a minute ago. "Oooo! Let him in!" I said smiling. Remus pouted and shook his head. I was soon giving him the puppy dog eyes and had my bottom lip out more."Pleeeease... for me?" I asked. "Fine... only for you..." He said letting his brother in. The two shot daggers at each other with their glares. "(Y/N)! I have brought something for your wrist and back..." He said pulling out a container of goo. "This is from an enchantress whom I had saved on one of my many adventures! It is suppose to heal all wounds, and with what I did... I thought I'd give it to you. You do really need it." He told me handing over the jar. I smiled as I took it. "Thank you Roman." I said giving him a hug. I could tell Remus was becoming jealous so I let go of Roman. "Anyways, I just came to give it to you as an apologies gift. I shall be on my way." He said waving a goodbye. Remus slammed the door shut which scared me. "Stupid brother..." He muttered. I felt bad knowing that Remus was like a big puppy, always needing attention and love and I just loved on another puppy. "Hey Remus..." He snapped his head back to me. "Yes?" He asked. "Would you mind helping me out? I don't thing I can get my back." I told him truthfully. "Sure..." He came over and started rubbing the goo on my back and I put some on my wrist. After a few minutes the goo disappeared and I didn't feel an ounce of pain. "Thanks, babe." I turned to him. "No problem..." He said not looking at me. I could see what looked like tears swelling up in his eyes. I soon went and hugged him. "I'm sorry..." I told him. He looked back at me shocked. "For what?" He asked. I didn't know what to say, usually when I said it no one would ask what for... they just told me I should be. "I know you're upset that I hugged Roman..." I started."I only find him as a friend. I love you and you alone..." I told him. He soon hugged back. "I know I'm just to scared to lose you to him..." He told me. We stayed like that on the couch for a while. "You won't ever lose me." I told him. "But if I do lose you to Roman I'll put his head on a spike and feed his corps to the others." He said laughing. Just by his cute laugh I knew he was joking.I laughed along with him. I was at peace, but my past still haunts me and I knew I'd have to tell Remus one day. i would have to tell him that I didn't believe the Rose of Love was real and how I panic under any form of force I didn't want. It was a rough past for me, but having Remus was all worth it. I soon drifted off, but I woke to Remus carrying me to bed then slipping in next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and we both fell asleep. I can't thank him enough for loving me and caring. 9/30/19 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It's 1 A.M. and honestly I wrote in my sleeping problems in chapter I don't know, so the reader should, if I did it all, have problems getting to sleep, waking up, and constantly wake up in the middle of the night. Basically what I'm getting at is even though it's a school night I'm having trouble sleeping thus I created another chapter. Man... I love writing this, but honestly I shouldn't stay up late to do it... Oh well! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a lovely night! CHAPTER 16 I got up and looked over to where Remus should be, but he wasn't there. I panicked and shot up. "Remus?!" I called out. I was scared. I didn't know where he was. He was always next to me before I wake up and today he's not. "Remus?!" He soon popped his head out of the bathroom running towards me. "What's wrong?" He asked also in a panicked tone. I hugged him and calmed down slowly. "I-I didn't know where you were... I'm so use to you being in bed with me..." I told him. He held me close to him and rubbed my back. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you and I never will scare you again..." He reassured me. I held on tighter then he was holding me. "It's fine..." I told him, but it really wasn't. I had been use to people leaving me in the night and day to see others, that's what he did...but Remus was different. He didn't take the Rose like the other did. "Hey Remus, how long have I stayed with you?" I asked. "So far two to three nights. Why?" He questioned. "I have to get back to my house and roommate or they'll kill me for not doing chores!" I told him. I grabbed my phone and looked at it. Five unread text messages from (b/f/n). I read them. It was ,'hey where are you? You alive? Hey, I need you back here tomorrow. Why didn't you show up??? Start packing your stuff when you come back.' "What? Am I being kicked out?' I texted back. 'No I'm moving out and away. Better job.' They finished. "I...have to go..." I said standing up. "Wait, what? Why?" Remus was now scared. "I have to pack all my stuff... my roomies movin' and I can't keep the place..." I told him. "Then pack it and I'll have Thomas pick it up." He said with the biggest smile. "Why would he pick it up?" I asked. "Well, you'll stay with me!" He stated as though it was obvious. "Really?" I felt stupid for asking. "Yes!" He picked me up and swung me around in a hug. I kissed him, saying thanks and then left to pack what little of stuff I had. A couple days later Thomas came over and picked up my stuff taking both it and me with him. "So, you're moving in with Remus?" Thomas asked. "Yeah I'm really exited! I'm hoping that one day we all can hang out one day." I told him. I was truly happy. "Well I know one thing is Remus did something so no one can hang out with him today." Thomas said pulling into the driveway. I could tell he was hiding something. "Why? What happened?" I asked. "Well..." He said opening the door. All the sides rushed out and grabbed boxes bringing them in and Remus was standing in front of me. "Care for a walk?" He asked putting his arm out. I took it. "What is this?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled. "Roman said it's called a date. I got the others to take your stuff to my room so I may take you one one." I was surprised by this. He started walking away from the house. "So where are we going?" I asked. "Well we are going to the woods. I do love them." He told me. "Oh no! Do you plan to murder me?" I joked. He laughed. "Why yes my dear! I will make your face go a crimson red with kisses!" I giggled. "That would be perfect." I told him. 10/2/19 CHAPTER 17 He took me into the woods and I remembered them, and not just from walking to them so much. This was the first place we had ever actually ever been since the Rose fell off. He took me to the middle of the woods and I was awestruck by what I was seeing. There where lights hanging up and it reminded me of something out of a fairy tale. I was to busy looking around to notice Remus had put on a song. Soon enough he took me into his arms and started dancing. I soon realized it was Tale as old as Time, from Beauty and the Beast. We danced and danced till the night came and the lights came to life. "Remus, this is perfect." I told him. "Well I had to get a certain snake out of my butt so I could do this." He said laughing. "Thank you." I said before kissing him. He kissed back and continued to dance. So we were sitting and talking. He finally asked once more. "You once told me that... you knew what it was like to be in my position... and you never told me how you knew. I just want to know if you are comfortable to tell me now." He whispered, but it was loud enough so I could hear it. "I still haven't told Thomas, but I will tell you." I looked straight at him and started."I grew up a happy child, but I rarely had good friends, and when I did, they would find someone better and leave. I only had two friends that ever stayed, so it was mostly me and them. Soon enough one of them moved and it was just (b/f/n) and me. In high school I tried a lot and each thing I tried I was kicked out or quite due to the people in it. They were always so cruel. In tenth grade a boy found my key chain, the Rose. By then everyone knew my crazy story of the Rose. He soon dated me and I thought I loved him... but I was wrong. He abused me, physically and mentally... he would leave in the mornings and nights to go see other women and I was left at the house.I wasn't allowed to leave unless told too. Soon enough he went to jail and (b/f/n) took me in. I've stayed with them for close to five years. I've been trying to recover, but it's hard, so I try to hide it." I told him. He looked at me and his face said it all. It was of shock, horror, and things I'd never seen from him. "Is that why you were so scared of Roman hitting you? Is that why you didn't tell me sooner? Is that why you're friend sent you away when they were mad that day so long ago?" He asked. I nodded to all of them and looked away. He soon grabbed my chin and made me look at him."You'r past doesn't define you, your future does." He told me with a smile. I gave a weak smile back and kissed him. He soon hugged me. "I love you." I told him. "I love you too." I was at the point of crying and I didn't know why. He knew I was going to start crying. "Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme..." He started to sing. "Beauty and the stinky boooooooi." He finished making me laugh. He burst out into laughter and started to do different things to make me laugh. It was a perfect night. 10/3/19 Ok so one of the fans asked if they could be my friend on Wattpad, so I just have to say, you all are my family, friends, and are just the best! I love all of you and love to see what you have to say. You can feel free to text me to talk or ask a question or just have another friend. Honestly I need the social interaction. XD Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a lovely night. CHAPTER 18 I woke up but didn't open my eyes. I could feel Remus playing with my hair and whispering something. I listened in to him. "I would never hurt you, I will only love you, and though I wont marry you because, well I can't handle the thought of marriage." I felt a bit saddened by this, but I continued to fake being asleep. "I will give you a ring, I'll hope you'll say yes to being my only love, because a forever lover is better then what you are now... but I have to wait." He finished. After a few minutes of him playing with my hair he shook me, gently, awake. "Hey, (y/n) wake up." I slowly lifter my head and realized we were still outside. "W-we're still outside?" I asked. "Yes we are. Do you wish to go back?" He asked. "No, I like it out here." I told him. I got off of him and stood up. "I am hungry though." I said. " Well I had that prepared as well... You see Thomas stopped by before you woke up and dropped off some food. After eating we were dancing again. I remembered what he had said. I wouldn't mind not being married as long as I'm with him. Soon he took me and had me spinning. When I had stopped and was facing him he was down on one knee. "(Y/N), I know we haven't been together for long, and please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want to marry you due to I can't handle it, but I want to be with you for the rest of my life, so... will you be my forever lover?" He asked pulling out a ring that had a rose on it. I was stunned. My mouth was a gap and my eyes were filled with tears. "Forever and always." I say hugging him. Remus burst threw the door with me in hand. "(Y/N) SAID YES!" He announced. The others did their own things to say congratulations and Remus and me said our thanks. We all celebrated and even though it wasn't marriage like my parents or grandparents, it was still the best thing to happen. Remus was off talking to his brother and they were laughing. Logan came over and started talking to me. "You actually tamed his beast, you're the first and only one to do that." I smiled knowing that's his way of saying 'thanks for everything you've done to keep him at bay'. "No problem Logan." Logan soon walked off to talk to Thomas leaving Patton to come over to me. "My little child is growing up and falling in love!" He said giving me a bear hug. "Thank's Dad." I hugged back. "What's next? The dirty??? Please not the dirty!" I laughed as Patton was freaking out. "No Dad, I will still be taking showers and being clean." I told him. He calmed down. "Oh thank the puppies..." He said. "Well I'll let you get to what you were doing. I need to talk to Logan." He told me before walking off. "You did it kid." I heard a voice behind me say. I turned and saw Deceit. "Oh hey Dee." I said. "You had him fall for you, you made him leave Thomas alone, you did the impossible." He said. "Good job." I smiled and looked at him. "Thank's slimy boi." I said punching his arm jokingly. "I'm not slimy..." He said a little upset. "I know just your nickname." I said walking off to Remus. "Keep doing what you're doing..." 10/4/19 CHAPTER 19 I kissed Remus and he just smiled. "I will love spending every moment with you." He told me. "I can't wait to see what the future holds for us." I giggled. "Well how should we fully celebrate?" Thomas asked. "We can play games and watch movie!" Remus said. It honestly surprised all of us, but me. "These games and movies you wish to play wouldn't b-" Roman was cut off by his brother." Beauty and the Beast and games like twister!" Remus said. "What ever you did to Remus I like it. Keep doing it (y/n)!" Patton said. Remus looked down. "Well I let him talk about his ideas and do different things with him so long as he acts appropriate with you guys. Other than that I love how he is. How his face lights up when he's talking and drawing his ideas and turning them into stuffed animals and everything. It's amazing what his mind comes up with." I started rambling about what I loved about Remus. Virgil was the one who stopped me."UHG! WHY WOULD YOU, SOME ONE SOOOOO NICE AND INNOCENT, WANT A MONSTER LIKE HIM?!" Virgil's voice boomed threw the whole room. I was taken aback and Remus held me now knowing my past. "Why did Belle fall for the beast?" Remus asked him. "I want the answer from (y/n), not you." Virgil snapped his head back to me. "You want to know why I love him? It's because I've been where he's been... alone, forgotten, yelled at, told I'm not wanted and am hated, I've put on a fake smile for the past ten years. I've been threw more then him as well! He knows and cares about my limits and I trust him to never hurt me!" At this point I was ready to cry. Virgil up and left and I ran to the bathroom. I shut the door and sat on the toilet before I started to cry. I curled up and let what I couldn't hold in, out. I heard a knock on the door, but all I could get out was a quite and unnoticeable go away. Remus came in anyways and started rubbing my back to calm me down. I heard someone tell Roman to go talk to Virgil, but I didn't know who it was. "Hey, I'm right here..." Remus said. I hugged him with such force we both came close to falling. "Shhhhh... it's alright. I've got you now." He whispered to me. Soon enough he started to sing my favorite song from Beauty and the Beast. I started singing too. We both stood up once I stopped crying and he put his hand to my cheek and gently rubbed it with his thumb. With one hand I held his hand to my cheek and with the other I placed on his wrist. He pulled me in and kissed me. We soon went back down stairs and we started playing Twister. "Left foot red!" Thomas called. "OUH!" I heard Roman fall."Looks like the Roman empire has fallen!" Remus said laughing. "Why would you kick me there of all places?" Roman asked his brother. "It was left foot red! What else was I suppose to do?" Roman got up and started laughing. "The Roman empire has fallen... Nice one." He said."But there will be pay back!" Remus chuckled at his brothers last remark. "Right hand blue!" Soon people were falling. Patton was first, then came Logan and when he came down he was laughing, I saw Patton smile at this. It was me and Remus left now. It would be a battle to see who stayed up the longest. 10/7/19 CHAPTER 20 "Right foot green!" I put my foot close to me as possibly as to not fall. "Left hand yellow!" Remus was on top of me and he had the biggest grin. "You drop on me and I'll punch you!" I told him joking around. "Left foot blue!" Thomas kept calling out what colours we had to be on. After a few minutes I was above Remus and was having trouble staying up. My arms started shaking."You know I'm gonna win. Might as well just fall." He said. I knew he was joking but I was determined to prove him wrong. "N-no! I'm gonna b-beat you and wi-win!" My arms were about to give out if I stayed like this for another moment and my legs were slipping. Remus must have seen this because when Thomas called out the colour Remus 'fell'. "I win? I win!" I was to exited to realize my arms finally gave out and I had fallen on top of Remus. "I've seen this before." He purred. I got up blushing."So how about the movie?" I asked. Patton jumped up putting the movie in. "I'll make some popcorn." Logan said getting up. After he got back, he handed us all bowels of popcorn and we started watching the movie. We sang every song and we joked and made comments about the movie. At one point Logan started pointing out all of the economic flaws. After three movies Patton had fallen asleep with his head on Logan. It was cute, but Patton had done it to all of us at one point. "Well, I guess I'll go check on Virgil... Congrats again on getting a perfect person to love you." Roman said before leaving. I saw Remus smile. I knew he was happy that his brother was actually happy for him. "I am NOT leaving so HELLO." Deceit said sinking out. "Night Deceit!" I called. I looked over at Thomas and he was passed out. "I'm taking Patton to bed then going to bed myself. Just put Thomas on the couch and throw a blanket on him. I don't trust you,Remus, and you, (y/n), aren't strong enough." Logan said sinking down. After we put Thomas on the couch we sank down. We didn't go to is room,but we were in the hall. "Can I show you around?" Remus asked. "Well, I'll be staying here so I would love too!"I said taking his hand. He started walking down the hall way and away from his room. We passed a yellow door."That's Double D's room." After that there was a red one, then a dark blue, light blue, purple, orange, and he stopped telling me who's rooms they were when we cam up to a large door. "You'll love this." He said taking me in. It was a large library. "So this is where Logan gets all his books..." Remus laughed at my thought. "No, this is where all Thomas' memories are stored." He went over to a date and opened the book. Suddenly we were there, seeing how Thomas met me for the first time. "I love watching this because you don't even know how you will fall in love, even when I fall for you over and over again..." He told me. I thought it was sweat, and then he finished. "Into a pool of blood and fingers!" He said happily. I smiled knowing that he was just being him. After we went into where I fell for him and we saw how our love had bloomed. 10/9/19 CHAPTER 21 We were laughing and having fun when Roman opened the door making everything disappear. "(Y/N) I need your help with Virgil, please."Roman was out of breath. "What's wrong?" I asked him. He couldn't form proper words, but I decided either way I would help. "Remus, I have to go." I told him. He looked down with sadness in his eyes. I had him look at me. "Hey, I just want to have everyone accept you and me being a thing... that's all." I told him. He finally looked me in the eyes. "I understand... just... I don't want to lose you in any way..." I smiled at him and gave him a kiss. "You will never lose me... I'll be back, I promise." I told him, soon running to Roman. "Let's go." I said and Roman lead the way. With each twist and turn of the hall we made it to an open room filled with thing that didn't look real. "This is the dream room... it's where one of us, but mostly me, take over and give Thomas his dreams. There is a room that contains his dreams and nightmares... That's where Virgil is..." Roman explained. I started to take a step in, but Roman grabbed me. "What?" I asked. "You could have fallen in to the lake of dreams... if you fell in there you would have had to get past three of Thomas' dreams, each getting worse by the end, just to get out." He told me. "Then how do we get over to Virgil?" Roman started looking around. "Ok so the bridge is gone, but do you trust me?" He asked. "As of you being my friend, yes..." I looked at him some what scared. "Close your eyes and imagine your best and most amazing dream then walk over to the way I tell you." He told me. "Are you crazy? You told me I'd fall in!" I was starting to panic. He grabbed a hold of me."It only works if you are awake. You will be sleep walking over it. That's why you have to trust me." He told me. I soon calmed down and did as he told me. As I was getting close to it my dream turned to a nightmare. My eyes opened and I was filled with panic. My body started falling threw the water. Right before I went under a hand latched on to mine. I was soon pulled out and I coughed up some water. "T-thank you..." I said to who ever helped me. I looked up and Virgil was there. "What were you thinking?" he asked me. "I was thinking of getting to you because I want to know what's going on and how I can help." I told him standing up. "Well you shouldn't..." He went back to what he was doing before. "Please, Virgil... what's wrong? everyone is worried..." I told him. "You really want to know?" His voice boomed throughout the room. "Yes because I care and if I didn't I wouldn't have risked coming, or helped princey." I told him. That had seemed to be good enough for him. "Fine..." His voice was back to normal and he sat down and told me everything. "That's why you don't like him? I'm sorry... but he's changed... I promise." I gave a reassuring smile to him. "I just don't want the others to be hurt by him like I was... I don't want someone I find like family to be hurt like him..." He said looking away. "He wont hurt anyone while I'm here. Ok? Now how do we get out of here?" I asked. "Wait... I...I'm sorry, but I need your help with something..." He told me. 10/14/19 CHAPTER 22 "Ok what's up?" I asked. Virgil looked down and had a slight blush on his cheeks. "I like, like princey, but... what if he doesn't like me like that? What if he hates me? What if-" I cut Virgil off before he can finish. "Hey, I know you are anxiety and all, but breath. I'll help you out, ok?" He nodded his head and let out a breath I don't think he knew he was holding. "Now... Come one lets get out of here." I said which lead us both to leave. "I'm gonna talk to Remus and Roman ok? I wont tell Roman, but I do have a plan so don't worry." Virgil gave me a smile and said his thanks before walking off. I went back to Roman and told him what happened. "Thank god panic at the everywhere is ok!" He examined. "Why do you call him that?" I asked him. He looked sheepishly down. "If I tell you this you can't tell anyone got it?" He asked. I nodded. "I really, really,really like him... yes I was a jerk in the past, but I have fallen for him..." He told me. "The ask him out." He looked at me with a face of fear. "I can't! He hates me!" I just nodded saying, "If you say so..." I then walked back to Remus. He ran over and hugged me. "I missed you!" I hugged him back. "I missed you too." I pulled back from him."Do you think you might want to help me get two people together?" I asked with a smirk. "I prefer tearing people apart, but if you wish to bring someone together I will help you." He said with a smile. "Ok, now here's the plan..." Me and Remus had just finished setting everything up. The notes were slipped under the doors of Virgil and Roman, the books of past memories were placed in order to be opened, and the last part was dancing to Sally and Jack's song. Remus and I were hiding as the two came out of their rooms and headed for the library. We followed them, but made sure not to be caught. Roman soon bumped into Virgil."Hot topic! What are you doing here?" He asked. "I came because I was told too..." He said."O-oh... Hey, there's another note." Roman went and picked it up reading it out loud."Open these books in the order they are in. Well then."Roman said. Virgil went and opened the first book. The two went threw each book and soon came to an end. The two were smiling and laughing. "Man, Virgil, I forgot about all those fun times we had! I wish we had more of them..." Roman laughed. Virgil looked up. "Yeah Princey. Who knew you would hit on me all the time." Virgil looked down with a slight blush on him. "Yeah... a-about that... I..." Virgil cut Roman off before he could finish. "Roman I-I love you...." Virgil then realized what he said and started to leave. Roman grabbed his arm and brought Virgil back only to kiss him. "I love you too." Roman said after pulling back. Logan walked in and before the two could see I grabbed Logan and pulled him over to hide. I put a finger to my lips to signal to be quite. "Why?What's going on?" He whispered. "Me and Remus got Virgil and Roman together and they are kissing right now."I told him. He took a peek over at the two and turned back. "Well then. You two did well... Might I ask for your help then?" He asked. Remus and me looked at each other. "Patton?" We asked tuning back. 10/26/19 CHAPTER 23 "How did you know?" Logan asked us. "Dude it's obvious like how you wear glasses." I told him. "Well then. You know I'm not good with emotions and as you see I know a lot, but have no clue how to ask Patton out." He told us. We both nodded. "Well this will be easy." I said. "Logan, we will make sure you two will be happily together in no time. Trust us." I gave a smile to Logan. "I trust you... Remus doesn't have my full trust..." He told me. "Understandable." Remus said. After I told Logan our plan we went to bed. I was lying in bed when Remus sat up. "Why do we keep helping the others? They really have done nothing to help us." He said. "Because if we want to help them then they can be just as happy as us. Imagine never meeting me." I told him. "That is a worse thought than anything I could ever say or do..." He told me. I rolled over to face him. "That's why I want to help them." He looked down and finally understood. "Ok..." I kissed him and he lied down next to me pulling me in. "Goodnight my beauty.~" He whispered. "Good night my stinky boi." I said drifting off to sleep. We awoke and set the time for the visit for the animal shelter. We were sending Logan on a date with Patton to an animal shelter after breakfast. We made sure that Patton would not have an allergic reaction to the cats there. Logan made himself a cup of tea and sat down. Patton came hopping down and sat next to Logan. "Ah, Patton, good morning. Would you like to go to an animal shelter today?" Logan asked. Patton's face light up with happiness. "Really Logan?!" His smile made me smile. "Well yes. You are wanting to go right?" Logan asked. Patton nodded his head. "Great then it's a date." Patton's smile grew bigger. "That was you asking me out? Logie bear I've been waiting for to long!" Patton said hugging Logan. "Y-you have?" Logan asked. "Yeah! I've liked you for a long time now." Patton and Logan smiled and hugged. Logan looked back at us and mouthed a 'thank you'. We smiled and nodded. "See that feels good doesn't it? I asked Remus. "Yeah it does. Next time let's not tho." He said jokingly. I giggled. "Ok, well what do you want to do today?" I asked him. He looked down."Well, we could go watch a movie, or play a round of twister in b-" I stopped him. "A movie sounds fun. What movie?" I asked him. "We could do a horror movie..." He sounded disappointed by the fact I shut him down about his 'game'. "There is the It chapter 2 movie that came out." I told him. He smiled and nodded. "It's only in theaters though." I told him. "We can still go!" He was exited. "Ok, but I would suggest wearing normal close to go see it. I'd love to see you in something normal to tell if I hate it or love it more then your normal cloths." He smiled and went to change. I honestly didn't want him to be hurt by others words for the way he looked, but either way I loved him. He came out wearing a pair of jeans and a block shirt with green stripes. He came over to me and hooked my arm with his. "Let's go my love." He said. "Alright." I said giggling, and then we left for the movies. 10/26/19 CHAPTER 24 Remus and me had just gotten out from seeing the new It movie and were laughing. "I can't believe that made me jump and that twist at the end! Oh my- god...." My excitement turned into fear. "Well I can't blame you for not seeing that coming." Remus started laughing. I soon tugged on his arm. "C-can we please l-leave now?" I asked. He looked down and saw the terror in my face. "What's wrong?" He asked. I could tell he was truly worried. "I-I..." Soon enough some one grabbed me from behind. "Miss me?" He asked letting me go. "N-no... You can rot in hell for all I care D-Devin!" I went to grab Remus to leave, but Devin grabbed my wrist. "I thought you loved me!" He some what yelled. "(Y/N) who is he?" Remus had venom in his voice, but it wasn't towards me. "Devin... he's my ex..." Remus was furious. "Hands off of (y/n), they aren't yours..." He said gently grabbing me and walking off. Remus took me outside and sat me down on a near by bench. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you? I hope I didn't scare you, did I?" He asked. I simply hugged him and whispered, "I'm fine... Just lets leave please." He nodded. "I thought he was in jail?" Remus asked. I checked my phone seeing my friend had texted me twenty-five text all in panic. "(B/F/N) texted me during the movie to tell me he was let out..." I was scared, but I felt safe with Remus. We soon left and I thought we would be safe from then on. Sadly I was wrong. Devin had come up behind Remus and hit him in the head. Remus rubbed his head and turned around. "Now this is where the fun begins!" Remus had a smile of someone ready to kill. "Oh I'm not scared of you!" Devin started throwing punches. Remus found Devin growing tired so he took his chance. He put on a face that I couldn't see, but Devin was terrified. "P-please don't kill me..." Devin begged Remus. "Oh I'n not gonna kill you..." Remus started. "Oh thank you, thank you so m-" Remus stopped him. "I'm just going to hurt you, really,really bad." Devin was terrified of what would happen. Remus soon got his hands on a rabid raccoon. Remus had a wicked smile. "This is a rabid raccoon... He's going down your pants!" Remus shoved the raccoon down the front of Denis' pants causing Denis to scream and run around. Remus picked me up and ran back to the house. "Why did you do that?" I asked him. "Well I knew you would be mad if I killed him so that was off the list... and besides, the raccoon isn't rabid... I only said it was to give him a good scare." He gave me a smile. We soon go to the front door and he set me down before going in. "Thank you..." I told him. "You might have scared him off for good." I giggled. "Anything for you, Beauty..." He leaned down and kissed me. I would have been crazy not to kiss back so I did. His kisses always had some form of saliva that would always get on me, but I didn't care. I loved his wet sloppy kisses because they were real. He then took my hand and lead me inside. After Thomas said hi and we chit chatted, Remus and I went back to his room. "Hey Remus...let's have some fun tonight." I said which gave him a big smile. 10/28/19 CHAPTER 25 Warning: Cussing, fun, time skips, Remus, and of course a happy ending for all. :) It was Halloween and the sides had dressed up in their costumes ready to go trick or treating. I went as Remus because him and the sides had chosen to do partner costumes, so why not make an excuse to wear his cloths? Thomas was Spider-man, Deceit and Remus went as Georgie and Pennywise, Virgil and Roman was Jack and Sally, then Patton and Logan was the Cheshire cat and the white rabbit. "So we have everyone and everything, correct?" Thomas asked. "You forgot something..." Virgil said. "A bag! We need a bag for candy!" I chimed in. Logan held up a bag. "I have grabbed a few just in case." We all nodded and headed out. "So there is a Halloween party at midnight, right?" Patton asked. "Yeah my friend (b/f/n) is hosting it. There will be a contest and games!" I was excited. They came back to see all their old friends for Halloween and decided to throw a party. We all went to the first house and Thomas knocked."Trick-or-treat!" We all said when the man opened the door. "Aren't you all a little to old for this?" He asked in a rude tone. "You're never to old to have fun!" Roman snapped back. The man grew angry and shut the door. We kept walking though. He wouldn't ruin our night of fun. We all skipped over to the next house and received candy this time. After we hit all the houses we went back to Thomas' house and pored out our candy. "I'll trade you a kit-kat for (y/f/c) (Your favorite candy.)" Remus said to Virgil. "Make it two." Virgil was making a tight deal. "Done!" Remus handed over his candy. "I will give my candy corn to anyone with out a trade!" Patton said. Patton never liked candy corn and no one knew why. It was odd for him to not like candy. "Hey call me weird, but I'll take it all!" I said knowing Remus loved the stuff. Everyone including Remus, which surprised me, gave me their candy corn. "Ok I will trade anything for (y/f/c), I'll even give you my leg!" Remus said as he took off one of his legs. Patton and Virgil started freaking out causing Thomas to panic. "Remus, babe, please put your leg on." I looked at him and he smiled. "As you wish." He put his leg back on. It ended with Logan just taking all the healthy stuff we all got, Patton got the rest of Logan's, but Logan told him not to eat it all in one month like last time, Deceit kept all his, Virgil got all the sour candies and hard to chew candies, then Roman got the chocolates and any other thing that had chocolate on it, Thomas had a mix of candy, but mostly his favorite candies were in it, Remus got all my favorite candy before I could get any, but I had all of the candy corn. I was mostly planing to give it to him. We all went back to our rooms to relax for a while before the party started. "Hey, baby cakes..." I turned to see Remus holding out his bag of candy. "What's this?" I asked. "It's your favorite candy, silly!" He said merrily. I giggled handing him the candy I got for him. "You know I would kiss you, but I don't want to mess up your make-up." I told him. He didn't care and started to kiss me. We pulled back."Your make-up is messed up..." I said sadly. "I can fix it before we leave again, just like how you can was it off later."He went and started kissing me again. Soon one kiss turned into a make out session. I soon pulled back and checked the time. "Ok... we need to fix out make-up cus we'll have to leave soon." I told him. He kissed me one more time and got up going to the bathroom. I followed and saw how the make-up affected my face. I cleaned my face after laughing and fixed up my make-up. I looked over at Remus who was applying more lip stick. "You ready?" I asked him. He nodded and we meet up with the others. We were all at the party now. Patton and Logan were talking, Thomas was talking to a guy, Roman and Virgil were dancing, somewhat. Remus was chit chatting with my friend, I was happy the two were getting along. As for me I was eating, there was honestly nothing better to do. I saw Remus look back at me and smile. I smiled back at which point he made sure his back was towards me. He pulled something out and showed (b/f/n) it. He slipped it back in and started talking to them, always taking a look over to me to me to see if I had moved. Soon enough I got up and joined them. "Hey! How's my favorite little friend?" (B/F/N) asked. "Well I'm having fun if that's what you mean." I laughed. "Hey we'll be starting some games here soon!" My friend told me. I gave a smile to them and everyone quieted down as Roman had asked them too. Virgil was in front of him, and he got down on one knee. "Virgil, my love... Will you be my dark and stormy night forever and marry me?" Roman asked pulling out a ring. Virgil slightly panicked, but said yes and hugged Roman. I watched the two kiss in happiness. I didn't see Remus turn his back on me and look at something. We ended that night with the most fun we've all had. It was soon Christmas and everyone sat down to open presents. "Awwww you bought us all sweaters! I love mine, (y/n)!" Patton exclaimed. Virgil actually put his on and smiled. Deceit surprisingly got us all something. "They are well..." He started. "Friendship bracelets!" I put the one for me one and hugged him. "Thanks Dee! I love it!" Everyone else loved theirs two. Remus started pulling out a box that was tiny and had green wrapping paper out of his shirt, but Logan stopped everyone. "Patton, I believe you should open this one next. It's from me." He handed Patton the box and Patton opened it. Tears swelled in his eyes and a smile that was bigger then the rings on Jupiter. "What's in it?" Roman asked. "'Will you marry me Patton?' Oh Logie bear of course I will!" Patton hugged Logan and for someone who doesn't smile, Logan had a big smile on his face. I saw Remus put the box back in his shirt and look down in disappointment. We all celebrated for the now two happy couples. Remus pulled out more boxes for everyone, giving them all little stuffed animals. It was two in the morning and I couldn't sleep. A million thoughts kept me awake. I got out of bed and started walking around the palace. My bare feet hit the cold ground as I went to the memories library. I scanned threw each book and found the one on where me and Remus first fell in love. I went to the next book and the next book and then I came upon the one from Halloween night. I watched it as Roman asked Virgil to marry him and that is when I saw Remus turn away. I looked closer at him and saw that he had a pain in his eyes. Then I remembered Christmas. Both of those times some one was asked to forge their love as one and become married. Did he think I would never want that? "What are you doing in here so late?" I heard a voice call from behind me. "Oh uh... I can't sleep..." I told them truthfully. I turned and saw Logan. "You should be getting at least eight or more hours of sleep. If something is troubling you to the point you can't sleep you can talk to me." He told me. "I'm fine, but thanks Logan." I gave a fake smile to him."I'm going to bed now." I told him. I gave him a quick hug and left for bed. I was there again, lying in Remus' bed, not being able to sleep. I didn't get any sleep that night causing me to pass out during a game. It was now Valentine day. Remus asked to go on a walk with me and I agreed. "To the wood's we go then!" He smiled at me. There was no doubt I loved him. There was also no doubt that I knew something would happen. We walked in and he started his little talk. "You know I love you right? Do you remember how I said I would never marry?" He asked. I nodded my head. "Well I was going to do this on Hallow's eve, but then Roman and Virgil, then I was prepared to do it on Christmas, then Logan did it, so I'm asking you now..." He got down on one knee and held my hand. "There is only one thing I would change about you... and that's your last name." He said. He pulled out a ring and waited. He looked like he was expecting a no or a slap in the face, but I tackled him down with a hug and kisses. "Yes! I've waited too long to hear that!" I couldn't stop myself from kissing him, but it didn't matter because he kissed me back. We all set our wedding dates the same. Halloween of that year. Logan did the normal tux and the others including myself put on a costume. Patton, Virgil, and I had linked arms to walk down the isle. Each step made Virgil panic, but Patton and I reassured him every thing would be grate. We each made it to our future husbands and listened to our vows. People clapped and cheered. Each of us kissed as was told too, none of us wanted to break apart. The flowers were tossed and Thomas caught one and my bestie caught two. I laughed at the sight of it. The one's who were wedded started the dancing. Remus glided me around and if I stepped on his toes he didn't care, just as long as he danced with me. Remus and I snuck out of the building and went to were the garden was. Roses were still in bloom surprisingly, and as I was looking at them Remus pulled something out. He pressed the play button and our song came on. "Might I have this dance Beauty?" He asked. I took his hand as Tale as old as Time played. "Only if you'll love me forever." I said slowly dancing with him. We swayed back and forth, he even picked me up to swing me. I felt as though this night could never end. we continued to dance in the moonlight and the song slowly came to an end. "Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. Beauty and~ the beast~" The music started to stop just as we stopped dancing. "I will love you until the day I die, and even then I wont stop loving you." He said kissing me. I kissed him back and we stayed like that for a few minutes, almost never to pull apart. 10/29/19 Published on 10/31/19 pages: 5.3 words: 2028 This is the last chapter. I just want to say thank you to everyone who read this, loved this, hated this, and commented on this. I love all of you and can't wait to start writing my next book. I don't know what It will be, whether it's a sequal to this or a new book entirely. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, this book, and everything in between. I love you all and have a lovely night. (I put together each chapter so that others may read the whole book if they wish, I love you all, I hope to write more for you guys soon. I love you and have a lovely night!)

#romance #fanfiction #remus #remus sanders #remus x reader #remus sanders x reader #sanders sides #sanders sides x reader #the end #beauty and the stinky boi

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omgjasminesimone · 5 years

Text

The Hot Exchange Student Part 3

Logan x MC (Ellie)

Previous Part: Part 2

Next Part: Part 4

Author’s Note: This is longer than usual, and I didn’t get as far as I originally wanted to. Hopefully you guys like the longer length! One last RoDAW entry!

Summary: Logan is an exchange student from Detroit a month into his exchange program in L.A. Tensions rise with his detective host father as Logan becomes involved in L.A.’s criminal underbelly, while simultaneously becoming romantically involved with the detective’s daughter.

Word Count: ~4000

For a few moments no one speaks, a silent showdown. Mr. Wheeler is looking at his daughter with his ‘I’m not mad, I’m disappointed’ face, but when his stare turns to Logan sitting beside her, his face reads, ‘I’m both mad and disappointed’.

“Where were you guys?” Detective Wheeler finally asks.

“A car show.” Ellie answers.

“I was unaware they had car shows at 11:00 PM on Saturday nights. Did you mean an illegal sideshow?” Detective Wheeler prompts.

Ellie sighs, her shoulders slumping. “Yes.”

Detective Wheeler nods. “Despite the fact that you guys are grounded, and you’re only supposed to leave the house for school or if you’re studying.”

Ellie deflates further. “…Yes.” She answers when her father looks like he’s waiting for a response.

Detective Wheeler turns his gaze to Logan, who is sitting beside Ellie defiantly, not looking remorseful in the least. “Anything you want to say Logan?” Detective Wheeler asks, narrowed eyes informing Logan that he’s looking for an apology.

He doesn’t get one. “Just that the three week grounding for missing a 10:00 curfew seemed a little excessive to me. Ellie is a good person. You can loosen the leash a little bit.”

Ellie winces at that response. Her dad is going to explode.

The cold, calm anger Detective Wheeler speaks with next is more terrifying than the rare occasions when he’s yelled at her. “You’ve been very disrespectful since you got here Logan. We’ve had several conversations about it, and your behavior has not changed. I think you’re a bad influence on Ellie, and I really don’t like that. If you’re going to live under my roof, you’re going to follow my rules. Otherwise, you can leave my house and go back to Detroit early. Are we clear?”

This is the first time Detective Wheeler has actually threatened to kick Logan out of the house. Logan’s jaw clenches as he fights his desire to retort. He chances a quick look at Ellie before he nods. “Crystal.”

“Good. I also want to speak to your parents about your behavior.” Detective Wheeler adds, leaning back in his recliner.

Logan hesitates, taking a breath before he finally speaks. “I can give you my current foster father’s phone number if you really want it, but I can promise you he’s not going to care. And most of the time his phone doesn’t work because he spends his whole social security check on beer before paying the bill.” Logan reveals.

Foster care. That explains a lot. The lack of belongings. His aversion to parental authority. His ‘situation’ in Detroit. Ellie feels bad for him, but she tries to fight down that feeling. She knows Logan well enough to know that he doesn’t want her pity. That’s probably why he never told her.

“I’d still like his number.” Detective Wheeler says, pulling out his address book while Logan goes through his phone to pull up his contacts. Logan recites the number, and Detective Wheeler writes it down. “I’ll call him tomorrow since it’s so late, even later Central time. You guys should get to bed too.”

Ellie looks at her dad suspiciously. That’s it? Ellie starts to get up, but then her father speaks again.

“By the way, you guys are grounded for another 3 weeks. And this time, I mean it.”

…

Ellie’s phone pings as she and Logan watch a movie on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder. She sits up to grab it from the coffee table. It’s a text from her dad.

Dad: Peace signs by the refrigerator.

“Logan, peace signs by the refrigerator.” Ellie reports, standing up and heading towards the kitchen. Logan follows behind her, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“This is so stupid.” He complains as they pose for the selfie. Ellie sees he’s flipping a bird in her camera screen as she prepares to take the photo.

“Logan.” She admonishes, so he lifts his index finger as well to make the peace sign her father has requested.

To enforce his grounding when he’s away at work, Ellie’s father requests specific poses somewhere in the house. That way, he knows they’re home like they’re supposed to be. This is their last day of grounding, but it hasn’t been all bad.

Ellie has gotten a lot of studying done over the three weeks, and more importantly, she’s had a lot of quality time to spend with Logan. He’s more open with her now, since he’s not trying to hide his background anymore.

Logan told her that he was born in prison. That he doesn’t know who his father is. That his mom is still in jail for all he knows, they’ve never had any contact.

He told her about his current foster father, an alcoholic with 6 foster kids in a small three bedroom trailer. Logan shares a small bedroom with a 15 year old foster brother, who Logan simply describes as ‘troubled’. Despite this, he tells her it’s actually one of his better placements.

That’s why when his high school counselor told him about the opportunity for a full ride scholarship for the exchange program, he jumped on it.

(“She’s straight out of college. So she’s not jaded yet, she still cares.” Logan scoffs, drawing skulls on the toes of his chucks as they hang out on the porch. “That won’t last long.”)

Another reason why the grounding hasn’t been all bad is because they’ve found creative ways to work around it. Ellie and Logan signed up for an after school SAT prep class, and Logan convinced her to lie to her father about what time it ends, giving them 2 hours of free time each day after school. Well, Logan has 4 hours of free time because he doesn’t actually go to the class. She’s not sure exactly what he’s doing, he’s very vague about it when she asks.

Ellie feels bad about lying, she didn’t habitually lie to her father before Logan got here, but she does enjoy those 2 hours with Logan. Sometimes, they go to the beach. Or that diner she loves with Riya and Darius. But usually, that time is dedicated to driving practice. Ellie really want to pass her license test.

Since they’re already in the kitchen, Ellie pops another bag of popcorn before they return to the couch. “Do you feel ready for your driving test tomorrow?” Logan asks, watching her instead of the cheesy horror movie.

“I think I am.” She smiles up at him. “You’ve taught me well.”

Hmm, what to wear. Ellie is looking for an outfit that says, hey, this girl is a competent driver who totally deserves a license. She settles on a denim skirt and a white shirt that hangs off her shoulders. She’s putting her long hair into her usual braid when Logan knocks.

“Hey troublemaker. Change of plans. I’m sorry, but I can’t take you to your test. Something important came up.” He takes in her outfit. “Wow, you look great.”

She’s too annoyed with him to be flustered at the compliment. “What do you mean you can’t take me? I can’t ask my dad and rescheduling with the DMV would be an absolute nightmare.”

“You can take the car, just drive yourself.” Logan underhand tosses her the keys.

She catches them with both hands, “But, I don’t have my license! It’s illegal for me to drive by myself.”

“Just don’t get pulled over on the way there and you’ll be fine. You’re definitely going to pass. Come here, good luck hug, not that you need it.”

She wants to ask him what he’s doing that’s so important, but she doubts he would tell her. So she just walks over and hugs him. He smells really good. Like, vanilla-y? She tightens her grip around his muscled chest, burying her face into his shirt.

“Text me when you’ve passed.” Logan says as he pulls away after one last squeeze.

She is even more of a stickler for the rules than she usually is as she drives to the DMV, cars behind her getting annoyed with her since she’s actually under the speed limit. But she doesn’t get pulled over, and when she finishes her test the instructor says she’s the best beginner he’s ever seen. She’s passed.

Ellie smiles for her new license photo, and once it’s printed she takes a photo of the freshly minted license and texts it to Logan. He replies right away.

Logan: congrats!!

Logan: knew u could do it troublemaker

Ellie: Thank you! I’m very excited, if you couldn’t tell from the big cheesy grin on my license photo. :D

Ellie: Where are you? I can come pick you up, we can get a celebratory late lunch/early dinner.

The three dots indicating that Logan is typing starts, stops, and then starts again as he probably writes and deletes a message.

Logan: I’m actually at a drive-in movie theater

Logan: come meet me troublemaker 😉

His next text includes an address on Rosecrans. Ellie plugs it into her phone and takes her first licensed solo drive.

Ellie wanders the parking lot on foot. Logan told her to park on the street (they charge by car), and that she’s looking for a white van. But there are a lot of cars here. She looks around helplessly, pulling out her phone to text Logan again.

“You lost, sweetheart?”

Ellie turns to see who would use sweetheart in such a condescending manner. She’s met with a boy who looks to be around her age, dark hair, even darker eyes, dressed in a leather jacket and carrying a tub of popcorn. He seems familiar for some reason.

“Maybe a little lost. Logan’s directions were a little vague.” She admits.

“Aah, you must be Ellie. Logan said you were coming.” He looks her up and down. “What is a girl like you doing hanging out with a lowlife like Logan?” Before Ellie can say anything in Logan’s defense, the boy walks off. Ellie assumes she should follow him.

He stops in front of an old white cargo van, opening the sliding door. Inside there’s Logan, a man with long hair, prominent neck tattoos, and glasses, an extremely tall woman, and another woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze all resting on bean bag chairs in the back.

“Hey Ellie, you made it.” Logan says, taking her hand to help her into the van. “Ellie, this is Toby, Ximena, Mona, and Colt.”

Toby and Ximena both give her a welcoming smile, while Mona just looks at her appraisingly. “Take a seat Ellie! Or you’re going to miss the best part!” Toby warns, eyes returning to the screen.

Ellie squeezes onto Logan’s bean bag chair, leg flush against his. “How’d you meet your friends?” She asks Logan softly.

“I wouldn’t say they’re my friends. Just coworkers I get along with. Well, I don’t always get along with Colt. But he’s just visiting Kaneko over his Fall Break.” Logan answers.

Ahh, so that’s why Colt looked familiar, he’s Kaneko’s son. Ellie’s brow furrows as she goes over the rest of his statement. “Coworkers? You have a job?”

His eyes widen slightly at his slip up. He gives her a measured glance, as if he’s deciding how much he should tell her. “I’m doing some work for Kaneko.”

Ellie’s blood runs cold, remembering how everyone feared Kaneko. Knowing that whatever work Kaneko is offering is probably criminal. What has Logan gotten himself into? “What kind of work?” She presses.

“Shh you two! Blown Gasket is playing!” Toby chastises, looking at the screen raptly during a car chase scene.

Ellie shuts up, but not before giving Logan a look that clearly says the discussion isn’t over.

Colt scoffs at Toby’s enthusiasm. “Calm down Toby. You’ve only seen this stupid movie fifty times.”

“No one forced you to come Kaneko Jr.” Mona retorts, not even bothering to turn away from the screen to look at Colt.

“My dad wanted everyone out of the garage while he does whatever he’s doing, especially me.” Colt replies.

Logan leans over slightly to whisper in Ellie’s ear, not wanting Toby’s wrath. “Does your dad know where we are?”

“I just told him we’re out with friends. We’re not grounded anymore, so he was fine with it.” Ellie whispers back.

Half an hour later, Ellie finishes the last of the popcorn in the extra large tub. She starts to put the empty tub down on the floor, when Ximena interjects. “Nuh uh sweetie. Whoever finishes it gets the next refill.”

Toby gives Ellie a $100 bill. “Does anyone have anything smaller?” Ellie asks, standing from the bean bag chair and heading for the door.

“Nope.” Mona responds, opening the door for Ellie.

Ellie is walking across the lot towards the concession stand when suddenly someone steps in front of her, blocking her path. Ellie looks up and is met with Salazar’s smirking face. “I can’t believe it, real nice of you to join us.” Salazar sneers.

“Salazar…” Ellie mumbles, dropping the popcorn bucket and turning around to head back to the van when Salazar steps towards her menacingly. Ellie’s escape path is cut off by the same four goons who had accompanied Salazar when he lost the race.

“I heard the Mercy Park Crew was hanging around here, came to see for myself.” He spits out when he reaches her. Mercy Park Crew? Ellie has no idea what he’s talking about. “Your boyfriend owes me money for what he did, lots of it.”

“You lost the race. You both agreed on the terms.” Ellie mutters weakly, looking around for a possible escape but finding nothing.

“I don’t remember him stealing the opportunity I had with Kaneko being one of the terms. I worked hard to build respect in the streets, to make a name for myself, and now some punk kid shows up and gets everything handed to him? That’s bullshit.” He turns to the biggest goon. “Grab her. He’ll pay to get her back.”

“No!” Ellie tries to fight off the heavily tattooed man gripping her arm roughly, but he’s twice her size so she doesn’t stand a chance.

“Get away from her. You got a problem with me, you leave her out of it.” Logan’s voice has a dangerous edge to it that Ellie has never heard before. The goon looks to Salazar, waiting for a small nod, before releasing her.

Ellie quickly retreats to Logan’s side, and he gently pushes her behind him. Salazar smirks, eyeing Logan venomously. “Now it’s a party.”

The goons close in, encircling Logan. Logan clenches his fists, gearing up for a fight.

“No, Logan! You can’t fight them five on one. We need to run.” Ellie reasons.

He briefly turns to look at her, his gaze hard. “You need to run. Now.” He swings his fist at the nearest goon, rocking his jaw.

That goon goes down, clutching his jaw, but one of the others cries “Get him!”, and the remaining goons and Salazar attack all at once. Ellie doesn’t run as instructed, instead she looks on worriedly as Logan fights like an animal, punching, grappling, slamming.

Her heart hurts a little as she wonders where he learned to fight like this. Was it a particularly abusive group home? Out on the streets of Detroit? He holds his own for a while, but eventually he can’t fend them all off and they get him down to the ground.

“You piece of shit.” Salazar sneers, kicking Logan hard in the ribs, again, and again. Ellie can’t take anymore, so she grabs a forgotten pipe on the asphalt as she runs towards the melee.

“Stop it!” She cries, swinging as hard as she can into Salazar’s back. He topples over with a grunt.

Salazar glares at her. “You little bitch.” Logan takes advantage of Salazar being momentarily preoccupied, kicking straight into one of the goon’s chin. He falls with a yelp. But another goon grabs Ellie, throwing her roughly into a car door. Ellie feels a searing pain from her forehead, raising her hand to grasp at it. When she brings her hand back down, there’s blood on her palm. “Nnh.” She mutters weakly, putting both hands to the asphalt in an attempt to get back to her feet.

“Ellie!” Logan exclaims. He’s covered in bruises, but he tries to push himself up anyway. He is quickly beaten back down.

Salazar gets to his feet, dusting himself off. “You don’t know who you messed with.” He threatens, readying to stomp down on Logan.

Suddenly, a razor sharp knife flicks to Salazar’s throat, Mona appears behind him with Toby, Colt, and Ximena, all looking very threatening. Ellie is surprised Toby can pull off such a menacing look.

“Do you?” Mona asks, allowing the blade to dig in a little more. Salazar lowers his foot, putting his hands up, knowing he’s been beaten. “Don’t show your faces here again.” Mona threatens, shoving Salazar away. Salazar glares at Ellie and Logan one more time before stalking away, his injured goons following behind him.

Colt offers Logan a hand up. “You’re pretty lucky I saved your ass, huh? Pshh…and dad thinks you could replace me.”

Logan ignores Colt’s hand, getting up on his own. “Funny, I don’t feel too lucky right about now. Where’s Ellie?”

“Logan!” Ellie runs to the group, taking Logan’s face into her hands and gently examining the bruising, the worst of it around his right eye, which is swollen shut. He smiles weakly at her, apologetically. Ellie sighs, gently rubbing her thumb on his cheek. “We need to get you home Logan.”

She turns towards the others. “Thank you for saving him.”

Colt smirks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Consider it Mercy Park Crew community service.”

…

“Ellie? Logan?” Her dad’s voice carries from the kitchen as Ellie opens the front door and the door alarm chimes shortly.

“Hey Dad, we’re home.” Ellie calls back, trying to tug Logan up the stairs before her dad sees his bruises, which will no doubt lead to questions they’re unprepared to answer.

“Dinner is almost ready!” Her dad calls back. The smell of his home made spaghetti permeates the air.

“Okay! We’ll be down shortly!” Ellie yells from the top of the stairs, pulling Logan into his room. She pulls the door almost closed behind them, leaving it open just a crack. That’s another one of her dad’s rules, she and Logan aren’t allowed to be in a room together with the door closed.

Ellie pulls the first aid kid from the closet. “Sit.” She commands, so Logan takes a seat on his bed. Ellie turns the lamp beside the bed on, bathing Logan in its soft glow. For the first time she sees how badly injured he is. She sighs, taking a seat beside him. “You shouldn’t have gone through all that trouble for me.”

“What are you talking about? They never would have gone after you if it wasn’t for me. So yes, I did” Logan insists. Ellie tenderly touches Logan’s face, and he tries to hide his wince, but she sees it. He places his hand over hers before she can pull back. “I’m fine Ellie. I’ve been in worse fights. They only got a few licks in.”

They clearly got more than a few licks in, but Ellie doesn’t argue with him. Instead, she opens the first aid kit. She remembers watching Salazar kick him in the ribs, knowing they’re probably seriously injured. “Can you take off your shirt?” She asks softly.

He peels off the white t-shirt, wincing a little at the movement, and tosses the shirt to the floor. He keeps the spark plug necklace he’s always wearing on.

She’s felt how toned he is when they’ve hugged, but it’s an entirely different experience to see all his taut muscles exposed in the low light of the lamp. But before she can become too distracted by his amazing body and six pack abs, she notices the dark purple bruising all over his sides. And beneath that, the scars from the car accident he told her about when he was teaching her to drive, making her promise to always be in control.

Ellie grabs the peroxide from the kit and dabs it on a long gash running down his collarbone. “Fuck, that stings.” Logan complains, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries not to pull away from her.

“I’m sorry.” She apologizes, placing a soft kiss to the tan skin near the gash without even thinking about it. But she notices his soft intake of breath and realizes what she just did. She slowly raises her gaze to meet his.

Something electric passes between them, and then Logan’s eyes go up further, to the cut on her forehead. He pushes her hair out of her face and traces it, his touch gentler than she could ever expect from the same boy she saw just a half hour earlier fighting the goons so viciously.

“You’re hurt.” He observes.

“I’m fine. You’re the one who’s hurt.” She retorts, knocking his hand aside and getting back to her task of bandaging up the cut.

He shakes his head softly, watching her as she starts to bandage up his ribs. “You should have run Ellie. Why didn’t you run like I told you to?” Logan admonishes.

“I couldn’t just leave you there Logan.”

“You have to. You have to be able to leave me Ellie. Otherwise…” He trails off, turning away from her.

“Otherwise what? Logan?” When he still doesn’t respond, she puts both hands on his face and forces him to make eye contact. “What are you trying to tell me Logan?” She asks softly, looking deeply into his brown eyes.

Suddenly, he surges forward, lips capturing hers in a searing kiss.

Oh my God, he’s kissing her. She’s having her first kiss. She’ll have to call Riya later, her long-time best friend will want to know about this. Logan’s hands tangle in her hair, tilting her head as he attempts to deepen the kiss. Ellie doesn’t know what to do with her hands, she starts to put them on his strong bare shoulders, but chickens out at the last moment and let’s them fall back to her sides.

Wait, he’s licking at her lips now. Does that mean something? Does he want her to open her mouth? Is she ready for that? What if she’s a bad kisser? Is she totally embarrassing herself?

Logan pulls away from her lips, resting his forehead against hers as both of their eyes open. “You’re overthinking this.”

“I overthink everything.”

Logan smiles softly at that response, giving her a quick peck. “Just relax. Do what feels natural. Trust me Ellie, there’s nothing you can do that I won’t like.” He closes his eyes and kisses her again, and Ellie takes his advice. She doesn’t think, she does what feels natural. Ellie’s hands trail up his arms to loop around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. He opens his mouth, and because of the way their wet lips are staggered, her mouth opens too, allowing him to slip his tongue in.

It’s an unfamiliar sensation, but she decides she likes it. She tentatively circles his tongue with her own, and he hums appreciatively. Despite his injuries, he pulls her onto his lap, letting her straddle him. He pulls back to give her time to breathe, kissing down her neck and across her collar bone.

She tangles her fingers in his hair. It’s as soft as she always imagined it would be. Logan’s name escapes her lips on a breathy sigh as he sucks on her collar bone, marking her. He returns to her lips, kissing her more forcefully, hand pressed to her lower back to pull her even closer.

“Dinner!” Detective Wheeler calls from downstairs, causing the two teens to quickly spring away from each other, remembering where they are.

“We can’t let him see you like this. I’ll tell him you’re tired and skipping dinner. I’ll bring up your food later. Hopefully your eye will be less swollen tomorrow, we’ll put some concealer on your bruises.” Ellie plans out loud.

Logan smiles softly, really wanting to kiss her again. “Sounds like a plan troublemaker.” She turns to head downstairs. “Wait!” Logan calls out, reaching for her hand. He gently pulls her back to him and tugs her shirt up a little, covering the hickey forming on her collar bone. “Okay, you can go now.”

…

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